Re: [Super-tux-devel] New admins!

[Marek <wa...@gm...>]

Ricardo Cruz wrote:

>Hello there,
>
> This is quite a suprise. I've been asking for a new maintainer for so long, 
>so this is definitively good news. Although, I think this is just a too 
>bloated team of admins, so I'd suggest to attribute functions to people. You 
>know, webmaster, release coordinator, etc, and maybe even a leader that 
>should have the last word on subjects and have a view of the road map.
>  
>
I agree that assigning functions and even a leader is a good idea. The 
best thing, however, would be if we could manage without one, that is, 
with lots of discussion in the team. I suggest we assign functions to 
team members in a meeting and see how much we need those functions.

> Anyway, what the project needs right now, in my opinion, is a sense of 
>direction on the coding part. I personally don't like the way coding is 
>heading, and I currently very much prefer when the code was C. It is getting 
>too complex and, from what I've seen from the last re-code, less flexible. 
>Small games like Alex 4 [1] kick SuperTux's ass big time, in terms of 
>playability.
>  
>
We currently need direction on every aspect of the game, not only the 
coding. We need major decisions on looks, story, gameplay, features, 
code etc. that will be included in milestone2.
As for the complexity of the code: I think you can't really compare 
SuperTux to games like Alex4 anymore as their goals are completely 
different. Compared to Mario games, SuperTux might be about to become a 
SuperMarioWorld or even more than that, while Alex4 will probably stay 
at a SuperMarioLand stage. Not that this is a bad thing, though, it's 
just completely different; and complex games require complex code. IMHO, 
SuperTux' playability is great; it can still improve, which requires a 
lot of care when implementing new features.
On the other hand, I agree that the code is confusing in parts; it's 
really hard for me to get to fully understand it. There are probably 
still a lot of hacks that need to be replaced by proper functions (i.e. 
lots of things I wrote because I didn't fully understand the code :) ). 
However, the code in it's current state is rather buggy. I guess Matze 
left some major bugs unfixed after the Big Commit (some of which eat up 
a lot of resources); that is what I meant when I said before that 
currently, only Matze fully understands the code. But I'm sure he'll fix 
those as soon as he's got the time again. (*wink* :-) )
However, I guess you noticed that some of his changes greatly improve 
handling the code, especially when it comes to implementing badguys, 
level objects and triggers.
Anyway, the code should be a major topic in the meeting.

> That said, I wouldn't like SuperTux die, because somehow it has a big base of 
>players -- I was even asked some information about the project for an article 
>about it for a quite popular Portuguese magazine (PCGuia). So, what about 
>organizing a few days in August or December for a meeting and some hacking?
>
>  
>
About the article, that's great news! SuperTux seems to have a lot of 
fans, and we shouldn't disappoint them. I don't think it's going to die 
soon, as it seems we still all enjoy coding (and playing) it. And 
although we took a rather long break now, that doesn't mean SuperTux 
caught the DNF-Syndrome already. :-)
Matze and I already thought about having a SuperTux coding session in 
Karlsruhe, during the LinuxTag days end of june. If anyone else is going 
to see the LinuxTag this year, it might be a good opportunity to meet.
But first things first: We need a date for an IRC meeting soon. I 
suggest some day between March 29th and April 6th. Suggestions, anyone?

    Marek