u/AxeForge

Earlier I made a post asking why people choose to use or don't use an IDE. I'm glad I got a lot of feedback on it and didn't start a new holy war.

But now I realize I should've been more specific. For big projects, why don't you use an IDE? As a 34 year old game programmer, I learned programming first with an IDE, code blocks and then visual studio.

I've tried doing vim, which is really good and fast in its own right, but I didn't want to deal with the learning curve. So then I went to sublime text, which again is really good and fast. But having to build your own workflow before you can even get started on the project itself.

I program my own game engine and games, which are pretty big projects. The tools that an IDE gives (Clion in my case) are just indispensable to me. Although I will say I have moments where it feels like it gets in my way.

I've tried using a text editor with just the command line and for the most part isn't wasn't so bad until my game engine got big enough. Then I switched to Clion because it just handles so much more for big projects. Biggest thing is a visual debugger and easy refactoring that's C/C++ specific. Not to mention everything is setup out of the box.

I'm curious about other's reasons for using or not using an IDE.

There are times where I feel autocomplete isn't that helpful. But most of the time I find it indispensable. I'm curious about how others use or don't use it.

Title says it all, what are your reasons for choosing linux over windows for gaming?

Atm I focus on PvP in warcraft 3 and starcraft 2. I made a thread before asking about skirmish vs AI compared to other ways to play. A lot of people that responded viewed PvP as too much stress and hate having to always do meta builds.

My question broken down into more detail:

- Why do you feel you have to play meta? Often people forget that the meta is based on what most players consider the most consistent performing way to play. That doesn't stop you from trying other strategies. Meta's change all the time even without balance patches.

- Getting rushed/harassed early on is a complaint I hear often. But if there is no possibility to rush, then every game is just the FFA playstyle of "build up for 30+min and then A move". That would get stale after awhile. Instead of hating rushing why not adjust your strategy to punish rush/harass?

Things that make me not enjoy PvP at times:

Seeing the same strategies over and over again. I love WC3 with all my heart, it was the first RTS I played and got me hooked into the genre and blizzard in general. But for the love of god, I'm tired of seeing "hero harass->fast tech->pray tech wins" every god damn game. The more I see this, the more it feels like tier 1 doesn't even exist.

I see it a lot when I watch some B2W vods. I see it the most when just playing ladder, whether its w3c ladder or bnet ladder. Its at the point now where if I see a thumbnail for a vod and I see BM, DH or DK first, I look for another vod.

Then there's artificial skill checks. I understand that skill expression is a huge part of the game, especially PvP games. I play fighting games a lot so I get it. But some checks in RTS just feel artificial. For example, starcraft 2 is often talked about as if its a macro game. Honestly it feels like a micro game.

Stimming marines and marauders so they can deal optimal damage. Boosting medivacs for optimal drop timings. Hitting inject timings with queens with 5+ bases. Things like that make me wonder "did they think players (not just PvP players) would enjoy executing this or did they think it would be better for esports viewership?"

There are people who only play for PvP. There are those who only play for the campaign. But what about those who play skirmish vs AI? I'm curious what keeps it fun for you.

For me, I currently play for PvP and sometimes campaign. I like skirmish vs AI a lot more than campaign since I get to play with all the units available.

The only problem I have with skirmish vs AI is that I almost always win vs the AI. So it doesn't feel challenging. This makes going against the AI very dull.