Source port
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A source port is a source code modification to a computer game's engine that allows it to be played on operating systems for which it was not originally created or compatible with. Source ports are generally created and released under the GNU General Public License or General Public Use license and are created not by a game's original developer, but by the associated fan community. As such, the creation of source ports does not usually begin until several years after a game's initial release if, and when, the source code is released to the public.
Source ports are created for older games, with enduring popularity, which were originally written for platforms and operating systems which are now obsolete. Most commonly, source ports are created to make games originally written for DOS compatible with the newest versions of Microsoft Windows. Secondarily, source ports may be written to make a game compatible with less mainstream OS's such as Linux or Mac OS X. All legitimate source ports require that the user has an install of the original version of the game in question already present on their computer. Source ports are not meant to encourage software piracy or the illegal, free distribution of older games as "Abandonware".
While the primary goal of any source port is cross-platform compatibility, many modern ports go beyond this. As a game ages it undergoes a process of obcelescence that can result in making it seem increasingly less fun and unplayable relative to newer games. An old game cannot ordinarily benefit from the newest innovations in pc gaming. Source ports change that. Many new features can be added to an old game through the use of a source port. Common examples of added features include higher video resolutions, support for .mp3 and .ogg audio (most older game supported only midi soundtracks), new 3D renderers utilizing OpenGL, 3DFX, or Direct3D, enhanced mouse support (including the ability to map controls onto newer mouse buttons such as the mouse wheel), 3D character models, high resolution textures, or enhanced online multiplayer support. Other source ports may add entirely new dynamics to older games, such as ZDoom's scripting system for Doom, used to create scripted events and even cutscenes.
Returning to the issue of online multiplayer support, several source ports have been created for various games specifically to address this issue. Most older games were not created to take advantage of the low latency, high speed connections available to PC gamers today through broadband. Furthermore, old games may use outdated internet protocols to create multiplayer connections, such as using IPX protocol instead of TCP/IP. Older games usually required that an online user know the IP address of the person they wanted to connect to. This requirement made it difficult to quickly find a group of strangers to play with -- the way that online games are most commonly played today. To address this shortcoming, specific source ports such as ZDaemon and Quakeworld add "lobbies", which are basically integrated chat rooms in which players can meet and post the location of games they are hosting or may wish to join. Such lobbies may be found in newer games and online game sevices such as Valve's Steam (for Half-Life), Diablo II, and Gamespy Arcade.
The addition of new features to an older game by a source port is sometimes controversial, as many fans of the original version of the game may find that the changes made by a source port destroy the charm of the original. Certain minimalistic source ports address this concern by striving to create new platform compatibility while strictly avoiding changing the game in any other way.
Noteworthy games that represent engines for which source ports have been written include Aliens versus Predator, Descent, Doom II, Duke Nukem 3D, FreeSpace 2, Homeworld, Marathon 2, Quake, Quake II and Wolfenstein 3D.
List of source ports
- Aliens versus Predator Source Ports:
- Icculus.org/AvP [1] (http://icculus.org/avp/)
- Battle of Britain Source Ports:
- Call to Power II Source Ports:
- Descent Source Ports:
- Descent II Source Ports:
- Doom Source Ports: - List of Doom source ports
- Duke Nukem 3D Source Ports:
- Enemy Engaged: RAH-66 Comanche versus Ka-52 Hokum Source Ports:
- FreeSpace 2 Source Ports:
- Icculus.org/freespace2 [15] (http://icculus.org/freespace2/)
- Heretic Source Ports:
- HHeretic [16] (http://icculus.org/hast/)
- HeXen Source Ports:
- HHexen [17] (http://icculus.org/hast/)
- HeXen II Source Ports:
- Homeworld Source Ports:
- Homeworld SDL [20] (http://www.thereisnospork.com/projects/homeworld/)
- Jagged Alliance 2: Wildfire Source Ports:
- Ken's Labyrinth Source Ports:
- LAB3D/SDL [21] (http://icculus.org/LAB3D/)
- Marathon 2 Source Ports:
- MiG Alley Source Ports:
- Quake Source Ports:
- FuhQuake [24] (http://www.fuhquake.net/)
- Tenebrae [25] (http://tenebrae.sourceforge.net/)
- Twighlight [26] (http://twilight.sourceforge.net/)
- GLQuake [27] (http://www.planetquake.com/quake1/files.shtml)
- WinQuake [28] (http://www.planetquake.com/quake1/files.shtml)
- TomazQuake [29] (http://scs.quakesrc.org/q/news.php)
- FitzQuake [30] (http://celephais.net/fitzquake/)
- Telejano [31] (http://telejano.berlios.de/wiki3/)
- Multiplayer Specific
- QuakeWorld [32] (http://www.quakeworld.net/)
- Quake II Source Ports:
- Rise of the Triad Source Ports:
- Icculus.org/RotT [36] (http://icculus.org/rott/)
- Wolfenstein 3D Source Ports:
- Icculus.org/Wolf3D [37] (http://icculus.org/wolf3d/)
See also: Doom source port