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The Bowels of Trogdor => The Small Intestines of Trogdor => Topic started by: J. M. Pescado on 2008 November 24, 04:08:01



Title: Dumbest EAxis Coding Errors
Post by: J. M. Pescado on 2008 November 24, 04:08:01
Here's a challenge only us codey-types would get: List the DUMBEST code mistakes you have found in the EAxis codes. Because us programmers know that there is a continuum of error-stupidity ranging from simple misstatements to "acts of mindbogglingly incomprehensible stupidity".

Here's the one I found:
In AL->MGS, 7FB9261E 0x101A, the one for applying the physiology bonus, EAxis, for ABSOLUTELY NO REASON AT ALL, modified this BHAV...for the singular purpose of DELETING A NECESSARY LINE OF CODE that initialized a temp variable with non-garbage. There was absolutely NO REASON to modify this code, as it was not part of any larger code overhaul or rewrite, yet they did it anyway, with the effect of breaking it. WHY?


Title: Re: Dumbest EAxis Coding Errors
Post by: Inge on 2008 November 24, 09:06:42
Maybe a programmer was working out their notice of termination?  ;)


Title: Re: Dumbest EAxis Coding Errors
Post by: J. M. Pescado on 2008 November 24, 09:17:50
While that makes for an amusing theory, it runs afoul of the entire "never attribute to malice what can easily be explained by stupidity" thing. What Stupid things have YOU found, Gray Fatness?


Title: Re: Dumbest EAxis Coding Errors
Post by: Inge on 2008 November 24, 10:24:24
OMG I'd get RSI before I was 10% through!


Title: Re: Dumbest EAxis Coding Errors
Post by: tunaisafish on 2008 November 24, 18:00:20
Not exactly dumb code, as it's not used.
Although why it has not been removed since the basegame I'm not sure.

7f647BAD 1002 CT - Change School
The programmer had one hell of a headache trying to write this.
51 nodes, of which 14 of them are breakpoints.
Wonder if the 'Manage Inventory' tutorial at MTS2 would have helped if it had been around.

Any others that beat 27% breakpoints?


Title: Re: Dumbest EAxis Coding Errors
Post by: J. M. Pescado on 2008 November 25, 01:11:23
Well, a horrific number of breakpoints, while horrible code, isn't quite a coding ERROR: The code still WORKS, despite its lack of elegance. You gotta find truly horrible ERRORS, things that don't work in ways that make you go "WTF?"! Mere errors of copypasta that any programmer could have made is not enough, either. We're looking for those truly "WTF?" errors that have no logical reason to exist. Like the one I found.