swordgeek
@swordgeek@lemmy.ca
- Comment on Star Citizen’s new cash shop offerings provoked fresh pay-to-win and predatory monetization accusations | Massively Overpowered 19 hours ago:
I don’t disagree, but I …don’t entirely agree either.
It’s absolutely true that devs are pretty bad at estimating costs, because it’s not their job. (And they’re usually good at estimating timelines, but bad at insisting on them.)
It’s also true that games blow over budgets and deadlines all the time, and yeah I remember when Duke Nukem Forever first became a joke and then a meme.
But consider that DNF was completed by a small handful of devs who ran with an almost-finished game that they knew they could make happen. In contrast, there is no finish line for Star Citizen. There is no path to success. As you say, they can’t drop it and be satisfied, so they make more promises and ask for more money. But here’s the key: They KNOW they cannot fulfill those promises - existing or future. It’s impossible at this point! The only thing they’re doing is delaying the inevitable, which would be fine if it was their own time and money; but since they’re constantly begging for money from optimistic gamers with promises they have no intention of delivering on, they are grifting. No excuses, no conditions, no “but maybe…” just pure con-artistry at work.
- Comment on Star Citizen’s new cash shop offerings provoked fresh pay-to-win and predatory monetization accusations | Massively Overpowered 2 days ago:
It’s possible that it wasn’t a scam to begin with.
But now? Now it’s impossible for even the most dewey-eyed dreamer to see it as anything less than a deliberate hustle, perpetrated by amoral grifters.
- Comment on Is Catholic dating culture often mistaken for incel-style pessimistic desperation? 1 week ago:
Swap Catholic for almost any Abrahamic religion here, and it would still hold true.
This is identical to what my relatives in the Dutch Reform church accept. It’s not Catholic dating culture.
- Comment on Does anyone else hate knowing stuff and looking "smart"? 3 weeks ago:
Nope.
For context, I’m in my late 50s and always want to know the right answer, and share it with everyone.
Buy sometimes, you need to let it go. You might be in a situation where someone is confidently stating something you know to be wrong. Correcting them can - depending on context - come across as insulting and know-it-all; and if it’s not important, maybe stay silent this time.
Now if you’re in a situation where the truth IS important, or where everyone is more interested in the truth (or even debate) than something cool but false, your knowledge will be appreciated.
You don’t have to always have the last word, even if it’s right.
- Comment on Who should america be more concerned about MS-13 or Russia? 4 weeks ago:
Trump.
- Comment on DoubleFine Celebrates 20 Year Anniversary of Psychonauts 4 weeks ago:
I am the milkman. My milk is fresh and cold.
- Comment on [deleted] 4 weeks ago:
I caan’t imagine where in the world you are that this could possibly be an appropriate comment for the prof to make.
It’s not his place to tell you what to weat. This is no more acceptabke than if he told a female student that her skirt was too short, or for that matter, too long.
Wear what you want.
- Comment on What is the best Sea based game out there in your opinion? 4 weeks ago:
I read this as “Sea Bass game” at first.
Honestly, I don’t know.
- Comment on Weekly “What are you playing” Thread || Week of April 13th 5 weeks ago:
Morrowind.
Ages ago I got a new video card that came with bundled games, including the slightly-old Morrowind.
That was the intro for me to deep RPGs, and I fell hard.
A few weeks ago I decided to revisit it, and went with Open-MW and a vanilla experience.
So awesome.
- Comment on What are some of the most realistic fictional movies ever made? 1 month ago:
The Martian.
Aside from the macguffin that left Matt Damon stranded, the science was solid. Furthermore, the casual dysfunctionality and administrative infighting of the governments and agencies was brilliantly on point.
- Comment on If you could add, remove, or alter one single bodily function, what would it be? 1 month ago:
Toenail growth.
Cutting nails is annoying, and toenails are awkward and stupid.
- Comment on Why Do Sites Keep Shoving Features We Don’t Want Down Our Throats? 1 month ago:
In a nutshell…
They’re not here for your benefit, they’re here for their own profit.
If they could make money with flashing lights they would, even if they had to deal with lawsuits from people who had seizures from it.
They don’t cate what you like. They don’t care what you want. You are nothing more than a commodity they can sell.
- Comment on [NSQ Friday] Was Michael Jackson known to have been a fan of Shota hentai? 1 month ago:
No.
- Comment on Does the beginning of "Money for Nothing" remind you of "Shine on you crazy diamond?" 1 month ago:
Now that you mention it…
No, not really. It had never occurred to me before, and as I hear them in my head right now, they’re just not that similar.
But that’s me.
- Comment on Would it be a bad idea to show up at a protest outside a Tesla dealership with a sign that says "Deny Musk, Defund Doge, Depose Trump"? 1 month ago:
Sooner or later, all protests in the US will turn into this kind of protest. I suspect quite soon.
- Comment on Why are you gay? 1 month ago:
Why aren’t you?
Also, grow the fuck up.
- Comment on Is this true? Software companies had diversity quotas to meet, and realized it was easier to turn autistic men into women than it was to turn women into software engineers 1 month ago:
Fuck no.
- Comment on How likely is the US government going to identify and arrest every online user who have disagreed with the current administration? 1 month ago:
No kidding. I mean, this is finally the moment that Madison predicted two centuries ago! A fascist has seized control over the government, and is illegally detaining people. Rise up my US gun-lovers! Rise against the dictators and claim control of your country from…
Oh wait, you’re the ones who got him elected? Nevermind.
- Comment on How do I clean plaster dust from the floorboards? 1 month ago:
If all else fails, a Scotchbrite pad should do it safely.
- Comment on How much of a risk is it for naturalized US Citizens (or those with Derivative Citizenship) to protest against the US government, compared to natural-born US Citizens? 1 month ago:
Not American, so take with a grain of salt. However…
Frankly, if you’re a naturalized citizen at all, you should already be looking over your shoulder and feeling scared right now. They’re deporting legal residents because they don’t like the tattoos they have. They’re disappearing people for being 2SLGBTQ+.
So either you hide, you run, or you stand up. The only real difference is that standing up will make it easier to catch you - but the end result will be the same.
- Comment on Do you think the US will actually log its national parks? 2 months ago:
I see this sort of response from Americans over and over, and it makes me crazy.
“there’s going to be incredible pushback.”
Great! Fantastic! WHEN??!?!
- He was bankrolled FORTY YEARS AGO by the Kremlin.
- He orchestrated an attempted military coup four years ago.
- He was convicted of 34 felonies and ordered to pay a third of a billion in a civil trial.
- He has been found guilty repeatedly of sexual assault.
- He has seized illegal authority over all aspects of the government.
- He put his neo-nazi puppetmaster in charge (unsupervised) of destroying whole (non-partisan) divisions of the government
- He cut life-saving international aid.
- He threw Ukraine to the wolves, and backed Vladimir Putin’s invasion.
- He destroyed almost a century of goodwill between the USA and the rest of the world.
- He continually threatens (seriously) to invade Canada, Panama, and Greenland.
- He has unilaterally renamed an international body of water.
- He is currently destroying education, research and healthcare in the USA.
- He is deporting thousands of US residents - many of them legal - in violation of the Geneva Convention.
- He is erasing attacking the right to exist for LGBTQ2+ citizens, and actively encouraging violence towards them.
In short, he has proven over and over and OVER AGAIN that he is the single biggest enemy of the USA, and the single biggest threat to their continued existence. He is copying Hitler’s playbook from 1933-36 almost to the letter.
And STILL I hear, “oh just you wait - things are gonna happen if he doesn’t stop soon!”
What does it take to get you to realize that the USA is being destroyed by a traitor working for Putin? What will it take for your country to FUCKING ACT RIGHT NOW instead of saying “oh, just wait” again?
Why are Trump and Musk and their entire entourage not in chains, awaiting the death penalty on the far end of high treason charges?
What the fuck are you still waiting for?
- Comment on How come in most school in the USA (at least mine) they teach Spain Spanish instead of Mexico Spanish? Would not Mexico Spanish be an obvious choice to teach? 2 months ago:
No answers from me here, but I’m curious - how much of the US learns Spanish in school?
- Comment on Do you think the US will actually log its national parks? 2 months ago:
As a Canadian looking in, I honestly believe they will. They’ve already done worse things and gotten away with it.
- Comment on Not trying to choose a side but when did Dems become well wussies? They Have FDR, JFK, OBAMA, Clinton, under their belt. The Reps have Reagan. How come the Dems don't fight fire with fire anymore? 2 months ago:
The only ‘fire’ effective against Nazis is a molotov cocktail or a gun cartridge.
Stop blaming the opposition for not being tough enough against fascism, unkess you’re willing to take up arms.
- Comment on [deleted] 2 months ago:
Gen-X guy with possibly too much interest in the subject.
Shaving it bald for women started to become normal about 15 years ago. Trimming it was more common then, and going back to end of the 1980s, shaving was a rare and weird fetish in the western world.
As for why, I’d say it’s because porn normalized it - and porn did it because as mainstream content became more explicit, shaved pubes were both easier to keep clean for the actresses, and (more importantly) showed more.
I find it funny that now that it’s become mainstream, hair is becoming a growing fetish.
As an aside, since pubic hair is a sign of sexual maturity, some of the generations that grew up with hair down there have a subconscious connection between bald and sexually immature, i.e. children.
- Comment on dear republicans, what's the point of alienating every single ally of the US? 2 months ago:
“What’s the point?” The point is to seize power and get rich.
They will destroy whatever they want or need in order to become rich and powerful.
- Comment on Which movie do you feel has the most wasted potential? 2 months ago:
Millennium, 1989.
Basically a terrible disaster movie with a time travel plot. But John Varley’s short story and novelization were fantastic. They could have made a great movie, but…didn’t.
- Comment on Why does it seem like many Americans have an arrogant personality trait? 2 months ago:
I actually has psyche written down, and changed it.
It’s not exactly the normal use of zeitgeist and maybe volksgeist would be a better term (except tthat we don’t use it in English), but I feel that this is a relatively new aspect to Americanism, starting in WWII. It’s still more of a growth on their psyche than a fundamental part of it.
It also has some parsllels with British exceptionalism up to the endnof the 19th century
- Comment on Why does it seem like many Americans have an arrogant personality trait? 2 months ago:
I’m a Canadian who has lived and worked in the US, so I’ve got some familiarity with it.
There is a pervading sense of exceptionalism buried deep in the American zeitgeist. It runs so deep that most people don’t even notice it - even on the outer edges.
Case in point: My closest friends down there were staunch leftists. In a land of gun owners and meat lovers, they were vegetarians and pacifists who marched in protests against the government. Most of the time they were quiet, charming, soft-spoken, but firm in their beliefs. Pretty much the polar opposite of the “loudmouth American tourist abroad” stereotype.
And yet if you asked them if the US was the greatest country on earth, they’d say “well yeah, which is why we have to fight for it.” An admirable sentiment, but the “well yeah” speaks volumes for how the country sees itself.
The protest singers who lived through McCarthy are the same. Woody Guthrie and his son Arlo would probably say that for all of its flaws and horror, the US is still the best nation we’ve got so far.
When you know deep in your soul that you’re the best, it’s hard not to let some subconscious arrogance show through.
- Comment on Why's everyone freaking out about Firefox Terms of Service? Isn't it Open Source? 2 months ago:
I know that software is a very different industry, but Mountain Equipment Co-Op went through this in Canada. The end result is that the new Mountain Equipment Company is a for-profit, US-owned reseller of overseas crap, just like everyone else.
The problem I see is that browsers are still evolving significantly, and I’m worried about what will happen if Mozilla goes T-U. Sure we have the code, but will it continue to be developed after that point?