FlightGear Newsletter May 2014: Difference between revisions
(Created page with "{{newsletter}} {{TOC_right|limit=2}} {{Newsletter being written}} == Development news == Note to all contributors: Please also copy your newsletter additions to the changelo...") |
(→YASim looking for a new maintainer: not up to date any more) |
||
Line 115: | Line 115: | ||
To learn more about how the project works, please see [http://flightgear.org/forums/viewtopic.php?f=42&t=15267#p149971 this short essay] written by Thorsten, for a more detailed article see [[How the FlightGear project works]]. | To learn more about how the project works, please see [http://flightgear.org/forums/viewtopic.php?f=42&t=15267#p149971 this short essay] written by Thorsten, for a more detailed article see [[How the FlightGear project works]]. | ||
--> | --> | ||
=== Call for volunteers === | === Call for volunteers === |
Revision as of 12:27, 5 May 2014
|
Template:Newsletter being written
Development news
Note to all contributors: Please also copy your newsletter additions to the changelog for the upcoming release: Next Changelog.
Random Buildings
Project Rembrandt
A number of Mac users have been reporting issues related to running Project Rembrandt (deferred rendering/shadows) on Mac OSX with ATI/AMD GPUS, we are now looking for Mac users to provide feedback on running Rembrandt on Mac OSX, required information includes errors and warnings shown during startup/runtime, but also screen shots showing any issues. Please see: Project Rembrandt#Mac Issues.
Canvas System
Missions & Adventures
The FlightGear forum has a subforum related to: Tutorials, Missions & Adventures |
High Level Architecture
Usability Improvements
Getting involved as a programmer
Unfortunately, most of the active FG developers are currently very overstretched in terms of the areas that they have ownership of, which is affecting how much can actually be done. Fundamentally we need more core devs.
If you are interested in contributing as a core developer, please see Howto:Start core development.
If you interested in other developing, i.e. not C++ but Nasal scripting and/or XML, there are some articles listed at Category:Popular Community Requests that have been suggested, but not fully or partially implemented, and are "mentored efforts". That means that the community is looking for a hand in implementing them -- help from you -- but will also have more experienced developers willing to help you, for example by having tailored tutorials or even code snippets written for you. As mentioned in each page, please get in touch if you would like to help with one of those projects. In comparison to C/C++, Nasal is simpler and easier to learn quickly. It also doesn't require recompiling, which means that you can test and develop changes with a standard FlightGear release, i.e. off of the main download page. As long as you can run FlightGear, you can also run Nasal code and contribute. Many tutorials covering a wide range of projects are listed at Nasal, so if you know a programming/scripting language already, or would like to try something new, go ahead: read, write, try and get involved! When it comes to Nasal scripting, playing around with different tutorials and code snippets is more important than being an experienced coder.
Of course, you're also free to work on whatever you want -- FlightGear as a community-driven doesn't tell people what to do, but welcomes any contributions from anybody, as long as they have acceptable quality and are free to be licensed under the GNU GPL. So if you have something you would like to contribute back to FlightGear, please get in touch! (Preferably using Gitorious for larger merge requests, and the forums or (core-) developer's mailing list to inform the developers of what you want to contribute back.) Changes contributed 6-8 weeks before a release will usually appear in the next release, so your changes can be spread across the world.
Release ChangeLog
This section lists changes committed this month that will be available in the next release, these will be copied to the release changelog shortly before a release (for each month), so that we hopefully get a comprehensive list of new features.
Interview with a contributor (NAME)
In each edition we have an interview with a contributor. Suggestions for possible questions are available on interview questions, you are invited to come up with new questions and interview ideas obviously! Anyone is free to write an interview (with him-/herself or others) for next month's newsletter! If you'd like to help interview a contributor or get interviewed, please do consider adding yourself to the list of interview volunteers! To keep this going and less awkward, we are currently trying to come up with the convention that former interviewees become next month's interviewers.
- How long have you been involved in FlightGear?
- What are your major interests in FlightGear?
- What project are you working on right now?
- What do you plan on doing in the future?
- Are you happy with the way the FlightGear project is going?
- What do you enjoy most about developing for FlightGear?
- Are there any "hidden features" you have worked on in FlightGear that new users may miss?
- What advice can you give to new developers who want to get started on their first aircraft/new feature/Nasal script?
More questions are being collected here: Interview questions.
Stay tuned for next month's interview, featuring FlightGear contributor XXXXXXXX
Nasal for newbies
New software tools and projects
FlightGear addons and mods
In the hangar
New aircraft
Updated aircraft
Liveries
Scenery corner
Airports
Aircraft of the month
Airport of the month
Screenshot of the month
Suggested flights
Aircraft reviews
Wiki updates
Translators required
The FlightGear Wiki still needs help for translating it into various languages. If you are interested in making the FlightGear Wiki multi-language then start at Help:Translate. | |
Das FlightGear Wiki benötigt immer noch Hilfe bei der Übersetzung in verschiedene Sprachen. Wenn Du Interesse daran hast, das FlightGear Wiki Mehrsprachig zu machen, dann fang doch mit Help:Übersetzen an. | |
De FlightGear Wiki kan nog steed hulp gebruiken bij het vertalen van artikelen. Als je interesse hebt om de wiki meertalig te maken, raden we je aan om een kijkje te nemen bij Help:Vertalen. | |
La FlightGear wiki todavía necesita ayuda para traducirla a varios lenguajes. Si estás interesado en hacer la FlightGear wiki multilingüe, entonces comienza en Help:Traducir. |
Community news
FlightGear on YouTube
New tutorials and screencasts
Forum news
Multiplayer
Virtual airlines
FlightGear events
Useful links
And finally ...
Contributing
Many people think that contributing to the FlightGear project requires writing C++ code or doing 3D modeling and that it takes lots of time, and therefore feel that they cannot contribute directly. Not so. There's a whole variety of ways to make a valuable and satisfying contribution to FlightGear without being a developer.
The Volunteer page is intended to provide a starting point for those wanting to contribute, but who don't know how. Of course, these are just suggestions. So if you have already a specific idea in mind, please do get in touch with the community to ask for feedback, using the mailing lists, forum or the IRC channel (chat).
Remember that work in non-development areas will be appreciated as much as developer contributions (or more!), because generally more visible to the end user.
If you'd like to learn more about getting your own ideas and features into FlightGear, check out Implementing new features for FlightGear.
If you are contributing to the core simulator, or an aircraft in the master repository, you should be part of the FlightGear-devel mailing list, which is the primary point of contact for all discussions regarding the development of the simulator. You may want to check out also Howto: Understand the FlightGear development process and Howto: Starting core development.
Call for volunteers
- The Terragear maintainers are looking for volunteers to help with development on the next world scenery project. If you've ever wondered how a full 3D model of earth can be generated from raw data, now is your chance. See the plan at World Scenery 3.0 roadmap.
- The Target4Today team is looking for volunteers to help improving FlightGear's combat support