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[Gandalf]

Wouldn't it be awesome to go through the source code of Dwarf Fortress?  I enjoyed reading the NY Times article, just downloaded it and I bet it's one hell of a program.  I was looking for it on the site but I only saw the compiled version.  Does anyone know if the developers have released the code, and if not, why not?

[Capntastic]

Toady hasn't released the source code because the game is pretty much his life's project.   Further, his livelihood depends on the game's donation model.  If spinoffs started popping up, his donations would decrease.

[Sphalerite]

Honestly, I expect that by this time the source code for DF is something like a million lines of undocumented spaghetti code, the mere attempt to read and comprehend would drive anyone but Toady insane.

[Untelligent]

Sort of like the necronomicon with while loops.

[Greiger]

Hehe Baughn is probably the only one to have ever even seen parts of the DF code.

I suppose Battle Champs is still around on the site someplace.  That had all of DF's old graphics code from the 40d versions and I'm pretty sure the soul purpose of that game was to make some source available for optimizing by the community.  The result is the DF SDL versions. 

Though that code was from way back in 2008.  Don't know how much is still used.

EDIT: Link found.

[Urist_McArathos]

Toady hasn't released the source code because the game is pretty much his life's project.   Further, his livelihood depends on the game's donation model.  If spinoffs started popping up, his donations would decrease.

True, but I agree that it would be pretty amazing to get a peek under the hood.  I always knew Dwarf Fortress was complex, and even considered getting more into coding as a result, but in an odd twist the NY Times article put me right off that thought.

I mean, just the description of how powerful the game is was staggering, and I can't imagine that after a good decade of work the code is anything less than gargantuan and (given Tarn's clear affinity for mathematics and logic) extremely well written compared to the average.  No, best to sit back and enjoy what he's built, and maybe cobble together a mod to do what I want one day instead...

[Capntastic]

extremely well written compared to the average.

There's a lot of evidence against this, especially Toady's own comments on the relative clarity of the code.  He's a math guy by trade, not a computer science guy.

[Urist_McArathos]

extremely well written compared to the average.

There's a lot of evidence against this, especially Toady's own comments on the relative clarity of the code.  He's a math guy by trade, not a computer science guy.

That makes it all the more staggering given what the game can accomplish.  I would assume that Toady is merely being humble, but your statement implies there's OTHER evidence, so I'll take your word.

[Jake]

Hmmm. Perhaps a screenshot of a small part of the source-code could be an alternative to an art gift for people donating more than, say, $1000 in one year? Assuming said source code doesn't have similar properties to the Langford fractal basilisk by now, of course.

[MetalSlimeHunt]

I'd like to see Toady troll people by releasing the source in pure, virtually-unreadable machine code, but even that might be somewhat risky as there are people out there who can make some sense of machine code.

In any case, DF is so massive now that any addition to the source will almost certainly have unexpected effects to the overall game. It's like trying to pile blocks into a higher and higher structure: Eventually you'll get to the point of putting one on and having three fall off each time.

[Untelligent]

I'd like to see Toady troll people by releasing the source in pure, virtually-unreadable machine code, but even that might be somewhat risky as there are people out there who can make some sense of machine code.

He could give a screenshot of a small fraction of the machine code.

Probably the bit with yog-sothoth to troll the people who try to translate it.

[MetalSlimeHunt]

It would take forever. Machine code is crazy.

Spoiler: Seriously, look at this shit. (click to show/hide)

I have no idea what any of that means. I don't even know how a computer could make heads or tails of that, much less a human.

[Urist_McArathos]

Hmmm. Perhaps a screenshot of a small part of the source-code could be an alternative to an art gift for people donating more than, say, $1000 in one year? Assuming said source code doesn't have similar properties to the Langford fractal basilisk by now, of course.

I don't actually want to see the code, I just agreed that it would probably be an amazing experience to get to see it.  Hell, the game itself is jaw-dropping, the stuff under the hood must be insane.

Maybe when DF hits 1.0 Toady might release the source code to the community to create mods and such, if he feels the game is truly complete and his work is finished.

....knowing Toady though, IF the game reaches 1.0 in the next few decades, he'll probably just be like "Alright, Dwarf Fortress is ready for beta testing.  While the community does that, I'd better get to work on this expansion pack Zach and I thought up over the past 17 years and bring the game to 1.3!"  And then we will wait another 10 years to play the alpha of the expansion:

Slaves to Armok: God of Blood
Chapter 2: Dwarf Fortress: Mines of the Elders

[peterix]

Actually, you can see small parts of the code in the libgraphics library Baughn works on: https://github.com/Baughn/Dwarf-Fortress--libgraphics-

[Caldfir]

I'd like to see Toady troll people by releasing the source in pure, virtually-unreadable machine code [...]

Well, actually he has.  You can crack open the .exe with any old disassembler, but it wouldn't do you much good.  Not unless you happen to be a computer anyway. 

A person can read and write small sections of machine language, but actually going backwards and decompiling a compiled program is madness.  There exist programs set up to do this, but the code they write is almost certainly not the code that was originally written.  For all intents and purposes, compiled code is safe from prying eyes (to say nothing of the moral and legal issues with reverse-engineering).  The bottom line is that DF isn't an open-source project.  What The Toad does with The Toad's Code is a decision for (you guessed it) The Toad. 

I myself often think that it would be fun stuff to poke around with, but it isn't going to happen, and DF wouldn't be what it is today as an open-source project.  <this is an opinion>