Now watching the opposite of a feel-good movie. 🤗 Bleakness, here I come!

They're "fixing" it. This reply is from the person who approved the PR. Note a lack of explanation of WHY they approved the PR, why code was this way, or how they're changing their processes to make sure things like this don't happen in the future. & closed the thread so nobody can point this out.

Zi@majormcdoom.bsky.social · 3mo ago

Not that anyone needs yet another reason to steer clear of Microsoft, but VSCode now adds Copilot as a co-author of all your commits, regardless if you used Copilot. This was added silently as a default. This is some next level insanity.

If you use GitHub (especially if you pay for it!!) consider doing this *immediately* Settings -> Privacy -> Disallow GitHub to train their models on your code. GitHub opted *everyone* into training. No matter if you pay for the service (like I do). WTH github.com/settings/cop...

People keep telling me not to use black-on-white web page themes because it "hurts their eyes" and I finally realized I'm the only person on the planet that adjusted my monitor to a comfortable level.

There are few hot takes I agree with more than this. - too many hobbyists take rules complexity as a proxy for depth, which it isn't. - too many hobbyists play simple games, don't understand the strategy but assume they do, and conclude "shallow". It's hubris.

Jon Perry@perryjon.bsky.social · 6mo ago

I think a lot board gamers underestimate the depth of light games and overestimate the depth of heavy games. More moving parts does not necessarily mean a game has more strategy. It often just means there's more noisiness obscuring the impact of your decisions.

Nice overview of one branch of the checkers family and its growth within American Jewish and Black communities. If you have any interest in traditional games, how they evolve & spread, & their cultural significance, this channel is one to watch. youtu.be/Oahmxr8Pm3A

It's called American Pool Checkers, a variant based on Russian Checkers. (A viewer request!)

YouTube video by NewVenture Games

youtu.be

The pro-AI, anti-game-designer nonsense Suz is quoting below is on LinkedIn, in the comments on a post by the SAME PERSON about how AI told him to *walk* to the car wash. (The cognitive dissonance is killing me!) Here's what I replied over there:

🥧 suzanne 🥧@425suzanne.bsky.social · 6mo ago

Reposting with ALT because this kind of phenomenal disdain and disrespect from within the industry literally against two of their own titles and the designer who made them is important to recognize.

I wanted to know who designed an old board game I loved. I found out he made over fifty games he was never credited for, in a career spanning more than three decades. youtu.be/dTepZ7qM24Q

GRAVITY IS FREE: the games of René Soriano

YouTube video by Hollandspiele

youtu.be

Hey! Scientists! Did you discover something cool with your eyes lately? Maybe you made an image with a telescope or microscope? Or made an illustrative figure in a paper? That's great! Congratulations! I am BEGGING you to upload a copy to wikimedia commons a rant ⚛️🧪

Nice documenting of a research process. If you're interested in old games & obscure publishers, the channel for NewVenture Games - which itself specializes in publishing pegboard games - has a number of charming bite-sized videos. A channel I don't think gets enough attention. youtu.be/Gk4d8jujOaE

The game is afoot! This week we seek out a mystery game by the Skor-Mor Games Company.

YouTube video by NewVenture Games

youtu.be

To be clear, they're play-fighting and also: this video improved my day measurably and I wish I'd've watched it earlier. If you haven't, fix that now.

Rav@rvbdrm.com · 7mo ago

BIG FIGHT AT POLAND’S WROCLAW ZOO!!!

Tell Discord RIGHT NOW that you will leave if they force AI on you. It's the only way to stop this. discord.sjc1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_...

Patrick Perini ⤷ DRAGON CON@pcperini.com · 7mo ago

Discord wants to know how you feel about AI. Go tell them: discord.sjc1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_...

This here is one of the great U-boat hunters of the Second World War. Grab a comfy seat and a glass of something pleasing. We're going on a journey...

Fuck you people. Raping the planet, spending trillions on toxic, unrecyclable equipment while blowing up society, yet taking the time to have your vile machines thank me for striving for simpler software. Just fuck you. Fuck you all. I can't remember the last time I was this angry.

The only thing more disappointing than Larian's CEO going 'yay AI' is people forgiving it because they made BG3. And sure, they're not using it *as badly* as others, but: 1) Basically replacing concept artists is bad. 2) A CEO saying "everyone here is okay with it!" does not mean that it is true.

none of these people wrote the code or built the hardware. But also none of these people DESIGNED the code or the hardware. None of them "architected" anything. They're people choosing where the money goes, probably the most overpaid job for the skill & talent required, irrespective of success.

Phil Lewis@phillewis.bsky.social · 8mo ago

Time Magazine puts the "architects of AI" on its Person of the Year cover time.com/7339685/pers...

Then don't make the game. It's a simple as that. If a game needs to use a plagiarism machine to exist, it doesn't need to exist.

A book from the 19th century that depicts the Rhine Valley by creating an impression of three-dimensionality and spatial distance. @MasayukiTsuda2 #globalmuseum #books #travel #19thcentury

Mike Austin has released much of the source code behind Level 9, the British text-adventure company. This includes their A-code compiler, the source for Knight Orc and other games, and documentation. github.com/MikeTheTechi...

GitHub - MikeTheTechie/Level9-Public

Contribute to MikeTheTechie/Level9-Public development by creating an account on GitHub.

github.com

A Sharon Begley byline, almost 5 years after her death. Upon hearing the news James Watson had died, a STAT reporter said in our Slack, "I wish I could read what Sharon would have written." Incredible news: Sharon in fact did pre-write a Watson obit. And it is masterful and excoriating. 🧪🧬🧫

James Watson, dead at 97, was a scientific legend and a pariah among his peers

James Watson, the co-discoverer of the structure of DNA who died Thursday at 97, was a scientific legend and a pariah among his peers.

statnews.com

Today, a friend involved in the Esna restoration project has shared with me his latest stunning photos of the restored ceiling and columns of the Temple of Khnum in Esna, Upper #Egypt. During a multi-year restoration project, the dirt and soot that had obscured the ...🧵1/3 📷 D. v. Recklinghausen 🏺

Rally the Troops has added yet another World War I game to the line up: Verdun 1916: Steel Inferno. This is a CDG about the trench warfare around Verdun during World War I, designed by Walter Vejdo, with illustrations by Tardi. rally-the-troops.com/verdun

If I see you posting AI slop, it's an instant block. Even if you think it's cute or says a lot about society. If you are purporting that some AI slop is real news, I will report you for misinformation, and then block you. Sloppers should be marginalised.

The Terran Trade Authority series were science fiction art books published in the late 1970s & early 80s, created by British author Stewart Cowley using previously published paintings from sci-fi artists of the era, weaving elaborate fictional histories around the imagery. 1/3

The Mediocre wargame companies really are embracing GenAI quite vigorously. For people who claim to care about history, they sure love depicting faceless mutant handed soldiers carrying deformed weapons, fighting alongside magical choppers that float, but don't disturb smoke.

The art of Chris Moore (1947 - 2025)

Thanks to Nathan Forget, you can finally play Paths of Glory on Rally the Troops! rally-the-troops.com/paths-of-glory

To my friends in Estonia, Germany, Greece, Slovenia, Luxembourg, Romania please call your MEPs. Ireland has been a lost cause, giving into the lies around Chat Control not being a privacy-invading nightmare. But other governments are still debating and they need to be given accurate info.

Tuta@tuta.com · 11mo ago

🚨Our governments are about to decide whether 450M Europeans deserve privacy - or not. Help ensure your country says NO to Chat Control: Call you local representatives! Privacy is not negotiable. Speak up now. ✊ #privacy 👉 More on how to stop Chat Control: tuta.com/blog/chat-co...

Hi authors! Please remember to file a claim!

Ars Technica@arstechnica.com · 11mo ago

AI advocates have warned that if every author in the class action filed a claim, it would "financially ruin" the entire industry.

Wir sind das Volk! It's finally back online again! rally-the-troops.com/wir-sind-das...