Multi 2025 Releases Thread

[Fool's Requiem]

my little sons have zero interest in Pokemon

I see that as a good thing right now. Pokémon has become stupid expensive over the past few years despite being Uber popular in every generation it has existed in. People hoarding Pokémon shit has made it harder to find stuff at reasonable prices.

 

[Ben]

Pokémon has always been one of my oldest's autistic special interests. Like, they used to want to quiz me on base stat totals for random Pokémon and I'm like, dude, I barely even know the names of Pokémon that aren't the original 151.

 

[dimmerwit]

I wonder if at any point this starts to trickle into Smash

So many things in there people born within the last 20 years don't understand the reference

Same thing with Pokemon, they think they are insulated forever but everything else trickles from the games, my little sons have zero interest in Pokemon, and as we are seeing more competitors are finally starting to seriously move into this genre

You can't coast on nostalgia forever...

It didn't stop Smash Bros Ultimate from selling more copies than every other home console Smash release combined.

 

[Rachel]

I'm talking about in the future. They are clearly still coasting on the nostalgia. At what point is R.O.B. not in there. Or Mr. Game and Watch. There are so many basically abandoned IPs in Smash, but you need to make room for what the new kids want, the next generation, which means you have to look at what to include.

 

[Ben]

I'm talking about in the future. They are clearly still coasting on the nostalgia. At what point is R.O.B. not in there. Or Mr. Game and Watch. There are so many basically abandoned IPs in Smash, but you need to make room for what the new kids want, the next generation, which means you have to look at what to include.

I'd say "I'm skipping the Smash Bros with the skibidi toilet guy in it", but realize all that shit is in Fortnite and I still play that.

I'd absolutely try to frag anyone using that skin before anyone else, though.

 

[canadaguy]

Hahaha OK grandpa

 

[Ben]

Hahaha OK grandpa

 

[Lunar Kreskents]

@Lunar Kreskents thinks you should play Whisker Squadron.

 

[dimmerwit]

A new DLC for Assassin's Creed Mirage was announced, set in what is now Saudi Arabia. It was reported earlier this year that Ubisoft agreed to make such content as part of an investment by the Saudi Public Investment Fund.

 

[canadaguy]

That gets both David and Alexis reactions

 

[Ben]

A new DLC for Assassin's Creed Mirage was announced, set in what is now Saudi Arabia. It was reported earlier this year that Ubisoft agreed to make such content as part of an investment by the Saudi Public Investment Fund.

I read that to start with as an investment from the Saudi PRINCE Investment Fund and figured it was gonna be way more propaganda-y... I have no idea if "Saudi Public Investment Fund" is any less geared towards their interests.

 

[dimmerwit]

I read that to start with as an investment from the Saudi PRINCE Investment Fund and figured it was gonna be way more propaganda-y... I have no idea if "Saudi Public Investment Fund" is any less geared towards their interests.

There is no difference since the PIF is controlled by the Crown Prince.

 

[Ben]

Then I stand by my "This is fine" reaction.

 

[Smacktard]

Curious what era it would take place in. Pre-Islamic history in Saudi Arabia is disgustingly underresearched, undervalued, and underlined. There are so many crazy mysteries across the Middle East. There are tens of thousands of earthworks and no one has any real idea about what purpose they served, or who built them, or whether they're all connected in some way.

I mean, AssCreed probably isn't going to go into that, but it would be cool if it did revitalize some interest in pre-Islamic history.

 

[canadaguy]

Curious what era it would take place in. Pre-Islamic history in Saudi Arabia is disgustingly underresearched, undervalued, and underlined. There are so many crazy mysteries across the Middle East. There are tens of thousands of earthworks and no one has any real idea about what purpose they served, or who built them, or whether they're all connected in some way.

I mean, AssCreed probably isn't going to go into that, but it would be cool if it did revitalize some interest in pre-Islamic history.

I remember you sharing some of your adventures of wandering through ancient ruins and how they are all over the place

 

[Smacktard]

I remember you sharing some of your adventures of wandering through ancient ruins and how they are all over the place

I walked a few hours through the desert once to reach one that was a kilometer long. Completely untouched for thousands of years.

 

[Ben]

I walked a few hours through the desert once to reach one that was a kilometer long. Completely untouched for thousands of years.

I ain't much for touristy crap, but this sounds like it'd be absolutely fascinating.

I've listened to some paranormal stories about djinn and such, which had "walking through the desert for hours and sneaking into ruins at night" vibes, but those were probably out of Petra up in Jordan. Still feel like any desert trek would have me pondering all that mythology.

 

[Smacktard]

I ain't much for touristy crap, but this sounds like it'd be absolutely fascinating.

I've listened to some paranormal stories about djinn and such, which had "walking through the desert for hours and sneaking into ruins at night" vibes, but those were probably out of Petra up in Jordan. Still feel like any desert trek would have me pondering all that mythology.

Oh man, this shit would be right up your alley. It's not touristy at all -- I found these places by using the satellite view of Google Maps and scouring the desert for anything that looked weird. Had to rent a car and drive a couple of hours into the desert and then walk for a few more down an old riverbed to get to one of them. Here's what they look like from above:


The formation is on the bottom left, and you can see these big empty spaces that have been cleared of rock. I'm not sure if they're old foundations or if (more modern) nomadic groups just cleared those spaces to use for tents.


Here's a really good example. This isn't the one I hiked to, but it's something like it.

 

[Ben]

Oh man, this shit would be right up your alley. It's not touristy at all -- I found these places by using the satellite view of Google Maps and scouring the desert for anything that looked weird. Had to rent a car and drive a couple of hours into the desert and then walk for a few more down an old riverbed to get to one of them. Here's what they look like from above:

View attachment 34250
The formation is on the bottom left, and you can see these big empty spaces that have been cleared of rock. I'm not sure if they're old foundations or if (more modern) nomadic groups just cleared those spaces to use for tents.

View attachment 34251
Here's a really good example. This isn't the one I hiked to, but it's something like it.

Duuuuuuude, that's amazing and I've lost at least 30 minutes poking around that area on Google Earth.

I'm guessing those long dark strips are potentially dug-out channels? They scream irrigation/aqueducts given how meticulously straight they are... And if so that'd support the idea that the area you visited was once some kind of settlement. They're LONG though...




The one I see starting at the site you went to goes South West about 1,337 meters (~0.83 miles), until I lost track of it in the rockier patch.

But then further South West still there's an even longer parallel set of (assumed) trenches.



I don't think this is the same spot in your second image. They converge at a similar circular arrangement though.



(

)

Almost directly pointing towards your first site.



These are about 2,131.12 meters long (~1.32 miles)...



From a wider look at the terrain I'd hazard to say at one point it had far more water, as those absolutely look like river erosion fingers or whatever you'd call them oh duh, you said it was an old river bed. I think the nearest river on the map is way the fuck over there near Rahat, and while it's not showing me elevation really I'm thinking that's more mountainous.

(EDIT: There's an elevation change that I just noticed on the point-measurement. 1074.95m at the longer set and 1053.87m at your site. Would also suggest they might be to transport water.)



Shit. Maybe I'm lucky I'm a broke introvert with too many children to have hobbies. Otherwise I'd wander off into the world somewhere chasing interesting looking shit and never be seen again.

....The fuck thread is this again? Oh right, video games.

In all honesty an AC game exploring these regions could be super interesting, it's just the whole how it's funded thing that's weird.

 

[Smacktard]

I'm guessing those long dark strips are potentially dug-out channels? They scream irrigation/aqueducts given how meticulously straight they are... And if so that'd support the idea that the area you visited was once some kind of settlement. They're LONG though...

Haha wow a lot to work with in this post. I'm glad to see I'm not the only one who's utterly fascinated by these things. I have dozens of them saved and bookmarked. They're all across Saudi. If you look up "Khaybar" you can find the more famous ones. They're very different from the ones here. Much smaller, unique designs.

But just to clear up a misconception, these aren't channels or trenches dug. They're heaps of rocks that have been piled up that way. These spots tend to be in pretty flat, non-mountainous areas. There's a bunch of theories for their existence (trapping animals, waypoints, religious in nature) but nothing clear. There are some even at the top of steeps hills and mountains, so the argument that they're used for trapping game doesn't seem to make sense.