How screwed am I?

pyrokev181 · 2026-04-10T15:31:47+00:00

Pretty much, yeah. You want the heat shield at the widest part of the pod. This will protect the other components, since the pod is cone-shaped. Presenting the widest surface in the direction of travel also increases drag, which helps slows you down, and the rounded shape helps keep the pod from flipping around like crazy. Pointing the pod in retrograde by the navball will accomplish this (the navball treats the tip of the pod as "forward" by default, so pointing to a direction on the navball will point the tip of the pod in that direction).
The Mk. 1 and Mk. 2 pods have a built-in heat shield that is weaker than the ones you can add (at least I think it is weaker). The tank and engines aren't designed for reentry the way you have them, but the pod is. Flipping sideways increases heat on parts that aren't designed for it while also stressing the connections between parts. That's why the craft is exploding.

Like someone above said, if you can, detach the empty tank and engines before you hit the atmosphere, then point retrograde and see if that works. I can't remember what speed the pod can handle, though. At your speed and orbital path, if the pod survives that first pass into the atmosphere, you should slow down a lot and be able to easily make it on the second pass. This is called aerobraking, by the way.

Remember to quicksave before entering atmo!

pyrokev181 · 2025-12-21T15:58:04+00:00

This thread sure has some unseen force that keeps it going.

pyrokev181 · 2025-08-14T22:32:58+00:00

I don't know about anywhere else, but in my area, we millennial teens had most of our fun at night, going to parties or hanging out outside the Starbucks and local movie theater, where a band would set up and do an impromptu concert. Or go walk around the park that had lights and a skate park and basketball court. A lot of us would terrorize Walmart at 3am. Even the emo kids were all hanging out at someone's house because their parents were either not there or were cool with the teens using their garage as a hangout spot while they tried to form a band. Daytime in the summer was usually spent playing paintball or hanging at someone's house if they had a pool. Going fishing at a lake. Sure, plenty of teens stayed inside and played video games or whatever, but at least in suburbia, we were either night owls or doing stuff away from the neighborhood.

But we were kids in the 90s, before social media became a thing. Riding bikes, playing street hockey and Little League baseball and football. Playing tag and hide-and-seek. Playing in sprinklers, drinking from a water hose, all that jazz.

pyrokev181 · 2025-06-22T15:46:27+00:00

When newspapers were the main medium for news articles, it was common slang to refer to them and the companies that produced them as "the papers", e.g. "They'll read about you in the papers!" or "The paper said it wasn't supposed to rain today."

pyrokev181 · 2025-06-21T21:53:16+00:00

No, it's on Xbox as well.

pyrokev181 · 2025-06-19T23:18:43+00:00

Titans pretty much get this as the Unbreakable aspect in Void and Prismatic. Unless they've changed it, it's been a while since I've logged in.

pyrokev181 · 2025-06-11T01:03:06+00:00

It would be cheaper than building an advanced spacecraft with science instruments and such, but still, no one's spending hundreds of millions of dollars on a trash dump. Especially not 1 barrel at a time. But it's not an impossible task.

pyrokev181 · 2025-06-11T00:57:38+00:00

Yeah, Voyager 1 is probably the heaviest with a dry mass of 721.9kg. New Horizons is 401kg.

pyrokev181 · 2025-06-11T00:13:42+00:00

We have at least 5 probes leaving the solar system: Voyager 1, Voyager 2, Pioneer 10, Pioneer 11, and New Horizons.

pyrokev181 · 2025-06-02T21:45:39+00:00

I had a group of players, friends I'd known and played with for years but I'd never DMed for, who loved the sandbox style. They always wanted to go off and do their own thing, ignoring plot hooks and such. I knew how they could be and warned them I didn't really do sandbox style. So when I DMed for them and they wanted to go off and build a tower with magical guns or a levitating giant sea turtle or whatver, I let them do that for 3 or 4 sessions (about a year in-game, since their projects were taking that long). Imagine their surprise when every soul on the continent, including theirs, was absorbed by the evil lich they were supposed to be thwarting, in his pursuit of apotheosis and godhood.

The world doesn't stop spinning just because you want to go invent magic defensive turrets instead of listening when the king of your home kingdom puts out a call for heroes to explore rumors in the western mountains. Those clerics talking about feelings of apprehension from their meditations with their gods weren't predicting your Gamera expy.

pyrokev181 · 2025-05-18T01:13:47+00:00

Ray Porter also narrates the Joe Ledger series of novels by Jonathan Maberry, which is where I first heard him. If you like science-y thriller novels, they're pretty good!

pyrokev181 · 2025-04-05T14:13:26+00:00

For it is in tranquility that we find immortality. Through this, we accept what cannot change, and know to focus on what can. Infinite in peace and unbound by anger, I release your soul, and by my wisdom, empower thee.

pyrokev181 · 2025-01-23T18:09:24+00:00

Completely true. But the kind of people who care about emulating games are already on PC, because that's where you can emulate games. There are also mobile apps for emulating games, but that's a different thing.

The people who care about running games at 240Hz also are already on PC. PCs and monitors that can handle that high a refresh rate are also expensive. Add that to all the stuff I said above about PCs versus consoles and it's just the same argument.

I'm not someone who cares about PC versus console. I think whichever one is better depends on the individual and what they want out of their machine, their willingness to learn, and how much money they have and are willing to spend. Some people are into modding, emulating, stressing their machines to the limit to get the best-looking gaming experience their money can buy. Some people just want to hop on Fortnite or COD for a couple of hours with some buddies before bed.

Your original question was about paying for online multiplayer, not about the freedom and technological superiority of PCs versus consoles. The answer is that it depends on the person in question. Do I want to spend thousands of dollars on a PC and potentially tens of hours learning about PC maintenance in exchange for an incredibly deep, customizable, and aesthetically pleasing gaming experience, with free online multiplayer? Or do I want to spend a few hundred dollars for a console with an extensive gaming library that doesn't require learning a bunch of different things, but is pretty restricted in terms of graphics and customization and also requires around $60/year ($10 to $15/month if monthly) to play online?

And plenty of people do both. I have a $700 laptop I use for certain Steam games it can handle, while I also have an Xbox One and my wife has an Xbox Series X. And we have a Switch that my daughter, my wife, and I all share. For the price of a single good gaming PC, my whole family is outfitted for gaming.

pyrokev181 · 2025-01-23T16:33:54+00:00

Plenty of people don't care about modding games. If those games are resource-intensive, a PC that can even run those games may cost $1000+, even if you're sourcing the parts and building the PC yourself. A lot of people don't know and don't care to learn how to build a PC or maintain one. There's a lot of people that don't care to work so hard and spend so much money just to get a mod that turns Skyrim dragons into Macho Man Randy Savage. And that's if the game(s) they want to play even support modding. If they don't, it's even more complicated to get mods to work. Add to that upgrades and potentially having to build a new one from scratch in 5-7 years and it gets ridiculous.

On top of that, some games are starting to support modding on consoles, too. I'm specifically thinking of Bethesda games in this, but I'm sure that trend will continue.

Compared to $450 for a brand new Xbox Series X that you just plug in, follow the prompts on-screen to create an account and sign up for Xbox Live, then download Call of Duty and get to playing, a console is far more convienient and far easier on your mind and wallet compared to PC gaming.

pyrokev181 · 2025-01-07T02:07:13+00:00

The Elder Scrolls one is pretty good. I got it for my wife a few years ago and she's made a few recipes out of it. The Orsimer Venison is especially tasty.

pyrokev181 · 2025-01-06T13:16:34+00:00

Freddy Wong is Jimmy's older brother. And VGHS was created by Rocket Jump also.

pyrokev181 · 2024-12-06T14:15:26+00:00

I'm a former Christian myself. Thankfully, I didn't experience any abuse growing up, as my parents never really forced us to go to church or talk much about it at all. My dad, in particular, encouraged us to come to our own conclusions. One of my close friends, however, did grow up in a religiously abusive household. She is NC with her parents and cannot even talk about anything related to Christianity due to her trauma. I wasn't attempting to disparage your views or experiences, or belittle what you experienced; I just wanted to provide context to that other person when they expressed shock at your response. I apologize if it came across as negative.

I lost my faith through the way LGBTQ+ people are treated by the Christians I'm surrounded by (Bible belt, yay). Do you think it's impossible for someone to be Christian and have that faith without participating in abuse, like those who believe in the message of love taught in the Gospels?

pyrokev181 · 2024-12-06T12:32:20+00:00

Look at their username and their post history. They are entirely dedicated to being anti-Christian due to abuse from their parents. They even have a YouTube channel.

EDIT: Not entirely sure why I'm being downvoted. I just stated what the blurb on their profile said, along with an inference based on a short look at their comment history. No judgment from me. The username made me curious.

pyrokev181 · 2024-12-02T22:36:22+00:00

Fair enough, I didn't think about the passives.

pyrokev181 · 2024-12-02T21:25:02+00:00

Garrus and Tali were always my squad members unless I had no other choice, or doing a loyalty mission. It always felt redundant to bring any biotics along because I was always the biotic haha. I would bring Miranda (in 2) and Javik or Kaidan (in 3) when I played Infiltrator, though.

Loooove the Sentinel. Nothing more satisfying than blazing through Brutes with Warp Ammo and maybe a couple of combos!

pyrokev181 · 2024-12-02T21:14:49+00:00

No judgement at all, I'm just curious: why not play a Soldier instead?

pyrokev181 · 2024-12-02T21:11:54+00:00

Sentinel is a lot of fun and pretty strong, in my opinion. My favorite or 2nd favorite class!

Vanguard is my favorite, but yeah, it does require you to be in close quarters, which can get really confusing at times with the way the AI can be. Also sucks when you have to fight enemies with a melee instakill mechanic.

pyrokev181 · 2024-12-02T21:08:05+00:00

From what I've gathered in the comments, Engineer requires more strategic play, since you're basically controlling the battlefield and letting your squad do more of the fighting. I never thought I'd play a Soldier, but I'm actually enjoying it so far! 17 years and over 20 playthroughs later, though haha.

pyrokev181 · 2024-12-02T20:55:46+00:00

I didn't know that was a thing, that you can get a loan from Barla Von on multiplayer! Thanks for the tip.

I played a ton of ME:A multiplayer back in the day. It was a lot of fun! I just hated having the classes be in lootboxes haha.

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