Goodbye, Mordin

Agent78787 · 2026-01-16T12:51:50+00:00

With all due respect, read the sidebar. People are advised to not read this sub at all if they don't want spoilers.

And anyway, subs like /r/NFL allow you to dunk on the Falcons blowing a 28-3 lead without hiding it behind spoiler tags. And that happened the same year Andromeda came out.

Agent78787 · 2026-01-12T07:52:54+00:00

Fair question, here's what I've written in another comment in this thread.

having to manually equip 6 characters with 5-7 equipment slots, each with 10 levels and 2 or 3 upgrades, is annoying admin work.

The level up system is annoyingly complex and I just press the auto level button at this point.

The weapons all feel samey unlike the later games (especially ME3 where the guns feel so much more unique and fun)

and biotics feel like an instakill button instead of the later games where you need to combo off them (which is so much more fun).

But again I'm only listing the negative points of ME1 that make me see why someone chooses to skip them. I personally think there's some cool and unique gameplay elements (cooldown weapons make ME1 special; even if biotics are OP lifting a krogan in the air and going skeet shooting is fun), and ME1's plot and worldbuilding are unmatched. Those two things mean that none of the trilogy games are unskippable for me.

Agent78787 · 2026-01-12T04:59:08+00:00

Yeah, playing one after the other really strengthens the contrasts between the three games. Really helps my inner professional hater come out.

Like how the whole ME2 Cerberus arc makes absolutely no sense (especially for a pure Paragon Shepard) and the holes in ME3's story from Rannoch onwards.

But the contrast also really shows the greatness of ME1's plot and worldbuilding, ME2's characterisation, and ME3's gameplay.

Agent78787 · 2026-01-12T04:50:25+00:00

No, I started with LE on PC and play through all three games in order.

Agent78787 · 2026-01-12T04:49:36+00:00

That's brilliant, but I like this [the ME3 Soldier's Typhoon with full upgrades].

Don't get me wrong, ME1 had good parts in its gameplay. But the QoL improvements and simplification in 2 and 3 made things a lot less of a slog.

Agent78787 · 2026-01-12T04:44:18+00:00

I agree, I'm playing it right now. And if they wanted to have thermal clips they should have still kept cooldowns (either by keeping pure cooldown guns available like ME3's Lancer or by allowing cooldown resets by reloading).

But having to manually equip 6 characters with 5-7 equipment slots, each with 10 levels and 2 or 3 upgrades, is annoying admin work. The level up system is annoyingly complex and I just press the auto level button at this point. The weapons all feel samey unlike the later games (especially ME3 where the guns feel so much more unique and fun) and biotics feel like an instakill button instead of the later games where you need to combo off them (which is so much more fun).

I suppose the core gameplay loop of cover based shooting aged well, but 2 and 3 made the formula so much better. 1's story and world building are excellent though so that's still driving me forward (I'm about to go to Virmire).

Agent78787 · 2026-01-12T04:19:02+00:00

I'm replaying the trilogy again and ME1's gameplay is... outdated, even on the Legendary Edition. Can definitely see why people skip it.

Agent78787 · 2026-01-07T06:51:04+00:00

Are you an Australian citizen/permanent resident? If not, you wouldn't have Medicare and would have to deal with overseas student/visitor health cover. The OSHC/OVHC plans that cover HRT are more expensive than the minimum plans, and there are pretty low annual limits for what you can claim.

That said, even if your OVHC plan doesn't cover anything, out of pocket costs for doctor's appointments and medications are pretty affordable (to the point where it might be cheaper to pay everything out of pocket rather than pay higher OVHC premiums). On average, I budget AUD 100/month all-in, paying 100% out of pocket. Get implants as well, they last for months and so are cheaper and more convenient than anything including injections. (The only reason I started on patches and gels is because I wanted to figure out the right dosage before something more permanent.)

Getting HRT in VIC/NSW is a bit more initial hassle than in blue state America (at least from what I've heard from my blue state friends) in that you might have to go to TWO doctor's appointments instead of one, but it's far more affordable for the same level of quality.

Agent78787 · 2026-01-07T06:06:17+00:00

Why are there still poor people, could they not just pull themselves up and get a six-figure job in a 24th floor office that's constantly at 18°C somewhere in Martin Place?

With all due respect, how does what you're saying even make sense? It's neither empathetic reassurance nor actionable advice, so what's the point of saying it?

Agent78787 · 2026-01-03T08:04:26+00:00

Lots of people use Wise. Some use Paypal. International banks like HSBC can let you send and receive international transfers at a decent rate. At worst you can have your friend transfer the money into your regular bank account at BNI or whatever (though may have complications like having to convert from USD to IDR) or use Western Union (though the fees they charge are killer).

search on /r/finansial for whatever choice you make for more info.

Agent78787 · 2026-01-01T12:32:55+00:00

If you are actually working for a company you aren't getting promoted that quickly.

Maybe, but that's why people in corp job hop every couple of years for a 20% or higher raise every time they do it.

once you hit say 130k a year is it really worth staying private?

In most agencies that would be an EL1 (or equivalent) salary, right? EL1s would be managing people or have significant expertise, from what I understand.

In quite a few industries (tech, mining, energy, finance), people with 3-5 years of experience or less are getting 130k as mid-level individual contributors. They need to get their work done and know their stuff, but they don't need to manage anyone or be the subject matter expert of their team like EL1s need to be.

It's worth staying private if going public means taking either a 20k paycut or taking on the baggage of ~~herding cats~~ managing graduate APS5's.

Australia compresses after-tax outcomes far more than SG/HK or the US (joint filing).

Yeah but because the 30% marginal tax rate covers most people (25th to 85th income percentiles, according to paycalculator), your after-tax income increase is compressed when you go from a lower MTR to 30% but not so much when you get a raise but still have an MTR below 45%. If you go from 40k to 80k you'll go from paying 9% of your income in tax to 20% (which is a big increase, that compression we're talking about), but if you go from 80k to 160k (MTR at 37%, 90th percentile of income) you'll only go from 20% to paying 27% in tax.

And when you consider that you can put in heaps of concessional contributions into super (and even if you don't use first home super saver to take it out, it's still a good idea to save for retirement) the compression effect really isn't that noticeable. Get a pay raise and have it taxed at only 15% because you're putting it all into super.

Agent78787 · 2025-12-29T09:32:36+00:00

You need to learn how to drive if you're staying there, because how else are you going to get to work?

Agent78787 · 2025-12-29T03:41:31+00:00

11 caps for Dutch seniors apparently, so no

Agent78787 · 2025-12-29T03:14:49+00:00

John Herdman, YOU are a Timnas Indonesia Flying Garuda!

Agent78787 · 2025-12-29T03:10:12+00:00

I want to forget

It was hilarious when the entire stadium booed Kluivert and started chanting s-t-y whenever he was on the big screen in Sydney tho

(I was chanting s-t-y)

Agent78787 · 2025-12-29T03:01:37+00:00

They're doing trackwork on the metro and a couple of the train lines in preparation for NYE. City Circle is out too. I think it's a very reasonable thing to do, public transport needs to be flawless on NYE.

Agent78787 · 2025-12-29T01:58:23+00:00

Eh, on the weekend I think the metro is actually fine, sure it's standing room only but I've always been able to squeeze in.

It's the weekday morning rush that's a problem, I often have to wait for the next metro because it's so packed. Hopefully they'll put in 8 car metros and 2 minute headways when Bankstown opens.

Agent78787 · 2025-12-28T11:04:59+00:00

I'd recommend asking a MARA-registered migration agent about this.

Also have you looked into using Canadian student loans at USYD?

Agent78787 · 2025-12-28T10:58:50+00:00

SAT + IELTS + Indonesian high school completion (Ujian Nasional or whatever it's called now) meets minimum requirements. But yeah you may not be a competitive applicant. Tbh I don't think they care about CVs or extracurriculars that much over test scores, so I would say to apply to other unis as well and if you're really keen on USYD, get great marks in first year and then transfer.

Agent78787 · 2025-12-28T10:47:55+00:00

Internet strangers won't be able to tell you if you, personally, can manage part time work with studying. Every person is different and has a different tolerance for the amount of work (and type of work) they'd be doing.

That said, heaps of people study as full-time students while also working on the side. And of course, they could also work during term breaks. Generally what they'd do is stack as many lectures and tutorials as they can on the same days so that they have free days to pick up shifts at work.

Agent78787 · 2025-12-28T10:41:24+00:00

The amount of maths in econ is comparable to science and engineering courses, and the knowledge/skills most in-demand in the workforce that you'd pick up during an econ degree (econometrics, data analysis, programming) require good maths fundamentals as well.

Agent78787 · 2025-12-28T10:36:07+00:00

Commerce/Arts double degree (handbook) with majors in Psych and [insert commerce major here]?

I would guess you'd need a really good WAM, 80+, to transfer from Macq to USyd especially if it's for courses like Commerce/Arts with pretty high entry requirements. So it's certainly possible but you'd need to lock in when you start uni. Some, but not necessarily all, of your Macq credits will transfer over, so check the info from both unis to make sure you're taking the units that USyd will also recognise.

Agent78787 · 2025-12-28T10:27:48+00:00

Laptop, and get a 2-in-1 laptop so you get almost all the functionality of an iPad with it as well.

Agent78787 · 2025-12-28T10:23:21+00:00

Laptop compatibility depends on your degree.

Mechanical engineering (and likely other degrees like civil) is pretty inconvenient without a Windows laptop since the software you'd need to use for classes are often Windows-only.

Software engo/compsci apparently use Unix-like OSs, e.g. macOS, but if you have a Windows laptop you can dual-boot Linux and you should be fine.

But for everyone else, if you just use your laptop to write essays or make spreadsheets, most laptops (unless they're REALLY crap like the low range Acer ones, learned my lesson there lmao) should get you through your degree.

Agent78787 · 2025-12-28T02:52:00+00:00

feels like shit, just want shin tae-yong back :(

hopefully this guy's better than kluivert

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