Video Game News and Miscellany

figmentPez

Staff member
…and it has a very low chance of living up to its hype after all this time.
Which is a damn shame, because Valve has done very little hyping. Fans, critics, and other groups have shoveled all sorts of hype onto the series, and Valve hasn't made a tenth of the promises most game developers make.
 
I can't speak for anyone else, but as long as HL3 is approximately as good as HL2 and its episodes, I'll be satisfied. (I haven't played Alyx.) I don't need it to be the best game in history or even GOTY, I'm happy with just more Half-Life.
 
I can't speak for anyone else, but as long as HL3 is approximately as good as HL2 and its episodes, I'll be satisfied. (I haven't played Alyx.) I don't need it to be the best game in history or even GOTY, I'm happy with just more Half-Life.
Have you played Entropy Zero?

 
For anyone playing Stellaris, Paradox released a massive update today that's basically reworked how the game works at a fundamental level. Stellaris 4.0, as it's known, has changed how planets and populations work, with the idea being that large population numbers and trade routes in the previous version were causing unacceptable late-game lag, so now planet populations have been changed to work in a much more abstract way, while trade routes have been removed entirely.

As can be expected for a major update like this, right now the game is absolutely full of bugs and imbalances, as well as occasional crashes. So you should probably wait maybe 2-3 weeks for some patches and hotfixes to be released, or even a few months for the game to get really stable. Alternatively, I believe you can roll back to a previous version on Steam, though I've never tried it so I don't know how it works specifically.

I've given the new version a shot, and yeah it's quite different, though the fundamental bones of the game are still there and are still recognizable. So I'm probably going to set the game aside for a while and wait for it to settle down before I dive back in to learn the new system.
 
For anyone playing Stellaris, Paradox released a massive update today that's basically reworked how the game works at a fundamental level. Stellaris 4.0, as it's known, has changed how planets and populations work, with the idea being that large population numbers and trade routes in the previous version were causing unacceptable late-game lag, so now planet populations have been changed to work in a much more abstract way, while trade routes have been removed entirely.

As can be expected for a major update like this, right now the game is absolutely full of bugs and imbalances, as well as occasional crashes. So you should probably wait maybe 2-3 weeks for some patches and hotfixes to be released, or even a few months for the game to get really stable. Alternatively, I believe you can roll back to a previous version on Steam, though I've never tried it so I don't know how it works specifically.

I've given the new version a shot, and yeah it's quite different, though the fundamental bones of the game are still there and are still recognizable. So I'm probably going to set the game aside for a while and wait for it to settle down before I dive back in to learn the new system.
Minor update: Testing on r/Stellaris appears to indicate that the new version runs slower than the old one. So... yeah.
 

GasBandit

Staff member
Everything that uses a lithium-ion or -polymer battery should get a built-in cutoff for 80%.

--Patrick
The newer Pixel phones do get that now.. But I guess Google decided if the Pixel 4a, which they had to replace the battery in for me on their own dime, got that 80% limiter, well then, it might make me never need to upgrade because there hasn't really been a reason to buy ANY pixel newer than the 4a.... and that just won't do.
 
Many modern phones and computers have an 80% limiter, or at least some kind of "manage the battery health your own self," but I'm talking about wanting everything to have some kind of 80% switch. And let's add a 20% low-end cutoff while we're at it, too. I want my battery to last years.

--Patrick
 

figmentPez

Staff member
Regarding news of a leak of security related text messages from Steam to users:

A note about the security of your Steam account

"The recent leak being reported did NOT breach Steam systems

"You may have seen reports of leaks of older text messages that had previously been sent to Steam customers. We have examined the leak sample and have determined this was NOT a breach of Steam systems.

"We’re still digging into the source of the leak, which is compounded by the fact that any SMS messages are unencrypted in transit, and routed through multiple providers on the way to your phone.

"The leak consisted of older text messages that included one-time codes that were only valid for 15-minute time frames and the phone numbers they were sent to. The leaked data did not associate the phone numbers with a Steam account, password information, payment information or other personal data. Old text messages cannot be used to breach the security of your Steam account, and whenever a code is used to change your Steam email or password using SMS, you will receive a confirmation via email and/or Steam secure messages.

"You do not need to change your passwords or phone numbers as a result of this event. It is a good reminder to treat any account security messages that you have not explicitly requested as suspicious. We recommend regularly checking your Steam account security at any time at


"We also recommend setting up the Steam Mobile Authenticator if you haven’t already, as it gives us the best way to send secure messages about your account and your account’s safety. "

TL; DR all that leaked was texts of one-time use codes and none of the info leaked linked the phone numbers to Steam accounts or any other info. You don't have to change passwords or anything.
 

Dave

Staff member
Games are one of the things I refuse to pirate. And I know the crap I'm going to get for this but with the rise in wages and costs, the price of games going up is not out of line in my opinion.
 
Games are one of the things I refuse to pirate. And I know the crap I'm going to get for this but with the rise in wages and costs, the price of games going up is not out of line in my opinion.
I'm not going to give you shit about it though I think it's a weird line.

Meanwhile, I had to learn how to use database software to be able to sort and organize my ROM collection because it has grown to over 10,000
 
I don't think I've pirated a game in years.
Used to, definitely, but with today's amount of sales, discounts, and resellers, combined with my lack of time or need to play games the instant they come out... Doesn't make a lot of sense for my situation.
 
I think the last game I pirated was Half-Life.

The first one.

Plus its expansions.

After that came the age of Steam and Steam sales, and I just kept happily proving GabeN right that piracy is a service issue and not a money issue. For games where I didn't think they'd be worth the money, I just waited for a sale or just never bought or played it. Not like there's any shortage of games for me to play.
 
Games are one of the things I refuse to pirate. And I know the crap I'm going to get for this but with the rise in wages and costs, the price of games going up is not out of line in my opinion.
The problem isn't with wages or costs. It's executives who are ridiculously overpaid and give themselves bonuses regardless if a game does well or not. The first people to suffer if a games underperforms are developers when it's often not their fault. And yet they're the first to be blamed or laid off instead of executives making the decisions.

As far as piracy is concerned, I haven't pirated games since the inception of Steam sales. If there's a game I want to play, I'll just wait.
 

GasBandit

Staff member
TBH, I also have not pirated a game since 2015. Steam sales are just too good to put up with the inherent hassles of piracy.

But I did pirate Borderlands 1, as it came out in 2009 (WE'RE OOOOOLD), during the height of my plundering days. I bought it later when it hit $5 on steam. I speak half-jokingly about piracy, but the real likelihood is that, much like the presequel, the next BL probably won't even be worth pirating.
 
Games are one of the things I refuse to pirate. And I know the crap I'm going to get for this but with the rise in wages and costs, the price of games going up is not out of line in my opinion.
I also refuse to pirate games (except for games that are impossible to get legally - Championship Manager 2001/02 for instance), Randy can go fuck himself however in his "if you're a real fan, you'll find a way to make it happen" quote however.

Some people won't be able to & to dismiss them as not "real fans" is insulting.
 
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