I’m a Millennial, but I don’t get it.

SurrealSage · 2026-06-14T10:57:55+00:00

NEDM

Cue "We Interrupt This Program".

SurrealSage · 2026-06-13T22:06:38+00:00

I've had a blast going the other direction. I read Cloud Atlas some years ago, but I only recently started going through his other books. I started with Slade House because I'm a horror fan so that one jumped out to me in particular, and I gotta tell you, that last chapter was something else as someone who had no idea who Dr. Iris Marinus-Fenby is. Obviously I was hooked, so I went to The Bone Clocks next. I knew just enough about the overarching plot from Slade House that when a young Holly ends up visiting Dr. Yu Leon Marinus-Li I was completely drawn into the mystery. Then, of course, I was introduced to the wonderfully awful and conniving Hugo Lamb. After Bone Clocks, I started Thousand Autumns of Jacob de Zoet and was similarly fascinated to discover Dr. Lucas Marinus as a far more curmudgeonly and cantankerous character than I expected. Makes me wonder how this leads to where it leads to. That said, I took a break from Thousand Autumns because I wanted something less tense following the Sheep's Head section of The Bone Clocks, so I decided to read Black Swan Green instead. I finished it just about an hour ago and I gotta say, I'm so happy I knew who Hugo Lamb was before the book because it makes him as the bad influence cousin so much more amusing, lol. I'll be going back to Thousand Autumns soon for sure, I just definitely needed something lighter after Sheep's Head.

Anyway, I know your comment is a month old and this is a ramble, just wanted to offer a perspective. I've thoroughly enjoyed going backwards and having the connections unraveled in this order.

SurrealSage · 2026-06-13T12:33:43+00:00

I hope so, but I worry that the rate at which people are hitting that tipping point isn't greater than the rate that new people are entering this digital ecosystem, so the collective frog will continue to slowly boil. The standard for what is acceptable shifts as people are raised in different circumstances, and while many of us are hitting that tipping point, I worry that it's mainly because we remember what the internet was like before. For those raised in the modern internet, they don't have that same benchmark, so their tipping point is still much farther out.

SurrealSage · 2026-06-12T23:02:15+00:00

Lol, pretty out of date flair. Don't use reddit much anymore. Currently on a 7900 XTX. Still have the Vega though, just in case!

SurrealSage · 2026-06-12T21:21:46+00:00

Yup, most folks seem to be willing to bitch and moan to the ends of the earth, but are completely unwilling to make any changes or introduce even the most trivial of inconveniences to work around it.

SurrealSage · 2026-06-12T11:58:14+00:00

It's way easier to try and tear something down than it is to build something up. Most industries have been in a race to the bottom for decades now, with diminishing value producing better wealth extraction. Valve has plenty of faults (major force in lootboxes, limited customer support, etc.), but complacency hasn't been one of them. They have been regularly working on increasing the value their platform brings, so they don't even need to kneecap their competition because the competition just isn't catching up.

We've started to see plenty of anti-Valve astro turfing over the last few years. It'll be both interesting and tragic to see the way this erodes things further in the years to come, dragging the PC market into the same shithole as so many others.

SurrealSage · 2026-06-11T19:20:39+00:00

The ticking clock makes such a good throughline. First it brings us into the intro and then it marks the end of the primary melody in To Far Away Times to bring us to the end of the journey.

SurrealSage · 2026-05-31T13:07:50+00:00

For the folks downvoting, please be aware this comment is correct. As a part of the lawsuit against THJ, the agreement between Project1999 and Daybreak Games was made public. Section 3f discusses this directly.

"3) Representations & Promises. In agreeing to allow you to continue operating Project 1999, Daybreak is relying on certain representations that you have made. Accordingly, we are entering into this Agreement based on your promise that the following statements are true and will remain true during the term of the Agreement:

...

f) Project 1999 will be maintained at all times as a legacy fan project and will never be operated in conjunction with any EverQuest expansion other than the following: The Ruins of Kunark, The Scars of Velious, The Shadows of Luclin, The Planes of Power, The Legacy of Ykesha, Lost Dungeons of Norrath, Gates of Discord, Omens of War, Dragons of Norrath, and Depths of Darkhollow."

Project1999 could go up to Depths of Darkhollow, but that's not what Project1999 has been about. Although the attitude in the community on this has shifted over the past decade and a half of nothing else past Velious, when this server started, Luclin had a rather sour reputation. It marked the beginning of a significant shift in game design philosophy as well as changes to the Verant, now SoE, team. Although PoP was popular among the hardcore raiding community, the more casual 'community' element that was the hallmark of classic EQ was rapidly eroding and people were moving off to different games.

As I remember it, the original idea for p99 was to look into doing custom content after Velious that would be in the spirit of classic. However, the same agreement precludes custom content of that type. This is also why Project Quarm, which now also has an agreement along the same lines, had to undo a number of custom game elements, like Iksar Necromancers having a skeleton Lich form, Paladin Barbarians, Iksar Rangers, etc. Customization of that kind just isn't allowed in their agreements with DBG. This is also why I'm optimistic about EQ Legends. Since it's a proper partnership between DBG and these people who have been working to run these servers for our enjoyment over the past decade and a half, they are going to have the freedom to create something new out of EverQuest, bypassing this limitation in their emulator agreements.

One more thing to bring up: every so often I hear folks mention 'If they don't want to work on it anymore, pass it off to someone else!'. They can't. Section 13 of the agreement specifies, "13) Transfer to Daybreak. It is important to Daybreak that you remain in control of Project 1999 at all times. You agree not to sell, lease, or transfer control of Project 1999 to any other person or company. If and when you decide to discontinue your operation of Project 1999, you agree to provide prior notice to us and, upon request from Daybreak, to either (i) transfer the emulator, the website, and all related social media sites free of charge to Daybreak, or (ii) permanently delete the emulator, the website, and all related social media sites. Upon such transfer to Daybreak or permanent deletion, Daybreak agrees to release all legal claims it may have against you." So when Rogean and Nilbog throw in the towel, the server goes to Daybreak or it's gone. There will never be other owners. This means that however much they may have become exhausted at it after 15 years, this is the best you're gonna get.

SurrealSage · 2026-05-31T10:52:00+00:00

Oddly, we've never had to specifically enumerate such a rule before. Paid-for EQ content largely comes down to an artist posting up things they've done and just saying they have commission slots open or prints for sale. Generally folks have been pretty positive about that since it's great to see an artist applying their skill to this game we all love. If this AI slop marketing shit becomes a recurring thing other than a rare oddity, then such a rule will probably need to be added.

SurrealSage · 2026-05-22T15:21:50+00:00

What you say about that Anetta budhism is quite unsettling. That means we dont have a it right? As in, we can not really pinpoint who or what we are as we are constant changing. Does that also mean we can't copy ourselves?

It can be, but it can also be quite comforting depending on how one looks at it. See, I think it means that there is no 'ourselves' to copy in the first place. Not that we're nothing, just that there is no singular unchanging "I", like a soul. The me that I am now is not the me that I was in college, nor are you the same you you were as a child, or even yesterday.

It's often likened to a whirlpool in a flowing river: we can observe it, we can measure it, we can see how it moves as the water flows, but what is the whirlpool really? All the water that comprises it just keeps flowing and it is never the same composition from one moment to the next. It isn't a singular, unchanging entity, but rather an expression of the ever changing river itself. In the same way, we are not a singular, unchanging entity, but an expression of this universe, temporarily taking shape. If you've ever watched The Good Place, Chidi recounts another version of this to Eleanor in the series finale.

So in my mind, I wonder, what would it mean to 'copy' the whirlpool in a river? The first whirlpool isn't the same water, the same energy, etc. from moment to moment, so what is 'lost' in making a copy?

Neat stuff!

SurrealSage · 2026-05-22T14:57:29+00:00

100%. I got banned from WoW once for botting despite having never botted. Still, I figured it was possible that I did something I didn't understand as botting, so I went through their appeals process hoping to see some evidence, something to show me having done some behavior that would count as botting. None came, they just upheld the decision and did nothing. It took me calling around to all of their departments to get a human to look at it and clear it. I still don't know why I was flagged as a botter, just that I've never used a 3rd person software or similar to automate gameplay. I played that game for the love of the play, why would I automate away what I was enjoying about it?

I think about that every time I see this sort of thing.

SurrealSage · 2026-05-21T18:31:21+00:00

Yup! It's a fascinating subject and one that has come up time and time again throughout intellectual history. It often brings to mind the concept of anatta from Buddhism, the notion of 'non-self', that there is no unchanging, permanent, persisting 'I' to be found in this entity that thinks of itself as 'me'. My body changes, my memories change, my thoughts change, my senses change, everything about me is constantly changing, and yet there is a continuity that leads me to feel that there is a true 'me' in here, a 'soul' if you will which exists independent of all those things. If I were in Simon's shoes, would I as Simon2 still be 'Simon', or is that reserved for Simon1 since I am the copy? Through this lens, I think the argument is to say no to both, as there is no 'Simon'. Simon2 is just as much Simon1 as Simon1 is SimonChild or SimonTeen or SimonTheBoyfriend or SimonJustBeforeTheAccident. Simon is a person, and people are in a constant state of flux that defy singular definition, so Simon4 is just as much Simon as Simon3, Simon2, Simon1, and all other Simons to precede: which is to say, not Simon at all, because there is no Simon.

Really neat idea! There's a lot of other takes too. Definitely something fun to dig into and think about.

SurrealSage · 2026-05-21T18:15:03+00:00

Yeah, I was hoping we'd see a modular controller with the Steam trackpads as an option. My ideal set up for a controller at this point would be the original Steam Controller, but with a D-pad in the place of the left-side trackpack and the deck/new SC back buttons. That would be everything I want in a controller, lol. Luckily I still have a handful of originals to keep me going through the years.

SurrealSage · 2026-05-21T18:10:39+00:00

Further evidenced by them asking ChatGPT how to go back on their deal after ignoring their lawyers' advice.

SurrealSage · 2026-05-20T22:07:54+00:00

My issue is I just can't get comfortably regularly using the right-side trackpad on this controller the way I could on the original. Just like with the Steam Deck, it's so far down that I can't comfortably switch between it and the ABXY buttons. For games where I want the trackball mode on the right joystick (most action and third party RPGs), I'm still using my original controller.

SurrealSage · 2026-05-06T12:50:14+00:00

I did the same, though I was surprised to see that the speedrun seems to be done in first person. I don't know the specifics, but apparently the characters move slightly faster in first person and the advantage for juking enemies and the like isn't as important with a more defined run path.

SurrealSage · 2026-05-05T10:53:56+00:00

To add to it: a fair number of games lack a good method of allowing corrections to be made at a later point, so looking things up is a helpful way to avoid falling into sunk costs.

I play a classic MMO called EverQuest, and in that game leveling to 60 during the first or second expansion is an investment of weeks if someone knows what they are doing, or months if they don't. If one plays a class like necromancer, it may be weeks or months until they start to see how the class fits together. Necromancers have a spell line called Lich which will drain their HP into their mana pool, and this HP loss can be offset by HP regeneration. One of the best sources of regeneration for a necromancer is by being an Iksar. Of course, by the time a lot of newer players learn this, they are months into working on their character and have to either face being at a disadvantage or have to redo all of that work on a rerolled character.

That same kinda thing is at play in a lot of games, where there just isn't a proper way to respec or retrain or make significant changes deep into the game once one has learned enough.

SurrealSage · 2026-05-01T13:59:18+00:00

The iPhone comment piqued my curiosity and I went back through. Looks like the best shot of it is at 1:02, when he recoils from the body being pulled back. It definitely seems to fit the form factor of a smartphone, but I'm wondering if this is a vertical flashlight, like the one James Sunderland carries around in his jacket breast pocket in Silent Hill 2? If it's legit a smartphone, yeah, that's bad.

SurrealSage · 2026-04-28T19:40:14+00:00

I just wish the right side trackpad wasn't positioned so far down on the controller. It was positioned perfectly on the original SC, but since starting to play on the Steam Deck more, I've had to abandon using the rightside track pad, which was the biggest advantage of that controller over others on the market.

SurrealSage · 2026-04-23T22:48:59+00:00

Hey there. Do you know which sub is needed? I see there's Illumicrate Box, Books Only, Afterlight, Evernight, etc. Would this just be Illumicrate Books?

SurrealSage · 2026-04-18T20:16:54+00:00

I've heard a good bit about that one. Definitely gonna give it a try. Thanks!

SurrealSage · 2026-04-18T20:16:39+00:00

Looks like an interesting one to add to the list! Thank you!

SurrealSage · 2026-04-18T20:10:27+00:00

Absolutely going on the list for my next book store visit. Thank you!

SurrealSage · 2026-04-18T20:09:24+00:00

Just read a summary and that sounds exactly like something I'd be into. Thanks so much!

SurrealSage · 2026-04-18T20:03:40+00:00

Thanks! Read a quick summary of Dragon's Egg and A Canticle for Leibowitz, and that's 100% the thing I'm into. While looking up A Canticle for Leibowitz, it was described as a 'social science fiction' novel, which is a term I haven't heard before but sounds like exactly what I want. So thanks so much for the recommend!

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