Google Summer of Code 2011 - Ideas List
Hedgewars @ Google Summer of Code portal: http://hedgewars.org/gsoc.html
Here you can find a growing list of ideas that we think students would enjoy coding and that would make a great addition to the game.
Here is the list of ideas with description and some details on difficulty, people you should bug on IRC for more information, some non-compulsory skills and what impact it would make. The idea description is just to give you a taste of the work: we'd rather have the student application concentrate on telling us *how* they'll solve the thing, more than convincing us they figured out what the idea is about.
- iOS netplay
do you feel brave enough to implement the last major feature missing from the ios port? Let's implement the network stack for this version and let's play with thousands of devices around the world.
Skills: fpc/objc, ios framework, networking
Difficulty: easy
People to bug: koda
Impact: increased popularity and fun on iOS version - Construction
we have random maps, static maps and hand drawn maps to play with already, but what about creating the map during the game and react to the other teams constructions. More details here: http://hedgewars.org/node/1269 .
Skills: fpc
Difficulty: medium
People to bug: henek, mikade
Impact: interactive map creation requiring tactics - Android port
as demostrated by the iOS port, Hedgewars engine is very well suited for a mobile environment! Freepascal is very portable, as well as OpenGL and SDL. All it lacks is a nice Java frontend and some crosscompilation work...
Skills: java/fpc, android
Difficulty: medium
People to bug: unc0rr, nemo, koda, sheepluva
Impact: expands Hedgewars to an all new platform with new users - Video output tool
allow exporting a game save or demo in a standard video format! This would make it really easier for sharing nice replays; bonus points if you implement a Youtube uploader!
Skills: c++, video coding
Difficulty: easy
People to bug: unc0rr, smaxx
Impact: easier way to share replays and backward compatibility - Frontend updates
our c++ frontend is very modular but it is in need of some rework; we'd like to add crosscompilation facility, a graphical gui overhaul and a general refactoring.
Skills: c++, qt
Difficulty: easy
People to bug: unc0rr, smaxx, koda, henek
Impact: more polished user interface and less confusion - Editors
not every one playing and wanting to contribute to the game knows how two code or how the game works. Creating a mission editor with helpful features or a theme editor will allow many more to create content.
Skills: c++/lua, qt
Difficulty: medium
People to bug: unc0rr, henek, mikade, smaxx
Impact: easier creation of content and therefore more content - New weapon or utility
come up with a new weapon or utility to fill up our arsenal, or implement one that is requested by our fellow players. It is always fun to have a new and awesome weapon or smart utility to secure your victory!
Our weapon suggestion thread: http://www.hedgewars.org/node/629 .Skills: fpc
Difficulty: medium
People to bug: anyone
Impact: more variety of game play and tactics - Input system
we have some ideas that need exploring with esoteric keyboard layouts, on the fly gamepad, touchscreen/multitouch support... we need some abstraction levels
Skills: fpc/objc
Difficulty: medium
People to bug: unc0rr, nemo, smaxx, koda
Impact: improved controls for better gameplay experience - More stereo 3D
did you know that Hedgewars runs in stereo 3D (the one with the glasses)? Let's add more stereoscopic formats and autoswitch for 3D displays
Skills: fpc, opengl
Difficulty: medium
People to bug: smaxx, koda
Impact: stereo 3D is the fashion of tomorrow - GL-ES 2 rendering / SDL-1.3 porting
our rendering system is based on opengl and it is really portable and powerful. Yet embedded device are a little clunky with standard OpenGL calls... Let's make Hedgewars run at full power with a new renderer!
Skills: fpc, opengl
Difficulty: medium
People to bug: nemo, koda, smaxx
Impact: faster graphics on embedded devices, allows for webgl port - Network sync
since Hedgewars can be played across several platform we would like to have a way to keep the data folder synchronized, so that you can use you team and weapons on any platform on the fly.
Skills: haskell/c++/objc, networking
Difficulty: medium
People to bug: unc0rr, koda
Impact: making using many computers and phones easier - Tablet drawn maps
adapt the hand drawn maps to work with touch devices such as the iPad or an external tablet!
Skills: c++/objc, ios framwork
Difficulty: medium
People to bug: unc0rr, nemo, koda
Impact: making iOS version almost feature full - Multiplayer resume
currently when you are disconnected from the server you are also expelled from the game! This is annoying sometimes and you would like to be able to resume your game (if managed to reconnect in time)... help us implement this feature!
Skills: c++/fpc, networking
Difficulty: difficult
People to bug: unc0rr, nemo
Impact: removes a big irritation with struggling connections - AI
even though computers are stupid, there's always room for improvement! Let's teach AI teams how to properly use weapons so that single play can become as fun as network play!
Skills: fpc, artificial intelligence
Difficulty: difficult
People to bug: unc0rr, nemo
Impact: makes single player and campaign more interesting - New game mode
invent a new way in which hogs should play! For example you could implement planet mode: have you ever wanted to merge Hedgewars with Super Mario Galaxy (tm)?
Skills: fpc, physics
Difficulty: vary
People to bug: anyone
Impact: more variety in game play - Bug janitor
not fully conviced in any of the proposed task? Visit http://code.google.com/p/hedgewars/issues/list and help us squash down the list of current issues.
Skills: c++/fpc
Difficulty: vary
People to bug: anyone
Impact: more polished and game working as expected - Insert your idea here
ok, so you don't like any of our ideas at all? Submit your own! Tell us what you would like to do and we can help you in writing a nice application.
Skills: vary
Difficulty: vary
People to bug: anyone
Impact: vary
There is also plenty of threads in the forums with suggestions and ideas of things to add to the game that you can look through. Keep in mind though that they may not always be in nature with the game or not otherwise appropriate, so you will have to discuss them with us beforehand.