Umm. Maybe I'm missing something here, but what's wrong with using the released TBP as a base to start developing from?
You are missing that though less buggy and unhandy than 3.3 (oh god that was bad) TBP 3.4b without Zathras still crashes every debug build you throw it at... You wanted to know why something was broken? Well good luck! Maybe you got to see the relevant bug report before the debug build just gave up
That's part of the reason that lead to the inception of Zathras...
One option would be to finally include the latest engine builds, Zathras version and all working campaigns available in a huge TBP 3.5 release. If this is not possible because of the history of the mod, please find a way to include some engine builds and OAL and everything needed into the next Zathras release. Right now it's much too much fiddling to get it the mod up-to-date and you won't win new users this way.
It is possible IMO to jam it all into a new installer and download ... that's what the "DVD project"in '08 was for - Version 1.0 is still stickied
If you have a skills creating a new bundle from 3.4b and all the mods you can gather is no problem ... however no one has been around with the skill and comittment to do for a while
If there is too much time between TBP or Zathras releases people will move on...
To my shame, that's because Zathras is the project with which we left FUBAR pretty much alone - Zathras 1.0 gathered up all the bits and pieces team members had created for their own purposes but after that it was almost all FUBAR alone
One person can do only so much...
Needs more than a polish imo.
Then cut the one liners and spill it out, man!
If you haven't noticed: no one is stopping you from from coming on this side and get your hands dirty with simple contributions - you can do pretty much everything you like with TBP 3.4b but take its assets and release them as a new mod ...
Just the basics and the rest can be added over time. It could be as much about developing the game, not just about using the final release.
That's basically the course that TBP has been running since I've this badge - look where it go us... Don't like it? Too bad 'cause this is where we are...
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Now I will take some time to chill out...
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EDIT: sry I got all that worked up .... but the reason this gets my blood boiling is that I really want to work on a TBP campaign again...
and let's face it with all it's problems that's what TBP really needs, not new models, no new textures or effects not even those sweet new graphics rendering option a modern FS_Open build could provide...
just imagine Spoon or Darius has released just the models and tables for their mods and nothing else... would we be talking about Blue Planet or Wings Of Dawn if they had? We certainly wouldn't...
Back when I got the badge we had the EACW script and the hope that one day we would have all the stuff and people to get it working - never happened
Without it TBP is and will be an empty shell because that is what it was created for ... In the end Skullar set out to work on it years ago but there hasn't been a word from his for a long time...
I really would want to work on TBP campaign again ... just so TBP wouldn't be just a bad of full of tools with no purpose ...