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Right now I'm working on save/load for a game that is overflowing with duct tape code. Yes it shipped and did well. But now I'm paying for all the sins of all t

Right now I'm working on save/load for a game that is overflowing with duct tape code. Yes it shipped and did well. But now I'm paying for all the sins of all the duct tape used by all the coders. I'm not sure I'd change anything in the past but I do reserve the right to bitch about things written that aren't fully correct but close enough... until save/load is considered and then it just doesn't work at all. Grumble grumble grumble...

peri 12y ago
This is a great thing to grumble about. It's also a great thing to only fix enough to hit your performance targets. But you probably already know that :)
fit2rule 12y ago
Every time you bitch, consider this: you've still got users. It'd be appropriate to bitch about it if you didn't have users. But, in the end, it doesn't matter how fancy things are: the user is the only thing that matters. Ever.
- tragic 12y ago
  Until the users want a new feature - save/load, say - and you can't add it without breaking the toaster in the office kitchen. And so the users bugger off to play Candy Crush Massacre or whatever :-)
  - nevir 12y ago
    And they can't rationalize why you're saying it'll take months to implement save/load. The newest SimCity is a great example of this. "zomg offline mode should be really easy for you guys to write! Why haven't you yet!?" "well... ...technical debt and design decisions that are at odds with that..."
  - fit2rule 12y ago
    So this is why you release early and often, and work hard to fix the problems before your users get to them.
    - peri 12y ago
      That's great for some products. Others require a big initial rollout to justify the capital expenditures involved with development.
hckr1292 12y ago
For all the naysayers, I think you're right to be disappointed that things weren't done better. It'll drive you to become a better engineer and spend a little (but hopefully not too much) time building things when it's your turn. Also, don't grumble too loudly -- you still have a job :-)

peri 12y ago

This is a great thing to grumble about. It's also a great thing to only fix enough to hit your performance targets. But you probably already know that :)

fit2rule 12y ago

Every time you bitch, consider this: you've still got users. It'd be appropriate to bitch about it if you didn't have users. But, in the end, it doesn't matter how fancy things are: the user is the only thing that matters. Ever.

tragic 12y ago
Until the users want a new feature - save/load, say - and you can't add it without breaking the toaster in the office kitchen. And so the users bugger off to play Candy Crush Massacre or whatever :-)
- nevir 12y ago
  And they can't rationalize why you're saying it'll take months to implement save/load. The newest SimCity is a great example of this. "zomg offline mode should be really easy for you guys to write! Why haven't you yet!?" "well... ...technical debt and design decisions that are at odds with that..."
- fit2rule 12y ago
  So this is why you release early and often, and work hard to fix the problems before your users get to them.
  - peri 12y ago
    That's great for some products. Others require a big initial rollout to justify the capital expenditures involved with development.

hckr1292 12y ago

For all the naysayers, I think you're right to be disappointed that things weren't done better. It'll drive you to become a better engineer and spend a little (but hopefully not too much) time building things when it's your turn. Also, don't grumble too loudly -- you still have a job :-)