CRYENGINE on GitHub - Live Updates to Main will go on Hiatus
We are changing the way we release CRYENGINE on GitHub.
We will put live updates to the CRYENGINE GitHub main repository on hiatus next week. After June 5th the next update will be the full release of CRYENGINE 5.6. We plan to resume more frequent updates when CRYENGINE 5.7 arrives in spring 2020.
Here’s why:
In the last few years, we have made an effort to serve developers who are working with the engine by making our CRYENGINE main branch updates publicly available in real-time. However, this has lead to some problems with our internal development processes and has caused issues for users as well.
GitHub CRYENGINE main doesn’t always compile, leaving you with unworkable snapshots of the engine or building against unfinished code piles. While we have always made clear that we cannot guarantee that these live updates will be stable–that’s what the release branch is for–we have received feedback that this outcome is undesirable for some of our users.
We have also received feedback about how we handle issues and pull requests submitted against the branch. Many of you have been frustrated that we have not been able to react to them in a timely manner. Despite our best efforts, it’s clear that we don’t currently meet your expectations when it comes to supporting CRYENGINE on GitHub. That’s why we have decided to pause these updates, allowing us time to review our processes, based on your feedback.
We want to be transparent and forthcoming about the development of CRYENGINE, so we have decided to make the latest source code available in real-time. However, considering the feedback we have received, it’s clear that the current model doesn’t seem to be perceived as an advantage by many of our users.
We have heard your feedback, and we want to do better.
But to achieve this, we need time to iron out the details, address any staff constraints, and balance development priorities with our responsibilities serving Crytek’s own games and licensee projects. And that’s what we’re going to do in the interim until CRYENGINE 5.7 is released. We aim to develop a better workflow for updating CRYENGINE main on GitHub, and dealing with issues and pull requests.
Changes in a nutshell:
Pull requests: We will make an effort to clean up pull requests in the next couple of weeks, as we want to review as many of them as possible. But we will have to enforce stricter rules on the format of pull requests in the future. Also, as code isn’t mirrored in real-time anymore, we will only accept pull requests for a limited time after a code release. Pull requests make the most sense when submitted against a valid batch of code. If the engine version you work off is old or outdated, that creates more admin for both you and us.
Pull request branch will go offline on Friday as well and return with some improvements at a later point. Please don't submit pull requests as long as the PR branch is unavailable. We cannot accept PRs against any other branch.
Issues: You can still submit any issues and bugs you find on GitHub, but the chances are that the further we move away from this snapshot, the more of these bugs will already be fixed by the time you report them. However, we still encourage you to report bugs and fixes on GitHub, as this is the best way for us to review them and let you know where we’re at with fixing them.
The status of the latest main branch: GitHub CE main branch will stop receiving updates on July 5th and will be taken offline on July 8th. We are about to enter the stabilization phase to prepare for the release of CRYENGINE 5.6, which is tentatively scheduled for late summer 2019. Feel free to fork snapshots from there anytime until then.
The latest production-ready engine release is CRYENGINE 5.5.2, and you can get it via the CRYENGINE launcher or from GitHub, here, including source code.
“I have opinions about this!”
That’s great! In fact, that’s perfect, because we are going to take the next couple of months to work on our internal processes so we can find a solution that works better for everyone. And to make sure you can have your voice heard, we encourage you to contribute your feedback on the official forums or send us your thoughts on Discord in the #service-feedback channel.
We thank you for your ongoing support and all the effort that has gone into reporting issues and submitting pull requests for the engine. We’re counting on you to continue helping us by providing feedback and reporting bugs, as we strive, every day, to make the engine even better.
Get in touch on the CRYENGINE forum, submit your ideas on CRYENGINE Answers, or join the discussion on Twitter, Facebook, and the CRYENGINE official Discord Server.
- -The CRYENGINE Team
