2021 Predictions: Right or Wrong?

How good were your predictions? Post about it below.

Marble Blast predictions:
- Packs 60-69 get released. Correct
- I pass 115 million rating. Incorrect: 113,535,276
- I release at least 10 new levels. Incorrect: 7

Non-MB predictions:
- I secure an internship to fulfill part of my degree requirements. Correct
- Mask mandates will be lifted in most places thanks to the coronavirus vaccine. Correct, but reasons may differ
- I finally finish another Minecraft project. (currently at 1 finished project in more than 9 years, having dropped 40+ projects) Correct to a satisfactory extent
- I achieve X rank (highest rank) in Tetr.io's ranked 1v1 mode. Incorrect: still U rank

Hopefully 2021 is less shit than last year.

It was not...

Marble Blast Predictions:
- The PlatinumQuest World Record Rampage will finally happen (please, dear god), and I will be in it. It HAPPENED!!!
- Packs 60-69 won't be released until October. When it does I will get all the Awesome Times and maintain my 100% CT completion. Was not released in October, instead in January... Though I did manage to get all the ATs and maintained my 100% CT completion.
- My rating will not significantly increase as I'll be grinding PQ once more. Well, I expected 60-69 and no increase in rating, stupid. Though I did grind PQ mostly.
- I'll be kicked out of the top 10. somehow didn't happen.
- I will achieve top 10 on every non hunt PQ level. Last year top 20, this year top 10. nope, not even close. In fact I lost my top 20 on every level status.
- Xelna will shatter my Arrival to Marbleland World Record. Sad but true.
- Xelna will become 1st place on the Leaderboards. He did briefly.

Real Life Goals:
- Maintain my good grades in College Yup
- Drivers Lisence? no...
- New Computer? no...

Hopefully I do better with this years predictions.

oh god just looking at these is terrifying i had so much hope for myself

##

MB Predictions

* I’ll get 85 million general rating
ok this is close i have 83m, i'll mark this as completed bc i got top 50 1/1
* I’ll get another top-5 time on a non-custom level (currently only top 5 time is Battlements MBU)
best rank this year on main category is p9 any% with 6th, despair 1/2
* I’ll get a WR on any LBs level (MarBot has to announce it for this to count)
press garden in january! and then literally nothing else 2/3

* I’ll push my PQ Any% time below [strike]1:45 IGT /[/strike]2:00 RTA
got a 1:54 with an even worse blooper than the exoplanet ground clip 3/4
* I’ll route PQ 11%, and stream it at least once
haaaaa 3/5
* I’ll route PQ Any% Jumpless, and stream it at least once
i spent 99:59.999 on advanced techniques and gave up and never streamed it again 4/6
* I’ll route PQ Any% Powerupless/Min Powerups (haven’t worked out if 0 powerups is possible), and stream it at least once
nope 4/7
* I’ll stream MBU Any% at least once
nope 2 4/8

* I’ll finish porting all Stop II levels to PQ properly (yknow, with actual frictions and stuff)
iso said no 4/9
* The MBGW WRR, PQ WRR and MBP WRR #4 will all come out (+1 if it’s in that order!)
i was so optimistic for mbp4 4/10
* I’ll finish remaking ttotTs in Super Mario Maker 2
no! 4/11

Hot takes:
* A sidemod WRR will start development after MBP #4 (+1 if it’s Stop II; +2 more if someone beats my Can’t Jump time)
the hPerks tribute rampage counts, 5/12
* I haven’t seen anyone else talk about this, but I predict Packs 70-79 will come out
no but i spent way too much time on the sheet 5/13

##

Other Game Predictions

* I’ll get to Prestige VII in The Hypixel Pit, buy Fishing Club V, and finally quit this hellsite of a game
1 yes 2 yes 3 god i wish 5/14
* I’ll finally beat singleplayer Minecraft without either Creative or the keepInventory gamerule
not even close 5/15
* I’ll actually learn how to play Smash Ultimate properly (aka using grabs and shields and knowing how to use my main, Lucina)
i beat the first part of world of light after like 100 hours 5/16
* I’ll push my N64 Rainbow Road time in Mario Kart 8DX down once more
too hard and i suck 5/17
* I’ll finish Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of Sky around May after forgetting about it until then
i should do that at some point 5/18

##

IRL Predictions

* I’ll start being more social and start going out more
covid 5/19
* The ‘dolphin guy’ finally gets kicked out of me and my friends’ discord server, and leaks shirtless photos of us as revenge
nope 5/20
* \[This one’s a secret. If I do it, I’ll tell you all what it was at the end of the year!]
didn't happen (secret bc slight chance of dox esp bc kurt lives near me) 5/21
* I do well in Software Design and Maths at school
i got the best mark in software with like 86% and maths was ok but not great but sure 6/22


wow that was garbage lmao

Marble Blast
1. MBGWeb has its first rampage released on time. Easy +1
2. I get more than ten world records on MBGWeb. +0.5 if more than five. Custom stages count and I know I stopped playing to focus on other things so… :shrug: +0.5
3. I never make a MAJOR update to STOP II again after U1.4. Easy +1
4. I re-make Marble Blast STOP as a mini-mod before 2022. Started on this but didn’t finish. +0.5
5. This web site breaks heavily at least once this year. This actually happened in the Spring when staff forgot to update/pay for a few web server things. Robots also took over the leader boards. Everything was a mess +1
6. Any Marble Blast game is played by a YouTube Celebrity [in 2021, to clarify]. +10 if they play one of my modifications. Can someone tell me if this happened? Update later.
7. An incomplete modification is remastered and completed by the same person or somebody else. Example of this: Project Dragon or Marble Blast Space. No +0
8. A staff member leaves to pursue their future in real life. I just learned that Matan and HiGuy are gone, but I’m more surprised about Matan. +2 since it was two for the price of one.
9. I fully quit instead of popping up here from time to time before 12/31/2021, 11:59p.m. I feel as if I’m rarely noticed around here but I still stay because this game & MOST but not all of the community members are cool to hang around with anyway +0
10. Cyberfox’s marbles are added to PQ Multiplayer. (Please? They’re so cool…might even return fully if I hear they're added!) It didn’t happen. R.I.P. +0

Real Life
1. I transfer to a four year university and graduate from my current institution with honors. Easy +1
2. I capture 200,000 Pokémon on Pokémon GO. (365 times 500 = 182,500 which would be more than enough if I were to do it this way). Currently 103k… Started playing less, it’s become more of a social game than a full time game now. 152k monsters caught. +0
3. I finally see one of my best friends I’ve not seen in [eight, not seven] years. We spend the entire summer together. Sorry, friend. Next year for sure. +0
4. Only a few things are cancelled due to COVID-19 for me. …Yeah. +1
5. I purchase a C6 or C7 Chevrolet Corvette. …Bought another Sky and then a Bolt. 2022 for sure. +0
6. (Yes, it has re-opened again and as always I am going to try.) — I become widely known/famous on BrickPlanet. +5 if I become a staff member. BrickPlanet reopens and I am a staff member there now. +6
7. I win something REALLY humongous this year. Well, my video with a company I am working for to advocate for better sidewalks in the city I reside in got noticed by some board members and we’re going to negotiate changes. Not me winning something but I still feel like it counts because I got this to happen? +0.5
8. I’m still together with Tawny. It was time to leave for good reasons. +0
9. I finally change my legal name via petition of my state's Superior Court. Easy +1
10. I actually learn how to code Java properly from the time my post is created to 12/31/2021 at 11:59pm. Getting better but need more practice +0.5

Miscellaneous
1. BrickPlanet has returned once again, and it has never lasted for more than a year. This time, it will last for a year. It’s getting close, but it has not fully returned yet. +0.5
2. The coronavirus vaccine is distributed to the majority of the world before June 1st, 202[1]. Very easy. +1
3. The Renault Trezor is actually produced instead of solely being a concept car. What a shame. If my career goes well, I might want one built for me in ten years? +0
4. Donald Trump is convicted and thrown in prison for more than ten years. There’s nothing on this yet. 2022? +0
5. I’m still going to keep hoping for Super Mario Sunshine II, even if I doubt it will happen. SUPER MARIO SUNSHINE II WHERe? Should I just stop trying? However, a remastered version came out that’s super lackluster. +0.5
6. YouTube mysteriously recommends one of my videos to everyone (a.k.a “Welcome back to another episode of What’s in my Recommended!”). +10 if it's one of my If the Video Ends series videos. For some odd reason it seems to be a 13 second video of a stupid Thrill Ride from MBGOnline…type thing. +1
7. But wait - Waluigi finally gets his own official Nintendo game? ...PLEASE? +5 if it has to do with cooking. Waluigi has no love anymore and Nintendo is getting worse with their *ahem* “small” team decisions by the year. +0
8. General Motors brings back a homage to the Saturn Sky and/or Pontiac Solstice. +2 points if a V8 engine (or greater) is the engine of that car model. No LOL +0
9. Apple/their App Store/their Legal team forces Niantic to change how Pokémon Eggs work because they are similar to “loot boxes” which are gaining widespread criticism and legal action around the United States. Niantic changed how they work to some extent, but not directly by Apple. +0.5
10. And now, for my dark prediction: COVID-19 mutates into something not even more deadly, but what’s even worse: this mutation hinders vaccine progress. The Delta (and now Omicron) variants have been the worst mutants of the bunch especially because they’re causing breakthroughs for vaccinated individuals. Progress has also been hindered in some areas due to political statuses (but that’s not a topic to heavily delve into on this marble rolling game). +1

Total score: 20.5 out of 30. Rank: D+. Ouch! I know I could've done better on some of these. Time to think more realistically for 2022.

-I will achieve 100 million rating, hopefully also be the first Romanian to get 100 mil (Robert has like, 94 mil iirc);
-I will improve my level building skills and make a level that will blow everyone's socks off;
-Packs 60-69 AND 70-79 get released this year;
-Get every single or majority of the ATs in PQ;
-Maybe gain some big girl pants and come out as trans to people irl; (P.S.: some)
-I will finally be able to get to places that I have never been to before;
-I will talk to more and more people and maybe manage to get someone thats near and dear enough to me that I start dating them;
-COVID-19 goes away, hopefully;

What a roller coaster of a year.

- Forget to bury until the 18th (Matan can stop me but won't)

I don't remember exactly which day we did this but I think it was on time this year. +0

- Forget to unbury until like the 3rd

How are these new moderators so coordinated and where can I get that for myself? +0

- PQ 2.4.10 or 2.5.3

Currently 2.6.1 as the new devs were more productive that I was. +0

- Moderators +3 -4 (including changes from jan 1st)

Plus: Doomblah, Goway, Kalle, (others?), Minus: Myself, Derp, Matan, Regis, Kalle. +1

- 1 Big mod release

MBSII 1.4 (I'm counting it, did you see how big it was?). +1

- 2 Small mods release

None. +0

- PQ source releases

Freebie, this was planned since 2019. +1

- Packs 70-79 get discussed for a bit but aren't done by December

:point_left: :sunglasses: :point_left: +1

- Discord has a lot more members (425 right now, expected 600) but most of them are not active

525 is the count I see, no clue on the activity. Is +100 "a lot more"? I get to make up my own scoring criteria so... +1

- 3 new mega marblers

[strike]No idea. Someone will have to fill me in. +??[/strike] Doom says this happened. +1

- Some big drama happens and I care too much

Freebie, planned since 2020, etc +1

- Some big drama happens and I care very little

There was that whole cheating thing, I think that is medium drama at least. +1

- Move to Florida? Maybe finally this year?

Yes. +1

- Get a COVID vaccine sometime around July

May. That falls within "sometime around July." +1

- Don't get COVID

Yes. +1

- Start investing in stonks

Lmao no. +0

- Still listening to a lot of Trance

Top genre on Spotify and 22k minutes listened. AvB still my #1 artist. +1

- Still watching NLSS and related content upwards of 3 hours / day

RIP NLSS but I watch NL and co's solo streams a lot. 3+ hours a day is accurate. +1

- No new computers but probably a new mouse

New work laptop, no new mouse. +0

Wow, can't believe I've been doing this for 3 years now, going onto 4.
Welp let's see what predictions were true.

Green Highlight = Correct
Orange Highlight = Semi Correct
Red Highlight = Wrong
N/A

I will add some comments in bold text as well.

Marble Blast Predictions:
- Reach Top 20 in the global ranking When Packs 60-69 released I reached the Top 20, but now I'm outside of the Top 20.
- Reach 110 Million rating With the aid of Packs 60-69 I was able to achieve this.
- At least complete 85% of all Challenge Times (100% on gold and ultimate, maybe on awesome as well) I have no fucking idea if I did this and I'm not checking, probably not.
- At some point hold 3 wrs on the lbs My only wr this year was Thicket and I held that for only a day.
- This is the year we will get an WR improvement on Despair Can't wait to totally put more hours into this
- 2 WRR's will come out Webport + PQ
- I will upload more than 5 compilations I uploaded three before June and then only released one just before Christmas.
- The PQ popularity boost will occur A small influx of players have joined the game but PQ still hasn't seen a big one.
- I will organize and run a large community event The Triumvirate Pathfinding Comp!
- Reach sub 300 hours on customs Nope, at 321 hours.
- This is the year of a new cheater Theo
- Exceed 1250 hours on the leaderboards Haven't even exceeded 1250 hours lmao.

IRL Predictions:
- Achieve merit endorsement in NCEA Level 3 (3nd year doing NCEA), Merit endorsement involves getting 50 merits out of the total of 90-130 you can obtain throughout the year. Can't find this out till later.
- Be confident in my body and with what I wear daily. I bought a cosplay and some other nice clothing but I usually still just wear the same boring stuff everyday
- Become somewhat of a motivational speaker for LGBTQ teenagers, I really want to support others that have gone through what I have. Wish I could've, I've definitely helped some people this year with their transition though, shoutouts to LGBTQ MB.
- Have a stable relationship with someone, sometime throughout the year. Lol nope, have my eye on someone but idk if it'll go through.
- Obtain a restricted driver's license Fuck yeah, I also own a car now which is awesome!
- Be in a comfortable living situation with people that make me happy (currently living with my mum who's transphobic, so you know how that's going) I don't wanna discuss this.
- Start up a group/club at school. No comment
- Continue to motivate my friends with positivity and to be happy with themselves, their own unique personalities need to be shown in the world! I've seen so much vibrancy in the people around me this year despite it's horrible antics and fuck is this energy good.

MISC Predictions:
- My donation count towards the MB website ticks over $100, gotta be able to keep the servers running. Nope, sorta forgot about the game for half the year.
- Get a 400pp play in osu!standard. Nope, I did get a 300pp play thats now nerfed below 300, but still no 400.
- Finally fucking pass Solace Of Oblivion. Still haven't conquered this beast.
- Beat an extreme demon in Geometry Dash. Wahhhhhhh
- Start speedrunning some other games such as Wii Party and Sonic and Sega All Stars Racing. Got too caught up in other games to have the chance.
- Start to practice drawing, doodling here and there to improve. I've wanted to but haven't had the chance.
- At some point stop playing Hypixel Skyblock (daily game that I play).
Thank fuck I stopped playing this game, only played 14 hours of it this year which is great.

Green = 7
Orange = 3
Red = 15
Gray = 2

Tbh, this year was probably the worst year of my life as a collective but I've managed to hang in and continue to smile and support the people around me which keeps me motivated for the future. Hopefully I'll have a much better year in 2022

- 3 new mega marblers

No idea. Someone will have to fill me in. +??

I think I gave at least 3 people the mega marbler role this year, +1

I think I did pretty good with doing most things I set out to do, although I feel like I went a little too conservative on some, specifically relating to speedrunning.

Ball Shit
1. Get 120 Million Rating
- Up until December I barely gained any rating this year, with the majority of my rating (around 6 million) coming from my 100% AT grind post PQ WRR deadline and around 2 million from 60-69 Hunt levels 0_0. I thought I was gunna complete more customs in 2021 but apparently not. All this adds up to 108 million, which is where I currently stand.

2. Get into the Top 10 General Leaderboards
- yeah.... 60-69 put a wrench in this, but not like I was gunna get that far without it anyway.

3. Release 1 Satisfying Runs video this year
- I'm counting this despite Satisfying Runs 8 not consisting of levels from PQ. I think it was a nice deviation from my old formula. Makes it more flexible too.

4. Get all ATs in PQ before the rampage comes out
- Got em all one day before the Tutorial video came out! LETS FUCKING GOOOOOOOOOO

5. Get at least 1 more Hunt WR
- I got way more than just 1 this year. Not counting 60-69 hunt levels, I got 6 unique gem hunt WRs in PQ (Took Gravity Tower back from PJ, Triple Trail back from main_gi, Blender: Chop, GFF, Fault Line, and took Winter and Summer back from MBO). Including 60-69, that total would be 9. A lot more than I expected.

6. Have at least 5 WR runs in the PQ Rampage
- I thought I was gunna take a long time getting some PQ records like I did in 2019, but seems I underestimated myself. Ended up getting 16 runs total in the rampage, 4th highest. I really regret not getting all the ATs way in advance because it would've made getting WRs and finding tweaks even easier, which is exactly why August and Xedron have as many records as they do. Compared to those two and their amazing runs it feels like a lot of my runs are just filler. That probably couldn't be further from the truth but it certainly feels that way (imo only like 3 of my runs are even noteworthy).

7. Get 1 more MBG record
- I got Stepping Stones and Moebius Strip in September, I'll take it.

8. Make a Custom Level Compilation
- Satisfying Runs 8 counts

9. Make an MBG Web Port Compilation
- Made Vani proud at the last minute

10. Despair will NOT get beaten
- Not sure why some people were saying it would get beaten

11. Have at least 20 records by the end of the year
- As of now, I have 30 WRs, tied 6th with cowman overall for most WRs

12. Make 1 level
- No matter how many times I say this it still doesn't happen lol

13. Get 40 subs on Youtube
- 43 subs as of now

14. 2 WRRs will release this year
- I'm literally a prophet

15. MIU Mayhem will finally release onto Steam and Switch
- Sadly no, but there is a steam beta for it right now which will go on indefinitely, which by the looks of things, should at the earliest come out in mid 2022

IRL Shit
1. Learn to use Blender
- Why did I think this would become a reality

2. Get a Job
- I got one over the summer, made some decent money from it

3. Rona will finally settle down... right?
- I should've stayed pessimistic the omicron variant got us fucked up

4. (Minecraft) Dream stagnates in growth
- I wouldn't say he stagnated at all, though he definitely didn't grow as much in 2021 compared to 2020.

5. Have the Motivation to watch Anime again
- I got more motivation in the beginning of 2021 and it lasted for a couple months till I tried watching a Slice of Life show. I'm giving myself this one because I at least went out of my way to watch anime more, even if it didn't last the whole year.

Total Predictions gotten right: 13/20
Total Predictions gotten wrong: 7/20

Wake up earlier and more consistently.

Hahahaha no [+0]

Get a tattoo.

No, and I probably won't include this on 2022. I used to have something in mind for what I wanted tattooed but I'm not sure anymore. [+0]

Finally regain access to a suitable gym and become an absolute unit.

Yes. Absolute unit is a bit of a stretch but I'm definitely bigger than before.[+1]

Lifting numbers still not great but better than before.

True, my numbers are slowly getting into a respectable territory [+1]

Make more friends.

Not really. [+0]

Be more confident sometimes.

Less confident than before tbh [+0]

Make a longer YouTube video with strong storytelling and editing.

I think I made 1 YouTube video and it absolutely did not fulfill this criteria.[+0]

Learn something on an instrument or music software.

Hell yeah, learned how to play Clair de Lune on piano in full. [+1]

Do something with singing (make an a capella recording, etc.)

Auditioned for and got into University Chorus [+1]

Vaccine rollout is pathetically slow, preventing from accomplishing things like hosting another tournament.

Sounds about right [+1]

Cook something very labor intensive like Beef Wellington.

Made butternut squash risotto on four separate occasions (not difficult but fairly labor intensive) and some other scattered dishes that were pretty involved. Beef Wellington still on the bucket list though. [+1]

Get a higher paying job.

Yes. [+1]

Get a summer internship.

Wasn't an internship but it was a new job for the summer, so I'll allow it [+1]

Release something related to Marble Blast.

No Jumping II new path [+1]

Make some cool animations/cinematics in Blender.

Yes [+1]

Most likely playing video games less and less.

Spot on. Clocked a grand total of 12 hours on my Nintendo Switch and 0 hours on Steam. [+1]

Level 40 in Pokemon Go lol

Up to 41 now [+1]

Leave the country.

Writing this post from Mexico [+1]

4.0 at least one semester, probably Spring?

4.0 spring AND fall, get bodied [+1]

Copying one of Matan's predictions from last year: no girlfriend, but give yourself +2 if this is wrong because that would be awesome.

No +2 for me [+1]

I apply for an Area Studies Fellowship but I don't win.

I don't even remember what that is [+0]

Start using a dating app.

Used Tinder, and by "used" I mean swiped on people, got a few matches and then proceeded to not talk to them [+0.5]

Be 21.

True. [+1]

New breakfast food that isn't overnight oats.

I don't know why I wrote this one, I actually like my oats [+0]

Still in the same apartment.

For better or worse, yeah. [+1]


17.5/25 = 70%, not bad

2021 predictions don't exist. Let's go back to 2020 instead! (Yes, still taking both years into consideration though. Bite me.)

Marble Blast/Community

- Not unbanned, but still active. (+0.5)
Unbanned from the community and the leaderboards, even if the latter is more of a mutual agreement than an actual unban. Still active!

- 5 more levels released. (+1)
Two in 2020, eight in 2021. Averaged five a year!

- 2 more mods announced, none actually completed. (+1)
Can't keep track of them, but I'm 99% certain it was more than two lol

- 1.5K on YouTube. It's a stretch, but what are predictions if you're not ambitious? (+1)
Too lazy to look up when I hit 1.5K, but as of now I'm at 1.7K!

- Xedron is still alone at the top of the leaderboards, despite being online very infrequently. (+1)
Still at the top, but not alone.

- I don't meet anyone new in the community. (+1)
Pandemic happened. Saw Eguy again though!

- Some big scandal will happen. Not as big as the ban, but drama's always interesting. (+1)
Theodore.

- No public updates to Fubar. (+1)
Basically a freebie at this point.

- Someone who's currently a big name in the community is gone by the end of the year. (+1)
Like all of the staff lol

- A world record rampage, other than Gold, either gets released or announced (that's not currently in the community spreadsheet). (+1)
Webport rampage!

- Marble Blast Custom Levels (2.0) series hits 10 videos. (+1)
I didn't actually continue with the whole 2.0 part and just kept going with what I already had. What was the first video is now the 25th, and as of now I'm up to 34. That's ten!

- Packs 60-69 don't get released, but are in a releaseable state. (+0)
Even 70-79 is being talked about quite a bit.

- Someone who hasn't won a tournament before wins a tournament. (0.5)
- I'm gonna give myself half a point here because I recall Jean winning a tournament before but not one of the big ones. Grats to him!

- The top three on the leaderboards are still Xedron, Battlecube, and Xelna. Bonus point if in that order. (+1)
No bonus point, but hey. Not bad. ~14 million point gap between third and fourth place too.

Personal Life/Miscellaneous

- I earn my first degree black belt. (+1)


- I'll start doing vocal covers of songs or something of the sort. (+0)
lol imagine that

- I won't come out as anything this year. (+1)
Other people began to come out as trans instead of me again, but hey, still a point.

- Sounders don't win any trophies this year but still has a really good season. (+1)
Lost MLS Cup in 2020, lost Leagues Cup in 2021. Made the playoffs and finished second in the west both years. Let's hope next year?

- Mariners don't make the playoffs. Seahawks do though. (+0.5)
Mariners suck. Seahawks also suck, but made the playoffs in 2020. We'll just call that half a point.

- I get my hair dyed a new color. (+0)
Nope. Purple every time.

- I maintain a somewhat impressive streak on Duolingo (but don't keep it by the end of the year) because my parents make me. (+0)
Yeah no what was I thinking

- I pass all of my exams and my classes. (+1)
My university granted me a scholarship as well!

- Still going well with my girlfriend by the end of the year. Very generic thing to say, but nothing wrong with some optimism. (+1)
Almost ironic that we split up a week ago, but we're still on excellent terms and spend time with each other a lot. No on the girlfriend part, but I think the outcome of it all deserves a full point anyway.

Marble Blast/Community: 12/14
Personal Life/Miscellaneous: 5.5/9
I know it's kinda cheap to give myself an extra year for all of these, but given my ban/unban situation and with basically nothing happening in the past two years because of the pandemic anyway, I'm good with it.

Marble Blast Predictions

- Packs 60-69 will be released. (This doesn't really count as a prediction because it's going to happen imminently.)
Indeed this did happen, but I won't count it in my final tally.

- I will reach 140 million rating. (This depends heavily on how much rating is in packs 60-69.)
I'm currently at 151.6 million (I started the year with 120.3 million). I was way too conservative with my prediction here; even if packs 60-69 had less rating, I'd probably still have way more than 140 million.

- I will be at least 8th place in rating at the end of the year.
I never would've guessed that I'd be 4th at the end of the year (I started the year in 10th). Again, I was way too conservative; even if packs 60-69 had less rating, I'd probably still be 4th or 5th.

- At least one person currently behind me in rating will be ahead of me in rating by the end of the year.
nope

- I will achieve a world record. (I'm not counting eggs. I'm also not counting world records on levels in packs 60-69 for the first week after packs 60-69 are released.)
Puzzle 7 baby (Press Garden technically counts too because it wasn’t in the first week)

- The PQ rampage will be released.
Indeed it was, and I'm glad to have been in it!

- Someone will set a new world record on Despair, either the egg or the level.
Maybe it’ll happen by the time MBP WRR 4 rolls around.

- I will do at least one RTA run of either MBG or PQ.
I grinded PQ any% quite a bit. (Thank you petalflurry for helping me out with this!)

- I will NOT be 100% awesome in PQ by the end of the year.
In hindsight this was a really bad prediction (maybe I was trying a bit of reverse psychology on myself?), but I’m not even mad about it because it just shows how much progress I’ve made in MB this year.

Real Life Predictions

- I will be a coauthor on at least two papers. (I hate measuring my success/progress this way, but at least this is an objective goal.)
I got "only" one paper this year (although I hope to get another one in January). I had a pretty up-and-down year in terms of my research (that’s research for you), but I made some good progress, and I’m way closer to graduating than I was at the start of the year.

- I will give at least one conference talk.
I gave 4 conference talks this year. Many conferences were forced to go virtual due to the pandemic, which made it easier to attend but harder to meet and interact with other attendees.

- I will bike 100 miles in a day. (I've done this several times before but I really need to get back in shape.)
hahaaa nope, I still really need to get back in shape

- I will regularly wake up before 11 AM.
Nope. Even during the Fall 2021 semester, when I led a discussion section at 8 AM 3 days a week, the other 4 days a week there was no way I was getting up before 11 AM.

- In-person classes and meetings will resume at my university.
This is more right than wrong. My university is still in this weird “hybrid” state where some things are in-person and some are virtual. As for classes, I led discussion sections in person, even though lectures were virtual. As for seminars and research meetings, some were in-person and some were virtual. It may be a while, but I’m really looking forward to the day when everything is in-person again!

final tally: 7 right, 6 wrong

My predictions went okay but not great. I got 7 right and 6 wrong, but many of the predictions I got right were way too conservative, and many of the predictions I got wrong I got really wrong. It was a tough year, but it was also a year marked by incremental progress and a growing sense of self-belief, both in MB and in real life. Overall, MB is going better than I predicted, grad school is going about as well as I predicted, and we’ll ignore those 2 health/fitness goals I set for myself . I’m incredibly thankful for the time I got to spend with my family over the past year, and I’m incredibly thankful that this game and the surrounding community continue to be part of my life!

MB Stuff:
-Get at least one WR (especially PQ) GREAT DIVIDE GREAT DIVIDE GREAT DIVIDE no pq
-Get at least 50-60 Awesome Times/Scores Nope.
-Packs 60-69 gets released of course lmao.
-Achieve 100 million in the leaderboards Nope.
-Exciting stuff about Despair I guess not.
-PQ WRR gets released, as well as one more WRR (from Matan at least) yea
-Make a level lmao no.
-Donate to the team I didn't.


Other stuff:
-Become more responsible with life Maybe.
-Get good at coding HAHAHA no
-Upgrade my computer only an SSD upgrade
-Of course, no more COVID, more freedom HAHAHAHAHHAAH
-Talk more with people Nope.
-Start collecting retro tech (i.e. computers, game consoles etc.) got a few computer parts
-Doomguy in Smash, no Waluigi Nope.
-Will get to play Max Payne 3 to finish the Max Payne trilogy Finished.
-Will also get to play Just Cause 3 after the 75 hours of the second game. Not sure if I’ll play the 4th (I have it on epic since it was free so maybe, but I heard it sucks) Yea.
-Will finish reading the first three Harry Potter books LMAO no

Predictions for 2021:
Marble Blast
-The time capsule will open on 1-1-2022. False? I think it was yesterday.
-You'll have remembered to rename yourself to "2021 crashed!" or maybe "2009 + 10 crashed!" Thanks
-The community will be mainly using a different Discord server to the one that's being used right now. This did happen for around a month at the start of the year, and... I mean honestly this question was just "not higuy derpking oligarchy" anyway so... I'll say yes.
-Will you have remembered anything specific this time? Did you even remember to expect the MB time capsule this time? Uh, not really? Didn't have any specific questions on mind. As for the time capsule, mostly just remember because people brought it up.
-You'll release a custom level (at least) once. It won't be awful. Don't think I even got to the first part of that. I think PQ No Gems was 2020
-';wcboxp vsars Can't be bothered to type like a retard. The answer is no, though. Probably.
Games
-Minecraft 1.18 will be announced. Will it contain moveable tile entities? Will it contain the Aether or something similar? Will it contain anything else from popular mods? The smithing table has some real potential for Tinker's Construct-like shit. That would be epic. 1.18 is already out, and 1.19 is announced. No moveable tile entities yet, no new dimensions, I guess better worldgen fits popular modded stuff.
-Speaking of which, at least one other 1.14 work station will have new functionality in 1.17+ free my man the fletching table
-New Banjo-Kazooie game? Or at least a Banjo-Redooie?
-New Mario Kart game?
-New Mario baseball game?
Didn't include this, but we DID get Deltarune Chapter 2 at least. So that's cool
-Crash, Waluigi, and/or Doomguy will make it into Smash. Doomguy mii costume. So no.
-You'll have stopped following Minecraft so closely, but definitely won't entirely neglect it. Nah
Life
-You'll have watched at least one other anime. Little Witch Academia bussin
-AP Computer Science and Video Game Programming and Design will be remembered fondly. Latter was fun. AP classes in general are just kinda ass, though. Still got a cool video project out of it at least?
-Some digital remnant of COVID-19 will still remain in schools. Like all-digital days replacing snow/sick days or just a choice to be all digital whenever. I suppose so
-big mikus gets rickrolled. This one's not for the public eye. [winky face that doesn't become an emoji] It will be sad. I don't know if this is referring to what I think it's referring to tbh, but if it is... No. Won't elaborate further.
-Still might do some stuff with high school friends even after it's over. Thanks, internet! baaased
-You'll have been paranoid about missing the new year again. Yeah

I just realized most of these things were wrong, especially the non-MB stuff... (and idk what I was thinking for most of these) aaanyway,

2021 Predictions:
Marble Blast stuff:
-I will actually get good at MB and get a couple ATs. nope, not even a single AT. To be honest I was kinda doubting it anyway, as I lost intrest in MB for a couple months during the year.
-Packs 70-79 won't be released, and on the off chance that they actually are, it's gonna be a mix between MBG and MBU custom levels. They didn't get released, but it's looking like it's gonna be mostly PQ levels with a fair amount of MBG levels thrown in
-a random mod that’s actually good will get released. I can't think of one right now, maybe there was but as i said I kinda took a hiatus from marble blasting this year so idk exactly
-PQ will get another very exciting update (2.5.0 maybe?) We're currently on 2.6.1 according to the MB launcher.
-the PQ WRR will get released. yes.
-I will start making (and releasing) custom levels. Honestly I would've made rushed Level Editor levels anyway.

Other Stuff:
-COVID-19 won’t go away until at least summer. It never went away, and it is past summer 2021 right now.
-I will 100% Super Mario Galaxy. I don't think I even played Galaxy this year.
-I will Beat Super Paper Mario and Paper Mario Colour Splash. Same deal with these 2 games as with galaxy; I maybe played them like 5 seperate times total and that's it.
-I will 100% Splatoon 2's Story Mode. I didn't even touch the story mode this year. Splatoon 3 got announced though so that's a plus.
--I will get at least 10-20 (or mayyyybe 30) Virtual Console games on my Nintendo Wii U and 5-10 (mayyyybe 15-20) on my New 2DS. Well I got a fair amount of different types of games when it comes to 3DS games (games that also have physical versions, games that DON'T have physical versions (that category is by far the one I got the most games in), New 3DS exclusive games, DSiWare games, and of course Virtual Console games). For my Wii U, not so much.
-get 1 million points in the fever mode of Tetris 3DS (the one more commonly called Tetris Axis to be precise. My best was 906532 points (yes I checked).
-stuff I can’t remember (next year I will write my most notable things I’ve done here, and they won’t count towards my prediction-what’s-right-and-what’s-not-right-score). Well I don't even HAVE such a score to begin with.
So...
Random accomplishments:
-I discovered the beauty that is the Rhythm Paradise/Rhythm Heaven/Rhythm whatever-you-wanna-call-it series of games (I think I might put something relating to that on the predictions list)
-...I can't think of anything else right now. whyyyyyyyyy

Personal:

• I will get the COVID-19 vaccine. Done and done.
• I will finish my 1-month trial of a programming class. Only finished the first 3 days.
• I will visit the Tillamook Cheese factory at least once. Say, "Cheese!"
• I will begin investing in a new computer. Didn't happen, but is on my to-do list.

Sports:

• The Green Bay Packers will defeat the Kansas City Chiefs in Super Bowl LV. It was actually the Tampa Bay Buccaneers defeating the Kansas City Chiefs.
• The Colorado Avalanche will defeat the Carolina Hurricanes in the Stanley Cup Finals. It was actually the Tampa Bay Lightning defeating the Montreal Canadiens.
• The Los Angeles Lakers will defeat the Brooklyn Nets in the NBA Finals. It was actually the Milwaukee Bucks defeating the Phoenix Suns.
• The New York Yankees will defeat the San Diego Padres in the World Series. It was actually the Atlanta Braves defeating the Houston Astros.
• Manchester City will win the Premier League. The League is theirs!
• The United States will win the medal count at the Tokyo Olympics. That was pretty much a given.
• The Olympics will have reduced spectator capacities or even be played behind closed doors as well as having other precautions in place to reduce potential COVID-19 infections. It was all behind closed doors.

Truck Simulator:

• The Iberia expansion for Euro Truck Simulator 2 will be released in March. I was close. It was released on 8 April.
• The Wyoming expansion for American Truck Simulator will be released in June. It was actually released on 7 September.
• The Texas expansion for ATS will be released in November. It hasn't been released yet as of me typing this.
• The West Balkans expansion for ETS2 will be released in December. West Balkans wasn't announced; it was actually Heart of Russia.
• ProMods Canada will be expanded further north and east. It was expanded further north, but not further east.

Marble Blast:

• A new World Record Rampage will be released. PlatinumQuest World Record Rampage was released just before the end of the year.
• I will complete a later version of Marble Blast STOP II. Still waiting on that final update that will be released later this month.
• I will complete the newest version of Marble Blast GLC 3 (at least until the last Hard levels). I ended up completing all of the main levels and some of the extras.
• I will complete as much as I can of Marble Blast GLC 4. I completed the Easy levels, but I definitely could've done more.
• I will try to record times for the Easter Eggs in Marble Blast Platinum. I made no attempt at this whatsoever.

Other gaming:

• A New Nintendo Switch will be announced. The Nintendo Switch (OLED Model) was released, though it wasn't the completely new model I was expecting.
• AFL Evolution 3 will be released on the PS5 and Xbox Series X|S. Still waiting on that...
• I will get a PS5. I felt like I won the lottery when I secured an order for one.

Others:

• Joe Biden's inauguration will have at least a threat of violence. I made that prediction after the insurrection. Luckily, it was pretty peaceful.
• COVID-19 vaccines will roll out widely, and many restrictions will be lifted. Vaccines indeed were released to most people, but any restrictions that were lifted were reinstated with the rise of the Delta and Omicron variants.
• LeVar Burton will become the new permanent host of Jeopardy! He didn't make the cut. We have Ken Jennings and Mayim Bialik.

in lieu of 2021 predictions, I'll opt to answer the 2018 predictions that never got followed up on

hey me. hope you love being 17 (eblu are you 18 yet) and having a driver's license (after being matan'd from the driver's ed class in 2017). how was that game programming class? as of now i'm still waiting for what feels like an eternity for it to start. keep your grades high and don't slack like i did.
- yeah i'm 20 now. 21 in may. oops
- driving was cool until the car that dad gave me stopped working a few months ago. also the pandemic happened
- oh yeah the gamedev class was aight i guess. i was totally a slacker. boo I'm pretty sure I have adhd now

if any of the MB memes die (in which case it would be unfortunate), just know that i have them in my heart. may the joj reign until kingdom come.
- well I mean there are still people posting joj so I won in the end. nobody knows about "I bet that doesn't sound good from downstairs" and "pee pee butt spray on your pet jeef" anymore so I gotta be the teacher

you better start getting productive making PQ levels. i have ideas but not the skill to make it happen. speaking of which, by the time you're reading this you already have a grip on gamedev, in which case get that dang idea that you've had since like 2013 on the paper already geez.
- lol nice try, I'll just make a level when I feel like it and I'm not just popping in after a several-year hiatus
- that "dang idea" has gotten really fleshed out lately, but it's still kind of halfway on paper. I worked on another game in the meantime but had to cancel that due to tangentially related twitter drama. I love the internet

it's pretty unlikely you'll be good at MB, but in the case that you finally beat someone in gem hunt, grats! you can now participate in tourneys without getting owned in round 1.
- and now, a pizazz for your horrendously inaccurate prediction

anyway, that's all i can think of. have a rad 2019
- honestly 2019 was kind of rad but then 2020 and 2021 happened and Everything Fell Apart™

Marble Blast predictions
– I'll finally actually break 100 million general rating.
Gosh, I just couldn't find the motivation, could I? I've been around 99.5 million for months, and didn't get there. +0
– PQ WRR will be out around October 2021 and I will have at least 4 records. There will be more people in PQ #1 than there were in MBG #5.
It came out in December 2021, although I did appreciate the strict deadline. I had 0 records because college took all my time and motivation. And yes I think there were more people in PQ #1, so +1 out of 3 predictions there.
– I'll... maybe... make a level...? I have a couple ideas anyway, we'll see if it actually goes anywhere.
Okay okay I still have ideas, but I never actually got around to them. +0
– I'll make at least five more blog posts on the forums.
I made just one. +0
– HiGuy will fix no more than two of the bugs that I find and will add no more than one of the new features I request.
Technically true because HiGuy is no longer an active developer. +1
– Maybe level 42 in Multiplayer if I'm lucky.
Level 46! I outdid myself on this one. Generally loved multiplayer a lot more this year. +1
– There will never be MBG shaders in PQ.
I'm so happy I got this one wrong! Courtesy of daniel741852, PQ now has gorgeous shaders for all the levels! +0

Real Life Predictions
– I'll continue living at home for as long as I can, ideally saving money by not being on college campus.
Obviously +1
– I will encounter just one baby grand piano this year.
I don't think I actually encountered one at all. Grand pianos, sure, but not baby grands. +0
– Discord will still make up roughly 92% (±40%) of my social life.
Duh +1
– I will still be vaguely unsatisfied with my college career but be too lazy to change anything about it.
Yes, now that I discovered that CS is a field of study that I could have gone into, I am quite unsatisfied. +1
– I will become less anxious about grades due to losing the 4.0 last semester (this is unlikely).
Yup, I don't care nearly as much anymore, especially because these last two semesters have seen my grades fall significantly more +1
– "Dumb" will still be one of my favorite words and a certain friend will not convince me that the word "stupid" is superior.
Absolutely +1
– There will be a single day this winter below −25°C and nothing else. I will be sort of furious about how mild the winter was. Late 2021 will be colder than late 2020.
Checking... looks like there were two days below that temperature, and I'm honestly impressed how close this prediction is. I was sort of furious though. Also the average temperature in late 2021 was just barely above the average in late 2020, so oh well. +0
– I will put a weather station on top of a roof, or at least somewhere where I will finally be satisfied with the level of wind exposure.
Was it really that long ago that I wanted to put it on a specific roof? Still haven't gotten around to it. +0
– I will leave the house only once a week on average in 2021.
If we don't count going back to college campus, then yes +1
– By this time next year things will be much more normal than they are now and I'll play cards with high school friends again.
Not really... I didn't even get to play cards. +0
– I will learn the rest of Bach's Partita #1 on piano finally, although I'll procrastinate with a lot of Bartók along the way.
Bartók is a given, but no Bach. +0
– My interests will continue to fluctuate rapidly. I'll go through a stretch of at least three weeks where I don't play Marble Blast at all, but instead play Wii Sports Resort or do something entirely different like read a new book series.
True! I read the two Six of Crows books by Leigh Bardugo and they were very good. Also I didn't play Marble Blast for months +1
– I will find at least one new interest this year. Bonus points if I become more comfortable with Terminal.
I'm getting really into computer science! Which involves getting more comfortable with Terminal as well. +2
– I will not go to bed past 03:00 this year. I did last year and it was a bad choice.
I think the latest was 02:30 or so. +1
– Might get a next-generation (M2?) MacBook (Pro?) and hopefully there will be a redesign without the stupid butterfly keyboard which is giving me a lot of grief right now.
I did! Got an M1 Pro 16 inch MacBook Pro. Such a good purchase. +1
– I might finally give up my Mac mini, or sell it. Depends on what I can play Marble Blast on really.
Not yet, but this is still the plan for next year. +0
– Still no relationship because I'm still too scared.
Also I just haven't met anyone IRL so an easy +0

Total: 14/27, ever so slightly better than last year. 51.9%

Well, let's see here. This year wasnt great for me but I don't remember what I predicted.

Marble Blast Predictions/Goals
- Complete all challenge times on the leaderboards, I only have customs left Nope, long levels still suck
- Reach 150 million rating Yep, packs 60-69 sure helped with that
- Reach top 5 in all categories of the game I think MBU and general rating are the only ones where im top 5
- Maybe hit 100 world records? Stopped grinding WRs and dropped down to 60ish wrs
- Stream this game more often havent streamed in like a year lol
- Upload at least 5 videos (that aren't single level videos) Only uploaded one non-single level video. My single level videos were pretty good tho
- Not procrastinate trivia until the last second trivia
- Create a level maybe? nope

Real Life/Other Game Predictions/Goals
- Hit Diamond or higher in League of Legends Could've happened if I played more but didn't reach the mark
- Participate in a Clone Hero Tournament Kinda stopped playing clone hero all together
- Get my driver's license Got it in June i think
- Reach a conversational level of japanese lazy again so nope
- Expand my taste of music Kind of. Not as much as I would've liked but i definitely did expand
- Find a concert band to play trumpet in, i miss playing in a band No maybe this year tho
- Get a job Got a pretty good job too
- Not fail/drop any of my college courses dropped all my classes lmfao
- Work out regularly/gain weight and muscle nope still a skinny bitch
- Research studying abroad yes, and im going to be applying to a university in japan this year
- Generally do more stuff than just sitting around on my computer I did do a few things, and getting a job helped, but I still spend more time at my computer now than I would like to.

Well, this is a bit depressing. Hopefully 2022 can be much better. I just need to actually try now. But trying is hard.

I always look forward to this.

I will pretend to be a stranger's child in order to get the child discount at an otherwise expensive museum.

Yes

Seven different people from seven different countries will attempt to buy cigarettes from me.

Not seven.

Of the twelve aliases I currently maintain, only five of them will last until the end of the year, one of which you will likely know about.

I lost track.

An unfortunate mistake will cost someone their life, and I will be affected by it in some capacity.

Yes, unfortunately.

I will attempt to capture a raven, not a crow for God's sake.

Attempted - yes. Captured - no.

Despite the coronavirus, I will somehow still end up in Antarctica. Stranded.

Nah, not Antarctica at least...

I will purchase a petaminx, disassemble it, then use the pieces to create a real-life Pacman game in my apartment complex.

Haha, what the hell?

The apartment complex I am living in will burn down in some capacity, though this time not because of me.

Yes, this happened.

I'll witness four armed robberies, up from the two I saw last year.

Only one.

I'll plan to purchase all the vegetables at a grocery store, then use them to roleplay a full Veggie Tales episode.

Shit, forgot about this.

I will sneak into Russia via the Bering Strait, but will definitely leave before getting imprisoned.

Although I did see the Bering Strait, I never got across it.

Three of five attempts at a poker table will yield a profit, but two of those will be sheer luck.

Nope.

I'll jump out of a plane again, only this time because the plane is crashing.

Almost.

There will be no reason for me to visit Connecticut.

Correct.

There will be a reason for me to visit Vermont.

Also correct.

I'll purchase a samurai sword in Japan, then be forced to use it in a life/death situation.

Hahahahaha...

I will not witness two pandas mating, but I will witness two elephants humping. In the wild.

Yes, this happened many years ago - not sure why I put it on here.

Jeff and I will not meet up this year.

Yes, freebie.

Marble Blast Predictions:
• I will improve my rating to 8.5 million points in Marble Blast Gold. Didn't improve that much on MBG
• I will achieve 90% of all the Ultimate Times in Marble Blast Platinum. Only at 106/120 (88%)
• I will collect at least 97/98 Easter Eggs in Marble Blast Platinum. All of the LB eggs actually
• I do hope that Hypercube will not be included in Marble Blast Ultra. Still there.
• I will finally beat all but one Ultimate Times in Marble Blast Ultra if Hypercube is still included. *This also includes Hypercube
• I will beat at least one Awesome Time/Score in PlatinumQuest.
• I will finally beat the last Gold Time (Trap Door Master Edition’s) in Level Packs 10-19. Never touched that level since basically.
• I will finally beat the last two levels in Level Packs 20-29 (Fast Trak/Arrival to Marbleland). Same here.
• I will beat at least all but two levels in Level Packs 60-69. Just three left - Cherry MX Sundae, Gordian Knot, Sloped Up
• I will achieve at least 80% of all the Ultimate Times/Scores in Level Packs 60-69.
• I will finally collect the last Nest Egg in Level Packs 60-69 (Mysteriocean).
• I will improve my overall rating from 82 million points to 84 million points and will maintain above rank 40. Still above rank 50
• The following World Record Rampages will be released this year: PlatinumQuest, Nest Eggs in PlatinumQuest, and Marble Blast Gold Web Port.
• I will release at least 10 more compilations for my “Marble Blast Levels” series and I may continue with my “Egg Findings” series. *8 compilation for MBL in 2021

Apple Predictions:
• iPad mini 6, next generation iPad Pro will be released in March iPad Pro in April/iPad mini in September
• Redesigned iMac with M1X will be released in March iMac with M1 in April
• iPhone SE “Plus” and next generation AirPods Pro will be released in April only AirPods 3 in October
• iOS 15, iPadOS 15, watchOS 8, tvOS 15, and macOS 12 will be announced in June, followed by a public release in September. *macOS Monterey was released in October
• Redesigned M1X MacBook Pros will debut in June.
• iPhone “12S” lineup and Apple Watch Series 7 with new design will debut in September. *officially called iPhone 13
• iPad 9 will debut in September featuring the same A12 SoC but have the same thinner design as iPad Air 3 from 2019. iPad 9 actually features A13 but retains same design
• M2 Macs will be released in November, including MacBook Air, base MacBook Pro, and Mac mini. But we got new MacBook Pros in October

Personal Predictions:
• I will meet at least one new friend. This was especially true.
• I will face another difficult moment that will change my life for the better.
• I will achieve something remarkable that I thought I’ve never achieved before.
• I will continue with my favorite hobbies and further improve my skills.