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from A Sight Through The Glitch

1. Introduction: The Power of VkCapture & The Flatpak Convenience

Hello Fedora enthusiasts and Linux gamers! If you're like me, you love the power and flexibility of Linux for gaming and content creation. OBS Studio is an incredible tool for streaming and recording, and running it as a Flatpak on Fedora offers a super convenient way to keep it updated and manage it's dependencies.

But what if i told you there's a way to get even better performance when capturing your vulkan-based games?

This isn't your standard window or screen grab. vkcapture is a specialized method for hooking directly into Vulkan games.

Why should you care about vkcapture?

Performance Boost: We're talking potentially significant reductions in overhead compared to other capture methods. This means smoother gameplay for you, and smoother video for you audience.

Direct Capture: It taps right into the game's rendering pipeline. Many users might miss out on this because it's not always the default or most obvious option. That's why i consider it an “underrated gem”, especially for us Linux users.

2. The Scenario: Flatpak OBS Meets Native Linux Games

So, here's the setup we're tackling:

You've got OBS Studio installed as a Flatpak from Flathub (directly or via your package manager) on your awesome Fedora system.

You're playing Vulkan-based games that are installed natively on Fedora (i.e., native Steam client, Lutris, Heroic Game Launcher etc.). This is a common and great setup! But when you try to use vkcapture in this scenario, you might hit a snag.

3. The “Catch”: Why Vkcapture Might Not Just Work Out-Of-The-Box

You open your Flatpak OBS, see the “Game Capture” source option, and get excited. But when you try to capture your native Vulkan game.. nothing. Or, it simply doesn't work as expected. What gives?

Here's the crucial bit:

For vkcapture to do its magic, your Vulkan game needs to load a special component called a Vulkan layer. Think of it as a small piece of software that sits between your game and your graphics driver, allowing vkcapture to access the game's rendered frames.

The Problem:

Your natively installed game lives outside the OBS Flatpak's isolated world (its “sandbox”). It typically can't “see” or use any Vulkan layers that might be bundled inside the Flatpak. So, even if Flatpak OBS has the vkcapture plugin ready to receive data, your native game doesn't know how to send it because it can't load the necessary layer.

This is the “missing piece” we're going to put in the place!

4. The Solution: Building the Vkcapture Vulkan Layer Natively on Fedora

To bridge this gap, we need to build and install the vkcapture Vulkan layer directly onto our Fedora system, making it accessible to our native games. Don't worry, it sounds more intimidating that it is! Let's break it down.

A. Getting the source code for obs-vkcapture

First, we need the source code for the obs-vkcapture layer.

git clone https://github.com/nowrep/obs-vkcapture.git
cd obs-vkcapture

B. Installing Build Dependencies on Fedora

Next, we'll gear up our Fedora system with the tools and libraries needed to compile the layer.

Open your terminal and run:

sudo dnf install gcc gcc-c++ make \
    obs-studio-devel \
    vulkan-headers \
    vulkan-loader-devel \
    mesa-libGL-devel \
    mesa-libEGL-devel \
    libX11-devel \
    libxcb-devel \
    wayland-devel \
    wayland-protocols-devel

C. Building the plugin

Inside the obs-vkcapture folder, create a build directory and enter it:

mkdir build
cd build

Compile the plugin

cmake .. -DCMAKE_BUILD_TYPE=Release -DCMAKE_INSTALL_PREFIX=/usr
make

D. Installing the Layer Natively

Once compiled, we need to install the Vulkan layer files to the correct system directories so your games and the Vulkan loader can find them. This usually involves two main files: the shared object (.so) library and a JSON manifest file.

The good news is that this whole procedure will automatically be completed by executing the following command:

#Inside the build directory
sudo make install

E. Reboot Your Machine

5. Configuring and Using Vkcapture with Flatpak OBS

Alright, the native vkcapture layer is built and installed! Now, let's get it working with your Flatpak OBS.

This is where you tell your native Vulkan game to use the layer we just installed.

The most common way is by setting an environment variable when launching the game.

1. Steam

How to access Launch Options:

  1. In your Steam Library, right-click on the game you want to capture.
  2. Select “Properties...”.
  3. In the “General” tab, you'll find a text box labeled “LAUNCH OPTIONS”.

What to enter:

obs-gamecapture %command%

Note: the %command% part is crucial for Steam; it tells Steam to substitute in the actual game executable and its arguments at that point.

2. Lutris

How to access settings:

a. In Lutris, right-click on the game. b. Select “Configure”. c. Go to the “System options” tab.

In the “System options” tab, find the field labeled “Command prefix”. Enter the following into this field:

obs-gamecapture

d. Click “Save”

3. Heroic Games Launcher

How to access settings:

a. Open Heroic Games Launcher and select the game you want to configure. b. Click on the “Settings” icon for that specific game. c. You'll see sections as shown in your image: “Wrapper command” and “Environment Variables”. d. Locate the “Wrapper command” section. 3. In the field labeled “Wrapper”, enter:

obs-gamecapture

The field next to it labeled “Arguments” (or “Wrapper Arguments”) should generally be left blank when using obs-gamecapture this way. The obs-gamecapture script is designed to precede the main game command that Heroic will launch. 4. Save the settings if there's a save button, or Heroic might auto-save.

5. Adding the Source in OBS Studio

With your game running (and the layer loaded), it's time to add it in OBS:

  • Open OBS Studio.
  • In the “Sources” dock, click the + button.
  • Select “Game Capture”
  • A properties dialog will appear and press ok

6. Conclusion

And there you have it! By building the vkcapture Vulkan layer natively on your Fedora system, you've bridged the gap to your Flatpak OBS installation, unlocking potentially much smoother and more performant captures of your native Vulkan games.

It might seem like a few extra steps, but the payoff in quality and performance can be well worth it for serious streamers and content creators. Plus, you've learned a bit more about how Vulkan layers and Flatpak sandboxing interact!

Happy gaming and capturing! Let me know in the comments how this worked for you or if you have any other tips!

 
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from The H Word

Every nurse has a constant piece of equipment that accompanies them throughout their nursing career for as long as it physically performs. For some, it’s a particular pen. For others it is a particular fob watch. Others, myself included, it is a pair of scissors. A pair of trusty scissors that you would guard with your life, this is no exaggeration. If you don’t have a pair of scissors that you swear fealty to, then you are the person that borrows said scissors from other nurses- and are vaguely threatened with something if they aren’t returned within 15 minutes of their use. They are only loaned out on the condition that we know where you are, we know where you sleep and that we will get our scissors back or else the remainder of your days in the ED be a living hell.

For a couple of years, I had a pair of plastic handled NHS supplied trauma scissors that were jagged edged, blunt ended and a little flimsy- but ultimately they got the job done, most of the time. However they sometimes fell short and required more rough and inefficient effort in certain situations where you really needed them and left you wishing you could simply carry a pair of garden secateurs around with you, were it permitted. Enter, the Leatherman Raptor scissors. Cleverly (perhaps unnecessarily) named like an ultimate dream toy that every child begs their parents for their birthday or christmas present, they were unbeatable in performance. They folded neatly and satisfyingly into a plastic holster that could be worn wherever was most suitable for you. I first spotted them in action on a paramedic when I did a day on the ambulances and watched on dreamily -like I was watching someone ridiculously attractive walking out of the sea like a James Bond shot- as these scissors effortlessly cut through the things that were thrown at it. As well as having a solidly built construction with a reliably sharp blade, they were equipped with a foldable sharp hook implement for cutting through seatbelts or varying cases of clothing/strap removal without harming flesh underneath. They also have a tiny non-sharp point of metal on the end of them for shattering tempered glass safely without sending big chucks of it flying ie, getting into a crashed car. We don’t need this in ED obviously, but it’s a cool little extra to have for bragging points. Finally, they also have a small section to the blade closest to the handles which is used for cutting wire or thick pieces of metal. Overall, a very multi purpose instrument for a variety of purposes out in the field. Perhaps a little overkill for an emergency department- but I always swore in my ED practice that it is better to have it and not need it than it is to need it and not have it.

After being unable to justify the cost of them, my dad (ever a man for a shiny toy) bought them for me as a present. I was ecstatic, and was soon wearing mine on a holster on my trousers, quietly feeling like I had a hidden superpower- my super scissors ready to whip out at a moments notice to seemingly uncuttable things. They actually come with a little bit of stigma amongst other nurses. They’re seen as a bit of a ‘boy’s toy’ and unnecessary. Semi jokingly, comments will be thrown around about them being used to ‘compensate’ for a lack of something else- however, these same people fall tellingly silent when they cry out for another pair of scissors when their NHS ones fail and are instead handed a pair like mine. They hand them back as casually as they can, struggling to contain how much they approve of them. Come on guys, admit it- you like the shiny scissors. You do, don’t you!

Several years have passed since I got these scissors, and they still they sit in front of me, ready to go. I look at them sat on my desk in their holster with silent pride as I realise that they have been one constant at my side on the frontline throughout my nursing career. They’ve endured all the traumatic situations I’ve faced, as well as the light hearted, every day encounters.

Bandages. Thousands, upon thousands of thankless tangled and bloodstained dressings.

Clothes. Denim, khaki, leather belts, pants, clean or soiled.

Bra’s. Sadly not a reflection of my sexual escapades. As you may well know, bra’s usually have a metal wire in them- and this same metal wire is the arch enemy of the NHS scissors but no match for the inestimable leathermans and their wielder. I should note, we aren’t going round briskly cutting off people’s bra’s without a moments notice. In a cardiac arrest or a rapidly deteriorating patient where there is no time to dilly dally as we need quick access to their chest, everything must come off. You do not have time to piss about trying to sit them up removing clothes over their head and fiddling with that bastard stubborn metal bra clip at the back.

A Budweiser bottle. Nestled inside the inner chest pocket of a stabbed patient who had been thrown out the back of a car at our doors. I recoiled in terror as for a split second I was petrified that I was somehow impossibly cutting through the ribs of the patient- also not an entirely impossible sensation, as you’ll discover later in this book.

A rolled up bundle of twenty pound notes. Again, pockets of a trauma patient. I didn’t count how much was there, but it went clean through the bundle. The patient was a drug dealer. I chalk that down as one of my small parts in the war on drugs. Me and the leatherman scissors: saving the public from crappy bandages by day, ridding the streets of dirty money by night.

Countless plaster casts. Plaster of Paris, that is. Often we’ll put on temporary plaster casts for a patient with a severe fracture- usually when the fracture has been displaced or dislocated, meaning we have to manipulate it back into a normal position and then plaster cast it to keep it in place. We then do a follow up X-ray to check it is in the right place. If it isn’t, you cut it off and reapply accordingly.

Metal wire, ie barbed wire or fencing wire. The big brother of bra wire. The scissors have a wire cutting section on them that has you feeling like you’re doing a bomb defusal, deftly and effortlessly snipping away at the wire liberating the entangled patient. Usually farmers or cyclists.

A makeshift noose made of bandages. As I knocked on the door of a toilet where a patient of mine had gone in, I heard a gargling/choking noise from within and peered through the crack of the door- to be met by the sight of a dangling, kicking patient flinging around. Wrenching the handle down as I barged the stiff and ill fitting door open with my shoulder while shouting for help, in one swift swipe I snipped the bandages and lowered the patient to the floor as safely as I could (trying to catch a rag dolling human being is not an elegant process, it’s a “just do what you can” situation). I almost felt like there was smoke coming off the end of the scissors as I slowly holstered them again, like a Wild West movie.

Cutouts of children’s card masks, sections of colouring books. As I sat cross legged on the floor of a cubicle with a feverish, grouchy and crying toddler, I snipped out the outline of a Spiderman mask remarking at how overkill these scissors must look- but hey, the children are laughing while I pose with my ridiculous tellytubby/spiderman/paw patrol paper mask and make the accompanying stupid noises. The pure belly giggles of the child providing welcome relief to all from the previous pained screeching of pain and discomfort from whatever illness or injury they had.

Sternums. Several sternums. Yes, the bit of bone in the centre of your chest. During a thoracotomy, part of the procedure involves cutting across the chest in order to access your heart to provide cardiac massage and address any internal wounds- a barrier to which is the sternum which is usually sawed through using a piece of serrated wire that you hold either end of in your hand, pulling alternatingly back and forth to cut through it. Or, if you have a good, strong and sharp pair of scissors, you can just snip through.

Many wedding rings. When your finger/hand are swelling for whatever the reason is at the time, you simply MUST remove the wedding ring else you run the risk of cutting the circulation off to the finger entirely, which would eventually lead to the finger going necrotic/needing to be amputated. You can start with simple wriggling, soap, water, whatever method you can of non destructive removal- but if all else has failed with trying to remove the ring, they need to be cut off. The wire cutting section of the leathermans serves this purpose perfectly, depending on the size and thickness of the ring.

My trusty scissors, that never let me down. They are an inanimate object and are not sentient, I know this- but with them I share some of the most traumatic and meaningful memories and events of my nursing career. They are a relic of it, if you will. If ever there were to be a trophy of my time in the ED, it would be these. Their now battle worn bladed edge blunted slightly by the countless sternums, wires and metal clothes fasteners be it poppers or zips. Their stains of bleaching from whenever they were washed of whatever bodily fluids they cut through, now rusting slightly. I sometimes think about framing them, knowing that no one else would ever get it- they’re just a pair of overly fancy, overly complicated and unnecessary scissors. But they were my fancy, overcomplicated and unnecessary scissors. Leatherman Raptors

 
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from Rosareven

A linear summary of Hawker RPG gameplay

Make a merchant – 6 points split into charm, force and wit, minimum one each – start with 6 coins and 2 cargo – starting cargo: draw 3 pairs of 2 cards, then pick a pair – 0 renown – optional background and goal

Starting settlement – roll for position on board – roll for size of settlement – optional roll for features and situation

Three choice of actions per day in settlement, spend one extra gold for extra stays (first night one gold, second night 2 gold etc) – trade cargo – draw cargo cards based on settlement size – joker = unique with 3d6 value – ace = high demand, 10+1d6 – jack queen king 11 12 13 – haggling: throw dice equal to charm, roll for each individual good – take contract – draw card for delivery, escort, courier or procurement. Roll dice for location if needed – roll 2d6 for coin reward – spend money – build road to negate challenges – buy companion – extend road

Moving on – roll for wilderness or settlement – if settlement, repeat from starting location, plus rolling for situation – if wilderness, roll for traverse difficulty, optionally roll for terrain feature – if low difficulty, no penalty, keep moving – if high difficulty, roll for challenge type, deal with it before moving on

Overcoming challenge – pick an appropriate stat to deal with the challenge. Stat minus one = number of rolls with advantage – roll until number of success or failure reached, whichever comes first – if fully dealt with challenge, gain one renown – if failed, lose either coin, cargo or renown

Game over if bankrupt Game won if self appointed goal reached

Example of goals: – max renown (default 9) – connect all settlements with roads – cure cancer

 
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from The Gamer's Tavern

For transparency, here’s The Gamer’s Tavern’s monthly report for May 2025.

Costs

Monthly

Service Provider Service Cost (€)
OVH Cloud Eco baremetal server SYS-2-SAT-32 “Ben” 30,49 €
Hetzner VPS CX22 “Gerry” 4,62 €
Hetzner VPS CX32 “Nayeli” 8,30 €
Hetzner VPS CX22 “Cindy” 3,79 €
Hetzner Object Storage 6,09 €

Total: 53,29€ Notes:

  • OVH Cloud: Writefreely, Matrix, Owncast and Peertube
  • Hetzner: Pixelfed Glitch, Mastodon Glitch, Status page, Object Storage

Applied exchange rate 1 USD ≈ 0,95 EUR

Annual

Service Provider Service Cost (€)
OVH Cloud Domain registration 39,02 €

Total: 39,02€ Notes: Domain registration will be paid in August

Donations

One time

Source Gross amount (€) Net amount (€)
Ko-Fi 0,00 € 0,00 €
LiberaPay 0,00 € 0,00 €

Total: 0,00 € Notes: -

Recurring

Source Gross amount (€) Net amount (€)
Ko-Fi 59,00 € 59,00 €
LiberaPay 0,00 € 0,00 €

Total: 59,00 € Notes: -

Balance

Costs (€) Donations (€) Total (€)
53,29 € 59,00 € +5,71 €

#2025 #May #MonthlyReport

 
Continua...

from EighthLayer

It’s the middle of the day (at the time of writing), and I’m currently sitting by myself on the balcony of my family’s hotel room in Fuerteventura.

I’m here on a family holiday with my wife, son, mother-in-law, father-in-law, pregnant sister-in-law, and her boyfriend. It’s stunning here, and this isn’t our first time visiting this beautiful island in the Canaries. My wife and I also came here for our mini-moon (a honeymoon really, but we call it a mini-moon as it was only a week long).

That was before we had our son, so naturally, the experiences we have on holiday now, versus then, are very different.

See, we decided for the first time my son has been on holiday since he started at school, we would take him during the designated school holidays rather than during term time. Unsurprisingly, the hotel is extremely busy. Of course, that’s to be expected, but even so, being surrounded by the chaos fills me with anxiety and dread.

A packed pool with dozens of kids and their parents. More kids running riot whilst their parents take little to no responsibility, “relaxing” on their sun loungers. The aqua aerobic routines with obnoxiously loud music.

Being in the middle of all that isn’t my idea of fun, and this is where the parent guilt kicks in. I should be down there with them, attempting to have fun amongst the chaos, but I just can’t bring myself to do it.

For the rest of the family this is their idea of fun, and they genuinely do have a great time. That said, it doesn’t stop me feeling a sense of guilt for missing out on most of the day whilst I sit here alone “enjoying” the peace and quiet.

Then, at dinner, my five-year-old son tells me about all the swimming activities he’s been doing with other family members, including my sister-in-law’s boyfriend (soon to be a father himself).

Maybe I’m just not cut out for this fatherhood thing, even five years in. Maybe I’m just a shit dad. Maybe I should just stay at home next time.

 
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from The Gamer's Tavern

For transparency, here’s The Gamer’s Tavern’s monthly report for April 2025.

Costs

Monthly

Service Provider Service Cost (€)
OVH Cloud Eco baremetal server SYS-2-SAT-32 “Ben” 30,49 €
Hetzner VPS CX22 “Gerry” 4,62 €
Hetzner VPS CX32 “Nayeli” 8,30 €
Hetzner VPS CX22 “Cindy” 3,79 €
Hetzner Object Storage 6,09 €

Total: 53,29€ Notes:

  • OVH Cloud: Writefreely, Matrix, Owncast and Peertube
  • Hetzner: Pixelfed Glitch, Mastodon Glitch, Status page, Object Storage

Applied exchange rate 1 USD ≈ 0,95 EUR

Annual

Service Provider Service Cost (€)
OVH Cloud Domain registration 39,02 €

Total: 39,02€ Notes: Domain registration will be paid in August

Donations

One time

Source Gross amount (€) Net amount (€)
Ko-Fi 0,00 € 0,00 €

Total: 0,00 € Notes: -

Recurring

Source Gross amount (€) Net amount (€)
Ko-Fi 49,00 € 49,00 €

Total: 49,00 € Notes: -

Balance

Costs (€) Donations (€) Total (€)
53,29 € 49,00 € -4,29 €

#2025 #April #MonthlyReport

 
Continua...

from The Gamer's Tavern

Hey adventurers!

Check this post for relevant infos about our Mastodon server migration

Roadmap

  • 31 / 3: completion of the last pre-flight checks
  • 1 / 4: offline backup generation, backup restoration, DNS switch

Updates

This post will be updated along the roadmap

Update 1 / 4 – 8:36 AM CEST (UTC+2)

All pre migrations checks from yesterday were passed with flying colors; considering that, and a few personal issues on 2/4, we decided to bring the date forward to today.

The Gamer's Tavern's mastodon instance will be offline starting 1 PM CEST (UTC+2)

Further updates will follow on this message

Update 1 / 4 – 1:00 PM CEST (UTC+2)

The server has been put in maintenance mode and we're creating the database dump along the media storage.

Further updates will follow on this message

Update 1 / 4 – 4:45 PM CEST (UTC+2)

Database dump has been created and downloaded as well as the media cache (circa 70 GB overall). The dump has been transferred to the machine and it's being restored.

The media cache is being transferred to the new object storage but it will require more time.

Further updates will follow on this message

Update 1 / 4 – 6:45 PM CEST (UTC+2)

Database has been restored and home feeds have been rebuilt on the machine. The media cache is still being transferred to the new object storage.

Further updates will follow on this message

Update 1 / 4 – 9:00 PM CEST (UTC+2)

Pinpointing an unexpected issue with the object storage. The database migration to the Mastodon Glitch Soc flavor has completed successfully.

The new certificate for Gamerstavern.online has been generated.

We're performing a last round of private checks, just to be extra safe

Further updates will follow on this message

Update 1 / 4 – 10:06 PM CEST (UTC+2)

The server at Gamerstavern.online is up and running again.

It's currently rebuilding all the cache in the background, hence if you should see missing images try to reload the page without using your browser cache (generally, shift + F5). The process will last 10+ hours so expect some minor discomforts during this time.

#Mastodon

 
Continua...

from The Gamer's Tavern

This is a post I've been cooking in my mind over and over and I feel, after all the recent hate that was shown against our users, it is time to let it out.

If you're interested in understanding what The Gamer's Tavern really is, continue reading.

I'll start by writing that The Gamer's Tavern isn't just a plethora of self-hosted Fediverse tools (i.e. Mastodon, Writefreely, Pixelfed, etc.) and it's not Alex (the weird bald innkeeper guy in the logo) nor the staff, composed by Eighthlayer, Harrybo and BrakeOut Gaming.

It is not only gaming related, but it's open to all kinds of topics [^1]

After clearing the table from what it is not, I can say that The Gamer's Tavern is a concept of a safe space for everyone.

What does it mean?!

What has first started as a community around a streamer (you may or may not remember “Hey adventurers! Welcome to The Gamer's Tavern, I'm Alex and I'll be your host for tonight”) evolved further into the concept of community, redirecting all our efforts in creating a safe space for everyone.

This means that everyone [^1] is welcome in the Tavern. And it also means that, by any means, as a community, our goal is to provide a friendly place where one can be itself, with no external judgements and most important, no hate.

As I have written here and there on Mastodon, we're currently living in the post pandemic era, that came bearing the promises and the hopes of starting anew and more respectful of each other. We (as humankind) took those promises and hopes and we throw them into the dumpster, only to set fire to said dumpster after. We're once again going through one of the darkest times, where rage, envy, hate, uneasiness, distrust and a plethora of other fiery and negative feelings are in charge.

We are not above those feelings

Every time I read the news, I get angry. I feel my eyes getting wet. I feel anxious. I feel like a complete failure, for the world we're leaving to the future generations is a complete dumpster fire. But I also know deep inside me, and I don't want to sound paternalistic, that you can't answer fire with fire. It just adds up. And while you may bear that additional heat, others could not.

You may have already read or heard somewhere else the phrase:

“Be the change you want to see in the world”

little known fact is that Gandhi never said that phrase, but expressed the profound concept of being a better self through these words instead:

“If we could change ourselves, the tendencies in the world would also change. As a man changes his own nature, so does the attitude of the world change towards him.”

We strongly believe in the above concept and so we applied it through The Gamer's Tavern's community.

We need to be better. For us. For others. For the future.

Why the Gamer's

One of the most frequently asked question is “why the gamer's tavern”, so I'm going to address the “Gamer's” part first.

Back at the time when I chose the name, I believed ( and still do ) that videogames unify people. Aside from toxic players, playing a videogames could provide lots of fun. And while you're having fun, you don't mind if the people you're having fun with are queer, disabled, black, yellow, tall, short, from that country or that one. You don't mind, mostly because you're having a good time. And while you're having a good time, the differences tend to disappear, because you're sharing a positive experience and not focusing only on the external negative feelings mentioned above.

The Gamer's Tavern is about gaming ( although not exclusively ) because we want to unify people, no matter who they are, their gender, their s. orientation, their faith, their country. We all are humans.

Why the Tavern

Taverns have been a place of aggregation since ever. It's in the nature of a tavern to welcome different kind of people, allowing them to have a safe place to rest, get nourished, feel at home even for a brief period of time. It's safe to say that from a traveller's point of view, a tavern is often a blessing. But, being a place of aggregation, the most amazing thing that will happen to a traveller is that it will share a precise moment in time with another traveller, no matter where they're from or where they're going.

All our lives are travels on the road with a different starting point and a different destination and we should cherish the moments we share with other lives, for they may be brief, shallow or deep, but every moment allows us to grow.

Those are my personal beliefs and from what I've seen during these years, the beliefs of many people in The Gamer's Tavern.

Pull up a chair and sit by the fire traveller, tell us your story...

[^1]: Topics and people agreeing and respecting the Rules

 
Continua...

from The Gamer's Tavern

We wanted to take a moment to talk about the kind of space we’re building here at The Gamer's Tavern. Our goal has always been to foster a cozy, welcoming, and inclusive community—one where everyone can enjoy thoughtful discussions, gaming camaraderie, bad puns, and good vibes.

We know these are trying times. With everything happening in the world — politically, socially, and beyond — it’s easy to feel on edge. Despite all the negativity, we want to make sure that The Gamer's Tavern remains a space where people can find some relief from all that. This is our place to come together and support one another, away from any stress and hostility in the outside world.

Lately, we’ve noticed an uptick in tense conversations and escalating conflicts. While disagreements are natural, we want to make sure they don’t turn into something that makes the Tavern feel less welcoming. If a discussion starts getting heated, we encourage everyone to take a step back, de-escalate, and, if needed, loop in a mod rather than letting things spiral.

Likewise, if you see something concerning on the Fediverse, please reach out directly to a mod for help. Keeping things constructive helps maintain the atmosphere we all love.

At the end of the day, we’re a small server, and we want to keep this a place where folks feel good hanging out. If you ever have questions or concerns, our mod team is always here to chat.

Thanks to everyone who helps make The Gamer's Tavern a great place to be!

 
Continua...

from The H Word

James was one of our security guards, who’d worked here probably since before any of us had been born. You’d only need to look at him to know that he’d been here longer than you had. He was about 6ft 2, in his 60’s and walked with a hunch and a notable limp. He could probably touch his toes without bending down. He was still a unit of a bloke. That said, he was still one of the nicest guys you could talk to. He’d always say hello and ask how you were doing: ”awright, ‘ow ya doin’?” as he lumbered past you down the corridor, responding to someone up to no good. He spoke a bit like Phil Mitchell from Eastenders (in his earlier days, when he wasn’t an alcoholic)– he was almost identical actually. He’d seen enough in the department that he knew just how to handle certain people. He knew when enough was enough and that the person being aggressive and violent to staff needed a firm attitude to just pack it in. Conversely, he knew when someone was in a vulnerable position having a mental health crisis and would spend hours with them calming them down and reassuring them that they were in the best place to get help. He was truly an asset to the team, not just a heavy pair of hands.

I fondly remember many an encounter with him. Whether that’s him hanging onto the feet of an acutely aggressive and violent patient (either by drugs or brain injury, we weren’t sure at that time) while we prepared to sedate them, and he’d still crack a smile at me with his “nice weather today innit H??” as he clung onto what seemed like a Tasmanian Devil.

One such encounter with James involved a woman who had taken some horrendous unknown concoction of drugs, and was on the back of the ambulance going absolutely berserk- assaulting the paramedics, trashing the ambulance and shouting and roaring incoherently. You could see the ambulance rocking sideways as you stood outside of it. We scrambled to prepare our special room for her- a closed off cubicle with 1 way opening doors, roll down shutters (so medical equipment attached to the wall couldn’t be damaged) and padded walls. Whilst this was going on, police were desperately being called in order to assist with what was going to be fairly advanced/complex restraint as we brought her inside. All of the security guards were very reluctant and spent a lot of time just planning how to get her out. James had come on shift and hobbled over to the cacophony.

“Awright. Oi, what’s goin’ on ‘ere?’ He said, gesturing to the swaying ambulance.

The young and somewhat impressionable security guards hastily tried to explain what was going on.

“Oh forkin’ ‘ell.” He mumbled to himself, disappointed that the others hadn’t dealt with it. He went to the ambulance doors and flung them open, to which the crazed woman directed her cacophony of roaring and shouting at him instead of the paramedics. He lumbered up the step, grabbed her by the scruff of her hoodie as she clawed at him, and hauled her back out of the ambulance with her at arms length, and shuffled down the corridor with her like a feral cat in his hands scratching at his arms and yelling incoherently.

“which room?” he grumbled to me, unfazed. I figured that he’s had years of this that by now he’d probably formed a natural thick callus of skin on his arms, as the woman’s scratches and pulls did nothing.

“Room 10 mate, all good to go. Need a hand….?” I replied emptily, knowing he wouldn’t.

“Cheers H” he said, and booted the doors open with a free leg.

“Gerroff’ me arm...forkin’…gerrof’, there y’are, gerrin, get…in’” he grumped, shaking his arms trying to release the woman as though he was trying to shake a bit of sticky tape off. She soon released and James shut the doors, turned around and slowly lowered himself laboriously onto the chair that had been left outside the room. I half pictured him picking up a TV remote to turn on the football, he’d sat down that casually.

I mean, not the most conventional or recommended methods of getting someone like that in, but it worked and he wasn’t bothered what she spat or scratched at him. Before he’d arrived, we were clearly at a stalemate. Waiting for police, waiting for security, waiting for a room, waiting for her to calm down, waiting for it to be safe. No decisions being made. She was trashing the ambulance (which would have taken it off the road for repair), assaulting the ambulance crew and anyone that came near, and police were too busy to be able to respond within any reasonable timeframe- she was a danger not only to herself but also members of the public and staff. He saw what needed doing, and just did it. Thank god for James.

Another time, I remember seeing a patient (we’ll call him Michael) who was coming down off a cocaine high, he too had been violent and aggressive, consistently rude and racist to staff, always swearing and gobbing off, but had since calmed down and was more just being a general twat, rude, racist and swaggering about with a smug and entitled face (Ok I’ll say it, it …was one of those very punchable faces). Not that punching it would have made any difference- he only had 3 teeth left. If he hadn’t have taken a shit ton of cocaine, he’d have long since been booted out. If we were to discharge him, against his wishes, with adverse observations as he did and then he went and collapsed and had a heart attack in the street that would very much go against us.

So, we were transferring this guy to a ward. I had to take him, so that I could hand him over to the relevant people. James came on escort, as is usual with these cases. Of course, Michael was loving this. He got to look like he was well ‘ard, that he needed to be held back by security- his yellow 3 toothed smile brimming as he strode through the corridors of A&E with me and James. All of a sudden, something triggered him and he flew off the handle at me immediately in the middle of the corridor.

“You sayin’ I’ve got shitty teeth?! What you saying?! You saying I’ve got shitty teeth! You fucking want a fight do you mate I’ll do you one right here mate fucking come on I’ll do you one mate I’ll do you!!!” He yelled, flailing his arms about and launching himself towards me unsuccessfully as James just stood in between us both, disapprovingly- a bit like a big dog with a puppy gnawing at it’s jowls. I stood and waited for him to finish, as if I were waiting for a toddler to finish his tantrum.

A stray limp thwack landed on James’ head. Line, crossed. He had had enough. He grabbed Michael by the scruff of his collar with both hands and held him up to the wall.

“LISTEN mate if you carry on kicking off in ‘ere, I’ll make sure you’ve got NO fookin’ teeth, AWRIGHT?!” He barked calmly at him in his usual gruff voice.

Michael put his 3 teeth away and his attitude withered, as he plodded up the corridor with us, tail in between his legs, and James looking irritated that he’d had to exert himself beyond a simple walk.

Again, unconventional and not really the recommended response, but it worked. What was the alternative? Let him escalate in the middle of A&E and need more security guards to come and pin him down until he calmed down? Talk him down and reassure him that of course he didn’t have shitty teeth? (We knew already he wouldn’t be talked down, he’d been spoiling for fight the whole time he’d been here)

The other side of James, I recall fondly that I witnessed in passing. A mental health patient had been brought in, going through a psychotic episode, and was at the point where she sat on the floor in the foetal position absolutely terrified of her surroundings and instinctively hit out at anyone that came close. James, all 6ft heft of him, sat crossed legged beside her on the floor with her for at least an hour before the mental health team came to take over- reassuring her and calming her down and telling her that she was in a safe place, no one was going to hurt her, he wasn’t going to let anyone hurt her. She’d stopped screaming and was no longer lashing out, and was cradling a cup of tea (normally in these cases we’ll offer water, as the contents usually get thrown over the nearest person. Clearly James had put her needs over his own.) She still didn’t want to engage with anyone, but she at least felt safe. That was James’ doing.

He’s alright, James is. Rough round the edges, doesn’t play by the book and won’t take any shit- but rugged, dependable and always looking out for the other person first. Yes, he’s a bit knackered and about ready to retire, but he’s alright. For now though, he’s still lumbering about the corridors, gruffly greeting everyone with his trademark pearly whites still, putting society’s arseholes to rights, and protecting those that need him.

 
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from POLA289

Pada tahun 2025, kita akan melihat booming game online bertema mitologi, dengan Zeus, bapak para dewa dalam mitologi Yunani, menjadi pusat perhatian. Inilah yang terbaik, yang tidak bisa Anda lakukan adalah:

1. Zeus: Dewa Olympus

Game strategi membangun klasik ini tetap abadi. Pemain membangun kota Yunani mereka sendiri, mengelola sumber daya, dan berinteraksi dengan makhluk mitologi. Grafik 2025 yang direvisi menampilkan tampilan baru yang efisien dan canggih.

2. Zeus: Guntur para Dewa

Game aksi multipemain tempat Zeus menggunakan Kreativitas Mythic. Pertarungan dinamis dan kemampuan pemain untuk bekerja sama menjadikan ini sebuah permainan.

3. Peri Zeus

Judul slot menarik yang membawa pemain dalam perjalanan melintasi Yunani kuno. Anda bisa memanfaatkan keberuntungan Zeus untuk menang besar.

4. Zeus: Bangkitnya Para Titan

Dalam game RPG, pemain berperan sebagai Zeus atau dewa lainnya. Dia dapat membantu Anda menyelesaikan tugas Titan dan menyelesaikan tugasnya. Dunia terbuka menawarkan banyak peluang untuk eksplorasi.

5. Zeus: Bentrokan Para Dewa

Sebuah strategi yang sangat menarik. Pemain dapat membangun pasukan dan bersaing dengan dewa lain untuk menguasai Olympus. Keterampilan taktis adalah yang terbaik!

Dunia game online akan diperkaya pada tahun 2025 dengan judul-judul menarik yang berpusat pada Zeus dan mitologi Yunani. Selain itu, dengan permainan strategi, RPG, atau permainan kasino, ini adalah hal yang baik untuk semua orang. Selami dunia para dewa dan alami petualangan seru!

 
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from brakeoutgaming

It's -6C at sunset outside our home in suburban Canada. I've spent the last few hours playing a video game with my young boys.

It's -60C and partly cloudy on Etchell Minor, a distant planet with a landscape reminiscent of the Mediterranean. I've just spent the last few hours building structures with my boys on an outcrop by a windswept lake.

On a luxurious patio, my avatar is sitting shoulder-to-shoulder with my son's avatar as we watch an impossibly beautiful sunrise enchanting the sky and mirrored in the lake below.

I know this isn't real. This is a trick of sand and electricity, a manifestation in 1920x1080 pixels designed to activate something primal in my brain.

But it feels real. It feels close. It feels profound. In my heart, it carries a similar feeling and intensity as if I were watching the sunrise side by side with my son in some exotic locale on Earth.

It seems silly that a video game experience can be felt so deeply. It's not real, and it has never been real.

But I could say nearly the same thing about some of the most important moments in my life.

I think of the nights my boys were born, and the nights they were made. I remember the faces from endless weddings and graduations and funerals. I can still feel the shape of my father's body during the embrace I didn't know would be our last.

All of those events are over and gone, no longer real. The places and people have disappeared, vanished or reshaped into something else. All that remains are imperfect memories of feelings and sensations degraded over time, now representing something between “once was” and “never was”.

I look back on photos from these events, choked with emotion, and realize how much I've misremembered. The way I recall it today is not wrong, but not right either – true emotions from unreal memories of experiences which never quite existed.

As I look at the screen, I know everything I've built with my sons today is just data on a server. One day that server will shut down, and what was there will vanish. All that's left of the experience will be of the same substance as all of the other most precious moments in my life.

But today, this unreal experience gives me a moment to treasure twice over – once, playing with my sons in our snowbound home, and again, sitting shoulder to shoulder with them on an alien planet, witnessing a sunrise made of dreams.

 
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from Here be (boring) dragons

After talking about the part of the journey that I started with my father, it is now time to write about where it all ended and the things I will never forgive.

Thursday

As I mentioned in the previous post, my father was a car seller, but he was also a mechanic (something about fully loving cars) and from time to time he helped his team. It was a Thursday when a tiny piece o metal slammed his hand whilst holding a car door. All that was left behind the accident was a simple and tiny cut. A silly stupid thing that many of us would cure with some spit on it.

That very night, he started having a high fever.

Friday

The G.P. made a prescription for some general antibiotics, and life continued forth. Despite the antibiotics, the fever continued to rise.

Saturday

After days of very high fever, Saturday was the day the ambulance came and took him to the hospital. I didn't go with them as I had to take my brother (who was 3 at the time) to our grandparents. I didn't visit him that day.

Sunday

Sunday came, and I went to play with a friend of mine. I've always been quite independent, even when I was a kid. I didn't visit him that day.

Monday

Another week started with a Monday and I went to school as usual: around 10 AM I was asked to get outside the class, just to find my mother hugging me – she isn't a hugging type – so I immediately understood something was wrong. They said to get all my stuff and get ready to go home and to this day, that felt like the longest trip I ever had; she told me my father went into a coma during the night and that morning he passed away due to complications and, she added, he whispered my name with his last breath or so it seems.

What I won't forgive

I'll never know if that was an apology or he was lucid dreaming of arguing with me. But this isn't the thing that I won't forgive, no.

What I'll never forgive myself is not visiting him.

Even though we weren't on best terms, not visiting him or saying goodbye destroyed me from the inside out for many years and sometimes, still do.

I've been stuck my whole adolescence in depression, all because I couldn't forgive. I couldn't forgive myself for not being there. I couldn't forgive myself for my sadness and rage, that tore down day by day the relationship with my mother. I couldn't forgive him for leaving my brother alone. I remember that period as the most intense emotional vortex, cristally clear.

But the future lies ahed

Almost 30 years have gone by since that day and pretty much like the wind, that could erode even the solidest rock, time has eroded me into who I am today. I've grown since that day, and while the unforgiving guilt is still within me, I chose many years ago to not be destroyed by it but using it instead as fuel for the furnace of my personal growth.

I'd love to go deeper about my life philosophy after all these years on Earth, but let's keep all of that for another post. About my father, what I've learnt and I live by is that

Everything deserve a moment of your time, may it be a person, an animal, a plant, an object. Every moment spent thinking that your time is too precious to waste is in fact a wasted moment.

#Past #Depression #Father #Family

 
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from Here be (boring) dragons

Before going further into uncharted lands, it's better to get back to the map and see where the journey has started. And where it drifted off its course.

This is the part of the journey I took with my father.

When a man really loves a woman, they usually kiss and a baby is born. Sometimes, it's all about babies born under a cauliflower or babies delivered to the families by a stork, rather than the boring bees and the flowers.

But, I guess you get the gist of it, if you're at least 13 years old.

My dad was a car seller with a thriving passion for Rally (in fact he was a pilot and president of various clubs around the area) and my mom was a teacher with a thriving passion for Rally (in fact, she was a navigator) and well, you know how things go, so I'll fast forward this bit.

It wasn't a dark and stormy night when I was born, but rather a hot and sunny early morning in June; I came to this world and both of them did their best to raise me. Their best, I won't judge. While my mother was (and still is) with her feet well planted on the earth, my father rolled from one thing to another just to avoid being a parent. I cannot talk from experience, but I guess not everyone feel that urge to be a parent. He didn't, or at least he needed time to tune himself to that urge.

Anyhoo, let's fast forward again to my childhood.

Having said – or better, written – that he did not feel that parental instinct, things were a bit complicated growing up. I clearly remember the time we spent together as the most annoying thing ever, and I'm sure he felt that same way. We didn't click and we both knew that.

While he enjoyed being with his friends and their kids (mostly because I would be engaged with the other kids, although I was a bit of an introvert), the time spent in family felt like a sorta burden for him. Not that he despised it in the open, but he was angry all the time. And with him being angry all the time, for the life of me I cannot remember a single Christmas day or a family vacation in which I didn't cry after a futile discussion.

Could I have been too needy? Was I obnoxious? Am I broken glass and he didn't want to stay with me? I guess I'll never know.

Fast forward to when my brother was born, 10 years later.

My father – well, how can I phrase this – started being a father; not for me, of course, I was already gone, damaged merchandise beyond salvation. But for my brother, well, he was.

Although envious, I also felt glad he found it in him to finally act as a father. I loved my brother and I still do, so I'm glad he didn't have to go through what I did instead. Even though I continued going through all of that during family time, he wasn't. Glass half full, I dare say.

And in a snap, I was 13. And that's when it all ended.

#Past #Depression #Father #Family

 
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from Here be (boring) dragons

Who am I

Hey, I'm Alex. Well, onto the next chapter we go...or not?

I'm a 40 years old kid, trying to understand how stuff works. I started long time ago, dissecting my toys and then continued to do so, just using bigger tools and more expensive toys.

I designed chemical plants, fire fighting systems and more, working as a Risk Analyst for environmental hazard, as well as designing and enhancing physical models for calculating impacts after major chemical leaks, explosions and such. Then I twisted my life and started working in IT, as an IT Architect. Once again, even bigger tools and even more expensive toys.

This is even boring to write, I imagine how boring would be to read, so let's move on.

Why I am here

As many of you may have experienced, sometimes life gets pretty hectic and chaotic, requiring you to lazo a thought in the middle of the vortex and put it on a page, black on white. This is the exact reason I'm here, trying to write stuff and talk about (mostly boring) stuff. And if you're wondering why “Here be (boring) dragons)”, the reason is quite simple: in maps all uncharted areas reported the phrase “Hic sunt dracones”, literally “Here be dragons”, to summarize that that area would have been dangerous, because unexplored. And what better way to do it than making your mind runs to a mythological creature to cause you to fear and cower in face of the unknown?

Well, living my life as an adult is pretty much all uncharted areas. I hadn't a dad for the major part of my life and I hadn't a great relationship with my mother. I'm in unexplored territories and don't know where to go. Some of you may sympathize with this statement, others may feel in the same situation. I'm no special by any means, and that's why on my map the adulting territory is marked with “Here be (boring) dragons”

If you read until here and managed to not yawn, congratulations. You may be as well in the same uncharted area.

#Introduction #FirstPost #Blog #HereBeBoringDragons

 
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