overview for stphven

FOSS alternative to Google Keep in c/selfhosted

[–] stphven 4 points 1 week ago

I had similar experiences with Joplin. Would randomly lose quite a lot of data, and exporting to other formats was a hassle. I also cannot recommend.

Are there games with real collision detection? in c/games

[–] stphven 25 points 2 weeks ago

To add another point to the discussion: a lot (the majority?) of "fake" collision detection isn't there because of hardware limitations. It's there by design.

Take a look at 2d platformers. They're about as computationally simple as you can get. Yet they're still full of "unrealistic" physics. Coyote time, double jumping, air control, collision boxes that don't match the sprite, gravity isn't consistent, you don't stagger if you slam into the wall or floor, etc, etc. This is on purpose, because realistic does not mean fun. "Realism" is not a magical word that makes games better.

There have been games where, to use your example, your character's sword bounces off anything it hits, rather than clipping through. The reason most games choose not to do this is because it's usually pretty annoying. The game's intended experience is most often to let you play as a badass experienced warrior. The kind of person who doesn't fumble their blows.

Realism is just another tool in the designer's toolbox. An example of more "realistic" physics being used deliberately is Shadow of the Colossus. If you swing your sword at a wall, it bounces off, and your character staggers back clumsily. This is because the game is specifically about playing a character who is not a badass, but an inexperienced nobody.

Why there are few video games other than Smite that have almost all of the known mythological pantheons? in c/gaming

[–] stphven 0 points 1 month ago

On the same note, the target audience is mostly white dudes. It's a lot easier to sell them the fantasy of playing as / fighting against Thor, Zeus, or Hercules than it is to get them excited about some character they've never heard of and can't even pronounce the name.

My players decided to try summoning an elder god in order to gain immortality in Call of Cthulhu. Your best ideas for how this will inevitably go horribly wrong? in c/[email protected]

[–] stphven 16 points 1 month ago (2 children)

The bad news: Summoning an entire elder god is hard. They end up summoning one of the innumerable lesser horrors in the elder god's orbit.

The good news: The summoned entity is going to grant them immortality.

The bad news: The players will experience an eternity of never-ending horror and torment.

The good news: Since it's just a (relatively) lesser entity, the players actually have a slim chance of ending this curse, returning to blissful mortality.

How do you buy hololive music? in c/hololive

[–] stphven 3 points 2 months ago

I've had the same issue. I'd like to support the artists, but the music is only available as physical media or for streaming on sites I can't use or don't want to give money to.

My current plan is to support them by buying unrelated digital merch, such as voice packs. Though if too many people do this it will distort with their metrics, so it's not a great solution.

10

Party roles (self.valheim)

submitted 3 months ago by stphven to c/valheim

4 comments fedilink

I'm a veteran of several different groups, hoping to start a large new group of mostly new players. One issue I had in previous groups was players not knowing what they should be doing at any given time. There were also disagreements about base design, with everyone having their own opinion and no easy way of choosing one over the other.

One solution I'm considering for this next group is to have each player take on a specific role or two. This would give them clear goals and responsibilities, and would give each player the final say over their respective domain. This is more or less how we ended up playing during my last game, but just providing the roles earlier and more explicitly.

Beastmaster - Builds and manages the animal pens. Tames and breeds wildlife, providing a steady supply of meat.
Brewer - Builds and manages the beehives and fermenters. Provides a steady stream of mead and honey.
Chef - Builds and manages the kitchen. Provides a steady supply of cooked food.
Expedition Leader - Builds and manages the cart and portal hub. Ensures supplies needed for expeditions are conveniently placed near portals. Carries extra supplies to distribute while on expeditions.
Farmer - Builds and manages the farm. Provides a steady supply of crops.
Harbourmaster - Builds and manages ships and the dock. Keeps ships repaired; ensures party has supplies needed to craft ship, when relevant.
Lord of Festivities - Builds and manages the grand hall (room for max comfort). Organises fun and silly events. Adds flourishes to the base.
Lumbermaster - Plants trees and harvests wood. Provides a steady supply of wood of different kinds.
Miner - Builds and manages mining outposts. Provides a steady supply of stone and metal ore.
Pathfinder - Builds and manages roads, bridges, and the cartography table. Explores new lands, marks resources and locations of interest, forages while on the go.
Quartermaster - Builds and manages the storage area. Keeps materials sorted and well labelled.
Smith - Builds and manages the workshop and forge. Produces a steady supply of coal and refined metal.
Watchmaster - Builds and manages base defenses. Responsible for defense during raids, and protecting the party during expeditions.

How does your group share responsibilities? Do you have explicit or implicit roles? Any others you'd add to the list?

Note: I know these roles aren't equally difficult or complex, but that's ok - some players like simple jobs, while others like the advanced or time consuming stuff.

Elf-san wa Yaserarenai. • Plus-Sized Elf - Episode 1 discussion in c/[email protected]

[–] stphven 6 points 5 months ago (1 children)

I wonder if it's just a throwaway production hoping to go viral? I used to see a lot of art from the manga in a sort of "yo wtf is this? lol" kind of way. Maybe they're banking on that meme potential, hoping it will be sufficiently attention grabbing to get people talking?