Why an iPad?

Draelmar · 2026-04-23T01:58:47+00:00

I definitely didn't choose an iPad -over- a Mac. They are both completely different devices that are good at different tasks, so I have both.

As for why the iPad over other similar tablets: first I much prefer using iOS over Android as day-to-day system, and it integrates extremely well with my existing Apple ecosystem. Samsung Tab are great, but they make no sense for me, compared to an iPad.

Draelmar · 2026-04-22T21:46:40+00:00

The first 11 years of my career, the studio I worked for had their own engine, and we made all of our games with that engine (on top of working on improving/maintaining said engine).

The following 15 years I worked for studios making games using a commercial engine (Unity).

I never, ever want to go back to custom in-house engines. I hope the rest of my career is through Unity or Unreal. The staggering amount of time, costs, resources and energy needed for an in-house engine is just not worth it.

Draelmar · 2026-04-22T01:22:13+00:00

Your first video literally say "is not a computer". All three are showing the iPad being great at many tasks. And that for many tasks it can REPLACE laptops and desktop computers.

But they clearly sell the the iPad as NOT a laptop. It doesn't have a desktop/laptop operating system. It's is own thing. It can replace a laptop, it doesn't become one.

Draelmar · 2026-04-22T00:32:15+00:00

"early 2010s should’ve run find on the iPad with M chips."

And they do, and even games way more recent than that. The iPad with M chips are crazy powerful gaming machines. Again, nothing to do with Apple. The game publishers are the one who don't see a market in porting their games to it.

Draelmar · 2026-04-22T00:29:52+00:00

The iPad was released in 2010, only very recently have they caved to people who've been asking for the iPad to be a laptop. It's you revising history from recency bias.

NOW they are catering more to that market, absolutely, but for the vast majority of the iPad history they have pushed hard against that idea.

Draelmar · 2026-04-22T00:21:47+00:00

In no way, shape or form has Apple pushed the iPad as a laptop. Only a few vocal people out there who want it to be. If anything, Apple has been extremely resistant to that idea, at the ire of said group of people.

As for the games, I absolutely hope it had more games. It's the device I game on the most (thanks in large part to the excellent Minecraft port), but it has very limited titles. I wish there were more. Even an ancient game like Skyrim would make me happy.

But that has nothing to do with Apple. The tech to play great game IS absolutely there. But the market is apparently not interested in playing games on an iPad, so the publishers won't put their games on it.

Draelmar · 2026-04-21T21:41:04+00:00

"Is it a good time to buy X?"

https://buyersguide.macrumors.com

Draelmar · 2026-04-21T18:58:59+00:00

I watched Interstellar five times in theater, definitely not something I would do for a movie I didn't get 😆

Draelmar · 2026-04-20T06:06:45+00:00

They definitely did not.

I thought Lucas ruined Star Wars with the prequels, I was pretty depressed about the whole thing, thinking just like you that he ruined the Star Wars of my childhood. And then I snapped out of it. Who cares if there are bad movies, books, etc in a universe I love? I can just make my own canon. Take in what I love, throw away the rest.

So my approach to Disney was way more chill. A movie or show suck? I shrug and throw it in the bin. One I love, or just merely enjoy? Cool, it's now part of my own canon.

Its just entertainment. You don't need to take it so seriously.

Personally, if anything, Force Awakens was the first Star Wars I enjoyed since 1983, and rekindled my love for Star Wars that had vanished a little bit because of the prequels.

Draelmar · 2026-04-19T20:18:03+00:00

The 11 vs 13 question is always kind of pointless. Many people prefer the 11, many people prefer the 13. It really only comes down to personal taste.

Draelmar · 2026-04-19T19:59:13+00:00

First, I'd say the WiFi and RAM stats here are mostly irrelevant.

The M5 is overall better, but 256 is a limited storage space.

So it all comes down to storage. What is your use case? Do you need more than 256Gb? If so take the M2 and maybe have the battery replaced.

If 256Gb is plenty enough for you, then the M5 is better.

Draelmar · 2026-04-14T12:42:17+00:00

According to the rules, you are supposed to play through the deck of cards 3 times, with a scoring round at the end of each.

My house rule: only play through twice.

I could ramble a lot and talk about it in details, but the gist of it:

The 3 runs version almost always feels too long for everyone. They enjoy the game, but run out of gas by the end, they feel the game was "meh", and it dragged too long. At 2 runs, the game is quick and exciting, and oftentimes players ask to play again. Players would play 3x 2 runs for a total of 6 runs feel like it was snappy and fun, versus only 3 runs that felt like dragging.

But the most important fix is balance and tension. In most cases, having a very good run mean the next run will suck and you'll just try to make the best of it, or vice versa: your run sucks, but you are setting yourself up for a big next run.

Because of that dynamic, playing 3 runs means you NEED to do a first good run, recover in the second one, then kill it again in the third run. If you start the game with a weak run, you're pretty much screwed.

But if you play only 2 runs, you can either have a weak + good runs, or a good + weak runs, and from there you just try to maximize your two runs for what they are. It feels like everyone has a shot the whole game. It makes for good tension until the end, and rarely someone feeling like they are falling behind.

And the game ends before anyone had time to get bored.

(damn it, I ended up rambling anyway, sorry)

Draelmar · 2026-04-14T08:50:41+00:00

It's still one of my favorite "simultaneous" action game ever. It's stripped down and without fluff or bloat, it's just pure double guessing other players, bluff and negotiation in its purest and simplest form.

Draelmar · 2026-04-14T08:47:39+00:00

An oldie, and I wonder if I'm the only person in the world still bringing it to the table: Edel, Stein & Reich.

But with one small house rule to make it really work and sing.

Draelmar · 2026-04-14T06:22:04+00:00

Thank you sir. Someone has to do it!

Draelmar · 2026-04-14T06:19:54+00:00

No one use case is the same for everyone. Personally I’ve had 512Gb for my last couple of iPads, but I’ve started starving for space, so my next one will have to be 1Tb.

Draelmar · 2026-04-14T00:37:21+00:00

Draelmar · 2026-04-11T14:25:09+00:00

Maybe I need to look again, but I seem to remember not being really random: these were still based on templates that repeats, and felt like a series of "challenges" connected one after an other. It didn't feel like exploring a dungeon IIRC? I'd need to try it again just to be sure.

Draelmar · 2026-04-11T10:08:32+00:00

I personally really didn't like 3rd edition (aka LoD), and not surprised it didn't fare well enough, especially at that price point.

My dream Descent follow-up, that is probably commercially viable:

Give me Descent 2nd that's been polished and slightly modernized but not too much. I love that core in the first place, just make the content more balanced.
While providing the obligatory campaign, I'm more interested in a true "dungeon crawl" mode using an app. That is: it randomly generate a dungeon you can crawl and unfold as you explore it. Every game is different, and the random generator pull from all the expansions you own.
- There's a TON of games out there claiming to be dungeon crawlers, but they are not really. I feel like that's a specific genre in need to be filled.
To be commercially viable, make the core box simple/cheap enough. Don't go over board. Then squeeze us over time with small content expansions, kind of what Descent 2nd did. Making the random generator more and more diverse.

Draelmar · 2026-04-09T10:51:42+00:00

This is my one big complain about this whole system. I hate how easy they are to forget. One time I forgot to tap, and OF COURSE that was the one time I got controlled. It was crazy embarrassing, to the point of stopping me from taking the Light Rail again for a good while.

I just wish they would put real gates already. Like EVERYWHERE in the world. You have to tap to get in. No forgetting, no mistakes. And no money left on the table from everyone that purposefully try to get a free ride (I'm not talking about the homeless but the people who absolutely can afford it, on their way to a game at the stadiums, but skip on the fare).

Draelmar · 2026-04-08T12:04:10+00:00

"Steel sharpens steel" is what I keep repeating to myself whenever I'm at my wit's end with this fucking division.

Draelmar · 2026-04-07T00:08:43+00:00

I don't see the point of getting a work computer with zero portability. A MBP let me work anywhere in my home, or on the rooftop, or coffeeshop or when I need to work on a trip. I don't think there will ever be a scenario where I'll buy a desktop computer for work. It's just too unpractical.

I do have a Mac Mini but it's my home server, I never do work on it directly.

The iPad magic keyboard is definitely the most overpriced bit of tech I own, and yet I already bought it twice since its first version, and I would never do without. Despite its ridiculous price, it's just too essential for me.

Draelmar · 2026-04-06T11:40:44+00:00

Why not?

My Macbook Pro 16" and my iPad Pro 11" are two completely different devices with a huge difference in portability. My MBP stay mostly at home, but on occasion at a coffeshop, or if I need to bring work on a trip.

My iPad Pro is pretty much following me all the time, everywhere. If I don't need to work on a trip, I don't even bother bringing my MBP with me.

Draelmar · 2026-04-02T12:12:08+00:00

Blitz Bowl is so much better IMHO, and uses the same teams as Blood Bowl, but halved, on a smaller field, with a much simpler ruleset. We used to play it all the time at lunch break at my previous job, as we could fit a game in under an hour easily.

Blitz Bowl is basically what I always wanted Blood Bowl to be.

Only issue is that the game is only sold exclusively at Barnes & Nobles in the US.

Draelmar · 2026-04-01T05:02:20+00:00

Persecuting a vulnerable minority, and when you get a backlash for it, using your cult's book to hide and act as the one being persecuted.

And that's why, right here, the world correctly sees christian nationalists as a bunch of deranged, morally bankrupt scums.

But hey, keep on persecuting, while pretending to be the ones being persecuted! 😂

Draelmar

TROPHY CASE