raze2012's recent activity
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Comment on Nintendo - Customer appreciation sale in ~games
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Comment on Nintendo - Customer appreciation sale in ~games
raze2012 Link ParentI figured the implication up the chain of Would already drive the main idea here, but sure. I can clarify further. The last 2-3 years have had cost of living explode and the spending power of the...I figured the implication up the chain of
even when it's clear those customers ultimately paid the price.
Would already drive the main idea here, but sure. I can clarify further.
The last 2-3 years have had cost of living explode and the spending power of the average American fall. Trump's universal tariffs have only exacerbated this cost of living problem (let alone his extremely unnecessary, avoidable war). I hope I do not need to explain at this point in time that these tariff costs were ultimately passed onto the consumer, rather than being absorbed by the company.
Yet despite all of this, companies still report record or near-record revenues and profits throughout these last few years. There are many small businesses which died out over these policies and would not survive to receive such refunds. But overall the largest brands ultimatly came out on top before the refunds. I implore you to find any billion dollar company in 2024-2026 which bucked this trend.
With this lens, in an economic situation where customers took the pain and companies gained profits anyway, it would be a moral responsibility to relieve the ones who actually suffered for this illegal maneuver. Yet that is not what is happening. At least not without a litany of lawsuits.
And worst of all, the price hikes from the tariffs will likely not fall anyway in many cases. Costco seems to be one exception, but it technically did come after lawsuits were launched against them. Despite the reasoning being used for the hikes no longer being valid, and despite the companies being "compensated" for their not-losses, prices will at best fall much slower than they rose, and at worst will continue to further inflate. A moral dishonesty or outright lie depending on your lens.
So yes, I do find this decision immoral. And in Nintendo's case dishonest. The "sale" here is for a lot of older inventory and the only current gen listing here is the Switch 2 webcam. An accessory which was explicitly noted to be hiked in price in response to tariffs. Putting it on "sale" to what may have been its original price for a limited time is not the moral action the marketing of "customer appreciation" implies on the surface.
But honestly, I'm not even all that fussed specifically about video games doing this. It's much worse for inflexible goods from companies like Wal-Mart that stroke my ire. Making a chaotic evil argument of "well they can charge as much as they want for groceries" while knowing the techniques employed over decades to box out competition makes such discussion border on bad faith.
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Comment on Nintendo - Customer appreciation sale in ~games
raze2012 Link ParentOkay, ACME. I think the moral reason is fairly clear here. Which is why much smaller companies have already started doing it. And even Costco isn't doing it directly but is considering ways to...There is zero moral or legal reason Nintendo should have to sell their toys at a particular price.
Okay, ACME.
I think the moral reason is fairly clear here. Which is why much smaller companies have already started doing it. And even Costco isn't doing it directly but is considering ways to give back. Which I put a lot more stock into than Nintendo's display here of "giving back" with this old inventory cleanup disguised as a deal.
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Comment on Nintendo - Customer appreciation sale in ~games
raze2012 Link ParentSuch appreciation. Let's clear up our warehouses for the massive dump of Fire Emblem and Zelda cases we'll need for holiday season and disguise it as "generosity". It feels so weird to be...Such appreciation. Let's clear up our warehouses for the massive dump of Fire Emblem and Zelda cases we'll need for holiday season and disguise it as "generosity".
It feels so weird to be simultaneously complaining about and defending a company in the same thread, just because they are the only console manufacturer to resist blatant enshittification. Like, this just feels weak, but Nintendo is still the most "generous" company despite this. such sad times for the AAA industry.
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Comment on Nintendo - Customer appreciation sale in ~games
raze2012 Link ParentSad thing is, Nintendo is but a humble company even comparing it to Playstation these days in terms of raw profit. Let alone Sony as a whole. Let alone the behemoth that is Microsoft. We've seen...You don’t become one of the largest most profitable companies on the planet by being generous.
Sad thing is, Nintendo is but a humble company even comparing it to Playstation these days in terms of raw profit. Let alone Sony as a whole. Let alone the behemoth that is Microsoft. We've seen the abyss that is the mobile market and even GaaS models when it comes to truly predatory dark arts in games. In that regard, it's a bit admirable that Nintendo ultimately chose to mostly back out of it after dipping their toes; instead, they doubled down on their console market and doing more of what they've always been known to do.
I'm more of a Sony person myself if I had to place a label. But seeing how everyone else is shooting themselves in the foot, Nintendo basically doing more of the same is somehow refreshing. I suppose this is the "Luigi wins by doing absolutely nothing" meme?
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Comment on Nintendo - Customer appreciation sale in ~games
raze2012 Link ParentDepends on what you mean by "long term support". No, it's not going to be like GTA V where they support a game for 20+ years. But the games come in a complete package (usually) and will be...Depends on what you mean by "long term support". No, it's not going to be like GTA V where they support a game for 20+ years. But the games come in a complete package (usually) and will be playable decades later. You can choose to purchase a remaster every other generation, but odds are your older console and game still works just fine, without any internet connection whatsoever.
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Comment on Nintendo - Customer appreciation sale in ~games
raze2012 Link ParentOkay ACME. I don't really have much more to add to the argument. But that's pretty much the climax of the movie; a company abiding by the letter of the law, even when it's clear those customers...While Nintendo may have offset prices with the tariffed amount, unlike the US government, private companies can price anything they sell at whatever they want - that's a right they have.
Okay ACME.
I don't really have much more to add to the argument. But that's pretty much the climax of the movie; a company abiding by the letter of the law, even when it's clear those customers ultimately paid the price.
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Comment on Anthropic's Dario Amodei calls for AI oversight, joined by Sam Altman and Elon Musk in ~tech
raze2012 Link ParentThey thought the moat was billions in operations for datacenters. Simply outscale the competition. Meanwhile, Deepseek signaled this being a doomed attempt a year and a half ago. They tried to...They thought the moat was billions in operations for datacenters. Simply outscale the competition.
Meanwhile, Deepseek signaled this being a doomed attempt a year and a half ago. They tried to laugh it off, but the holes in the dam were quickly revealed once they tried to tart closing it off (i.e. they started trying to reap back profits with the shift towards token based expenses).
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Comment on It breaks a village in ~comp
raze2012 Link ParentSoon. I pretty much reduced myself down to YouTube Premium and Rider over the years. But i might finally have full time employment again, so I can properly afford some more subscriptions and Kagi...Use Kagi for search
Soon. I pretty much reduced myself down to YouTube Premium and Rider over the years. But i might finally have full time employment again, so I can properly afford some more subscriptions and Kagi was at the top of my list to try.
I work in mobile games and I have first hand knowledge of household name mobile game production. They use AI for everything. Most used AI and ML years before ChatGPT was a thing, both for data and art.
Yeah, that's fair. I was mostly talking about the PC/Console space.
I'm not really surprised the mobile scene in its long "won" race to the bottom that it need to resort to any little bit of automation possible to keep up in this market. Mobile is having its own special form of k shaped economy between "who can flip the most popular games the fastest" (and these days it's not even native, usually through Roblox or Fortnite) and "who can make GTA 6 on a phone". Truly a terrifying landscape.
Only PC gamers care even a little about AI in their games and IMO most of it is just baseless hysteria.
Baseless or not, I sure don't have the clout to brave that controversy. A 10 mill dollar budget AA game can, but when your aimed sales figures are in the thousands, it only takes a few bad early reviews to tank you.
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Comment on It breaks a village in ~comp
raze2012 Link ParentSeems like the best compromise. I haven't used bevy myself yet, but the author seems to working on exactly that, funnily enough: a rework of the plugins API. But something tells me that's never...Seems like the best compromise. I haven't used bevy myself yet, but the author seems to working on exactly that, funnily enough: a rework of the plugins API.
But something tells me that's never how it ends. Contributing to the core isn't just about setting code you want/need in. It's partially about various forms of power; increasing your reputation as a contributor, enacting soft power over a community, adding another feature to your portfolio. Plugins won't necessarily accomplish all of those for some people.
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Comment on In search of the hypothetical iPhone Duo buyer in ~tech
raze2012 Link ParentThe key is to buy 1-2 years behind. Easily cuts the price in half and I can be a not-rich asshole for roughly the same price as a modern flagship! At least, for android. Apple probably doesn't...The key is to buy 1-2 years behind. Easily cuts the price in half and I can be a not-rich asshole for roughly the same price as a modern flagship!
At least, for android. Apple probably doesn't depreciate as fast.
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Comment on It breaks a village in ~comp
raze2012 Link ParentYes, they are. I don't think passive agreseive memes have ever solved any conflict, and even on my pseudanonymous accounts I try to avoid such low effort swipes (let alone my real name which would...Aren't both of those solved with better moderation?
Yes, they are. I don't think passive agreseive memes have ever solved any conflict, and even on my pseudanonymous accounts I try to avoid such low effort swipes (let alone my real name which would be how I enter a community like Bevy). But I guess some people don't have such restraint.
I do feel a bit iffy about banning emoji reactions, though. It's a core feature of the platform and if people can't express themselves that way, we end up with content much harder/time consuming to moderate. It's like every time you try to ban downvotes in Reddit; it never ends well, even with good intentions.
Instead it's intended to get across what sort of behavior is ok in that forum.
Moderation can be passive aggressive too. At some point, a bar needs to determine if it is a nazi bar or not. Trying to dance around the issue just leads to conflict. What I see here with little actions like banning reactions is "we want to welcome AI generated projects, but we don't want to say it out loud". Which is cowardly no matter your stance. At some point, the community will answer that question for you.
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Comment on It breaks a village in ~comp
raze2012 Link ParentI work in games, so my attitude on a personal perspective is "landmine; avoid until defused". Just being speulated that you're using AI in your game is OR suicide, and the potential benefits seem...I work in games, so my attitude on a personal perspective is "landmine; avoid until defused".
Just being speulated that you're using AI in your game is OR suicide, and the potential benefits seem minimal anyway. So there's no point not simply staying course and keeping an eye out. My usage is pretty much limited to "ive googled this for 30 minutes with no good answer, let's see if Claude can give me new avenues to google". (P.S. I will never forgive Google for sabatoging its own search just to be more profitable than Sin)
Besides, there's already so many moving parts you have to manage in game development as is. Being asked to retool in yet another workflow that maybe potentially can kind of speed up development is a story you hear every other week, even pre-AI. I don't want to subscribe or worry about token usage for frontier models and trying to setup an AI workflow with open weight models (which I tried for a non-gaming experiment) was taking days as is when I could have simply plumbed it myself. I'm already vulnerable to automation hypnosis, so I don't want this to be yet another perpetrator.
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Comment on It breaks a village in ~comp
raze2012 Link ParentIts an interesting chart, but I think this interpretation is too focused on the "concerned over excited" and not enough on "excited over concerned". There is indeed a concern that correlates to...The idea that there's widespread negative perception is largely an effect of the anglosphere bubble that many of us live in
Its an interesting chart, but I think this interpretation is too focused on the "concerned over excited" and not enough on "excited over concerned". There is indeed a concern that correlates to "how much danager do I feel my futute is in from AI". But I find it equally interesting that the "excited over concerned" is staggeringly consistent distribution: 10-20%, with Israel being to only real outlier with 29%. A much much smaller spread than 16-50% on concern.
It seems overall, even the most "excited" countries are ultimately still in a "wait-and-see" mentality.
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Comment on It breaks a village in ~comp
raze2012 Link ParentThat depends on if you think the SMEs or the maintainers out in the field truly make up a community. I suppose to use the live drawing analogy, it would be "in their right" for organizers to...That's kind of the opposite of the situation, no?
That depends on if you think the SMEs or the maintainers out in the field truly make up a community.
I suppose to use the live drawing analogy, it would be "in their right" for organizers to declare that suddenly photography of the nude models is okay. It would also be in the right of models to no longer want to participate in that community. I wouldn't call a model prudish in this day and age for not wanting the risk of their body being photogtaphed and posted online, even with arguments like "well what if someone is an amazing painter" or "well we just ban people who post pictures online".
I see parallels here. Ultimately these are decisions made that do not support the community, and it may end up making a worse feeling community, stripping the culture Bevy and Rust is known for.
I mean, the reality is that Bevy's maintainers are trying to make a thing that serves a role.
That's the big issue here, actually. The paid maintainers do not necessarily have the same incentives as the unpaid. The paid ones need to ship and champion the product. The unpaid ones want to contribute to a greater collective and likely came here to escape that paid incentive that had them shortcut and compromise their way into keeping paychecks coming.
In particular, the paid maintainers do not care if community crumbles. At least, not until it starts affecting engije adoption. But until then, it's not part of their job to foster good vibes.
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Comment on It breaks a village in ~comp
raze2012 Link ParentReally sucks, but when your bounties end up making the job harder than easier, then it's clear what needs to be done. Now if only we could do that in politics... But yeah, some super specialized...Really sucks, but when your bounties end up making the job harder than easier, then it's clear what needs to be done. Now if only we could do that in politics...
But yeah, some super specialized aspects of life need to be gatekept. It's one thing to welcoke perspective new scientists and another to be accommodating to throwing a bunch of garbage into a nuclear reactor. You got to start in safer environments and build up. I really wish such apprenticeship lanes existed to create the next generation of kernel developers, but that's a whole other can of worms.
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Comment on It breaks a village in ~comp
raze2012 Link ParentTo use the author's words: To use the obvious analog to Tildes: I'm sure it's hard to "definitively prove" Reddit has gotten worse over the years in all but a few extremely obvious cases for a few...To use the author's words:
You can't moderate away how people feel about a topic, only what they post in official channels. People feel worse about sharing their work as it's sandwiched between low-effort, low-engagement-with-bevy work. They feel worse about looking in showcase because there is very little high-effort work or social engagement.
To use the obvious analog to Tildes: I'm sure it's hard to "definitively prove" Reddit has gotten worse over the years in all but a few extremely obvious cases for a few truly abandoned communities. But despite that, many of us did come seeking this community because we knew the vibes were off and Reddit no longer offered whatever we initially came there for. Maybe some of us use Tildes in tandem with Reddit, maybe some of us completely left the Reddit bar. But there's clearly reasons beyond objective facts that brought us here.
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Comment on It breaks a village in ~comp
raze2012 Link ParentHonestly, you don't need to "prove" AI. You need to prove the PR author knows what's going on. If they can't defend their own code, it won't hold up to scrutiny in the main branch. That's all part...Honestly, you don't need to "prove" AI. You need to prove the PR author knows what's going on. If they can't defend their own code, it won't hold up to scrutiny in the main branch. That's all part of a proper PR pre-AI.
But based on the author, moderation is thin as is, and there's rarely enough maintainers on such FOSS projects as is. I imagine this is easily subject to DARVO tactics on how "the Bevy community isn't welcoming", when it's simply the standard way FOSS projects have been run for decades.
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Comment on It breaks a village in ~comp
raze2012 Link ParentAI is here to stay the same way Reddit is here to stay. Maybe so, but that doesn't mean I need to use Reddit to function. Likewise, I imagine for someone talking as a volunteer contributor to a...AI is here to stay the same way Reddit is here to stay. Maybe so, but that doesn't mean I need to use Reddit to function.
Likewise, I imagine for someone talking as a volunteer contributor to a large open source project that the author has every bit of choice in how to spend their time in such a community.But a specialized game engine is the exact kind of niche I expect such supposed "artisan code" to remain valued. As the author mentioned, this is not just a tool programmers use. It's used to drive creatives, and creatives cannot simply function off of "well it works". I can point to plenty of games on Steam with such a descriptor.
I suppose things may be different professionally when it comes to being transformed into a duty of Slop Doula on the company dime. I still have rent to pay and will do what I need to do. But know I'll spend my off time preparing for a future where I am not reliant on such work to survive.
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Comment on The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time (Switch 2) | Zelda 40th anniversary Direct trailer in ~games
raze2012 Link ParentI believe the original OoT ran at 20 FPS, so I suppose it's truly lore accurate to elect for a "good but below standard" FPS today. Contemporaries on PS1 (RE2, MGS2, FF7 were mostly 30fps, and...It's also on the Switch so this game will run at a smooth 40fps with these graphics.
I believe the original OoT ran at 20 FPS, so I suppose it's truly lore accurate to elect for a "good but below standard" FPS today. Contemporaries on PS1 (RE2, MGS2, FF7 were mostly 30fps, and maybe even 60fps in some non-game areas)
I can't help but feel underwhelmed by the recreation of a legendary game on a console that runs on half horsepower on a good day.
It would be lovely seeing this pushed on a good PC, but I suppose Nintendo has conditioned me for 20 years now to accept that it gladly sacrifices raw specs for its gameplay loop.
Yeah, that's fair. I still think it's an amoral move and wish those who are suing the best, but ultimately a Switch 2 being 100 dollars more was far from my breaking point in these times. I don't think I really had a good chance to talk about the tariff refunds here yet, so I ended up generalizing my overall thoughts into this post.
Nintendo-wise, I'm extremely ambivalent. Since they are far from "the good guys", but pretty much everyone else in the industry is turning greedier much faster. So there's situations where Nintendo still ends up looking the best out of this.