Well there's also compiler directives other than `inline`, like msvc's `__inline` and `__forceinline` (which probably also have an equivalent in gcc or clang), so personally I don't think you need to make the tradeoff between readability and reusability while avoiding function calls. Not to mention C++ constevals and C-style macros, though consteval didn't exist in 2007
__forceinline is purely a suggestion to the compiler, not a requirement. Carmack's point isn't about optimizing the costs of function calls though. It's about the benefits to code quality by having everything locally visible to the developer.
It's an interesting view because I find neatly compartmentalized functions easier to read and less error prone, though he does point out that copying chunks of code such as vector operations can lead to bugs when you forget to change some variable. I guess it depends on the function. Something like
Vector c = dotProduct(a, b);
is readable enough and doesn't warrant inlining, I think. There's nothing about `dotProduct` that I would expect to have any side effects, especially if its prototype looks like:
Vector dotProduct(Vector const& a, Vector const& b) const;
