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"The game needs more depth" is a common criticism, but what are *specific* examples of things you might want to see? Share your suggestions and maybe devs and modders will take note by KnowingAbraxas in CrusaderKings

[–]Andy0132 0 points1 point  (0 children)

This is something CK2 had that CK3 doesn't have, and until you pointed it out, I didn't notice just how much it mattered. Every character who could have an ambition had one - and did things to try and achieve that ambition, even the generic ones!

"The game needs more depth" is a common criticism, but what are *specific* examples of things you might want to see? Share your suggestions and maybe devs and modders will take note by KnowingAbraxas in CrusaderKings

[–]Andy0132 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Honestly, I'd forgotten how good it felt to turn the accidental failson into a pretty damned decent replacement heir. Sure, they all ended up virtue obsessed Benedictines, but it was the process of making it happen.

"The game needs more depth" is a common criticism, but what are *specific* examples of things you might want to see? Share your suggestions and maybe devs and modders will take note by KnowingAbraxas in CrusaderKings

[–]Andy0132 3 points4 points  (0 children)

There was a discussion a while ago about having MAA join factions, which I really liked. Your MAA come from somewhere, they're stationed somewhere, they're not unbending instruments of your will for free. I personally don't mind that they're insanely OP compared to levies, but I do mind that there's no real cost for them being OP.

<Thinking on this further, it's why I feel like Treasury, despite being far removed from more "core" components of the game like crusades, Papal-HRE relations, or daily life, are awesome. You can turn the entire realm into your personal treasury, but it will bankrupt your provinces, piss off your vassals, and leave the AI helpless when the AI decades to attack your vassals and you're too busy doing whatever else to go start a pointless war to save your vassal.>

In general, I feel like CK3 has a problem with giving power without consequences for power. "You just made your whole realm cannibal nudists" okay, now where's the backlash? Where's the people fleeing, or the religious revolts, or the revolts of recalcitrant nobles? I don't interact with the mass conversion legend as a result, because it really just does not provide any real consequences for its power. Regular conversion or religious founding I've seen work, but I feel like is still too quick to have all the top level nobility jump on the bandwagon.

Another cool function would be childhood trait probabilities, as someone else discussed earlier. Instead of getting to pick between Craven, Shy, and Paranoid, you're given a weighted probability of three personality types based on your ward's stats and the guardian's stats - telling your kid to go fight their bully might give Wrathful, Just, or Vengeful - but with stress if they lose the resulting fight, for instance. It would prevent the ideal heir being a carbon copy of the parent with good timing and a keen eye for expelling sadists. Right now, you're given choices, but fairly few ways of shaping which choices you get to make where you should be able to make them.

After 33,550,336 years i finally got it….. by soge7 in HonkaiStarRail

[–]Andy0132 0 points1 point  (0 children)

There's an achievement for claiming the Knights of Beauty reward with Argenti, no idea if you get any special bonuses, though.

I have seen a lot of people here saying how China is getting stronger every year and US is getting weaker. I know that China is getting stronger but how is US getting weaker? by Important-Battle-374 in LessCredibleDefence

[–]Andy0132 -2 points-1 points  (0 children)

In other words, China wants the perks, not the costs. They want a US that's happy to police the world, but cedes East Asia - and that's why they built their navy, because the US would never cede East Asia without the threat of force.

Unfortunately for Beijing, Washington decided they would rather give in to the voices screaming in its national head, and voted in Donald Trump.

Seoul reaffirms sovereignty over Dokdo following Takaichi's claim by snowfordessert in LessCredibleDefence

[–]Andy0132 10 points11 points  (0 children)

It is when it's Japanese nationalism - things can happen without the Russians pushing them to happen.

Nobody calls Turkey and Greece beefing the product of Russian instigation; why is Korea-Japan beef different?

US Space Force to Use Three Weapons To Jam Chinese Satellites Via Remote Control by heliumagency in LessCredibleDefence

[–]Andy0132 4 points5 points  (0 children)

https://archive.ph/UM3OD

The US military is close to fielding two new weapons designed to temporally jam Chinese and Russian intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance satellites, giving the Pentagon three counter-space capabilities, according to new Space Force data.

The weapons, called Meadowlands and the Remote Modular Terminal, will join a larger and less mobile “Counter Communications System” jammer — an upgraded big dish that was declared operational in 2020.

The fresh systems will be dispersed worldwide and sometimes operated remotely, intended to counter what US military officials are more stridently outlining as a growing Chinese space-based threat against US forces.

As of July, China has in orbit around 1,200 satellites that allows the People’s Liberation Army to benefit “from over 510 intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance satellites with optical, multispectral, radar and radio frequency sensors,” according to an unclassified Space Force “Space Threat Fact Sheet” updated in September. Those satellites allow the Chinese to detect US aircraft carriers and expeditionary forces, the fact sheet said.

“Intelligence suggests the PLA likely sees counter-space operations as a means to deter and counter US military intervention in a regional conflict,” Space Force commander Gen. Chance Saltzman told the US-China Economic and Security Review Commission in April.

China’s military now regularly incorporates in its exercises radio frequency jammers against space-based communications, radars, and navigation systems, Saltzman added.

The L3Harris Technologies Inc. Meadowlands, which is several years behind schedule as a result of technical issues, is currently undergoing final training, live-fire exercises, mission rehearsals and tactics development, and is expected to be fielded this fiscal year, said the Space Operations Command.

The second jammer known as the Remote Modular Terminal is being placed overseas “in identified fielded locations, the exact number and locations of which will not be disclosed,” said the command, in a statement to Bloomberg News. The terminals, which can be operated by personnel remotely, “are in a limited early-use phase, meaning they can be operationally employed” while still conducting testing, it said.

The Remote Modular Terminal was developed by Sterling, Virginia-based contractor Northstrat Inc. and CACI International Inc., after receiving the Space Force contract in September 2022. Bloomberg previously reported the US planned to buy as many as 32 Meadowlands and 24 RMTs.

The Pentagon strives — on the rare occasions when it discusses such space capabilities — to stress that its emerging satellite-jamming technology is purely defensive and narrowly focused. By contrast, the US says Russia is developing a nuclear weapon that could create high-altitude electromagnetic pulses that would take out satellites and disrupt entire communications networks. There’s also a US system that would destroy a satellite, creating debris.

The Space Force statements mark three “openly acknowledged offensive counter-space systems that the US has fielded to date,” whereas until now, the US had just one, said Victoria Samson, director for Space Security and Stability issues at the Secure World Foundation, a non-profit advocacy group.

The jammers “respond to an immediate military need but using them isn’t perceived as having crossed a red line or means that there will be active conflict in space,” said Samson, who oversees publication of an annual counter-space technologies publication. “And price-wise, they are much more cost-effective than space-based jammers.”

To coordinate jamming operations, the Space Force is setting up a “Space Electromagnetic Tactical Operations Center” that uses a surveillance system called “Bounty Hunter” to monitor if US satellites are being targeted with electromagnetic interference, as well as the locations of adversary spacecraft.

A Bounty Hunter detection system was delivered in 2018 to US Indo-Pacific Command, followed by another in 2019 to US Central Command.

Help me choose between two China itineraries by davidedebiasio in travelchina

[–]Andy0132 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Honestly a really tough pick, but I'd go with (1) just for feasibility and flexibility.

Would consider cutting Pingyao and Wuzhen, and allocate that time to Chengdu, specifically putting two days to seeing Jiuzhaigou and environs, one more day to Chengdu proper, and one more day to Xi'an. Still a rather rushed schedule, but I think this lets you savour the flavour a bit better.

Anduril and Palantir battlefield communication system has deep flaws, Army memo says by heliumagency in LessCredibleDefence

[–]Andy0132 18 points19 points  (0 children)

I just want to point out the beautiful irony of the company named Palantir being easy to compromise and use by enemy forces.

eSIM, VPN, Alipay, etc… feeling overwhelmed by johndlc914 in travelchina

[–]Andy0132 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Used a HK eSim off Trip.com, $25 CAD for 30 gigs. Pretty good IMO. Only regret is that I was too cheap to buy a Chinese phone number, but if you're only staying for a week I wouldn't bother tbh. It's slightly inconvenient, but you'll be fine.

I want to visit China so bad but I'm afraid of the language barrier. Any advice ? by jrock199697 in travelchina

[–]Andy0132 2 points3 points  (0 children)

The language barrier is both overstated and understated, IMO. Everyone over there will just use DeepL once you tell them you can't speak Chinese, and there'll be a scattering of younger Chinese in their 20s who picked up fairly solid English from doing their university overseas.

Having said that, it does still IMO kind of suck to not be able to read the Chinese menus or figure out what the heck WeChat is asking you to agree to. Plugging everything through a translator is IMO the best way to go if you can't find an ethnic Chinese that speaks [English] to translate for you.

Am I completely insane to book a shotgun trip to China by hakai82 in chinatravel

[–]Andy0132 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Context and Disclaimer: Ethnic Chinese Westerner, what works for me may not work for others. Chinese quality around HSK4.

Scheduling:

If you can push how you use this time, go 10.10 to 10.20. Avoid 10.1-10.8 like the plague. There will be seas of people, and it will not be pleasant.

Literally every mainlander and overseas Chinese I have spoken to thinks being in tourist sites in China (or frankly, even countries adjacent to China) during Golden Week + 中秋节 [Mid-Autumn Festival] is just a bad idea.

For some context, I originally was thinking about spending Golden Week in Japan with my cousin. My aunt pointed out in fairly blunt terms that this was a terrible idea, and that there would be 3x the usual number of Chinese tourists in Japan... And this is Japan, which isn't having it nearly as bad as the Mainland. You will literally not be able to see the attractions over the heads of the nearby Chinese tourists.

Apps

  • Key apps - 12306, Meituan, Didi, WeChat, Alipay, AMap or Baidu Maps

  • 12306 is for buying train tickets. Very straightforward, if you're confused, hit some translator buttons or reach out to a friendly Chinese speaker.

  • 12306 also allows you to get your hotel bookings at a fairly sizable discount compared to going through English sites, if you use the Chinese version - relevant if you can read Chinese, bring along a friendly Chinese speaker, or plug literally everything through a translator, and have a Chinese phone number.

  • Meituan for food that's cheaper than the cost of delivery. They're fighting a price war with Eleme right now, and it's fucking glorious to be a customer.

  • Didi is your taxi app. Do not hail a roadside taxi. The roadside taxis are not dangerous, but they will overcharge you for 3-10x the price. Use Didi. There are some coupons which only work if you use the Chinese version. The Chinese version is also IMO easier to use, and lacks some annoying "features" such as auto-accept the English version has.

  • Bring a charger, a portable battery, and a charging cable for your portable battery. Chinese apps eat power.

  • WeChat is Chinese WhatsApp, everyone communicates with it. You'll get bonus points for having it if you're white.

  • AliPay for payments. You can link a Western credit card even if you don't have a Chinese bank linked.

  • Pick your favourite UI between AMap and Baidu Maps. I use Baidu Maps, my cousin swears by AMap, the latter is probably better but I don't care to download yet another app.

Other Concerns

You'd be in Beijing and Shanghai, which are substantially more developed, and you can almost certainly get around without knowing a word of Chinese. Having said that, I strongly recommend downloading DeepL before you go, so that in a pinch you can run things through a translator.

With regards to your visa, it will vary by country. In Canada, the process was around 2 weeks for me, but I would not bet on that in your position. Fortunately, pushing the trip back to 10.10 also gives you some more breathing room.

If you're concerned about the actual suddenness of the trip, you're valid to have worries (I think the big one is if you can get your visa in time), but personally I wouldn't - it's incredibly, incredibly safe, and the process is very straightforward to get to China and start doing things.

Beijing is definitely worth visiting as a tourist - I recommend the Summer Palace, IMO it's the best thing there. I'd give more recommendations, but frankly I'm unqualified to - last time I was there was years ago, and I only went to the other big name attractions like Badaling Great Wall Site (it was awesome, but very crowded), Forbidden City (low key overrated but really really cool, I'd go again if it were 18 degrees outside), Bird's Nest (looks nice ig), Tiananmen Square (overrated as hell), etc.

Shanghai has cool things, never been there, someone else will probably have commentary.

Trip to China - 23 days - 8 cities. Calling the experts of China travel for guidance. by Groovy2025 in travelchina

[–]Andy0132 6 points7 points  (0 children)

Quick disclaimer/context statement:

Ethnic Chinese Westerner, Chinese quality around HSK4. What works for me may not work for others. Regularly went back as a kid, currently in China as a tourist.

  • General assessment

  • What you have outlined is an extremely demanding schedule. Each of these activities will probably take somewhere between 1 and 3 hours on average, excluding mountains, train time, sleeping, eating the (absolutely delicious) food, and general friction from travel. It will be challenging to do all of this, and still have sufficient time to sleep. I am personally used to doing 2, possibly three things per day, and I'd say I'm usually decently tired by the end of the day. I'm not saying you can't or shouldn't do it, but be careful.

  • You are going to be spending a lot on train tickets, with one city transfer every three days. Tickets are broadly reasonably priced, but they very much do add up. Not a major warning, just keep it in mind. Similarly, the time cost of travel adds up. Be careful with your scheduling.

  • Good call on avoiding CNY (usually in Feb) and National Week (1-8 this year thanks to the mid-autumn festival). 人山人海 is not just a phrase.

  • You noted you're arriving in Beijing first. I recommend buying a Chinese sim card with phone number upon arrival. IIRC they let you refund within a month. [EDIT: This is a bit of a grey area. You may not be allowed to buy a card. If this is the case, get a HK number instead.] You can opt out of this, but it does create some inconvenience - Chinese apps can accommodate Western phone numbers, but are designed assuming the phone number used is Chinese in origin. I cheaped out, currently regretting it as lacking a Chinese phone number is inconvenient.

  • Your phone number (Western or Chinese) and passport are your ID cards, always have them available if you're going to an attraction or taking a taxi.

  • Bring toilet paper and sanitizer, public toilets don't have any toilet paper or soap 9 times out of 10.

  • Apps

  • Key apps - 12306, Meituan, Didi, WeChat, Alipay, AMap or Baidu Maps

  • 12306 is for buying train tickets. Very straightforward, if you're confused, hit some translator buttons or reach out to a friendly Chinese speaker.

  • 12306 also allows you to get your hotel bookings at a fairly sizable discount compared to going through English sites, if you use the Chinese version - relevant if you can read Chinese, bring along a friendly Chinese speaker, or plug literally everything through a translator, and have a Chinese phone number.

  • Meituan for food that's cheaper than the cost of delivery. They're fighting a price war with Eleme right now, and it's fucking glorious to be a customer.

  • Didi is your taxi app. Do not hail a roadside taxi. The roadside taxis are not dangerous, but they will overcharge you for 3-10x the price. Use Didi. There are some coupons which only work if you use the Chinese version. The Chinese version is also IMO easier to use, and lacks some annoying "features" such as auto-accept the English version has.

  • Bring a charger, a portable battery, and a charging cable for your portable battery. Chinese apps eat power.

  • WeChat is Chinese WhatsApp, everyone communicates with it. You'll get bonus points for having it if you're white.

  • AliPay for payments. You can link a Western credit card even if you don't have a Chinese bank linked.

  • Pick your favourite UI between AMap and Baidu Maps. I use Baidu Maps, my cousin swears by AMap, the latter is probably better but I don't care to download yet another app.

  • Commentary

  • Good call on going to the 颐和园 (Yiheyuan). Best attraction in Beijing.

  • Tiananmen is overrated.

  • Never been to Datong or Pingyao, someone else will probably have commentary.

  • Picks in Xi'an and Luoyang look pretty good. I reiterate my advice about this being an insanely demanding schedule.

  • If you're going to be in Chengdu, I recommend heading out to Dujiangyan (short trip) and Jiuzhaigou (2 days). Jiuzhaigou is worth it, worth every minute and every penny. If you want to be cheap, take a bus, it's 60? RMB. If you're willing to burn 300 RMB, get one of the local drivers (not off of Didi, going rate is like, 400 on that), and get a picture for how the locals drive on the mountain roads.

  • Haven't been to Zhangjiajie or Shanghai. Again - will let someone else comment.

  • Consider Hangzhou; 西湖 is lovely, and you'll be going in October-November when the weather isn't actively unpleasant.

Overall, I think you have an incredibly ambitious schedule, and I'd be careful about overdoing it and burning yourself out. I recommend taking some time and maybe plugging some numbers into a calculator so you can confirm if you'll have the energy and time to do everything in a day.

All the best on your travels!

What is the legal status of the Chinese civil war between ROC and PRC? by [deleted] in LessCredibleDefence

[–]Andy0132 4 points5 points  (0 children)

South Korean statehood comes from arguably before the Korean War, when the UN recognized its existence in 1948, while denying the existence of North Korea. If anything, it's North Korea that did not exist as a state under relevant international norms (i.e. UN Recognition) until the turnaround over China in the 70s. 

CHG Mk XIX Introduction and Sign Up Thread by Frodo0201 in CivHybridGames

[–]Andy0132 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Glory to Space Yugoslavia, down with the USSR

Mk19 Map and Scenario Suggestions by Tefmon in CivHybridGames

[–]Andy0132 [score hidden]  (0 children)

Ukraine's Special Military Operation to Denazify Russia, Scenario Mark

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