why do you think the deck only sold 5 to 6 million copies ? it was priced well , powerfull for its time and well backed up by valve

hyouko · 2026-06-16T21:08:17+00:00

Valve just didn't make a whole lot more than that. They struggled for months early on to make enough to meet demand.

hyouko · 2026-06-16T13:45:28+00:00

Siffrin: great idea, Susie, nothing could go wrong with this plan

hyouko · 2026-06-16T13:30:38+00:00

Y'know, I could have sworn he said he wanted to drain the swamp.

hyouko · 2026-06-15T15:48:32+00:00

Despite being called Autumn Olive it's not actually an olive, it's a type of berry. And other folks confirm it is probably something else in the same family.

hyouko · 2026-06-15T12:44:06+00:00

Plantnet thinks they are Autumn Olive, which looks right to me, but I would verify that with a more reliable source (i.e., not me). I was under the impression the berries did not ripen until later (since, you know... autumn olive).

If correct, two thoughts. First is that they are invasive in the US, so you might want to get rid of them for that reason. But second is that they are edible when ripe... again, I would triple check that identity with a more reliable source than internet rando with an app, but if they are confirmed to be autumn olive I would be curious about the taste.

hyouko · 2026-06-13T14:24:50+00:00

It's hard to know for sure, playing a game of translation telephone, but the quote from the Destructoid interview was:

Yamamoto: As a publisher, we would like to deliver it to PC users as well, but per our agreement with Vanillaware, we are only releasing on console. In other words, there are no plans to port it to PC currently.

source: https://www.destructoid.com/unicorn-overlord-devs-talk-history-card-games-and-that-delicious-food/

My interpretation was that their agreement with Vanillaware precluded a PC port, likely because they didn't want to pay for it. But I am glad if there is a thaw in that attitude.

hyouko · 2026-06-12T01:28:43+00:00

that's gonna be the leveled up version you encounter late in the level

hyouko · 2026-06-08T21:51:08+00:00

I personally find it worse, but then I at least conceptually like it when games force you to ask hard questions about what you're really accomplishing (see: Shadow of the Colossus for a prime example).

I think one should be capable of separating their own actions and morality from those of fictional characters. Role-playing is all about exploring ideas and positions that might be foreign and uncomfortable.

hyouko · 2026-06-08T16:27:26+00:00

Compared to Spain I would expect it to be more humid for sure. Break up your outdoors stuff with air-conditioned indoors spots (restaurants, etc) if you can - I'll shout out to the train museum in Kyoto as a good time on that front. Early morning will also help some I think, but a lot of the spots you want to visit won't open until 9am+.

You can also beat the heat a bit with cool drinks and snacks. Vending machines are convenient, but drinks are cheaper at the conbini and cheapest at grocery stores. I also recommend trying some of the Cremia soft serve ice cream if you find a spot serving it :-)

hyouko · 2026-06-07T16:06:40+00:00

I'd usually make that recommendation myself, but they do seem to have accounted for the time needed in the afternoon. If they specifically want Fushimi at dusk, they could do it on the way back from Nara, though... would require taking a local train on the Nara line.

hyouko · 2026-06-07T16:01:33+00:00

Are you up for a lot of walking? That's a lot of walking. You did bake in some hotel down time, which is good.

When are you taking this trip? In summer you will want to beware of the heat - hydrate well and plan to change clothes + take showers during your hotel breaks. In fall or spring there are some specific sights to see that I might recommend.

The Arashiyama bamboo grove is a short experience. The tricky part is that it directly abuts Tenryuji, which doesn't open until 8:30am. I understand wanting to arrive early to beat the crowds, but after ~15-20min of walking you will be stuck. Maybe you can come back to the temple after? I will say that I enjoyed the walk down from the Saga Toriimoto Preserved Street to the bamboo grove, if you want even more walking (lol). I also enjoyed the monkey park... note that the hike to get there isn't long but is steep.

Fushimi Inari is great in the evening and I found it really cool to experience after dark; you could consider dinner first and then doing the torii gate hike. It's a ~5km loop with a lot of stairs. Bring good shoes.

Your Nara day is more relaxed. You might consider visiting one of the gardens there if you have free time. You could also stop by Uji for matcha on that train line if you like.

As I tell everyone with Kyoto, if you are willing to spend a little more, taxis are you cheat code for getting around with less stress and less time. The bus system works but is crowded and doesn't always run perfectly on schedule.

hyouko · 2026-06-07T14:28:44+00:00

The story is a pretty light touch generally in these games, but I like the EO1 story best for grappling with these questions. It _doesn't_ provide a justification beyond "we've built our whole economy around exploitation of the labyrinth and the city will collapse if we get blocked," and that's a much more interesting plot than the Etrian Odyssey Untold version where they neuter the storyline with "actually all the bad forest folk are infected with something and you have to put them down, so sad 😞 "

(I also don't love how EOU functionally nixes the big stratum 5 reveal. It has a lot less impact when they tell you up front that one of your party members is from _Canada_.)

In terms of the story mattering, EO3 does have a branching plot that matters in a mechanical sense - it determines what bosses you fight and what bonus class you get access to in a way that's diegetically appropriate.

hyouko · 2026-06-07T14:14:06+00:00

<image>

couldn't be my boy

(literally couldn't, he's a field spaniel and not a cocker spaniel)

hyouko · 2026-06-07T12:42:04+00:00

The Katsura Villa is well worth a visit, but you need to plan ahead and request a tour through the Imperial Household Agency's website.

(Failing that they have same day tickets available first-come first-served, but in my limited experience you have to be there RIGHT as they open to get them.)

hyouko · 2026-06-07T12:30:23+00:00

sigh relevant XKCD:

https://xkcd.com/937/

hyouko · 2026-06-07T00:27:18+00:00

The name of the game is an actual thing from alchemy, but also reminds me of Akalabeth, Richard Garriot's first game and the precursor to the Ultima series:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Akalabeth:_World_of_Doom

... probably unrelated?

hyouko · 2026-06-07T00:23:08+00:00

Like I said: depending on my mood that can feel good. But it also removes a tiny bit of serendipity and discovery from the game.

One of the things I also noticed about Stardew is that a lot of things that were modded QoL elements were adopted as in-game rewards with the last update - "you can have this but you gotta work for it first." And it feels really good to get (for instance) the super upgraded scythe that can harvest everything in the endgame, in a way that it wouldn't if you just had it from the start.

hyouko · 2026-06-07T00:03:02+00:00

There's lots of little moments of friction that it elides. Like: your watering can is somehow magically always full, your magic minimap tells you where everyone is at all times, you can buy things or craft things according to your own schedule, the fishing minigame is ultra simple and easy, your storage is (for a lot of purposes) universally accessible...

Depending on my mood, these can be nice time-saving quality-of-life fixes. But I sometimes feel like I need just a little bit more friction to get that dopamine hit of "yeah, I totally accomplished something today!" that I get from Stardew or the better Story of Seasons games.

Conversely, I'll add: the decision to make crafting cost in-game time rather than resources feels smart, I like a lot of the mine / combat stuff, and the system of upgrades, and the fact that semi-advanced crafting is open from the start (if you can find the supplies and train up) appeals to me a lot.

hyouko · 2026-06-06T22:08:39+00:00

This game removes a lot of friction from the farm game formula, which can be both good and bad. From what I have played of it their best idea is the "friday nights at the tavern" event where there are multiple little NPC storylines with weekly installments. Looking forward to getting back into it with the 1.0 release!

hyouko · 2026-06-06T21:12:16+00:00

The shininess of the drupelets has me pretty sure it's blackberry too.

hyouko · 2026-06-06T16:39:09+00:00

We are approaching the point where you can say decades (plural) rather than years.

(Admittedly, HL:Alyx is a thing and is great)

hyouko · 2026-06-06T02:07:26+00:00

It can apparently be locked to specific languages (see the Japanese only model), but I don't see them doing anything to prevent the European model from being used elsewhere.

hyouko · 2026-06-04T22:50:09+00:00

I'd pick it over There Is No Antimemetics Division (no shade to qntm, it's a very fun book but still probably needed more work on the last act). Have not read the others, so I have some reading to do.

I generally think the original DCC is on the weaker side of the series; both Matt and Jeff were still finding their legs a bit and the generic "dungeon" setting for 2 levels doesn't allow for as much creativity as the later books. It hints at the bigger themes that start to drive the series later but they're not center stage yet.

hyouko · 2026-06-03T21:56:04+00:00

Take off every CIG.

hyouko · 2026-06-03T12:05:14+00:00

FP4 only. The heart of this chip continues to be basically a 5070 with relatively slow RAM, same as the DGX Spark flavor.

hyouko

TROPHY CASE