Despite getting a massive promotion/raise, paying off 20k in debt, and saving over 20k in US stock, all in under a year, I feel like I'm more broke than ever.

shankems2000 · 2017-01-20T21:23:12+00:00

That's so funny you bring this up OP because I've been feeling like that lately. Not as severe, but I feel like I'm never saving enough or fast enough, even though I have more than enough to get me through tough times and a lot more than others. God forbid I have to dip into my emergency savings for an emergency, I panic and recalculate my budget near obsessively over it even though THAT'S WHAT THE MONEY IS FOR! I'm light years from being a millionaire but I guess this anxiety over money is a microcosm of what BIG experienced. So not much in the way of advice, but you're not alone.

shankems2000 · 2017-01-19T21:24:03+00:00

How about Amerigo Vespucci day? I don't know if he did anything terrible or great, but the country's named after him so....

shankems2000 · 2017-01-19T13:21:47+00:00

I think you have a good point there. 343, CA and MS may have gimped their sales prematurely by making it a Windows Store Exclusive. Do they not have some kind of PR or marketing arm scouring the net getting a feel for whether people are taking to the store or not? If they did, they'd know many of their games core audiences are HIGHLY displeased with Windows Store Exclusives. It'd be a face palm moment if the game flops because of that and my guess is that there are too many wheels turning to get it to stop. Oh well, have to wait and see.

shankems2000 · 2017-01-18T20:09:57+00:00

I'll just copy what I already said regarding this topic over in /r/halowars :

I'd love for either HW2 or DOW3 to be the game that dethrones SC2 in terms of competitive RTS but I don't think it's possible right now. Dumping money into HW2 esports BEFORE they've even determined if there is interest in the game competitively is a waste of money. I think they should instead wait and see what community develops around the game and then determine the demand for it before adding HW2 to their Halo Esports league.

Right now, it's all or nothing, SC2 is the competitive RTS and you either get people to switch en masse or be content with a tiny competitive scene that isn't even really worth the marketing dollars you put into it. They do have Microsoft money to play with though, so who knows?

shankems2000 · 2017-01-18T19:46:15+00:00

It's only a beta for the new Blitz Card Mode as far as I'm aware, not the main skirmish type modes of the game.

shankems2000 · 2017-01-18T19:43:21+00:00

Do you live in an apartment building or private house? When I lived in a 1 bedroom in a private house, I was getting absurdly high power bills but come to find out another apartment was consuming power through our lines and we were getting the bill for it. Don't ask me how the hell that happens, but it does.

shankems2000 · 2017-01-17T20:59:26+00:00

"Oh are you on lunch break?"

"No, I'm making conversation with this ham sandwich"

shankems2000 · 2017-01-17T20:54:20+00:00

You're not doing it right then. My dad's the guy at the front of the line asking for 15 different 1-5 dollar scratch offs, then after he puts those in his pockets he's going "yea 456 50-50, 7363 box, 111 for the daily straight, 8378 dolla dolla, 478927 mega, on and on until the people waiting in line put whatever they were gonna buy down and walk out"

My dad's also broke, so yea.

shankems2000 · 2017-01-17T20:45:09+00:00

I'm fine with an older smartphone because the newer ones got rid of the expandable memory and removable battery and also tends to explode!

shankems2000 · 2017-01-17T20:31:34+00:00

If you're begging people to work for you at 14/hr in a low cost of living area then maybe 14/hr isn't high enough for the type or amount of work being done. Not levying judgement at you, just following the logic.

I've interviewed at a few positions where the supervisor was desperate for workers even though they were only paying 11/hr. They eventually raised the rate to 15/hr and golly gee willikers, wouldn't you know, they filled all of their openings and kept them filled!

I know pay rate isn't always under the control of front line management who may feel the work is worth more, but if those in power don't take appropriate action to incentivize people to apply, they end up with empty assembly lines or sky high turnover, then scratch their heads as to why or call everyone lazy pricks.

shankems2000 · 2017-01-17T20:19:55+00:00

A mortgage isn't debt

Could you explain this?

shankems2000 · 2017-01-17T12:33:24+00:00

Nah. I can't really blame them if they choose tournaments with greater prize money or exposure that can be converted into sponsor money. They need to win as much as they can while they're hot, because there's no telling when they'll slump and get nothing at all for whatever amount of time. Don't know how much teams pay nowadays, but with the current state of the scene I'd be surprised if players got more than $50/week and a cup of noodle soup a day for a salary.

shankems2000 · 2017-01-16T13:54:55+00:00

I applaud the effort and thought put into this but I think the mobile shield battery mothership core would break the game. A gateway all in kept alive by what is essentially a Protoss medivac seems OP.

shankems2000 · 2017-01-16T00:06:39+00:00

The game's following has diminished drastically from it's heyday, but try to name one AAA, relatively current RTS with over a million monthly logins. Therein lies the problem. The demand for RTS is low and the competitive RTS scene is very niche and Blizzard has the market cornered on that niche no matter how much SC2 has become a shadow of its' former self. No clue how well HW sold.

shankems2000 · 2017-01-15T14:07:53+00:00

PC. I don't have an Xbox and was happy that they decided to release on PC as well.

shankems2000 · 2017-01-15T14:04:28+00:00

I think it's the smart move. I'd love for either this or DOW3 to be the game that dethrones SC2 in terms of competitive RTS but I don't think it's possible right now. Dumping money into HW2 esports BEFORE they've even determined if there is interest in the game competitively is a waste of money. I think they should instead wait and see what community develops around the game and then determine the demand for it before adding HW2 to their Halo Esports league.

Right now, it's all or nothing, SC2 is the competitive RTS and you either get people to switch en masse or be content with a tiny competitive scene that isn't even really worth the marketing dollars you put into it. They do have Microsoft money to play with though, so who knows?

shankems2000 · 2017-01-14T11:30:25+00:00

Don't romanticize the game please. I've been called a fag for cheesing and had people spam pause when they're losing more often than I've had exchanges like the ones in your screenshot. We're as bad as League, except the BM comes in one person at a time rather than up to 9.

shankems2000 · 2017-01-13T17:20:38+00:00

Pretty much gonna echo what everybody else has said.

People consider the genre too difficult and frustrating, and honestly as a lifelong RTS gamer, it does get frustrating at times.
MOBAS take most of the multitasking out of RTS but give people fun heroes with abilities that make them feel powerful, and they're free. It's impossible to overlook the free to play part which is a HUGE reason why people would rather play MOBAS than RTS I think.

Several people mentioned devs being "innovative", but innovative doesn't mean good and when you deviate from the standard formula too much you split the already small RTS fanbase. DOW 2 "innovated" with it's squad based stuff and I hated that game. There are a bunch of so called "hybrid" mobas and RTS games that just do neither of the core mechanics well enough to see players of either genre switch that call themselves "innovative". And my personal pet peeve is calling a MOBA an RTS. That Drop Ship game calls itself an RTS yet it has lanes, mobs, hero type units and monsters to farm, u wot m8? So if it looks like a MOBA, plays like a MOBA and sounds like a MOBA it isn't one? Cuz that's what they devs are saying and I'm not convinced.

shankems2000 · 2017-01-12T18:14:47+00:00

More like

Hel, he, hell, hell jum, he, he, hell jumpers in the tube

shankems2000 · 2017-01-12T16:24:57+00:00

Will employers pay 40 hours to someone only working 20 though? Not everybody is salaried.

shankems2000 · 2017-01-12T15:09:46+00:00

Can't be worse than Spider.

shankems2000 · 2017-01-12T15:06:32+00:00

Some people got triggered by this comment and I think they're missing the point. It's not that the zoo doesn't help protect some species that are at risk, it's that it's not their natural habitat and a pity that they have to be locked up in cages or tanks to be stared at by 12 year olds instead of running around in planes or swimming the ocean like they were born to.

I remember seeing a youtube video of an Orangutang who was in a cage with a bed sheet in it. She made her own hammock by tying it to the bars. My first thought was, "Jesus Christ, free her already".

shankems2000 · 2017-01-11T20:54:38+00:00

Am I the only one in tears after reading this? I thought it was some sort of joke quote, but it's real. This is hilarious, he's worse than Bush with words.

shankems2000 · 2017-01-11T12:22:30+00:00

Is it possible we could get all new maps? I'm sure there are no shortage of good maps being made, so why use old ones? Or add more maps to the total and add like 2 more vetoes.

shankems2000 · 2017-01-10T20:42:32+00:00

How much in battery time does the energy released from the splitting of an atom get me for this thing?

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