the16bitgamer

the16bitgamer , 6 months ago

What might be a good idea is to try Game Pass for a few months and see what they settle on. Then for Birthdays or Christmas, get them the games they played the most. Not sure how parental controls are like on it, but I hope they exists.

That being said, outside of Nintendo, there aren’t many Online games which don’t demand their users to pay for cosmetics with fake in game currency. See CTR Nitro Fuelled, Fortnight, Call of Duty, Overwatch and Minecraft skins.

With that said if changing your system isn’t an option, Minecraft Bedrock Edition the only game I am familiar with. There is a skin store, but you can’t earn in game currency from just playing (from my knowledge). So if they don’t have access to the credit card, they won’t be tempted, plus the base game has enough options that you can customize your character well enough.

If you can get a switch (and friends have one already), Splatoon 2/3, Mario Kart 8, and Animal Crossing are all friendly non-microtransaction laden games.

the16bitgamer , 6 months ago

Sadly the game being de-listed was inevitable. The same goes with this eventually.

The proper way of doing this would’ve been to have the code for the game, but use the ROM to get you the art assets. I am certain there are tools available to do this either before the game runs, i.e. have the user extract the data. Or have it at run time, like loading the ROM in an emulator.

It wouldn’t have been easy to do, but it would prevent Nintendo from going after them, since they are not using Nintendo’s assets.

the16bitgamer , 6 months ago

I don’t see an issue with what the dev did here. It’s not easy to make a unique IP, and making a HD port like this is fine. You just need to be smart about it, like the various reverse engineering projects around.

So long as you aren’t distributing someone else’s copy protected assets, music, art, logos, you are fine.

the16bitgamer , 6 months ago

From my experience, download many distros from Linux Mint to Zorin, maybe Fedora and OpenSuse if you want something non Ubuntu bases, or Manjaro and Endeavor OS if you are up for a challenge.

Then install them in a Virtual Machine like Virtual Box. This way you can test which OS you like, and see if the software you want works.

In my experience the Desktop Environment makes the biggest impact on your user experience.

Followed by the package manager (app store)

Then available software (steam lutris libre office)

Finally the terminal for when things go south (or you installed arch)

the16bitgamer , 6 months ago

Drivers. I’ve yet to run across any major issues except for Intel Compute not working with Davinci Resolve but that’s well documented.

Now for gaming on Linux. There are 2 ways to game on Linux.

1. Native ports. Most valve games and some third parties (mostly indie) are natively compatible. I’ve had no issues playing these ports and they run like any other application.
2. Windows Compatibility Layer. Now asking for 20+ year old games to be ported to Linux is a bit of an ask. Let alone asking devs to add Linux support to their games when Linux had such a small install base.

So what some very smart devs did, was make 2 pieces of software that makes playing native Windows games on Linux possible.

WINE, or WIne Is Not an Emulator, is a compatibility layer to run native Windows Software in Linux. With a primary focus on Windows System Calls. Gaming in wine isn’t graphically the best.

Then there is DXVK, or Direct X to Vulkan compatibility layer, which translates DX9-DX11 code to the open source Vulkan that runs in Linux. Intel’s Arc graphics uses this for their legacy compatibility.

Now you don’t need to worry about installing any of this since Valve packages these apps, and some choice software like .Net Runtime in a package called Proton. This is a checkbox in Steam and when Steam Play is enabled, the Windows versions of games will be installed and will work.

Compatibility is very good at this point but there are edge cases that still need to be ironed out. Like anti cheat, DRM, and more.

Lutris is another prices of software that can be used like Steam Play but for non steam games. Its also good, but can be fiddly.

Install process is no more involved than actual Windows, but when a Ubisoft game crashes it won’t take your entire machine down with it.

the16bitgamer , 6 months ago

Oh I know this answer! Not using Windows, right?

the16bitgamer , 6 months ago

Good video, though I feel that it just ended abruptly, almost as if they had more to say.

Reddit did stop the protest and after a month, Reddit was back to business as usual. With that said, due to the protest I got exposed to Lemmy, Mastadon and the Fediverse. And if you are a company, the last thing you want to do, is expose your customers to competition.

From a personal note, outside of a few niche communities I am subbed to on Reddit, like /r/vita. I’ve noticed a decline in quality in the posts, and outside of these small communities discussions are far and few between as well. Lemmy I’ve found is a lot more active, and I am interacting with it more.

the16bitgamer , 6 months ago

A weird one if your SO is a fan of anime. Persona 5.

My SO loved playing with me since they had all the guides and stuff ready to min max the game while I did the heavy lifting. It’s a different type of 2 player game, like a Driver and Navigator while driving.

the16bitgamer , 6 months ago

The SEGA at the end caught me off guard.

the16bitgamer , 6 months ago

Having the parental controls to limit someone’s play session is a newer concept. Most older systems like PS2, PSP, and PS3 just have age restrictions on the games, where a parent needs to unlock the system to play. (At which point you could just start a timer)

You might be able to leverage that.

Otherwise the oldest system I am aware of that has this feature is PlayStation Vita according to its manual.

the16bitgamer , 6 months ago

I am currently using Manjaro as my main Laptop OS.

Most of the hate is philosophical based in small often overlookable facts. And how Manjaro uses/is compatible with the AUR. There’s a whole github dedicated to the communities complaints here: github.com/arindas/manjarno

While I can see why many don’t like manjaro, I personally see these complaints as a way to evaluate the company to see if they improve.

My experience with Manjaro is about 1-2 years now. And the OS is very stable, honestly more stable than my brief time with Fedora.

But I did break a lot during that time including my DE. However as long as you are careful on where you install from, the distro will be stable.

Install order

1. Official Repo - this is delayed by a few weeks to “validate stability”, one of the sticking points for the community
2. Flatpak
3. AUR - due to the delayed official packages some AUR packages won’t update immediately, or will cause conflict when they are.

AUR support is honestly the only valid issue with Manjaro. Due to the delay AUR packages will break as older dependencies aren’t being updated causing a large string of removals which can cause stability issued in Manjaro.

My recommendation is to avoid the AUR unless the package isn’t found elsewhere. Which is a problem if you installed Arch for AUR. Thus EndeavorOS is preferred.

But for my usage I prefer the graphical interfaces for all setting. With the exception of GRUB, there is a GUI for everything and you won’t need to touch a terminal.

With that said, you may want to look into OpenSUSE or Fedora/CentOS, and they are similar in terms of GUI settings. And are a little safer since OS level packages are behind another package manager.

But at the cost of less software. For me I’m stuck with Manjaro for now, and as soon as Slimbook battery is officially on Fedora trying that out again.

the16bitgamer , 6 months ago

Agreed.

the16bitgamer , 6 months ago

I have a Boox Nova 3 Color. What its good for is 3 things.

1. reading books
2. taking notes with its included stylus
3. Good enough software to run normal apps well enough.

But what it is not is a Good Android Tablet. Its a typical 1 Android update Chinese tablet. Forever stuck on Android 10 (I think), with no expansion.

And for an E-Reader that’s more than enough, but if you want to watch video? Its bad. Read a webpage that’s scrolls? Be prepare to manually refresh a lot to read what’s there. Install Google Play? Good luck (it’s doable just annoying).

However compared with a Kobo or a Samsung and my most used Android Tablet I ever owned. I even made an e-reader case for it since the original disintegrated on me.

the16bitgamer , 6 months ago

I’ve tried Android Tablets for 15 years now, And the best Tablet I’ve ever used is my iPad, it has more power than I’ll ever know what to do with with software support that I could only dream of.

However there are things I still can only do on Android, and for that I am using my trusty and slowly dying Samsung Galaxy Tab s5e.

What I love about it as a regular user is

• light weight for it’s size
• Good Speakers
• FireFox + Ublock origin

some Advance user features I love are

• USB-C Video out for those apps I want on the big screen
• AMOLED for those inky blacks. Watching streaming content on it is a dream
• Side loading support, like apps that let me force the display to a 16:9 aspect ratio for my TV

My only complaint is that the Power is not enough for modern day content consumption. And that it doesn’t have a headphone jack.

The only reason I prefer my iPad is that the software support for the official apps I use like Disney Plus and Kobo are better supported and run better on it. However until Apple allows side loading or lets FireFox to actually use anything other than webkit, I will probably have a tablet like this near by when I want a screen without a keyboard.

I feel if I had to buy a new one and I didn’t care about the some of my advance user features the FE edition of the Samsung Tablets seem like a good deal.

the16bitgamer , 6 months ago

If you have a PSP Street then Sony gave you the proverbial middle finger since both Media Go (PC Software to download and manage digital PSP games), and transferring games from PS3 to PSP doesn’t work.

But if you have a PSP that can connect to WiFi you absolutely can still download PSP games. You just need to

1. connect your PSP to WiFi a challenge in it of itself
2. generate a Password for your account since Sony requires 2fa and PSP doesn’t support 2fa. Its on your Sony Account settings somewhere from a browser.
3. sign into your Sony account on your PSP
4. goto account management
5. select transaction management
6. select downloads list
7. select game you wanna download

Lots of guides out there for extracting PSP ISO or PS1 ISO from digital games on YouTube. Definitely worth looking into to preserve your collection

the16bitgamer , 6 months ago

Tbh this is how you’d normally download it with one additional step to get a password once if you haven’t signed in.

This is a portable from 2004

the16bitgamer , 6 months ago

Alright, what this looks like is Sony’s deal with Discovery to sell and host their TV shows has been removed. From my quick glance there are no games being removed.

Still is BS, and beyond ridiculous. But it was inevitably going to happen at some point.

I am more pissed that I got informed that they are doing this from here instead of being told that I am losing my Myth Busters.

the16bitgamer , 6 months ago

Because it was 2009, I was I kid, and I saw Mythbusters and I said yes. I learnt my lesson when they remove PlayStation Video years ago from PS3, and the PSP. I didn’t even know I could re-download it until I stumbled upon it in a menu years later.

I am just hoping and praying that this will not extend to their games. Sony’s been pretty good about game ownership to this point, look at those who bought the PT Demo and can still play it.

the16bitgamer , 6 months ago

Not a controller per say, but does a mouse and keyboard count?

the16bitgamer , 6 months ago

The ending of Pokemon Mystery Dungeon. Such a wonderful soundtrack an story.

the16bitgamer , 6 months ago

A mix between Lego Indiana Jones on PSP and Assassins Creed Syndicate. Hurray free givaways

the16bitgamer , 6 months ago

Hey, just wanna shout out to your local library. Overdrive (Libby app) is amazing, but only works on kindles in the USA. Double check if kindle supports overdrive in your country and if it doesn’t you may want to get a Kobo or a third party e-reader instead.

Either that or you can use DeDRM to strip the adobe digital editions drms to keep the library books after they expire.

the16bitgamer , 6 months ago

Libby works on any Android and iOS device, so if you consider those E-Reader then no you didn’t miss understand.

However on proprietary E-Readers like Kobos and Kindles, Overdrive needs to be implemented by the manufacturer . It’s not an issue for Kobo, as Overdrive is baked in, but on Kindle it only works with the USA’s Library system if I understand it correctly (not from USA).

With that said since Overdrive relies on Adobe Digital editions it’s not the end of the world since you can remove the DRM and use calibre to cover the ePub to Mobi then move it onto a Kindle.

But getting the right device makes it less of a hassle.

the16bitgamer , 6 months ago

Still not possible to read adobe DRM epub on kindle as of yet. So you still need to strip the DRM first

the16bitgamer , 6 months ago

By my definition, the Vita is Retro. In which case that since it can emulate everything I want to play and more.

If I have to go pre 2010 probably a DS or PSP due to the vast library of games I like

Pre 2000… PlayStation 1 or Super Nintendo leaning heavily on PlayStation

the16bitgamer , 6 months ago

An Ice Cream Maker. Been making my own Ice Cream for years now and its amazing. The cheap machines which requires you to freeze the bowl is nice, but the one with a heat pump built in is amazing. In 3 hours I can make batches of Mint, Chocolate and Vanilla Ice Cream.

the16bitgamer , 6 months ago

Amazon sells them with the search term “with compressor”. I got this one 2 years ago, it’s pricey but you can get smaller ones with less volume for cheaper. www.amazon.ca/dp/B01FXMW4AS/

the16bitgamer , 6 months ago

I found the $600 to be reasonable considering how much I make. But they do sell smaller ones for 200-300 the bowl just has a smaller volume.

the16bitgamer , 6 months ago

On the list of reasons over the years.

1. High School friend showed me their install, and how it had these sick spinning cube desktop. Ditched it once I realized I couldn’t do anything I wanted on it.
2. In University, the ComSci labs all had networked machines with Ubuntu installed. It was cool, but again outside of coding, I couldn’t do anything I wanted on it.
3. 2022, I got a new Laptop, couldn’t use Windows 11 without an account (I know of the work arounds). MS has Windows 10 with a EOL in 2025, and Valve is pushing the Steam Deck hard. Gave it a second shot. I now can do everything I want on it without issue. I even made a 1 year retrospective video about it.

I use arch btw /s

the16bitgamer , 6 months ago

Love those videos, mostly because it is my perfect argument on why the Linux Desktop isn’t ready yet.

Was Linus an idiot in those videos? Yes, Luke even said so, stating he installed in and in the month chose not to use his machine (recent wan show)

However it shows, just how easy it is for a novice to break the distro, and how much work is needed to get it to the point of Windows for general population usability. Granted the issues Linus had with POP_OS was dumb and shouldn’t have happened. But it showed me that Manjaro existed, which I am using to this day.

the16bitgamer , 6 months ago

Agreed, I am surprised how often file explorer crashes on Win 10. Or I need to restart windows for random reasons since moving to Linux. Its to the point I want to gut my desktop and put Manjaro on it too.

Compared to when I started using Linux in the late 2000’s, Linux has matured to an unbelievable point. To someone who is even slightly interested in learning, its perfectly usable as a Windows replacement… depending on your Distro, Desktop Environment, etc.

It’s this depends which makes recommending Linux hard for me, since when a problem occurs, I find its not as easy to troubleshoot especially with how many flavours of Linux exists.

the16bitgamer , 6 months ago

I was playing super star wars. But the lava kept killing me

the16bitgamer , 7 months ago

I have a Gigabyte Clevo thingy, so take what I say with a grain of salt. My laptop has a i5 11 gen intel cup, and it doesn’t have the cooling for my cpu. I don’t know if this is a bug in Linux, or a fault in the pc (probably both). So when I play games it spikes to 80-90C then throttles.

So what I did was look into software that lets me control the CPU frequency, which led me to Slimbook Battery. This software is amazing and lets me tune the power usage of my cpu to manage the thermals.

I believe Open Build has a package of Slimbook Battery for Opensuse Tumbleweed, but I’ve had no luck running it. On my Manjaro install it works excellently.

the16bitgamer , 7 months ago

Neo Launcher is the closest to Nova I used, but its feel like a work in progress

the16bitgamer , 7 months ago

Not the person you asked, but honestly it’s the most useless button on the controller. I hit it by accident, and want the menu to go away quicker than it took to load in.

the16bitgamer , 7 months ago

It’s the “share button”. Apparently somewhere in there lets you post to a linked twitter account.

the16bitgamer , 7 months ago

I’ve wrestled with Mobile games for years. As a player, I love the idea of playing games on my phone. But most phones games outside of flash like games (Angry Birds) weren’t fun.

So I tried to make them myself.

After 5 years of trial and error my conclusion was thus. Phones are a bad platform for games. Not because they aren’t capable, they are extremely capable. But because they have no proper inputs.

Games are built for the common input method. PC games have a keyboard and mouse mode. Console games are built with a controller. And mobile games need to use touch.

The problem with touch, is that it’s a bad input method for all games. Very good for simple visual games, but for the rest, you are touching a textureless, featureless, tiny surface, with no tactile feedback. This means that anything more complicated than angry birds or bejeweled will be difficult to play if it doesn’t play itself.

It’s possible to make games for phones. But due to the design constraints, the game needs to be simple, or not time dependent. Strategy games, puzzle games, board games will work, but action games, or shooters are doomed to be worse than their competitors on non-mobile platforms.

the16bitgamer OP , 7 months ago (edited 7 months ago)

No name brand, if you find one that looks like it, it’ll work. Typical search terms are “hdmi splitter 1 in 2 out”, any with EDI switches are busts, like the one from UGREEN.

EDITAlso avoid any with buttons, this is a HDMI duplicator, as in 1 signal goes in, that signal get duplicated and sent out both ports. The ones with buttons switches inputs, so 1 HDMI in 1 HDMI out, the button just chooses which HDMI is being used. Great for monitors with only 1 HDMI input.

the16bitgamer OP , 7 months ago

I presumed so, but when I hear someone asking, I think of the old caps in old 90s PSU and Motherboards that are likely to go boom. I’ve never heard of these surface mount caps blowing though.

the16bitgamer OP , 7 months ago

Q: Can you still get working ones? I presume so, they come from China, and I found another from Amazon a while back when I did some crazy updates to my setup. (3 HDMI outputs, Games gets split to the TV and to another Splitter which gets intercepted by a automatic switch. This switch has the game signal, but also an HDMI override signal that goes to my laptop or Tablet. That input goes to another splitter that goes to HDMI 2 on my TV and to my HDMI Recorded. This lets me play games while recording whats on my iPad, and lets me monitor my output just in case)

Q: Would one of these work to avoid a new TV? Maybe? Not sure TBH, though for the $9-$20 I’ve seen these for it’s worth looking up.

the16bitgamer OP , 7 months ago

I get and like HDCP. Mostly because of how easy it can be to bypass. I’d rather have a universal “we tried” standard, than an honest attempt to stop this. With today’s tech and online focused DRM, HDCP could be a lot worse, and I am happy where it is right now.

Like Adobe Digital Editions or Kindle for eBook DRM.

the16bitgamer OP , 7 months ago

Once upon a time, Elgato HD60, I want to keep my current system under wraps, since I don’t want them to fix it ;)

the16bitgamer OP , 7 months ago

Not sure about others, but I don’t distribute the content I record or backup, outside of an offsite backup. For me my biggest concern is getting a clean copy for myself, and with certain fruity tablets and a mirrored screen it’s good source to record from for my needs.

the16bitgamer OP , 7 months ago

Yup, outside of legacy PC titles which will never get a re-release, a 1-2 combo shot of GOG and Steam, I don’t pirate games. I even took the time to find way to backup my games so I can get legal ROMs too.

the16bitgamer OP , 7 months ago

I already have one, not to worry. Plus they are easy to find on Amazon or eBay.

the16bitgamer OP , 7 months ago

PS2 discs can be ripped on a PC with a DVD player. Same with PS1. The PlayStation copy protection was on system not the media.

the16bitgamer OP , 7 months ago

I don’t want to spill the beans on what I’m currently using since I don’t want it to be patched. But I can tell you what I use to use before my current config. Since apps and devices have updated to a point I found better ones.

I use to run an old Samsung Tablet with USB C video out and one of those Amazon bargain bin tablets with HDMI.

Once this bad boy strips the HDCP any old HDMI recorder can record the signal. At a time I used the Elgato HD60, but I’ve moved on since due to HDR content causing it problems.

the16bitgamer OP , 7 months ago

I might’ve already replied with it in this post, I might not have. Who really knows.