Google Summer of Code 2011 starts

@ndee, you could look at the mailing list records:
http://lists.blender.org/pipermail/bf-blender-cvs/
Or you register to the mailing list:
http://lists.blender.org/mailman/listinfo/bf-blender-cvs

Cheers, mib

From: http://www.blender.org/development/

Blender 2.6x series

Starting April/May 2011 we will review with all branch/patch developers the status of their work, and make a migration schedule for all new features. This could include projects like GI rendering (used in Sintel), new Mesh editing (BMesh), paint/sculpt improvements, Rigid Body Physics, new Curve/Nurbs system (Nurbana), Ocean Sim render, Particle Nodes, and so on.

Combining these upgrades with a redesign of shader/light system (“Cycles”), Open CL compositing, a possible VFX based Open Movie, and all the new Google Summer code projects… it’ll become a massive amount of upgrades again.

Proposal is to do this in a series of small steps; with stablest branches first. We can call it the “2.6x series” resulting in a number of releases named 2.60, 2.61, 2.62 and so on. Each release is supposed to be stable, only finished branches will be added. Plan is to make a very tight schedule for this, with a bi-monthly release.

Branches ready for inclusion will be posted here:
wiki.blender.org/index.php/Dev:Ref/MergeAndIntegrationPlan

For Blender 2.6x the UI and general design specifications will remain on 2.5 compatible level, although there’s several 2.5 leftover projects to complete still.

A related target or Blender remains to keep improving apis or modules, to enable larger groups of developers to work in parallel on projects.

Haven’t seen any activity from Christopher Neal (Fluid simulation improvements)… No report no commits. Have we already lost a student or is there a reason why he hasn’t started yet?

Freestyle?

i think that they should care about the sun, Ooooh that F***** SUN! I’m having problems with making a sun with lens flare to a animation that have to be presented to A LOT of people…
Serious, i think that they should care about the lights itself. Like glow effects in the own light, not in the composite, volumetric lighting supported by all types of lights, and, of course, a better sun system. And, i will mention it: it’s a dream that i have, but, we need dream first to make after, yeah?! I wait a CUDA implementation on Blender to make faster tasks like physics simulations (everyone know how it’s bake a smoke simulation).

Gutav,

Haven’t seen any activity from Christopher Neal (Fluid simulation improvements)… No report no commits. Have we already lost a student or is there a reason why he hasn’t started yet?

As reported in the meeting minutes we lost contact with him shortly before the first GSoC report was due. We have no idea the reason, but have been unable to reach him via email, text message, or phone since.

Yeah I saw that. I really hope everything is ok with him.