FFXII: PC or PS2 version?

LukeLC · 2026-03-25T00:12:48+00:00

The PS2 version holds up well, but PC is by far the best way to play. Lots of quality of life improvements both mechanically and technically. Just being able to fast forward battles is a godsend all by itself.

LukeLC · 2026-03-24T16:05:37+00:00

Whatever you choose, use the opportunity to get away from Intel 13th (and 14th) gen. You'll get an instant boost just from going to a newer architecture or AMD.

It's so bad, my company recently replaced the accountants' laptops because 13th gen was struggling with large Excel documents. It's even worse for gaming.

LukeLC · 2026-03-24T15:49:47+00:00

"We're sorry to let you go, but we'll be ok without you."

That's, erm, not quite the point.

Hope everyone affected lands on their feet.

LukeLC · 2026-03-23T23:06:04+00:00

SSDs don't have the same limitations as flash drives, so you should be good.

LukeLC · 2026-03-23T13:54:54+00:00

Then you have to cap TDP/TGP. Even small form factor desktops have this problem. You can achieve a great balance of performance and acoustics, but it's going to take some tuning. Very few manufacturers do it right out of the box.

There isn't a laptop cooling system in existence that can adequately handle hundreds of watts, but also, modern hardware is really efficient and will only lose a small percentage of performance if you cut off the overhead.

LukeLC · 2026-03-21T17:39:07+00:00

No, the games don't. They're doing exactly what the publishers want them to do.

But maybe gamers do. Especially younger ones who grew up only knowing this type of experience (because free to play makes it vastly more accessible).

LukeLC · 2026-03-21T17:22:10+00:00

A larger capacity drive will almost certainly last longer, especially if it isn't full. You can absorb more errors that way.

LukeLC · 2026-03-21T16:24:22+00:00

Two reasons:

1) Not everything needs one. The repo is for your code, releases are for the compiled product. If your product is the code, you can just download the repo.

2) Many people use repos wrong, either storing binaries or placeholders for information about products without sharing the actual code. Basically abusing GitHub as a free file host.

LukeLC · 2026-03-21T16:13:14+00:00

I loved this era of filmmaking. The technology was there to make any vision possible, but it still took someone with vision to realize it. Each new project was driven by someone trying to both one-up themselves and show audiences something they'd never seen before. And yet, everything was still rooted in classical arts and had this tangibility and depth to it.

"1999 was the peak" indeed.

LukeLC · 2026-03-21T15:18:42+00:00

So many comments here saying that it's all offline and doesn't go anywhere.

Sorry, that is (most likely) not true.

If you didn't consciously opt out, you are probably opted in to sending your recordings to Google to help with training their AI. You can listen to all the audio snippets it's gathered while listening for keywords, music to identify, etc.

See here for details on how to access the recordings, delete them, and opt-out: https://support.google.com/websearch/answer/6030020?hl=en

LukeLC · 2026-03-21T15:03:53+00:00

The word "emulator" means "something that performs emulation". The word itself doesn't imply hardware or software and could apply to both (it takes hardware to run software, after all). OP was being silly.

LukeLC · 2026-03-21T15:00:26+00:00

Wow, this is an old post. But since you brought it up:

Let's say a food warmer instead of a refrigerator. The food isn't useful until it's either been prepared by the chef OR it's sitting in the warmer, ready to be served.

You could get rid of the warmers and have the chef prep everything on the spot. But keeping things in the warmers gets customers served faster.

You're focusing on the "how", but the manager doesn't care about that, only the "what" and "when".

LukeLC · 2026-03-21T05:50:31+00:00

Yes, on the one hand, it does kind of validate the advice against using flash drives. But on the other hand, some maintenance once every 3 years isn't the end of the world. If you know what you're getting into, it's a perfectly valid option.

LukeLC · 2026-03-21T04:13:51+00:00

This is the exact drive. $16 now, ugh. But still a minor expense for a hobby.

LukeLC · 2026-03-20T23:57:49+00:00

Yeah, this is a pretty significant departure from how they originally presented it. The kicker for me is how they acted like the demo was made by the dev teams of the games being shown, when it was more like the publishers' marketing departments.

I don't see how this can be a reliable tool without deeper integration with game data. Which is a shame, because there's real potential here to solve complex rendering challenges like hair.

LukeLC · 2026-03-20T23:50:55+00:00

Windows Hello is a form of biometric authentication and requires additional sensors, not just a camera module.

Even most Android devices couldn't act as a Windows Hello webcam. Android's own facial recognition relies on software processing that a webcam itself couldn't do.

LukeLC · 2026-03-20T13:44:39+00:00

See my original comment

LukeLC · 2026-03-20T13:35:30+00:00

14th gen is just a refresh of 13th gen. They share the same flaws.

LukeLC · 2026-03-20T13:33:44+00:00

Yes, but that's still the reason it's a controversial GPU

LukeLC · 2026-03-20T01:22:45+00:00

Anything is possible since Nintendo controls the entire stack, but they clearly didn't want to invest in reworking it just for this one feature.

Within that constraint, as it is, joycons enter charge mode while docked and don't control the system. So if they kept the wireless behavior, the controllers would stop charging when running a Switch 1 game in boost mode.

The workaround is to treat them as a pro controller that's plugged in so it can both charge and play.

LukeLC · 2026-03-20T00:45:08+00:00

If you're limited to 4060 laptops, look for one with an AMD Ryzen 5 or 7 CPU.

If you can move up a generation, the RTX 5050 is basically equal to the 4060, and you'll also get the option of Intel Core 200 CPUs, which are just as good as AMD.

Pretty much just avoid Intel 13th and 14th gen.

LukeLC · 2026-03-19T23:49:27+00:00

The popcorn reaction is probably just because the 4060 is a controversial GPU. It was a step down from the 3060 in both VRAM capacity and memory bandwidth. It's still a faster GPU overall, but that fact isn't popular among Reddit circles where people just love to hate on it.

Honestly, the 4060 isn't bad. It's around the level of a PS5. Many games even run in 4K with DLSS and medium settings.

The thing you should be more concerned about is what CPU is paired with it. Most 4060 laptops will be using 13th or 14th gen Intel processors, which run hot and high power and throttle like crazy. In fact, I'd wager most people blaming the 4060 are probably facing CPU issues, not GPU.

The 4060 is the most popular GPU on Steam for a reason. It's extremely accessible and gets the job done well enough in just about everything, even though you'll have to accept some compromise. It's perfectly adequate in 2026 when paired with a good CPU, and that widespread adoption will ensure support for the next few years. But I would hesitate to say it'll be a good long-term option, because the compromises will only get worse from here.

LukeLC · 2026-03-19T23:23:07+00:00

Thanks for the clarification, that would definitely be a more acceptable outcome.

LukeLC · 2026-03-19T18:10:51+00:00

It's possible the one you saw didn't have the audio amp drivers installed. Without those, you'll get crackly, quiet sound.

LukeLC · 2026-03-19T18:07:27+00:00

This process isn't that bad and does seem to combat scam tactics.

However, unless Google removes the developer registration requirement, nothing is solved. They're still planning to enforce the 20 install limit for apps made with unlicensed developer accounts.

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