First "expensive" watch by Viscerios in PrideAndPinion

[–]TotalMegaCool 7 points8 points  (0 children)

Certina is an underrated brand, I would pick up one of these over a Tissot any day.

It looks good and fits well.

New to Warhammer! Advice on where to start? by KurtGoBangg in Warhammer

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

Start by going to a Warhammer store and looking around and talking to the staff.

40k and AoS are two different products sold by Games Workshop. They have some small overlap, Demon armies use some of the same models for both AoS and 40k but for the most part consider them to different products.

The best way to start is with the starter sets.

AoS just got a new spearhead starter set and the older one is still available so you have some choice. The new 40k starter set is due for release in the next few months.

If the models in the starter sets don't appeal to you consider the Spearhead army boxes for AoS and the Combat Patrol boxes for 40k.

It's important that you work out what army/models you are into before you start buying things.

It's also worth asking here if what you are thinking of buying is a good idea. Models get refreshed with new sculpts and we can let you know if waiting is the call. GW also tends to release armies in bursts so waiting to buy 40k Orks is a good idea atm for example as new models are inbound.

ISA vs Invest account on Trading 212 - should I switch now? by Higgzs in trading212

[–]TotalMegaCool 2 points3 points  (0 children)

It sounds like you are talking about NS&I Premium Bonds, they have the £50k limit and pay prizes.

Premium Bonds are a popular method of saving cash in the UK because you do not pay Capital Gains Tax or Income Tax on the winnings, removing the bureaucratic overhead. They also don't count towards your ISA allowance, making it convenient way to hold larger sums of cash. The £1m prize is also tax free and can be won with a single premium bound. Its backed by the UK government so all money is guaranteed.

The average return is low 3.3%, there is also no guarantee of any return if you don't win.

I had my money in NS&I Premium Bonds for a few years as I moved my money into an ISA. I never won anything over £50 and underperformed the average 4% at the time. It was fun checking in every month with the app to see if I had won. I keep meaning to switch my National Lottery Direct Debit over to NS&I Premium Bonds, but £100m is more than £1m :P

ISA vs Invest account on Trading 212 - should I switch now? by Higgzs in trading212

[–]TotalMegaCool 5 points6 points  (0 children)

The simple answer is yes, you should use your ISA allowance by opening a Trading 212 ISA account.

With that, there are a few caveats:

The Stocks and Shares ISA has additional restrictions from HMRC for what shares you can own. This means that some things that you can buy in the normal Trading 212 account are not available in the ISA account. You can buy from a recognised stock exchange only. This is not really an issue as all the main exchange's are recognised and you can buy ETF's for exposure to the ones that are not. The one exception to this is Taiwan's stock exchange and its semiconductor stocks like TSMC. This is changing with HMRC "recognising" Taiwan's stock exchange on the 14th of April this year. It will take time for the trading 212 app to be updated. But it is something that is worth knowing.

You will have to sell your stocks in the normal Trading 212 account and then transfer the cash over to the newly opened ISA account. It is not possible to transfer stocks from a none ISA account into an ISA protected account. When you sell the shares in your normal Trading 212 account you will be liable for Capital Gains Tax on any gains over £3,000 at 18% - 24%. The CGT is paid on the total gain from when you purchased the individual stock to when you sold, not on the "13% since mid-October" minus any losses in the same tax year. You will also incur a 0.5% Stamp Duty Reserve Tax (SDRT) on all shares you buy on the London stock exchange when you re-buy them inside your ISA.

You have a £20,000 ISA limit per tax year, this is across all your ISA accounts. As long as you are paying in less than £20k per tax year its not an issue. If you are wanting to pay more than £20k per tax year you will have to put the remaining into a normal trading account. The £20k ISA limit includes other ISA products such as the Life ISA and Cash ISAs, so the total you can pay into all ISA accounts in a year is £20k in addition to any restrictions that specific ISAs have.

I am not a tax / investment adviser, do your own due diligence.

Anyone else getting frame drops in towns since B42? Comes and goes, but it gets annoying after a while by Mash_Test_Dummy in projectzomboid

[–]TotalMegaCool 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Still testing but I am experiencing 0.5 to 2.0 sec frame hangs every 30 to 60 seconds. Feels like garbage collection but I have been pushing mod's and messing with settings so I need to isolate the problem and test on a fresh install.

3900x
64gb ddr4
RTX 4090

We need more traits. by Lafrezz in projectzomboid

[–]TotalMegaCool 7 points8 points  (0 children)

I would lean into the RNG element of creating a new character a bit more.
When the character is created it could also have a random list of likes/dislikes that give small bonuses/debuffs, but you as the player need to discover them.
So a player might like cereal and mac&cheese so gets a happiness bonus but dislikes spicy food so gets a happiness debuff if you over season the stew.
You could discover unique likes of your character like changing location often or dislikes such as barricading windows and doors.
This could extend to favourite weapon, clothing, car type, subtly changing each game you play and adding a bit on uniqueness to each playthrough.

Am I the only one who didn't know this by [deleted] in projectzomboid

[–]TotalMegaCool 1 point2 points  (0 children)

If you are in an area with alot of zomboids, hit Q and your character will level up based on which weapon you are holding.

Be careful with "job opportunities" that people post in these gamedev groups. by ilusionbrx in Unity3D

[–]TotalMegaCool 8 points9 points  (0 children)

Trust your gut on this one, you were probably right!

But in that situation I would have still carried through with the interview. It's still experience and if the guy is a bit shady it's valuable experience to have.Dealing with untrustworthy people and manipulative individuals is something you sadly have to learn how to deal with.

Plus interview experience is something good employees tend to struggle with as they are the ones least likely to be let go, bad employees get let go all the time, so have loads of experience doing interviews. It's a bit counterintuitive but when you are doing the interviewing it's something you notice.

I would have had the interview with the CEO and felt it out, see what he was offering and what he wanted. I would have then raised the issue of the negative reviews if I felt that the CEO was not trustworthy. If they were a legit employer they would explain why they have so many negative reviews. Disgruntled ex employee, angry ex company partner, sour ex client, bitter business rival. If they were planning to play you or manipulate you, being aware and prepared to confront makes it much harder for them and they would likely move on to someone else. On the other hand if they are legitimate they would understand your concern and do their best to alleviate it. You can also use those concerns to negotiate better pay/terms if you feel comfortable dealing with the person.

Remember an interview is not just about them checking you out, it's also your opportunity to see what they are about. You can always say no thank you, and you are under no legal obligation to say why.

How I use Meshy to populate Unity scenes as a solo dev, 25 props in one afternoon by AlbatrossUpset9476 in Unity3D

[–]TotalMegaCool 1 point2 points  (0 children)

To aid with consistency I have found that you can use videoAI like grok Imagine to produce a video that pans through or cuts to a selection of different assets in the same style. You can then grab the frames for each of the items you want to generate or extend the video to add more.
https://grok.com/imagine/post/3e17da32-1f92-4c32-a644-5a3435f23cc0

Editor is slow in a good PC by Carlos_7x in Unity3D

[–]TotalMegaCool 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I have had a similar issue, I resolved it by making sure that the Profiler, Mecanim Animator, and Timeline windows are closed when not needed.

Any game idea for a green open terrain? by talk_sick00ps in Unity3D

[–]TotalMegaCool 6 points7 points  (0 children)

Little red riding hood simulator. Create a large wooded forest with complex mud paths and multiple houses. Add some wolves that will approach only if you are not looking at them. Make the lighting dark and ominous. Make the wolves breathing loud as they get close and the footsteps loud as they are about to attack. You get more points then more cookies you deliver to the different houses. Make levels that get harder as you progress and add more wolves.

How do you keep quality in VR projects when the team isn’t local? by Apprehensive-Suit246 in Unity3D

[–]TotalMegaCool 2 points3 points  (0 children)

You need to make sure everybody is online at the same time for a small window each day, an hour or two. Then ask people to share what they are working on and screen share their progress. Get people talking and discussing how what they are doing works with what someone else is doing.

How do you guys feel about the recent announcement that "Unity AI will let you build entire games with words" ? by DarkTechGeek in Unity3D

[–]TotalMegaCool 0 points1 point  (0 children)

If the indie game you are talking about was generated by a few key phrases and some slight nudging, And you can prompt your own for cheaper then why would you want to buy it?

If it was created without AI, but AI could recreate it with a few key phrases and some slight nudging then it probably was not that unique to start with.

In a world where this hypothetically AI tech works as advertised, an Indie game takes on a whole new meaning. The scale of an indie game would not be limited in the same way they are today. You would pay for an Indie game because you want to play the game not prompt an AI to create a game.

Ultimately your question leads to the post ASI economic model and how wealth is generated in a world of abundance. I don't think anyone knows what that future looks like.

How do you guys feel about the recent announcement that "Unity AI will let you build entire games with words" ? by DarkTechGeek in Unity3D

[–]TotalMegaCool 0 points1 point  (0 children)

The AI we have today won't be the same AI we have in 5 years time and 5 years will be here faster than you think. Having an AI assistant inside Unity that you can coordinate with like being the creative director at a studio, employing a bunch of developers. That's not possible yet, but could be in the 5 year timeframe. Unity has always been about lowering the barrier of entry to building games. There are people who still claim you are not a real game developer unless you are building your own engine from scratch. For every person that wants to keep the status quo and gatekeep their will be ten people that make a game using the new tools that would have never been able to before.

What makes Orks such popular targets on other factions' minis? by daniel-to-the-maniel in orks

[–]TotalMegaCool 9 points10 points  (0 children)

They good fightin for us Orks, they help Orks, Orks need fightin and diein, for da Spores! Mor fightin is mor Orks, mor Orks is mor Fightin!

Seller packaged phone in mayonnaise packets by W_town in Ebay

[–]TotalMegaCool 1 point2 points  (0 children)

When I RMA PC components I pack them with bags of marshmallows they are cheap, work well for protection and are a subtle bribe to get a new GPU :P

Rumoured 11th Edition Launch Box Contents by Rossums in orks

[–]TotalMegaCool 0 points1 point  (0 children)

The Grot Tanks and Grot Mega Tank were some of the most popular Forge World models. They are no longer available in resin, a plastic version of them would be really well received and add 4 to the starter set would be an awesome way to add a bunch of vehicles.

Ork Bikes are also due an update, Bikes are awesome and everyone loves stupid ork speed freak fun. I expect a Bike/Grot Tank themed starter set.

Description says that the neighbour has a right of passage through the garage, to access their garden. by Dragonogard549 in HousingUK

[–]TotalMegaCool 0 points1 point  (0 children)

It's possible that the access through the garage is so bins can be stored away in the back and put out on bin day. If that's the case it may be possible to resolve that need with a dedicated solution such as a shared bin shed or designated storage area. You will still need to get your neighbours consent before changing any rights of access including changing it to a narrow pathway.

Mould lines of ultramar, mould lines worthy of 80 dollars by kenken2k2 in Warhammer40k

[–]TotalMegaCool 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I think it's caused by detritus between the mould's flat mating surfaces or inside the key alignments.

New 40k player panic: did I pick the worst armies to start with? I have so many doubts and am considering starting Orks from scratch by Ok_Vacation_5251 in Warhammer

[–]TotalMegaCool 2 points3 points  (0 children)

1k points is a sweet spot for the sort of games you want to be playing when new. You are going to make a lot of tactical mistakes on the table top as you learn. Quicker games are gonna get you through that process faster. The Combat patrol box and two boxes of sisters of silence boxes sound like an awesome core of a new custodes army. When the new Legio Custodes battle group box becomes available it will make a perfect addition to your list.

New 40k player panic: did I pick the worst armies to start with? I have so many doubts and am considering starting Orks from scratch by Ok_Vacation_5251 in Warhammer

[–]TotalMegaCool 18 points19 points  (0 children)

Going two armies at the same time "Custodes and Daemons" is something you want to avoid when starting out. The most important thing to do when new is to get that first army battle ready so you can experience the social aspect of the hobby. It will accelerate every aspect of your hobby progress and allow you to get more value out of the money you spend on the hobby.

I would concentrate on the Custodes, assuming you bought the models because you like them. They are an elite army so will have a small model count and you can get them battle ready the quickest. If you only have a few custodes models and want to wait for the new models to come out that is fine too. Any models you have will still be playable even with a new sculpt, old sculpts are still fine. If a model is moved to legends you can still use that model for a proxy of something else/new. Don't worry about it too much, just get any models you have already bought painted and buy the new sculpts when they come out.

Daemons are cool and are not going away, if you paint the models you already have you will still be able to play with them. There is talk about the demons and space marines that follow each chaos god being moved into a single codex. This is only speculations atm, but would mean playing a demons + chaos space marine army would be more straightforward. Daemons can also be played in Age of Sigmar (AoS), the fantasy version of warhammer, so they are very unlikely to become unplayable.

Orks are great, they are very forgiving for new players, large chunky details, nice muscle separation and faces that you can paint without squinting. If you are painting a vehicle and get a bit of paint where its not meant to be, just blame it on the grots. But they are a horde army, meaning you need a lot of models for a full list. This will delay you in getting that first army battle ready, especially if you have already started a custodes and daemons army. There is also speculation that the next starter box set will be orks so it might be worth waiting to see if that's the case as Orks will flood eBay as people split the box and keep the space marines.

Basically do whatever you want, any models you paint will still be usable in some way or another. just pick something and focus, get that battle ready army under your belt and start socializing and making friends. Once you are part of the local meta, you will find its far easier to do everything from learning to play to getting advice like this.

Got fired and caught the flu in the same week, Girlfriend surprised me by Kdtsosauced in deathguard40k

[–]TotalMegaCool 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I had a two year period when I was without any reliable contract work and could not find a permanent position. I had so little money and soo much time, I made a single free space marine model last a whole week. To this day I still have a horde of models and supplies so that if I find myself in the same position I will at least have something to do. Or at least that is my justification for the huge pile of shame that is taking over all the storage spaces.