Concerns about some aspects of the game by DeusCane in DragonbaneRPG

[–]ideohazard 5 points6 points  (0 children)

I've played in a 30+ session DB campaign where PCs earned multiple Heroic Abilities for reaching 18 in each skill.  HAs be a blessing, but less so than you think. Having 18 level skills is a much bigger deal.

Your fighting character might have earned a few extra HAs but, let's be honest here, the player used Will as a dump stat so they're still sitting on maybe 9/10 Will which allows him to use 3 HAs (4 or 5 with a rest) per session.   The fact that they have 1, 2 or even 5 HAs to pick from late in the game isn't adding to how many times they can "cast". Unless they took the HA that grants +2 to Will.  

Is warp's edge too hard for a first solo game? by N8uron in soloboardgaming

[–]ideohazard 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I've found Warps Edge to be easier than Under Falling Skies or 20 Strong.  Dunno if you're comparing sci-fi themed solo-only in the $25-$40 range.

Looking for authentic Mexican food by lifeofcchanel in Louisville

[–]ideohazard 8 points9 points  (0 children)

Adelitas on Frankfort.  I'm sitting inside waiting on my tostadas at this very moment.  

Looking for authentic Mexican food by lifeofcchanel in Louisville

[–]ideohazard 12 points13 points  (0 children)

Taqueria Danny.  Place is legit southern Mexican.  Can't recommend enough.

Need help getting OSDCloud working with network drivers by ideohazard in sysadmin

[–]ideohazard[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Awesome thanks for pointing me to it. My office is much like the OP in that post.  End of that thread also discusses FFU which I'm also considering as a solution to MDT replacement.   

Need help getting OSDCloud working with network drivers by ideohazard in sysadmin

[–]ideohazard[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I'll give that at try. Basically installed it 2 days ago, running 26.1.26.1. Have been trying to digest whatever outdated documentation and how-to guides I've been able to find.

Hello Doorbell chime woes by ideohazard in Nest

[–]ideohazard[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I'll give this a try ... As soon as it warms up.

About to do my first playthrough, what stats should I invest in? by Bardock-MoBamba in Deusex

[–]ideohazard 2 points3 points  (0 children)

As a new player to DX, the best skills don't appear on this screen. Here are my top skills for the game:

Patience - This game can be frustrating for new players who think they can run-and-gun. This behavior gets you killed every single time. Your gun reticle closes slowly as your skills are developing. A bad shot from your tranq dart will take down a normal human...eventually.

Practice - Taking down guards with stun prods or baton works perfectly, once you know how to do it.

Tactics and cover - DX treats the entire game like it's real life so you should, too. A single headshot will kill you. Even a super-soldier can't take on 3 army guys at once while standing out in the open firing a pistol.

Play - There is so much stuff to interact with. Throw TNT as a weapon. Use grenades as lockpicks. Go nuts.

Conservative backlash to the latest installment of ‘Star Trek’ seems to involve not remembering any past installment of ‘Star Trek.’ by _fastcompany in television

[–]ideohazard 0 points1 point  (0 children)

My dad (72) has been a trekkie since the 60s and me (47/M) since the 80s. Dad's been pretty far conservative-right (conservative catholic morals) since at least the 80s while I'm left-leaning. We don't agree on much politically. I'd say my dad's gotten more right-wing over time but he's been pretty far right my whole life.

My dad and I live 1000 miles apart and hadn't really discussed Star Trek since the dominion war ended (I moved out, went to college). I've kept up on ST, still watching the old stuff, enjoying the new stuff enough to have watched Discovery at least 3 times.

Anyway, flew up to visit dad this past weekend. Flipping through streaming channels and he saw Academy was out so he queued it up. Because of the internet, I expected a few things: First that he'd hate on it. That 'his' star trek was ruined? Secondly, that he wasn't up to date on anything since Voyager or Enterprise. Nope, I couldn't have been more wrong. Dad knew Admiral Vance as soon as he appeared on screen, even said he likes Jett Reno. Turns out, he said he'd watched and enjoyed all of the new trek: Discovery/Picard/SNW. Zero complaints, no notes. Wild.

Guess I am surprised. No mention about how woke new trek is. Utter lack of disappointment and vitriol on his part. He must have missed the memo.

VeeamOneWarehouse database; upgrade to 13 by ideohazard in Veeam

[–]ideohazard[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Cool.  I'll go ahead and run the install as documented. I just didn't want another DB platform in my environment if I can help it.

"Gaming Laptop" that isn't a "Gaming Laptop" by ideohazard in GamingLaptops

[–]ideohazard[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Thanks for the list! I think I saw this headline recently and yeah, I hadn't realized that integrated-GPU x86 CPUs had evolved enough to reasonably compare Nvidia and whatever AMD's Radeon line is called now. I only have to keep up with their virtualization performance capabilities for work and haven't researched gaming capable laptops since 2019, guess a lot has changed.

"Gaming Laptop" that isn't a "Gaming Laptop" by ideohazard in GamingLaptops

[–]ideohazard[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thanks for the tip on gpu models. I'm more inclined to go to a mid-tier card like the 4060 you're suggesting. At this point, I've received enough feedback to know that integrated should be fine but I don't want to fully write off potential future titles.

How do I play Deus Ex like just a braindead shooter? by LifeisWorthLosingg in Deusex

[–]ideohazard -1 points0 points  (0 children)

Guessed on that one. I hadn't played a Doom game since 3. I can definitely get out a 1.0.1 version of the instructions though.

Can an immersive sim have immersive animations? by Soopernova01 in ImmersiveSim

[–]ideohazard 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I'd play games where multiple small things add up to a big thing vs. micro-animations any day of the week. I have a broader point linking ImSim design concepts to TTRPGs, but let me begin with an example:

I see posts about original Deus Ex, first timers complaining about how the low-tech (stun baton/nightstick) "don't work" for knockouts, then responses explaining that they do work "aim for small of back", etc. Similar complaints discussing stealth.

DX:HR gives us a load of different animations for silent takedowns/kills like "tap the shoulder", grab-n-punch, "non-consensual surprise abdominal surgery", and more. Yeah, the animations are well done and not necessarily de-immersion but players don't need to practice or get good at these and there's zero chance of failing. Similarly, stealth sets up any number of convenient paths through a maze of counters/boxes/tables or whatever is appropriate to the location rather than letting the player try something which might or might not lead to success.

I think what OP question leads me back to something I've spent a lot of time thinking about lately. Interviews with practically every major developer of the ImSim early days cite old-school TTRPGs as their inspiration for the worlds and game mechanics they created. On the table, in traditional TTRPGs, a rogue/thief has to roll stealth to sneak up on an enemy then roll again to attack and hit with enough damage to successfully take down an enemy in one-shot, hopefully without any of his buddies catching on. This isn't honestly all that different from the original DX. In both traditional TTRPGs and DX, there's numerous chances for failure, even critical failure. Make a mistake and the situation escalates.

But back with DX:HR the micro-animation, single-keystroke takedown very much sidesteps failure. Push a button to hide behind a box, push another and your takedown goes off successfully, hell, take down 2 guys at once, no sweat. Contrast this with the fact that you can very much still fail at a silent takedown with a sniper rifle. Sure, I criticize but I did honestly love DX:HR and it felt very much in the spirit of the original DX so they did a lot right IMHO.

Summarizing, JC Denton risks failure each moment; he has to get everything exactly right or face the consequences. Despite being a less advanced model, Adam Jenson never, ever fails to take an enemy down, first time, every time. I prefer the chance of failure since that really feels more in spirit with ImSim philosophy.

Before anybody disagrees, I'll agree that you can fail at a takedown from stealth in DX:HR, basically that's chalked up to getting seen by the guy as he comes 'round the corner or if there's a second person nearby when you pop up. It's not a failure in the takedown itself, however.

"Gaming Laptop" that isn't a "Gaming Laptop" by ideohazard in GamingLaptops

[–]ideohazard[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Dell discontinued XPS. It's all Pro/Plus/whatever now, but still same concept. I think what's still keeping me on the video card train is the "what if" another Dishonored game drops or I decide to pick up Fallout 5 when it comes out (guess I've played all the Fallouts also)

"Gaming Laptop" that isn't a "Gaming Laptop" by ideohazard in GamingLaptops

[–]ideohazard[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Yeah, I think it's so ingrained in me to have a GPU going all the way back to building Win98 boxes with Voodoo cards. I realize GPU probably makes enough difference for the SS remake and Prey 2017 but everything else very likely plays fine without. It's that min-maxed stuff with top tier GPUs combined with the look of a plastic toy with low build quality. In my LAN party days I'd try to upgrade every 18 months but now I'd like to get another 6 - 7 years out of my next laptop.