LoamImprovement

@[email protected]

Oh god, please don’t make me talk about myself.

This profile is from a federated server and may be incomplete. Browse more on the original instance.

LoamImprovement,

The same as anything else in a Bethesda game, busywork.

LoamImprovement,

The mark of good satire is to skirt the line between truth and fiction such that you can’t discern which it is at first glance.

LoamImprovement,

Ironically, this is an excellent demonstration of the significance of ignoring pragmatics.

LoamImprovement,

Weren’t they floating codename Deckard a while back? If they can make a handheld that plays modern titles reliably, a standalone headset on par with the Quest seems about the right speed as far as next steps goes.

LoamImprovement,

I think I can get onboard, but what about 38%

LoamImprovement,

Some Hans Moleman energy right there.

LoamImprovement,

No, I mentioned the voyages.

LoamImprovement,

I have a friend who says it needs to go one of two ways - either encumbrance matters hard and is super realistic, where you can reliably carry 30-60 lbs of gear for long distances, and that’s it, or it just doesn’t exist and you can lug around as much shit as you want and abstract out the rest, because the middle ground where PCs can carry like 250 lbs of shit leads to a game where you’re constantly just sorting through your inventory about the best vendor trash you think you can packrat to sell while moving through a dungeon, and that’s slow and unfun. The low carry weight turns every interaction into “is it better than my current gear?” which is really easy to answer in the moment, and when weight doesn’t matter, you just hoover it up and sell it when you get a chance.

LoamImprovement,

Granted, I’m only like five of the twelve hours in I’m supposed to be before the game starts getting good, but my god they made some baffling design choices here. Possibly the most egregious is the fact that every skill comes with leveling requirements - for example, the worst offender I’ve seen is the oxygen (stamina) skill requiring you to completely exhaust your meter 20 times before you can put a second point in. (Worth noting, ‘completely exhaust’ in this context means deplete both the regular O2 meter and max out the CO2 meter, which depletes more slowly than the O2 refills) The only way to reliably and safely do this, considering you only really need stamina in short bursts when playing normally, is to literally just run fucking laps. Bad and boring, to the point that I will say, without a hint of sarcasm, that the person responsible for making it this way should be moved off the team. I cannot fathom how that person arrived at the conclusion that doing chores was somehow the most exciting and innovative way to spice up FO4’s perk system, because that’s all it is underneath, and it is an aggressive waste of time.

LoamImprovement,

Meanwhile, the audience: “Holy shit, two Ramirezes!”

LoamImprovement,

I have had great times with my Deck, I picked up the 256 GB and upgraded with a 1TB MicroSD. I have to say, as hardware goes, it’s quite solid. It’s also very easy to get into the Linux backend and set it up for emulation and other side loading, and it does 6th Gen and back reasonably well, with a couple forward for the Nintendo line. I haven’t tried it myself but as I understand it, it’s a reasonably good build even for the switch. I’m not usually a device fanboy but I’m actually looking forward to the next iteration.

As for high performance, I can verify for Elden Ring, as with pretty much all of the modern titles, it runs at a steady 30 FPS 720p, with the occasional dip. If you fly long flights a lot, it’s great - just be cognizant of the low battery life and run on AC where you can.

Looking for games with unique core mechanics

I’m requesting for recommendations for games that stand out from the rest in their genre, and not in the sense of being the best game in that niche but actually bringing something new and innovative to the table. I’ve not had much experience in gaming, but I have a few games to give you a hint on what I am talking about:...

LoamImprovement,

To be fair, QWOP is a walking sim, it’s just that you’re really bad at it.

LoamImprovement,

I mean, depending on your definition of ‘supposed to be,’ one could argue that the Juicero was, amidst a sea of devices and peripherals obsessed with getting a piece of the action on the Internet of Things, poised to revolutionize the way the home consumer juiced their fruit and veg. It’s not even all that difficult to imagine the pitch those responsible might have led with: “No more squeezing, no more cleanup, just fresh-pressed juice delivered to you weekly at the push of a button.”

For those readers who don’t recall the Juicero, here’s what was wrong with it:

  • For starters, it was way too expensive. If I told you all this thing did was take a bag of fruit chunks and squeeze it out of a spigot, how much would you think such a device would set you back. $40? $60? $100? Try $699. They did later lower the price… To $399.
  • But surely this marvel of engineering would justify the ludicrous price tag, I hear some of you say. Yes, this wondrous device was capable of a great many things, including… Pressing two plates slowly together to crush chunks of fruit and squeeze them out of a bag. And… Well, that’s really the whole deal. But certainly not, say, something you could easily do by hand, and save yourself half a grand.
  • Actually, I lied about the above part - it was capable of a few other neat things, when connected to the Internet. Well, it required an internet connection to work, so, hope you have that in your kitchen! But it offered so much more than squeezing juice bags slightly better than human hands. It could tell you if the juice bag was expired! Or there was a safety recall! Or a non-juicero brand! And refuse to squeeze the bag in any of those cases.

Obviously, the thing flopped, hard, in one of those rare cases where consumers by and large realized “Hey, this thing is really fucking dumb!” But it called out to a much larger issue, where Silicon Valley entrepreneurs were fetishizing the possibility of the Internet of Things, with similarly ridiculous products shoehorned with ‘smart’ capabilities. Smart shoes, smart salt shakers, smart umbrellas, the whole fucking nine. Everyone obsessed with collecting data and offering minimal benefit to users in exchange. And the worst part of is, they didn’t really make money on the Juicero itself, so over-engineered it was. The long term goal was to charge for subscriptions of overpriced juice bags, at $5 a glass. It was a preview of things to come, I suppose.

LoamImprovement,

God I feel that. Right up there with Peter’s request to his therapist to zonk him out during work hours, make him think he enjoys it. Honestly either of those and I think my brain would clear right up.

LoamImprovement,

Kids in America are so fucking cruel. We’re taught pretty much from the get-go that it’s everyone for themselves, and the only thing that keeps it from turning into Lord of the Flies is the school’s culpability if one kid kills another.

LoamImprovement,

Statistically speaking, it’s a lifetime supply.

LoamImprovement,

The you’re addressing here is The four-point scale, which exists primarily because rating a low score on a big developer’s game is a good way to ensure you don’t receive review copies ahead of release, something reviewers live and die on because their fans want to know ahead of time whether the game is any good. In that sense, it’s a bit of a paradox - you can’t be sure at face value whether the 4 out of 5/8 out of 10/83% was something that the reviewer genuinely levied against the game as a fair criticism of flaws and/or commendation of positive experiences, or if they give it a high number because they’re afraid of biting the hand that feeds.

LoamImprovement,

It is very clear to anyone who has flown with Air Canada that they view their customers at an inconvenience.

I mean, really, that’s true of almost any airline.

LoamImprovement,

How often and long they twirl their mustache.

Stops idly twirling mustache

Can you, uh… elaborate on that?

LoamImprovement,

It also exists in GURPS:

Common Sense

Cost: 10 points

Common Sense is a mental, mundane advantage that results in the GM making a Will roll when you have your character start to do something the GM feels is stupid. On a success the GM can warn the player ala “Hadn’t you better think about that?” (Basic Set 43)

LoamImprovement,

Yeah, that always came across as “I’m trying to neg you but I ran out of my best insults like an hour ago so I’m throwing shit at the wall to see what sticks.” Same with the adopted joke.

LoamImprovement,

NEEDS TO TAKE BACK 18, NEXT!

LoamImprovement,

STILL LOOKING?

LoamImprovement,

The best case scenario is that it releases in whatever broken mess it ends up being, with good bones and the same kind of thoughtful worldbuilding B1 had, and the community picks it up similarly and makes it into a cult classic.

I’m not holding my breath though, people are still scratching their heads on the developer announcement.

LoamImprovement,

I love it for the most part, the only thing I wish they’d change is the cleanliness tols for smaller or larger objects. It’s not fun to try and pixel hunt the last bit of rust on the inside of a wheel, and it’s a little disappointing to get almost done with a big flat panel only for the game to decide you’re done before you can spray off that last little chunk.

LoamImprovement,

Yeah, like I picked up an 8TB SSD for like $300 the other day to move shit off of three old platter drives, I still have room to spare. A 1TB is like $60, that’s less than the cost of the game.

LoamImprovement,

I’d settle for just a normal sex cult.

Duet AI for Google Meet can take notes, summarize, and even attend meetings - The Verge (www.theverge.com)

Another new Meet feature lets Duet “attend” a meeting on your behalf. On a meeting invite, you can click an “attend for me” button, and Google can auto-generate some text about what you might want to discuss. Those notes will be viewable to attendees during the meeting so that they can discuss them.

LoamImprovement,

Better yet, let the bots meet by themselves so I can relax.

LoamImprovement,

Not well, but I got some practice with an old beetle back when I was learning. I’ve kept the practice of keeping lefty on the dead pedal because of it.

LoamImprovement,

Not OP but I can at least throw a minor pet peeve in that hat - Mage hand only works once per short rest, instead of as an at will as the cantrip should.

LoamImprovement,

That feels kind of like saying “in a galaxy with holodecks, who would still know how to paint?” Cooking is a skill and an art, and I’m sure there are plenty of people who do it casually in the future for the enjoyment of creating something with their own hands.

Amazon CEO reportedly told remote employees: ‘It’s probably not going to work out’ - The Verge (www.theverge.com)

Amazon CEO Andy Jassy recently told employees that those who do not want to return to the office at least three days a week should consider finding employment elsewhere. According to a recording obtained by Insider, Jassy stated “It’s past the time to disagree and commit,” adding that if employees cannot commit to the new...

LoamImprovement,

I tell you one way they could do that - offer extra money to people for every day they’re in the office, to offset the expenditures on gas, maintenance, and incidentals, as well as the opportunity cost of time lost on commute and preparing meals. I did the math, with the thirty minute commute one way, I save about $2.5K a year on gas alone.

LoamImprovement,

whatever terrible reason sounded good to them

Commercial property values. They want the offices full so their investment retains value. Dassit.

LoamImprovement,

It’s funny, because the original purpose of that phrase was “There is a period during which you can voice your concerns about new or changed ops and procedures, and once the dust has settled, you’ll feel better about what comes out of the oven because you had a hand in making it.” Instead, the new age Jack Welch management types saw the phrase and decided it means “You don’t have to like what we say but you have to obey it.”

Surprisingly, the latter interpretation does not lead to a happier healthier workplace with high retention rates. Who would’ve thought?

LoamImprovement,

I got into tabletop gaming in the late highschool/early college years, y’know, as you do, and I thought, “oh, this is neat, I can have fun with friends and draw my own maps on this dry erase mat, print out a couple paper character sheets and one set of dice, and maybe a couple books as I can afford them so I’m not snagging the DM’s copy, not even a hundred dollars a year.”

And then Dwarven Forge ran a Kickstarter for Game Tiles.

LoamImprovement,

Careful the devil doesn’t trip over that bar.

LoamImprovement,

So homo, if you will.

LoamImprovement,

Honestly, at this point every AAA title should just be treated as having a release date of 3mo to a year out from the actual launch. There’s zero reason to buy a game before day one, and any developer that tries to give you one a la cosmetic preorder bonuses probably doesn’t have a product worth your money, and is just trying to milk your FOMO for every dollar it’s worth.

LoamImprovement,

You’re going to have to explain this one to me, because I assume this happens among K-12 children all the time.

LoamImprovement,

I would definitely suggest Heaven’s Vault, very good, vibrant artwork in that game, and lots of variety.

LoamImprovement,

And the Mojo Dojo Casa House ‘selling like hotcakes.’ And the CEO pooh-poohing a ‘regular barbie’ before immediately reversing course when he’s told it’ll be super profitable.

Honestly it’s got shades of the Charlie Brown Christmas Special, that weird dichotomy of Charlie Brown depressed by the rampant consumerism of the holiday season bookended by Hallmark ads with the new peanuts ornaments. But the lesson the special teaches is to find your own meaning in the holiday, and that it is inviolable by the consumerism so long as it still means something else to you.

LoamImprovement,

There are so many good conversations going on in that movie, everyone I talked to who had watched it said it was good but I was not prepared for just how many topics it covers so artfully. And god, I could listen to Ferrera’s monologue over and over again.

LoamImprovement,

Talked with a bunch of current and ex-coworkers about what a shit storm the workplace is. I don’t know that I’ll ever have enough motivation to leave.

LoamImprovement,

The crushing weight of knowing there is a crushing weight waiting but not being weighed down by it at the moment, but knowing that the crushing will resume at some undetermined point in the future.

LoamImprovement,

Balenciaga is quite good.

LoamImprovement,

The things she says will confuse and frustrate you. She will pretend to love and care for you. She will abuse you. She will hurt you. She will threaten you and manipulate you. She will try to make you believe it’s your fault. She will make you question whether you really experienced the things that happened to you. She will lean on you. She will expect and even demand things of you that no mother should ask of their child.

Go and build a network of support. Look at how other kids behave with their families. Yours is not normal or healthy. You are not a checked box on somebody’s list. You are not a trophy to be paraded around. You are not her friend or her therapist. You are not a dog to be whipped into obedience. You are your own person. She will never give you the stability you need or the love you deserve.

There will be times that you will not feel safe. You will get out. You’ll find friends who will shelter you, couches to sleep on. They see your pain. They understand. It will be okay. It does get better. I love you, and you will learn to love yourself.

And hey, it’s not all doom and gloom, yeah? The games are so fucking good. Like there’s a lot of trash but there’s story and writing in some of these that’s so profound and it brings you so much joy. I know it’ll be hard to believe at times, but it’s worth sticking around.

deleted_by_author

    •
    LoamImprovement,

    Damn, I wish you’d asked me this a week from now, I just put in an order for an 8TB SATA SSD to go from 7TB onboard to 14 after removing a dated 1TB drive.

    LoamImprovement,

    I mean, when you condemn homebrew for being stronger than official options, please remember that the range of official options includes both 4E Monk and Peace Domain Cleric. Stronger than the former is almost a given, stronger than the latter is probably best kept on dandwiki.

    I usually give a pass to LaserLlama and KibblesTasty homebrew options because they’re well designed and tend to fit squarely between the ranges provided - as a bonus, LaserLlama makes their martials way more fun for experienced players.

  • All
  • Subscribed
  • Moderated
  • Favorites
  • •
  • random
  • uselessserver093
  • Food
  • aaaaaaacccccccce
  • test
  • CafeMeta
  • testmag
  • MUD
  • RhythmGameZone
  • RSS
  • dabs
  • KamenRider
  • TheResearchGuardian
  • KbinCafe
  • Socialism
  • oklahoma
  • SuperSentai
  • feritale
  • All magazines
    •