AmiDARK Engine Sources for sale

Hello,

With the last message I've done some times ago announcing that I will stop development on Amiga during a "undefined time/duration" due to financial issues and the need to recenter to my family, I decided to make a complement.

I think it's really sad to see the AmiDARK Engine totally stopped and, I remind some peoples that asked me to "open the source to allow more developers to work on it".

So, here is the oportunity for this now. But, due to my personal situation, I cannot do this for Free.

So, I propose to : Sell the entire AmiDARK Engine sources :
- The full AmiDARK Engine source code ready to be compiled under AmiDEVCpp and under AmigaOS4 CodeBench.
- All the samples with "non copyrighted" materials (that I own the right of use, but not the right to resell them)
- The DarkBASIC Professional source code (and executable) of the tool to convert 3D models (compatibles with DarkBASIC Professional) in the current AmiDARK Engine 3D model file format.
- Concerning the domain www.amidark-engine.com I must check with the host if I can transfer it to another host or separate it from my main account but if I wan't transfer it, I will create special IDs to the owner to get access to the FTP to be able to update the website himself and when the domain will expire, I will not renew it. The new owner will have to buy it or transfer it.

Concerning this sale, it can be handled 2 ways.
1. I Resell everything to 1 person that will buy the sources(or the community will but it for him) and do what he want about it.
2. The community buy the engine with something like a bounty and the source code will then become "open source" so everyone can make it evolve.

The price will be estimated to something around 2000€/2500€.

Regards,
AmiDARK

@AmiDARK

Sorry to hear about your ongoing difficulties. I hope that things will get better for you and your family soon.

Your generous offer sounds like something that a bounty would be good for.

Hans

I think a bounty could be the solution.

@AmiDARK

This is a sad day. Sorry to hear about your problems. Have you also sold your amiga hardware aswell? Hope you get well and get in a better fanancial situation soon.

@Hans, Ikir :
Probably.
I'm thinking about the idea of a bounty but, as proposed on AW with these :
1. Release the entire engine source code and all stuffs needed
2. Remain in some sort, in the "direction" of the project (supervision) to be sure the project continue in the same direction as planed initially.

Will work on this this week-end if "moral" is enough good for.

@Antique : Nope ... the sam440Flex is not yet sold :(

Regards,

@AmiDARK
If the Amiga users we are ejem how say it, well, yes lia one Masonic lodge instead of one sect... in your case and here I'm willing to contribute money we help you like Amiga brother and you haven't write these words sell your work your passion to help to your family, unfortunately the Amiga users only we are one sect to buy hardware and OS of doubtful functional.
It is very sad that the Amiga users only we are of Amiga users to write in forums to get points and not for your case we try to help you, but perhaps I think such different to one Amiga user more like a mason and for it I have problems with other Amiga users in these forums, I'm not a C programmer to buy your code and currently I am discouraged with the community to make the economic effort to buy your passion but if there are people that make a bounty to buy your source code, I shall collaborate with them although I don't believe in the bounties I saw two examples that I don't speak about them.

Best regards and cheer up!

@ AmiDark

thanks for creating/ managing your project up to now & hopefully AmiDark can be used in the future to power some of our future applications/games. Hope things get better for you soon

@ All

I agree with a Bounty

power2people contacted per e-mail.

EDIT : What kind of licence do you think will best fit the "open source" of AmiDARK Engine ?

Regards,
AmiDARK

@AmiDARK

The choice of license depends on what you want to allow people to do with the code. Assuming that you want people to be able to create closed-source games, licenses like GPL are a bad choice.

I'd suggest something like MPL. It allows the code to be used in closed projects while requiring any changes to the AmiDARK engine's source files to remain open.

Hans

Hans :
Thank you for these advices. What do you think about LGPL?

Here is a new video of introduction to the AmiDARK Engine :
http://youtu.be/p6cu_kpFmPs

@AmiDARK

Quote:

LGPL allows the use of the engine in closed source projects too, but only if "dynamically linked" as a shared library/object. If it isn't a shared library, then this could be a problem for MorphOS & AROS. This won't be a problem on AmigaOS 4, because it can use shared objects.

Hans

Ok.
so MPL seem more interesting in this case.

@Hans

It's possible to statically link LGPL code into closed source programs too but to follow the license then you have to be able to provide the object files of your closed source program on request so that users can link them to a newer version of the LGPL library if they want to. IIRC this is how it's handled for B.O.H. and Huenison games which use SDL.

@Salass00 :
Thank you for these details concerning LGPL
Personaly, I don't like the : "but to follow the license then you have to be able to provide the object files of your closed source program on request".
I think that someone that'll create a game using the AmiDARK Engine must not be obliged (on request) to give the object files of his source program.
Even if he uses the AmiDARK Engine that help him.
What he entirely create himself (outside of the AmiDARK Engine) is his own property.

More to this, like Hans said, it can be a problem for MorphOS & AROS and the objective is "also" to open the AmiDARK Engine to all AmigaOSes ... not only AmigaOS4.

I always find the BSD license to be more "free" than the "supposed to be free" GPL
http://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Licence_BSD

Elwood : I think this licence does not suit this case.
Under BSD, anyone can use "part of the source code" of the AmiDARK Engine outside of the AmiDARK Engine without saying "it came from the AmiDARK Engine"...
It cam make people uses part of the source code of the AmiDARK Engine for their need without using the whole AmiDARK Engine system.

@AmiDARK

I'm not a lawyer, but my understanding of the BSD license is that the copyright notice has to be included if they use any of the source code in their project. The key difference with MPL, is that they don't have to release the source code of any changes/improvements that they made to the BSD project. That's why I suggested MPL, because it obliges anyone who makes improvements to the AmiDARK Engine to share those changes with the rest of us.

Hans

Hans : Yes, it's what I've understood.

Correct me if I'm wrong :
With MPL :
- it obliges anyone who makes changes to the AmiDARK Engine to share those changes with the rest of us.
- They are not obliged to release the source code they are the author/owner (not AmiDARK Engine, their source code that uses the AmiDARK Engine)

If these 2 statements are corrects, I'll choose MPL.

@AmiDARK

- Any changes made to the source files of AmiDARK Engine would have to be shared (and remain MPL licensed).
- However, other source files (like the source-code of a game that uses AmiDARK Engine) could remain closed source

Hans

Thank you Hans.

You confirmed me what I though.
It will be MPL then :)

Regards,
AmiDARK