kej's recent activity

  1. Comment on What are important historical books lost to time? in ~books

  2. Comment on What programming/technical projects have you been working on? in ~comp

    kej
    Link Parent
    As a software developer but not specifically a game developer, C++ is generally considered a more challenging language to learn, especially if it's your first, but that doesn't make it bad or...

    As a software developer but not specifically a game developer, C++ is generally considered a more challenging language to learn, especially if it's your first, but that doesn't make it bad or anything. Especially with AI agents that can answer "why doesn't this code work?" instantly, it's definitely possible to be successful on that path. Maybe the extent of my advice is that if you find yourself getting frustrated or not being able to get the tools to do what you want, try different tools before giving up on the project. Looking forward to the "Check out this game I made!" post in the future.

    1 vote

  3. Comment on What programming/technical projects have you been working on? in ~comp

    kej
    Link Parent
    Idle curiosity: why Unreal and C++? That seems a little like jumping into the deep end of game development. My understanding is that Unreal protects you from some of C++'s rough edges, but it...

    Idle curiosity: why Unreal and C++? That seems a little like jumping into the deep end of game development. My understanding is that Unreal protects you from some of C++'s rough edges, but it still seems like an uncommon choice for someone who doesn't already know C++ or have other game experience. (Not a bad choice, or anything, I'm just curious about how you came to it.)

    4 votes

  4. Comment on What programming/technical projects have you been working on? in ~comp

    kej
    Link Parent
    It's a little more expensive, but FYI tesseract.cat is available (as of a few minutes ago).

    It's a little more expensive, but FYI tesseract.cat is available (as of a few minutes ago).

    1 vote

  5. Comment on What games have you been playing, and what's your opinion on them? in ~games

    kej
    Link
    I'm a sucker for a good picross/nonogram game, and lately I have fallen into Voxelgram. I was skeptical of how well a nonogram would work in 3D, but the presentation and controls end up working...

    I'm a sucker for a good picross/nonogram game, and lately I have fallen into Voxelgram. I was skeptical of how well a nonogram would work in 3D, but the presentation and controls end up working really well (both mouse and Steam Deck).

    3 votes

  6. Comment on Elon Musk says SpaceX will prioritize a city on the moon instead of a colony on Mars in ~space

    kej
    Link Parent
    Those look good and weren't on my radar, thanks for the suggestion!

    Those look good and weren't on my radar, thanks for the suggestion!

    1 vote

  7. Comment on Elon Musk says SpaceX will prioritize a city on the moon instead of a colony on Mars in ~space

    kej
    Link
    Kind of related, but I'm part way through A City on Mars by Kelly and Zach Weinersmith and it makes a really interesting case that the tech enthusiasts are overlooking a bunch of very real...

    Kind of related, but I'm part way through A City on Mars by Kelly and Zach Weinersmith and it makes a really interesting case that the tech enthusiasts are overlooking a bunch of very real problems that still exist for any kind of long term space mission, let alone colonization.

    13 votes

  8. Comment on What are you reading these days? in ~books

    kej
    Link Parent
    I am on a mission to inform people that she revisited Earthsea and it hasn't been a trilogy for a while. There are two more novels and a collection of short stories waiting for you.

    I am on a mission to inform people that she revisited Earthsea and it hasn't been a trilogy for a while. There are two more novels and a collection of short stories waiting for you.

    2 votes

  9. Comment on What are you reading these days? in ~books

    kej
    Link Parent
    Supposedly Eco wrote Foucault's Pendulum as a reaction to critics who complained about there being too many obscure references in The Name of the Rose, and I agree that the obscure references get...

    Supposedly Eco wrote Foucault's Pendulum as a reaction to critics who complained about there being too many obscure references in The Name of the Rose, and I agree that the obscure references get in the way of what would otherwise be a really good story. His later Numero Zero did a much better job of linking together conspiracies without becoming overwhelming.

    4 votes

  10. Comment on What are you reading these days? in ~books

    kej
    Link Parent
    Just chiming in to say that the audio book of The Ministry of Time is great. It feels like someone telling a story instead of like someone reading a book.

    Just chiming in to say that the audio book of The Ministry of Time is great. It feels like someone telling a story instead of like someone reading a book.

    4 votes

  11. Comment on US President Donald Trump isn't building a ballroom in ~society

    kej
    Link Parent
    Sure, but let's just say I would have trusted Roosevelt and Truman with a secret underground bunker a lot more than I think we should trust Trump.

    Sure, but let's just say I would have trusted Roosevelt and Truman with a secret underground bunker a lot more than I think we should trust Trump.

    6 votes

  12. Comment on US President Donald Trump isn't building a ballroom in ~society

    kej
    Link Parent
    Putting it under the White House makes a ton of sense if you want it to be a secret project controlled exclusively by the president, with no oversight from Congress or involvement of military...

    Putting it under the White House makes a ton of sense if you want it to be a secret project controlled exclusively by the president, with no oversight from Congress or involvement of military officials who have quaint ideas like loyalty to the constitution.

    18 votes

  13. Comment on What games have you been playing, and what's your opinion on them? in ~games

    kej
    Link
    It's a few years old but I finally got around to playing WikiArena and it's surprisingly entertaining. You get the title and first lines of two random Wikipedia articles, and you have to make a...

    It's a few years old but I finally got around to playing WikiArena and it's surprisingly entertaining. You get the title and first lines of two random Wikipedia articles, and you have to make a guess about which article is longer or which article has had more views in the last 60 days. It leads to a lot of "is this something most people would be interested in?" questions, combined with the fun of discovering an interesting article.

    2 votes

  14. Comment on <deleted topic> in ~books

    kej
    Link
    I want to start an editing service where all we do is search your manuscript for "ould of" and replace 99% of them with "ould have".

    I want to start an editing service where all we do is search your manuscript for "ould of" and replace 99% of them with "ould have".

    3 votes

  15. Comment on Photo digitizing in ~tech

    kej
    Link
    My late grandfather left behind boxes and boxes of 35mm slides, and we're working our way through digitizing those. It definitely takes time, but it doesn't all have to be done at once and it...

    My late grandfather left behind boxes and boxes of 35mm slides, and we're working our way through digitizing those. It definitely takes time, but it doesn't all have to be done at once and it doesn't have to be the only thing you're doing. Scanning pairs really well with watching TV or company-wide video calls that you have to be on but don't require your full attention.

    I guess my point is that you might find it more manageable if you looked at it as "Could I squeeze in scanning 20 pictures sometime this week?" instead of "When am I going to scan 2000 pictures?"

    3 votes

  16. Comment on Has anyone else run up against higher costs due to the US tariffs? in ~society

    kej
    Link
    I don't usually back Kickstarter board games, but I managed to find a few that looked interesting and back them at just the right time that they had to come back and ask for extra shipping charges...

    I don't usually back Kickstarter board games, but I managed to find a few that looked interesting and back them at just the right time that they had to come back and ask for extra shipping charges due to tariffs.

    4 votes

  17. Comment on Looking for some video game suggestions based off some specific parameters in ~games

    kej
    Link
    Since you mentioned Civilization and card games, I was reminded of Hexarchy, which is basically Civilization reimagined as a deck building game. Discovering new technologies adds cards to your...

    Since you mentioned Civilization and card games, I was reminded of Hexarchy, which is basically Civilization reimagined as a deck building game. Discovering new technologies adds cards to your deck, and then you juggle your current hand with some other resources to improve your cities and create new units.

    The games tend to go a little faster than full Civilization, and there are campaign modes where you'll have smaller self-contained quests like "get a city to size 8" or "control 4 holy sites" so you can be making progress on the campaign without having to remember exactly what you were doing in previous steps.

    The other one that jumps to mind is Forge, which is a knock-off version of Magic: The Gathering that includes a fun campaign mode similar to the old Shandalar game from MicroProse. You get to scratch the MTG itch without feeling like you're missing out or falling behind if you miss a day.

    1 vote

  18. Comment on CGA-2025-09 🕹ī¸đŸš‚ INSERT CARTRIDGE đŸŸĸ The Last Express in ~games

    kej
    Link
    What's the best Android DOSBox implementation these days? I already have the GOG version and a bunch of other DOS games, so I'd like to set those up under a DOSBox app instead of buying the game...

    What's the best Android DOSBox implementation these days? I already have the GOG version and a bunch of other DOS games, so I'd like to set those up under a DOSBox app instead of buying the game again.

    1 vote

  19. Comment on Should C be mandatory learning for career developers? in ~comp

    kej
    Link Parent
    Here's an interactive tutorial that builds it up piece by piece: https://lambdaexplorer.com/

    Here's an interactive tutorial that builds it up piece by piece: https://lambdaexplorer.com/

    2 votes

  20. Comment on Tildes' Colossal Game Adventure: Inauguration and nominations in ~games

    kej
    Link Parent
    Replying to stay on the notification list. Thank you for doing this!

    Replying to stay on the notification list. Thank you for doing this!

    1 vote