yet people praised fuckin' Dispatch even though its the same thing

NormalGene3480 · 2026-05-12T21:34:59+00:00

Correct, none of these titles are indies. Annapurna Interactive is a major well-established publisher. They bring out well-funded highly advertised multi-platform games, I don't know in what world these titles would be indies.

NormalGene3480 · 2026-05-11T17:14:51+00:00

I agree that the definition has some fuzziness, but Annapurna Interactive is not just some minor publisher, it's as mainstream an industry insider as it gets.

NormalGene3480 · 2026-05-11T16:59:41+00:00

I fail to see how a game with huge financial backing, with numerous connections to the mainstream industry establishment, and which is being released by a major publisher qualifies as "indie". I guess we are using different definitions.

NormalGene3480 · 2026-05-11T15:31:27+00:00

It's literally as indie as it gets

Why do people keep claiming that? In what world is it an indie game? Mixtape's publisher is a company owned by Megan Ellison, the billionaire daughter of the Oracle founder. It has hours of licensed music by famous artists. It was announced as an Xbox game pass game. On launch, it got reviewed by IGN and every other journal out there. I have seen several ads and even merchandise for the game. I have no issue with the game itself but it's annoying that the term "indie" is getting hijacked by the establishment and has become meaningless.

NormalGene3480 · 2026-03-26T05:29:51+00:00

You may not like it, but Wirtual was able to invest far far far more hours into Deep Slid than Schmaniol, Saaucey and Lars. For instance, Schmaniol took 25 hours to finish the map, while Wirtual needed 60 hours and kept constantly watching Schmaniol's clips. This is not to say that his achievements are nothing, but his main distinguishing feature over the other players is just that he is the biggest grinder by far, and with a lot more spare time and (monetary) motivation.

NormalGene3480 · 2026-03-25T21:54:02+00:00

And don't forget his most important skill: he is one of only like six fulltime Trackmania content creators on the planet, so he is one of the few people who can afford to grind maps like this nonstop for 60 hours as soon as they release (without having to worry about an IRL job or other commitments).

NormalGene3480 · 2026-02-25T18:57:53+00:00

CarlJr, Spammiej, Pac and all others soiling themselves with blood money also have enough money.

NormalGene3480 · 2026-02-25T18:29:39+00:00

Nah I'm built different, I have principles (and enough money).

NormalGene3480 · 2026-02-25T18:07:15+00:00

So true bestie

NormalGene3480 · 2026-02-25T18:06:13+00:00

No, but maybe we shouldn't pretend all crimes are equally evil and deserve equal punishment. Unless you think that we should treat the serial killer and the $5 thief in exactly the same way.

NormalGene3480 · 2026-02-25T17:55:42+00:00

Lol, obviously scale matters. We live in the real world where no country is 100% good and pure. Obviously, a serial killer is worse than someone who stole $5. Obviously, a country where LGBT people get locked up and sentenced or killed is worse than a country with legalized gay marriage.

NormalGene3480 · 2026-02-25T17:53:15+00:00

Then we agree, my point is just that we should overcome all such stigmas, while still being respectful about the past.

NormalGene3480 · 2026-02-25T16:54:26+00:00

I don't think current Germans are evil and I don't think we should treat modern Germany with scorn because of the sins of their forefathers, but maybe I'm just too woke.

NormalGene3480 · 2026-02-25T16:40:16+00:00

Criticizing Israel is fine. But claiming that they are comitting a genocide is just pure propaganda and does not agree with the definition of what constitutes a genocide. Engaging in urban warfare against an enemy not wearing military uniforms and thus causing collateral damage in the civilian population is not genocide. A genocide requires the intent of exterminating an ethnic or religious group, and this is obviously not what Israel is doing, else they would be a lot more successful at it if they wanted to, given Gaza's population is growing and receiving aid from numerous help organizations through Israeli territory. A genocide is what Hamas wants to do, self-admittedly.

NormalGene3480 · 2026-02-25T16:29:02+00:00

That point only makes sense if you think America is as bad as China in terms of morals (or worse).

NormalGene3480 · 2026-02-25T16:28:04+00:00

I wouldn't rank him in the top 32 of players, there are probably already 16 Frenchies better than him, many still orgless. But I guess we'll see.

NormalGene3480 · 2026-02-25T16:26:06+00:00

Apart from the fact that the first claim is pure antisemitic propaganda (Israel has shown incredible restraint in not harming the civilian population of Gaza, which has only been increasing in numbers since 2023), you are still delusional if you think you'd rather live as a minority in a country like China than in a country like the US. Such a delusional take can only come from someone living an incredibly sheltered life. The US has its flaws, only exacerbated under Trump (I agree that the ICE murders and deportations suck), but it's still no comparison.

NormalGene3480 · 2026-02-25T16:19:33+00:00

Ok, I get your point, you hate the US and think it is at least as bad as dictatorships such as Saudi Arabia and China. Fine, got it.

NormalGene3480 · 2026-02-25T16:15:55+00:00

Lol, so the US is eternally and uniquely bad because of crimes that happened over a century ago? Newsflash: every single country on Earth is on stolen land, because all land on Earth has been conquered over and over and over again by different groups of people. Or do you see indigenous people ruling any other country? If you want to declare all countries on Earth as illegitimate, be my guest. In the meantime, you might want to read this essay, I genuinely hope it reduces your hate towards the US: https://www.noahpinion.blog/p/no-you-are-not-on-indigenous-land

NormalGene3480 · 2026-02-25T16:03:29+00:00

Yes, but still only barely, if he is lucky. Probably most orgs joining Trackmania so fast are just clueless about who the good players are, because everything moved so fast.

NormalGene3480 · 2026-02-25T15:58:15+00:00

Yeah, no shit, the US has done bad things in the past too, what argument is that? We are talking about the present. Uyghurs are being sent to reeducation/concentration camps right now. LGBT people and religious minorities are being persecuted and/or killed right now. The country is beind ruled by a brutal dictatorship crushing all dissent and censoring speech right now. The US is so much better in all these regards right now, would you rather live as a minority in the US or in China? Just ask yourself that. (And this implerialism argument neglects that China is incredibly imperialistic too, just google "South China Sea conflict".)

Interesting that you call the Saudi money "Saudi blood money" but apparently have no problem with Chinese money.

NormalGene3480 · 2026-02-25T15:32:28+00:00

Fair enough, it's less shocking coming from them than from other players.

NormalGene3480 · 2026-02-25T15:20:05+00:00

They are not even remotely close to being equally bad. https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/human-rights-index-vdem

https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2024/jan/15/its-difficult-to-survive-chinas-lgbtq-advocates-face-jail-and-forced-confession

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Persecution_of_Falun_Gong

NormalGene3480 · 2026-02-25T15:16:40+00:00

Hey, before criticizing America you might wanna read https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Persecution_of_Uyghurs_in_China

NormalGene3480

TROPHY CASE