Internal Outsourcer Management of Tools Pipelines

Internal & Outsourcer Management of Tools & Pipelines Brendan Hanna Holloway Technical Artist Adam Pletcher Technical Art Director www. volition-inc. com

Volition Snapshot Saints Row > > 100 internal developers 20 outsourcers (buildings only) Saints Row 2 > > 101 internal developers 44 outsourcers (environment art) Red Faction: Guerrilla > > 80 internal developers 52 outsourcers (many types of art)

Volition Snapshot Studio Tools Goals > > More cross-project sharing of tools & tech Lower costs, headcount Faster, easier content iteration More seamless outsourcing

Part 1. Internal Tools Management The Users > > > WHO will be using the tool/pipeline? What are their current and desired workflows? Who will be managing/updating the tool? (Tech Artists, Programmers, etc. )

Part 1. Internal Tools Management Deployment & Updating > > > Does it integrate with other software? (3 ds Max, Photoshop, etc. ) How often will the tool need updating? Can the tool be automatically installed/configured? Who does NOT need the tool installed? How will it be uninstalled? How are errors reported?

Part 1. Internal Tools Management Additional resources? > > Intranet site Login scripts

Part 2. Case Study: v. Installer Why was it needed? > > > Tools were not portable, esp. offsite No standard for deployment or updating Uninstall debris

Part 2. Case Study: v. Installer Overview > > Written in C# Based on MSBuild Tools -> Projects -> Archives Maintains three discrete environments: > > > Development (local) Published (network) Installed (local) Handles dependencies with other software Installing/uninstalling is atomic

Part 2. Case Study: v. Installer The Good > > > Very portable tools/pipelines Standardized deployment, updating Easy outsourcer delivery & updating (in theory, at least)

Part 2. Case Study: v. Installer The Not So Good… > > > Learning curve (MSBuild, XML complexity) Operations are static, no runtime changes Troubleshooting sometimes difficult Vista hilarity! User Account Control No project version check during updates Wide-open to viruses

Part 3. Outsourcing Tools Management Overview > > Over 300 assets created Assets modeled, textured, exported to game More than 30 outsourcing artists More than a year of work and support

Part 3. Outsourcing Tools Management Learn Their Studio Things can be very different than in-house conditions. . . > What do they have? > What do they need? > What do you want to give them?

Part 3. Outsourcing Tools Management What do they have? > > > Do they have all necessary software installed? Are they willing to buy what they don’t have? Do you need to create workaround applications? Where are their tools and applications installed? What permissions do their users have?

Part 3. Outsourcing Tools Management Saints Row 2: What was installed. . . > > > No Perforce Mixture of Chinese and English versions of 3 ds Max 7 No instant messenger programs

Part 3. Outsourcing Tools Management Saints Row 2: Where the files went. . . > > > Software installed in various locations Need to handle all possible paths! Tools on a server v. Installer allowed us to control where the tools were relative to the programs Data files in seemingly random locations Tools had to use relative paths. Use Windows Registry to store actual locations

Part 3. Outsourcing Tools Management Saints Row 2: What artists could do. . . > > > Not allowed to install new programs Make sure their IT department understands where you want everything No write access to any of the server drives Need IT help to update tools packages No write access to the system folders Ensure tools use writable folders only

Part 3. Outsourcing Tools Management Learn Their Studio Things can be very different than in-house conditions. . . > What do they have? > What do they need? > What do you want to give them?

Part 3. Outsourcing Tools Management Saints Row 2: What was purchased > > > All artists upgraded to English version of 3 ds Max 9 Lead artists were given IM and permission to use it NOT Perforce – Stuck with Alien. Brain

Part 3. Outsourcing Tools Management Saints Row 2: What was created > > Needed a workaround for Perforce We created a stub C# app that pretended to checkout files and return file information Far easier. than modifying all tools with Perforce integration. Using an old version of 3 ds Max would have been a deal-breaker Would mean maintaining two entirely separate toolsets.

Part 3. Outsourcing Tools Management Learn Their Studio Things can be very different than in-house conditions. . . > What do they have? > What do they need? > What do you want to give them?

Part 3. Outsourcing Tools Management Saints Row 2: What we gave them. . . > > > Full game build Easier than maintaining two codebases Only enough data to load test levels Avoided potential of game being leaked Updated their build every couple months Coincided with our milestone schedule so we had semi-stable builds

Part 3. Outsourcing Tools Management Saints Row 2: What we gave them. . . > > > Same tools package as internal artists Avoided maintaining studio-specific packages Tools were aware of studio location Could provide different options/behavior for outsourcers Tools package uploaded with the game builds Ensured the art played nice with the build

Part 3. Outsourcing Tools Management Saints Row 2: What we gave them. . . Communication > Drupal site with instructions and forums Central location for requirements, submissions and feedback > Periodic visits to the outsourcing studio Help with initial setup and solving major workflow issues > Email, IM, Remote Desktop Clear, real-time communication and ability to see problems first-hand

Questions? Brendan Hanna Holloway brendan. holloway@volition-inc. com Adam Pletcher adam@volition-inc. com