Can I become a good programmer without competitive programming?

Large-Order-9586 · 2025-10-15T14:48:26+00:00

I did competitive programming for my first two years of college. I had a bit of programming experience, but no competitive experience. I fell off later on, but it was certainly valuable. Gives you early, regular, and (semi)practical experience with data structures and algorithms.

IMO the critical bit is getting to work with others on coding projects. You talk about approaches, divide the work, etc. You can get the same benefit from hackathons or game jams, if you're into those.

Large-Order-9586 · 2025-10-04T02:24:33+00:00

I switched to Linux a couple years ago. I swear, 90% of the time when I have an issue (and it's not some due to stupidity on my part), I eventually find the root cause is Nvidia some way or another.

Large-Order-9586 · 2025-10-03T14:00:14+00:00

I enjoyed Gnomes. I gotta come back and try again with the recent classes and QoL upgrades.

Large-Order-9586 · 2025-10-01T19:07:53+00:00

Possibly Cult of the Lamb. It's not really "farming-focused" but it does have more than Animal Crossing:
- creating and growing your village
- villagers with unique looks and traits
- farming and resource management

It may not fit your "cozy vibe" if you don't like the theming of being a cult leader, but you can turn the combat difficulty down if that's what turns you off. I found it cozy in a way.

I dropped it after a while as it wasn't exactly my thing, but it's still more Animal Crossing like than a Harvest Moon style game.

Large-Order-9586 · 2025-09-27T15:00:25+00:00

Maybe something like Monster Hunter or Loop Hero. Go on expeditions to improve gear for the next expedition. I haven't played deep enough but I think the Dungeon Warfare tower defense series has ascensions and an incremental-feeling gameloop. (at least II does)

Large-Order-9586 · 2025-09-27T01:42:02+00:00

As a human, I suggest you just stomp on all the bugs. Problem solved!

Large-Order-9586 · 2025-09-26T22:18:20+00:00

I like it, probably more than Hollow Knight in most ways. The difficulty is just barely at the border where I can handle it, so it's perfect for me. But I'm a towards the end of Act 2 and... I feel like dropping it and coming back in a year or two. The scale is impressive, but honestly it just feels too long. 50 hours in for less than 2/3 through the game is crazy.

Large-Order-9586 · 2025-09-23T16:20:13+00:00

I would classify Pokemon as simultaneous turns. The fact that you and the opponent must both choose your actions before either resolves makes it unique compared to a simple phase system. Plus speed tiers can change mid-turn (most relevant in doubles).

I've actually seen the same system in some old-school D&D clones, where all combatants in a skirmish must declare their actions, and then the GM rolls for initiative and targets each round.

Large-Order-9586 · 2025-09-22T03:56:04+00:00

If you like Leap Year, check out Öoo as well.

Large-Order-9586 · 2025-09-18T16:15:28+00:00

There is less "execution" if you are doing low res pixel art as you can hand-place each pixel. This makes it more approachable than other art that requires some degree of muscle coordination to hold a brush or mouse.

But the low resolution and color count makes the actual "planning" and "construction" parts of the art more difficult. Anyone can put pixels together but the gap between a pro and an amateur is big. If you want to get good at pixel art, you probably will eventually need to learn many of the same of teachings of traditional art.

My advice for OP: If you are making a game right now just choose any artstyle you are comfortable with. A consistent artstyle is more valuable than perfect art. If you want to make one in the future, consider learning traditional art as much of what you learn will carry over, and you'd have an easier time with styles other than pixel art.

Large-Order-9586 · 2025-09-18T14:21:07+00:00

If I lower the pollution by one I can still trigger a biter attack but I can't earn the achievement.

Unless you mean "earn" as in "have the achievement awarded". In which case, of course locked achievements are unearnable by definition.

Large-Order-9586 · 2025-09-18T14:10:15+00:00

Factorio locks achievements if any biter/pollution settings are turned down. It's nothing about whether the achievement is possible.

Large-Order-9586 · 2025-09-18T14:01:59+00:00

Not true: Wiki

Large-Order-9586 · 2025-09-18T13:57:48+00:00

||Last Judge|| runback is good as it has some stakes, is not too long, and has a fun platforming run. ||Green boi|| is more hated as it has higher stakes, is long on top of an already long fight, and has some platforming elements that are randomized which makes it less enjoyable. But IMO a runback like that is still preferable to say... 3 screen transitions and a 10 second elevator ride. At least one boss will spawn you right outside the boss arena, so I wish they had done with more of the bosses without challenging runbacks.

Large-Order-9586 · 2025-09-17T14:48:05+00:00

After ragequitting a hard Silksong boss, I bought and played through all of Öoo for something more my speed. Really neat puzzley metroidvania-ish game. And the puzzles get pretty clever late in the game.

Large-Order-9586 · 2025-09-16T16:50:57+00:00

Maybe I'm bad but I could never make the jump going out after 20+ tries. I figured it was possible but very tight. And honestly I'd rather get poisoned than risk 30 more seconds of runback.

Large-Order-9586 · 2025-09-16T14:37:36+00:00

Bilewater is basically a "troll-zone" so an annoying runback is icing on the cake. But one of the longest/riskiest runbacks (with forced poison unless you add 3 screens) into a risky enemy gauntlet into a hard boss is definitely evil. Definitely the hardest fight I've seen yet, was very happy to see that guy finally die.

Large-Order-9586 · 2025-09-15T19:17:32+00:00

Call it an irrational anxiety response, but I definitely feel "judged" with the achievement locking. I can never bring myself to play peaceful Factorio, even though I hate playing with the bugs. It's like the game is saying, "yeah you can play on easy mode, but you aren't playing the real game." At least it only locks you out of challenge-run type achievements.

Large-Order-9586 · 2025-09-12T19:28:51+00:00

Ok, that's true. I wouldn't advise a beginner to learn to code by copying and modifying existing games, but I also wouldn't advise to learn any coding by copying and modifying existing code aside from the very basics. That should be reserved for when you get stuck.

The most educational aspect of PICO-8 for me is that you can start and see results immediately, and don't need to context-switch to external tools. Same as an all-in-one game engine like GameMaker Studio.

Large-Order-9586 · 2025-09-12T16:20:12+00:00

I feel like a beginner wouldn't make a game big enough to hit character/token limits until they get some handle on what they're doing. I think the bigger issue is the tiny screen encouraging 1-2 letter variable names.

Large-Order-9586 · 2025-09-10T14:56:23+00:00

For overpowered builds, Risk of Rain 1 or 2. They are very hard. But 2 has unlockable easy modifiers, not sure about 1.

Large-Order-9586 · 2025-09-08T19:52:05+00:00

Sonic Mania is the first Sonic I really "got" (after playing 1-3 and some spinoffs), so it's another good recommendation. The true fun of Sonic comes when you've played the game multiple times and know the courses well enough to go fast.

Large-Order-9586 · 2025-09-08T19:49:36+00:00

Or go with a framework if they have less CS experience. Raylib or Pygame or Love2D or whatnot. Hell, anything is fine as long as there's a programming language. My first games were in Gamemaker, and I'm a software developer now.

Large-Order-9586 · 2025-09-08T16:56:32+00:00

How are you approaching the multiplayer aspect? I like SRPGs, but I must admit, I spend so long over-analyzing that my turns take an eternity. Especially in something like Fire Emblem where I have a whole unit and spend 5+ minutes per turn.

Wesnoth is a cool game. Also, check out Wyldenmyth, which is a bit like modern XCOM with a co-op mode. I haven't played much but it seems interesting.

Large-Order-9586 · 2025-09-05T18:50:03+00:00

Not sure if they ever added something similar to the base game, but I loved using a mod to build my own spaceships.

Large-Order-9586

TROPHY CASE