Category: Geekery

  • Satisfactory: Team Building Exercise

    I’ve been taking a bit of a break from my solo Satisfactory save, mainly because dealing with the logistics of nuclear power is a major headache when you have to build every last concrete foundation, conveyor belt, and hunk of machinery involved all by yourself.

    Luckily, several of my coworkers agreed to join me on a new multiplayer save.

    Satisfactory video game screenshot: In the rocky desert sits the Hub station and a couple of crafting benches. In the foreground are three pioneers (player avatars), one with a ginormous helmet, another one seated (actually disconnected from the game session).
    I didn’t even know there was a “huge helmet” option. It’s properly ridiculous, and I mean that in the best way.

    Unlike with the two-year-long multiplayer save with the kids, I’m not trying to impose any sort of restrictions on how these guys build out their projects. Huge concrete slabs hanging in the air? Fine, cool, as long as we’re getting results. And with four sets of hands (minus one of our players in the most recent session) it’s amazing how much progress you can make. We’ve gone from “nothing” to “coal power and steel production” in about six in-game hours. Never mind the mountain of research we’ve already unlocked.

    I’m having a blast, playing with people who are coming at the game from very different perspectives. We have one guy who’s roughly at my level of time spent really digging into the game, one who’s kind of a blueprint-based speed runner (I’m not judging here, I could honestly be better about using blueprints), and one who had barely touched the game at all before we started this run.

    What will we achieve? Fun, if nothing else, I hope.

  • A Hot Mess Of A Site

    Yes, I’m tinkering again. Now that I know how to make a 2-column layout in WordPress Twenty Twenty Five, I have done so. Too bad all the older stuff I used to rely upon is dead. (I mean, yes, technically I could force “classic” widgets and layouts… but for how much longer? Probably not very.)

    I’m not 100% happy with it yet but at least I have the calendar and links back, even if I have to do the links “by hand” because having the link categories configured in WordPress itself is absolutely obsolete now. Progress. Or something.

    Also, the sidebar RSS widget for bringing in my “fediverse” content won’t be coming back because the “new” widget looks awful and can’t be customized the way I need it.

    At this point I’m tempted to jump ship from WP but… I still want to be self-hosted, and what else is out there which isn’t too minimalist, is widely supported and rich with features, and will run on OpenLiteSpeed? Ha ha. Fun times.

  • Winter Anime 2025 (Nearly Over)

    A couple months ago I noted some shows that had caught my interest. Now that the season’s almost complete I have some additional thoughts to jot down about a few of them.

    Anime screenshot: Alina from "I May Be A Guild Receptionist But I'll Solo Any Boss To Clock Out On Time" in her work uniform.

    The news is mostly good. But only mostly.

    (more…)
  • Satisfactory: Spiraling Into Control

    To be clear: There are videos on YouTube which can show you how to do this, but I don’t like scrolling back and forth through a video to tease out the details of a process. If you’re like me in that regard, here’s a tutorial for making a single-track train spiral structure in Satisfactory.

    Satisfactory video game screenshot: In the desert, a railway spiral to nowhere stands in mute testament to the author's desire to craft a proper tutorial document.

    Note that you can (and should) play around with materials and other design elements. Maybe you want sign-based lighting on yours? Sweet, go for it!

    Let’s get started.

    (more…)
  • Macross Delta at Not Quite The Midpoint

    A friend showed the first episode of franchise installment Macross Delta during “anime night” some time ago and I thought, hey, I should buy this on Blu Ray. So I did. And I’m working my way through the series… slowly. A couple episodes at a time.

    Because that’s about all I can really take, honestly.

    Please welcome your standard-issue flyboy protagonist with dangerously unkempt hair, everyone.

    I’m eleven episodes in. I have some thoughts.

    (more…)
  • Warframe: The New War

    An Aging Game-Player’s Perspective

    Warframe video game screenshot: Inside a futuristic spaceship, a Warframe decked out in bright colors stands in profile. Nearby, a shaggy dog-like creature observes attentively.

    I just finished Warframe’s “The New War,” the monumental game-changing quest from a few years ago. I don’t have all that many thoughts, but I have some:

    (more…)