Yes
Reloaded needs to achieve what FPSC classic can not for various reasons in the areas of major improvement in stability, performance and the arrays of continual issues or bugs which to be fair have a lot to do with - well FPSC classic and how its made as it were and less perhaps if anything to do with those involved in developing it, those that Mod it included of course. Its hard to make good of bad and pushing FPSC was something it was never originally designed to be capable of. The needed core elements are just not there.
Everyone knows what Reloaded needs I think including TGC who are committed to doing it right this time around. At least again within commercial realities and technical limitations. Not skipping over and sweeping under the carpet known problems and issues is paramount throughout its life cycle which hopefully will be long and successful.
Having said that the reality is that making Reloaded as good as it might be aspired to be in current thinking is an undoubtedly immense task full of known or unknown pitfalls and difficulties.
What the actual end result will be is anybodies guess at this early stage in development I should think.
Still the futures bright, there's a light on the horizon and lets keep hoping it will burn brightly and stay up high.
Edit Updated
I am not against Open Source in and of itself. In fact I love it. I use all kinds of Open Source software in my daily work. Its generally free or of very low cost and there is some terrific Open Source software available. If it is not then I don't use it and am selective of course.
In the case of Reloaded all I am saying is after all of the hard work that is going to be done to hopefully achieve the objective of providing TGC and users with a much better product which presumably will be developed with a core which is initially stable to allow developers to actually use it to develop and deploy within a stable RAD environment which they need, then that core needs to be protected and maintained in that initial stable release condition as it is further developed over time. Its of no help and never has been for us indies to start developing anything when half way through your development the engine falls over and never recovers. In all walks of life game making included its generally the case that stability and not chaos is needed for progress and success. No one wants or needs to be fighting constantly against issues which involves more time than the amount actually spent developing : sorting issues, fighting bugs or looking for workarounds which provide only a partial fix. You cant actually fix a core if its broken unless you are an expert and know how to do it. Fixing advanced and sophisticated game engine core issues are no easy matter. That's not what Reloaded is about. Its not a product for programmers to enjoy fighting with and having fun doing so. Its a product for average - to experienced game makers to make games with as efficiently as is possible.
Protecting of the core stability for those users is paramount at all costs so they can actually use the product in the way its intended to develop and deploy successfully in a timescale which is sensible for indies and Yes also enjoy what they do at the same time and still have fun doing it.
As I understand it and I may be wrong then if programmers, Modders or anyone else wishes to add to the Reloaded product and contribute to its improvement, success and feature set and so on then possibly they can do so by adding those additions improvements via the development of Plugins to the engine and perhaps also with a means to do so commercially as paid plugins through TGC. Plugins should not change or modify core engine files at all so they can be added or removed at will without affecting the stable core. Thats one of the benefits of Plugins. This should allow everyone to achieve various objectives and aspirations. TGC, modders, programmers and end users. Whilst advancing the engine and generating revenue for those concerned. Of course there would be no reason someone could not develop plugins for free if improving the engine is their main concern and not commercial aspirations. The only people that may not be happy are users who may need to pay for plugins. There is little option really if you want a stable and advanced engine which continues to improve.
The benefit to users are maintained RAD environment to get your games out of the door more quickly, better games and less cost not more perhaps overall. Time is money. If you game is good then you could then actually develop and deploy it in a much shorter space of time and if it is good then actually sell it and generate revenue back. Generally speaking users wont ever make many games or sell them if the core is unstable. You will have what you have now.
These things would allow generating of revenue for everyone potentially and make Reloaded a different and better product for all concerned which could be maintained ongoing and improved upon.
Once the product is in such a condition then and TGC have the product in a relatively acceptable position in the market as an established quality engine at whatever level then by all means consider general Open Source release with some quality control of course.
The only consideration then is if Reloaded becomes a successful product based upon that stable closed source do you then risk its stability, quality and reputation and perhaps more importantly its users and generated ongoing revenue by releasing the source openly and risking all of that by not guaranteeing protection of it, its future and that of TGC. Personally I don't think so.
By then TGC may be in a position to have considered and started Reloaded II and a total rewrite if need be and required. If not then all well and good, however I would not release the source without a further product revenue generating backup or contingency plan. After all AppGameKit and FPSCR are currently stated to be the future of TGC products in the main so they need to be good and maintained that way. Quality and Stability are pre-requisites for their long term success.
