There was less automation and as far as I recall, none of us had "branches" -- everyone worked on a local trunk and everything would diverge rapidly. I wasn't w

There was less automation and as far as I recall, none of us had "branches" -- everyone worked on a local trunk and everything would diverge rapidly. I wasn't working professionally at the time (I was 11-13), so I wasn't exactly up-to-date on the latest modern conveniences then either. :) It was also much more difficult to figure out changes across multiple files with a single low-resolution (800 x 600 at the time, I think) monitor on a computer that could barely keep a few files open simultaneously. Another big pain point was spending an hour or more downloading a patch (via dialup) only to realize that you needed other patches or files before you could actually start working on anything, or that you'd downloaded the wrong file, etc. So there were many little inconveniences that added up to make it tremendously painful (in my memories) compared to today's experiences.