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Hey everyone. Hope you guys are all doing well in this crazy f---d up world we find ourselves in. I was unaware of Charlie Kirk until this morning. Gwen and I have been exploring Zion National Park since August. We've been staying at Watchman Campground mostly but we did backpack out to Lava Point and primitive camped for a few nights. This is by far one of the most beautiful places I've ever seen. Hanging out in Salt Lake City now. Then taking a trip down I-40 to Tennessee. I have some business to wrap up there bore heading back to Wisconsin. Life has been pretty good. We had almost no cell coverage in the park and almost never turned the radio on. The world is a wonderful place if you can just divorce yourself from all the negativity. Hope you guys are all ok. It's been a while.

I have booted today my first playthrough of XCOM: Enemy Unknown (2012). I have purchased this some time ago, but never had the mood to boot it up. For now, it seems to me likeable. There are some things, which did not hit the right spot for now (the start up of the game feels slow paced to me - Normal Difficulty), so I hope it will get better lately.

Transcription of what was found on the bullets, read out-loud by the Governor of Utah: https://streamable.com/i02zub "Notices bulges, OWO, what's this?" <- the one that killed Charlie Kirk "If you read this, you are gay lmao" <- unfired "Hey fascist! Catch! Up Right Down Down Down" <- unfired “O bella ciao bella ciao bella ciao ciao ciao" <- unfired A ****ing 4chan edgelord, which, as everyone knows, is definitely an extremist left-wing environment and most definitely not a breeding ground for nazis and other brands of right-wing scum And only arrested by Trump's gutted and incompetent FBI because his own father turned him in... It's so beautiful, guys. Truly wonderful.

Military missions in Space Colony are crap, will wuss out and take the civilian path.

Thousands protest against Trump's second UK state visit

I made an earth-themed barbarian subclass called earthshaker. It took inspirations from geomancy and earthbending from variou media. Nexus Mods Portal: https://www.nexusmods.com/pillarsofeternity2/mods/825?tab=description Class Intro Bonus Gain access to Earthshaker abilities Penalty Lose access to base Barbarian abilities Core Runestones Modal abilities, auto-unlock at odd barbarian levels Provides situational benefits at the cost of Constitution Multiples can be activated at the same time Crushing Boulder Passive. A "consume-stacks" type of buff for Boulder Toss Stacks can be gained from the following abilities Boulder Toss (and its upgrade) Stone Spikes (and its upgrade) Earthfall Level 1 Runestone: Exfoliation While Hurt (<75%) or worse, gain health regeneration based on missing health Earthshaking Yell Replaces Barbaric Yell Cone-shaped aoe, applies Sickened Fortify Replaces Frenzy Grants damage reduction, grants Strong and Fit inspiration, reduce Reflex defense Level 2 Boulder Toss Replaces Barbaric Blow Ranged ability, hit the first target then explode for aoe Level 3 Runestone: Fossilized Amygdala While having an Intelligence or Resolve affliction, become Petrified and greatly reduce its duration Shoulder Charge Replaces Wild Sprint Single target push and Stagger Grants bonus movement speed on successful hit Level 4 Earthshaking Shout Replaces Barbaric Roar and Barbaric Shout Reduces enemies' power level Blinds the barbarian Stone Armor Replaces Blood Frenzy and Spirit Frenzy Grants bonus armor and bonus Explosives skill Summon Explosive Stones into quickslots, which function as Bombs Stone Spike Replaces Savage Defiance Aoe pierce or corrode damage Level 5 Runestone: Tremorsense While having a Perception affliction, grants bonus accuracy and increase engagement limit Unrelenting Toss Replaces Crushing Blow and Barbaric Smash Reduces rage cost and recovery time Trample Replaces Leap Functionally same, but reflavored Level 6 Land Tank Replaces Lion's Sprint and Ram's Sprint Single target push and Stagger Grants bonus movement speed, resistance against ranged attacks and aoe attacks on successful hit Using this ability again while the buff is active will consume the buff and Stun the target instead of Stagger Level 7 Runestone: Earthen Wound While having an Injury, gain bonus Armor Penetration and boost healing effect Dust Storm Replaces Blood Storm and Spirit Tornado Fortify spawns a dust storm around the barbarian, dealing raw damage and petrify nearby creatures Rusted Spike Replaces Savage Courage and Stalwart Defiance Stone Spike reduces armor Level 8 Heart of Stone Replaces Heart of Fury Self-inflicts a Concussion injury Convert some incoming Hits to Crits, and reduce incoming Crit damage Generates rage when critically hit Gravitating Trample Replaces Panther's Leap and Dragon's Leap Pulls in nearby enemies upon landing and deals crush damage in a slightly increased aoe Disorient the barbarian Level 9 Runestone: March of the Colossus While flanked, grow in size, cannot be Interrupted and gain damage reduction Debilitating Shout Replaces Driving Roar and Dazing Shout Reduces enemies' damage output Doesn't do damage Earthfall Replaces Instrument of Boundless Rage Aoe crush damage Leaves behind an aftershock, dealing raw damage and petrifying nearby creatures

I concur. On the "story," point, yes initially I wrote it as "story" and then changed it to "storytelling." I should've left it the way I originally had my post. On the companions' stories in 1, I loved that for several of them their stories had hooks in the main story and so choices in one affected outcomes (ending slides) in the other. And I cared about the companions' stories and their outcomes. Even Durance, who I recall utterly disliking the first time I played the game way back when, I ended up liking and feeling sympathy for him this time around due to differences in how I roleplayed things. The one negative in PoE1 for me was that I felt there were way too many consumables (and crafting materials). By this I mean way too many different TYPES of consumables, whereby it became too overwhelming for me to try and keep track of what things did what for me. So I hardly ever used any of my consumables, even including scrolls, and never bothered with crafting anything. A lot of game development resources couldv'e been saved going with fewer different types of scrolls/spells, potions, foods, etc.

I mostly agree, with coveats. I don’t think PoE story is “better told”. Too much of it is uninteractive, too much of it is told through NPCs talking at you and books abd too little through quests. But I do think it is a better story. What PoE2 lacks to me is personal hook for our protagonist. I never found Eothas destroying Caed Nua compelling as without experiencing this event in the sequel we get a “cutscene” and it is just not enough to care. It’s as if Mass Effect destroyed Normandy in a hand drawn cutscene rather than open with it. Similarly, reuniting our soul and confronting Eothas - it’s all confusing and impersonal and unrelatable. In PoE1 we experience consequences of the awakening and as we progressed we better realised what it could mean for us. In PoE1 it’s just “oh yeah part of your soul in in Eothas so keep close”. PoE1 had more relatable stories and dilemmas of companions which I think helped ground the god thread and give it resonance. Without it it’s tricky to care about bickerings of fictional gods.

I finally finished my playthrough of PoE1 including both DLCs. It was a very fun experience. Because I had not replayed the game in a very long time, I had forgotten much of the story and the lore, and so it was like playing the game for the first time. It was clear to me that although PoE2 is mechanically the better of the two, PoE1 is better by a wide margin than 2 in storytelling, character development (especially the companions), world-building, and side quests. This is surprising and puzzling to me because PoE2 is the sequel, and had a bigger budget. But it comes across to me as if the game development team, including JES, didn't have their hearts in PoE2 as much as they did in PoE1. Just my take.

Yes. And Vanguard anti-cheat Riot thing. If it doesn't scare you and want to dip in, send me a message and I will send you the code. I have such fond memories of XCOM2012. Sequel was a bit improvement, but I like the vibe of the first one much more. If you like the first playthrough well enough, Long War mod is worth giving ago. It injects much life and strategic/tactical choice to the game, though actual full campaign can get mercilessly long (spoiler: never completed one).

lolol, as if I've called it. The pattern is pretty obvious at this point. The aggressive ones are sitting on the right side of the table, and not the left side. There is no "both sides" yadda-yadda, it's clearly the right that is deranged. /Edit:

^ well my 9900k is better than i7-9700, but not by oodles or anything. Confirms my thinking new gen of games will = my CPU is going to be a limiting factor right quick. I'm still confident I'd get BL4 to run at 45-60fps fake-4k/DLSS Performance Med/Low or something, but would I want to. Probably not. Forums are already full of angry performance-ranters, although as is often the case these days, some of that is re: ppl who want a lot more than 60fps. I'd say Steam reviews are so far around 40+% negative. Anyway - they didn't go full separation hog on the DLC but they did break it up into two major packs (for ones that aren't cosmetic-only): --Vault Hunter Pack: 2 future new main story areas, 2 new Vault Hunters, other misc $50 (US $) --Bounty Pack: 4 future "unique areas" (could just be a battle arena or small side quest/mini mission or something of that nature, not described), 4 new vehicles, other misc $40 <---personally I'd skip this one --Base game: $70 So $160 separately (or $130 for 'super deluxe' edition). Maybe in 4-5 years it'll have a "gold-like" bundle for 50% off. That seems about what it's worth. And I might have a new PC by then. Maybe. Seriously - even for (some of) those of us with decent higher income factors, it all seems so not worth it anymore (outside of smaller scale/indies/old games etc). And even some "indie" games have serious performance issues re: older/less elite systems because engines or tech or lack of dev experience/skill.

It's Bruce, could be believing in sick days.

27 years for Bolsonaro's coup attempt.

He fundamentally believed in the grift and the money that accompanied it. I'm just suggesting that we should treat his death by the same standards he treated others. He also didn't believe in empathy, so the people who are now sad about his death are just betraying the values Kirk stood for.

I’ve been having a great time in Grounded 2 so far, huge thanks to the dev team for all the work you’re putting into Early Access. I’ve been streaming it regularly on Twitch (@LOTS_OF_PYRO) and it’s been an awesome experience sharing the game with my community. One of the best features right now is the Buggie system. Hatching an Ant from the Hatchery Anthill, mounting it, and riding around to farm Grass and Weed Stems is such a fun mechanic. For players who love to build (like me), it feels rewarding and makes the grind more enjoyable. But there’s a point where the flow breaks: Once you upgrade your Axe to Level II and want to cut down Husk Weeds, you’re forced to dismount your Ant to harvest those resources. This feels like a missed opportunity. The Ant mount should feel like an extension of the player, not just a Level I farming assistant. Suggestion: If the player has upgraded tools (e.g., Level II Axe), those upgrades should apply while mounted on an Ant. Being able to farm Level II (and higher) materials without dismounting would keep farming smooth, immersive, and rewarding. It would also better align with the progression system, making mounts feel more useful long-term rather than capped at early-game tasks. I know Grounded 2 is still in Early Access, and I’m excited to see how it evolves. This is exactly the kind of quality-of-life improvement that could elevate the building and farming loop even further. Keep up the great work, I’m really enjoying the direction of the game so far! — Pyro TL;DR for Devs: If players have a higher-level Axe (e.g., Level II) and are riding an Ant, tool upgrades should carry over so we can harvest Level II+ materials without dismounting.

So glad I don't know what a groyper is

It's, as of yet, unclear whether he was actually far-right, or far-left, or completely politically unaffiliated because actually 30-40% of the adult U.S. population doesn't bother to vote or be politically affiliated in the first place. But there's clearly already enough to debunk all this "violent leftist death cult environment/upbringing" nonsense, which from what I've seen from other people's posts in here, BruceVC can shove straight back up his nasty ass. You wouldn't catch me reading or responding to a BruceVC post, but it's difficult not to see everyone else doing so.

I think it may not even last a month. Yeah, the kid is almost certainly a Groyper who hated Kirk for being a different kind of reactionary. If you look into it, left-wing extremist acts typically involve more property damage while right-wing goes for body count. I understand that it'll upset some people, but I could give a **** about broken windows or red paint when compared to people dying.

I thought it'd be some Qanon nutter angry about the Epstein 180° turn

So not a white guy in his 60s (turned out to be a false arrest), but a young white college drop-out in his early 20s, lives in Utah, father is a veteran, sheriff, and Mormon preacher. Dressed up as Trump for Halloween 8 years ago. Definitely sounds like a guy that was raised in a radical left-wing environment.

Oh thank goodness, I'm not the only one. I feel like I wake up from a long sleep with enough eye crusties to make a crumble cake. I have a bottle of saline solution by the bed and rinse/moisten eyes out when I wake up, and am rubbing bits of crusties away for ages. And all day new ones keep slowly forming in the corner of my eyes (both sides). I suppose that's not very visually noticeable to other people but I can feel them/rub them out and it drives me nuts. >.>

For me the the irony, you know beyond Kirk thinking empathy is new age degeneracy, or his belief that shootings like his own are an acceptable consequence for the 2nd amendment, or that he was in the middle of blaming mass shootings on "the gangs" right as he was shot, is that only in death was he able to attain what he had spent his life chasing: widespread attention. And even that is going to be fleeting, Charlie Kirk won't be remembered at all within a year, he wasted his entire life being performativly vile only to leave behind a few "owning the libs" compilations as a legacy. A miserable end for a miserable man. Anyways if Charlie were still here he'd downplay the shooting and float a conspiracy. But **** that guy.

Healthcare paid by taxes perhaps.

Dev advice: Don't go fully-on Nanite+Lumen if it doesn't hugely benefit your project. E.g. a comic book-style game that has been "nailed" with technology a couple years ago already. Placing a tenner that if you'd ask 100 people on the streets which is the more recent game in between Borderlands 3 and 4, the hit ratio would be pretty mixed. Unless it's 100 tech enthusiasts, maybe. ALSO: Dishonored (UE3) still remains a more beautiful game than any Borderlands anyway. EVERY FRAME A PAINTING. Sue me, Pitchford!

The more I go down my rabbit hole...I dont think it was an "intercept" at all, but rather a field test. Think of this: We know the range of the AMG-114 is ~11km. There were two Reapers involved, the view we see is from the "lazing buddy" and the other one fires the missile. Why would two Reapers just so happen to be patrolling within 6 miles of each other and both just so happen to spot the UAP. Then, unprecedentedly, fire upon it! The missile not exploding has got me boggled. Sure, stuff fails, but it looked kind of like it hit a water ballon and just went of screen. But I dont think we were ever meant to see this footage. Now dont get me wrong, I whole heartedly believe that extra-terrestrial life exists, probably all over the universe. I just dont necessarily believe they are here on Earth. If they are, its the octopuses.

I can't wait for when it comes out the assassin is a white right wing trump supporter and suddenly nobody will ever hear of it again in the news.

Kirk was a poor debater who constantly pivoted to new points whenever faced with difficult questions. His style was rooted in bad faith, serving only to market his own views rather than engage with the actual substance of the discussion. Unfortunately, this kind of shallow performance is exactly what many people seem to enjoy, rather than seeking genuine merit in the topics themselves. The world lost nothing with his passing. By his own words and attitude, he would not want empathy wasted on him or those close to him—and honoring that wish is the most fitting response.

This is from 2019, but seems topical.

People shouldn't die for their beliefs. But I also think people's automatic response to schoolchildren getting murdered on the regular ideally shouldn't be saying absolutely psychotic **** like i t ' s s o m e t h i n g w e ' r e j u s t g o i n g t o h a v e t o a c c e p t b e c a u s e f r e e a c c e s s t o g u n s f o r a l l a l w a y s n o m a t t e r w h a t. . . especially if it's not actually your friends or family that are the ones being sacrificed by and for this mad, sick country. Like, talk about being hoisted by your own petard in a nasty fit of cosmic vengeance. The only country where this happens, and we've tried almost nothing to prevent it, and the little we have tried has been stupid and misguided, and it's all only going to get worse - especially as people are increasingly impoverished, isolated, radicalized, and deranged. Increasingly, I think the U.S. might well be facing something its own version of Ireland's The Troubles over the next decade or two... It's not going to be pretty.

So sad. Thoughts and prayers.

Have to say that Silksong in act 2 is *a lot* easier than act 1. So far nothing was pissing me off as much as that stupid Moorwing and that moss thing. People complained about Hunters March a lot, but even that... I pretty much breezed through it. I've also been through most of the obvious citadel parts and again, it's not that big of a deal. Feels pretty much on par with the original HK experience. Seems they really just had the beginning cranked up a bit too much... it would never have been such a huge pain in the arse if the difficulty curve wouldn't have pulled up so hard right away.

Charlie Kirk assassinated by some white guy in his 60s while giving a speech at Utah Valley University. Boy, our country sure is in an interesting place right now, isn't it? Utah just passed a "open carry at colleges is legal" law earlier this year, too... "Charlie Kirk Says Gun Deaths ‘Unfortunately’ Worth it to Keep 2nd Amendment" Hey, as long as it's not you or your kids, I guess so, right? Well...one of those rare cases where some right wing piece of **** got the chance to actually practice what he preached, so good on him.

I got the email today that I am officially verified as run #16! It's hard to believe its been over 6 months since I finished my run. Something fun is Sam said in his email there have been a surprising number of submissions recently. Looking forward to seeing what people have done.

Unbroken/Streetfighter was just what I played while trying to stay below 50% health with the Streetfighter. I didn't mean it as a recommendation. +1 passive AR is great btw. Underpenetration malus is a sort-of multiplicative dmg reduction which pairs especially well with getting grazed a lot. Paladin is even better with AR, but if I plan to use a shield anyway and want a fighter for lots of engagement and increased speed while wearing heavy armor, I personally would pick Unbroken over Devoted any day. Just because of the +1 stackable AR. With a two hander (which I don't plan to switch much) that's another story ofc.

In time for the sequel. Though I actually have other stuff to play, so will probably wait a bit.

Tainted Grail's "giant patch" finally came out today. And it's definitely huge - although ofc a lot of things are balance, bug, and small dungeon/loot/other type things. Still, it's massive. I'll probably wait for a little longer to see if there are any quick patches for the patch, but looks like time for a new playthru - or at least loading a save in early Act 1 perhaps. Also, transmog (at least in some crafting form) and NG+. So one can finally replay to get different loot re: such choices, all on one chr. https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/1466060/view/541115924558645329 But most importantly - will Cohh finally get back to his playthrough "soon"? That was his most entertaining/he seemed like he was having a grand ol' time playthru VoD's in years, for me (I don't watch twitch anymore but I check Cohh a bit more, recently, since he started dual-streaming to YT/leaving the Live VoD's up, vs only Twitch). I was sad when he put it on hold, wanted to see him finish.

What you can make happen relatively easily is that you don't quite outheal the average incoming damage with draining and other "side effect" healing stuff. That requires you to monitor your health closely and get the occasional actively triggered healing burst (to not just die) - but it allows for longer times under 50% health. Against weaker foes it will prevent you from going under 50% though - but that might be the fights wherer you don't need to go there anyway (because easy). I didn't try that a lot with a Streetfighter, but SC Furyshaper (bc. of Blooded and Fighting Spirit, using Blood Ward etc.). A lot of CON helps to manage that a lot. But it will never work smoothly or perfectly well because all fights/enemies are different, rolls are chance-based etc. But on average it allows you to be under 50% health longer which can directly add to your offensive output (even if you have to shift some points from a "good for offense"-attribute like DEX/MIG/PER to one which usually is associated with defense/survival - like CON). What also helps is high AR (ideal if you can activate it at low health, see Reckless Brigandine) and getting grazed a lot when under 50% (swichting to a shield for example). And in addition to that have some damage resistance/reductiuon, too (Death's Maw and something like that. Death's Maw is pretty cool in this case because it only triggers when there's dead bodies around you which isn't at the start of the fight - where you might want to get hit harder until you get damaged too much). I played an Unbroken/Streetfighter main tank with Gladiator Sword + Bronlar's Phalanx - but he woud start the fights dual wielding often (no investment in two handed style) and then switch to the large shield as soon as under 50%. That allowed him to stay under 50% for a long time and made him perform a lot better than trying to keep on with the dual wielding.

Yeah, I get what you mean — the tone in Hogwarts Legacy can feel a bit all over the place. On one hand it’s all about the magic and wonder of Hogwarts, and on the other you’re mowing down goblins and poachers without much thought. Still, like @BruceVC said, the exploration and atmosphere made it easy for me to just enjoy the game despite those oddities.

It's impossible to maintain perfect balance between the damage taken and healing. Use a trickster instead of a streetfighter and if you want to see ripostes get also a shield...

Bonjour Une suggestion pour un bien être lors des constructions beaucoup de constructions ne ce pose pas en diagonale ce qui crée pas mal de frustration pour les constructeurs, pour ma part j'ai un modèle en version normale qui peut pas être repris en version diagonale. Merci à vous

What if we had a pulley system that could go vertical to make like elevators or item transfers to high locations easier

+1 Good thing GOG has manual downloads. The Galaxy service is completely borked. As is Steam it would, uhm, seem. Anyway, see you guys in December.

SILKSONG! Less than £17. Noice.

Functionally it's useless - vs simply sticking to a normal ship (no living area so no "storage/workstation" space) - but hey, it's small. Haha. It's taking advantage of overlapping, separate creation/edit stations - a sort of unintended simple glitch I suppose - you can't do this and save the design/edit, normally.

At last, I made something that isn't huge and doesn't look terrible, that I could live with as regular "main" use. And it still has 8 interior "workstation" ability if I want, plus good maneuverability and huge warp distance stats (the two I care about). So, yay? Maybe I'm getting the hang of how to use all these stupid parts. Course I'm still gonna obsessively fiddle with new/other designs for a while, before I get bored.

Who needs Unreal Engine 5 if you've got true artists? #Dishonored #UnrealEngine3 #RipViktorAntonov

Role & Distinction Orb Weaver = Combat mount (stuns enemies, summons allies). Jumping Spider = Mobility mount (master of climbing, falling, and leaping). Designed to solve fall damage frustration and unlock vertical + gap traversal as a core mechanic. Abilities Web Crawler Mode (Toggle) Activated with a simple toggle, not tied to surface type. Lets you crawl up walls and ceilings at any angle—even smooth ones. Power Jump (Hold Jump / A Button) The longer you hold A, the further you launch. Uses stamina proportionally to distance jumped (up to all 6 bars for a maximum cannon-shot leap) and will cannon you further on a parabolic scale the more stamina you use. Great for crossing the park’s massive gaps or reaching high spots without building ladders. Encourages strategic stamina management: small hops are efficient, big leaps are costly. Fall Immunity (Passive) As natural pouncers, Jumping Spiders negate all fall damage. Ideal for risky exploration, allowing fearless descent from picnic tables, tree branches, and birdbaths. Balancing Factors Power Jump cooldown: short reset time keeps it from being spammed endlessly. Note: Cooldown only applies on a full 6-stamina jump. Smaller jumps can still be chained if stamina allows. No direct combat power: unlike Orb Weavers, Jumping Spiders don’t stun or fight well—they’re purely traversal companions. Attraction mechanic: a full-charge Power Jump creates a loud “impact thud” on landing, potentially alerting nearby hostile insects (risk/reward flavor). Narrative Fit Jumping Spiders are curious, energetic hunters—perfect for a mount that feels eager and agile rather than terrifying. This also means they could be tamed directly, rather than requiring players to steal an egg. Likely found in sun-exposed vertical zones (tree trunks, fences, siding of the shed), making them thematic and challenging to tame. In Arachnophobia Safe Mode, they could appear as balloon-animal grasshoppers or crickets. Summary The Jumping Spider Buggy gives players unprecedented mobility: Toggleable Web Crawler for safe vertical climbing on any surface. Stamina-based Power Jump with charge scaling—small hops to mega cannon leaps. Fall damage immunity, eliminating one of the game’s biggest frustrations.