For me it’s our Tefal easy fry dual air fryer. It’s changed our lives. We barely use the oven anymore.

If I was a dev the question would have to be changed to: “You’ve just won a competition and now a couple of mid-tier game developers have to listen to your game idea, because no other devs would take part. Be ready to compromise. Your vision is a starting point but be ready for it’s content, scope, theme and narrative to be modified heavily. What game do you make?” 🤣

3 words: Assassin’s Creed Discworld 😁

For me it would be a dungeon crawler in the style of Monomyth but with AAA graphics. Also, it would start with a massive intro sequence, like in Kingdom Come: Deliverance, when you’ve been playing for ages and then realise the game hasn’t really even started yet. It would also have really emotionally engaging writing and cut scenes like in Eriksholm: The StolenDream.

The most important ingredient though, and I can’t stress this enough, because so many games get this wrong in my opinion, is a world that doesn’t appear to give a damn that I’m in it or need me to do anything. Monomyth nails this as does, I think, GTA5. Everyone’s just living their lives and you are one tiny part of it, nothing more. I really hate games that feel like the Truman Show. I want to be able to hide in the world, to be unnoticed. Thief by Eidos gets this right too.

Also I want my dungeons to hint at light above through maybe cracks way up high in the rocks, like the caves and temples of Assassin’s Creed Odyssey.

Finally I want the player to be able to choose whatever play style they want, without shaming them for making it easy or glorifying them for making it as hard as possible. I don’t like games that tell me how to have fun and if a player finds a completely unexpected way to achieve something good. No sudden patch to nerf it. Just leave it.

Check out Darwin’s Paradox. It’s an excellent game 😁

Also, when a bunch of people left reddit 3 years ago, it seemed like they flooded it with bots to pad the numbers. In any case welcome! 😁 I’ve also been here (in some form or another) since the API drama.

I would recommend that you create a couple of accounts on different instances (Piefed/Fedia etc.) because, although it’s a lot better these days, sometimes they can suddenly go offline. Not all together usually, but it’s nice to still have some way in when that happens.

I was one of seemingly few uses who actually left permanently after they killed the API

You and me both! I left and never went back and it’s been one of the best decisions I ever made.

Yeah, but he probably means it like “Ah dangit, Ukraine may get Patriot missile production license”.

“Reddit”… Now that’s a name I’ve not heard in a long time. A long time.

You can fix this problem by always going to bed at 3:30am. That’s the point where the tiredness gets louder than the ghosts of the past.

I will admit, as a brit, that my automatic reaction to being startled is “Good Lord!”… 🧐

“Where does Bus Bound fall on the various scales of vehicle simulators?”
It’s more fun that all the others I’ve tried.
“Is it a complete accurate-to-the-last-decal vehicle simulation that in order to enjoy, you basically need a bus licence and a lifelong obsession with bus manufacturers?”
No, but the buses look great and feel responsive and intuitive to drive.
“Is it a casual bus driving game like what Euro Truck Simulator 2 is for lorries?”
It’s more fun and instantly playable than ETS2 and takes itself a bit less seriously. Also, there aren’t a million, bajillion settings to tweak.
“Does it have a management aspect, and if so, how deep does it go?”
I’ve only scratched the surface of that. You develop bus routes and get more and more buses and the more you succeed in getting likes, the more the town itself changes and improves.
“Is it particularly moddable?”
It’s just come out so I don’t know.
“Is it made for wheel-and-pedal players?”
Ah, that I do know! It worked instantly with my Thrustmaster T248 wheel and pedals. The thing is I kind of prefer playing it with my keyboard. Not sure why…

I love that guy! So I guess yeah… good first impression 🤣 and no it’s isn’t GTA5 Bus Driving. It’s just a really nice, not overly complicated bus game. Unlike so many other bus games for me in this one they’ve really nailed the environment. It feels bustling and busy and not like a bad film set. That’s one of the issues I had with Bus Simulator 21. This one’s fun and great looking.

He’s out of moves basically. This is just a toddler holding his breath now. What a sad clown.

You know… you’re right. I should be more Epstein files about it. You can’t reduce a complex Epstein Files likes this to just one Epstein files.

That’s just such an Epstein files thing to say. How can a President Epstein files those words and expect the world not to Epstein files in revulsion. To be brutally Epstein files he seems a little desperate. These are not the words of a sane Epstein files.

Yeah I agree. Looks like this will begin to finally solve the uncanny valley problem. The crying is so loud though. I almost feel sorry for them. This is unstoppable. I wish they could see that but they won’t. It’s crazy to me that these anti AI cultists think that they’re going to shame AI into going away. It’s just not going to happen and they’re going to just get more screechy and moral and blind. I hope they get the help they need.

“I really wanted to like this comment but I think the writer has now abandoned it. There have been no updates and I think maybe AI was used for some of it. It also crashed my browser 5 times. I’d ask for a refund but writing this comment took me past the 10 second returns window.”

Joking aside, the problem with the Steam review system is that people tend to read negative reviews before they pay any attention to positive ones. As a result it has turned into a massive platform for review bombers and personal drama sandbox for entitled attention seekers. There isn’t any good faith left in any of it. I’ve learnt to ignore 90% of the reviews now and have ended up playing some excellent games I wouldn’t have otherwise.

Step 1 - Get really excited and wishlist this.

Step 2 - Wait… lots.

Step 3 - Finally it’s available! Go to Steam page reviews and it’s “Mostly Negative” and filled with comments that start with “I really wanted to like this but…” and “Trash”, “Slow, laggy even on my Geforce Quantum Space Folding powered by unicorn tears GFX card”.

No shade on the game which looks awesome but the Steam review system is so badly broken it’s such a bummer.

Starbucks feels like the Blockbuster of the quick-stimulation market. Once there were no alternatives, now there are loads, often cheaper and better. Without constant customer flow, it’s suddenly just vast amounts of premium real estate that need paying for. And unlike smaller competitors, it doesn’t have much room to pivot. Watching how that unwinds will be interesting.