Lapbunny's recent activity
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Comment on Donald Glover surprise-drops a new Childish Gambino album, Atavista, featuring Ariana Grande, 21 Savage and more in ~music
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Comment on What games have you been playing, and what's your opinion on them? in ~games
Lapbunny (edited )LinkAfter being on the fence about the immediate good word of mouth around Animal Well, I read one comparison to "Outer Wilds and The Witness" and immediately bought it. Didn't think it was the best...After being on the fence about the immediate good word of mouth around Animal Well, I read one comparison to "Outer Wilds and The Witness" and immediately bought it. Didn't think it was the best comparison at first, but the game convinced me otherwise. Some of this stuff it does makes me cackle with glee. Like, cackle with glee. Remember that feeling? Christ.
Games like this, Riven, and Outer Wilds aren't just special because puzzles; it's not just that moment you learn something was in front of you all along; it's not just the integration of puzzles into the environment, anthropology, or story. It's getting the hand-turn reveals to make something else click in your head - and making you want to adventure back across the world, and trip on something along the way, and tumble into a whole other rabbit hole. (Literally, here!) There's such whimsy and I have no idea where else it's going. I'm absolutely loving it.
Dunkey picked the right game to stick his brand on, his money's where his mouth is on games bucking AAA trends.
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Comment on Ubisoft shut down The Crew. Here is what we can do about it. in ~games
Lapbunny Link ParentThere's a pretty fun analog horror-style channel that's making a ton of videos to spread the word about Stop Killing Games: https://youtube.com/@jakediditagainThere's a pretty fun analog horror-style channel that's making a ton of videos to spread the word about Stop Killing Games: https://youtube.com/@jakediditagain
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Comment on What games have you been playing, and what's your opinion on them? in ~games
Lapbunny Link ParentArceus felt like a Pokemon game that would've been in my head when I was 5. I utterly adored it, and I hope it's still a fresh testing ground for ideas in the future that they don't feel mired...Arceus felt like a Pokemon game that would've been in my head when I was 5. I utterly adored it, and I hope it's still a fresh testing ground for ideas in the future that they don't feel mired down in like the main series. Also hoping the major emphasis on Z-A in the last set of announcements means it did gangbusters or they're going to give it the attention it deserves.
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Comment on Revisiting the GBA Castlevania Games (Circle of the Moon, Harmony of Dissonance, and Aria of Sorrow) in ~games
Lapbunny (edited )LinkI got into Castlevania after seeing good reviews for Dawn of Sorrow in every magazine I'd read, so I played that and then worked backwards from there to Aria of Sorrow / Harmony of Dissonance, and...I got into Castlevania after seeing good reviews for Dawn of Sorrow in every magazine I'd read, so I played that and then worked backwards from there to Aria of Sorrow / Harmony of Dissonance, and forward to Portrait of Ruin / Order of Ecclesia - the whole GBA/DS span is pretty much my concept of the series. (Hot take out of the way, I hated Order... Awfully boring maps, found the weapon system pretty annoying, got tired of it very quickly.) Recently going through Backloggd I was checking out Circle of the Moon, since I haven't played it myself and I'd seen a lot of hype after that came out back in the day. I was surprised to see there are a TON of negative retrospectives on it - all pretty uniformly against in particular the controls being awful and the map being a total slog to go back to. I'll probably try it myself sometime just to complete that trilogy and get my own opinion out of it.
Anyway - I enjoyed Harmony! Objectively it's a pretty skippable game and a kind of limited attempt to make SotN At Home instead of trying to strike out on its own merits like Aria really did. But I've gotta almost completely disagree with you on the aesthetics, especially the soundtrack. It sounds like shit on the PSG channel the way it's sampled, definitely - Decisive Battle blaring out when you step into a boss room is about as terrifying as the boss itself. But when it's cleaned up and re-sampled right I absolutely adore it - I've listened to it dozens of times by itself over any of the other handheld Castlevanias. It's eerie and driving like a good Castlevania soundtrack should be, and the compositions have a ton of play going on that shouldn't have been delegated to the chintzy GBA high-pass speaker obliterating your ears. I wish there was some way to magic a better version of it into a hack, but oh well. I also love the wacky color scheme, with the mode 7 clouds flying around and whatnot. Good? Not really! But it had a really unique feel, at least, and they were working with the pre-backlit GBA colors so it kinda had to be saturated to make it pop.
Aria I pretty much entirely agree with you, though I think that lack of friction makes it close to perfect - aside from those little bits you mention. It and Dawn have such good secrets, too; I love the way stuff is hidden. Like, the story is really relevant with that too, for once - even if the twist isn't the most novel thing by itself, the fact that you kill Graham with that set of abilities is a fantastic way to drive it. Stuff like that kept it memorable in my head for me. Dawn is a bit more fun to replay for me, but Aria just stands out as this incredibly well-crafted experience with, like you said, such little gap between what they seem to want you to do and figuring out how to explore the castle in a really satisfying way.
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Comment on Fear the Mad Catz - The worst video game controllers ever in ~games
Lapbunny Link ParentI got one of their doofy shortened and WWE-branded PS3 fightsticks in 2013 for $50 to learn Skullgirls and swapped out their buttons for Sanwas - I still use it today whenever I want to play...I got one of their doofy shortened and WWE-branded PS3 fightsticks in 2013 for $50 to learn Skullgirls and swapped out their buttons for Sanwas - I still use it today whenever I want to play fighting or arcade games. Though The Rock looked at my left hand funny and I ripped the label off, so it's all dusty... Gotta sand it and repaint it.
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Comment on Best "dad" jokes and puns! in ~talk
Lapbunny LinkWhat has four letters, always has six letters, occasionally has twelve letters, and never has five lettersWhat has four letters, always has six letters, occasionally has twelve letters, and never has five letters
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Comment on VR gaming is reawakening my enthusiasm for games in ~games
Lapbunny (edited )LinkPlay SUPERHOT VR. It's such a crazy kinesthetic experience that feels like The Matrix, including every time Neo eats shit because you punch through an IRL wall or a window. Tea For God is another...Play SUPERHOT VR. It's such a crazy kinesthetic experience that feels like The Matrix, including every time Neo eats shit because you punch through an IRL wall or a window. Tea For God is another cool one, which generates a kind of moving, non-euclidean dungeon inside your play space. It uses the inherent limitation in the setup to invoke a mix of urgency and claustrophobia. These are older, I'm sure there's newer cooler stuff.
The problems I found were the setup, commitment, and the kind of novelty that are its games. Enjoy it, but I found there weren't any long-lasting experiences (aside from SUPERHOT and Alyx) which really could justify the physical need to set aside a space in the house and could keep the facade going for over an hour when you do feel like strapping in. People need to have better visions than "what if shooting range, but VR??" "what if boxing, but VR??" or "what if shooting range... zombies, but VR??", and it turns into a money problem unless you're flush enough for the room in your house, the headset hardware, and to keep the interest going by paying for dozens of arcade-y games.
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Comment on Have you had a life-altering change in who you are? in ~talk
Lapbunny LinkI don't think I've ever had the singular coming-to-god moment you're probably more looking for, but... Feeling shy about crying in front of my dad at Lord of the Rings: Return of the King, then...I don't think I've ever had the singular coming-to-god moment you're probably more looking for, but...
Feeling shy about crying in front of my dad at Lord of the Rings: Return of the King, then looking up at him and seeing him crying at Lord of the Rings: Return of the King, made me feel a lot more open about my feelings for art and feeling closer to him.
Reading about psychologists needing to confirm gender affirmation surgeries scared into me that my gender questioning was something to hide.
Watching End of Evangelion warped my view about signal and structure of everything that affects me.
Reading "nice guy" stuff in college made me realize how passively I assumed things would come to me, and to be more proactive.
Going the opposite direction in a fling with a friend and losing them by being a weird, pushy, clingy asshole trying to spend more time with them got me, hopefully, a little less entitled.
In the middle of the bazillionth depression mode about my gender, reading Bokura no Hentai got me to finally open up to people about being genderfluid.
Spending a night with my one week old baby and my wife back in the hospital made me feel, ironically, like a proper adult and a parent with things under control for the first time.
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Comment on Keanu Reeves joins 'Sonic 3' as Shadow in ~movies
Lapbunny (edited )Link ParentI haven't seen the movies, but while Shadow is about as serious as it comes and typically played straight, he's also the source of 90% of the edgy brooding in the Sonic fandom from the mid-00's....I haven't seen the movies, but while Shadow is about as serious as it comes and typically played straight, he's also the source of 90% of the edgy brooding in the Sonic fandom from the mid-00's. The baggage is incredible. Listen to his theme song. His legacy is being able to Google image search "[your first name] the Hedgehog" and get something back from DeviantArt.
They got Keanu Reeves to play Shadow the Hedgehog in a $100,000,000+ movie! This is one of the funniest things I've seen in my life. The comedy is gonna be him playing this as straight and over-the-top as can be.
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Comment on Keanu Reeves joins 'Sonic 3' as Shadow in ~movies
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Comment on Looking for free or cheap places to learn some SQL and XML in ~tech
Lapbunny Link ParentSeconded, I learned a good number of basic language knowledge off their courses back when. Very interactive and simple. Additionally, I'll say that SQL is probably the most "like English" language...Seconded, I learned a good number of basic language knowledge off their courses back when. Very interactive and simple.
Additionally, I'll say that SQL is probably the most "like English" language I've learned - you can string together sentences, they roll off the tongue, but the important stuff with databases is far from syntax. Understanding what you're trying to return or what you DO return, knowing what you should or shouldn't do in a database or what structures conventionally look like in regards to things like normal forms, good database structure, optimization, etc are all just as important as knowing SQL itself. It's less constrained by the syntax in general, and it's because it's not doing the same kind of stuff as typical programming. If the course doesn't have that, make sure to follow up with some deeper database knowledge if it's relevant to your career.
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Comment on How do I sell a car? in ~transport
Lapbunny Link ParentThey'll typically only budge a bit (like a couple hundred dollars) to make the customers feel like they got their deal. It's their bread and butter, unfortunately they're gonna do whatever they...They'll typically only budge a bit (like a couple hundred dollars) to make the customers feel like they got their deal. It's their bread and butter, unfortunately they're gonna do whatever they can to make as much as they can on both ends. Anchor both the offer and the trade-in value early based on your research so the couple hundred they want to knock off or tack on don't hurt as much. Again, you won't have to deal with them on half of that if you sell private. Walk wherever you don't like the terms, and feel like you can waste their time - theirs is money, but yours is whatever you want it to cost.
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Comment on Tildes is changing the way I use and think about online engagement. How about you? in ~tildes
Lapbunny LinkI feel like I'm getting off of smoking by vaping here. Made me wonder why I do public social media, aside from out of habit. The answer is good discussion crops up, and it feels good to connect...I feel like I'm getting off of smoking by vaping here. Made me wonder why I do public social media, aside from out of habit. The answer is good discussion crops up, and it feels good to connect with people, but... Not enough for the negative parts of everywhere else, or very occasionally even here.
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Comment on How do I sell a car? in ~transport
Lapbunny Link ParentTo be honest I've bought two cars and sold one where I/the seller opened with an offer, said they'll stick to the price if everything checks out OK, asked whatever questions before going, and then...Serious buyers show up in person, cash in hand, and dont bother you with a million questions online. They also dont start negotiating price before they see the car, so answer that with "we can talk price once you've had a chance to see the car in person"
To be honest I've bought two cars and sold one where I/the seller opened with an offer, said they'll stick to the price if everything checks out OK, asked whatever questions before going, and then picked it up with zero issues. Cleanest and best buying experiences I've had, but that was with enthusiast cars where people were more open to talking about the history.
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Comment on How do I sell a car? in ~transport
Lapbunny LinkI've bought and sold about eight cars in the past decade, seven bought/sold private and one through a dealer. Apologies as this is all a US perspective, but: You can always throw it at Canada...I've bought and sold about eight cars in the past decade, seven bought/sold private and one through a dealer. Apologies as this is all a US perspective, but:
You can always throw it at Canada Drives or dealers in your area to see what they'd give you; maybe inventory sucks and they're desperate. But since this isn't a newer car, IMO do not sell it to a dealership unless you're going to significantly benefit from any tax incentives or you're absolutely desperate to have uninterrupted car access. Yes, it's an NPC GM shitbox - I'm looking at a 2014 Traverse as an example. In the US a dealer will give you a $1500 offer or whatever saying it'll go to auction, and you can probably get at least $4000 on that private. They'll run you around as long as they can unless you plan on buying from them, and even then if you trade in for a car they have then they'll do whatever they can to double-dip on the value of both cars. You'll find someone who will give you more privately, and I guarantee the couple of hours of derpy Facebook Marketplace conversations are worth it for the at least $1000 extra you'd make, if not way more. Take the extra you make off the private sale and put that towards the new car; don't trust a dealer to do that for you. Only time I ever sold to a dealer was to Carmax on a 2 y/o CX-5 that I had financing on; the offer made sense and I figured it was way easier for them to figure that out than a private seller.
I find KBB US has been useless in values, and when I ran my CX-5 I got shitty offers plus dealer email and call spam for months. Look on FBM/CL/KJJ at other listings for the same model and make a little spreadsheet linking miles and price to clean examples you find, then place your price around what the trend line tells you. As u/time_and_tildes mentioned a good detail really helps make a car pop in an ad. Get around 4-6 external shots, a good view of the interior, the back with the trunk empty and open, and a shot behind the wheel with the dash showing the mileage if you can. (I believe something about that last one helps people imagine driving it, but that's pure speculation...) Anyway, then you post it and prepare for the "Hi, is this available?" "$1000" "does it come with blinker fluid" onslaught. After doing this dozens of times I bluntly don't give rude or people with poor communication the time of day, buying or selling. Eventually someone will come through.
Keep your floor in mind when someone comes to look at it, and be flexible if you're not desperate, but don't be afraid to walk away from prospective deals if you seem to have interest in the car.
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Comment on What games have you been playing, and what's your opinion on them? in ~games
Lapbunny LinkPlayed through most of Pseudoregalia, have one major key left but all the upgrades. I'm in line with most everyone's thoughts I see - combat is vestigial, and it could've had more area without...Played through most of Pseudoregalia, have one major key left but all the upgrades. I'm in line with most everyone's thoughts I see - combat is vestigial, and it could've had more area without hurting the pace. It also feels more rewarding right in the middle, when you have around two upgrades and you're trying to navigate on those alone. I saw some criticism about messaging and whether you "have" to have a particular upgrade to advance, but I've found it's generally clear? Or, the extra work necessary to overcome things just kinda tuckers you out in the right amounts.
There are problems, but the coolest thing it's obviously trying to channel from the late 90s/early 00's era is looking at some piece of platforming that you're probably not supposed to do, loudly saying "I CAN DO THAT", and fucking up the level geometry until it bends to your childish will. It totally delivers on that. Also cannot recommend a game enough when I click a game's trailer expecting the usual "9.0, 8.5, 4.5/5! RESCUE THE PRINCESS! JUMP TWICE!" kinda snippet eyecatch stuff, and then its trailer is purely schmoovin around levels.
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Comment on ‘Matrix 5’ in the works with Drew Goddard as director, Lana Wachowski as executive producer in ~movies
Lapbunny Link ParentHave you seen The Animatrix? Other direction in the series is really fresh when done right.Can this director potentially reverse the damage so to speak?
Have you seen The Animatrix? Other direction in the series is really fresh when done right.
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Comment on What's a game that you feel is almost great? in ~games
Lapbunny LinkI keep a whole list on Backloggd of these. Metroid Fusion's map not feeling Metroid-y, Signalis's need for another strong boss encounter or two, Virtue's Last Reward's ending, Ocarina of Time's...I keep a whole list on Backloggd of these. Metroid Fusion's map not feeling Metroid-y, Signalis's need for another strong boss encounter or two, Virtue's Last Reward's ending, Ocarina of Time's Water Dungeon, and the disjointed segues in Inscryption stand out to me as things that really bug me away from thinking they're pretty much perfect.
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Comment on Megathread: April Fools’ Day 2024 on the internet in ~talk
Lapbunny LinkPokemon Showdown replaced their sprites again and updated it for Scarlet/Violet. It has a ton of competitive battling in-jokes, memes, and high-quality fan tributes of beloved characters.Pokemon Showdown replaced their sprites again and updated it for Scarlet/Violet. It has a ton of competitive battling in-jokes, memes, and high-quality fan tributes of beloved characters.
Man, 19.10 is possibly one of my favorite songs so I jumped to it and can't help think he absolutely butchered it in To Be Hunted. That reverb is awful.