Devlog 1: Andrew Sipes: Problems with Asset Imports

"Problems with Asset Imports"

Author: Andrew Sipes

Posted on 9/13/24

The Problem:

After getting the project setup, we started testing perforce to understand how this type of version control works. One of the issues we ran into was adding assets into the project. To get the project started, we needed a character asset, along with some animations to give the character some life, I had a mule project and attempted to move the files over from the mule project but noticed all the references were broken.

I tried to add and remove the assets and each time they had broken references. After I deleted the assets and added  the assets directly from the market place, it worked on my end but then my team mates encountered similar issues after I added them to perforce.

This would prevent the game from looking complete and polished, since some textures and materials were not applied to meshes. In some cases the animations would also not work because their skeleton was not applied. The above picture is an example of the materials not being applied to the character, leaving a gray model.

The Solution:

I worked with Sandy on trying to get the assets to work, it seemed every time she tried to get the latest revision she could not get the right assets, or at least assets with the correct references. We tried Get Revision, and forcing the files to download but they never updated. At some point I had marked the assets for deletion on the server and noticed they were still there. 

I reverted the files in perforce, removed them, and submitted. After Sandy used Get Latest, I re-added the using the Marketplace, however this time I made sure the depot did not have any residual files. After I submitted, she used Get Latest again and the issue was resolved.

Even though I was able to resolve, I later learned from Sean that there is a migration option that copies the references when you move the assets. Having the assets properly imported ensures the assets are functioning the way we intend them to, and prevents us from having to figure out all the references, ensuring we have time to focus on the rest of the game rather fixing assets.