st3ph3n's recent activity
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Comment on What games have you been playing, and what's your opinion on them? in ~games
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Comment on What games have you been playing, and what's your opinion on them? in ~games
st3ph3n LinkI finished Judgment (2018 PS4/2022 PC) a few days ago and enjoyed the crap out of it, and went straight into the sequel, Lost Judgment (2021 Console, 2022 PC), playing both games on PC. It's more...I finished Judgment (2018 PS4/2022 PC) a few days ago and enjoyed the crap out of it, and went straight into the sequel, Lost Judgment (2021 Console, 2022 PC), playing both games on PC. It's more Yakuza, basically. The first game takes place entirely in good old Kamurocho, and the sequel mostly in Yokohama, using the same map from Yakuza: Like A Dragon.
These are just good fun if you like the Yakuza formula, though the crazy is toned down a bit compared to the mainline Yakuza series. Also, you get to beat the shit out of hordes of asshole highschoolers in the sequel, a large amount of which takes place in a private high school setting.
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Comment on What are your current pain points with Linux? in ~tech
st3ph3n (edited )LinkI made the full switch from Windows to Linux on my desktop system about a year ago, and it has mostly been pretty good. I'm running Fedora 44 with KDE, upgraded pretty seamlessly from Fedora 43....I made the full switch from Windows to Linux on my desktop system about a year ago, and it has mostly been pretty good. I'm running Fedora 44 with KDE, upgraded pretty seamlessly from Fedora 43.
My main pain point is my X870e motherboard's Realtek 5Gb ethernet chipset. It works out of the box with modern kernels using the r8169 kernel module, but that is somewhat lacking compared to the r8126 driver that Realtek provides source for. My use case here is that my Fedora machine is used to host a Sunshine service for streaming Steam games on my LAN, and it occasionally suffers sudden drops in throughput using the built-in r8169 driver.
That r8126 driver can be easily compiled and installed, and the r8169 module blacklisted so that the system uses the correct driver... until Fedora pushes a new kernel and DKMS fails to build the driver... every... damn... time. I now know how to manually recompile and install the kernel module when this happens but damn it is a pain in the ass.My other main pain point is Adobe Lightroom. I know there are FOSS alternatives like RawTherapee and Darktable, but this is a skill issue. I'm just broken by years of using Lightroom for my photography, and those habits are hard to break.
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Comment on What games have you been playing, and what's your opinion on them? in ~games
st3ph3n Link ParentYou hit that particular nail on the head. I love the actual driving mechanics in Forza Horizon, but goddamn everything is so... safe. Risk-averse. Sanitized. Even the 'street racing' seems to be...You hit that particular nail on the head. I love the actual driving mechanics in Forza Horizon, but goddamn everything is so... safe. Risk-averse. Sanitized. Even the 'street racing' seems to be completely sanctioned and above board, just with traffic NPCs, lol.
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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 the 2022 PC release of Judgment, originally released for PS4 in 2018. This is a game from Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio, the people behind the Yakuza/Like a Dragon series, and if...I'm currently playing the 2022 PC release of Judgment, originally released for PS4 in 2018. This is a game from Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio, the people behind the Yakuza/Like a Dragon series, and if you're comfortable with those games then you know pretty much exactly what you're in for.
It is set in the same old Kamurocho as many of the Yakuza games. The ridiculousness is toned down a bit, with this being supposedly a detective story, but you are a detective who still solves most problems by getting into brawls with street thugs and Yakuza. There are some new mechanics added, such as stealthily tailing suspects, lockpicking, and using a drone to surveil some bad guys, etc.
I'm about 25 hours into it and thoroughly hooked, just like I thought I would be. This setting and gameplay loop just really works for me.
I have already bought the sequel (Lost Judgment) and will be playing that next.
Side note, this game works excellently on Linux under Proton. I'm playing it using an 8bitdo Ultimate 2 wireless controller. The game strongly recommends that you use a controller to play it, though it can be played with keyboard and mouse if you wish. I haven't even tried that, because I played through all of the Yakuza/Like a Dragon games on console with a controller, so that's what I'm used to for this type of game.
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Comment on US condemns 'unnecessary escalation' after Israeli airstrikes on Syrian airbase in ~society
st3ph3n LinkIf the US government really condemned anything Israel was doing all they would have to do is stop funding them to the tune of billions of dollars of cash and weapons, but they don't, so they don't.If the US government really condemned anything Israel was doing all they would have to do is stop funding them to the tune of billions of dollars of cash and weapons, but they don't, so they don't.
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Comment on Meta is adding ridiculous ‘rate limits’ and a soft paywall to its smart glasses in ~tech
st3ph3n Link ParentThey're probably bleeding cash like a stuck pig thoughThey're probably bleeding cash like a stuck pig though
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Comment on What games have you been playing, and what's your opinion on them? in ~games
st3ph3n LinkI’m currently addicted to Forza Horizon 6. Im a long time fan of the Forza series, having played every game since Forza Motorsport 2 on the Xbox 360. This is my first time playing any of them on...I’m currently addicted to Forza Horizon 6. Im a long time fan of the Forza series, having played every game since Forza Motorsport 2 on the Xbox 360. This is my first time playing any of them on PC, and on an unsupported operating system to boot (Linux). It was a bit rough getting it running properly with various combinations of proton versions and parameters to fiddle with, but it does work and that includes multiplayer.
I just really enjoy the Forza Horizon gameplay loop. The cars feel great to drive, there’s tons of them, lots of different events to partake in, and of course the Japan setting for this instance of the game is what the fans have been asking for for years, and I think they really did a great job with it.
It still has some of the usual Forza quirks, like fugly human models and cringeworthy bits of dialog, but that’s totally unimportant in the grand scheme of things.
If you liked previous Forza games or you just enjoy racing games that are a bit more arcade than sim then give it a shot. It’s fun.
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Comment on Commodore Callback flip phone in ~tech
st3ph3n Link ParentFunnily enough the walkie talkie feature has disappeared from the beta version of WatchOS 27, so it's days may well be numbered.Funnily enough the walkie talkie feature has disappeared from the beta version of WatchOS 27, so it's days may well be numbered.
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Comment on Rolls-Royce will build small nuclear power plants for Sweden in a major boost for the British engineering group's ambitions to lead the development of the nascent technology in Europe in ~enviro
st3ph3n LinkI hope to see more of this tech deployed, especially now with the crushing demand spike from AI data centers.I hope to see more of this tech deployed, especially now with the crushing demand spike from AI data centers.
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Comment on What radicalized you? in ~talk
st3ph3n LinkBeing in a junior management position in a large company after years as just an individual contributor and seeing the slimy shit they do that proves they don't care about their employees at all...Being in a junior management position in a large company after years as just an individual contributor and seeing the slimy shit they do that proves they don't care about their employees at all has made me into quite an anticapitalist.
Layoffs and stock buybacks at the same time?! Sure! We love our people! How are YOU driving shareholder value today? Ugh.
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Comment on What are you reading these days? in ~books
st3ph3n LinkI'm currently reading Dungeon Crawler Carl #6: The Eye of the Bedlam Bride. I've been enjoying this series, having read them one after the other from the beginning until now over the past few...I'm currently reading Dungeon Crawler Carl #6: The Eye of the Bedlam Bride. I've been enjoying this series, having read them one after the other from the beginning until now over the past few months, but it is starting to wear a bit thin. Carl and friends lurch from one extreme situation to the next, over and over. I get that that is the nature of LitRPG, but I think it probably could have wrapped up a book or two earlier. There's one more already published after this one, and at least one more on the way after that.
I'm glad the author found success, and I hear it has even been optioned for TV/movie development. I have also heard that audiobook is the superior way to consume this series, but I much prefer to read text.
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Comment on What games have you been playing, and what's your opinion on them? in ~games
st3ph3n LinkLike a Dragon: Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii This is a very silly but fun game, that was let down by a pretty crappy free demo that didn't do it justice. I'm enjoying the shit out of it. If you liked...Like a Dragon: Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii
This is a very silly but fun game, that was let down by a pretty crappy free demo that didn't do it justice. I'm enjoying the shit out of it. If you liked the prior Yakuza/Like a Dragon beat-em-up games before the series went RPG that is basically what you get here, plus pirate ship battle mechanics. It reuses the Honolulu map from Infinite Wealth, and you get to meet a bunch of characters from that game again, assuming you played it before.
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Comment on Apple announces Macbook Neo, a new budget Mac in ~tech
st3ph3n Link ParentMy main memory-hungry use case is Adobe Lightroom. That eats all the memory it can get.My main memory-hungry use case is Adobe Lightroom. That eats all the memory it can get.
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Comment on Sony pulls back from PlayStation games on PC in ~games
st3ph3n Link ParentAnother snag with just buying the box that plays the games is the likelihood that future boxes are going to be eye-wateringly expensive if they keep up the hardware arms race, thanks to the...Another snag with just buying the box that plays the games is the likelihood that future boxes are going to be eye-wateringly expensive if they keep up the hardware arms race, thanks to the outrageous cost of RAM, storage, and GPU chips.
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Comment on Apple announces Macbook Neo, a new budget Mac in ~tech
st3ph3n Link ParentYeah, it does. Right now it shows it to be using about 740 MB of 'compressed RAM', 7.2 GB for apps, and about 1.8 GB of 'wired RAM', which as I understand it is Apple terminology for critical core...Yeah, it does. Right now it shows it to be using about 740 MB of 'compressed RAM', 7.2 GB for apps, and about 1.8 GB of 'wired RAM', which as I understand it is Apple terminology for critical core system stuff that can't be swapped out.
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Comment on Apple announces Macbook Neo, a new budget Mac in ~tech
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Comment on What are you no longer a fan of? in ~talk
st3ph3n Link ParentI feel you on the fast cars (and also motorcycles in my case). I used to have tire-shredding V8-powered muscle cars with shitty gas mileage, but over the years I mellowed the fuck out and...I feel you on the fast cars (and also motorcycles in my case). I used to have tire-shredding V8-powered muscle cars with shitty gas mileage, but over the years I mellowed the fuck out and eventually found myself in a hybrid Honda Accord (ultimate dad car), and nowadays I drive an EV, and not a crazy fast one either.
I still have two gas-powered motorcycles, but one is a Honda CB from the 1970s that might make 60 horsepower on a good day, and the other is a modern Triumph Tiger ADV bike that is big and heavy and comfortable. My last hooligan bike was a 2016 Yamaha XSR900 that just wanted to wheelie all day. It was fun but I'm too old for that shit now.
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Comment on Apple announces Macbook Neo, a new budget Mac in ~tech
st3ph3n Link ParentThe integration with other Apple stuff if you have it really is excellent. I wish they'd open that stuff up to other platforms than Mac OS, but you know how Apple is...The integration with other Apple stuff if you have it really is excellent. I wish they'd open that stuff up to other platforms than Mac OS, but you know how Apple is...
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Comment on Apple announces Macbook Neo, a new budget Mac in ~tech
st3ph3n LinkOnly 8GB of RAM, and no option to upgrade even for the usual extortionate Apple prices seems like a bad idea in 2026. I know, AI RAMpocalypse probably has something to do with that. My Macbook Air...Only 8GB of RAM, and no option to upgrade even for the usual extortionate Apple prices seems like a bad idea in 2026. I know, AI RAMpocalypse probably has something to do with that.
My Macbook Air running Tahoe is chilling with over 10GB of RAM in use with pretty much just the OS and Firefox with 5 tabs running.
If you liked the first one I think you'll like the sequel too. I think that game got treated pretty unfairly when it came out.