@Word: I didn't intend it to be an ultimatum, but I can definitely see that reading of my post. I have time to spend here, now, which I haven't really had for a few years. But that time is still limited, so my choices on how to spend it amount to basically three choices: Play the game, work on the game, participate here (posting, moderating, etc). Time spent on one of those choices takes time away from both of the other two.
On some level, this question is faced by every software project ever started. In a commercial setting, you define target demographics, setup ad compaigns, and all that stuff. In a non-commercial setting, the question is a bit more intimate, I think.
@blondie: I hadn't heard we'd abandoned xcode in Mac OS. Since the autotools build system is the baseline, and theoretically works in MacOS, perhaps you should follow the Linux build instructions? I sorta gather you've done that already. Next time you make an attempt, come to #armagetron on freenode and if I'm there, I'll assist you however I can.
Wrtlprnft was at the same level of experience as you when he wrote the cockpit, there's no reason you can't get involved in the 0.4 release, and I'll be happy to assist you in any way that I can.
@compguygene: You make a solid point, too. Creative people (or at least people who try to be creative, like me
) definitely take a lot of pleasure in providing some amount of happiness to people. Do I need any other motivation than that?@Phytotron: I believe I know what you mean about this release being for users, not programmers, but I would like you to elaborate on it....in the 0.4 release thread.
@Monkey: The behavior you talk about has always been in the game, and back when the entire development team + various community leaders were all quite active, we were able to keep that behavior down to a "tolerable" level. But the level of leadership required to continue doing that seems to be lacking at the moment. I'm definitely interested in something in 0.4 that gives server admins much more power to deal with it.
As to your question, I'm not sure what I feel guilty about. I wanted so much more in the 0.3 release series that didn't happen, but the reasons little of it happened were all quite reasonable. At the same time, I'm liking the way the 0.4 version is looking right now, and I think it'll be a pretty solid release on its own. With any luck, getting 0.4 out the door will help attract new blood to the development team, and 0.5 will be a more significant release series.
@Agility: Looking at the tutorials we have now, I think they will have a solid positive effect on the game servers. New players will be coming in that have more than just a little local game experience. Servers will be able to refer new players to specific tutorials they should play in order to become familiar with the server.
I'd add to the list: Would also, hopefully, attract some of the old players back for awhile.
