Ser Not Appearing

Whoa! Never been interested in the others genre-wise or what? And thanks for the Twitch follow. I feel so popular now. My daughter will be happy. We've been streaming Vampire Survivors together and she keeps asking how many followers I have. I keep telling her I don't really advertise it but her enthusiasm doesn't abate that easily.

So, I landed a GameStop order for Constellation Edition when it dropped. Then, just a few weeks ago, I caught it in stock with Bethesda and decided to order there and sell whichever comes later. My thought was that Bethesda probably tries to make sure it gets to me in time and GameStop is a wildcard. I took off Friday, so I really want it on time for release. Smart me. Bethesda is supposed to be arriving today. GameStop only shipped this morning. --- In other news, I'm gonna stream my gameplay on Twitch starting TH night. I probably won't be all that interesting and I'm not popular (I'm not a streamer and don't have or care to build a real following) ... but I'll stream my entire gameplay and will probably put in 300 or more hours, if the past is any indication. Jamalisms on Twitch if anyone wants to be bored.

Phil Spencer said Starfield is more like Oblivion than Skyrim. Anybody with a good feel for both games have a thought on what that might mean?

Sent request. My code is: 0408 2811 3030

I go through active and inactive periods.

I've spent a good amount of time in Vampire Survivors recently. Able to play with the kids now is great (they keep asking to stream it as if people are watching, lol) but I also found out there's DLC and it's super cheap. Started trying to unlock stuff. Lots more depth to delve.

Feel like I'm dodging bullets trying to avoid Starfield spoilers at this point. With that said, here's some non-spoiler hype: I haven't, and wouldn't recommend, reading replies. Bound to be spoilers there.

Finished Celeste (or at least reached the summit). Great game and I'm actively horrible at it. Dashing in the direction I intend is about a 50/50 proposition, tbh. It's kinda wild how strong the disconnect between brain and thumb is. Tried streaming Minecraft with my son and his buddy and it was maybe the most frustrating gaming experience of my life. Not sure I'll return to that to beat the Ender Dragon but that had been the original plan. Maybe I'll stream Vampire Survivor multiplayer with the kids instead. Starfield can't get here soon enough.

I could play. Tag me again before start.

Streamed chapter 4 of Celeste this morning. There were a few areas that were confusing to me (one in particular) and I didn't even know what I was supposed to do to complete them. That was actively a bit aggravating and I whined and cried crocodile tears. But I eventually figured it out. Also, my thumb hurts from fighting against the wind. If anyone has played or is a big fan of this game, can you tell me if the solution I came up with for the room that I start at 51:00 in this video is the correct solution or if there was something more obvious? I feel like I really struggled to put together the steps necessary to complete this room and it was pretty frustrating but I assume that I was either really slow on the pickup or there was something more obvious that I could have done. Pretty curious about it, actually. https://www.twitch.tv/jamalisms/v/1901965138?sr=a&t=2s

Finally got around to Celeste as a test for streaming. First chapter done was funky and mic was muted. Second chapter was better but mic too quiet. Third chapter kicked my butt ... but my audio was better. Fun game.

I prefer not after the 31st but I can do whatever.

I prefer not after the 31st but I can do whatever.

Starfield preinstall on Xbox starts tomorrow. The 30th for Steam. Also, here's a Starfield developer Q&A transcript from today:

Ports don't cost nearly the same $ d original creation. Uneducated layman that I am, full cost for old ports feels like a giant money grab and not reasonable.

Give Starfield a bit more time and you'll have a space game high on the list ... assuming no trash voting from angry PlayStation fans. More immediately, I wonder what the ratings for Starfield will look like. It's so massive and I feel like they've got a solid lid on content so I wonder how many will get access to it and how much time they'll have. Feel like it might be hard for anyone to adequately rate it.

I'm in for whatever. Just hope that if I'm two minutes late for the draft it either doesn't spend tons of money on RBs ... or I notice before I spend more money on RBs.

The 10 yr old and I finished the Harry Potter series last night. It's rather interesting how Rowling had equality as a major theme in the series, given where things have gone for her. I think it's probably a good example of how we all have blind spots and are incomplete in the ways we manifest virtue. But I've largely ignored her and that whole issue beyond headlines, which is perhaps privilege, so I may be missing something. Anyway, the final book was pretty good. I'd forgotten basically everything except the big strokes. I think it broke her out of the rhythm and formula she had used as a crutch and, generally, it served to make her a better writer in this book. My son and I had a hard time not listening to it in every free moment (much to the annoyance of my wife and daughter). I did tire of how the named bad guys never died after being defeated. There's only so many times the damn werewolf can get wrecked before his reappearance to menace just feels underwhelming. Kill them, imprison them, cut off their tattooed arms, break people's wands... I don't really care. But don't just let them wake up and wander away again. I rather enjoyed the arc of Severus throughout all the books, knowing what was coming. Rowling did a good job obscuring his true reality. He was one of the heroes, perhaps the truest hero, of the books because he wasn't forced into anything and reacting. He actively chose all his risks on what his life was dedicated to. Before they revealed that Voldemort wasn't the master of the elder wand (because Draco disarmed Dumbledore before Snape killed him) my son made a really good point ... that Voldemort didn't actually kill Snape. Nagini did. Also, Voldemort lost because he broke every password rule when hiding horcruxes. Random > Personally identifiable

Just gonna leave this here: https://www.reddit.com/r/brandonsanderson/comments/15b7opr/unfortunate_timestamp_placement/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=android_app&utm_name=androidcss&utm_term=1&utm_content=1

I've been playing a ton of Exoprimal. It's like Gambit from Destiny 2, mixed with a bit of Overwatch and the story Fortnite should have had. It feels bland but solid at the start and is initially somewhat repetitive (I imagine reviewers only ever got this far because they're lazy) but, despite being multi-player, there's a single player story that unfolds and they add more mission types and variety as you play more. You also unlock more player abilities as you level up the exosuits. It's been pretty fun and chill with no notable bugs.

Here's my real opinion: It's merely a manner of absorbing the written word. In this case, it's spoken aloud and processed, including all nuance added by the narrator, and not viewed and independently processed / interpreted in full by the "reader." These two things are truly distinct and differences may well exist but I don't tend to think it's meaningful beyond an academic sense. This is similar to how people learn in a classroom. Yes, various sensory methods have distinction and augment knowledge with different emphasis but the end result is that one learns. It really doesn't matter what the process was, as it relates to the subject matter. I acknowledge that "read" does have a specific meaning and that's a big part (I think) of the reason people get uptight about things. Reading is a skill and listening maybe doesn't interact with that skill in the same way, plus it's pedantically distinct ... but there's also a significant convenience in using "read" to refer to audiobooks as well because, again, the distinction isn't meaningful in terms of someone having absorbed the story or being capable of having enjoyed it or discussing it. If I'm looking to discuss the book or share my love of the author -the vast majority of all conversations I'll ever engage in regarding the word "read" - this distinction not only doesn't matter but would be pointless to note. And, no, I'm not concerned whether or not people who enjoy stories can literally read. And, not, even if I was, I don't think being exact with language about reading versus listening to an audiobook is going to make a difference in the world. Perhaps that's my own short-sightedness

I only wash laundry by hand because I'm not ok with people who think a washing machine is the same thing.

What if you're the narrator, listening to yourself read the book via audiobook. Did you really re-read it? Really?

Starfield dropped three video shorts today:

Yes. Any other questions?