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Jan 20, 2006, 11:00 AM
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Jazz Jackrabbit 2 Source Code FAQ & Myths

Jazz Jackrabbit 2 Source code FAQ & Myths

There is a lot of misinformation occuring regarding the future of Jazz Jackrabbit 2 and its source code. The writing of this FAQ was directly triggered by a discussion in a server but is not written because of this discussion, but because it became more apparant than it already was that such a faq was needed.

Frequently asked questions

What is the Jazz Jackrabbit 2 Source Code?

Any game is made out of several parts, one of which is the programming code (others are sprites, sounds, etc.). The code is what is needed to get the program to function. The "Jazz Jackrabbit 2 Source Code" is the code that, when compiled, creates Jazz2.exe. When you have access to the source code, you can easily modify a game with additional features and bug fixes. Without it, you can modify a game, but without being able to see the original code, only what the code resulted in, which is harder to modify, since it does not contain the clarity of the source code.

Why are we talking about this?

Very little games, a huge minority, have their source code released. There are a few games that are free and open source from the start, which are modified by anyone who wishes to. This way communities create their own games, outside of companies. To see why the source code of JJ2 is being talked about so much is part a history lesson.

Epic Games, the publisher of Jazz Jackrabbit 2, and Orange Games, which created the code for Jazz Jackrabbit 2, mostly stopped supporting the game after a few patches. The game, which was rushed in the end, with some odds and ends left, only went up to version 1.23. The 1.23 patch is the only patch people bother installing, and the released versions are usually 1.21 or 1.22. That's not a whole lot of patches. This is not talking about TSF, which runs the engine version 1.24, which had some improvements, mainly regarding tileset sizes and a new character.

Initially, there were plans for more patches, but for some reason these were discontinued. On a prod by a developer/Epic person (Jeh I think), webmaster StevenT of Jazz Central in the old days created a page (props for anyone who digs it up in the Wayback Machine) in which people could submit suggestions for a new patch. This page caught on but obviously no patch was ever made.

FQuist, a community member then involved with a few relatively unpopular fansites, had both developers of Jazz 2 on his ICQ list, and occassionally talked to them. In one of the conversations, in the days they weren't as busy as now, Michiel Ouwehand (coder of the multiplayer code (or at least the 'netcode') for Jazz Jackrabbit) said that he was interested in releasing the source code, and he felt Orange Games should send a few lawyers to Epic Games sometime to arrange it. FQuist is not the only source for this information, similar sentiments were later made to other community members which confirm Orange Games' interest in releasing the source code.

Nothing ever happened with it, but this shows that on Orange Games', the developer of the source code's side, there has been true interest in releasing the source code. These events, and several hoaxes, and the holy grail feeling that resonates from the '1.25' thing, have caused the constant interest in the release of the source code by the community.

So what happened?

Lots of things happened. One of the most important perhaps is the use by Orange Games and later Lost Boys Games (see next question) of the Jazz Jackrabbit 2 engine (earlier on also used in Battery Check) in other projects, one being a game for a dutch milk company. It is suggested that the active use of the Jazz Jackrabbit 2 engine made the release of the source code harder, because it was still being used to commercial advantage for its company. Michiel/Arjan (one of them, possibly both) said that they had to wait until things 'quieted down' with releasing the source. Then contact with the developers got more sloppy.. one reason being: (read on to next question)

What happened to Orange Games?

The Earlong Royal Encyclopedia on Orange Games might help out here:

Quote:
Orange Games is the company that, together with Epic Megagames (now called Epic Games), created Jazz Jackrabbit 2. Orange Games was responsible for all game code, including the engine. All game content like graphics was created mostly by freelancers hired by Epic Megagames. Later, Orange Games was merged into Lost Boys Games. Lost Boys Games has now merged with another gaming company and has become Guerrilla Games (Games division of the Media Republic company). In December 2005 (news was announced at the 8th) Guerilla Games was acquired by Sony Computer Entertainment.

Orange Games was led by Arjan Brussee, now Development Director at Guerrilla Games. Besides Jazz Jackrabbit 1 and Jazz Jackrabbit 2 they have done several other projects, like Battery Check, which uses the Jazz Jackrabbit 2 engine. Early in 2005 Guerilla games published their first FPS game called Killzone. Killzone is a derivative of the Core project they have worked on ever since they finished Jazz2.
The personell of Orange Games has obviously been thrown around a lot, and they've been very busy with new projects and growing as a company. This makes contact hard, and lessens the interest in this community from their side. There *has* been interest, though. Arjan and Michiel were scheduled to visit a community meeting, even, but something got inbetween. Arjan and Michiel have semi-regularly talked to ShadowGPW and FQuist, and have asked FQuist to 'bother them more'.

What is Epic Games' opinion on releasing the source code?

Epic Games seems to have a sympathetic standpoint towards releasing the source code. They have not, ever, explicitly, claimed to not favouring a release.

What followed after the announcement of the 'imminent' release of the Source Code by Michiel Ouwehand?
Or: What is the history of the 1.25 council?


The 1.25 council was established by Roaster and FQuist (I think). The council, officially 'led' by these two, invited knowledgable and influential people in the community to convene about what should happen when the source was released. Its centre is a hidden forum on the JCF. List of bugs and feature requests were collected, and a general direction for future development was set. While the council is inofficial and unrecognised by the developers, as most of the important members of the community are in it, its influence is not entirely trivial, and its forum contains more information (on bugs, what causes them, features, and source code/community history) than you'll find at the rest of the forum.

As of 2010, the council no longer really exists and the forum is inactive. Development of JJ2 features is mainly centered around jj2+ nowadays.

How do I get into the council?

The council is inactive and does not accept new members at this time.
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Interesting Jazz-related links:
Thread: Gameplay Theories - Thread: Make Up Your Own Gametype

Spotify.fm


Last edited by Stijn; Apr 5, 2017 at 10:16 AM.