OpenRW: An Open-Source, Linux-Friendly Reimplementation Of GTA III

[schmidtbag]

I would really only be interested in this if it offers features the original GTA3 didn't have, such as multiplayer or better AI tracking (meaning, keeping track of other cars and pedestrians that you aren't looking at). Since Vice City and San Andreas were based on the same engine, it'd also be really cool if there was a way to drive, boat, or fly in between all of them. At the top of the map in GTA3, there's a blocked-off tunnel. That could be used to travel to at least one of those other locations. Merging the vehicles and radio stations from all 3 games would be a good amount of content.

[Veerappan]

Hmm, I don't think that I have a PC copy of GTA3, but I do have the PS2 version. I'd be mildly tempted to see if it were possible to use the assets from that disc to get the OpenRW engine going... The hard question is how similar/different the contents of the discs were besides the executables involved.

[Djhg2000]

I would really only be interested in this if it offers features the original GTA3 didn't have, such as multiplayer or better AI tracking (meaning, keeping track of other cars and pedestrians that you aren't looking at). Since Vice City and San Andreas were based on the same engine, it'd also be really cool if there was a way to drive, boat, or fly in between all of them. At the top of the map in GTA3, there's a blocked-off tunnel. That could be used to travel to at least one of those other locations. Merging the vehicles and radio stations from all 3 games would be a good amount of content.

Actually, the PC version of GTA3 had the necessary functions for network multiplayer but they weren't used. This is why MTA was possible (Multi Theft Auto), a mod which hooked the multiplayer functions through its own GUI.

Edit:
The Wikipedia page makes no mention of it, but I'm 100% sure I've read the part about existing functions on the developer forums many years ago.

[danieru]

... this is sad

You know what's sad? Such killjoy and melancholic comment as the first comment of an article bringing such good news. If you want open assets so much then create a proyect to replace the originals. Because your "this is sad" won't get us anywhere.

[Jabberwocky]

Interesting, personally more interested in OpenMW and OpenRA, especially if OpenRA gets into Red Alert 2 territory.

Morrowind and Red Alert 2 are to this day two of my all time favorite games.

I'm with you on Red Alert 2. I'd like to add Age of Empires 2 and Earth Siege 2 to the list. Funny how my favourite games are all #2. Come to think of it Half-life 2 was petty epic, but I don't think it makes my list.

PS: I have The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind GotY, but have not played it yet. My brother has told me a lot about it... the one story about invisible potion that make you run fast and how he ran off a cliff while using it comes to mind

[Luke]

What? Do you expect them to remake all of the in-game assets, which would then effectively come down to an entirely new game and take years more work? Or do you expect them to ignore copyrights and effectively pirate the game for everyone? Even the engines idTech engine releases and other open-source engines were always this way in requiring the assets from the game itself.

Are there any legalities preventing such a from-scratch build (possibly by 3ed party) using all-new artwork and no proprietary licenses using this open sourced engine? Anyone doing that would do for the GTA style games what Oad/Wildfire games did for rts games, though in the case of Oad I think the engine and artwork have the same authors.

[Mike Frett]

Lucky me, I have a retail CD of GTA III. =p ( And a Poster! )

[kpedersen]

a mod which hooked the multiplayer functions through its own GUI.

I used to tinker with my own MTA and SA:MP server back in the day. As I recall the game didn't provide any multi player. The mod actually hooked into the game from a dll / binary injection and synchronized locations of NPCs. Similar to how Morrowind Multiplayer works. This was a very complex task and was very error prone and buggy (actually making it more fun! ).

With OpenRW, much of this bodgy hooking stuff could be avoided. Sure, it would be a massive undertaking to delegate all the critical logic to a server but if people can put up with cheating, it will be a lot easier to simply synchronise positions.

[doom_Oo7]

I'm with you on Red Alert 2. I'd like to add Age of Empires 2 and Earth Siege 2 to the list.

OpenAge to the rescue ! https://github.com/SFTtech/openage

[roboman2444]

and depends upon Bullet

Interesting... Does that mean ragdolls in gta3? I would totally play this open souce version if it added new graphics and physics features without messing with the gameplay too much.