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Free version of Theme Hospital available on Android

Previously reported-on paid version ThemeHospital uses same code without permission

Free version of Theme Hospital available on Android
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| CorsixTH

As a fan of the CorsixTH project - an unofficial port of Bullfrog's seminal hospital-based sim - one-man dev team Alan Woolley decided he was the chap to bring an open source translation of Theme Hospital to Android.

Released under the developer handle 'Armed Pineapple', Woolley's Android version of CorsixTH is available for free via links on the project's homepage, and from Woolley's own blog.

However, a premium version entitled ThemeHospital (which we reported on last week) has since appeared on the Google Play Store, which appears to use the same code as Woolley's CorsixTH port.

Fair use

Given that CorsixTH was developed using the MIT licence, a free software licence which permits the reuse of code in proprietary works, there is nothing to stop others adapting Woolley's port - provided they include an MIT permission notice.

It doesn't seem as if barleystudio's premium version of CorsixTH, available from the Google Play Store for 99p / $1.49, includes any visible reference to the MIT licence, though.

It also requests permission to access sensitive log data and info pertaining to your phone state and identity, something which Woolley's free version does not ask for.

According to the blurb on ThemeHospital's description page, "Permission of reading logs is necessary for collecting core dump which are indispensable for us to solve problems."

Free for all

In direct response to the appearance of this premium version, Woolley posted on his blog, saying: "I have no idea what changes [barleystudio] has made to the code, if any."

"I will NEVER charge for this port as I think it discredits the work done by Corsix and the CorsixTH team to develop this amazing clone."

Android Police
James Gilmour
James Gilmour
James pivoted to video so hard that he permanently damaged his spine, which now doubles as a Cronenbergian mic stand. If the pictures are moving, he's the one to blame.