LadyCrimson

Exactly/ditto. I can understand/see they have certain uses but it's not something most are going to use constantly, hence wanting to upgrade/rebuy them all the time (to keep the "market" high) always seemed rather dubious to me. The ubiquitous cellphone or some variant seems the main route for portable computing/'net use, long term.

Tried another early access called Besiege. At the moment it's just levels where you design a vehicle/thingie to destroy a new hut/castle/whatever. Not that I've gotten far. I like the building/design part (it's kind of a whimsical, do-anything style) but I don't see much other point yet. ...I think that's the 3rd or 5th early access I've tried recently. Guess that's what's happens when one doesn't like the AAA games much anymore. So far, I haven't picked a true clunker/didn't even get my $15 worth, yet...just the usual "it's early alpha, needs more content" routine.

I'm not sure, but maybe they're taking this Cast Away thing a bit too far. ...playing as a nomad (no base "home" island) is more challenging/interesting re: days survived. Just pick a direction, use up one island and keep going forever, and ever, and ever....

Interesting that so many don't like vendor gold limits. I mean, I understand it...it often doesn't work as well as it sounds in concept. I sort of liked the way it worked in the original Divine Divinity, but it had a barter system to go along with it. It was still clunky and yeah you'd end up sometimes not being able to unload stuff. But sometimes the management aspect adds an element of gameplay interest, for me, if it's something more than just a number limit in the vendor window, that is. Still, it's not a feature I "must have" or likely will even really notice its absence. Heh.

If they edit it right, I usually think shorter previews are better. Or at least can arouse market-viewer curiosity more, when there's less shown/revealed.

Long day. Paperwork, legalities, blah blah. Time for some food and a movie or something.

I can't think of a single game where, if there was a walk and a run option given, I didn't have it on run, all the time. Or if it was stamina based, constantly be running until I ran out of stamina, then grumble about having to walk while stamina regenerated. I suppose I'm impatient. I mean, I love exploring and wandering, but I don't like doing it at a snail's pace, unless the area to be explored is a 20x20 house. But I do think it's odd not to have a walk/run option, both.

"Stranded Deep" - early access survival-type title, week old on Steam. Will have bugs. Gameplay so far...crash into the sea, paddle raft to nearest island. Craft a basic shelter (foundation, leaf-hut wall/roof), campfire, basic tools etc. by dumping stuff on the ground and if you have enough a build menu comes up when you r-click on piles. Hunger/thirst isn't too hard to deal with, but building/tool/fire material (palm trees, rocks) is finite per island and tool durability is lowish so you always need more. Rains a lot which can cause health issues eventually so you do need a shelter at some point. Islands in the ocean is infinite, so you paddle to other islands for more resources and special gear, or try diving for shipwrecks (you can find parts to build a boat motor). Lots of sharks in water but you can avoid them for a long time if you want. Or you can try to kill one (ha) and drag it to shore for meat. Biggest PITA is the islands are often far apart, so you're paddling 3-5 minutes one-way, going back and forth repeatedly since inventory space is severely limited (8 spaces, stack limit of 4). Easy to lose direction until you randomly find a compass, too. Anyway...like Cast Away + Giligan's Island of One. I rather like it - it's not high-stress unless purposely going after sharks all the time - but I'd advise most to wait and see if it adds more to do. If nothing else, it could use more crafting options.

@Lexx - probably rinse and repeat at the moment. Was just made EA a week ago, had one patch. It's playable/fun and what's there is pretty nice, but not a whole lot to do/craft yet+a bit glitchy. I'll write more in the "What are you playing" thread but for most it's a wait a few months and see I'm sure. -------------------------------- Ooo, humpback whale, cool. Wonder if I can hunt them. Er...what? Wait a minute... Sand whale? ....it's funny, except he's been going in circles for 2 hours and every time he swims through my island, he pushes anything in his path that I've dropped on the ground into the ocean (doesn't seem to hurt structures tho). Hoping when I reload he'll be gone (wasn't there when I started).

I liked it well enough, what I heard of it.

"Modern" graphics I tend to like scenery and vistas a lot (except when over-enhanced via bloom or whatnot), but I still have major issues with people/animals. It's akin to watching CGI monsters/humanoids/action scenes in movies and knowing it's CGI (especially when in motion)...even if it's very technically impressive it feels cold and never naturalistic and leaves me unmoved. I don't loathe it and sometimes it's fine for eye-candy, it just does nothing for "immersion" improvement for me. If anything, it gets in the way because I keep noticing and thinking about it. I don't prefer old vs. new or new vs. old, case by case as some have said, but it has become difficult for me to play truly ancient arcadey/console graphic styled games or whatever. Actually, it was always a little hard for me to get into those games, even back then, which is one reason I didn't start to get really into video gaming until Doom1/that era, perhaps. In the end, I think I find aesthetics more appealing - that is, graphics that feel like they have more personality, vs. graphics that are trying to constantly imitate reality.

Seems like it, lately. I'm sure I'll get bored of most of it before long. Just something different than rpg/arpg/action I guess and appeals to my meticulous strategy/design nature. Also, $10-$20.

Hugz I know how that goes, where you try everything but...always hard.

Was bored, decided to try the early-access game Cast Away Stranded Deep. Picked up coconuts, harvested logs and palm leaves, found a volleyball and named it Wollie, hunted crab, speared fish, rafted to another island, and explored sea wrecks for loot. Saw a shark while underwater, but no pic of that because I shrieked a little, considered my rusty chipped rock axe, then frantically swam back to shore without looking back.

^^ So much this. Most effects/graphical "enhancements" in games, I end up turning off/forcing off if it's somehow an option. Sometimes I like shadows, graphically, but most of the time I find even those rather unnecessary or at least unnatural looking. In some games I've liked what ambient occlusion does (not that I really understand what it does, only what I think of it when I turn it on/off). I tend to always like rain, however ... it's a mood thing. Nothing new to report about what I'm playing. Still 7DtD off and on.

It's possible the autosave (checkpoints) became corrupted. Verify Steam cache etc. or reinstall the game. If it keeps on happening, try manually saving instead of relying on autosave. Maybe if you do that, you'll at least be able to load a manual saves if a checkpoint save corrupts. Not sure tho...

It's the Canon EF 800mm f/5.6L IS, which is about 10 pounds.

If I met a real estate agent who looked like Agent 47, I think I'd look for another agent, heheh. Probably not good for camo when you want camo, either. The L lenses are my pr0n. I'm just weird that way. ...although some people decorate/slipcover them, apparently. They're definitely not good for subterfuge.

That scope is sexy. Maybe because it reminds me of the Canon L lenses. Or just because it is. Today I woke up, did laundry, then headed out to meet with a real estate agent I know. Annnnd car wouldn't start. So now I'm waiting for the agent to come pick me up. :D

Chicken liver is for catfishing. ...chicken hearts and liver can be pretty tasty. I still preferred beef liver's tho, if made right (they can get way too dry, easily).

Today I signed up for the ballroom lessons to check that one place out and brush up. Later there's another spot for a more casual group weekly meetings. I also applied to volunteer for one of those meals on wheels kind of non-profits. There's an outdoor trail/park building/upkeep volunteer program I'd love to get into as well, they're hard work but kinda like weekend camp-outs and always sounded like fun. But they apparently fill up fast when they do their things (which isn't too often I think). Maybe I'll get into one of them this year.

All I care about is the t-shirt. I like t-shirts. Ok, the signed stuff is always cool, but ... t-shirt, man, t-shirt.

Dune film from the 80's? I wouldn't bother. Although I guess if you're just curious ... and you have a lot of booze... SyFy mini-series was certainly better, so I'd try that one first. But mostly I think it's just one of those books that can't be captured on screen without seeming ... too weird or watered down. Difficult to visualize/realize. Dunno. I re-watched CA:Winter Soldier. I think I like it better every time I see it. First film was ok but kinda dull, imo. And while the sequel has plenty of one liner cheese and the usual over the top wild action, somehow it all works. Maybe it's Chris Evans, maybe it's Anthony Mackie. Maybe it's even Redford having fun with his role. Whatever. It's entertaining.

I thought those were for sitting on.

Not technically related, but my thing with monitors is their height vs. my chair/sitting height. I need the center of screen to be at least eye-level if not higher. If I place them directly on the desk, they're too low (even if they have height adjustments, it's usually not enough) and I either get bad neck pain from looking down-ish, or back pain from constant slouching. So I always have them on a pedestal or a few books or whatever. I built my current rig 6 years ago and it's been very nice indeed not to have to build a new one for so long, but I'm starting to really itch for shiny upgrades by now. Hopefully what I build at year's end will last me just as long, however.