For the rare and radiant maiden whom the angels name Lenore - nameless here for evermore

It wouldn't surprise me if reviewers have the budget for top of the line computers. Sadly, that does little to soothe my frustration that my computer - which meets the advertised recommended specs - falls short

Frickin Dead Space remake. I'm playing through it now and even on the lowest settings it was pretty bad. My computer crashed while the shuttle was crashing, which honestly felt kind of apt

I've never beat the original, but my wife wanted to see the game and has never played it. Even after tweaking things to get them running on my computer it's still not super stable. We might have to switch to 2008

The game looks super tense, gross, and scary. Personally, I think it'd be scarier if it was buttery smooth, but I guess there's a certain amount of anxiety to be had wondering if walking through a door is going to freeze the game while I'm being chased by xeno horrors

TTRPGs are quite diverse, but generally speaking they follow a similar formula. Traditionally, play takes place around a table, but even that's negotiable. Many people play exclusively online these days.

Depending on the system you choose to play, accessories such as minis and battlemats could be optional. However, if you favour a tactical game and want to engage with all the combat rules, they do become more important.

There's always alternatives though. I don't keep minis for all my creatures - as a DM, who could afford to? Personally I use paper tokens because they're easy to whip up and doodle on. Many people use coins, legos, or colored blocks. Anything can stand as a proxy of it's the right size. There are tales of people who use candy so players can eat what they kill.

Another option, particularly if you go for the online option, is to use a Virtual Tabeletop (VTT). This is software that simulates your table, battlemat, minis, and generally facilitates play. I find them complicated and kind of fiddly, but a lot of people like them.

At the end of the day, you don't need all that. There's a concept of play called the Theater of the Mind where players use their shared imagination instead of any accessories. It's easier when there aren't a lot of moving parts to keep track of, but if you prefer a narratively focused game then it's a good way to play.

As far as how to play the game, that's up to the individual system. However generally speaking you play by having a conversation. The DM describes a situation and then asks "What do you do?" Players then describe their actions. Turn-taking can be more or less rigid depending on the situation. In D&D in particular, turns become much more formal during combat where players take turns in Initiative Order.

Generally speaking, near the start of the rule book (if you have one) there will be an Example of Play. This is usually styled as a transcript of a conversation between players. I always thought those were neat, and they dona pretty good job of showing how a game might play

Getting into the hobby can be intimidating because there are a lot of rules in certain systems, and it can be hard to keep track of them all.

Almost all systems include (or should include) Rule Zero, or Have Fun - the most important rule of all.

If you're running the game then all rules are optional. As long as everyone is having fun then you can play however you want.

Anyway, I ramble a lot, but I've been playing these games for a long time. You're in for a fun new hobby, good luck getting your group together!

Subway has previously made headlines in legal news because their footlongs were under a foot long, and because their 100% chicken was half soy. If anything, they deserve some extra scrutiny.

Love to see this

It's the line of best fit, not the line of good fit

If you don't like it, don't press that button

As I'm getting older, I'm definitely starting to appreciate that I just can't see shit. If the game's going for an ultra-realistic environment, then there's just so much more visual clutter that I need help picking things out.

In my opinion, it's just an accessibility feature. Those are always nicer to have than to not. But if you're a purist, or you don't have any problem finding things, then I'd also hope you'd be able to disable it.

If your organization is such a clusterfuck that you can't figure out how to open a PDF, then I'm going to consider that a bullet dodged.

I once had my employer perform a wellness check when I was having a mental health episode.

I was working remotely, but my mental health was in the toilet. I had a candid conversation with my supervisor where I told him I needed some time off because I had been feeling suicidal. He was an absolute bro, told me I was doing a good job, and that I earned some time off. He agreed that our conditions and the demands from management were absurd. He tells me to just take some time, and he'll clear the way with HR.

Well, I'm logging off my computer when I get a call from his boss. He's asking why I'm suddenly taking some time off. I tell him that I haven't been feeling well, but he keeps badgering me for a specific reason. I tell him that I'm very vulnerable and don't want to disclose a reason. That's between me and my doctor.

Well he keeps pressing and he tells me that, "sharing our vulnerabilities is what fosters trust." So I'm like fine, you really want to know, this job and your management style are making me suicidal.

Tone immediately shifts. He's going into full damage control cover-your-ass mode. He tells me that I should consider a different career if I'm not up to the task. I'm already having like the worst day of my life (so far) and I start to have a panic attack.

I tell him you know what, it's not his business and I'm going to call my doctor. Before I can get on the phone with my doctor, HR is calling me. They tell me they have to get hold of my emergency contact to make sure I'm not currently killing myself. I tell them my emergency contact is out of town (unrelated), so they say they have to call the police. I ask her not to, there's no risk to myself and things have been taken out of context. HR insists that it's company policy.

So while I'm hyperventilating because my boss pressed me for more details than I was comfortable sharing about my health, they sent a man with a gun to my house to check on me.

I understand that the company is protecting its liability or whatever. But I really felt that my rights had been violated somehow. The police are not suitable to intervene in a mental health episode. I had a new fear that I wouldn't be able to calm down when the police arrived and I'd end up shot or something.

TLDR - I know this post is fake, but companies really do feel like they own their employees. A wellness check from your employer is absolutely bullshit, but that won't stop them from trying.

This tidbit is sometimes presented like it's a pro-trans win, but the truth is far from pretty.

If you get caught as a cis-gendered gay man in Iran then you're potentially facing the death penalty. In a legal move that wouldn't exist anywhere else in the world, you can plea-bargain your ding dong into a hoo-hah.

If the state is offering you a choice between mutilation or death, is it even really a choice?

Some people will tell you, "Well ackshually it was for states' rights," but those states wanted to use those rights to enforce slavery.

It strikes me as like the "guns don't kill people, people kill people" argument. Like, wow, you're totally right about the semantics, but at the cost of missing the point entirely.

If you let the radius be Z, then you can find the area of a pizza with a simple formula:

Pi * Z * Z = A