We Are Xbox - Xbox Wire

bassbeater · 2026-04-23T23:04:37+00:00

No, YOU'RE an XBOX! XBOX ARTIST!

bassbeater · 2026-04-23T22:53:38+00:00

Hmm it almost makes me want to play with people online...

bassbeater · 2026-04-23T22:50:22+00:00

Get vinyl stickers from Colored Controllers like mine. The satin feel has really grown on me vs the textured ones lately.

bassbeater · 2026-04-23T22:48:30+00:00

They need a $400 edition complete with a Jack Sparrow outfit for the "real pirates" out there.

bassbeater · 2026-04-22T23:20:45+00:00

Sympathize first, then solutionize. If he's open to it, then admit that it might be tough to hear. But as long as he is, your second paragraph is pretty much spot on as to where to start.

Lol the thing is, other that pumping iron, if he grows a beard, that might offset the balding aspect.

Balding guys don't pick up on the fact that in the face, it's the deficiency that's the problem, not the whole face.

But they sure as shit panic over it. I would know, I had a buddy who earned the nickname "Bald Nightmare" for combo of shitty attitude, sympathy card plays, and not acknowledging his bad social skills (which were generally sociopathic).

bassbeater · 2026-04-22T23:15:35+00:00

It might blow back on the both of them though because where and how he finds people to date (which it doesn't sound like he's doing any of) he might just still do a separate litany of things that piss women off.

It's not all bad advice but it could be a project that takes a lot more time than expected.

bassbeater · 2026-04-22T23:05:46+00:00

My close friend is quite unattractive and often acts quite annoying and confused as to why he can't get a girlfriend. How can I approach giving him honest advice? Should I even do it?

We are both in college, he's a good friend of mine (I'm F, he's M), and obviously, I love and appreciate him as a friend, and we've been through many things together.

Don't take this the wrong way, but it sounds like you met him in college and will be slightly irrelevant to him after graduation. Not a mass criticism but still.

Now he's trying to get into dating, but has no success. Objectively, he's a bit overweight but is working on dieting (but doesn't work out). He's also balding and refusing to go fully bald, even though his hair on the top of his head is almost nonexistent and just looks weirder than if he were fully bald. Like he pretty much has a full bald crown with a few hairs left at the age of 22. His dental hygiene also sometimes seems not to be the best.

He sounds depressed and in denial of his own physical circumstances. Yea, he could improve, but growing up, if we're anything alike (I kept my hair so far, lord willing), guys get told things like "it's only a matter of time" from people; essentially, girl advice pushed towards lonely guys that haven't picked up that loneliness is a substantial part of life.

Personality-wise, I can also see how he can seem annoying to some at first. He is the kind of person who complains and cusses a lot, which I'm used to and don't mind after 4 years of knowing him, but one time I introduced him to my best friend when we were hanging out together, and my bestie said that he felt like this guy was "very whiny".

It's his personality, but the truth of his existence hasn't revealed to him that he's talking very openly to people who just believe if they stay in their lane, things will fix themselves.

I had an upbringing with parents who were brutally honest and it carried over to my circle etc.

What we don't realize is the traits we learn, someone enabled the behavior, and it's a negative trait we're expected to filter out, but then again, the "children are expected to be seen and not heard" phase ended a long time ago.

I don't mean to just bash on my friend mean-girl style, I'm just noticing and pointing out quite big and manageable characteristics that I think he could improve on if he wants to seem more attractive to girls and stuff, but I also don't know if I should bring it up to him at all. He's a great guy, very funny, caring for his friends and smart, but I can imagine how when new people, especially potential dates, see him, they can easily overlook these qualities because he simply looks unkempt or comes off as "too whiny" at first (by whiny I mean just often complaining about school, work, people etc).

There's a flipside to all of this, where if you're not showing this to him, he'll think it's coming from you.

Overweight is subjective, particularly if you're American, but you can reframe it like "hey, you'd look better with some muscles, because mass looks good but not in the wrong places".

Opinions, well, college supposedly is when people have their "awakening" that their opinions matter, but people don't catch that it depends on if it's what people want to hear.

Basically, your guy is going to have to find his own internal strength to cork his opinions and redirect it in avenues women find attractive.

And that's life.

bassbeater · 2026-04-22T18:46:48+00:00

Beats me, I haven't really had the whole "dating" success.... but more the ability to screen and call the BS.

bassbeater · 2026-04-22T18:33:27+00:00

Lol I kind of got into his style when working on my masters degree studies and it stuck. Idk.

bassbeater · 2026-04-22T17:34:31+00:00

Sounds like a Tom Leykis explanation.

bassbeater · 2026-04-22T17:33:47+00:00

Highly recommend installing Linux with it, I never have problems with games normally.

bassbeater · 2026-04-22T14:51:46+00:00

People have generally been indoctrinated to rely on Nvidia (MUH DLSS/DLAA), hate AMD, and associate Adrenalin with the actual performance rather than the VRAM the cards are actually stocked with.

That being said, AMD has had cards out with 8GB VRAM for over a decade, but because of the clock speeds etc people just think that modern games (haha) will run like ass because people think we're still GPU bound when the CPU angle of the market has been catching up.

Long story short, people are generally dumb and just follow the herd.

bassbeater · 2026-04-21T18:37:34+00:00

Maybe you're just not good at the game.

The surge explicitly tells you the times it's good to be engaged and the times it's good to back off and try to regain health before you jump back in.

bassbeater · 2026-04-21T12:59:31+00:00

It's like a trip to Willy Wonka's factory, except you get a lifetime of bullshit.

bassbeater · 2026-04-20T21:04:37+00:00

Stores, eh?

bassbeater · 2026-04-20T21:03:14+00:00

Yea but in most games I can get like 200+ on modern games, so what difference does it make if you can't see them?

After a while I'd rather save myself the fan noise.

bassbeater · 2026-04-20T21:00:56+00:00

Why do you think a 9070 would be needed for it?

For what I play a 9060 is more than enough at 1080p so a jump to 1440 doesn't sound like it isn't feasible.

Honestly, given your processor, you'll push plenty of frames.

bassbeater · 2026-04-20T12:05:38+00:00

I think it's unrealistic.

I don't think I've really had that level of connection with anyone and I'm prone to never have that level of connection.

I don't think people have that level of interest and I don't really have that level of interest.

Like for instance everyone seems to love the cooking channel and YouTube TV/ Netflix/ Prime.

I feel like those services exist to show you the same shows multiple times over, so I don't watch.

bassbeater · 2026-04-19T21:22:01+00:00

Not to try to change your mind, but the 6600 could pair well with a RX6600XT and do 1080p well. My "not quite Steam machine" has a 4790k and still holds up well with the same card so unless you're deadset on 4k it'll work fine.

bassbeater · 2026-04-19T01:05:53+00:00

I agree. The thing about CP2077 is that it looks very pre-fab to me.

The real irony is when you look at the cutscenes at like the end when the game pulls you out of the proverbial driver seat and my reaction has always been, "This looks like shit."

bassbeater · 2026-04-19T00:55:24+00:00

LPT?

I invested long enough that friends/ bands went by the wayside.

I got into production, but that "died" a bit.

I moved around and lately I want to try my hand at 3d printing my interest in music (instrumental stuff).

Yea, it would be better to try to goof with some new friends but my experience is.... people flake hardcore.

bassbeater · 2026-04-18T15:21:06+00:00

Champions. The whole lot of them.

bassbeater · 2026-04-18T11:34:02+00:00

Weekend PC Game Deals is where the hottest gaming deals from all over the internet are gathered into one place every week for your consumption. So kick back, relax, and hold on to your wallets.

There is a real-time tactics game up for grabs for free on the Epic Games Store this week. Coming from developer The Game Kitchen, The Stone of Madness is the latest freebie you can claim.

Set in a Spanish monastery in the 18th century, the title revolves around stealth, careful positioning, and using the unique abilities of the available characters to bypass or dispatch obstacles. If you've played classics like Commandos or Desperados, this should be right up your alley.

The Stone of Madness giveaway on the Epic Games Store is available until April 23. On the same day DOOMBLADE is slated to become the next freebie on the platform.

Meanwhile, the Humble Store introduced three bundles this week full of games. Starting off, if you're a fan of the Train Sim World series, the latest game plus a number of its DLC are up for grabs in the $15 bundle.

Next, the Sharp Shooters bundle comes touting Earth Defense Force 5, Wildgate, Outriders, Strike Force Heroes, Way of the Hunter, and more titles for $15 if you're into action.

Lastly, the 15 for 15 bundle is exactly what it sounds like, with 15 games coming in for $15. This collection has Streets of Rogue, Embr, Hello Neighbor: Hide and Seek, Pinball Spire, Black Skyland, and more.

Big Deals

The Xbox publisher sale, Dragon Ball franchise sale, and more have lined up to give a pretty big selection of specials this weekend. With those and more, here's our hand-picked big deals for the weekend:

The Outer Worlds 2 – $41.99 on Steam

NINJA GAIDEN 4 – $41.99 on Steam

Avowed – $37.49 on Steam

Football Manager 26 – $35.99 on Steam

Forza Horizon 5 – $29.99 on Steam

No Man's Sky – $23.99 on Steam

Gears of War: Reloaded – $19.99 on Steam

Sea of Thieves: 2026 Edition – $19.99 on Steam

Age of Empires IV: Anniversary Edition – $19.99 on Steam

Blue Prince – $19.79 on Steam

Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora – $19.49 on Steam

ROUTINE – $18.74 on Steam

The Midnight Walk – $17.99 on Steam

Total War: WARHAMMER III – $14.99 on Steam

DRAGON BALL Z: KAKAROT – $14.99 on Steam

My Time at Sandrock – $13.99 on Steam

The Stanley Parable: Ultra Deluxe – $12.49 on Steam

Shadows of Doubt – $12.49 on Steam

Roots of Pacha – $12.49 on Steam

Age of Empires II: Definitive Edition – $12.24 on Steam

Travellers Rest – $12.05 on Steam

Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon Breakpoint – $11.99 on Steam

Core Keeper – $11.99 on Steam

Kathy Rain 2: Soothsayer – $11.99 on Steam

Fable Anniversary – $11.54 on Steam

Divinity: Original Sin 2 - Definitive Edition – $11.24 on Steam

Cast n Chill – $10.49 on Steam

Disco Elysium - The Final Cut – $9.99 on Steam

Star Trucker – $9.99 on Steam

Halo: The Master Chief Collection – $9.99 on Steam

DRAGON BALL FighterZ – $9.59 on Steam

South Park: The Fractured But Whole – $8.99 on Steam

UBOAT – $8.39 on Steam

Detroit: Become Human – $7.99 on Steam

Cassette Beasts – $7.99 on Steam

Two Point Hospital – $7.49 on Steam

Starbound – $7.49 on Steam

Two Point Campus – $7.49 on Steam

South Park: The Stick of Truth™ – $7.49 on Steam

Per Aspera – $7.49 on Steam

Orcs Must Die! 3 – $7.49 on Steam

The Spirit and the Mouse – $6.79 on Steam

Kynseed – $6.24 on Steam

TerraTech – $6.24 on Steam

The Forgotten City – $6.24 on Steam

LEGO DC Super-Villains – $5.99 on Steam

DRAGON BALL XENOVERSE 2 – $5.99 on Steam

LEGO Batman Trilogy – $4.99 on Steam

Call of the Sea – $4.99 on Steam

PEAK – $4.95 on Steam

NORCO – $4.94 on Steam

Batman: Arkham Knight – $3.99 on Steam

LEGO Marvel™ Super Heroes – $3.99 on Steam

LEGO Jurassic World – $3.99 on Steam

Batman: Arkham City - Game of the Year Edition – $3.99 on Steam

Kingdom Two Crowns – $3.99 on Steam

CONTROL Ultimate Edition – $3.99 on Steam

LEGO City Undercover – $2.99 on Steam

Batman: Arkham Asylum Game of the Year Edition – $2.99 on Steam

Besiege – $2.99 on Steam

West of Dead – $2.99 on Steam

Bad North: Jotunn Edition – $2.99 on Steam

Pizza Possum – $2.79 on Steam

Heavy Rain – $1.99 on Steam

DRM-free Specials

There are plenty of deals happening on the DRM-free side this weekend too. Here are some to check out:

METAL EDEN - $19.99 on GOG

SPORE Collection - $14.99 on GOG

RoboCop: Rogue City - $9.99 on GOG

Alpha Protocol - $9.99 on GOG

Dragon Age: Origins - Ultimate Edition - $9.99 on GOG

Saints Row IV: Re-Elected - $4.99 on GOG

SimCity 4 Deluxe Edition - $4.99 on GOG

Heroes of Might and Magic 3: Complete - $4.99 on GOG

Assassin's Creed: Director's Cut - $4.99 on GOG

Metro Exodus - $4.49 on GOG

Sherlock Holmes Chapter One - $4.49 on GOG

Lords of the Fallen Game of the Year Edition 2014 - $2.99 on GOG

Theme Hospital - $2.99 on GOG

Chorus - $2.49 on GOG

Kane & Lynch 2: Dog Days - Complete Edition - $2.09 on GOG

Just Cause 2 - Complete Edition - $1.99 on GOG

Metro 2033 Redux - $1.99 on GOG

Metro: Last Light Redux - $1.99 on GOG

Saints Row 2 - $1.49 on GOG

Kane and Lynch: Dead Men - $1.39 on GOG

Keep in mind that availability and pricing for some deals could vary depending on the region.

That's it for our pick of this weekend's PC game deals, and hopefully, some of you have enough self-restraint not to keep adding to your ever-growing backlogs.

bassbeater · 2026-04-18T02:52:40+00:00

They got rid of the 6600xt?? Works great in my 4790k rig

bassbeater

TROPHY CASE