Random Game Thoughts Thread - January 22 - 28

[ipman]

That's how it was for my oldest son. He graduated from high school going on 2 years ago, and he didn't go to college/university because he didn't have a passion for any type of career. He took all the honors classes and is a very sharp guy. But about halfway through high school, he got so burnt out, and also pretty bitter about the flaws he saw in the education system, that he didn't want to continue in the education system even longer. He wanted to do some kind of blue collar work and work with his hands.

Well, he lives about 2 hours away now, and he's been working a job that is decent enough for him to scrape by on his own, and he's learned a lot about how life works. Growing up, we weren't rich, but he never wanted for anything. He always wanted the experience of being poor and finding happiness in other ways. Now that he has experienced scraping by, he realizes the stress of it, and knows he needs to do something to further his career. But that's coming when he's going on 20, instead of fresh out of high school. His girlfriend that he'll end up marrying someday is in her first year toward a goal of being a doctor. So she has a lot of school ahead of her, and will probably have a lot of student loans when it's over.

Yes my son and his girlfriend are the same. Both highly intelligent and well educated. She has travelled abroad and I think that has given her a different kind of education/viewpoint.
But they are both doing relatively menial jobs that they enjoy, but also saving to buy a house.
It's just everyone develops at different rates, I'm sure they'll both figure out what they want to do when it suits them.

 

[Frag Maniac]

Young brains are much better than older brains.

Well the ancient cat slowly crawls out of the bag. I'm trying not to feel intimidated by it, but it's really hard.

 

[ZedClampet]

Working on my block mod for Colony Survival. Which of these do you like the best? (These stick relatively close to the art design of the game. I could always download a picture of a brick wall and seemless tile it)

Smooth with a little depth (these are all 4 blocks to represent the seemless tiling)

A little rougher with a little more depth

Weathered, warmer, the most depth

I might need to create a whole building with these to really demonstrate what they look like.

There are going to be maybe 9 different brick and cobblestone options. I've been working forever on cobblestone. I finally quit and did the first bricks.

Hmm. Maybe I should see what an AI can do?

 

[Pifanjr]

Working on my block mod for Colony Survival. Which of these do you like the best?

Personally, I like the first version the best. It seems to fit the rest of the game more.

 

[ZedClampet]

Personally, I like the first version the best. It seems to fit the rest of the game more.

That's probably because it's the one I barely changed, but if I change the rest of the textures to the style of one of the other two, then that one would fit the rest of the game the least? Dunno. I'm leaning toward the first one, but not sure if I changed it enough to really be worth doing all the textures that way. I'm terrible at art direction lol.

 

[ZedClampet]

Oh, in case anyone is confused, what I'm having to do is work off of existing textures because I don't understand how their graphics work. I may post an example of what they are doing. Each texture has 4 different graphics.

Edit: $!@#$ CRAP
Sorry, I'm being confusing because I'm working on the art, playing the game and posting at the same time, and I keep changing my mind about what I'm doing. I can't decide if I'm adding new blocks, making a texture pack, or both.

Can you tell I'm not on my ADHD meds?

 

[Zloth]

First you blow off all 8 sections of its armor, then theres a portal and you have to do the same to its body. Luckily it checkpoints after you manage the first part.

OK, now I'm remembering. I also remember it isn't that easy to tell a working body part from a broken one when you're trying to dodge/kill oodles of demons!

 

[Brian Boru]

My son's girlfriend owed about £50,000 before she even started work

College kid in family just decided to forego pursuing a hard medical degree—she would've been $250-500K in debt in 6 years time, depending on specialty. Shame that, she's truly brilliant, has a bachelors already at 19.

it sometimes takes people a while to figure out what they really want to do

Yeah, apparently the higher-level processes in the brain don't mature until ~25—more abstract things like judgment, decision making etc.

Weathered, warmer, the most depth

That one!

 

[ZedClampet]

Welp, I was a dumba$$. 16 GB of RAM was not enough for what I want to do with my laptop. Going to have to add more. I hate opening up laptops! They are specifically designed to foil your attempts.

 

[Brian Boru]

I hate opening up laptops

The—thankfully few—times I've had to do that, I always found a blow-by-blow video on YT—especially useful for finding the location of the danged last retaining screw.

 

[Pifanjr]

I continued the Warhammer 3 campaign I had started with my friend on Sunday, with him as Ghorst and me as Cathay. The only thing I want to do is to fight a bunch of battles alongside him, but I keep being declared war upon by enemies in the East. I finally managed to get rid of Eshin with some well placed ambushes (it's always satisfying to ambush Skaven), but just before I managed that Lokhir declared war on me. I hadn't even noticed he had taken a whole bunch of cities, so now I have to deal with that. I did already send one peasant army to help my friend. Not that he needs it, as his ball of zombies keep winning every fight, even when the auto-resolve indicates a decisive defeat. He actually got a heroic victory in one of his battles, which only happens when the odds are stacked against you and you win without losing most of your troops.

We only have 7-17 turns until the end crises trigger though, at which point even his zombies might get overwhelmed.

 

[ZedClampet]

I continued the Warhammer 3 campaign I had started with my friend on Sunday, with him as Ghorst and me as Cathay. The only thing I want to do is to fight a bunch of battles alongside him, but I keep being declared war upon by enemies in the East. I finally managed to get rid of Eshin with some well placed ambushes (it's always satisfying to ambush Skaven), but just before I managed that Lokhir declared war on me. I hadn't even noticed he had taken a whole bunch of cities, so now I have to deal with that. I did already send one peasant army to help my friend. Not that he needs it, as his ball of zombies keep winning every fight, even when the auto-resolve indicates a decisive defeat. He actually got a heroic victory in one of his battles, which only happens when the odds are stacked against you and you win without losing most of your troops.

We only have 7-17 turns until the end crises trigger though, at which point even his zombies might get overwhelmed.

We tried to play to the end crisis the other day and it never triggered. Either it hadn't been implemented in multiplayer yet, or we didn't get it because we hadn't achieved victory yet. Not sure.

*****

Got a couple of good achievements in Colony Survival:

 

[ipman]

College kid in family just decided to forego pursuing a hard medical degree—she would've been $250-500K in debt in 6 years time, depending on specialty. Shame that, she's truly brilliant, has a bachelors already at 19.


Yeah, apparently the higher-level processes in the brain don't mature until ~25—more abstract things like judgment, decision making etc.

I'm not sure how it would work out for your family member but studying here is cheaper even for overseas students. Many doctors, surgeons, and others study here, then work here in NHS get some experience and return home. So the quote I see is £38-50,000 for 6 years at medical uni(just student fees).

It's a shame if talented and intelligent people aren't allowed to pursue something that has such value to other people and there is a shortage here.

I actually got my rent and basic living costs paid, free tuition and my tutor is a well respected Dr of Philosophy.
Plus they also help out students, so got up to £3000 each year extra. The other students thought I had it completely sussed.

I suppose I was thinking some young people should do some work, build up some funds, get some life experience, travel. I think that life experience is something that those in the arts and creative industries need as a foundation to their work.

 

[Pifanjr]

I played some of my Warhammer 3 Skarbrand campaign. It's going pretty well and I'm still winning most fights with minimal casualties. However, I tried Skarbrand's quest battle as soon as it unlocked and I got absolutely destroyed. Even Skarbrand himself got wrecked within the first three minutes or so.

I've been upgrading my military buildings in my capital to prepare to recruit a better army, I just need to make my way back there, preferably without losing all my settlements to my enemies.

On another note, I just saw an advertisement for the pre-purchase of Hogwart's Legacy which includes a bunch of stuff that you'd normally have to play to unlock. Letting players pay to skip gameplay seems to indicate to me that the gameplay isn't very good.

 

[ZedClampet]

I suppose I was thinking some young people should do some work, build up some funds, get some life experience, travel. I think that life experience is something that those in the arts and creative industries need as a foundation to their work.

Yeah, apparently the higher-level processes in the brain don't mature until ~25—more abstract things like judgment, decision making etc.

We still don't know exactly how the brain works, but if it truly is still maturing to age 25 then all the more reason for them to stay in school. But I suspect the truth is that young people don't need to get more life experience (and they certainly don't need to travel to do that, anyway) except to build perspective. Perspective is the root of wisdom, and you mostly gain it through living a real life, not by traveling abroad and going on adventures. I'm not sure exactly what that teaches you, but it isn't perspective.

@ipman Many Americans never travel abroad. The vast majority never visit every US state, many of which have their own unique cultures. I think it's the size of the US and the many cultures contained within that prevent people from traveling. When we do leave the US, it is mostly to Canada or Mexico.

Just around me I have the East Tennessee culture which is Southern Appalachian. The rest of the state is Mid-South Scotch-Irish. To the south of me, I have the Deep South cultures of Georgia and Alabama (some of whom, especially in rural areas, I can barely understand), and the Gullah culture of South Carolina (who have what people from other areas think of as the "southern accent"), and the Creole Culture of Louisiana. To my east are Native American lands, each with unique cultures. A prominent one is Cherokee. Farther south in Florida, you have Jewish and Italian cultures dominant in many areas in the mid and southern state until you reach Hispanic/Cuban Miami. These areas all have their own cuisine, arts and traditions, and usually different accents (and in some cases different languages unique to America, like French Creole). Other areas of the country are diverse as well. There are as many Chinese Americans as there are people in Denmark, and a number of large cities have Chinatowns, for instance, where the culture is distinctly Chinese.

You get life experience everywhere. College IS the life altering experience young people need. Dealing with your peers everyday. Managing the rigors of school and probably a part time job. Being on your own without parents looking over you. Nothing prepares you more for life than that.

I can't really speak to the cost of undergrad in America. I know people end up owing a lot of money, but that's not our experience. Both of my kids are getting their college paid for by a combination of various scholarships including a state scholarship offered to everyone who has at least a C average in high school.

Post grad work isn't necessary anymore unless you are going into a handful of fields. Use to be if you didn't do post grad, a lot of people wouldn't hire you in scientific/engineering fields, but that is no longer the case.

 

[ZedClampet]

On another note, I just saw an advertisement for the pre-purchase of Hogwart's Legacy which includes a bunch of stuff that you'd normally have to play to unlock. Letting players pay to skip gameplay seems to indicate to me that the gameplay isn't very good.

Maybe, but Capcom has started doing that with the RE reboots, and they've been fairly good. At least RE2 was. I also liked RE3, but many didn't care for it.

 

[ipman]

We still don't know exactly how the brain works, but if it truly is still maturing to age 25 then all the more reason for them to stay in school. But I suspect the truth is that young people don't need to get more life experience (and they certainly don't need to travel to do that, anyway) except to build perspective. Perspective is the root of wisdom, and you mostly gain it through living a real life, not by traveling abroad and going on adventures. I'm not sure exactly what that teaches you, but it isn't perspective.

@ipman Many Americans never travel abroad. The vast majority never visit every US state, many of which have their own unique cultures. I think it's the size of the US and the many cultures contained within that prevent people from traveling. When we do leave the US, it is mostly to Canada or Mexico.

Just around me I have the East Tennessee culture which is Southern Appalachian. The rest of the state is Mid-South Scotch-Irish. To the south of me, I have the Deep South cultures of Georgia and Alabama (some of whom, especially in rural areas, I can barely understand), and the Gullah culture of South Carolina (who have what people from other areas think of as the "southern accent"), and the Creole Culture of Louisiana. To my east are Native American lands, each with unique cultures. A prominent one is Cherokee. Farther south in Florida, you have Jewish and Italian cultures dominant in many areas in the mid and southern state until you reach Hispanic/Cuban Miami. These areas all have their own cuisine, arts and traditions, and usually different accents (and in some cases different languages unique to America, like French Creole). Other areas of the country are diverse as well. There are as many Chinese Americans as there are people in Denmark, and a number of large cities have Chinatowns, for instance, where the culture is distinctly Chinese.

You get life experience everywhere. College IS the life altering experience young people need. Dealing with your peers everyday. Managing the rigors of school and probably a part time job. Being on your own without parents looking over you. Nothing prepares you more for life than that.

I can't really speak to the cost of undergrad in America. I know people end up owing a lot of money, but that's not our experience. Both of my kids are getting their college paid for by a combination of various scholarships including a state scholarship offered to everyone who has at least a C average in high school.

Post grad work isn't necessary anymore unless you are going into a handful of fields. Use to be if you didn't do post grad, a lot of people wouldn't hire you in scientific/engineering fields, but that is no longer the case.

So it sounds like you're saying that people from all over the world went to America(so the world came to you), so each State has it's own culture and traditions, which is an interesting idea. I think people travelling abroad from the UK, it might be different to America though. It's still quite a cohesive culture held together by tradition.

I'd disagree about travelling abroad. I think in some ways you can only view and really see your own country and it's culture from an outside perspective.

Also the UK is still so class based and the only way to escape it and transcend it's limitations is to travel away. Many students here do the Gap year and go abroad to expand their viewpoints. Many students from all over the world come here to study.

I'd say a number of experiences 'blew my mind'; living in S. America, mainly Colombia(almost the direct opposite to UK), doing the degree and absorbing so many ideas and having a son. All changed the way I think and my perspective. Broadened my perspective.

But each choose their own path.

 

[ZedClampet]

So it sounds like you're saying that people from all over the world went to America(so the world came to you), so each State has it's own culture and traditions, which is an interesting idea. I think people travelling abroad from the UK, it might be different to America though. It's still quite a cohesive culture held together by tradition.

I'd disagree about travelling abroad. I think in some ways you can only view and really see your own country and it's culture from an outside perspective.

Also the UK is still so class based and the only way to escape it and transcend it's limitations is to travel away. Many students here do the Gap year and go abroad to expand their viewpoints. Many students from all over the world come here to study.

I'd say a number of experiences 'blew my mind'; living in S. America, mainly Colombia(almost the direct opposite to UK), doing the degree and absorbing so many ideas and having a son. All changed the way I think and my perspective. Broadened my perspective.

But each choose their own path.

Please don't take offense at this. I honestly mean none, but part of my problem, I have to admit, is that you are espousing a philosophy only the wealthy can follow, and while that path would have been open to me and to my children, I can't help but to feel the ideas behind it are a little obnoxious and blind to the average person's reality. It seems more idealistic than realistic.

**********************

But enough of that. On to sharing my latest Forza livery failure! There was no unifying theme to this except for "black, red, and hey! I'll do a Rolling Stones logo with a really long tongue!"

 

[ipman]

Please don't take offense at this. I honestly mean none, but part of my problem, I have to admit, is that you are espousing a philosophy only the wealthy can follow, and while that path would have been open to me and to my children, I can't help but to feel the ideas behind it are a little obnoxious and blind to the average person's reality. It seems more idealistic than realistic.

I don't take offence easily. I'm glad you returned to the forum, the more contributors with different opinions and input the better. I don't come from wealth but I believe you just have to make things happen.

Like I said they paid me to do a degree and I just sold everything I owned which wasn't much when I went to S. America. Bought a one way ticket for a couple hundred pounds and only took £600. Taught English to survive.

Not exactly Musk on a private jet!

 

[Brian Boru]

Adios is one of this week's freebies—does it have the best-ever blurb?

"You're a pig farmer in Kansas. It's October. Cold, crisp mornings are the norm, and you have decided that you're no longer okay with letting the mob use your pigs to dispose of bodies. When your old friend - a hitman - arrives with his assistant to deliver another body, you finally screw up the courage to tell them that you're done."

The Free Time Limited Games List

I thought it would be nice to have one place to post games that are free for a limited time, regardless of the platform. Feel free to share some gems and I'll try my best to keep the thread updated whenever something new has been posted. Thank you for your contribution.

forums.pcgamer.com

 

[ZedClampet]

I don't take offence easily. I'm glad you returned to the forum, the more contributors with different opinions and input the better. I don't come from wealth but I believe you just have to make things happen.

Like I said they paid me to do a degree and I just sold everything I owned which wasn't much when I went to S. America. Bought a one way ticket for a couple hundred pounds and only took £600. Taught English to survive.

Not exactly Musk on a private jet!

No, but a great deal of people couldn't afford that. There are many in America who couldn't "just....make things happen" like that. They aren't paid to get degrees and they don't own anything to sell. While the average household income in America is $87,000, there are also 38 million people living below the poverty line. To think that these people could just "make things happen" is not realistic. There are also many, many people who are just above the poverty line who also could not realistically follow this plan. It just isn't realistic for too many people to be a philosophy I can get behind. Also, I have to admit that despite your experiences that I see no benefit to it even if people could afford it. Would people enjoy it? Sure. So that's a benefit. But there really isn't anything beyond that. There is nothing of real substance that can be learned in South America that can't be learned elsewhere.

 

[ipman]

No, but a great deal of people couldn't afford that. There are many in America who couldn't "just....make things happen" like that. They aren't paid to get degrees and they don't own anything to sell. While the average household income in America is $87,000, there are also 38 million people living below the poverty line. To think that these people could just "make things happen" is not realistic. There are also many, many people who are just above the poverty line who also could not realistically follow this plan. It just isn't realistic for too many people to be a philosophy I can get behind. Also, I have to admit that despite your experiences that I see no benefit to it even if people could afford it. Would people enjoy it? Sure. So that's a benefit. But there really isn't anything beyond that. There is nothing of real substance that can be learned in South America that can't be learned elsewhere.

I think the situation in America may be different. It's amazing how if you put the work in, and it's so much easier now with internet connectivity to access resources. All the younger students while I was at Uni were working, getting help from wealthy parents and running up debts. I just believe if I really want something I can make it happen.

I have a saying(I know another one), 'Either the system plays you, or you play the system'. I mean you can see from how much I raised selling everything I owned at that time, I didn't own much. Never been into materialism.

Not many would buy a one way ticket to S. America either.

It's strange but because of the class segregation here, the lower classes are anti intellectual and anti to much culture.

In Columbia I was going to the cinema maybe two or three times a week and seeing films that were not mainstream. Also there, there was a hunger for culture. Strange thing about Colombia at the time, no tourists went there, so everyone there was super friendly and welcoming. Virtually never paid rent and got invited out to fincas.

I'm still the same today. If I make a list of things I really need to do, or change, I focus and make it happen. I also decided to transcend money quite a while ago, that's hard to explain, but being concerned by it is another limitation. I did get down to my last £5 in Bogata, and because I speak English I never really studied the grammar, or had any idea how to teach it.

Didn't even have a visa to get access to work. But I wandered into this exclusive language school partly run by a Texan guy, and he and I hit it off, we shared a sense of humour and he gave me a job, sometimes you just have to believe in yourself.

 

[WoodenSaucer]

While the average household income in America is $87,000, there are also 38 million people living below the poverty line.

There are a handful of very wealthy people who bring that average up. I wonder what the median household income is.

Edit: It's around $70k. I'm surprised it's that high. I know a lot of people who don't make nearly that much.

 

[Brian Boru]

studying here is cheaper even for overseas students

Thanks, appreciate that As I'm originally from Europe, I've clued her in to research the various options—Germany might be the best, so much of it is free, and of course all the Scandinavian countries have varying attractive options too… plus being happy places

Perspective is the root of wisdom

Big claim
Do you discount other factors like judgment, continuous learning, creativity, curiosity?

combination of various scholarships

Yeah, girl I mentioned had an almost free bachelors via a bunch of those.

every US state, many of which have their own unique cultures

Yeah, I view USA as much more like 50 countries than one. Regional similarities of course, just like Norway & Sweden or Italy & Spain, but also significant differences.

a philosophy only the wealthy can follow

I also disagree with that. Like Ipman I'm from poor background, but managed to do some travel, and live in 4 countries. It's definitely doable as long as it's a main priority, so you'll do menial work en route to make it happen.

$70k. I'm surprised it's that high. I know a lot of people who don't make nearly that much

Household, not individuals—a lot of dual and more income households. And the household median varies a lot across the states.

 

[WoodenSaucer]

I also disagree with that. Like Ipman I'm from poor background, but managed to do some travel, and live in 4 countries. It's definitely doable as long as it's a main priority, so you'll do menial work en route to make it happen.

I think it's probably a lot easier to do that in Europe. Other than borders and customs, it's probably about like us going from state to state, which is much easier for us than going from country to country.

Household, not individuals—a lot of dual and more income households. And the household median varies a lot across the states.

Yeah, I know it's household. I know a lot of households that don't make anywhere near that.