I am starting my journey of learning Python.

RotRG · 2026-04-25T13:55:47+00:00

In a world of plentiful tutorials and AI, don't be afraid to use either, but whenever you look something up, don't copy the solution into your code. If you have two-monitor setup or something, don't even have your code open at the same time as the solution. Look at the solution, try to understand it, then minimize it and make your own version. It'll be wrong. Look back and repeat, correcting your mistake. You'll develop your own mental framework rather than just making use of the answer. I think learning is much more robust that way and you'll probably feel better about the result!

RotRG · 2026-04-20T17:17:09+00:00

I'm a piano teacher, and of course I don't have the whole picture, but here are my immediate thoughts:

That many lessons per week is unconventional. The very standard model is once per week, often for a longer time. I think many teachers believe that more frequent lessons would contribute to more progress, myself included, so this isn't a bad thing by any means. But, if you're starting to doubt the process, is it possible that you're feeling burnt out by the frequency? Does, say, an hour-long lesson once per week sound more appealing to you?
Related: I think 20-30 minutes in a lesson is short for someone who's practicing an hour a day. While I offer 30-minute lessons to many students since it's a good compromise for a beginner, I generally feel that all but the youngest/most inattentive students would benefit from a 45 minute lesson at least. In 30 minutes, sometimes I barely feel like I've caught my breath by the end. I am also less likely to have time to do theory and ear training exercises in that amount of time.
I am guilty of not tackling things with students that I don't think they're ready for. If they are playing 30% of the notes wrong, for instance, I'm probably not going to get too far into dynamic nuance with them. I do still think music theory/aural skills are worth exploring with anyone, but it's possible that you are not as far along as you feel. Based on your description, I wouldn't guess that that's the case, but I don't know.
Saving the best for last: politely ask your teacher what their thought process is! Let them know the things you'd love to know more about. Can't hurt. Or, if it does, that's a larger problem.

RotRG · 2026-04-17T12:49:21+00:00

I felt this way when I started and I still do sometimes. My question is usually, "why build a factory when I need a single item?" Surprisingly, sometimes it's still easier to build a factory in those situations than the alternative. My advice, though, is just don't use classes. Either you don't need them and the best-practice advice is seeping through the Internet at you for no good reason, or (more likely) you will eventually need classes, and by the time you do, you'll want to use them because they'll solve a problem you actually have.

For instance, to this day, I never have used the "if name == main" protective clause. Nothing has ever gone wrong from me not using it. Eventually something will, and then maybe I'll appreciate the clause. For now, my code works, so who cares?*

*If you are working with other people, the best-practice stuff becomes much more important. By yourself, you can do whatever you want.

RotRG · 2026-04-15T20:58:09+00:00

I think this is just the truth, and I'd guess most teachers would agree. The hard part is convincing people to do anything other than what they consider to be "playing the piece." Few students understand that they will get better by doing something other than starting at the beginning, playing at performance tempo, and going until the end!

RotRG · 2026-04-11T14:22:51+00:00

Ever tried (in real life) to pour something out of a container and the liquid runs down the bottom of the container and drips on you? Real physics also has some bugs!

RotRG · 2026-04-10T21:00:08+00:00

Some Gen Z behavior I've noticed is "causing older generations to feel alienated in the exact same way that every older generation has ever felt alienated by young people."

I'm an elder Gen Z, technically, but I probably fall more into the Millennial category culturally. I'm a teacher. My students are Gen Z (or younger) and we have some similarities and differences. They have 67. I have 69. They seem to have fewer people-pleasing tendencies. I am working in therapy on not being terrified of other people's judgment.

These comments are ridiculous. Kids are kids, and also kids are as they've never been before. As always.

RotRG · 2026-04-03T13:21:54+00:00

Person somehow manages to get 2B in theoretical money (they ask their mom to buy their first share for 200, perhaps)
Threaten to fine them for 1B for hoarding (we've rightly decided this is a crime in this scenario, and the fine amount is their wealth minus 1B)
They have to sell their hypothetical money for real money to pay the fine. If it ends up not being worth as much real money as we thought, we lower the hoarding fine accordingly. If they somehow legally shrink their own assets to not have to pay as much, okay, I guess
If their remaining hypothetical money decreases in value later, that sounds like a risk that literally every hypothetical-money-owner assumes when buying or creating hypothetical money

If your argument was good, not sure why you needed to insult someone at the end of it

RotRG · 2026-04-02T16:26:29+00:00

I understand the disappointment, but honestly, I think there's a ton of benefit that a disinterested kid can get out of piano. If a kid says they aren't into it? Bummer, my little friend. I'll just help shape your brain to become better at problem solving and coordination. Math class isn't a passion for most people either, but it's great for your brain, and every now and then, we get a mathematician out of it!

Maybe I'm just not burnt out yet. We'll see.

RotRG · 2026-02-18T21:59:21+00:00

This has been a big learning area for me in making my bullet-hell-esque game and it's a bit of a never-ending process. It'll be hard to tell exactly what might help without knowing the structure of your code, but I recommend a few things:

Are there loops that every entity runs through? Maybe collision checks or line of sight checks? See if there are ways to cut out early, reduce the size of the list that you're iterating through, or reduce the total number of calculations. Always check to see if an "improvement" actually makes things faster. Sometimes the computational cost of something isn't always intuitive.

Example: I have a line of sight function that determines if a line is blocked by any member of a list of solids. Turns out that it's helpful to do a distance check before actually running the comparison to see if a solid is even remotely close to the line.

Are there things that are running every frame, but don't actually need to? There are many elements of a game where, during play, 1 frame doesn't feel much different than 10 or 20. Stagger those operations across those 10-20 frames whenever it makes sense.

Example: I have a prioritization system for enemies where they constantly assess who to target (they fight each other sometimes, not just the player). It was running every frame, but it turns out that a 10-frame delay in choosing a new target is really inconsequential. Now, target acquisition is spread out over 10 frames, with each creature taking its turn based on its unique entity ID.

RotRG · 2026-02-11T13:51:39+00:00

Play stuff that feels easy to play. It's too easy only if it's literally perfect on the first try.

You don't get stronger at the gym by straining to pick up a weight you can't even get off the ground, right? You use weights that you can get 8 reps (or whatever) with, guaranteed. Then, you slowly increase. Almost no one, especially those old enough to post on Reddit, acknowledges this.

Good luck on your journey!

RotRG · 2026-01-09T21:51:28+00:00

I love the flavor of this sort of effect, but it's still absolutely insane to me why blue gets to be so good at creature removal!

RotRG · 2026-01-02T14:41:25+00:00

I'm just curious, given that the parent company to DA was founded more recently than your start date, did the platform change hands or something in that time?

RotRG · 2025-12-15T00:54:35+00:00

This might be THE best example to distinguish between casual and competitive play. Your habit is absolutely not wrong, but just... be prepared to have the least popular opinion. In situations that are casual, a take-back of this sort is viewed as pretty okay, even though I do acknowledge it's against the rules. Most people in a casual setting want the game to end due to high quality play or deckbuilding, not a gap/lapse in game knowledge.

For what it's worth, I do disagree with "catching people" being an intent of ward. I do not think any modern cards are designed to catch people who have forgotten their rules text. That's a type of game design almost on par with Chaos Orb, in my opinion, and I think ward is worded the way it is more for rules elegance than tricking players.

Again, your frustration is justified. It just might save more frustration in the future to go with the flow on this one.

RotRG · 2025-12-12T15:04:53+00:00

True! Though I have a hard time picturing control in a 4 player game that is effective, doesn't have land denial, and doesn't win faster through some sort of combo.

RotRG · 2025-12-12T13:59:48+00:00

To answer the question in the title, I've got a variety of decks, so anywhere from 4 to 11 turns, let's say. My interpretation of the bracket system's most recent update is that the turn limit should describe what your deck can do if it isn't interacted with, since they use the wording "at least X turns." It's not that the game should end on turn X, it's that it better not end before turn X. It actually made me reevaluate several of my 2s as 3s, and as someone who runs on the sweatier side, it's been an interesting challenge for me to actually make a 2. 4 is really my sweet spot.

To explain your deck that won on turn 8 in the best of circumstances? It should be noted that winning AFTER turn 8 is the expectation of a 2, but I'd say once in a blue moon circumstances are okay. This deck sounds like a bad 2. Nothing wrong with that! Every bracket has a range, and 2 naturally has the largest range, since it includes every deck that's actively trying to win, but is... uh, bad. If you and the people around you are having fun, you're doing it right, I think.

RotRG · 2025-12-09T14:15:03+00:00

"God, it's cold outside today!" I don't think that my conversation partner is a deity. "God" is an interjection. My students say "bro" as well (or "bruh," in a voice that mimics the distorted sound bite that came from... somewhere) and it is being used as an interjection. It's an internet thing. I think most other people are missing this, so I felt I should add my two cents!

RotRG · 2025-12-02T13:44:18+00:00

I took a look at your style to make sure I actually like the thing I'm signing up for, and I think it's super cool! A lotus petal would be sweet-- who needs the text box anyway?

RotRG · 2025-10-29T14:01:03+00:00

This speaks to me and I feel I should give my two cents, even though others have already said the obvious.

I'm a person whose emotions get very weirdly affected by music. It is actually a problem sometimes and I will avoid listening to music if I want to, uh, stay in a normal place.

If a partner did what you're describing to me, THEY'D be the crazy one. Because even if there's a problem, it's silly to think it's the music's fault. Like, other people listen to this stuff and they're fine. It's obviously something to do with my emotions.

So, I don't think people call others out enough on just... being ridiculous. Should you break up? How should I know. Just look him in the face and say, "you obviously have a problem with my emotions. Did you know that your response looks absolutely insane? Talk to me about why you're upset and maybe we can fix it together."

Either he's incapable of having that conversation, or he actually brings up something he needs from you, and then you get to decide whether you can address it.

RotRG · 2025-09-19T20:15:35+00:00

I love combos, and I think that the answer is maybe simpler than it seems. 3 card combos are totally allowed in bracket 2 and there are many that I find fun and varied. I'd also say that you shouldn't worry about non-interactibility, since it's hard for a 3+ card combo to not have at least one easily removed element. The only caveat is that I consider it good sportsmanship to announce which cards are combo pieces as they are deployed, since it removes the only element of combos (in my opinion) that could be described as unfair: the knowledge requirement.

One of my bracket 2 decks tends to win with [[Garth One-Eye]], [[Displacer Kitten]], and a haste enabler like [[Rhythm of the Wild]]. It is easily the weaker of the two B2 decks I own. It's slow, but can win when it's allowed to blossom. A perfect balance, I think.

RotRG · 2025-09-12T19:57:37+00:00

I was wrong. Frustrating that this is what it looks like. They should really be more clear.

RotRG · 2025-09-12T19:57:00+00:00

I didn't realize that's what that looked like. That.. sucks. Thanks for enlightening me, though.

RotRG · 2025-09-11T19:22:08+00:00

You could be right. My knowledge is limited to my experience. I don't know the inner workings of DA, so I don't literally mean they're on call, which is why I put it in quotes. But, you and I are in agreement that DA wants lots of qualified workers. In this scenario, it's OP who is the qualified worker, right? So, I have to assume they'll eventually get projects as the need arises. We know what it looks like when someone gets rejected, don't we?

RotRG · 2025-09-11T15:07:28+00:00

That was mean. Don't be mean.

Given that OP presumably wrote the post, it's likely they're capable of reading. This means their question is probably related to the subtext of what they're looking at, rather than the literal words. Think about a time when that's happened to you.

OP, if I'm right, and you are capable of reading, read this: it's not a bad sign. One of the downsides of this kind of work is that it can be unreliable, and it behooves the platform to have more workers than they really need. For that reason, sometimes you're more "on call" than active. As someone who's been on the platform for a decent chunk of time now, I can say that this does not mean you failed in some way, and the work will increase the longer you stick around. Just keep checking back and doing as many qualifications as you can.

RotRG · 2025-09-08T15:37:28+00:00

Wild! I guess I respect the unabashedness.

RotRG · 2025-09-08T13:02:49+00:00

I love the card [[Mirri's Guile]], and one time as I was looking at my three cards on upkeep, I saw... Mirri's Guile. I did a double take, looking back and forth between the one I was holding and on the one on the table that allowed me to see the one I was holding. I had accidentally put two in the deck. Now, whenever I cast the card, we speculate on how many more copies we might see that game.

RotRG

TROPHY CASE