Reapy's recent activity
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Comment on Merry Christmas, people of Tildes in ~talk
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Comment on You make friends *HERE*?! in ~tildes
Reapy Link ParentI disagree on that , at least the numbers. Having had a good amount of online friends over the years (much less now truthfully) I have gotten a lot from knowing people well online. In my teens it...I disagree on that , at least the numbers. Having had a good amount of online friends over the years (much less now truthfully) I have gotten a lot from knowing people well online. In my teens it was only text, yet the people I hung with were a lifeline when I felt I had no friends. One of them, 30 years later , who I've only met irl once, is who I game with almost nightly and one of my longest friends. We use discord now and talk, but even then with enough time you can catch 'body language' over text. The cadence of responses, words used etc all paint a picture of the person's mood like body language would.
In college i had larger online friend groups and I recall getting a some rushes of social excitement when we used to hang in irc for a night just being goofy and making fun , same feeling I'd have after leaving an irl party.
The trick is the communication must be real time , two or more people commiting time to one another and engaging through some medium.
Granted it's been a long while now since I've engaged on online life beyond one or two people, but when i do meet someone new it's been asynchronous messaging, which can be a rush, but isn't tht same thing and I haven't made a new friend in a long while, though the issue might just be me not having time to do so.
But ultimately my point is I do agree it's less online, but not really so low as 30 percent. A friend is a friend and having a friend to help and to help you is precious, no matter the medium of communication.
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Comment on What are your Christmas movies? in ~movies
Reapy Link ParentThis is my family's go to movie also and the one we start off the season watching every time, also the on in the background while wrapping. I feel like it so perfectly captures my childhood in so...This is my family's go to movie also and the one we start off the season watching every time, also the on in the background while wrapping. I feel like it so perfectly captures my childhood in so many scenes is probably why it grabs me. When the in laws arrive, 'Folks! Folks!", this was walking into my grandmother's house every year, just an overwhelming amount of adults pinching and grabbing at me and being loud the same way.
But just so many funny little scenes and lines are so iconic, "I DON'T KNOW, MARGO", 'shitters full', "The BLESSING!", "My tree!", "SQUIRRRRLLLL!!!". My wife and I (and now our kids) quote it all the time. There are also a bunch of visual gags and things that I missed out on, it took me like 20 years to notice when they are shopping for eddie's gifts and clark puts some lightbulbs on the cart and then eddie immediately throws a giant thing of dog chow on top of it, stuff like that.
I wonder if though as our kids get older they will settle on another movie as the life it parodies is much different from the one in that movie. I feel like a lot of parents that are older go for the older movies like christmas story and the like because it's more reflective of life back when they were children.
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Comment on What’s your “I didn’t know I needed that” item? in ~life
Reapy LinkI think good gifts are things people might use but cannot justify the cost. A good example is that self heating coffee mug that has an app to set the temp. Someone at my office has it from a gift...I think good gifts are things people might use but cannot justify the cost. A good example is that self heating coffee mug that has an app to set the temp. Someone at my office has it from a gift and they said it's amazing, but is way overpriced.
For odds and ends I am going for a slim wallet from the thread I saw here a while back as I needed an update. I am also perpetually short on cloths as I don't normally think about it myself, so those are always great gifts.
Another nice near addition we for was a hot water boiler, its 3 liter and keeps water at near boiling temp which is amazing for tea, just dispense and go. It's been a real nice qol upgrade having it.
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Comment on Favorite quick play tabletop game recommendations in ~games.tabletop
Reapy LinkSurvive, escape from Atlantis was always a win with people of all ages. Back in the day we had regular game nights and often planned for bigger, complex games. However, we often ended up pulling...Survive, escape from Atlantis was always a win with people of all ages. Back in the day we had regular game nights and often planned for bigger, complex games. However, we often ended up pulling our survive at the end of mose game nights just because it was quick (30 min), fun, and different everytime.
The theme is people escaping a sinking island. Every round you take a tile off anywhere on the hex map, move your guys towards and on boats to get to the edge for safety, then take control of sharks, whales, or sea monsters to try to take out other players people. Which one you get to control is based on a dice roll and they all interact with the boats or people differently.
The beauty is when someone is about to dump off their guys on an island but all 3 other players get lucky and roll the same monster and decide to go after that specific boat. Or sometimes you have multiple players people in your boat and watch as someone decides to suicide or right onto a sea monster.
It's a simple and seriously fun game with a great theme that never seemed to not be a blast, highly recommend it.
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Comment on Humble Choice - December 2024 in ~games
Reapy Link ParentI didn't play myself but a friend I have who is more into strategy games (I don't play them as much as I used to) really enjoyed old world. If anything I am a big supporter of Soren Johnson and...I didn't play myself but a friend I have who is more into strategy games (I don't play them as much as I used to) really enjoyed old world. If anything I am a big supporter of Soren Johnson and love his podcast where he talks with other game designers (designer notes). Given his work on civ 3, off world trading companyc etc, I'd say it's pretty safe to assume the game will play well and be an interesting take on the civ formula. I know they have kept working and adding more content so hopefully it would be in a more farther along than when you last tried it.
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Comment on Is anyone planning to play Path of Exile 2? in ~games
Reapy LinkVery pumpped for it. I'm a casual fan of poe but it is still one of my most played games on steam and one of the games I've spent the most on. I first played free 2 play through the campaign and...Very pumpped for it. I'm a casual fan of poe but it is still one of my most played games on steam and one of the games I've spent the most on. I first played free 2 play through the campaign and felt no remorse buying stash tabs. Since then, I've only participate in 4 or 5 leagues over the years but love the depth and design of poe. I love the company and their philosophy of development and sales,its why it was an easy choice for the 60 dollar supporter pack for poe 2.
My biggest gripe with poe was trading, and the currency exchange made it much easier to manage this last league. I wish they would go all the way with trading items too.
Poe 2 seems to have a philosophy of reducing friction with their systems and make it easier to expiriment with skills and combinations, no more penalty when you swap out gems to see if they are good or not, no need to trade for high level gems. More crafting currency, and more deterministic methods for decent gear (like last epoch which is good). I have a feeling they are only giving you the friction as you push for what would be the 30+ div items in poe 1 now and that seems great to me. I often wanted to engage with crafting and other systems in poe but the cost was too great for the rewards. I have hope in poe 2 when you hit endgame it's a trip to the currency tab and not the auction house.
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Comment on Book recommendation request: Fantasy book about university similar to The Name of the Wind? in ~books
Reapy Link ParentAdding in that I really enjoyed the scholomance, it was quite the page turner! I don't know that I enjoyed the later books as much, still good, but once the discovery is finished, it's hard to...Adding in that I really enjoyed the scholomance, it was quite the page turner! I don't know that I enjoyed the later books as much, still good, but once the discovery is finished, it's hard to top, so I don't blame the author there. However the first biok is a+ and would highly reccomend for fans of magic schools!
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Comment on Valve is possibly making a Steam Controller 2 and a ‘Roy’ for its Deckard in ~games
Reapy Link ParentI've enjoyed the 8bitdo ultimate for my pc. It's a nice controller with a hall effects stick that is holding up well and looks good sitting in the little cradle under the monitor. I've been...I've enjoyed the 8bitdo ultimate for my pc. It's a nice controller with a hall effects stick that is holding up well and looks good sitting in the little cradle under the monitor.
I've been through a lot of controllers and post Xbox 360 they all have had issues. My son finally killed my old 360 controller just last year, they lasted a looooong time. I replaced it with another 8bitdo that is holding up well. I've smashed through two shoulder buttons on both xbox1 and an Xbox elite controllers, and I'm pretty light in the pressure so just made cheap now a days. Don't get me started on how bad the elite was, huge waste of money. And the switch joycons and elite controllers wrestling with stick drift.
I don't know how my old controllers held up so well through the years when it all just turned on a dime and the new stuff from the console makers has not been worth it at all like they forgot how to make good hardware.
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Comment on Satisfactory tips and tricks? in ~games
Reapy LinkMy friend and I have been doing the same thing for years, we have revisited both factorio and satisfactory over the years and both are excellent games. Space age expansion in factorio is amazing...My friend and I have been doing the same thing for years, we have revisited both factorio and satisfactory over the years and both are excellent games. Space age expansion in factorio is amazing and I highly suggest you and your friend rotate it in.
On to satisfactory, what is great about it is you can play at your own pace and what you feel like that night, more factories, expanding resource income, exploring, moving a base around, or just making things look nice, so the biggest tip is to make sure to do what you want that night and don't feel pressured to get things all tied down or untangled.
Lots of good tips already, one thing that took me years to find out is that you should definitely play the game near the end of the year, it has some stuff for you to do!
With the planning in satisfactory it's nice to remember that resources come out at an unlimited rate, and you can increase that rate later on with better miners and power slugs. So when planning things out, you can dedicated mines to specific build plans. In the mid game you can look at several resources you might need for a product and see you have mines for both around, check out the max rates, then build to what you have available.
For later game resources and pushing through, don't underestimate just making an assembler hooked up to nothing and hand crafting or hand placing in boxes the ingredients for it. The amount needed to unlock stuff isn't usually too big and you can get away with unlocking tech you'll use in factories this way rather than feeling the need to have it all hooked up to your supply chain.
In the awesome shop, the walls with conveyor holes, the wall conveys, and wall power outlets are amazing pickups that make factory design much more neat and tidy and should be early pickups.
Can't think of too much more to add in as i'm currently deep in factorio right now so my memory is fading, but still both games are great (dyson sphere too) and each have their strengths despite being very similar. Anyway enjoy satisfactory, it is a game you can keep coming back to again and again.
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Comment on What is the best or recommended way to integrate my Windows 10 and Linux computers through the local network? in ~tech
Reapy LinkHey I see as I'm writing this some people seem to be answering that are more knowledgeable than myself but i'll give a crack at it too. So, a little while back I bit the bullet and got myself a...- Exemplary
Hey I see as I'm writing this some people seem to be answering that are more knowledgeable than myself but i'll give a crack at it too. So, a little while back I bit the bullet and got myself a qnap NAS with 4x 4tb drives on it, it was an amazon deal with it all cost about 900, which was a bit of a reach at the time, however it is quite a nice little device that you just plug in wired on the network and it just works so well at doing what it does. You admin the box (very similar on synology nas devices) via a web interface that works great, so many interesting disk utilities and other things that it exposed me to that I've never looked at on my gaming pc's over the years. Just plug in and use it till the hard drive explodes typically.
So the best way I found to interact was to use samba /cifs if you don't know what that is. That would mean that on the NAS I make a shared folder, and then on say a windows machine I can browse the network to the nas on the windows network and go to that folder, log in, and then copy or read from that drive.
When people say 'have it mapped' or 'mount' it, what that means is make the samba connection more permanent in your machine's config. Mounting a drive you can think of it like your file system you have on your c drive is one thing, if you' mount' it to the file system it's like bolting it on as though thet network drive was in your computer. A good example is when you plug a USB stick into your computer, the computer then mounts the file system of the USB stick into yours and you can browse to it and copy/move things. When people say 'map' the drive, that is simply the process of giving it a permanent letter in your windows machine, like your C drive, or, if you add another hard drive it becomes the D drive. So for exmple right now on my windows machine I open file explorer and I see
C: a 2tb nvme
D: another 2 tb nvme
e: a 13 tb hard drive
v: \servername1\backups = an old nas i inherited
x: \nasserver\media = movie files, these can be played directly from plex on another server
z: \nasserver\stuff = just files and thingsYou can do all this without a NAS, you can make a share where the files live and then mount the share and I think even in plex you can directly get the samba path to the media files and it should work fine. I have an oculus 3 and I am able to stream VR movies from my main PC to the device over a share without any issues.
To set that up in windows you can right click on this PC and follow the wizard to map a network drive. If you want to just get to the server you can do start run //servername and then log in too without mapping it. On linux you would use the mount command to do the same, you can also make it permanent by making an entry in the /etc/fstab file. I also think linux has another sharing options (because of course) called NFS that is supposed to have less overhead, but cifs/samba sharing has been fine for me.
Honestly, the NAS ended up being a huge gateway drug for me, it started with running jellyfin (a plex alternative) for my media and then getting the Arr aps up and running. Then I started running out of RAM on my nas so couldn't really add more services and just a month ago I put myself together a micro ATX sized server (felt like the best price point to size) and put debian on it. I've used linux for years but I haven't really gotten deep into it so am learning a lot. I just hit 45 this year so I'm likening my server to the affordable mid life crisis sports car!
I'm trying to run the server headless (no gui) and am learning a lot about navigating remotely and actually doing work with it rather than just sshing into things already set up for me. I still a desktop environment set up on the linux machine, but I don't have a monitor/keyboard plugged into it. But I can use a remote desktop protocol from my windows machine to get a desktop up on screen in a window to control it.
Linux has a lot of options that I'm still learning about, however with linux I have found that sshing into the box on command line is accomplishing most of what I want. Combined with samba/cifs sharing, you can make most all tools work across different setups. For example, on the linux server I'm running a docker service called paperless-ngx. Paperless is about storing your irl paper in a digital searchable way. I have the docker volume of paperless saved to a mounted file system on the NAS. So paperless running on server, the data being saved and access on another machine via a share. This way the best computer in your network to do such a thing can do that job.
A ton of rich editors like visual studio code have remote saves built in, so if you want to edit files with a more familiar interface than say like nano/vim over the terminal, you just add in a remote location. Linux is nice you don't even have to share you can usually just connect via sftp as long as ssh is set up on the machine, so you go into visual studio code, i think there is a plugin to add, then add the location, connect, and boom, you are editing the file on your windows machine like normal. Even back in college early 2000's I used ultraedit to "FTP save" my files on the unix computer network I as forced to learn on, made learning to code much easier than struggling through VI on top of coding like they made us, ugg.
The RDP people mentioned is the windows remote protocol and it's built right into windows, you just have to turn it on. It's a huge security vulnerability if you expose it to the internet so just mindful that your machines are behind your router. There are some other clients that use RDP, teamviewer is very nice. I have that running on my old gaming machine that is attached to my TV downstairs so I can remote in if I have to adjust anything rather than whatever junky couch setup I have. On linux there are a ton of remote desktop options as unix/linux was originally meant to be used with mainframes and dumb terminals so it's almost in built to the operating system.
One final thing that you might want to take a look at is something called 'tailscale' it's a wireguard based VPN that is extremely easy to use. This will let you expose your shares and files to the outside world in a relatively safe way. Tailscale is free with up to 3 'users', but has room for tons of machine, if you have people you are using it with share a user you can get more life out of the free tier too. Tailscale has a client for every piece of hardware out there so you just install it on the machine, log in, and all your machines are on a new VPN together without having to open any ports on your router. Easiest example of good use I got out of this is to install it on the qnap NAS, install it on my android phone, and then I could browse all my movies/tv shows from my phone if I'm not at home without opening up anything. I also made a share on my NAS for a close friend, gave him a login, put him on the tailnet and we are able to transfer files back and forth easily. I even have my mother connected on her ipad so she can get to some of the webservices i'm hosting as well, it's easy to tell her to go in, turn on the tailscale button, then go to a browser url that is bookmarked.
So yeah maybe bigger answer here but i'm getting slowly sucked into home networking and I've started with the same sort of having a scattering of machines all over my house and trying to make them all start working together and while when I was younger I hated this stuff, that is probably because I always just had one gaming machine and couldn't afford more than that so it wasn't very interesting, but now my house has like 10 computers, all my family using stuff, even a rasberry pi running adguard home in the closet and getting it all organized and working as one is suddenly a very interesting hobby I see myself working on for a long while.
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Comment on Squadron 42 | CitizenCon 2954 live gameplay reveal in ~games
Reapy Link ParentFor the WW2 in space combat, I have to admit I'm still a sucker for that, even though it is extremely unrealistic and doesn't make sense even within the technology the games that do this present....For the WW2 in space combat, I have to admit I'm still a sucker for that, even though it is extremely unrealistic and doesn't make sense even within the technology the games that do this present. I've thought it might be interesting to add a bit of lore where the jamming/defense tech has become so good along with offense that beyond line of sight doesn't work anymore, and you need good old manual aiming as all CPU tracking is perfectly disrupted through 'technology' . I even thought it might make for a really cinamatic battle, where the ww2 style space dogfight happens culminating in downing a specific type of ship, then instantly having your allies fire off a giant salvo from a capital ship and/or long range base that fills space with homing projectiles that instantly obliterate everything in sight to end the fight. This way you get the non submarine gameplay and still have some reasonably believable in game lore.
As for squadron 42 and me I hate to say that I'm still interested in playing something from them, however they won't see any cash from me until it's released, reviewed well, then on sale later on.
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Comment on Factorio: Space Age | Trailer in ~games
Reapy Link ParentThe nice thing about factorio through early phase is that you can apply all the learned thinking from later phases and even think about what you'll do with what you are building now for later,...The nice thing about factorio through early phase is that you can apply all the learned thinking from later phases and even think about what you'll do with what you are building now for later, that can help with the reputation somewhat. But also server is good too, my friend and I play together and we both work on areas the other might not be interested in, so can help push forward. There is also team pressure like either one of us might be on a building tear which can pressure us to get going on a project too, so building together can make a huge difference for sure.
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Comment on Factorio: Space Age | Trailer in ~games
Reapy Link ParentSame here, the qol is nice but really at some point you kinda figure out factorio and it's more about complexity and organization, but the mechanics of solving the complexity are all the same....Same here, the qol is nice but really at some point you kinda figure out factorio and it's more about complexity and organization, but the mechanics of solving the complexity are all the same. With how they are doing the expansion there is going to be a whole slew of new issues to solve and I'm really excited about that too!
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Comment on What is the key 'gameplay loop' in a MUD game? in ~games
Reapy Link ParentI've gone back on your links and am reading through your posts and am really enjoying them! The most recent one about the effort vs payback for enjoying a MUD is something I've struggled to...I've gone back on your links and am reading through your posts and am really enjoying them! The most recent one about the effort vs payback for enjoying a MUD is something I've struggled to overcome my whole life with muds. I WANT to like them, I like the idea of them, but I just can't get over the difficulty of navigating them and the overwhelming speed of scrolling texts. The first one I tried was arctic mud in the 90s but I just couldn't get past that, then later I ended up joining friends on a dune mud that I started to get somewhat familiar with, but again the gameplay was just not matching graphical online games for me. Later I tried out achea mud in probably early 2000s and while I read and read about the world and gameplay, when I got into it I just did not enjoy the experience. So I've regulated myself in the end to just reading about them, which honestly I'm ok with that. So really, thank you for a fresh batch of mud content!
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Comment on Passwords have problems, but passkeys have more in ~tech
Reapy Link ParentWas just catching up on darknet diaries podcast about security this morning and was on one where at one point the podcaster switched to ai text to speech mimicking his voice and I did not catch it...Was just catching up on darknet diaries podcast about security this morning and was on one where at one point the podcaster switched to ai text to speech mimicking his voice and I did not catch it AT ALL that he had swapped. The world is going to need a strong authentication method to be commonly used everywhere because our voice and video is no longer going to be proof enough of who we are. The only way I can see it is if we have a strong encrypted token of some sort to prove our identity, that must be one of the checks for financial related accounts we hold, so people are going to need to learn it fast imho.
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Comment on What are you reading these days? in ~books
Reapy Link ParentIt's really tough to determine a reading order. I had a few years ago read through his main series from the first 3 mistborn books then the next 2 in the wax/wayne trilogy, then into what was...It's really tough to determine a reading order. I had a few years ago read through his main series from the first 3 mistborn books then the next 2 in the wax/wayne trilogy, then into what was available in stormlight archives. I knew that things were supposed to be connected at the time, but I really struggled to make the connections between novels. I chalk some of it up to being a bit older and not remembering all the tiny details the same way as I used to.
Though last year I decided to do a full catch up and read through everything he has out currently. It was still hard for me to track all the references but he absolutely starts to ramp up cross over things in his later published books, so you have to be a bit more cautious for later published stuff. Really I wish he had been writing when I was younger as the way he weaves it all together is great and I wish I had a more agile mind to enjoy all the dots being connected!
Check out this page here that has a few reading orders. I'd recommend myself the modified publishing order as publish order is always imho the king revealing knowledge as author intended, the modified order just helps keep the books grouped up so you aren't jumping series at all.
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Comment on UFO 50 is the best retro-gaming homage I’ve ever played in ~games
Reapy LinkThis looks great, thanks for posting it! One of my favorites are modern takes on the old formulas. I do have a lot of nastalgia for the older gamss but I really don't miss the jank at all. I'm...This looks great, thanks for posting it! One of my favorites are modern takes on the old formulas. I do have a lot of nastalgia for the older gamss but I really don't miss the jank at all. I'm going to keep this one I the pocket for when I'm feeling like spending a few hours in the past.
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Comment on Introducing Steam Families - now out of beta! in ~games
Reapy Link ParentMy dad uses to show me select scenes from it that were funny then kick me out of the room. I always had this disjointed view of the game until I was able to play it when I was older. It's funny...My dad uses to show me select scenes from it that were funny then kick me out of the room. I always had this disjointed view of the game until I was able to play it when I was older. It's funny though that it had the same mystery around it until I got older too.
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Comment on The Modern CLI Renaissance in ~comp
Reapy LinkI really enjoyed the write up, thank you for sharing! I have a mixed feeling on CLI myself, I think I'm a visual person perhaps, but I also don't like to take my hands of the keyboard if i can...I really enjoyed the write up, thank you for sharing!
I have a mixed feeling on CLI myself, I think I'm a visual person perhaps, but I also don't like to take my hands of the keyboard if i can help it! Using a computer to me started as CLI but just as fast we had norton comander to show me something visual and I had a much easier time navigating and moving this around to locations. For some reason, it is easier for me to see the buckets rather than comprehending raw ls output or reading my path off the shell.
I know there are some modern shells and I took a look at nushell and that seemed exciting, but overall my experience with shell scripts and/or using linux tools and piping is just that I don't think about computing that way. Really don't get me started at how unportable bash scripts seem to be to other machines, but also how finicky it is about whitespace and other things, it's really hard to really get into a flow with it, but it is still a powerful tool. We can skip over the dark days of windows batch scripts, but also powershell didn't feel that much more fun to code in (having tried a few), though i'll give it chatgpt has gotten me to write myself more powershell scripts here and there for small time saving.
At the end of the day my real preference is when the keyboard input is married up with visual input. Seeing how a lot of the rich text editors like sublime text give you the cmd shift p menus was something that was hard from me to move away from. I really enjoy in code editors having the mini map on the side and it is alright for me to grab my mouse and do something as well.
I really enjoy flow launcher for navigating around, I don't like to drag and click target and would rather type to bring up, but after that am ok with mouse use. I also just really need to see things, and I like thigns as list or in lists with good visualization.
I don't do a lot of working with networks and removing into machines, if that was my daily driver I would probably be more engaged with the command line, but even then I just never really could become a person that could flawlessly use the CLI tools to achieve quick analysis or searching. If I have to think for a bit on things I just end up shell scripting or a short python script and never felt like I mastered CLI.
Finally I think the ultimate representation of what I think is neat is textual. I haven't had a chance to write anything in it yet (I had used the creators his rich library previously), but you can essentially write a GUI that runs over the shell and it's one of the coolest things to exist in my brain about what I like about computing. The CLI is this sort of neat wonderful thing but I really do need some pinned floating lists and stuff for information reference, I'm terrible at short term retention so I just can't really flourish in a pure CLI use of a computer.
You said exactly what I wanted to post, Merry Christmas and happy holidays all!