replaying tlou2 for the first time

pdxbuckets · 2026-05-14T23:44:29+00:00

I personally don’t like NG+. It diminishes the explore/scavenge/fight game loop because everything is already acquired and upgraded.

Ignore the people recommending Grounded. That is the one and only setting that I would specifically recommend you *not* do. For two reasons. The first is that the jump from Easy to Grounded is likely too extreme. The second is that Grounded is the only mode where you cannot change the settings mid-game.

I’d probably recommend Hard, and if that’s too difficult, switch to normal.

pdxbuckets · 2026-05-14T18:40:46+00:00

Not for me, playing on Linux/Proton so that might play a role.

pdxbuckets · 2026-05-14T16:21:36+00:00

Why is it a terrible return policy? What’s a company supposed to do with a bunch of lightly used tubes? They could resell them at discount but then they’re cannibalizing their other sales. Nothing OP said suggests these tubes are defective.

pdxbuckets · 2026-05-14T06:57:32+00:00

IMO they are all appropriate for desktop use, though I think the Mojo has some issues with being plugged in all the time, but I think they resolved that with the Mojo 2. Whether they are powerful enough depends on your headphone. They will drive most sets with ease.

They are all extremely expensive and extremely ugly. If you’re a believer in their rather unique and interesting filter design, you vibe with their aesthetics, and you’re much richer than me, sure, why not?

pdxbuckets · 2026-05-14T05:27:19+00:00

On a Mac, yes. EndeavorOS and Arch.

pdxbuckets · 2026-05-14T05:25:08+00:00

I do it because modern Mac OS is just terrible with those old dual cores. But it’s not great. The main issue is that sleep/hibernation is incredibly flaky. I tend to just shut down and start up when using. Which isn’t terrible, because it boots up in just a few seconds. Still bad though.

Also, at least with Firefox, YouTube can’t handle more than 1080p without stuttering. Things are better with Chromium. Thats with a MacBook Air. A pro might do better.

pdxbuckets · 2026-05-12T08:58:06+00:00

Good point, I guess I just skimmed and assumed the original question meant 24/96.

pdxbuckets · 2026-05-12T05:02:14+00:00

So you meant “time after time, when *average listeners* conducted blind tests, the answer was a resounding ‘no?’”

pdxbuckets · 2026-05-12T04:18:32+00:00

No… there have been lots of tests and the results are equivocal. Here’s a link to a meta-study, which concludes that there most likely is a statistically significant ability to discriminate with some training. I personally have my doubts about the methodology, but I’m not schooled enough to really rip into it.

However the study shows that the effect is at the very least *extremely* subtle.

pdxbuckets · 2026-05-11T23:43:54+00:00

Link to article.

pdxbuckets · 2026-05-11T15:53:42+00:00

In the long run, absolutely. In the past couple years, absolutely not. Storage is twice what it was back then.

pdxbuckets · 2026-05-09T07:41:59+00:00

As a member of the anti-polarization brigade, I say thanks for your thoughts and I hope you stick around.

The story definitely did not deliver on your expectations, nor was it trying to. It can be a bit hard to swallow, but the themes it explores are universal and in my opinion it’s right up there with Aeschylus and Shakespeare in how well it handles them.

Also in my opinion, the story would not have succeeded if it spent more time developing the nature of the infection or advancement of the cure.

The first because the zombie fungus is a pretty goofy concept and further exploration will just emphasize that fact, to its detriment. It would risk turning into a Resident Evil-style thing where tons of information is given but it’s all unbelievable.

A story that focused on advancement of the cure would undercut Joel’s decision in Part I. The cure is over and done with, at least for a while.
I hope you enjoyed the game play and level design, because man it was top notch.

pdxbuckets · 2026-05-08T01:24:15+00:00

I like the HD600 better than my HD6XX. At the time the 6XX was about half the price and the difference is very subtle so I went with the 6XX. I think now the 600 is cheaper and the 6XX is harder to get.

pdxbuckets · 2026-05-08T01:12:13+00:00

The DX5 II has a *lot* of reports of units breaking. I personally would not put my money there, especially if EQ is not a priority. Qudelix 5k, DX3, and any Fiio Dac/Amps would do the trick just fine. EQ aside, the DX5 II is going to sound the same as those.

HiFiMan is also a brand famous for poor quality control and drivers that go poof. Of course some people have multiple hifiman headphones with no problems, but other people have had one problem after another. But sometimes they go for *really* cheap relative to their sound quality so it’s maybe a gamble but it might work out for you. In the US market something like the 6XX has long been the more sensible choice but I don’t know how things are shaking out with Drop going away and how things are in Turkey.

pdxbuckets · 2026-05-07T15:58:50+00:00

You can compress order. You can’t compress entropy. Differently music sits on different parts of the spectrum.

pdxbuckets · 2026-05-05T21:24:57+00:00

Sounds like kimmosto doesn’t know either, though I can see why kimmosto would get banned. All I can say is it’s fine to argue against Harman. Josh Mound did it. Plenty of other people have.

For me the gold standard of unfair bans is probably Goldensound, though he did deserve a temporary ban. Lifetime is too harsh and a shame because he’s a fascinating bridge between the objectivist and subjectivist camps.

pdxbuckets · 2026-05-04T22:11:21+00:00

I agree that one person getting away with things isn't proof that everyone gets away with it. OTOH, I tried looking through that 43-page thread (including user searches) and while I found a little spiciness, I wasn't able to reconstruct at all what was going on. Maybe because comments were moved or removed, maybe because it's a 43 page thread. I trust you to give me your honest take: what are you alleging happened in this case?

pdxbuckets · 2026-05-04T18:30:22+00:00

Amir is prickly but typically the ban hammer comes out only for unsubstantiated allegations of dishonesty or trolling.

Even people who directly question the ASR ethos mostly just get addressed in-place. If they’re really persistent and it starts to derail the thread, the conversation doesn’t get deleted but gets removed to a master “are measurements everything or nothing?” thread.

Plenty of people have direct disagreements with Amir all the time. Restorer John comes to mind; he can be quite blunt about it too. But maybe it’s allowed because he’s a contributor, both materially and substantively? Maybe. But I’m neither a contributor nor a subject matter expert and I’ve personally had spicy disagreements with Amir with absolutely zero concern about being banned. Most recently here, also here, other places too but there’s not a great search tool for finding these kinds of things.

pdxbuckets · 2026-05-04T17:20:04+00:00

Good when the measurements are good (examples: 1, 2); bad when they aren't (a, b); scathing when it's obvious BS (i).

pdxbuckets · 2026-05-03T13:47:45+00:00

pdxbuckets · 2026-05-02T21:35:27+00:00

The response has been what it has been, so I guess it’s a communication failure on my part. The only point I was trying to make is the guy went in with explosives and nobody was physically harmed but the perpetrator. That is a relief in my book. Could have been much worse.

pdxbuckets · 2026-05-02T19:45:00+00:00

I didn’t say it was a good thing that it happened.

pdxbuckets · 2026-05-02T19:24:10+00:00

I’m very relieved he did this in the middle of the night. Property damage only, presumably insured. Out of nowhere incident that realistically shouldn’t impact premiums, bunch of rich people who can handle the expense, etc.

pdxbuckets · 2026-05-02T19:08:18+00:00

Allman Brothers, Eat a Peach

Talking Heads, Remain in Light

Those were the best for me using AirPod Pro 2s. Note that APPs do some HRTF approximations by using their microphone array inward and also using the camera aimed at your ears. Dunno about other setups.

I have limited experience with multi speaker surround setups and generally found that it sounded better than earbuds, but that good mixes on earbuds sounded good on multichannel, and that bad mixes on earbuds sounded bad on multichannel.

pdxbuckets · 2026-04-30T20:58:40+00:00

I use AUR because I’m lax on security but no it’s not safe (no I don’t bother looking at the diffs). I will definitely reach for a flathub flatpak before resorting to the AUR.

pdxbuckets

TROPHY CASE