Monthly Review - April 2005

[Wijitmaker]

Due to the fact that there was not one clear standout for a member of the month award, there isn't one for this month. However, several staff members did some key things this month: Mark (resource gathering and unit training); Philip (colors and player color tester); Jan (lockless data structures); Bobby (second draft of the Greek Building models). They do deserve some recognition.

Accomplishments for the month of April:

• Hired a new historian - Cory McConnaughy aka Titus_Ultor
  
• Several new history articles
  
• Civilization profile changes made for simplicity, historical accuracy, and unit recognition
  
• First draft of Celtic citizen soldier units completed
  
• Implemented resource gathering (wood from trees, fruit from berry bushes, etc)
  
• Placeholder switching cursors
  
• Created variant actors for rocks and trees
  
• Implemented training and spawning of units (spending resources, production queues, progress)
  
• Rewrote GUI tab lists and command button code to support unit training
  
• Completed list control (listbox), the first draft of the dropdown (combobox) control, and made it possible to interact with the above controls via JavaScript.
  
• More progress on multiplayer connection UI
  
• Ported TDD docs to a Wiki format ... extrapolated GUI requirements from design
  
• Advertised/investigated scripters and a graphics programmer
  
• GUI update loop switched to entity selection events (watchAll) over continual ticks, for improved performance
  
• Initial implimentation of defining events during animations
  
• Created a more flexible type classes structure
  
• Function-spawning timers
  
• Iteration over properties of XML objects (eg for .. in loops)
  
• Moved entity scripts out of inline XML
  
• Designed ranged attack approach
  
• Implemented colour randomising (different horse skin tints, human hair color, etc)
  
• Wrote a player colour testing preview tool
  
• entity hierarchal flow visualisation tool created
  
• Expanded the Actor Editor tool
  
• Utilized random variants of actor properties
  
• Resurrected automated builds
  
• Completed lockless data structures and memory allocation code
  
• Started on JS file access interface
  
• Implemented improved JS ordering interface (giving network synchronised orders to entities)
  
• Designed user profile/config
  
• Discussed source licensing issues and how it relates to the staff
  
• Designed Fog of War / Shroud of Darkness implementation
  

I would also like to announce that one of the goals for the month of May is provide a screenshot of a larger scale battle screenshot than you have seen before. Your job is to hold us accountable to that goal.

[Argalius]

Wow, pretty bussy month was it. Great work 0AD team!

Your job is to hold us accountable to that goal.

And not forget to point out all those tiny mistakes you made.