Explain a lot of new concepts

[xonotic/xonotic.wiki.git] / Announcement.md

Our announcement
================

(Here is where the announcement copy will start)

We’d like to formally announce the beginnings of our new community project, Xonotic. The founders of Xonotic were first Nexuiz[link] developers, contributors and believers. On March 3rd 2010 IllFonic announced[AT link] their aquisition of nexuiz.com[link], rights to the name and a commercial license from Id Software[link] for the original Quake 1 game engine, so build a closed source console version of Nexuiz. A large portion of the community was very upset by this surprise because Lee Vermeulen failed to complete his due diligence to contributors and more importantly the development team known as ‘Alientrap’, which in this deal only consisted of Lee Vermeulen and Forest Hale (Darkplaces Engine creator).

An open-letter[link] fell on deaf ears, Vermeulen didn’t apologize and trust has been lost.

Developers and contributors joined together to create Xonotic. Beyond being a first person shooter based on Nexuiz (GPL) 2.5.2svn[link], Xonotic aims to be a rethink and reorganization of how we share a GPL video game and organize the services around it.

[still reworking]

v2 expanded by Spaceman
=======================

We formally announce the beginning of our new community project, Xonotic[link].

The founders of the Xonotic[link] project and community were once Nexuiz[link] developers, contributors and believers.

On March 3rd 2010 IllFonic announced[AT link] their aquisition of nexuiz.com[link], the rights to the games name and a commercial licence for the original Quake 1 game engine for a closed source console version of Nexuiz.

Following their announcement a large portion of the community joined together to create Team Xonotic[link] and an enduring legacy. Beyond being a first person shooter based on Nexuiz (GPL), Team Xonotic aims to be a rethink and reorganization of how a community creates an open source video game and organizes the services around it.

A distinct lack of leadership (the announced 253 hot fix is 5 months late), the underhand manner that AlienTrap used to sell the game code and the loss of the Nexuiz identity caused a huge uproar in the game community. This brought together the game coders and players in a community revolt.

Team Xonotic[link] will be run by a small team of volunteers with no one in total control. All significant decisions will be made by an elected body of six people.

Xonotic 1.0 is planned to be released in about 6 months. Today a compatibilty pack has been released that will rebrand Nexuiz 252.

Team Xonotic

v3, edited by a grue — re-edited by -z-
=======================================

On March 3rd, 2010, game developer IllFonic[link] announced that they had acquired a commercial, closed-source license for Nexuiz[link], its engine (darkplaces[link]) and the rights to the game’s name from Alientrap. Much to the surprise of everyone who considered themselves part of Alientrap, only Lee Vermeulen (Nexuiz’s original creator) was ‘Alientrap’ in this deal. After exhausting all options for compromise with Lee and IllFonic, including an open letter from the community[link], it became clear that the deal had been finalized and the trust was gone. A large portion of the community, including several major Nexuiz developers and contributors, joined together to continue development under a new name, to preserve freedoms and better distribute power for such decisions.

While functionality-wise being a direct successor to Nexuiz, the Xonotic[link] project is a rethink and reorganization of how a community creates an open source video game and organizes the services around it. The idea is to bring game development and design under the community control and streamline the contribution process. A major organizational structure change is that decisions affecting the game at large will be made by an elected group of three to six people, XSG (Xonotic Steering Group), with no single person maintaining total control.

Without getting into much detail, a few other mentionable changes in planning are:

Project Changes:

1.  use of git versioning system instead of svn
2.  better attention to marketing and public relations
3.  a more defined artistic direction

Game Changes:

1.  new set of player models
2.  new set of sounds
3.  default maps will get a makeover
4.  new names for some weapons and gamemodes, especially ones using the “nex” prefix

An explanation is due regarding the name choice. It was decided by a voting from a list of names, which was compiled based on several factors, primarily availability of the domain name and pronouncability. The choice had to be kept secret to avoid cybersquatting attempts.

While we don’t have a specific timeline for the first release under the new title, you can track the progress and updates here, the new website[link] and on IRC:

\#xonotic on irc.quakenet.org - general discussion  
\#xonotic on irc.freenode.org - development discussion  

We look forward to creating a game that everyone can feel a part of. Your support is much appreciated.

The Xonotic team.

v4, edited by merlijn
=====================

**[Xonotic](http://xonotic.org) is a free software (GPL) game project, which runs on Microsoft Windows, Mac OSX and Linux. It is not a new project, but it attempts to pick up where the [Nexuiz project](http://alientrap.org/nexuiz) came to a halt. Due to recent events, we felt the need to start with a clean slate which will benefit everyone involved. Xonotic will stay true to the values we have grown to love about Nexuiz, namely high quality graphics and very fast gameplay.**

On March 3rd, 2010, game development company **[IllFonic](http://illfonic.com)** announced that they had acquired a commercial, closed-source license for **[Nexuiz](http://alientrap.org/nexuiz)**, its engine ([darkplaces](http://icculus.org/twilight/darkplaces/)) and the rights to the games name and domain from Alientrap. Much to the surprise of everyone who considered themselves part of Alientrap, only Lee Vermeulen (Nexuiz’s original creator) was ‘Alientrap’ in this deal. After exhausting all options for compromise with Lee and IllFonic, including an open letter from the community **[link no longer exists]**, it became clear that the deal had been finalized and the trust in leadership was gone. A large portion of the community, including several major Nexuiz developers and contributors, joined together to continue development under a new name, to preserve freedoms and better distribute power for such decisions.

While functionality-wise being a direct successor to Nexuiz, the **[Xonotic project](http://xonotic.org)** is a rethink and reorganization of how a community creates an open source video game and organizes the services around it. The idea is to bring game development and design under the community control and streamline the contribution process. A major organizational structure change is that decisions affecting the game at large will be made by an elected group of three to six people, XSG (Xonotic Steering Group), with no single person maintaining total control.

Without getting into much detail, a few other mentionable changes in planning are:

Project Changes:

1.  use of git versioning system instead of svn
2.  better attention to marketing and public relations
3.  a more defined artistic direction

Game Changes:

1.  new set of player models
2.  new set of sounds
3.  default maps will get a makeover
4.  new names for some weapons and gamemodes, especially ones using the “nex” prefix

While we don’t have a specific timeline for the first release under the new title, you can track the progress and updates here, the new website[link] and on IRC:

\#xonotic on irc.quakenet.org - general discussion  
\#xonotic on irc.freenode.org - development discussion  

We look forward to creating a game that everyone can feel a part of. You are very much welcome to help in any way you can, please contact us to discuss your ideas.
The Xonotic team.

v5, edited by Dokujisan
=======================

We would like to formally announce the arrival of a new free-software (GPL) game project called **[Xonotic](http://xonotic.org)**. Xonotic is a fast-paced, first-person shooter that runs on Microsoft Windows, Mac OSX and Linux. This project is a derivative of the **[Nexuiz project](http://alientrap.org/nexuiz)**, which has recently undergone some troublesome **[changes](Faq#what-prompted-the-split-from-nexuiz)** that has left many of the core contributors feeling the project has been **[mishandled](http://alientrap.org/forum/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=6043)**. As a result, we felt the need to organize a departure to start with a clean slate.

**[Xonotic](http://xonotic.org)** will place focus on the things we love about Nexuiz, but also extend our goals to become the game that many thought Nexuiz should have been.

While technically being a direct successor to Nexuiz, the **[Xonotic](http://xonotic.org)** project is a rethink and reorganization of how a community creates an open source video game and organizes the services around it. The idea is to bring game development and design under community control and improve the contribution process. The organizational structure will make sure that no single person ever maintains total control of the project.

Some of the plans so far include:

**Project Changes:**

1.  use of GIT versioning system instead of SVN
2.  better attention to marketing and public relations
3.  a more defined artistic direction
4.  more emphasis on recruiting
5.  better organization of contributors
6.  more focus on community activities (tournaments, contests, etc)

**Game Changes:**

1.  new set of player models
2.  new set of sounds
3.  new music
4.  default maps will get a makeover
5.  new names for weapons and gamemodes (especially ones using the “nex” prefix)

While we don’t have a specific timeline for the first release under the new title, you can track the progress and updates on **[our website](http://xonotic.org)**, on **[twitter](http://twitter.com/xonotic)**, **[facebook](http://facebook.com/xonotic)** and in IRC: \#xonotic on irc.quakenet.org  
Before you visit us in IRC, please visit our **[FAQ Page](http://xonotic.org/faq)** for more detailed information about this project.

We look forward to creating a game that everyone can feel a part of. You are very much welcome to help in any way you can. We appreciate all of your support.

The Xonotic team.

v6 edited by Xeno
=================

The **[Nexuiz](http://alientrap.org/nexuiz)** community recently arrived at a difficult **[crossroad](http://alientrap.org/forum/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=6043)** and after much discussion, many of us have decided that it was time for a fresh start in a new direction, a direction which stays true to all that which has taken us so far while eliminating that which has held us back. This new direction will focus on the momentum of our community and reforge the project around it.

It is therefore with great pleasure that we formally announce the birth of **[Xonotic](http://xonotic.org)**, a free (GPL), fast-paced first-person shooter and direct successor to Nexuiz. Xonotic is a rethink of the Nexuiz project which recognizes that the community around it is its principle driving force and which will restructure itself to respect that. In particular this means that there will be no single person with total control over the project. In additon to the sharper focus on the community, Xonotic will also pursue a clearer agenda which includes the following:

1.  a more defined artistic direction
2.  better organization of contributors
3.  more emphasis on recruiting
4.  more focus on community activities (tournaments, contests, etc)
5.  use of Git versioning control instead of SVN
6.  better attention to marketing and public relations

This agenda will lead to the following game changes in the short term:

1.  new set of player models
2.  new set of sounds
3.  new music
4.  makeover of default maps
5.  new names for weapons and gamemodes

We do not yet have a fixed timeline but work is well underway and we hope to have a release ready soon. You can track our progress, receive updates and contact us via our **[website](http://xonotic.org)**, **[twitter](http://twitter.com/xonotic)**, **[facebook](http://facebook.com/xonotic)** and IRC (\#xonotic on irc.quakenet.org).

More detailed information about the project is available in **[our FAQ](http://xonotic.org/faq)**

The Xonotic team.

    Notes
    -----

    1.  This is just a first draft
    2.  Perhaps add a passage about who the Xonotic team is (Nexuiz developers, contributors, etc) and an open invitation to for others to get involved.
    3.  I’ve re-ordered the project changes to place emphasis on the community focus and artistic direction of the project. Most users couldn’t care less about the VCS or general PR but will be excited about a new artistic direction and more contributions.
    4.  Maybe change “birth” to “launch”.
    5.  Original opener (deemed too dramatic): “All too often the paths that lie ahead of us lead us to crossroads which we had not foreseen. The Nexuiz [link] community recently arrived at such a crossroad [link]…”

v7, edited by Dokujisan
=======================

**Combining some ideas from V5 and V6**

We would like to formally announce the arrival of **[Xonotic](http://xonotic.org)** - A free (GPL), fast-paced first-person shooter that works on Microsoft Windows, Mac OSX and Linux. Xonotic is a direct successor of the **[Nexuiz Project](http://alientrap.org/nexuiz)**.

Xonotic came about in the wake of recent troublesome **[changes](Faq#what-prompted-the-split-from-nexuiz)** to the Nexuiz project, changes that have left many of the core contributors and community members feeling that the project has been **[mishandled](http://alientrap.org/forum/viewtopic.php?f=4&t=6079)**. As a result, we felt the need to organize a departure to start with a clean slate.

**[Xonotic](http://xonotic.org)** will place focus on the things we love about Nexuiz, and extend our goals to become the game that many thought Nexuiz should have been.
While technically being a direct successor of Nexuiz, the **[Xonotic](http://xonotic.org)** project is a rethink of the Nexuiz project that recognizes the **community** around it as its principal driving force and will restructure itself to respect that. This means that there will never be a single person with total control over the project. In addition to the stronger focus on the community, Xonotic will also pursue a clearer agenda including the following:

**Game Changes:**

1.  A new set of player models and animations
2.  A new set of sounds
3.  New music
4.  Default maps will get a makeover
5.  New stronger bot AI
6.  New names for weapons and gamemodes (especially ones using the “nex” prefix)
7.  Low quality content will be dropped and replaced with higher quality ones

**Project Changes:**

1.  Use of GIT versioning system instead of SVN
2.  Better attention to marketing and public relations
3.  A more defined artistic direction
4.  More emphasis on recruiting
5.  Better organization of contributors
6.  More focus on community activities (tournaments, contests, etc)
7.  More frequent releases
8.  Global player stats tracking system, supporting anonymous player as well

While we don’t have a specific timeline for the first release under the new title, you can track the progress and updates on **[our website](http://xonotic.org)**, on **[twitter](http://twitter.com/xonotic)**, **[facebook](http://facebook.com/xonotic)** and in IRC: \#xonotic on irc.quakenet.org
Please visit our **[FAQ Page](http://xonotic.org/faq)** for more detailed information about this project.

We look forward to creating a game that everyone can feel a part of. You are very much welcome to help in any way you can. We appreciate all of your support.

The Xonotic team.