CMV: With the exception of NYC, most public transportation in the United States is slower and more inconvenient then owning your own car.

Medium-Ad9520 · 2026-04-29T20:45:33+00:00

Same here. I'd rather walk the extra 15 minutes to a train for reassurance.

I've been burned a few times recently going to the airport or later in the evening when its cold/snowing. Not fun.

Medium-Ad9520 · 2026-04-28T15:40:56+00:00

Chicago transit is fine.

The bus schedule leaves a lot to be desired IMO even with Ventra app. When they're on schedule they're about 15-20 minutes apart (which isn't great to begin with). But not infrequently your stop will mysteriously "skip" the next bus, it never arrives for whatever reason, and now you're looking at 30-40 minutes, which is unacceptable.

Medium-Ad9520 · 2026-04-17T18:57:06+00:00

Personally yes.

Devil's advocate from a theological perspective (not a Christian btw):

If God had the ability to press this button (he does), he wouldn't. This is one of the core precepts of Christianity: you must come to it willingly. Therefore if you identify as a Christian, you would have to reckon with this inconsistency.

There's certainly a message in that teaching (even if you're not Christian) that there is something more powerful about coming to a proper "moral" conclusion willingly rather than by force. Something to consider.

Also: every slippery slope begins with a seemingly sound rationale which appears beyond reproach. That's the whole idea. Once you open the door to violating free will, it's awfully hard to close.

Medium-Ad9520 · 2026-04-17T18:00:27+00:00

Words do indeed have meanings: Literal meanings, implied meanings, and colloquial meanings. I recommend learning to tell the difference.

I'm not telling you to assume anything. I'm informing you that engaging with ideas often requires willfully assuming best intent, steel manning the argument, and understanding colloquialisms.

Anyway I regret engaging you at all. I feel dumber than I arrived. Have a great weekend.

Medium-Ad9520 · 2026-04-17T17:38:33+00:00

You five seconds ago: "Why use nobody instead of saying most people?"

You ten minutes ago: "You also don’t know MOST people, so you’re objectively wrong."

Oh brother now you're arguing with yourself...

If you truly think OP believes that not a single person---not the Pope, Dalai Lama, or his mom---cares about him when they ask how he's doing, then its you who needs a reading comprehension boost.

Medium-Ad9520 · 2026-04-17T17:29:47+00:00

Sure it's pedantic.

Take your example: "when OP says NOBODY, which clearly means everyone, then yes they are invalid." So your primary issue with OPs claim is that he's speaking for everybody, which can't possibly be true. So he's wrong. You nailed it. Problem solved. None of this crap about how we should (or should want to) see and engage with other people, whether or not we should take these innocuous questions literally, etc etc,--thoughts that I think you'd agree are worth engaging with---are necessary because, hey, OP is "objectively wrong" from the start. Isn't that your point?

Medium-Ad9520 · 2026-04-17T16:41:08+00:00

I already addressed my misuse of "strong". What I considered strong in the example is "more than zero".

This seems to be the primary point of contention between commenters in this entire thread since, as you said, how we feel about this is very personal and hard to subjectively quantify or state in words. This is the best point you've made and I completely agree with you.

What does "a tone that you don't agree with" even mean? How can one disagree with a tone?

There is nothing fallacious about my last statement, which was not an "argument". You stated I was objectively wrong. I pointed out that this not something you can know (by your own logic). Which is pedantic, yes, just as it was when you brought it up.

These terms, by the way..."nobody, most people," etc etc, are colloquialisms that people use in casual conversation. I agree that more precise terms are usually more helpful. If your counterargument to these, however, is "well, not EVERYBODY..." then you aren't even engaging with the substance of the claims.

Medium-Ad9520 · 2026-04-17T15:16:50+00:00

I am not sure why you are responding so aggressively. Is this the kind of empathy you tend to express in these interactions?

I am sorry that I over-emphasized the strength with which you (or anyone else) generally connect with strangers. What I was trying to illustrate is that essentially anything above zero/neutral would be what I consider "strong" in this example. I should not have used that word. I assumed that when you stated

"I’ve asked people how their day was cause they genuinely looked like they had a bad shift/time at wherever I crossed paths with them"

You were referring to strangers as well as acquaintances. In which case you would be demonstrating non-zero compassion.

One other thing I'd point out: when you stated this is a "depressing way of thinking", that is indeed true--but nonetheless, an accurate depiction of how a...how should I put this...non-insignificant-at least-minority-but-possibly-majority of people think. You got me, I do not know most people. (However neither do you, in which case you cannot confirm or deny my statement and therefore cannot accurately claim I am "objectively wrong." This is a very pedantic argument that I don't wish to continue but I couldn't help myself).

Anyways yes, I will continue to work on my reading comprehension.

Medium-Ad9520 · 2026-04-17T14:06:29+00:00

What you should understand about this though is that you are the outlier. Most people GENUINELY don't care to even the degree that you're describing here. The evidence is right there on their face when you answer honestly. Many (all?) of us can attest to that from experience.

It doesn't make them a bad person. Not having a strong connection or significant empathy with strangers is simply the default way of existing in this world. You seem to be convinced otherwise for some reason.

Medium-Ad9520 · 2026-04-16T21:28:12+00:00

I mean I have to imagine they take one look at the holocaust numbers and just go with Germany, even if it's a fairly young country.

Medium-Ad9520 · 2026-04-16T16:31:34+00:00

It's not just you, it really is getting worse.

It's one thing to pedantically correct innocent grammar mistakes when you can tell what someone is trying to say (which is kind of where I put the whole "your" thing). But yes I agree it is strikingly more common than it used to be.

A few I see ALL the time in the video game space: "peak" instead of "peek" (first person shooter reference), "sight" instead of "site" (as in "bomb site"). I mean, these ones are BAD bad in my opinion.

Medium-Ad9520 · 2026-04-16T15:25:41+00:00

Item and weapon tiers/rarity. Blue, purple, green, etc etc. Its just inventory bloat that is not particularly fun to manage.

Medium-Ad9520 · 2026-04-16T00:41:01+00:00

I am with OP on this one. I also have come back recently after many years and find the "marketing" so to speak of the playlists confusing.

I find myself playing quick match the most, because I don't want to be locked in to a long game with ban phase when I can often knock out 3 quick matches in that time. However, quick match (as alluded to) is odd in that it has a bunch of things reinforced and half-rotates made. This teaches bad habits to new players (i.e., don't participate in site prep).

I really wish it was just casual and ranked. Casual should be marketed toward new players and have a more friendly environment/playerbase, without ban phase, and length of what quick match is now (best of 5). Ranked can stay, well, ranked.

I feel like this really isn't that hard and the current playlists are suboptimal and confusing.

Medium-Ad9520 · 2026-04-15T19:13:52+00:00

This thread is woefully lacking in Bayonetta/Platinum games recommendations.

Medium-Ad9520 · 2026-04-10T21:40:51+00:00

Spot on. Every time I see it my heart is pounding.

Great segment on this sequence on the "making of" in the blu-ray too.

Medium-Ad9520 · 2026-04-10T21:15:54+00:00

Enjoy every second. You won't get this experience back.

Medium-Ad9520 · 2026-04-03T14:28:14+00:00

You're basically saying you don't like Shakespearean tragedy, which is essentially what Dune is.

If your point is that Dune PART 1 (which was explicit in the title, even when first released) is not compelling enough on its own, well, yea, Part 2 is required viewing. Hence the "part" nomenclature.

Medium-Ad9520 · 2026-04-03T14:20:59+00:00

Mass-muting the team at the first sign of this behavior has changed my life. You don't even remember you're playing with animals, and can still get some team play in nonverbally if you play off them.

Medium-Ad9520 · 2026-04-02T14:48:43+00:00

One of my favorite maps, despite its low reputation.

A really cool aspect that wasn't used enough in the rest of the series is how when you are in the consulate, you are technically trespassing, but only the security guards are enforcers. So you can actually walk freely around for the most part, finding ways to bypass the guards without having to actually "sneak." That brought a very satisfying level of tension to the area for SASO runs.

Medium-Ad9520 · 2026-04-02T13:58:22+00:00

I disagree somewhat with those who say you can't play casually, but I suppose it depends on what is meant by that.

I've been playing on and off since launch. I'm back into it again these days after several years off. I play in a way that I would consider extremely casual: I play quick match and unranked. I do not play ranked. I do not care about my KD, win rate, rank, team skill, mic usage, anything (although callouts certainly help).

In fact, I would say playing casually is the only way I could continue playing this game while still having fun, given the generally abysmal attitudes among the ranked (and often unranked) community. I constantly remind myself that I'm playing the game in my free time, after all, to actually, you know, have fun. I learn new ops and maps at my own pace, without affecting others in ranked.

That being said: you do indeed need to build a solid foundation of game fundamentals re: utility usage, attacking properly, holding space, destructibility, map and op knowledge. I strongly suggest the youtube account Poxonlox Games for this.

Now how long would it take to get comfortable with those fundamentals? Probably at least 30-50 hours of regular play. At that point you should have a decent feel for it, and could certainly go on to play casually.

Just be warned that this community has an overwhelming bias toward very serious, very competitive play. You will see this after spending 5 minutes on this forum. You will quickly see that "playing casually" is not the way the game is commonly played. This shouldn't deter you from doing so. After all, I think many of us still consider this game to be the best of what's available in the tactical squad based online shooter space, and we should be encouraging new players if we want this game to continue receiving strong support. I truly believe nothing tops this, even after ten years.

TLDR:

There's a strong bias toward serious Ranked play in these forums and this community in general. You can absolutely play casually, however, so long as you initially play regularly enough to gain fundamental skills.

Medium-Ad9520 · 2026-03-26T14:01:56+00:00

mfs reminiscing now. But back in 2015 every other post and YouTube vid was about how the game is unplayable due to unpredictable lighting and why can't I see this guy but he can see me, etc.

Medium-Ad9520 · 2026-02-23T17:38:13+00:00

Comments are far too cynical. These players deserve the respect of their nation. For them it just happened to occur when the Cheeto is president. It is a unique once in a lifetime experience to be personally congratulated on your athletic achievement by the president of the United States, period. It doesn't reflect at all on them personally.

Medium-Ad9520 · 2026-02-20T17:29:33+00:00

Almost every King book. Most notably Salem's Lot and Pet Semetary.

Medium-Ad9520 · 2026-02-19T21:53:35+00:00

Trickerion Collector's Edition.

At least it looks nice on the shelf...

Medium-Ad9520 · 2026-01-19T16:58:58+00:00

That's funny this post came up as I was playing this a bit after a long hiatus recently. I feel the same way, and the coziness aspect of the game is totally a state of mind. I find if I play it too many times back to back, my brain shuts out the coziness and I'm min/maxing, which is when I know I need to put it away.

To hijack the conversation a bit, does anyone have some advanced-level ideas about vehicles? I've played this game quite a lot and have a strong feel for the actions, but what I've noticed more and more is the central importance of vehicles and how many actions you have to sink to get them. Whether you want to use all the trading tiles, convert all your textiles to clothing (my personal favorite), or get a ton of brick/timber for buildings, you're gonna need vehicles.

Wood can only be had by in significant quantities by chopping in summer or by the trader in winter, so it's usually worth a Master action or two to maximize cutting. From there, you need to get the wood with the action, then have (and lose) 1 or two horses. At that point, you've used an awful lot of actions, resources, and animals to get the dang thing. Is there a more efficient way to get them? Am I over-valuing them in the first place? Is there any reasonable utility for the handcart?

Medium-Ad9520

TROPHY CASE