Billy's recent activity
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Comment on Games: Your personal year in review for 2025 in ~games
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Comment on Are there any current Kagi extended trial codes? in ~tech
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Comment on Are there any current Kagi extended trial codes? in ~tech
Billy LinkLike OP I had 100 searches but kind of ran out so if anyone else has a 3 month that would be greatLike OP I had 100 searches but kind of ran out so if anyone else has a 3 month that would be great
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Comment on Jimmy Kimmel pulled “indefinitely” by ABC after Charlie Kirk comments in ~tv
Billy Link ParentI don't think it is really even that they have dirt. The administration has shown they are happy to just make stuff up and take action unilaterally, then wait for that to catch up to them later on...I don't think it is really even that they have dirt. The administration has shown they are happy to just make stuff up and take action unilaterally, then wait for that to catch up to them later on months or years later after long drawn out fights. By which time the damage is already done.
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Comment on CGA-2025-09 🕹️🚂 INSERT CARTRIDGE 🟢 The Last Express in ~games
Billy Link ParentIt's so weird how everyone's view of this game differs. I'm a huge adventure game fan - loved all the Lucasarts games from back in the day, playing through Discworld again currently.. I adore the...It's so weird how everyone's view of this game differs. I'm a huge adventure game fan - loved all the Lucasarts games from back in the day, playing through Discworld again currently.. I adore the way this game is made (watched the documentary!) and the idea and setting itself is fantastic. The voice acting, for the time, is generally great. However, I've bounced off it pretty hard.
I think it's the odd control scheme with non-obvious options (sometimes you can look up, othertimes not.. Sometimes something is open and interactable, other times not - for seemingly no reason), combined with the fail states that seem to dissuade exploration and a lot of the time just end up wasting your time. I've even tried playing with a guide but it hasn't heightened my enjoyment of it much. It seems to be a game that you need to play a few times and be generally happy to be along for the ride with, along with the speed it runs at. Maybe I'll have more fun with a 'let's play' type video of it rather than playing it myself. For now though I think I'll put it down and try it again another time.
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Comment on Perplexity’s Comet browser invites in ~tech
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Comment on CGA-2025-09 🕹️🚂 INSERT CARTRIDGE 🟢 The Last Express in ~games
Billy LinkI have started getting setup for a run through this. For portability reasons I wanted to get it running on my MacBook. I can't believe no one has mentioned the latest dailies of SCUMMVM can now...I have started getting setup for a run through this. For portability reasons I wanted to get it running on my MacBook. I can't believe no one has mentioned the latest dailies of SCUMMVM can now run this game - see this post for how to get those setup:
https://www.scummvm.org/news/20250617/
I had to source the original 3CD release of the game and extract the files from the three ISOs (which also included the making of video mentioned in the post). I am not 100% sure but I think all you need are the three 'HPF' files. Got picked up in SCUMMVM no problem and seems to work flawlessly on my Mac (or at least the first few hours seem fine).
Hopefully this will help some of you who want to play along
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Comment on Anyone interested in trying out Kagi? (trial giveaway: round #2) in ~tech
Billy LinkI'd love to try this out if I'm not too late.. Keep seeing people talk about it here and on hackernews and with Google just getting worse it would be great to see if this is a viable alternative.I'd love to try this out if I'm not too late.. Keep seeing people talk about it here and on hackernews and with Google just getting worse it would be great to see if this is a viable alternative.
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Comment on US Department of Justice could seek break up of Live Nation-Ticketmaster, Bloomberg News reports in ~music
Billy Link ParentGiven how concentrated everything is currently, I think the answer to your question is 'yes'.. as anything will be better than what we have today.Given how concentrated everything is currently, I think the answer to your question is 'yes'.. as anything will be better than what we have today.
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Comment on Have you or anyone in your family ever won anything? in ~talk
Billy LinkI worked in the City of London a loooong time ago back when everyone commuted in by train. We were out drinking with work at a big rowdy pub - it was a huge gallery style pub with about 3 levels...I worked in the City of London a loooong time ago back when everyone commuted in by train. We were out drinking with work at a big rowdy pub - it was a huge gallery style pub with about 3 levels all overlooking the bar like a cheesy Kung Fu movie but with besuited bankers. They had a business card prize draw where you could win a Guinness fridge. I joked with my mates saying 'That's such a stupid prize - someone will have to take that thing aaaall the way home on the train! What a joke!' I threw my card in the bowl anyway and we got to drinking..
Fast forward several hours and they're doing the draw. The whole pub rallies around the gallery while the landlord drew the names. 'Scott!!'... Silence.. He'd left for the day. Then he drew a second card. 'Billy!' Welp - that was me.
I had to get the thing back on the train. It was exactly as little fun as I suspected - heavy, bulky and stupid. But I used it for about 5 years before I had to get rid of it. Fun times.
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Comment on Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse’s new trailer looks incredible in ~movies
Billy LinkWow - didn't think I'd like it but I do. Love the animation style and the story idea looks awesome. Consider me hyped!Wow - didn't think I'd like it but I do. Love the animation style and the story idea looks awesome. Consider me hyped!
Seeing everyone's comments inspired to write up my gaming year too - so thank you everyone who contributed! I didn't think I had done too much but when I went back through and worked out what I had played it ended up being reasonably substantial in the end.
To start with - my favorite games of the year. Avowed is a real stand out - great world building, great characters, story line, side quests, generous loot and a real sense of exploration. I was super sad as I approached the final quests as I just ran out of things to do and what was once a glorious playground was now empty. Hopefully we get an Avowed 2!. Also Dispatch surprised me - fun game, fun interactive elements and the episodic release model helped it feel more like an event than a game. Outer Worlds 2 was also awesome - very much the game I was hoping Starfield was going to be - meaningful choices, character builds mattered, fun loot and a great sense of humor. South of Midnight was a real surprise - the actual gameplay felt kind of strained at times but the world building, characters, stories and music really stuck with me. I still remember telling my wife the back story around the giant alligator boss and how sad the whole thing was. And lastly RoboCop Rogue City on gamepass ended up also being just a really fun time. Good gunplay, good world building and a fun story (even though it did kind of get samey towards the end) but I really enjoyed it.
For indy games the standouts were WheelWorld - nice chill game with fun upgrades and levels. Keeper was I guess technically an 'AA' title but I consider it indy in scope. Amazing levels, the game really opens up the more you play it and it doesn't overstay its welcome. It is definitely a 'one-and-done' experience but it's worth playing. Sword of the Sea was also great - kept growing and evolving and the worlds get more interesting the further in you go. Fast & Furious Arcade Edition is a game that really got me to yelp out loud the first few times I played some of the levels - it's just a super fun, crazy old school arcade racer. Currently enjoying Marvel Cosmic Invasion and looking forward to unlocking more characters as I play through the campaign.
I spent quite a lot of time upgrading my retro gaming setup this year and had probably more fun with this than anything else. I started with a Raspberry Pi 4 and Batocera, then upgraded that to a small BeeLink mini PC, then finally migrated that to a Retroid Flip 2 with a docking station. Retro games are typically a lot smaller and shorter in scope and with emulators you can use save states, meaning taking them on the road with you is transformational. Being able to progress Tekken 6 or Chrono Trigger on the train, rather than doomscrolling, is so much more fun! Notable standouts on my Flip 2 include Super Mario Galaxy 1 with the tweaked controls and HD texture pack (I finally completed the game this year for the first time). Zelda Wind Waker on the GameCube (with Better Wind Waker and HD textures) and Burnout 3 Takedown on the PS2 which is still the best Burnout game. A super special mention to Ridge Racer 2 PSP too as just being a super fun ride - great graphics and an arcade handling model that still holds up today. I repurposed the old BeeLink into I guess what most people would call a Steam Machine Lite - it's not as powerful but still runs games great in the living room. I enjoyed playing some older remasters on it such as Fable Anniversary, Burnout Remastered, Skyrim anniversary, Bioshock Infinite Remastered, Gears of War Remastered, Outrun Coast to Coast with HD texture pack and mods and lastly Sega Rally 2 25th Anniversary
I did try quite a few games and bounce off them hard though. I seem to really not enjoy rogue lites for some reason but I thought Hades 2 would be different. I think the repetition triggers something in my brain and I just get bored. Hades 2 is amazing but it's just not for me. Kingdom Come Deliverance II I played for about 15 hours before quitting. It's so realistic it feels like real life and almost a second job. But that seems to really contrast with the bugs I found such as lack of character continuity and overall jank that can cause quests to fail or for you to lose hours of progress if you accidentally annoy the wrong person. It just felt like work to me - if I wanted to work I'd just do another hour of 'real life' is how I end up thinking about it. It's not escapism if it's too real. Oblivion Remastered was great but it really shows its age in some ways - I got about a third of the way through then fired up Skyrim to see how it compared and the comparison is really not kind - Skyrim is so much better in every way (yes, come fight me!). Special shout out to Clair Obscure Expedition 33 for being amazing but poorly timed to release right at the start of the summer, vacations and other things happening IRL meaning I never really went back to it after finishing the first few bosses.
Last of all - I sold off my PS5 after I realized I just don't use it much. I use the PC, Xbox (with Gamepass) and my Flip 2 and between them all I have so many gaming needs met the tiny handful of exclusives on the PS5 I didn't get to play I don't feel too awful about. Maybe the PS6 will change that and I'll dip back in again.
Thank you 2025 then for a great year of games. 2026 looks even stronger and I can't wait!