Hurlshort

That ship kind of sailed when Bethesda took Fallout 3 and made it into a massive hit.

BG2 was great, but it wasn't the combat that made it enjoyable for me. Same with PoE and I've loved actually knowing what is going on with the TB version of Deadfire. I mean, I guess it is just a matter of preference, but I tend to have a lot more engagement and involvement in the systems when a game is turn-based. JA2. Come at me, bro.

Sweet, I really need a new map to explore. I'm on my 3rd character and it isn't quite as thrilling when you know where everything is.

Pretty sure the vast majority of this is just confirmation bias for people already voting one way. It's hard to imagine there are sizable numbers of people on the fence that are swayed by some of the crazy stories you see on the internet.

Nothing Pete Davidson has done on SNL has made me think he would be worth watching as a stand-up. He works best as a foil to other comedians.

It's obviously a more complex issue than that, but that would be the humane thing to do. But let's break it down: 1. The government offered to evacuate him out of the country and then hit him with a bill well over a reasonable cost of a flight. 2. He had insurance in China, but that does not work in the US. Why? He's paid into an insurance program. If the insurance company represents his best interests, they should be supporting him here, and the hospitals should be working with that company instead of him as an individual. 3. He is expected to cover $2200 for the flight and $2,600 for the ambulance (because it costs more to drive to the hospital from the airport than fly across the Pacific Ocean, apparently.) 4. The hospital actually waived the costs on their end. That was the right thing to do. But if we had a better system, it wouldn't even be an issue.

Insurance is such a strange concept. I mean, I guess it works for things that you are hopefully not going to ever need. Hopefully I will never need my life insurance policy, but for $37 a month, it is nice to know my family is covered if I die during a 25-year period of time. Auto insurance is a bit more pricey, but my odds of being in a fender bender are decent enough given the miles I drive, so it's comforting. But again, that is firmly in the hopefully not going to need category. Insurance doesn't cover general maintenance for a good reason. With medical, we all need it on a regular basis. We are healthier when we do so. We pay a tremendous amount into this system that is an absolute mess.

Here's another ridiculous health care cost story: https://www.yahoo.com/news/american-quarantined-check-signs-coronavirus-192948402.html We shouldn't need to crowdfund to cover health expenses. These folks are making a fortune off our health:

I don't understand how anyone looks at our medical insurance system and thinks it works in any way. Companies are raking in huge profits while everyone struggles with medical debt. We managed to create an education system that is open and free to everyone without turning into a communist dystopia, so I'm pretty sure we can find a way to cover healthcare costs. https://www.forbes.com/sites/brucejapsen/2019/08/04/as-sanders-and-warren-attack-private-health-insurer-profits-soar/#7aa7e83c532b

James Lipton, host of Inside the Actor's Studio, passed away at 93. Heck of an interviewer.

Giants are going to be pretty bad this year, which is really year one of the rebuild. But I think it will be an interesting year with all the young guys, huge coaching staff, and moving pieces. It will also probably be easy and cheap to get tickets, so I should get to some games. I really want to see Bumgarner pitch against his old team, so that will be a target game for me.

I love watching baseball. Just focus on the pitcher/batter relationship. You have a guy stepping into a box trying to hit a ball going close to 100 mph. Sometimes it dips and curves, sometimes it spins away and sometimes it ends up in your ribs! It is the most dramatic and tense moment in sports.

You recruit the first dwarf at a tavern because they are all drunkards.

I'm not sure is more money and resources always leads to the better game. Getting a staff of a few hundred to deliver a focused vision is a tough task.

The only way Dragon Age goes TB is if they call it Dragon Age: Tactics and release it as a side project.

https://www.gamespot.com/articles/pillars-of-eternity-dev-says-deadfire-sales-were-l/1100-6471333/ Well ain't that a kick in the coconuts. This is why we can't have nice things, people. There is no excuse for Deadfire to not sell as well as the original.

Not gaming opinion but: Twilight isn't ****. It's just not written for you. Being able to find a market and tap into it is extremely difficult and takes more skill than the vast majority of people possess. You can say the same thing about the Bioware RPG's. Heck, look how difficult it has been for them to maintain that edge.

I'm still amused by all the "BG in name only!" reactions. I mean, yeah, this is not a game that came out 20 years ago. It isn't the same developers. I get the concern that they are using the name, but just like with Fallout, you've got to be realistic. Larian is going to make the game the way they know how. It's totally fair to say if you didn't like D:OS, you probably won't like Larian's version of Baldur's Gate 3. But again, it's been 20 years. No one else was doing it. Pillars of Eternity is probably a much closer successor to the original BG's, and thankfully that franchise seems to be continuing on.

I'm actually excited by the gameplay video. It looks like the good parts of D:OS with a much better world building. Honestly I think it's very well done. I'm not sure where the Dragon Age comparisons are coming from.

I loved Minsc and he stayed with me through both games. Who was better, Khalid?

I wouldn't classify the Divinity games as sandbox. You get an area to quest in and can't move on until you progress the story. Now the story may be goofy and silly, but it still drives progress. I do agree that systems are a bigger focus than they were in BG, but I'm not sold on that being a bad thing. I am curious isf they can overcome my biggest issue with Larian games, which is how the systems get overwhelming as you move through the acts, and the story is rarely engaging enough to keep me playing.

Neverwinter Nights is an MMO that is still active, so pretty clear why they didn't use that as the name. People had the same complaints with Fallout and look what happened. It became a monster success!

Hmm, that made me think about what possible IP's Microsoft could give them access to. I found this fairly outdated list: I'm hoping for High Heat Baseball or RC Pro-Am.

I'd say he's like Trump without the 4 years of entrenchment.

With those Garmin devices, you can also safely become a wilderness explorer.