Uplink Developer CD
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Introversion Software has released the Uplink Developer CD. This CD contains, amoungst other things, the complete source code to Uplink and all supporting tools and libraries. This Developer CD has been a heated topic of discussion at Introversion for some time. We've had plenty of arguments about the pros and cons of releasing the source to the public. There has always been a plan to release the source code to Uplink at some point, but this has never been possible due to commercial licensing problems - Introversion could easily be put out of business if loads of free Uplink clones started appearing on the market. We eventually came to the conclusion that we'd have to wait until Uplink was no longer a "commercial" product - but this means we'd be looking at sometime mid 2004 at the earliest. |
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We've decided to bring that date forward. We will have to impose a license on the use of the source code - this won't be Open Source - and we will be charging for that license. This means we will be keeping fairly close control over this release. We will also introduce a new forum channel, but we'll keep it closed to the public and only allow genuine Uplink developers inside. This will be the perfect place for programmers to talk about the Uplink source code and their mods, and to get help from the Developers themselves.
This really is a fantastic opportunity for people to do whatever they want with the Uplink source code. You could create new mission types, or add in your very own plot. You could create new computer types. New easter eggs. If you were feeling particularly ambitious you might try and create a whole new type of system to attack - just like the LAN systems we introduced in patch1.2 - complete with new graphics, new software tools, new challenges. You could even try and add more networking functionality to the game - but only if you're really brave ;) In short, there are a million things a determined programmer could do with this source code.
The documentation for the Developer CD is also available online.
Order a Developer CD