ResultsMayDiffer wrote: ↑

Tue Jun 25, 2019 5:38 am

Hi you are wrong. Josh release the source code. It's going to be ugly and mostly unusable no matter how many hours you spend. Committing what there is to github or similar will make it a lot easier to work with, it's too easy to ignore for you right now. Nobody blames you for that. Just publish as is.

You've posted six different variations of "Josh, release the code" over the past two weeks. I think if he's paying attention, he gets the idea at this point. Continuing to spam isn't going to change anything, and being rude to other people certainly isn't.

As we all know, there have been iterations of the code over the years where something vaguely game-like was actually playable, and was often rather pretty (e.g. the early video diaries, and the prototype). With all the refactoring and engine work, my impression was that the codebase -- at the point the towel was thrown in -- did not yet incorporate many of the things we had seen in the past; probably wasn't really a playable thing; and perhaps did not seem like useful code to release in that state, especially if it would only lead to masses of questions which would be time-consuming to respond to. I would speculate that Josh is wanting to release something which actually looks and plays at least a little bit like what we have seen in the past, and possibly doesn't want to have to deal with a massive influx of support questions for something which isn't ready to be looked at.

What I'd personally like to see is an initial 100%-unsupported "it is what it is" release, even if it doesn't even compile, with the firm and stated understanding that it's not a working game in any sense, and that Josh will not be answering any questions about it, and that it's purely there for the sufficiently-interested to delve into and make of it what they will in the interim.

Josh could then follow up at some point in the future with a 'proper' release of the code in whatever state he feels is acceptable, and that he is potentially (although not not necessarily) willing to answer questions about.

That possibly goes against every instinct that we've seen from Josh over the years, but I still think it would be a good move.

Employee 2-4601 wrote: ↑

Wed Jun 26, 2019 7:12 am

That possibly goes against every instinct that we've seen from Josh over the years, but I still think it would be a good move.

Some would say that Josh's instincts over the years have not exactly served him or the project well…

Indeed, which is why I hope he reads this all as well meaning advice and not demands on his time. I have faith in the community. Give us a chance to help polish things and make the LT code-base shine.

I got an email reply from Josh yesterday. The content of the message was mixed, some of it being directly to me/personal, and other parts related to LT/the forum, so I'm going to detail what he said regarding the LT stuff.


First, and what makes me feel the most relieved: The forums aren't going away! Josh has it set up so that we (I? Surely I wasn't the only one) don't have to worry about it anymore, and it's paid for. From what I understand, Josh managed to get the job he mentioned he was angling for earlier this year. He said that it keeps him very busy, but he seems happy with it.

Regarding the source code: In his words, "I've already uploaded everything to a private GitHub repo and have been working on it when I have the time, trying to fix up the build process, dependencies, etc. to make sure people can actually use it (especially the engine). Sadly, it's taking a long time simply due to having a full-time job and working on relocation at the same time."

I did tell him in my reply that he doesn't need to bring presents every time he posts, and that we'd prefer hearing from him without presents over not hearing from him at all.

That’s nice.

Happy that he has a job and a good situation. This is the most important.
I still think he should release now because the cleaning up will never be finished (and we do fully understand why it is 3rd priority at best, but... point in case), while cleaning up in his own private fork to be release at a later time. Perhaps.

For the website, Talv, don’t worry, worst case anybody (myself included) could host for free and as long as there is a forward for the subdomain forums.ltheory.com, it can be any domain name. But if it is setup for long term, even better. Thanks to Josh for giving us this space!

Cool, thanks for sharing that info.

Thanks, Tal!

It sounds like you did your usual excellent job communicating the interests of the fans (of both Josh and LT) here to him... and I'm very happy to hear these forums are sticking around a while longer.

Also, yay for a steady job.

Looking forward to Release Day! (And of course it would be great to have Josh pop in here from time to time, just to say hi.)

Do we know what the job is? Are we allowed to know?

I hope it's exciting. For him.

Sometimes the best jobs are the ones that are not exciting. Stability and peace of mind are one reason why I code for the insurance industry rather than the game industry as my main gig. [I've been with the same company for over 18 years now.]

Just for fun, computer games still leads IT in turn-over rates.
https://business.linkedin.com/talent-so ... over-rates

KingMoo wrote: ↑

Mon Jul 01, 2019 8:07 am

Do we know what the job is? Are we allowed to know?

I hope it's exciting. For him.

Last thing he told us was along the lines of "a company that does a project similar to LT"

zircher wrote: ↑

Mon Jul 01, 2019 9:20 am

Sometimes the best jobs are the ones that are not exciting. Stability and peace of mind are one reason why I code for the insurance industry rather than the game industry as my main gig. [I've been with the same company for over 18 years now.]

Just for fun, computer games still leads IT in turn-over rates.
https://business.linkedin.com/talent-so ... over-rates

I would counter with: The job doesn't have to be in the games industry to be fun! If for example Josh also worked for the insurance industry and found that fun, I would be happy with that.

... not that I wouldn't be happy with his decisions... I just hope he's enjoying whatever it is he's doing.

It's rather disappointing that Josh doesn't post a bit more often. I too would be interested to know how he is and maybe a few words on his current circumstances as far as "employment" is concerned.

Trying not to be too nosy.

Cornflakes_91 wrote: ↑

Mon Jul 01, 2019 10:06 am

"a company that does a project similar to LT"

Hopefully one with a good project manager in oversight.

Can you ask Josh if his manager can explain "bus factor" to him? Since he doesn't seem to take backers seriously.

Wikipedia link for those following along: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bus_factor