Two Stop Bits | Doom Released Under GPLv2

Doom Released Under GPLv2 (doom license gpl2) (github.com | ia)

11 points by bmonkey325 566 days ago | 11 comments

Screwtapello 565 days ago
I knew Quake and later released games were under the GPL, somehow I forgot that DOOM was under a custom licence until now. Good on you, Bethesda!
- pcvarmint 565 days ago
  Boom and MBF were relicensed under GPL circa 1997.
  id Doom -> Linux Doom -> DosDoom -> Boom -> MBF -> Eternity [0]
  0. https://doomwiki.org/wiki/James_Haley_(Quasar)
  - Screwtapello 564 days ago
    According to the DOOM wiki:
    > The Doom source code was released December 23, 1997, initially under a not-for-profit license. Later, permission was granted by John Carmack to re-release the source code under the GNU General Public License on October 3, 1999, albeit only via an email conversation.
    And then about 24 years later, the licence file was updated in the git repo. :)
Darkstar 565 days ago
At this point, who really cares anymore? Serious question! I think Doom has more clones, derivatives, hacks and reverse-engineered sources than any other game out there.
There's probably not much that this brings to the table. Or am I missing anything?
- ddingus 562 days ago
  It insures everything that can run DOOM actually does.
  More seriously, Romero at least, likes to contribute to the history. That is the main contribution IMHO.
  - bmonkey325 559 days ago
    Similar to Atwoods law for javascript. Carmack’s Law : all the things that can run Doom eventually will run Doom.
    - Borg 559 days ago
      And do NOT forget that, you can also run DOOM inside DOOM! :)
      https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c6hnQ1RKhbo
      - ddingus 525 days ago
        Of course you can! Should we expect anything less?
        Honestly the whole "run DOOM on it" scene is technically interesting and hilarious!
  - Darkstar 562 days ago
    > It insures everything that can run DOOM actually does.
    How? I mean you can already port one of the existing doom ports to pretty much any system imaginable. Why would another source base (especially one as old and non-portable as this) be of any help there?
    - ddingus 561 days ago
      Now it is an overt intent, rather than implied prior to this release.
- bmonkey325 562 days ago
  I look at this as an action in conservation while preserving a hold on the IP on the game. I still believe that retro and vintage computing and sbc computers helps ,at least a little, to stem the tide in the war on general computing.