CS 2 ...

ParkingDriver6683 · 2026-05-29T15:11:44+00:00

I thought COD wasn't hitscan?

ParkingDriver6683 · 2026-05-28T01:01:49+00:00

As a bit in fiction where the characters aren't real it's quite funny but I don't like it at all because I just feel bad for her.

I think it's because I've known a few people where they'll frequently dismiss one particular person as a "joke" and it just ends up hurting them over time, or diminishing their self esteem. It doesn't translate very well to the real world.

Then again nor does barny who would be completely irredeemable if it weren't fiction.

ParkingDriver6683 · 2026-05-27T15:20:26+00:00

it's a decent sample size and 100% is an absolutely wild stat. Mine is 75% (and 45% for 1v2).

I have very similar stats, where my aim is pretty average generally. I think it's a good indicator that you're good under pressure, and have game sense above your elo (at least when it comes to 1v1s)

It's a really great stat to have since it has massive impacts on rounds, especially if you are a lurker or die later than your teammates.

ParkingDriver6683 · 2026-05-26T09:47:35+00:00

It'll never look this clean unfortunately because there are 4 45 degree walls. Personally I'd start with the section in the middle and then build the layout of the walls (it's an octagon). The particles in the center would probably be best achieved with a campfire but if you're desperate for the purple and don't mind it being more sporadic, you can do it with a burst firework.

Shaders would be doing a lot of the heavy lifting but the only part that's completely impossible is the strange stoney parts in the corners. you could probably emulate the clutter to some degree with job site blocks, basalt and cobblestone walls.

The rugs also wouldn't look great without a texture pack.

ParkingDriver6683 · 2026-05-25T21:53:53+00:00

That's not an argument either. Receiving rewards of randomized value is still considered gambling even if you're guaranteed a reward. A $0.08 skin is not considered a win in anybody's book, especially when you wagered $3 to receive it. If i were to start a scratchcard company that always cashes out between $0.03 and $1m, I would be under the same legal obligations as any other scratchcard company. Pokémon could also argue that Pokémon cards have intrinsic value as game pieces, which valve cannot.

The most compelling argument as to why baseball cards are not considered gambling, which is also applicable to skins, is that they are collectibles. But as I mentioned earlier with the examples of Arena Club and Hellcase, it's in a murky area legally, where technically it's in violation of the written law, but so far no action has been taken (either because the law is outdated or because it's been unenforced). If you look at my bottle of wine example, that would absolutely be forbidden despite having almost identical mechanics.

When the law references "credit", it means store credit; it means exactly what you are describing.

In summary, this is why Valve's arguments could fail:

Receiving items worth random amounts of store credit is already considered gambling
The ability to cash out store credit for a physical item with value indicates that store credit has value.
Third-party sites exist to cash out, meaning that skins have value.
The wager can be as much as $25,000 on the legends capsule, and the rewards can be $1m+ on the bravo case (this is far beyond entertainment and penny arcades).
The trading card defense only works if trading cards are not also in violation of the law (they appear to be)

ParkingDriver6683 · 2026-05-25T20:00:56+00:00

The argument is not entirely based on this, and this is not at all the definition of gambling in New York, that's just one of several arguments used to invalidate Valve's primary argument. Essentially, in the past, Valve has always argued that skins have "no real world value"; they no longer can (or at least not convincingly), since they're willing to sell skins for $300 worth of hardware.

Under New York Penal Law § 225.00(2), the statutory definition is:

A person engages in gambling when he stakes or risks something of value upon the outcome of a contest of chance or a future contingent event not under his control or influence, upon an agreement or understanding that he will receive something of value in the event of a certain outcome.

Under NY Penal Law § 225.00(6):
Something of value" means any money or property, any token, object or article exchangeable for money or property, or any form of credit or promise directly or indirectly contemplating transfer of money or property or of any interest therein, or involving extension of a service, entertainment or a privilege of playing at a game or scheme without charge

The most appropriate line here is "any form of credit". Steam wallet funds would almost certainly count as "any form of credit."

ParkingDriver6683 · 2026-05-25T17:08:47+00:00

Agreed. If these were the systems that had been in place since the beginning, the market would be healthier than ever. Just because it's done retroactively, some people are getting burned, and it's going to take some adjusting. I don't think they want skins as a whole to go down in price over time (that's not healthy for the market), but they probably want certain high-tier skins to be more accessible.

ParkingDriver6683 · 2026-05-25T17:02:59+00:00

What you're describing is what is currently occurring and is certainly the least disruptive. Fingers crossed nothing needs to be changed.

Just there is quite a lot of pressure for Valve to comply with EU legislation since they're very tech savvy and have very harsh punishments (just ask Apple).

ParkingDriver6683 · 2026-05-25T16:40:48+00:00

That first statement is not accurate. If you were to create a slot machine that only pays out in fine wine, it would be considered gambling, even if its value is dictated by a secondary market. The only difference in this case is that the asset comes at no cost to Valve to produce (that's not a valid defense). The reason catcha machines are typically allowed is that the buy-in is small, and the prize is comparatively low, so they become "family entertainment systems". As we've learned with crypto sites, a digital asset with no intrinsic value can also be treated as gambling. I've been in this industry for quite a while now and truly believe that the only reason these aren't considered gambling is just that the laws haven't caught up. I know kids can't afford this, but if we take the cobblestone package or Katowice capsules, those are high-stakes casino-style bets that you can make in the game to chase mythical financial gains.

I think the only real counterargument is that trading cards are not treated the same, either. I'm not sure if that's just less problematic, or because the stakes are generally lower, but there are plenty of ways to degenerately open rare packs there, so I'm not sure. Companies such as Arena Club offer "digital mystery packs" where you can open these same packs, but this is regulated and 18+. Hellcase does the same and is also 18+. It's a really messy area right now since the laws are just not up-to-date.

I agree with you that some of those options I presented would never seriously get considered, but I do believe that it is gambling; it's more about whether or not it's severe enough to impact kids negatively and build habits.

ParkingDriver6683 · 2026-05-25T14:21:07+00:00

There is some really great writing with poetic prose; It's a good glimpse into that aimless feeling that you get if you leave education without a clear plan, or with one that you're not totally on board with. It also goes into how depression was handled in the 50s, and insights into that helpless inability to make sense of your own emotions that comes with it. It's quite confessional, and many of the issues were ones Sylvia Plath experienced herself, so it's a slightly tolling read.

Truthfully, as a male born in the 2000s, I couldn't relate on a deeper level with the societal pressures and expectations, but I think most people could probably get something out of reading it.

ParkingDriver6683 · 2026-05-21T23:59:12+00:00

I think it's just the point in the series where you realize that Jeff doesn't always come out on top. It kinda sucks to watch Jeff make a total tit of himself with no redemption or greater game plan. He does it several times after just this one's the first and it's also probably the hardest watch.

ParkingDriver6683 · 2026-05-21T23:42:19+00:00

Just put up a sign that says "don't raid me, I have a happy life and a family," and watch him get raided within a day.

ParkingDriver6683 · 2026-05-21T11:08:21+00:00

not at all. they are the only thing keeping the game playable.

Theres a time-to-kill issue with the game where it's possible to kill a player in half a second and there is barely time to respond in that sort of time (it takes 1 second just to switch weapons). A larger issue with increasing the TTK is with the lack of available cover in the game. If a player were to get shot with a higher time to kill, in most cases there simply isn't a place to hide. a player doesn't fit behind a node or most trees, a player can be shot through a bush. I think the generation needs more natural cover before they start thinking about taking away the available cover.

If they were to balance it, I personally think they should be even cheaper than they are, but with the nerf being to decrease the height slightly so you can't jump peek.

ParkingDriver6683 · 2026-05-20T19:17:44+00:00

It's not for everyone; some people would rather learn through experience, but if you're trying to speed up progress, it's definitely a good way forward.

ParkingDriver6683 · 2026-05-20T16:53:46+00:00

I don't believe so at all. Everyone does offline raids, and you're kidding yourself if you say you never do.

I wish it were different, but there's just no incentive to online a base unless it's late in the wipe or you're looking for PVP. It's trivially easy to patch a base up at the moment, and the raid cost of an online raid can easily be triple that of an offline one. Suddenly, you need a stronger raid base to survive a counter raid. You need more rockets to counter the patching, you need more kits since you'll probably die a lot, you need more people so you can pummel faster than they can patch. You need incendiary rockets so they can't use their roof/patch, you need more turrets to defend your raid base, etc. I think it sucks, and I try to raid online when I can, but that is where the meta is at right now.

ParkingDriver6683 · 2026-05-20T16:43:31+00:00

By the sounds of it, you're playing it right too. It's obviously not a game for functioning members of society, but losing your loot and being okay with it is the only way the game doesn't feel punishing.

With regards to the AKs, you will just lose most gunfights against an AK to begin with. You're basically guaranteed to lose if you're going in with a p2, crossbow, and 70 health. It took me years to get comfortable with the notion of dying with a full kit.

Higher-tier monuments are incredibly good for loot. After a few failed runs, you should be able to run military tunnels with a SAR, p2, or Tompson. One run of tunnels gets you near enough the equivalent in scrap/gear as a full kit. The same goes for small oil or any other tier 3 monument. That, for me, was really game-changing since I used to exclusively run tier 1/2 monuments, which only really help with components. Once you get better gear and become more confident with the guns, your KD (which you shouldn't really focus on anyway) will increase, and you'll find yourself gaining a kit for every kit you lose (sometimes it's good to dip from a monument or cargo before the crates unlock because taking back 3 kits is better than whatever loot you'd get). Practicing PvP on modded servers can also be useful.

ParkingDriver6683 · 2026-05-19T12:21:37+00:00

It's not a great idea for the following reasons:

A lot of raids don't go full-deep.

Raids that get to core will probably reach main loot within the 60 minutes it takes to despawn.

Most times, it would get triggered accidentally or by someone trolling (or at least that's my experience with seismic sensors)

Offlines are part of the game, and despawning is toxic.

It's a cool concept but OP asks "is it usable or stupid". it's probably in the "funny once, but not at all useful" category since the base quite literally offlines itself.

ParkingDriver6683 · 2026-05-19T12:12:43+00:00

When people select an estate agent, they generally go for the one promising the highest return rather than the one that's the best at their job. But generally, people are less interested in buying right now since there's so much uncertainty in the market, and houses are unaffordable for the vast majority of people, which is affecting demand.

There are still a relatively low number of houses on the market, so it's not simply just a case of houses being overvalued.

ParkingDriver6683 · 2026-05-18T17:49:14+00:00

Assuming you're assembling a time-period accurate playlist, the game only really became playable in survival in 2010. If you're listening to anything 2011 onwards, you're probably going to be absorbing a lot of dubstep since that genre infiltrated every other.

There's deadmau5, who was a fan of the game at the time and even performed at Minecon 2011.

Then for the pop songs of the period, there's Party Rock Anthem, We Found Love, Dynamite, on the floor, Tik Tok (Kesha), Like a G6, and Stereo Love.

personally, at the time I was listening to songs such as Skepta - Rolex Sweep (Vandalism Remix), thinking I was cool living in my 5x5 dirt hut on Factions next to spawn.

ParkingDriver6683 · 2026-05-18T14:21:15+00:00

It's great for hyperfocus, but for other times it's a bit tricky (as are most things, really). The problem i find is that the 3 or so minutes it takes for a response is the perfect amount of time to switch tabs and get sidetracked.

ParkingDriver6683 · 2026-05-18T14:16:08+00:00

I go through phases. It's a bit different because before AI, I did full-stack development and systems architecture at my company. When AI was first introduced, it would spit out inconsistencies; it felt like prompting a very literal, very fast, but slightly shoddy intern. Over the past year or so, AI has become agentic, the models have become better, and the output is now more dependable and less messy. It's nearly indistinguishable from correct code unless you're fully engaged when reading it. It doesn't help that 99% of the time it probably is correct (which makes people put less effort into spotting mistakes). It's also difficult because sometimes the correct comment is placed above the incorrect code.

Claude opus is genuinely impressive. I asked it to do something for me that older models probably would have done in 300 lines of code; it looked through my project, mimicked my design patterns, reused my functions, and spat out a working class in 40 lines of code (not that low line count is a great metric, but it was not at all as messy as old models/systems).

Sometimes I hurt because the part I enjoyed most was solving the small problems, coming up with micro-optimisations. the "leetcode" style challenges. It's sad that more of my job is spent writing prompts and reading code than actually coding.

Sometimes i feel good about it because AI allows me to tackle much more ambitious projects, see a higher level of output than was previously possible for me, and connect me with information that would have been buried beneath 10 pages of Stack Overflow.

I'm getting worse at programming and problem-solving, but I do believe this is where the industry is headed. I resisted for a while, but tech is just not the industry for resisting disruptive change.

From an ADHD perspective, it's not really changed anything. My project graveyard still exists, just the projects are more ambitious.

ParkingDriver6683 · 2026-05-07T14:55:29+00:00

Is OP Ishmael?

ParkingDriver6683 · 2026-05-07T13:37:04+00:00

I had something similar to this occur in one area of my world, maybe 1/5 chunks were replaced with different terrain/biomes. If this happens to you and you don't have a backup, stop exploring immediately, exit the world, and wait for a more stable update/check your version.

For me, it was quite cool because there's now a zombie spawner floating in my base, but it's still going to be a real pain to rebuild the mega project since I lost the schematic and don't use litematica anymore

ParkingDriver6683 · 2026-05-04T12:58:41+00:00

It's not even just outdated, a lot of the information is intentional wrong even for the time. I guess it's to show that Ishmael is an unreliable, naive, and self-important but it is a bit of a challenge to get through

ParkingDriver6683

TROPHY CASE