[Chicken-users] filtered Sourceforge games

[Brandon J. Van Every]

I've been looking through Sourceforge for game codebases that could be 
refactored.  Here's a sample filter:

http://sourceforge.net/softwaremap/trove_list.php?form_cat=83&discrim=275&xdiscrim=7,8,9,358,15,17,190,303,304,305,324,325,175,176,183,186,198,265,271,280

At least in Netscape, Sourceforge isn't remembering more than 7 filter 
variables at a time, so I've learned to enter the above explicitly.  
Notes on how to do it:

form_cat=80..86
Most of the relevant game categories.  It's easy enough to deduce the 
numbers for categories, just mouse over them and look at the numbers in 
their URLs.

&xdiscrim=7,8,9,358
Eliminate Planning, Pre-Alpha, Alpha, and Inactive projects.  
Unfortunately, some projects think they're clever by listing that 
they're both involved in Planning and are also Mature.  This is pretty 
useless because Sourceforge doesn't allow OR filters, like [Beta | 
Production | Mature].  So maybe a few projects get missed here.  Oh 
well.  Life's too short.  Some projects don't have any development 
status.  Interpret that as "our project is so new that it totally 
sucks," or "we are cl031355 d00d5 that don't know jack about running a 
Sourceforge project with any discipline."  Either way, a waste of time.

&xdiscrim=15,17,190,303,304,305,324,325
I eliminated licenses that are like the GPL, that mandate source code 
always be made available.  I decided not to exclude the LGPL, since one 
can always just shrink the LGPL library and write something more 
permissive on top of it.  I also eliminated licenses that require 
attribution splash screens.  As a nominally commercial developer, I 
reserve top billing for myself.  I don't have a problem with 
attributions in the documentation somewhere.  Be advised that when 
projects show up with a "Public Domain" license, often they're not on 
the ball, their license is often illegal.  Ditto if they didn't even 
list a license.  In either case you'll have to check.  I checked with 
the d2x-xl guy the other day, man was he foul about it.  It's a Descent2 
clone, rather topical considering our discussion of 3D XPilot.  Problem 
is, when projects go back a long long ways to companies that released 
some code, that code was usually not released public domain.  Nethackers 
cook this stuff up when they're enthusiastic young-uns who could care 
less about licensing.  Years later, when you pop their bubble they get 
mad at you, they're emotionally invested in "their" code.

&xdiscrim=175,176,183,186,198,265,271,280
Languages I don't like and don't want to deal with.  This eliminates 
some engine projects that are just adding bindings, but I figure if 
they're in the sack with the Java developers, it may be good riddance 
anyways.  Again, Sourceforge doesn't have OR filters.  I didn't exclude 
C++ because maybe Chicken can handle it.  I didn't exclude Python 
because I wouldn't mind dealing with it; of course, if a project is only 
Python then it isn't useful.  I don't object to Lua, nor am I interested 
in it; it does have some popularity amoung game developers though.  Some 
projects don't list languages; this is typical of MOD projects.  
Unfortunately, MODs are probably not useful for Chicken refactoring.  
Even if there really is some language being used, you'd have to buy the 
game to do your project, and that's not what I'm looking for at any rate.

&page=2..4
Needed to access pages 2, 3, 4 of a listing, because Sourceforge's links 
throw away anything more than 7 filters.

So, having gone through this elaborate exercise, nothing is leaping out 
at me that I'm wild about. 
The Roguelikes are among the more obvious candidates for refactoring, 
but the problem is, they often have no production values.  Just curses 
screens.  I see munging someone else's artwork as part of the point.  
Otherwise, if you have to produce all of your own artwork from scratch, 
plus worry about 3D export / import issues, that's a lot of work.  If 
someone is enthusiastic about that kind of work, well by all means 
please make yourself known :-), but it isn't me.

Feel free of course to do your own searches and see what you come up 
with, either on Sourceforge or elsewhere.  I feel like I've now spent 
about 4x more time on searching than I should have, just to assuage the 
fear that I might be missing something.  I think it's going to take 
someone else getting enthusiastic about a codebase for me to bite on 
this.  My initial vetting just doesn't motivate me.


Cheers,
Brandon Van Every