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Cavaleiros Celestiais

Devlog · Episode 15

Behind the scenes: how not to lose work

I work on the game on several fronts at once. Here is the notice board and the backups that saved me from losing what I built.

A big game has many things changing at once, and there was a day when one piece of work wiped out another. It was the worst scare so far. Hours of care undone in a second, and me not knowing where the good version had gone.

The notice board

The board also helps when work stops halfway. If I stop at the end of the day, the line stays there saying what was open, and whoever picks it up next knows where to start.

From then on I set a simple rule: each task announces which parts of the game it will touch, and nobody touches what someone else has marked. It is a notice board that I read before starting anything. If the spot is marked, I pick another task.

Seven fronts, each with an owner and a task. It works best when nobody steps on anybody's toes.
Seven fronts, each with an owner and a task. It works best when nobody steps on anybody's toes.

It sounds small, but it changes everything. Before, two people could adjust the same thing without knowing. Now, whoever arrives later sees the notice and goes somewhere else.

The copies

A good copy is one I can really open. Saving is not enough, I have to check that it comes back working. I wasted time on a copy that would not open once, and that does not happen anymore.

Every closed round is solid ground, like dry land in the middle of the smoke.
Every closed round is solid ground, like dry land in the middle of the smoke.

Finish and deliver

The biggest gain is peace of mind. Before, every big change left me with a knot in my stomach. Today I know that if it goes wrong, there is a way back, and that lets me try bolder things.

I picked up one more habit: nothing stays half done. When a round ends, it goes into the game the same day. If someone is still working, the delivery goes into a queue and leaves together with the next one. That way nobody plays a version cut in half.

The queue is like a star chart: everything marked reaches its destination, in order.
The queue is like a star chart: everything marked reaches its destination, in order.
Without this care, the result would look like this: burned work and us starting over.
Without this care, the result would look like this: burned work and us starting over.

Why tell you this

It is not glamorous, but it is what lets me move forward without fear. The time I save by avoiding loss becomes time to make the game better. And players get safer updates, without seeing yesterday's work vanish today.

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