[Bf-committers] 2.49 release proposal

[Ton Roosendaal]

Hi all,

It has been popping up in discussions a couple of times... the 
suggestion make one final "stable" release for the 2.4x series before 
moving to 2.50. That will also allow a more early release of the work 
since 2.48.
Another benefit would be that a good 2.49 release might sooth the 
migration pains for 2.50 a bit, for example for python API changes... 
:)

A clear downside is of course it takes time and energy away from 2.5 
work, the current bug tracker is quite loaded! But those should be 
tackled anyway.

I've promised to check on the tracker this week, to see how much of 
this is generic blender bugs, or stuff that's not relevant for 2.5. 
Would be nice if most 2.49 fixes could be migrated over. Will come back 
to that later.

Another good strategy to define if we're ready for a release is by 
defining release targets, which should be met before a release. Here's 
what has been mentioned on last sunday's irc meeting:

Blender 2.49 targets:

- Bug tracker down to reasonable level ( < 50?)
- Dome support for GE
- Texture nodes
- GE python, new logic property API
- New GE actuators
- Video textures (capture support Windows only)
- Projection paint
- Jpeg2000 support in sequencer
- Etch-a-ton (Martin's rigging system)

And we should do of course a splash screen contest!

Timing proposal: check target state weekly, and aim for an march/april 
release, provided we're happy with the svn state + have sufficient 
backup for making a release, like by the platform maintainers. :)

Feedback welcome!

-Ton-

------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ton Roosendaal  Blender Foundation   ton at blender.org    www.blender.org
Blender Institute BV  Entrepotdok 57A  1018AD Amsterdam The Netherlands