[Kde-games-devel] Meeting results and todo items

[Mauricio Piacentini]

Hi. We had a very productive meeting yesterday, centered around the
agenda still available at

http://techbase.kde.org/Projects/Games/IRC_Meeting

A quick summary follows for each major item discussed:

a) Documentation. All maintainers are expected to work on getting the
documentation ready in the next two weeks. Remember, translators need
time, and the earlier we finish, the better. Eugene is coordinating this
effort and has already written how-to's for most of the games. Help is
trickling from the docs team, following our request from last week.
Eugene can be found usually hanging behind a rock, in the #kdegames IRC
channel, under the it-s nickname...

b) Website. Emil is working on a redesign of games.kde.org, and already
has a lot of the work done, in partnership with Eugene. This is also a
result of our call for help, thanks Emil for stepping up and leading
this task. The #kdegames IRC channel is also a good way to spot Emil
(emilsedgh) and give him suggestions and help.

c) Game icons and action icons. We need to compile a list of the icons
that are still missing for all games and libraries. Johann started this
effort a few months ago, but it did not get far as support for all
maintainers is needed. So if you are a maintainer, collect the list of
missing icons for your game now. Johann will create a new page on
techbase so we can track what is missing, and relay this information to
the Oxygen team as well. This task has priority, so it has to be done by
the end of next week, at most. Johann will post the icon page URL in the
next couple of days, be ready with your list of needed icons for when it
is done.

d) KNewStuff2 server setup. It was decided that KNewStuff2, while very
important for our module, should be the focus of 4.1. There are some
reasons for this, mainly because we could not setup a server yet, and
test the libraries. Also most games are not at a point where the theme
format is really fixed in stone, and this is needed if we expect to
receive lots of new themes and do not want breakage in the future.

e) Game maintainers and games to be released with 4.0. Not all games 
currently in kdegames are guaranteed to be part of the 4.0 and survive 
the beta/RC cycle. Specifically, games need to be active maintained in 
order to remain in the main SVN module. By actively maintained, we 
agreed that all items in the Game Status page need to be cleared in two 
to four weeks, including documentation and other todo items discussed 
above. KNetwalk for example was in danger: fortunately Fela Winkelmolen 
agreed to step up and solve the documented shortcomings, and will 
attempt to fill the missing bits in the next couple of weeks. As an 
example, things are looking fine for KNetwalk, as Fela in the last 24 
hours solved a couple of issues, including highscore support, and some 
graphical glitches. Some of our other games are in need of some love 
like this. So I ask listed maintainers to take a step back and look at 
the remaining items, and current status of the game:

http://techbase.kde.org/Projects/Games/Status_KDE_4.0

Do you think it is in excellent shape, and ready to survive what could 
be maybe a 4-5 year release cycle, during the whole 4.x series, without 
heavy maintenance? If you think it is, then finish the missing bits in 
the next couple of weeks, and it will be part of 4.0. If if you feel the 
game needs major changes, or work that you are not willing to do, or not 
sure it could be done in the next month, consider asking for help. 
Remember that moving the game out of the main module while it is still 
not ready is an option: we have several in playground right now, some in 
excellent shape, just waiting for the final polish in order to join the 
main module. Remember that we as a group prefer to have fewer high 
quality games initially and more high quality titles added at each 
release cycle (4.1, 4.2), instead of starting with some semi-finished 
applications. This was confirmed by our users survey last year as well.

Comments are welcome, hope the summary is accurate!

Best regards,
Mauricio Piacentini