Counting in deca-heximal



  • List of constants used in logging. When a new one is added, pick the next available number. Sadly, it seems not all of my colleagues can count...

    There are plenty of examples like this:

    #define LOG_BREAD_IS_STALE  0x0009

    #define LOG_KNIFE_IS_DIRTY  0x0010

    A bit sad, but an easy mistake to make.

    This one though - what is this I don't even.

    #define LOG_FLY_IN_SOUP  0x009F

    #define LOG_SOUP_IS_COLD  0x0100

     

    sigh.



  • What's stopping your colleagues from using a number system they ACTUALLY UNDERSTAND, like plain decimal?

    ED: Quoting the entire OP makes ALL the snow yellow.  Love, BTK



  • @scruff said:

    Sadly, it seems not all of my colleagues can count...
     

    Is he from Detroit?

    :3



  • @The_Assimilator said:

    What's stopping your colleagues from using a number system they ACTUALLY UNDERSTAND, like plain decimal?
     

    The idea that hex is required by some sort of Rule & Law, and the inability to recognize that they're doing it wrong.



  • If the constants aren't bit masks, what's the point of defining them in hex?



  • @dhromed said:

    @The_Assimilator said:

    What's stopping your colleagues from using a number system they ACTUALLY UNDERSTAND, like plain decimal?
     

    The idea that hex is required by some sort of Rule & Law, and the inability to recognize that they're doing it wrong.

     

     

    heh heh. It's probably the same reason that all the code's in C. Hey, it's worked for 20 years, why change it now?

    I don't know why we always use hex for this sort of thing, but there you go. But don't think it's unreasonable to expect C devs should recognise hex when they see it.



  • @dhromed said:

    @scruff said:

    Sadly, it seems not all of my colleagues can count...
     

    Is he from Detroit?

    Hee wint 2 pub lick skool.

     



  • @scruff said:

    But don't think it's unreasonable to expect C devs should recognise hex when they see it.

    I consider knowing hex a prerequisite for any sort of dev. The fact that your coworkers are working in a lower-level language like C and don't know hex makes me worry for the quality of your codebase. After all, if they can't do something as simple as count correctly, would you really trust them to write complex code that allocates memory and pointers, and cleans up properly after itself without leaking?

    Also, I LIKE making ALL the snow yellow, okay? It scars kids for life and keeps them off my lawn as a bonus, what more could a misanthrope want?



  • @The_Assimilator said:

    The fact that your coworkers are working in a lower-level language like C and don't know hex makes me worry for the quality of your codebase.
    If they don't get hex, it's a fair bet that they don't get binary either, since one is really just a shorthand for the other.



  • @The_Assimilator said:

    What's stopping your colleagues from using a number system they ACTUALLY UNDERSTAND, like plain decimal?

    I'm betting because it's because they couldn't figure out why the compiler hated "decimal" numbers like 0008 and 0009.



  •  #define CANNOT_GET_YE_FLASK  0xFFFF



  • @scruff said:

    List of constants used in logging. When a new one is added, pick the next available number. Sadly, it seems not all of my colleagues can count...

    There are plenty of examples like this:

    #define LOG_BREAD_IS_STALE  0x0009

    #define LOG_KNIFE_IS_DIRTY  0x0010

    A bit sad, but an easy mistake to make.

    This one though - what is this I don't even.

    #define LOG_FLY_IN_SOUP  0x009F

    #define LOG_SOUP_IS_COLD  0x0100

     

    sigh.

     

     

    bad - but i would rate the definition macro names as much as a WTF

     



  • @The_Assimilator said:

    @scruff said:

    But don't think it's unreasonable to expect C devs should recognise hex when they see it.

    I consider knowing hex a prerequisite for any sort of dev. The fact that your coworkers are working in a lower-level language like C and don't know hex makes me worry for the quality of your codebase. After all, if they can't do something as simple as count correctly, would you really trust them to write complex code that allocates memory and pointers, and cleans up properly after itself without leaking?

    Also, I LIKE making ALL the snow yellow, okay? It scars kids for life and keeps them off my lawn as a bonus, what more could a misanthrope want?

     

    I can't read or write hex without some kind of tool (calculator), simply because my brain somehow refuses to do it. I'm pretty good at math in general, and have really tried to pick up hex, but for some strange reason I'm unable to simply "read" hex most of the time. Just like some people are dislectic (spelling? :P). It's not that bad if a developer can't read or write hex. And it's not used that much anyway, except for low-level stuff and people who think they're cool.

     

    @Helix said:

    @scruff said:

    (...)

     

     

    bad - but i would rate the definition macro names as much as a WTF

     

     

    Read his post's tags.

     

     



  • @pbean said:

    It's not that bad if a developer can't read or write hex.
     

    Yes, but you do understand it, right?

    You wouldn't write code like the above?

    Then you're ok.

    Quick! What comes after F9?



  • @dhromed said:

    Quick! What comes after F9?

    Sweet nothing, I think.


  • ♿ (Parody)

    @dhromed said:

    Quick! What comes after F9?

    My keyboard says F10, but I wouldn't presume on non-USA keyboard layouts.



  • @dhromed said:

    @pbean said:

    It's not that bad if a developer can't read or write hex.
     

    Yes, but you do understand it, right?

    You wouldn't write code like the above?

    Then you're ok.

     

    Ah right, thanks!

    @dhromed said:


    Quick! What comes after F9?

     

    Ah.. now... after F9 comes F10, probably. But maybe you mean 0xF9. After that comes 0x00, or integer overflow. Or 0xFF if you're using one of those fancy-pancy modern-day useless intger types. Or oblivion.

    I'm going with oblivion.

     



  • @pbean said:

    I'm going with oblivion.

    Skyrim's coming out in just a few months, maybe you should hold on until then.



  • Developers not knowing hex is a cardinal sin. We actually don't employ people who can't count from 0 to 1F in the interview (plus we usually throw in things like "Assuming you are using a 6-bit integer, what value comes after 63 decimal?")



  • I love and hate these boards, not sure where the line between trolling and genuine ignorance is...

    @pbean said:

    But maybe you mean 0xF9. After that comes 0x00, or integer overflow. Or 0xFF if you're using one of those fancy-pancy modern-day useless intger types. Or oblivion.

    I'm going with oblivion.



  •  @blakeyrat said:

    @pbean said:
    I'm going with oblivion.

    Skyrim's coming out in just a few months, maybe you should hold on until then.

    Or you could wait for a truly epic game like Mass Effect 3.



  • @hoodaticus said:

    Or you could wait for a truly epic game like Mass Effect 3.

    Considering how much the quality dropped between ME and ME2, ME3 is going to be like the "Plan 9 from Outer Space" of video games. A story that makes less sense and has more plot holes than ME2 is going to be hard to pull off, but I'm sure they'll manage.



  • Wow - I thought the quality went way up in ME2.  No more hopping in the Kodiak/gerbil, dropping in planetside/entering treadmill, and driving/running till you receive the anomaly/pellet.  The planet scanning sucks though...

    I found ME2 epic, emotionally rivetting - I teared up when the collector ship got blown to bits.  The music, scenery, writing, characters - they just all came together perfectly.

    Try playing ME2 as a Vanguard with maxed out Charge and a Krogan shotgun.  Imagine a bunch of badasses in a huge industrial complex in front of you and a sniper's perch in the rear about 50 feet off the ground.  You can target the snipers with Charge and warp across the field instantly into their face, then blast them with your shotgun and suddenly you've got a sniper's perch in the rear of the enemy.

    It can take minutes for the rest of your squad to catch up to you.

    Unlike all other classes, Vanguard doesn't spend most of the game hiding behind cover.  You go to cover just long enough to select your next victim, warp into his face, blast him with the shotgun at point blank, then take [i]his[/i] cover, pick your next target, and repeat.  You dance around the battlefield like Mohammed Ali.



  • @hoodaticus said:

    Unlike all other classes, Vanguard doesn't spend most of the game hiding behind cover.  You go to cover just long enough to select your next victim, warp into his face, blast him with the shotgun at point blank, then take his cover, pick your next target, and repeat.  You dance around the battlefield like Mohammed Ali.

    Or a really aggressive hermit crab!



  • @Xyro said:

    @hoodaticus said:
    You dance around the battlefield like Mohammed Ali.

    Or a really aggressive hermit crab!

    Why is that so funny!  Nice!



  • @hoodaticus said:

    Wow - I thought the quality went way up in ME2. No more hopping in the Kodiak/gerbil, dropping in planetside/entering treadmill, and driving/running till you receive the anomaly/pellet. The planet scanning sucks though...

    Don't get me wrong, the gameplay (other than the planet scanning-- what the fuck were they thinking shipping that?) wasn't a problem. Except a couple instances where they threw away perfectly good game mechanics in favor of making the game more stereotypical. Spoilers may follow:

    Ok so the galaxy switches from micro-projectiles to disposible heat-sink weapons, because they're "better." Problems: 1) they're not better actually. 2) The entire galaxy switches every single weapon in two years? Even on "lost" Cerberus projects that haven't been heard from in decades? What's the message there from the developers? "We're willing to completely throw our extensive world-building into the trash and introduce dozens of plot holes to make the game play more like Halo?" Is that the message you want to hear? Fuck that.

    They can bring Shepard back from the dead, but they can't fix Joker's bum leg? They didn't even offer to? Seriously? There's no dialog tree option to tell Cerberus "go fuck yourself" and go back to the council, which is frankly the only action anybody would ever want to take-- Cerberus was trying to kill you only days before you wake up in their station! Where does the replacement Normandy come from, when it's stated in the first game that it's so unique and so costly that the entire galactic government can only afford to build one? The Council doesn't believe in the Reavers and thus refuses to build defenses, ok... but you find a Reaver ship. Why don't you show them it? Plus, how did Cerberus know where to find it? Why didn't Cerberus tell the Council about it? (Surreptitiously, of course.) When you find the mass relay the reavers use to enter our part of the galaxy, why not just tow it into a star or otherwise dispose of it? Where exactly are your main characters going when they mysteriously and randomly leave the ship so it can be captured? Someplace so important that they all cram into a teeny shuttle instead of just taking the whole Normandy there? Why does Joker, who is ostensibly a "good pilot", consistently fly into giant laser beams? Beams that are mounted on gigantic ships and can't be aimed?

    And what the fuck was with Miranda? Why did the developers love her so much, when she's the worst character ever? Boobs? Was that the reason? God Miranda was the worst.

    Seriously the game was sunk from the very first dialog. None of the dialog options are in-character with the Shepard from the previous game. None of them. And it gets worse from there.

    (Some of the companion loyalty quests are actually pretty good, but they deserved to be attached to a better-written main quest. Because the writing on the main quest sucked. Sucked on toast.)



  •  I found ME2 unappealing.

    The best camel toe on a 3D character ever could not stop me from quitting the game before finishing the demo.

    Eh.

    Tastes.


  • Garbage Person

     I have way better things to do than to answer this, but I feel the need to.

    @blakeyrat said:

    Ok so the galaxy switches from micro-projectiles to disposible heat-sink weapons, because they're "better." Problems: 1) they're not better actually. 2) The entire galaxy switches every single weapon in two years? Even on "lost" Cerberus projects that haven't been heard from in decades?
    Yes. This is stupid. If they hadn't mentioned it, it would be quite alright because there's a general rule that if you think you can improve the way a sequel plays by changing the mechanics, by all means, change the mechanics. This was totally a positive change in playability - but the idiots made the decision to mention it in-universe and try to fob off a totally impractical story on us.

    @blakeyrat said:

    They can bring Shepard back from the dead, but they can't fix Joker's bum leg? They didn't even offer to? Seriously?
    "Yo, we'll fix your stupid cripple self if you keep your boss towing the party line and fly this shady-assed ship around."

    @blakeyrat said:

    There's no dialog tree option to tell Cerberus "go fuck yourself" and go back to the council, which is frankly the only action anybody would ever want to take-- Cerberus was trying to kill you only days before you wake up in their station!
    Agreed. Frankly, though, the council is made of dick and fuck, so in my opinion it's either go privateering or pretend to humor Cerberus. My mental roleplaying favored the latter option.

    @blakeyrat said:

    Where does the replacement Normandy come from, when it's stated in the first game that it's so unique and so costly that the entire galactic government can only afford to build one?
    The inefficiencies of the military-industrial complex.

    @blakeyrat said:

    The Council doesn't believe in the Reavers and thus refuses to build defenses, ok... but you find a Reaver ship. Why don't you show them it?
    Council is dicks. They'd look at it and say "Look, it's dead! Someone else already killed them all! Job done."

    @blakeyrat said:

    Plus, how did Cerberus know where to find it?
    Given the arsetastic political situation, I'm sure some university found it and never received funding to look into it.

    @blakeyrat said:

    Why didn't Cerberus tell the Council about it?
    Related to the above, they probably knew already on some other level.

    @blakeyrat said:

    When you find the mass relay the reavers use to enter our part of the galaxy, why not just tow it into a star or otherwise dispose of it?
    The in-game encyclopedia in one of the games mentions the mass relays being built out of "fuck if we know but it's indestructible" and IIRC, they're also somehow fixed immovably to a specific point in space.

    @blakeyrat said:

    Where exactly are your main characters going when they mysteriously and randomly leave the ship so it can be captured? Someplace so important that they all cram into a teeny shuttle instead of just taking the whole Normandy there?
    Lunchtime staff meeting at an indie joint without a big enough parking lot for the whole ship.

    @blakeyrat said:

    Why does Joker, who is ostensibly a "good pilot", consistently fly into giant laser beams? Beams that are mounted on gigantic ships and can't be aimed?
    I am not convinced those things can't be aimed. It would be the worst design decision EVER to have a fixed position laser emitter.

    @blakeyrat said:

    And what the fuck was with Miranda? Why did the developers love her so much, when she's the worst character ever? Boobs? Was that the reason? God Miranda was the worst.
    Gotta play up Male Shepard's romantic interests. Male Shepard is voice acted by the worst VA ever, by the way.

    @blakeyrat said:

    Seriously the game was sunk from the very first dialog. None of the dialog options are in-character with the Shepard from the previous game. None of them. And it gets worse from there.
    That's probably because you unconsciously role played hardass-motherfucker in the first game (own up to it - punching the news reporter was the greatest moment in gaming history), rather than naive idiot the developers seem to have expected.

    @blakeyrat said:

    (Some of the companion loyalty quests are actually pretty good, but they deserved to be attached to a better-written main quest. Because the writing on the main quest sucked. Sucked on toast.)
    I could not possibly agree more.

     

     

     

     

     



  • @Weng said:

    Yes. This is stupid. If they hadn't mentioned it, it would be quite alright because there's a general rule that if you think you can improve the way a sequel plays by changing the mechanics, by all means, change the mechanics. This was totally a positive change in playability - but the idiots made the decision to mention it in-universe and try to fob off a totally impractical story on us.

    Yeah, but the only reason for the change was to make to play more like Halo. I find that disgusting... someone already made Halo. (Did you see the trailer for Mass Effect 3? They ramp the Halo-stealing to the next level.)

    @Weng said:

    The in-game encyclopedia in one of the games mentions the mass relays being built out of "fuck if we know but it's indestructible" and IIRC, they're also somehow fixed immovably to a specific point in space.

    Then just drag something heavy where it outputs. Come out of warp, squished into a fine paste against a rock.

    @Weng said:

    Gotta play up Male Shepard's romantic interests. Male Shepard is voice acted by the worst VA ever, by the way.

    Yeah I mentioned that in the tags. Should have put it in the text I guess.

    And Miranda is a love interest!? God. Anybody in tried to romance Miranda should be put in a straightjacket and taken to a psych hospital for evaluation. I think it's safe to say the vast majority of players were trying to get her killed-off during the end-game. (Something which, BTW, is nearly impossible... she is the developers' personal Mary Sue character.)

    @Weng said:

    @blakeyrat said:

    (Some of the companion loyalty quests are actually pretty good, but they deserved to be attached to a better-written main quest. Because the writing on the main quest sucked. Sucked on toast.)
    I could not possibly agree more.

    Thank you for the support! I'm so sick of people talking up that shitty-ass game that makes no sense.



  • @blakeyrat said:

    Ok so the galaxy switches from micro-projectiles to disposible heat-sink weapons, because they're "better." Problems: 1) they're not better actually. 2) The entire galaxy switches every single weapon in two years? Even on "lost" Cerberus projects that haven't been heard from in decades? What's the message there from the developers? "We're willing to completely throw our extensive world-building into the trash and introduce dozens of plot holes to make the game play more like Halo?" Is that the message you want to hear? Fuck that.

    This, plus that they more or less completely ditched the whole upgrade/inventory system. I liked the different weapon/ammo upgrades from ME1. (Granted the ME1 inventory-UI sucked, but still..)

    My other peeve is the over-generalized "do-shit" button. I realize that the number of available buttons is somewhat limited on console controllers, but putting "leave-cover-and-retreat" and "vault-over-cover-right-into-the-front-of-the-huge-attacking-robot-thing" on the same button is a bad idea.


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