TMarkos's recent activity
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Comment on Starsector 0.98a released in ~games
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Comment on Steam Spring Sale suggestions in ~games
TMarkos Link ParentWhoops, I got confused - probably due to the similarity in mechanics! This explains why MoM has grabbed me so thoroughly when I'm not actually super into most Klei games.Whoops, I got confused - probably due to the similarity in mechanics! This explains why MoM has grabbed me so thoroughly when I'm not actually super into most Klei games.
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Comment on Steam Spring Sale suggestions in ~games
TMarkos Link ParentI've been playing it the last couple of days and it gets a strong recommend from me, at least on early-mid gameplay. Very reminiscent of Oxygen Not Included from the same dev. Engaging mechanics,...I've been playing it the last couple of days and it gets a strong recommend from me, at least on early-mid gameplay. Very reminiscent of Oxygen Not Included from the same dev. Engaging mechanics, neat stuff to mess with, I'm very entertained.
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Comment on Steam Spring Sale suggestions in ~games
TMarkos Link ParentOh good, that's what I was hoping for when I saw it. Need the calm vibes!Oh good, that's what I was hoping for when I saw it. Need the calm vibes!
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Comment on Steam Spring Sale suggestions in ~games
TMarkos Link ParentIt wasn't the first that I've jumped into, so I have no info yet! I will say that if you're looking to get into colony management then Rimworld is the undisputed (or mostly-agreed) heavyweight...It wasn't the first that I've jumped into, so I have no info yet! I will say that if you're looking to get into colony management then Rimworld is the undisputed (or mostly-agreed) heavyweight champ of the genre. If you're looking to see whether you'd enjoy the experience then I'd start there.
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Comment on Steam Spring Sale suggestions in ~games
TMarkos LinkThis time around I'm getting: Diplomacy is Not An Option ATLYSS Mind Over Magic Terra Nil Diceomancer Obviously I have not played these, but they caught my interest this round. It's annoying to...This time around I'm getting:
Obviously I have not played these, but they caught my interest this round.
It's annoying to check games I already own, but a non-exhaustive list of favorites that I've manually verified to be on sale:
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Comment on Looking for lighthearted action anime in ~anime
TMarkos Link ParentFrieren is really good but I can't think of it as lighthearted, lol. The series is so sad, or at least often dips into a very bittersweet tone.Frieren is really good but I can't think of it as lighthearted, lol. The series is so sad, or at least often dips into a very bittersweet tone.
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Comment on Repeatedly upvoting violent content on Reddit can now get you flagged in ~tech
TMarkos Link ParentThe change was unannounced originally, but it got some visibility when users started sharing their warnings and when the mods of r/popculture made a stink about it:...The change was unannounced originally, but it got some visibility when users started sharing their warnings and when the mods of r/popculture made a stink about it: https://www.reddit.com/r/popculture/comments/1j5jngg/rpopculture_is_closed/
The article is kind of unclear about whether there was an announcement or clarifying comments or whatever, but it was all retroactive.
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Comment on Has anyone read the books listed in the New Lifetime Reading Plan by Clifton Fadiman? in ~books
TMarkos Link ParentWell, in a superficial sense you could probably credit at least a portion of serial writers with Dickensian inspiration (which is like - every Victorian writer and a good portion of modern ones)....Well, in a superficial sense you could probably credit at least a portion of serial writers with Dickensian inspiration (which is like - every Victorian writer and a good portion of modern ones). If you're talking specifically about his style, though, then I think I'd suggest Kazuo Ishiguro (Remains of the Day) and John Irving (Cider House Rules).
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Comment on Has anyone read the books listed in the New Lifetime Reading Plan by Clifton Fadiman? in ~books
TMarkos Link ParentDickens is an author that was extremely important for his use of the serial format and its subsequent redefinition of literature's format and audience; I have no doubt that his works were...Dickens is an author that was extremely important for his use of the serial format and its subsequent redefinition of literature's format and audience; I have no doubt that his works were instrumental in inspiring later writers to create their own works for a century to come.
That said, I have always considered Dickens to be a writer who was more popular because he chose to publish unique and novel works in the correct historical moment. This is no small feat! I don't think it makes his prose any less plodding and overwrought or his serial-format chapters any less bizarrely paced. I enjoy a good bit of purple prose as much as the next guy but we've shot right past purple and into a "clearly paid by the word" shade of ultraviolet with most of his stuff, a complaint I also level at Tolstoy and Dostoyevsky.
People praise him for his characters, but they are really more caricatures of a comfortable middle-class Englishman's views on society (George Orwell has a pretty good breakdown in his essay on Dickens, in section II onward) and rarely delve past comical stereotypes.
Some people, perhaps most people, find his writing to be enjoyable, and godspeed to them. I give him credit for inspiring later, better writers and prefer to stick to those works.
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Comment on Has anyone read the books listed in the New Lifetime Reading Plan by Clifton Fadiman? in ~books
TMarkos LinkThis seems to be a pretty thorough grounding in influential or important works, but there are far too many works by Dickens on there for it to be an enjoyable experience. I would absolutely use...This seems to be a pretty thorough grounding in influential or important works, but there are far too many works by Dickens on there for it to be an enjoyable experience. I would absolutely use this list as a reference for someone who is interested in literary history or something similar, but I'm skeptical of the utility of "reading important stuff because it's important." I think it's more sustainable and enjoyable to read things that advance your understanding of the things important to you.
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Comment on Wealthy Americans fuel half of US economy consumer spending in ~finance
TMarkos LinkThat's a pretty crazy stat, especially considering the skewed distribution of those high-income households towards high-COL urban areas. It points toward entire areas of the US sliding into...That's a pretty crazy stat, especially considering the skewed distribution of those high-income households towards high-COL urban areas. It points toward entire areas of the US sliding into economic irrelevance.
I found this page which lists the percentage of each state that exceeds the article's top-10% threshold: https://worldpopulationreview.com/state-rankings/percentage-of-households-making-over-250k
The data disagrees somewhat with the Bloomberg article, although that one does indicate that their number is a rough estimate; I assume the methodology is different between the two data sets. Regardless, I think it paints a pretty clear picture of wealth centralizing in certain locations. The distribution of these market-driving households is unequal now and I would not assume based on current trends that the centralizing effect will reverse anytime soon.
It does paint an interesting picture of a dual economic reality, one where things in certain states are looking more or less fine, while other states are missing out on the bulk of consumer spending. Of note, of the 19 states that voted blue in 2024, 14 of those are the top 14 in that state income ranking. The lower ranks of that list are similarly biased heavily towards red states. Given that conservative populism is focusing strongly on a message of economic dissatisfaction, I think the issue is salient to a number of concerns beyond simple economics.
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Comment on What games have you been playing, and what's your opinion on them? in ~games
TMarkos Link ParentI never got around to playing through the first game and am doing so now, I'm excited to play through both. The first game's writing is pretty darn good thus far, the dialog and mocap are all on...I never got around to playing through the first game and am doing so now, I'm excited to play through both. The first game's writing is pretty darn good thus far, the dialog and mocap are all on point for the major interactions and it makes it feel like I'm watching an actual choreographed scene rather than just video game animation.
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Comment on What are some books for which the critical/public opinion has flipped over time? in ~books
TMarkos LinkI feel like there are two sorts of classic books - those which are classic because they are well-executed, and those which did something novel or different and were well-received for the...I feel like there are two sorts of classic books - those which are classic because they are well-executed, and those which did something novel or different and were well-received for the disruption/change they made in the literary sphere. The second sort of classic almost always tends to age poorly, or at least become that sort of book where people wrinkle their nose at it and say they can't understand why it's so well-regarded. That sort of book becomes something that's important to read in a meta sense, to understand the inspirations and foundations of the probably-better works that followed it, but not usually for its own merits.
I always use Dickens as an example of this sort of work, because I hate reading Dickens even though he was undeniably an important contributor. Lord of the Rings (which I love) often is criticized as derivative-seeming from a modern audience that has grown up with a well-established fantasy mythopoeic framework that in large part derives from those books. I could probably chuck Neuromancer on the pile as well, since it defined so much of what we consider to be cyberpunk but isn't (in my view) a particularly compelling read.
The phenomenon is often easier to see with movies, since the stylistic lift tends to be more direct in those cases; one of the more impactful movies to come out recently is The Raid, which received limited screenings and is not an exceptional movie beyond having absolutely mindblowing fight choreography. A relatively small number of people have ever watched The Raid, but every fight choreographer watched it, and you can see its influences spread out in dozens of extremely popular movies subsequent to that.
So, more concisely, I think there are quite a few classic books that were extraordinarily well-received in their time but which have since been overshadowed by better works building on their foundations.
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Comment on Looking for some recommendations for games where you can build your own spaceships etc in ~games
TMarkos Link ParentFrom the Depths is fantastic, and they keep issuing regular improvements to the game. New weapons systems, enhanced mechanics, new NPC designs - it's one of the better long-term dev games I have.From the Depths is fantastic, and they keep issuing regular improvements to the game. New weapons systems, enhanced mechanics, new NPC designs - it's one of the better long-term dev games I have.
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Comment on What games have you been playing, and what's your opinion on them? in ~games
TMarkos Link ParentI think I may have stated my gripe unclearly, so let me take another stab at it. I don't think the game is particularly difficult. I never had a moment where any of the mechanics asked me to do...I think I may have stated my gripe unclearly, so let me take another stab at it. I don't think the game is particularly difficult. I never had a moment where any of the mechanics asked me to do something that took more than a bit of trial to accomplish. My specific problem is with the arbitrary and punishing physics system, and the way the game sees no issue with inflicting random run-ending or at least run-detouring calamities on you.
Let me detail some specific examples.
Spoilers.
I discovered the probe cannon thing on the twins by following a clue. Figured it out, read the text, no problem. Get in the probe, play with the controls, launch the probe - immediately killed by physics.
I figure, fine, I'll give it another try. Hop in the ship. Fly to the twins. Land, resummon probe. Pay attention to the vector it's pointing, choose a different moment - launch, immediately killed by physics.
More the fool me. I figure I'll follow up with a different aspect of the clue and go to the interloper, since it was referenced there. I intercept the comet, land on it, find the ship, and get a single direction to go do the thing I've already been doing at the twins. Meanwhile the comet has lost its grip on my ship, which is now floating some distance away in interplanetary space. Run over.
Another time, I'm on the one with the black hole in the middle, can't remember the name. Doing the underground platforming thingy, trying to explore - except that some of the platforms cave in. Not in the traditional style where you get some warning, but as though they're not even there. I fall into the black hole, and yes, I can get back easily through the station there, but every time involves going to the station, standing in the middle and staring up at the sky until the dumb thing rotates to send me back.
Those sort of get at the crux of my issue with the game. There is difficulty, and there is arbitrary punishment. I felt that the inconveniences in this game fell strongly towards the latter. I increasingly felt like I was playing a game of minesweeper with no clues, where every time I tripped a mine I was forced to, at minimum, repeat a set of actions that cost me a minute or five, even if there wasn't a mechanic that gated segments off (looking at you, rising sand levels!). All this for a few sentences of story and a signpost towards the next place to look.
The fact that the board never changes does allow one to remember the pitfalls, once encountered, and avoid them. I just never found that the game's rather thin flow of story justified my mounting frustration with it.
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Comment on What games have you been playing, and what's your opinion on them? in ~games
TMarkos Link ParentI think I immediately got that I had to keep going back and following the same leads, haha - that just sounded incredibly tedious to me. There is a structural element to the game's core mechanic...I think I immediately got that I had to keep going back and following the same leads, haha - that just sounded incredibly tedious to me. There is a structural element to the game's core mechanic that inevitably forces blocks of wasted time every time it occurs, and having those interrupt the process of exploration and discovery just killed any desire I had - especially when "going back" often involved dealing with spaceflight and platforming puzzles that take a reasonable amount of time to repeat.
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Comment on What games have you been playing, and what's your opinion on them? in ~games
TMarkos LinkI decided to crack open a very well-acclaimed game that I had been sitting on for a while, The Outer Wilds. I had heard a bunch of very good reviews about this, praising it as the sort of game...I decided to crack open a very well-acclaimed game that I had been sitting on for a while, The Outer Wilds. I had heard a bunch of very good reviews about this, praising it as the sort of game that is best experienced blind, so I went into it blind. Initially it was charming and interesting, but I quickly felt that the game was actively trying to waste my time with its construction and core gameplay loop. Without spoilers, the way the game is structured involves you repeating certain actions rather frequently.
While this is not something that would have killed it for me on its own, in combination with the capricious physics engine it meant that I often felt that I was arbitrarily being bounced back to the start for things I had no ability to predict or in some cases even control - and, yes, I am aware that this aspect of the game is somewhat intentional, but I did not find that it improved my experience. Combined with the game's format for distributing new leads/clues, this meant that my reward for fighting through all this was ultimately a few scraps of information to do the same thing elsewhere in the game's world. In the worst case, it was a few scraps of information that pointed me towards something I had already done. To call this result frustrating is an understatement.
The Outer Wilds is probably still an excellent game, based on the huge number of people who enjoyed it immensely. It's just saddening to pick up something expecting a meaningful, thoughtful experience and find that it was made in ways that are wholly not to my taste as a gamer.
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Comment on China's new stealth aircraft - "J-36" and the challenge to US air power (with Justin Bronk) in ~misc
TMarkos Link ParentHis playthroughs of Terra Invicta are interesting as well.His playthroughs of Terra Invicta are interesting as well.
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Comment on <deleted topic> in ~finance
TMarkos Link ParentWell, we've already established that it's a bad idea to prevent them from selling, haven't we? All the proposed regulation would do is prevent people from using the selling process to circumvent...Well, we've already established that it's a bad idea to prevent them from selling, haven't we? All the proposed regulation would do is prevent people from using the selling process to circumvent the restrictions placed on the rental market, which is only an issue if they are renting currently and would like to keep renting. If they are renting currently and want to stop renting, they can sell it.
I'm sure that preventing landlords from charging obscene rents or making arbitrary rent increases would absolutely cause a drop in rental inventory, but we'd only be losing the units belonging to those landlords who do not wish to participate in a system in which they would be barred from undesirable behaviors. Such people weren't really contributing to the health of the rental market anyway.
Starsector is worth doing at least one vanilla playthrough, imo, just to get a baseline. The major mod that is in most installs is Nexerelin, which massively enhances faction AI and strategy. It's one of those mods that is basically vanilla for most people. Most of my playthroughs are just Nex plus various faction and ship mods to suit my fancy.