System Shock 1 prototype and level editor discovered

[674569e855581fox]

Did he get back to you on that matter?

[674569e8558313RDplayer]

No. Last thing I know is that Stephen Kick said he would contact him. What came out of it? I don't know.

[674569e8559f0voodoo47]

as mentioned, while he does indeed own the physical media, he most certainly doesn't own the content, as the beta build never was available for legal purchase, so as far as I can tell, this is a textbook example of finding someone else's property, meaning he should return it (the contents) to the rightful owner (he can keep the cd).

while certainly not an advocate of releasing the lawyers at fans (at least he claims to be one), this is exactly the case where it should be done (ironically, to preserve the software, something he claims to be doing himself).

[674569e855b58fox]

I am still wondering if he bought this CD privately or if it's (already was?) property of that museum he works for. I think that could make some difference. Ignoring 3RDplayer's legitimate question is pretty rude, imo.

[674569e855c94voodoo47]

it doesn't matter - the content of that cd is not something anyone can purchase/own in a legal way. just like that guy who found a cd with Starcraft1 source code - holding the cd in his hand doesn't magically make him the legal owner of the source code. and he did the legally correct thing, and returned it to Blizzard (it needs to be noted that as far as actual software preservation is concerned, dropping the contents to some sharing site would be way better, but oh well).

this is exactly the same thing.

[674569e855deefox]

Yes, that's probably right. You still need to know who actually owns the CD at the moment if you want to do anything about it. To me that's still unclear and chances are that the museum (and his employer) would be easier to reason with then an already uncooperative private person.

[674569e855f4dicemann]

If I were Night Dive, I'd be contacting the place he works at next, since he appears to have gone into hiding.

This is the type of thing where you only have a small window of time to get the files. After that it will likely never be heard of again. To sit in some secret collection somewhere.

[674569e85624e3RDplayer]

If I were Night Dive, I'd be contacting the place he works at next, since he appears to have gone into hiding.

Just last week he posted tweets showing some spongebob game alpha builds. So its not really hiding. But talking to him constantly regarding system shock will make him disappear faster and for real.

[674569e8563c3voodoo47]

it's not like he can disappear now, with his full name and occupation being public. maybe they should make him aware that in this case, asking for the files nicely is an optional thing.