I mean, the first one was good. It was all downhill from there, sadly. The second was decent, but suffered from a ton of re-used assets and a dumbed-down combat system. By the third, it seemed like they were trying to make a single-player MMO, which just made no damned sense to me. Never played the 4th. Maybe I’ll get it for free at some point and check it out.

Puts me in mind of the loop at Action Park. Highly recommend the documentary Class Action Park, if you haven’t seen it. Pretty entertaining!

You’re right, I think. All the smug schadenfreude has always felt hollow to me. Where does it get us, anyway? Just another distraction from the goal of worker solidarity, fostering an attitude that’s actively harmful to that goal.

I agree, and my comment probably ought to have been directed at OP. I just see you around a lot, and while I obviously empathize with your frustration, I think this line of argument is counterproductive.

I feel like people blaming Harris, and those blaming the voters are talking past each other, and it isn’t at all productive. Just like China and the USA can both be bad, it isn’t an either/or situation.

I understand the frustration from both sides, and I’m also angry at all the dipshits who advocated for non-voting or voting third party in the face of obvious fascism, but I’m sick of seeing this same damn slap fight in every post. We should be focusing on the future, not bickering about the past. If we’re going to build a coalition to defeat fascism—which is desperately needed—we can’t spend our energy relitigating electoral failures, and castigating the disaffected.

Yes, Harris was a flawed candidate, running a misguided campaign. Yes, the people who didn’t vote for her are responsible for our current situation. We have to move on to what we’re going to do now.

I’m hoping Academy will be better than I expect, but I don’t disagree with this analysis (stipulating that I’ve yet to watch any of Prodigy). I think most of the high regard for SNW is a result of how dismal DIS and PIC were. I enjoy it, but it’s pretty shallow in comparison with any of the older series. Style over substance, as a rule.

I mean, at least you always have those supple wrists to fall back on.

I hope more people do follow this advice, though. It’s always a joy to discover people’s little passion projects. They make life richer for the rest of us.

Currently working on an Ubi-style game set in Middle-Earth. Maybe my niece and I will be the only ones to enjoy it, but I’m ok with that.

Ayy, was about to comment the same thing! I love The Flophouse, and try to proselytize for it when I can. It sits comfortably atop my podcast pantheon.

It’s not the fear of ceasing to be—that can sometimes seem downright inviting—it’s the fear of how my death and subsequent absence would affect the people who love me. That’s the only thing that’s kept me going when things have been bad.

I have to assume this series will be terrible, just in self-defense. I was really bummed out by how bad I thought Discovery was, and I don’t want to be burned like that again.

Just in the interest of cheering you up a bit, I’d like to point out that many people simply refuse to click on YouTube links. Personally, I have no desire to engage with video content, especially when it’s shared with little to no context. It’s not out of laziness, but more out of a conviction that far too many people have outsourced their thinking to random vloggers, and believe that posting a link to their favorite video essay lends credibility to their argument.

I got such a kick out of this, thanks be to you!

As a Houstonian, I’m honor-bound to join you in your antipathy toward Dallas. Fucking Dallas. Blows my mind why anyone goes there willingly.

Whoa, you’re a friend of DeSoto? I heard that guy’s a real pleasure to work for.

There is (or used to be; I haven’t been by there in a while) a restaurant near me called Lettuce Souprise You! Never went there, but the puns have stuck in my head for 30 years. Well done, unknown restaurateurs!

Also, I wish that was a two-way street.

That would be nice! I understand that everyone probably feels entitled to comment, given the amount of US-centric content one is bombarded with, and the shit-show our country has descended into.

Still, I see a disturbing number of upvoted comments that are just anti-Americans (i.e., not disparaging the government, but the citizenry). Shitting on people for where they were born is as valid as astrology, and nationality is not a good indicator of moral fiber.

I’ve had that happen before, and I don’t know exactly why, but it’s not consistent. It may happen if you are connecting via a VPN server that they’ve flagged. Switching servers and clearing cookies and whatnot ought to clear it up.

That sucks! I’m sorry. They really ought to moderate it better.

I’ve read comments to this effect for years, and the only time I see objectionable shit on Steam is in reviews for intentionally political meme games like the recent one about putting up flags in the UK. Typically my only exposure to the forums is when I’m looking up obscure puzzle solutions, but the worst comments I ever see are just stupid or unhelpful. I imagine it’s worse for big multiplayer games, but I tend to avoid those, so maybe that’s why I don’t see the problem.

I always downvote any post or comment that complains about downvotes, especially when the commenter claims that downvotes are somehow proving their point. This is probably the only exception I’ve ever made, because you’re right.