re-release gazebo11 to focal using ogre-1.12

[simonschmeisser]

Ubuntu Focal contains a much updated version 1.12.4 of OGRE which can be used by installing/depending on libogre-1.12-dev instead of libogre-1.9-dev. Updating the rosdeps was rejected/postponed because gazebo11 was already released and build against libogre-1.9. See here for the discussion ros/rosdistro#24448

Is there anything I can do to help with a new release? I would like to avoid being stuck on ogre-1.9 from 2013 due to compatibility reasons once ROS Noetic is released ...

[traversaro]

I guess the first step is to try to compile Gazebo 11 against libogre-1.12-dev . I am compiling and usiing Gazebo 11 on Windows against the ogre1.12 provided by vcpkg, but in the past there were problem on using Gazebo 11 with Ogre 1.12 from conda-forge, see #2700 .

[j-rivero]

Hello Simon:

Is there anything I can do to help with a new release? I would like to avoid being stuck on ogre-1.9 from 2013 due to compatibility reasons once ROS Noetic is released ...

Thanks for all your efforts. I share your idea that would be really nice to update our ancient dependency on ogre-1.9. I'm afraid that the change is really complicated at this precise moment.

I've been in discussing with the rest of Gazebo/Ignition team and with the ROS developer in charge of Noetic and we have some considerations to execute the change at this moment:

• We have used the REP3 as the guide to know which base dependencies are we using in Noetic. The ogre version until today has been 1.9 (although there has been a foot note I think that the intention was not to change it 3 weeks before releasing). Different projects use that value to prepare releases for Noetic.
• Although some patches have landed in Gazebo11 for ogre 1.12 we doubt that it can even compile out of the box. That is speaking only about building, changing a core dependency outside of our development and testing cycle, without knowing the potential effects at runtime (note that Silvio provided with an example of rendering problems) we think is not a good idea.
• Packages have been released for Focal using Ogre 1.9. The potential impact on the API/ABI that changing Ogre version can have in Gazebo makes the change really complicated.

I'm open to help with other options (custom packages using ogre-1.12 in a different repo or with a different name) but the changes and testing that ogre 1.12 would require to go officially into Gazebo11 seems almost impossible to me. Sorry for not bringing good news this time.

[traversaro]

note that Silvio provided with an example of rendering problems

The one I was referring to ( #2700 ) is probably solved (I guess) but there are indeed other regression related to the current support for Ogre 1.12 in Gazebo 11, in particular #2686 that is not trivial to fix.

[simonschmeisser]

I'm not trying to push this idea further but just wanted to add that the ogre maintainer is very helpful and quick in responding. I could however not make much sense of those archived issues so I guess if someone where to ask him for help, a more detailed issue would be needed

[j-rivero]

. I could however not make much sense of those archived issues so I guess if someone where to ask him for help, a more detailed issue would be needed

Thanks Simon! I'm happy to see other people working in having upstream versions ready in Debian. Closing this, I hope we can find a solution/agreement in the rest of the issues that are open.