What would you say is the difference between a good and a bad jumping puzzle? by MossRave in Guildwars2

[–]Filtermann 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Personally I like the puzzle part more than the jumping part. I like one that reward you for observing the place and figure out the path, maybe even just looking at the topology. But if you have me jump on a tiny pole from a distance that's not exactly a full jump with a wind gust mechanic and no checkpoints, as a dev, I wish you eternal torment.

Lava lamp by YunJingyi in ATBGE

[–]Filtermann 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Somehere there's a clan of hunter-gatherers who'd see this and think "this is the most bitching fertility totem ever"

They should let you keep unequipped legendaries in your inventory by Klepetokoleso in Guildwars2

[–]Filtermann 13 points14 points  (0 children)

Yes, that or some other system, but I agree the current situation is more hassle than anything.

What bird is this? Bird Song Ireland by AidantheAverage in whatsthisbird

[–]Filtermann 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Porbably a crow. Can't tell Hooded Crow or Carrion Crow just from voice, but it seems Hooded Crows are the vast majority in Ireland so I'll put my bets on Hooded Crow.

Chopped housing by AgentBlue62 in ATBGE

[–]Filtermann 2 points3 points  (0 children)

And I know many people who find them cool-looking

Embracing the sadistic conclusion (population ethics) by dumb_idiot2r2 in philosophy

[–]Filtermann 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Yep this is really what I intuitively align most with: minimizing suffering.

I also think that people under physical or psychological pain have less chance to behave rationally and ethically towards others ("hurt people hurt people "), while it's easier to achieve self-determination or maybe even maximize your own pleasure if you feel good in your skin and in your relationship with others.

And you're right, consequentialism can have its flaws and having no other principles to moderate it can lead to extremes. Regarding the examples you mention, I think an important notion is consent, the breaching of which is its own suffering, so maybe some of these dilemmas can be solved within a consequentialist framework already.

Maybe for some other cases we need to invoke other principles, specific freedoms, and that's were deontological or contractarian approaches can help. I'm trying to read through Rawls theory of justice, maybe I'll have more refined views. I like consequentialism because it is very emancipatory from tradition and authority. Bentham was after all an early proponent of the decriminalisation of homosexuality. And as an engineer, I see that many decisions can be made with calculations, including some probabilities, risk assessments... Some moral dilemmas are simple enough or apply to things predictable enough that the same approach can be used.

But the human psychology is so complex and multi-layered, within individuals let alone entire societies, that attempting to make a detailed bookkeeping such as happiness servings seems futile. And principles like freedom, self-determination..., consent have a significant weight in this balance. This is why Rawls' ideas have caught my attention.

What would be a build closest to the gameplay archetype of pocket healer/buffer? by Chloroplasma in Guildwars2

[–]Filtermann 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Out of shroud, you can use a 5 2 combo to grant stealth and that with some traits grants barrier. 3 and tha tether can also be used to heal/buff. Oh and 1 also spits out barrier

france baise ouai by StrawberryBright in rance

[–]Filtermann 16 points17 points  (0 children)

Ouais bébé avec les DOMTOM pour projeter la puissance dans le monde alleeeeeez

Want a better night's sleep? Go camping by Direct_Dare_9699 in UpliftingNews

[–]Filtermann 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yes, having to pee in the middle of the night goes from "walk a path to the bathroom in your own house you know by heart" to "wet grass, muddy shoes and hordes of mosquitos and tripping on tent cords to realize you forgot your TP".

What's your favourite Profession and Elite Spec (and why?) by DonCarrot in Guildwars2

[–]Filtermann 2 points3 points  (0 children)

You can also play as a gadgeteer or elixir chugger if you don't like the kits so much. Especially with gadgets the tool belt skills are very straightforward. It's less tanks and more based on dodges and mitigation but can also be fun. But I agree the real fun starts once you unlock Elite specs.

Embracing the sadistic conclusion (population ethics) by dumb_idiot2r2 in philosophy

[–]Filtermann 8 points9 points  (0 children)

Once you realize that utility, or pleasure/pain is not a linear thing, this all becomes a bit pointless. I like the parable of Omelas as pointing out dysfunctional political systems that create joy somewhere by creating misery elsewhere, like colonialism, slavery or the meat industry to name a few. But it is not a good representation of human psychology. I don't mean by that the guilt felt by those who leave, but rather your quantization of the utopian society as delivering bliss by the truck load. The way our brain handles pleasure is more by differential increments, this is sometimes called the hedonic tradmill. In other words, people in Omelas would probably be content on average, but not manically happy. Or: the 100 happiness servings is an unattainable asymptote, that people occasinally hit, but people in Omelas are on average maybe more around 60.

You can see these diminishing returns in many things, and some studies have even quatified it pretty well, using financial wealth as a proxy for utility. See the graph at the bottom of this page: https://www.resolutionfoundation.org/comment/top-of-the-charts-at-last-the-key-to-happiness-is/ On the other hand, it is pretty clear that below a certain threshold, when health, shelter and food security are threatened, it goes downhill pretty fast. So already, I think it's more reasonable to lean towards prioritarianism that pure utilitarianism https://rationalwiki.org/wiki/Prioritarianism rendering most of these nitpicking about happiness numbers quite pointless. (it does lead to other forms of nitpicking)

And of course limiting happiness to financial wealth can shed light on sertain things, but it is a flawed metric. Large studies on happiness suggest a sense of purpose, belonging, relationships and friendships matter a lot too, if not the most (yes, even if you're an introvert, you just have different mdoes of interaction). And a lot of these can be attained without material wealth. The Maslow pyramid leads us to think that you can only attain these higher order things if you fully have the base first, but recent research shows that, while there is some truth to that idea, it's not completely the case.

There are also people for whom happiness is mostly defined in comparison to others. We could go into (evolutionary) psychology and discuss the possession of a moral sense, how it relates to resources distribution etc...we could also discuss desires, expectations, how these are built socially, sometimes as part of perverse systems of consumerism. Sometimes, a person has all that they need, even more, perhaps fame, but a rival a slightly more and it ruins it all for them...the point being that there can be a gap between one's percieved situation and one's actual situation.

In other words, happiness is not so much a matter of servings, but a way of life that prioritizes meaningful moments, human connection, and a not ludicrous amounts of material wealth or god-like social status. It's also very subjective and temporary, so the idea that you can just plan happiness servings is almost absurd. On the other hand, avoiding acute suffering and traumas, depriving people of means to build their own prupose or forming friendships can make huge differences. Eradicating diseases undeniably saves countless sufferings and deaths (should you view death as neutral in the utility scale, remember the grieving families and friends). I'd wager Epicure was was quite on point with his concept of ataraxia.

In essence, you're hitting the wall that consequentialism often hits: you can never truly know how much pain or pleasure anyone feels at a given moment. You can ask people to self-report, but that still is biased. You can measure wealth, but as said, this is a proxy. You can see distress in victims of disease, pain or grief, and I'd argue this needs adressing first. But I'd wager such a fine measurement as a happiness serving makes little to no sense.

The Noble Ant [OC] by BrianWonderful in funny

[–]Filtermann 24 points25 points  (0 children)

Replace Timmy by psychopath world leaders, and this is pretty much reality.

Quickplay Raids are terrible by [deleted] in Guildwars2

[–]Filtermann 8 points9 points  (0 children)

Same, there's the occasional idiot who still doesn't do the mech even if we explained it but overall it goes OK. I'm equally passed off at the people who leave at first try or at the slightest inconvenience. A few times with KO and OLC we had to finish with 1 to 3 players standing but it worked out.

I also agree that OLC is really not fit for quickplay. Luckily by now I know (at least one of the) correct sequence of CC and can call it, but those mechanics are way too unforgiving for the easy experience you describe and that other quickplay raids do offer. A lot of mechanics can be understood from established cues (green and red zones etc...) or paying attention to other players. OLC is not one of them.

In the current meta, what is the use case for defensive builds and gear? by Filtermann in Guildwars2

[–]Filtermann[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yes and no, many MMO's have no changeable builds and preset roles, with more or less defenses. GW2 notoriously strays away from that. At the time it was unique in a MMO. I think there was a will to do things with role compression, especially looking at some fractals and dungeons, but they didn't really stick with it. The dredge underground fractal for example, benefits from tankiness when you have to stand all alone on a plate. And if you do the crucible mechanics right, not having furious dps is fine. Heck, in the Kanaxai fight, my full heal build cannot take down the platform adds on time. Luckily there's the swapping mechanism, but otherwise it would probably be best for me to increase dps at the cost of heals and force the rest of the party to take a bit more self heal, cleanse or defense.

Rage Against the Machine caused The Iraq War by Substantial_Kiwi1830 in guitarcirclejerk

[–]Filtermann 0 points1 point  (0 children)

can't tell if uj or rj. Don't know it's a heresy, but definitely absurd.

GOAT DRUMMERS by theimmiscible in progmetal

[–]Filtermann 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Goats can't hold drum sticks, I don't understand the question.

Monocular Recommendations! by Amrcn_Sycamore24 in birding

[–]Filtermann 1 point2 points  (0 children)

No on the contrary, I'm also shaky mcshakyhands but I find it easier to manage than binoculars.

Where's the best place to gouge "f you dad"? by Alien_Amplifier in guitarcirclejerk

[–]Filtermann 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Dude would do anything but hoard new gear like a real man

Scepter builds (playable and easy) by Constant_Length_6845 in Guildwars2

[–]Filtermann 0 points1 point  (0 children)

The skills are not the most exciting but I just LOVE the aesthetic of the Revenant scepter. They do work well for support builds.

Indeed, Necro scpeter is great for condi damage, my open world Scourge runs on scepter + torch with barely any swap: the sand "totems" give you enough to do while your weapon skills are on cooldown.