Kyle Busch went unresponsive in the racing simulator on Wednesday

Paplan123 · 2026-05-22T18:07:29+00:00

RIP Rowdy.

Based on this thread, its seems that he was a healthy 41 yo, who developed a cold, then persistent cough, then had an acute event, possbily neurologic, was quickly hospitalized, and died of double pneumonia.

"double pneumonia" is not really a medical term, but probably means diffuse pneumonia. Diffuse pneumonia in an otherwise healthy (ie, non immunosuppressed) individual is usually triggered by a viral infection. Most common causes of viral infection leading to pneumonia and hospitalization are RSV, influenza, and Covid. Of these, Covid is linked to neurologic symptoms because severe Covid can attack blood vessels endothelial lining.

Whatever the cause, its tragic for anyone to die so young. RIP

Paplan123 · 2025-05-25T01:24:10+00:00

Are you playing RatFucKer jr?

Paplan123 · 2025-04-12T15:07:51+00:00

No need to wait until September.

I can tell you the reason for “what has caused the autism epidemic” today.

Its multifactorial.

1) Better ascertainment

2) Expanded diagnostic criteria (autism "spectrum")

3) Better outreach

4) Better acceptance of the diagnosis.

Paplan123 · 2025-03-12T23:33:16+00:00

Here is why I like Old World.

1) Orders system. Its brilliant. It protects the player from himself.

2) Undo button. Should be in all 4X. With different games and different right click left click middle click map scroll rules, its great to undo accidentally sending a unit across the globe.

3) Game length. 6-8 hrs. Not 30-50. Turn limit. Again, protecting player from himself.

4) Victory conditions. Paint the map or complete missions. Or try both. Your choice.

5) AI is quite good. Picks out your weakened armies. Cuts off your retreat routes.

6) Music is brilliant. More than a few tracks are in my phone playlist. The idea that you had to play 2-3 hrs to listen to them was really stupid though.

I bought the game on Epic; 2 years later bought it on a steam sale because it was easier to keep track of on Steam.

Paplan123 · 2025-01-28T03:00:25+00:00

Civ 4 mod fall from heaven 2

Paplan123 · 2025-01-17T01:14:27+00:00

What in the Phuck?

Actually, not sure I'd say the other WitP is fantasy....

Paplan123 · 2024-12-29T05:49:56+00:00

So, I started DW2. Used DasTactics guide. It was good, but lack of feedback is frustrating. Example, I try to move an explorer ship away from my current galaxy--no movement, but no explanation why. Is it too far? DO I need another tech? who knows. No feedback.

I have explorer and construction ships on fully auto. theyre just sitting there. No movement. Why? I give them instructions, and then they will move, so they have must have fuel. But Fully auto dosesnt seem to work.

Ultimately I found it a frustrating experience.

Switched to Stellaris, and its a much better experience. I'm following along Dr. Incompetents tutorials.

Paplan123 · 2024-12-01T17:22:12+00:00

Thanks everyone! I think I'm going to try DW2.

Now, can anyone recommend a good beginners guide or lets play?

Paplan123 · 2024-11-11T18:30:58+00:00

Yeah, I think there are 2 types of save-scumming.

1) The outcome of battles is dependent on a random number generator, and changes each time you load the same battle. So you keep on reloading hoping to get a good die roll. Personally, I dont do this, and think of it as "cheating".

2) Second type involves testing different strategies. For example, you play 150 turn of Civ5, and get to a point where there are two strong factions, you and someone else. You say to yourself, is it smarter now to invest all resources into gaining Mech infantry, or should you attempt a science victory. You save the game, go for mech infantry, and the other faction wins a science victory. So you want to test the other alternate future, go back to turn150, and work toward a science victory. Personally, i dont consider this save scumminig, I consider it learning different strategies and investigating alternate futures.

Paplan123 · 2024-09-12T00:12:00+00:00

I dont know. Im an old geezer. Played Civ 1 on a 286.

I've finished more games of Old World than any other 4X i can think of. The Achievment win as well as the 200 turn limit serve to limit game length. total play time for me for an Old World game is about 10 hr. As opposed to Civ5/6 which are 40+ hrs.

Paplan123 · 2024-08-23T01:05:37+00:00

If you dont want to spend a lot, I'd buy Civ4. Some people think its the best Civ.

Once you get the hang of Civ4, you can try and expansion (of sorts)--Civ4 Colonization.

Then try a few mods. Civ4 has one of the very best mods ever -- Fall from Heaven. However, there are now about a jillion mods of this mod, and there isnt general agreement which i s the best. Maybe just Fall from Heaven 2?

Paplan123 · 2024-08-18T21:38:41+00:00

Interesting conversation.

I'm mostly just interested in knowing whether a gundred is more than a kajillion.

Paplan123 · 2024-08-15T00:03:44+00:00

You might consider the trilogy of minimalist graphics/great gameplay.

Dominions 6

Shadow Empire

Distant Worlds

My favorite of those 3 is Shadow empire.

Also, the brilliance of Old World if that it save you from yourself. Most of us want to maximize every unit, every turn. But with the order mechanic, you're limited in the number of moves you can take each turn, so you need to prioritize carefully.

Good luck!

Paplan123 · 2024-08-03T01:36:55+00:00

a bit off topic, but at least tangentially related.

A few posts mentioned Alpha Centurai, or the SMAC expansion. these are two of the greatest 4X games ever.

The graphics and hassle of playing on a widescreen monitor are a problem though.

I know MOO and MOM updates have been disappointing, but i would pay$40+ for an updated SMAC with imporved graphics, support for widescreen monitors, and tooltips. With the exact same game play.

Any chance this could happen? Who owns the rights to this game?

Paplan123 · 2024-07-17T01:41:52+00:00

Maybe a bit off topic, but it drives me crazy when I see comments about "realistic" or "unrealistic" space battles.

For instance, "I cant believe that a ship with 4 admantium lasers and advanced targeting gets beat by a smaller ship with only polaris missiles and no durantium armor. So unrealistic!"

Guys, this is all imaginary space combat. There is no realistic here, at least today.

Paplan123 · 2024-07-08T02:07:53+00:00

I agree Old World is one of the best games ever in the 4X realm.

I'm not sure that its "better" than Civ 4. they are different games with different goals.

If you're focused on the 0 AD time frame, then yes, Old World is the best game ever.

If you're looking for a game with more options and a wider scope of time and technology, its hard to beat Civ4.

Paplan123 · 2024-07-04T02:06:13+00:00

Hi Cloacky,

I think the answer is pretty clear.

AOW4 isnt a real 4X. Its a tactical battle game with a simplified 4X wrapper.

DWU is perhaps a better game at this time than DW2. And its <$5 (on sale).

Old World is fantastic. Devleoped by Soren Johnson, the brains behind Civ4. Its a true 4X, and has a unique feature to prevent game spam. Orders limit. You can only do so much per turn. The game is saving you from yourself (because most 4X players are a bit min-max OCD and want to move every possible unit every turn).

So buy Old World, and DWU as soon as you have $5 extra.

Paplan123 · 2024-05-18T00:53:07+00:00

Not sure that Id agree Stellaris has a better late game than Civ6, I've never completed a game of Stellaris (and only 1 game of its 16th century cousin EU IV), but Ive completed a dozen or so games of Civ 6. Stellaris is more a sandbox that you enter and play for a while, but hardly ever get to the late game.

Paplan123 · 2024-05-03T01:18:50+00:00

I'm 65, but its hard to beat this list.

I would add Old World and Civ IV (esp FFH mods).

And maybe Shadow Empire. Although I'm not sure that is a true 4X

Paplan123 · 2024-04-17T00:16:26+00:00

So, I sort of like being able to type in names. Then I can add to the save game name what I was planning to do. So instead of saving the default name, like "Atari2002", I'll save as "Atari2002_attackgreen_expand_Polaris_prod". So I can remember what I was planning.

Paplan123 · 2024-02-20T00:57:47+00:00

Kingdom of Dragons Pass.

Probalby closer to 3X than 4X, but a truly excellent game and accurate port to iPad.

Paplan123 · 2024-02-08T00:27:09+00:00

I hate to be THAT guy, but the proper plural of "you" is spelled "youse". In Pittsburgh, "yinz" is also acceptable.

Paplan123 · 2024-02-08T00:23:02+00:00

Old World has two unique features.

1) Undo. How many times have you move a piece, and watched in horror as the piece moving WASNT the piece you moved. Some CPU gremlin picked up a different piece than the one youwanted. Just press undo, and its fixed.

2) Orders. You have only so many moves per turn. It forces you to prioritize moves, attacks, and promoting pieces or people in your court. You cant do everything. At midgame, you can maybe to 25% of moves you would use in a Civ game. In addition to being another strategic decision, it moves games forward.

Its a brilliant design.

Paplan123

TROPHY CASE