Usually you guys always get the free game giveaways. I don't know if you missed this one or I just missed the post. Either way:

[url=]https://store.steampowered.com/app/624690/NEXT_JUMP_Shmup_Tactics/[/url]

Free on steam atm. Apologies if this is a repost. Cheers.

*In case anyone is still wondering, yes I am still in Burma. Yes, there is still a civil war. And yes, I survived the quake. House (rental) was wrecked but all family/pets are ok. I've moved recently to the old capital as the new one that I reside in is full of junta people basically comandeering any supplies/building companies to rebuild their mansions first. As a result house prices there and rental prices there are just ridiculous. TL:DR Country is still a mess, but I'm doing relatively ok.

I tried playing this game and despite being Asian myself, I couldn't differentiate between the very similar Chinese names of some characters and I gave up on the plot. Maybe its the years of drug addled self abuse catching up with my brain.

I really liked the mix of old school graphics with some modern looks. The mechanics were ok, but a little repetitive. Even though its a single player game t felt like an old school indy fan made game (Graal online comes to mind) with typical jankiness. Very octopath traveller looking. Don't get me wrong, younger me would've grinded the crap out of this game and maxxed all the different kungfu/weapon skills etc., Older me though is busy with RL issues cuz Burma.

I thought this was Cyberia.. by Sierra from back in the day. A game that young me spent about 1 week downloading using a downloader program and a 2400 baud modem.

(After downloading it, I found it ran like ass on my computer and basically had to delete it.)

Braden wrote on May 7, 2025, 12:54:
Whenever I see "Captain Blood" mentioned in a videogame context, my mind always drifts back to the ancient Infogrames title of the same name from 1988 (which - name aside - is wholly unrelated).

I thought it was that game too and was confused at the pirate theme instead of hunting down clones in space.

Earthquake where I live. House is gone but family (pets and all) are safe. In the process of moving to another city as this one (NayPyiTaw) is basically in ruins. Stay safe everyone.

Oddly enough this post reminded me of a concert I helped out with in rebel held areas, always love a nice community festival (regardless of the dire situation I guess). Most of the concert goers are rebels/civilians injured during the current conflict. It was just a nice break for them in the middle of the war setup as a quick midnight concert in the middle of the jungle to avoid air strikes.

[url=]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=viEiNAqJ_5c[/url]

Well crap I feel positively ancient. No ISA card, no old actual floppy floppy disk or DAT or even an iomega. Figures though, my first computer was an 8086

Yea I totally loved both the technical prowess (like you can play the whole original game using PC speaker output with the same music fidelity) as well as the excellent storytelling. It's basically my favourite game of all time.

Actually the next star control is being made by Pistol Shrimp. It is called Free Stars: something something. This month (or last month I should say) they released Free Stars The Ur-Quan Masters on steam for free. Unfortunately or fortunately depending on your view, this is not the HD Remake of the Ur Quan masters, but a more faithful port of the PC with some 3DO SCII elements.

I was following the development a lot (its on reddit) but recently one of the main creators (Paul Reiche III) has left the team. So that is a bit concerning. Hopefully the new SC game will live up to its legacy.

Site: https://pistolshrimpgames.com/

I have a dog in Burma. I actually don't like dogs. However, this puppy came into my yard when I was getting food delivered. He was bitten by some type of snake and his neck/face was swollen. So I took him to the vet, got him vaccines, fixed etc., and the little fucker keeps destroying my yard. My house is a rental so I've been constantly repairing the damage the dog is causing (It is a Burmese built house, so basically everything is half-assed and already easy to wreck). He's also managed to kill several animals (wildlife and chickens etc) that wandered into my yard. I've had my yard totally fenced etc., but wildlife is pretty fecund here and apparently chickens can fly high enough to get over the barbed wire fence. He's also chewed up the front bumper of my (rental) car, the seatbelt once it was sticking out (my bad but still), the side view mirrors (replaced twice now), my water pump's power, my pvc pipes for my water hose (again shoddy Burmese Engineering is partially to blame) and more.

So I've decided to get a shock collar because:

-no dog trainers in my city
-my work/revolutionary schedule is basically 7 days a week + lots of travel, my only downtime is when I get injured/sick.

Anyways, my point is that I looked for help dealing with this behavioural issue but every site/expert I found had answers that did not apply to my situation (third world country, civil war, no services etc). I even thought of giving him up for adoption, but only for a foreigner. Burmese people love animals, but their idea of responsible ownership is not my idea. Thus I'm keeping the dog as I don't want him to have a lower quality of life. But yea, I am going to get a shock collar because I can't train him (he is stubborn as fuck) and I can't find any trainers. I don't really want to zap him, but I think its preferable to say, him biting the power cord on my generator outside and dying.

It's pretty easy to judge the actions of others when you don't know their situation fully.

Stupid me sent a news submission email because somehow I didn't see this on the page. Feel free to disregard the email Blue, my bad!

Shoulda used emm386 (was replying to the himem comment but forgot to quote)

This comment was edited on Sep 15, 2023, 22:19.

This was the first game I got trolled by. Beat the guards, beat the pain in the ass bird, beat the big boss.. went to rescue the princess, accidentally hit space bar, goes into combat mode. Before I can un-combat mode, princess kicks me and 1 shots me. The end.

Great memories.

Thanks for your concern.

I'm doing as well as can be expected. Far far better than the average citizen here due to the protection that (moderate in my case) wealth can give. That being said, the official CE rate is 1 USD per 2100 MMK roughly. The actual (Black Market) rate is 1 USD to 4000 MMK (expected to rise to 6000). This basically is destroying the middle class and the impoverished here so this will lead to even more unrest and will reach the major cities as basic food/gas supplies become too expensive. The junta of course is making this situation worsen with their idiotic economic policies.

As for the war itself, its more or less a stalemate. The government cannot consolidate its power on the ground due to rebels, and thus is escalating its air war by bombing the crap out of villages etc., continuing a list of unimaginable atrocities. The rebels for the most part have done better than expected, but as usual in this type of conflict, angry young men with guns on both sides without any education or critical thinking leads to unnecessary civilian casualties. So far Balkanization hasn't occurred, quite the opposite for now.

Our dictator in a classic Orwellian/Buddhist move is building pagodas to offset his karma for all the murder. Because Buddhism totally works that way /s

Anyways just a little update.

Already had one facebook fueled genocide in Burma. I guess our local junta is going to take advantage of this and spam FB with pro-junta ads.

Jagged Alliance 1 was one of my first PC Big box games. I remembered getting the CD from PC-Gamer with the demo on it and playing it for hours. I've played all the series in the game since, but aside from JA:2 and kinda Wildfire, most of the games released later have been mediocre at best. I thought that JA:Rage was JA:3 due to the close release for PC but thank god I was wrong. This game seems more like a true sequel to the franchise. My only beef with it so far is my favourite (and near useless) merc "Unusually Ruthless" Reuben is missing with such classic lines as:

"I see communist pig on team. I go. I fix problem."

or

"I spit at you!"

Hope its got my boy "Unusually Ruthless" Reuben.

"I see communist pig on team, I go, I fix problem!"

*Ivan has mysteriously disappeared*

Once again, my virtual hoarding has paid off.

My belated condolences Blue. Losing a pet is always hard. I still tear up thinking of my cats now and then. Be well and enjoy life with your significant other. Change, for good or bad is the only constant.

o>

As someone in a country that arguably gets the most foreign aid from the US, I would say it is not as simple as your perception of this being a charitable act. ALL (not almost all) foreign aid comes with quid-pro-quo agreements. For example, the US is considering granting foreign aid to the NUG (National Unity Government) here. This is the shadow government that was elected by our government which was democratic but was deposed in a coup on February 2021. I have been involved with the negotiations as they do not have many fluent English speakers here. The last aid contract states that we will give the US and US Interests (companies) 40% of contracts in regards to our natural resource and energy sector. The money made from this for the agreed upon 5 year contract would yield an amount worth about 10x of the value of the aid to be given. Thus, foreign aid is basically a loan with great PR, which is always paid back IF the forces that the US helps are successful.

Foreign aid is also extracted from the taxes of the American citizen. Historically the public and the government have been in accordance that foreign aid is a net gain for the US public. If you feel strongly that your tax money is spent on aiding foreign nations instead of your own I would suggest you first take a look at your government (local, state, federal) spending expenditures, as well as lobby your local politicians to take an anti-foreign aid stand.

As for this humble bundle, it is not foreign aid, but a charity. Thus you are not forced to pay for it unless you want to donate.