Google Code to GitHub, Subversion to Git

Google Code is shutting down.

Although there was no need to rush our decision (the site will not become read-only until 24 August), the FreeRCT dev team began discussing alternatives straight away.

The discussion started with where to move the project to (GitHub, SourceForge, Bitbucket, or self-hosted). Of course, moving the project to one of the aforementioned options also meant a likely change in the version control system (VCS) used (see: allowed).

• GitHub (GH) primarily supports Git (of course), with some Subversion support that we did not think would be worth dealing with.
• Bitbucket would give us more flexibility with its support of both Mercurial and Git; nevertheless, the interface is somewhat lacking when compared to GH, and searching for projects as an anonymous user is not as user-friendly (not helpful for project visibility).
• SourceForge (SF) would allow us to stay with Subversion; of course, this would mean using SF's interface, something that none of the devs seemed particularly excited about. 
• Some other sites and VCSs were mentioned, if for nothing more than to provide a bit of jocularity to the serious discussion. 
• Finally, the team briefly discussed the possibility of going the self-hosting route. Although we may eventually go down this road, it was decided that there is no real need for it in the project's current state.

After receiving feedback from the rest of the team, it was decided to make the move to GitHub. Admittedly, the team was in a state of wonder as to how the entire process would go, especially with regards to how GitHub would handle Google's wiki format and the fact that we already had a Read-only mirror in place at GitHub.

Lucky for FreeRCT, we had the unique combination of our own LordAro, as well as Google's (admittedly fancy) 'Export to GitHub' functionality.

Operation successful: FreeRCT.

With the move to GitHub complete (minus a few small changes being made as I write this), the team can refocus its efforts on making this awesome game.

Hopefully this post gave you a good overview of what was involved in moving the FreeRCT project from one site and system to another. As always, you can continue to stay up to date on FreeRCT happenings through all your favorite sites, including checking here at this blog. :)

Until next time,

The FreeRCT Dev Team

"FreeRCT is really good value!"