Confessions of an Unreal Engine 4 engineering firefighter
1–10 of 117 posts
Re: Confessions of an Unreal Engine 4 engineering firefighter
#2FTA, a take on entry/mid/senior level distinctions I haven't heard before:
"If you are the guy asking for help from people below, to your side, and above you, you’re probably an entry-level engineer. If you frequently need support from those above you (excluding C-level and executive support, that my friends are a whole new level of hell), there’s a good chance you are a mid-level engineer. If you find yourself supporting and being supported by those at your side, you are likely a senior or lead level engineer."
Re: Confessions of an Unreal Engine 4 engineering firefighter
#3The amazing thing to me is that now people can make games without a bunch of great engineers. Back in the day when we made Battlezone we had at least four really amazing engineers (one was a Masters in CS from MIT, one wrote early 3d workstation code, UCLA, Cal Tech CS degrees). In those days you needed people like that to just 3D to work in Windows. Direct X helped a lot. Unity and Unreal have made things we couldn't have dreamed of possible.
Re: Confessions of an Unreal Engine 4 engineering firefighter
#4Url changed from https://80.lv/articles/confessions-of-an-unreal-engine-4-eng..., which points to this.
Re: Confessions of an Unreal Engine 4 engineering firefighter
#5The amazing thing to me is that now people can make games without a bunch of great engineers. Back in the day when we made Battlezone we had at least four really amazing engineers (one was a Masters in CS from MIT, one wrote early 3d workstation code, UCLA, Cal Tech CS degrees). In those days you needed people like that to just 3D to work in Windows. Direct X helped a lot. Unity and Unreal have made things we couldn'…
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Re: Confessions of an Unreal Engine 4 engineering firefighter
#6FTA, a take on entry/mid/senior level distinctions I haven't heard before: "If you are the guy asking for help from people below, to your side, and above you, you’re probably an entry-level engineer. If you frequently need support from those above you (excluding C-level and executive support, that my friends are a whole new level of hell), there’s a good chance you are a mid-level engineer. If you find yourself suppo…
I've heard a similar thing but phrased as what frustrates you in you work most. It's a bit more cynical.
Basically: If you're frustrated by your work... probably junior. If you're frustrated by your colleagues... probably mid-level. If you're frustrated by too much management... probably senior. If you're frustrated by too little management... probably lead.
Re: Confessions of an Unreal Engine 4 engineering firefighter
#7The amazing thing to me is that now people can make games without a bunch of great engineers. Back in the day when we made Battlezone we had at least four really amazing engineers (one was a Masters in CS from MIT, one wrote early 3d workstation code, UCLA, Cal Tech CS degrees). In those days you needed people like that to just 3D to work in Windows. Direct X helped a lot. Unity and Unreal have made things we couldn'…
Oh hi co-worker of my old friend Ken :)
Re: Confessions of an Unreal Engine 4 engineering firefighter
#8The amazing thing to me is that now people can make games without a bunch of great engineers. Back in the day when we made Battlezone we had at least four really amazing engineers (one was a Masters in CS from MIT, one wrote early 3d workstation code, UCLA, Cal Tech CS degrees). In those days you needed people like that to just 3D to work in Windows. Direct X helped a lot. Unity and Unreal have made things we couldn'…
We've never met, but I believe you owe me about $17,000 in quarters, with interest. :)
Now if I can only hunt down those bastards who made Tempest, Qix, and Galaga...
Re: Confessions of an Unreal Engine 4 engineering firefighter
#9> Overtaxing your engineering effort is a surefire way to end up with hard-to-maintain work. Unless you are developing a throwaway prototype, hard-to-maintain work is one of the fastest ways to cause engineering fatigue
Sadly this was still all par-for-the-course back when I was in the industry and all my old contacts still affirm that this is the case today across most studios. Easier to burn people, ship something and then re-hire/train a new batch.
It's a shame the incentives of development aren't aligned with reasonable employment, the industry would be a lot better for it.
Re: Confessions of an Unreal Engine 4 engineering firefighter
#10The amazing thing to me is that now people can make games without a bunch of great engineers. Back in the day when we made Battlezone we had at least four really amazing engineers (one was a Masters in CS from MIT, one wrote early 3d workstation code, UCLA, Cal Tech CS degrees). In those days you needed people like that to just 3D to work in Windows. Direct X helped a lot. Unity and Unreal have made things we couldn'…
Thank you for making such a great game! Battlezone was one of my favorite games during my childhood. I loved the hybrid RTS/FPS aspect.