granfdad's recent activity
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Comment on WipEout 3: Special Edition at 100 FPS in ~games
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Comment on What are the genuinely worst films of all time? in ~movies
granfdad Link ParentI'm glad you saw it of your own accord because... Spoilers... and more complaining. I thought it was a huge copout to not have the aliens actually say something at the end of the movie. Especially...I'm glad you saw it of your own accord because...
Spoilers... and more complaining.
I thought it was a huge copout to not have the aliens actually say something at the end of the movie. Especially given that the "getting the news out on all TV stations at the same time, which will make everyone believe it" is... impossible. Both because that's not how TV stations work, and because people are absolutely not going to trust that kind of information.
The scene in the global newsroom (???) at the end where someone says, "is this AI?", then someone else presses the detect AI button and replies "no, these are source pixels!" nearly made me laugh out loud in the theatre. I suspect this movie would have been much better if it was set in the 80s or 90s, when most people watched free-to-air TV and video manipulation was less common.
There was a lot of build up with the religious subplot and the alien-power-stone-things (I absolutely loved the set-up at the very start where the main guy is able to walk free from abduction just becuase he has the stone in his hand. Having the heavily armed bad guys immediately concede was a great way to show off its potential power), that I was astounded when... none of it was actually explained, especially in a move that was about "finally learning the truth about the aliens". I think the main reason I dislike it so much was that I could see the potential at the start. It feels like Speilberg wanted to make three different alien movies, spent the whole runtime setting up the plot threads for them, then ran out of time and money before any of them could be resolved.
However, I applaud the confidence required to make the aliens just straight-up scifi greyliens.
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Comment on What are the genuinely worst films of all time? in ~movies
granfdad Link ParentI have no affinity for the Jurassic Park movies so I never got any of the fanservice elements. I was also watching at home, so I may have been in the worst possible viewing context for the movie.I have no affinity for the Jurassic Park movies so I never got any of the fanservice elements. I was also watching at home, so I may have been in the worst possible viewing context for the movie.
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Comment on What are the genuinely worst films of all time? in ~movies
granfdad LinkThe only two movies that I have seen and consciously thought "this is very, very bad" while watching are Jurassic World and Disclosure Day. Jurassic World is... I don't even know, it left my brain...The only two movies that I have seen and consciously thought "this is very, very bad" while watching are Jurassic World and Disclosure Day.
Jurassic World is... I don't even know, it left my brain as I was watching it. The most boring, surface level movie I have seen.
I could write a whole essay on why Disclosure Day is terrible. I'd almost suggest that you watch it just so that you can undestand just how bad it is, but it's so bad that I would be doing you a disservice to ernestly reccomend that. The short version is that you learn the 'secret' of the movie about 40 minutes in, and then the big reveal at the end is just that same information again. Bad bad bad movie.
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Comment on Steam Frame product page is now live in ~games
granfdad LinkWhat? Why? They're selling it for AU$49... just bundle it with the headset! I guess they think they're only going to hit people who already bought the steam deck, and already have that exact...Note: Power Supply not included
What? Why? They're selling it for AU$49... just bundle it with the headset!
I guess they think they're only going to hit people who already bought the steam deck, and already have that exact object? I can't imagine the fifty bucks is going to make any noteable dent in savings/profit. -
Comment on Apple announces iPhone Duo, its first foldable iPhone in ~tech
granfdad Link ParentDo people actually still do this? I feel as though I see vastly more Apple hate than Apple fanboyism nowadays.Do people actually still do this? I feel as though I see vastly more Apple hate than Apple fanboyism nowadays.
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Comment on Apple announces iPhone Duo, its first foldable iPhone in ~tech
granfdad LinkWhat an odd form factor. It seems wider than most phones (even other foldables), but maybe it's just shorter? I can see the value of a folding phone much more than I can see the value of an iPad....What an odd form factor. It seems wider than most phones (even other foldables), but maybe it's just shorter?
I can see the value of a folding phone much more than I can see the value of an iPad. This plus a macbook seems like it would cover most people's non-artistic needs... provided Apple doesn't kneecap iOS's dual-screen functionality in order to maintain the value proposition of the iPad. Not the greatest first impressions of the sidebar UX, but maybe it will work.
I had heard things about this phone having a 'nearly invisible crease' (paraphrasing), but I don't believe it. Will wait for the JerryRigEverything teardown to make any real judgements. It also makes sense that this would come after the iPhone Air, since thickness seems to be the major hurdle for these things.
And as always, the value of new phones always kinda comes down to 'look at these new camera features!'. I wonder if there's any other frontiers for the industry to target? Obviously the other one I can think of is bring back the headphone jack with a super nice DAC, but I can't see a market for that like I can for a good camera.
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Comment on Has anyone tried making their own font? in ~design
granfdad Linki am currently studying type design at uni! step one is to figure out why you need to design a brand new typeface for this project. the obvious answer is 'because i want to!' and if that's the...- Exemplary
i am currently studying type design at uni!
step one is to figure out why you need to design a brand new typeface for this project. the obvious answer is 'because i want to!' and if that's the case then fair enough, but if that's not the answer then I'd suggest looking for something that's already been designed because it's a deceptively complicated process.
also think about who it's for. if this is a 'little kids book', are they the ones reading it? are their parents reading it to them? a book that's mostly text, written for a child to read is going to demand a very different typographic treatment (clear forms, large text, comfortable spacing, etc) than a picture book being read by a parent (who might reading at an odd angle to show off the pictures to a child in front of them). basically, come up with a pitch for the typeface, that will give you a better idea for what kind of styles to base it on.
i'd also reccomend looking at other children's books. hell, you could trace over the typography in some exemplary works and use that as a jumping off point. don't feel bad about 'copying' someone else, type designers do this all the time.
you need to be spelling words and sentences out as you design. A set of glyphs may look good in a-z order, but if actual word shapes aren't landing then there's no point.
one huge thing: a good type designer should also be a good typographer. take some time to learn the basics of typesetting, so you know what makes typography pleasant to read and can design with that in mind. the elements of typographic style is a great manual for this, but it's pretty dense.
some other notes:
- if you're hand drawing, consider using grid paper and doing each glyph big, like 60pt or larger.
- type design is also, like, 80% kerning. if youre digitising, try repeating groups of one or two letters a bunch of times in different orders to see how they all fit togther.
- i personally use glyphs, but it's mac only and a bit of an expensive endeavour if you're just making the one. try to find software specifically for type design, since it will give you much more control over the outcome.
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Comment on Epic Games Store will support Linux "soon" in ~games
granfdad LinkArticle is misquoting, the word soon is actually soon™, which doesn't actually mean anything and kinda nullifies any newsworthyness that this statement might have otherwise posessed.Article is misquoting, the word soon is actually soon™, which doesn't actually mean anything and kinda nullifies any newsworthyness that this statement might have otherwise posessed.
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Comment on Obsidian Entertainment reportedly lays off a quarter of staff, cancels multiple projects, and begins work on new Fallout game in ~games
granfdad Link ParentLOLed at this, I must admit I only picked North Dakota because it was the first one I saw when I looked up "northern US states". I guess New York fits the bill kinda, but I don't immediately...I can safely say there are no notable landmarks that the general population would recognize.
LOLed at this, I must admit I only picked North Dakota because it was the first one I saw when I looked up "northern US states". I guess New York fits the bill kinda, but I don't immediately associate that with 'cold'.
Fuck it, what about Fallout: Quebec? The states have had enough games.
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Comment on Obsidian Entertainment reportedly lays off a quarter of staff, cancels multiple projects, and begins work on new Fallout game in ~games
granfdad Link ParentWell, the engine used for Starfield is more or less the same enigine used since Morrowind. Also, like people are saying, it could be a CRPG or something else entirely?Well, the engine used for Starfield is more or less the same enigine used since Morrowind. Also, like people are saying, it could be a CRPG or something else entirely?
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Comment on Obsidian Entertainment reportedly lays off a quarter of staff, cancels multiple projects, and begins work on new Fallout game in ~games
granfdad LinkThis is a pretty big surprise, I was under the assumption that: A: Bethesda wasn't interested in giving up control of their IP anymore B: Obsidian wasn't interested in working on another Fallout...This is a pretty big surprise, I was under the assumption that:
A: Bethesda wasn't interested in giving up control of their IP anymore
B: Obsidian wasn't interested in working on another FalloutObviously, none of this matters if big daddy Microsoft tells you to play nice. I'm curious about what kind of game this is going to be, since it seems like the general consensus is that newer obsidian games have a faint undertone of "fuck bethesda, we can do what they do, but better!". I wonder how that translates into something that's actually licensed.
As far as speculation goes, I'm not the biggest Fallout fan, but I'd like to see something set in a colder area. My limited understanding on US geography has me thinking somwhere like... North Dakota? Alaska would be crazy, but cool.
And of course, despite everything, we still have no word on any potential third-party TES: Adventures reboots :(
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Comment on Obsidian Entertainment reportedly lays off a quarter of staff, cancels multiple projects, and begins work on new Fallout game in ~games
granfdad Linkarchived link are we still doing this after all the archive.today controversy? [...]archived link
are we still doing this after all the archive.today controversy?Obsidian Entertainment, a subsidiary of Microsoft Corp.’s Xbox, has canceled multiple projects and will begin working on a new game in the popular Fallout franchise as part of the division’s broader restructuring, according to people familiar with the matter.
The video-game studio, based in Irvine, California, also laid off around a quarter of its workforce, said the people, who asked not to be identified because they were not authorized to speak to the press.
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Under the new plan, studio design director Josh Sawyer will lead a new title in the Fallout universe — a series of roleplaying games that take place in an alternate history in which the US has been ravaged by nuclear war. The emerging strategy is still in flux, the people said, and could still change.
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Obsidian Entertainment reportedly lays off a quarter of staff, cancels multiple projects, and begins work on new Fallout game
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Comment on Bethesda, id Software reportedly hit hard by Microsoft layoffs in ~games
granfdad LinkIt's insane watching the industry collapse in real time, feels like things are really falling apart everywhere. Hey, at least everything is digital this time, so there's nothing for these studios...It's insane watching the industry collapse in real time, feels like things are really falling apart everywhere.
Hey, at least everything is digital this time, so there's nothing for these studios to bury in New Mexico. -
Comment on Dbrand has cancelled their "Companion Cube" Steam Machine case, because they didn't ask Valve for permission in ~games
granfdad (edited )Link(Should this be in ~tech? I do not know) I am just... baffled... by how frequently Dbrand makes these insane, catastrophic mistakes. It's astounding that they're still in business. Maybe someone...(Should this be in ~tech? I do not know)
The blunt version is that we made the Companion Cube without a license from Valve. Everyone who purchased a Companion Cube will have their refund issued by end-of-day. Everything else beyond this is just detail. If you want the full story, keep reading.
On November 12th 2025, the day the Steam Machine was announced, we put up a concept render and sign-up page to see if anyone would be interested in a Companion Cube enclosure. It went moderately viral, with over fifteen thousand people signing up to be notified in the first day. In the months that followed, we built the idea into something real without ever asking Valve if we could.
[...]
We launched around 3am on Monday, June 22nd. Overnight, it became the second-fastest selling product in our 15-year history, behind only the Switch 2 Killswitch.
Shortly after, Valve’s legal team reached out. They stated that the Companion Cube is Valve intellectual property, for which dbrand does not have a license. They requested we take down the product and launch film immediately. This was entirely within their rights, and they were direct, fair, and respectful throughout.
We took everything down and made an appeal. We asked Valve whether there was any way to keep the project alive: properly licensed, with their blessing, on their terms. They said no. Given our backwards approach of building first and asking permission later, it was a fair answer.
I am just... baffled... by how frequently Dbrand makes these insane, catastrophic mistakes. It's astounding that they're still in business.
Maybe someone with product development experience could shed some light... how the hell does this even happen? I would assume that getting permission from Valve is the first thing you ask for after consumers show even a tiny bit of excitement for the concept.
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Dbrand has cancelled their "Companion Cube" Steam Machine case, because they didn't ask Valve for permission
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Comment on Modern, abstract art makes me angry in ~arts
granfdad Link ParentI actually do agree with this statement, which is why I think that even the examples of modern art that are demonstrably "easy" (an example of this would be something like the work of Emmanuel...Effort involved does not make something "art". Period.
I actually do agree with this statement, which is why I think that even the examples of modern art that are demonstrably "easy" (an example of this would be something like the work of Emmanuel Beranger, who does a lot of work based on simple body movements) sit on equal footing as works that required decades of craftsmanship.
difficult to replicate from a restoration standpoint because there were no notes or records of what was used to make the color.
I find it hard to see this angle. I would argue that a skilled restorationist being unable to recreate the work that is infront of them is akin to a skilled musician being unable to replicate music that they're listening to. Even if it's an iterative/improvisational process (which is to say nothing about the skills that informed the decisions that rothko was making behind closed doors), I would imagine two musicians of similar skill would be able to copy one another.
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Comment on Modern, abstract art makes me angry in ~arts
granfdad Link ParentI don't know if I would go so far as to say that, only because he's pretty focused on how fascists dislike modern art, not how disliking modern art is fascist. My mistake was bringing up the video...I think Geller paints the association between disliking art and fascism too strongly;
I don't know if I would go so far as to say that, only because he's pretty focused on how fascists dislike modern art, not how disliking modern art is fascist. My mistake was bringing up the video in a discussion about modern art rather than one about fascism, and pointing the association in the wrong direction.
I want people to be open to connection with each other even over things they dislike...
Also an excellent point! The same thought was in my head, but I suspect it was drowned out by me trying to fight the lizard part of my brain going "this guy is wrong!!!!!!!!!!".
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Comment on Modern, abstract art makes me angry in ~arts
granfdad Link ParentThere's a nicer way to say it, for sure. However, I remain steadfast in my opinion that disregarding modern art wholesale displays a higher degree of elitism (which is how I chose to interperet...- Exemplary
This is needlessly uncharitable.
There's a nicer way to say it, for sure. However, I remain steadfast in my opinion that disregarding modern art wholesale displays a higher degree of elitism (which is how I chose to interperet "snobbism") than the modern art itself. The point was to call out what I would consider a hypocrysy, or at least a lack of self-awareness.
(while also accusing the OP of the Dunning-Kruger effect. I'm not sure what you were trying to accomplish with a cheap shot like that.)
You're mistaking my mention of the Dunning-Kruger effect for the common misconception. The Dunning-Kruger effect is not "dumb people are too confident" (which would be a cheap shot), it's "inexperienced people in a field tend to overestimate their ability in that field", which perfectly applies to OP calling modern art lazy compared to the "masters" (I did make the assumption that OP did not consider themselves an artist, but the OP has lumped themselves in with "laymen" in a different response so I think I was probably correct in that assessment). I linked the wikipedia page to prevent this exact source of confusion, the fourth sentence makes a distinction between the correct and incorrect use of the term.
Not for nothing, but one can interpret the video as associating criticism of modern art with Nazism, which is ridiculous.
I agree, it is ridiculous. I don't think that it's fascist to dislike modern art, and I was certainly not implying that OP is a fascist. The individual points that eventually result in Geller's contention of "the fascists want you to hate modern art" do a great job at refuting the standard rhetoric of "modern art is lazy/meaningless/deceitful/etc." regardless of that final angle.
Awesome. Currently playing (and loving) WipEout Pulse and HD Fury, but could never get into the old games on account of the draw distance. This is a pretty awesome hack!