Migration guide

#1 Hi Todd,

Our host was down briefly for maintenance, it should be back up and running now.

The latest Migration Guide is packaged with the Lighting Pack (it's in the 'SynapseGaming/contentPacks/LightingPack' folder) - the older version was pulled from the server to avoid confusion.

-John

#2 Hi John, thanks for the response. I was hoping to take a look at the migration guide before purchase so that I could determine about how long integration with my code base might take. Upon thinking about it further I dont know why I thought that since it probably contains code. Anyways if you could give me some idea of the complexity of the migration and maybe a guesstimate of about how many man-hours to implement it would be great.

If you need to you can contact me at todd.degani@gmail.com.

#3 If you are experienced using any sort of diff/patching tool, and/or you haven't made major changes to your current implementation of stock 1.3, integration can run very smoothly--measured in a couple of hours.

Even if you have made major modifications, if you know what you are doing, and are experienced with applying manual patches, it shouldn't take you more than a day, tops. My project was able to have it integrated by one person in under 5 hours, and we've made some pretty hefty changes to directory structure and file organization, making any automated patching not applicable...but my dev knows what he is doing when it comes to that sort of thing as well!

#4 Thanks Stephen that sounds very positive. I have quite a bit of experience with diffing and patching and my stock implementation is moderately modified so its sounds like a project for a day.

#5 Hi Todd,

I recommend using a merge tool like WinMerge, it makes migrating a snap. Like Stephen said if this is your first time merging two source trees it will take you a little longer, but an experienced person with some familiarity with the Lighting Pack can migrate to the Lighting Pack in about thirty minutes (I did that with the Lighting Pack and the RTS kit last night).

The Lighting Pack code changes are all clearly commented, making them easy to identify and merge, just take your time and if you have any questions feel free to ask in the Lighting Pack private forum (so we can go into detail).

-John

#6 I'll probably use Perforce for diffing and merging since that's what I mostly use, although I will take a look into WinMerge. I don't have the lighting pack yet, how long the migration would take was one of my purchasing concerns. Thanks again for the prompt responses.

#7 Wow - Perforce looks powerful. I like the non-destructive merge (the three panels; original file, compared file, and resulting file) - very cool.

Definitely stick with what you're familiar with, I only recommend WinMerge because it does the job and it's free, but it looks like your already set.

Btw: thanks for pointing out Perforce.

-John

#8 John, the downloadable version of Perforce supports two users and two client workspaces and "you may use software downloaded from Perforce for any purpose you want and for as long as you like".

#9 @ Todd

John has done an excellent job of marking all the lighting pack code changes with a clear comment block so you can see straight away whether a difference is your own work or a lighting pack change. My first lighting pack merge took me a couple of hours mainly because I hadnt used Winmerge before and was being really careful. My second merge (the update) took about an hour on a slightly modified source, 20 minutes of which were removing the old pack code first.

#10 John, we currently have a commercial TGE license and went to purchase the Lighting Pack but get the following message:

"The following product(s) were removed from your cart because they are Add-On/Upgrades to products you have not yet purchased.
- Synapse Gaming: Lighting Pack for TGE ( requires Torque Game Engine SDK "Indie" License )"

Are we not allowed to purchase the lighting pack with a commercial license?

#11 This is part of the reorganization of the web site, and needs to be fixed. I've forwarded the thread to the appropriate people, and they should get back to you when it's working properly!

#12 Thanks Stephen

#13 Todd, just sent you an email

#14 Ben I replied with the information you requested.

#15 Any idea when this might be fixed? We would really like to buy the lighting pack but are still getting the "requires Torque Game Engine SDK "Indie" License" message.

#16 Hi Todd,

I'll contact Josh Williams about this - hopefully we can get this resolved very soon.

Thanks for being patient,

-John

#17 Thanks John