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canopic jug writes:

Physicist and Linux geek Igor Ljubuncic has posted a detailed game review for Euro Truck Simulator 2. He includes lots of screen shots and descriptions of game dynamics.

I have to admit, when I first heard about a game that is essentially a truck simulator, my first reaction was, what the hell? Why would anyone bother developing - let alone playing - a game where you lug heavy workloads across Europe at moderate speeds, snail-pace acceleration, and with long, boring slogs of roads between your source and destination? Ah, little did I know how crazy and addictive this idea was.

[...] Euro Truck Simulator 2 is a fantastic game. I'm so happy to have found it - and decided to play, as I had it in my arsenal for a year or two. It's got everything - a need for speed, a need for skill, drama, tension, you actually care, and the devilishly simple premise turns out to be full of twists and turns - literally.

This title blends strategy and simulation in a unique fashion. Some games manage to pull this off, but most either focus too much on one or the other. Yet, somehow, the seemingly most boring concept that could be has been designed into a thrilling, captivating game. Really splendid. I hear there's also American Truck Simulator. Well, you know what that means. A real convoy!

He does not cover acquiring and installing the game which happens via Steam, with the advantages and disadvantages that brings.

Original Submission

takyon writes:

Discuss Fiasco by Stanisław Lem in the comments below. If you have any book suggestions for the upcoming poll, feel free to add those.

We Are Legion (We Are Bob) is the first book of the "Bobiverse" series by Dennis E. Taylor:

Dennis E. Taylor is a Canadian novelist and former computer programmer known for his large scale hard science fiction stories exploring the interaction between artificial intelligence and the human condition.

While working at his day job as a computer programmer, Taylor self published his first novel and began working with an agent to try and publish his second novel We Are Legion. However Taylor still had difficultly getting any publishing house to take on his work, eventually publishing it through his agent's in-house publishing arm. An audiobook rights deal with Audible was also reached and once recorded, We Are Legion became one of the most popular audiobooks on the service and was awarded Best Science Fiction Audiobook of the year.

[...] In October 2018 Taylor was added to the X-Prize Foundation Science Fiction Advisory Council as a "Visionary Storyteller". This group of accomplished science fiction authors help advise the X-Prize team on envisioning the future.

Previously: Announcement post • Mars, Ho! • Foundation • The Three-Body Problem • Snow Crash • The Moon is a Harsh Mistress

Original Submission