ptasci67 (u/ptasci67)

ptasci67 commented on Cities Skylines 2 runs with 20fps on an Nvidia RTX4090 dsogaming.com/pc-performa... · Posted by u/segasaturn

wackget · 2 years ago

> If people can't play it at 4k out of the box on their overpriced 4090 then they take straight to the internet to complain (and mind you they have tried fiddling with exactly 0 knobs to make it runnable).

The top comment contains this extract from an IGN review:

> I have a 13900k, 64GB of RAM, and a RTX 4090, playing on a 1440p ultrawide monitor. I got 35fps at the main menu and in game on a brand new map w/o building a single thing. Turning off motion blur and depth field increased this from 35 to 50fps. Not a single other graphics setting changed the performance at all. I turned off every single setting I could or set it to the lowest possible, and still only got 50fps.

ptasci67 · 2 years ago

Yes, I was addressing the broader discourse more generally, specifically Reddit. But you're right that the article did directly address this though I would say the tone and title of the article are incongruous with the simple fact that they were able to get the game to run well with minor tweaks.

I take issue with "only got 50fps". This is not Counter Strike or a game that demands 300fps. 50fps (if your 1% lows are within reason) is completely playable.

ptasci67 commented on Cities Skylines 2 runs with 20fps on an Nvidia RTX4090 dsogaming.com/pc-performa... · Posted by u/segasaturn

ptasci67 · 2 years ago

I will fully concede that the trend of game makers releasing half-baked, poorly optimized games that are buggy and unplayable at launch is totally a thing and it is frustrating and we should demand better (though we keep buying so why would they stop?).

BUT.... the online game community is so insufferable and this Cities Skylines II launch is a great example of it. The game is not about 4k 120 fps gameplay. It is a simulation game that runs fairly well even on last gen's hardware if you drop SOME of the fidelity settings. But that's not the predominant discourse. If people can't play it at 4k out of the box on their overpriced 4090 then they take straight to the internet to complain (and mind you they have tried fiddling with exactly 0 knobs to make it runnable).

I am by no means making excuses for game makers who certainly share much of the blame for creating an environment of distrust among game fans. But the online discourse is just rage baiting and looking for anything to hate with minimal evidence or sometimes even outright lies. Makes me want to go into a cave and play my games without seeing any content or discussion about it.

ptasci67 commented on Tell HN: Thank you for being fast, almost ad-free and text-only · Posted by u/nojvek

flanbiscuit · 3 years ago

IMO, Reddit is still usable but only via https://old.reddit.com. I still use Reddit daily, but I can't stand the horrific new design. I also highly curate my subscribed subreddits and use multireddits to combine subject matters.

On Android I use Reddit Sync[1] (which has an ad-free pro version I paid a one-time $5 fee for).

I worry about the day they discontinue old.reddit.com, or decide to cripple third-party apps in order to steer people toward their official apps. I wouldn't put it past them to do something like this. All it takes is a new CEO, or their investors, wanting to see more profit. They'll probably lose users but I bet the amount of people who use Reddit like I do is decreasing over time (speculation, maybe I'm wrong) so it might not be a significant amount.

1. https://play.google.com/store/apps/developer?id=Red+Apps+LTD...

ptasci67 · 3 years ago

Just as an alternate data point, I personally prefer the new design as I find it more inviting, and easier to browse on mobile. I think both should exist because there are enough people who prefer the old way but it does beg the question of whether it is worth supporting both from an engineering perspective. I'm sure it has a real cost to Reddit.

ptasci67 commented on Ask HN: Best board games of 2022? · Posted by u/palidanx

ptasci67 · 3 years ago

Too many great options in this thread already so I'll stray and focus on small 2-player games I discovered this year and enjoyed: - Trails - Jaipur - The Agora expansion to 7 wonders duel (added more of a unique take than Pantheon I think)

ptasci67 commented on Our screwdriver took three years [video] youtube.com/watch?v=2K5Gq... · Posted by u/zepolen

TheCapn · 4 years ago

This is pretty common in my experience? Market some relatively common item to an out-group of individuals at stupid markup based off brand recognition alone and reap the rewards. LTT looks to be flexing his brand here on unsuspecting PC enthusiasts where anyone with more experience in the electrical trades knows where to get higher quality tools for better/similar pricing.

I'll compare to my time in Paintball years ago. Any site marketing woodsball gear to paintballers had nutty markups, but if you went to any Army Surplus or Hunting outfitter you could get a lot of similar gear for way cheaper at better quality because it wasn't marketed specifically to a niche sport relying on brand name alone.

It happens all over the place. Consumers not doing their due diligence have only themselves to blame.

ptasci67 · 4 years ago

I take the video with a grain of salt of course but just to be fair here, the video spends the majority of its time explaining in great detail why Linus did NOT just slap his name on a megapro screwdriver. I actually found the minute details of how they designed, prototyped, and stressed over the screwdriver quite fascinating and while it may or may not translate to quality... it at least is a weak signal to me that someone considered every facet which I believe is somewhat correlated with quality.

ptasci67 commented on · Posted by u/metadat

ptasci67 · 4 years ago

For anyone who makes the same mistake as me... this is an April Fools joke from 2021. The commits are all from April 1, 2021.

The rick-roll should have been a dead giveaway but...

ptasci67 commented on AirPods Max apple.com/newsroom/2020/1... · Posted by u/css

ptasci67 · 5 years ago

Every comment I have seen is flabbergasted by the price but I think there is a lot more interesting about these headphones. For example, they're clearly being marketed as "premium" over-the-ear headphones but they get the Airpods branding and not Beats? What does that mean for Beats? A 20 hour battery life beats my Bose 700s so it will be interesting to see if that holds up. Perhaps more jarring is the high price tag for what amounts to a cloth cover for a case but I suppose they are making the claim that you don't need to power it off?

ptasci67 commented on Apple Ending "Fortnite Save the World" Updates for Mac epicgames.com/fortnite/en... · Posted by u/tosh

ptasci67 · 5 years ago

What I find really interesting in this debate is how the same story can be spun two ways. Here, the headline is listed as "Apple Ending "Fortnite Save the World" Updates for Mac" which is a word for word title from Epic's blog post. Fair enough.

The same story on Techmeme linked to an article about the blog post has the title "Epic says it will shut down Fortnite: Save the World on macOS on September 23rd".

Notice the tone shift from "Apple is shutting this down" to "Epic is shutting this down". I guess I don't really have a point here other than the title is not enough to draw a conclusion. Even reading a single source's take on a story is not enough context to draw a balanced conclusion. There is bias and nuance to every side and a healthy dose of skepticism is needed.

ptasci67 commented on Formal GDPR complaint against Google’s internal data free-for-all brave.com/google-internal... · Posted by u/hadrien01

ptasci67 · 6 years ago

Not saying that Google is or isn't breaking the intention of GDPR here but thinking as a critical reader:

- this complaint is lodged by an upstart privacy-based browser which directly competes with a Google product (Chrome) so they are not objective players here

- reading through the PDF linked in the blog post, it seems there is no "canary in the coal mine". It is a spreadsheet with a lot of empty cells and red backgrounds. The post and the facade of the spreadsheet scream "look at this, something's wrong" but the content doesn't match that at all. The impression is that they have found Google to be doing something wrong but the reality is that they want regulators to check and see if Google is doing something wrong. Is there presumed innocence in this circumstance (really asking here because I don't know)?

As with most things, the truth often lies in the middle. It seems to me at least that this is both a click-baity blog post and complaint meant to drum up media and press for Brave as much as it is a spotlight on Google's data practices. Both are bad.

ptasci67 commented on Apple delivers a new redesigned Maps for users in the United States apple.com/newsroom/2020/0... · Posted by u/chmaynard

bhahn · 6 years ago

I just switched to an iPhone after being a long time Android user, and I've found Apple Maps directions not to be as good as Google Maps'. I live in central LA, and it regularly routes me through long and congested intersections.

Does anyone else feel this as well? Is it just my small sample size? I would like to continue using Apple Maps over Google Maps because of the integration with Apple Watch, but it's getting harder and harder each day to justify.

ptasci67 · 6 years ago

As some one who exclusively uses Apple Maps on the west side of LA, I have found the routing to be similar or the same. The killer function for me is the HUD when I have it mounted on my dash. Light-years better. Also...the lane accuracy is unparalleled.