Wes's recent activity
-
Comment on May 2026 Backlog Burner: Week 3 Discussion in ~games
-
Comment on May 2026 Backlog Burner: Week 3 Discussion in ~games
Wes Link ParentTechnically, you are racing the sun. You drive a solar powered craft, and the idea is you're chasing the sun around the planet before it sets. You need to keep up your speed or it gets too far...Technically, you are racing the sun. You drive a solar powered craft, and the idea is you're chasing the sun around the planet before it sets. You need to keep up your speed or it gets too far away, and then you power down.
The sun always moves a little faster than you, so you need to hit enough boosts each stage to keep up. Meanwhile, you're collecting bonus multipliers and other power-ups to try to stay in the game.
I happened to record my best attempt at the game some 12 years ago, if you want to see some gameplay.
-
Comment on May 2026 Backlog Burner: Week 3 Discussion in ~games
Wes Link ParentYour treachery truly knows no bounds... yet I can recognize the skill of my opponent. Four games in one is a highly motivated move. Elephant in the Room seems like a game with a better premise...Motivated Rapid Fire Round
Your treachery truly knows no bounds... yet I can recognize the skill of my opponent. Four games in one is a highly motivated move.
Elephant in the Room seems like a game with a better premise than delivery. I think it could've been really neat if it played like a reverse-Hitman, using tools at your disposal to create distractions and direct people. But simply throwing things to knock people out seems less interesting somehow.
It was originally a mobile game that got polished up for a full desktop release, with one exception: there's no way to exit the game from within the game. You have to force-kill it.
Now that's a mobile port.
-
Comment on May 2026 Backlog Burner: Week 3 Discussion in ~games
Wes Link ParentHey, I just mentioned Breakneck recently and was tempted to start talking about it, so I'm glad you brought it up. I actually don't remember it feeling like a mobile game, but that's probably just...Hey, I just mentioned Breakneck recently and was tempted to start talking about it, so I'm glad you brought it up.
I actually don't remember it feeling like a mobile game, but that's probably just my memory playing up. The multiple currencies do check that box, even if I don't remember it.
I found it mostly fun to play competitively with friends for a while. We'd get on each day, do a few attempts, and see who could get further. So it's entirely possible that I'm more nostalgic for that multiplayer experience than for the game itself.
I do agree that it's basically a clone of Race The Sun, which I actually preferred for its gameplay. There was a constant tension to it that Breakneck doesn't quite carry. Both games do start to get repetitive once you start to memorize their obstacle generation, though.
In any case, I think it likely served your goal of a palate cleanser between deeper games.
-
Comment on May 2026 Backlog Burner: Week 3 Discussion in ~games
Wes Link ParentIt is interesting how different subgenres all have their own distinctive technobabel. Scifi is always inverting polarities, cyberpunk is usually jacking things in, and fantasy is weirdly obsessed...It is interesting how different subgenres all have their own distinctive technobabel. Scifi is always inverting polarities, cyberpunk is usually jacking things in, and fantasy is weirdly obsessed with Old Norse.
I feel it can be helpful to lean on an existing glossary, since it's already familiar to fans of the genre, and helps set the tone of the universe. But if you assume too much of your audience, you're actually adding friction instead.
From a cursory glance, Gamedec gives me similar impressions to that of Citizen Sleeper, as you mentioned. Though most of what I know of that one came from @Evie's excellent write-up last year. I too am limited in my isometric RPG experience. Though, surprisingly, the genre seems to have made a bit of a comeback.
I'm just saying...I think that makes both Wes and I still Team Mellow!
Agreed! I knew that Team Mellow had my back. Never doubted you folks for a minute.
-
Comment on May 2026 Backlog Burner: Week 3 Discussion in ~games
Wes Link ParentPseudoregalia My first impression of this game was not a good one. After playing for a couple hours, the word that keeps coming to mind was "directionless". Exploring an endless labyrinthine...Pseudoregalia
My first impression of this game was not a good one. After playing for a couple hours, the word that keeps coming to mind was "directionless". Exploring an endless labyrinthine castle, I kept running into uncrossable gaps and areas that I knew I'd need to return to, but doubted I'd ever find again.
Finally, I stumbled my way across the beginning area again. And in searching a small side room that I passed right over before, I found it: the map! This was a major breakthrough.
Admittedly, I still felt rather lost while exploring, but the map helped me reorient and figure out some of the passageways I'd not gone down before. I found two ability orbs that greatly enhanced my mobility, opening the game up to what I expect it was always meant to be. Not a series of blind corridors — reminiscent of Lunacid, which I played during the last event — but a platforming metroidvania.
The platforming feels pretty satisfying once you unlock a few abilities. There's a high jump, a long sliding jump, and something akin to a wall kick that takes a little practice to get right. The game generally breaks the areas up to focus on specific abilities, but it seems that some sequence breaking is possible (possibly by design).
There's combat, but it's deemphasized. I've only fought one boss so far, and most enemies die in a few hits. I only just discovered there's a heal button, which works similar to "soul" from Hollow Knight. Hit bad guys to build up a meter, and use that resource to heal.
Graphically, the game has that old school N64 look to it. The game runs at a smooth 60 FPS, but the animations are clearly slowed to still provide a retro feel. This hybrid approach works. The terrain is relatively basic, and there's some visible z-fighting issues, but it does make the platforming more telegraphed.
I'm not in love with the anthropomorphic bunny character design, but I'm sure it's brought in its own share of fans. You find outfits throughout the game. There's also a menu option to give your character pants (this is off by default).
HLTB puts the average play time at six hours, which I'm about to hit. That said, my wandering for the first two hours was pretty unproductive, so I expect I'm well behind. Despite my negative first impression though, I've warmed up to the game and would like to finish it.
-
Comment on May 2026 Backlog Burner: Week 3 Discussion in ~games
Wes LinkFolks, you know me. I'm a mellow fellow. To think I would join Team Motivated in their ignoble quest is, well there's no other way to put this: it's motivated reasoning. I'm sorry to use such...All but one are listed above.
u/Wes
Is he still Mellow? Or did he join the Motivateds?Folks, you know me. I'm a mellow fellow. To think I would join Team Motivated in their ignoble quest is, well there's no other way to put this: it's motivated reasoning. I'm sorry to use such harsh language, and I'm not trying to be mellow-dramatic here, but it's the simple gosh darn truth.
Now I understand your concern. Three games in one week? I'd be cautious too. But I assure you: it was a fluke, an accident, a complete twist of fate.
Nonetheless, I shall redouble my efforts to mellow out. I vow that by week's end, I will prove my mellowtude to you all. Have faith in me, my fellow mellows.
Wes' Mellow May - Week 3
Flow Standard bingo 6/25 Fragmentation Beauty Transformation
✅ Agent InterceptPrecision
✅ PseudoregaliaErosion Exploration Abundance Dimension Contrast Absence Calm Isolation
✅ Hades★ Wildcard Brief Color Friction
✅ Library Of RuinaDefense Tense Chaos
✅ Yellow Taxi Goes VroomTraditional Duality Justice Fear Wonder Distribution
✅ Pokemon Trading Card Game 2 -
Comment on May 2026 Backlog Burner: Week 3 Discussion in ~games
Wes Link ParentI love this idea. I've thought about doing something similar, but haven't had the courage to do it yet. Having also bought a lot of bundles, there are some games lurking in my library that would...I love this idea. I've thought about doing something similar, but haven't had the courage to do it yet. Having also bought a lot of bundles, there are some games lurking in my library that would be better not seeing the light of day. Nonetheless, I look forward to seeing what you come up with.
(As a thought, though, maybe don't edit it into a comment two details boxes nested deep. I would never find it, and never learn the truth.)
Your comment about the intimacy of reading, by the way, is spot on. Gaming may be the most interactive medium, but reading has created the most lasting of impressions for me. Including the two titles you mentioned.
-
Comment on May 2026 Backlog Burner: Week 3 Discussion in ~games
Wes Link ParentOoh, I love precision platformers. I cut my teeth on these when I first got into PC gaming, so floor spikes and falling platforms are old friends to me. It's no surprise then that this one is...Ooh, I love precision platformers. I cut my teeth on these when I first got into PC gaming, so floor spikes and falling platforms are old friends to me. It's no surprise then that this one is already in my backlog.
It looks like the difficulty ramps up pretty swiftly based on your deaths. Nice work on completing so much content, though. Especially if you're new to the genre.
I also like the connection to Empathy. I've kind of been half-hearting my category connections this time around as my time has been so limited, but all of yours have made sense so far.
-
Comment on May 2026 Backlog Burner: Week 3 Discussion in ~games
Wes Link ParentOh wow. You got through a ton of games! It's my view that even if a game doesn't click for you, it's still progress towards games that you do enjoy (like Lost Nova). You didn't know before if...Oh wow. You got through a ton of games!
It's my view that even if a game doesn't click for you, it's still progress towards games that you do enjoy (like Lost Nova). You didn't know before if you'd enjoy them, but now you do.
Also, moods sometimes ebb and flow. I might find myself disagreeing with a game the first time I try it, then later find myself in the mood to try it again. So I wouldn't feel too dissatisfied about coming across a couple duds. It's all progress in the end.
Lost Nova is now one of my favorite gaming experiences and everyone should buy it now
You're the boss; into the pile it goes. Okay, maybe it's not all progress in the end.
-
Comment on May 2026 Backlog Burner: Week 3 Discussion in ~games
Wes Link ParentA puzzle game built around technical concepts? Sounds right right up your alley. Maybe not the digging -- though perhaps the diging. Definitely an unusual combination of theme and gameplay. For...A puzzle game built around technical concepts? Sounds right right up your alley. Maybe not the digging -- though perhaps the
diging. Definitely an unusual combination of theme and gameplay. For how esoteric it is, I'd have expected better onboarding.I enjoy "hacker" games, but I'm not sure if I could enjoy one based entirely on networking. I think it's something I have a bit of an adversarial relationship with, because networking only comes up when something is wrong. It's hard not to curse the name of DNS, despite its usefulness.
I will say though, I warmed up a lot when I realized that IPv4 addresses made way more sense when represented as binary instead of decimal. CIDR finally made sense after that insight.
-
Comment on May 2026 Backlog Burner: Week 3 Discussion in ~games
Wes Link ParentWelp, I can hardly imagine a stronger endorsement. I've now added this to my backlog too. The stealth aspect sounds fun. In a lot of games, stealth exists but only in the strictest sense. Often,...this has become quite the surprise: all the best parts of Half-Life, Fallout, and System Shock* in a European game.
Welp, I can hardly imagine a stronger endorsement. I've now added this to my backlog too.
The stealth aspect sounds fun. In a lot of games, stealth exists but only in the strictest sense. Often, it's only used for an "unaware" damage bonus, after which every enemy will instantly snap to alertness. It sounds like it plays a much deeper role here.
-
Comment on San Francisco Sign Guild in ~arts
Wes LinkIn my old suburban neighborhood, they put up a sign printed "Stop sign ahead". It was utterly pointless in that neighbourhood, and my then-neighbour complained to the city until they removed it....In my old suburban neighborhood, they put up a sign printed "Stop sign ahead". It was utterly pointless in that neighbourhood, and my then-neighbour complained to the city until they removed it.
It just made me laugh. It got me thinking about a "'Stop sign ahead' sign ahead" sign, and how far this concept could be lampooned.
I wish I had your skills then. Maybe I could have done it. Though I think my neighbour would've been none-too-thrilled.
-
Comment on Bun has been rewritten in Rust in ~comp
Wes Link ParentThat's true. Chrome has MiraclePtr, for instance, and some very extensive fuzzing suites. They also have the Rule of 2 to avoid the most common pitfalls. But it's a careful balancing act, and...Yes, there's good reason to push for more usage of memory safe languages in critical parts of core software like browsers or the kernel, but there are also a bunch of other tools that can at least partly mitigate issues.
That's true. Chrome has MiraclePtr, for instance, and some very extensive fuzzing suites. They also have the Rule of 2 to avoid the most common pitfalls. But it's a careful balancing act, and likely introduces a lot of friction compared to just writing code in a memory-safe language to begin with.
On the topic of economics, I'm not sure what to think. It does seem that even the SotA models only have a few months lead. Deepseek, Kimi, GML and others are right behind Claude and OpenAI. And with the ongoing advances that make this tech more accessible to local hardware, I think it's more likely than not that it will be commoditized at some point.
I agree that Bun likely had a number of issues besides memory safety, and this change won't have any effect on those. I will be curious to see how things shake out in the coming months, though. It could be a big mistake. It could be a sign of things to come.
-
Comment on We said it wasn't possible… Turns out we were wrong! On October 4, 2025, KurtJMac made Minecraft history by reaching the Far Lands. in ~games
Wes LinkThat was a cute video from Mojang. Very nice of them to honor Kurt. I've been a fairly long-time follower of Far Lands or Bust. I've sent a couple donations, circa 2014, to help support Child's...That was a cute video from Mojang. Very nice of them to honor Kurt.
I've been a fairly long-time follower of Far Lands or Bust. I've sent a couple donations, circa 2014, to help support Child's Play Charity.
I always appreciated Kurt's slow approach to the game, both with FLoB and elsewhere (eg. on the Mindcrack server). He was basically the opposite of then-rising clickbait, quick cut YouTuber. There were long periods where nothing would happen. It made the unexpected discoveries more notable (buried spawners, found golden apple, floating blocks of ice).
I started falling off when the series moved to Twitch.tv. It somehow got "louder" with Twitch alerts and chat interaction. I don't begrudge him for that, though. I recognize the series likely would have faltered without that extra encouragement. It just stopped appealing to me as a viewer.
I know a couple others have tried to steal his thunder by beating him to the Farlands, but for me, Kurt will always be the original Farlander. He set a preposterous goal, and stuck to it for 14 years. It's good to see that he's getting the recognition he deserves. Props to Mojang for making this little film about it.
-
Comment on Bun has been rewritten in Rust in ~comp
Wes Link ParentAll valid points. Notably I'll agree that I have seen LLMs reimplement something without additional prompting, just as a matter of course. Strong enough tests would help mitigate that, as the...All valid points. Notably I'll agree that I have seen LLMs reimplement something without additional prompting, just as a matter of course. Strong enough tests would help mitigate that, as the behavior should at least match, but it's unlikely to account for all scenarios.
I think these devs are looking at a lot of work no matter what. A ground-up rewrite would have likely taken years of dev hours to get to the same point that Zig-Bun was at, but a full conversion will still require months-to-years of review to check everything for correctness.
The third option - to continue on with Zig likely wasn't ideal either. I don't know if they're overstating the memory issues to justify the port, but I imagine there's other difficulties of using off brand languages that they've run into.
I suspect, considering the current paradigm shift in software engineering right now, that the economics of these decisions may be rapidly changing. It may be less about the scope of the work, and more about the capability of the models themselves. Are they better at writing code, reviewing it for correctness, reshaping it for idiomatic style, or discovering memory bugs?
It's an interesting experiment, if nothing else. I expect a lot of large tech companies are considering a similar project. Memory issues are still the number one killer, and I can imagine a lot of engineers salivating at the idea of a 100% Rust codebase. Maybe we'll see Google Chromium or even the Linux kernel making the same move in a couple of years.
-
Comment on Bun has been rewritten in Rust in ~comp
Wes (edited )Link ParentI expect they probably are using the best model available under Anthropic, whether that's Mythos or some variant. But even then, it can't be better than a 5-10% improvement over publicly-available...I expect they probably are using the best model available under Anthropic, whether that's Mythos or some variant. But even then, it can't be better than a 5-10% improvement over publicly-available models. I doubt there's any real magic sauce there.
However, I still feel there's a large difference between converting existing software to a new language, and writing software from scratch. Starting a new project requires a lot of design decisions upfront such as overall infrastructure and scope, where to apply abstractions, and what assumptions can be made. Somebody prompting "make me an X" isn't addressing any of those considerations.
A project built in Rust will likely have different considerations from a project in Zig, but they're not so wildly different as to be incomparable. If it makes sense to abstract a function in Zig, it probably makes sense to do it in Rust. Some of the specific language writing will probably feel "weird" and non-idiomatic, but not broken. Refactors can help address those areas in the future.
I'll mention that transformers were originally designed specifically for language translation, for applications like Google Translate. They manage very well at that task, and that's with all the messy complexities of human language. Programming languages are considerably more logical and well-defined, which makes them even better candidates for language translation/conversion tasks.
So this may be vibe coded in the strictest sense of the term, but I'd guess the quality is still reasonably high. Something like Claude Code is a rather different beast. It's been hacked on by many individuals, and has gone through constant changes in scope and direction. That can be the real quality killer.
edit: Typo
-
Comment on Bun has been rewritten in Rust in ~comp
Wes Link ParentIt's a file-for-file conversion. The new codebase will be very similar in structure and control flow to the old codebase. It's likely not very idiomatic Rust, but it's not as if they vibe coded a...It's a file-for-file conversion. The new codebase will be very similar in structure and control flow to the old codebase. It's likely not very idiomatic Rust, but it's not as if they vibe coded a million lines without any review. It should be familiar for any existing contributors.
They also have a very clear picture now of where the
unsafekeyword is used, and can target those areas for improvement. Rust offers a lot of assurances that Zig did not. There's likely some edge cases still to shake out, but I expect it's no buggier than the code that came before. -
Comment on Tildes Minecraft Weekly - Tiny Little Babies Edition (26.1 Update) in ~games
Wes LinkI've updated my mods, and most things seem to work. I'm having a little trouble with Distant Horizons, so I installed Voxy instead. I know there's no server-provided LODs available, but it should...I've updated my mods, and most things seem to work. I'm having a little trouble with Distant Horizons, so I installed Voxy instead.
I know there's no server-provided LODs available, but it should be possible to generate a local map of the same seed, then copy those files over. Then I'd just need to manually visit any hotspots to get updates.
Is the map seed published anywhere? I don't see it in the F3 menu anymore, and the
/seedcommand fails. But that'd be required to generate local LODs. -
Comment on May 2026 Backlog Burner: Week 2 Discussion in ~games
Wes Link ParentPokemon Trading Card Game 2 Now this is a sequel. The story kicks off exactly where the previous one ended, with you standing victorious against the Elite Four facsimile, ready to gain access to...After a few hours with the game, my takeaway is that I think I'd like to go find an English patch of Pokemon Trading Card Game 2...
Pokemon Trading Card Game 2
Now this is a sequel. The story kicks off exactly where the previous one ended, with you standing victorious against the Elite Four facsimile, ready to gain access to the legendary Pokemon cards. Except, ack! The evil Team Great Rocket has arrived, and they look serious.
Team GR flies their air ship around the island, sucking up every trainer's cards, including your own. They also kidnap some people I guess but everyone mostly seems concerned about the cards.
It's up to you, the hero, to defeat them. But the deck is stacked against you as Team GR are printing their own dark cards (author's note: this story beat works well because dark variant Pokemon do exist in the original card sets).
For those who find this plot difficult to follow, there's frequent reminders that Team GR are indeed the bad guys, and that you're meant to save everyone. There's also helpful dialogue such as: "Remember me? I'm your long-time rival, Ronald!". Okay, starting to feel a bit patronized here.
I'll not go deep into the rules of battles, but they're very similar to the real Trading Card Game. Types are extremely simplified (eg. elements are merged), coin flips play a major role, and you only draw one card per turn. Play your 'mons, evolve them if possible, and feed them energy cards to unlock their abilities.
One of the funnier strategies is to knock out your opponents before they're able to play additional Pokemon. If they only have one guy on the board and you eliminate it, you just win. You can take out gym leaders in 1-2 turns by playing your cards right.
I would say that the game is broken into two halves. The first half is very reminiscent of the first game, and has you once again traveling between gyms, battling your way to a coin (badge), then earning your right to fight the big four.
This time however, you're invited to take a ride on their airship... over to a new freaking island. With new gyms, new music, and a heap of new rules to learn.
At this point, dark cards start showing up a lot more often, and traders begin imposing strict rules on their duels. One argued that I could only use grass energy cards. Another insisted that I must include four Pikachu cards in my deck. Bunch of crazies.
That's where I've played to. I'm about ten hours in, and I'd guess about 65% through the story. I'm enjoying it and expect to continue, though I do worry the new restrictions might be a bit tedious in requiring constant tweaks to my deck.
That said, I do enjoy the deck building aspect, and it's why I wanted to try this one after playing Library Of Ruina above. I made this comment before, but there's something satisfying about seeing direct progress that goes beyond "meta-progression". To earn a card and be able to use it from then on just feels nice. To be able to build new decks to pivot is also great, as it doesn't require hours of training like in the mainline games.
My MVP card was a Dewgong. He earned me many victories. Thank you, Dewgong.
Alright, I'm one spoiler level deep, but you've convinced me that I should hold off from going all the way in. I'd hate to ruin a good twist.
I do definitely remember this game making a splash, and giving Christine Love some major recognition as a visual novel designer. In fact, when I think of VNs today, I still mostly think of her older titles. I suspect she had a large role in establishing this genre to a wider audience, and even I tried one of her games back in ~2011.
@dannydotcafe made the comment earlier that reading is one of the most intimate forms of media consumption. VNs seem to tap into that to get you fully invested -- sometimes in plot, but usually in characters. Sometimes that's to drive a larger narrative, to deliver emotion, or just to titillate. I think seeing it from that perspective helps me better understand the genre.
I would like to thank our sponsor @cheep_cheep for personally funding this event.