Ryzom

h1. Help us

This project requires a lot of work and this page will list in order of importance what you can do to help us:

h2. Web Servers and Bandwidth

Hosting "the media":http://media.ryzom.com requires a lot of bandwidth. For faster access we are looking for a company that would like host the media. Any sponsors will have their company name and logo on our pages.

We need the following resources:

* A server to host the web application (PHP+MySQL). This application handles searching, displaying and downloading the media.

* A server to host the media data. The data is approximately 200,000 small files - mainly a few kilobytes for preview images - and a total of 20-30 gigabytes. It will contain the actual Ryzom media assets as well as all of the preview images that you see on the "web site":http://media.ryzom.com

h2. Promoting The Project

Do you like the project? Thank you, but you can really help, tell your friend, post on a forum, blog about it, twit about it, in one word spread the news.

h2. Porting Ryzom on GNU/Linux and MAC OS X

Currently Ryzom is working Windows, but we already have a native version of NeL:http://dev.ryzom.com/projects/nel/wiki for *GNU/Linux* and a X11 version of NeL for *MAC OS X*. We are looking for people who want to port Ryzom on their loved OS.

h2. Porting Tools

* 3d objects are made with a 3-D modeling software (3dsmax). Work is already underway to eliminate those dependencies and use free software alternatives like Blender.

* [[Georges]], the tool used to describe all items in the world (monsters, npc, items, stats) was written for Windows with MFC. So it needs to be adapted to work on GNU/Linux using Qt.

* [[ObjectViewer]] will be adapted to work on GNU/Linux using Qt thanks to a trainee from the Google Summer of Code but the task is big and help is welcome.

* [[WorldEditor]] is also made with MFC and only for Windows. We have a very precise vision of what we want to do to replace this tool. Using new web technology and "some tools":http://maps.bmsite.net already made by some Ryzom fans, we want to create a collaborative, online, tools to directly edit and apply world modification into the servers. This will require lot of knowledge in Javascript, PHP.

These are the next big tasks that needs to be done to make Ryzom even more useful to the free software community, so if you'd like to help, please [[Contact_the_community|contact us]].

h2. Source Code Packaging

One of the first big changes to the Ryzom project will be to eliminate the build-specific files. Currently Ryzom uses a custom Makefile system for building on Linux and Visual Studio solutions and projects to build on Windows. The goal is to unify all of the disparate build environments under the CMake umbrella.

CMake provides a certain level of automated packaging through CPack. We would like to start harnessing CPack to generate releases so that the release cycle can be shorter and easier. In addition we are seeking Debian and Fedora package maintainers to help build and maintain Ryzom packages for the various Debian-based distributions and the RedHat-based systems.

Packagers for other distributions and distribution systems are eagerly welcomed as well. We would like to release often and to as many platforms as possible.

h2. Documentation

Documentation is something we readily admit is a weak point for us. If you're good at technical writing but not confident in your programming skills this could be a great place for you to contribute. We have a variety of documentation tasks including these examples:

* Convert existing "NeL":http://dev.ryzom.com/projects/nel/wiki documentation to the new site.

* Convert the "OpenNeL Handbook":http://www.opennel.org/confluence/display/~mattr/MtrNelManualNotes to this site.

* Write tutorials on basic usage.

* Create simple sample demonstrations.

* Create tutorials and videos on things such as using the tools, creating content, etc.

In addition to these examples we also very much need a developer willing to dig through obscure code and work on understanding how much of the lesser known pieces of code and functionality work and document them as well.

h2. Security Reviews and Patches

The Ryzom Project has gone through lengths in an attempt to mitigate as many of the potential security threats as possible but we know we're not perfect. We seek eager individuals to help us identify potential or actual security problems and work with us to resolve them.

h2. Bug Slaying

Every project has bugs and we are no exception. It takes a special person to catch those little flaws in code and figure out the right way to fix the problem.