In case you missed it, I was in the hospital for a week. I’m still a little wobbly, but I’m on the mend. But if I eat right, exercise, take my meds, and avoid junk food from now on, then I can look forward to a long slow decline into old age, just like everyone else.
Also, sorry my audio is blown out. Apparently I forgot how to run the show while I was gone.
Link (YouTube) |
Show notes: Continue reading ⟩⟩ “Diecast #343: Still Alive”
So I’m home. Finally. I went into the hospital on noon Friday, and got out the following Friday. You would think this means I spent a week in the hospital. That’s what my calendar claims. (I just ran the numbers on WolframAlpha, and apparently that works out to over six days.) But in subjective time, I have to say that the visit seemed to last about three fiscal quarters.
It’s really weird being back. People are calling me Shamus again, which was my name way back in the day when I used to run this blog, before I became a full-time patient. These days everyone’s been calling me “13Window”. My FULL name is 0513w for Floor 05, Room 13, Bed by the Window, As opposed to the other bed, which is by the door. but we’re all friends around here so folks call me 13Window for short.
Now that I’m home again and I’ve had time to reflect, I have to say that my old name was way cooler. I might switch back to that.
Continue reading ⟩⟩ “Sick Day”
Link (YouTube) |
Anna and Paul are doing this episode because…
Continue reading ⟩⟩ “Diecast #342.5: Shamusless Videogames”
I originally planned to give a tour of my base here, but in the last few weeks I’ve had half a dozen bases. I’ve been hopping from one game to another, trying different things and exploring bits of the game that I normally overlook. So I don’t have a single game to show off. So instead let’s talk about the level generation system and the biter aliens.
Continue reading ⟩⟩ “Factorio Part 3: Biters and Solar Power”
Link (YouTube) |
So let’s talk about some Factorio theory. I should note that I’m not an expert. This post isn’t a super-definitive analysis on how to optimize your base. I’ve logged over 2,000 hours with this game, but frankly that’s chump change compared to what the seriously high-level players can claim. And despite all my time with the game, I still need to look things up on the wiki from time to time.
But I’ve never let a lack of expertise stop me from playing the game, so I’m not going to let it stop me from talking about it.
Continue reading ⟩⟩ “Factorio Part 2: Optimize!”
I got a question for the Diecast this week, and I really felt like I couldn’t do it justice in the context of a podcast due to the inherent complexity. Also, Paul didn’t have much to say on the issue. So here it is:
Hi Diecasters!
Thanks as always for your hard work. Random question for you — have either of you ever taken a Meyers-Briggs (aka MBTI) personality type test, such as the kind found here?
It’s possible to put too much stock in them; I think they’re a good starting point for understanding people rather than an ending point. Nonetheless, it’s nice to have a good starting point, and I’ve found that trying to understand people as (for instance) intuitive vs not, or extroverted vs introverted can really be beneficial. Talking through personality type differences has been something really fruitful for my wife and I lately, as we approach our tenth anniversary and still find there are things worth discovering about one another :)
So, the follow-up question is (assuming you’ve taken the test) what personality types you are, and whether this kind of categorization ever proves useful in understanding yourselves or other people in your lives.
Keep well!
~David F. Ellrod, Sr.
I find this topic to be really interesting, but every time I bring it up there’s always a bunch of eye-rolling and general hostility from a handful of people. The Meyers-Briggs is not much respected these days. In fact, the Wikipedia entry on it spends more time discussing the criticism of the Meyers-Briggs than actually explaining the Meyers-Briggs itself!
Continue reading ⟩⟩ “Myers-Briggs Personalities”
A look back at one of my favorite games. The gameplay was stellar, but the underlying story was clumsy and oddly constructed.
Would you have survived in the middle ages?
This is it. This is the dumbest cutscene ever created for a AAA game. It's so bad it's simultaneously hilarious and painful. This is "The Room" of video game cutscenes.
This Korean title would be the greatest MMO ever made if not for the horrendous monetization system. And the embarrassing translation. And the terrible progression. And the developer's general apathy towards its western audience.
This version of Silver Sable is poorly designed, horribly written, and placed in the game for all the wrong reasons.
Imagine if the original Star Wars hadn't appeared in the 1970's, but instead was pitched to studios in 2006. How would that turn out?
I teach myself music composition by imitating the style of various videogame soundtracks. How did it turn out? Listen for yourself.
Is it real? Is PC gaming returning to its former glory? Sort of. It's complicated.
What is "Domino Worldbuilding" and how did it help to make Mass Effect one of the most interesting settings in modern RPGs?
My picks for what was important, awesome, or worth talking about in 2013.
T w e n t y S i d e d
