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Some "rants" about badly designed products etc. stuff that could fit into a blog article but not really technical. May also put some wild thoughts in there and reviews.

Headphones


Headphones i tried over the years, started to use them in mid 2010s, before that i was using M-Audio AV40 speakers and before that cheap speakers that come with PCs. Mostly seek flat frequency response (neutral / clean sound), durability and comfort, low to mid price level.

Superlux HD662F

My first headset was a carefully selected (price / quality) closed back Superlux HD662F, i was quite satisfied for some times from this cheap buy in term of quality and durability, my main wish was a 'studio' quality / monitoring headset so i mostly wanted a neutral frequency response and good comfort, this kind of headset can go crazy in term of price but the HD662F delivered all of this for me, it seemed to have good frequency response curve from tests i saw on boards.

Sadly the HD662F wasn't perfect, mine had cables fraying issue after 7 years of usage which was a minor issue since it worked but it sadly started to have cable connection issues as well so i decided to buy another one since they were pretty cheap.

The second HD662F had connection issue after 2 years of usage which was quite frustrating since the first one lasted much longer, i don't know if it is build related (bad luck) or perhaps aggravated by my setup since i had a different desk / chair between both and the long cable was often stuck below my chair wheels.

There was perhaps quick fixes to solve the issue but i thought it was a design issue anyway, an easily replaceable cable entirely solve this case (with a minor bump in price) thus i started to look for a headset with a replaceable cable.

Ear pads durability was good although they are quite low in term of comfort, i changed them only once for the 7 years case.

All in all this cheap headset would have been the most durable if the cable was entirely replaceable !

Rode NTH-100M

I chose this headphone due to 3 factors :
  • replaceable cable due to my experience with the Superlux HD662F
  • has support for the NTH-Mic condenser microphone which was attractive as i could use it in audio conference instead of my phone, seemed good quality as well so i could perhaps use it for other stuff
  • brand / price (way more comfortable cushion, build quality due to better materials / experience etc.)
It was much pricier (8x more, ~240€ with accessories) than the Superlux although still quite attractive for all it does compared to other products on the market, sound quality seems quite good.

I also needed to buy the VXLR mini-jack 3.5mm to XLR adapter also sold by Rode (didn't plan for this though !) and use the splitter cable to have both mic / audio on my ONYX Producer 2-2 audio interface. (don't forget to switch +48V button to have correct audio level for the mic)

First feels were awesome, i thought it was of much higher level than the Superlux in term of comfort or even overall quality and features. It also had adjustable headband compared to the Superlux.

Then issues appeared, there was cracks on the plastic part that hold both earcup after less than 2 month and it eventually broke completely, this really frustrated me due to the price and since i thought Rode was a quality brand and would design durable products with all the experience they got...

this eventually broke completely

It seems it is either bad luck product with production issue or a design issue again with too little product testing, my feels goes to the second case as i feel the parts that hold the earcup is quite thin for all the pressure it may experience, this is also a global issue, many peoples reported such thing with this product and Rode was forced to apply lifetime warranty on the product... which looks like they are quite aware of this.

There is a cheaper solution than going for a replacement fortunately : the almighty duct tape !

So i Just duct taped this part with several layers, the fix is great and hold the part without issues, it remains flexible so there is no disadvantage except aesthetics.

my fix, 100% working and durable, back to usable product again

Another design issue is that my hair sometimes get stuck into some movable plastic part.

Even for all the features the Rode has i still think the HD662F managed to be way more reliable than the Rode although not easily repairable.

The durability issue is quite a big mistake all in all, it cancel out the usefulness of the headset modular design...

Early 2024 update : Now have a wiring issue as well sometimes (sound in only one ear)... what a shitty product ! RIP 23 / 09 / 24 : lasted a bit more than a year with the fix... may have lasted longer with more fixes (there is 3D printed replacement brackets available) or applying the not so advantageous lifetime warranty but i didn't care.

There is workarounds to make a fresh one more reliable but it still looks like a very fragile headset (plus dependence) and it doesn't have internal replacement parts so i don't recommend it, a pity because it felt really great with very useful features.

It looks like Rode redesigned the brackets as of 2024 but didn't test.

Dependence on two accessories (~70€) for the mic. made me realize that relying on the headset alone is a smarter choice. It offers more flexibility and there is no useless proprietary stuff around if the headset breaks. Counterargument is that having a replaceable built-in mic. is still quite convenient.

beyerdynamic DT 770 PRO 80 Ohm

Next headset i bought after the NTH-100 disaster, much cheaper since i didn't go for a built-in microphone, i was looking for sturdiness first and independent availability of most parts.

I did consider a Sennheiser HD-25 as an alternative, it is well-known and also cheaper / repairable / modular (+ portable) but it didn't look as comfortable so feared it was a major setback.

The DT 770 feels great, it sounds cleaner and perhaps more neutral than the Rode, the build is way sturdier (plastic & metal) and repairable although a bit less modular (no detachable cable) but independent parts are available so i thought it was okay.

Comfort is good, feels a bit harder than the Rode so a slight early impression of a setback but still close and it does not hurt with long hairs. Potential issue is heat as mine has fabric ear pads so it feels a bit warm, they can be swapped for different pads though.

Isolation seems great, slightly better than the Rode perhaps.

JBL Quantum 100

Cheap buy to replace the NTH-100M for audio conference / gaming, should perhaps have gone for a Superlux but wanted to try other manufacturers and didn't put much thoughts on this anyway, early feels are okay.

Sound quality is okay for the price, a bit muddy perhaps but just as i'd expect from cheap stuff, has a mute toggle button (not gonna use it) and audio level change gear.

The build is cheap of course with plastic parts all over and bare minimum comfort but the pads and sturdiness seems good anyway.

The overall build is pretty much the same as the JBL Tune 750BTNC to reduce production cost perhaps, the later just have more control buttons and minor differences in details, i don't know if it share similar internal components though.

Plantronics Backbeat PRO 2

I bought this wireless headset in 2018 for office usage and when i travel, i was mainly attracted by the noise cancellation feature, it was fairly cheap at the time (cheaper than the cheap Rode above) with seemingly good build quality.

Sound quality was not a focus but it is correct anyway, focusing on bass, sometimes has too much bass though which is somehow the trend for this kind of headset, the noise cancellation feature is ok for the price although not very powerful.

All in all i think it is a mediocre to okay headset although bad for audio conference (due to Bluetooth profiles issue), i especially like the nice and comfortable cushion, there is two product issues after years of usage :
  • the soft cushion although very comfortable (even compared to the Rode) are not durable at all, replaced them 3 times after 4 years and i don't use this headset often, would probably needs to be replaced every 6 month with frequent usage...
  • has a head mounted detection feature which cut the output off automatically if unmounted, this feature is very hit and miss for me, too sensitive and cannot be disabled as far as i know...
After some years of usage the head mounted detection feature is worse than it was leading to many frustrated moments where sound output is cut after some light head move... a bad product design all in all and i wouldn't recommend this headset for this alone unless it is used as wired but there might be better choices then.

Video Games

Mass Effect 1, 2, 3 vs Star Control 2

Always wanted to play Mass Effect since its release in late 2007 and finally took it to completion in 2024, it was well received at the time, some peoples compared it to Star Control 2 (1992) and i can see why since there is similarities although in 3D (mako, planets gameplay, lore or even music) and with a shooter gameplay, it is a good game to my opinion especially for a 3D game in late 2007... but it didn't have the same impact on me as when i played Star Control 2 in early 2010s and here is why :
  • the beginning was tiresome and boring, being stuck in the citadel for a while... for me the game start once you gain access to space
  • the lore felt restricted, it is not as wild, diverse and fun as Star Control 2, it is well made but it is way too conventional; shallow, generic, obvious and boring, follow norms too much, too human-centric
  • gameplay was tiresome and i felt some parts were made by sadists... such as the heavily repetitive planets gameplay with the mako, especially on worlds with huge hills... another tiresome gameplay thing was the melee rushing enemies or the rocket launcher abusive ones when the player doesn't even have the equivalent weapon to counteract; why ? also explosives everywhere (same in ME2)... perhaps the gameplay just didn't age well and they were still figuring stuff out at the time, anyway it is pretty mild for a FPS, i didn't like backtracking as well especially in ME3 (fast travel option in Citadel still require some amount of walking probably made to lengthen the game)
  • i dislike the abuse of invisible walls everywhere to prevent the player from falling (same in ME2 and 3), this impact the gameplay in Mass Effect because the player path is often blocked for no reasons
  • the copy pasted buildings / spaceships interior is mediocre, same as backtracking... i see all this as a cheap development / budget trick typical of these game studios doing business
  • the cities are actually pretty limited size wise, you'd expect a huge area but no, many invisible walls etc. same in ME2, it does a great job at appearing as bigger though
  • the UX was bad... especially the inventory or when skipping dialogs, the HUD UX was ok, this improved a lot in the sequels
  • it was not as lively, one thing i enjoyed greatly in SC2 was the dynamic map with the enemies slowly progressing as you play and which can eventually wipe all the galaxy out, it is admittedly a pretty hardcore feature though and required me to do the game a second time because i wasn't aware of this at first :D, there is choices to make sometimes in ME (more in ME2) but it is focused on characters with bits of romance, choices are carried over to the sequels though which is a nice feature.
One thing that Mass Effect does very close to the SC2 vibe is music, i find it pretty similar at times but again perhaps too smoothed out, it still doesn't reach the same high as SC2 music to me because SC2 music was a crowd-sourced effort, it has huge diversity. In Star Control 2 tracks were composed by various folks of the MOD community adding huge amount of personality and identity to the game (same for fonts, graphics etc.), from ambient to industrial, rock or electronic music, it has this unique crafty feels with quality variations (even goofy !) that is difficult to expect from a rising 2000s video game company doing usual business.

Now SC2 isn't perfect as well, it has a similar boring beginning with the spaceship being very slow (especially the slow rotation) and has balancing issues but the lore and exploration kick off way faster and the exploration is actually necessary for survival and progression, exploration is also the main initial goal by finding out what is out there (because it is the first time humanity step out outside their home system), exploration is fun by adding arcade elements instead of gimmicks, this hook me quite early in SC2 along with the ambient vibe, it has an immersive vibe with few stuff holding it apart and parts of that is also because of how it begin. Planets gameplay can also be seen as repetitive later in game but still has more variations, hazards actually do something.

On the lore side SC2 is just amazingly more varied and fun than ME, i can see why, it would be very difficult to transcribe SC2 lore in a full 3D game (and risky), that is perhaps why all smart aliens in ME (and the ones you interact with the most) are mostly all humanoids... they are also quite similar in term of personality.

All in all i enjoyed some parts of Mass Effect 1 due to the sheer amount of references of the story such as Babylon 5, Battlestar, Tron, Dune, War of the worlds, Firefly, Star Trek, Star Wars and of course SC2 and some planets environments but overall it didn't provide anything new for me and the gameplay was cumbersome most of the time for a shooter / RPG, it was a good start though, the side missions and space opera story and the way it unfold is okay but took some times to get in, the lore lacks huge amount of diversity though.

Mass Effect 2 : Played it to the end and i liked some parts of it but it carried over far too long (same in 3), the UX style felt heavier although overall simpler but the gameplay is slightly better overall, hack games were fun although not really challenging after a while and thus doesn't serve any purposes, the galaxy map actually looks more like SC2 (you can go around with the spaceship) but they removed the Mako (they replaced it by the Hammerhead which has a linear and mediocre gameplay), planet landing is just regular linear missions now, this part wasn't perfect in ME1 but i liked the vibe of barren planets environments and exploration, the planet scan is tedious and doesn't offer anything in term of gameplay (did they took that idea from Ironseed ?), planet scan is even useless because if you are like me scanning all the planets obsessively you will get way too much useless resources, the scan only serve the purpose of finding side missions after a while, so much wasted time ! Soundtrack seems to be of lesser quality also (often dimmed into the background), i didn't like the endless waves of enemies in some missions which felt like a loose way to lengthen the game, there is also very limited variation in enemies, the characters unlocking and loyalty system was quite fun though (common in BioWare games, i liked this as well in Dragon Age: Origins), most liked character is perhaps the Geth one since it is a bit refreshing and a nice surprise (too bad i lost it at the end), the Overlord mission was also nice with a huge reference to System Shock. The ending was okay although not as epic as i thought, there is choices to make at least.

Mass Effect 3 : This one has a story that is the closest to Star Control 2 (i even think that the Leviathan are a bit like the Ur-Quan, a direct reference), i liked the story and how it unfold with allies / war assets that you need to gather through exploration (with cool surprises), this is a part that feels very close to SC2, we see more of the Prothean past (too bad that they are just smarter Krogans), the galaxy map has improved with less hassle on scanning etc. i don't really know if the gameplay improved, perhaps it feels a tad better (with the cover system) and varied, the world is also slightly more detailed with some impressive environments such as underwater (although short), soundtrack is a bit more like the first, the EDI part was fun, i like the scale of the reapers invasion which is quite similar to the Ur-Quan one. The turrets placing enemies early on is just plain annoying game design though and it goes back to the rocket launcher abusive mob of the first one... feels like a cheap trick to ramp the difficulty of the game, it is at least slightly avoidable by focusing on the engineers, enemies also roll a lot when they are hit as an avoidance trick and this is again quite annoying because it feels cheap, there is also the usual close combat rushing enemies and rocket launcher ones that are annoying, the enemies AI is perhaps better in this one but that is because of all the cheap tricks the game use to make fights harder, i disliked many of the fights in this game due to this (and especially the arena fights although it is fun sometimes), i disliked most Cerberus related missions (too much and too samey) and the clone one (even if fun) was dumb as hell... because the fight didn't make sens at all and goes on far too long, bit likes playing mid 90s boss fights.

The trilogy story added up is good and the end of Mass Effect 3 was quite satisfying at least, i chose the synthesis ending (could also have the "perfect" one) and it was very cool although i have trouble to make any sens of it because even though it seems to be the best ending to me the cut scenes that are shown after etc. doesn't make much sens anymore with this option, perhaps it would have been better if this was all abstracted away (which is what happen with SC2), there is still some fun wild Eldritch theories around though, i find similarities in this with my other favorite games such as Secret of Mana where many stuff are abstracted away compared to Seiken Densetsu 3 (the follow up) so the story may feel very naive but the world feels vivid to me because it is not explained (and you don't get much hints either unlike SD3) so imagination kicks in and there is an adaptive coherence, less flaws (less risks too) and then it all depend on how the player perceive the given game world, it will be more personal, it is more akin to a book in its own form instead of trying to be exactly like a book with some added up elements.

So final verdict on all ME after ~119 hours put in ? They are definitely okay space opera for the year they were released but with severe gameplay flaws (shooter part is quite mediocre for all versions, backtracking, AI of allies is completely off), it improved a little on each iteration though, BioWare focus on characters and the choices you make with all the animated sequences is perhaps where it shine although the lack of overall diversity and craziness bothered me, all the 3D stuff (animation, environment etc.) is quite good (cannot replace imagination though !), i feel like the lore was much more restricted than SC2 but i guess that is the limitations of going 3D with all the quirks it imply, still a bit weak to me as is but there is a great game to be done if the 3 were mixed together with some changes and more wackiness, perhaps i should have spent all this time looking at the story through YouTube videos just like i did with Doom Eternal instead of playing it since the gameplay was not that good.

Visions of Mana

I am fond of the Mana series for various reasons, mainly nostalgia perhaps but i still think the first ones (Secret of Mana and the one after that) were very innovative RPG (incredible coop mode, circular menu system, varied gameplay, tech) and sported huge amount of diversity, i especially love the OST and the vivid overall art style with aesthetics and theme reminiscent of Hayao Miyasaki works such as Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind, it has beautiful illustrations made by Hirō Isono, it is heavily inspired by Japanese spiritual traditions of course with focus on nature but still seemed a bit different (read: a bit weird !) than what was available at the time in many areas even though the story is kinda non-existent and characters are dry, the player is a random adopted kid who stumble upon a magical artifact after getting bullied and is then exiled from his small town... it starts like this, totally unimpressive and bland ! it somehow works because it doesn't give much at all even later so all the mystery is well kept, the player is just left to explore a vivid and diverse outside world with a gameplay that feels awesomely paced and challenging, imagination just kicks in to fill the rest.

The first game wasn't perfect at all with many issues such as blocked teammate (pathfinding) that prevent you to walk further or minor balance issues but i remember it fondly anyways due to that being a fraction of the game.

I already wrote about some of the other games of the series, they were good but didn't match the original Secret of Mana experience to me, i got offered Visions of Mana later which is great but again not devoid of issues.

Visions of Mana surf on the original vibe of the Mana series, it is unrelated to any other games (a tradition) but it keep the theme with the Mana tree and spirits story and a similar bestiary with huge amount of nods to the series, it is an excellent game but still not reaching the same height as the first ones to me.

Note : this is an early review. (half game)

Some initial issues which bother me :
  • game is slow to start and it seems slightly easier than before (in hard difficulty !), there is much less bosses in the first few hours and the game pace seems different perhaps to lengthen the game, bosses were attractive in the original Mana series as a way to rhythm the game and keeps the engagement going with much harder encounters placed at some key points of the adventure, the flow felt great all along
  • story is a bit weak, i didn't like the too easy "Soul guard" trope of the main character, the Mana tree pilgrimage is okay, the human sacrifices part is kinda strange in the way it unfold but somehow okay after some hours, characters are a bit familiar at least
  • monsters are in some specific areas of the map, quite classical in this sort of game but... maps can be huge and this spawn system doesn't work as well with big maps, understandable but a conservative choice
  • UX / controls are a bit confusing sometimes but it is a minor annoyance
  • no coop ? game does almost everything likes the first game but drop the innovative coop mode... while being tailored for it, guess it wasn't worth it from the developers standpoint
it has some great things though :
  • 3D art is incredibly expansive with lush natural landscape, urban areas are also impressive, i'd say it match the first games but tailored for 3D, with prominent depth and details, models are good although i prefer 2D ones due to details being abstracted away
  • many nods to the earlier games everywhere (monsters, environments etc.) even though it has an unrelated story
  • could have listed invisible walls as an issue since they didn't try to hide them but the game world is vast, it sometimes feels like an open world, invisible walls vanish rapidly as a minor annoyance
  • fighting gameplay felt great (especially after mid game), gameplay is reminiscent of the first games, fast with huge amount of ways to fight and a dense class system even if a bit confusing at times
Although not really an issue side quests are a mere anecdote, they doesn't add much except a cheap way to engage with areas exploration and gain money for weapons / armors progression, same with hidden items, still okay but disposable, there is some amount of back tracking.

OST was okay.

A beautiful, polished 3D Mana game overall but has few innovations, they went for a bit of fan service i guess which is okay but too conservative.

Din's Curse

The gameplay of this game is... cursed ! This game is a Diablo 1 clone with light town management thrown in, i love the concept (shared by all Soldak games btw!), raw aesthetics and overall world dynamics (quite feels like a "living" world) but come on... it is not fun at all unless you like to be punished constantly by the game designer, it is too dependent on character build (+ randomness) and the monsters respawn hellfest is just infernal, in the end you just end up wasting huge amount of time bashing endless amount of monsters to get random quests completed with town attack event in between if you fail to do them in time so if you are in the middle of somewhere and an event happen you end up having to backtrack to town and hope that no important NPC was killed, sometimes your quests just fail a few seconds after you took it (failure is literally embedded in the design which is ok but the result is lots of backtracking and wasting time), rinse and repeat etc... just tiresome, can see huge potential in co-op though !

The 2019 sequel Din's Legacy is much more fun to me, it share the same ideas but i found it much more fair and balanced, it is a Diablo 2 clone so not just limited to underground dungeons. Also recommend Drox Operative games which is Diablo as if it was in space with some 4x ideas !

About Soldak games: Not really a rant but i find all their game interesting design wise even if they have some flaws because they are all based on the same niche concept that they iterate on since mid 2000s, they also share the same UX and the axiom of their idea somehow works as in all their game share that unique 'living' feel, it give them a distinct character.

Quick reviews log


Started in late 2024 as a way to keep track of stuff i watch / play, mainly influenced from stuff i read about, sometimes from random recommendations.

Movies

  • Kill, Baby, Kill (1966); gothic eerie vibes all along with character and a stylish use of light / colors, has incredible moody ambience and fun / surprising scenes such as the doppelgänger or the spiral staircase one, also liked some of the weird camera uses (swing) and all the dream like (nightmare ?) scenes with the accompanying effects (distortions, swirl etc.), all of this plus the nicely done ghost actions contribute to the movie constant eeriness / ominousness, it always deliver something interesting on screen and the scenery are really cool even the usually boring houses !
  • Zootopia (2016); impressive animation film, funny (furry !) with many excellent scenes at a good pace, fine underlying theme
  • Beetlejuice Beetlejuice (2024); some good scenes and entertainment but slow to start, mixed feels compared to the original but definitely does huge amount of fan service, acting felt too exaggerated at times but still great to see more of the Neitherworld side, a good Halloween movie nonetheless
  • Planet of the Vampires (1965); has great scenes (large skeletal remains which somehow inspired Alien (1979) and moody planet set), sometimes original (blending styles) but lengthy with dull dialogues, still nicely crafted even if it looks cheap at times, story is ok but no classic vampires there though !
  • El vampiro (1958); Ok, classic vampire trope, production quality is good, has good exterior sets and plans but also some rough cuts, can also see the wire on the flying bat :) somewhat slow to come, bad actors are well chosen although it is all more about style than substance.
  • The Craft (1996); nicely done witchcraft themed high school movie, somewhat cheesy at times but still effective, surprising progression / layout (dark comedy then thriller) and ok depiction of nonconformity.
  • The Fog (1980); John Carpenter vibe so a fantastic synthesizer score and well-executed shots, enjoyed the eerie vibe all along and the pacing, the story was thin but it is more about ambience.
  • Black Sabbath (1963); mildly enjoyed the anthology but still a giallo so there is some satisfying visually striking scenes, phone story was boring but have nice ideas in the execution, Wurdulac story didn't do much on me but i like some of the scenes such as the ruins although the idea of hiding from the dead in an abandoned and messy monastery was a funny cliché, "The Drop of Water" is the best part with creepy scenes and stylish visuals.

Video Games

I used to discover many games through video game magazines in the past, this was cheaper than buying video games directly, this trend was followed with bundle packages in the digital age, a disadvantage of all these games is that they pile up quickly and one just don't have enough time to play all of them, a way to exploit this differently is by picking up a random game from time to time and play it, i discovered many surprising games that way !
  • Old World; turn-based 4x blend of Civilization and Crusader Kings,  heavy ancient / classical era focus so it has a smaller scale than usual which have many benefits such as way more refined gameplay (i have the same view between Shogun vs other Total War games), the blend of dynasty simulation with narrative elements (choices) is a fun and welcome addition that enhance role playing, some scenarios are great such as the barbarian horde (quick to play, fun), perhaps my favorite "historical" 4x of the last few years
  • System Shock (remaster); didn't play the original although i knew the lore, good, quite stylish at times, my issues with it are that levels are way too labyrinth like and the character felt heavy to play, tiresome inventory management also, might play a bit more later as it is still good and some of these points may be addressed later
  • Star Wars: Dark Forces (remaster); Doom like FPS in the Star Wars universe, didn't play the original game but the gameplay is good and diverse with original elements for the time, the game engine also has nice features compared to the original Doom and accompanying soundtrack is nice, there is some dull levels such as the sewer level... a common type of level to have at these time anyways
  • Tinykin; excellent 2024 surprise for me, a visually good (3D / 2D mix) non-violent platformer with puzzle elements of reasonable length (~10 hours total), no hassle gameplay with non boring collection mechanism through exploration of large indoors area, seems to be inspired by Pikmin (which i never played but kinda want now !), theme is fun and a bit like a Toy Story if it was bugs, somehow reminded me of Banzai Bug (1996), racing content added by the DLC is questionable but is still fine, i don't recommends going for achievements as this part has many bugs... (on PC)
  • Hades; gorgeous art style, theme and gameplay, very smooth hack and slash with rogue-like elements, progression is felt and try hard to lessen repetition, a greatly polished indie game with souls ! OST is also great, can spot some Tool influence in there !
  • Disney Dreamlight Valley; streamlined farm gameplay in Disney universe, quite ok with lots of content and gameplay polish, like a wilder Stardew Valley, not as wild as Graveyard Keeper but less stupidly grindy and more colorful
  • Dome Keeper; sci-fi tower defense, miner roguelike, gameplay and ambience feels great but get repetitive fast, some nice ideas / stylized minimalist pixels graphics though
  • ANNO 2070; great RTS / sci-fi city builder / trading game, horrible Ubisoft package (online launcher etc.), feels great if ok with the rules (they make no sens sometimes), has deep and varied gameplay even more so with DLCs (seamless underwater DLC is innovative !)
  • Dustland Delivery; fun 2D Mad Max (truck driving survival with a crew) RPG make your own story type of game with lots of choices to make, open world with good trading elements and town managements
  • Vault of the Void; roguelike deckbuilder, great gameplay, reminds me of Slay the Spire with more rules, somewhat slower though ? grindy content
  • Creaks; atmospheric underground surreal puzzler, can't go wrong with Amanita Design stylish hand-drawn art... gameplay has some Oddworld / Braid vibes and is okay but i prefer Machinarium / Samorost world
  • Diluvian Ultra; retro FPS with nice design and darksynth music, gameplay is okay but didn't like it (too slow, confusing screen action and UX), meh performance on my GTX 970 with shadows...
  • Power to the People; power grid micromanagement game, ok gameplay but don't expect a simulation, feels more like a puzzle game than anything else, clean minimalist aesthetic is cool
  • Strikey Sisters; fantasy themed arcade brick breaker reminiscent of early 90s themed arcade games, local co-op mode, polished and fun but some confusing screen actions and repetitive
  • 60 Parsecs!; sci-fi version of 60 Seconds! but way more refined, a survival make your own story type of game with choices to make, fun adventure game
  • Wingspan; strategy game about birds based on a board game, relaxing / fast to play, cute naturalistic birds artwork, nature themed, many good feels !

Random

  • Deleted videos on YouTube showing up as deleted but without metadata anymore (title at least) is a damn plague, i had a way to dodge that by asking for my data from time to time but they don't even show the title anymore in the metadata... (i think they used to ? anyway that is how they treat your data...) fortunately there is tools... with a bit of JavaScript to put in devtools console to get all playlist IDs on the playlists page (once you fetch all of them due to infinite scroll) :
    var pls = document.getElementsByClassName("ytd-playlist-thumbnail")
    var plsId = ''
    for (const e of pls) {
      if (e.tagName === 'A') {
        plsId += "https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=" + /(list=(.*)&+)+/.exec(e.href)[2] + '\n'
      }
    }
    console.log(plsId)
  • YouTube playlist feature is quasi unusable with high amount of videos and the endless scrolling of doom unless you just change the URL... perhaps that is why they limit it to 5000 videos !
  • Control freaks websites that detect ad blockers are ridiculous, kinda funny how much time they spend trying to lock content down with various complicated schemes and how users threatening the whole thing is, they also often make false promises (e.g. reducing intrusive ads), anyway they fortunately cannot do much more than spitting to an equally technical person.
  • Formal verification of software programs are a very useful resource for maximum efficiency and reliability in defense programs (aerospace etc.), an interesting example of how a mix of seemingly innocent mathematics and software engineering can be reused for the gloomy stuff (but not only fortunately), seems the main source of funding for this in the US is (was ?) the DoD itself. Same for AI by the way. Not new at all but a good reminder from time to time.
  • Etymology of "silicium" aka silicon is from Latin Silex or silicis for flint, it is fun to me that this metalloid (combining metals and nonmetals properties) chemical element which is the second most abundant element in the earth crust is so widely used in computing hardware (backbone of semiconductor technology) and relate to one of the first multi usage (almost fundamental) stone age tool around. The fun of this relation between ancient tool-making and modern technology was in part triggered by a Deleuze lesson in relation to a Rimbaud text. Although bullshit my mind later wandered with the musing / metaphor that the flint was somehow one of the Eden forbidden fruit from the tree of knowledge which enabled refined goods (such as leather cloths) and more tools which enabled more awareness and further refinements (the fall and man "disobedience" against its previous nature) perhaps allowing him to "eat" from the tree of life which might become a form of carbon and silicon association. (AI ?) This was kinda fun as i see it as some sort of distilled science fiction story mixed with spiritual ideas, this was perhaps triggered by science fiction stories such as the one in Mass Effect video game since i can see similarities, some recent black metal lyrics also. This align more to some kind of Gnostic interpretation (not Icke stuff heh...) but can be adapted.... (of course... !) that view is of universal salvation (eventually) from gathering fragments, it is more redeeming and transformative than "usual" and ignorance there is seen as the act of forbidding the access to the tree of knowledge, the "evilness" lie in preventing awareness which just lead to not knowing whether own action is evil or not (true evil is in the suppression of knowledge and awareness), the serpent is metaphorical and may be seen as anything adversely that trigger changes (usage of new tools !) to push forward and self-realize. Note that even if tools are important there, they may also suppress awareness... it is nuanced !
  • Editing videos or audio is a tiresome soul crushing task ! Probably why i never made any sens of "studio" at all (and the associated hardware / software) even though i respect the minutiae of the peoples doing it, like the technical side of it and probably listen and watch to a lot of heavily edited stuff, things is i naively thought that most stuff was done live when younger and this magic was shattered a bit later when i *got* the editing aspect, the (probably) many hours passed in post production polishing the end result is somewhat of a nightmare to me... couldn't conform to that and that is why i nowadays fully go to one shot stuff (with the unpredictable / unexpected sometimes popping up !) although i get that editing is sometimes necessary as duct tape even for one shot stuff.

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