aphoenix's recent activity
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Comment on Just bought a Sous Vide. Those who own one, what are your favorite things to use it for? Any recommended accessories? in ~food
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Comment on November 2024 Backlog Burner: Week 4 Discussion in ~games
aphoenix Link ParentI agree, it's kind of a testament to that cool feature added by @Wes. Kind of makes me want to do things differently in the next game mode and try to do multiple cards, and see how many single...I agree, it's kind of a testament to that cool feature added by @Wes.
Kind of makes me want to do things differently in the next game mode and try to do multiple cards, and see how many single games can get holes-in-one.
I enjoy how many different ways there are to go through this fun event; I've definitely enjoyed this time around picking a game and playing it for a bit, and then checking the card to see where it can go (with one exception, I couldn't help but pick Stanley Parable for Recursion).
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Comment on November 2024 Backlog Burner: Week 4 Discussion in ~games
aphoenix Link ParentI thought I did well last time with a Par 5, but a HOLE IN ONE is absolutely amazing. Great writeup, I'm going to keep on the lookout for bundles with them. JRPG isn't typically a genre I play...I thought I did well last time with a Par 5, but a HOLE IN ONE is absolutely amazing.
Great writeup, I'm going to keep on the lookout for bundles with them. JRPG isn't typically a genre I play that much, so it'll be cool to find good ones.
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Comment on November 2024 Backlog Burner: Week 4 Discussion in ~games
aphoenix Link ParentSynth Riders is already in my library, so maybe I'll try that next. I think these VR titles were all in a Humble Bundle at some point; I think I have a dozen or so. I am trying to adjust to the...Synth Riders is already in my library, so maybe I'll try that next. I think these VR titles were all in a Humble Bundle at some point; I think I have a dozen or so.
I am trying to adjust to the precision required for these 15x15 boards, because for most of the other puzzles, I try to up the difficulty a bit. My favourite, for example, is the Galaxies game, which I have the custom setting "16x24 Unreasonable" which is about as big as fits my screen, and also requires quite a bit of precision. I most often use the games as a bit of a mental reset between work tasks as a mental palette cleanser, so I often want them to take full attention, but for a brief period of time.
Re: screen cheating - I actually meant footstep audio within the game! You can hear the robots coming around corners and such. Though that does remind me that a few weeks ago I did introduce the kids to a game called "Screen Cheat" where you legitimately have to peak at what the other person is doing on screen to find and shoot them. And of course there is a bit of aural cheating happening in games like that as well, since they tend to start giggling like mad when they are sneaking up. My son (10) especially has not mastered the art of subtlety.
If you're looking for a VR game to try out, I recommend Hyperbolica which is marketed as a "whimsical non-Euclidean adventure" which is pretty accurate. Some of the spaces are hyperbolic some are elliptic, and they're all weird. I can only play for 20 - 30 minutes though because it is a bit head-warping.
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Comment on November 2024 Backlog Burner: Week 4 Discussion in ~games
aphoenix Link ParentThank you for the kind words, especially about the most important thing that I do. There's a real struggle as a parent to try to share the things that you like with your kids, because you like...Thank you for the kind words, especially about the most important thing that I do.
There's a real struggle as a parent to try to share the things that you like with your kids, because you like them and you want your kids to like them. It's compounded by the fact that you have to try to mold your kids into whole adults as well, so you have to do things like teach them to clean up, teach them to eat right, teach them to do things to be healthy, teach them to do things to grow as people, and it's really easy to conflate teaching them to be healthy, functional people and forcing them to try things you like.
One of my favourite scenes from one of my favourite shows talks about one of my favourite misattributions - "Be curious, not judgmental" - (not Walt Whitman) and that resonated with me a lot, because I try, while often falling short, but I do try, to be curious about what other people enjoy. I especially try with my kids, because they're the most important people in the whole world to me; I want them to find the things that make them who they are and have them share those things with me. Sometimes those things are things that I love and introduce them to, but sometimes they aren't, and I derive great joy from them sharing things with me that I did not in some way impart onto them. Sometimes it's an apple not falling far from the tree thing, like with video games, and sometimes the apple is flung far away and I get to try to understand why a guy with a TV instead of a head attacking a toilet with a face is hilarious.
I'm often still judgmental - like everyone, I am still a work in progress - but I'm trying to do better each day.
And these events are great; they're one of the main reasons that I stick around on Tildes. I find that as I've gotten older I feel less and less inclined to comment on social media or message boards, but I still feel encouraged to be here, so thank you for these events. They are so much fun, and my kids enjoyed looking for new games to play quite a bit!
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Comment on November 2024 Backlog Burner: Week 4 Discussion in ~games
aphoenix Link ParentOh wow, that is exactly it - the parity is broken, and the tactility is just not the same. I had a vague feeling that Beat Saber feels like "doing" and Ragnarock feels like "miming" and that's...Oh wow, that is exactly it - the parity is broken, and the tactility is just not the same. I had a vague feeling that Beat Saber feels like "doing" and Ragnarock feels like "miming" and that's precisely why.
Thank you - I learned something!
I did also consider setting something up (specifically rock band drum pad) to hit, but ultimately decided not to precisely because I thought I'd break something - the drum pads or my wrist or something.
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Comment on November 2024 Backlog Burner: Week 4 Discussion in ~games
aphoenix LinkMy Card - Mode: Standard | Winning Bingo! | Finished 15/25 Mode: Standard Winning Bingo! Finished 15/25 ✅ Wilderless ✅ FPS Chess ✅ The Stanley Parable: Ultra Deluxe Edition ✅ Garden Life: A Cozy...My Card - Mode: Standard | Winning Bingo! | Finished 15/25
Mode: Standard Winning Bingo! Finished 15/25 Discovery
✅ WilderlessNostalgia
✅ FPS ChessRecursion
✅ The Stanley Parable: Ultra Deluxe EditionPeace
✅ Garden Life: A Cozy SimulatorAnnihilation
✅ Warhammer 40,000: DarktideOrder
✅ Super Mega Baseball: Extra InningsMemory Absence Precision
✅ PatternEndurance
✅ RagnarockLost
✅ Victoria 3Fragmentation ★ Wildcard Connection
✅ Tank TeamDimension
✅ Pistol WhipEmpathy
✅ Spritifarer:Organic Synthesis Darkness Mystery Adaptation
✅ SlantTruth Belonging
✅ Girls Love RobotsCourage Sound
✅ UpgunDiscussion of Games
Spiritfarer - "Empathy". This is a management game where you usher the spirits of the dead to their final final release. I'm playing this from my daughter's library (usually the game sharing goes the other way!) on her recommendation. It is a heartfelt game, that I am not very far into as of yet, but that I think that I will play to completion. It is visually lovely game with a really sweet concept that is pretty well executed - for at least the first couple of hours, anyways, which is as far as I have made it. I like building and arranging the boat, I like exploring and finding souls to ferry, and the characters are beautiful. This is a solid game.
The Stanley Parable: Ultra Deluxe - "Recursion". For the most part, I was trying, with this card, to select and play games and then find a place in the card for them to fit. Alas, I cheated myself slightly by looking ahead last week and seeing that "Recursion" was what I needed for a Bingo, and then having a long think about what game would actually have recursion. I have had SPUD in my backlog for a while - since it released - and had barely touched it, with under 15 minutes of play. So this was a very comfortable return to The Stanley Parable, which is one of my favourite games. If you are not familiar with it, then I recommend trying it out; it would certainly be on a top ten list if I was composing favourite video games. It is smart, fun, witty, recursive, and enjoyable. The new stuff form the Ultra Deluxe edition seems pretty good so far, but I am confident that I haven't seen it all.
Pattern - "Precision". After chatting with @Wes last week about one of my selections, they mentioned Precision from Simon Tatham's Puzzles, which is another one, like Slant, that I had not really given any time to at all. I tried it out, and I quite like it, though I have a small problem with the android version of the game. These overgrown hams that I call hands have ginormous fingers, and the squares are very small; the level of precision required makes it mechanically difficult at times. My daily carry pen used to have a stylus end on it, which would have helped, but I have lost the stylus end, rendering it not particularly helpful. Ah well, it is good practice for precise digital manipulation of screens. I've added this to my list of Simon Tatham favourites, and have played at least one of these every day since Wes told me about it.
UpGun - "Sound". My son wanted to get this game to play together. It is a first person shooter that feels very similar to Rounds except... 3D. Each round you acquire more abilities to even the playing field against your opponents. For the first several matches, neither of my kids realized you could hear the other players, and were wondering how I kept turning in time to kill them. This one is fun, free, and we'll certainly return to it.
Tank Team - "Connection". This is another game that my son wanted to play, and is also free. As a team, you control a tank in a Scorched Earth-esque tank battle. However, you have a character inside the tank, and you have to work with your team to operate the tank. It's a cute game, well worth the free. I don't think we'll return to this particularly often, but it was a fun experience.
Ragnarock (VR) - "Endurance". Okay, this is a bit of a stretch, because I don't think it takes too much endurance to play Ragnarock, but my arms did get a bit tired after a while. It's like Beat Saber, except it's drums, and you're on a Viking warship. I found it more difficult than Beat Saber, but not because it felt like it was supposed to be more difficult. I'm a moderately good drummer, but had a lot of trouble with timing things properly. It got better after multiple calibrations, but after a couple of sessions, I just felt myself wanting to do Beat Saber more. I haven't uninstalled, but I don't know if I'll do much more.
Pistol Whip (VR) - "Dimension". This is another action-rhythm game; it's a shooter on rails where you have to identify the bad guys and take them out. You get a bonus for doing so to the rhythm. I liked this one better than Ragnarock, but I had a similar feeling; it just made me want to play Beat Saber. I feel like Beat Saber was just the winner of this particular genre for me, and I havne't played it so much that I'm sick of it yet. I guess when I get to the point that I don't want to play Beat Saber at all, I'll turn to these.
Girls Like Robots - "Belonging". This is a cute little puzzle game where you have to place Girls, Robots, Nerds (and maybe more) on a bus in a configuration where they are happy. Girls like Robots, Girls don't like Nerds, Nerds like edges - now you have to place them in a particular order to maximize happiness. It's a very cute game so far, and I'll probably play it through, since you can do a puzzle in 2 or 3 minutes and there appears to be a lot of them.
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Comment on How do you build strong online communities? in ~talk
aphoenix Link ParentI won't add much other than that I think we are in full agreement and just thinking about degrees and timelines of reddit's enshittification. Deimos was one of the bright lights, and automoderator...I won't add much other than that I think we are in full agreement and just thinking about degrees and timelines of reddit's enshittification.
Deimos was one of the bright lights, and automoderator was (probably... is? I don't know if it's still working) a great tool. There were also lots of other reddit admins over the years who were good people trying to make the site better. There are still some today! But the leadership isn't enabling them to do things that need to be done.
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Comment on How do you build strong online communities? in ~talk
aphoenix Link ParentI agree and also disagree with what you have said. I started using reddit almost 19 years ago - my account is 18.5 years old, and I lurked for the first 5 or 6 months of use, so it's been almost...I agree and also disagree with what you have said. I started using reddit almost 19 years ago - my account is 18.5 years old, and I lurked for the first 5 or 6 months of use, so it's been almost 19 on the money for me. I recall what old reddit was like; I used it in every iteration.
I had a paragraph here that talked about learning about the fluff principle around 2010, but it actually just references the article you put in your original comment above, so I can make this brief:
Reddit knew about the Fluff Principle since around 2010, almost 15 years ago. Since they were ineffective at making adjustments to their algorithms to account for the Fluff Principle, they became a site of Fluff. As more and more people came to reddit, the Fluff became overwhelming, and we moderators spent a lot of time working at keeping the fluff at bay.
I think that as time progresses, it become more and more clear, that the system of reddit rewards Fluff. That is how it is now, but that's also how it has always been. This does not mean that a moderator wrestling high quality content away from Fluff wasn't possible. There were (and still are) loads of great communities on reddit that feature fantastic content, with great mod teams. But they are there in spite of the system, not because of the system. Every subreddit that wants to reward posts that are not just fluff posts has to struggle against the system to achieve that. And I think that's been the case basically forever.
That's what I mean by what I said above, and I think that it is notable that only through tools like the one you made are moderators able to wrestle with the crapgasm that is reddit. And over time, more and more people just want the firehouse of memes, so it become increasingly difficult for moderators of subreddits of any size to have non-fluff pieces naturally rise in their subreddits.
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Comment on Steam tighten up rules for games with season pass DLC in ~games
aphoenix LinkThe important gist from the article:The important gist from the article:
Valve have unveiled a new policy about season passes on Steam, which aims to ensure that developers release all the individual DLC involved on time and share adequate details about each DLC pack in advance. It specifies that developers can delay release of a season pass DLC just once, and by no longer than three months. In the event that a developer postpones DLC release by longer than three months, Valve may take such corrective actions as removing the season pass from sale or refunding players.
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Steam tighten up rules for games with season pass DLC
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Comment on How do you build strong online communities? in ~talk
aphoenix (edited )Link ParentI have spent a lot of time in the past talking about the Fluff Principle, and how subreddits needed to do something about it or be flooded with low effort content. It took a lot of years, but...I have spent a lot of time in the past talking about the Fluff Principle, and how subreddits needed to do something about it or be flooded with low effort content. It took a lot of years, but after 15 or so on reddit, I realized that Reddit is for low effort content and that moderators making efforts to disallow low effort content were fundamentally misunderstanding what the reddit system is for. I spent a few more years on reddit after that realization hit - that I had been trying to make communities into something that they
'vewere not - and then I left.I think that Tildes approaches content differently, and addresses and pretty much nullifies the Fluff principle. This shows that while it's not "easy" to do so, it's certainly technically possible to do so. Sites like reddit that reward memes do so because their business model is served by showing you memes - sites like Tildes that reward content do so because their business is served by showing you content.
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Comment on With Core One, Prusa's open source hardware dream quietly dies in ~tech
aphoenix (edited )Link ParentI don't require further explanation of your points - as you pointed out, we agree on many of them. What I was trying to explain was the sentiment about Open Source fundamentalists that was raised,...I don't require further explanation of your points - as you pointed out, we agree on many of them.
What I was trying to explain was the sentiment about Open Source fundamentalists that was raised, which you responded to. It's implicit in the article, and many of the comments have it, some comments here have it, and many of the comments on other sites have it as well - Prusa is doing Something Bad™ because they are moving away from Open Hardware.
I think that's the sentiment that AF was speaking to in the top level comment here, and I think that speaking about how open source enthusiasts are crapping on this is a valid point. I think it's sad that Prusa is moving away from open hardware, but I think they are making a difficult decision to support their business model so that they can maintain profitability, so that they continue to make relatively open, hackable, repairable machines. I don't think Prusa is doing Something Bad™, I think maybe Capitalism is the bad thing, and they're just trying to survive in it.
I think it's understandable to be sad, or angry, or have any other emotion about this. What I think is unhelpful is the implicit or explicit blame that people who are passionate about Open Source are attributing to Prusa.
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Comment on With Core One, Prusa's open source hardware dream quietly dies in ~tech
aphoenix (edited )Link ParentOh my goodness, sending me to one blog of an author that I vehemently dislike who links to another who vehemently dislikes me * !? Due to the respect that I have for you, I have read both...Oh my goodness, sending me to one blog of an author that I vehemently dislike who links to another who vehemently dislikes me * !? Due to the respect that I have for you, I have read both articles. I don't disagree with them - I think they're actually pretty in line with what I meant, even if that's not exactly what I said, which is a problem I have when I shoot from the hip in comments like this. I also explicitly agree with the fact that this is an issue with poor business decisions on their part. I think releasing full design schematics was a poor business choice because obviously someone would capitalize on that having happened. I think that there were probably better approaches to Open-ness that Prusa could have taken to start with, and that it's unfortunate that the experience of buying Prusa is generally underwhelming.
What's happening now - moving away from what they've done to the past - is probably inevitable if they want to continue to make money. And I looked up their profitability, and while they are likely still quite profitable, I think they are trying to get back to their 2021/2022 numbers, when they grew explosively and started clearing 10-15M per year. It's hard to get recent numbers (ie. I looked for upwards of 30 seconds using google and didn't find them) but there are a lot of articles about how they are floundering, stagnating, or regressing. This is probably a move to combat that.
* - that probably requires explanation. Ronacher privately called me an idiot on Reddit quite some time ago (10+ years), and his little tagalongs sent me a lot of vicious DMs. It was related to the design of r/Python. Ironically, I used an open source theme for r/Python, but he didn't seem to understand how open source worked and attributed things about the design that he did not like to me personally. That last bit is an unfair quip I stand by. There is roughly a 0% chance that he has thought of me since that day, or has any actual opinion on me.
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Comment on With Core One, Prusa's open source hardware dream quietly dies in ~tech
aphoenix Link ParentThere are a couple of times in this thread that you have said that this is like the death of a dream, or the realization of crappy capitalist dreams. But Prusa are still providing most of the...There are a couple of times in this thread that you have said that this is like the death of a dream, or the realization of crappy capitalist dreams. But Prusa are still providing most of the things that make their product open and hackable - STLs for each part, wiring diagrams for example - and they've actually made it so that custom firmware no longer voids warranties. It's not a perfect philosophical match to open hardware, but it's not the wholesale death of a dream either. If they were trying to maximize their profits, they would not be maintaining things as open and hackable as they are.
I think that Prusa is trying to navigate a difficult line, which is attempting to stay as open, hackable, supportable as possible while still turning some kind of profit so that they can continue to build open, hackable, supportable products. While open source and open hardware are admirable things, there are also some incompatibilities with the current reality of the world, which make it difficult to maintain a capitalist company in strict adherence to every aspect of open-ness. As a result, we end up with companies who have to adapt and compromise; it does not mean that dreams of open hardware are dying. It means that a not-yet -functional ideal is one that this company is trying to work towards.
I think that what AF is getting at is that sometimes die-hard Open supporters attack companies like this who are doing their best to be open when that's fundamentally difficult in our current system, despite this still being one of the better efforts by companies to support Open source / hardware, etc.
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Comment on Is there a site where I can check if a game has multiple endings or missable stuff without spoilers? in ~games
aphoenix Link ParentOn the flip side - if I had read these three things, I might have played more than 20 minutes of this series. It's been years, but all I recall is that I found the game immensely frustrating,...On the flip side - if I had read these three things, I might have played more than 20 minutes of this series. It's been years, but all I recall is that I found the game immensely frustrating, mostly because I couldn't do any of the things I wanted to do. The advice on Deus Ex probably would have let me do the things I wanted to do, so I don't think it's a particularly bad sign.
I checked out Pathfinder: Kingmaker on that site, and if I had followed their advice, I wouldn't have fucked my game and stopped playing.
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Vladimir Putin approves changes to Russia's nuclear doctrine
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Comment on Meta Quest 2 - For someone in a wheelchair in ~games
aphoenix Link Parent@DefinitelyNotAFae ^ this comment is almost exactly what I came to say, so thanks Prince for saving me the typing. I'll just suggest some specific games! Beat Saber is one that can likely be...@DefinitelyNotAFae ^ this comment is almost exactly what I came to say, so thanks Prince for saving me the typing.
I'll just suggest some specific games!
Beat Saber is one that can likely be played sitting down. We also get a lot of mileage out of Walkabout Mini Golf. They are both just on the VR itself, and there are some websites that have some games that can be fun.
For Steam games, there are a wide variety, but if exploration is what you're looking for, I recommend Hyperbolica - it's all about exploring a world that has Hyperbolic geometry instead of our typical standard geometry. It is very cool, but I find if i play for more than half an hour I feel a bit weird. Still super cool.
Elite Dangerous has pretty good VR support, and I have only played it sitting down. I think they're getting another expansion or something, so maybe it's not a dying game? It's still very cool.
I'm likely going to try out a couple of other VR games for Backlog Burner this week, so I might post about them after I give them a shot.
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Comment on I am looking for 100% ad-free apps for older adults with dementia. Things like jigsaw puzzles, coloring and the like. Paid is fine. in ~life
aphoenix LinkI think Holedown might suit your needs? I got it as recommended by Tilderino Numero Uno himself @deimos (I think), and it's one that I keep installed and return to every once in a while. I got the...I think Holedown might suit your needs? I got it as recommended by Tilderino Numero Uno himself @deimos (I think), and it's one that I keep installed and return to every once in a while. I got the full version, so there are no advertisements. It is very intuitive, replayable, and I have handed it to my dad (who is elderly but does not have dementia at all) and he has no problems understanding how to make it work. You shoot a stream of balls at objects; if you fail to break all of them before they reach you, you lose. It is not time-based - you can really stop and think about the angles if you want to.
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Comment on Two sides of the same coin in ~humanities
aphoenix Link ParentThis is a beautifully put comment, with math supplied, about conditional statistics. It pains me to point out that the question itself presupposes that the coin is a standard coin when you observe...This is a beautifully put comment, with math supplied, about conditional statistics. It pains me to point out that the question itself presupposes that the coin is a standard coin when you observe it before it is resting on the table:
Assume in this world that the coin has a heads side and tails side when held in your hand.
You now have the opportunity to create this wacky burger from Internet Shaquille. Basically sous vide is one of the only ways to cook ground beef in this particular way - with the grain being all vertical in the burger - which makes the burger very tender, lets you cook thick patties, and lets you sear it like you would a smash burger while still maintaining a thick patty.
I don't have a sous vide - I think 95% of what you get with a sous vide is just consistency, and the fiddlyness of it seems to offset the need - but this is one of the things that I think would be very difficult to cook without a sous vide. I've thought about getting one just to try this, but that seems like too much.