PlzGivHugs

joined 1 year ago
 

Often, its asked what the fediverse or lemmy needs more of in terms of content, but are there any specific features or functionality you really feel are lacking?

 

Personally Im enjoying the War Thunder Halloween event. Its just races with weapons disabled, but its silly fun.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 5 days ago

If used in the specific niche use cases its trained for, as long as its used as a tool and not a final product. For example, using AI to generate background elements of a complete image. The AI elements aren't the focus, and should be things that shouldn't matter, but it might be better to use an AI element rather than doing a bare minimum element by hand. This might be something like a blurred out environment background behind a peice of hand drawn character art - otherwise it might just be a gradient or solid colour because it isn't important, but having something low-quality is better than having effectively nothing.

In a similar case, for multidisciplinary projects where the artists can't realistically work proficiently in every field required, AI assets may be good enough to meet the minimum requirements to at least complete the project. For example, I do a lot of game modding - I'm proficient with programming, game/level design, and 3D modeling, but not good enough to make dozens of textures and sounds that are up to snuff. I might be able to dedicate time to make a couple of most key resources myself or hire someone, but seeing as this is a non-commercial, non-monitized project I can't buy resources regularly. AI can be a good enough solution to get the project out the door.

In the same way, LLM tools can be good if used as a way to "extend" existing works. Its a generally bad idea to rely entirely on them, but if you use it to polish a sentence you wrote, come up with phrasing ideas, or write your long if-chain for you, then it's a way of improving or speeding up your work.

Basically, AI tools as they are, should be seen as another tool by those in or adjacent to the related profession - another tool in the toolbox rather than a way to replace the human.

[–] [email protected] 6 points 5 days ago

Its not that old (although that does fit the theme) but Hotline Miami 1, and to a lesser extent, 2. Both are limited a lot by the engine, and by the small scale of their development. If they could be re-made in a new engine, with some modern customizability and QoL features, as well as added polish on things like the door physics, I think it could go a long way to ensuring they stand the test of time.

[–] [email protected] 11 points 6 days ago* (last edited 6 days ago) (1 children)

The the infamous Weimar Republic mark was only one 4.2 trillionth of a dollar. This is a quadrillion x quadrillion dollars.

[–] [email protected] 11 points 6 days ago* (last edited 6 days ago) (1 children)

Like:

  • Decentralized system that limits abuse

  • Great customizaion

  • It works (unlike much of the competition)

Dislike:

  • Lack of even remotely niche content (aside from Linux and infosec content)

  • Generally very pessimistic userbase

  • Lacks polish and features in many areas

  • Currently trends towards extremist echo chambers - the fact that .ml (an instance known for banning criticism of violent, racist, authoritarian governments) is one of the biggest instances, is a good example of this.

  • tends to be extremely hostile to any sort of monitization, regardless of the quality or cost to produce content

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago)

Yeah, that sounds very similar in strategy. TTT is a deception game built on top of the fps video game, Counter Strike - its a pretty typical deception game, one team of innocents with a revealed detective role, and a few hidden traitors amongst them. The main difference compared to a lot of deception games is just that everyone will have weapons and can kill others at any time, often in a fraction of a second. Because fights are so short and bloody, everyone is typically extra jumpy and information that would normally be obvious is easily lost, which makes it perfect for exactly that sort of manipulative play.

[–] [email protected] 5 points 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago) (2 children)

Any good play in a deception game - esspecially an open-ended one - feels so bad.

In particular, the example that comes to mind is when you create an alliance with a friend in TTT with you as a traitor and them an innocent: manipulating them into killing a bunch of their friendly innocents with you, before you shoot them in the back of the head to win the game.

[–] [email protected] 13 points 1 week ago

Depends a lot on the cat. Mine just started scratching the wall beside it instead.

[–] [email protected] 38 points 1 week ago (2 children)

Stop clicking on those articles, esspecially on platforms that they actually care about, like Facebook and Twitter.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 1 week ago (1 children)

Even with Ana, while it was the peak of Overwatch's healers, had a lot of the same issues, esspecially when it comes to juice, and feedback for impactful actions. For example, while your primary specialty was healing, the main feedback for that was your teammate's health bar going down slower, whereas if you decide to play selfish and shoot enemies, you watch their health rapidly tick down, they die, and you get a flashy kill reward and voice line. Even in terms of the OW1 medals, there was only one healing medal and like, 3 or 4 for damage. Despite healing being such a core part of the game, there's very little moment-to-moment "reward" for it.

[–] [email protected] 15 points 1 week ago (1 children)

Even for a lot of games with strategic views, being able to hover above the battlefield or fly between your battle lines would be so cool - like the most immersive tabletop wargame possible.

[–] [email protected] 7 points 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago) (3 children)

Honestly, this just highlights how badly thought out the gameplay is for non-dps classes in a lot of games. So often, both the healer and tank are left as second-class citizens, as all the emphasis is put on killing enemies. For example, in Overwatch, while tanks and healers were effective, there was little depth and little reward in the role compared to DPS characters. Orisa was a dps who couldn't leave the objective and had to hit 'e' on the ground every few seconds. Mercy just followed someone around, with little agency of their own. Compare that with, for example, Junkrat, where you were encouraged to be flying around the map, bouncing grenades off walls to make yourself near impossible to hit while still killing dozens of enemies. Theres both more depth, and more frequent, significant gratification. This is a big part of why I like Dota - supports (tanks aren't really a thing in the same sense) have a whole separate game they tend to be playing to manipulate the map in their favour, and can still impact fights with a plethora of significant abilities that are flashy and impactful in their own right.

[–] [email protected] 54 points 1 week ago (25 children)

Honestly, Im really suprised official support lasted this long. Microsoft largely gave up on VR years ago.

 

Edit: before buying

 

After spending the last few days, tinkering and trying to put together an HTPC for my family, I wasn't able to get a smooth enough experience to match even our old, ad-filled, laggy, Roku. In particular, every streaming service I tried needed to be controlled almost exclusively by mouse, as everything has been reduced to electron apps/websites with little-to-no keyboard or controller navigation support. As such, I'm looking for other options, although considering how quickly these platforms change and how outdated a lot of the information available on them is its hard to single out the best options.

In particular, I'm looking to be able to:

  • Use Netflix, Prime Video, and Disney+. Ideally other services too, since we tend to juggle subscriptions.
  • Control it with a remote, controller, or similarly simple device
  • Be able to cast to it from a phone

Does anyone have much experience with options for this - esspecially if you've tried multiple and can compare?

 

I'd like to switch from a smart TV to an HTPC, but trying to navigate a standard desktop enviroment regularly with no desk is a royal pain. Is it realistically possible to set up an HTPC that won't require this for regular use? I expect it'd have to be controlled with a game controller, given that there is probably better (or the same) support compared to using a remote, but thats just a guess.

In particular, I'd like to be able to use a few of the larger streaming services, my own video files, and YouTube. Are there apps with controller (or remote) support for these? I'd also like to be able to browse the web when needed, or better yet, be able to cast to the TV from a phone.

For reference of my own skill level, I'm not tech illiterate by any means, I've worked in low-level IT jobs, but when people start talking about recompiling software or that, I tend to start getting lost.

Edit: After extensive testing, it isn't viable. Almost nothing has support for non-mouse control, so I'll have to just get a Roku or something.

 
49
What is this plant? (sh.itjust.works)
submitted 2 months ago* (last edited 2 months ago) by [email protected] to c/[email protected]
 

It grows into vines a few feet long, not very tangly, that run along the ground and don't seem to climb. It seems to grow in large numbers of smaller vines that don't seem to be connected in the roots.

Its completely blanketing my garden, choking out even other weeds, trying to expand into my lawn, and growing almost as fast as I weed it.

I'm wondering what it is, and/or if there are any particularly good ways of dealing with it. I've been tilling the ground, flipping over the soil (down to roughly a foot) and putting a layer of mulch over it, but Im still having stuff grow back.

Edit: solved: its periwinkle.

86
How do you search Lemmy? (sh.itjust.works)
submitted 3 months ago* (last edited 3 months ago) by [email protected] to c/[email protected]
 

I've been trying to find any information on this at all without luck. 3rd party search engines like Google and DDG still don't have much of Lemmy indexed, and the built in search seems to just grab everything whether it matches the search or not. Is there search parameters you can use like Reddit's "title:" or "flair:", or some other way to effectively search?

 

I'm in a rental right now with a useless landlord, so I'm trying to fix the problem myself (or at least find the cause). My home's central air AC unit is working, but doesn't seem to be working well. There is cool air coming from the vents, but its less than I would expect, and when its 80f/27c outside, its rarely more than a single degree cooler. I'm looking for ideas to track down the problem. In particular, between the landlord's neglect and the last tenant's seemingly willful destruction I expect it'll be something maintenance related.

So far I have checked:

  • The unit size relative to the property (its about 2.5 tons for a 2,500 ft² property) which the internet seemed to say was fine. That said, its a bungalow with no attic and high-cielings, so Im not sure if that could have enough effect to account for this.

  • Intakes and outlets inside the out aren't blocked by furnature (although what I can see looking into them looks pretty dirty)

  • I tried removing the furnace filter (which, from my understanding, is also used by the AC inside the house) temporarily, although didn't notice a significant difference.

  • I checked the cooling fins on the unit outside the house for obstructions, but there was little more than a bit of webs

I'm not an expert on these things at all, but is there anything else I can check or try?

Edit: unfortunately there is some condensation and frost on the coil box, so sounds like its a leak. Guess I'm looking at a fight with my landlord.

 

Are there any good casual/low-stress mobile games that aren't filled with microtransactions? For example: easy puzzle games, match-3 games, low-difficulty adventure games, or clicker-style games.

So far, the only good examples I've found are Monument Valley, Suika Game, and (sort of) Vampire Survivors.

I'm personally looking for games that have more progression or variety, but any suggestions are welcome.

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