%----------------------------------% %----- Part 2: Project Status -----% %----------------------------------% % %--- Intro % Welcome to the second part of our FAQ video series. This time, we will talk about the project's current status. % %--- You've just released version 0.40.0. Another 60 releases to go until version 1.0? % Q: So, you've just released version 0.40.0. Another 60 releases to go until version 1.0? A: The OpenMW team uses the so-called Semantic Versioning to index OpenMW releases. A version label consists of three numbers, separated by a point. The first number refers to the current main version. Since OpenMW has not reached its first set of main goals, the current main version is 0. It will be increased to 1 as soon as we've reached all of the goals I've introduced in the first part of this series. The second number indicates the minor version count. It is increased with every release, 40 of which we had until today. Accordingly, the number is by no means a percentage value of our progress. If you want to convert the current version into such a value, I'd say that we've released version 0.95 or 0.96. The minor version counter is reset to 0 when the major version counter is increased. The last number represents maintenance releases or patches. These are small updates in case of severe errors popping up after a minor version's release. The patch counter is reset to 0 once another minor version release has arrived. Oh, and don't get confused: We often skip the last number because we are lazy as hell! % %--- Is Morrowind currently playable on OpenMW? % Q: Now, be honest: Is Morrowind currently playable on OpenMW? A: The short answer is: Yes, Morrowind is already playable on OpenMW! And here's the long answer: As far as we know, the main story, both add-ons as well as every side quest of the vanilla game are working. The same goes for nearly every game mechanic, missing a few AI features at the moment. Testers constantly give us feedback about our engine's performance -- and current replies show that our engine often runs more stable than the original one, without noticeable bugs and with a decent frame rate, even on high graphics settings. We get more and more reports about issues with mods though which is related to the increased number of players using OpenMW. Often, errors occur because of mod author's hackish solutions to the original engine's limitations, or because of plain scripting errors. However, there are lots of bugs or unexpected behaviours on OpenMW's side which only appear, if the engine gets stressed beyond the vanilla game's standards. We are also implementing a lot of fall-backs and workarounds to make OpenMW compatible to as many mods as possible. % %--- What exactly keeps you from releasing version 1.0? % Q: What exactly keeps you from releasing version 1.0? A: There are four main things which prevent us from directly jumping to version 1.0: the status of our editor, OpenMW-CS, missing features, bugs, and missing optimisation. OpenMW comes with its own editor, OpenMW-CS. We initially planned to release OpenMW 1.0 and OpenMW-CS 1.0 at the same time in order to allow modders to create new content right away. However, the progress on our editor had been much slower for a long time which resulted in a big gap between OpenMW's playability and OpenMW-CS's usability. Because of that the OpenMW team has decided to uncouple both pieces of software and will release OpenMW version 1.0 even without the editor being fully functional. When you have a look at our bug tracker, you get an impression of what's missing right now on OpenMW's side. First of all, there is a small number of features which need to be implemented. These include several AI-related tasks, e.g., a proper implementation of the AI's fleeing behaviour and an improved path-finding AI. A full list of the missing features is available in the video links below. The OpenMW team wants to release a product which is as bug-free as possible. According to our bug tracker, the number of bugs which need to be fixed before version 1.0 can be released is in the double figures. There are likely to show up more bugs in the future but we've managed to constantly decrease the number of remaining issues in the past. Nevertheless, bug-fixing is a tedious task which can be very time-consuming. The last reason for delaying the 1.0 release is a rather vague yet complex one: optimisation. As I said earlier, OpenMW performs very well. There are a few weaknesses though, namely certain problems with the physics engine and performance problems on AMD graphics cards. Additionally, the OpenMW team not only wants to create an engine which is equal to a 14-year-old game engine but rather allows to use modern graphic features, more scripts, and more content, while keeping a decent frame rate. We will have to trade perfect optimisation off against a reasonable release date for version 1.0. % %--- OpenMW seems to be rather complete. When do you expect version 1.0 to arrive? % Q: OpenMW seems to be rather complete. When do you expect version 1.0 to arrive? A: OpenMW is an open source project, and every team member working on OpenMW does so on a voluntary basis. That said, we don't give exact release dates. But let me give an estimation instead: I would say that we will have two to three minor releases until version 1.0 is ready, i.e., 0.41, 0.42, maybe a 0.43 and, then, an OpenMW 1.0.0. Given an average time of three to four months per release and counting from September 2016, we end up with a 1.0 release between June 2017 and January 2018. % %--- Will there be a beta test or something like that? % Q: Will there be a beta test or something like that? A: There are supporters and opponents of a beta test -- and we had quite a few discussions about that topic. The first group argues that it would be beneficial to announce a public beta in order to make clear where the project stands and to draw the attention of additional testers. The latter group wants to avoid the term beta as OpenMW is playable right now, and only in alpha status because of some minor features missing. They opt for an extended test phase before the 1.0 release. We will decide on that matter when the time has come -- and, of course, inform you about our decision. Despite the naming issues, you can assume that we will rather delay version 1.0 to thoroughly test OpenMW's functionality than rush an unstable OpenMW 1.0. % %--- Outro % Alright, any questions left? If yes, simply put them in the comments tab below, or head over to our forums at openmw.org. Below this video, you'll also find the most important links regarding our project. See you in the next part which will cover OpenMW's potential and limitations. Until then, thanks for watching!