last updated: 8/5/2010

figured it was time to finally update you guys on version 3.

Today, I plan to roll out the roadmap that will be the new guide to version 3. the one in the development portal is dated and will updated to reflect these changes.

I will update this topic as new things unfold and I have more to say about certain future releases. so keep your eyes posted here for updates.

version 3.0-dev1

the first development release of version 3 will contain less new features, but will offer improvements in other areas such as cleaner and more manageable code, which will help those who mod their boards.

The main issues being addressed in version 3 dev1 are the main annoyances brought to my attention from fellow users,
things like path-related issues, install-based issues will resolved for good.

Other things being addressed will be cleaning up complex things such as the permission system which can get difficult to manage. version 3 will fix that by making all users use the group-based policies which offer more control to administrators.

There is also going to be consolidation done in a few areas to reduce clutter. for example the avatar gallery will now be found in the profile.php file as will be the group profile page.

The estimated date for release of v3.0-dev 1 is: July 18th 2010

version 3.0 RC 1

The first release candidate will be where actual new functionality will be added. It'll also be where current features will continue to get improved and adjusted as needed. One area being addressed in this release will be a further overhaul
on the template engine, another area of focus will be adding more web 2.0-like features to version 3.

like in version 2, version 3 will use the RC 1 release to dish out most of the main new features, adding a bit less in the
later releases.

The estimated date for release of v3.0 RC 1 is: 1/30/11

version 3.0 RC 2

a new idea this year will be to add more development releases, this will ensure most of the main issues get ironed out before version 3 goes final.

RC 2 as of now will be merely a bug fix release and possibly a good time to try to add a few experiential features skipped
earlier in the development of version 3(the database driver may get added here if time allow)

RC 2 may also see the use of a PHP framework to make development more streamline(which framework though is yet to be determined, may be either Zend, Yii or CodeIgniter(if their PHP 5 version is built by the time RC 2 work starts)).

Their may be other RC releases, stay tuned to hear more later on.

The estimated date for release of v3.0 RC 2 is: not determined yet

version 3.0 Final

A more polished release, this release will not contain any new functionality, but instead will focus completely on bug fixes
and improvements to current features. It will also be a good time for me to convert over themes(as well as add new ones) and work on other things for the overall project(like the new website planned for version 3).

The estimated date for release of v3.0 Final is: not determined yet

Something that is in the works but not 100% final, when version 3 is out of development, I am planning on providing upgrade plans for not only version 2 and 2.1 users, but also add an option to upgrade from version 1. This will make the transition much smoother and ensure everyone can upgrade to the latest and best release of Elite Bulletin Board.