ToasterToastin'

In local Sportsball news, the Vegas Golden Knights have made it to the Stanley Cup finals, and I was somehow not on the schedule to work today, so I actually got a chance to go down to the arena to hang out in the front plaza (no, I didn't have tickets for in-arena seats, seeing as they were going for ~$1000 upper level).

What a rush. The game was back-and-forth the whole time, which was great and awful at the same time, but the amount of energy was just intense. Last time I was able to attend a sporting event like this was in '08, when the Penguins (my original home team) streamed an away game from inside their stadium. This game was 10x that.

Are children small? Or just far away?

22 hours ago, Gyokuyoutama said:

But for the most satisfying linear experience you actually have to put some effort into designing levels, since the players won't be able to write off poor experiences as a side effect of their poor decisions.

Plus you can't really bang a wide variety of vidya babes in a linear experience.

22 hours ago, Gyokuyoutama said:

And without multiplayer it's harder to get people to buy lootboxes.

I feel like this is as good a place as any for me to beat my personal favorite Valve-centric dead horse and bring up the Portal 2 store.

My roommate just had the same issue with the latest Windows 10 update, only it managed to brick his computer into a gray screen of death. Eventually figured out that it was a corrupted video driver, so it's fixed now, but it took 2 days of digging and it still isn't super functional. Heck, even the automatic repair option Windows 10 provides was of absolutely no help (gave up halfway through checking to see how to fix it with no resolution) and it doesn't look like this is an isolated event.

Welcome to the era of "Beta testers? Our customers are our beta testers."

My listlessness has made me play Black Mesa again, even though I've gone through Mesa/HL so many times.

Sometimes it's nice to just run through a linear experience.

23 hours ago, Dr. Rynjinstein, MD said:

The glove looks really cool. The cloth part looks kinda bad, but the part covering the hand is excellent IMO.

 

I'm surprised so many people recognized you as Dick Gumshoe; I would have expected more people to call you out as Constantine or something.

Yeah, the cloth was certainly a test. It started more elastic but stretched during the day, and it's missing a brace underneath it, but it hid the wrist when posed so it did the job. And the glove part is my first true 3D print, and I'm shocked the paint actually came out as well as it did.

And, honestly, same. I was expecting Castiel or something, but everyone who noticed pointed out the bandage and the pencil as the specific reasons. 

So! Finally got around to branching out on cosplays this last weekend at LvlUp Expo in Las Vegas. While I like my Kyle Katarn, it's starting to show some age and, on top of that, it's a little too obscure for a general anime/pop culture convention - it was originally made for a Star Wars con, though I still ended up with a bit of recognition, so I guess it wasn't horribly obscure.

My chronic procrastination and 40-hour work week(s) gave me very little time to work on anything but I managed to turn around a brand-new costume in about 2 weeks and... well, it shows in the paint and some construction quality. It was definitely 15-feet-rule worthy and gave me a good bit of insight into how to operate both my 3D printer and EVA foam - my first ever actually completed - so I'm still considering it a win, but it's no museum piece.

Then, on Sunday, I put together a low-impact costume of Dick Gumshoe (since I've always wanted to represent Ace Attorney in cosplay somehow) so I could walk around still referential to a franchise I like but one that I could use my hands in and not have to worry about parts falling off randomly.

It was certainly obscure, even compared to my Katarn, but it was still just within the wheelhouse of the con crowd to be instantly recognized by those In The Know. I think that feeling is the best for me when it comes to a costume: everyone can point out an Iron Man, or a Goku, or any other number of con staples, but to have people recognize the less-known character is great. Plus, the people who can point out your obscure costume are absolutely thrilled when they see your lesser-known character actually present. Hell, I got more requests to get a picture taken with me in my Dick Gumshoe than I did in my Tony Stark (which was a primarily single-subject shot, when people asked).

Overall, the con was great. Lots of stuff to see, even if it's a bit lower-key than I'm used to - two Star Wars Celebration cons have spoiled my sense of scale. Definitely inspired to do more costumes, with greater variety, and go to as many cons as I can (My next project: Freeman's HEV suit, mainly so I don't have to cut the beard). And, apparently, I need to use social media, or at least get a blog/page set up to document stuff, because people were asking who I was working for all con - even with my shoddy arm work. Also, I need to develop arc reactor kits for distribution because a lot of people wanted to buy that damn thing off of me.

Fun aside: There are still a lot of Homestucks around, apparently.

Poor guy who won the blind auction, though. You expect, like, cobwebs and mold, not hazmat teams.

I wonder who's on the hook for the bill.

Are you even a real Virtual Youtuber if you don't get your own figure?

Finding adhesives for PLA plastic is surprisingly difficult. I've been checking for acrylic glue (the stuff used to weld plexiglass together) and no one has it. Hobby stores, home improvement stores, barely even Amazon for that matter.

5 hours ago, Binary said:

Blender and repiteer works well for mine. 

 

PRINT TEST CUBES FOR THE LOVE OF ALL THAT IS GOOD. 

It's really exiting and tempting to go and start a 24 hour print as soon as you set it up, but do a few test prints to get the slicer and setting right.

Running through the very basics on Blender currently, mostly because the models I want to work with are high-detail FBX models that require posing and stuff. It's a gradual knowledge build, though - I'm sure I could kludge together some workable model through sheer will and trial and error but that seems... risky. I anticipate doing a lot of pregame before actually tackling anything substantial.

As for testing, I've been limiting myself to a bunch of 20-30 minute miniature but detailed models just to get a feel. So far I've been satisfied with the quick stuff, so that's a positive. The included software is pretty weak (though I've been running stuff through Slic3r first to do some manual chopping, but I haven't managed to find a config for my printer yet), so I'll look into Repetier.

I just wish I had time. Work isn't conducive to my experience.

I'm so excited. My 3D printer finally came in the mail, and it looks rad as hell. I'm gonna print so much stuff and I'm never going to buy a model/figure again.

...now to learn how to use Blender/conversion software. And the 3D printer software, of course.

On that note, does anyone know where to find good Blender tutorials? I've used Sketchup in the past, and Hammer, and other assorted 3D modelling resources, but the few times I've tried Blender (and 3DSMax) I've never actually gotten anywhere thanks to the learning curve and lack of direction.

I tend to leave projects on my computer up overnight (folders, notepad stuff, little notes and organizational stuff, mostly), so I've had updates disabled for a long time since the update-o-matic completely kills those types of projects.

It's saved me from the forced Windows 10 upgrade (7 works very well TYVM). Although, last week it restarted my computer out of the blue. I don't recall re-enabling it.

Finally cracked into Civ VI and... well, it's good and bad. There's a lot of gameplay adjustments, streamlined elements, and QOL enhancements I like and have now gotten used to (like Districts, Wonder placement, Builder charges, and the whole rework of the Great Person system), so I'm finding it hard to convince myself to jump back to V - I had the same issue on the IV to V switch - but the AI is just plain bad, and all I ever do in Civ is AI matches. I understand that there's a lot going on under the hood, and that can be hard to balance, but a lot of it feels incomplete. The denouncements happen quickly and harshly, I don't even bother building a damn army half the time until a perfectly agreeable neighbor gets all pissy over Great Person recruitment and send a random army from the asscrack of nowhere to siege just long enough for me to buy an army and destroy them, trade is a joke, poor AI city placement emphasizing screwing me over smart resource management, outright cheating at higher difficulties... there's a lot to drag me out of the experience. And, as always, late game turns are hella long to process.

Didn't keep me from playing 8 hours straight and still not finishing, but the experience isn't as fulfilling as some of my marathon sessions in Civ IV or V. Still worth the price I paid, though.

All that said... I don't think I can make it back to V simply because the modding scene is so large. The amount of available mods - not just Leaders and Civs, though those populate plenty of slots in my list - that add the QOL enhancements I'd like is daunting, and that's assuming I find them at all. The terrible in-game UI (and, for that matter, the terrible layout of subscribed entries on the Workshop) doesn't help matters.

25 minutes ago, hugthebed2 said:

Those were actually fixed, unlike this 

Yay, crazy bacon legs is back!

Also, bizarre timing for an update. And completely unexpected to boot. Still has that good ol' Valve polish, too.

3 hours ago, Expresate said:

Is this a "new hero so everyone wants a turn" phenomenon or the typical "new hero is broken and OP and Blizz doesn't care about powercreep" phenomenon? I haven't actually attempted to play her in public yet, but I'm assuming it's the second.

I'm a fan of the yellow Red Bull. It leans away from the taste you normally associate with Red Bull, instead tasting like pineapple. Feels mostly like a placebo though.

The red and green are also half-decent, for energy drinks.

Got a '10 Accord a few years ago to replace my '92 Accord I had for 2 years before it. My '10 works, but it's not spectacularly good or bad. It just exists. Reliable, trustworthy, maintained, but boring. Hell, even the small dent in the bumper I got from backing into a short bollard is about the most notable thing that's happened to the car.

Now, my '92 was an old car - manual locks, crank windows, no radio - but it ran pretty well. Most of all, it had personality. Driving on a frame that low and with as old as the shocks were was pretty fun. I could feel the speed in that car. In my '10, I don't feel myself creeping past 80 most times. It's too cushy. For the last ~4 months of my ownership, it didn't even have a reliable power steering system, but I still find myself missing it, a little.

My car before my '92, and also my first car, was a '96 Sentra, which had similar personality. It also had no AC. In Vegas. The car itself ran solely on the fact that no one told it it couldn't. I rear-ended someone (at low speed - fast enough to buckle my hood, but barely scratched her bumper), which pushed the radiator to a slight angle, popped a hole in my battery's casing without damaging the battery itself, and knocked the headlight out of its mount so it just sat there unsecured. For half of my ownership the hood was strapped down - it wouldn't relatch, and I didn't bother permanently affixing it because my battery terminals were loose and would have the cord pop off randomly - with 3 bungee cords. It was a sight, and the car was a real POS, but it ran and its idiosyncrasies made it fun.

I guess I'm more "Millennium Falcon" than "Naboo yacht" when it comes to vehicles.

3 hours ago, Doopliss2008 said:

From my mechanics experience,  good chunk of the wiring is dead, cooling system is dead, new lines and shit for AC system, maybe some physical engine damage too.

 

no idea if there is body damage/driveline issues.

 

I'm shocked that that amount of damage isn't an outright total. In my experience any front-end collisions that touch the engine fuck up a car past the point of no return. A hit that high might mean frame/axles were spared like you suggested, though, so maybe that's why no total.

At any rate, glad you're okay. Solid construction, those, uh... I can't even tell what manufacturer it is, sheesh. Solid construction nonetheless. Sounds like you're in a decently defensible spot, too, so that always helps.

On 3/4/2018 at 7:32 PM, Stackbabbin' Bumscags said:

Star War(riors) could be good, but since DW9 is shite, we can just about kiss the Dynasty Warriors franchise goodbye.
Overwhelmingly Negative (15% of 3,762 reviews are positive) on Steam, that's just... damn.
Maybe make one similar to Hyrule/Fire Emblem Warriors?

Or just emulate the Empires versions of the DW franchise.

It's solely because they dumped what made Dynasty Warriors compelling for playing: couch co-op. Seriously an asinine move on their part.The 2 people I know that play and enjoy the series and have for ages won't even touch it as a single-player experience.

However, I think Hyrule/Fire Emblem might just save them, since they managed to be more true to vision. Since they're not internal IPs, I would figure a Star War(riors) game would be in that vein, and therefore Worthwhile.

I want a Star Wars Dynasty Warriors, but since EA holds that license it'll never happen. Of course, it'd be crappy anyway, but a man can dream.

21 hours ago, Medic said:

I wrote some code and didn't get any everything-breaking errors! Yay me!

goto errorFreeCode();

Speaking of having money, I continue to be a sucker for a sale.

Bought Battlefront II during EA's publisher sale and, aside from some piss-poor optimization and launch issues, it's pretty fun, somehow. And it looks amazing. It's quite good for the $23 I paid for it (rather than $60).

In the same sale I picked up SimCity (the crap one) for... some reason. Well, because it isn't awful, just overpriced for what it was.

So much for future-proofing my graphics card 2 years back.

Bought the slightly more expensive one then so I wouldn't have to worry... except it was the last one not built on GCN architecture (I guess) before AMD dropped support. Fucking awesome.

36 minutes ago, Doopliss2008 said:

So the eagles won the superbowl

 

but does anyone on here even give a shit?

I mean, Tom Brady doesn't play for the Eagles, so it's cool in my book,

Schadenfreude was to be had by either result, though. Still would have preferred the meteor.