SloMoMonday's recent activity
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Comment on The cycling revolution in Paris continues: Bicycle use now exceeds car use in ~transport
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Comment on Reddit, AI spam bots explore new ways to show ads in your feed in ~tech
SloMoMonday (edited )Link ParentIt was a growing group of adults with families, clinging to the hope that someone figures out how to host a regular table. Think the last actual meet was boardgames before Christmas 2019. Group...It was a growing group of adults with families, clinging to the hope that someone figures out how to host a regular table. Think the last actual meet was boardgames before Christmas 2019. Group wasn't the biggest loss but the memes were fun.
As for WhatsApp, I know Apple
message app is the main text system in the States, but whatsapp is almost the everything app here. Like Musk just wants what South African WhatsApp is and toxic broadcast communication was the worst path to get there. It feels like WhatsApp is a few APIs away from becoming WeChat here and it will take a monumental impact to dislodge it from anyones life.I'm just mad that the goalposts have been moved so far back that now I'm fine with Mark Zuckerberg personally reading every one of my messages sent on his single app that governs my life, so long as he gets hes pet AI out of my face.
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Comment on Reddit, AI spam bots explore new ways to show ads in your feed in ~tech
SloMoMonday Link ParentFor a while our small lfg WhatsApp group was swarmed with spam/scam bots. And the ads look like a paid service because they link to unrelated and very niche Etsy, Amazon and ebay offers, depending...For a while our small lfg WhatsApp group was swarmed with spam/scam bots. And the ads look like a paid service because they link to unrelated and very niche Etsy, Amazon and ebay offers, depending on the conversation. Custom drone parts, rare TCG packs, DIY kits, entire RPG gaming tables.
Looks like the MO was that every few hours it'd look at the current conversation, cross reference with their product list, one of its identities would engage a with generic statements (often hinting that they have a solution), then droping a link and recommendation after after someone asks.
Some guys got suspicious when most links would not ship here and figured out how to reliably bait it. But the admins could not keep up and just shut the whole thing down.
In unrelated news, WhatsApp has just decided to force Meta AI front and center on all it's users for no good reason. I'd happily switch if all my work, family, community and friends were not there. Seriously, my muscle memory is scuffed because search results now return dumb AI queries to the top of the search box.
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Comment on Cartoons such as Steven Universe, Gravity Falls, or Avatar? in ~tv
SloMoMonday LinkStar vs Evil does calm down on the "random" humor as the plot ramps up and the character needs to grow up. Unfortunately, it's a case of "it gets good by season 3". A lot of my favorite western...Star vs Evil does calm down on the "random" humor as the plot ramps up and the character needs to grow up. Unfortunately, it's a case of "it gets good by season 3".
A lot of my favorite western animations are already mentioned so some anime recommendations I give to everyone are:
Spy x Family - A cold war, Mr/Mrs Smith story where the kid, dog and babysitter are all wrapped up in it.
Violet Evergarden - Post WW2 drama about a child soldier finding herself by working as a typist. A little more anthology but you track the characters development over 5 years. Can be on the nose at times but it's beautifully animated and I ugly cried at times.
A Place Further than the Universe - A grounded school adventure about kids wanting to go to Antarctica and figuring out how to do it.
Frieren: Beyond Journey's End - Fairly new but quickly moving up my favorites list. the story begins at the end of a decade long debenture to kill the demon king. And we immediately skip 50+ years to where the heros die happy and peacefully, save for the immortal elf who figures out a little too late how important those relationships were. This comic sums it up best.
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Comment on Former naturalists/materialists, what changed your view? in ~humanities
SloMoMonday LinkTwo things that really messed up my comfortable idea of natural reality was compound trauma and psychedelics. With psychedelics, on a logical level I understand that I'm a complex chemical...Two things that really messed up my comfortable idea of natural reality was compound trauma and psychedelics.
With psychedelics, on a logical level I understand that I'm a complex chemical computer and I tossed in some chemical soup that messed with processing. But while this may sound stereotypical, my two experiences (mushrooms and a trusted friends mystery cocktail) sort of left me with this recurring sense of wonder at the overwhelming scale of reality. The idea that I did not exist for almost infinity and will not exist for almosy infinity and that the very idea of "now" is just finite instance of time that can somehow contains infinite data. And we humans can only perceive within certain limitations and our tools of perception are limited by our comprehension. And our comprehension of everything amounts to looking through the cracked door of a massive library. (I told you, stereotypical stoner stuff)
This may sound like a religious apologetic or mythospiritual mumbo jumbo. But I still have no faith in human defined supernatural ideas. But I'm also less sure about the current scientific tools and methods ability to fully understand the universe.
And on the other hand, I fully acknowledge that my beliefs born of grief are an irrational and a coping mechanism, but it gets me to sleep at night.
It's just a single hope that that there is anything on the other side and we can't see it from here.
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Comment on What games have you been playing, and what's your opinion on them? in ~games
SloMoMonday Link ParentThe limitations were a pretty tough pill to swallow, especially if you get things super optimized and breeze through the storm. I do sort of agree with it. The early game balance is important to...The limitations were a pretty tough pill to swallow, especially if you get things super optimized and breeze through the storm.
I do sort of agree with it. The early game balance is important to get right so limiting people to that would yield more focused feedback.
The district system is a mixed bag. In the long term, I suspect only housing and maybe industrial districts will be permanent and it'll become a colony logistics game, like the On The Edge DLC. And I'm the logistics nerd that enjoyed that over Last Autumn so that's how I plan to play. (but they really need to polish the overworld systems first)
So I'm actually in an opposite mind with district reorganizing. It sort of plays like Dorf Romantic where every decision needs logn term considerations. Because in my mind, there's somthing wrong about a city just demolishing a neighborhood when its not useful or poorly positioned. As an optional difficulty toggle, if a district runs it's course, I think it should exert a major health, crime and squalor cost until it's converted to a type of housings or industry.
The hub system is an incredibly versatile utility. For that power, I expected a higher and scaling costs with a significant Stean Core investment. But beside Steam Hubs and Security Hubs, I can't see how many other options there could be to augment neighboring districts.
Overall I'm looking forward to the Flashpoints in the story. The expectation is for colony revolt or open faction wars, but I really want the Old World powers to show up with an army and demand the generator cities bend the knee. Because I'll just let the Ice Bloods loose on them. Those guys roid themselves up and fight polar bears as a hobby.
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Comment on What games have you been playing, and what's your opinion on them? in ~games
SloMoMonday LinkPlayed a lot of the Frostpunk 2 Beta and I'm going to gush about it for a bit. Edit: apologies, I really went off here. TLDR: great game. Give it a look at release. Decided to preorder after...Played a lot of the Frostpunk 2 Beta and I'm going to gush about it for a bit.
Edit: apologies, I really went off here. TLDR: great game. Give it a look at release.
Decided to preorder after watching several playthroughs/streams of it. After playing 10 hours (5 plays of the preview time limit) at all difficulties, it feels like the sandbox alone is well worth the price of admission for me. But I did hold off on the season pass until I see the DLC.
The biggest positive is that it's a completely different game from the original and not meant to be a replacement or upgrade. The first is a micro-heavy survival city builder; this is more macro focused politics/colony manager. And I normally hate the latter type of game but it's the setting and writing that sucked me in.
The major gameplay loop comes down to satisfying the cities need for fuel to stop people freezing to death. Fuel needs to be mined by people (I suspect they that people could even be fuel). People need: homes, money, heat, goods, food, medicine, jobs, community, relationships, childcare, a social contract and ideology. You should see where the problem comes up. And in juggling all the human needs, its easy to forget that a single misstep and drain your fuel and that leads to a glorious failure cascade.
But when you get the hang of it, it's all simple supply and demand. That leads into the roadblock of the politics involved with an ideologically fictionalized population.
The beta starts of innocently enough, 51% of the population are machinists who believe in equality, progress and expansion. 49% are survivalists that value tradition, personal merit and isolation. These groups want a say in the runnning of the city and a vote in setting policy.
And it's a tense balancing act because I have a gods eye view of the situation and know the objectively best move. But I promised machineists freedom to table the next motion if they voted to approve the child lab... I mean apprenticeship bill and I don't care about welfare when we are already in a budget deficit and need border control because of the housing crisis. And this is just the first hundred weeks (45min).
It gets even better when the extremists movements start popping up. They might start off as small 20% of the population, but they are willing to research the more dubious technologies and throw support rallies when they get their way. But ignored, they are enough to shut down districts until you buy their respect with "donations", council seats or promises. They also will never negotiate on policy because of the hardlines in their world view. I thouht it was a little stupid when their was a major storm, resources on a razors edge and the Ice Bloods were firm on a position that would directly lead to peoples deaths. But then I thought of the last few real life years and it checks out.
All of it is punctuated with how many actions (and inactions) can lead to a little story pop ups about how policy affected someone's life. My personal favorite is the gang kid learning to read and wanting to write stories about a world without snow. But it can become depressing and outright horrific if the last game was any indication. It grounds the stats and cost benefit calculations in very human narratives and thats important for me in games.
This is the appeal of the game to me. Because the theme is the value of morality in the face of human extinction. But it feels like the people in the story forget that. There's almost this wistful references to the last game where The Captains absolute authority saw mankind survive a -184F snowstorm. But no one remembers that it was 50 people eating sawdust in some ripped tent and that the captain was a despotic monster or religious zelot. They hint at the systems and laws that will allow you to chip away at people's freedoms, but it doesn't hold a candle to the some of the extremes the factions could go to. Human obsolescence, forced marriages, punitive punishment, chemical enhancements.
While I really enjoy this game and series, there is a lot I think needs work before release. The UI looks like someone installed WinXP on a flashbang. The overworld supply line interface needs a lot of work, there's no clear frame of reference for time and it feels like the hardest difficulty is more about following the right script instead of any organic problem solving.
Also, the game looks pretty at a glance but doesn't compare to the first with a lot of fine detail and character in almost everything. I can understand it's because you have to focus on the big picture and at some point I stopped registering the city and just saw tiles, district colors, resource symbols and building slots.
I did break my pre-order rule for this game and I'll have egg on my face if the full game releases in a horrible state. I'm being generous in believing that the closed beta was for series fans who would likely pre-order to test things out and give feedback because its a major departure. And regardless, I've gotten less playtime from more expensive games so it's not a complete loss.
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Comment on Startups want to geoengineer a cooler planet. With few rules, experts see big risks. in ~enviro
SloMoMonday Link ParentThere's also the unintended consequences. Because a lot of our current issues are a result of immediately capitalizing on an opportunity/technology or as a reaction to other issues. We could argue...There's also the unintended consequences.
Because a lot of our current issues are a result of immediately capitalizing on an opportunity/technology or as a reaction to other issues.
We could argue that we didn't have to decimate every woodland or build every factory or burn all that oil. But human brains have a hard time imagining things at a mass scale and globalization is a fairly novel concept. I single car trip or Starbucks or iPhone isn't causing a wildfire but every one just might.
I can't wrap my mind around the Rube Goldberg machine of climate systems that will be set off by cooling one city, let alone a country. And VC tech bros aren't exactly concerned with consequences beyond the IPO.
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Comment on Scammers are targeting teenage boys on social media—and driving some to suicide in ~life.men
SloMoMonday Link ParentThat's only so much people can do from a prevention point and it feels like almost all scams are enabled by a major gap in enforcement from some technology providers. it's just way too late to...That's only so much people can do from a prevention point and it feels like almost all scams are enabled by a major gap in enforcement from some technology providers. it's just way too late to fix.
No company will ever turn away new business so any scam operation can masquerade as a legitimate company. A lot of these groups are practically franchises at this point and with a small investment on a few hundred anydesk/twillo licences and some scripts to hook victims, you can have a full scam call center under the guise of a technical support hotline. Hell, with AI voice models I'm sure it's already well on the way to full automation.
Beyond that, any proper controls would likely be invasive and negatively affect the experience. And it feels like anything short of full surveillance of every user leaves room for bad actors to loophole their way into freely using these tools.
And then theres the hell of catching people in developing nations, especially ring leaders who are likely wealthy and connected. And on the rare instance that somthing does happen, a dozen more can pop up the next day. And there's still tens of thousands of the small frys operating out of their bedroom with a VPN and few dozen disposable phones and Gmail accounts.
It just one of those truly hopeless situations that needs a concerted international effort to even begin to solve.
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Comment on What games have you been playing, and what's your opinion on them? in ~games
SloMoMonday (edited )Link ParentThe full Arkham trilogy makes for a good complete story. Asylum, City and Knight are complete games on their own and none feel like you're being short changed, but it's far more enjoyable with the...The full Arkham trilogy makes for a good complete story. Asylum, City and Knight are complete games on their own and none feel like you're being short changed, but it's far more enjoyable with the context of the previous title. There's also plenty of lore and snapshots of the wider Batman world to discover. My plan is to split the series over the year just to keep the formula fresh.
There's also Arkham Origins and that is a bit of a tougher recommendation for me. It's a prequel that was made after the series, so starting with it feels like you're taking a technical step down. It's also the game that I enjoyed least and mostly because I don't like full prequel titles. We already have a complete story and a ton of context over 3 games so it feels like there wasn't much more to do. But beside that, gameplay is still solid and its by no means a waste of money. It just feels like the black sheep of the series.
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Comment on What games have you been playing, and what's your opinion on them? in ~games
SloMoMonday (edited )LinkSo I tried a bit of the Suicide Squad game and as a long time fan of the Arkham series, I saw a spark of somthing special that I wanted to explore it a bit more. So I decided to play the Arkham...So I tried a bit of the Suicide Squad game and as a long time fan of the Arkham series, I saw a spark of somthing special that I wanted to explore it a bit more.
So I decided to play the Arkham series again.
Took a little work to get it working on steam deck (just need to install GEProton and play in airplane mode) but Asylum plays like a dream in comparison to Suicide Squad. It's also amazing with regards to power usage.
Environments are rich and crammed full of detail. The Riddler prop puzzles were an amazing excuse to cram every room with somthing unique while also grounding it in the world. And because players will be scouring every corner of every room, it needs to be well designed and individually distinguished. On the other hand, not a fan of Riddler trophies. Sort of breaks the immersion to have needless dead ends for a collectable.
The best way to discribe combat is Meaty, every hit lands like a hammer and all the tools allows you to be creative or you can get by on button mashing. And I'm invested in every fight, not because I think I could loose, but because the combo must grow. I will say that while every upgrade does make a mechanical addition to the gameplay, I'd consider very few as meaningful game chargers.
I'm particularly enjoying the writing. It's classical comic book narrative style and a far cry from the "MCU dialog" that's we'd associate with the genre. Joker going nuts over the PA. Villains devouring the scenery. Civilians being in absolute awe of the Bat. Every goon having the individuality of a clone trooper. Everyone is fully committed to the fiction in spite of the absurdity.
Overall, I'm having fun and it's a shame that the Arkhamverse needed to be sacrificed on the alter of infinite live service multiverse nonsense.
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Comment on How do you organize your phone's home screens and apps? in ~tech
SloMoMonday LinkOn android I noticed that I never really used widgets effectivly and I had a ton of apps I used once and never deleted. For media control and notifications just use the pull-down menu and for...On android I noticed that I never really used widgets effectivly and I had a ton of apps I used once and never deleted. For media control and notifications just use the pull-down menu and for time/weather/calander glances I just check the lock screen. I also don't like navigating folders or pages so I want a one screen solution.
So I use something call Lens Launcher. It basically dumps all my apps on the home screen with the most used ones sorted to the bottom. It looks horrible and unintuitive and I get a lot of comments whenever someone sees it. But 90% of the time I'm looking at the bottom 3 lines. I can identify and reach 25 apps without adjusting my grip after after unlocking and I can tell exactly which apps need to go. It's not a solution for everyone but it works for me.
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Comment on Where will people commune in a godless America? in ~humanities
SloMoMonday (edited )LinkI only really engage with religion from a counter-apologetic point so it's interesting to see this topic from a religious perspective. Because on the one hand, they're arguing that these communal...I only really engage with religion from a counter-apologetic point so it's interesting to see this topic from a religious perspective. Because on the one hand, they're arguing that these communal spaces encourages social cohesion and political moderation, but they also acknowledge that the inflexibility of religion drives out progressive, educated and moderate people. While its described as a Christian denominational issue in the discussion, I'm sure this phenomenon plays out with other religions as well.
And at the same time there's the growing trend of Cultural Christians. These people don't care for the theology, do not engage in the community components (attend church less than once a year and does not participate in social programs), but are fully supportive of the conservative beliefs and social prohibitions. Ayaan Hirsi Ali was a prominent atheist that now advocates for this and I think her reasons give a good snapshot of this view:
So, what changed? Why do I call myself a Christian now?
Part of the answer is global. Western civilisation is under threat from three different but related forces: the resurgence of great-power authoritarianism and expansionism in the forms of the Chinese Communist Party and Vladimir Putin’s Russia; the rise of global Islamism, which threatens to mobilise a vast population against the West; and the viral spread of woke ideology, which is eating into the moral fibre of the next generation.
It's telling when Woke Ideology (2) is mentioned more than Jesus (0) in the letter.
So in my mind, the issue is less about where people will go. They even made a point of it in the discussion. Sports clubs, volunteer work, community game store, libraries. These places are probably better options because there's healthier power dynamics, financial accountability and more cultural diversity. It's a matter of outreach and accessibility to bring people in. The question would be, why would anyone still go to a place of worship? Because it seems like the focus is less for social need or societal good or even to learn and preach theology. It's just another political tool to further policy goals and enforce social conservative values.
Edit: fix spelling
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Comment on What games have you been playing, and what's your opinion on them? in ~games
SloMoMonday Link ParentI think the Yahtzee review for original Dark Souls summarized the new player experience for Fromsoft games. And Elden Ring is a particularly bad entry point because its effectively the series...I think the Yahtzee review for original Dark Souls summarized the new player experience for Fromsoft games. And Elden Ring is a particularly bad entry point because its effectively the series greatest hits. When people say its the easiest game in the series, I think they're forgetting that they have Stockholm syndrome after a decade of abuse. The game isn't perfect and often needlessly esoteric. Half the time it feels like the only way to progress is brute force or dumb luck.
But in the end, Fromsoft games have a language and logic that you either learn by immersion or finding people that already understand. The best thing you can do if the experience becomes overwhelming is use every tool you can find, in and out of the game. A lot of forums are inherently dicks, particularly for this series. But there's plenty of people who want to help and see people succeed. Friendly summons are the life blood of the player base and you can learn a lot just watching them. Use cheese strats. Look up OP builds. Watch some challenge runs and (glitchless) speed runs. When you kill the final boss, no one can say you did it wrong because there isn't exactly a right way.
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Comment on Arizona governor signs bill approving human composting burials in ~enviro
SloMoMonday Link ParentI'm from a Muslim community and we sort of skip 90% of the prep work and try to bury same day, wrapped in a sheet and under some planks and dirt. Even though I'm not a believer anymore, that's...I'm from a Muslim community and we sort of skip 90% of the prep work and try to bury same day, wrapped in a sheet and under some planks and dirt. Even though I'm not a believer anymore, that's probably how I'd want to be handled.
But on the topic of compost vs burial, from passing knowledge, only really large trees can get down deep enough to benefit from those nutrients. Either way, it takes a decade for a body in a casket to decompose and the wood is a different story all together. My guess is it reduces to dirt over a century and rain washes the nutrients down into groundwater.
Composting a body basically makes that nutrients readily available. The place I'm staying now has trees planted in human ashes and compost. And it's all not even the old owners family, they just had a thing for it.
In unrelated news, garden veggies have always been amazing.
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Comment on What AI tools are you actually using? in ~tech
SloMoMonday LinkDon't have any personal uses but one of my suppliers was showing off their AI sound analysis prototype. They got microphone security cameras through a part of the production plant and it monitors...Don't have any personal uses but one of my suppliers was showing off their AI sound analysis prototype. They got microphone security cameras through a part of the production plant and it monitors the ambient sound of the machinery.
The thinking is that in some situations thier monitoring systems read in normal ranges, but long time staff could pick out issues by just listening to the machines. So they induced some of those failures, recorded it and used it to build a training set. The impressive part is what they though was a series of false positives was actually the system picking up issues before people could. It's an interesting application and the type of thing I'd expected these complex data models to do.
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Comment on Botswana threatens to send 20,000 elephants to Germany in ~enviro
SloMoMonday Link ParentI genuinely understand why you might feel that way and I would probably agree with all of your objections. Trophy hunting is a morally reprehensible act. I know some people envision rich white...I genuinely understand why you might feel that way and I would probably agree with all of your objections. Trophy hunting is a morally reprehensible act. I know some people envision rich white guys needlesy flying half way around the world, just to shoot a defenceless and endangered animal with a big gun from a safe distance, after the locals did all the hard work, just to live out some colonial alpha-male fantasy. Harkens back to the good old days when it was the Europeans God given right to civilize the savage world.
In a perfect world, needlessly ending life can not be tolerated. But I can't overstate how imperfect the world is, particularly in a third world country. If you see it in media or even tour, it may seem relatable and even progressive. But go a few kilometers off the highways and you might as well be on another planet. And even these people have bills to pay.
So think about it from a local perspective. The beneficiaries of colonialism, are imposing laws that does not meaningfully benefit themselves but directly impacts the lives and livelyhoods of the already impoverished. At the same rural communities need to clean up the mess of some well meaning conservationists. If we didn't know better, it'd almost feel like a spiteful position.
The saddest part is that regardless of what happens with the ban, these elephants will likely still be killed. And it has nothing to do with poaching douchbags looking for "the thrill of the hunt". Over the last two decades I've seen more and more of the African countryside carved up by farmland. Local produce and grain companies pay a fairly generous sum to villages and substance farmers to grow their crops. These fields inevitably expand into wild habitats. Elephant incidents have been on the rise for a while now. Destroyed fields, attacks, car accidents, violent bulls. A buddy of mine is a ranger in Zambia and there are real efforts to relocate, but at a certain point a call needs to be made. And if there's a dumb foreigner throwing around more cash than a years with of food, you're insane not to take it. Do it enough and maybe you could afford college for a few kids or generator or water pump.
Please don't think I'm saying you're wrong for morally objecting. It probably makes you a better person than me. But it's a really messy situation that goes well beyond just animal rights. This report about the risks of a ban was floating around when this issue was in the UK news. While it's admittedly biased, it does highlight the many other factors involved.
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Comment on As obesity rises, Big Food and dietitians push ‘anti-diet’ advice in ~health
SloMoMonday LinkThe archive link isn't really working for me but I've seen a bit of reporting on the issue. Can't say I'm surprised corporates are spreading misinformation that directly impact customers health,...The archive link isn't really working for me but I've seen a bit of reporting on the issue.
Can't say I'm surprised corporates are spreading misinformation that directly impact customers health, just to make a quick buck. The food pyramid, low/no-fat foods, fad diets. Hell, I grew up with cereal being pushed as part of a complete breakfast and I'm surprised there hasn't been more of marketing push since. At least where I am, cereal isles went from a long shelf of bright colors and all sugar to a few popular nostalgia lines and mostly bland health-ish options like all brand, oats and granola. The biggest sign of brand failure would be my kid have more of a reaction to my milk choice over any cereal.
But it seems like this new strategy is particularly insidious and targeting adults. It really pisses me off, especially in this atmosphere with all the discussions around weight loss medications and the post-pandemic body image problem. I'm all for people being comfortable and and accepting of their body and lifestyle. It gets a little muddy when people put themselves at risk, be it through weight gain or weight loss methods and their are logical limits for intervention. But to subversively manipulating people to harm themselves, by preying on deep seeded insecurities all while presenting the message as professionally advised and a virtuous position. Fuck. Someone needs to go to jail for this. And I don't think it should be the influencers.
Like marketing is one thing. Slap a name on your message and people can figure out the agenda if they want. "9 out of 10 doctors say Sugar Bombs are good for you in a study funded by BigSugerLLC". But who's reading the description on a 30sec video for the #ad. In a rapid fire of a few hundred posts, can a vulnerable or susceptible person reliably differentiate genuine information and marketing spin? If someone was in a medically precarious situation, how do we know one innocent little snack, recommended by a nutritionist, isn't going to push them over the edge?
I've seen a lot of weight related issues. Myself, friends and family all seem to deal with it constantly. From my view the people who convince themselves to just let go don't fair well. So seeing stuff like this allowed to happen really grinds at me.
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Comment on What's a game that you feel is almost great? in ~games
SloMoMonday LinkBoth modern Deus Ex games. I'd discribe Human Revolution as tentative. Like the team played the original game a few times and understood the surface level of immersive sim. Like different powers...Both modern Deus Ex games.
I'd discribe Human Revolution as tentative. Like the team played the original game a few times and understood the surface level of immersive sim. Like different powers open different paths, but to the exact same place. Or hidden power ups and obscure puzzles, but it's rarely more than 2 steps. A non-lethal approach that wasn't valid for bosses and only changes a few words in the epilog. And the impression of deep choices that lead to the 3 button end-o-matic machine.
But the game would really shine when you went off the beaten path and land in some wild places. Also they were going all in on the world building and setting up interesting themes so I was keen to see where it was going.
The Mankind Divided released and... I don't know. Feels like every part of the game was building up to some great pay off, and they cut it you off at the last second.
The first Prague visit is promising and all the little environment improvements makes it feel like the devs learnt all the right lessons. Then Golem city has this rich open world segment but the main mission just falls flat. But it's fine, still having fun. Prague 2 had some interesting twists and missions and it ramps into the incredible GARM area. But regardless of how clean you've played, it ends with a cutscene where you are ambushed and I'm noticing a trend. And then Prague 3 and London are the weakest levels and feel like the slump at the end of Act 2. But that's the game.
Like I said, it's just build up and deflate. Its a shame because they could have pulled it all together a third game.
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Comment on What's a game that you feel is almost great? in ~games
SloMoMonday Link ParentI remember looking at Dark Messiah and thinking it'd fill the space for Thief style immersive sims. It was 80% of the way there and needed a little more creativity in level design, more utility...I remember looking at Dark Messiah and thinking it'd fill the space for Thief style immersive sims. It was 80% of the way there and needed a little more creativity in level design, more utility tools and less narrative in general. Regardless I still go back from time to time, just to kick everyone into conveniently placed spike walls.
Cyclist aggression often comes down to poor planning, infrastructure and rules (and that's not including the weirdos who hate everything else on the road). For example, I nearly hit a cyclist the other day and if I were in an SUV or pickup, it could have been much worse. But the situation was a perfect storm.
Street parking on a popular road was removed for a painted bike lane. Businesses resorted to using the bike lane as drop-off/pickup zones. That creates high risk situations where two car lanes and cyclists all need to coordinate around a massive delivery vehicle at high traffic times. And it wasn't helped when the giant truck, my tiny Toyota and the cyclist all had very different views of the situation and ideas on what needed to happen.