@hk@mstdn.games cover
@hk@mstdn.games avatar

hk

@[email protected]

Vintage gamer, married, father of two, metalhead. I post mostly about metroidvanias, soulsbornes, JRPGs, and retro gaming.

Interested in neurodivergences, lifting heavy things and putting them back down, and socialising the means of production.

Don't you dare go hollow.

Toots are automatically deleted after a month.

This profile is from a federated server and may be incomplete. View on remote instance

@hk@mstdn.games avatar hk , to random

I got stuck in , and I was not sure why... Today, after making some progress, I've finally figured out what is the friction point.

It's the area of Da'at: Chiyoda. I'm finding it extremely difficult to navigate, there's so many dead ends and multi-level paths that it does trigger a physical reaction, not too different from claustrophobia. I've spent more than an hour unsuccessfully trying to figure out how to reach a specific part of the map, and it's left me quite agitated.

And because of that, I haven't been able to go on long stretches of playtime lately... Which is a shame, because I love every other aspect of the game.

@hk@mstdn.games avatar hk , to random

I may or may not have read through most of (because I read the first handful of chapters a couple of days ago) Legends & Lattes in one sitting...

Really nice and snugly fantasy book 😇😇

hk OP ,
@hk@mstdn.games avatar

And now, with tha finished, I'm starting with something, I believe, quite different...

@hk@mstdn.games avatar hk , to random

Loving TrackerControl so far.

https://f-droid.org/app/net.kollnig.missioncontrol.fdroid

A FOSS Android app that takes care of monitoring and blocking all the trackers that apps try to connect to when using them, gives you control over which ones do you allow or not (for example, I had to whitelist access to Google's IMAP server for Thunderbird, or I would not be abld to fetch my mail!), and even a 1-click access to GDPR requests.

@hk@mstdn.games avatar hk , to random

Really enjoying . I just got the Grapple Beam upgrade, and now it's time to look for places to use it!

I really need to start looking for all those rocket and health upgrades all across the map, because I've seen that by this point in the game I could have 120+ rockets and 8 or 9 health tanks in stock, and I'm at 70 rockets and 5 tanks so I'm clearly not doing great exploration-wise 🤣🤣

Also, for a series called Metroid, it's fascinating how much I hate fighting Metroids above all other types of enemies in every game!

hk OP ,
@hk@mstdn.games avatar

@JTO_is_Typing Oh, yeah, I played AM2R not too long ago and when I saw it was about hunting metroids I was... Not excited 🤣

hk OP ,
@hk@mstdn.games avatar

Actually, there's an enemy I hate more tha metroids in Metroid Prime... It's the Chozo Ghosts.

hk OP ,
@hk@mstdn.games avatar

On the other hand, I'm quite liking the approach of this game to guiding the player. You get a new upgrade, and the game lets you roam free for a while. Eventually, if you're not making progress in the right direction, you get a notification in the system going "something seems to be happening over here", and a map marker. I think it is a good compromise between guiding the player and letting them roam free.

hk OP ,
@hk@mstdn.games avatar

@Sobtanian I don't know, I think they're hitting a sweet spot for my tolerance to getting absolutely lost in the world... They take quite a while to pop up, and by that time I'm already getting to tbe point of thinking "look, I just want to make some forward progress rather than running around in circles".

hk OP ,
@hk@mstdn.games avatar

@Sobtanian No, I didn't enable markers in BoF. But in here I'm having more trouble with the map (I find the 3D map somewhat fiddly and hard to read), and the first person view with controller adds a layer of complexity to the exploration that eventually makes me get tired of backtracking.

hk OP ,
@hk@mstdn.games avatar

@JTO_is_Typing Yeah, no, I've tried emulating SMT IV on my tablet and it's too clunky... I'll end up getting an Ayn Thor or something similar to play DS and 3DS games, and that's when I'll play Samys Returns.

I wouldn't mind playing tbe original Game Boy title, but since it doesn't have an integrated map, I think it can be a but too hard to follow 😅

@hk@mstdn.games avatar hk , to random

As much as I love the 2D Metroid games, I've never played the Prime trilogy...

Now that the new one is about to launch, maybe it would be a good idea to give the first three a chance.

hk OP ,
@hk@mstdn.games avatar

@Sobtanian I got blocked, that means I'm doing something right! 😁

hk OP ,
@hk@mstdn.games avatar

So, last night I started Metroid Prime on the Steam Deck, emulating the GC version. It runs perfectly, and I must say I'm finding the controls much more intuitive than I had expected.

I like going back to older games, where controls hadn't homogenised yet and everyone was trying to figure it out to the best of their ability. In Metroid Prime, being able to lock on enemies really help during combat and levels, as far as I've seen for now, seem to be very consciously designed with "the player will be looking straight ahead 90% of the time", which is definitely helpful.

Which means that yeah, I'm going to keep playing this game, because I think I can really get to enjoy it, even though it's a FPS on console, which is something I usually really don't like playing.

hk OP ,
@hk@mstdn.games avatar

LOL, turns out today's Metroid Prime's birthday, and I just found out. 23 years! Man I'm old xD

https://social.tchncs.de/@73CC/115569934257180989

@hk@mstdn.games avatar hk , to random

I mean, the new Steam hardware look awesome, but I would probably prefer just getting a desktop PC over the GabeCube.

It would be more expensive, but at least I have the option to keep upgrading it over time...

The gamepad though, I really dig it.

hk OP ,
@hk@mstdn.games avatar

@danielholt I've been watching some videos about it, and it is amazing how small it is! It can definitely fit anywhere.

I guess it will also be a matter of knowing the price. Which, if it is not too expensive, it will be an incredible slap in the face of XBox and their "we're going to blur the barriers between PC and console in our next generation machine, which will cost $1200". If the steam mini PC does just that at, say, half the price, it could put XBox in a very tight spot.

@hk@mstdn.games avatar hk , to random

Today's being such a Monday.

First, I get a puncture in my bike's rear wheel on my way to the office. Once I arrive, I realise I've forgotten my pass card at home. The one I need to access the printer to print the two documents I needed to get today. And once I'm done with my morning workout, it turns out that the showers in the building are clogged and therefore closed for maintenance.

Thankfully the front desk team are nice and they've allowed me to send them the documents by email and they've printed them for me. But once that's been done, I've had to walk back home with my bike and covered in sweat so I could shower here.

I fucking hate Mondays.

hk OP ,
@hk@mstdn.games avatar

I had been thinking of getting myself a Playdate or an AYN Thor as Christmas present this year, but I've made up my mind and tomorrow I'm taking the bike to the workshop not just to get the puncture repaired, but to also get custom wheels made and puncture-proof tyres.

I'm big and heavy, and the wheels have been under a lot of stress lately. So I already discussed this in the past with the guy in the workshop, they will be able to build some nice wheels capable of supporting my weight without problems. And given the amount of trouble this bike has been giving me since I bought it, I think it is what I definitely need.

@Sobtanian@mstdn.games avatar Sobtanian , to random

My friend persuaded me to get this.

I fear that I’m gonna regret it. I suck at twitchy boss fights.

But he kept taunting me and I FOMOed hard.

The First Berserker: Khazan for PS5
ALT
hk ,
@hk@mstdn.games avatar

@Sobtanian Ooooh Khazan is so good!!

Don't expect level design to be as good as in Blades of Fire though, but tge combat is... chef kiss

hk ,
@hk@mstdn.games avatar

@Sobtanian Yeah, the bosses in Khazan are some of the hardest I've fought in any souls-like ever.

And I also hope BoF will get a sequel!

hk ,
@hk@mstdn.games avatar

@Sobtanian Hard bosses that you can only beat if you can read their attack patterns perfectly and react accordingly, stamina management, estus flasks refilling and enemies respawning when you rest at bonfires, and corpse running... I'd say that's mostly the boxes it needs to tick for me so the game can be called a souls-like.

I'd say it is very similar in structure to the Nioh games.

@danielholt@mstdn.games avatar danielholt , to random

Emperor Zhu Youjian just got absolutely brutalised by yours truly.

Three attempts. Got him on the third. Burned the heart right out of the fucker in an absolute display of working a bosses weakness.

Honestly, that was fucking awesome.

hk ,
@hk@mstdn.games avatar

@danielholt I've watched the endings on YouTube... It's not a big deal, and you get to fight the same fianl boss (unlike, for example, Khazan or Nine Sols, where there's an extra boss phase in the true ending path).

hk ,
@hk@mstdn.games avatar

@danielholt Same here xD

I think it has something to do with people thinking that, because you have feathers on your arm, you are a bloodthirsty beast, and you proving them wrong by violently murdering each and every one of them 🤣

I get the feeling that sometimes the game wanted to hint at some plot twist or big reveal that went totally over my head, I was just looking for the next thing to hit with my blade

@chris@mstdn.games avatar chris , to random

With Nova Launcher shutting down, which Android launcher do you all use?

Looking for something lightweight, FOSS, with some sort of categories or folders to keep things sorted, (i.e. quick access to a page or set of language learning apps)

hk ,
@hk@mstdn.games avatar

@mik0e1 @chris I've discovered lawnchair thanks to your post, and after tinkering and customising it for a bit I've decided it's a keeper!

It works quite well, has all the features I need... I just wish it was also on @fdroidorg so I could handle updates through it!

hk ,
@hk@mstdn.games avatar

@irgndsondepp @mik0e1 @chris @fdroidorg Thanks! I didn't know I could do that 😄

@hk@mstdn.games avatar hk , to random

I'm currently reading Royal Assassin by Robin Hobb and listening to The Lies of Locke Lamora by Scott Lynch and look, I like good worldbuilding as much as anyone else... But do all these fantasy books really need to be multi-book, 700+ pages per book epics?

I would really like a well written 300-pages standalone fantasy book for a change...

@hk@mstdn.games avatar hk , to random

I'm looking for recommendations on good science-fiction or fantasy audiobooks, and ideally somewhere I can buy them other than Amazon.

I'm going on long-ish walks every day, and I would like to take advantage of that time to listen to some narrated books, but I've never used them before and I'm a bit out of touch with both where to get them and also the general modern sci-fi/fantasy scene, so all suggestions are welcome!

I've currently started listening to Project Hail Mary, which I could borrow from my local library, but it doesn't seem like the library has many audiobooks in these genres...

@killyourfm@layer8.space avatar killyourfm , (edited ) to random

Would anyone be interested in participating in a sort of retro gaming "book club" style group? Basically, picking a console era, voting on a game, then playing through it together and discussing it? (Emulation is fine, we don't all have real hardware)

It seems like a fun idea. I want to call it "The Retro Retreat."

Wide open to ideas to bring it from conception to reality.

hk ,
@hk@mstdn.games avatar

@killyourfm I would love to join this, but I'm not particularly excited about having to create an account on yet another platform... I understand the reasons, but it becomes increasingly harder to have to track information across a dozen platforms.

hk ,
@hk@mstdn.games avatar

@killyourfm of course, I also think that following multiple threads can be complicated in here... If in the end it goes to Matrix, I gurss I'll end up joining, hopefully I'll be able to keep up with it.

@hk@mstdn.games avatar hk , to random

Anyone with kids has any experience with word processors at school? We're considering the Freewrite Alpha, or maybe the cheaper option of getting an Asus Eee and forcing it to be a word processor only, but I would like to hear from someone else who's tried these things before.

My youngest one struggles with handwriting, her brain goes way faster than her hand, and by the time she writes something down she has already thought and forgotten the next three sentences...

hk OP ,
@hk@mstdn.games avatar

@me @btaroli the school SENco has mentioned the idea of providing my kid a laptop, but I wonder if she might get distracted with other programs she may be able to launch...

A dedicated word processor sounds to me like a more interesting approach, as she would not be able so get sidetracked by other stuff. Also, if the device is hers, she could grow used to it and use it even more efficiently.

@olena@mementomori.social avatar olena , to ActuallyAutistic group

Looks like most have with all its contradictions:

  1. They need routine and don’t feel OK when the normal routine is disrupted, but sometimes out of nowhere suddenly start doing weirdest things
  2. They have strong food preferences, but sometimes would occasionally devour something highly inappropriate or get interested in something that is totally out of their normal eating range
  3. They are curious and every new object draws their attention, and they hate to be disrupted when occupied, but would suddenly switch attention to something else half-way to their goal
  4. They easily get bored and lose interest in playing, and the toy that was their favourite yesterday annoys them tomorrow
  5. Extremely demand-avoiding, but actually seek good pats
  6. Sometimes would spend 20 hours a day on a coach doing seemingly nothing
  7. Temperature and texture sensitive
  8. Seem unpredictable to outsiders and would sometimes have a meltdown totally out of the blue (to the bystander eye)
  9. Need to be alone to recover from undesirable interactions





actuallyautistic@a.gup.pe icon ActuallyAutistic group

hk ,
@hk@mstdn.games avatar

@olena actuallyautistic@a.gup.pe icon ActuallyAutistic group I'll just leave here this book I found in our local library recently to teach young kids about autism...

hk ,
@hk@mstdn.games avatar

@Kellyshenanigans @olena actuallyautistic@a.gup.pe icon ActuallyAutistic group I'll just leave here this book I found in our local library recently to teach young kids about autism...

hk ,
@hk@mstdn.games avatar

@Soozcat @olena actuallyautistic@a.gup.pe icon ActuallyAutistic group They updated the title as the term became discontinued :)
https://mstdn.games/@hk/113177782784782259

hk ,
@hk@mstdn.games avatar

@Soozcat @olena actuallyautistic@a.gup.pe icon ActuallyAutistic group Yes! We borrowed and read it at home a few times, and I think it was helpful for my kids to understand the term better 😃