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From the trade show last month. Bad lighting in the hall. As an architect I feel offended by how bad the lighting was. Even worse attendance. Complete waste of money.

I've taken up the neckbeardiest of hobbies, painting Warhammer figurines. I don't play the game, I just like coloring in little dudes. It's like playing dress up with really small dolls who are evil robots. It's fun and I can watch Star Trek at the same time.

Hey everyone. Hope y'all are doing well! We're in Jamestown New York for a family function. We're picking up Bri from the airport in a few hours. I dislike New York mostly but it's nice around here. We drove up from Texas which was pretty miserable this time of year. After this it's back to cheese land for a while.

You're just jealous because he's finally found the true love that you never have.

There is a new URL for the calculator. Spread the word. I'm trying to make the old URL redirect to it, but it might not happen before EA hits. Anyway, this new calculator is... worse! JK, but strict mode is gone, as is some summary stuff. It's however way more maintainable and it will have internationalization. Currently you can change language, but there are barely any translations.

What is not in my nature, I cannot give. - Lucifer, The Tragedy of Man It does put one at conflict, doesn't it? I don't like the character designs, but not because I'm a moron that's always been a moron and who will always be a moron, but because I think they all just look like real (but creepy) people dressed up in cosplay, and cosplay deeply upsets me, so I don't like that. I've said it a number of times before, but the closer graphics get to reality, the more uncanny valley they are, and that goes double once you start dressing them up in fantasy get-ups. Ya gotta have an art style that is more than just "let's map real people's faces to our character models"...well, you do unless you want my first impression of your game to always be, "Are those skinwalkers doing cosplay? Yeah, I'm out." More importantly, I think there are right ways and wrong ways to criticize media, and I think the other intelligent humans that know you will be able to recognize the difference if you take a fair approach to it. If we had to defend every piece of media whose views we agree with just because we agree with it, we would have to defend a lot of crap that isn't worth defending, and that's no way to live life. Really, it's just better to cut people who are either stupid or disingenuous. Sorry, did I say "cut people [...]"? I meant to say "cut out of your life people [...]", of course. Whoops, honest mistake, .

I'll tell ya right now, REAL MEN want in-game ads for BRAIN FORCE ULTRA and ALPHA POWER. WHICH YOU CAN BUY FROM MY STORE AT INFOWARSDOTCOMSLASHPRODUCTSSLASHSUPPLEMENTS. IF YOU ACT NOW YOU CAN GET A 2 MONTH SUPPLY FOR FIFTY PERCENT OFF, BUT THERE'S MORE. USE MY CODE GOWOKEGOBROKE AND YOU'LL GET FREE SHIPPING AND THE RFKJR SPECIAL EDITION VACCINE BUSTER SUPPOSITORY AND GIGAJACKED INJECTABLES FOR FREE - A $420 DOLLAR VALUE ABSOLUTELY FREE. ACT NOW. Real talk: Look, BG3 is by the same metric a "woke" game, as is stuff like Disco Elysium and other things that seem to do very well for their weight class. You're not seeing 10000 videos of interchangeable guys with the charisma of a snail and the brains of a pile of **** complaining about those games for being too woke. The newest Dragon Age underperformed for a variety of more recognizable reasons: it's an IP whose last release was a decade ago so the base has deteriorated, it tried to ape popular trends and didn't do a great job of capturing those audiences, it went hard on cinematics despite not being a pretty game, it had a very bad prologue that turned players off, etc. That kind of stuff just doesn't really play well to the clickbait addled dip****s as yelling about whatever acronym they're mad about this week, because those people will eat steaming diarrhea from a toilet and call it gourmet. All of this puts me in an awkward situation because I would very much like to hate on DAVe but also don't want to roll in that mud. I was hating on this **** before launch and these vermin scurry in to start as soon as they see sales figures aren't great.

You really don't have to. I already played it for your sins. Honor my sacrifice.

So, the first game I played that was made by Obsidian was Knights of the Old Republic 2. It was to be representative of the early productions of the studio. Yes, admittedly, it was rushed, technically very flawed and was clearly lacking content that was cut to make the deadline. But it was still a gem, inserting shades of grey in the normally two-toned world of the Star Wars universe, and in doing so making the world feel that much more real and worthwhile. The characters were believable; they didn’t just exist simply to further the story, but they each had their own agenda, and they were all tied to the player character in their own unique way, as was slowly revealed throughout the story. And this is what I feel Obsidian so often manages to add to a world, whether it’s an Obsidian original, or borrowed from another’s intellectual property. They take their narratives seriously; they build their worlds to be believable and they allow their characters to live their own lives and not simply be window dressing for the main characters. I remember going through Mask of the Betrayer, the Neverwinter Nights 2 DLC, for the first time and being awed by the gravity of its story. This was a story of mythological proportions, pitting you against the laws of its universe and death itself, and in a way where you were never quite sure what exactly was the right choice to make. The ending did not offer simple black and white choices, a hallmark of the sort of Obsidian games that I hold dear, and of which I cherish fond memories. I kept following Obsidian throughout the years, and each time I would look forward with anticipation to whatever the studio would come up with next. Fallout: New Vegas was a huge success, of course. And when the studio started doing Kickstarters for their own IP, there was absolutely no doubt in my mind to throw some money their way. It did not leave me disappointed, both Pillars of Eternity games wove exactly the sort of deep narrative, rich with lore and worldbuilding, that I have come to expect from the studio. Remarkably, the studio has not lost its soul throughout the years, as exemplified by the 2022 release of Pentiment. Set in the fictional town of Tassing in historical 16th century Bavaria, this game plays like a detective story. But the catch is that actual detectiving is a fool’s errand. Whoever you end up picking as the culprit, you never have enough evidence to be certain that you have picked the right perp. Not that the powers that be mind very much; they’re happy so long as someone is seen to be executed for the crimes. You could say that the true objective of Pentiment is to unravel the underlaying plot, and to eventually confront the real thread spinner that has immersed the quiet town of Tassing in a state of chaos. But I don’t think that’s quite right. For me, the real objective of the game is to, if only for a moment, make it possible for you to transport yourself to a different time and a different place, and to contemplate what life was like for people in those days, and what kind of choices they were confronted with as the last vestiges of the old were being blown away by the winds of modernity. And now, it will not be long before their next much anticipated game will come out. I will be honest, when I first heard of the studio working on what was then still considered to be the studio’s answer to Skyrim, I was sceptical. It seemed like they might be biting off more than they could chew, and I felt the sort of formula behind Skyrim didn’t seem to play to the studio's strength. But now that I’ve seen the first previews, I’m glad to see that it’s actually nothing like Skyrim. It seems smaller in scope, less focused on a large open world, and actually aiming more for a smaller, more intimate experience. A lot has been made about the combat, and luckily the latest news seems to be that there’s been a lot of improvements on that front. But what I find more interesting is that once again Avowed looks to have characters with their own voices and their own agendas. And once again there seems to be a rich story with plenty of mysteries to unravel. I honestly can’t wait, and I’ve always taken the week after the release free from work, so I can fully enjoy it without any distractions. I’m sure I’ll have a great time.

FYI: I have fixed the link @omgFIREBALLS

That Musk interview is so bizarre. All I can think about is how Trump is sitting at the cuck desk. I've never seen him sit so patiently and not say a single word.

QED

Well, at least you admit you're full of crap, I guess. Small news but notable - https://news.blizzard.com/en-us/article/24177681/avowed-breaks-down-barriers-with-cross-buy "When you buy any edition of Avowed on either Battle.net or Xbox, you can then play the game on both platforms by linking your Xbox and Battle.net accounts. This means you'll be able to switch easily between playing Avowed on Battle.net or Xbox."

Does he mean this Albion?

I dig the aesthetic of your designs. The multi-colored purse is my favorite.

Judge orders Trump admin. to restore CDC and FDA webpages by midnight - Ars Technica

I'll be there! Only finished the last story DLC Palace Of Ice, last year. The overall project reminded me of SSI D&D games of yore: Nothing to too fancy story wise, just a simple adventure, and off ya roll. Sometimes, that's all that's needed! The combat could have been a bit harder though... and with that I mean the AI. I finished it on I think a higher (but not highest) setting, as I'm not a fan of enemies simply having inflated stats. But outside a few optional encounters, and I think a boss or two, never really struggled. After all, Solasta is pretty focused on the combat. Thumbs up though for going with a quality over quality approach. Rather than spamming dungeons with a couple dozen copypaste encounters, you oft faced maybe 2-3 handcrafted at best. For a game that's sold on the combat and the combat system, that's rare. I think the last that did it was Troika's Temple Of Elemental Evil -- but even that later on had you hacking through uninspired hordes of bugbears later on. IIRC after a while I just opened the doors, cast a couple of fireballs and be done with it. Oh, and those dudes over here like quite a few decent games. No wonder that Kangdom Kang kangs!

Taking hostages is strategy that is doomed to fail so releasing hostages is would be best option for Hamas, but I don't think that it can prevent war from continuing, but unlike keeping hostages, releasing hostages would increase pressure of other countries to intervene.

Both Hamas military and political wings have presence in West Bank and they actively commit strikes against Israel from West Bank, but they aren't in control in West Bank and their support there is many times lesser than it is in Gaza, but thousands come to celebrate and welcome Hamas soldiers that Israel freed to West Bank in exchange of hostages in Gaza (with caveat that Israel quite freely names Palestinians as members of Hamas when they prison them). Also many Israel's actions in West Bank don't have anything to do with Hamas, but are just Israel taking more land to themselves. But overall hostage taking by Hamas has caused worst tragedy in history of Israel and Palestine and has lead more deaths than all previous conflicts together and current Israeli leadership has welcomed the opportunity with open arms.

Solasta2 will have a playable demo this Steamfest on February 24th: It seems that just like with Solasta1 it will be a selfcontained, standalone adventures showcasing what we can expect in the final game. I am wondering, however, what purpose this demo serves. In Solasta1 it was part of crowdfunding campaign. I don't believe devs mentioned reaching for crowdfunding this time around, and I though S2 was to release in Early Access at some point instead. Still, creating a demo sounds like an odd allocation of resources in this case, unless it is something they just do as part of the development process.

We do know that Israel has not upheld its part. We do know that Israel has continued killing people daily. The ceasefire is one-way. Always has been with Israel. It was the same with the first ceasefire. It was the same with Lebanon. It has been the same with any deal with Israel - they have in seven decades never upheld their end of any deal. Those are the facts. Refusing to see them doesn't change them - and the west refuses to acknowledge them; partly because of so many bribed politicians and bought journos. Palestinians are in a lose lose situation: give Israel what it wants and get killed because now they have 0 leverage OR do not give Israel what it wants and get killed. Remember, the hostage deal was on the table since the 9th of October 2023. Israel has been refusing to take their hostages back. And the Westbank has no Hamas and no hostages and Israel is going berzerk there.

Wonder how long until we'll have to wait before the first terrorist bombing of DJT's Gaza Resort? Not sure I'd want to vacation there...

Congrats on not being dead, GD.

Spider-Man 2 finally hit PC and it was worth the wait. Not as good as 1 and better than miles. Insomniac are doing a bang up job of transitioning comic book stuff to a cinematic medium. Better than Marvel is at the moment, anyway.

20 hour drive is miserable any time of the year, but I guess you guys are used to it.

Nice. I'm taking the family to NYC next week for the first time ever. We are staying in the theater district and catching some shows. Glad to hear you are doing well.

Looks like a NWN2: Enhanced Edition is happening, developed by Aspyr.

Please. I am using vidya gaems to escape the reality of fat, ugly wamen. It's all I have.

Oh, I didn't know that you get discount on pre-order if you have Gamepass. Still, I am happy to wait those couple extra days. I don't think I will struggle avoiding spoilers. I will save those $25 to get the game later, on a proper platform once it gets discounted later down the line (assuming of course, that I want to play it ever again... finger's crossed). You might have noticed that Critical Role joined Mercer in the sequel - companions are mostly voiced by CR cast, and they got some other major roles (Eothas, narrator, Imps). It was definitely a marketing thing as well, though it didn't seem to help them much considering how much Deadfire underperformed initially. Eh, Obsidian has always drawn heavily from P&P, and both PoEs used story adventure sequences to expand scenarios that the game could support. Personally, I still think the ones from White March are the most interesting ones, but Deadfire is good. Neketaka is massive - it is a Hub you will be visiting and revisiting throughout the game, so my advice is to not spend too much time there are any given time. Do a major quest or two if you feel like it, gather quests and bounties and sail out. You can explore districts and all that they have to offer at your leisure, no need to try to complete it all in one go. While initially jarring I think party of 5 is a good choice. You still have a lot of flexibility in how you build your party, and I didn't feel loosing the 6th member impacted negatively my enjoyment of the game. As someone who micromanages my parties, 5 was a very good sweet spot where everyone is actively working on accomplishing something.

I ended up loading a mod that increased my party size to 6, I like 6 people in my party https://www.nexusmods.com/pillarsofeternity2/mods/288?tab=description

What is that? Is that the feed/tame icon when I hover? Can I tame it? *CHASE CHASE/SMASH BUTTON 50x* (it kept not working/it would move away super fast and I swim slow) Yessssss! Success, another adorable creature for me! ... which I will put away and never look at again. It's so unique/different vs. everything else so far tho, cuteness overload.

No Man's Sky picture spam: Some of the new fauna (can be pets) I've encountered. Still not much point to having a pet - but it's fun to explore/encounter them. This guy has good planet-camo. I just like the "I am giant monster, kneel before me" vibe. Some planets are still gonna be sorta "boring" to look at, but when you find interesting ones, they are so pretty. New terrain/features make wandering a planet longer better because terrain/fauna feels more varied, less empty, in some cases. Waterworlds. Only tiny bits of land like this occasionally, that you may or may not be able to ship-land on. Deep underwater. There's an underwater sub but I don't like using them. You can summon your flight ship to land on the water now (water land gear module), so at least you don't have to swim forever to find a bit of land when you're bored of one spot.

The latest Community Blog, from @JadedWolf, is now live: As you review this latest addition, I would love to hear from those who might be interested in submitting experiences about playing Avowed for the March edition: please PM if this is of interest

I accidentally dominated the Adra Dragon, this must be how Squirrel Girl felt when she befriended Galactus.

0900 PST tomorrow some new additions are coming to the fora 'nuff said ...

Because the war never stopped. Israel keeps killing even throughout ceasefires. We all know the hostages being released will not stop Israel. But while there are hostages, at least part of Israeli society want a ceasefire to get the hostages back. Once they got them back they'll happily rejoin their deathcult masquerading as a nation.

This is going to be hilariously useless, but I just cannot stop myself. Please name the element(s) in Veilguard that make it exclude straight males. Provide specific examples and give a proper contextual reading for those. Bonus points if you can make it about excluding straight white males. Posting a video from a self-proclaimed Russian sounding melodramatic c*nt (his own words, not mine) like Gorth gorthed into the discussion a while back does not count, so don't even try to post something with an Info Wars level of objectivity and integrity as proof, we've had enough of that nonsense back when a not very sharp one skarped in the politics thread. Is that a rhetorical question? Dragon Age: Veilguard is basically a medieval high magic fantasy version of Star Wars: Fallen Order and Jedi Survivor. Both of which were commercial successes for Electronic Arts.