© 2002 - 2009 DesuraNET Pty Ltd. All Rights Reserved. 2107 modders online.
Version Control Systems and You!
Usually, when it comes to modding, many newcomers have a hard time keeping track of issues, source code, and assets, and what usually ends up happening is one person keeping track of everything, and more often than not this is the mod leader. And when a project lead isn't leading but is merely managing the assets, you've got a huge problem.
Posted by RvBChandler on May 3rd, 2009 digg this super bookmark
Page 2 of 6
Basic Management.
Subversion:
Subversion is an oldie, but a goodie. It was created to fix problems that some people saw with CVS, which is the oldest continually used VCS to date. It has a client available on all platforms (Mac OS X, Windows, Linux, BSD, or what have you), some even integrating into the operating system's shell, and it isn't too hard to find a tutorial. In fact there is a tutorial here on ModDB for using subversion. Subversion or SVN as it is more well known, follows the centralized model, in the same way that CVS did. SVN's motto is CVS done right. The problem with CVS, and therefore SVN however is it takes forever to perform a merging of branches. This shouldn't be a problem if you are the only programmer on your team. However, you need to be careful as to where your hosting is due to the problems I mentioned above.
Pros and Cons:
+ Used nearly everywhere
+ Many guides, and therefore people willing to help, exist for SVN
- Slow, can take a very long time to connect and download/upload changes to and from your local version.
- Centralized Model. This can cause a problem in the event of a site shutting down, programmer leaving on bad terms, or half the world ending. Be careful if you choose this.
That's it for the centralized model. Really. If you choose this, don't look back because you're going to see how much fun everyone else is having.
Onto the Distributed Model!
Post a Comment
Only registered members can share their thoughts. So come on! Join the community today (totally free) and do things you never thought possible.
Tutorial
Terms of Use | Privacy Policy
Blog | About | Contact | Advertise | Join Mod DB | Site Map | Media Kit | RSS
© 2002 - 2009 DesuraNET Pty Ltd. All Rights Reserved. 2107 modders online.
© 2002 - 2009 DesuraNET Pty Ltd. All Rights Reserved. 2107 modders online.
If this needs serious revisions please let me know. I spent the better part of a day, and I want this tutorial to do well. Even though it's more of an article than anything else.
brilliant piece, you can see the effort you have put in. we actually have an interesting announcement surrounding this to come on moddb in a few days time
Awesome =D
Nice tutorial/article, I think this could be very useful for a lot of people!
Very good tutorial. It explains different methods and ways to keep track on the project really well. The "Pros and Cons" sections are also useful and nice.
"For any project organization is one of the biggest things. Without proper leadership your project may die"
I would say this tutorial isn't about leadership, it's about project management. For example a mod might fail in spite of good project management just because it's steered in the wrong direction. I was going to do a page about file distribution options in my QA Lead tutorial, but you've done quite a good job here so I think I'll link this and maybe add some download links.
Also -for large projects with big teams- I would personally recommend TortoiseSVN client, along with Trac. Working on a Source Mod (with ~17,000 files) I didn't find it to be slow, albeit having nothing else to compare it to (plus we were using a sponsored dedicated server). Trac is a simple Project Management wiki-style program, so when using TortoiseSVN in conjunction, the Trac page will give you reports of all the changes. The two go together very well.
"[Trac] provides an interface to Subversion (or other version control systems), an integrated Wiki and convenient reporting facilities.
Trac allows wiki markup in issue descriptions and commit messages, creating links and seamless references between bugs, tasks, changesets, files and wiki pages. A timeline shows all current and past project events in order, making the acquisition of an overview of the project and tracking progress very easy. The roadmap shows the road ahead, listing the upcoming milestones."
...and I just saw Intense! is considering Trac and SVN for a Moddb members' service. Awesome!
An article on Gamasutra that ties into this. I'm posting it here more for interest than for practical advice.
"Collaborative Game Editing"
Gamasutra.com