I have in a few very specific cases, though I’m not sure whether you’d define that as performance or compatibility. Also, the versions I use in those situations are so old that significant differences between them could be reasonably expected. Nowadays we’re at a point where there probably won’t be a noticeable difference.

Normally I just use the latest GE, in part out of a misguided superstition that newer may equal faster. If issues (usually video codec-related) crop up I test with a handful of older GE versions (7-55, 8-25, and 9-2) that I’ve found to be “magic bullets” of sorts for common issues I’ve run into due to regressions that exist in later builds.

No harm in doing your own testing though. Well, unless it’s a Denuvo’ed game since you can potentially max out your activation allocations from swapping Proton versions.

Oh look, the toilet from my nightmares, and I don’t mean that figuratively. It’s so annoying.

That’s what depresses me most regarding stunts like this: it does work on a portion of the populace.

I wasn’t aware it was going to be an MMO, super cool energy you’ve brought though.

My impression had been that it was going to do the same nonsense that the THPS 1+2 remake did. An MMO is far worse, though given your response I suppose bringing up the absurdity of turning a historically singleplayer (and sometimes optionally multiplayer) series/genre into a 99%-likely-to-fail boondoggle is moot.

Also, it’s neither here nor there but just to be pedantic there actually are a few (though admittedly rare) examples of games that had MMO modes in addition to full singleplayer versions. Hellgate: London comes to mind, as do some ARPGs depending on how you want to define MMO.

Last I heard it was going to require a persistent internet connection anyways, so just another coffin nail for me (assuming that’s still the case).

Many of its mechanisms effectively forced entire industries to require a ton more identification, record-keeping, and access by law enforcement… particularly financial and telecom companies. Or at least that’s how courts and corporate lawyers ultimately interpreted it. Potato, potato.

Though you are right that the act itself was not reauthorized in 2020. I must have missed the final vote, after its initial passage. That said, plenty of its impacts remain as they’ve been spun off into their own bits of legislation. I suppose “post-Patriot-Act America” would have been more accurate for me to say. Apologies!

Sounds like good ol’ too-good-to-be-true honeytrappery to me, but that’s pure knee-jerk speculation on my part. Army+Palantir = massive alarm bells in my book, and Proton has a growing number of issues that have tainted their reputation.

I also don’t know how it would even be possible to legally operate a privacy-centric carrier in the US given the requirements of the Patriot Act/etc. To say nothing of how deeply intertwined they all are with alphabet agencies and data brokers.

At the very least I’d use extreme caution and operate under the assumption that they’re not being 100% truthful.

They’ll fall in line, they always do. There is no bottom.

I don’t disagree, propaganda is always part of it. But use something less flimsy (if not outright contradictory when viewed in context) because this particular example loses “control of the message” with the slightest bit of scrutiny. If it’s going to be a fabrication then just use a piece of art, a rumor, or at least something vague/unverifiable rather than a single frame of an easily available video that shows the opposite of what is implied.

Perception is reality, but if you build it out of twigs then it’ll become a liability that will do more harm than good.

Nothing about how this was presented is genuine though, and that’s my point.

And plenty have done more. People are constantly martyred fighting back, in part because they have been actually willing to die for their cause. Any one of them could have been used as a more authentic representation of resistance than this… and have more of an impact because it’s not a cherry-picked, out-of-context fabrication.

I realize we’re post-truth, but jeez.

I realize that. But there are countless current examples of real resistance and sacrifice that could have been used instead.

Good intentions and all, but the full video context (the vehicle just keeps going and the blocker moves out of the way after several seconds of nudging) makes this a terrible example that only reinforces the sense of futility, in my opinion.

Not saying not to stand and fight, but this isn’t the posterchild to use.