NXN unveiled today a new software configuration management system for programmers, called alienbrain Engineer. The software builds upon the company's core product, alienbrain Studio, but handles source code. The product tackles the problem of handling versions and configurations for software projects, and isn't just for games -- it can support a wide variety media and entertainment projects. Its main advantage over previous solutions is its streamlined workflow and interface, which allows you to tame the inherent complexity found in mid-size to large software projects.
The product can be integrated within the Visual Studio and Codewarrior IDEs, and browsing is integrated within the standard Explorer or Office interfaces. Windows, Macintosh and Linux versions are all available.
As far as features go, it uses a client/server architecture that lets users retrieve new versions, send messages to each other, and keep track of the status of the different files. Alienbrain also supports a sophisticated branching mechanism, so you can keep not only successive versions of your code, but coexisting ones as well. Keeping track of a debug and a release version is often a logistical nightmare with some of the current version control software, and Alienbrain has made efforts to ensure that the scenarios can be handled in an intuitive way.
NXN alienbrain Engineer is available for $690 per seat including server and first year support and maintenance.
