crashb's recent activity
-
Comment on A spoiler free but brief critcism of Blue Prince reviews/recommendation to play in ~games
-
Comment on Everyone is cheating their way through college in ~tech
crashb LinkI was very much able to relate to this part: When the motivation for homework is not clearly established (which is very common, in my experience), the assignments just feel like pointless...I was very much able to relate to this part:
Williams, and other educators I spoke to, described AI’s takeover as a full-blown existential crisis. “The students kind of recognize that the system is broken and that there’s not really a point in doing this. Maybe the original meaning of these assignments has been lost or is not being communicated to them well.” [...] The ideal of college as a place of intellectual growth, where students engage with deep, profound ideas, was gone long before ChatGPT. The combination of high costs and a winner-takes-all economy had already made it feel transactional, a means to an end.
When the motivation for homework is not clearly established (which is very common, in my experience), the assignments just feel like pointless busywork. If a student doesn't believe the work they're doing has any intrinsic value, why wouldn't they outsource it to ChatGPT? I'm curious: was there a similar reaction from academia when search engines became available?
I also had a chuckle at the suggestion that only "Gen Z" has this problem:
This is all especially unnerving if you add in the reality that AI is imperfect — it might rely on something that is factually inaccurate or just make something up entirely — with the ruinous effect social media has had on Gen Z’s ability to tell fact from fiction.
-
Comment on What defines an extraction shooter, and why does the gaming community generally dislike it? in ~games
crashb LinkThank you for the post! Tarkov is enthralling, but I can’t ever bring myself to go back. The game was already pay-to-win (paying more money grants the player a bigger stash and safe container) but...Thank you for the post!
Tarkov is enthralling, but I can’t ever bring myself to go back. The game was already pay-to-win (paying more money grants the player a bigger stash and safe container) but they recently added a $500 “Unheard” edition that lets owners move freely past AI enemies. On top of that, an infamous video confirmed the presence of at least one cheater in ~60% of all game lobbies, completely killing my motivation to play. It makes sense; since you’re risking a loadout each time you play a match, the incentive to cheat is very high.
The Cycle: Frontier also dealt quite heavily with cheaters, and even formed a dedicated anti-cheat team during the early days of its first season. They did a lot right, and even let players generate the premium currency for free by building a base upgrade. For whatever reason, the game never found its footing, and fizzled out after Season 3.
Hunt: Showdown has achieved success by diluting Tarkov’s formula; dying in Hunt doesn’t really set you back. To me, though, the risk is what’s compelling about an extraction shooter – hopefully Marathon can strike a better balance.
-
Comment on The Rehearsal | Season 2 official trailer in ~tv
crashb LinkThe opening line of this trailer had me on the edge of my seat immediately: It'll be an interesting topic for Season 2 to cover, especially given the current zeitgeist / discourse surrounding air...The opening line of this trailer had me on the edge of my seat immediately:
"I've been studying commercial aviation disasters, as a hobby."
It'll be an interesting topic for Season 2 to cover, especially given the current zeitgeist / discourse surrounding air travel. Very excited to see where this goes.
-
The Rehearsal | Season 2 official trailer
10 votes -
Comment on ‘Escape From Tarkov’ fans are outraged at new $250 pay-to-win edition in ~games
crashb LinkAs someone who used to play Tarkov, the game's current predicament is pretty astounding to me, so I figured it might spark some good conversation here. Escape from Tarkov is sold in increasingly...As someone who used to play Tarkov, the game's current predicament is pretty astounding to me, so I figured it might spark some good conversation here.
Escape from Tarkov is sold in increasingly expensive editions, with each edition providing more in-game perks than the last. These in-game perks were also accessible through game progression, but these extra bonuses were still clearly pay-to-win. It's a PvPvE game where all player progression is wiped every few months, so having a more expensive edition provides a major advantage over other players at the beginning of a wipe.
The most popular edition of the game was also the most expensive: the $140 "Edge of Darkness" edition. Tarkov is technically still in Early Access, and EoD was a way for players to support the game, since it included all future content. Well, yesterday the developers performed an extremely blatant bait-and-switch by introducing a new $250 "Unheard" edition. Unheard has a cooperative PvE gamemode locked behind it, as well as unique gear and advantages that other players will never be able to attain through regular game progression.
The Unheard edition is not the only major scandal with this game either. A year ago, a YouTuber named g0at revealed just how widespread cheating was in Tarkov in this video. g0at purchased wall-hacks, and in 60% of his matches, he was able to confirm that at least one other cheater could see him through a wall. This revelation killed many players' interest in the game, including mine.
I haven't played Tarkov for years, and I only ever purchased the lowest-tier "Standard" edition. I really enjoy extraction shooters, and I believe they will be very popular in the future, but it's been surreal watching Tarkov deteriorate.
-
‘Escape From Tarkov’ fans are outraged at new $250 pay-to-win edition
49 votes -
Comment on Better Living Through Algorithms by Naomi Kritzer in ~books
crashb LinkAn excellent and emotional read, thank you for posting! These themes really resonate with me, so I’ve written a few thoughts: Thoughts (spoilers) At first, the characters assumed the worst about...An excellent and emotional read, thank you for posting! These themes really resonate with me, so I’ve written a few thoughts:
Thoughts (spoilers)
At first, the characters assumed the worst about the app, and I shared that suspicion. The reveal that the app was truly benevolent, with no ulterior motives, was genuinely shocking.
This quote stood out:
“…people are always impressed when science tells them something that we already knew.”
It would be deeply affirming (if not “impressive”) to be told, by an impartial algorithm, that it can be good to follow your heart.
Linnea was ultimately responsible for the positive changes in her life. She just needed some gentle encouragement to overcome her mental barriers and bad habits that had calcified with time.
Linnea’s able to commit to her new lifestyle even without Abelique. Her continued commitment suggests that even though the real world has no magic apps, a better life is still possible once those mental barriers are surpassed.
-
Comment on What's your favorite TTRPG system that isn't DnD or Pathfinder/Starfinder? in ~games.tabletop
crashb LinkDelta Green is my favorite system right now, and I'd recommend it to anybody who is interested in the narrative possibilities of tabletop games. I stumbled upon Delta Green last year while looking...Delta Green is my favorite system right now, and I'd recommend it to anybody who is interested in the narrative possibilities of tabletop games. I stumbled upon Delta Green last year while looking for a system to run a campaign in the SCP universe, but I ended up ditching that idea in favor of simply running Delta Green modules.
Delta Green is set in the modern era. Incomprehensible horrors lurk just beyond the veil of this reality and threaten to wreak havoc on humanity. Players are expendable "Agents" who, for their own reasons, have each taken on the thankless responsibility of neutralizing and concealing unnatural incursions. The Agents are assigned to these operations by a shadowy conspiracy.
Each Delta Green module is typically one such operation. These modules are very evocatively written; NPC characters are fleshed out, and the scenarios themselves are compelling variations on the ever-present theme of cosmic horror. I also really like the faux-"dossier" aesthetic used by the Delta Green books - overall, the presentation punches way above its weight class and is on par with D&D.
Each Agent has a Sanity score, which inevitably erodes as they are exposed to the unnatural. To preserve their Sanity, Agents have to make interesting choices that also have narrative consequences. For instance, instead of losing Sanity points, an Agent can project that damage onto a close relationship, harming that relationship but preserving their own Sanity.
Need To Know (Delta Green's equivalent to D&D's Starter Kit) is freely available here and includes a short module, "Last Things Last," which is generally viewed as the best possible introduction to the game. For an actual play of Delta Green, I'd recommend Get In The Trunk.
I've played Blue Prince extensively over the last few weeks and I have never felt more conflicted about any other game. The game is divided into two halves; I really like one half (the inventive puzzles!) and really dislike the other (the dull resource management).
On the RNG: Early on, the resource management/drafting game feels bad because you have so few tools to "stack the deck" in your favor. Later on, you have some upgrades, but even those are inconsistent. These late-game unlocks should be deterministic: for instance, once I've proven that I can consistently bust the resource management part of this game wide open, just let me draft Coat Check whenever I want.
On the puzzles: For the most part, extremely fun and inventive. There were a couple stinkers that did sour my enjoyment of the "puzzle" half of this game a bit.
The puzzles that I found frustrating
Breaking the vases in the entrance hall with the hammer; not something I would ever have thought to do, even with the little sketch of the hammer from the final Mail Room letter.
Waiting around in the clock tower for the "sacred hour;" puzzles where the answer is "wait" are just bad. Also, I didn't like that this puzzle relied on "external" information from the room directory. It felt weird given that one of the puzzles in this game is figuring out what day it is; why does Simon know about "the sacred hour" but not the current date?
On the interaction between puzzles and RNG: It's unsatisfying to solve a puzzle in your head, but then be unable to try out your solution due to bad RNG, regardless of whether there are other leads to follow in the meantime. I ran into this frustration many times pre-Room 46, but after establishing the next "main" goal, I felt like clues could be anywhere, and I was excited to see every new room again! This period was the peak of my enjoyment with the game. Then, as leads and clues dried up, the game felt more and more tedious, helped in no way by the UI.
On the UI: it's bad. You have to sit through the same slow animations every time you draft a new room, pick up an item, interact with a computer, pull a lever, and so on. Since the player does these actions many, many times across dozens of hours, the game should have felt a bit more responsive. I also had an unfortunate UI-related incident that wasted hours of my time...
Why I wasted hours (late-game spoilers)
Okay, so if you've reached the Laboratory you know about the "experiments," where you mix and match 3 "triggers" and "effects". One of the effects is "receive a new letter in the Mail Room." There are only a fixed number of letters, but the UI still tells you you're getting a new letter even when you have all the letters.
Later on, you unlock a new set of triggers and effects for the experiments. One of the new effects is "remove a crate from the tunnel" (referring to the tunnel outside the manor that is clogged with crates). I took this effect every time it came up as I was doing other stuff. Over the course of my runs, I'd periodically go back down to the tunnel to check on it, but I couldn't see any change to the crates. I figured, "Hm, the UI is telling me that a crate is being removed, so it must be getting removed from the far side, where I can't see it. Maybe I'll get there eventually."
As I was running out of other stuff to do, I started min-maxing for crate removal. I'd get the Blessing of the Monk, draft the Laboratory in the Outer Room, and restart the game until I was offered "remove a crate" as a trigger for my experiment. I did this for hours, eventually removing a total of 91 crates, with the game diligently telling me I was making progress each time. Still, every time I checked on the tunnel, there was no change. I looked up guides to find out "how many crates are in the tunnel?" but the guides just say "there are a lot, keep going and you'll get there eventually."
Finally, I was like "Well, okay. There are these really big, obvious unlit torches in the tunnel. I know you can light candles in this game... it makes no sense but maybe I should try to light these torches." I lit the torches and all the crates instantly disappeared; no cutscene, no hidden mechanism, just deleted from existence. The torches were a prerequisite for "removing" the crates, but the UI was unambiguously telling me "A CRATE HAS BEEN REMOVED FROM THE TUNNEL," gaslighting me the entire time. This moment killed the game for me.
I do have to give Blue Prince props for being inventive and ambitious. If you enjoyed Blue Prince, I'd recommend giving Lorelei and the Laser Eyes a shot; the puzzles in Lorelei are a bit more formulaic, but (possibly as a direct consequence) the experience is much less frustrating.