I'm still a good ways off from "finishing" any of my projects, but I'm daydreaming about what it might be like when I get there. With all my personal objectives met and my code compiled, linked, and "error free", what are the standard steps to take to package everything up and let the world see my creations? Are there even "standard" steps to take or do people usually zip up the executable, make a website and see what happens? Of course an open source, shareware, or commercial project has different needs but I think the core process is similar. There may be no official right or wrong answer but I think everyone might benefit from a discussion about how to release a project.
Thank you for anything that you can share.
What do you do when you're finished?
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killthesand
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Actually, the process ARE different, by huge amount, whether is is a shareware, free prog or a commercial. Whether it is a small game or 3A. International or small targeted audience. With a producer or not, investors or not, big, medium, small studio or alone, etc. The list goes on and on. The marketing, packaging, rules, licenses are not the same. So, be a bit more specific please 
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rogerborg
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Market research. Who is likely to be interested in your product? Where do they hang out? Since free is too expensive these days, how can you package it to persuade them to invest time in downloading and trying it?
Please upload candidate patches to the tracker.
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killthesand
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I guess I was trying to be unspecific so that any information collected here would be relevant to most any project. It seems like many visitors of this forum are using Irrlicht for learning or small independent projects, so let's start there.
For one example just to get things started: In my spare time I like to learn and explore image processing algorithms. Why? I don't really know, but I've amassed a small library of imaging functions. I figured why not build a gui and make my own Photoshop? By myself I'm not going to create a professional grade application, but it has some custom features that people may find useful. Anyway, when I have a working program, I plan to put version 0.1 up for free for anyone who wants it. User feedback seems like it would be the quickest way to find bugs and come up with new ideas for the next version. So what I'm looking for is the steps to take from the final time I click 'Build' to checking my e-mail and seeing messages about how people hate my software.
I imagined things like feature documentation and web design, but that started me thinking. I know that some open source libraries I've used have a license that says something like, 'this license must be distributed with your final product.' Where do I put such information? Do I have to add a README file to the release .zip? Then I wondered, "What else is there that I need to do, and what else do I need to package together with the program?" I figured that there are probably people here who have done this all before and other people who also might have questions about how to properly distribute software. I just want my final product to look more like an official product than a .zip with a stand-alone executable inside.
For one example just to get things started: In my spare time I like to learn and explore image processing algorithms. Why? I don't really know, but I've amassed a small library of imaging functions. I figured why not build a gui and make my own Photoshop? By myself I'm not going to create a professional grade application, but it has some custom features that people may find useful. Anyway, when I have a working program, I plan to put version 0.1 up for free for anyone who wants it. User feedback seems like it would be the quickest way to find bugs and come up with new ideas for the next version. So what I'm looking for is the steps to take from the final time I click 'Build' to checking my e-mail and seeing messages about how people hate my software.
I imagined things like feature documentation and web design, but that started me thinking. I know that some open source libraries I've used have a license that says something like, 'this license must be distributed with your final product.' Where do I put such information? Do I have to add a README file to the release .zip? Then I wondered, "What else is there that I need to do, and what else do I need to package together with the program?" I figured that there are probably people here who have done this all before and other people who also might have questions about how to properly distribute software. I just want my final product to look more like an official product than a .zip with a stand-alone executable inside.
if there's a business plan written from the start of the project...
...use that to see what to do next.
if there was no business plan and the project miraculously finished without any major problems, you could start sending the trial product out to your friends, and hope the buzz will carry it forward.
...use that to see what to do next.
if there was no business plan and the project miraculously finished without any major problems, you could start sending the trial product out to your friends, and hope the buzz will carry it forward.
I'd recommend starting a small website and possibly a forum. You'll also probably want to submit links to your software (or the actual file) to sites like download.com so that it will get more exposure. I seem to remember Wikipedia having some good articles on open source licenses, but could be mistaken... 
As it is, I've recently started a company with about twelve friends who have talent in the game-making industry, and we've started a website and forums. Even though the website has very little on it, and we have absolutely nothing to show in the way of a demo (not even close, in fact), we still have about twenty hard-core fans that are quite interested in our game, simply because it sounds like a good idea, and we seem to be actually doing something.
Write up a doc explaining what you're building, post it on your website, then link to the website everywhere you can (without spamming, of course)...your sig, that little 'website' place that most forums let you put in your profile description...your tag on Messenger. It all drives people to your site, which will help out your software when you finally release it 
Just my two cents...
-wyrmmage
As it is, I've recently started a company with about twelve friends who have talent in the game-making industry, and we've started a website and forums. Even though the website has very little on it, and we have absolutely nothing to show in the way of a demo (not even close, in fact
), we still have about twenty hard-core fans that are quite interested in our game, simply because it sounds like a good idea, and we seem to be actually doing something.Write up a doc explaining what you're building, post it on your website, then link to the website everywhere you can (without spamming, of course
)...your sig, that little 'website' place that most forums let you put in your profile description...your tag on Messenger. It all drives people to your site, which will help out your software when you finally release it Just my two cents...
-wyrmmage