40d Talk:Version number

The first number indicates Dwarf Fortress being in either alpha/beta state, it will be "1" when it is no longer in beta.

Are you sure? VengefulDonut 10:42, 21 April 2008 (EDT)

Definitely sure. Thanks for clarifying some of those points, I was surprised it was so simple. Toady did comment that the second number in the version name is an approximate percentage of how much of Dwarf fortress is done. That's quite interesting don't you think? You hear this ten minutes into his interview on Front Row Crew, [1].--Richards 13:11, 21 April 2008 (EDT)

Style and structure.

Great job on the diagram Alya. This page looks very professional now. I re-edited some points to make them more clear and added a link to the release-cycle page on wikipedia explaining the development terms. I'll try to make the diagram more prominent and add some links.--Richards 16:30, 21 April 2008 (EDT)

Thank you for the compliment! However, I fear I don't agree with your edits (which almost completely reverted my non-diagram changes!).

In particular:

• The style is different from the rest of the wiki. Usually, articles start with a sentence defining or describing the page title, with the page title close to the start and set in bold. Headings usually don't end in colons and list items usually aren't capitalized.
• There's a contradiction on the number of pieces a version number has: the text says four, the list and diagram show five. While there are indeed four period-separated sections in the number, the bug-fix letter and the bloat number have nothing to do with each other. This means there are five different semantical pieces. I think the semantical structure of the number is more important that the physical one — that it's in the format 0.12.345.67x is immediately visible to the reader, what the individual part mean is not.
• The longer texts in the diagram seem less clear than those of my version; I don't see what the words "have been" and "currently" add to the understanding and in diagrams it's usually best to have the shortest phrasing which is still clear. The phrasing "The ... number is the total number ..." also seems to be unnecessarily complex, mentioning that it is a number twice. On the other hand, abbreviating "required" seems less clear than writing it out and I don't see what it gains.
• I don't think the diagram needs to be more prominent. It is already likely to draw the attention of the reader before the main body of text.
• The part about going gold refers to a final piece of software shipping and does not seem to apply to DF.

I'm sorry, but I'd much rather return to something closer to my last revision. To what extent do you agree/disagree with the reasoning above?

— Alya 18:22, 21 April 2008 (EDT)

I agree with your style suggestions.

• While writing and explaining the version number as being in "four-pieces", I had in mind the numerical sections between the periods. You make sense, we can refer to it as having 'five semantical sections' or being a four-piece version number with an alphabetical appendage. Keep the 'currently in an alpha/beta release' in the diagram. The version number refers to the game, and the game is "Currently in alpha/beta", I'll shorten it and remove the 'have been' tags.
• When the version number becomes "1", Toady is going to call it something else than a beta. It's a recognizable term to say that by the time dwarf fortress "turns gold", it will have a version number of "1". Do you know another term we can call it?
• When I wrote about making the diagram more "prominent" the Example was under a sub-heading. It's fine now.

Tell me what you think, and thanks for all this thought that you're putting into the article.--Richards 20:52, 21 April 2008 (EDT)