Thursday Next

"Continuity" Apple Pay and Touch ID are very much power user applications. From what Revan said, I can't those features being particularly in demand. Not to mention the fact that Continuity exists on Android (I have whatsapp, chrome to phone, google mail and Drive and keep and music all seamless linking between the two), Touch ID is available on the S5. I will concede that Apple has a good reputation for after sales support. (It's not a criteria I would use to decide a gadget purchase though).

I'm going to assume that you know where the Rogue in Roguelike comes from. I agree that it doesn't tell you much in terms of charcters, controls and so forth. But it does capture the essence of the thing. FTL and Rogue Legacy are very different games, but both in the roguelike genre, and I like them both because they are in that genre.

I think that smart phones are as complicated as the person using them. My dad bought himself an S5. I reckon he doesn't use even half of the feature set, but what he does use, he loves. If she's got an android, stick with that and spend an hour with her setting up the home screen so that everything she needs is a couple of swipes away. If she's getting her first smartphone, then she might as well choose the phone that she likes the aesthetics of the best be that iPhone or Android. My gf like her S4 mini. I'd probably steer clear of Windows Phone just because there are fewer apps on that ecosystem, even though the main ones, Facebook , Twitter, banking etc. are covered.

There's Falcon Northwest stuff in there. Good luck building that yourself. There could be a mac pro on there (good luck building that) and it would still be fucking expensive. The question was "Who is going to pay up to $5,000 for a micro pc steambox instead of getting a tower?" The answer to that is "Not many people."

Stop breaking this thrice cursed thread!

Anyone looking to upgrade? http://www.wyleshardy.com/details_single.asp?pge=2&auctionid=31218

The inFamous ones as well, First Light and Fesitval of Blood.

I have that one too. It's good.

I think what Ethan is saying is that if instead of "Buy a monster for $15, buy a hunter for $X, buy some skins for $Y" is that if they did "Expansion Pack 1 for $25" and you got the new arena, a monster, a set of hunters and some skins, it would feel like you paid a chunk of money for a good amount of content. Rather than the (arguably better value) buying exactly what you want. It's essentially the expansion pack vs microtransaction argument. On which, I'm inclined to agree with him, I prefer to pay an amount for something that feels complete, rather than trying to hoover up all the content and assemble it myself. (Ethan can correct me if I'm wrong here.)

I liked Contrast. Told a good story. Had a nifty game mechanic. Came across one really annoying chapter restarting bug. But it was a decent puzzle platformer. Especially as a PS+ freebie.

The issue with that system is that it generally favours the quickest posters as insightful comments that appear later will be hidden while the initial crowd pleasers get more views, more upvotes and therefore become entrenched. Not saying it is bad, just pointing out that it is not perfect.

Just Frozen Synapse now.

German actually has three, masculine, feminine and neute. (Der, die, das).

Anybody want a copy of Frozen Cortex and / or Synapse? I have a spare of each on Steam.

Ahhh, dial up. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AgqEIp2YmtE

While I take that point, there are characters that are pivotal in some books, (like Granny Weatherwax) that have walk on parts in other books (like Thief of Time). If you read the DEATH books first then the events of Lords and Ladies are much less tense. I like reading them in order of release. It helps prevent me getting burnt out on Sam Vimes, DEATH or Granny books and gives characters that don't necessarily have whole books to themselves, like Vetinari, a consistent feel. I think this is one of those matters of opinion like watching Star Wars movies in release order (to maintain Vader is Luke's father suspense) or chronological order (to get the worst one out of the way first), same goes for Hobbit and LotR trilogies, though I imagine most would be happy with Hobbit --> LotR.

Yeah man, when will us white guys ever catch a break?

I'm up to book 17 (of 41) of Pratchett's Discworld novels. They continue to delight.

@Mal, thanks for saving my life! please don't shoot me in the junk.

Jasper Fforde, Shades of Grey (no not that one). http://www.amazon.co.uk/Shades-Grey-Jasper-Fforde/dp/0340963050 Comes in Kindle, Physical, and Audio. Technically it's part one, but there is no part two yet, and it stands well on its own.

@Kenshi - While it wasn't intentional, I suppose that is how I rate games. Does it objectively work? If it works is it subjectively good?

can tax the hell out of everyone who uses it like you do with alcohol and tobacco. Seriously, you could turn an expensive "war on drugs" into a MASSIVE revenue generator.