How to get feedback on code for a whole project.

[thin mural]

I’m a mediocre programmer and I have got a fair way through a game but now it’s getting a little more complex and I’m struggling to figure out why I am having various bugs. I would like to reach out for help but I find that it isn’t as simple as looking at one script. Todays issue is looking at a platform script that is built on a ray cast controller that gets a reference to a player script that is also calling a ray cast controller , and I look through my code for hours and it all looks correct and I load my project on a much earlier version of Unity which works. The code in both is the same but reading I find that the way mid frame updates has been optimised now means that the colliders are not updated multiple times per frame which is causing discrepancies between objects. … so I figure all this out which takes me all day only not to know how to move forward. I find myself increasingly wanting a bit of assistance but feeling the problems are a little big to pop a screenshot on.

I would love a mentor or even paid help to look over my code but I don’t want to hand my entire project over to people. It is too complex for ai to get a handle on the issues. How do the more intermediate users get feedback and help when you are stuck with an issue? And is it normal to be struggling with bugs for a week of evenings?

Thanks for reading my rant , I’d love to hear how you handle these types of issues. L

[worldly badge]

If the system youre trying to get feedback on isnt a ton of code, sometimes people in here would be willing to go through a few files to point out things they'd do instead. If its about debugging an issue, you should always try narrowing down the issue as far as you can. Hopefully to the point of knowing which line has the issue even if you dont know what the issue is.
What youre describing in the middle is really vague though and doesnt make sense so its hard to suggest anything there.

Maybe there is paid help out there for this, but you'd really be gambling on the person not wasting your time. Also youll find any of these kind of consulting services to be extremely expensive per hour. Not worth doing when they'll point out things that a lot of people here could, or you could even find the same information online.

One unfortunate truth here is that you may just lack experience and need more of it. It shouldn't be common to get stuck on a bug for a week straight

[storm crag]

Well, one thing that I can point out is that solving issues by "just looking at the code" is a very beginner thing to do. What you need to do is debug, which might involve logging, stepping through the code with a debugger, debug visualizations, simulated issue reproduction, or any combination of these things. No intermediate+ developer solved issues by just "looking at the code", especially not in a complex project.

[broken whale]

If you put it up on Github I can take a look and see if anything immediately jumps out as error prone

[thin mural]

Hi @worldly badge, I’ll try post my work on here and see if I can get assistance but it might fall into the “ton of code” category. The middle section was intentionally vague I was more trying to describe my experience rather than the individual issue. I do lack experience in professional programming I was a 3D artist in AAA for a long time, I have done some crash courses and online courses. I’ve developed multiple projects and have published games but nothing too complex. And working on projects alone is not the same as working in a professional environment.
Thanks for the response.

[worldly badge]

if the whole thing is just about getting stuck on bugs, it doesn't matter if you're working alone or in a professional environment. You can learn debugging skills yourself all the same. Being able to narrow down why a bug is happening is a major skill which you learn through experience.
I do find it vague as for what you're actually struggling with. Theres a difference of being stuck with not knowing how to properly move objects vs being stuck trying to get a large base system working in any use case you need

[thin mural]

@worldly badge Im asking how do more experienced programmers narrow down more complex problems as I lack the experience. And where do you get help when stuck with an issue when working alone. And probably venting a little with being stuck.

@storm crag I definitely struggle with a structured way of debugging problems and just reading your response highlights that to me. 👍

[thin mural]

Hiya @broken whale I think I’ll take you up on the offer (when I get back from work) I’ll drop you a dm

[worldly badge]

people dont dm in the server, just send the link and at least more people can see it to provide feedback. If you're concerned with people stealing the code, well the code would clearly have bugs 🙂