The only way I’ve ever learned anything is by having a real-world problem that I can solve.

Same thing here except I’m still not a developer. Just from time to time can do something if it’s less boring than going another way.

I’ve even played through the “Turing Complete” game once, because I can’t force myself to repeat it. And it was very interesting, absolutely cool, except that gun has fired. It appears the game changed enough though, maybe it’s a sufficiently different gun to fire again. It’s a game for entertainment, not even talking about real life.

And when there’s a direct incentive, nothing is hard, for real. The hardship is in eyes tiring, time passing, time to render (in case of POV-Ray), migraines. But the task itself just takes it all as a payment, not as an effort.

And I sincerely don’t get why my diagnoses are ASD and BAD despite describing this many times, that is, that happens with ASD too, but honestly ADHD seems the most intuitive abbreviation here.

I think you’ve missed the joke where Half-Life 3 is still not released.

I had CS:Source Steam version, except I gifted it unopened (don’t remember why, probably had enough IL-2 and SW:Battlefront and SW:EAW to play) to a friend, so only saw Steam installation on that friend’s PC until much later.

My first Steam game was Empire: Total War, which is, eh, not too old.

BTW, it’s Russia and most disks you would buy in my childhood were pirate localized versions or just pirate versions, sold in underground crossings or in shabby-looking small stores. Nobody here understood what copyright is and how it’s connected to any right, like - really nobody. It’s baffling really when people who confidently and certainly thought of copyright this exact way then, just like everybody around, are today being judgemental and condemn digital piracy. While the new generation which wasn’t very conscious back then - doesn’t. Two-faced cowards. OK.

I’m really nostalgic over all those small stores, because back then not only they existed, but those ugly malls everywhere didn’t exist. Also in underground crossings everything was cleared (probably to make profit for malls ; of course it was illegal to sell there, but - I really feel more for those people than for the law), but now there are stores in them again, mostly coffee and snacks.

I’ve seen licensed localized versions by 1C on small racks in book stores, though, and those weren’t too expensive or bad, and the selection was usually good, but small, still - the people who decided which games were put there had consistently good taste, I’ve seen Thief various parts, Neverwinter Nights, Silent Hunter, various quests, maybe something else there.

I’ve had licensed WarCraft III: Reign of Chaos, my first non-pirate game, and later got The Frozen Throne.

The only place with really many-many official disks I’ve seen in my childhood was Soyuzmultfilm official store (a rare place, I mean, I live in Moscow, it’s huge and is still cool, and it was even cooler), and that place was kinda expensive (and looked expensive).

Though the games causing more nostalgic feelings for me were Dark Swords (an MMORPG much like MUDs) and Wizards’ World (a browser game much like MUDs with very cheerful global chat in a frame to the left) and Travian (still alive, but was better then). There was something called Wizards’ World II (not sure if it was by the same people), which I really liked (well, it was a plagiarism at HotMM, but a nice one, cool graphics and multiplayer). Unfortunately not around anymore.

Honestly I had more than many kids (born around 1996) did, and I’m really ashamed that my dad got depressed and didn’t see me get more useful before dying from Covid. Lots of it was due to his own idiocy, but he’s done a lot and deserved far better regardless.

Honestly rain is the only thing which always, without a single failure, makes me feel I’m in the same world as then and some things in it are genuinely noble and good. So - it’s raining and people are remembering the time of LAN parties and Steam being unknown. And I’m remembering first installing Settlers, not sure which part. Sorry for the mind dump.

So. 1 TB drives indeed were out before Half-Life 3.

But I’m nostalgic over a simpler time when 1 GB for a game was a lot.