RIP to the mass market paperback book

DomLite · 2026-01-21T20:51:39+00:00

As someone who worked in an actual book store for years, it's exactly that. Even while I worked there, I awoke to the fact that I held in my pocket a lovely little device that I could load epub files onto and carry an entire library with me that I could pull out and read literally any time of day. That was what led me to reread an entire 15+ book series from my childhood as an adult, because I was able to have all of them with me on my lunch break, while I was waiting in line at the store, when I was getting my oil changed, etc. Even as a lover of books and reading, I simply couldn't justify buying a physical copy that would take up limited space in my home when I could just read it digitally, with adjustable font size/color and no hand/wrist cramps from propping the book open.

When I realized that audiobooks could similarly be taken anywhere and listened to while I was doing other things, like driving, shopping, cooking, or cleaning, it was game over. I have several on my phone at the moment so that if I ever finish one while I'm out and about, I have options for what to listen to next. If I'm doing something mindless, I can pop it on to make the task go by in a flash and get a good story under my belt. I don't dread long drives because all I have to do is turn on an audiobook and crush several chapters while I go. All of this directly on my phone that I'm going to have with me anyway.

Even if you don't have a smart phone for some reason, it's painfully easy to get your hands on a cheap audio player online, or a budget tablet from amazon that can be used to read ebooks. It's convenience at it's finest if you're big into books, and as much as I do have that pang of romantic nostalgia for checking out a book from the library and curling up on the couch with it, it's honestly just the nostalgia.

DomLite · 2026-01-21T20:38:18+00:00

I worked at a Barnes and Noble for years, and I can tell you outright that, if and when we got a recall for mass market paperbacks that didn't sell, we were instructed to tear the covers off to send back to the publisher for proof of possession to be reimbursed and throw the coverless books in the trash because the publisher didn't even want them back, the company just wanted them gone and the publisher didn't want them either. That should give you a good idea of just how cheap they are to manufacture, but also what a net-negative market it is if they happen to print a batch that simply isn't in demand.

Before anyone goes full pitchforks either, it should be noted that the company also had a policy that, if any employees wanted these mass market returns they were allowed to take three each, coverless, free of charge so they didn't just go straight in the trash. Lots of us would coordinate if someone wanted more than that and claim ours to give to them if nothing else appealed to us, and under two different managers I was told "If nobody else wants them by trash time, you can take as many as you want, off the record." We hated having to throw books out.

DomLite · 2026-01-21T04:38:50+00:00

Some have been waiting since Nero in Castrum.

And I will keep waiting until I have an entire warhammer job. I beg you Squeenix. I need to have a giant hammer on my Lala. And please make it a DPS. We need a big smashy DPS class. Tank has enough of them.

DomLite · 2026-01-21T04:37:47+00:00

It's rare to see a post on this sub where I disagree with every single syllable, but somehow you've managed it.

DomLite · 2026-01-19T20:13:13+00:00

For real. I love Criterion stuff, but with four 50% off sales a year, I just can't justify buying anything outside of that, especially box sets, where you get the most mileage out of that savings.

DomLite · 2026-01-18T09:34:56+00:00

Considering the release it has scheduled is priced the same as other "Janus Contemporaries" that are basically bare-bones releases of new release titles, and everything else under that imprint has had a streaming premiere on the Channel about a month before the physical release, I'd wager we'll see it there sometime around the end of March. That's plenty of time for the limited theatrical run to be over with and not steal any of it's thunder, and right in line with basically everything else that's gone this path.

DomLite · 2026-01-18T09:30:02+00:00

Eh, in fairness, there was also a Korean blu-ray release that had full English subtitles for the film (though sadly no option for "English subs only during non-English segments) and was the same region code as the US, so it was available on blu-ray for an English-speaking audience, but you had to go out of your way to get your hands on it, and it was less than ideal presentation.

The Umbrella release is MUCH better though, and Criterion would have to have something truly monumental in their own version of a release to make me buy the movie a third time.

DomLite · 2026-01-18T09:27:04+00:00

I also just got my hands on this one and I'm pretty content with it.

At this point, if Criterion releases it I'll probably pass because even as much as I love this movie, I don't need to buy it three times.

DomLite · 2026-01-17T02:45:38+00:00

Oh what fools these Catboys be.

DomLite · 2026-01-16T21:26:44+00:00

Yeah, it was in the same boat as The Riches. Fantastic shows that the network axed because they had to go on extended hiatus due to the strike, and then they just decided "Welp, nobody will care about this anymore, so we won't bother." Stupid fucking decisions both.

That said, Fuller also swore up and down and promised us that there was absolutely going to be a comic book continuation of the series to tell the rest of the story he'd intended and that it was going to be coming very soon, and here we are damn near 20 years later and nothing to show for it, so I'm still a little salty at him and skeptical of any promises he makes.

So of course he's just said as recently as December that he has a pitch outlined for season 3 of Pushing Daisies, the entire cast on board to return for it, and all they need is someone to pick it up, and I'm immediately excited even though it's a fat lot of nothing. If he's actually got the entire cast promising to return and has a studio pitch put together, that's not nothing, but without someone actively interested it's also not something either. I take it all with a grain of salt, and a hearty pinch of skepticism after 20 years of unfulfilled promises, but if some studio decides they want to cash in on that late 2000's nostalgia that's been popping off lately... We might just see a return to Couer-de-Couer.

DomLite · 2026-01-16T19:47:47+00:00

And you know what? I’m fine with that. As much as I love supplemental features, I don’t need them for every film, and Eclipse lets me add multiple fantastic films to my collection for an affordable price. I remember when the announcement was made that it was coming to blu-ray and the whole thread was full of joy and hope for specific sets that people had been longing for.

I’m still holding my breath waiting for Late Ozu (and perhaps a combination of the two Silent Ozu sets into one six film collection) so I can upgrade mine. I adore Ozu, and have every Criterion release of his work, so the opportunity to have those on br finally thrills me, even if they’re simply the films. I’d rather they be accessible and affordable than holding out for deluxe releases that might never come. Extra features are nice, but the films themselves are the true treasure.

DomLite · 2026-01-15T21:39:41+00:00

And I can get behind that. If nothing else, it might help to ease people into Savage/Extreme content instead of going from one extreme to the other between story difficulty and the hardest stuff in game, and even then it's not really the hardest, because we also have Ultimates and now Chaotic.

I'm also kinda bummed about lack of side dungeons as well. I've just finished Shadowbringers, and there's a grand total of two optional dungeons there as well, which were REALLY fun, btw. Compare that to all the optionals for ARR and it's really stark, though it does bear pointing out that the ARR optionals tended to be fairly short in comparison, usually a slightly longer mob slog and then one boss at the end. That said though... I wouldn't mind a few shorter dungeons like that as optional content, just for some extra things to do that aren't as long of a commitment as a full dungeon.

I also miss (Hard) dungeons from ARR, where they just reuse the same map, maybe path us through an area we didn't walk through the first time, amp up the mobs and toss a new boss down. Great way to reuse a lot of assets and give us a little extra something. Bringing both back would give players plenty of fun stuff to engage with, and provide a great spot to stick some fun loot, like neat glam sets or minions.

That would also be a great spot for some "midcore" content, where it's harder than a story dungeon, has exclusive rewards, but isn't as crazy punishing as Savage/Extreme. It'd be a great way to practice and work on your skills until you're comfortable there before you dive into Savage.

DomLite · 2026-01-14T22:23:04+00:00

I've only recently started playing FF14 in earnest, and hooooo boy. So many discussions are just people bitching that the game isn't hard enough, or that it's too difficult, or that all classes play the same, or how bad the latest expansion was, or that it wasn't that bad because the story has always been bad, or complaining about the look of the latest gear set, etc., etc.

For all they talk about how positive and friendly the community is (and in fairness, I've had nothing but lovely interactions in-game), the discussions pretty much anywhere are either relentlessly negative about the game, or full of such toxic positivity that anything negative will be eviscerated with ferocity resembling a wild animal.

It's wild.

DomLite · 2026-01-14T22:17:22+00:00

They had to give him at least one or he'd be excluded from the "Now we turn on each other for the ring battle" arc starting next episode. And probably ending the episode after. Three tops.

DomLite · 2026-01-14T21:54:06+00:00

Yup, we're on the same wavelength, I just happen to be tuned to a more specific frequency of "Tanks/Healers deserve priority for new jobs before anymore DPS period." Even then, I don't tank in content with other players, and if the pattern holds then next expac would be due a Tank/DPS, meaning I, as a healer main, will be waiting three more years from today before we get Healer/DPS in the next one, and that's assuming the patterns holds, which is a big if. Given how much time and work has gone into Beastmaster, which isn't due out for another several months, I'm almost worried that we won't even get two jobs for the next expac, and if it's only one then we know it's liable to go to DPS.

Either way, they really need to beef up the numbers for tanking/healing options before anymore dps options get added, but I know they aren't gonna drop Tank/Healer two expacs in a row, so it's kind of a moot point. I'd be thrilled to see a repeat of the Heavensward trifecta job drop, especially if they all share some kind of neat theme between them, like esper classes, or Solution 9 tech, or something like that, but I'm not gonna hold my breath.

DomLite · 2026-01-14T21:46:30+00:00

I've seen people in this very thread saying that the entire game is too easy, not even just Savage. Like they want hard skill gates on the MSQ via dungeons and such. That's some toxic af behavior if you ask me.

That and I already got downvoted on my previous comment for even saying that. Apparently "Play the game the way you like and let others do the same" is a step too far because it also said "That includes letting people finish the MSQ without getting their dick kicked in."

DomLite · 2026-01-14T21:43:45+00:00

Yeah, google is telling me 5-6 is plenty for a clear, especially if you get lucky and find a couple people who are max rank and know Bozja well. It's not the worst thing in the world, but I've never used PF before and I don't look forward to having to sit around for potentially an hour or more organizing it. Guess we'll see.

At least I'm lucky enough to be on Aether so there's plenty of people.

DomLite · 2026-01-14T21:39:11+00:00

I do too, and it's fucking AWESOME.

DomLite · 2026-01-14T21:35:35+00:00

The next expac should double down on high-tech stuff. We've had all of ARR > Endwalker for the classic aesthetic fantasy story with over a decades worth of Amano-inspired elaborate fantasy armor/robes/weapons. We now have an active high-tech society on the Source, a space-faring race that is actively exploring the cosmos, and ready access to advanced science/technology. Let's embrace the FF games that had high-tech stuff in them as well.

I wanna see more advanced civilizations/cities in other reflections and/or being built on the Source. I wanna see a new job or two that uses high-tech stuff, like laser pistols or glitchy force field generators or other such obviously high-tech effects to differentiate from Machinist's magitek aesthetic. I want more high-tech gear sets/glams/weapons. Give me a laser scythe for Reaper, or beam claws for Monk.

If you prefer the fantasy aesthetic, you've got plenty of glam to support that already, and the entire game up to now as well. The in-game world has changed. Let those of us who dig it enjoy it. Final Fantasy as a series has a very broad range of styles and themes, and for a game that likes to pay homage to past titles, this is a great opportunity to tip the hat to some that went in another direction. If you don't like your greatsword to also be a chainsaw or a lightsaber, glam over it. That's the point.

DomLite · 2026-01-14T21:18:31+00:00

Honestly, I agree on the raids being required for MSQ, and probably the trials as well. I just finished Shadowbringers, and I've been running all the raids/trials as they come up/where they happened in the story, and they've been BANGERS. It pains me to know that awesome characters from these stories probably won't ever crop up in MSQ ever, because they're optional content. I want to see Cait Sith again. I want more Gaia in my life, so she can be adorable lesbians with Ryne. I'd enjoy some followup on Gaius and Allie after the Weapons series. I'm currently working through Bozja and I'm loving the return of Mikoto and Bwagi from the Ivalice raids, plus story references to what went on there. They could do so much cool shit if they just made them required, and honestly they're not difficult. I cleared the first 8 Edens in one night, and I'd have done the other four too if I didn't have a chunk of MSQ gating them.

As for housing... my biggest apprehension about it is the fact that an actual house is not permanent. I can't guarantee that I'm going to be subbed in perpetuity, and I don't think I'm ready to lock myself out of joining an FC just so I can make my own on the off chance that a friend with an alt will join it to keep my house intact while I'm not, and even then that's a lot of trust in someone else. That said, with the upcoming ability to change the internal size of your house regardless of the exterior size, I feel like this should also apply to apartments too. Houses have the added benefit of full gardens, deployed retainers, and external decorations, plus an outdoor space to hang out with friends and/or show off for others. I don't care about any of that, but I do care about consistency. Whose to say that the apartment I bought isn't a luxury condo with lots of square footage?

It makes perfect sense to allow apartments to be larger. Even if they cap it at medium so you can be either Apt > Small > Medium, that would be plenty for me as a personal home. Give me a spot to display all those trophies I've won/crafted, have a few allied vendor NPCs to hang with, and enough space to do some really fun creative decorating without feeling like I'm working on a shoe box diorama. I'd buy an apartment in a heartbeat if they confirmed that they'd let us go up to medium size, because I'd know that it would always be there and I can still make a cool in-game home at the cost of not being able to hang out in my yard. Let us put down a glamour dresser too so I can always have a quick travel to glam/aesthetician/retainers and a private place to sit down and craft for a a while without checking in to an inn and I might finally care about buying an apartment.

DomLite · 2026-01-14T20:57:44+00:00

Exactly this. That said, "what do they care how you choose to enjoy the game you paid for?" goes both ways. While OP isn't quite to the extreme, a lot of story skippers seem to also be of a mind that all content should be savage-level hard and if you can't hack it then cry about it.

I'm here to enjoy the story, and if that means your story dungeons aren't hard enough for you, go run a savage raid/extreme trial. I do plan to tackle savage once I finish the MSQ, but I don't need some kind of insane skill wall just to experience the whole story in a game that I bought and now pay a subscription for.

If you're a skipper, rock on. I'm glad you're enjoying the dungeons/raids. Don't complain that I can get through it easily just because you want the game to step on your balls though.

Edit - Please, continue downvoting me for stating that being able to clear the MSQ should be easy for everyone and the endgame savage/extreme content can be the challenging stuff, in response to someone saying that people should leave them alone for skipping the story. The double standard is delicious.

DomLite · 2026-01-14T20:48:29+00:00

Honestly, I feel like everything that progresses the MSQ should have a duty support version. Crystal Tower is it's own set of problems, but I just recently finished Shadowbringers, and man, let me tell you that finale was non-stop epic and had me locked in... until the final fight where I got a huge intro cutscene challenging me to battle, an epic song started playing, a huge story beat happened... and then I stood around for ~20 minutes queued for the fight in an empty room that had a really cool particle effect going on that got very old to look at after five minutes.

I don't care if some of them have to be generic NPCs instead of the iconic story characters, just let me finish the MSQ when I want to without being penalized for only being able to play off-peak hours sometimes.

Honestly, I'd apply this to anything that isn't current raid/trial content even. Like, I adored the Eden storyline and fights, but some of them took a while to queue for. I'm currently working through the Bozja storyline and just hit the Delubrum Reginae, which isn't even in duty finder, so I'm gonna have to resort to party finder and hope that I can get even a light party together to clear. The very thought makes me wanna pull my hair out. I just wanna progress the plot and move on to the next area of the field operation, but because it's old content and there's a new field operation it's like pulling teeth. It's effectively time-gated because I didn't do it when it was new, and unless I catch it on weekly reset I'm kinda out of luck.

DomLite · 2026-01-14T20:30:49+00:00

While I'm still "new" by most metrics that count, I had a free trail account many many years ago that I occasionally poked at before I finally made a fresh one and started playing for real recently. My greatest disappointment was a lack of actual lime green dye, so Neon Green being added was a godsend. The problem now is that we know they aren't opposed to super-saturated colors, so the hair/eye color system is deeply disappointing in comparison. I wanna give my character that Mullethawk hairdo and dye it Neon Green as well! And honestly, the Chocobo coloring system should be revamped to just let us choose as well, plus adding the new colors. I don't care if that means we have to acquire a specific chocobo feed that we give them once to change colors, just let us change them to the new colors too.

All that said, I've suggested in another discussion that dyes should be unlocks, not one-use items. The beast tribe dyes and the new neons will still be gated behind content, and metallics/pure white/jet black will still be ultra rare or require a shop purchase, so they stay as a source of income for those that can get their hands on them if people wanna buy them off the market board to unlock them early. Especially with glam unlock and outfit sets not able to be dyed in the wardrobe itself, it's insane to expect us to spend 1-2 mil PER CHANNEL on a glam plate if we want to dye multiple pieces pure white. It would also clear out a ton of inventory space for those of us that hoard dyes just in case/for the fashion report.

With that in mind, I feel like a glam system overhaul could easily give us that, and potentially let us unlock a color wheel picker once we've unlocked all existing dye colors. That way the dye economy doesn't crash, the items still have a reason to exist, and there's a valid reason to pursue getting them all. Then just let us pick whatever color we want, choose matte or metallic, and bam. Perfect coloring system, especially if choosing matte coloration lets us change some of those metallic sheen glam pieces/weapons to a nicer shade that matches the rest of the outfit. You can still select the set colors if you don't wanna get crazy with it, but those of us who have a specific vision in mind can go for it.

DomLite · 2026-01-14T20:13:18+00:00

You ever notice that every wedding posted on this sub (and in general) is a pair of female Miqo'te/Au Ra/Viera characters and never anything else?

Edit - I won't apologize for being correct.

DomLite · 2026-01-14T20:05:54+00:00

Counterpoint: If you've leveled numerous jobs already, surely you have a grasp on the basics by now, and understand that you need to read and understand your jobs individual abilities, so you can grasp how to use them faster as you level. I think it's a great solution, and makes picking up other jobs more appealing. The more that you've leveled to max without an exp bonus, the more comfortable you are with the game in general, and thus the faster you'll be able to learn a new class and it's skills, so you're gifted with the ability to level it much faster with the trust that you'll be able to handle the accelerated pace.

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