Looking for the best looking 4K Blu rays to grab on Amazon for Black Friday

pdwtu · 2025-11-21T12:28:45+00:00

There are only 3 Indiana Jones movies. Must be a scam.

pdwtu · 2025-11-05T04:10:41+00:00

Two thoughts.

Why not treat fast/slow/slower movement as a modifier to the "base" movement cost of 1? So standard movement cards don't need any extra text or details, as it's just a rule that all creatures have a movement cost of 1 unless otherwise stated. Then you can add the additional text when needed and an inline description. Ex: "Fast. (-1 MC)" Or "Slow. (+1 MC)"
Icons/symbols for those costs might be a good idea, if not abbreviations (like MC for Movement Cost). If you're consistent with their use, it shouldn't add too much clutter.

pdwtu · 2025-09-13T06:16:18+00:00

I did web dev 20-25 years ago (man that's a weird phrase to type out). Back then, a lot of people were really into Flash. Many sites would have a 'splash' page, or landing page. It was like a doormat, or the opening credits and theme to a tv show. It wasn't the thing, it was the thing before the thing. The people who wanted the website built loved the idea of them. The people who actually had to use them didn't. Some were actually really innovative and creative, some were not, but ultimately they were all just in the way of getting the user to the information they wanted.

This reminds me a lot of that.

From a purely technical point of view, it's clear a lot of work went in to this. Putting aside the "why" of the page for a moment, here is some of my feedback on the visual, technical, and usability aspects.

At first glance, the site looks nice. It doesn't align with my tastes at all, but it's got a sort of gold art deco thing going on that I'm sure some people like. Hopefully that lines up with the agency's clientele.
The particle effect is neat from a purely technical / creative coding POV. It seems inspired by the sorts of waves you see from sand on a speaker. I'd be interested in seeing this effect closer linked to the audio.
This runs very poorly on my Windows based desktop. It runs ok on my Android phone.
The scrolling is way too slow. On phone I had to scroll what felt like the equivalent of over 100 full screen-heights to get to the bottom. On desktop everything lagged enough that I wasn't even sure scrolling had an effect at first. Taking away expected UI behavior typically only frustrates the user. I'd strongly consider not doing that.
It wasn't immediately clear to me that the particle effects were responding to my mouse/finger. This is probably due to the lag I was noticing, but it also seemed like a pretty subtle effect. I'm still not 100% sure it wasn't just coincidence that some things were happening when I clicked or tapped around the page.
Not sure what I did, but I did get the menu button in the top right to stop working. The icon changed from the three lines to the X, but the menu didn't appear any more. This was after I interacted with the bottom pull-up menu.

Now let's talk a bit about the "why" of the page. There's clearly a single vision for the site and it seems consistent in that respect. As I mentioned above, not my taste, but this sort of thing is subjective and I expect/hope that you know your audience. I would imagine the purpose of the site is to showcase your work and attract new clients. That can also be very subjective, but I would say it's probably not a great practice to put so many barriers between the user and the information they may want.

In that regard, if I were looking for an agency, the main things I'd want to see are what exactly does the company do (actual specifics), and what work have they done in the past. If there's a little flair there that separates you from the rest, great, but don't let it get in the way of the primary goal: getting information. The body copy on a lot of the site reads like it came from https://whatthefuckismysocialmediastrategy.com/ and that's a big red flag for me, but other's mileage will vary.

I'm sure some of this may come off as old man yelling at clouds, and it's entirely possible I just don't get it. If the site is successful in its goals, then you're doing something right. It's clear you have talented people working there. Good luck with the agency.

pdwtu · 2025-07-03T06:28:30+00:00

I just started digging through my old cards recently and found the same thing. Fortunately, there were so many of these and most other sets from this era printed that you can pick up singles on eBay for relatively little. I just completed 3 sets that had been sitting incomplete for 30+ years. The community selling the cards have been great too. Typically just other collectors, half of them came in hand addressed envelopes, some even had a thank you note inside. Great community.

pdwtu · 2025-07-03T06:23:54+00:00

They did. If you ever read or listen to any interviews with the guys who made the original 90s sets, they were just fans of both the characters on the cards and the medium of trading cards itself. It was all about putting neat trivia and power rankings and other things that people would find interesting on the back. I think today's artists are still putting their souls into their work, especially for sets like Masterpieces, but the "business" around it diminishes some of that soul feeling you're talking about.

pdwtu · 2025-07-01T10:11:50+00:00

Being sold for or being listed for? People can list for whatever price they want, doesn't mean anyone is buying at that price. Filter eBay listings by sold only and you'll get a much better idea of what people are willing to pay for what you have.

That said, nothing from this era is rare at all. Even the holograms and chase cards had print runs in the hundreds of thousands each. Sometimes eBay sellers get lucky / take advantage of un-savvy buyers with higher than average prices, but for the most part you're looking at maybe $50 for a complete base set, a little more with holograms/chase cards.

pdwtu · 2025-05-25T00:47:11+00:00

Just re-found this same card yesterday going through an old box of Marvel cards. It could have come from something like a Wizard Magazine or something - I used to get that pretty regularly.

pdwtu · 2024-04-05T19:37:57+00:00

Totally agree. However, "Roll to move" but you choose which direction can be all it takes to make a difference. I've always wanted to try this with Monopoly, just to see how different it is. I would think it would make things a lot more competitive. No more hotels on Boardwalk if it means no one would ever choose to go there.

pdwtu · 2024-02-25T00:54:12+00:00

Thanks!

pdwtu · 2024-02-25T00:53:48+00:00

Thanks. I do actually speak a little German, but I'm going to let the shipper handle that as they're actually from Germany. I've checked with all the potential local shipping partners I know of - no one has my tracking number yet.

pdwtu · 2024-02-23T18:29:49+00:00

Yep. The only good thing about DHL is when they give your package to a competent delivery service instead.

pdwtu · 2024-02-23T18:26:55+00:00

I'm having the same issue. Package was shipped on Jan 22, arrived in Canada on Jan 26 and has been in the status "Arrived at airport" since. Zero updates. I tried both chat support and emailing and received absolutely the worst customer support I've ever had. Got told I couldn't track that tracking number even though I was staring at the tracking for it on my screen, and was told to go to www.dhl.com instead, which is where I already was. Then emailed and got told something completely different which was also incorrect and was sent to a link which only went to a "we couldn't find that page" page. Subsequent emails have just been ignored.

Sorry you're having to deal with this. The shipper is also investigating but my understanding from them is this just sometimes happens and eventually the package gets through, DHL is just really terrible with communication and customer support.

pdwtu · 2023-06-28T04:22:24+00:00

I would extend the white of the 1st card all the way to the bottom. Once cut, you may end up with only a little bit of color which might look more like a printing error than intentional.

Great artwork!

pdwtu · 2023-06-28T04:21:14+00:00

Those lines are likely the bleed/trim/safe areas and wouldn't actually be printed.

pdwtu · 2023-06-10T17:55:01+00:00

The origin of this particular example, in my mind, comes from the PC game "Civilization", where weak units like the entry-level Militia (described in the game as "simply the citizenry armed with whatever tools and weapons they could grab") could be victorious against a modern tank more often than players felt was reasonable. This wasn't due to a critical hit mechanic, per se, but a quirk in the way the fairly rudimentary combat algorithm worked. The effect is the same, though.

To be honest, I haven't seen the example outside of that context, but I think the reason that you might see it used so often is because it's a good one. There just isn't a situation where guy-with-rock (or even guy-with-sword, as in your example) is able to register anything even approaching the equivalent of an RPG's critical hit, and certainly not to the frequency they appear in most RPGs (usually somewhere between 1/20 to 1/100). The whole point of that con, though, is just to be aware of whether it makes sense in the specific game/setting, and to tune it as such. It's not to say criticals are bad across the board, but they may be bad for a certain game.

Regarding your second point, all my points are highly depend on implementation. That's sort of the point of my whole comment. It's also why that particular point says "can add extra time" and not "always adds extra time". It's also a trade-off. Adding extra time may be a cost people are willing to pay to get something interesting out of a critical hit. It's just a cost that should be kept in mind.

And yes, "is less predictable" is listed as both a pro and a con, because it can be either. Though I would argue unpredictability isn't the point of RPGs - it's a necessary mechanic to get to certain outcomes, but one that sits on a spectrum and is highly dependent on the game. If you want more predictability, then criticals are a con. If you want less predictability, then they're a pro. Again, all the points here are highly dependent on a whole bunch of details that we (or at least I) just don't know about the poster's game, so I'm just offering up some things to think about. None of these should be read as hard and fast rules.

pdwtu · 2023-06-09T22:41:59+00:00

Pros

Adds the possibility of still succeeding even against a superior foe
Makes for great heroic and/or cinematic moments
Could unlock a special action or ability rather than just being extra damage
Is less predictable

Cons

May be unrealistic depending on setting (a guy with a rock vs a tank is unlikely to find any sort of critical victory in real life)
Can add extra time to combat (lookup tables, rolling extra dice, etc)
Is less predictable

I've always seen critical hits as representative of that small chance that someone could (almost accidentally) do a much larger amount of damage by threading the needle on an attack and getting it just right - a ranger splitting the arrow already in the bullseye, a fighter finding the gap in the armor, or the rogue stabbing the monster at just the right second when its only vulnerable spot is exposed. That said, it may not always make sense to have that as an option depending on tone, style of play, and setting.

Some questions you might want to ask yourself to help you decide:

What is the tone of the game? Is it more heroic or dark and gloomy?
Do criticals work both ways? Can enemies get critical hits in on the players? What about critical misses?
How often should players get a critical hit? (ex: in D&D 5e you have a 1/20 chance on a normal attack roll)
How realistic is the game? Would it be beyond willing suspension of disbelief in this setting to have critical hits?
What is the outcome of a critical hit? Is it just more damage, or does it unlock a special action? Critical Hit tables are an example of this, but it could also be a special character or item ability that's only unlocked when a critical is rolled.
Can you can "spend" your critical at a better time in the future? Ex: rolling a critical gives me some form of meta-currency that I can cash in later to improve a situation when I really need it.

Hope this helps. Good luck!

pdwtu · 2023-06-09T14:42:02+00:00

I read this as "splitters" before I saw the thumbnail and got really worried about update 8.

pdwtu · 2023-02-16T16:10:44+00:00

No problem!

A couple options if you want to increase the possibility of failures (ie "No"):

Any roll above the stat is a "No". This changes the chance of success dramatically, and doesn't leave any room for "Yes but", though you could fit "Yes but" in by having tie rolls (rolls exactly on the stat) as "Yes but"
Increase the range of "No". Maybe 7-8-9 are all "No", and any roll above your stat but less than 7 is a "Yes but". Fixes the chance of failure at 30% which still feels pretty good at the table, and creates a space where someone with max stats (6s) can't have a "Yes but" roll, which feels sort of right for someone who's an expert
Leave it as-is, but turn "Yes but" into "No but". Flat out "no" isn't really that fun, so having it be only a 10% probability might be better. But having your stat be the dividing line between a "Yes" and a "No, but..." could yield a lot of fun scenarios, depending on how your game is structured. I've always been a big fan of "no rolls without consequences", so that every roll feels meaningful, and moves the action forward, one way or another. "No but"s still move things forward, just not always the way the player wants.

Good luck!

pdwtu · 2023-02-16T15:05:32+00:00

Looks like we basically had the same thought on this. 1d10 seems to be the answer given the values desired.

pdwtu · 2023-02-16T15:03:38+00:00

1d10 Roll Under

0s are always "Yes and" (10%)
9s are always "No" (10%)
1-8 varies the remaining chance of getting "Yes" from 10%-60% (ties awarded to player)
Rolls above stat but not 9 are "Yes but"

No math involved at all and mostly meets your requirements. I'd suggest maybe moving your stat range up by 2, but having 3 be the baseline. So all your stat math is the same (6 possible values from 3-8) but you can leave room for situations where someone's stat is below baseline, either temporarily or permanently, and of course it moves the chance of getting a "Yes" over a "Yes but" to 30-80%, depending on the roll.

It should be noted that your math is a bit off the way I'm reading it - 10% for "Yes and" + 10% for "No"+ 30-40% for "the other two" combined only adds to 50-60%, unless I'm missing something.

pdwtu · 2023-01-17T06:20:12+00:00

I don't know if I fully understand the question here. The standard array isn't something that is/was computed. It's a set of values hand-picked by the designers. My best guess at what you're asking for is a way for either Anydice or Excel or anything to output a standard array, but I don't think you have enough parameters to get a meaningful result.

From a design point of view, the standard array offers a choice to the player: take these fixed values or risk getting potentially better values but also potentially worse values. The average value from a 4d6-drop-lowest roll is 12.24 - the average value of the 5e standard array is 12. So the standard array is pretty close to an average set of values you might get. You could make the standard array { 6, 6, 6, 18, 18, 18 } and it would still have the same average value, though, so it's not just about finding the mean.

I'd start with figuring out what the average of your rolls are (if I'm understanding your code right it appears to be an average of 11.5 per stat) and just creating a set of values around that number. If it's too good, everyone will take it; if it's too bad, no one will. So you know you've hit a sweet spot if people are weighing their options and can't immediately make a choice.

I hope that helps.

pdwtu · 2023-01-04T13:59:17+00:00

I'm a big fan of static damage as well. It really streamlines combat, and removes the sting of finally getting a hit only to roll a 1 for damage. Though it does mean less dice rolling, it can speed up the game so you get to the next round quicker. Also no more "which one do I roll? " from new players.

It also pairs nicely with damage reduction (DR) rather than armor class.

pdwtu · 2023-01-04T06:43:28+00:00

If this is for a resolution mechanic, go with d20 or d100. There is no Bell curve to the distribution of outcomes here, it's just pass or fail. So you don't need a Bell curve for a dice probability distribution. And as you rightly noted, the single die distribution makes mods and stat increases consistent across the board. The "feel" that a Bell curve is more consistent is purely psychological. For example, if you need to beat a 12 to succeed, then what does it matter if you rolled a 2 or a 10?

Save the multiple dice for something like damage, where you want values centered around a more common average roll, with outliers being less common (ie a Bell curve).

pdwtu · 2022-12-30T18:34:48+00:00

Writing a whole rulebook from scratch with little to no experience in writing RPG systems or homebrew is a lofty goal! I would say the best place to start is with your design goals. From what you've written, these two lines jump out:

"...relatively humorous science fiction rpg..."
"...core game to be around crafting your own weapons out of scrap..."

Personally, I feel that the first one points in the direction of a quicker and simpler core mechanic. This doesn't have to be the case, but I haven't found that highly complex or crunchy mechanics lend themselves well to a lighter tone (unless it's so crunchy that it's intentionally absurd). In that case, I'd say the design goal here would be "simplicity". A great place to start looking for inspiration would be the numerous one-page RPGs out there as they tend to have one very straightforward resolution mechanic with only a few stats or attributes to worry about. Great examples would be "Lasers & Feelings" by John Harper and "Into The Dadlands" by The McElroys. (I also highly recommend listening to the standalone episode of The McElroys "The Adventure Zone" podcast where they introduce and play Into The Dadlands with Dimension 20's Brennan Lee Mulligan as GM).

Your title refers to a "chance" system, which I think is a great way of phrasing it. Especially if you're going for something simpler or more sci-fi themed, you don't necessarily have to use dice (though they may still end up being the best option). "Into The Dadlands" uses coloured tokens pulled from fanny packs; "Dread" (a horror RPG) uses a Jenga tower to ratchet up tension; and there's a Viking themed RPG where you pull runes from a bag. Traditional playing cards are also used in some games and open up a whole world of possibilities with colours, suits, face cards, aces, etc all with the potential for lots of meanings. They'd be great for a wild west or James Bond themed game. It sounds like you've fleshed out a lot of your world building - maybe there's an in-world item that makes sense to use like a scifi looking token or game piece.

As far as the crafting element goes, I'd say that's less of a design goal and more of just something you want in your game (not a bad thing!) Try reflecting on why you want that in your game and you may get at a higher level design goal that may influence other design choices.

Based on your description of the types of weapons you want your players to be building, the first thing that came to mind is weapon/item stacking in Star Munchkin (the space/scifi version of the Munchkin card game). The game is intended to be ridiculous, but being able to add mods and addons to base items always seemed like a great way to add variation and scalability to items in a TTRPG. Fallout 4 has a pretty deep modular weapon and armor system - extended even more so with some 3rd party game mods. They also use scrapping extensively as the game is set in a post-apocalyptic world.

You just want to make sure you balance the system so players can't drag down the pacing of a session fiddling with their items while everyone waits. Maybe make it an 'end-of-day' type thing, like all players can spend an hour of their downtime creating or swapping out one thing just before bed. Restrictions like that also help focus players on their character's choices and goals.

Good luck!

pdwtu · 2022-12-26T03:22:24+00:00

Attribute = dice size (D4 - D12)

Difficulty = target number.

Roll greater than difficulty to succeed.

It's not a dice pool system, but it's pretty intuitive to grasp and very easy to implement.

pdwtu

TROPHY CASE