I really wish my friend group was more into that game. It can be tough with a lot of charm.

It’s how “slam” can mean “to say something negative” and yet everyone complains about it too. I don’t have a strong opinion on how valid complaints on either use are, but I see them as comparable.

haha, real. Sorry.

I respect where you’re coming from, but a) “fool” is literally in my name. And b) you’re saying “there are other good games, leave those games you’re enjoying.” But you’re also saying “there are other people, leave your friends and family that you play with.” And that’s a little different.

Kernel level anti-cheat is what’s probably going to keep me on Windows for a while. I get those games aren’t for everyone, but I like them well enough, and that’s what my friend group plays. Warzone, DMZ, and going to try RedSec tomorrow. Kind of a shame. Otherwise I’d love to make the jump. As it is I’ll probably see about dual booting when I get my next PC in a year or two.

Nah, I think New World was their biggest release, but they had a couple of others, and a few mobile games when they were pushing their app store harder.

It reminds me of when Google added everyone’s phone numbers to search. Everyone freaked out. “What do you mean anyone can find my number?!” And this is back when phone books were ubiquitous.

It’s pointless now as anyone actually making a call (scammers) buys numbers from providers or other thieves. But it’s really interesting how publicly available data being more publicity available can be scary.

Been busy lately, but this is an issue that’s always annoyed me. Pixels cost nothing. List everyone. And don’t even wait until after the game. Put credits in the options/settings menu. Create an “about” section that talks about your developers. Games aren’t movies.

I remember a long time ago an artist talking about learning about the Photoshop stamp tool to help them draw chains on a comic character (maybe he was drawing Spawn?) How he drew a few examples and then just had to draw a line using the stamp tool, and make any turns meet well. And he talked about how he’s sure some people will think he’s cheating, but he’s giving himself several minutes more time to focus on other drawings, and his family. And that made sense to me, and it was really interesting to think about the future.

Much more recently I even thought what Corridor Digital (YouTube VFX company, who many dislike) did with their “anime” Rock Pepper Scissors was an interesting proof of concept. And the sequel handled everything the right way, imo. (They hired an artist for their style instead of using others’ art, they built their 3d worlds, etc.) They acted out the roles and made an anime using generative AI.

There are times when it feels clear smarter tools have so much potential to make things better for everyone. Instead, we pour billions of dollars into a bunch of people trying to create an “everything” machine that just spits out what I find difficult to see as no more creative than a back of a napkin sketch with a lot of detail you didn’t envision.

Usually nothing. Occasionally a few eggs with a little cheese in a microwave omelette.

Along with @[email protected]’s suggestion of checking out what’s available elsewhere, there’s also open source implementations of Command & Conquer games already available! OpenRA is a project that springs to mind first. Also, EA actually released the source code to several C&C games! I think those are all under GPL licenses, but please do double check that.

With only a year of experience programming I don’t know your comfort level, but maybe you can at least find some like-minded people in the communities around those things! Good luck!

And that’s what I get for skimming over things during a break at work. Appreciate the eyes.

Not counting a few simple levels made for Duke 3D and Quake, my first game was as a student in Full Sail, in 2003, basically opposite of Defender. Your goal was to zoom around and abduct humans while tanks on the ground shot at you. You had to stay still for your tractor beam to work, and you could also fire lasers straight down. You got 3 lives and, I think, 500 points per human abducted, and 100 points per tank destroyed.

Makes me think fondly back to Wolfenstein’s developers (Machine Games) doubling down on how fun it is to kill Nazis.

Delta Force has a Battlefield-ish multiplayer mode. It’s free to play and you unlock new characters and guns as you advance. (Then there’s an extraction mode too if you’re into that.) I just tried it for the first time after the beta several months ago and I thought it was alright. No jets, but still solid.

Didn’t realize that was even an option; thanks gang!

In addition to these, remind him that now that they have a PC (and I assume Game Pass for that,) if they’re like a Minecraft player, they can now do the Java version and go crazy with mods. Mods are a great part of PC play and something with a familiar game like that might help him ease into the idea of grabbing things on the Steam Workshop or more.

I’ve had spells where before bed I was playing Hardspace Shipbreaker while listening to a podcast or audiobook. Yes, there are some annoyances where you can die from your own stupidity and sometimes because something happen you didn’t know, so that may annoy some people. But by far and large I felt it was a very relaxing game that let me focus my listening on other stuff. The narrative exists in the game and pops in by dialogue from other characters, but it’s not overly demanding and only pops in sometimes.

It feels like he’s suggesting it could be done online. And while I’ve never been to GDC, I am old enough in my ways that I think I find some value in being in person with people. But that’s just me.

I know not everyone clicks through, but the group looking at them is some smaller investors and Silver Lake, Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund.