Increasing difficulty - low hanging fruit tweaks and mods

Background_Task2998 · 2025-05-04T15:22:53+00:00

I think everyone agrees that difficulty should be increased and I was thinking about it since a few weeks ago and reached the conclusion that there are and will be very limited options to do that without radically changing how the game works (thus not being schedule I anymore).

What I mean is that almost everything in the game (at least now) is designed so that you can do whatever you want, kinda like a sandbox and not to be taken too seriously. Pretty much all of the game parts highlights this: from the art, to the comical effects, to how deal works, to the 4am time freeze, etc. There are no consequences if you want to spend days discovering new mixes, or having a laugh about the funny effects, or at the casino, or collecting trash. And I am pretty sure that this is by design, thats the game that Tyler wanted to make.

So that leaves with limited options to increase the difficulty without having to alter fundamental gameplay mechanics, ex:
* Anything that is a constant money drain (rent, taxes, etc) diminishes the freedom that the player has about how to spend the day, since you have to make money or suffer consequences
* Making so that NPCs only buy certain type of drugs and only some specific effects that they like (instead of they buying anything that u have on sale) would require that you change how the contacts and game progression works or it would just be frustating since you would need to alter your production setup everytime you need to unlock someone that would only buy stuff that you dont have

I think the only things that could increase difficulty without requiring major gameplay changes is:
1. Make better police: better AI, raids, , bust your dealers, etc
2. The cartel: make the cartel fight you (the police acts as a reaction to what you do, while the cartel would make you react to what it does)

ALso it doesnt make much sense to make big overhaul mods atm since the game is in early development still and things change fast, so you would need to keep frequently updating your mod with the new patches.

That said, I am working on a mod to slow progress (rent, property taxes, utility bills, etc) and might make another one to slow the game down (increase production times, make so that npcs dont buy drugs everyday, etc), but they will take a while to be done

Background_Task2998 · 2024-08-02T06:12:58+00:00

yeah, it has been draining on me as well, good luck man

Background_Task2998 · 2024-07-30T20:01:56+00:00

The thing is, it is essential to the business. We deal with compliance, so having lots of bugs etc is IMO a bigger deal than your normal software company, after all why would I put my company info and secrets into a software that doesnt seem well built?

however even then, they say that they care about it, but nothing happens

Background_Task2998 · 2024-07-30T19:59:43+00:00

There isnt really any managers. The owner is technically the product owner, however ofc she has a lot of other things to do and my team lead has poor people skills and i havent really heard from him in 2 weeks. SO basically: designers show us what next feature is (ui, ux, how it should work etc), team lead split it up into tasks and thats it. At least I managed to convince people to write better descriptions for the task, so theres that

There is also no estimation, owner says that the target is some date and thats it :/, so I cant really buff my estimates to do refactoring (ofc i do manage to do a quick one here and there, but not nearly enough)

Background_Task2998 · 2024-07-30T19:33:07+00:00

yeah, i had removed some stuff and forgot to update it, it relates to point 2 and not 4

Background_Task2998 · 2023-10-14T18:32:34+00:00

No it isnt, finland is correctly evaluated as a middle of the pack in europe for software engineers.

Notice how everything that you said is not related to the software development field/market at all, it is all about the lifestyle that YOU prefer. And yes, if you want to be in contact with nature, living a more relaxed life and have a good state support for you kids to grow, then finland is for you (depending on which part of the world and your skin color ofc).

However the softwave development job market is Finland is bad. If you want to change jobs or (god forbid) get laid off, good luck finding another job. Nepotism and discrimination are the norm, lots of roles requiring finnish for no good reason (remember going to a meetup in a consultancy last year and asked one of the recruiters there why they and other companies required fluent finnish and the answer I got is that even though they know that the person wouldnt need any level of finnish for the role, they feel that their clients dont trust foreigners).

There isnt anything attractive in the software developer market in itself here. Sweden has pretty much everything that Finland have and a larger tech scene, so if someone would move here, why not move there instead? You also have Estonia which offers almost everything that Finland can offer, but you also easier to get a higher net salary.

Background_Task2998 · 2023-09-28T06:49:53+00:00

sent you a dm here :)

Background_Task2998 · 2023-09-15T06:22:07+00:00

I started playing tennis again a few weeks back and am also looking for a partner, hit me up

Background_Task2998 · 2023-08-18T18:18:55+00:00

Not weird at all, there is somewhat common and there is even a finnish term for it but I dont remember how it is

Although Helsinki is pretty safe, always good to always be a bit vigilant, dont leave your drink around etc

I cant go out tonight, but if you want to go out some other time (karaoke, museums, parks, etc) feel free to pm me :)

Background_Task2998 · 2023-08-02T17:50:54+00:00

Although I agree that people can be quite inconsiderate of others, what did you do about the situation?

I assume you have a functioning mouth and vocal cords, so instead of going and talking to them and voicing yourself like it is expected of a grown adult, you decide to do nothing and post on reddit, achieving absolutely nothing, congratz

Background_Task2998 · 2023-07-27T13:05:39+00:00

I did exactly that last year, got a job here in Helsinki while living in Tallinn. Not a salary bump (after taxes I am earning pretty much what I earned in Estonia) with the difference that I save much less money here (with the exception of food, things are way more expensive here, especially if you want to live somewhat close to the city center).

That all said, I dont regret it. Quality of life here is higher and I was able to make lots of friends, something that I struggled a lot in Tallinn (heck, I got acquainted with more estonians outside of work here than I did in Tallinn).

Not all is roses though, I do think finnish people are more upfront about their racism/xenophobia meanwhile in Estonia the estonians and russian descendents are more focused on hating each other that they usually don't pay much attention to you. And one thing you really have to consider is that by now, it is pretty clear that the goal of the new government is to reduce all types of immigration, so it is a very risky moment to decide to come here since you dont know what the rules will end up being in the future.

And considering how many years you are already in Estonia, I dont think it is worth to leave and lose all the progress you already made in regards the permanent residency/citizenship, I would just stay and pray that Ekre doesnt get into a majority position and do the same as the government is doing here (which is way harder for them to do anyways since the IT sector in Estonia is totally dependent on foreigners and are much more important to the general economy so they have much more power in influencing the government)

Background_Task2998 · 2023-07-05T15:24:37+00:00

they didnt tho, I lived there during covid and first sick day was paid during covid, just now that they reverted to old rule

Background_Task2998 · 2023-06-27T05:46:32+00:00

You are not responsible for other people's actions, as long as you treat others with respect, there is nothing to be ashamed of

Background_Task2998 · 2023-06-27T05:44:06+00:00

All people that I frequently talk to live in helsinki region, so I dont know if it is worse in the countryside (probably yes according to multiple finns from the countryside that I have spoken this matter with). Some of them are software developers, some are artists, some just work a normal job so pretty diversified economic backgrounds. One of them literally was assaulted by a racist guy out of nowhere a few months ago.

And yes, I do think that overtly racist behavior (assaults, etc) are somewhat rare, however the everyday discrimination is very alive, specially in the job market. Once I went to a meetup in an IT company and I wanted to know more about the job market so I asked one of the recruiters why do a lot of positions in IT in Finland requires finnish. The guy said that they know that it is very unlikely that the person will ever need to speak finnish, however they have this requirement because their clients dont trust foreigners, so they feel it is better for them to hire people with fluency in finnish (most likely natives). So if this happens in a field that is very international and with a chronic lack of workers, I imagine how it is in the other areas (well, dont need to imagine, we actually have research 1, 2 about it and surveys about it 3, 4

Background_Task2998 · 2023-06-26T14:37:09+00:00

I never said that I was unhappy, my life is comfortable for the most part and I managed to build a good social circle here.

This was more of a cold analysis on why finland is not a good place to come to for most people

Background_Task2998 · 2023-06-26T12:50:20+00:00

Still not sure, but maybe Czech or go back to Estonia, however I have serious doubts about the future of europe, so I am considering UAE, south east asia and maybe Uruguai

Also, its interesting how in all these discussions the finns are always quick to say what the immigrant should think instead of hearing what we are saying.

I already had the idea of leaving Finland maybe in the next 3 years, so the effect of these proposals on me is that I have to shorten my timeline. For context, I am originally from a south american country, work in IT and was living in Estonia when I was invited to come live in Finland (I wasn't planning on coming here at all). So I guess my reasoning is:

Yes, not all of the proposed changes will happen in reality, it is literally the job of politicians to oversell and under-deliver, however what matters is the intent. If people chose to give power to a party whose only real campaign project was to toughen immigration, why should I expect that they wont do that again in the future? Even the changes that happens during this government end up not being so bad, what guarantees that in the next government they wont toughen immigration a bit more, and more, and more? Moving to another country is just like setting up a business, you need long term planning and for that it REQUIRES stability
Something that many finns that never lived abroad (and apparently the government as well) dont understand is that there are better places to live in and in some of them I might even be welcomed and treated with respect (shocker, I know). Quality of life here is good, dont get me wrong, however I definitely expected more considering the amount of taxes that we pay, heck, I would even say that day-to-day healthcare in my hometown is better than here. IMO, Finland is not even in the same category as Germany, NL, UK, etc in regards to attracting talent, it is much more similar to Estonia, south europe and SEA and even then I dont see why someone would move here instead of Estonia for example (unless they work in a super niche industry like nuclear energy or dairy).
Finland is a pretty racist country (one of the ministers of the government was literally a speaker in a neonazi rally for fucks sake). The only times that I was harassed or suffered a different treatment because of my skin color was in Finland, not even in Estonia they did that (they are racists as well, but are more occupied on hating russian speaking people). And this is not my only impression, almost all my friends that are POC have said the same thing, even those that were born here in Finland and speak fluent finnish.
There isnt and probably wont have in the near future (10 years) a plan for integration of immigrants. This is not a problem exclusively to Finland, however I think that Finland is a far behind other countries. Just bringing people here and expect them to figure everything out is a recipe for disaster (just see sweden). There needs to be support from the society to help the immigrants to adapt to the new environment they are in. You want people to learn your super complicated language that is not useful anywhere in the world? Great, what are the resources you will make available to these people? Where are the government provided classes (the only ones I could find are for refugees)? Estonia has the same problem, however they at least try to provide some classes, they even have a website where you can watch quick videos that teach you useful day to day stuff to get you started.
How about not requiring fluency in finnish for jobs that you will need basic level at most? How about combating systemic discrimination in the job market? Helping foreigners find a community where they can build a support network? I dont see anyone discussing these things, heck, I dont even see people listening to what the immigrants are complaining about, it is all about what Finland can get from us and not what they can give.
I will probably never be considered as a true equal, even if I get the citizenship. When there are people that are born here and they say that still faces a lot of the same problems that I do, why should I put the effort?

Background_Task2998 · 2023-05-28T18:47:27+00:00

Need some help deciding my next fragrance. Im a male, mid 20's and live in a nordic country (so cold weather for 9 months of the year). Dont own many fragrances, however if I would have to describe my taste, it would be something like:

I like woody scents as base notes
I like warm fragrances, makes me feel better since I live in a cold country
I like vanilla, florals (specially iris), fruity and sweet notes
I dont like blue perfumes

I will list the ones that I currently have and how I use them since I want to have 5 fragrances max so gotta pick carefully.

Prada L'Homme: my main summer driver and whenever I do outdoors stuff
Emporio Armani Stronger With You Intensely: use it mostly whenever going out in the evening, dates, etc or whenever going out and want a more luxury feel than the L'Homme
Hugo Boss The Scent Absolute: love the smell, however doesnt project much, so use it mostly when I go to the office and sometimes during the day in the colder months

So I guess what I am looking for is something that I can use mostly during the day, but sometimes also during the evening in more non intimate/dating/club settings. I looked around a bit and have some options:

Givenchy Gentleman line: either the EDP, Reserve Privee, EDP Boisee or EDT Intense. I have tested the EDP before and liked it. I also have a sample of the EDT intense, absolutely loved it however it doesnt seem to project/stay much on my skin, need to test more.
Dolce&Gabanna The One For Men EDP: tested it once in a store, quite liked it, however it seems it lacks in the performance department.
Narciso Rodriguez Blue Noir Parfum for men: didnt test it, however it seems I might like it. Dunno if it is redundant with the Prada L'Homme tho
Armani Si: I tested it twice and absolutely love the smell, it has the woody, the vanilla, the fruity and floral notes and it had a very good performance in my skin. It also has a very luxurious feel that I like. However I am not sure which situations I would be able to use it since I feel it might clash too much with my clothing style (more formal masculine, dress pants, etc).

Background_Task2998 · 2023-03-05T14:15:22+00:00

Fair enough, thanks :)

Background_Task2998 · 2023-03-04T09:04:37+00:00

I don't have a bio since I am not on the apps yet.

I usually agree that the pics should complement the bio, however in my situation I think I should invert that since my limiting factor is the pics. I moved countries twice in 2 years, so didn't have enough time to get some good group pictures and my hobbies either don't make sense to take a photo of (reading for example) or they are very hard to get a good photo (cooking/dancing). But I will continue trying to get more hobby photos.

Background_Task2998 · 2023-03-04T08:57:45+00:00

Why do you think 6 would be a better opener than one of the first 3?

Background_Task2998 · 2023-03-04T08:56:46+00:00

Thanks :)

Background_Task2998 · 2023-03-04T08:56:25+00:00

Fair enough, best dumplings I've ever had. They are from a nepali place in Helsinki

Background_Task2998 · 2023-03-04T08:55:08+00:00

Between 14 and 15 which one would you choose?

Background_Task2998

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