Yes, not nearly the quality of tools. When I was programming back then I programmed much closer to the cpu (less abstraction through libraries and less automated tools). This made me look much closer at the issues listed above. I also ready full books on the programming language and command sets. Unlike now, if I use a new library/language, I just scan the online docs to get the gist of what I need to do.

So I guess I had the opposite experience.