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[Trieforce]

So if Toady have plans to show us what is inside?

[thvaz]

No, it won't. Maybe when Toady dies, if there isn't any foul-play involved.

[Knight Otu]

The short answer is "No." Toady's income depends on the game.

[Gatleos]

Well, the game is non-profit. I assume when Tarn's done with the game - really done - he'll open-source it; not much else to do with it, really. But that's gonna be a loooooong time from now. Decades, in fact.

[peskyninja]

Assuming that DF will be on version 1.0 after 20 years from this upcoming version,it'll take a very very very long time to finish the game,with this huge ammount of time maybe it's a good idea to implant Toady's brain on a robot/computer.

[Teneb]

Assuming that DF will be on version 1.0 after 20 years from this upcoming version,it'll take a very very very long time to finish the game,with this huge ammount of time maybe it's a good idea to implant Toady's brain on a robot/computer.

And Scamps' of course.


EDIT: minor typo corrected

[Cruxador]

It will not become opensource while in development. Toady will open it when he's done with it, and if he dies (and it is determined that his death was not the result of foul play with the intent to cause the game to become open-source) then the game will be made open source.
That's because right now Toady's able to live off the game, and he doesn't want to make a big change that could fuck his livelihood up.

[Trieforce]

The short answer is "No." Toady's income depends on the game.

I do not think that people will donate less if it is open source. Or maybe I have a pirate version of df?

[Trieforce]

It will not become opensource while in development. Toady will open it when he's done with it, and if he dies (and it is determined that his death was not the result of foul play with the intent to cause the game to become open-source) then the game will be made open source.
That's because right now Toady's able to live off the game, and he doesn't want to make a big change that could fuck his livelihood up.

I just thought that he could have help if he opened it. Cause I do not think people gona fork df. It is hell lot of work to mantain thin thing.

[Bdthemag]

The only way I think Toady will make DF Open source is if that there is some sort of quest to find it. Toady will walk around where he lives for 30 minutes every day, with a briefcase chained to his arm. You have only 30 minutes to get that briefcase, or he dissapears for the rest of the day. If you somehow manage to get the briefcase from him, you'll have to unlock it. There is only one person in the world who knows how to unlock it, and that person is ThreeToe. He lives on top of a large, unclimable mountaint. If you reach the top he will unlock it for you.

Inside would be a laptop, with DF's source code inside. The thing is though, that DF's Source code has be added to various files code on the laptop. The only problem is that there is over 1,000 programs on said laptop. If you manage to piece together DF's source code, and put it in correct order the prize is yours.

Simple right

[squishynoob]

If it goes open it will probably be in a long time. A choice that I don't share but I understand- (DF is the only closed source game I play), especially if he has to live off the game like you said.

What I don't understand is why he chose to work strictly alone (in coding). I'm sure there's someone trustworthy enough, somewhere, even in this community.

[MrWiggles]

Well, the game is non-profit. I assume when Tarn's done with the game - really done - he'll open-source it; not much else to do with it, really. But that's gonna be a loooooong time from now. Decades, in fact.

There a difference between non-profit, and not-for-profit. I dont think Toady is a registered non-profit.

The short answer is "No." Toady's income depends on the game.

I do not think that people will donate less if it is open source. Or maybe I have a pirate version of df?

This I disagree with. If the game went open source, then Toady may have to work with others, and program with others. which is something he doesnt want to do. He would have to certainly overview contributor patches before they implementing to the source. That something, Toady does not want to do.

At worse, he might have to supervise others in order for the bulk, which is DF, so it can be done in a fashionable group effort.

Open sourcing the game, would take away Toady and ThreeToe intimate connection with the game, and their direct influence over.

Since, Toady has made all his others games without deriving a living from it; I think its unfounded that its closed source to protect his income. If the donations stopped coming in as generous as they are today, then he would go get another job, possibly full time, and work on DF and other Bay12 projects in his spare times, as he and his brother have done their entire life.

[G-Flex]

If the game were open-source, that means that forks projects would occur, some prioritizing immediate gains in appeal/playability by sacrificing the long term (virtually the opposite of Toady's approach of extremely-long-term planning), driving attention away from the main project, from Bay12Games, and quite likely resulting in less donation money coming in.

This is in addition to what MrWiggles said, which is basically true. While I personally think that Toady having a couple "team members" would be a good idea, in terms of either grunt/busywork or project management or high-level complicated programming and junk, because no one person is great at everything, so when you have a one-person team, that one person's weaknesses tend to cause more problems than they should, especially with such an ambitious project. However, Toady emphatically doesn't enjoy working well with others, and his long-term comfort level with the project is of the utmost importance considering how long-term the project is; he needs to maintain his own interest above practically any other concern. Ideally, he wouldn't mind working with others as much, but no person or situation is ideal. That being said, I don't think being open-source would ever be a good idea for the project unless Toady is very, very much done with it for good.

If the donations stopped coming in as generous as they are today, then he would go get another job, possibly full time, and work on DF and other Bay12 projects in his spare times, as he and his brother have done their entire life.

Except he obviously doesn't want to do that, or else he would be doing it. There's a reason he used to do it that way. He prefers being able to make a living off the game because it affords him the opportunity to do what he enjoys doing full-time. Securing his own livelihood is a definite factor and has been in the past.

[Cruxador]

The short answer is "No." Toady's income depends on the game.

I do not think that people will donate less if it is open source. Or maybe I have a pirate version of df?

Maybe not, but right now it's working well for Toady so he doesn't want to risk it.

[Raddish]

Why would he want to change a system that is working for him right now? 

If there was some sort of major problem that caused him to either not be able to get money through it or forced him into being unable to actually create it himself it's very slightly possible he might consider it.  At the moment however he seems to be able to work at it at a rate he is fine with and is still getting more and more in donations as time goes by so there is no reason to change the system.