worklogs

You know, the worklog feature on this site is one I always browse through when I visit (which is pretty much everyday). I enjoy reading about other dev's trials and errors as they develop their pet projects. And when I update my own worklog (from time to time), I try to make it at least a little interesting, easy to read and have a little meat to its bones, i.e. 2 paragraphs at least (but usually 5+).

The reason for that is that I'm trying to garner some interest in what I'm doing (Tank Universal) but also it's showing a little respect for anyone in the Blitz community who cares enough to click the link.

Which is why worklog entries such as the following irritate me;

http://www.blitzbasic.co.nz/logs/userlog.php?user=8985&log=564

Now I'm being unfair in picking on this coder's entry (and english might not be their first language), but these 1 line 'worklogs' that people put up are just a waste of time and bandwidth.

Grr.

He might have just made that worklog to get the worklog just made, so he can later elaborate on it.

I also always like reading people's worklogs, and it's a shame when they're so short.
I won't wbe interested in them unless they actually tell me what the project is about and all that :)

I doubt very much that many people ever read anybody elses worklog. Except if its Mark Sibleys of course.
Let's face it there's nothing very much exciting happening at the moment - no interesting projects on the horizon. Blitz3d is a product in decline and so is its userbase. BlitzMax is still struggling to emerge as its successor and is still far from being able to take over as the flagship product.
It would be interesting to know how much the Blitz community has dwindled and moved to other languages since BRL put all their eggs into the BlitzMax basket - and then hid them away.

I don't read worklogs, myself. Something about having to read them from bottom-to-top (opposite to forum posts) seems a bit odd, too. It doesn't help that I always find reading a chore, too. :)

Personaly I have found that talking about a project is detrimental to writing it, I therefore dont make and avoid reading worklogs - I am more interested in finished products, there's enough unfinished pipe dreams in the showcase as it is without seeking more. :)

Is the worklog with the monkey playing on piano still there? I love that one :)

My opinion on worklogs are, why bother talking about it when you could actually be doing it.

I don't read the worklogs. It could be interesting on a really hot project I'm interested in ... but there aren't many of those.

I keep a To Do list for games I'm working on and a spreadsheet diary that breaks down my time into different units for analysis (this is very quick to use and thus doesn't waste much time and the info is invaluable) and in theory could post these but who cares. I'm with the others who say it's a waste of time, you should be coding. Mind you, and I'm fully aware this applies to myself, you shouldn't really be reading or posting fluff on the forums, only code/business related stuff to your own project. This will max out coding time, but this would also mean you don't give much back to the community in terms of help.

The Gerball worklog was really interesting.
http://www.blitzbasic.com/logs/userlog.php?user=6&log=212
It gave a clear view of steady progress from rough demo to finished game. I keep looking to it for inspiration on my own projects. All the other worklogs are pretty meh.

As for people saying that worklogs take time away that should be spent coding, note that taking breaks to step back and take stock of the project (what's been done, what needs done next, how reality is comparing to the plan, etc.) is useful, possibly even vital, for any extended project. Writing worklogs as you go serves the same purpose as a post mortem when you're done; it forces you to pause and examine how things are progressing.

jhocking: Good point about stepping back, but that's why I keep a To Do list that I totally review evey sub-version and re-prioritise, plus I think about the current project I'm on nearly the time when away from the PC.

My best ideas/solutions invariably come to me when I'm nowhere near a PC. Sat at the keyboard with that cursor flashing impatiently for you to type something just adds to the stress/frustration, I think. :P

coder's block. I often solve code problems in bed (instead of sleeping) or when removing another kind of more personal blockage (for clarity as one of you seemed to think I meant something rude, I meant going for a poo OK)

double post.

It's kind of depressing reading some of the replies here;

'Let's face it there's nothing very much exciting happening at the moment '

'BRL put all their eggs into the BlitzMax basket - and then hid them away.'

'Something about having to read them from bottom-to-top '

'why bother talking about it when you could actually be doing it.'

or Grey Alien telling us he gets his best ideas while (presumably), jerking off.

Maybe Halo was right about this community...

MadJack: omg, do I need to clarify I meant sitting on the toilet (not jerking off!), for god sake lol :-)

Does anybody read the worklog of my sideproject (in my sig) ?

:(

Lenn: uh, no I don't.

jerk!



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To non-sensical humourless mods: This was a joke. Grey Alien is a cool cat who wont get offended and will take this very lightly in context with his previous falling out of context. So dont bloody touch my post!