Re: [Wesnoth-dev] Aiming for 1.0

[Richard Kettering]

On May 28, 2005, at 2:04 PM, David White wrote:
> I think that currently the single player version of the game is easily 
> feature-complete enough for 1.0. The main things which could be 
> improved are more animations/graphical effects as Jetryl supports, and 
> campaign server improvements, as turin suggests.
>
> However I don't think either of these things are necessary for 1.0. 
> They could be added after 1.0 though.

The sprite/particle engine I have been muttering about will finally 
allow us to exceed the original Command & Conquer games in graphical 
quality - it will allow things like smoke, and sparks to be emitted by 
specific units and interactions.  I plan on coding this myself, though 
I'm going to need a good shot of help to familiarize myself with 
SDL/C++ Standard Library coding.

As Dave has said, these would be best for post 1.0.

> More animations creates more work for artists to do in animating 
> things. Considering the lackluster response since I implemented 
> animated deaths, I am not optimistic that we could complete extra sets 
> of animation in a short period of time.

Walking animations would also be a good target to ignore until after 
1.0.



> In terms of content such as graphics, music, and sounds, I am more 
> flexible. They don't have the capacity to de-stabilize the game. I 
> think that for instance, if freim finishes his new terrain in time, we 
> can include that. New music and sounds would also be highly desirable. 
> Completing all animations is something we would definitely want.
>
> Now, in terms of adding new units, these are my thoughts:
> - adding level 3 units to existing factions, such as the Drakes is 
> fine, since I don't think it changes the balance that much.

Because of the schedule you outlined, I think I'm going to focus on 
finishing/adding all the new units as fast as I can - in fact I may try 
to get them all in before the next release.
After that we really won't need any new units in the core factions.  I 
may/may not do this with all the graphics in place, but I assure you 
they will get done eventually, and I'll try to get them all done before 
the release.  I think it is important to *finish* that aspect of the 
game - to complete our unit set so we can start balancing some of the 
less stable races, like the dwarves and the drakes.

There are less than a dozen units we need.

I think we really need to rectify the Classic era somewhat - Default & 
Age of Heroes are fairly good, but classic could use a bunch of things 
- for one thing, it could use an analogue to Age of Heroes.

> My method of balancing units is usually not to have an 'open forum, 
> all in' approach. I think this is counter-productive. I prefer to ask 
> the opinion of a few people who I perceive to be knowledgable in the 
> area, and then make a decision based on that. I would REALLY love it 
> if there was a developer who people trusted to make balancing 
> decisions.

If I were to trust anyone to be able to perceive the subtle effects of 
balancing changes, it would be Elvish Pillager.

> Some things which I think we really need for 1.0, which can be done 
> 'safely' in that they will not de-stabilize the game:
> - better documentation in the help system

As certain sprites reach their final stage, I'll start updating any 
pictures in the help system with the new ones.
I should also lean on Elvish Pillager to start producing some general 
racial strategies - he has a few in the wiki, but needs to finish a 
complete set if we want them in.

> - better sound effects

This is something I have long been considering doing, as "foley art" is 
a skill I need to have, and one I suffered from not having quite a few 
times before.
Why the heck not - I'll start sometime this month.

> - work on bug fixes, including cosmetic cleanup and making the game 
> acceptably fast in all areas

Yes, one of the big issues we currently have, outside of multi, is in 
how slow our help system is.



> Remember that 1.0 can be seen in some ways as a starting point, not an 
> ending point. After 1.0 is released we can more confidently add 
> dramatic new features.

Indeed.  I plan on it.