Promonk's recent activity
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Comment on Viral lost song ‘Ulterior Motives’ found in obscure ‘80s porn flick in ~music
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Comment on Viral lost song ‘Ulterior Motives’ found in obscure ‘80s porn flick in ~music
Promonk LinkI like how they make a point of saying it's an "obscure 80s porn flick." You know, unlike all those hundreds of famous 80s porn titles that are household names.I like how they make a point of saying it's an "obscure 80s porn flick." You know, unlike all those hundreds of famous 80s porn titles that are household names.
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Comment on ‘Escape From Tarkov’ fans are outraged at new $250 pay-to-win edition in ~games
Promonk LinkChecked out the subreddit for shiggles, even though I try to avoid that site like it might give me Ultra Space Herpes. The desperation of the playerbase is palpable. Inevitably people will move on...Checked out the subreddit for shiggles, even though I try to avoid that site like it might give me Ultra Space Herpes.
The desperation of the playerbase is palpable. Inevitably people will move on from one game to another; the trouble for players arises when that migration is instigated by the shit-poor behavior of devs rather than the organic process of finding the Next Big Thing™. This appears to be one such instance.
I have sympathy for the players, but only to an extent. No game claiming to be in "early access" for six-and-a-half years is using EA as anything other than an excuse not to deliver on promises. Shoulda cut bait long ago.
The other thing that strikes me is just how absurd the notion of Reddit protest is. That sub is flooded with hundreds of nearly identical posts from would-be generals of the resistance rallying the troops to hold the line, which I guess in this instance means not paying $250 [more] for an early access game by devs who've shown pretty clearly that they have no qualms about screwing their customers over. It made more sense when the Reddit API thing went down, since it was about the site the protest was hosted on–but it only barely made more sense. I understand the emotional rush of that kind of event, but I think I'm much better off without it, thank you.
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Comment on British Columbia to recriminalize use of drugs in public spaces in ~news
Promonk Link ParentI haven't been to Vancouver in a couple decades, so I'm curious: is that not how it's always been? Doesn't sound very different from what I remember.I haven't been to Vancouver in a couple decades, so I'm curious: is that not how it's always been? Doesn't sound very different from what I remember.
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Comment on What games have you been playing, and what's your opinion on them? in ~games
Promonk Link ParentI second this. I've had zero troubles with my dock. Works a treat.To me it sounds like your dock indeed has hardware issues, considering mine is very much plug and play. Whatever you are having is certainly not the intended behaviour.
I second this. I've had zero troubles with my dock. Works a treat.
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Comment on What games have you been playing, and what's your opinion on them? in ~games
Promonk Link ParentiFixit guides will usually warn you if there's a fragile ribbon cable or something of which you need to be conscious. To my recollection, there are few things in the Deck like that, although I'm...iFixit guides will usually warn you if there's a fragile ribbon cable or something of which you need to be conscious. To my recollection, there are few things in the Deck like that, although I'm not a huge fan of the haptic unit connectors. I've had connectors like that crumble on me before. Thankfully, a simple drive replacement doesn't go near those.
I recommend iFixit's 64-bit Mako precision screwdriver kit to anyone foolish enough to stop and listen. It's the main toolkit I've used in my career, and I can think of only once or twice that I've needed to take advantage of the lifetime warranty. That's impressive considering the number of turns of the screwdriver I've been wont to do on a daily basis.
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Comment on What games have you been playing, and what's your opinion on them? in ~games
Promonk Link ParentIt kind of depends what you're going to use it for. If all you're doing is playing Steam games, then no, not really. Many games make use of cloud saves, so the only thing backing up your data will...Would it be advisable for one to backup an image or do some kind of regular maintenance?
It kind of depends what you're going to use it for. If all you're doing is playing Steam games, then no, not really. Many games make use of cloud saves, so the only thing backing up your data will save you is time spent downloading the game data again, should you have a drive failure. You might want to backup save game data for those games that don't, if you're precious about your game progress.
Valve has done a pretty good job of patching the shader and compatdata leaks with software updates, or at least I haven't noticed my storage getting full inexplicably. I suppose you could get full up with cruft if you're constantly installing and uninstalling, and a reimage would be the fix for that. But as I like to say, installing and uninstalling computer games is my hobby more than playing them, and I haven't needed to reimage since I did the drive upgrade (more than a year ago).
I will say as an electronics repair tech, the first-gen Steam Deck is one of the most repair-friendly handheld devices I've ever had the pleasure to work on. Last I checked, most all the components were available for replacement except for the mainboard, and everything except the display and battery are easy enough to be replaced by a novice, provided they follow the iFixit guides. Even the display and battery are doable, but as they make use of adhesives, some specialized tools are necessary and experience advised.
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Comment on What games have you been playing, and what's your opinion on them? in ~games
Promonk Link ParentI went a similar route as you and got the base model and just upgraded the storage. When I got it the base model was the 64GB eMMC version which was completely insufficient both space- and...I went a similar route as you and got the base model and just upgraded the storage. When I got it the base model was the 64GB eMMC version which was completely insufficient both space- and speed-wise. The shaders and compatdata would eat that up in a heartbeat, and all that has to be stored on the internal storage, so the microSD wasn't a workaround. I think you'll fare much better with a 512GB NVMe.
If you do decide to upgrade the storage, I recommend you use a powered USB hub to connect the OS installation media. I tried using an unpowered USB-A to USB-C adapter, and it kept failing. I ended up just flashing the OS media to microSD with Rufus and installing it that way. That only really works if you have extra microSD cards laying around though.
Drop me a line if you do decide to do any upgrades or repairs and I'll be happy to give advice on parts and tools. I've been a device technician of one sort or another for nearly a decade, and I'm always happy to help out.
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Comment on Generation Z is unprecedentedly rich in ~finance
Promonk Link ParentFor people who aren't already wealthy, that is. If you've already got wealth, you can use economic downturns to snatch up the assets of less wealthy people at depressed prices and come through the...- Exemplary
Having a major economic downturn every 7-12 years puts a real hamper on being able to build wealth, regardless of income.
For people who aren't already wealthy, that is. If you've already got wealth, you can use economic downturns to snatch up the assets of less wealthy people at depressed prices and come through the thing much better off than you were before. If you're super lucky, the feds will even subsidize whatever losses you do incur with public funds/debt.
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Comment on How Hertz’s bet on Teslas went horribly sideways in ~finance
Promonk Link ParentI worked for Hertz many moons ago, and in my experience, this should be the company motto. I'm legitimately amazed they haven't gone completely out of business yet. Just goes to show what legacy...... major losses and a cautionary tale for all the other rental companies.
I worked for Hertz many moons ago, and in my experience, this should be the company motto. I'm legitimately amazed they haven't gone completely out of business yet. Just goes to show what legacy and name recognition will get you.
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Comment on Norfolk Southern agrees to pay $600M in settlement related to train derailment in eastern Ohio in ~transport
Promonk (edited )Link ParentTextbook weasel shit right there. "What has happened to your community," not "what we did to your community." It's as though a meteor came down and dumped a bunch of poison in their town. It's the...In the town hall, he apologized to East Palestine residents, saying, "I'm terribly sorry for what has happened to your community."
Textbook weasel shit right there. "What has happened to your community," not "what we did to your community." It's as though a meteor came down and dumped a bunch of poison in their town.
It's the same sort of garbage construction that gutless editors use when police shoot and kill somebody: "the suspect was shot and killed," not "police shot and killed the suspect."
Such transparent bullshit.
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Comment on Chechnya 'bans music that is too fast or too slow' in ~music
Promonk Link ParentNo, I think gaslighting works here. If enough people go along with the impossible demand, a person will begin to wonder if he's the only one who sees the bullshit. It's a way of isolating people...No, I think gaslighting works here. If enough people go along with the impossible demand, a person will begin to wonder if he's the only one who sees the bullshit. It's a way of isolating people in crowds, cutting them off from communicating with each other and potentially cooperating to overthrow you.
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Comment on Chechnya 'bans music that is too fast or too slow' in ~music
Promonk Link ParentAsking the impossible of subjects is a well-worn strategy for authoritarians. It doesn't matter that the rules are ridiculous or impractical; what matters is that people be seen trying to abide by...Asking the impossible of subjects is a well-worn strategy for authoritarians. It doesn't matter that the rules are ridiculous or impractical; what matters is that people be seen trying to abide by them. It's gaslighting on a societal scale.
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Comment on "Dune: Part Three" in the works, in addition to Denis Villeneuve adapation of "Nuclear War: A Scenario" in ~movies
Promonk Link ParentIt's funny you should bring up Shakespeare, as he made himself the most popular writer of the English language, possibly of any language, by almost exclusively adapting older stories to entertain...It's funny you should bring up Shakespeare, as he made himself the most popular writer of the English language, possibly of any language, by almost exclusively adapting older stories to entertain popular audiences. He often changed major plot points from the source material, too.
Pretty much the only play of his that we're fairly certain wasn't an adaptation or retelling of history is The Tempest, and that was almost certainly inspired by the news of a real-life shipwreck that happened shortly before the play's composition.
I don't think that negates your opinion or anything, but I think it should be noted that if someone did make a cheesy sequel to Hamlet, I doubt old Will would be spinning in his grave. In fact, he'd probably wonder why it took us so long.
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Comment on What games have you been playing, and what's your opinion on them? in ~games
Promonk (edited )LinkI broke my own rules and pre-purchased the PC port of Horizon Forbidden West. Though it has its issues, I really enjoyed the first one, and all the reviews of the PlayStation version of the sequel...I broke my own rules and pre-purchased the PC port of Horizon Forbidden West. Though it has its issues, I really enjoyed the first one, and all the reviews of the PlayStation version of the sequel were basically "more of the same, but a little prettier," which is fine by me. I'm only a few hours in at this point. I only just got to the point where the world opens up.
The introduction, well, it sort of has the stink of a sequel that doesn't have the courage to just be it's own thing. Imagine if "Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom" felt the need to put a button on what happened to the Ark, and where the hell is Marian? Remember Tanis and the snakes? Let's swing by and have some kind of useless dialogue with John Rhys-Davies about how great Indy is. For all its faults (and it has more than its fair share, to be sure) at least ToD knew to just let Indy loose without faffing about trying to establish that he has done all this great stuff in the past, and to catch the audience up on forgettable characters who played semi-important roles in the first movie. ToD was a prequel, so that wouldn't really make sense anyway, but you see what I mean.
The performance of Aloy had a kind of disingenuous feel to her in the first entry, and this one continues the tradition. The character is a certifiable badass, but whoever directs the mocap and writes her dialogue doesn't seem to know how to consistently get that across effectively. Lots of 'I need to do this alone!' and saying something kind of dumb and cliche and then staring off into the middle distance for no discernable reason. That sort of thing.
There is a bit with a stuck-up clergyman/diplomat whom she just shuts down that did far more to establish her as a no-nonsense, get-shit-done kind of lady than any amount of grimacing and cliched posing will ever accomplish, so I'm hoping to see more of that as the story progresses. I just want her to have an actual personality, if you see what I mean. I'm not holding much hope for that, though.
As for gameplay: it's very much more of the same, which as I said, is a plus for me. The biggest addition so far is the pullcaster, a sort of general purpose, arm-mounted winch-cum-grappling hook. Mostly it's just a contextually prompted traversal mechanic like the grappling hook in the first, but it's also used to pull item caches from hiding spots up high, which scratches that exploration itch pretty well.
Speaking of which, there does seem to be more verticality in the design than in the first, which was already somewhat vertical. One of the parts I liked about the first game was climbing up the giraffe-like walking machines to open up map sections and side-quest markers, in a sort of Assassin's Creed bell tower way. The opening set piece of this game is similar, though of course very linear owing to the purpose it serves in the plot.
I get the impression that this game involves swimming to a great degree, so it makes sense that the focus is more on vertical traversal and climbing than perhaps the first was. The first side quest I completed was in a flooded mine, which reminded me a lot of the tombs in the first Tomb Raider reboot. It was essentially a traversal puzzle in a confined space, which wasn't exactly earth-shaking in its novelty or cleverness, but served adequately for an early-game side quest. I haven't gotten far enough to really say if things improve in complexity or cleverness, and from what I remember of the first, I'd give about even odds.
Where both games really shine for me is in the combat. I could see how some might find it a bit uninspired, but there's something about lobbing an ice grenade at a robot cougar, leaping off your robot bighorn sheep mount to slide under the robocat's chassis and slow down time to shoot off that electric arc component you need to craft a weapon, then knocking the sucker down with a heavy attack and impaling it in its heart. When the combat system is firing, it can really get your heart racing. It always seems like you're down to your last arrow or bomb when you take down a boss, too, which is some good combat design. The enemies in this one seem a bit more bullet-sponge-y than the last one, but I also haven't upgraded the skill trees very much yet, so we'll see.
I should say that I'm very impressed with the performance of the port. The DLSS probably works the best out of pretty much any game I've played that supports the feature. I've consistently gotten 60+ FPS throughout, with only minor dips when there's a lot happening. I remember being impressed with the first port, too. For reference, I'm running a Ryzen 5 3600 with 32GB DDR4 and a 12GB RTX 3060, and quality is set to High with minor tweaks to shadows, motion blur and with Vsync enabled. All in all, it seems pretty well optimized.
Just from the first couple of hours, I can see how the game got just OK reviews. There's nothing revolutionary about the gameplay. The writing and acting is mostly stiff, though it has its moments. It's a damned pretty game, for all that's worth, and the art direction sticks close enough to the feel of the original to be engaging and fun. I don't see anyone putting it on their GotY lists, but then I didn't expect that. I expect people who really liked the original will like this one too, but I doubt this alone will win many converts. If you haven't played the first and an open-world robot hunting action game sounds interesting, I recommend you pick that up first when it happens to go on sale.
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Comment on Windscribe is introducing a new policy change in ~tech
Promonk LinkIronic, relatable corporate propaganda is still corporate propaganda. I don't care how "self-aware" it is, I'm not a fan.Ironic, relatable corporate propaganda is still corporate propaganda. I don't care how "self-aware" it is, I'm not a fan.
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Comment on What are some of your favorite PlayStation 1 games? Any odd or unique ones worth playing? in ~games
Promonk Link ParentThat's what I was thinking. Physical discs just don't make sense anymore for a lot of reasons, not the last of which is the fact that maybe most gaming PCs just don't have optical drives anymore,...That's what I was thinking. Physical discs just don't make sense anymore for a lot of reasons, not the last of which is the fact that maybe most gaming PCs just don't have optical drives anymore, and console discs rarely consist of anything more than glorified installers.
Curated demos is more in line with what I was thinking. I remember the PSM demos had bespoke UIs, much like contemporary DVD menus. IIRC some had Easter eggs and other features as well. They could be true late-90s multimedia experiences.
Nextfest serves a similar role, I suppose, but that only ever happens once or twice a year, and there's not a helluva lot of vetting or curation from what I can tell. Maybe it's just a little less transparently done nowadays. I don't know.
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Comment on What are some of your favorite PlayStation 1 games? Any odd or unique ones worth playing? in ~games
Promonk Link ParentI played a fair bit of it on the PSX, but never picked it up after I got soft-locked due to being under-leveled for a compulsory one-on-one fight midway through the game on my first playthrough....I played a fair bit of it on the PSX, but never picked it up after I got soft-locked due to being under-leveled for a compulsory one-on-one fight midway through the game on my first playthrough.
What about the PSX version made it the best?
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Comment on What are some of your favorite PlayStation 1 games? Any odd or unique ones worth playing? in ~games
Promonk Link ParentI only ever played the demo from the PlayStation Magazine disc back in the day. From what I recall, the controls were a bit too stiff and the flow of gameplay too stilted for me to get into it. It...I only ever played the demo from the PlayStation Magazine disc back in the day. From what I recall, the controls were a bit too stiff and the flow of gameplay too stilted for me to get into it. It might have been a pre-release build, and there wasn't much to the demo, so I can't really make a judgement about its quality.
God damn, I miss demo discs. I would probably never in a million years have found Gran Turismo if it hadn't been for the PSM demos. Ditto Tomba. So much would have flown under my radar were it not for them. I'm vaguely surprised no one has revived the concept of demo digests like that. You'd think it would be a natch for indie developers to get some buzz going.
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Comment on What are some of your favorite PlayStation 1 games? Any odd or unique ones worth playing? in ~games
Promonk Link ParentEhrgeiz wasn't specifically a Final Fantasy game, though Cloud Strife was a playable character. It's more that they threw Cloud in to sell it, and then people weren't stoked that it wasn't really...Ehrgeiz wasn't specifically a Final Fantasy game, though Cloud Strife was a playable character. It's more that they threw Cloud in to sell it, and then people weren't stoked that it wasn't really a FF game, which is why you've probably never heard of it.
You just named a bunch of 70s porn movies, which kinda proves my point.