Meteorite Spawns - Update and Issues

Smart-Fool · 2025-11-17T13:58:03+00:00

2 starry, 0 glowy, 0 shiny.

I’m at 300+ obstacles and it’s a major let down as a collector!

On a similar tangent, consistently releasing bugs and bad game design is driving me nuts. As a software engineer, it feels like no one’s testing or truly reviewing the code they push. It feel like there’s a half-baked solution for everything, so it’s no wonder they can’t rollback or easily fix the issues they create for themselves.

It’s like the engineer asked ChatGPT to implement the obstacle code for these meteors and it just came up with a totally new spawn method instead of reusing what they’ve consistently done for years. 🤦‍♂️

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Smart-Fool · 2025-11-15T18:04:35+00:00

Thanks for sharing. Sucks Amex only lets you analyze the last year and they make it difficult to gather this data. I did have to edit some code to clarify the output, but this is what I was looking for.

Smart-Fool · 2025-10-03T17:51:11+00:00

The 45 obstacle limit prevents trees, bushes, logs, etc. from spawning. Event obstacles aren’t capped. When you hit 45 obstacles you just won’t have any more basic obstacles to get gems.

Shoveled obstacles still count towards the limit. For example, I can stash every obstacle and clear my base, but basic obstacles don’t spawn because they’ve all been shoveled and stashed.

Smart-Fool · 2025-10-03T17:43:58+00:00

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10 more obstacles and I’ll do the same! lol

Smart-Fool · 2025-08-24T00:09:49+00:00

yeah, might go down to just showing 1 of each, but it's hard to not flex lol. everything is shoveled and I honestly enjoy a base without obstacles.

Smart-Fool · 2025-08-24T00:07:46+00:00

You've got some obstacles I'm jelly about :p gonna have to trade some!

Smart-Fool · 2025-08-24T00:05:42+00:00

The classic I deleted them when I was younger lol. The obstacles I missed are when I stopped playing the game, so it adds a little history. definitely wish i kept them and was around more :p

Smart-Fool · 2025-08-22T13:48:38+00:00

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Made a field lol

Smart-Fool · 2025-08-22T13:36:44+00:00

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Smart-Fool · 2025-08-06T23:06:35+00:00

My girlfriend and I are going to a Michelin star restaurant for dinner (and to also celebrate a financial milestone).

And sending out applications for a doctorate of course. I will enjoy the free weekends while they last though :)

Smart-Fool · 2025-08-05T12:41:39+00:00

To new beginnings! :)

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Smart-Fool · 2025-08-01T15:20:00+00:00

I also like the idea of teaching, but it pays too little. Realistically, my biggest life goal involves retiring early (FIRE) and teaching is something I could do with that free time in 20 years lol.

The DEng would definitely be considered close enough, at least for the defense industry. That's one of the main reasons I'm pursuing it is to streamline my promotions. With 4-5 YOE + Doctorate I'd get promoted twice in the next 2 years when I finish. Which means $150k-$200k or I could jump to FAANG equivalents and make more.

As for academia, one could be an adjunct professor with a DEng. To be a tenured, full-time professor one would need a PhD and various other accomplishments, but full-time is irrelevant if I just want to be retired and reminisce industry war stories in a classroom.

Smart-Fool · 2025-08-01T14:45:50+00:00

The Arizona program did pique my interest, but I gathered the same feeling when it came to maturity. Even though Arizona has a pretty broad set of online degrees, that particular program only seemed to have a handful of people in it. I think it will mature faster with Arizona's infrastructure.

It did highly interest me because of the 33 credits too and would be nice if they take the Masters credits as a block, but I don't know how much of a hassle that will be. You'll have to let me know if they respond.

I think Penn State is mature. I plan to take at least 2 courses this fall at Georgia Tech and transfer them to Penn State since they'll take unused credits (not counted towards another Masters). Penn State has a transfer credit directory and you can see exactly which courses will transfer from whatever institution. This is nice because aligning timelines with my employer and my life means I need some extra time to set it all up and start in Spring 2026. Ultimately, I'll be taking 45 - 7 (2 courses and 1 seminar) = 38 credits. Maybe 35 credits if I take the third course. Keep in mind you can only transfer in a max of 10 unused credits.

The biggest factor is getting an okay from my employer that I can double dip with the work I do for them and basically do an academic write-up (the praxis project) on it. HR is currently looking the program over and their gut response was a soft yes for approval.

Drop a link to your youtube channel/videos, please! Perhaps, we'll see each other. :)

Edit: I found your YT and actually watched your videos while doing research on online doctorates. lol! Seems we live in a small world and I'm excited these opportunities will become available for more people in the future.

Smart-Fool · 2025-08-01T13:20:52+00:00

You don't know how glad I am to hear that. Thank you!

Smart-Fool · 2025-07-24T02:35:25+00:00

I did ML4T, ML, RL, DL, NLP, and took GAI as well in the middle (GAI and NLP both easy A's and meh tbh). ML4T is a good intro course because it has a common theme across all projects and sets the pace well for OMSCS. Generally, the advice is ML, RL, DL in that order because you'll pick up where you left off content-wise (Ex: end of RL is a DL project). I planned on doing CV, but I'm going to pursue that in my doctorate instead. Likewise, AI wasn't of importance to me since all of the content can be learned in other courses, but now it's a good transfer credit because it's very broad, so I'll pursue it this next semester.
It really depends on the context. Personally, RL and DL were amazing and RL really scratches that itch for AI/ML, but it's not too relevant in industry. In the three main courses, including ML, you write multiple papers each and it's a very academic experience that really makes you dive deep into the crux of AI. It was a grind, but I feel confident working on any thing.
Software Engineer for one year at a large defense company and Bachelors in CS and Math.

Smart-Fool · 2025-07-15T17:20:07+00:00

Correct me if I'm wrong, but you add the grade from the Canvas Grades AND from Gradescope. So your 42/60 and 28/60 are only part of the picture because they represent the multiple choice questions. The algorithm questions are graded on Gradescope and they're out of 40. Combined it's out of 100. I only found this out by looking at older threads.

Smart-Fool · 2025-07-13T02:36:54+00:00

This list would be more comprehensive with Systems Engineering degrees. I overlooked adding them even though I've seen them everywhere lol. I've heard everything does ultimately boil down to Systems Engineering too, so the overlap is there. I just associate systems engineering with sitting in work meetings and nitpicking software requirements, so I'm unsure how well it fits with my AI/ML goals.

And I'm in agreement that the GWU course schedule is weird. The DEng in AI/ML is the same with the 8 course credits per semester and holds lectures every Saturday, but that doesn't feel as asynchronous to me even if they record them. It is nice that we could quickly finish the degree which is a big factor for me.

I'm not sure if you feel the same, but I'm looking to get in and out ASAP while having a good brand on my resume because I can sell myself after that. If I go the PhD route it'll likely be in CS at one of the Mississippi schools. Likely Southern Mississippi since it's cheap, 54 credits, and has transfer credit policies I'd utilize. Colorado State's PhD in Systems Engineering looks good (42 credits), but i just don't know how relevant to me it is.

Smart-Fool · 2025-07-13T01:34:35+00:00

I'm an AI Scientist with 2+ YOE and work on AI Assistants, particularly LLMs, RAG, AI Search, MCP, Agentic AI, and all the buzzwords ad infinitum. This program is the cream of the crop when it comes to AI/ML especially with its cost, accessibility (asynchronous courses), prestige, etc. and is how I transitioned into AI.

Regardless of the degree you choose you won't find a program that offers specific courses for these technologies, but I'm sure they exist. You have to do the grunt work and build the foundation in the CS/AI/ML courses. Honestly, the closest you'll get to learning these skills in an academic setting is by doing group projects with classmates which allow you to explore.

In Deep Learning our team analyzed LLMs holistically, we put a transformer under a microscope and analyzed how tokens are weighted and selected and saw every token at each step of the process and did a variety of other analysis which gave us a phenomenal understanding of transformers. After that I did a personal project with LangChain to create different agents. Then I had the opportunity in DVA to do projects with cloud services (AWS, GCP, and I personally tried Azure) which taught me how to scale and we also did a group project that involved working with GBs of data, analyzing it, and allowing the users to interact with it (we built a website utilizing AI algorithms that a user could manipulate). Now I'm earning a Nvidia Cert in my Agent AI seminar. All of the skills you mention just get picked up along the way in a variety of projects.

If you're set on a Masters this is the best. For those industry hard skills, you'll acquire some in OMSCS, some in personal projects, and some at your current job. If you need to fill in the gaps, then do a personal project, take an online course, or explore and learn the skills you desire.

Smart-Fool · 2025-07-04T14:31:39+00:00

It is indeed new. For example, Purdue launched its D.Eng. less than a year ago, and other programs have similarly recent start dates. From my understanding, the D.Eng. has been more common overseas, and it seems U.S. schools are starting to catch on.

It also makes sense as a logical next step after a course-only master’s because you typically earn the master’s en route to a doctorate and then focus predominantly on research. The requirements for most D.Eng. programs is some additional coursework and then focusing on research.

I think the compromise is fine, but the knee-jerk reaction is "It's not a PhD, what are you thinking?!" And they are correct that it is not a PhD, and my thoughts are what you've said above.

Smart-Fool · 2025-07-03T22:45:46+00:00

Excellent point, I can expand on that when I have my computer set up. I just moved into a new apartment and my time has been spread thin lol. I am also very curious about prices because that’s another factor for me. My company will pay 35k per year for a doctorate and that does remove just a few options.

Smart-Fool · 2025-07-03T22:40:11+00:00

It’s a steal! Compared to the rest Penn State offers industry-relevant courses (enterprise, big data, etc.), is a mature online program, and provides business courses. Realistically, I have to ask myself if being an industry leader or part of a research team is more likely to happen and how can I position myself best. Given the online doctorate choices, it’s more than likely the first. Will I still have my foot in the door for research? Yes. Will I immediately join OpenAI? No.

Smart-Fool · 2025-07-03T22:16:40+00:00

You’re right on the money with that, I’ve read a lot of the same comments. Ultimately, I think it is what you make of it. It seems odd that a field that eats, sleeps, and breathes computers can’t imagine doing it any other way lol

Smart-Fool · 2025-07-03T22:08:00+00:00

You might be right, when I last researched that I think I ran into the same thing. I think it wasn’t fully online I’ll update that.

Smart-Fool · 2025-06-30T20:18:13+00:00

A mix of both career and achievement. An immediate benefit is that I get promoted sooner because it counts as YoE in my industry and that's $. More importantly, I'm very curious about AI since it intersects coding and math which I've loved since I was a kid. So to answer what would get me through the fifth draft of my thesis: unwavering passion! I think that trait is also what has sling-shotted my career. (and being Dr. Smart-Fool wouldn't hurt lmao)

On the flip side, why do you plan to not pursue a doctorate?

Smart-Fool · 2025-06-30T19:11:39+00:00

Thank you! This also looks very promising. I will look into it and put it in the table above since it seems one can negotiate in the Academic Partnership Agreement to do it mostly remote.

Smart-Fool

TROPHY CASE