That’s one of Jesse DeGraff’s models, isn’t it?

(I vaguely remember him being upset with himself at the time because he’d misaligned the pods)

You have this all wrong. You were illegally occupying her chair, and she has merely reasserted her rights over her property.

Welp, I guess you just got yourself a theme tune.

This would be an ecumenical matter.

“Is that the same Whitman who [details of reprehensible act removed]?”

Yes. It’s always the same Whitman.

I wisely managed to avoid his KS grifts because I’d already been burned by his mishandling of Traveller 4th Ed in the mid-90s.

Plus ça change.

That right there is the benefit of a classical education.

Oh, so that’s how they’re supposed to land!

I’m getting a strong “Women’s Institute nude calendar but with prime cuts of meat instead of flower arrangements” vibe from this.

I mean, they’ve already brought up the Avignon papacy so I’m assuming that Vance is signalling that he’s ready for the top job.

For the sake of COLREGs, I hope that it’s the starboard side that they’ve set to green.

“wtf were they thinking?” is such a succinct summary of TSR’s behaviour between the mid-80s and the mid-90s.

These were all from 1984, which is the year that TSR went all-out on licensing other IP (the Conan RPG, Marvel Superheroes, etc) - and midway through the Blume->Gygax->Williams transition.

That's a good summary. They were designed for use with Star Frontiers, which doesn't really fit with the subject matter.

TSR did the same with the Indiana Jones RPG - you could only play characters from the films in the core rules, and the Raiders module stuck very close to the plot of the film.

I’m curious to see how it might differ from T20, but at the price they’re charging even for the PDF tier, I’m not going to be a backer considering that delivery won’t be before the end of next year.

The space station from 2001, A Space Odyssey lying abandoned in a field.

Chapter 10: Suggestions for Further Reading “Guide me, O thou great Redeemer, Pilgrim through this barren land.” - Can Rhondda (Hymns A&M No. 196) The bibliography given in this chapter is by no means exhaustive, but represents a personal selection of texts that the author has read with profit and/or enjoyment.

Amongst the very many reasons to miss the late great David Barron is his way with a good epigram.

(this from his 1977 book An Introduction to the Study of Programming Languages, published by Cambridge University Press)

I think that the kindest thing one could say about that mac and cheese is that it probably tasted better than it looked.

Introduced to them last month, just in time for their second album.

The space station from 2001, A Space Odyssey, abandoned in a field to rot.

This is possibly the most heartbreaking film-related image I’ve seen.

I'm holding out for the range of tea towels.

"the equivalent of being interred in a model of a cooling tower"

You say that like you think that would be a bad thing.

I mean, you could have just said "cat" and we all would have understood the subtext.

I’ll have you know that my day-to-day glasses are RayBans!

(though as you rightly say, RayBans don’t really exist any more)

Wait, what? Mirrorshades are dated?

For anyone confused, here’s the old rhyme:

If your Naomi is Klein, everything’s fine.
If your Naomi is Wolf, she’s madder than a box of frogs.

For me, the heart of the game has always been survival mode, with Wintermute providing the backstory - and now that's completed, parts of Tales from the Far Territory make much more sense (IYKYK).

That's the last episode of The Long Dark finished. Good to see @hinterland.bsky.social wrap the story up, and lay the groundwork for Black Frost.

A bit more linear and expositionary than I'd expected, but that's just what happens when you have to tie up so many loose ends. The best bit: the train!

MAGA tech bros gonna MAGA tech bro.

A screenshot of the opening screen of The Long Dark, containing the following statement: STATEMENT AGAINST THE USE OF GENERATIVE AI Hinterland is a humans-first company. We believe in the primacy of human creativity, and in the dignity of all human creators. We will never use generative Al for any of our games, nor include any code or content in our games that wasn't created purely by humans. We are opposed to the widespread exploitation and abuse of human creativity, exploitation that underpins the business models of all generative Al companies. We believe that this fight is an existential fight for the soul of humanity, and we see games standing at the forefront of this fight. There is no ethical application of generative Al, as all commercial models are built on the industrial-scale theft and exploitation of workers, as well as the destruction of our environment, to the sole benefit of the billionaire-class. We also do not consent to have any of our work added to any generative Al models, for training purposes or otherwise, and will use all legal means at our disposal to protect our creations and our intellectual property. We believe that our work, and the commitment to our players, demands this of us.

Tonight, I shall be mostly following @thelongdark.bsky.social to its conclusion.

Excellent start - this is the sort of robust statement against the use of generative AI in the creative industries that I think should be standard. All of us - players and developers alike - deserve this much.

Oh! Which page?