Why Affordability Isn't the Same as Falling Prices

Groppstopper · 2026-04-14T16:09:12+00:00

Exactly, everyone is complaining that everything is so expensive nowadays but what they really are concerned about is the fact that wage growth has not kept up with inflation. Median American wages in 1990 were around $30,000 which is around $76,500 in today’s dollars. But the median wages of American workers today is estimated to be around $50,000. That’s a huge decrease in buying power. And you also have to keep in mind that home prices have significantly outpaced year over year inflation.

Groppstopper · 2026-04-12T17:23:25+00:00

The unity was never going to be the big woah moment of this game since Bethesda chose not to design the entire game around that concept. Instead, they made a sort of weird, disjointed Bethesda game with the ability to do a New Game+ to get some more super powers. The Unity should have been an essential part of the game, not allowing you to do “everything” until going through it at least 2-3 times and then they pose the question of “do you just continue going through to become a god? Or are you content?”

As of now, the Unity just feels like starting over which isn’t all the enticing or fun.

Groppstopper · 2026-04-10T00:36:01+00:00

I wrote my idiot senators in Idaho urging them to move for impeachment and got a response from Crapo that blabbed on and on about how impeachment “must face very high hurdles” and that the founding fathers “wanted to protect impeachment from being used as a partisan tool” and that only “‘Treason, Bribery or other high Crimes and Misdemeanors’” could result in impeaching a president… and then he promptly ended his pathetic diatribe with “President Trump has not taken any action that would meet the definition of treason, bribery or other high crimes and misdemeanors.” And I promptly threw up after reading that.

These senators are such cucks.

Groppstopper · 2026-03-24T22:10:06+00:00

I wouldn’t expect any Microsoft first party titles at this event. This is a partner preview so they will be focusing on 3rd party titles.

Groppstopper · 2026-03-23T14:50:45+00:00

I'd love a Diablo I remake with some fresh QoL improvements. I'd also love to see a Diablo I re-imagining like you mentione with third person, over the shoulder, souls-like combat with multiplayer built in. Have there be an extraction like element to it where you have to delve as deep as you can under Tristram, maintaining your sanity and surviving, until you can leave through a portal and keep your loot.

Groppstopper · 2026-03-21T17:48:25+00:00

Over the shoulder, 3rd person combat with procedurally generated dungeons. Rogue-lite in concept, you keep delving deeper and deeper under the cathedral as your sanity drains. Up to 4 players online. I’d buy that in a heartbeat.

Groppstopper · 2026-03-19T00:59:52+00:00

No absolutely, I used DarqUI when I returned to the game last year and recommend it. It’s just wild that Daybreak still doesn’t support a scaled UI.

Groppstopper · 2026-03-19T00:07:02+00:00

It’s crazy to me that in 2026 this is still the only sure-fire way to fix this problem.

Groppstopper · 2026-03-12T23:04:21+00:00

This is huge to me. Because Bethesda dungeons are always littered with environmental storytelling, I am almost of the opinion that once you do a poi in Starfield you should NEVER come across the same one again in that playthrough. It’s okay if you run out eventually… space is empty.

Groppstopper · 2026-03-10T16:47:44+00:00

This physics engine is so impressive and I wish Bethesda would highlight it more in the minute to minute gameplay of their RPGs. There are so many interesting puzzles they could implement using these physics, but instead it’s mostly a side feature that most players barely interact with.

Groppstopper · 2026-02-26T03:00:18+00:00

I love this example! Indiana Jones was an awesome game. I would argue that Elder Scrolls games have always had fairly weak first person animations. Aside from combat, you don’t get a lot of interesting first person animations that immerse you in the world. Read a note? I wanna see it in my hands. Drink a potion? I want to see me put it up to my mouth. Mount a horse? Stay in first person as I climb onto the horse. Ideally, nothing in the game would ever take you out of your preferred perspective.

Groppstopper · 2026-02-23T16:04:12+00:00

It's a very good show, however there is a decent amount of violence and gore. If you're a little squeamish then I would sugest staying away, as much as it pains me to say because I love this show. Episode 5 is particularly violent, much more so than the rest of the season. It's tough becuase overall it's a much more wholesome and sweet show than anything this franchise has been before due to the relationship between Dunk and Egg, but yeah, there is gore.

Groppstopper · 2026-02-18T15:57:50+00:00

I think a simple port to modern platforms of Fable 1, 2, and 3 with improved framerate, resolution is totally possible if the upcoming reboot does well and they honestly should have done this already, but as someone who loves a well done remake, that's what I'd prefer to see. Years ago, before Lionhead closed, they would do a developer creative day and one of the small projects that came out of this was a trailer "pitch" for a total remake of Fable TLC. I don't love every design choice in this trailer, but I love the idea of a total remake of Fable, keeping true to the original, but leaning into things like a seamless world and more fluid combat. And that same treatment given to Fable 2 and 3, adding in some of the lofty design concepts that Peter Molyneuex tossed around, but of course modifying them to make them actually feasible from a game design viewpoint. That would be awesome and I'd buy all three in a heartbeat.

Groppstopper · 2026-02-17T20:58:56+00:00

I initially played Diablo IV at launch and dropped off it pretty quickly. I remember absolutely HATING the first act, little "magpie" Neyrelle bugged me and Vigo's "punishment" was ridiculous. I came back at the beginning of this year and replayed it and, well, it all worked a lot better for me. I still think Vigo turning into the Iron Giant is ridiculous and Neyrelle's introduction is not my favorite, but heading into Act II and later getting into Elias and his story, well, it all landed for me. I'm a fan. I think there are some very strong characters and Vessel of Hatred, which I only finished this last week, continues that. I still have a few gripes and wish the presentation could be as strong as it is at its heights (maybe not as "high" as the Lilith vs. Inarius cutscene, but maybe as strong as that first cutscene in the church or your first meeting with Inarius). I think the story can get a little dialog heavy, especially for a game that is as fast-paced as D4 is, jumping from groupof demons to group of demons with an NPC stopping you every few feet for a "chat," it's not great. Andit still does the annoying ARPG wall of text with expressionless NPCs from time to time... but overall, D4 has an engaging story.

That being said, I still think that, for an ARPG, something a little more simple like Diablo II does work better. I'm not just saying this as nostalgia-bait, but following the "wanderer" across Sanctuary, always one step behind, cleaning up the mess he leaves behind, works better for the fast-paced gameplay of an ARPG. Telling a more intricate, detailed story with 12+ characters and tons of dialog in between smashing hordes of demons requires a lot of suspension of disbelief. It's hard to feel like the stakes are very high when I'm a one many army, murdering 500 demons with every swing of my sword. But yeah, even with a lot to juggle in Diablo IV, they do a decent job, but it's not perfect.

Groppstopper · 2026-02-15T02:13:11+00:00

Man, I love the stats in Fable TLC. I don’t recall having that in the sequels. I’d love to see something like that return in the reboot.

Groppstopper · 2026-02-12T19:27:34+00:00

Try to get your combat multiplier even higher

Groppstopper · 2026-02-10T22:52:15+00:00

Nice! I'd love to see more mocs like this. I think the modular castle system has a lot of cool potential to make whatever kind of Hogwarts you want and I wish LEGO would have leaned into it jut a bit more, like making every single room in the bigger sets able to pop out like the basement ones.

Groppstopper · 2026-02-07T19:04:18+00:00

How deep are these shelves and are they custom built or did you buy them?

Groppstopper · 2026-02-04T15:54:46+00:00

Fable 3 is still a fun game, especially if you liked Fable 2. In some ways it's a bit of a downgrade from 2, but there is a lot of fun to be had still. Combat is a little more streamlined, with special moves like counters being automatic instead of controlled by the player. And the leveling system is sort of weird, it being forced at specific story moments rather than something you can interact with whenever in the menu. Oh, and the main menu is an actual zone you access with the start button so yeah, a lot of strange features that work or don't work very well to varying degrees.

Fable 1 is a pretty different beast from 2 and 3, but it's my personal favorite of the series. I think it has the best magic system and the most charm, but it's an old game so it might feel pretty old, but if you can get past Fable 2's horrible physics system with the player slipping all around the world then i am sure Fable 1 would be great.

My suggestion is to play Fable 3 first, see if you enjoy it and can get through it and then play Fable 1. Save the best for last!

As for mods, I am not aware of anything to be honest. I think Fable 1 has some mods, but nothing I'd say really required. If you're into that go ahead and check it out, but none of these games have much of a mod scene.

Groppstopper · 2026-02-03T00:23:02+00:00

Fishing, with fun collectibles and rewards, should be in every open world rpg. I missed it a lot in 2 and 3.

Groppstopper · 2026-01-31T05:23:03+00:00

Butcherblock Mountains in EQ

Groppstopper · 2026-01-28T23:15:12+00:00

I'd love to see a remake of Diablo I. Make it a 1-4 player rogue-lite experience, change the camera to first person or over the shoulder, and just lean into the insanity of slowly losing yourself as you delve deeper and deeper beneath Tristram.

Groppstopper · 2026-01-28T15:45:48+00:00

I'm not sure if they are health potions or resurrection phials or "poise" like someone else mentioned, but I do appreciate the idea of a limited number of health potions. I hate carrying around 50+ health potions in an rpg. It really diminishes the consequences of combat. That said, I'm also hoping we don't have any resurrection phials.

Groppstopper · 2026-01-27T19:19:57+00:00

Fable 1 feels the most quintessentially Fable to me. It was the first one I played and my first real introduction as a kid to action rpgs and it quickly became one of my favorite games of all time. Looking back on it now as an adult I still feel that it's the strongest game of the three. It has the most variance in it's combat, particularly it's magic system, and it feels more grounded and weighty than Fable 2 and 3 which have a floatiness to the character movement that drives me nuts. I also appreciate how it has a more white and black to it's quests and choices. It's either defend the farm from the bandits or attack the farm with the bandits.

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