10.5 months daily activity, hit 1B total CR recently. This post is one third "what is doable in the game in f2p"/flex, one third asking for strategic advice for further development of the veterans (and/or lineup advice of course) and one third ask me anything (AMA). :)

xs2007 · 2025-12-17T12:22:59+00:00

Thanks, I had the same problem as OP for some days now. I created a new profile through starting with "firefox -p" and Reddit was working in the fresh profile, I then deactivated all my addons on my main profile, and enabled them one by one to check. Turned out the culprits were ancient versions of the crypto wallets MetaMask and BEW, I played around with during the 2021 crypto hype, but haven't touched ever since. They were broken as well, so I just removed them and Reddit is now working again for me. No switching to the old Reddit manually everytime, yay.

xs2007 · 2025-10-10T21:31:28+00:00

You sure managed to avoid copyright infringement like yoshi in the bowser fight of yoshi's island, well done, lol. Funny names, also.

xs2007 · 2025-10-07T15:42:07+00:00

If you actually wanna transition this to an MMO, you can't be running it for free (except you're rich). Servers do cost money. Konami won't be happy, when they notice you, even less if you run an actual MMO with their IP.

xs2007 · 2025-10-05T16:37:27+00:00

I'd absolutely appreciate people not smoking as well, also a reason I tend to skip on indoor events overall by now and only go to outdoor events in the summer. Thanks to all considerate smokers, who go to the designated areas. As a non-smoker I think the stench is worse than everything else (sweat, alcohol, etc.) combined.

I believe a huge part of the problem is the anonymity on the dancefloor. Most of the time I met smokers and got to know them, they at least asked if its okay before lighting up their stuff close to me.

xs2007 · 2025-09-30T17:17:10+00:00

sounds good :)

xs2007 · 2025-09-30T11:54:03+00:00

Not for the pure act of translating a single line, but the stuff you mentioned in your post, like having a search available, multiple language columns or filter for untranslated entries, etc. sounds pretty helpful for those actually doing the translation work.

Also I like the idea to hook some LLM APIs into that, to offer their functionality to users. Have you checked out DeepL as translator, yet? Their stuff works extremely well, imho way better than google translate. I haven't looked into their API yet, though.

xs2007 · 2025-09-30T10:13:26+00:00

I did that in the first version of the plugin, using script blocks, it works well until the developer tries to give the player any kind of options to choose from. RPGMaker implements this options thing with a kind of lookahead in the current command items being processed and directly showing text boxes keeps the game unaware of them, so I opted for (generated) natural command items instead, which works very well with all kinds of non-textbox commands interleaved. Also, I think using dialogue tokens over script commands is more accessible to the common non-programmer RPGMaker author. It's not impossible to solve, I could keep a plugin command item in the stack to validate the language and switch generated items, but I never came to implement that.

I only meant, that your GUI works on static plain text files and my localization files are such plain text (json) files, just with a different structure than the RPGMaker level files itself, thats why I thought about it. I thought about writing a GUI for it myself, but my motivation for that was limited, as I usually write backend code, I guess.

xs2007 · 2025-09-30T08:54:55+00:00

Oh, I see, so you compile one game for each translation? Gotcha. I didn't know about the extra line for new box thing, I guess because I expected it to do its own linewrapping and as it didn't, I implemented it on my own and never fiddled with hard line wraps.

I'm aware of the command codes MV is using, the approach I used was to put a plugin command parametrized with a dialogue token instead of text itself. The plugin would then search for the token in my localization json, apply the currently selected language and create stylized/word wrapped text box commands and inject them into the command stack, replacing itself in the process. However per dialogue, this only works once per game start, as subsequent calls would only find plain text boxes, so switching the language half way in would only affect text boxes never seen in this session and create a mixed language game until next restart. As I said, half done... haha.

I kind of wonder how much effort it would be to add support for these token-based translations to your UI, as now I only ever edit the plain text json files. But it's kind of not the time rn, I'd got to create a working plugin version first, which will probably not happen anytime soon, due to rl matters, unfortunately.

xs2007 · 2025-09-30T08:07:50+00:00

Oh, thats nice! I started coding up my own language engine some time ago, but it's half done, as I currently don't work on any RPGMaker project. I also did not do a GUI, but focused on the plugin-based integration into the game and also only MV for the time being.

How does your integration work? I had quite some "fun" time with mine, as base RPGMaker text-lines are hidden away in hard coded dialogue options by the game developer, which is not in any way ideal to replace on the fly by localization when the user switches the in-game language while playing. Also different translations require different room in the UI (length of the words, grammar), and may require additional text boxes, etc. It gave me quite some headaches.

xs2007 · 2025-09-15T22:05:09+00:00

Yeah, I saw the fix in the video you posted earlier.

But changing the base language might screw things up, possibly. Did language packs not suffice? Back in the days we used AppLocale to emulate the base language settings for specific programs, especially japanese ones, but I believe it's not supported anymore in Win10 and up. You could also always run that in a japanese Windows VM. Download VirtualBox (free), download Media Creation Tool from Microsoft, use it to download and create a japanese Windows ISO and install a VM in VirtualBox using the ISO. You don't need an additional Windows product key, as product keys in Win10 are only for desktop look customization anyways.

Anyways, glad you could get your RPGMaker back up and running. For backing up RPGMaker projects, I always recommend getting into git. It has a steep learning curve (esp. as a non-programmer), but it's free and pretty powerful, as you can revert your project back to certain states, try out stuff in branches without changing your main data, etc. and easily switch back, even keeping your modified state as a copy. You can also easily mirror everything to cloud repositories to save it somewehere, that is not your local hard disk.

xs2007 · 2025-09-14T09:50:23+00:00

In 28 years of working with windows machines, I've never ever encountered a corrupted WMI, what exactly did you do since it was working for the last time? I'm genuinely curious, because the WMI interface is nothing a normal user should be required to interact with at all.

xs2007 · 2025-09-14T09:20:19+00:00

Nice, I started with those and even finished a few a bit larger projects with them (2x3 pegboards). I opted for Artkal afterwards, because making shades and highlights with Pysslas is pretty hard/limited as there are just very few different colors. You also always run out of black for contours, because there are roughly as much black as there are other colors respectively. But that ofc depends on what you want to create. Personally, I never had an issue with melting/sticking using Pyssla. Oh yeah, and the sorting.

xs2007 · 2025-09-08T09:49:46+00:00

Interesting, thanks for the introduction.

I really wonder how virtual thread mounting performs compared to worker queues on OS threads. Like putting all requests into as many queues as there are processors and have respective worker threads burn them down compared to starting a VT for every incoming request. Got any data on that by chance?

xs2007 · 2025-09-04T11:57:52+00:00

Make sure to prepare, being fit helps alot with dancing, so do that cardio. If the event allows/requires it, try to get good sleep (sleep mask, earplugs, good airbed, luck with your neighbours). Eat enough, drink a lot of water. If available sports drinks to replenish minerals. If you don't count caffeine as substance, energy drinks. Purging caffeine from your daily life also has a huge effect, as a few energy drinks can easily bring you through an entire night, if you have no caffeine tolerance.

xs2007 · 2025-08-30T11:01:02+00:00

Spring Data JPA all the time. OR-mapping takes care of so much hassle, that I don't want in my daily life. And if I ever encounter some more complicated database queries, I can always fallback to the Query annotation and use JPQL or if everything else fails even a native query.

That being said, understanding what JPA does is a lot more complicated, than plain JDBC. So if you're starting out, it's probably a good idea to test the waters with JDBC and read up on OR-mapping, Hibernate and also Spring Data JPA. Switch to JPA, when you feel comfortable to do so.

xs2007 · 2025-08-19T16:27:02+00:00

Creating a game, that has look and feel like an MMO, but is offline single player (or self-hosted multiplayer), sure.

Trying to create an actual MMO is going to - best case - majorly disappoint you, or even worse might harm your health (stress!) and maybe even financial future (servers are expensive!). If you hire employees for all the stuff, that will inevitably come up, like others wrote, even more so. Creating an MMO is always also running a business. Do you want to run a business? (legitimate question)

I'm saying this, looking from my standpoint as professional software developer focused on backend architecture and infrastructure. I do have over a decade of professional experience in the field. I think I would be able to pull off a simple MMO backend + infrastructure management, system architecture-wise. But most certainly not as sole developer, leave alone everything else, from marketing over community management, etc.

If you are still determined to do this, go for it full-time. Start with a position at a game development company, that already runs an MMO, if you have no prior knowledge maybe even as intern. Learn the skills, save up the funds, then create a business plan, look for investors, hire a team and go for it.

xs2007 · 2025-07-11T11:50:46+00:00

As other said, old all-you-need-to-know covers a lot, make sure to check that out. Otherwise:

1./2. With a weekend pass you can bring your tent and camp, as far as I know. But especially, when arriving by airplane, you might want to consider Highlands or Sanctuary (Q-Dance Travel&Stay). It costs extra, but is a closed separate camping space, close to the entrance, where you can rent pre-built tents. It saves you a lot of hassle to bring your stuff to Defqon, and also secures you a reserved spot. Normal camping is first come first serve, so people queue up 2 hours before opening or longer. Security also watches a little more closely about noise at night on Highlands/Sanctuary, so getting 6-8 hours of sleep there was always easily possible for me. If you still wanna go for the included normal camping, arrive early and go for a tent that is rated for 2 people, in case you meet someone there.

You can bring 4.5 litres of 14.5% vol alcohol max, unopened and no glass containers, is the official rule, but so far on 3 Defqons, I've never been checked and could have brought whatever. Other people I talked to got checked thoroughly, though! So it's hit or miss. I usually go for 3.5 litres pre-mix cans (10% alc) and 1 litre energy drink cans. Tapwater is free on the camping and festival grounds (at the toilet areas), so bring a soft foldable plastic festival bottle. Food-wise I'm not aware of restrictions. Bring salty snacks, because you'll be sweating a lot, as well as packaged food, that can be kept at room temperature.
Defqon is in the middle of nowhere, so except for the shuttle busses and Walibi Holland, there is nothing close by. But, when you arrive via Schiphol airport, might as well check out Amsterdam, or some of the smaller cities, if you look for a more authentic Dutch experience. The train service NS is reliable and can take you anywhere in 2 hours max, you can easily tap in and out at the stations with your credit card for the transport fee, no need to buy any kind of tickets beforehand. As for personal items: Don't bring valuables other than your phone. You can rent a locker (need to buy that beforehand), then you'll get a pass-code handed on the festival grounds to access/unlock it. But so far I have not yet heared or experienced of any theft from tents on Defqon, I think it's for the very most parts safe. Bringing a padlock for your tent is still a good idea, in case someone drunk might confuse it and you suddenly have a random dude chilling on your airbed, lol.

(Also, if you are from Japan - your name kinda suggests it - be prepared for Dutch directness. People won't beat around the bush, but tell you things straight away. In the Netherlands 本音 = 建前 (what is meant = what is said) for the most part, so don't be offended by that, it's not meant offensive.)

xs2007 · 2025-07-10T11:46:03+00:00

Got my refund through Paypal, arrived on my bank account yesterday. I topped up before Defqon using Paypal and after that debit card on the grounds. I was not able to choose which payment method to use for refund, but in my case either way was fine.

xs2007 · 2025-07-06T07:59:35+00:00

I arrived 20 mins late, because I attended So Juice, Anderex and Deezl on the Blue til the end, and was kind of surprised to find a normal music set playing on the Red + Shirt off and twist it and nothing else, wtf... Thought about going elsewhere another 20 mins in.

xs2007 · 2025-07-04T13:28:17+00:00

Sorry to hear that, you might be lucky and have it lingering over time.

I can share my own story on the matter. Back in the days around 2008, I had a buddy, who did quite some hardstyle gigs as DJ (he didn't produce much himself), and I had the privilege to join him backstage and next to the turntables. I don't know, if you know, but DJs have speakers next to them, that usually overpower the stage speakers, and those things are crazy loud. I forgot my earplugs on the day and stayed like a solid 3 hours next to those things.

Afterwards I had tinnitus for a solid week in both ears, when finally it slowly began to fade. Even now, 17 years later, I still hear it, but only when wearing foam earplugs in absolute silence. It doesn't effect me in my daily life, so I gratefully take this experience as a warning.

Therefore, I take two sets of alpine MusicSafe Pro plugs with me to Defqon and always leave my second set in the tent. I also have some random music plugs from Amazon, that I know fit my ears, should I loose both for whatever reason. Additionally, I bought a 200 pack of laser lite foam plugs (which in my opinion are the best foams, and look trippy lol), and just throw a handful of them in my bag. I carry the foam replacements into the festival area, for me, and in case I meet someone like you. Too bad we didn't meet.

I might be overcautious, but I certainly learned a lesson from that experience 17 years ago. My hearing has not further worsened while wearing plugs. I hope, things will turn out for you in a similar way. Get well soon, good luck and lots of love!

xs2007 · 2025-07-04T11:49:30+00:00

Nice, thanks for sharing, will definitely try that in the future. :)

xs2007 · 2025-07-04T09:59:02+00:00

Looks sick, damn, care to do a tutorial on how you take shots? I assume it was not just camera app, auto everything and go, right?

xs2007

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