December 23rd, 2023

Why Linux is NOT an answer (But it could be)

People thinking that Linux will solve all the issues with Windows 11. However the common consumer doesn’t even know Linux exists sometimes.

TL;DR: There needs to be ONE Linux flavor to rule them all (Debian seems to be the top one), run Windows programs without flaws, have superior driver support for things like VR, needs to be simple and baby, and the community needs to not be whiny techbros.


The problem with Linux is that it can’t do Windows games. yes Proton exists and helps, but it can’t do games with nProtect and other DRM garbage.
Linux can’t do drivers for popular tools. I know the VR especially Oculus support is very much lacking and/or broken. Not even sure my LeapMotion will work.

Proton isn’t an option because I’m betting it’s not a “One click install and works”. Which is what the average user of Windows 10/11 needs. The culture of Linux is also one of “Well they just need to learn CLI and how to do it!” This turns people off and makes Linux look like an arrogant “hobby project”.

Another of what’s bad is all the Linux flavors. Too many and the various setup guides for people that might want to switch are for that flavor. NPM, Yum, Apt-get? If it doesn’t work on their flavor then they just toss it all as ‘too hard’. You want this program? Run a Docker instance? What’s that? Here’s a wall of text and even then it’s not 1 click install.

I too suffer from this. Look to see how to upgrade/fix/install a program and it’s written for Red Hat, Arch or some other flavor. I hate to say there needs to be one flavor and it needs to be stuck to, but that’s why people use Windows. Windows is Windows is Windows. (I know there’s a difference but installing on all windows is the same)

Why do all these Linux people assume that the common consumer understands how to get and install Linux? Most people I know don’t even know how to turn Windows Updates off since it’s a more involved process now.

In regards to people going to throw their computer away when it’s no longer supported.
If the computer can’t be upgraded and isn’t supported by software devs, then they consider it effectively “Obsolete” and they “Need a new computer”. So they shove the one they have in the dump and go buy a new one.

I’ve seen my parents do this before when the computer starts just slowing down. Toss the old, get a new.

Then we get into the Linux community itself which has treated new users with hostility and “RTFM”. Windows users don’t RTFM. Yes they want it babyfed to them and there’s nothing wrong with that. They want to “1 click install, 1 click upgrade” and having a Mint install eat itself alive to where I had to format and reinstall IS NOT AN OPTION. You can’t have a catastrophic failure like that and telling people to “Backup before update” is only for people who have the luxury of money for extra storage and cloud. (Let’s not even talk about the misogyny and racism that goes on)

Yeah I want to see Linux as a defacto too, but like.. the community around it has got to change and there needs to be a flavor you can install no probs..

December 12th, 2017

Itch.io App

The itch.io app has come a long way from when I first got it, however it needs a lot of improvements.

What’s Working:

  • I like that the tabs have their own section. Unlike the Steam client that just pops them up. I have have a list of tabs open.
  • Has a list of my Library with my collections and creations on the side.

What’s Not Working:

  • I really wish I could black list devs and games. There are a lot of games that pop up in my search that I just don’t want to see for whatever reason.
  • No ability to review a game from the app. You have to go to an actual browser to do that. It could easily be put in the sidebar with Buy/Download Now, Share.
  • No ability to follow a dev.
  • No ability to add nor remove a game to a collection. Removing a game could be done by clicking an X when looking at it in the Collections tab.

December 24th, 2014

Review – Rising Angels: Reborn (SPOILERS)

[Title Image]

Rising Angles: Reborn is a sci-fi mystery visual novel. You’ve been sent to investigate some ruins and somebody doesn’t like what you found.

Story:

Honestly the story is a bit weak. It could have been so much better if it didn’t take the path of least resistance. For a while there I thought that demon guy was just a petty smuggler and the REAL culprit behind everything was someone else. I was sadly mistaken. The makes what happens in the story seem bland and cliche and take any mystery out of it.

Characters:

Overall the characters are good, except Sol. He’s the resident racist, and in the end he’s more or less treated as the “cute/funny oh look at him so racist” character, rather than getting torn apart for still calling others “housecat” and “lizard brain” when they have stated they didn’t like it. What’s worse is that Rasoona is played off as the “cold bitch” character so when Sol kills her, it very much looks to me as a horrible misogynistic act. Not only did the “cold elf bitch” get “put in her place” it was by a man, and a man who was a racist fuck. She never gets a chance to learn that you aren’t a terrible SITO person, just just gets killed. By a racist fuck who’s racism is just ignored at the end.
I’m not sure she’s saveable as the ending I got was the “TRUE END” which means she had to die, which I find rather bullshit. (I did Zuri’s path)
The rest of the characters are cliche for their race, however they are given more of a depth than most other games do. While Zuri want to be the super dragon warrior, she also struggles with it.

Music & Sound:

Music was appropriate for the game. No track really stuck out to me as anything special.

Overall:
Overall this game is good to OK. It’s worth playing but don’t expect any deep mystery. The obvious looking evil demon guy did it. That’s it… That being said it’s worth exploring the story itself as there is more going on than just the mystery of who keeps sabotaging stuff.

[Screenshots]

August 23rd, 2013

Short Reviews – [text], The Noose

A list of short reviews for games that aren’t quite long enough to have established characters, but are nice little short distractions.

 

[text]

[text] is a short game that depending on the choice is either a slice of life, or a scary story. It’s nice and short and too the point. I only kind of wish the uncle was characterized a little more, but the game is that short. A nice little distraction for when you have some time to kill.

The Noose

The Noose is a game that takes about 3 hours to get through and the middle is filled with such over the top repetitive words and phrases it gets silly, so by the time the real scary stuff happens you are just tied. Also sound effects are used way too much in scenes to the point they just get annoying.

Also the story is confusing as fuck. I don’t know it it’s the translation that’s bad or really you just don’t quite get what’s going on, but by the end that diary entry still makes no sense.

August 9th, 2013

Review – Rei

Snap 2013-08-09 at 00.35.06Rei is a short Visual Novel made by Sonnet009 in three days for the Pulse Pounding Heart Stopping Dating Sim Jam 2013.  It’s about Aya, who is forced to go ghost hunting with her friend and finds Rei, a ghost that can’t move on thanks to his fuzzy memory. Of course you get to help him and in that you can find romance.

There are I supposed technically two guys you can romance, however they are the same person, just past and present. I’ve only gotten two out of four endings so I don’t know how all of them end up.

The Story:

Overall the story is unique, it’s got a few moments in it that are sexist, like when you say you don’t believe in love you get told “How can you even call yourself a girl” and your going to be an old cat lady, but overall the experience was nice. The story is solid and short and didn’t leave a lot of loose ends to tie up. For a game made in three days, that’s saying a lot that it has a beginning, middle, end and no dangling story.

I can see the story being expanded to include more ghost histories and trying to save them all or only a special one, and a possible harem ending. :D

Characters:

There are only three major character and one minor character.
Risa, Aya and Rei and the minor Taka.
Risa is mostly there as a catalyst to drag you to school and act as a check when your character completes some routes.
Rei is of course the main target in the game. Both the present and past Rei. He’s the jerk type, but if you pick the right options he’s not that much of one. Not like the typical verbal abusing assholes of other otome games.
Taka, well, his character is more of a spoiler than anything, but he’s involved with Rei somehow.
Aya is a nice character and not a doormat. So that is awesome, and most of her choices are given to you so you can basically guide her character how you want. Which is another nice thing.

Art:

This is going to be short because all the art of the game comes from 3rd parties.
Tokudaya and +cube+ specifically. Which means it super nice art, but you might recognize some of the characters or backgrounds.

Music/Sound:

This is where I felt it needed major improvement. There is only ONE sound, and that’s the school bell. Either some more spooky ambient sounds to set the mood or some music or something would have been nice. Maybe have added those at the end and again from a free materials source.

Overall:

Overall Rei is a nice quick game to kill some time and offers 4 routes to play for some replay value. The story can certainly branch out into a fuller game if the author wanted and it could use some more sounds.