What computer science theory should you know to script better?

[muted verge]

I'm curious what concepts of computer science should I learn to improve code and knowledge generally in Luau, I learnt some concepts and practiced a lot scripting, but overtime I realize that I might lack knowledge in programming to make code better or some solutions better, because I don't see issue with my code, but for other people it looks poorly and I genuinely can't always find necessity to apply things from other languages or general programming or math, especially OOP, I started to use AI recently to solve some problems because can't come up with complicated solutions myself at all and learning everything you see, just wastes a lot of time when you never apply it.

[shrewd flicker]

a chef doesn't cook every meal they know every time they cook something 🧑‍🍳

[muted verge]

Yeah, but should I try to learn how open source modules are made, like try to understand something from it, because I feel like my solutions are like cheap parody if I try to make something myself.

[shrewd flicker]

why do you think your solutions are like cheap parody 🦆

[muted verge]

Because at some point when code starts to get complicated, I just forget half of ideas and what I wanted to make, like getting lost in own code, commenting lines, giving everything names helps a bit, but I feel like I need sort of structure before I even start to make a script and thinking of structure I'm not always sure that it's gonna work.

and at the end of writing code it feels like you patching leaks that I just already forgot why was happening

[shrewd flicker]

ye thats normal code doesn't happen overnight there's a reason why updates and bugfixes and whatnot take so long in popular games

lots of little decisions to make

there is section of one of my scripts 40 lines long that is just 2 properties in a table and the rest is comments about research of these 2 properties

[muted verge]

I guess I should take track of ideas before I writing any code at all, because even when I try to make game, I write gdd's but at the end of writing them, you realise that game just won't be possible to make as you wanted. Same feeling being blind during coding, even if you are sure that your structure will work, just ruins whole concept, that you need to start over again.

[shrewd flicker]

there is no end to writing a gdd it constantly evolves over time

just go with what you have, roll with the mistakes and make something simple then move onto new project

if you only ever spend time at the start of a project, you won't ever get any experience finishing one. and it is a task on its own

there's a reason i say make +1jump/sec. i'm not saying half-ass it, i mean actually make the whole thing

datastore+leaderstats, level generation, contending with players and their character+humanoid + respawn cycle, sounds fx and guis and icons

most people just do while(true) for allplayers() do if humanoid then jumpheight+=player.leaderstats.wins end but you miss out on so much

wat if win multiplier

wat if equipment

start with the first thing, finish it, and then try adding features like this iteratively

[shrewd flicker]

do you really think you could do all that in a day? do you think anyone else could?

[muted verge]

No I would just burnout most likely, but I guess it takes much more time than I can imagine.

[shrewd flicker]

nah about a week

first time always takes longest and you always do it better second time

[shrewd flicker]

just dont expect to finish everything at once and take your time and you wont get burnt out

coding is much easier when they stuff you are making have real visible effects in-game instead of being invisible framework stuff

e.g you can jump heigher every frame, that code you can see

all the leaderstats and whatever datastores behind it to save/load you can't really see, but it is impactful when you first join and longevity of your game, it's not nearly as visible as you can jump higher every second.

vfx are similar - code is immediately, or very quickly visible

same for functioning gui

[muted verge]

I guess, I shouldn't try make all at once and make much longer deadlines for myself, just I feel like if I won't predict things from start I'll make mistakes later and it will be much more difficult to work, otherwise if I had some emergency button. Fact that I start to use AI, because can't fix issues, saddens me more, that I might just lack skills to be scripter.

[shrewd flicker]

indeed, no one can do everything at once, it takes time and work.