trobertson's recent activity

  1. Comment on Norwegian bridge collapsed ten years after it was built – all because designers focused too much on making it look good in ~engineering

    trobertson
    Link
    There's a video from a year ago I watched about this bridge, it has a lot of engineering info about what happened. How did the Engineers Miss This? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FSPI0xkTifI

    There's a video from a year ago I watched about this bridge, it has a lot of engineering info about what happened.

    How did the Engineers Miss This? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FSPI0xkTifI

    4 votes

  2. Comment on X4: Foundations 7.00 trailer in ~games

    trobertson
    Link Parent
    Kinda weird that you started with the negative comparisons, seeing as they are completely different games (as you said!). The biggest things that X4 does that other space games don't do: X4 is a...

    Kinda weird that you started with the negative comparisons, seeing as they are completely different games (as you said!). The biggest things that X4 does that other space games don't do:

    • X4 is a fully simulated economy (wartime economy, specifically)
    • The player can fully engage with that economy
    • All ship construction depends on the economy - 100% of the resources that go into a ship must be produced somewhere, and shipped by someone
    • Exactly the same deal with building stations - whether they be economic stations, military stations, shipbuilding stations, or some other purpose
      • You the player will be designing, building, owning, and profiting from the stations that all other space games take for granted
    • Sector ownership is dynamic and regions can (and do) change hands
      • You can conquer the galaxy, for real, if you want. Your player faction can genuinely take over sectors
    • Quests
      • minor quests are either economic jobs or military jobs
      • Questlines shape the factions of the galaxy and determine faction merges, wars, ceasefires, etc. They also open up new portions of the map - the Kingdom's End questline, for example, reveals another ~8 sectors (iirc) that you can't get to until you do the quest
    • You can stand on the bridge of your flagship and watch while your fleet engages your enemies
    • Or you can pilot your flagship, or your destroyers, or your frigates, or your fighters, and let the AI take primary control of your fleet
    • Similarly, you will also have economic fleets that can automate a lot of the logistical challenges your stations will face. Or you can pilot one of your traders yourself (really smart in the early game)
    • Lot of awesome mods! But probably avoid these on a first playthrough because otherwise you won't know what you want or need

    Elite definitely has the best pilot feel of all the modern space games, but that's about all it does. X4 is trying, and mostly succeeding, at being an engaging space world rather than an engaging space ship.

    7 votes

  3. Comment on What are you reading these days? in ~books

    trobertson
    Link Parent
    If you haven't already, you should read "A Journey of Black and Red". Same author, and imo a slightly better story. Ariane is even more fun than Viv.

    The Calamitous Bob

    If you haven't already, you should read "A Journey of Black and Red". Same author, and imo a slightly better story. Ariane is even more fun than Viv.

    1 vote

  4. Comment on Piracy is surging again because streaming execs ignored the lessons of the past in ~tech

  5. Comment on The New York Times sues OpenAI, Microsoft over the use of its stories to train chatbots in ~tech

    trobertson
    Link Parent
    My understanding of the case is that the NYT have produced as evidence cases where ChatGPT has, very literally, copied their articles word-for-word, as a result of a prompt to get around the NYT...

    They own the license to ... those specific articles. Not any others.

    My understanding of the case is that the NYT have produced as evidence cases where ChatGPT has, very literally, copied their articles word-for-word, as a result of a prompt to get around the NYT paywall. If that evidence is legit and not doctored, then ChatGPT has blatantly plagiarized NYT articles. That is illegal, according to contemporary copyright law.

    As for this stuff:

    The modern attitude seems to be that the first caveperson who scratched a picture on the cave floor owns the concept of cave drawings.

    The Times doesn't own the concept of news, or product reviews.

    Oh, wait, I just violated William Gibson's copyright probably. He owns cyberpunk doesn't he? Or is it Mike Pondsmith? Philip K Dick? Bruce Sterling? Guess I'll find out when one of them sues me.

    Nobody is accusing them of plagiarizing a genre of writing. That's a nonsensical refutation of the case.

    20 votes

  6. Comment on Steam Winter Sale 2023: Hidden gems in ~games

    trobertson
    Link Parent
    I don't, but seeing how it's been 2 days without a response, maybe this entertaining "review" by Sseth can sway you in one direction or another. My takeaways are that the game designer has a...

    I don't, but seeing how it's been 2 days without a response, maybe this entertaining "review" by Sseth can sway you in one direction or another. My takeaways are that the game designer has a vision and sticks to it, even when that vision causes some inconveniences.

    1 vote

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

    trobertson
    Link Parent
    I used to think this too before giving San Andreas a solid chance. It's hard to go back to Vice City now (even though VC has way better music).

    Vice City was best GTA, and I don't think there is anything that could convince me otherwise. It had a lot more soul to it than many of the others.

    I used to think this too before giving San Andreas a solid chance. It's hard to go back to Vice City now (even though VC has way better music).

  8. Comment on Patrick Rothfuss on the wait for book two of The Kingkiller Chronicle (February 26, 2009) in ~books

    trobertson
    Link
    The "2009" in the title is very important. There have been two major events since then that have shaken most fans' belief that book 3 will ever come out. Essentially, his most dedicated fanbase...

    The "2009" in the title is very important. There have been two major events since then that have shaken most fans' belief that book 3 will ever come out. Essentially, his most dedicated fanbase thinks he's been lying to them for over a decade about there even being a book 3.

    In 2020, his editor made a facebook post where she claims that she hasn't seen even a single word of book 3. From his Wikipedia:

    In July 2020, Rothfuss's editor and publisher Betsy Wollheim responded publicly on her Facebook account to an article speculating on reasons why The Doors of Stone, the concluding volume of the trilogy, had not been published,[17] saying she had "never seen a word of book three" and that she didn't think Rothfuss had written anything since 2014.[17] The post has since been deleted.[18]

    In 2021, he told his stream he would release the first chapter if his audience hit a donation goal (which they hit within minutes). Two years later, he has still not released that chapter. From his Wikipedia:

    In December 2021, Rothfuss tweeted that he would "[s]hare a full chapter of Doors of Stone" if his charity reached a $333,333 fundraising goal.[20] Later that month he added more stretch goals, with the largest being for $666,666 to "assemble the Geek Glitterati equivalent of the Avengers and record [the full chapter] for you". He noted that such a goal would take some time but said "I’m pretty sure we’ll be able to get it done early next year. February at the latest."[21] The chapter has not been released, with Rothfuss saying in April 2022 that the process was “moving more slowly than [he] would like.”[22]

    Personally, I'm done with this guy. He has made and broken far more promises than those two passages suggest, and he's got nobody to blame but himself. And when his fans ask him for the things he promised, he gets incredibly angry and rages at them. It's textbook narcissism.

    And to drive the point home, it's not like his poor behaved is a recent thing. His lies started before the first book even released - he said of books 2 and 3: "Well.... I've already written them. So you won't have to wait forever for them to come out. They'll be released on a regular schedule. One per year." This was in an interview in 2007. He's been lying to everyone for a very long time.

    21 votes

  9. Comment on Any good art based podcast recommendations? in ~arts

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

    trobertson
    Link Parent
    I also started a new (modded) Bannerlord playthrough recently, and you are completely right about the endgame being lacking. The early and middle game is so much more fun than everything that...

    I also started a new (modded) Bannerlord playthrough recently, and you are completely right about the endgame being lacking. The early and middle game is so much more fun than everything that happens after you own your first town. I like to impose challenges on each playthrough in order to extend that early part and delay the end game. Some of the ones I've done:

    • only recruit prisoners
    • party size maximum of ~30 troops (including myself and companions)
    • only me + companions
    • be enemies with most/all of the countries (great for a bandit playthrough, especially if you use the Fourberie mod)
    • only recruit a single unit type (horse archers are easy mode though)
    4 votes

  11. Comment on US Federal Trade Commission accuses Amazon of illegally protecting monopoly in online retail in ~tech

    trobertson
    Link Parent
    The EU has a very different take on this - they recognize several monopolies in tech. Their Digital Markets Act, which is coming into force fairly soon, explicitly uses the recognized monopolies...

    I'm not sure the exact metric(s) which we should base any updated definitions off of, so I'm all ears, but Google, Amazon, and similar companies have gotten around having anything officially approaching a monopoly or similar by diversifying it's markets.

    The EU has a very different take on this - they recognize several monopolies in tech. Their Digital Markets Act, which is coming into force fairly soon, explicitly uses the recognized monopolies as the justification for the act.

    This Wikipedia page contains the list of recognized monopolies, listing percentage of market owned by the tech companies. It's pretty hard to claim they are anything other than monopolies.

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Digital_Markets_Act#Rationale

    ninja edit: "These companies have until 6 March 2024 to comply with all of the Act's provisions."

    6 votes

  12. Comment on Godot Engine in ~games

    trobertson
    Link Parent
    And Cruelty Squad! Godot has a showcase of the released games that use it - there's quite a few considering how young Godot is. https://godotengine.org/showcase/

    And Cruelty Squad!

    Godot has a showcase of the released games that use it - there's quite a few considering how young Godot is.

    https://godotengine.org/showcase/

    3 votes

  13. Comment on Two short films about potters in ~arts

    trobertson
    (edited )
    Link
    I really like these Goldmark Gallery artist spotlights. It doesn't seem like they are doing them anymore, which is a real shame. I think they stopped when lockdowns started? I have a private...

    I really like these Goldmark Gallery artist spotlights. It doesn't seem like they are doing them anymore, which is a real shame. I think they stopped when lockdowns started?

    I have a private playlist with loads of pottery videos. Since searching through Goldmark's videos list is a total pain (thanks Youtube) here's all the Artist Spotlights that Goldmark has done for ceramic artists (in no particular order).

    Lisa Hammond: A Sense of Adventure

    Jim Malone: Potter, a short film

    Phil Rogers: A Passion for Pots

    Phil Rogers: Drawing in the Air

    Lee Kang-hyo: Onggi Master

    Clive Bowen: Born, not Made

    Ken Matsuzaki: Elemental

    Ken Matsuzaki: Intangible Spirit

    Mike Dodd: Potter, a short film

    Jean-Nicolas Gérard: The Potter's Potter

    Nic Collins: Potter, a short film

    Svend Bayer: Potter, a short film

    Randy Johnston: An Expansive Vision

    Takeshi Yasuda: Made In China

    Plus the two mentioned in the OP - Anne Mette Hjortshøj and Richard Batterham.

    If you only have time for a few of them, my recommendations are to watch any of Anne Mette Hjortshøj, Phil Rogers (Drawing in the Air), Jean-Nicolas Gérard, Svend Bayer, and Mike Dodd. All the videos are good, mind, I just think these are the best ones.

    edit: I forgot one!

    Walter Keeler: Treasures of the Everyday

    5 votes

  14. Comment on Medical researchers report that the workers who make quartz countertops are dying of lung disease at a young age in ~health

    trobertson
    Link
    Quartz workers having lung trouble? Sounds like silicosis. skims article Yep, it's silicosis. I do ceramics as a hobby and we have the same danger. Silica particles (the primary component in...

    Quartz workers having lung trouble? Sounds like silicosis. skims article Yep, it's silicosis.

    I do ceramics as a hobby and we have the same danger. Silica particles (the primary component in quartz, clay, and glass) are essentially micro-knives. As you breathe it in, it accumulates in your lungs and slowly, with every breathe, cuts into your lung tissue. Most people who die of silicosis die from drowning on their own blood, unable to breathe in any oxygen. Anytime you are working with a dry silica-based material, you need to be wearing a respirator to ensure you don't breathe in all of that particulate.

    The article contains a picture of a guy cutting a quartz board, with billowing clouds of silica dust in the background. That environment is insanity. It will guarantee rapid onset silicosis (which is exactly what these researchers are warning about).

    OSHA has standards around working with silica, and it looks like these companies aren't following them. Furthermore, every silica supplier provides an SDS (Safety Data Sheet) which advises on how to safely use silica. Here's a random silica SDS (PDF) - section 1 is product identification, and section 2 is hazards and how to avoid harm. Section 7 repeats section 2, essentially saying "Minimize silica dust. If there is dust, wear a respirator. Mop, don't vacuum."

    As far as I'm concerned, business owners who allow working environments similar to what's shown in the picture should be arrested on felony charges. It's manslaughter via criminal negligence.

    33 votes

  15. Comment on What are you reading these days? in ~books

    trobertson
    Link Parent
    Mother of Learning is excellent, and not just for web serials. The premise is that a novice wizard gets caught in a month-long time loop and needs to find a way out. He's also not the only person...

    Mother of Learning is excellent, and not just for web serials. The premise is that a novice wizard gets caught in a month-long time loop and needs to find a way out. He's also not the only person trapped in it. This story is complete as of a few years ago, and the author has recently started a new story which I'm very excited about.

    A Journey of Black and Red is a vampire story, but it's not a pulp romance. It's mostly a slice-of-unlife following the lead character Arianne, starting with her unwilling turning. The stakes start personal, and gradually grow as Arianne develops her abilities and immerses herself into vampire society.

    If you're into progression fantasy, then The Path of Ascension is best in class. (Edit: I just realized that it's a "stub", meaning some chapters have been removed to comply with Kindle Unlimited requirements. The first several chapters are still on RoyalRoad, but a lot of the early story is only on KU.)

    Minithra recommended Beware of Chicken, which is excellent. However, it's best read when you've grown tired of xianxia (cultivation) tropes - Beware of Chicken is a xianxia story done well, which is a very rare thing.

  16. Comment on Thoughts on Final Fantasy 16 in ~games

    trobertson
    Link Parent
    You might want to skip the "100%" part. The side quest are, by and large, MMO-style fetch quests. They don't seem to contribute to the story.

    You might want to skip the "100%" part. The side quest are, by and large, MMO-style fetch quests. They don't seem to contribute to the story.

    3 votes

  17. Comment on How do I remove topics from appearing in my feed? in ~tildes

    trobertson
    Link Parent
    Specifically, you unsubscribe from inside the group. So go to ~anime and then, on the right side of the screen, you'll see an "Unsubscribe" button. It's worth looking at all of the groups at once...

    Specifically, you unsubscribe from inside the group. So go to ~anime and then, on the right side of the screen, you'll see an "Unsubscribe" button.

    It's worth looking at all of the groups at once and deciding which ones you are / are not interested in: https://tildes.net/groups

    3 votes

  18. Comment on What’s a genre or style you wish was explored more in games? in ~games

    trobertson
    Link Parent
    It's been a long time since I played this, so my memory is fuzzy, but "Miasmata" is very exploration heavy. Iirc, you develop your map by finding and triangulating points of interest. It's not...

    It's been a long time since I played this, so my memory is fuzzy, but "Miasmata" is very exploration heavy. Iirc, you develop your map by finding and triangulating points of interest. It's not hand-holdy either - you run around, see a point of interest, and then you run around more until you can get a decent triangulation. I don't remember the game ever forcing me to use any particular point of interest..

    https://store.steampowered.com/app/223510/Miasmata/

  19. Comment on Extreme China heatwave could lead to global chaos and food shortages in ~enviro

    trobertson
    Link Parent
    Nothing to do with gods or whatever. These are all entirely foreseeable ramifications (the climate stuff, anyways) of human hubris.

    Nothing to do with gods or whatever. These are all entirely foreseeable ramifications (the climate stuff, anyways) of human hubris.

    10 votes

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

    trobertson
    Link Parent
    Terraria != Minecraft, not even a little bit. It is unfortunately one of those "wiki games" where if you don't know what you're doing, you really should have a guide open. For example, the rules...

    Terraria != Minecraft, not even a little bit. It is unfortunately one of those "wiki games" where if you don't know what you're doing, you really should have a guide open. For example, the rules for getting different NPCs into your base are almost completely opaque to newcomers.

    You can get the basics here: https://terraria.fandom.com/wiki/Guide:Getting_started#The_First_Day

    You will NEED a boss guide, as beating bosses is how you progress: https://terraria.fandom.com/wiki/Bosses

    And if you want a more detailed walkthrough, go here: https://terraria.fandom.com/wiki/Guide:Walkthrough

    I really like the game, and play it with lots of mods, but the need for a wiki is real.

    2 votes