I’d love to see it being used by enemies so they’re challenging without cheating, though.

This is a different sort of problem that’s outside the scope of generative AI. Making a computer opponent that can kick a human player’s ass is technology we’ve had since Deep Blue beat Garry Kasparov in 1997.

The problem isn’t actually making a computer that’s challenging, that’s been solved. The problem is that it won’t be any fun for the human if the computer is actually allowed to go all out, if Kasparov couldn’t win in 97 then you sure as hell aren’t winning today. But it also won’t be any fun if you nerf it too badly, low level chess bots are weird. The sweet spot isn’t just a matter of difficulty either, the nearly unsolveable part is getting it to play in a way that feels like a realistic human opponent.

And that’s just from a turn-based game, kinda the closest thing to a level playing field humans were ever gonna get. For any game played in real time, the computer is able to treat it like it’s being played at 60 turns per second. Is it “cheating” for the computer to have perfect reflexes, but otherwise still be following the rules of the game perfectly? How would you even try to take this away from the computer to make it see games the way humans do?

Generative AI doesn’t have any kind of solution for any of this. ChatGPT famously can’t play chess, at all. It’s a different type of AI that really can’t have any useful application here.

Kubuntu is part of Ubuntu. I don’t see why it would need to be mentioned separately that badly.

Each episode just gets cuter than the last.

Attempting to actually explain away how food disappears and how he can make his clothes disappear felt a little silly. But I suppose it’s a silly show to begin with, so I’ll allow it.

I like that they didn’t go the obvious route of pairing up Jarashi and Daichi. Now that I think about it, it’s rare to see a queer couple outside of explicitly yaoi/yuri works, just as secondary supporting characters that don’t need to be the focus.

You’ll never convince diehard MAGA true believers. But it’s worth recognizing that that’s not all Trump voters, it’s not even the majority of them. Swing voters can always swing back the other way.

You can really only talk to those who are on the fence and willing to listen. If they’re not willing to listen, don’t waste your breath.

For those who are willing to listen, start with why they voted for Trump to begin. Many voters in this country were struggling to make ends meet and didn’t feel like the Biden administration was doing enough for them, so they were desperate for change. Trump preyed on that desperation, told them that it’s all immigrants’ fault, it’s trans people’s fault, it’s woke’s fault, it’s whatever scapegoat he blames next’s fault, so if you vote for him he’ll own the libs to Make America Great Again. A lot of people voted for him because they felt unheard by establishment politicians and were desperate enough to believe a con man who sounded like the only person in the room actually speaking to their fears.

If they are willing to have the conversation, get to the root of those fears. Ask if Trump has actually made their lives better. Attempt to deprogram anything directed to the scapegoats he blames it on. Try to pivot to Democratic policies that actually can help in tangible ways.

But again, I cannot stress this enough, this can only get through to people who are open to listening in the first place. If you try to preach at people who are not, they will dig their heels in deeper. Pick your battles carefully, figure out who is worth talking to.

I heard puzzle games and am legally obligated to shill Petal Crash (and it’s upcoming sequel). It’s a great accessible entry point into versus puzzles, and tbh it’s practically the only good thing to happen to the genre in a decade or so.

Can also check out Panel Attack as a FOSS clone of Panel de Pon, and FightCade for emulating all kinds of classics with netplay.

The original Xbox is older now than Super Mario Bros 3 was when the Xbox came out.

Almost twice as old, actually.

Canvas Curse might not be retro

Canvas Curse is older now than Dream Land was when Canvas Curse came out.

Miyamoto and Sakurai envisioned the original Kirby’s Dream Land as a My First Game for beginners. That was an explicit design goal for the game.

That said, many of the games do have some harder postgame challenges tucked away. In fact that too dates all the way back to Dream Land’s Extra Game that can be accessed by Up+A+Select on the title screen. Extra Game is arguably still not that hard, but it does set some precedent for what’s to come in later titles.

Super Star put a bigger focus on this with The Arena, a rather long boss rush gauntlet combining every boss from every preceding sub-game, with limited healing. The remake, Super Star Ultra, adds new sub-games that pretty much pick up where the original’s difficulty curve left off - the original Super Star starts with Spring Breeze, a condensed retelling of Dream Land, and SSU’s new content starts with Revenge of the King, a remix based on Dream Land’s Extra Game. Then SSU ends with The True Arena, incorporating all the new content, including harder versions of the original bosses and a new True Final Boss.

Super Star Ultra pretty much set the tone for modern Kirby after that. Return to Dream Land, Triple Deluxe, and Planet Robobot all feature a direct reprise of both The Arena and The True Arena, the latter incorporating other postgame challenges from those games, and all of which culminate in their own True Final Boss.

Also, for a self-imposed challenge, you can always try playing without copy powers.

https://wikirby.com/wiki/Difficulty
https://wikirby.com/wiki/Extra_Mode

It really depends on what kinds of games you want to play. The AAA industry is largely a mess these days, but it’s not like those are the only games that exist.

I built my PC on a modest budget several years ago, and it’s still overkill for my favorite 2D indie games. Setting up Steam shouldn’t be difficult, nor should downloading from itch.io.

I bought a Switch 2 at launch, and that’s pretty much just plug and play.

Emulation is a bit more tinker-y to set up, but it’s really not too hard to get a nice library of classics at your fingertips.

Caught up on Spy x Family S3. This was the comfort food show I needed after a rough week at work.

Frieren S2 is finally here, and I don’t even need to say anything more. It’s Frieren.

I have a bit of a soft spot for representations of disability in media, so The Invisible Man and his Soon-to-Be Wife caught my attention. I’d heard that the mangaka worked closely with a local school for the visually impaired to research the depiction of a blind MC, and it definitely looks like she did her homework. Adorably sweet and fluffy, might give me diabetes.

Also started on Legendary Gambler Tetsuya (2000). First hand and I’m already complaining that they can somehow make complete reads just a few turns in with so little visible information on the table. But this is how every mahjong anime/manga goes, it’s an entirely different game when characters can draw whatever tile the author wants them to draw, so fine fine I’ll suspend my disbelief. But then you have the whole bit about them improperly shuffling and then keeping track of tiles that got flipped over, and that’s driving me wild because they simply shouldn’t be getting away with not shuffling correctly. You never put a face-up tile in your wall, flip it back over and gently reshuffle a bit more. Call the other players out if they do this. Can’t even use the fiction excuse for that one, just no.

I imagine it’s something that could fetch a high price to the right buyer, but actually finding that buyer might not be trivial. How long would they be carrying around their own Kryptonite before they can pawn it off?

Also, one detail that did stand out to me here is the way Frieren seems a lot more casual about it, as someone with a much more academic interest in magic she views it as another novelty. But Fern seems a lot more genuinely terrified, as someone who feels like she needs magic to survive. She’s trembling when she can’t detect mana in the cave, and when Stark grabs her she starts fidgeting with her bracelet to try and calm her nerves.

And honestly, Fern being afraid is a good enough reason for Frieren and Stark not to push the matter any further.

Trying to convince people I know to join the Fediverse is like, well, it’s a lot like trying to convince people to switch to Linux. They’re not gonna do it and I’ll look like a jackass if I talk about it too much.

If there was an easy way to grow this platform overnight, we’d be doing it. Reality is there’s no shortcut, all we can do is continue building community with the people who are here and hope that we see some slow and steady incremental growth.

I primarily used reddit for niche hobbies and fandoms that have no equivalent here. Small userbase * niche special interest = I might possibly be the only person on this platform who’s into some of my hyperfixations.

With a large enough critical mass, more users can hopefully mean more shared interests to talk about.

First you said the courts will hold ICE accountable, now you’re saying they won’t.

No, he loves pingas. Smh fake fan learn the lore.

The courts aren’t holding ICE accountable. A woman was murdered in cold blood and nothing is being done about it.

Violet Evergarden: The Movie. My heart sank when I realized exactly where this was going, after all of her character development that’s the ending they decided to undermine it all with.

They shouldn’t be allowed onto the platform at all. Don’t verify them, ban them.

Peak, as expected.

I feel like the cave of mana-suppressing crystals could’ve been an arc unto itself. We just came off of an arc where Stark had to be sidelined, and in general we really haven’t seen all that much of a physical class’s role.

Loved the ED. I’m always a sucker for more doodle-y animation.

Can you clarify what you mean by ‘authentically “modern leftist”’? There are a lot of people on this platform who identify as leftists, but I have no idea what you mean by 'authentically “modern leftist” here. I can’t answer your question because I’m not even sure what you’re really asking.

Posting such a vaguely defined question from a brand new account with no post history feels rather trollish.