Jeru

The person in charge of the small YouTube channel Pixabyte wants to make a video where one of the developers would create a pitch for 0 A.D. At the end of the video, I would like people to see a call to action to either (1) sign up to our mailing list, or (2) donate to the project. (If we are in the middle of the crowdfunding campaign, we would point there.) Any takers for this task?

From the contact form:

Make it very clear which posts will be deleted and it should be fine. Cool, I'll start a dedicated thread later today.

Great suggestion! Keep 'em coming!

There are some changes to the website I want to make.

I have added a notice indicating that I have volunteered to replace Erik as project liaison to SPI.

We will definitely do this in the interest of transparency.

Erik Johansson ("feneur") has announced he will step down from managing the development of the free, open-source game 0 A.D., citing his wish to focus on his writing and other hobbies. Johansson, 27 from Sweden, has been the project lead since 2008, and the team thanks him for his sustained leadership of the project. Back in '08, 0 A.D. was a small, proprietary freeware project, but under Erik's watch, the project has gone open-source and developed tremendously to a global community with thousands of fans and supporters. Erik has emphasized that he wishes to remain on the team, and he will continue to assist with certain administrative tasks, including serving on the Treasury Committee, a committee of contributors who make financial decisions for the project. Longtime 0 A.D. contributor Michael D. Hafer ("Mythos_Ruler") has agreed to take over leadership of the project pending the success of a crowdfunding campaign, tentatively set for May and June 2013, which he will plan and carry out. If the campaign succeeds, Hafer will work in a full-time capacity for one to two years from his home in Indiana, USA to promote all aspects of development of 0 A.D. Starting from now, Michael will be replacing Erik on the Design Committee, which decides which features will be included in the 0 A.D. software. He will still answer to the Treasury Committee for all decisions concerning raising and disbursing project funds. If the crowdfunding campaign succeeds, the Treasury Committee will pay Michael's salary according to the terms of a pending contract. Current committee members are: Design committee: Enrique, Michael ("Mythos_Ruler") and Jonathan ("quantumstate"). Treasury committee: Erik ("feneur"), Kieran ("k776") and Aviv ("Jeru"). Edit (April 5, 2013): The new project liaison to SPI is Aviv Sharon ("Jeru"). We invite contributors to advise our upcoming crowdsourcing campaign and help with related tasks. If you are interested, please let us know on our forums or on our contact form. Thanks!

Where's the next FOSDEM?

Wildfire Games, an international group of volunteer game developers, proudly announces the release of "0 A.D. Alpha 13 Magadha", the thirteenth alpha version of 0 A.D., a free, open-source game of ancient warfare. This alpha features the Mauryan Indians, AI improvements, six new songs and more! Easy Download and InstallDownload and installation instructions are available for Windows, Linux and Mac OS X. 0 A.D. is free of charge and always will be. Although you might find some people selling copies of 0 A.D., either over the internet or on physical media, you will always have the option to download 0 A.D. completely gratis, directly from the developers. Moreover, you can redistribute the game and modify it freely as long as you abide by the GPL. You can even use parts of the art and sound for your own projects as long as you abide by CC BY-SA. No "freemium" model, no in-game advertising, no catch. Top New Gameplay Features in This Release All-new and unique Mauryan Indian civilization, including new units, from war elephants to Brahmin priests; and new buildings, reflecting this culture's original architectural style. (See screenshot below.) The default AI, Aegis bot, has been greatly improved, be it at defending, attacking, or building a strong economy. It now supports researching technologies and should work much more reliably than most other AIs before. (Known problem: Aegis now has some issues with saved games. Sorry, we hope to fix this in A14.) Aegis can now play at several different difficulty levels, so beginners can easily learn to play, and more experienced players can get more of a challenge. Attack/move command: If you select units and then Ctrl + right-click on a location, they will go to the location, but also stop to attack enemies they meet along the way. Graphics and User Interface Improvements Helpful messages appear when a building can't be placed somewhere. (See screenshots below.) When you select a place to build a building, the building preview always shows the precise final variation that will be built. When some buildings are built, they now rise from the ground, and some also have lifelike scaffolds surrounding them. Tribute stats added to the summary screen. Players are notified when any tributes are given to them. Music and SoundNew Celtic songs: "Cisalpine Gaul" and "Celtica" (the latter featuring Jeff Willet's percussion),New Hellenic song: "The Hellespont" (also featuring Jeff),Combat music featuring taiko drums "First Sighting" and "Elusive Predator" by Jeff.First Mauryan song: "Land Between the Two Seas."New and improved animal sounds for lions, tigers and bears.Development Updates and Miscellaneous FeaturesUser mod support: See our modding guide to learn how to create your own mods for 0 A.D.The new JavaScript Debugger supports the basic features of debuggers (breakpoints, continue, step calls...), and allows 0 A.D. developers and modders to debug JavaScript scripts used by the game, saving a lot of time to understand some unexpected behavior or issue. 0 A.D. uses JavaScript in many different areas like gameplay logic, UI, AI and random map scripts. Thanks to mmayfield45 for contributing the web GUI. (See screenshot below, and the documentation wiki for more details.) Improved OS X build process, without need for MacPorts or Homebrew. Getting SupportPlease see the "Get Support" page on our website to find ways to get help from the active and friendly 0 A.D. community. We are well aware there is some room for improvement in 0 A.D. Some known issues are: Lag, visual glitches or textures not loaded, missing animations and more. When you provide feedback, we would ask you to focus on some of the other points that could be improved. Thanks. Please Contribute!We are seeking volunteer contributors in programming, art, sound, documentation and more. Programmers are especially welcome and can get started immediately. Interested? Log onto #0ad-dev on QuakeNet on IRC and meet the developers. Also, you are invited to register on our forums and start participating! Why "Magadha"?We name our releases according to development status ("Alpha" or "Beta"), successive release number (1, 2, 3, ...) and a word relating to the ancient world, in alphabetical order ("Argonaut" for A, "Bellerophon" for B, ...). Magadha was an ancient kingdom in northern India from which the Mauryan empire originated. The empire was founded by exiled general Chandragupta Maurya, who overthrew the reigning king of Magadha and went on to conquer most of the Indian subcontinent, as well as parts of Persia and Central Asia. Years later, the third monarch of the dynasty, Ashoka, would become famous for renouncing all violence, converting to Buddhism, and spreading the faith throughout the empire. Ashoka is also remembered as one of the most exemplary rulers in world history for his advanced social and animal welfare programs. Magadha also happens to be the birthplace of Jainism and Buddhism, two of India's historically significant religions. These religions' shared belief in rebirth and karmic retribution most likely derives from the culture of Magadha in the last five centuries BC. In honor of the release of the Mauryan Indian faction, we have decided to dub Alpha 13 "Magadha". For the next alpha, we welcome fan suggestions for words relating to the ancient world beginning with the letter N. Keep it original and related to the time frame portrayed in 0 A.D. (appx. 500 BC - 1 BC)! Subscribe to 0 A.D. Development News Contact info for press, bloggers, etc.: aviv@wildfireORACLEgames.com without the capitalized name of an ancient priest or priestess whom people would consult for advice or predictions of the future.

+1

Maybe next year. It seems like a high-profile conference, it is best to start small.

Yay

It would be a fun experience and it could be potentially useful for the project if people presenting are very clear about what the project needs, e.g. precisely what types of volunteer contributions, donations for a particular purpose etc. Also, if you discuss unsolved problems for discussion with the audience are a good idea, attendees can point you to people and resources. I suggest this for the summary:

Tomorrow's the last day for submissions through this form.

Anyone have plans to go to Brussels, Belgium this July? If you can write up a proposal for a talk about 0 A.D. within the next few days, you can probably get accepted and help raise awareness of 0 A.D., network with people in FOSS etc.

Vincent has told me that he's not sure if contributing to 0 A.D. is the best fit for him right now and he might come back in May. Hope to see you again soon!

Yes, any good research methodology class in the fields I mentioned would definitely discuss reliability and validity. But if you're just being evaluated for your writing, Perhaps you can make up the data. The prof will probably never tell the difference.

How is this for an English class rather than a psych/social studies class?

Hey Vincent, really nice portfolio, man. Your contributions here will be very welcome. Someone from the art department will be with you shortly to help orient you.

Scenes like Caesar's assassination might imply that there is role-playing in the game. I think it is better to stick to shots of cityscapes, battlefields etc.

Welcome to the team! Your contributions are very welcome. I was sorry to hear about your illness. I hope you get better soon, and in the mean time find strength to overcome the challenges you must be facing.

I suggest the trailer artistically represents somehow that "0 A.D." was a year that never existed. In the usual calendar, one goes from 1 B.C. to 1 A.D. and skips zero. This reflects the historical fiction in the game: Who would have won if all the factions were pitted against each other when each of them was at its prime? (We get this "correction" a lot and people should know that we made this "mistake" on purpose.) I think the cinematic should also represent economic and even cultural aspects of civilization, such as religion and trade, and not just war. You also might want to put GNU and Creative Commons logos in the trailer, even in some non-obvious way as an Easter egg. Perhaps you can find some extra ideas from the thread dedicated to the planned 0 A.D. trailer.

Merged Almin's thread ("YEEEEEES! Microsoft publishes Age of Empires II rebranded in HD!") into this one.

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