deathinactthree's recent activity

  1. Comment on Defunct studios discussion - Who remembers Black & White? in ~games

    deathinactthree
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    I don't think it could be called a "hit", but Defiant shut down in 2019 and I thought they showed real promise with their Hand of Fate series. Defiant was an indie studio based in Australia that...

    I don't think it could be called a "hit", but Defiant shut down in 2019 and I thought they showed real promise with their Hand of Fate series. Defiant was an indie studio based in Australia that mostly did mobile games and HoF was their first attempt at a full-fledged PC/console title.

    Hand of Fate is a pretty innovative blend of a tabletop game, ARPG, and an unconventional deckbuilder where your cards aren't for powers, you instead use them to build the level you're on and define encounters. Also has one of the best narrators of all time in the character of The Dealer, an immortal being you are playing this game against for your soul, a la the chess game with Death in The Seventh Seal. The voice actor of the Dealer is fantastic as he comments on everything you're doing in the game, sometimes sympathetic, sometimes gloating and cruel, and never seems to run out of things to say.

    The games are still available via Steam/GOG but they may get pulled at some point, hopefully not. I recommend them to anyone who'll listen.

    1 vote

  2. Comment on An announcement regarding Kris Nóva in ~comp

    deathinactthree
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    Oh wow, I had no idea, that's awful news. Like @0xSim, I also joined Hachyderm largely based on Nova's laid-out vision for the instance, and technology more broadly. Hope everyone close to Nova is...

    Oh wow, I had no idea, that's awful news. Like @0xSim, I also joined Hachyderm largely based on Nova's laid-out vision for the instance, and technology more broadly. Hope everyone close to Nova is doing okay.

    3 votes

  3. Comment on Windows 11 has made the “clean Windows install” an oxymoron in ~tech

    deathinactthree
    Link Parent
    I'm going to be the second of those people. :) There are actually a number of things I genuinely like about W11 over and above previous versions of Windows, but between undoing what limited...

    I'm going to be the second of those people. :) There are actually a number of things I genuinely like about W11 over and above previous versions of Windows, but between undoing what limited customizations/debloating I can do with every update like you said, and a surprising amount of stuff that just doesn't work (or has major issues) on what's pretty standard hardware, I recently as of two months ago switched to Linux as my daily driver. Which I've never done. I've been a casual Linux hobbyist for a decade but never took the plunge until now, and it's entirely due to the issues this thread is about.

    As @first-must-burn said, this wouldn't work if I needed to do anything in Office365 that can't be handled in the web versions (although worth noting that OnlyOffice is built with Office XML and can get you pretty far). Fortunately earlier this year I moved most of the client data work I used to need O365 native for to Google Suite and can use the PWAs for Outlook and Teams which work just fine. I admit I'm lucky here--even a year ago Office compatibility would've been too much of a blocker.

    I'm using Zorin OS with GNOME Shell which has been shockingly smooth so far. No major issues at all and the minor issues have all been easy fixes. All my hardware works, almost all of my games work, and it's been perceptibly faster than W11 on the same hardware. I'm pretty happy.

    8 votes

  4. Comment on How often do cook/order out/ eat pre-made food/ throw together food in ~food

    deathinactthree
    Link
    Under normal circumstances, for any given 10 meals, I'll cook 7 of them, eat out for 2, and throw something together for 1. I don't really eat anything premade, such as cans of soup or microwave...

    Under normal circumstances, for any given 10 meals, I'll cook 7 of them, eat out for 2, and throw something together for 1. I don't really eat anything premade, such as cans of soup or microwave dinners--it's a general (not hyper-strict) guideline I have to "never eat something that comes in a box", because the nutrition is usually terrible and I can often make whatever it is pretty easily anyway, in an at-least-slightly-healthier version.

    That's changed in the last few months because circumstances at my job that don't bear a dry retelling here have me eating takeout for nearly every meal lately. I really don't like that I'm doing that, but I'm working so many hours that I don't have much time to shop or cook like I normally do. Hopefully I can get back to normal soon.

  5. Comment on I passed my Yellow belt today in Taekwondo in ~sports.combat

    deathinactthree
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    Congrats man. As a fellow Old (I'm 45), I'm competing in my first martial arts tournament ever next Saturday. I don't feel ready for it at all, as I've trained martial arts off and on for a long...

    Congrats man. As a fellow Old (I'm 45), I'm competing in my first martial arts tournament ever next Saturday. I don't feel ready for it at all, as I've trained martial arts off and on for a long time but the style I'm competing in--Shuai Jiao--is still very new to me, having only properly trained it since late January. Still white belt. I fully expect to get rinsed but it's a bucket list thing for me. I'm okay with it.

    I'm not OP, but to answer @monarda as someone who's the same age-ish as OP, yeah, there are definitely physical hurdles. If this makes sense, you can truly do most of the stuff you used to do when you were 25 from a technique level but the stamina and recovery piece of it both fall off. Not to zero, it's just harder. Also easier to get injured, or to be more specific, there are things you can't "walk off" as easily. But it's still fun, I still get a lot out of it, it helps my mental health more than I'd like to admit, and it's still worth doing.

    6 votes

  6. Comment on <deleted topic> in ~tildes

    deathinactthree
    Link Parent
    This has been both the hardest adjustment for me to make, and the one I appreciate the most. I first became aware of Tildes a couple of years ago, and my initial reaction was "no thanks, it's not...

    Constantly wanting more content even if I've already had a satisfying amount.

    This has been both the hardest adjustment for me to make, and the one I appreciate the most. I first became aware of Tildes a couple of years ago, and my initial reaction was "no thanks, it's not active enough." I only joined just ahead of the Reddit API fiasco, but I was honestly eager for a change anyway by that point.

    But I was judging "active enough" by the standards of Reddit and Twitter, which at the time were my main (sole, rather) sources of consuming the Internet. Basically endless content, and definitely quantity over quality. Same thing many of us came here to get away from, but at the time I wasn't ready--I felt like stepping away from the firehose for any amount of time meant I was "gonna miss something important".

    Tildes is plenty active if you compare it to poking around the Internet between, say, 2003-2007--that is, post-mainstream adoption of the web, pre-launch of the iPhone, which I'd argue put us where we are now. It's fine to read and participate with some forum content or what have you and say "that's enough". It's alright to go outside at some point. You're not really going to miss anything.

    It's only been a short time but I find "smaller" communities like Tildes and Bluesky preferable...hell, almost nostalgic. I still technically have my Reddit and Twitter accounts active but I barely use them at all now and will likely delete soon.

    14 votes

  7. Comment on On "bullshit" jobs - New data supports the idea that some jobs are "so completely pointless, unnecessary, or pernicious that even the employee cannot justify its existence" in ~life

    deathinactthree
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    Without agreeing or disagreeing with the study, I can't help but consider that the methodology may be off. The data is based on self-reporting of workers and how they perceive their own work. In...
    • Exemplary

    Without agreeing or disagreeing with the study, I can't help but consider that the methodology may be off. The data is based on self-reporting of workers and how they perceive their own work. In gauging actual usefulness, wouldn't it be more relevant to ask whether the recipients of that work consider it useful or not?

    The abstract mentions how "feelings of alienation" may skew the data, which I think is a valid concern, but still sticks to analyzing the self-reporting. People generally measure their view of a job, and their motivation to do it, via "autonomy, competence, and relatedness", which would affect how they perceive it and by extension report their feelings of it. This is a fine thing to study, but in gauging the usefulness of an occupation, is entirely focused on the self. And thus, arguably, if we're looping in factors of alienation, it's kind of like looking at that value in a vacuum.

    To talk about the social or objective value of work, it seems like it would be more productive to poll the people who are on the receiving end of that work, who depend on or engage with the results of it. What is perceived as useless to the producer of that work ("hey, we're not exactly saving lives out here!") might be seen as valuable--or at least, not useless--to the end user that the work is for. Otherwise it's a bit like asking the chef if the meal was good, and not the diner who ate it.

    12 votes

  8. Comment on What is your favourite cutscene/cinematic in any game? in ~games

    deathinactthree
    Link
    To this day, still probably the opening intro from Descent: Freespace. The raw fear in the pilot's voice (seriously, terrific voice acting, really sells it) really sets up how bad the situation is...

    To this day, still probably the opening intro from Descent: Freespace. The raw fear in the pilot's voice (seriously, terrific voice acting, really sells it) really sets up how bad the situation is that you're about to fly into.

    "Sir, we're sending a recovery craft--"

    "NO! SEND FIGHTERS! I know they're following me, SEND EVERYTHING YOU HAVE NOW!"

    12 votes

  9. Comment on Lets talk roguelikes! in ~games

    deathinactthree
    Link Parent
    Alina of the Arena was the surprise hit for me this year. I bought it as part of a Steam bundle with several other deckbuilding strategy games including Tainted Grail, which was the game I really...

    Alina of the Arena was the surprise hit for me this year. I bought it as part of a Steam bundle with several other deckbuilding strategy games including Tainted Grail, which was the game I really bought the bundle for. I liked Tainted Grail but not enough to finish it, and Alina ended up being the one I played the most and liked the best. Just really tight mechanics and challenge ramp, with nice touches in the presentation--simple but creative pixel graphics, surprisingly good sound design for a game that's only 200MB. Huge amount of fun for the price and the install size.

    Fans of dice-based roguelites like Dicey Dungeons should also check out Slice & Dice, a fantasy RPG where you have a party of different classes and roll dice to power up their spells. It's a simple but charming small indie game with a fun gameplay loop with tons of replayability and things to unlock.

    1 vote

  10. Comment on Lets talk roguelikes! in ~games

    deathinactthree
    (edited )
    Link Parent
    This is a good callout and as a lover of roguelikes I'm in the same boat. I like metaprogression generally, but something that makes a great roguelike for me is having a game that you could--in...

    This is a good callout and as a lover of roguelikes I'm in the same boat. I like metaprogression generally, but something that makes a great roguelike for me is having a game that you could--in theory--beat in a single run. Like, you probably won't, but you could, if you are both very skilled and very lucky. The meta is what helps you get closer to the goal over time, but shouldn't be the goal itself in the sense that it's absolutely required to get anywhere in the game.

    Otherwise it's exactly what you said: artificial walls that force grinding the same not-very-many levels just to extend the game's playable time, without actually adding anything to the experience. This is exactly why I fell off of Hades, even though I think it's a very well-made game. (For contrast, my wife loved it, put probably 1500 hours into it, and platted it, and she doesn't even like roguelikes, so YMMV.)

    3 votes

  11. Comment on Lackadaisy (Pilot episode) in ~tv

    deathinactthree
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    Oh snapple, I'd heard they were making a show but didn't realize they already dropped a pilot. I should pick the comic back up, I didn't get a chance to finish it but I really enjoyed it.

    Oh snapple, I'd heard they were making a show but didn't realize they already dropped a pilot. I should pick the comic back up, I didn't get a chance to finish it but I really enjoyed it.

    3 votes

  12. Comment on Nostalgia -- what programs do you miss? in ~tech

    deathinactthree
    Link Parent
    Totally. Started with LiteStep on Win98 and absolutely loved it, then when I got out of college and starting working at Amazon I used bb4win on the XP machine they gave me. (I still loved LiteStep...

    Totally. Started with LiteStep on Win98 and absolutely loved it, then when I got out of college and starting working at Amazon I used bb4win on the XP machine they gave me. (I still loved LiteStep but it could be occasionally hinky, and I just needed a DE that was minimal and worked and stayed out of my way, which is like BlackBox's whole deal.)

    1 vote

  13. Comment on Nostalgia -- what programs do you miss? in ~tech

    deathinactthree
    Link Parent
    The purchases are for upgrading to the Pro version, which lets you edit/export 4k video and lets you use their library of "premium" stock images and clips. There's no real reason to buy it because...

    The purchases are for upgrading to the Pro version, which lets you edit/export 4k video and lets you use their library of "premium" stock images and clips. There's no real reason to buy it because if you need the Pro features often enough to buy the subscription then you're probably already using something else.

    The basic free version though is completely fine for quickly trimming/slicing clips and making simple edits, you're just limited to 1080p.

    2 votes

  14. Comment on What would you like to see in your dream food blog? in ~food

    deathinactthree
    Link
    I'm going to go a bit against the grain here and say I actually like editorializing and story-telling in this kind of content if--and only if--what you're saying is relevant, entertaining, and...

    I'm going to go a bit against the grain here and say I actually like editorializing and story-telling in this kind of content if--and only if--what you're saying is relevant, entertaining, and sincere, and not just SEO management. Bourdain was great at this, as were a few others. But I would put it after the recipe, not before.

    I also very much enjoy the science behind food, like Kenji gets into. My dream food blog would have deep dives into both, with a heavy dash of history where it makes sense, but I know it's a tall order. I couldn't do it myself, and wish I could. My dream in this context is that I would rather have 3000 words that gets into the science and history behind a dish, with some personal anecdotes and opinion writing once a month vs. 3 posts per week of "five basic ways to spice up your instant ramen". At its best, Saveur Magazine was pretty good at this, if you want a comparison.

    RE: the recipes themselves, I bias towards things that are relatively simple and easy to make with groceries you can find locally. But I think it's totally fine FTR to have occasional posts with "fun" or more obscure recipes that take $50 worth of groceries that's not for everyday, just to change it up a bit and explore a menu.

    2 votes

  15. Comment on How does everyone feel about immersive simulation games? Anyone have any sim recommendations that aren't Arkane? in ~games

    deathinactthree
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    If you haven't already, I would strongly recommend going back to the original inspirations for the kind of game you're talking about: System Shock 2 and the Thief: The Dark Project series. Both...

    If you haven't already, I would strongly recommend going back to the original inspirations for the kind of game you're talking about: System Shock 2 and the Thief: The Dark Project series. Both can be picked up for a song on GOG.com.

    Fair warning that the graphics of Dark Engine games don't hold up--honestly they looked pretty goofy even at the time--but the gameplay and immersion totally do, and it really is worth going through all of them. I rate SS2 and T:TDP among the best games of all time and replay them regularly even now. Great stories, great gameplay, extremely immersive in the sense that you mean. Thief in particular is the kind of game where if you've never played it before, your first reaction will be "eh, this kinda looks like crap" and an hour later you'll be crouching and sweating behind a crate in a dark cellar too afraid to move. And SS2 is something I think everyone who games should experience once--even with all the games it directly inspired that came after it, it really is its own beast and still hits just as hard today IMO.

    5 votes

  16. Comment on RPG Maker and learning game design in ~games

    deathinactthree
    Link Parent
    Very cool! I was recently looking into both RPGM and Godot to see if I could make a small video game out of the tabletop tactical dice game I designed last year (it's very basic, I don't think...

    Very cool! I was recently looking into both RPGM and Godot to see if I could make a small video game out of the tabletop tactical dice game I designed last year (it's very basic, I don't think making a video game out of it would be a huge undertaking). But I was a little intimidated by the coding aspect of Godot, as I'm in the same boat as you--HTML/CSS and an extremely rudimentary level of Python, no real development experience. Encouraging to see that it might be enough to pick up GDscript and not feel like I'm starting completely from scratch, as I really like the open-source and platform-agnostic nature of Godot. And I don't think RPGM would work for this style of game anyway.

    1 vote

  17. Comment on Fitness Weekly Discussion in ~health

    deathinactthree
    Link Parent
    Thanks. Yeah, have definitely learned the hard way over the years how much cardio covers a lot of sins of technique. I'm middle-aged now--I'm kind of seeing this tournament as my last hurrah--and...

    Thanks. Yeah, have definitely learned the hard way over the years how much cardio covers a lot of sins of technique.

    I'm middle-aged now--I'm kind of seeing this tournament as my last hurrah--and although I've trained martial arts for a long time I haven't actually needed to cut weight for anything since I wrestled in high school (which I hated). I'd prefer to avoid a hydrocut if possible but will do it if I have to. You're definitely right though, since starting this cut I've been cranky as hell and I have to watch my general attitude, ha ha.

    1 vote

  18. Comment on Fitness Weekly Discussion in ~health

    deathinactthree
    Link
    I normally go to the gym 2-3x per week and do martial arts 2x per week. The MA is what I do for cardio, but I'm competing in a tournament in August and I'm learning through recent sparring...

    I normally go to the gym 2-3x per week and do martial arts 2x per week. The MA is what I do for cardio, but I'm competing in a tournament in August and I'm learning through recent sparring practice sections that I don't have nearly enough good cardio for the upcoming round times. I also need to lose 5 or so pounds in order to make the weight class I'm competing in.

    So I've just started adding jumping rope to my gym days, which I don't enjoy and am not great at, but figure it's the best way to get the most cardio in the least amount of time. I'm still not sure if I should be doing that extra cardio every day or every other day, particularly in light of the other 5 or so workouts per week, but I suppose I'll figure it out. Advice on any of that is welcome.

    I'm also doing a caloric deficit mostly relying on Huel's Hot and Savory instant meals as the macros are great for the limited calories, but while some of the flavors are pretty good, several aren't and it's sometimes a drag to chew through. Trying to weave in other foods that break that up without blowing my calorie or macro goals.

    Overall kinda struggling right now but I think it's more just ramping up to/getting used to the changes.

    3 votes

  19. Comment on I'm from the Reddit exodus. I'm really liking it here. What should I know? in ~tildes

    deathinactthree
    Link Parent
    That's a good point. I first joined Tildes about a week ago and at first that kind of annoyed me from a UX perspective, but I appreciate it now for that reason. Also agree with TescoLarger that...

    That's a good point. I first joined Tildes about a week ago and at first that kind of annoyed me from a UX perspective, but I appreciate it now for that reason.

    Also agree with TescoLarger that it's been a pleasant experience to see fewer comments, but of much higher quality, to the point that I haven't commented much since joining under the rubric of "does this actually contribute to the discussion? Does it actually add anything worth noting? If so, did someone else already say it?"

    15 votes

  20. Comment on What is "that part" for you in any game? in ~games

    deathinactthree
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    I think it's got to be the Shrine of Amana in DS2. I've replayed DS2 many, many times and there's a number of tough/annoying sections in that game but that's the one that makes me groan audibly...

    I think it's got to be the Shrine of Amana in DS2. I've replayed DS2 many, many times and there's a number of tough/annoying sections in that game but that's the one that makes me groan audibly whenever I know it's time to do it. The Demon of Song is a pretty easy fight--the level itself is the true boss. Particularly the painful slog of that last stretch to the boss room.