Rules, License, and Getting Started

The Wonderland Open Source Project

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Midnight Synergy
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Rules, License, and Getting Started

Post by Midnight Synergy » Tue Apr 30, 2019 7:42 pm

I am very excited to announce the next phase in the Wonderland world: Wonderland is going open source!

Why is this happening?
The Wonderland games have been a labour of love for me for many, many years. But it has become increasingly clear that I no longer have the time or energy to continue updating the games or produce new games in the series. There are, however, many creative people in the community who have been carrying the Wonderland torch for some time now. The Open Source project is meant to give the community the tools to take Wonderland in new directions, whether it is a simple upgrade/fix, or an ambitious new expansion.

Does this mean Wonderland is now free?
Absolutely not. Please be sure to understand that “Open Source” does not equal “Free”. The source files will be freely available to all community members, and you can use them to compile your own WA.exe files for free, but to actually run the game you must own a full version of the Wonderland Adventures games. None of the resources (graphics, sound, music, etc) can be distributed, and all of them are necessary to run the game. One great way to get all of the Wonderland games (and much more) is on our Midnight Synergy Games Collection DVD.

What am I allowed to do with this?
You are allowed to download and modify the source code, compile it with Blitz3D to create executables, and run these inside an existing Wonderland game installation. You can also upload new modifications (as source code) on the forum to share with other community members.

What am I NOT allowed to do with this?
Again, I offer this code with the intention of keeping the game and the community vibrant for hopefully many years to come. It is not meant for anyone to make money with, circumvent ways to pay for the actual games, or otherwise act in damaging or unkind ways. Since I cannot really police this, I ask you to act with honour. Using this code for illegal activity is not “sticking it to the man” or “standing up to big-business”, you are simply hurting an independent game developer and community that has tried to bring you enjoyable games for many years. So here's a list of things NOT to do:
i) attempt to circumvent or publish information on how to circumvent any method to avoid paying for a full version of the game on any website
ii) share code beyond the forum or community (e.g. do not upload publicly to code sharing sites such as GitHub).
iii) distribute any of the full game resources in any way (graphics, sound, music, etc)
iv) include any malicious code of any kind

Which games are included?
At this time, the code for WA3 (Planet of the Z-Bot) as well as the WA editor and player will be released. At a later point, I plan to release the code for RTW (Return To Wonderland Platinum and Editor) as well.

How much will Midnight Synergy be involved in this?
Short answer - very little. Longer answer - I will keep an eye on the forum and check in with new developments from time to time, but this is very much handing the project to the community. I may have time to once in a while answer questions or provide guidance, but I will not be available for general and ongoing Q&A. If you have a question about the code, don’t email/pm me. Instead, post your question in this forum.

One more thing!
With potentially multiple people working on multiple projects at once, this could get a little disorganized. I would ask that you don’t post thousands of small updates for every little change you make, and that you keep things organized in fewer rather than more threads. Also, except for major version upgrades that the community agrees upon, don’t post executables - this will take up too much space and bandwidth too quickly. Instead, post the changed source code versions whenever possible.

How do I get started?
1. First, make sure you have read the above carefully.
2. You will need either a full copy of WA3: Planet of the Z-Bots or the WA3 Editor, or both, depending on what you want to work on. I suggest making a new Folder for either version on your harddrive to distinguish it from the Vanilla/Unmodified version - perhaps called “WA3 Open Source: and “WA3E Open Source”. This is where you will copy new executables into to actually test/play the game.
3. You will also need a full version of Blitz3D. This programming language is now available free, many of you may already have it. Here is a link: https://archive.zbots.space/files/Blitz3DSetup1108c.exe
4. Now you can download the source code using this link: http://pcpuzzle.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=42&t=27822
5. The files in the “Libraries” folder need to be copied into Blitz3D - see the included readme.
6. Copy the WA3 and/or WA3E source files into the copy folders you made in Step #2.
7. Now you’re ready to load and compile the following source codes:
a) WA3 Potz
player.bb - this is the main game
loader.bb - the loading screen
(all other bb files are used by the above two)
b) WA3 Editor
editor.bb - the game editor
player.bb - the player for custom adventures
(again, all other bb files are used by the above two)

And an important disclaimer!
Using an open source game is not risk free. If you download code or executables that include malicious code, you may be putting your computer and data at risk. Midnight Synergy is not (nor cannot be) responsible for any code not created by us. By participating in the open source project in any way, you are solely responsible for any potential outcome.


Any suggestions/comments/corrections that you feel should be added to this text? Let me know here.
Last edited by Lazy Loof on Wed Jan 08, 2020 4:12 pm, edited 2 times in total.
Reason: Add one extra word regarding uploading code to code sharing websites
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Re: Rules, License, and Getting Started

Post by Midnight Synergy » Thu May 02, 2019 9:48 pm

Small updates/clarifications added to the text.
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Re: Rules, License, and Getting Started

Post by HumanGamer » Thu May 02, 2019 9:51 pm

Midnight Synergy wrote:
Thu May 02, 2019 9:48 pm
Small updates/clarifications added to the text.
May I ask what you changed? I don't want to re-read the entire post if you just changed one small thing. lol
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Re: Rules, License, and Getting Started

Post by Midnight Synergy » Thu May 02, 2019 9:59 pm

Mostly in "What am I NOT allowed to do with this?" :)
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Re: Rules, License, and Getting Started

Post by HumanGamer » Thu May 02, 2019 10:21 pm

You said we can't post the code on github. What about a private repository? (This means that only the owner and people the owner allows has access). I really hope this would be okay because I would like to be able to track my changes and collaborate with other members on projects easily. It also helps merge code between different people.

Private repositories can be changed to public at any time, if we ever get permission to do so.

PS: I sent you a PM regarding a username change. Not sure if you saw it yet.
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Re: Rules, License, and Getting Started

Post by Midnight Synergy » Thu May 02, 2019 10:28 pm

For right now, let's just start on the forum only.

A private repository would be a fine next step... but give it a couple of weeks at least (and ask me again then) until after the initial hiccups have been dealt with.
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Re: Rules, License, and Getting Started

Post by HumanGamer » Fri May 03, 2019 12:23 am

Midnight Synergy wrote:
Thu May 02, 2019 10:28 pm
For right now, let's just start on the forum only.

A private repository would be a fine next step... but give it a couple of weeks at least (and ask me again then) until after the initial hiccups have been dealt with.
alright, sounds good.
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Re: Rules, License, and Getting Started

Post by Pawelec » Wed Jun 12, 2019 12:16 am

I am not sure about licencing but could we port the game to BlitzMax with MiniB3D (BlitzMax NG doesn't have BB to BMX converter)? The only problem I see so far are the WA Libraries.
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Re: Rules, License, and Getting Started

Post by Lazy Loof » Wed Jun 12, 2019 12:32 pm

Pawelec wrote:
Wed Jun 12, 2019 12:16 am
I am not sure about licencing but could we port the game to BlitzMax with MiniB3D (BlitzMax NG doesn't have BB to BMX converter)? The only problem I see so far are the WA Libraries.
Porting to BlitzMax is nice, however there is a project that aims at porting the code of both Classic Trilogy and WA Trilogy to C# thus allowing ports to multiple systems like Switch, so I think that is not necessary now. In fact, TOW and RTWP (partially) are already ported to C# using their decompiled code!
(Please note that I may be partially wrong with that, its how I understood this project)
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Re: Rules, License, and Getting Started

Post by HumanGamer » Fri Jun 14, 2019 8:10 pm

Aryan wrote:
Wed Jun 12, 2019 12:32 pm
(Please note that I may be partially wrong with that, its how I understood this project)
You are correct.
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