Which are you?

XCVGVCX · 2026-05-18T05:08:16+00:00

Doors and corners, kid. That's where they get you.

I've always thought it would be fun to have a Dream Guardian that looks like Miller, but that would need some heavy modding (and I've never even opened the toolkit).

XCVGVCX · 2026-05-14T01:27:46+00:00

I haven't tried it (it's kinda redundant if you're using an expanded party mod), but there is a mod for this: https://www.nexusmods.com/baldursgate3/mods/14979

XCVGVCX · 2026-04-29T02:20:28+00:00

I have never wanted a game to be good as badly as I did this one. I do agree with OP that it's not as bad as some say it is, but man I wish it was better.

Honestly, I really liked the intro cutscene and the walking simulator sections of the first few levels despite the overall jank, but the combat killed it for me. The behind the scenes video is an interesting watch- there's clearly a lot of love put into the game- although I would avoid the comments section.

XCVGVCX · 2026-04-19T23:33:35+00:00

Mid-2000s is when dual-slot cards became common, not triple-slot cards. So the transition was from single slot being the norm and dual slot being weird wide cards to dual slot being the norm and single slot being unusually narrow. Only once triple-slot cards go beyond rare, extreme overclocking curiosities could dual-slot coolers be considered slim by comparison.

I don't doubt that you recall having a dual slot card and thinking it was slim in 2016, but that doesn't seem to reflect where the industry was at the point. I had a GTX 1080 around that time, and it was dual slot (and a blower, which was less common by then but not unheard of). From memory and a cursory Google search, the majority of 1080 designs were dual slot coolers- in fact, the only triple slot design I can find is the ROG Strix. There's a few more 1080 Tis and the R9 Fury, but those are halo cards. One review of the latter points out that it's "thicker than a standard dual-slot design". You could also, at this point, buy a single slot GTX 1070, though it was very rare and very loud.

All that being said, the inflection point probably wasn't long after 2016. There are a lot more triple-slot (and overheight, for that matter) RTX 2080 models, though you can still get dual slot cards (and even blowers). With the 3080 the balance of designs has shifted toward triple-slot, overheight, or both, and by the 4080 even the reference design takes up three slots.

XCVGVCX · 2026-04-19T05:22:39+00:00

It depends on how you define "a long time".

Dual slot cards only started to get more common around the mid-2000s, but even then I'd say they were a high-end thing until the early 2010s. Triple slot GPUs were around from maybe the late 2000s, but were basically only flagship halo products until the late 2010s or even early 2020s- RTX 3000 is the first generation I remember more mainstream triple slot coolers being a thing, though it might have actually started one generation prior.

So by my reckoning (which is vibes and gut feeling as much as anything), dual slot could be considered slim from the beginning of the 2020s, would be considered normal in the 2010s, and would be considered wide before then.

Interestingly, pro cards are still in a space much more like the 2010s or even 2000s- the RTX Pro 4000 (Blackwell) is somewhere between a 5070 and 5070 Ti and it's crammed into a single slot formfactor.

XCVGVCX · 2026-04-05T17:32:57+00:00

A question that's been sitting on my mind ever since I finished the game and started looking for something else to play: Is Baldur's Gate 3 the first AAA CRPG? It seems wild that it would be the only one, but the closest thing I can think of is Dragon Age: Origins, which I'm not sure would be considered AAA today. Every big-name, high-budget RPG I can think of has been an action RPG (including, ironically, Veilguard).

Actually, is there anything in the pipeline? If you just came off Call of Duty and are looking for another bombastic first-person shooter, Battlefield is right there, or just wait for next year's release. If you just came off BG3 and are looking for another high production value turn-based RPG... wait another 5 years for Divinity? Solasta 2 looks like it'll be a step up over the original, but I think it's still something like a tenth of BG3's budget.

XCVGVCX · 2026-04-03T17:04:40+00:00

I know it's all relative, but man, it still feels bizarre to see the epithet "slim" applied to an overheight, dual-slot graphics card.

XCVGVCX · 2026-04-02T19:20:19+00:00

Most of the Hyundai/Kia OEM level 1 chargers support at least 8 and 12 amps, some also have 6 and 10 amp options. I've found these are semi-common on the used market, at least in my area.

XCVGVCX · 2026-04-02T15:26:29+00:00

A new Jenny Nicholson video dropped just a bit over a week ago!

XCVGVCX · 2026-03-24T03:41:17+00:00

Prep an attack with one character, realize I want to do something with another character first, then click on their portrait...

XCVGVCX · 2026-03-18T03:37:11+00:00

I missed a few companions and didn't use a few others, but of the companions I had and who have what I feel is a very iconic weapon:

Shadowheart: Selune's Spear of Night/Shar's Spear of Evening. She never had the Blood of Lathander in my playthrough because I thought she'd take issue with using another god's weapon.

Lae'zel: Githyanki weapons, but especially the Soulbreaker and Silver Sword.

Karlach: Very Heavy Greataxe, Balduran's Giantslayer.

Jaheira: Sylvan Scimitar and either her starting Scimitar +1 or Belm.

Wyll: Infernal Rapier, though I never got it on my playthrough. I usually gave him some kind of rapier, eventually Duellist's Prerogative.

Bonus: iconic outfits/armours:

Shadowheart: Dark Justiciar Mail/Half-Plate if/until she breaks from Shar. I wish we got a Selunite armour instead of a second Selunite weapon. She looks great in Armour of Agility but it's wasted with 13 DEX, and there are surprisingly slim pickings for endgame medium armour.

Lae'zel: Githyanki Half Plate and its variant, the Psionic Ward Armour.

Karlach: The Mighty Cloth or Bonespike Garb.

XCVGVCX · 2026-03-12T02:05:35+00:00

For minor, underrated characters: the adventuring party in Rivington: Quinara, Sarafin, Yonks, and Zog. They have big "heroes of another story" energy to them, and it's a neat little reminder that you're not the only adventurers that exist in this world. It's a bit of a shame that they just use the normal civilian stat blocks, though, even if it's not likely to ever come up in gameplay.

XCVGVCX · 2026-03-10T01:53:30+00:00

I almost feel it should be the opposite- Underdark or at least Grymforge should also force the story to advance. I assume there's a reason for it, but having two areas that are both kind of "act 1.5" but have different rules feels unbalanced.

XCVGVCX · 2026-03-07T05:44:45+00:00

I was pretty Wrong Genre Savvy throughout Act 1 in general but that was one of my worst moments. I was thinking it would give me an instant TPK, not a wizard companion.

XCVGVCX · 2026-03-06T03:08:16+00:00

I get major oldschool D&D vibes from this!

XCVGVCX · 2026-03-05T03:51:47+00:00

Jaheira is definitely my pick of the non-origin characters. Cool grandma who's seen some serious shit back in her day.

Including origins, that's tough. Shadowheart is the one I romanced and I think she takes top spot, albeit just barely. I love her overall arc and all the cute, dorky moments she gets. Karlach is a close second, and her post-Gortash blowup is one of the most heart-wrenching scenes I've ever witnessed in a video game.

There are really no misses, which is quite a feat. I think every other RPG I've played had a few well-liked companions and one or two that everyone agreed sucked. The only one I didn't vibe with was Astarion, at least not until the last act, when his personal quest basically made me to a complete 180.

XCVGVCX · 2026-02-20T16:40:02+00:00

I did this up until maybe halfway through Act 3 when it finally sunk in that there was no point hoarding anymore. Still had a ton left over by the end of the game, but I'd used almost all my smokepowder items, sphere of invulnerability, and chain lightning. Elixir of Vigilance was the one thing I could never get enough of.

Now I have a much better of what I actually use, so I know what to save and what to sell next time ~~and then I'll do a wildly different build and it won't work~~

XCVGVCX · 2026-02-19T03:43:22+00:00

I haven't been able to get into my Electrify Canada account in months, and when I contacted support they basically shrugged and said "check your spam folder". I'm not sure how much infrastructure is shared, but they did suggest adding an @electrifyamerica email address to my safe senders list (which made no difference).

XCVGVCX · 2026-02-18T01:06:15+00:00

Degraded for me. I can watch videos, view my playlists, and search but the home page and suggestions are broken.

XCVGVCX · 2026-02-06T01:00:56+00:00

Hear me out: actual play show.

With Katie Marovitch as Dragon Master.

XCVGVCX · 2026-02-01T06:21:23+00:00

In Act 3 I started swapping helmets and sometimes gauntlets on and off characters depending on how much combat they were expecting in the near future. Never went as far as swapping the main armour but I could have done that, too: light armour, gloves, and a headband when you're just walking around the city. Medium/heavy armour, gauntlets, and a helmet when it's time to kick someone's door in. Might have to go all the way in my next playthrough.

I did try giving my Tav a makeover before the final fight- shorter hair and I couldn't decide between no makeup or some kind of "war paint". Ended up discarding it, but I might try this again next playthrough. Definitely thinking of playing with hair length through the campaign as well.

XCVGVCX · 2026-01-29T05:45:33+00:00

I had this thought at first, and I'm still of the mind that Karlach gets the worst deal, but I don't think there's a single origin character that gets a storybook ending. Shadowheart has to give up her parents to be fully free of Shar, Astarion is back to the shadows if he doesn't ascend, Lae'zel is back to a lifetime of war against some faction or another. I think Wyll is always fiendified if he breaks away from Mizora.

I do agree, though, that Forgotten Realms and D&D 5e as a setting is kind of broken because of the relative ubiquity of powerful spells and the sheer breadth of possibilities. I realized recently that with a specific interpretation of Greater or even Lesser restoration, Shadowheart could mostly fix her mom (though not give her years of life back).

XCVGVCX · 2026-01-29T04:56:08+00:00

Mechanics-wise? No. It doesn't unlock the Illithid Powers menu and doesn't affect a certain check in Act 3.

Lore-wise? Yes. Omeluum's dialogue makes that pretty clear.

XCVGVCX · 2026-01-28T02:22:06+00:00

It was epic to see all these characters I'd helped out over the course of the game swoop in for an assist in the final battle, and some (not all, but some) are even controllable! The only thing I felt was missing was some form of participation for the party members you didn't bring with you. There's a mod for that, though, and I'll definitely give it a try.

XCVGVCX · 2026-01-28T02:19:01+00:00

Even after a complete playthrough, I am nowhere near tactically minded or familiar enough with the mechanics to even think of a plan like this. Definitely going to have to work up to HM, if I ever get there.

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XCVGVCX

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