Welcome Contributor!

Tempest in the Aether is unlike other projects in a number of ways and is specifically designed to not only accomidate professionals or people with years of experience, but also anyone who is intrested in learning. We strive to be as aprochable and helpful to all contributors as possible no matter where you come from or what your skill set includes. We believe in a pholosophy that resolves around working together rather then expecting everyone to just "figure it out on there own".

 

In line with this pholosophy we recomend real-time chat rather then other methods such as mailing lists and forums.

 

If you want to be a contributer, but don't want to read a long and probably boring page, just head to #tita on @Freenode. A simple way of logging on to IRC would be via webchat.freenode.net/?randomnick=1&channels=tita just ask for assistance and someone will be wth you asap. Remember, they may not reply instantly because of timezones and work. If you can't find anyone, please post something on the forums, you can also contact an administrator by sending an email to [email protected]


What is it like to be a contributor?
That actually depends mostly on what you have in mind. You tell your operational leader (just ask who this would be on IRC) how much time you can spend and how much work you can get done, everything is then planned according to that. As a contributor you can either choose to get your tasks assigned or you can present your own task if you have ideas of your own. In the latter case your team operational leader will advice you on how to do that task and make sure it can be included and fits within the scope of the project. It would be a shame to start a task that never will be implemented and that is why it is important to work closely with the developers, especially in the initial phase of such a task. Nevertheless all material you submit shall be commented by a developer.

As a contributor you are also asked to team up with the other contributors, to help and guide eachother. If you have a problem ask your fellow contributors first and if nobody can answer, you contact a developer. This might be the same person. Contributors can also work on tasks together if they wish to do so.


Responsibilities as a contributor

  • Deal respectfully, especially, but not exclusively with Operational Leaders.
  • Be patient, other developers and contributers don't get paid either, so don't expect them to reply instantly.
  • Communicate: listen well and tell the rest of your team if you run into problems, even (especially) if you solved them yourself.
  • Don't do anything stupid

Rights as a contributor

  • Contributers have the right to be a part of our community
  • Contributers have the right to have their work judged on both technical and aestetical quality and get remarks on possible improvements.
  • If their work won't be used in the project, contributers have the right to know why.
  • Contributers keep all rights to their contributions, but do have to license their part of the game in the same way the rest of the game is licensed in order to get their work included in the game.
  • Contributers have the right to cooperate in the process of shaping the future of this project.

Rights you do not get as a contributor

  • The team may decide to leave out parts of the game, inclusion of work can not be guarandeed.
  • You do not get any licenses of modelling software or access to production systems, you'll have to aquire these yourself.
  • You do not get the right to speak on behalf of the team, unless explicitly specified  otherwise by a lead developer.

Communication
Log on to our chat and use this forum
Good communication with the rest of the team is essential for all contributors and for the succes of this project. Our two main tools for this communication are IRC chat and this forum.

IRC Channel: #TiTa on irc.freenode.org (If you don't have an IRC client installed you can use this page: http://webchat.freenode.net).
The chat will be where most of our contributors work will be coordinated. Stay logged in to the channel as often as possible. Here you can ask questions, discuss with other contributors and developers, and get to know the team.

The forums will also play an important part of your work flow. Each task you are assigned to should have its own thread in the development forum board. How important this is depends on the size of the task you're assigned to do.


General work flow
All the teams have slight changes to how tasks are handled. So to be sure check with your team leader for the details.

1. Get your task assignments.
To get a specific task you have to talk to the respective operative leader of your department. This is preferably done in the IRC channel, but can also be done by email or on the forums. As a contributor you can also ask to be assigned to specific tasks or submit ideas you have, but communication is the key here.

2. Document while you work.
You will set up a forum thread for your task.  This thread will be used for you to submit your ideas as you are working on it, ask questions and for us all to discuss and comment.

It's important to ask for replies, because you may be doing something very nice that's incompatible with the project and all your work will then be for nothing, because the result isn't useful.

3. Submit your final work.
All departments have different ways of submitting the final work, so ask your team leader for the details. Once submitted the work will be checked by developers then implemented as a part of the game. If not you will have to rework the task until it is approved.