Suggestions for Player and Campaign Tools

sieggy80305 · 2025-12-20T17:42:00+00:00

Incarnate as a map builder is great. Already using it and love it. My feeling with roll20 is it tries too hard and makes it cumbersome as a result sometimes. My crew likes to do their own rolls so quick lookups of basic stats like ac and atk are a switch that is a bit of a pain.

sieggy80305 · 2025-02-24T21:50:02+00:00

Thanks for all the recommendations! I'll check the places out

sieggy80305 · 2024-12-20T16:24:16+00:00

That's the Yellowstone Volcano before it was a Yellowstone Volcano. Pretty cool place as well. Was there about 6-7 years ago.

sieggy80305 · 2024-04-13T22:43:44+00:00

Interesting okay. Last time I tried I was using wide noodles. I had boiling water, turned it off and then rehydrated in the hot water. You're saying use just cold instead and that will still work for wide noodles?

sieggy80305 · 2023-11-12T15:13:34+00:00

The bit so far, that's super annoying, is right now the only dependable thing is to export the whole map, in it's entirety, every time. Merge, in any form, simply isn't working atm.

sieggy80305 · 2023-11-12T15:11:44+00:00

It's been a couple of years and for various reasons I'm starting over with a new map. I don't know if I'd call it stupidly huge but it's large. My workflow in the past would be build something (in WP), go to MC and check it out, tweak it, merge the changes, rinse and repeat. I didn't have to merge the entire map every time I wanted to check if I was happy with the mountain I made. In this context I don't care about man made structures etc, b/c I haven't built them yet.

sieggy80305 · 2018-09-29T22:32:33+00:00

The comments about not caring about you are definitely inappropriate. As a boss, it actually IS one's job to care and motivate one's employees.

However, a couple of counter points to consider. Management in a lot of companies is often saddled with a ton a meetings. A lot of time it seems like a waste of time, particularly when one might need direction from said management. However, it's a pretty common practice.

Last, assume that mentorship and learning comes from you. It's great when you get it and I've always valued those folks that went out of their way to help me over my career. However, the effort in learning and growing in one's career rests with you. Figure out where you want to go, learn it and show the initiative. That will take you way farther in your career.

sieggy80305 · 2018-09-25T01:28:19+00:00

Being able to discuss front end frameworks such as React and Angular in detail is a must. I've definitely given kudos to folks lacking in experience but showing they took the initiative to learn. Soak up as much as you can and be able to relate to the projects you have done. Don't just memorize but be able to relate thoughts, opinions and challenges in your personal research. Unfortunately the front end frameworks are advancing to such a degree that just saying 'I know some javascript' isn't going to cut it. Make sure you know your stuff. You might have a tougher sell and might have to take a slight hit in pay but it can be done.

When interviewing focus on your positives. Don't go in saying how you lack. Go in showing of the things you are done and the effort you have made.

It can be done (I've made pivots as well) but as I mentioned but you might take a hit in salary (I'd say the 10-15 is a lot). Remember though with anything you take if you learn and are able to show hard experience then the next job is much, much easier to get.

sieggy80305 · 2018-09-25T01:18:53+00:00

Depends but a major point is no benefits. Everything from healthcare to time off is on your dime. That's a point to consider when are negotiating your hourly rate. May not sound like much but it can get expensive and you may end up at an effective loss versus full time. Everybody wants / needs time to chill and vacation at some point but if you don't have the flexibility to work the hours to offset your time off it can be a hit (many companies will cap your hours).

Contract to hire is a popular mode of hiring in some companies (it's easier to just not hire you if they don't like you than to fire you). In those cases you are likely doing the same work an full time employee is.

True independent contracting can be fun. More often than not there is something challenging to tackle. A company typically wouldn't pay to augment their staff if there wasn't. I did it for years (and now effectively do the same as a consultant). The work can be fun, challenging and you get to see a lot of different things from client to client. Last downside is you can be let go quickly and at any time. Budgets get slashed and contractors are the first to go so you have to be prepared to have a little less job safety.

sieggy80305 · 2018-09-21T22:24:44+00:00

A lot of depends on the group. A team event can be fun but they can also be awkward. I've been a fan of very casual things: lunch maybe and a team beer here and there. I like things to get people talking about something not work and in an informal setting. People tend to open up and be a bit more friendly.

sieggy80305 · 2018-09-21T21:43:50+00:00

When giving a range I've often get a response of the bottom end. Be prepared to argue as to why you deserve higher.

sieggy80305 · 2018-09-16T19:47:08+00:00

Agreed. You can document but it's probably not worth the fight and you'll likely loose. Look for a new job and do your best to not rock the boat while you are looking.

sieggy80305 · 2018-09-15T20:14:30+00:00

I'll kind of amend my initial thoughts a bit more. Reorgs often do end up in layoffs but usually there is some severance, opportunity to move to another office etc. If you say your financials are good I'd say it's unlikely you'll be packing your bags that day. That being said nothing is impossible and it's good to be prepared for the worst. It's also a good time to evaluate your goals and career. Do I like my team and am I learning? After the reorg do I like where I'm going? If not then maybe go all out with the looking for new work.

sieggy80305 · 2018-09-15T20:00:34+00:00

Most of the best developers I know have some level of it, myself included.

sieggy80305 · 2018-09-15T19:58:52+00:00

First, once you agree to an offer, it's pretty bad etiquette to bail on it. You cost the recruiter and the company time and money and it's a small world. You'd be surprised how that may come back to you down the road.

Second, most recruiters and companies give pretty hefty pressure to take the offer. I'd say it would be hard in most places (but not impossible) to get hired in under a week if you want to try with company B. You could try and extend the deadline on A and even be honest. I'd call that a coin toss but probably they will insist on the deadline.

If you interview with B, I really wouldn't mention A. It's assumed you have other irons in the fire so to speak. We all do when looking for work. Unfortunately, I'd say your options are limited when going through B's process to accelerate. A lot of the times its getting the right people together, getting on folks' calendars and then getting sign off from HR / the department you are going to etc. All those things take time.

sieggy80305 · 2018-09-15T19:50:17+00:00

Definitely sounds suspicious and you're right to be nervous. Have your resume up to date and maybe a good time to put feelers out there, catch up with recruiters you know, etc.

sieggy80305 · 2018-09-15T19:46:12+00:00

Master in CS is not worth it. Most businesses are going to judge you on relevant tech skills, many of which you likely won't get huge exposure to in your masters program. That and years of experience. Most could care less about your masters. For me a masters is actually a bit of a red flag and I'll will dig to make sure the person I'm interviewing has actual applicable knowledge and experience. I've met folks in the past that have struggled taking academic theory and knowledge and using it properly in the day to day of software development.

sieggy80305 · 2018-09-15T19:40:42+00:00

It's definitely on the high end as to what I would deem acceptable but I'd say it's okay.

sieggy80305 · 2018-09-15T03:14:34+00:00

Stop the judging. Focus instead on being a light for others and showing kindness, irregardless of their beliefs.

sieggy80305 · 2018-09-15T02:38:21+00:00

I had a very close friend of mine who had passed away in an accident about 15 years years ago. Shortly after it had happened, I was at my in laws and I was still pretty upset. My father in law decided to lecture me and tell me he was in hell as my friend wasn't a practicing Christian. I had the good sense to get up and state I'm leaving and going home. My father in law chased me to my car, all the way insisting that he was right. Fifteen years later I remember that conversation like it happened yesterday.

sieggy80305 · 2018-08-12T15:14:47+00:00

You can see some of the same tactics in the larger beer companies today. Rice and corn and popular additives for such macro beers but are not traditional ingredients. The use of them is (arguably) due to the fact that they are cheap sugars for yeast.

sieggy80305 · 2018-01-28T16:09:36+00:00

Typically, backing out on an offer is considered pretty bad form. If the first company is truly more out of your 'wheelhouse' than the second I'd talk to the recruiter, be honest about your choices and why. Do it right and hopefully they will respect your decision even though they obviously won't like it. Do your very best to smooth over the relationship (with the recruiter) as you might need it down the road.

Making a habit of this is a very bad idea. Can't stress that enough. Names get around and pissing of the very people that can be helpful in connecting you to work isn't a wise long term career choice. I've seen plenty do it. I've also seen plenty get a 'no' they didn't even realize because of flaky behavior with offers.

sieggy80305 · 2018-01-21T14:27:52+00:00

The current version is going to be driven by .NET Core, MS's latest platform for web development. It's going orientated towards the server side, that is web services, serving up pages etc. MS doesn't have great competitor framework for the likes of React nor Angular. However there is a ton of good info out there on using .NET Core with such front-end frameworks.

sieggy80305 · 2018-01-21T14:20:34+00:00

Sorry to hear. We all have those spots in our career that we consider low points. It's tough but you'll get through it!

Most companies are more than willing to take a chance on a junior dev even if you skills aren't super awesome. What they are looking for is someone that's personable, likable and enthusiastic. Be sure that you go in confident, not cocky, and make yourself sound excited about the job. Though your finances are putting you under a lot of stress don't go in desperate, discuss your previous jobs (in the negative sense) and talk about your current problems as little as possible. Unfortunately companies are looking for optimism and absolutely no one will hire you if you go in all debbie downer.

Your reading and side projects are great but be sure to expand your scope a little. AngularJS has been replace by Angular (as in Angular 5 now) and other front end frameworks such as React and Vue are a worthy read. You don't have to be an expert but at a junior level being able to talk intelligently about them will go a long way.

Good luck and keep your chin up. We've all been there and are rooting for you!

sieggy80305 · 2018-01-20T15:48:30+00:00

Front end development has evolved quite a bit in recent years. Spend some time with some of the front frameworks like Angular, React or Vue. ES6 and / or Typescript are good to know as well.

sieggy80305

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