I actually respect him for that. He ended the clusterfuck of the Third Century which is in itself a great accomplishment, attempted to stabilize the empire (and more or less succeeded) and retired peacefully. I’m the first to lament that our political class is too old and detached from reality, I’m not going to fault a politician who actually decided to step aside and entrust the future to younger people.

Some of his reforms were more successful than others, and some were bad even without the benefit of hindsight, but at least he tried and seemed to genuinely care about improving and stabilizing an empire on the brink of collapse. I give him a 5/10.

Minecraft started as a building game, NMS started as an open-world sandbox, or is it an aesthetic planetarium? Does that mean expecting good dogfights is unwarranted?

It’s a sandbox exploration/crafting game, not a combat/flight sim game. The survival aspect in Minecraft is barebones and monsters are stupid and useless, so what? Why is Minecraft “crystal clear” about being a “building game with a survival element” but you still insist on NMS being a “space game”? What does space game even mean? Can’t two space games provide different experiences, a different focus on different mechanics, or is good dogfighting a prerequisite to all space games?

Would you please check their original promotional material on what they are selling?

I did. I could count the number of SECONDS space battles featured in their pre-release trailers on one hand. The major focus was always on exploring planets, taking in the sights and gathering resources.

Because it is a common tactic for NMS fans to claim others have “different expectations”, which you have done twice already.

I’m not a NMS fan. I think the game sucked. I hate sandboxes.

You, however, had different expectations.

You can always press S to win.

Don’t do that? I recently replayed the remastered versions of the old PS1 Final Fantasy games, and they have built-in cheat codes (press left and right stick to turn on God mode). I didn’t do that and played the game normally.

Thanks for proving my point.

You are strangely confrontational for some reason. But anyway, my point was that the game is, and always has been, exploration first, and everything else is complementary to the main gameplay loop. You were setting your expectations up for some sort of grand RPG dogfight game that never was, and are now telling us that it’s HG’s fault.

I don’t know exactly what you mean with “functional dogfights […] with functional AI”, but from the looks of it, it’s there already:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=djIOoTjayKs

There are also different factions in the game that the player can interact with and gain/lose reputation. According to the wiki, entertaining relationships with the in-game factions net the following benefits:

• Availability of certain blueprints to purchase.
• Faction specific dialogue options.
• Possibility to start missions, which require a minimum faction standing.
• High standing will grant the player aid at times when under attack by pirates.
• Discounts on technology modules in Space Stations.

Maybe it’s not as in-depth as you (and I) wish it was, but it’s there already.

Your argument is that the game doesn’t fit its “space tropes”, but somehow that’s not you having different expectations than what it was actually promised and delivered?

I like Minecraft, MC is crystal clear about what it is trying to be: a building game first with an open world and survival element.

I cannot say the same with NMS and its space tropes and exploration loop.

Sounds to me like you had different expectations and are saying that it’s somehow the game’s fault.

Instead of completely changing the game into something else, they opted to add features that complement the original gameplay loop, and lots of people love what the game has to offer.

There’s nothing wrong with not liking NMS, and as I said, I don’t like it either, but I wouldn’t say that the game doesn’t fit the promises made just because you don’t like it. From what I remember, they promised a sandbox game with a big universe and tons of planets to explore along with your friends. NMS currently has that, plus base building, ship customization, and more. All these systems are subservient to the main gameplay loop of going to planet -> gathering resources -> building more stuff, but it’s like that for every sandbox game. I don’t like Minecraft and Factorio either, but like, it’s my opinion. NMS never promised a 10 hrs story driven experience and cinematic cutscenes.

A redemption arc implies fucking up in the first place and working to rectify the previous mistakes.

They lied and the game was missing a lot of features at launch, but now all those features (and more) are in the game, which is still being updated for free a decade later.

I don’t like the game, and I wish the devs acted differently so that a redemption arc wasn’t needed in the first place, but it is what it is. The devs worked their asses off, the game is now playable and feature complete and is still being updated, and from the looks of it Hello Games have learned from their mistakes and are not promising the moon for their next game.

This. If you like someone, go straight to the point!

… Well, straight may not be the correct wording for this specific situation, but still.

I hunt down achievements when I enjoy the game and the achievements sound fun and not busywork. If it’s interesting side quests, minigames, or fun challenges, I almost always do them. I also like playing at max difficulty when it’s fair.

If it’s about going through a checklist to collect 100 feathers or spending 50 hours learning the entire game by heart to complete some hardcore challenge, I’d rather do something else with my time.

The Batbarian

In a world of subscription services, Bandcamp’s a breath of fresh air. You pay, you own it. You can download it and store it wherever you want and play it to your heart’s content. Their cut is reasonable and the artists are well paid, it feels great to own stuff and reward the people making it.

There’s so much love in those eyes. My condolences, I hope that wherever it is now, your dog is chewing on bones to its heart content.

I’ve lost two dogs and I’m not sure I want a third one yet. It’s been ten years but I still dream of them once or twice a month. I like to imagine it’s their way to keep me company :)

But what about Cicero’s Epistulae? Checkmate, res publicans!

What is this blabbering about elections and change? Back in the good old days, we only had one consul and we liked it!

Politics? In my Rough Roman Memes? It’s more likely than you think.

I’ve never seen a bunny wearing underwear before going to bed, so it checks out!

You are still appreciated!

I believe it was a joke holiday created by a relatively unknown author to promote her book, but honestly, I’m just here for the fun of it :D

Would pet!