Open Source (GPL) Fallout-like RPG engine searching for engine core coders

[mvBarracuda]

Da wir ein internationales Team sind, ist das Posting in Englisch verfasst. Ich hoffe, dass dies nicht gegen die Forenregeln verstösst.

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Team name:
FIFE developing team.

Project name:
FIFE - Flexible Isometric Fallout(-like) Engine.

Brief description:
Just like the name of our project suggests we work on a new open source engine for isometric RPGs. The engine started as a Fallout-only project but we recognized very fast that it offers the potential to be used as a general 2d ISO engine for the development of cross platform RPGs.

The engine supports the assets of the original Fallout games but it is also suitable for creating even totally new 2D RPGs. We are focusing on the creation of an engine itself but will bundle it with an example mod; so modders have a starting point to create their own games based on our engine.

Since we do not focus on the creation of a complete game we will be working on comfortable and easy-to-use editing tools. Engine and editor are planned to run on all flavours of Linux, Win32 and MacOSX.

The FIFE project is about 7 months in development now and we have released two public pre-alpha versions of the engine on sourceforge / freshmeat in January 2006.

Target aim:
Open source GPL v2.0; non-profit

Compensation:
We are confident that advanced coders will find it quite exciting to work on the creation and the designing of a whole engine with other experienced and passionate open source coders. But as we're a non-profit project the only thing we can provide is a way to express your love for open source software and the satisfying feeling to work on an ambitious project.

Technology:
Linux, Windows, MacOSX
C++, Boost library
SDL, OpenGL (optional)

Warning:
It seems that we should have stated this earlier as a lot of coders seem to be overstrained with our style of coding. That is not meant to sound rude but the creation of a whole engine is a very complicated large-scale project that needs a different working approach compared to smaller projects. As our former lead coder heavily relied on advanced programming techniques we are searching for quite experienced C++ coders that are searching for a challenging project to work on. If you're not familiar with programming design patterns like the GoF singleton or the factory: this project is not for you.

The best way to find out if you want to take the challenge, is to have a look at our current code base. You can either get the most recent code from our Subversion repository or download a fresh engine snapshot from our homepage (if you're not familiar with SVN yet or don't have the needed tools installed).

SVN sourcecode checkout:

svn co https://svn1.cvsdude.com/fife/engine/HEAD/core

HTTP sourcecode download:
http://members.fifengine.de/bin/FIFE_core.rar

Talent needed:
Engine core designer & coder - <font color="green">position open</font>
Our former lead coder stepped down from his position because he felt burned out and wanted to focus on his real-life activities. After we had realized how problematic it is to heavily rely on a single person when it comes to the engine core design, we decided to search for 2-3 core developers instead of going for a single lead coder. We were able to fill one of the core coder positions with Phoku who does a great job improving the engine.

However we don't want to end up with the same problems as before so we're still in the need to find one (or even better: two or more) engine core developer(s) to disburden Phoku and speed up the development. We build on the existing code so it is not comparable to starting a project from scratch. The project organization structure encompasses bi-weekly IRC meetings, a development wiki, a public Subversion sourcecode repository and a quite active mailing list, so we are just lacking developers to use this basis

Advanced C++ skills and engine design knowledge are required for this position as you will need to make design decision about the architecture of the engine. Experience with SDL, OpenGL or QT would be really appreciated but isn't a must. It is far more important that we find someone who can invest a serious amount of time to improve the engine design and give the development a direction.

Team structure:
Phoku - engine core designer & coder
Skybound - XMLmaps & script integration developer - founding member
Cheesesucker - editor developer
RogerWilco - troubleshooter & sound developer - founding member
kefrens - gfx engine developer
chewie - mod developer & wiki maintainer - founding member
mvBarracuda - project administrator - founding member

My job as project administrator is to keep the team together and to ensure that the communication structure inside the team works so everyone enjoys working on the project. Among other things I'm responsible for the news updates @ FIFEngine.de and I organize our bi-weekly irc meetings.

Website:
Homepage
Development wiki
Getting started guide for interested developers
Doxygen code documentation
Design document draft

Current release:
FIFE 2006.0-r1 Win32 binary
FIFE 2006.0-r1 pre-alpha Linux sourcecode

Contacts:
IRC channel: irc2.beyondirc.net | port: 6662 | #fife
eMail:
mvBarracuda@web.de
icq: UIN -> 98600423

Important:
You can either use our free XMLmaps with the engine or access the original Fallout maps with it. If you want to use the Fallout maps you will need a legit copy of Fallout 1 or 2. The FO 1/2 maps are far more advanced compared to our own XMLmaps; basically we just set some placeholder textures on them to have something that lets you start the engine without having to own Fallout. So if you want to experience the full beauty: give the Fallout maps a go.

To give you an impression about the status of the project we took sample screenshots of the current release (using the Fallout maps):

Engine screenshot with a Fallout map

Editor screenshot

Scripted GUI (with LUA)

FIFE runs fine on large resolutions

Alphablending in action

Feedback:
Feel free to add whatever feedback you like Critics will help us to improve the project.