Okay, so Knossos is currently the best launcher for any version of TBP? Where can we get it?
https://www.hard-light.net/forums/index.php?topic=94068.0But I've not made much effort to make TBP work with Knossos yet as it has a different directory structure from standard FSO.
The last time I played TBP everything worked fine with 3.7.0 and wxlauncher 0.10, what is causing the problems now? Many new issues with 3.8.0?
It works, but if we're talking about a release it needs all the bugs to be fixed and to be extensively playtested.
Not really, please explain!
Here's the instructions for Mantis and SVN from Diaspora, simply replace any reference to Diaspora with TBP.
SVNSVN has been provided by Rev Posix and Zacam so contact them if there are any problems. Since most of the team won't have used SVN before I'm going to explain in simple terms how SVN works and why it's much better for us than FTP.
What's SVN?SVN works like an FTP site as a way of storing our files in a central online location. To use SVN you'll need a client in the same way you need one for FTP. To start with you initially checkout the folder you are after. This is much like simply grabbing the All_Assets folder from our FTP. The difference from FTP is that if someone adds, removes or edits files SVN can get them for you simply by telling it to update your folder.
When you want to add a file yourself you commit it. This is similar to simply uploading in FTP but unlike FTP, SVN doesn't overwrite old files when new ones are uploaded. Instead it automatically backs up the old version and installs the new one in its place. The backups can be retrieved fairly easily should you ever need them.
SVN also features the aptly named Blame system. So from now on we'll know exactly who decided to upload a broken pof, etc.
Fortunately it also makes it much easier to recover from that sort of nonsense so the complaining should be less.
How to check out the game- The first thing you need is an SVN client. For Windows I strongly recommend TortoiseSVN. TortoiseSVN will require a restart after it installs.
Anyone not using Windows is on their own from this point but if someone wants to write up a similar guide for Linux or Mac I'll add it. You should be able to plug in the information from this guide into a client for those platforms anyway. - You're going to need a password for SVN. Contact me for one.
- Make a folder on whatever drive you want to install the game called Games after installing TortoiseSVN (and resetting) and right click on some empty space. Choose SVN Checkout from the right click menu.
- For the URL enter http://tbp.penguinness.org:7701/svn/tbp/ - The Checkout Directory should be Games\TBP. Leave the other settings on default.
- You'll be asked for the username and password you got earlier.
- The game will be downloaded to your machine. This will take a while.
Updating your build with SVNNow that you have the build updating is very easy. Simply right click on your Diaspora folder and click SVN Update. Any files that have been changed will be downloaded to your machine. If you have changed a a text file (say a table or mission) your changes will be merged in with the ones currently in SVN (this only affects your local copy. Not the one in SVN). If you have changed a binary file that someone else has changed and committed (or if you have both changed the same part of a text file) you will get a clash. This warns you what has happened, the rest of the update will continue but the folder will be marked with a exclamation mark to tell you that you have a clash. You should check what has changed and decide which version you need to keep. Once you have you can use the resolve option to tell TortoiseSVN what you decided.
Bear in mind that with SVN you don't always need to do a full update. You can update any folder or file in the same way.
Committing your changesTortoiseSVN has a nice habit of marking any files you have changed since the last update in red. This allows you to easily see if you actually changed something or not before you decide to commit your changes. Until you know better, always update before you commit. This ensures that you haven't changed something that someone else has also worked on.
To commit your changes, simply select the file or folder in which you have changes and choose SVN Commit. You should enter a comment into the box to explain the changes you have made "Added weapons to Cylon Raider" or "Fixed the Pegasus shine maps" for instance. You will also be allowed to examine any text files you are committing so you can see the changes you have made (If you have WinMerge you can configure TortoiseSVN to use that instead of its more limited diff program). Click okay and SVN will update the files.
MantisMantis is a bug tracking system that we've pressed into service for keeping track of where tasks have been assigned. Despite the intimidating look of it, it's actually very simple to use.
Registering for MantisFirst thing you'll have to do is to register. This is pretty simple. Go
here and fill in the fairly self explanatory form. Please register using the same name as you use on HLP as that makes it easier for us to know who you are. As with SVN the email address you give will probably receive a fair bit of email from Mantis. Make sure that you use an email address you check regularly but not one you mind getting quite a few mails to.
Since we share Mantis with every other project on HLP you'll need to added to the Diaspora project. Simply tell us that you need to be added and one of the Mantis admins will do that for you.
Using MantisUsing Mantis consists of 2 basic tasks, reporting issues and resolving them once you're done. Since we're using Mantis for something it wasn't exactly designed for a couple of the terms seem a little strange but basically if you are given a task to model a ship you enter the task as an issue (Model ship x) and resolve the issue when you have finished.
The main reason for using Mantis in this way is that it makes it much easier to see what tasks are still needed or what tasks any particular person is working on. Simply clicking on My View will give you a list of tasks that have been assigned to you. In addition any team member can search to see if there are models we need for the next release that no one is working on, etc.
Reporting IssuesClicking on the report issue option brings up the new report page. Simply select the Category of whatever you're working on (Mission, Model, Effect, etc). If something is urgent you can increase the priority.
The Summary is the title of the task so it will be something simple like "Texture the Galactica." The Description is a required field but shouldn't need more than a short sentence for most tasks. Additional Information can be left blank if you have nothing to add there. Required For Release is the release we need this task done by. View Status should be left as public.
Most of the other fields are related to bug tracking and can be left exactly as they are.
Once you have clicked on Submit Report you'll be taken back to the View Reports page. Click on your new report and then the Assign To [Myself] option.
Resolving IssuesOnce you have finished a task select resolved from the dropdown next to Change Status To and click on it. You'll be given the option to add some notes now. You should add the names of anyone else who assisted with this task (it helps us with crediting work).