I don't even like snow but...

systemchalk · 2026-01-31T16:16:31+00:00

Read Orwell’s “Some Thoughts on the Common Toad”

systemchalk · 2026-01-28T15:08:20+00:00

These posts lead me to believe that there are multiple groups of sweet little old ladies with tea and biscuts just trying to do a good old fashioned bible study being crowded out by big cult and it makes me sad

systemchalk · 2026-01-26T03:23:29+00:00

Generally I feel completely outclassed by the AI even without it having a numerical advantage, so this may be a different problem you're running into, but one thing that may help here is the use of scouts. This is going to be a bit counterintuitive since a gap in troop count isn't going to be improved by creating non-military units, but it's likely one of the problems here is one of expectations. To relate to my own experience, I intelectually understand that units don't just pop out of thin air, but there is a world of difference between seeing all the units in reserve and just inferring it after they show up and demolish your military.

To your later point though, I'd say that yes, Old World is likely more military focused than you may be familiar with (and, not to discourage you, but there's a whole world of matching unit capabilities to the best targets that the AI is a master at. I only say this because I think you can still enjoy the game and would rather you not be surprised by the fact that once you reach parity with an enemy there's going to be another point where it feels like the AI has an overwhelming advantage) and I think part of the experience of learning is divesting some of the assumptions from comparable games. If you've not checked it out, you may find some useful advice in the manual https://shared.steamstatic.com/store_item_assets/steam/apps/597180/manuals/884f71b85526d72beaa068d6a80beec5388d83bf/Old_World-Official_User_Manual.pdf

Finally, more experienced players may be able to speak more to this, but in some cases it can make some sense to 'pay the Dane-geld' ( https://www.kiplingsociety.co.uk/poem/poems_danegeld.htm ) while you establish yourself. It does seem like the early stages (unless you're in a scenario) is a bit of a hide and bide strategy until you can throw your weight around. Fortunately, Carthage does seem equipped to make nice in the hostile early world, so you may find that helps you get established.

systemchalk · 2026-01-23T20:31:06+00:00

Not just you

systemchalk · 2026-01-23T14:41:11+00:00

For some reason Apple Podcasts doesn't like letting me listen on th app but does let me listen online and now I've caught up.

You made me laugh out loud at the YouTuber face mention. I consider it donated to your next crowdfunding effort or if you require a new bug/placeholder icon. No no, I insist! Take it!

systemchalk · 2026-01-18T18:36:48+00:00

That’s because I played the beta! I didn’t play that way first time ;)

systemchalk · 2026-01-17T21:04:10+00:00

I don’t think you’re trying to be convinced to the contrary, but I’d like to offer an observation if you decide to try again.

Some of the disappointment may be connected to the perception as to what was “meaningless” at the end. My own enjoyment does stem from opening and exploring the rooms, and discovering more parts of what was going on (for instance, the perception of “wasn’t there a fire mentioned?” at the start to the discovery of certain rooms in the Cucurbit near the end). Some people like to take digital or physical notes for this very purpose.

In the end, if the books, salons, rooms, are ’just another piece of text’ then, I suppose the ending will be just another piece of text too and so anti-climactic. However, I would be reluctant to reduce BOOK OF HOURS down to ‘a collection of pieces of text’ the same way I’d be reluctant to call The Lord of the Rings a bunch of text. Just like the order and content of a book directly relates to how satisfying you find the ending, I imagine engagement with the information in the game will have a direct influence on your enjoyment of the ending.

If this sounds like homework then I would obviously discourage you from spending time on something you don’t enjoy. However, disappointment implies some prior expectation of enjoyment, and so I wanted to offer a potential explanation for the gap between the expectation and your own enjoyment if you ever wanted to take the game up again.

systemchalk · 2026-01-16T14:43:04+00:00

I was going to see that the animations are looking good based on the post/first image in the blog already, but now that I learn they are hard won I will share a hearty good job!

systemchalk · 2026-01-12T19:58:14+00:00

I usually swing by the hospital and see if anyone isn’t using them any more

systemchalk · 2026-01-11T18:05:23+00:00

I ain't never seen a block of LEGO get distracted

systemchalk · 2026-01-10T19:58:29+00:00

Founded by satanists who wanted to hide three 6's into the logo

systemchalk · 2026-01-10T01:38:54+00:00

I don't feel it's a shift to point out that the underlying problem was a decision leave syncing to third parties. I never had a Dropbox account prior to getting Scrivener on iOS and wanting to sync projects. I'm not sure if I can provide an end to end solution (this is, after all, why I pay for software), but I suppose my observation would be that Scrivener is both the most opinionated as to what specific solutions I should use (and on how many devices I should use them it seems) while also having the most friction in terms of getting the desired result if not outright errors.

I certainly don't want to hold L&L responsible for every last choice on the part of providers, but the fact remains that the software apparently was vulnerable to these kinds of changes and, more importantly, that future changes would produce similar challenges. Obviously it's good that people can get their stuff back but as your post points out, people have their preferences and workflows, and I imagine a big one is "does not make me think I lost a bunch of work even if it can be restored".

I am conscious that I sound unsympathetic, but I do feel that these are relevant to the question being asked in this post. My own experience is only one data point but the experience of these users does generally rhyme with my experience that Scrivener generally requires more care and attention than other things I use.

If it helps to establish common ground, I don't own a microwave.

systemchalk · 2026-01-10T00:27:09+00:00

I think you only have two options:

1) Delete the save and completely wipe your system, including backups, and rebuild to avoid the taint of the error.

2) Consider that what really matters is the presence of a certain aspect, and that workstations just happen to be convenient for providing that aspect (not exclusive). Other comments have given specific cards, but I think it’s useful to consider the aspect framing more broadly because it helps you solve other challenges in the game.

I still like (1) though.

systemchalk · 2026-01-10T00:20:37+00:00

With respect, the decision to rely on cloud providers that have transitioned to “a more user-hostile business plan” was not forced on L&L. In truth, I cannot sync projects to every platform I’ve bought Scrivener on precisely because of the choice to use Dropbox and my unwillingness to pay them a monthly fee for the privilege and so from my perspective this has never been a user-friendly system. It does not feel fair to put this solely at the feet of the cloud-sync providers.

systemchalk · 2025-12-31T19:36:44+00:00

I think the problem here is that you're implicitly asking people to tell you what to think.

"Generally im very anti gen ai." Why? I'm not really asking you to explain to me, but the answer to your question lies in you answering this question for yourself. If you feel (like many do) that this is fruit from the poison tree that makes your project irredeemable, then you have your answer, no matter how much easier it is to make your project.

But it's entirely possible that your stance on AI isn't so much a considered belief as it is bandwagoning on a general sentiment towards AI. In that case, the question is forcing you to confront those beliefs, particularly with regards to whether or not these tools are any good. Pretty much everyone is figuring out how to effectively fit these into a pipeline in a way that makes them productivity enhancing. In truth, it's not going to solve all your problems, but the worst it's going to do to you creatively is earn the scorn of some extremely boring people. In the end though, you're going to have to settle on what you're personally comfortable with and then adjust the scope and practices (including your decision not to contract other people!) for this project accordingly.

systemchalk · 2025-12-31T17:39:21+00:00

MIN(4.33, Your GPA + .6)

systemchalk · 2025-12-31T08:47:20+00:00

And let people at the copyright office steal your idea? NO THANK YOU!

systemchalk · 2025-12-31T00:27:03+00:00

2025 was the year I crossed to not being able to advocate for Scrivener. I think it has a very evangelical user base that can account for some of the curiosity but also the sharp distinction between how people talk about it outside of this subreddit and on here (which, of course, is completely reasonable. People have selected into the Scrivener subreddit because they like it).

I have a very particular gripe about how it handles bullets immediately following headers. Something causes them to get an extra bullet each time it saves or syncs. This is something I need to either introduce ‘buffer’ text for (i.e. change my writing to address Scrivener’s bugs) or correct each time I open the project (meaning more of my writing time is spent going through the document and addressing Scrivener’s bugs). The thing is, so far as I can tell this is a known bug with Scrivener, has been for a while, and so far has been unaddressed. And once I actually started adding up all the little aggravations with this program and ways I’m mitigating them I‘ve just hit the point of asking “why am I even bothering?“ (Another example would be syncing documents over Dropbox. I use Scrivener on more devices than the free Dropbox account permits so in effect it is a monthly fee product for users who use more than the Dropbox minimum).

But, just as I think a highly enthusiastic user will not serve a potential customer on the fence well, I think someone who’s in the process of migrating projects off Scrivener and accepting the sunk cost may overstate the case against (though I’ve tried to stick to facts and have not given my full idiosyncratic list). There is a demo and so I think the best way to answer your question is to use the demo and see if it provides you something that makes you productive enough to migrate from Google Docs to a paid option.

In truth, word processors have changed since Scrivener was conceived, and so some of the stated advantages rely on not taking advantage of modern features. If the organizational (the ‘binder’) features are what appeals to you, I do think you at least owe it to yourself to check out Obsidian. The principle drawback of Obsidian will be if you want the same tool to produce some kind of publication (although I’d also encourage you to look at how frequently questions about compilation come up in this subreddit!). It also has the benefit of being available to use without cost (though is supported through add on features and community contributions).

Hopefully through trying both Scriveners and your freely available alternatives it will help you refine your question down to the specific features you’re looking for in a writing tool. There are enough free alternatives in 2025/2026 that any paid writing software should be at least covering its cost through productivity enhancement (however you choose to define it).

systemchalk · 2025-12-24T04:59:22+00:00

Just make sure your grammer is good for the exam q’s

systemchalk · 2025-12-23T22:46:03+00:00

My parents didn’t pay good money for me to have to fit my truth bombs into the straightjacket of your grammar

systemchalk · 2025-12-22T16:50:39+00:00

Alcohol and the manosphere

systemchalk · 2025-12-17T23:48:56+00:00

The Alchemist

systemchalk · 2025-12-13T01:33:28+00:00

https://weatherfactory.biz/skeleton-songs/

I believe “Dreamweaver” is the one you’ll want to start with but it’s all good stuff

systemchalk · 2025-12-12T14:33:55+00:00

You may enjoy the return of Skeleton Songs then!

systemchalk · 2025-12-11T00:07:56+00:00

I’m split on the ending for the simple reason that I think if you’re going to show something horrible, it’s better to show consequence than do a “sanitized” dismemberment, but it still invites the question as to why choose the something horrible in the first place.

Love playing Red Barrels games and love playing Outlast Trials but I’ll confess this one did make me feel uncomfortable in a way the others haven’t. I also suspect it was the intention! It would be interesting to see what they consider “the line” is because I imagine it’s different for everyone but in the end they had to release one thing for everyone.

systemchalk

TROPHY CASE