@CTD@mastodon.social
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CTD

@CTD@mastodon.social

Came to London from NZ in 1983 for 3 months work... Still in London. Ramble on about books, boardgames & basic nonsense. GameCenter/Twitch: Gleptoportus BGG: Christo

#nobridge

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Edent, to random
@Edent@mastodon.social avatar

🆕 blog! “The limits of General Purpose Computation”

Should my bank be able to block me from using their Android app, just because my phone is rooted? I'm reluctantly coming to the conclusion that... yeah, it's fair that they get to decide their own risk tolerance. Sage of the Internet, and general Sooth Sayer, Cory Doctorow once gave an impassioned…

👀 Read more: https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2023/05/the-limits-of-general-purpose-computation/
⸻

CTD,
@CTD@mastodon.social avatar

@Edent agree for banks. It’s kind of weird that some other apps won’t run, like TFL route planning.

CTD, to random
@CTD@mastodon.social avatar

Please do not put glasses on this surface.

Edent, to webdev
@Edent@mastodon.social avatar

🆕 blog! “Accents and eBooks”

By and large, the English language doesn't use diacritical marks. Even our loanwords are stripped of them; we drink in a cafe rather than the more pretentious café. This has a consequence for HTML and, by extension, eBooks. As a quick primer, modern computing gives us two main ways of displaying a letter with an […]

👀 Read more: https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2024/05/accents-and-ebooks/
⸻

CTD,
@CTD@mastodon.social avatar

@Edent The second dimension to this is to find a font for your ebook that supports these natively. My reader does show the correct glyph but if it isn’t present in the actual font it uses some kind of default and that is jarring.

atomicpoet, to random
@atomicpoet@atomicpoet.org avatar

Today, 65 games were released on Steam. These are the games I found most interesting:

I’m grouping all these games together because they’re re-releases in the same series.

Close Combat

Close Combat 2: A Bridge Too Far

Close Combat 3: The Russian Front

Close Combat 4: The Battle of the Bulge

Close Combat 5: Invasion: Normandy - Utah Beach to Cherbourg

  • this is a World War II simulator series, originally released in the 90s, each which is a tactical RTS
  • price: individually, each game is C$7.79, but there’s currently a -15% discount at C$6.62. You can also buy all games as part of a bundle, which has a regular price of C$38.95, but there’s currrently a -43% discount, available right now at C$22.20

I’m also grouping the following games together since they’re part of the same series:

Warlords I + II

Warlords III: Darklords Rising

  • a fantasy turn-based strategy series where empires struggle for supreme power
  • price: individually, each game is C$7.79, but there’s currently a -15% discount at C$6.62. You can also buy all games as part of a bundle, which has a regular price of C$15.58, but there’s currrently a -32% discount, available right now at C$10.60

Deep Beyond

  • a first person interactive thriller about a sea explorer and the mystery of her father’s disappearance, featuring low poly cell-shaded graphics with attractive dithering
  • gamepad supporded
  • price: C$6.49, but currently discounted -15% and selling for C$5.51

SMYS : Show Me Your Stairs

  • a party game where you race your friend to build a tower to the top – with almost reverse-Tetris gameplay
  • gamepad supported
  • shared/split screen PvP and co-op
  • demo download available
  • costumes and soundtrack available as DLC
  • price: C$13.99, but currently discounted -25% and selling for C$10.49

Baladins

  • a choose-your-own adventure 2D RPG with cute paper-like graphics
  • gamepad supported
  • online and shared/split screen co-op
  • price: C$32.50, but currently discounted -10% and selling for C$29.25

MULLET MADJACK

  • a cyberpunk boomer shooter FPS with low poly graphics inspired by anime
  • gamepad supported
  • demo download available
  • artbook and soundtrack available as DLC
  • price: C$25.95, but currently discounted -10% and selling for C$23.35

Squab

  • a 2D precision platformer starring a pigeon
  • gamepad supported
  • price: C$3.89

Banana Cowboy

  • a 3D platformer starring a banana cowboy in a fruit-themed unitiverse, rescuing people from your evil twin
  • price: FREE!

Cento

  • a rogue-like deckbuilder with rhythm characteristics, featuring pixel art graphics
  • gamepad supported
  • demo download available
  • price: C$12.99, but currently discounted -10% and selling for C$11.69

Wayfarer

  • an action-adventure game where you explore labyrinthine caves, featuring low poly graphics
  • price: C$1.29

Byte Hack

  • a 2D cyberpunk puzzle platformer about hacking your way through an infected computer tower, featuring 16-bit style pixel art graphics with CRT effects
  • gamepad supported
  • demo download available
  • price: C$6.49
CTD,
@CTD@mastodon.social avatar

@atomicpoet Ah. Warlords. So many memories. It was nicely balanced. There has been a very good iPad version for a few years so it is great to see it spread its wings!

CTD, to boardgames
@CTD@mastodon.social avatar

Trying to learn Flesh and Blood. The ninja was easy to play but second attempt with Illusionist met with crushing fail. Interesting TCG. As always you have to study the game to figure out best ways to play.

Pub cat tried to learn too.


CTD, to boardgames
@CTD@mastodon.social avatar

The second game that we attempted was Regicide, also from New Zealand. We even got to the first King in the third attempt before the inevitable occurred.


CTD, to random
@CTD@mastodon.social avatar

Through a porthole. Darkly.

CTD, to boardgames
@CTD@mastodon.social avatar

Get ready for the forthcoming sportsball tournaments

craiggrannell, to random
@craiggrannell@mastodon.social avatar

My wishlist:

  1. A switch in Settings to turn off the Home indicator.

That’s it. That’s the list.

CTD,
@CTD@mastodon.social avatar

@craiggrannell you given up on a switch to tell Photos to stop deciding to pause syncing for no reason?

CTD, to VideoGames
@CTD@mastodon.social avatar

There's a moment when all old things
Become new again
But that moment might have been here and gone
All I have and all I know
Is this dream of you
Which keeps me living on



CTD,
@CTD@mastodon.social avatar

@andycarolan heh. Children are all grown up and left home. Raphael did power up his recently to play Advance Wars 2. But mostly migrated to Switches now. Or mega PC for Helldivers 2…

CTD,
@CTD@mastodon.social avatar

@andycarolan Helldivers 2 is absolutely not my kind of game, I have terrible reflexes. But my son hangs out with a regular crew for co-operative chaos and comedy, having a great time. It does seem like an excellent platform for emergent gameplay.

craiggrannell, to random
@craiggrannell@mastodon.social avatar

UK media and govt heading down the same line. Regular attempts to ban smartphones for under 16s, which seems insane to me. What we should be doing is educating kids about how to use them (and the internet) better. Instead, it’s all “ban this stuff” until someone turns 16 or even 18. At which point, what? Everything at once, with no skills and insight how to deal with any of it? That doesn’t sound good to me.

From: @quinn
https://social.circl.lu/@quinn/112514979207612833

CTD,
@CTD@mastodon.social avatar

@craiggrannell @quinn hard agree. It’s hard not to be depressed or despairing at the state of the world. Let’s ban something that could be a help. Or a hindrance. But banning stuff always works, right?

craiggrannell, to random
@craiggrannell@mastodon.social avatar

Given that Meta responded to my AI opt-out request instantly, that’s gotta be automated. Probably, ironically, by some kind of ‘AI’.

CTD,
@CTD@mastodon.social avatar

@craiggrannell they must be hoping most people bail at the requirement to enter some text or don’t even get to that stage.

craiggrannell, (edited ) to Emulation
@craiggrannell@mastodon.social avatar

I see with RetroArch on iOS, the “ is illegal” rubbish has clawed its way back into the daylight. Emulators are legal. Yes, many files people load into them may not be legit but that doesn’t make the tech itself illegal any more than it makes e-readers, music players and video players illegal.

Maybe people should concentrate more on encouraging publishers to provide legal routes to play (and buy) old games than spreading rubbish about emulators.

CTD,
@CTD@mastodon.social avatar

@chrisphin @craiggrannell the whole LP, cassette, CD migration showed that people will buy things again in new wrapping. I certainly did. I would buy a digital version of some of these games in a flash if they wrapped it with a few extras, such as being able to trade between games. That might be too hard but the emulators are working on it.

CTD,
@CTD@mastodon.social avatar

@craiggrannell it’s so tedious. Keen to try the PSP emulator even though my PSP still works and I have the original UMD discs. Having no easy way to get the stuff off them though I may find the roms elsewhere. Mäster criminal, me.

CTD,
@CTD@mastodon.social avatar

@chrisphin @craiggrannell exactly. Emulating and playing games that are no longer on sale deprives exactly nobody of revenue or livliehood.

CTD,
@CTD@mastodon.social avatar

@chrisphin @craiggrannell I do understand however that the legal issues in republishing these kinds of games is absolutely fraught. Getting the rights to the music the art and other elements alongside the game can be next to impossible.

CTD, to boardgames
@CTD@mastodon.social avatar

Tried the reworked Starship Catan and apart from a few dodgy component choices it seems a worthwhile update. Particularly as our old copy was getting quite worn. I actually performed worse than I ever have and only got to 4 VP before Raphael won.

CTD,
@CTD@mastodon.social avatar

@andycarolan That is it. It is a reworking of an earlier game. This is streamlined slightly. We played the original a lot over the years

CTD,
@CTD@mastodon.social avatar

@andycarolan Saturday and Sunday worked OK for me, being with a couple of friends really helped maintain sanity and momentum. Early Saturday it was possible to browse the stands a bit, then we retreated to Hall 3 and played games. Sunday was busy but it was possible to approach stalls more comfortably. Downside would be that lots of stuff was sold out by then. That was the only copy of Starfarers Duel I saw all show - granted it is a niche product of course compared to other big titles.

CTD,
@CTD@mastodon.social avatar

@andycarolan this is somewhat atypical in the Catan universe. Would definitely suggest the family edition or even regular base game

CTD, to boardgames
@CTD@mastodon.social avatar

Looking forward to trying this mini expansion for Forest Shuffle, which apparently addresses some of the balance issues with those wolf and deer combos. Oh, and also a sweet little promo card.


CTD, to boardgames
@CTD@mastodon.social avatar

A good day at UKGE yesterday. Wandered about. Looked at exhibits, purchased a few small items, met up with friends, played some games, including

Pax Pamir (Second Edition);
Die of the Dead;
Colt Express;
Gorus Maximus;
Skulls of Sedlec;
Quartermaster General Cold War (spectator)

CTD,
@CTD@mastodon.social avatar

@andycarolan yes. Today maybe look more at the stands rather than play games as hopefully slightly less crowded

CTD, to boardgames
@CTD@mastodon.social avatar

UKGE games played summary below. Event itself was intense but rewarding.

Saturday extremely busy and we hunkered down in the gaming area mostly to avoid the throngs. Sunday was calmer and we spent more time slowly visiting the various booths and occasionally gaming. After nine year hiatus, I think I probably would go again next year. We shall see.


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