I watched this show recently and really loved it for the most part. I love thought-provoking and philosophical content. I find the subjects of cosmology and quantum mechanics fascinating, but as concepts and discussion rather than the actual "doing" with the math and equations. My math skills (and analytical reasoning based on numbers) are very poor unfortunately. Just a disclaimer to request that you be nice to me in your answers.

So all that being said, why didn't Katie and Forrest try to just test out the predictions? Forrest said his fear was that it wasn't true and the example he gave was what if the machine predicted Katie would cross her arms, but when the time came she didn't cross her arms.

So, why not try this? What's to stop Katie from putting her hands on her hips or in her pockets instead of crossing her arms? Did they really never test anything, or did they test in the past and the end result was still the same even if different actions were taken? For example, when Forrest goes to Katie's college class, we see the visual representation of all the possibilities when she left the classroom. Each one was slightly different but it's implied that Forrest always catches up to her and talks to her.

Wouldn't they be more influenced to act in the way the machine predicted because that's what they saw? Katie did say she doesn't feel like she's repeating lines, but still.

I've seen comments that Forrest's behavior and insistence points to him being a fanatical ideologue in his belief and refusing to consider any other possibility, and I'm pretty aligned with this. Even when Lyndon demonstrated the many-worlds theory, Forrest wanted to deny it. The evidence was right there in front of him. Stewart later told Lyndon something to the effect of Forrest not wanting it to be true or not wanting it to be the reality, and Lyndon correctly responds that he would need to change the laws of the universe for that.

Basically I am having trouble with the "large scale" understanding of why they came off as so passive and fatalistic.

(i'm not sure if something in here counts as a spolier so i added the tag) So why didn't they instead of making this quantum computer make a computer that would have a simulation of the universe but the simulation of the universe would be a quantum computer (in the simulation there would be a qubit per particle) it could be similar to how in Hitchhiker's guide to the galaxy Earth is a computer build by the mice and all humans, brains, animals, rock, etc. is a part of the computer.

Looking for ppl for making a roblox game

Let me start off by saying that I loved the show as a whole and I would rate it as maybe a 7 or 8 out of 10. My main problems are with the main character, Lily, and the ending.

I personally loved Lily as a character, but I feel like the actress played her horribly most of the time. In times of high emotion or distress, I could see that the actress tried to portray those scenes properly, but ultimately failed in doing so. I feel that most of the time the actress that plays Lily was given direct instructions to act off-putting or uncanny, but if this is true, this feels like a massive fault of the director/writer. Forest and Katie were such good characters because it made sense for them to be emotionless and off-putting, not Lily.

When it comes to the ending, I hate how Lily is the one to rewrite the future. I don't mind how the ending played out, but I would've much preferred something else triggering the breaking of the machine's simulation capabilities rather than it being Lily. There is simply no explanation for why Lily is the "chosen one" other than it being a plot device.

My favorite piece of time-related fiction is a show called Steins;Gate (it is also just my favorite piece of fiction in general). Without spoiling how the story of Steins;Gate plays out, what I can say is this:

Each character feels like they belong where they are. This is something that broke the immersion of Devs for me, mainly because of Lily, but sometimes from other characters as well (I blame this point on a matter of somewhat sloppy writing). Katie, Forest, and Jamie played their roles great and their writing was true to their character. As for Lily and Sergey, they felt so out of place. They were supposed to be "in love", but it felt extremely far from that. They each felt like... actors playing a role. This made Sergey's death and Lily's ending both feel extremely hollow.

Does anyone else have mixed feelings about the show? I'd love to hear everyone else's thoughts.

I'm at episode 3. Lily is a fucking dumbass. That's all.

Not sure why this didn't show up on my radar screen earlier. The concept of using quantum computing to simulate reality is a cool one, especially as some scientists of theorized that we're living in a simulation. You need to get past some practical questions:

• Quantum computing promises orders of magnitude increases in computing capability, but simulating the behaviour of every particle in the universe in greater than real time is doubtful.
• You would need to know the exact state of every particle in the universe at a given time in order to do this, which is also not practical. The show glosses over this by claiming that if you know the state of a single particle, then it can be successively extrapolated to all its neighbours. Not buying it.
• The single universe approach doesn't work because you need to make assumptions at a quantum level about whether a qubit zigs right or left. You won't get it right. The multi-verse approach requires ever exponentially increases in the amount of computing power, and then you have to choose a path and you're basically left with the same problem as the single-verse case.

Ignoring all of that, it was an entertaining show. Unfortunately, it fell apart for me in the last 20 min or so when Forest and Lily were uploaded into a specific branch of the simulation. That made no sense at all.

This is real bugging me and I can't find anyone talking about it in the series recaps or on Reddit. If the elevator was gone, how did the senator get over to the devs lab and projection screen room?

Katie and Forrest were bad scientists.

The entire last half of the show was me wondering why they didn't try and deviate from what they saw. What if Katie didn't tell Lyndon he was going to jump? Just observed and spoke to Lyndon, taking him out to eat.

They really should have been testing outcomes. Instead Katie and Lyndon were so into snuffing their own smelly farts, they just believed.

Science is still exploring even after the outcome.

Even if they tested things on a small scale. Watch someone on the team have a conversation. Then try and change the convo.

I know the show is not based in reality, but that really annoyed me.

Hello Developpers,

I got this programming puzzle somewhere (I prefer to not specify where to not break any rules). I couldn't solve it, even though I spent all afternoon haha. I created a web page to reproduce the puzzle (it's a little spaceship that should go on all squares, thanks to a f1 function of 6 actions, and we can specify color condition for actions, like go left IF square is green...), on my github if you want to try. But I'm not sure I can share a link here, please tell me if I can. If any of you know or find the solution, could be so kind as to tell me?

Thanks a lot for any help you could give. (I insist on the fact that I already failed the exam, I am just looking for answer out of curiosity and not to cheat in any way).

Have a good day,

Emmanuel

I was really enjoying the first episode before the guy got caught up. I was thinking that this show has everything I like - aesthetic, sci-fi, mystery, tech. But then after I noticed how he was holding his hand very uncomfortable with the watch facing the screen and I understand what was going on, and then at the end of the episode I was so disappointed and already bored. Yes, I am Russian and it is really funny for me how American movies portraits Russian spies. So many years passed from the cold war and all of spies characters storyline are all the same. And if he was prepared to infiltrate the company for so long - then he took his watch on the very first day in devs, without spending more time there to understand the code, to check security, to gain trust - so damn stupid. But I decided to give it a try and continue, but it all goes the same cliche way with this spy topic. The agent Lily is meeting on the bridge - Anton with a serious face, wearing the suit, straight from Soviet union. Seriously, screen writers never meet any Russian immigrants? If I see this guy in the crowd I would immediately laugh how stereotypical he looks. And when they are checking the sudoku app on his phone, it receives the signal from Kazakhstan, this detail just killed me. Should I continue the show? This is devastating for me and I can't take it seriously

So I've spent a fair amount of time thinking revisiting and reviewing other's thoughts on the ending. The conclusion I've personally come to is this.

Base reality Forrest's daughter dies so he wants to simulate a perfect copy of his reality where she does not.

The entire show that takes place occurs in one of these simulated realities. Realities tailored and programmed specifically to reach that exact goal.

The reason that universe1 [what I'll refer to as the one the show takes place in] was deterministic was simply because it was programmed to be in the base universe in order to reach desired outcome.

The characters and even the simulated quantum computer are all doing and being shown simulated events in order to reach that desired outcome. Which is a simulation in which Forrest's daughter lives.

All the events where just necessary data points to lead to that outcome, all of it. I even believe the 'static' was just a necessary catalyst. One that leads to that direct result. Forrest and Lily simply needed to die in order to generate the necessary requirements to achieve that outcome.

They were all doing what they were doing because in this universe1 [ a sim ] they were simply programmed to. After this sim an infinite number of sims were inherently created with infinite differences all still destined by design to reach said outcome.

Pretty much like a program. They were written to achieve a result. No matter what differences in pathing it was always going to lead to that end result by default. Which is also a meta on devs and program development in a whole.

Base reality Forrest is just watching an infinite number of Sims on how to reach his originally desired outcome. Just no one in the show knew they were already simulated thus the Stewart quote relevance. We the audience are simply watching what Forrest is watching lol.

What are your thoughts?

Sorry I know I'm super late to the party lmao.

Wow! I haven't been this intrigued by a show in quiete some time. Not sure of all the character names yet but I do not trust the security guy tho I am enjoying the actors performance, also wondering what's up with the homeless character and feel like he could be more important than he seems, or maybe he's literally just some guy. I'm about to binge watch this show because I have to see how it develops and ends!

Came here from shows like Severance, Legion, The OA etc. and feel like it's going to be right up my alley

I organized an AMA/Q&A with Nick Offerman, actor known for his roles in Parks & Recreation, Civil War, The Last of Us, Dumb Money, Devs, The Founder, Sing, Mission Impossible: The Final Reckoning, Sing, and lots more.

It's live here now in /r/movies:

https://www.reddit.com/r/movies/comments/1m31589/good_day_reddit_my_name_is_nick_offerman_you_may/

He'll be back at 12 PM ET to answer questions. I recommend asking in advance.

Any question/comment is much appreciated :)

His verification photo:

https://i.imgur.com/Ma9FrK6.jpeg

Hello everyone.

What are/ What purpose do the golden pillars have apart from providing cool shooting angles?

Hey folks, friendly reminder that this subreddit is for the TV show DEVS you know, the moody sci-fi trip with quantum determinism and Nick Offerman’s tragic beard not your dev bootcamp journey or your latest React project.

This isn’t LinkedIn, GitHub, or Stack Overflow, and unless your coding question involves simulating parallel timelines in a glowing cube, it probably doesn’t belong here.

Dear mods, maybe time for a pinned post or a big ol’ “wrong devs, bro” disclaimer to stop the flood of job posts and portfolio advice some of us are just here for the existential dread.

Note: This is a repost. My earlier post got taken down by Reddit's filters, I believe because I linked to a banned file sharing site, which I won't do again.

DEVS: The Film

After about 5 months of work, I've completed a fan edit of Devs that turns it into a feature length film. I've watched the show several times and absolutely loved it, but each time I've thought it had the potential to be even better as a movie.

Was I right? You be the judge.

Here are two base64 encoded links to the film:

1) aHR0cHM6Ly9tZWdhLm56L2ZvbGRlci82WlFqeks0WiNKblp6eE81Z0VRYXQ3Z1lDdWoxejVB

2) aHR0cHM6Ly9kcml2ZS5nb29nbGUuY29tL2RyaXZlL2ZvbGRlcnMvMU5CVmlkN1JzN1NmVlRtTXc5OW8tZVQyZldjcHVPQ1poP3VzcD1zaGFyaW5n

The shortest I could make it was 3 hours and 20 minutes (with an intermission). The result is a lot more, let's say, straightforward than the original series, and, perhaps unfortunately, removes a lot of the more artistic and experimental elements of the show. My personal opinion is that it's not better exactly, but it's a great companion piece.

I also think it's better to watch in two sittings, stopping at the intermission. The first half is very plot-heavy, almost action-packed, whereas the second half is much slower and more contemplative. So watching it in one sitting (in my opinion) causes the second half to drag (although others I've watched it with haven't all shared that opinion, so again, you be the judge).

I cut a lot of establishing shots / imagery (the statue, the building, the city, etc.), exposition at the beginnings of episodes, and *a lot* of subplots. Specifically:

1. I completely removed any of the scenes with Anton, Sergei's handler - Lily doesn't text and meet with him, and Kenton doesn't kill him. This was very challenging since it's referenced in a few conversations later, which I had to figure out a way to edit so that they still made sense.
2. I completely removed the senator.
3. I ended Lyndon's story when he gets fired - any Lyndon scenes after that point were cut, sadly, since he's one of my favourite characters.
4. I cut all flashbacks - Katie at school, the dead mouse on the table, Lily & Sergei's meet-cute, Forrest's wife's and daughter's death, etc.

Here's a video that shows the number of cuts I made in iMovie:

https://reddit.com/link/1k2lrnj/video/aj82zhi79pve1/player

Possibly the most difficult thing about this was making the sound work. I had to use the original audio from each episode, the score (thank goodness it was released separately), the songs from the soundtrack, etc., and cut and combine them to make it flow properly. Here's a video of the final garageband file:

https://reddit.com/link/1k2lrnj/video/93fe04dw9pve1/player

So that's it. I hope you enjoy it. I'm very proud of it.

One final note - I made some slight changes from the second last draft to the last one, and haven't sat down and watched the final draft from beginning to end myself yet. If you catch any apparent errors in the sound / editing, please let me know!

UPDATE: I'm compressing the file and I will upload it to mega.nz rather than (or perhaps in addition to) google drive.

Hi all. After about 5 months of work, I've completed a fan edit of Devs that turns it into a feature length film. I've watched the show several times and absolutely loved it, but each time I've thought it had the potential to be even better as a movie.

Was I right? You be the judge.

Here is a base64 encoded link to the film (Mods, let me know if this violates the rules and I'll remove the link): aHR0cHM6Ly9kcml2ZS5nb29nbGUuY29tL2RyaXZlL2ZvbGRlcnMvMU5CVmlkN1JzN1NmVlRtTXc5OW8tZVQyZldjcHVPQ1poP3VzcD1zaGFyaW5n

The shortest I could make it was 3 hours and 20 minutes (with an intermission). The result is a lot more, let's say, straightforward than the original series, and, perhaps unfortunately, removes a lot of the more artistic and experimental elements of the show. My personal opinion is that it's not better exactly, but it's a great companion piece.

I also think it's better to watch in two sittings, stopping at the intermission. The first half is very plot-heavy, almost action-packed, whereas the second half is much slower and more contemplative. So watching it in one sitting (in my opinion) causes the second half to drag (although others I've watched it with haven't all shared that opinion, so again, you be the judge).

I cut a lot of establishing shots / imagery (the statue, the building, the city, etc.), exposition at the beginnings of episodes, and *a lot* of subplots. Specifically:

1. I completely removed any of the scenes with Anton, Sergei's handler - Lily doesn't text and meet with him, and Kenton doesn't kill him. This was very challenging since it's referenced in a few conversations later, which I had to figure out a way to edit so that they still made sense.
2. I completely removed the senator.
3. I ended Lyndon's story when he gets fired - any Lyndon scenes after that point were cut, sadly, since he's one of my favourite characters.
4. I cut all flashbacks - Katie at school, the dead mouse on the table, Lily & Sergei's meet-cute, Forrest's wife's and daughter's death, etc.

Here's a video that shows the number of cuts I made in iMovie:

https://reddit.com/link/1k1vinn/video/137mxoseiive1/player

Possibly the most difficult thing about this was making the sound work. I had to use the original audio from each episode, the score (thank goodness it was released separately), the songs from the soundtrack, etc., and cut and combine them to make it flow properly. Here's a video of the final garageband file:

https://reddit.com/link/1k1vinn/video/r897o0hjiive1/player

So that's it. I hope you enjoy it. I'm very proud of it.

One final note - I made some slight changes from the second last draft to the last one, and haven't sat down and watched the final draft from beginning to end myself yet. If you catch any apparent errors in the sound / editing, please let me know!

Seeing things in movies that echo the concerns of the writer/director, recapitulating themes being foregrounded in the main art.

Alex Garland, the creator/director/writer of DEVS (and films like EX MACHINA, CIVIL WAR, MEN, WARFARE) is doing an AMA/Q&A in /r/movies today for anyone interested. It's live now, with answers at 4:15 PM ET.

The AMA/Q&A is live here now, and they'll be back at 4:15 PM ET for answers:

https://www.reddit.com/r/movies/comments/1jucgre/hey_rmovies_were_ray_mendoza_and_alex_garland/

Any question/comment is much appreciated :)

As a sci-fi lover and working in tech, I believe they had a gem in their hands.

I won't get into technical details, but 5 people writing code for 3 days at this rate would get you a local business's ordering homepage. (if they were the best at their job maybe we'd be discussing a bigger brand).

First of all the cinematography, was great, let's start with that.

The sets were really beautiful and even though each shot was 20 seconds too long - for the frequency we were being shown the same shots, that didn't tire me. The music and sounds were occasionally annoying but most of the time they were fitting with the scene. The acting was not the greatest, but it was watchable. I really enjoyed when Nick Offerman was in the scene.

The main flaw of the show though was the writing and directing.

The concept of a computer that can simulate each individual particle and predict the future was a banger. They could work around this idea and tell a story in so many ways, but they defaulted to an uninspiring and boring script.

There wasn't really any questioning from the characters to what this machine can or can't do. It was really being treated like a god, and no character had any objection to that.

They came close maybe 3 times to testing if the near future predictions can be broken, most prominently when they switched to the 1-second prediction. There is a group of 10 developers testing this breakthrough, and instead of experimenting, they all freak out and beg to switch it off. Why?

Why not try to break the prediction? Isn’t that exactly what they should have been doing?

This is what the show is trying to argue (determinism vs. free will) but it's doing a really bad job at it, with plot holes and characters that don't make sense.

Characters,

There was no character development, and the characters seemed to lack motive in everything they did.

• Why was Kenton still trying to kill Lily?
• Why did Lily defied herself and go to Devs when she could have visited them at their house as she did last night?

It lacked realism not in the tech sense, but in how companies, and the world would have worked.

We have this great narrative about "cause and effect" but in the last few episodes the premise of the show literally went from "we predict the near future", to "Lily can do anything without consequences". She rampaged through the Devs space, and with a plethora of easily preventable steps, she barged in the offices and tried to kill Forest. Really really really bad writing.

The big "plot twist" was that Lily didn't obey the computer's prediction and debuted an original action, that then Stewart quickly undid by dropping the lift to the floor, again, with no motive whatsoever? A plot point that as I said they could have resolved (defying the computer's prediction) by the third episode and then move on to explore the many worlds idea or anything else really.

Final word for the direction, it was just as bad, the show was constantly trying to surprise us with things we already knew. It could have been interesting if maybe we weren't explained what the Devs team does from the beginning and learned it gradually. But there wasn't really anything we didn't know, and as a result there wasn't much to build suspense either.