make or break for crossfire

[Simon McIntosh-Smith <Simon.N.Smith@cm.cf.ac.uk>]

Raphael Quinet wrote:

> >From my point of view, here is what should be done:
>  1) Get Frank's approval about this whole thing, or at least get some
>     comments form him.
>  2) Choose a new maintainer (if Frank is out of the race) then build a team
>     of a few programmers who will work on the core of the game until we have
>     something ready for the first new "official" distribution.
>  2) Get the latest alpha or beta version from Frank.
>  3) Merge it with the latest version from Petri & Co (crossedit).
>  4) Hold our breath, then jump into the client/server wolrd.
>  5) Debug, debug, debug...
>  6) Release the new version.
>  7) Play Crossfire, add more nice features and restore hope in the world.

Whatever happens, something needs to be done, and soon. Crossfire is
at a critical point in its development. If we as its user community
do not ensure its survival at this time when no official release is
widely accepted, crossfire will sink into undeserved obscurity.

Crossfire is one of the most exciting games I've seen, and I desperately
want it to mature into a stable and well developed platform. But in its
current state it is going nowhere. All those who have indicated that they
have the time and inclination to take game development on will have more
responsibility than they realise. The very life of the game is in there
hands - if the current situation doesn't change in the near future crossfire
will die. 

I think that a major step in ensuring crossfire's survival and progression
will be the release of a new, amalgamated version.  Good luck to all involved!

Sy