If you really want to play games on the classic devices, consider checking out IPS screen mods that add a backlight to most models of gameboy. I’ve also seen rechargeable USB-C battery packs mods people install

In the US, the names vary a lot by location. Even which grades are included can change based on the local population and how they choose to organize it. My wife and I went to school in the same state, maybe 45 minutes apart, and we did not have the same names or grade delineations.

For me, pre-school and kindergarten are each there own thing. Grades 1-3 were “elementary school”, 4-6 were “middle school”, 7-8 were “junior high”, and 9-12 were “high school”. We called them this based on the actual names of the school buildings. But even by the time I was in junior high, they started moving the 4th grade classes to the elementary school, so I’d assume kids in my own home town might say 1-4 is “elementary”. We didn’t have a “junior high” building. Grades 7 and 8 were still part of the “middle school”, but based on the changes in curriculum and the fact that they were held on a designated side of the building, it was colloquially referred to as “junior high”

I remember traveling through some random town on a job with a work buddy many years ago. He was always a bit of a goofball and I loved his zany humor and offbeat jokes. For example, he would say things like “wrong number” after hanging up a long phone call that was clearly with a client or family member.

Anyway, we’re driving along and he points at someone walking down the street. He says to me, “you see that guy right there?” Sure, I say, what about him? And in a completely deadpan tone he answers, “you’re never going to see him again.”

We sat in silence for a beat and then both laughed. What a card. But I think my brain actually changed that day. I started seeing strangers and passers-by as entire people with families and goals and problems instead of extras in the background of the scene. Every time I make an honest, simple mistake it made me realize that everyone is capable of the same thing. That not every idiot in traffic is just some idiot. Not every difficult customer is just some asshole. It seems obvious, but that moment really pulled that way of thinking into the front of my mind and I’ll never forget it.

Anyway, it was after that that I learned sonder was a word, and it applies perfectly

I think I know what you mean, OP, but it seems like most of the comments think you are just complaining about people saying “thanks” at the end of an email, or in general.

So forget email for now. This is an in person thing or instant message. Ending an email, even a short one, with “thanks” is fine and normal. But if you message me “please update that ticket. Thanks.” It has a more aggressive tone than you might have meant. It feels like you aren’t asking and so the “thanks” comes off as fake or even sarcastic. Maybe also a bit dismissive or distracted. Like this isn’t a conversation or even a request. I’m telling you what to do and walking away. It’s a bit terse. You’re not even giving me a chance to reply. If you say “please update that ticket” and I say “sure thing” and then you say “thanks”, the tone is much different. That doesn’t sound bad at all.

Again, email is different. Emails are meant to be send and forget. The thanks at the end can even be read as a “thanks for reading”. I think OP is talking about something different, and I agree it feels bad when someone talks to me that way.

As for your actual question, OP, I can’t say I know why they said it that way, but I’d guess they mean no offense, like most people are saying. It could be a second language thing or they really are too distracted or busy to wait for your reply. They don’t want to get into it, they just want to check off that someone is taking care of that one thing

Monster Hunter is a great example of a series with quality sequels. They always add some new, interesting mechanics, trim the fat from the previous iteration, and add new content while still keeping the core gameplay exactly the same. There have been some exceptions, but generally every MH game before they split the dev teams had been an improvement on the last. Even when they cut the swimming from 3U to 4. It was a system that most players didn’t enjoy, and 4 had so many great new additions like mounting that it hardly felt like anything was missing.

That said, one of the main criticisms you’ll hear from players is the “ultimate” edition being the same game with just some new hunts tacked on. Or even that the base version isn’t worth it and the ultimate version is the “real” game. Nowadays they do expansions instead, which I think players generally find more palatable

Not sure what you mean, but it sounds like you just don’t care because it doesn’t affect your choice. I wonder how you will feel if one day your party’s candidate finally crosses your line

“There is no choice.” “You do not have a choice.” Classic catchphrases of a healthy, functioning democracy

TCP is when you don’t get your package because you weren’t there to sign for it and now you have to wait until tomorrow for them to try again. You were home all day and no one rang the bell but you still keep finding a “sorry we missed you” slip in the door. Eventually you have to go to the package center and get it yourself.

UDP is when you get 50 packages per day thrown on your doorstep. Some of them are probably yours and some of those are probably what you ordered, but they show up fast and often

Me at 4am laying in bed thinking about exactly how I’m going to divvy up the $100M I’m left with after taxes in an imaginary lottery win

You could check out Freedom Planet. It didn’t quite do it for me, but it has a decent fanbase

Notice that Q14 still allows for commercial tournaments but only if they acquire a license first. This is something Nintendo has been pushing since at least last year. That’s the debacle that killed Smash World Tour and the hill that Panda Global died on.

Not saying I agree with it. In fact, it’s so stupid, but there is still a path forward for now if Nintendo continues to give out those licenses. The real question is, what absurd rules will TOs need to adhere to in order to get a license?

I’ve been pretty psyched for this as someone who consumes a lot of 2D Mario content including Mario Maker and SMW ROM hacks. Glad to see basically everyone saying it feels solid

However, this quote from Digital Spy,

Instead, Wonder’s strongest moments are when it takes a breather, taking the time to set the scene while letting the platforming do the talking.

Is something I was kinda worried about as well. The wonder effects that were shown seem cool, but I really want the platforming to take the lead role. SMW ROM hacks show us that pure platforming can still be creative as hell. I wonder how SMBW will stack up to the likes of, say, GPW3

If you don’t Rock and Stone, you ain’t going home

First I’ve heard of this but it looks like it definitely has some Chrono Trigger DNA and Yasunori effing Mitsuda involved in the music department! I will absolutely have to check this out

The game’s size on PC is 139.84 GB. It’s 100.19 GB for the Standard Edition and 117.07 GB for the Premium Edition on consoles, which also comes with a digital artbook and soundtrack, skin pack, and the Shattered Space Story Expansion (when it becomes available).

Preload for Steam users will start on August 30 and require 125 GB of free space

True. It also won’t help against malicious spam bots, but it helped me get rid of all the repost/rehost bots I was seeing when I first joined

I think there is a setting on your account to hide bot posts. I was initially blocking all the bots until I found that setting and now I don’t see them at all

Yeah it gives you and your opponent 6 random Pokémon each, but the moves and abilities are pulled from a small list of potential “competitive” move sets for that Pokémon. Then the levels of Pokémon are adjusted so that stronger Pokémon are a slightly lower level to balance things out.

It’s very fun to sit down and be in a battle within 10 seconds, but it can take a little bit of practice to get used to quickly reviewing your available moves for your whole team.

You can even play without even making an account and then you can create the account later if you want to save your progress

That’s awesome! Great to hear

Super Auto Pets is simple and can be played for free in a browser. It’s a team building game that puts you against other players’ teams, so it’s competitive in that regard.

If you like Pokémon and consider that simple enough, Pokemon Showdown is a free online battle simulator for competitive battles against other players. You can even do “random battles” that just instantly throw you into a match without requiring you to make your own team