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    8. Local artists thread

      ~music Ask (survey)
      Let's mix things up a bit and talk about musicians and bands from our local areas. There's often some really great music happening in a local scene, which rarely sees the light of day. So hit us...

      Let's mix things up a bit and talk about musicians and bands from our local areas. There's often some really great music happening in a local scene, which rarely sees the light of day. So hit us up with links to the music makers in your local scene (or your own band even!) so we can have a listen and maybe discover something new and amazing :)

      15 votes

    26. Microsoft Flight Simulator 2020 uses streaming satellite data to allow you to fly anywhere in the world, including taking off and landing at over 40,000 airports

      ~games Text 163 words
      Microsoft held a Global Preview Event on September 19 and 20 for the new Microsoft Flight Simulator, and it's been NDA'd until today. Here's the official blog post, which doesn't say much itself,...

      Microsoft held a Global Preview Event on September 19 and 20 for the new Microsoft Flight Simulator, and it's been NDA'd until today. Here's the official blog post, which doesn't say much itself, but there are a ton of detailed impressions articles and videos all over the internet today.

      The major revelation is that they're using satellite data from Bing Maps and combining it with procedural generation and some other data sources (such as the ability to use live weather data) to make it so you can fly anywhere in the world and it will look extremely realistic. Being able to do this in Google Earth is already very cool (especially in VR), and this should be even better.

      Here are a few of the articles - a lot of them have incredibly stupid titles because that's how internet journalism works now, so I'm just going to link with the site's name:

      14 votes

    27. What games would you consider "expired classics"?

      ~games Ask (survey)
      If there's a better or more commonly used term for this let me know, but my idea of an "expired classic" is a game that was acclaimed and beloved at the time of its release but that would be...

      If there's a better or more commonly used term for this let me know, but my idea of an "expired classic" is a game that was acclaimed and beloved at the time of its release but that would be nearly unplayable or unacceptable by modern standards. Not just less impressive or weaker, mind you, but outright bad. Think "aged poorly" but like, REALLY poorly.

      The quintessential example is Goldeneye 007. While absolutely landmark for its time, gamers that pick it up now would likely be baffled by its controls and appalled by its significant, unforgivable framerate issues. Even some people that used to love playing it have a hard time enjoying it now (myself included). It is a game that has "expired" over time.

      The expiration doesn't have to be due to technical issues either. It could be due to cultural issues, design issues, or any other factor that makes the same significantly less palatable today, even to those that want to play it!

      What are some other examples, and why have they expired?

      35 votes