cerebralhawks

@cerebralhawks@lemmy.dbzer0.com

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨Hollow Knight: Silksong Sparks Debate About Difficulty and Boss Runbacks⁩ ⁨⁨11⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago⁩:

  I don’t mind difficult games. I recognise that they exist as a kind of pushback against mobile games and casual games that have risen in popularity. I don’t mind that they exist. Likewise, I strongly believe that gaming is for everybody, but not every game has to be for everybody.

  I think it’s perfectly fine, though, to ask the question: if the game — any hard game, to include the Dark Souls game and its spinoffs (e.g. Elden Ring) and knockoffs (e.g. Breath of the Wild) — had an easy mode, where virtually anyone could win it eventually, would that truly make the game less fun for people who like hard games? What if the game were hard by default, and easy mode cost $5 extra? That way, you would never be presented with the option, but those who want it can get it for a slight upcharge. (Maybe less on a $20 game, I’m thinking the $5 would be for a $70 game.) Case in point: Final Fantasy XV was never hard. But for 49¢, you could buy a “DLC”/“mod” that made gas cost half — 5 gil instead of 10 for any fill-up — and also made hotels (which give a big XP buff) half price. So one early-game strategy was equipping a ring that would not pay out experience when you camp, and saving your XP (which is normally paid out every time you sleep) until you could afford a room at the XP-doubling Galden Quay resort hotel, gaining you several levels by then. With the DLC/mod, you could afford it much sooner, and you could actually do it a few times, setting you up for later parts of the game. It wasn’t an easy mode, but it did soften the grind a bit, and it wasn’t presented as an option in the game. You kinda had to know about it and go look for it.

  I actually think there’s something to that. Making a game and selling parts of it never really goes down well with players. But most players can’t beat hard games. So what if instead of new games being $70 or $80, they were $50 or $60 still, but people who want help can buy things that will make the game easier. Let those players subsidize the ones who are good enough to beat it without them, incentivising them to get better. Ideally, to get better at that game so they uninstall the helpers, beat it without them, then when the next one comes out, they’re ready.

  I don’t hate hard games. But I’m not going to pay for them. If they make their money off people who have that much time on their hands, that’s fine. It’s a sound business decision. But I also think a game can’t say “we wish we made more money” while intentionally excluding players who maybe have full-time jobs, families, or other valid reasons to not learn the perfect button combinations and ultra-precise timing some of these games require. I think if they could find a way to include those players while not putting off their base, they’d have a winning solution on their hands. And no, we’re not gonna quit our jobs or neglect our families to “git gud” like we live with our parents and are half our age.

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨Why is Lemmy much better with telling a user why they were banned?⁩ ⁨⁨23⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago⁩:

  I’m pretty new to this, so I can’t really game it out in my mind what the effect would be. My first instinct is to say that they would pour money into one instance, probably the biggest one, and the rest of the federated instances would just go about their merry way.

  In fact, there are corporate federated services… I mean Bluesky is kinda federated, so is, I think Threads by Facebook/Instagram? But a lot of services don’t federate with it because they don’t like the people behind them.

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨Should I feel bad that my abuser is suffering?⁩ ⁨⁨1⁩ ⁨day⁩ ago⁩:

  Honestly living well and not thinking about them at all is the best revenge you can enjoy. Just put them out of your mind and focus on other people. Worrying about them doesn’t do you any good, even if they aren’t doing well.

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨Why is Lemmy much better with telling a user why they were banned?⁩ ⁨⁨1⁩ ⁨day⁩ ago⁩:

  Reddit will tell you why you were banned. It generates a PM with the reason and a link to the offending post.

  For example, I was banned for inciting violence towards a protected group of people… in reference to saying child predators should face stiffer legal penalties. Someone took it the wrong (or maybe right) way because their president is in the Epstein files. Honestly I wasn’t even thinking of him but if the prison jumpsuit fits… anyway, it was not a mystery to me.

  I did appeal in case AI flagged me but a human upheld it.

  But as to why Lemmy is better in that regard… more open platform trying to improve upon the formula of those that came before. Also run by people not corporations. And not operated by the GOP.

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨Why is it just ChoMo s have their identity and address released to the media? I get for the kids but would also like to know if I am living next to a murderer or serial meth maker or whatever?⁩ ⁨⁨2⁩ ⁨days⁩ ago⁩:

  Because people who kill generally don’t get released. Murder one or “Murder in the first degree” means premeditated and typically carries life/death sentences. Murder two is more like heat of the moment, you come home and find your wife in bed with another man… those carry sentences of a decade or more. Below that you’re in manslaughter territory which is more like accident/extenuating circumstances and those people get years too.

  Child predators get time, too, but they never get rehabilitated because there’s no cure for it. They’re always going to want to ruin some child’s life, and they’re going to want to do it a lot, to ruin several kids’ lives. So there’s a registry for them, and they can’t live near schools, churches (ironically), day care centers, and such.

  As for those asking what the term means, please do the community a favor and downvote people giving wrong answers trying to be funny. Chomo is street slang for child molester, and the word is derived from “homo.” So the word “homo” makes sense, it’s just short for homosexual. Put a C on it and the first sound is “Ch” like child. So it’s someone who targets children. Never thought I’d see the term up here though. Guess Lemmy is getting popular.

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨Americans have the gun industry so far up their ass that they don't even notice their asshole is gaping. There is no other country where uneducated morons are allowed access to guns easily.⁩ ⁨⁨4⁩ ⁨days⁩ ago⁩:

  Honestly wish you’d written this comment without the profane hyperbole. Because it’s correct. You didn’t need to be offensive — the truth stands on its own; hell, you didn’t even need the links — but here we are.

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨US panel releases over 33,000 pages of Epstein files⁩ ⁨⁨5⁩ ⁨days⁩ ago⁩:

  Friendly reminder that when they redact information, it’s because they fear that the information they’re keeping from you is worse than you think it is.

  In this case, believe them.

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨How do phone scammers work? I get them trying to get another persons money. But how do they get all the info and now can do voice fakes. I highly doubt they just pick a random person and say fuck them⁩ ⁨⁨5⁩ ⁨days⁩ ago⁩:

  They might target, but sometimes they buy information too.

  For example, my wife and I use Visible. It’s Verizon but cheaper (and it’s owned by Verizon). They also sell your number to scammers. So we get a lot of scam calls and voicemails. We just ignore them. Reporting them does nothing because the carrier is who you report them to (on an iPhone) and the carrier is the one that sends them. But I do it anyway. Most of them come in when I’m at work (and without my phone) anyway. So yeah, so they know who we are (name, town we live in). We just don’t engage with them.

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨Are there "headhunters" that work *for* you?⁩ ⁨⁨6⁩ ⁨days⁩ ago⁩:

  Like an agent? Actors and sports players have them. People who get paid in the millions. So they can hire people to act on their behalf to get them work while they sip martinis by the pool.

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨The Corporate Logo That Broke the Internet - Why are people freaking out about Cracker Barrel ?⁩ ⁨⁨6⁩ ⁨days⁩ ago⁩:

  Because it’s fun to?

  A few years back this guy called Brad said they fired his wife — same restaurant chain — and for a minute, everyone rallied behind “Brad’s wife.” If her name was ever known, it wasn’t widely spread.

  The funny thing about the logo was, they supposedly changed it to be more inclusive (e.g. to people who aren’t white like the guy in the logo), but last time I checked, they still don’t do business in California because CA has left leaning laws that protect minorities, so they’re not being less racist/sexist, they’re not being more inclusive, they just want you to think they are.

  Anyway, release the damn Epstein files

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨InfernoPlus - I ported Morrowind to Elden Ring⁩ ⁨⁨1⁩ ⁨week⁩ ago⁩:

  “FromSoftware is based AF, Bethesda you could learn something from them” or something like that.

  Um, please no. If Elder Scrolls VI is a Souls-like, I won’t play it. But with regard to IP law, yeah, that’s all fine. But Bethesda is part of Microsoft now, and they were bad enough before with Fallout 76 and Elder Scrolls Online and the mod storefronts for Skyrim, Fallout 4, and Starfield… so yeah, probably gonna get a lot worse.

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨Would you ever give up your right to leave a bad review about a company?⁩ ⁨⁨1⁩ ⁨week⁩ ago⁩:

  You ever see a dump truck that says “not responsible for broken windshields”? Guess what. EVERY truck — this is US law anyway — is responsible for securing its load. So why do they have the sticker? So you don’t bug them about it. Or at least so most people don’t bug them about it. They also say stay back 200 feet. That’s not a law. It’s just a bumper sticker and is equally as enforceable. If they crack your windshield because they didn’t secure your load, you (or rather your insurance company) can go after them. But the truth is, most insurance companies just write off so many broken windshields per however long anyway, they won’t go after the company even if you have proof. But they could — and so could you.

  Post the review anyway. Or at the very least post a review that says “the terms say I can’t post a negative review so believe me when I say the service was acceptable.” It’s not a negative review. It’s not a positive review either. It’s a neutral review and it calls out the clause. It is heavily implied to be opposite of what you said. You said the work was acceptable, implying it’s unacceptable. If you used the same tactic and said the work was great, the opposite would appear true, that it was not great. But acceptable is not great. So say it was acceptable and imply you were forced to say that. Thusly, an intelligent person will see your message for what it is.

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨(Rant) Don't buy Rockstar games.⁩ ⁨⁨1⁩ ⁨week⁩ ago⁩:

  Not a fan of Rockstar in particular.

  GTA (as in, the first one) was a wonderful gaming experience. GTA 2 changed the game in some interesting ways, yet it remains the black sheep of the series for some reason. 3, 4, and 5 were iconic. Then 4 came out again (oops, the OG 4 is actually just Vice City, it’s not the fourth game but it’s also not DLC, not sure how that works. Interestingly while GTA 4/VC and GTA 4 were in different cities, GTA 5/SA and GTA 5 both took place in San Andreas (and surrounding areas). Anyway, I couldn’t get into the new GTA 4. GTA 5 was better, but I never finished it. Then they paused GTA to do a sequel to their Red Dead games, neither of which really went anywhere (popularity wise) but whatever, RDR2 (sequel to Red Dead Redemption, itself a sequel to Red Dead Revolver) ended up being a massive hit. Wasn’t for me, but I enjoyed what I played (the intro and maybe a couple hours after).

  I don’t think GTA VI will be worth $100. I’m not interested in paying more than like $40 for it, tops. But, that’s just me. I know even at $100 it will break records and then everyone will think they can sell their games for $100 each. I don’t like it, but it’s going to happen.

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨Is playing horror games a good way to get desensitized to fear, or it gonna backfire and make my anxiety worse?⁩ ⁨⁨1⁩ ⁨week⁩ ago⁩:

  Maybe.

  I grew up reading Stephen King, Dean Koontz, Bentley Little, and John Saul. I now think horror movies are kind of silly. I like the Scream series because they’re smarter. They’re good slashers but you have the whodunit aspect as well.

  I can’t speak for everyone though. And maybe it’s not so bad to be scared of horror? Like, isn’t that part of the fun?

  Never got into horror games though. The problem I have with that is, being that it’s a game, either you have the agency to peek behind the curtain, or you don’t. With a movie, you only see what they want you to see. I never actually played horror games, as such, but there were a couple scary moments in games I have played, like Fallout 3 with the Dunwich Building. It’s a random building toward the southwest corner of the map that is not connected to any main or side quests. (I think one of the DLCs had a tie in to it, though.) When you go in, you find that you can’t leave the way you came in, and as you traverse the building looking for another way out, you see flashbacks that are handled like jump scares. It’s really not that scary, but the first time through might be. There’s a similar area in Fallout 4 (Dunwich Borers, so, same company) and you experience some of the same stuff.

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨Michelle Yeoh Admits “We Could Have Done Better” With ‘Star Trek: Section 31’⁩ ⁨⁨1⁩ ⁨week⁩ ago⁩:

  Did she write it?

  I don’t fault the lead actress for a stupid movie. She still did a good job acting in it. I like her and I like her character. She probably did the best with what she was given. Her having to be the face of the apology is an insult, and those who should be apologizing are hiding behind her.

  Unless she wrote it, that is.

  Also.

  Discovery isn’t what Trekkers want. Sure, it’s cool… but OG Discovery predates Kirk, and the last couple seasons are set so far in the future that we really don’t care. Discovery doesn’t speak to TOS fans (though it tried to with that badly shoehorned Spock connection) and it doesn’t speak to 90s Trekkers, either. I liked it, but it wasn’t what Trekkers want.

  Look, TNG got a sequel series (Picard), Voyager got a sequel series (Prodigy)… what we want is for DS9 to get one. And since the Dominion War is over and done with, something with Section 31 would be fine… but that movie wasn’t it.

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨What age gap is too big of an age gap if someone's in their early 30's?⁩ ⁨⁨1⁩ ⁨week⁩ ago⁩:

  Take out the “half your age plus” and you might be onto something.

  They’re all boosting each others’ craziness so none of them drop the dreaded list that exposes all of them, and/or the people they owe favors to.

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨Best Co-Op Games?⁩ ⁨⁨1⁩ ⁨week⁩ ago⁩:

  Borderlands. The first one. The game is amazing by yourself and slightly better with friends. It’s not meant to be worse either way. It’s just a lot of fun.

  The later BL games were made the same way, but I haven’t found any of the sequels (/“Pre-Sequel”) to be as engaging as the original. They are bigger and more ambitious, though, with BL2 being a fan favorite. I just really like the Soldier (Roland) from the first game. The other games don’t have a character I like playing as much as him, so I’d rather join the original rather than settle for a lesser character.

  Actually, the best co-op game is Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons. It’s played with your left hand and your right hand. I’m being a bit of a smartass, but technically it does qualify as co-op because two characters on the screen are being independently controlled and they must work together. But it is specifically designed to be played by one person. Your dominant hand should control the older brother, with the analog stick moving him and either trigger doing the action, whatever that may be (it’s basically a one-button game, plus the stick). Your other hand controls the younger brother, same thing. So naturally the older brother runs straight and does what you expect but the little brother tends to stumble and waver. All intentional. Also, don’t bother with the remake. It breaks a few things and honestly doesn’t look much better. Different art style, not better. Just play the original. You can get it on GOG on sale all the time for like $2-3. Also, it’ll take ~4 hours to complete and you’ll probably never want to play it again (but recommend it to everyone). I actually bought the remake (mistake) and had my wife play it. For the hell of it, I speed ran both of them (this was on Xbox) for the achievements. Then I did the same on the original. Interestingly, you do not have to complete the game to get all the achievements! You don’t even have to complete the final fight, or do the climactic scene before the final fight. Before you’re even aware the climactic scene is coming, you sit on a bench and blip, there’s the last achievement, if you’re doing an Achievement% run, that’s when you call time. (I’m not a competitive speed runner. I just did the runs to pop the achievements before uninstalling them.)

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨Should you look for a relationship if it feels like a compromise?⁩ ⁨⁨1⁩ ⁨week⁩ ago⁩:

  Depends on your age to a certain extent. Older men tend to value monogamy more, but we’re also older and looking for a sure thing (if we don’t have it already). Chasing tail, bedding a different young lady every night, sounds fun, but when you need someone to take care of you, it doesn’t really make sense as opposed to a long-term relationship.

  If you’re younger though, you got your whole life ahead of you… just be safe. And try to avoid the crazy ones. They deserve love too, but they also take a lot of patience.

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨Are those of us who grew up on older games more attuned to latency?⁩ ⁨⁨1⁩ ⁨week⁩ ago⁩:

  Been wondering this, or something like this.

  I used to be good at Mario 1, but I cannot play it on emulators. It feels like there’s a delay. It feels a little like Mario is on ice, much like the ice levels of Mario 2. Mario is running, and I want to jump or stop, but there’s a noticeable delay and it makes me feel like my old ass has lost my touch. But playing any modern game, my reflexes are good enough. In a Nintendo to Nintendo comparison, I play Animal Crossing on the Switch, and sure enough, if I’m running and pull back on the stick, my villager skids at exactly the time I want them to. But on that same Switch with the same controller, I can’t control Mario in Mario 1 worth a damn. I do just fine in Super Mario Wonder, though.

  (Side note, more to do with Animal Crossing than older games, but I’ve noticed a wired controller, plugged into the Switch dock via USB, with the Switch on the dock, gets more latency than the Switch in handheld mode, which I’m pretty sure uses Bluetooth to connect to its controllers, even if they’re physically connected — not 100% sure on that. But for one example, fishing — even the five-star rarity fish — is quite easy in handheld. But, with the wired connection, I mash A as soon as the fish bites, and it still slips my hook. Maybe the latency isn’t from the controller to the dock to the Switch, maybe it’s from the Switch to the dock to the TV (and speakers since I close my eyes and listen for the sound, which most animal crossers agree is the best way to fish).)

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨Where did the word and concept of "derpy" come from and where is it going?⁩ ⁨⁨1⁩ ⁨week⁩ ago⁩:

  Is that the first game? Yes, it was great. But the publisher was scummy AF and broke the game up into four parts. Now, granted, each part came with an anime DVD which gave you some of the back story/real world issues around the back story, so they did try to make it worth it. But still, it should have been one game.

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨Where did the word and concept of "derpy" come from and where is it going?⁩ ⁨⁨2⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago⁩:

  Yeah, I think it was meant to. Maybe the origins are same/similar.

  Fun trivia: Isekai is a Japanese genre that means “trapped in another world.” Sword Art Online made it popular but it wasn’t the first, even in Japan. The idea of being trapped in a video game goes at least back to Tron in the 1980s. SAO was itself a revamp/remake of an older anime called .hack//SIGN — not officially, but it shared way too many details with that decade-older show. (The books were written around the time it was airing, but the show would have been green-lit almost a decade later, knowing there was a very similar show already out. And the same people worked on it, made the music, made the games, so yeah, similar DNA in both.) But the first isekai may have actually been Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland. Isekai has western origins, Japan just gave it a simple name. And now it seems like there are dozens of isekai (word is the same singularly and plurally) coming out every year, and most of them suck. But isekai is everywhere. Stephen King has written isekai — The Dark Tower, The Talisman, 11/22/63, Fairy Tale, and probably more.

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨Does Fanta Strawberry taste like the strawberry soda from olden days?⁩ ⁨⁨2⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago⁩:

  Try it and see?

  If it’s the soda I’m thinking of, it’s sickeningly sweet, with something like 130% of your recommended sugar intake in a 20 ounce bottle — roughly 600mL to those outside the US.

  These days I can’t drink soda (or anything carbonated, like champagne and beer) but I believe I have had Fanta Strawberry before. I know it was one strawberry brand.

  But honestly, what olden days? The only strawberry soda I remember from back in “my” day (the 80s and early 90s) was Safeway Select. We didn’t have Fanta back then where I was. I remember Sunkist and maybe one other brand had orange and grape soda, but only Safeway had strawberry soda IIRC.

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨Has a woman ever orgasmed by subwoofer?⁩ ⁨⁨2⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago⁩:

  “Woman”? Probably. “Human female”? Most likely.

  Girls figure out from a much earlier age, on average, that most guys are comfortable knowing, that vibrations in that area feel good. So even without thinking about sex or pursuing orgasm, they will seek out things they can straddle that move in a way that feels good. One of those things, if you’re around enough girls or a girl long enough you learn but maybe wish ya didn’t.

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨Where did the word and concept of "derpy" come from and where is it going?⁩ ⁨⁨2⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago⁩:

  How do you mean “where is it going?”

  The most recent iteration of “derpy” I’ve heard was in the Kpop Demon Hunters fandom. That’s what fans call the tiger-spirit-thing. I don’t know what its real name is, or if it has one, and I’ve seen the movie three times. At this point I don’t care, its name is Derpy.

  If you’re not familiar, it’s a tiger spirit (apparently this is a thing in Korean folklore) and it appears to one of the demon hunter girls, and after initially appearing scary, it knocks over a planter, and proceeds to try to right the planter before proceeding. After several failed attempts, the girl intervenes and sets the planter right… only for the tiger to knock it over again and again attempt to right it. (It’s not a scary scene. Everyone loves the tiger.)

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨makes more sense than this shit⁩ ⁨⁨2⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago⁩:

  Yes it does.

  Sometimes I miss the shooting. The best gun in the game is locked behind the pirate quest line, but that’s buggy AF. From getting the guards shooting at you for silently KO’ing the guy you’re after on the luxury cruise ship to the three beacons you have to protect (pirate side) or destroy (navy side) just not showing up… and the developers having people report these issues on a dedicated issues channel on their Discord and just not caring enough about their game to fix their shit… it sucks. Now I can’t even remember what it’s called. I just remember pointing at something in my way and clicking or maybe double clicking and it getting erased. Oh yeah. Revenant. Something like that.

  Oh yeah, or how the hot Asian pirate chick has this stupidly convoluted maze of a ship and her Captain’s Locker always has like 25k credits in it and she does not care if you take it. That was funny to me.

  Game absolutely sucks. And it’s worse because the developers do not care.

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨makes more sense than this shit⁩ ⁨⁨2⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago⁩:

  For what it’s worth — and keeping fully in mind this is a meme and therefore not serious — Starfield (crappy Xbox/PC game from the people who made Skyrim) did this. A particle accelerator experiment (albeit involving an alien artefact) caused reality to split apart. So I’m gonna say, it’s possible!

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨new Star Trek Voyager videogame: Across the Unknown⁩ ⁨⁨2⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago⁩:

  My first Star Trek game was on the Amiga, and it used the TOS crew/ship. I couldn’t get anywhere in it. Maybe I wasn’t old/smart enough for it.

  I agree that a Star Trek game shouldn’t be all action, that’s just the kind of game I want to play.

  I really don’t care for the Call of Duty games, but one set in a Starfleet combat situation would be awesome.

  Starfield could have been a good Star Trek game without the branding, but it mostly sucked.

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨Is "AI" the end of truth?⁩ ⁨⁨2⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago⁩:

  Maybe I worded that poorly. Yeah, we generally trusted the news, but for the most part the TV was the “idiot box” and was not to be trusted. At some point, the news — I think, largely, FOX News at first, but the others weren’t far behind — became “news entertainment” in the same way WWE was “sports entertainment.” It was either not real, or at the very least it was heavily biased. Whenever The Newsroom came out — what a lot of people know for a 3 minute YouTube edit about why “America is no longer the greatest country in the world anymore” but was really more of a love letter to the way the news used to be. They told real news in a way that was entertaining, but through a character (portrayed by Jeff Daniels) who was trying to tell the news the old way. Give people the facts and let them make up their own mind. But by that point, I think most news on TV was fake/heavily biased.

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨Make America Consoom Again⁩ ⁨⁨2⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago⁩:

  Can’t tell what they are, but they don’t appear to be waifus. That would be funnier.

  Or if it was all kid characters… e.g. Eleven and Max from Stranger Things, Anya from SPYxFAMILY, Wednesday from… Wednesday… I dunno, I’m sure there are others.

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨Is "AI" the end of truth?⁩ ⁨⁨2⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago⁩:

  End of trust, not truth.

  Back in my day, we assumed that if it was on TV, it was a lie or likely not the whole truth. When the Internet began to rise up, we extended that mistrust to the Web.

  Lately, people have become too trusting of the Internet and I’m glad that trust is starting to roll back.