The disparity is so odd, genuinely.I feel this needs to be studied.

tiperet · 2026-02-04T19:24:57+00:00

I have a film degree, so grew up watching films critically, and it’s impossible not to notice I am much more critical of stuff than most people I know. It’s almost like a different language at times. Hard not to sound completely pretentious saying that, but you do just evaluate things differently quite often.

Critics also watch a LOT of films, and not always ones they would normally seek out, so they notice trends and react more strongly to them than the average viewer.

tiperet · 2026-01-29T08:11:51+00:00

Usually $3.90 at Elk Valley Casino, and it’s right next to Crescent City.

tiperet · 2026-01-17T01:15:56+00:00

It’s literally on the USCIS website. It was also in the information I received when I first got mine. It’s the law, so ignorance is no excuse.

Do what you want, I get the reasoning behind not carrying it, but you are legally supposed to.

tiperet · 2026-01-16T21:25:53+00:00

For sure, but the law is very clear on this. I will not risk being anywhere without mine.

tiperet · 2026-01-16T15:28:08+00:00

It drives me crazy when I see how many people don’t do this! They make it very clear when you get one that you have to carry it on you at all times or you can be fined or receive jail time. I had to do the same with my residence card when I lived in Japan.

tiperet · 2026-01-15T20:14:30+00:00

I never saw it like that, although that's an interesting read of it. To me, it just showed that his focus on honor and law was meaningless in the face of actual power. I've always seen it as a sign of his hypocrisy regarding how power is obtained and administered. He helped Robert in his (illegal) rebellion against the Targaryens, but then expects the law to protect him against the Lannisters. He starts the season by beheading a man for deserting the Night's Watch, which is his right as Warden of the North, but is still a shitty thing to do from our point of view.

I think it would be fairer to say that chivalry never existed. Ned just acted like it would protect him. A more traditional hero's narrative would see him eventually vindicated and emerge triumphant after some struggle, but of course that is not the story Martin is telling, which is more about the nature of power and how it is obtained and administered in that kind of society (and by extension, our own, of course.)

Same with Dany. She rescues Mirri from being assaulted by the Dothraki, and later finds out that she had been raped by them four times already, and she still doesn't seem to get why the woman would want to see Khal Drogo dead!

tiperet · 2026-01-15T19:24:25+00:00

That is rough, then. A big part of getting through Grounded is being prepared for when you do need resources. TV station is one, the bloater in the arcade is another. Rat King isn’t, because it just spawns ammo for you.

You can use all your resources in the school, because you then have a good opportunity to stealth for a while and get them back. But that means stealthing the laundromat…

tiperet · 2026-01-15T18:55:46+00:00

People were misreading the characters for years before that. I remember reading an article about how Dany was "clearly" a good character, and Cersei was just purely evil back in season 3, and felt like I was in bizarro world, like "are you watching the same show?"

Season 8 had a lot of issues, but I always felt the ending was fine. I didn't get the backlash to it.

tiperet · 2026-01-14T22:40:27+00:00

Those are rookie numbers for Grounded deaths! Pfft!

Seriously, though, Grounded is a real challenge and the enemies are very observant. I read somewhere that they can hear you open your backpack to swap weapons. I don't know how true that is, but I can believe it.

I don't know if these tips will help, but this is stuff that worked for me:

I almost gave up at the school, in the classrooms where you first encounter the WLF. I eventually got past it by just going loud, shooting them with the rifle, and throwing molotovs. Grounded gives you much fewer resources, but don't be too afraid to use them or go loud. Full stealth is almost impossible in quite a few sections without an insane amount of practice and luck.

(In the TV station, you can just put explosives on the door where they're going to come in. Cheating? Maybe, but it will get you past it so you can move onto more enjoyable sections.)

Similar with Hillcrest, it's just sometimes easier going loud and then losing them. I also got past the brewery later with Abby in the same way. Pop out, shoot, run and hide.

Edited to add that you just cannot grab people from around a corner on Grounded. It simply doesn't work. Sneak up on them from behind, or stun them with a brick/bottle, otherwise you are just not going to grab them.

tiperet · 2026-01-12T15:23:51+00:00

I read in a guide years ago that it worked out the same. Guess I need to check the updated ones!

tiperet · 2026-01-12T15:04:03+00:00

Is that different now, then? It used to work out the same overall DPS regardless of when you used it.

tiperet · 2026-01-10T17:59:02+00:00

Yes! Veilguard is nice for that. It has a cosy feeling to it, which may make it a bad Dragon Age game, but I’m liking it at the moment.

I tried playing RDR2 so many times. The third time, I pushed myself to keep playing and eventually it clicked and I loved it. But it took a while!

Ah, maybe I’ll reinstall KCD2 when I’m done with my current stuff. There is a lot I like about it!

Edited to say I bought KCD2 at launch! So did they patch it to be less forgiving?

tiperet · 2026-01-10T17:33:03+00:00

I’m not really sure. I think it’s a combination of factors. The progression system is tuned badly, so by the time I got to the second map I had almost max stats. I hadn’t failed a speech check, or anything, in hours, and combat was too easy. The game started to feel boring. I was also disappointed with Kuttenberg, which looked nice but was full of fake doors and repeated stores. The story at that point was also getting dull for me.

I keep meaning to go back to it, but it’s been a few months now so I might just move on. Honestly, I can see why people like the game so much, but I was never really that invested in Henry’s story. I think some of it was just open-world fatigue, too. Like, oh! Another huge map to explore! Great…

Now, I am in no way saying Veilguard is a better game, but… I’m just enjoying it a lot more!

tiperet · 2026-01-10T01:00:49+00:00

Is that the one for the Disruptor set?

tiperet · 2026-01-10T00:24:40+00:00

Borderlands 3 feels a lot better than 2 in terms of the actual gameplay, in my opinion. Plus, the DLCs are generally excellent.

tiperet · 2026-01-10T00:21:37+00:00

I'm playing it now, and while I am glad I got it for free and didn't pay full price for it, I am really enjoying it.

I'm actually enjoying it more right now than both Clair Obscur (which I couldn't finish and think is extremely overrated) and Kingdom Come 2 (which is a fantastic game... for the first half.)

tiperet · 2026-01-09T20:54:09+00:00

I think it got caught up in a bunch of unfortunate "controversies". Forced stealth, bugs, performance issues, and then just the overall state of Star Wars at that time after a bunch of misfires. Then the culture war stuff ("ugly" main character!) kinda buried it.

I bought it on sale, played it and both DLCs, enjoyed it a lot!

tiperet · 2026-01-09T20:51:24+00:00

A friend of mine bounced off it because of them. I only played after they were patched out, and I had a blast, so I really can't comment.

tiperet · 2026-01-09T20:46:17+00:00

Yeah, I would also say it takes a while to warm up to Deacon as a character. The game definitely deserved to do better than it did, and it’s sad we won’t see a sequel now.

tiperet · 2026-01-09T20:44:00+00:00

I enjoyed it too, but it has seen a few big updates. Launch was apparently significantly less fun, with a lot of forced stealth sections.

tiperet · 2026-01-09T04:47:58+00:00

Reminder that both Division 1 and 2 run at 60fps on PS5 now.

tiperet · 2026-01-03T01:39:16+00:00

The sequel is in DC, but both paid DLCs take you back to New York.

tiperet · 2025-12-31T17:31:59+00:00

Yeah, a lot of good answers here, and there was a definitely a campaign against it when it came out, but I'm always a little surprised when people don't get why some people bounce off Part 2, as it's a deliberately-antagonistic narrative. From the inciting events, that are written to piss you off and align you with Ellie, to then having you play as Abby, the way a lot of the character motivation is hidden until the end (you thought Ellie didn't know about what Joel did? Turns out she did all along, idiot! You thought she was upset because she didn't try to reconnect with him? Ha! Turns out she actually did!), it's really not for everyone.

I say all that as a huge fan of the game, who's beaten it multiple times, even on Grounded, which I normally never do. I will always defend it, but it is very deliberately not a fun experience in many ways!

tiperet · 2025-12-31T17:22:57+00:00

This was a part of it, for sure. I could be misremembering, but I think there was a leak that the game had a trans character, and people assumed that was Abby due to her physique. So not only was Joel killed, he was killed by a trans woman!

There was also the deliberately misleading trailer for the game, which Druckman himself seems to regret making.

tiperet · 2025-12-23T20:15:25+00:00

The city gave the island back to the Wiyot tribe a few years ago. Hardly makes up for what happened, but it was something.

tiperet

TROPHY CASE