Sounds downright charming...

Gotta love all the people who think California is some kind of utopia to aspire to living in, in between laughing at them for being some painfully naive bastards.

It just annoys me when you get a nice 3D game that works on, say 512MB graphics, but then you see a 2D game that looks like it is 20 years old that requires 1GB+ of graphics. So many games, especially the indie games, have specs that do not reflect the games look or gameplay. They blame it on the engine, but the fault is theirs mostly for lack of optimisation. We have an early access RTS game here that has recommended specs of 16GB of RAM and 4GB of Video RAM. For a RTS game.

I have nothing against this whole "retro" look in general, but 90% of them I feel do so just to be lazy and cut corners. And as you said, milk nostalgia. I am also tired of the amount of excuses they get to use, with so many people excusing the indie developers for underhanded methods and broken games. I don't care if a developer is AAA or indie, there should still be standards when you pay for a finished product.

Waa... I didn't know you were in this kind of sado-masochistic relationship... ;-p
I hope the lab will soon send you your results, and that they won't 1) lose your data 2) be flooded, or 3) be burnt to the ground, in between... **keeping feathers crossed**
Yep, I know where your chat is, thanks for the kind offer :) ... I think I've already ranted too much today (here and to my colleagues), so I'll try to see the half-full glass from now... (do you ever use this expression ?) :)
**big thank-you hug with some extra garlic healing balm for your poor lip**

Welp, I'll report to sickbay (aka this thread).
Got my final exams next monday and tuesday and an interview for a PhD position on wednesday.
And I just got sick today.
FML

Thank you very much :)
Venting is cool, it usually works pretty well (as long as you don't do it all the time)... Just already did here a few minutes ago... I hate complaining for too long :)
**Pass Crow a big mug of coffee**

ô__ô holy cow... is that your last halloween booty ? :)
Thanks for the kind words !... you can keep the candies though, I wouldn't want to have my beak all decayed... !
**big thank you hug**

If there isn't something Windows related that's causing the increased need for resources, since Microsoft's software isn't optimized either (frequently being fairly to extremely bad instead), then yes, it absolutely falls on the developers.

Read a bit on the one you're referring to. The insanely high requirements are supposed to be used for the sake of a groundbreaking level of AI quality. Not exactly getting my hopes up on that one.
I'll back a Kickstarter when I trust the team to not screw up, maybe even grab an In-Dev game if I'm impatient to check something out, but immediately latching onto the idea that someone's packing the next big thing (which is totally worth hundreds and hundreds of dollars in upgrades) is a few steps too far on the faith scale.

-laughs- If nothing else, the standards from AAA developers and independents are often the same - they don't really have any.
Sure, some people give a damn, but they're easily outnumbered between 15 and 20 to 1.

Nothing wrong with a little lip biting now and then. :-)

Thank you. These recent ones are more specific tests, so I will get the results in a day or so, by Friday at the latest as they are prioritising them. We do use that expression. And feel free to rant all you like. But I understand, so I will just give another *big comforting hug*.

Eww, I think I would rather be ill than have garlic healing balm. But at least there were no frogs in it. :-)

*big silly hug*

You're very welcome. =)

Wow, a whole few minutes! You massive whiner! -laughing- ;P

Do you bite necks as well ?... are you a sparkling vampire ? :) **pulling out more garlic from my feathery pockets**
Thanks for your kind words and hugs ! **big thank you hugs back**
**throw away the garlic balm sticker that mentions the ingredients list... which might include undefined frog parts**

Indeed haha. I don't know, I really think the worse thing you could say about Bakersfield (besides Oildale) is that it's a "boring" city. Tons of history there but nothing to do but drink, visit one of the few museums, drink, go to Valley Plaza mall, drink, check out the barely on life support East Hills mall (home to a GREAT local chain video game store and a good comic book shop), drink, go "hiking" in the golden hills/bluffs, drink, go to the Fox theatre, drink, or take four hours (one way) and go to L.A. or Las Vegas or San Francisco.

Maybe, but then we still get some games nicely optimised, which makes me think it is partly due to lazy or incompetent developers.

I am willing to bet that the AI in that game is not really groundbreaking, nor does it require such requirements. It sounds more like excuses for poor optimisation while of course throwing in the usual buzz words and trying to justify the high price of the game. I am not a fan of Kickstarter, or early access games. I could possibly back a Kickstarter if it was something I was passionate about and there was something already established (a working game that just needs a bit of polishing, for example). But I won't give my money to an idea. Too many developers just take the money and fail to deliver. So I will just wait until/if the final version comes out. Not that I have anything against those who do back such projects, like everything it is personal preference.

That is true. Yet indie developers were supposed to know better. They were supposed to be gamers at heart that hated the AAA tactics. Yet now most of them are just as underhanded and just as regularly deliver broken games or fail to meet what they promised. The worst part is this then makes it harder for decent indie developers to be seen, not just due to the saturation of the market but the reputation indie developers are getting.

yeah... I DO feel like a massive whiner :D haha
**actually smiling now** :-)

Hmm. I think I'm sensing a theme in your advice regarding the best way to fully enjoy all the experiences that Bakerfield has to offer...

But a nice playful kiss and a nibble on the neck is lovely now and then :-). Sparkle? Those are the wimpy American vampires. Over here we have the traditional vampires, the kick ass vampires like Dracula. Not that horrible stuff full of abusive relationships and horrible love triangles like those across the pong have. :-)

But if I am a vampire the garlic could kill me... That is so mean. :'-(

*big silly hug with another big comforting hug to help you get through the day*

I knew you were a vampire... garlic doesn't kill vampire, it's only a repellent, like crosses and bibles (i don't see how a bible could kill you as well... even if I throw it with all my strength - and then again, I'd miss you anyway, because I'm so bad at targetting things)... so don't worry, nothing I could use could harm you. I'm not mean !... I'm just scared by kick-ass vampires. ,',',,'):-|
**Big silly hug with plenty of garlic and a bible**