Comments 1,082

Re: Random: U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris Potentially Linked to Shadowy Federal Bureau of Control

Olmaz

@Contimaloris Exactly. As a non-American, it's incredible to see how people on both sides are completely blinded to what is really happening on their own side. The lack of self-reflection and the constant projection is bringing their country close to the precipice, and their media is only helping.

And with the 2 candidates on offer (if no one else is assassinated or fired until the election), there's no end to this cycle of delusion in sight.

Re: New PS5 Firmware Update Adds Full Discord Calls and More

Olmaz

@Matroska Yeah I used IRC and maybe my young brain was better at grasping new and confusing things then.

But my main issue with discord is not the UI itself (even though it's absolutely terrible), it's that I just can't find what I came to find in any channel.
An anime subtitle channel : nope, I have no idea where the subtitles or links are.
A fanedit channel : nowhere can I find link to fanedits
A gaming wiki channel : ffs where are the helpful article I should find in it?

And any "chatroom" (or what looks like a chatroom) doesn't help, as I'm not even sure people see my comments, which are being swept away in a see of other non-relevant (to me) comments.

Finding any notifications of someone telling me what to do is like finding a needle in a haystack, as I'm flooded every time I connect by dozens of ads and promotion notifications.

So I think I must be using Discord for things it isn't meant to be, when it's only for chatting with friends while playing a game. But even if I were to want and try that (god forbid), I have no idea where I should start from.

So yeah, I'm officially old now...

Re: New PS5 Firmware Update Adds Full Discord Calls and More

Olmaz

A genuine question to all the young ones : do you have any idea why Discord's UI is so frustratingly bad?
I have been on internet since it existed and Discord is the only mainstream site I just haven't been able to use, it's just that unintuitive and confusing...

Re: Scathing Star Wars Outlaws PS5 Previews Unfavourably Compare Gameplay to PS Vita's Uncharted: Golden Abyss

Olmaz

@Discol76 I can guarantee you I'm not forgetting SW is meant for kids/teenagers... I'm a father and a teacher, I can't miss it even if I wanted to!
Now, since we're sharing opinions : Mandolarian season 1 was a one-trick poney that hinged on nostalgia. Season 2 was bad and revisiting S1 after watching the rest is difficult without nostalgia-tinted glasses.

Rogue One is vastly overrated, especially for the fact that almost every character except the droid is uncharismatic and really not important character material.

Ahsoka is one big pile of feminist propaganda retconning loved characters in a non sensical and almost unwatchable state. The only way to make it watchable ls to go see the fanedit making it into a 3 hour long movie (I would advise anyone wanting to watch the new Star wars content without submitting themselves to hours of very bad TV to hunt down fanedits, I can help).

Now where we agree is that SW nerds will still watch and buy day one every SW content ... even though they'll criticize it almost every time.

Opinions he!

Re: Many More PS5, PS4 Games from China on the Way

Olmaz

"I guess my point is I don't define companies by their country of origin, their country's politics and I won't tar them all by the same brush."
But what about countries where you can't have a company without being constantly scrutinized and control by government, making you a voluntary or involuntary accessory to that government's crimes? China is just like that. Russia is close to it. Israel is not, companies can be openly opposed to their government there.

"Behind all those governments are just people, like you and I, trying to make a living"
I'm sorry but some people in all three governments you've cited are openly and actively organizing genocides, massacres, mass surveillance and other crimes. This is not "trying to make a living". I come from a country that fell from democracy to autocracy in the span of 10-ish years, and I can tell you that autoritarian/totalitarian government are filled with people happy to participate in all these horrors, and the country where these governments thrive are filled with people gladly profiting from such crimes. Your way of handwaving this away is very very close to the "I was just following orders" justification...

Re: Many More PS5, PS4 Games from China on the Way

Olmaz

"You are partly right that China will often join a market with cheaper alternatives but that doesn’t stop other options succeeding and having a good market share."
The fact that you gave Shein and the clothing market as an example shows that you underestimate the impact of Chinese companies when they invest in a market.
see : https://www.businessinsider.com/clothing-brands-stores-youll-see-less-of-in-the-future-2020-7
and :
https://www.statista.com/chart/32182/biggest-online-fashion-stores-in-the-us/

As for the Chinese high quality products, as I said, it's always the strategy of presenting a few good to very good products so the customers open up to the idea of a Chinese brand, then, when the doors are open, let the cheap product flood the market.

And as for the hypocrisy of dealing with Western companies using cheap Chinese labor, I agree it shouldn't exist, but I still prefer dealing with them knowing I "may" have a chance to influence my own country's politics enough to reduce it (and at least part of the process is more respectful of Human Rights), than to finance directly a Chinese company tied to its government.

Edit: I'm genuinely curious - is there any country for which you'd consider a boycott (or at very least strict commercial and diplomatic restrictions) a good idea?

Re: Many More PS5, PS4 Games from China on the Way

Olmaz

@Zenos while I agree that seeing more and more parts of the world elevate their quality of life is a great thing, seeing countries that openly reject modern basic values like Human Rights getting more and more powerful is frightening to me.

Do you think a new multi-polar world order would make these principles more valued?

Re: Many More PS5, PS4 Games from China on the Way

Olmaz

@themightyant Fair enough.

My point is this : Chinese companies have always had this approach : insert yourself into a new market with good enough products to attract first buyers and investors, then flood the market with at best mediocre products coming from questionable means of production. All this while being under the strict surveillance and direction of the Chinese government.

I don't see this as a good thing.

Apparently, you seem to think I'm wrong (even racist?!) in thinking this way. Would you care to develop your counter argument?

Re: Many More PS5, PS4 Games from China on the Way

Olmaz

And here is a big issue with modern day gaming industry (and to be frank, a lot of other indutries) : there is no way Japanese or Western producers can continue to compete without including China, which is very eager to take on the Western market.

Hence a plethora of products, which will appear at first as palatable (or even good for some) but will utilmately ruin the industry by forcing unrealistic standards of production and lowering the overall quality of the products, while being an open door to a totalitarian regime which controls every company within its borders.

We've already seen how the way China is represented in media changed these last 5 years. Now, there can't be a discussion about it without people defending it, omitting all the atrocities committed by the government and the way all companies are tied to it. Worse, false equivalence is immediately made between Western countries and China. See what will happen in response to this comment.

5 years ago, this would have been inimaginable, as most people agreed that dealing with a totalitarian and genocidal country was not a good idea while denouncing the hyprocrisy of Western government delocalizing their production in China and nearby countries.

Re: Neil Druckmann Claims Comments of Next Naughty Dog Game 'Redefining' the Mainstream View of Gaming Was a Sony Misquote

Olmaz

@IamJT I really don't get how Amy Hennig is still considered someone important in the industry. She hasn't done any meaningful job for 13 years since her work on Uncharted 3, but every project she's attached to at some point is lauded as the next big thing because she's in it.

It's almost as baffling as Jade Raymond's overwhelmingly positive reputation in the gaming media, although she hasn't produced any game for almost 10 years.

Re: Street Fighter 6's PS5, PS4 Soundtrack Is About to Get a Huge Upgrade

Olmaz

You’ll be able to use in-game currency like Drive Tickets or premium currency such as Fighter Coins to purchase songs

And again! For every thing SF6 does incredibly well, they have to add some stupid microtransactions... I love this game but really, they have to sort out these things by making most of what is mtx as unlockables.

Re: PS Plus Premium's Cloud Streaming Is Much, Much Better Than You Think

Olmaz

I've recently started streaming my games (a newborn is on the way, my entertainment room is gone). I use my phone with the dualsense and a good phone holder, and I'm stunned at how good it is.
I've got a quite good internet connection, and the PS5 is wired. Once in a while I get connection issues but it's extremely rare.
All in all it's a great way to play games without committing to sitting on the couch and switching on the big tv in the living room. Every indie game I've played played flawlessly, and I enjoyed even bigger 3D games for short sessions.
The only issue I have is for menu heavy games (like Baldur's Gate or Civilization) where the writings can get too small. I don't play online or FPS in general, so I can't comment on them.
But to all who doubt it, just try with your phone and dualsense and see if your connection handles it well, you may be very surprised.