I could come up with a thousand reasons as to why this would never happen. Hell, I could even argue that the whole Steam Deck’s existence comes from a series of decisions that Valve made out of hatred for Microsoft. So, yeah, it’s not happening.

Still though, as a thought experiment, imagining a world where tomorrow, Steam is owned by Microsoft, it’s… interesting, to say the least. In the most horrifying way possible, but interesting nonetheless. Quite frankly, I can’t imagine anything worse happening for video games. Like to me, this is what a video game apocalypse sounds like.

This is a reminder that this guy has very large chances to go back in the office and be president of the United States once again. We are so fucked and I am saying this as someone who is not American.

Well, I’ve been on it for a while and it’s kind of nice. The last time I was there I could notice that some of Twitter’s toxicity was starting to take root because lots of people came from Twitter. But other than that, I am not comfortable using something that is not open source nowadays.

I’m done with this shit. I don’t want proprietary stuff in my life anymore. I still have some, but the less I do the better, and especially when it comes to things like this. I don’t want to sit around waiting for inevitable, greedy, shitty money-driven decision to run this thing into a fucking wall.

Blusky is decentralized-ish, but it’s not open. And eventually money is going to be an issue and it’s eventually going to be filled with ads or be an algorithmic nightmare or whatever, like everything else before it.

I am sticking with Masterdawn and I barely go there. I don’t post regularly there, I don’t have anyone or anything interesting to follow there. It’s mostly a tool for me to follow software and everything. But I won’t have it any other way. I’m done. I’m not moving anymore. I am done following and getting invested in the latest proprietary bullshit website or app that is cool right now, but is inevitably going to try and suck out as much money as it can from its users.

Look at BeReal. I love the idea. It’s great. It’s what social media should be. But now, there are allowing celebrities and companies on it. Sucking the life out of it. And I loved the idea but I never used the app. Why? Because they didn’t have a way to make money! Of course this was going to happen.

Anyway. Is it open-source? No? Then I’ll pass.

Loneliness isn’t an epidemic, it’s a symptom of a greater illness. That illness is called capitalism and it’s slowly killing us all.

Do they get Elon’s dumbass tweets projected in their mind, now?

Ah, doomerism. That sure helps.

Skill issues. uBlock Origin.

Scamming a charity? :|

No one gives a shit because those who don’t like him are already aware, and those who like him like him because of this.

So they are complacent with it very well. If you are complacent with Nazis, to me, you’re a Nazi. I don’t give a shit. What’s the saying that the Germans have? Like there are six guys at a table in a bar and one of them is a Nazis, therefore there are six Nazis at the table? Yeah, that.

Well, my thinking was that I wasn’t sure, actually. I just liked their proportion better. They were nice looking. It was almost a running gag for me and my friends that I would always play women.

There were exceptions, like if it was a character that was speaking it would depend on the voice, for example in Far Cry 6. I picked the male model because I preferred his voice over her. Or if the female model is like overly sexualized with over the top sized ass, ridiculous sized boobs, a distinct lack of clothing compared to men… No thanks. I want to play as a woman, not play as a “made for horny 14 years old by horny men-children” version of women. No thanks. That kinda thing. But that’s about the only exceptions.

If I have the option in an RPG, it will be female. I’m gonna play Cyberpunk soon, you can bet your ass it will be a feminine type character. I played Mass Effect, Fem Shepard all the way. That GTA 6, for as little as I am excited by it for many reasons, I’m still very excited that one of the main characters is a woman.

I’ve always had a preference for playing women. I don’t have a problem playing any character at all. I can always immerse myself in them. It’s rarely an issue. But if I can, I like to play something that I identify myself with more, qnd that’s always been more the case with characters that are fem coded.

They are usually smaller. Usually thinner than male models. They have a more rounded face. And they tend to have long hair. All of this always fitted much more with who and what I was. I never had much muscle. I was never that tall. My voice, even as I grew into an adult, was never the typical male voice. It always had a bit of femininity in it. I have long hair. I have a more rounded face compared to most men. It always clicked more with me.

So yeah, there have always been lots of reasons, but it’s always been kind of nebulous as to why I just preferred it, you know? But then I figured out I was trans, so…

That was me. 🐣

I think it is impossible to properly state how damaging his existence was to gaming as a whole.

I would gladly say good fucking riddance, as if it was a victory, if it weren’t for the fact that he is going away with a fuck ton of money. He didn’t lose anything, he just won. And the whole gaming industry, hell, the whlole world suffers because of it. Because this isn’t just about video gamse. The man is a vile piece of shit. And he just gets to walk away and get away with it. Because money is power. The whole thing is just sickening.

That person must have had the scare of their life. You crash, which is already terrifying, but then, the fucking secret services show up to get your ass for potential terrorism. :|

surprised_pikachu_face.jpeg

Uhm… yes? That’s pretty much the point?

It feels so good to see countries not tolerating the far right. As a French, they’re basically everywhere now, everyone on talks like the Far Right on TV, now. My country has gotten so complacent with it…

I hope Germany keeps doing this and more act accordingly.

My eyes are dry.

I say slowly ramp up the tax on them, incentiving smokers to quit.

That’s what they’ve been doing for years. It doesn’t really seem to work and is effectively just a tax on the poors.

Too late, the death squads are already at my door.

Ban vapes, but won’t ban cigarettes…

And if you’re on PC, it’s more like 2027. :D

But I’m saying that there is no harm caused by OP pirating in this situation.

…but I’m not pirating though! ;-;

The artists put their music on streaming platform as well. There is no such thing as ethical consumption under Capitalism. Everything is fucking exploitative as fuck, everything is awful. There is A LOT of things that I refuse to watch, play, listen to, pay for, consume, for ethical reasons.

Again: I AM NOT PIRATING! I’m using a legal way to access the music I listen to, Deezer. And buying albums that I really love when I can afford it on the side.

You’re acting like I’m pirating the music, here. I’m not. I said that I’m using Deezer right now, a legal and paid for way to listen to music.

I use Deezer and like I said, when I like an album, I still try to buy music from the artists that I love when I can. Which pays them much more then millions of stream.

I feel guilt free, honestly.

I don’t know what to do honestly. I’m fully aware of the situation. Artists deserve better then the shit they’re always getting, I’m not disagreeing. But here’s the thing, buying music is nice and all, but one: Bandcamp is going to shit. And two, I just can’t afford it.

I’m poor and I listen to a lot of things. Buying all that isn’t possible for me. Right now, I’m using Deezer, because they offered 3 months for free. And you know what? Just the 10 bucks a month that I’m saving is making a huge difference in my life.

Not to mention that discovering music without streaming services is quite hard. I left Spotify a long time ago, when the home page started recommending me more Podcasts then music. I tried a lot of things and I came to the conclusion that I hate all music streaming platform but they’re still, by far, the best way for me to listen to and discover music.

If I love an album, I’ll still buy if I can afford it (which I often can’t).

If you’re looking for a great open source note taking app with a good free plan, and well priced paid plans, I strongly suggest Notesnook. I’ve been using it for months exclusively, it’s fantastic.

I’m still shocked by the fact that people actually like or even trust Nothing when, personally, the company gives me nothing but bad vibes since the very beginning. This tech-bro-crypto-bullshit / Elon Musk-esque / Cybertruck-esque marketing and attitude is a massive red flag to me. Can’t say I’m surprised about this.

Yup. I moved to Mastodon because of it, I don’t trust BlueSky.

I don’t trust a platform that is funded by the guy who gladly sold the previous one to the moron who’s now in charge. And I don’t trust their claims because as of now decentralized it isn’t. It’s just not. And there is no real reason for them to do so. So eventually they may just walk back their claims and 99% of the user base won’t care about this.

Plus, this website is going to need to make money eventually. But as of yet, they have no concrete monetization plan, which is basically the norm in nowadays with these kinds of projects. We grow fast, we make money later. How is that going to happen? Is it going to be filled with ads? Is it going to basically make the same mistakes as before? We don’t know.

Plus again, this is originally made and funded by the guy who made Twitter. And let’s not pretend that Twitter wasn’t already a dumpster fire before the Muskrat came in. It was. Twitter sucked way before this and, personally, I left it waaaay before this guy came in.

I’m done, personally. I’m done with all of this. If a company is public, I don’t even care about their product anymore. Investors are going to ruin it. Doesn’t apply here, good. If a social media platform is not decentralized, not open source, I don’t want to have anything to do with it anymore. So, no Bluesky I’m done with all of that.

I am on Mastodon and I’m happy with my choice. And that’s it for me. I’m not trying anything else. I’m happy on there. It’s not filled with ads. I don’t have to worry about investors fucking ruining it eventually. And I don’t have to worry about it becoming a shithole filled algorithmically boosted Neo-Nazis because anger drives engagement and engagement makes money.

A while back, I was still hesitant. Then I read this article which basically sold me on it.

Some tips.

• Always do your research about a game, always check what people are saying on the website ProtonDB before you buy it. Do not trust the rating system. We’ve had too many cases of game being labeled as verified that couldn’t even reach 30 FPS.

• Do not install Windows on it. Just don’t. You got a Steam Deck. Not a Ayaneo, not a ROG ALLY. You got a Steam Deck. The strength of this machine is entirely in its software. It’s why in my opinion there has never been any real competition to the Steam Deck as most of these rely on Windows which is awful and not made for this purpose at all.

• If you ever get a dock and plug it in your TV, do not change the resolution of the game. Let it run at 720p. The upscaler will do its job. Just turn on FSR in the Steam Deck setting for the game with the free dots button (or Xbox + B, if you are using an Xbox Controller). In my experience, you tend to get quite good results, and I’m doing it on a 4K TV.

• The case that the Deck that comes with is amazing, but it’s a bit fat. It may be an issue if you plan on taking it with you on trips or whatever. So here’s a good alternative made by the company TomToc. I have one, and I love it. It’s thinner and will fit into more backpacks while taking less space. However, know that if you’re using a case around your Steam Deck, like let’s say you got a Killswitch from Dbrand, it won’t fit. Also, if you pick this up, don’t throw the original carrying case away. Keep it, you never know.

• I never really cared for emulation in the past. However, EmuDeck is the shit. It is so good, so stupidly easy to set up. You can’t pass on it. It’s a must have. If you grew up on consoles, it’s a great way to revisit the past and also a great way to play older games which got stuck on their consoles generation, forever lost to time and eBay scalpers.

Some games.

As for good games to get you started on the Steam Deck, first:

• Aperture Desk Job is an absoute must. I am pretty sure it should be included with the Steam Deck, but I don’t remember if it was, but it’s a free, short, and unique game made by Valve specifically for this machine. It will show you everything this machine can do and familiarize yourself with every aspect of controls from the small trackpads to the gyro controls.

• If you want good examples of good optimization, I strongly recommend you get the Spider-Man game by Insomniac. I will also strongly recommend you to buy its “sequel” (it’s more of an expansion standalone game), Miles Morales, which to me, while shorter, improves on basically every aspect of the base game.

• The Steam Deck is also perfect for playing older games which you may have never got around the playing. I played BioShock on it for the first time this year entirely on the Steam Deck from beginning to end. It can feel a bit dated here and there, but I can also tell you that its reputation is well earned.

• Speaking of all the games you’d never played before, I doubt you haven’t played them. For some reason I feel like you probably did, but if you haven’t, I strongly recommend you to play the entirety of the Half-Life 2 Trilogy on this thing. It’s been optimized for it with new menus and everything.

• A Short Hike is as short as it sounds like, but it is a really memorable title. It’s relaxing, it’s hilarious and it’s simply adorable. It’s a gem.

• Terraria may not look like it at first, but it is surprisingly well optimized for the Steam Deck. It’s amazing, and if you haven’t played it, you will probably figure out eventually why this game has such a cult following. There are really good reasons as to why this is one of the highest-rated games on Steam.

• Vampire Survivor. Because of course. I feel like at this point, it’s practically illegal to own a Steam Deck and not have this game on it.

• Reventure is a fun and creative title. I honestly don’t have much to say about it. It’s really fun, really creative, really cheap. Quite funny. I loved it, and I can only recommend it. Don’t try and look up guides for this game. That would be ruining the fun.

• I haven’t finished it. But Spiritfarer It is a beautiful game, not only visually, but in its theme too. It’s a game about death and moving on from past traumas. It’s emotional, it’s funny, it’s creative, it’s just full of heart. I can promise that you will get attached to every character, but I can guarantee you that you will get attached to some, and that you will promise yourself that you won’t cry, but you fucking will! And you will love it.

• There is nothing quite like The Long Dark. You may believe you played survival games before, but this one is entirely different. I cannot recommend this enough. You really have to play it to get it. In a sea of bad and generic survival games, this one stands out as being serene to the point of being therapeutic while also being able to be ruthless and terrifying. This game isn’t particularly hard to run, but however, it doesn’t seem to like the Steam Deck very much? The frame rate is oddly unstable so I would recommend you to lock it at 30, then it won’t move at all it will be perfectly locked. It’s an issue that needs fixing.

I will conclude with this, the Steam Deck is not your PC with a 4090 in it. This is a low powered handheld machine. If I were you, I wouldn’t expect it to be reliable when it comes to newer AAA games. And that’s not only due to the power these game demands, but also to the absolutely dog shit optimization we seem to get with them nowadays.

I found that the Steam Deck is a perfect machine for me to expand my horizons. So my final recommendation would be for you to look towards indie games in general. These will be the best for the Steam Deck, but you may also find that these will be the best in general.

Have fun! :3

What’s not easy about Signal, though? :c

So, if WhatsApp eventually fails, can we accept for at least just this once, to move on to something that is not proprietary and owned by a large company, please? Please, for the love of everything can we please for once move on to something that is open source and for just this once not repeat the same fucking mistake over and over again?

I am not interested in the slightest into this game. If you’re waiting for a proper GTA game, you probably won’t be getting it. This is GTA Online 2.0 and nothing else. Don’t be fooled. This is the only thing that Take-Two cares about now and this is what it will be.

You will get your single player because of course but I wouldn’t be expecting much from it. I’m expecting something that probably won’t hit as hard as previous entries did. GTA V was already large step down from GTA IV. I’m expecting a very basic single player game with very basic lukewarm social satire.

This game will be primarily focused on GTA Online, and I know you’re going to tell me that GTA 5 was like that, but I don’t think they expected to make as much money as they did from it. This one though, they know they will and therefore they will have focused everything on it to make it an even larger money maker.

If you don’t believe me, I invite you to take a look at Red Dead Redemption 2, which was an amazing game with an amazing single player, but they tried to make money from the online component and didn’t manage to do so, and therefore look at what happened to that game. The online component and therefore its community has been completely abandoned, and that game is now buried in the older generations of console, forever stuck at 30 FPS with medium to lox textures.

We will never get a next-gen update of RDR2 and we will never get another game like GTA 4. GTA 6 will be the absolute final boss of live service games. And even with a stick, I’m not touching that one.

So, I haven’t watched this yet but I just wanted to say this. I opened this video in an isolated, private tab. I’m not logged in, this is the algorithm in it’s default state. And litteraly the first video YouTube recommends me on the right of this one is a one hour and twenty-one minutes video called “Spider-Man 2 is Disgusting, Woke Propaganda”. YouTube’s default recommandation are still horrendously fucked and immediatly sends you to far right content…

If this ever comes out and you actually put your money in it, you deserve whatever fuckery happens to it. I’m sorry, but I’m completely out of empathy for Musk’s fans.

Intel is evidently not paying attention.

People getting scamed is awful and all but… I’m sorry, this is really creeping towards the edge of my empathy here. At some point, it’s kind of like natural selection.

Rebranding Twitter, one of the most recognizable brand on earth, to “X” is not just shooting yourself in the foot, it’s taking a shotgun, aiming at your feet and pulling the trigger.

I’m gonna be honest, I never really understood what it did. The difference between fullscreen and windowed mode is kind of obvious, but borderless? I get what it does, it’s like windowed mode but borderless and it can take the whole screen. But then why not just make it fullscreen? I don’t understand it.

And especially when apparently some games run better with it? Which… I don’t know, I just don’t understand it.

So this is my own post, but I’m still gonna comment on it because I have something else.

AI Bots support for multiplayer games.

It’s become quite a rarity but it used to be… I wouldn’t say standard, but common in older games and I really miss it.

Sometimes I really enjoy the gameplay loop of a multiplayer game but I just don’t want to play it in multiplayer. There is too much pressure. Counter-Strike is a good example of that. I like the gameplay loop. I like the game but I spent a ton of my time playing it offline against bots on custom maps.

It’s not exactly the same as playing with real players. I know they don’t behave the same. But speaking of not behaving the same, at least I don’t have to be worried of being insulted or anything if I make a mistake. There is much less pressure to succeed in games like this which I find fun. It’s often hard to play online because it’s all pressure and no fun for me.

Programming decent AI bots is complicated I know that which is why it’s probably as rare as it is nowadays but I still miss it there has been too many games that I loved that simply died and I can’t play anymore because there is no bot supports on it. I would love to be able to play my favorite game like for example, a Battlefield 1 game with 63 other bots that can pilot vehicles and do all of the things that real players would do.

That’s why I love Ravenfield. But yeah, how many games have died and how many gameplay loop do we miss and can never play again because it would require actual players and there was never any proper bot support implemented?

I can think of a few and actually one of them is Star Wars Battlefront 2015 which had some sort of AI bot implemented but it used a very different kind of AI. They don’t move like actual players. They have completely different animations and behaviors and what’s worse is that they have a really nasty tendency to focus on the player. Which means that on some maps and some difficulty you come out of a hallway, out on the outside part of the map, and all of a sudden every bottom of the map, every starship is firing at you. Because you’re the priority target.

Battlefront 2 2017 eventually implemented instant action and did it much better. Sadly I prefer the gameplay loop of the 2015 game by a lot. Oh well.

If you like me, buy Ravenfield on Steam. It’s not a game that happens to have bot support. It’s actually a game that is completely built around this. It’s not just a feature, it’s the point of the game, and I love it for it.