id Software releases Doom 3 source code
Texas-based video game development company id Software has released the source code of Doom 3, a first-person shooter (FPS) that was originally released in August 2004. The game's code is available under version 3 of the GNU General Public License (GPLv3), but it includes no game data (textures, sounds, polygon models) – these continue to be protected by copyright.
To release the underlying id Tech 4 engine's code, id Software co-founder John Carmack had to change a few lines of code for calculating shadow volume via stencil buffers. The game's original "depth fail" method – also known as "Carmack's Reverse" – had been patented by two Creative Labs employees in 2002.
Among other things, the newly released program source code allows for the game to be ported to other platforms, and for new graphic effects to be added by other developers. id Software has previously released the sources of earlier versions of Doom and Quake, all of which attracted considerable modifications after their release: FPS game Alien Arena, for example, is based on the CRX engine which is derived from id Software source code.
See also:
- John Carmack ports Rage engine to iPhone, a report from The H.
(crve)