If we go by impact factor (a measure of how often the articles a journal publishes are cited elsewhere), various Nature publications are six of the top ten journals in the world and Nature itself is 15th

Is it particularly more your fault that things don’t better in Souls games than in any other game in which you are meant to save the world? I think the only difference is that in the Souls ones and others like them, the world is already horrible and needs repaired in some way rather than on the verge of becoming horrible

Interestingly Elden Ring went for quite a different direction. The world is, unquestionably, still an enormous mess that would be horrendous to live in, but they’ve left in far more of the beauty. I particularly like how every so often you hear hostile NPCs playing music or singing if they haven’t spotted you yet, and how there’s a little puzzle side quest about a painter; people are still making art in this ongoing apocalypse. One important allied NPC even actually openly makes an argument that the world is worth preserving if it looks like you’re going for the “destroy everything” ending

Of course the atmosphere and gameplay are still heavy going, both in the Souls trilogy and Elden Ring. I get why that wouldn’t be for everyone. It’s like playable Cormac McCarthy stories, except you can punch your way out of most of the misery if you get it right

I’d be very surprised if “cartoony style” and “low-tech vibe” is not describing Wilds. I assume the bit about respecting of time is something to do with the various timed events in each loop like Ash Twin. I don’t agree with them in the slightest, but I assume that’s what it is

I’m not sure I’d count Outer Wilds as a space game (assuming you mean something in the vein of Elite Dangerous), despite it objectively including a lot of space travel. It’s a detective game, the point is to unravel a mystery

Could you talk a little more about the aesthetics thing? I have no intention to pick a fight with you or tell you that your opinion is wrong, I’m just curious because I don’t think I’ve ever heard anyone say that about them before

Also yes the no pausing thing is very frustrating

The gear would not have saved you. The game gets substantially more difficult as you progress, even accounting for your character getting stronger, and if you don’t do a decent job of levelling up appropriate skills that will compound the issue. The starter gear for most of the classes is actually perfectly viable all the way to the end of the game for most players too, it’s not notably weak at all

I love Elden Ring, but I can absolutely respect why it wouldn’t be for everyone. No sense in playing it if you’re not enjoying it, the point is still to have a good and/or interesting time

I would argue it can be, even if it isn’t always. I don’t go for radio pop at all, but we can agree that it changes substantially over time right? Billie Eilish doesn’t sound like Imagine Dragons, who in turn didn’t sound like Britney Spears. New ideas are being brought to the genre and to popularity all the time, otherwise we’d still have Beatles soundalikes dominating the radio

Seems like we’re not entirely sure, but the most widely-accepted theory is that Portuguese sailors heard a Sinhala name and got it a little muddled when telling others Europeans about it

One British guy who got captured there while working for the East India Company wrote that it was this, except for that Europeans intentionally named it after Christopher Columbus because it already sounded really similar

Is that not the suspended deputies describing the act as incompatible with Jewish values? I’m not sure whether “the act” here is the attack on Gaza or the suspensions, though. It’s a very poorly-written sentence on the part of the article’s author

Oh okay, I understand now. Thanks

What do you mean? There are people attributed as saying it in the article

A bit of a niche one: I am a big fan of the TTRPG Lancer, and a popular meme format is describing things in the game by cutting and pasting bits of the rulebook like a classic ransom letter

They’re closely connected with the other countries that have been powerful and influential in recent history (as in the past couple of centuries), most of which actually are grouped more northerly than other countries. It’s a cultural and diplomatic term rather than a strict geographic one

I hope we get our act together and come back too. It’ll be a while or something dramatic happening before public sentiment will permit it, though. Many Brexit supporters have soured on Brexit itself, but acrually reversing course would be controversial

You’d think that as a country that describes itself as being made of four countries, we’d be more on board with the idea

To quote from the modlog:

Or because it’s a theocracy based on religion that literally says “God is telling us to kill everyone else”.

Making claims about what religion says means you’re either talking about the religion the country and missed an “a” before the word “religion”, or you’re talking about every religion. I think it’s probably the former, but either way Islam falls under it

They’ve had that government for a long time and were content to sign the JCPOA. You don’t have to like the Iranian government at all to recognise that it was not the party to break that deal

Also, Pakistan is a Muslim country which has had nukes for decades without using them on anyone. Being Muslim does not make you want to nuke the rest of the world

Mirepoix! You can also swap the carrot for bell pepper to get the Cajun equivalent

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As I understand it - with the disclaimer that I have no particular expertise or experience in the matter - it’s not quite as dire as that. Historically the USA accounted for basically the entire world’s production, and American reserves that are known and economical to access are getting within something like 50 years of running out. However, other countries have begun to produce much more substantially in recent years, and we probably do have enough to last a good while once the rest of world reserves are accounted for

However it is still functionally non-renewable and meaningfully finite, so we shouldn’t waste it

I’ve seen a few around my area in the UK. They are electric and also generally cheaper than comparable alternatives, yes. There are options that compete on price, like Renault, but it’s definitely at the cheapest end of the market