Trying to figure out Unity Collaborate

Hi forum.

So, I've been using git for a while now to manage code, but we decided to try and use Unity Collaborate for an upcoming project and I took it upon myself to try and figure it out.

I ran a couple of tests between a Mac and Windows and while push/pull worked nicely, conflict resolution and rollbacks weren't as sound as I'd expect.
Also, I wasn't able to gather what are the current storage rules for personal licenses. (I know there was 15GB at some point, not sure if it's still in place and how exactly is calculated)

So, here are my questions and hopefully you'll have the answers.

1. In the long run, is it worth using Unity Collab?
2. Are you using Collab for code as well or do you keep code in git/other? (And why?)
3. What's the current storage for personal licenses? (and what's the format (per organization, per person, per project, ... ? for active data, for versioned data, for ... ? )
4. What are the main issues your team has been running while using Collaborate? (I've seen posts about freezing and other issues, but it's hard to assume how recurrent or isolated these issues are)

Thanks for any insight you may provide!

 

Hi @talyh!

I'm glad to hear that your team has decided to give Collaborate a try. I'll be happy to answer these questions as best I can.

1) For me, personally, it really depends on the type of project you're working on and who you're working with. Collab isn't meant to replace more robust source control options like Git or Perforce (yet). What Collab does is make source control approachable for unfamiliar users (artists, designers, newbie programmers) with the help of better Editor integration and setup. It'll get your team up and running fast with little to no overhead on your end. But for larger projects, we have room to improve and more features to add. And that's exactly what we plan to keep doing with each release.
2) It's recommended that Collab not be used in conjunction with other source control options. Collab tracks changes across any and all assets, including code. But Collab (and Unity) are prone to unexpected behavior when assets (and especially their meta files) are touched outside of the Editor. Collab works best when it only needs to handle changes that happen inside of the Editor.
3) We're still finalizing the details but we'll be releasing information on that soon.
4) You can see the majority of issues that users have run into here on the forums. But even with these issues, most users still enjoy using Collab. Plus a vast number of these bugs have fixes on the way for 2017.1. But we strive to help unblock users as quickly as possible whenever issues come up.

I hope this slightly biased opinion helps your team to make a decision.

 

Thanks, it does help!

I'll admit that the recommendation of not using it in conjunction with another source control throws me off a little bit because of the limited merge/rollback capabilities of the current version.
As it is a team decision though, it may still be worth it, given exactly the fact that we have people who are not used to source control in the team.

In that sense, the extended mystery around storage becomes a key factor. While I understand it's a business decision, it's really hard to decide in the dark. If we start using Collab with no data cap in mind, it'll be really painful to manage the sudden discovery that we reach a limit we didn't even know of. So, even without the finalized details, it'll be still nice to have a "safe storage limit" that we could use as basis for decision and work.

 

Thanks Richard. I sent you a Skype invite and set time on calendly. Hopefully they all made it your way.

 

Hi, just so I understand you will charge for this feature? Does that include plus & professional LIC's ?

 

Seeing as all mentions for Plus users getting 15gb and all beta users getting 15gb and keeping it, are now completely gone from the site, I am worried that the space we'll end up getting at no extra cost will be significantly less (or maybe none at all?).

Which is a bit...

Especially since we started using it with the assumption that at least for the current project, we'll be able to use collaborate for no extra cost.

I hope you won't pull a bait and switch.

 

I can only second this, our assumptions as well.