A talk with Walter Bright about Empire • Hacker News Board

Re: A talk with Walter Bright about Empire

#41

Post by [deleted] » Wed, Oct 20, 2021, 6:18 PM UTC

WalterBright wrote: post #40

cybernautique wrote: post #30

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Hello Walter! I'm interested in programming languages and the design of compilers. I'm relatively novice to programming, but languages have long captured my imagination. Three questions for you: Do you have a blog where I can read about your compiler escapades? have you any advice for the aspiring novice? which is your favorite language, and why?

> where I can read about your compiler escapades? I don't really have a blog, but when I do write an article I'll link to it on twitter: https://twitter.com/WalterBright A collection of articles I wrote a while ago: https://www.digitalmars.com/articles/index.html Presentations: http://www.walterbright.com/ And, of course, the Emperor who will get mad and put another continent under iron control if he's not mentioned:…

[deleted]

Re: A talk with Walter Bright about Empire

#42

Post by WalterBright » Wed, Oct 20, 2021, 6:20 PM UTC

cybernautique wrote: post #30

WalterBright wrote: post #3

Walter here! AMA!

Hello Walter! I'm interested in programming languages and the design of compilers. I'm relatively novice to programming, but languages have long captured my imagination. Three questions for you: Do you have a blog where I can read about your compiler escapades? have you any advice for the aspiring novice? which is your favorite language, and why?

Advice for the novice. Hmm. Best advice I can give is ignore your critics and everyone who tells you it can't be done, you're not good enough, you'll inevitably fail.

Market research has always led me astray. Making things that simply please myself have been far, far more successful.

Which is my favorite language? D, of course! As for why, it's the language I always wanted to program in, though I didn't realize it and it was a process to discover it.

Re: A talk with Walter Bright about Empire

#43

Post by WalterBright » Wed, Oct 20, 2021, 6:27 PM UTC

JaDogg wrote: post #27

WalterBright wrote: post #3

Walter here! AMA!

What kind of projects I need to do and books I need to read to be a good programmer in your point of view?

Writing games are a really fun way to learn to program. The best way to learn how is to find an open source game that you like, figure out how to build it, then start modifying the game to your personal taste.

Learning the basics of writing compilers will be surprisingly helpful for all kinds of programming tasks. The Dragon Book is the best:

https://www.amazon.com/Compilers-Principles-Techniques-Tools...

Too bad the prices are so high for it. The original version is much cheaper:

https://www.amazon.com/Principles-Compiler-Addison-Wesley-in...

Learning calculus is a great way to train your mind to think better.

Re: A talk with Walter Bright about Empire

#44

Post by WalterBright » Wed, Oct 20, 2021, 6:27 PM UTC

devwastaken wrote: post #15

WalterBright wrote: post #3

Walter here! AMA!

Have you dived much into full body VR and VR social experiences?

That sounds like fun, but I've never tried it.

Re: A talk with Walter Bright about Empire

#45

Post by WalterBright » Wed, Oct 20, 2021, 6:27 PM UTC

pixelgeek wrote: post #18

WalterBright wrote: post #14

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The character mode DOS game I wrote. The graphics one was converted from text to graphics by Mark Baldwin.

Did it still use your AI?

Yes.

Re: A talk with Walter Bright about Empire

#46

Post by WalterBright » Wed, Oct 20, 2021, 6:31 PM UTC

codyguy wrote: post #19

WalterBright wrote: post #3

Walter here! AMA!

Hey Walter, What were your "salesman" lessons from Empire? What would you do differently today?

I'd do everything different today. Being a nerd, I had absolutely terrible social skills and did everything wrong. I couldn't sell a $20 bill for $10. I've been trying for decades to do better with that.

But the best lesson is to associate with someone who can sell.

Re: A talk with Walter Bright about Empire

#47

Post by WalterBright » Wed, Oct 20, 2021, 6:32 PM UTC

Torwald wrote: post #26

WalterBright wrote: post #3

Walter here! AMA!

Why can one city just build one unit at a time? Is there a game design rationale behind this?

Too many units too fast just seemed to create a logjam where then you'd have your units attack each other just to get them out of the way.

Re: A talk with Walter Bright about Empire

#48

Post by WalterBright » Wed, Oct 20, 2021, 6:33 PM UTC

avgcorrection wrote: post #20

I thought this was gonna be about Bright’s geopolitics.

Nobody cares about my political opinions :-)

Re: A talk with Walter Bright about Empire

#49

Post by Torwald » Wed, Oct 20, 2021, 7:12 PM UTC

WalterBright wrote: post #47

Torwald wrote: post #26

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Why can one city just build one unit at a time? Is there a game design rationale behind this?

Too many units too fast just seemed to create a logjam where then you'd have your units attack each other just to get them out of the way.

Thank you. This is something the Civ5 designers should have known.

Re: A talk with Walter Bright about Empire

#50

Post by tombert » Wed, Oct 20, 2021, 7:38 PM UTC

WalterBright wrote: post #3

Walter here! AMA!

Hi Walter.

I was curious about your opinions on some of the mathey functional languages out there, like Haskell or OCaml or F# or even something more elaborate like Idris or Agda. Do you feel like they should have a place in industry, or just high-level self-indulgence?