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Update - 11/01/2024, 11:55 AM UTC: The GitHub repository has been restored now. Hopefully this won't happen in future, considering as noted below, GSC Game World actually gave it their blessing to be used. And thanks to the take-down, even more people now know about it. From the reversal notice, GitHub stated clearly after a review it was a fraudulent take-down.


Original article below:

OpenXRay is an improved cross-platform version of the X-Ray Engine, which is the original game engine used in the S.T.A.L.K.E.R. game series by GSC Game World. However, it seems a bad actor got it taken down from GitHub.

Currently the GitHub page notes "Repository unavailable due to DMCA takedown" and the DMCA can be read here, which is claimed to be from "Anti-Piracy Protection" on behalf of GSC Game World. 

However, on X (formerly Twitter), the official GSC Game World account noted it wasn't their doing, and that "Open X-Ray is totally allowed to be used as a modbase" and that they're dealing with "a wave of false claims caused by our position recently":

So with that in mind, hopefully GitHub will reinstate it and prevent this from happening again from the same people trying to cause issues for them. It's also nice to see, at least according to who is posting on their social account, that they have no problems with people using OpenXRay considering it's based on leaked code.

The code has been out so long now, and used by so many for such old games, it would have been pretty strange to only now go after it. Especially since it requires data files from the original games to run, so people still need to buy the games to use OpenXRay.

Article taken from GamingOnLinux.com.
Tags: FPS, Misc
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17 comments

Termy Jan 9
Another example of the idiocy of the whole DMCA-Bullshit...
Bogomips Jan 9
Another example of the idiocy of the whole DMCA-Bullshit...

Fortunately, idiocy is not too common in our society… Oh wait!
skaplon Jan 9
Abuse of the DMCA system should be double-punished
Pikolo Jan 9
Abuse of the DMCA system should be double-punished
It would be nice it it was punished at all...
anth Jan 9
I assume their position which causes false claims is their ties to Ukraine, or have they been involved in some scandal I've not noticed?
Abuse of the DMCA system should be double-punished
Welllll, the DMCA was written with abuse in mind, so that might defeat the purpose . . .
Seegras Jan 10
In principle, the DMCA demands that
"I swear, under penalty of perjury, that the information in this notification is accurate and that I am the copyright owner, or am authorized to act on behalf of the owner, of an exclusive right that is allegedly infringed."
But sadly, there is no enforcement if that turns out to be a lie.
robertosf92 Jan 10
Can one actually play STALKER using this? Are there any forks of it?
eldarion Jan 10
I assume their position which causes false claims is their ties to Ukraine, or have they been involved in some scandal I've not noticed?

I was about to ask exactly the same thing. I have no idea what they are talking about.
  • Supporter Plus
It's a shame that mistakes happen, but I think we can all agree that patent and copyright protection is an important part of our legal system. We need to protect the works of our society with strict copyright and patent laws.

This stops undesirable peasants from using the work in an unauthorised manner or with bad intent starving the original authors from their rightful money.

If anything, we need to extend copyright law and make it stricter to protect peoples work. The recent example of Michael Mouse going public domain and the abuse it has since been subject to is a perfect example of why copyright law needs to be extended.

We should also extend and alter our patent laws to make protecting our ideas simpler. If we have an idea, we need to be able to protect that idea, whether or not we ourselves are able to execute our idea.

We need to extent patent law to be as long as, if not longer than copyright law.

In addition, we need to be able to backdate copyright and patent claims to make claims for cases of infringement that occurred during the time the patent or copyright was active, even if the breach is only discovered years later.

To help ensure people are correctly compensated, copyright/patent breaches need to be immediately liable for compensation, without the need of a court.

Overall, while the current system works to a point, it needs to become much stricter.


Last edited by BlackBloodRum on 10 January 2024 at 10:18 am UTC
devland Jan 10
It's funny how digital stuff gets taken down automatically in order to protect corporate profits as soon as a complaint is made against someone but you have to do decades of research and lawsuits to even try to remove a carcinogenic product from the food market.

It's all about protecting corporate profits and nothing else.
It's a shame that mistakes happen, but I think we can all agree that patent and copyright protection is an important part of our legal system. We need to protect the works of our society with strict copyright and patent laws.

This stops undesirable peasants from using the work in an unauthorised manner or with bad intent starving the original authors from their rightful money.

If anything, we need to extend copyright law and make it stricter to protect peoples work. The recent example of Michael Mouse going public domain and the abuse it has since been subject to is a perfect example of why copyright law needs to be extended.

We should also extend and alter our patent laws to make protecting our ideas simpler. If we have an idea, we need to be able to protect that idea, whether or not we ourselves are able to execute our idea.

We need to extent patent law to be as long as, if not longer than copyright law.

In addition, we need to be able to backdate copyright and patent claims to make claims for cases of infringement that occurred during the time the patent or copyright was active, even if the breach is only discovered years later.

To help ensure people are correctly compensated, copyright/patent breaches need to be immediately liable for compensation, without the need of a court.

Overall, while the current system works to a point, it needs to become much stricter.
Brat!
q4a Jan 10
OpenXRay github repo live again.
TheRiddick Jan 11
Another example of the idiocy of the whole DMCA-Bullshit...

Yeah anyone can just strike anything down with DMCA. It is so easy to F' with not for profit or content creators as they just AUTOMATICALLY accept DMCA takedowns, no evidence or proof needed.
Seegras Jan 11
Well, what do you know. I compiled it, and tried it with Stalker - Call of Pripyat, and it works.
Liam Dawe Jan 11
Thankfully it has been restored.
mphuZ Jan 11
Youtubers mentioning STALKER 2 (even using officially released promotional materials) will immediately get DMCA takedown strikes
Important correction: Russian youtubers. GSC ban Russian bloggers and write "oh, it's not us, we'll try to figure it out and help." They didn't help anyone. So in this situation, they wrote the same thing. But the resonance is too big. I had to unlock it.

They also banned the Stalker 2UE mod "for non-obvious reasons."
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