kfwyre's recent activity

  1. Comment on Nintendo - Customer appreciation sale in ~games

    kfwyre
    Link
    Ah yes, the headers you expect to see for an official Nintendo sale: In all seriousness, Nintendo is very stingy with sales for its first-party stuff, so this is pretty big.

    Ah yes, the headers you expect to see for an official Nintendo sale:

    All deals
    Best sellers
    Customer Appreciation Sale
    Crash Bandicoot

    In all seriousness, Nintendo is very stingy with sales for its first-party stuff, so this is pretty big.

    3 votes
  2. Comment on Colossal Game Adventure: September 2026 lobbying topic in ~games

    kfwyre
    Link Parent
    Fun fact: 5 Days a Stranger was made by Ben "Yahtzee" Croshaw, better known for his web series of video game reviews, Zero Punctuation.

    Fun fact: 5 Days a Stranger was made by Ben "Yahtzee" Croshaw, better known for his web series of video game reviews, Zero Punctuation.

    3 votes
  3. Comment on KOReader: custom reader software for eink devices in ~books

    kfwyre
    (edited )
    Link Parent
    Added a bunch of fonts to KOReader, and I don't want to sound like I'm just following the crowd, but Bookerly and Atkinson Hyperlegible Next are the clear standouts for me. I can't exactly explain...

    Added a bunch of fonts to KOReader, and I don't want to sound like I'm just following the crowd, but Bookerly and Atkinson Hyperlegible Next are the clear standouts for me.

    I can't exactly explain why, but Bookerly just looks really nice. It feels super comfortable to have on the screen. Meanwhile, AHN is super clean and modern looking. Not sure which one will be my "main" font, but I'll have to read a bit with each to see how they hold up over an extended period.

    I also found this collection of free fonts for ereaders made by someone who very clearly cares about fonts (which is exactly the kind of person I want curating a collection). I haven't gone through all of them (there's a lot), but I did install them and plan to dabble.

    2 votes
  4. Comment on KOReader: custom reader software for eink devices in ~books

    kfwyre
    Link Parent
    I knew I could cycle between different options on the status bar at the bottom by tapping it, but it wasn't until I saw your screenshot that I realized I could have multiple ones show up at once....

    I knew I could cycle between different options on the status bar at the bottom by tapping it, but it wasn't until I saw your screenshot that I realized I could have multiple ones show up at once.

    Thanks for the unintended tip!

    1 vote
  5. Comment on KOReader: custom reader software for eink devices in ~books

    kfwyre
    (edited )
    Link Parent
    The default is admittedly kinda ugly, but I was able to change mine to something I'm happy with. Have you played around with the settings? They can be hard to find. Tap the bottom menu section to...

    The default is admittedly kinda ugly, but I was able to change mine to something I'm happy with.

    Have you played around with the settings? They can be hard to find. Tap the bottom menu section to pull up the text options. From there you'll see sub menus to change margins, font settings, spacing, etc.

    For some reason, changing the actual font itself is separate from that in the top menu. Tap at the top of your screen, then go to the tab that looks like a page with lines on it. Underneath that you should see an option to change the font itself to something different.

    There are only a few built-in ones, but you can also add your own. The only thing I miss about my old Kindle is Bookerly, so I might add that to mine.

    EDIT: Found a reddit survey for preferred fonts. I’m going to try some of these out.

    4 votes
  6. Comment on Colossal Game Adventure: September 2026 lobbying topic in ~games

    kfwyre
    Link
    CGA Announcement: The Lobbying Topic is now open! It will stay up for a short 2 days (48 hours). This is your chance to sway the upcoming vote. Let everyone know the games you think...

    CGA Announcement: The Lobbying Topic is now open! It will stay up for a short 2 days (48 hours).

    This is your chance to sway the upcoming vote. Let everyone know the games you think should/shouldn't be chosen and why.

    Also, if I made any mistakes on tallying the rollover votes/boosts, let me know.

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    5 votes
  7. Colossal Game Adventure: September 2026 lobbying topic

    This is your chance to try to sway people's votes in the upcoming Voting Topic by endorsing certain titles! Let people know why a certain game is awesome, or how a particular entry is of...

    This is your chance to try to sway people's votes in the upcoming Voting Topic by endorsing certain titles!

    Let people know why a certain game is awesome, or how a particular entry is of historical value, or why others really need to play this gem of yesteryear.

    Parameters:

    • The topic will remain open for 2 days (48 hours).
    • Lobbying is not limited in any way, so you can endorse/support as many entries as you like.
    • Negative lobbying IS allowed (but please make it fun).
    • Anyone can participate. CGA does not require membership and is always open to all.
    A reminder on the upcoming voting topic

    Just so people remember how the Voting Topic will go and can plan accordingly:

    • Each person will have 20 votes to distribute among games they see fit.
    • Each person will be able to allocate a maximum of 5 points per Single Game/Arcade Special.

    One the votes have been totaled, here's how the list proceeds:

    • The top 6 games will be chosen to be played (or more in the event of a tie).
    • The top 50% will advance to the next round. They will start the next round with a base score of 30% of their vote totals.
    • The bottom 50% will be removed from the list.

    Game List

    All nominations and boosts have been added, so this is the final list of games and their vote totals that we will be deciding on.

    Game Rollover Votes
    Another World 6
    Arcade Special: Back in a Flash
    Bloons Tower Defense
    Line Rider
    Motherload
    QWOP
    Stick RPG
    5
    Beneath a Steel Sky 4
    Crystalis 10
    Descent 5
    Donkey Kong 64 0
    Freddy Pharkas: Frontier Pharmacist 8
    Arcade Special: The Genesis of Treasure
    Gunstar Heroes
    McDonald's Treasure Land Adventure
    Dynamite Headdy
    Alien Soldier
    Light Crusader
    5
    Arcade Special: The Grue That Binds
    Border Zone
    Twisted!
    Zork
    13
    Mother 3 11
    Ratchet & Clank 0
    Resident Evil (REmake) 8
    Arcade Special: Sonic the 3D Hedgehog
    Sonic Adventure
    Sonic Adventure 2
    0
    Arcade Special: Spooky Mansion Adventures
    Alone in the Dark
    5 Days a Stranger
    Maniac Mansion
    4
    StarCraft 0
    Tetris 11
    Wizball 0
    Ys Origin 0
    8 votes
  8. Comment on KOReader: custom reader software for eink devices in ~books

    kfwyre
    Link Parent
    The last time I tried it (admittedly quite a long time ago) it kept any side-loaded books separate. They also were on that device only, and what I really wanted was to be able to seamlessly switch...

    The last time I tried it (admittedly quite a long time ago) it kept any side-loaded books separate. They also were on that device only, and what I really wanted was to be able to seamlessly switch between devices, as I read frequently via my phone and the web reader as well.

    There were also some other issues, like me wanting comics support (especially CBZ files) and a lot of my AZW3 files getting problems when converted (prior to jumping to Kobo I’d amassed a sizable library from Kindle that I brought with me as well).

    4 votes
  9. Comment on KOReader: custom reader software for eink devices in ~books

    kfwyre
    (edited )
    Link Parent
    If you're in the Kobo ecosystem and happy with it, then KOReader doesn't really have anything to offer. In fact, unless you've already de-DRMed your library, it won't do anything but add friction....

    If you're in the Kobo ecosystem and happy with it, then KOReader doesn't really have anything to offer. In fact, unless you've already de-DRMed your library, it won't do anything but add friction.

    Personally, I never liked the fact that my DRM-free ebooks from places like Project Gutenberg and Humble Bundle weren't ever going to be integrated in my library the same way as stuff I'd bought through Kobo. I also read on a variety of different devices in different settings, so cloud syncing them was essential for me, but Kobo will only do that for the books they sell.

    As such, as my library grew, and I got more and more books from places other than Kobo, I ended up seeking out a platform (the aforementioned BookFusion) that let me upload all of my books and have them live under one roof with equal treatment.

    The main downside to doing this was that I couldn't access BookFusion on my Kobo devices directly. KOReader is what lets me do that now. It's "worth it" in the sense that I swapped out the Kobo ecosystem for BookFusion.

    So, its utility is really only for people who manage their own library of books.

    Ironically, I still buy a lot of books through Kobo, so my workflow now looks like:

    Buy book from Kobo > de-DRM it > upload it to BookFusion > download it back to my Kobo through KOReader. Full circle!

    Roundabout and complicated? Yes. Worth it because I can do that just as easily for a book I bought as one I got off of Standard Ebooks? Absolutely. The special sauce is having my ENTIRE library under one roof getting all the perks and features, rather than only some of the books.

    I should also add that, with any bring-your-own-media setup like KOReader, there's a huge but mostly unspoken understory that the service is usually excellent for people who pirate their media. Something like BookFusion/KOReader will never advertise this, and a lot of the people who do use it that way won't necessarily say that openly, but it's the truth of the matter. I think that's a big thing that makes it "worth it" for a lot of people as well.

    I'm not saying this as a wink-wink-nudge-nudge "I'm actually a pirate" endorsement, by the way. In fact, I'm doing this on hard mode by insisting on actually buying books I could more quickly and easily download for free.

    8 votes
  10. Comment on CGA-2026-09 🕹️🙎‍♂️🛹 INSERT CARTRIDGE 🟢 Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 2 in ~games

    kfwyre
    (edited )
    Link Parent
    This is poetry. Also, genuinely: tricks are actually hard to do at the beginning of the game because your character's stats for them aren't great (no matter who you choose). I'm a THPS veteran and...

    The manual tells me that some buttons do ollies and others do nollies but I feel all I manage are rollies, hollies and follies. Oh gollies.

    This is poetry.

    Also, genuinely: tricks are actually hard to do at the beginning of the game because your character's stats for them aren't great (no matter who you choose).

    I'm a THPS veteran and tried to muscle-memory a bunch of complicated stuff right off the bat at the beginning, only to have it completely fail because my character simply wasn't built for the big stuff yet.

    So, don't feel bad! You're experiencing the game as intended.

    Completely unsolicited advice

    IF AND ONLY IF you're looking for tips:

    The easiest way to get big scores early on is vert tricks/grabs -- that is, circle + direction while you're in the air. Pop in the halfpipe in The Hangar and just go back and forth up the sides, trying to get the feel for starting/stopping a vert trick while you're in the air.

    Once you're comfortable with that, you try spinning with the shoulder buttons. Get a feel for doing a 180, 360, 540 (your beginning stats probably won't let you get a 720).

    Once that feels good, try combining the two: spinning while doing a vert trick. This gives you more score, but it's also harder to land -- especially for tricks that twist/move the board, as it won't necessarily be clear if you've under/over-rotated. Eventually you'll get a "feel" for how to land the different tricks, but that takes a decent amount of repetition. It wasn't until I was late-game in my most recent playthrough that I felt that I could really nail most landings without thinking about them.

    Anyway, following that, if you're feeling spicy, you can add a street trick beforehand. That is, launch into the air, hit square+direction, followed by circle+direction. Your character will do something like a kickflip, followed by the grab.

    Feeling even spicier? Street trick + vert trick WHILE spinning. Now you're starting to look at some tasty big score combos.

    The final piece of this strategy (and this part is certainly not necessary but can help get you to those Sick Score threshholds) is adding a Boneless beforehand -- that is, double tapping up before you release X to jump when going up the side of the halfpipe. A successful Boneless gives you more height, as well as an additional trick for the combo, which increases both your points and multiplier.

    So, an ideal big point vert trick looks like: Boneless > Spinning Street Trick > Spinning Vert Trick

    (Well, a truly ideal one also includes a gap, but I'll spare you the details on that since I'm already at the point where I'm doing WAY too much and basically writing an entire GameFAQs guide despite not being asked for any of it in the first place).

    Anyway, as you complete objectives and get money, put the points into these stats: Air, Hang Time, Speed, Spin, Landing. Once those get up a bit more, you'll have more room to breathe while you're in the air and it'll be a lot easier to execute and successfully land higher point tricks. Also worth noting that, if you're going this route, it's best you choose a Vert skater (e.g. Tony Hawk) and not an All-Around (e.g. Bob Burnquist) or Street (e.g. Kareem Campbell) one.

    Anyway, learning how to do solid vert tricks will get you through a LOT of the game with nary a manual nor nollie in sight. Chaining street tricks and grinds with manuals is genuinely a ton of fun, but it's way easier to mess up and way harder to get right. Nearly every level has a half-pipe like spot where you can just do vert tricks back and forth and rack up a pretty sizable score for it.

    4 votes
  11. Comment on I'm addicted to Slay the Spire and am looking for a new game in ~games

    kfwyre
    Link Parent
    Seconding this. Cobalt Core is excellent, and it features enough familiar mechanics to scratch the StS itch while having its own unique identity and spin on things that makes it feel fresh.

    Seconding this. Cobalt Core is excellent, and it features enough familiar mechanics to scratch the StS itch while having its own unique identity and spin on things that makes it feel fresh.

    4 votes
  12. Comment on Colossal Game Adventure: September 2026 nominations topic in ~games

    kfwyre
    Link Parent
    I think it makes the most sense to keep the votes intact. People wanted to play Maniac Mansion last time, and they still get the opportunity to do so, only now it comes with two bonus games too!...

    I think it makes the most sense to keep the votes intact. People wanted to play Maniac Mansion last time, and they still get the opportunity to do so, only now it comes with two bonus games too!

    So, the 4 points for Maniac Mansion will simply become 4 points for Spooky Mansion Adventures.

    2 votes
  13. Comment on Colossal Game Adventure: September 2026 nominations topic in ~games

    kfwyre
    Link Parent
    CGA Announcement: I forgot to give everyone a 24 hour warning on the Nominations Topic, so here's a 4 hour warning instead. Please get your boosts/nominations in soon! After the close of...

    CGA Announcement: I forgot to give everyone a 24 hour warning on the Nominations Topic, so here's a 4 hour warning instead. Please get your boosts/nominations in soon!

    After the close of nominations, I will post a new Lobbying Topic where you can argue for/against certain games and try to sway other people's votes.

    Following the close of that, I will post a new Voting Topic where we will decide on the next six months of games.

    (Also, because I whiffed the 24-hour warning, I will accept late submissions here for the next 24 hours -- just know that they'll lose some lobbying time.)

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    7 votes
  14. Comment on I'm addicted to Slay the Spire and am looking for a new game in ~games

    kfwyre
    Link Parent
    Agreed on the co-op, but I also had a ton of fun (arguably even more?) playing it solo.

    Agreed on the co-op, but I also had a ton of fun (arguably even more?) playing it solo.

    1 vote
  15. Comment on KOReader: custom reader software for eink devices in ~books

    kfwyre
    (edited )
    Link
    I just set this up on my Kobo Clara and Forma (both from 2018). I'm very happy with it so far! For anyone that wants details: The installation was super easy. I used the semi-automated method...

    KOReader is a document viewer for E Ink devices. Supported fileformats include EPUB, PDF, DjVu, XPS, CBT, CBZ, FB2, PDB, TXT, HTML, RTF, CHM, DOC, MOBI and ZIP files. It’s available for Kindle, Kobo, PocketBook, Android and desktop Linux.

    I just set this up on my Kobo Clara and Forma (both from 2018). I'm very happy with it so far!

    For anyone that wants details:

    The installation was super easy. I used the semi-automated method detailed here which basically has you download a specific zip file, plug in the device to your computer, and then run a script which sets everything up. Took like, maybe two minutes per device?

    I also have an old 2011 4th gen Kindle that Amazon has officially disavowed. I was going to try KOReader out on it just to see how it would work, but I got to the significantly more complicated Kindle install instructions and decided against it (I wouldn't actually use it anyway as the device's battery is shot).

    Anyway, once installed, the Kobo will still boot into its regular interface, but there's an extra button at the bottom that can get you into KOReader. Once you're in KOReader it stays there even between sleeps, going back to the Kobo menu only if you reboot. KOReader can control your WiFi and backlight and whatnot directly, and it automatically rotated the screen when I flipped my Forma, so it's easy to just "live" in KOReader mode nearly all of the time on the device. I don't feel limited by it at all.

    The zip file used for the automated install method that I did is a little out of date, so once it's up and running, you have to tell KOReader to update itself. The hiccup here is that it kept saying that it couldn't reach the server despite my WiFi being on and active, but there's an option to change the download server so I did that and it went through without a hitch.

    Vanilla KOReader follows the Calibre method of doing things in that it's very powerful, very customizable and extensible, but not especially pretty or user friendly. After using vanilla for a bit, I installed the SimpleUI plugin which does exactly what I want and makes the device look better.

    I also didn't love the built-in dictionary choices you can use (and they were also giving me download errors), so I grabbed the English one from here and simply loaded it on via USB. The site makes it look like you have to pay, but that's only for language-to-language dictionaries. Single language dictionaries are free. Just make sure you download the StarDict version, not the Kobo one, as StarDict is what KOReader uses.

    It's also worth noting that KOReader won't de-DRM books for you, so it can't read the books you download from Kobo directly. Instead, you have to sideload them. This is easily doable via USB, though it's also supported by a lot of the self-hosted libraries out there (e.g. BookOrbit, Grimmory, Kavita). I personally use BookFusion which is paid, closed-source, and not self-hosted, but it still works great. Only downside is that browsing my library isn't done natively via KOReader but via a pop-up from a menu option, but I honestly don't really browse my library on an ereader much anyway and instead simply use it for reading.

    For that, KOReader works flawlessly, and the plugin keeps everything synced so I can pick up a book right where I left off on any device.

    I'm excited that I resurrected my two old ereaders, because now with three total, each one can live in its own specific place around my house where I'm likely to read (couch, desk, bed). This is going to sound super lazy of me, but I'm genuinely going to get more reading done because there are times that I'll park it someplace intending to read, realize I don't have my ereader with me, and just like, do something else instead rather than getting up and grabbing it.

    Also, sometimes my dog parks it on top of/beside me before my lack-of-ereader realization occurs, and I can't ask him to move -- not when he's already so cozy and comfortable. So, having a device already chilling in the places I spend my time will be a nice quality of life improvement.

    Anyway, if anyone else uses KOReader, I'd love to hear your experiences as well as any tips and tricks. I'm only just dipping my toe in the water right now, but the KOReader lake clearly goes much, much deeper. I'm also curious as to how it fares on a Kindle versus a Kobo, since I know Amazon locks those down a lot more.

    9 votes
  16. Comment on I'm addicted to Slay the Spire and am looking for a new game in ~games

    kfwyre
    Link Parent
    Give Inkbound a look if you liked Monster Train (it’s by the same devs). It takes the StS/MT formula and gives it an ARPG-style twist. Combat is still turn-based, and you still have full...

    Give Inkbound a look if you liked Monster Train (it’s by the same devs).

    It takes the StS/MT formula and gives it an ARPG-style twist. Combat is still turn-based, and you still have full information on what’s going to happen each turn so you can plan accordingly.

    I loved it.

    4 votes
  17. Comment on I'm addicted to Slay the Spire and am looking for a new game in ~games

    kfwyre
    Link Parent
    My husband’s gaming hot take is that Monster Train is better than Slay the Spire. He bought the first game three different times (Switch, Steam, mobile) and 100%ed it on each. He also thinks the...

    My husband’s gaming hot take is that Monster Train is better than Slay the Spire.

    He bought the first game three different times (Switch, Steam, mobile) and 100%ed it on each. He also thinks the sequel is even better than the first and has put untold hours into it.

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

    kfwyre
    Link Parent
    I thoroughly enjoyed Xanthiom Zero and thought it was a solid hidden gem, so thanks for putting the dev's other games on my radar! I'll definitely be picking these up and playing them at some point.

    I thoroughly enjoyed Xanthiom Zero and thought it was a solid hidden gem, so thanks for putting the dev's other games on my radar! I'll definitely be picking these up and playing them at some point.

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

    kfwyre
    Link Parent
    I'm an Outer Worlds apologist as well. I think it's WAY better than everyone else says it is! I'm honestly kind of glad that everybody kept repeating the talking point that it was mid ad nauseam....

    I'm an Outer Worlds apologist as well. I think it's WAY better than everyone else says it is!

    I'm honestly kind of glad that everybody kept repeating the talking point that it was mid ad nauseam. That meant I went in with low expectations and was thrilled when the game far exceeded them. It has its flaws, but, like you, I think there's a really solid game there with lots to offer.

    4 votes