secret_online's recent activity
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Comment on Jet Lag Season 19: Japanorama | Trailer in ~hobbies
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Comment on Jet Lag Season 19: Japanorama | Trailer in ~hobbies
secret_online Link ParentEpisode 1 spoilers I will admit, the group I watch with all started laughing when the Snack Zone music started playing, but we quickly sobered up when we saw the text overlay.Episode 1 spoilers
I will admit, the group I watch with all started laughing when the Snack Zone music started playing, but we quickly sobered up when we saw the text overlay.
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Comment on A simple fix for exemplary tags - only give it to posts you disagree with in ~tildes
secret_online Link ParentI don't think they should be. One response I received was a little more personal than just "thank you for your opinion", and while not identifying of that person, I'm almost certain it would not...It seems like making that response visible to everyone and not just the author would be the next logical step,
I don't think they should be. One response I received was a little more personal than just "thank you for your opinion", and while not identifying of that person, I'm almost certain it would not have been given if they knew that it would be visible. It's a safety thing and, given the context of the thread I'm thinking of, that safety was a feature.
I know you don't think it needs changing right now (you say as much), but I don't think it's as simple as just "make it all public".
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Comment on Supersonic trebuchet in ~engineering
secret_online Link ParentThere's a direct mention and even a clip of that video included. Tom's goal is to go supersonic purely based on dropping a weight rather than stored energy. It's a different engineering challenge,...There's a direct mention and even a clip of that video included. Tom's goal is to go supersonic purely based on dropping a weight rather than stored energy. It's a different engineering challenge, and I think it's worth the watch.
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Comment on Tildes Minecraft Weekly - Season ending on Sunday August 30th! in ~games
secret_online LinkI had a feeling this would come sooner or later. I just didn't got the groove this season, and while I found purpose while Eth was online, as soon as he stopped I just ran out of steam. I'll try...I had a feeling this would come sooner or later.
I just didn't got the groove this season, and while I found purpose while Eth was online, as soon as he stopped I just ran out of steam.
I'll try and be on for the final day before the server shuts down so I can say hi to everyone and bye to the builds. Everyone's builds were really cool this season, from the small to the large. I appreciate that we saw all sorts of experience levels with the game, because we were all new once and we've all changed as the game has too.
Thank you @teaearlgraycold for hosting this again. It's been fun playing with other Tildepeople in the seasons I've joined.
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Comment on Defective D&D magic items in ~games.tabletop
secret_online (edited )LinkIn the campaign I'm currently playing in, my character has a Bag of Holding Toast, somewhat similar to your Bag of Withholding. Bag of Holding Toast Wondrous Item, Uncommon A bright pink backpack...In the campaign I'm currently playing in, my character has a Bag of Holding Toast, somewhat similar to your Bag of Withholding.
Bag of Holding Toast
Wondrous Item, Uncommon
A bright pink backpack that mostly functions like a Bag of Holding, but it seems to know when you're feeling a bit peckish.
When retrieving an item, make a DC 10+<number of hours since the creature has last eaten> Constitution saving throw.
- On a pass, the intended item comes out.
- On a fail, the creature instead pulls out a delicious piece of cinnamon toast. Upon consuming the toast, gain 1d8 temporary hit points.
Once a roll has been made, the outcome is the same for any creature for the next hour.
Upon searching online, it turns out there's a version of it already, but I like this variant for the hunger mechanic and because it feels silly rather than mean. The fail condition still having something helpful sets the tone quite nicely. The "hours since last eaten" means having stopped to eat, so snacking on the go doesn't count. We also just have an agreement that the party won't abuse it because we're reasonable people who know how to talk to each other.
It has featured in a few moments in the campaign:
- There have been two times I've reached into the bag wanting the toast. The first was for the temp HP, but the second was to comfort someone who we'd just saved.
- There was also the time that I had put a rather precious gem that were retrieving for a powerful figure in there, and when we were presenting it to that powerful figure I had to reach in and pull out that gem... and not the toast... and it had been hours since I'd eaten... and if I pulled out toast it was not going to be good... But luckily for the party I exactly met the DC and pulled out... well, I pulled out the cushion that the gem was displayed on first and then pull out the gem so I could present the gem on the cushion but you get the point.
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Comment on What JavaScript framework should I use? in ~comp
secret_online LinkThis isn't a complete answer to everything, just another data point to add alongside the other discussions here. I was going to come in here to also suggest Svelte, but you'll almost certainly...This isn't a complete answer to everything, just another data point to add alongside the other discussions here.
I also just don't get on with React's endless
use effectgarbageI was going to come in here to also suggest Svelte, but you'll almost certainly need some level of
$effectgiven what some of the tools doing. Svelte's runes are a similar enough model, so if you're not enjoying (as stated elsewhere in this thread) that way of thinking then drop it.Otherwise, if you think you can get away with plain HTML and JS then why not try that for a couple of the tools and see how you go? I see some people have also suggested Web Components; they aren't my favourite so I personally would be starting without them and then add them in later on for things that need a more component-y model.
and have little love for TypeScript
I will admit it took me a lot of time and pain to understand how the Typescript compiler wanted to be fought against. It's now ingrained in my head, to the point that I now find its type system to be incredibly expressive. It was a long journey.
If you find yourself still wanting a semi-typed experience with plain JS, most editors allow you to run the Typescript language server over JS files, and will pick up JSDoc comments like
/** @type {number} */as a way of selectively adding types to otherwise untyped code.I'm looking for fast build times, a smart-ish compiler that can ideally hot reload and give me insights into bad practices
Vite is the compiler behind pretty much everything except Next.js at this point (well, and anything still using webpack). It'll give you your hot reload. It will, however, still minify and bundle everything, which I saw you comment on in other comments.
As for insights into bad practices, this is usually covered off by a combination of compiler plugins (if you're using a framework) or ESLint plugins. I suppose it depends on what you mean by "bad practices" and what you want them to prevent you from doing.
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Comment on How to write English prose in ~books
secret_online (edited )LinkI don't think I'll be reading much of this author's writing. I do love English as a language, for the same reasons too. You could hardly design a language as incoherent that people would actually...I don't think I'll be reading much of this author's writing. I do love English as a language, for the same reasons too. You could hardly design a language as incoherent that people would actually use, but biology has taught us that evolution optimises for just good enough. Languages evolve, as is acknowledged, adored, then scorned in the same essay. The author's need to use precisely the right word for a situation dictates most of it, much to the dismay of their editor (as admitted directly in the piece). They seem to be at peace with this, for which I congratulate them. It's clear they're a better writer than I.
I liked that the motivation for the rules were plainly present. Some were just "other person is wrong", which I find the least compelling form of justification in the entire thing and it's unfortunate that it takes the better part of 17 rules to get past that, only for your eyes to be caught in the brambles of #18's presentation. In charcoal-grey it's trying to say "just use the big words when you want to", but it's instead written in purple so sumptuous that it's outside the gamut of human vision and I can't perceive the colour anymore. Or anything else for that matter.
The next one's good, though, and the one that I tell anyone who sends me writing to review. It's just good, clear advice.
- Always read what you have written aloud. No matter how elaborate your prose, it must flow; it must feel genuinely continuous. This is not to say one must imitate natural speech; it is only to say that one must try to capture its rhythms. If what you have written is awkward on your tongue, then it is awkward on the page.
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Comment on Tildes Minecraft Weekly in ~games
secret_online (edited )Link ParentCan do! I know he'll be unavailable this weekend, so it'll be at least a couple of days before he can fix it. In what way did you break it? I'm not expert on it, but I have had to dive inside to...Can do! I know he'll be unavailable this weekend, so it'll be at least a couple of days before he can fix it.
In what way did you break it? I'm not expert on it, but I have had to dive inside to fix something I've done so might be able to help.
Update: I believe it's all working!
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Comment on Microsoft PowerToys in ~tech
secret_online LinkPowerToys is an instant install on any Windows computer I have. The one that gets the most use out of me is the colour picker. Win+Shift+C and there's a little floaty thing that says what colour...PowerToys is an instant install on any Windows computer I have.
The one that gets the most use out of me is the colour picker.
Win+Shift+Cand there's a little floaty thing that says what colour the pixel I'm hovering is. Scroll the scroll wheel and a popup appears with a frozen snapshot of the area around it, so you can be more accurate with the selection. Honestly that on its own gets a lot of use from me, as I use it to check spacing between elements when I want to prove that something isn't centred properly.Text Extractor is useful too. A simple shortcut, drag a region, and now the text you selected is on the clipboard. It'd be nice if it had a sound, but at this point I trust it enough. There's a warning saying you should use the snipping tool's OCR instead, but that's a multi-step process (take screenshot, open screenshot, select button, select area) which is a lot more than using a shortcut and selecting the area.
File Locksmith is useful for exactly one situation: a mystery process has locked a file and you want it dead. Sometimes it needs to be run as admin, but there's a nice handy button to relaunch it right in the UI. Find the process, kill it, delete the file.
I use a lot of the others as well, but I wanted to highlight some of what I think are the lesser-used tools that have become an essential part of my toolkit over the time I've used PowerToys.
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Comment on Tidles Minecraft Weekly - Big Farts Edition (26.2 Update) in ~games
secret_online Link ParentThat point is now!I will try get an updated version of my modpack out at some point
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Comment on Tidles Minecraft Weekly - Big Farts Edition (26.2 Update) in ~games
secret_online LinkI guess it's time to say what @Ethinolicbob and I have in store for our base area. We're making a golf course with the new sulphur cubes. I spent some time over my hiatus designing a clubhouse,...I guess it's time to say what @Ethinolicbob and I have in store for our base area.
We're making a golf course with the new sulphur cubes.
I spent some time over my hiatus designing a clubhouse, and I have the materials for it. We have ideas for what some of the holes will be, but we'll need to actually try things out. I want to see if we can use different blocks inside the cubes for each hole, but that will partially depend on how we design the course.
On another note, I will try get an updated version of my modpack out at some point, but I have other things going on outside of games at the moment.
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Comment on What's a game you're dying to play that doesn't exist? in ~games
secret_online Link ParentGoing through the "New content!" door sets you on a fairly long path, which is where you are now. When you get back to the base game stuff, I'd recommend not taking a particular object with you on...Going through the "New content!" door sets you on a fairly long path, which is where you are now. When you get back to the base game stuff, I'd recommend not taking a particular object with you on your first time through paths.
The Stanley Parable spoilers
This ending is triggered by going through the door on the right, taking the door on the left that the Narrator opens after the break room, then going down the elevator in this room between the two hallways.
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Comment on Are there any video games that are/were popular in your country, that the rest of the world hardly knows about? in ~games
secret_online (edited )Link ParentI love Amanita Design's games. You can always tell that they were made by actual humans who love their art. They've just released Phonopolis, which I haven't had the time to get to yet but am...Then there are more modern games like Samorost, Machinarium and others...
I love Amanita Design's games. You can always tell that they were made by actual humans who love their art. They've just released Phonopolis, which I haven't had the time to get to yet but am looking forward to actually playing among all of the other things I have on my list.
Papetura is another game inspired by theirs, made by a solo Polish developer, but the music was done by Floex (who does the music for Amanita Design and is Czech).
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Comment on The man who's spent a lifetime making one, giant map in ~games
secret_online Link ParentI think the impermanence is a feature of it, an opportunity to start fresh but with some history. Quite often we treat existing art as untouchable, and the void is a systematic way of breaking...but also saddening (the impermanence of his world).
I think the impermanence is a feature of it, an opportunity to start fresh but with some history. Quite often we treat existing art as untouchable, and the void is a systematic way of breaking that barrier. We already see that to an extent in his work already with all of the layering he's already doing. The void feels like an extension of that, but with opportunity for a completely fresh start integrated into the world. We see that with the void city, and the new lore (love that he learned that term) that came with it.
With that in mind, I think laying out the full map showed just how much had been consumed by void, and I suspect he'll be changing the deck to reduce the amount of void in the future. And that's part of the process.
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Comment on What is your eleventh favorite video game? in ~games
secret_online LinkThe Witness is a strange game. On the surface it's one of the most meticulous puzzle games ever crafted: you go from panel to panel drawing a single line. The lines start off easy, being a simple...- Exemplary
The Witness is a strange game. On the surface it's one of the most meticulous puzzle games ever crafted: you go from panel to panel drawing a single line. The lines start off easy, being a simple maze, but then new elements are added to the panels. The game never tells you what they mean, instead you are expected to learn by solving the puzzles.
The game is first person. For a game about drawing lines on panels. On the surface this does not make sense. The game never tells you why it's first person, instead you are expected to find out why by examining the world around you.
If you fire up the minimum number of lasers and make your way to the end, the great glass elevator flies around the island, your work is undone, and your game is reset back to the very start. You were not ready. Try again.
The Witness has a moment, an epiphany, and it's usually different for everyone. There is a place in the game that explicitly to try and get you to have this epiphany, but I have watched two friends engage with part 1 then fail to recognise part 2 directly in front of them. It's ok, they got it later. The game almost directly tells you this epiphany, in its own way.
There are audio logs with quotes from various people: philosophers, religious leaders, scientists, poets. Why would you think I'd want a sandwich? The game never tells you why these were placed here, instead you're expected to ruminate on them, their text, why they were placed where they were, and why they would be included at all in the game.
If you fire up all of the lasers and go down, you might notice a new panel is lit up. There are some tough panels behind it, with paths that wind past areas you've been in. This leads to a timed Challenge, in which you must put together your knowledge of the game's mechanics solving some of its hardest problems as either Anitra's Dance or In the Hall of the Mountain King (from Edvard Grieg's Peer Gynt) play. You will likely hear these pieces a lot. If you succeed, your reward is an hour long talk about... well, a lot of things. The game expects you to think about it.
Behind the Challenge is a box with a piece of paper inside. Detailed on the paper is a panel layout. It exists in the game, in one specific location. The game does not tell you where this panel is, instead you're expected to know what to do.
The Witness is Art, with a capital A. It's a game, too, but primarily Art. You could put this game in a modern art museum and it would not be out of place. You could put a modern art museum in this game and it would not be out of place. Like all good Art, the game does not tell you what it is about. Instead, it expects you to absorb it, introspect, and interpret.
The director, Jonathan Blow, is a proficient, pretentious (said with as much love as I can while calling someone pretentious. He is opinionated and loud about it in a way that comes across as a sore winner), and politically problematic (publicly anti-vax, Trump supporting, repeating anti-"woke" talking points on the ghost of Twitter) person. Their next game comes out later this year. The author of this comment does not tell you how to spend your money, but you are expeced to be aware that it is possible to obtain games without monetary transaction if you know what you're doing.
Quote pertaining to Jon Blow's political stances
"In recent years, it has become increasingly clear that Jon’s beliefs/priorities and mine are not aligned," says Alan Hazelden, developer of two of the games that Order of the Sinking Star was built from. "He’s adversarial to people talking about privilege and representation, is dismissive of diversity efforts, has dabbled in covid trutherism, and is pro-MAGA.
"I believe Trump is a self-serving authoritarian who's dismantling democracy, trying to make trans people illegal, and wanting to set up concentration camps for immigrants - whereas Jon in February called him 'the best President we have had in my entire life'."
https://www.thegamer.com/jonathan-blow-controversial-politics/
Also there's a pretty good parody called The Looker. You need to have played The Witness to understand what it does to break down and reconstruct the original game.
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Comment on Xbox is planning to shutter Peabody Award-winning Compulsion Games (We Happy Few, South of Midnight) in ~games
secret_online Link ParentNinja Theory at the very least has had critical successes and won awards at the bigger shows, even if they're not mainstream games. If they are being lined up for the block, then it's likely to be...but I would not be surprised if Ninja Theory [...] is also on the chopping block.
Ninja Theory at the very least has had critical successes and won awards at the bigger shows, even if they're not mainstream games. If they are being lined up for the block, then it's likely to be after 2027 as a new Hellblade game (simply titled "Senua", despite being the third in the series?) has been announced in this year's Xbox Games Showcase.
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Comment on Tildes Survey #8: What is your favorite video game? (Results) in ~talk
secret_online Link ParentTo whoever put The Talos Principle, I love you. It doesn't make my top 5, simply because there are many games that have become important to me, but it has to be in the top 10 for sure. I remember...To whoever put The Talos Principle, I love you. It doesn't make my top 5, simply because there are many games that have become important to me, but it has to be in the top 10 for sure. I remember a time I was talking with my dad about stories in video games (in particular puzzle games that would stand as good games in their own right but are made complete by their story) and Talos was the example I gave. Pre-pandemic pandemic stories just feel different.
It's also a damn good puzzle game.
It's interesting that releases from the late 2010s seem to dominate the list. Some of those games are coming up a decade old at this point, so there almost certainly is an aspect of nostalgia to them. The world was different then, before COVID. I wonder what a similar survey would be like in another decade.
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Comment on What are your gaming idiosyncracies? in ~games
secret_online Link ParentThere's a commonly repeated phrase in the Factorio community: The corollary to this is that you can call anything that doesn't have concrete your "starter base" and make it as messy as you like.There's a commonly repeated phrase in the Factorio community:
It's not a real base unless it has concrete.
The corollary to this is that you can call anything that doesn't have concrete your "starter base" and make it as messy as you like.
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Comment on Tildes Survey #8: What is your favorite video game? (Results) in ~talk
secret_online Link ParentPull out translator SOLANUM: The universe is, and we are. I have to say, the DLC for Outer Wilds got me properly. I do not deal well with being spooked, and I had to stop playing for a while. For...Pull out translator
SOLANUM: The universe is, and we are.
I have to say, the DLC for Outer Wilds got me properly. I do not deal well with being spooked, and I had to stop playing for a while. For anyone like me, it is worth it.
Echoes of the Eye spoilers
During gameplay, finding out it was a simulation helped a lot. I still hated it and found absolutely no joy or excitement or adrenaline in making my way to the libraries, but it did flip a switch in my mind that made it bearable.
After the game, realising that the strangers were afraid of the Eye and that's what held them back meant so much more when I was nearly held back by them. Their scan of the Eye showed both the destruction of this universe and the birth of a new one, but they were so terrified of losing everything (after having destroyed their home moon) that they blocked the signal. I could have given into that same fear and stopped playing the game, but then I would not have seen the beauty in the story being told.
Episode 1 spoilers
It's the longest episode they've put out... by a whole 4 seconds! The next longest is the finale of Shengen Showdown, which features, of all people, Tom Scott.
I agree that it was likely this long to have the whole story arc of the scavenger hunt. I think the only other point where it could be cut is after they complete the Suikawari challenge because it's the first time that team makes any meaningful progress, but stretching it out to the end of the scavenger hunt makes for better storytelling.