The Battle for Wesnoth Wiki - User contributions [en]

SummerOfCodeIdeas

2009-04-01T15:02:20Z

IneQuation: /* Extending the Multiplayer server */

This is a compilation of ideas from ML. Needs to be refined (more detailed description, deliverables, workload estimation?):

== I want to be one of your Google Summer of Code students, what should I do... ==

Here is a quick list of things to do to get you started
* Create an account on gna.org
* Create an account on the wesnoth forum, and tell an admin on the IRC channel to mark is as a GSoC Student account (Admins are boucman, Ivanovic, mordante, Shadow_Master, Sirp and Turuk)
* Join the irc channel (#wesnoth-dev on irc.freenode.net) and introduce yourself. We will not give formal interviews, but we will clearly favor people we have learned to know during the selection process (basically communication via IRC is mandatory for our project! it is the main way of "every day communication" for Wesnoth. For the same reason, it's also a good idea to regularly read the [http://wesnoth.debian.net/?C=M;O=A IRC logs].).

* Start a wiki page about your idea, add a link on the bottom of this page and add this information on it:
** List your account names (gna, forum, irc nick) so that we can recognize you
** Fill the questionnaire on this page: [[SoC_Information_for_Google#Does_your_organization_have_an_application_template_you_would_like_to_see_students_use.3F_If_so.2C_please_provide_it_now.| List of questions to answer]]
** Detail your idea as much as possible, look at other students pages, and please give milestones and studies you've done
** Add a link to the page at the bottom of this page

* Though not mandatory, it is highly advisable to go to the [[EasyCoding]] and [[NotSoEasyCoding]] pages and implement one of these ideas (or any idea of similar scope) so we have an idea how you work. Be sure to use your gna account when submitting these patches so we know who it is coming from. You can also implement some features from our feature request database at gna. When you implement something, also list it on your own page with a reference to the patch.

* For working on Wesnoth you have to be able to compile trunk. To do so you should have a look at the [[WesnothSVN|page about svn]] and afterwards [[CompilingWesnoth|compile Wesnoth svn]].

* Once you have everything done here and think your idea is okay, go to [http://groups.google.com/group/google-summer-of-code-announce/web/guide-to-the-gsoc-web-app-for-student-applicants page at google] to submit your application. You have to submit it before '''April 3rd at 19:00 UTC (12:00 PST)''' or you have no chance to get in!

== List of Ideas for the Project (Suggestions from the wesnoth developers) ==

Here is only a short description of possible Ideas we have, each has a page of its own with a more detailed version on it.

=== Optimize implementation of WML for memory usage ===

Based on this idea: [http://dave.wesnoth.org/?p=9] optimize WML to minimize its memory usage. High memory usage has been a problem for Wesnoth, and this project will aim to reduce it.

=== Implement campaign statistics reports on stats.wesnoth.org ===

Wesnoth has an infrastructure which records details of campaigns that players play into a centralized MySQL database. However, we only have rudimentary reports based on this MySQL database available at this time, at [http://stats.wesnoth.org].

This project would involve writing a stats reporting web site which would take the data from the MySQL database and produce reports in chart and table form. Campaign designers would be able to use these reports to gather feedback on their campaigns and get ideas for improvements.

A student could largely make their choice of infrastructure for creating the Website -- whether they prefer Python, Perl, Ruby, PHP, etc. This is a great opportunity for someone who doesn't want to dive into hardcore C++ to make a valuable contribution to Wesnoth.

[[SoC Ideas Stats Server]] - Full Version of the idea, with detailed information

=== Extending the Multiplayer server ===

Our multiplayer community is generally strong and healthy, but we believe its growth is limited by some problems in the interface of the multiplayer lobby.

[[SoC Ideas Multiplayer server]] - Full version of the idea, with detailed information

=== Addon server ===
Wesnoth has an addon server which offers users to upload user
made content (UMC). This allows all other users of Wesnoth
to easily download and install this content. The server was
originally written for user-made campaigns but contains a lot
more types of addons nowadays. Both the server side and the
client side need to be improved.

[[SoC Ideas Addon Server]] - Full version of the idea, with detailed information

=== WML validation schemes ===
Wesnoth uses WML as basic data structure. Over the years
this language has evolved and got more complex. At the
moment the WML is validated at runtime and in case of a
problem the engine stops. With schemes these problems can
be validated when loading the WML, making it easier to find
problems before running into them.

[[SoC Ideas Schemes]] - Full version of the idea, with detailed information

=== Write a primitive library for Formula AI ===

Wesnoth has always had a simple C++ based AI. David (our lead developer) has been working on a simple language to write AI in Wesnoth: [[FormulaAI]]

The Wesnoth AI is used as an opponent in most campaigns, and as such is an important piece of code for the Wesnoth project. Unfortunately, because the skills required to understand and modify it are rather arcane, it is also one of the most neglected parts of the Wesnoth code. This is a place where a lot of research and useful work could be done. But keep in mind that [[WhyWritingAWesnothAIIsHard|writing an AI for Wesnoth is difficult]].

Writing a whole AI is so complicated that we believe it can't be done in a single Summer of code. All proposals should keep that in mind and try to identify an interesting subset that would be workable in the limited time of a summer of code

[[SoC Ideas FormulaAI]] - Full version of the idea, with detailed information

=== Savegame reorganization ===
The savegame formats of Wesnoth for single player campaigns
and multiplayer differ from each other. And they are processed
differently as well. Now there is an additional request coming
up: Multiplayer campaigns. The task will be to unify the savegames
for all types of scenarios in order to provide a maintainable code
again.

[[SoC Ideas Savegame]] - Full version of the idea, with detailed information

=== Other possible ideas to be fleshed out ===
A MapGenerator rewrite - better scalable for outdoor maps, plus the possibility to define areas (similar to the caverns in the cave generator) etc.

=== Make your own ideas ===
If you have your own idea the best thing is to join IRC wesnoth-dev at irc.freenode.net and discuss the idea with the developers there. If the developers think your idea is interesting and like the feature you can start to turn it into a full proposal. Once done discuss it again on IRC so the developers can accept your idea.

== Information about our Project ==
The information we provided google with about our project can be looked up at the site [[SoC Information for Google]].

Also see the [[DeveloperResources]] link (from the [[Project]] page).

== People to bug on IRC ==
We have prepared a list of people with their "area of competence". This is to give you an idea on which areas those people can be of help for you. Of course you should always just ask in the IRC chan, but those are the most likely ones to answer questions in the respective area. And here is the list:

[[SoC People to bug on IRC]]

== GSoC Student pages ==

Please add a link to your wiki page below

==== AI ====

[[SummerOfCodeProposal_Velory| Velory - SoC Proposal]]

[[SummerOfCodeProposal_AI_Improvement_Crab| Crab - SoC Proposal - AI Improvement]]

[[SummerOfCodeProposal_Sparksteel | Sparksteel - Improving the AI engine design]]

[[FormulaAISoC2009Dragonking | Dragonking - Improving the formula AI ]]

[[GSoC_Proposal_-_Position_Evaluation | henning - Position Evaluation ]]

==== Savegame reorganization ====

[[SummerOfCodeProposal_Euschn | Euschn - Savegame reorganization]]

[[SummerOfCodeProposal_lmg| lmg - Savegame reorganization]]

[[SummerOfCodeProposal_grantwu| grantwu - Savegame reorganization]]

==== Extending the Multiplayer server ====

[[SummerOfCodeProposal_rubend | rubend - Extending the Multiplayer server]]

[[MP Server Ilor | Ilor - Extending the Multiplayer server]]

==== Addon server ====

[[SummerOfCodeProposal_Ryochan7| Ryochan7 - Addon server]]

[[SummerOfCodeProposal_iyonius| iyonius - Addon server]]

==== Optimize implementation of WML for memory usage ====

[[SummerOfCodeProposal_res| res - Optimize implementation of WML for memory usage ]]

[[SummerOfCodeProposal_jdmunro| jdmunro - Optimize implementation of WML for memory usage ]]

[[SummerOfCodeProposal_Ryanc| ryanc - Optimize implementation of WML for memory usage ]]

==== WML validation schemes ====

[[SummerOfCodeProposal_orian| orian - WML validation schemes ]]

==== Implement campaign statistics reports on stats.wesnoth.org ====

[[SummerOfCodeProposal_Elbin| Elbin - New campaign statistics page]]

[[SummerOfCodeProposal_Munk| Munk - New campaign stats page]]

[[SummerOfCodeProposal_carlestyle| carlestyle - New campaign stats page]]

[[SummerOfCodeProposal_nerwa| NeRwa - New campaign stats page]]

[[SummerOfCodeProposal_mrfinch| mrfinch - New Campaign Statistics Page]]

[[SummerOfCodeProposal_corn| corn - New Campaign Statistics Page]]

[[SummerOfCodeProposal_csaunders | csaunders - SoC Proposal - Stats Server]]

[[Category:Summer of Code|*]]

SummerOfCodeProposal IneQuation

2009-03-27T23:06:22Z

IneQuation: Some meat added

This proposal is a stub that's currently being worked on.

=The student=
My name is Leszek Godlewski and I would like to apply to work on Battle for Wesnoth in the course of this year's Google Summer of Code.

I'm a student of the ''Staszic High School'' [http://www.lostaszic.pl] in Tarnowskie Góry, Poland, in my final year of pre-university education, attending a class with focus on mathematics and physics. I'm hoping to go to the ''Silesian University of Technology'' [http://www.polsl.pl/] next year to study computer science.

I treat the participation in GSoC as a means of joining the pleasant with the useful: programming (game development in particular) is my passion, and the experience for future work in this profession that I can obtain from this program is invaluable.

I chose to help with the development of BfW for several reasons. Firstly, because I come from a game modding background, and game development is bringing my passion one step further. Secondly, because I'm a free software enthusiast, and through some FLOSS promotion activities I took part in I found out that the relative lack of attractive games is one of the main reasons that casual users stay away from free platforms. I'd love to be part of a movement that changes that.

I haven't participated in BfW development yet, but I've played it several times in multiplayer mode. It was one of the most popular activities in the FLOSS workshops I ran.

==Experience==
===Programming===
As of yet, my record in the programming department is a humble one, despite having been coding for 8 years now. It includes mainly unreleased work, concentrated around games: ''Medal of Honor: Allied Assault'', ''Quake 3'' and ''Wolfenstein: Enemy Territory'' mods (unfortunately, none of those built for the latter two actually got past early alpha versions), lots of little utilities built to speed up everyday work or perform small-scale fun research, some stand-alone ''id Tech 3'' (a.k.a. ''Quake 3'' engine)-based efforts (mostly unfinished, too) and a few strictly open-source projects:
* ''q3mass'' – a Quake 3 master server; stub but operational state
* ''libscotty'' – a simple text UI library; plug-and-play wrapper for curses, appears stable and suitable for use
* ''OpenMoHAA'' – a game engine recreation project that aims to modify ''ioquake3'' in such a manner so as to run ''Medal of Honor: Allied Assault'' game assets; some asset loading routines (including levels) working, project currently on hold due to lack of interest from the ''MoHAA'' community
*''Mobile Arena'' and the ''Destination'' engine – my own, built-from-scratch game engine technology and its showcase game; about 60% of the planned infrastructure in place, currently on hold due to school responsibilities
* ''z0mg antihax'' (unreleased yet) - heuristic/behavioural analysis server-side cheat detection system for first-person shooter games; general framework in place, data collection mechanisms in stub state, currently on hold due to school responsibilities
For more information on these projects, please see my Ohloh account [http://www.ohloh.net/accounts/inequation]. I am all too willing to add Battle for Wesnoth contributions to this list.

My language of choice is ISO C (with about three years of experience using it), but I'm also comfortable with C++ (about two years). Other languages I've used include Pascal, Lua, Python, PHP and a bunch of dedicated scripting languages for games.

Due to the game modding background, I have a pretty good understanding of computer graphics and spatial geometry and mathematics. This includes some SDL and OpenGL experience.

===Teamwork and GSoC===
I haven't really worked in a team environment before. Some of my mod projects involved were team-driven, but even then I was the only one in my department. ''OpenMoHAA'' was a team effort (with me taking the lead), but the development history is so short that it's neglectable.

This is my first time in GSoC. As for other projects, apart from Battle for Wesnoth I am applying to work with Crystal Space and considering OGRE and BZFlag.

===Gaming===
I got my first computer at the age of five and instantly fell in love with games. I'm not a hardcore gamer, though. I see games as the ultimate means of storytelling - I prefer to set the difficulty to "easy", immerse in the storyline and role-play, instead of getting engaged in demanding, but depth-lacking gameplay. This doesn't prevent me from enjoying simpler games, however. Considering this, it may sound ridiculous that first-person shooters are my favourite games; but it's not, really, given that my all-time favourites (''MoHAA'', ''Operation Flashpoint'', ''Project Reality'' mod for ''Battlefield 2'') involve a fair deal of role-playing in multiplayer.

I'm also more of a tinkerer than a player. Sometime around 2000 I had what could be described as my first attempts at game modding. It wasn't long till I noticed that changing the way the games are played is more rewarding for me than actually playing them, and soon I became involved in the modding communities for several games.

===Communication skills===
As for the language, I'm a holder of a Cambridge ESOL Certificate of Proficiency in English. I'm a gamer and a former game modder, so I've got a history of interaction with players and I think I can handle it pretty well. I think my advice usually is constructive, but it's hard to judge yourself this way. I have absolutely no problems receiving and obeying advice coming from a competent person and supported by logical arguments.

==Contact information==
* IRC, the forums and the wiki: ''IneQuation''
* Gna!: ''inequation''
* E-mail: ''ineqvation <at> gmail <dot> com''
* XMPP (Jabber): same as e-mail

=The proposal=
I chose to work on the multiplayer server lobby simply because the idea represents an interesting field of research to me. I'm a long-time ''Starcraft'' player and ''Battle.net'' user, so I can relate to it, and the design and development of such community-building and match-making features has always intrigued me. In the course of the project I would like to produce a lobby that is legible, flexible, useful and easily maintained (moderated).

==Features==
Some features I'd like to implement are:
* IRC/Battle.net-like chat features
** rooms
** extended private messaging
** friends lists
* game sorting/filtering with all the reasonable criteria
* match-making facilities
** ranking players
** finding opponents with similar level of experience
** tools for automated organization of tournaments and ladders
* bookmarks
Possibly more, inspired by other lobbies/match-making services.

==Schedule==
A rough timeline of the project is as follows:
* Familiarise with the existing multiplayer server code by May 23
** I have the Matura exams (the exams at the end of secondary education) in the first half of May, which means I won't be able to devote a lot of time to the project then and in the period leading to it, but once I'm done with them, this summer's probably the longest holiday of my life, and I've subordinated all of it to GSoC
* Study similar existing systems, such as ''Battle.net'', ''Westwood Online/XWIS'' [http://strike-team.net/] (these two are well emulated with the PvPGN project [http://pvpgn.berlios.de]) and ''Steam'' and develop a plan of features in the first two weeks
* Implement all the planned features by August 1
** There is a small interference possible from mid-July to early August, as I'm visiting my sister in Spain, but it shouldn't hinder my working capabilities as I will still have full computer and internet access
* Spend the last two weeks perfecting and documenting the code

==Expectations==
I hope to gain experience in the fields of UI design and match-making, working with a more serious and large-scale application of theory than what I've done so far.

The acceptance of this lobby changes project would definitely be a major factor in making me stay in the community. Since it involves a field I have never visited before, I would be eager to further explore it after the conclusion of SoC. I might be getting into AI development afterwards, too.

=Practical considerations=
I'm pretty confident with C++. I have used parts of the STL, although I'm no expert at it. Boost is something I heard about but never used before. SVN is a tool I use frequently and can't imagine software development without, even when working alone - the possibility to revert the changes at any given point is priceless.

For development I use mainly the ''Code::Blocks'' IDE, since it provides nice ways to organize your projects and integrates most of the necessary tools. ''Kate'' (KDE's Advanced Text Editor) is extremely handy for smaller-scale stuff. Apart from that, I use GDB and gprof extensively.

I speak Polish (my native language) and English. I'm usually awake roughly between 0800 and 0000 UTC, but I tend to sleep until later and stay up longer on weekends. During the period leading to the coding start date I can only be present in the IRC channel for short periods of time in the afternoon and/or evening, with increased availability later on. I've got a shell account, though, so I can idle the channel 24/7 and answer when I get online. I don't mind speaking to my mentor on the phone or VoIP.

'''To be continued and expanded'''

SummerOfCodeProposal IneQuation

2009-03-27T21:14:18Z

IneQuation: Stub of the "about me" section, meat of the proposal still to come

This proposal is a stub that's currently being worked on.

=About me=
My name is Leszek Godlewski and I would like to apply to work on Battle for Wesnoth in the course of this year's Google Summer of Code.

I'm a student of the ''[Staszic High School http://www.lostaszic.pl]'' in Tarnowskie Góry, Poland, in my final year of pre-university education, attending a class with focus on mathematics and physics. I'm hoping to go to the ''[Silesian University of Technology http://www.polsl.pl/]'' next year to study computer science.

I treat the participation in GSoC as a means of joining the pleasant with the useful: programming (game development in particular) is my passion, and the experience for future work in this profession that I can obtain from this program is invaluable.

I chose to help with the development of BfW for several reasons. Firstly, because I come from a game modding background, and game development is bringing my passion one step further. Secondly, because I'm a free software enthusiast, and through some FLOSS promotion activities I took part in I found out that the relative lack of attractive games is one of the main reasons that casual users stay away from free platforms. I'd love to be part of a movement that changes that.

I haven't participated in BfW development yet, but I've played it several times in multiplayer mode. It was one of the most popular activities in the FLOSS workshops I ran.

==Experience==
===Programming===
As of yet, my record in the programming department is a humble one, despite having been coding for 8 years now. It includes mainly unreleased work, concentrated around games: ''Medal of Honor: Allied Assault'', ''Quake 3'' and ''Wolfenstein: Enemy Territory'' mods (unfortunately, none of those built for the latter two actually got past early alpha versions), lots of little utilities built to speed up everyday work or perform small-scale fun research, some stand-alone ''id Tech 3'' (a.k.a. ''Quake 3'' engine)-based efforts (mostly unfinished, too) and a few strictly open-source projects:
* ''q3mass'' – a Quake 3 master server; stub but operational state
* ''libscotty'' – a simple text UI library; plug-and-play wrapper for curses, appears stable and suitable for use
* ''OpenMoHAA'' – a game engine recreation project that aims to modify ''ioquake3'' in such a manner so as to run ''Medal of Honor: Allied Assault'' game assets; some asset loading routines (including levels) working, project currently on hold due to lack of interest from the ''MoHAA'' community
*''Mobile Arena'' and the ''Destination'' engine – my own, built-from-scratch game engine technology and its showcase game; about 60% of the planned infrastructure in place, currently on hold due to school responsibilities
* ''z0mg antihax'' (unreleased yet) - heuristic/behavioural analysis server-side cheat detection system for first-person shooter games; general framework in place, data collection mechanisms in stub state, currently on hold due to school responsibilities
For more information on these projects, please see [my Ohloh account http://www.ohloh.net/accounts/inequation]. I am all too willing to add Battle for Wesnoth contributions to this list.

My language of choice is ISO C (with about three years of experience using it), but I'm also comfortable with C++ (about two years). Other languages I've used include Pascal, Lua, Python, PHP and a bunch of dedicated scripting languages for games.

Due to the game modding background, I have a pretty good understanding of computer graphics and spatial geometry and mathematics. This includes some SDL and OpenGL experience.

===Teamwork and GSoC===
I haven't really worked in a team environment before. Some of my mod projects involved were team-driven, but even then I was the only one in my department. ''OpenMoHAA'' was a team effort (with me taking the lead), but the development history is so short that it's neglectable.

This is my first time in GSoC. As for other projects, apart from Battle for Wesnoth I am applying to work with Crystal Space and considering OGRE and BZFlag.

===Gaming===
I got my first computer at the age of five and instantly fell in love with games. I'm not a hardcore gamer, though. I see games as the ultimate means of storytelling - I prefer to set the difficulty to "easy", immerse in the storyline and role-play, instead of getting engaged in demanding, but depth-lacking gameplay. This doesn't prevent me from enjoying simpler games, however. Considering this, it may sound ridiculous that first-person shooters are my favourite games; but it's not, really, given that my all-time favourites (''MoHAA'', ''Operation Flashpoint'', ''Project Reality'' mod for ''Battlefield 2'') involve a fair deal of role-playing in multiplayer.

I'm also more of a tinkerer than a player. Sometime around 2000 I had what could be described as my first attempts at game modding. It wasn't long till I noticed that changing the way the games are played is more rewarding for me than actually playing them, and soon I became involved in the modding communities for several games.

==Contact information==
* IRC, the forums and the wiki: ''IneQuation''
* Gna!: ''inequation''
* E-mail: ''ineqvation <at> gmail <dot> com''
* XMPP (Jabber): same as e-mail

'''To be continued'''

SummerOfCodeIdeas

2009-03-27T20:39:29Z

IneQuation: /* Extending the Multiplayer server */ Fixing spacing

This is a compilation of ideas from ML. Needs to be refined (more detailed description, deliverables, workload estimation?):

== I want to be one of your Google Summer of Code students, what should I do... ==

Here is a quick list of things to do to get you started
* Create an account on gna.org
* Create an account on the wesnoth forum, and tell an admin on the IRC channel to mark is as a GSoC Student account (Admins are boucman, Ivanovic, mordante, Shadow_Master, Sirp and Turuk)
* Join the irc channel (#wesnoth-dev on irc.freenode.net) and introduce yourself. We will not give formal interviews, but we will clearly favor people we have learned to know during the selection process (basically communication via IRC is mandatory for our project! it is the main way of "every day communication" for Wesnoth. For the same reason, it's also a good idea to regularly read the [http://wesnoth.debian.net/?C=M;O=A IRC logs].).

* Start a wiki page about your idea, add a link on the bottom of this page and add this information on it:
** List your account names (gna, forum, irc nick) so that we can recognize you
** Fill the questionnaire on this page: [[SoC_Information_for_Google#Does_your_organization_have_an_application_template_you_would_like_to_see_students_use.3F_If_so.2C_please_provide_it_now.| List of questions to answer]]
** Detail your idea as much as possible, look at other students pages, and please give milestones and studies you've done
** Add a link to the page at the bottom of this page

* Though not mandatory, it is highly advisable to go to the [[EasyCoding]] and [[NotSoEasyCoding]] pages and implement one of these ideas (or any idea of similar scope) so we have an idea how you work. Be sure to use your gna account when submitting these patches so we know who it is coming from. You can also implement some features from our feature request database at gna. When you implement something, also list it on your own page with a reference to the patch.

* For working on Wesnoth you have to be able to compile trunk. To do so you should have a look at the [[WesnothSVN|page about svn]] and afterwards [[CompilingWesnoth|compile Wesnoth svn]].

* Once you have everything done here and think your idea is okay, go to [http://groups.google.com/group/google-summer-of-code-announce/web/guide-to-the-gsoc-web-app-for-student-applicants page at google] to submit your application. You have to submit it before '''Date to be supplied later''' or you have no chance to get in!

== List of Ideas for the Project (Suggestions from the wesnoth developers) ==

Here is only a short description of possible Ideas we have, each has a page of its own with a more detailed version on it.

=== Optimize implementation of WML for memory usage ===

Based on this idea: [http://dave.wesnoth.org/?p=9] optimize WML to minimize its memory usage. High memory usage has been a problem for Wesnoth, and this project will aim to reduce it.

=== Implement campaign statistics reports on stats.wesnoth.org ===

Wesnoth has an infrastructure which records details of campaigns that players play into a centralized MySQL database. However, we only have rudimentary reports based on this MySQL database available at this time, at [http://stats.wesnoth.org].

This project would involve writing a stats reporting web site which would take the data from the MySQL database and produce reports in chart and table form. Campaign designers would be able to use these reports to gather feedback on their campaigns and get ideas for improvements.

A student could largely make their choice of infrastructure for creating the Website -- whether they prefer Python, Perl, Ruby, PHP, etc. This is a great opportunity for someone who doesn't want to dive into hardcore C++ to make a valuable contribution to Wesnoth.

[[SoC Ideas Stats Server]] - Full Version of the idea, with detailed information

=== Extending the Multiplayer server ===

Our multiplayer community is generally strong and healthy, but we believe its growth is limited by some problems in the interface of the multiplayer lobby.

[[SoC Ideas Multiplayer server]] - Full version of the idea, with detailed information

=== Addon server ===
Wesnoth has an addon server which offers users to upload user
made content (UMC). This allows all other users of Wesnoth
to easily download and install this content. The server was
originally written for user-made campaigns but contains a lot
more types of addons nowadays. Both the server side and the
client side need to be improved.

[[SoC Ideas Addon Server]] - Full version of the idea, with detailed information

=== WML validation schemes ===
Wesnoth uses WML as basic data structure. Over the years
this language has evolved and got more complex. At the
moment the WML is validated at runtime and in case of a
problem the engine stops. With schemes these problems can
be validated when loading the WML, making it easier to find
problems before running into them.

[[SoC Ideas Schemes]] - Full version of the idea, with detailed information

=== Write a primitive library for Formula AI ===

Wesnoth has always had a simple C++ based AI. David (our lead developer) has been working on a simple language to write AI in Wesnoth: [[FormulaAI]]

The Wesnoth AI is used as an opponent in most campaigns, and as such is an important piece of code for the Wesnoth project. Unfortunately, because the skills required to understand and modify it are rather arcane, it is also one of the most neglected parts of the Wesnoth code. This is a place where a lot of research and useful work could be done. But keep in mind that [[WhyWritingAWesnothAIIsHard|writing an AI for Wesnoth is difficult]].

Writing a whole AI is so complicated that we believe it can't be done in a single Summer of code. All proposals should keep that in mind and try to identify an interesting subset that would be workable in the limited time of a summer of code

[[SoC Ideas FormulaAI]] - Full version of the idea, with detailed information

=== Savegame reorganization ===
The savegame formats of Wesnoth for single player campaigns
and multiplayer differ from each other. And they are processed
differently as well. Now there is an additional request coming
up: Multiplayer campaigns. The task will be to unify the savegames
for all types of scenarios in order to provide a maintainable code
again.

[[SoC Ideas Savegame]] - Full version of the idea, with detailed information

=== Other possible ideas to be fleshed out ===
A MapGenerator rewrite - better scalable for outdoor maps, plus the possibility to define areas (similar to the caverns in the cave generator) etc.

=== Make your own ideas ===
If you have your own idea the best thing is to join IRC wesnoth-dev at irc.freenode.net and discuss the idea with the developers there. If the developers think your idea is interesting and like the feature you can start to turn it into a full proposal. Once done discuss it again on IRC so the developers can accept your idea.

== Information about our Project ==
The information we provided google with about our project can be looked up at the site [[SoC Information for Google]].

Also see the [[DeveloperResources]] link (from the [[Project]] page).

== People to bug on IRC ==
We have prepared a list of people with their "area of competence". This is to give you an idea on which areas those people can be of help for you. Of course you should always just ask in the IRC chan, but those are the most likely ones to answer questions in the respective area. And here is the list:

[[SoC People to bug on IRC]]

== GSoC Student pages ==

Please add a link to your wiki page below

==== AI ====

[[SummerOfCodeProposal_Velory| Velory - SoC Proposal]]

[[SummerOfCodeProposal_AI_Improvement_Crab| Crab - SoC Proposal - AI Improvement]]

[[SummerOfCodeProposal_Sparksteel | Sparksteel - Improving the AI engine design]]

==== Savegame reorganization ====

[[SummerOfCodeProposal_Euschn | Euschn - Savegame reorganization]]

[[SummerOfCodeProposal_lmg| lmg - Savegame reorganization]]

[[SummerOfCodeProposal_grantwu| grantwu - Savegame reorganization]]

==== Extending the Multiplayer server ====

[[SummerOfCodeProposal_rubend | rubend - Extending the Multiplayer server]]

[[SummerOfCodeProposal_IneQuation | IneQuation - Extending the Multiplayer server]]

==== Addon server ====

[[SummerOfCodeProposal_Ryochan7| Ryochan7 - Addon server]]

[[SummerOfCodeProposal_iyonius| iyonius - Addon server]]

==== Optimize implementation of WML for memory usage ====

[[SummerOfCodeProposal_res| res - Optimize implementation of WML for memory usage ]]

[[SummerOfCodeProposal_jdmunro| jdmunro - Optimize implementation of WML for memory usage ]]

==== WML validation schemes ====

[[SummerOfCodeProposal_orian| orian - WML validation schemes ]]

==== Implement campaign statistics reports on stats.wesnoth.org ====

[[SummerOfCodeProposal_Elbin| Elbin - New campaign statistics page]]

[[SummerOfCodeProposal_Munk| Munk - New campaign stats page]]

[[SummerOfCodeProposal_carlestyle| carlestyle - New campaign stats page]]

[[SummerOfCodeProposal_nerwa| NeRwa - New campaign stats page]]

[[SummerOfCodeProposal_mrfinch| mrfinch - New Campaign Statistics Page]]

[[SummerOfCodeProposal_corn| corn - New Campaign Statistics Page]]

[[SummerOfCodeProposal_csaunders | csaunders - SoC Proposal - Stats Server]]

[[Category:Summer of Code|*]]

SummerOfCodeIdeas

2009-03-27T20:39:11Z

IneQuation: /* Extending the Multiplayer server */

This is a compilation of ideas from ML. Needs to be refined (more detailed description, deliverables, workload estimation?):

== I want to be one of your Google Summer of Code students, what should I do... ==

Here is a quick list of things to do to get you started
* Create an account on gna.org
* Create an account on the wesnoth forum, and tell an admin on the IRC channel to mark is as a GSoC Student account (Admins are boucman, Ivanovic, mordante, Shadow_Master, Sirp and Turuk)
* Join the irc channel (#wesnoth-dev on irc.freenode.net) and introduce yourself. We will not give formal interviews, but we will clearly favor people we have learned to know during the selection process (basically communication via IRC is mandatory for our project! it is the main way of "every day communication" for Wesnoth. For the same reason, it's also a good idea to regularly read the [http://wesnoth.debian.net/?C=M;O=A IRC logs].).

* Start a wiki page about your idea, add a link on the bottom of this page and add this information on it:
** List your account names (gna, forum, irc nick) so that we can recognize you
** Fill the questionnaire on this page: [[SoC_Information_for_Google#Does_your_organization_have_an_application_template_you_would_like_to_see_students_use.3F_If_so.2C_please_provide_it_now.| List of questions to answer]]
** Detail your idea as much as possible, look at other students pages, and please give milestones and studies you've done
** Add a link to the page at the bottom of this page

* Though not mandatory, it is highly advisable to go to the [[EasyCoding]] and [[NotSoEasyCoding]] pages and implement one of these ideas (or any idea of similar scope) so we have an idea how you work. Be sure to use your gna account when submitting these patches so we know who it is coming from. You can also implement some features from our feature request database at gna. When you implement something, also list it on your own page with a reference to the patch.

* For working on Wesnoth you have to be able to compile trunk. To do so you should have a look at the [[WesnothSVN|page about svn]] and afterwards [[CompilingWesnoth|compile Wesnoth svn]].

* Once you have everything done here and think your idea is okay, go to [http://groups.google.com/group/google-summer-of-code-announce/web/guide-to-the-gsoc-web-app-for-student-applicants page at google] to submit your application. You have to submit it before '''Date to be supplied later''' or you have no chance to get in!

== List of Ideas for the Project (Suggestions from the wesnoth developers) ==

Here is only a short description of possible Ideas we have, each has a page of its own with a more detailed version on it.

=== Optimize implementation of WML for memory usage ===

Based on this idea: [http://dave.wesnoth.org/?p=9] optimize WML to minimize its memory usage. High memory usage has been a problem for Wesnoth, and this project will aim to reduce it.

=== Implement campaign statistics reports on stats.wesnoth.org ===

Wesnoth has an infrastructure which records details of campaigns that players play into a centralized MySQL database. However, we only have rudimentary reports based on this MySQL database available at this time, at [http://stats.wesnoth.org].

This project would involve writing a stats reporting web site which would take the data from the MySQL database and produce reports in chart and table form. Campaign designers would be able to use these reports to gather feedback on their campaigns and get ideas for improvements.

A student could largely make their choice of infrastructure for creating the Website -- whether they prefer Python, Perl, Ruby, PHP, etc. This is a great opportunity for someone who doesn't want to dive into hardcore C++ to make a valuable contribution to Wesnoth.

[[SoC Ideas Stats Server]] - Full Version of the idea, with detailed information

=== Extending the Multiplayer server ===

Our multiplayer community is generally strong and healthy, but we believe its growth is limited by some problems in the interface of the multiplayer lobby.

[[SoC Ideas Multiplayer server]] - Full version of the idea, with detailed information

=== Addon server ===
Wesnoth has an addon server which offers users to upload user
made content (UMC). This allows all other users of Wesnoth
to easily download and install this content. The server was
originally written for user-made campaigns but contains a lot
more types of addons nowadays. Both the server side and the
client side need to be improved.

[[SoC Ideas Addon Server]] - Full version of the idea, with detailed information

=== WML validation schemes ===
Wesnoth uses WML as basic data structure. Over the years
this language has evolved and got more complex. At the
moment the WML is validated at runtime and in case of a
problem the engine stops. With schemes these problems can
be validated when loading the WML, making it easier to find
problems before running into them.

[[SoC Ideas Schemes]] - Full version of the idea, with detailed information

=== Write a primitive library for Formula AI ===

Wesnoth has always had a simple C++ based AI. David (our lead developer) has been working on a simple language to write AI in Wesnoth: [[FormulaAI]]

The Wesnoth AI is used as an opponent in most campaigns, and as such is an important piece of code for the Wesnoth project. Unfortunately, because the skills required to understand and modify it are rather arcane, it is also one of the most neglected parts of the Wesnoth code. This is a place where a lot of research and useful work could be done. But keep in mind that [[WhyWritingAWesnothAIIsHard|writing an AI for Wesnoth is difficult]].

Writing a whole AI is so complicated that we believe it can't be done in a single Summer of code. All proposals should keep that in mind and try to identify an interesting subset that would be workable in the limited time of a summer of code

[[SoC Ideas FormulaAI]] - Full version of the idea, with detailed information

=== Savegame reorganization ===
The savegame formats of Wesnoth for single player campaigns
and multiplayer differ from each other. And they are processed
differently as well. Now there is an additional request coming
up: Multiplayer campaigns. The task will be to unify the savegames
for all types of scenarios in order to provide a maintainable code
again.

[[SoC Ideas Savegame]] - Full version of the idea, with detailed information

=== Other possible ideas to be fleshed out ===
A MapGenerator rewrite - better scalable for outdoor maps, plus the possibility to define areas (similar to the caverns in the cave generator) etc.

=== Make your own ideas ===
If you have your own idea the best thing is to join IRC wesnoth-dev at irc.freenode.net and discuss the idea with the developers there. If the developers think your idea is interesting and like the feature you can start to turn it into a full proposal. Once done discuss it again on IRC so the developers can accept your idea.

== Information about our Project ==
The information we provided google with about our project can be looked up at the site [[SoC Information for Google]].

Also see the [[DeveloperResources]] link (from the [[Project]] page).

== People to bug on IRC ==
We have prepared a list of people with their "area of competence". This is to give you an idea on which areas those people can be of help for you. Of course you should always just ask in the IRC chan, but those are the most likely ones to answer questions in the respective area. And here is the list:

[[SoC People to bug on IRC]]

== GSoC Student pages ==

Please add a link to your wiki page below

==== AI ====

[[SummerOfCodeProposal_Velory| Velory - SoC Proposal]]

[[SummerOfCodeProposal_AI_Improvement_Crab| Crab - SoC Proposal - AI Improvement]]

[[SummerOfCodeProposal_Sparksteel | Sparksteel - Improving the AI engine design]]

==== Savegame reorganization ====

[[SummerOfCodeProposal_Euschn | Euschn - Savegame reorganization]]

[[SummerOfCodeProposal_lmg| lmg - Savegame reorganization]]

[[SummerOfCodeProposal_grantwu| grantwu - Savegame reorganization]]

==== Extending the Multiplayer server ====

[[SummerOfCodeProposal_rubend | rubend - Extending the Multiplayer server]]
[[SummerOfCodeProposal_IneQuation | IneQuation - Extending the Multiplayer server]]

==== Addon server ====

[[SummerOfCodeProposal_Ryochan7| Ryochan7 - Addon server]]

[[SummerOfCodeProposal_iyonius| iyonius - Addon server]]

==== Optimize implementation of WML for memory usage ====

[[SummerOfCodeProposal_res| res - Optimize implementation of WML for memory usage ]]

[[SummerOfCodeProposal_jdmunro| jdmunro - Optimize implementation of WML for memory usage ]]

==== WML validation schemes ====

[[SummerOfCodeProposal_orian| orian - WML validation schemes ]]

==== Implement campaign statistics reports on stats.wesnoth.org ====

[[SummerOfCodeProposal_Elbin| Elbin - New campaign statistics page]]

[[SummerOfCodeProposal_Munk| Munk - New campaign stats page]]

[[SummerOfCodeProposal_carlestyle| carlestyle - New campaign stats page]]

[[SummerOfCodeProposal_nerwa| NeRwa - New campaign stats page]]

[[SummerOfCodeProposal_mrfinch| mrfinch - New Campaign Statistics Page]]

[[SummerOfCodeProposal_corn| corn - New Campaign Statistics Page]]

[[SummerOfCodeProposal_csaunders | csaunders - SoC Proposal - Stats Server]]

[[Category:Summer of Code|*]]