Dragonfliet

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Everything posted by Dragonfliet

  1. HELP: Attempted upgrade of PC gone wrong

    Wow, what a total nightmare man. You have my absolute condolences.
  2. HELP: Attempted upgrade of PC gone wrong

    I'm curious about the motherboard return. Was the other mobo doing the same thing? If so, it might be that you have a defective cpu, rather than mobo. At this point, it looks like you've done everything right, so it's difficult to tell you what to do. The mobo doesn't have anything even remotely useful for indications that might simplify matters, so it appears to be guesswork. Good luck.
  3. Plug your shit

    After a very long time and a lot of work, my first novel is actually coming out soon, and is now available for pre-order. Release date is September 26. I couldn't be more pleased. http://www.kernpunktpress.com/store/p5/Mount_Fugue_by_JI_Daniels.html cover:
  4. Recently completed video games

    Summertime means I have a ton of work to do, but no hard deadlines (well, mostly). Which really means I've been playing video games. Finally got around to Invisible Inc. and XCOM 2. Holy fuck, guys. I know everyone else already knows about these, but Fuck. XCOM 2 was just a straight up improvement on the first, and so much more nerve wracking (it has hard enough I didn't play ironman my first go, like I did Enemy Unknown), and I had an absolute blast with it. I'm very much looking forward to the heartrending ironman runthrough. Invisible Inc. though. If you thought XCOM was hard...Just as easy to lose a guy, but no real backup squad to speak for. The roguelike nature of the game works amazingly, and it is just a beautiful, beautiful game (I mean, it's Klei, so no surprise there). The use of the xcom type mechanics in a spy game worked really well, and even though it kicked my ass again and again on normal mode (I eventually went down to easy!) it was an absolute blast. So. So. Good. What a great way to kick off the summer.
  5. "Cars sucks." - A Pixar Thread

    It would take a pretty unreasonable brand of person to have anything negative to say about the treatment of fat characters in Wall-E. Unlike certain films, where weight is a punchline, or a horror show, in Wall-E, all of the overweight characters are attractive and positively portrayed. There's also the fact that the fat is a complete side effect of the absolute infantalization of consumerism gone awry
  6. Quitter's Club: Don't be ashamed to quit the game.

    I want to play more of The Division, but I just can't. The end game is garbage. Daily missions are fine, and the Dark Zone is great (well, it would be if there weren't so many freaking cheaters running around), but the end game is simply running terrible farming runs in the DZ, which is not fun at all, and the challenging difficulty and incursion mission is just enemies with craptons of health and waves and waves of boring sameness. There is no new challenge or interesting problem solving, or skill. You just shoot literally hundreds (or thousands) of bullets into the enemies. WHEEEE. I hope that they eventually figure out how to make the endgame good, because GETTING to this point was fantastic. I really liked the game until the loot grind, because there is nothing interesting bout that grind.
  7. Life

    Awesome. Definitely do another round. Getting interviews from multiple places means you're on the right track. Most places are pretty competitive and the choices they make are very hard.
  8. Books, books, books...

    I do recommend anything by Samuel Delany, who is a gay black man, and whose books really push against traditions of gender and sexuality (Attack on Triton, especially).
  9. Quitter's Club: Don't be afraid to quit the book

    I have to say, most of the books in the last few posts that people have given up on are really breaking my heart. Candide? That book is so fucking funny! American Pastoral, one of the best books of the 20th century? (that's not Bellow, btw, it's Philip Roth, unless you meant a book by Saul Bellow, which would still break my heart) The book I gave up on was Traffic, by Kenneth Goldsmith. I tried. I really did, but it's literally 81 pages of transcripts of the 30second traffic reports over 24 hours from radio. You know, the ones that go every 10 minutes? Just that. For 81 pages. Had a great conversation about it conceptually, in a class where literally no one (okay: one person and the prof) read the entire thing. Ugh. That book. I love conceptual literature, but wow.
  10. subtlety in dialogue?

    Games are pretty terrible with subtlety. I'm not really sure that the video posted is a particularly good example, though. Briefly: in it, the guy refers to a game in which the player is obviously walking into a trap. And it isn't subtle at all. The game then punishes the player for going into the trap by killing them. This is cute, but games that "punish" the player for playing them are using cheap gimmicks, not actually teaching the player. To avoid the trap is to avoid the game, which is antithetical to the very idea of playing a game. Such a path ignores that many will understand that it is a trap, but are going in with that understanding in order to win a battle. I think that the biggest problem is that games haven't really learned from the open text (or writerly text, as Barthes calls it), which is one in which there is not a meaning to be gleaned through reading/playing, but rather, it is one in which there are a multiplicity of valid interpretations, but they must be constructed by the reader/player (Barthes distinguishes the writerly as needing to be "written" by the reader through the act of connecting and building the components of the writing, so that they are active in the creation of meaning, whereas the readerly text is entirely written by the writer, and the reader simply receives it). This should obviously be done through things like dialog that is more subtle, but also through environmental storytelling and gameplay mechanics that compliment the narrative impulses. Honestly, my very very favorite example of this was the ending to the much maligned 2008 reboot Prince of Persia game (the cel shaded one with Nolan North voicing the prince). The main plot of the game that you find out is that the girl, Elika, had died, but that her father, unable to bear her loss, made a deal with the evil entity Ahriman--setting it free in exchange for bring Elika back to life. You fight the corruption around the area, then you and Elika go in to finish off Ahriman--bantering as you progress through the game, and growing closer to each other (and the writing here, while portraying the "Prince" as an annoying bro, does a great job of making their relationship move realistically from annoyance to genuine affection)--Elika reveals that the only way to defeat the evil is to sacrifice herself, which she does. The game ends with you carrying out her body and then wandering aimlessly, with Ahriman whispering that you can save her until you let the evil out again in order to bring her back to life. You literally cannot do anything other than bring her back. This frustrating, horrible ending is the best possible way of literalizing the emotional stake of the character, that you can't just give up (turn off the game), and you would rather unleash an evil on the world, but have Elika back with you than to leave things as they were. Granted, it's not a particularly open text, but there are a few possible readings (this is mine, obviously), and it does it in a way that makes the theme of the game (love that cannot give up on a person to disastrous ends) implicit rather than explicit. And it's something that few games have replicated. Because subtlety is a HUGE risk. It alienates many people. Honestly, the smartest thing Braid did was give the player an incorrect explicit ending (the lost relationship) while laying a LOT of groundwork for a more interesting, implicit theme that almost no one understood until it was finally explained to them. That way, it didn't piss off the people who didn't understand the game, but it was still able to be something more than a simplistic, literal explanation.
  11. Thoughts on Ultrabooks?

    Lol, that was quick. The xps13 is pretty great. Very small for the screensize, and it performs well. My main thought on ultrabooks is that I'll never go back to a "regular" sized laptop. I never just carry around a laptop, so the extra bulk and weight for larger laptops is simply not worth it for me, and ultrabooks, while not powerhouses, are still quite capable machines for most tasks.
  12. The Big VR Thread

    Okay, so this is a silly implementation, but that they have a very functional, interesting and pretty good, actually, prototype of walking in VR spaces like this is really exciting: http://arstechnica.com/gaming/2016/04/for-vr-walking-forget-treadmills-just-stick-a-vive-wand-down-your-pants/
  13. Does it get any good? I only made it as far as round 8 of 15! of the apc bit, pretty early on. It's tough, but more importantly, it's fucking tedious. I'm growing less and less interested with how grindy the end-game is. The same enemies but with 8 clips of ammo in them worth of health (daily missions), or instakill snipers/shotguns, or ridiculous huge numbers of waves malarky grows old quick.
  14. Phones

    I have an LG G3, and it's still mostly pretty great. The biggest complaint I have about it is honestly the battery life, which is alright, but doesn't really get me through a day if there is anything approaching moderate use (for emails and the like). The G5 that just came out has gotten some pretty mediocre reviews, even though everyone loves the idea of it, the S7 has gotten very good reviews, and HTC's new phone is only at the hands-on stage, but people seem to love it. So as far as that goes, the HTC 10 or Samsung S7 seem the best bets for buying something new on the android side, and the whatever iPhone (get the size you prefer) for that. I've found that the specific phone doesn't matter much. I prefer to get nexus devices when I can (my previous phones were all Nexus, and while the G3 is excellent, I miss the standard operating system and hope that the next Nexus is a better deal than the last ones were), because I tend to like simplicity in the OS, but flexibility for my own preferences, but that's about it. Look at battery life and camera quality, as well as overall build, but I mean: new phones are all supercomputers. You won't be blown away, as the 4s was already a pretty rad phone, and you won't be majorly disappointed because they all do a really solid job. More than most things, I've found that contemporary smartphones are all about making yourself feel like less of a fool for spending $600 on a texting device, so just get what seems neat, would be my advice.
  15. TITANFLAPS 2

    I really enjoyed Titanfall, but my enjoyment of multiplayer deathmatch type games (there were other modes, but I'm lumping them all together) is very limited. I much prefer larger scale cooperative PvE type games, and SP experiences. I'm hoping they have made the game richer (it was good, if a bit shallow, pretty quickly), because if so, I'll probably pick it up.
  16. I Had a Random Thought (About Video Games)

    Absolutely. This is "simply" done through having some sort of ironic distance between what is happening with the game, and what is being said over the top of this. The Stanley Parable has this, though for simply comedic effect. It's also how a novel like Lolita is about a pedophile and murderer, while not being a pornographic/etc. novel as a whole. Of course, the real issue is that when you do these kinds of things, you have to REALLY nail it, as people tend to simply believe narrators, which can have a very opposite effect to what was intended.
  17. Yes, you do! Just do the story missions with random groups of people (makes it way quicker to level up). It's fun. And once you're at 30, grouping in the DZ is a blast.
  18. Plug your shit

    Very fun. I doubt I'll play it much (it's very hard, and has some layers of nuance to the gameplay), as I don't really game on my phone much, and tend to simple puzzle games when I do, but I really enjoyed it.
  19. It goes live in a week. You have plenty of time to convert. As for the darkzone level, The gear score almost certainly means that they can drop the high level gear in their stash to play with you. Gear score is about what is on their body, and will go up and down depending on your loadout. They probably can't just unequip the primary to be in a lower bracket (at least I hope not, otherwise plenty of people would just switch when they get in). And, much more helpfully, it helps avoid the darkzone spots where someone with WAY better gear than you just wipes the floor with your entire team (seriously, some guy dropped 4 of us in around 5 seconds with just his primary rifle. It was ridiculous).
  20. I think that osmosisch's link covers it VERY well, particularly as regards the lower classes being vilified (I would add only that the biggest problem in this regard is the simplistic sweep of generalizations of representation for the enemy characters. While the cleaners look appropriately villainous and over the top, the rikers and looters are simply people dressed in clothes our popular culture has decided belong to a criminal element, even though most of the people who wear them are not criminals, but marginalized peoples). What especially kills me, however, is the very basic premise of the game, that the government has planted moles all throughout the population of elite soldiers as a weird kind of double agent against the people of the country who only actually serve the government, and who, when summoned, are granted carte blanche in their actions provided they more or less do what the powers that be wish--and this idea is celebrated. This completely insane fascist fantasy is bolstered by the idea that everyone else is made up of sheep in need of protection, criminals bent on murdering everyone for their own good, well meaning psychos (cleaners) and aimless looters who are simply pure opportunists. Or else we are getting some nutjob Malthusian idea of overpopulation as the incitement to this, or some equally insane inner squalor junta led by former military commanders. In short, then, it is often depraved, but even more often childish in its ridiculous representations. It honestly feels about as measured, even, and well thought out as the Dead Rising games, but without the humor. All this being said, I still think it's a delight to play. I've been away at a conference, and am now madly making up for lost time, so I'm not playing much this week, but even though it is dumb and faintly insidious, it's also pretty damned well constructed.
  21. Seriously. It is one of the most disturbing and childish political positions I've seen.
  22. So I'm at lvl 30 and have been running around the dark zone. It's fun, and I hope I run into some folks that want to do likewise. Daily missions are good and fun, though I imagine I'll get sick of those quickly, but the Dark Zone still entertains. The latest patch means there are always going to be enough aholes trying to kill you. Still, I'm wondering about endgame content ala raids.
  23. The Next President

    Look, I'm going to be polite and thoughtful about this: Get the fuck out. Here is the the thing, this is a bullshit, elitest form of idiocy that stems from a number of things, but is mostly driven by ideological nonsense. The idea that people voting against something that hurts them in some way makes them stupid is so beyond the pale I don't know where to start. Here's an idea: I'm a PhD student who will be pursuing an academic career. Even though it doesn't seem like it, voting for Bernie HURTS me economically (by a good amount). Why? Well, to boil it down, the government has subsidized education in such a way that schools are now much more heavily invested in bureaucratic management jobs than actual education, dramatically raising the cost of education (for both the students AND the tax payers). Free college for everyone we wouldn't create more full time tenured faculty positions (mostly adjunct or non-tenure jobs), but almost certainly would continue the scale of of bureaucratic middle management (to comply with government guidelines), hurting me, and it would also significantly raise taxes, also hurting me. Yet I am pro Bernie (well, honestly, I think he's the lesser of two evils and is completely impractical of a human being, but whatever, I've given up on presidents being actually moderate and thoughtful). So me voting for him is voting against my own interests. Is it because I'm uneducated? OF COURSE NOT. The thing is, people vote because of their own personal self interests, in terms of jobs and the economy and the like, but also the religious, spiritual, philosophical and ideological precepts they hold dear, as well as a kind of gut-check, in which a person looks at the positions and history and rhetoric of a person, and decides if they feel that this person is the one who they think represents the country (in that particular voter's opinion). There are lots of dumb, uneducated people voting for silly, ridiculous reasons, and there are lots of intelligent, well educated people voting for silly, ridiculous reasons, and then there are all manner of other ones. As soon as you start breaking down x voters are uneducated or foolish or stupid, you give in to classist, racist, sexist, whatever streams of bullshit because you're position is the "superior" one (because you have it) and anyone who disagrees with you must be some sort of a subordinate class of human being in some way, shape or form. There are indeed many problems with the south, as there are with the north. The idea, however, that people are voting for who they feel best represents the country because some sort of an intellectual, moral, or educational deficit, however, is how fucktards justify some pretty horrible bullshit. I'm sure you, personally, are a wonderful, kind, caring and considerate person, and your justifications for your statement aren't ENTIRELY wrong, but your position is a huge, huge problem. This is the kind of problem that frustrates me and keeps me out of most political conversations (other intelligent, interesting, kind and considerate people saying stupid shit and me not wanting to ruin friendships), but I figured I'm new enough here that I might as well shove my foot in my mouth with a hyperbolic rant in order to encourage moderate language and the treating of people as worthy of respect even when they vote for different people than we currently are.
  24. The Big VR Thread

    They would need to be doing pretty badly to have to eat half the cost of the headset in a bundle. I wouldn't bet on anything that low this entire year. You're right that it would fly off shelves, but I think that the current price is already pretty freaking sweet and Sony hasn't had trouble selling PS4s, thus far, so really steep discounting seems unlikely. I mean, the PS4 launched in 2013 and it only dropped to $50 off the price point last fall.
  25. System Shock: The Third

    Cool! The textures are...really bad though. Normally I wouldn't get all fussy about that in a remake, especially System Shock (which was an ugly, ugly game), but the lighting looks great, the models look solid (low poly, but decent), and then the textures are freakishly chunky looking. Not in a stylized way, but in an up-rezzed way. Hopefully the pre-alpha part means they're going to be redone? It's not a huge deal, but it did immediately stand out as weird.