HNHacker News
TopNewBestAskShowJobs

robocaptain

398 karma · joined May 23, 2012

submissionscomments
robocaptain··on Dijkstra Maps Visualized
I believe the original author of most of this content was Brian Walker, creator of brogue, which uses Dijkstra maps to great effect. In my opinion, brogue is the greatest 'modern' traditional roguelike.

latest 'community' version: https://github.com/tmewett/BrogueCE

reddit community with seeded contests: https://www.reddit.com/r/brogueforum/

original game: https://sites.google.com/site/broguegame/

robocaptain··on Show HN: Can’t afford Bloomberg Terminal? No prob, I built the next best thing
This is really cool! I have been adjusting to life without Bloomberg recently. Does anyone know of something similar to this for rates, credit, or the ABS space?
robocaptain··on Mini projects built with VanillaJS. No frameworks or libraries
Hi! Off topic but I love love love Neptune's Pride. :)
robocaptain··on NetHack beaten in 7 minutes 15 seconds real time
I remember hearing about this on the podcast roguelike radio a long time ago - truly a brilliant little hack.

Here's the link for anyone interested: http://www.roguelikeradio.com/2016/06/episode-122-nethack-to...

A very niche topic on an already niche podcast, but probably will get some decent overlap on HN.

(Also I'm assuming this is the same team? It's hard to tell.)

robocaptain··on Tell HN: 17 years on the same game
Thanks for posting this - some great memories and great links here. I'll jump on the bandwagon since I don't see any MUSHes mentioned here yet.

MUSH was MUD-based, but built around roleplaying (planned and improvised) and community-driven building. PennMUSH also had a great underlying program language that was (in retrospect, quite amazingly) flexible and powerful. Many MUSHes had very advanced combat, economy, and other systems. I developed a love of programming thanks to the PennMUSH codebase.

My personal favorite was (still is) TF2k5 (Transformers: 2005) - oddly enough, a MUSH based on the 1986 Transformers movie. :) Last I checked it was still going.

I bookmarked an old feature Kieron Gillen did on RPS about MUSHes (and TF2k5)[0] a long time ago - still a very dead-on description in my opinion.

[0] https://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2009/07/08/gaming-made-me-3...

robocaptain··on Tell HN: 17 years on the same game
Hah. So many great memories of MUSHclient. For a long time it was the first thing I installed on any new machine. Eventually moved to tinyfugue on a remote shell (so I could be "always online").
robocaptain··on PyPy v5.8 released
Coming from someone who uses python but doesn't really follow alternative compilers, PyPy sounds great. What are some of the downsides, if any? Are you sacrificing library compatibility for faster core+standard libs?
robocaptain··on LSD microdoses make people feel sharper, and scientists want to know how
Yup. Made it feel more realistic to me, but I also don't have especially strong opinions for or against use, although more research seems reasonable.
robocaptain··on LSD microdoses make people feel sharper, and scientists want to know how
The podcast Reply All covered this in an episode last year: https://gimletmedia.com/episode/44-shine-on-you-crazy-goldma...

Obviously not scientific, but great anecdotal discussion.

robocaptain··on How I Let Disney Track My Every Move
This is an important point.
robocaptain··on Dwarf Fortress creator Tarn Adams on simulating most complex magic system ever
This game and it's creator(s) never cease to amaze me. Looking forward to all of the new "fun" this will create.
robocaptain··on Google Fiber Was Doomed from the Start
Seems like they are focusing on multi-family condos/apartments. I don't see much activity either - they started in a few residential neighborhoods intown but growth has stalled.

It's incredibly frustrating - I don't even care if it's the same price (or more) than Comcast. I just want options. Would gladly pay good money for a reliable fast connection.

robocaptain··on Dropbox’s Smart Sync lets users open a file stored only in the cloud like normal
I've been a dropbox pro user for many years, but have lately gotten the impression that they (dropbox) are focused on Dropbox Business and not so much regular consumers. Curious if other people have had similar experiences?
robocaptain··on Georgia Tech Offers Online Master of Science in Analytics Degree for Under $10K
Wow, Dr. Goldsman. Glad to hear he is still an amazing professor - was one of my favorites as well.

Thanks for all of these comments, great to have some inside knowledge on this program.

robocaptain··on Use "App folder" access type instead of "Full Dropbox"
Just curious what the general consensus of 1Password is here on HN? I am especially interested to hear from people that are actually using/paying for the cloud hosting (their servers).
robocaptain··on Video Games Satisfy Basic Human Needs
Excellent list.

There's a very big and important difference between "random" and "procedurally generated". Most great roguelikes (or roguelike-likes?) have strong procedural elements in their level generation, but certainly randomness is an important input.

I'll add brogue since I am a roguelike traditionalist. :)

robocaptain··on Transparency report for the first half of 2016
One of the best replies I've ever read on HN. :)

I think you nailed it.

robocaptain··on California man spent $1M playing Game of War
I have an elderly family member with this exact problem. Even with constant reminding, it is an uphill battle. I suspect it is a combination of addiction but also "dark patterns" that essentially trick folks into spending money.

One thing that helped is switching the family member to a True Link card: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/True_Link

While not perfect, it does root out the obvious scammers and does make it much easier to push back and cancel those reccuring subscriptions that "some how" keep getting activated.

I have no affiliation with True Link, but posting it in hopes it can help someone with a similar problem.

Edit: Just now realized True Link has a YC affiliation, so maybe this is more on topic than I thought.

robocaptain··on Ask HN: What are the best personal project websites you've seen?
Stuart Memo: https://stuartmemo.com/
robocaptain··on Analyzing the Patterns of Numbers in 10M Passwords (2015)
Out of curiosity (and because I'd love to read more), which of your old blog posts would you MOST expect to randomly resurface at the top of HN?
robocaptain··on Cathy O’Neil on Weapons of Math Destruction
For anyone who is a fan of Cathy and wants to hear more, she is a co-host on the Slate Money podcast[0] (along with the amazing Felix Salmon) which covers a lot of these topics.

Although not ONLY these types of topics, I should say. It's a great nerdy finance podcast.

[0] http://www.slate.com/articles/podcasts/slate_money.html

robocaptain··on Google Pixel phone leaked before unveiling
What's the best way to get the battery replaced on one of these?
robocaptain··on Google Pixel phone leaked before unveiling
Really glad to hear I'm not the only one holding on to this phone. Absolutely perfect form factor, for me.
robocaptain··on You Suck at Excel with Joel Spolsky (2015) [video]
Holy crap that's super useful. For whatever reason I never could figure out (or remember) a shortcut for the 'filldown button'. Instead I would copy the cell I wanted, and then control+arrow my way to the fill destination, shift+control+arrow my way back, and then paste.

This way is a lot simpler and should cause fewer mistakes.

robocaptain··on Database of Brutalist buildings
Thanks for posting. Wasn't really aware what Brutalist actually was - turns out one of my favorite buildings downtown is on this list. (and safe, for now)
robocaptain··on Tom Hanks on Typewriters
> No one on the planet has yet to save an Evite.

Brilliant. Great little article. Doubt it will do much to overall typewriter usage (I also don't think that is his point, really) but you have to admire his passion.

robocaptain··on Ex-Googlers have spent 2 years secretly solving 'the hardest problem in banking'
Yup, exactly this. And cautious is putting it nicely, I think. Tack on regulatory risk and you have an extremely strong headwind against any sort of major change.
robocaptain··on Google Shuts Down the Google Feed API
Does anyone have a good replacement for this? I somehow missed the original announcement and am now realizing that I'm one of those (apparently few) people who actually does use the API.
robocaptain··on What Do You Do with 120-Sided Dice?
We would always roll two d10 for 1-100. You would call one as the "tens" die before you rolled, but inevitably, this would be a great opportunity to fudge things a bit.

Rolled a 19? Oh.. well actually I meant that the RED one was the tens. Now it's a 91! :)

robocaptain··on What Do You Do with 120-Sided Dice?
You captured a particular feeling I have as well - perfect!
Page 1 of 3Next →