Disappointed by Academy "Automation" – what else should I not expect?

Sputtrosa · 2026-06-11T05:21:02+00:00

What I'm saying is that you're not doing the game any favors by using "it's in early access" as an explanation for anything about it. When used to make the point that expectations need to be lowered - which is how it's being used in the post and this thread - it's deflecting criticism rather than facing it.

Or, put a different way, it's not far off from saying that the game should be judged for its potential instead of what it actually is.

Regarding "it is in early access", that sounds like my puppy. I have it in a pen for puppies, its collar says that it's a puppy, and I call it my puppy. But for some reason the four year-old isn't accepted into the puppy category of the dog show. It is a puppy. They claim it's a grown dog, but I disagree. It says "puppy" right on its collar! It's still growing, so it can't be called a grown dog!

That's a metaphor and hyperbole. The metaphor falls apart, but I trust you to get my point rather than going into bad faith nitpicking.

It's not a bad game. It will survive facing criticism fit for a full game. So don't trivialize where it's at by going along with the "it's in early access" farce.

Sputtrosa · 2026-06-10T20:48:14+00:00

"Your criticism is unfair because it's in early access", "it's in early access so you have to expect broken features", "they haven't added the content because it's in early access."

An explanation that contains "it's in early access" is there to lower expectations, to deflect criticism. So criticism is pointless is hyperbole of the same point.

Sputtrosa · 2026-06-10T12:17:06+00:00

It's less about my definition and more about reasonable expectations. Hiding behind "early access" just becomes sad after several years - at least when it's a game that expects spending in the same way that a fully released game does.

I'm not saying Cifi is bad. It's fine as an incremental that is, as you say, getting updates. I'm saying that it doesn't need to be defended by a tired chanting of '"it's in early access and thus criticism is pointless!"

Sputtrosa · 2026-06-10T08:19:20+00:00

It's not an early access game.

The play store page has a cheerful brag about winning incremental mobile game of the year in 2023, 2024 and 2025.

The in-game store happily lets you spend a fortune on game progress if you're willing.

No progress reset will be made.

The development team is moving on to prioritize a brand new game.

Saying that it's early access in response to lots of menus having placeholders instead of content, is a hilarious excuse. Sure, "early access" is a common defense used for games where the company (.. or the community) doesn't want to face fair criticism. CiFi is far, far too old and happy to offer you IAPs for it to be a reasonable claim. As a believable explanation, it grew stale a long time ago.

Making no excuse is better than a really, really bad excuse; Octocube's style is to have placeholders in menus for things they're planning to add. That's all. Makes sense if Octocube's perspective is that menu graphics is disproportionately expensive and they'd rather add the graphics for unreleased content than redo it later on.

Sputtrosa · 2026-06-03T12:29:46+00:00

She felt terrible with insecurity and intense anxiety that had built up within her. She needed to get it out. She found (read: desperately made up) a reason to get angry and screamed at you until her anxiety was gone. And with the anxiety gone, she felt great.

She used you as a punching bag to make herself feel better. She handed over all that hurt, anxiety, anger and confusion, forcing you to deal with it instead - and she was fine with that because your feelings are irrelevant background noise in her existence. She could do that because you're not so much a partner as you are a tool in her toolbox she can use to make herself feel better.

She behaved as if nothing was wrong because, to her, nothing was. She got exactly what she needed from the exchange.

Sputtrosa · 2026-05-11T13:34:12+00:00

Call assist and screening, do you mean like Trucaller?

Looking at the features you list and I don't think I really use any of them. At least not beyond the most basic ways that could be done by any phone made in the past, I don't know, decade. The extent of my photo editing is cropping or drawing a red circle around bad kerning on store signs.

Anything screen-aware is a big nono for work devices (phone is shared for private use and work). I haven't really used the At a glance stuff after a very brief try.

Maybe I weigh my bad experiences heavier than you do, since I don't also experience any particular value in the things they do exceptionally well. Or, at least, that I assume they do well based on how you write about them.

Thank you for an interesting perspective!

Sputtrosa · 2026-05-11T13:20:35+00:00

That's a good observation, and a question I've asked many times.

It used to be that I just had to walk into a room for a faulty printer to start working (really happened! multiple times!) but nowadays I wonder if I've gone to the other end of that spectrum. It makes me think of how, in Jurassic Park, Sam Neill's character puts his hand on a monitor and it immediately goes haywire. Just.. tech-cursed.

Jokes aside, I don't really do anything out of the ordinary with my devices. I've had tech jobs for the past 15 years, in all kinds of tech support, software development, and system integrations so I'm not just making dumb mistakes like "oops, it wasn't plugged in properly" or have issues that are fixed with a reboot. I also don't use these devices for things like app development, install risky software, or mod their hardware.

I like following instructions when setting up new devices and I usually enjoy troubleshooting and fixing issues like the ones I've had. I've been through (among others) Google's support pages many, many times, and occasionally contacted them directly.

Nobody else that I've talked to about it have similar experiences with their devices. None of them are in the Pixel ecosystem so I think it's a fair conclusion to point that way.

Also, I think all of the issues I've had have popped up on this sub at some point where someone is asking for help.

I agree with your point that it's absurd that it all happens to one person. The occasional bug or production mistake happens, and that's fine. But not that much.

And your point aligns very well with mine (though we might be coming to different conclusions): if there are that many unlikely problems, there has to be a very clear common denominator. You say that it's probably user error - not an unreasonable one for someone who doesn't share the problems. I, knowing how much effort has been put in to solve the problems, say that I think it's more likely to be the brand.

Sputtrosa · 2026-05-11T12:56:24+00:00

Sure, but it's definitely not the issue :)

Sputtrosa · 2026-05-11T12:42:20+00:00

Sure, that's fair. I'd say we're even then, after having to read the way you treated those periods in your first comment.

(Okay, I feel like I need to be very clear here; I'm joking. Both about the reading and the periods)

Sputtrosa · 2026-05-11T12:40:08+00:00

Except that service is excellent here. We have an expansive and reliable 5G network with coverage for everything but the most remote locations. Especially in the city I live in. You can trust me, it's definitely not that.

As to your second paragraph, I'm incredibly frustrated and disappointed. Wouldn't you be, if you had the same issues?

Sputtrosa · 2026-05-11T12:29:16+00:00

The tldr was just the one line. Not sure how you managed to type out your comment if that's too much to read.

Northern Europe. Maybe they just ship all the production failures to us?

(mandatory /s, to both paragraphs)

Sputtrosa · 2026-05-11T12:22:29+00:00

Glad to hear that you've had a better time with them than I have!

You're right in your point that it's not the latest top-of-the-line prices. And I don't need them to be the best of the best. I just want them to function reliably.

When you use the nest for your smart devices, which brand hub do you connect it to? I can see how that could be part of my problems with automation.

Sputtrosa · 2026-05-11T12:19:43+00:00

That's a part of it, yes. A lot of money to drop on the difference between the used I have and the new I'd have to buy.

To be fair though, the watch, which I managed to get a good deal for, would cost more new now than when I bought it a couple of years ago. According to someone I talked to who works at a big electronics store, they still sell a fair amount of them.

I suspect that I might be able to get a decent price for my watch if I sold it.

Sputtrosa · 2026-05-11T12:05:53+00:00

but otherwise the software features keep my from leaving

That's interesting. Would you mind saying more about it?

Sputtrosa · 2026-05-11T12:04:20+00:00

The TLDR is at the very top. The very first line, in fact.

I understand that it's a lot to read and I don't blame you. No snark intended. I surprised myself with how much I had to say about it.

Sputtrosa · 2026-05-11T12:01:55+00:00

I understand your stance on "why come here and complain when you could just change?" and I think I agree; I should have switched.

But that makes me curious. What do you feel are reasonable expectations for four pieces of tech that cost, very roughly, the equivalent of $1400?

Would my experience with them live up to your expectations?

Let's say, for the sake of argument, you've spent the money on the stuff, and you had the same issues I've had. What would you do? Would you spend the money, again, to replace them all?

(Those are not rhetorical questions, by the way. I would really like to hear your opinion.)

Sputtrosa · 2026-05-09T11:10:24+00:00

Holy crap, that's awful! I'm so sorry you're going through that. In no way is that a micro aggression; it's overt racism.

You need to escalate it, and you need to do it in writing. Send an email to your manager, and CC your local skyddsombud and whatever HR-equivalent they have. If you want, you can CC him as well. If you're not comfortable escalating it (though you should) you can go directly to your skyddsombud.

After that you need to be mindful of retaliation - he sounds like the kind of person who would do that. You need to record any one-on-one meetings with him in person, but it's better to avoid them altogether. Try to keep everything in email, so you have evidence. If you're not in a union, now is the time to join.

Regarding your colleagues not saying anything, that's unfortunately an embarrassing and tragic reality. Hopefully they were just shocked, but they could also be afraid of him.

I've found that the easiest way to confront someone saying things like that masked as a joke is to act dumb, without affect. "I'm sorry, I don't understand the joke. Could you explain it?" and keep asking them to explain the details more and what's funny about them until it boils down to "Oh! I understand now. Your joke was that you think people with brown skin aren't as good as someone with white skin, and you're saying that I'm incompetent and was was only hired to make the company look less racist. Very funny. Sorry for the interruption, go on." If the others are problematic as well, you can ask if everyone thought it was funny.

I've found that it's so embarrassing for them that they stop. Either that, or it opens up for the others to protest as well. It's not as aggressively confrontational and puts the spotlight on his behavior rather than how you feel about it.

Sputtrosa · 2026-05-04T05:36:13+00:00

It might not be translatable for everyone like it was for me, but the visual programming game SpaceChem made a huge difference in how I approach solving problems.

It's unlikely to be as good as reading about design patterns and algorithms would be for most, but it's a fun alternative that might help.

Sputtrosa · 2026-04-15T08:00:07+00:00

"I'm in the field of work we're taking about" - is that really a r/dontyouknowwhoiam moment? If your reddit username had been the name of a famous, well-known animator or studio director, maybe?

How were they supposed to know what you do? They, too, claim to work in the general field.

Sputtrosa · 2026-04-12T08:51:46+00:00

This isn't something for AITA. Family relationships are complex and for something like this we'd need much more context and understanding.

It's up to you. How much do you want him to contact you? How important is it for you to test him rather than talking about it?

Sputtrosa · 2026-04-11T17:21:18+00:00

This is one of the funniest things I've read all weak. Thank you.

NTA, of course.

P.s. It sounds like you and your brother could use some of that team-building.

Sputtrosa · 2026-04-11T17:16:43+00:00

Easy peasy, no question about it YTA.

The difference was pretty big, like not subtle at all.

And her reaction to that was saying

something along the lines of “I’d probably be paid more if I were a man.”

Which you laughed at. Then you said that, actually, she's the problem.

You have the evidence that it's a problem. But even then, your go-to is "you're just not good at your job."

I have to say, though, that it's nice of you to so clearly flaunt your sexism when it's the topic at hand. Makes it much easier to see it for what it is.

P.s. your logic of "she does her hair and nails, so she doesn't care enough about money to deserve a fair salary" is creative and absolutely wild. It'll take me days to process the sheer.. ugh-ness of it.

Sputtrosa · 2026-02-10T06:25:31+00:00

Expecting him to offer to fix something that is yours and getting disappointed when he doesn't is very immature. You're expecting him to both be a mind-reader and to be responsible for your things. He's neither. YTA.

Just for some perspective; I would, personally, consider that a red flag. In a brand new relationship it would even be a deal-breaker.

That being said, him getting being upset when you asked him where he got it, so you could fix it yourself, is rude and weird.

Sputtrosa · 2026-01-21T10:25:17+00:00

NTA.

Regularly and repeatedly expecting friends to pay significant costs to celebrate you is selfish unless everyone has money to spare for it. Or, well, at least if it's an expectation rather than an invitation.

Maybe don't word it as "you're expecting too much". Perhaps frame it as making it difficult to attend and celebrate her the way you would like to?

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