HeyListenWatchOut @ JDPoZ @lemmy.world

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Joined

2 yr. ago

Seems to always go back to that one Dark Knight quote...

Yeah... it's crazy because it was created specifically as a way to take advantage of how completely arrogant Epic was licensing their trash fire game engine for $1,000,000... and now they did something in the exact same sort of vein of arrogance.

The craziest thing to me about this whole situation is how Unity even came into being.

I was in school learning Unreal back when it was an absolute trash fire - pre “UDK” days when Epic was splitting their time between working on their engine and making the next Gears of War game.

Unity was this breath of fresh air that made it so the interface made sense. No more “clicking the 3rd green checkmark” to import your skeletal mesh that you generated from your $2,000 software from Autodesk with a plugin that barely works made by desperate people in forums…

Unity's main initial release (version 2.5)...

...was not only BEAUTIFUL by comparison to the "Unreal Editor..."

...software from around that time, but it worked with interchangeable file formats and eventually native program files like PSDs.

They are the main reason that Epic got scared, lowered their stupidly high price of ~$1,000,000 to license their game engine, and started really redoing the whole UX to the point that it actually wasn’t cryptic arcane magic but on par with and sometimes even above what Unity offered… and they helped make the entire indie game industry able to hire folks with skills in an engine that wouldn’t break the bank and that everyone could carry over.

It used to not be like that. I worked at a studio with 20 guys and they had their own engine… and the original engine programmers were all gone. It was like trying to do maintenance on a commercial jet liner while flying it and never having been given a manual but just a few guys with second-hand knowledge.

It’s so goddamn maddening to see them completely destroy themselves like this. It’s some Star Wars prequel “you were the chosen one” type meme shit.

I’m happy that Godot was there to fill the gap, because I hate to think what would happen were Unreal not to have any competition with the 3rd party engine market again… but Unity… man… it never was “as good” as Unreal visually, but it had gotten to a point where it was “close enough” that everyone used it.

Now though? I can’t ever see any studio wanting to risk using it again at the chance they get greedy again and try to rug pull small dev houses.

Absolutely! Just remember, no device is perfect. The Shield Pro just has the least crappy things that streaming boxes tend to have and the highest POTENTIAL of all the devices out there due to the availability of Android OS applications.

Make sure you do those customization actions I described and I can pretty much guarantee you'll enjoy the device. If you have any other questions that a Google / YouTube search won't solve, don't hesitate to comment here again.

No. Don’t use the TV’s built in “smart functionality.”

In fact, I would recommend blocking it from the internet altogether.

In my experience “TV software updates” never improve any functionality… they use them for better analytics and at worst, literally pushing ads.

Buy a dedicated smart device and use that for your streaming.

Specifically I recommend buying an NVIDIA Shield Pro 2019 model (the latest).

You can get them at any Best Buy or Bezos store.

Also, while we are at it, general tip for everyone here - don’t use WiFi if you can. Use the Shield’s gigabit wired Ethernet port. Specifically means you’ll get a more stable signal from whatever Plex server you are using. I personally experience zero buffering on 4K DolbyVision video with DTS-HD MA 7.1 / ATMOS audio for anything I watch on Plex.

Just so folks know, almost every single one of the TV companies who make TVs that DO have an Ethernet port cheap out and only put in a 10/100 Ethernet port… NOT an actual gigabit 10/100/1000 Ethernet port.

NVIDIA Shield Pro (the 2019 model is the latest version) with a couple of customizations STILL is the absolute best for avoiding ads.

It is the most powerful outside of the latest model AppleTVs, but with the added benefit of being completely customizable.

Personally, I HATE ads, so I use a combination of customizations to eliminate them completely.

1. A custom “launcher” - this is a little weird to wrap your head around if you’re not familiar with Android OS devices, but it basically means “replacing” what you see when the device turns on. A few years ago, Google couldn’t help themselves and started adding more and more advertisements to their “home page” for the Shield’s default launcher app, so I switched to the “Wolf” Launcher and have never changed, though I would probably recommend “FLauncher” now since you can still (at least last I checked) get that directly from the Google Play Store without any “side-loading” (which means to install things from non-Google sources)
2. I love YouTube, but hate ads, so I downloaded and installed a 3rd party YouTube client called “SmartTube Next” - which although DOES require a side load installation, COMPLETELY ELIMINATES ALL ADS, AND in-video sponsorships, and even intros and other annoying filler content in some more popular videos.

The side-loading part makes things a little more scary/difficult to setup but I promise it’s worth it and there are always updated videos online on how to do this safely and securely.

I just set up like 8 of these things a few weeks ago for my brother and he loves it. Nothing is laggy or slow, no ads, and it integrated into his Smart Home stuff effortlessly.

One last note - a custom launcher can replace the default one (rather than run alongside it) by grabbing and installing “Launcher Manager” - another side-loaded app.

Leisure suit Larry is not really a parody like Conker was though, was it? I thought it was just a point and click adventure game with dirty jokes.

Forgive me, if I’m wrong on that. I actually have not really played the leisure suit Larry games. 

I think, Conker not only makes fun of platformer games and game mechanics in general, but directly references movies like Saving Private Ryan, the Alien franchise, and the Matrix.