BloodyHell

On 7/16/2023 at 2:18 PM, DPCyric said:

Now that I have the Series X I'm looking for what I should pick up from the back catalog. I was pleasantly surprised to find I already own:

 

Lost Odyssey (I really need to play through this now)

Midnight Club Los Angeles

Burnout Paradise

 

I picked up:

 

Split/Second (which I've already started playing again love this game)

Asura's Wrath

 

I'm going to get physical copies of:

 

Blur

Too Human

Metal Gear Rising Revengeance 

 

What hidden gems do I need to find 

Lost Odyssey!

And adjourned. So this goes through tonight?

On 7/14/2023 at 4:24 PM, Spawn_of_Apathy said:

One does wonder if the FTC has any legal ground to stop any merger at this point. Courts and regulars will just take the buyer at their word that they really really promise to not stifle competition or gouge consumers if we just let them own a majority share of some industry. 
 

I mean how’s that Ticketmaster and Livenation merger working out for everyone? I mean must be going well. Nobody seems to give a fuck if we repeat the same mistakes. 

Ticketmaster/livenation is far different than this. There are still other major competitors and platforms in the video game market.

There was never a chance of the FTC winning this, which is why they tried to run out the clock instead, only filing the lawsuit for a PI in early june. 
 

Lina Khan has embarrassed herself again and again. There was never a point where they would win in the US. The trial was ridiculous, wirh the judge having to remind the FTC that Sony’s dominance isn’t a concern of the court.  Then rhere was the FTC trying to pretend there was a separate market for Nintendo, which is also completely ridiculous. 

On 7/14/2023 at 11:19 AM, DPCyric said:

 

I actually think this merger is a net positive for the industry and gamers for the following reasons:

1. Activision/Blizzard has been a bad working environment for a while now and especially with the recent failure of Redfall Microsoft will want to improve the work culture.
2. Microsoft has other studios making them money they aren't in a situation where they need to pump out Call of Duty every year to survive.

3. All those unused Activision IP's have an opportunity to be used now.

4. With development freed up where a Call of Duty isn't needed every year development studios can work on other things so employees won't be burned out doing the same game over and over again.

5. This forces Sony to be a bit more competitive if they wanted they could make their own Call of Duty but that isn't necessary. However maybe now they will be more careful when launching stuff and not supporting it (ala PSVR2 and the Vita)... maybe just maybe PS+ will be improved as well which is a benefit for Playstation owners.

The only valid point you have is 3 and 5. 3 because Phil has spoken about about wanting to revive a lot of dead IP. 5 because, yes, Sony has had it too easy. Everything else is nonsense.

On 7/13/2023 at 7:58 PM, Remarkableriots said:

Final Fantasy Creators Reveal The True Origins of the Franchise's Name | Den of Geek

WWW.DENOFGEEK.COM

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Remember when Squaresoft was about to declare bankruptcy, so the company bet it all on the appropriately named Final Fantasy? It turns out that's not exactly what happened.

This isn’t new news. It was originally going to be “Fighting Fantasy”, which is a godawful name, so thankfully it was taken. 

On 7/12/2023 at 12:05 AM, Fizzzzle said:

You're on crack.

 

Granted it's not like I think it's a bad game by any means (I don't think any of the games in the series are "bad," even Legendia), but I would much rather play Berseria, Vesperia, Abyss, or any of the PS3 games before I play Arise again.

 

Symphonia has a little bit of nostalgia but it's pretty rough to play that one these days. Party AI is sooooo fucking terrible.

Nah. It’s not even close. I’ve played almost all of them, and none come near to Arise.

Symphonia definitely has to be looked at as a product of its time, but that game is still incredible.

On 7/8/2023 at 6:41 PM, eventide11 said:

Well I'm still liking it a lot but yeah, not an RPG and not really a true numbered FF sequel compared to other games in the series. I do like some things it does A LOT but like @best3444 I wish it would continue (and improve on) gameplay from the FF series. IE hybrid turn based battles, more party control, an open world-sand box type map, more non static towns that gradually offer more items, weapons, spells etc.

 

But I needed a break from these MASSIVE games that have been released lately so this has been a perfect escape from those. Too much of a good thing can be a bad thing I guess 

I mean, it’s absolutely a true numbered sequel. This is the same nonsense people said about XI and XIV not being numbered FF, when they very clearly are. 
 

it may not be traditional, but it’s absolutely a numbered FF. 

On 7/7/2023 at 8:21 PM, Fizzzzle said:

I felt kind of bummed for some reason when I saw that Tales of Arise is literally the best reviewed Tales game ever made (in the west, at least).

 

Tales of Arise is faaaaaaar from the best Tales game. It's not even in the top 5. In fact, the only games in the series (that I've played) that are worse are Legendia and Zestiria. And tbh I wouldn't even say Zestiria is much worse, they are close.

Its absolutely top 5, it’s easily top 3, and might only be behind Symphonia.

Get it done with.

2 hours ago, TwinIon said:

While I am wary of government influence on social media, I don't find the plaintiff's arguments here very compelling. I expressing a very negative opinion hardly counts as coercion or governmental action abridging freedom of speech.

 

 

Imagine if this precedent held and government officials comments on the activity of media companies was deemed significant encouragement. How much of what Trump said about the media as President would fall under a similar umbrella?

I mean, sure, but you have to look at the things they got right, like the administration’s demands that Twitter take down a parody account which was specifically noted in the decision. It was banned 45 minutes later. The Laptop is another example where government had no reason to be demanding censorship beyond their worries of the effects on the election. 
 

Im all for taking powers from the federal government when it comes to censorship of speech and political opinions.

If SM wants to take it down on their own, that’s their right (as the judge pointed out), but it’s not ok to have the government request political speech be removed.  

24 minutes ago, Ghost_MH said:

 

I'm not using anecdotal evidence here. I've been going all over this stuff. I had a million questions regarding everything along the way. When even an amicable divorce, like mine, takes over a year to be settled, these questions come up. Everywhere I've looked says only ~10% of divorces in this day and age include alimony. Even going back 60 years that number was only ~25%. Certainly not rare, but also not so common that I'd refuse to get married for fear of paying alimony. Even at 10% a decade ago, it's likely lower today since it's been on a steady decline for the last hundred years.

 

How bread-winning women are driving alimony reform | Reuters

WWW.REUTERS.COM

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When alimony reform comes to Florida, it may be too late for Tarie MacMillan, a 65-year-old who runs a jewelry business near Tampa.

 

The biggest reason for alimony is for a spouse, often a stay at home wife, needing time to get on her feet after her husband's infidelities. Considering some 20-40% of divorces come about because of cheating, that means even being unfaithful isn't a surefire way to be stuck with alimony.

 

If someone you know is paying a good amount of alimony for "no reason other than the spouse didn't want to support themselves" then there's a good chance they're hiding something from you. Even with that 10% number, alimony usually only lasts as long as a judge deems reasonable for the spouse to get on their feet and support themselves.

Im not sure how long two of my friends will have to pay, but one is going on 3 years, on top of child support for two children, and in the end she got the house because she guilted him with “The kids shouldn’t have to leave their home”, and as I’m sure you know, divorced fathers have feelings too, and also want to put kids before themselves.

my point is, the standard should be dividing shared assets in cash, and child support, and not another penny ever. The house, proprties, joint accounts and cars not covered by a prenup should be forced into sale, bills paid, profit split. Same with joint accounts. 
 

I think you’re confusing your amicable divorce with what happens in a contentious one with high price lawyers fighting in court.  Thats why I believe it should be standardized, and courts shouldn’t be involved in anything but the dissolution of the marriage after assets are split.  You divorce, an expert comes in, tells you what your 50% is as proscribed by law, and that’s the end. And it should be clear and concise from day one. 
 

Then theres custody, and how men get fucked. If theres no abuse alleged, each parent should get 50% time with them, a week each, and rotating holidays. There’s literally no reason for this stuff to end up in court when it could be settled with actual legislation that lays out alimony and custody agreements where no abuse is alleged. 
 

And I’m sorry, you don’t deserve more because you’ve been cheated on, male or female. Life happens. 
 

Edit: I do think there should be carveouts for abuse though.

On 7/3/2023 at 2:57 PM, TwinIon said:

The more I've thought about this, the more it makes me think it could be the thing that dooms Tesla. Right now Tesla has two "moats" that keep them as the number one electric car company in the country. The first and most important is their ability to actually produce EVs. That's also the thing that their far larger competitors will inevitably meet and exceed. The second and is their charging network, which also happens to be their biggest advantage over their rivals as of today. If you buy an EV right now, I feel like the refrain is often that you can buy what many would argue is a worse car, but it comes with far and away the best charging network. Next year if you can buy a Ford or a Volvo or a BMW or a Polestar or almost anything else and you can use the Supercharger network, the incentive to buy a Tesla is greatly reduced.

 

Maybe it's a very forward thinking move from Tesla and they can turn the Supercharger network into a huge profit center, but compared to selling cars that is hard to imagine. Assuming that supercharger revenue is in the "Services and Other" revenue, that's only 7% of their total in Q1 23, and I'd guess that Supercharger revenue is only a small fraction of that number. 

Tesla will be fine. 
 

On 7/3/2023 at 8:01 PM, Joe said:

I don’t know how true that is, but let’s say it is, why would you then have doubts about Tesla’s future?

It’s very not true. While he has certainly destroyed Twitter, Musk has steered spacex and tesla very well.

The hate a few here have for him preclude them from ever admitting he isn’t stupid, and is one of the most successful businessmen in the tech sector because he’s good at both lobbying and using government funding, as well as forcing through things like NACS through sheer force of will and by crushing opponents, which has proven necessary to succeed in Capitalistic society. 
 

5 minutes ago, Nokra said:

Without looking into the specifics of this situation, I would guess it probably depends a lot on definitions and what exactly was said or done. 

 

Were they forced at gunpoint? Obviously not. Were they misled (w/ promises of aid, visas, etc.)? I would be willing to bet that they were. Whether that fits the definition of "human trafficking" probably depends on who you're asking, the jurisdiction, etc. 

 

Hopefully someone with more knowledge can answer. 

Yes, but castleton is very hyperbolic in his opinions on Abbott and Texas. The place definitely has problems, but every time they do something, he pushes the most extreme interpretation.

On 7/1/2023 at 10:24 PM, Ghost_MH said:

 

Sounds like awful lawyers and folks signing papers without thinking things through. Divorces in the 90s and earlier are an entirely different ballgame, though. However, I will say this to anyone in this position. If your state allows it, never get a finalized divorce. In Massachusetts any divorce can be left open for future changes. That is, you can renegotiate alimony if the judge required you to pay at the time of divorce but the ex-spouse's situation changed and made the deal unfair or untenable.

 

The only part of my divorce that's open is anything related to the kids.

 

Sorry, this is really fresh in my head because I literally just spent the last year going through a divorce that was finalized just last week. My negotiations with the judge have me keep my ex on my insurance plan as long as it doesn't cost me anything and I have to maintain at least $300k worth of life insurance for the kids. Neither costs me anything I wasn't already paying for, so I'm not upset. This in spite of having the "toughest family court judge in easter Mass". I put that in quotes, but she did force us to go through nearly a year and back and forths to reach an agreement she, the judge, would accept.

But it sounds like you’re applying Mass. family law to Florida. Either way, aside from splitting assets gained while together, I think the practice of ongoing alimony is pretty gross.

Child support obviously is important, but  having been a wife certainly shouldn’t entitle you to monthly payments because uou don’t want to support yourself. Alimony isn’t rare as you seem to be making it out to be. I have multiple friends who got the short end of the stick in divorce, losing their homes, and having to pay child support (as they should) AND alimony. 
 

Every person should be responsible for their children. Nobody should be responsible for their ex beyond the initial splitting of profits. 
 

aAnd if you have any amount of wealth going into a marriage, you’d be insane not to get a pre-nup nowadays. 

1 hour ago, CastletonSnob said:

Abbott sent more migrants to LA the other day.

We shouldn't be asking how people could vote for Abbott and DeSantis. We should be asking why the DOJ isn't investigating them for human trafficking.

I mean, putting willing people on a bus isn’t human trafficking, no matter how badly some want it to be.

If they were forced, then sure. But it doesn’t sound like they were. 

5 hours ago, Mr.Vic20 said:

 

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I just defeated Bahamut 

I plan to finish up by tomorrow if possible. Still just an OK game for my tastes, but I'll be damned if I don't see it through. I'm glad others are enjoying it, but its definitly not what I want from a FF title. 

You’re still a long way from the end, and there’s some pretty important side quests at the end, two specifically.

Forza Horizon 5 is pretty much an arcade racer. It’s incredible too.

On 7/1/2023 at 5:25 PM, Remarkableriots said:

The most shocking news to be revealed from Microsoft's lawyer is that Elder Scrolls XVI is coming out in three years - 2026!

Lol this is funny for two reasons, the second being Phil said on the stand that ES6 is at least 5 years away on the stand.

11 hours ago, Bacon said:

Tonberry is my most favorite monster.

Agreed. Maybe not my #1, but he’s definitely up there. It makes me angry he isn’t in XVI. I always loved the weird little FF and DQ monsters. 
 

also, where the hell is DQXII???

13 hours ago, best3444 said:

 

I will. I'm pretty open to comat even turn based. I'm sure it will be awesome. 

7R isn’t turn based, it’s action with party control mechanics. You can switch characters as well. Personally, I think yhe combat is quite a bit better than 16.

Man, I’m hyped for Rebirth. 7R is so good, it upsets me that @Bacon won’t play it. 

15 hours ago, eventide11 said:

How does it compare to FF16? I might be interested in that one as well. Granted it's not too much like 13 or 15

Ummm, totally different. FFO is basically a cheesy, buy extremely fun souls like (but with difficulty settings nowadays I think, it didn’t have it when I played on Day 1) and kind of a remake of part 1. 
 

its both incredibly dumb, and incredibly fun.

On 7/1/2023 at 5:57 PM, Bacon said:

When it comes to Japanese media, FF16 is a reminder for me to always

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look up the ending before I play the game. I almost always look up the ending before I play Japanese games but I didn't for 16. I'm about to play Tales of Arise and I looked up the ending months ago to make sure playing thru it would be worth it.

 

Tales of Arise was my favorite JRPG of the last few years, and it has a non-ambiguous, straight up ending.

1 hour ago, Slug said:

Dude, S-Rank hunt marks are no joke!

I’ve got two left. Pandemonium and I forget the second.

4 hours ago, best3444 said:

WHAT HE FUCK! My save file was corrupt some how and it wouldn't load where I left off!!!

 

So this evening I had to start all over again and played 8 hours straight to try to catch up where I was. Unbelievable!

 

I made great progress but I'm really upset. 

That sucks. Always make extra saves!

3 hours ago, Xbob42 said:

You really gotta play FF14... that track was basically an homage to the Titan Theme(s) from that game.

 

The much older original 14 theme:

 

 

And the much more recent Shadowbringers version:

 

 

 

I think the inspiration's clear from either one!

 

A lot of tracks in the game remind me of 14, especially the main boss fight theme, which reminds me a lot of the job quest theme "Breaking Boundaries" in FFXIV.

(Starting at around 0:17)

 

 

 

And I feel like a different song that I can't quite remember right now. You'll have to forgive me, the Spotify playlist is like almost 700 songs long.

Oh, I have, I’m halfway through shadowbringers. I really need to get back to it.