Blubber28 @ Blubber28 @lemmy.world

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141

Joined

2 yr. ago

Certainly. The American Chaffee is also a contender imo.

that is easily the cutest tank I've ever seen!

This is Panzerkampfwagen II Ausf. L "Luchs" erasure

I have seen it recommended somewhere in the comments but I want to shed some more light on this game: What Remains of Edith Finch. It is a walking simulator that should take about 2 hours and is best played in a single session.

As Edith Finch, you go back to the house where you grew up in your younger years to explore it. The Finch family has an almost genetic trait of bad luck; many of them have died before their time. You explore the house room by room and explore that person's last moments.

There is no gore or horror of any kind, but there are children that die, so if that is a trigger I would sit this one out. If not, it is currently on sale for less than €5. It is worth it.

The infuriating part here is that there are still people the think climate change is a hoax, even though we see the first effects right here, right now. Last year was similar. I remember it being like 16 degrees on New Year's Eve. Fucking madness...

As a non-native English speaker I fully understand what it means and will happily correct it to football for you :P

Rollercoaster Tycoon 1, 2, and 3 when I was quite young. In my teens it was Minecraft.

I bet you make images of stuff too then?

Same here. Needed an image of Uncle Sam as an Air Genasi. Can't get stuff that specific without a comission (which is expensive and not worth it for a joke sidequest) or AI, so AI it is.

If I could upvote you twice, I would!

Thanks for the recommendation! Will do

What Remains of Edith Finch

Kentucky Route Zero

Life is Strange

These are not the games I play the most. In terms of hours it would be Minecraft, Civilization VI, Divinity II: Original Sin, and Sprocket. And I love those games a lot, but they don't bring me the same experience as a well made story-driven game.

What Remains of Edith Finch is a "walking simulator" in terms of gameplay, but it should really be seen as an interactive movie. As Edith Finch, you go back to the house you grew up in as a kid, and where the whole Finch family lived once. The Finch family are generally quite unfortunate and usually meet an untimely end to their lives. As you go through the house room by room, you explore Edith's memories and the last moments of the person who died. It is only two hours long and should be played in a single sitting for the best experience. It is so far the only game where, when it was finished, I couldn't do anything besides sitting behind the screen, staring at the credits that were rolling, feeling bittersweet awe and sadness. It is an experience that I cannot recommend enough.

Kentucky Route Zero, on the other hand, is a bit harder to recommend, because I feel it's much more niche. It is another story driven game that takes a point and click approach to moving around. What makes it tick, though, is the sense of mystery. The game starts with a man named Conway. He is delivering a shipment of antiques - the last one before the shop will close down. He is rather lost, but gets the directions that he must go over highway zero. As you go through the game, you explore the mysterious underground highway and river of Kentucky and meet interesting people along the way - all of them with their own issues. Debt, guilt, addiction, and loss are all handled in this game. It's tricky to recommend, as there is nothing in terms of "actual gameplay." But for those that enjoy an interactive and unique story, it should be on your radar.

And lastly, the most famous one on my list: Life is Strange. I don't think it needs much introduction, but for those who don't know it: It is a game about Max, who discovers she can rewind time to a certain extent, and Chloe, her childhood friend with whom she reconnects. Don't worry about the superpower part too much; it's not a wacky Marvel thing, but rather a tool that is used to influence your environment and the people around you in more subtle ways. You explore Arcadia Bay and its inhabitants and learn more about Chloe as well. The game also presents you with various story choices that influence how people feel about you and react to you. Don't expect Detroit: Become Human levels of choices matter, though.

For me, I had the pleasure of going in completely blind and playing the prequel first. While I can understand that playing the prequel after the original can make the prequel feel underwhelming, it worked out for me. In the prequel, you play as Chloe before Max returns to Arcadia Bay and get to know her and her story. Then you go into Life is Strange already caring about Chloe, which elevated the experience significantly for me. So, to those that played it too, you know the choice I made at the end ;)

Absolute favourite game soundtrack? Frostpunk's OST. The soundtrack really brings home the desperation and harshness of survival in the cold. When the storm is coming and the music swells up... goosebumps. Every single time.

Divinity 2: Original Sin has a great soundtrack too. Kinda surprised I couldn't find it in the comments. Minecraft as well. It's very soothing and calming.

Aside from that, some smaller titles with great music: GRIS, What Remains of Edith Finch, and FAR: Lone Sails.

Sadly, it's not just the US. A whole generation of students here in The Netherlands were made to take loans. They did change it back, but it was in place for 7/8 years. And, as a cherry on top, there was no interest initially. Then a small (~0.5%) interest was added, and now a few days ago they announced that the interest would be five-folded. It sounds too American to be happening here, but sadly it is the truth.

Yeah those are worms! Very cool things. They manipulate the mantis to go into the water where they can crawl out and complete their growth. To the detriment of the mantis, of course.

Be gentle...

I'd recommend looking out for rabies in general ;) even without zombiefying, it's a horrible way to go.

And, of course, get your shots!

Let me put your mind at ease. The zombie ant phenomenon is nothing to be scared of as a human.

In nature, there are many pathogens/parasites. Some of them are able to manipulate their hosts to their own benefit. The zombie ants are not actual zombies, rather they are still alive ants that are manipulated before their death. This disease is caused by fungi of the Ophiocordyceps family. These fungi infect the ants and change their behaviour over the course of roughly one month. First, the ants social behaviour is surpressed and their biological clock disrupted. Then they start wildly walking around in nonsensical patterns. Eventually, when the infection has reached its peak, the ant climbs up some vegetation (grass, reeds, bushes, etc.). Here, it bites and clamps onto this vegetation, and that is that for the ant. It dies in this position. After a few days, a fruiting body (somewhat akin to a mushroom) sprouts from the body to release spores. If the spores manage to infect an ant, the cycle repeats.

Ophiocordyceps is not the only manipulator in nature. The Massospora fungi hijack cicadas and replace their genitals. Then, they induce mating behaviour. When another cicada tries to mate, they get infected instead. And there are many others like them. The way they manipulate their host is different between all of them, but they do have one thing in common: they are all highly specialized. For example, the Ophiocordyceps fungi species generally are only able to infect one ant species. They have co-evolved in an arms race over millions of years, where the ant develops mechanisms to defend themselves from pathogens and the pathogen develops ways around it. The chance of these highly specialized fungi to suddenly work on humans is zero. The same goes for Massospora. So, no need to worry about being forced to climb a tree or grow a fungal penis or vagina (or fungussy, if you will).

While these pathogens are no harm to us, there are, of course, pathogens that do manipulate humans. The most infamous example is the rabies virus. Luckily, there is a vaccine against it.

So, in short, no need to panic. Not about this, at least.

Live fast - die young - leave a good-looking corpse

It really is

While I recognize it's not for everyone, online D&D can be just as fun as in person. I've been playing twice a week with my group that I've been playing with for almost two years. Of course, not every group you get into is immediately the right fit, I think I got quite lucky as it was my third group I got into.

There are various websites to play. Personally, I use Roll20. While I recognize it has flaws, it is still pretty decent overall, and a free account gives you all the necessary functionality to play. Even GM's can just use a free account if they manage their resources well.