Guide to Contributing

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This guide is modified from TGstation's "Setting up TortoiseGit guide". It is intended to be a one-stop guide for newbie contributing to Paradise Station.

Before you contribute to Paradise, you will have to set up the following:

  • Git (Mandatory)
  • Some sort of Git Client (Optional, less powerful than command line Git, but make it easier to use)
  • A proper text editor with highlighting, searching, etc. (Optional, you can use DM's native IDE, but it sucks)

Now let me explain all those terms briefly - Git is a distributed version control system we use so that multiple developers can work on the same project with minimized conflicts. You will NEED it to contribute to Paradise effectively, because our code is hosted on Github and also uses the git systems (That's where terms like "pull requests" "push" etc. come from). Because git is operated through the command line (Git Bash), it can get a bit overwhelming for beginners, so I personally recommend installing a Git Client or two to make it easier to get started, and then you can learn the command line later.

Finally, the native editor for DM (The language games on BYOND are mostly written in), DreamMaker, is rather primitive, no ability to search files, search for definition of proc, multiple split windows etc. As a result, I highly recommend you use Atom or Visual Studio Code as your IDE, both of which have DM Plugins/Package, made by generous contributors in the SS13 community, that will make life much easier for you.

This guide will contain multiple guides collapsed into one. In the future they might be split into more. But first,

This guide uses TortoiseGIT. While there are other programs out there, this one is the most commonly used. This guide is for Windows only. TortoiseGIT is a simple enough program but other clients or the git command line are recommended once you are familiar with the basics.

It's recommended if you don't want to read this that you just watch this video:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZDR433b0HJY

Some further videos that are recommended watching for any git user:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MYP56QJpDr4 - Git from bits up

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4XpnKHJAok8 - Linus Torvalds (yes that linus) on git

If you are having trouble

Watch this video guide if you are having difficulty with any step below. [1]

[Show/hide] Installing Git & Setting up Github

Install Git

  • Go here: http://git-scm.com/downloads
  • Download the Windows Git program. The appropriate, newest one for your operating system
  • It should look something like 'Git-2.18.0-64-bit.exe'
  • Install it and leave everything on default (just keep clicking next).
  • Wait till the installer has finished.
  • Done!

Register on Github (Skip if you already have an account, duh)

You'll need a github account to contribute to our repository (The place where the code is stored) properly.

  • Head over here: https://github.com/
  • Click Signup and Pricing in the top right-hand corner.
  • Click the Create free account button'.
  • Create an account with your username and email.
  • Done!

Hide your Email (Optional, Recommended)

Some of you might want to show on your resume you worked on a spessman fart simulator. Or more practically, SS13 community is dark and full of terrors, and you would want to protect your email-address (Or use a disposable one in the first place).

Oh and, you might want to contribute to ERP servers under alternative account name.

  • Log into your account on Github
  • Go to the upper right, click your user profile
  • A bar should pop up. Click settings
  • Go to Email
  • Set your email to private. Github will now use a noreply email address for web operations.
  • Now you're somewhat more protected!

Configure Git (Optional)

OPTIONAL!

  • Head here: https://help.github.com/articles/set-up-git/#setting-up-git
  • Follow the guide above from steps 2 to 4, you can install Git for Windows if you want however it's not recommended
  • Now you have Git all setup, but if you're command line illiterate like me, you'll wanna have some fancy graphics!

Set up Github Dark Theme (Optional)

A bright white theme may not be to your taste, so try this out:

== Step 4 -


Step 4 - TortoiseGit

Step 5 - Forking Code

  • Head over to: https://github.com/ParadiseSS13/Paradise
  • Click the Fork button in the top right corner.
  • The page you'll be directed to is now your fork. You'll be pushing updates here, and making pull requests to have them merged the main (master) repository.
  • Copy the HTTP URL. It's next to the HTTP GIT and Git Read-Only buttons. It'll look something like: https://github.com/NAME/Paradise

Step 6 - Downloading the Code

  • Find a place you don't mind the code sitting.
  • Right click and choose Git Clone...
  • The URL field should be filled with the URL of your Fork. If not, paste it in.
  • Click Next and watch flying tortoises bring you your code.

Step 7 - Setting up TortoiseGit

  • Right click on the folder that was created (usually called Paradise), and go to TortoiseGit and then click on Settings.
  • Click on Remote under Git.
  • There should be one thing on the list of remotes, with the name: origin.
  • You're now adding the main repository as a source you can pull updates from.
  • In the Remote box type in upstream.
  • In the URL: box put: https://github.com/ParadiseSS13/Paradise.git
  • Click Add New/Save.
  • Click Ok.
  • Almost done!

Step 8 - Updating your Repo

  • Updating your repo with the master should be done before trying anything.
  • Right-click the folder your repo is in and select TortoiseGit then Pull.
  • Click the radial button next to Remote and make sure upstream (or whatever you called it) is selected next to it.
  • The remote branch should be set to master.
  • Then click Ok. This will pull the latest changes from the master repo.

Step 9 - Making a Branch

  • Branching your repo is very important for organising your commits, you should have a different branch for each unrelated code change (e.g. if you wanted to make some new sprites for one item and change the properties of another these should be in seperate branches), as Pull requests work off branches rather than commits this will allow you to make a seperate Pull Request per change. Doing this streamlines the whole process and will save everyone a bunch of headaches.
  • Right-click in your working folder. Then choose TortoiseGit, and Create Branch...
  • Type in your new branch name
  • (Optional) Tick Switch to new branch
  • Press Okay and your new branch is created

To switch between Branches:

  • Right-click in your working folder. Then choose TortoiseGit, and Switch/Checkout...
  • Choose your Branch then press Okay

Step 10 - Making a Commit

  • A commit is confirmed change of the files in your repo, it's how you make changes permanently to the files in your repo, so try not to commit without making sure it works (though subsequent commits can fix it).
  • As said before, you should use different branches to separate your commits/changes. Don't commit to master. It should be clean, so you can fall back on it if needed.
  • To make your commits, you need to edit the files using BYOND's inbuilt editing tools. Make sure to follow coding standards when making your changes! When you're finished, right click the folder you're working with and choose Git Commit -> "[Your Branch Name]" (Example: Git Commit -> "My_First_Branch")
  • You can then select only the files you want to be committed by ticking or unticking them. You should also write a detailed commit summary, detailing what happened in that commit.
  • Click Ok and the commit will be committed to your local repo!

Step 11 - Making a Pull Request

  • Right-click in your working folder. Then choose TortoiseGit, and Push...
  • Set Local and Remote to the name of the branch you committed before. (e.g. My_First_Branch)
  • Under Destination, set Remote: to origin.
  • Click Ok. This'll upload your changes to your remote repo (the one on GitHub).
  • Head to your GitHub repo e.g https://github.com/NAME/Paradise
  • Click Pull Request at the top right.
  • Give this a quick read.
  • Fill out a summary and then create the pull request.
  • You're done! In many cases there will be issues pointed out by other contributors, unfortunate merge conflicts, and other things that will require you to revisit your pull request.
  • Optionally, view step 13 for a guide on cleaner commit logs, cleaner commits help maintainers review!

Step 12 - Checking Out Github PRs Locally (Optional)

  • This is a must for maintainers who need to easily test other people's code!
  • Locate the section for your Github remote in the .git/config file. Note that it is hidden by default. It looks like this:
[remote "upstream"]
fetch = +refs/heads/*:refs/remotes/upstream/*
url = https://github.com/ParadiseSS13/Paradise.git
  • Now add the following line:
fetch = +refs/pull/*/head:refs/remotes/upstream/pr/*
  • Fetch from the upstream remote.
  • To check out a particular pull request, use Switch/Checkout and select the branch from the drop-down list.

Git command line verison

No editing of the git config file needed, just do git fetch <remote> pull/<pr>/head:target_branch usually something like git fetch upstream pull/26271/head:pr-26271.

Then you can checkout the target_branch

Step 13 - Clean commits (Optional)

  • This is a guide specifically for TortoiseGit, our recommended client
  • Your commit logs are filthy, full of one or two line commits that fix an error that makes you look bad, and the commit is called "Whoops" or "oops"
  • Navigate to your local version of the branch
  • Ensure it is up to date with the remote
  • Go to Show log
  • Select all the commits associated with this change or PR
  • Right click and choose Combine to one commit
  • This will open up the standard commit interface for TortoiseGit, with the commit logs of the selected commits merged together
  • Perform the normal routine for a commit
  • Go to push your branch to the remote branch
  • Ensure Force Overwrite Existing Branch (may discard changes) is selected to make sure the PR/Remote updates to contain just this squashed commit


Contribution Guides
General Guide to Contributing, Game Resources category, Github Glossary
Setting up a server Setting up the Database, Creating your own paracode server
Coding Understanding SS13 Code, SS13 for experienced programmers, Text Formatting
Mapping Guide to Mapping,
Spriting Guide to Spriting,
Wiki Guide to Editing the Wiki
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