Release Schedule for v18.0.0

[PastaPastaPasta]

Here is a proposed release schedule for v18.0.0, the next major release of Dash Core.

2021-10-12

• Soft Feature freeze (no new ideas, any merged PRs should implement an open issue)
• Soft translation string freeze (no large or unnecessary string changes until release)
• Start RC cycle, tag and begin building v18.0.0-rc1
• Open Transifex translations for 0.18
• Split off v18.x branch from develop
• Start merging for v19.x on develop

2021-10-15

• Release v18.0.0-beta1

2022-04-16

• Release v18.0.0.0-rc1
• Translation string freeze (no more source language changes until release)

2022-05-16

• Hard feature freeze (No new PRs except for release PRs and fixing breaking / non-QOL bugs)
• Begin Release Process

2022-06-09

• Release RC6, this release was deployed to testnet on DCG controlled master nodes.

2022-06-27

• Testnet hard forks

2022-07-03

• Tag and start building v18.0.0

2022-07-15

• Release v18.0.0 final (aim)

NOTE: This schedule is just a plan, it is not authoritative, nor final. As development continues dates will change and will be updated here.

[thephez]

We need to make sure Sentinel isn't forgotten somewhere. Probably in the actual checklist I suppose

[thephez]

We should also make sure the relevant BTCPay stuff gets updated too...

• chore: update to dash 0.17.0.3 btcpayserver/btcpayserver-docker#509
• chore: update to dash 0.17.0.3 btcpayserver/dockerfile-deps#31

[PastaPastaPasta]

@thephez I have added both of these to the release process issue