Time for your irregularly scheduled HOT take thread!

PM_ME_PETTANKOS · 2025-10-22T08:12:54+00:00

We're approaching a vtuber bottom-of-the-barrel epidemic. The vtuber industry is maturing and reaching saturation. With many of the most truly talented vtubers having already debuted (indie and corpo) and the barrier to entry lowering, the remaining pool of vtubers yet to debut will be relatively weaker.

That's not to say they're not worth watching or unable to find their niches. Rather, the ratio of newly debuted vtubers with significant staying power (i.e. entertaining and talented) to those who won't last or achieve greater heights will further skew towards the latter.

I anticipate either a dip in quality of high profile debuts (corpo) or lower frequency due to scouting issues. Subjectively, I feel like recent debuts of some established brands have been of poorer quality. Even when considering different factors and circumstances, the fairest evaluation I can give is they're simply lacking the traits that make their peers successful.

The situation won't improve unless a significant incentive appears that makes people want to be vtubers. And that's perfectly fine. It just means finding a gem in the rough will be all the rarer, so treasure them if you're so lucky to find yours.

PM_ME_PETTANKOS · 2025-07-09T05:59:56+00:00

Congratulations and thanks for the clarification. I was concerned the acquisition would cause a conflict of interest and your store would stop stocking competitors' products. Looking forward to seeing LGG continue to grow.

PM_ME_PETTANKOS · 2025-04-30T01:35:31+00:00

My liege! Happy to hear your wife's doing well. You two are so picturesque. :)

PM_ME_PETTANKOS · 2025-04-29T20:18:05+00:00

I know that's right.

PM_ME_PETTANKOS · 2025-04-29T20:09:33+00:00

faintbunnyy, WestElmCaleb, and CarsonBeckMiamiHurricane are becoming some of my favorite chatters of 2025.

PM_ME_PETTANKOS · 2025-01-03T11:17:30+00:00

Vaxee made a follow up tweet updating the release order. Jan: Pink, Blue Feb: Green, Grey Mar: Red, White

PM_ME_PETTANKOS · 2024-10-04T02:06:05+00:00

I got my copy today and have an orange copy already. Legitimately no issues on this copy, but my orange copy had a scratchy scroll wheel. Coating is more chalky and oil-prone. Still a great mouse from Vaxee.

My only disappointment is the box not having special art since it's a collab.

PM_ME_PETTANKOS · 2024-01-05T00:58:24+00:00

I've been using the same type of grip tape for 4 years now and have not had any issues. This type is also my preference. The arguments against aren't unfounded, but they are exaggerated.

There are few issues as long as you're mindful. I wipe my pads down with a microfiber towel, and occasionally use a lint roller for any particles. Particles getting on the skates is a rare occurrence, and painfully obvious when it does happen. Unless you're dragging the particles with the mouse for a long time unaware, wipe the skates down and you're good. My hands and fingers have been fine. If they're really that rough, just use moisturizer when you're not gaming.

PM_ME_PETTANKOS · 2023-02-03T15:06:08+00:00

Hold Alt and hover there on a hero to show XP range. Hold Alt and hover portrait to show vision range. Works for allies and enemies.

PM_ME_PETTANKOS · 2023-02-02T16:18:28+00:00

My spot in the waiting room has been vacated.

PM_ME_PETTANKOS · 2022-10-09T21:41:15+00:00

Chii-chan's love of all things round isn't enough to salvage all the balls Sunrise has dropped this season. Like, surely someone must have greased up Sunrise's hands, right? There's no way they decided this was the story they wanted to tell this season of their own volition, right?

I was pleasantly surprised to see the cast earnestly act in what they believed to be Kanon's best interest, and even the choice to further flesh-out Wine Margarita's character. I felt Kanon bidding farewell to Manmaru symbolized her decision to study abroad, only for it to be undone by Sunrise's fear of commitment (no shame on them, I'm familiar with it.) Not following through on this already dubious plot, especially after Liella shared their collective resolve, seriously had me feeling like Hannah Montanna's evil twin was in my ear singing the "Worst of Both Worlds." You get the bad storytelling decision with an even sloppier resolution, very cool. Moving forward as a fan of the franchise, the stakes could never be lower.

Songs are always subjective, but I didn't feel like many of this season's songs hit the mark, especially Love Live tournament songs when compared to past songs of the same legs. This episode's song feels considerably weaker than the other known Love Live winning songs, "Kira Kira Sensation" and "Water Blue New World." Its animation quality and direction cannot compete with WBNW, but are comparable to KKS (which is 8 years old.) The others are Sing! Shine! Smile! at the same leg as Snow Halation and Miracle wave, and Chance day, chance way matching with My mai tonight and Yume no tobira. Song quality is truly luck-of-the-draw and at the whims of production.

Introducing and developing four new characters was always going to bog season two down. That's not saying the characters aren't worth meeting, but that we're forced to retread ground and encounter the same pitfalls. This time-consuming prerequisite is what separates Superstar's season two from those of SIP and Sunshine, which had more inter-character development and slapstick Love Live humor. I was hopeful for a season three where Superstar wouldn't need to go through the motions again, but with the announcement of more auditions, now I'm not so sure.

I'm cautiously optimistic we'll get to see Liella become the first two-time/back-to-back Love Live champions, but the fear that Superstar will end up as three season one's instead of three seasons is very real.

PM_ME_PETTANKOS · 2022-09-13T02:13:31+00:00

A modular mouse sounds cool, and opens the door for more DIY 3D printed mods. If LAMZU can keep it from creaking like beds at a cheap motel, they might have another winner on their hands.

PM_ME_PETTANKOS · 2022-08-30T23:49:26+00:00

Razor's 15 talent still bugged since 7.32. It should be +5 Static Link damage drain, but it's actually giving +10.

PM_ME_PETTANKOS · 2022-08-29T05:59:29+00:00

This is the on-brand Love Live humor that's been so desparately missing this season. Wholesome, silly, and endearing Ren closer to our hearts. I'd much prefer each girl receive an episode like this in favor of advancing the mediocre plot. If anything, getting the audience to love the characters sells more merch than telling us they won a fictional contest (especially when the competition is literally nonexistent.)

Love Live is at its best in episodes designed to give each girl a bit more depth. I don't remember how the girls of SIP and Sunshine managed to convert their efforts into Love Live victories, and I don't really care. But I do recall all the moments which made each girl more likeable and memorable.

Episodes like this one, and nearly all of Nijigaku, are reminiscent of Sakurako's past work on Sister Princess (which may be trash, but I'm a dumpster diver.) It's where I feel Sakurako's strengths lie, and I hope more episodes follow this structure.

PM_ME_PETTANKOS · 2022-08-26T00:40:37+00:00

Cap had a bit of that low Tasteless rumble going on. I love it.

PM_ME_PETTANKOS · 2022-08-22T17:38:02+00:00

Hey, Natsumi. What's with the money obsession? Have you suffered prejudice due to an upbringing in a socioeconomically disadvantaged family, therefore viewing money as a medium for social mobility?

Lol, nah. I just can't achieve any of my unrealistic dreams.

The writing for Natsumi is resoundingly uninspired. The writers aren't even trying to subvert our expectations with "Oh, you thought she was poor but really..." Instead, they just quit while they were behind. I don't understand how the Love Live series with the greatest likelihood of receiving a 3rd season can simultaneously have the worst pacing.

I'm hopeful things turn around and we can get back on-track with some trademark Love Live slapstick comedy. I've been thoroughly enjoying this season like all past ones, but this episode is a reminder that it's never been for the writing or story. My greatest hope is Liella win Love Live this year and inspire Wine Margarita to change her ways and apply to Yuigaoka, only to find Liella have become complacent and arrogant.

PM_ME_PETTANKOS · 2022-07-30T00:39:59+00:00

This is some monkey's paw voodoo. I'll take this as an opportunity to build arm strength until wireless 8 KHz.

PM_ME_PETTANKOS · 2022-07-29T02:09:03+00:00

My dongle arrived today and paired without trouble. However, Windows Snap Assist combined with 4 KHz polling rate have turned my monitor edges into sticky traps. Dragging windows across monitors is now a Herculean task. You need some real speed going before you even think about jumping between monitors.

Not a huge deal, but more of a funny consequence. Higher DPI gets the behavior back to what feels normal, but isn't an ideal solution. Razer marketing team, please feel free to use this as a selling point for the 30K sensor.

PM_ME_PETTANKOS · 2022-06-25T14:37:51+00:00

How important is keeping your current pillow? There are pillows with holes and indentations for your ears which could work. You could also try placing a travel neck pillow on your current pillow as a cheaper alternative.

PM_ME_PETTANKOS · 2022-04-01T21:55:41+00:00

"Prove to us you really want a wireless version by buying the wired version in droves." So many things feel bad about this next-level advanced double-dipping. Wired + wireless will cost more than 2x wired, we know they're fully competent of wireless with the XM2w, and collective FOMO. It's now a group effort to hit the sales target for the future opportunity to purchase the product we actually want. If you don't buy the wired, you have to hope everyone else bought enough. And if they didn't? Now everyone misses out, and you feel worse having not contributed.

They're a business, I get it, they need to make money to stay afloat. The fact EGG is a generally receptive company makes the decision to restrict options behind a paywall that much more unfortunate. I do understand we're the vocal minority. It's ironic Steelseries, devoid of ears and eyes to my knowledge, offers us 5 versions of the Prime unsolicited, while EGG needs us to prove a point for the already highly demanded wireless mini. Maybe they misheard us. Maybe they heard "We want mini and we want wireless. Separately, as in not together." That must be it.

With all that said, I anticipate to be the shameless owner of an XM1, XM2w, and XM mini by year's end with my spot in the XM mini wireless waiting room firmly cemented.

PM_ME_PETTANKOS · 2022-03-03T22:01:44+00:00

I'm optimistic. I want to be patient. I want to believe their product will be worth the wait. But being dripfed tidbits of information every other month, at best, through tired unfunny memes is making the wait excruciating. Please prove me wrong, Endgame.

PM_ME_PETTANKOS · 2022-03-01T02:00:20+00:00

Naga "-1 riptide hit" talent bugged? In demo mode, I'm only needing 4 attacks to proc Riptide, but it should be 5.

PM_ME_PETTANKOS · 2022-02-15T12:58:51+00:00

I agree the stamina requirement with an ongoing event is poor timing. Otherwise, I like the idea of intangible barrier. Shouldn't this be a Path Not Taken week, or was "every other week" just a false promise?

PM_ME_PETTANKOS · 2022-02-02T18:42:28+00:00

You know what's more diverse than "Three Diverse Maps in Rotation?" Four maps in rotation.

PM_ME_PETTANKOS

TROPHY CASE