[crossfire] Release 1.12

[Lalo Martins]

quoth Lalo Martins as of Mon, 22 Dec 2008 14:24:28 +0000:
> :-) let's make it official then.  If nobody objects until 2009, I hereby
> proclaim myself "content leader".

Well.  I've seen discussions about the fine points of my plans, but no 
objections to my proclamation proper.  So I'm assuming the post as of 
today.  I'd strongly suggest someone (*cough*) do the same for the 
code... potentially, if you prefer, different people for client and 
server (I think it's pretty clear who those would be today).

Here are my first acts and plans as content leader:

- Codename "rebootworld" will progress at whatever speed I'm able
  to implement it, as outlined in the "attack plan" thread, with
  the target of being the official content for 2.x.

- As suggested earlier on this thread, current trunk will become
  further 1.x releases.  I remind you, that's for content; the
  decision whether or not to do the same wrt server and clients
  will be left to the people who take charge of code.

- I'll be using launchpad for release planning and stuff.  Feel
  free to use it too.  It's not really worth the trouble to move
  bugs from sourceforge to malone for 1.x, especially since
  launchpad is more than able to integrate with sf bugs; but I'll
  use malone for 2.x (which is a separate project on launchpad).
  For "blueprints", the best is still the metalforge wiki; again,
  launchpad is able to link and integrate those in its process.

  (The 2.x "attack plan" has already been entered in the form of
  launchpad milestones, coded "drs" for Developer Release -
  Scorn.  It's still unclear how much content constitutes a
  "releaseable" 2.0; offhand I'd say three kingdoms.)

- By January 20th I'd like to merge all trunk changes that are
  sufficiently tested into branch and cut a RC1.  Since I haven't
  been following everything that happened in the last year and a
  half, I kindly ask people to tell me which changes are known
  good, which are known bad, and the rest we'll make an effort to
  test in this time window.

- After the RC please test thoroughly and report any bugs; I'd
  like us to have a clean release.

- There may be an RC2 and even if necessary an RC3 in February.

- Between January 20th and whenever the 1.12 release happens, the
  branch is to be considered bugfixes only.

- The 1.12 release is planned for March the 1st.  That may be a
  pipe dream but I intend to make it happen.

- I think the great 1.12 question is: do mwedel's rebalances go
  in or not?  Assuming he does have time to do the magic
  rebalance, will we have enough time to test it?  If we don't,
  or if he doesn't, should we release combat rebalance without
  its magic counterpart?  Personally I'd like them in 1.12, but
  if the people who have played with it more (especially mwedel
  proper) think it's not mature enough, I wouldn't mind waiting
  for 1.13.

  (For those confused: the changes were mainly to archetypes, so
  yes, they do go in the content release.)

- After the release, the 1.x flow should be: radical new features
  or major changes in a "feature branch", somewhat experimental
  or in-progress new features or major changes in trunk, bugfixes
  in the branch; new features and major changes to be integrated
  from trunk to branch as they're tested and deemed stable.

- I'd like to put out two 1.x releases per year until about a
  year after 2.0 happens.  (By which time if anyone else wants to
  go on maintaining 1.x I won't object.)  Early February and
  early August should get us into Ubuntu and Fedora releases, so
  that's what we'll be aiming for from 1.13 on.

- Of course if server and client do *not* decide to cut 1.x
  releases out of trunk, it will be part of my job to make sure
  these content releases are compatible with whatever server
  versions are available at the time.

What I shall *not* be doing for 1.x is deciding whether new
content is consistent, fits the story, etc; or quality.  New
content will be checked for balance and whether it fits the place
where it's located.  Changes to existing content, of course, are
expected to make it better than before. ;-)

best,
                                               Lalo Martins
-- 
      So many of our dreams at first seem impossible,
       then they seem improbable, and then, when we
       summon the will, they soon become inevitable.
                           -----
                  http://lalomartins.info/
GNU: never give up freedom              http://www.gnu.org/