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(The purpose of this thread is to give a rough idea what this forum is about and how is our project doing. This post will be apdated when necessary, and the rest of the thread consists of weekly status reports. There may also be occasional additional reports as well as corrections to possible mistakes in the reports, but it is advised that you do not reply to anything on this thread. Start a new one instead.)
What is GGS?
The acronym stands for Guns, Germs & Steel: Tools of Conquest. It is an ambitious development project which aims to take the Civlilization type of gaming to a next level by way of taking the core concept of Civ -- a game of guiding a civilization through the extent of whole human history -- and step-by-step re-engineering it to meet modern requirements for realism, level of detail and player interaction. Nothing is sacred to us, and we are taking a critical stand on all aspects of traditional civ-type games in order to reach our goal. GGS will also incorporate many advanced new features such as supply/demand-based economy, diseases and intricate domestic politics.
The project started off in March 2000 at the Civ3 General / Suggestions forum at Apolyton. Since then, it has become apparent that GGS will be anything but another civ-clone because we feel that some fundamental changes have to be made to overcome the pitfalls of the genre. However, the focus of the game will remain to be in the same classic ingredients that made Sid Meier's Civilization a hit in the first place: an opportunity for the player to build a nation of his own, compete with others like him and have a feeling of writing history while at it. Thus, anyone interested in Civilization type gaming should keep an open mind about GGS as well.
Why are we doing this?
The goals of GGS are very ambitious, though the project is still in its infancy. This is indeed a long-term effort which we are undertaking, we have no illusions about that. Furthermore, the game itself will have aspects that are going to be radically different from contemporary civ games, which inevitably begs the question: how do we know that this will work out?
Frankly, we don't. There isn't yet a proof of concept for GGS, so most developers are acting upon faith. Thy are motivated by a belief that simply making a Civ-clone is not sufficient to revolutionarize the genre, and that the rewards of of their efforts overcome the risks. Some of us have been around since the very early phase, and have witnessed the sudden raise of enthusiam as well as the subsequent fall of interest which are characteristic of many fan-based projects. By now GGS has formed a dedicated, though small core of developers who are willing to push things forward. Perhaps slowly, but with determination!
As for the need for yet another game, we believe that we are sufficiently unique compared to other on-going development projects. The current and near-future commercial alternatives seem to be too conservative and relying too heavily on the Civ legacy. Besides, our software and whole development process is public instead of proprietory. And unlike Freeciv, the most successful open-source civ so far, GGS is not trying to make an open version of an existing game but to create something novel. There are other projects to be considered as well, perhaps the most promising being Clash of Civilizations, but we feel that our objectives differ enough: Clash strives to create a strong AI whereas GGS will focus on multiplayer and realism aspects.
Who are the developers?
This is a fully open project to which anyone can volunteer to participate. We do not have a formal organization structure and basicly all contributors are equal regardless of whether they write extensive design documents or just post questions on the forum. Same applies to programmers, though at some point there will have to be some division of responsibilities to manage the code repository. But all in all, we are a meritocracy in the sense that only your contributions matter, not who you are or how long have you been here. Ever since the beginning the active developers have been a heterogeneous group of different natiolities, world-views, opinions and professions, which has proved to be a great asset.
How do we operate?
GGS is an open-source project and will remain as such. Everything we do is open to public scrutiny, and if someone has a better way of designing/programming any part of the game, small or large, he is free to do so. The only restrictions are that all contributions should be credited to the right person, and whatever changes are made should also be public. The motivation to choose an open development model is that it makes it easier for newcomers to participate and it allows us to leverage existing open-source as well as Civilization fan communities. The development is divided roughly into this Apolyton forum, which focuses on design issues, and our mailing list which deals with programming details. Naturally programmers keep an eye and participate on design, but in this forum all the discussion is kept in a level that a non-programmer can understand. The point of the separation is to keep the design discussions from being cluttered by pedantic programming issues, and to avoid the show being run by programmers simply because no one else understands them.
In this forum, the design issues can be dealt with in two ways: either by participating a discussion on whatever topic interests you, or by writing more formal design documents. The purpose of design documentation is to summarize the results of the free-form brainstroming that's going on, so that we would have some structure to our vision. GGS is a vast project, and by no means can all the relevant information be kept in the heads of individuals. Design documents, or "models" as we also call them, have a rough hierarchical structure starting from accurately named "design document". It provides an overview of all the design aspects and will have references to appropriate models. Each model contains a description of one aspect of the game, such as economy, religion, turn order and so on. A potential contributor should not be appalled by this apparent formalism: writing a model is not supposed to be a big task. Basicly any flimsy attempt of writing down your ideas can be qualified as draft version of a model, which can be posted on this board for discussion and improvement. Similarly, anyone can make a new version of an existing model by simply informing the person responsible for the model and writing the necessary changes. Once a model is mature enough to be of potential use, it can be approved with an informal vote, just to make sure that the concensus is behind the design.
For programming-related issues we have a dedicated mailing list at sourceforge. Sourceforge also provides us with CVS and perhaps other functions, but we are not yet using them. The choice of language for GGS is C++, and the game will at first run only in Windows environment. In the future there may be ports to other platforms, but not very soon. Our goals are to write modular code and use object-oriented approach in order to tackle the complexity inherent in our plans. At the moment, the core framework and architecture of the game is still under development, but once that's done we can expect to switch into an incremental development, so that the public would be able to try out working demos/prototypes of the game as it evolves.
Apart from Apolyton and Sourceforge, anyone who is interested may check out IRC channel #ggs at Undernet. That's a place where developers and interested individuals can gather to chat and kill some time. Logs of meetings are usually posted on the mailing list. Finally, a good place to search for GGS related stuff is our website at ggstoc.sourceforge.net. We are trying to keep it updated with all the relevant documentation, new graphics, binaries and news.
How can you participate?
Simply post comments and questions on this forum. That's how easy it is. All the questions (especially "dumb" ones) are welcome because they keep us alert and may bring up important overlooked issues. On a more dedicated level, you could see if there are any aspects of the game which you have some ideas on, and write a model. Programmers are advised to subscribe to the mailing list (see contact information below) and start asking questions there. Artists don't yet have much to do, but soon there will certainly be a great need for such talents so just post something on the forum or the list and stick around. Anyone interested in helping on our website, contact the webmasters.
Contact information:
Website: ggstoc.sourceforge.net
Sourceforge: http://sourceforge.net/projects/ggstoc/ (see 'lists' for the mailing list archives and subscriptions)
IRC: #ggs at Undernet (appropriate meeting times can be agreed upon on this forum)
(If you have any suggestions how to improve or update this overview, start a new thread or PM me. Please do not reply in this thread.)
What is GGS?
The acronym stands for Guns, Germs & Steel: Tools of Conquest. It is an ambitious development project which aims to take the Civlilization type of gaming to a next level by way of taking the core concept of Civ -- a game of guiding a civilization through the extent of whole human history -- and step-by-step re-engineering it to meet modern requirements for realism, level of detail and player interaction. Nothing is sacred to us, and we are taking a critical stand on all aspects of traditional civ-type games in order to reach our goal. GGS will also incorporate many advanced new features such as supply/demand-based economy, diseases and intricate domestic politics.
The project started off in March 2000 at the Civ3 General / Suggestions forum at Apolyton. Since then, it has become apparent that GGS will be anything but another civ-clone because we feel that some fundamental changes have to be made to overcome the pitfalls of the genre. However, the focus of the game will remain to be in the same classic ingredients that made Sid Meier's Civilization a hit in the first place: an opportunity for the player to build a nation of his own, compete with others like him and have a feeling of writing history while at it. Thus, anyone interested in Civilization type gaming should keep an open mind about GGS as well.
Why are we doing this?
The goals of GGS are very ambitious, though the project is still in its infancy. This is indeed a long-term effort which we are undertaking, we have no illusions about that. Furthermore, the game itself will have aspects that are going to be radically different from contemporary civ games, which inevitably begs the question: how do we know that this will work out?
Frankly, we don't. There isn't yet a proof of concept for GGS, so most developers are acting upon faith. Thy are motivated by a belief that simply making a Civ-clone is not sufficient to revolutionarize the genre, and that the rewards of of their efforts overcome the risks. Some of us have been around since the very early phase, and have witnessed the sudden raise of enthusiam as well as the subsequent fall of interest which are characteristic of many fan-based projects. By now GGS has formed a dedicated, though small core of developers who are willing to push things forward. Perhaps slowly, but with determination!
As for the need for yet another game, we believe that we are sufficiently unique compared to other on-going development projects. The current and near-future commercial alternatives seem to be too conservative and relying too heavily on the Civ legacy. Besides, our software and whole development process is public instead of proprietory. And unlike Freeciv, the most successful open-source civ so far, GGS is not trying to make an open version of an existing game but to create something novel. There are other projects to be considered as well, perhaps the most promising being Clash of Civilizations, but we feel that our objectives differ enough: Clash strives to create a strong AI whereas GGS will focus on multiplayer and realism aspects.
Who are the developers?
This is a fully open project to which anyone can volunteer to participate. We do not have a formal organization structure and basicly all contributors are equal regardless of whether they write extensive design documents or just post questions on the forum. Same applies to programmers, though at some point there will have to be some division of responsibilities to manage the code repository. But all in all, we are a meritocracy in the sense that only your contributions matter, not who you are or how long have you been here. Ever since the beginning the active developers have been a heterogeneous group of different natiolities, world-views, opinions and professions, which has proved to be a great asset.
How do we operate?
GGS is an open-source project and will remain as such. Everything we do is open to public scrutiny, and if someone has a better way of designing/programming any part of the game, small or large, he is free to do so. The only restrictions are that all contributions should be credited to the right person, and whatever changes are made should also be public. The motivation to choose an open development model is that it makes it easier for newcomers to participate and it allows us to leverage existing open-source as well as Civilization fan communities. The development is divided roughly into this Apolyton forum, which focuses on design issues, and our mailing list which deals with programming details. Naturally programmers keep an eye and participate on design, but in this forum all the discussion is kept in a level that a non-programmer can understand. The point of the separation is to keep the design discussions from being cluttered by pedantic programming issues, and to avoid the show being run by programmers simply because no one else understands them.
In this forum, the design issues can be dealt with in two ways: either by participating a discussion on whatever topic interests you, or by writing more formal design documents. The purpose of design documentation is to summarize the results of the free-form brainstroming that's going on, so that we would have some structure to our vision. GGS is a vast project, and by no means can all the relevant information be kept in the heads of individuals. Design documents, or "models" as we also call them, have a rough hierarchical structure starting from accurately named "design document". It provides an overview of all the design aspects and will have references to appropriate models. Each model contains a description of one aspect of the game, such as economy, religion, turn order and so on. A potential contributor should not be appalled by this apparent formalism: writing a model is not supposed to be a big task. Basicly any flimsy attempt of writing down your ideas can be qualified as draft version of a model, which can be posted on this board for discussion and improvement. Similarly, anyone can make a new version of an existing model by simply informing the person responsible for the model and writing the necessary changes. Once a model is mature enough to be of potential use, it can be approved with an informal vote, just to make sure that the concensus is behind the design.
For programming-related issues we have a dedicated mailing list at sourceforge. Sourceforge also provides us with CVS and perhaps other functions, but we are not yet using them. The choice of language for GGS is C++, and the game will at first run only in Windows environment. In the future there may be ports to other platforms, but not very soon. Our goals are to write modular code and use object-oriented approach in order to tackle the complexity inherent in our plans. At the moment, the core framework and architecture of the game is still under development, but once that's done we can expect to switch into an incremental development, so that the public would be able to try out working demos/prototypes of the game as it evolves.
Apart from Apolyton and Sourceforge, anyone who is interested may check out IRC channel #ggs at Undernet. That's a place where developers and interested individuals can gather to chat and kill some time. Logs of meetings are usually posted on the mailing list. Finally, a good place to search for GGS related stuff is our website at ggstoc.sourceforge.net. We are trying to keep it updated with all the relevant documentation, new graphics, binaries and news.
How can you participate?
Simply post comments and questions on this forum. That's how easy it is. All the questions (especially "dumb" ones) are welcome because they keep us alert and may bring up important overlooked issues. On a more dedicated level, you could see if there are any aspects of the game which you have some ideas on, and write a model. Programmers are advised to subscribe to the mailing list (see contact information below) and start asking questions there. Artists don't yet have much to do, but soon there will certainly be a great need for such talents so just post something on the forum or the list and stick around. Anyone interested in helping on our website, contact the webmasters.
Contact information:
Website: ggstoc.sourceforge.net
Sourceforge: http://sourceforge.net/projects/ggstoc/ (see 'lists' for the mailing list archives and subscriptions)
IRC: #ggs at Undernet (appropriate meeting times can be agreed upon on this forum)
(If you have any suggestions how to improve or update this overview, start a new thread or PM me. Please do not reply in this thread.)
What an odd smiley, don't you think? 
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