CannibalisticApple's recent activity
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Comment on Weekly US politics news and updates thread - week of November 9 in ~society
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Comment on NIKKE PC game launcher hacked to spread remote access, data-stealing malware in ~games
CannibalisticApple Link ParentNot a lawyer, but looking it up, I think they should be liable under US law...? However, Level Infinite is part of Tencent Games from China, and Wikipedia states their offices are based out of...Not a lawyer, but looking it up, I think they should be liable under US law...? However, Level Infinite is part of Tencent Games from China, and Wikipedia states their offices are based out of Amsterdam and Singapore. I'm not sure which country would be considered their jurisdiction, and what the local laws are like about this.
Whatever the case though, I don't think they can adequately compensate for the damage done. This breach didn't just steal passwords and credit card info, it stole session cookies. That can bypass multifactor authentication since MFA is only used for logging in. And it had potentially a whole month to gather those before being noticed and caught.
And there's a non-zero chance some players are still unaware their machines are infected right now because they don't check social media and don't read in-game announcements. (And that assumes the in-game announcements adequately communicate the severity of the breach... I feel it can easily get lost in "corpo-speak".) Worse yet, they might play on a shared computer, so anyone who used that computer this past month might also be compromised.
Which just really makes the in-game compensation even more insulting. That's the sort of compensation I'd expect for game-breaking bugs/glitches, not potentially infecting all non-mobile players with infostealing malware.
To quote one user on Reddit:
1000 free pulls wouldn't be enough of an apology, lmfao. This is all ethereal digital nonsense, peoples fucking livelihoods could've been affected.
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Comment on NIKKE PC game launcher hacked to spread remote access, data-stealing malware in ~games
CannibalisticApple LinkI overlooked this post originally since I don't play it, but after stumbling on a reddit post I went down the rabbit hole. This turns out to be one of the most severe security breaches I've seen....I overlooked this post originally since I don't play it, but after stumbling on a reddit post I went down the rabbit hole. This turns out to be one of the most severe security breaches I've seen. The kind where along with changing passwords and moving crypto to new wallets, people are advising others to wipe their computers and do a clean install just to be safe.
One really bad part is how long it went undiscovered. The company, Level Infinite, only announced it on November 4 along with a launcher fix, but an independent researcher on GitHub named MotherSphere found evidence it was compromised well before that. Level Infinite reported the distribution of the malicious program began October 30, when code first appearing in the launcher's debug logs, but MotherSphere found reports suggesting compromised activity began by October 23 "at the latest".
Timestamps indicate the four files tied to the breach were modified on September 27, so any computers that ran the launcher since then should probably considered compromised. It was used to scan Windows, but MotherSphere made the point that Linux should also be considered exposed due to remote commands allowing full access to those files.
Basically, only the mobile version is safe.
On reddit, the post that got my attention reported their online bank account got locked due to failed login attempts. Another person said they were lazy about wiping their computer and used it to watch videos while logged out, and after going AFK returned to find their Gmail login tab opened. More pressingly, they also found evidence of a failed Microsoft login attempt back on October 17.
...Also, Level Infinite's compensation is just 10 gacha pulls and 3,000 gems, along with some other in-game resources. Which is pretty paltry and insulting given the severity of this breach.
Just... yikes. A good reminder that even programs you already installed and trust can be compromised.
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Comment on November 2026 Backlog Burner: Week 2 Discussion in ~games
CannibalisticApple (edited )Link ParentI'll be honest: back when I played the first Portal, I found it good, but also felt a bit underwhelmed. I think it's one of those cases where you spend years hearing all this hype about a...I'll be honest: back when I played the first Portal, I found it good, but also felt a bit underwhelmed. I think it's one of those cases where you spend years hearing all this hype about a legendary piece of media, and it builds up in your head to become something impossible to match. Portal is legendary in internet culture, we were quoting "the cake is a lie" back in middle school. So when I played it many years later, part of me felt, "Huh, is this really all?"
Even back then, I realized what was happening: Portal was revolutionary for its time, but I played it 15 years after it released. Gaming had come a very long way and had even more revolutions since then. So yeah, kinda interesting to be analyzing my own reaction from a meta standpoint.
Portal 2 though? That one does live up to the hype for me.
I knew the overall story from doing an online deep dive years ago in school, and had seen plenty of discourse about it, so I wasn't playing blind like most first-time players. (And also may have read some fan fiction for some reason...? I distinctly remember reading a story about Wheatley getting a human body and meeting up with Chell.) Even so, it was still a blast.
Compared to how short the original game was, it felt a lot more fleshed out and developed. The first one felt like a "proof of concept" almost, just developers showing off the cool portal mechanic, while Portal 2 felt much more complete. Maybe it was having more than just GLaDOS talking to us, the interactions with Wheatley were great. Then there was all the expansion on the lore and background of Aperture Science, making the setting feel a lot more real and developed.
And of course, the jokes were great. Found myself smiling a lot at some of the banter.
As stated in my previous post, I did use cheats to bypass one chamber because for some reason it was just near-impossible for me to jump into this one portal. But that also cemented to me how good this game is: I could tell that one, singular jump was not meant to be that hard, because the rest of the game had flowed so smoothly. The puzzles had never really stumped me outside of me getting hyper-fixated on minutiae and forgetting the obvious, and there was no super-precise platforming.
So the difficulty of that one jump stood out as clearly going against the developers' intent, and made me appreciate how much care they put into balancing the gameplay.
In the last few chambers, I did end up consulting a guide for pointers more than I wanted. I kept the guide-checking to the most immediate step of what I was stuck on... and usually only after I'd die a couple times and got annoyed by repeatedly restarting a section. Honestly, I think that jump I mentioned lowered my overall patience for dying repeatedly. It's one thing to die while doing the wrong thing, but another when it's the right solution and you just keep missing...
And one final note (mild spoiler for a 15-year-old game):
I am weirdly disappointed that running into the masher when Wheatley asked did not give an achievement. I feel like it should, since GLaDOS's trap gave us one.
Overall, good game! And... I think I get why there probably won't ever be a Portal 3. The two games are just too legendary, after this long a third game would have to reach near-impossible standards to live up to. (And also, Chell will probably never go back there.)
I said this on the thread about F-Stop, but I think Valve could use Aperture Science to make more puzzle games focusing on other unique mechanics. They obviously worked on a lot more than portals, the gel puzzles and recordings of Cave Johnson talking about projects just reinforced that for me. It's a good setting for experimenting with unique mechanics.
The challenge is just making it work lore-wise since they gave a pretty clearly defined timeline of the company. (And it sounds like a lot of test subjects when it was at its prime weren't likely to survive that long...)
EDIT: ...and just realized the Perpetual Testing Initiative basically solves the lore problem with the multiverse! So Valve has no excuse to not make an Aperture Science franchise.
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Comment on November 2026 Backlog Burner: Week 2 Discussion in ~games
CannibalisticApple LinkFlow Custom bingo 3/9 Simplicity Beauty Organization Transformation ★ Wildcard Mystery ✅ Ecco the Dolphin ✅ Superliminal ✅ Portal 2 Reposting my Bingo Card. I finished Portal 2 last night, and......Flow Custom bingo 3/9 Simplicity Beauty Organization Transformation ★ Wildcard Mystery Maneuver
✅ Ecco the DolphinUnorthodox
✅ SuperliminalHumor
✅ Portal 2Reposting my Bingo Card.
I finished Portal 2 last night, and... I think my goal of "play big games to uninstall them and free space" is failing. Because now I need to look for secrets, and also remembered it has player-made test chambers. I clicked "top rated" and got loaded into one called Enigma Protocol, which gave a fancy "chapter 1" and quickly left before I could get sucked in.
(I did manage to uninstall Superliminal at least. Next on my list is maybe Wanderstop, which... Hopefully I can uninstall right away after beating it. Seriously, my poor Steam Deck only has 2 GB of free space. Pretty sure it's not ALL shaders, because I remember trying to download Stardew Valley mods (and failing), but I need the free space before doing a deep-dive because I think I need to download file organizers or something to actually see what exactly I have. The built-in breakdown of storage is not exactly helpful since it doesn't break down what goes into "other".)
Anyways, Portal 2 is amazing and definitely worth the praise. Extended thoughts on it in a reply!
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Comment on California Gov. Gavin Newsom commutes all 548 death sentences in ~society
CannibalisticApple Link ParentAh yeah, I was thinking of the national news since we watch that more. Local news stations definitely overreport on crime compared to other topic. I swear our local news talks about at least one...Ah yeah, I was thinking of the national news since we watch that more. Local news stations definitely overreport on crime compared to other topic. I swear our local news talks about at least one shooting every day (regular shooting, not mass shooting), or updates briefly about a recent one. And sadly, shootings are common enough that they don't often rank up there as critical news.
Which is admittedly pretty awful to think, given that the recent reports I recall were about teenagers being killed... Tragic and earth-shattering for their families, but horrifically "mundane" in the larger picture. But we're the biggest city in our state. Crime is going to happen somewhere every day, that's just basic statistics. Definitely doesn't need to be reported every time.
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Comment on November 2026 Backlog Burner: Week 1 Discussion in ~games
CannibalisticApple Link ParentWelp, got some more free time than expected, so last night I got back to Portal 2! Ticking off Humor because... Well, of course. I actually started it in a previous backlog burner, but never...Welp, got some more free time than expected, so last night I got back to Portal 2! Ticking off Humor because... Well, of course.
I actually started it in a previous backlog burner, but never finished it. My visiting aunt found the voices distracting, so I started playing Lost in Blue until she went to bed... And then just kept playing it, and never got back to Portal 2.
I haven't finished it yet, but I'm still checking it off. I'm trying to avoid using a guide this time, checked for just three puzzles so far. One, I got hyper-focused on a new mechanic to the point I forgot about how portals could help with that one. Another was me just not noticing a button (and I was completely ignoring that wall at that point so no clue when I might notice it). Third was not realizing I forgot I could slightly backtrack to a previous area. All of those I give myself a pass because when I hyper-focus... Well, I hyper-focus.
And then there was 1972 02.
The end of that one involves a slide-and-jump into a portal at a high velocity... except I kept missing the portal. I could never seem to move in a straight line, always going at the slightest angle. I kept hitting the wall just beside the portal, or shooting past it and careening to my death.
From the searches I did, it seems it might be more doable on a keyboard, because I found someone talking about how hard it was to do on Switch. I'm on Steam Deck, but I assume the issue is related to using a joystick since those can easily go diagonal. And apparently, being even a couple degrees off is enough to NOT hit the portal.
For me, within probably ten to twenty minutes, I made it through the portal twice. The first time I found out there was a higher wall to portal. Second time, I guess I wasn't going fast enough because I didn't make it across and fell to my death. Either I started too close to the jump point, or my uneven spray of orange gel was the problem because I'd closed that portal before it could fully spray the path. And respraying it was a hassle because it autosaved in that state, so every time I died it'd reset.
At first I was looking up the level video to confirm I had the right solution. Then "how to line up jump". And then "how to skip level" because this wasn't me being bad at games, this was a way-too precise jump that was clearly NOT intended to be that hard and precise by the developers. (I was trying to adjust my posture and grip to try to aim straight. The phrase "pixel perfect" kept popping up in my head, and I know they didn't decide to make this one single puzzle require absolute precision.)
So yeah, I cheated and used noclip. Turned off the cheats immediately afterwards. I feel no shame, and am grateful it was an option because otherwise I might have legitimately just stopped playing. Having to repeat a single jump on an endless loop just stalls gameplay entirely and takes out any enjoyment.
Other than that chamber, it's fun! Though I've clearly missed a LOT of secrets, so will probably go back to explore a bit when I'm done.
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Comment on US Federal Aviation Administration says it will phase out floppy disks from air traffic control by 2028 in ~tech
CannibalisticApple Link ParentThe security aspect comes more from how, as a side effect of how old and outdated the systems are, they're not really connected to each other. So remote hacking is less likely, or at least won't...The security aspect comes more from how, as a side effect of how old and outdated the systems are, they're not really connected to each other. So remote hacking is less likely, or at least won't be as catastrophic since it can't attack the whole system on a central level.
It's an unintentional security benefit. There are still MANY downsides to using such an outdated system, but... Well, just look at Black October. Cybersecurity is currently in a very tenuous state. And as I said, not sure the government (or whoever is contracted for the job) would dedicate enough resources and prioritization to effective cybersecurity measures for whatever new system is used/developed. Given how vital air traffic is, this is one field where you do NOT want to just go for the cheapest option or lowest bidder, which feels way too likely to happen in the name of "saving money".
Also while trying to find any sources talking about this (I'm not an expert by any means, just recalling a long-ago discussion), I found this article talking about how Southwest was spared from the Crowdstrike outage thanks to using Windows 95. Just found that pretty amusing.
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Comment on US Federal Aviation Administration says it will phase out floppy disks from air traffic control by 2028 in ~tech
CannibalisticApple Link ParentHonestly I hope you're right that this doesn't happen, just because the cybersecurity landscape is currently a giant mess. With all the cost cutting, I don't trust that they'll devote enough...Honestly I hope you're right that this doesn't happen, just because the cybersecurity landscape is currently a giant mess. With all the cost cutting, I don't trust that they'll devote enough resources and prioritization to effective cybersecurity measures. I'm just remembering the issues with ATC staffing during government shutdowns, and then imagining the sheer chaos if they get hacked during one...
People and organizations tend to prioritize convenience over security at some scale, and air traffic is one field where that absolutely should NOT be allowed at any level.
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Comment on California Gov. Gavin Newsom commutes all 548 death sentences in ~society
CannibalisticApple Link ParentWhile I agree news stations definitely overly focus on negative stories, I think they choose the leading stories based on what's considered the biggest, hard news story. Unfortunately, these days...While I agree news stations definitely overly focus on negative stories, I think they choose the leading stories based on what's considered the biggest, hard news story. Unfortunately, these days that often just happens to be rage-inducing unless there's a disaster of some sort. Lately ABC has been opening up reporting on the flooding from the current storm system.
At least ABC and NBC have made a point to try to end their news programs on feel-good stories to balance it out...
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Comment on US Federal Aviation Administration says it will phase out floppy disks from air traffic control by 2028 in ~tech
CannibalisticApple LinkTruly, the end of an era... We now have one less demographic to learn and remember why the save icon in games and software looks like that. Though I hope they invest in good cybersecurity given...Truly, the end of an era... We now have one less demographic to learn and remember why the save icon in games and software looks like that.
Though I hope they invest in good cybersecurity given recent news. I recall people making the point the outdated infrastructure provided an additional layer of protection from hacking, since... Well, they weren't connected to each other. Can't remotely hack something not connected to the internet. Definitely an unintentional benefit, and there are a LOT of downsides to using obsolete technology, but still a benefit. And given recent news stories...
I really hope they put as much effort into cybersecurity as possible.
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Comment on Timasomo 2026: The Showcase in ~creative.timasomo
CannibalisticApple Link ParentPsst, first link is a little broken. Here's the working version. This is pretty neat! Never heard of a kumiko kit before, but looking them up I'm seeing a bunch of cool patterns. The idea of using...Psst, first link is a little broken. Here's the working version.
This is pretty neat! Never heard of a kumiko kit before, but looking them up I'm seeing a bunch of cool patterns. The idea of using a bunch of them for a larger project is pretty cool!
Question from someone with zero experience in woodworking: are you able to paint or stain the wood from kumiko kits? And if yes, do you plan to do it?
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Comment on Timasomo 2026: The Showcase in ~creative.timasomo
CannibalisticApple Link ParentLove the first one!! Makes me think of outer space, particular the area around the sun or other stars. And the third one gives me kinda Christmas-y vibes, like a gold tinfoil garland on a tree.Love the first one!! Makes me think of outer space, particular the area around the sun or other stars. And the third one gives me kinda Christmas-y vibes, like a gold tinfoil garland on a tree.
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Comment on Timasomo 2026: The Showcase in ~creative.timasomo
CannibalisticApple Link ParentWell if they don't work, they can at least stand as an art piece. The texture and handles make them stand out. Feels like old-timey equipment/tools I'd see in a museum. Of course I hope you get...Well if they don't work, they can at least stand as an art piece. The texture and handles make them stand out. Feels like old-timey equipment/tools I'd see in a museum.
And at bare minimum, you can sharpen the tips for a good emergency self-defense weapon.Of course I hope you get them working though!Out of curiosity, how big are they, and what exactly would you cut with them?
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Comment on Timasomo 2026: The Showcase in ~creative.timasomo
CannibalisticApple Link ParentPhoto feels incomplete, need to see birds using it to give proper judgment. Jokes aside, glad you figured out a way to attach the roof! I remembered you talking about that. It looks really good!...Photo feels incomplete, need to see birds using it to give proper judgment.
Jokes aside, glad you figured out a way to attach the roof! I remembered you talking about that. It looks really good! The overlapping roof boards feel particularly elegant to me despite how simple they are.
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Comment on Timasomo 2026: The Showcase in ~creative.timasomo
CannibalisticApple LinkI made a single-player card game using the standard 52 playing card deck! Rules can be read here on a Google Doc! For now, I'm tentatively calling it Realms of Influence. Originally called it...I made a single-player card game using the standard 52 playing card deck! Rules can be read here on a Google Doc!
For now, I'm tentatively calling it Realms of Influence. Originally called it "Factions" in the spirit of all the single-word titles for card games, but Google confirmed that name is used by an actual card game which would be confusing. Other working names include "Traitor Jacks", "Traitors and Heretics", "Traitors and Hostages"... Gives you an idea of the game's theme.
It's a political intrigue game, with the premise being each suit represents a different domain of society. Like a lot of games you're still trying amass the most points (influence), but it has three tricky bits that set it apart from regular "raise numbers" games:
- Hearts beats Spades, and Clubs beats Diamonds.
- The Jacks of Hearts can choose to work with Diamonds as the illegitimate child of its king, and the Jack of Clubs can be swayed to Spades as a heretic
- The Queens can be taken as hostages by other Courts
- And your choices can influence ALL courts, not just your own!
I've done 13 (or 14*) rounds of play testing with differing rulesets, and this should be the full ruleset. I've won most of the games, and some may be due to luck or bad shuffling on my part, but analyzing my turns (I wrote down every turn, helpful whenever I realized I forgot to draw a card after my turn) showed that strategy definitely played a part in my victory. I made some risky gambles giving advantages to other Suits that ultimately paid off, or withheld cards that could change the game.
Also, I said it in the doc but I'll say it here too: this game should theoretically work with two players! One of the phases (the "Realm Phase") basically functions as a "computer turn". I made sure the rules and mechanics work the same across both the Realm and Player Phases, the Player just gets to choose from 4 cards in their hand to use (or not use). So you could just replace the Realm Phase with a second Player Phase... Or add a second Player Phase and keep the Realm Phase. It does represent ongoing events and intrigue across the realm, after all.
Just keep in mind, the number of turns will likely end up uneven. I averaged 10-12 rounds per test, and sometimes I ran out of cards after the Realm Phase. It really depended on how often I decided to choose "No Contest". And with 2 players, you'll have 8 cards in someone's hands at all time, further cutting down the turns... (Though at that point, you could just... Play with the cards remaining in your hands? Or just skip drawing from the deck for player turns, and have players make moves and respond to each other? Hmm... Got ideas now.)
If anyone does try it (either solo or 2-player), let me know what you think and how it goes! Also let me know if you think I missed anything in the rules. I think I got it all down, but some stuff I just internalized and may not have actually written down.
*"or 14": There was a playtest where I somehow forgot my suit at some point and played in favor of a different suit. I have no clue when I forgot because I at least played one card with the OG suit in mind. I found this hilarious because my new suit "won", while my original suit was in last place. So my brainstorming/testing doc now has a "Test 10" and "ACTUAL Test 10".
...also, just writing this up is giving me ideas for MORE mechanics. Like maybe somehow Usurping a King and dismantling his Court... Or maybe having the Queen of Hearts take the place of the King. (The guy might be stabbing himself in the head with a sword after all, may not be in the right mental place to rule a kingdom. Or uh, alive to do it...)
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Comment on Enough phone (compact phone) kickstarter is up in ~tech
CannibalisticApple Link ParentAnd this was all I needed to lose any potential interest. I get headphone jacks take up a lot of space so can go against "compact" designs, but they're so convenient. I've given up hopes of a...And this was all I needed to lose any potential interest. I get headphone jacks take up a lot of space so can go against "compact" designs, but they're so convenient. I've given up hopes of a slide-out keyboard, but headphone jacks are the bare minimum for me.
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Comment on California Gov. Gavin Newsom commutes all 548 death sentences in ~society
CannibalisticApple Link548?? That's an absurdly high number to have on death row, makes me wonder what the bar is to get the death sentence there. Has to be pretty low, or the judges there have to be extra vindictive....548?? That's an absurdly high number to have on death row, makes me wonder what the bar is to get the death sentence there. Has to be pretty low, or the judges there have to be extra vindictive. Or both. That many people on death row has to be a big financial drain since they can't keep them with standard population, and it's been 20 years since the last execution so it's an even bigger drain.
And then the article says there were 561 people on death row... Makes me wonder about who's still on it and why they didn't get pardoned.
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Comment on YouTube mobile app has deeply hidden the subscription feed in ~tech
CannibalisticApple Link ParentFigured they don't always need apps to be updated. Just making the point we can't "fix" it by rolling back to a previous version or disabling updates like with some app updates.Figured they don't always need apps to be updated. Just making the point we can't "fix" it by rolling back to a previous version or disabling updates like with some app updates.
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Comment on Real-life 'Truman Show' pulled from TV as it's branded 'psychological torture' in ~tv
CannibalisticApple LinkOof... My first thought was that Japanese comedian who was on a game show isolated for over a year, unaware he was recorded and broadcast the whole time... But at least he knew he was on a game...Oof... My first thought was that Japanese comedian who was on a game show isolated for over a year, unaware he was recorded and broadcast the whole time... But at least he knew he was on a game show and thought it'd be broadcast later.
Then got reminded of the various "bad TV show" iceberg videos I've watched. Some of them definitely involved pranks where they had to edit in laughter at the end while the victim is clearly upset... I'm sure I heard of at least one also compared to the Truman Show.
Pranks are only funny if everyone involved laughs. Jury Duty had a similar concept but was fun because they focused on the guy reacting to everyone else's apparent insanity and drama, and didn't make him feel like he was accomplishing a lifelong dream.
Fingers crossed some other network or studio offers to let him direct a film. Can't blame him for refusing the offer from the studio, it'd be hard to trust it was actually real and not a second season of the show.
Also, the fact even his manager thought it was a real film... This prank affected multiple people on a professional level.
The news keeps mentioning there's bipartisan support for the impeachment. Honestly even before the midterms, I got the impression a lot of them were VERY unhappy with Hegseth. Pretty sure the loss just removed any incentive to ignore their dissatisfaction with him in an attempt to stay on Trump's good side. Also, fairly sure Trump himself will easily abandon Hegseth with all the bad press about him. He's an easy scapegoat.