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[Jeth Calark]

Over on posts to the Steam Community for various Command & Conquer games, EA has announced and linked to open source releases of source code for multiple C&C games, as well as Steam Workshop support. One of those games is C&C Generals and its expansion Zero Hour. If memory serves me correctly, wasn't BFME based on the version of the SAGE engine used by Generals?

This is huge news! We essentially have an open source version of the game engine used by BFME! It is now possible to make a working, modern source port for BFME! Every tiny paper cut of an issue that we have to deal with is potentially fixable! Imagine BFME games playable on modern Windows and Linux with proper widescreen and high refresh rate support with a single install. No more janky, error prone install sequence involving multiple steps! Even further down the line, people could implement patch switchers or built in mod management!

Now, don't get me wrong. I'm fully aware that the provided code, as-is, exists in what can be generously called "extremely rough state". The provided README even lists the proprietary dependencies that will need to be replaced or excised (get out of here, SafeDisk!). In the immortal words of the orc laborer spawned from BFME 1 Isengard lumberyard, "There's work to be done!".

[mrtnptrs]

Please know that BFME runs on a very much iterated on version of the SAGE version that debuted with Generals. Some aspects of the code might be the same, but some are not. This does not make it very easy to produce a patch as much of the source code is still highly unknown. Making a working modern source port for BFME is thus still very hard, although maybe a bit easier now. The Zero Hour source code release is thus not the magic bullet you might think it is.