by Hooray » Mon Aug 18, 2014 4:22 pm
it is maintained, that particular contributor is very active WRT to ubuntu/debian packages - and he's also helped us created SG/TG packages for the build server idea.
And as you can in the devel list archives, he's just made a posting asking when the release will be available so that he can create the corresponding packages.
Most of us were/are primarily volunteers, so things like deadlines/dates are not set in stone, and frankly, it's always a major turn-off for most of to make a major commitment when it comes to concrete features and deadlines. Imagine this like a huge herd of volunteers who all have a RL and a ton of obligations unrelated to FlightGear - so please just consider the "date" a timespan that should be interpreted +/- 5-8 weeks ideally, which would remove a lot of pressure for all the peopled involved in making this happen (no, I am not at all involved here).
Besides, JW: are a Linux/ubuntu user, I suggest to consider using the superbuild or the debian build script to set up a git environment with SG/FG and FGDATA - it is mostly scripted, so can be kept running over night, and you'll end up with a full FG checkout next morning, which makes you no longer depend on any release cycles. And no, it's not just a developers thing: we have many non-developers, especially aircraft maintainers, who are using this method without ever having written a single line of code.
Linux users are much better off here than Windows users, because the steps are straightforward and can even be automated - the number of people with a *nix background is fairly high for a reason, and most of them consider using git/gitorious at least once - and once they actually do so, they're really close to becoming actual contributors, because the barrier to entry is almost non existant.