Is Sweeney the lead programmer with Unreal still?
Carmack seemed to care more about the technical side of things and programming. I think to him ID Software just served for allowing him to just do what he loved to do.
I faintly recall an interview with one of the developers not too long ago, maybe a few years ago or so, where they said Sweeney still touches some 80% of the code base.
I just think JC/Abrash/etc have an aura/cult of personality that doesn't seem all that impressive when you get someone who is a powerhouse of tech and business acumen like Sweeney next to them.
Also, there's always this old gem that HN should get giddy about: https://www.st.cs.uni-saarland.de/edu/seminare/2005/advanced...
I just think JC/Abrash/etc have an aura/cult of personality that doesn't seem all that impressive when you get someone who is a powerhouse of tech and business acumen like Sweeney next to them.