::: spoiler Final Fantasy XIV Whenever I play online games I tend to lean towards support gameplay - usually medic. That was also my plan for this attempt at getting into FFXIV but I wasn't really feeling it and, since I don't expect to play in a group, decided to play a combat role instead. Specifically: Pugilist (punch girl).

I'd be lying if I said it wasn't fun under current circumstances but at the same time, it's still FFXIV so I feel rather neutral about the whole experience. I'll keep trying to stick with it, at least for now, but I'm pretty sure I'll be moving on the moment I find something else that catches my interest. This game doesn't really gel with me and that sucks, because I do think it's a solid title.

Well, at least I don't hate it. ::: ::: spoiler FTL: Advanced Edition This is more of a one-off as I installed it to check out whether achievement synchronisation between the Heroic Launcher and GOG works for this title (it doesn't for the Croc remaster for example but that might be a problem with the game rather than Heroic). Still ended up doing a near full run, dying only to the final boss.

I'll have to get back to this game for real some time but for now my experiment ended up being successful so I happy with that. ::: ::: spoiler Shantae: Half-Genie Hero I love Shantae. It's the only series I can say this about without a doubt - no ifs, no buts, just pure enjoyment. It's something I didn't expect to say about a game, let alone a series and yet here we are.

I played through the base game of HGH a year or two ago, now I decided to come back to complete the pirate mode. It's the same set of levels with remixed challenges and played from the perspective of Risky Boots (Shantae's main antagonist). She has her own set of mechanics - some of which might feel familiar for anyone who played Shantae and the Pirate's Curse, others completely new. All in all, it's a rather different experience compared to the base game.

The early game was pretty rough, as base Risky (without her gadgets) can feel a bit limiting. The lack of options mixed with her levels relaying more on off screen and constantly respawning dangers can lead to moments that feel less like a challenge and more like a chore. Thankfully, finishing each level grants you new abilities, expanding your movement and attack in ways that quickly make you forget about the initial frustration. What started as a worrying session of annoyance ended up being a very enjoyable playthrough. I still have a few more modes to play through but considering they all make use of the same set of levels, I'll leave them for the future to avoid burnout.

Shantae: HGH isn't a perfect game nor is it the best title in the series. Despite its flaws however it's still a part of my favourite series ever and a game I have a very hard time disliking. I hope the remaining games I'm yet to play through (original, Risky Revolution and the Seven Sirens) will keep this trend going. :::

The first two games (sold as Ys I & II Chronicles+ these days) are simple but still hold up pretty well, especially graphically. I haven't played later ones so I can't say anything about the rest of the series unfortunately.

I watched some of the transmission and all I can say is my respect to Zelensky grew tenfold with that exchange alone.

Having to interact with these two clowns and still keeping his cool (as much as he was able to) requires A LOT of patience and will. It was horrifyingly stupid in a train wreck kind of way.

Here are the board members of this organisation in case someone is curious about their relevancy/neutrality on the matter:

• Hester Woodliffe – Chair (Warner Bros. Games)
• Canon Pence (Epic Games)
• Kerry Hopkins (Electronic Arts)
• Ian Mattingly (Activision)
• Klemens Kundratitz (Embracer)
• Qumar Jamil (Microsoft)
• Clemens Mayer-Wegelin (Nintendo of Europe)
• Cinnamon Rogers (Sony Interactive Entertainment)
• Matt Spencer (Take 2)
• Alain Corre (Ubisoft)
• Alberto Gonzalez-Lorca (Bandai Namco Entertainment)
• Karine Parker (Square Enix)
• Mark Maslowicz (Level Infinite)
• Felix Falk (game)
• Nicolas Vignolles (SELL)
• David Verbruggen (VGFB)
• Nick Poole (UKIE)

You know, the people who "ensured that the voice of a responsible games ecosystem is heard and understood" (direct quote from their website).

Fresh update video from Ross about the campaign.

TL;DW:

• There's a chance many of the signatures for the EU petition aren't real. Keep signing to build up a safety margin. Official suggestions are: 10% more minimum, 20% pretty OK, up to 40% more for an actual safety net.
• Some countries had problems with signing using the digital ID system - suggests to use the manual method (instructions on the campaign page) or try again later.
• Someone not related with the campaign released a SKG crypto. Don't touch it, obviously.
• Ross heard about people harassing Pirate Software, asks to stop.
• He's got a lot of messages to reply to, prioritises ones important to the campaign for now.
• UK petition cleared 100k signatures. Number is most likely more reliable than the EU one.
• Link about contacting UK MP's for those who want to do more than just sign a petition.

While I can't provide you with a proper scientific answer I can offer a basic explanation - it's effort.

Browsing through the never ending amount of content online requires no effort but provides you with a dopamine rush as if you actually managed to accomplish or do something with your time. Other stuff, like watching movies, playing games, reading books, etc. requires attention and active participation, the payoff on the other hand is largely delayed (especially compared to the lazy option).

As for hacks... I don't know any. The only ways I know how to deal with it is limiting your time scrolling through this stuff and forcing yourself to do other things - it can be rough early on but you'll eventually get used to the "normal" way of functioning.

He actively misrepresented the campaign and spread misinformation about its goals. I don't know if he genuinely didn't understand or if he was too embarrassed to admit to a mistake but he did a lot of damage to the momentum and perception of the whole thing.

It sucks these big creators only now pick up the mantle but it's better than nothing. There's still some time left.

Man, I really appreciate GOG. They're not perfect and, as with all corporations, one shouldn't take them completely at face value but their approach to game preservation, DRM and stuff like this are the reasons why I keep them as my primary choice for purchases whenever possible.

Is it a relatively cheap PR stunt? Maybe. Probably. It's still more than any other store did or said in regards to the recent events. Might as well grab some free publicity.

It's a jab at the Pirate Software guy, I believe.

There's a UK Parliament petition to repeal the Online Safety act. There's no guarantee it'll do anything but might be worth a try for anyone in the UK.

Is this suppose to be an article? Or is posting tweets linked on a website a new fad?

I know SC is a game many people like to dunk on (sometimes for completely right reasons) but let's not pretend like there's absolutely nothing there and CIG somehow scammed millions of players.

If anyone is actually interested in the game, I'd like to stress that you can buy the cheapest package and have access to everything using in-game money. There are also free flight events, available multiple times a year, so you can try the game out and decide for yourself if you like what's there. So far, despite horrible technical difficulties that often happen due to stress on the servers during those times the number of players keeps growing. Take that as you wish...

As for the package... Is it ridiculous? Yes, absolutely. It's 100% worth dunking on.

In case you weren't aware there's an ongoing project adding Surface hardware support to Linux kernel. It's in a pretty mature state, with most of the features already implemented and working (here is a full breakdown per device). I've been using it on my SP6 for a few years with zero issues.

It might be worth a look until you get to buying new hardware.

He had more of similar comments throughout the years so... yeah. He's also known for poor management and causing toxic work environment to the point Microsoft decided to cut ties with the studio.
Just in case someone thought these are just some out of context or one-time "jokes"/missteps.

Heck, here are some bonus links for good measure:

• Moon Studios Creative Director Thomas Mahler Criticizes Cancel Culture and Media Bias
• Despite its beautiful Ori games, Moon Studios is called an ‘oppressive’ place to work (this one is LONG)

I don't think anyone expects to catch every vibe coded project that might end up on the site. It's seems to be about nurturing specific direction for their community, giving admins clear rules on this issue and making their decisions easier in case they do find (or get a report about) a clearly AI "led" project.

Even if vibe coder manages to stick around, they can't be sure their projects won't disappear at random due to the new rules. Might be enough to prevent some of them from using the site.

Sometimes I forget how unprofessional the game industry still is or how little respect people have for well being of others. I'd like to say I'm surprised but that would require having some expectations towards those companies.

I hope more VAs speak up about stuff like this so we can have some real changes.

TL;DW:

• Patrick Breyer and Niklas Nienaß submitted questions to the European Commission on the topic of killing games (the latter in contact with Ross and two EU based lawyers).
• EU won't commit to answering whether games are goods or services.
• EULA are probably unfair due to imbalance of rights and obligations between the parties.
• Such terminations should be analyzed on a case-by-case basis (preferably by countries rather than EU).
• Existing laws don't seem to cover this issue.
• Campaign in France seems to be gaining some traction. Case went to "the highest level where most commercial disputes submitted to DGCCRF never go".
• UK petition was suppose to get a revised response after the initial one was found lacking. Due to upcoming elections all petitions were closed and it might have to be resubmitted.
• Also in UK, there's a plan to report games killed in the last few years to the Competition and Markets Authority starting in August (CMA will get some additional power by then apparently).
• No real news from Germany, Canada or Brazil.
• Australian petition is over and waiting for a reply. Ross also hired a law firm to represent the issue.

This is a simplified version of simplified version, watch the video for more info.

There's still a difference between a piece of clothing that may or may not have been worn by anonymous women and creations using real people without their knowledge or consent. Not trying to defend those vending machines but these aren't the same in terms of results and potential effects on the victims.

They're going to replace them with an AI powered tool, aren't they? If they're going to replace them at all that is.

After Ross announced the campaign is dead a bunch of YouTubers (and media, I think?) picked up the topic and started spreading the word far and wide. This is the result.

That's positively surprising, I expected them to leave it at that until petition reaches the second milestone (if that even happens). Let's see if anything new comes out of this.