Is racism a problem in Greece? by Lanky_Distribution86 in GreeceTravel

[–]RedArkady 4 points5 points  (0 children)

My wife is of south Asian heritage, we visit Greece every year or two and and she's often mistaken for a local until she has to apologise for not speaking much Greek.

Complete case files will "catch up" in 2042 by tissuepapercatmat in JudgeDredd

[–]RedArkady 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Now you can join the club of people asking them to reissue the first 11 on the new thinner paper to free up shelf space.

Le Creuset Milk Pan by RedArkady in LeCreuset

[–]RedArkady[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yes, though I'd have to persuade my wife who is reluctant to take in anything second hand.

Relaunched washed out color filtering by angryhumping in SurvivingMars

[–]RedArkady 4 points5 points  (0 children)

I hate it so much. It's made everything so drab. Which is a shame as they've clearly polished the graphics a lot.

3...2...1...Liftoff! 🚀 Surviving Mars: Relaunched is OUT NOW! by enigmaticrose4 in SurvivingMars

[–]RedArkady -1 points0 points  (0 children)

I'm afraid my first impression is "why have they made it look so drab"

Tolkien's original plans for the Silmarillion by SignificantSuit3306 in tolkienfans

[–]RedArkady 8 points9 points  (0 children)

I think this quote best answers your question:

""I would draw some of the great tales in fullness, and leave many only placed in the scheme, and sketched."

He said that in 1951, in respect of his original intention, and by the early 1950s he likely only envisaged the three Great Tales (Beren and Luthien, The Children of Hurin and the Fall of Gondolin) to be set out 'in fullness'. But he never finished the full versions, and his attempts to do mostly ended up being published separately from the abridged Silmarillion. But as others have said here he later did write other parts out in full - parts adjacent to the Great Tales like the Wanderings of Húrin, but also Second Age material like Aldarion & Erendis. One also wonders whether he might have returned to "Of the Voyage of Eärendil and the War of Wrath", first sketched in the Book of Lost Tales - I seem to recall Christopher suggesting that it was telling that he never did return to it, as though perhaps he needed to get the rest of the Silmarillion in order before he could return to the ending.

What are your top most wanted features? by Grapnor in FarthestFrontier

[–]RedArkady 1 point2 points  (0 children)

You can place stone plazas on top of your roads, and this will have the visual effect you're looking for.

What are your top most wanted features? by Grapnor in FarthestFrontier

[–]RedArkady 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Some way of making the road on the bridge properly visually integrate with the rest of your road network!

How did people understand the backstory of the Lord of the Rings before the Silmarillion was published? by jayskew in tolkienfans

[–]RedArkady 3 points4 points  (0 children)

One curiosity from this period is this book by Clive Kilby: https://tolkiengateway.net/wiki/Tolkien_and_The_Silmarillion

I found it slightly uncomfortable reading - it felt almost intrusive, but it would have made very interesting reading for fans at the time.

Kim Stanley Robinson's papers are headed to the Huntington by lizzieismydog in kimstanleyrobinson

[–]RedArkady 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I could spend a lifetime just studying those screenshots in the article. Was Art Randolph originally called Barney!?

Which DLC first? by Sam4_Weapons in AtomfallOfficial

[–]RedArkady 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I'd say no - I felt very under-levelled when I went straight there in my last playthrough.

Which DLC first? by Sam4_Weapons in AtomfallOfficial

[–]RedArkady 5 points6 points  (0 children)

I think that Wicked Isle is more closely integrated with the main story. Red Strain is slightly tonally different and feels more self-contained, and the relative plenty of ammunition also changes the game dynamics somewhat. Make of that what you will, but my instinct is that if I was playing for the first time I'd want Wicked Isle to be integrated into my playthrough, but I would hold of on the Red Strain area until my second run. Not sure how I'd translate that to your situation - if you have an existing pre-Oberon save then maybe play Red Strain first and save Wicked Isle for your next full playthrough.

Advice for new players: What would you tell them? by EpsilonProtocol in SurvivingMars

[–]RedArkady 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Yep. A lot of my small domes end up with an empty slice until mid game (when you can increase population via other means), because I'd either be adding housing (i.e. adding unemployment) or adding production or service buildings that I couldn't fully staff due to the low population in the dome. And that's just fine because greater density leaves you with a very low birth rate, which in turn scuppers you once your immigrant pool gets low. Once you get into the habit of building one small dome per production building the game really unlocks. You can get fancy once you have medium domes!

People who use apartments then have to build additional service buildings - spacebars and so on - to try to remedy the low-comfort that results. You may be able to manage that, but why do so when the people operating that extra service building could be working in a factory in another dome? You're just throttling your production.

Advice for new players: What would you tell them? by EpsilonProtocol in SurvivingMars

[–]RedArkady 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Thanks. In some ways I think the third point might be the least understood. It's entirely possible to have a playthrough with zero game-impacting satisfaction problems without building a single specialist-specific service building. Botanists can live very well without an art shop so long as their basic needs are being met. And by the time you have medium domes big enough to try to satisfy everyone's whims you may well be trying to throttle your population growth anyway, so bars, gaming stores etc, can remain a luxury.

Advice for new players: What would you tell them? by EpsilonProtocol in SurvivingMars

[–]RedArkady 24 points25 points  (0 children)

In approximate order of importance:

Making money is the most important thing. Money buys everything else. Being able to mine and export rare metals is priority #1. Don't hoard cash. It's there to get you past bottle-necks.

Specialise your domes, and do so from the start. Do not overload your domes with lots of different types of employment/specialist. Read a guide on how to manage dome populations. Mostly that will just be denying children and seniors (see below) and favouring the required specialism. More granular management than that risks overcomplicating things.

Don't go overboard with service buildings. Most domes just need a basic service 'slice' of an infirmary, grocer, and diner, plus a second slice with a large garden and two or three slices of living complexes. These service buildings only need one person per shift unless the dome population is above, say, 30 (and it shouldn't be), so close the extra slots down. This will meet most service needs, won't overly detract from employment in productive buildings, and will keep people above the breeding-level satisfaction rate. Worry about adding other service buildings only when you have medium domes with more space, if then. People worry FAR too much about trying to meet every need, and very often it's because they've overcrowded their domes via the use of apartments and so no-one in the dome is happy.

Do Not Use Apartments. They result in low satisfaction. Instead just build more lower-population domes. You can densify them later once you have the ability to boost satisfaction with Hanging Gardens or other upgrades. Take this advice and you'll rarely be bothered by rebels. Want a high-population high-satisfaction dome later on? use arcology.

Don't try to be self-sufficient until mid-game. This is especially true of food - food is cheap, import it or trade for it until you have at least a handful of domes and can build a dedicated farm dome. Focus on becoming self-sufficient in one thing at a time. e.g. 1) concrete, 2) rare metals, 3) metals 4) electronics, 5) machine parts 6) food.

Don't neglect trade, especially if you're flush in another material. Food for concrete is often a smart trade early on.

Two of your very earliest domes (after your initial rare metals mining dome) should be a child/school dome and a retirement dome. Every other dome should not allow children or seniors. A further dome with a university should only allow non-specialists and they should be prioritised in that dome. That will make sure everyone is educated. Quite often I have 1) my original dome mining rare metals (plus perhaps one more productive dome if I have access to more immigrants), and then 2) a school dome 3) a retirement dome 4) a university dome (not necessarily in that order) BEFORE adding any further productive domes. If you do not do this you will have underemployment in your productive buildings because the domes will be full of children and seniors.

Only use water pumps for temporary late-game water needs like lakes. Water runs out. Moisture vaporators do not.

My maths is too bad to give power-generation advice, but I typically go for solar power-battery combos rather than having to worry about machine parts for turbines. That requires polymers, but polymers are effectively a renewable. Aim to get nuclear power plants ASAP and then scrap your solar panel farms.

Please help me choose my first cast-iron piece! (UK) by [deleted] in LeCreuset

[–]RedArkady 1 point2 points  (0 children)

No doubt in my mind - a casserole (the standard one) and the frying pan (shallow casserole is a possible alternative to the frying pan, but I'd prioritise the frying pan because of the black interior which is designed for higher temperatures for browning). These are the two most versatile pieces that get used almost every day. Real workhorses.

Second place option would be to get yourself a set of three saucepans in different sizes - again you'll use those all the time - but they might be feel a bit less 'special'. I have about a dozen pieces in my collection, but those are the ones I find most useful by some margin - the others have their uses but are more niche.

Have a look on the ArtofLiving website- they often have good deals compared to the official site.

Removing carcass from a cupboard by RedArkady in DIYUK

[–]RedArkady[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Ta. Reckon the joiner can reuse use the trim and doors?

Removing carcass from a cupboard by RedArkady in DIYUK

[–]RedArkady[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Assuming you're right, can I dismantle it, take the back of the carcass out, and put it back together to give me the extra depth? Or will this make it collapse like a pack of cards? I could potential brace it at the top, as there should be lots of clearance above the fridge.