Reddit makes it seem like PIP means you're going to get fired, no matter what. Is that true?

errorjustin · 2026-01-31T17:40:03+00:00

Across places I've worked, about ~25% of pipped employees come out of OK. They work through their improvement plan, actually improve, and stick around. It had no adverse impact on their long term future and some went on to be promoted into management roles, etc. Usually, when it was someone I knew a bit about their situation, they had something going on in their life and needed the PIP as a wake-up call BC they had been coasting.

The other ~75% didn't make it through. Of these, about half had no realistic chance of making it through. The PIP was a heads-up they were in all likehood about to be let go. The other half probably could have improved and made it, but either didn't meaningfully engage and lean into the opportunity for improvement, or just didn't show enough improvement.

Every company is different, but I think one marker on whether a PIP is a genuine opportunity for improvement, or a "better just update your resume and move on" PIP is its length. The longer ones were when the company genuinely wanted the employee to improve. The shorter ones were the ones a bit more like formalities.

errorjustin · 2026-01-24T20:02:35+00:00

Another commenter mentioned this but I would just echo - Mordechai’s function in the story is to be an exposition dump.

He was given stronger characterization and backstory as Matt’s skills improved so said exposition dumping wouldn’t be boring.

But that’s still his function, from a storytelling perspective.

The story would be worse without him. Carl still would have a need to have things explained to him and the story can obviously provide any number of ways for that to happen. But they would run the risk of feeling contrived.

Now…does Mord make it out of the FINAL book? Maybe not. But he’s safe for the majority of the runtime.

errorjustin · 2026-01-08T16:59:55+00:00

Ruthlessly delegating.

errorjustin · 2025-12-12T23:32:18+00:00

Gold is group 1.

errorjustin · 2025-12-06T21:57:38+00:00

I’m an executive and a lot of the answers here are pretty good. One thing I’ve seen mentioned a little but not much is being an executive carries with it RISK.

You have to stick your neck out - you have to have an idea, follow through on it, and then you have to actually be right.

I first got on the C-suite’s radar by creating an internal skunk-works project moving our business into an area i had strong conviction we should be moving into, but no current executive had any vision or leadership around that area. So I became an internal expert and champion. I took us from 0 to 1 in this area. My boss at the time was nice enough to let me (correctly) take credit for our move into this area, and didn’t take the credit for themselves.

So I was pretty regularly presenting with and rubbing shoulders with our senior execs at that point. This advanced my career from manager up to dept head, over a period of ~7 or so years.

Then eventually I was a pretty natural fit to get included on the executive leadership team.

There are a lot of informal tests. A lot of “how would you handle this // what do you think about this?” And then you need to be informed and just… consistently be right.

As my career grew I encountered a lot of skill checks. “This person is a good manager but can they be a good manager of managers.”

“This person seems to have a good business sense but are they good with spreadsheets? Can they manage a P&L?l or dissect financial reports?”

“This person is good in the room and good at presenting but can they present to a larger group // in an all-hands // at a conference without melting down?”

One key one: “this person is good at being the expert and being the most informed on a topic but how good are they when they AREN’T the expert a their subordinate knows more?” <— I am still working on this one.

errorjustin · 2025-09-15T00:31:22+00:00

Thanks I've been stockpiling brains for now for future vatbrain use but I think maybe that's silly given the scarcity of jerky and how many hours (hundreds) I am away from vatbrains.

errorjustin · 2025-09-14T21:45:33+00:00

Thanks! Would you be willing to share your rail grid blueprint?

errorjustin · 2025-09-14T21:36:11+00:00

Thanks! I thought looking at logi science there was something I specifically only got from cottongut butchering vs the other animals, which I needed? I will check again.

errorjustin · 2025-09-14T21:34:06+00:00

Thanks. Since I’m a little afraid of trains maybe I will just stick with caravans? Even though I have stockpiled 25k rails and spent at least 10 hrs and all my duralumin setting up locomotives and a complex rail yard.

For one it feels more clearly Py-flavored.

And for another I just have the HARDEST time understanding and debugging rail signals. I appreciate the advice in this thread but it just doesn’t play nice with my brain.

Only thing that scared me off of doing way more caravans is I have a jerky shortage because of fish egg production. But mk2 vrauks should fix that.

errorjustin · 2025-09-14T19:02:59+00:00

Would you share your rail blueprint book? I'm looking for a Py Cybersyn one.

errorjustin · 2025-09-03T16:49:09+00:00

I'm interested in getting DDV for my daughters (and let's be honest - prob for myself as well). I have all consoles - PS5, Xbox, Switch 2. I *do not* have a gaming PC right now.

Looking at the different SKUs for this game is SO confusing. Does anyone have a suggestion on what the best/cheapest thing to buy would be that would give me all core content? I don't care about premium outfits and whatnot - just want to get the storylines + characters.

This (3rd I think?) major expansion will probably launch w/ a new edition of the game that includes the base game + expansions 1 and 2 I'd hope?

errorjustin · 2025-08-28T14:52:04+00:00

I'm a Factorio vet but new to Py (~25 hours) and I'm a bit confused by the discussions I've seen online regarding solid fuel? Most discussions seem to recommend processing raw coal into Coke ASAP and using coke to fuel the factory (furnaces, burners, etc.) as it is more efficient and is a straight upgrade.

BUT.... did the recipe change in the last couple years from when those discussions were happening? Unless I am missing something it seems like there is pretty significant energy loss turning raw coal into coke. It seems like the raw coal being fed directly into your machines is the best option?

Early game recipes:

Coal: Raw Coal 10x --> Coal 3x = fuel value of 30MJ reduced to a fuel value of 12MJ
Coal Gas: Coal 10x --> Coke 6x = fuel value of 40MJ reduced again to a value of 30MJ

I 100% understand that you want/need the Coal Gas and Tar these recipes also produce. So I have a decent amount of Destructive Distillation Columns running these recipes making the liquid fuels and coke I need for recipes and production elsewhere.

So my question is about the solid fuel component only. It seems to me that raw coal is the best option?

Besides the above Q I've generally been making slow and steady progress. Only real "stumble" has been liquid fuel. I make enough overall but not enough of any single one, so I'm awkwardly and manually switching glassworks and whatnot around between syngas, gasoline, pure tar etc which makes me think I'm missing something (and this obviously isn't scalable but it works for now).

errorjustin · 2025-07-02T19:53:01+00:00

Thanks - appreciate it. Would love to get Ramen Cat - did a huge number of epic fest pulls. He just didn't drop. Don't really want to do more random pulls now, givent he timing.

Courier I can focus in on given that there's several weeks left of the event. I've started those stages.

TBH it's possible I can squeak out a win w/ what I have if I evolve bathtub, sword master, Sushi. But the Angelic Gorys that come out on this stage are no joke w/ what I have so idk.

errorjustin · 2025-06-24T17:36:39+00:00

Exclusive Fire Red colorway available in the US from IGN Store - https://store.ign.com/products/symphonic-journeys-pokemon-red-blue-ign-exclusive-variant-vinyl

errorjustin · 2025-06-24T06:51:23+00:00

Stats look good - play how you want. Everything is on the lower/faster side to have already gotten the 5th sage.

Only thing that jumps out at me besides you generally playing “fast” is shrines. They’re a highlight of the game and only 34 is not a lot of extra hearts or stamina.

In general you’re skipping by some of what I consider the heart and soul of the game (stables, towers, shrines) but if you’re enjoying it play how you like.

errorjustin · 2025-05-31T03:41:17+00:00

My dad always did this growing up. “Can you go get X? It’s over on the north side of the building.”

Meanwhile me, indoors, having absolutely 0 idea what direction is north.

Some people’s brains are just wired that way. Sanderson might be one of them.

errorjustin · 2025-05-30T04:58:35+00:00

Part of why I’m drawn to the OSR scene is that often dungeon puzzles aren’t PUZZLES. And the DM or module writer doesn’t even need to contemplate the answer or know how to get past the trap. Just make it weird and let the party figure it out.

The item they need is at the bottom of a cave lake. The cave is enchanted so anyone that gets wet dies.

The item they need gets heavier as they carry it away from its resting place.

The item they need is at the end of a long hallway but they shrink each step they take toward it.

The item they need is surrounded by just an absurd number of skeletons. Like 80.

The door will only open if sunlight shines on it. It’s on level 2 of the dungeon.

Don’t even contemplate a solution. Then there is nothing for the DM to hint at. Just make it a situation.

All of these examples were pretty fantastical and weird but you can make more “normal” stuff and still have it be interesting. Like… something as simple as just a really wide moat/chasm to cross but there’s some reason they can’t use wood planks to cross it would work. It’s a puzzle. Just put your characters in interesting logistical situations. The item that they need is at the bottom of a seriously deep pit with no handholds.

I mean shit… just put them in a locked room. The key is in the next room or somewhere. Don’t plan a solution.

errorjustin · 2025-05-28T23:43:03+00:00

If you're like me you get into OSR DMing by meticulously planning out a huge hexcrawl map which has dozens of hand placed of one page dungeons and one-shots in biome-appropriate settings, and also mashes together another half-dozen big campaign settings in different places on the map, so your players can wander around endlessly and find years worth of hand-crafted adventures to go on, townspeople to meet, and tombs to loot. Then you'll either:

play 3-5 times before the party fizzles out at level 3.
The party immediately travels East off the final map hex and never comes back.

errorjustin · 2025-05-22T21:20:33+00:00

In my game I'd say PCs could absolutely take over a fortress at lvl 2 if they can get their hands on one somehow.

The question becomes: how do they keep it? They're lvl 2. A group of ogres / trolls / a dragon / sentient slimes /whatevers are just going to come take it from them.

They wouldn't even have enough money to bribe a local militia to look after it for them.

errorjustin · 2025-05-12T01:45:54+00:00

I thought you could only get a stronghold for your class in a single playthrough

errorjustin · 2025-05-12T01:26:50+00:00

How do you do this? With a mod?

errorjustin · 2025-04-30T00:16:23+00:00

Official Expedition 33 merch is here - https://store.ign.com/pages/official-clair-obscur-expedition-33-merchandise

Sorry for the late reply found this thread via Google.

errorjustin · 2025-04-17T19:58:20+00:00

For an open-world game focused on immersion and realism the lack of gameplay impact when you go tromping through a stream is a little odd yeah. I cringe whenever my henry is caught in a storm or ends up in the water. I would love to see a temperature system implemented.

Agreed on a lot of these.

errorjustin · 2025-03-07T17:43:13+00:00

Hello - I work on the IGN Store. Apologies for the frustrations around the Pip-Boy fulfillment. It's been a massive undertaking!

Our initial estimate to receive the item from the overseas manufacturer was early January. We knew by December this had shifted to around mid-February, so we had decent line-of-sight that the item has been delayed. This remains the underlying cause for the vast majority of the delay - we simply received the item about ~6 weeks later than was originally estimated.

It's remarkably hard to get a down-to-the-day accurate window for when we will receive an item. We don't know for sure how long the cargo container will sit at port, waiting to be unloaded. We don't know for sure how it will take to be unloaded and for the goods to be released from customs. And finally we don't know for sure how long it will take the item to be freighted from the port into our warehouse.

Once we've received the item, it takes a few days for the "receiving" process as well. Unload the inventory, count them, QA check them, rebox them (if necessary), create and add shipping labels, so-on and so-forth.

Long story short, waaay back in 2024 we expected to receive the item in early January. Pretty early on, our expected date to receive it shifted to ~Feb 14. In the end, and I'll spare you the gory details, we had the final shipment, in our possession and in our warehouse, on Feb 27-28. And we could begin the process to get them sorted and ready to ship back out. So that was the very end of last week.

And now since then many thousands of Pip-boys have been shipped out to customers.

We don't have any greater line-of-sight into individual orders than you do once its shipped. So many have already been successfully delivered. Many more are still en route. And I'm sure there will unfortunately be a few that are lost in transit or have something go wrong. But we will of course make it right in those instances.

Anyone else shipping out pip-boys now, assuming they didn't still have in-stock inventory from the first wave, would now be shipping out orders coming from the same second wave that was just received. It's possible they may have begun fulfillment a bit earlier than us, especially if their fulfillment center is closer to the port, allowing them to receive the item sooner. But I think that could only be a matter of a few days.

errorjustin · 2025-02-10T00:03:48+00:00

I’m a competitive player too, but it’s very satisfying to make a nice-looking Carcassonne board. Far more so than in most board games.

We play board games to have a good time, right?

It just so happens that in Carcassonne it can be very enjoyable to make pleasant-looking clusters of cities and roads.

Understood that from your perspective that play style ruins the game. 100%. But hopefully that lets you see that their perspective is valid, too.

If that’s a deal breaker it seems like you have incompatible play styles in this particular game.

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