BeardyHat's recent activity
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Comment on Why cassette tapes are coming back in ~music
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Comment on High pollen count: The last straw effect on suicide risk in ~health.mental
BeardyHat Link ParentI'm not OP, but as another person who gets (sometimes severe) allergies, I went camping in the Rockies this summer and noticed over the two or three days that my allergies were completely gone. My...I'm not OP, but as another person who gets (sometimes severe) allergies, I went camping in the Rockies this summer and noticed over the two or three days that my allergies were completely gone. My friend who also has them noticed the same.
Unfortunately, it's pretty prohibitively expensive to live there.
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Comment on Travel essentials: eight items to pack for your next trip – and what to leave at home in ~travel
BeardyHat Link ParentProbably. What would be nice about that option is that you could also regulate the power by squeezing harder or softer. But I imagine that solution wouldn't last for more than a handful of uses.Probably. What would be nice about that option is that you could also regulate the power by squeezing harder or softer. But I imagine that solution wouldn't last for more than a handful of uses.
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Comment on Travel essentials: eight items to pack for your next trip – and what to leave at home in ~travel
BeardyHat LinkPortable Bidet, because a clean butthole is essential.Portable Bidet, because a clean butthole is essential.
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Comment on What games have you been playing, and what's your opinion on them? in ~games
BeardyHat LinkThis will probably be a short post (for me, so probably like 4 paragraphs anyway) as I'm having a lot of muscle pain right now and struggling to think clearly. I finished RoboCop: Rogue City the...This will probably be a short post (for me, so probably like 4 paragraphs anyway) as I'm having a lot of muscle pain right now and struggling to think clearly.
I finished RoboCop: Rogue City the other day and I'm happy to be finished with it, but still really enjoyed myself. The fact that I finished it at all is testament to the fact that it's very fun to play and just an interesting game in general; it took me about 20-hours and I see there's probably multiple endings, but I won't bother playing through again to see them. It's a budget game through and though, but absolutely worth the $5 I paid for it. It runs absolutely terribly and the fights against ED-209 are annoying, but it's otherwise worth the time and money.
I've put down Baldurs Gate: Enhanced Edition for now, though I do want to return to it. I was having fun exploring the wilds and trying to tackle various party member quests; last I played I was trying to make it to, I think, the Gnoll Stronghold for Minsc's quest. I'll absolutely be picking it back up after I play though...
Chrono Trigger which I've never played before, but am playing for the CGA. I'll spare most of my thoughts for that thread, but I'm enjoying it a lot, much to my surprise. I like JRPGs ok and usually the ones that get the most praise, I really end up disliking, but this one is a good one. I've been playing it on my SNES, but I've been finding it hard to sequester myself in my office the past couple of days to play and with many projects going on for me this week, I may not be able to. But I've moved my save file over to my handheld and tablet, so I can at least continue to play there with some CRT shaders to approximate playing on my SNES a little better.
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Comment on What games have you been playing, and what's your opinion on them? in ~games
BeardyHat Link ParentI've tried repeatedly to get into the Spiderweb games, but they just never do it for me. In theory, I really love them, it's just the practice that never pans out for me.I've tried repeatedly to get into the Spiderweb games, but they just never do it for me. In theory, I really love them, it's just the practice that never pans out for me.
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Comment on CGA-2025-10 🕹️⏰ 🗺️ 🐸 INSERT CARTRIDGE 🟢 Chrono Trigger in ~games
BeardyHat LinkI've already made a post and I'm not sure what protocol is here, but I figured I'd just make a new one rather than edit my previous one, as I figured my edits would get buried. At any rate, I...I've already made a post and I'm not sure what protocol is here, but I figured I'd just make a new one rather than edit my previous one, as I figured my edits would get buried.
At any rate, I wanted to post some initial impressions:
I started playing on my N3DS, but ended-up finding the text way too small to read comfortably. Doable, but I felt like I was putting in more eyestrain than I needed to in order to do so, so I switched over to my DSi XL, which looks fabulous and is much easier to read, though I still feel has similar issues with it being an old game formatted for a newer, smaller screen. I played about 25-minutes here, getting to the castle before having an idea.
I own an old SNES which I refurbed years ago (Side note: How has it been 4-years already?!), as well as an FXPak Pro for it and I kind of thought it might be fun to give the original game a go, even though it's not regarded as the definitive way to play. I'm usually a big fan of handhelds, as I can play them wherever I am in my house, but something about the prospect of playing more deliberately and using real hardware, as well as a CRT really caught my attention.
So at this point, I've played an hour and twenty minutes on this save and I'm having a great time. Yesterday while I was playing after dinner, my kids came in and watched me play, so I started reading the text to them so they could hopefully understand what was happening in the game. But I think, for now, I'll continue in this way and see if I can keep making time to hide myself away in my office and play here and there. I figure, worst case scenario, I can actually pull the SD Card out of the FXPak and throw my save on one of my Android handhelds and continue enjoying the game wherever I want around the house. I am a little worried about missing any "content" from the DS version that's supposed to extend the game a bit (the map was nice), but I suppose ultimately if people fell in love with this game 31-years ago as it was, there's no reason I cannot now.
And now, to mention some initial thoughts on the game itself, solicited by @kingofsnake
So far, I think it's pretty fun and interesting and I think it holds-up wonderfully. JRPG's generally aren't my jam, though I've played quite a few of them, including Dragon Quest 3/4/5/8, having completed 4 and put about 100-hours into the others between them, as well as played about 50-hours of Persona 3 Portable, Completed Final Fantasy 6 (which I hated) and played a good amount of Shining Force and I think that's about it? What I am enjoying about this one is pretty basic in so far as the enemies are on screen, so I can try to avoid them if I want, no random battles here. I appreciate that my entire party levels-up at the same rate, no trying to save last hits for anyone (though I guess that's more of a tactics thing), as well as the battles being on this active system rather than strictly turn based. I normally love turn based games, but in JRPGs I never find it terribly interesting, so I appreciate that this one is doing something different.
I guess I don't have a lot more specifics to go into at the moment other than the fact that Chrono Trigger feels very modern, if that makes sense. Playing something like the Dragon Quests or Final Fantasy just tends to feel very dated, where crossing the overworld, forests and things don't particularly matter and are just another style of tile to add some variety to an otherwise bland map. I like that there's no battle transitions and everything just happens at the snap of a finger on whatever map you're on, it makes the world feel properly cohesive and the story and characters so far are pretty cute, which is fun look at and watch play out.
I may still put some time into the DS version of the game, just to see if I enjoy it more as a form factor and for the little extras and QoLs, but we'll see.
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Comment on Prospect of life on Saturn’s moons rises after discovery of organic substances in ~space
BeardyHat LinkThis is pretty exciting! It would be fabulous to find even just microbes in our own solar system.This is pretty exciting! It would be fabulous to find even just microbes in our own solar system.
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Comment on Jane Goodall, chimp expert, dies at 91 in ~enviro
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Comment on CGA-2025-10 🕹️⏰ 🗺️ 🐸 INSERT CARTRIDGE 🟢 Chrono Trigger in ~games
BeardyHat LinkNever did play this game--or actually hear about it until much later in life--back in 1995; I was a Genesis kid at the time and also in '95, transitioning over to fully PC gaming after being...Never did play this game--or actually hear about it until much later in life--back in 1995; I was a Genesis kid at the time and also in '95, transitioning over to fully PC gaming after being introduced to Doom.
That said, I've only ever heard good things and I am a Dragon Quest fan (even if I've only ever actually finished one of them), so I'm eager to get started on this one and hoping not to fall off as I did last months game, though I also have some extenuating factors this month as well (namely that I started another big RPG a little bit ago).
I've seen it said and also according to @Venko that the DS version is the version to play. I've got my N3DS, as well as a DSi XL, so I'll have to choose between the two. However, I kind of want to play the SNES version via an emulation handheld, because I am tempted by using some CRT Shaders, so we'll see what I ultimately choose (probably the N3DS). Hopefully will have some time to play around and pick a system to play on today, as I am pretty interested in getting started with this one.
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Comment on What games have you been playing, and what's your opinion on them? in ~games
BeardyHat LinkI'm about 16-hours into Robocop: Rogue City and it feels like I'm approaching the end. So far, it's been a great experience--minus a couple of parts--and honestly it feels like an authentic...I'm about 16-hours into Robocop: Rogue City and it feels like I'm approaching the end. So far, it's been a great experience--minus a couple of parts--and honestly it feels like an authentic "roleplaying" game if that makes sense. The developers did such a good job with making the player feel like Robocop that I can't help but really roleplay him, where I choose responses to dialogue that I think Robocop would choose and even though there's gun pick-ups to use, I just use Robocops pistol, because that's what feels right.
I also think it's pretty interesting how you can tell this is a budget game (I mean, I picked it up for $5 and it's not that old) and you can really tell how the developers tried to be economical with their assets. Reusing one particular song throughout the game, reusing a lot of the same environments but altering them based on time of day or what's happening in the story, reusing previously used enemies, etc, etc. I just find all of that really interesting and frankly, charming. It doesn't feel like the developers were being cheap, as it feels like they achieved what they had in mind with the resources they had and didn't try to go overboard with anything and end-up making the whole game inferior because of it.
My only real complaints are the following: UE5 optimization is absolutely awful. The game runs abysmally on Steam Deck, fairly mediocre on my laptop with an A3000 (roughly a 3060) and sees constant dips from 85ish FPS at 1080p High down to 40 on my desktop. I primarily play on my laptop around medium settings and there's this issue with the Global Illumination where if it's on anything but "Ultra" lights flicker and dance, looking really bizarre. I've come to just cope with it because I don't want to take the further performance hit on setting it to Ultra with my laptop. The other complaint is the ED-209 fights; they're boring. It wasn't terribly fun the first time I had to fight it and it's worse the next two times I needed to. ED-209 is just a bullet sponge, the fight isn't interesting in anyway and I don't need to use any new skills or tactics to take it on. In fact, I found a way to cheese it and ended-up using that for the second and third of the three fights; basically hide around a corner and try to get ED-209 stuck on some terrain, all it'll do is shoot missiles at you, which are easily dodged and then you can simply unload on it for 5 minutes until it's over. Very boring. But, very much a rare low spot in an otherwise very fun game.
Now, being that I can't play RoboCop around my kids (with heads being exploded and everything...), I finally started playing Baldur's Gate - Enhanced Edition; I've put maybe 20-hours into it previously on a different character before finally petering out, but I'm ready to try again now and I'm hoping I can make my way through it this time. So far, I'm still very early in the game, my characters only just beginning to hit level 2 after clearing out the Nashkil(?) Mine; I'm now exploring a little bit more and trying to tackle some of the party side quests before getting back on track with the main quest. So far, it's a lovely game and I've been finding it surprisingly addicting, which I really didn't expect. I've been overall pretty sick of D&D for many years now, but there's something exciting about going back to something pre-5e, which I feel is pretty mediocre as an edition and I really hate a lot of the lore changes they've made in recent years that I feel have really watered things down.
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Comment on What games have you been playing, and what's your opinion on them? in ~games
BeardyHat Link ParentI have nothing to add other than the fact that I played it for the first time in 2020 and it shot to the top of my list for favorite games of all time. I played 30-hours of 2, but kind of fell off...I have nothing to add other than the fact that I played it for the first time in 2020 and it shot to the top of my list for favorite games of all time.
I played 30-hours of 2, but kind of fell off of it. Not because it's bad, but I just wasn't up for that kind of game, so I want to get back to it when I'm ready again.
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Comment on US President Donald Trump’s National Security Presidential Memorandum 7 labels common beliefs as terrorism “indicators” in ~society
BeardyHat Link ParentHad this exact same conversation with my mother exactly 7-days ago now. I told her I wasn't even going to bother sending her statistics and examples, because she already has a particular narrative...Had this exact same conversation with my mother exactly 7-days ago now.
I told her I wasn't even going to bother sending her statistics and examples, because she already has a particular narrative in her head and so won't bother to read or critically examine anything I can show her. She agreed with me.
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Comment on Deus Ex Remastered | Announcement trailer in ~games
BeardyHat Link ParentWell this is all rather disingenuous, don't you think? Noe one is arguing that 2005-games always had a bad graphical style or were ugly. But anyone who's been gaming long enough remembers the era...Well this is all rather disingenuous, don't you think?
Noe one is arguing that 2005-games always had a bad graphical style or were ugly. But anyone who's been gaming long enough remembers the era and how many games had weirdly smoothy characters, shiny surfaces everywhere and overall just looked a little off an not cohesive. Even popular games like The Matrix: Path of Neo suffered from this, but there are countless other examples like Catwoman: The Game or Aquamna: Battle for Atlantic.
That's what people are justifiably comparing this to. Not the likes of Resident Evil 4 or Half-Life 2, but shovelware crap and even good games with generic "realistic" art styles that was piled on to both the consoles and PCs of the generation.
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Comment on Deus Ex Remastered | Announcement trailer in ~games
BeardyHat Link ParentI never did check to be honest. And it's likely they did it because PC gaming wasn't much of anything at the time, I remember the era well. No one really tried that hard to get stuff working well...I never did check to be honest. And it's likely they did it because PC gaming wasn't much of anything at the time, I remember the era well. No one really tried that hard to get stuff working well on PC because the market just wasn't there, so I don't think worrying about it being better was a concern.
But yeah, I ought to look. It was just never a favorite of mine, especially given my love of the original, so I've largely forgotten about it.
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Comment on Deus Ex Remastered | Announcement trailer in ~games
BeardyHat Link ParentHonestly would love to see a remake of that one. It's been decades since I played it, but removing the constant loading points would probably go a huge way towards fixing that game.Honestly would love to see a remake of that one. It's been decades since I played it, but removing the constant loading points would probably go a huge way towards fixing that game.
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Comment on Deus Ex Remastered | Announcement trailer in ~games
BeardyHat Link ParentSaw this yesterday and didn't think about posting it here for some reason. Since the original release, I've bought and rebought Deus Ex probably half a dozen times, easily one of my favorite games...Saw this yesterday and didn't think about posting it here for some reason.
Since the original release, I've bought and rebought Deus Ex probably half a dozen times, easily one of my favorite games of all time.
I'm content to see how this all plays out, but right now this looks like total ass. JC looks like post plastic surgery Ray Liotta. This is just... There's no need for this and no need for it to be so atrocious looking. Everything is shiny.
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Comment on Disney decides it hasn’t angered people enough, announces Disney+ price hikes in ~tv
BeardyHat LinkWe've been using my Sister-In-Laws subscription and honestly after the Kimmel stuff, I should have encouraged her to cancel. I very much doubt she would have, but we barely use it anyway,...We've been using my Sister-In-Laws subscription and honestly after the Kimmel stuff, I should have encouraged her to cancel. I very much doubt she would have, but we barely use it anyway, generally just watching Netflix, Youtube or downloading whatever we want and storing it on our local server.
But the price increases suggest to me that they're not really hurting for subscribers, even after a boycott. Seems that if they were, they'd hold steady or decrease prices to bring people back and that's not happening, so they must be in a fairly strong position.
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Comment on CGA-2025-09 🕹️🚂 REMOVE CARTRIDGE ⏏️ The Last Express in ~games
BeardyHat Link ParentNever did see Better Call Saul; Breaking Bad left such a bad taste in my mouth that I just never wanted to bother with it.Never did see Better Call Saul; Breaking Bad left such a bad taste in my mouth that I just never wanted to bother with it.
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Comment on Dark patterns killed my wife's Windows 11 installation in ~tech
BeardyHat Link ParentHarder to break as well, most probably.Harder to break as well, most probably.
Not to mention, they get eaten pretty frequently. My last cassette was around 2005 or so and it worked great until my car ate it.
I'm with you, I don't understand why anyone would ever want to go back to cassettes.