TheJorro's recent activity
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Comment on Brad Leone - I'm on the Youtubes | Channel trailer in ~food
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Comment on IRC for tildes? in ~tildes
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Comment on IRC for tildes? in ~tildes
TheJorro Link ParentIs it still run by people who went to make their own site? I thought they would have closed down the Tildes one.Is it still run by people who went to make their own site? I thought they would have closed down the Tildes one.
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Comment on What are we in the golden age of? in ~talk
TheJorro Link ParentI wrote up a quickstart guide to setting up crt-royale with Reshade a couple of years ago. It's a little outdated in terms of the menu layout of cry-royale itself but otherwise should be accurate....I wrote up a quickstart guide to setting up crt-royale with Reshade a couple of years ago. It's a little outdated in terms of the menu layout of cry-royale itself but otherwise should be accurate.
I still apply this to almost every single pixel-based game. Even many designed for modern screens see some interesting benefits from this treatment. One of my favourite games I've applied this to is Baba is You.
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Comment on Alan Wake II will launch for PlayStation 5, Xbox Series, and PC via Epic Games Store in October, according to Alan Wake voice actor Matthew Porretta in ~games
TheJorro Link ParentIt's their most unique game and most unlike the rest of their catalogue. It's probably the least action-focused game that Remedy ever made, even though it still basically functions as a third...It's their most unique game and most unlike the rest of their catalogue. It's probably the least action-focused game that Remedy ever made, even though it still basically functions as a third person shooter.
Whereas Max Payne and Control were all about lots of movement and high-intensity shootouts, Alan Wake is a horror/thriller game with specific light/shadow based mechanics. You can't just shoot at enemies, you have to use light to bring down their "armour" (i.e. shadows) before you place some well-aimed shots to bring them down. Alan Wake isn't very mobile by design, he's a regular guy, so there's no jump-diving either. You run, you aim, you shoot.
I really liked the Alan Wake games (including the American Nightmares DLC, which I thought was one of the most interesting and experimental campaigns I've seen from an action game and an absolute must play for any Twilight Zone fan). They seem to have been a little divisive because of the core gameplay mechanics and loop but as long as you're not expecting an all-out action game and go into it expecting a third person horror/thriller title, you will have a lot of fun. A lot of the building blocks of Control are felt in Alan Wake especially.
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Comment on Tucker Carlson to launch new show on Twitter in ~tech
TheJorro LinkCanada has been floating the idea of banning FOX News over Tucker Carlson's statements on his show there. I wonder if this means we'll consider banning Twitter now. I wouldn't mind.Canada has been floating the idea of banning FOX News over Tucker Carlson's statements on his show there. I wonder if this means we'll consider banning Twitter now.
I wouldn't mind.
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Comment on Comic fans GOTG 3 thoughts? in ~movies
TheJorro LinkAt this point, James Gunn is the only remaining consistent director in the entire genre of superhero movies so if there's any MCU movie I'm looking forward to, it's GotG3. Gunn's movies (and...At this point, James Gunn is the only remaining consistent director in the entire genre of superhero movies so if there's any MCU movie I'm looking forward to, it's GotG3. Gunn's movies (and Christmas special) have been the only ones to consistently capture me as just good movies by themselves, probably helped by the fact that they're largely divorced from the rest of the MCU. Lots of one-offs (Winter Solider and Thor Ragnarok were incredible) but Gunn's the only one with consistent output to me so far.
I actually lost all interest in the MCU back when it was announced that they were going to do Civil War, one of my least favourite comic story arcs of all time, which is why it took me years to get around to watching Winter Soldier. I also fell out with any potential the DCCU had when they announced "Superman vs. Batman" and the writing was immediately on the wall that nobody involved had ever understood a Batman or Superman story in their lives.
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Comment on What games have you been playing, and what's your opinion on them? in ~games
TheJorro (edited )Link ParentOh, no, that's probably poor word choices on some level. I was just trying to comment on 150cc chasing people off. I'm just really wordy I think. A lot of my comments go on for a few paragraphs....Oh, no, that's probably poor word choices on some level. I was just trying to comment on 150cc chasing people off. I'm just really wordy I think. A lot of my comments go on for a few paragraphs. If anything, Mario Kart something that's been on my mind for years because it feels like Mario Kart is like the one game that's escaping me so I figure I must be missing something. It's not like kart racers are a particularly dynamic or varied genre, which makes it all the more confounding.
You should see how long my posts go when I have a parent comment in one of these game threads. Those get novella-length.
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Comment on What games have you been playing, and what's your opinion on them? in ~games
TheJorro Link ParentWas there some moment when I accidentally gave off the impression that I don't have the first clue about how Mario Kart works? I thought I made it clear that I find the approach to items...Was there some moment when I accidentally gave off the impression that I don't have the first clue about how Mario Kart works? I thought I made it clear that I find the approach to items imbalanced, not that I don't know why I don't get the bullet when in first place. I'm aware of who is supposed to get the equalizing items and why, and I am aware why slowing down when in first place is a bad idea. I know that a big lead is highly desirable because that's true of the concept of racing overall and that it's especially good in kart racers as it gives you a huge buffer for mistakes or hits. But with all the RNG action of items in higher difficulties, it becomes an element of luck to even create a lead since it involves the rest of the race crab-bucketing themselves fighting for second place while first place goes off untouched at the start of the race.
Luck has too much to do with winning the upper levels of the game and what it will take to convince me otherwise are answers to my questions earlier, as those are my targetted areas of improvement which would directly help me get the results I want. If there is a skill issue, then coming back from chain-hits should be something that anyone should be able to do consistently but, thus far, there has been zero advice about. So far, my experience has been a coin-toss about whether it happens or it doesn't and you just hope it doesn't.
I know how the items are distributed and work. It's not in question why I get hit when I'm in front. If I was actually puzzled about that, the blue shell would have been the top of my complaint list but I haven't mentioned it at all since that actually makes sense to me. The one item I specifically complained about isn't an "equalizer" item since it hits all players at once. If it only affected the frontrunners, it would actually make a lot more sense. What I did more specifically complain about was the item distribution, especially when dropped from the front to the back and how long it takes for the powerful equalizing items to drop when you're in that position, and the balancing (and that was really just the lightning).
Just to add to how I am not some newbie playing a racing game for the first time: this is the kart racer that I find this issue to be the most prominent. I've been playing kart racers for decades now. RNG always exists but other racers don't leave me feeling like the game is as RNG-centric as Mario Kart. And it might not even be a real RNG issue, it could just be an imbalance in probabilities in the game code combined with the balance of the actual items themselves. I don't really know but what matters is how to make it possible to regularly surmount it. I've never had any issues performing to a satisfactory level in any other racers, and other games where skill-based play takes a lot more time, effort, and talent to learn and develop. It's not like Mario Kart is the worst entry in the genre, or even that other companies don't have their own big downsides (e.g. every EA racing game has overly aggressive rubberbanding), this is just my specific complaint about Mario Kart.
And what's so harsh about my criticism? It was entirely sentimental and personal, and laser-focused on the RNG-centric nature. In my last comment, I clarified all the obvious marks of quality the game has and said it's not a hateable game. Why does Mario Kart need such ardent defending from such a specific complaint, to a point that the specifics of that complaint are ignored in favour of "just accept that you suck, it can't be the game's fault"? I left often the possibility that I missed something big and it would just need to be communicated to me but nothing has come out of that appeal. If it was possible to employ certain strategies or gameplay in a way to ensure consistent high performance in those difficulties, then that's what I'd actually like to know.
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Comment on What games have you been playing, and what's your opinion on them? in ~games
TheJorro (edited )Link ParentI mean, yeah, this goes back to my first comment: there's no such thing as "good enough", only "lucky enough". Like, after all this back and forth, we're back to the idea that the real key to...I think your primary problem is that the upper levels of Mario Kart are simply really hard and to accept that you might not ever be good enough to beat the 200cc Gran Prix modes.
I mean, yeah, this goes back to my first comment: there's no such thing as "good enough", only "lucky enough". Like, after all this back and forth, we're back to the idea that the real key to enjoying MK if you're not someone who likes getting screwed over by chance with no recourse is to consistently "git
gudlucky".Of course it's okay not to like the game a lot. That's what I was saying up front, and I was commiserating with someone who had a similarly negative experience as I did. If I was complaining about anything, it's that I can't like MK as much as I want to. Obviously neither of us hate the game, there's plenty to enjoy but there are aspects of the game which defy traditional good design choices. I expressed confusion why they get a pass but based on the responses here, it's like the answer is to do everything I can to ignore that those things exist.
Like okay, playing some MK with friends for an evening is one thing. But trying to play the game even semi-seriously by yourself and getting all the content including getting all the GP trophies at all cc levels is another, and that's where it's not at its best. In fact, it exposes a lot of the problems (as higher difficulties in many games do).
Quite frankly, I'm tired of pretending like the Mario Kart games are impeccably designed and perfect kart racers, especially MK8 or MK8D. I get that they're super popular and tons of people like playing them, but that's the same case with Call of Duty and yet nobody bats an eyelid at the idea that the COD games are full of issues and are not the best examples of their genres despite all the things they do really well that ensures its juggernaut status. I just want some acknowledgement that the RNG-centric approach to the higher difficulty levels could be a lot better than it has been or, if that actually is wrong, for someone to finally let me know if I've missed something key that mitigates or minimizes how central the RNG is to the resultant gameplay.
As it stands, it should be a given that RNG-centric gameplay is not appreciated by some people, especially after enough time. As another comparison, I don't enjoy Darkest Dungeons at all for the same reason of RNG heavy design. At least that game doesn't feel like it's meant to punish, it's just a lot of luck of the draw. MK's saving grace for its reputation is that its random bullshit is fun for a while as a party game (which I'd bet is how the vast majority of people exclusively play MK) so the game is pretty enjoyable in the right context—something which Darkest Dungeons doesn't have at all.
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Comment on What games have you been playing, and what's your opinion on them? in ~games
TheJorro (edited )Link ParentSo how does one win a 150 or 200cc Grand Prix consistently and often with proper driving? What's the meta to prevent getting curb-stomped from near first to near last place frequently? Is it...So how does one win a 150 or 200cc Grand Prix consistently and often with proper driving? What's the meta to prevent getting curb-stomped from near first to near last place frequently? Is it better to be in the middle of the pack and then roll for an opportune item like a bullet or a gold mushroom, and launch them near the end? Is there actually some kind of mechanism to prevent chain-hits from happening?
How do I guarantee getting items like the bullet or the gold mushroom instead of the less useful ones when you're near the back of the race in the third lap? I don't get any of the good items after getting knocked back five to eight places unless I stay there for a while, at which point the race is already over.
If MK has a great gradual learning curve as it goes up the difficulties, then what exactly am I doing wrong when 100cc races are easily won but I can't figure out how to do the same with 150cc? It doesn't seem like there were any new mechanics to learn that I missed, it's the same start timing, powerslides, items, and all. But the AI is so much more aggressive about items and they seem to deploy them in a much more coordinated fashion at higher cc speeds. I've put dozens of hours into 100c races at this point, and yet 150cc is as impenetrable as ever, so there must be some step in learning that I've completely skipped by here.
Also the tripping mechanic was a huge failure. It didn't actually stop skilled players from having their run on less skilled players. It just made it more annoying for equally skilled players. It was just a really bad design choice in the end since it didn't do anything they wanted it to, and they did not bring it back for the following Smash games. But the Smash games at least have a learnable skill path where the mechanics don't work against you arbitrarily. If you can figure out a moveset, positioning, and timing, it seems to be pretty learnable. Success is repeatable with consistent skill and the game doesn't punish you for it. I'm not good at Smash at all (and playing against someone who is much better is definitely not fun but that's normal for anything where you're unskilled and your opponent is skilled) but I can at least see how someone who puts the time in can get to that level. I do not see how that happens with MK, where it seems like the game is designed to punish people that try.
There must be people that have figured it all out but I haven't found any good advice out there about it beyond some supposedly optimal kart builds.
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Comment on What games have you been playing, and what's your opinion on them? in ~games
TheJorro Link ParentI feel like I should like MK a lot more than I do but I can't understand how people are okay with the sheer amount of RNG bullshit that it involves, and the totally imbalanced items. It's pretty...I feel like I should like MK a lot more than I do but I can't understand how people are okay with the sheer amount of RNG bullshit that it involves, and the totally imbalanced items. It's pretty much the only video game that regularly makes me ragequit.
People tell me that skill matters a lot in MK but I have no idea where. I've gotten into all kinds of games that reward skill in various ways, from Counter-Strike to StarCraft to fighting games to other racers, and I have no idea where skill would make a lick of difference in a game where you can be chain-hit into last place at any moment. And it often feels like a designed punishment for doing well with how often it happens. This is the same company that introduced tripping into their previous fighting game just to keep RNG up and mitigate skilled play, so I would not be surprised if this is on purpose.
It's just... not fun once you get past the bright colours, music, art, and characters. That lightning item is especially bullshit in MK8D since it removes all your items on top of killing all your momentum and crippling your speed.
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Comment on Magic publishers sent Pinkerton agents to a YouTuber’s house to retrieve leaked cards in ~games.tabletop
TheJorro Link ParentHuh I had no idea Hasbro owned WotC. TIL.Huh I had no idea Hasbro owned WotC. TIL.
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Comment on Magic publishers sent Pinkerton agents to a YouTuber’s house to retrieve leaked cards in ~games.tabletop
TheJorro (edited )Link ParentThe fact that this is their initial response is worthy of all the criticism and painting as a bad guy by itself. It's not at all common practice for a company to send goons for something as banal...The fact that this is their initial response is worthy of all the criticism and painting as a bad guy by itself. It's not at all common practice for a company to send goons for something as banal as a toy being sold before the street date. How many times have you heard of Mattel or Hasbro sending out armed goons to protect Barbie and Hot Wheels?
The fact that of all the possible groups they could have sent it was the Pinkertons only makes it worse. It's one thing if it's just some PI delivering some legal papers, but the Pinkertons? I mean, let's just start with their bedside manner as described in the article:
The presenter at oldschoolmtg described agents as “big heavy-hitter guys” who frightened his wife.
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“He was very apologetic about making my wife cry first thing in the morning by sending these heavy-duty lawmen [to] come collect stuff and talk about stolen products and jail time,” the presenter said in the video.
It doesn't sound like the Pinkertons showed up with hat in hand and a charm offensive. It sounds like they were specifically sent to intimidate as well as inform. Also how often do you see a company rep apologizing for the kinds of people they've hired for a job when everything went according to plan?
This is specifically a group infamous for its extremely heavy-handed tactics for over a century now, not some small security company serving a warrant or delivering some legal papers. The infamy of the Pinkertons is not just arbitrary propaganda, they've got much more history of unethical behaviour than most law enforcement agencies.
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Comment on i.reddit.com (aka .compact) appears to be gone in ~tech
TheJorro Link ParentThere are some newer communities that have built themselves up around the chat function, especially some of the more underground art ones. If you prefer the old reddit interface, the browser site...There are some newer communities that have built themselves up around the chat function, especially some of the more underground art ones. If you prefer the old reddit interface, the browser site old.reddit.com is the only way to interface with those groups. Without it, there is no way. It will be a full, artificial gating away of what has become a core reddit feature. This may not be a big group of people but it is, nonetheless, a group of rather specific users.
The result of closing down old.reddit.com would be there is now basically situation of either the old interface or being able to interface with some communities. It's just kind of a crappy situation for users that wanted both and were already limited in how to go about it.
Like the feature or not, locking core features away from traditional interfaces and the API isn't a good step forward.
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Comment on i.reddit.com (aka .compact) appears to be gone in ~tech
TheJorro Link ParentUnfortunately there are some features that aren't on the API like the chat function. If old.reddit.com disappears, then the chat function would only work on the official app and on the new design...Unfortunately there are some features that aren't on the API like the chat function. If old.reddit.com disappears, then the chat function would only work on the official app and on the new design reddit.
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Comment on What games have you been playing, and what's your opinion on them? in ~games
TheJorro LinkTried out Hogwarts Legacy for a while. It's alright. It's basically a really good Ubisoft open world game. But it's by WB, so it has more Arkham style combat than Ubisoft's combat styles. The...Tried out Hogwarts Legacy for a while. It's alright.
It's basically a really good Ubisoft open world game. But it's by WB, so it has more Arkham style combat than Ubisoft's combat styles. The controls are a bit odd, I don't think it's the most intuitive to mash on the Right Trigger for everything. Decades of gaming has ingrained that such combat should be on the face buttons like... well, the Arkham games.
It's also really, really easy. This is definitely a game made for everyone so it's not very challenging. Many of the puzzles are also not exactly difficult, they're more just about "Do I have the spell for this or not?"
The best and most notable part of the game is the world. This is the most we've ever been able to explore the Wizarding World and they've done an amazing job with it. The world is surprisingly big and it's a joy to explore Hogwarts and the countryside around it including Hogsmeade and some other villages. There's a ton of references and details from the books and world strewn around the game. There's also more than a little fanservice but I suppose that's to be expected.
But after a while, most of the game simply feels like it alternates between collecting a ton of things and fighting off enemies with what most games would reserve for end-game magic spells. In a way it kind of reminded me of the original God of War games where I wished I could skip the combat and play the rest of the game. But if I wasn't in a mood to collect anything, that left me with just not really wanting to play more... which is why I stopped played after a while.
So, yeah, like the best Ubisoft open world games, this game is alright. It's not amazing or groundbreaking or a must play in any way that I can find except that it's finally a detailed, beautiful, interactive version of the Wizarding World.
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Comment on Obesity in the age of Ozempic in ~health
TheJorro (edited )Link ParentI have sleep apnea. It's a disorder largely linked to obesity but I was diagnosed when I was a teenager, a regular sized, perfectly healthy teenager. It's just a genetic thing for my family...I have sleep apnea. It's a disorder largely linked to obesity but I was diagnosed when I was a teenager, a regular sized, perfectly healthy teenager. It's just a genetic thing for my family because we have that fleshy bit in our throats that causes it.
Do you know how many times I've heard doctors hyperfocus on weight loss as a treatment? Again, I am not obese or significantly overweight. My BMI is in the overweight category but that's because I can toss giant sacks of beans like few else can. It's plain to see in person. And yet I have sat through so many doctors appointments where they put me on a scale, crunch some simple numbers, and tell me the solution is weight loss.
Of course "lose weight" is a perfectly viable medical suggestion. The problem is that it's frequently a lazy medical suggestion from disinterested medical professionals who are eyeing the clock and the invoice more than the person in front of them. I've never been upset during any medical appointment except for those related to my sleep apnea where the medical professionals seem overtrained to blame weight. If someone like me experienced this frequently despite not being obviously overweight at all, then I can only imagine the frequency and additional flags (visual, behavioural, etc.) that overweight people receive.
One of the most recent success stories from a bigger person in my life has been after a decade of failure with exercise and diet. The most recent failure? A specialized clinic dedicated to weight loss. Two years of tests, checks, appointments, that went nowhere all to result in "We can prep you for a major surgery that will have a significant impact on the rest of your life, or we can discharge you." What's finally working? They finally got a job that has insurance that allows them to afford psychotherapy and physiotherapy, and now it's finally happening for them because they can now exercise without setting their joints on fire and they're getting their mental attitude in check.
This is what people are really asking for. It's not that they want to be healthy at every size, it's that they don't want to be regarded like lepers just for being overweight and clearly aren't doing This One Simple Thing. Obviously the weight is a problem, I'm sure all but the most delusional are aware, but they need more help to address it than they are really getting from medical professionals.
I can't help but think of how women's medical health is only being more widely understood in recent years, and how much trouble many have had getting diagnosed with endometriosis for so long just because medical professionals weren't trained for that but were also somehow infallible with their diagnoses. As much as we should trust science, medical professionals, and doctors, we should also be more than aware that they do not have a full picture of human health just yet and the overweight are probably one of the remaining underserved groups.
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Comment on Jamie Oliver's war on nuggets in ~food
TheJorro LinkThis is one of my favourite videos on YouTube, I've watched it a number of times since it came out. I was totally ready for some hot nonsense from Jamie Oliver in the usual vein of his antics....This is one of my favourite videos on YouTube, I've watched it a number of times since it came out. I was totally ready for some hot nonsense from Jamie Oliver in the usual vein of his antics. That it turned into something rooted in classism caught me off guard and really turned what could have been another Two-Minute Hate into something informative and revelatory about the purpose behind the initiatives and messaging.
Dan Olsen really is a cut above almost everyone. All of his videos are incredibly insightful and remarkably well considered, he's a treasure. But I suppose that's to be expected from any of Lindsay Ellis' longtime cowriters.
His videos on Suicide Squad and Annihilation are some of my favourites.
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Comment on Ted Lasso | Season 3 official trailer in ~tv
TheJorro Link ParentAh crap, I wrote that and then went somewhere without internet for a week. I was using the Discord spoiler formatting out of habit. Really sorry about that, everyone.Ah crap, I wrote that and then went somewhere without internet for a week. I was using the Discord spoiler formatting out of habit.
Really sorry about that, everyone.
Her cookbooks (which her channel largely features recipes from) are excellent, though. Some truly fantastic recipes even among a crowded field. The sour cream and chive rolls are a standard for us now, we always bring them to family dinners and they get devoured almost immediately.