Next Chapter For Industry Idle: Leaving Early Access and Going Open Source
It's been more than two years since I started working on Industry Idle. The game was released on Early Access 1.5 years ago and I am blessed with a great community - reporting bugs, providing feedback, helping new players, and supporting the game's server expense by purchasing Expansion Packs.
[h2]Going Open Source[/h2]
Working on this project as the only indie developer in my free time is a huge commitment. A lot of players in the community are developers themselves and have offered to help with the development. However, as you can probably imagine, the game's codebase was nowhere near ready for that. And I felt that cleaning up the codebase and onboarding more developers would add more overhead and slow down the development when the game was constantly changing.
Now, since the game's core mechanisms and content are more or less stable, I feel this is a good time to take a look at this. I spent the last several months cleaning up the game's codebase and sorting out some licensing issues. I have also drastically simplified the game's build system and dependencies so that newcomers can get the game up and running easily - my goal for open-sourcing the game is to allow the community to drive the game further, rather than just "throwing it out there". To facilitate this, I have cleaned up the project and made it very easy to get it up and running. I have also bundled all the arts and assets with the repository as well (but please note the license in the README file of the repository). I've also written a detailed getting started guide, which is included in the project's repository. You can find everything hosted on Github: https://github.com/fishpondstudio/IndustryIdle
[h2]Leaving Early Access and Accepting Contributions[/h2]
I plan to release a version from the new open-source repository - if things go well, the game will leave Early Access. Starting now, the game accepts contributions. Here's a brief guideline on how to contribute.
[h3]Help Translate[/h3]
The localization repository has been moved inside the mono repo, you can find the file and a guide here: https://github.com/fishpondstudio/IndustryIdle/tree/main/assets/Script/Languages
[h3]Report Bugs[/h3]
GitHub Issues would be the preferred way to report bugs. If you are not able to use GitHub Issues, Discord #industry-idle-bug-report channel can be used as well
[h3]Fix Bugs[/h3]
Fork the repository, make the code change, and submit a Pull Request
[h3]Add Content/Implement Feature/Adjust Game Balance[/h3]
This would be a bit more complicated. You should probably bring up your proposal in the community and also talk to me before implementing the code. Features that benefit the majority of players (e.g. QoL improvements) are very likely to get merged. Features that affect game balances need to be carefully discussed and tested.
Running an open-source game is not an easy task and doesn't really have proven "best practices" so I am also learning along the way. These guidelines will evolve as well.
[h2]Community Driven Development[/h2]
With this change, helping and guiding community contributions will be my main focus. I have also created #industry-idle-dev channel on Discord for all development-related discussions - whether you need some coding help or want to discuss new features. I am hoping over time, the game will have more experienced contributors so that I can do less handholding.
I will continue to act as the "release manager" - helping get changes into the beta channel and into a release when they are tested. For now, I don't think it makes sense to have a fixed release schedule - as long as there're enough contributions that warrant a release, I am happy to press that button.
As to my other plans. Well, I've got much less free time compared to the pandemic. After all, this is my hobby project - I need to take a day job to actually pay for my living. But fear not, I am planning on a sequel, or rather a "spiritual successor" to Industry Idle - Cividle
https://store.steampowered.com/app/2181940/Cividle/
I will probably write more about why I am making a spiritual successor (instead of adding another Expansion Pack to Industry Idle) and my plans for Cividle, but maybe some other time.
[h2]Going Open Source[/h2]
Working on this project as the only indie developer in my free time is a huge commitment. A lot of players in the community are developers themselves and have offered to help with the development. However, as you can probably imagine, the game's codebase was nowhere near ready for that. And I felt that cleaning up the codebase and onboarding more developers would add more overhead and slow down the development when the game was constantly changing.
Now, since the game's core mechanisms and content are more or less stable, I feel this is a good time to take a look at this. I spent the last several months cleaning up the game's codebase and sorting out some licensing issues. I have also drastically simplified the game's build system and dependencies so that newcomers can get the game up and running easily - my goal for open-sourcing the game is to allow the community to drive the game further, rather than just "throwing it out there". To facilitate this, I have cleaned up the project and made it very easy to get it up and running. I have also bundled all the arts and assets with the repository as well (but please note the license in the README file of the repository). I've also written a detailed getting started guide, which is included in the project's repository. You can find everything hosted on Github: https://github.com/fishpondstudio/IndustryIdle
[h2]Leaving Early Access and Accepting Contributions[/h2]
I plan to release a version from the new open-source repository - if things go well, the game will leave Early Access. Starting now, the game accepts contributions. Here's a brief guideline on how to contribute.
[h3]Help Translate[/h3]
The localization repository has been moved inside the mono repo, you can find the file and a guide here: https://github.com/fishpondstudio/IndustryIdle/tree/main/assets/Script/Languages
[h3]Report Bugs[/h3]
GitHub Issues would be the preferred way to report bugs. If you are not able to use GitHub Issues, Discord #industry-idle-bug-report channel can be used as well
[h3]Fix Bugs[/h3]
Fork the repository, make the code change, and submit a Pull Request
[h3]Add Content/Implement Feature/Adjust Game Balance[/h3]
This would be a bit more complicated. You should probably bring up your proposal in the community and also talk to me before implementing the code. Features that benefit the majority of players (e.g. QoL improvements) are very likely to get merged. Features that affect game balances need to be carefully discussed and tested.
Running an open-source game is not an easy task and doesn't really have proven "best practices" so I am also learning along the way. These guidelines will evolve as well.
[h2]Community Driven Development[/h2]
With this change, helping and guiding community contributions will be my main focus. I have also created #industry-idle-dev channel on Discord for all development-related discussions - whether you need some coding help or want to discuss new features. I am hoping over time, the game will have more experienced contributors so that I can do less handholding.
I will continue to act as the "release manager" - helping get changes into the beta channel and into a release when they are tested. For now, I don't think it makes sense to have a fixed release schedule - as long as there're enough contributions that warrant a release, I am happy to press that button.
As to my other plans. Well, I've got much less free time compared to the pandemic. After all, this is my hobby project - I need to take a day job to actually pay for my living. But fear not, I am planning on a sequel, or rather a "spiritual successor" to Industry Idle - Cividle
https://store.steampowered.com/app/2181940/Cividle/
I will probably write more about why I am making a spiritual successor (instead of adding another Expansion Pack to Industry Idle) and my plans for Cividle, but maybe some other time.