Version Control - how to use it effectively, and is my mod suitable for it?

[TwiggyShip]

Hi,

 

Yesterday I posted a topic about having difficulty working on a overhaul of breti's Rochester World modder's resource simultaneously with another person, and I want to solve this as I'm hoping to expand to a modding team in the future, so this is essential to get right.

 

Today I did some research and found out that many large modding teams, and Bethesda themselves, use Version Control, a manually-activated tool hidden in the CK that enables the user to convert the .esp to an .esm, and then add additional .esp files into that .esm, so that multiple people can work on a mod and, say, every Friday, a new .esm can be generated with all the authors' work merged together.

 

Am I right in my understand of Version Control? Because some of it I'm finding a bit difficult to understand haha!

 

I have a few questions as to the applications of Version Control;

 

- How are the files added to the .esm? I'm guessing that after a new version of the .esm is generated, both mod authors would then work on separate versions of it, to then be combined at a later date?

- Does this result in actor and item duplication? I ask this because when I attempted to run Skyrim with both his version and my version of our mod (the only difference being he had added an interior cell), I soon found that pretty much everything that I had added in my overhaul of breti's mod that wasn't in the original .esm file had been duplicated! So how does the VC get around this? Is it something to do with it being an .esm?

 

Thanks!

[Mattiewagg]

Hi,

 

Yesterday I posted a topic about having difficulty working on a overhaul of breti's Rochester World modder's resource simultaneously with another person, and I want to solve this as I'm hoping to expand to a modding team in the future, so this is essential to get right.

 

Today I did some research and found out that many large modding teams, and Bethesda themselves, use Version Control, a manually-activated tool hidden in the CK that enables the user to convert the .esp to an .esm, and then add additional .esp files into that .esm, so that multiple people can work on a mod and, say, every Friday, a new .esm can be generated with all the authors' work merged together.

 

Am I right in my understand of Version Control? Because some of it I'm finding a bit difficult to understand haha!

 

I have a few questions as to the applications of Version Control;

 

- How are the files added to the .esm? I'm guessing that after a new version of the .esm is generated, both mod authors would then work on separate versions of it, to then be combined at a later date?

- Does this result in actor and item duplication? I ask this because when I attempted to run Skyrim with both his version and my version of our mod (the only difference being he had added an interior cell), I soon found that pretty much everything that I had added in my overhaul of breti's mod that wasn't in the original .esm file had been duplicated! So how does the VC get around this? Is it something to do with it being an .esm?

 

Thanks!

2: .esps on top of .esms do not cause duplicates. If they did, our mods wouldn't overwrite Skyrim's files, they would just duplicate them. I've never worked with Version Control, but if it works as you say/others say then it should work just fine. I'd be interested in hearing more on the subject, however.

[jaxonz]

I am used to SCM (source code management) systems and hated the idea of "flying without a net" when I first started modding skyrim.

 

I started to get version control set up on my system, but ultimately since I'm working alone I found that the archives of my releases with source do a good enough job for me.

 

Nonetheless, this is a pretty good commentary and walkthrough of the official CK wiki info on version control.

 

I used Wheeze's video as an aid to setting things up.

 

Hope that helps.

[TwiggyShip]

@Matthiasswagg - ah I see. So I take it that an .esp and an .esp merge of the same file with, say, 1 interior cell, would results in duplicates, but if I made rochesteroverhaul.esp an .esm file first (or even used VC to add it into the rochester.esm file), and then tried adding that second .esp, it wouldn't cause duplicates? Just to clarify :)

 

@ jaxonz - yeah I'm much the same, I've been keeping archives of my releases but now that I'm working with someone else this is something I've realised has to be worked out before I can continue. Thank you for the links!

 

Quick query - would Version Control have to be set up on every contributor's machine, or just on the one that is going to do the compiling, and then that person sends out the newly-merged .esm each week?

[Mattiewagg]

@Matthiasswagg - ah I see. So I take it that an .esp and an .esp merge of the same file with, say, 1 interior cell, would results in duplicates, but if I made rochesteroverhaul.esp an .esm file first (or even used VC to add it into the rochester.esm file), and then tried adding that second .esp, it wouldn't cause duplicates? Just to clarify :smile:

 

@ jaxonz - yeah I'm much the same, I've been keeping archives of my releases but now that I'm working with someone else this is something I've realised has to be worked out before I can continue. Thank you for the links!

 

Quick query - would Version Control have to be set up on every contributor's machine, or just on the one that is going to do the compiling, and then that person sends out the newly-merged .esm each week?

Yep. That's right.

[TwiggyShip]

Ah okay, I think I see now. I'm beginning to think that this is actually going to work. Just need an answer now about whether or not VC has to be on every machine :)

 

Thank you!