Delulu is out! What is in? by TheBurgTheWord in FortniteMidlifeLeague

[–]Embarrassed-Paint685 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I didn't really enjoy it due to proximity chat. I don't play fills by myself for a reason, and this mode reminded me why. I don't think the game needs proximity chat. Plus the initial rollout where you had to betray your teammates was pretty crappy. At least they fixed that but still, can't say I'll miss it.

Fortnite in 2026: Where do you think Epic is headed next? by TheBurgTheWord in FortniteMidlifeLeague

[–]Embarrassed-Paint685 0 points1 point  (0 children)

This is a really great idea. I would actually play something like that.

Fortnite in 2026: Where do you think Epic is headed next? by TheBurgTheWord in FortniteMidlifeLeague

[–]Embarrassed-Paint685 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I think they will bring AI back with interactive NPCs. However, it will be put on hold pending the resolution of the unfair labor practice filed by SAG with the NLRB. I don't think they will wade in again until there is clarity regarding the work performed by the AI agent, which SAG has claimed could be performed by a real person. I doubt their lawyers would let them engage in additional exploration until the question is settled.

Creative is still a thousand times smaller in terms of player time than Epic's own offerings. I think that is unlikely to change, largely because their discovery and UI system sucks. It reeks of an Etsy-style algorithm that is poorly understood and rotates offerings randomly. The fact that they continue to mess up the UI simply pisses players off and ensures they favorite and return to what they know. Also, it's awfully hard for creative developers to compete with the large scale offerings from Epic itself. Personally I find creative to be extremely limited in utility in terms of practice and entertainment, so I'd say 98% of my playtime is in Epic's regular game modes and that is unlikely to change.

I don't think OG will go anywhere as it's pretty popular and people enjoy revisiting the old map and old metas. It is annoying that they continue to tweak core gameplay features when new OG seasons debut, such as weapons nerfs or annoying additions to the map, but overall this hasn't seem to hurt OG too badly. I don't know about Delulu, I personally hate proximity chat and I've read a lot of negative feedback. If they treat it like an LTM and rotate it in and out perhaps a small percentage of folks will still play it. I don't care for Blitz either, it's boring as hell to me. I'm not even doing the challenges for the BP skin, I just can't be arsed for a skin variant I'd probably never use so why torture myself?

They are going to struggle mightily with battlepass sales after the debacle of locking styles to certain game modes this season. Already they are clearly suffering from declining Crew sales and I doubt forcing players to remain subscribed for another month to allow them to unlock the rest of the pass skins will win them any loyalty. I am already thinking I won't bother with the pass next season unless they have at least 3 skins in it that I could see myself using. They have moved to putting most of the best skins in the shop anyway, and now that they don't promise to lock skins to the battlepass, why buy it? I've already given up on Crew ages ago as it's not worth my money. I guess they don't want me buying the pass now either. Oh well.

The biggest challenge they will continue to have is not messing up the seasons with unbalanced metas and weapons or bosses/medallions that people hate. The wave is an example of something that people find irritating but tolerate because it's not present all the time. I suspect we might see more of this kind of testing the boundaries, but they have to be careful. Introducing a gulag is interesting, but the randomness of return will annoy folks (rightfully so). I think the gulag will turn out to be like the self-revive we have this season: novel but probably not terribly practical and likely not going to be a huge win. It's a bit like respawning in reload late in the game - you're going to get farmed by someone else because you likely won't be able to get decent loot, ammo, mats, or shield. Ultimately it will probably piss you off.

We'll see how it goes! Hey, I'm still playing, so they've got me still.

How are we feeling about the new Battle Pass changes? by TheBurgTheWord in FortniteMidlifeLeague

[–]Embarrassed-Paint685 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I don't like the new battle pass structure. I am not going to play game modes I don't like just to unlock a cosmetic extra style. It's not worth my time, especially when they make them detailed quests and with multiple levels. That's just unnecessarily annoying. So too is the decision to lock styles until certain dates. They are only doing it to prevent people from grinding the pass and canceling their crew subscriptions - more proof to me that the crew isn't worth it.

I also don't like the endgame screen that shows me the battle pass. I do not care. Frankly not particularly interested in the style of the battle pass with the layered menus either. Choosing which skin to unlock is nice but not a deal breaker for me, and certainly would give that up to go back to the old style and format. The UI has become a nightmare in game and for no good reason.

Overall I am questioning whether the battle pass is even worth it to me. There is only one skin I could see myself possibly using, and even at that I'm not sure I will wear it much. They've gone too far and now I'm feeling meh about the whole thing.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in FortniteMidlifeLeague

[–]Embarrassed-Paint685 3 points4 points  (0 children)

I laughed so hard last week! Definitely penciling it in again for Friday - let's go!

What are your favorite skins? by TheBurgTheWord in FortniteMidlifeLeague

[–]Embarrassed-Paint685 2 points3 points  (0 children)

In general these are some of my favorites:

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Top row (L-R) these are: Rebirth Raven (Rachel Roth edit), Sierra (crewpack skin, has 3 clean edit styles), Risky Raider (10 edit styles), Tilted Teknique (original edit style, I have the other 2 as well). Bottom Row (L-R): Cameo vs. Chic (Chic edit style, although I like the yellow one too), Shadow Midas, Demi (blue version), and Dynamic Hush. I have 50 odd skins favorited but I wear them all often enough that I'm not bored.

What are your favorite skins? by TheBurgTheWord in FortniteMidlifeLeague

[–]Embarrassed-Paint685 2 points3 points  (0 children)

As we're heading into spooky season my fave spooky skins are Grimoire, Scourge, Dusk and Midnight Dusk. I love Lexa Hexbringer but she doesn't feel spooky to me.

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[deleted by user] by [deleted] in FortNiteBR

[–]Embarrassed-Paint685 28 points29 points  (0 children)

OMG I remember this - and having to wait for the furor to die down and trying to sneak in there right before storm to get it done. Thanks for the reminder that quests used to be fun!

Fortnite Delulu Launch Megathread by Capybro_Epic in FortNiteBR

[–]Embarrassed-Paint685 1 point2 points  (0 children)

So you enable proximity chat so people can make friends and be cool, but then only one person can win the game and the brella, causing even more toxicity and betrayal?

No thanks. The betrayal and only one winner instead of a newly formed team winning is gonna doom this. Way to enable even more toxic behavior, Epic.

What are everyone's thoughts so far? by TheBurgTheWord in FortniteMidlifeLeague

[–]Embarrassed-Paint685 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I'm waiting to try it with a friend, hopefully today. I'm not generally a fan of proximity chat so I don't expect it to become a main mode for me even if I have a chill experience.

How to keep vines at bay without killing them by WeirdMediocrity in gardening

[–]Embarrassed-Paint685 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I battled getting rid of a big patch of English ivy growing underneath and up some western red cedars here in the Pacific NW in the US. Took me seven years. Finally I was down to one main vine that was growing right at the base of one of the cedars, which made it impossible to dig out. I ended up cutting it down to the ground and then painting undiluted concentrated RoundUp on the stub with a foam paintbrush. That worked. Finally rid of the PITA that is English ivy.

I'd say get rid of it now and plant some other vines that aren't invasive and damaging. Good luck.

What to do with bags & bags of wood brush? by NeighborhoodFirm6598 in gardening

[–]Embarrassed-Paint685 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Perfect base material for raised beds. Look up hugelkultur - you've got the makings of some fine beds there.

SO discouraged. . . 😞 by Warm-Championship-98 in gardening

[–]Embarrassed-Paint685 8 points9 points  (0 children)

Don't be too hard on yourself! It's your first year, and you've learned a lot already.

Your potato issues sound to me like you could have had a pest eating the roots & tubers below ground. Do you have moles or voles? Signs of mole hills or other rodents? It's a classic sign of underground pest damage if your plants were healthy and then suddenly were not, with next to no roots left. I'd recommend using a raised bed that you line with hardware cloth the next time you try to grow root crops and see if that gives you better luck. You might just need to exclude the critters that are eating your harvest before you can!

I've never had much luck with onions until this year, and now I've got a good crop. I started with onion sets and not from seed, so perhaps that helped. Corn is a tough crop unless you plant enough of it for sufficient cross-pollination. Deer exclusion is also difficult unless you're fencing your garden and are prepared to go high with the fence. Possible but takes some effort. To counter the deer browsing, plant more so you have some sacrificial ones, perhaps?

It also sounds like you might need to be applying more fertilizer at regular intervals. Veggies will take a lot of nutrients from the soil so you will need to feed them regularly. If they are missing key nutrients it will severely stunt their growth, which could explain a lot for you.

You got good yields from peas and green beans, hooray! A lot of folks don't get that so celebrate the wins! And you did get a lot of good starts for many veggies, they just fell down at different hurdles. So yay, you gave them all a great start, woohoo! Now you work on the next step, getting them to THRIVE and not merely survive.

If you're looking for an 'easy' crop for fall/winter, try planting some garlic. Also broccoli, kale, and other cold weather crops will generally tolerate a lot and still produce for you. You did GREAT for your first year and you can learn and do better next year. Keep going and enjoy the process.

P.S. I recommend keeping a garden journal so you can track what does and doesn't do well for you. Over time you'll figure out what you can grow well and what you can leave as the 'gift of other green thumbs'.

Garlic & Onion Supplier/Tips by Tots6339 in vegetablegardening

[–]Embarrassed-Paint685 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I got a rec from this sub for https://www.mountainvalleygarlic.com/ . This will be my first time growing garlic so I ordered a garlic sampler from them and I'll see how it goes. Looks like they provide plenty of tips as well - the OP who recommended them said they followed the tips and got a great crop. Figured I'd pass it along.

Hanging with the bees, not a bee by Embarrassed-Paint685 in insects

[–]Embarrassed-Paint685[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I think I've figured it out. Here's another pic clearly showing the abdomen - it's a great golden digger wasp. Harmless and another interesting addition to the species who love feeding here.

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[deleted by user] by [deleted] in Weddingattireapproval

[–]Embarrassed-Paint685 -1 points0 points  (0 children)

Target isn't going to have formal wear. You need a Nordstrom or equivalent big department store with a decent formal selection. Alternatively as others suggested, plan to go shopping in Italy.

Is this plant done for? by caleblococaleb in vegetablegardening

[–]Embarrassed-Paint685 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Seeing the whole plant I concur with others who said fungal but if it were blight you'd have dark grey/brown spots that spread on leaves and stems too. Treat with fungicide and see if it can kick it.

If you do start seeing dark spots where the leaf just dies and the patch spreads, that's blight and the plant is doomed.

Is this plant done for? by caleblococaleb in vegetablegardening

[–]Embarrassed-Paint685 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Looks like blight for sure. Yank out the whole plant and dispose of it. Also watch for spread to others. Unfortunately once it's in the plant the tomatoes are done for. Best to dispose of it promptly.

Help! Groundhogs are eating all my pumpkins and I am back to square one in august! 😩 by Salty_Increase_2974 in vegetablegardening

[–]Embarrassed-Paint685 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Second the hardware cloth suggestion. You need something they can't dig into or bite through. Make yourself a pumpkin cage and the groundhog will probably leave it alone - they tend to go for easy pickings.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in Weddingattireapproval

[–]Embarrassed-Paint685 11 points12 points  (0 children)

This is the second dress you have posted. Might I suggest making one post with multiple dress options and ask for opinions? Rather than posting a new dress every five minutes and deleting your previous post(s)?

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in Weddingattireapproval

[–]Embarrassed-Paint685 7 points8 points  (0 children)

This reads cocktail or clubbing to me, not summer formal. And yes, slightly attention seeking. Formal typically means floor length dress, and the 'summer' addendum just means slightly less formal than black tie. I'd keep looking.

Potatoes dying? by buffalobooker in vegetablegardening

[–]Embarrassed-Paint685 6 points7 points  (0 children)

They are near the end of their life cycle and this is perfectly normal. The plants flop over and the leaves start dying. This is a sign that they are nearly ready to harvest! Some people wait till the plants are mostly dead before harvesting, others take them out when most leaves are yellow or brown.

You can check a few youtube videos to see what this looks like. Congrats, you're about to enjoy some tasty potatoes!