The Bridge

agent86

21:00

imho, there's no excuse these days for not building a scalable online solution, especially for these companies that do these kind of launches routinely.

they could be incompetent - the games industry has a lot of turnover and appeals to a lot of younger, less experienced folks. or they could be cheap. chances are it's some of column a, some of column b

Jason Berkan

My thought was b). Demand will skyrocket on the first weekend and then drastically drop off. Why pay money to deal with the first weekend when you don't have to?

It's not like these rocky launches are affecting sales.

agent86

yeah, but a lot of cloud providers these days will let you scale to your usage. so they get hit with one big bill for the launch and then not again as the demand dies off.

I guess they could not want to pay that first bill, but it doesn't seem like it would be a drop in the bucket of the long term support for the game

and I imagine the customer escalations are costly too when they fail, y'know?

it seems like also with preorders and such they ought to be able to estimate the day 1 load pretty accurately, or at least ballpark it.

Jason Berkan

In general, do the game companies use a cloud provider, or do they do it all custom in house?

agent86

that's where I don't know. the tech exists, are they using it? they could build their own private cloud and have it scale that way too. ie, move resources from an unpopular game to a game you're about to launch

they need server capacity, that much is clear. the means exist for them to estimate load, and to handle load if required. they just seem to fail at it for whatever reason. years and years in a row

Frank

21:19

There's a local computer store that went out of business a couple years back.

Went by there today, and turns out, all their crap is still there.

And everything must go.

Arperum

@Frank How much did you haul bakc home?

Frank

@Arperum Not a thing.

They want brand new prices for things discontinued, and obviously not brand new.

Arperum

@Frank ...

Powerlord

Oh right, I forgot I can close questions as duplicates by myself in the java tag on SO.

Frank

@Arperum Welcome to this computer store.

It was their modus operandi when it was open.

Arperum

21:25

@Frank I understand why they went out of business.

agent86

yeah, actually a lot of liquidators are that way in the US

if a store goes out of business, they'll put up "99% OFF!" kind of tags everywhere and then vastly overcharge

Frank

He wanted $200 for a "brand new" Cooler Master Cosmos 1000.

Opening it up, it looks shiny, but it certainly doesn't look brand new.

agent86

I worked for one of those shady computer stores in high school.

they were constantly the lowest bidder, but provided sub-par parts

I once had to replace a whole classroom's worth of optical drives because they all failed within a month of the sale

another time we got a bunch of PSU's in and they weren't the spec that the customer ordered. so what did the owner do? he called his guy in hong kong and then told us to wait for the shipment. two days later, a box of labels arrived. he had us peel all the labels off and told us they were the right wattage but just mislabeled. yeah right.

Jason Berkan

Sheesh. At least in my high school job, the owner only ripped off the movie companies - not his customers.

agent86

he eventually canned me, because he thought I told a co-worker to talk to the dept. of labor about them cutting her hours.

Coolen

21:36

hello

Does anyone have any tips for a new game?

agent86

what new game?

Coolen

The dead linger looks like fun, but it is way to beta now

I like survival games like State of decay

but would like to see more of the building stuff

I don't realy need the enemy to be zomies ;-)

agent86

can't say I've heard of it. you might also try reddit.com/r/shouldibuythisgame

GnomeSlice

@Coolen Played Rust?

Fluttershy

@Coolen I've heard nothing but terrible things about this game. :(

GnomeSlice

21:39

@agent86 I have. I've heard TDL is pretty good even in its current state.

@Fluttershy Wait, what?

Coolen

State of Decay is realy wurth it.

GnomeSlice

@Coolen playrust.com

Coolen

But i played it to long

Ok I try this rust game

GnomeSlice

@Coolen survivetheforest.com

@Coolen 7daystodie.com

@Coolen farskygame.com

Check those out.

Coolen

Thanks, why are the people naked in rust, is this some sort of sexgame?

Fluttershy

21:41

@GnomeSlice I'VE HEARD NOTHING BUT TERRIBLE THINGS ABOUT THIS GAME. :(

GnomeSlice

@Coolen indiegamestand.com/store/1073/lantern-forge

Arperum

@Frank Absolutely worth it. I also played 24 hours yet, but I have serious issues of lack of time. (cc @Wipqozn)

GnomeSlice

@Coolen Uh... no, it's not.

Coolen

@fluttershy, what game is terrible?

Fluttershy

@Coolen The Dead Linger, from what I've heard.

Coolen

21:43

It looks realy bad

user15026

I can't stop playing Battleblock Theater. Seriously, this is one of the funnest things I have played in forever

Fluttershy

@AshleyNunn Yayyyyy! \o/

user15026

@Fluttershy I am trying to make myself stop to make dinner but I keep going "oh, just one more level..."

GnomeSlice

@Coolen Have you played Minecraft?

You'd probably like that if you haven't.

Frank

@Arperum I'll probably wait for an even deeper discount.

Coolen

21:47

No never played minecraft, but the graphics are realy bad

I think 7daystodie looks nice

Arperum

@Coolen 1) once you start playing, you don't care anymore. 2) texture packs.

GnomeSlice

@Coolen 7 Days to Die is really similar to minecraft. It's gotten mixed reviews, but I know some people who really like it.

►

The Forest ^

Arperum

@Frank I skipped a whole night sleep for it, I don't tend to do that much lately. I started playing the second I got home from work, and stopped playing the second I had to prepare to leave for work (barely on time)

Frank

@Arperum That's a good recommendation.

Coolen

@gnomeslice, thanks for helping, the foprest looks good to

GnomeSlice

21:50

@Coolen starforge.com

@Coolen Happy to share. :)

Arperum

@Frank @wipqozn has 100+ hours on record in the game.

Frank

@Arperum He has more in Monster Hunter.

Arperum

@Frank True. But it's something at least.

Coolen

Why is the chat so much nicer then the forum here?

user15026

I am not sure about nicer

GnomeSlice

21:53

Because there's no rules here.

user15026

also, SE is not a forum

GnomeSlice

Well I mean there are, but not the same ones.

user15026

And there are different expectations in chat than on the main site.

user15026

Which is why we directed you here.

Coolen

how would you call it?

Frank

21:54

A QA site

We most definitely are not your run of the mill forum.

user15026

@Frank Oh no. Most definitely not.

Coolen

well the arcade part is way better then the stackoverflow. If you don't ask your question just as the want you to, then your downvoted.

Frank

@Coolen We still do that.

Coolen

Not by all people, but there are some people with to many points who downvote everything that they think is not a good question. Stopped there with helping en ask questions

Frank

We just get less questions than they do.

user15026

21:58

@Coolen That could potentially still happen here.

user15026

There is a certain expectation of quality across the entire network.

Coolen

there are fora on the internet that are way better (with scripting)

I don't think this question was really bad?

-2

Q: connecting 2 databases trough mysqli

I want to make a query with 2 databases on 1 server. normaly I would do: $qry =" SELECT A.id, B.id FROM databaseA.tableA INNER JOIN databaseB.tableB ON A.id=B.id "; But now I work with Mysq...

Frank

You're asking the wrong people.

Coolen

true

RPi Awesomeness

@Coolen Yeah, this is the Gaming and general SE randomness chat...

spugsley

22:01

HELLOHELLOHELLOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

GnomeSlice

►

Coolen

It was just to point out that the arcade part is much nicer

Frank

@spugsley HIHIHIHIHIHI!

RPi Awesomeness

@Frank @Coolen My point exactly

user15026

@spugsley HELLO PRETTY LADY

GnomeSlice

22:02

Lots of stars tonight.

RPi Awesomeness

@spugsley o/ \o o/ \o o/ \o o/ \o o/ \o o/ \o o/ \o o/ \o o/ \o o/ \o

user15026

I am confused why I am getting so many stars.

2

Frank

@Coolen It's not really so much about niceness. Helping users is a byproduct of building a repository of knowledge.

user15026

@RPiAwesomeness This is confusing to interpret visually :P

RPi Awesomeness

Lots of waves!

Coolen

22:03

@frank

GnomeSlice

I think somebody is autostarring @AshleyNunn

Frank

@AshleyNunn High fiving and arms in the air.

RPi Awesomeness

@AshleyNunn :16262720 A visual interpretation of Frank's message

user15026

@Frank I realize that, but if you consider the heads to be middles, not edges, things get weird.

user15026

@GnomeSlice It almost would seem so....

GnomeSlice

22:03

@AshleyNunn Maybe they're boobs

Coolen

@frank Quess your right, but scarring people away should never be the right way. But that is the choice of the website

RPi Awesomeness

@GnomeSlice Oh dear

GnomeSlice

but then the arms are still in the wrong place

Frank

@AshleyNunn Oh, missed that.

GnomeSlice

@RPiAwesomeness huehue

user15026

22:04

@GnomeSlice I see the arms as edges of the torso

Frank

@Coolen Again, it's not about niceness, scaring, or anything personal whatsoever.

RPi Awesomeness

@GnomeSlice You don't watch AshleyMarieGaming do you ....

Frank

There is certain level of quality expected.

GnomeSlice

@RPiAwesomeness ?

Frank

Some people struggle with that.

RPi Awesomeness

22:04

@GnomeSlice She says huehuehue a lot.

At least in the comments, I don't watch her videos

user15026

@Coolen It's not about scaring people off, it is about wanting to make the internet better by providing good quality questions and answers

user15026

(Gee, it's like I say that a lot)

RPi Awesomeness

Yay tacos!

Frank

@AshleyNunn And part of that goal makes helping users a byproduct.

Coolen

maybe so, but don't think this is the way

Frank

22:05

Yeah, it happens, but nowhere is it the primary aspect.

Are there problems? Yeah, every community has problems. It's not perfect, and we're not saying it is.

Coolen

I don't share my knowlege there anymore. So are a lot of people.

user15026

@Coolen Well, it's a way that has worked well for a long time and it is unlikely to change. It is certainly not for everyone - the bigger the site, the harder it is to catch the learning curve

user15026

@Coolen It is far from a sinking ship though

user15026

Either y'all like me, or I gotta get my starhammer out.

Coolen

your right about that

RPi Awesomeness

22:07

ee!

GnomeSlice

@RPiAwesomeness I picked that up from one of my friends playing dark souls

It's a bad habit.

RPi Awesomeness

lol

GnomeSlice

But for some reason it makes me giggle

RPi Awesomeness

It's fun :)

GnomeSlice

Alright, I'm off to eat.

Shrek you later Bridge

Coolen

22:08

The website is doing a good job, but still the knowlege is very low. But it is ok, it will be better i quess

RPi Awesomeness

Heehee ^^

user15026

@Coolen I am not sure what you mean by that.

Frank

The vast majority of the disconnect is that most newcomers think SE is there to help. And it's not. It's jarring when they realize that.

user15026

I hardly think that any of the network sites are low on aggregated knowledge.

RPi Awesomeness

o/ guys...Mexican food is calling...

Coolen

22:09

the website in doing great in google, but this overflow part does not have people with a lot of knowlege

sorry for my bad english

Frank

@Coolen Really? SO is the place for programming questions.

user15026

@Frank Well, it is there to help, but not to hand hold. And the bigger the site, the less people are going to reach out, and the more they expect you to do your own stuff to help yourself, like research before asking, read the help center, look to see if it already has an answer, etc

user15026

@Coolen That is so far from true.

Coolen

you find better answers on the forums

Frank

@Coolen I sincerely doubt that.

user15026

22:10

I mean I sound like a rabid SE fan (and maybe I am) but wow, no, SO is not lacking in people who know things.

Frank

@AshleyNunn The helping comes as a byproduct of building the repository.

user15026

It is, perhaps, lacking in tact, or something, but it is not lacking in knowledge.

user15026

@Frank Yeah.

user15026

There is only so much you can really do - people have to be willing to also try to adapt to a very different community from things that they might be used to.

Coolen

I have to disagree on that, a lot of answers are outdated or not complete. But new members have no way of changing that

Frank

22:11

And, yeah, it is expected to put some effort into what you are doing before you ask. @Coolen Before you go bashing SO, you might not realize that the amount of junk SO gathers is incredible.

@Coolen Actually, you totally do.

You can answer it.

Coolen

No Im not bashing it, that was not my intension

user15026

@Coolen You can answer, comment, vote, bounty, etc etc etc etc etc

Coolen

sorry if it sounded like that

user15026

And yeah, you can't do all of that off the bat, you gotta earn it

user15026

Which sounds crappy, but it is encouraging people to contribute things that the community feels fits their standards.

Frank

22:12

@AshleyNunn And you can thank spammers and socks for most of that requirement.

Coolen

well maybe your right and it just isn't the place for me

user15026

@Frank Kinda? There is also a "hey we don't want to be <insert competition here>."

Frank

@AshleyNunn That, too.

Coolen

you cant build a perfect site for everyone ;-)

user15026

@Coolen It might not work for you in the way you want, and that's perfectly okay. It can't be all things to all people.

Frank

22:13

Anyways, I think you may be coming at the SE network from the wrong perspective.

We don't try to be everything to everybody. We have a specific way we like to do things. And some people don't agree with that.

Coolen

I quess so.

user15026

@Frank Heck, we don't agree with each other half the time ;)

Frank

And that's fine. It's not supposed to.

@AshleyNunn We've had several arguments just between me and you. :)

And will probably have lots more.

user15026

@Frank laughs Yes, yes we have.

user15026

And yes, we likely will.

Coolen

22:15

For the gaming this site works perfect for me, for the scripting there are better sites (for me)

Frank

The point is, we're a community. We disagree.

user15026

(I was speaking more in a general sense, but you know :P)

Frank

Any community that is in lockstep all the time is the scariest damn thing ever.

Or just straight up tyranny. Either or. :P

@AshleyNunn General sense don't work so well. :P Provide examples!

user15026

@Frank ITG, Lore, Game-rec... :P

Frank

@AshleyNunn I was more playing off the fact that Meta (ANY meta) doesn't work so well without concrete examples to point at.

user15026

22:17

@Frank Truth. Hypotheticals work terribly

badp

Roam around Skyrim
Lydia disappears
Lydia disappears for good
Fast travel around
Lydia is still nowhere around
Fast travel to a temple to cure my sickness
No Lydia in sight
Cure disease
Turn around
Lydia says: "Still here~"

user15026

..so she's a creepy ninja who doesn't like you being diseased.

3

badp

This is starting to sound like creepypasta

spugsley

O-o

oh, Lydia

Frank

@badp The disease was that you couldn't see Lydia.

spugsley

22:19

@Frank hahahahahahaha

badp

Actually it was half magicka regen, but sure.

Frank

@badp You didn't mention that, so nope, you're wrong.

You just couldn't see Lydia.

...The mobile button is way too close to the Arqade logo.

Arperum

►

relevant song.

RPi Awesomeness

wha...

Frank

@Arperum Too much headbanging.

badp

22:29

and Lydia vanished again

sigh

Yuuki

@AshleyNunn "Half the time" is a very generous estimate.

Arperum

@Frank I saw them live last friday, it was awesome.

badp

so much for being sworn to protect me

Ben Brocka

@badp Right behind you screen cuts to black

badp

I need to start pickpocketing all the things so I can buy the +100 to carry limit upgrade

also, the upgrades screens in Sykrim are awful

Yuuki

22:30

Hmm... Age of Wonders?

Fluttershy

58

Q: How do I find my follower if and when they leave me?

I had parked my follower at an inn with a bunch of valuable items that I didn't want to carry. I guess I have been out a bit too long as this message appears: Your follower tires of waiting and leaves. There have been other situations where my follower has mysteriously disappeared as well...

skyrim

badp

actually even once modded the UIs are all awful. Every single crafting screen is different from the other

Arperum

41 mins ago, by Arperum

@Frank I skipped a whole night sleep for it, I don't tend to do that much lately. I started playing the second I got home from work, and stopped playing the second I had to prepare to leave for work (barely on time)

See that as a "Yes, it is good."

@badp What mod do you use for the UI? Do you have SkyUI?

badp

@Arperum Yes

but that doesn't do any crafting screens, so I still get to experience some of the brokenness

Arperum

@badp Yea, those are terrible.

Yuuki

22:32

@Arperum I don't know anything about it, so question: offline plays?

badp

They're all different

Sometimes you need to pick things from separate lists

Sometimes you need to pick things from the same list

user15026

@Yuuki shush you ;)

badp

Sometimes you select things and it crafts them

Sometimes you select things and then you need to press a different button to craft them

Arperum

@Yuuki Yup, for convenience you have to sync your steam and (optional) triumph account.

badp

Alchemy asks you if you're really sure to stop alchemy things, but the others don't

Arperum

22:34

I had no issues with it, but @FAE had some problems with getting them linked IIRC.

FAE

@Arperum Yeah, something was wonky with my Steam. If you're offline or showing offline on steam or otherwise not connected, you can't connect.

Frank

Oh, boy. I now have downvote privileges on SO.

Yuuki

@Arperum So the syncing is optional? What happens if I don't have a Triumph account? Does sync happen every time I start the game up?

@FAE Does that mean I can't play the game in offline mode?

Arperum

Also: bedtime for me, tomorrow at 7AM some morons are going to be here for doing stuff to my electricity. they wanted to start today around noon already (I got no warning at all)

FAE

@Yuuki If you're taking the chance with Steam's offline mode, you're running a risk anyway.

@Yuuki It only means you can't sync your Triumph and Steam accounts. You can play a guest account for however long that doesn't need to register and you can move that save file over later if you decide to register.

Arperum

22:36

@Yuuki AFAIk you can play in offline mode. the only thing the triumph account is for is for syncing to some cloud storage AFAIK. not sure.

Yuuki

@FAE My Internets is kinda nonexistent right now, so I only have internets when I go on campus.

FAE

@Yuuki Ack, what happened?

Yuuki

@FAE Something something family drama something something no internets.

FAE

@Yuuki Erk, I'm sorry to hear that. :(

Yuuki

So, now I have no ~~internet~~ blagoblag and have to tutor my sister in math over the summer.

FAE

22:41

@Yuuki Quality time with your sister at least?

Yuuki

@FAE Teaching her math is like pulling teeth. It's not so much that she has a problem with doing it, she just kinda doesn't like illustrating her procedures.

And half the time, her procedure is guessing until she gets the right answer.

FAE

@Yuuki Oy.

Yuuki

I just kept counting up until x was the right number.

FAE

Funny thing, my sister lives closer to you than to me. :P

Frank

A physicist, she will not be.

FAE

22:42

(she lives in Austin)

Yuuki

@Frank The other worrisome thing is that she doesn't want to learn math because she's convinced that she won't be going into any STEM job.

No concept of "having options".

Frank

@Yuuki Math is incredibly useful, in any field you go into.

Heck, I didn't think I needed physics in my job, and really, I don't, but it's still come in super handy in some personal coding projects.

Yuuki

@Frank Even if you're not going into STEM, having good math grades gives you a lot of options just in case you didn't pick the right thing your first year.

Frank

@Yuuki And keeps the doors open.

Math is the base language of the universe.

FAE

I haven't done any math in forever. x_x

I did up to calculus in high school but haven't done anything since then.

Frank

22:46

@FAE Aww.

There's something just...clean, I guess, about doing math.

Bad descriptor, I know.

FAE

One of the reasons Jochem decided not to go into chemical engineering was because of all the math required. He was not a fan.

agent86

I <3 math

FAE

When I went to college, there wasn't math required if you were doing a foreign language.

Yuuki

So... I heard someone mention Nidhogg earlier?

Fluttershy

@Yuuki You did indeed.

agent86

22:50

the free game on GoG changed. it's now Torchlight, def worth grabbing for $0.00

Fluttershy

Also, Math is the worst.

Frank

@Fluttershy We are no longer friends.

Yuuki

@agent86 I also have like 2 or 3 copies of Torchlight. Also for free.

Or Steam cards if you want to give me something.

I also have one copy of Nuclear Dawn.

agent86

I just looked at my humble collection and realized I have a lot of dupes.

I think I have FTL, Fez, Bastion, Strike Suit Zero...

Yuuki

And two coupons for 25% off Pixel Piracy.

FAE

22:52

@agent86 Yeah I have to go through mine and figure out what dupes I have.

@Yuuki Those are expired aren't they?

agent86

@Yuuki yeah, hah, I have 2 of those coupons.

@FAE mine are good through 2015

like april.

they don't stack, though.

FAE

Oh I read the year wrong.

Yuuki

Valid through 2015, yeah. Also, looks like I'm not getting Age of Wonders.

FAE

I love buying games with the money I got from selling cards.

@Yuuki Aw, how come?

Yuuki

@FAE PC-only and my PC is currently non-mobile so I wouldn't even be able to install it.

Fluttershy

22:53

@Yuuki :(

FAE

@Yuuki Ah. :/

Yuuki

I'd have to lug it all the way to campus if I wanted to install it.

Frank

@Yuuki USB stick?

agent86

oh, frozen synapse.

Yuuki

So I had this stupid idea for living out of my car.

RPi Awesomeness

22:54

Yup, that's stupid

Fluttershy

-1

Q: Seifer's Scar And Related Plot Points?

In Final Fantasy 8, the nurse and Quistis make a big deal about Squall getting his face cut during the opening sequence wherein he is having a training session with Seifer. Why do they not make a big deal about Squall returning the favor and giving Seifer a similar scar? Why does Seifer not hav...

final-fantasy-8

Off-topic.

Frank

@Fluttershy Ehhhh. I saw it as a lore question.

Yuuki

Would a PC fit in the space under the driver seat?

FAE

@Yuuki Not a good idea. Especially in your heat.

badp

My brilliant plan is working out!

Yuuki

22:55

@FAE Yeah, would not be good for components.

Fluttershy

@Frank It's never explained in the lore, so it'd be more of a developer intent thing.

Lazers

-1

Q: Seifer's Scar And Related Plot Points?

In Final Fantasy 8, the nurse and Quistis make a big deal about Squall getting his face cut during the opening sequence wherein he is having a training session with Seifer. Why do they not make a big deal about Squall returning the favor and giving Seifer a similar scar? Why does Seifer not hav...

final-fantasy-8

badp

Now all they know is that they're looking for somebody that isn't @Wipqozn.

Frank

And demonstrates the thin line between dev design and lore.

Fluttershy

@Frank The dev design close reason includes "narrative."

FAE

22:56

@Yuuki Depends on your tower, but still not a good idea.

Frank

@Fluttershy Technically, every single "poke the plot hole" question could be closed under that.

badp

@Yuuki Don't you usually have like pedals there

Yuuki

@badp ... why would your pedals be under the driver seat?

badp

@Yuuki oh there? but there's going to be plenty of metal junk there for seat repositioning purpse

agent86

@Yuuki depends on the PC and the car, but I'm going to say "not likely"

badp

22:57

and you aren't going to be able to fit a laptop in there let alone a desktop computer

Frank

Now, to play more Atelier Escha (@GraceNote), or work on my super shiny gold-plated model (@FAE)?

badp

Maybe you could just put it in your trunk and run the wires through the seats, but I'm not sure how you'd power it

Yuuki

@Frank @GraceNote vs @FAE: Match BEGIN!

FAE

@Frank Oooh shiny.

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