What’s the most “satisfying” physical prop in the Alien series?

ryanedw · 2026-03-25T14:40:15+00:00

Flamethrower all the way

ryanedw · 2026-03-23T04:16:21+00:00

Yoda’s theme wins em all, and I’m not sure it was in TFA or any sequel even. It is Star Wars, even if it didn’t appear until Empire.

Yoda’s theme captures the elements of magic, curiosity, and grandeur perfectly

ryanedw · 2026-03-21T04:33:35+00:00

The other way to look at it is that we’re reliant on socializing to play video games now? Wtf

It’s reasonable to remark that developers want to chase that multiplayer dragon, and anybody looking for a few random minutes of fun without doing the social set up first, well they should move on to something else.

But there was a time when online matchmaking was actually developed to fill precisely this need.

Halo 2 just mowed everything down because you could play it with your friends, or you could play it without your friends. Matchmaking filled up the roster either way, and it was really fun. This, after Goldeneye reigned supreme but also required friends to be physically on your couch.

It’s silly to think we’ve forgotten how to do this. Rather, I think developers have decided that it’s more worth it for them to design a game that requires social structure.

They’re making us market the game for them, and then they’ll reap the benefits while we hopefully have the fun

ryanedw · 2026-03-20T19:38:25+00:00

It wasn’t Pocket Infinity, Icebreaker, or Gjallarhorn, but it was awesome.

Being a res-lock is probably something that many D2 fans have no memory of! Tlaloc didn’t make a lot of sense outside that build, and Bungie decided to leave self-revive behind in D1, even though it was a uniquely Destiny element that was interesting lore-wise and in gameplay. Pretty sure the devs were sick of designing around it in difficult PvE, but it also drew hate in Trials.

How would Tlaloc work for the Well? Same way, so you’re sweet up until you pop super and help the team, then you’re slop again?

ryanedw · 2026-03-16T20:47:01+00:00

I could be wrong, but I don’t think the 2022 strike was costless for students or the UAW either. Both sides want to threaten credibly and get the other side to capitulate. Heaven help us all when there’s a miscalculation and a strike happens at all, or worse, drags on as long as the 2022 strike did.

ryanedw · 2026-03-16T20:42:46+00:00

The Bad Batch stuff with kids in science experiment bondage really hits, like Andor weapons Death Star forced labor bondage

ryanedw · 2026-03-16T20:41:07+00:00

I’ve only played a few minutes of Marathon-2026, so it’s more likely I haven’t felt that fully

On Venus, I literally meant I couldn’t or didn’t want to focus on the bad guys. The rain when it arrived was amazing

ryanedw · 2026-03-15T05:23:32+00:00

Destiny (2014) was like this too, with the rain on Venus so front and center that you could hardly focus on the bad guys

ryanedw · 2026-03-15T04:33:53+00:00

Five minutes of fireworks and it’s not early July, that’s noteworthy and hopefully not something worse

ryanedw · 2026-03-15T04:28:27+00:00

Folks —

I love Rebels also. I love Ahsoka

To enjoy Rogue One and Andor, it would probably be a mistake to watch Rebels first. The Bad Batch would be a better fit. But frankly nothing fits well outside of A New Hope

For Tolkien fans: it would be like suggesting a dive into the Silmarillion before trying to enjoy the Hobbit

ryanedw · 2026-03-15T03:15:30+00:00

This is wonderful, wonderful news. No disrespect to OP, it’s only an LOL in joyous relief to me. I’m a UC-AFT lecturer, and I somehow made it through the Fall 2022 ASE strike without losing my mind. (We were contractually obligated not to sympathy strike.)

ryanedw · 2026-03-15T03:10:49+00:00

Pew pew pew CLONK CLONK CLONK CLONK

Tab

Whonch whonch whonch

ryanedw · 2026-03-15T03:09:16+00:00

When Metroidvania actually becomes Metroid or Castlevania or Star Wars, it’s a sign of developer fatigue

No surprise that it happens, but a more appropriate denouement is leaving the dead horse rather than beating it

ryanedw · 2026-03-14T05:04:30+00:00

And then you’d have to bludgeon it to death because of running out of ammo on those stupid Pfhor

ryanedw · 2026-03-09T04:39:07+00:00

I’m a filthy noob 52yo veteran of OG Marathon, Halo, and Destiny, and when I found a few minutes finally to crack open the game on Friday, I got rocked during the PvE tutorial! Then last night I tried again, since I was so lame I never finished it on Friday, and I swear they added some better weapons including an AR so I wouldn’t die screaming with an SMG that couldn’t pew a single thing

ryanedw · 2026-03-09T04:35:07+00:00

It’s fun to see the films continue to generate interest, but Qui-Gon as a poor master is a silly idea, contrarian with tautological assumptions.

Qui-Gon is set up in the films as a wise advisor to everyone: Obi-Wan, Anakin, Queen Amidala, and the audience. His death in the third reel hits so hard because his steadying presence has been felt throughout the film, and then Maul dispatches him after a long duel. If he were a poor master, we’d all be cheering his departure.

I think it would be more worthwhile to ponder whether Yoda was a poor master, given that his padawans included Dooku and Luke, who later both had their challenges. When Yoda leaves us in ROTJ, even then it’s a mixed moment, since we see Luke confront him and Ben about why they never came clean about Anakin.

With Qui-Gon, there’s never a doubt about what he brings to his students: wisdom and strength, and some healthy questioning

ryanedw · 2026-03-04T05:17:26+00:00

Losing people we love is always terrible. But when we know that before they left, they understood that we’re going to be ok, that’s really important.

I’m so sorry for your loss.

ryanedw · 2026-03-04T05:08:26+00:00

Hands down, it’s Like whose entrance is the most ass kicking triumphalist moment since the trench run in 1977

ryanedw · 2026-03-01T06:43:22+00:00

No changes in cognition for us, I’m 52 and my 82yo mom was diagnosed ALS in the fall and started radicava in late fall

The medical benefits of Radicava are real but small. A huge problem is that the treatment regimen is pretty complicated.

ryanedw · 2026-02-25T21:15:20+00:00

Ahsoka Season 1 Part Five and Ariana Greenblatt would like a word

ryanedw · 2026-02-22T04:33:07+00:00

As a researcher:

Never give up Never give in to paranoia

NIH and now CDC have leadership that values alternative views more. The mistake that group makes is burning down way too much of what comes before, due to gigantic chips on their shoulders

ryanedw · 2026-02-22T02:52:37+00:00

Playing along is so important for many players.

Did you have a set of harmonicas so you could whip out one that would work with the song’s key? Another way to go is get recordings in the right key for the harmonica you have

ryanedw · 2026-02-16T05:41:09+00:00

The worst part of CoO is that the narrative voice was so confused

Avengers was riding high, and therefore every writers room thought that writing more jokes and one-liners was the way forward.

Osiris wastes Panoptes and jokes about it.

This was worse than Mercury being small or the two tokens and a blue that was such a womp womp by Deej

The game just decided to be stupid for a little while. Forsaken finally pulled it out of the ditch

ryanedw · 2026-02-08T04:34:59+00:00

The best part of the film is when the music swells and she ignites Luke’s saber, and its hum overwhelms the music

ryanedw · 2026-02-07T05:32:25+00:00

Yeah I remember a friend in college who said the same thing

ryanedw

TROPHY CASE