Reddit User Finds Starcraft Source Code, Gets Rewarded by Blizzard When He Returns It
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Wow Blizzard really under valued that disk man the things people could have done with that source code so many good things would have come from having the source code to be archived online.
See? Look what happens to honest/nice people 
Ethics is a good thing, despite what the Kardashians say....
Ethics is a good thing, despite what the Kardashians say....
I may have grown out of playing Blizzard games now, but they're still a good company and stuff like this shows it.
I'm guessing people suspected he'd acquired it by dubious means. How do you just get hold of something like that, anyway?Jadak said:
He got some really nice loot for it. Say whatever you want about Blizzard, but we all know that certain companies would have threatened to sue him instead.
Honestly, I'm way more interested in the story of how it got to him than anything else. How did it get out of Blizzard's possession in the first place? Disgruntled employee? Corporate espionage? Did someone leave it on a bus? What did the person who had it before do with it? And why put it in some grab bag of Blizzard stuff they sold on eBay?Thaluikhain said:
Strictly speaking, no. This is an odd case where the actual value of the disk is hard to define in any objective sense. There's no par value or sales price for it, and while aficionados might have paid a very pretty penny for it, let's be honest aficionados are almost defined by the fact that they're willing to pay well over fair price for things related to the subject they're passionate about. Consequentially we're limited to the near platitude that the fair price of the disk is what the seller is willing to part with it for and the buyer is willing to pay for it.MC1980 said:You get shortchanged with a pile of crap they had leftover in storage, an oversized coupon and get to waste a couple of days on a mediocre event? Doesn't feel like he got paid what he was worth at all.Killerologist said:See? Look what happens to honest/nice people
In this particular case, the person in question is evidently a Blizzard aficionado, having purchased what amounted to Blizzard memorabilia. What he got in return for returning a disk to a company he is apparently very fond of is a free copy of Overwatch, $250 store credit, tickets and an all expense paid trip to Blizzcon, hanging out with undisclosed members of the Blizzard team, and a box containing the items in the OP's image. Doing a little legwork, we can identify these as: two out of circulation plushies (2016 SDCC Red Primal Winston Plush, SDCC 2014 Blizzard Exclusive Diablo Whimsyshire Treasure Goblin Plush), an Overwatch Goliathus Speed pad (keyboard and mouse), an Overwatch Razer ManO?War Tournament Edition analog gaming headset, an Overwatch Razer DeathAdder Chroma ergonomic mouse, a Diablo III Bottle Opener, an Overwatch Razer Blackwidow Chroma Keyboard, and a Diablo III Deluxe Hardcover Sketchbook.
Now, is the disk more valuable to Blizzard than that? Almost certainly. Is it more valuable to the seller than that? Probably not, actually.
Would that disc be worth a lot on the black market? like to hackers and what not or rival game companies......he kinda had no choice other than give it back because he posted it on reddit....buuuuut, if he had known the value of said disc, he might just have been able to sell that for enough cold hard cash to sort him out for the rest of his life.......maybe....i dunno.
For a single item, aficionados define the fair market price for an item. The one who is willing to pay the most is the one who gets it: that's fair.Asita said:
I would say too that late 90s Blizzard more than likely didn't keep track of IP material nearly as well or as vehemently as today's Blizz. Probably because it was a different industry. So stuff like this showing up in a totally innocent nature is highly likely, even if said company is still in existence.MC1980 said:
I suppose that is accurate to the extent that it follows the aforementioned rule. My intended point was that by non-aficionado standards, aficionados are wont to overpay. It's more or less auction philosophy. Highest bid technically sets the fair value, but the price they set is usually above what most others would be willing to pay for it.Seanchaidh said:
Worth is a relative term.MC1980 said:
Since Gold Source discs aren't sold, the CD left Blizzard's possession either by accident or by theft (I would assume accident), either way it still belonged to Blizzard. If he'd sold the disc on, put an image of it online or demanded cash for it's return Blizzard would have been well within their rights to go to the police and/or sue him. I'm not sure a CD of a twenty year old game is worth attracting the ire of a billion dollar company.
By the same token Blizzard didn't have to do anything once he returned it, they could have just gone 'thank you citizen,' and carried on as if nothing happened. It was good of them to take the time to send him free stuff. I bet plenty of the other publishers wouldn't have bothered.
I really wonder what's on it in terms of unseen content. Probably nothing much, since it's the gold version, but still. But what could have been done with that? People could have learned from that, even though I expect the code to be pretty antiquated. I'd be more excited if Blizzard released it themselves. What actual value for Blizzard is on the CD? SC II, I guess, has pretty much nothing to do anymore with SC I.
Is there any source code out there from a successful RTS?
... What successful RTS are there, anyway? Age of Empires, StarCraft, AOE II, Command & Conquer, ... and?
Is there any source code out there from a successful RTS?
... What successful RTS are there, anyway? Age of Empires, StarCraft, AOE II, Command & Conquer, ... and?