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General chat thread

Reader mode
Hyp3rB14d3 said:
What game?
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The Game, which I just lost.

Again.

Because of you. Jerk.

The Rules of The Game:
If you think about The Game, you lose. You restart The Game when you stop thinking about it.
When you lose The Game, you must announce your loss.
Playing The Game is mandatory, everyone is already playing, they just don't know it yet.
 
TheMidnightRook said:
The Game, which I just lost.

Again.

Because of you. Jerk.

The Rules of The Game:
If you think about The Game, you lose. You restart The Game when you stop thinking about it.
When you lose The Game, you must announce your loss.
Playing The Game is mandatory, everyone is already playing, they just don't know it yet.
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Wait, that's still going? I thought that ended like a decade ago.
 
I wish I had something, anything to read nowadays except reddit and XenForo discussions. I feel like I'm rotting away from boredom, and the repetition is getting to me.

Unless I find something, I swear to god I'll do something ridiculous (and regret it for as long as I breathe).
 
Treble said:
I wish I had something, anything to read nowadays except reddit and XenForo discussions. I feel like I'm rotting away from boredom, and the repetition is getting to me.

Unless I find something, I swear to god I'll do something ridiculous (and regret it for as long as I breathe).
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If you like just straight lore, check out Degenesis. It's a free-to-play post-apoc TTRPG (as in, you only pay if you want actual, physical stuff, the PDFs, and other supplementary materials like maps, are entirely free to download) made by SIXMOREVODKA, and is centered around Europe and North Africa. The rulebooks are fluffier than a king-sized bed, while the web page has plenty of short stories as well.

However, you can certainly read them for the lore alone, maybe use it as a backdrop to write up some snippets, since the setting seems uniquely suited for that.
And no, this is not part of a psy-op by me to gaslight people into checking it out because I can't find a group, I have no idea what you're talking about.

If you want Military Sci-Fi novels (and I mean actual Military Sci-Fi, not incoherent genre mashups wearing Military Sci-Fi's body like a Skinwalker) check out "The Ember War" and/or "Terran Armor Corps" by Richard Fox. They are really good, in a "Starship Troopers meets Mass Effect" kind of way.

If you don't want aliens (friendly or otherwise), the companion novel to the game Brigador is also a good read if you like yourself some mechs and power armor.

Then there is Stormlight Archive, a really good fantasy novel series, but it is prominent enough that you probably know it already.

These are my off-the-hat suggestions. Any genre you enjoy specifically?
 
One of the paranormal podcasts I was listening to was talking about the Black Eyed Children and now I'm scared of them visiting me at night!
 
Treble said:
As for this, I just like anything with humour and/or good tragedy in it. Not drama, hopefully, which just bores me.
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Well, then Terran Armor Corps would be for you. There are alot of adorable and funny moments with an alien Squadmate of the protagonist, be it her misunderstandings of Human culture, or misunderstandings by her Human Squadmates about her Culture, leading to lots of funny and awkward moments when they try to explain things to eachother.
Like, seriously. One of the PoV Characters has to act as his Squaddie's Father substitute for alien courtship ceremonies, which involves, among other things, getting spat on by humanoid birds, it's hysterical.

And Tragedy is plenty too, with conflicting loyalties and perceived betrayals abound, though that also involves inter-character Drama.
Hard to deal with betrayal and conflicting loyalties without having any Drama.

Also, did I mention that the protagonists are stomping about in 15 foot tall Mini Mechs? And they are as awesome as they are well-explained, with notable drawbacks to their use and a control system I haven't really seen anywhere else.
 
Nothing for it, I suppose. I imagine this will finally make Beijing force some regulations on their real estate sector.
 
Has anyone here seen Miyazaki's Castle in the Sky?

I just watched it tonight - I've never seen a film where the inciting incident for the plot - the female lead getting abducted by government agents in this case - happens off-screen before.

By the end of the film I don't think they ever explained how they found Lucita. They just have her when the movie starts, and there's nothing about how they found an orphaned farm girl living in the mountains in the first place. Or why they were looking for her.
 
Goddamned hilarity at work today, and I'm the one responsible. In spite of whatever the cubicle-dwelling pansies in the "inclusivity task force" have to say about it. We're Ops, we actually work for a living, so fuck those wastes' of payroll.

Anyway. Company I work for is global. We've got a Lead Operator (read: Foreman. Oh no, I used the "man" suffix. Yes, the polo-shirt and Birkenstock kiddies would and have complained) from Japan. They'd have said the proper term is "Foreperson." I know this because they've actually fucking said it with a straight face. I troll them by discussing the history of Mankind. Her name is, and as an honest Mass Effect vet I shit you not, Kasumi Goto. Yes, she knows the references, has played the games, and can pull off the cosplay perfectly. Awesome gal. Gives shit as well as she gets, is smarter than any of the jackasses kissing "team leader" ass out on the carpet, can drink as heavy as she lifts, which is pretty dammed impressive for such a small lady, and stands by her Ops Apes up to and including taking very solid grievances over Covid pay to the visiting CEO since the plant manager will huff and turn up her nose at the mere idea of people that don't hold degrees in Business arts (lower case deliberate) being allowed to say anything to "real professionals."

Yeah. It's one of those workplaces. Apes strong together.

Anyway. It was her birthday today. All us shift-work animals that actually make the money for the company decided each to get her a sub-20$ gift for fun because we all love her. Also provided an ice cream cake and root beer, since she's fully assimilated and loves it like we do. Seriously. Kasumi is the most competent, driven, and intelligent Foreman (oh no!) I've ever had the pleasure to work with. She gets into screaming matches when the engineers complain about how we can't put 145 tons into a 140-ton tank or how us following their plans and dictates means they're the ones on the line when shit goes wrong after we tell them it will and they order it anyway, not us. Fucking 20's kids that think their meetings can bend reality. And yes, even the office pukes in their 40's and 50's qualify as "20's kids" since they're so utterly fucking divorced from reality.

Not like we know what we're doing or anything. Just saying. Love seeing the look on those idiots' faces when they fall flat on them after being warned. Repeatedly.

Anyway. Best Bosslady's birthday. I remembered a throwaway quip she'd made a couple months ago while shooting the shit in the parking lot, lamenting that there isn't a single damned decent Ramen joint in the entire fucking midwest, and she missed that taste of the old country, calories be damned. So me, being the eternally attentive, sensitive, and Gentlemanly sort, decided to "fix" that in the most trolling way imaginable.

Yes. I gift-wrapped a 24 pack of Maruchan. Baked Chicken flavor. When I handed it to her, I made mention of remembering how she missed it. Upon opening it, she busted out laughing, then threw it at me and called me an asshole. After I handed it back, utterly playing up the wounded look, she said thanks for reminding her of her college days a whole decade ago.

Took her out for a drink later. She actually asked if I was hitting on her. Responded that I was so clumsy at that she'd probably smack me as a learning lesson if I tried, so no, I wasn't. Instead she laughed, poked me in the sternum, and said we'd talk over the weekend.

Best boss ever.
 
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Highlord said:
Goddamned hilarity at work today, and I'm the one responsible. In spite of whatever the cubicle-dwelling pansies in the "inclusivity task force" have to say about it. We're Ops, we actually work for a living, so fuck those wastes' of payroll.

Anyway. Company I work for is global. We've got a Lead Operator (read: Foreman. Oh no, I used the "man" suffix. Yes, the polo-shirt and Birkenstock kiddies would and have complained) from Japan. They'd have said the proper term is "Foreperson." I know this because they've actually fucking said it with a straight face. I troll them by discussing the history of Mankind. Her name is, and as an honest Mass Effect vet I shit you not, Kasumi Goto. Yes, she knows the references, has played the games, and can pull off the cosplay perfectly. Awesome gal. Gives shit as well as she gets, is smarter than any of the jackasses kissing "team leader" ass out on the carpet, can drink as heavy as she lifts, which is pretty dammed impressive for such a small lady, and stands by her Ops Apes up to and including taking very solid grievances over Covid pay to the visiting CEO since the plant manager will huff and turn up her nose at the mere idea of people that don't hold degrees in Business arts (lower case deliberate) being allowed to say anything to "real professionals."

Yeah. It's one of those workplaces. Apes strong together.

Anyway. It was her birthday today. All us shift-work animals that actually make the money for the company decided each to get her a sub-20$ gift for fun because we all love her. Also provided an ice cream cake and root beer, since she's fully assimilated and loves it like we do. Seriously. Kasumi is the most competent, driven, and intelligent Foreman (oh no!) I've ever had the pleasure to work with. She gets into screaming matches when the engineers complain about how we can't put 145 tons into a 140-ton tank or how us following their plans and dictates means they're the ones on the line when shit goes wrong after we tell them it will and they order it anyway, not us. Fucking 20's kids that think their meetings can bend reality. And yes, even the office pukes in their 40's and 50's qualify as "20's kids" since they're so utterly fucking divorced from reality.

Not like we know what we're doing or anything. Just saying. Love seeing the look on those idiots' faces when they fall flat on them after being warned. Repeatedly.

Anyway. Best Bosslady's birthday. I remembered a throwaway quip she'd made a couple months ago while shooting the shit in the parking lot, lamenting that there isn't a single damned decent Ramen joint in the entire fucking midwest, and she missed that taste of the old country, calories be damned. So me, being the eternally attentive, sensitive, and Gentlemanly sort, decided to "fix" that in the most trolling way imaginable.

Yes. I gift-wrapped a 24 pack of Maruchan. Baked Chicken flavor. When I handed it to her, I made mention of remembering how she missed it. Upon opening it, she busted out laughing, then threw it at me and called me an asshole. After I handed it back, utterly playing up the wounded look, she said thanks for reminding her of her college days a whole decade ago.

Took her out for a drink later. She actually asked if I was hitting on her. Responded that I was so clumsy at that she'd probably smack me as a learning lesson if I tried, so no, I wasn't. Instead she laughed, poked me in the sternum, and said we'd talk over the weekend.

Best boss ever.
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That is one hell of a virtue signaling to story ratio.
 
Amazon Climber said:
That is one hell of a virtue signaling to story ratio.
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*eyeroll*

Not signaling a damn thing. The divide between the "carpet and concrete" is actually that stark where I work. One group actually thinks MS Teams meetings full of approved corpo speak and motivation posters matter, the other puts on an expressionless face until the mandatory meeting is over so we can get back to actual work.

Its absolutely poisonous, to the point I wonder how the hell the division I work in is still around. Bosslady is till awesome, though.

Also, I just got off another 14-hour shift, and three drink in, and am about to go to sleep once the melatonin kicks in.

EDIt: And no, I'm not actually that clueless. Somehow I got a lady's attention. Now idea why or how. Not like I live a life I'd willingly inflict on people I actually care about.
 
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Does anyone just find older/retro games just oddly appealing? If so any idea why and I mean besides nostalgia because there's definitely more to it then that.
 
Mint said:
Does anyone just find older/retro games just oddly appealing? If so any idea why and I mean besides nostalgia because there's definitely more to it then that.
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Scarcity in the market or something. The most popular games from that time were often passion products from big nerds who wanted to make stuff they would play. First example that pops into my head is Bungie from their Halo Trilogy; you watch some of the Making Of videos and they look like the college students who loved the same game.

Might also be because most of those older/retro games were so groundbreaking. They established tropes that can be found today because of how revolutionary they were.
 
Mint said:
Does anyone just find older/retro games just oddly appealing? If so any idea why and I mean besides nostalgia because there's definitely more to it then that.
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Low barrier to entry? It's a lot easier to make a retro game than it is to make a modern first-person shooter, which means you're going to get a lot more of them. Which means there's going to be a lot more good ones because you're throwing the dice much more often.
 
I wonder if it also has something to do with aesthetics or look of the games as well there's something about games from before the PS1 and Nintendo 64 era along with during that era plus some of the gen after that just has a charm or something that makes a number of them appealing.
Though some of the attraction is likely also the weird ideas or world building as well as the atmosphere for a number of games from that period have.
 
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It really seems at times that other than my grandfather's side of the family, nobody in my family can have a normal, conventional wedding. Always some goddamn drama.

My cousin is getting married now. Taking the number of eligible brides and grooms down to 4. God damn it.
 
Daytripper said:
Any else find it hard to focus on writing a single story?
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Yes. I generally don't have a free hour or two, nor do I have anyone I can discuss the story with. That's how they always end, since I'm not experienced with anything but short snippets and fanfics.
 
Keldin said:
They'd have to be wildly out of date and incorrect when the five year graph from two years prior had only 140 deaths per year on average.

Like I feel like one of those numbers is so shite it colors the other in a questionable light.
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Not so much "incorrect" as "incomplete". My understanding is that a bunch of countries simply don't keep official statistics on how many people get eaten by crocodiles, so the 1000 would be from extrapolating the numbers in the places with records to the places where we know the relevant crocodiles exist (probably also a correction for unreported deaths in places where the fatality rate of reported attacks is unusually low).
 
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