What is new in your little world?

[obsidian]

Picked up a few Lego sets to go with my Lego Apollo Saturn V, Lunar Lander, and Voltron sets.

10283 NASA Space Shuttle Discovery (with Hubble)


10302 Optimus Prime

[Mat Linnett]

@Kracus, cool set-up. I got myself a Saitek X52 Pro HOTAS back when I was playing Elite: Dangerous, sans pedals.
Great fun, although I never got around to trying it with Flight Sim.
I hear Hong Kong airport's got a rather insane approach and take off. Might be worth taking a look in Flight SIm

Edit:
Myself, I've been working from home for the past week, as I'm getting my kitchen done up. The kitchen in the flat was a state when I moved in 6 years ago, and I finally had enough cash to get it done up properly.
Of course, when getting the kitchen specced up, I discovered my boiler was on the verge of critically failing, so had to get a new one (bonus smart home tech: took the opportunity to get a Nest thermostat), and the fusebox was the original one from when the flat was built 40 years ago, so I had to get that updated too.

But it's all looking great now, and I'm just awaiting the final lick of paint.

[Κracus]

Yeah, I've been contemplating getting Elite for the PC. I built a gaming desktop with a GTX 3070 in it and now I'm getting back into PC gaming begrudgingly...

I need some deets on the quake situation, are we still doing Q3A or is Quake Live the thing to get these days?

I furthermore decided to buy a racing seat and stand along with this.

[lvlshot]https://resource.logitech.com/content/dam/gaming/en/products/g923-and-trueforce/g923-gallery/g923-ps4-gallery-1.png[/lvlshot]

I got this with a shift stick that plugs into it too, I've only tried a ghetto setup with it so far and it's pretty fucking awesome, can't wait for the racing seat + frame combo to arrive so I can screw in the racing setup direct to the frame and have everything secure.

And I'm going to complete this setup with a VR headset. Been trying to score a HP Reverb G2 but wondering if anyone here has any experience with VR stuff? What's the best option out there? From what I've been reading the HP VR headset seems to be a great option for racers/flight sims which is what I intend to use it for. I'm not too keen on shit like beatbox saber and that stuff although I should be, probably good exercise.

[Eraser]

I only have experience with my Quest 2 and it's awesome. I really like that it's a wireless kit which allows for flawless PCVR streaming as well.
I don't know how the HP Reverb is quality wise, but it being connected to your PC via a wire is a big negative to me.

Oh and don't slag Beat Saber until you've tried it. IMO it's one of the best games made since Quake 3 Arena's 1999 release.

[Κracus]

Well my intention is to use it while seated in racing games and flight sims. My flight sim setup came in yesterday, can't wait to try it out after work. The racing sim rig is hopefully arriving this week. I'm gonna just go with a flat screen for now until I can figure out how to get my hands on the hp reverb, the reviews seem to indicate that's the way to go for racing sims/flight sims which is going to be the majority of what I'll be doing with it. My living room is kinda small, I don't want to be swinging anything in there although I do have pretty high ceilings...

btw that's pretty high praise for beat saber...

[Κracus]

So BeamNG is the best driving game ever it turns out.

[Whiskey 7]

obsidian, I'd love the look of that set, the 10283 NASA Space Shuttle Discovery (with Hubble), even looked it up with the idea to buy but thinking, this one is best left on display, so question, is yours on display full time?

While on Lego, that recent purchase of mine, the Lego BMW M1000RR Motor Cycle, it's is under wraps & under the Christmas tree

Reading the above, I realize I maybemissing a gene, I mean to say, car sims never ticked my fancy and VR, sam but, I'd love to delve into a 3D shooter like Quake

...and back to re, what is new in your little world? Me, I was recognized at my (part time) job and scored $1K AUD. Nice and nice to be recognized.

[Eraser]

Reading the above, I realize I maybemissing a gene, I mean to say, car sims never ticked my fancy and VR, sam but, I'd love to delve into a 3D shooter like Quake

You gotta try a decent VR set up with a decent VR game some time. It's not just that you can look all around you by turning your head that makes it incredible. It's the sense of scale it gives you. The fact that things can be really up close. The increased sense of dread you can have from threatening looking characters. Their movement and behavior is suddenly so much more impactful. It's also about being able to interact with in-world objects with your hands (even when there's still a controller in-between) that makes it all the more real.

There are VR versions of Quake, Quake 2 and Quake 3 Arena. All three are pretty cool experiences, but not quite as immersive as tailor made VR experiences. They lack interaction with the world which, IMO, is one of the major selling points of VR.

[Mat Linnett]

The only real killer VR apps I ever played on my Rift were probably Superhot, Lone Echo, Rec Room and Alyx; and of those 4 Superhot and Alyx stand out.

There may be more now, but having to clear the room of crap whenever I want to play a VR game got old fast. Plus, my main home OS is now a Linux distro, and the original Rift doesn't work on it.
I will probably dip my toes in to VR again, but only with a non-Meta, wireless headset.

As for updates, my kitchen is done now, and I'm really happy with it. I've never had an induction hob before, and am massively impressed. Definitely don't regret ditching the gas hob. It's just as fast, if not faster, and stupidly easy to clean.
The new oven's quick as well, and is a pyrolitic self-cleaning one. I haven't had a chance to try the self-cleaning yet, but I'm curious to see how it works.
Of course, now my old appliances look out of date and place (fridge, washer and drier), so I'll probably end up upgrading those next.

[Eraser]

The only real killer VR apps I ever played on my Rift were probably Superhot, Lone Echo, Rec Room and Alyx; and of those 4 Superhot and Alyx stand out. There may be more now,

I haven't played Lone Echo or Rec Room, but Superhot and Alyx are excellent VR titles. And yes, there's more titles that are must plays as far as I'm concerned. Red Matter and Red Matter 2 are both great games, Pistol Whipped is fantastic and Virtual Virtual Reality is a bit of an oddball game, it's really well made. Then there's classics like Beat Saber and The Room VR.

but having to clear the room of crap whenever I want to play a VR game got old fast.

I don't know how large you live, but I don't have a lot of room either but a 2x2m area in my livingroom is definitely large enough.

Plus, my main home OS is now a Linux distro, and the original Rift doesn't work on it.
I will probably dip my toes in to VR again, but only with a non-Meta, wireless headset.

Maybe the Meta origin is a problem for you, but the Quest 2 is a great piece of kit. Works flawlessly and if your WiFi network is stable and fast enough, streaming from PC works very well too.

[obsidian]

obsidian, I'd love the look of that set, the 10283 NASA Space Shuttle Discovery (with Hubble), even looked it up with the idea to buy but thinking, this one is best left on display, so question, is yours on display full time?

Yeah, but sometimes I pick it up and make rocket ship sounds.

[obsidian]

The only real killer VR apps I ever played

I really enjoyed Puzzling Places in a meditative calming sort of way. The environmental sounds of the locations is immersive in a strange way.

[Foo]

I need some deets on the quake situation, are we still doing Q3A or is Quake Live the thing to get these days?

We have magic tech now that means from anywhere in the world we can play Q3 on Duff's US West server with zero-lag hitscan weapons (MG, LG, Rail, SG). Check the last posts in DooMer's server thread for info on how to get on.

[Eraser]

So on boxing day we were supposed to have a merry evening with my in-laws family. In the morning, I woke up feeling like shit and it only got worse throughout the day. I got some kind of cold. It's not COVID, I did a test. Anyway, I decided not to go to the festivities. I told my girlfriend she should take the kids and go. So my boxing day ended up being a day where I sat home alone for most of the afternoon and evening and ate a cheap microwave dinner. Oh well, that's how these things go

[Κracus]

I need some deets on the quake situation, are we still doing Q3A or is Quake Live the thing to get these days?

We have magic tech now that means from anywhere in the world we can play Q3 on Duff's US West server with zero-lag hitscan weapons (MG, LG, Rail, SG). Check the last posts in DooMer's server thread for info on how to get on.

Will do.

[Underpants?]

Staring into the sky wondering what y'all Mofos have been up to. Feeling pretty low right now, even though almost every metric in life is high, and the future is looking super bright. Kiddos are out of the house, both doing super well, living in a little dreamboat mountain town 10 min. from a ski resort, yet cannot shake the feeling that something is going to go REALLY sideways in 2023. Maybe it's leftover double hangovers from 2000 and 2008's crashes.... Don't know. Anyway, hello there strangers

[Whiskey 7]

Don't feel low Underpants?
... and hello stranger
I'd say more but there's visitors at the door.. Later.

[seremtan]

Staring into the sky wondering what y'all Mofos have been up to. Feeling pretty low right now, even though almost every metric in life is high, and the future is looking super bright. Kiddos are out of the house, both doing super well, living in a little dreamboat mountain town 10 min. from a ski resort, yet cannot shake the feeling that something is going to go REALLY sideways in 2023. Maybe it's leftover double hangovers from 2000 and 2008's crashes.... Don't know. Anyway, hello there strangers

i feel that. 2023 = 2022 Pt.2: Shit Boogaloo

[Κracus]

lol 2023 is gonna be the hold my beer equivalent of 2022.

[Κracus]

I may be getting old, but I'm still pretty quick!

My current lap time on Bernese Alps -R in forza 7 for an event that's ongoing at the moment.

[lvlshot]https://i.redd.it/i5r8dqxoo7ia1.jpg[/lvlshot]

[Mat Linnett]

Thanks for kindling my interest Doombrain; after getting the kitchen done, I also ended up buying an air fryer, and it was more than worth it.
My new oven is great as previously noted, but since getting the air fryer, it doesn't get used at all.

It's quicker, meaning more energy efficient, and to my unsophisticated palate, cooks things better too, with stuff like sweet potato crisping up nicely on the outside while being gooey inside.

I must admit, I was a bit dubious before buying mine, figuring the popularity was down to clever marketing and confirmation bias, but I'm now completely sold on it. Including prep, I can cook a full, hearty, tasty meal in under 20 minutes.

Game-wise, I'm bouncing between the Steam edition of Dwarf Fortress and Elden Ring.

Dwarf Fortress has always been a favourite of mine, and the Steam release is simply the best way to play the game at the moment, with fantastic graphics and a user interface that can be completely mouse-driven.
I mean, there's still a lot of complicated concepts that prevent the game from being noob friendly, but it's more accessible now than it has ever been.
Plus, one of my old bugbears, fortress death due to low FPS, has been massively improved, making it easier to play highly-populated fortresses for longer.
It still puts the rest of the colony management genre to shame with its absurd depth and intricate simulations.
Rimworld, while good, pales in comparison, and Oxygen Not Included gets bogged down in systemic complexity very quickly with very little payoff in storytelling.

In Elden Ring, I'm just mopping up stuff before the final few encounters.
I still have a love-hate relationship with the Souls games, and that hasn't really changed with Elden Ring. In all honesty, I think with the exception of Sekiro (because I haven't played it, so don't feel qualified to comment on it), every From Software game after Demon's Souls has essentially been a high-budget expansion. Very little has changed in the core gameplay loop since that game, and I burned out on the formula even before Dark Souls came out, thanks to buying Demon's Souls twice, first, the US version on import, then the UK one.

There's a lot I like about the games, including the minimalist yet deep narrative primarily delivered through environmental storytelling, and the feel of weapons and combat.
But at the same time, I feel a lot of the content in these games, when played normally, is heavily gated behind grind.

And while defenders of the games will claim otherwise, they regularly end up feeling completely unfair.
I will probably be taking another break from Souls-likes after beating Elden Ring, although even with all those criticisms, part of me wants to explore different quests and builds in New Game +

[raw]

Thanks for kindling my interest Doombrain; after getting the kitchen done, I also ended up buying an air fryer, and it was more than worth it.
My new oven is great as previously noted, but since getting the air fryer, it doesn't get used at all.

It's quicker, meaning more energy efficient, and to my unsophisticated palate, cooks things better too, with stuff like sweet potato crisping up nicely on the outside while being gooey inside.

I must admit, I was a bit dubious before buying mine, figuring the popularity was down to clever marketing and confirmation bias, but I'm now completely sold on it. Including prep, I can cook a full, hearty, tasty meal in under 20 minutes.

Spot-on review. This was my experience as well.

[Κracus]

I've found the more I use it the more it's been getting selectively used in cooking things.

Like if I'm making wings, air fryer for sure but if I'm cooking cut up chicken it's the frying pan. Steak, oven etc...

I cooked a whole chicken in the air fryer the other day though and it turned out amazing.

[phantasmagoria]

q3w, meet Newt, our 8 week old Border Collie.

[lvlshot]https://i.imgur.com/d07VelC.jpg[/lvlshot]
[lvlshot]https://i.imgur.com/kL1c6OX.jpg[/lvlshot]

[Mat Linnett]

D'awwww!
Smart dogs too, Border Collies. Need a LOT of exercise, mind you!