News:

And we're back!

Main Menu

Recent posts

#31
Gaming HQ / Re: Paradox: Star Trek Infinit...
Last post by Josquius - Today at 05:01:06 AM
Curious. I'd imagine the license would have cost a fair bit. Sad it hasn't worked out.
#32
Off the Record / Re: Choose your pup
Last post by Josquius - Today at 04:06:05 AM
This poll was a joke. I was half curious to see if the languish rule of picture polls would apply to annoying cartoon dogs too  ;)

QuoteYou are just jealous I am cool with the kids!

I kind of miss the era when little kids actually watched TV so you knew what they were talking about and what they were interested in. Now my daughter just has her tablet and so when she finds something she is interested in I have to try to figure out what she is saying and then have to research it. And since little kids seem to love horror stuff so much these days my response is usually "what the fuck is this weird shit?"

I was out chaperoning my 11 year old sons choir class in the fall and they were taking internet quizzes about which Paw Patrol Pup they were and I was thinking "oh great when this generation finishes growing up we are going to have adult reboots like Barbie and Transformers about Paw Patrol aren't we?"
I've kept mine away from his own tablet so far and he isn't really confident using youtube himself...though with our aid he does get to watching some odd stuff.
A current favourite is some Japanese guy with 50 different Thomas toys, the sort that have a lever then move. He takes each of them, opens them up, puts a battery in, closes them again, and lets them go on a little round track he has built on a park table.
No narration. No special effects other than when they all appear at the very start. Just....

https://www.youtube.com/watch?app=desktop&v=goz3aJ_RLEE&embeds_referring_euri=https%3A%2F%2Fdigifam.fr%2F&feature=emb_imp_woyt

I had thought he would have escaped Paw Patrol but the influence of kids at nursery is working its magic on him. He also knows what Spiderman is despite never being exposed- zero interest in the cartoon itself. And Pacman thanks to an Oreo advertising board around the corner.


I must say I am jealous of this generation. Never will they have the horror I remember only two well of missing an episode of a show and never being able to see it ever again. Or at a later age cutting of my burgeoning football career because training was Monday night, which was Star Trek night.
#33
Off the Record / Re: TV/Movies Megathread
Last post by Josquius - Today at 04:02:00 AM
Quote from: celedhring on Today at 03:45:59 AMAren't the Wachowskis bad directors with one great movie at this point?
Cloud Atlas was great. Speed Racer too.

edit- quick wiki check and I'm reminded V for Vendetta was them too. It was OK.
#34
Off the Record / Re: TV/Movies Megathread
Last post by celedhring - Today at 03:45:59 AM
Aren't the Wachowskis bad directors with one great movie at this point?
#35
Off the Record / Re: TV/Movies Megathread
Last post by Josquius - Today at 03:18:05 AM
I thought crystal skull was decent.
Certainly better than the most recent one.
#36
Gaming HQ / Re: Paradox: Star Trek Infinit...
Last post by garbon - Today at 02:33:47 AM
Paradox let people purchase an incomplete game that didn't actually get post release support. It is on them just like their increasingly long list of fails.
#37
Gaming HQ / Re: Millennia - 4X Civ Like pu...
Last post by Richard Hakluyt - Today at 02:10:21 AM
I am also enjoying it. About three hours in, which is more than I ever managed for civ6  :hmm:

At this time it is impossible to say how long it will hold my attention; but its the cost of a decent lunch so even if it ends up only being 20 hours total I will be satisfied  :cool:
#38
Off the Record / Re: Russo-Ukrainian War 2014-2...
Last post by Zoupa - Today at 12:48:45 AM
Quote from: The Minsky Moment on March 22, 2024, 02:26:30 PM
Quote from: Josquius on March 22, 2024, 02:09:49 PMThat's not what I've heard. The Ukrainians understand exactly what parts of the refinery to target - it looks like pin prick attacks on such a big facility but they're hitting very particular parts that are vital to operations and need lengthy repairs using parts not available domestically.

Perhaps . . .
But over the past year Russia cut 1 million barrels per the OPEC+ cuts.  You'd have to do an awful lot of permanent damage before the excess capacity was breached.

QuoteExclusive: Russia increases gasoline imports from Belarus as domestic supplies shrink
By Reuters
March 27, 20249:25 AM PDT

Russia has increased gasoline imports from neighbouring Belarus in March to tackle the risk of shortages in its domestic market because of unscheduled repairs at Russian refineries after drone attacks, four industry and trade sources said on Wednesday.
Usually Russia is a net exporter of fuel and a supplier to international markets, but the disruption of Russian refining has forced oil companies to import.
Already Russia banned gasoline exports from March 1 to try to secure enough fuel for its domestic market after repeated Ukrainian drone attacks on Russian refineries since the start of the year.
Russia normally imports very little fuel from Belarus, although it turned to it last August-to-October, when it faced fuel shortages that led to a rapid rise in gasoline prices and prompted another oil product export ban.
This year, Russia has again increased gasoline imports from Belarus, and in the first half of March they reached almost 3,000 metric tons, Reuters sources familiar with the statistics said.
In February, Russia imported 590 tons, while in January, there were no shipments from Belarus.
Two industry sources, who requested anonymity because they were not authorised to speak publicly, said discussions on further imports were taking place between governments and oil companies.
One of them said the talks were difficult as Belarus prioritises exports of its fuel to international markets.
How much will be required by Russia will depend on the timing of refinery repairs, another of the sources said.
Russian oil companies can increase oil supplies to Belarusian refineries in return for extra petroleum products for supply to Russia, the industry sources said.
Belarus generally exports its oil products via Russian Baltic ports to international markets under long-term transit agreements between the states.
Belarus has two oil refineries - the Naftan oil refinery in Novopolotsk and the Mozyr oil refinery.
Each has a capacity of 12 million tons per year (some 240,000 barrels per day), but they typically run at lower capacity, each refining about 9 million tons per year (some 180,000 barrels per day).
It is unclear how much Belarus can increase production and industry sources have said there are technical bottlenecks.
Russia's Energy ministry and Belarus's state oil company Belneftekhim, which operates both of the republic's refineries, did not answer requests for comment.
Neither did Russia's Rosneft, Lukoil, Tatneft and Gazpromneft, all major oil suppliers to Belarus and operators of gas stations in the republic.
The refineries in Belarus use mostly Russian oil as a feedstock, while Russian oil companies, which have Belarusian subsidiaries, also buy gasoline from the refineries to supply their Belarusian fuel stations.

https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/russia-increases-gasoline-imports-belarus-domestic-supplies-shrink-2024-03-27/#:~:text=This%20year%2C%20Russia%20has%20again,were%20no%20shipments%20from%20Belarus.
#39
Gaming HQ / Re: News from the lovely world...
Last post by Syt - March 27, 2024, 11:58:33 PM
https://www.pcgamer.com/gaming-industry/flagging-megacorp-embracer-group-is-now-selling-off-gearbox-entertainment-to-take-two-for-dollar460-million/

QuoteFlagging megacorp Embracer Group is now selling off Gearbox Entertainment to Take-Two for $460 million

Swedish games behemoth Embracer Group bought Gearbox for $1.3 billion back in 2021. Just over three years later, Embracer Group is divesting Gearbox Entertainment to 2K Games and Rockstar parent company Take-Two Entertainment for $460 million. The acquisition is expected to finalize by the end of June.

Embracer will retain one piece of the Gearbox pie however, in the form of Gearbox Publishing San Francisco, which holds publishing rights to the Remnant series and Hyper Light Breaker, in addition to "other notable unannounced game releases". The remaining arm of the business will be renamed.

Embracer Group has been ruthlessly downsizing to stay afloat, after years of seemingly monthly studio and publisher acquisitions. It sold off Saber Interactive last month to the tune of $247 million, and laid off around 1,400 people in 2023. Last year it shut Saints Row studio Volition and Square Enix Montreal, to name just a small handful of its big contractions. Rumors that Gearbox was on the out started as far back as September last year.

Embracer's recent doom and gloom is in stark contrast to 2021-22: those were the days when the company was making huge acquisitions ranging from Lord of the Rings through to some of Square Enix's former tentpole western studios, and receiving big investments from Saudi Arabia. But following the collapse of a $2 billion deal in 2023, which prompted an immediate and "comprehensive" restructuring of the business, most of the studios brought under the Embracer Group umbrella have suffered to one extent or another. Needless to say, a hell of a lot must have rested on that deal.

"Today's announcement marks the result of the final structured divestment process and is an important step in transforming Embracer into the future with notably lower net debt and improved free cash flow," Embracer CEO Lars Wingefors said in a prepared statement. "Through the transaction, we lower business risk and improve profitability as we transition to becoming a leaner and more focused company."

Gearbox founder and CEO Randy Pitchford had his say as well: "As a significant long-term Embracer Group shareholder, I believe in the strategy for the Embracer Group going forward and am completely convinced that this transaction is the best possible scenario and an obvious net positive arrangement for Embracer Group, for Take-Two and, of course, for Gearbox Entertainment. My primary interest is always Gearbox, especially our talent and our customers. I want to personally assure fans of our games that this arrangement will ensure that the experiences we have in development at Gearbox will be the best they can possibly be."

Take-Two CEO Strauss Zelnick also indicated in his own prepared statement that these corporate machinations are for the greater good. Gearbox will fall under the 2K umbrella as a studio, presumably with a focus on Borderlands games, which 2K has published since the series started in 2009. For its $460 million, Take-Two also gets other Gearbox IP including Homeworld, Risk of Rain, Brothers in Arms, and Duke Nukem.
#40
Gaming HQ / Re: Paradox: Star Trek Infinit...
Last post by Syt - March 27, 2024, 11:43:45 PM
This one was coming - there'd been massive layoffs at the developers in recent months. Not sure how much of this is on Paradox, though. The deva are part of Embracer group who have been slashing and gutting studios ever since their anticipated deal for 2 billion dollars dollaroonies fell through.

https://www.pcgamer.com/embracer-reveals-it-laid-off-around-1400-people-in-6-months-last-year-but-dont-be-a-bellyacher-this-is-all-about-maximising-shareholder-value/

https://www.gamedeveloper.com/business/embracer-lays-off-staff-at-star-trek-infinite-dev-nimble-giant