I was reluctant to bring up this subject at all, but since Haxus said that he considers the Steam release his 'make or break', I felt it was time. I hope he is not insulted by the discussion, and of course his opinion will put an end to it one way or another. I hope he knows that we are here as curators rather than as vultures...
I agree with minty that going open-source would help the genius of Hazeron to survive without fear of rotting unused in a hoarder company's basement. It would also allow different groups to emphasize their favourite parts: some would probably resurrect the old designer code, just as Star Wars Galaxies emulators emulate different eras of the game.
But would it ever be fair to Haxus to ask him to just give us the result of so much work? In my view, a club of players could reasonably band together to purchase the code with the express and legally guaranteed purpose of making it open-source. That way the benefits could be achieved while Haxus could continue to run a business rather than a charity.
I agree with minty that going open-source would help the genius of Hazeron to survive without fear of rotting unused in a hoarder company's basement. It would also allow different groups to emphasize their favourite parts: some would probably resurrect the old designer code, just as Star Wars Galaxies emulators emulate different eras of the game.
But would it ever be fair to Haxus to ask him to just give us the result of so much work? In my view, a club of players could reasonably band together to purchase the code with the express and legally guaranteed purpose of making it open-source. That way the benefits could be achieved while Haxus could continue to run a business rather than a charity.