File Sharing Method?

[lancecor]

My mod is getting pretty decent now and are close to a closed beta but we need to compile the mod itself and we need a method of sharing files. E-mail is a last resort because the attachment feature is kind of sloppy and inefficient,  once I get enough suggestions I will make a poll to determine what is the most highly recommended.

 

[WookieWarlord]

Use Xfire. You can use its live chat, and you can send a file to a person, they can download at the same time you are uploading.

 

[lancecor]

Noted;

possibilities;
Xfire
E-mail(blech)

 

[WookieWarlord]

Put the mod files on a disc, post it to your other developers, and wait a period of 1 - 2 working days  .

 

[lancecor]

Put the mod files on a disc, post it to your other developers, and wait a period of 1 - 2 working days 
waste lots of discs and progress as slow as a blues singer swimming through rubber cement!!!.

 

[Caba`drin]

I've heard others enjoy working with Google Code.

http://code.google.com/hosting/

 

[lancecor]

Promising, noted;
Xfire
Google Project Hosting
E-Mail

 

[Somebody]

Put the mod files on a disc, post it to your other developers, and wait a period of 1 - 2 working days 
waste lots of discs and progress as slow as a blues singer swimming through rubber cement!!!.

Depends on the situation.

Otherwise, get upload privs on mbrepository (Janus replies in like an hour or so), and post it here.

 

[Swadius 2.0]

Mbrepository is where the majority of mods go. The devs took over monetary support for the server and site while Janus is still in charge.

 

[GetAssista]

SVN all the way. Google for specifics
we are using svn.xp-dev.com hosting. Can't be better

 

[Kazzan]

I use rapidshare or fileshare or something to upload and use Xfire to chat.

 

[Malik Faris]

mbrepository is seriously the best choice, you have to request uploading rights, but i got mine approved in like less than 24 hours.

and they have a protected files section

Protected Files
Files in this section are for closed beta testing or otherwise sharing password-protected files between mod team members. If it's in here, don't expect to be able to open the file unless you're the intended audience.

ad-free file sharing sites are rare, and this is basically specifically for M&B so i always find it weird when stuff is uploaded elsewhere.

 

[GetAssista]

and this is basically specifically for M&B so i always find it weird when stuff is uploaded elsewhere.

That's because you did not try other available opportunities. I always find it weird, when people generalize not based on broad knowledge
Does MBrep support archiving of previous versions (can be very useful to revert buggy changes)? No
Does MBrep provide automatic on-the-fly interface for updating/downloading/reverting different mod files separately? No

 

[Josef_the_Pretender]

SVN all the way. Google for specifics
we are using svn.xp-dev.com hosting. Can't be better

+1 to this. xp-dev has a lot of what you need.

 

[lancecor]

Will add poll in a sec... here is the list for my own help in the poll;
Xfire
MBrepository
Google Project Hosting
SVN
Fileshare, Rapidshare ect.
E-mail

 

[xenoargh]

I think it really depends on who's sharing what, and how much bandwidth is involved.

For a team where everybody needs file access to a large archive, SVN is a good choice.  For a team where there's one coder and everybody else is doing content, MBRepository is a good choice- the team basically just needs the latest installer to test, it's the coder's job to actually integrate stuff.  It's not that hard to train modelers to use a specific naming syntax or whatever, so that the coder just does plug-and-chug on the content.

 

[Swadius 2.0]

I don't think most people know what SVN is, or how to access it. Mind you it might be fine for those that are tech savvy, but if you've never downloaded a mod before or doesn't even know what file extensions are, it might get harrowing enough that it would cause them to give up. Keeping it simple is the best way to disseminate information.
Of course, if you're main aim is not primarily to share this with a lot of people, I think it wouldn't matter if you had to tack on an extra set of instructions.

Granted I do not know what SVN is or how to use it to this day, if it's as simple as clicking the download button, just consider the top portion of this post as hot air that passed out my ass.

 

[xenoargh]

Oh, and one last thing:  always, always, always distribute the latest source in each release to a team, if you go the single-source route. 

It's just tragic to hear about some projects where nobody has the source, the coder left, and the project's effectively dead.  Don't get screwed over.  It's not "being paranoid", it's being fair and honest.  If you're the coder, it can build confidence with your team by making sure everybody has everything. 

I wouldn't join a team as an artist if I wasn't 100% sure the coder couldn't just up and leave, taking all of my work down with them, personally.

 

[lancecor]

Actually, I agree, we are new at this and publicity is not a priority now, when we want publicity we will post it on multiple places, we just need to set it all up and experiment, my team is going to release a multiplayer teaser first with a closed beta, then with a open beta, lastly a full release of the teaser. We will then release many closed betas followed by several open betas then a full release which we will continue to update, we don't need complicated programs we need fast efficient ones that we can use to wip out these betas and release the versions.

Our status is having one coder who will assemble the mod, but we may need a way for all of us to get the files in case someone can't do something that day because they are busy ect.

 

[xenoargh]

Well, if it's just closed beta with one coder, then MBRepository is a good choice (imo), with the source included with each build (that's trivial, you can literally have the source files in a directory in the mod).  Then everybody has access to the stuff they need- BRFs, scene files, etc.- and can send modifications to the coder via email or whatever.  So long as stuff is kept well-organized in terms of file submissions (check out some of the BRFs in Blood and Steel or 1257AD to see what a well-organized system looks like) that's pretty much all you need.

For projects where multiple people need to actively submit changes (let's say that you're doing something where you need multiple level designers to be working on scenes while the coder does stuff that relies on the changes they're making) SVN/Git is the best tool, because it allows everybody to modify stuff in real time, wipe out mistakes with revision controls, etc.  But it's non-trivial to set up, and it can be a pain to maintain.