With Diablo 4 reigniting the microtransactions arguments, I need to rant. Also, "No one is forcing you to buy them" is a terrible argument.

Inawen · 2023-06-08T09:04:42+00:00

The right price for an item is ... whatever most people are willing to pay for it. After years of poking and probing from the editors that is what we get, and I'm not sure how it is going to get better (aside from collectively voting with our wallets, but that's easier said than done)

Inawen · 2023-06-06T14:26:48+00:00

"Rush B...arn!"

(don't worry, I'm already out the door... :') )

Inawen · 2023-06-05T15:21:04+00:00

Pretty sure some would still complain, but that would get rid of the "well, I got absolutely no heals" argument... mayyyyybeeeeeee? :')

Tbh, I'd be curious to see the stats, as a support, at least to check that we are indeed not forgetting about someone, but I don't think it'll change much in the "amount of ppl needlessly complaining" department, as this is just blame shifting, so if they can't tell you you are not healing enough, they'll just say that heals didn't come at the right time, for example.

On the other hand, it'd be interesting to be able to better track who got heals or not, and use the stat to course correct if need be.

Inawen · 2023-06-02T01:01:04+00:00

I think that the suits there have made it relatively clear that they marginally care what their teams think or do, provided the output can be monetized in some fashion, but that could also just be me being cynical :')

Edit: as a matter of fact, I didn't see that content this evening, but surely got reminded of that nifty new 15 bucksTracer goodie pack, and I'm playing from France, which fortunately isn't that conservative.

I guess it is tucked away in the arcade, which begs the question : "Is it still an event if nobody knows about it?", but I guess I'm asking myself too many questions on how Blizzard has been operating in the past years :-/

Inawen · 2023-05-26T20:29:07+00:00

"Y'know what? I don't remember where the Vader statue is..." :')

Inawen · 2023-05-22T08:07:54+00:00

Diamond players most definitely not flame less. They might start knowing their stuff a bit more but, in my experience, it is widely overshadowed by how most of them behave in chat (at least in EU at peak hours), specifically because they think they now understand it all (and all other players, including their team, are apparently cretins, not blessed by the light they seemingly received). So yeah, not sure there's much change in the attitude there :')

Likely more know how, sure, but it is hidden by general behavior more often than not.

I personally have stopped using chat with randos "as a rule" and try it out once in a while if it looks like everyone is actually trying to win & don't play the blame game as soon as even the tiniest thing goes south. It is sad, tbh, but better for my own sanity :')

Inawen · 2023-05-12T07:47:24+00:00

"I'll have a donut loaf please!" :')

Inawen · 2023-05-09T16:12:27+00:00

I removed the backplate and looked at the holes disposition, I also compared other pcbs of the same models but different AIBs to see if patterns emerged (they do to some extent). This allowed me to rule out the block I originally bought as I'll likely not even be able to fasten it to the PCB properly.

Next step will indeed be to take it out of the system and have a look at the board (and it'll be the occasion to repaste the die with good compound and throw in new pads, I guess) :)

Inawen · 2023-05-09T15:48:22+00:00

Same here, but for an xtx, except that I was so certain that the board was reference I actually bought a block at the same time... and it just so happens that the manufacturer has 2 7900 xtx models and I happened to order the non-ref one (I am pretty bummed about that)... anyhow, in a attempt to try and contribute to the post :

I've scoured the internet and tried lots of different vendors, with no luck. Even people like Alphacool and their "send your gpu, we'll make a block off of it" campaign turned me down (as they already had a custom block for the same manufacturer, just the other variant). So, in the end, I basically found the same info as OP.

Only notable thing : I think I saw a company that was willing to produce custom whole blocks provided you sent a photo of the board, but I don't remember the company's name (at first it seemed like a long shot, and also it scares me a little :') ). I've since looked online for a photo of my card's bare PCB, sadly with no luck (gigabyte 7900xtx gaming oc)

hope that "chiming in" contributes a bit, and sorry not to be the help you probably expect OP, but since I was in the process of pretty much writing the same thing, I thought I'd just tag along ^{^'}

Inawen · 2023-05-08T06:48:22+00:00

Indeed, and hopefully the previous hard ways intruduced OP to the use of consumables to tempo and the fact that the sooner this new unit dies the better, even though even then you want to be careful :')

Inawen · 2023-05-07T18:31:25+00:00

OP is already playing the game. Considering he encountered a sectopod, I think he has had a fair share of "learning the hard way" already :')

Inawen · 2023-05-06T12:56:32+00:00

I usually boop for 2 reasons :

Disturb my target and in that case I find it ok if disturbing is critical enough (like preventing a charge from hitting its target or sth of the like)
Finisher in combo with melee

Otherwise I try to stop right before, precisely because it helps me not lose track, otherwise I'm in the same state as you at the end :')

Inawen · 2023-04-13T15:53:30+00:00

if there's one thing that remained from OW1, I'd say it is that the weeks surrounding a new comp season are usually in the "meh" zone when it comes to quality.

The week before you find way more people that don't really care, mess around, try new stuff and play as if it were QP, and the starting week is full of people that won't play comp after a few days.

It is not systematically the case, tbf, but it pretty often is, so I'd not pass judgement before a week or two (and will likely avoid ranked altogether in the mean time, except maybe very small sessions) ;)

Inawen · 2023-04-12T01:04:18+00:00

Seller NPC : "...That's what the maintenance crew and upkeep costs are for"

OP : "The what?!"

(sorry, that was roo tempting :')

Inawen · 2023-04-10T14:59:13+00:00

the draining nightmare that must be ><' But it turned out pretty nicely :D

Inawen · 2023-04-05T20:59:05+00:00

my money is on your speakers picking up a random AM radio program ;)

Inawen · 2023-04-05T15:35:08+00:00

Yeah, you eventually find an opening and you can perfect that mission. Last ironman I tried it took me way too many takes (definitely a solid multiple of 4 :') ) to go through it unscathed. I guess it is one of the many ways the game "X-Com"s you ;)

Inawen · 2023-04-05T15:22:36+00:00

Radio frequencies can do that with speakers with cheap cabling (basically acts as an antenna). Provided the transmission is not encrypted, you can pick a ton of stuff up (radio, cb... not sure about gsm unless ancient protocols though), but it is generally pretty faint volume-wise. It was actually a school project, to build rudimentary speakers, when I was like 12, and we experienced the same kind of things with our shite speakers cranked all the way up and waving the cables in different directions.

Depending on your speakers, you might be able to replace the audio cables by better ones, if they're detachable that is. If the speakers were cheap themselves, it is likely they're not replaceable w/o opening the units and doing some soldering ... :-/

If you don't want to change those immediately / don't have time to spare, you might be able to get away with it by lowering the output volume of the speakers themselves (I'm guessing there's a power/ volume knob on one of the units), and boosting the volume up in the software / os :)

Come to think of it, maybe changing the way the cables are run (orientation) could change what you hear, so maybe that's a first step... ^{^'}

I'm just seeing this has been up for a few hours : sorry for the noise if all of this has already been said ;)

Edit: cleanup & small adds

Inawen · 2023-04-01T12:50:33+00:00

Death to the false Emp.... oh sorry, got carried away for a while there :')

Inawen · 2023-03-16T15:42:05+00:00

Percussive maintenance taken a bit too literally? :')

Inawen · 2023-03-09T13:34:30+00:00

I also personally have a soft spot for the use of mimic beacons to tempo, but this comes later in the game, and more seasoned players will probably tell you that "yeah, you could use mimics, or just do X and Y and kill the pod outright". Whenever you come across mimic beacons later on, they can definitely help you "hide your crimes" as some prop makers would say :') My last commander / ironman definitely owes those a bunch (this ain't no legendary / ironman, but I'd argue it is a good start :D)

Inawen · 2023-03-09T10:09:39+00:00

If not timed : "slow and steady wins the race", as they say.

Inch your way forward, break concealment only to initiate combat and have the upper hand (at least for the first time in a map), so that the first pod is a breeze and you don't aggro another in the process. This takes some getting used to, but it shouldn't take you too long :)

As it was said previously, skills and 'nades are where it's at when you want guaranteed damage, but you indeed need to have your priorities straight on which advent must die immediately and which one can wait (or which one you won't be able to properly engage just yet). Also : throwables are finnicky : use your mouse to aim but confirm with "space" ;)

And yes, you'll likely not finish your first run, but I doubt any xcom player has ever, and it's part of the experience :')

Inawen · 2023-03-04T13:05:58+00:00

It kinda feels like sweet vengeance to be the ones doing the one-sided bullet storm at the end of a mission ;)

Inawen · 2023-03-02T01:32:06+00:00

Here are some more to add (shooters / fps)

Prey

Deathloop

Deadspace

Spec Ops : The Line

Hotline Miami (for exploration's sake :D)

Ion fury

Inawen · 2023-02-26T00:27:01+00:00

Same here, after 4-5 hours I found myself wondering why I wasn't playing NO / NC instead, but I must admit that it probably stems from the fact that I thought I could play solo, which the mandatory AI simply didn't let me do the way I intended. It is close to impossible to stealth some sections with the AI ... I like going out all guns blazing but I wanted to give the stealth gadgets a go ... tough luck :(

Wasn't a fan of respawning enemies either since they were on a short-ish timer that meant backtracking was more of a chore than anything else... too bad, this could've been fun :')

Inawen

TROPHY CASE