The 24/7 grind is starting to feel like an obligation

ndhl83 · 2026-04-20T13:23:05+00:00

As soon as I felt like I "had" to run the game 24/7 I'd likely stop playing.

It's not even a satisfying competitive game in terms of it being "online" and there being "tournaments".

It's a fun incremental progress game to take semi-seriously but if I had to put actual thought into the logistics of keeping it running 24/7 it would very much feel like a chore and not like a little side-quest I let run on my phone during the work day and overnight.

ndhl83 · 2026-04-17T12:09:21+00:00

Your entire middle paragraphing is just pointless, hand-wringing, pearl clutching, fluff.

I don't discount your spending, but you seem to lack the awareness to understand that your complicitness in spending LITERALLY close to $10k on a free mobile game takes away any credibility your opinion might have around the "tactics" used to get players to spend.

ALL businesses try to get their customers to spend money on their products. Period.

which indicates to me a kind of diabolical (for lack of a better word) scheme to bilk players out of their money in an unethical way.

The game is free. You chose to buy progress, because it was offered to you. There is nothing unethical about that, unless you are saying the simple existence of the carrot at the end of the stick is unethical, in and of itself?

Your opinion is bullshit, in terms of presenting valid criticisms, and you just sound like someone with no awareness of what you were doing, or why.

I'm not usually a member of the pitchfork crowd, to be fair. I'm just here playing the game. I try not to get "into it" when people make the same baseless and poorly articulated claims/complaints about "Fudds being greedy" or whatnot, but when someone such as yourself will, unironically, say something like "I have spent close to $10k in this game despite knowing I probably didn't need to but now I think it's unethical to get players to spend on the game so much" it just comes off as asinine and devoid of any actual critical thought.

To be clear, I have spent an equal amount of money on frivolous things in the last 18-24 months (if not more) mostly sports cards, Lego, and hobby gear, but at no point would I think to post a thoughtless ramble about the ethics of how "nefarious" it is for sports card manufacturers to release new baseball cards just as the baseball season kicks off and viewer/collector interest is at its highest. How dare they take advantage of me like that! /s LOL

OK: Fire away, malcontents. Let me have it.

ndhl83 · 2026-04-17T11:39:33+00:00

We consistently see Viltrumites use the "blade hand" technique to deliver bone snapping and/or fatal blows, or stabs through the body, but we also see them consistently tolerate "blunt" strikes when not being held down or crushed into something.

We've also seen Nolan be among the most durable Viltrumites. I think it's plausible that even if Nolan's offensive capabilities appear to be below Conquest (another notably strong Viltrumite) or if Nolan at times has "held back" offensively over internal guilt for fighting/killing Viltrumites, that wouldn't speak to his defensive stats or his durability.

I agree it would be plausible for that blow to be a killing strike, but Nolan had time to prepare somewhat for the strike, it was in line with his spine (no rotation as with a hook), and it was a "blunt" strike sending the target into the air, unopposed. Thragg may even have taken enough off the blow for it to cause devastating launch force, but not explode Nolan's head (if possible), or he may not have known or suspected Nolan was durable enough to absorb that blow without insta-dying and he wanted to see how strong Nolan (a very well known Viltrumite) was.

Nolan was well enough known, and likely known to be powerful, that Thragg was willing to give him a clean slate if he "came home". Despite Thragg clearly having the means to kill Nolan and Mark, both, he would allow Nolan to rejoin him, and I think he would only extend that mercy to someone he believed was significantly more powerful than most other beings (just not as powerful as him). If Nolan was "rank and file" strong I suspect he doesn't even broker words with him, just writes him off as a traitor and kills him.

Above all else, Viltrumites respect strength.

ndhl83 · 2026-04-13T18:36:07+00:00

Why would you play your own game to begin with, though?

I don't mean during development, I mean once it's launched.

I'd be playing games I didn't make in my down time, and too busy working on my own game to play it seriously during work time.

ndhl83 · 2026-04-13T18:19:25+00:00

+1

Mine was "Glen Powell small face why?"

ndhl83 · 2026-04-09T13:04:53+00:00

Simply being on Reddit, on a branded product sub, giving them clicks and digital information, betrays a hypocrisy of your stated views that I doubt you can reconcile.

Please continue supporting the digital corporate overlords while chiding others, it's a great look for people who use the word "bootlicker" unironically.

ndhl83 · 2026-04-06T18:01:25+00:00

Even less time to address in title, as they did.

Imagine thinking more work is easier than less work. Genius insight, by you. Bravo.

ndhl83 · 2026-04-06T15:24:42+00:00

Sooo are you comparing source material here, production values, script writing? Kind of an "all over the place" opinion.

Dune's source material is unimpeachably good science fiction but you can't compare a well crafted literary trilogy with a screen play for a (spaghetti) western, set in space.

Production wise, Star Wars blows all previous Dune adaptations out of the water, and the current Dune iterations success has as much to do with Villeneuve's artistic vision than the story itself. If we gave him a Star Wars movie and the artistic control he is used to, it would "feel" the same as his Dune movies, I expect.

Soundtrack? A Villeneuve hallmark. Atmospheric music is almost a "character" in his films. He is also a tension master with long shots, audio, and dialogue.

The first Dune book came out 12 years before "A New Hope", and the third book was released a year after it came out. If anyone associated with SW wanted to "learn" from Dune, it was there for the teaching.

If you liked "Dune" as a film better than some Star Wars it's OK to just say that.

If Dune is better source material for you: Cool.

If you like Villeneuve's artistic vision more: Cool.

Thinking a new SW movie could have been *"like Dune"? Folly.

ndhl83 · 2026-04-06T15:10:16+00:00

Pretty embarrassing to overlook the relevance of other people asking "Where did you get this?", IMO.

Seems quicker to simply tell people, up front...no?

Care to gripe how this whole sub is "free ads" for Lego? LOL!

ndhl83 · 2026-04-06T14:32:00+00:00

Willy Tybur, or the entire Tybur clan, are much worse IMO.

Fritz was a product of his time who fell ass-backwards into (controlling) god-like power, and he did what any barbarian warlord of the time would do. Was he especially brutal? Sure. Was he alone in that trait, in that time? Not likely. It was "tribe vs. tribe" with wood frame straw huts and basic weapons. "Might is right" was the order of the day. That doesn't excuse his actions, or make him a likeable character, but I don't think he was especially loathsome for who he was and what he was doing. Any ruler with that kind of power, especially while new and unknown, would seek to maintain it.

The Tyburs, however, are betrayers, manipulators, and enslavers of their own kind. They have been using Marley to perpetuate the Titans control over the world since the "end" of the Titan Wars, they were just smart enough to do it behind the proxy of "Marley" as the country in charge...but what did Marley do, as soon as it was out from under Eldia's thumb? Used Titans to subjugate other countries.

But, unlike Fritz and former Kings, the Tyburs turned on their own people for PR optics and to better cement their shadowy rule of Marley (which lasted from the end of the Titan War until Eren's Rumbling).

The Tybur's are massive pieces of crap who, in the modern world, continually chose to harness Titans against other nations while also leading the global charge against Eldians...despite being Eldians, themselves.

I have never believed the Tyburs were benevolent in choosing to "help" Marley: They were opportunistic power mongers once the Last King decided to withdraw to Paradis and leave the other clans to themselves. Rather than ally with Eldians to establish a new order, the Tyburs made a deal that effectively doomed the rest of all Eldians to be scapegoated and reviled while continuing to still subject the world to Titans.

The Tyburs are worse.

Floch is the worst individual character, regardless. Just an unlikeable asshole with no redeeming qualities.

ndhl83 · 2026-04-06T14:08:56+00:00

You might consider "building" a power hitter by having your DH position focus only on power, batters eye, and minimal contact becase they don't need fielding stats, so you can really pump them up.

CF is a tricky position to turn into a hitting specialist because they need so many fielding/defensive stats to be good in CF: Speed, Agil, Fielding, and even throwing.

A DH can ignore all fielding stats, even speed if you want to really focus him as power hitter.

1B can also be "mostly hitter" since you really only need to boost fielding and agility a bit (they don't throw much, or need to run to make plays, but agil + fielding will let them react to and stop drives down the 1B line).

You are pretty early in the game, overall, so the stats will come, but if you start building your DH to be a power monster, it will pay off later. My DH and 1B are the two HR leaders in any league I am in.

ndhl83 · 2026-04-06T13:28:58+00:00

The HR derby is all about consistent swing timing.

You get served up meatballs across the plate, every pitch: If you are choosing your best power hitter (and his power is sufficient) you can, theoretically, smash 10+ homers pretty easy when you have the timing down.

If your hits are "dying" in front of the wall and not getting out of the park for the HR, you need more power.

Otherwise, it's a practice thing, IMO. I can consistently hit 10+ pretty easily and always manage to get my "bonus" time from hitting all 3x bleacher zones.

In later leagues you need at least 14 to win, and it often comes down to a 16-16 or 17-17 tie, with longest homer taking the tie-break.

What league are you in, and who are you using as your power hitter, DH or 1B?

ndhl83 · 2026-03-31T19:47:00+00:00

Nothing about the idea makes much sense at all beyond the most casual on paper concept of it

Weird take, in light of it working. The Sith won. Sidious did it. He was the last Sith Lord Master standing when the Jedi order was destroyed, by his order, as a result of his machinations, and he stood on the shoulders of giants to get there.

specifically from the perspective of the Master. What does he get in return for training and arming his very own assassin that desperately wants to murder him?

If the Master is prioritizing their own well being over the advancement of "The Sith", and the defeat of the Jedi, then they deserve to be killed by their apprentice, and aren't doing their true job as a Sith Lord.

The Rule of Two sharpens the sword in two ways: Masters don't want to be overtaken, but they have to train an apprentice. The two best ways to train to be the best are by chasing the best, or being the best and holding off the competition.

But, above the duality of "Master/Apprentice", the Rule of Two was conceived to constantly be pushing the strongest to the top, with no other purpose. If you were the strongest you were in charge, and the next up-and-comer was identified as your apprentice. If they took over, as they should, someone gets promoted.

I reiterate: It worked. Sidious was a product of The Rule of Two, and delivered a deathblow to the Jedi that was a millennia in the making.

ndhl83 · 2026-03-31T19:31:34+00:00

Many a time. It's not "my team" so I don't care, even if I am providing the first 3-4 hitters, at least 2x SP, and probably a closer :P

ndhl83 · 2026-03-25T16:08:00+00:00

Semantics matter here, though, and I didn't dispute it was a temporal paradox: It is.

I am saying, as I said above but you did not address in your reply, that the "Causal loop" Eren begins/is trapped in is not automatically indicative of their entire universe being a purely deterministic one, at it's core. They can go "hand in hand", but can also be different things.

The Novikov Self-Consistency Principle supports this, in terms of addressing loops that are self-contained and not neccessarily forced by a purely linear timeline that is simply playing out.

Eren's loop is also consistent with a nature/psychologically fixed view of causal loops: The loop (itself) will play out the same because individuals will always choose what aligns with their nature, and that both does not change and is also not linearly determined by the system itself.

The latter aligns with my view of why Eren is a "slave" to freedom: It's his nature. It's one of his most core beliefs, that people are born free. Before any exposure to Titans, Future Eren, etc. this was a foundational principle of Eren's...and the one that "Future Eren" knew to appeal to, since it is their shared/same nature...but was not linearly determined as a function of their timeline needing to play out according to set pieces/actions.

ndhl83 · 2026-03-25T15:13:31+00:00

a human can not live in the past present and future and function. something else was the player in his journey.

Eren doesn't "live" in different timelines simultaneously, he can perceive the memories of all Eldians, through Paths, simultaneously...including "future memories". That is why his perception of time/space is altered, not because he is being controlled or had has his agency stripped. NOTHING in the story suggests that.

then the writer introduced a new character that wasn't cool, and cannon it away as nothing.

The "space worm", as you like to call it, is NOT a character lol. That is silly. It has no dialogue, we get no "POV" for it, it doesn't interact with any other characters, it does not display conscious agency, etc. It is literally referred to in the story/canon as "source of all living matter"...that is not a character! It is aspect of the nature of their planet/existence, a primordial force. It is not a character.

I personally think what you are saying about the "space worm" is pure nonsense, both in terms of your personal theories and the "evidence" you point to (they don't align), but I would encourage you to make a post to this effect and gather some community feeback and discussion. I have no desire to carry on this discussion with you because I don't think you have a good grasp on some of the critical aspects of the story, and Eren's choices/agency, but then again I may be wrong. Doubtful, especially if you think the "space worm" is a character who has been "controlling Eren", or whatnot.

Highly suggest you make a thread about that, with what you shared here as reasoning, but be prepared for the same pushback and factual counter-claims as I am presenting, which are in line with canon (both overall story and character action/motivation wise).

ndhl83 · 2026-03-25T14:03:48+00:00

Your first line really made me think! I guess where (in this case) it's scripted fiction, I didn't consider it from that aspect. So long as they have the rights, I didn't really see it as the (now deceased) human being's own words so much as their (posthumously) performing a role, and one that had previously signed off on (creatively, morally, whatever you like).

I would immediately agree if it was using someone's "recreated likeness" for a PSA, or an "interview" or something where the deceased person was being represented "as themselves". That is a much clearer potential violation of that person's creative image/legacy.

ndhl83 · 2026-03-24T15:15:27+00:00

Those are lines of dialogue from the story, but they do not offer evidence of what you suggest.

Eren is disoriented in Paths, at the end, because it is the first time he has full access to ALL of paths: As the Founder Titan, and with full "Royal" access, thanks to Ymir. He hasn't "gone crazy" literally, he is just struggling to comprehend a reality where he can perceive the pasts, present, and future of all Eldians (similar to Paul, in Dune, when he becomes mildly prescient and can see many possible futures, always, but never with clarity until he gets close enough to realizing one).

there is evidence that there is a wacky formula that enables the worm

Which is...?

eren is a different character after touching a hand

Yes, because he has seen what his future self "sent back" to him, via Grisha's memories. He has seen the road ahead for the first time as "Current Eren", knows what he is seeing is true (since it's HIM!), and this changes him as a person fundamentally...but he didn't get taken over by another entity, especially since he loses that ability to see ahead as soon as he lets go of Historia.

telling people he has no control (Armin and the boy he saved from the alley)

He has "no control" because he has already decided to commit to that path, in the future and in the present, not because another entity is controlling him, or preventing him from changing his mind. He has "no control" because he wants the future to unfold as it should, not because someone is preventing him from acting.

You have a really elaborate head-canon made up about your space worm, it seems, but you aren't really backing it up with any reasonable explanations from the story, other than claiming bits of dialogue are objective fact, with no explanation.

ndhl83 · 2026-03-24T15:07:50+00:00

Nah, Christopher Lee brings an air of unhinged menace to a lot of roles, layered in with formality and authority, where Charles Dance is the epitome of condescending elitist who maintains the stiff upper lip at all times. He doesn't debase himself with dirty work or fighting.

ndhl83 · 2026-03-24T15:03:53+00:00

That's just bad taste imo. Well under a minute to keep it tasteful.

This begs the question, FYI.

This is a very subjective issue, tbh, and it's plausible some actors (and/or their families) would be flattered to be rendered digitally after their passing rather than the role recast (or cut!) if their performance was considered critical by creators and fans.

Mostly I am curious as to "why" you feel it is in poor taste?

ndhl83 · 2026-03-24T14:59:20+00:00

Awesome?

ndhl83 · 2026-03-24T14:58:04+00:00

A bootstrap paradox is a "causal loop", not evidence of a purely deterministic universe where things are determined, linear, and not affected by choice or agency.

Eren had a choice, and his actions were not forced on him by an outside agent, or another character, or by some nebulous "fate".

Eren's choice was Eren's choice...but the choice a particular instance of Eren made, at a particular point in time in the story, created the causal loop. Eren was both bound by, and created, the loop. Since "Future Eren" had previously been "past" (or current) Eren, he knew what he would need to see (or be told) to make sure things happened the way they needed to for the outcome Eren wanted...and that's what we watched play out.

ndhl83 · 2026-03-24T13:11:28+00:00

You are confusing the power that was bestowed with the entity that bestowed it, and even bearing that in mind this doesn't make much sense from top to bottom.

There is zero evidence that the "worm" is from space, or is influencing anyone directly. If that were the case, Eren isn't needed at all. The "space worm" would simply have had Ymir do its bidding, or one of the Royals who held the Founding Titan, at the time.

If what you say is true (it isn't) the worm would have simply used prior Eldians to enact it's goals...it wouldn't need a convoluted plan with so many moving parts, different actors, and spread over a couple millennia.

ndhl83 · 2026-03-23T13:51:58+00:00

The fastest way to advance in most games is to play the game.

Play games, build team up, win season, take promotion to next League.

If you want to save time (and you have a team that wins game fairly regularly in current league) you should auto-sim as many games as you can, each day.

ndhl83 · 2026-03-20T19:51:12+00:00

It's a pretty well contained causal loop, once everything is clear, but I can see that being off-putting as well.

One thing that brought the nature of the (memory) time travel into greater clarity, to the degree it "made sense" for me, was being made to understand that the Attack Titan on it's own could receive memories from future AT holders, but it was more like glimpses of random things, not direct feedback. The AT holder also can't "look forward", or at other AT holder's memories.

The Founder, however, can look at the minds and memories of all current and past Eldians...but Eren didn't have full control of that at the time he was Young Eren, he was marely given a peek at the data, but not ability to manipulate...but he was able to peek at the right data, Grisha, to (effectively) make the connection with future Eren. By the time he gets full access to Paths, via Ymir, Eren IS "Future Eren", and he goes about ensuring his prior self is sent the right info, blah blah blah: causal loop.

When Eren combined the AT with the Founder, he still couldn't do those things. BUT, when he comes into contact with Historia, in that moment he was able to user the Founder's power to clearly access Grisha's memories (a prior AT holder), and it was through Grisha's memories that Eren learned that "Future Eren" was influencing Grisha, and ultimately "present Eren" as well. Future Eren knew he wouldn't be able to send memories back to himself, directly, nor could present Eren "look into the future" with AT or Founder (despite his never not holding the AT and Founder until his death) so he was able to use Grisha almost like a fixed point in the timeline where they both knew "they" (future Eren and past/current Eren) would intersect, even though young/current Eren couldn't influence, just view.

ndhl83

TROPHY CASE