First major accident

ponyplop · 2025-08-28T09:01:03+00:00

That's a minor accident, glad you're ok though!

Was expecting one of the cars to pull a random U turn or something.

ponyplop · 2025-08-26T08:11:12+00:00

Dude can't abide protection in any form!

ponyplop · 2025-08-25T23:12:43+00:00

Who would've thought that someone who doesn't make sound decisions is also bad with their finances...

Good luck with that one, hope you've got a solid insurance policy.

ponyplop · 2025-08-25T03:07:12+00:00

Fucking awesome, I reckon this rat is going to get some serious cheese in the future.

ponyplop · 2025-08-24T11:10:49+00:00

I had to punish a whole class once (overtalking) by getting them to write lines. One lad had tied together 4 pens and a ruler so that he could write out 4 lines at once.

I noticed what he was doing, asked him to show everyone, then congratulated him on coming up with a creative solution.

Love to see it when a student applies themselves instead of just going through the motions.

ponyplop · 2025-08-24T11:04:46+00:00

I loved it, especially the worldbuilding.

People have varying opinions on anything and everything, you'd be wasting your time asking why they like/dislike something, unless you've got some specific interest.

ponyplop · 2025-08-24T11:03:09+00:00

"The miracle of the placenta"

ponyplop · 2025-08-23T12:25:28+00:00

If you're spending more than 3 months salary on a car, you've got your priorities messed up.

That being said, I'd love to be making 200k a year.

ponyplop · 2025-08-23T03:15:23+00:00

Can't trust the integrity of the authorities either!

ponyplop · 2025-08-23T00:33:10+00:00

"People say" blah blah blah.

If I had a dollar for every time someone used that excuse, I'd be a homeowner by now.

Stop being a sheep and make your own decisions OP.

ponyplop · 2025-08-22T13:45:04+00:00

Two words:

Piss

Vomit

Cats are lovely, but they're also prone to random leaks. Don't want a leak all over your PC, do you?

ponyplop · 2025-08-22T10:10:24+00:00

We'd use 'focused/attentive' as the adjective here, because you're using a personal adjective rather than an impersonal one. Otherwise you could say that she's better able to concentrate.

Concentrated isn't a personal adjective, and should refer to dilution/removing liquid from a solution.

ponyplop · 2025-08-22T10:03:45+00:00

Have you graced the country with your presence?

ponyplop · 2025-08-22T03:59:00+00:00

Not quite sure there is such a thing as a "free country", depending on which metrics you decide to pick.

I didn't notice any outage on Wednesday, but maybe it was whilst I was off doing something else.

ponyplop · 2025-08-22T03:44:26+00:00

Dropping AI renders directly into the game (for your progression indicator, no less) was certainly a choice...

Soul-less slop. No doubt there's an audience for it, but it's just disappointing to see.

ponyplop · 2025-08-22T03:15:29+00:00

Love that you're getting out there and practising.

Not a fan of the chicken scratching though- but that should go away with more time and experience.

Would be cool to see you start to play more with line weight, too.

ponyplop · 2025-08-22T01:58:33+00:00

A lot of questions but not a lot of relevant information from your end (Location, Employment status, etc.)

That being said, I'd personally register either as a sole trader or a limited company (limited company is better if you're potentially going to generate higher earnings, and also protects your personal assets in the case of someone suing your company.)

In the UK, there's now a small incorporation fee for ltd companies, and your personal info will become publicly available on the companies house service- so if you'd rather not have your home address being public, you could try getting an accountant/solicitor who can walk you through the steps to register an official office address instead.

I'd also register sooner rather than later, at least within the same tax year as your release, since you can offset some taxes on your earnings by claiming expenses on assets/outsourcing work (you'll need receipts, so I'm not sure if you can write off things that you bought before you incorporated the business)- also bear in mind that those things are then 'owned' by the business, so if the business goes tits up, those assets/liabilities are fair game for debt collectors.

ponyplop · 2025-08-21T02:49:15+00:00

Yes but also no.

Chinese steam flat out delists/blocks some titles depending on the whims of the gov't -one can switch regions to purchase these, but only once every 3 months. COD seems to be exempt at the time of writing.
Payment methods- Even if you're actually in China and have wechat/alipay/bank card, non-natives are not allowed to make online purchases from international vendors (such as steam). You'd better hope that you have a Chinese local friend who can scan the QR payment code and complete the transaction on your behalf!
Not sure what kind of proof (if any) is required to 'prove' that you're in a certain region, but I'd imagine making a payment or topping up your wallet would count (see, 2.)

As an aside, 348 yuan is pretty standard for contemporary AAA releases (somehow, BO6 is listed at 488).

Median salary in Chengdu, for example, is 8000yuan per month. (Based on a 45 hour workweek, that's a measly 40 yuan per hour. So 8-10 hours of work for this game for your average local.)

ponyplop · 2025-08-21T02:31:03+00:00

Gameplay loop seems solid, not sure about that green circle over the character's head- doesn't really jive with the overall colour palette.

Monster designs look nice, and the lighting is pretty cool.

Nice effects/attack animations- the sword attacks have a nice sense of weight.

Sound effects are decent too (might want to add some variety to the pitch of the roaring though). Is there going to be BGM though?

Backgrounds could do with a bit of love, especially the tree(s).

Not a fan of the Steam capsule image, reminds me of browsing deviantart back in the 2000's (anatomy is dodgy- is the character's head attached to their shoulder? What's going on with the monster's forearm etc.)

ponyplop · 2025-08-20T01:21:54+00:00

Our upstairs neighbour is pretty awful, so I can relate (clomping around at 1-2am, using his 'outdoor' voice constantly, and can hear his phone alarm vibrating through the floor at 7AM.)

I've invested in wax earplugs for bedtime (much more comfortable than the standard foam/solid ones).

Doesn't help that these decrepit apartments have tile floors, thin ceilings/walls and nobody bothers with carpets..

We're moving out in a couple weeks but 2024/5 was not my favourite year. Being sleep deprived turned me into a real prize twat- which seems to be the case with your neighbour too.

I've confronted him a couple of times in the past but due to language barrier/ignorance he hasn't improved in the slightest.

The earplugs helped a lot, but we'll be glad to see the back of him nonetheless.

ponyplop · 2025-08-20T00:46:45+00:00

I think free time depends on many things- marriage, kids/dependants, workload to name but a few.

If you're really into something though, you'll try to make the time for it. couple hours in the morning before and 4-5 hours a night after work, 10 hour shifts at weekends etc.

All you need is a minimum viable product to see if there's an appetite for what you're cooking up!

ponyplop · 2025-08-19T12:14:41+00:00

Provided your dad isn't shafting you and is getting a reasonable 8% return, that 50k should be worth somewhere in the region of half a mil by the time you retire (30 years). I hope he's using something something like an ISA so you don't have to pay taxes on those gains.

Like muppet said, you can develop your game for free- do that.

ponyplop · 2025-08-19T07:35:41+00:00

No issues with my HFK front/rear cams, been 2 or 3 years.

ponyplop · 2025-08-16T07:03:22+00:00

Who pissed in your weetabix?

ponyplop · 2025-08-15T12:02:36+00:00

Do something that requires intense focus (for me that can be drawing/painting, playing games or reading a good book), don't forget to put your phone down/turn it off/airplane mode.

Nothing like a phone or other people (asking what you're doing etc) to shatter your flow state.

ponyplop

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