runekn's recent activity
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Comment on Games with complex-required-supporting-real-e2e logistics? in ~games
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Comment on Games with complex-required-supporting-real-e2e logistics? in ~games
runekn Link ParentThanks for the correction. I haven't really played EVE Online and thought that at the base of it it is like most space-sims where high-sec marketplaces always can sell wares, with maybe only the...Thanks for the correction. I haven't really played EVE Online and thought that at the base of it it is like most space-sims where high-sec marketplaces always can sell wares, with maybe only the price fluctuating.
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Games with complex-required-supporting-real-e2e logistics?
I've long enjoyed Foxhole and X4 and was wondering what other games has similar logistical systems. Both give the same satisfying feeling when you look at the big picture of how the games are a...
I've long enjoyed Foxhole and X4 and was wondering what other games has similar logistical systems. Both give the same satisfying feeling when you look at the big picture of how the games are a complex interplay between the immediate gameplay, and what is being simulated "behind the scenes" to enable it.
The descriptor in the title is a bit of a mouthful, so let's break down what I mean.
Complex
To exclude typical resource game mechanics, where you "just" mine resources which gives you resource points that you can spend directly.Required & Supporting
In Foxhole the main objective is to push the front and win the war. And players can focus on that and never have to really think about how they get their weapons and ammo. But at the same time the logistics is the entire reason they even can fight.
In X4 you can fly about and do stuff and acquire ships while relying on the AI empires economies. But there has to be some alive economy for the game to not go to a standstill.
In short, logistics systems that are required by the game, but not necessarily by the individual player.
This excludes games where the logistics system is the game, like Factorio, Dyson Sphere Program, Satisfactory, etc.Real end-2-end
To specify that there should as little cheating as possible. Though obviously there is always some cheating in games. Both in X4 and Foxhole, every resource is tracked right from harvest, to refinement, to the end product. And all steps require real moving of goods by AI (X4) or players (Foxhole) between factories, other intermediaries, and end users.So what other similar games are there? I was thinking of EVE Online, but I think only the player orgs in null-sec have real economies in that game, and you could still play it if they all suddenly stopped.
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Comment on What games have you been playing, and what's your opinion on them? in ~games
runekn LinkI first bought No Man's Sky in August of 2019. I played it a tiny bit back then, but it didn't stick and quickly dropped it again. I saw the Worlds part 1 update and figured I should try it again....I first bought No Man's Sky in August of 2019. I played it a tiny bit back then, but it didn't stick and quickly dropped it again. I saw the Worlds part 1 update and figured I should try it again. After the end of the tutorial I didn't really see what fun I could get out of the game and searched a bit online on what people actually find fun about it. I am not at all unfamiliarly with 'find your own fun' games, and knew that if I just kept going a bit I would naturally discover goals for myself. I eventually did, and fun I found. But I'm not one to stick with the same games for long, and after accomplishing my personal goals I can feel that this is the end of the run.
On the basis that a potential future Worlds part 2 update might break all bases, I decided going in that I would not built anything I didn't want to lose. But once I got going with the base building the decision did not last long. That is not an endorsement of the building system though. I find the snapping system probably one of the worst I have ever tried in a game. It is fine for putting together some of the bigger stuff like the cube modules, but once you start to get creative with the manual pieces, especially the half pieces, it quickly falls apart. Nearly all the time snapping points are just hard to get the game to find, requiring you to look at them from weird angles. Frequently, rotating a piece on a snapping point will completely skip valid angles. Several times I also found combinations of pieces that the game completely refuses to acknowledge that should be able to snap together. But I stuck with it because I liked the end results.
As for Expeditions, I tried the Aqua one which was running when I started. Though at some point I tried to install a ship upgrade that I had gotten as a milestone reward, but accidentally started building an identical upgrade instead. For some reason the game would not allow me to disassemble it so I could install the correct one. Rage quit that expedition. Tried the Haunted one when it started and saw it through to the end. My opinion is sort of meh. I hate FOMO mechanics for a start, so expeditions already didn't sit right with me. I didn't care for the reward ship and would rather have spend the time progressing my main save. Though I can see it as reasons for older players to keep coming back to the game.
Overall it's a pretty nice game. Feels like a puddle when you first step in, but if you keep going you discover an ocean of content. A bit let down by very annoying bugs I ran into which apparently has been around for ages. Also it is pretty clear that the game is designed with primarily console on mind, which dampens the PC experience a bit.
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Comment on A tool to determine which US city you should live in in ~life
runekn LinkAs a non-american I got Washington DC. My choices were basically for walkability and public transport, and avoid hot climate. My actual city is Copenhagen, so does anyone who has been to both...As a non-american I got Washington DC. My choices were basically for walkability and public transport, and avoid hot climate.
My actual city is Copenhagen, so does anyone who has been to both think this is an apt comparison?
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Comment on What do you actually do at work? in ~life
runekn LinkI'm a programmer of a software platform. Senior developer at a ~50 man software company in Denmark. First job right out of Bsc and Msc in computer science. Daily routine starts with online standup...I'm a programmer of a software platform. Senior developer at a ~50 man software company in Denmark. First job right out of Bsc and Msc in computer science.
Daily routine starts with online standup meeting (usually the only meeting I have). Then rest of day I write on the platform to implement new requirements from my product manager. Sometimes an automated alert goes off, regarding the platform that is always running in the background, and we figure out why and fix it. Sometimes our support department sends us customer issues that they can't figure out themselves. Sometimes another developer wants review of their work and I approve it or give feedback. It's pretty chill overall.
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Comment on What games have you been playing, and what's your opinion on them? in ~games
runekn (edited )LinkEvery year X4 Foundations gets a new major update and DLC, and I sink another couple hundred hours into it. One of the unique aspects of the game is the near entirely simulated universe. I think...Every year X4 Foundations gets a new major update and DLC, and I sink another couple hundred hours into it. One of the unique aspects of the game is the near entirely simulated universe.
I think in most space games if you destroy some transport ship and steal its cargo, it is likely that that ship was spawned when you entered the area for the sole purpose of being destroyed by you. In X4 that ship would have always existed and ferrying goods around since it was constructed in a shipyard. And to construct it the shipyard used resources that was transported to it by other transport ships. Those transport ships chose the route due to calculated profit. And they got the resources from a factory. That factory created the resource from another resource, that was transported to it by another transport ship. Which got them from a refinery. Which created it from ore mined by actual mining ships blasting asteroids.
That means that the ship you destroyed will have to be replaced by this entire process, and the loss of a transport ship and resources it carried will directly disrupt the process.
And you can insert yourself into this economy with no limitations compared to the AI factions. Build your own station with factories or shipyards. Buy or build your own miners and transport ships. Create your own economy or use your assets to strengthen and profit from the AI factions.
The only thing not simulated is currency. While goods are priced based on supply, and traders choose routes based on those prices, AI factions basically have infinite money.
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Comment on Boeing CEO admits company has retaliated against whistleblowers during Senate hearing: ‘I know it happens' in ~transport
runekn LinkThe full quote is Article title twists the quote into being about retaliation against whistleblowers, when it is actually about the disciplining of those that retaliate. This does imply that...The full quote is
Asked about how many Boeing employees had been disciplined for retaliating against whistleblowers, Calhoun responded: “I don't have that number on the tip of my tongue, but I know it. I know it happens.”
Article title twists the quote into being about retaliation against whistleblowers, when it is actually about the disciplining of those that retaliate. This does imply that retaliation happens, but I hate how the title cuts crucial context to pretend the near opposite of what David Calhoun actually says.
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Comment on What video games have had you taking real-life notes? in ~games
runekn LinkHeaven's vault requires you to decipher the writings of a fictional language. There's an ingame mechanism for 'learning' words, but manually writing down sentence structure, symbols, and other...Heaven's vault requires you to decipher the writings of a fictional language. There's an ingame mechanism for 'learning' words, but manually writing down sentence structure, symbols, and other patterns you uncover yourself naturally can significantly ease deciphering future puzzles. It's also overall just a great game. Highly recommended.
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Comment on Kerbal Space Program 2 development history in ~games
runekn Link ParentNot officially no. They are continuing with the secrecy policy, so we don't really have much info. And the video focuses on development up to just after early access release.Not officially no. They are continuing with the secrecy policy, so we don't really have much info. And the video focuses on development up to just after early access release.
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Comment on Kerbal Space Program 2 development history in ~games
runekn (edited )LinkA video by ShadowZone, a long-time Kerbal Space Program (KSP) youtuber, where he summarizes a timeline that he has been able to build of the development of KSP 2, with the claimed help of...A video by ShadowZone, a long-time Kerbal Space Program (KSP) youtuber, where he summarizes a timeline that he has been able to build of the development of KSP 2, with the claimed help of anonymous sources that are linked to the development.
KSP 2 was/is a long awaited sequel to the much beloved spaceship builder and simulation game. Much of its development has been very much hidden from public view. With only the occasional peaks into a game that looked overambitious, long delayed, and with shoddy management. It all cumulated in a very ill received early access that sadly confirmed many players fears. Development seems to have attempted to truck on after that, with some updates over the next year to get rid of the most aggrieves of issues. Though a month or so ago it came out that the publisher Take 2 was laying off big parts of their operations in the regions that the KSP2 team resided in, leading to the speculation that KSP2 had been killed off for good. Whether that is the case is not really known yet.
When I personally tried the early access, I played around with it for maybe an hour before concluding that there was something very wrong with the fundamentals and promptly refunded. For a game like KSP I imagined that any proper sequel should start with some serious prerequisite prototyping work to solve the engineering challenges that KSP presents, such that main development can be built on very solid foundations. It was this prerequisite work that I did feel was skipped when I tried the early access. But I'm just a systems engineer, not specifically game dev.
This video goes into details of the changing project vision, constant mismanagement, corporate takeover, and strange decisions that should have been just a straightforward continuation of our cute little green mischiefs.
Two weeks ago another popular KSP youtuber released another video which was an interview with the original creator of KSP. In this older video the creator tell of the confusion over the fact that he has never been contacted to consult regarding KSP2. This newer video now reveals that there was an overall ban on any contact with KSP1 developers what so ever up on till they were brought into the project very late in development. This is despite the fact that the KSP2 team was ordered to work off of the original KSP1 source code which none of the team members had any experience with. -
Kerbal Space Program 2 development history
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Comment on Is Nebula worth it? in ~tech
runekn LinkI am subscribed mostly to support better revenue source for creators, but I don't watch nebula often. Among my biggest issues with it is that it doesn't have the wealth of browser extensions that...I am subscribed mostly to support better revenue source for creators, but I don't watch nebula often. Among my biggest issues with it is that it doesn't have the wealth of browser extensions that 'fixes' the experience, like I have for youtube. Like DeArrow which removes clickbait titles and thumbnails.
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Comment on What games have you been playing, and what's your opinion on them? in ~games
runekn LinkFinished Starfield last week. It was good and well worth the money spent with 200 hours logged. Though experience soured a bit towards the end due to increasingly unstable save and wrapping up a...Finished Starfield last week. It was good and well worth the money spent with 200 hours logged. Though experience soured a bit towards the end due to increasingly unstable save and wrapping up a story that I didn't care for.
Started on Cyberpunk 2.0 with a new save. I never finished the last save 3 years ago, opting to wait until the game was more stable. So far it has been really fun and Cyberpunk continues to amaze me of the world that CDPR was put together. Unfortunately I really don't like bullet sponge shooters, and Cyberpunk is even worse than Starfield, so I am eagerly awaiting the mod HARDCORE22 to be updated which makes combat much more realistic.
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Comment on Starfield and the problem of scale in ~games
runekn Link ParentBut it doesn't really have to be an engine limitation does it? As I write in one of my suggestions, a simple fake background asset of a mayor city would be enough. I don't actually have to be able...But it doesn't really have to be an engine limitation does it? As I write in one of my suggestions, a simple fake background asset of a mayor city would be enough. I don't actually have to be able to talk to every inhabitant of a billion people mega city, or loot their apartments. I just need to be able to see where they are.
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Starfield and the problem of scale
Minor Starfield lore spoiler's ahead Originally written for /r/games, but the last discussion thread of Starfield in that place saw many user who said they personally like the game downvoted and...
Minor Starfield lore spoiler's ahead
Originally written for /r/games, but the last discussion thread of Starfield in that place saw many user who said they personally like the game downvoted and replied to by mentally-questionable individuals that said not-so-nice things.
As I pass 170 hours in Bethesda newest, hottest, controversial game. I am happy because it is just as fun as I had hoped it to be.
Yet as I explore the cities it has to offer there is always a small detail that I keep failing to ignore (whenever I'm not busy thinking of new ship designs that is).200,000 units are ready with a million more on the way
So say the slender being that has been tasked with creating an army to defend a galactic spanning government of countless worlds. At this point Montgomery, Zhukov, MacArthur, Jodl, or any-other-WW2-command-figure-of-your-choosing are rolling on the ground clapping each other's backs laughing their socks off. Because 1.2 million is an absolutely puny and pathetic number of troops for a galactic war.
I'm no Star Wars deep lore fan, I understand that fans and later authors has since tried to 'fix it' by making the Clone War more that just the clones. And yet those 1.2M clones was all there was when episode 2 released to theatres.
Most Sci-fi writings has similar a problem with scaling to their subject. It is not news. It even has a tv tropes page (the page is more about distances, but it's in the same ballpark).Quest for the Peoplefield
So where does Starfield go wrong in this? The ships are puny. The wars and the numbers stated are puny.
Certainty more ways than one, but the one that I wish to focus on is this: where the hell are all the people?
A brief summary of the lore. Humanity has invented FTL and has seemingly solved all energy problems. They had to evacuate Earth, but this was successful and so the starfield should be absolutely teeming with tens of billions of human souls spreading to all corners of the galaxy and its many already habitable worlds.
And yet, Starfield feels so barren. I see no grand interstellar civilizations. Only dirt huts on a hill surrounded by walls that support barely a thousand people. Yet this dirt hill is supposed to be a capital or an interstellar superpower. Heck, they are even scared shitless of their own fauna.
The opposites capital is no dirt hill, yet still smaller than a modern earth country town.
And it's not like the main population centers are just outside player-accessible areas. All the NPCs ever talk about are Akila, New Atlantis, and Neon. These tiny puny cities.
It doesn't feel like the evacuation of Earth was a success. It feels like it was a catastrophe, and all that remains are scattered remnants playing civilization.And yet... The Starfield is actually lively, just not where it should be. There is a scale imbalance, because spread across nearly every world in the settled systems are countless research stations, outposts, deserted or populated, you name it.
Yes, those procedually-generated buildings that spawn nearly everywhere you land in the settled systems.
Where did these come from? Surely the UC couldn't have built them. Manning just the ones that I have come across in my playthrough would empty New Atlantis 10 times over!Bethesda built their open-world game style upon Fallout and Elder Scrolls. For both it makes sense that the worlds are sparely populated. One being post-apocalyptic wasteland, and the other a medieval society.
But now they have built something in a completely different realm. But they way in which Bethesda built the scale at which the game is presented remains the same.
So why did they go with this approach? I don't know. Maybe they just like making "small" worlds and didn't want to fit the new universe. Maybe the idea of 'climbing any mountain you can see' is a very hard rule and they didn't want to limit player movement in metropolises, that would undoubtedly be unfeasible to make fully traversable.But lets pretend they actually tried. And perhaps it can be done without really changing how the game is designed or played.
So you can do it better huh?
A Microsoft executive plays the game as it's nearing launch. He feels there is something missing with the scale of the Starfield universe.
So he does the only rational thing he can think of and storms into the street and picks the first rando he can find, puts the Bethesda crown upon his head, and orders him to fix Starfield's problem of scale.
The exec is later found to be mentally ill and fired, but it does not matter for I am now king of Bethesda and my words are design directives.Tell, don't show
The simple solution that requires no real work but some change in lore. New Atlantis is no longer a capital, just a administrative and diplomatic outpost. Akila is now just a small border city. The real population centers are now on entirely different worlds. Inaccessible to the player.
Why can't players go there? Well it shouldn't take much suspension of disbelief to acknowledge that governments might not want any random idiot, in a flying hunk of metal capable of tearing space-time at it seams, to go anywhere near their main population centers without considerable control.
NPCs should no longer talk of sprawling New Atlantis, Neon, or Akila, but rather these other places that you can see on the map but are not allowed to go to.Show enough
The population planets are now accessible, but restricted in where you can land freely. On the map it should show big cities. And just like how you cannot land in water, you can neither land anywhere in cities or its surroundings.
Just like with New Atlantis and Akila, you can land at a designated spot. The difference is when you look into the horizon, because rather than a procedurally generated landscape you will instead see a sprawling metropolis that tells you "Yes here! Here are all the people!".
The other change would be that, unlike the landscape, if you try to go beyond the player-area of the city you will hit a wall. But that is a sacrifice I am willing to make.
New Atlantis and Akila can stay, but like the other solution they would change status.
All in all the scale issue is no big problem and the game is fine as it is. This was just something that has been on mind for some time and I wanted to put it to writing. So do you agree that Starfield has a scale problem? If yes, how would you fix it? Or maybe I missed some crucial info-dump and the entire premise of this writing is wrong?
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Comment on Starfield - what are your thoughts? in ~games
runekn Link ParentRegarding your edit, I have also had suprisingly many instances of wishing there was some quality improvement, only to realize that it is already in the game, just never telling you. Auto...Regarding your edit, I have also had suprisingly many instances of wishing there was some quality improvement, only to realize that it is already in the game, just never telling you.
Auto unequipping suit in cities, being able to get up from chair while in free flight, weapon hotkeys, landing without entering map. Just to name a few I can remember.
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Comment on Starfield - what are your thoughts? in ~games
runekn (edited )Link30 hours so far. Very much enjoyable, and I barely feel like I've scratched the surface yet. The whole travel immersion issue is something I very much recognize. For example after the first time...30 hours so far. Very much enjoyable, and I barely feel like I've scratched the surface yet.
The whole travel immersion issue is something I very much recognize. For example after the first time landing at a city, you can never land there again. Only fast travel. The game really expects you to get bored of the travelling much faster than I actually do. I dont expect free flight outside of planet orbit, but they could definitely have done more to make travel more immersive. Having said that it is not close to a deal breaker or anything, just a bit of frequently reminded annoyance.
As for combat, it is fine though I am not a fan of bullet sponge games. The only shooters I usually play are realistic ones where getting hit even once can be a death sentence. I find the combat in starfield super easy to the point that I have actually sold some of my medpacs since I had over a hundred as I rarely use them. Probably because I play more like its a realistic shooter than a casual one.
Even added mods which gets rid of hit markers and reticle. Also tried one that removes enemy health, but I dropped that after running into an enemy that took forever to kill, which makes it worse when you cant see its actual health.The ship designer is very fun. I just wish I could design and save my designs without actually modifying my ships.
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Comment on Nebulous: Fleet Command in ~games
runekn LinkI've played and liked it. Wrote about it a bit here. At some point playing it got replaced by trying to create a new faction ship mod for a month or two. But I am no good at texturing models so...I've played and liked it. Wrote about it a bit here.
At some point playing it got replaced by trying to create a new faction ship mod for a month or two. But I am no good at texturing models so never finished that project, and didn't get back into the game afterwards.
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Comment on We need to raise a lot more in tax from the wealthy but that does not convince me that we need a wealth tax in ~finance
runekn Link ParentThat was Christian IV of Denmark for passage through Øresund. Not aware of any known similar dutch scheme.That was Christian IV of Denmark for passage through Øresund. Not aware of any known similar dutch scheme.
Oh wow that's a quite expansive mod. Saw the trailers that looks actual professional. I'm surprised I haven't heard of it, even though I haven't really touched Fallout 4 since release.
I've played Anno 1800 and it does have interesting economics mechanics. But from what I remember it is required of the player to engage with it to progress by amount, like most SP strategy games.