smoothbrain coldtakes

I bought this when it originally launched, and unfortunately never really found the time to play a campaign.

We were workshopping a TMP-era story based around a crew serving on a Miranda class vessel. Kind of a “back to basics” sort of campaign. I had really high hopes because Star Trek is absolutely my favorite universe to roleplay in.

I hope a bunch of people pick this rulebook up and have a fun time with it!

Hello, yes, I’d like to use my fingerprint sensor please.

It’s a great concept but such an awful name. “Return of the ugly” is just such a bad and clunky title.

Housing Bubble 2: Impending Crash Boogaloo

Housing Bubble 2: Boomer Madness

Housing Bubble 2: Ah shit here we go again

If you have a Gen 1 Switch laying around, I would advise you to sell it to somebody who wants to make use of the ability to put CFW on it. They are actually still pretty valuable given the fact that all of the models beyond the first generation are guarded against the exploit that even makes this possible.

If you can only install softmods you will not be able to crack the Switch to install Android on it. If you read the article it goes into detail about how only G1 Switches can actually achieve this because they are not guarded against the Fusée Gelée exploit for Nvidia Tegra processors. It continues to point out how Lites and OLEDs need to have custom soldering done for this to even work.

I have a Lite so I couldn’t even if I wanted to.

If you have an original gen 1 Switch capable of even doing this (eg, not guarded against Fusée Gelée exploit at the hardware level like all subsequent models) you will probably find a better return selling it to somebody who wants to put CFW on it rather than turning it into a hacky android tablet.

I just don’t get what the purpose is though. You’ve lost access to the proprietary primary library, which was the original reason to buy a Switch. If you want an emulation console there are cheaper alternatives as well other than the Deck, I was just using it as the de facto standard handheld.

There’s no benefit to nuking the OS and replacing it on a Switch. At least with something like a ROG Ally, you can make the argument that flipping over to Linux would make the handheld more performant and energy efficient. That cannot be said about flashing Lineage onto a Switch which functionally makes the system considerably less useful.

The Switch OS is already optimized and designed for the hardware. It’s as good as you’re going to get, and it’s also already Linux. I would much rather suggest cracking it to put custom firmware on the device based on the Switch OS; you would get more use out of the device because it could still play the games and be rigged to emulate the older ones.

It’s cool Lineage did this or whatever but it’s kind of a pointless and weird flex.

Why would you want to, though?

It’s not like the Switch is a powerhouse; you’re better off just buying a Deck and emulating.

You can check the md5 hash checksum provided by Microsoft to verify the authenticity. Massgrave gets it from Microsoft, it’s a legit ISO just rehosted.

Atmosphere got ionizing radiation, bro

Sure, the fanservice can be a lot.

My main thing is just that it’s clear how much McMahan loves the source material and it’s great how he can operate within the parameters of the universe with reverence despite being jocular.

I wouldn’t say mishandled but I would say both Disco and Picard’s first two seasons were incredibly sloppy due to a clear lack of planning, vision, and the difficulty of transitioning to a fully serialized format.

By contrast Lower Decks and Strange New Worlds were really able to find their footing quickly because they had season-wide arcs but outside of that they were generally episodic and allowed for a lot more exploration of the core of the universe. This is just a better format for the franchise in my opinion.

I find Kurtzman is occupied with making the series more cinematic than it needs to be. Overly cinematic Star Trek results in eye bleeding lightshows like the finale of Disco S2, while grounding the shows a bit more allows for more character growth and development. You can’t just always have Sacrifice of Angels all the time, you need to cut it with some Take Me Out to The Holosuite. I find that SNW and LD have found that balance for me.

I am very aware of Kurtzman’s influence on the franchise. I think he’s not the right guy to be in charge. It really feels like this is a Dave Filoni/Kathleen Kennedy situation but in Star Trek.

I dunno man, LD is like half fan service and half universe building, and it’s my favorite thing they’ve produced in the last decade and a half.

Can we just get Mike McMahan in charge of everything, please?

The Traveler!

Shows up, warps the crew to the center of the galaxy, refuses to elaborate.

Yes, transporters were originally made to avoid the high production costs of models, which would have been necessary to use for shuttles back then.

Very smart imo.

Generally he is “in charge” from a CEO perspective but does not really make day-to-day decisions, which is why everything isn’t up in flames. For an example of something managed by Musk day-to-day, look at Twitter, which is perpetually burning.

SpaceX is definitely managed by a good team all things considered, in spite of the fact that the ownership at the top is unhinged.

Look at what’s happening in Canada to a much more necessary service. Our grocery chains are heavily vertically integrated, and they gouge us all to hell.

Loblaws owns everything in the supply chain from production to logistics and then some. Not only are they hugely integrated through the food supply chain, but they are also able to leverage their assets to provide financial services, have bought out one of our biggest pharmacy chains, and are currently trying to expand out into the telecommunications business.

What happens when one company owns everything? Well, they get to do whatever they want, basically. When anybody comes around to regulate or otherwise try to reign in the bullshit, they’re simply told to fuck off, because they have nowhere else to turn.

Vertical integration sounds great from a business perspective, but it is truly awful for the consumer long-term.

SpaceX is actually pretty vertically integrated as compared to Boeing for instance, who have always traditionally relied on outside firms for certain components.

SpaceX builds a huge majority of their components themselves, and it’s a massive part of why they have been successful over Boeing with fixed-cost contracts. For example, SpaceX builds all of their own engines, while Boeing contracted out to Aerojet Rocketdyne to produce theirs. In the context of the Starliner, this functionally ballooned costs because the back-and-forth between firms was incredibly inefficient, and it’s something SpaceX didn’t have to deal with.

I think putting the face onto the source is what made it lose the value, unfortunately.

My comparison is what they did with the Borg and the Queen. Wolf 359 is a terrifying, tragic ordeal, made all the more serious by the fact that it was done by one cube that could not be negotiated or reasoned with. As soon as the Borg had a way to negotiate and reason, they became less scary because they had understandable motives and goals that could be bargained with, as excellently demonstrated by Janeway.

Ultimately, I agree with you that it’s kind of more of a TOS-y sort of plot device. I do feel like back then they really followed the science being indistinguishable from magic logic, and we’ve progressed over time to wanting more hard and serious technobabble. I think that’s kind of a disconnect for me, personally, is that they had to dip into a serious explanation for something that effectively functions like magic.