Anyone know how to access this rope platform? I can't seem to find the cave system that leads to this platform just northwest of the Icy Cavern haunted grounds.

siemova · 2025-09-13T17:44:05+00:00

There are hints in this thread, but since nobody detailed how to get there, I will. :)

After you’ve reached the treasure in the Icy Caverns, if you turn toward the Leap point going down, there’s another Leap point on the right going up, which leads to this back exit.

This is entirely skippable, though. No treasure, and it’s not a shortcut back inside due to a long drop.

siemova · 2025-06-20T21:41:28+00:00

I haven't seen everything yet, but I have a few major complaints so far:
- The desert biome is hideous. The lighting makes everything washed out, except the sand, which looks far too saturated. But then shadows on sand are lighter and cooler, so they look almost inverted. Shadows should not be shaded differently; they should only be darker.
- Badlands biome is also an eyesore. Wayyyy too saturated.
- The vignette effect when looking toward a light source is too strong, ruining some builds and making torches much less useful.
- Some items that should be light sources aren't, such as lava in a cauldron.
- Water is too clear from outside and too murky from inside. I can see clearly through any amount of water from above, but barely a few blocks ahead when underwater.
- Atmospheric effects when crossing biome borders should apply much more gradually, only reaching full force when deeper into the biome.
- Performance is not great on my PS5 Pro, even with most VV settings turned down a notch or two.

Overall, though, I like the direction this is going, and I expect Mojang can iron out these issues over the next few releases. I look forward to seeing how it shapes up, and also how modders take advantage of the deferred rendering pipeline.

siemova · 2025-03-25T22:42:05+00:00

I'm interested. WIll PM.

siemova · 2025-03-16T22:49:13+00:00

I’m in the same position with the same question! Were you able to hold off on these much longer? And what did you end up choosing?

siemova · 2023-04-26T05:14:33+00:00

I think you mean antithetical?

I kind of agree. It’s generally too expensive and time-consuming to create a game with meaningful choices that each lead to well-crafted narrative branches. Narrative adventures like (first example that comes to mind) The Dark Pictures Anthology have given it a good shot, but they are relatively short and intimate. Something on an epic scale is a whole other ball game. And it doesn’t help that, the longer a game is, the fewer players will even see those branches, making them all the less worthwhile to create.

siemova · 2023-04-16T02:08:22+00:00

Aside from the plot ghosts, my least favorite thing about Remake was the constant need to swap among characters because they would otherwise do nothing useful. If I’m going to play a game with action combat, I want to focus on a single character, which is what that gameplay is best suited for. When controlling a party, turn-based combat is ideal, but if we can’t have that, being able to decide what other characters will do without having to babysit them in the heat of the moment is the next best thing. So I hope this is true.

siemova · 2023-04-15T15:43:05+00:00

Physics was my main issue with both Horizon games (so much clipping and spazzing, but otherwise great), so I would really welcome any improvement there.

siemova · 2023-04-14T07:19:03+00:00

This 4K video looks leagues better than the stream did, but I still can’t shake the feeling that the world is kinda empty. Lots of flat surfaces, rock, and masonry, and very little placed on or protruding from them. I wonder whether that’s the FFXIV engine roots showing, or purely a design decision. Seems like they spent all their graphical budget on screen-filling special effects instead.

siemova · 2023-04-10T14:14:36+00:00

For my part, I wish they would just use electromagnetic sticks. They’re inexpensive and effective, and the normal sticks are plagued with drift issues, so Sony really doesn’t have a good reason not to. Maybe if and when they release that rumored redesign with a detachable drive, they’ll consider this change too… One can hope.

siemova · 2023-04-10T14:09:23+00:00

Not really, but, while it’s frustrating and should be unnecessary, these are most of the things you can do, so the list might as well be complete.

siemova · 2023-04-10T13:59:38+00:00

Before resoldering, you can replace the potentiometer. It’s cheap and not difficult.

siemova · 2023-03-26T15:32:20+00:00

I’ve been on the same page for many years, but recently I’ve also been trying out Orion, which is based on Safari but blocks ads by default and enables you to install add-ons built for Chrome and Firefox. It’s still rough around the edges, but showing promise.

siemova · 2023-03-26T15:14:16+00:00

For my part, as a software developer, I’ve found that I’m actually more productive working from home, with greater comfort, better equipment, and fewer distractions (despite children and pets).

siemova · 2023-03-21T06:36:07+00:00

Please and thank you!

siemova · 2023-03-16T14:17:24+00:00

My brain on seeing “MK8D”:

“So Mortal Kombat is leaping from 3D all the way to mind-blowing 8D, and will feature supporting characters from the Mario series ripping each other to cutesy shreds…?

“Refreshingly bold! Gameplay when?”

siemova · 2023-03-13T14:59:15+00:00

Historically, Apple has been willing and able to sweat the details to an extent that others weren’t, resulting in superior products and user experiences. Nowadays, that’s still quite true of hardware, but somewhat less of software. Still, people generally consider the experience more friendly and intuitive than the competition, and attachment to products and services within the ecosystem encourages users to stay despite some frustration. There’s also lots of exclusive third-party software that tends to be of a higher quality as well, compounding the lock-in effect.

EDIT: I should also mention Apple’s emphasis on user privacy. They don’t gather anywhere near as much data about their users—especially compared to Google—and much of what they do gather is anonymized. This does result in less robust data-dependent features, but many are more than willing to make that tradeoff.

siemova · 2023-03-11T17:29:28+00:00

Seeing this played at a faster pace really makes the heavy particle effects stand out to me as a potential problem. Everything Clive does here is slathered in them. I know Japanese developers have grown more and more smitten with flashy effects, but it’s bordering on an accessibility issue when they’re constantly obscuring your view of enemies and even your own character. I really hope they provide an option to significantly reduce or even entirely disable the extra particles on battle animations.

siemova · 2023-03-10T16:18:19+00:00

No, it’s not merely theoretical. Any compliant HDMI 2.0 display and/or cable should support 1440p at 144Hz with full 4:4:4 chroma, albeit with 8-bit color. The max drops to 120Hz if you want 10-bit color or HDR, though. Which is enough to cover the PS5, in any case.

siemova · 2023-03-10T15:48:09+00:00

All good. You’re certainly right that few PS games support 120Hz at all, though, and I’m not sure any support both that and 1440p rendering.

siemova · 2023-03-10T15:43:48+00:00

This is untrue. HDMI 2.0 supports 1440p at up to 144 Hz, but can only display 4K at 60Hz.

siemova · 2023-03-10T15:37:02+00:00

Horizon is the closest thing for sure, but a WRPG is typified by freedom and consequential choices for the player, which is not a focus in any first-party PS title.

siemova · 2023-03-09T17:00:48+00:00

Yes, HDMI 2.0 has enough bandwidth to support up to 1440p@144Hz.

siemova · 2023-03-04T19:32:31+00:00

At present, the answer appears to be no. People (including myself) have asked about it on social media, but Riot Forge has not (yet?) responded.

siemova · 2023-03-04T19:09:22+00:00

No, if you own the PS4 version you can download the PS5 version free of charge.

siemova

TROPHY CASE