SecretAsianMan

The d-pad I view in a similar way to the creation of the controller analog stick. It's an element born out of necessity and designed to be functionally useful. The rumble pak served no real purpose besides increasing immersion in a way that I to this day still find strange. Even now the force feedback that's in every controller hardly ever has an actual, practical purpose (and I don't count those "massage games"). To me it's pretty much a gimmick that became a standard feature.

I would actually prefer they not make a feature length thing. I like the TF2 shorts as shorts. Weird little slices of that universe that are long enough for their purpose without becoming tiresome. I think a movie would wreck that, at least for me. That would be rad.

Some mysterious stuff is happening over on Overkill's website. Don't know what it means yet but considering the countdown ends on the 1 year anniversary of Payday 2's release, I imagine it's some kind of DLC thing. http://overkillsoftware.com/whatsnext/

I didn't really consider that because joysticks existed but I guess one could make the argument that the N64 controller made it usable for consoles. I think that was bound to happen regardless because of the emergence of 3D games while the rumble thing seemed like it was driven by nothing other than Nintendo wanting to do a weird thing.

It would never end. There is no end. Only more Spelunky. At least until Spelunky 2: Yama's Revenge.

Of all the weird hardware that Nintendo has made over the years (not counting consoles), I think the only one that has had any staying power is the rumble pak.

I find this very depressing

Assuming you have a supported router, it's quite easy to put custom firmware on there and configure it, though it also depends on how deep into the configuration you want to go. The real benefit of the custom stuff is it gives you a lot more control over your network settings but if that's not important then the manufacturer's firmware is probably fine. Personally, I think it's easier to do than rooting a phone but I never got real heavy into either one.

It's another standard IT response, but have you updated your firmware? Sometimes things like that get fixed with updates. Another possibility (depending on what router you have) is running custom firmware such as DD-WRT or Tomato. That may be more effort than you're looking for though. And of course it's entirely possible your hardware is indeed failing, in which case nothing I've said will help.

If you're struggling because you're looking for a source to start from, then I would say that maybe "fan" fiction isn't right for you. Fan fiction comes about because the author has a story or idea that they want to portray in a given world; the source material suggests the fiction. If you have a fiction and are looking for a source to insert it into, then the source is probably irrelevant. You may be better off just writing your own fiction, foregoing the "fan" part. The difference to me is that while you or your character are capable of overcoming the challenge, it is still possible to fail, even if that failure has no more consequence than reloading a save. A Mary Sue character would be incapable of failure in the first place. They are perfection personified, playing through their version of the game with all the cheats enabled. Neither one gives much room for character growth though so in that sense they're similar.

I don't blame the writer for using the term "exclusive" misleadingly because at this point the term has been used so poorly by Microsoft, Sony, and tons of game developers that it's almost lost all meaning. I'm sure Sony themselves will say it's "exclusive on console" or some other equally ambiguous phrase.

Only a little? You have a stronger stomach than I

We all knew this was coming... but I'm gonna say it anyway. FUCK YES!

Except with Sean and Danielle

It's worth noting that no DLC is included in the bundle. Not yet anyway.

And yet there's a mechanic that involves picking up random planks and boarding up windows. But closing and locking doors isn't what criminals do apparently. So remember kids, close your door or YOU'RE A CRIMINAL!

I do admit the high tier abilities are very useful. The most notable ones to me are the saw, shaped charges, and acing the Mastermind ability Inspire which lets you revive people from a distance. I'm sure others are useful as well but those 3 are the easiest to see the direct effects of during a game. I'm currently mostly an Enforcer for sheer survivability but I've pretty much hit all the skills I care to in that tree and have started branching out to the rest. I expect to put the fewest points into Ghost because of my general dislike for stealth. I doubt I'll gain any infamy ranks if I get that far. I'm already starting to get tired of the grind, the thought of starting it over again for cosmetic goods is not appealing to me in any way.

Well the solution is simple then. One of the existing Thumbs (portraits) must be sacrificed to make room. CHOOSE! Or we could just make it smaller and let Jake lord over everyone.

What size is that? More importantly, is it bigger than Jake's painting?

In theory I like that stuff too, except in an online cooperative game I never know what abilities my potential teammates are going to have (unless I play with the same group all the time which is nearly impossible to schedule). This means that I almost always end up taking a jack of all trades route. I'm not super good at any one thing, but I'm also much less likely to have a redundant specialty. I optimize for general circumstances rather than specific ones.

I think we should make Danielle's painting bigger than Jake's. The biggest one of all.

We may need to fund one more painting https://twitter.com/lucpky/status/485941597914136577

I live in the city where that movie was filmed and presumably takes place... and I have no idea what to tell you.

I think the Spelunky jetpack might be my favorite video game jetpack.

He should have randomly barged in and said "I know you guys are having fun but I'm still working"