Mod News Qwinn went Next-Gen

[Orgasm]

Drog is really pathetic.

Queen

 

[shihonage]

That's an impressive list of fixes and I hope he gets hired.

Unfortunately, Bioware makes games. Almost everyone at Bioware and a large portion of the modding community could make these fixes, the only obstacle is discovering which is a bug, holding a committee to decide whether the bug is large enough to be worth the time to fix, etc. So I don't really see how such fixes, most of them especially minor (lol now a quest gets crossed out when you finish it lol), are a good way to show off any talent other then just being able to spot bugs (which Bioware doesn't appear to need since we can see that all of the bugs fixed are almost entirely minor things).

If you wanted to get hired, you are better off showing that you can create new, interesting content that is relatively bug free and fun to play. That's what Bioware is interested in because that's what earns them money.

Qwinn

Fortunately, any software company has a Quality Assurance department. At the very least, Qwinn could be put in charge of such a department.

 

[VentilatorOfDoom]

If he wants a Biojob - I hope he gets it.

 

[Schattenjäger]

He is a good modder, and his fixes made the games he modded more enjoyable. I think Bioware would do good in hiring him.

Haters gonna hate.

 

[Shannow]

*Dev other than Black Isle/Troika releases a buggy game*
Co'x rage: Damn devs, don't they have any QA? What do they do all day? Watch porn and play pong?

Unfortunately, Bioware makes games. Almost everyone at Bioware and a large portion of the modding community could make these fixes, the only obstacle is discovering which is a bug, holding a committee to decide whether the bug is large enough to be worth the time to fix, etc. So I don't really see how such fixes, most of them especially minor (lol now a quest gets crossed out when you finish it lol), are a good way to show off any talent other then just being able to spot bugs (which Bioware doesn't appear to need since we can see that all of the bugs fixed are almost entirely minor things).

If you wanted to get hired, you are better off showing that you can create new, interesting content that is relatively bug free and fun to play. That's what Bioware is interested in because that's what earns them money.

*Modder fixes bugs*
Co'x rage: Damn modder, those were all just minor anyway. Doesn't he have better things to do, like watch porn and play pong?

I know, fat sea cow isn't the codex, and there were quite a few that didn't rip on Queer, but damn, is this place depressing sometimes...

 

[Overweight Manatee]

There is a huge difference between fixing a buggy game and fixing minor inconsequential things that only OCD people care about. Weeeee, a quest was bugged not to give me 10xp but now it works!

It's not that I don't appreciate bug fixes (at least, for games I actually play), but it isn't nearly as much of a resume-padder as you might think.

Fortunately, any software company has a Quality Assurance department. At the very least, Qwinn could be put in charge of such a department.

Yes, the problem is that it doesn't sound like testing monkey is the job Qwinn was looking for, which was something either programming related or in game design.

 

[SerratedBiz]

I don't think actually fixing bugs is a bad idea to apply for a job in the gaming industry but I do think he's purposefully attention whoring for the spot by not doing this kind of thing in private.

Maybe he thinks we're going to flood Bioware with e-mails asking for his employment?

Cue-in.

 

[Chefe]

I feel bad I completely missed Chefe's glory days, because stuff like that is pathetic.

You're just mad that I can feel. Qwinn is obviously a very talented individual who makes people's lives better by improving their gaming experiences when developers shun them. He should be celebrated, not condemned because his life didn't turn out to be the a wonderful romp through fantasy land you all apparently thought it should be.

 

[Alex]

That's an impressive list of fixes and I hope he gets hired.

Unfortunately, Bioware makes games. Almost everyone at Bioware and a large portion of the modding community could make these fixes, the only obstacle is discovering which is a bug, holding a committee to decide whether the bug is large enough to be worth the time to fix, etc. So I don't really see how such fixes, most of them especially minor (lol now a quest gets crossed out when you finish it lol), are a good way to show off any talent other then just being able to spot bugs (which Bioware doesn't appear to need since we can see that all of the bugs fixed are almost entirely minor things).

If you wanted to get hired, you are better off showing that you can create new, interesting content that is relatively bug free and fun to play. That's what Bioware is interested in because that's what earns them money.

Qwinn

Actually, making bug fixes on assembly code is pretty hard. It requires good deal of attention and patience, and great capacity to move between various levels of abstractions. Qwinn is really gifted for being able to do it.

However I don't know if this kind of talent is important to game companies, or if it is, for how long it will be. From what I have heard, game companies are know to make games with pretty bad object orientation, where the design fails to abstract anything to do with the domain.

For example suppose that you have an rpg where a certain ability that, when added to a character, add to his armor class. A good way to do this would be to have an ability object that can apply itself to a character, changes the armor class and changes it back if it is removed or nullified.

However, i isn't uncommon for this to be implemented as code that is all over the place. The name of the ability is probably added in a list of strings stored in the character, so it gets listed when you access the character's sheet, but adding and removing the ability is probably hardcoded, with the situations it may happen taking care to do so correctly.

But even so, I expect that even if they haven't yet, they eventually will make programs that represent well what they are implementing. When this happens, not only will bugs be much less prevalent, but they will require skills that are a little different. Rather than relying on attention to details and being able to grasp different levels of abstractions at the same time, the ability to understand and express ideas on a certain level of abstraction will be much more important.

So, I don't know how useful will Qwinn's abilities be to Bioware, but here is hoping that he does get a job!

 

[Malakal]

So why are You picking on a modder? Is he incredible drama whore or something? Because good modders are gold and should be given credit not shit. Unless they like shit then hey, who am I to judge them.
There are so many games that need fixing...

Queer

 

[Overweight Manatee]

Actually, making bug fixes on assembly code is pretty hard. It requires good deal of attention and patience, and great capacity to move between various levels of abstractions. Qwinn is really gifted for being able to do it.

Is he actually going into assembly to do any of these fixes (talking about the DA ones, not his work on PS:T)? That would be very impressive, but AFAIK he's just loading the DA editor and changes things through that, right? While I haven't used the DA editor myself, if its anything like the one for NWN then I would be qualified enough to fix those bugs after being given a week to adjust to how the DA system works.

 

[madbringer]

Because good modders are gold and should be given credit not shit.

Unless they turn into bitter, disillusioned shadows of their former selves that change their occupation to full-time trolling.

Such is the story of Arqon, who now works for ID software.

 

[Chefe]

So why are You picking on a modder? Is he incredible drama whore or something? Because good modders are gold and should be given credit not shit. Unless they like shit then hey, who am I to judge them.
There are so many games that need fixing...

Queer

Do a search for Qwinn.

Wasn't Major Boobage also Qwinn?

 

[Silellak]

Because good modders are gold and should be given credit not shit.

Unless they turn into bitter, disillusioned shadows of their former selves that change their occupation to full-time trolling.

Such is the story of Arqon Drog, who now works for ID software spends every day posting nonsense on the Codex.

 

[Alex]

Actually, making bug fixes on assembly code is pretty hard. It requires good deal of attention and patience, and great capacity to move between various levels of abstractions. Qwinn is really gifted for being able to do it.

Is he actually going into assembly to do any of these fixes (talking about the DA ones, not his work on PS:T)? That would be very impressive, but AFAIK he's just loading the DA editor and changes things through that, right? While I haven't used the DA editor myself, if its anything like the one for NWN then I would be qualified enough to fix those bugs after being given a week to adjust to how the DA system works.

I don't know, and I admit fixing things through an editor is easier. My point is just that, since Qwinn is known for fixing things using assembly code, we already know that he is talented. If his fixes on DA use only the editor, they probably aren't that strong of an argument for hiring him. Still, they did come out before Bioware could fix them, so it shows he is, at the very least, a hard working guy...

 

[someone else]

Am I the only one who hardly notice this Qwinn guy?

 

[Secretninja]

His farewell thread was pretty memorable.

 

[scient]

I dunno if Qwinn made any changes to exe in his DA fixpack but all PST engine patches are mine. And yes, I'm doing debugging/reversing at assembly level since source code isn't available. Although having a decent knowledge of C++ helps (pst was compiled with msvc++ 6).

Anyway, Bioware busted tons of shit with that last patch. I don't think they've even fixed regression yet? I recall reading long bug reporting thread on bio forums with lots of butthurt. So props to Qwinn for releasing this. However I doubt I'll start playing DA again since after messing around in it for a couple days just got bored with combat and meh story.

 

[Alex]

I see. In that case, sorry for the mistake, and kudos for being able to tinker with that. Out of curiosity, are the methods of objects in the IEEE engine virtual, or are they bound at compile time? Or a mix of both?

 

[spacemoose]

old people. They need to stop being so old

 

[CrimHead]

Hello to any prospective employers in the fields of computer programming, copy editing or any other fields that overlap with the work done here.

My name is Paul Escalona, and I am seeking employment, ideally in (but not limited to) the gaming industry as a computer programmer. Although these mods were definitely an act of love for a classic CRPG game, I am hoping that they also demonstrate skillsets which prospective employers would find attractive.

Specifically: I wrote my first fragment of WeiDU code on April 16, 2008 (that glorious - heh - moment is immortalized here). From conception to completion, including all time required to learn the scripting language making this possible, all 3 major projects were done in 49 days with no supervision.

Why don't I have a job right now? Laid low by the same malady that's struck down so many others - coding oneself into a niche market. My last 12 years of work experience has been in a little known programming language called Progress (similar to Oracle) which has very limited employment prospects in any given area. That programming work has been in the fields of manufacturing and distribution (as in order entry, purchasing, accounts receivable and payable, general ledger, etc.) and I do consider myself expert in those fields (including management of those departments). Some financial background also.

I'm hoping this demonstrates that experience in a specific language isn't much of a barrier for me. I have been programming for over 20 years, since I was 11 years old. Over the years I have become adept at many different languages, including PASCAL, Assembler, BASIC and non-visual C++. I really do learn best by doing, and as long as I have decent documentation for the language I need to work with available to me, I can figure it out on my own very quickly. I can also appreciate that learning a new language on the job would command a lower initial salary, and am quite willing to negotiate on that basis.

All that said, if a prospective employer is more impressed with the 3,000 corrections to the dialog file that I managed to do in the middle of all that, I would certainly be interested in any opportunities for copy editing work as well.

If you have any opportunities available, please let me know by PM, and we can discuss matters in more detail.

Thank you,

Qwinn

Fixed

 

[-=DarlSephiroth666=-]

You're just mad that I can feel. Qwinn is obviously a very talented individual who makes people's lives better by improving their gaming experiences when developers shun them. He should be celebrated, not condemned because his life didn't turn out to be the a wonderful romp through fantasy land you all apparently thought it should be.

Look, Chefe, the problem here is not that Qwinn is a not good modder, he, of course, is. The problem is that he desperately needs a reality check. I bet he lives alone, writing WeiDU scripts all day, hoping for some Internet recognition. One of his many quirks is that he doesn't allow anyone to host his mods elsewhere. Wanna know why? He wants to show off his DL count.

But no matter how much he tries to raise his popularity, he won't land a job in gamedev, because what he's doing is in reality nothing special. As it was already mentioned in this thread, companies don't fix bugs because they don't have competent people or something, but because making patches more often than not is simply not worth the money. Each patch has to be extensively tested (this is more complicated nowadays with the 360 patches having to go through Microsoft as well), so minor bugs (which Qwinn is fixing) are almost never touched.

I feel sorry for Qwinn, I really do, but he should stop living in his fantasy world, and finally go out and find a real job. He's 40 FFS.

 

[Genma:TheDestroyer]

You're not Qwinn, Melcar.

But am I?


Also...

Gary Busey is a creepy, creepy man.



Qwinn (maybe)

 

[Arcanoix]

Regardless of what all of you say - most if not all notable game development companies, BioWare included, would probably choose Qwinn before anyone else here.

And who cares if the man is 40 years old? He's probably lost his job recently. So much butthurt from everyone here. Most of you are probably protected by lazy ass Labor Unions because you're unskilled and only intelligent enough to troll decent people on the internet.

Qwinn has probably busted his ass to work for a shitty company that's recently fucked him over. Maybe when companies send your jobs overseas and you lose your Union card, you might know how 30% of America feels.

 

[Shannow]

There is a huge difference between fixing a buggy game and fixing minor inconsequential things that only OCD people care about. Weeeee, a quest was bugged not to give me 10xp but now it works!

It's not that I don't appreciate bug fixes (at least, for games I actually play), but it isn't nearly as much of a resume-padder as you might think.

Now I see. You guys actually think Quinn meant that as an actual job application. Whereas I see it as tongue in cheek, eventhough he claims he's serious.
It's more like going up to a supermodel and asking: "Wanna fuck?". If she says: "Yes", you'll of course fuck her. But you, as an average Joe, really don't expect her agree.
If Bioware take him up on his offer he'll be happy enough, but I doubt he seriously expects them to.