Carrow's recent activity

  1. Comment on Save Point: A game deal roundup for the week of December 22 in ~games

  2. Comment on Save Point: A game deal roundup for the week of December 15 in ~games

  3. Comment on Save Point: A game deal roundup for the week of December 15 in ~games

  4. Comment on The 2024 Steam Winter Sale is live (runs December 19 - January 2) in ~games

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    My first thought was Enderal because it is a total conversion mod for Skyrim. I remember enjoying it a good bit, but it has been so long I can't remember much more about it other than that. This...

    My first thought was Enderal because it is a total conversion mod for Skyrim. I remember enjoying it a good bit, but it has been so long I can't remember much more about it other than that.

    This makes me want a tool that "maps" games out in a web based on related tags like you can find for music.

    6 votes

  5. Comment on Save Point: A game deal roundup for the week of December 15 in ~games

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    Edit: gonna stick the other epic freebies as replies here They'll be doing daily giveaways for about a week now.

    Edit: gonna stick the other epic freebies as replies here

    Epic freebie, Vampire Survivors

    https://store.epicgames.com/en-US/p/vampire-survivors-f699a1

    They'll be doing daily giveaways for about a week now.

    5 votes

  6. Crashing a server by charging a vape battery

    ~comp Text 310 words
    While I consider this resolved at time of posting, this is one of my weirder, more unexpected tech issues I've run into and I thought y'all might enjoy it. I'd been having issues with my (Ubuntu)...

    While I consider this resolved at time of posting, this is one of my weirder, more unexpected tech issues I've run into and I thought y'all might enjoy it.

    I'd been having issues with my (Ubuntu) server where its services were unavailable, I couldn't SSH in, and USB devices plugged in after the issues started weren't connecting (mouse LED would light up, couldn't toggle keyboard locks or interface computer with the devices). These issues were becoming a near daily occurrence.

    So after the most recent incident I decided to watch it boot. After grub, it would just hang at a black screen. So I opted for the recovery mode and after waiting some minutes for services to time out, I was given a terminal and used that to check my devices, sensors, etc and all were reading fine.

    Frustrated, I started reviewing what else could have possibly changed with my setup, and I found that change in my hand. I use my server's front USBs as a low current charger and had recently got a new vape battery that was charging at that moment.

    I unplugged the battery, rebooted, everything was fine. Plugged the battery in, everything locked up again immediately.

    I had been using a spare cable, it had data wired. Swapping for the included power only cable, and no issues.

    While I'm curious as to what exactly is happening and why, I'm satisfied enough concluding it is a cheap vape (I mean, I'm having to charge the sucker near daily after all) that is transmitting junk over data and the OS doesn't handle it appropriately. I'll pull logs or do another couple tests if other folks are curious as well though.

    Oh, and the battery is a Bear Rootz Sol. Come to think of it, my other worst battery at holding a charge was also a Bear Rootz.

    7 votes

  7. Comment on Why Ren'Py? in ~games

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    I looked at Ren'Py again recently when I was fiddling around with some game dev tools. I often recommend it for folk that want to make a VN. I ended up messing about with Godot after some...

    I looked at Ren'Py again recently when I was fiddling around with some game dev tools. I often recommend it for folk that want to make a VN. I ended up messing about with Godot after some meandering about.

    Some of the most popular Ren'Py games include Katawa Shoujo, Doki Doki Literature Club, and Slay the Princess.

    3 votes

  8. Comment on What are your Christmas movies? in ~movies

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    Last year I watched The Life and Adventures of Santa Claus for the first time, that's a ride of a Christmas movie. It's a rather pagan story based off a book by the same author as The Wizard of...

    Last year I watched The Life and Adventures of Santa Claus for the first time, that's a ride of a Christmas movie. It's a rather pagan story based off a book by the same author as The Wizard of Oz. It's from the folks that did the stop motion Frosty and Rudolph, it's in that same style. It's a short watch, I'd recommend it if you're able to find it.

    Edit: according to just watch, it looks like apple TV might be your best bet, though I wouldn't be surprised if it was also on YouTube or Internet archive.

    2 votes

  9. Comment on Save Point: A game deal roundup for the week of December 8 in ~games

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    Epic freebie of the week LotR: Return to Moria https://store.epicgames.com/en-US/p/the-lord-of-the-rings-return-to-moria-f01344 I was kinda interested in this when it was released despite not...

    Epic freebie of the week

    LotR: Return to Moria

    https://store.epicgames.com/en-US/p/the-lord-of-the-rings-return-to-moria-f01344

    I was kinda interested in this when it was released despite not being a big survival crafter fan, but didn't hear much praise after release.

    1 vote

  10. Comment on Are you lost? in ~games

  11. Comment on What does it mean to you to be a human? in ~life

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    Several folks have already noted the rising ape meets fallen angel quote, here's the full context. -Terry Pratchett, Hogfather

    Several folks have already noted the rising ape meets fallen angel quote, here's the full context.

    All right," said Susan. "I'm not stupid. You're saying humans need... fantasies to make life bearable."

    REALLY? AS IF IT WAS SOME KIND OF PINK PILL? NO. HUMANS NEED FANTASY TO BE HUMAN. TO BE THE PLACE WHERE THE FALLING ANGEL MEETS THE RISING APE.

    "Tooth fairies? Hogfathers? Little—"

    YES. AS PRACTICE. YOU HAVE TO START OUT LEARNING TO BELIEVE THE LITTLE LIES.

    "So we can believe the big ones?"

    YES. JUSTICE. MERCY. DUTY. THAT SORT OF THING.

    "They're not the same at all!"

    YOU THINK SO? THEN TAKE THE UNIVERSE AND GRIND IT DOWN TO THE FINEST POWDER AND SIEVE IT THROUGH THE FINEST SIEVE AND THEN SHOW ME ONE ATOM OF JUSTICE, ONE MOLECULE OF MERCY. AND YET—Death waved a hand. AND YET YOU ACT AS IF THERE IS SOME IDEAL ORDER IN THE WORLD, AS IF THERE IS SOME...SOME RIGHTNESS IN THE UNIVERSE BY WHICH IT MAY BE JUDGED.

    "Yes, but people have got to believe that, or what's the point—"

    MY POINT EXACTLY.

    -Terry Pratchett, Hogfather

    14 votes

  12. Comment on Humble Choice - December 2024 in ~games

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    I really enjoyed Moonstone Island. It has the sim elements of Stardew Valley, the creature capture of Pokemon, and the deck building combat of Slay the Spire. There are seasonal crops to rotate...

    I really enjoyed Moonstone Island. It has the sim elements of Stardew Valley, the creature capture of Pokemon, and the deck building combat of Slay the Spire. There are seasonal crops to rotate and potions to brew, plus (adult) villagers to romance. I found the array of creatures pretty cute. The combat is unique and fun, the creatures have their own deck that you improve as you level them and their decks combine for your full deck in battle. I didn't finish the first year, only because I burnt myself out on cozy chore games. Last I checked, the DLC was all cosmetic stuff that can be passed on unless you want a specific home vibe.

    My friends and I have done plays of the earlier Monster Prom games together taking turns voice acting, it's been a great time. I remember us liking the characters and feeling they were well done.

    My friend recommended Bomb Rush Cyberfunk so I'm looking forward to that one!

    I've seen Inkulanti in fanatical bundles but keep passing on it for whatever reason, seems unique though and I'll be giving it a try.

    I'm also looking forward to trying The Invincible, I've seen it on sale on Fanatical but passed due to the price point.

    11 votes

  13. Comment on What games have you been playing, and what's your opinion on them? in ~games

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    I've been juggling a couple games, but Arx Fatalis really hooked me good (using the Libertatis source port). It's a 2002 fantasy RPG from Arkane. I was looking for a bit of classic dungeon crawler...

    I've been juggling a couple games, but Arx Fatalis really hooked me good (using the Libertatis source port). It's a 2002 fantasy RPG from Arkane. I was looking for a bit of classic dungeon crawler action and had bought this after I think kfwyre was enjoying it. I'm not even sure I can put into words what exactly makes it click and come together for me, but in a sense it feels more like a fantasy immersive sim than a standard RPG.

    One of the most unique aspects that I quite like is the spellcasting system. To prepare a spell, you draw runes (using your cursor) and spell out the spell you want to cast. So you can ignite flammables by using "create fire", or modify that to make a fireball by spelling "create fire projectile", or a fire field with "create fire space". The runes don't have in game translations, so you kinda form your own translation, but the meaning is apparent as you use them. While the spell book automatically populates new spells when you learn a new rune, there are secret spells you only learn through experimentation. It's a cool system that I've only seen a similar incarnation of once before in a DS game. It does lose a bit of its novelty after drawing create fire projectile for the hundredth time, but generally I'm swapping up my repertoire and that's the only spell I've gotten annoyed with (and mostly bc I'm bad at drawing the projectile rune in a consistent enough way for the game to recognize). It does feel pretty cool to whip up a new spell on the spot or quickly draw a variety of spells just from remembering how the runes fit together/spell out a spell than just memorizing the movements, so even losing novelty doesn't make it feel like a cheap gimmick but a fun and thought out mechanic.

    1 vote

  14. Comment on November 2024 Backlog Burner: Conclusion and Recap in ~games

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    I passed this time for a couple reasons -- the most relevant of which is that my friends got into Metaphor ReFantazio and I picked it up so we could talk about it... but then I blew past them and...

    I passed this time for a couple reasons -- the most relevant of which is that my friends got into Metaphor ReFantazio and I picked it up so we could talk about it... but then I blew past them and couldn't talk to them about it any more. The funniest part though is my backlog is way longer than last event. I've been buying so many Steam games since I got a deck and have been tricking myself into buying games instead of snack store runs. For several months I had averaged buying a new game per day, no clue if that's still the case. And then I got my buddy to join my steam family and now we've broken 1000 shared titles with a lot of really high quality stuff in there.

    I have read what y'all have had to say and wishlisted some games based on it, others rocketed up the backlog. I appreciate what y'all write, I find them much more useful than reviews anywhere else. It's also cool since I get an idea of what a given user does or doesn't like, that added context is also helpful. So thank you @kfwyre for running the event and keeping things so organized, thank you @Wes for creating and improving the site, and thank you to everyone that contributed.

    4 votes

  15. Comment on New gaming PCs - price sanity check and recommendations? in ~games

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    You can compare parts and check compatibility with pcpartpicker.com. There's several sites for comparing benchmarks, I'd use those to evaluate comparative performance vs measures like raw clock...

    You can compare parts and check compatibility with pcpartpicker.com. There's several sites for comparing benchmarks, I'd use those to evaluate comparative performance vs measures like raw clock speed, core count, etc.

    I'm working with my brother on a build right now. We're looking at about $1050 for a pretty high performance machine. What we were finding is the Nvidia 4070 for $500 is probably the best price performance trade off at that price range, a 4070 super on sale for 550 would beat it. I was trying to see about using AMD stuff since I tend towards Intel Nvidia but I just couldn't make the price performance ratios make sense. I'm recommending him the Intel i5-12600K for $150 (plus a thermal assassin fan at $17). The 12th gen don't have the issues the 13 and 14 do while also being a better price performance trade off.

    I'd usually recommend waiting or buying piecemeal to help mitigate cost, but I'm not sure waiting is going to help what with the expected tarrifs.

    I'm using an Nvidia card on Linux and it has been mostly fine, did have an annoying bug when I started that has since been fixed. Otherwise Linux gaming has been pretty nearly there, even non Steam games are well supported thanks to programs like heroic launcher and lutris, but be willing to tinker somewhat for edge cases and ditch most competitive multiplayer games.

    I got a WD Black SN850X M2 drive and it was worth the extra couple bucks, this thing is wicked fast.

    Edit: best case for waiting would be to pick up a used 40xx card after the 50xx come out. I managed to snag a used 3070 for some $300 after the 40xx came out.

    6 votes

  16. Comment on Save Point: A game deal roundup for the week of November 24 in ~games

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    Thank you. He was at peace with it and was happy with the life he lived, should we all be so lucky. Key activated successfully, happy holidays~

    Thank you. He was at peace with it and was happy with the life he lived, should we all be so lucky.

    Key activated successfully, happy holidays~

    1 vote

  17. Comment on Save Point: A game deal roundup for the week of November 24 in ~games

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    I have the first Witcher comic somewhere. I liked it fine, felt like it could've been one of the short stories, but I didn't care for the Dark Horse aesthetic. I think that one had a leshen that...

    I have the first Witcher comic somewhere. I liked it fine, felt like it could've been one of the short stories, but I didn't care for the Dark Horse aesthetic. I think that one had a leshen that looked cool. So if you're already a Witcher and Dark Horse fan, it's cool, but I'm not sure it serves as a good intro to Witcher or comics. I'm also the sort of nerd that read the fan translations bc the original novels weren't in English yet so that's my bias.

    3 votes

  18. Comment on Save Point: A game deal roundup for the week of November 24 in ~games

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    I believe games like FUEL and Blur are considered abandonware, one can find downloads for them (and many other pieces of abandonware) on Internet archive. There are some sites dedicated to sharing...

    I believe games like FUEL and Blur are considered abandonware, one can find downloads for them (and many other pieces of abandonware) on Internet archive. There are some sites dedicated to sharing abandonware as well.

    3 votes

  19. Comment on Save Point: A game deal roundup for the week of November 24 in ~games

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    I'm thankful for my grandpa. He passed last month. He was a big part of my family and my upbringing, I wouldn't be the person I am without his guidance. He was a storyteller, he left behind...

    I'm thankful for my grandpa. He passed last month. He was a big part of my family and my upbringing, I wouldn't be the person I am without his guidance. He was a storyteller, he left behind several books of his own writing. I'm grateful I still have those to go through when I want a story from him.

    I'd also be grateful for that copy of Like a Dragon :) thanks for being a part of this community

    3 votes

  20. Comment on Bungie uncovers an issue in their distribution of random weapon perks in Destiny 2, detailed and interesting write up of the fix in ~games

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    I got a css error in Firefox, opened fine in chrome though.

    I got a css error in Firefox, opened fine in chrome though.

    2 votes