shu's recent activity
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Comment on America tips into fascism in ~society
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Comment on What's your current PC wallpaper? in ~tech
shu Link ParentYes, I really like her style, too. She got this flowing, vibrant, soft view of nature, trippy but calming.Yes, I really like her style, too. She got this flowing, vibrant, soft view of nature, trippy but calming.
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Comment on What's your current PC wallpaper? in ~tech
shu (edited )LinkCurrently a photo of a lunar eclipse by James McCarthy, borrowed from reddit. Before that several paintings by Phyllis Shafer, slightly cropped when necessary. And my login wallpaper features an...Currently a photo of a lunar eclipse by James McCarthy, borrowed from reddit.
Before that several paintings by Phyllis Shafer, slightly cropped when necessary.
And my login wallpaper features an unfocussed Beaker. 🙂
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Comment on Understanding what a VPN can do for you and how to pick the right one in ~tech
shu Link ParentHm, if I would use a VPN, I'd do it to hide my IP when torrenting let my IP appear as if it was from a different country to bypass geoblocking, e.g. when I'd want to watch something from the BBC...What can a VPN can do for you in terms of privacy and security (Spoiler: not that much).
Hm, if I would use a VPN, I'd do it to
- hide my IP when torrenting
- let my IP appear as if it was from a different country to bypass geoblocking, e.g. when I'd want to watch something from the BBC or so.
The fact that all my internet traffic would be encrypted is a nice bonus. I doubt that my provider monitors my traffic in the first place since I live in the EU, but depending on the fucked-upness of this timeline this might change in the coming years.
Also fingerprinting my browser might be a bit harder? (although I don't have too much hope on that front since a firefox on linux with my config will probably standout with a VPN address, too.)
But all in all I think that's a pretty good feature set of VPNs? They actually do give more privacy, especially when using a VPN service that doesn't keep logs of their connections.
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Comment on Neuromuscular aim assist in ~games
shu LinkVery cool idea and pretty nuts to build this, thanks for sharing! Part of me wonders if this is a troll video to make cheaters electrocute themselves. 🙂 Because I have my doubts about the accuracy...Very cool idea and pretty nuts to build this, thanks for sharing!
Part of me wonders if this is a troll video to make cheaters electrocute themselves. 🙂
Because I have my doubts about the accuracy one can achieve with this, and I would assume that more than one muscle group is needed to move your arm/hand with this precision? I don't know. Intuitively I'd assume this is too simple to be true, but maybe it just works? Hm.But if this actually works as good as presented in the video, I could see this wrecking competitive online shooters once people start selling toolkits based on this idea. Then people could get disqualified for "sub-human reaction times due to cybernetic enhancements" which is pretty cool. 🙂
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Comment on 'I destroyed months of your work in seconds' says AI coding tool after deleting a dev's entire database during a code freeze: 'I panicked instead of thinking' in ~comp
shu Link ParentIt means that in the billions of texts that were used to train the LLM there were a few hundred in which 'panicking' was a typical human response to deleting a production database. That's why it...It means that in the billions of texts that were used to train the LLM there were a few hundred in which 'panicking' was a typical human response to deleting a production database. That's why it pops up in the LLMs internal statistical evaluation of this situation and is generated as a response.
In my opinion it's a problem that LLMs generate emotional responses when they are used as tools, because it invites anthropomorphization of LLMs by people with less technical backgrounds. It's completely misleading.
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Comment on Games that meaningfully teach you things in ~games
shu LinkKingdom Come Deliverance I & II can teach quite a bit about medieval life around 1400 in Bohemia, including the political struggles of the time and the works of early church reformers like Jan...Kingdom Come Deliverance I & II can teach quite a bit about medieval life around 1400 in Bohemia, including the political struggles of the time and the works of early church reformers like Jan Hus.
Both games come with codexes with information about a large number of topics, and the devs worked with historians to reconstruct the historical villages and castles, e.g. Trosky castle.
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Comment on What is a non-problematic word that you avoid using? in ~talk
shu LinkI don't like the word 'slop'. I never heard it until it popped up 2-3 years ago (english is obviously second language for me), and now it's everywhere. It feels like a rightwing-slur to me, since...I don't like the word 'slop'. I never heard it until it popped up 2-3 years ago (english is obviously second language for me), and now it's everywhere. It feels like a rightwing-slur to me, since it's used to devalue a whole range of things. I think it's ugly.
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Comment on The 'deprofessionalization of video games' was on full display at PAX East in ~games
shu Link ParentIIRC it's true that when Skyrim was made Bethesda had about 80-100 employees, but in 2023 they had around 450. That said, no way I'd count Larian as a small developer. 🙂IIRC it's true that when Skyrim was made Bethesda had about 80-100 employees, but in 2023 they had around 450.
That said, no way I'd count Larian as a small developer. 🙂
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Comment on The 'deprofessionalization of video games' was on full display at PAX East in ~games
shu (edited )LinkI'm not sure, but I feel there's an aspect that's just ignored by the article: AAA or 'big teams' simply can't deliver everything video games can offer, while more and more people seek for more...I'm not sure, but I feel there's an aspect that's just ignored by the article: AAA or 'big teams' simply can't deliver everything video games can offer, while more and more people seek for more varied experiences.
The obvious reason is that big companies have a hard time with experimentation and are risk-averse due to financial pressure and shareholders.
But the other aspect is that there's a huge mismatch between the strengths of AAA-teams and what's actually necessary for great game design. E.g. I'd say Balatro could not have been made by a huge team, and it wouldn't win anything if it had more manpower behind it. Similarly many indie hits like Dwarf Fortress, Rimworld, Factorio, Noita, Slay the Spire, etc. work so well because they were designed by dedicated, passionate solo devs or small teams.
AAA simply couldn't come up with games like Terraria, Minecraft, Stardew Valley or Vampire Survivors. It's a creative/technical/financial mismatch.
And so whole genres (basebuilders, tycoon games, (traditional) roguelikes, arcade/retro games, deckbuilders, visual novels, tower defense games, survivor-likes, 'walking sims', puzzlers, experimental games, etc.) are loved by millions of players, but rarely made by bigger teams.
Gaming is just much much more than what AAA can deliver.
Isn't that a huge reason why the small dev teams flourish right now? Corporations, even AA, just can't compete here.
e: spelling
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Comment on A spoiler free but brief critcism of Blue Prince reviews/recommendation to play in ~games
shu Link ParentSure, but from what I've seen you play ~10-15 minutes for let's say 2-3 new clues (maybe more in the beginning). It's not a "1000 other things", it's typically just a few things that open up a...- Exemplary
You basically never get a run where you don't accomplish or learn something new, often multiple new things.
Sure, but from what I've seen you play ~10-15 minutes for let's say 2-3 new clues (maybe more in the beginning). It's not a "1000 other things", it's typically just a few things that open up a little per run. And for these clues you often need an item (magnifying glass, spade, etc.) or you need to combine different rooms, but the right pre-conditions are often not available and when you want to get them it also shortens the current run because you waste steps. So most of the time is filled with rooms you already know, clicking on collectibles, solving the simple puzzles (darts, three boxes, etc.).
That just doesn't feel satisfying to me, since it constantly limits what I can do because of its randomness, and it is mostly filled with doing busywork. When I have an idea how to solve XYZ I don't want to run around for 2 hours until the conditions are right.
I like roguelikes, but in this setup the formula just doesn't click for me. I think it's fair to point that out.
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Comment on A spoiler free but brief critcism of Blue Prince reviews/recommendation to play in ~games
shu LinkI think the RNG/puzzle combo is simply very offputting for some people, and it's totally fair to point that out. I haven't played the game, but I watched a good chunk of gameplay, and I know I...I think the RNG/puzzle combo is simply very offputting for some people, and it's totally fair to point that out. I haven't played the game, but I watched a good chunk of gameplay, and I know I wouldn't enjoy this as much as the current hype suggests.
I'd simply feel like I'd waste my time when I couldn't progress with a certain room/puzzle for X runs because I'm not lucky enough. And there seems to be a lot of repetitive going-through-the-motions gameplay (draw room, pick up collectibles, solve a variation of a simple puzzle) which is also a big turndown for me.
The game is well made, and I can see how people can obsess over it, but if you want a structured/planable experience that gets to the point without too much busywork Blue Prince doesn't look like a good time.
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Comment on Hi, how are you? Mental health support and discussion thread (May 2025) in ~health.mental
shu LinkLife is not great, but yesterday I've been sober and smoke-free for fifteen years, so at least that's been working out.Life is not great, but yesterday I've been sober and smoke-free for fifteen years, so at least that's been working out.
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Comment on US President Donald Trump says he will reopen Alcatraz prison in ~society
shu Link ParentAs a symbol of punishment against detractors? They probably don't want to depend on El Salvador for their political prisoners, and saying "We send them all to Alcatraz" has that cruel nostalgic...As a symbol of punishment against detractors? They probably don't want to depend on El Salvador for their political prisoners, and saying "We send them all to Alcatraz" has that cruel nostalgic old-timey american horror flair.
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Comment on [RESOLVED] Tech support request: my game stream is lagging every five minutes in ~tech
shu Link ParentIn case you are not aware: Fedora has also alternative desktops, and one of them is Cinnamon. I used it about two years ago, it was well maintained then and came with a good default setup.In case you are not aware: Fedora has also alternative desktops, and one of them is Cinnamon. I used it about two years ago, it was well maintained then and came with a good default setup.
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Comment on What's a secondhand heartbreak you've experienced? in ~talk
shu LinkLast year at the 2024 olympics a young heptathlon athlete from Germany injured herself five minutes before the first 100 meters hurdles run. She wanted to warm-up before the race, jumped over a...Last year at the 2024 olympics a young heptathlon athlete from Germany injured herself five minutes before the first 100 meters hurdles run. She wanted to warm-up before the race, jumped over a few hurdles and suffered an achilles tendon rupture. They moved her out in a wheelchair, she was completely devastated.
Watching this really broke my heart. These young athletes work their asses off, their whole lives are structured around their sport. The Olympics in Paris must have been a shining light, a fantastic event to look forward to in the years before, and then all these years of work and pain and hope are just blasted away by such a fucked up injury minutes before it all starts.
Such a shitty thing to happen.
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Comment on What are some examples of media that really captured lightning in a bottle? in ~tv
shu Link ParentI don't think that it was Hasbros fault that Larian moved on. I saw an interview with Swen Vincke, the head of Larian studios, where he declared that - after working on it for a long time - the...and then they apparently pissed off Larian enough they didn't want to do DLC or a follow up game.
I don't think that it was Hasbros fault that Larian moved on.
I saw an interview with Swen Vincke, the head of Larian studios, where he declared that - after working on it for a long time - the whole studio was basically burned out on the world of Baldurs Gate gate, and they all were happy and relieved when he decided to not keep working on DLC content.
That sounded believable, especially because Vincke probably has much more ambitious plans for the studio than being the 'DND guys' for the next decade. Not following the easy money and choosing to keep the motivation of his employees high is also something that totally makes sense for them.
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Comment on US forges ahead with 104% tariffs on China in ~society
shu (edited )Link ParentI've learned in the past days that the chinese exports to the US only makes up 15% of all their exports. That doesn't sound like a crippling amount in case it would fall away, especially since the...they can't keep up the manufacturing pace when the largest consumer economy stops buying their things.
I've learned in the past days that the chinese exports to the US only makes up 15% of all their exports. That doesn't sound like a crippling amount in case it would fall away, especially since the chinese people are probably way more able and willing to deal with economic hardships in a trade war.
It looks to me as if the US is far more dependent on China than vice versa. (Is that a correct usage of vice versa?)
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Comment on Recommend me a sappy TV drama with preferably >100 episodes in ~tv
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Comment on What if we made advertising illegal? in ~tech
shu Link ParentYeah, it is a fantasy, but it's the topic of this thread. 🙂Yeah, it is a fantasy, but it's the topic of this thread. 🙂
Canada would probably also have
guerillaresistance support from inside of the US, at least I'd hope so.Insane that it has come so far that we have to speculate about these scenarios.