Helping out

You can help the continual development of Danger from the Deep by contributing some of your time and skill. Listed below are some of the areas that need extra help.

Developing

Unlike most Open-source simulations/games we don't suffer from a lack of artwork, but from a lack of developers. DftD is primarily written in C++ with OpenGL. Any C or 3D graphic development is useful but the please note that the game is totally object oriented and highly focused on C++, so you will have to learn something about object orientation and C++ (if you don't already).

Areas of interest are;

• General application development
• 3D computer graphics
• Physical simulation
• GUI designers
• Tool-smiths, build system maintenance etc.
• Architect porters ( porting and testing on new architectures, PS3 anyone?)
• Development coordinators, help organise and run the show

CVS is available, check out the module named dangerdeep

2D and 3D artwork

At the moment we cannot accept any more artwork, (we're swimming in it) and development needs a few months to catch up, but if you're willing to help, but have no coding experience, there are several ways you can help.

• Creating historical accurate models of ships, submarines, airplanes, etc.
• Designing damage model data for afore mentioned 3D models

It would be a very good idea to discuss any plans in the forum before starting on anything.

Testing

Testing is a very important part of software development. Simply trying out the latest version from CVS and reporting any issues is a big help as system configuration of both hardware and software vary dramatically.

Package maintainers

Can't find a package available for your distribution of Linux or BSD? Well, now's your chance to create one.

• The construction of installers (Windows et al)
• Compiling releases for Windows
• Binary distributions for Linux (rpm/deb/etc.)

Historical researchers

Our aim is to make a historically accurate simulation, as realistic as our skill and time allows on current hardware. You can help us by finding and verifying that our information is accurate by cross-checking with multiple sources. Unfortunately with the prevalence of disinformation on the Internet this task is becoming harder and more difficult. Any of the following is highly desired;

• Data on ships, submarines, airplanes, bunkers, weapons, etc.
• Blue prints on any of the above
• Data about convoy routes and how and when convoys were organised
• Information on machines or technology like; Radar, Sonar, Torpedo data computers or weapon control etc.
• Historical maps and plans that can be used as source of information or re-used for graphics.
• Please note that this is an open-source game and all information should be freely available (public domain etc.)

Sound technicians and musicians

Ever seen a submarine powered by a washing machine? Well you have now! Creating sound effects really brings a game to life and they can come from the most boring everyday things

• The recording/creation of sound effects
• The processing and encoding of sound effects
• Composition or creation of soundtracks

Manual writers

Creating, updating and maintaining a manual is a most important task, not many people can remember all the key bindings or how to articulate a certain part of the simulation. This is where manuals really shine, being able to give the user the information they need with the minimum amount of time wasted.

• Quick-start, all the basic information needed to get going
• Comprehensive, containing anything and everything to do with; Game play, instrument operation, tactics and everything else that's been forgotten
• Ideally in a free format (Scribus, HTML, PDF, OpenOffice documents, TeX and the like)

Website maintainers and web designers

I think we have this covered for the moment, but if you have any suggestions or improvements then please don't hesitate to contact us

Translators

Danger from the deep is a multi-lingual game. If you would like to see the game in your language and can help us out with any of the following

• Translate current texts to new languages
• Manage and adapt texts when it is necessary (texts changed, new release)
• Take over existing translations and maintain them
• Possible translation of the website

Final words

Phew! What a big list, you should note that it is not inclusive, if you feel that you have a contribution that you want to make then please contact us.