EsteeBestee's recent activity
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Comment on What are you reading these days? in ~books
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Comment on What games have you been playing, and what's your opinion on them? in ~games
EsteeBestee Link ParentAnd that 100% isn’t going to require hundreds of hours of time like many modern games do! I’m just so happy to be playing this.And that 100% isn’t going to require hundreds of hours of time like many modern games do! I’m just so happy to be playing this.
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Comment on What games have you been playing, and what's your opinion on them? in ~games
EsteeBestee LinkAstro Bot. If you have a PS5, go buy this right now and don't look up anything about it. It's an incredibly tight and inventive 3D platformer. It's very cute, the mechanics are both simple to...Astro Bot. If you have a PS5, go buy this right now and don't look up anything about it. It's an incredibly tight and inventive 3D platformer. It's very cute, the mechanics are both simple to learn, but deep enough to be satisfying to even the best platformer players, and the environments are so meticulously crafted that it's absurd. Each of the levels is pure eye and ear candy and each level was completely unique. In addition to the main levels, there are a number of secret levels that up the difficulty to almost the level of kaizo levels. Additionally, I don't want to spoil too much around this, but there are levels themed around some more iconic playstation franchises and those are the absolute highlight of the game, to me. This is a must play and easily the best game I've played all year!
Besides that, I've been messing around with giant modlists in Skyrim and Oblivion. I tried Lorerim, one of the more popular Skyrim overhaul packages, but didn't really like it. I then tried Nordic Souls, which I did like! It's a good balance of keeping the feel of skyrim while adding more and overhauling some systems to make it a less bland experience. I haven't played too much as I've just been playing Astro Bot, but I'll go back to it soon. I also have thousands of hours in Skyrim already, so if I don't get hooked on a mod package, oh well.
For now, I'm off to play even more Astro Bot. I am definitely going to 100% this game.
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Comment on PS5 Pro technical presentation hosted by Mark Cerny - Out November 7th for $699.99 in ~games
EsteeBestee Link ParentFor $700, you can get a competent gaming PC (especially used) AND a switch. $700 for this thing is just absurd.For $700, you can get a competent gaming PC (especially used) AND a switch. $700 for this thing is just absurd.
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Comment on What games have you been playing, and what's your opinion on them? in ~games
EsteeBestee (edited )LinkShould be short and sweet for me this week instead of my normal blog post ass length. The Black Ops 6 beta resumed this weekend. Still a fun time and I still recommend thinking about Black Ops 6...Should be short and sweet for me this week instead of my normal blog post ass length. The Black Ops 6 beta resumed this weekend. Still a fun time and I still recommend thinking about Black Ops 6 for former CoD fans who want something more reminiscent of old (until it later inevitably gets ruined by skins and crossovers and all that).
A friend bought me Squirrel with a Gun and it's been pretty funny so far. This type of game isn't normally my thing, but I booted it up while hanging in discord with friends over the weekend and streamed it to them and we had a good time. The game does have some satisfying puzzles to get some of the golden acorns, though, like figuring out how to grill burgers for angry people at a picnic while being just a squirrel. It's definitely good for a few hours of laughs.
Lastly, I haven't actually played it yet, but I watched some videos on Skyrim mod packages over the weekend. I'm no stranger to modding that game, but I haven't used complete overhauls yet. This morning I downloaded and installed Lorerim and at least got through character creation. I'm going to play a bit tonight and see how I feel. I'm trying this one more out of curiosity than anything, but I do still love Skyrim, so let's see! If Lorerim ends up being a bit too much for me, there's another conversion that caught my eye called Nordic Souls (not actually a souls like), which is a little bit closer to vanilla skyrim, but still unique.
Otherwise, I'm debating if I pick up Astro Bot or Space Marine 2 this week. I'll get both eventually, but I don't need both at the same time. Probably Astro Bot to start.
Edit, I did buy Astro Bot and proceeded to play it for five hours straight. This game is constructed with such love and such care. It's cute as fuck, the gameplay, while simple to pick up, is incredibly satisfying. The zones, the music, and the art all rock, the character bots from other games, like God of War, Ape Escape, etc. are treated with such an attention to detail, it's mind blowing. You know the feeling you first got when you played Lego Star Wars as a kid? And do you remember the feeling you first got when you played Super Mario 64? It's both of those at the same time.
If you have a PS5, don't look up anything about this game, just go buy it and just go play it. It's such an innocent and pure gaming experience. It's going to be hard for anything else this year to top this for me and I'm only a few hours in.
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Comment on What games have you been playing, and what's your opinion on them? in ~games
EsteeBestee Link ParentThanks for the info. It sounds a bit shallow for the time being. It sounds like I should keep playing euro truck and just see if Star Trucker gets updates in the future.Thanks for the info. It sounds a bit shallow for the time being. It sounds like I should keep playing euro truck and just see if Star Trucker gets updates in the future.
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Comment on What games have you been playing, and what's your opinion on them? in ~games
EsteeBestee Link ParentThanks for the info! It's probably a game I'll check in on in a few months. For now, I've already got too much to play, ha.Thanks for the info! It's probably a game I'll check in on in a few months. For now, I've already got too much to play, ha.
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Comment on A tool to determine which US city you should live in in ~life
EsteeBestee LinkThat was a fun little quiz. I ended up with NYC as my top. While I love visiting there, I’m not sure I could live there. I value walkability and public transit highly, but it’s a bit too big for...That was a fun little quiz. I ended up with NYC as my top. While I love visiting there, I’m not sure I could live there. I value walkability and public transit highly, but it’s a bit too big for my taste. Some of the other top options for me were LA, SF, San Jose, Seattle, Chicago, Boston, and DC.
With both the results it gave me and after I tweaked them, my actual city, Minneapolis, was only like 25th, which surprised me. I absolutely love living here and the only place in the US I’d rather live is in California, though I’m not going to subject myself to that high cost of living voluntarily.
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Comment on What games have you been playing, and what's your opinion on them? in ~games
EsteeBestee (edited )LinkFirstly, the game I've been playing most this week, Guild Wars 2. Like Notcoffeetable, I have been playing World of Warcraft's new expansion, The War Within, lately, but even though the expansion...Firstly, the game I've been playing most this week, Guild Wars 2. Like Notcoffeetable, I have been playing World of Warcraft's new expansion, The War Within, lately, but even though the expansion is an objectively good expansion thus far, I just can't do it. Not even the combat is that fun for me anymore. I did some dungeons and it was just so 'meh' that I'm actually moving on. GW2 has been such a great change of pace. Once I got past the mental hurdle of not trying to optimize everything and just have fun, I started to enjoy it a lot more. I'm a level 38 or so Norn Ranger and loving how the game encourages you to explore and craft just as much as it encourages combat, and the combat system is quite good for a tab target MMO. I'll definitely be sinking more time in!
Risk of Rain 2. I did buy Seekers of the Storm and I do like the expansion so far! The new levels (especially the music) are really good! I only played with Chef for a little bit and didn't unlock the other character yet, but the DLC boss is very challenging and fun (even if I got walloped). I know there are a host of technical issues with the game now due to the update, but I've honestly experienced none of them as far as I know. I guess I'm lucky?
Black Ops 6 Beta was a massive surprise for me. I'm still a whore for CoD games, even the shitty ones, and I fully expected this to be as bloated, as clunky, and as dumb as MW3, but I was honestly incredibly surprised. The game runs smooth as butter, the menus are WAY better, the TTK seems perfect for me, gunsmith was heavily simplified (for example, instead of choosing between 30 suppressors, you can choose "the" suppressor, "the" muzzle brake, etc.) and stat adjustments from attachments are toned down where it's usually just one thing improved or hindered instead of a list of stats. A couple of the maps were good, but a couple sucked and the spawns were pretty bad the whole first beta weekend, but that's what a beta is for. Beta weekend 2 is coming up this weekend and is free for everyone, so I do actually recommend this if you haven't played CoD in a while and want something that reminds you a bit of the older CoDs.
Up next is Squirrel with a Gun and Star Trucker. Someone bought Squirrel for me, so I'll try that out this week. Star Trucker has been on my wishlist since announced, but I'm going to wait and see how reviews pan out first. Usually I've been the person to buy games day 1 because I want to be part of the hype, but I'm caring less and less about it. I skipped Star Wars Outlaws so far, even though I'm a massive fan of Star Wars games and Ubisoft games, knowing I can get it in three months for at least $20-$30 cheaper. Now that I'm settling in to a time sink game a bit (Guild Wars 2), I'm going to try to be a bit more frugal with my game purchases and hold off on buying games day 1 a bit more.
Edit: initial steam user reviews of Star Trucker are out and it isn't looking good. The game seems to lack very basic features (like being able to view or remap keybinds, it has no controller support, lots of text issues, no maps in zones so you get lost, bad AI, etc.), so I might just follow this one and un-wishlist it with hopes it gets better with updates.
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Comment on What games have you been playing, and what's your opinion on them? in ~games
EsteeBestee Link ParentRe: Dark Souls Ah, the Depths. Have fun :)))))))Re: Dark Souls
Ah, the Depths. Have fun :)))))))
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Comment on End of the road: An AnandTech farewell in ~tech
EsteeBestee Link ParentOh, I 100% read and watch multiple news sources, I was just using an example showing that my consumption has changed from smaller consumption every day to usually getting all my news, tech, and...Oh, I 100% read and watch multiple news sources, I was just using an example showing that my consumption has changed from smaller consumption every day to usually getting all my news, tech, and gaming updates in longer form videos once or twice a week.
Funny story, when I was doing jury duty last year, the 30 or so of us were being interviewed for a case. One of the questions was around how we consume news (how often, from what sources, etc.). In the room of 30 people, 25 said some variation of reddit, facebook, twitter, or other social media. Then a couple people mentioned actual news sources (though one of those two went on a multi minute rant about how much he loves fox news), and then the last three of us actually had a real answer of using multiple varied sources. It was a bit terrifying to be one of the three people in the room that actually take care when consuming news.
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Comment on Help on deciding whether to stay with a low cost simple life, or to "live life to the fullest" in ~life
EsteeBestee LinkI can’t tell you if a car is right for you or not, but I wanted to touch on the lifestyle creep and yearly costs you point out. That’s accurate if you buy something relatively new. However, you...I can’t tell you if a car is right for you or not, but I wanted to touch on the lifestyle creep and yearly costs you point out. That’s accurate if you buy something relatively new. However, you can pretty safely buy a $5000-$10000 Honda CR-V or something (2nd gen, ideally) and it’s going to be reliable as hell. If you buy with cash, you won’t have a loan, and even if you take out a loan, that’s a lot cheaper than if you buy something relatively new. Working on those is cheap and if you’re willing to learn to do your own oil changes and brake service, it’s even cheaper, but even without learning that, it’s one of the cheapest cars you can own.
I think assuming a car will cost you $3k-$5k yearly is a very high estimate considering you don’t need to buy a newer car. Of course insurance and gas are variables, but as a car person I just wanted to let you know it’s perfectly fine to get a 20 year old car. Something like the CR-V I mentioned can easily go to 300k miles (of course there are other makes/models, I just love Honda). Hit me up if you ever have car related questions, almost everything I drive is 20+ years old and despite owning three cars right now, my yearly costs are well below people who have a single newer car.
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Comment on End of the road: An AnandTech farewell in ~tech
EsteeBestee Link ParentYeah, I personally used to consume a ton of tech news via written articles, but over the last few years it’s just been way easier for me to consume my news via watching longer videos a few times a...Yeah, I personally used to consume a ton of tech news via written articles, but over the last few years it’s just been way easier for me to consume my news via watching longer videos a few times a week, like John Oliver for news, Skill Up for gaming, Gamers Nexus and LTT for tech, etc. It’s just so easy to have videos just appear on YouTube for me instead of seeking out written articles and I suspect it’s the same for most people, which is why “print” is starting to die a bit.
I do try to seek out actual written articles and do still read some written sources on a weekly basis, but video is just so much easier to consume at least for me.
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Comment on What have you been listening to this week? in ~music
EsteeBestee Link ParentThis album fucking slays, holy shit.This album fucking slays, holy shit.
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Comment on What have you been listening to this week? in ~music
EsteeBestee (edited )LinkNile - The Underworld Awaits Us All I haven't listened to a lot of Nile, so I can't make a comparison to their other stuff, but I'm loving this! Definitely worth a pick up for tech death fans....Nile - The Underworld Awaits Us All
I haven't listened to a lot of Nile, so I can't make a comparison to their other stuff, but I'm loving this! Definitely worth a pick up for tech death fans.
Additionally, I want to be more intentional with music again instead of just letting spotify recommend stuff, so I brushed off my foobar and actually purchased this album in 2024, imagine that. I did also order an ipod classic on ebay because I've been wanting to decouple various things from my phone and this is a good way to let me get music onto a dedicated device that isn't designed to addict me to everything. It's not here yet, but I'm excited about music again and ready to load it up with some albums as well as checking new releases this Friday!
From 2015 or so to 2021, I acquired 1370 albums, mostly in flac, to make up a 500gb library. But before this week, I hadn't downloaded a single album since 2021, it was all through streaming and I feel a little gross about it. So I definitely want to get back into the swing of things of actually owning music and managing my own library, though I probably won't be getting 300 albums a year like I used to, lol, I ended up just burning myself out back then.
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Comment on What games have you been playing, and what's your opinion on them? in ~games
EsteeBestee Link ParentWoW raiding is just exhausting to me now because there's always a harder difficulty and the raids aren't exactly short. You could have a dozen clears on the most recent raid and it will still take...WoW raiding is just exhausting to me now because there's always a harder difficulty and the raids aren't exactly short. You could have a dozen clears on the most recent raid and it will still take hours to clear when everyone knows what to do. So yeah, when I sat down to think about it, I really didn't want to commit every Tuesday for the next year to raiding, ha. In Destiny, after the first handful of tries, you can clear most raids in under an hour while shooting the shit, which I love. Raids there are more focused around puzzles and figuring out the mechanics rather than big execution oriented fights in WoW, so they're not an endless grind after you get the first clear.
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Comment on What games have you been playing, and what's your opinion on them? in ~games
EsteeBestee Link ParentIn my life playing WoW, I've had a few phases, ha. At first I mostly played the game socially and just did normal quests and up to herioc dungeons. Then around cata I got really into raiding up to...In my life playing WoW, I've had a few phases, ha. At first I mostly played the game socially and just did normal quests and up to herioc dungeons. Then around cata I got really into raiding up to herioc and stuck with that through Legion. In WoD, I got super into world pvp for a bit because there was fucking nothing to do in that expansion, and then in BFA and DF, I was pretty casual and didn't do much more than heroic dungeons.
My initial plan with TWW was to get back into raiding. In the time I was away from WoW, I became a really accomplished raider in Destiny 2, so I was looking to do that in WoW as well, but I think I just don't have it in me to play this game any more than casually anymore.
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Comment on What games have you been playing, and what's your opinion on them? in ~games
EsteeBestee Link ParentGreat to know! The fact it's more of a puzzle game than a tactical action game actually has me way more interested. I knew the dialogue and characters would be something I like, but it sounds like...Great to know! The fact it's more of a puzzle game than a tactical action game actually has me way more interested. I knew the dialogue and characters would be something I like, but it sounds like the gameplay will be too. Thanks!
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Comment on What games have you been playing, and what's your opinion on them? in ~games
EsteeBestee LinkI picked up and started playing World of Warcraft: The War Within. Yes, I am unfortunately one of the dumb simps that bought the "early access" (paid $40 more to play the game on the actual...I picked up and started playing World of Warcraft: The War Within. Yes, I am unfortunately one of the dumb simps that bought the "early access" (paid $40 more to play the game on the actual release date that I justified to myself because I was free all weekend and that was worth $25 over having to start on a monday and the upgrade also had 30 days game time worth $15).
For a WoW expansion, it's pretty good! The story so far is the best we've had since Legion, which isn't saying that much, but it's definitely a step forward. The new zones are fantastic and the quality of life in this game keeps improving. Obviously the art and music is on point like always. One addition here is "follower dungeons" and story mode raids, which let you experience instanced story content with bots instead of human players. Personally, I don't have enough social anxiety to keep me from playing with people, but it's a great addition for those that play the game as a single player game. Delves are also fun, they're single player dungeons with difficulty tiers and even on tier 3 as a good player (former heroic raider, so good, but not excellent), I was sweating. I think that will keep certain people busy for a long time.
That said, the combat is very samey. I thought the hero talents might spice things up, but it really turned into "your spec as usual, but now with red" or something. I'm playing mage and frost sided frostfire mage is fun, but it's not much different from just playing frost, with the exception of some cool looking effects. Same with frost spellslinger.
The game is also just as much of a conveyor belt as always. I played through the main campaign, but I think I'm already kind of done. The game is just overwhelming. I beat the campaign and then there were approximately 2 billion side quests on my map along with world quests, dailies, etc. Additionally, the game just doesn't have the same charm that it did when I was younger, either I outgrew the game or the game outgrew me, it's very different now. I played every week of my life from Burning Crusade through Legion and I played a fair bit of Battle for Azeroth and Dragonflight, but I think I'm just kind of done. I played maybe 12 hours over the weekend when I planned on 20-25 and I didn't feel like playing anymore. I don't even feel like playing today, either.
So I guess I wasted some money on an expansion I might not play for even another dozen hours, but at least I'm starting to accept this game isn't for me anymore and that I can just move on instead of picking up each expansion with the hopes it recaptures how I felt about the game from 2006 to 2016.
I was playing a bit of LOTRO and Guild Wars 2 up until I resubbed to WoW. I might try them again, but I think I'm entirely burned out for a lifetime on tab target MMOs. LOTRO and GW2 at least do great from an environmental standpoint (great art, music, etc.), but the gameplay of both is still kind of just meh now that I'm taking a step back and looking at it. It's frustrating knowing that this genre will never be like it once was. I know some of that is nostalgia, but MMOs were also legitimately better back in the 00's and even 2010's for various reasons. But oh well, I'm trying to move on for good instead of doing this on again off again depression loop with the genre.
So I guess what I'm looking forward to this week is the Seekers of the Storm expansion for Risk of Rain 2 as well as Star Wars Outlaws this week! I saw the reviews for SWO are pretty mid, but it sounds like I will like the game regardless, so I'm probably getting it unless it has massive issues on launch.
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Comment on Quitting alcohol, I don't feel like I was ever *that bad* in ~health.mental
EsteeBestee LinkYou're not alone, I had almost the exact relationship with alcohol. I don't think I was ever "addicted" in the sense that I would go through withdrawal without it, or where I felt it was necessary...You're not alone, I had almost the exact relationship with alcohol. I don't think I was ever "addicted" in the sense that I would go through withdrawal without it, or where I felt it was necessary for me, but I did drink more heavily than I should have for 10 years without realizing it. I never really had social issues, health issues, never blacked out or threw up, but I realized a couple years ago that I just didn't really like the way I felt while drunk anymore and I preferred the way I feel when sober. I started drinking less, maybe having a glass of whiskey a couple times a week for a buzz, but over time, I also grew to hate how I felt while just buzzed and now I'm essentially alcohol free except a couple times a year and I don't really ever feel a "pull" to drink more.
As far as navigating it, I try to focus on how clear headed and healthy I feel while I'm sober. It used to feel good to me to be drunk or buzzed, but it turns out that I prefer keeping my mentals at 100% instead. I think an important thing is that this isn't necessarily a binary, either. You don't have to be a drinker or an entirely sober person, you don't have to commit to anything or fit any specific label. Like I said, I still have a drink every few months at a social function if I feel like it, even though if asked at most events, I would say no thank you and if pestered, I would say I'm sober even if I do have a drink every once in a while.
"I also feel self-conscious about not drinking alcohol, because I'm worried about how to answer if asked why."
Don't let that brain worm creep in. If someone offers you a drink, you decline, and they pester you about it, that's their problem. Instead of being self conscious because you think you're abnormal or something compared to the people drinking, think about the willpower you have to be able to say no to peer pressure. You don't owe anybody else a why, just be confident to yourself.
I know it's easy to just say those sorts of things, but I'm in a similar boat and I feel you, even if my advice isn't the best.
I got inspired this week to try reading again after watching Answer In Progress's recent video about reading. I started Raven One, a book about an F18 squadron written by Kevin Miller, a former F18 pilot. I have flown the F18 for a few hundred hours in DCS, so I'm pretty interested in the source material. I'm only 30 or 40 pages in so far but I do like how well it paints the environments you're in, like I'm getting a very good mental picture of what the specific carrier is like that the story starts on. What I didn't like is the introductions to the first two women in the novel was very obviously written by a man, but that won't deter me from reading it and hoping that their introductions highlighted character flaws that will be developed later. There's just a weird paragraph that says one of the women would yell at former boyfriends for checking out other women and so now she has dismissed all men and then she's checking out her roommate either out of jealousy or because she is attracted to her? IDK, it just seemed out of place in the introduction but maybe it will be built upon in a good way.