Why don`t use some code from Spring?

[Balthazar]

Well, many people say, why we don`t use parts of code from Spring? For example Multiplayer support and AI support? Maybe we could?

[zuzuf]

Sometimes I read some code from Spring in order to understand how things work, but I realized that there are sometimes things they are not doing well, for example their 3D model format. There are things concerning TA's data I had to understand myself because there was no documentation or when there was doc it wasn't complete with lots of "don't know what it is". I learned from Spring, from the old OpenGL TA project (abandoned long ago) and from reading TA's files: focus on something you want to make work, look at the files, then play TA focusing on it and you understand what is doing what, then you can implement it.
Most of the work I did is just analysing how TA works (yes it's reverse engineering). I do not reuse code directly because it wouldn't work, TA3D uses it's own classes and its own engine, so modules aren't compatibles and I have been warned that Spring uses lots of functions where it shouldn't. I don't understand precisely how Spring works, it's a huge piece of code, so I just use it to understand how TA works since it's based on TA (even if it's not TA), how scripts and units work and work isn't finished, so I will surely use it again.

[Balthazar]

Quite clear Well, there are manu rumors about Spring code is not really a good thing to use... So we shall go our own way you say? Yep, that`s right!

[AF]

Spring was originally SJ working off of Nehe GL tutorials then expanding untill he got a very basic RTS.

The problem was he had no real design and made a lot of decisions other people would later regret. That and there are large portions of code that tie things togetehr that nobody really understands but SJ, mostly old stuff like the 3do code and shadows.

The current devs write good code but they're unhappy with SJs legacy and thus has devised CE/Command Engine, a replacement engine, however work on that is slow.

Thus I say its safe to take from spring, but you have to be careful you know exactly what it does.