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    1. Tildes Video Thread

      Find yourself watching tons of great videos on [insert chosen video sharing platform], but also find yourself reluctant to flood the Tildes front page with them? Then this thread is for you. It...

      Find yourself watching tons of great videos on [insert chosen video sharing platform], but also find yourself reluctant to flood the Tildes front page with them? Then this thread is for you.

      It could be one quirky video that you feel deserves some eyeballs on it, or perhaps you've got a curated list of videos that you'd love to talk us through...

      Share some of the best video content you've watched this past week/fortnight with us!

      5 votes
    2. Homeworld 3 review from someone who treasures HW as perhaps the best game in 25 years (w/ minor spoilers)

      Warning: this post may contain spoilers

      I almost need a "thumb sideways" button but I can't give this game a thumbs up.

      Why should you listen to me?

      For background, I beta tested Homeworld for Relic back in '98-99. I've played every single PC Homeworld game. I've sunk hundreds of hours into playing vanilla Homeworld, Complex, and Every. Single. Star Trek mod that anyone has ever made for Homeworld and Homeworld: Remastered.

      That's to say: I adore love Homeworld/Homeworld 2. Over 25 years of PC gaming, they may be my all-time favorite games period!

      Of course, I bought the "Fleet Command" edition. In truth, I did it to encourage the developers to keep pumping out more Homeworld.

      Alas, the only thing I want right now is a complete and amazing mod toolkit so that this game can quickly become the substitute and successor for the original.

      A little history: Homeworld (and Remastered) thrived with its mod community. The original game was not designed for modding. Yet so many intrepid individuals out there struggled their way through cracking the binary format(s?) of the game. And, at least, as I understand it, some of the game behavior is scripted in Lua, a less common but publicly available programming language. Just go look at the Workshop for Homeworld: Remastered. The number of different total conversion mods out there is staggering. The love put into so many of those mods is utterly mind-blowing!

      In a nutshell, HW:3 plays a lot like Homeworld (the original) but, if anything, dumbed-down
      significantly from the original but with 2024 visuals--except for the cut-scenes that oddly look rendered using vintage 2000 technology. The game mechanics lack the depth of any of the HW sequels. The campaign is linear and, at times, glitchy (I'm looking at you, asteroid mission and you, the one cut-scene where some of the lines repeat causing me to wonder if I'm suffering auditory hallucinations or if their QA missed something like that).

      The gameplay is not particularly innovative or deep. The default pace of combat itself tends to be faster than previous Homeworlds. Though, in single player, you can change the game speed. However, the default speed can be overwhelming compared to previous Homeworld games, which can make multiplayer frustrating.

      For fans, while it should not be surprising It's not Homeworld: Complex (or EVO), I expected to see more of the depth, introduced by HW:C and HW:2, For instance, there are no subsystems on ships; you can't target engines or weapons. Ships either blow up or they don't. There's no defense field frigates and no cloak generators.

      My hope is that the mods (Star Trek or The Expanse, anyone?) will make this game shine. But right now? Unless you're a true super-hardcore Homeworld fan, who needs their Homeworld story fix, you should hold off.

      On the plus side: it doesn't crash as often as a NASCAR driver like Helldivers 2 or the original Homeworld, for that matter.

      Ultimately, I'm disappointed that Homeworld 3 plays like a dumbed-down version of Homeworld 1. I suppose this shouldn't be surprising, what with game studios increasingly desperate to get that larger market share which means appealing to a broader audience. But that means that if you long for the depth of Homeworld 2 or Complex, you're waiting for mods.

      The modding tools aren't out yet.

      And, so, thumbs down.

      16 votes
    3. What did you do this week (and weekend)?

      As part of a weekly series, these topics are a place for users to casually discuss the things they did — or didn't do — during their week. Did you accomplish any goals? Suffer a failure? Do...

      As part of a weekly series, these topics are a place for users to casually discuss the things they did — or didn't do — during their week. Did you accomplish any goals? Suffer a failure? Do nothing at all? Tell us about it!

      7 votes
    4. Fitness recommendations to gradually increase mobility while recovering from chronic illness

      So I've had hypothyroidism since at least 2020, maybe longer. I've been gaining weight and losing both mobility and stamina since then. It got to the point where I couldn't put on my shoes without...

      So I've had hypothyroidism since at least 2020, maybe longer. I've been gaining weight and losing both mobility and stamina since then. It got to the point where I couldn't put on my shoes without an extra-long shoe iron and would get too winded to continue after depressingly short walks.

      I was diagnosed earlier this year and put on levothyroxine, and I already feel a lot better. Managing that medication is obviously something to work with my doctor on, but I haven't gotten much advice on how to address getting my body back to where it was prior to the illness really getting into gear. I wasn't crazy active back then either, but it's like night and day to compare me now to me in 2019.

      I attempted to start some low-level at-home strength training and to start taking more regular walks back before I was diagnosed, but I struggled with even extremely mild beginner-level stuff absolutely wiping me out and my endurance never increasing. Now that I'm being treated, I suspect I will be able to build up strength/stamina/etc. more easily, but emotionally I'm still pretty vulnerable to feeling like exercise is something insurmountably difficult, which obviously makes it hard to start a more regular routine.

      Losing weight is something I should do, but it's not my #1 priority here -- I mostly want to improve my mobility and stamina so that I can increase my activity level at all without feeling like shit. Most beginner-level exercise recommendations, be they strength or cardio, start at a level that is above what I can currently physically accomplish. So any recommendations for ways to get started more gradually so that I can make some amount of this exercise part of my routine would be really appreciated.

      13 votes
    5. Movie of the Week #29 - The Zone of Interest

      Warning: this post may contain spoilers

      We continue with Cannes films with The Zone of Interest which premiered at Cannes in 2023 where it won the Grand Prix award. It also won two Oscars for Best International Film and Best Sound.

      IMDb
      Letterboxd
      Wikipedia

      Besides any thoughts on this movie, do you think this adds anything new to the already long list of WW2/Holocaust movies?


      The rest of the schedule for May is:

      • 20th: Luxury Car
      • 27th: The Tree of Life
      4 votes
    6. Weekly Israel-Hamas war megathread - week of May 6

      This thread is posted weekly - please try to post all relevant Israel-Hamas war content in here, such as news, updates, opinion articles, etc. Extremely significant events may warrant a separate...

      This thread is posted weekly - please try to post all relevant Israel-Hamas war content in here, such as news, updates, opinion articles, etc. Extremely significant events may warrant a separate topic, but almost all should be posted in here.

      Please try to avoid antagonistic arguments and bickering matches. Comment threads that devolve into unproductive arguments may be removed so that the overall topic is able to continue.

      18 votes
    7. Midweek Movie Free Talk

      Warning: this post may contain spoilers

      Have you watched any movies recently you want to discuss? Any films you want to recommend or are hyped about? Feel free to discuss anything here.

      Please just try to provide fair warning of spoilers if you can.

      10 votes
    8. What are three things you're feeling positively about today?

      I try to do this exercise with myself sometimes and then... forget. But thought it'd be a fun thread. (Also, obligatory reminder that Tildes is also public and all comments are available without...

      I try to do this exercise with myself sometimes and then... forget. But thought it'd be a fun thread.

      (Also, obligatory reminder that Tildes is also public and all comments are available without login, so keep things uh, vague enough.)

      25 votes
    9. Any recommendations on places to visit in Singapore? There for a week.

      I had initially planned a trip to Japan but had to change plans at the last minute. So here I am, not as well prepared as I usually am. Would love to hear what you guys love doing when in...

      I had initially planned a trip to Japan but had to change plans at the last minute.

      So here I am, not as well prepared as I usually am. Would love to hear what you guys love doing when in Singapore. I'm not someone who enjoys nightlife/clubbing. Good food and cocktail bars are more my speed. Already booked a nice looking place called Candlenut for a meal.

      Any sightseeing recommendations would be really helpful as well. Thanks guys.

      18 votes
    10. What creative projects have you been working on?

      This topic is part of a series. It is meant to be a place for users to discuss creative projects they have been working on. Projects can be personal, professional, physical, digital, or even just...

      This topic is part of a series. It is meant to be a place for users to discuss creative projects they have been working on.

      Projects can be personal, professional, physical, digital, or even just ideas.

      If you have any creative projects that you have been working on or want to eventually work on, this is a place for discussing those.

      14 votes
    11. Are most political talks performative?

      This is a thought I had, and I'm not saying it's necessarily true, or at least cynically true. But I think it brings to the fore an interesting point, and I want to emphasize how it feels like. I...

      This is a thought I had, and I'm not saying it's necessarily true, or at least cynically true. But I think it brings to the fore an interesting point, and I want to emphasize how it feels like.

      I feel like people are mostly interested in politics from a distant and uninvolved point of view. For example, in more progressive spaces, there's all this talk about fear of climate change, deteriorating international politics, rise of right wing authoritarianism, populism, nationalism, etc. However, I feel like people expect others to do something about it. There's this passivity and inaction, and no real effort to combat such changes. I feel like debates, talking, ruminating and such perform a theatrical function that makes you feel as if you've contributed to "doing good", but you actually don't do anything. This is what I mean by performative.

      This is not to say talking is unimportant. It's a major component of politics, and it's a core value and function of democratic and egalitarian approaches. However, it feels to me like doomscrolling and dreading or being angry about political things is seen as being politically conscious and active, while political consciousness can't exist without action.

      What are your thoughts about this? Have you had similar thoughts, or do you think differently? How do you emotionally handle this?

      24 votes