Re: 7.1.95 instant comments

[Stan Shebs <shebs@cygnus.com>]

   From: Massimo Campostrini <campo@mailbox.difi.unipi.it>
   Date: 07 Apr 1998 09:27:30 +0200

   IMHO, the main thing missing is a game rating.  Let me start with the
   games that can be blamed on me (using xconq 5 language):

   feb-1917:     scenario; incomplete
   galaxy2:      period; working, somewhat playtested
   ng-chinese, ng-italian, ng-japanese:
		 modules(*); working, not checked
   red-october:  scenario; working, somewhat playtested
   rom-civ-war:  scenario; working, somewhat playtested
   roman.g:      period; working, somewhat playtested
   russian-rev:  period(*); working, somewhat playtested
   t-roman:      map(*); working, checked
   t-russia:     map(*); working, checked
   time:         period; working, playtested

   * = not meant as game entry-points
   module = game building block

I can see putting warnings in the blurb about things that are known to
be incomplete, but I'd have a hard time assigning ratings to some
games.  For instance, tokyo.g *was* playtested, but then I enhanced it
to have burning buildings that explode and spread fire, and the
resulting game hasn't been playtested as much.  Also, how much testing
is needed to quality as "playtested"?  What about human vs human as
well as human vs AI?  I note that commercial game companies have the
same problem - they playtest what they think is a lot, then real users
crash the game right away...

   spec: I think that the name "xconq" (l.c. x) is more in line with Red
   Hat conventions; only the X server & libs start with X, apps start
   with x.

Hmmm.  "Xconq" is the official name, which subsumes X11, curses, and Mac
versions, while "xconq" is just the name of the X11 executable.  Still,
the description uses the proper name, so that should be sufficient.  I
tweaked the spec file.

   xconq games end by printing on stdout "No scores available."  This can
   be confusing to newbies.  If scoring is not implemented by 7.2, remove
   the message.

Your installation was incomplete - you need a "scores" directory under
xconqdir.  I'm guessing the imakefiles aren't doing that yet?  I suppose
the message could be more descriptive of what actually happened - the
reason scores are missing is because the whole directory is missing,
not because the score file is empty.

   The Index node in xconq.info is empty.

I'll look...

   Provide an email address for bug reports, advertised both in the game
   and in the manual?  And maybe another address for generic discussion,
   reserving (or renaming) xconq7@cygnus.com for development?  We must
   prepare for gamers to flock to xconq in droves ;-)

I suppose an "xconq-bugs" would make sense.  "xconq7" is open to generic
discussion now, but I don't see people drowning in mail.  Or have people
been inhibited because they think this list is for developers only?

   P.S.: What happened to midearth.g?

I mentioned it in the NEWS - I looked at the whole Tolkien game
copyright situation, and decided it wasn't worth dealing with.  So
we'll need to set up a contrib dir for midearth and friends, ideally
on a system not within reach of US copyright law or at a corporation
with deep pockets.  I whacked the starwars stuff for the same reason,
those guys are aggressive about their stuff, and saying "it's only
freeware" won't save you.

							Stan