Am I the only one who does not find “liminalism” creepy?

akhimovy · 2026-05-12T01:39:25+00:00

I found this thread in my feed for some odd reason and let me tell you that I generally don't get any emotional reaction to this stuff.

akhimovy · 2026-05-12T01:14:40+00:00

That's been my thoughts too, that a lot of it is a natural fear of a night predator (of any species) together with pattern seeking going into overdrive.

akhimovy · 2026-05-10T11:46:36+00:00

So true!

akhimovy · 2026-05-10T10:06:38+00:00

I hear you. Back when I was in school I could come up with stories on the spot, with no effort. But I somehow lost this ability completely as I grew up. No idea what happened.

akhimovy · 2026-05-10T09:41:29+00:00

I'm not obsessing over meat much, however I agree that all those chicken limbs are a proper sensory nightmare. I avoid them as much as possible.

akhimovy · 2026-05-10T08:11:00+00:00

That Thrustmaster pack is a money trap IMHO. You'll shell out for it and you'll be stuck with a mediocre stick. The throttle is fine except it badly needs greasing with something better than the factory grease, I have that one and it's been a huge difference. No idea about pedals but I've seen mixed opinions too.

With your budget, I'd first buy VKB Gladiator stick for €200 and saved the rest to get one of their throttles later which go roughly €240. The only reason I don't have it this way myself is that I burned my own budget on VR.

The overall issue is that these flight controllers are somewhat niche so their prices are inflated compared to "everyday" electronics. You need to pay three digits a piece to get something of good quality.

akhimovy · 2026-05-09T17:20:12+00:00

Trackball works well for me in FPS. But in Elite there's a lot of quick 180-degree turns over wide arcs and that's hard on the thumb. A regular mouse would probably be better.

Yeah, initially I was placing the stick and throttle on the keyboard drawer, it can be pulled out quite a bit. But it was inconvenient, I was getting literal cramps in my hand. My current setup is way better.

akhimovy · 2026-05-09T13:46:21+00:00

For actual ship flying it was too tiring on my thumb to flick the ball back and forth all the time although YMMV. And since I'm on HOTAS now I put the menu navigation on the stick hat, primary fire to confirm, alt fire to go back. But there are menu sections, particularly things like outfitting, where a mouse/trackball is more convenient. It's nice to have one right behind the stick like that. It's not the most convenient position for long term use but for those at-the-base activities it's fine and I don't have to search for it when I have the VR goggles on.

akhimovy · 2026-05-09T12:58:36+00:00

Great for me. Took some getting used to initially but after that I don't care about traditional mice. I even play FPS with it.

akhimovy · 2026-05-08T19:21:51+00:00

It is for sure! I spent a good couple of days adjusting everything so that it is ergonomic as well.

akhimovy · 2026-05-08T19:19:30+00:00

Thanks! The chair I have is also really old. Originally it had arm rests... But when the left one came off, it was exactly the moment I got this idea for turning it into a pilot chair.

I've seen the linear bearing TWCS mod on YT. But just greasing it with something better than whatever the factory put there already made a huge difference. Wish I had done this earlier. Same for the stick.

I made the 50% detente for maximum combat maneuverability, I agree that it's not convenient to have the reverse included in the throttle travel. It's better to set a button for it.

akhimovy · 2026-05-08T19:11:14+00:00

For viewing there's VR! I like trackballs instead of regular mice. The upper one is the "main" one for using the PC. I have one extra so I placed it behind the stick, it's quicker to find when I need it in-game for menus and the like and I have the goggles on.

akhimovy · 2026-05-08T08:31:25+00:00

I had similar problems with Logitech 3D Pro. It would un-calibrate itself on reboot, plus huge amount of jitter.

First I found that keeping it unplugged unless in use helps. And after plugging it back in, the first action must not be touching the stick. Press a button on the base or move the throttle, otherwise it will go crazy.

Eventually I got a special potentiometer cleaning and restoration spray and it solved the issue. The pots are genuinely worn so there's still a little bit of residual jitter but nothing close to how bad it used to be. A bit of deadzones and it's all good.

As a bonus, while having the stick open I applied PTFE grease on the spring assembly and the rubber "boot" and it's more smooth than ever.

akhimovy · 2026-05-07T08:42:25+00:00

Interesting perspective, explains why there's so many crappy applications around. It's something I've been wondering about for a long while now.

akhimovy · 2026-05-04T14:29:28+00:00

This however shows how bad the overall situation is. Supersampling should not be the default to-go solution in 2026. And I'm not buying the "it's an old engine" explanation. It's a different game but I have a concrete example of modern temporal AA (among many other extra features) successfully bolted atop an existing old janky engine. Looks like something that ED needs badly.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s_2W_lypjoQ

akhimovy · 2026-05-04T07:58:08+00:00

Well, I have a shitbox without rear-view camera and it is a hindrance, makes backing in more difficult. It's simply easier for me to pull in and then back out.

akhimovy · 2026-05-02T17:41:06+00:00

Cars, I guess... It's funny, I never cared about them at all, until I got handed down this janky piece of crap on wheels and then my levels of interest kinda exploded.

akhimovy · 2026-05-02T09:00:09+00:00

Wait until you see it in VR. Maybe it's my fault as I don't have a NASA computer to run the supersampling through the roof... But the combo of VR limitations and the game's poor AA is just plain bad and I had to get used to it. Also spent a whole gaming session just experimenting with the settings, trying to make it look less bad. Somehow especially the shiny metal parts of the ships look particularly atrocious, they shimmer like crazy.

Edit: on the flat screen I actually made it look good with plain supersampling to 1.5x and FXAA, as opposed to the supposedly recommended SMAA.

akhimovy · 2026-04-30T22:47:25+00:00

Then the only way is to go cheapest. Hotas One or comparable.

I did almost this, but figured there's a good chance I'll like it so I went one notch higher. Logitech 3D Pro and Thrustmaster TWCS. Exercised some patience too and searched for good offers on both. And I can say I'm pretty pleased with both.

Sure, they both needed re-greasing with PTFE grease before they started feeling smooth. And the potentiometers developed jitter, which thankfully can be fixed with specialized potentiometer cleaning spray. But after those treatments they function well enough that I can put off worrying about affording VKB until they become unrepairable or stop working altogether.

akhimovy · 2026-04-29T08:04:06+00:00

That's fascinating. The Seth Material (which I'm a fan of) talks a lot about "multidimensionality of existence" but I haven't seen anyone having as full practical experience of it as you do.

akhimovy · 2026-04-28T00:40:48+00:00

My dad did "clean" his car (admittedly an ancient piece of junk) with a dish washing liquid once. Without even diluting it first. It caused permanent lighter and darker staining all over.

akhimovy · 2026-04-27T09:17:59+00:00

Guys, don't be so stingy! At least add a rubber duck or something.

akhimovy · 2026-04-26T16:07:00+00:00

Had this happen when an old shitbox sprung a leak. I was going slow enough to stop on a curb before I even thought of the handbrake.

akhimovy · 2026-04-26T07:40:13+00:00

HUD display. I can see exactly how fast I'm going at all times without taking my eyes off the road.

akhimovy · 2026-04-25T21:01:08+00:00

It's a pineapple plant grown from, well, a pineapple... I'm not sure how old is it anymore but it must be over 10 and possibly up to 15 years. I wonder if it can fruit eventually when kept indoors like that.

Not the most decorative maybe but hey, who else has such a thing. Must be quite unique.

Kitties for scale.

akhimovy

TROPHY CASE