VOGONS

"This product contains software technology licensed from Id Software ('Id Technology')."

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First post, by UCyborg

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Hey, a new CoD is out (and they say campaign is actually good this time)!

But the thing that got me curious, the last CoD I actually bought was from 2010 and it has the text in this post's title written on the back of the box and on the DVD. The same text is there on the Steam store page of the latest CoD: Modern Warfare 4 released today.

Suppose old CoDs are fancy Quake III mods, even the jumping glitches at 250 FPS / 333 FPS are still there.

But, what does that mean in 2026? Remnants of id Tech 3 still being there?

Arthur Schopenhauer wrote:

A man can be himself only so long as he is alone; and if he does not love solitude, he will not love freedom; for it is only when he is alone that he is really free.

Reply 1 of 4, by leileilol

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that's correct. the "IW Engine" is a bunch of patchwork and renderer rewrites on top of idtech3 (RTCW branch). The Team Arena menu system is also still being used. It's not too different than the Source engine being a distant idTech2 (quakeworld branch).

Don't think the "promode" cheats physics exist anymore though. idTech3 pmove can be reimplemented and changed very easily.

FUCK "AI". It is a tool of fascism. We do not need it. We do not use it.

Reply 2 of 4, by UCyborg

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So the text still has to be there for legal reasons? I wonder what percentage of code has to be rewritten for it to no longer apply. Or the only thing possible would be to scrap it and take some other engine.

Kinda bizarre to think modern CoD still has anything in common with old tech. But then Windows probably wouldn't be Windows either without the old foundations from the old days.

Arthur Schopenhauer wrote:

A man can be himself only so long as he is alone; and if he does not love solitude, he will not love freedom; for it is only when he is alone that he is really free.

Reply 3 of 4, by Trashbytes

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UCyborg wrote on 2026-10-24, 19:51:

So the text still has to be there for legal reasons? I wonder what percentage of code has to be rewritten for it to no longer apply. Or the only thing possible would be to scrap it and take some other engine.

Kinda bizarre to think modern CoD still has anything in common with old tech. But then Windows probably wouldn't be Windows either without the old foundations from the old days.

Legal yes, as for rewrites I think you start to hit Ship of Theseus territory there and the copywrite system doesn't care at all how much is rewritten only that you acknowledge the original authors and creators that your work is based on.

Even if you rewrote the entire thing your work still fully relied upon theirs to even exist.

AI is inevitable, there is nothing you can do to stop it, no Ironman snap to save you from the Basilisk.

Reply 4 of 4, by UCyborg

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I was just going through my physical boxes again and noticed an oddity on the box of CoD: MW2 that after the sentence in this topic's title:

... Id Technology © 1999-2009 Id Software , Inc. ©2009 Valve Corporation. Dolby and the double-D symbol are trademarks of Dolby Laboratories ...

But the DVD omits Valve part.

Arthur Schopenhauer wrote:

A man can be himself only so long as he is alone; and if he does not love solitude, he will not love freedom; for it is only when he is alone that he is really free.

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