Or, and apparently this is crazy these days - I can just use a file that’s in a format appropriate to what I’m trying to do, compatible with the simpler offline app it was made for, and then just use a more general purpose syncing method whether online or sneakernet if I need to do some kind of data transfer - as opposed to accumulating an ever expanding collection of server stacks that are just redundantly doing the same kind of thing anyway while needlessly adding an insane amount of attack surface.

The thing that I hate about self-hosting is that a lot of apps that could just be a plain offline thing are instead being designed to be super bloated server-docker things. Databases are not reasonably portable data formats.

There’s a disturbing lack of Phantasy Star Portable 1 & 2 in this thread.

Also want to second Rock Band Unplugged because it has similar gameplay to the ps2 game Amplitude.

Was looking to see if anyone recommended this one. Very simple game, but the action and progression are really addictive.

If GOG just hired one full time intern to go ahead and bake Proton into their platform so they could have Linux support that isn’t completely broken, I’d probably start getting more games on their platform again.

Edit: Oh, looks like it’s on the way. Maybe I’d better start wishlisting.

So I should probably buy the original Fallout 3 before they delist it on Steam?

This trend of companies slapping a new coat of paint on old games just to resell it is annoying. Having to rebuy the same game repeatedly is something I was hoping to get away from when I stopped buying consoles.

I would love it if someone made a modernized successor to BG2. Real-time with pause. Probably something other than D&D 2.x - then again maybe something based on an osr ttrpg ruleset could be interesting (look, I just don’t like thac0). At least a full 6 member party, and full party control.

You say that as if piracy isn’t just a few clicks away.

We need free software advocates to get a chance to step into this ring. If we could push for a requirement that companies release the source code for their game engines, and public domain them - while still allowing them to retain copyrights of content assets, it absolves them of the responsibility of having to put more work into ensuring the game remains playable, while still giving fans what they need to make it continue to be playable. It also means players would still have to buy the game to play it, unless a total conversion existed.

The main complication with that route would be 3rd party middleware. They could just be exempt from release requirements, but that would place a rather large burden on fans for having to make alternatives to that middleware to make a game playable.

I can’t think of anything that fully scratches the same itch. There are a lot of games that do certain things better than Skyrim, and everyone here has already recommended them. But Skyrim really nailed that immersive sim vibe. It didn’t just feel like a game I wanted to play, it is one I want to inhabit and keep coming back to.

Oddly, the closest thing I could think of that scratches a similar, but not same, itch would be farming sims like Stardew Valley or something.

Wish I could care but I never got to play Destiny 2 since they never supported Linux. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

I’ll do a replay of the original Marathon in honor of old-Bungie. 🍷

Yeah admittedly building still largely has the best price to performance ratio. This is why I have never been able to bring myself to buy a gaming laptop even though I really want one. Too many compromises for too high of a price.

Depending on what the next Steam Machine is like, and how it’s priced, I still might build my own again. I would only get the former if they price it really competitively. But if it’s too much, I might hold off on buying a new system all together until something breaks with all these price raises.

Yup, when that became mandatory on all consoles, I stopped buying consoles.

I got disenchanted with PC building after my first and last build. It had benefits, like being able to buy one component at a time instead of spending a bunch at once (except now it’s spending a bunch many times to build). Reparability is nice too.

But my issue is that despite getting what were some of the best components at the time, I’m at a place where virtually every part needs an upgrade, so I may as well build a whole new PC, and why bother if that’s the case?

If the upcoming Steam Machine is less than $1000, I am probably getting one.

It’s time to bring back this stuff!

This is also exactly my problem with minimalist systems. That, and things being hardcoded in a way I don’t like and not having any reasonable recourse to change it.

My preferred dpad is the Xbox octagon style one. The main issue I have with most dpads is when pushing in on it causes the whole thing to press in as if it’s a button.

I hit the reservation button the very minute they opened up the second round. I’m still waiting for that second email to actually order a controller though.

Why am I doing this? I’m probably going to hate the dpad anyway.

It’s pretty rough trying to get by on 512 gb.

I mean it is pretty long in the tooth at this point, with a growing number of games that it is not powerful enough to run.