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Lelouch

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  • 2 weeks later...

Anyone heard anything interesting out of E3 this year?  I’ve been trying to find time to watch the newsfeed(s) but  so far not having much luck.  I’m also not a big console player (SIL has an Xbox, brother has a PS but I just have an old GBA) so most of it is  kinda n/a as far as I’m concerned.

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  • 2 weeks later...

So the last (pre 2.0) version of Kerbal Space Program just dropped.  There's now an alarm clock and a transfer orbit calculator built into my fav game!  Basically the Kerbal Alarm Clock and Transfer Window Planner mods are now part of stock.  These are two mods that I don't play without so I'm completely in favor of the change.  KAC especially should have been there long ago but at least it finally happened.

 

 

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  • 3 weeks later...

I so want to get the Cottage Living expansion for the Sims 4! There’s other Sims 4 stuff I want as well, but it’s gonna be a long time before I can buy more for that haha. 
 

Not too long ago I got Cities: Skylines for super cheap through Steam. Haven’t actually played it yet (I’m on a Sims kick at the moment), but I’m suuuuuper looking forward to it. 
 

Hmm, I should probably also see if I can restore my village in Banished. It got slammed by a couple tornadoes the last time I played, ruined a whole bunch of buildings and very sizeable chunk of the population. I miiiiiight be able to just barely save my village and rebuild, takes some serious priority management though, which is why I stopped playing for awhile hahaha!

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On 7/10/2021 at 7:45 PM, Kohloo said:

I so want to get the Cottage Living expansion for the Sims 4! There’s other Sims 4 stuff I want as well, but it’s gonna be a long time before I can buy more for that haha. 
 

Not too long ago I got Cities: Skylines for super cheap through Steam. Haven’t actually played it yet (I’m on a Sims kick at the moment), but I’m suuuuuper looking forward to it. 
 

Hmm, I should probably also see if I can restore my village in Banished. It got slammed by a couple tornadoes the last time I played, ruined a whole bunch of buildings and very sizeable chunk of the population. I miiiiiight be able to just barely save my village and rebuild, takes some serious priority management though, which is why I stopped playing for awhile hahaha!

Never could get into The Sims games.  Might be partly due to an old house (irl) that constantly needs repairs & upgrades.  Seemed kinda.. redundant.  :D

C:S otoh.. that’s one of my favorites.  I played SimCity to death.  I was there at the beginning with the original Maxis version on the Amiga platform and snatched up most of the non-windos versions as soon as they were released.  I had the Loki port to Linux of SC3K, and I even had a mobile version on the old Palm Pilot. 😮  I had to give SC up due to EA’s BS but I grabbed Cities: Skylines up as soon as it came out.  Never looked back.

Works ok on Linux via Steam btw.  I ran into some issues early on but lately it has been working much better.  (Knock on wood.)  Not a big fan of DLC but I do have a few key bits like sunset harbor, industries, green cities, and mass transit that improve gameplay.  (IMO anyway)  And after dark just for the eye candy.  A few key mods like node controller, anarchy, move it, and TM:PE as well.

Now if I could just find some time to play it.  😭  

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12 hours ago, efaardvark said:

Never could get into The Sims games.  Might be partly due to an old house (irl) that constantly needs repairs & upgrades.  Seemed kinda.. redundant.  :D

C:S otoh.. that’s one of my favorites.  I played SimCity to death.  I was there at the beginning with the original Maxis version on the Amiga platform and snatched up most of the non-windos versions as soon as they were released.  I had the Loki port to Linux of SC3K, and I even had a mobile version on the old Palm Pilot. 😮  I had to give SC up due to EA’s BS but I grabbed Cities: Skylines up as soon as it came out.  Never looked back.

Works ok on Linux via Steam btw.  I ran into some issues early on but lately it has been working much better.  (Knock on wood.)  Not a big fan of DLC but I do have a few key bits like sunset harbor, industries, green cities, and mass transit that improve gameplay.  (IMO anyway)  And after dark just for the eye candy.  A few key mods like node controller, anarchy, move it, and TM:PE as well.

Now if I could just find some time to play it.  😭  

Hopefully you get some time soon! 
 

I didn’t get any DLC with it because I couldn’t afford to and I figured I should probably learn how to play the darn thing first before even thinking about DLC haha. And even then I’ll probably explore mods waaaaay before I think about DLC lmao!

I’ve heard great things about the game, and it totally looks like something I can get absorbed into, so I’m pretty stoked I got it finally <3

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So I opened my Steam client for the first time in a while and noticed Valve has announced a new toy.  Their "Steam Deck", a new portable gaming platform that looks like it might give the just-announced OLED Switch some competition.  The blurb says, "It is a Zen 2 + RDNA 2 powerhouse, delivering more than enough performance to run the latest AAA games in a very efficient power envelope."  Supposedly available in December, assuming the asian chipmakers can get their logistics sorted out by then, but you can place a reservation now.  Prices of between $400 and $650 have been announced as well, depending on model.  More specs and such available here.

Interesting?  Or another Steam Machine style flop? 

Edited by efaardvark
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  • 2 months later...
  • 2 weeks later...

So I was just checking out the new HTC VIVE Flow.  This looks like an awesome (if unreleased) VR headset.  Specs-wise it isn't top-of-the-line, or even anything to brag about in terms of electronics, framerate, field of view.  It does have "flat" optics with per-eye diopter settings, but it doesn't have IPD adjustment.  What makes it awesome (IMHO anyway) is the 6dof inside-out tracking, 189g headset weight, and 1600 x1600 per eye resolution.  Its power source is a separate battery pack, and the headset provides 5 minutes runtime so you can hot-swap packs and essentially run indefinitely.  For better or worse.  :) 

However, after having said this looks awesome I also have to say I'm not going to be buying one any time soon.  (And unfortunately "not soon" means essentially never in the world of VR headsets since by the time they do get it right someone else will no doubt have something even better.)  What kills it for me is essentially the price.  $500 wouldn't necessarily be a show-stopper, but that price does not include anything but the headset.  No controllers, power brick, or even a cable for the power brick.  You even have to buy a new phone to use as a controller, and the phone has to be Android.  No idea why they thought they could get away with this last restriction.

I can see (maybe) why the Flow doesn't support Oculus's Touch controllers, but the HTC VIVE's controllers should at least be an option.  Being able to possibly use your existing controller(s) would at least have made this an option for people with such.  By the time I buy a controller and a power brick + cable we're probably talking over $1k, and combined with the decent-but-unexceptional specs it just isn't compelling enough to fork out that kind of money.  A new headset that is compatible with the existing hardware ecology would be one thing.  A $500 stand-alone headset that you actually need to spend 4 figures on to get working kit is quite another.

All THAT said, I have to admit that this came very close.  The low-weight and ultra portability combined with good-enough specs -could- have easily made the Flow a Quest-killer.  The form-factor is extremely compelling.  I've seen some headsets that are bigger (& heavier) than desktop computers I've built!  The Flow correctly chooses to head in the opposite direction.  I could see myself wearing something like this comfortably for several hours a day.  (Er, is that a good thing?  🤔 )

But unfortunately this just makes be really, really interested in seeing what the near future of VR has in store.  I can hardly wait until someone comes out with something exactly like this but with OLED displays and including either its own phone/controller or supporting existing controllers.  And a power brick.  Hopefully the specs and price on the web page are just a test of interest and HTC will have a more compelling product when actually released.

Edited by efaardvark
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  • 4 weeks later...

FWIW humble is offering a “survive or die” bundle which includes Empyrion.  Empy is a space-themed survival game that’s like a cross between Space Engineers and Minecraft.  (Though more towards the SE end of the spectrum.)  I’ve got it and used to play it a lot but I haven’t had much time for any games lately and I haven’t played it at all since the update.  Not sure about the other titles in the bundle but I thought there might be some interest so…
 

https://www.humblebundle.com/games/survive-or-die

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  • 2 weeks later...
12 hours ago, Zila said:

They're supposed to add two or three more characters. xD

I usually wait for the re-release editions that include all the extra content later. Like Injustice and Mortal Kombat. Do you like the Guilty Gear universe or nah? :)  

 I do been playing guilty gear for some years now im looking forward to seeing what characters they plan to add 

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  • 2 months later...

Blizzard + MSFT??  Who thought that was a good idea?  For $69B US cash!  This makes MSFT the 3rd biggest gaming company by revenue.

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-01-19/microsoft-msft-activision-blizzard-atvi-deal-shows-big-tech-metaverse-push

Edited by efaardvark
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22 hours ago, efaardvark said:

Blizzard + MSFT??  Who thought that was a good idea?  For $69B US cash!  This makes MSFT the 3rd biggest gaming company by revenue.

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-01-19/microsoft-msft-activision-blizzard-atvi-deal-shows-big-tech-metaverse-push

Holy cow-- yeah my brother was talking about this too! 
I've known Blizzard for awhile now from their own games, mostly from Overwatch, and hearing this news is INSANE! Really wasn't expecting this...

But, as we know, Microsoft is...well..HAS always been a big company, and this just brings them to the top even more.

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Ok, I gotta ask.  Regarding the just-released "low end" RX 6500 GFX card for $200 MSRP (street price $280ish), is it a good deal given the circumstances surrounding its release, or is it simply predation by a company who has - along with most of the rest of the industry - announced record profits this year and knows that beggars can't be choosers.

Seems to me that they're trying to get away with releasing a "cheap" card (relatively speaking) that can't even compete performance-wise with similarly-priced cards from 5 or 6 years ago just because they think us customers have been through so much industry-wide crap in the past few years that we'll go for anything that's less unacceptable than the status quo. 

Kind of like when Emperor Ming said, "Let's just say they'll be satisfied with less."  :angry:💢

Edited by efaardvark
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  • 2 weeks later...

So Valve is not only releasing CAD files for modders of their Steam Deck, now it seems like they're opening up the repair scene a bit as well by partnering(?) with iFixit to make after-market repair parts and documentation available.  Nice.

If you haven't seen the Steam Deck's "A Look Inside" video then you might want to check that out as well.  Looks like appropriate use of industry standard interfaces and protocols and not a lot of needlessly custom parts.  They seem to be pretty open about the repair and upgrade possibilities, even giving a nod to the "right to repair" movement in the announcement(s).  Again, a nice change from the practices of certain industry "leaders" in the consumer electronics space, like say Apple or Sony, who clearly think they still own "your" hardware even after you've paid for it.

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  • 4 weeks later...

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