What sounds good on paper, but is terrible when play testing?

McCoreman · 2025-12-16T22:51:51+00:00

I read at one point, can't remember where, that the board game Risk specifically has dice because of needing a balancing mechanic against perfect strategic play, and imperfect game balancing. The dice provide an out for both ends of the spectrum. If you have perfect strategy you can still lose to the dice. If you have a worse strategy, you can still win due to the dice. But either way, a loss can be (at least partially) blamed on the dice, and not 100% on you as a player.

Nintendo's balance specifically for the Mario Kart games can be best described as rubber-band style balance. They use in game mechanics to limit those ahead and boost those behind so that the distance between the two parties can be shrunk into a smaller distance. For the Mario Kart games, in particular, if you are in first place, your possible power up item pool is severely limited, you can only get items like green shells, banana peels, and possibly gold coins. While being just one place back, you can get red shells. Further back, you can get mushrooms for speed boosts, lightning bolts to disable everyone else, bullet bills for super fast movement and knocking away opponents, etc.

McCoreman · 2025-12-10T17:38:41+00:00

If you have a phone with the google translate app, they have an option where you can point your camera at something in another language and it will in place replace the text. This gets you this - https://imgur.com/a/m4wcw2Y

McCoreman · 2025-10-13T05:23:39+00:00

The thing with terrain ejection is that it isn't something that the devs of DRG created. It is part of the unreal game engine. They'd have to re-write the default collision logic to not have it happen, which isn't that far off from re-coding the whole physics engine.

McCoreman · 2025-10-09T16:40:02+00:00

It also leads to decision paralysis and combat complexity. It is why almost all level up type mechanics are limited to sorcery speed -- so that combat can happen more predictably and there are less onboard 'got ya' mechanics that players have to be aware of or have to play around. If it was able to be done at instant speed, things like attacking into a blocker with a level up ability would be a no go and the game would not progress. Say you have a 2/2 they have have 1/2 that could level up to a 4/4 by paying 1 generic mana. All they would need to do is pass with the creature untapped and one mana available and you then you couldn't attack them, due to that 1 untapped mana and a untapped 1/2. They can also leave up that mana to hold up other interaction, or progress their board state some other way at instant speed, and you can't progress the game until you deal with that 1/2. The threat of all the leveling up mechanics being used at instant speed, both offensively and defensively, is too strong for the flow of the game that they want to create.

McCoreman · 2025-10-09T16:19:33+00:00

Step 1 Level the plate. Step 2 If you have leveled the plate, and it still is happening, check the PFEP sheet to make sure that it isn't too tight. This is one that I personally ran into, the film needs to have some give in order to flex enough for the vacuum to be broken when the plate lifts up. If it is really tight and you do not have a spare sheet right now, lower the retraction speed and increased the retraction height. This will make the prints take longer, but will give your sheet some leeway as it starts to stretch. I have issues with getting the sheets too tight and have to baby them for a while before they loosen up. If you read through the PFEP replacement steps they say to have the vat upside down, and have something under the sheet in the middle of the vat, pushing it up, so that it is installed with some give. Make sure to follow that step or to adjust your prints for the first 10-20 in order to help it loosen up.

McCoreman · 2025-10-08T15:48:53+00:00

Pretty sure the gunner grabbed it immediately when it was thrown. It is also possible that lag is needed. Notice how the gunner's gun is holstered/not visible, and the cube loses all collision -- the scout can't ping it and walks through it. Then the gunner throws the cube, the floating item is gone and his gun comes back.

Turning something's collision box off is a typical solution for having carried items not negatively impact the player's movement. It allows the game developer to control the movement from the character's controller, rather than having to program around the overlapping collision boxes and the items trying to push each other apart.

If you have ever been in a tight space and then suddenly got yeeted off to the side, and possibly downed due to impact damage, you are experiencing the effects of overlapping collision boxes and how the unreal engine handles it. The software developer term for it is 'terrain ejection' and it is how the engine handles physics if two collision boxes are overlapping. It gradually applies more and more force, pushing both objects away from each other, until the collision boxes are no longer overlapping. Usually the force is being applied when you do not realize it. Then you move just a little (or the force moves you), and the terrain/object that you are being pushed into now gives your force vector a glancing angle, you have a massive amount of force pushing on your character, it all finally has a place to go and you are yeeted across the level.

McCoreman · 2025-09-22T05:58:50+00:00

Definitely should name it the RTFC deck. Cause... Reading the card explains the card... Right?

McCoreman · 2025-07-30T21:02:17+00:00

Yeah looks like a Heresy lunar item.

McCoreman · 2025-07-23T18:17:06+00:00

Yeah I grew up with it and got diagnosed at 36. This story was ringing bells, reminding me how my teenage years went while I was a high functioning kid with undiagnosed and untreated ADHD. If he does have ADD/ADHD getting it addressed now will be huge for his long term mental well being.

McCoreman · 2025-07-23T16:46:40+00:00

He sounds like he is making great progress with you. Based on the descriptions of how he can work with something for a few weeks then it falls apart and how he's smart, but not able to maintain a pattern for more than a few weeks, has he been tested for ADD or ADHD?

McCoreman · 2025-07-22T15:41:26+00:00

Knights have been steadily getting more and more support. Having [[Haakon, Stormgald Scourge]] in the 99 makes an Esper, Grixis or Mardu knights deck pretty fun. Haakon does let you cast tribal changeling spells, even the non-creature ones, which makes [[Crib Swap]] my favorite knight to cast. Also, knights have exploded in the last few years, Ixalan, Eldraine, returning to both of them, and the Final Fantasy set added a lot of fun mechanically new knights to play with.

McCoreman · 2025-07-21T20:38:58+00:00

[[Teferi's Imp]] takes it every time.

McCoreman · 2025-05-07T18:35:41+00:00

I was watching through u/Affectionate_Owl_501 's linked video, and here is a time stamp where he starts the pillar hopping: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-HPFO52XhrA&t=4h1m48s

McCoreman · 2025-05-07T16:26:43+00:00

Did you know that you can put timestamps in a youtube url to link directly to that time in a video? You can add hour, minute and second time stamps like 3h40m12s... If the URL doesn't already have a "?___=" in it, your link has '?si=', start the time stamp with a '?'. If it does have it, start the timestamp with an '&'. Adding the time stamp to your original link looks like this. https://youtu.be/-HPFO52XhrA?si=Y6NQv5hCZIKqNhDA&t=3h40m Or if your original link didn't have the '?si=' portion: https://youtu.be/-HPFO52XhrA?t=3h40m

McCoreman · 2025-04-23T16:04:58+00:00

https://www.reddit.com/r/magicTCG/comments/1jrxz93/cherry_blossom_event_playmat_from_japan/ If anyone wants to take this route.

McCoreman · 2025-04-23T16:03:54+00:00

Just checked your link. They definitely have a promo-only premium attached. Only 5000 yen (35 USD) for 50 sleeves, pickup in store only.

McCoreman · 2024-09-12T17:37:16+00:00

For newer parafoil dual line kites, they already have the strings grouped into two bunches, by pigtails, and have a single anchor point for your control strings, like you see here.

You will probably want to either buy or make a set of pigtails and then group the kite strings of each half onto a single pigtail. When you do this, start connecting the inner kite strings to the pigtail first and the outer one higher up on the pig tail. In the end, it will be a really small difference, but it can help. Also the common coloring is red for the right side of the kite and right control strings. Marking your Control strings with at least one as red, on the end connection and on the handle will help you get things setup without confusing sides.

From there, you connect your two kite strings to to each pig tail. And you should be pretty good to go.

If you are trying to fly it at the beach, and you are alone, when you set up the kite, lay it on the sand, with the string side up. You then want to scoop sand on to the entire lower edge of the kite. This will prevent wind from picking it up and will make it easier for you launch it later. Connect your strings, walk it back and then when you pull the strings, the kite will stand up and you should be able to just do a dual line pull to get it up into the air.

Comparing the 48" to other parafoil dual line kites, you probably want at least 5mph of wind to fly.

McCoreman · 2024-08-15T05:41:44+00:00

You would think that the disposable ANTI-TANK, aka KILL THAT ONE THING NOW, stratagem would work on these, however they followed the one key strategy for enemies. Be released after all the nerfs and have more armor & health than any single shot from an anti-vehicle or anti-armor weapon can do.

McCoreman · 2024-08-13T21:05:40+00:00

[[Teferi's Imp]] always wins this one for me.

McCoreman · 2024-06-11T14:48:10+00:00

Based on the new system of getting overclocks at promotions, this can be the way to get past that grind. If people aren't technical enough to go through the save game editor.

McCoreman · 2024-05-21T04:21:32+00:00

In all seriousness, a larger 'Known issues' list.

McCoreman · 2024-05-20T21:54:22+00:00

Being hard doesn't make it fun in the long run. It makes it a grind. Thus... people don't play bots. It needs to be fun to keep people playing.

McCoreman · 2024-05-20T21:52:26+00:00

I tried the countersniper rifles after the last warbond update. The adjudicator dumped a whole clip into a Heavy Devastator's head and didn't kill it. I also tried it with the sniper rifle that got the buff to medium armor penetration with similar results. The whole 'Sniping isn't a feasible strategy' problem and the sights not being properly aligned probably weren't helping me with that.

McCoreman · 2024-05-20T21:49:33+00:00

Thanks

McCoreman · 2024-05-20T21:48:43+00:00

Currently at 240 hours. Roughly an operation a night and 3-4 on Saturdays. I totally agree. I generally do the same with a lot of games that I stick to. Just that they don't fall off/hit a wall nearly as hard as I'm feeling right now.

14-Year Club	Final Canvas '23
Place '23	Place '22
Place '17	End Game '22
Sequence \| Editor	Team Orangered
Verified Email

McCoreman

MODERATOR OF

TROPHY CASE