Question About The Cost of Coding

[Ace Rimmer]

I realize this isn't the Defcon subforum but I know lots of you understanding coding or know people that do, so I'm asking my question here...

I still really want to have a finished Defcon AceBot, but don't have the time to attempt to learn Lua well enough to complete it. So, does anybody know how much it might cost to have somebody code a Defcon Bot for me (not just any bot, but one that would perform they way I'd want it to)? C++ is what Defcon is written in.

Any helpful information would be appreciated.

[Xocrates]

Depends on the scope/difficulty of the project and on who you get. Frankly had I already taken an AI course (not due to happen for another year) and I might volunteer for cheap just for the practice, but a professional might easily run you into the 3 or 4 digits assuming a "short" project.

I can probably inquire my brother (who owns a small software company) for realistic numbers if you wish though.

[Ace Rimmer]

Sure, any information would be helpful. It it's too cost-prohibitive, then oh well. Otherwise, it doesn't have to be a professional, just someone that can provide a relatively bug free, functioning Defcon AceBot.

Edit: I bet Chris could do it in about five minutes in his sleep, but that's asking way too much.

[Xocrates]

Right, according to my brother, a freelance coder that doesn't suck will take about 2000€ (~2700$) a month (before taxes) which translates to about 11€(~15$) an hour, but this is in Portugal which may be cheap compared with the US.

For the entire work that's hard to say since neither does my brother know the game or what the bot is supposed to do. More info may get you more detail, though.

So, you're looking at triple digits for a single day of work which would almost assuredly be insufficient by a large margin.

[Ace Rimmer]

I might could do one day's work at that rate, but that'd be the limit.

Volunteer, for cheap, eh?

[Xocrates]

Maybe in about a year

[Ace Rimmer]

Anybody willing (or know anybody) that'd be willing to offer their services, perhaps as a side/night project for a [small] bit of cash?

Also, the coder doesn't have to not suck, just provide a useable Bot that doesn't suck.

[Forever Young]

bert is not willing? maybe he is too expensive?

[Ace Rimmer]

No he doesn't have time (asked long ago... )

[Foxsake]

about £50 an hour is normal for competent programmer. For a small project the cost per hour is likely to be higher, and for C++ higher still. (More like £80 per hour)

[Blackbeard]

You could always try something like this: http://metro.co.uk/2013/01/16/software-developer-outsources-his-job-to-china-so-he-can-play-on-the-internet-3354652/

[Ace Rimmer]

If that's true, the company should not have fired him, but got him to show them exactly how he did it, who he outsourced his work to, and then made him lead of the new outsource team (firing others doing what he did), saving tons of money.

[Blackbeard]

The irony is most of his colleagues probably had the same daily routine without having to give away a fifth of their salary .

[Laika]

Probably that's what company has done, apart from firing. Interesting that a team of chinese programmers worked for what is 1/5th of one US programmer salary.

[Blackbeard]

Probably that's what company has done, apart from firing. Interesting that a team of chinese programmers worked for what is 1/5th of one US programmer salary.

Hehe, and the world's poorest man passes the work on to western charity volunteers who do it all for free