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Working Well Together: How to Keep High-end Game Development Teams Productive
This document discusses Guerrilla Games' development process for their game Killzone Shadow Fall. It describes how they use Perforce for version control and continuous integration. Key aspects of their process include having most developers work on the main trunk, extensive testing before and after code commits, labeling builds to sync safely to known good versions, and branching for frequent weekly releases while keeping the main branch for ongoing development. This approach allows for speed of iteration while maintaining control over the development cycle and releases.
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Working Well Together: How to Keep High-end Game Development Teams Productive
- 1. # Frank Compagner Guerrilla Games
- 2. # How welearned to stop worrying and love the development cycle • Background • Iteration • Teamwork • Stability • Releasing Iterate Launch
- 3. # • KillzoneShadow Fall – PS4 launch title • 200 local users, 150 remote • Head revision: 1.8 TB (1.6 M files) • Depot size: 8 TB • Peak change: 180 GB / week • 60 dedicated build servers • All in Perforce since 2004
- 4. # Server ProxyProxy Proxy Proxy Build Farm (60) Users (200) Proxy Cambridge Proxy Guilford Proxy San Diego Proxy Amsterdam Shanghai
- 5. # Commit Server Edge Server Build Farm (60) Users (200) Cambridge Proxy Guilford Proxy San Diego Proxy Amsterdam Shanghai Edge Server Edge Server
- 6. # Submits GB/ week
- 7. # • Monitorsall vital stats of server and proxies • Simple Python script, produces simple html • Works for Windows and Linux servers • Proxies cleaned by another Python script • Both available in the Perforce Workshop
- 8.
- 9.
- 10. # Code Compile Test Programmer Link
- 11. # Code Compile IDE and Tools Test Programmer Link Distribute Incremental linker Code Hotloading
- 12. # Model Artist Test Process Hotloading
- 13. # Model Tools Artist Test Process Hotloading Distribute
- 14. # Programmer Rigger Tester Team Designer Animator
- 15. # Programmer Rigger Animator Animator Tester Designer Modeler Programmer Programmer VFX artist Designer Audio Engineer Modeler Designer Animator
- 16.
- 17. # • Doesnot look like this
- 18. # • It’smore like this
- 19. # • OK,like this
- 20. # • Personalbranch is fine (sandbox / streams / Git) • Feature branches sometimes work • Give control over your environment • But create distance to others • Team work requires frequent branch switching
- 21. # • Forus, branch switching is always expensive: – Amount of data and change – Unmergeable files – Code-Data dependencies • Branches add complexity, we already have that • Team effort, we don’t want distance • Almost everybody works on the trunk • So why isn’t it always broken?
- 22.
- 23. # Programmer Rigger Tester Team Designer Animator
- 24. # Programmer SubmitSync Rigger Tester Team Submit Submit Designer Animator Submit Submit Sync Sync Sync Sync
- 25. # Programmer Test Submit Sync Rigger Tester Team Submit Submit Designer Animator Submit Submit Sync Sync Sync Sync Test Test Test Test
- 26. # • Testpre submit (user) • Test post submit (builder) • Test in parallel • Test as fast as possible • Still accidents do happen User B Sync Sync Build Game Submit Sync Test Game Sync Build Tools Submit Sync Cook Data < 30 minutes User A Submit Sync Test Game … Sync Upload Cook Data Upload Test
- 27. # Build machines write Label 42: change 1200 Label 41: change 1180 Label 40: change 1155 Label 39: change 1150 … Labels.xml read Safe-Sync Tool • Each game build creates a label • Stored in Labels.xml file in depot • Builds add their result to the label • Builds can add artifacts to a label • Nobody gets latest (not safe) • Everybody uses safe-sync tool
- 28. Select tests Syncto get label # Labels that pass tests Labels that fail tests • Custom safe-sync tool shows labels and test results • Use it to sync to a known good label – This includes artifacts from other builds
- 29.
- 30. # • Webranch for every release (often every week) • Nobody works on the release branch • Everybody works on the trunk • Changes are merged up from main to release release main = release = change
- 31. • Cherry pickingrules! • Gives you a lot of control • But also lots of confusion • And mistakes are easy • Good tools can fix this • Give flexibility • And control # (See whitepaper for details)
- 32. # • Iterateas fast as you can • Don’t branch too much • Test everything • Sync should be safe • Release all the time • Control what you release Speed Control
- 33. # Frank Compagner frank@guerrilla-games.com
- 34. # RESOURCES PerforceWorkshop (P4 monitor, cache cleaner): https://swarm.workshop.perforce.com/files/guest/frank_compagner ReleaseManager: http://www.perforce.com/resources/presentations/user-conference-talks/ tools-for-smooth-release-cycle http://www.perforce.com/sites/default/files/guerrilla-games-whitepaper.pdf