Re: libmikmod woes..

[Steve Baker <sjbaker1@airmail.net>]

Karl Bartel wrote:
> 
> > Hey, it's not like you'd be making money for every game that uses it!
> > :-)
> >
> > Actually, I like it: it gives me ideas as for what new features I could
> > put in our library. (we already have "no lag" audio, tho) :-)
> 
> Why should everyone code his own library?

Well, I agree that it's horribly wasteful - but your reaction is the
same as everyone else's:  "Stop working on your library and work on
mine instead!"

I could (and will) say the same thing!  Drop work on your's and
put your effort into enhancing mine (PLIB)....No?  You don't want
to do that?  You suprise me!

> Take a look at this library! It's under heavy develoment and everyone
> can join us!

I could say the same of mine and a half dozen others.
 
> http://www.angelfire.com/va/powerpakgsdk/
  http://www.woodsoup.org/projs/plib/

  Let's compare: GUI - check, Sound - check, Input - check, 3D - check.
  Portable to: Linux - check, Windoze - check, a few others - check.

Yep - more of the same.

That just adds another to the dozen or so game SDK's that are already
out there.  I'm sure you have some cute features that mine doesn't
have and vice versa....who should stop work and change directions?
I don't know.

I'm at the state where there are already four pretty major game
developments using PLIB - so I really can't switch tracks without
pissing off a lot of people. There are over 80 people subscribed to
the 'developers' mailing list for PLIB (maybe 10% of those are active
developers) - there are ~150 people subscribed to the 'users' list.

The shame of all this is that there was/is an effort to build one
STANDARD game library (The Linux GSDK project) - I joined that at
the outset - but they wasted so much time discussing and discussing
what should be done that I gave up working with them and went my
own way.  That was about 3 years ago - and they *still* don't have
anything like a usable and reasonably complete game library...I have
four major games using mine.

So, I guess more games SDK's will be written, each one will get a
couple of games written for it and then fall from grace.

I don't know how to break out of that cycle...even though I confess
to being a part of it.

Perhaps the authors of ALL of these libraries should meet, put ALL
their developments to bed and start afresh with a brand new project
that bears no resemblence to all of the existing libraries.  Actually
though, I suspect that if we did that, it would only be a matter of
weeks until new games SDK's popped into existance - and we'd be back
to square one.

-- 
Steve Baker                  http://web2.airmail.net/sjbaker1
sjbaker1@airmail.net (home)  http://www.woodsoup.org/~sbaker
sjbaker@hti.com      (work)