Topic: The Chit-Chat Thread

@TheJGG The overall display in Forza is not minimal, it is simply basic by default, but highly customizable, if you want it to look different. For me, the basic setup is more than enough. I have a knack for racing games, be they arcade or more serious, I'm usually very quick to adapt to the specific controls and driving styles, bar the odd exception.

And all I need is my rotating circuit map, a speedometer, perhaps a damage meter for pit stop purposes, but other than that, I don't need anything else. And if I would want to have more meters/dials, I could always select cockpit view, but my default racing mode is in third person view, right behind the car, slightly elevated.

And I drive by instinct, basically. Some of the things you mentioned, you'd also never have in real life, so they're no loss and in fact, I'd sooner see them as training wheels, much like auto-brake and what not.

Other than that, I don't really care too much for all the small details, so these aren't make or break things for me and as you might have been able to guess from my Project CARS comment earlier on, I find that too many options/details detract heavily from the gameplay and makes it WAY too dry/inaccessible to me.

P.S.

If all your HDMI switches are occupied, buy some more.
On a more serious note: how many switches are we talking about here? I have 3 ports in my TV and I'm using 2 HDMI switches: one that has three ports and another that has 5 ports.

@ogo79 Ha! yourself...

@Tyranexx Haha, holiday chores for the fam, huh? I can imagine the resulting aversion.
As for low-maintenance greenery/plants: my version of that translates to succulents and cacti in my window sill...

Concerning the Wii: I must have misinterpreted the story incorrectly then, somewhere along the way, because I had the impression that it actually was yours, but that the family had more or less claimed it for their own usage, and as such, you weren't able to get it back. Oh, well. My bad, I suppose.

@Zuljaras Great drawing, once again and nice hedgehog picture. Had no idea that the pointy pal was actually yours, though. I thought when you previously showed pictures of it, that it was just a rescue that you would send on its way at some point.

@Anti-Matter A friendly tip: you really don't HAVE to post a picture after someone else posts one, please allow for others to get some credit as well. It doesn't impact you negatively unless you let it, which is then on you yourself, so please try and resist the need to immediately reply with a picture of your own sometimes.

And the same goes for the "it's dangerous to go alone" memes: they're not supposed to be answered by another meme, let alone one with the exact same slogan, they're supposed to refer to something that was either previously or just mentioned, or to break a deadlock or stir up a lull in a conversation, but that necessitates full understanding of the subtleties of a language and of the intent of the users involved, and yours didn't qualify for any of those things.

@Heavyarms55 What "streaming only" artist are we talking about here? And any particular song titles?
I might be able to come up with a viable solution for you...

@Eel How exactly is ripping music from YouTube annoying? Perhaps you're using the wrong apps or browser extensions?

Ripping music from Youtube, and then adding it to the iTunes library, including sourcing song information an an album picture, is simply a collection of extra steps to achieve something I ultimately don't really need to do.

@Eel So... you're a bit lazy? (jk)
I can relate to wanting things to be plug and play, but as with other certain things in life, sometimes you need to put in a bit of effort, to ultimately get what you want. And it's not about the journey, but about the destination, so if it ends with you getting what you want, then it should be worth it, most of the time anyway.

If you still want to know which apps/programs I use, feel free to let me know.

On a side note: I can definitely relate to the album picture troubles: on my smart phone, I have several of these album cover finding apps, but none of them seems to work decently enough to complete my collection, so that's why I'm not just using a single one. And updating to a newer phone last year certainly hasn't helped much either, in that regard...

@ThanosReXXX We decided to keep him. After he skipped his first winter I think that he is likely to die in the wild as he does not know how to hibernate anymore. Also the vet told us that he can live even longer at home.

Also we have seen lots of dead hedgehogs around here through the years. Mostly ran over by cars or killed by dogs.

@Zuljaras Ah, that's sad. We have the same over here in certain areas. Not just hedgehogs, though: also rabbits, ducks and other birds, and even the odd deer or wild boar, if they somehow get lost and end up alongside the freeway.

@ThanosReXXX It's a Japanese artist, Terashima Takuma. I... found a way to get the song. Annoyed that I couldn't just buy it but that happens.

I thankfully haven't had that happen, but I do know what it's like to damage the bed of a toenail. Let's just say I don't advise accidentally dropping glass bowls onto your feet. Thankfully, it at least didn't shatter. Did that the day before Christmas Eve several years ago.

I also had a washing machine lid come down on my nose and also accidentally ran my arm into a cabinet corner on the same day. So yeah...I might've been a little accident-prone then. Comical AND painful. The toe was definitely the worst of the bunch. THAT required painkillers so I could sleep.

@MarioLover92 Thanks! I've had worse happen lol. (See above)

My eyes would glaze over if Halo or Call of Duty talk came up lol. I didn't own an Xbox 360; heck, the only actual TV console we ever had, besides one of those cheapo plug-n-play consoles filled with licensed shovelware, was a Wii. I've owned at least one type of each Nintendo handheld since the GBC however. So I wasn't completely deprived! XD

No rush on the art piece, just whenever you feel like it. That post was when it was starting to get late here too; I'm in US/CA Central Time, so it was just after 10 PM here. Still hating this time change. XD

@TheJGG Thanks for the well wishes. I'm (usually) not as accident-prone these days, but I still have my moments. XD Points to the top of the post

Part of the reason that I listen to video game music a lot of the time is that most of the soundtracks are geared to not be too distracting while one plays a game; I usually tend to focus less on the lyrics (if any) than more conventional music. Though I do listen to some of that too at work, depending on my mood and what I'm doing. Lately on YT I've mostly been cycling between the soundtracks of Xenoblade Chronicles (both the original and remastered tracks), 13 Sentinels: Aegis Rim (Haven't played this one, but man the OST is awesome!), Ghost Trick: Phantom Detective, and various pieces from the Golden Sun series.

Ah, thanks for linking Give Up! That was one of the tracks that caught my ear yesterday.

Sounds like you've visited/will be visiting some Disney worlds (lol) that are home to some of my favorite franchises. I'm a huge fan of Monsters, Inc., though I haven't seen the prequel film. I absolutely either liked or loved all the Toy Story films, though 4, while good, felt a little unnecessary. And I absolutely loved Winnie The Pooh in my younger days and still appreciate some of the characters.

I've been intrigued on and off by the Metal Gear series, but never majorly interested. Partially because it wasn't found often on platforms I've tended to frequent. Honestly, the general aesthetic used to put me off as well as, before I knew more about it, I just saw it as another one of those gray/brown shooters I wasn't fond of.

Also agreed on female exposure/modesty. Devs, graphic design artists, character modelers, etc. have to walk a blurred line between being too PC or, conversely, rolling squarely into "eye candy" territory. Granted, a lot of this will also depend on the game and intended target audience. Part of the reason why we have a rating system, though I do wish more people (parents and naysayers mostly) would adhere to it. I can't personally testify about Cyberpunk 2077 as I haven't played it, but I know enough about it that the game was, generally, a mess and CLEARLY not ready to roll out when it did.

@Zuljaras You did reconfirm what I was reading! So your little guy is definitely less domesticated on the breeding spectrum compared to standard pet hedgehogs. I applaud you for fostering the lil guy!

Sorry to read that they're common roadkill there, but I suppose each and every place with vehicles deals with that unfortunately.

@ThanosReXXX I'm considering getting a small cactus, actually. Very low maintenance and cool to boot!

On the Wii: I was the one who used it the most, no question. But my siblings also played a few games on it, mostly shovelware. But we did have the nice bout of Wii Sports on occasion. Mom didn't really play it much other than when she went through a Just Dance phase a few years ago. She enjoyed playing the games but had to quit when she slightly injured her knee in an unrelated activity.

Today I baked. It's not what I intended to make, but it came out great.

@ThanosReXXX I don't use any methods or extensions, since I don't really rip music from youtube. As I mentioned, I did it a few times some years ago, but that was it. So it's fine, really 😅

@Tyranexx ah! Another member of the accident prone club. My favorite one was the time I was running behind my dad on a busy street (we were in a rush for something or other), and I slammed my face on a hanging shop sign. Loud sound and all.

Also aaah I just imagined how bad that would be, to break a toenail like that 😨 that made me shiver.

@Eel
Is that corn bread by looking at the color ?

@Eel I hope your going to eat that.

@Eel
next time bring tamales

Oh no, the Mad Titan has returned, and naturally it means I'll have to write thirteen paragraphs to respond to three people. I wanted to respond to this three hours ago but I've been neglecting Attack on Titan lately. I started a few weeks ago and saw about five episodes this morning, so I've watched all the way up to S01E16. It's quite the emotional rollercoaster and I'm well aware that I'm in for a right treat. The English dub is very good so seeing it in my native language wasn't all that hard in the end. When I do see an anime with a poor English dub I'll just do what I did for Princess Mononoke; subs.

I also began Life is Strange yesterday, on without a doubt the worst possible platform to play the game; a 2017-era MacBook Air, with a 1.7GHz Dual Core i5, 8GB of RAM, 1536MB of graphics... it's not good. My computer at one point got so hot that it exceeded my own body temperature; it was hot to the touch. I played it on a window setting with the lowest possible resolution (768p) and graphics settings, so no anti-aliasing, low texture resolution, and all that fancy stuff. But I don't need any of that stuff, I love the PS5-era graphics and all, but it's not something I'm gonna complain over; except of course if the graphics are terrible.

Having said that the game is very good so far. Max's abilities are not exactly unknown to the realm of fiction but it's a video game, not a one-way narrative. Therefore implementing it in-game makes for a smooth and forgiving experience overall. Of course I imagine that the PS4/5 edition included in the Life is Strange HD Remaster Collection will be a vast improvement over what comes across as a very good game already; with improved facial capture, textures, animation, lighting, and previously unreleased content.

@MarioLover92 The last DLC Smash fighter getting released will represent the end of an era for Nintendo, where they'll finally have to stop relying on Smash for hype. Of course there'll be a select group of fans who only tune into Directs for Smash information, and when that's inevitably taken away they'll have less energy.

Of course Min Min getting added meant that all the intricate scaffolding that was fan theories as to who or what could get into Smash, was destroyed. She was an Assist Trophy yet she became a fighter as well. And if another Assist Trophy character becomes a fighter there'll have to be a toggle option. But it's a minor gripe, it's been a titanic effort from Sora Ltd. already, so I'm glad to see all the series that were picked get representation. I had no idea what Fatal Fury was, and I didn't truly understand the popularity of Banjo-Kazooie (I still don't but it's become a bit clearer).

This book is in limbo. I haven't worked on it in three months, but the first fifteen chapters, covering the very start all the way until 1991-92, have been heavily revised and I'd consider are well edited enough for me to self-publish if I really wanted to. I'm confident that my writing's fairly informative, I've read a good dozen books on the topic, read hundreds of Internet articles and reviews, and listened to audiobooks. If I don't make progress too fast I might consider splitting it up into volumes, and the first fifteen chapters'll be expanded and turned into a standard novel. That would total about two hundred pages so it's fairly doable. I can just call it "GENESISN'T: Before the Storm" or something.

But the whole thing so far totals about five hundred pages so it'll be a stretch if I can finish it.

@ThanosReXXX In video games in general I've seen a progressive decrease in the amount of information that's present on the standard HUD at any given time. I like it because in adventure games with large emphasis on scenery the HUD would just get in the way. Ghost of Tsushima, Breath of the Wild, Horizon Zero Dawn are examples. They all have options to adjust the HUD between normal and pro versions but I'd always use the pro ones once I've learnt the mechanics and the controls to heart. Tsushima has the most minimalist one, the text is very small and things like guidance are only displayed on screen when you swipe on the Touch Pad. Things like health, Resolve, and enemy health are also tiny.

For racing games all I'd want is my input for brakes, throttle, steering lock, and revs. Speed in kph (mph users can go to hell ), fuel and tyre grip levels, things like brake bias adjustment (I never adjust my brake bias but I'd appreciate if the option was there) and traction control. And finally just the positional stuff like position, gap to car behind and ahead, and gap to leader. That's all I'd need. If I could get rid of half the clutter on the GT Sport UI it'd be a very streamlined experience.

I personally change my view depending on the type of racing game. If it's an arcade rally game like DiRT 5, I'd use the third-person chase camera. If it's a simulation rally game I'll use the dash-cam style view from the front of the windscreen. Sometimes for extra immersion I use the first-person cockpit view, but it's rare I do it. For the F1 games I'd use the camera similar to the onboard footage from the real sport; I can see more and the halo can't block my view.

The HDMI switches on HDMI switches is a good idea, though space'll become the next concern. We shall have to see about that.

@Tyranexx I whacked my foot against the door less than two seconds after laughing at your comment. If that isn't instant karma I have no idea what is. I've done crazy stuff too but your luck is quite awful all things considered.

Agreed, videogame soundtracks appeal to me a lot because most of the music doesn't contain lyrics. I don't like lyrics in music much but when I do, they're very good. A lot of tracks from Persona have lyrics, and the proportion of lyric-songs has increased in video games in general. One of the first instances I've heard of rap in videogame music, is Xenoblade Chronicles X, which was composed by Hiroyuki Sawano, who did Attack on Titan, and Kill la Kill. In the former which I'm watching, his musical style is very distinct; a lot of techno-noise effects, electric guitars, the same drum kit, and occasionally some kickass orchestra.

Black Tar, the battle theme had some good connections to the story with the lyrics, and they were rapped pretty well. Another battle theme with rap that I like is Mass Destruction from Persona 3. It's meme material and the lyrics are so good. Shame Nintendo somewhat neutered it by getting rid of Lotus Juice' 2 instances of "damn right" but ah well.

Glad you liked Give Up, it's one of my favourite songs in the game. It has such a feeling of desolation but in a good way. Delivering a live human across an orange wasteland to this was so appropriate. I'm writing a lengthier post about the game so I'll post that here when I finish it. The audio design is very, very good as I've stressed in the past.

As far as the Toy Story and Monsters Inc franchises go, neither needed an expansion but were ultimately better off with them. I liked the angle Monsters University went with, because I haven't been to college yet it gives off a really home-y vibe that I very much look forward too. It explored Mike and Sully's relationship in a good way, and they're becoming partners felt like a great payoff. Toy Story 4 had a very mixed ending for me. For years all the toys stressed that staying together and being there for their child owner, was the priority. Of course opinions change with age but it wasn't maximised as much as it could have been. And I'll learn more about Winnie the Pooh as I play through.

I'm interested in Metal Gear, the writing's very interesting and Kojima's tendancy to predict the future could be used. He predicted the rise of fake news in Sons of Liberty and kinda predicted the coronavirus pandemic with Death Stranding. The quotes are very iconic too, I'm tempted to use "kept you waiting, huh?" in daily life, as much as "age hasn't slowed you down one bit," or otherwise.

I feel like the rating system from the point of view of female modesty has been fairly lenient. There were a number of risqué designs in Xenoblade Chronicles 2 that made me surprised at times that the game was rated T for Teen only. Furthermore having looked up the ESRB ratings for all the games in the series I'm even more surprised that the original Xenoblade was flagged for partial nudity, and that Xenoblade 2 was only marked for suggestive themes.

Considering some of the designs present in Xenoblade 1 versus Xenoblade 2 it makes me wonder if the ESRB has gradually become more lenient over how much violence, sexual content and swearing is allowed in a specific age category. In 2012 a few uses of the word ‘damn’ earned that game a T rating, and even though there were absolutely zero sexual jokes in game, it got marked for innuendo and partial nudity. Flash forward to 2017 and Malos is swearing like a T rated sailor, half the female characters have basketball-sized chests for no reason and Nia straight up calls Zeke something straight out of an adult comic, and still a T.

And then Persona 5, also rated T, but rated 16 in Europe, has two uses of the F word, and a lot of innuendo in the first arc of the story.

Cyberpunk 2077 is a whole new debacle because of broken promises, lies, and rushing. The stuff they promised ranged from truly customised backstories with sliders and interactivity, to being able to open every single door in the city. The amount of times they promised something was so great that it stopped feeling like an accident almost immediately after launch.

CD Projekt Red got everything they deserved with the launch. They put out a game that was at least six months behind, sure, but the problems run so much deeper than just the bugs and crashes.

@Anti-Matter nah it's just butter bread, it looks yellow because the recipe calls for saffron (though I used turmeric instead since that's what I had)

UUUUUUUUUUGH I just wrote a huge series of predictions for the upcoming Formula One season. It took half an hour but getting my thoughts down felt good. On the other hand I wrote a massive post here, one for Death Stranding and now this... I need some sleep.

Come April 1st I'll have been on the keto diet for five years. A decision I feel saved my life. I used to consume far too much refined sugars. Soda, cookies, potato chips, fancy coffees, fast food, etc. To say I ate poorly would be an understatement.

Went on the diet and proceeded to lose 75lbs in five months. Reduced my occurrences with gout, reduced the wear and tear on my knees, began feeling less lethargic, and my sleeping pattern has never been deeper.

I'd probably be diabetic right now if I hadn't made the commitment.

It's surprising, trying to walk through a grocery store reading ingredient labels, attempting to find something that doesn't include sugar. That cereal isle is murderer's row, lol. I do miss oatmeal and oreo cookies a bit though. But nope, my life now focuses on consuming plants and furry creatures.

Sweet, delicious furry creatures.

I sure do hope you remove the fur first

@Magician
1 April 2021 will be my 3rd Anniversary of PS4 Slim purchase day.
PS4 Slim was the only PlayStation machine i bought with the box while my other PlayStation machines i purchased (PS2 Slim Japan, PS2 Fat USA, PS3 Slim) didn't have the box. My PSP 3000 was a Rare Ocean Blue color came with Vibrant Blue box.

@Eel Holy cow, that looks delicious! Buns...loaves...muffins...If it's bread and doesn't have pumpkin or bananas involved, I'll eat it!

I'm pretty accident-prone, yep. I blame dumb luck and genetics as, for better and for worse, I'm built a lot like my dad. My coordination has improved a little since thanks to some of the exercising I've been doing. Some of it also has to do with my walk; my ankles naturally turn a little inward when I move to take a step before (usually) righting themselves when my feet hit the ground. I've tried correcting this, but it only works when I'm conscious of it. I've had my fair share of rolled ankles and sprains. I've surprisingly never broken any bones, but I can't say the same about cartilage.

The glass bowl damaged the nail bed of my right toenail. The nail itself didn't fully break or shatter at least. It took the better part of 9 months for it to completely rid itself of the damaged nail portion. THAT was weird. I was afraid I'd lose it.

@TheJGG Sweet, sweet karma. J/K, hope you didn't injure yourself. As mentioned above, I've surprisingly never broken any bones. But I have broken cartilage in my right knee thanks to a hyper-extension I sustained the summer after I graduated high school (I was 18). Freak accident when walking the dog; wasn't anything she did. It was very hot and I figured she'd like a drink and a brief soak if she wanted, so I went to a nearby field on our property that had a small pond. On the way back, I slid on the short gravel slope/drive that went back to the main road. Most of my body went one way, my right leg went way out in the other direction. THAT was painful. I was only 1/4 a mile (~403 meters) from home at that point, so I somehow managed to hobble back home with a dog in tow. I managed by bending my leg a certain way so as to put less pressure on my knee.

I like lyrics in some forms of music, but it really depends on what genre the track is and how annoying the singer(s) is/are lol. Funny you mention Xenoblade Chronicles X; I'm fond of its soundtrack as well! Been a bit since I've revisited its OST. Black Tar is definitely a good one; I was also taken aback by that one as I haven't heard much rap in video game music either; I'm not the biggest rap fan, but when it's blended with other elements and musical styles, I range from tolerating it to absolutely loving the piece it's part of. Other XCX tracks I like are Wir Fliegen/Overdrive, the theme for Oblivia, both the day and night themes for Noctilum, and Uncontrollable. Seems as though I need to look up more of Hiroyuki Sawano's compositions. I've heard of Kill la Kill and have seen a few clips/scenes of Attack On Titan and know a little about its characters; I fully intend to at least watch the latter at some point as its concept has captivated me.

I'd like to get around to (I realize I've been typing or saying this phrase a lot to people lately lol) watching Monsters University soon. I really enjoyed the first movie and now feel the need to rewatch it. You've hit the nail on the head with Toy Story 4 and why some of it just didn't sit well with me. Though it's by no means a bad movie. There are much, MUCH worse Disney continuances out there. Never watch Mulan 2. Trust me.

On ratings: In some cases, at least concerning swearing and nudity, I think the ESRB has become slightly more lenient. In others, as with some types of violence, I think it has become more strict. For example, the original ratings of Ocarina of Time, Majora's Mask, and The Wind Waker were all E, I believe. But with their 3D and HD rereleases, respectively, they've all earned E10+ ratings. The first two due to checks site animated blood, fantasy violence, and "suggestive themes". TWW HD has the first two, but nothing suggestive apparently.

On Cyberpunk 2077: From what I've read, aside from the obvious bugs, there was a lot of (as yoyu've mentioned) rushing and broken promises involved with the game. It wasn't a game I particularly followed until, ironically, it launched in its original messy state. Before that, I knew it was highly anticipated, but I knew I was unlikely to play it anytime soon as I didn't (and still don't) have a reliable means to play the game. I feel like the game's failures can be attributed to multiple levels, from lower management on up.

That's what you get when you rush out a pile of pyrite and try to pass it off as actual gold to a legion of wise prospectors.

@Tyranexx Ouch on all of them. I've bumped my elbow into a door frame by accident before...that hurt quite a bit. I've had a few instances of that kind of thing happening - I still hate it, lol. But that was nothing compared to, say, me unexpectedly getting stung by a wasp as a kid. Now that was painful.

Oh that reminds me, I used to have a lot of those plug-and-play consoles back when I was like 11 or 12. Most of the ones I owned had either Atari 2600 or Namco arcade games built in, and the controllers they had were pretty good. I had a couple plug-and-plays that had Sega Genesis games too - believe it or not, that's how I got exposed to a lot of the other Genesis games besides Sonic. I did have something similar to what you had, but it didn't have any licensed IPs or anything, just generic games. It was a light green controller and it had both circle and triangle shaped buttons - it wasn't that great, lol. That was sold at CVS.

Yeah, I don't like daylight savings time either. It seems like it's only there to be an inconvenience! Now I gotta change the time on my watch...come on, man. lol

@TheJGG No it was Spring Man who made it as an assist trophy. When it was announced that an ARMS character would make it to SSBU, I kind of wanted Ninjara to make it in (only because ninjas are cool, lol), but I was totally cool with Min Min making the final cut. I was stoked to see Banjo and Kazooie making it to the game, to be perfectly honest! Banjo-Kazooie was one of my childhood favorites. I used to rent it a lot on the N64, but didn't fully own it until much later.

Ah okay, so it's not quite done yet, I see. I have some video game history books as well, like the one from Steven Kent and a couple books on the history of Nintendo. There's a complete works book on the Genesis/Mega Drive as well, which I imported from the UK.

@MarioLover92 Oh boy, wasp stings. Stings are something I've seldom had to deal with, but I've definitely had a few! The worst was when I got stung twice on my right hand a few years ago; I was stung on the back towards my rightmost knuckle. My pinky and part of my ring finger both swelled up quite a bit. I still lived with my parents at the time, and some paper wasps had built a small nest near where I parked my car in our garage. They were disturbed by the door when I opened it. The door didn't touch their nest, but it came close enough that they definitely weren't pleased.

I think my siblings bought one plug and play console, the other was a gift. They enjoyed the games, but I wasn't really into them; I was older and recognized the quality, or lack thereof, by then lol. I don't remember much about them except one or two games were based on Shrek, and another dealt with Over The Hedge. Not that the games were completely bad and unplayable, but I much preferred the handheld consoles I had at the time. Still do, honestly. XD

I get why the original concept of DST was conceived, but I think the cons outweigh the pros at this point. I don't feel there's much benefit to switching one way or the other. Heck, some countries that used to do it no longer bother. A couple US states are the same way.