But how about you? Because we all want to know:
What Have You Been Playing... in JANUARY 2024?
* Microsoft Flight Simulator (2020)
Despite what Steam may tell you, I didn't actually play this game very
much this month. The vast bulk of the time I spent in the game was
watching it slowly download itself to my hard-drive. I had previously uninstalled it from my SSD (it seemed silly to waste 250GB of space on
the fast SSD when it got so little usage) but - following the advice
of some clever Usenetters - I decided to move it over to an older,
slower, spinning-rust drive.
Unfortunately, that meant a long and tedious download; over 100GB at
an intolerably slow 5-10MBits/s. Eventually, I just turned off the
monitor (and sound, because until the game fully installs it plays a
chirpy little tune that you can't turn off!) and let the computer do
its thing overnight.
But once it was (mostly) installed, I had to give the game another
chance... if only to see how the change from SSD to HDD affected the gameplay. Once in the game, the difference was unnoticeable... but
those load times to actually get started? Wow! It almost made me
reconsider installing it back onto the SSD.
Beyond that, I didn't do anything too unusual. Mostly, I just pick a
random part of the world as a starting point, and then just fly around
for an hour, reveling in the vastness (and detail) of the world. I
don't bother with any of the realism settings; I ignore ATC rules.
Heck, I don't even worry about running out of fuel or crashing into
the ground. I'm just there to bobble recklessly over the terrain and
see the sights.
But that's one of the great things about MS Flight Sim; it's
configurable to suit the needs of all sorts of fliers. Maybe one day
I'll again fully indulge in the fantasy of flying with all the
'realism' settings cranked up to max, where it can take ten minutes
just to start up the engines, and an hour to dutifully navigate the
taxiways and get into the air. I've done just that in earlier versions
of the game (including, once, a non-stop eight hour flight across the Atlantic in real-time. I was younger then and had both more energy and
more time to waste ;-). But until then, I'm happy being an unsafe
tourist dangerously ignoring every single air-safety law (and physics)
just to see the prettiest places on Earth.
---------------------------------------
That's all of my gaming this month (well, all the games I played long
enough to make it worth writing about, anyway). Not a bad selection, I
think.
But how about you? Because we all want to know:
What Have You Been Playing... in JANUARY 2024?
Well, here we are in February again. What's so special about February?
It's the anniversary of these threads, which we started way back in
2006. That's right; we've been doing this for 18 years straight now.
Maybe we should call it quits? Or are you folk up for another 18
years?
Heck, let's give it a shot. I'll start us off.
And... I'm Already Done
---------------------------------------
* Exit 8
* Uncharted: Legacy of Thieves
* Starship Troopers: Terran Command
* System Shock (2023 Remake)
* Microsoft Flight Simulator (2020)
No, wait... I Keep Going and Going and Going... ---------------------------------------
* Exit 8 (new)
In many ways, "Exit 8" is more of a game concept than a full
experience. It's gameplay loop is simple: walk through a hallway
(nominally a barren underground tiled tunnel as, apparently, commonly
found in Japan). After a few twists and turns, it connects to another
tunnel. If this new bit of tunnel is identical to the part you passed
through earlier, keep moving forward. If anything is off, turn around.
If you keep progressing through a tunnel with an 'anomaly', you're
warped back to the start. Correctly identify whether the tunnel has an anomaly or not 8 times, and you finally make it to the eponymous exit.
The game's tech is neat. The core tunnel is fairly straightforward,
and uses portals between its different parts for the looping; it's
nothing too exciting but it has good visuals and works so seamlessly
that you'll not easily notice what it's doing at first. The anomalies
are procedurally chosen and can range from the simple (an innocuous
blotch on the ceiling) to the outright creepy (a man embedded into the tilework who chases after you). There are about 40 anomalies total in
the game, and you're unlikely to experience them all in a single
play-through (in fact, the game encourages you to replay and hunt down
all the strangeness by going through the tunnels more than once) as
the procedural engine does a good job of not repeating them on you.
There's a hint of SCP mythos built into the game's conceit; at times,
it feels like an underground variation of the Overlook Hotel in 'The
Shining' with its weirdly, non-Euclidean architecture. There's a bit
of a fish-eye effect that gives everything a feeling of unreality.
Passing by the same commuter walking down the hallway in the other
direction again and again doesn't help either. Is he another victim of
this haunted tunnel? Is he one of its creations? Is he dead? Is he...
me? Nothing is explained, and it is the mundanity of the locale
contrasted with the often surreal changes that gives this game a
delightful atmosphere of suspense.
But the real 'terror' of this game is how it instills paranoia in you
about the choices you've made. Did I miss an anomaly? Was that thing I /thought/ an anomaly really just my uncertain memory? Because while
sometimes the changes are obvious - a door suddenly opening into
darkness - other times the differences can be incredibly subtle. You
start questioning yourself, doubling back again and again to re-check.
Did that commuter look a bit smaller this time? Was that light at the
far end of the hall flickering or was it a rendering glitch? You're
never sure, and even though the worst that will ever happen to you is
that you get sent back to the start of the game (a game, I'll remind
you, that - with luck and careful observation - you can likely finish
in MINUTES, so it's not like you're even losing a huge investment in
time) but still, it hurts. Because there's so little to see and do in
these (nearly) identical tunnels, being forced to re-walk your path - especially after getting so close to the end - makes the experience
sometimes seem Sisyphean. And it makes your victory feel even more
momentous even though, in the end, all you did was walk down a tunnel
for a few minutes.
So overall, the experience of this game was really good. "Exit 8" is
an excellent use of restraint, never straying past its own core ideal
and yet still managing to tell an interesting story and engaging its
audience with its simple idea. Still, as much as I enjoyed the game,
I'd also have a hard time recommending it to others. At $4 USD, it's
just a bit overpriced for what you get, even acknowledging its unique
and well-developed concept. It's the sort of thing that would be a
very memorable part of a much larger game, but as a stand-alone
product? As good as it is, it feels incredibly overpriced. It's a
wonderful example of the innovativeness and artistry we (sadly) too
often only get from Indie developers... but that doesn't make its
price-tag any easier to swallow.
But if you do happen to get your hands on this game - either by having
more money than sense, or as part of some free bundle, or whatever -
do give the game a shot. It's short, but weirdly effective and well
worth the few minutes it will take you to play it.
* Uncharted: Legacy of Thieves
I'm having a really hard time describing my experience with
"Uncharted: Legacy of Thieves."
On the one hand, it's a game that shows a lot of obvious skill and
experience went into its development. It's a top-notch game with
top-end visuals and solid gameplay. The developers, Naughty Dog
Studios, have a solid reputation for a reason, and in many ways it
shows here. This is a team that knows how to put together a game.
But on the other hand, while playing "Legacy", I really got the
impression that this wasn't a game the developers wanted to make. It
feels heartless, without charm or personality. It feels rote; a game
designed by committee to fulfill a commitment or financial obligation. "Legacy" is in no ways a bad game, but compared to Naughty Dog
Studio's other titles, it feels like hollow.
It's the little things, really. There are some very rough animations scattered throughout the game, for instance. These are all minor,
often blink-and-you'll-miss-them events, but they're the sort of
things that Naughty Dog would have corrected in their earlier games.
It's the lack of any meaningful new content; the whole thing feels
like a they cobbled together a game made out of ideas rejected from
their earlier titles. Even the new mechanics - the absolutely
pointless 'open-world' areas, and the stealth feature - feel out of
place. The "Uncharted" games were always highly scripted, highly
linear but excellently paced games, and these new abilities do nothing
but needlessly slow down the action.
Naughty Dog games always have good characters, settings and stories;
again, while "Legacy" isn't terrible, it isn't that great either. Its
villain is cliche; the trap-filled maps feel - even for an cinematic action/adventure game like this - cartoonishly unrealistic. The
protagonists are just repeating story tropes already covered several
times in earlier games. Even the voice actors sound tired of their
roles.
And it hurts because - like I said - there was some real skill putting
this game together. The traps are clever. The combat is solid. The
game is gorgeous. If you've never played an Uncharted game - and you
enjoy the action/adventure genre - you'll love this game. It falls
short only in comparison to its older, better predecessors.
In fairness, "Legacy of Thieves" actually includes two games; the
original "Uncharted 4" and the spin-off "Lost Legacy" game. I only
managed to work my way through the former. By the time I got to the
end, I just didn't have the heart to play a second game (maybe one
day). Apparently that spin-off is a better experience than "Thief's
End". But that doesn't seem such a high bar to clear.
* Starship Troopers: Terran Command
It's amazing how such a small thing can have such a negative effect.
It's the voice-acting, you see. It's absolutely terrible, and it
brings down the whole game. It's just so dull and amateur, and when
the other elements of the game are also struggling to achieve
mediocrity, having such a weight dragging it down is the last thing
the game needs.
Because, as I said, the rest of the game really isn't that good
either. Visually, it's not that exciting, and it's map and mission
design are far too linear and, frankly, the whole thing is a bit
boring. The game also utilizes the movie license, which - while
entertaining enough on film - just doesn't seem a good fit for a video
game. But limited as the game is, the combat is satisfying and it's
fun to gun down hundreds of giant bugs. Or it would be if the
voice-acting just didn't disrupt the sense of immersion by how horrid
it is.
Maybe I should give the game another chance, except this time play it
with the speech disabled. Perhaps I'd have more fun that way. But,
honestly, it just doesn't seem worth the effort.
* System Shock (2023 Remake)
I'm not sure if I am disappointed by this game or not. Because I'll
give the developers this much: they were true to the original game.
But that is not necessarily a good thing.
I'll be the first to admit that the original "System Shock" was a
hugely influential game. In many ways it helped create the 'sandbox
shooter' that would later develop into classics like "Deus Ex" or
2017's "Prey". It is well regarded by developers, critics, and players
for how it helped to advance shooters from simple maze-shooters to the well-rounded adventures we now play. Yet, despite all this, I don't
think the original itself is really that good a game. Even for its
time, it was a bit of a clunky mess, and it's a real struggle to play
the original after being spoiled by more modern takes on the formula.
And that's the biggest failure of the 2023 remake of "System Shock".
It is too slavishly faithful to the original, even when it didn't need
to be. This is most obvious in its terrible level design. As much as
the 1994 game advanced the shooter genre, it was still a game of its
era and the limitations of its technology, and levels
were boxy labyrinths that bore little resemblance to reality. They
were purposefully designed by the game developer to be hard to
navigate, as was the style of the time. But nowadays, this torturous, convoluted map-layout comes across as pointlessly time-wasting. And
the remake copies this ideal ruthlessly.
There's absolutely no sign-posting in the game, and its aggravating.
Most prominently used by Valve, "sign-posting" uses subtle clues to
help guide the player towards important features. These can be as
simple as shining a spotlight at a button to help indicate that, yes,
THIS bunch of pixels is something that can be used (as opposed to all
the other, nearly identical bunches of pixels that have no function).
There's none of that in "System Shock" (the original or the remake), resulting in a return to the 'wall-humping' strategy that was too
common in early Doom-clones. The complete lack of quest notes (even
the original allowed you to leave comments on the map, something the
remake forwent) doesn't help either. Had I not already been familiar
with the game, I'm not sure I could have followed the plot, much less
figured out what I was expected to do next.
"But that's the point," fans say. "There original didn't hold your
hand, and neither does this one. Git gud, scrub!" Except this turns
the remake into nothing more than a glorified graphics hack of the
original, not-very-good game. And that graphical upgrade isn't all
that impressive either. Between its chunky models and low-res
textures, the game often looks like something that came out in the mid
2000s (I believe this was a purposeful choice by the developers, who
didn't wish to stray to far from the original by adding in
ultra-realistic graphics, but the end result doesn't make for a
particularly good looking game).
The developers did make some changes to the game, most notably to the cyberspace segments. Given how clumsy the original was, I'd be hard
pressed to say the new version is /worse/, but it's not really much
better; it's just different. Although easier to navigate, it's too
cluttered for my taste, and too fast-paced. It fits in poorly with the
rest of the game. On the other hand, the changed ending sequence is absolutely terrible (not that the original was good either) and left
me with a sour taste in my mouth as the end-credits rolled past.
Honestly, if all you wanted was to replay the original "System Shock"
- warts and all - I suppose the 2023 edition isn't a bad choice. But
there was an opportunity here to modernize the game, finally allowing
it to achieve the full potential it had suggested 30 years ago. As it
is, I still think the "System Shock Redux" is actually a better
experience; at least with that game you can excuse its idiosyncrasies
as due to its age. The 2023 game is an ugly mess not likely to attract
new fans, and even old ones will probably be disappointed by how
crufty it feels.
* Microsoft Flight Simulator (2020)
Despite what Steam may tell you, I didn't actually play this game very
much this month. The vast bulk of the time I spent in the game was
watching it slowly download itself to my hard-drive. I had previously uninstalled it from my SSD (it seemed silly to waste 250GB of space on
the fast SSD when it got so little usage) but - following the advice
of some clever Usenetters - I decided to move it over to an older,
slower, spinning-rust drive.
Unfortunately, that meant a long and tedious download; over 100GB at
an intolerably slow 5-10MBits/s. Eventually, I just turned off the
monitor (and sound, because until the game fully installs it plays a
chirpy little tune that you can't turn off!) and let the computer do
its thing overnight.
But once it was (mostly) installed, I had to give the game another
chance... if only to see how the change from SSD to HDD affected the gameplay. Once in the game, the difference was unnoticeable... but
those load times to actually get started? Wow! It almost made me
reconsider installing it back onto the SSD.
Beyond that, I didn't do anything too unusual. Mostly, I just pick a
random part of the world as a starting point, and then just fly around
for an hour, reveling in the vastness (and detail) of the world. I
don't bother with any of the realism settings; I ignore ATC rules.
Heck, I don't even worry about running out of fuel or crashing into
the ground. I'm just there to bobble recklessly over the terrain and
see the sights.
But that's one of the great things about MS Flight Sim; it's
configurable to suit the needs of all sorts of fliers. Maybe one day
I'll again fully indulge in the fantasy of flying with all the
'realism' settings cranked up to max, where it can take ten minutes
just to start up the engines, and an hour to dutifully navigate the
taxiways and get into the air. I've done just that in earlier versions
of the game (including, once, a non-stop eight hour flight across the Atlantic in real-time. I was younger then and had both more energy and
more time to waste ;-). But until then, I'm happy being an unsafe
tourist dangerously ignoring every single air-safety law (and physics)
just to see the prettiest places on Earth.
---------------------------------------
That's all of my gaming this month (well, all the games I played long
enough to make it worth writing about, anyway). Not a bad selection, I
think.
But how about you? Because we all want to know:
What Have You Been Playing... in JANUARY 2024?
But how about you? Because we all want to know:
What Have You Been Playing... in JANUARY 2024?
Nothing! Way too busy. I hope to play something soon!
On 2/1/24 15:02, Ant wrote:
But how about you? Because we all want to know:
What Have You Been Playing... in JANUARY 2024?
Nothing! Way too busy. I hope to play something soon!
Busy ~~bee~~ ant?
Nothing! Way too busy. I hope to play something soon!
candycanearter07 <no@thanks.net> wrote:
On 2/1/24 15:02, Ant wrote:
But how about you? Because we all want to know:
What Have You Been Playing... in JANUARY 2024?
Nothing! Way too busy. I hope to play something soon!
Busy ~~bee~~ ant?
BUSY ant. :P
On Thu, 1 Feb 2024 15:06:31 -0600, candycanearter07 <no@thanks.net>
wrote:
On 2/1/24 11:45, Spalls Hurgenson wrote:
* Microsoft Flight Simulator (2020)
But that's one of the great things about MS Flight Sim; it's
configurable to suit the needs of all sorts of fliers. Maybe one day
I'll again fully indulge in the fantasy of flying with all the
'realism' settings cranked up to max, where it can take ten minutes
just to start up the engines, and an hour to dutifully navigate the
taxiways and get into the air. I've done just that in earlier versions
of the game (including, once, a non-stop eight hour flight across the
Atlantic in real-time. I was younger then and had both more energy and
more time to waste ;-). But until then, I'm happy being an unsafe
tourist dangerously ignoring every single air-safety law (and physics)
just to see the prettiest places on Earth.
I miss playing with the flight sim in Google Earth.
Why? It still exists. Load up the client, press CTRL-ALT-A and fly.
As a sim (and even a game) it's - unsurprisingly - a worse experience.
But Google Earth is, in many cases, a lot more detailed than Microsoft
Flight Sim. Textures are generally higher, and there's more ground
clutter.
MSFS makes up for these failings with hand-built models (in better
known regions) and a lot of assets procedurally scattered about
(mostly trees). And it generally has better lighting and color, which
makes for a lot better experience. But there's a significant
difference in detail that you'll notice soaring over a locale in
Google Earth, and its not to Microsoft's advantage.
But I guess that's what Microsoft gets for using Bing Maps. ;-)
But how about you? Because we all want to know:
What Have You Been Playing... in JANUARY 2024?
candycanearter07 <no@thanks.net> wrote:
On 2/1/24 15:02, Ant wrote:
But how about you? Because we all want to know:
What Have You Been Playing... in JANUARY 2024?
Nothing! Way too busy. I hope to play something soon!
Busy ~~bee~~ ant?
BUSY ant. :P
Baldur's Gate 3 (paused):
`````````````````````````
Didn't play this much. I'm too obsessed with Talos 2. I'm in the lower
city, and a bit overwhelmed by its more sandboxy nature, when the first
two chapters were fairly linear.
As you've probably heard, BG3 is a fantastic adaptation of 5e, with
strategy and interactions (Grease and fire damage, for instance) that basically makes it D:OS but with Forgotten Realms lore and 5e mechanics. Worth it simply for the atmosphere and story. You can lower the combat difficulty if all you want is a narrative experience or crank it up to
Iron Man if you want the real D&D experience where a TPW is the end.
Fortunately, the death of your main character, unlike the first two
Baldur's Gate game, does not create "game over." You have to TPW.
The Talos Principle 2 (nearly done):
What Have You Been Playing... in JANUARY 2024?
*** God of War (2018) on PS+ streaming on PC
*** Bloodborne on PS+ streaming on PC
* Exit 8
* Starship Troopers: Terran Command
* Uncharted: Legacy of Thieves
I'm having a really hard time describing my experience with
"Uncharted: Legacy of Thieves."
But how about you? Because we all want to know:
What Have You Been Playing... in JANUARY 2024?
On 2/1/24 17:31, Ant wrote:
candycanearter07 <no@thanks.net> wrote:
On 2/1/24 15:02, Ant wrote:
But how about you? Because we all want to know:
What Have You Been Playing... in JANUARY 2024?
Nothing! Way too busy. I hope to play something soon!
Busy ~~bee~~ ant?
BUSY ant. :P
Well, hope u and ur colony is good then ^^
On Thu, 01 Feb 2024 23:31:08 +0000, in comp.sys.ibm.pc.games.action, Ant wrote:
candycanearter07 <no@thanks.net> wrote:
On 2/1/24 15:02, Ant wrote:
But how about you? Because we all want to know:
What Have You Been Playing... in JANUARY 2024?
Nothing! Way too busy. I hope to play something soon!
Busy ~~bee~~ ant?
BUSY ant. :P
Say hi to your queen for me. Don't pick any fights with the soldier ants.
On 2/1/2024 1:02 PM, Ant wrote:
Nothing! Way too busy. I hope to play something soon!
You have failed this newsgroup!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TdTK38tvyLU
On 2/2/2024 4:39 PM, Ant wrote:
Dimensional Traveler <dtravel@sonic.net> wrote:
On 2/1/2024 1:02 PM, Ant wrote:
Nothing! Way too busy. I hope to play something soon!You have failed this newsgroup!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TdTK38tvyLU
When did newsgroup become a city? :P
When you failed it!!
Dimensional Traveler <dtravel@sonic.net> wrote:
On 2/1/2024 1:02 PM, Ant wrote:
Nothing! Way too busy. I hope to play something soon!You have failed this newsgroup!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TdTK38tvyLU
When did newsgroup become a city? :P
On Fri, 2 Feb 2024 08:29:26 -0600, candycanearter07 <no@thanks.net>
wrote:
On 2/2/24 07:44, Spalls Hurgenson wrote:
On Thu, 1 Feb 2024 15:06:31 -0600, candycanearter07 <no@thanks.net>
wrote:
On 2/1/24 11:45, Spalls Hurgenson wrote:
* Microsoft Flight Simulator (2020)
I miss playing with the flight sim in Google Earth.
Why? It still exists. Load up the client, press CTRL-ALT-A and fly.
Well, for one I'm on Linux..
IDK if the client is still supported anyways lol
Dunno about Linux, but the Windows client is still supported. The most
recent version has a build date of 12 January 2024. I reinstalled it
back when I first got MSFS so I could do a direct comparison between
the two, and it's kept a spot on my hard-drive ever since. ;-)
(I can't imagine the Windows version wouldn't run well under WINE or
some other shim like Proton though. It's not a very resource intensive program, so if you're really interested you may wish to give that a
try.)
(Alternately, here is a random untested, unverified - and two years
old - instructions for getting and installing Linux version of GE
client on Ubuntu: https://ubuntuhandbook.org/index.php/2022/04/google-earth-ubuntu-22-04/)
Dimensional Traveler <dtravel@sonic.net> wrote:
On 2/2/2024 4:39 PM, Ant wrote:
Dimensional Traveler <dtravel@sonic.net> wrote:
On 2/1/2024 1:02 PM, Ant wrote:
Nothing! Way too busy. I hope to play something soon!You have failed this newsgroup!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TdTK38tvyLU
When did newsgroup become a city? :P
When you failed it!!
Bah.
What Have You Been Playing... in JANUARY 2024?
*** God of War (2018) on PS+ streaming on PC
 Every user review I've read complains of the larding up with
sidequests & tedious combat. I did start this on PS+, but did not renew with the big price jump, instead buying a used copy at gamestop. And
no, I haven't gone back as yet :)
*** Bloodborne on PS+ streaming on PC
 I have this impression this is one of the peaks of playstation gaming
and keep avoiding starting it; as you noted the Old Hunters DLC is
treated as an odd duck, so once again I bought a used GOTY year physical copy. I guess it will never come to pc.
On Fri, 2 Feb 2024 14:20:02 -0800, Justisaur <justisaur@yahoo.com>
wrote:
On 2/1/2024 9:45 AM, Spalls Hurgenson wrote:
* Exit 8
Sounds possibly interesting and at least of little time commitment, if I
happen across it at a low price I'll give it a try.
* Starship Troopers: Terran Command
Too bad, I would've thought the movie would make an excellent bug hunt.
Loved the book. While I liked the movie, it had nothing on the book.
There was, in the late 90s, a CGI cartoon based on the franchise that
- though it borrowed a lot from the movie - was its own unique thing
that was, IMHO, a far more enjoyable interpretation of the settings.
Verhoeven's movie isn't without merit (although I think his humor and
cynical commentary on the fascistic nature of the setting is
overrated) but I dislike how it's become the defining vision of the franchise.
On Fri, 2 Feb 2024 07:57:27 -0800, Dimensional Traveler
<dtravel@sonic.net> wrote:
On 2/2/2024 7:14 AM, Zaghadka wrote:
Baldur's Gate 3 (paused):
Fortunately, the death of your main character, unlike the first two
Baldur's Gate game, does not create "game over." You have to TPW.
TPW?
I'm guessing 'Total Party Wipe', what we used to call 'total party
kill'
(or, 'Rocks fall, everybody dies'*, or alternately, 'That's what you
get for pissing off the GM.' ;-)
Dimensional Traveler <dtravel@sonic.net> wrote:
On 2/1/2024 1:02 PM, Ant wrote:
Nothing! Way too busy. I hope to play something soon!You have failed this newsgroup!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TdTK38tvyLU
When did newsgroup become a city? :P
On 2/1/2024 9:45 AM, Spalls Hurgenson wrote:
* Starship Troopers: Terran Command
Too bad, I would've thought the movie would make an excellent bug hunt.
Loved the book. While I liked the movie, it had nothing on the book.
(Give me the powersuits damit!)
The Talos Principle 2 (nearly done):
Sounds great! How long did the first one take -- I already have it in my
library
On Fri, 2 Feb 2024 07:57:27 -0800, Dimensional Traveler
<dtravel@sonic.net> wrote:
On 2/2/2024 7:14 AM, Zaghadka wrote:
Baldur's Gate 3 (paused):
Fortunately, the death of your main character, unlike the first two
Baldur's Gate game, does not create "game over." You have to TPW.
TPW?
I'm guessing 'Total Party Wipe', what we used to call 'total party
kill'
On Fri, 2 Feb 2024 23:12:14 -0600, candycanearter07 <no@thanks.net>
wrote:
On 2/2/24 11:40, Spalls Hurgenson wrote:
(Alternately, here is a random untested, unverified - and two years
old - instructions for getting and installing Linux version of GE
client on Ubuntu:
https://ubuntuhandbook.org/index.php/2022/04/google-earth-ubuntu-22-04/)
Wait, it still exists??
Yeah, lots of people still use Ubuntu.
Rocks fall, everybody dies is a much later invention than TPK, I've referenced it as a threat, but never actually did anything like that
being a dice fall where they may DM, my TPKs come about naturally. I
hate TPKs, and don't even like killing characters, but having them
possible has lead to a couple of memorable sole survivor scenarios.
On 03/02/2024 17:19, Justisaur wrote:
Rocks fall, everybody dies is a much later invention than TPK, I've
referenced it as a threat, but never actually did anything like that
being a dice fall where they may DM, my TPKs come about naturally. I
hate TPKs, and don't even like killing characters, but having them
possible has lead to a couple of memorable sole survivor scenarios.
I play Call of Cthulhu and although the characters are far more squishy
I still generally view a player death as my fault. During session zero I
did explain to the players that as a GM they will die if they do
something stupid but if they do the right thing then that's very
unlikely to happen.
Unfortunately there is a bit of a meme in CoC that a successfully
session ends with a TPK. Great for one shots with some pre-gen's but if >you're running a longer campaign then not so good. Something that
annoyed me about one GM we had, they would put you in bad situations and
then rapidly try and backtrack when PC's started dropping.
On 03/02/2024 17:19, Justisaur wrote:
Rocks fall, everybody dies is a much later invention than TPK, I've
referenced it as a threat, but never actually did anything like that
being a dice fall where they may DM, my TPKs come about naturally. I
hate TPKs, and don't even like killing characters, but having them
possible has lead to a couple of memorable sole survivor scenarios.
I play Call of Cthulhu and although the characters are far more squishy
I still generally view a player death as my fault. During session zero I
did explain to the players that as a GM they will die if they do
something stupid but if they do the right thing then that's very
unlikely to happen.
Unfortunately there is a bit of a meme in CoC that a successfully
session ends with a TPK. Great for one shots with some pre-gen's but if you're running a longer campaign then not so good. Something that
annoyed me about one GM we had, they would put you in bad situations and
then rapidly try and backtrack when PC's started dropping.
Well, here we are in February again. What's so special about February?
It's the anniversary of these threads, which we started way back in
2006. That's right; we've been doing this for 18 years straight now.
Maybe we should call it quits? Or are you folk up for another 18
years?
Justisaur <justisaur@yahoo.com> looked up from reading the entrails of
the porn spammer to utter "The Augury is good, the signs say:
On 2/1/2024 9:45 AM, Spalls Hurgenson wrote:
* Starship Troopers: Terran Command
Too bad, I would've thought the movie would make an excellent bug hunt.
Loved the book. While I liked the movie, it had nothing on the book.
(Give me the powersuits damit!)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8TBugM7PdpY
ant@zimage.comANT (Ant) looked up from reading the entrails of the porn spammer to utter "The Augury is good, the signs say:
Dimensional Traveler <dtravel@sonic.net> wrote:
On 2/1/2024 1:02 PM, Ant wrote:
Nothing! Way too busy. I hope to play something soon!You have failed this newsgroup!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TdTK38tvyLU
When did newsgroup become a city? :P
They weren't all city references.
There was also "Felicity Smoak, you have failed this omelet."
On 2/3/2024 11:00 AM, Xocyll wrote:
Justisaur <justisaur@yahoo.com> looked up from reading the entrails of
the porn spammer to utter "The Augury is good, the signs say:
On 2/1/2024 9:45 AM, Spalls Hurgenson wrote:
* Starship Troopers: Terran Command
Too bad, I would've thought the movie would make an excellent bug hunt.
Loved the book. While I liked the movie, it had nothing on the book.
(Give me the powersuits damit!)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8TBugM7PdpY
Thanks! Wow that's some bad CGI.
On Sat, 03 Feb 2024 17:24:28 -0600, Zaghadka <zaghadka@hotmail.com>
wrote:
On Fri, 02 Feb 2024 12:43:32 -0500, in comp.sys.ibm.pc.games.action,
Spalls Hurgenson wrote:
On Fri, 2 Feb 2024 07:57:27 -0800, Dimensional TravelerI dunno. I've been a grognard since 1979, and I've always said TPW "total
<dtravel@sonic.net> wrote:
On 2/2/2024 7:14 AM, Zaghadka wrote:
Baldur's Gate 3 (paused):
Fortunately, the death of your main character, unlike the first two
Baldur's Gate game, does not create "game over." You have to TPW.
TPW?
I'm guessing 'Total Party Wipe', what we used to call 'total party
kill'
party wipe." Others say TPK "total party kill." Only D&D editions I
haven't played are Boxed Set and 4th.
Honestly, we didnt' start using "total party kill" until much later...
but that was still, probably sometimes in the 2000s... which is twenty
years ago now. ;-)
The 'rock-falls, everybody dies' was similarly taken up around that
time, but was more popular because it happened to coincide with an
actual event that had occured years earlier in the campaign.
(the party didn't actually all die, since I went out of my way to give
them a way out... but only in the following session, when I'd figured
a way for them to dig their way out of the literal hole they'd made
for themselves ;-)
Prior to "TPK", I don't think we really had a catch-phrase for that
sort of event. We used "Everybody's dead, Dave" for a while (a Red
Dwarf reference), and maybe "that's what I call a dead party"
(referring to Python's 'Dead Parrot' sketch), but honestly, it was
such a rare occurence that it came up more as threat than actual
description.
(e.g., "Don't take that last slice of pizza or the DM will
'everybody's dead, dave' the group." ;-)
I can think of four times (in as many decades) I've killed the entire
party. Twice they were given an 'out' the next session. Once it was
part of the narrative, using temporary characters, as a prelude to the
main adventure. And once it was a genuine death, back in the early
days before I mellowed and murdering PCs seemed part of the job of the
DM ;-)
Wait... this isn't rec.games.frp.dnd! Quick, somebody reference a
computer game!
On 2/4/2024 3:33 AM, JAB wrote:
On 03/02/2024 17:19, Justisaur wrote:That's still better than one GM I had to deal with who seemed to feel
Rocks fall, everybody dies is a much later invention than TPK, I've
referenced it as a threat, but never actually did anything like that
being a dice fall where they may DM, my TPKs come about naturally. I
hate TPKs, and don't even like killing characters, but having them
possible has lead to a couple of memorable sole survivor scenarios.
I play Call of Cthulhu and although the characters are far more
squishy I still generally view a player death as my fault. During
session zero I did explain to the players that as a GM they will die
if they do something stupid but if they do the right thing then that's
very unlikely to happen.
Unfortunately there is a bit of a meme in CoC that a successfully
session ends with a TPK. Great for one shots with some pre-gen's but
if you're running a longer campaign then not so good. Something that
annoyed me about one GM we had, they would put you in bad situations
and then rapidly try and backtrack when PC's started dropping.
that it was a competition between the players and himself. For him the whole point WAS to kill characters. But this was also a pretty screwed
up group of players mentally. Deliberate in-party betrayals and "every
man for himself" was the default.
On Sun, 4 Feb 2024 11:33:22 +0000, in comp.sys.ibm.pc.games.action, JAB wrote:
On 03/02/2024 17:19, Justisaur wrote:Hmm. The game requires a slow, careful approach that requires a party to never put itself in a "situation." Any situation. The typical situations
Rocks fall, everybody dies is a much later invention than TPK, I've
referenced it as a threat, but never actually did anything like that
being a dice fall where they may DM, my TPKs come about naturally. I
hate TPKs, and don't even like killing characters, but having them
possible has lead to a couple of memorable sole survivor scenarios.
I play Call of Cthulhu and although the characters are far more squishy
I still generally view a player death as my fault. During session zero I
did explain to the players that as a GM they will die if they do
something stupid but if they do the right thing then that's very
unlikely to happen.
Unfortunately there is a bit of a meme in CoC that a successfully
session ends with a TPK. Great for one shots with some pre-gen's but if
you're running a longer campaign then not so good. Something that
annoyed me about one GM we had, they would put you in bad situations and
then rapidly try and backtrack when PC's started dropping.
a party will experience if they have a direct encounter with the Mythos
are all "bad."
IMO, a good campaign has you primarily dealing with cultists. If you encounter significant Mythos creatures before the endgame, you've failed
in some way or underestimated the cult.
Sounds like your GM was inexperienced or your party "[did] something
stupid." If "library use" (or whatever it's called now) isn't your most
used opening skill then you will get in over your head. Fast. Most of
your early SAN loss should come from Mythos knowledge before you actually encounter Mythos creatures. The only reason to do that sort of encounter early on is to telegraph that "guns won't help you here."
A lot of people just go to dynamite then. The game is frequently played
in a way that is objectively wrong, because it's not like other TTRPGs.
It's narrative driven, not tactics driven.
My unsolicited 2 cents.
On 2/4/2024 2:13 PM, Justisaur wrote:
On 2/3/2024 11:00 AM, Xocyll wrote:Well it is 25 years old.
Justisaur <justisaur@yahoo.com> looked up from reading the entrails of
the porn spammer to utter "The Augury is good, the signs say:
On 2/1/2024 9:45 AM, Spalls Hurgenson wrote:
* Starship Troopers: Terran Command
Too bad, I would've thought the movie would make an excellent bug hunt. >>>> Loved the book. While I liked the movie, it had nothing on the book. >>>> (Give me the powersuits damit!)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8TBugM7PdpY
Thanks! Wow that's some bad CGI.
On 2/3/24 10:28, Spalls Hurgenson wrote:
On Fri, 2 Feb 2024 23:12:14 -0600, candycanearter07 <no@thanks.net>
wrote:
On 2/2/24 11:40, Spalls Hurgenson wrote:
(Alternately, here is a random untested, unverified - and two yearsWait, it still exists??
old - instructions for getting and installing Linux version of GE
client on Ubuntu:
https://ubuntuhandbook.org/index.php/2022/04/google-earth-ubuntu-22-04/) >>
Yeah, lots of people still use Ubuntu.
The horror!
candycanearter07 <no@thanks.net> looked up from reading the entrails of
the porn spammer to utter "The Augury is good, the signs say:
On 2/3/24 10:28, Spalls Hurgenson wrote:
On Fri, 2 Feb 2024 23:12:14 -0600, candycanearter07 <no@thanks.net>
wrote:
On 2/2/24 11:40, Spalls Hurgenson wrote:
(Alternately, here is a random untested, unverified - and two yearsWait, it still exists??
old - instructions for getting and installing Linux version of GE
client on Ubuntu:
https://ubuntuhandbook.org/index.php/2022/04/google-earth-ubuntu-22-04/) >>>
Yeah, lots of people still use Ubuntu.
The horror!
Ubuntu, Cthulhu, they sound so similar.
On Mon, 05 Feb 2024 12:24:55 -0500, in comp.sys.ibm.pc.games.action,
Xocyll wrote:
candycanearter07 <no@thanks.net> looked up from reading the entrails ofUbuntu R'lyeh systemd fhtagn!
the porn spammer to utter "The Augury is good, the signs say:
On 2/3/24 10:28, Spalls Hurgenson wrote:
On Fri, 2 Feb 2024 23:12:14 -0600, candycanearter07 <no@thanks.net>
wrote:
On 2/2/24 11:40, Spalls Hurgenson wrote:
(Alternately, here is a random untested, unverified - and two years >>>>>> old - instructions for getting and installing Linux version of GEWait, it still exists??
client on Ubuntu:
https://ubuntuhandbook.org/index.php/2022/04/google-earth-ubuntu-22-04/) >>>>
Yeah, lots of people still use Ubuntu.
The horror!
Ubuntu, Cthulhu, they sound so similar.
Against the Storm
On 2/6/2024 5:55 PM, candycanearter07 wrote:
On 2/5/24 20:03, Zaghadka wrote:Noooooooooo!
On Mon, 05 Feb 2024 12:24:55 -0500, in comp.sys.ibm.pc.games.action,
Xocyll wrote:
candycanearter07 <no@thanks.net> looked up from reading the entrails of >>>> the porn spammer to utter "The Augury is good, the signs say:Ubuntu R'lyeh systemd fhtagn!
On 2/3/24 10:28, Spalls Hurgenson wrote:
On Fri, 2 Feb 2024 23:12:14 -0600, candycanearter07 <no@thanks.net> >>>>>> wrote:
On 2/2/24 11:40, Spalls Hurgenson wrote:
(Alternately, here is a random untested, unverified - and two years >>>>>>>> old - instructions for getting and installing Linux version of GE >>>>>>>> client on Ubuntu:
https://ubuntuhandbook.org/index.php/2022/04/google-earth-ubuntu-22-04/)
Wait, it still exists??
Yeah, lots of people still use Ubuntu.
The horror!
Ubuntu, Cthulhu, they sound so similar.
Spell: Dispels any Linux user.
*fades away*
On Wed, 7 Feb 2024 10:59:24 +0100, in comp.sys.ibm.pc.games.action,
kyonshi wrote:
On 2/6/2024 5:55 PM, candycanearter07 wrote:
On 2/5/24 20:03, Zaghadka wrote:Noooooooooo!
On Mon, 05 Feb 2024 12:24:55 -0500, in comp.sys.ibm.pc.games.action,
Xocyll wrote:
candycanearter07 <no@thanks.net> looked up from reading the entrails of >>>>> the porn spammer to utter "The Augury is good, the signs say:Ubuntu R'lyeh systemd fhtagn!
On 2/3/24 10:28, Spalls Hurgenson wrote:
On Fri, 2 Feb 2024 23:12:14 -0600, candycanearter07 <no@thanks.net> >>>>>>> wrote:
On 2/2/24 11:40, Spalls Hurgenson wrote:
(Alternately, here is a random untested, unverified - and two years >>>>>>>>> old - instructions for getting and installing Linux version of GE >>>>>>>>> client on Ubuntu:
https://ubuntuhandbook.org/index.php/2022/04/google-earth-ubuntu-22-04/)
Wait, it still exists??
Yeah, lots of people still use Ubuntu.
The horror!
Ubuntu, Cthulhu, they sound so similar.
Spell: Dispels any Linux user.
*fades away*
Okay, that exchange just won the Internet for me this morning.
I am having a bad morning, y'all just gave me the will to go on.
Also, isn't just "systemd" enough? ;^)
On 2/7/24 10:34, Zaghadka wrote:
On Wed, 7 Feb 2024 10:59:24 +0100, in comp.sys.ibm.pc.games.action,
kyonshi wrote:
On 2/6/2024 5:55 PM, candycanearter07 wrote:
On 2/5/24 20:03, Zaghadka wrote:Noooooooooo!
On Mon, 05 Feb 2024 12:24:55 -0500, in comp.sys.ibm.pc.games.action, >>>>> Xocyll wrote:
candycanearter07 <no@thanks.net> looked up from reading theUbuntu R'lyeh systemd fhtagn!
entrails of
the porn spammer to utter "The Augury is good, the signs say:
On 2/3/24 10:28, Spalls Hurgenson wrote:
On Fri, 2 Feb 2024 23:12:14 -0600, candycanearter07 <no@thanks.net> >>>>>>>> wrote:
On 2/2/24 11:40, Spalls Hurgenson wrote:
(Alternately, here is a random untested, unverified - and two >>>>>>>>>> years
old - instructions for getting and installing Linux version of GE >>>>>>>>>> client on Ubuntu:
https://ubuntuhandbook.org/index.php/2022/04/google-earth-ubuntu-22-04/)
Wait, it still exists??
Yeah, lots of people still use Ubuntu.
The horror!
Ubuntu, Cthulhu, they sound so similar.
Spell: Dispels any Linux user.
*fades away*
Okay, that exchange just won the Internet for me this morning.
I am having a bad morning, y'all just gave me the will to go on.
Also, isn't just "systemd" enough? ;^)
I don't get why people hate on systemd lol
On Wed, 7 Feb 2024 12:21:34 -0600, candycanearter07 <no@thanks.net>
wrote:
I don't get why people hate on systemd lol
Largely, I think, because it runs contrary to the ideals of Linux,
which is that applications should be small, efficient, and
single-purpose. Systemd is an entire suite of applets built into one monolithic binary, replacing numerous individual daemons. This is advantageous as to speed, but it - arguably - opens the system up to potential security issues, and reduces the customizability of the
system.
For instance, if a vulnerability is found in systemd that has
potentially much further reaching implications than if a similar vulnerability is found in a stand-alone util used for logging. And -
using the older INIT process - it's much easier to replace a
deficient logging daemon than it is to replace all of systemd.
For individual end-users, systemd is almost always a better solution;
for administrators of larger systems, init often remains the
preferable option. However, this division potentially splits Linux -
already very fragmented - into two more 'camps' Nor did it help that
it was being pushed out largely by the 'big names' of Linux distros
(Fedora, Ubuntu) rather than pushed upwards by individual users (that
systemd operates similarly to Microsoft's own svchost.exe, another
monolithic design, did it no favors either). It forces a uniformity on
the OS that many feel is contrary to its design and ethos.
I can't say that I am without empathy for the 'SystemD is the devil"
camp. The customizability of Linux has been one of its greatest
strengths, and is why it can run on practically anything with a
microchip. On the other hand, as an end-user, I also have to agree:
systemd makes the Linux experience faster and less painful. If all you
want is an OS that 'gets out of your way' and lets you run your apps
and/or games, systemd is the better solution.
But I do feel Linux has lost something with its adoption...
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