Previously, loot box’s gain is a probability distribution over (market price - fixed box price). Now it’s (market price - rarity price according to Valve).

I think in the end the market will take the Valve price (fixed or with rarity) into account since it’s known and the same to everyone. Then it’s again just playing against the probability distribution of items.

You know how bad things are when I searched for some examples and the first result is a localization mod.

It’s like gym membership or books. If everyone with gym membership would go regularly, the business won’t be profitable. Or if everyone only buys a new book after they finish what they have bought, the publishing industry would be in shambles.

These businesses play the probability game. They are actually just insurance by a different name.

When dabbling in fencing and (watching) Historical European Martial Arts, I find parrying pretty satisfying IRL.

Yes. It’s from the coin machine that sells a random toy in capsule. Gacha is the clicking sound that machine makes when you turn the button to get a capsule.

Control is surprisingly fun. Got it on GoG.

I saw a streamer playing the demo and was looking forward to it. That being said, it’s too recent a game for a patient gamer like me! (Not really. I do buy new games :)

What Remains of Edith Finch, and The Unfinished Swan

My gut feeling is that the procedural generation thing in Startfield somehow absorbs some people’s need for mods.

There’s a Generals Evolution mod for Red Alert 3, which super-glues Generals to RA3 and it’s pretty great.

Somewhat related. Since discussions about working conditions are heavily censored in China, people have recently started to use Palworld contents as a disguise/satire/substitute for it. For example, see this game media’s video if you know Chinese. Compared to the first world “controversies” around PETA, third world people are more acutely aware of the parallelism between Pals/Mons and their own conditions and thus people “just understand” the underlying problem rather than argue about what it is and what it isn’t on the surface level.