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SubstantialFrivolity

I'm not even supposed to be here today

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joined 2022 September 04 22:41:30 UTC
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User ID: 225


				
				
				

			

		

	














	


		


			



	

		

			

			

				

					

						

							
						

						

							
							

								
SubstantialFrivolity


								

								

								
								
								

								
							
					
 
				


				
I'm not even supposed to be here today

				
				
				

				

					4 followers  

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					joined 2022 September 04 22:41:30 UTC
				


				
					

					
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User ID: 225


					
					
					
				

			


					

						
							
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	 Hot Bump Top Bottom Old Controversial Comments
	



		

	






	

		
		

		
		
	

	

  







		

			
			
				U.S. Election (Day?) 2024 Megathread
			
		

	

	

	

		
			

			

				

			

		

			


				

					
Bro there is absolutely nothing sexist about that post. It's not even mean or derogatory in any way. You're way overreacting to what is, at worst, a not very funny joke.


				

				

						

							

								
							

						


						
					

				
			


			

	


			
			
				

			
		

	






		

			
			
				Culture War Roundup for the week of November 4, 2024
			
		

	

	

	

		
			

			

				

			

		

			


				

					
It unfortunately is a serious objection, even though it's a terrible one. I've seen it in the wild more than once.


				

				

						

							

								
							

						


						
					

				
			


			

	


			
			
				

			
		

	






		

			
			
				Culture War Roundup for the week of November 4, 2024
			
		

	

	

	

		
			

			

				

			

		

			


				

					


Is there a constitutional ban on mandatory federal ID?




That's the wrong question in a US context. The constitution grants powers, and all others are reserved to the states or the people. So really you need to ask "is there some constitutional grant of powers which would allow the federal government to mandate ID?".


				

				

						

							

								
							

						


						
					

				
			


			

	


			
			
				

			
		

	






		

			
			
				Small-Scale Question Sunday for November 3, 2024
			
		

	

	

	

		
			

			

				

			

		

			


				

					


Now I'm trying to think of any IPs or studios that had a horrible sequel that trashed the series' reputation, only to come roaring back with a later entry.




Final Fantasy XIV might count here. In that case it was the same game which came back, but it came back in a big way.


				

				

						

							

								
							

						


						
					

				
			


			

	


			
			
				

			
		

	






		

			
			
				Small-Scale Question Sunday for November 3, 2024
			
		

	

	

	

		
			

			

				

			

		

			


				

					


You mean the attempt to use every pejorative in the dictionary over the ~40ish articles to show how much he hates it?




No, he means the attempt to show how much the writing changed in a way which made the second game (and especially the third) not appeal to people who loved the style of the first. He didn't hate the games, far from it. He loved the first game, and he loved parts of both of the second two (where they kept the tone of the original). He even agrees with you that the gameplay got better in ME2.


				

				

						

							

								
							

						


						
					

				
			


			

	


			
			
				

			
		

	






		

			
			
				Friday Fun Thread for November 1, 2024
			
		

	

	

	

		
			

			

				

			

		

			


				

					
Yeah that isn't RTWP, that's D&D caster design. They start out weak and become godlike at high levels. It's a shame you didn't play BG2, because at the levels in that game (especially the expansion) your casters carry the party. You have a ton of spells per day, and also high level spells are absolutely nuts in terms of their effects.


				

				

						

							

								
							

						


						
					

				
			


			

	


			
			
				

			
		

	






		

			
			
				Friday Fun Thread for November 1, 2024
			
		

	

	

	

		
			

			

				

			

		

			


				

					
I certainly don't call 250ms a big cost here. That is literally so small that I would never notice it.


				

				

						

							

								
							

						


						
					

				
			


			

	


			
			
				

			
		

	






		

			
			
				Small-Scale Question Sunday for November 3, 2024
			
		

	

	

	

		
			

			

				

			

		

			


				

					
Shamus Young's Mass Effect retrospective is a genuine treasure. He puts his finger on exactly what went wrong with the series, in a way I never was able to do myself. The only real area where I disagreed with him was that I thought the gameplay, as well as the story, took a sharp step back in Mass Effect 2.


				

				

						

							

								
							

						


						
					

				
			


			

	


			
			
				

			
		

	






		

			
			
				Small-Scale Question Sunday for November 3, 2024
			
		

	

	

	

		
			

			

				

			

		

			


				

					
Yeah, that's exactly it! Thank you for pointing me towards it again, I had completely failed at finding it myself.


				

				

						

							

								
							

						


						
					

				
			


			

	


			
			
				

			
		

	






		

			
			
				Small-Scale Question Sunday for November 3, 2024
			
		

	

	

	

		
			

			

				

			

		

			


				

					
No, I don't agree that was the case.


				

				

						

							

								
							

						


						
					

				
			


			

	


			
			
				

			
		

	






		

			
			
				Small-Scale Question Sunday for November 3, 2024
			
		

	

	

	

		
			

			

				

			

		

			


				

					


Firstly, the great majority of “classic” games before professional writers were also terribly, awfully written...




I don't agree with your thesis that games have always been poorly written. Obviously individual works vary, but on the whole story driven games like RPGs used to be written pretty well.


				

				

						

							

								
							

						


						
					

				
			


			

	


			
			
				

			
		

	






		

			
			
				Small-Scale Question Sunday for November 3, 2024
			
		

	

	

	

		
			

			

				

			

		

			


				

					
I can never find it when this discussion comes up, but years ago there was a great video by someone about the importance of corporate culture and how it destroyed Bioware after the EA acquisition. Bioware had a culture of "we want to make video games, and to do that we need to make money". EA has a culture of "we want to make money, and to do that we need to make games". Those two approaches to the video game business are very different, and are going to produce very different results. And, even if you assume the best intentions of all involved, the corporate culture of the parent can't help but influence the subsidiary over time.


And that's what happened to Bioware. Ever since the EA acquisition they have steadily lost that drive to make great games first and foremost. And it shows in their output. Opinions vary, but for me the last game they made which was good was Dragon Age Original in 2008. Ever since then it's been mediocre or bad games coming from a studio that no longer knows how to prioritize quality.


				

				

						

							

								
							

						


						
					

				
			


			

	


			
			
				

			
		

	






		

			
			
				Small-Scale Question Sunday for October 27, 2024
			
		

	

	

	

		
			

			

				

			

		

			


				

					
My baseline assumption is "they don't do that, it's a scam".


				

				

						

							

								
							

						


						
					

				
			


			

	


			
			
				

			
		

	






		

			
			
				Small-Scale Question Sunday for October 27, 2024
			
		

	

	

	

		
			

			

				

			

		

			


				

					


If you can pull it off, having no facial hair just looks better.




Taste is subjective and all, but wow I disagree with this. If you can pull it off, facial hair looks way better than being clean shaven.


				

				

						

							

								
							

						


						
					

				
			


			

	


			
			
				

			
		

	






		

			
			
				Culture War Roundup for the week of October 21, 2024
			
		

	

	

	

		
			

			

				

			

		

			


				

					
My understanding is that the genealogical passages are about establishing Jesus as the descendant of David. But I'm not an expert and I could well be mistaken.


				

				

						

							

								
							

						


						
					

				
			


			

	


			
			
				

			
		

	






		

			
			
				Friday Fun Thread for October 25, 2024
			
		

	

	

	

		
			

			

				

			

		

			


				

					
From everything they said about the expansion in the dev diaries, it should mix things up enough to make things interesting for you. They added multiple new mechanics that straight up didn't exist before, and each of the planets has a design where they try to put a twist on the way you are used to building a factory.


I hear you about blowing your wad though. I have Factorio: Space Age, MW5: Clans, Metaphor: ReFantazio and the new Zelda all clamoring for my ducats. Only so much money to go around though.


				

				

						

							

								
							

						


						
					

				
			


			

	


			
			
				

			
		

	






		

			
			
				Wellness Wednesday for October 23, 2024
			
		

	

	

	

		
			

			

				

			

		

			


				

					
There are two problems with your argument here:


    

  1. 

    Trying to do something different with your life at an older age (such as having a kid, to use your earlier example) doesn't have catastrophic consequences if you don't succeed. It is entirely unlike gambling that you can survive a fall without a parachute. So there's not really a compelling reason to shoot down ideas and go "no, it's too late for me".
    

    2. 

  2. 

    You are, by your own account, unhappy with certain aspects of your life. Your judgement might be good in some areas (presumably you're happy with how some things have gone), but not these areas. Therefore, if people are telling you "x will help your problems", and your judgement says otherwise, you are more likely to be wrong about this than they are.
    

    3. 



And you're right, I didn't offer you advice. But why on earth should I, when all you have been doing is arguing with anyone who does? I'm simply trying to encourage you to stop biting people's heads off when they are trying to help you, and to actually try the things they suggest even if they strike you as unlikely to work. Frankly, the only legitimate objection you've had to any of the advice given to you was that you are medically advised not to do meditation. Fair enough. But otherwise, it's just been you dismissing good ideas out of hand without even trying them. If you want to change where you are in life, it's going to take things that you wouldn't have done up until now. So unless there are catastrophic consequences (like the meditation thing), your best bet is to just start trying things and see if they work for you or not.


				

				

						

							

								
							

						


						
					

				
			


			

	


			
			
				

			
		

	






		

			
			
				Wellness Wednesday for October 23, 2024
			
		

	

	

	

		
			

			

				

			

		

			


				

					


I'll do that when they start giving advice that isn't totally useless to me and my situation.




You need to consider that maybe your judgement of what is useful is flawed, and that people are actually giving you useful, actionable advice which you are rejecting because it doesn't fit with your preconceptions of what works and doesn't work.


				

				

						

							

								
							

						


						
					

				
			


			

	


			
			
				

			
		

	






		

			
			
				Wellness Wednesday for October 23, 2024
			
		

	

	

	

		
			

			

				

			

		

			


				

					
Again: "rare" and "difficult" are not the same as "impossible". Nobody said that everything is equally as easy as you get older, simply that it can be done.


I'mma be real with you dude: you're approaching this whole thread (and your other thread about clubs, for that matter) in a supremely unhelpful way. When people give you advice about how to solve (insert problem here), you need to actually try to take the advice. Don't argue against every single thing everyone says to you, and don't continually shift the goalposts the way you have been. It's unhealthy for you, and it's just going to cause people to stop trying to help you. The vast majority of self improvement has to come from you believing that it's possible and trying to make it happen, and that's not feasible if you just shoot everyone down when they try to help.


				

				

						

							

								
							

						


						
					

				
			


			

	


			
			
				

			
		

	






		

			
			
				Wellness Wednesday for October 23, 2024
			
		

	

	

	

		
			

			

				

			

		

			


				

					


Parenthood? Dating for the first time? A career in physics (physicists all do their best work in their 20s, and are generally considered "over the hill" once they pass 30)?




No to all three. You're way too fatalistic, dude (and I say that as someone with too big of a fatalism streak myself). You can do any, indeed all, of those things at older ages. Most people don't, but "rare" and "difficult" are not the same as "impossible".


				

				

						

							

								
							

						


						
					

				
			


			

	


			
			
				

			
		

	






		

			
			
				Small-Scale Question Sunday for October 20, 2024
			
		

	

	

	

		
			

			

				

			

		

			


				

					
That's exactly how we do funerals where I'm from. You have the funeral Mass where we all are sad and say goodbye to our loved one, then afterwards you go to the church fellowship hall and the church ladies have cooked lunch for everyone. Then you enjoy each other's company and celebrate the life of the person you said goodbye to.


				

				

						

							

								
							

						


						
					

				
			


			

	


			
			
				

			
		

	






		

			
			
				Friday Fun Thread for October 18, 2024
			
		

	

	

	

		
			

			

				

			

		

			


				

					
He said hot takes. That's lukewarm at best.


				

				

						

							

								
							

						


						
					

				
			


			

	


			
			
				

			
		

	






		

			
			
				Friday Fun Thread for October 18, 2024
			
		

	

	

	

		
			

			

				

			

		

			


				

					


I will narrow my reading focus down, trying to just read and having 20 books open is not very fun for a green new reader like me.




Nobody should try to read 20 books at once, lol. That's way too much. Gotta focus them down one at a time, imo


				

				

						

							

								
							

						


						
					

				
			


			

	


			
			
				

			
		

	






		

			
			
				Small-Scale Question Sunday for October 13, 2024
			
		

	

	

	

		
			

			

				

			

		

			


				

					
That's not what he said. And it's also not accurate. I liked Hlynka quite a bit, but he was prone to getting pissy and going off on people. That's against the rules, plain and simple.


				

				

						

							

								
							

						


						
					

				
			


			

	


			
			
				

			
		

	






		

			
			
				Small-Scale Question Sunday for October 13, 2024
			
		

	

	

	

		
			

			

				

			

		

			


				

					
Yes, that is tangibly worse. And that will affect people's decision making for sure. As you indicated in your reply a bit further down, it's better to spend time together digitally than not at all. But it's still sufficiently worse than in-person interactions that it'll be a deterrent against people moving for the foreseeable future.