0xSim's recent activity
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Comment on The center has a bias in ~tech
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Comment on The center has a bias in ~tech
0xSim LinkAs a developer, I've been an LLM opponent since it began to become mainstream, for all the usual reasons. Then I've been heavily nudged to use it at work, and I have actually used it. I conversed...- Exemplary
As a developer, I've been an LLM opponent since it began to become mainstream, for all the usual reasons.
Then I've been heavily nudged to use it at work, and I have actually used it. I conversed with colleagues that are much more enthusiastic than me, and others that are also more cautious. I learned (and I'm learning, as they're evolving way too fast) LLMs strengths and weaknesses, and while my views are mostly unchanged, I now know what they can(not) do, and I've experienced the effects on my work. I think I'm dead in the biased center the article describes.
But because those people kept using the tools long enough to learn those lessons, they can appear compromised to outsiders. And worse: if they continue to use them, contribute thoughts and criticism back, they are increasingly thrown in with the same people who are devoid of any criticism.
Absolutely, and that's terrible. I'm active in a few communities where people are strongly anti-AI, and I no longer engage in such discussions because I'm afraid to be seen as "one of them", a traitor developer encouraging intellectual theft and ecocide for convenience. And quite honestly, that's also how I see myself.
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Comment on What games have you been playing, and what's your opinion on them? in ~games
0xSim (edited )LinkBack to Last Epoch for the latest season. Honestly, I don't really care about most seasonal features in ARPGs: most of the time, they just feel like useless tacked-on growths that exist solely...Back to Last Epoch for the latest season.
Honestly, I don't really care about most seasonal features in ARPGs: most of the time, they just feel like useless tacked-on growths that exist solely because the players need a new mechanic, and they don't add depth in any way. So for me, seasons are just an excuse to try another class or another build and play it until I'm bored (usually before endgame).
Though for this season, the devs added what is usually known as an "item corruption" mechanic. You loot rare(-ish) craft materials that can randomly make a powerful item even more powerful, or just make it absolutely useless. I like that because, as I'm usually not venturing into endgame, it gives me some opportunities to also get powerful items without grinding for hours.
Hero Siege
Another zoomy ARPG that I bought it when it was on sale for like 2€, and did not play much yet. The game gives strong mobile gaming vibes with dozens of micro-transactions, but I figured for that price...
Anyway, it got a sizeable update last week, and it's been an incredible clusterfuck. It's a car crash in slow motion since Thursday, and I kinda feel bad for the devs that must have had a terrible weekend. One of the important points of this update for me is that the devs announced they totally rewrote controller bindings for the PS5 release. As this is the kind of games that I'd rather play on the Deck than on my main computer, I was kinda excited: up until now, the bindings absolutely sucked and were quite buggy if you dared rebinding them.
So, not only the bindings aren't fixed, but they're even buggier. By default, single button presses are for the menus, and skills must be used with combinations, like LT+LB (really). If you want to rebind (b) it goes back and closes the window. If you want to rebind the default "interact" action from (x) to (a), you can't talk to NPCs anymore. (Select) isn't recognized at all, so no map toggle or item comparison.
I paid 2€ and I still feel robbed.
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Comment on Mamma mia! ‘Super Mario Galaxy Movie’ karts $372M+ in global debut, best for Hollywood pic YTD; ‘Project Hail Mary’ on path to half billion in ~movies
0xSim Link ParentSeriously, the character with the most development is Bowser, and they ruined it in 10 seconds.Seriously, the character with the most development is Bowser, and they ruined it in 10 seconds.
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Comment on Backrooms | Official trailer in ~movies
0xSim Link ParentMost "backrooms" games aren't really interesting, but the videos from Kane Pixels are a must if you're even remotely interested in the vibes and aesthetics....Most "backrooms" games aren't really interesting, but the videos from Kane Pixels are a must if you're even remotely interested in the vibes and aesthetics. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H4dGpz6cnHo&list=PLVAh-MgDVqvDUEq6qDXqORBioE4Yhol_z
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Comment on France confirms oil crisis, says 30-40 percent of Gulf energy infrastructure destroyed in ~society
0xSim LinkJust like enterprises that could never offer homeworking suddenly implemented it overnight in 2020, maybe this crisis will be the much needed kick in the ass for our leaders to overcome the...Just like enterprises that could never offer homeworking suddenly implemented it overnight in 2020, maybe this crisis will be the much needed kick in the ass for our leaders to overcome the inertia about reliance on fossil energy.
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Comment on Tildes Gardening Group: Week 24/3/26 in ~hobbies
0xSim Link ParentI don't have a recommendation, but I remember my dad bought several: each one more robust and expensive than the previous one that inevitably broke. He went at least through three in 10 years, and...Is there any you would recommend, or any position in the garden you had success with?
I don't have a recommendation, but I remember my dad bought several: each one more robust and expensive than the previous one that inevitably broke. He went at least through three in 10 years, and the last one was definitely much more sturdy and did not look cheap. It will resist for longer if you place it (and tie it) against a wall.
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Comment on What games have you been playing, and what's your opinion on them? in ~games
0xSim Link ParentHave you tried Team Fortress 2 Classified?Have you tried Team Fortress 2 Classified?
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Comment on Minecraft Dungeons II | Announce trailer in ~games
0xSim LinkMinecraft Dungeons is often described as "your first ARPG" (diablo-like), as in it's mechanically simple, but IMO it's more difficult and has more depth than you'd expect. If you can get the...Minecraft Dungeons is often described as "your first ARPG" (diablo-like), as in it's mechanically simple, but IMO it's more difficult and has more depth than you'd expect. If you can get the Ultimate Edition on sale, it's totally worth it.
What makes it different is that you don't have a skill tree on your character, but each piece of gear have 1-3 special passive effects that you can invest xp points into (+ 2 active items with a cooldown). My only gripes is that levels can be quite long (like 30+ minutes) with a lot of boring backtracking if you want to explore all dead ends, and it's actually meh as a couch coop game.
It's a great game, but there are definitely ways to improve it, so I hope the sequel will deliver.
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Comment on Is it worthwhile to run local LLMs for coding today? in ~comp
0xSim LinkUnless you have a very powerful GPU and/or tons of RAM, you local model will just give you a slower but slightly better autocomplete. You'll pay thousands to run an LLM that is way worse than the...Unless you have a very powerful GPU and/or tons of RAM, you local model will just give you a slower but slightly better autocomplete. You'll pay thousands to run an LLM that is way worse than the current best models (Claude Opus 4.5/4.6) available on relatively cheap subscriptions.
It could be worth it if you use that computing power for something else, but investing that much money to run a local LLM is an awful idea.
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Comment on What games have you been playing, and what's your opinion on them? in ~games
0xSim (edited )LinkI bought Everspace 2 on GOG, mainly to play on my Steam Deck. It's a sort of a space dogfighting ARPG with randomized loot and nice little hand crafted levels. The main campaign seems to be long...I bought Everspace 2 on GOG, mainly to play on my Steam Deck.
It's a sort of a space dogfighting ARPG with randomized loot and nice little hand crafted levels. The main campaign seems to be long enough when I look at all the areas I have to unlock, and random short missions will often pop up when flying between waypoints. I've been looking/waiting for a neat space game to play on the Deck for a long time, and this one might be it.
The most negative point is the controls: I think the default layout is actually great, but I'm having a hard time to aim. The sensitivity is too high, I always overshoot and overcorrect, and there's no way to adjust it the way I'd like to. The auto-aim is kinda compensating for it, but it's not really satisfying. Mouse control seems to be much better and precise.
Note: if you want to play it on your Steam Deck, you should buy it on Steam. I spent two hours trying to start it through Heroic Launcher (which supports GOG cloud saves), and it just wouldn't start in gaming mode. In the end I just added the exe as a non-steam game, and setup Syncthing to sync the saves myself.
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Comment on 007 First Light | Official trailer in ~games
0xSim Link ParentTo me, the end screen of that video has the same vibe as Hitman 3's elusive targets. He's probably just a seasonal or tutorial villain, I doubt it'd be the bad guy.I hope he isn't actually the main villain of the game
To me, the end screen of that video has the same vibe as Hitman 3's elusive targets. He's probably just a seasonal or tutorial villain, I doubt it'd be the bad guy.
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Comment on Backrooms | Official teaser in ~movies
0xSim (edited )Link ParentNo-one owns it, but Kane "Pixels" Parsons, a young filmmaker, made a series of shorts on Youtube a few years ago, which formed a sort of communal lore background. I find it really nice because it...No-one owns it, but Kane "Pixels" Parsons, a young filmmaker, made a series of shorts on Youtube a few years ago, which formed a sort of communal lore background. I find it really nice because it shows an interesting worldbuilding without any over-exposition or semblance of explanation.
I encourage you to watch the whole series https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H4dGpz6cnHo&list=PLVAh-MgDVqvDUEq6qDXqORBioE4Yhol_z
Then on top (or on side) of that, many people made their own versions of the backrooms with all sorts of "levels" (sort of... biomes?), "entities" (monsters), "rules" to abide and survive, etc. Younger folks seem to like that, it's soft horror games and videos. I prefer the "less is more" aspect that Parsons built.
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Comment on What games have you been playing, and what's your opinion on them? in ~games
0xSim (edited )Link ParentNever understood those who say that D4's story sucks. Obviously it's not particularly deep and it just serves as an excuse to make us visit the whole map, but it's more than serviceable and there...I heard a lot of complaints about the game's story and went in with low expectations, but what I've played has been surprisingly good.
Never understood those who say that D4's story sucks. Obviously it's not particularly deep and it just serves as an excuse to make us visit the whole map, but it's more than serviceable and there are interesting characters and events. In comparison, Diablo 2 was literally "try to catch the corrupted hero of the previous game", and Diablo 3's was so bad it was comical.
Anyway, Diablo 4 has a fine campaign. I'm personally not a fan of the endgame, as it feels a bit too "game-as-a-service-y" for my taste, but I always enjoy leveling up a character once in a while.
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Comment on Diablo | Warlock class cinematic trailer - New class for Diablo II, Immortal, and IV in ~games
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Comment on Diablo | Warlock class cinematic trailer - New class for Diablo II, Immortal, and IV in ~games
0xSim (edited )LinkI want to plug a link to Project Diablo 2 https://www.projectdiablo2.com/ It's an impressive mod for Diablo 2 (the original, not Resurrected) that brings the game to 2026, with lots of features...I want to plug a link to Project Diablo 2 https://www.projectdiablo2.com/
It's an impressive mod for Diablo 2 (the original, not Resurrected) that brings the game to 2026, with lots of features and QoL improvements that you would expect from an ARPG today:
- Modern resolution, shaders, and 60fps
- Stackable gems and runes
- Dedicated inventory space for charms
- 10 large shared stash tabs
- 3rd party item filters
- Endgame maps and activities
- Revamped skill trees, balancing, more build diversity
- Playable with WASD and controllers (yay Steam Deck)
- Seasons with new mechanics and QoL (every ~6 months)
- Fully playable online or offline, with a very active community and trading
- And more stuff that I can't remember
If you can get past the older graphics, it's IMO the best way to play Diablo 2. The only missing thing is the warlock.
Edit: and a built-in grail tracker. I also want a built-in grail tracker in PD2.
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Comment on new Date("wtf"); How well do you know JavaScript's Date class? in ~comp
0xSim Link Parentany exists because TypeScript is designed to be gradually implemented into existing JavaScript codebases, so it's meant to be used as a temporary clutch. If there are too many in a project, or if...Every time I end up looking at TypeScript code, it’s rife with the “any” variable type.
anyexists because TypeScript is designed to be gradually implemented into existing JavaScript codebases, so it's meant to be used as a temporary clutch. If there are too many in a project, or if it's used because the developer is lazy, that's on them and it should be rejected in a code review. Linters can be configured to throw errors or warnings whenanyis used.It’s meant to be used judiciously by an experienced programmer
Nope, you should use
unknown, which forces you to type-check at runtime.I love TypeScript as much as I hate JavaScript, but you gotta use the typing system correctly. Otherwise your TypeScript project is nothing more than JavaScript with a moustache.
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Comment on Mewgenics | Review trailer in ~games
0xSim LinkSo, anyone is playing this game? The Binding of Isaac is probably the game I'd choose if I had to play a single game until I die, and it looks like Mewgenics is going to be at least as good... But...So, anyone is playing this game?
The Binding of Isaac is probably the game I'd choose if I had to play a single game until I die, and it looks like Mewgenics is going to be at least as good... But I'm usually not a fan of tactical games.
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Comment on new Date("wtf"); How well do you know JavaScript's Date class? in ~comp
0xSim Link ParentThe JS Date object is so awful that no sane developer uses it beyond the most trivial use cases. Most of us use wrapper libraries, like Moment.js or date-fns.The JS Date object is so awful that no sane developer uses it beyond the most trivial use cases. Most of us use wrapper libraries, like Moment.js or date-fns.
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Comment on What are your food aversions? in ~food
0xSim Link ParentOne of my favorite dishes is a Sheperd's pie with Brussels sprouts ("hachis parmentier aux choux de Bruxelles").One of my favorite dishes is a Sheperd's pie with Brussels sprouts ("hachis parmentier aux choux de Bruxelles").
It's a little more nuanced than that, actually. Licensing can be not proprietary, especially in the open source world.
One of these licenses, the GNU General Public License (GPL) basically says "do whatever you want with this project, as long as you contribute back and also open source your own fork". I'm simplifying, but that's the gist. The deal is I give you my work for free, but if you're making something with it, you're obligated to share your own work with the same license. That effectively makes monetization really hard, and enterprises usually refuse to touch GPL code because it's a legal minefield.
However, LLMs producers proudly and loudly don't give a damn about copyrights and licenses. They stole our open source work to feed their beast and make tons of money from it. Hence the intellectual theft. It's not about "my" work or the perceived stolen monetary value, it's about a broken legal and social contract. It's stealing the collective intellectual work of everyone, not only developers, and privatizing that immense sum of knowledge to make a profit from it.