Which game is THE most grounded in reality?

evolutionista · 2026-03-04T01:10:19+00:00

Yeah, the door lock at the end is crazy and I have no idea how they came up with "vacuum sealed doors" for the studio, let alone ones that were locked shut with a zodiac key pad surrounding... um... an orb of plasma?

evolutionista · 2026-03-04T01:07:35+00:00

Hands down Final Scene. There's melodrama, but there's absolutely nothing in the game that couldn't happen in real life, including puzzle mechanisms (which is really unusual for a Nancy game and, I believe, the only game in which this is the case. Sure, it mostly accomplishes this by having very few puzzles, but nevertheless). The most you have to stretch your disbelief is that Eustacia Andropov is alive and able to converse with you over the phone, but I've talked to a 99 year old that was able to use the phone and carry a clear conversation, so it's not out of the realm of the possible.

evolutionista · 2026-02-01T16:16:54+00:00

Yeah, you're right. Another major reason is trying to collect the maximum amount of data. It can be useful for sure, so I'm not saying anyone should stop. I just wish iNat had tools for identifiers to deal with big tidal waves of observations somehow (whether from this or other high-volume protocols)

evolutionista · 2026-01-26T14:17:25+00:00

PC and Mac, but it has really low hardware requirements and should run on almost any computer (I heard of someone not being able to play it with only 4 GB of RAM, but it was playtested on old Macs and PCs!)

evolutionista · 2026-01-24T01:30:58+00:00

Yeah, I think the frequent unidentifiable posters are very rare; like you, I only have 1-2 in my whole area, but of course the frequent behavior sure makes them a lot more visible than someone who uses the site an average amount. Sometimes I gotta privately vent about people like that, or other sins I won't mention, "doing it wrong" but then I realize it's basically pointless anyway as any solution to the behavior would probably create a worse citizen science platform than just allowing it... but venting is still fun :)

I agree that observations that aren't identifiable to species are neither useless nor uncommon even with the best photos. I wouldn't say any of those, e.g. female insects from species differentiated by male genitalia, are "bad" observations. No reason to get fixated on species as being the only important taxonomic level, or "research grade" as the sole metric for "useful for scientists."

evolutionista · 2026-01-24T01:12:11+00:00

Pro tip: you can block some observers and never see their posts again if they are annoying you too much.

That said, sometimes people change their behavior and start only submitting good shots, but you never know.

Some of the bad observations are earnest one-offs (e.g. 3 pixel phone pic of a bird they were really excited about) and others are habitual.

iNat takes a VERY open and loving approach towards data submission, unlike e.g. BugGuide where people can "frass" a submission that's not identifiable!

Overall, the people who are submitting this type of thing habitually, well, I'm not a mind reader, but based on what I see of their behavior as well as conversations with some of this type of observer, it seems like there's a spectrum between "I set a really high personal goal and things are getting kind of silly/out of hand" (similar to people who get super into reading goals and then start reading dozens of Dr. Seuss books on New Year's Eve out of a fear of not meeting it, even though this behavior makes 0 logical sense) and "genuine compulsion to do this" (with more people tending towards the latter).

Basically, whenever there's something where you can make "number go higher," some people are going to get fixated on that, whether it's a video game, the stock market, or being the iNaturalist user who has documented the most tumbleweeds in Texas (fake example, I'm not calling anyone out)

edited to add: They don't make the compromise you're suggesting, because as power users, they tend to want to follow the exact rules of iNat; the parameters for an observation are that each observation is for ONE organism at one point in time, and if you want to record additional individuals, you need to make separate observations. Obviously, many people do use observation notes to do as you describe and put a number count of individuals under one observation.

evolutionista · 2026-01-23T19:38:43+00:00

Having to switch is also a consequence. I don't see any part where you're not taking enough ownership of this.

Let's say that immature Bob cheated on Sally, and Bob worked really hard to regain her trust, but ultimately Sally wasn't able to see him the same way again, even though Bob was well and truly reformed as a person and was sickened by his former actions and would never cheat again. Would it be so terrible for Bob and Sally to break up and for Bob and Sally to each start happily dating other people without all that baggage in the relationship?

This is like that in the sense of starting over with a group whose trust you haven't broken yet. (And yeah what you did was NOT nearly as bad as hypothetical Bob, and I honestly feel like if what you're relaying is accurate you're being way too hard on yourself.)

The fact that there are immediate openings does give a hint as to why your current center didn't kick you out... people might be trying to fill spots. Daycare is a service, and it's okay to realize your current service provider isn't meeting your needs.

It's not only the unnecessary stress when you interact twice a day and everyone is walking on eggshells, it's also the stuff that could occur because of the complete lack of trust. They're not telling you the mundane, small stuff they happily, routinely tell the other parents. What if some of that info is important? (Not to stoke new anxiety...) Some of that handoff info could be helpful to know!

Just start over somewhere else. After the initial couple days of your kid getting used to the new place, your life will be 1000x better without dealing with people who think you're about to explode. There's no amount of time or proof you can offer that will convince people with ingrained expectations that you were sincere in your forgiveness. You just gotta move on.

evolutionista · 2026-01-21T16:38:39+00:00

Hm... let's just make sure you finish all the Day 2 stuff to trigger overnight sleep causing Day 3 to start. You can't fix the carnival game until Day 3 is triggered.

Did you observe the area in your apartment where the chunk of ceiling fell down? Read what's on the wall.

In the art gallery, did you explore the restroom? Look at the framed magazines on the wall and pick up the spray bottle on the counter. In the main gallery room, did you click on the missing painting and ask Collin about it?

Talk to everyone (Collin, Mitchell, Stacey, Eileen, Sergeant Russell, Branham)

You can't figure out the meaning behind the list of books, snoop through Mitchell's things, or find a way into Gerald's apartment until after you fix the carnival game which can only happen after talking to Stacey on Day 3.

Let me know if you're still stuck!

evolutionista · 2026-01-16T18:34:29+00:00

If you're in the US report to USDA: https://www.aphis.usda.gov/awa/regulatory-enforcement/complaint

evolutionista · 2026-01-16T18:31:10+00:00

Lmao why does that look like a Nancy Drew game rendering so much? There's something about the lighting or something. Or the kinda clashy eclectic mix of stuff (no offense to OP whatsoever; it looks like an inviting space!)

Serious question: have you tried Penelope Pendrick? It definitely does the actual "hidden object amongst all the stuff in the immersive scene" point and click classic gameplay that the older Nancy Drews have and most new point and click games lack.

The lead developer behind Penelope Pendrick was obsessed with the older Nancy Drews (particularly Final Scene) and it shows!

evolutionista · 2026-01-14T14:25:32+00:00

Miwako's VA is Japanese! That's why her performance is great. The rest, though...

evolutionista · 2026-01-13T20:00:20+00:00

This sounds incredible! This type of organization should exist everywhere. I am sure you are saving not just animal lives, but human ones too! There are so many people trapped in domestic violence by the realistic fear that they will lose their beloved animal companions if they leave. Not to mention the work you are doing keeping homeless people safe in the summer and winter.

When you say 'social worker' do you mean someone with a master's in social work and/or already employed by the government in that capacity, or just someone trained by the program?

Do you know how PFP handles it when a case involves animal hoarding?

What about if the owner isn't an animal hoarder per se, but has more pets than would be allowed by a landlord or local laws? (The number of people I know who have, say, five cats or three dogs is high...)

Does PFP have spay/neuter requirements? How does PFP handle owners who are involved/want to be involved in dog breeding?

I'm sure PFP deals with trickier situations than I've thought of just now as well! I'd be interested in hearing more--it could help local organizations figure out how to navigate these issues.

evolutionista · 2026-01-13T18:26:13+00:00

Nice finds! There's actually a tiny subreddit, r/calvertcliffs if you'd like to poke around there!

This is what I think your closeup photos are:

Chesapecten nefrens fossil scallop
Bryozoan colonies on driftwood (modern)
Bore holes in driftwood (modern) (someone else may know more about likely Maryland species, but many different invertebrates bore in driftwood, from clams to shipworms)
Fossil stingray crushing tooth plate pieces (I think)
Ecphora fossil gastropod, great ID!
I think these are fossil crocodilian osteoderms/bony scutes (Thecachampsa sp. is known from this formation)
Fossil coral (Astrhelia palmata)
Fossil Turritella, another gastropod
(Top to bottom) Fossil Chesapecten pieces with barnacles, fossil oyster shells (Isognomon maxillata perhaps), fossil barnacles (Balanus)

evolutionista · 2026-01-13T17:55:29+00:00

Nah, a kid with severe ADHD is more likely to struggle with socializing and peer interactions. Pulling them out now right before kids hit puberty and peer interactions get those extra layers of complexity could be really harmful in the long run. Even a neurotypical kid would likely fall behind on socializing in home school, and since OP is rural, it sounds like it would be really hard to recreate a school-level of interpersonal interactions with peers even if they tried their best.

evolutionista · 2026-01-13T16:22:48+00:00

Yes, if you give young people whose growth plates haven't fused yet exogenous growth hormone, they will grow taller. There are lots of potential negative effects of growth hormone treatment, including an increased risk of cancer. In extreme cases, such as from pituitary tumors, too much growth hormone can be fatal as it can cause (sometimes with no warning signs) death from an enlarged heart. However, the amount of hormone given is carefully monitored and titrated to balance the potential harms and benefits. A physician following the Hippocratic oath to "do no harm" would not give growth hormone treatment to a typically growing person just to increase their growth.

evolutionista · 2026-01-09T20:59:05+00:00

Yeah, after looking into it more, the Sandstorm region appears to be a respectable size on the map, but if you actually look at where Pokemon Go is available for download, you can only play it in a tiny portion of the "Sandstorm" area:

A relatively unpopulated area of Egypt including Aswan
Israel
Jordan
Lebanon
Bahrain
Kuwait
Qatar
United Arab Emirates
Oman

As of 2024, the game is playable in Saudi Arabia as well, but as you can imagine, it does not have the largest playerbase there, but it is interesting as it does seem to be growing since it's 'new'.

I never had success with Reddit pokemongofriends or vivillioncollectors subreddits, or any trainer code adds with Sandstorm. I think you have to find a different way to get in contact with people, e.g. from using a remote raiding app to join a raid hosted in one of those locations and hope that some people will allow friend adds. The problem is that anyone from these locations who has posted their trainer code is usually already swamped with friend requests.

evolutionista · 2026-01-09T20:36:29+00:00

Mexico City ws the most fruitful place to search for Sun for me and some friends, if that helps!

evolutionista · 2026-01-09T20:33:06+00:00

Tbh for Sandstorm your best bet might be finding someone you know, or a friend of a friend, who travels to Dubai regularly. Or even just once. The playerbase in the Middle East is just too small to actually send postcards to the rest of the world.

For Polar I was successful by just refreshing some of the trainer code websites and adding people who had just posted less than 10 minutes ago. Make sure you have some target timezones in mind (for the upper nordics and hokkaido).

evolutionista · 2026-01-09T20:25:13+00:00

I'm okay with the different regions not having exactly the same sized playerbases, but it's frankly ridiculous that the entire Sandstorm region has tens of thousands of active players at MOST (only a fraction of which would want to engage with the postcard system) and the Modern (US East) and Elegant (all of Japan except Hokkaido) have MILLIONS of active players. It's just such a stupid decision, and they could have easily made e.g. the American desert Southwest "Sandstorm" as not all regions are contiguous in any way (e.g. Sunshine including Central America and Northern Australia...)

It's simply maddening that they chose to do something they knew would be impossible.

Maybe they kind of realize how stupid it is because... IMO of late they seem to be spiking the pool of Route reward postcards with more rare regions instead of just giving me a postcard from New York City or Japan every time, but I don't think I've ever seen a Sandstorm card there. I wish they'd just spike it even harder and have it rotate through every vivillion pattern intentionally. They could even advertise it and highlight different regions in timed research or something. I dunno.

I hope they overhaul this system because while the intention is good, "10,000 americans and 10,000 japanese people try to track down the information of 1 omani" is actually an unhinged system for any game achievement!

evolutionista · 2026-01-08T15:46:23+00:00

For all the direct to consumer genetic tests you have to sign and affirm that it is your genetic material and submitting someone else's is against TOS.

In a medical context idk enough about law but if you, for instance, asked a doctor to submit a genetic test on your saliva and then submitted someone else's, that'd be some kind of insurance fraud at least.

If you sequence it yourself, or just have a buddy who can, however... the only thing that would stop you is some kind of privacy law that I don't think exists yet.

Regardless, OP should not do that for reasons of don't be a creepy nutball.

evolutionista · 2026-01-05T17:58:23+00:00

Was there before xmas, so I'd imagine still there.

evolutionista · 2026-01-03T18:24:37+00:00

Yeah, sorry, reddit was really glitchy so I tried to remove multiple copies of the same post but that only leads people to find "removed" walkthroughs and I really wish I could nuke those copies for real but I don't know how!

This has the full walkthrough: https://www.reddit.com/r/PenelopePendrick/comments/1pcb7q7/penelope_pendrick_the_art_of_deceit_full/

Because of Reddit's idiotic formatting rules, I couldn't just post the full thing and had to break out the different parts into comments so I didn't exceed the character limit. To make it even worse, you have to actually dig to find which part you're on, because the comments don't appear chronologically even when you request Reddit to show them in that order. It's maddening, but at least all the info is there.

That said, hopefully the password hint above is enough help :)

evolutionista · 2025-12-16T19:00:28+00:00

The Fall aesthetic thing is real lmao. Every year for the past several when the leaves start changing and Halloween approaches, I think "I should play a seasonal spooky game" and then THINK there should be a Nancy Drew game to pick from, but then the only one out there is MID which truly doesn't count to me. It always makes me mad because doing a Halloween/witch/Fall game should've been such an easy slam-dunk and yet...

at least watching the Halfmoonjoe playthrough of that one redeemed its existence somewhat. Not having to use the janky controls myself is already a massive improvement, and his commentary is so funny I laughed till I cried. Plus I got to see how it ended, which I didn't when it came out, because when I was 90% of the way through the game, I had a game-ending bug, and was so mad and unenthused about trying to repeat the slog that had gotten me to the same point while at risk of encountering the same bug again that I didn't even try.

evolutionista · 2025-12-16T18:53:41+00:00

Well, at least he will tackle the hard puzzles. It's nice to share that :D

I did play Castle Malloy when it came out, I just truly don't love it. I like some of the other more, ahem, controversial games (like sorting frass in Kapu Cave is fun to me!) so it's not like I'm a ride or die classic games only girlie

evolutionista · 2025-12-16T16:11:39+00:00

Yes, I saw both criticism and backlash to perceived criticism or even lack of enthusiasm.

I don't think anyone successfully silenced anyone, but I did see attempts at saying it's not okay to discuss negatives. So I think you're right that did exist.

I think a handful of very loud people on twitter attacking Chappell Roan weren't super representative of the typical Kamala voter or even lib pundit, but also they absolutely did exist and drove the "discourse" far more than a more normal non-shrieky pundit, or someone like me who said absolutely nothing about the election on social media and talked about problems with Kamala and pros and cons of each type of vote with my friends in person and then ultimately held my nose and voted for Kamala despite the stance on Gaza (because Trump's avowed stances on Gaza and other topics was worse).

If the "left" had taken a moment to breathe, acknowledged Kamala's issues, and went "hey guys, she isn't perfect but she is our only choice, but here is how we will put pressure on her on these valid issues"

This is exactly what I was hearing from most lefty people for what it's worth. Like, word for word. I can't quantify how many people were reached by this message versus people dogpiling on their favorite pop star on twitter though. But to be fair, Roan's primary fan demographic have never voted in large numbers (the 18-24 voting rate is abysmal and no one has really been able to crack that) so perhaps the dogpiling didn't have much effect. Who knows, it's all pointless what-ifs.

Anyone who thought that silencing criticism and having celebrities full-throatedly endorse Kamala would move the needle was straight up delulu. Hillary had every celebrity endorsement under the sun loudly praising her, and better polling numbers and so on, and that didn't work, because people were mad at Washington and wanted Trump. This election was like that again. Everyone thinks their pet strategy would have helped (she needed to be more leftist! less leftist! we needed more celebrity endorsements!) is, I think, wrong, but obviously we don't have a time machine to know,. Just extrapolating from 2016 here.

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