That is clearly an Esquilax

All the in-person video rental places in my area went out of business before or during Covid.

I dont recall the combat being too different. You basically smack things until they die.

The gameplay loop is roughly similar, if a little more fleshed out. Get quests from villagers, create workbench that create things over time. Grab resources from various sources with skills that increase gradually over time. Multiple levels of resource tools, like axes, pickaxes, swords, etc.

If youre looking for a heavy action game, it’s not a main focus. It’s definitely more on the resource gathering/crafting realm of gameplay.

Their next game might have more of an action combat focused gameplay loop, as it takes place closer to a cartoon area of the world. I dont imagine it’s going to get anywhere near the typical hack 'n slash action rpg model that’s typical these days.

That’s what rule34 is for.

I played Sandrock years after Portia, so take this with a grain of salt, but I think it’s an improvement. The mechanics are roughly similar, but I feel Sandrock is a little more polished.

There is an annoying water conservation mechanic that can be a bit irritating to deal with. Everything uses water, so if you run out you basically can’t do anything, but you can buy it and make moisture collectors to make things a little easier.

Functionally, there’s no such thing. In a system that gives the most power to the company that makes the most money, that company will seek to maximize its profits. Part of maximizing profits is eliminating competition. So in a “free” market, the most successful will subvert the freedom of their competition thus eliminating the freedom in the market.

Self-correction in a market is an illusion crafted people either desperate to salvage a broken system, or those who seek to exploit them.

That’s the impact it has, though. It’s not changing minds or making any kind of meaningful change in the world. But it’s letting people feel better about their own opinions without ever having to take meaningful action.

The impact it has is generally negative, but it’s popular and makes fun of terrible people, so it gets defined as that show that’s so meaningful.

But it’s popular and it makes fun of the people I don’t like!

Well if I knew I would have invited him!

A heart attack, maybe?

Ah, so you see a mirror and you don’t like it.

I never said it didn’t happen, I said you had to take steps to make it not happen.

Why are you like this? With the incessant need to be right and everyone else wrong?

Ah, so not even speaking from experience, then.

It doesn’t happen to me, but I took a proactive approach to prevent it from happening. I don’t remember what that action was, since I did it years and years ago… but I know it’s possible. You just have to literally more than nothing to prevent these things.

Or you could switch to linux… but that takes an even more proactive approach.

Treasure planet?

Optimization isn’t necessarily a global thing for software. Often you need to optimize it for different types of hardware. This is often especially necessary for consoles, as they are specific kinds of proprietary hardware that are relatively static. Optimization for the PC (or Steam Deck) is not necessarily optimization for a Switch 2, which may even require optimization between handheld and docked modes.

Because I am capable of critical and complex thinking. Just because something is labeled as “free” does not necessarily mean there are no costs associated with procuring or using a product. If you’re handed a proprietary piece of technology for “free”, but the only way to use it is to pay for another piece of technology or software that you have to pay for… it’s not free. It’s complementary, but it’s not free. You still need to pay some amount to use it.

As they need to be installed on Apple hardware, there’s an implicit cost associated with it.

If you want to be super pedantic for no reason, you’re correct, it is technically free.

You should take some time to see the outdoors, it sounds like you’re spending too much time doomscrolling on your phone.

Painting with such a broad brush is how these people got to where they are now, don’t make the same mistakes they did.