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PD -> RE: Open Sourcing (5/28/2022 16:58:42)
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Sorry for the lack of responses. I didn't see this. I'll pitch in just a little as someone who has tried, without success to do stuff... (I'm still doing my own research and tinkering here and there, but don't get your hopes up)
From others who have asked about this same proposal from Artix, this is not likely to happen. Both for IP reasons and the fact that the files are now lost so there's no way to recover the work which would be the template for how development would even be possible in the first place. Unless someone happens to have those files work on it is pretty much impossible.
As for the game itself, it's of course a Flash-based game. And that means you'd have to learn actionscript 2/3 (I forgot which it runs on). But flash is not supported anymore on all the major browsers and software platforms, and the only way you'd be able to run MQ as-is is to run it on a platform that still supports flash. The official AE Launcher for that matter utilizes that fact in order to even run the game. There are other methods like using Ruffle to be able to play it but not without problem: There are compatibility issues due to the incompleteness of the Ruffle API so that it is impossible to load certain scenes: This means the game won't run because it depends on those scenes being able to play. I haven't explored this in-depth yet but I don't think this will get us anywhere either since it's not really a tool chain for development (unless I'm mistaken on this front and it does have uses) but rather a plugin to restore and archive games.
My opinion on this overall? It may be best to just re-make the game, though this is extremely difficult to do. And without a dedicated team/community to actively pursue and direct said initiative there's very little reward unless it is demonstrated that there's enough demand and direction to make it worth doing. Then there the technical challenges. Converting art is one major hurdle. And then there's the re-programming itself for all the associated items. It would be a lot like re-creating the wheel. But as I said before a lot of the game files are now lost so a lot of this probably isn't even possible either. I did have some ideas but they haven't really gotten anywhere either because I either don't have the time to explore these options, I don't know enough about the topics, or they are actually just dead ends.
Perhaps someone here with more knowledge ought to pitch in. This is the extent of what I know. There may be interest out there but it's hard to gauge now. Maybe if enough people lobby for it there may be hope.
An aside: Maybe this thread should be in General instead of here given the nature of this question.
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