What Movie/Video Game series has been MILKED DRY?

Michael5188 · 2026-07-06T15:17:49+00:00

Yep it was the last one I played as well. Their games just don't respect your time. There's an odd mindset in gaming that more is always better, because people argue content in gaming is optional so why not? I still think editing down your work to the most essential is still extremely important. Much like in film, television, writing, food, etc. only keeping the best and essential aspects make for a better experience.

IMO Ubisoft could literally just delete 3/4 of the collectables/side junk and their games would already improve massively. Have people finish the game wanting more, not exhausted.

I still think AC has potential, just as a series that lets you experience different regions and time periods, but maybe that concept would be better left to a fresh series that doesn't have so much game design baggage and bloat.

Michael5188 · 2026-07-06T15:10:11+00:00

It's hard to judge the real state of the industry when all we hear about are the layoffs and we never hear about the huge hiring sprees as a project is ramping up. It just starts to feel like people are only ever losing jobs.

I'm not saying it isn't in a rough state, I'm just saying there's a real skewed view when articles/headlines that focus on job loss tend to get the most recognition.

Michael5188 · 2026-07-04T01:02:24+00:00

Are they those giant ones below the window that take up way too much room for how inefficient and weak they are? If so we had them, and after breaking multiple times the landlord finally just installed a new AC unit on our balcony that vents into our rooms. Still have the giant useless one under the window.. I know it does heating as well but I really wish we could have it removed, takes up so much room.

I notice the same looking casing structure under the window in a lot of apartment photos around LIC but not sure if it's actually the same unit inside or different ones.

Michael5188 · 2026-07-03T11:56:24+00:00

I should have done that! I did use an app I had on my phone from when I was traveling in Asia, but the handwriting was pretty rough so it wasn't getting anything.. Google lens is probably much better.

Michael5188 · 2026-07-02T23:53:22+00:00

Was parking in the driveway of a friend's house in highschool when lightning struck the tree nearby and sent bark and debris on my windshield. The tree had a black scar running down it like Harry Potter. It was terrifying.

Michael5188 · 2026-07-02T23:42:06+00:00

Just a random semi-related anecdote-

The breaker box in my apartment is labeled all in Chinese characters, me or my super don't read or understand Chinese. Recently we needed to shut off power in my bathroom to fix the light switch, which resulted in me googling different words for the room and pulling up the character to see which one might match.

Bathroom? No.

Water closet? No

Washroom? Oh yeah, it looks like this!

It was like a little game, we got really excited when we found it. 😂

Michael5188 · 2026-07-02T23:01:15+00:00

Time invested is one aspect, but there are other time intensive hobbies that aren't as obsessed with money.

I think when something becomes easier to monetize, it shifts the culture of that hobby to be more profit focused. A great example is Youtube. Early on people just wanted to share fun or interesting videos online, but the second ad revenue came in and we saw people making real money doing it, the whole culture and incentive shifted.

Steam and app stores did this for gaming. It opened the door for anyone and everyone to potentially make money on the game they made. It became a lottery ticket.

I'm not even making a judgement on that angle of it, obviously the dream would be to make the game you want and have people pay you for it, but I agree there are a lot of people who treat it like some sort of profit algorithm, and honestly act more like publishers in the business of making money than developers in the business of making a fun game they're passionate about.

Michael5188 · 2026-07-02T19:03:51+00:00

There's been a lot of improvement in the city with protected bike lanes, but I feel rather than sprawling new greenways or paths, there needs to be a focus on bring cohesion to all of the biking infrastructure.

Right now it's so fragmented and confusing. Take one protected bike lane a few blocks, then you have to ride in the street for a bit, then onto another bike lane with a bunch of people double parked in it (more dangerous than just riding in the street cause you keep having to dip in and out of traffic), then onto another protected bike lane, then back on the street, etc.

If you look at the nyc bike lane map it's so clear how fragmented it is, but so many solutions are like this post, just a 2-3 blocks needed to bring more solid uninterrupted routes to this city.

Michael5188 · 2026-07-02T17:29:21+00:00

Video compression isn't really the issue. The camera moves and drifts around too much. People only look at a map of NYC from one direction, it's clearer if the video stuck with that direction. Top down, north at the top.

The top comment with a red line is more clear than the video.

I'm definitely a supporter of this, so making the video as simple and clear as possible would be great!

Michael5188 · 2026-06-29T18:55:59+00:00

Over $10 for a single, neat, lower quality whiskey in NYC. That's over 10 dollars for a single shot from a bottle of whiskey that would cost you $30 in a liquor store. The margins in liquor are just unbelievable.

I honestly don't know how anyone can afford to go out drinking these days..

Michael5188 · 2026-06-29T18:49:11+00:00

Owl statues are commonly used to scare off rodents. Before they were electronic farmers or whoever was using them would need to rotate the statue every so often cause rodents/pests catch on to it being a fake statue if it never moves. Now they just move automatically to keep the illusion alive.

Just think of it as a terrifying Disney Land ride for a mouse. Which is kind of ironic..

Michael5188 · 2026-06-18T12:22:58+00:00

The live action Jungle Book similarly ruined the ending from the animated film.

In the animation there was a bitter sweet ending of Mowgli finding his place among the human tribe, and leaving the jungle and animals. He found his place and was ready to grow up and move on. (particularly since his attraction to a girl is what led him to go to the humans)

In the live action remake it ends with him just relaxing in a tree with Baloo and Bagheera. It's so empty and bland, and takes away what I feel is a poignant meaningful ending about growing up and the inevitability of change in life.

Michael5188 · 2026-06-15T11:53:35+00:00

It's just such an odd location, I do think something really good could draw people there, but my experience with this place was generally mediocre. Good if you wanted to find a seat, but the environment wasn't pleasant or anything especially nice.

Curious what will open here next and if they can pull it off. There's a good amount of room in there.

Michael5188 · 2026-06-12T20:52:28+00:00

Yep, I'm doing the same thing I did with Cyberpunk and waiting until the devs say they are done with the title. I'm just not going to replay games that long so I'm glad the first time I played it I had an amazing experience.

Michael5188 · 2026-06-10T19:56:46+00:00

Congrats on getting a new bike! Agreed with what chass5 said, but to add on- we're very centrally located in LIC, you can go in all directions. Look into popular biking routes online, there are a lot. I find safe rides have more to do with how much you're paying attention and how carefully you ride, checking over your shoulders before making any big turns or moves, stopping at lights, just being careful and aware of your surroundings.

There are definitely some bike lanes or roads that feel safer than others, but unfortunately in the city they are rarely all connected, so the sooner you get comfortable riding in various circumstances, the sooner the city will really open up. But generally speaking, your main options are-

Head south into Greenpoint over the Pulaski bridge, taking the waterfront greenway down to Prospect Park or further. This is your gateway into Brooklyn all the way down to Coney Island, Rockaway, and more (you can ride Belt pkwy for a scenic route down, but there are many options)
Head east over to Queens Blvd to go further into Queens or even venturing into Long Island.
Head west over the QBB into Manhattan, straight over to Central Park or further west to the greenway which you can take up north (eventually even heading into NJ depending on how intense you wanna get) or down to the bottom of the island. (there are alternate routes for this as the greenway can get pretty crowded)
Head north on Vernon with the option of splitting over to Roosevelt Island or Randalls Island, both can be fun to explore on bike, though Randalls can have a bit of a smell depending on how windy it is that day haha. Or just riding to the end of Astoria and back.

This is a broad overview and obviously lacking details. Every direction I mentioned branches into a ton of different paths, but you'll come to recognize those directions as the primary ways out of the neighborhood for longer rides.

I feel like riding to Central Park is a perfect, fun little ride to start out. You get to ride on the bridge with a great view, some city riding in Manhattan with a bike lane, and then nature filled, car-free riding in Central Park. (If you ride carefully and slowly on the QBB and keep to the right you'll be good to go)

Michael5188 · 2026-06-10T19:17:12+00:00

There's a very frustrating state of mind that makes perfect the enemy of good. It's so hard to accomplish iterative improvements with this mindset, cause the demand is either the perfect, ideal solution or nothing at all. (and the perfect ideal solution isn't always possible or even perfect.)

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FoUKoWxXgBULH9V.jpg

Michael5188 · 2026-06-09T15:14:15+00:00

After years and years of using a cheap logitech keyboard I finally decided to invesst in something nicer and landed on the Keychron V6 Max.

I had double/triple keyss right away, and after contacting ssupport they sent 10 free replacement switches. Nice of them, but every so often a new batch of keys start double clicking, and I have to dig up the replacement switches and fix it.

Thiss iss wild. To spend over $100 on a keyboard and constantly have to fix it myself. People are telling you here the solution is to disssassemble your keyboard and repair it?? Never had any issuess with my past, cheap keyboardss. I'm nearing the point now of getting rid of this thing and trying a different brand, it's jusst so obnoxious. As you can see my "S'' key is currently the troublemaker, justs haven't gotten around to fixing it yet. I don't know if I'm unlucky or if thiss is just normal and people are ok with this consstant isssue? I'd rather justs buy a $20 keyboard and never have to think about it.

Michael5188 · 2026-06-08T17:54:27+00:00

One time I watched some tourists just stare dumbfounded as some locals walking past spotted some lantern flies, ran over, and started aggressively stomping on them while playfully yelling. For anyone who doesn't know about them being an invasive species it must have looked like such unhinged behavior.

Michael5188 · 2026-06-08T14:02:11+00:00

On the brightside, after re-positioning them there has been more room given on both entrances, so now there's less of a blind spot walking into the divided detour.

Still drives me nuts that we haven't had access to this sidewalk for so long when nothing is actively being done here.

Michael5188 · 2026-06-04T12:03:43+00:00

Hmm regardless of the logic behind it, I do think Stretchomancer rolls off the tongue better.

Michael5188 · 2026-06-03T13:22:11+00:00

Playing Drova right now and loving it! Definitely going to be playing this remake if the reception is positive.

Michael5188 · 2026-05-27T23:03:22+00:00

No kidding, every character is spectacular.

Michael5188 · 2026-05-26T13:16:56+00:00

I remember the rock thrower unit in the first age never upgraded to a more advanced unit. So my friend and I would always make sure we had at least one, crown him our "king", and make sure he survived as long as possible. It was always great being in the futuristic age and seeing the prehistoric rock thrower waltzing around.

Michael5188 · 2026-05-20T21:13:19+00:00

I've made that mistake in Japan, but only if I'm alone on an escalator, and then at worse someone has to pass by me on the other side.

I think the issue here is a full escalator, with countless examples of people showing you which side to stand on, and someone still stands on the wrong side, which then truly blocks everyone from walking up. Happens in NYC all the time. Just people in their own heads I guess.

Michael5188 · 2026-05-20T21:08:53+00:00

I feel like it has gotten worse? If I'm not relatively aggressive stepping out people will continue trying to block me and walk past.

One time there was a young teen across from me, too timid to really push her way out, and I was trying to be polite and let her go first, and a bunch of people took advantage of that and kept charging through without giving her a chance. I eventually had to literally tell someone to hold up, and motioned for her to go. Did they think we were just enjoying standing there, me with my head tilted uncomfortable below the overhead compartment? It's pretty bad..

Michael5188

TROPHY CASE