Geoff the Medio wrote:Given the
recent issues with a refactoring change, is it perhaps worth making a v0.4.8 branch soon, and limiting it to release-blocking or at least reasonably well-tested non-blocking issues?
It doesn't make much sense to me to create the release branch as long as the main feature of this release is still being worked on. For one there is still
one release blocking PR related to said main feature, and then my impression is that there should be a bit more playtesting of the new feature, or at least playtesting by more people. Although Oberlus has been very diligent in that area, and a couple of others seem to have done a fair share of playtesting too, I'm a bit unsure if it has been sufficient for a completely new mechanic that introduced a significant change to another core mechanic, obviously caused significant balance issues that had to be ironed out, etc.
Unfortunately I didn't get around to do some decent playtesting myself, I always hoped I'd find the time, and never managed to. So I need to rely on the assessment of those involved with developing, playtesting, balancing and polishing the IS so far: do you guys think the feature is ready for release?
The other thing is, usually I wait until all release blocking issues are dealt with, for the simple reason to minimize the cherry picking ordeal that always commences the moment I create the release branch. If there is still stuff that needs to be done, that means the release branch needs to be maintained that much longer, which is particularly annoying with all the bugfixing that happens all the time. The longer it takes from the time the release branch is created until the release is finally out, the longer people already work on new stuff in master. Which introduces new bugs, which get fixed, and every time that happens someone has to pay attention if a bugfix fixes something that has been introduced after the creation of the release branch (and therefore
must not get cherry picked into the release branch) or an older bug that has already been present before (and there
must get cherry picked into the release branch).
Often enough the cherry picking is also left to me, which gets particularly tricky if there are conflicts to resolve. Difficult for me who hasn't written the code, and isn't the most competent coder around here to begin with.
I think the release is being delayed by such distractions...
Compared to the hassle maintaining the release branch for longer than absolutely necessary these issues you refer to look rather minor to me. Those bugs have been dealt with quickly enough, and haven't actually caused any delays (yet).
Of course, that said, I completely agree people should refrain from working on optional or new stuff for now and concentrate their efforts on cleaning up the remaining release blocking issues. Some items on the "0.4.8 (mandatory)" list have been sitting there for months, with no sign of anyone intending to touch them. If I create the release branch now, who knows how long it will take until those get solved?