<rant>

I don't talk (well, write) enough about games. That's what I recently concluded.

Long-time readers are probably doubled over right now, because if
there's one thing I do a lot, it is seemingly write about games. A
quarter of this newsgroups posts are started by me, and any post I do
write ends up being a ten-page screed. Not talk enough about games?
Some of you would probably pay to get me to shut up!

(Now there's an idea... Do you think I could set up a Patreon page to
that effect? ;-)

But while I write about games in general, and various meta-topics such
as the foibles of the gaming industry, I don't actually write too much
about specific games themselves. Well, sure, there's the
end-of-the-month thread, but outside of that?

I guess maybe I'm just missing the heady days of Usenet when I'd go
online and say, "Man, I just got to that part in 'Far Creed XXII' and
the mecha-dragon bit of the hero's face and now he has laser eyes", or
"Hey, you know where in 'Call of Diablo LVII' the monster with the
laser eyes is guarding the Key of Shamaloon; how do I get past him?"
Or simply answering questions that other people ask about their
playthroughs.

I've tried to correct this in myself, but often I've nothing to say
(stop looking surprised). Like, what am I to write about? "Hey, just
finished another job in 'Eurotruck Simulator'; this time I delivered
live hamsters!" I'm not playing the latest and greatest games anymore;
anything I discover will already have been discussed to death already. Certainly I don't have the patience to wait for Usenet to slowly
digest my request for help, not when I can get the answer almost
instantly from YouTube or the web. So what's a person to do?

Moan on Usenet, I suppose. Write a post complaining that I'm not
talking about games which itself is not talking about games. I'm a
lost cause.

But hey, I do get to announce the freebies once a month, so there's
that! ;-)

</rant>

--- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
* Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)

On 10/13/2022 8:00 AM, Spalls Hurgenson wrote:

<rant>

I don't talk (well, write) enough about games. That's what I recently concluded.

Long-time readers are probably doubled over right now, because if
there's one thing I do a lot, it is seemingly write about games. A
quarter of this newsgroups posts are started by me, and any post I do
write ends up being a ten-page screed. Not talk enough about games?
Some of you would probably pay to get me to shut up!

(Now there's an idea... Do you think I could set up a Patreon page to
that effect? ;-)

Set up a "No-Post NFT Marketplace". Readers can buy a post before it is
posted to keep it from being posted. :D

--
I've done good in this world. Now I'm tired and just want to be a cranky
dirty old man.

--- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
* Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)

On 13/10/2022 16:00, Spalls Hurgenson wrote:

<rant>

I don't talk (well, write) enough about games. That's what I recently concluded.

Long-time readers are probably doubled over right now, because if
there's one thing I do a lot, it is seemingly write about games. A
quarter of this newsgroups posts are started by me, and any post I do
write ends up being a ten-page screed. Not talk enough about games?
Some of you would probably pay to get me to shut up!

(Now there's an idea... Do you think I could set up a Patreon page to
that effect? ;-)

But while I write about games in general, and various meta-topics such
as the foibles of the gaming industry, I don't actually write too much
about specific games themselves. Well, sure, there's the
end-of-the-month thread, but outside of that?

I guess maybe I'm just missing the heady days of Usenet when I'd go
online and say, "Man, I just got to that part in 'Far Creed XXII' and
the mecha-dragon bit of the hero's face and now he has laser eyes", or
"Hey, you know where in 'Call of Diablo LVII' the monster with the
laser eyes is guarding the Key of Shamaloon; how do I get past him?"
Or simply answering questions that other people ask about their
playthroughs.

I've tried to correct this in myself, but often I've nothing to say
(stop looking surprised). Like, what am I to write about? "Hey, just
finished another job in 'Eurotruck Simulator'; this time I delivered
live hamsters!" I'm not playing the latest and greatest games anymore; anything I discover will already have been discussed to death already. Certainly I don't have the patience to wait for Usenet to slowly
digest my request for help, not when I can get the answer almost
instantly from YouTube or the web. So what's a person to do?

Moan on Usenet, I suppose. Write a post complaining that I'm not
talking about games which itself is not talking about games. I'm a
lost cause.

But hey, I do get to announce the freebies once a month, so there's
that! ;-)

</rant>

It's kinda inevitable that as the size of the 'audience' decreases* then
the topics have to be broader to allow people to reply. Even when I do
talk about specific games it tends to be aspects I like/dislike that can
be applied to the genre as a whole and not just an individual game.
Obviously it's nice if someone has played the actually game but it's not
a necessity. If I do want to talk about a specific game then I've really
moved to Steam for that.

*I haven't actual counted but there's ten or something regulars here and
the group has widen its net into gaming in general and even other game
formats. I think of it more like a social group that all have in common
they like PC games.

--- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
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On Fri, 14 Oct 2022 10:13:07 +0100, JAB <noway@nochance.com> wrote:

*I haven't actual counted but there's ten or something regulars here and
the group has widen its net into gaming in general and even other game >formats. I think of it more like a social group that all have in common
they like PC games.

We're actually down two; users PW and Rin Stowleigh have been
curiously quiet for the past couple of weeks.

(And no, I'm not stalking them; I was just curious as why traffic in
this group has had a significant drop over the last fortnight and a
quick 'sort by author' revealed the delinquents responsible. "Elden
Ring" is suspected as a cause ;-).

--- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
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On 10/14/2022 8:48 PM, Ant wrote:

Spalls Hurgenson <spallshurgenson@gmail.com> wrote:

On Fri, 14 Oct 2022 10:13:07 +0100, JAB <noway@nochance.com> wrote:

*I haven't actual counted but there's ten or something regulars here and >>> the group has widen its net into gaming in general and even other game
formats. I think of it more like a social group that all have in common
they like PC games.

We're actually down two; users PW and Rin Stowleigh have been
curiously quiet for the past couple of weeks.

(And no, I'm not stalking them; I was just curious as why traffic in
this group has had a significant drop over the last fortnight and a
quick 'sort by author' revealed the delinquents responsible. "Elden
Ring" is suspected as a cause ;-).

But usenet is dying. :-P

Cue the Monty Python skit....

--
I've done good in this world. Now I'm tired and just want to be a cranky
dirty old man.

--- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
* Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)

Spalls Hurgenson <spallshurgenson@gmail.com> wrote:

On Fri, 14 Oct 2022 10:13:07 +0100, JAB <noway@nochance.com> wrote:

*I haven't actual counted but there's ten or something regulars here and >the group has widen its net into gaming in general and even other game >formats. I think of it more like a social group that all have in common >they like PC games.

We're actually down two; users PW and Rin Stowleigh have been
curiously quiet for the past couple of weeks.

(And no, I'm not stalking them; I was just curious as why traffic in
this group has had a significant drop over the last fortnight and a
quick 'sort by author' revealed the delinquents responsible. "Elden
Ring" is suspected as a cause ;-).

But usenet is dying. :-P
--
Winter came early yesterday with light rains during today's slammy Friday. Please go away, illness! "Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what
God's will is ??? his good, pleasing, and perfect will." --Romans 12:2
Note: A fixed width font (Courier, Monospace, etc.) is required to see this signature correctly.
/\___/\ Ant(Dude) @ http://aqfl.net & http://antfarm.home.dhs.org.
/ /\ /\ \ Please nuke ANT if replying by e-mail.
| |o o| |
\ _ /
( )

--- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
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On Fri, 14 Oct 2022 21:12:49 -0700, Dimensional Traveler
<dtravel@sonic.net> wrote:

On 10/14/2022 8:48 PM, Ant wrote:

But usenet is dying. :-P

Cue the Monty Python skit....

I'd love to, except:

1) As much as I'd love to deny it, Usenet /is/ dying. I'll be the
first to promote the strengths of the medium and I'll happily stick by
it until the last NNTP server is shuttered, but the sad fact is that
Usenet isn't ever going to see a resurgence. The best we can do is
delay that dreadful day. And in such a small community, the absence of
two posters is a tragic loss. Also,

2) We already did the dead parrot sketch about a month ago, and I hate
to repeat my gags that frequently. ;-)

3) And I'm still not talking about games! Like, um... urr... oh! Like,
how do I get past the rocket-launcher guy at the end of episode 2 of
Doom? ;-)

--- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
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I don't talk (well, write) enough about games. That's what I recently >concluded.

Heehee. I think I mentioned last month restarting Dark Souls 2, after spending many 100's hours in ER. And I'm finding that my previous issues
with DS2, which I'd ranted about repeatedly in various forums, have
evaporated. I don't mind dying, love the exploration and finding stuff, looking up wiki pages on tips and lore. I only play for a small amount of
time with large gaps between, but just feel interested and enthused when thinking about it.

Also have pre-installed Scorn and Plague Requiem on PC Gamepass, and look forward to trying both of those! I get great enjoyment out of all things gaming, so keep ranting away Spalls, we are out here and listening!

rms

--- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
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On Sat, 15 Oct 2022 16:10:49 -0600, "rms"
<rsquiresMOO@MOOflashMOO.net> wrote:

Also have pre-installed Scorn and Plague Requiem on PC Gamepass, and look >forward to trying both of those! I get great enjoyment out of all things >gaming, so keep ranting away Spalls, we are out here and listening!

Oh, I don't think there's any worry about me /stopping/. Don't worry
(or get your hopes up ;-) on that account. I just wish I could talk
more about specific games.

Actually, I guess I can. There was a neat retrospective on YouTube
about XCom (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gBu77h2FSCM). They used a
graphic from the game I wasn't familiar with, so of course I just had
to load up the game and see if it was in the game or something new.

(it turns out it was part of the background in the main menu.)

But that led me to seeing how OpenX-Com
(https://openxcom.org/git-builds/) was coming along, and then one
thing led to the other and well...

I just survived my first terror attack with Chryssalids. I'd forgotten
how horrifying those things are; I remembered their zombification
attacks as being the big threat, but even without it they're scary
buggers. They move terrifyingly fast and hit really, really hard
(thank God they are melee only!). It makes me wanna take all my troops
and hide them in a barn, except then they turn the entire civilian
populace (you know, the ones you're there to save) into an enslaved
army that overwhelms you with sheer numbers. What an awful, awful
enemy; they're great. ;-)

I'm not sure I'm going to keep at XCom long enough for it to 'count'
as a game I played in the end-of-month thread, but it's a fun
diversion regardless.

--- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
* Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)

On 15/10/2022 16:56, Spalls Hurgenson wrote:

On Fri, 14 Oct 2022 21:12:49 -0700, Dimensional Traveler
<dtravel@sonic.net> wrote:

On 10/14/2022 8:48 PM, Ant wrote:

But usenet is dying. :-P

Cue the Monty Python skit....

I'd love to, except:

1) As much as I'd love to deny it, Usenet /is/ dying. I'll be the
first to promote the strengths of the medium and I'll happily stick by
it until the last NNTP server is shuttered, but the sad fact is that
Usenet isn't ever going to see a resurgence. The best we can do is
delay that dreadful day. And in such a small community, the absence of
two posters is a tragic loss. Also,

Unfortunately yes and of the several NG's I did used to use this is the
only one that's left and it's hardly overflowing with members. I
wouldn't mind so much if it wasn't that the likes of Facewank and
Discord* that a lot of chat has moved to just aren't supportive of a
forum type chat.

*Not to knock Discord though as it's great for voice chat and having
casual 'temporal' conversations.

--- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
* Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)

On Thu, 13 Oct 2022 11:00:57 -0400, in comp.sys.ibm.pc.games.action,
Spalls Hurgenson wrote:

I guess maybe I'm just missing the heady days of Usenet when I'd go
online and say, "Man, I just got to that part in 'Far Creed XXII' and
the mecha-dragon bit of the hero's face and now he has laser eyes", or
"Hey, you know where in 'Call of Diablo LVII' the monster with the
laser eyes is guarding the Key of Shamaloon; how do I get past him?"
Or simply answering questions that other people ask about their
playthroughs.

It's just Oblivion... with guns!

Member that? I member.

--
Zag

No one ever said on their deathbed, 'Gee, I wish I had
spent more time alone with my computer.' ~Dan(i) Bunten

--- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
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On Mon, 17 Oct 2022 07:15:49 -0500, Zaghadka <zaghadka@hotmail.com>
wrote:

It's just Oblivion... with guns!

Member that? I member.

I don't 'member, but I'm assuming it's a reference to Fallout 3. I
mean, it's a fair description of the game. Was it a meme at some
point?

(A quick google indicates it was a meme of some sort. But it sort of
seems like making a meme out of saying "The sun is bright", so it's no
wonder that one passed me by.)

--- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
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On Monday, October 17, 2022 at 5:15:52 AM UTC-7, Zaghadka wrote:

On Thu, 13 Oct 2022 11:00:57 -0400, in comp.sys.ibm.pc.games.action,
Spalls Hurgenson wrote:

I guess maybe I'm just missing the heady days of Usenet when I'd go
online and say, "Man, I just got to that part in 'Far Creed XXII' and
the mecha-dragon bit of the hero's face and now he has laser eyes", or >"Hey, you know where in 'Call of Diablo LVII' the monster with the
laser eyes is guarding the Key of Shamaloon; how do I get past him?"
Or simply answering questions that other people ask about their >playthroughs.

It's just Oblivion... with guns!

Member that? I member.

I may have even said that myself at some point.

- Justisaur

--- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
* Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)