Dune
Appendix I: The Ecology of Dune

Beyond a critical point within a finite space, freedom diminishes as numbers increase. This is as true of humans in the finite space of a planetary ecosystem as it is of gas molecules in a sealed flask. The human question is not how many can possibly survive within the system, but what kind of existence is possible for those who do survive.

- Pardot Kynes, First Planetologist of Arrakis

I really enjoyed Rocksmith. I am definitely against most subscription models, but in this case it just might work out. These kind of games are always trying to nickel-and-dime you to buy the latest song pack. If all the available songs are accessible with a monthly subscription, they don't need to keep nagging you, and they are incentivized to continue adding desireable songs.

Have jumping puzzles in an FPS ever been fun? Personally, I can't think of an instance. I hated them in Doom Eternal and they made me stop playing for a couple extended periods. Although, once unlocking the 'more control while jumping' relic, they became less problematic and annoying.

This comment was edited on Mar 23, 2021, 02:41.

I also thought Mad Max was terrific. I enjoyed Rage 2, but definitely prefered Max.

Well that's at least a valid explanation for COVID slowing down development. 'Working remotely' shouldn't be an acceptable reason to a project manager, except for perhaps during late QA when you need access to a diverse set of hardware.

I was able to get my free Quake II from the Bethesda launcher this morning. It seems like you have to actually install it to claim it. 220mb install. QIIIA still shows as 'Buy Now'.

Terrific game. I have 110 hours in, all coming within the last three weeks. My main criticism at this point is that I finished the main story and because there is very little life-or-death challenge I can't find much motivation to continue to play. This update seems like something worth checking out though.

I'm playing at the Survival difficulty level. I died three times in my first two hours, twice again slightly later, and have only been lightly scratched since. So, my enjoyment has come from the progression systems rather than challenge, but now that my progression is about maxed there doesn't seem to be an enemy to test that against.

racism [ˈrāˌsizəm] - noun - 1) Anything that the 'left' doesn't like.

Done. Easy.

I'm following this. When I first tried to get into Dwarf Fortress, I had less of a problem with the ascii graphics than the inscrutable menu commands. I thought the game desperately needed context-sensitive menus that were better organized.

I've enjoyed RimWorld. It simplifies aspects of the game world (compared to DF) that makes it easier to play, but I wish the pace was faster. I play on the second-toughest level. I would tune the game to give raids more often, but be easier. I'd also provide more recruitment opportunities to speed the power curve and move faster to the end game.

The Chris Hadfield MasterClass.com lecture on space travel is really terrific. It's probably five hours of content and he covers everything.

I received a MasterClass subscription as a gift. I probably wouldn't have bought it on my own, but I think it might actually be worth the cost. Some great content on there.

And there you have it, the government now has the ability to track the movement of undesireables. Remember, with the current law of the land, corporate data is NSA data.

In September 2001, people said, “Everything is different now.” Has society changed since then? Other than the unceasing and unscrupulous erosions of privacy, I believe the answer is a definitive no. Western culture is more narcissistic and feckless than ever. Unless this thing takes out at least 30%, everything is going to go back to normal – and probably worse – as the pent up masses look to newly assert their ‘individuality.’

This situation has me greatly concerned that governments which have practiced using their extreme powers will be anxious to flex their muscles in the future to plunder the liberty of the people.

But really, I’m an optimist. There is always beauty to find in the world as long as you leave yourself open to it. In general people want to do the right thing; it’s only the crowds that sometime get steered toward injustice.

And thanks, verno. You have both given me useful information.

I did some research last night and better understand what the games have and the DLCs provide. I'll buy at the next good sale.

Thanks for the opinion, eraser.

I had no idea about the WH1 DLCs transferring up to WH2. I suppose that makes the many DLCs less egregious.

I've been waiting for a killer sale (while I work through my backlog). There was a decent sale last week, but I decided not to pull the trigger.

For any Total War fans out there that have played both Warhammer II and
Three Kingdoms: If you could buy only one of those two, which would it be? I'm not a huge Warhammer fan, though I played the hell out of 40k Dawn of War (1). I read that Three Kingdoms pretty much perfected the Total War model. I haven't played Total War in quite a few years, but anxious to get into it again.

I'm guessing/hoping that posts 3 & 4 were removed because they quoted post 2... which is the only way that I get to 'appreciate' the author of post 2's innumerable fine contributions.

Put him on ignore. I cannot fathom why Blue doesn't ban this guy. Supporting the free speech of a minority opinion is one thing, but has this guy EVER made a meaningful contribution? His is nothing but unceasing idiotic negativity.

I developed a March Madness app. It is called “BracketMaster” and it delivers the complete history of the Men's College Basketball Tournament, from the inaugural 1939 championship to the current day. BracketMaster helps pick your brackets by providing extensive team, seed, and conference data, or have the app automatically fill in your bracket using one of several winning team rating methodologies.

The app is free and available in the Apple App Store (for iOS), Google Play (for Android), and Microsoft Store (for Windows). Go to your store and search for BracketMaster, or visit my web site, scrutinous.net, scroll to bottom of the page, and click on the store link to navigate directly to my app listing.

Good Luck!

Yes! I love that Facebook's tenacity in enforcing real names could come back to bite them in their expansion plans.

Timmeh wrote on Jun 27, 2018, 14:21:
I mean its insane, and its completely FALSE for anyone to suggest that this game is even remotely "garbage".

I'll cede your point, but very little of that existed at launch. I'm like some of the earlier posters: the game was so FUBAR that I've never again been tempted to play another of Funcom's games.

I have a vague memory that AO had a positive Twinking system, but the best of breed for that has to be Ascheron's Call. I wonder why later MMOs never furthered those mechanics -- it seems like developers just went the direction of making leveling much easier.