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hk

@hk@mstdn.games

Vintage gamer, father of two, metalhead. I post mostly about metroidvanias, soulsbornes, JRPGs, and retro gaming. Interested in neurodivergences, lifting heavy things and putting them back down, and socialism the means of production.

"That's my secret, cap. I'm always tired"

Toots are automatically deleted after a month.

This profile is from a federated server and may be incomplete. For a complete list of posts, browse on the original instance.

hk , to random
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YouTube has now recommended me a few videos of people showing how they beat their videogames backlog.

Which first, I think defies the whole point of gaming (as in, we should be doing this because we have with it, right? Why turn it into a chore?). And second, it implies that people keep an actual list of games they want to play??? Not just a loose collection of whislists across multiple platforms, games bought separately and in bundles, favourited toots, screenshots, etc.???

hk OP ,
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@chris Exactly... I guess that the old saying is true: "If left to their own devices, people will optimize the fun out of games"

COMPU73E , to random
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Made the mistake of opening the YouTube app on my iPad and looking at the recommended videos feed, top recommendation an 80 minute video titled "How Persona 3 lost it's identity"

YouTube: "I see you like the videogame series Persona, here's a video about why it's shit"

Get fucked, YouTube

hk ,
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@chris @COMPU73E I guess that the only alternative for now in iOS is using Invidious via web browser...

hk , to random
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It may sound silly, but this actually annoys me a little bit...

I have F2A for my stuff at work, and whenever I'm asked to introduce the code generated by my phone, I get this screen. What's wrong with it? That it specifically talks about Google Authenticator, immediately setting a preference towards one specific app (from Google, no less). I use Aegis Authenticator (free, open source, https://getaegis.app/), at it works perfectly.

Why the need to veer you towards Google apps by default?

vampiress , to random
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I used to be really excited for what the next smart phone would offer. Or the next tablet. Or hell, the next smart watch.

Not any more. And of course this happens when all technology (or gadgets) become old-hat.

Thing is there IS new stuff that might be exciting. VR. MR. AR. They haven't hit their stride yet. I SHOULD feel excited to see what happens when they do.

But I don't.

Why/? I honestly think is the software. The monetisation. The -companies- themselves.

The companies selling the new gadgets make me not care.

No matter how fancy the tech, it won't stop it just straight-up boring me. Even when Apple or even Meta show off something new with a VR headset, I never do more than glance at it for a moment, before browsing away to a different article or video.

Basically, what I'm saying is: capitalism killed my interest in gadgets and technology, almost entirely.

I'm more excited by weird $40 open source bits of hardware, despite many using decades old tech.

So that's what I think I'll focus on. The weird shit. The cool shit. The bizarre re-uses of 8-bit Z80 or 6502 processors. Of cheap e-Ink displays on 2010-vintage microcontrollers.

Maybe I'll find some joy again there.

hk ,
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@vampiress Please, if you come across a new cool bizarre re-use like the one you describe, let me know!! I feel exactly the same as you, and I want to learn about that kind of tech, which IS definitely exciting as opposed to the latest $1000 phone offering absolutely nothing new!

hk , to random
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People: "Elden Ring's bosses are badly designed because they are way too aggressive and leave very little time for the player to counter-attack"

Me: I've just reached Pontiff Sulyvahn in and... WHAT THE FUCK?? ER bosses are piece of cake in comparison to this!

chris , to random
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    hk ,
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    @chris I haven't played it, but the Netflix (Synduality: Noir) show was pretty fun. I look forward to the game!

    hk , to random
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    When you set up a loan with a bank, please make sure the email address you give for them to send you all the documentation is actually yours.

    I have just received all the paperwork for an approved loan for someone with the same forename and surname as me but lives in Argentina and has decided that my hotmail email address is actually theirs. :facepalm:

    I could email the bank informing them of the error, but I doubt they'll pay any attention to it...

    hk , to random
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    In the end I withdrew my pledge in the kickstarter for because I'm trying to learn from my past self. The game looks amazing, it looks like a mix of Persona with Grandia, it's from a Spanish team... But the KS itself was set for release in late 2026, and who knows where my interests in gaming will be by then. It isn't the first time that I've pledged for a KS because FOMO and how cool it looked, and by the time I've got the reward my interest has completely died off...

    hk OP ,
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    That's why, for example, I own a copy of Arkwright the Card Game which I received in January 2022 and I haven't even read the rules yet.

    So no more Kickstarters for me unless it is a very special case!

    hk OP ,
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    @COMPU73E I've pledged for a lot of things, and many times it has gone quite well. I think that, in the end, I've received all the rewards I pledged for. Even if sometimes I haven't really used them because, as I said, the excitement was gone after such a long time?
    I'm now realizing, I still haven't played the very first game I pledged for in Kickstarter, and that was Thimbleweed Park, which I received back in March 2017... :facepalm:

    hk OP ,
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    @chris @COMPU73E Oh, yeah, I definitely pledged the certificate of absolution tier 😂

    But yeah, I should definitely play it at some point... Hopefully I'll find some time for it this month!

    hk , to random
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    Made it to the Curse-Rotted Greatwood in . It's taking me ages to chip away bits of health, so I must be missing something. I've gotten it down to a quarter of its life, but it's quite infuriating taking five minutes to get there and then getting killed. But once I pop the bulbous things in the front, the fight gets suuuuper slow 😭

    hk OP ,
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    @chris Getting to the boss is no problem, but once we go into the second phase and I burst the sacks it has under the arm in the middle, I have to wait until I find an opening where the hand is still so I can hit it... It's not often, and that's where I usually get hit, by the hand that actually was still holding to hit again.

    I've tried giving my sword fire power (it's a tree made of wood after all) but it doesn't seem to make a ton of difference...

    hk OP ,
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    @chris yeah, I was definitely missing the fact that there are more sacks other than the big group in the middle of the boss 😅😅😅

    hk , to random
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    Mastodon hive mind, please work your magic!

    I'm looking for recommendations on interesting YouTube channels that talk about videogames. Not streamers or such, but something more essay-lile, such as GMTK, DidYouKnowGaming, or NakeyJakey.

    Thanks!

    p.s.: boosts for wider visibility are greatly appreciate! 🥰

    hk , to random
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    Spanish online press (both right- and left-wing) has implemented an extremely malicious system in their cookies consent options. They will only allow you to withdraw consent from advertisement cookies if you are a paid subscriber of the site.

    Honestly, I believe this goes against the spirit of GDPR directive, but who am I to say.

    I really hope this doesn't become widespread outside Spanish press, but in this day and age all this bullshit becomes ubiquitous.

    hk OP ,
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    @COMPU73E I also have uBlock and Privacy Badger configured, and often I even forget about the privacy banners because I have firefox configured to withdraw approval as much as possible automatically :)

    But most of the people won't have configured stuff like this...

    And @mforester, the fact that this is implemented in Germany as well sucks 😭

    chris , to random
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    hk ,
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    @chris Wait, there's going to be a third one??

    I haven't watched this one yet, but I thought it was just going to be two halves, not that it was a trilogy!

    hk , to random
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    When I was in uni I always discussed with some friends how we should create our own point and click adventure. We were all huge fans of Lucasarts games.

    We never got anywhere with it, and now I understand it's because our priorities were completely off. We had endless discussions on what game engine to use, when the stories we had were no more than mere sketches of some sections of the plot, nothing cohesive.

    hk OP ,
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    The thing is, my brain has decided (for some reason) to try to convince me again to create a p'n'c (I've never created a game in my life, and I have no idea how to do it). And the first thing I've done is checking out game engines and such... Which should actually come in so much later in the process.

    Anyway, all of this to say, I might start working on a script for an adventure, and who knows, maybe in 10 or 20 years I'll be publishing it 🤣

    hk OP ,
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    @chris @mforester @grumpygamer Ah, yes, I follow him since I joined, and when planning my stuff I'll definitely be following his puzzle dependency charts advice 🥰

    hk , to random
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    Considering the partial poll results for , I have already made some preparations here at my PC (aka docked Steam Deck). SCUMMVM installed, and the original installed and running!

    (and yes, I do have a little Purple Tentacle my wife made out of felt more than ten years ago hanging from my screen ☺️)

    hk , to random
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    Dear brain:

    You and I both know I have a quite limited amount of time to play videogames per day, and most of the time it is at the expense of some of the chores I need to do around the house once I've finished my work hours and taking care of the kids. Still, you insisted we definitely had to play Persona 3 Reload, and you've seen how we struggle to find time to do so.

    So, considering all of that, why are you suddenly telling me that we should play all of the games in the Tales of series???

    hk OP ,
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    Well, looks like my brain was onto something... Just a few hours after my toot about the Tales of games Sony announced that this month's PS Plus pass will include four titles in the series 🤣🤣🤣

    hk OP ,
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    @chris It doesn't feel too useful anyway... It just generates the need right before part of the solution is put in front of me xD

    hk , to random
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    Argh, I just learned about the guy behind the Brave browser and search engine...

    Time to move to DuckDuckGo I guess. I don't want to use an engine founded by an openly homophobic piece of shit.

    chris , to random
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    [Thread, post or comment was deleted by the author]

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    hk ,
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    @chris I guess they have to push as much content as possible before everyone moves on to some other game and stops playing Palworld, which could be... What, next week maybe?

    A Spanish YouTuber I follow was saying the other day that Palworld looks like a "game for streamers", where those are the main demographic playing it, just because of the hype around it

    hk , to random
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    So far I'm quite impressed with and the wide array of ideas, both from a narrative and a mechanical point of view, this game is displaying in the just two hours I've been playing. And all of that is accompanied by absolutely gorgeous visuals, some of the best I've seen in a game...

    I can't wait to see what else this game has to offer!!

    hk OP ,
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    I've stumbled upon this side-by-side comparison of the original on the SNES and the remake for modern consoles using the Second Departure engine and someone should go to jail for this. The "remake" looks absolutely terrible in comparison with the original game!

    The full video is here: https://piped.video/watch?v=Ci1n7EILPj0

    Side to side comparison of SNES and PS5 versions of Star Ocean. The SNES one shows an extremely detailed pixel art style where you can appreciate the bricks in the road, the grass, flowers, buildings cast shadows... The PS5 is a blocky mess, with some extremely generic grass and a handful of blocky 3D houses. WTF.
    ALT
  • Reply
    • hk OP ,
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    @chris At least they added the QoL improvements, and maybe even explained the skills, abilities, and talents a little bit better? So far I know they do cost money but I have no idea how or when to use them, so I guess I'll have to dig around the internet for a while to figure it out 🤣😅

    Here at home we've ended up with three Switches, one for each adult and a shared one between the kids... We're a very gamer family 🤣

    hk , to random
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    I've reached the chamber of the final boss of .

    And after several tries, I'm at the brink of giving up on the game. I'm getting my ass kicked extremely fast, and this time it's not a matter of placement, order of actions, or... Nah, it's simply that I'm several levels below where I should be. Walkthroughs say recommended is 39, I'm at 34 and 32. And this area is a point of no return, so there's no possibility of grinding.

    hk OP ,
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    I guess the game expects you to do the three optional dungeons, plus not avoiding almost any enemy encounter (and I've dodged many of them).

    So I'm consistently dying to this thing almost without scratching it, dealing very little damage. And worst of all? It's the first boss out of two.

    So I don't think I'll be able to finish this, as much as it pains me... I'll try again tomorrow, but I see little hope here.

    hk OP ,
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    @chris @mforester @COMPU73E Thanks, but I decided it's time to move on to something else... YouTube has showed me that even without being severely under-levelled it still takes an awfully long time to beat the boss, so I'm definitely not doing it myself 🤣

    hk OP ,
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    @chris @mforester @COMPU73E I also lowered the difficulty of the final boss(es) in Chained Echoes, because after 40+ hours of game I was being massacred the minute the fight began... The game allows you to tweak multiple things, so I went for the easiest setting, and I could just kill the bosses in a breeze. And to this day I still haven't had any regrets about doing it like that 🤣

    hk , to random
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    Do you have any New Year Gaming Resolutions? As in, games in your backlog or future releases that you've decided you will definitely play in 2024? I want to hear about them!

    hk OP ,
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    @chris That is an awesome list! I've only played Ghost of Tsushima from that list, and I really enjoyed it. Before I realised, I had poured more than 50 hours into it!

    hk , to random
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    If Elden Ring's DLC is coming out soon I need to plan things properly, because right now I don't have any savegame with any meaningful progress (other than a freshly started NG+), but I have all my holiday days at work for 2024.

    hk OP ,
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    @chris Yeah, I also want to play the DLC on NG. And since it's been two years and 13 other soulsbornes and souls-likes since I played ER, I definitely want to do a run from scratch, to see how time and experience have changed my perception of the game 😀

    hk , to random
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    I just realised yesterday was my first anniversary in this instance!

    Thank you everyone who has been there during this time, to all of those who have shared my path through the many soulsbornes I've played this year (you've made my experience so much more enjoyable thanks to all the discussions we have had during the playthroughs!), and to the incredibly wonderful admin and mod team who have kept the instance a wonderful place to hang out.

    I look forward to playing so many more games with you!

    chris , to random
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    [Thread, post or comment was deleted by the author]

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    hk ,
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    @chris Nice, I totally missed that!

    Also, I've been watching a video on how the floor textures in the streets of Parm are completely misplaced, and the streets in the Saturn version definitely make much more sense 😅

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