Bullmaestro's recent activity
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Comment on Luigi Mangione pleads guilty to federal stalking charges in the killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO in ~news
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Comment on Is there any interest in building a Tildes successor? in ~tildes
Bullmaestro LinkTwo things hold me back from doing so. I'm not a programmer and I live in a country where online safety legislation would shoot such a website down if I hosted it here.Two things hold me back from doing so.
I'm not a programmer and I live in a country where online safety legislation would shoot such a website down if I hosted it here.
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Comment on Is it time to include pronouns? in ~tildes
Bullmaestro LinkIf you mean adding the option to include my pronouns alongside my username in a comment, I'm for it. I'm not gonna be a whiny human thumb like Az from HeelVsBabyface and cry about it. The tendency...If you mean adding the option to include my pronouns alongside my username in a comment, I'm for it.
I'm not gonna be a whiny human thumb like Az from HeelVsBabyface and cry about it. The tendency to disclose and acknowledge one's pronouns doesn't take away from my identity as a cis he/him.
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Comment on Honey gets terminated as lawsuits proceed in ~tech
Bullmaestro Link ParentI mean PayPal Credit isn't that predatory. Offering three months 0% APR repayment terms is pretty nuts, but it comes at the caveat of disabling direct debit to take advantage of the full repayment...I mean PayPal Credit isn't that predatory. Offering three months 0% APR repayment terms is pretty nuts, but it comes at the caveat of disabling direct debit to take advantage of the full repayment terms, so I guess their entire model was to catch people out with interest fees.
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Comment on What games have you been playing, and what's your opinion on them? in ~games
Bullmaestro Link ParentI'm a big fan of the original Halo trilogy, not-so-much Reach. For all the flaws that Combat Evolved and Reach had, Halo 2 and 3 remain the pinnacle of console FPS. Halo for me has been in...Halo Campaign Evolved -- err not feeling this if I'm staying polite. They couldn't configure UE5 proper, which is rather embarrassing when your whole AAA project is a UE5 port. Downloading an engine.ini made it work much better. The bonus missions are basically MCU-like fan service. My brother was playing so I figured I'd check it out. It's OK if you like UE5 and hadn't played it before, but I'm glad I've got my anniversary edition in MCC instead.
I'm a big fan of the original Halo trilogy, not-so-much Reach. For all the flaws that Combat Evolved and Reach had, Halo 2 and 3 remain the pinnacle of console FPS.
Halo for me has been in increasing decline since 343 Industries/Halo Studios took the reins.
Campaign Evolved has felt horrible from the get-go and I think I uninstalled it halfway through the second mission when I found that the Give & Take skull wasn't even spawning. Gunplay feels bad. Enemy AI is awful. The new cutscenes from what I have seen so far completely ruin the original's pacing, and I don't like some of the graphical changes made like how all the interiors look overly metallic.
My second-biggest gripe is with Cortana. She seems more cocky especially in the game's remade cutscenes (the scene where you first meet with Captain Keyes is just a few minutes of her bragging about how many Covenant ships she's downed), and I initially thought her jawline seemed rather masculine. Then I saw all the memes comparing her face to Jerma985's and it suddenly clicked.
But the worst is the prequel missions. Boring level designs, and just look at this cutscene of the Prophet of Harmony introducing all the Covenant races and tell me it isn't filled with levels of exposition so painful that even the script-writers at Toei Animation would cringe upon reading it.
I am actually baffled at how badly Halo Studios dropped the ball here. At least for how dreadful Rare have been after Microsoft bought them out, they could do remasters and ports rather well. 343i couldn't even handle remasters of their own without years of post-launch updates to fix the messes they created. A good example of this is with The Truth and Reconciliation (3rd mission) in Halo 1 Anniversary, where the Anniversary graphics don't even remotely align with the actual level's geometry, meaning that it's genuinely possible to get spotted and shot at by Covenant forces through what appears to be solid boulders.
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Comment on Honey gets terminated as lawsuits proceed in ~tech
Bullmaestro LinkI have choice words for PayPal as a corporation in general. They're even scummier than the likes of Visa and Mastercard and have been even more puritanical in their crusade to purge the internet...I have choice words for PayPal as a corporation in general. They're even scummier than the likes of Visa and Mastercard and have been even more puritanical in their crusade to purge the internet of adult content.
The fact that they chose to threaten litigation upon Megalag rather than take his allegations of affiliate link hijacking seriously is damning in and of itself. What they pulled with Honey is a level of fraud that would get you significant prison time if you weren't running a billion-dollar corporation with enough lobbyist dollars to cover your ass.
But I also think his video has also opened up how scummy the affiliate marketing industry is based on how Rakuten (in particular) responded.
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Comment on What games have you been playing, and what's your opinion on them? in ~games
Bullmaestro LinkRuneScape: Leagues II Equilibrium is out and I already have conflicting thoughts. The first relic I obtained (Golden Touch) is overpowered as fuck. Goldenhawk Boots alone give you Agility XP and...RuneScape: Leagues II Equilibrium is out and I already have conflicting thoughts.
The first relic I obtained (Golden Touch) is overpowered as fuck. Goldenhawk Boots alone give you Agility XP and Goldenhawk feathers whenever you're running, skilling or using ultimate abilities. Feathers can be sold for 50,000gp or exchanged for a good chunk of prayer XP. I have managed to hit 40 Prayer and 86 Agility in about two hours of playtime.
It also lets you pickpocket without fail and multiplies loot, as far as 200x coins.
The other two choices were kinda dogshit. And I don't think I should really explain why solving three tedious skills and any money woes in one relic is absurdly busted.
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Comment on What games have you been playing, and what's your opinion on them? in ~games
Bullmaestro LinkSir, We Have An Orc Problem came out a few days ago and I bought the full game based on how much I enjoyed the demo. Unfortunately, I wish there was a lot more to the game. The demo is 5 stages...Sir, We Have An Orc Problem came out a few days ago and I bought the full game based on how much I enjoyed the demo.
Unfortunately, I wish there was a lot more to the game. The demo is 5 stages compared to the full game's 12, and what makes this particularly egregious is that 95% of the game is just a repetitive grind to farm enough currency to buy tower upgrades. You can tell the developer unnecessarily padded the entire game and didn't add much beyond the content in the demo.
Not much has really changed in terms of tower availability. Only a few extra tower types like laser towers, tesla coils and grenade towers were really added, along with another bonus ability which is dogshit), and the only real substantial change they've made to existing abilities is nerfing Strafe Run to no longer repeat, which was admittedly overpowered-as-fuck in the demo.
Otherwise, I've been playing League of Legends Classic and League of Legends Wild Rift. Classic isn't a good experience at all, because I'm currently 0-4, nobody takes the mode seriously and there is zero consequence to actively inting a game. I have found a whole lot more success with Wild Rift though...
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Comment on FIFA scraps controversial plan to sell commercial rights to private investors in ~sports.football
Bullmaestro Link ParentOn a similar note, I would have liked to see the European Super League actually happen, because the Premier League would have suddenly gotten very interesting if Manchester United, Manchester...On a similar note, I would have liked to see the European Super League actually happen, because the Premier League would have suddenly gotten very interesting if Manchester United, Manchester City, Arsenal, Liverpool, Tottenham and Chelsea left.
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Comment on FIFA scraps controversial plan to sell commercial rights to private investors in ~sports.football
Bullmaestro LinkThis won't get rid of Infantino. It took a full FBI investigation and multiple arrests to get Sepp Blatter to stand down. Infantino on the other hand is blatantly in Trump's pocket.This won't get rid of Infantino. It took a full FBI investigation and multiple arrests to get Sepp Blatter to stand down. Infantino on the other hand is blatantly in Trump's pocket.
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Comment on Game Pass was supposed to save Xbox – instead, it’s killing the company in ~games
Bullmaestro Link ParentIt's harder to quantify based on the fact that Xbox Live Gold was mandatory to play online then got bundled with Game Pass Essentials. Game Pass PC may be a better point of comparison. $13.99 a...It's harder to quantify based on the fact that Xbox Live Gold was mandatory to play online then got bundled with Game Pass Essentials.
Game Pass PC may be a better point of comparison. $13.99 a month or $167.88 a year. Divide that by the RRP of a mainline MS game ($69.99) and that's about 2.4 games a year.
The only thing even remotely making this a win for MS is the fact that Xbox Game Studios have released sweet fuck-all lately.
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Comment on UEFA agrees to boycott FIFA competitions if World Cup sell-off plans proceed in ~sports.football
Bullmaestro LinkCONCACAF have also rejected FIFA proposals. Your move, InfantinoCONCACAF have also rejected FIFA proposals.
Your move, Infantino
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Comment on Game Pass was supposed to save Xbox – instead, it’s killing the company in ~games
Bullmaestro Link ParentYou still do. Because the Reddit community is toxic and lacks basic critical thinking skills. Game Pass is genuinely one of the dumbest business models a games publisher could ever have...You still do. Because the Reddit community is toxic and lacks basic critical thinking skills.
Game Pass is genuinely one of the dumbest business models a games publisher could ever have introduced; aside from "release all our exclusives on our competitors' platforms and hope that sells Xboxes."
For the price of roughly two games a year, you get access to hundreds of titles including day-one releases of anything from Xbox Game Studios.
Even at $30 a month Game Pass Ultimate eas an absolute steal.
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Comment on Mojang has updated the system requirements for Minecraft: Java Edition, raising recommended system memory from 4GB to 16GB in ~games
Bullmaestro Link ParentIn any other context surrounding a block game I'd agree. But unlike a game like Vintage Story, Hytale was founded by Minecraft's main third-party server operator, bought by Riot, closed down by...In any other context surrounding a block game I'd agree. But unlike a game like Vintage Story, Hytale was founded by Minecraft's main third-party server operator, bought by Riot, closed down by Riot, bought back by the original founders following outrage and a huge petition and then grossed enough in Early Access sales to fund an additional two years of development.
And the updates they've released so far have been substantial. It's not like Mojang's quarter-arsed community votes where they make the community choose one out of three new biomes every year then scrap the others; whilst the modding scene recreate all three biomes and their new mobs/items in a matter of days.
If they keep releasing substantial updates, figure out how to make monetisation work without pissing off the community, release console versions and get a few big content creators playing their game, they'll be a big threat.
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Comment on Mojang has updated the system requirements for Minecraft: Java Edition, raising recommended system memory from 4GB to 16GB in ~games
Bullmaestro LinkThis puts them practically on-par with Hytale in terms of system requirements. Considering the fact that Hytale is already graphically superior to, is more moddable than, and already has...This puts them practically on-par with Hytale in terms of system requirements.
Considering the fact that Hytale is already graphically superior to, is more moddable than, and already has comparable amounts of content to Minecraft even in Early Access, this jump in minimum/recommended specs feels incredibly ballsy. Maybe Hypixel have finally forced Mojang to start taking content releases and engine upgrades seriously...
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Comment on What games have you been playing, and what's your opinion on them? in ~games
Bullmaestro LinkA warning to anybody thinking of playing Tangy TD. If your PC powers off whilst you play it, whether due to overheating, a forced Windows update, a power cut, or in my case, a circuit breaker...A warning to anybody thinking of playing Tangy TD. If your PC powers off whilst you play it, whether due to overheating, a forced Windows update, a power cut, or in my case, a circuit breaker tripping in your home, you will lose all your saved data. So clearly something is incredibly broken with how Steam Cloud is set-up for that game.
I made my thoughts about that game and its repetitive nature known last week, and losing six missions worth of progress has made me not want to touch it again for the foreseeable future.
Punch Club is a terrible martial arts management sim game. The story feels like an incredibly unoriginal homage to past boxing movies (there is a whole section where your buddy dies to a Zangief-looking Russian fighter and you spend a good chunk of the game in a Russian village training to beat him in a straight-clone of Rocky IV's plot. On top of this, training your character becomes a grind-fest, and a huge part of the problem is that your stats drain rather excessively each day. At least its sequel, Punch Club 2 fixes some of the original's flaws, even if the dystopian cyberpunk setting is very contrived and feels more like a cross between Fifteen Million Merits and Soylent Green.
Right now I'm planning what I want to play over the next week. Halo: Campaign Evolved releases generally tomorrow and since Early Access isn't available to Game Pass subscribers, I'll have to wait. But also, League of Legends Classic actually releases on Wednesday alongside patch 26.15.
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Comment on What games have you been playing, and what's your opinion on them? in ~games
Bullmaestro LinkAurelia is an erotic 18+ visual novel with incredibly light RPG mechanics which I finished last week. While I won't go into the lewd content of that game (of which there is a metric tonne of smut....Aurelia is an erotic 18+ visual novel with incredibly light RPG mechanics which I finished last week. While I won't go into the lewd content of that game (of which there is a metric tonne of smut. No seriously, it makes Katawa Shoujo look incredibly tame by comparison) I do have some thoughts on it. The graphics are reminiscent of those late 90's/early 00's point & click adventure games that makes heavy use of dithering. Looks great in some areas, not so much in others. The gameplay involves light puzzles and a series of minigames that range between repetitive, luck-based and kinda frustrating. Your ability to do these minigames are governed by a series of 5 RPG stats, which you all max out at the level cap of 100.
What I don't particularly like is the story and writing. You play as an adventurer who inherits his deceased uncle's cottage, find a mysterious amulet left on a desk and touch it, knocking you unconscious. You wake up days later to find a sorceress who has been squatting in your home, and that the inconspicuous amulet you touched is cursed and gave you magic powers. Beyond that, there's not really a sense of danger despite the protagonist surviving some deadly situations. Much of the game's writing in its main and sidequests is just straight-up bad porno writing.
Tangy TD is another game I played more recently. It's... a bit repetitive. While the skill tree is very expansive, it feels like you are expected to grind a lot to get to the next stage. Only three tower types also makes it really really boring, and the whole mechanic of microing a rather weak hero and picking up or dropping "towers" is quite frustrating.
Idle Sword Master got very weird recently. Because I'm on a platform that didn't get the latest update for a few months, I suddenly logged in to find I had been given hundreds of thousands of scrolls, tens of thousands of yellow upgrade gems, tonnes of pickaxes, and other resources as compensation. It's so much that I genuinely don't have a clue how to spend it all because they went into overload with compensating players who couldn't climb the leaderboards because they weren't on iOS. Companions level up so slowly unless you spend top dollar on VIP upgrades that I basically won't be able to raise any of them to level cap now.
League of Legends is the only other game I played this week, and I dunno why I'm torturing myself with this one. I'm hovering between Bronze 4 and 3, and it just feels like the quality of my matches has taken a further nosedive. Other than maybe trying League Classic once it launches next week, I'm not having any real desire to revisit it.
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Comment on Social media influencers Andrew and Tristan Tate arrested in Miami in ~news
Bullmaestro LinkI'm surprised they dared return to the US. Weren't there a lot of people in the Trump Administration that were very unhappy with their arrival and wasn't this causing a schism within his cabinet?...I'm surprised they dared return to the US. Weren't there a lot of people in the Trump Administration that were very unhappy with their arrival and wasn't this causing a schism within his cabinet?
I thought the obvious path would have been Dubai, since the UAE has no extradition treaty with the UK...
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Comment on China is dealing with its own manosphere in ~life.men
Bullmaestro LinkI'm surprised we didn't see influencers with similar views to Andrew Tate blow up on Chinese social media sooner. China has a serious demographic problem thanks to their one-child policy...I'm surprised we didn't see influencers with similar views to Andrew Tate blow up on Chinese social media sooner.
China has a serious demographic problem thanks to their one-child policy encouraging parents to abort or abandon girls after birth out of wanting a male heir, and a phenomenon known as elite overproduction.
So imagine you're a Chinese guy in his late-twenties. You've been pushed through cram schools and forced to study for much of your childhood and adolescence, manage to get into a prestigious university like Tsinghua or Peking, graduate with a top Bachelors degree, only to then be unable to find a graduate job. You then take on postgraduate study yet despite coming out of it with a Masters or PhD, your only prospects for work after are to register for Meituan (China's equivalent of Doordash) and earn a pittance delivering fast food orders in the gig economy. You can't find a girlfriend or a spouse because China's aforementioned one-child policy has made boys outnumber girls by a ludicrous amount, and because you're not in stable employment, you are basically disqualified from being a suitor for marriage.
There is an African proverb that best describes why the manosphere has been growing so hard in the past few decades. "The child who is not embraced by the village will burn it down to feel its warmth." China represents a rather extreme example of what is currently going on in the West (mass youth unemployment) which have left men particularly disenfranchised.
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Comment on 2026 FIFA World Cup - Finals discussion and news megathread (quarters/semis/finals) in ~sports.football
Bullmaestro (edited )Link ParentI'm of course rooting for England, but not just because I'm an Englishman. Hopefully us winning the World Cup will finally put It's Coming Home to rest. It's a "we haven't won in 30+ years, woe is...I'm of course rooting for England, but not just because I'm an Englishman. Hopefully us winning the World Cup will finally put It's Coming Home to rest.
It's a "we haven't won in 30+ years, woe is me" football song.
Haaland will be a huge fucking problem though. He single-handedly carried Manchester City to multiple Premier League trophies...
I wonder how this'll impact the state trial since he more-or-less admitted to Brian Thompson's killing and have basically given prosecutors enough ammunition to land him behind bars for life without parole.
Federal stalking offences carry a max sentence of five years, and since we're talking about a plea deal...