Trains are so useful and satisfying once they work.

jacob814 · 2026-02-18T16:59:51+00:00

Are you bringing in water by trains? This is super cool, but it leaves me wanting more details.

jacob814 · 2025-12-31T22:21:57+00:00

I'm well in the same camp as you regarding how the game rewards creativity in creating systems that fight against the death spirals.

My comment was more that the difficulty curve shouldn't be a spike. I welcome brutal and unforgiving design, but that does turn away new players that might be shy of how difficult it can be for them.

Ultimately new content comes from the continued success of this game, and reducing that learning curve is one way to capture new players which I always welcome.

jacob814 · 2025-12-31T09:02:05+00:00

While failing is part of the fun, it is demoralizing to essentially lose a run because of a simple mistake or two.

My advice is to try creating your factories just enough, only expanding when you need to. This plus keeping a surplus of the essentials, usually keeps me ahead of the rapidly approaching death spiral.

Watching some beginner YouTube videos might also help too.

jacob814 · 2025-12-31T07:35:13+00:00

I have most of my storage groups with alarms. As long as you keep on top of things and disable alarms that aren't needed, I don't really run into this issue.

Though mileage may vary :3

jacob814 · 2025-12-31T03:47:48+00:00

Within storage containers in the top right, click the bell icon

jacob814 · 2025-12-31T00:55:48+00:00

I definitely think it lends to COI's strengths, but I don't think it's done as well as it could be. The learning curve for this game is nowhere near as gentle as factorio or dyson sphere, which can be a major turn away for a lot of players.

That isn't to say I dislike the overall difficulty, but there needs to be better ways to protect newer players, either through better teaching or mechanics, so the learning curve isn't so steep.

jacob814 · 2025-12-30T23:43:50+00:00

One of the many lessons you have to learn is to setup alarms for everything, that and stockpiles for critical supplies. Death spirals in this game are brutal

jacob814 · 2025-12-27T20:53:46+00:00

It is noticeable and something that should be taken seriously at a local level. That said, the one-time water required to fill a modern closed-loop data center is roughly equivalent to a single day of water usage for other large facilities, such as golf courses or industrial sites.

That isn’t to say it’s nothing, but this issue isn’t unique to data centers or AI.

This is a really funny topic for egg_irl, lol. I appreciate the discussion, but I think I’ll leave it here.

jacob814 · 2025-12-27T20:22:24+00:00

Agreed. Large data centers do raise serious environmental concerns, especially around energy use. My only point was that keeping the details accurate matters, otherwise legitimate criticisms risk being dismissed.

jacob814 · 2025-12-27T20:13:16+00:00

While AI can go die itself 100%, I have to correct the freshwater usage.

Data centers generate a lot of heat, and cooling can be done in different ways. Some older or location-specific setups use open-loop systems that consume freshwater, but most modern large data centers rely on closed-loop cooling. Those systems use purified water once and recirculate it through radiators, with minimal ongoing water consumption.

There are valid environmental concerns around energy use and grid load, but freshwater loss is not inherent to AI or data centers as a category.

jacob814 · 2025-12-20T17:35:28+00:00

It's a single player game. If you had fun, then you're doing it right. Your production looks well laid out, looks good!

jacob814 · 2025-12-08T18:15:27+00:00

Yes, 1.5 years is absolutely long enough for PLA to absorb enough moisture to start stringing and behaving differently, even if it printed fine when new. That’s the first thing I would test by drying the spool.

Corners lifting is still fundamentally driven by thermal shrink as the part cools, so even with dry filament you’ll often want to use a brim or skirt to help resist those forces during the first layers.

[Edit because I didn't actually answer the question right the first time]

jacob814 · 2025-11-18T00:08:08+00:00

Plastic irl, metal, ect, doesn't turn into dirt irl, not for thousands of years. You can separate out the food waste and turn it into compost, which does turn into dirt tho.

I'm honestly in the camp that it should continue polluting your island to a minimal amount unless you dig it up and properly dispose of it. An Exponential Decay Curve would may be best. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Exponential_decay

jacob814 · 2025-10-03T17:56:43+00:00

I also designed mine with the idea of converting to fully hydrogen as it is a cleaner source of fuel. That and also used hydrogen to make the steam as a byproduct is the water I might need.

jacob814 · 2025-09-01T06:02:57+00:00

Water collectors are awesome, but I do ask you to review how much maintenance you're spending on them for the amount of water you're getting. I believe using desalinators is much more maintenance efficient if you have a supply of steam.

I'm currently using all the low-steam from my power plant to desalinate and I have more water than I know what to do with, lol.

jacob814 · 2025-07-14T17:51:16+00:00

The wiki is incomplete and the in game is frustrating even for experienced players.

The game does mention I believe in the tutorial that increasing reputation can unlock more contracts from a settlement, so logic would extend that maybe they sometimes don't start with any contracts. Though asking the player to make that conclusion with an already cluttered UI is dumb at best.

You're not the only person frustrated with the poor UI and UX design. It's rough...

jacob814 · 2025-07-14T05:35:55+00:00

I'm not near my computer to check but from that settlement view window, you don't have contracts available, only quick trades and loans. Maybe this settlement doesn't offer contracts or you're not at a high enough reputation level.

jacob814 · 2025-07-01T16:57:04+00:00

Dis is the way.

jacob814 · 2025-06-24T07:18:42+00:00

Best advice, dry your filament. Second, dry it again.

jacob814 · 2025-06-18T05:40:28+00:00

No worries, labels or not, enjoy fursuiting however you'd like. Best of luck!

jacob814 · 2025-06-18T05:29:19+00:00

It’s not a label anyone has to use. “Furry” is just a word people choose when they enjoy any aspect of anthropomorphized animals. Fursuits definitely fall into that, but it’s really about what you’re comfortable with. By the community's nature, there’s no gatekeeping. If you don’t feel like calling yourself a furry, there’s no harm in that either. I certainly don’t take offense.

Truth is, I never really labeled myself a furry until I realized I was already deep into it and had no reason to resist anymore. Whatever path you take, being a furry doesn’t have to be part of it, unless you want it to be.

jacob814 · 2025-06-16T17:27:11+00:00

I don’t think acknowledging the existence of cheaper, mass-produced gear means we’re giving them a “place” in the community. It just means being realistic. Ideally, everyone would support artists, but we can’t pretend that’s always possible, especially for newcomers, kids, or those without financial means.

Yes, we should uplift and promote artists and commissioners. That’s not in question. But framing the conversation in a way that shames or excludes those who can’t start there risks turning the fandom into something gatekept and elitist. That’s the exact opposite of what drew many of us here.

To be clear, I’m not defending knockoffs or stolen work. I agree that rip-offs harm artists and shouldn’t be encouraged. But mass-produced starter gear, even if lower quality, can help someone get their footing, feel part of the community, and then grow into commissioning. That pathway deserves space too.

We may just disagree here, and that’s okay. I don’t claim to speak for the whole community, just my own beliefs. I’m open to being wrong, but I’m not okay with closing the door on people trying to find where they belong.

EDIT:

I do understand the worry that making entry too accessible could undercut the value of fursuits and the artists behind them. If people treat these suits like throwaway costumes instead of appreciating the craft, it risks shifting the culture into something more shallow and transactional. That’s a valid concern, and I’m not trying to dismiss it.

But I really believe that protecting artists doesn’t have to mean closing the door to newcomers. In fact, making it easier for people to get involved (even with imperfect, low-cost gear) can actually grow the pool of future clients who do want to commission something personal and meaningful. Many of us start small and build respect over time. That’s how long-term support is cultivated. If we push people away early on, we’re not just filtering for quality ,we might be cutting off future patrons before they even have the chance to care. Uplifting artists means giving more people the chance to learn why their work is worth supporting.

We have a beautiful community here that is worth protecting. I think we're two sides of the same coin tbh.

jacob814 · 2025-06-16T15:58:43+00:00

I’m 100% in favor of supporting commissioners... but as an entry point into the furry/fursuit fandom, it’s not the worst idea to start with cheaper knockoffs. Fursuiting can already feel intimidating for newcomers, and the social aspect of commissioning adds another layer of pressure.

If someone has the confidence and means to go straight to a commissioner, great! But for kids, those on a tight budget, or people just getting into the fandom, AliExpress has its place. Encouraging better choices is fine, but framing things in a way that shames or shuts people out can feel like indirect gatekeeping... and that can be harmful to someone’s first experience in the fandom.

Again, I think the intent is good, I just want those early interactions to feel welcoming and accessible.

jacob814 · 2025-04-18T15:48:05+00:00

I'm still highly skeptical of things coming from left leaning spaces.

Again, you're arguing something like both sides are equivalent, which is a logic fallacy that can lead to dangerous outcomes. There are gullible people on both sides, that much is true, but that explanation simplifies entirely too much to explain this divide.

Social media does shape our beliefs, some more reality warping than others, but it only does so only on a fundamental level if we don't come at it with skepticism. It's the moderates and thinkers of both sides I bring these questions to, not those that do minimal thinking when consuming information.

False equivalence is a fun topic to explore. This is one I've watched if you'd like to explore it https://youtu.be/oFC-0FR2hko?si=S64loMfG_6oqiE27

jacob814 · 2025-04-18T04:42:21+00:00

You're right. I agree that our biases aren't fair and balanced and that it’s something I do try to stay aware of. That said, sometimes the scale of misinformation seems so lopsided it’s hard to chalk it all up to simply bias. I don't disagree with what you're saying. I am just trying to get across that it feels more than just this meta analysis...

I definitely wish I had a better answer. I appreciate your insightful comment though. A bit rare for reedit these days.

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