I guess it's simple: they have world-class engineers behind it. Of the smartest people in tech, that truly understand their craft. That, and a broad, open community.
It's often a conversation I have with people looking to get into software development. Often they'll aim for video games or something like that but I often warn them that it might not be nearly as cool as they imagine. You're more likely to end up scripting crappy menu systems than being the next Carmack.
On the other hand some of the most interesting pieces of software I've written were for very unsexy industrial applications. And I actually have good working conditions unlike people working in the videogame industry apparently.
Often they'll aim for video games or something like that
but I often warn them that it might not be nearly as cool
as they imagine. You're more likely to end up scripting
crappy menu systems than being the next Carmack.
I enjoy lots of different areas of it [programming]...
I'm taking a great deal of enjoyment writing device
drivers for Linux. I could also be having a good time
writing a database manager or something because there
are always interesting problems.Seems afterwards quite logical and clever considering the turn based gameplay.
We might do the same type of work on a proprietary database, but that would lack the community/cooperation aspect of the project.
Of course, enjoying the craft is somewhat natural in both cases. And yes, it's a bit scary how smart some of the contributors are.
(pure speculation, I haven't seen their code yet, but I am curious now).