BeardyHat's recent activity
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Comment on As Hitman 3 turns five years old, we surely have enough hindsight to declare it – this is one of the greatest of all time, right? in ~games
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Comment on What games have you been playing, and what's your opinion on them? in ~games
BeardyHat Link ParentThis is sort of funny, actually. I have a Surface Go, which won't run Civ 5 or 6 and recently had a Surface Pro 7 i5 that barely played it due to overheating..I just sold the Pro 7 this week with...This is sort of funny, actually.
I have a Surface Go, which won't run Civ 5 or 6 and recently had a Surface Pro 7 i5 that barely played it due to overheating..I just sold the Pro 7 this week with the intent to buy a Pro 7+ i7 with a fan so I could better play Civ 6 on it with touch, because I'm so generally dissatisfied with the Android version of the game.
I don't find the text bad at all on Deck. Everything is definitely smaller, which takes some adjustment after playing on my 16" laptop screen, but after a few minutes it feels natural. I don't find the text too small or unreadable and am not feeling like I'm generally struggling to read anything on it. Take that for what you will, but I'm not young with sharp eyes either. I'd prefer to play it on something bigger (hence the Surface), but it definitely doesn't bother me in the slightest to play on Deck.
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Comment on What games have you been playing, and what's your opinion on them? in ~games
BeardyHat Link ParentMontezuma is definitely in there. I've only played about 50 or so hours of Civ 6, so I'm not super familiar with everything yet, but the few times I've encoutered him, I've never actually had an...Montezuma is definitely in there.
I've only played about 50 or so hours of Civ 6, so I'm not super familiar with everything yet, but the few times I've encoutered him, I've never actually had an issue.
But now in my current game, I've also discovered the Maori and they don't seem to like me much either, not sure why. They were friendly with Mabauche, so maybe that has something to do with it, but they just settled on my continent and so I denounced them, which didn't make them happy.
But yeah, I'm just happy to play! I actually wish the version on Android was a little better, because I hate the fact that it's super low res and the lowest graphics options; would much rather play on my tablet, but I've been using my Steam Deck instead because it's more comfortable than my laptop, yet I can have the graphical options cranked-up.
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Comment on What games have you been playing, and what's your opinion on them? in ~games
BeardyHat Link ParentI somehow completely missed that I could go back to previous chapters to refigure things out. Definitely gives me some motivation to give it another go.I somehow completely missed that I could go back to previous chapters to refigure things out. Definitely gives me some motivation to give it another go.
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Comment on What games have you been playing, and what's your opinion on them? in ~games
BeardyHat Link ParentThat's good to know, I somehow missed that. Thanks.That's good to know, I somehow missed that. Thanks.
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Comment on What games have you been playing, and what's your opinion on them? in ~games
BeardyHat Link ParentThis is definitely one I need to go back to, but I'm slow in solving the puzzles and playing. My biggest issue was that it's not friendly to my lack of memory, often requiring me to remember who...This is definitely one I need to go back to, but I'm slow in solving the puzzles and playing. My biggest issue was that it's not friendly to my lack of memory, often requiring me to remember who people were and what they were doing, so I can deduce who and what is going on in the next scene.
Really do want to get back to it, just wish my memory wasn't so terrible so it was easier for me to play.
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Comment on What games have you been playing, and what's your opinion on them? in ~games
BeardyHat Link ParentSo I'm going to start this off by saying, I think we're in different camps when it comes to playing WoW. I'm a player who absolutely loves the leveling experience. I'm constantly starting new...So I'm going to start this off by saying, I think we're in different camps when it comes to playing WoW. I'm a player who absolutely loves the leveling experience. I'm constantly starting new characters and repeating the same old content again and again. Been doing it for 22 years now since I played in one of the later WoW Betas in like 2003-2004. I did do some raiding in TBC as a Shaman, but hated the idea of being beholden to my guild at a certain time and not being able to play how I wanted to play, so I stopped after a month or so.
I'll get to the point: Why not play on a private server? I used to treat WoW a bit like a job, even if I wasn't raiding. Logging on everyday to play for hours. These days yeah, I've got a lot going on (to keep it short) and so I really only want to play every now and then. I go through periods with some friends where we'll play for a couple of weeks and then we'll all fall off and not play for several months or maybe even I'll dip in here and there just for fun. Private servers really suit this quite well, since you don't feel like your wasting your money or your time on a subscription you aren't using. Not to mention, if you just want to raid, there's tons of servers that have 4x-10x exp and you'll shoot through levels and many even will just offer high level characters so you can jump right in to that experience.
Tangentially, it's also better than giving more money to scumbag Blizzard.
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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 still got my troops massed in that city I took, just waiting for an excuse to use them. I tend not to be very warlike, but I'm happy to engage if someone else provokes... I'm Dido and the...I've still got my troops massed in that city I took, just waiting for an excuse to use them. I tend not to be very warlike, but I'm happy to engage if someone else provokes...
I'm Dido and the enemy was Mabuche? Not exactly sure how to spell it. I'm still pretty novice when it comes to Civ, so I don't expect to win this game (just like my last one as Nubia), but I have fun anyway and enjoy the little interactions and stories that come out of it.
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Comment on What games have you been playing, and what's your opinion on them? in ~games
BeardyHat LinkI had been playing Adventurey/Explory games, but I've been feeling quite mentally overwhelmed recently with how things in life are going and I've pretty much only been playing Civ 6 in the past...I had been playing Adventurey/Explory games, but I've been feeling quite mentally overwhelmed recently with how things in life are going and I've pretty much only been playing Civ 6 in the past week or so. I appreciate that it's a game I can just jump into and depending on how much time I have, I can take a lot of turns or a couple and then call it a day. Then, when I come back I find it easy to pick up where I left off from without having to think, "Where was I? What was I doing? What's the story? Who's that dude?" It's been a perfect game for where I'm at mentally.
One recent anecdote from yesterday was that I got surprise attacked by my Northern neighbor while my army was in the South fighting off Barbarians so I could continue to expand. This caught me off guard and the enemy immediately started moving towards my Capital. Luckily I was Suzereine of the nearby City-State which had a pretty enormous military. I had enough money to Levy them and suddenly had half a dozen Warriors and two Archers, which I moved to defend my Capital with. I managed to beat back the invaders and proceeded to their nearest city, ultimately crushing the defenders and taking the city for myself.
Finally the enemy capitulated (they may have tried to buy Peace earlier with token offerings, but I'm nothing if not vindictive) and offered to let me keep the City, as well as pay me off. I still have plenty of grievances since they attacked me first and I'm off scott free with another city, so I'm pretty excited about that.
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Comment on Renfrew Christie dies at 76; sabotaged racist regime’s nuclear program (gifted link) in ~society
BeardyHat LinkI've never heard of this person before, but damn, what a fucking hero. I wish I had the kind of grit and selflessness it takes to put oneself in such a position, but I am a coward.I've never heard of this person before, but damn, what a fucking hero. I wish I had the kind of grit and selflessness it takes to put oneself in such a position, but I am a coward.
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Comment on How have you changed in the last year? What are your goals for this year? in ~life
BeardyHat Link ParentCongratulations! Kids will absolutely change your life and your perspective (but not immediately). Something I also like to say to soon to be parents: It is 100% ok if you don't love them or feel...Congratulations!
Kids will absolutely change your life and your perspective (but not immediately).
Something I also like to say to soon to be parents: It is 100% ok if you don't love them or feel any different at first, that is absolutely normal. It took both myself and my wife months to love our kids respectively. You're not broken or weird or whatever; you've gone through a major life change and now you have a sack of potatoes that eats, poops and cries that you have to carry everywhere with you.
Also, struggling with breastfeeding is very normal.
Anyway, I hope for an easy pregnancy and an uneventful birth for you!
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Comment on How have you changed in the last year? What are your goals for this year? in ~life
BeardyHat Link ParentI hope so. I have a strong fear of change, so it's pretty scary to be looking for work again after so long, not to mention during these times of massive layoffs. I'm just hoping I can find...I hope so. I have a strong fear of change, so it's pretty scary to be looking for work again after so long, not to mention during these times of massive layoffs. I'm just hoping I can find something that's rewarding, but also fairly flexible, because I'd like to still be around for my family as much as possible.
I've been working on a 1998 Jeep Grand Cherokee 5.2l V8 since 2017. I pulled the engine out December 2019 and took it to my buddy's house who had all the rebuild tools and knowledge to help me, so things got delayed sometime in early 2020, who can say why...
Anyway, I finally finished the engine and dropped it back in in May 2025, reassembled the intake and installed it in September, now need to finish getting the front of the engine together, wiring harness back in and get the transmission, transfer case and driveshafts back in and it'll be ready to go.
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Comment on How have you changed in the last year? What are your goals for this year? in ~life
BeardyHat LinkHaving been a stay at home Dad for going on eight years now, I've suddenly found myself with a lack of responsibilities with my youngest having started school full time in the Fall. Suddenly, a...-
Having been a stay at home Dad for going on eight years now, I've suddenly found myself with a lack of responsibilities with my youngest having started school full time in the Fall. Suddenly, a lot of the stuff I was doing to take care of the kids has kind of fallen off and I've refocused a lot on myself, which I don't necessarily think has been a great thing. I'm still doing stuff like cleaning the kitchen, cooking, grocery shopping, laundry, etc, but I've been delving deeper into my own hobbies and doing what often feels to me like fucking around. At this point, I'm kind of lackdasically looking to pick my career back-up, but I'm not sure what that looks like so I've been moving slow. I'm hoping to have a resume out this week.
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My anxiety is back under control and I'm back on medication. Over the past two years or so, I hadn't realized that my anxiety had crept back in and I wasn't addressing it. It came to a head in October 2025 and I realized I was being controlled by it and needed to get back on medication. Not really something I wanted to do, but I feel a little more like myself again. I still don't think I'm in a great place mentally and I think part of that is my floundering with what I'm doing right now and trying to figure out my life again in the last 4-5 months.
My goals for 2026 are simply to get back into my career and earn some decent money. It doesn't have to be a lot, because my wife can easily cover most our bills, but I'd like to go back to doing what I was before I quit working in 2018. I'm not sure if that's possible or not.
I would also like to finish off my long term car project. It's very much near completion, but I haven't had the motivation to go outside in my garage and do it, especially given the colder months, but I would like to have to finished by summer. I imagine I probably only have another 20-30 hours worth of work to go on it.
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Comment on Good News Everyone! - the coping with everything edition in ~talk
BeardyHat Link ParentThanks for this, I'm going to check it out. I do feel like Home kind of did everything and everything else has just kind of iterated on that and never been as interesting; I've definitely checked...Thanks for this, I'm going to check it out. I do feel like Home kind of did everything and everything else has just kind of iterated on that and never been as interesting; I've definitely checked out lots of stuff since then, but kind of rapidly grew board of the genre as a whole, since it felt like nothing was really happening.
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Comment on Pluribus full season discussion in ~tv
BeardyHat Link ParentMy wife was also frustrated with the ending; I'm not totally clear on her reasoning, other than she felt like Carol trying to be happy was bad and she doesn't like Menousos, because she doesn't...My wife was also frustrated with the ending; I'm not totally clear on her reasoning, other than she felt like Carol trying to be happy was bad and she doesn't like Menousos, because she doesn't feel like he's being totally reasonable, especially when trying to get around the darion gap. She insists he could have taken a boat from the eastern side of the continent.
Anyway, I disagree with her. I think Carol trying to be happy for a bit towards the end of the season is her trying to come to terms with Helen's death and moving towards that kind of false acceptance in the stages of grief, can't recall what it's termed at this point. But not only coming to grips with Helen's death, but also the fact that this is how the world is now and it necessarily need to be a bad thing, that she can still enjoy herself and try to form a (false) relationship with a supposed individual. Only to suddenly to have that ripped away from her when she realizes she's not as safe as she originally thought she might be.
As far as Menousos goes, he seems like a bit of an obnoxious dummy to me, but also yeah, I know people be like that. The insistence on going it alone to what is certain death is a little silly. Though also after they rescued him, why didn't they just fly him immediately to New Mexico? I suppose maybe he needed medical treatment immediately, but they could have likely setup a hospital plane to manage that while they fly him there.
At any rate, I enjoyed it. I love a good slow burn and I'm enjoying the pace.
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Comment on Hooters | Bankrupt in ~food
BeardyHat Link ParentI had a pretty similar life experience. The first and only time I was in a Hooters, I was maybe 12 or 13, so like 1996ish. I felt super uncomfortable about it and the food was terrible to boot....I had a pretty similar life experience. The first and only time I was in a Hooters, I was maybe 12 or 13, so like 1996ish. I felt super uncomfortable about it and the food was terrible to boot.
Between both, the food being awful is what I remember the most. I had Chicken Wings and they were just...I dunno, they did not taste good at all. Hooters to me always seemed like low brow crap and I'm a fan of low brow, but it just... It was always a no thanks from me.
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Comment on What’s a point that you think many people missed? in ~talk
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Comment on What games have you been playing, and what's your opinion on them? in ~games
BeardyHat Link ParentThis is wholly different from E33, but Skald: Against the Black Priory became a favorite for me recently, as well as Felvidek. They may not be what you're looking for, but they're great RPGs and...This is wholly different from E33, but Skald: Against the Black Priory became a favorite for me recently, as well as Felvidek. They may not be what you're looking for, but they're great RPGs and not terribly long.
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Comment on What games have you been playing, and what's your opinion on them? in ~games
BeardyHat LinkBouncing around quite a bit recently, but all games I want to spend time with. I'll start with the most recent: Elite: Dangerous I really like this game and it's one my friends just jumped back...Bouncing around quite a bit recently, but all games I want to spend time with. I'll start with the most recent:
Elite: Dangerous
I really like this game and it's one my friends just jumped back into after I reminded them about it (I saw them experimenting with Eve and asked them why...). I set myself back up, refamiliarized myself with the controls (which took awhile) and started up my process of trading again. I was doing some of that last night and then had that thought I often do with Elite which is, "Why?"
So I think I'll stop playing. I did have fun the evening my friends and I spent with the game, landing on planets and generally screwing around, but Elite always elicits the "Why?" response from me. The game is fun enough, but the gameplay loop isn't interesting enough to me to stick with it for longer than I have (about 200 hours). Simply jumping from place to place, landing on stations and doing it all over again whether you're trading, hunting, exploring, etc all feels pretty much the same and it only ever feels like I'm doing it to acquire a bigger ship so I can continue doing what I'm doing. So yeah, I'll probably stop.
Legend of Zelda: Wind Waker HD
I've been pretty lackadaisical about the CGA in recent months, because I haven't had the motivation to play a lot of the selections. But this month is getting me pretty well. I've never played Wind Waker before and I'm not really a huge Zelda fan, but I am very much enjoying this one since I started it a few days ago. I love the art style and the general gameplay has been quite fun; I basically just finished the first island (Windfall?), doing all the quests I could find and having just acquired the Sail, I'm ready to go and do some more exploring. Excited to play some more of this one.
CyberMage: Darklight Awakening
This one is a blast from the past for me. Relatively recently I installed eXoDOS on a couple of my systems and in poking through the game list, I stumbled across this one. This is a game that was pretty formative for me; I probably originally bought it back in 1996 when I was 12 or 13 and it was absolutely mind blowing at the time, being a sort-of proto-ImSim/FPS-RPG Hybrid. Rather than what I was used to at the time (I hadn't yet played System Shock) of running around an FPS level and blasting everything in sight, in this game you needed to listen to NPC's, follow their directions and explore expansive levels to get to your objectives. And several levels weren't just over when you were done with them, but you had to go back to previous levels where you now unlocked new areas and were able to explore further. Environments changed (as much as they could for 1996), such as the city; when you first arrive it's taken over by enemy forces, which you gradually wipe out, allowing the city to become a somewhat safe place for you to explore at your own will. Stop in shops, buy new guns, armor, etc. Drive tanks, air cars and use jumpjets to reach places you couldn't in any other FPS at the time.
I played this a lot when I was a kid and even played it a handful of times in my early 20's and then somehow just...forgot about it until stumbling back across it on eXoDOS. Can't say exactly how much time I've put into it so far, but I'm probably roughly halfway through the game at this point and looking forward to playing it more. What's funny is that even though I've played this game so much in my youth, I've actually never completed it, getting to the last or second to last level and then ultimately giving up, I'm not sure why.
What's interesting about revisiting it now as a 41-year old man is that I'm understanding a lot more of the game now, being more considerate, exploring more and paying so much more attention to my environment and the details put there as storytelling. It's just...been kind of a revelation for me and it's been really fun to play it on my Steam Deck.
I want to say that what's also interesting about this game is that it gives me some insight into the person I would become or at least, the preferences I would develop as I aged and continued playing games. This is an early game by Origin and Warren Spector in particular, so it's no wonder I very much loved Deus Ex later in life and earlier than that, the Thief games, System Shock, etc.
I can't say if Cybermage holds-up. It's a little janky, the controls are weird (mitigated by the Steam Deck, thankfully), it's got some dated stuff in it (with only one exception, any woman in the game is a prostitute), but I'm having a great time with it all the same. The levels are fun to explore, the story is fun to follow and those are really the main things for me.
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Comment on The year of the 3D printed miniature (and other lies we tell ourselves) in ~hobbies
BeardyHat LinkYes and no? I have two 3d printers (technically 3, but one I need to get rid of) and have printed quite a lot of miniatures on my resin one (other two are FDM). The resin one came in clutch a...Yes and no?
I have two 3d printers (technically 3, but one I need to get rid of) and have printed quite a lot of miniatures on my resin one (other two are FDM). The resin one came in clutch a couple of years ago, as I'd been collecting for a couple of years up to that point, a Gloomspite Gitz army for Age of Sigmar.
As the author says, it is 100% true that FOMO rules the day and Gitz were very hard to acquire. I pieced together most of an army by buying stuff second hand, off ebay or even watching GW's site for restocks. But I'd signed up for a tournament that was three months away and I didn't want to bring my Nighthaunt, as they were currently terrible (a large reason I do not play any Warhammer anymore), but I still only had most of an army.
Anyway, this coupled with being a broke father of two caused me to start cranking with my resin 3d printer. I found models I wanted, but weren't in print anymore and if you could find them on eBay, went for hundreds of dollars, unassembled, unpainted. I managed to find an STL for them and get them printed. Other models, such as Rockgut Trolls come in a kit with enough pieces to build 6 of them, but GW intentionally only puts three sets of legs in the kit, so you can build at most 3. I found an STL for the legs and then was able to build three more trolls.
I didn't want to buy two $40 boxes of Squigs, so I printed off a variety of them to fill in what I had. Ditto a $120 box set that came with one model I wanted, which GW refused (at the time) to sell separate, so I found an adequate proxy and printed that off. In total, probably 40% of what I brought to that tournament was 3d printed and I was pretty happy about that; I wasn't giving GW more money and I was able to get the models I wanted at an affordable price (or even free in some cases).
Now, all that said, would I 3d print more Warhammer? Probably not. Not only am I kind of over the "army sized" wargames, but as the author implies, it's kind of a pain in the ass. I don't go to great lengths to protect myself from my resin printer; I do have it in my utility closet, vented outside and I wear rubber gloves when I do it, but no other special protective gear. It's been fine in the many years I've been doing it. But it is kind of a pain to find the STL you want, properly support it, print it and possibly reprint many other times if it ends-up failing because your supports were wrong. Then of course, the clean-up process and it all becomes a lot more involved than the kind of meditative process of clipping a sprue and building a model slowly at your desk.
That said, I do still use my resin 3d printer when needed. Most recently, I printed off a Lance of Mechs and tanks for Battletech which CGL does not sell in any boxes. It was a pleasure to print the little guys because I really only needed less than 10 models, so it was quite easy to get things going and get myself setup for a campaign I was doing with some friends. This is where the 3d printer came in clutch again.
It also comes in clutch for another game I play called Bolt Action, a WW2 based game. Warlord games is also pretty expensive, but also doesn't necessarily sell all the weird, bespoke, experimental and different vehicles history saw during the conflict. So it's fun to go find an STL for some obscure tank and get that printed off. The majority of my tanks for my British 8th Army in North Africa were 3d printed by me, because I couldn't find an era appropriate British Sherman--most kits being late war--nor could I find weirder kits for tanks like the A9 Cruiser.
Lastly, I very much agree with the author that there is some mental roadblock in terms of having the "proper model" with GW games. Even I, as someone who doesn't play tournaments or Warhammer anymore, very much succumbs to this. I have four Warhammer armies and aside from the Gitz which are partially 3d printed, if I were to have more Necrons, Orks or Nighthaunt, I would absolutely purchase the official models. They generally look good and it just...feels appropriate in a way that I don't care about when it comes to games of Battletech and Bolt Action. Although, all that said, having the my Gitz be partially 3d printed does not bother me in the slighest; I think because they were generally so difficult to acquire in the first place and all the effort I went to to make them appear authentic is part of that. Many of the models wouldn't be obvious that they weren't official if I didn't tell you.
Edit: I should also say: 3d Printing is dirt cheap, in spite of what the author says. My resin 3d printer was free, given to me by a friend, but actually only costs about $200. Plus a wash and cure station for $100 (I actually only recently bought this to cut down on mess. Previously I used an old jar for cleaning and a cheap $10 UV light for curing) and resin is less than $20 for a kilo, generally. My newer FDM printer (which I print a lot of terrain on) was $360 out the door and two rolls of filament is about $30. Cheaper than the $30-$50 boxes of terrain I'd need otherwise. At this point I have spent money on STL's, but only about $50 and I've printed probably about $150 worth of terrain. So still not up to that original cost yet, but there will be a lot more printed and I also use the FDM to print stuff for other hobbies, as well as components for friends and such.
This is awesome, thanks.
Been playing the Hitman games since the very first one way back whenever. My tastes have changed a bit in the intervining years, so I haven't taken to WoA like I'd hoped, but a component of that has definitely been the always online stuff with it. Yo be able to rid myself of it is a godsend.