RustyV

Conversation Conqueror
Game Developer
Dec 30, 2017
6,928
33,106
Bring back the days of when computers had a limited amount of memory and the software had to be written and optimised to fit.

Now some companies seem to write their software with the goal of lets see how much memory we can make our customers buy.
Or progress from 360kb, 720kb, 1.44 mb floppy to CD then onto DVD and nowadays internet connection is required for download.
Remember punch cards?
When they became obsolete most eventually ended up being used as book markers or turned into Christmas Wreathes.
 

goobdoob

Conversation Conqueror
Modder
Respected User
Dec 17, 2017
7,426
9,693
I always thoroughly playtest my updates, testing every option and every path that I can imagine to be relevant. While it's impossible to detect every bug in a software solution before releasing it to the public, no matter how well you test it, I still manage to make my releases next to bug-free.

Several other high-profile adult game developers usually warn that you should "expect lots of bugs" in their updates, which makes me wonder what the hell they are doing. I have never dared look at their code, for I value my sanity too much. Coding a visual novel-style game in Ren'py isn't something that should normally lead to bug-bonanza.
I have looked at some developer's code. I'm pretty sure one game (Daddy's Goodnight Kiss) actually made me stupider. He had an event with 3 steps, with a state variable for each step. The possible actions in each step were the same (which girl you talked to). He used numbers instead of defined constants for his states, and the number corresponding to each girl was different in the different stages. Like the girls would be (respecitvely) 1,2,3, then 2,3,1, then 3,1,2. Drove me crazy trying to figure out how to fix the bugs in that and how to get every possible dialog. Plus it was an uncommented mess (he shipped .rpys, not just .rpycs). I have no idea how he understood what his code did when he looked at it the next day.

In my job, I got a bug report about a certain feature. I haven't thought about how I'm going to code the fix, but I've already thought about how I'm going to test it. Testing can be a PITA, but my motto is "if it's not tested, it doesn't work".
 

pothb

Well-Known Member
Jan 28, 2018
1,250
1,371
I always thoroughly playtest my updates, testing every option and every path that I can imagine to be relevant. While it's impossible to detect every bug in a software solution before releasing it to the public, no matter how well you test it, I still manage to make my releases next to bug-free.

Several other high-profile adult game developers usually warn that you should "expect lots of bugs" in their updates, which makes me wonder what the hell they are doing. I have never dared look at their code, for I value my sanity too much. Coding a visual novel-style game in Ren'py isn't something that should normally lead to bug-bonanza.
Like i said, a thing of the past. Not even just h games. It's a standard that's been established with over the net updates being so easy and readily available.
 

MysteryCrabs

Well-Known Member
Dec 15, 2019
1,272
1,734
Like i said, a thing of the past. Not even just h games. It's a standard that's been established with over the net updates being so easy and readily available.
There absolutely is testing in games. Bugs are triaged, however, for severity. Market forces make dates more important to revenue. It's a negative feedback loop.
 

pothb

Well-Known Member
Jan 28, 2018
1,250
1,371
Obviously, I was speaking in hyperbole, but as it is ... it's not enough... it definitely seems to have lowered.
 

Clansman

Newbie
Dec 16, 2017
26
10
Remember punch cards?
When they became obsolete most eventually ended up being used as book markers or turned into Christmas Wreathes.
We had them at school in computer studies. Write out your code and was sent off to be put on punch cards and ran on a computer off campus. The following week you got the cards and results back if your program ran.
 

rick87

Active Member
Jul 16, 2017
535
2,782
While we are on the topic of ancient bits of the game: How was your code hygiene during the development of the game? How hard will those changes be to implement? Quite a few creators just keep piling updates upon updates and when they had to change some old bit (or decision tree, or rework some contingent trigger...), it mutated into horrific scrapcode straight out of 40k. (Looking at you Andrealphus, team LOK...). I only know enough about coding to recognize it as a problem but not enough to evaluate a piece of work on my own.
Belle has one of the best written code among all of the Ren'py games i've played. I'd say only HydraHenker and Icstor come close to his coding level.
 

Evangelion-01

Devoted Member
Apr 12, 2018
10,805
7,271
Belle has one of the best written code among all of the Ren'py games i've played. I'd say only HydraHenker and Icstor come close to his coding level.
ICStor doesn't do the codeing himself from what I recall... all he seems to do is renders... and at an astonishing slow rate none the less
 

goobdoob

Conversation Conqueror
Modder
Respected User
Dec 17, 2017
7,426
9,693
Belle has one of the best written code among all of the Ren'py games i've played. I'd say only HydraHenker and Icstor come close to his coding level.
:ROFLMAO:

ICSTOR's coder?

I was just looking through his code, trying to figure out how to set Linda's name for Q Who. Dude sets her name in at least 10 different places, in many different files.

ONCE! SET IT ONCE! :rolleyes:
 

dovalacky

Newbie
Nov 13, 2019
67
52
Belle has one of the best written code among all of the Ren'py games i've played.
I've been looking at a few games code as I learn better that way converting from what I already know. Belle's was the first that has had decent commenting and looked logical to me even though it's truly massive.

Plus the variables actually mean something rather than just "xxx1" with me ending up with a page of notes what each is related to.
I broke down and joined his Patreon just for that despite my hatred for it.
 
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