Yes, but it’s still a major challenge.
I’m responding to the claim that ”It’s not a challenge” and that the game developers can just ”release the server for free”. It might be doable, but not easy. Especially when there’s a lot of time pressure involved.
I’ve been involved in creating an on-premise version of a cloud server. We decided the best approach was just to make it a separate thing with barebones functionality. Just ensuring the client side software could connect to this on-premise solution without crashing was hard work enough.
The thing is that making an on-premise product takes deliberate effort. It’s rarely ”just ship an exe file” (or even ”just ship a docker compose file”)
I believe if this is passed game studios will resort to the same approach my team did - just ship a barebones version of the server side software.
They probably don’t test the entire server architecture locally. Maybe only a fragment of it, with the rest of the environment either mocked, or against a shared dev environment hosted in the cloud.
Server side software is rarely ”just an exe”. It involves databases, cron jobs, message queuing, and other internal tooling or cloud infrastructure. All of these must be in place properly for the software to function.
I’m just reacting to the idea that ”releasing server side software for free” is trivial. It’s not. It requires deliberate effort from the engineers.
I’m speaking from experience maintaining server side software. I haven’t watched Pirate Software.
you release the server for free
That’s easier said than done. The server side software might rely on proprietary software. Releasing the server side software can be a legal licensing nightmare.
Also, the software might make many assumptions about the internal infrastructure setup. For example, it might assume that it has access to a hard coded S3 path. It’s actually a lot of effort to ensure a software can be run on anyone’s computer.
I was in on the crypto hate. I don’t really have a hate boner for AI.
Sure, there are things to dislike about AI, but it can be moderately useful. In contrast to crypto, AI is the hype because it’s widely used. Crypto was the hype because a few people hit the jackpot.
I don’t think the $500 million marketing budget would’ve worked if Java was introduced at a time other than the 90s.
The 80s would’ve been too early. It would just turn into a parenthesis in programming language history (next to smalltalk). The 00s would’ve been too late. It would’ve missed the dotcom bubble boat. Java came in the right time to become a dominant programming language.
I’m not saying the marketing didn’t have any influence. It probably had an big influence in which OOP language was selected for computer science education.
I don’t think OOP is as bad as many people make it out to be. It’s perfectly fine in moderation.
The problem is that it can lead to over engineered applications when abused.
Usually the teachers/professors/lecturers have no real world experience of software development besides the usually university projects
Adding to this: university projects are built on a relatively short timeframe compared to many industry projects. The growing pains that typically occur after a few years of continuous development is unlikely with the small scale of university projects.
I wouldn’t go to a university professor for advice on how to build a system that will last a decade of development.
AbstractionBubbleBuilderFactoryStrategyImplementation mind you
OOP was hype during the 90s. Schools adapted their curriculum to this trend. So they needed a programming language for this, and Java became the choice. C++ is too tricky as a first language.
The result is that a lot of people knew Java, which means it’s a good choice of language if you want to recruit programmers.
I believe most of Java’s success was luck. It released at the perfect time.
People aren’t writing new projects in COBOL. It’s mostly to maintain 40+ year old systems. Unless you’re working in the bank sector, it’s unlikely you will write a program in COBOL.
”Bomb has been defused”
More sensors in the car might help a bit, but the real problem in US is its car dependent infrastructure. If the only way home after a night in the pub is by car, then you’re going to get a lot of drunk drivers. Add to this that bikes have to share road with cars, then it’s a death sentence to ride bike by night.
Don’t worry, he’ll back down either way. He’ll just claim that he’s made a great deal with EU even if no such deal has been made, and then lower the tariffs again.
Don’t forget about the access to free workforce in slave camps.
I believe it’s more of a generational shift.
The age groups who used to rely on SO are now skilled enough not to rely on it as much (or they more often have the types of questions SO can’t answer).
Younger age groups probably prefer other means of learning (like ChatGPT, Discord and YouTube videos).
As long they have a university degree they should probably be fine. The red MAGA hats have a tendency to hate education.
You know they’re just going to get bonuses and promotions.