Yeah, that's pretty much why I brought it up. The game wasn't designed with content in mind at all, at least not in a way that makes sense. I'm 90% sure that it's using XML because it's like the easiest thing you can use if you don't know what you're doing. I used to use it *a lot* for project where it made no sense... during uni.It would be nice if Inno committed to a single content pipeline. Right now LT has two for pretty much all systems—Java classes and XML files. :|
It doesn't help that XML really isn't the best format for something like this. It's sort of like using a pneumatic nailgun to hang a picture. Honestly, I think something like YAML would have been a much better pick. It gives you the simplicity of JSON (without the crazy nesting) and gives you the means of writing freeform text. Considering LT uses schema-less XML, you lose the benefit of early validation so it's kind of pointless anyway.
Yet more evidence of uncontrolled mutation over planned evolution, I guess.
I'm fine with people not being amazing programmers. I'm not. But everything else that happens on top of the shoddy design is what I have a problem with. At this rate, we're back to getting radio silence for a month.That's kinda why I try to be a little sympathetic. I don't think Inno is intentionally being malicious, but man…the optics here aren't great. She does have a lot on her plate, and I suspect one of the major reasons for her perpetual burnout is 1) dealing with old mistakes, 2) likely a lack of practical dev experience, 3) the mountain of source code (seriously, LT's repo is massive), and 4) trying to introduce new content on top of this.
I think she'd fare a lot better if she offered some financial compensation for people to help with #1, #2, and #3. Considering how popular LT is, I doubt she'd have a problem finding helpers.
Everything about the official discord is toxic and unhealthy as fuck. This is why you don't have official discords. Let fans set up and run their own if they want to, but as a solo dev you should stay away from using them in any official capacity. Their your customers, not your friends. And neither side of the line should forget that.Considering the number of people that have been booted from the discord for simply asking questions, I don't think there can be any question about the maliciousness. As for the other points... there MUST be some point at which incompetence and a willful refusal to fix one's mistakes can no longer be excused. I'm not sure how long Inno was able to use Hanlon's Razor as a legitimate defense, but that time has passed. The only question is when it happened.