> Yet they managed to crank out code much faster, and with far fewer bugs
There was simply a lot less of it. An Atari cartridge had 2kB of ROM. ZX Spectrum had 48kB of RAM for programs. Elite was targeted at the 32kB BBC. The normalized bugs/line and lines/day probably don't look as different as you think.
The real question is: how much of modern code is really new features, how much is dealing with more complicated and less efficient platforms, and how much is busywork from one faction or another within the company?
There was simply a lot less of it. An Atari cartridge had 2kB of ROM. ZX Spectrum had 48kB of RAM for programs. Elite was targeted at the 32kB BBC. The normalized bugs/line and lines/day probably don't look as different as you think.
The real question is: how much of modern code is really new features, how much is dealing with more complicated and less efficient platforms, and how much is busywork from one faction or another within the company?