Lurker > Sahuagin

M&M meat shops have surprisingly good frozen stuffed turkey

Java is kind of like feature-poor C#. It can feel clumsy to use compared to C#. from what I've used I would suggest it as one of the best learning languages. (not trying to say it's better or worse here; it being "feature-poor" just means you have to do certain things by hand, and it can be a lot more verbose.)

the worst part I think compared to C# is the weak generics (and also the clumsy functional stuff). You can't have primitive generics, and generic types are lost at compile time. So where in C# you can have a List<int>, in Java you must have instead an ArrayList<Integer> (where Integer is a boxed int). (I have to go to work or might elaborate more).

Yellow posted...

C# has Blazor though, which is wonderful, everything I want out of a GUI. @Sahuagin have you seen MAUI, or Blazor yet? MAUI takes Blazor and makes it cross-platform. I love it so much.

I keep hearing about Blazor. it sounds good but I guess I'm a bit skeptical of MS web technologies, especially things that force users to use other MS web technologies...

so far for web design I can do pretty good things with TypeScript and AJAX. (with ASP.NET Core server side). some things I want to learn are Angular, React, Ruby/Rails, and node.js. I'm not sure I need any of them but I should at least understand them and why I'd use them. at the moment they seem like they basically just complicate the same things I'm already doing (Angular/React specifically).

Lokarin posted...

Galaxies actually are flat due to rotation

they're relatively "flat" (disc-shaped) when viewed externally, but internally this doesn't mean a whole lot. from within, there are still tons of stars above and below you, not just galactically NESW.

T0ffee posted...

youtube.com

you beat me

Lokarin posted...

unless the galaxy actually is flat... because they kinda art

solar systems internally tend to be, I think. but the galaxy is just stars in practically every direction, and the star systems are not necessarily aligned to the galactic plane (ours is at 60 degrees or something I think, which is closer to perpendicular than parallel to the galactic plane).

Yellow posted...

no one has been able to convince me why they should be used nor have I been able to convince myself

one of the main benefits of a fully interpreted language is that an interpreter is easier to write than a compiler. another one is device independence.

but Java bytecode or .NET JIT are close to being best of both worlds. they're fast like compilers, but still device independent.

also, rather than having to have a different compiler for each combination of platform and language (NxM), you only need one JVM/JITter per platform and one compiler per language (N + M).

I don't think there is otherwise any argument that an interpreted language could be better than a compiled language (all else equal, etc.).

most systems programming is done in C. most O/S kernels are written in C, including Windows, Linux and Mac O/S. the remaining parts of these not in C are in C++.

C is basically one step up from assembly (where it's pretty straightforward if you know and follow C conventions to write C code that calls something built in assembly, and vice-versa). you're "right at the metal" as they say, actually writing code that is (almost) directly executed by the CPU without a half dozen levels of abstraction in between. (you often can even write inline assembly. some of the first programs I wrote were games (or attempted games) using good old INT 10h in C).

wolfy42 posted...

we did fine with goto back in the day and I still prefer a language that supports it

unconstrained goto should not even be considered an option. constrained goto is maybe theoretically ok (that's basically what you use in assembly).

in modern languages, 99% of the time there's a better alternative, so using goto, even constrained, means you chose an objectively worse option for no reason.

Wordle 311 5/6

STICK
TRIES
GEIST
HEIGH argh, typed too fast because I knew it and typoed and the typo happened to be a word
HEIST

(I type height a lot so the muscle memory got me)

nice, how did you get it? is it just two generic tables of the right size?

Wordle 310 6/6

BLOOD
TRUMP
NEIGH
CEASE
SAVEY
ASKEW
ok that was a tough one...

when I was looking for a desk I found that anything great, like what I have at work, is outrageously expensive ($2000+). something affordable ends up being like what you posted: little more than a frame. (I went with that kind of desk, aiming for something as deep as possible, and also in an L shape, and it's not as good as what I have at work, but at least it's light.)

it should be possible to build something/have something built, and you could theoretically get something very simple with exactly the dimensions you want. there are some videos on youtube of custom computer desk builds. it can even be as simple as a nice finished board on top of milk crates, or something like that. but theoretically a professional carpenter or cabinet maker could do something better.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C42io-nmu6M

Wordle 309 3/6

TIRED
REFIT
INERT

5 pages now, but maybe because it's early saturday morning

Wordle 308 3/6

SNOWY
PORED
OLIVE

I wondered why I constantly see this topic for the longest time yet it only has 20 or so posts

I remember when the price where I go went up to $16 and I thought that was a lot. now it's $25. $30 is pretty pricy.

I do like to tip a bunch because haircuts are pretty infrequent and I appreciate when it's done well. one place I went to, the guy took a solid 45 minutes to give me a buzz cut, and did a terrible job on top of that. it was agonizing. going to a professional place, they do it almost perfectly on top of doing it extremely fast, so worth a good tip IMO.

not using spirit tuning on this char (save for the odd puzzle that needs it). the one boss I did use an NPC summon for was Godskin Duo, because that boss is BS. (also I vaguely recall there is a story reason to use him there).

Wordle 307 4/6

RAISE
TOADY
WRATH
PLANT

Sahuagin posted...

mechanically it's basically DS3-2.

(another thing I should say is that while it does feel like DS3, (it's obviously the same engine or w/e, and some of the enemies are obv. the same skeletons and animations in a lot of cases.), they do change up the mechanics a bit giving you some options that aren't in DS games and you wouldn't expect to find in them. they make things a little bit more forgiving, in some ways.)

Lokarin posted...

I mean in comparison to DS1~3 and Sekiro... even though I didn't play Sekiro

mechanically it's basically DS3-2.

otherwise compared to DS games it's completely non-linear, like a "normal" RPG game where you can go wherever you want and do whatever you want, with the difficulty to keep you away from places you aren't ready for yet.

unlike DS games, there's tons of actually easy encounters (particularly early-game), where it's almost disappointing how few hits a boss takes. but like DS games there are also tons of encounters that are basically impossible at first until you either go level up more, or else "git gud" as it were.

(actually I think it even becomes harder than DS games. DS games are linear, so usually you are the only level you could be. maybe you could grind a couple levels but that's about it. in this though, you can be vastly under or over levelled depending where you go, and sometimes you don't know what order you "should" be doing things in, or if you've missed something somewhere, so you can have quite a rough time depending on the order you do things.)

also unlike DS games, the game is freaking enormous... the amount of content here is insane. the game is also gorgeous and has no end of "omg wtf is that!" moments.

even though it doesn't play like it at all, it reminds me a lot of Skyrim, where the game is so large that it just takes forever to fully experience... and that doesn't necessarily make the game good. the game definitely has some 11/10 parts, but as a whole I'm not sure what I think yet. it's way tf too long. I probably play slow compared to some, but I'm going on 250 hours here and am completely exhausted but it just keeps going and getting harder and harder...

Wordle 306 4/6

BLACK
TRIOS
OPINE thought for sure this would be it
OXIDE stumped for a while since there's not much left with that pattern but once I started thinking of sciencey words it clicked

since the word will almost never be all that obscure, it seems the main challenge of this game is getting things narrowed down fast enough that you avoid falling into a rut. the harder difficulties force you to stay in the rut if you fall into one; I'm not sure if there's a way to avoid them in the first place.

I keep wondering, can't there be a middle ground between:

- substance is banned, and anyone that has even the tiniest amount of it gets arrested and maybe gets prison

and

- substance is not banned, so everyone uses it all the time everywhere constantly

Wordle 305 4/6

FEATS
CLOUD
CARBO i'm lucky this counted
CARGO

sigh

Wordle 304 X/6

DEATH
ROSED this should have been a better guess
POWER
GONER
JOKER
COVER

it's a fun and enjoyable game. maybe not fantastic mechanically, but still unique and interesting.

Zareth posted...

When you cast the spell, the projectile appears above you for a second, then fires off. The AI dodges when you "cast" the spell, but because of the delayed "firing," they end up dodging early.

so yeah, they're responding to the projectile not your input

papercup posted...

There are 100% bosses that the moment you press the flask button will throw something at you or cast a spell to disrupt the healing.

yes, and that comes from the DS games.

what do you mean by "input read"? the AI is not checking your buttons. you pressed X, and your flask was equipped so a "drink" action was queued. the drink action came up, there were uses left and you were in a valid state to drink, so your character enters the drinking state. the AI detects your drinking state and tries to interrupt it. since it's the computer it could do that as early as the same frame or next frame from when you enter the state (not necessarily that fast) but not literally when you press the button, unless it all takes place that quickly. (it's not checking the button state, it's checking the player state).

if you call that an "input read", then ok. that is what I meant by "it's easy to make 'perfect' AI but hard to make fuzzy AI".

the trick when fighting the boss is to know they do that, and to time your drink such that they aren't able to try an interrupt.

Zareth posted...

The AI input-reads to roll when it's cast

I highly doubt that, it doesn't make sense. it's probably just an issue with that particular spell. it wouldn't make any sense for the code to say "if the user presses the button, dodge". pressing the button would queue a particular action, which would invoke a particular spell, which would queue the creation of particular projectiles at particular times. if the AI responded to your literal button press, it would mess up on all spells. they can dodge lightning bolts with a good 3+ second windup quite well, for example. they are either responding to the creation of the lightning bolt, or also possibly the existence of the lightning bolt on a collision course.

(a problem with "input reading" as you put it, too, is that when you press the button it hasn't yet been decided what is going to happen, or even if anything dangerous will occur. it wouldn't even have checked what's in your hand yet.)

Wordle 303 4/6

MINES
LABIA
PLAID
FLAIR

Black_Crusher posted...

Definitely some input-reading B.S. going on

input reading? that shouldn't be necessary. "perfect" AI that just instantly reacts to everything is actually the easier thing to implement. making it properly fuzzy is much harder.

SilentSeph posted...

This boss kicked my ass. Probably my most deaths in the game outside of Margit

I just encountered it like the day before yesterday and did it in two tries. (it's relatively easy to hit that boss in the head.) there are however no shortage of bosses that I currently feel are nigh-impossible...

I almost feel like I might not finish this game, because I've been playing it for sooooo long now and it's becoming too hard and I have no energy left. usually a DS/from game is hard, but it ends. this one playthrough is taking well over half the time I've spent in any one of the other games.

FatalAccident posted...

It's not, thought I caveated that pretty well in my op but guess not.

So with climate change the temperature difference reduces between warm and cold parts of the planet and this effect is reduced?

as the ocean warms up, the temperature difference shrinks until the oceanic circulation eventually stops, yes. I don't think the circulation is a gradual thing. once it gets just warm enough, it stops, and "bad things" happen.

generally more extreme weather. more wind, more droughts, more storms, etc. we already have this but it will only get worse. depending how far it goes, it could theoretically reach apocalyptic extremes, but supposedly enough action has been taken already that we've probably avoided that. now it's a question of whether things just get a bit worse or a lot worse.

(warming oceans can cause the thermohaline (ocean circulation) to stop working, since it release on large temperature differences between warm and cold parts of the planet. the last time this happened it resulted in (or at least happened at the same time as) a global extinction event. I don't know how close this is to happening.)

it is possible that some places have milder weather and have less to worry about than others. I hope your implication is not "something has to affect me personally to matter, even if it affects the other 99% of the planet".

Lokarin posted...

And you can't say he "rez'd into heaven"... that counts as dying.

he "ascended". he didn't "rez into heaven" he rezed and then later went to heaven in physical form. IIRC there was one other prophet guy that did this too but can't remember who.

(but of course, note that this is all just a scam. "ascension" is just the way to explain away how he both resurrected and yet still isn't around anymore. and IMO in between they had some random guy pretend to be him which is why no one who knew him recognized him.)

ParanoidObsessive posted...

It's not.. The English word traces back through Latin, and in Latin it basically meant "something satisfying".

it's meanings in Latin include "enjoyment" but also includes "produce", "profits", etc.; I would say it basically means "satisfying result of work", or "the positive end result of actions taken". it was used for all output of farming as a whole, including vegetables. it's not about being sweet, it's about being the desired output of labour. "the fruits of hard work" kind of thing.

some are harder than others. some can be way higher level than you when you find them, so you have to do them later.

a simple strategy that can work is:
- keep distance and try to get in single hard jump attacks at the right times, backing off again after each one (AI doesn't know how to handle jump attacks, which was true in DS games too, and they're easier to do now)
- if they get close and vulnerable, do repeat quick attacks; if they roll keep it up until they're out of range again and go back to the first point (this probably only works if they stagger when you hit them; otherwise stick to point 1 and defend/dodge when they're close; also have to manage stamina)

ParanoidObsessive posted...

If anything, the real problem is that science chose to use terminology that already had thousands of years worth of established assumptions and expectations that ran counter to the scientific nature of things, so if anything, science is the one that's wrong.

almost agree, but I'm pretty sure that "fruit" meaning "(plant) offspring" is a lot older than "fruit" meaning "sweet plant" (if "fruit" has ever meant that...).

I knew a guy like that, but not sure how to help them besides encourage them to focus. as soon as the boss was gone he'd stop what he was doing and start talking; anything but do what he was supposed to do (but seemingly out of agitation not laziness).

I'm kind of the opposite where the more I work the more tunnel vision I get until I'm working on such a very specific detail that once I complete it I forget what the bigger picture even was. TODO lists help tremendously with this.

Wordle 302 4/6

TUNES
DREAM
MEALY
AMPLE

BlackScythe0 posted...

Close but I don't think the tax part of the statement is as important as everyone else seems to, I think they are trying to argue that humans have no impact on temperature changes here and we should get rid of the carbon tax because the temperature changed on a gas giant.

yeah I guess there are two posts in the image, the original and the "carbon tax incoming" retweet or whatever it is. I guess the original is only saying "oh look climate change, and we didn't cause it" or something.

HornedLion posted...

I get that but its the warming thats really wreaking havoc on our planet. Neptune is getting colder.

yes, you could say maybe it's a strawman. they're reducing it all the way down to "any climate change -> carbon tax" when that doesn't even make sense.

earth is warming, it's warming due to CO2, we are the ones putting the CO2 in the atmosphere, therefore we tax our CO2 emissions to reduce the emissions and thus the effect they're having.

with neptune, the "climate change" does not need to be prevented, is not caused by CO2, and there are no emissions to tax. even if you carbon taxed it, it would just all be zeroes every month.

I guess they're sarcastically saying that since Neptune is experiencing "climate change" that that must mean that it too should get a carbon tax.

Wordle 301 4/6

DEMON
PLEAT
CHECK
CHEEK

which ones have you played before?

ME3 is ok/good (maybe not great) until the ending. there are updates and DLC that makes it better too but I never tried them.

fun fact, the quest about the Hanar preaching without a license is (IMO) based on Artur Pawlowski who is a street preacher in Alberta (Bioware is from Edmonton) who gets in trouble with the police all the time (and has again recently from what I heard). (My family apparently knows him or at least other people who know him, not sure.)

is this just an estimate based on which games you've had that would have been released at that time?

I don't think I have any way of knowing exactly when I had these but some possibilities include:

(these first 3 came in a box together IIRC, though the third game might have been something else... or it might have been just the first two of these)
Stellar 7
Oil's Well
Thexder 2: Firehawk
Police Quest 1
Night Shift

and then for Shareware (most not fully owned):
Paganitzu
Boppin
Kingdom of Kroz II (this I did "buy" but I can't remember what that got me)
Commander Keen
Duke Nukem
ZZT (barely played)

there are tons of other 90s games I can think of but they were released 1993+

I spoiled the answer to #300 so I'll skip it and do a different one

_Kaz posted...

You should see Hello Wordle; they have a HELL mode

hello wordl 4/6
FISHY
COSIE
BASIC
MUSIC
I kind of play that way already

supposedly the fact that the cars are samey and the racing is not very complicated results in very tight margins. everyone is extremely even, and so tend to be at about the same pace. this can be quite intense when there are 7+ cars within a few tenths or hundredths of a second of each other, all going flat out.

(I want to say "every mistake matters and moves you or your opponent noticeably up or down" but... is that true? if that was true then it wouldn't be so close in the first place. maybe it's true, but the number of possible mistakes to make has been completely minimized, which is why it's neck and neck to begin with.)

I didn't get far enough to judge it properly, but it felt like Terraria and I don't like Terraria