balooga's recent activity
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Comment on Elon Musk plans to take on Wikipedia with 'Grokipedia' in ~tech
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Comment on What common misunderstanding do you want to clear up? in ~talk
balooga Link ParentThat sounds both lovely and incredibly wasteful. Is there no better material they can use?Fun fact, the cable cars in San Francisco use cedar blocks to grip the cable. You can smell them when they accelerate. They have to be replaced every few weeks.
That sounds both lovely and incredibly wasteful. Is there no better material they can use?
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Comment on CGA-2025-10 🕹️⏰ 🗺️ 🐸 INSERT CARTRIDGE 🟢 Chrono Trigger in ~games
balooga Link ParentWe do, but it's documented as expandable sections rather than spoiler tags. <details> <summary>Spoiler</summary> This is the actual spoiler content, which will be hidden inside a collapsed box....We do, but it's documented as expandable sections rather than spoiler tags.
<details> <summary>Spoiler</summary> This is the actual spoiler content, which will be hidden inside a collapsed box. </details>That produces this:
Spoiler
This is the actual spoiler content, which will be hidden inside a collapsed box.
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Comment on CGA-2025-10 🕹️⏰ 🗺️ 🐸 INSERT CARTRIDGE 🟢 Chrono Trigger in ~games
balooga Link ParentI’m not @Whitewatermoose but my go-to for that console has always been Shining Force.I’m not @Whitewatermoose but my go-to for that console has always been Shining Force.
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Comment on CGA-2025-10 🕹️⏰ 🗺️ 🐸 INSERT CARTRIDGE 🟢 Chrono Trigger in ~games
balooga LinkIt’s been a few years since I last played, and a lot longer than that since I completed it. I started a fresh save today! Haven’t gotten very far yet, I’m about to get to the trial if memory...It’s been a few years since I last played, and a lot longer than that since I completed it. I started a fresh save today! Haven’t gotten very far yet, I’m about to get to the trial if memory serves. I’m playing the SNES version through OpenEmu on a Mac.
One thing I couldn’t remember (and it’s not immediately apparent in-game) is the difference between the two battle modes, so I looked it up. This page explains it well. Sharing in case it’s helpful for anyone else.
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Comment on Adam Conover: Unmedicated in ~tv
balooga Link ParentI saw him just a couple weeks ago as he passed through my town. We had front-row seats and enjoyed it a lot. I don’t know anything about the controversies some have mentioned. The smugness is...I saw him just a couple weeks ago as he passed through my town. We had front-row seats and enjoyed it a lot. I don’t know anything about the controversies some have mentioned. The smugness is true. But he was genuinely really funny and relatable.
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Comment on CGA-2025-10 🕹️⏰ 🗺️ 🐸 INSERT CARTRIDGE 🟢 Chrono Trigger in ~games
balooga Link ParentIt’s a little grindy. Enemies can be seen before battles so you won’t randomly be sprung into combat. However they do respawn in many cases so you can expect to fight the same mobs repeatedly if...It’s a little grindy. Enemies can be seen before battles so you won’t randomly be sprung into combat. However they do respawn in many cases so you can expect to fight the same mobs repeatedly if you return to areas you’ve previously cleared.
Apparently the Steam version you have includes an auto-battle feature that alleviates some of that tedium. I haven’t played that version so I can’t vouch for it, but you might want to give it a look.
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Comment on What game is your personal "Silksong"? in ~games
balooga LinkFor me it would have to be Skyrim. I had never played an Elder Scrolls game but I remembered my college roomies being obsessed with Morrowind for a time. I was a huge fan of Fallout: New Vegas,...For me it would have to be Skyrim. I had never played an Elder Scrolls game but I remembered my college roomies being obsessed with Morrowind for a time. I was a huge fan of Fallout: New Vegas, the only Bethesda (technically Obsidian but that’s beside the point) game I’d played and my love for that set in motion the hype cycle for TESV.
Over the years I’ve loved many games but not many of them were ones I allowed myself to get hyped about before launch. I’m more of the patientgamer mindset. Skyrim was different. The teasers and promotions for that game were masterfully done. I was hanging on every word that came out of Todd Howard’s mouth, salivating over every video or screenshot. I was caught up in the hype for probably a full year and a half before it released; it was a day one purchase for me.
And it the clincher is, it didn’t let me down. They absolutely knocked it put of the park with that game. Just amazing world-building, art direction, game mechanics, storytelling, and power fantasy. It was everything I wanted it to be and more. Now there’s no such thing as a perfect game but what I appreciate about Skyrim is that it knows exactly what it wants to be and absolutely delivers on that. Sure, you can quibble about any number of things but at the end of the game it is one of the most cohesive, well-constructed, and rich open world games ever conceived.
It’s a famous meme how they kept porting and re-releasing it but I seriously bought it for three different systems with no regrets. No idea how many thousands of hours I’ve put into it over the years… and still I manage to find things that surprise me. And I haven’t even mentioned the vibrant mod scene. It’s just so good.
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Comment on The rise of 'conspiracy physics' in ~science
balooga Link ParentLove her videos, I'm looking forward to this one. Thanks for linking!Love her videos, I'm looking forward to this one. Thanks for linking!
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Comment on Will an AI actress really become ‘the next Scarlett Johansson’? in ~movies
balooga Link ParentThanks for the context. I still don't get it but at least I have vocabulary for it now, haha.Thanks for the context. I still don't get it but at least I have vocabulary for it now, haha.
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Comment on Donald Trump suggests using ‘dangerous’ US cities as ‘training grounds’ for military in ~society
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Comment on Will an AI actress really become ‘the next Scarlett Johansson’? in ~movies
balooga Link ParentI must be getting old. What is that video trying to say? Is it just a fan compilation of shots of her looking pretty? I hate that most TikTok and Instagram videos leave me feeling more bewildered...I must be getting old. What is that video trying to say? Is it just a fan compilation of shots of her looking pretty?
I hate that most TikTok and Instagram videos leave me feeling more bewildered than clued in... the aging is REAL y'all
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Comment on Donald Trump says Benjamin Netanyahu has agreed to US-sponsored Gaza peace proposal in ~society
balooga Link ParentFCC Chairman Brendan Carr recently said the same thing about getting Jimmy Kimmel fired. Is it too much to ask that people in power stop trying to speak like mob bosses?This can be done the easy way or it can be done the hard way
FCC Chairman Brendan Carr recently said the same thing about getting Jimmy Kimmel fired. Is it too much to ask that people in power stop trying to speak like mob bosses?
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Comment on ‘Reading Rainbow’ to return, with new host Mychal Threets in ~tv
balooga LinkSounds great! I’m not familiar with Mychal Threets, and LeVar Burton leaves some big shoes to fill, but I’m optimistic. I am curious though, how can PBS announce new shows right now? I though they...Sounds great! I’m not familiar with Mychal Threets, and LeVar Burton leaves some big shoes to fill, but I’m optimistic. I am curious though, how can PBS announce new shows right now? I though they had been defunded?
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Comment on Deimos Loading Screens mod for Fallout: New Vegas in ~games
balooga (edited )Link ParentSo I did dive into this over the weekend. I have F:NV Ultimate Edition from Steam (installed outside of the Program Files directory), and tried to follow the instructions exactly—with one...So I did dive into this over the weekend. I have F:NV Ultimate Edition from Steam (installed outside of the Program Files directory), and tried to follow the instructions exactly—with one substantial catch: I can't use Mod Organizer 2 because I'm running Windows 11 for ARM in a Parallels VM on a MacBook Pro. It's me, hi. I'm the problem.
Anyway, Vortex runs great on this system and I've had a lot of luck using it before to mod F:NV so I dove into the VNV instructions and adapted them as best I could for that. I'm actually really pleased with the results so far! I haven't gotten far into the game but it's playable and looks pretty nice.
There's only one major issue that I've encountered so far: problems with distant terrain geometry. The VNV LOD Guide is interesting and has a ton of good info. I followed those steps and used FNVLODGen to generate over 25k terrain LOD files, following the instructions in there. I did the object and tree LODs also, and loaded them as two new mods like the instructions say. It didn't seem to make any difference. Vortex indicated that it was installing and deploying all of the LODs but I don't know how to verify that; either the LODs themselves are bad or they're not getting loaded properly. I'm not sure how to troubleshoot from here. By any chance do you have any ideas about this?
Edit: 40 minutes later and I figured it out. I had to regenerate my Objects LODs (not terrain) with the FNVLODGen Resources mod enabled. I had disabled it earlier because it includes a
TTWLods.espfile that depends on Tale of Two Wastelands (which I'm not using). Vortex doesn't have a way to "hide" that file like MO2 does. I ended up just deleting the file after enabling the rest of the mod, and that fixed my LOD generation. Looks incredible now! And yes, it plays great in my ARM VM too, haha. -
Comment on Colossal Game Adventure Schedule: September 2025 - March 2026 in ~games
balooga Link ParentI’ll be playing the SNES version but if the English translation in that one is considered inferior, I’d be interested in any mods that exist to patch it.I’ll be playing the SNES version but if the English translation in that one is considered inferior, I’d be interested in any mods that exist to patch it.
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Comment on Colossal Game Adventure Schedule: September 2025 - March 2026 in ~games
balooga Link ParentOkay, can I just say that I love that there are others with opinions about this here? I mean, your opinions are clearly terrible but it warms my heart to read them nonetheless. We’re gonna have...Okay, can I just say that I love that there are others with opinions about this here? I mean, your opinions are clearly terrible but it warms my heart to read them nonetheless. We’re gonna have fun with this one in December.
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Comment on Colossal Game Adventure Schedule: September 2025 - March 2026 in ~games
balooga Link ParentThanks for sharing this, I’ll be hosting SMI in December in and in my humble opinion the Talkie edition is the definitive way to experience the game. There’s something really special about the...Thanks for sharing this, I’ll be hosting SMI in December in and in my humble opinion the Talkie edition is the definitive way to experience the game. There’s something really special about the original VGA graphics and music, but Dominic Armato’s interpretation of Guybrush is legendary. This mod brings together the best of both worlds.
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Comment on US House Democrats release latest Jeffrey Epstein documents with Elon Musk, Peter Thiel, Steve Bannon and Prince Andrew mentions in ~society
balooga Link ParentAt this point they could release 100GB of incriminating Trump and Epstein videos in crystal clear 4K, and Trump still wouldn’t face any consequences for it. He has made himself untouchable.At this point they could release 100GB of incriminating Trump and Epstein videos in crystal clear 4K, and Trump still wouldn’t face any consequences for it. He has made himself untouchable.
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Comment on The neo-Victorian neo-nazi lesbian BDSM cult that made video games in ~humanities.history
balooga Link ParentNot to mention, actual nazis and fascists are still here and have taken political power, and are implementing their actual agendas over us today as fast as they can. It does no one any good to...Not to mention, actual nazis and fascists are still here and have taken political power, and are implementing their actual agendas over us today as fast as they can. It does no one any good to speak about that in nervous hushed whispers like we’re afraid we might offend somebody. Fuck ‘em, this is not the moment for pussyfooting around when people’s actual lives and livelihoods are being threatened.
I don’t know anything about how much money Wikipedia has or how it spends it, but just reading the political tea leaves tells me it would be a good idea for them to be building up a rainy-day war chest. For legal defense and technical defense alike. The Internet Archive needs this too, more urgently, as far as I can tell.