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1

Non-Mafia Game Threads / Re: The Necro Wars

« on: June 22, 2022, 08:50:31 am »

there's probably some kind of a tree structure going on in the background

yes, there is

I still think it's fair to say that having a datastructure that you can find elements in O(ln(n)) time is the main idea of a data base? Yes, you can also do that with a text file. You can have text in a text file sorted. You can have several text files that structure your data. You can in-principle keep a structure that gives you O(ln(n)) access time forever, along with optimality on all the other operations. You can have a text file such that you maintain an implicit tree over it.

But then you're just emulating the properties of a data base manually instead of automatically. I mean, ultimately there is no sharp distinction between any of this stuff. "Database" is not a primitive object in the computer, ultimately it's all processor operations over binary data.

So maybe a more accurate description would be "there's a bunch of nice properties that you'd like your data to have, and if your use case requires large amounts of data, at some points it becomes sensible to automate those, and that's a data base. But like, pedagogically simplifying it to "databases keep your elements sorted and that gives you faster access time"... still seems reasonable to me

Worth noting, SQLite does store its database in a single file.

2

Non-Mafia Game Threads / Re: The Necro Wars

« on: June 17, 2022, 04:30:45 pm »

Makes sense.

3

Non-Mafia Game Threads / Re: The Necro Wars

« on: June 17, 2022, 04:22:07 pm »

Oh, you can't edit messages in forum games?

4

Non-Mafia Game Threads / Re: The Necro Wars

« on: June 17, 2022, 04:21:07 pm »

I think there's a decent chance that Bees are conscious, though I'm not sure.

But it's not about complexity. The reasons digital computers can't be conscious is not that they're less intelligent or complex, it's that consciousness requires building a mind in a particular way, using the electromagnetic field. You could try to build machines that use the electromagnetic field -- there's certainly nothing magical or divine about it -- but digital computers don't, so they're not conscious, and increasing complexity won't help at all.

My thinking is, you *could* try to build something non-organic that functions similarly to a living organism, but what practical purpose does that serve? It is useful to build machines to do things humans can't do, and they tend to be built in a way to do one thing very well, like work on a part of an assembly line. You wouldn't really want such a machine to be conscious, or sentient.

You can try to make humanlike machines, but it would be a novelty.

When you say "using the electromagnetic field", you mean like, they are distinct from the transistor mechanisms used of computers?

5

Non-Mafia Game Threads / Re: The Necro Wars

« on: June 17, 2022, 04:20:05 pm »

I think there's a decent chance that Bees are conscious, though I'm not sure.

But it's not about complexity. The reasons digital computers can't be conscious is not that they're less intelligent or complex, it's that consciousness requires building a mind in a particular way, using the electromagnetic field. You could try to build machines that use the electromagnetic field -- there's certainly nothing magical or divine about it -- but digital computers don't, so they're not conscious, and increasing complexity won't help at all.

My thinking is, you *could* try to build something non-organic that functions similarly to a living organism,.but what practical purpose does that serve? It is useful to build machines to do things humans can't do, and they tend to be built in a way to do one thing very well, like work on a part of an assembly line.

You can try to make humanlike machines, but it would be a novelty.

When you say "using the electromagnetic field", you mean like, they are distinct from the transistor mechanisms used of computers?

6

Non-Mafia Game Threads / Re: The Necro Wars

« on: June 17, 2022, 02:43:48 pm »

Computer consciousness? An interesting topic.

Certainly it's a lot easier to reject the notion of computers being capable of consciousness if you label consciousness as a strictly human trait. Perhaps a trait granted through divinity. It would take a machine that accurately simulates all facets of human psyche to compete with that assumption. The technology/resources to make such a machine could be very far away.

But there are other lifeforms with far less complexity that a machine can surpass. Is a mollusk conscious? A beetle? There is a pretty granular spectrum of nervous systems out there in the wild. At what point do you start labeling creatures as conscious?

7

Non-Mafia Game Threads / Re: The Necro Wars

« on: June 17, 2022, 02:23:24 pm »

Btw, people talk way too much about the Turing Test. The Turing test is dumb. It would be dumb even if consciousness were about information. No, it doesn't tell you if AI is conscious. It doesn't you anything important. It's just an arbitrary test, and not even a well-defined one.

Are there people claiming that the Turing test does anything other than test if a machine can fool a human into thinking it's a human?

Because that has real applications in the world of spambots.

8

Non-Mafia Game Threads / Re: The Necro Wars

« on: June 12, 2022, 02:59:42 pm »

This thread really is "Random Stuff" by another name, isn't it.

Another thought apropos to nothing: people go around life behaving as if they will remember what they learn. This is nuts. We forget almost everything. I'm not saying this means we should stop studying, but nonetheless, surely this fact should be taken into account more!

Skilled people who give talks do that, but I don't really see it in school or in textbooks. Wouldn't most learning materials make sense in a world where we don't forget almost everything over time? If so, this can't possibly be ideal.

I think it's a matter of training your recall. Knowing that you know something is half the battle, and knowing that makes it easier to find that information again. It's like building an index search in your brain.

Regarding MTG, I was playing on MTG arena a bunch, but then I lost interest in standard and I became too busy to do the grind. I'm not sure if standard has more or less first-person advantage than eternal formats, but given how the threats are outpacing the answers, curving out first feels like it's game deciding.

9

Dominion General Discussion / Re: Seaside 2E Preview 3

« on: May 18, 2022, 12:31:44 pm »

There is no doubt. Sailor can play the card the moment it is gained, before Blockade sets it aside.

Edit: Another fun fact for people who haven't yet read Blockade closely, is that the embargo/curse effect only applies while Blockade has its gained card set aside. Anything that interferes with the card remaining set aside by Blockade (such as Sailor putting it into play!), stops the embargo curse effect from happening.

Testing it online on dominion.games, what happens is you can't stop blockade from setting the card aside, since that's the gain location set by blockade (it doesn't visit the discard pile). But then, Sailor doesn't lose track of the card, and it can move the gained card into play from set-aside land. It's similar to how you still gain villa to hand when gaining it with Armory.

Edit: gaining Villa with Blockade will also have the Villa moving to your hand, which suggests that no stop-moving event occurs when you gain something with Blockade, and for that to be true the gained card has to not have moved from the discard pile, I think. Meaning, Blockade moving a card from the supply to the set aside zone during gaining is an atomic thing that cannot be broken down further into steps you can react between.

10

Dominion General Discussion / Re: Seaside 2E Preview 3

« on: May 18, 2022, 09:15:11 am »

If I play Sailor and then play Blockade, gaining Caravan, do I get to play the Caravan? Or no, because Blockade set it aside?

You can choose to use Sailor's ability, just like you could choose to use, say, Cargo Ship or Innovation's ability. All these things are optional ("You may"). If you don't use an optional ability, the instructions of Blockade proceed and apply as normal.

I don't know about this. I think Blockade forcibly sets the card aside, without visiting the discard pile. So, the card is already set aside when Sailor gets to choose to play it. But I don't think it can move it out of set-aside land, and with the new rules requirement of a card needing to move into play to be played the first time (to allow thrones to replay cards that left play after the first play), Sailor cannot play the card gained with Blockade.

11

Dominion General Discussion / Re: Seaside 2E Preview 2

« on: May 18, 2022, 09:02:23 am »

OK, you can buy a sea chart, you can hire a witch, but… buying tide pools IRL, really??

I guess you pay to modify the land so that it becomes a tide pool, uh, eventually.

12

Variants and Fan Cards / Re: Really bad card ideas

« on: March 26, 2022, 02:34:30 pm »

I do think this thread has lots its purpose because it was originally "hilariously awful ideas that are obviously awful" and now it's something else

Yes the idea was for this thread to be a collection of "gag" cards, rather than variants except the poster has low esteem for the card idea they are posting.

13

Dominion Online at Shuffle iT / Re: A decline of rematching on Shuffle iT

« on: April 29, 2021, 12:36:40 pm »

Recently, it seems to be pretty common for people to decline the rematch and then requeue immediately, only to get rematched against me anyway. Why on earth do people do this? It seems very silly.

I honestly get a sort of anxiety with ladder rematching. I typically wait several seconds for my opponent to request the rematch, then accept if it's offered. Otherwise I'll either requeue or call it a night. It was only when I was grinding ladder that I would rematch more frequently.

Often I just want to play someone else, possibly with a different level.

14

Other Games / Re: New Paper Mario announced!

« on: July 24, 2020, 11:35:01 am »

I'm right near the end of (what is effectively) Chapter 3 and I just love the game so far. For context I picked up and played the first chapter and a half of the original Paper Mario earlier this year, I got Super Paper Mario back when it was released and barely touched it, and I've never played Thousand Year Door, Sticker Star, or Color Splash. The game is definitely not as much of a traditional RPG as the original Paper Mario, but the battle system is fine (better than a lot of JPRGs, if I'm honest) and the rest of the game is fantastic. Like Final Fantasy VI, Shovel Knight, and Luigi's Mansion 3, the game is just packed with details that are a joy to discover and simultaneously make the world feel more real. I'd say if you enjoy exploration-focused games and can go into it not expecting Thousand Year Door (which is apparently the pinnacle of what people used to love about the series), you'll enjoy it.

EDIT: Also the music is excellent.

Oh I also like games which have a lot of unexpected goodies you can stumble upon. Makes the blind playthrough that much more rewarding when you do find that stuff. I also never played any of the Paper Mario games besides the original N64 one.

And of course, my usual concern of me only thinking that TTYD is great because I played it when I was much younger, then magnified by nostalgia. In which case this would never be able to measure up against that idealized version of TTYD.

Kinda feel this way about original Paper Mario. I played it a whole bunch as a kid through blockbuster rentals. I finally bought it a few years ago and beat it proper. Still a good game, but very much on the easy side.

As a side note, it is nice to see a Pokémon Snap sequel. That's another game that feels way harder as a kid.

15

Variants and Fan Cards / Re: Really bad card ideas

« on: June 09, 2020, 11:28:00 am »

Prince of Persia
Action - $0

Set this aside. If you did, gain an Attack card from the supply, and if the game does not end in one hour you lose the game.

16

General Discussion / Re: Final Fantasy VII Remake

« on: April 16, 2020, 01:45:39 pm »

Annoyed that they aren’t putting it on Switch; instead I just recently bought regular FF7 for the Switch. I’ve actually never played it before.

Definitely considering doing this myself. I know little about it other than it's extremely highly regarded. So far I've only played FF4 and FF10, and both were decent but neither really grabbed my attention like many others RPGs have done.

I also both X+X2 for Switch; haven't played it yet. VIII is my favorite; and one of my all-time favorite games. It's a somewhat controversial title due to the ways in which it differs from most other entries; but that's one of the reasons I like it so much. I'm not a huge fan of J-RPGs in general, so the changes work well for me. And you can get it remastered for the Switch.

Oh yeah I've been meaning to finish X-2.

17

General Discussion / Re: Final Fantasy VII Remake

« on: April 15, 2020, 02:19:29 pm »

I don't intend to play it, at least not anytime soon (no PS4), but I am curious about how they handle the story and the characters.

18

Other Games / Re: Let's create an f.ds themed Cards Against Humanity deck!

« on: April 08, 2020, 10:17:20 am »

White cards:

- filling the void in my heart with a new tournament
- new set card name bingo
- a gesture that vaguely looks like a shrug
- a bargain sale
- ironic toiling

Black cards

- turns out handling _ was the bottleneck on the game server.

19

Dominion General Discussion / Re: Menagerie Previews 4: Ways and Events

« on: March 05, 2020, 08:37:37 am »

Also is the ironic toiling a reference to ironic tilling from Guilds? Yay for self-referential jokes!

I came here to say the same thing.

I like the new ways to play Dominion that these landscapes introduce.

20

Dominion General Discussion / Re: Menagerie Previews 3: Exile

« on: March 04, 2020, 03:09:01 pm »

Nonetheless, I suspect ignoring it will be the correct play quite often. Coven is a silver for most of the game; if other 5$s are sufficiently strong you should win with them even on a clock and with -10VP.

I don't think you can win on that clock in most kingdoms.

If it was just -10 VP, you could win on that clock pretty often. See Defiled Shrine as a reference. The problem is that the -10 VP comes with 10 Curses - when that hits your clock will get much slower, so you need to be fast.

My first impressions are that Coven will be more skippable than most Cursers, but you still want it most of the time. You probably buy 2 copies ASAP and then build draw around it.

Non-terminal silver is a lot better than curse, and it doesn't even have to be bought, but merely gained. It comes with all those action density or disappearing money synergies too. You have to be certain you can win the province split against the threat of -10 VP, and even then the other player only needs a duchy to surpass a 5/3 province deficit.

21

Dominion General Discussion / Re: Menagerie Previews 3: Exile

« on: March 04, 2020, 08:27:14 am »

Seems like Changeling could be a very useful card with Exiling.

Bounty Hunter seems a bit overpowered to me honestly. Compared to Moneylender, it's nonterminal, can get rid of Estates (while keeping the VP) and while you don't get the cash for subsequent Coppers, that is more than made up for by the fact that you can remove Provinces from your deck later on. And don't even get me started on Shelters/Heirlooms. The card would still be very strong without the +action, so I don't really get why that's there.

More than made up for? On what turn do you expect to gain province and collide it with Bount Hunter? Sure this means you can gain provinces earlier, but then the provinces are back into your deck as soon as you gain another one. Even if you keep gaining back the cards you exile with this to kick them off the mat, this still stacks poorly with itself, meaning you can't go nuts with these for a large part of the game. And the coppers and estates you set aside will come flooding back in case you ever have to gain estate or copper, even if your opponent is responsible for that. Spiking price points early is a key feature of the card, but not completely unseen for $4 or less with Skulk and now Stockpile.

It's a mighty fine card with the +1 action. It would be woefully underpowered without the +1 action. It's priced fine for what it does.

Dang, I missed the "may" on the exile mat. Okay now I am really feeling the Bounty Hunter hype.

The Exile mat says "may" - the Coppers, Estates and Provinces don't have to come back to your deck if you don't want them to (which usually you don't).

22

Dominion General Discussion / Re: Menagerie Previews 3: Exile

« on: March 04, 2020, 08:07:11 am »

Seems like Changeling could be a very useful card with Exiling.

Bounty Hunter seems a bit overpowered to me honestly. Compared to Moneylender, it's nonterminal, can get rid of Estates (while keeping the VP) and while you don't get the cash for subsequent Coppers, that is more than made up for by the fact that you can remove Provinces from your deck later on. And don't even get me started on Shelters/Heirlooms. The card would still be very strong without the +action, so I don't really get why that's there.

More than made up for? On what turn do you expect to gain province and collide it with Bount Hunter? Sure this means you can gain provinces earlier, but then the provinces are back into your deck as soon as you gain another one. Even if you keep gaining back the cards you exile with this to kick them off the mat, this still stacks poorly with itself, meaning you can't go nuts with these for a large part of the game. And the coppers and estates you set aside will come flooding back in case you ever have to gain estate or copper, even if your opponent is responsible for that. Spiking price points early is a key feature of the card, but not completely unseen for $4 or less with Skulk and now Stockpile.

It's a mighty fine card with the +1 action. It would be woefully underpowered without the +1 action. It's priced fine for what it does.

23

Game Reports / Re: Menagerie hype general

« on: March 03, 2020, 08:58:53 pm »

I had a great time with Procession/Fortress/Livery vs. the rat. I failed to notice Wall was there, but hey you can have all your horses run off on the last turn. Just be careful to not play all your liverys on the last turn in a wall game.

24

Dominion General Discussion / Re: Menagerie Previews 1: 5 Cards

« on: March 02, 2020, 10:20:43 am »

I really like the idea of dogs being vanilla +2 Cards with some reaction bonus.

Does this include moat?

25

Dominion General Discussion / Re: Menagerie Previews 1: 5 Cards

« on: March 02, 2020, 09:35:25 am »

I actually have high hopes for Barge. +3 cards +1 buy in one card is great no matter what way you slice it, and buying extras is so good for reliability because even using one Barge for duration draw at the end of a chain will make it very likely you kick off next turn, and you can repeat the process. Just like Tragic Hero, not a card to be underestimated.

I'm somewhat excited for Kiln and Snowy Village, and I enjoy the experimentatjon being done in this set all around.