Here's what I currently have:

• Ryzen 1700 w/ 16GB RAM
• GTX 750 ti
• 1x SATA SSD - 120GB, currently use <50GB
• 2x 8TB SATA HDD
• runs openSUSE Leap, considering switch to microOS

And main services I run (total disk usage for OS+services - data is :

• NextCloud - possibly switch to ownCloud infinite scale
• Jellyfin - transcoding is nice to have, but not required
• samba
• various small services (Unifi Controller, vaultwarden, etc)

And services I plan to run:

• CI/CD for Rust projects - infrequent builds
• HomeAssistant
• maybe speech to text? I'm looking to build an Alexa replacement
• Minecraft server - small scale, only like 2-3 players, very few mods

HW wishlist:

• 16GB RAM - 8GB may be a little low longer term
• 4x SATA - may add 2 more HDDs
• m.2 - replace my SATA SSD; ideally 2x for RAID, but I can do backups; performance isn't the concern here (1x sata + PCIe would work)
• dual NIC - not required, but would simplify router config for private network; could use USB to Eth dongle, this is just for security cameras and whatnot
• very small - mini-ITX at the largest; I want to shove this under my bed
• very quiet
• very low power - my Ryzen 1700 is overkill, this is mostly for the "quiet" req, but also paying less is nice

I've heard good things about N100 devices, but I haven't seen anything w/ 4x SATA or an accessible PCIe for a SATA adapter.

The closest I've seen is a ZimaBlade, but I'm worried about:

• performance, especially as a CI server
• power supply - why couldn't they just do regular USB-C?
• access to extra USB ports - its hidden in the case

I don't need x86 for anything, ARM would be fine, but I'm having trouble finding anything with >8GB RAM and SATA/PCIe options are a bit... limited.

Anyway, thoughts?

Horse styles of the ’50s

For crying out loud, Jonah! Three days late, covered with slime, and smelling like fish! … And what story have I got to swallow this time?

You know what I’m sayin’? … Me, for example. I couldn’t work in some stuffy little office. … The outdoors just calls to me.

Look! Look, gentlemen! Purple mountains! Spacious skies! Fruited plains! … Is someone writing this down?

Sure, I’m a creature—and I can accept that … but lately it seems I’ve been turning into a miserable creature.

It has been a while since the last one. So...

Tell us what game you are currently, or recently played, greater than 6+ months old.

If the game happens to be on sale, a link would be a plus.

I have tried a ton of RPGs, and most just don't click for me. Here are a few:

• Skyrim - enjoyed Morrowind for the side content, Skyrim just felt empty
• Chrono Trigger - enjoyed until about halfway through with the battle with Magus; felt very RNG dependent, or maybe I was under leveled; I bailed after 5 or so attempts that all ended the same way (healer got killed and everyone got picked off)
• Pillars of Eternity - burned out somewhere in Act 2 (20-25 hours); combat system annoyed me, and I dislike picking new abilities
• Banner Saga - story is great, but I hate the combat, so I bailed

Some things about me:

• I don't care about leveling up/character builds, it feels like a chore; abilities also don't interest me
• I hate grinding
• using items feels like cheating, so I tend to just use character abilities (I will heal if needed); I'd rather "git gud" than buy and use items
• turn based combat (tactics) is generally boring, but I do like puzzles, so that can make it acceptable
• I don't like the feeling of being OP, I want to struggle through the end
• I don't like loot

That said, here are a few that I've really enjoyed:

• ARPGs like Ys and Zelda - items are rare or are tools in a puzzle-like system; favorites are Ys 1, Ys Origin, Zelda: A Link to the Past, and Zelda: Skyward Sword (probably because I played Skyward Sword recently); I dislike BotW, and Memories of Celceta has been dragging a bit (I'm near the end, but excited to finish)
• interesting RPGs like Undertale - short and very unique experience
• Souls-like games - challenge involving melee/dodging keeps me going
• Legend of Heroes: Trails in the Sky - not a fan of the combat, but the story is interesting somewhat at least; I'm about 2/3 through I think (30 hours), but I've taken a multi-month break; likewise, Xenoblade Chronicles is interesting so far, but I'm not super excited about it (may bump down to story mode to get through it, the combat sucks imo)
• Nier: Replicant - great story, leveling stayed out of the way, and I never felt like I needed to grind or upgrade gear

I really like the storylines of RPGs, I just don't like actually playing them. Unfortunately, my preferred ARPG genre is filled with loot nonsense, and I've played most of the ones that don't really on that as a mechanic. Perhaps my favorite RPG-adjacent game not mentioned already is Yakuza 0, I'm not a fan of the combat, but he story is amazing and the side content is fun.

Does anyone feel similarly? Do you have any suggestions for other games to try?

In Costume Quest, you play as one of two fraternal twins who go out to trick-or-treat, but then your sibling gets kidnapped by monsters and you go on a quest to rescue them. Along the way, you collect new costumes (which give you new abilities), get friends to join you on your quest, and collect power ups.

In Costume Quest 2, you are transported to a world where Halloween has been outlawed, and you work to fix it. Gameplay is similar to the first where you collect costumes and power ups and fight monsters to catch the person responsible for outlawing Halloween.

Gameplay is pretty basic. The core gameplay loop is:

1. Knock on a door
2. If a human answers it, you get candy and repeat from 1
3. If a monster answers, you get into a turn based fight like a simplified Final Fantasy battle; repeat from 1

The battle mechanics are simple enough my young kids (were 5&8 at the time) could handle it with some help on strategy. The strategy gets more relevant later in the game (certain attacks do better on different kinds of monsters), but it's simple throughout.

Both are fantastic, casual, Halloween-themed RPGs suitable for kids, and I really enjoyed playing both with my kids tag-teaming with me. You can get both for $5 total right now.

The reason I bring it up is because my kids asked me to play them again with them, and I was trying to find something similar and came up empty (I don't like replaying games).

Does anyone have any recommendations for games with a similar appeal? The mix of costumes with power ups and simple combat was the main draw for us, but I'm open to looking at anything with a Holloween theme that is suitable for younger kids, bonus points for couch co-op style of gameplay. The closest are probably LEGO games (which are great), but my kids seem a little tired of the formula.

This was a mobile app that stalled out last year and was officially archived in February. The only reason given is "political differences" and I'm not really sure what that means.

I'm interested in building a cross platform app (Android and Linux Mobile, maybe iOS), and am deciding on tech stack. However, before I get too deep in the weeds, I'd like a bit more information about the reasons this app was discontinued since I'd really rather not run into the same problem.

If anyone has any input, please let me know. Thanks!

There's another community already for patient gamers here: !patientgamers@lemmy.ml.

Consider consolidating to just one community to not split our relatively small group.

I've joined both, but will probably be more active at the other.