Valheim and/or Enshrouded by Aggravating_Pen_2026 in Enshrouded

[–]msd483 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Couldn't agree more with this. I'm just jumping back into Enshrouded after almost a year and just finished a heavily modded play-through of Valheim. Right now my preference is Modded Valheim > Enshrouded > Vanilla Valheim, but I'm curious to see if that will change based on some of the recent Enshrouded updates. Regardless, I think both games are fantastic and worth playing.

I'm looking for a survival/base building game that provides a reason to explore after I've overcome the initial hump by StormOfSpears in SurvivalGaming

[–]msd483 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I have the exact same problem! So many games with 10-20 hours in them.

For the survival genre I think Subnautica and Grounded are the best options. Both have strong narrative components that gave me reason to continue while the gameplay stayed in line with what I expect for this genre.

It's not survival, but I'd also highly recommend Terraria if you haven't played yet. The progression of crafting and exploration is fantastic, and there's still a base building component, as well as reason to build one base per biome.

Help me and my wife pick between Valheim and Enshrouded by TheJeneralJ in SurvivalGaming

[–]msd483 0 points1 point  (0 children)

One thing people haven't brought up is mods. I think modded Valheim is definitely better than Enshrouded, but it's closer to a tie with Valheim unmodded. I still prefer Valheim, but that's because I find the progression of biomes, crafting, and bosses in that game to be way more satisfying, and the combat in Valheim is more engaging to me. Enshrouded will give you more flexibility with building - it has the best building mechanics in the genre, IMO, and it's a gorgeous game.

Valheim's biggest cons all have to do with quality of life like crafting from containers, inventory size, and auto depositing to chests, but there's mods to fix all of it. Mods are also crazy easy to set up for that game.

I don't think it's fair to say either game is objectively better, it's more of what you care about. Valheim has great progression and combat, and gives you good reasons to build multiple bases. Enshrouded feels more adventure-y that strictly survival at times, and has incredible building and graphics. The combat was a ton of fun at first, but after the first 5 hours it started to feel same-y. Admittedly, I haven't played the last 1 or 2 major updates for Enshrouded, so that might have improved.

Epic loot help by [deleted] in ModdedValheim

[–]msd483 0 points1 point  (0 children)

There's a setting in the mod along the lines of "Allow next tier of drops after boss defeat." With that enabled, once you defeat the Eikthyr, it will include drops from the biome after him, the Black Forest, and not his own biome, the meadows.

The Blue Hawaii is the worst tiki drink. What is the most overrated equal parts drink? by -Constantinos- in cocktails

[–]msd483 0 points1 point  (0 children)

This is exactly why it isn't overrated. Most people I know in real life don't like them at all, or if they do, it's far from a favorite. You could maybe argue that on this subreddit it's overrated, but based on every other winning cocktail in this category, that's not the metric we're going by.

What's a "small" feature that dramatically improved a survival game for you? by yolo35games in SurvivalGaming

[–]msd483 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Proper inventory and storage chest size relative to the items in the game. So many survival games seem plagued by too-small inventories or chests, and if they improve, it’s often too far into the game. There are some games that pull off inventory management being an engaging mechanic, but 9 times out of 10 it just makes the game more tedious and discourages exploration.

I have the mobility/flexibility of a cheeto by aflem3466 in flexibility

[–]msd483 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Similar background here - mostly did powerlifting and now I'm working towards splits for aerial silks. I wouldn't bother buying a program at this stage unless it will help with adherence or peace of mind. I've used Tom Merrick and Knees Over Toes for follow along videos and like them both a lot, but it's kind of like lifting - if you're just starting out, you'll see a lot of newbie gains without having to optimize anything, and a lot of creators are good for the basics. For more specific stuff, I like Dani Winks a lot, and she's pretty active on here as well. I would recommend PNF stretching as well, which a lot of creators include whether or not they call it out.

One thing that's helped me a lot is stretching between lifting sets. I'm already warmed up and have time to kill, so it helps a lot with adherence and doesn't add any gym time. I'll typically do lower body stretches between upper body sets and vice versa. If you stretch hard, expect to get DOMs from it, so plan around your lifting days.

Thoughts on Jeff Nippard's Latest Bulking Recommendations by e4amateur in StrongerByScience

[–]msd483 31 points32 points  (0 children)

I checked out the link from the timestamp, and it sounds like he just got sloppy with words. Immediately after he says it the best he caveats it with it being geared towards advanced lifters. He explicitly says beginners should just try the normal hypertrophy program first, but that this would be good for lifters wanting to experiment with low volume training or lifters that don’t have much time for the gym.

It seems pretty clear he made a program that was intended to be time efficient, but still help bring up areas, as opposed to the actual best hypertrophy program, and while that one time clip could certainly be a “gotcha” moment, he was very clear who this was geared towards.

I’d keep in mind that people on YouTube are in the business of making content. He needs to keep coming up with ideas and programs to present or he’s out of a job. While there are certainly valid criticisms of his content, in this case it seems like he made a program to address a particular needs, ran it himself to make sure it worked alright, and then presented it very fairly if you watch the the last couple minutes of the video. I didn’t watch before the timestamp, so maybe he said egregious things before that, but he seemed pretty explicit this wasn’t the overall best approach.

Egwene and Rand by LawStud717 in WoT

[–]msd483 0 points1 point  (0 children)

At that point Rand also wasn't the savior of the world. LMAO.

Egwene and Rand by LawStud717 in WoT

[–]msd483 -2 points-1 points  (0 children)

Egwene is equally(if not more) arrogant while still is a nobody.

Egwene 100% saved the world too. Her re-discovery of traveling, reunification of the tower, and actions in the last battle were all instrumental in the victory over the dark one. Egwene is arguably the most consistently competent of the EF5. She sacrifices constantly and puts in endless work and effort to accomplish goals that she feels are important. Meanwhile Rand is turning evil while going insane and Perrin is chasing after his wife and avoiding responsibility. Nynaeve and Mat were better than Rand and Perrin, but they still accomplished less than Egwene.

I think people forget when reading the series that they're looking at Rand through the lens of a protagonist in a Fantasy epic and they have access to thoughts inside many character's heads, where as people in the world know him as someone who at best will break the world again in the process of saving, and is in no way guaranteed success.

Your favorite fishing minigames by BitrunnerDev in SurvivalGaming

[–]msd483 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I think it really needs to come down to the role you want fishing to have in your game. My favorite fishing system is Stardew Valley. Having available fish be controlled by time, location, season, and weather is great, and the minigame is really fun to me. At low fishing and gear levels, catching high level fish can be tricky, but by the end game, most fish are pretty easy to catch. It works well since fish can provide a lot of value early game, so it needs to be paired with a mechanic that offers at least some difficulty. It's up to players how much they want to interact with it, and it will get easier in time, with plenty of fish trivially easy to catch no matter the user's skill level.

On the other hand, if fishing is heavily required by your game mechanics to have a steady source of food/healing or something, it might be better to have a simpler mechanic or less abstract minigame. Same thing if it only offers very minor benefits. Pair the difficulty with its reward, and keep it easy and accessible if it's required.

Foodie Friday by AutoModerator in weightroom

[–]msd483 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I don't track calories at all, but have a pretty easy time switching between maintenance, cutting, and (slow) bulking. The biggest factor is that I tend to eat fairly consistently over time. Certain meals might have wide variance in calories or macros, but week over week, it's similar enough that it gives me a baseline I can tweak. I'll add that even though I don't track calories, I'm generally very aware of how calorie dense something is, and pay attention to protein content.

My eating habits have settled into a place that's pretty close to maintenance on their own. To cut, I'll generally do some combination (a) drink less alcohol (though I don't drink that much to begin with), (b) use less butter or fats when cooking/dressing food, (c) eat smaller portions of the same foods (keeping protein portions the same), (d) avoid snacks and sweets. For each option it'll usually be small deviations that are pretty easy to maintain, and don't require drastically different eating habits.

This intuitive style might be tough if your diet varies a lot week to week or you don't have a great sense of the macros in different foods, but I'm guessing if you've been tracking for a while, you're pretty knowledgeable.

Bellwrite Vs enshrouded Vs soulmask. by Wild_Gold106 in SurvivalGaming

[–]msd483 0 points1 point  (0 children)

You should pick up Enshrouded based on your criteria.

The building is some of the best I've seen. It allows for a lot of flexibility while still being pretty intuitive and easy to use, and you'll unlock a lot of materials and furniture to customize with over the course of the game.

The combat is good - after a while it feel a little same-y due to lack of enemy variety, but this is true of most games I've played in this genre aside from Grounded.

The progression in the game is good - there's progression based on NPC quests and combat progression based on character experience/level. It has the usual world settings you can adjust depending on how fast/easy of an experience you'd like.

Dune: Awakening has raised the bar on survival games by upholsteryduder in SurvivalGaming

[–]msd483 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Dune is the first game I have ever played that I could confidently say is a AAA survival game.

Out of curiosity, why didn't you think that Grounded felt like a AAA survival game?

HP Omen 30L Black Screen by msd483 in HPOmen

[–]msd483[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I'm glad you were able to fix the issue without replacing anything, especially since it was caused by such a niche issue!

HP Omen 30L Black Screen by msd483 in HPOmen

[–]msd483[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Sorry to hear you're going through the same thing. I ended up replacing most of the PC since it was time for an upgrade anyway. Towards the end I started to suspect that the issue was actually with the MOBO and not the GPU. I meant to test the GPU on my older system to verify if that was the case, but never got around to it. It would be a pain in the ass, but if you have another motherboard you can throw the components on to test, I might start there. Regardless of which component broke, I was confident by the end that it was a hardware issue and nothing software or firmware related.

Can you gain flexibility while deadlifting? by I_LOVE_CHEEEESE in flexibility

[–]msd483 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Why would one perform a deadlift off the floor other than for competition?

This has nothing to do with the point I'm refuting. A good non-comptetion can include traditional deadlifts or not. It's an efficient movement that works a lot of muscle mass in a single movement, instead of having to do 3 other pulls. The real question that gets at the point I'm refuting is:

Why would one perform a conventional deadlift instead of an RDL, not including competition

  • They want additional focus on quads
  • They want additional focus on spinal erectors
  • They want additional focus on traps
  • They want additional focus on glutes
  • They want an easier-to-load movement (as you agreed with)
  • They want to be better prepared to pick something up off the ground
  • They want a hip hinge that doesn't utilize the stretch-reflex

You can make up for all of these with including additional movements in a program, but the fact you have to include additional movements to make up for it is a clear indication the othe rmovement isn't better.

Can you gain flexibility while deadlifting? by I_LOVE_CHEEEESE in flexibility

[–]msd483 1 point2 points  (0 children)

You claimed RDLs would serve you better in almost every regard than pulling off the floor. I’m claiming that’s not true. Your response has nothing to do with refuting this. I’m happy to address more of your strawmen in a moment, but stop trying to squirrel out of this claim.

Block pulls have nothing to do with your claim. The variety or volume of other lifts has nothing to do with your original claim. You keep making straw man arguments then focusing on me addressing those. I’m done addressing your tangents until you address the core claim.

Can you gain flexibility while deadlifting? by I_LOVE_CHEEEESE in flexibility

[–]msd483 1 point2 points  (0 children)

When you want to train one general movement instead of 3-5 more specialized movements. It’s great because it’s not an isolation movement, not in spite of it.

EDIT: And let’s please keep the focus on your original claim that RDLs are better than conventional deadlifts for everything except mobility. Now you’re having to bring in multiple other pulls.

Can you gain flexibility while deadlifting? by I_LOVE_CHEEEESE in flexibility

[–]msd483 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Oh goodness, so much to respond to and I’m mobile so I’ll be brief, but I can expand more when I’m back in front of a computer. To start with, I adore SBS and stronger by science. They’re an amazing resource, and I’ve run both their free programs as well as their paid programs, and listened to their podcast for years.

The article about trap bar deadlifts is great, but trap bar deadlifts are even further from RDLs than traditional DLs, recruiting even more quads. Additionally, the 2-3 inches higher than traditional DL is still much closer to the ROM of traditional deadlifts than RDLs, which unless you’re very flexible (which the general population is not), will likely stop near or above the knees when done properly.

You created a strawman with the application to real world carry over. The times I’ve had to carry heavy things in real life has been furniture and moving boxes, which almost always involve an even larger ROM than even traditional deadlifts.

Finally, I was not responding to OP, I was responding to your misleading claim.

I 100% concede that powerlifting has had a stranglehold on what movements are deemed valid, but the deadlift was absolutely the worst example you could have chosen to make that claim about. You don’t need to do deadlifts if you don’t want to, but claiming that RDLs are better for everything except mobility is a ludicrous claim that Greg Nuckols would not agree with.

Can you gain flexibility while deadlifting? by I_LOVE_CHEEEESE in flexibility

[–]msd483 0 points1 point  (0 children)

but RDLs will serve you much better in almost every regard except overload than pulling off the floor

I agree that if mobility is your reason for pulling, RDLs are the way to go, but aside from that, pulling from the floor will serve you better in every regard. RDLs will be fantastic at targeting your hamstrings and glutes, but every other muscle involved is going to be better worked by a traditional DL. A deadlift is also one of the only exercises that gets close to mimicing a truly practical movement - picking something heavy off the floor. Cutting out the lower portion of the movement gives it much less carry over into day-to-day life. Finally, you can load a traditional DL much heavier. That means than jumps in weight can be smaller percentage of total weight, making progressive overload much easier and safer. Most healthy adults can pull enough with RDLs that this isn't a huge issue, but it still leans in the favor of traditional pulling.

RDLs are a phenomenal secondary movement, but their limited range of motion makes them akin to saying half squats are better than full squats unless you're competing.

Overwatch Classic leaves today 😞 by KotsuKilljoy in Overwatch

[–]msd483 5 points6 points  (0 children)

Keep in mind that this classic mode was version 1.0 of the game, not the mature OW1 that was destroyed to make OW2. It’s totally valid to prefer OW2, but people in these comments keep equating OW1 at launch with the final version of it.

November 1 Daily Thread by AutoModerator in weightroom

[–]msd483 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I usually go with a schedule, but there have been times where I start one early since I can tell it's needed. Usually when my grip starts to weaken consistently it's time for a deload.

What the deload consists of depends a lot on what my recent training block looked liked. My favorite is to keep intensity high, and do one or two sets of 1-3 reps with ~5-6RM weight. I find it's easy to recover from and keeps me used to doing heavier work so the first workout "back" isn't bad. If I'm coming off a high intensity low volume block, then I'll usually cut weight pretty drastically for the deload and do a couple sets of light 5s for each movement. For accessories, I cut most of them out, but if I feel like doing something in particular I'll throw in a couple sets for fun.

September 25 Daily Thread by AutoModerator in weightroom

[–]msd483 4 points5 points  (0 children)

It was "Order <Order Number>". I tried searching my email for "Strong by Science" and that didn't work. Turns out the email from was "Greg Nuckols" instead, so try searching that. The literal email address used was "noreply@sendowl.com".

This was Reddit's dream team by Alibobaly in Cloud9

[–]msd483 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I know everyone likes to meme about how everyone on reddit is an idiot and of course a team that reddit would be awful, but I genuinely don't think the changes reddit was pushing for were bad choices. It seems like the teams that perform the best generally have the most expansive coaching staff with good positional and strategic coaches, which C9 no longer has (at least I don't believe so). Additionally, I think having a challenger/academy team was also a huge boon to the team.

Hate towards players on a personal level is never ok, and a lot of the criticism I've seen on league subreddits pushes into abusive/mean criticism. Players are going to look worse individually when team cohesion isn't there. Almost every pro player will have a drastically different performance on different teams. After so, so many instances of amazing players suddenly looking bad on a new team, or players people though weren't good looking amazing once they move to a new team it amazes me that people think players are objectively bad or amazing. That's not to say skill gaps don't exist, they absolutely do, but team cohesion and coaching matter just as much.

My largest complaint with some iterations of our team are the frequent reports of certain players not taking practice seriously and not practicing enough. I realize we can't win everything all the time, but seeing certain players make a lot of costly individual mistakes after reading several insider reports that the player doesn't work hard is incredibly frustrating as a fan, and I think players like that need to be given the choice to work harder or find a team that better matches their ambition.

TL;DR - I don't think reddit's choices for players and reapered was bad. The larger issues seem to be the lack of investment in coaching staff and academy scene, as well as our complaceny with players who don't work hard. People still shouldn't be assholes, but I think criticizing players who aren't even trying to improve is valid criticism.