I'm only 32, and I've already done more jobs and pursued more things than I can count. I've been a filmmaker, a game developer, a therapist, a business systems programmer, a game tester, a customer service representative for god knows how many companies, a bartender, a chef, and currently, a university lecturer. If you're focusing on one thing and placing all your perceived self worth in success at said one thing, that's a mistake that will only make you miserable.
Edit: Just wanted to say thanks for all the lovely messages and awards (aside from this one: Thanks for that... - Imgur. Sounds like that person could use my therapy skills XD)
Edit 2: There seems to be a lot of fussing and feuding in the comments, so I'll address that. A university lecturer here in the UK is simply someone who teaches at a university. I know in some other places we are called "professors", but that's kind of an inaccurate term, since we are rarely professors in terms of our qualifications. A professorship in terms of the qualification comes after a doctorate. I personally have a doctorate, and thus my title is "doctor", but that's entirely different to a MEDICAL doctor (M.D), which I am very much not. At any rate, you don't even need to be a doctor to teach at a university here in the UK, just someone experienced in the field you're teaching in (my doctorate isn't even remotely related to games development, which is what I teach, for example). I wonder whether people are thinking I'm claiming to be a medical doctor or something? My doctorate is in a subject related to medicine, but I am not qualified as a literal MEDICAL DOCTOR, as in someone who can treat you in a hospital and prescribe medication etc. Do I sound that intelligent to you?? Trust me, I'm not XD
Maybe people are confused because a doctorate simply means you've completed a doctorate (often called an "academic/research degree") in the UK? Anyone can apply to do one, and universities frequently publish requests for people to apply to undertake them. In my case, I was required to take an MPhil (Master of Philosophy) course before I began the doctorate. That's pretty standard since I didn't have one yet, and someone else was funding my doctorate application.
If you want more information, shoot me a message and I'll provide proof of this all. I'm not posting it out in public.
In May of 2017, a woman was walking on a pedestrian walkway over the Putney Bridge in London when an unknown male jogger running in the opposite direction pushed her forcefully into the path of an incoming bus. He continued jogging calmly without any pause or change in pace, while she fell backwards into the road. In a great demonstration of skill, the bus driver managed to avoid hitting her by swerving a split second before impact. The bus stopped, and people poured out to help her. Bizarrely and brazenly the jogger eventually proceeded to jog the opposite side of the bridge, where the victim confronted him. He ignored her.
CCTV footage of the attempted murder went viral, and photos of the man circulated on the internet. During the course of the year long investigation, several people were arrested for the crime. None were charged. Despite public interest in the case, the police closed it in 2018 after the leads dried up.
Two things about this case bother me: (1) What was this man's motive for this unprovoked attack? (2) Despite the widely circulated video and photographic evidence, how is it possible that no friends/family of this guy recognized him and decided to report him?
I read a fun conspiracy theory online that the man was an assassin who clearly targeted the woman and made it seem random. More likely in my opinion, the man was schizophrenic or otherwise mentally ill and felt compelled to push the women into traffic. An alternative theory put forth by a body language expertis that the man may have felt entitled to "his" side of the road and may have been annoyed that she had encroached it.
Edit: I clearly need to do some more reading on mental illnesses. Shouldn't have carelessly thrown out that theory. Apologies for perpetuating the stigma.
All 3 of those guys were among the best WRs in the NFL at some point in their career, yet none of them played beyond their age 30 season, besides Dez who had a minuscule role in his age 32 comeback season. I know father time can be a bitch, but it's surprising that these guys couldn't produce beyond their primes.
Also makes me wonder which current star WRs might have a similar career trajectory?
Background: I have played PoE since Betrayal, with over 1800 hours logged on steam. I have played D3 for about 600 hours. Every league I hit at least red maps and I have killed Sirus at least a couple times each league. I am not a 1% player but I do consider myself 'decent' at PoE. I was compelled to purchase Last Epoch as a direct result of Chris' comments about Chaos and Exalt crafting. That decision was a massive eye opener for me and the comparisons that I draw here will be based on those two games, but they can of course be more broadly applied.
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THIS POST WILL NOT DISCUSS HARVEST OR CRAFTING
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GGG, I love you guys and I love your game but hear me now. One day, probably sooner rather than later, a different ARPG is going to come along and eat your lunch. I mean every word of what I said in the title. Your game, wondrously complex and engaging as it is, is abusive to players' time, computers, health, and sanity. After spending about a day (in game) playing LE I opened up PoE again. I closed the game after half of a juicy harbinger map, thought about why the hell I did it that, and then sat down to write this post.
- Quality of Life:
I had no idea how much I missed the ability to walk over gold and pick it up automatically, or one click grab all of the crafting materials on screen, until I went back, opened up a breach, and had to pick up about 25 individuals splinters of Tul. This functionality does nothing to 'simplify' or 'baby' the game, but it sure as hell keeps me in the gameplay loop longer and is easier on my wrist and fingers.
Last Epoch has the ability to sort your inventory, aka the computer plays inventory tetris for you, leaving you more time to actually play the game. These are just a couple examples of mechanics that don't 'hold your hand', but still make you feel like the game respects your time and your desire not to get carpal tunnel. There are plenty more someone could point to and everyone will have things that they don't mind or frustrate them to no end. But I think we can all agree that PoE needs to be brought into at least the 2000's, if not the 2010's with regards to QoL.
- Itemization:
I missed picking up loot, comparing it to my current gear, and finding something better more often than once every 5 years of playtime. PoE is an economy based ARPG. It is not a loot based ARPG. I'm truly disheartened that GGG doesn't realize this. Animate weapon has been so bad for so long they can't even use that excuse anymore.
... keep reading on reddit β‘
"They sowed the First, now reap the Last; forever narrows to a line Where Light will fade into the past; when all's converted, nothing shines."
The sun is gone...
Side note: Anyways I've also been SIMPING for Mithrax hard for a while now and I'm super hyped he's finally getting his own season.
Currently the way the player gets stunned in PoE is one of the most bizarre, archaic and non-intuitive ways i've ever seen. Not only does it not make combat responsive and reactive, but creates endless frustration.
EVERYTHING that hits can stun you. ANY mob that hits can stun you. It doesn't matter what type of damage it is. It's not tied to a boss, or specific ability, or a specific modifier on a magic or rare mob. It offers no warning and offers no reactive response (Kiara's Determination exists i guess), but forces the player into proactive measures (be stun immune/resistant in some shape or form).
The way it scales it also bizarre, punishing every build that doesn't stack life (hybrid, CI, low life ES, MOM, etc) into boring binary character requirement choices, (i go x build, i will need to get stun immunity). To add insult to injury, even very high hp characters can die to being stunned followed by big damage if they are not stun immune (we see this in HC rip clips).
For any player that dares to move away from this binary requirement, or for any new player that simply doesn't know they need to take it, it makes combat feel awful because of nonresponsive skills due to stun duration.
Low damage in PoE not only doesn't do much dmg, but also doesn't stun you.
Big damage in PoE not only does massive damage to your health pool, but also stuns you.
With this type of behavior, everything spikes from weak and nonthreatening to extremely dangerous, with not much in between.
Weak abilities damage wise should stun you (because it exposes you by temporarily disabling your character) and strong abilities damage wise should not, because they already are very dangerous.
Now imagine a new stun mechanic, that is no longer tied to a proportion of damage dealt but a specific function of certain abilities/affixes/bosses in the game. And with it, a series of reactive capabilities for the player (flask mods, abilities) that counteract it.
For example, magic or rare mobs that use "Tectonic Assault", an ability that ALWAYS stuns, which the player knows it's coming and has tools at his disposal to deal with. Or a boss that uses a ground targeted or properly telegraphed projectile that YOU KNOW will stun, so either dodge it, have some reactive stun break, or be followed with a devastating next move that might end your character.
Freeze is in a similar situation but at least it's mostly tied to cold damage, and has a proper reactive counter, flask remova
... keep reading on reddit β‘Iβve lived here 8 years, Iβm a citizen, it wasnβt on the test. Iβm telling you there aint anything wrong with those paths. Please, I just want to know the reason, not knowing is driving me nuts. One of you must know FAIR DINKUM.
I took a path.
University. Engineering.
Took a small town industry job. Paid well. Got a house. A dog. Kittens. Paid off student debt. Bought the games and toys I wanted.
I hate it.
I hate my life so much. I hate the job. I find no joy in anything. I keep trying new things. I keep trying therapy. Medication. I keep looking for new ideas. I tried dating.
What in the world is left. Whatβs the point. I canβt think of anything meaningful to do with my life any more. My brain hurts all the time.
How is there 40+ years of this crap left? What am I meant to do.
In May of 2017, a woman was walking on a pedestrian walkway over the Putney Bridge in London when an unknown male jogger running in the opposite direction pushed her forcefully into the path of an incoming bus. He continued jogging calmly without any pause or change in pace, while she fell backwards into the road. In a great demonstration of skill, the bus driver managed to avoid hitting her by swerving a split second before impact. The bus stopped, and people poured out to help her. Bizarrely and brazenly the jogger eventually proceeded to jog the opposite side of the bridge, where the victim confronted him. He ignored her.
CCTV footage of the attempted murder went viral, and photos of the man circulated on the internet. During the course of the year long investigation, several people were arrested for the crime. None were charged. Despite public interest in the case, the police closed it in 2018 after the leads dried up.
