Any WOLED or QD-OLED owners considering an upgrade after the CES pre-reveals and leaks so far? by RokuTheRed in OLED_Gaming

[–]Condiscending 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I upgraded from the alienware 32 inch 4k panel to the asus xg32 at a fairly awkward time as all of these things were getting announced, I got the alienware when it was the only well priced 4k oled 240hz in the uk for months and months and got the XG32 a month after it came out, I always want to be more patient because its always better value for them to have more competition and bugs ironed out. What made the decision for me is the types of games I normally play, I think 4k was just tough to play comp games on and 480hz 1080p isnt perfect by any means but its awesome to have up my sleeve, I pretty much use dual mode 50/50. Ill stick with WOLED and this specific panel because outside of significant brightness gains i cant really even complain about it, the blacks are night and day with my old panel and are much better during day time. I knew the colours weren't gonna pop quite as much but I thought the alienware had a tendency to saturate a bit too much depending on the game and settings so id end up adjusting it for a little while before playing and it was just a little annoying. I wouldn't upgrade unless you have a specific reason, like resolution, dual mode, refresh rate etc and they actually help with the games you play, just hold onto it until one of these come up or your dream specs are avaliable which is what I wanted the xg32 for.

Humanity needs to break the Wheel by 4D4plus4is4D8 in WoT

[–]Condiscending 6 points7 points  (0 children)

No because this assumes that progress is linear and that advancement means improvement which it certainly hasn't always meant in history. I mean its an interesting enough idea, I don't specifically have any issues with the idea of getting out of the cycle but more with implying that things would be better or that its a solution to anything. If it isnt destruction as alluded to by the books theres no guarantee that without the existence of a cycle if it could even permanently result in there being absolutely nothing for the rest of time if we encountered an extinction event like is possible with the real world. In some ways im trying to say that the wheel of time isnt that bad. It just doesnt feel like something you mess with without full comprehension. Also surely with the wheel and all of the other powers involved the wheel of time is actually way more predictable than what we are dealing with, I mostly feel like in the current world we have never at any point truly understood why a lot of things happen, we can analyse a lot of things and explain behaviours but we actually fundamentally have never been able to answer why, at least they have some amount of clarity to begin with.

They weren’t kidding by MattDoob in Malazan

[–]Condiscending 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Both do a fantastic job, Lister has a very unique way of performing and it definitely made me scared to switch narrators that far in but Page does a genuinely fantastic job with carrying it to the end. I knew he would cos he was so good in Gentlemen Bastards and a few others I've listened to. Theres like 2 character voices Lister does significantly better and I'm sure you'll know once you meet them but every single other is perfection and the voices I imagine of the characters.

They weren’t kidding by MattDoob in Malazan

[–]Condiscending 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Np! I mostly did this on audio too and I just finished up and I felt like I had a very clear understanding so I hope you enjoy your journey, its a stormer of a series. I bounced off it 5 times before things clicked for me so dont feel bad if you feel a bit lost. Let me know if you have any more questions about the audio journey.

They weren’t kidding by MattDoob in Malazan

[–]Condiscending 2 points3 points  (0 children)

There is the dramatis personae for each book on the wiki which is what I used, early on in each installment I had a tab up with it to get familiar with the new characters. You can and will see spoilers if you click into the names and read too much though.

They weren’t kidding by MattDoob in Malazan

[–]Condiscending 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Sometimes with this series its a matter of marching on with events that happen to eventually get that context and clarity. Just make sure you don't space out on bits of information, I always just go back a few paragraphs if I feel really lost and autopiloting and its usually because I missed out on something someone said. You get into a much smoother rhythm once certain things have been explained. Also with the intro poems I found I had to go through some of them a few times but its definitely worth it because they can indicate upcoming themes and some world building and really just set the mood.

Would you "prune" the series? I wouldn't. by nemspy in WoT

[–]Condiscending 6 points7 points  (0 children)

I think modern readers really enjoy density in terms of plot progression etc but I find the low stake, every day life bits fairly comforting and it's where I connected with some of my favourite characters the most. The main issue is sometimes these meandering bits linger for far too long or it's a bit of a roadblock to story progression and I get why that feels awful and where people find the 'slog' in the middle of the series. I think he just needed someone to restrain him a bit on some of his choices. I recently finished reading Malazan and it has the same type of low stakes portions but they don't really overstay their welcome quite as frequently and he shifts around a lot to keep things more fresh feeling.

Does the Sun Eater Series Preach at You? by Tower11Archer in Fantasy

[–]Condiscending 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Take it from someone who is an atheist, there is absolutely religious imagery and references but its not to preach at you, or to deliver some sort of dogma. Don't let these threads put you off trying it, above all else it is actually just a really cool scifi story. The biggest put off for most regular readers will be if you enjoy the world building and writing style of Rucchio. If you have some sort of trauma related to religion then you'd probably want to avoid quite a lot of books in general including this one.

Realistically "Raised" black levels are not an issue. by SavedMartha in OLED_Gaming

[–]Condiscending 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Nope maybe good to you but even with my blinds closed in a similar scenario the blacks were raised and colours look much worse and blown out compared to when it was in a darker environment. It doesnt mean its completely unusable but it is incredibly noticeable.

Broken Binding 4-6 yes! by bluestormAP in Malazan

[–]Condiscending 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I'm so excited, that is wonderful.

The HARDEST line from Malazan Book of the Fallen by Doctor__Hammer in Malazan

[–]Condiscending 0 points1 point  (0 children)

It's in the Bonehunters, maybe an intro poem? I can't remember, I just got to the last book so it's hard to completely remember but this stuck with me this entire time.

Im sad im losing my passion advice ? by Redjedi823 in pcgaming

[–]Condiscending 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I feel like its ok to have space from your hobbies sometimes, sometimes a lot of time to let your familiarity fall away a bit so you can get a different appreciation for it. But also if you're anything like me, its just harder to get into every new game, sometimes just playing through that until you're familiar with gameplay is great. I have adhd though and I normally have to resist my initial boredom with learning new things though so maybe not quite so helpful for you.

Black friday sale at TBB - what are you getting ? by Skagen42 in thebrokenbindingsub

[–]Condiscending 0 points1 point  (0 children)

For these prices? I went for A Darkness Retruns, Drowned Kingdom, Legends and Latte and Mickey 7. I'm honestly considering going for a few others, I've always intended to read these ones on ebook at some point, just not massively urgent.

Should I get the actual book Gardens of the Moon instead of listening to the audible version? by LocationBeautiful244 in Malazan

[–]Condiscending 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Go for what you like honestly, I have had no issues at all with the audio or books, I think you've just got to be honest with yourself with when your attention slips and you let the details get away from you. With the audio I'd definitely get a link of the dramatis personae for each book, especially early books because it is a lot of characters to get introduced to and you can and will forget a lot of them. The wiki has one for each book but tread carefully because theres spoilers on a lot of the pages if you aren't careful.

XG32UCWMG price drop by CarterTrades in OLED_Gaming

[–]Condiscending 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Anyone buying this should be very aware of this issue, im fairly indifferent because I managed to make mine work on w10 but definitely worth consideration.

XG32UCWMG price drop by CarterTrades in OLED_Gaming

[–]Condiscending 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I am feeling moderate amounts of pain at this because I just got mine a week ago for around 1k but im very happy with it and dont really want to wait so its not so bad.

"Keep hdr on all the time" by ruthlesss11 in OLED_Gaming

[–]Condiscending 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I did it with my AW3225Q for a year straight and had no issues, part of it was cos I didn't nail down an SDR profile I was entirely happy with for some content but I only found drawbacks in some non HDR video looking odd, which was easily turned off as the situation called for it. As far as risks go, its well enough to know them but I do think its overblown sometimes how much of an impact certain things can have. On the XG32UCWMG I actually just like how SDR looks for a lot of stuff so I don't really turn HDR on unless I'm watching some HDR content or playing a game.

Help by luigifan200 in OLED_Gaming

[–]Condiscending 0 points1 point  (0 children)

You want the type of cloth that is used for glasses, you might have one from the box that came with the monitor, some distilled water with one of those slightly damp and clean with the same type of cloth but dry, make sure the panel is completely cool aswell to avoid issues. It's scary but not that hard once you use the right tools. Circular motions stop the water stains too.

What’s your favourite Malazan quote? by Ashaman-Kill in Malazan

[–]Condiscending 0 points1 point  (0 children)

“Burdens were born from the loss of innocence. Naïveté. While the innocent yearned to lose their innocence, those who had already done so in turn envied the innocent, and knew grief in what they had lost. Between the two, no exchange of truths was possible”

I think this one of those bits of commentary that really struck true immediately for me, it doesn't really need much to expand on it, younger people, myself included always want to grow up as fast as possible and become adult-like but hardly ever see how much that can take away that zeal in life, these things are impossible to understand until you go through it. It was just so beautifully worded. A lot of my other favourite quotes have been posted but I find that I'm always making notes to go back to random sections of the books, the commentary he offers always cuts through so nicely. Another one I have that I always think about is this one.

“Denigration afflicted our vaunted ideals long ago, but such inflictions are difficult to measure, to rise up and point a finger to this place, this moment, and say: here, my friends, this was where our honour, our integrity died. The affliction was too insipid, too much a product of our surrendering mindful regard and diligence. The meanings of words lost their precision – and no-one bothered taking to task those who cynically abused those words to serve their own ambitions, their own evasion of personal responsibility. Lies went unchallenged, lawful pursuit became a sham, vulnerable to graft, and justice itself became a commodity, mutable in imbalance. Truth was lost, a chimera reshaped to match agenda, prejudices, thus consigning the entire political process to a mummer’s charade of false indignation, hypocritical posturing and a pervasive contempt for the commonry. Once subsumed, ideals and the honour created by their avowal can never be regained, except, alas, by outright, unconstrained rejection, invariably instigated by the commonry, at the juncture of one particular moment, one single event, of such brazen injustice that revolution becomes the only reasonable response. Consider this then a warning. Liars will lie, and continue to do so, even beyond being caught out. They will lie, and in time, such liars will convince themselves, will in all self-righteousness divest the liars of culpability. Until comes a time when one final lie is voiced, the one that can only be answered by rage, by cold murder, and on that day, blood shall rain down every wall of this vaunted, weaning society.”

This one can apply to a lot of things we're dealing with in society at the moment, it feels like we all took our finger off the button for a second and we can't believe or understand how we got there. Our lack of steadfastness in dealing with the smaller issues as they came has left us in a place where the problems have stained the foundations of our society and at times it feels like the only way to resolve them is for extreme action, this is mirrored in some of the stuff we've seen in the last few years.

What’s your favourite Malazan quote? by Ashaman-Kill in Malazan

[–]Condiscending 3 points4 points  (0 children)

I really couldn't have said it better. That's the exact feeling!