fulg

it’s not an optimization if you don’t measure an improvement.

This, so much. I often see this at work, theories about this and that being slow, or how something new « should » be better. As the resident code elder I often get to reply « why don’t you measure and find out »…

For some reason it seems nobody uses sampling profilers anymore, those tell you exactly where the time is spent, you don’t have to guess from a trace. Optimizing code is kind of a lost art.

Sometimes I wish compilers were better at data cache optimization, I work with C++ all the time but all of it needs to be done by hand (for example SoA vs AoS…). On the upside, I kind of have a good job security, at least until I retire.

It is exactly my case, as HomeKit by itself is way too limited for automations.

All of my HomeKit devices are actually exposed through HomeBridge, so I can still use HomeKit stuff if needed, and devices that do not support HomeKit can still be added to HomeKit.

My current challenge is on the Smart Dashboard side, I don’t really want to buy a Google Pixel Tablet for this, and the Nest Hubs I have don’t really integrate with HomeAssistant except through Google cloud services.

HomeKit dashboard is fine but too basic.

I am not convinced bots would fill the list with hypothetical purchases, I don’t think scalpers are interested in waiting or having money tied up in backorders.

The point is to eliminate the scalper advantage by ensuring one can buy the product « at some point ». If you need it by Christmas or whatever then you are kind of screwed.

I remember for the SteamDeck OLED, stock was enabled in waves over at least a month, so even though the first batch was sold out in minutes, there was no rush to refresh the store page to try and finish the transaction before it ran out. This is in direct contrast to (say) the PS5 which sold out in minutes then still wasn’t available anywhere over a year after it launched.

I don’t really understand how Valve solved the problem, it should have followed the same pattern of being sold out in minutes then scalpers would be the only option for months, but interestingly that’s not what happened.

It seems everyone forgot that not too long ago, you could back order something and the store would call/ship whenever they got it.

Just let me give you my credit card number in exchange for a spot in the waiting list, then the scalpers lose and I get my new launch thing whenever they get around to it. But no, that would be too simple, gotta get the crowd riled up and race for the available units!

I suppose this could be abused like everything else but it wouldn’t be worse than what we have now with fucking scalpers buying up the little stock that trickles in via automated bots.

It’s not about getting your fix sooner for the new shiny, sometimes you really need a new GPU to replace the one you’ve had for 5 years! Why should you settle for the previous generation if the new one just came out and you are willing to pay launch MSRP for that privilege (not 2-3x MSRP for scalpers!!).

It was the same for me, eventually I uncovered too many scenes at once so I was constantly going over the same scenes without progressing, there were too many possibilities and even guessing failed. Perhaps I should just start over.

I was in a similar boat (heh!) with Outer Wilds, eventually I stopped progressing and gave up, the repetition without discovery wasn’t fun anymore.

It just makes me feel like I am too stupid for these games? And that’s no fun.

I need to hunt down HZD out of storage, looks like the disc must be in the drive to get the upgrade pricing for the remaster.

No fast travel, now that is some dedication :) I know it usually pays off to walk everywhere especially in the beginning (at the very least you pick up resources that you’ll need anyway), but sometimes I just don’t want to.

Hey! I wanted to tell you that I came back to HFW after all due to your comment. I had logged 48 hours on it before I left, but was only 30% complete according to the PS5 dashboard.

I found that I liked the atmosphere, but it is definitely a slow game most of the time. So much filler dialogue between characters, puzzles are instantly spoiled by Aloy talking to herself way too soon before you’ve had a chance to work through them (God of War Ragnarok is also guilty of this).

And then there is the fact that Aloy will constantly put her life at risk at the slightest opportunity given by a stranger, even though story-wise she is literally the only one who can fix the Earth.

That being said I play the game in a particular way, I go through all missions (main or side) in the order of their level, and I tend to prefer the stealth approach to most fights. So this does slow down the game quite a bit. I think I am halfway through?

The overall vibe is really nice though, I might make it to the end this time. I’ve even put Burning Shores on my wish list!

Cheers!

I loved HZD so much on PS4, it is a great world, really good sci-fi story and awesome character progression. It feels so good to easily take down machines that you struggle with at the beginning, it never gets old to tear off parts and weapons to use against them. The DLC for it was a great addition.

Needless to say I jumped into Horizon Forbidden West as soon as it was released, and it did not live up to my expectations! The second go around everything feels so forced, I gave up midway through.

Solid recommendations throughout this thread…

I was being a bit facetious, thanks for the corrections and insight. Cheers!

They became a poster child for why you should never “start over from scratch” even if your current codebase is awful. Because when you do that your competitors keep going, then they have years on your now stale product. Netscape lost all on their own…

Also: selling a browser? Man, the 90’s where wild.

I look forward to the delay announcement in two years.

Same for me, though I did splurge a bit ($150 I think) to get the game on a USB key shaped like one of the starships in the game. I will never get that USB key…

If they ever get done I will consider spending more time with it, I don’t really care for early access into an unfinished game.

I should have asked for a refund when we had the chance…