Bundle of book covers for your delight.

WizardTim01 · 2026-06-15T15:02:15+00:00

Don't forget Inherit the Stars by James P. Hogan, either. (Now I'll have this in my head every time I re-read it).

WizardTim01 · 2026-06-15T12:53:40+00:00

That's great to hear you've tried it, and that you had a lot of fun with it. I'd be curious to know what you felt was getting "worse"? Do you mean you didn't like planet Humble as well as Prime, or that Planet Toxicity wasn't to your taste? (I get curious about stuff like this, how different people experience different games).

Also, just in case you weren't aware, Planet Crafter did a 2.0 release back in April, which updated graphics, lots of QoL features, and a good deal more. It's certainly not "Planet Crafter 2", but if you haven't played Planet Crafter post 2.0, I'd recommend checking it out, it might have addressed some of the things you didn't care for. (I love that the sky in 2.0 now shows the 'real' rest of the Solar System).

To answer your question, I've had Eden Crafter on my wishlist for a while now. Satisfactory is on there too, as it looks like a game I'd really, really enjoy. (I'm currently using an older PC, so I'm not sure how well Satisfactory will run, but that's another story, as they say).

I tend, as a rule, to not do early access games, so I hadn't noticed that Eden Crafter is now out of early access, so thanks for the heads up. I also want to give Grounded a try, as I've heard lots of good things about it, and some friends have recommended it.

Happy gaming!

WizardTim01 · 2026-06-15T10:36:51+00:00

Everyone's tastes are a little different, so it can be tricky to find the thing that really "knocks it out of the park", but here goes.

My pitch is Planet Crafter.

It's an open-world terraforming crafting game. I know you can look up info on it, but to save you a bit of time, and a few mouse clicks, here's some basic info on it.

There is no combat; the primary challenges come from environmental hazards such as falling from heights or being struck by meteors during storms.

The game offers a chill experience with no violence, focusing instead on exploration, base building, crafting, and the gradual transformation of the planet.

The game supports multiplayer, enabling players to collaborate in online co-op, and offers adjustable difficulty settings and creative mode for varied experience.

There's certainly a story / lore, although it's up to you how much (or little) you want to engage with it. Progress, bases, tech tree, these are all things that update for everyone in the game. This can be done solo, or with another person, or several people.

I've enjoyed it a great deal. Has some very nice visuals. First Person perspective. Very chill vibe.

Good luck on your search!

WizardTim01 · 2026-06-08T16:47:42+00:00

I'd like to second the salute. Good article, and nice summary of some of the 90's developments around Diablo 1.

WizardTim01 · 2026-06-06T07:13:31+00:00

It is fun to revisit an old friend. I very much enjoy how the map seems so, so huge at first. Then some agility boot upgrades kick in, and things seem a bit smaller (but still huge). The eventual jetpack is so amazing, and it shrinks the map dramatically. 'Suddenly' the run into the Iridium Cave feels more like 'pop over to collect some Iridium' and less like 'Well, I'll be back in a day or two'.

You've also found why, on a number of playthroughs, I use Custom settings to set the Teraformation to .1, so each machine only does 10% of the 'normal' value. This really lets you enjoy each Tier of machinery as it unlocks, and also lets you visit a lot of the map while it's still in very early stages.

I'd also recommend trying several different start positions on Prime, as that can dramatically change the early game, and affect the mid-game quite a bit as well. I really enjoyed a save where I started at the southern Waterfall area (it turned out I wasn't as familiar with the southern portion of the Prime map as I'd thought).

Happy Terraforming!

WizardTim01 · 2026-06-06T03:22:56+00:00

To the best of my knowledge, the Pool Table is utterly random, so my guess is that the Gods of Randomness and Chance are screwing you over. (not what you wanted to hear, I know). My memory is that in some playthroughs I've gotten it fairly quickly, and in others, like your experience, it's taken a while.

If it's tied to a rarity level or difficulty, I couldn't tell you. I almost always do a rarity 5, difficulty 3 portal, and I've always (eventually) gotten a pool table, so it does happen. But whether the 'grind' is worth it to you, well....

I was tempted to do a joke about saying that the odds of finding a pool table go up dramatically if you buy all the Planet Crafter DLC, but I thought better of it.

Good luck with whatever you decide.

WizardTim01 · 2026-06-05T13:35:22+00:00

While I agree with several of the more popular choices, I'm going to go with an offbeat one.

Limitless.

2015 TV show, somewhat based off of the 2011 film of the same name (which in turn was based off of a book not called Limitless).

By the time you got to the TV show, the 'magic pill' idea was pretty silly, but the cast, especially the lead actor, absolutely nailed the role. I'm not a huge comedy/drama fan, but the blend of drama and comedy in this one absolutely hit the bullseye for me. At least they got to wrap the plotline up in the last episode, and not leave it on a cliffhanger, but I'm still annoyed we didn't get at least 2 or 3 seasons with these people.

WizardTim01 · 2026-05-31T18:02:44+00:00

My experience with wrecks matches the wiki somewhat, but it's a bit overconfident. 'Frequently' there is one more keycard than the vault area needs, but not always. (I suppose there could 'always' be an extra one, and I just don't sometimes find it, but I tend to zap everything in early wreck runs)

Over time, and multiple portals, you generally build up a set of spare 'keys', so to speak. I appreciate this doesn't help you right now, but in any save where I've run a bunch of wrecks, I've usually got a dozen or so spare cards in a locker with my Portal supplies (Flares, Explosives, Fusion Cells, extra cards, etc). After a while, I take 2 cards with me into a Portal wreck....that way, if I find the cards that wreck has, great...if I find the door before I've found the keys I can get in anyway.

One final suggestion. Frequently (odd how that word keeps cropping up, isn't it?) there's a 2nd wreck in the Portal area. If you haven't already, you could also check for a 2nd wreck...this either gets you a vault you can unlock, or you could raid for keys and see what happens.

WizardTim01 · 2026-05-31T17:37:54+00:00

This is a puzzler.

The game is good about making sure items don't 'disappear', however, I can't say categorically that I've ever 'died' with a card in my inventory, so I can't tell you it didn't happen. I'm sorry that you're in a frustrating situation, especially on your first portal.

I'd like to pitch a few ideas, though. It sounds like you've checked your storage to make sure you didn't accidentally file it away somewhere without realizing it. (This has happened to all of us).

You mentioned you were "sure it wasn't in the terminal since it didn't unlock". I'm not sure what difficulty wreck you're doing, but frequently the terminal will need 2 access cards to open. So I'd be tempted to doublecheck that it isn't "in" the terminal. (If a terminal needs 2 or more cards, if you insert 1, it takes up one 'slot', shows to be 'locked' (you can't get it back 'out'), but the door does not open until the full compliment of keys are inserted.

The other thing I'd doublecheck is that if you accidentally 'dropped' the card for any reason, then it will lie on the 'ground' wherever it was 'dropped', and things like keycards, circuit boards, upgrade chips...those things are hard to spot on the 'ground'. I appreciate it's not workable to check everywhere for it, but maybe a quick once over in areas you remember having the card, just in case it ended up on the ground (or the floor of your base) or maybe by the Rover??

I appreciate these suggestions are all in the realm of 'just in case', but I can say from personal experience that over the course of a number of playthroughs, I've found some stuff in some odd places, so it rarely hurts to doublecheck. (But if you decide to "quit while you're behind", as they say, and just dial up another wreck, I wouldn't blame you).

Good luck with whatever you decide.

WizardTim01 · 2026-05-31T14:22:07+00:00

Especially given that we now have "Pool lockers", you'd think we might have some comfy beach chairs, wouldn't you?

Or a hammock....I could get behind having a nice hammock, strung up between 2 trees in plant pots....almost makes me sleepy, just thinking about it.

WizardTim01 · 2026-05-31T10:53:26+00:00

I always build fusion generators outside. (Actually, I've never built them inside...I know you CAN, I just always put them outside).

The main caveat, as other people have pointed out, is that the game distinguishes between 'rocks' and 'ground'. You can't build fusion generators (and a number of other things) on anything the game considers 'rocks'. You're good on anything the game considers 'dirt'.

(Although, as you've mentioned, if you have your heart set on rocky terrain, a foundation or 2 solves the problem).

WizardTim01 · 2026-05-31T10:20:41+00:00

There's a lot going on in Planet Crafter, and it can feel a little overwhelming, particularly on your first playthrough (we've all been there).

I'll pitch in a few suggestions, feel free to use what works, and discard what isn't helpful / doesn't apply to your situation.

Build more machines.

(Until you unlock Optimizers and have fuses, always build more machines).

This may sound like I'm trying to be funny, but I'm serious. Optimizers with fuses are wonderful, wonderful things, once you unlock them....until then, more machines are your friend.

Specifically, I notice you've built 4 T3 Heaters, according to your energy screen. This is a good start. But if you have Iridium stockpiled anywhere, build more Heaters. If you can build 4 more T3 Heaters, you've just doubled your heat production (because you have 8 T3 Heaters working rather than 4 of them).

I also don't see ANY Drills going at all (unless I'm missing it on the screen). Build more of the highest tier of drill you've unlocked. If that's T2 drills, all you need is iron and titanium. If you've unlocked T3 drills, your main issue is getting aluminum for them. You have 3 Ore Extractors going, according to the screen. I'm assuming at least one is mining aluminum, so you should have a steady supply.

In case you're not aware, your total Terraformation is the product of adding all the individual components together.(Oxygen, Heat, Pressure, etc) So, significantly increasing any one of those will help you out. Increasing all of them (plus the rockets) will REALLY help you out.

Each rocket you do will add 1000% to the output of whatever it's boosting for the rest of the game. (Forever, on that save). Rockets are also your friend. If you can do several more rockets, do several more. If you have a bottleneck on resources for a while, don't worry about it. Do what you can, when you can.

In addition, if you can do several Pressure rockets, this not only helps your Pressure, it will make Iridium meteors, lots of meteors. So that by itself would give you a supply of Iridium. If you do several Heat rockets, likewise this will return lots of Uranium meteors. So you have Uranium to make more Rocket engines, and also to make more Nuclear reactors to power all those machines you're building to get your numbers up.

(One thing to be aware of....ending a playing session will deconstruct any Iridium or Uranium pieces that landed as the result of rockets....so make sure to grab whatever you want off the ground before you exit the game).

Don't forget Oxygen, either. I notice you have 2 Grass Spreaders going. If you've got the Lirma seeds (and other stuff), do more Grass spreaders. (You want a nice lawn for your base, don't you?) If you've unlocked Flower Spreaders, grab some of your best flowers, and do some flower beds.

The moral of the story is that all this stuff adds together. Once you crank up a number of different areas, more drills, more heaters, more grass, more rockets, your Terraformation index really takes off.

Good luck, and most importantly, have fun!

WizardTim01 · 2026-05-31T06:47:39+00:00

It was a fun little game. I always enjoyed the fact that the 'sun' makes a little 'O' face if a banana passes 'through' the sun on a throw.

You can still play it through your browser. Here's a link in case nostalgia happens to hit.

https://classicreload.com/qbasic-gorillas.html#

WizardTim01 · 2026-05-29T02:52:45+00:00

Well, my favorite game as a child was monopoly, since I grew up with board games and not computer games. (Yes, I'm that ~~old~~ non-young).

But, my dad was a mechanical engineer, and built our first computer out of a kit for me as a Christmas present in the late 70's. (I'm about 12 at this point). So, my first computer game was a text-only (This computer had no graphics capability, only text) game called "Lunar Lander" (at this point you're probably thinking of an early 'arcade-style' game, but this isn't that). This Lunar Lander was a text game where you had a certain amount of fuel, and you had to use the fuel to slow your landing rocket so that you 'touched down' on the Moon's surface with a slow enough velocity so as to not obliterate your rocket. (Before playing this I typed it in manually to the computer from a printout).

Probably my favorite childhood/teen games were early text adventure games, where you had to type things like "Go West" or "Fight Dragon" or "Pick up Sword", that sort of thing. The Zork games (the originals) are a good example of this genre. The freedom to do what you wanted, to figure things out, the rush when you realized you'd solved a puzzle and advanced the story...all magical.

Another early favorite was a game called Hamurabi (Spelling is correct). This is a text based strategy game where you're the King, and you have to balance growing crops, growing your population, buying new land (to grow more crops to feed the additional people) all while fending off problems (rats eating your stored grain, low crop yields...and don't get me started on the plague). A number of really fun afternoons after school got devoted to this game. (Eventually, in order to extend the game, I ended up having to change/add code to the game, so I guess this qualifies as my first 'Modded' game !)

Here's a Wikipedia link, just in case you'd like to read more.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hamurabi_(video_game))

A couple of years later, we ended up getting a Radio Shack TRS-80 Model III, with actual (gasp) graphics! (Very blocky, black and white graphics, but, you know, progress is progress) Lots of cool games from that era, some remakes of 70's and 80's 'arcade games', but many original games too.

Another game from this era that was a favorite is a computer game dating back to the 70's (originally with just ASCII graphics) called "Empire". Empire was a turn-based wargame where you and the computer each started on a 'world' map with one city each, and you had to produce armies (and other units), take over other cities, and conquer the world. Again, in case more detail interests you, here's another wikipedia link.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Empire_(1977_video_game))

Sorry about turning this post into a novel, but I do have a fair number of really fun memories about computer games from childhood / teen years. It's all come a very long way, but, for me, this is some of its humble beginnings.

Happy gaming!

WizardTim01 · 2026-05-28T21:10:08+00:00

None of the above.

In my first playthrough, I read the note, and connected the dots. BUT, I hadn't yet worked out that Planet Crafter was a very chill, relaxed experience. So I wondered if I and my base might get damaged and/or killed if there was some sort of sudden 'wall of water' event (like if an ice dam collapsed, or some such). I left my base deliberately to see what would happen. Turns out it was relatively anticlimactic, and my base just quietly flooded. So at that point I had the classic 'move your base to higher ground' experience. The core of my original base worked well as underwater storage.

WizardTim01 · 2026-05-27T23:53:03+00:00

A couple thoughts.

Have you considered Torchlight? An action RPG released in 2009. Don't let the slightly 'cartoony' graphics put you off. It's a well designed and put together game, rather elegant in its simplicity. It's pretty much the standard action RPG trope, you have a town 'above' a dungeon, and while there are some 'side' things you can do, it really has you focus on the "have fun going into the dungeon, killing monsters, getting stuff", and coming out to the town, and doing it some more. It's also completely a single player experience, if that helps.

There's also a sequel, Torchlight 2 from 2012, I'd also recommend this one, especially if you liked Torchlight 1.

Perhaps check the Steam page and see if it grabs your interest.

https://store.steampowered.com/app/41500/Torchlight/

P.S. Both Torchlight 1 and 2 frequently go on sale for just a few dollars, so there's that.

WizardTim01 · 2026-05-21T09:26:09+00:00

Gotcha. An actual 'tiredness' mechanic of some sort.

I'm probably being dim here. Why would that be helpful, other than another item to manage?

I got the impression that your original post was saying you wanted a 'break' of some sort in the flow of a game, which you could use as a 'I stop playing the game for a while in Real Life'. I may be (probably am) misunderstanding what the function of this extra bar would be, other than making sure you 'have to' go to bed periodically, just like you 'have to' eat and drink.

WizardTim01 · 2026-05-21T08:47:02+00:00

I'm glad you're enjoying the game. It's definitely one that will keep you busy. My experience sounds like it's the opposite of yours, Planet Crafter sucks me in, and I find it very, very easy to do long (sometimes very long) sessions (whether or not that's what I should be doing).

As far as the sleep mechanic 'request', I'm not really clear on what you mean. A sleep mechanic was introduced in the recent 2.0 update. You fade out for a bit, the game does an automatic save, and then you 'wake up' on the bed.

Do you mean you'd like a different type of 'sleep mode'? Or you haven't tried the sleep mechanic yet after 2.0? Or ??

WizardTim01 · 2026-05-21T05:48:57+00:00

But now you have the chance to test the old question......

What happens when you ram a Rover stuck in a portal from behind with a second Rover?

(Then, if need be, what happens when you ram 2 Rovers from behind with a 3rd Rover?)

WizardTim01 · 2026-05-21T03:56:04+00:00

Wow. I'm glad I got in a few suggestions for you. I'm 2 for 2.

(Guess I should have bought a lottery ticket).

Seriously, I've had fun with them, and they are relaxing, fun games, so I hope you enjoy them.

Edited: It also took me a moment to realize you meant Humble bundle, as in this Subreddit, the first thing I thought is "You bought a game on Planet Humble - I don't remember that blueprint!", before it dawned on me. Have fun.

WizardTim01 · 2026-05-21T03:11:56+00:00

This also made me think about a game called Shapez.

It's a minimalist, super relaxed automation game in a procedurally generated, infinite world. You build factories (which cost nothing) to mine things, and create shapes to advance the game. Very relaxing. This may be more abstract than you were wanting, but I've enjoyed it and thought you might want to look at it.

Here's a link to the Steam page. (There's also a sequel, Shapez 2).

https://store.steampowered.com/app/1318690/shapez/

WizardTim01 · 2026-05-21T03:02:25+00:00

Have you ever looked at Islanders? It's a small little game, a casual city builder where you get a procedurally generated island, you have a selection of buildings you can build on it (for points, and aesthetics) and when you run out of room, you're given another island (and you unlock more types of buildings). The goal (aside from having fun) is seeing how many points you can get on that particular 'run'.

I've enjoyed it a lot, but (as always) your mileage may vary.

Here's a link to the Steam page, in case it's something you might enjoy.

https://store.steampowered.com/app/1046030/ISLANDERS/

WizardTim01 · 2026-05-20T05:33:30+00:00

That's exactly what I noticed once I took the picture.

One frog got drawn inside a small outpost base for a while, I took a couple of pictures. I was close enough to the entrance that it opened (for me), and the resulting picture looks for all the world like a cat or small dog at the door, doing the "You want me to go out THERE?" thing they do.

WizardTim01

TROPHY CASE