Achilles Heel of Livecode

[Curry Kenworthy]

Rick:

 > Try writing a serious arcade game with LiveCode.
 > Sorry but it just isn’t up to the task as it isn’t
 > fast enough.

That contains both true and false elements.

True: LC is FAR too slow, and despite some progress lately in partially 
getting back to where it was, still needs a serious ongoing effort to 
finish that and then get to where it should be.

(Of course such efforts may be hampered by even more fundamental needs 
such as a sustainable net level of bugs and quality/reliability. Hasty 
code can be very expensive, and doubly so in the long run.)

False: Because indeed you can. It's up to the coder.

Games tend to push the limits of hardware and/or software, so developing 
games is a great way to build skills that many people lack. Not being 
able to write an arcade game with LiveCode means there is a big 
opportunity to learn and experience more about game design methods and 
history. Including amazing games on some very limited platforms. I think 
every coder should have some experience on a system with limited speed 
and memory; otherwise people are undisciplined and it's difficult to 
hone technique.

Think optimization x 10, plus cunning choices. What we see in games 
isn't all just brute strength with first-thought design and code. I've 
already demo'd LC arcade game on video at least once, on a budget PC, so 
there's no question. And published games in the past. Too busy keeping 
up with other work and LC bugs to finish a new game lately, but it's not 
hard. FPS won't be the strongest point for anything LC, but that's why 
it's called game DESIGN and not "today it rained; ah yes, and also a 
game happened." Yes, including arcade.

But I agree - LC is too slow, and it impacts what people can do with it. 
Games are a good example, but actually the least of my concerns in that 
regard!

 > I know the system took a big hit with Unicode

Not just Unicode. The system took a big hit with 7, period. A lot of 
code in a short time with a lot of problems. In many areas; speed is 
only one. Still devoting a large portion of my life to help find, 
report, and workaround 7-9 bugs and changes, yes including slowdowns, 
but many other issues and also some new limitations. A solid IDE would 
help too.

Previously donated many hours of my time and invested my sales proceeds 
back to cover time helping to debug 7 and 8. Client deadlines first, so 
I still haven't gotten some my own products fully in line yet with all 
of LC's 7-9 bugs, changes, and limits. LC is a fast-moving target in 
terms of bugs and breaking changes, if not in terms of FPS! Try that for 
a real-life arcade game shoot-em-up. :)

Anyway, don't let that dampen the pre-Christmas cheer:

A) Peace on earth and Goodwill toward men, hopefully. B) Some good LC 
features and updates in the last few years. C) Some LC speed 
improvements during 9. Half-way toward where it used to be in 6, 
although even that was way behind JS for instance. D) Some good bug 
fixes; just need to realize the reality of bug sustainability vs team 
coder hours and budget, and therefore embrace higher quality. E) 
Positivi-tay - Bugs? What bugs? See no evil, speak no evil. J/K of 
course. F) Yes, you can make games, fast LCS utilities, good animations, 
and other cool stuff in LCS if you hone skills and practice code 
discipline and improvement. This is proven fact, not opinion. G) I (and 
others) help people achieve such things when they have problems. LC 
users are releasing amazing products. H) There are other great things in 
the works - can't say more at this time.

Best wishes,

Curry Kenworthy

Custom Software Development
"Better Methods, Better Results"
LiveCode Training and Consulting
http://livecodeconsulting.com/