The Bridge

12:21 AM

@badp available.

@user502515 hey, you may want to check on Meta Jeff's post about identify-this-game questions

which you seem to enjoy particularly

Jeff Atwood, one of the guys who runs this show if you weren't aware, hates this kind of questions and your activity may be hurting the case for them.

0

Q: What is the point of "help me remember this game" questions?

For example, Help me identify these two old games from before I knew English well (with “screenshots”). Mapping these to existing close reasons, there are two that fit. Too Localized. What value does this question have to anyone else on the planet, other than the one person who asked? In other...

Grace Note

The actual question is an interesting thing.

user502515

@badp Do you have an URL handy for me to reaD?

badp

1 min ago, by badp

0

Q: What is the point of "help me remember this game" questions?

For example, Help me identify these two old games from before I knew English well (with “screenshots”). Mapping these to existing close reasons, there are two that fit. Too Localized. What value does this question have to anyone else on the planet, other than the one person who asked? In other...

discussion featured allowed-questions questions identify-this-game

the bit after "Q:" is a link :)

Grace Note

The actual game content is unfortunately very unspecific (I know a 3D Asteroids cone with multiple weapons myself, but to my knowledge it is aptly called "Asteroids"). But specs... very amusing.

badp

12:25 AM

Personally I wouldn't mind having them around, but I'd slow down the pace at which they are asked. :)

Grace Note

@badp The volume of really poor ones is astounding. Before even Jeff noted it, I was wondering if the cosmos decided to side with him on this.

FallenAngelEyes

Welcome to the chat, @user502515

badp

By the way, you can change your nick on the profile page.

@GraceNote I must've ignored them then, or is it volume as in Google traffic?

Oak

@badp I'm actually pretty sure the volume increased because of Jeff :)

user502515

deleted it

Oak

12:28 AM

And because of that highly-upvoted question

Grace Note

@badp Getting the 2D plane game the day after Jeff posted wasn't too hot. Calling it a huge volume is an exaggeration, but we did get 6 of varying quality in a short period of time

Oak

btw @badp what are you doing on chat? You're supposed to be playing your shiny new free games :)

badp

@Oak syncing my father's iPad, then going the hell straight to bed. :(

How much time does it take to transfer 18 GB of data?! (at worst)

Oak

Yes, got a point there :)

badp

@Oak Conspiracy theory? Hmm, interesting.

Oak

12:33 AM

@badp yea I think Jeff sent his minions to ask questions

I mean, look at that:

2

Q: A PC game where you leave walls in your wake and have to avoid colliding with other players' walls

I played this game in 2006. The game has a platform in which maximum of 4 players have to constantly run. On running a wall is created (on the path) behind every player. Each one has to prevent himself from colliding with walls. If any player collides with a wall then he is out of the game and...

pc identify-this-game

It was posted really soon after Jeff's post,

it used to have a terrible title,

and he added a "screenshot" just like the original problematic question

Fishy!

Grace Note

Jeff actually found that a real screenshot would be more useful.

badp

@GraceNote just... how would you search for a screenshot of a game you don't recall the name of?

Grace Note

@badp Not for searching. For concreteness. Jeff still doesn't find the question useful, but it's at least passable

Oak

Jeff has a really strong conviction that these sort of questions would never be useful for anyone else, which I think is completely baseless

I'd say that most of the questions in SO are less useful

Grace Note

Osu, @Mana

Oak

12:38 AM

Anyway I'm off, night

Grace Note

Later, @Oak

Mana

!!!!!

SOMEONE SAID HI TO ME!!! :D

....:(

¯\(ºдಠ)/¯

FallenAngelEyes

That emoticon is hilarious. God bless the Japanese.

Grace Note

@FallenAngelEyes I don't think they actually use ಠ all that often

But if you want to see impressive, ask @badp to throw a table.

Brant

It doesn't seem like a whole lot of people have bought in to the game-rec-question-singleton idea so far.

FallenAngelEyes

12:49 AM

I don't think so either, but the general popularity of those sorts of emoticons are from Japanese usage

Brant

15

Q: Gaming resources: How can I find new games to play?

What resources are most useful in finding new games to play? This question is a place to find websites, forums, and other places that help you find new games to play. Game recommendations are a subjective topic, so consider the Back it up! policy when answering. Please explain why something is ...

game-rec faq

Grace Note

@Brant We have only 4 answers.

Brant

After all the debate on the topic, I was hoping for more than that.

FallenAngelEyes

What do people actually use ಠ for other than emoticons? >_> Honest, non-snarky query.

Brant

ascii art?

well, "ascii" art

Grace Note

12:51 AM

@FallenAngelEyes I don't recall what language it is

@Brant Assuming that we do pursue this route, we really need to add a section to our FAQ, write a Meta question, and establish the ruling first. Otherwise, nothing's stopping anyone from just ignoring that question

FallenAngelEyes

I don't recognize it either

Brant

Wait, that's just rendering as a square for me. I pasted it into textmate and got... something else.

FallenAngelEyes

Agreed @Grace

Also, are we still supportive of having a Game Rec chatroom to direct people to?

Grace Note

@FallenAngelEyes Definitely

FallenAngelEyes

After we moved to this domain, the old one was abandoned.

Grace Note

12:52 AM

> ಠ is a Kannadan letter. Kannada is one of the major Dravidian languages of India.

Brant

@FallenAngelEyes Its unicode designation is KANNADA LETTER TTHA

FallenAngelEyes

Aaah, thanks

Grace Note

(Also, don't google that character. It is frightening)

All that staring...

FallenAngelEyes

Haha, yeah I did that as well

Grace Note

I went to the Know Your Meme article, as that's where I remembered reading which language it was in the first place.

Brant

12:54 AM

@GraceNote Yeah, I suppose so. But it would be easier to make that happen if more people would contribute to the question.

Chicken/egg, etc

Grace Note

@Brant I think we really would've benefited by having some planning.

Brant

To plan what?

Grace Note

Like, say, before we setup the question we got together, say on Chat, and pooled our resources together. Get ourselves a library to start off with.

Brant

Oh, I see.

FallenAngelEyes

I haven't contributed to it yet because I kind of didn't know the direction we really wanted to go with it

Grace Note

12:56 AM

@FallenAngelEyes Same here. I even know what sites I do want to contribute, but am unsure of the organization.

Brant

Yeah, I admit I kind of took a leap of faith in creating the question. I was just tired of everyone talking and wanted to take some action -- any action.

What kind of direction did you have in mind?

When I read the meta topic proposing it, I had something in mind that was structured like this:

1411

Q: Hidden Features of C#?

This came to my mind after I learned the following from this question: where T : struct We, C# developers, all know the basics of C#. I mean declarations, conditionals, loops, operators, etc. Some of us even mastered the stuff like Generics, anonymous types, lambdas, LINQ, ... But what are t...

c# .net tips-and-tricks hidden-features

FallenAngelEyes

FWIW, I still rather severely disagree with Jeff's assertion that Hidden Features of X is a constructive addition to Gaming

Brant

A TOC/index in the question categorized broadly by platform*, with links to answers, where each answer is a site/resource/forum

FallenAngelEyes

The Rec Room

For all your recommendation needs. Come play with us!

We exist again

Grace Note

@FallenAngelEyes I think there's two different points to consider. I think Jeff focuses on the positive points of them but ignores the negative points because of the positive.

The positives are that technically, as a guideless repository of information anyone who looks at it is bound to come out of it learning something new. Moreover, it is easier to contribute to for that very lack of information.

Brant

1:03 AM

@FallenAngelEyes (Hmm, should we move talk over there?)

FallenAngelEyes

So I guess the disagreement is whether or not one feels the positives outweigh the negatives

Grace Note

The negatives are its general conflict with the Q&A model. It's a very poor question, and in practice what it really is is just a bunch of answers looking for a question.

There's also no definitive answer, navigation is massacred once you get past 30 answers, it's painful to moderate because everyone wants to contribute...

It also is the very definition of "overly broad". Because it doesn't actually mean "hidden" features, but any features that have a chance of not being known. Even if it's documented.

FallenAngelEyes

nods

Grace Note

The "success" of Hidden Features on these sites is, ironically, due largely to their unconventional nature. And I have difficulties exonerating things as a symbol of our success if they go against our principles as a Q&A site.

Brant

You need pressure release valves though.

Uservoice just didn't cut it, so MSO was created.

Grace Note

1:11 AM

Everything Hidden Features seeks to accomplish is what we as a site should be accomplishing. I know I said as much in the thread, but I stand by this.

Brant

Despite the principles we have as a Q&A site, people want game recommendations, and the fact that it's been such a hot topic shows that there's some pressure.

Wait, are we talking about the same thing? Maybe we aren't.

Grace Note

@Brant No, we aren't.

FallenAngelEyes

Grace is referring to "Hidden Features of X" lists

Brant

Oh, when I linked that I was purely referring to its layout/organization, that's all

FallenAngelEyes

Is it a bad thing that it makes me almost sick to my stomach to read these arguments again?

Grace Note

1:16 AM

@FallenAngelEyes No, it isn't, and I'll stop now. I'm sorry.

FallenAngelEyes

I'm just... tired of the whole mess. While I've been relatively convinced of the stance that it's not ideal for us in regards to maintenance/moderation/etc., I do still feel that it is a valid form of expertise and that's mostly why I was fighting for it before: the fact that many people feel it is not.

Grace Note

Mmm

FallenAngelEyes

It was just very... I don't know, disheartening in a way I guess, to hear very vocal stances over and over pretty much making blanket statements about something you care about and feel is important.

Personally, I very nearly left the site because it got to the point where it felt like there was a vocal minority who felt that people who even considered supporting game-rec for any reason whatsoever weren't the kind of people who were welcome on an "expert" Q&A site.

Grace Note

@FallenAngelEyes Uf... I'm very glad you didn't leave the site, but horrified to hear of that experience.

Brant

Well, FWIW, my stance is that there are way too many strong opinions and that everyone just needs to chillax. Just try it out. We can fix it later if it doesn't work.

FallenAngelEyes

1:23 AM

I decided not to leave, but I also decided to pretty much give up fighting because I don't participating in circular arguments.

Brant

This community is still way too small for any problem to truly get out-of-control, so we might as well just roll with it and see what happens.

I realize this is a bit selfish because I'm not a moderator and don't have to get as hands-on as a result, but still.

FallenAngelEyes

This all sounds way more emo than I intended.

Grace Note

Hah, well, if it'll make you feel better, @Fallen, you did help me break out of almost falling for that argument

During the early stages of the conflict, I did originally stand on the "these are subjective" side. But it was evaluating the situation after your concern about levels of exclusion that helped me pull out from that and focus on the problem better.

FallenAngelEyes

Anyway, I felt that having the Game Rec chat room was a decent enough compromise in that we could still direct users to somewhere that's part of the site, and I still would be happy to see the proposal get enough people, but I'm not holding my breath.

Grace Note

I hope we can get a lot of mileage out of the Rec Room.

Brant

1:28 AM

Ooh, there's a great room name.

FallenAngelEyes

@Grace: Well, it is good to hear that at least :)

We had good luck with people coming in after having their questions closed. I'd usually leave a comment on the question with directions to that the chat and meta discussions.

Grace Note

That's good

FallenAngelEyes

All the questions I commented on though have the old chat UR, not this one. Hrm.

Grace Note

I can fix that for you.

If you know SQL or anything, then you can use the Data Explorer to fetch all of your comment instances. Or, if you don't know SQL, then I'm sure there's an existing query you can hijack. If you can provide me that, I'll sift through them and replace links to the correct place.

FallenAngelEyes

I think I'm one of the few users here who knows pretty much 0 about Comp Sci. I'm a power user at best. I don't think I'm even good enough to be Super!

Grace Note

1:35 AM

Hah, let me see if I can hijack something for you, then.

Try this, @Fallen : odata.stackexchange.com/gaming/s/655/500-of-my-comments

FallenAngelEyes

Error: Invalid column name 'FallenAngelEyes'. <-buuuh?

Grace Note

Insert your ID number (160 for you)

FallenAngelEyes

Oooh

Wow, that's really cool.

Grace Note

If I knew how to, I'd add something that'd filter the results to only show comments that had links. But this'll be a good enough start.

FallenAngelEyes

So what should I do now, link you the questions one by one, or...?

Grace Note

1:44 AM

Nah, I can pick it out since I have the query in front of me. Thanks, though

FallenAngelEyes

Also apologies for any delays in response, my connection seems to be dipping a lot tonight.

Grace Note

Though if you could give me the text URL of the new rec room, that would be spiffy

FallenAngelEyes

The Rec Room

For all your recommendation needs. Come play with us!

Grace Note

@FallenAngelEyes I honestly can't tell that such a thing is happening.

Brant

odata.stackexchange.com/gaming/q/14960/…

FallenAngelEyes

1:45 AM

Changed name courtesy of Grace Inc.

Grace Note

Alright, I'll just... oh my, I forgot about that...

Brant

Looks like you've got all of 2 comments there, unless I'm as awful at SQL as I remember being.

FallenAngelEyes

Huh. Swore I had more than that. :o

Grace Note

@FallenAngelEyes Well, hijacking Brant's query, I changed it to just grab all chat links. There's a lot where you didn't explicitly post the comment, but you were active at the time so you probably assisted

FallenAngelEyes

stabs her router

Brant

1:53 AM

I wish there were a way to query how close you are to earning the Electorate badge, but the data explorer doesn't let you determine who cast a vote

for good reason I imagine

Grace Note

Ahaha~, there's my stealth Triggerheart Exelica recommendation.

Alright! To the best of my knowledge, I have completed a global replacement of live comments directing to the old room to instead point to the new rec room.

FallenAngelEyes

Hooray, thanks much!

LessPop_MoreFizz

2:18 AM

Evenin' all

FallenAngelEyes

Heya @Less

I saw Wood of Autumn's not on the town page anymore, you guys get overrun?

LessPop_MoreFizz

I died the day after you

so, dunno

So, I dunno

FallenAngelEyes

ah, dang

LessPop_MoreFizz

I actually haven't even respawned yet. Was going to do a coordinated respawn with a bunch of folks from a forum I frequent and then I missed the coordinated jump in

but they're off to an amazing start. (Wretched Monolith of Criminals if you want to watch them on the scoreboard)

FallenAngelEyes

Aw :(

Haha, great name

LessPop_MoreFizz

2:23 AM

They're doin pretty gud: die2nite.hoah.org/aFt

Day 3 and they have a water purifier up and running with no help from beta pills

FallenAngelEyes

Nice

LessPop_MoreFizz

uggghhhh tomorrow is going to suuuuuuck

FallenAngelEyes

How come?

LessPop_MoreFizz

Because it is my birthday and I will not get to enjoy it. Instead I am being roped into helping with black friday shopping, then I need to spend my day delivering subpoenas to a bunch of police precincts in the worst neighborhoods of brooklyn, and then rather than get to at least enjoy the night of my birthday i have to chase down this fucking irish asshole whose been dodging me all week to serve him at his workplace, which is some shitty divebar and he doesn't start his shift till f'in 10.

FallenAngelEyes

....ewww.

Well, it's after midnight here, and the sucky parts haven't started yet, so happy birthday!

I never, ever go out on Black Friday. shudder

LessPop_MoreFizz

2:31 AM

I worked in an apple store on black friday for 5 years. I am still traumatized.

FallenAngelEyes

...Guh. I'm... I'm so sorry.

I worked the customer service desk at Target the day after Christmas once. Never. Ever. Ever. Again.

I think my time working customer service there really added to my misanthropy. :P

Okay time to pass out, g'nite all!

Feeds

3:48 AM

0

Q: Tools to check game system requirements for MacOS

Related to question: How can I check if my machine will be able to run a game? The website http://www.systemrequirementslab.com/cyri named Can You Run it?, will compare your system components to the requirements for most published games. This website runs exclusively on Windows platforms. Is th...

system-requirements tools

0

Q: Galaxy Editor change map lighting?

Is it possible to change the global lighting setup of a Starcraft II custom map?

starcraft-2 galaxy-editor lighting

Feeds

5:03 AM

Guest Week: Jeffrey Rowland (Overcompensating)

Feeds

5:28 AM

0

Q: Java game for Touch Screen Phone

Hi Guys!! I have a Chinese built full touch screen phone ( Q-Mobile E900 http://qmobile.com.pk/products/e900.htm ), the phone supports MIDP 2.0 and CLDC 1.0, and has already pre-installed two Java games. But as for the other JAVA games that I download I install on the phone, the game(s) run, but ...

mobile

badp

6:48 AM

@FallenAngelEyes It's a syllable.

Kannada script

The Kannada script is an alphasyllabary (sometimes called an abugida) of the Brahmic family, used primarily to write the Kannada language, one of the southern language in India. It is also used for Konkani, Tulu, Beary bashe and Kodava languages. The Kannada script displays the typical rounded edges and curves, and not either straight or wedge shapes as other scripts. History Kannada (Kanarese or Canarese) script is derived from the Old Kannada script. Old Kannada script which evolved around 10th century, is the continuation of the Kadamba script which in turn came during 4th centur...

Feeds

0

Q: Is it possible to add the "featured questions" category for the tag sets?

When you define a tag set in the StackExchange site (see blog post "Tag Sets on Stack Exchange"), you currently have the corresponding questions displayed by: activity newest no answers Would it be possible to add the "featured" category in order to see, for a tag set (even across multiple si...

feature-request stackexchange tag-sets featured-question

badp

7:48 AM

Burned out.

badp

8:04 AM

Today's XKCD is interactive.

Feeds

8:35 AM

0

Q: Defensive stratergies on NBA 2K11

Hi all I want to know what are the best defensive strategies to take on nba 2k11. playing zones, man on man, double team traps etc or is it best to switch defenses through the game.

nba2k11

Feeds

9:32 AM

0

Q: Can you host the stackexchange software yourself to create a site?

I was wondering if I could create my own site using the software behind stackexchange and link back or retain some stackexchange branding so people know what the site is using?

discussion stackexchange hosting

Feeds

9:59 AM

0

Q: Is there any point to collecting paintings?

Is there any value to spending money on paintings in Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood? Some of the paintings are quite expensive (e.g. Raphael's Self Portrait) but judging from the bank records they don't appear to pay any dividends.

assassins-creed-bh

LessPop_MoreFizz

12:58 PM

Hey, @ whatever mods are watching, I just flagged a post as Spam... but I think it's just really really terrible English

Grace Note

1:53 PM

@LessPop_MoreFizz So... do you want something done about it? Or is this trying to say we should disregard it?

Also, happy birthday

LessPop_MoreFizz

thanks, and I'm saying you should just double check that I'm not crazy for thinking it's spam

Grace Note

Well, I can certainly see why one might call it spam

If anything, it's the kind of thing that should be a comment.

...possibly. Depending on whether the answer can be interpretted as being directed at the question in the first paragraph.

LessPop_MoreFizz

the totally inappropriate use of the word 'insurance' made me kneejerk spam flag it

Grace Note

Are we... looking at the same post? I don't see the word insurance.

LessPop_MoreFizz

then no we might not be

response to this question:

0

Q: Java game for Touch Screen Phone

Hi Guys!! I have a Chinese built full touch screen phone ( Q-Mobile E900 http://qmobile.com.pk/products/e900.htm ), the phone supports MIDP 2.0 and CLDC 1.0, and has already pre-installed two Java games. But as for the other JAVA games that I download I install on the phone, the game(s) run, but ...

game-rec mobile

Grace Note

2:09 PM

Oh. That was deleted by the owner. Your flag isn't on it.

LessPop_MoreFizz

(which incidentally is also a Bad Game Rec and should be closed imo)

you can see why i flagged it though?

Grace Note

Oh, for this one, definitely

LessPop_MoreFizz

it just kinda screamed spam

but then I saw that the user had rep and clicked the link and had second thoughts

Grace Note

Well, the user has some... strange posting habits.

4

A: How do you protect a Nintendo DSi from a 4 year old?

This insurance serves you ... is a protector. http://www.amazon.com/DSi-Protector-Nintendo-Clear-DS/dp/B001U0O6KO Obviously not become immune to the DSi but protects well.

The user is not English speaking, judging by reading a whole bunch of posts

"The insurance" seems to be just what a translator is spitting out

LessPop_MoreFizz

That could be it.

Grace Note

2:11 PM

"Some weapons need to change the mode of fire, set to automatic." <- This sounds exactly like a bad translation from another language

Feeds

2:46 PM

0

Q: Swapping XBox Live GamerTags

I have a GamerTag on XBox Live that I want to change. The name I want to change it to is currently held by another account I own. What's the best way to go about doing this? Do I have to change the second account to something else, then change the first account to that other one's name? Will tha...

xbox-live

LessPop_MoreFizz

3 hours until Steams next clever scheme to take more of my money begins.

Feeds

3:16 PM

0

Q: Best OS for Gothic 3?

I have a really old an un-performant computer and I just love the game Gothic 3! For the last year, I left the DVD to dust but now I don't have anything else to play, so I want to get back to it, meaning that I have to install another OS. I'd like to know which OS would be the best to play Gothic...

performance windows gothic-3

Feeds

3:46 PM

0

Q: Reward for earning all gold medals for time attacks in Donkey Kong Country Returns?

In Donkey Kong Country Returns, after beating a level, you unlock Time Attack mode, where you have to beat the level within certain time thresholds to earn gold, silver or bronze medals. Earning gold and silver medas is insanely hard, requiring near-perfection. Do I get anything by earning al...

wii dk-country-returns

C. Ross

4:15 PM

@LessPop_MoreFizz Aren't you excited

Feeds

0

Q: AsoBrain's Xplorers is no longer public

Does anyone know where I can play or download AsoBrain's Xplorers? It was probably the best version of Catan in the world.

the-settlers

Feeds

4:34 PM

0

Q: challenge mat adapter??

I bought a new wii, and the challenge mat I had with my old wii, does not attach to my new wii system. Is there an adapter for it?

wii

Feeds

7:29 PM

0

Q: BlackOps Zombie Strategy

What's your bests strategies for the map Kino der Toten in the Zombie mod of Black Ops ?

strategy call-of-duty-black-ops

Arda Xi

Go-go-gadget close squad.

Brant

7:51 PM

@Feeds You mean this question? It's a little thin, but it's not really close fodder.

But I don't have a vote, so nyah!

Arda Xi

@Brant It's asking about "your bests[sic] strategy"

Feeds

0

Q: How can I play Avoid the Noid on Windows 7?

I have some pretty fond memories of a game called Avoid The Noid. It was some promotional thing from Dominos pizza and was actually a lot of fun. After I dug up my original disk and pulled the files from my USB floppy, I got this message when I tried to run it: "The version of this file is not ...

pc game-rec

Feeds

8:57 PM

0

Q: What is the effective range of Magnet Shrooms?

How close must a Zombie be to lose its items to the Magnet Shroom? Is there any difference if the Digger Zombie is underground vs. above ground?

plants-vs-zombies

0

Q: Where is the REPCONN research labs key?

In the "Come Fly With Me" quest chain, I just finished clearing the basement of nightkin and sent Harland away. After going back upstairs, I can't open the research labs door to talk to the ghoul Jason again because I don't have the key. Using the intercom only allows me to be told "stop messin...

fallout-new-vegas

0

Q: Is there a way to increase the range at which I can lock on to enemies?

Enemy archers in Demon's Souls will see me and start shooting at me from really far away. Is the range at which I can lock on to them increased by a stat or is there a ring that would increase the lock distance?

demons-souls

Feeds

9:15 PM

0

Q: Is there a "most played games this month" website?

I like to keep my finger on the pulse of what is being played online on the PC. I know of xfire and raptr but their statistics rely upon software being installed. Is there any places better than those to get a general feel of how popular games are? For example Lord of the rings Online and Aion a...