I’ve settled into the groove of posting my “main” content over on Medium, and using this as my personal blog and repository for mic tests.

So if you’re here for the first time, thank you for being here! And if you’d like to follow me on Medium, my profile is right here.

Medium recently changed how they calculate payouts in their partner program, and alongside that they changed the type of data they deliver to writers on the backend. This has all been great for me! I’m now able to get a much better idea of which articles are actually working.

Before, I had no real idea if a reader liked something unless they clapped for it…and I didn’t get paid either. That kind of sucked, because it meant that if you read a whole story then clicked a link at the bottom to jump to other content on Medium, I didn’t earn anything.

Now, the payouts are based purely on reading time, and thus they are more fair and the data is more granular. So look for me to fine tune my content accordingly. Based on what I’ve learned already, headphone content was doing better there than I thought it was, and readers are more interested in cheap deals than they are high end gear.

To that second point, I have two OneOdio headphones on the way. Well, if I’m being transparent, I already received one of them (The Pro 50) and had to arrange for a replacement because one of the collapsable hinges was broken. This might seem like a bad start, but we’re talking about a ~$40 headphone here.

Aside from the Pro 50, I’ve also got a wired OneOdio Fusion on the way, which is a newer design. I was going to spring for the Bluetooth-enabled model, but the Fusions were on sale and I couldn’t pass up the cheap price.

I spent a few minutes listening to the Pro 50 in spite of its broken folding hinge, and was surprised at the amount of detail it offered inside of what’s otherwise a very warm, thick sound signature. It wasn’t a perfect replacement for even a cheaper studio pair as far as raw audio performance, but close enough that I understand how the company has dominated the Amazon charts for so long.

I’ll have a full write up of both these headphones next week.

I’m still working my way through The Outer Worlds in the hopes of reviewing it. It’s a shorter game than many of the titles it draws inspiration from, but there’s still plenty of content in it. Also, it feels just as much like BioShock as it does a Fallout game.

That’s been a bit of a problem the further I get into the game. It’s hard to shake the feeling that I’ve done all this stuff before in other video games, and sometimes with more complexity. While The Outer Worlds is well-executed, it doesn’t bring a ton of new ideas to the design table. Its writing is incredible and its visuals are competent for the lower budget. But it’s missing something.

In Skyrim and BioShock, you can equip a weapon in one hand and a power/spell in the other. The action in Outer Worlds is pointedly focused around one-handed ranged combat. The encounter design and the loot drop tables both seem slightly titled towards guns, and outside the clever slow motion mechanic, your character has no other powers to speak of. Melee is technically in there, but it’s a little thin and underpowered unless you find one of the legendary “Science” weapons, and even then you’ll need to be specced right for it.

As a result, the shooting and action feel a little bit one-note compared to much older games. It’s still great fun to play. But it’s not as dynamic when I can’t suddenly throw boxes around with my mind, shoot out a fireball, or activate a shield.

I’m sure this was a fault of the smaller scope of the game and not a lack of imagination on the part of its celebrated designers. But even a simple grenade to toss would have been fun. I can’t help but think back to Obsidian’s previous Alpha Protocol. Even that game shook things up with a set of unlockable buffs, and its cover system successfully lent some additional dynamism.

Outer Worlds does have a fun food system where you jam foods into a device and then inhale them, and those do offer boosts and bonuses, but it’s not quite as fleshed out as some other landmarks of the genre.

With a little more time and a little more money, Outer Worlds might have ascended from “Contender for Game of the Year” to “Contender for Game of the Generation.” I’m glad that it’s beating sales expectations and I hope that Obsidian gets to spend more time in this new universe.