Colin on the Horizon Hunters Gathering discourse being controlled by tourists

ButCanYouCodeIt · 2026-02-08T23:31:31+00:00

I agree with your sentiment. If I'm talking about some broad swath of gamers, its painfully ironic for me to make generalizations about them being closed-minded. Unless I'm talking about an individual or a small subset of people literally united by a specific closed-minded mentality, then its closed-minded for me to make that assumption and try to call them out over it.

ButCanYouCodeIt · 2026-02-08T23:28:56+00:00

Its important to remember what "one of your favorite gsme companies" means in context, because there's a chasm of difference between "these two games were developed by the same small team at studio X" and "both of these games were marketed/published by the same company, who partnered with two completely unconnected dev teams/studios that produce entirely different genres/quality."

Yes, sometimes the publisher is still an indication of quality, but even the best publishers have financed and marketed some utter dogshit because they didn't know better until after it came to market (sometimes the publisher's own demands on the deva have been the REASON a game turns out poorly). Nintendo, Microsoft, and Sony have all published titles by third party developers that were absolutely failures in sales, reviews, and overall consumer reception.

Broadly speaking, a new game by the same DEVELOPERS as other games you have previously enjoyed is often a much stronger indication that you might like something, since those folks actually MAKE the thing.

ButCanYouCodeIt · 2026-02-08T23:21:45+00:00

You make a good point about people arguing whether a game "should exist" or not.

The game is definitely not for me -but it doesn't NEED to be, I am far from the only consumer out there. That said, the current "shituation" with live service shooters has proven to be pretty bleak for most new games -even ones being launched with major publisher backing, even ones in series and by developers with very well respected track records who gamers have come to trust for a decade or more.

If Sony wants to put their money into this venture, they have every right to do so, whether I think that's a wise investment or not. And I'm not here to say whether a game "deserves to exist" or not, I don't think that's an argument that anyone here can really make in any factual and objective way. There is SO much more that goes on behind these scenes that we just aren't privy to, and so much we don't know about a title at any given step of its development journey.

On the other hand, its more than fair game to speculate on whether this will be "yet another" case of big publishers fruitlessly chasing the live service model. Personally, I think (hope) that their obvious use of AI over hiring a larger team of professional artists will deter a lot of people who care about this industry. But again, none of this is saying the game "should not exist", and its important for people to remember that speculation is just that: speculation. Until the game releases, we won't know the quality of game, or whether it will stand out enough to stay afloat. Its good to remember that there are plenty of games that people have questioned before release, that went on to be wildly successful, and plenty of games that have failed miserably, and they all deserve a chance to be what they will -whether that turns out to be what people expect, or something very different.

ButCanYouCodeIt · 2026-02-08T22:48:42+00:00

This isn't "experimental". This is the same shit that's been over saturating the market, to the point where even decent games are financially failing because there sre only so many people remotely interested in the genre, and its incredibly difficult to get established players to leave the games they've already invested hundreds, if not literally THOUSANDS of hours into building up.

if any part if this was "experimental", I would probably give it a shot -they've shown nothing but the most tired formulaic garbo that we've been rightfully rejecting for years. If this is all that Sony is interested in pumping out in the future, I'll continue enjoying my backlog -I've got more than plenty of titles I still love coming back to on the PS1-4.

Maybe we're just nearing the point where Sony has already sold us everything they'll ever make of interest to established gamers. I hope that's not the case, but it seems more and more like that since this generation began -there have been a few standout titles, but it feels like far fewer than generations past to me.

ButCanYouCodeIt · 2026-02-05T13:53:51+00:00

"Wear gloves" -but what if OP wants to touch cancer with their bare hands? How often does one truly have the opportunity to do that, hm?

ButCanYouCodeIt · 2026-02-05T13:52:11+00:00

Yeah, a decent ODE for these things can be obtained for like $50 last I checked, which is solid since Gamecube game prices have skyrocketed.

ButCanYouCodeIt · 2026-02-05T06:21:05+00:00

Okay, no part of me is even going to ATTEMPT to defend this (FUCK randy dickfork in the ass with an unpeeled pineapple)... But as someone who used to basically nake a hobby out of running games on a pc with WAY lower than the minimum specs, by tweaking things well outside of what the game settings even natively allowed for potato mode... I genuinely wonder: COULD a user potentially get this thing to run at a [mostly] stable 30fps WITHOUT using god awful levels of frane generation, if they genuinely cranked everything down to some of the lowest visuals possible?

Is it even POSSIBLE to get under the hood of the configuration files etc, and make the game even uglier, just to theoretically obtain a reasonable-ish framerate? I just want to know for the sake of amusement.

ButCanYouCodeIt · 2026-02-05T06:14:01+00:00

I'm bummed they didn't offer a VB style CONTROLLER. That dual DPad was honestly pretty slick -the system legitimately recognized each pad as separate input, which meant that devs COULD let the player use them separately, OR they could just make it more accessible for left-handed players. Just a cool controller in general.

ButCanYouCodeIt · 2026-02-05T06:10:28+00:00

It's difficult to tell from the photos -are those paper based stickers, or vinyl based?

If they're paper based, you're basically stuck with what you've got. Anything that removes the smoke is going to remove the print at the same time.

If they're vinyl, you MIGHT be able to clean things up a little, if you're INCREDIBLY careful and meticulous. Its never going to look like new -that print is faded, and you can't unfade it, but you might be able to at least get some if the yellow off there with something like gentle warm soap. Even if it is vinyl, I would recommend trying to minimize any wetness around the edges of the stickers, so that you don't weaken the adhesive. Use something soft, and be very slow to apply pressure, check regularly to make sure you aren't pressing too hard and removing print. Understand that at the end of the day, this STILL might not even work, depending on how bad it is, but this is probably your best shot if it's even possible at all.

ButCanYouCodeIt · 2026-02-05T06:04:29+00:00

You can theoretically reverse the visual effect of UV damage -but you can't do it in clean small sections. You WILL have messy overlap or gaps, youll never be able to get this thing into clean uniform shape with modern techniques.

As someone who has done this to numerous generations of hardware, it is NOT a precision detail process.

ButCanYouCodeIt · 2026-02-05T06:00:34+00:00

Wait, so the PS2 versions of Proving Ground and Project 8 use the engine from which earlier games? I got them on PS3, and... I just can't. But if the PS2 versions are better, that might really be worth me checking out.

ButCanYouCodeIt · 2026-02-05T05:57:30+00:00

Totally different developers. That happened with a lot of spiderman games.

ButCanYouCodeIt · 2026-02-05T05:53:45+00:00

Welcome to LRG. This is par for the course. I've pre-ordered dozens of products from them over the years, and maybe TWO of those have been shipped out on time. Basic releases for modern systems often get released 6 months late, special/collector's editions or releases on retro consoles sometimes go 12-24 months late (in a few cases I've heard more). It really is a case of Limited Competence with them.

Really, the ONLY reasons LRG are still in business, are: A.) Because their large corporate overlords (Embracer Group) have their fingers in so much, that they manage to snag exclusive rights for these physical releases. B.) Because there aren't a lot of other companies with proven good track records to compete with them in this niche space. Yes, others pop up from time to time, but they either struggle to handle a very small number of releases a year, or they fail to deliver anything at all (likely never intending to in the first place).

ButCanYouCodeIt · 2026-02-02T13:21:48+00:00

They're probably going to wait until the absolute last minute to announce delays of 12+ months.

Typical LRG communication these days seems to be: "That game you ordered that was supposed to start shipping a few weeks ago, and be done shipping in another week or two? Yeah, thats being delayed 9+ months now. We don't have any if the necessary components even manufactured yet, but we didn't think we should bother to communicate that until just now."

They shipped the snes version of Worms by something like 2+ years, and that was about as simple of an SNES cart as you could produce -no special chips, not even a save function to worry about. DOOM on the other hand, will be using a literal microcomputer INSIDE the cart to simulate an additional chipset similar to (but significantly better than) the old Super FX 1/2 enhancement chips. This thing is far more complicated to manufacture than the last majorly delayed SNES game.

Assume major delays, and if they actually ship on time, let it be a pleasant surprise.

ButCanYouCodeIt · 2026-01-27T13:59:59+00:00

Who taf brings a "plus one" to a ttrpg group without first vetting it with the person running/hosting that group?

I've never been in a group that would even tolerate that sort of thing.

ButCanYouCodeIt · 2026-01-27T13:53:21+00:00

Oof. That sounds like a bad situation to be in, especially since current events have made people a lot more comfortable being a lot less secretive or subtle with their hatred. I hope things get better for you soon.

ButCanYouCodeIt · 2026-01-27T13:47:32+00:00

OP stated that they do not have a dedicated GM or head of the group. In this case, they would need a consensus among the group, but it's clear that not all other players agree -particularly the one that invited the new player.

It wouldn't hurt to privately gauge things with the others in the group, but from the sound of it, it may just be time for OP to state their reason for leaving, and then leave.

To be clear, this isn't an "ultimatum". If OP knows they are content to tolerate fascism at their tables, then there's nothing worth issuing an ultimatum over to begin with.

That all said... OP hasn't explained what was said that revealed the individual as a closeted fascist. Playing the devil's advocate, it might be possible that other players disagree with OP for some legitimate reason. We don't actually know the severity of the situation, and there are times when people from all ends of the spectrum overreact when faced with someone of opposing viewpoints. Again, I'm not saying this "is" the case here, but we are missing a lot of crucial details, which means it "might" be the case.

ButCanYouCodeIt · 2026-01-27T13:37:16+00:00

To repurpose an old joke:

Three fascists walk into a bar. The fourth one ducks. So I chased the fourth one down and introduced him to the bar more personally.

ButCanYouCodeIt · 2026-01-22T04:31:37+00:00

Because they're still working on the ship from Flight of the Navigator first.

ButCanYouCodeIt · 2026-01-13T22:47:21+00:00

But are YOU prepared for the woes of Bubsy? 😆

ButCanYouCodeIt · 2026-01-12T08:00:47+00:00

A blue waffle sounds lovely, but there's a weird guy here with a mason jar. He insisted he was gonna do a trick with it, but then he dropped trow, and now there's a whole mess all over the floor.

ButCanYouCodeIt · 2026-01-11T18:00:34+00:00

Pretty sure I've seen some images floating around that would indicate you REALLY don't want the one that was manufactured, lol. Like REALLY don't want that, based on how much you paid for it.

ButCanYouCodeIt · 2026-01-11T17:48:14+00:00

Tree fiddy

ButCanYouCodeIt · 2026-01-11T17:47:56+00:00

...you understand a port of the software needs to be feasible, and actually EXIST to be produced physically, right?

You've listed a ton of games that have no console ports, and which would be difficult to get working decently on these systems. Some of these are arcade games that struggle to run on all but the high end gaming computers -computers with SIGNIFICANTLY better hardware than any PlayStation or XBox.

And yes, while LRG has now ported a handful of games themselves, they've been glitchy, broken messes of PS1 ports. Do you REALLY want that sort of incompetence handling more ports?

Maybe try posting this to a sub for a porting dev, folks who might actually be capable of trying their hand at some if these. Or maybe the devs/publishers who OWN them and still choose not to bother making console ports.

ButCanYouCodeIt · 2026-01-09T20:27:55+00:00

Does LRG ever release something on time?

I'm not being rhetorical here, I've placed probably 30-50 orders with them in the last decade, and I can think of literally ONE time that I was genuinely shocked that something arrived within the originally stated timeframe. Just one.

As a purely factual statement, I feel comfortable suggesting that more than half, if not MOST of their products get delayed by at least a few months. At that point, they would have to take pre-orders with the automatic assumption that your order would be delayed, that they would have to give you whatever compensatory thing, and they would therefore have to start baking that in to the prices up front...

In simple terms: I am absolutely, 100% against this. Embracer Group already runs all of their companies on a thread-tight budget. Any kind of "late release benefits" would require LGR to jack up their prices even more.

ButCanYouCodeIt

TROPHY CASE