My goal in making this post is to provide the entire freelancer community with as much information as possible so that the community has the greatest possible chances of obtaining Freelancer's source code somehow. I will support assertions with information I have found, and I encourage others to go hunting and do the same while not criticizing or denouncing the efforts of myself and others. After all, the possibilities are endless if this became a reality, and it is no skin off my nose to post a few hyperlinks. Please be constructive.
Professional communication with individuals who were central to the Freelancer development process should be approached gradually, not incessantly. These people don't want to be spammed.
I will use this post to store further findings and information. To restate and summarize, suggestions and additional research are welcome, desired, and profusely encouraged.
----------------------- Background
Microsoft Game Studios acquired Digital Anvil in Winter of 2000. The talks involved the transferring of the rights to Freelancer and another Xbox game to Microsoft, while "key shareholders" would retain the rights to "publishing, intellectual property, and code rights to Loose Cannon and Conquest: Frontier Wars" (1).
Resources and further reading
* (#) indicates hot material *
(1)GameSpot Interview: Chris Roberts Lots of useful information here, a must-read. (2)Release the Freelancer Source Code petition Marginal efforts by disorganized community members. Of little to no practical use, from what I can see. (3)Ed Fries - Wikipedia Chris Roberts briefly mentions Ed Fries in the GameSpot interview, suggesting some form of clout or at least a connection to the Freelancer rights. No longer has employment connection to MGS... could have viable information. (4)Phil Wattenbarger - LinkedIn As stated by Chris Roberts in the GameSpot interview, Phil Wattenbarger was his co-director for the project with whom he collaborated before and after the MGS acquisition. (5)Freelancer Interview - PC Feature at IGN (Wattenbarger) A nice interview with the seemingly open and easy-going co-director Phil Wattenbarger (6)Paul Isaac's resume Resume of self-described "avid gamer" and head FL programmer Paul Isaac with professional references from Phil Wattenbarger and a Microsoft producer. "More references available upon request." Skilled programmer. Plenty of contact detail if this is a viable person to contact.
Timeline
August 9, 2010 initial post made August 10, 2010 communication sent to three members of the original FL team
