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Comment Re:Not impressive at all. (Score 2) 66

I'm not trying to be an apologist for Steam here, but am I missing a key detail in this story? We're talking about the launcher here, nothing to do with the content itself.

"Cold start to store" is a metric that I literally couldn't give a subjective opinion on, because once Windows starts, Steam is just there and ready to go. And "to store"? Seriously? Give us "Tray icon to loading a game" and we can have a discussion. "Thing that doesn't happen to thing that only happens rarely", not so much.

Comment Exactly WHO will it cost? (Score 4, Insightful) 65

If Facebook wants access to European users, Facebook will be paying for EU-based data centers to comply. Same goes for Amazon, Google, and the rest.

This isn't a condemnation, it's an admission by the Megalomaniacal Seven that they have zero interest in building out EU versions of the very infrastructure their "services" require; an admission that the money is only supposed to flow in one direction, and it ain't East.

Comment Re:Still no consequences? (Score 2) 27

I was one of the haters on initial release, but Hello Games 100% redeemed themselves over time and are still actively maintaining the game with new content - free new content, not paid DLC - every few months. And today, I'd rate NMS as one of my favorite games of all time.

That said, from the two comparisons you made, I suspect you're thinking of NMS as the wrong kind of game here. It's not an "escape room" style survival game, and base building is mostly meant to be a simple place to keep / display your stuff, not Factorio-in-space. There is no real plot or long-term goals beyond what you set for yourself and a few "story" missions to encourage you to at least leave the starting planet and check out the neighborhood.

If you haven't seen it since 2016, it's a radically different, and better, game. And if you have - Hey, it's not for everyone and that's okay. Some people like open world exploration, some people like puzzle games, some people like FPSs.

Comment Re:Is it actually fun for a single player? (Score 5, Interesting) 27

There's effectively no difference between single and multiplayer in NMS. Multiplayer isn't so much a distinct mode of gameplay, as merely hanging out in the game with another player. Think "playing Legos with a friend". Same activity, just more than one person. There are a few features intended to focus on multiplayer, like the nominally co-op Nexus missions - But I'm not aware of any exclusively multiplayer content, and even the Nexus missions are IMO easier to solo than trying to coordinate with someone else. And even in purely single-player mode, you can still see/visit bases/etc from other players, you just won't see the other players themselves.

I suppose a proper answer to your question depends on what you really mean by single-vs-multiplayer, though. There's a core storyline that's honestly more like a long tutorial mode, and they put on events roughly every two months (which are again often about showing off new features); but there's not really anything you'd call a proper "campaign mode". It's fundamentally an open-world exploration / survival / building game, from start to there-is-no-finish.

And just in case anything I've said here sounds negative - NMS is a mind-blowingly good game. Strongly recommend, particularly in VR.

Comment Unfortunately named JPEG-XL (Score 1) 48

I read the reasoning (below) for the name on the Wikipedia page, but it still seems unfortunate for something that's suppose to be smaller than regular JPEG. :-)

The name refers to the design committee (JPEG), the X designates the series of its image coding standards published since 2000 (JPEG XT/XR/XS), and L stands for "long-term", highlighting the intent to create a future-proof, long-lived format to succeed JPEG/JFIF.

It's like trying to figure out if the LHC is simply very big (Large Hadron-Collider) or just for smashing big particles (Large-Hadron Collider) - or both. :-)

Comment Re:They should migrate away from the internet (Score 3, Insightful) 105

How stupid can this be? Since when do supermarket refrigerators need to be controlled remotely? It's a real "WTF" moment.

Even more stupid, what do these hackers have against food? If the point was just to be dicks, or for fun, mission accomplished. If it was to illuminate insecurities, they missed the mark. If it was for ransom, they picked the wrong targets. In any case, while these systems were/are apparently insecure, there are valid arguments for internet access on them. There aren't any good arguments for spoiling/wasting food.

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