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This is an interesting article, but Riot hasn't really earned any trust of mine at all as it comes to code quality; for a while they couldn't show the damage ou

This is an interesting article, but Riot hasn't really earned any trust of mine at all as it comes to code quality; for a while they couldn't show the damage output of a spell because it caused the user's other summoner spell to go on cooldown for 15 minutes[1] when they tried. [1] (https://www.reddit.com/r/leagueoflegends/comments/2hvukl/smite_damage_should_be_shown_on_the_icon/ https://www.reddit.com/r/leagueoflegends/comments/2hvukl/smi...)

bpicolo 11y ago
"Its defects do not reflect issues with our code base (though there are many), but rather my own hacky implementation." Every code base has tech debt. You can't predict the requirements of the future, and even if you could, trying to account for them means you never release your product.
- mmanfrin 11y ago
  This is one of many such issues -- one of the largest complaints about the game from the community is the stability of the game and the frequency with which 'gamebreaking' bugs occur. e: Addressing your edit: Every code base has tech debt. You can't predict the requirements of the future, and even if you could, trying to account for them means you never release your product. League is a mature game at this point, they have had a lot of time to fix longstanding issues. This isn't 'release day' woes.
- huac 11y ago
  One large storyline in the ongoing LoL world championships revolves around a major, longstanding bug: the 2nd most popular competitive jungler had to be disabled halfway through the tournament because one of his abilities suddenly became useless. This has had a large impact on competitive strategy, forcing teams to rethink strats on the fly. Tech debt isn't just salty players whining - it has a major impact on LoL's biggest stage.
  - mmanfrin 11y ago
    Not to mention the ward in the baron pit during (CLGs?) group stage game that their pink ward could not see inexplicably -- the game had to be stopped so that the officiants could tell CLG that the ward could still see them.
- debacle 11y ago
  Riot's code base has a massive amount of technical debt, to a point where a rewrite is likely the best choice because of past technology decisions.
  - ajkjk 11y ago
    A rewrite would murder them. I'm not going to link that article everyone links about "never rewriting your code", because I don't think it's got the argument right, but I strongly feel that if they tried to rewrite a system as complex as theirs, they would either a) never finish or b) stop developing the game and, by the time they finished their rewrite, have no customers left. Anyway, it would end up being called a sequel.
    - debacle 11y ago
      Not having a well-written client is murdering them. Sometimes the hard way is the best way.
      - ionforce 11y ago
        > Not having a well-written client is murdering them. "Murdering them" how?
      - kmkemp 11y ago
        No, it isn't. They have the most popular video game of all time and you think that a poorly written client is killing them? It has had some problems over the years that are annoying to users (and frankly embarrassing when compared to DOTA 2), but at the end of the day the quality of the client is insignificant to most players compared to the fun-factor of the game itself, as proven by their unprecedented success.
      - ajkjk 11y ago
        I disagree. They seem to be doing fine, and their client seems to work fine and not detract from the game at all. I play League a lot. There are bugs, sure, but altogether the game feels very polished. Much more so than many other games I have played. [There were two high-impact bugs in the current tournament that go counter to this, but they've been addressed already.] The 'hard way' you espouse is ludicrous and far from the best way. It's not even an option. (Of course this is just my hunch, but it's a well-founded one) [The ways that league does not feel polished are not related to code quality. They're much more around the new user experience and the toolset available to hardcore players (replays, sandboxes, among others).]
Sevzinn 11y ago
Video games programmers have to learn more and make less. I'll give them the benefit of the doubt, especially since I can barely understand this particular blog post.

bpicolo 11y ago

"Its defects do not reflect issues with our code base (though there are many), but rather my own hacky implementation." Every code base has tech debt. You can't predict the requirements of the future, and even if you could, trying to account for them means you never release your product.

mmanfrin 11y ago
This is one of many such issues -- one of the largest complaints about the game from the community is the stability of the game and the frequency with which 'gamebreaking' bugs occur. e: Addressing your edit: Every code base has tech debt. You can't predict the requirements of the future, and even if you could, trying to account for them means you never release your product. League is a mature game at this point, they have had a lot of time to fix longstanding issues. This isn't 'release day' woes.
huac 11y ago
One large storyline in the ongoing LoL world championships revolves around a major, longstanding bug: the 2nd most popular competitive jungler had to be disabled halfway through the tournament because one of his abilities suddenly became useless. This has had a large impact on competitive strategy, forcing teams to rethink strats on the fly. Tech debt isn't just salty players whining - it has a major impact on LoL's biggest stage.
- mmanfrin 11y ago
  Not to mention the ward in the baron pit during (CLGs?) group stage game that their pink ward could not see inexplicably -- the game had to be stopped so that the officiants could tell CLG that the ward could still see them.
debacle 11y ago
Riot's code base has a massive amount of technical debt, to a point where a rewrite is likely the best choice because of past technology decisions.
- ajkjk 11y ago
  A rewrite would murder them. I'm not going to link that article everyone links about "never rewriting your code", because I don't think it's got the argument right, but I strongly feel that if they tried to rewrite a system as complex as theirs, they would either a) never finish or b) stop developing the game and, by the time they finished their rewrite, have no customers left. Anyway, it would end up being called a sequel.
  - debacle 11y ago
    Not having a well-written client is murdering them. Sometimes the hard way is the best way.
    - ionforce 11y ago
      > Not having a well-written client is murdering them. "Murdering them" how?
    - kmkemp 11y ago
      No, it isn't. They have the most popular video game of all time and you think that a poorly written client is killing them? It has had some problems over the years that are annoying to users (and frankly embarrassing when compared to DOTA 2), but at the end of the day the quality of the client is insignificant to most players compared to the fun-factor of the game itself, as proven by their unprecedented success.
    - ajkjk 11y ago
      I disagree. They seem to be doing fine, and their client seems to work fine and not detract from the game at all. I play League a lot. There are bugs, sure, but altogether the game feels very polished. Much more so than many other games I have played. [There were two high-impact bugs in the current tournament that go counter to this, but they've been addressed already.] The 'hard way' you espouse is ludicrous and far from the best way. It's not even an option. (Of course this is just my hunch, but it's a well-founded one) [The ways that league does not feel polished are not related to code quality. They're much more around the new user experience and the toolset available to hardcore players (replays, sandboxes, among others).]

Sevzinn 11y ago

Video games programmers have to learn more and make less. I'll give them the benefit of the doubt, especially since I can barely understand this particular blog post.