Microsoft 3D Movie Maker Released As Open-Source

[QwertyChouskie]

One more thing I found out doing some googling, this program still has an active community of users/modders, one of the main modders actually asked MS to release the source code, and MS did it. So it wasn't just a random thing, it actually actively benefits a small-but-dedicated community.

[kiffmet]

The demo for this was bundled with the Windows 95 or 98 CD. I messed around with this for hours when I was a child

[zexelon]

Next up "Chip's Challenge" please!!! Bonus points to anyone who even knows that one... my brother and I burned many childhood hrs on that one.

[lem79]

We need to continue to encourage behavior like this so that more historical applications can be released as open source - if nothing more than as a student/learner’s lesson as to the thought processes and coding practices “of the day” — and maybe help people figure out how to “bring up” legacy code to modernize aging applications that rely on outdated, insecure platforms.

Yeah, like Electronic Arts open-sourcing Command & Conquer 3.. that would be awesome. (and probably really unlikely to happen, but one can wish)

[Luke_Wolf]

I don't think this is particularly important other than for historical curiosity, but those are surprisingly good graphics for 1995.

[sinepgib]

Next up "Chip's Challenge" please!!! Bonus points to anyone who even knows that one... my brother and I burned many childhood hrs on that one.

Not only know it. My mom was a huge fan of that game, I found an open source implementation and installed it for her. Apparently there are several, but one in particular _I seem to recall_ was bundled in Ubuntu repos.

[QwertyChouskie]

Next up "Chip's Challenge" please!!! Bonus points to anyone who even knows that one... my brother and I burned many childhood hrs on that one.

Not open source, but free on Steam, so at least it's not abandoned

[DMJC]

It'd be nice if they did this to Caligari trueSpace, but it's Microsoft so it's unlikely. At least Blender kicks ass now and can replace Maya and trueSpace. I apologise and retract all prior negative comment I've given on Blender. I took up learning it in 2021 and it is brilliant. it has surpassed it's rivals on almost every front. I highly recommend Blender and the YouTube tutorials that are available to anyone wishing to learn 3D modelling. Blender's plugin options are vast and it can support almost any game you want to edit now thanks to the python plugins.

[oiaohm]

People seem to forget that Microsoft has a lot of open source projects. You don't have to be an MS fan in order to give them credit where they deserve it. You can hate Windows and DirectX, like I do, and still give them credit for their open source contributions.

https://opensource.microsoft.com/projects

https://killedbymicrosoft.info/

Yet we cannot forget how often Microsoft has basically run pulled end users. There are other 20 year + software Microsoft could open up. Creative Writer would be handy if Microsoft opened that one up so closed format could have exporters/importers made.

Remember the process to get Microsoft to open up the source to these old programs is not company policy is more having the luck to talk to the right Microsoft person who is able to get approval. I would really like this to move from luck to X number of years past end of life the software will be reviewed for open source release. This would be helpful for places like national archives if the software generates content.

Please note its not just Microsoft I wish has the policy that X number of years release software open source if it end of life and nothing else exists new to read the format.

[CochainComplex]

Albeit I totally support any company which is releasing ancient Software as open source. Even if it is just for archieving it in a history "vault". There are plenty of examples of distinct software pieces where the code got lost over the years and even piracy was saving somehow at least the final product (blade runner might be named here).
But this should not distract us from the fact that the PR effects outhweight any cost for MS.
The issue with MS and OpenSource is not that MS is not contributing enough. But if you give a closer look at how, what they contribute you can clearly see that OpenSource contributions for current used Projects are more or less only usable in/with the closed ecosystem of a Microsoft product you may name it Azure, WSL, Gfx Apis.
A devils advocate would even allege that their " closed" OpenSource efforts are to gain free dev resources by voluntary contributions. Embodied in a modern positive image which does not "allow" to draw conclusion as just mentioned