st3ph3n's recent activity
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Comment on Indiana appeals court upholds injunction on abortion ban, citing religious liberty in ~health
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Comment on What games have you been playing, and what's your opinion on them? in ~games
st3ph3n Link ParentYeah, the whole find-a-phone-to-save thing was kind of annoying. The other games in the series that I have played just let you save anywhere from the menu, as long as you're not actively in the...Yeah, the whole find-a-phone-to-save thing was kind of annoying. The other games in the series that I have played just let you save anywhere from the menu, as long as you're not actively in the middle of a custscene or a fight.
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Comment on What games have you been playing, and what's your opinion on them? in ~games
st3ph3n Link ParentI completed a run on the default stake for the first time tonight. I got the joker that increases multiplier by 2 every time you play a hand containing 2 pairs very early on, and leveled my 2 pair...I completed a run on the default stake for the first time tonight. I got the joker that increases multiplier by 2 every time you play a hand containing 2 pairs very early on, and leveled my 2 pair up a whole bunch of times, playing those hands as much as possible.
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Comment on What games have you been playing, and what's your opinion on them? in ~games
st3ph3n Link ParentRDR2 definitely is one of those games that you need to dedicate large chunks of time to, in my experience. It moves along slowly, but - at least for me - was totally worth it. I loved it, and I...RDR2 definitely is one of those games that you need to dedicate large chunks of time to, in my experience. It moves along slowly, but - at least for me - was totally worth it. I loved it, and I didn't even dip into some aspects of it (hunting and such). I played the story from start to finish twice, with a gap of a couple of years between first and second runs.
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Comment on What games have you been playing, and what's your opinion on them? in ~games
st3ph3n LinkI finished Yakuza 0 after 56 hours of play time a week ago, and then was out of town for a week. I've been playing a bunch of Yakuza games lately from the selection that are on Gamepass, and have...I finished Yakuza 0 after 56 hours of play time a week ago, and then was out of town for a week. I've been playing a bunch of Yakuza games lately from the selection that are on Gamepass, and have fallen in love with them. Yakukza 0 was great fun, with so much side content to engage in.
While I was gone I took my Steam Deck with me and developed a severe addiction to Balatro, the poker-styled roguelike/deck builder. I don't normally care for deck builder games, but the poker trappings sucked me in, and now I'm finding this game hard to put down. I'm terrible at it, but it doesn't matter. It keeps scratching that 'just one more hand' itch. I have struggled to explain this game to people.
As soon as I got back I started playing Yakuza Kiwami, the 2016-2017 remake of the original first Yakuza game. I'm 4 chapters in on that one now, and enjoying it a lot too.
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Comment on What games have you been playing, and what's your opinion on them? in ~games
st3ph3n Link ParentI just went into it completely blind after seeing it on Gamepass and thinking 'that looks fun'. If I knew more beforehand I would have started with 0.I just went into it completely blind after seeing it on Gamepass and thinking 'that looks fun'. If I knew more beforehand I would have started with 0.
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Comment on Has anyone here received any benefit as a consumer from algorithmic ad targeting? in ~tech
st3ph3n Link ParentAs soon as I hit 10 years of marriage I started getting ads for divorce lawyers and dating sites. Sleazy bastards.As soon as I hit 10 years of marriage I started getting ads for divorce lawyers and dating sites. Sleazy bastards.
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Comment on What games have you been playing, and what's your opinion on them? in ~games
st3ph3n (edited )LinkA few weeks ago I started playing Like A Dragon Gaiden - The Man With No Name. It was my first time playing any Yakyza/Like a Dragon game, and I enjoyed it so much that I blazed through it, and...A few weeks ago I started playing Like A Dragon Gaiden - The Man With No Name. It was my first time playing any Yakyza/Like a Dragon game, and I enjoyed it so much that I blazed through it, and then Like a Dragon: Ishin, and am now deep into Yakuza 0. Pretty much every main game in this series is on Xbox Gamepass, so that's how I'm consuming them.
I'm really enjoying the side content, probably even more than the mainline stuff. There's just so much fun/goofy/funny stuff to do in these games. For example, right now I'm busy trying to takeover the nightlife industry in Kamurocho, which eventually triggered a karaoke battle against my main rival. Also, a child is trying to get me to buy him porno from a vending machine, which becomes a stealth mission. lol.
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Comment on The end of the MrBeast era in ~tech
st3ph3n Link ParentI'm aware of him because I see his face on cereal boxes and merch at the grocery store.I'm aware of him because I see his face on cereal boxes and merch at the grocery store.
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Comment on Adult Swim Games titles are being pulled from stores by Warner Bros in ~games
st3ph3n Link ParentSame shit he pulled with shows on HBO/Max.Same shit he pulled with shows on HBO/Max.
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Comment on The more I use Linux, the more I hate every distro in ~tech
st3ph3n Link ParentMint is the only distro that I've been able to stick with on the desktop, mostly because it requires very minimal fucking around to make things work... my Intel WiFi 6E issues notwithstanding.Mint is the only distro that I've been able to stick with on the desktop, mostly because it requires very minimal fucking around to make things work... my Intel WiFi 6E issues notwithstanding.
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Comment on The majority of traffic from Elon Musk's X may have been fake during the Super Bowl, report suggests in ~tech
st3ph3n Link ParentExcept he needs those bots to boost his active user count to try to make the whole shitshow look more valuable.Except he needs those bots to boost his active user count to try to make the whole shitshow look more valuable.
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Comment on What games have you been playing, and what's your opinion on them? in ~games
st3ph3n LinkI just finished Like a Dragon Gaiden - The Man Who Erased His Name yesterday, after 26 hours of play time. I enjoyed my time with it a lot. It was my first Like A Dragon/Yakuza game. I'm now going...I just finished Like a Dragon Gaiden - The Man Who Erased His Name yesterday, after 26 hours of play time. I enjoyed my time with it a lot. It was my first Like A Dragon/Yakuza game. I'm now going to give the Like a Dragon Ishin remake a whirl since it is also on Gamepass. It'll be interesting to see how this kind of game translates to feudal Japan after the modern, dense city setting of Gaiden.
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Comment on Returning to Monkey Island in ~games
st3ph3n (edited )Link ParentThere's definitely a bit of moon logic to some of the puzzles in the original games, but they're well worth playing. Monkey Island 1 and 2 got remaster releases about 10-15 years ago, which added...There's definitely a bit of moon logic to some of the puzzles in the original games, but they're well worth playing. Monkey Island 1 and 2 got remaster releases about 10-15 years ago, which added voiceover tracks and updated graphics but with the ability to switch back to the original art on the fly. I think they may also have added a hint system but I don't remember for sure. Monkey Island 3 (Curse of Monkey Island) came out later in the nineties and has beautiful hand-drawn 2d art, but a fixed resolution of something like 640x480. It works fine in ScummVM, though. Escape from Monkey Island is the 3D one and tends to be overlooked. I haven't actually played that one myself. I didn't feel like I was missing anything when I played Return to Monkey island when it came out in 2022, though.
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Comment on What games have you been playing, and what's your opinion on them? in ~games
st3ph3n (edited )LinkI'm currently playing Like a Dragon Gaiden - The Man Who Erased His Name (bit of a mouthful, that), which happens to be on Gamepass at the moment. It is my first experience with a Yakuza/Like a...I'm currently playing Like a Dragon Gaiden - The Man Who Erased His Name (bit of a mouthful, that), which happens to be on Gamepass at the moment. It is my first experience with a Yakuza/Like a Dragon game, and so far I am enjoying it. I bumped the difficulty down to easy and am finding the game much more enjoyable for it. It's got some very silly stuff going on, but I am enjoying the modern Japan setting and the combat is fun, and the story is keeping my interest. I enjoy just roaming around Osaka beating the shit out of gangs of street thugs and doing silly errands for people almost as much as I do playing the story missions. Definitely not something I would have dropped $60 or $70 on, which makes it a pretty good candidate for Gamepass in my book.
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Comment on Taylor Swift, Travis Kelce and a MAGA meltdown in ~misc
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Comment on Most bingeable book series? in ~books
st3ph3n LinkThe Jack Reacher books by Lee Child. There's a ton of them, and they all read like fast-paced action movies. If you're willing to switch off your critical brain for a while and just enjoy reading...The Jack Reacher books by Lee Child. There's a ton of them, and they all read like fast-paced action movies. If you're willing to switch off your critical brain for a while and just enjoy reading about Jack Reacher beating the shit out of bad guys who needed their asses kicked anyway, they're a very fun ride.
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Comment on House hunting tips for a millennial who's never owned one in ~life
st3ph3n LinkThe advice I would give to myself is avoid buying a home that is in an HOA if at all possible. This can be hard to do in some places, particularly with newer construction. HOAs levy fees and can...The advice I would give to myself is avoid buying a home that is in an HOA if at all possible. This can be hard to do in some places, particularly with newer construction.
HOAs levy fees and can even put a lien on your house if you become delinquent. The fees could be anything from near nothing to several hundred to thousands of dollars per month, depending on what type of upkeep/services the HOA provides. Beyond the fees, the HOA will require you to have their permission to do pretty much anything on the exterior of their home, and can cite/fine you for violating their rules. -
Comment on There are two types of airport people : Some travelers love being late [2019] in ~travel
st3ph3n Link ParentThey call it the Airport Transit System. It's a weird driverless train-like thing. In it runs on pneumatic tires on elevated tracks rather than steel wheels on steel rails.They call it the Airport Transit System. It's a weird driverless train-like thing. In it runs on pneumatic tires on elevated tracks rather than steel wheels on steel rails.
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Comment on There are two types of airport people : Some travelers love being late [2019] in ~travel
st3ph3n Link ParentThey only just got the train between terminals back up and running at O'Hare a few months ago after it was out of service for several years. Shit's insane. I live in the Chicago area and will...They only just got the train between terminals back up and running at O'Hare a few months ago after it was out of service for several years. Shit's insane. I live in the Chicago area and will always opt to fly out of Midway over O'Hare if I can get to where I need to go from Midway.
You can go pretty much anywhere from O'Hare, though, so it's got that going for it.
That's what it took to finally legalize abortion in Ireland.