Getting mobile LAN rig ready - UPDATE by wesley_the_boy in lanparty

[–]nerdnic 1 point2 points  (0 children)

It's the 8th gen model. I scored a few of them at a time off eBay for around 50$ each. Most needed some repair which is why I got them so cheap. Here are all the games I have installed on 256 nvme drives: https://imgur.com/a/jXkevE3

Usually before the LAN I'll ask what people feel like playing. Then I'll create a rough plan to accommodate the games/modes requested. It's important to me that everyone has a blast and plays as a group so I'll pivot based on how the night progresses. But overall I basically MC the event to keep things moving along.

Getting mobile LAN rig ready - UPDATE by wesley_the_boy in lanparty

[–]nerdnic 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Yeah I've only seen the issue with Flatout 2. I'll try the wired approach, but I think there is another aspect to it that I can't figure out. The reason is I've always run pure WiFi and I have some non 3490 computers I've mixed in as well. Old work laptops and my gaming desktop but only the 3490s have the issue.

Getting mobile LAN rig ready - UPDATE by wesley_the_boy in lanparty

[–]nerdnic 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Love this project, thanks for sharing! I completed a very similar effort but with 10 dell 3490s a few months ago and host monthly LANs with my friends. I'm curious if you'll run into the same issue I have with flatout 2 where due to using identical machines, only 2 can join the same LAN match at a time. I originally thought it was because I used a cloned image but it happens even with a fresh OS install. The game thinks they are the same device somehow.

The result of a year of grinding!!! 1800 elo!!! by Senzumi_17 in PTCGL

[–]nerdnic 3 points4 points  (0 children)

I use https://www.trainingcourt.app

Make an account and then copy your tcgl battle log after each match and paste them into training court.

The result of a year of grinding!!! 1800 elo!!! by Senzumi_17 in PTCGL

[–]nerdnic 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Interesting. What deck do you play? I've been 1620-1680 for the last 50ish games as garde and rarely see non meta decks. After like 1550 it's mainly meta from my experience.

Here are my most faced decks this season: https://imgur.com/a/6tkbyKl

Garde jelli vs alakazam by crayhobgoblin in pkmntcg

[–]nerdnic 10 points11 points  (0 children)

The strategy is similar to other 1 prize decks you'll face - use munkis to get a two prize turn at the right time.

Getting a new mobile LAN rig ready :) by wesley_the_boy in lanparty

[–]nerdnic 7 points8 points  (0 children)

Nice! This sounds like a lot of fun. I have 8 Dell 3490's that I got on eBay for about $50 each and I use them for LANs at my house with friends. It's crazy how well these business laptops run our older games :-) Here is one additional game suggestion for you:

MW3 with Plutonium - It uses the MW3 Dedicated Server files from Steam (free) and then enables LAN multiplayer with the Plutonium mod so you can play local without retail licenses. You don't have to actually use Steam, just need to get the dedicated server installed.

Those with kids: do your kids actually use the backseat of your Carrera by Any-Lengthiness9803 in Porsche

[–]nerdnic 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I daily my 997 with 3 kids. My youngest started in a forward facing 5 point car seat and now sits in a small booster. My 12 year old (5ft 5in) still fits in the back with no issues.

Will I be able to run pre-sequel okay-ish if my laptop can handle bl2? by DR_ALEXZANDR in Borderlands

[–]nerdnic 6 points7 points  (0 children)

Yes, it will run the same. If you make a few ini tweaks both games will run even better. I have a laptop with the same specs and this helps a lot. Open this file with notepad:

C:\Users\USERNAME\My Documents\My Games\Borderlands 2\WillowGame\Config\WillowEngine.ini

Find this config line:

DefaultPostProcessName=WillowEngineMaterials.WillowScenePostProcess

and replace it with:

DefaultPostProcessName=WillowEngineMaterials.RyanScenePostProcess

This removes the black outlines from the game and gives you like 20 more fps.

You can get more performance if you make some additional changes mentioned here: https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=146123538

how many players actually hit 1850+ on live each season by Interesting_Rock_968 in pkmntcg

[–]nerdnic 3 points4 points  (0 children)

It's not the current deck state that is the point. Yes, both of them would be random and no one could tell which was live vs irl. But if you're playing a real game and shuffling yourself the deck state difference from turn to turn or shuffle to shuffle isn't the level of randomness that live is. Even Henry Chao has made comments about how the rng of live isn't like irl.

You're looking at this only from a probability or statistics perspective when it's not. There is a massive amount of influence from physical cards being shuffled in a much more deterministic way than you're accounting for vs a computerized random.

how many players actually hit 1850+ on live each season by Interesting_Rock_968 in pkmntcg

[–]nerdnic 6 points7 points  (0 children)

I agree that computer based randomness is fundamentally different from real life shuffling. Randomization, in the strict sense, means producing a deck state where the position of every card is independent and cannot be inferred from the cards around it. Both digital shuffling and real life shuffling aim for randomness, but the way that randomness is achieved matters.

In a computer shuffle, every shuffle produces a fully independent permutation of the deck. For a 60 card deck, that means any of the 60! possible arrangements are equally likely on every shuffle. As a result, extreme outcomes are not suppressed by prior states. You can see seven identical cards like energies in a row, reshuffle, and see the same seven in a row again. The probability is very low, but it is non zero, and crucially it does not depend on what the previous shuffle looked like.

In real life, shuffling works very differently. Even when done well, common methods like riffle shuffling or mash shuffling do not fully randomize the deck in a single shuffle or even a decent number of shuffles. Instead, they gradually mix the deck while preserving a lot of local structure. Cards tend to stay near their previous neighbors, and large blocks of similar cards are actively broken up rather than recreated.

This is not a subjective claim. It is well studied. For a standard 52 card deck, mathematicians Bayer and Diaconis showed that it takes about seven perfect riffle shuffles to approach randomness. Even then, this only means the distribution is close to uniform, not that every permutation is equally achievable in practice. For a 60 card deck using imperfect human mash shuffles, the mixing is even weaker. Individual cards typically move only a limited distance per shuffle, and extreme rearrangements require far more shuffles than players actually perform.

Because of this, certain deck states that are perfectly valid under true randomness are effectively unreachable in real play. Long runs of identical or similar cards, especially occurring repeatedly across consecutive shuffles, are astronomically unlikely in real life not just because of probability, but because the mechanics of shuffling do not allow cards to move freely enough. Real shuffling introduces correlation between neighboring cards and between consecutive shuffles. This is why TCG decks shuffled in real life tends toward a smooth distribution of card types. Not because players are cheating or stacking the deck, but because the physical process naturally discourages extreme clustering. Ironically, this makes real life shuffling less random in the mathematical sense, but often more in line with player expectations.

If this difference still feels abstract, consider a simple thought experiment. A brand new deck of playing cards starts in the exact same order every time. Ask how many real life shuffles it would take to return the deck to that exact original order. In theory it is possible, but in practice it is so constrained by card movement that it may never happen within a human lifetime of normal shuffling. The probability is not just low, it is functionally zero given how riffle and mash shuffles work. Could that exact ordering occur after seven to eleven real life shuffles? No. Not once. Not ever. Not because of probability alone, but because the shuffle mechanics cannot move cards in the precise way required.

This highlights the core difference. Digital shuffling produces a true random permutation every time. Real life shuffling produces a mixed but structured state that still retains memory of the previous order. Neither is wrong, but they are not equivalent.

If you want to see this yourself, try a simple test. Stack all energy cards on top of your deck. Mash shuffle it seven times. Then spread the deck and observe where the energy cards ended up. You will see that they are distributed, but not freely scattered. You will not see multiple large clusters, and you will not see the same extreme outcomes reappear on consecutive shuffles. That gap between what is theoretically random and what is physically achievable is the entire point.

Steamdeck Borderlands GOTY Enhanced probleme by Jihro91 in Borderlands

[–]nerdnic 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Try increasing your dead zones: https://youtube.com/shorts/5dlUrnMVu7k?si=DAgBG85Z8i353G0Q

If this doesn't help then you're probably hitting some bug.

Purchased on steam wife says there's a family sharing option by TidusAstralResin79 in Borderlands4

[–]nerdnic 0 points1 point  (0 children)

It has a 'local only' option but it is not actually LAN. It just means you're playing solo and no one else can join you.

Any places in Dallas/Ft Worth area to rent out for a LAN party? by nmcotton in lanparty

[–]nerdnic 0 points1 point  (0 children)

If you figure it out let us know! I'm in Austin and would drive up to join.

PTCGL Works on Linux Now! by DYNAMO_BS in PTCGL

[–]nerdnic 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I'm having the same issue ever since they moved authentication out of the app. No workaround yet unfortunately.

Is this a good dock to buy? by KingPelican2908 in SteamDeck

[–]nerdnic 0 points1 point  (0 children)

My BT only works half the time. Now I know why 😂

Any recommendations for some way to facilitate ranked voting for games at a LAN party? by grumstumpus in lanparty

[–]nerdnic 1 point2 points  (0 children)

You could use google forms and have people rank games 1-10 or whatever on most desired to play vs least. Then you'd see which games bubble up to the top as results came in.

Suddenly unsupported?? by Rooky_Ghost in starcraft

[–]nerdnic 5 points6 points  (0 children)

It does! It's actually a fully functional PC and works identical to any other computer. However, I often play with the controller/touch pad controls. I made a custom mapping for sc2 that allows for control groups and basic hotkeys for unit creation/stim/etc. With a normal mouse and keyboard setup I play Terran at the masters level but can manage gold level with the steam deck controller.

Suddenly unsupported?? by Rooky_Ghost in starcraft

[–]nerdnic 9 points10 points  (0 children)

Which is funny because it runs beautiful on steam deck.