macOS A proposal - Mac Rumours open source project - details inside

[Cromulent]

I propose that we start a Mac Rumours open source project. Not only would it benefit myself and give me some experience with working with other developers I think it will also benefit other programmers who are in a similar situation. For the experienced developers it might be something quite fun and interesting that you could contribute too with no strings attached.

So here is the project idea:

Create a Mac based MMOG (massively multiplayer online game) including the server and the game client. The server will be written in C and make use of common UNIX libraries to help with cross platform compatibility (pthreads, BSD sockets, PostgreSQL etc etc). It will use PostgreSQL 8.3.7+ as the database back end.

The client will also be written in C and will make use of OpenGL 2.1, OpenAL and BSD sockets for networking. The physics engine will either be hand crafted or another open source based physics engine will be used.

The game concept is largely mapped out but is obviously open for discussion if people are interested. If people are interested I will post a link to the Github repositories for the source code (they are empty at the moment). People interested will just need to download Git from http://www.git-scm.com/ and PostgreSQL from http://www.postgresql.org/ everything else is included with Mac OS X. I would also say you should be running Xcode 3.1+ for project file compatibility.

So what do you think? Interested? Think I'm stupid? I'd like to know .

 

[HyperSnake]

Sorry dude, but I don't think you could have found a subject that has less to do with this website than exactly that. Nevertheless, if we were to do an open-source Macrumors project, how about starting out with something smal
and not anything as big as a fully featured game. If we can manage to find a group of good developers here on this site, who can manage to work together, we can start doing bigger and bigger projects and MAYBE Eventually
do a project the size you are describing.

For a smaller project, I've got some ideas(havent had time to research them yet though):
1. A Macrumors desktop client featuring everything availabe on the web site, just in a nice mac-native cocoa application.
2. The above as an iPhone app(I'd contribute to that!)
3. A Mac/iPhone developer application filled with everything a developer could possible need(documentation search, available APIs, tutorials, source code, info about various open-source projects, a special developer chatroom, page where developers can write aout themselves and link
up with other developers or designers, etc., etc., etc.

If I was at my computer I'd be bothered to write a few more but after all, the iphone's keyboard is still not a tenth the size of a real one.

BEN.

 

[Cromulent]

Sorry dude, but I don't think you could have found a subject that has less to do with this website than exactly that.

True to an extent but gaming is still something that lots of Mac people are interested in. Even Mac developers . Plus networking, physics and databases are the areas that I am most interested in personally so the project I outlined above ticks all the right boxes for me .

I was never really thinking about it as a project that would be completed, more just an interesting past time.

Nevertheless, if we were to do an open-source Macrumors project, how about starting out with something smal
and not anything as big as a fully featured game. If we can manage to find a group of good developers here on this site, who can manage to work together, we can start doing bigger and bigger projects and MAYBE Eventually
do a project the size you are describing.

For a smaller project, I've got some ideas(havent had time to research them yet though):
1. A Macrumors desktop client featuring everything availabe on the web site, just in a nice mac-native cocoa application.
2. The above as an iPhone app(I'd contribute to that!)
3. A Mac/iPhone developer application filled with everything a developer could possible need(documentation search, available APIs, tutorials, source code, info about various open-source projects, a special developer chatroom, page where developers can write aout themselves and link
up with other developers or designers, etc., etc., etc.

If I was at my computer I'd be bothered to write a few more but after all, the iphone's keyboard is still not a tenth the size of a real one.

BEN.

Good suggestions, only problem is I am not very good with Objective-C being primarily a C programmer. Still I'm sure it wouldn't take me long to get back into though it has just been awhile since I read the Hillegass book.

 

[Cromulent]

Well considering the huge number of replies I have received regarding this proposal I'll just post a link to the Github project and if anyone wants to join in they are more than welcome .

http://github.com/Cromulent/ARServer/

 

[ChrisA]

The way you start an Open Source project is first one person has to put of LOT of his time into it and get something that at least half-way works. OK you can try and do otherwise but you will be the first guy on Earth to make that work. People want to see that a project "is real" and has a chance of success and the only way to do that is for YOU to write a working demo.

So,.. Go to Sourceforce create an account and put some code in CVS.

Also I think yu'd have more success if the project were not a game. Games are hard to design in a decentralized way. But if you want a game them design an infrascructure such that other developers could contribute self-contains parts. Maybe you have a way to build characters or locations and people could contribute them

Think about what you know and can do. do NOT start a project unless you are a true EXPERT in that area. You will need to lead others and you will need to gain their respect and you get that respect for being the leading autority. So do you know accounting, image processing, How to design stairways for residential buildings??? I'm sure you know about something. Base the software around whatever it is you know. Then get a bare minimum demo working.

You have to do a lot of ground work to get the ball rolling. You also have to be prepared to finish the project yourself. I've done a few projects like that, finished them myself.

But if all you want is to work on an open source project why start one? THere are many. Find one you like. In fact before starting one yourself spend time working on a few others and see how they work. The hard parts are, how is code "accepted"? Is there a testing process? Who makes decisions or solves conflicts. How is the feature set maintained? These issues are all call "governance" and you should work on a few projects to see how it's done, every project is different

 

[Cromulent]

Good advice. I'll just keep working away at it and if someone is interested they can join in, if not it is no skin off my nose.

 

[Acornz]

Sounds like a good idea. A game is way too big for this though, I like HyperSnake's third idea a lot.