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Gorth
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Posts posted by Gorth
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9 hours ago, kanisatha said:
I'm pretty much the same, but would also add that I am also happy to pay full price for the games I like and don't wait on a sale to buy them.
And to add to previous discussion, I also never ever pay any attention to Steam's collective ratings of reviews (i.e. very positive, mostly positive, mixed, etc.).
I've bought a few games twice... mostly when they were first on Steam and later became available on GOG. One thing I learned about Steam reviews is to actually *read* the negative reviews. If there is a pattern to the complaints, i.e. not just the usual this dev sucks and is greedy or overpriced stuff, but this game constantly crashes in max resolution, sound stutters constantly or this game has buggy save game feature etc. then I take that into account when I look at the price asked vs. whatever fun I expect(ed) to get out of it.
Edit: ...and I stay clear of "early access" games in general (no absolutes), as my life is too short to be a paying beta tester. I'm happy to pay more for the final product instead.
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2 hours ago, Zoraptor said:
Eh, you could drive a truck through the Israeli story. Literally. That's why you had them blaming both Hamas and PIJ. Essentially:
Hamas announced they were going to attack Haifa. This requires Fajr-5 or equivalent, due to range; about 140km. That has a lot of propellant, and a big(ish) warhead (see below for size) and would be a plausible candidate. This was too early for them to have struck the hospital though. Similarly, evidence for the missile falling posted as evidence was from after the attack (and later deleted by Israel)
PIJ launched Qassams (technically Quds-101, their version of the Qassam) at about the right time. Can't be a Fajr-5, because they are big (6.5 m long, 1 tonne weight, so not man portable) and the firing site per Israel was a cemetery. That's quick set up with no launcher, so ~2m Qassam. But a Qassam is, well, comparatively tiny. Typically 1/14th the size of a Fajr-5, and similar proportion of range, and up to 50kg total weight. It's shorter range and smaller payload than a grad rocket and it's easy to look at the damage one of those does in Ukraine or wherever, lots of options. Not even slightly comparable.
In order for their Israeli version to be accurate the missile has to be big enough to cause the damage observed, so it has to be Fajr-5. This is why you have Regev blaming Hamas and citing the claimed attack on Haifa as evidence, and IDF blaming PIJ who did not announce any such attack: it allows the two to be conflated into PIJ launching a Fajr-5. Now of course some would say that the difference is that after a failed launch the propellant is still there, and that did the damage. Well OK, in theory, but it does rather beg the question given the scale difference in damage: why bother with a warhead at all if the propellant is that destructive? Just pack the thing full of that instead, and don't bother with the warhead...
Israel does not just have two air launched munitions that make craters 7 and 9m wide they've got plenty more including some designed not to crater (to prevent collateral damage, ironically). The phone(?) intercept is almost comical. Thank goodness Israel was listening in as they said exactly what they wanted them to and handily repeated all the salient points. Shame Hamas and PIJ didn't do the same thing 11 days ago, eh?
And of course there's the plethora of other ancillary evidence: the warnings to evacuate hospitals made by Israel, Bibi's SM advisor posting it was an Israeli strike then deleting it, Netanyahu's light vs dark tweet from just after the attack. Doesn't have to be an attempt to kill hundreds either, just a 'door knocking' equivalent intended to force those demanded evacuations of hospitals gone badly wrong because in those circumstances a car park was not a low collateral location.
Love them or hate them, the BBC fact finders seems to lean towards the PIJ based on intercepted Hamas communications (sadly the only source of that is Israeli, so no good for unbiased fact finding) and a rocket that broke up mid air... hence a lot of fire ball happening but leaving no large impact/explosion craters (as documented by the BBC reporters on site afterwards).
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-67144061
Edit: Tl;dr; it looks mostly like a large fuel explosion
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Ouch South Africa...
https://www.bbc.com/sport/cricket/67140802
It was a famous 38-run victory over World Cup contenders South Africa that sparked chaotic celebrations from the Netherlands underdogs as Logan van Beek took the winning wicket.
The eruption was certainly justified: their first win of this year's tournament, the country's first win over a Test-playing nation in a 50-over World Cup and just their third win of all time in the competition.
"It is the most iconic and memorable win for Dutch cricket," their former all-rounder Ryan ten Doeschate told BBC Test Match Special in the post-match delirium.
Not the sport I know the most about. Quite popular down here, but ranks about equal with Australian Football on my list of interests (i.e. I know it exists). I also know it's usually a more popular participation sport in South Africa than in the Netherlands
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That sounds a bit like the annual competition between the Australian states of QLD and NSW ('The State of Origin')
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/State_of_Origin_series
The rivalry is real.
"Players are selected to represent the Australian state in which they played their first senior rugby league game (either high school or local senior club)" may be part of why it's called origin?
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My retirement situation is a bit complicated... part superannuation earned while living in Australia, part pension earned while living in Denmark. No idea how it's going to work out in the end exactly, as both major sources are pro-rata adjusted for how long I live(d) in each place. Probably 50/50 Danish pension, Australian superannuation
Edit: I wonder if Mauritius would be a nice place to settle down and enjoy a pension some day
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1 hour ago, Bartimaeus said:
I distinctly remember some Republican politician, though I don't remember whom exactly, fairly early on intoning something to the effect of "if we would just stop testing for covid, there'll be less covid". It was at that exact point that I realized that at least some states were, suffice to say, very likely to have less accurate data than than other states.
It wasn't a particular state...
https://www.businessinsider.com/trump-stop-coronavirus-testing-right-now-have-very-few-cases-2020-6
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5 minutes ago, Keyrock said:
I waxed my car today. I've been lazy this year. I typically wax the car twice a year, once in the spring and once in the fall, but this year I didn't do the spring waxing. Oh well, once is better than zero times, I guess.
Brazilian style or more traditional style?
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Just an interesting local article on the current situation in Haiti and the lead up to it…
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-10-14/the-plot-to-assassinate-haitis-president/102953056
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1 hour ago, Humanoid said:
This was the one where the European versions of the game had the kids "removed" I believe? And by removed, made invisible so Europeans had to deal with invisible pickpockets.
Yes
Luckily modders released a fix at some point, which made them visible again. Iirc, there was also a version of Carmageddon released where the blood was coloured green
But luckily that was only those sold on the German market, the version I bought in Denmark was perfectly fine, pedestrians getting all splattered and spraying red blood and gore everywhere when running them over.
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I split the bulk of the recent Gaza/Hamas/Israel posts to a new thread
Not all posts, but several of the recent ones, not including split subject posts. Just to allow for non Gaza conversations too without getting drowned out
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Breville is a "big name" here in Australia. I think most of my small appliances are that particular brand (because it's what the departments stores seems to all have in stock)
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35 minutes ago, Zoraptor said:
There's literally nothing in that article that shows any particular sophistication beyond what might reasonably be expected. Even the coordination, given that the surge in Hamas comms was specifically noted as being detected but just not acted on. Shooting out cameras and attacking observation posts plus using drones is not exactly rocket surgery. A lack of planning for that is far more symptomatic of colossal hubris/ lack of imagination on the Israeli side rather than any particular tactical brilliance (or outside help) for Hamas.
I'm fairly sure they knew something was coming. Maybe they didn't know how to respond or prepare for it. I'm sure someone will suggest it was deliberately ignored because it provided a convenient distraction from home affairs, but personally I lean towards the just not taking the warnings seriously option.
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-67082047
Israel was warned by Egypt of potential violence three days before Hamas' deadly cross-border raid, a US congressional panel chairman has said.
House of Representatives Foreign Affairs Committee head Michael McCaul told reporters of the alleged warning.
Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu described the reports as "absolutely false".
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21 minutes ago, ShadySands said:
Health issues on the homefront, wife has to get her gallbladder removed tomorrow morning. Not really that crazy except that yesterday, when we got the news, was my late mom's birthday. She died of pancreatic cancer 6 months after first being misdiagnosed with gallbladder issues.
Not the same at all but because of the day that's where my mind was at. It was a something
Crossing fingers, hoping it's a fast and uncomplicated thing
My young visitor is continuing her journey up north after the weekend. Probably just as well, as I'm not sure I could get used to have her around for prolonged periods of time. That flowery, fruity scent trail she leaves behind wherever she walks makes me constantly hungry
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1 hour ago, BruceVC said:
Would you play any of these older games now? The reason I ask is on Codex there are people who have played similar older games and they still do
Because I have realized that a good game doesnt mean you have to have the latest graphics and its more about the interaction and personal experience?
Not only would, but several of them I do on a regular basis. Emulator ftw!
edit: emulators of choice are VICE for the c64 games and WinUAE for the Amiga games
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54 minutes ago, Humanoid said:
I don't know what Lamplighters is trying to be, and I'm not sure the game does either. Early 20th century setting? That's good. Weird cartoonish 3D aesthetic? That's bad. Tactical turn-based combat? That's good. Real-time only stealth sections? That's bad. I dunno, maybe I'll go watch one of those long-form YouTube reviews to get more than that surface treatment of it, but the general discourse around the game isn't promising.
Also, petty as it is, the name evokes the infamous Little Lamplight segment of FO3.
I think that was the part that made me drop FO3 for good and never return to it. Those *^^$@#$ brats were so annoying and I couldn't kill them. Not even with the mini nuke
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@BruceVC just a tl;dr; about each game on my little list..
First game was fast, furious and beat the crap out of anything you play at the arcade (without having to insert coin after coin after coin...)
It was made by a guy named Jeff Minter and his one man company Llamasoft. Specializing in surreal and psychedelic stuff with Llama, Sheep and UFO's
Second game was made by a guy named Mike Singleton. A bloody genious who created this game. Open world strategy game/role playing game hybrid with procedurally generated graphics and many ways to win (and lose the game). And this was in 1984.
Third game was made by Ian Bell and David Braben. Elite is the grandfather of all space sims. Get new space ships, fight off pirates, do mercenary work and deal in goods (sometimes as a smuggler, but then you had to fight the space cops too). Always remembered those dread moments when your hyperdrive malfunctioned and you were stranded in empty space surrounded by Thargoids
Fourth game was made by Richard Garriott AKA "Lord British". I played Ultima III too, but nothing came even close the feeling of being immersed in a working world with internally consistent laws and physics like Ultima IV. Again, this was 1985, not a lot of giant shoulders to stand on.
Sensible Soccer was particularly awesome in multiplayer mode. The cursing, swearing, threats to players health's (and death wishes on the referees). it was fast, fun and the players had noticeable different stats and personalities (passing, tackling, shooting etc.).
Sixth game was a product of it's time. Who doesn't like a nice game of total nuclear war. A pun on the times, the politicians and the movie War Games (the only way to win is not to play). The different predefined leaders had different personalities. Ghandi would never attack you, but relied entirely on propaganda, stealing your population etc.
Last game was the best Battlemech game I've ever played. It was originally going to be a commercial, licensed product developed by a guy named Ralph Reed (iirc). But things turned sour between him and FASA who held the license at the time, so it became a shareware/freeware product. The video doesn't really do it justice as you could have anything from single mech vs. single mech to large squadrons fighting each other. Destructible landscape, environment factors etc. (like forest fires heating up your mech to water cooling them down).
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On 10/10/2023 at 3:03 PM, BruceVC said:
The globally respected " BruceVC game rating system " doesn't asses games on there age or the reality of older mechanics
I just havent played many of the older games that you probably have played
By no means a comprehensive list, but a few favourites that actual had youtube vids (Between them, the two platforms probably boast tens of thousands of titles). I could create a personal top 100 and struggle trying to decide what to leave out
But just some games that were memorable for me because of what they offered for their time... (all of them before PC was a viable gaming platform)
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2 hours ago, Keyrock said:
This is why I always use unsalted butter. Adding salt is easy, subtracting it, not so much
Eat more Vegemite. Everything tastes less salty afterwards
1 hour ago, Keyrock said:I made gołąbki.
Looks like a still from a Ridley Scott 80's movie...
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16 minutes ago, BruceVC said:
Are you being serious? Why would friendly Sweden do that, you joking right?
Please don't tell me only Nordic people get the joke
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Australian morning shows on TV are... something
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1 hour ago, MrBrown said:
You had me for the first 30 seconds
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2 minutes ago, xzar_monty said:
Yeah, pretty much this. There is no "NATO expansion", there's just "countries close to Russia trying to get as much safety as possible by desperately wanting to join NATO".
(Finland was an exception for a long time, and Finland's policy can be criticized, even in very strong terms. And has been, lemmetellya.)
After November 1939, it would be surprising if Finland felt anything other than resentment against it's neighbour. But then, they sometimes get all friendly with Sweden who historically was no better than the Soviet Union
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4 hours ago, Hurlshort said:
But it ends with such a zinger!
I'll never understand how the working class can think Republicans represent their interest any better than dems. Heck, Biden actually showed up on the picket line recently. I can't imagine Trump siding with a union in any universe.
This is obviously an outsiders perspective (i.e. worth effectively nothing), so the perspective is skewed though whatever media you follow a country's internal happenings, but I don't think the US working class ever had any representation in Washington. The Democrats are there to represent corporate interests, taking care of their donors and major shareholders, investors, big business etc. The Republicans are there to represent the church, the country side and Florida Glades or some such, trying to get the country back to 1861 in all aspects. Both parties of course pay lip service and token gesture handouts to the middle class, even though the latter really only matters as consumers and has no other significant economic or political clout. Such a bummer they have a vote each. Never mind the working class, they are all filthy commies after all, so losing all the jobs by outsourcing them (the jobs) to China as just an added bonus, even if neither party says it out loud. Communist jobs belongs in communist countries...
Food Thread - Those that eat
in Way Off-Topic
Posted
I'll have my chicken vindaloo between mild and medium, thank you very much
No, never understood the desire for self inflicted pain either. Not even as some kind of macho or hazing ritual. I love spicy food. I like "hot" food within reason. But I insist on being able to taste the food too, which is hard when your tongue has lost all feeling (and you are constantly hovering around the kitchen roll because your eyes and nose is constantly running, while trying lessen the pain by drinking copious amounts of milk).