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Latest Comments by stretch611
Confessions of a Brogue junkie
26 Mar 2018 at 10:28 pm UTC

Quoting: Kels
Quoting: stretch611Long Live NetHack [External Link]!!! After 30+ years, it is up to version 3.6.

I have spent a few hours there... never got the Amulet of Yondor. (or even close)

That being said, I might go and try Brogue... that or just rediscover Nethack again...
There are a bunch of places you can play the original Rogue online. I haven't looked for Nethack, but it wouldn't surprise me a bit if the same was true.
There is a public NetHack server at https://alt.org/nethack/ [External Link] The webpage gives information on how to use the public server as well as many statistics(average dungeon depth;list of acensions). It appears relatively active. To play NetHack on this server, just telnet to alt.org (on normal port 23 or port 14321) or ssh to [email protected].

Also, remember that NetHack can be installed locally as well and binaries are included in most distro repos.

While there are tilesets for nethack, the base game uses ascii text.

The true beauty of Nethack is in its depth. There is a full NetHack wiki [External Link] with almost 3,000 articles describing the game.

Looking at the stat page, the number one quickest ascension is only 1.5 hours... however, the number 100 is closer to 4 hours... and this list is all time (from 2008 when the public server started logging the stats) Of course, to get to the point where you can actually finish a game by acension will take 100s of hours and playthroughs... let alone to the point you have the skill to actually try a speedrun.

Confessions of a Brogue junkie
26 Mar 2018 at 4:23 am UTC

Long Live NetHack [External Link]!!! After 30+ years, it is up to version 3.6.

I have spent a few hours there... never got the Amulet of Yondor. (or even close)

That being said, I might go and try Brogue... that or just rediscover Nethack again...

Open-source re-implementation of RollerCoaster Tycoon 2 'OpenRCT2' has a fresh update
21 Mar 2018 at 12:18 pm UTC

I played it... It works quite well.

In addition to linux, OpenRCT2 also allows the playing the game on your monitors highest resolution (instead of the games original limitation of 640x480 or 800x600; I forget which it was.) However, if you are like me and were old enough to play them when first released, you may need to use the zoom function of OpenRCT2 in order to read the UI.

They really have done a great job in getting it to work... And adding networking capabilities as well.

The one minor issue I have is that they replicated the original hot keys. So unlike most current games that allow you to scroll with the WASD keys, you scroll with the arrow keys. It takes a little to get used to it... I haven't tried to remap the keyboard for it yet.

Civilization VI: Rise and Fall shows off overview of new features
16 Mar 2018 at 4:23 pm UTC

Oh, I remember...

The original Civilization was an old DOS game. The start screen started by reading Genesis from the bible while the map was being created. (Can't remember if that was Nimoy reading it or not... it wasn't until a later Civ that he did all the infopedia entries.) Whenever I upgraded to a new (more powerful) computer, I was able to start the game sooner from the intro screen.

Civ II, I remember fondly, especially with the different world mods.

Civ III, I remember playing a lot initially, but not enjoying it as much as Civ II.

Civ IV, was one of my last windows games... (The BTS DLC was released in 2007 which was one year before I jumped to Linux only.) It enjoyed the base pack quite well, but the DLC did enhance it.

Civ V, I did not buy until it was on linux. I did not know about it on linux until about 3 months after the linux version was released during one of the first steam sales I ever participated in and bought the complete edition for $49. I have logged 753 hours in it so far.

Civ VI had lackluster reviews on steam and the thought of dropping $60 was a bit much. (compared to all the fun I get from factorio($20) and rimworld($30)) I finally got it w/2 DLC from the humble monthly for $12. And I have only 38 hours playtime... Every prior civ game that would have been less than my playtime for the first week... let alone 2 months.

As for Faerun... I have been there many times... both on the computer and on paper. While I use Roll20 [External Link] now instead of paper... I do still play at least once a month. (and the webcam on this laptop is the one piece of hardware without a linux driver so my D&D friends are spared seeing my face.)

Civilization VI: Rise and Fall shows off overview of new features
16 Mar 2018 at 8:09 am UTC

I was about to create a forum post, but I found this recently necro'd thread.

I just got a coupon from Humble Bundle for 64% of Civ VI Rise and Fall DLC.

64% off is a huge deal for something just released a little over a month ago. Combined with "mixed" reviews (only 59% positive) on steam, I am wondering if it is a big flop. After all, there is no reason to use big discounts to encourage sales if you are doing well; especially in such a short period of time. (and lets not forget that the base game has only been out 1.5 years and has already been on sale for 50% as well as being part of the humble monthly for only $12 w/2 DLCs.)

Unfortunately, I also realized that both HB and Steam show only Windows for the DLC. Does anyone know if Aspyr has committed to bringing the DLC to linux?

MMO 'Project: Gorgon' released in Early Access with day-1 Linux support
15 Mar 2018 at 1:43 am UTC Likes: 2

Quoting: melkemind
Quoting: TcheyIt is Unity, and the game is ugly not because of technical limitation, but because of complete lack of artistic taste. Even the colours are ugly. It will never change, until they get a proper designer, and some money to pull the assets. Sadly, i don't believe it will ever change. Happily, the game is great anyway.
Right. I think this was deliberate. They chose to make the game look like that, perhaps for whatever nostalgia they were trying tap into with the hardcore MMO crowd. I don't even like MMOs, but I'm glad there's something on Linux for everyone.
I doubt it was by choice or intentional, past the point of not paying for an artistic guy yet.

I am an old school developer. I was self taught on Basic and Machine Language back on old 8-bit processors. Over time, I learned more languages than I remember. When it comes to databases, I am a wizard. System design comes easy as well. I have had many co-workers compliment me on my code for both logical design and readability. I am a well rounded developer.

While I have the skills to easily put together a complex system, there is one thing that I can not do at all... Make something aesthetically appealing. I can design things functionally with plain graphics, but graphically appealing in any way past a simplistic "clean white" design is beyond me.

That is why there are great developers and great designers. I have never seen someone able to do both with equal skill. There are some people that can do both... but everyone I know with both abilities has been ok, but not nearly as good as the people specializing in one or the other.

As mentioned before, and in my long-winded fashion... they probably are developers... they need to hire artists now to add aesthetic appeal.

Pillars of Eternity II: Deadfire delayed until May
15 Mar 2018 at 1:17 am UTC

I think that I have to dust off the first one and play it. It looks good. (I got the first through a Humble Monthly and never played it.)

Khronos Group has released Vulkan API version 1.1 today, new NVIDIA beta driver & AMD driver available
9 Mar 2018 at 10:49 am UTC Likes: 1

Quoting: minjOf course DRM is always broken. Its whole idea is DoA. And often it has nothing to do with copyright:
https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2017/10/drms-dead-canary-how-we-just-lost-web-what-we-learned-it-and-what-we-need-do-next [External Link]
Personally, I do not like to add to threads without adding actual content. I hate "+1", "me too", "^^" and other similar comments that lack any substance.

However, I need to make an exception in this case, everyone should read that link. It is long, but it will get you to understand DRM.

Cities: Skylines has sold over five million copies on PC, minor free content on the way
8 Mar 2018 at 4:58 pm UTC Likes: 1

I see the game as low as 75% off from time to time... But I am also put off by the massive amount of DLC for it. 12 DLC packs is pretty hefty. And if you want 5 extra monuments, you need to get the Deluxe Edition. 5 of the 12 DLC packs are half the price of the base game.

People are welcome to their differing opinions with regards to DLCs, but personally I would rather buy a half-dozen different full games for the same price as skylines with all its DLC.

Khronos Group has released Vulkan API version 1.1 today, new NVIDIA beta driver & AMD driver available
8 Mar 2018 at 9:34 am UTC Likes: 3

As mentioned, DRM restricts the User's rights. Period. It does not care if the person is doing something legal or not.

While you may think it is justified for them to prevent other applications from accessing a movie being rendered on the screen to avoid copying... that same DRM will prevent a critic from taking legitimate screenshots as part of a review.

There is also the possibility that a company may prevent streaming for no reason other than to keep people in the dark to how much a game sucks. How can you tell if the limited videos of game play they show you look like fun, when 99% of what you do is constant grinding? Think that is too extreme and won't happen, think again... its similar to when the movie industry won't allow any reviews of a crappy movie before it gets released... "but the trailer looked good... who knew everything else sucked."

Major pirates always have broken DRM... Always. DRM is used to screw a company's customers; i.e. you and me.