Raistlin's recent activity
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Comment on Microsoft pushes Xbox studios to hit higher profit margins in ~games
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Comment on I dream with a new mainstream handheld console that is neither an extension of a regular console experience, a smartphone, or a wine-powered Linux machine in ~games
Raistlin Link ParentAbsolutely. It's even made go play my Switch less. There's a bunch of Switch games that I had bought where I just got the PSP or PS2 versions instead, just so I could save state. Like, if I'm in...Absolutely. It's even made go play my Switch less. There's a bunch of Switch games that I had bought where I just got the PSP or PS2 versions instead, just so I could save state. Like, if I'm in the middle of a dungeon and there's no save point, but my daughter want to build some Lego with me. Or if it's a three phase boss fight, and I have no interest in restarting from phase 1.
There's a boss in the Black Knight where you have to get the timing just right or you get thrown off and have to chaise the boss again. Absolutely not, I am save stating, and if I mess it up, I'll load and try again.
It's too huge of a QOL increase at my current life stage to ever give up on.
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Comment on I dream with a new mainstream handheld console that is neither an extension of a regular console experience, a smartphone, or a wine-powered Linux machine in ~games
Raistlin LinkRetro consoles have legitimately reignited my passion for gaming. I was mostly out of the hobby until I got a hankering for some old PS2 games, and ended up getting a Retroid Pocket 5. I've now...Retro consoles have legitimately reignited my passion for gaming. I was mostly out of the hobby until I got a hankering for some old PS2 games, and ended up getting a Retroid Pocket 5. I've now beaten games I had left by the wayside (Star Ocean 1), heard about but never got (Sonic and the Black Knight) or just want to revisit (FFT). I'm in my late thirties and have a daughter, and I can't overstate how big of a deal save states and speeding up the emulator is for me. I frankly can't play without them anymore, unless the game is extremely generous with saving (which a lot of RPGs are still bad at).
PS2 and the Wii are kinda the upper limit (can't speak for the Wii U, and PS3 emulation is still developing), but like, what else do I need? GBA, SNES, Wii, GameCube, PSX, PS2, PSP, etc. I could spend my entire lifetime playing just within these libraries and never buy a modern game again. And as Windows emulation gets better, it opens more and more access to my Steam library.
I absolutely love handhelds and am happy that I have one again.
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Comment on Duolingo's first anime is coming October 13 in ~anime
Raistlin Link ParentThey were working for quite a while, actually. At some point they pushed the button. I can't speak to the reasons, they might very well be perfectly benign. But those old apks did use to work with...They were working for quite a while, actually. At some point they pushed the button. I can't speak to the reasons, they might very well be perfectly benign. But those old apks did use to work with the old path system, yes.
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Comment on Duolingo's first anime is coming October 13 in ~anime
Raistlin LinkYou guys have no idea how hard I've tried to find old apk versions with the old path system, and how hard Duolingo has worked to make sure they're no longer working. Nothing to with the anime, I'm...You guys have no idea how hard I've tried to find old apk versions with the old path system, and how hard Duolingo has worked to make sure they're no longer working.
Nothing to with the anime, I'm just perpetually sad about what Duolingo is these days.
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Comment on What common misunderstanding do you want to clear up? in ~talk
Raistlin (edited )Link ParentThe whole saga between Duncan in 753 BCE to Pierson in 1453 CE has been amazing. Over two thousand years of human history.The whole saga between Duncan in 753 BCE to Pierson in 1453 CE has been amazing. Over two thousand years of human history.
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Comment on What common misunderstanding do you want to clear up? in ~talk
Raistlin Link ParentBut that's the thing, how Roman was Roman Carthage? Surely the surrounding hinterland was Punic. Two centuries later, Emperor Severus shows up from neighbouring Libya as a native Punic speaker, so...But that's the thing, how Roman was Roman Carthage? Surely the surrounding hinterland was Punic. Two centuries later, Emperor Severus shows up from neighbouring Libya as a native Punic speaker, so the language wasn't suppressed in any way.
I have to imagine that if Roman Carthage was a Roman island in a Punic sea, the demographics of the city would've been changing as the seven long centuries rolled by.
But I can't find a lot of research about Roman Carthage. Demographics, material culture, etc.
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Comment on What common misunderstanding do you want to clear up? in ~talk
Raistlin Link ParentI've actually tried really hard to read about Roman Carthage. It was a major Roman metropolitan centre for over seven centuries, there's a fuckton of history there. But even with access to...I've actually tried really hard to read about Roman Carthage. It was a major Roman metropolitan centre for over seven centuries, there's a fuckton of history there. But even with access to University papers, there's not a lot of research. Carthaginian empire, conquered by the Romans, yada yada yada, rise of Islam.
You yada yada'd over the best part! What was that city like???
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Comment on What common misunderstanding do you want to clear up? in ~talk
Raistlin Link ParentOh, absolutely, there was a transition. The word Roman shifted in meaning through the long centuries, and ancient Romans would've been surprised by the medieval Romans, though probably not for the...Oh, absolutely, there was a transition. The word Roman shifted in meaning through the long centuries, and ancient Romans would've been surprised by the medieval Romans, though probably not for the reasons we would assume!
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Comment on What common misunderstanding do you want to clear up? in ~talk
Raistlin (edited )Link ParentGoing down that route, there are still people today that call themselves Romans, Ρωμιοί, in Istanbul. The identity isn't quite dead. But I can't speak about how much the consciously tied...Going down that route, there are still people today that call themselves Romans, Ρωμιοί, in Istanbul. The identity isn't quite dead. But I can't speak about how much the consciously tied themselves to the Roman Republic (politeia/πολιτεία) the way medieval eastern Romans did.
And they'll die within our generation. Turkey isn't kind to them, and when they move to Greece, their children are Greeks.
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Comment on What common misunderstanding do you want to clear up? in ~talk
Raistlin Link ParentIt's also ironic because Roman Carthage became one of the most important cities of the empire. Carthage falling to the Caliphate was a catastrophe for the Romans.It's also ironic because Roman Carthage became one of the most important cities of the empire. Carthage falling to the Caliphate was a catastrophe for the Romans.
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Comment on What common misunderstanding do you want to clear up? in ~talk
Raistlin Link ParentThose were a normal part of the system. I think one thing that needs to be stated is that the title of Roman emperor is not a European noble title like Archduke of Austria or King of France. It...Those were a normal part of the system. I think one thing that needs to be stated is that the title of Roman emperor is not a European noble title like Archduke of Austria or King of France. It was always, to the very end, a political office. The title is not Emperor of Rome, it is Emperor of the Romans. That office changing hands is no different from Hollande succeeding Sarkozy. It doesn't change anything about the French state. Overthrowing the emperor was a perfectly legitimate way of succeeding the throne, provided you were accepted by the army, the senate, and the people of Constantinople.
The Romans has civil wars for the throne. That was part of their system. Past the Crisis of the Third Century, this method worked fine but then completely breaks down in the 14th Century, because the empire was now so weak that having the army on your side no longer immediately ended the war, so the civil wars now became grinding, horrible wars of attrition where no one could win, which in turn invited foreign powers to step in.
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Comment on What common misunderstanding do you want to clear up? in ~talk
Raistlin Link ParentYes, France is a good example. You probably think of the French Kingdoms and the Fifth French Republic as France without much controversy. The Roman Empire is even simpler. From the founding of...Yes, France is a good example. You probably think of the French Kingdoms and the Fifth French Republic as France without much controversy.
The Roman Empire is even simpler. From the founding of the republic in 509 BCE to the sack of Constantinople in 1204 CE, there is one uninterrupted Roman government in place. There are interruptions on either end of that, but a Roman state ruling over Romans has existed from 753 BCE (we don't really know the exact date though) to 1453 CE.
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Comment on What common misunderstanding do you want to clear up? in ~talk
Raistlin Link ParentThe Romans of the east absolutely were an ethnic group, and talked of themselves as such, constantly. The Roman empire of the mediaeval era was not multi ethnic in any real sense. During the...The Romans of the east absolutely were an ethnic group, and talked of themselves as such, constantly. The Roman empire of the mediaeval era was not multi ethnic in any real sense. During the period of Macedonian expansion, the conquered Armenian, Georgian and Arabs were integrated into the system (to an extent), but they were never Roman, unless they romanised. Indeed, there were critics of the expansion precisely because some people didn't want to make the empire less ethnically Roman.
The sources are chock full of people saying so and so was half Bulgarian and half Roman, or how ethnic Romans were being born in captivity in the Persian lands. They would've been extremely confused if you had told them that a Pecheneg with Roman citizenship was actually Roman.
Being a Roman wasn't an ethnic label in 10 AD, but it certainly was in 1000 AD.
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Comment on What common misunderstanding do you want to clear up? in ~talk
Raistlin (edited )Link ParentSaying that the Byzantine Empire is the continuation of the Roman Empire implies that they're two different things that continue from each other. It's like saying... I don't know, that the 21st...Saying that the Byzantine Empire is the continuation of the Roman Empire implies that they're two different things that continue from each other. It's like saying... I don't know, that the 21st Century American Federal Republic is the continuation of the 19th Century United States of America. It's a nonsensical statement that implies a difference that does not exist. And you had to invent a new term that no American uses for their country to boot.
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Comment on What common misunderstanding do you want to clear up? in ~talk
Raistlin Link Parent1204 gets weird. I could be pushed to agree that what came after was a Roman empire, if not the Roman empire. However, I think the nature of Romanía as a pre-modern nation state obviates it a...1204 gets weird. I could be pushed to agree that what came after was a Roman empire, if not the Roman empire. However, I think the nature of Romanía as a pre-modern nation state obviates it a little.
If the French Republic fell tomorrow, I don't think anyone would argue that what came after was France. 1204 happened, but the empire that came to rule after the recovery of Constantinople was still led by ethnic Romans governing other ethnic Romans in Roman lands. It can't have been anything but Romanía (land of the Romans).
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Comment on What common misunderstanding do you want to clear up? in ~talk
Raistlin Link ParentThere is one crucial difference between the HRE, Russia, the Church, etc. Only one empire ruled over a group of people who's only identity was "Roman", and that was the Roman empire in...There is one crucial difference between the HRE, Russia, the Church, etc. Only one empire ruled over a group of people who's only identity was "Roman", and that was the Roman empire in Constantinople.
Other people took the title of Roman emperor, because of the prestige. But no one in Moscow or Vienna thought of themselves as a Roman citizen of Roman ethnic origin living in Romanía. People living in Constantinople identified exactly as that.
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Comment on What common misunderstanding do you want to clear up? in ~talk
Raistlin (edited )Link ParentBoth Turkey and Greece define their national awakening in opposition to each other. Turkey defined Anatolia as the homeland of the Turks and become hostile to any other ethnicities that call...Both Turkey and Greece define their national awakening in opposition to each other. Turkey defined Anatolia as the homeland of the Turks and become hostile to any other ethnicities that call Anatolia their home. This became a problem for the Greeks, Armenians and Kurds that had been living there for centuries. For Turkey, Roman history is inconvenient because it gets in the way of Turkish history.
Greece defined its national awakening as free Greeks casting off the shackles of being enslaved Romans under the Turkish yoke, and therefore reinterpreted the Roman (Byzantine) empire as a continuation of a single unbroken Greek civilisation. The fact that Greek speakers six centuries ago were talking about Augustus and Aeneas, and proudly calling themselves Romans, was inconvenient. Added to that, it also tried as best it could to reject the undeniable Ottoman influences that five centuries of being part of the empire gave it. Classical Greece had been dead for centuries, and it became important to revive it, both as as part of the ethnogenesis of the modern Greek people, and to get European help.
Roman civilisation doesn't have a place in the two halves of its former heartland. There is no modern nation state that defends it, so therefore, it's forgotten.
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Comment on What common misunderstanding do you want to clear up? in ~talk
Raistlin LinkThe Byzantine empire isn't the continuation of the Roman empire, or a succesor state of the Roman empire. It was the Roman empire, centred on the capital it had had since Constantine...The Byzantine empire isn't the continuation of the Roman empire, or a succesor state of the Roman empire. It was the Roman empire, centred on the capital it had had since Constantine (Constantinople), speaking a language it had spoken since the Late Republic (Greek, which they called Romaic), with the same religion that was growing in the state since the time of Augustus all the way to Diocletian before Constantine (Christianity).
It got caught up in European renaissance propaganda (you can't revive Roman civilisation when the Roman state is still right there), and is today caught up in post Ottoman national myths.
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Comment on Introducing Kagi News in ~tech
Raistlin LinkThis is literally what I've been looking for for months. My only solution so far has been a rss subscription to the Wikipedia Current Events Portal. This seems pretty brilliant.This is literally what I've been looking for for months. My only solution so far has been a rss subscription to the Wikipedia Current Events Portal. This seems pretty brilliant.
If there's a silver lining in the massive corporate consolidations that resulted from the Bethesda and ABK purchases is that Microsoft probably regrets them. Not much of a consolation.