HELPP, Lua stage

[zenith linden]

Sup, I wanted to ask something seriously.

How did you more experienced Roblox scripters actually get to the level you’re at?

I’ve been scripting for around 7 months properly, but I’ve been on and off with Roblox scripting for the past 4 years. I understand things like OOP, metatables, modules, architecture ideas, and I’ve mainly been focusing on combat systems. I’ve made basic combat, combo logic, hitbox stuff, animation markers, posture-style systems, some movement/camera ideas, and small systems here and there.

But honestly, I still feel like I don’t have much real game making experience.

Most of my time has gone into combat and movement. I haven’t really made things like a proper shop system, AI system, quest system, inventory, progression, NPCs, or a full gameplay loop. Recently I only just found out about state machines, and it made me realize there are probably a lot of core concepts and systems I haven’t properly learned yet.

When I’m programming, I still find myself needing to ask ChatGPT a lot, especially when I’m trying to figure out what subsystem I should even make next, how combat should be structured, or how everything should connect cleanly.

I’m wondering if this is a normal stage to be at, or if I’m missing something obvious. Is there a “secret” to improving, or is it really just building more complete projects and learning through pain?

For anyone who has been through this stage, what did you actually do to break past it?

Did you keep remaking combat until it got better, or did you force yourself to make full games/smaller systems outside your comfort zone?

I’m not looking for sugarcoating. I kind of need a reality check and some honest advice on what I should do.

[limpid jewel]

if you want to become better at making games the easiest way to do so is to learn game design and analyze what makes games of your ‘genre’ click tbh, i’ve been making games for a while but a lot of my older projects kinda suck

and i was in the same boat as you where i was an intermediate programmer but had never really made anything complex, in my opinion you should just try creating the systems you need in a way that works, i found it was easy to make a full on factory game/terraformation simulator/physics simulation despite the simplicity of my prior projects

honestly becoming better at programming doesn’t really matter beyond a certain point for roblox game development, i wouldn’t worry about missing some big secret to game development, just focus on filling in your missing areas and learning game design

if you try to make something complex, i think you’ll find that it’s well within your realm of possibility. or you’ll realize that you missed the most obvious and easiest solution because you were so tunnel visioned into another one, but still.

i mostly improved through productive struggle and learning algorithms, beyond just getting a grasp of what you can do with a language.

[calm glade]

the on and off time period is all you need to understand

if you're like me scripting is fun sometimes, hard sometimes, a means to an end sometimes.

the people you speak of basically adapted to programming at a young age or early on in their life or maybe just talented

not to mention most people here are old and never used ai in their grinding phase

no crutches, just their brain firing neurons, pure focus.

[raw meteor]

just code more

[nocturne hound]

Scripting is only 1 part of game development

[potent schooner]

idk you kinda have to master all of them by yourself if youre alone

[teal veldt]

the secret is to make bad code

and make bad games

so later when you figure out they're bad, you know why it's bad

[teal veldt]

I still find myself needing to ask ChatGPT a lot, especially when I’m trying to figure out what subsystem I should even make next, how combat should be structured, or how everything should connect cleanly.
that's your problem. you're offloading the most important part of programming onto chatgpt because you want to get it perfect and correct the first time.

You need to accept you will not get it perfect and correct the first time.

that's the secret

you're welcome

make bad games

coz right now, you don't know if what you're making is good or bad unless chatgpt tells you so.

but chatgpt doesn't know either, it's just telling you what you want to hear.

so figure out for yourself why things are bad

only then will you become a real programmer.

[stoic raft]

lucky me

i use AI to do boring things