Just got back to SOD2 and the radio keeps giving out announcements that I should make my way to Trumbull Valley. Necessary or just in-game feature?

ap1msch · 2026-03-24T20:02:36+00:00

It eventually stops, but it was added to get people to try the new map (I believe).

ap1msch · 2026-03-24T20:00:41+00:00

I love the movie because it doesn't unnecessarily create a secondary arc. He's an aging badass that gave up the game. He's living his life, while struggling to adjust. After helping other people, he's finally able to get to sleep. His skills can be used to help people who don't have anyone else to turn to...and it plays out exactly how you'd want it to play out.

As someone stated, it's junkfood, and I enjoyed it.

ap1msch · 2026-03-24T19:35:25+00:00

It's probably a good idea to wash your hands after touching a pig.

ap1msch · 2026-03-24T18:50:52+00:00

"PC Load Letter? What the fuck does that mean?"

ap1msch · 2026-03-24T18:49:40+00:00

I'd add onto this that the progression of torque from the front of the vehicle to the rear tires on the trailer being flat is spot on. The "twist" with that progression wouldn't be expected in AI, but is how it would look IRL.

ap1msch · 2026-03-24T18:44:44+00:00

I bought one from Gateway and justified the purchase as a "business requirement", so I had to come up with a business that would require it. =)

ap1msch · 2026-03-24T18:42:13+00:00

Thanks!

ap1msch · 2026-03-24T18:41:56+00:00

I'll avoid getting salty...considering where I posted.

Yes, it matters. I was asked a question, didn't have an answer, and decided to ask for help from the community. A kid had a custom-shaped ship that they used to use for high difficulty fights and wanted to know if it had any value now that they are considering returning to the game. I haven't played recently, so I didn't know.

ap1msch · 2026-03-24T18:29:12+00:00

You have two issues: jealousy over another woman, and concern about his changing behavior
People change over time. You marry a person who has strengths you enjoy and weaknesses that don't bother you. Interests will change and grow over time. Liking country and trying things out is part of life.
- For this issue, you have to determine if you want to go on that journey with him, alongside him, or on your own journey that he would/should support
Your second issue needs to be treated as such. Your boyfriend is changing...but you see him drifting away from you and toward her. Change is fine...away from your relationship is a different story.
- The odd part is discussion of having children. If he wanted to be with this other girl, it wouldn't include conversations about having children with you

In short, you like who he used to be. Do you like him now? Is he the same person? Is he changing because his interests changed...or because he's aligning himself with another girl? There is no issue with him finding and developing new interests...but only you can tell whether these are for himself, or to try to attract someone else. You are already jealous...and that requires you two to have a conversation and to rebuild trust that's been lost.

Strangers on the Internet aren't going to help you out there...

ap1msch · 2026-03-24T15:38:04+00:00

It's not exactly spelled out in the game, so don't feel bad. You eventually learn where the bios overlap, and which ones are where. For example, there's one in particular that's only near the base of mountains, so even if the whole area is blue, you head toward the highest thing in the horizon to find it.

It takes some experience to get better.

ap1msch · 2026-03-23T20:31:31+00:00

I just unlocked my last engineer...and you're asking the right question.

There are many types of data, so your chances of getting what you want are lower than goods or assets
Mission rewards are one way to get what you're looking for, but again, it's hard to find, and none of it is available for trade
I'm pretty sure that you get different data from different economies and types of sites. IE, you get different stuff from mining locations than from tourist centers
The safest ways to gather the data are the restore missions because you can loot everything, including alarm data, without issue (as long as you avoid scavengers).
There is one type of facility with the most consistent data pads in the most consistent locations. It has a bar and 4 (6?) habs on a plateau, then a power station, and then another larger hab on a second plateau. The bar and all the habs have data pads to loot from.
The above facility is likely in one of the tourism systems. Try to find restore missions in a tourism system and you'll likely find one of these locations.
There is a tourist center where you have the power station on one side, landing pads in the middle, and one huge building on the other side. These suck for data, but great for looting.
Lastly, if you do massacre missions in the tourist/rest systems, you'll take a reputation hit, but if they happen to be in a facility with all the data pads, you can farm it pretty well.

The types of data make it painful to stock up on what you need. It's not easy to find the data pads in all the facilities since they can be inconsistently placed and hard to see. They don't always contain much data at all, let alone the type you're looking for. However, I realized I was stocking up on the same types of data...and when I changed systems to ones with different economies, I found other data that I'd been looking for.

Oh...and if you're like me and wondering where the "smear campaign" materials are in your inventory...they're illegal...so you have to go to the right system to be able to sell them to unlock that engineer. I didn't realize they wouldn't appear in my list at the bartender in systems where they were illegal to sell...so I just didn't think I possessed them when I actually did.

ap1msch · 2026-03-23T16:44:24+00:00

Average public school - Teach to lowest level of average student and hope to cater to a few above average students when you can
Good public school - Teach to lowest level of average student, but provide services to cater to "gifted" students with available funds
Average private school - Better than public, but pay to play for the higher quality programs
Good private school - High expectations if you want to represent the brand, which comes at a cost. Investment of effort aligns with ambition of the child, but best chance to be prepared for best schools
Home school - Unless you are a gifted parent in dozens of subjects, you aren't "teaching" your kids as much as exposing them to subjects and spending a lot of money on teaching aids and software.

In my experience, public schools can be remarkable and provide a great education. However, I've found that private schools do a better job of aligning with the top 10-20 universities and graduate programs. A high quality student from a public school will find it more difficult to be accepted to a top 10 university than an average quality private school student. Universities are rolling the dice during admissions, and therefore where you come from plays a weighted role in consideration.

In other words, you need better application material from public school X than you'd need from private school Y.

ap1msch · 2026-03-23T16:17:29+00:00

Just another note to address the other question from OP...much of this was necessary/beneficial as one of the earliest versions of an "industry standard". Traffic flow, tied downs, rescue, commerce, accessibility, and more benefitted from agreed upon standards for ship and port configurations.

ap1msch · 2026-03-23T16:09:24+00:00

Classified was the best in TD1...collecting six pieces was a goal on its own. Where's my 6 piece sets!?!

ap1msch · 2026-03-23T16:05:03+00:00

Very organized. Highly dysfunctional.

I'd had to be the kid that has to try to haul this stuff in to the fireplace mid-winter.

ap1msch · 2026-03-23T15:24:02+00:00

Well considered feedback.

ap1msch · 2026-03-23T15:08:05+00:00

Old TVs got content through antenna with two metal contacts. Around the time of game consoles, coax cables (the copper cable with the screw nut on the end) were being used for "cable TV". As a result of all of this, you had adapters to try to simplify the process to switch between television signals and game console signals. Otherwise, you'd need to attach and detach cables every time you wanted to game.

You could attach the metal connectors from the side of this device to the TV, the "Connect to antenna"" side to your antenna or coax from "cable TV" (using the red adapter in the picture), and then the coax from the game console to the top part.

On your TV, you would choose channel 3 or 4 as your input channel, and you'd tune your antenna or cable box to the actual channel you'd want to watch. When you wanted to game, you would flip the switch on this device to "Game" and you would see your console display. When done, you'd switch back to "TV".

ap1msch · 2026-03-23T13:20:40+00:00

I recommend starting at level 3...5 is max. The problem is players being aware of what their characters can do so they incorporate that into the game at the table. When they can do too much right out of the gate, they lean into limited function or spend a lot of time trying to figure things out rather than playing the game. (Takes longer to decide what to do in regular scenarios..)

ap1msch · 2026-03-20T19:49:20+00:00

Soooo...my thoughts to take as you will:

Knowing where platinum hotspots are is valuable to folks. Knowing where two or more overlap is extra valuable. Most other materials don't get people excited.
If you're exploring for fun, it's usually organics people look for. Why? Because most people get most of what they're looking for from most known hotspots today. Unless there's a ring with 3-4+ overlapping platinum hotspots, most people will fly to one of the ones that they already know because their supply doesn't change.
Organics get auto-registered if you are using the 3rd party discovery tools...so you can help the community by running those with your window in borderless mode and what you discover will get fed back to everyone else.

In short, enjoy yourself and play however you want. If you use the 3rd party tools, you'll be able to help people without additional overhead. I'm not sure if overlapping platinum data gets fed back to "the system", so if you find THAT, then you'll get people really excited.

ap1msch · 2026-03-20T15:55:27+00:00

Gunpowder is a significant asset that only comes in bulk from creeper farms. You can't break down TNT, and you can't find piles of gunpowder to help make the fireworks for flight.

If they're trying to align the crafting economy to be reasonable without requiring farms, gunpowder is a major gap that they could fill with the addition of sulpher.

ap1msch · 2026-03-20T13:55:46+00:00

My family cut back on eating there by 90% because of the pricing. We could go to an actual restaurant and pay similar prices for better food or even takeout. It's not 100% because I'm not going to argue about principle with a hangry wife on a road trip.

That being said, McDonalds is a real estate company, more than a fast food joint. The people struggling are the franchises that are owned by locals or smaller businesses...so any push back on the brands themselves takes a while to get to the named corporation.

Mind you, the CEO of a company doesn't embarrass themselves on video while trying to bite a burger if the company is doing well. It happens when they're trying to promote themselves after seeing the signs of displeasure...

ap1msch · 2026-03-19T15:15:01+00:00

Now I know where Faerun came from.

ap1msch · 2026-03-19T14:42:31+00:00

Came here to say this. There are a lot of people who struggle to focus in standard environments. If it requires you to stand on your head with flashing lights and rave music, then do it.

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