MimicSquid's recent activity

  1. Comment on Gift ideas for niece who’s into sewing? in ~life.women

    MimicSquid
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    Advice from my wife, who has a degree in fashion design:

    Advice from my wife, who has a degree in fashion design:

    When you're starting out, the main thing you need is good quality basic tools. Good quality fabric shears, a sturdy seam ripper, a pair of thread snips. If she's making things from scratch a cutting mat and rotary cutter are life-changing, but if she's mostly thrifting and upcycling they're pointless.

    7 votes

  2. Comment on Obsidian Entertainment reportedly lays off a quarter of staff, cancels multiple projects, and begins work on new Fallout game in ~games

    MimicSquid
    Link Parent
    Ah, yeah. I misremembered. It was a different branch of the tree.

    Ah, yeah. I misremembered. It was a different branch of the tree.

  3. Comment on Obsidian Entertainment reportedly lays off a quarter of staff, cancels multiple projects, and begins work on new Fallout game in ~games

    MimicSquid
    Link Parent
    Like Wasteland? The not quite Fallout trilogy of CRPGs made by Obsidian?

    Like Wasteland? The not quite Fallout trilogy of CRPGs made by Obsidian?

    1 vote

  4. Comment on Obsidian Entertainment reportedly lays off a quarter of staff, cancels multiple projects, and begins work on new Fallout game in ~games

    MimicSquid
    Link Parent
    I'd say that it's low. They're getting another crack at an IP they've done very well with in the past and are beloved for. I'm sure they've got some ideas they've squirreled away for this chance.

    I'd say that it's low. They're getting another crack at an IP they've done very well with in the past and are beloved for. I'm sure they've got some ideas they've squirreled away for this chance.

    14 votes

  5. Comment on Obsidian Entertainment reportedly lays off a quarter of staff, cancels multiple projects, and begins work on new Fallout game in ~games

    MimicSquid
    Link
    No word whether it'll be mainline, mainline-adjacent like FO:NV, or off the wall like Fallout: Tactics. Is FO:76's engine appropriate for a single player Fallout? Fallout 4 is fairly ancient at...

    No word whether it'll be mainline, mainline-adjacent like FO:NV, or off the wall like Fallout: Tactics. Is FO:76's engine appropriate for a single player Fallout? Fallout 4 is fairly ancient at this point.

    I suppose it's not worth even asking these questions yet. Under taskmasters like Microsoft, there's no reason to expect anything will happen before they're on the chopping block again.

  6. Comment on Mutiny to unveil open source Kei Truck kit in ~transport

    MimicSquid
    Link
    Meh. The mere existence of hub motors in the project make me dubious about overall power, simplicity or efficiency. They're cheap, to be sure, but come with a lot of drawbacks. Besides, without an...

    Meh. The mere existence of hub motors in the project make me dubious about overall power, simplicity or efficiency. They're cheap, to be sure, but come with a lot of drawbacks. Besides, without an actual vehicle this is just another company drafting on the Slate's positive press.

    6 votes

  7. Comment on Microsoft’s Xbox to cut 3,200 jobs, divest five studios in major overhaul (gifted link) in ~games

    MimicSquid
    Link

    Xbox will sell the studios Ninja Theory (Hellblade) and Undead Labs (State of Decay) to undisclosed buyers. Both studios will continue working on their current game projects, Senua and State of Decay 3, with Xbox.

    Two other studios, Double Fine (Psychonauts) and Compulsion Games (South of Midnight), will be spun out and return to private ownership under their founders. Sharma wrote that these two studios will receive runway funding and full ownership of the intellectual property they have developed, including their catalogs of previous games.

    Xbox will also begin a consultation process with Arkane Studios (Blade), based in Lyon, France, to “review potential strategic options” in the coming months in hopes of selling or spinning out the studio. Unlike the other four studios, this process has not yet started and will take longer than the others due to stringent French labor laws.

    13 votes

  8. Comment on Anyone had experience with Element and making friends on there? in ~tech

    MimicSquid
    (edited )
    Link Parent
    I don't want you to feel like the search for companionship is pointless. My point was that if you have a clear idea of what you need you can go about that search in ways that are more likely to...

    I don't want you to feel like the search for companionship is pointless. My point was that if you have a clear idea of what you need you can go about that search in ways that are more likely to fulfill that need. But general company from a friend and immediate assistance for someone who's having a mental health episode are not the same thing, and you can't assume that the same people will be able to provide both.

    I'm not going to say it's an absolute impossibility, but friends who have the emotional reserves and free time to be available on any random night to help a friend through a mental health episode are rarer than hen's teeth. I don't want to say they don't exist, but if that's what you're looking for, you may have better chances separating out the need for immediate assistance when you're having a mental health episode from your need for friendship and seeking a mental health provider who can assist in those circumstances. Especially given that you need this now, a therapist, help line, or some other venue is more likely to be able to help you when you need help. It sounds like one of your current friends made clear that she wasn't available for that purpose, and no friend you might hypothetically make in the next week who has healthy emotional boundaries will be able to provide that to a near-stranger.

    I don't know where you are in the world, so can't point you to particular resources, but many places have a help line for people in crisis. I strongly suggest you find one who can help you and call when you need it. You have friends, which is a wonderful starting place. But life will be easier if you ask for help from the people best equipped to help.

    35 votes

  9. Comment on Anyone had experience with Element and making friends on there? in ~tech

    MimicSquid
    Link
    You say you want a friend who is more available. The first thing I'd ask is: Available for what? "Friend" covers a huge number of different expected emotional, social, and physical expectations,...
    • Exemplary

    You say you want a friend who is more available. The first thing I'd ask is: Available for what? "Friend" covers a huge number of different expected emotional, social, and physical expectations, and different contexts and locations will make certain needs more or less easy to fulfill. Is what you need from a friend something that talking with someone on Element will actually provide?

    You say that you're lonely and need comfort. I'm not going to say that it's impossible to make good friends online, but I would ask if companionship and comfort is something that will be fulfilled through an online platform. I like many people I've interacted with online, and have gotten good advice from several of them. But the only people I met online who have have shared companionship and comfort with me have been people with whom the relationship moved offline and into spending notable amounts of real life time together.

    Broadly, I suggest that your premise regarding where you'll find what you say you need should be examined carefully. When thinking about how to meet a need, people are prone to getting attached to a strategy for meeting that need (no matter how poorly the strategy works) rather than attached to meeting the need itself. Will talking with people online provide comfort and companionship? Perhaps, but don't get too attached to it as the major strategy. Since you have friends close by, connecting with them or expanding your in-person group of people will, in my experience, do more to ensure that your emotional needs will be met than any amount of talking with people online.

    24 votes

  10. Comment on To my fellow Americans: Happy 4th of July, I hope you end the day with the same number of fingers you started with! in ~talk

    MimicSquid
    Link Parent
    Everyone should read those examples of injustices with an eye to the current moment in history. It's uncanny.

    Everyone should read those examples of injustices with an eye to the current moment in history. It's uncanny.

    8 votes

  11. Comment on What creative projects have you been working on? in ~creative

    MimicSquid
    Link Parent
    Thank you, I really appreciate it. Everyone in this thread has just been wonderful.

    Thank you, I really appreciate it. Everyone in this thread has just been wonderful.

    1 vote

  12. Comment on Publisher Kepler Interactive and developer Frictional Games have delayed science-fiction mystery thriller Ontos from its previously planned 2026 release window to 2027 in ~games

    MimicSquid
    Link
    Game decides to not compete in GTA 6's release window, or in the secondarily extremely crowded windows of everything else that's trying to avoid releasing too close to the 800 pound gorilla. It's...

    Game decides to not compete in GTA 6's release window, or in the secondarily extremely crowded windows of everything else that's trying to avoid releasing too close to the 800 pound gorilla. It's not a surprise. GTA 6 is warping the entire industry around its release.

    8 votes

  13. Comment on CGA-2026-07 🕹️🔥⚔️ INSERT CARTRIDGE 🟢 Lufia II: Rise of the Sinistrals in ~games

    MimicSquid
    Link
    I love this game, and have played it half a dozen times since I first acquired it in the early 2000s. I'll be playing it emulated on my Steam Deck. Its combination of serious puzzle solving,...

    I love this game, and have played it half a dozen times since I first acquired it in the early 2000s. I'll be playing it emulated on my Steam Deck. Its combination of serious puzzle solving, monster movement mechanics, and Ancient Cave makes it stand out as so much more thoughtful in playstyle than many of its contemporaries. I'm definitely looking forward to another playthrough, as I haven't touched it in maybe 6 years? It'll be nice to see how it holds up.

    5 votes

  14. Comment on Mullvad CEO gives ≈€452,000 to the Örebro Party in ~society

    MimicSquid
    Link Parent
    Asking for proof that something isn't happening isn't reasonable. You can only ever prove that something did happen, not that it didn't. Or would you like to prove right now, in front of us all,...

    Asking for proof that something isn't happening isn't reasonable. You can only ever prove that something did happen, not that it didn't. Or would you like to prove right now, in front of us all, that you aren't a criminal? Prove you didn't commit a crime.

    Right? It doesn't work that way. There's no way to prove something didn't happen. That's why most justice systems work on a presumption of innocence. Because innocence cannot be proven.

    As such, asking anyone to prove that other VPNs didn't do something just as bad is asking for the impossible.

    2 votes

  15. Comment on “There will be no mercy” in ~society

    MimicSquid
    Link Parent
    I think the UN was much more proactive about attempting to prevent them in the 90s and the earlier part of the 2000s. It may not have been perfect, but it's not even that now.

    I think the UN was much more proactive about attempting to prevent them in the 90s and the earlier part of the 2000s. It may not have been perfect, but it's not even that now.

    10 votes

  16. Comment on Finland's last landline call has been made as the Nordic country becomes the latest to retire copper-wire phones in favour of fibre in ~tech

    MimicSquid
    Link Parent
    I don't know about Finland in particular but often there are regulations requiring that communications be available to all homes meeting certain requirements. Closing down the last copper lines...

    I don't know about Finland in particular but often there are regulations requiring that communications be available to all homes meeting certain requirements. Closing down the last copper lines would not have been done without coordinating with the government.

    9 votes

  17. Comment on “There will be no mercy” in ~society

    MimicSquid
    Link
    Well, yeah. The forces for good have been perverted or distracted, leaving the venal and the angry to act unopposed. Of course the world is ignoring genocide. Everyone is overwhelmed by the pace...
    • Exemplary

    Well, yeah. The forces for good have been perverted or distracted, leaving the venal and the angry to act unopposed. Of course the world is ignoring genocide. Everyone is overwhelmed by the pace of world events and doesn't want to dedicate forces to years of peacekeeper actions to keep people from killing each other in places and ways that dont fundamentally disrupt the world. There are other disasters more relevant to the voters in developed countries than this one. It's incredibly shitty, but unsurprising.

    14 votes

  18. Comment on What creative projects have you been working on? in ~creative

    MimicSquid
    Link Parent
    Thank you. I'm definitely keeping my expectations low and just trying to get it out. I've been bad at painting, at pottery, at woodworking. I can handle knowing that my initial efforts are going...

    Thank you. I'm definitely keeping my expectations low and just trying to get it out. I've been bad at painting, at pottery, at woodworking. I can handle knowing that my initial efforts are going to be bad. I will try to focus on just getting anything out onto the page rather than stalling on some ideal of perfection.

    3 votes

  19. Comment on What creative projects have you been working on? in ~creative

    MimicSquid
    Link Parent
    I tend to like stories that catch at the imagination, and for me those are often worlds hidden beneath our own, with people and technological choices unlike the ones that happened to be real....

    I tend to like stories that catch at the imagination, and for me those are often worlds hidden beneath our own, with people and technological choices unlike the ones that happened to be real. Speculative fiction, broadly.

    There's a few different ideas bouncing around. A "dungeon core" story set in the modern day world, a coming of age novel set in a world with layers of ancient civilizations with wildly differing technologies (a la Caves of Qud or Invisible Sun), a story set in an alternate Hawaii where the entire island chain was enveloped the ruins of an ancient civilization and as the inhabitants flee down into the depths to avoid imperial aggression, they find uncanny tools to help them take back their land.

    So I have story seeds I like, and can map out basically how I want the story to go. That's all well and good for running a TTRPG, but just the basic craft of telling the story in a way that feels right is the work in progress. I've heard that ideas are cheap and writing is hard, and it's so true.

    3 votes

  20. Comment on What creative projects have you been working on? in ~creative

    MimicSquid
    Link
    I've been trying to write fiction. I've self-identified as an uncreative person my whole life, and am trying to buck that trend. I've been an enthusiastic reader forever, and it is unsurprisingly...

    I've been trying to write fiction. I've self-identified as an uncreative person my whole life, and am trying to buck that trend. I've been an enthusiastic reader forever, and it is unsurprisingly much harder to get a scene out of my head and onto paper in a way that seems compelling than it is to read it. So I keep noodling at it in my downtime, thinking about story bits and trying to write down cool ideas. It'll probably never turn into anything serious, but just trying to write is already pushing my boundaries.

    15 votes