I give it three months after launch before we hear it is closing. These games just don’t take off like they want.
I give it three months after launch before we hear it is closing. These games just don’t take off like they want.
There are two 4k capable scalers announced for retro games:
There is also the OSSC Pro, but the details are sparse and we haven’t had too many updates about it.
PixelFX has lost any and all respect that I had for them and almost made me want to sell my PS1Digital modded system just to be rid of owning anything they’ve touched. Their announcement video for the Retro GEM took the piss on Digital Foundry by doing a cringe-inducing “parody” called “Digital Infidelity” and was wildly inappropriate. Couple that with the news that the GEM would have DRM on the extra features for an additional $80 once you bought the device and it left a very sour taste in my mouth.
Prior to their terrible announcement, I was determined on buying what ended up being GEM as I could get HDMI out right from a PS2 I bought specifically for that mod and now I won’t bother.
After their absolutely terrible “parody” reveal for the GEM coupled with the DRM crap there, I’ve lost all respect for PixelFX.
I’ll buy the Retrotink 4k instead, even if it costs more.
I remember the Minecraft casino. While I never spent any money, it taught me that I should never gamble. For a few years after that the Minecraft exp collection sound would trigger a dopamine rush. Is the main reason I stopped playing MC too.
(They gave “play” money to use on top of letting users also use real BTC.)
In the US it is technically illegal to volunteer for a for-profit private company under the Fair Labor Standards Act. Relevant part about it right from the Department of Labor: https://webapps.dol.gov/elaws/whd/flsa/docs/volunteers.asp
Left or have made things difficult for the admins.
Got the “You must reopen within 3 days” crap from the admins. Opened it, but they got the monkey paw as well. Set it such that every comment/post has to have an insanely long line of gibberish in order to get past AutoModerator. No one can comment, post or even edit now. Once the admins go away, I’ll re-privatize it.
That is what is linked within the “Comprehensive Guide to Pads”
Hopefully they’d just make their own instance to which everyone else could defederate from.
The only reason I go back to reddit is to copy/paste a modmail I wrote to those asking to get in. I end it with listing asking them to think about some Reddit alternatives and link the sites too. (I list: Lemmy.world, kbin.social, tildes.net and squabbles.io in that order)
Here’s a good article about it from The Verge: https://www.theverge.com/2023/7/19/23800309/reddit-r-place-2023-protest
Newer article about how the crap has very much hit the fan with r/place: https://www.theverge.com/2023/7/20/23801716/reddits-r-place-protest-art
You might want to check Zenius-i-Vanisher’s arcade map to see if anyone has a StepmaniaX cabinet near you! Its made by the same people as the old In The Groove and there are a number of revivals within this new game.
Stepmania will work well on the Steam Deck! I’ve used both ITGMania and Project Outfox on it without issues. See my giant comment on this thread for links and other information.
The easiest way to get started with DDR at home is to download Stepmania on your computer, then plug in a dance pad to your computer. Here are some simplified instructions on how to get started:
Stepmania is a free DDR simulator.
There are two main forks of Stepmania:
After that, you have to download the songs for it. You can do that from a site called zenius-i-vanisher:
Once you’ve downloaded the songs you want, here are brief instructions on how to add the songs to Stepmania. For other Stepmania-related questions, visit the Stepmania subreddit. (There isn’t a good/active Fediverse community yet.)
The above link is a detailed guide which reviews the most popular options for buying a home pad.
The summary is:
If your budget is < $100 or you’re just starting out - Buy a soft pad and consider upgrading it (video tutorial) once you reach an intermediate level of play.
If your budget is between $100 to $300 - Keep an eye out for a used Cobalt Flux pad or L-Tek pad on eBay, your local Craigslist, or on the Facebook BEMANI buy/sell/trade group. Deals within this price range are rare, but possible. Or if you’re handy, you can try to build your own.
If your budget is > $300 - Same as above, but you’ll be able to buy a new pad immediately rather than waiting for a deal to pop up.
And that’s it! If you have any further questions, feel free to ask me as well.
NOTE: The above portion was mainly copied from this comment on the DanceDanceRevolution subreddit. I made some edits and additions here and there to add more information and links to things.
That said, I am getting back into DDR myself. Personally own and fairly like my L-Tek pad, but I am about to sell it here in the next week or two. I ended up buying a Compact Machine setup from StepmaniaX which is an entirely different game from the non-X version. (Basically a modern version of In The Groove from the same guys but with 5 panels (U/D/L/R/Center) and they not only sell the machines to arcades but to private owners too.) Their stage/pads are the end-game ones to get these days, but are not cheap.
Not that Mozilla has been 100% great either. Remember the Mr. Robot debacle?
If not: https://www.theverge.com/2017/12/16/16784628/mozilla-mr-robot-arg-plugin-firefox-looking-glass
More of a gift I got for Christmas than something I bought, but a rechargeable wand vacuum. Thought it was really stupid, but the dang thing is useful. I’ve used it for anything ranging from sucking up hair in the bathroom to getting the baseboards around the house so I don’t have to get a duster to do it that way. Have even taken it out to the car to remove a lot of the dirt and debris that gets into the driver-side footwell.
Was so versatile, I persuaded my folks to get one as well. They now love it too.
Also use a password manager such that you can have randomly generated passwords for sites.
Changing jobs in 2021. Managed to almost double my salary overnight with less stress.
If you’re good about treating it like cash, credit cards aren’t a bad thing. The cashback/rewards are nice as they are not taxable. (At least in the US)
That said, for some the temptation of credit is too much.
If you’re going to be doing any amount of soldering, I’d highly suggest the Hakko FX888D. You want to use a good iron, otherwise you’ll get poor results and/or be more likely to hurt yourself. (Hitting one’s thumb with a hot soldering iron is not fun.)