Best way to collaborate with team member on single project?

I didn't know which forum to post this in. Let me know if I should post it elsewhere.

I am making a game with a friend of mine. We are both using the free version of Unity. I am doing all of the programming and he is modeling all of the assets. We are wondering what's the best way to go about handling the Unity files?

Right now it seems like we are going to constantly be emailing each other Unity files back and forth every time we add something significant to the project. Is there a better way to go about this? Is there some better way to share files with one another that I am unaware of? I'm guessing there isn't some magical way where files update themselves across projects through the cloud (wouldn't that be awesome?)...

 

Git - you might find a git repository to be useful

 

I've been reading about Git or SVN or a number of other "version control" options available through the asset store. I'm really confused.... Just what does the heck is version control for? And how would this be helpful (could you give an example)?

 

Every time you save a file, it overwrites itself on the disk. In an environment where you're working by yourself, that's fine (usually), but when you're collaborating with other programmers it can get messy really fast.

Imagine that you save a file, and another team member is also working on that same file, and then they save their file- you just lost your changes. Get it? Version control, branches, etc.. allows you to see and compare with older versions, see the changes that have been made (not just from you, but from others as well), and make it so that even if multiple people are changing the same older version of a file, they won't overwrite eachother.

Any more information you'll really need to get from reading the instructions at GitHub and the like, but that's the basic idea.

 

Thank you. I've been reading about all of it for the last hour. I also stumbled across this link here http://docs.unity3d.com/Manual/Versioncontrolintegration.html
Now that has to do with the Team License. But I noticed how under the Control Version settings you can do "Get Latest" which says it "Pull the latest changes and update file". By doing this does that mean it would pull whatever the latest changes were on the server and update your project on your computer (aka if my partner added an object to the scene on his end and it got uploaded to the server - would that object then appear in my scene by using this feature)? Secondly, while this is for the Team License - is this kind of feature available with other SVNs like Perforce or Github?

 

OK, so I don't use Perforce or Plastic... but I have used Git, SVN, Vault, and Team Foundation Server for projects through out my career (both in and out of Unity).

So the general way most version control systems work is that you perform commits. You change a whole bunch of files on your computer, save them, and then tell the server you want to 'commit' or 'merge' those new changes into the current "version" of the project that is on the server.

When it commits the server determines all the differencing information. What's different about this version with your commits and the last version on the server. A new file was added, an old file was deleted, another file had text added, another file had text removed. And all this information is stored away (usually in a database) and the current files stored. (note - differencing information works best on 'text-only' data, this is why it's suggested to make sure unity has its settings to perform all serialization in text mode, rather than binary).

That "version" on the server is that latest version.

If another user pulls from the server (gets latest) they'll receive the current version of the project as it is on the server. It'll bring down the differencing information deleting files that were called to be deleted, adding files that need to be added, and getting the latest versions of files that were changed.




Here's the thing... what if you've changed files locally before calling to get latest. Or what if when I commit, you had previously committed a file that I'm committing as well, but our changes are different.

This is called a 'conflict' and it must be resolved. Most version controls will stop the commit or the pull and inform the user that there are conflicts with which ever files. Usually there is some gui that'll show you the differences between them, and you can decide what to do with them. Of course this usually can also be restricted to specific users in the team... so that only the lead gets to pick which code remains.

Conflicts can be annoying, especially on large teams. Version control does not resolve this issue. And it's usually up to a project manager to delegate who works on what to avoid overlap of work.

When you're on a team where ones and artist and the other a programmer, conflicts seldom occur, as you both usually work on different files. The only conflicts we usually have on our team (where I'm the sole programmer) is with some common prefabs, and scenes. And how I deal with that is I just work in my own "DEBUG" scenes where I do my testing, and let the designer move them to the regular in game scenes once we determine the stuff to work.

But when you're on a larger team, you can have issues. You might have one person working day to day on part of the code, and another going on a week long design process on another part of code. In these situations you'll probably use things like branching. Where the person going on the exploritory design process will branch off the main project, do there design, and once they confirm it works they'll go through the long process of merging that branch back into the main code source. While branched any commits they perform to their branch only effects their branch. And any commits on the main code source doesn't conflict with their branch. They work with whatever version of the code that it was in when the performed the branch.

When you have people working together on the same exact section of code, some version control systems offer 'locking' which allows you to flag a file as locked, and if another person attempts to modify it, they get blocked. Unfortunately unity ignores these locks usually and will force files read-write if they're made read-only. Unity will then screw up data, or worse crash, so I just avoid locks.

 

Note version control is more than just useful for team projects. It's useful for single role projects.

This is because it allows you to "version" your code. Everytime you commit, you're creating a save point in your project that you can return to at a later point.

It's like backing up your project every time you commit.

You commit, then start on some major changes, and a week passes and all those changes just don't work. And you're like "dang, I wish I could go back to what I had a week ago!" Well... you can, just roll back your code to that day, branch off the work you did for that week (for historical purposes) and continue moving forward in a different direction.


IMO - git is great for solo-man projects where you're doing this sort of thing. The way git operates, when you work in a team, it's more like everyone is creating little tiny branches constantly that need to be merged back into the main code line.

I also HATE the lack of good graphical user interfaces for git. Too often I'm spending way to much time in some terminal/shell dealing with simple tasks like committing and differencing.

Vault is honestly my favourite system I ever used on a team, but it's a pay system.

SVN was my preferred for years.

But now a days I use Team Foundation Server... I'm still on the fence about it. It has an integrated ticketing system, which is cool. It's not worse that SVN by no word, but I don't know if it's better enough to tell anyone to adopt it rather than just go with one of the many FREE svn options out there.

 

You are awesome! Thank you so much for taking the time to explain all of that to me I greatly appreciate it! This definitely helps clear up a lot of things for me. You mentioned: "OK, so I don't use Perforce or Plastic... but I have used Git, SVN, Vault, and Team Foundation Server for projects through out my career (both in and out of Unity)" so I was wondering which one you would recommend from all of your experience? From what I've read in the last few hours is that they all can be a bit tricky to set up for people new to this kind of thing. Regardless, I'll take the time to figure it out and learn it - just don't know which one would work best for my partner and I.

 

Didn't see this post until I finished typing my previous response to you haha

 

I've noticed with some of the other choices you've mentioned, and a few I found online, that they also have (or sell) the server space. I can't find anything about that with SVN so I'm assuming you just find your own. Any suggestions where/what to consider when finding a server? Any suggestions. I just read an article about how a guy managed to setup a SVN Repository through Google Drive using TortoiseSVN. I know Unity has there own Cloud Build thing but from everything I've read the amount of space they allow you just isn't enough whether it was the free or low-tier paid version.

 

Arvixe is where I get my server- I paid two years up front and got it for a song. Doing something through Google Drive sounds like a fantastic way to lose all of your data later when they change how the API works and/or just destroy it for fun.

 

finding server space can be annoying, and they range in price and access.

Free, but with a catch

There are choices out there that are free, but with a catch. They're free for 'sharing' in an open-source manner your project.

The most popular of these is github (yes, github supports svn clients). Thing is anyone can access your projects.
https://github.com/


Free, as in free to use
Both git and svn software is free to use. You just need a place to host it.

Thing is... you need a place to host it from, AND you need to maintain the server.

I for instance have two virtual servers (I have free azure access through MSDN, and I have a XenServer I run myself). I can spin up servers for various tasks that I want. I merely spun up a virtual with svn on it (and another with TFS now that we use TFS). I have to maintain it though, and it comes at the expense of the server space I have to use up.

You can do this out of your house. If your host machine is always on, and on the internet, you can use a dynamic-dns service like 'No-IP' to generate a url that you can share with your teammates that point at your house. You then route the calls through your router to that machine in your house, and it serves up just fine.

Here's a tut using VisualSVN (it's a good windows based svn server... if you run linux or mac, there's other options):
http://www.hanselman.com/blog/RunningASubversionServerOffYourWindowsHomeServer.aspx

I actually did the in house one for years before I got my own virtual servers with more dedicated connections. I still host the random Minecraft or Unturned server through my no-ip account and home server some times.


Paid
When it comes to paid there's all sorts of options.

For example, you could rent virtual server space from Azure, Amazon, or the sort and spin your own SVN. This creates a paid for service of what would essentially be the Free service (like how I host mine on azure).

But companies out there will host them for you as well.

Github for example has a paid for service which allows you private projects. For 7 dollars a month you can get 5 private repositories. And like I said before, github supports svn clients if you prefer that:
https://github.com/pricing


Temporarily Free

So you know how I said I get Azure for free through MSDN? Well if you have MSDN you get some free Azure credits, as well as free Team Foundation Server hosted on Azure (it's a virtual spun up and pre-configured for TFS, no fuss).

Thing is MSDN is EXPENSIVE (like a few grand per user per year).

But, Microsoft offers free MSDN subscriptions under a few projects:

Dreamspark: free msdn sub for students
https://www.dreamspark.com/

BizSpark: first 3 years of MSDN for free if you're a startup company in the tech field (this is how I get it)
https://www.microsoft.com/bizspark/

 

bitbucket has free, private repositories for both Git and Mercurial for up to five team members, so since you're just two people, that'll be plenty.

If you go with any of those, SourceTree is a commonly used free GUI client if you don't want to teach your modeller to use the command line, or don't want the hassle of managing it yourself.

EDIT: also, git is super-powerfull and working with SVN will slowly eat away at your soul.

 

bitbucket looks good

also, I guess I don't have a soul to be eaten away. (honestly, I've yet to witness this great power git has)

 

Thank you guys for all of the feedback! It is all greatly appreciated. So much to learn and so many different options to consider.... also happened to see this https://www.assembla.com/repositories where it seems like they handle repositories for quite a few things; however, just like the other options I don't know whether it is a great thing or not due to my lack of knowledge with all of this. I feel like I know so little about any of this that I'm just going to have to pick a version control method, decide on a server, and just give it a go to get some experience with the whole thing.

 

Here is version control for dummies. It's exactly what I use.

1. Download and install GitHub desktop.
2. Create a new repository. Set the .gitignore to Unity. Set the local directory to the root directory of your Unity project.
3. Commit everything. This initial commit may take a while.
4. Open unity and do some stuff. Save it.
5. Go back to GitHub desktop. You will see a list of if changes to your project. Write useful details in the description and do a commit.

That is version control. Run with this for a few days or weeks until you understand the process and are comfortable. Then set up a sever repository.

1. Go to bit bucket and sign up for their free plan.
2. Create a new repository.
3. Copy the URL for the repository
4. Go to GitHub desktop and open the repository settings. Click remote. Paste in the URL.
5. Click sync. The initial sync may take a while.
6. Your repo is now on the server. Use bit bucket to invite your friend to the repo.
7. Regularly hit sync in GitHub desktop to keep your project up to date with your friends project.

There are a ton of things you can learn about how and why version control works. But you don't actually need them to start using version control.

 

No matter what you do (@BoredMormon's plan is a good one), be sure to go to Edit->Project Settings->Editor, and set "Version Control Mode" to "Visible Meta Files". Every file in your project has an associated .meta file, and they should be shared between team members, so they need to be visible no matter which version control system you use.

It's also important to not include the Libraries folder, regardless of system. Step 2 from Bored's plan above takes care of that in point 2 (the .gitignore), and there are ways in all of the systems to disregard folders.

The libraries folder is simply cached data that allows Unity to work with your files faster. You can delete it, and it'll be re-created automatically. Since it is rather large (~10% of the project size), not including it in version control saves time and bandwidth.

 

You guys are awesome I will give it a go. Thank you so much for all of the feedback I greatly appreciate it

 

Life got crazy busy so I haven't had a chance to do all of the things you suggested. I plan on giving it a go tomorrow. I just had one question about your advice. You said to sign up for the free plan at bit bucket so I can set up my repository. Since the free plan doesn't allow any private repositories doesn't that mean there is great risk that someone could stumble across my game files and essentially steal my game?

I mean I figured you suggested the free one so I can get practice understanding how all of this stuff works But since I don't fully understand how github works I wanted to ask.

 

if you go the git route this could be very helpful to you
https://gist.github.com/cmcpasserby/9cee07031897ec4774a8

its a ignore file for most of the stuff you shouldn't bother putting in version control

 

Ooooh neat. Please forgive the obvious amateur question but...Where exactly would I put that file..?

 

oh sorry, you just put it at the root of your git repository and make sure the file-name is ".gitignore". once that is committed to the repo it will ignore files based on the patterns defined in that file.

This will stop stuff from your library and temp folders from getting commited as well as extra non needed files that VS or mono makes.

 

Oh sweet thanks for the advice

 

BitBucket allows free private repositories. There are a bunch of working parts here that can all be interchanged.

• The actual version control repo. This is git or SVN or the like
• The server. This is GitHub and BitBucket or even your own server
• The shell. This is how you interact with version control on your own PC. This includes GitHub Desktop and SourceTree.

You can generally combine any repo with any server and any shell. Just pick the bits you like.

 

Oh ok sweet thank you

 

Btw, just as a final note on here I'd like to point the people who are maybe just getting into Git (or thinking about it) to the following PDF file I found on Atlassian's website- the makers the aforementioned "SourceTree" software, which I love btw. It's all of the common Git commands in the form of a "cheatsheet" to make the process of using the command line easier, if you choose to go that route.

 

Can't figure out how to commit everything after following these steps ^ Maybe I'm not setting the local directory to the root directory of my Unity project? So I must ask...which folder exactly is the root directory of my project? Is it just the folder that contains all of the other folders: Assets, Library, Project Settings, and the build data folder?

I could have sworn I tried this folder. I just didn't know how to commit everything within Github desktop.

 

That's the folder.

 

It's the folder with the folder named ".git" in it. If you're on windows, be sure to show hidden files and folders (and show known file extensions!).

That should be the same folder as root of your Unity project - the one you select when you open a Unity project, which contains the Assets folder. Git can see everything that's in that folder and further down, and lacks any knowledge about parent folders.

 

So I got it all to work using Github Desktop and using the Github server. I'll eventually have to set everything up with my friend (the guy handling the art assets for the game). What I can't figure out is how through Github Desktop, or through the Github server, to "get the latest" version to my computer? Like if my friend were to update our repository online with a new commit - how do I go about retrieving the latest version to my computer?

Edit: Is it just the simple Clone to Desktop but on the Github website? Can't really test it at the moment with no one other than myself adding new commits.

 

I never used Github desktop, but in my git or Mercurial clients the verb you want is called pull.

 

In GitHub Desktop there is a little button in the type right hand corner that say sync. This can be used to download stuff from the server.

GitHub Desktop is fairly limited in its capacities. But its much simpler then many of the other clients out there. (I've tried a few of them lately). It lets you get used to using version control without forcing you to learn all the little details.

 

Oh I thought the sync button was just for updating files from your PC to the server. I didn't realize it also worked the other way by taking the latest update from the server and syncing it to your computer.

Thank you for all of your help I greatly appreciate it.

 

A sync does a couple of things:
first it pulls the latest version from the remote - in your case the github server.
this is done by first fetching the latest version from the server, and then doing a merge with the local version
If that works (there's no conflicts during the merge), then it pushes your commited changes to the remote

In most workflows, you usually want to pull a lot more often than you want to push stuff. It's also nice to be able to package a bunch of changes into a commit, and then pull down changes from the server without having to push yet.

There's probably some buttons around for only pulling down changes. Note that you cannot only push unless there's been no changes to the server since the last time you pulled.

 

@Baste - I think GitHub Desktop really is version control for dummies. There appears to be no way I could find to pull changes without pushing your own as well. SO seems to agree with me. If you aren't ready to share changes you can queue them up before you do a commit. But once you have committed the changes will go up on the next sync.

This limitation may shift me to SourceTree or some other UI if I have to work with other people. But for the moment I'm enjoying the simplicity of GitHub Desktop. Its limited functionality helps reduce the learning curve.

 

Might be a little harder to use, but i would recommend SourceTree been using it in production at work for a while now. It took a little effort to teach the artists how it works, but offers a lot of control with a easy UI. Even for advanced things i rarely have to dive into the CLI. Most things that mess the artists up have little to do with SourceTree and more to do with our branching strategy

 

I just started using Visual Studio Online (TFS) and it's really awesome!

 

I am also looking for a solution to avoid sending files all the times, Im a bit confused all you talked about on versioning is only related to the scripts and code right ? I want to do that with textures and models and unity scene, is it possible?

 

Version control is not as nice with binary assets. The system typically can't detect changes and just replaces the file with a new one. If unchecked this can lead to some big repos.

However it can still be used to sync non code files automatically.

 

@BoredMormon if your using Mercurial or Git there is the new Large File Extension extension that helps it work better with large assets. I don't belive bit-bucket or github offer this yet. But if your are using your own server for it you can enable the extension and set what files it should act on.
https://git-lfs.github.com/

 

Surprised hardly anyone uses Hansoft, alot of AAA studios do, I have and its free...up to 10 users super easy to set up..

I use it for bug tracking, and assigning work to members, and keeping track what is done and what isn't.. Best software I have ever used for this.. You can also use with Perforce and I believe GIT, SVN as well...

AGAIN people its free up to 10 users..... I used it for 10 before and now with 4 , even great for 1 person for bug tracking.. I love it!

PS: EA, Ubisoft, Bioware uses it..

 

I am still not understanding if there is an easy way to synchronize all game assets between a programmer and a 3D artist working on the same project, including meshes,textures, scripts ecc....

For example: I make a scene with meshes and textures lights ecc... the programmer then on his computer sees that changes have been made, when he opens his unity project and sees the new meshes in his scene just like on my computer, he does some coding and adds scripts to the scene .Again when I open the unity project on my computer and synchronize I see all the scripts functional exactly like it was on his computer.

So is that possible?

 

Yes, but if he edits anything while your working, then no. I believe some programs do that, but they are expensive.

So for example, you can add a file from another programmer, then you open it, and its the same one, these programs we are telling you are to keep everything organized vs being a mess..

 

Yup. That's one of the benefits of version control. To make it simpler and practical to work with you pull down updates from the master and push your changes back up at regular intervals.

Trust me you don't want real time changes to be synced. That way lies madness.

 

What about Perforce ? it can version binary files I read that it is used by Game studios like Ubisoft and CCP but you need to host on your own server space I think.

 

Also it costs a pretty penny as well.

 

We decided to keep going with dropbox, I send him my files with latest textures and models he puts the scripts and send it back to me.

 

Insanity. But I don't work for you, so you are welcome to continue.

 

@wonkza - I notice you mention issues with wanting code and art stuff.

Most version control support both.

Here's a peek at my repository for the current game I'm working on. Note all the folders of graphical content.



And that's for a project that only started August 26th. You should see the gigs of data (mostly graphical) for our other long term project.

Note, version control doesn't compact binary data well (the kind of data found in images and the sort), where as text documents can be 'differenced' (a database stores only the changes to the text document, rather than storing an entire new copy for that version).

But that doesn't mean you can't. Just means every change to a texture will take up more space in the repository. But most repositories have so much storage space, it's not a huge concern. And you could always orphan old versions to make room if you run low.

 

We were trying to go the BitBucket way, until we realized the repository size limit is 2 GB...our project is much bigger, so there is not enough room. Also, I've read that the method to undo all commits, orphan old versions and free space is not easy at all.

I would appreciate if someone could give more info about Hansoft...I've seen that the server is installed apart, and it requires a cloud system...what free cloud systems would be adviced? Should the server be installed in this cloud system? We are a team of 3, and we expect to be maximum 5 people.

Thanks!