Source Control: Perforce

    This site uses cookies. By continuing to browse this site, you are agreeing to our Cookie Policy.

    • Source Control: Perforce

      [IMG:images/includes/perforce.bmp]

      This is one of the best pieces of software any programmer can have, besides a compiler.
      Mr.Mike
      Author, Programmer, Brewer, Patriot
    • I gave this a try Mike, and I had nothing but headaches getting it set up, I mean, I was able to get it working on my own setup which involved me having to write a text file and use the command prompt, but I could not find a simple way for an artist, who may or may not have any experience working with a command prompt, to connect by simply entering their credentials and logging in.

      I wish it was easier to use as I wanted something a little more elaborate then drop box for art assets.

      *Edit* The server was actually already set up for me through Assembla as well
      PC - Custom Built
      CPU: 3rd Gen. Intel i7 3770 3.4Ghz
      GPU: ATI Radeon HD 7959 3GB
      RAM: 16GB

      Laptop - Alienware M17x
      CPU: 3rd Gen. Intel i7 - Ivy Bridge
      GPU: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 660M - 2GB GDDR5
      RAM: 8GB Dual Channel DDR3 @ 1600mhz

      The post was edited 1 time, last by mholley519 ().

    • P4V is a client application that is pretty easy to use, and both 3DS Max and Maya have plugins for Perforce, as well as Windows Explorer. I agree the command line isn't useful - I never even use it myself.

      One thing also - Perforce is probably the most used SCM software in the computer game industry - so it is worthwhile to learn.
      Mr.Mike
      Author, Programmer, Brewer, Patriot
    • I did use P4V, however the instructions I had were to create a text file with all of the required info, and then to use the command line to navigate to the directory my workspace was in, which I would then run 'p4v' in. I tried different ways to avoid this but it simply would not connect.
      PC - Custom Built
      CPU: 3rd Gen. Intel i7 3770 3.4Ghz
      GPU: ATI Radeon HD 7959 3GB
      RAM: 16GB

      Laptop - Alienware M17x
      CPU: 3rd Gen. Intel i7 - Ivy Bridge
      GPU: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 660M - 2GB GDDR5
      RAM: 8GB Dual Channel DDR3 @ 1600mhz
    • That sounds like an issue with the server. It's usually very simple to set it up, even for artists. Maybe set up your own server?

      -Rez
    • Maybe the next project around, I like SVN, but it doesn't seem ideal for art, so perforce might be good to experiment with in the meantime. Usually assembla is really easy to use, however I don't like having to use the command line/ text editor just to get it connected.

      So yeah I'll play around with my own server to see if I can get it working right, although tomorrow my current project is going to be taking on a bigger team so It's too late now. SVN and dropbox should be fine
      PC - Custom Built
      CPU: 3rd Gen. Intel i7 3770 3.4Ghz
      GPU: ATI Radeon HD 7959 3GB
      RAM: 16GB

      Laptop - Alienware M17x
      CPU: 3rd Gen. Intel i7 - Ivy Bridge
      GPU: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 660M - 2GB GDDR5
      RAM: 8GB Dual Channel DDR3 @ 1600mhz
    • I'm currently trying to use TortoiseSVN with an account on Assembla. They allegedly should work well together, but I was having trouble setting it up. When I tried entering my account/password, it just kept asking for it (no error message that I got it wrong or anything). I know my account and password were correct because I logged in and out of my account on their website.

      Rez suggested maybe it was an issue with the server--maybe Assembla is having some troubles right now? That being said, only repository I ever used before was Mercurial on a Bitbucket server which was a very different setup experience, so I might just not have a clue what I'm doing.

      On a side note, what are people's thoughts on GoogleCode? I don't know much about it other than it being open-source, and that I downloaded the book source code from it. For some reason it bothers me a little to use an open source repository. I'd prefer being able to control who can access my code base (not that people are going to be lining up to download my code ...). Is there a way to make your code unsearchable on GoogleCode?
    • Nope, Assembla SVN is working right now, it is super easy to use for SVN. The username and password should be exactly the same as the website. Do you have the right repository URL, caps lock isn't on?

      If you can't get it going, send them a ticket, they are notoriously fast at responding.
      PC - Custom Built
      CPU: 3rd Gen. Intel i7 3770 3.4Ghz
      GPU: ATI Radeon HD 7959 3GB
      RAM: 16GB

      Laptop - Alienware M17x
      CPU: 3rd Gen. Intel i7 - Ivy Bridge
      GPU: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 660M - 2GB GDDR5
      RAM: 8GB Dual Channel DDR3 @ 1600mhz
    • If you ever think about getting a domain, you should consider checking out DreamHost because they offer free SVN servers as a part of their goodies. They also have a pretty neat bug reporting tool that you can setup in a few steps.

      Setting up your own server isn't too bad if you have a spare linux box lying around. The only reason I don't do that is because I'm always afraid that someone will break in and I like to have everything on a remote server just in case.
    • Originally posted by mholley519
      Nope, Assembla SVN is working right now, it is super easy to use for SVN. The username and password should be exactly the same as the website. Do you have the right repository URL, caps lock isn't on?

      If you can't get it going, send them a ticket, they are notoriously fast at responding.


      Yeah, I'm sure my name/pw are correct. I'm sure I'm using the right repository URL. Maybe I need try something besides Tortoise?

      I'll send them a ticket later and see if I can't get it working.
    • Originally posted by geshi
      On a side note, what are people's thoughts on GoogleCode? I don't know much about it other than it being open-source, and that I downloaded the book source code from it. For some reason it bothers me a little to use an open source repository. I'd prefer being able to control who can access my code base (not that people are going to be lining up to download my code ...). Is there a way to make your code unsearchable on GoogleCode?


      Google code is great as long as you're willing to constrain your project to conform to their terms of service. Your project needs to be open source (nothing commercial) and there are some size requirements, but it's great if that stuff doesn't bother you. It worked well for the book because we were able to easily fit within those requirements. It's also why you have to download the 3rd Party libs as a zip file.

      For my own personal game projects, I use SVN on a remote server (hosted by Dreamhost) and have had very few problems with it, even when storing a bunch of binary files. Then again, I'm really only storing thousands of files rather than millions of files. And none of my files are particularly large.

      Here's a post on stack overflow talking about binary files on SVN. For most small-to-medium sized projects, it's probably just fine.
      stackoverflow.com/questions/53…ring-lots-of-binary-files

      -Rez
    • I've always used Subversion, and had great success with it in academic and personal projects. We use Team Foundation Server at work... it was setup by someone long ago in a galaxy far far away...

      I noticed recently that both UDK and CryENGINE SDK have built in support for Perforce and was wondering if it was really that great. I guess I'll have to look into it.

      Originally posted by kaykry
      If you ever think about getting a domain, you should consider checking out DreamHost because they offer free SVN servers as a part of their goodies. They also have a pretty neat bug reporting tool that you can setup in a few steps.


      I've had a DreamHost account for awhile and it works great for hosting my personal SVN repositories. Plus I get the website, if I ever decide to actually use it ... heh. :rolleyes: