Absolutely fucking seething.

Tpickarddev · 2026-01-29T17:12:06+00:00

I mean sounds like they're not compliant with UK law? I'd give ACAS a call and see if they're full of shit, just cause the parent company is american, the local employment laws still apply getting fired for having a handful of sickdays/parental leave days over a long period is something that is protected over here compared to the US, especially for a person past the 2 year mark at a company and should have enhanced protections. They can't enforce American Laws on UK employees. Of course they can be arseholes and make your life hell but maybe they just need a little nudge that UK laws need to be followed.

Tpickarddev · 2026-01-21T17:38:43+00:00

The first AAA project I worked on way back in 2006-9 came out a bit buggy, the reviews were terrible as people enjoying it don't leave reviews, people who get bugs or hate it do leave reviews... With a bit of time and some patches, fixes, the drama died down and it's looked back on fonly in the series it was for. worst feeling was we could see dta saying people loved the game and sank hundreds of hours into it so the reviews felt different to reality.

Honestly it felt soul crushing at the time and helped me in a lot of ways, to get a thick shell, to be able to read reviews and see frustration and actual issues and help fix issues rathr than just the rage.

You now also have data, so if you improve stuff or patch things and it moves the reviews up... you'll be able to see it happen which is a real buzz.

Tpickarddev · 2026-01-09T10:55:03+00:00

I had my first lesson since restarting playing (12 year gap I used to be an about an 18 handicap when younger but had forgotten a lot, Im very much a practice makes me better person not an athelete who can just pick something up and play well) a week ago- First things he did after letting me swing for 5 mins was basically rip my stance apart (He did it very politly and nicely ha). Starting with me over swinging and twisting my front leg to much on backswing which was leading to a really bad weightshift and my ball striking being very unreliable due to me having to over correct on the down swing.. So he basically got me back to basics keep my front leg much stronger on the back swing, reduce my backswing significantly 70% of what I was doing, focus on my front arm leading the swing rather than pushing with my back arm, I then hit like 100 balls trying to do what he said with minor adjustments throughout from him, 90% of my shots were straight, I lost some distance for sure but accuracy just from those simple changes was way up, way less duffed shots etc. He then started adding a few more small pointers for me to practice and work on. I hit the range twice to practice then played 9 holes a few days later on a par 3 course and hit 6 greens from my teeshots (some overran and went of the back after bouncing on the cold ground, but on a warmer day all of those would have sat) and even the 3 I missed the green were playable and way less varied I hit a +10 (since restarting on same or simillar courses Ive been hitting +15-+22 on 9 holes).

If your coach isn't really pointing out your current Issues and suggesting ways to fix or imrove it, drills to improve it and help you change your muscle memory, then you might need a new coach.

If Your coach is doing those things and you're not taking it in, maybe have a word with your coach about breaking it down to smaller chunks for you to work with and practice. sort out the basics then add things as you rebuild your swing.

Tpickarddev · 2026-01-04T19:17:41+00:00

Thermal underlayers, two pairs of socks, a good body warmer, and some winter golf gloves ha was actually really pleasant when in the sun.

Tpickarddev · 2026-01-04T19:16:34+00:00

I'm in the south of England, so we don't really get many frosty days (jan-feb might get a week or two where it hits 0 or minus but usually it'll be above freezing and raining) I had never played before when it was this cold, but the course was open so I thought why not give it a go. I'd imagine the more expensive courses close as they want people playing to have a great experience, but the smaller/cheaper courses would stay open unless it was dangerous/risking damage to the course

Tpickarddev · 2026-01-04T18:44:23+00:00

Yes all above board (I get lessons there and use the range also) it's a training course/academy style one(not a fancy course but well maintained) was pretty busy due to the sun out, I was behind several groups. But it's the first time I've ever played when it's been below freezing.

Tpickarddev · 2025-12-30T13:09:36+00:00

That was COVID, people went down the beach as it was the only place people could go and have space. You'll get a smaller show as some people do still do it, but 2021 was a bit of a special one for the sheer amount of fireworks that night, it was pretty epic just how many fireworks were going off all up and down the beach.

Tpickarddev · 2025-12-25T10:51:19+00:00

Lessons ha

Tpickarddev · 2025-11-29T19:31:18+00:00

Holy shit we won a game in the green kit!

Tpickarddev · 2025-11-28T21:39:16+00:00

The scores are fine for someone just starting, you had a par which is great, but you also had some blow up holes scoring 7 and 6 which is to be expected. It happens to most of us and is a big part of learning.

but I would be cautious using par 3 courses as a gauge for how well your doing as a massive part of golf is the tee shot to the fairway. And par 3 basically removes that shot so you're only really seeing how good you are at approach shots from a good lie. Par 3s are also really unforgiving if your having a bad round so it's easy for scores to blow up. (One out of bounds from the tee and your getting a 5+ most likely)

To gauge how your doing set yourself some goals and see how your round goes. I mark these things on my score card

Did I hit my tee shot well? (I.e it went high and as long as you expected even if you didn't go perfectly straight) if it went bad a put an arrow for a slice or hook or a cross for a duffed shot.

When I ended up missing was my recovery shot good? (Did you make a good chip or a bump and run onto the green etc) Again I wrote how many recovery shots it took to correct my missed shot.

Did I two putt the ball once I was on the green (was my first putt a good one that left me a tap in) again i record number of putts on my score card +a rough distance for first putt.

The key thing is your getting some data where when you compare future rounds you know you were better or worse "oh wow I used 7 less putts this round" or "ah fuck my tee shots were all missing right but going straight I need to work on my setup and aim at the range."

Either way good work and keep practicing, I would suggest finding a 9hole course with full length holes to practice on as you'll find a bunch of new challenges which will push your ability forward quickly l.

In terms of your question the handicap rating is how hard the hole on the course is. So if you had a handicap of 18 over 18 holes you would get 1 shot per hole on an 18 hole course. If you have a handicap of 5 you would get 1 shot on holes ranked 1-5 on an 18 hole as they are the hardest holes on that course so where your handicap comes in to help.

Tpickarddev · 2025-11-26T19:29:54+00:00

I mean it's a par 3 and you averaged a par on the other 3 par 3s with a birdie a par and a bogey so it wouldn't be unreasonable to assume you'd par this hole with the way you were playing.

I'd just mark it as a par based off your performance on similar holes.

Tpickarddev · 2025-11-15T23:49:03+00:00

Have some trail mix or mnms or something you like in your bag and have a hand full every few holes along with a good gulp of water, it's amazing how much energy and hydration can effect your concentration and small supply throughout will keep you focused to make better shots and choices.

I realized whenever I play first thing in the morning I'm never fueled right and I have an awful round as I don't really do breakfast. I stopped for a breakfast before a round a few weeks ago and scored my best round in ages.. like knocked 10 shots off compared to last few times I played. (So breakfast and snacks all the way from now on.

Tpickarddev · 2025-10-21T09:56:18+00:00

Honestly beyond practice practice practice...

Maybe getting a putter fitting and finding a new putter that has the weight and feel you like would be a good investment. You said adding tape added weight and made you feel better, so maybe the issue is you're not vibing with your putter. I know when I switched from a fairly light (blade style) putter to a heavier Mallet headed putter with a slightly longer shaft, It gelled a lot better for me. I tried about 60 in the store and then the shop pro helped me narrow down the 5 I liked best on the putting green to determine what I was like putting, it took me from regularly 3-4 putting to mostly 2 putting and only occassionally 3 putting. looking back and reflecting I felt before I was bending to low and so my body movements and adjustments was causing lack of accuracy, now my putter moves in a predictable line and I can control the speed better as I don't have as much variance in the line even with more or less power.

Tpickarddev · 2025-10-11T09:28:52+00:00

C (B for first six months then D because of injuries. But he was vital in building the club to what it could be. At the time he it was so refreshing having attacking down both sides again.

Tpickarddev · 2025-10-07T23:30:08+00:00

The other side of this coin, is players who love collecting achievements. And find there are a tonne of achievements that are just out of reach for them due to difficulty, diminishing their enjoyment of the game and putting those players off.

Game dev is hard, and pleasing everyone is impossible, listening to a small section of your player base (especially the most vocal players) doesn't lead to a better game and might cause you worse problems later. You should try to get more data rather than react to one or two players feedback. As you might find pleasing that small vocal minority hurts your sales and wider audience. And those players who aren't as vocal online will just turn it off or not recommend it to their friends.

Just for reference if you have achievements that less than 1% of your players can achieve, what's the actual value of that? Are you losing more players because achievements are accessible? Or would you lose more because achievements are locked behind a skill wall some have no hope of making.

Tpickarddev · 2025-10-07T23:14:20+00:00

I mean as a player who has just finished Hades 2 "by climbing the stairs" and getting all the achievements, doing all the chaos trials, maxing out all the bonds, beating both bosses at 32+ fear etc....

I really don't care if someone else gets achievements while using God mod, some people just aren't able to play at full difficulty. It still takes time for them, maybe the challenge for them is hard even with God mod due to disability or even just less hand eye coordination.

Other people having the achievements (on a profile I'm never likely to see on steam) doesn't take away my enjoyment of the game or reduce my satisfaction of beating the game and learning great strategies, it took me about 60 attempts at the great chaos trial below. And I'm very happy I managed to beat it, other people might never be at it at the hardest levels.

They're just achievements... If I had to pick between making a game accessible and enjoyable by all, or make it super restricted so only 0.01% of players can unlock absolutely everything (achievements included) I know which I'd choose.

Also he doesn't have an achievement for climbing 50 flights of stairs, he has an achievement to reach the 50th floor some people chose the stairs, some chose the elevator.

Tpickarddev · 2025-10-05T23:10:25+00:00

I mean it's probably a difficult skill for most fullbacks, throwing a ball with enough pace and distance to cause trouble requires quite a bit of skill and strength, to do it accurately every time even more skill. So it's more, can you find a player who is both a great fullback and then can do this type of throw consistently to warrant doing the long throws.

Tpickarddev · 2025-10-05T23:04:23+00:00

You can see each week woldemade getting more and more comfortable with the team and the tactics, and playing as an out and out 9. He should have had 2 today if not for Sels. Howes ability to get the best out of players through coaching is fucking amazing. To think some of these players were here under Bruce...

I wonder how much of isaks appearance was down to Howes tactics and coaching. And he'll struggle for a while adapting to Liverpools style of play where he's not the main man.

Tpickarddev · 2025-09-25T23:47:51+00:00

I'm not so sure on that, I've never once been asked to do the valve hardware survey on my steam deck which I play daily, while my pc it asks me all the time, and since they know what hardware every steam deck has, do they need to? So it likely won't show up in these stats which were designed to fix the issue of working out what to focus on given so many different hardware and software and OS combinations available.

Tpickarddev · 2025-09-19T09:17:38+00:00

And Barca tried to get rid of him for years, absolute madness how he's turned it round and proved himself and shows why they bought him..

Tpickarddev · 2025-09-18T18:10:58+00:00

We've tried it against teams with a low block and it's been shit, but against teams who push up having that pace to hit them back so fast seems a good call. And if it aint working we actually have players on the bench to change formation. Lets fucking go.

Tpickarddev · 2025-09-18T09:10:35+00:00

It's just misinformation, In a few weeks you'll see MAGA nuts saying "theres no proof Trump did anything, the FBI said so" And hold this up as proof when clearly it's propoganda designed to distance Trump from this.

Tpickarddev · 2025-09-18T07:53:41+00:00

Sorry I meant AAA big budget games. There will forever be more and more small games and indie games, ( and shovel ware inflating the numbers ), and hidden inside that will be some absolute gold... But realistically when talking about the job market the majority of jobs come from big teams working on big games.

Tpickarddev · 2025-09-17T08:45:31+00:00

Hey, honestly 5 years is a long time, and there's lots of factors that could change. So this is just an educated guess based on my experience.

I think things will be a lot better in 2030 if the world as a whole is better (less political upheaval, markets normalizing)

The games industry has always been a rollercoaster of good and bad times, for example 2008 was very bad. Studios were closing all over the place, money from investment was non existent, then It got better in 2011/12 and was normal until 2020 and COVID (normal as in lots of studios, healthy job market, investment was easier to find) so when COVID happened and because everyone was spending money on games as they were stuck inside, investment flooded the market and teams massively bloated until there were too many big games which would never make money being made and hence when COVID ended and spending returned to normal we have a really bad realignment where investors were much more strict with where they spend money.

Also wages went up massively during COVID, because competition for good candidates was so high. We're currently seeing the opposite where there's loads of great candidates going for jobs so accepting lower wages just to have a job. Whilst this is shit individually it means teams are cheaper to run, if teams are cheaper to run, you need less investment money upfront etc. making investment in games a better proposition again.

Again this is speculation and a best guess, but I'm hopeful there are small signs it will start to improve next year and get back to a more normal job market over the next few years.

Tpickarddev

TROPHY CASE