boon's recent activity
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Comment on A state of emergency has been declared in southern Iceland after another volcanic eruption on the Reykjanes Peninsula – the fourth since December in ~enviro
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Comment on I found a hobby in ~hobbies
boon LinkI didn’t know these had a name! Love seeing these out and about while walking around, always a fun window into the past. Definitely going to keep a keener eye out for them in future.I didn’t know these had a name! Love seeing these out and about while walking around, always a fun window into the past.
Definitely going to keep a keener eye out for them in future.
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Comment on Danish dictionary to weed out gender stereotypes – ‘career women’ are now paired with ‘career men’ and manslaughter is a linguistic offence in ~humanities.languages
boon LinkThis is the same as most words in English with the same equivalent. -man is a gender neutral suffix in most of its use cases, it doesn’t literally mean “Male person”, the same as in “Mankind”. The...Some words, she said, ending in -mand do not refer to a person, which would make it pointless adding a female equivalent.
This is the same as most words in English with the same equivalent. -man is a gender neutral suffix in most of its use cases, it doesn’t literally mean “Male person”, the same as in “Mankind”.
The movement to add new gender-specific words seems contrary to the movement to remove gendering from words.
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Comment on There's a belief that some form of cider was made by Vikings in Norway, and today, its growing popularity has people convinced it's the country's national drink in ~food
boon Link ParentI find this all the more bizarre given the very well known Viking drink in Mead.I find this all the more bizarre given the very well known Viking drink in Mead.
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Comment on Starfield - what are your thoughts? in ~games
boon Link ParentI think this is exactly the problem, one they seem to have remedied with F4 and Starfield. Previously, they spent a tonne on big name VAs for some roles which did amazingly then cheaped out on...all had big names in the cast that had very good deliveries
I think this is exactly the problem, one they seem to have remedied with F4 and Starfield.
Previously, they spent a tonne on big name VAs for some roles which did amazingly then cheaped out on other roles, like having one single voice actor act all the guards and downs of NPCs in Skyrim, which killed immersion.
NV had decent voice acting, but I guess that would be down to how Obsidian handled it. They did a great job with Outer Worlds VA too.
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Comment on Starfield - what are your thoughts? in ~games
boon Link ParentIronically the not picking up everything you see thing is unique to Starfield - most other Bethesda games are hoarding games! I highly recommend playing Skyrim SE if you’ve not played any others,...Ironically the not picking up everything you see thing is unique to Starfield - most other Bethesda games are hoarding games!
I highly recommend playing Skyrim SE if you’ve not played any others, it’s my personal favourite game of all time.
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Comment on Starfield - what are your thoughts? in ~games
boon Link**My own two cents: ** I’ve sank 24 hours into it this weekend alone and barely scratched the surface. It’s a great game, with a solid story and decent voice acting (which for a Bethesda game...**My own two cents: **
I’ve sank 24 hours into it this weekend alone and barely scratched the surface. It’s a great game, with a solid story and decent voice acting (which for a Bethesda game seems to be a feat).There’s a few ‘shames’, the big one being no space flight between planets. As people are digging into this more it looks like something that could be fixed with mods. The procedurally generated content is, like in No Mans Sky, a bit disappointing at times.
minor spoilers
I can’t believe the people on the moon don’t reference the fact they’re on the _moon_, they just repeat generic npc outpost dialog.However the combat is the best it’s been, and I love that it’s slower to build than in Skyrim or Fallout. Skills take longer to earn and plot lines are much more drawn out in greater depth and detail.
Overall it’s a cracking, fun and time consuming game and the negatives are definitely way overblown online (as is tradition), but it wouldn’t be a Bethesda game without missing the mark in small ways. Can’t wait for modding!
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Starfield - what are your thoughts?
Warning: this post may contain spoilers
For those of us who caved and got the Early Access, what are your thoughts on the game so far? Please remember to tag spoilers!
And for anyone looking forward to it coming out on Wednesday, got any plans for a build or character?
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Comment on After two decades the dominance of Google Search comes into question in ~tech
boon LinkFor a couple of years now I've been using 'reddit' as a suffix to get results that actually mean something instead of AI generated blogpost garbage. Unsurprisingly, ChatGPT is turning out like a...For a couple of years now I've been using 'reddit' as a suffix to get results that actually mean something instead of AI generated blogpost garbage.
Unsurprisingly, ChatGPT is turning out like a more reliable Google search to me as well for various questions, although it needs some sanity checking. GPT-4 is definitely more reliable than 3, though.
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Comment on NVIDIA debuts AI-enhanced real-time ray tracing for games and apps with new DLSS 3.5 in ~comp
boon Link ParentThere’s a lot of innovation in the space at the moment, particularly in handheld or portable PC gaming, just less on top of the line hardware. PC game sales still account for roughly half of all...I feel like the PC (especially for gaming) is on life support
There’s a lot of innovation in the space at the moment, particularly in handheld or portable PC gaming, just less on top of the line hardware.
PC game sales still account for roughly half of all game sales and PC gamers outnumber console players significantly.
Market definitely ain’t dead.
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Comment on Meat eaters of Tildes - what have you tried to make use more ethical? in ~food
boon Link ParentI’ve really, really tried to like vegan cheese - almost all my family are vegan now - but the store bought kind is inedible to me. There’s a pizza place in town that does vegan creamery cheese,...I’ve really, really tried to like vegan cheese - almost all my family are vegan now - but the store bought kind is inedible to me.
There’s a pizza place in town that does vegan creamery cheese, where plant milk is put through the same process as regular cheese, and that is incredible though. Just wish it was available widely!
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Comment on Meat eaters of Tildes - what have you tried to make use more ethical? in ~food
boon LinkWe eat Clarence Court eggs, which are expensive but guaranteed high welfare and have offered tours of their farms Eat a lot of wild venison, which has had a free life until a clean bullet has...- We eat Clarence Court eggs, which are expensive but guaranteed high welfare and have offered tours of their farms
- Eat a lot of wild venison, which has had a free life until a clean bullet has dispatched it - probably the least painful way to die for a wild animal
- Gone from “meat everyday” to meat 2-3 times per week
- Free range meat if we do purchase farm meat
- Pad our meals with tonnes more vegetables which in turn has made us healthier!
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Comment on BRICS leaders to meet and discuss expansion in ~news
boon Link ParentWhich ironically is a position of support for Russia. SA have long been aligned to China and Russia, even more so since China provided financial relief during COVID.Which ironically is a position of support for Russia. SA have long been aligned to China and Russia, even more so since China provided financial relief during COVID.
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Comment on Beer-drunk raccoons terrorize Germany, chaos reigns in ~life.pets
boon LinkWhat a headline. Unlike the states, Europe has far fewer predators of raccoons. Can’t imagine this problem getting any better without intervention.What a headline.
Unlike the states, Europe has far fewer predators of raccoons. Can’t imagine this problem getting any better without intervention.
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Comment on Feature highlights #9: Economy & production | Cities: Skylines II in ~games
boon LinkThe granularity of this looks pretty cool, as does the supply chain / manufacturing management. I’m also glad it’s optional or automated, as micromanaging it like in Anno could be tedious.The granularity of this looks pretty cool, as does the supply chain / manufacturing management.
I’m also glad it’s optional or automated, as micromanaging it like in Anno could be tedious.
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Comment on Baldur's Gate 3 Community Wiki in ~games
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Comment on Thinning hair suggestions? in ~life.style
boon Link ParentI've had a hair transplant, and unfortunately unless you keep up with - at the minimum - finasteride your hair will continue to fall out at the same rate.I've had a hair transplant, and unfortunately unless you keep up with - at the minimum - finasteride your hair will continue to fall out at the same rate.
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Comment on Would I enjoy Baldur's Gate 3 if I hate D&D? in ~games
boon Link ParentThere is actually a non-turn-based combat mode in the settings, but I’ve not tried it myself so can’t comment on how it plays.There is actually a non-turn-based combat mode in the settings, but I’ve not tried it myself so can’t comment on how it plays.
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Comment on Bethesda release three Starfield anime-style promotional videos in ~games
boon Link ParentFor me the realism is the thing that makes it exciting from my perspective. It looks like a solid RPG set in a future Earth where we’ve colonised some of space. The combat looks smooth, the...For me the realism is the thing that makes it exciting from my perspective. It looks like a solid RPG set in a future Earth where we’ve colonised some of space.
The combat looks smooth, the planets look interesting and I think it will feel like what I thought No Mans Sky would be.
In the case of Outer Wilds, despite being rather shallow outside of main quests, it also felt sometimes like it was trying too hard, and not just letting a natural fantasy world(s?) unfold.
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Comment on Would I enjoy Baldur's Gate 3 if I hate D&D? in ~games
boon LinkThere are mechanisms in place to make playing the game a lot easier for people who are new to D&D. When you make a character, it will suggest stats to you. The combat is very straightforward, turn...There are mechanisms in place to make playing the game a lot easier for people who are new to D&D. When you make a character, it will suggest stats to you. The combat is very straightforward, turn based but with clear steps to how that works/players move, the tutorials are very explanatory and, if played on easy, gives you a lot of time to 'ramp up'.
The overworld plays a lot like any RPG - run around, talk to people, loot, etc.
The dice rolls are mostly automatic, the only ones I've encountered are in dialogue choices which have a prefix, e.g. '[CHARISMA] Explain your way out of it'. You come to learn your characters strengths fairly quickly which guides which conversation choices you'll try.
I've played some D&D with friends but never fully understood it and I'm enjoying it, and to be honest learning a lot about how the game works!
This was particularly interesting to me, I didn't know this before.
I suppose this explains the strange smells and dead fish that were reported before Vesuvius erupted?