Community MetaSteam | March 2026 - Monster Ex: Lost at the Poker Night

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  • And a MASSIVE thank you to Mor who keeps these threads going! :blobhug:

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The Legend of Khiimori

The Legend of Khiimori is a system-driven game where you explore the untamed land of 13th century Mongolia as a brave courier rider.
Breed and train horses with specialized abilities to explore every aspect of this diverse and fascinating landscape.
Explore an untamed 13th century Mongolia as a brave courier rider
13th century Mongolia is the home of history's best horse riders. The land is beautiful and vast, full of wonders and intriguing tales to uncover. Be prepared for harsh climates, steep cliffs, and amazing landscapes. Keep yourself safe from danger by strategically planning your delivery routes across the wide steppes, over snowy peaks or through the scorching desert.


Esoteric Ebb

Esoteric Ebb is an isometric, Disco-like, TTRPG-turned-CRPG set in a bizarre post-Arcanepunk fantasy setting. You are The Cleric, an expert in esoteric events, and a glorified government goon. Inspired by classic CRPG games, Esoteric Ebb features deep and branching dialogs with a staggering amount of choices.
Create the world's worst cleric. Take on the city through tense TTRPG dice rolls. Struggle to maintain control with your Stats chiming in at every moment. Let the voices guide you into insane encounters and hit that natural 20 right when you need it. Become the most interesting player at the table and completely ruin your DM's day.
Five days until the first-ever election, a tea shop explodes in the heart of the city. They send you to deal with the mess.
You wake up in a morgue with half the river in your boots, surrounded by ten thousand rotting apples, several corpses, and one zombie. Out of your depth and with no official backup, you delve into your beloved city to investigate the impossible mystery no one wants you to solve. Juggle factions and play them against each other. Explore the streets and tunnels of a fantasy metropolis. Debate devils, drunk sphinxes, and all manner of fantastical fools in a world where mythological creatures sell newspapers at corner shops and ideologies overtake the ramblings of dead gods.


Scott Pilgrim EX

Toronto, 20XX. The city has been taken over by 3 rival gangs - the VEGANS, the ROBOTS, and the DEMONS. But who's behind this madness? When Scott Pilgrim's bandmates are abducted by shadowy forces, a brand-new adventure begins!
Scott Pilgrim EX is an action-adventure game where players can fight as Scott Pilgrim, Ramona Flowers and more as they battle through the fractured time and space of Toronto. The combat gameplay is driven by instinct and improvisation - a hectic ballet of fists and flair that rewards strategy, spontaneity, and a good bit of brawling chaos. String together stylish combos, experiment with wacky weapons and unleash over-the-top special attacks. Characters can be upgraded with special badges that enhance their stats and grant special bonuses. Players will explore a whole city of interconnected levels to meet old and new faces, complete quests, and discover hidden areas. Multiplayer co-op, local or online, lets up to four players join in on the action, making it a fun, dynamic experience.


Legacy of Kain: Defiance Remastered

Return to the dark world of Nosgoth as you take control of both the vampire Kain and his betrayed lieutenant, Raziel, two powerful entities bound by the conflict between free will and fate.
Armed with legendary blades and supernatural abilities, battle through towering gothic spaces filled with enemies, puzzles, and long-buried secrets – where no victory comes without a cost.
Experience a timeless dark fantasy reborn for a new generation.


iRacing Arcade

iRacing Arcade is a third-person racer where your skills on and off the track shape your journey from grassroots racing to motorsport glory.
Compete in races to earn resources, then decide how to grow your team. Will you invest in buildings to unlock boosts that give you a crucial track advantage? Or will you focus on recruiting top-tier drivers to compete for you in licensed global series?
Every choice matters. Build your legacy, one race at a time!


Never Grave: The Witch and The Curse

Authentic 2D action
Never Grave is 2D action game where you journey with the aid of a cursed hat. Identify enemy attacks, fight with magic, and sometimes use the terrain to win! Dungeons such as ruins and botanical gardens are auto-generated and change each time you play. Furthermore, there are obstacles and puzzles waiting to block the player's path in the dungeons.


Marathon

Infil into the dark sci-fi world of Tau Ceti IV: A derelict colony rife with rival Runners, hostile UESC security forces, and unpredictable environments. As you scavenge its zones for valuables with a crew or alone, tense moments of exploration break into fast-paced PvP combat where gunplay is responsive, supplies are finite, and preparation is rewarded.
Exfil to advance your seasonal power, earn cosmetics for your achievements, and assemble stronger builds with your stolen loot. Then put your gear back on the line to seek even greater fortunes in your next run.


Slay the Spire 2

THE SPIRE AWAKENS
The ultimate roguelike deckbuilder returns!
For 1,000 years, the Spire lay dormant, its secrets buried and its horrors forgotten. Now, it has reopened, hungrier and more dangerous than ever, devouring all who dare to ascend.
New perils demand sharper strategies, relentless cunning, and unwavering resolve. Outwit the Spire's brutal trials and uncover the truths hidden at its peak.
Will you attempt the climb alone or enlist the aid of your fellow adventurers?


Docked

A longshoreman's job is never done. As the lead operator, you will be tasked with getting hands-on in the daily operation and continuous expansion of your father's dock in the wake of a devastating hurricane. When the ships roll in, unload heavy cargo. When the flatbeds pull up, ship out vital materials and medicine to those who need it most. Stay on top of repairs and maintain massive equipment to foster the growth of your operation – become more than just any port in a storm.
Vehicle precision and management skills are vital to your rebuilding and expansion efforts. Sign new contracts to build up your resources, then make high-priority cargo runs to fulfill your commitments. When the wear and tear starts to drag your equipment down, execute repairs under strict deadlines to continue your work. In Docked, every task is a critical piece of the puzzle in your day-to-day life from one end of the dock to another.
From colossal ship-to-shore cranes to sturdy, heavy-duty tractors, take control of a fleet of powerful machinery engineered specifically to fulfill your contracts and sometimes, save lives. Carefully tighten ropes to reposition raw materials and optimize weight distribution on flatbed trucks. Intricately navigate delicate cargo through tight spaces with little margin for error. Created with realistic size, scale and precise handling at the forefront, gain a first-hand understanding of what it means to work a dock.
To accomplish your goals of saving the family business you must sign contracts to create and foster new logistical chains, ensuring the profitability of your wharf. Every job you take earns the cash necessary to invest in your operation and acquire new, powerful machinery. Purchase new lots to store your vehicles, upgrade your fueling capacity and power supply, and conquer new milestones for your business. Rebuild Port Wake, one cargo lift at a time.​


Poker Night at the Inventory

Recently reopened following a seismic retrofit, the Inventory is once again the hottest gathering place for video game characters to unwind after a long day on the job. Drop in to play No Limit Texas Hold'em with four familiar faces: Max, Strong Bad, Tycho, and The Heavy.
From the archives of Telltale Games, this jokey poker game pits iconic characters against the Player (that's you!) in a high-stakes battle of cards, bets, and trash talk.
Each tournament you win brings you closer to unlocking a new hidden table design or custom card deck, each with new art unique to one of your opponent's home franchises. Some of the decks and table felts have hidden properties that change the look of a character at the table, or the game itself. Keep an eye out for new unlocks created just for this release.
If it's your lucky night, one of your opponents might be a little light on cash and throw something personal into the pot instead. If you bust them out, whatever they put up goes in your personal trophy case and your Team Fortress 2 backpack!​


Lost and Found Co.

Lost and Found Co. is a whimsical hidden object game where you help Ducky, a duck-turned-human intern, at Goddess Mei's company - a magical startup dedicated to finding lost items for its quirky townspeople.
Go on an adventure!
Travel through charming locales that bring your childhood puzzle books to life in a heartwarming and whimsical world filled with bunch of items to discover!
Find out the goings-on in this wholesome place!


Pluto

A roguelike deckbuilder where you fight with your fingers, spill some blood, and try to make it to your niece's birthday on time.
You're a wizard. A not-so-heroic wizard imprisoned for wizard crime, awoken from your wizard slumber by an invitation from your niece. Escape from jail and traverse a hostile world crawling with danger. Every turn is a frenzy of spell sigils, cracking bones, and desperate gestures as you shred through monstrosities with raw elemental power.
You're not the chosen one, you're just trying to be a good uncle.​


Blossom: The Seed of Life

Clear the fog by increasing the pressure and form ice. Melt it into water by raising the temperature. Convert martian dust into soil, then green the planet with algae. Plant flowers and trees to generate oxygen and turn the sky blue. Grow forests and create biomes then create life by incubating insects, birds and animals.
Explore an unknown planet. Travel across Mars on foot, by rover, and through the air, reaching distant regions to find resources or to simply watch the results of your terraforming efforts. Discover abandoned stations, ancient machines, and wrecked ships. Visit orbital platforms, and piece together what happened to Earth and those who came before you.
You play as Blossom, a small but capable robot built to survive where humans cannot. Managing energy is central to gameplay: power your movement, tools, and machines to stay operational in a harsh environment. Playing as a robot changes how you interact with the world. Electricity replaces food, so careful energy management becomes key to progress.
Gather Mars' resources, refine materials, automate using drones, build tools, machines and structures. Unlock blueprints, upgrade your technology, and construct bases that grow alongside the planet, supporting terraforming, exploration, and survival in increasingly complex ways.
Build and customize modular rovers, attach functional modules like batteries, storage, and mining lasers, and chain them into convoys. Drive across the planet, mine on the go, and create fully mobile or stationary outposts wherever exploration takes you. Your base is not tied to one place. It moves with you, enabling true planetary-scale exploration.​


John Carpenter's Toxic Commando

Load up your gun, Toxic Commando, and team up in a 4-player squad to send the Sludge God and its undead horde back to hell!
Gather a 4-player squad or jump in with fellow commandos online for pure co-op chaos. Revive fallen teammates, share ammo, cover each other's backs, and laugh through the madness. When infected swarm from every angle, teamwork isn't optional-it's survival.
Unleash hell with an arsenal of guns, grenades, and devastating powers as thousands of infected pour toward you in relentless waves. Powered by Saber's Swarm Engine (World War Z, Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2), the horde never stops-and neither should your trigger finger.
Search for vehicles scattered across semi-open maps and tear through the wasteland. Each ride feels unique: some pack serious firepower or special abilities; others come with handy tools like winches. Find what fits your squad, then floor it through the hordes for that pure rush of power and satisfaction-nothing beats turning zombies into roadkill.​


FATAL FRAME II: Crimson Butterfly REMAKE

About FATAL FRAME II: Crimson Butterfly REMAKE
The full remake of the second installment in the FATAL FRAME (PROJECT ZERO) series titled FATAL FRAME / PROJECT ZERO II: Crimson Butterfly. This Japanese-style horror adventure game follows twin sisters who become lost in an abandoned village haunted by vengeful spirits. Using the Camera Obscura-a device that can capture and seal away the impossible-they fight ghosts as the story unfolds.​


Solasta II

From the creators of Solasta: Crown of the Magister comes another intriguing tactical RPG faithful to the world's most popular TTRPG's ruleset.
Create and guide your party of 4 adventurers as they head to the faraway continent of Neokos in a quest driven by their family legacy. In the face of the threat by the ancient and enigmatic Shadwyn, what choices will you make to push back the impending tide of corruption?


DarkSwitch

The Tree Provides, The Tree Protects, The Tree Prevails!
Dark Switch is a vertical survival city builder set in the boughs of a gigantic tree. Defend your leafy home against the perils of the creeping fog by managing light and flame.​


Monster Hunter Stories 3: Twisted Reflection

The third entry in the Monster Hunter Stories RPG series is here!
Twin Rathalos, born in a twist of fate.
Monster Hunter Stories is an RPG series set in the Monster Hunter world, where you can become a Rider, raising and bonding with your favorite monsters.


Starship Troopers: Ultimate Bug War!

The United Citizen Federation is calling on YOU to join the fight for humanity.
You'll witness humanity's noble efforts to safeguard the galaxy first hand. Wield the diverse and unique Mobile Infantry arsenal to burn, dismember and cripple the Arachnid threat in first-person, high-action warfare through the eyes of Sammy.
The Arachnid menace has spread far from their home planet of Klendathu, invading human territory across the galaxy. Once inspiring colonies of human beauty, ingenuity and collaboration, now lie torn apart by the merciless and unprovoked Bug threat.
Sign up today and protect not just our world, but the future of the human race.


Crimson Desert

A devastating ambush in the deep of night by their sworn enemies the Black Bears leaves members of the Greymanes dead or scattered across the continent. Kliff – having lost his Greymane comrades, his family in all but name – is determined to reunite with the survivors, rebuild the fallen Greymanes, and reclaim what was lost. But on a journey where alliances are forged, dangers abound, and mysterious factions are uncovered, Kliff will come to realize that an unprecedented threat and a destiny greater than he imagined await him.


DEATH STRANDING 2: ON THE BEACH

From legendary game creator Hideo Kojima comes an emotionally charged evolution of this genre-defying experience. In bringing this title to PC, KOJIMA PRODUCTIONS worked with Nixxes Software to deliver the definitive version of the critically acclaimed console release.
Unique and realistic world
In the expansive open world of DEATH STRANDING 2: ON THE BEACH, countless areas with vastly different terrains and environments are seamlessly connected, and the changing time, weather and nature itself provide a variety of landscapes and challenges.​


RUSHING BEAT X: Return Of Brawl Brothers

Neo-Cisco has been shaken by organized crime, a deadly virus and more, and each time justice and right have prevailed thanks to a small band of brave fighters. Now, they must rise up again to face an overwhelming evil and discover the true mastermind behind these past events.
Jaleco's Rushing Beat returns, bringing a beat'em up cocktail with new moves, new weapons, and new allies, and an exciting, two-player co-op story for double the impact!


Nova Roma

As the once-great Roman Empire falls into decadence and decay, you lead a small band of citizens in search of new lands hoping to build Nova Roma – a bastion for all that was once good in the Empire. Starting from a humble village, you must appease the gods with grand temples, sate your citizens' many needs, and build a society that will be the envy of the world for millennia to come.
A wise city planner knows how to harness the world around them. Erect massive dams and aqueducts to control the flow of water as you reshape the land into artificial watersheds and reservoirs, paying close attention to how your actions impact soil fertility. Seek distant resource deposits and build infrastructure to transport raw materials and processed goods across massive stretches of untamed territory. Will you strike a delicate balance between the growing urban sprawl of your city and the risks of rapid expansion? Or will your hubris risk the wrath of the gods and nature itself?


Life is Strange: Reunion

Chloe Price was Max Caulfield's partner in time… Losing her is Max's greatest regret.
Now Chloe has come to Caledon University. Haunted by nightmares and impossible memories, Chloe needs Max's help.
But Max is already in crisis: in three days, a deadly inferno will destroy the campus.
Max's Rewind power has bought her time – but she can't prevent the blaze alone.
The fire will force Max and Chloe to make devastating decisions. Can they find a future together… Before everything burns?​


Screamer

Longing, ambition, vengeance. Everyone has a reason to enter the Screamer tournament, and no one's backing down. Join the competition and race side by side with fearless drivers, ready to push past every limit to chase what they believe in.
Five teams. Five reasons to risk it all – on and off the track.
Soldiers, scientists, criminals, superstars, and ruthless magnates. Different paths now converging on a single focal point: the Screamer tournament. Led by a mysterious master, this merciless competition will be the key to each participant's personal goals.
Choose your driver wisely: each one steers a vehicle that mirrors their style, with a bespoke design and a unique ability that gives them an edge in this brutal showdown.


OPUS: Prism Peak

OPUS: Prism Peak is a narrative adventure where you play as a weary photographer stranded in the Dusklands, traveling with a girl who's lost her memories. Together, you'll uncover the mysteries of this land through your camera and find your way home.


Mega Man Star Force Legacy Collection

The Mega Man Star Force series, which expanded into an anime, is back in the Mega Man Star Force Legacy Collection! This collection includes seven games and additional features like a gallery of illustrations and music! Online play is also supported!
Enhanced Graphics and Music
Enjoy smooth visuals with an optional graphics filter. Also rock out to the original soundtrack, or switch to the newly arranged soundtrack for battles!​



Project Songbird

Project Songbird is a first-person cinematic narrative psychological horror game from Conner Rush and his studio FYRE Games, the developer behind the critically praised games Summerland and We Never Left (from Dread X Collection 5). Take control of Dakota, a career musician who, amidst writer's block, decides to isolate themself in a cabin in the remote Appalachian forest in order to record their next album. Take in this gripping tale, explore the natural environment and haunting dreamscapes, and fight to survive in this short horror experience.​



Eastern Era

In this martial arts-themed management simulation game, assume the role of a sect leader. As a member of a declining sect, you must flee with your disciples and survive in a desolate world, striving to rejuvenate your sect.
Navigate challenges posed by food shortages and harsh weather, hunt dangerous beasts, lift the spirits of your disciples, and manually construct all necessary facilities brick by brick. Recruit talents from the wilderness or cities to become your disciples, train their martial skills, and gradually restore your sect's strength, rebuilding your unique sect headquarters.
Forge alliances or sow discord among other sects, stirring up turbulent conflicts in this martial-dominated world. Seize power, defeat century-old formidable sects, conquer the JiangHu, and become the new legend.​



Hozy

After things don't quite work out in the big city, you return to your small hometown. Once lively, it now feels a little faded and forgotten. In that stillness, you discover something unexpected: a new passion. Room by room, space by space, you clean, paint, and gently restore the sense of community that once filled these streets.
Hozy is about slowing down. There are no timers, scores, penalties, and absolutely no stress or pressure. Just you, your tools, and the simple joy of making spaces beautiful again. Whether you're wiping windows, repainting walls, or finding the perfect spot for a sofa, everything is designed to keep you in a calm, satisfying flow.
Wrap yourself in a cozy atmosphere where every small action and detail matters. Open a window to let the wind play with floating dust and bring nature's sounds closer. Light candles, arrange books on shelves, paint a portrait on the wall, or switch on a projector. Everything you touch and every choice you make delivers a sense of satisfaction and a gentle "aha!" moment.
Hozy features nine unique locations to explore and restore. Each space is filled with its residents' personal stories, as well as unique objects and small details that make every room feel lived in. Begin your journey in your parents' home, step into an artist's workshop, then visit an old café full of memories. Explore dreamlike spaces and help fulfil your father's long-held dream of a peaceful place by the sea.​



RACCOIN: Coin Pusher Roguelike

RACCOIN: Coin Pusher Roguelike
blends the chaotic fun of classic arcade coin pushers with the element of roguelike deckbuilding. Combine special coins with powerful items to trigger satisfying synergies. It's a nonstop dopamine rush packed into one unpredictable, coin dropping ride.
Discover all kinds of special coins during your runs! Combine Seed Coins with Water Coins to grow a money tree right inside your machine. Drop a Cat Coin to hunt down every last Rat Coin and rack up extra tickets. Need more points? Use a MultiCoin to boost your score across the board. Too slow? Blast a TNT Coin to trigger a massive explosion and blast every coin forward at once!
Uncover 150 unique items that can dramatically shift the course of your run. Stack multipliers, spawn coins with extra points, or simply shake the machine when you're running dry.​



GRIME II

Become a stealer of forms in GRIME II, the sequel to 2021's acclaimed action-adventure metroidvania. You are a Formless - an art mimic, absorbing creatures and summoning molds in their shape.
Venture into a new and mysterious land in the GRIME universe, where danger and wonder await around every corner. Use your surroundings in tandem with your summoned molds to overcome deadly enemies and epic bosses, all the while exploring a deep world full of diverse cultures and characters.
Create your own playstyle by choosing from a variety of abilities, weapons, and mold summons. Learn the makings of your enemies as you summon their form to both aid you in combat, as well as in exploring the various secrets paths of the world.​


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conflicted about Crimson Desert, on one hand the world seems incredible, I love just walking around in a town and such, feels super immersive BUT the story and all the characters Ive seen thus far has been super uninteresting. It would have gone a long way if one could have at least been able to create own character.
 
I'm a little annoyed with the Trails remake initiative. While great, it will take years to merely have the first trilogy, and there is no indication they will remake the duology next. And it will be jarring to go back to the original engine for those episodes.

I was going to purchase the remake in the sale but at this point, why not play vanilla and buy the stupidly priced duology...
On the other hand, I hear nothing but praise for the remake new system.
 
conflicted about Crimson Desert, on one hand the world seems incredible, I love just walking around in a town and such, feels super immersive BUT the story and all the characters Ive seen thus far has been super uninteresting. It would have gone a long way if one could have at least been able to create own character.
It's the weirdest thing too given the developer.
If there's one thing that Korean MMO devs get right 99% of the time it's the incredibly robust character creator.
 
I'm a little annoyed with the Trails remake initiative. While great, it will take years to merely have the first trilogy, and there is no indication they will remake the duology next. And it will be jarring to go back to the original engine for those episodes.

I was going to purchase the remake in the sale but at this point, why not play vanilla and buy the stupidly priced duology...
On the other hand, I hear nothing but praise for the remake new system.
There are interviews saying that the dev team is deliberating on whether to do Sky 3rd or Zero remake after Sky 2nd, which implies that remakes of the Zero duology are gonna happen.
(Though, I hope they do remake Sky 3rd before the duology, it would be dumb not to do it first).
 
Capcom to use Generative AI to improve efficiency and productivity of game development

Let's see if Era bans their games now
:ROFLMAO:


Our company will not be implementing any AI-generated assets into our video game content.

On the other hand, going forward, we plan to actively utilize this technology in order to improve efficiency and productivity of game development. That is why we are currently testing out various methods of usage across our departments, including graphics, sound, and programming

 
Capcom to use Generative AI to improve efficiency and productivity of game development

Let's see if Era bans their games now
:ROFLMAO:


The source of the article (カプコン「生成AIで生み出した素材をゲームコンテンツには実装しない」―AIへの対応方針を個人投資家向けに説明 | Game*Spark - 国内・海外ゲーム情報サイト) links to the article from more than a year ago (カプコン: ゲーム開発に必要な数十万件のアイデア出しを生成 AI で支援し、クリエイターの生産性を大幅に向上 | Google Cloud 公式ブログ) I posted here last week. It has been public knowledge that they were using AI for prototyping for at least that long.
 
There are interviews saying that the dev team is deliberating on whether to do Sky 3rd or Zero remake after Sky 2nd, which implies that remakes of the Zero duology are gonna happen.
(Though, I hope they do remake Sky 3rd before the duology, it would be dumb not to do it first).
Interesting ! I didn't know the door to the duology was already open :cat-heart-blob:
 
I'm a little annoyed with the Trails remake initiative. While great, it will take years to merely have the first trilogy, and there is no indication they will remake the duology next. And it will be jarring to go back to the original engine for those episodes.

I was going to purchase the remake in the sale but at this point, why not play vanilla and buy the stupidly priced duology...
On the other hand, I hear nothing but praise for the remake new system.

Second chapter isn't too far off. I highly recommend playing the remakes.
 
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Capcom to use Generative AI to improve efficiency and productivity of game development

Let's see if Era bans their games now
:ROFLMAO:


https://automaton-media.com/en/news...g-efficiency-and-productivity-of-development/
I've come to the conclusion that much of the discussion (if we can call it that) around generative AI in game development is just a larger-scale replay of the "asset flips" outrage. Where some people were apparently furious to learn that developers use asset libraries to make games. Never mind the fact that games considered all-time great milestones of the entire medium, like Mario 64, used lots of textures from asset library CDs.

The idea that games, as a fully integrated cohesive experience, are somehow "lesser" if they use some generative AI during development makes no sense.

To be clear: if anything that used generative AI is bad, or not cohesive, or a mismatch to the rest of the game, or generic, or "sloppy", then of course that is bad for the game experience as a whole. However, if that particular aspect was not AI generated, it would still be bad. Any game that is just an ill-conceived mix of throwing things together and seeing what sticks will not be interesting regardless of whether those individual parts came from generative AI, a free asset pack, asset libraries, external contractors, or even direct employees.

On the other hand, if you have a complete game that is put together with intent and purpose, but generative AI was used for part of its development (be that e.g. some non-critical throwaway code or the kinds of assets which are not core to the experience that might previously have been sourced from asset libraries), then this does not make the game worse.

Would Mario 64 have been better if they had an artist draw a wall from scratch rather than using a library image?
Would realistic games be better if they modeled each tree rather than using speedtree?
I don't think so, and I don't agree that generative AI is any different on a fundamental level.

A common argument that might be brought up is that some models are trained without full rights to the sources; but at least for programming there is more than enough open source code out there to train a useful model without violating any copyright, and beyond that several companies including Adobe have developed image generation models with datasets containing exclusively public domain images or images for which they own appropriate licenses. So at best, that is an argument against some specific models, not against the entire technology.

Alternatively, if an objection is made on the basis of trying to preserve jobs, then I am certainly sympathetic, but I don't think rejecting technology ever was or will be the solution; the actual solution is political, and at a minimum it involves taxing the companies and individuals commercially benefiting from generative AI and redistributing the proceeds. Of course, that would require those apparently outraged gamers realizing that politics is something they need to participate in rather than having it happen to them.

Since this is a long post I'll clarify again that I'm not saying that anyone can just vibe-code/design/draw/audio-gen their way to a worthwhile game. What I am saying is that there is a huge gulf between "absolutely no gen-AI ever in anything" and that, the most productive path leading to the best outcomes is somewhere within that gulf, and that the idea that every bit going into a game has to be crafted individually and uniquely by the hands of a master is silly.

Edit:
I'm also now convinced that lashman doesn't actually read these posts before reacting with a thumbsup, because there wasn't enough time -- unless he's an LLM of course :P
 
I bought an 8bitdo controller for my phone for emulators & handheld play I can also use on PC as my DS4 is going bad (even if maybe less comfy due to width).
mobile-gaming-controller.png

I will be using it via bluetooth on phone, wired on PC. It has no rumble but hall effect sticks, triggers, some back buttons too and will be recognized as an Xbox pad on PC. Gamesir had various options but I couldn't find them for good prices here and they were either too bulky or too compact, I liked some without analog triggers in design but I wanted analog triggers for Dreamcast/Saturn stuff so I went with this (I considered Gamesir's Galileo, G8+ and X2s/X5s but they were a tad pricier here). As long as they don't come out with Ultimate Mobile 2 soon with usb c (to phone, this has usb c to PC/charge), rumble & more stuff I'm good.
So I ordered the white standard one and they sent me the Xbox black. I don't think I'll bother switching it since they also took so long to ship it and stuff, got a 5 eur coupon for the mistake (which is lame but eh) and told them off a bit that's it.
mobile-gaming-controller-xbox.png

The pad seems pretty great, I tested it on my phone in emulators and it's nice and also tested it on my PC and it's recognized as an Xbox 360 pad in most stuff though retroarch and windows devices (but not device manager) do read it as 8bitdo so you can tell it apart vs other xinput pads.

It conveniently replaced the DualShock4 in my Retroarch settings where I have a different P1 and P2 gamepad per core so I don't have to mess with that which is nice, though I'll still probably have to remap some stuff like coin buttons and things here and there.

I tested with Hollow Knight to see if it's the 1st pad for an average Steam game and it is (wouldn't wanna have to faff about with disconnecting the xinput Retro-bit Saturn pad) and also tested the d-pad moving left/right near the bench, no unintended up/down directions there.

It has nice clicky shoulder buttons and d-pad and back buttons (which sadly can only be made into duplicates of other buttons but you can apparently set impossible combos like left/right d-pad and then assign that impossible combo as a key in Steam input or other settings to fake extra buttons.

About the only minor issue I see because it's made to be a mobile phone handheld controller is that you can easily touch the right stick when using the A button, the DS4 has way more room there. It's fine though, just an observation. The width is fine too without the phone slotted in.
 
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I'm also now convinced that lashman doesn't actually read these posts before reacting with a thumbsup, because there wasn't enough time -- unless he's an LLM of course :P
lash's consciousness is connected to this forum, he gets the info as soon as it gets posted.