| Apolyton: |
We understand of course that you're probably very busy with other activities and other projects and that you probably can't stand to see any code anymore outside working hours (especially not for CtP2  ). Considering that, is there any chance that will see you somehow be involved in CtP2's development the future, either by answering questions from fans/modmakers or even by working on improvements to the game yourself?
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| David Ray: |
My time is very limited, but I'd be happy to offer assistance when I can. I doubt I will actually make any improvements, but I could certainly help others to make the improvements they want, or at least help them to understand the code they're reading.
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| Apolyton: |
Are there any caveats in modifying the source code of the game? Do you anticipate any problems for those who try to do so? Do you think the game will now be completely moddable in every aspect or do you still see barriers that even now can't be broken?
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| David Ray: |
I believe with the source code available it will be possible to do anything you'd like. However, some of the things that some people would like are rather major undertakings. I'm not sure that something that would take a programmer a year to write would ever actually get done. People tend to lose motivation over long periods of time, and some tasks are really complicated and hard to accomplish.
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| Apolyton: |
At the time of writing, the code wasn't public yet. How hard do you think it will be to modify the code? What kind of people do you anticipate will be able to do this? Do you think it will require advanced programming skills and extensive experience with C++, with DirectX/3D/etc and game programming, or do you believe basic knowledge of C++ and limited programming experience would suffice? How about tools, we know the game was created in MSVC6.0; will it be required to modify it? Or would for instance a GNU compiler suffice? Do you anticipate the need for any other tools?
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| David Ray: |
That game was written in MSVC6.0, I don't have any idea how hard it would be to compile it under any other platform, I never even considered trying. I imagine we used some rather compiler specific types of code in places. As for how difficult, it depends entirely on what part of the code you're talking about. You don't really need to understand DirectX if you're working on the pathing code, however you had better have a really good grasp of C++ and algorithms if you're working on the pathing code. Some pieces of code will be really hard to understand, where others should be rather straightforward. All of the programmers on the project were fairly experienced, so we didn't shy away from doing "hard" things. We also didn't intentionally make things hard that didn't need to be. So the only
answer I can give is that it really depends on what part of the code you're looking at as to how experienced you need to be to understand it.
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| Apolyton: |
Do you have any advice you'd like to give to those who plan to modify the source code?
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| David Ray: |
Two words, Version Control. There will be times when you're making changes, and you realized you messed up horribly somewhere in between where
you started and where you are. If you have some version control software you can regress to before everything broke, but hopefully not all the way back to the beginning.
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| Apolyton: |
Now that the release of CtP2's source code is imminent, do you think it would be desirable for the C:CtP code to be released as well? If so, what do you think are the chances of this ever happening?
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| David Ray: |
I had basically no exposure to the C:CTP project, so I don't feel comfortable commenting on it.
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| Apolyton: |
Assuming that a commercial sequel to CtP2 will never be released, what effect do you think the release of the source code will have on the life expectancy of the CtP series? Do you think it will just be postponing the inevitable and that the game will be all but dead in a few months? Or do you think it will revitalize the community and that this game will (in some form or another) still be played in numbers 10 years from now and beyond, as we are seeing with Civilization II?
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| David Ray: |
Most games have a "life expectancy" of about 1 year. The fact that these types of games seem to live longer is amazing by itself. I hope that the source code will breath new life into it, and that something wonderful will evolve out of it. But since I never would have anticipated it staying this strong for this long, I'm finding my ability to predict the future rather hazy. It's really a good feeling that people enjoy something that you create, and it's my hope that the source release makes you enjoy it that much more.
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| Apolyton: |
Finally, we missed you guys; Apolyton hasn't been the same without you Can we expect to see more of you on Apolyton (in the CtP sections or elsewhere) in the future?
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| David Ray: |
I've actually stopped by Apolyton several times since my departure. But I only post when I have something to add, so I've been a silent lurker. With the source going up, I'll probably have more to add more often.
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