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!
Tildes is a very serious site, where we discuss very serious matters like popes, bethesda and minimalism.digital. Tags culled from the highest voted topics from the last seven days, if anyone was befuddled.
But one of my favourite tags happens to be offbeat! Taking its original inspiration from Sir Nils Olav III, this thread is looking for any far-fetched offbeat stories lurking in the newspapers. It may not deserve its own post, but it deserves a wider audience!
I like crying to sappy bingeworthy tv dramas.
I've just finished Parenthood, and before that I binged a lot of hospital ones like The good doctor, New Amsterdam, etc.
The setting isn't really important, except I can't stand law enforcement settings.
Spoken language doesn't matter as long as I can find it with subtitles.
The important thing seems to be stories that are reasonably realistic where people live their lifes and care about each other.
What do you recommend?
Edit: below is a list of recommendations, mostly for me to have an easy spot to find them
I would love to self-host a Tildes instance with my domain to create a community in my native language speakers. I saw, from old posts, that it is not an easy process at all. But I really love the concept and the style of Tildes. It is better than Reddit and other Fediverse platforms.
Is there anyone who managed to host Tildes instance?
I would be so glad to have some guidance.
The Issue
I'm streaming games from a desktop PC hardwired into my router (running Sunshine) to a laptop wirelessly (using Moonlight). It works beautifully.
Except, every five minutes, the stream chugs: my framerate drops precipitously, and Moonlight gives me a warning telling me I should lower my bitrate. This happens for only a few seconds, before it resolves and goes back to normal.
I timed the interval between the chugs several times and got approximately 5:07 between each slowdown. It is remarkably consistent.
Because it's so consistent, I assume there's some scheduled task or something running every five minutes that's causing it to chug. Dropping the bitrate makes the chugging less noticeable, but it still happens.
Ruling Things Out
I think it's safe to rule out the idea that it's my router or the host PC.
I have a smaller 13" laptop that I used to stream to, and I just recently bought a 17" to replace it. The five-minute issue only happens on the 17", even with identical stream settings (same resolution, FPS, and bitrate).
The computers are obviously different hardware, but they're also running two different linux distros.
The 13" Laptop is running MX Linux 23.5 (KDE). This is the one that works.
System:
Kernel: 6.1.0-32-amd64 arch: x86_64 bits: 64 compiler: gcc v: 12.2.0
Desktop: KDE Plasma v: 5.27.5 Distro: MX-23.5_KDE_x64 Libretto September 15
2024 base: Debian GNU/Linux 12 (bookworm)
Machine:
Type: Laptop System: Dell product: Latitude 7370 v: N/A
serial: <superuser required>
Mobo: Dell model: 0XFY7T v: A00 serial: <superuser required> UEFI: Dell
v: 1.28.3 date: 02/07/2022
Battery:
ID-1: BAT0 charge: 12.6 Wh (62.1%) condition: 20.3/34.0 Wh (59.6%)
volts: 8.1 min: 7.6 model: SMP DELL WY7CG58 status: charging
CPU:
Info: dual core model: Intel Core m5-6Y57 bits: 64 type: MT MCP
arch: Skylake rev: 3 cache: L1: 128 KiB L2: 512 KiB L3: 4 MiB
Speed (MHz): avg: 2496 high: 2758 min/max: 400/2800 cores: 1: 2400 2: 2758
3: 2400 4: 2429 bogomips: 11999
Flags: avx avx2 ht lm nx pae sse sse2 sse3 sse4_1 sse4_2 ssse3 vmx
Graphics:
Device-1: Intel HD Graphics 515 vendor: Dell driver: i915 v: kernel
arch: Gen-9 bus-ID: 00:02.0
Device-2: Realtek Integrated_Webcam_HD type: USB driver: uvcvideo
bus-ID: 1-9:5
Display: x11 server: X.Org v: 1.21.1.7 with: Xwayland v: 22.1.9 driver: X:
loaded: modesetting unloaded: fbdev,vesa dri: iris gpu: i915
resolution: 1920x1080~60Hz
API: OpenGL v: 4.6 Mesa 24.2.8-1mx23ahs renderer: Mesa Intel HD Graphics
515 (SKL GT2) direct-render: Yes
Audio:
Device-1: Intel Sunrise Point-LP HD Audio vendor: Dell driver: snd_hda_intel
v: kernel bus-ID: 00:1f.3
API: ALSA v: k6.1.0-32-amd64 status: kernel-api
Server-1: PipeWire v: 1.0.0 status: active
Network:
Device-1: Intel Wireless 8260 driver: iwlwifi v: kernel bus-ID: 6c:00.0
IF: wlan0 state: up mac: <filter>
Bluetooth:
Device-1: Intel Bluetooth wireless interface type: USB driver: btusb v: 0.8
bus-ID: 1-2:2
Report: hciconfig ID: hci0 rfk-id: 1 state: up address: <filter> bt-v: 2.1
lmp-v: 4.2
RAID:
Hardware-1: Intel 82801 Mobile SATA Controller [RAID mode] driver: ahci
v: 3.0 bus-ID: 00:17.0
Drives:
Local Storage: total: 238.47 GiB used: 31.99 GiB (13.4%)
ID-1: /dev/sda vendor: Toshiba model: KSG60ZMV256G M.2 2280 256GB
size: 238.47 GiB
Partition:
ID-1: / size: 232.43 GiB used: 31.47 GiB (13.5%) fs: ext4 dev: /dev/dm-0
mapped: luks-a8eaaa90-b4ba-4943-8c1d-ddace5892f40
ID-2: /boot size: 973.4 MiB used: 524.1 MiB (53.8%) fs: ext4
dev: /dev/sda2
ID-3: /boot/efi size: 252 MiB used: 274 KiB (0.1%) fs: vfat dev: /dev/sda1
Swap:
ID-1: swap-1 type: file size: 3 GiB used: 3.8 MiB (0.1%) file: /swap/swap
Sensors:
System Temperatures: cpu: 80.0 C pch: 68.0 C mobo: 48.0 C
Fan Speeds (RPM): N/A
Info:
Processes: 251 Uptime: 33m Memory: 7.65 GiB used: 3.56 GiB (46.6%)
Init: SysVinit runlevel: 5 Compilers: gcc: 12.2.0 Packages: 2789 Shell: Bash
v: 5.2.15 inxi: 3.3.26
17 * * * * root cd / && run-parts --report /etc/cron.hourly
25 6 * * * root test -x /usr/sbin/anacron || { cd / && run-parts --report /etc/cron.daily; }
47 6 * * 7 root test -x /usr/sbin/anacron || { cd / && run-parts --report /etc/cron.weekly; }
52 6 1 * * root test -x /usr/sbin/anacron || { cd / && run-parts --report /etc/cron.monthly; }
The 17" Laptop is running Linux Mint 22.1 (Cinnamon). This is the one that has the five minute chugs.
System:
Kernel: 6.8.0-58-generic arch: x86_64 bits: 64 compiler: gcc v: 13.3.0
Desktop: Cinnamon v: 6.4.8 Distro: Linux Mint 22.1 Xia
base: Ubuntu 24.04 noble
Machine:
Type: Laptop System: Dell product: Inspiron 7773 v: N/A
serial: <superuser required>
Mobo: Dell model: 0R58C3 v: A00 serial: <superuser required> UEFI: Dell
v: 1.19.0 date: 12/15/2021
Battery:
ID-1: BAT0 charge: 34.9 Wh (97.5%) condition: 35.8/56.0 Wh (63.9%)
volts: 16.0 min: 15.2 model: Samsung SDI DELL W7NKD7B status: discharging
CPU:
Info: quad core model: Intel Core i7-8550U bits: 64 type: MT MCP
arch: Coffee Lake rev: A cache: L1: 256 KiB L2: 1024 KiB L3: 8 MiB
Speed (MHz): avg: 658 high: 867 min/max: 400/4000 cores: 1: 400 2: 800
3: 400 4: 400 5: 800 6: 800 7: 867 8: 800 bogomips: 31999
Flags: avx avx2 ht lm nx pae sse sse2 sse3 sse4_1 sse4_2 ssse3 vmx
Graphics:
Device-1: Intel UHD Graphics 620 vendor: Dell driver: i915 v: kernel
arch: Gen-9.5 bus-ID: 00:02.0
Device-2: NVIDIA GP108M [GeForce MX150] vendor: Dell driver: nvidia
v: 550.120 arch: Maxwell bus-ID: 01:00.0
Device-3: Realtek Integrated_Webcam_HD driver: uvcvideo type: USB
bus-ID: 1-5:2
Display: x11 server: X.Org v: 21.1.11 with: Xwayland v: 23.2.6 driver: X:
loaded: modesetting,nvidia unloaded: fbdev,nouveau,vesa dri: iris gpu: i915
resolution: 1920x1080~60Hz
API: EGL v: 1.5 drivers: iris,nvidia,swrast platforms:
active: gbm,x11,surfaceless,device inactive: wayland,device-2
API: OpenGL v: 4.6.0 compat-v: 4.5 vendor: intel mesa
v: 24.2.8-1ubuntu1~24.04.1 glx-v: 1.4 direct-render: yes renderer: Mesa
Intel UHD Graphics 620 (KBL GT2)
Audio:
Device-1: Intel Sunrise Point-LP HD Audio vendor: Dell driver: snd_hda_intel
v: kernel bus-ID: 00:1f.3
API: ALSA v: k6.8.0-58-generic status: kernel-api
Server-1: PipeWire v: 1.0.5 status: active
Network:
Device-1: Intel Wireless 3165 driver: iwlwifi v: kernel bus-ID: 02:00.0
IF: wlp2s0 state: up mac: <filter>
Bluetooth:
Device-1: Intel Bluetooth wireless interface driver: btusb v: 0.8 type: USB
bus-ID: 1-7:3
Report: hciconfig ID: hci0 rfk-id: 4 state: up address: <filter> bt-v: 4.2
lmp-v: 8
Drives:
Local Storage: total: 238.47 GiB used: 36.5 GiB (15.3%)
ID-1: /dev/nvme0n1 vendor: Samsung model: MZVLB256HBHQ-000H1
size: 238.47 GiB temp: 25.9 C
Partition:
ID-1: / size: 229.63 GiB used: 36.21 GiB (15.8%) fs: ext4 dev: /dev/dm-1
mapped: vgmint-root
ID-2: /boot size: 1.61 GiB used: 291.7 MiB (17.7%) fs: ext4
dev: /dev/nvme0n1p2
ID-3: /boot/efi size: 511 MiB used: 6.1 MiB (1.2%) fs: vfat
dev: /dev/nvme0n1p1
Swap:
ID-1: swap-1 type: partition size: 1.91 GiB used: 0 KiB (0.0%)
dev: /dev/dm-2 mapped: vgmint-swap_1
Sensors:
System Temperatures: cpu: 30.0 C pch: 32.5 C mobo: N/A
Fan Speeds (rpm): N/A
Info:
Memory: total: 16 GiB available: 15.36 GiB used: 1.82 GiB (11.9%)
Processes: 338 Uptime: 2h 38m Init: systemd target: graphical (5)
Packages: 1996 Compilers: gcc: 13.3.0 Shell: Bash v: 5.2.21 inxi: 3.3.34
17 * * * * root cd / && run-parts --report /etc/cron.hourly
25 6 * * * root test -x /usr/sbin/anacron || { cd / && run-parts --report /etc/cron.daily; }
47 6 * * 7 root test -x /usr/sbin/anacron || { cd / && run-parts --report /etc/cron.weekly; }
52 6 1 * * root test -x /usr/sbin/anacron || { cd / && run-parts --report /etc/cron.monthly; }
Help Request
Anyone have any ideas for tracking down what might be causing this? I was going to just wipe the machine and replace Linux Mint with MX Linux to rule that out, but I figured I'd ask here before doing that, especially because it could be the hardware and not the distro that's causing the issue.
To be honest I have some problems explaining what I mean, which might be why I can't find a solution or explanaition for it.
I use firefox on Linux and out of habit i highlight text while reading it. I always did that and it helps me to read a lot faster and to relax my eyes while reading. It's something i don't think i can get rid of, even if I tried, it's just so deeply burned in.
As well I use to scroll the text I'm reading to the top out of the same reasons or maybe it's just habit as well, but I realised I cannot get rid of it as well :-)
So no to my problem:
Usually this works flawless, i can highlight text and have the cursor where I'm reading in the topmost visible line. But for some strange reason this does not work in the "new" wikipedia layout. where if I highlight text in the upper third of the page it scrolls upwards quite fast which just fucks up everything and makes my day bad. (this behaviour is not present in the old design which e.g. the germand wikipedia still uses)
Is it me?
Is it my browser?
Is there a way to get rid of this, so I can keep my workflow while reading and learing on wikipedia? Is somebody else observing this behaviour?
Where can I even start to look for a solution? I don't even know what to look for.
It truly bothers me, as I'm close to every day on it, and it might be my favorite website.
I heard there is a way to switch to the old wikipedia layout, which might be a workaround. But I actually like the new Layout a lot, so if there is a way to avoid that it would be great :-)
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.
What food and drinks have you been enjoying (or not enjoying) recently? Have you cooked or created anything interesting? Tell us about 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!
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.
What have you been watching and reading this week? You don't need to give us a whole essay if you don't want to, but please write something! Feel free to talk about something you saw that was cool, something that was bad, ask for recommendations, or anything else you can think of.
If you want to, feel free to find the thing you're talking about and link to its pages on Anilist, MAL, or any other database you use!
Just something I was frustrated by ever since it became increasingly common even outside of smartphones and tablets.
For a few years now I increasingly see basically any battery powered product having mostly internal accumulator options(aka proprietary battery of uncertain ability to replace), especially in more expensive items in the category. Why?
I mean do see several advantages from the business side, I simply have no idea what advantage would there be for the actual user.
I could see it if the batteries had comparable lifespan to the product, which they most definitely do not unless the item is of truly bad quality.
I'm a ball of rage over my pediatrician having to drop their contract with United due to some disagreement, as we really like our pediatrician. I kind of don't care if it's actually the office's fault at this point; I'd like to direct this anger over bullshit affecting the care my kids receive at them while I'm still motivated. It's probably not going to help, but what is the most effective way I can badger them, pester them, inundate their support lines, etc to get back?
Or, y'know, diplomatic means if it'd actually help?
Company I work for has game nights (with prizes) as team building, mostly play free games, but occasionally a paid game as well. This week's game is paid and am looking for a place where I can buy about 20 Steam keys for the game that's legitimate.
Steam will only let you gift a game if you're friends with them on Steam, which complicates things and would be a pain.
Game is Move or Die in case that matters.
Have you watched any TV shows recently you want to discuss? Any shows 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.
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.
Last of this triple header!
Saudi Arabian Grand Prix
Jeddah Corniche Circuit
April 18-20, 2025
Qualification Session:
Saturday, April 19, 2025 - 17:00 UTC / 1:00p US EDT
Grand Prix:
Sunday, April 20 2025 - 17:00 UTC / 1:00p US EDT
| Pos | No | Driver | Car | Laps | Time/retired | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 81 | Oscar Piastri | McLaren Mercedes | 50 | 1:21:06.758 | 25 |
| 2 | 1 | Max Verstappen | Red Bull Racing Honda RBPT | 50 | +2.843s | 18 |
| 3 | 16 | Charles Leclerc | Ferrari | 50 | +8.104s | 15 |
| 4 | 4 | Lando Norris | McLaren Mercedes | 50 | +9.196s | 12 |
| 5 | 63 | George Russell | Mercedes | 50 | +27.236s | 10 |
| 6 | 12 | Kimi Antonelli | Mercedes | 50 | +34.688s | 8 |
| 7 | 44 | Lewis Hamilton | Ferrari | 50 | +39.073s | 6 |
| 8 | 55 | Carlos Sainz | Williams Mercedes | 50 | +64.630s | 4 |
| 9 | 23 | Alexander Albon | Williams Mercedes | 50 | +66.515s | 2 |
| 10 | 6 | Isack Hadjar | Racing Bulls Honda RBPT | 50 | +67.091s | 1 |
| 11 | 14 | Fernando Alonso | Aston Martin Aramco Mercedes | 50 | +75.917s | 0 |
| 12 | 30 | Liam Lawson | Racing Bulls Honda RBPT | 50 | +78.451s | 0 |
| 13 | 87 | Oliver Bearman | Haas Ferrari | 50 | +79.194s | 0 |
| 14 | 31 | Esteban Ocon | Haas Ferrari | 50 | +99.723s | 0 |
| 15 | 27 | Nico Hulkenberg | Kick Sauber Ferrari | 49 | +1 lap | 0 |
| 16 | 18 | Lance Stroll | Aston Martin Aramco Mercedes | 49 | +1 lap | 0 |
| 17 | 7 | Jack Doohan | Alpine Renault | 49 | +1 lap | 0 |
| 18 | 5 | Gabriel Bortoleto | Kick Sauber Ferrari | 49 | +1 lap | 0 |
| NC | 22 | Yuki Tsunoda | Red Bull Racing Honda RBPT | 1 | DNF | 0 |
| NC | 10 | Pierre Gasly | Alpine Renault | 0 | DNF | 0 |
*Provisional results. Note - Lawson received a 10-second time penalty for leaving the track and gaining an advantage.
DOTD: Max Verstappen
| Pos | No | Driver | Car | Q1 | Q2 | Q3 | Laps |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | Max Verstappen | Red Bull Racing Honda RBPT | 1:27.778 | 1:27.529 | 1:27.294 | 19 |
| 2 | 81 | Oscar Piastri | McLaren Mercedes | 1:27.901 | 1:27.545 | 1:27.304 | 18 |
| 3 | 63 | George Russell | Mercedes | 1:28.282 | 1:27.599 | 1:27.407 | 16 |
| 4 | 16 | Charles Leclerc | Ferrari | 1:28.552 | 1:27.866 | 1:27.670 | 19 |
| 5 | 12 | Kimi Antonelli | Mercedes | 1:28.128 | 1:27.798 | 1:27.866 | 17 |
| 6 | 55 | Carlos Sainz | Williams Mercedes | 1:28.354 | 1:28.024 | 1:28.164 | 23 |
| 7 | 44 | Lewis Hamilton | Ferrari | 1:28.372 | 1:28.102 | 1:28.201 | 20 |
| 8 | 22 | Yuki Tsunoda | Red Bull Racing Honda RBPT | 1:28.226 | 1:27.990 | 1:28.204 | 16 |
| 9 | 10 | Pierre Gasly | Alpine Renault | 1:28.421 | 1:28.025 | 1:28.367 | 22 |
| 10 | 4 | Lando Norris | McLaren Mercedes | 1:27.805 | 1:27.481 | DNF | 11 |
| 11 | 23 | Alexander Albon | Williams Mercedes | 1:28.279 | 1:28.109 | 14 | |
| 12 | 30 | Liam Lawson | Racing Bulls Honda RBPT | 1:28.561 | 1:28.191 | 11 | |
| 13 | 14 | Fernando Alonso | Aston Martin Aramco Mercedes | 1:28.548 | 1:28.303 | 14 | |
| 14 | 6 | Isack Hadjar | Racing Bulls Honda RBPT | 1:28.571 | 1:28.418 | 12 | |
| 15 | 87 | Oliver Bearman | Haas Ferrari | 1:28.536 | 1:28.648 | 15 | |
| 16 | 18 | Lance Stroll | Aston Martin Aramco Mercedes | 1:28.645 | 9 | ||
| 17 | 7 | Jack Doohan | Alpine Renault | 1:28.739 | 9 | ||
| 18 | 27 | Nico Hulkenberg | Kick Sauber Ferrari | 1:28.782 | 8 | ||
| 19 | 31 | Esteban Ocon | Haas Ferrari | 1:29.092 | 9 | ||
| 20 | 5 | Gabriel Bortoleto | Kick Sauber Ferrari | 1:29.462 | 8 |
Next race:
Miami Grand Prix
Miami International Autodrome
Sunday, May 4, 2025
Sprint Race Weekend
Hello all, are there any other rockhounders/collectors, whatever you want to call yourselves, out there?
I'm looking to hear about others' experiences, specifically in mining or surveying(not sure if that wording is correct), but really, generally, hearing of diverse experiences. Some of the coolest places you've been, where you want to go, favorite finds, rocks you lust after, equipment, etc.
Hounding on the East Coast of the USA is also totally different, and I'm an amateur there. I'd say the advice to look for recent rock slides is pretty good, but requires right time/right place kind of planning.
I'm wondering for those who hound in areas that require "tools", so to speak, what it's like? As a gear-head type person, I always want a pick-axe but have no need for one.
Also debating if I need waders or not? I have yet to go deep into water to hound, so any experience or advice there is much appreciated.
Also, my current rock of obsession is Ehtiopian Opal, but I can't pull the trigger on it because I don't know if I can take care of it, or if it's worth the financial hit.
Looking forward to others' responses!
Okay, I’ve been grinding through the process of replacing Windows 10 in my Twitch streaming setup with Pop!_OS. I’ve got OBS dialed in, my old NVIDIA card is holding it together surprisingly well, and video performance is right where I need it.
But the audio. Is. Destroying. Me.
It’s this horrible crunchy, crushed mess when I stream from Linux. Same exact hardware, same OBS scene setup. On Windows 10 it’s crystal clear. I’m pulling audio from my mixer and theres no “Line In” I can see. Something in the Linux chain is mangling it.
Here’s a side-by-side if you want to hear the pain:
Pop!_OS (crushed audio): https://youtu.be/wQUVlufAQs8?si=RlGH8Z90dK0X9KhA
Windows 10 (clean audio): https://youtu.be/hbJzIHzg_ek?si=ThiZpbBgTk89qL2p
Sample rates seem to match, nothing obvious is clipping. I’m out of ideas and running on pure stubbornness at this point.
Would love to hear from anyone who’s made Linux work in a similar setup. Tips, gotchas, weird fixes. Whatever you've got. I'm so close to fully escaping Windows here. Grrr.
For reference, here’s how I got my Pop!_OS setup working so far (OBS + NVIDIA NVENC + GTX 960):
https://doubledropdown.com/abdoanmes/2025/ditching-windows-setting-up-obs-with-nvidia-nvenc-on-linux-pop_os-gtx-960/
This is a recurring post to discuss programming or other technical projects that we've been working on. Tell us about one of your recent projects, either at work or personal projects. What's interesting about it? Are you having trouble with anything?
Have you watched any TV shows recently you want to discuss? Any shows 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.
Hey all - after a couple threads discussing randomizers and Archipelago, we should try to get a multiworld game going here! I'm thinking this would start the night of May 8th depending on availability and interest. If you are interested, just shoot a reply in here and let us know your planned game! I'll tag a post about a week out asking for YAML files, and I'll likely make a Discord server for the event itself so we can stream and share info.
Per Archipelago.gg: This is a cross-game modification system which randomizes different games, then uses the result to build a single unified multi-player game. Items from one game may be present in another, and you will need your fellow players to find items you need in their games to help you complete your own.
Essentially, you choose a game and then load into it with few or no items. When you would normally obtain an item, it will either give you a random item from your game or send a random item to another player. Everyone must work together to finish their game!
It is, sometimes! But it's easier than you'd expect. Thankfully there are a couple things to get people moving:
Even though the items will be out of order, the default logic will scatter the items such that every game is possible to beat as intended.
Archipelago is asynchronous. There isn't a time limit, so everyone can take their game at their own pace.
The settings are fairly flexible and let you set your own difficulty if you want to make things a little easier or harder. Don't want to deal with trainer battles in Pokémon? Turn 'em off! Want to start without a sword in Zelda and get creative? Ditch it! Want the duck dragon in Adventure to be four times as fast? Something is wrong with you!
Almost every game has a tracker that actively tells you which checks would trigger an item in your particular game, where they are, and whether you are able to reach them with your current loadout. They'll help you figure out how the game logic works very quickly.
Should you get stuck behind an important check - eg Link's bow, or Samus's morph ball - you can earn points and buy hints. These will tell you which specific check in which game unlocks that particular item.
The list at Archipelago.gg should have you covered.
(...Almost! For anyone a little more savvy, there's also an extended list over here. Anything "In Review" or higher should be safe to run, if a little harder to set up.)
Don't feel like everyone needs to play something different! You can have as many instances of a game as desired within a particular multiworld setup.
Whatever will keep you most interested is best! I've personally had fun with Sonic Adventure 2, Pokémon Red/Blue and Emerald, and Super Metroid. My friends really enjoy LttP, OoT, Kingdom Hearts / 2, Hollow Knight, Stardew Valley, and plenty of others.
I think the only game I've seen people have a bad time with is OSRS due to the absurd amount of effort required.
First go to Archipelago.gg, find a game you'd like to play, and follow the setup guide. You'll generate a YAML file off of the game's settings page, which will dictate the settings for your run. Then you can send that to me before we start - I will throw it into the generator and get the game started. You will also want to download the Archipelago client, which handles the connection between your game and the Archipelago server.
Once we start, games running from an executable will run a mod, patch, or side program which handles the connection to the Archipelago server. They're fairly easy to install as long as you follow the guide to a T.
For games using an emulator, you'll need a clean ROM of the game (can't help you there!) and a version of the emulator BizHawk specified by the guide. The client will come with an installer which handles patching the game for you.Typically you flip a couple settings in BizHawk and restart the program. Then when you run the patched game, you will also run a provided Lua script which reads the game to communicate to the client and everything magically works. It's pretty cool!
First-time setup is probably the most difficult part of the whole thing, so I'm happy of help anyone running into issues.
This tends to be a game-specific question. The first time you play a game can be a little weird as you figure out how the settings play - too easy and it's like blowing through on cheat codes; too hard and it can be frustrating. The Archipelago discord can probably give some good first-time suggestions, and I'm happy to ask around for anyone who needs help.
Generally would I suggest for anyone doing RPGs to take advantage of EXP multipliers or other shortcuts that don't have to do with actual objectives, as it will save a ton of time on grinding. It's definitely a good idea to triple or quadruple EXP in something like Pokémon to keep the game moving - there are other options available like level caps if you'd like to introduce difficulty back in a more dynamic way than gating time. Think about things that annoyed you in the vanilla game and turn those off!
Keep Death Link off for the first time. I'd also suggest using Remote Items if it's available as an option. (If you obtain items in your own game, it may not be tracked by Archipelago because it's unnecessary to use the server to track. However if your save file corrupts or your game freezes/crashes, you would need to collect them again because the server doesn't handle them. Remote Items makes it so, in the case you lose progress, the server will track them and give them back to you as you load if they're missing for any reason.)
Pokemon Emerald: Set EXP to at least 3x and catch rate to minimum 30 (Snorlax's catch rate) if not higher or instant catch. Enable remote items. Add hidden items if you want more exploration checks and lean on the tracker plus a map. For shits and giggles: Randomize all parties and wild encounters, randomize abilities but blacklist Arena Trap / Shadow Tag, add all the extra roadblocks, add extra fly location, Turbo A (just be aware it's FAST). ALWAYS randomize music and fanfares. For some more difficulty based on progression add level cap plus bonus levels. You should blacklist Wonder Guard, but where's the fun in that?
Pokemon Red/Blue: Similar stuff to the above.
Hollow Knight: Randomize Dreamers, Skills, Charms, Keys, Mask Shards, Vessel Fragments, Charm Notches, Pale Ore, Geo Chests, Relics, Maps, Boss Geo. Set Egg Shop to 0.
Mario 64: Get the thing to work first, then randomize everything but 1-up Blocks. Disable 100 coins stars if that's a boring thing.
Ocarina of Time: Make sure it's not keysanity and shops are cheap. Everything is open. Lower big poe count to 1 and have all timesavers on.
Super Metroid: Make sure that Layout Patches, Varia Tweaks, Elevators Speed, Doors Speed, Spin Jump Restart and Infinite Space Jump are enabled. Refill Before Save can also help if you struggle with health and ammo
StarCraft 2: Grid for mission order and maybe turn off challenge/mastery locations.
Sonic Adventure 2: Randomizing chao keys and gold beetles is very reasonable for extra challenge. Do not randomize item boxes. For extras Whistlesanity should be pipes only, Omosanity is mostly fine but might get grating. Highly recommend disabling missions 2 and 4 for all characters (100 rings is particularly repetitive, time limits aren't typically that difficult but make getting extra checks annoying); kart levels are however many you wish to do. Recommend setting level gate density to early so you have more levels to work with before getting stuck.
Mystic Quest: Don't shuffle dungeons, keep Enemizer Attacks normal and Regions Strict for Progressive Formations.
Secret of Evermore: Shorter boss rush is probably nice, put Exp modifier at least 300.
That's OK! It's daunting, but the experience tends to be a little easier than expected. Don't throw really spicy limits at yourself in your settings and you should be OK. I never actually beat Ocarina of Time the first time I played it in Archipelago, but I still made it! (Hell, I still haven't played any of Ganon's Tower. I learned a skip instead off the entrance torches!) Having the tracker available helps a ton to point you in the right direction. There are also plenty of people on the Archipelago discord happy to give you suggestions if you feel stuck, as I'm sure we will be ready to help too.
Individual Archipelago worlds tend to play a little faster than playing the vanilla game, as the Archipelago versions of the game usually skip cutscenes, dialogue, etc. Occasionally you'll hit some gordian knot of backwards item progression which halts your progress; occasionally you'll get an overpowered item early and you can blow through half the game in a short bit. The progression balancing in every settings page can help you adjust if you'd like the earlygame to open up a little quicker, which will make the game go by a bit faster.
Multiworlds between my friends tend to take about a week to complete around 15 games.
Have I got the deal for you! Technically, if you'd like, you can play more than one game. Just generate two YAML files, set both games up, and switch between them at your leisure!
I promise there's no pressure if you need to take your time! But if you would like to jump ship, you have two options. One is that you can give someone your file and let them complete your save via your username. Otherwise, there is a !release option that will end your game and send out all checks hidden within your game.
This is a bit far into the future and I wanted to make sure the date would work for people interested, so no need to send YAMLs or anything yet. But do let me know if you'd like to join - no matter your skill level, we'd be happy to have you!
(edit: hid that bigass faq thingy)
What have you been doing lately for your own fitness? Try out any new programs or exercises? Have any questions for others about your training? Want to vent about poor behavior in the gym? Started a new diet or have a new recipe you want to share? Anything else health and wellness related?
What are you reading currently? Fiction or non-fiction or poetry, any genre, any language! Tell us what you're reading, and talk about it a bit.
This is a monthly thread for those who need it. Vent, share your experiences, ask for advice, talk about how you are doing. Let's make this a compassionate space for all who may need one.
I've set up a very small soapbox here. It's cute.
You can step up on it to rant, but it only supports small rants. Tiny ones. Cute ones. Rants about low-stakes, inconsequential stuff.
It can hold up the weight of approximately one oxford comma, so please don't get too heavy and crush it.
Anyone want to step on it and give us your 0.02 cents?
I like modern tech, but I'm slowly coming to hate the internet.
I read Cal Newport's Digital Minimalism late last year and found it preaching to the choir, but noticed that most of the negative effects of technology use were actually from internet use. The attention economy, privacy violations, enshittification, etc. are all mostly byproducts of the internet being so tightly integrated into our lives. When I heard about CVE potentially losing its funding (I know very litte about CS or anything related to software, so I'm unsure of how big a threat this really is to an end-user), the thought popped into my head... "is it time to get offline?".
I am 20 years old, so my entire life has been spent in a world where devices are connected to the internet far more often than not, and I wonder if it's time to switch to an "offline first" mentality? I already embrace this philosophy when it comes to music, downloading the songs I want to my computer and syncing them to my phone through iTunes, but this would take that one step further: turn on my computer's wi-fi to check emails, read through the new posts here, check some other sites, etc. and then turn it off until I explicitly need to do something online.
I'm lucky enough that most of the (important) things I do on my computer can be done 90% offline, but I wonder if it's even worth doing? I'm curious to hear thoughts on this from the people of Tildes, or any methods that you have implemented in your life.
EDIT: I should clarify: I already have basically no social media, I use beeper to see my instagram DMs (I can't really get rid of this without abandoning any age-adjacent social life) and that's it. You could call Discord and Tildes social medias, but that's maybe pushing it. I'm more talking about the recent resurgence of physical media and reframing the internet as something that is accessed rather than omnipresent in my usage habits.
Today is the final day to file taxes in the US, and once again I find myself needing to finish up submitting everything instead of having this submitted early (next year will be different!).
I've also been needing to register my youngest son for his US citizenship, as he is born abroad. They recently released a secure way to e-file this, which means my previous "reasons" for putting it off are not relevant (they wanted me to email sensitive information to them, or deliver it in person/via courier)
It made me wonder if there is anything big or small that people wanted to share that they've been putting off? Hopefully talking about it helps you take some action on getting that thing done!
What food and drinks have you been enjoying (or not enjoying) recently? Have you cooked or created anything interesting? Tell us about it!
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.
This is a recurring post to discuss programming or other technical projects that we've been working on. Tell us about one of your recent projects, either at work or personal projects. What's interesting about it? Are you having trouble with anything?
I am genuinely sick of seeing all the US political news on Tildes, especially because of the sheer volume of it being submitted lately and how depressing it all is. The creation of ~society was a decent compromise since at least it keeps all the politics topics contained in one group, but it's still not ideal, IMO.
I don't want to totally unsubscribe from ~society since, for the most part, I do actually enjoy reading about societal level events/issues around the world. I don't want to have to click 'Ignore' on every single topic about US politics, since there are a lot of them being submitted. And I don't want to filter out absolutely all 'politics' from my front page either though, which is currently my only other option since we can't yet filter tags by multiple criteria (e.g. filtering topics that only contain 'politics' AND 'usa').
So I propose that we start using a 'politics.usa' tag, even though it's a bit redundant, so that US politics can be specifically filtered out by people like myself that want to avoid seeing such topics. Thoughts?
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!
This is the place for casual discussion about our pets. Photos are welcome, show us your pet(s) and tell us about them!
Recently, my COVID-era friend circle has drifted apart. It was a lot of little things that changed our priorities. We had / lost partners, went sober, got in-person jobs, got stressful jobs, made more / less money, etc. It was also the continual theme of realizing that after 3+ years, we hadn't necessarily broken the surface on our friendships with everyone in the groups.
I tend to feel relationships are generally a little ephemeral, especially in our age group (late 20s / 30s -- which is to say, anything can happen). You drift apart, and sometimes back again, and sometimes apart again, and it's just life. I feel pretty okay about it, although it's a bit sad. Given that we're at the five year mark, I thought it might be an interesting prompt.
Tildes is a very serious site, where we discuss very serious matters like 4chan, buttholes and tags. Tags culled from the highest voted topics from the last seven days, if anyone was mortified.
But one of my favourite tags happens to be offbeat! Taking its original inspiration from Sir Nils Olav III, this thread is looking for any far-fetched offbeat stories lurking in the newspapers. It may not deserve its own post, but it deserves a wider audience!
What have you been watching and reading this week? You don't need to give us a whole essay if you don't want to, but please write something! Feel free to talk about something you saw that was cool, something that was bad, ask for recommendations, or anything else you can think of.
If you want to, feel free to find the thing you're talking about and link to its pages on Anilist, MAL, or any other database you use!
What have you been listening to this week? You don't need to do a 6000 word review if you don't want to, but please write something! If you've just picked up some music, please update on that as well, we'd love to see your hauls :)
Feel free to give recs or discuss anything about each others' listening habits.
You can make a chart if you use last.fm:
http://www.tapmusic.net/lastfm/
Remember that linking directly to your image will update with your future listening, make sure to reupload to somewhere like imgur if you'd like it to remain what you have at the time of posting.
I've been on a really big Geese kick lately and the video for Cowboy Nudes made me chuckle. It made me want to watch some of my old favorites, but there is still plenty of itch left to scratch. So what are your favorite music videos, and why do you like them so much?
If anyone is curious, my two favorites are:
Typical by Mutemath. They learned how to play the song backwards, which seems impressive and is very Ok Go-esque.
Sleep Now in the Fire by Rage Against the Machine. The Who Wants to be a Millionaire spoof featuring not fun facts that have become less fun over time is good. The directing/editing is great. The bass player jamming out while the cops push him back is amazing. I'd like to say I'd never charge the NYSE floor for a music video, but I can't guarantee what I might do while under the influence of a sweet Tom Morello riff.
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.
This is just to check in and ask how you are progressing with our April book, Elder Race by Adrian Tschaikovsky.
I am going to be in Minneapolis soon and I have 1 free day which I want to spend going to local bookstores. Does anyone have a favorite local store in the city? I particularly like going to bookstores with good SFF sections, and also lots of book club/staff picks; and also to used bookstores with good SFF fictions. It's my first time in Minneapolis so every local bookstore there will be new to me!
What have you been listening to this week? You don't need to do a 6000 word review if you don't want to, but please write something! If you've just picked up some music, please update on that as well, we'd love to see your hauls :)
Feel free to give recs or discuss anything about each others' listening habits.
You can make a chart if you use last.fm:
http://www.tapmusic.net/lastfm/
Remember that linking directly to your image will update with your future listening, make sure to reupload to somewhere like imgur if you'd like it to remain what you have at the time of posting.
Howdy hey folks, I've recently been trying out ProWritingAid (for the unfamiliar: a grammar/spell checker tool) specifically the premium version with the expanded tool set. And now I want to step onto the internet soapbox and talk about it. It's been.
Okay.
To preface, I've been writing (casually) for 'bout a decade, mainly short creative fiction. (And a few novel attempts. All of which are incomplete but I'm glad I did them) Throughout my time I've gone through a few tools, text editors and what-have-you-nots. With my ever so gleaming credentials established, let's get into the ramble.
Right out of the gate, automated grammar checkers and creative writing have a rather fun relationship. Half the suggestions are useful and the other half are useless. (This ratio can also tip forward and backward). They'll catch syntax errors, spelling mistakes, missing words or punctuation, all good things to fix.
It'll also flag intentional word choice, sentence structure and other creative decisions. Sometimes this can help but more often than not it'll be sucking the You out of your own words.
ProWritingAid (PWA) tries to sidestep this particular pitfall with Style Guides where it'll be more or less rigorous depending on the selected 'genre'. It's a mixed success. This flaw I don't think will ever be truly fixable given the inherent separation between Author and Tool. So we'll have to make do with clicking "ignore."
Now PWA does a bit more than just grammar check. During my time with it, I've currently used two versions. PWA Everywhere, and PWA Desktop. Everywhere is meant to integrate with your text editing software while Desktop is a contained application. They have similar feature-sets, but not identical. Specifically, Desktop has the Word Explorer feature: a tool that if you highlight a word it'll show some synonyms or you can dig deeper with alliteration, cliches, anagrams, rhymes, reverse dictionary and more. Pretty nifty. PWA Everywhere best to my knowledge and searching does not have this feature- which is disappointing.
Especially since everything else Desktop does, Everywhere does better. The UI alone is far more functional, without clipping or cramping. There's the convenience of direct integration. Some features like Single Chapter Critique (which I'll get into later, trust me) also blank screened in Desktop while working fine in Everywhere. Grand.
Besides the Word Explorer, PWA also gives you AI "Sparks" and Rephrases. I'll be entirely honest, I have these turned off (Which I am glad I was able to do). I don't have much to say here besides I like getting into the creative word weeds myself.
Alrighty, that then leaves me with two more things to discuss: Writing Reports and the Critique features.
Okay. The writing reports are useful. Able to be granular or extensive. They scan every selected element in the text and format the results into a nifty report (or in some modes, direct text highlighting) Having all that data visualized with tables, graphs and bars oh my, (with the occasional cross-work comparison) is a great look-at. Grammar-wise it'll run into the problems mentioned above, but otherwise, this has been the feature I've liked the most.
Finally I can get into the whole thing that inspired me to write this post. The Critique suite. Ohohoho, I have some thoughts about these. Human proofreaders are irreplaceable, just want to toss that out there (PWA also keeps that disclaimer in its header). My friends will never be escaping the random PDFs sent for their lovely review. I am ultimately writing for a human audience afterall. That in mind, I have run into a hilarious problem with the Single Chapter Critique.
Apparently I write too good to get use from it. Truly I am suffering here. In complete honesty, the actual point I'm trying to make is the AI is a kiss-ass sycophant. I fed five of my short stories from across the years into it, just to see what it'd say. It cannot be negative. In each and every one I was praised about various element of the stories. Glowing and gushing, could say no ill.
This is pretty useless. Sure it has the "Potential Improvements" section but it's... eh. In the name of curious study, I am having my non-writer friend compose a piece for me to feed to the machine spirit later. (I also only get three uses a day, compared to the unlimited reports with their nitty gritty)
Now, could this simulated praise be a sign I'm a genuinely good writer? Well I don't need the AI for that- I have friends zip-tied to chairs to feed my ego. (I forever cherish one of my close writing friends telling me: "You have a voice of a fantasy writer from the 70s with a thick series full of wondererous imagination written by a twice divorce middle aged man who is disgruntled with reality. It was never exactly reprinted as it was unknown, but the aging, withered pages hold such a gorgeous narrative that it sticks with you for the rest of your life.")
Back to the AI: Their shining critique falls apart when I look at the story myself and can point to several areas for improvement/refinement with a cursory reading. (Thank you creator's curse, you're my true reliable critic.)
Woe to me, I cannot escape personal proofreading. (Real talk: the hope was have it be able to do the cursory stuff so I could focus on the creative viscera. That's half the fun after all—)
There is two other Critique features, Full Manuscript Analysis and Virtual Beta Reader. I have used neither of these as I do not have any large manuscripts to toss into the jaws. To ensure jolly feelings, it's also a credit based system. So let's talk money.
Scrivener, a writing workhorse that even after years of using I still find new features and has long cemented itself as my text editor of choice, was $45 for a lifetime license. Fantastic software, it has earned its reputation.
ProWritingAid, a grammar and spellchecker was $115 (discounted price) for a year subscription. (Can I mention how idiosyncratic their tier system is? Free, Premium, Premium Pro? Why??? Just name it Free, Pro, Premium. Don't stack luxury words.) For $115, I get several features I don't even use, or aren't very useful. Oh, a discount for the aforementioned analysis credits. ($25 for 1, $70 for 3, $175 for 10. Full priced it's $50, $150, $500 respectively. Spend this money on an actual person please)
Now what's worst off is I wasn't even the one to spend the $115. That was someone else wanting to support me and my writing; an act I am quite grateful for and the meaning behind it. I feel bad complaining. I have hopes for PWA. Something that can act as a quick look proofreader would be wonderful. But perhaps I'm just asking for too much from what is again, a grammar and spellchecker.
So far, I don't know yet. I don't know if I'd call it good or bad. As I started with: it's okay?
Maybe I'll do a retrospective after a while once I've utilized it longer. Maybe features will be better fine tuned in the future.
And that leads me here. What have been y'all's experience with it, if any? Searching online has been miserable; I'd like to hear from other people.
[As a footnote, PWA was not used when writing this. Kinda forgot that I never set it up for browser. Tallyho]
Tildes is a very serious site, where we discuss very serious matters like accessibility, protests and rant. Tags culled from the highest voted topics from the last seven days, if anyone was astute.
But one of my favourite tags happens to be offbeat! Taking its original inspiration from Sir Nils Olav III, this thread is looking for any far-fetched offbeat stories lurking in the newspapers. It may not deserve its own post, but it deserves a wider audience!
Anyone else watching the final day?
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!
Not firsthand heartbreak that happened to you directly, but secondhand heartbreak: it happened to someone else, but the impact hit your heart too.
Could be their break-up, rejection, missed opportunity, loss, layoff, etc.
What happened to them?
And why did your heart break for them?
"Challenging" is up to your own interpretation: length, word choice, writing style, subject matter, etc.
Whatever the challenge, you had to put in more effort than normal to read the book, but you came out on the other side feeling like it was worth it.
What's that book?
What makes it challenging?
And why do you feel it's worth it?
I wanted to practice my stagnant drawing skills and something I always liked is pixel art, but I don't know any program for that (beside Paint and Photoshop) so I would like for recommendations here, the only big feature I need is multi layers management and that preferably runs in multiple platforms (You know, like Gimp and Inkscape).
Anything that runs on Linux/Windows/Android is welcomed. I guess there should be open source apps for that, and since it's only for practice I would to waste money on paid apps.
