Version Control Troubleshooting

[kyago8]

I'm collaborating with a friend on a mod that will include it's own worldspace. I had version control set up on my machine before, so I thought it would be a relative ease to set it up once again. I recently made a thread regarding version control, so I won't reiterate my questions that have already been answered.

I currently have a git repository set up for our project, so my theory is thus:
Using git, clone the repository locally. I named this folder "FNV Network".
Set up version control with the \Merging folder within the local repository.

With these changes, our workflow should have to be: 
Pull from the git repository.
Make edits. Save as .esp, drag .esp into "FNV Network".
Push into git repository. 
When it comes time to merge .esps into the .esm, I should be able to pull from the git repository, copy .esps to local directory, use version control to merge, and then push back into the git repository. Easy.

It seems that I've come across an issue. Version control is now not merging or making backups. After some troubleshooting, I made some progress, but now when I start to merge, after I "Check In", the GECK crashes suddenly. While troubleshooting, using the GECK Extender (I know it doesn't work, figured it was a worthy hail mary) I was able to get to the loading bar while merging, but then would crash with an error message.

What's interesting about this, is while my plugins aren't merging with the remote master, the master seems to be gaining data. When creating the blank master, it was approximately 260bytes. After each unsuccessful merge, the file size increases in increments of 15mb. 

This is the first collaborative project I've been a part of using the GECK, so I'm sure there's better ways to set up this workflow, but it's what came to mind. If anyone can suggest fixes or just a better way to do this, I'd appreciate it.

Edited February 27 by kyago8

[madmongo]

I'm not sure that using git really buys you a whole lot in this scenario. It's going to be very easy for one user to download the git .esm, make a change to it, and upload their new version, only to have another user upload their own modified .esm and overwrite the first user's changes.

Anyway, I think the following will work, though I obviously haven't tried it.

1. Download the latest .esm from git (git clone) to your GECK's "network" file location.

2. Delete the .fid .fud and .fvd files.

3. Start the GECK and regenerate the .fid .fud and .fvd files.

4. Copy the .esm from the GECK's "network" file location on your PC to the FNV game's data folder.

5. Create your .esp with your changes while the GECK is in Version Control mode.

6. Merge your .esp into your .esm.

7. Push the modified .esm from your GECK's "network" folder back up to your git repository.

8. Make sure to let your teammates know that there's a new .esm file that they need to grab before they make any more changes.

Let me know if this works.

[madmongo]

Thinking about this some more, you might be able to do it basically the way you want by having each user only check their .esp files into git, with the following changes.

You will still need to delete and regenerate the .fid .fud and .fvd files every time you copy a new .esm into your network folder.

When you go to check in your esp files, you will probably need to select all changed, check out, and then check in.

Each user might have to create their .esp files using the GECK in non-networked mode. The GECK might be getting confused if they are checking changes out on one computer and trying to check them in from another user/system.

[kyago8]

This works!
I should have clarified, only one of us will be using version control for main merges. My colleague is doing most of the visual art, so the only time they will need to use version control is when creating .esps containing new world spaces. This should take care of the risks of overwriting the .esm. 
The mistake I made was not regenerating the .fid .fud and .fvd files, I guess I just didn't even think about it. My set up is now working as intended!

For anyone who has experience working with multiple people on a mod, I don't know if there's a tried-and-true way to set things up, but so far this works for me.