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Random Chat / Re: The Thread of Extreme Happiness
« Last post by Spectere on October 16, 2021, 02:08:28 PM »I has a house. 
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Random Chat / Re: The Lamest Topic Ever Conceived
« Last post by Spectere on October 15, 2021, 01:19:03 AM »So I switched to Android a couple months ago and planned to write a point-by-point comparison of that and iOS (specifically, a Galaxy S21 Ultra vs. an iPhone 12 Pro Max, and a Tab S7 vs. an iPad), but the more I thought about it the less I had to really say on the matter.
The phones are the things I used the most, and after switching I kinda started to wonder why the fuck people get so bent out of shape over platforms. I mean, Apple's been opening up iOS just as Google's been closing Android (mostly for security. Android's security used to be as awful as iPhoneOS's inflexibility). There are some things that iOS definitely can't do, like run a chrooted Linux install, but that tends to be so finicky (mostly dealing with the new permission sets with Android 10+) that even I don't feel like dealing with it aside from fairly mundane stuff like ssh.
So I dunno, I guess we're doing a rapid-fire comparison. iPhone 12 Pro Whatever has a faster CPU despite being a year older (The S21 Ultra's Snapdragon 888 is roughly on par with the two-year-old iPhone 11), but it doesn't really make the phone feel faster. Screen's roughly the same size. Battery life is about the same despite it having a lower capacity battery (3687 mAh vs the S21 Ultra's 5000 mAh).
The S21 Ultra has 12GB of RAM compared to the 12 Pro Something's 6GB, but that doesn't really allow it to do more. Camera performance is pretty close on average, but the front camera on the S21U smashes the iPhone one, and the 10x telephoto is pretty convenient. Low-light performance seems to be better as well, but I haven't tested that too thoroughly. The ultrasonic fingerprint sensor is super convenient and awesome. The folio case and its viewing window works well, and I use the S Pen a lot more than I thought I would. The 120 hz screen was a very nice upgrade, though the iPhone 13 uses one now as well. Counter-intuitively, I actually find the pinhole camera more distracting than the notch, probably because it's breaking up an otherwise full-screen experience, rather than reading like a shrunken bezel.
The only real phone feature I really have to complain about is the car integration. Android Auto's UI works better on my car, since my car has a fairly small center console screen. CarPlay's split view tends to make it so that both the map and music UIs are too small to be usable (this isn't a problem for larger screen units, like the one on my parents' Kia Forte), but since Android Auto has a persistent media bar/notification bar on the bottom, it's very easy for passengers to flip through tracks without having to disrupt navigation.
That said, it does have some outwardly user hostile "features." It forces you into navigation every time you plug your phone in, and gives you no option to turn that "feature" off. Most of the driving I do is local, so I'd much rather have my music app front and center (CarPlay just displays the last content you had running. What a concept).
Tablets? Whew. Samsung tries like hell to make it work, but Google clearly doesn't give a fuck about them. You can always tell when you jump from Google land to Samsung land, because Samsung's software refers to the Tab S7 as a tablet while most of Android refers to it as a phone. The bluetooth S Pen works very well, easily on par with the Apple Pencil, and it has integration with Galaxy phones, much like the way Apple's devices integrate with one another. Good stuff, and very convenient. Battery life is easily on par with my 3rd gen iPad Pro. Nice as it is, however, I tend to find myself reaching for the iPad. Android left tablets behind years ago, and it really shows. While having an iPad display your app as an enlarged phone app is a mark of shame, I've found it to be surprisingly common on the 'droid side of things.
Finally, smartwatches. I went from an Apple Watch 6 to a Galaxy Watch4 Classic. Gotta say, I really like the rotating front of the Watch4 Classic over the digital crown (which I would always accidentally bump on stuff), and the ability to set awake hours for standing notifications on Samsung Fit is nice, but...man, WearOS has a lot of catching up to do. In terms of responsiveness, the Watch4 Classic is more in line with my old Apple Watch 3 than the buttery smooth 6, with hitching sprinkled throughout, and the software itself is rough. It's really hard for me to consider it release-worthy when some of the core system software treats the Watch4's round screen as a square screen. How the hell did nobody notice that? One definite positive is that the Watch4's battery life kills any Apple Watch I've owned. I could comfortably get 1.5-2 days out of my Apple Watch 3 and 6, but I can comfortably get 3-4 days out of the Watch4. It also does offer up many of the same features (one-wire ECG, heart rate sensors, etc), it's just the software that lets it down. I think WearOS needed another year or two of polish before Samsung switched away from Tizen. Hopefully it gets better over time, because in several ways it feels soooo close to hitting that sweet spot.
In conclusion: iOS is fine. Android is fine. Windows Phone was fine. Fanboys fucking suck.
Edit: One point I almost forgot to mention: the S Pen vs Apple Pencil thing largely comes down to which feeling you prefer. The S Pen uses a felt tip nib, while the Pencil uses hard plastic. I prefer writing with the S Pen because it feels more like a pen on paper, but I suspect that the Apple Pencil will last much longer due to the material it uses. Both options are still far better than the shitty wobbly nibs that the Surface pens seem to have. Trying to jot down notes with my old, thankfully sold, Surface Pro 3 was just awful.
The phones are the things I used the most, and after switching I kinda started to wonder why the fuck people get so bent out of shape over platforms. I mean, Apple's been opening up iOS just as Google's been closing Android (mostly for security. Android's security used to be as awful as iPhoneOS's inflexibility). There are some things that iOS definitely can't do, like run a chrooted Linux install, but that tends to be so finicky (mostly dealing with the new permission sets with Android 10+) that even I don't feel like dealing with it aside from fairly mundane stuff like ssh.
So I dunno, I guess we're doing a rapid-fire comparison. iPhone 12 Pro Whatever has a faster CPU despite being a year older (The S21 Ultra's Snapdragon 888 is roughly on par with the two-year-old iPhone 11), but it doesn't really make the phone feel faster. Screen's roughly the same size. Battery life is about the same despite it having a lower capacity battery (3687 mAh vs the S21 Ultra's 5000 mAh).
The S21 Ultra has 12GB of RAM compared to the 12 Pro Something's 6GB, but that doesn't really allow it to do more. Camera performance is pretty close on average, but the front camera on the S21U smashes the iPhone one, and the 10x telephoto is pretty convenient. Low-light performance seems to be better as well, but I haven't tested that too thoroughly. The ultrasonic fingerprint sensor is super convenient and awesome. The folio case and its viewing window works well, and I use the S Pen a lot more than I thought I would. The 120 hz screen was a very nice upgrade, though the iPhone 13 uses one now as well. Counter-intuitively, I actually find the pinhole camera more distracting than the notch, probably because it's breaking up an otherwise full-screen experience, rather than reading like a shrunken bezel.
The only real phone feature I really have to complain about is the car integration. Android Auto's UI works better on my car, since my car has a fairly small center console screen. CarPlay's split view tends to make it so that both the map and music UIs are too small to be usable (this isn't a problem for larger screen units, like the one on my parents' Kia Forte), but since Android Auto has a persistent media bar/notification bar on the bottom, it's very easy for passengers to flip through tracks without having to disrupt navigation.
That said, it does have some outwardly user hostile "features." It forces you into navigation every time you plug your phone in, and gives you no option to turn that "feature" off. Most of the driving I do is local, so I'd much rather have my music app front and center (CarPlay just displays the last content you had running. What a concept).
Tablets? Whew. Samsung tries like hell to make it work, but Google clearly doesn't give a fuck about them. You can always tell when you jump from Google land to Samsung land, because Samsung's software refers to the Tab S7 as a tablet while most of Android refers to it as a phone. The bluetooth S Pen works very well, easily on par with the Apple Pencil, and it has integration with Galaxy phones, much like the way Apple's devices integrate with one another. Good stuff, and very convenient. Battery life is easily on par with my 3rd gen iPad Pro. Nice as it is, however, I tend to find myself reaching for the iPad. Android left tablets behind years ago, and it really shows. While having an iPad display your app as an enlarged phone app is a mark of shame, I've found it to be surprisingly common on the 'droid side of things.
Finally, smartwatches. I went from an Apple Watch 6 to a Galaxy Watch4 Classic. Gotta say, I really like the rotating front of the Watch4 Classic over the digital crown (which I would always accidentally bump on stuff), and the ability to set awake hours for standing notifications on Samsung Fit is nice, but...man, WearOS has a lot of catching up to do. In terms of responsiveness, the Watch4 Classic is more in line with my old Apple Watch 3 than the buttery smooth 6, with hitching sprinkled throughout, and the software itself is rough. It's really hard for me to consider it release-worthy when some of the core system software treats the Watch4's round screen as a square screen. How the hell did nobody notice that? One definite positive is that the Watch4's battery life kills any Apple Watch I've owned. I could comfortably get 1.5-2 days out of my Apple Watch 3 and 6, but I can comfortably get 3-4 days out of the Watch4. It also does offer up many of the same features (one-wire ECG, heart rate sensors, etc), it's just the software that lets it down. I think WearOS needed another year or two of polish before Samsung switched away from Tizen. Hopefully it gets better over time, because in several ways it feels soooo close to hitting that sweet spot.
In conclusion: iOS is fine. Android is fine. Windows Phone was fine. Fanboys fucking suck.
Edit: One point I almost forgot to mention: the S Pen vs Apple Pencil thing largely comes down to which feeling you prefer. The S Pen uses a felt tip nib, while the Pencil uses hard plastic. I prefer writing with the S Pen because it feels more like a pen on paper, but I suspect that the Apple Pencil will last much longer due to the material it uses. Both options are still far better than the shitty wobbly nibs that the Surface pens seem to have. Trying to jot down notes with my old, thankfully sold, Surface Pro 3 was just awful.
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Gaming / Re: 2021 Backlog Report
« Last post by Spectere on October 15, 2021, 12:40:34 AM »-"big scary robot sections" not scary, very trial and error, very annoying. Not as big a part of the game as I expected, so they don't ruin the game, but they are my biggest con.
One of my friends and I spent about a half hour trying to crack the code. We basically determined that you have to nail the counter slightly before the spark for it to reliably go off, and considering the timing has some degree of randomness to it, that's a bit tough to do. That said, I did end up getting grabbed by the yellow E.M.M.I. a few times and was able to flawlessly nail the sequence multiple times in a row. Then again, considering that E.M.M.I. is all about speed, it wouldn't surprise me if the parry timings were a bit more fast/consistent as well.
I'd say that my biggest two complaints both deal with muscle memory. I used to casually speedrun Zero Mission when I was in college (by today's standards my best Any% times would be in the upper end of the top 100, so...not bad, really) and even 15-16 years later I find it tricky to adjust to a different wall jump and speed boost/shinespark style. It took me maybe an hour to get used to wall jumping (traditionally, Metroid games require you to pull away from the wall before hitting jump, not pressing into the wall), but I'm really not crazy about having to manually activate the speed booster.
At least it's not just me. I was chatting to someone in an FFXIV dungeon party the other night and they had the same issue.
funny thought, if link is zelda, master chief is halo, and samus is metroid...one of these is actually true...
Goddammit. I never thought about that before, but you're right. XD
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Gaming / Re: 2021 Backlog Report
« Last post by vladgd on October 12, 2021, 05:45:03 PM »8. Metroid Dread
Probably seen this one coming but I just polished this one off 100% item completion in 12 hours.
Lets start with the cons.
-"big scary robot sections" not scary, very trial and error, very annoying. Not as big a part of the game as I expected, so they don't ruin the game, but they are my biggest con.
So that's it. This game is straight up awesome, from graphics, to how good the zones look, to the music, to the very VERY polished gameplay you should expect from a nintendo game. This is a very challenging game, probably not harder than the original nes game, but these bosses take from the samus returns book of whup yer ass, then you think you beat them, and they were just getting started. By the time you die, and die, and die, and die some more, the "git gud" levels should be of a high enough concentration in your bloodstream where it almost feels easy. Some of the shinespark puzzles are so precice that it got me thinking of my EXACT INPUTS a few times "go through this area, tap down, slide, enter morph ball mode, one bomb, wait, fall, tap up once, NEUTRAL B, forward. Fighting game training mode vibes from some of these I swear.
No spoilers on story, but let's just say if other m (nobody considers it canon, but using it as an example) treated samus like a crybaby...let's just say dread does a 180. They made samus feel very powerful in this one...especially the end sequence...ohh boy.
I ain't gonna call it better than super metroid(it might be, but new game, honeymoon phase, warped judgement), but I'll say people who don't think this game is worth the $60 price of entry just aren't into good games.
If you are on the fence because of spooky robots, it's not enough to tarnish a TOP NOTCH metroid experience. Definitely one of the better games in the series.
funny thought, if link is zelda, master chief is halo, and samus is metroid...one of these is actually true...
Probably seen this one coming but I just polished this one off 100% item completion in 12 hours.
Lets start with the cons.
-"big scary robot sections" not scary, very trial and error, very annoying. Not as big a part of the game as I expected, so they don't ruin the game, but they are my biggest con.
So that's it. This game is straight up awesome, from graphics, to how good the zones look, to the music, to the very VERY polished gameplay you should expect from a nintendo game. This is a very challenging game, probably not harder than the original nes game, but these bosses take from the samus returns book of whup yer ass, then you think you beat them, and they were just getting started. By the time you die, and die, and die, and die some more, the "git gud" levels should be of a high enough concentration in your bloodstream where it almost feels easy. Some of the shinespark puzzles are so precice that it got me thinking of my EXACT INPUTS a few times "go through this area, tap down, slide, enter morph ball mode, one bomb, wait, fall, tap up once, NEUTRAL B, forward. Fighting game training mode vibes from some of these I swear.
No spoilers on story, but let's just say if other m (nobody considers it canon, but using it as an example) treated samus like a crybaby...let's just say dread does a 180. They made samus feel very powerful in this one...especially the end sequence...ohh boy.
I ain't gonna call it better than super metroid(it might be, but new game, honeymoon phase, warped judgement), but I'll say people who don't think this game is worth the $60 price of entry just aren't into good games.
If you are on the fence because of spooky robots, it's not enough to tarnish a TOP NOTCH metroid experience. Definitely one of the better games in the series.
funny thought, if link is zelda, master chief is halo, and samus is metroid...one of these is actually true...
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Random Chat / Re: The Thread of Excessive Rage
« Last post by Spectere on September 18, 2021, 10:36:20 AM »macOS Wake Timers: Wake up from sleep, check the mail, chime if there's new mail, immediately go back to sleep.
Windows Wake Timers: Wake up from sleep 20 minutes after the the computer is suspended, visually remind the user (who is not at their desk or logged in) that a Windows update is ready to install, stay awake.
What the fuck, Microsoft. How have you not figured this out yet?
Windows Wake Timers: Wake up from sleep 20 minutes after the the computer is suspended, visually remind the user (who is not at their desk or logged in) that a Windows update is ready to install, stay awake.
What the fuck, Microsoft. How have you not figured this out yet?
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Random Chat / Re: The Thread of Excessive Rage
« Last post by Spectere on September 13, 2021, 11:28:23 PM »How to get taken advantage of: say the words, "Yeah, I'm pretty good with computers."
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Gaming / Re: wut specturr'z playing
« Last post by Spectere on September 11, 2021, 08:27:21 PM »Just beat Valiant. That was pretty great! Easily some of the highest quality maps I've ever played.
The fourth episode (maps 19-24) were definitely the weakest point for me, with the fifth episode probably being my favorite overall. I can't recommend this megawad enough, honestly.
The fourth episode (maps 19-24) were definitely the weakest point for me, with the fifth episode probably being my favorite overall. I can't recommend this megawad enough, honestly.
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Gaming / Re: wut specturr'z playing
« Last post by Spectere on September 11, 2021, 04:46:28 AM »Valiant
I'm tearing through this faster than I'd ever played through a megawad, which is to say that it's quite excellent.
I just finished up MAP27, including the, erm, secret part. Speaking of that secret part: I managed to beat it first try. I ate two rockets pretty much right at the start because I'm a dumbass, but I was able to snag a megasphere and stay in the fight as the arena continued to open up. Holy hell, is that part fun. I wish I were recording that.
So yeah, three more maps to go. Woo. I think I might move onto Eviternity next.
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Gaming / Re: 2021 Backlog Report
« Last post by vladgd on September 07, 2021, 05:52:21 PM »7. Captain Toad Treasure Tracker
When I first seen this game on the Wii U I thought "awe man, I want to play that but I ain't getting a Wii U for it"
So they ported it to switch, where...I didn't buy it till I was drunk the other day and said fuck it. Well uhh, I beat it.
Watch video of the game, and it's pretty much that. Each level is very short with 3 diamonds to find, an end goal, and an optional objective. You can also enter the level to find pixel toad as an additional optional objective to complete.
The game itself is very aesthetically pleasing, it's almost like each level is its own diorama. The gameplay is fun, and hard to put down. Not too challenging, but some of the levels/objectives are pretty tricky. It's got enough to it not to be boring imo. It's also got a 2 player mode which I will try to get the girlfriend to try later on, but I have yet to try that out. The only real con with the game to me is some levels require you to use the onscreen cursor to manipulate the map, which if using a pro controller uses the motion sensor, and...it isn't great. Playing on portable mode you can just touch the screen, so for certain levels I almost recommend using portable mode just for those. It didn't kill the game for me, I played pretty much everything with the pro controller mostly fine, but Nintendo "innovation" isn't my cup of tea.
Game has just shy of 80 levels which doesn't take too long to blast through, but if you want to do all of the optional stuff it's a healthy chunk of game. Beating the main game unlocks a bonus chapter which has super mario odyssey inspired levels to start, then blocks of old levels with unique twists. AS WELL AS A DLC CHAPTER, which I haven't touched yet, but I think they're asking for only $7, so I might nab it whenever I got the itch to play some more. With how bitesize this game is, pretty easy to turn on play for 20 minutes and walk away satisfied, so I probably will come back to this game to complete more optional stuff.
Pretty happy it lived up to my expectations, been wanting to play it for quite some time now.
Not worthy of its own post, I have also been playing more baba is you, logging over 32 hours on my file...not sure I'll beat it, not sure I even CAN beat it. But it's just a fantastic, if not VERY VERY VERY HARD game. Game starts out simple and cute, but it's legit hard. IF I can manage to beat it, it'll be the hardest game I'd completed out of every single game I have logged in these threads so far, not even joking. But since I don't think that'll happen, It's just fun to pop on from time to time and bash my head against a wall attempting to make some progress. So far I "completed" all of the main worlds, and was kinda confused why the game didn't roll over and say I beat it, but beating whatever number out of whatever number of levels in a world to get the macguffin to unlock another thing, for all worlds doesn't count for "winning". I have since got to a secret world, which in turn has another secret world within it...so I ain't sure where this game is going but it feels like going to star world which leads into the special world in super mario world, only a lot harder.
Ohh and you can get it on mobile...ffs it's a good buy whatever platform you fancy.
...ON TO THE NEXT!
When I first seen this game on the Wii U I thought "awe man, I want to play that but I ain't getting a Wii U for it"
So they ported it to switch, where...I didn't buy it till I was drunk the other day and said fuck it. Well uhh, I beat it.
Watch video of the game, and it's pretty much that. Each level is very short with 3 diamonds to find, an end goal, and an optional objective. You can also enter the level to find pixel toad as an additional optional objective to complete.
The game itself is very aesthetically pleasing, it's almost like each level is its own diorama. The gameplay is fun, and hard to put down. Not too challenging, but some of the levels/objectives are pretty tricky. It's got enough to it not to be boring imo. It's also got a 2 player mode which I will try to get the girlfriend to try later on, but I have yet to try that out. The only real con with the game to me is some levels require you to use the onscreen cursor to manipulate the map, which if using a pro controller uses the motion sensor, and...it isn't great. Playing on portable mode you can just touch the screen, so for certain levels I almost recommend using portable mode just for those. It didn't kill the game for me, I played pretty much everything with the pro controller mostly fine, but Nintendo "innovation" isn't my cup of tea.
Game has just shy of 80 levels which doesn't take too long to blast through, but if you want to do all of the optional stuff it's a healthy chunk of game. Beating the main game unlocks a bonus chapter which has super mario odyssey inspired levels to start, then blocks of old levels with unique twists. AS WELL AS A DLC CHAPTER, which I haven't touched yet, but I think they're asking for only $7, so I might nab it whenever I got the itch to play some more. With how bitesize this game is, pretty easy to turn on play for 20 minutes and walk away satisfied, so I probably will come back to this game to complete more optional stuff.
Pretty happy it lived up to my expectations, been wanting to play it for quite some time now.
Not worthy of its own post, I have also been playing more baba is you, logging over 32 hours on my file...not sure I'll beat it, not sure I even CAN beat it. But it's just a fantastic, if not VERY VERY VERY HARD game. Game starts out simple and cute, but it's legit hard. IF I can manage to beat it, it'll be the hardest game I'd completed out of every single game I have logged in these threads so far, not even joking. But since I don't think that'll happen, It's just fun to pop on from time to time and bash my head against a wall attempting to make some progress. So far I "completed" all of the main worlds, and was kinda confused why the game didn't roll over and say I beat it, but beating whatever number out of whatever number of levels in a world to get the macguffin to unlock another thing, for all worlds doesn't count for "winning". I have since got to a secret world, which in turn has another secret world within it...so I ain't sure where this game is going but it feels like going to star world which leads into the special world in super mario world, only a lot harder.
Ohh and you can get it on mobile...ffs it's a good buy whatever platform you fancy.
...ON TO THE NEXT!
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Random Chat / Re: The Thread of Extreme Happiness
« Last post by Bobbias on September 05, 2021, 02:52:23 PM »Well, I can't rightfully say I'm extremely happy, but I have quit my job, and am about to start going back to college for computer programming. Still havent worked out money, but I couldn't stand working in that shithole any longer.
It's a good thing I took my last week off. The 27th was my last day, but I took that week off since I had (finally) gotten my extra week for being there 5 years (only took me 6 years thanks to starting out at a bad time of the year.) Originally I wasn't sure what I was gonna do with it, but a co-worker gave me a heads up that he had a day off and they were probably gonna ask me to fill in for him (in my own home department at that.) I was pissed, because it should be the supervisor's job to let me know. Technically that's a shift change, because my start and end times differ from when I was stuck working in the press room. So when I confronted the SV about why I was only getting a heads up from my co-worker (they obviously knew he'd be off for a while), the SV just gave me a "well, I didn't see it anywhere in my emails", and fucked off. After that I decided I needed to move my last day ahead and took the final week off. Well on the 20th, I found out that they were laying a bunch of people off, and most of those who were kept on (which would have included me) were being sent to the other plant to rack parts for plating. I had vowed that if they tried to send me there I'd walk out. So by taking that week off I saved myself the trouble of telling them to go fuck themselves and that I wouldn't be racking their fucking parts ever again.
So, I'm happy to be out of there, but I'm still kinda anxious about the whole situation, since like I said, I haven't completely figured out finances yet. I'm likely gonna end up taking OSAP student loans.
It's a good thing I took my last week off. The 27th was my last day, but I took that week off since I had (finally) gotten my extra week for being there 5 years (only took me 6 years thanks to starting out at a bad time of the year.) Originally I wasn't sure what I was gonna do with it, but a co-worker gave me a heads up that he had a day off and they were probably gonna ask me to fill in for him (in my own home department at that.) I was pissed, because it should be the supervisor's job to let me know. Technically that's a shift change, because my start and end times differ from when I was stuck working in the press room. So when I confronted the SV about why I was only getting a heads up from my co-worker (they obviously knew he'd be off for a while), the SV just gave me a "well, I didn't see it anywhere in my emails", and fucked off. After that I decided I needed to move my last day ahead and took the final week off. Well on the 20th, I found out that they were laying a bunch of people off, and most of those who were kept on (which would have included me) were being sent to the other plant to rack parts for plating. I had vowed that if they tried to send me there I'd walk out. So by taking that week off I saved myself the trouble of telling them to go fuck themselves and that I wouldn't be racking their fucking parts ever again.
So, I'm happy to be out of there, but I'm still kinda anxious about the whole situation, since like I said, I haven't completely figured out finances yet. I'm likely gonna end up taking OSAP student loans.