Usually it is targets like Debian and OS X that hold up. So that will never work.
It is also not entirely static, e.g. Joost built many linux targets using docker containers this time around. He is also building RPMs for a long time, and those are usually on time. My FreeBSD was usually also on time, but with the recent LLVM transitions I have massive problems (and only FreeBSD11 will be released)
Is LLVM now a requirement? That complicates things surely.
About Unix / Linux release: I used to install FPC release using the FPC's provided install script when my distro didn't provide the latest version. It worked very well. It is more reliable than using external .deb or .rpm packages. They tend to break the package system, judging by my experience and by the number of related forum threads.
I guess the script can easily be ported to any Unix related system, regardless of CPU.
Distributions build their own packages after some SW is officially released. Arch and Manjaro do it quickly, most other distros have a longer delay, but the release announcement is the trigger always.
It means the
release announcement is important even if FPC project does not provide installation packages!
It also affects Lazarus development. Lazarus trunk promises to compile with 2 most recent FPC releases. Now it means we must support ancient versions.
Stabilizing the compiler and RTL on every platform is a challenge, I understand.
I think the rules must be loosened, all platforms cannot be finished at the same time with the limited resources.
If you announced FPC 3.2 release today, Arch and Manjaro would build and provide packages within a week or so. Other distros would provide it in their next release. Many people would be happy and FPC maintainers would not need to build anything.
For Windows an installer is needed as Windows has no sophisticated installation package system.
Is an installer needed for MacOS necessarily? I don't know, I don't have a Mac.
For other platforms a simple install script suffices. Just one wish: add an uninstall option to it.