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#31

Off the Record / Re: Brexit and the waning days...

Last post by Sheilbh - Today at 08:54:13 AM

No idea.

Looks like a visit to announce funding for Casement Park - but odd. Especially with Starmer in Glasgow to launch campaign with Sarwar (interesting to see how they handle Wales given the scandals around Gething).

Edit: Again he is not good at this stuff
https://x.com/bbcjaynemcc/status/1793968165908799590?s=46&t=o9GOIj6BKKcLcHiyQTlAoA

Suspect this will be repeated with every local media he talks to as the campaign goes on.

Edit: And inevitably at the Titanic Quarter, asked if he's captaining a sinking ship going into this election. He did "the plan is working response again - which I can't help but feel is something the captain of the Titanic could have said for most of the voyage.

#32

Gaming HQ / Re: Strategy games in decline?

Last post by grumbler - Today at 08:53:01 AM

I'd say that the key to differentiating strategy games is that they feature deferred gratification. Eschewing immediate gain in the hope of cashing in on a bigger gain in the future is what strategy is all about.  I'd be interested in seeing how chess ranks against these other games.

#33

Off the Record / Re: Brexit and the waning days...

Last post by Gups - Today at 08:47:10 AM

I remember when British spin doctors would do anything they could to avoid leaders being photographed near an "exit" sign, up to covering up fire exit signs.

In other news Rishi Sunak today doing an event at the Titanic Quarter.

In Belfast? What's he doing campaigning there?

#34

Off the Record / Re: Russo-Ukrainian War 2014-2...

Last post by Legbiter - Today at 08:07:09 AM

Apparently Russia's Deputy Chief of the General Staff has been arrested today along with 3 more Russian generals on charges of bribery (which I have no doubt are true). Belarus' Chief of General Staff has been fired today on reaching maximum military age at 50-something.

Again, this does not strike me as things going well in Russia.

Could also just be routine lawn care in an autocratic regime. Putin has slightly shuffled his inner circle around and brought in a technocrat to increase efficiency in the MoD. New guy has to bring in his own trusted underlings if he wants to get anything done.

#35

Off the Record / Re: Brexit and the waning days...

Last post by Sheilbh - Today at 08:04:11 AM

I remember when British spin doctors would do anything they could to avoid leaders being photographed near an "exit" sign, up to covering up fire exit signs.

In other news Rishi Sunak today doing an event at the Titanic Quarter.

#36

Off the Record / Re: Brexit and the waning days...

Last post by Gups - Today at 07:10:53 AM

Are UK greens double probation Tories like in Canada?

What does that mean?

In Canada, the Federal Green party  is a kindred party to the Conservatives.

Ah, OK. No, the UK Green party is fairly hard left but opportunistic locally.

#37

Gaming HQ / Re: Strategy games in decline?

Last post by crazy canuck - Today at 07:01:00 AM

The article itself is not that clearly written.

However, it links to the survey company and they give a decent explanation of their methods as well as their survey (which takes only a few minutes to go through). It's like those political categorization surveys but for games. https://quanticfoundry.com/2024/05/21/strategy-decline/

They claim to have 9 years of data.  However, I didn't see sampling demos etc. So one can't say how much change is impacted by changes in the composition of the sample. (I'm sure they have that data and it may be there, I just didn't catch it)

Speaking for myself, while strategy is still a preferred category, the emergence of handhelds like Steam Deck has definitely impacted what I play.  It makes it much easier and more attractive to do casual doses of roguelikes like Hades or Metroidvania type games, that 9 years ago I rarely would have played.  So my profile may have changed, but not because social media is rotting my brain (I hope) but because evolution in hardware has made certain kinds of games more approachable.

It sounds like they asked the same questions over those nine years so at least there is some baseline.

#38

Off the Record / Re: Brexit and the waning days...

Last post by crazy canuck - Today at 06:59:24 AM

Are UK greens double probation Tories like in Canada?

What does that mean?

In Canada, the Federal Green party  is a kindred party to the Conservatives.

In what way?

#39

Off the Record / Re: Brexit and the waning days...

Last post by Grey Fox - Today at 06:18:57 AM

Are UK greens double probation Tories like in Canada?

What does that mean?

In Canada, the Federal Green party  is a kindred party to the Conservatives.

#40

Off the Record / Re: Russo-Ukrainian War 2014-2...

Last post by crazy canuck - Today at 06:13:15 AM

The other way to read it, as reported in the NYTimes, is that Putin is now secure enough to put being seen to crack down on corruption above loyalty.