Little things that annoy the hell out of you

[neorichieb1971]

Games that save automatically, then put you in a situation that won't allow you to progress.

The only option is to start again and hope for the best. Its a 5 hour game but still...

Games should have save slots by default.

[BareKnuckleRoo]

Games that save automatically, then put you in a situation that won't allow you to progress.

Yeah... some games don't allow save slots so that you can't make backups and you're "committed" to each save file as you progress, you can't necessarily experiment on that save file the way you could in a game where you can simply reload immediately (think games with permadeath like Wizardry or a roguelike). Automatic saving does make things more convenient in a lot of cases, but even in games like the first Final Fantasy where you get only one save slot you're not forced to lose your save, it's generally nice not to be forced to overwrite your save, and have it be up to the player. I think the time cost of having to go through the process of manually saving is minor compared to the benefits of giving the player control of saving. The only games I can think where manual saving really wouldn't work are permadeath oriented games, and even then you can cheat if you want by making backups of the save files if you really wanted.

[neorichieb1971]

Games that save automatically, then put you in a situation that won't allow you to progress.

Yeah... some games don't allow save slots so that you can't make backups and you're "committed" to each save file as you progress, you can't necessarily experiment on that save file the way you could in a game where you can simply reload immediately (think games with permadeath like Wizardry or a roguelike). Automatic saving does make things more convenient in a lot of cases, but even in games like the first Final Fantasy where you get only one save slot you're not forced to lose your save, it's generally nice not to be forced to overwrite your save, and have it be up to the player. I think the time cost of having to go through the process of manually saving is minor compared to the benefits of giving the player control of saving. The only games I can think where manual saving really wouldn't work are permadeath oriented games, and even then you can cheat if you want by making backups of the save files if you really wanted.

For the record I beat the game. It was Wavetale on Switch. The section was called "Defeat the serpent". On Reddit a guy had a similar problem where he beat the Serpent but it was still there, so the game has logic code that doesn't work under certain circumstances. Quitting and starting again seems to render the same loop of hopelessness. On my game, the serpent comes in and out of water and is designed to give you extreme height. It has climbing gear attached to its body activated by a switch on the ground. The button would only press when it was in water, when it came out the switch reset and couldn't be pressed. So the height I needed to reach the highest platform wasn't possible to complete the level. There are 3 switches for 3 kill shots and I left the 3rd switch last on the first run which soft locked the game. On my 2nd game I did that one first and never encountered any problems at all.

Its an Indy sort of game. The credits were huge though. Its an 8.5/10 for what it is. I'm going to write to the console manufacturers that if a game is x amount of hours long that it is required to have save slots. Games that are long shouldn't have this issue.

[neorichieb1971]

When you are in the middle of an intense battle in a game or getting a high score and the SMART TV suddenly decides to cover the screen with a banner "Are you still watching?"

Happened to me yesterday, true story. Totally screwed me up. The day before that my wireless pad ran out of battery.

The wonders of modern technology.

[ryu]

When you are in the middle of an intense battle in a game or getting a high score and the SMART TV suddenly decides to cover the screen with a banner "Are you still watching?"

Happened to me yesterday, true story. Totally screwed me up. The day before that my wireless pad ran out of battery.

The wonders of modern technology.

I dread the day my public display monitor stops working. TVs these days are just wtf.

[ChurchOfSolipsism]

Caroline Ellison's ridiculous two year sentence for stealing $11 billion bugs me. She says she is sorry and claims to take responsibility, but she follows it up with womansplaining: blaming the bad man. Rolling over on everyone is nothing more than calculated self preservation. That's not real remorse. She didn't immediately quit and go to law enforcement as a whistleblower. That's what an innocent person does. I don't give a fuck about her feelings. No, fat round boy isn't scary. Tell me another one.

Ellison rolled over on her friends when she discovered: she wasn't going to get away with it. She knew she stole too much. She knew she was fucked. That's when she turned--and it wasn't because she's an angel or a victim.

She's smart and calculating--just like her boyfriend. I'm fine with knocking her sentence in half. Give her 150 months (12 1/2 years). That's half. That would be fair.

She stole $11 billion and realized she wasn't going to get away with it. That's her entire story. It's nice that she made the investigation easy. She's still guilty and she deserves a very long jail sentence. Even when the fraudster lady (blood test lady) is the CEO, it's still the bad man's fault. I'm tired of this. Make it fair.

I'm over it. Justice should be blind. Lock up the fucking grifters. Save the sexy parts story for someone that cares. You did the grift, now do the fucking time. Don't care what's in your pants. Don't want to go to jail? Don't do the grift.

Two years for $11 billion? If I stole that much, there's nothing I could ever do to get a small two year sentence. This is bollocks.

If you're triggered and have a feminist reply. I have a three word preemptive strike. "white women's tears". Choose your words carefully. Good luck with your retort.

Nah, while women in Western countries are still facing many disadvantages (glass ceiling etc.), this is one of the areas where men are systematically discriminated against: they receive harsher sentences for the same crimes that women do. (So do people with the wrong skin colour, of course.)

[orange808]

Speaking of crazy prices, does anyone remember when there was a real gaming press? Long ago, I remember when there was. Now, nvidia bullies everyone and gaslights the shit out of us.

Out here in the real world, we're all shrugging our shoulders at the 500xx series, but nobody is writing it in the press, because they're terrified of nvidia's reprisals.

The RTX 50xx series is another overpriced mess. Even worse, it adds absolutely nothing for machine learning (fucking "AI" derp word) at only 32gb on the high end. You need 48gb to really hit the sweet spot right now, so a pair of 3090's will remain the top choice for local ML enthusiasts--or a single 24gb 4090 for gamers that want to dabble. (Should be bargains on that one soon.) Only 8gb more on the 5090 is nothing; more bandwidth on the bus and more cores doesn't help me much. So, they just launched a "flagship" consumer card that has no real world use case for gaming and the "local AI" marketplace won't want it. Yes. We can call it now without a review. The 5090 flagship card has a small target audience this time.--even smaller than the 4090 last time.

Many people with varied interests would be best served to buy a pair of used 3090's from the mining craze and game at 1080p at ultra without 4k. I imagine the 3090's will cost you less than a 5080 and offer significantly more ML performance. Inference time doesn't mean shit on a 50xx series if you're stuck with small models and tiny context windows. More cores won't help. Taking a shit faster means you get a pile of shit faster. So?

Need ~32gb to run a decent SOTA local model 6 bit quant and still need plenty more RAM for context. The 5090 won't run SOTA. Not enough RAM. Why bother?

I suppose nvidia will shift some cards because people need upgrades. The 40xx series did not sell well (but nvidia seeks revenge on people that say so). If you're in the mid-range or below for pure gaming, I'd take a hard look at Intel (yes, seriously) before I threw down a stack of paper on an overpriced nvidia that's not going to do much with ML anyway (in case you ever did care).

It's really too bad the press is beholden to these adverts. The 50xx series doesn't do anything for me. I suppose we'll see where the pricing lands, but I'm not optimistic. It would be funny if this cycle ultimately saves Intel.

[neorichieb1971]

Mrs wanted to watch "Red One" the movie at the cinema (Movie theater).

I said lets try the Odeon Cinema as we don't normally go there as its expensive, but we enjoyed the change of scenery etc. £17 each for the tickets, almost another £17 for the popcorn and nachos and drinks.


Then 2 days later my son says "Its on Amazon prime".

That is just wrong. According to google it was designed to be a streamer but some smart guy said "lets put it in the movie theaters as well".

I feel robbed.


I'm still getting Christmas cards delivered to my address after being in my current home for 10 years that are not addressed to anyone that I know that ever lived here. Including the previous residents.

Some folk must be really be dedicated to sending out Xmas cards year after year without a response from the people they are sending them to.

[neorichieb1971]

Shipping from CDjapan goes from Shizuoka to some place in Argentina.

Now Argentina sent it back to Japan. WTF

and it came 24th Dec woo hoo!

[ryu]

Shipping from CDjapan goes from Shizuoka to some place in Argentina.

Now Argentina sent it back to Japan. WTF

and it came 24th Dec woo hoo!

They wanted to make sure it arrives on time for christmas, not later, not sooner.

[Lemnear]

UPS customer service that couldn't send me a package that is 20km away, and it's been there since December 16th.
They always say it's coming but it never arrives, and it was the PS5 I got for Christmas...
I've contacted all the support services several times, I hope that at least Sony is doing something.
The courier also lied several times, he didn't leave any delivery receipt (he says he came on Sunday... but he didn't). Without the receipt I can't even go and pick it up in case it's in some UPS center, and they can't even take it back to Sony for a refund.

EDIT: it's finally here! even if it's 2025 now :v

[PC Engine Fan X!]

UPS customer service that couldn't send me a package that is 20km away, and it's been there since December 16th.
They always say it's coming but it never arrives, and it was the PS5 I got for Christmas...
I've contacted all the support services several times, I hope that at least Sony is doing something.
The courier also lied several times, he didn't leave any delivery receipt (he says he came on Sunday... but he didn't). Without the receipt I can't even go and pick it up in case it's in some UPS center, and they can't even take it back to Sony for a refund.

EDIT: it's finally here! even if it's 2025 now :v

Congrats on your new PS5, Lemnear. Is it the disc-based console or the all-digital disc-less variant instead?

PC Engine Fan X! ^_~

[Lemnear]

UPS customer service that couldn't send me a package that is 20km away, and it's been there since December 16th.
They always say it's coming but it never arrives, and it was the PS5 I got for Christmas...
I've contacted all the support services several times, I hope that at least Sony is doing something.
The courier also lied several times, he didn't leave any delivery receipt (he says he came on Sunday... but he didn't). Without the receipt I can't even go and pick it up in case it's in some UPS center, and they can't even take it back to Sony for a refund.

EDIT: it's finally here! even if it's 2025 now :v

Congrats on your new PS5, Lemnear. Is it the disc-based console or the all-digital disc-less variant instead?

PC Engine Fan X! ^_~

PS5 Slim Digital (1TB) from Playstation Direct for 299€ only (i suppose was some kind of cart error). Well, where to start after Astro Playroom?
Actually on FFXVI Demo, and if i can found it, even Stellar Blade demo.
I don't know if I'll get Elden Ring in digital version, I certainly won't get the external drive to play ONE single game (I have Elden Ring Deluxe Edition but in PS4 version). It's currently 50% off.

There are also smaller things like R-Type Final 3 which seems very interesting.

In short, I want to push this new PlayStation a bit, but I don't want to buy games at full price that aren't at least from the current year.
The Dualsense is the future of "classic" controllers.

[Lander]

UPS customer service that couldn't send me a package that is 20km away, and it's been there since December 16th.
They always say it's coming but it never arrives, and it was the PS5 I got for Christmas...
I've contacted all the support services several times, I hope that at least Sony is doing something.
The courier also lied several times, he didn't leave any delivery receipt (he says he came on Sunday... but he didn't). Without the receipt I can't even go and pick it up in case it's in some UPS center, and they can't even take it back to Sony for a refund.

EDIT: it's finally here! even if it's 2025 now :v

Ah, grats reminds me of when I ordered the PC before the one I have now - also around christmas time, was crazy excited for it, and got the "soz no delivery due to snow" email literally as a Parcel Force articulated lorry was driving up the hill outside my living room window. Immensely frustrating.

Ended up getting a taxi to the depot a few days later and retrieving it myself!

Well, where to start after Astro Playroom?

Ratchet and Clank: Rift Apart! Best entry the series has had in ages. Looks gorgeous, plays super tight, the jokes are good, and it does a fine job with the new controller features.

The Dualsense is the future of "classic" controllers.

Eh, give it a few weeks. I was quite impressed at first, but the PS symbol micro-etching on the handles gathers dirt like nobody's business. Though it's been a solid daily driver since getting one of those kitchsy rubber covers, and the impulse triggers are fun when a game with support shows up on Steam.

[RGC]

The UK's National Health Service is on its knees.

Ok, that's more than a little thing, but ffs!

Really appreciate the tireless efforts of the medical staff and the care they provide, but why must patients pick up the admin slack? Spending half the day phoning around to make sure document A has arrived at clinic B, and that paper copies have been generated so that I don't waste a fourth trip in person means I've achieved fuck all at work today.

[orange808]

An article about player agency that doesn't mention Pirates!

Ha. That's cute.

Give up?
Retire?
Start training, make a comeback!

[neorichieb1971]

The UK's National Health Service is on its knees.

Ok, that's more than a little thing, but ffs!

Really appreciate the tireless efforts of the medical staff and the care they provide, but why must patients pick up the admin slack? Spending half the day phoning around to make sure document A has arrived at clinic B, and that paper copies have been generated so that I don't waste a fourth trip in person means I've achieved fuck all at work today.

The NHS is a reflection of the whole country. The UK is a country that is split/divided, sell's everything to foreigners, uses foreign labour where ever it can, pushes things offshore or into the cloud. Folk are claiming benefits to the tune of £2k a month without doing any work at all. Then there is us, trying to do it the right way working for a living and if we are lucky have a property, a nice holiday and a nicer car. If we get sick, we end up in an NHS system that although we only need it once in a while is always in a worse state than the last time we used it.

If the UK has something that is still flagship and something to be proud of, its gone under my rader.

The UK government for some reason spends a lot of money, but doesn't get value for money. Where all that money goes is the real pub quiz question of the day. I saw a bar chart of UK vs EU sick rates. And the UK was double the next country in the EU.

[orange808]

The UK government for some reason spends a lot of money, but doesn't get value for money.

In my opinion, there are very wealthy people pulling the strings. They want to banish the expenditure entirely. That means a tax cut for them. That will also introduce an American model for health care with incredible profit potential--and you won't be negotiating any more systems or queues. You'll just die like Americans do, because you can't afford treatment. No queue required. No tax required.

That is the plan. They plan to murder you and profit. Starve the NHS long enough and they can take it away.

[Mortificator]

Open freezer

"Why is there frothy brown ice everywhere?"

Someone put a can of Dr. Pepper in and forgot about it til it exploded

[vol.2]

Open freezer

"Why is there frothy brown ice everywhere?"

Someone put a can of Dr. Pepper in and forgot about it til it exploded

When I was a kid, I did this at a friend's house with a can of root beer and his mom never let me come over again.

[Lander]

Lua. The scripting language.
There's simple, there's minimal, and then there's bloody anemic. Basic data structure manipulations? Write them yourself! And enjoy a menagerie of failures ranging from silent to program-obliterating en route.

How this became the standard for modding games, I will never understand.

[TransatlanticFoe]

Fucking Windows Update. One day this might actually work properly, and I thought they finally got it stable in Windows 10 but of course it's a bag of diseased dicks in Windows 11. I assume this is how people get hit so easily with malware, because the fuck is a normal person supposed to do but ignore it when it falls over?

I'd say this might expedite my moving to Linux for everything but of course only two weeks ago I had to fuck around to get that to install updates too

[BareKnuckleRoo]

I've been so disgusted by the awfulness of Windows 11 that I'm basically never using Windows for productivity again if I can avoid it. We were forced to upgrade at work; Windows Update bricked one of my machines, and the other one now goes into an anxiety inducing system recovery screen every time it updates now, requiring you to press Esc to quit at which point the update somehow finishes quietly. The interface is awful and childish, the ad-riddled system is insulting, but because Windows is well entrenched and because of glorious capitalism, Microsoft needs to find excuses to "upgrade" in order to squeeze more cash out. I dunno, it motivates the wrong behavior, forcing OS updates that aren't better for usability and for users, but rather simply as a "it's new therefore you must buy". Surely there's a better way of doing this; license based setups would suck as they'd need to perpetually phone home, but couldn't we fund a grant or something so Microsoft stays in business but isn't motivated to push out shit updates just to rake in cash from forced upgrades?

I'm not planning on using Windows for any internet enabled productivity ever again at home if I can help it. I will however keep my Windows 7 drive active for gaming, even if it's not connected to the internet.

It just sucks because there's some online games I'd like to be able to play without WIndows 11, but hopefully Steam's Linux support continues to improve.

[vol.2]

I use Windows 10 on my regular home computer, and I keep a newer work laptop that came originally with 11 to do anything so new it can't use 10. For example, I use AutoCAD for work and that absolutely won't even load anymore unless your machine is bleeding-edge up to date.

It's not without it's headaches though. The laptop is a Dell Alienware thing, and the mouse trackpad will sometimes stop working after an update. It's not always the same "not working" either. Sometimes it just does nothing, and sometimes there's a big dead zone in the middle of the pad, but it works around the edges. Whether or not an update breaks it is also not consistent. It's like playing russian roulette every fucking time.

[TransatlanticFoe]

Neglected to mention I'm on the new Surface Pro which uses ARM64 Windows. Microsoft's own hardware and an OS not burdened by the enshittification of Windows? Hahahaha nope. Kudos for making it just as busted as regular Windows.

I think I've got it working again.... for now.

What's especially amusing is it STILL has the old Vista stuff behind the scenes. Do anything remotely advanced and the facade is exposed - you're greeted by an old school grey window which is exactly the same as it was on Vista.

[orange808]

Vista was the moment Windows actually rolled out some security awareness in development and it broke a lot of compatibility because of it--and because a lot of hardware vendors failed to get their drivers right (or simply abandoned recent hardware altogether).

Drivers are quite a pain. Although, that's nothing new. I suppose it would be easier if you never had to update the OS and you manually configured your own autoexec batch and config sys files every boot. Command line aside, those were simpler times (unless you bought a modem with a bad launch driver).

The Vista crying thing has always annoyed me. The Windows 95 lineage had to be broken and killed off. XP had to go and the driver transition was inevitable. What's unfortunate is that Windows 8 introduced more spyware behavior, much like Google's trash freeware operating systems--that are designed to vacuum up as much personal information as possible. I shouldn't have to deal with that in a paid OS.

As for Windows on ARM, that's a predictable fail, no? I wouldn't touch Windows on ARM with a ten foot pole. I felt the same about Android x86 (if that's even still a thing).

[neorichieb1971]

People's homes where toilet seats don't stay up.

Especially the ones that pretend to stay up, then drop when your in mid flight.

[Mero]

Woke up today to find my toilet had sprung a leak overnight, plumber should be here at half 10. Water turned off but still a few drips, there's a little bit of water in the bottom of the system that I can't get rid of.

[emphatic]

Someone sat in my personal light gray chair at the office today and left a brown snuff (tobacco product very common in Sweden) stain on my seat as his snuff case was leaking from his back pocket. It basically looks like someone's shat themselves in my chair.

[Mortificator]

Mobile apps that don't rotate when the phone's set to auto-rotate.

Rotate, little guy. It's just 90 degrees. You can do it.