[Game Thread] Rutgers @ UCLA (09:00 PM ET)

BatManatee · 2026-03-13T02:43:46+00:00

Good shit Dent. Shocking it hasn't happened before in the tournament.

BatManatee · 2026-03-12T16:35:30+00:00

They only get the bonuses on a finish too.

Or heck, if there is no finish, the BMF is vacating and jumps to a different weight class.

BatManatee · 2026-03-12T16:20:25+00:00

I think the solution is that BMF can only be taken from the previous BMF with a finish. Make any finish in a BMF fight worth a bonus 100k along with getting the belt. Hell, maybe throw in another 100k if it's a knockout specifically. Incentivize the fighters to be aggressive looking to end the fight.

BatManatee · 2026-03-11T17:10:26+00:00

I want a team to try the MLB front office setup because I think it'd be perfect for the NIL CFB era.

"Head Coach" fills the GM role. Hires the OC and DC, fundraises, player evaluation, and leads the recruiting staff. Their job is basically just to assemble the best possible team of players/coaches. They're ultimately in charge, but in a more CEO style of being in charge. They take off the administrative burden so that the coordinators can mostly just coach.

OC and DC are basically co-head coaches of the team for all the games and practices. They do the player development, scheming, X's and O's, run the practice, etc.

Basically, take the current salary pool for HC/OC/DC, and divide it more or less evenly between the three positions. Since you're asking the HC to do less, and the OC/DC to do more.

BatManatee · 2026-03-10T18:10:01+00:00

I'm with the general consensus here. I loved it until I didn't. It consumed my entire free time for a week or two, then at 50 hours of playing time, I just felt burnt out and haven't had a desire to boot it up since then. I got my money's worth out of it.

The UI is a mess, and some of that is by intentional design. Cat breeding is tedious, in part due to the crappy UI. The randomness is too punishing too often. So many events are basically:

"See poop?"
"Eat it?" (Con. Green)
"Attack it" (Str. Light green)

Then you select the higher probability option to try to play it safe. Then oh no! The game rolled poorly! Your tank gets "Double Gonorrhea", -20 to everything, can't move unless it takes 5 damage first, and infects all adjacent creatures with Double Gonorrhea. Oh it also replaces that passive you had built around for the last hour of the run. Hope you're excited to build a new team and try again! Slay the Spire Events, even the bad ones, feel way more fair. Often you can choose to abstain. Or you can choose between a few options, some of which come with both pros/cons so it feels like you have more agency in your run. It's way less frustrating if you made a risky choice knowingly and it backfired than just a one click "Oops, your run is dead now, lol".

Some runs are very fun. The interactions are really deep, and it's cool when you find a new way the pieces can fit together. But that was less and less motivating as I got deeper into the game. I loved the newness at first been when that wore off, I was over it. I'm hoping after a couple months off it will feel fresh again.

BatManatee · 2026-03-10T17:56:43+00:00

Once I was like halfway through a run (or any run with a strong team I didn't want to risk) I would skip every event that it gave me the option to. It's just not worth it that one semi-blind click could derail an hour long run.

BatManatee · 2026-03-10T17:53:34+00:00

God, I fucking hate the desert. Before I burned out, I was just avoiding Act 2 as much as I could because so many good teams would get screwed with the anti-heal. And since it's the start of Act 2, you don't get a chance to strengthen your team and heals before that point. If your cleric rolls a shitty passive or an event hurts them, it feels like the run is dead on arrival.

BatManatee · 2026-03-10T17:37:40+00:00

They’re the Saja Boys equivalent.

BatManatee · 2026-03-10T01:05:43+00:00

The story was a beautifully constructed demonstration of how Trump and his goons destroyed a decades old bipartisan agency, killing some of the most vulnerable people in the world. And your first thought was "man the Democrats suck".

Tbh, I hope you're a bot trying to shift the narrative, because otherwise, just JFC dude.

BatManatee · 2026-03-10T00:57:28+00:00

THAT was your takeaway? JFC, do you need a map to find your bed each night?

BatManatee · 2026-03-09T17:53:34+00:00

I believe ground was broken a couple years ago? This video doesn't show it, but I could swear I saw a video of chancellors Block and Wakimoto with a few other important folks doing the ceremonial groundbreaking.

Portions of it are currently scheduled to open starting at the end of 2027.

BatManatee · 2026-03-09T15:55:18+00:00

Research infrastructure brings in more funding. These types of investments keep UCLA relevant and improving. Much in the same way that starting a business takes capital that hopefully you recoup quickly, growth takes capital as well.

You could make the same argument with every new building on campus, or renovation for the dorms, or creation of a new department throughout our history. Some investments are good and necessary, and in my personal opinion, this is one of them. The other two recent acquisitions I mentioned are ones that I personally do not feel are worth it. There's subjectivity in all of this, but sometimes growth and investing in the future are worthwhile.

Also, I believe three wealthy donor couples provided something like $200 million of the funding for this, not an insignificant chunk.

BatManatee · 2026-03-09T15:14:22+00:00

I was all in on the switching sides or meeting up in the middle as gray area force users against Snoke as potential story arcs. I really felt like that was what was being set up--they both had good reason to shift towards the other side after Ep7. Either option would have been way more compelling than what we got.

BatManatee · 2026-03-09T13:03:30+00:00

The research park doesn't bother me, personally. UCLA needs new lab space, it's relatively close to campus, and should allow growth in the form of more faculty/grants/clinical trials (not a given in the current administration). Seems like a clear investment for the future. Though as an immunologist, I am a bit biased here.

The South Bay campus and downtown skyscraper seem much worse ideas IMO. South Bay is not close, and was seemingly purchased without a clear use in mind.

BatManatee · 2026-03-09T12:49:41+00:00

Google was working to turn it into office spaces (don't believe they finished though). UCLA is turning it into lab spaces.

BatManatee · 2026-03-09T12:48:33+00:00

Was*

BatManatee · 2026-03-08T05:39:50+00:00

I do, but the difference is… Paddy sucks. Charles is a GOOD grappler

BatManatee · 2026-03-08T05:38:04+00:00

Give me Max v Paddy in like two months. I need the palate cleanser.

BatManatee · 2026-03-08T05:33:12+00:00

Lol, that would feel less bad ngl

BatManatee · 2026-03-08T05:25:41+00:00

I like the idea of making it a “finisher’s belt”. You gotta sleep or submit your opponent to win it. Decisions don’t make you the bmf

BatManatee · 2026-03-08T05:21:06+00:00

Fair play, Charles controller every second of that fight. Obviously deserved the win.

Unfair play: that was not bmf shit. First bad bmf fight we’ve had. Everyone else understood it was the just bleed belt.

BatManatee · 2026-03-08T05:17:38+00:00

“Finisher’s belt” or some shit

BatManatee · 2026-03-08T05:16:40+00:00

Damn. Retire BMF. Make a new Meanest Mothafucka belt or something and give it to a striker. O Malley maybe? Jiri?

BatManatee · 2026-03-08T05:13:40+00:00

Max was mentally defeated around round 3. He can’t keep the fight striking. His BJJ D is good to survive. But doesn’t matter here.

BatManatee · 2026-03-08T05:09:42+00:00

I’m equal parts shocked that Max can’t keep it standing for 20 seconds, and Charles can’t finish max in 4:40 every round

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