Warhawk109 posted:

Yea, listening to you guys I think I’m leaning more towards shelter.

One of my cousins had a dog, and kept it caged while they were gone, and it ended up killing itself somehow (I don’t remember the specifics exactly).

It’s something completely different than cat ownership that I’m used to, so I want to be sure that we are prepared for everything involved before we make the commitment. I would never want something like that to happen to us.

Beer4TheBeerGod posted:

Dogs are easy. You train them, pay them attention, feed them, and walk them. In exchange they will love you unconditionally and treat you like the awesome human that you are. Rescue dogs (shelter or rescue groups) will have already been checked out for health, temperament, and how suitable they are for various conditions (cats, children, etc). They'll also generally be healthier than purebreds, you won't be funding an industry that exploits dogs, and you'll feel good about yourself. The vast majority of stuff about breeds will apply to mixes. If you get a pit bull mix (which I highly endorse) you'll get a dog that's likely smart, great around people, but is confident around other dogs and can potentially have dominance issues. If you get a husky mix you'll get an animal that likely loves to run and escape. If you get a rottweiler mix you'll likely get a dog that's amazing in every possible way and gently caress I miss my dog Max.

I recommend crating your dog so that there's no chance of them getting into trouble while you're gone, plus it provides them with a safe space that's theirs. I like to use grain free food since it's a better quality product (4Health or Taste of the Wild are the ones I'm most familiar with). The biggest thing is making sure you have enough time for your dog, especially if they're younger and will be more active. A bored dog is a destructive dog, but a tired dog is a happy dog. Feel free to PM me if you have any other questions or whatever, I've had dogs my whole life.

Beer4TheBeerGod posted:

I genuinely don't know how that's even possible outside of extreme neglect on the part of the owner or some kind of impossibly rare combination of circumstances. Doing a quick Google search I read something about a dog getting strangled by its collar when boarded with another dog, but even then that seems rare. We don't leave our dog with anything in the crate aside from a bed, and we use a dog treat to get her in there (which is consumed so fast it's gone before we're out the door). I recommend a plastic dog kennel (the clamshell style) and a pillow style dog bed in case the dog pees itself or gets sick. Make sure the kennel is appropriately sized for the dog (not too big). The chances of a dog hurting itself inside the kennel seem far less than the chances of a dog hurting itself in the home.

As EvilMerlin said not all dogs are going to be easy to work with, but you'll know that long before you adopt them since the shelter or rescue group will have worked so closely.

Beer4TheBeerGod posted:

Glad you're giving Tessa a better life. That's horrifying.

Warhawk109 posted:

EvilMerlin posted:

Careful. This isn't always true.

Some shelter dogs are almost impossible to train, especially if older. Some are already trained. You don't know until you meet the pupper and work with the pupper.

Lord Stimperor posted:

I cannot comment on specific breeds but my advice would be to visit a shelter. There are always many dogs available for adoption. All of them will be extremely grateful to find a loving home. People tend to avoid dark dogs and mixed breeds which is dumb because mixed breeds are usually healthier than purebred dogs (i.e. not inbred). Maybe most importantly consider a dog that isn't a puppy anymore but at least somewhat adult. 5 years is still young for smaller breeds. Moreover, unless they came from an environment of constant abuse they, will be better trained than the average first time owner could achieve on the first try. There is some lonely pupper somewhere in a shelter who is waiting for you.

Scruffpuff posted:

What if what we saw was the game, though?

Consider the "mission" they gave - go get something off a crashed satellite. Generic procedurally generated mission #2412 - been around for decades.

How a normal game would do it: You get directions and head out. Maybe you have a vehicle, maybe on foot. You encounter flying/walking enemies as you travel. Combat ensues. You finally reach the destination and hit a button or something. Perhaps there's an ambush. You fight your way home and turn it in. The gameplay is the gunfighting/dogfighting, which is engaged with throughout the quest.

How Star Citizen is doing it: You walk slowly through a space station filled with spectacles. You can pick up or put down a mug, but there's no practical purpose for doing so. The quest giver has detailed facial animations and hand movements. You wait for him to stop talking, hit button after button after button to pull up some in-game menu that's not an abstraction but an actual hologram built into the spacesuit. You wait for a train. You laboriously climb into your cockpit. You fly for a long time, then have to land at the destination. You crawl physically through wreckage looking for the specific part the quest calls for. You need to physically pick up the parts, turning them around in space to see where the part number is stamped. If it's dark you have to hold it up to a light source to read it. Maybe a scripted ambush occurs, maybe not. The entire event takes hours. The gameplay is painstakingly experiencing the minutia of your hand movements, the fact that a mug can be picked up and put down, or the dust coming from a vent - the exact things an autistic person focuses on to exclusion.

I can drive to Wendy's right now and buy a burger to bring home. After the trip the only thing I'm going to remember, if anything, is that hey, now I have a burger.

The backers will remember holding the doorknob and turning it to leave the house. They will remember opening the car door, starting the engine, gripping the wheel, hitting the pedals. Every movement which for a normal person is automatic is focused on and recorded in their brains. These recordings are overwriting other key areas, like social ability and hygiene. When that person gets home with the burger (assuming they remember it) they will tell you to a degree how hot the steering wheel was, or the color of the car in front of them at the red light.

That is the game Chris is making, and those are the people he's making it for. What I saw yesterday was practically the ground work for a psychological study.

Scruffyhawk posted:

what does pocket carrier mean

Tippis posted:

Gimme clicks.
https://youtu.be/z7s84VRVdhg

EvilMerlin posted:

I approve of this post!

Everything on this post is accurate.

My dogs all get Taste of the Wild (Buffalo and Venison) as it is grain free and full of good poo poo for them.

All our dogs get crate trained for around a full year to make sure they are not destructive to the house. So far, its worked out well. Tessa, our newest pupper still has some pee issues, but she is at least indicating now that she needs to go outside, I just need to be on my toes and when she goes to the door, I drat well better be there in a few seconds, else I am cleaning the hardwood floor yet again. The crate is also good because Tessa still has food envy issues and will bark and nip if any of the other animals come near her food. She is getting better, but then again, some fuckign douche nozzle tied her up with barbed wire as a puppy (she has scars on her belly and head from it) and abused her with food by starving her and having her pull the barbed wired deeper into her to get to the food. I'm glad I never found out who did it to her because I would kill said person in much the same way Tessa was abused... But now? Now she is the most loving thing on the planet. If a bit loud at times...

Some dogs are one dog only. Some love other dogs. Our three need to like (not just tolerate) other dogs, cats and horses. Chickens are entertainment for all three... and good eating too.

When it comes to picking out a dog... seriously, listen to your heart. The right dog finds YOU, you don't find the right dog...

Agony Aunt posted:

No.

Warhawk109 posted:

I’m glad the dog chat brought the thread closer together. 😊

EvilMerlin posted:

Absolutely 100% agree.

All of our animals, including the horses are rescues (well not the chickens). We couldn't be happier.

Warhawk109 posted:

I’m glad the dog chat brought the thread closer together. 😊

Hav posted:

If shilling is to be done, then shill I will.

https://store.steampowered.com/app/681330/Helium_Rain/

Helium Rain is a single-player $15 space game based in a single system with one of those economy things that you can have a direct impact on by both loving up your opponents and building your own stations. Apparently it has newtonian physics, and a whole combat side to it, but I've been mostly playing it as a super-chill X3. Travel between the different planets takes a variable amount of time which you 'advance', leading to splurges of trading in one area, then loading up and moving to another area.

It's got a really 'clean' design and I'm enjoying it, but I don't have a lot of time to really knuckle down to anything that isn't Stellaris.

ZenMaster posted:

OK GOONS

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7LN0TsXLcfc


Citcon 2018, low lights reel, for those who missed it or don't want to watch for 2 hours.

Tippis posted:

Gimme clicks.
https://youtu.be/z7s84VRVdhg

Beet Goblin posted:

Ah geez. Oh no.

Beet Goblin posted:

Ah geez. Oh no.

Hav posted:

You flew too close to the sun.

Beet Goblin posted:

Ah geez. Oh no.

Pixelate posted:

[*]NPC MALFUNCTIONING IN RESTSTOP

Pixelate posted:

Yay, new bugs for old!

• NPCs start shooting me but I dont get damaged. Is the shooting intended to happen?
  
  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=29C5tx9IQ3s
  
  
  
• NPC MALFUNCTIONING IN RESTSTOP
  
  
  
  
  
  
• MINING ASTEROIDS NOT SOLID OBJECTS
  
  
  
  
  
• PILOT SEATS ON LANDING PADS
  
  
  
  
  
• WATER TEXTURE ON SHIP HUD WHEN LOOKING AROUND
  
  
  
• Metal bariers are WAY TOO BRIGHT
  
  

Plus y'know doors and death and teleportation.