Conversation logs (for the games where they make sense). I loved having this available in Dragon Age: Origins and it helped me remember my rationale for doing specific things. Also was just fun to read back through.

Thank you for such a thorough write-up! This was SO helpful. Genuinely appreciated :)

It’s sad that music UX is adopting these principles, tbh. Music is inherently a long(er) form experience. It deserves separate treatment. The last thing I personally want is for music apps to try to suck my attention as much as text- and video-based apps do. I know I’m fighting against the app economy headwinds in that desire, but I still dare to dream…

I’ll have to check it out. How is Tidal for music discovery? I found that GPM was great for helping me find artists with the “I’m feeling lucky” feature. YTM hasn’t scratched that itch.

Part of what’s kept me on YTM is that I’m still grandfathered into the GPM pricing, and I really like the ad-free feature for the rare occasions I am on YouTube. But—I could deal with giving that up!

I definitely don’t want to see how many people like a song I’m listening to or what they have to say about it. I want my music experience to be more personal. I will just go to normal YouTube if I want to discuss something.

Ugh, I still miss GPM so much. YTM is worse to me in just about every way.

I like gesture controls on my Pixel. It took me a bit to adjust, too, but now I can’t go back. My biggest gripe is that swiping from the right side of the screen will go back or exit an app instead of letting me go forward (thinking of Chrome specifically). Also, it can be hard to crop images because the gesture area conflicts with the edge of a lot of images.

edit: typo

I will be giving that a try. Thanks for the info.

Looks cool! Can anyone weigh in on how similar this is to DDG’s tracking blocker feature? Is it the same but open source?

I’d recommend playing in release order if you’re someone who tends to enjoy delving into lore. (And man, is there a LOT of lore.) I did them in reverse order originally, and although I enjoyed DAI a lot, I didn’t quite get why the stakes were so high for the protag. I felt way more connected to the storyline when I returned to Inquisition after having Origins and DA2 under my belt.

My other reason for recommending chronological order is that Origins is one of the best games I’ve ever played. I still fire up my Xbox 360 to give it a play now and again.

Origins struck a good balance between player autonomy and the required storyline. You can pick your character’s race, gender, and class at the start of the game and get a unique back story that informs how you can approach later conflicts and circumstances. Then you find out the central conflict and are presented with the different factions you need to draw together. From there, it’s up to you to decide who you’ll support and how you’ll make it happen. You can be a true asshole to all your companions, or a Lothario, or BFFs. And the combat system is pretty good overall, despite being dated and a touch clunky. The party mechanics are fun when you get used to them.

DA2 is a perfectly serviceable game, but not one I personally enjoy replaying. Humans are the least interesting race in Thedas to me, and I’m sure that contributes.

DAI is definitely an Open World Game and therefore plagued by all the struggles these games tend to have, but I still found it really fun. Jaws of Hakkon is a great DLC for the world building element. Trespasser is basically the real ending of the game, so hopefully you’ll have access to that DLC as well!

I hope you have a great experience playing these games for the first time! DA is my favourite series ever, and I love seeing folks give it a go. :)

I love the size and feel of the 7a. It was an adjustment to get used to a small screen again but honestly, so happy with that element of the phone.

The battery life, on the other hand, feels worse than my 4 year old OnePlus 7 Pro’s is. I am not sure if it’s a me problem or a Pixel problem, but that aspect has me seriously worried about the longevity of the device. I guess you get what you pay for, but I’d expect a bit better for a mid-range phone.

I learned about Unciv from Lemmy and have been way more addicted to it than I am to the actual Civ. I’m not certain the addiction is a good thing, but the game itself is. Highly recommended for anyone into that type of game!

YouTube transcript link for anyone who needs it: https://youtubetranscript.com/?v=7wFqblQY6Dk

I really feel for the mods who’ve spent years building and curating communities, only to have them decimated by forces outside of their control. Reddit never listens to its userbase and I’d be surprised if they start now. I mean, they were regularly having calls with TPA developers only to blindside them with the API changes and treat them poorly for having questions. I don’t see how it will be any different for moderators, unfortunately.

It’s worth the time to me, but I can definitely understand why others might not feel the same. Personally, I don’t love the Viking “honour and glory” theme but I do like the zany “mystery” side quests and the overall game structure. As for whether it’s a rinse-and-repeat of previous games… yeah, it is, in most meaningful ways. Since Origins, they’ve relied on a lot of the same mechanisms, but that’s not a deal breaker to me. I like (modern) AC because of the visual polish and atmosphere, not necessarily unique gameplay. Odyssey was my favourite of the “new” gen of AC games, and I think Valhalla made a lot of tangible improvements to the mechanics and gameplay loops since that title.

I too am enjoying AC Valhalla, lol.

I went from a OP7Pro to a Pixel 7a and I’m loving it. (I was previously into the Nexus line before it was discontinued, so I suppose it was a natural switch… :))

The battery life isn’t super impressive, but the camera is pretty good and quite snappy comparatively. I’ve found performance to be more than adequate. Not confident it’ll last as long as my OP did (was still going strong at nearly 4 years old) but for the price point and feature set, it’s a solid choice. No regrets here!

ETA: The size was a big selling point for me. I wanted something easier to hold in one hand.

• Messenger (because unfortunately my friends won’t move away from it!)
• Libby
• My banking app

Everyone’s out for their pound of flesh and man, does it hurt. 🥴

Ugh, how disappointing. :( As one of the many, many many people waiting for DA: Dreadwolf to maybe, hopefully, someday come out… this is bad news.

Edit: Maybe it’ll be fine! I am just not holding my breath.

Wow! I just bookmarked this comment. THANK YOU for the amazing suggestions!