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User: Sowelu

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  1. Re:Like multiplayer? on GOG Announces Open Beta For New Game Distribution Platform · · Score: 1

    That suggestion isn't about letting GoG change it...just about telling the user what they need to change. And yes, that would be a killer feature for old games.

  2. Like multiplayer? on GOG Announces Open Beta For New Game Distribution Platform · · Score: 2

    'Cause Steam integration for multiplayer is a pretty serious upgrade from the days of the good old Gamespy server search program.

  3. Re:proformence enhancing on Game:ref's Hardware Solution To Cheating In eSports · · Score: 2

    Nah, watching a bot you wrote operate is pretty damn fun. I'd like to see more bot vs bot tournaments in all kinds of games.

  4. Re:What happened to Fark? on Interviews: Ask Fark Founder Drew Curtis a Question · · Score: 2

    The readers never got over it.

  5. Re:The same AIs or different ones? on The Battle of 100 Freeciv AIs · · Score: 1

    That's what really disappointed me--I was hoping for different AIs as well. I never got into core wars but always wanted to, and I love games that pit different bot implementations of normally-human players against each other.

  6. Re:I love KSP, but sometimes... on Kerbal Space Program 1.0 Released After 4 Years of Development · · Score: 1

    There's definitely a time investment and the frustration level can be really high. It can be several aggravating hours to do some complicated things, like "intercept an asteroid that's not passing particularly close, point it back at your home planet and put it in a stable orbit". But there's always easier ways to do things and tricks that make complicated things easier, even without mods. Of course sometimes the answer is to just give up and redesign your ship, or send two ships instead of one.

    Tearing your hair our and then finally succeeding is a pretty nice feeling but it's definitely one that I have less time for with a fulltime job, and I can't imagine playing KSP once I have kids (until they're old enough to start learning orbital mechanics...so like, 6).

    All that said...some parts of the game are still relatively easy. You can have a hell of a lot of fun with strapping a lot of boosters on and hoping for the best, and you can land on the Mun without a full, deep understanding of what you're doing. Kind of like how you can play adventure games/RPGs without going for 100% completion, I think you can probably get your money's worth without blowing a bunch of time and anger on the hard parts of Kerbal, and without even touching the (excellent) mod scene.

  7. Re:Dang on Kerbal Space Program 1.0 Released After 4 Years of Development · · Score: 1

    KSP has had this unique property among the early access games I own, that the early game feels like the most fun part. I'm sure opinions differ but hey, it's fun to see how fast I can get a space program off the ground with whatever new features there are.

  8. Re:congratulations on the initial release of... on Kerbal Space Program 1.0 Released After 4 Years of Development · · Score: 2

    So add a few mods that put more displays and controls inside the IVA screen (sitting in the cockpit), tack some unreliable cameras to the outside of your craft, and feel the joy of flying a ship by squinting at computer monitors inside your computer monitor. Docking maneuvers are even hairier than normal, though if you manage to shear off a camera somehow, I guess you always have the old fallback of "send someone outside on EVA and have them radio you that you need to shift left a couple of centimeters". Reentry is exciting because all you have is flames visible through your window (if you have a window), your altitude and descent gauge, and a little icon of your ship over a topo map.

  9. Re:so....why? on Gen. Petraeus To Be Sentenced To Two Years Probation and Fine · · Score: 1

    I could say the same thing about your post, but that's really going nowhere.

  10. so....why? on Gen. Petraeus To Be Sentenced To Two Years Probation and Fine · · Score: 0, Offtopic

    We get a lot of articles here that people say don't belong on Slashdot, but I usually side with them being good articles. "Stuff that matters" and all that, personal freedoms, general interest to nerds, etc. But this one...no, I'm just not seeing it. Nothing to do with personal freedoms, nothing to do with computers, nothing to do with public policy, absolutely zero effect on any of us, even those of us in the USA. It's just political celebrity news.

  11. Worse than the summary on Researcher Discloses Methods For Bypassing All OS X Security Protections · · Score: 5, Insightful

    The summary made it sound like "wow, if a program runs arbitrary code, then arbitrary code might run" which is kind of...tautological. But the article has other goodies, like "the security check to keep dangerous code out of the kernel...runs with user permissions", and "code signing only rejects an app if it has an untrusted signature, but lets it through if it has no signature".

  12. Maybe using Endurium for fuel wasn't a good idea on Hubble Spots Star Explosion Astronomers Can't Explain · · Score: 1

    There was always something fishy about those ruins.

  13. Re:Probably best on Automakers To Gearheads: Stop Repairing Cars · · Score: 1

    The common thread I'm seeing in all of these stories is that SOMEthing crumpled.

  14. Re:Probably best on Automakers To Gearheads: Stop Repairing Cars · · Score: 2

    I'd give the van's occupants better odds than I'd give you against a brick wall, though.

  15. Re:First! on Automakers To Gearheads: Stop Repairing Cars · · Score: 1

    This is less "Eagle has landed" and more "First stage of Falcon 9 has...landed".

  16. Re:Miscommunication on Exploit For Crashing Minecraft Servers Made Public · · Score: 2

    Okay, yeah, this guy is definitely a tool with a massive ego trip. He already seemed like a dick from the way he phrased his press releases, but insisting he's too important to use the bug tracker and instead he needs to talk to the devs personally? No.

  17. Re:Good on Exploit For Crashing Minecraft Servers Made Public · · Score: 1

    Hm. That actually was my problem with Angband. Too easy, too farmable. I'll have to give that a shot...though I suspect it's going to be a lot of long, boring running around in circles trying to get that ring of fire resistance before I hit whatever depth will kill me without it. And you thought stair scumming was boring...

  18. Re:Technology for technology's sake on LA Schools Seeking Refund Over Botched iPad Plan · · Score: 1

    I've been hearing a lot on NPR about students boycotting the test (with support of their families, and in some cases, teachers)...any of that happening where you are?

  19. Re:Missing features. on Google Sunsetting Old Version of Google Maps · · Score: 1

    Yeah, new version doesn't let you search in Smoots anymore, but I'm having trouble being bothered by that, I can convert stuff anyway.

    Maybe it's just Stockholm syndrome though. I stopped using the new version at first because it had no distance tool, and said as much in the feedback; I came back once they re-added it and emailed me saying so.

    I guess I could always say that the real mistake is using nautical miles when you should be using SI...

  20. Re:Line Count is Misleading on MIT's Picture Language Lets Computers Recognize Faces Through Inference · · Score: 2

    I don't see how that's misleading. So what if the program has all kinds of fancy algorithms--they're not waving around "look how smart we are!!". They're saying "Hey if you want to write image processing code, you can do it this easy". ...man, I miss my image processing class.

  21. Re:Honestly ... on Allegation: Lottery Official Hacked RNG To Score Winning Ticket · · Score: 1

    Sounds like someone's never heard of iterated prisoner's dilemma. Even beyond that, there's plenty of real-world reward grids where player 1's reward for (C,C) is even higher than (D,C). "But that's not interesting in game theory at all!" So what?

    You and your partner commit a crime and nobody knows a crime was committed. Do you really think that ratting out your partner will always be a better result than high-fiving and both keeping it quiet? That's silly.

  22. Re:Your tax dollars on The International Space Station (Finally) Gets an Espresso Machine · · Score: 4, Insightful

    "Hey we've got some upcoming technical challenges for future missions that need us to deal with pressurizing and heating liquids"
    "Okay, what are the parameters?"
    "A lot like coffee actually"
    "Well then...let's trial our technology by building an espresso machine."

  23. Re:Aborted at T-00:03:07 on SpaceX Launch Postponed · · Score: 1

    Today's attempt, they expected a 60% chance of clear enough weather. Tomorrow they expect 50% chance, so...fingers crossed?

  24. Re:Yeay! on Briny Water May Pool In Mars' Equatorial Soil · · Score: 1

    I don't see anything wrong with one country being focused on one thing for a decade or two. It's efficient.

  25. Re:Yeay! on Briny Water May Pool In Mars' Equatorial Soil · · Score: 4, Interesting

    Mars takes ~260 days to reach, with a payload that could theoretically bring humans...maybe 130 if we do some pretty crazy stuff. Europa takes three years minimum for a much smaller payload. Actually getting humans to Mars is already a big technical challenge, let alone living once we get there...it's going to take a heck of a lot more practical experience before we can get them to Europa.

    Say what you want about the pointlessness of living off-world, but Mars is great practice. It's closer, it has more solar power available, and we can send bigger things with our current technology. Same with the Moon...great practice, but even less practical reasons to be there than Mars.