🏗️ I Dropped a Million Bombs and Called It Engineering

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Hello Fellow Engineers!

Welcome to Real Civil Newsletter - the only newsletter where giant LED eyeballs get structurally analysed, architects get gently humiliated, and dogs still outperform chartered engineers.

This edition, we’re heading to Vegas for a deep dive into the MSG Sphere, the world’s most high-tech glowing ball. We also drop an irresponsible number of bombs in the name of indie game science, revisit a classic Paddy moment involving a stick and shame, and review a bridge that proves engineers can make things curvy without needing an existential crisis.

Strap in, stay braced, and read on.

Let’s dive into it 👇

This week, we’re giving away THREE copies of Moleconomy! 🐾💰

If you’ve ever wanted to build a thriving subterranean empire powered by mole labour, this is your moment. Dig tunnels, hoard resources, and prove once and for all that even underground economies need proper civil engineering.

And now, the moment you’ve been waiting for… 🥁

🏆 josephdsl38🏆
🏆 rhysking104🏆
🏆 t-reineke🏆

Check your email for your game key and get ready to burrow your way to economic glory!

Didn’t win? Don’t tunnel into despair - more giveaways coming soon!

Want a chance at the next one? Don’t forget to vote in this week’s Civil Draft poll! 🌉

👷‍♂️ Truss Me, I’m an Engineer…

The MSG Sphere: Vegas' Giant Pixelated Noggin

Alright engineers, brace your beams, we’ve got a wild one this week. Nestled in the neon chaos of Las Vegas is something that only engineers could’ve made happen… and something architects definitely tried to mess up before we took the project away from them. Introducing: the MSG Sphere, a 366-foot-tall LED eyeball that’s watching you judge your life choices on the Strip.

Built by the actual heroes (read: engineers), this $2.3 billion dome of digital madness is officially the world’s largest spherical structure and boasts:

• 580,000 square feet of programmable LED on the outside

• A 16K resolution wraparound screen inside

• A sound system so advanced it can direct audio like a laser beam (no joke, beamforming tech, thank you, engineers)

• Vibration systems in the seats for that "rumble your bones with bass" experience

• A capacity of 18,600 people who can all say "what in the emoji hell is that?" in perfect unison

Let’s be real, only engineers could convince a city to build a high-tech Death Star that moonlights as a confused emoji. Architects? They would’ve tried to wrap it in reclaimed driftwood and called it “an experiential metaphor for the cyclical human experience.” No thanks.

The real genius, though, is in the structure’s engineering. The steel exoskeleton supports a ridiculous load of LED panels and audio hardware. It’s built to withstand Vegas heat, high winds, and most importantly… the weight of the architect’s egos trying to claim credit.

TL;DR
Vegas has a giant glowing sphere that projects everything from a blinking eyeball to a confused yellow face, and it’s all thanks to engineers who knew exactly how to flex.

⚡ Cool Links

🌊 China kicks off “world’s largest” hydropower project
A five‑dam, $170 billion super-dam in Tibet is under construction - India & Bangladesh are spooked.

💥 San Francisco rebuilds via a lesser-known tunnel feat
The Mile Rock Tunnel revival has been critical in city recovery. since when do architects handle blasting through rock? Precisely never.

👹 The Wandering Village hits 1.0- build on a giant six‑legged monster
After 5 years in early access, manage villagers, research, story mode and even parasitic drama. Engineers build symbiosis; architects just draw circles. You might remember my video on it!

⚡️ Elsewhere Electric releases today
One player in VR, one on mobile, solving facility hazards, ideal for engineering brains.

🗾 Zach Barth (Coincidence) talks Kaizen: A Factory Story
Automation puzzles set in ’80s Japan, with real build‑it‑tight vibes, engineers rejoice, architects panic over efficiency

✨ Civil Draft: You've Unlocked the Good Stuff

It’s happened.

The Booshter Pack has now been filled with 7 pre-order exclusive cards - but the goals aren’t over yet.

Next up: we’re aiming to upgrade them to holographic versions. Yep, shiny, sparkly, engineer-approved holographics. And better still, you’ll be voting on which card gets upgraded each time. Democracy, but with more glitter.

Thanks to your pre-ordering, we’ve now packed the Booshter with seven limited-edition, gold-icon alt-art and blueprint cards. Same stats and rarity as the standard versions, but infinitely more brag-worthy. The gold icon proves you were here early, a true civil draft veteran.

Let’s take a look at what your button-clicking has achieved so far:

1. Matt and Paddy (Alt Art)
Paddy still provides the brains. I still take the credit. This sunset sprint version captures us in peak heroic form - mid-stride, hard hats on.

▶️ Original: calm countryside bonding
🎨 Alt Art: cinematic “run into battle” energy

2. The Beavles (Alt Art)
You asked for Sgt. Pepper... we gave you Sawdust Pepper's Lonely Hearts Engineer Crew. Same Let It Be-Aver attack, now with 100% more technicolour.

▶️ Original: rooftop jam session
🎨 Alt Art: full psychedelic beaver parade.

3. Real Civil Architect (Alt Art)
Look. People keep accusing me of being the Real Civil Architect. So I leaned in.
Alt-art Matt is now officially my own worst enemy, plotting schemes, stroking the cat, and probably ordering curved glass for no reason.

▶️ Original: villain in designer turtleneck
🎨 Alt Art: how my community really sees me
✨ Bonus: Gold icon for added evil flair

Each order still comes with a free Booshter Pack - packed with these glorious gold-icon alt-arts - but now the mission has shifted: we’re upgrading them to holographics.

That’s right: same stats, same rarity, but now with full shiny flex potential. And the best bit? You’ll be voting on which cards get the holo treatment first.

Oh - and if we keep hitting more goals, who knows what other rewards we have in store?

…Well I do, but you'll have to hope the community can unlock them to find out for yourself!

📦 Pre-orders close soon.

Don’t miss your chance to help shape the final form of the Booshter — and secure your spot in civil card history (with bonus Paddy).

Have you already secured your Booshter packs?

Select your answer below and you’ll be whisked off to the Booshter page to secure your cards, check the unlocks, or just admire the alt-art glory

🐕‍🦺 Paddy’s Corner

Dog outsmarts professional engineer...

Throwback alert! Two years ago, my apprentice Paddy outsmarted a professional engineer (me 😅) with nothing but a stick and sheer determination. I said it wouldn’t fit... he said, “watch this.”

🐾 Paddy 1 – Matt 0

Watch Paddy prove me wrong below:

👾 Indie Game of the Week:

Just uploaded a very responsible video where I drop millions of grenades on unsuspecting terrain - all in the name of profit and pixelated destruction! Click and Conquer is like Digseum meets spreadsheet simulator, but with more explosions and fewer questions from HR.

You earn cash by bombing the land, invest in research, prestige for multipliers, and repeat - it's the perfect loop for any engineer with a god complex and a calculator. There are tanks, intel papers, prestige trees, and a UI that may or may not require a microscope.

🎥 Click here to witness me commit war crimes

It’s time for a Bridge Review!

This week, we’re crossing the iconic Octávio Frias de Oliveira Bridge, AKA “Ponte Estaiada”, a beast of bold engineering, not just prettier scenery for your architect’s ego.

🚧 Engineering Feats (that architects don’t get 😉)

• Twin curved road decks, each supported by cables from a unique X‑shaped concrete pylon, never before seen in the world. The decks elegantly cross below the tower, one at 12 m and the other at 24 m elevation.

• 144 stay cables interlace across those curves, distributing load intelligently, real problem-solving, not just swoopy lines architects drool over.

• Tower stands 138 m tall, massive, but necessary to counteract forces from the curved decks

Architectural Flair?

• Sure, it’s dramatic to look at.

• But unlike many ultra-architectural vanity projects, every curve here exists for structural balance, not just Instagram aesthetics.

• So yes, architects might brag it’s an “architectural gesture”, but engineers know it’s balance, gravity, and load paths, not a sly flex.

Final Score: 8.9

If you want a bridge where form truly follows function, and doesn’t get sacrificed to an architect’s mood board, this São Paulo stunner is the gold standard. Nesse civil triumph? Check. Unnecessary flair? Nonexistent.

🏗 r/realcivilengineer Spotlight

🤔 Thoughts from an Engineer