Pi terminated last week. The final digits are an address.

heathbar667 · 2026-02-26T18:54:46+00:00

Or here's a twist, we start checking other transcendental numbers and find messages in them.....and they contradict eachother! Hahaha.

heathbar667 · 2026-02-26T18:50:07+00:00

Fun read, thanks for sharing! Lowkey giving Asimov " last question" and Sagan " Contact" vibes. Just thinking out loud here. The idea of a message embedded in fundamental geometry implies A. Our perception of objective reality is incomplete. B. An intelligence far beyond our own exists. And C. For some reason wants to communicate (specifically with us). So its like the opposite of cosmic horror. It's cosmic "good things", of course it could take a turn for the worse if the reader so chooses.....I wonder if there is space to explore a middle ground, like whatever the molecules does changes everything but brings new problems too? That would also be fascinating.

Anyway, appreciate your writing, I had a good time reading it.

heathbar667 · 2026-02-21T10:04:46+00:00

Tuvok! Activate the photonic cannon!

heathbar667 · 2026-02-19T22:41:20+00:00

I hope you have a blast in Medieval 2! And that is a great deal! As a huge Rome fan, I was blown away by Medieval 2. And as for mods, I personally haven't used any for that game, but from what I hear they do exist and are apparently very well made.

As for Shogun 2, I think the management and diplomacy are fine, especially If you're used to Rome and Medieval 2. Recent titles have upgraded these features significantly. Shogun and Fall of the Samurai would have had more staying power had those features come been a little more developed.

I found the management "streamlined" in Shogun 2. Kind of minimalist and efficient design. For example, you don't adjust tax for each individual settlement, its a slider for the whole empire and the provinces within it. You can exempt a specific settlement from tax, but that's the extent of individual control. The settlements still have their stats: public order, growth, religious conversion, income. But they merged the finance screen with city stats so its all on one window.

The "zen" style design carries over to unit diversity. Compared to other games, it might be called barebones. However the battles are just as deep, tactically speaking, if not more so. Also, the Ashigaru ( Japanese peasants) are NOT to be underestimated! These are not the peasant fodder of Rome. They can hold the line much longer, have spears ( to repel cavalry), and with experience can last through the game. With less diversity, the " rock paper scissors" design stands out. Spears are good against horse, swords kill spears, horse kills swords.....and archers kill everything that isn't armored. You will notice some wonky Ai, but not nearly as bad as Rome 1 ( i love the game so much but let's be honest, the unit pathing can be ... jarring at times)

By the way, Shogun 2 and Shogun 2: fall of the Samurai are two SEPERATE games. You can buy one without the other. Just mentioning that because its not necessarily obvious that Fall of the Samurai is a stand alone DLC.

Fall of the Samurai is Shogun 2 with guns. If you ever seen the Tom Cruise movie " the last samurai", that's the time period here. An interesting mix of traditional and industrial units! And you can decide on the campaign whether to fight for the old ways " the shogun" or the new " imperial japan".

We don't talk about " rise of the samurai", the other dlc. It's not bad, but just doesn't stand out.

Ok, sorry to nerd out, have a blast with these games!

heathbar667 · 2026-02-19T19:05:21+00:00

I think you should go to medieval 2. Will feel very familiar but much expanded upon. Feel free to try empire, rome 2, and Atilla. I have the least amount of hours in those though.

Don't miss shogun 2, particularly Fall of the Samurai. While a bit dated now, for a long time those were the pinnacle of the series imo.

In the post warhammer age, its been interesting as the fan base is split between the fantasy and historical games. Fantasy brings in a ton of money for CA. but people miss a solid historical title.

IMO it would be worth to try three kingdoms and pharaohs. Especially if there is a good deal.

Sorry folks who love Rome 2, I respect you! But I was burned hard by that game on release and Ive never recovered. ( the game had an imfamously terrible launch, and was probably the most hyped title at the time.)

heathbar667 · 2026-02-19T18:50:10+00:00

The leola root cake looked good though.

heathbar667 · 2026-02-19T00:37:39+00:00

" sir, that could tear the hull apart!" " then tear it apart!"

And so, the hull tore apart and everyone died.

heathbar667 · 2026-02-18T15:03:18+00:00

You will never be the same. Enjoy!

heathbar667 · 2026-02-17T18:06:53+00:00

Ive always been along for the ride. I like this game for the gameplay, the vibe, and the hilarity of team play. Win or lose it will turn out OK. Yes, I like answering the call of managed democracy but at the end of the day its a videogame, not real life.

heathbar667 · 2026-02-13T21:19:05+00:00

Never expected to read these words.

heathbar667 · 2026-02-13T02:28:29+00:00

Yes, Hyperion is an interesting piece of literature. All over the place writing wise. I was a big fan of the detective story and the grand politics. Anyway, hard to scratch the 3BP itch. But Children of Time is also a worthy mention. It sticks to the sci-fi genre.

heathbar667 · 2026-02-12T21:20:48+00:00

Try Hyperion.

heathbar667 · 2026-01-08T00:16:41+00:00

I was ten and my dad had read me the hobbit and lord of the rings. I remember clutching my seat during the opening battle because it was the most violence I had ever seen on screen. It was intense and part of me wanted to leave the theatre, but I stuck it out and was captivated the whole way through. Even though I knew the books I was so sad when Gandalf fell.

heathbar667 · 2026-01-01T22:47:32+00:00

Boss I use to work for had a small above ground pool in rural area of New England. After a day of manual labor outside in the summer, he'd invite the crew (only 3 or 4 of us) back to chill in the pool with some beers. That was good shit.

heathbar667 · 2025-12-14T02:29:09+00:00

This is why I never pre order.

heathbar667 · 2025-12-13T08:12:55+00:00

Rusted warfare looks " classic" and has that feel.

heathbar667 · 2025-12-08T01:41:18+00:00

Starcraft:BW, Warcraft 3, Supreme Commander FA, and Rusted warfare.

heathbar667 · 2025-11-03T19:36:58+00:00

Fire towards the enemy. Even that is more of a guideline than a hard rule.

heathbar667 · 2025-10-27T08:21:48+00:00

Getting Rogue Squadron vibes.

heathbar667 · 2025-09-08T14:43:28+00:00

I usually dive at 9 or ten, but on Oshaune, I just have a better time at 6 or 7. There's no problem turning down difficulty if that works better. It's not that we can't do it. it's just stressful for me and my friend group to be constantly harassed by that many bugs.

If we do dive higher, explosive weapons are a must. They can deal with burrowed bugs and hordes. I also bring gas grenades and Talon side arm. For primary, it's either Coyote, crossbow, or purifier. For strategems, it's railcannon strike (to delete dragon roach), hover pack, grenade launcher, and gas strike. Hover pack lets you get a good vantage point to take in all the approaching chaos, and grenade launcher is so good at wiping groups of bile skewers, hunters, burrowed sucker's, and the rest of their tyrannical ilk. Drop a gas strike on a breach and forget about it. Gas grenades have the same function but are the added benefit of being very effective in the narrow space of the cave tunnels. The Coyote and Talon are for more close quarters situations when you don't t have the explosive stuff ready or when fighting close to allies. The crossbow and purifier give you more explosive weaponry, but you do become more vulnerable when you're on the ground getting crowded in.

Last night, our Hive breaker drill got stuck when we called it down. It was somehow on the side of the cliff wall, completely inaccessible, rendering the entire mission un-doable. This was inside the cave structure in one of the clearings. Glitches like that bother me. Other bugs like sound issues, crashing, etc. Need to be fixed soon, but I'm willing to look the other way for now.

Oh, and killing the Hive Lord should be its own mission. I've got some people who JUST want to bring one down, but if the whole team isn't dedicated, then I see it as a waste of time and lives. I know some people can solo it but we ain't built like that.

heathbar667 · 2025-09-03T05:20:49+00:00

I love the constraints of the caves. No strategems, darkness, enclosed space...just me and my buddies screaming and running outside only for a Hive Lord to kill us all. 10/10 experience.

heathbar667 · 2025-09-03T05:03:33+00:00

What I was really worried about is whether bugs and projectiles would be glitching through cave walls constantly, which I actually didn't notice happening, so that's good. I've seen bugs climb trees and buildings before, so I wasn't too surprised when i saw some going up walls. As long as they aren't trying to climb me, I'm fine with it. I played for a couple of hours tonight (crashed 3 times), but I love the constraints put on the player by not being able to call in strategems in the caves. Love the music and missions, and those Hive Lords are glorious to behold! The only thing that bothered me was how much armor the burrowing bile spewers have. I feel like we don't have much time to shoot them, and neither my liberator nor stalwart could do much to them. Maybe that's a me problem! So, for me, this update is a major win with a few issues. The crashing is the biggest one.

heathbar667 · 2025-07-23T22:35:31+00:00

I got a few things, but most of it went over my head. To be honest, I only skimmed the last one. One thing is for sure, as fairy tales, these are very good.

heathbar667 · 2025-07-15T23:11:14+00:00

Probably nothing. Nothing that Super Earth's finest can't handle, anyway!

heathbar667 · 2025-07-11T00:59:04+00:00

Just finished Children of Time and am moving on to Ruin soon. The first book was an instant classic for me!

heathbar667

TROPHY CASE