07-08-2009, 07:48 PM
PUGWIPE:
Introduction
About 5 months ago Las Venturas Playground 2.90 was released. After a long time of 2.x versions, it’s
time for something new: Las Venturas Playground 3.0.
The code of 2.x versions is quite the mess, years of developing spread the code into too many files and
there are duplicate variables for various things. Even though some code was cleaned up for the release
of 2.90, it is still too messy. LVP 3.0 will be a complete rewriting, and it’s very important that this code
stays clean; therefore there will be extensive guidelines for developers working on it.
We also think it is important to get the players of LVP more involved into the development process. The
first steps for this have already been taken, by making our bug tracker, Mantis, public. The next step we
want to take is to make LVP 3.0 open‐source. We’ll be using a project manager, possibly Google Code, to
make the entire gamemode publicly available. The SVN will have read‐only access for everyone, but only
developers will be able to commit. Players are allowed to add features or fix bugs by sending us patches,
which are .diff files. After we revise them we can merge them into the gamemode, send them back to
the author for some changes or deny them entirely. This will allow active players that are able to write
decent code to be very involved in the development process without being in the actual development
team or having any obligations. They will however, have to follow our coding guidelines.
An important change in the code of the new version is the use of a pre‐compiler. This pre‐compiler,
which was developed by LVP‐Media, will allow developers to use new features in PAWN. This includes
classes and some other features. More information on the pre‐compiler can be found in the
documentation of the precompiler which is on the current SVN.
To prevent people from ‘stealing’ the new gamemode and running it on their own server, a plugin will
be needed to run the gamemode. This plugin will of course not be available for the public. Details on the
actual plugin are still to come.
We plan to begin working on LVP 3.0 in the near future. We’ll start with making an extensive plan for
everything we want in 3.0, including the guidelines for developers. After we have a good plan the
current development team will start by making a solid base for the gamemode. After we think we have a
base that others can use to develop more features, we will release it to the open SVN. After we have
done this all code will directly go there, no more private code. A test server will be running to find any
bugs and test new features. Its gamemode should be compiled on a daily basis so it includes the latest
changes. As soon as we have something that is good enough to replace the current 2.90 gamemode
we’ll have to test it extensively and decide on a possible release. In the mean time LVP 2.90 will also
need to be maintained, though the focus should be on 3.0. Fixing important bugs on 2.90 should still be
done, though it is not necessary to develop new features.
Introduction
About 5 months ago Las Venturas Playground 2.90 was released. After a long time of 2.x versions, it’s
time for something new: Las Venturas Playground 3.0.
The code of 2.x versions is quite the mess, years of developing spread the code into too many files and
there are duplicate variables for various things. Even though some code was cleaned up for the release
of 2.90, it is still too messy. LVP 3.0 will be a complete rewriting, and it’s very important that this code
stays clean; therefore there will be extensive guidelines for developers working on it.
We also think it is important to get the players of LVP more involved into the development process. The
first steps for this have already been taken, by making our bug tracker, Mantis, public. The next step we
want to take is to make LVP 3.0 open‐source. We’ll be using a project manager, possibly Google Code, to
make the entire gamemode publicly available. The SVN will have read‐only access for everyone, but only
developers will be able to commit. Players are allowed to add features or fix bugs by sending us patches,
which are .diff files. After we revise them we can merge them into the gamemode, send them back to
the author for some changes or deny them entirely. This will allow active players that are able to write
decent code to be very involved in the development process without being in the actual development
team or having any obligations. They will however, have to follow our coding guidelines.
An important change in the code of the new version is the use of a pre‐compiler. This pre‐compiler,
which was developed by LVP‐Media, will allow developers to use new features in PAWN. This includes
classes and some other features. More information on the pre‐compiler can be found in the
documentation of the precompiler which is on the current SVN.
To prevent people from ‘stealing’ the new gamemode and running it on their own server, a plugin will
be needed to run the gamemode. This plugin will of course not be available for the public. Details on the
actual plugin are still to come.
We plan to begin working on LVP 3.0 in the near future. We’ll start with making an extensive plan for
everything we want in 3.0, including the guidelines for developers. After we have a good plan the
current development team will start by making a solid base for the gamemode. After we think we have a
base that others can use to develop more features, we will release it to the open SVN. After we have
done this all code will directly go there, no more private code. A test server will be running to find any
bugs and test new features. Its gamemode should be compiled on a daily basis so it includes the latest
changes. As soon as we have something that is good enough to replace the current 2.90 gamemode
we’ll have to test it extensively and decide on a possible release. In the mean time LVP 2.90 will also
need to be maintained, though the focus should be on 3.0. Fixing important bugs on 2.90 should still be
done, though it is not necessary to develop new features.