Change log vs commit log

[sethmachine]

Hi,

So if developing a game project, e.g. WC3 map, when releasing a change log, do people release commit logs from version control, or from the commit logs make a high level change log? I was hoping I could turn commit logs into change logs automatically, but these two are not always the same (or are they?).

It seems to be the case that when patches / change logs are released for Blizzard video games, they don't give the actual commit logs (i.e. the actual changes in the code).

 

[Dr Super Good]

Change logs usually are a summary of major changes. Very minor changes seldom make it into change logs. Blizzard games are an example of this where there are a ton of hidden changes such as UI changes in the D3 PTR at the moment and new models in the last SC2 patch.

Commit logs usually are what was changed. They can be anything from "cleaned up Wolke_t class file" to "oversight in last commit resulting in game breaking bug".

Commit logs are only meaningful to developers as they often can relate to technical details or implementations where as a change log is a more user friendly description of what has changed.

 

[sethmachine]

Aye so does Blizzard or other games that get updated also release change logs (for people who are familiar with the source?)?

And has anyone thought of automatically converting commit logs into change logs?

Or does someone skim over them and then write the change log by hand?

 

[Dr Super Good]

Aye so does Blizzard or other games that get updated also release change logs (for people who are familiar with the source?)?

Internally people can browse the commit log as part of their version control system. Since this is closed source people not working or affiliated with them do not have access to either the source code or the commit logs of their version control system.

And has anyone thought of automatically converting commit logs into change logs?

As mentioned before, commit logs do not have any reflection on what has functionally changed with the software. A tiny issue invisible to the user (such as optimization) may have several hundred commits associated with it yet all the user needs to know is "various optimizations have been made to improve performance". Like wise they may have produced a lot of commits when rewriting part of the software which the user can physically see no difference at all.

Generally the change log is written from a high level. An example could be in a project meeting the change long is decided and then the development team works to implement it. Some changes that are huge to the user, such as stat balances in a game, might be a single commit while other less obvious changes, such as the process responding faster when minimized/maximized, might require dozens of commits. A lot of commits are totally pointless and transparent to the user, such as "Fixed a silly error in the new content for X future release".