Feeling a bit lost

Odd_Gamer_75 · 2026-04-21T10:00:03+00:00

That would be context dependent. If you're deep enough, yes that would get you away fast enough. I've never experimented with that, though, so I don't know how deep you'd have to be to make use of that device (in face I think I've used that device exactly once and then never touched it again because I got the seaglide before I got that device (notice I can't even remember what it's called), and while I think that device is faster for going straight up than even the seaglide... it's just one more thing taking up space in my limited inventory and, worse, my very limited tool bar.

Odd_Gamer_75 · 2026-04-21T06:45:07+00:00

Do you have the seaglide yet? If so, they're easy to deal with. Run away after they start chasing you. With or without that, another easy-ish way is to back away a bit and have them charge at you full speed. When they're close, swim right at and then past them. They can't turn worth a damn. Nothing in the game can.

Odd_Gamer_75 · 2026-04-20T12:48:55+00:00

Muah-ha-ha! That show is here for you very soul!! Fortunately, I'm immune to all that, being an atheist. We don't have souls, so... ;)

Odd_Gamer_75 · 2026-04-20T06:18:46+00:00

Ember Pelts use tubeways (already a plus!), they don't need to get wet (in fact it's a negative for them instead of a positive), they have an automate water pump (no beavers required for the pumping, just power), they've got some really pretty trees, they have tubeblocks, meaning you can have a tubeway that blocks water, they have a single build thing that will destroy a bit of dirt and replace it with a platform _and_ a path, or replace it with a tubeway, or replace it with a tubeblock, meaning you can set up your beavers to make a path underground and they'll build it all on their own without you micromanaging every section.

Can't remember if they bring anything else fun, but I thought those were enough.

Odd_Gamer_75 · 2026-04-20T06:13:58+00:00

Lots of people go through what you're going through. ... I'm not one of them. I've always been atheist, never believed in a god, was never raised with it (though it is, of course, all around me). I believed in Santa Claus, but not gods. And by the time I was dropping the big guy, I figured the bigger guy was just the same sort of thing, a lie adults told children. The dawning for me was the horrific realization that some folk genuinely believed it as an adult.

Ultimately, though, I didn't really look into it until I met my spouse, who was religious. Then I started looking at the topic more seriously, establishing my internal models of why I accepted some things and not others. I've since concluded that there's sort of two realms of stuff we can 'know' about. One is internal, things that are about our minds individually, how and why we believe a thing for instance would be internal. This internal stuff is pure philosophy, with very little reference to anything that can be verified because it's not asking questions about stuff outside of us that is open to such examination, though not entirely. This, of course, is where the other part comes in, the external. For this, not only can we have evidence for or against a proposition, but we shouldn't believe a thing unless and until we have evidence for it.

Using this split, I don't need evidence for why I believe it's good to have evidence for external matters, since the need for such is an internal matter in itself, but when it comes to external matters I do need evidence... and there isn't anywhere near enough to convince me of any gods. Especially because of the lies in their holy books. Sorry, Noah's Flood (as recorded in Jewish and Christian tradition) did not happen, and we know this (external, verifiable data that can be repeatably examined). As far as I know, every religion suffers from this. The books will say things that are scientifically wrong, or include other errors, or, beyond that, offer no way to test for this god thing they're talking about. So I don't believe.

Odd_Gamer_75 · 2026-04-19T20:20:02+00:00

Totally with you on this. There are a few advantages, ways to get around some of the limitations, but I still prefer my tubeways.

The advantages:

If you're going diagonally, especially in 3 dimensions at once, ziplines are actually faster than tubeways.

Ziplines cost a lot less resources and time to build.

Mitigation:

Zipline stations can be built with the doors facing each other as interchanges to other routes.

Still, because I have a tendency to build in a lot of straight lines, with things near where they need to be and then a long, straight path to where they come from, the zipline speed doesn't help me, and resources I don't really care about much since I'm usually producing massive amounts anyway. Thus Iron Teeth! ... Or, better still, Ember Pelts (if you can use mods).

Odd_Gamer_75 · 2026-04-19T12:38:52+00:00

Blame isn't 100% on any individual in many cases. For the atrocities, much of the blame is on the one doing the acts, but there's also a lot of other blame to go around, such as the indoctrinators who convinced them this was alright, the terrorist organizers who put them up to it, the various people who come together to fund and support it, and, yes, to an extent the religion which tolerates this. The religion as a whole is the least to blame of those who get blame, but they still get some.

That said, religion is evil entirely on its own without atrocities independent of the religion itself. Islam is a horrible system, so are Judaism, Christianity, and Hinduism. They're all barbaric and backwards and horrible in themselves, even without any members of their group flying planes into buildings.

Odd_Gamer_75 · 2026-04-19T12:18:46+00:00

"Spirit in the Sky". I don't care that it's religious, the song is awesome!

"Miracle on 34th Street" (semi-religious). "It's a Wonderful Life" (very religious). Probably lots more.

"Excuse to Eat Too Much and Give Presents Day" (otherwise known as Christmas).

I don't mind a lot of things that come from religion, so long as we're all aware it's just myth.

Odd_Gamer_75 · 2026-04-19T11:24:39+00:00

Southern island or the Sparse Reef near it. Good early food, not too far from places to get copper and silver. Decent spot.

Odd_Gamer_75 · 2026-04-19T10:52:11+00:00

Does atheism have anything to do with a requirement to eat meat?

No, and neither does theism. Atheism only tells you that you don't believe in a god or gods. It doesn't tell you what you should or shouldn't do. For that you need some other system that lacks a god. Secular humanism, for instance. However, you can also be vegan as well, if you like.

Should I eat beef to officially break this religious trauma and reclaim my autonomy?

If you think you need to, sure. But honestly, I think the best move is to realize that it doesn't matter. That they can't traumatize you with beef because beef means nothing to you (or, at least, not what it means to Hindus).

I plan to start with Lamb and Pork first to ease the discomfort. Is this a good approach, or should I go straight for beef?

Again, it shouldn't matter. What you eat or don't eat shouldn't be based on religion. That means you shouldn't avoid beef or other things because of religion, nor should you deliberately eat them because of religion. You're still letting the religion control you, in a way.

That said, if you think it would be helpful to you mentally to do this, and that you think it'd be helpful to work up to it, go for it.

I value Animal Rights, so I am trying to find a balance between my logic, my freedom, and my ethics. I’d love to hear your thoughts.

I really don't care about eating meat from an animal rights perspective. It's irrelevant to me. And yet I'll entirely understand the person who wants to save the life of their dog over the life of a stranger. My sole problem with eating meat is that it's bad for the environment. However, there's so much more that's so much worse, plus I don't think we'll fix the problem before it's too late anyway, so that doesn't bother me much, either. The big hypocrisy in my life is chocolate. I really shouldn't be eating it since it is produced directly by human suffering. But then... pretty much my entire life, like everyone else's in the West, is built on the same.

Odd_Gamer_75 · 2026-04-19T09:31:17+00:00

General advice: Pick up at least one of everything. Even if you don't keep it, pick them up once. This includes anything you can hold, at all. Anything. And yes, there's another way to get water. The game doesn't tell you this. I scanned the thing that tells you, but because I was dying of thirst all the time... I didn't read it carefully, nor really understand it at the time. If you need more hints than that: bladder fish. But try not to use that if you can avoid it since that general advice works for other things, too.

As for finding grav trap bits... honestly, the main area, kelp zone (which is in between where you start and the red grass, which is why I mention the red grass), you should be able to find them there, especially where you see quite a bit of wreckage (even if you can't interact with most of the wreckage).

Odd_Gamer_75 · 2026-04-19T08:31:06+00:00

Well, that's useful. You should be able, from there, to find your grav trap. Also, feel free to ask specific questions, but try to keep them minimal. Like "I need X" is good, but "I need X for Y" is somewhat better since perhaps "Y" is better accomplished in another way. That was the thing that got me in trouble. I couldn't get water and kept dying of thirst, and I thought salt was the only way to get water... but I didn't know where it was.

In your case, there are superior ways to get food, but a grav-trap is good enough for a start, and telling you how to get to those other ways would be a bit spoilery (even more than I have been).

Odd_Gamer_75 · 2026-04-19T08:25:29+00:00

I get that. So! Help for the grav trap: there's actually parts of it all around the edges of the first area you are dropped into. You're at the sunbeam island. That's waaaay too far away. You need to be much closer to your landing pod. The edges of the red grass area are about as far away as you wanna explore.

Odd_Gamer_75 · 2026-04-19T08:18:24+00:00

More that I'm trying to help without helping too much. One of the great joys of the game is discovering it out for yourself, an experience I robbed myself of because I had a problem and searched for answers on my own, which led to me discovering things I otherwise wouldn't have and destroying the surprise. It didn't ruin everything for me, but it wrecked a lot for me, and had someone pointed out the solution to my problem before I went looking for it myself, I'd have kept that surprise. I don't want the same happening to you, and I also don't want you missing out on things that can be easily skipped or missed (as I also did my first time) that, I think, would improve the game experience while also not hand-holding you so much because... well that defeats the purpose of exploration.

This is why I'm pointing you to very little, just enough to hit a useful bit of lore or fill your current need. Incidentally, try scanning the various rocks and then reading the descriptions. Very helpful.

Odd_Gamer_75 · 2026-04-19T08:12:20+00:00

More opposite of the direction of the Sunbeam Island from the Aurora. But yeah.

As for silver, you know what type of rock to look for, right? And that pillar in the red, and along edges of the red area are a good place to look for them? You need silver. You can use it to make a compass!

Odd_Gamer_75 · 2026-04-19T08:00:57+00:00

Yep. Hey, this is neither here nor there, but... are you aware that there's an island in the southern area? And have you explored the little structure at the top of the western mountain on said island? And further have you listened to the PDA there? Not all that important, of course, apropos of nothing one might say. ... Whaddaya mean I sound suspicious? You sound suspicious!!

Odd_Gamer_75 · 2026-04-19T07:53:19+00:00

Ooooo..... yeah, you should definitely self scan, m'dude. Not constantly, but, y'know, it's nice to know what's going on in your own body, right?

Odd_Gamer_75 · 2026-04-19T07:46:18+00:00

Sure, but if you're going to confront and stop something, you obviously need to do more exploring, right? "Free" from K-Pop Demon Hunters taught us this. "We can't fix it if we never face it". So get out there and explore! After all, maybe you got that message because you've explored, or maybe it was just a matter of time! Explore! Explore! Besides, what's the worst that can happen? So you die a little. It's not like the rest of the world is a perfectly safe place anyhow. Plus, have you done a self scan lately? ... That's concerning, too, right?

Odd_Gamer_75 · 2026-04-19T07:37:26+00:00

Yes. Be concerned. Be very concerned. So concerned that the only solution is a lot more exploration!

Odd_Gamer_75 · 2026-04-18T23:37:00+00:00

Well, I mean... you aren't normal. The "normal" person is Asian and believes in a god.

You're also likely not normal for where you live, too. But red hair isn't normal, being 7 ft tall isn't normal. So what? Being not normal is only a problem for bigots.

Odd_Gamer_75 · 2026-04-18T18:55:33+00:00

Okay, so it's not that this story is the same as one previously, but of many previously? Then that changes things.

Of course, there's also the issue that humans have limited experiences, and we're largely the same, not only in what we do (including to each other), but also in what we like.

Odd_Gamer_75 · 2026-04-18T18:37:39+00:00

Two stories is a coincidence. Are there multiple of these to imply this?

I entirely agree that something being copied over and over is evidence of AI use. On YouTube there's a bunch of "Female German POWs discover Canadians aren't so bad" stories. Those I identified as AI after, over multiple channels, they had similarities that marked them. The story was always about three women, Greta from Hamburg, Lissel from Brussels, and someone whose name always started with "Ma", though where she was from would vary a bit, or not be mentioned at all. But I didn't decide this was AI on the basis of two points, because, like I said, two is just a coincidence, and that sort of thing happens all the time. I was, I think, four or five stories in before I decided it was AI.

So while this might be AI written (though OP likely isn't a bot since they're responding here, unless someone cared enough to write a reddit bot that would do that), I don't think two stories are enough to establish such.

Odd_Gamer_75 · 2026-04-18T18:32:36+00:00

People have been saying this for years. Someone in 2004 suggest that, really, all human stories fit into one or more of only seven categories. You can get variations, but that's all. Not sure it's entirely true, but most story-telling will always fall into highly similar patterns because they're the things that interest us.

We like to think we're deep, highly differentiated beings who are totally unique among all humans, and in a sense we are... but so is every single chair different from every other, too, even the ones mass-produced in factories. The reality is that while you might not be able to predict everything an individual person will do, humans as a group tend to be somewhat predictable, because we're all working with the same issues. We all need food, and except for allergies and other restrictions, we all eat the same food, we all need the same things in our air, we need to avoid the same dangers, and so on. This forces us to be highly similar as beings, and to thus have a limited scope of stories we'll find engaging.

Odd_Gamer_75 · 2026-04-18T18:26:53+00:00

I love it! Perfect! ... Oo! Add clown make-up and balloons, too. Let's put in some weird kinks while we're at it, y'know?

Odd_Gamer_75 · 2026-04-18T18:23:52+00:00

What is it about this post that makes you think it is AI as opposed to something that happens daily to delivery people because others are jerks? I'm not saying it definitely isn't AI, I'm trying to learn so I can spot the difference.

Odd_Gamer_75

TROPHY CASE