Thomas-C's recent activity
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Comment on What games have you been playing, and what's your opinion on them? in ~games
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Comment on Things are crumbling around me and a lot of it is my fault in ~health.mental
Thomas-C LinkI'll just be blunt, I see no issue telling boss what he wants to hear for long enough to get a move made. He unloaded because he is evidently comfortable with you, that is a mistake on his part...I'll just be blunt, I see no issue telling boss what he wants to hear for long enough to get a move made. He unloaded because he is evidently comfortable with you, that is a mistake on his part and you can exploit it to help get yourself out of there. Let him talk, observe and note the details, use that to keep a dialogue that avoids suspicion and doesn't interfere with your goals. It's up to you where the lines are on what you will do, but personally I would have zero problem just saying whatever achieves my objective in a situation like that.
IMO, the shame you've described is understandable but in my view is an unfairness to yourself. You cannot control the circumstance and lack means to change it. Calling the guy out on his nonsense, realistically would not accomplish much of anything and likely just put you in peril. Best you can do is take care of yourself, and it sounds like you've got a clear idea of what you need to do on a more strategic level. So now it's tactics and ops until the strategy is fulfilled. Rather than see it as a battle you have already lost, I would reframe it as having discovered you are in unfriendly territory and must avoid battle altogether to get your ass out of there. You're not on the front. You're behind their lines, with no firepower, no support, and no one actually gave you any orders, if we're gonna keep up the martial metaphor.
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Comment on I can't describe it, but I know it when I see it in ~life
Thomas-C (edited )LinkTake me with a grain of salt. I'm just a guy who knows some parents. Occasionally I've talked with them and their kids about stuff like this, because the parents get interested when they hear...Take me with a grain of salt. I'm just a guy who knows some parents. Occasionally I've talked with them and their kids about stuff like this, because the parents get interested when they hear their "tech guy" say they're right to think the machinery is malign and the content is dogshit.
The kid is taking in entertainment. Fundamentally, outside the particulars, they're doing something we all do. They find it entertaining to see other kids playing, I get that. I've certainly watched plenty of folks wreck some games I like. If kid can explain a bit why they like it, that might give you an opening to alter/divert the interest by ripping them out of the "intended" experience, and putting them on to things you know are more constructive.
Let's assume for example they like watching kids playing with action figures. No malign influence, it really is just other kids playing with their toys doing silly kid stuff. Maybe your kid likes that because, when they think about it, they feel like they're getting to play too. Maybe they'd like to do more playing, but can't. That's a relatable feeling. But the video isn't that. Fundamentally, it isn't. Those other kids can't see you. They don't know you. They can't share their toys, and letting you watch isn't really sharing, because they didn't make that video for you. I know they say they did, but that's just what everybody says so folks will keep watching their videos. What you're seeing is not "a kid playing", you're seeing "a kid who once played". They're not playing with you, you're not playing with them. Intentionally kill the magic, and be ready with a followup compromise that still furthers your ends.
Sticking with the example: Ok kid, if you wanna see a toy you might like, sure, here's a channel that really shows you the toy and if you like it, tell me about it, maybe some time I can find that for you. Carrot. Through those interactions you can develop dialogue, get em comfortable talking about what they're seeing with you, and that gives you a baseline for knowing when they're seeing wild shit (changes in dialogue can belie changes in content consumption). When things shift and it appears they've wound up somewhere malign, out comes the stick: Ban the channel, the app, time em out from all of it, whatever you think is an appropriate way of limiting access. Because there's a history of talking about it, you've given yourself an opportunity to explain why the things are bad without immediately triggering a defiant response (at least, hopefully). You can recall how the change occurred, the real things you noticed and why the channel relates to that. That gives the kid something to chew on, awareness of the broader picture, little bit at a time.
Most of the folks I know struggle because they just don't have a dialogue going around their content consumption. Their kids are in different worlds from them. Some of that is a function of time and business, some of it is reluctance to see the full picture, some of it if I'm honest is them just being irresponsible/not giving enough of a shit, it varies person to person. But, in my very, very limited sampling, folks who have (or built) a regular, consistent sort of dialogue around what they are seeing are better able to handle it when the machinery does its malignant bullshit. The trust between the two of you, your bond, is what defeats the machine in the long run.
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Comment on Whatever happened to _____? in ~talk
Thomas-C Link ParentAppreciate you taking the time, man am I glad I stopped when I did. I played MTG in card shops since the late 90's/early 2000's, left for a time and came back when Commander started being a bigger...Appreciate you taking the time, man am I glad I stopped when I did. I played MTG in card shops since the late 90's/early 2000's, left for a time and came back when Commander started being a bigger thing. When it started to be clear they'd be blending franchises I sold all my cards, downloaded Forge and never looked back.
It's kinda funny the Spiderman set was lame, because my only experience of that until reading your post was saying to myself "wtf? No, disabled, the hell is this shit". Now that I know, the hell that is, I'm glad I disabled it.
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Comment on Your favorite deeply unpopular music in ~music
Thomas-C Link ParentIt's a tightrope of a genre sometimes, but between the intensity and silly/crazy stuff the bands do I just can't step off.It's a tightrope of a genre sometimes, but between the intensity and silly/crazy stuff the bands do I just can't step off.
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Comment on What have you been eating, drinking, and cooking? in ~food
Thomas-C LinkRecently I tried cooking something in a new way and ended up preferring it. I have a recipe for red beans and rice I kinda continuously adjust and mess with. I absolutely love Cajun food and it's...Recently I tried cooking something in a new way and ended up preferring it.
I have a recipe for red beans and rice I kinda continuously adjust and mess with. I absolutely love Cajun food and it's the fastest way of getting some without having to rely on the store for more than some basics. Anyway, in cooking it I would usually just boil up a pot of rice and use the pot of beans to put all my spices, meats and things together, simmer all of that and just ladle it over the cooked rice. What I did instead, was to cook the rice in a skillet - a cup and a half of dry white rice, browned slightly in oil, then I poured about 3 cups of water in and let it sit on low heat to absorb. Along with it: Garlic, onions, chopped bacon, red pepper flakes.
While that was going on, I sliced up sausage and sauteed it with a little salt, paprika, and cumin. When it had a nice, crispy sear I got it all together and chopped it up. I drained a can of red beans, seasoned them with a little bit of cider vinegar and just kept em to the side. When the rice had finished, I moved it to a big bowl, and fluffed it around with a quarter stick of butter and a drizzle of sesame oil. Tossed in the chopped sausage and beans, mixed it up, and let it sit for a minute.
It was incredible. The rice was firm without feeling undercooked, and had a much more distinct flavor. The flavors of the ingredients felt more even, and more apparent. The bacon especially came through better than when I would add that to a pot of simmering beans. It was even better with some fresh green onions and a teensy bit of pepper sauce. I ended up sprinkling some oregano in, done deal. I think this is how I'm gonna do it from here out.
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Comment on What games have you been playing, and what's your opinion on them? in ~games
Thomas-C LinkI ended up heading back to Bannerlord now that its dlc, War Sails, is out. It is hard going back to the base game, but I think the naval combat is gonna really shine once the patching settles and...I ended up heading back to Bannerlord now that its dlc, War Sails, is out.
It is hard going back to the base game, but I think the naval combat is gonna really shine once the patching settles and folks play around with it. It's very fun building a fleet, customizing the ships a bit, and taking on folks out in the world. I had an encounter against a group of corsairs, in which during a rainstorm we bobbed across the waves firing off fire pots and burning their ships down. In another encounter, I took a medium galley sort of thing and rammed the shit out of a little bandit boat so bad folks flew off into the sea. It's amusing too, watching a bunch of constantly-yelling dudes swim like mermaids in full plate as they try to get back up on the boat.
On its own it feels a little rough, in that the ai kinda isn't that good and they don't do a lot of complex maneuvering, but having seen what folks can do modding the game it's got me very excited. I cannot wait for a proper, combination land and sea siege. Despite it being in their trailer it isn't actually in the game, but I've noticed some overhaul mods mention managing to put that together.
In the meantime though, I've gone back to my mod pack while I wait for stuff to get worked. After that campaign I did earlier in the year, I spent some time just putting more mods together, in my eternal quest to see how big of a ball of systems I could duct tape together. With a new character, I went out into the world and hunted wild game to get some money together. The big ticket hunt was a pack of bears, that I ...BEARrly... managed to bag thanks to finding some traps. After trading the hides I hired some guys, and trained em up by beating the hell out of each other in an arena pit. For a while we roamed around, and hit it big on a group of deserters. When big battles happen, the survivors of the losing side will sometimes desert, and we scored some excellent equipment ambushing them in a forest. With some more money in hand, I went back to the city we trained at, made friends with some alley bandits, and worked out becoming a gang boss.
While I got started, the wider world turned. Different clans got scooped up by the kingdoms, others made their own minor factions, and mercenary bands went around hunting down bandits and assisting different armies. Commanders, after winning big battles would sometimes execute their rivals, creating new tensions between kingdoms. Border regions got real spicy, and sometimes those skirmishes would evolve into broader conflicts as the kings decided, you know what its time to settle some ancient scores. Each year a little message comes up regarding the Tournament of Champions ("LETS GET READY TO RUMBLE"), where the top lords all over the world head to a randomly chosen city and duke it out for big prizes. One kingdom ended up in the beginnings of a civil war, with one group of nobles deciding their king was no longer legitimate. Two other kingdoms revived an ancient grudge and are fighting hard over territory. New clans arise now and then, with the possibility they'll become their own factions or join with the kingdoms.
I'm hopeful all this stuff will make its way to the new version of the game, because omg I need ship fights in an environment that turns this much. I know folks tend not to like the idea of a game depending on mods to be really good, and they're right to think it can sometimes be very tedious to manage, but honestly having seen what's in War Sails plus what already got done for the base game, yes please, I will suffer some tedium if I can have all this activity and be king of pirate island.
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Comment on The lossless scaling plugin is officially on the Decky Store in ~games
Thomas-C Link ParentYour reply had me thinking to put a number to it, so I did. 30fps has always been my baseline, coming from a history of portables and crappy hardware. I didn't get into PC gaming in a dedicated...Your reply had me thinking to put a number to it, so I did.
30fps has always been my baseline, coming from a history of portables and crappy hardware. I didn't get into PC gaming in a dedicated way until about halfway through college, and started on an extraordinarily crappy laptop. I played the first STALKER game on that machine, at like 24 fps with a trackpad, all the way to the end. It would not surprise me if that permanently altered my brain, because it felt like it did at the time. I just had to see what was in that fucking power plant, I can't explain it, so what if the grey matter gets dented.
The plugin impresses me most in Armored Core VI and Monster Hunter World, in those two it feels the most like free performance, and that being a thing at all just dazzles me if I'm honest. The feeling of "I just downloaded more ram and it worked" gets me a bit.
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Comment on The lossless scaling plugin is officially on the Decky Store in ~games
Thomas-C (edited )Link ParentMy emphasis is on keeping a stable image, because the plugin doesn't take in the same way to every game. With Elden Ring, for example, the shimmering to me is just intolerable. It feels OK to me...My emphasis is on keeping a stable image, because the plugin doesn't take in the same way to every game.
With Elden Ring, for example, the shimmering to me is just intolerable. It feels OK to me to play, but is distracting to look at because of its perspective/camera position relative to what's on screen - you see stuff shimmering at the edges pretty much all the time during travel, and the player character will flit out of existence turning the camera side to side. In Anomaly such distortion is much less present, so if you don't have an issue with the input latency that one is more of a success story. Hopefully that makes some sense.
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Comment on The lossless scaling plugin is officially on the Decky Store in ~games
Thomas-C Link ParentI didn't notice a particular difference but I also wasn't trying to measure. My goal was to save folks time messing with all the options in the plugin, get straight to seeing it do what it can do...I didn't notice a particular difference but I also wasn't trying to measure. My goal was to save folks time messing with all the options in the plugin, get straight to seeing it do what it can do so they can quickly evaluate. There's a lot of toggles and options that simply don't matter if it's intolerable in the configuration I wrote out.
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Comment on The lossless scaling plugin is officially on the Decky Store in ~games
Thomas-C (edited )LinkHaving followed this plugin from the beginning, I can offer a short list of games that to my eye work especially well with it. All of these should be set to run at a locked 30fps, that you do 2x...Having followed this plugin from the beginning, I can offer a short list of games that to my eye work especially well with it.
All of these should be set to run at a locked 30fps, that you do 2x with the plugin to reach 60. Use the steam menu to disable the frame limit and set your refresh rate to match. If you see a lot of shimmering, try upping the refresh rate to 90. It won't look quite as smooth but still smoother than a locked 30. If you're having trouble reaching 60, try setting a 1600mhz limit on your GPU. Lowering Flow Scale in the plugin can get you a little more performance too.
Slightly shrinking the deadzones on your sticks might help you out as well if you're particularly bothered by latency. It obviously doesn't mean anything directly, but the faster response might help you adjust.
IMO, 3x and 4x look and play like shit with everything, I don't recommend those at all.
Here's what I got:
Armored Core VI
Monster Hunter World
Monster Hunter Rise
Mount & Blade 2: Bannerlord
Diablo 2 Resurrected
Mechwarrior 5: Mercenaries
STALKER Anomaly
Cyberpunk 2077These games in particular I think look great with the plugin. By targeting a locked 30fps, you can increase graphical fidelity/resolution a bit and come out with a smooth experience that looks nicer. Where possible, enforce the fps limit in the game instead of through the plugin or the steam menu. Helps keep latency manageable. There will always be a degree of shimmering, but with things set up the right way it's so minimal it shouldn't bother you, if you notice it at all. Occasionally you might catch some weirdness when you swing the camera around quickly, but it's so quick you probably won't care. You can use the plugin on pretty much everything, including non steam games and emulators. Emulators can be a bit tricky, might take some extra fiddling.
You can also combine it with Decky Framegen, a plugin that implements Optiscaler in place of DLSS (I think that's how to sum that up). I wouldn't recommend layering frame generation because latency will go wild most of the time, but optiscaler lets you have more options for upscaling with (usually) better results than what's available in the game.
Overall I've been super impressed with how good the plugin is. It depends on the game a bit how it will run and whether it will be OK to look at, but for the most part it legit feels like free performance with no major downside. If you're already accustomed to playing games at 30 and 40 fps, you're probably gonna be a-ok.
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Comment on Poets are now cybersecurity threats: Researchers used 'adversarial poetry' to trick AI into ignoring its safety guard rails and it frequently worked in ~tech
Thomas-C Link ParentI read a couple of different blog posts where folks listed out their attempts, it was pretty funny how far you could go just phrasing it as "letter code" instead of saying anything about a...I read a couple of different blog posts where folks listed out their attempts, it was pretty funny how far you could go just phrasing it as "letter code" instead of saying anything about a password.
IMO, it's more fun when you know the pw's already, and see what roundabout routes get you to them
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Comment on Poets are now cybersecurity threats: Researchers used 'adversarial poetry' to trick AI into ignoring its safety guard rails and it frequently worked in ~tech
Thomas-C LinkIf anyone is interested in playing around with similar stuff/learning about prompt injection, you can hit up things like Lakera's Gandalf and see how far you get. They've made a bunch of examples...If anyone is interested in playing around with similar stuff/learning about prompt injection, you can hit up things like Lakera's Gandalf and see how far you get. They've made a bunch of examples of how to understand and utilize prompt injection, and fake applications with their own challenges. It was more fun than I expected. In early levels I had it reveal the password to me by having it play pretend and tell imaginary people the password. By levels 7 and 8, I had it doing logic puzzles and obfuscating its responses in patterns to lead me to the important letters. You can go way outside the box with it, what would be far too much for a person to account for in responding is just fine for the machine. It has no barometer for absurdity and its way of detecting subterfuge isn't as sophisticated as it might appear, stretch it and you'll probably surprise yourself with what works.
Now, I am of course not recommending anybody take what they learn and mess with bots out in the wild but if you do, well, you might meet with some unexpected success. Asking a service bot to give you a coupon may not work but it might do it if you can figure up how to make the result of a logic puzzle be a coupon code. Demanding it format its response in base64 with arbitrary formatting might get you something it's not supposed to say. Obtuse and ridiculous language can defeat some constraints on image generators. What might seem obvious to a person won't necessarily get caught by the bot. There's some weird stuff you can do the deeper you go on it, adversarial poetry is but one method among many.
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Comment on The Florentine Diamond resurfaces after 100 years in hiding. Legendary jewel of the Habsburgs not seen since 1919 and thought lost, has actually been safe in a Canadian bank for decades. (gifted link) in ~humanities.history
Thomas-C Link ParentAh but you see on this napkin from 191X the ruling authority wrote, "its mine and nobody else's, all the diamonds are mine, no takebacks", and according to the Law on Monarchical Table Scrawlings...Ah but you see on this napkin from 191X the ruling authority wrote, "its mine and nobody else's, all the diamonds are mine, no takebacks", and according to the Law on Monarchical Table Scrawlings that means ownership transferred to the state when the dinner was over. I'm not gonna get into the minutiae of how the state owns things before it existed. Go get a law degree, pay the fees, and if the deadline hasn't passed for public comment I will be happy to tell you in more detail why the diamond is ours no matter what you came up with.
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Comment on What is going on with the Epstein files? in ~society
Thomas-C Link ParentI am quietly cheering on any Bubba Truthers out there for the sheer entertainment value of watching what happens if such a thing is real. I am in it for maximum absurdity. Deal with that, all you...I am quietly cheering on any Bubba Truthers out there for the sheer entertainment value of watching what happens if such a thing is real. I am in it for maximum absurdity. Deal with that, all you politicians everyone dislikes. Can this machine cope with another Clinton blowjob scandal or will it be the end of us? Can bill get his revenge or will the forces of darkness convince enough people that it was good, actually? If it happens, we will be able to answer these questions and more in the next episode
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Comment on What is going on with the Epstein files? in ~society
Thomas-C Link ParentWe will watch this event play out, but we don't know from our current position how (or whether) it will matter. "Might buckle" is what it says. It might, it might not. Could be it's just one more...We will watch this event play out, but we don't know from our current position how (or whether) it will matter. "Might buckle" is what it says. It might, it might not. Could be it's just one more thing in the long line, could be it's the end of the line. It's a shock to a weakened system. With how unstable the structure already is, anything disruptive takes on greater potential.
I don't myself believe in a savior of the present. Such a figure is supposed to have come and gone if I take what scripture I'm familiar with seriously. And, if I take some more controversial literature seriously, such figures take a back seat to the shifting of conditions anyway, so I choose not to pin hopes on big people for both reasons. It won't be so simple, what happens later. All I really mean to say is that this particular story has a lot of potential, so if OP has more of a serious interest, bruh go check it out it is some cray-zee shit. The array of people involved and their positions within the structure, the more you see of it, pretty much guarantees a wild time of some kind or other.
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Comment on Posts vs. comments. Where do you fall and why? in ~tech
Thomas-C Link Parent"That's the way the cookie crumbles" is something I heard somewhere, at some point, is the best I got on that one"That's the way the cookie crumbles" is something I heard somewhere, at some point, is the best I got on that one
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Comment on What is going on with the Epstein files? in ~society
Thomas-C LinkI got you homie imma catch you up To stick to basics: the "files" is in reference to all of the material the federal government has about Epstein, his network of clients and associates, and their...I got you homie imma catch you up
To stick to basics: the "files" is in reference to all of the material the federal government has about Epstein, his network of clients and associates, and their dealings/depravity. They have not been released, in the sense no comprehensive record has been put out by the federal government, unredacted and without interference. Folks expected it because it was an explicit promise Trump made when he was campaigning, that folks would be given the info along with JFK and MLK and some other stuff. They've done some here and there but it's been a poor showing, with obvious effort to obscure what connections the president had to the people involved as well as what Epstein was up to. More has come from folks leaking stuff and as pressure builds the federal government is acting more desperately. Just recently congress let out a trove of emails that are so on the nose terrible that it's got folks across the politics saying, basically, "just fucking do it already". Folks believe the admin less and less, congress is doing dumb shit to avoid releasing stuff, it is both the biggest and dumbest coverup.
You can go way deep on it by checking out Whitney Webb's site, Unlimited Hangout if you like. She's been going through it for quite a while. It's way bigger than just Trump - the whole of the western empire might buckle, hard, if the full picture gets assembled. What little credibility remains in our political systems/aristocrats will pretty much vaporize and who knows what happens then. Have fun!
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Comment on Posts vs. comments. Where do you fall and why? in ~tech
Thomas-C LinkI don't think much about it. I'm not really looking for anything, I just see stuff that catches my interest and compose some thoughts when I got em. I do try to be fun to read - you're giving me...I don't think much about it. I'm not really looking for anything, I just see stuff that catches my interest and compose some thoughts when I got em. I do try to be fun to read - you're giving me some time so I wanna give you something that's worth some time. If folks are on about something, I'll try to fit in what I've got where it seems appropriate, where it fits in the context of the conversation. I just go where I go and say what I say and leave the rest to fate. If it's a bunch of top level comments then that's what it is. Just the way my cookie be crumbling.
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Comment on Facebook and Instagram are paradises for scammers, reveal Meta's internal documents in ~tech
Thomas-C Link ParentI'm sure there's some advanced legalese/analyst language out there Facebook would lean on to say why a vast chunk of scam content doesn't actually count, or wasn't included. "Ah, you see, these...I'm sure there's some advanced legalese/analyst language out there Facebook would lean on to say why a vast chunk of scam content doesn't actually count, or wasn't included. "Ah, you see, these ads for fake diet pills and reverse mortgages came from an affiliate so they're not included. We're only measuring what's been put out by non affiliate, automated ad networks operating on thursdays, outside the borders of the US and only during winter, so you're gonna have to talk to someone else about those. Not liable!"
I've been playing Armored Core: Verdict Day, because that is the one AC game I have never gotten to play. I didn't have a 360/ps3 when it came out, and for a long time emulation just didn't cut it. It struggles sometimes on the steam deck, but on my PC it runs just fine. Folks in the AC discord put together a pack that includes the game, updates and a bunch of other stuff. The pack includes a custom version of rpcs3, but it works basically the same on the most recent version/it isn't actually necessary.
It's an interesting step away from the speed of 4th generation AC, definitely slower/clunkier and the whole game is built around justifying that change. The world was more or less ruined by the radioactive pollution those super machines put out, the earth is just about cooked and folks are left to cobble together what they can find/make. Where 4/For Answer had an emphasis on speed and being airborne, 5/Verdict Day is about sticking to the ground and using terrain. You can still make machines that go airborne, zip around and dodge, but it's an order of magnitude slower, and vaulting over buildings/using cover is more important. I really like some of the sound design - boosters sound loud and crackly, kinetic weapons tend to have a satisfying sha-KOW, machine guns sound like big grinding things. Where AC 4 and 6 give you a sort of sports car, these are monster trucks, is how I like to think of it.
Combat is just as frenetic as ever, and more tense thanks to an overall downgrade in maneuverability. It reminds me a lot more of the older titles, where a lot can go on in a small space because things just don't move as fast. Rather than swoop over big structures and fight in the air you're almost always maneuvering between things and around stuff, using the vault to scale up and over. As much as I enjoyed 6, I think I prefer a setup where terrain is more important. You have to maintain a better awareness of it lest you get cornered/pinned, that just wasn't as much the case in the games before and after. I'm not keen on having to flip between two modes during gameplay, but as tends to be the case in these games, with enough grit and determination you can just not do it and be fine.
The parts selection is spectacular IMO. Having variants on condition and the option to slightly customize behavior is something I wish had made it to AC 6. It drives home that feeling of having to cobble stuff together, and gives you some incentive for retrying/exploring what you can do. Melee feels brutal and nasty, difficult to do but fun when you get the hang of it. I'm not a huge fan of the super weapons but they are admittedly pretty awesome when you land them. I'm excited to continue, I absolutely love these games and it's awesome to get a fresh experience after playing the others to death.