Keyrock

I keep hoping a blu-ray set of DS9 surfaces some day, but that's probably a pipe dream. I remember hearing that for some reason even a 1080p version of DS9 might not be possible. Is the original source gone?

The Resi 4 remake makes me sad because that means they are skipping the one game in the series that most desperately needs a remake, Code Veronica, and remaking a game that doesn't really need a remake instead. Resi 4 already has modern shooter mechanics so it's mostly just getting a graphical upgrade. Code Veronica was an ambitious project where many sacrifices wound up being made to the final product due to the technical limitations of the time. They could now make that game how it was intended to be initially and then some, but instead they are skipping it.

Jax composing lyrics for his upcoming black metal album.

So wait, is the ghost real or is it someone under a mask that would have gotten away with it if it wasn't for those meddling kids?

It this supposed to be a survival game? Is it a mystery? Is it a meta thing? Are you the monster? What is this?

Jason Momoa and Bruce Campbell on the same screen. Can humanity handle that much sex appeal?

I finished Swansong and managed to get a good, but not the best ending, since all 3 protagonists survived but several side characters perished due to failures and choices I made along the way. There are quite a few endings, I'm not going to try to get all of them, but I will try for the best ending. I have a decent idea of builds for all 3 characters, so I'll try to do it without a guide. One thing I learned is that it's beneficial to use your skills and disciplines a lot during the game, especially early on and especially skills, since willpower resets at the start of a new chapter while hunger does not always. Using skills and disciplines a lot boosts their effectiveness and/or makes them cost less, which is a big bonus in late game chapters.

The 40K IP does nothing for me since there has been a veritable deluge of 40K games. I may still get Rogue Trader, but that will be based on the quality of the game, not the IP.

Given the 187563005470 games released in the past several years based on Warhammer 40K, I find the claim of "The first classic CRPG in the Warhammer 40K universe" hard to believe.

Greyhawk was the setting I played the most during my P&P days simply because it was the default D&D setting at the time. Then somebody in our circle got the Al-Qadim rulebook and I was hooked because I LOVE anything to do with Arabian Nights, it's my second favorite setting behind only Wuxia. It's been a woefully underutilized setting ever since Prince of Persia went the way of the dinosaur.

I don't know if this game, presumably Biomutant, is intentionally nightmare fuel, but I'm never sleeping again.

Greyhawk, Forgotten Realms, and Dragonlance are all fairly similar. Dragonlance's one gimmick to differentiate itself is playable Draconians... Also, they renamed Halflings to Kender for some reason. I honestly couldn't tell you the difference between Forgotten Realms and Greyhawk. I mean, the map is different, but other than that... Edit: I guess Forgotten Realms has the Underdark as a gimmick to differentiate itself.

A Clockwork Orange (1971) This is my third time watching this movie and it's been over a decade since my last viewing. I wondered if it would hold up to my memories of being blown away by it and it absolutely did. Easily Stanley Kubrick's most controversial and polarizing movie. This adaptation of the Anthony Burgess dystopian satire novel of the same name is every bit as sharp and biting as I had remembered. Brutal, twisted, unrelentingly cynical, and filled with moments of the darkest of dark comedy, Kubrick pulls no punches here. The tale of Alex DeLarge, a psychopathic gang leader who undergoes an experimental treatment as a means of escaping a long prison sentence is a rollercoaster ride evoking nearly every emotion out there. Visually, it's striking. Kubrick's mastery of cinematography is on full display here. Narrow, claustrophobic lenses and uncomfortable camera angles serve to keep the audience in a state of unease. The absolutely ghastly and garish decor on display only serves to heighten that feeling. The 50th Anniversary 4K blu-ray version looks wonderful BTW. The sound design is masterful. In particular, the movie uses reverb to great effect. Malcolm McDowell is spectacular as the villainous protagonist Alex. He is charming, well mannered, and incredibly sadistic. It's both unusual and complicated to have both the main protagonist and narrator of a story be such a vile, loathsome individual, yet it works to great effect here. This is not an easy movie to watch, especially the beginning with the home invasion and rape scenes. As I wrote before, Kubrick pulls no punches, the horrific acts are not just implied, they are shown, they are graphic, they are shocking, they are disgusting, and they are set to music that on the surface seems wholly inappropriate. If you can get past that then you will be treated to what is IMHO Kubrick's greatest movie.

Swansong

If it makes you feel better, the Bucks look to be in good shape going forward. Giannis is at the beginning of his prime and likely hadn't hit his peak yet, which is a terrifying thought for everybody except the Bucks and their fans. Compare them to the Lakers who have an aging Lebron and Anthony Davis who can't stay healthy and the Russell Westbrook situation is a disaster. They got a title, so mortgaging the farm was worth it IMHO, but going forward... Yikes!

In fairness, there are scenarios like that in many years. What if Derrick Rose didn't tear his ACL in round 1 2012? What if Klay and KD didn't both get hurt in the 2019 playoffs? What if CP3 didn't pull a hammy in the 2018 playoffs? What if Bill Walton stayed healthy on many occasions? Anyway, which is the worse scenario: The Celtics winning their 18th championship or the Dubs winning their 4th in 7 years?

I remember that I watched Stranger Things S1 and I liked it quite a bit. Then I watched S2 and a realization came over me: Oh no, the creative well is dry already. I don't remember if I actually finished S2. I didn't even bother with S3.

I don't know, I haven't played Coteries.

Brisco County - EP11 Deep in the Heart of Dixie Dixie Cousins happens across some incriminating evidence about a corrupt politician working with Bly, now Brisco and Bowler must find and protect her from assassins trying to keep her from testifying. They ship Brisco and Dixie to some degree in every episode that Dixie appears in, but not to the degree that do in this episodes. We find out some interesting tidbits, such as Dixie being raised for a time by Cherokees and then later living in a convent. Also, Lord Bowler has quite the list of aliases. Also also, Socrates gets seduced by his secretary.

I've learned some rather interesting tidbits about certain characters in Swansong. I'm not sure what good they will do me on this first playthrough as I'm probably headed for a horrible end regardless, given my many failures. I suppose I could use the intel I have gathered to make sure some people share my ultimate fate, if it comes to that. This will definitely be useful information for playthrough #2 though. I suspect a good number of people wouldn't like this game, given how slow paced and dry it is. This would be an absolute snoozefest for your typical CoD or Fortnite gamer. It's definitely a niche game, that niche being glacially slow paced, dialogue-heavy, narrative-driven suspence/detective game. Luckily, I happen to fall squarely into that narrow niche. Getting wrapped up in a web of deception is my jam. They really do have to fix the audio issues, though. They are quite jarring. I suspect that they are utilizing a tech where sound sources can be placed in a 3D level and the game engine dynamically adjusts said audio depending on the camera's distance to the source, walls, etc. This works well when walking freely around a level and overhearing conversations, not so well in dialogue cutscenes, which there are a lot of. The problem is that there are quite a lot of camera cuts during these dialogue cutscenes, showing the scene from different angles for dramatic effect. Visually it's great, but it's accompanied by sudden changes in volume due to how close or far the camera is to the speaker. Volume should remain constant during a conversation.

I did get a laugh out of the scene in that the first 2 blaster shots completely miss everything all on their own, this is before the space wizard has a chance to react and start deflecting fire with his laser sword. There is quite the mass of bodies in that room. Even if you fired completely blindly, there is a halfway decent chance you would hit someone. As always, stormtroopers can't hit the broad side of a barn.

An argument could be made that the Evil Dead movies had camera shake (as well as snap zooms, quick pans, and Dutch angles) and those movies are awesome, so praising those movies while condemning Obi-wan is hypocritical. The difference is that the camera shake in Evil Dead serves a very important purpose. Ash is losing his mind and the wild camera effects are there to convey a sense of being disoriented. In that scene in Obi-wan the camera shake doesn't serve any real purpose, it's not even there to cover up crappy fight choreography, which is initially why people started using it in action movies. If you have quality fight choreography you don't need camera shake because you want the audience to clearly see what is happening. Somewhere along the way, camera shake just became a thing you put in an action scene whether warranted or not by directors that don't know any better. Edit: Camera shake has also been used in action scenes with explosions. Like if a grenade goes off fairly close to the camera there would be camera shake followed by a high pitched tone drowning out all other sound to simulate ears ringing. This is a good use of camera shake, it serves a purpose. AFAIK no grenade explodes in that scene in Obi-wan.

I honestly cannot give a fair assessment of any facet of Tarkin in Rogue One, on account of feeling sick to my stomach any time CGI Peter Cushing was on screen. I am far from qualified to discuss the intricacies of the ethics of using a deceased actor's likeness, but I know that it feels disgusting and wrong to me.

Nathan's hot dogs were on sale at a steep discout at my local Food Lion so I bought 2 packages of bun length. For maximum authenticity I decided to make dirty water dogs. I don't usually cook hot dogs this way, but maybe I should do so more often. Anyway, I am topping them 2 ways: 1) Sauerkraut 2) Tomato, pickle, and onion Both delicious.