The Mind Of OverlordTomala
Technology

SHINY BUTTONS!!!

One of the things on my personal streaming wishlist has been an Elgato Streamdeck; a device with programmable LCD buttons that allows you to execute whatever you want with the press of a button AND giving it an icon of its own which can be helpful if you forget what your binds are. One of the nice things about these is the abillity to use it with your favorite software, you can use it with Elgato’s own capture software (assuming you own one of their capture devices) or you can use them with XSplit, OBS, etc.

They recently released a miniature version of their regular stream deck, with the difference being that it only comes with six buttons and it’ll cost only $100… or you could spend about another $40 to obtain all of the other buttons. Of course if you don’t want ALL OF THE BUTTONS and are living on the cheap I could see this as a tantalizing option.

Of course, I keep telling myself that I need to stream more before investing in such a device. :v:

Gaming

Testing both Tomb Raider Reboots under Mint 18.3

I took the liberty of installing Tomb Raider and Rise Of The Tomb Raider under Mint to see how well they perform (if at all) on my hardware. The good news is that the programs actually run AND offer a nice framerate even with eyecandy turned up.

This is my overall score on ROTT with Ultra settings:

Now for the previous game:

There’s this weird glitch that won’t let me use TressFX even though it’s selected, but other than that I seem to be getting good performance on both games thus far. I’ll be trying other games too, but wanted to start with some of the most graphically demanding.I do say I also like the option of choosing which display that I want to play the game on before launching, that and the introduction of Vulkan as an optional mode to run ROTT in (what I used for the benchmark).

Getting these to run in Big Picture mode with the Steam Controller was also a therapeutic experience. It felt no different than when I played these titles in Windows while chilling in bed with my favorite controller.

Gaming under Linux still has some catching up to do, but every time I look into gaming under it the quality improves all the time. My library is definitely much larger than it used to be; I still remember when I only had a handful of Gold Source games and not much else, when TF2 introduced Tux, the first screenshots of Left 4 Dead 2 on a Linux desktop, and other companies like Croteam, 2K and others releasing their ports as well. It’s good to see more and more companies and indie developers look into different OS’s and bring some competition into the fray, and it’s amazing to see Open Source drivers arrive at a point where they are performing better than the proprietary ones thanks to AMD. Ever since reinstalling I’ve only gone over to Windows to play something that won’t run natively (usually of the Metal Gear or Platinum persuasion), but other than that my business has been conducted under Linux mostly during the week days.

Technology

How to fix your Steam Controller under Linux (Mint 18.3)

Upon plugging in a Steam Controller into my system under Linux the other day I found that it didn’t recognize it no matter what way I plugged it in (different USB ports, Bluetooth, wired or wireless), then I did some research and found out that you have to add your own ruleset. Not something difficult to do, but if anyone is still looking for a guide you can read this:

First you’ll need to figure out where your udev folder is, under Mint and most Ubuntu based distro’s the path should be /lib/udev/ and on other distros it can also be /usr/lib/udev

Once you figure that out type:

sudo gedit /lib/udev/rules.d/99-steamcontroller.rules

Or on other distro’s type su and your root password, then type:

gedit /lib/udev/rules.d/99-steamcontroller.rule

You can replace gedit with whatever text editing program you want to use, it can be terminal based or GUI. Running this command will open up a text file called 99-steamcontroller.rule (or create one if it doesn’t exist), edit it to look like this:

# This rule is needed for basic functionality of the controller in Steam and keyboard/mouse emulation SUBSYSTEM=="usb", ATTRS{idVendor}=="28de", MODE="0666"

# This rule is necessary for gamepad emulation; make sure you replace 'pgriffais' with a group that the user that runs Steam belongs to KERNEL=="uinput", MODE="0660", GROUP="REPLACEWITHYOURNAMEORGROUP", OPTIONS+="static_node=uinput"

# Valve HID devices over USB hidraw KERNEL=="hidraw*", ATTRS{idVendor}=="28de", MODE="0666"

# Valve HID devices over bluetooth hidraw KERNEL=="hidraw*", KERNELS=="*28DE:*", MODE="0666"

# DualShock 4 over USB hidraw KERNEL=="hidraw*", ATTRS{idVendor}=="054c", ATTRS{idProduct}=="05c4", MODE="0666"

# DualShock 4 wireless adapter over USB hidraw KERNEL=="hidraw*", ATTRS{idVendor}=="054c", ATTRS{idProduct}=="0ba0", MODE="0666"

# DualShock 4 Slim over USB hidraw KERNEL=="hidraw*", ATTRS{idVendor}=="054c", ATTRS{idProduct}=="09cc", MODE="0666"

# DualShock 4 over bluetooth hidraw KERNEL=="hidraw*", KERNELS=="*054C:05C4*", MODE="0666"

# DualShock 4 Slim over bluetooth hidraw KERNEL=="hidraw*", KERNELS=="*054C:09CC*", MODE="0666"

# Nintendo Switch Pro Controller over USB hidraw KERNEL=="hidraw*", ATTRS{idVendor}=="057e", ATTRS{idProduct}=="2009", MODE="0666"

# Nintendo Switch Pro Controller over bluetooth hidraw KERNEL=="hidraw*", KERNELS=="*057E:2009*", MODE="0666"

Save your file and close, then restart Linux and launch Steam. Your controller should now be in working order as long as you have Steam open. If you close Steam it will stop functioning, you can get it to work outside of Steam if you install the Open Source Steam Controller Drivers.

Are you fucking serious? / Entertainment

Nat Geo hires Jeff Goldblum to be himself

No, seriously they have.

The aforementioned Jeff Goldblum show—working title: The Curiosity Of Jeff Goldblum—which has just been green-lit at Nat Geo. Given that Goldblum already appears to exist in a permanent state of “Hmm, yes, fascinating,” we have to assume this new series (which will see him investigate the joys of common day phenomena like baseball and making toilet paper) falls securely under the “get paid to do what you love” rubric for human happiness.

I don’t normally post this kind of celebrity related junk but felt this merited a mention… what a world we live in.

Technology

Everyone has their head in the ass shaped clouds

Microsoft is coming up with new and inventive ways to confuse the hell out of the consumer base. Plans for two different XBoxes are being drawn up under the codename Scarlet; One being the XBox One type that most of us think of, and a slightly cheaper model that does nothing but stream games, known as Scarlett Cloud.

The cloud console will have a limited amount of compute locally for specific tasks like controller input, image processing, and importantly, collision detection. The downside of this is that it since more hardware is needed locally, it will raise the price of the streaming box but it will still cost significantly less than what we are accustomed to paying for a new-generation console which should help expand the platform’s reach.

As someone who is cursed to sell consoles and has to explain differences between platforms on a daily basis for people I can see this being a tad problematic. We already have people that buy games and automatically assume they can all be played without an internet connection. People are going to see the cheaper console, buy it, and then be pissed to find out it’s only used for their game streaming service which will also require a fee. I’m sure there are quite a few people that would have no problem going that route, but rainy days and internet outages are probably not something one would want to dwell on.

I even hate saying this, but NVidia’s streaming cloud platform makes slightly more sense because you can use it on pretty much any barebones laptop, plug it into HDMI and have your own console. But this in console form? I’m not so sure, then again I’m not the target audience. I like playing all of my games locally and being able to mod when applicable. :happy:

I would hate for there to be a future where everything has to be done through cloud computing. I can imagine certain game developers making games “Cloud Exclusive” just to either drum up business or as a means of anti-piracy. :zorak:

Gaming

Our Gmod Server Is Simply Fabulous

I haven’t posted anything fabulous in awhile, so here’s DG and I keepin’ it real on my Sandbox server. We went map hopping today, did some bowling for a few seconds and got high in space when we were done.

Oh yes… there was also some romping around on the beach. DG and I tried some different playermodels for shits and giggles, speaking of shit…

Is it possible to get motion sick while staring at a Tangerine Ballsack?

Computing / Technology2

How to revert back to the old Steam Chat UI

With some people disliking the new Steam Chat Interface and Buddies list I thought I’d share a way to revert the changes.

Windows users:

Go to your shortcut for Steam (or make one)
Right click and select properties
Under target add the two switches at the end of Steam.exe

-nochatui -nofriendsui

Your Target should look like this:

“C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\Steam.exe” -nochatui -nofriendsui

Now, if you’re under Linux:

Right click on your desktop and create a launcher
Name your launcher Steam or whatever you want
Under command type:

./steam.sh -nofriendsui -nochatui

Under working directory type your Steam install location, normally it’s:

/home/yournamehere/.steam

Then you’ll be back to old school chatting in no time. :melon:

Technology

These are the websites that probe your virgin Windows 10 booty hole with gusto

For transparency purposes Microsoft recently released a list of websites your fresh Windows 10 install connects to… should go without saying I have all of this shit turned off, and I’m not just saying that because I’m using Linux at the moment. :trollface:

But yeah, that’s quite the fucking list. The sad part is I know people that are perfectly content with everything Windows 10 wants to do… with their only complaint being that Microsoft’s assistant Cortana being named Cortana. :zorak: He dares call himself a fucking nerd too…

Technology2

Because there aren’t enough miniature replicas of classic hardware

You’ve heard of the NES Classic, the SNES Classic, and SEGA has their own variants… but what about the Commadore 64 mini? Yes, it’s going to be a thing.

The C64 Mini comes with a number of notable C64 titles, like School Daze, Monty Mole, Rubicon, and more. It also has a USB port with USB keyboard support to plug in and operate it as a computer just like the Commodore 64 when it released 36 years ago.

It will release on October 9th. I have to admit this does look pretty cool all the way from aesthetic to the trailer. :happy:

Technology1

11% of Americans don’t use the internet.

Most of us depend on the internet in one form or another. It could be something as simple as shopping, paying bills, checking your bank account, gaming, :trollface: the list goes on. This makes articles like these all the more interesting, even in 2018 there are still quite a few people who not only don’t use the internet, but continue to have no desire in doing so.

“Everyone’s on phones,” she bemoans. “The kids get out of the cars without looking up, no goodbyes. Their eyes are just glued on the phones, watching internet videos — and the parents don’t notice because they’re online too. They’re all plugged in…” It’s a world Simpson doesn’t understand, and never will: she’s among America’s fading genus of internet non-users.

These people remind me of quite a few customers that I have do deal with at work everyday. People want to buy specific devices or cables from us that we just plain don’t sell, and since we live in such a small town there aren’t really any other places to recommend to these people other than going straight online to Amazon or Ebay. Every other day it seems like I meet someone who has a fear of the internet, or just flat out has no desire to take part in it. It’s almost tempting to start a business that caters to people who are too chicken shit to go online. :v:

I know that sounds harsh, and there are actually some valid points these people make in the article; such as people being absorbed in their smartphones and not knowing how to balance their real life and digital life. I’ll admit I do spend a good chunk of time around computers everyday, but I don’t always do the exact same thing day in and day out. I’m usually reading up on numerous interests, shopping on occasion, video editing, gaming, and chatting with international friends that don’t drive me insane. While I do also have a tablet I try not to shut the rest of the world out… in fact when I’m doing public outings I tend to leave all of my electronics at home (unless of course something calls for me to bring a camera or two). Sometimes it’s nice to give yourself a break from technology and remind yourself that there was a time before we had all of these gadgets.

At the same time with the way things are going people will have to eventually adapt and learn to at least make purchases online, especially if they live in rural areas that don’t offer much in the way of consumer needs. That said if I had more money I wouldn’t mind opening up a business that would cater to people who are afraid of the internet. Around where I live I’d make a pretty penny. :v: