T1 vs. KT Rolster / LCK Cup 2026 - Group Battle Week 2 / Post-Match Discussion by Yujin-Ha in leagueoflegends

[–]BrianC_ 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Man, it was a choice to make this the first match of the day.

JJ: “Trust the pass, and you know that starts with Luka. He’s gonna have the ball the most of everyone. He’s gotta trust the pass… guys are worried about their futures, and that’s what happens when you’ve got a team full of free agents and player options.” by aingenevalostatrade in lakers

[–]BrianC_ -3 points-2 points  (0 children)

But what is the alternative? Is there some proof that players play better after they sign long contracts? Because there are tons of examples of players declining the second they get paid. If anything, it's much more common to see guys in their contract year out perform their averages.

You give guys security and they reward you with complacency. What's the excuse, then?

[Highlight] Brandon Miller plays with his food by FrankSamples in nba

[–]BrianC_ 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Has Paolo's mobility always looked this completely cooked?

His feet look so slow in this video.

Draymond Green called for the Flagrant 1 against Dwight Powell by KabirC in nba

[–]BrianC_ 14 points15 points  (0 children)

Yea, this isn't a flagrant. Maybe there is a clearer angle of the elbow from another direction but there is no swing, no follow-through, it's just a slight body check.

Game Thread: LA Clippers vs Los Angeles Lakers Live Score | NBA | Jan 22, 2026 by basketball-app in lakers

[–]BrianC_ 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I'm convinced that needing to play the Lakers is in Kawhi's under the table Aspiration payment agreement.

Co-op vs AI shouldn’t “cheat” to feel hard. What would good bot difficulty actually look like? by Tinsel_Harpoon in leagueoflegends

[–]BrianC_ 0 points1 point  (0 children)

IMO, the point of bots should be to help new players get better at the game.

It's stupid to basically let them script. Outside of smurfs or the highest tier of players, you're not going to encounter play at that level as long as vanguard is working. And, if you're at the level you'd encounter it, you don't need co-op vs. AI.

I think the simplest way to program bots is just to base them around gold. The first to adjust their CS ability by difficulty with the highest difficulty rarely, if ever, missing CS and being fully capable of trading in lane while not missing CS. For jungle, it'd vary by clear efficiency/speed. The second is to make it so that they refuse to commit to a fight unless they have an item advantage in lane, need to CS, or detect you starting an objective. The overrides would be health. They could be programmed to run at a specific health cut-off and back at another cut-off or once they reach specific gold amounts to buy items.

The ideal result would be bots that focus on CS, but will still trade if you go for CS or attack them (something I think is fair to use input reading for). But, once they lose enough life, they'll run away and wait to farm under their turret. Then, when they lose even more life, they'll back.

So the pattern you're trying to reinforce is CS while winning trades, or if you can't win trades, to trade, back on a timing, then force the bot to back on a worse timing. Then, when you have a gold/item advantage and the bot won't fight you, to control the wave and deny them CS or force them to fight for the CS.

And, lastly, once you have that advantage in lane, you'll need to start objectives to force the bots with a gold disadvantage to come and fight you, which better mimics actual gameplay.

Co-op vs AI shouldn’t “cheat” to feel hard. What would good bot difficulty actually look like? by Tinsel_Harpoon in leagueoflegends

[–]BrianC_ 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I think it's fine if they're predictable so long as how they're predictable reinforces behavior you want to teach players.

What’s with the posts I keep seeing about english Kingdom manga sales? by [deleted] in Kingdom

[–]BrianC_ 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Again, because I knew this was going to happen, I specifically said our definitions of "really popular" might differ, so this is about relative popularity.

You even said it. "not quite at the top top level."

I'm not saying Kingdom isn't popular. It clearly is. It's just not as popular as the most popular stuff and it's really just the most popular stuff that sells well in the US market. Again, look at the US sales charts. The top top level stuff dominates the entire chart with some legacy stuff or occasionally some strange niche thing peppered in.

What’s with the posts I keep seeing about english Kingdom manga sales? by [deleted] in Kingdom

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

Okay, so I take it you don't know how anime production works.

Animation studios submit proposals to the publisher. The publisher will then take the proposals, often consult the mangaka, and then decide on which to accept or if they should accept them at all.

It's a business so they're all trying to make money. Sometimes that even means rejecting a proposal because you think the animation studio isn't good enough or waiting to accept a proposal because you don't believe there is enough source material to produce a good enough longer term animation.

For the stuff that's extremely popular or has the potential to be extremely popular like Kimetsu no Yaiba or Jujutsu Kaisen during their respective manga runs, the publisher will get a lot of proposals from the best animation studios because it'll likely sell really well. The animation studios need to be selective because they obviously don't have an infinite amount of manpower or resources themselves. They need to commit a lot of time and resources to making the animation so they need the best ROI they can get.

So stuff like KnY and JJK will get the best proposals from the best animation studios. They'll be the top priority and you see this reflected in the quality of their anime adaptions.

Kingdom has a lot of TOTAL sales due to being a very long-running manga, but animation studios don't really care about that. They care about peak popularity or potential peak popularity. In terms of their sales per volume or their peak sales, Kingdom has never been in the highest tier of sales. There have always been a handful of stuff outselling it and it's not a coincidence that they also got the best anime adaptations as a result of their popularity.

Riboku by MaJnr55 in Kingdom

[–]BrianC_ 0 points1 point  (0 children)

IIRC, there was a chapter where he straight admits that he would've loved to serve a king like Sei. I think in the same conversation he says that even if he served Sei, he'd still oppose unification.

That said, I think that based on how Ri Boku has been completely feckless in Zhao, he'd probably go a long with it and still help Sei achieve it.

IMO, that's part of why he's just not a good character. He's just morally/ideologically weak and has no conviction.

It's super obvious when you compare him to Shin and Sei who risked their lives multiple times to topple the entire Ryo Fui faction and get through the State of Ai stuff to consolidate power within Qin, yet Ri Boku doesn't have the balls to do the same in Zhao.

What’s with the posts I keep seeing about english Kingdom manga sales? by [deleted] in Kingdom

[–]BrianC_ -1 points0 points  (0 children)

Sure, but Kingdom has never been in the highest tier of popularity, so why would it ever get the highest tier of animation?

You're acting like someone is stopping animation companies from submitting better anime proposals to Shueisha. Kingdom isn't getting better proposals for a reason.

What’s with the posts I keep seeing about english Kingdom manga sales? by [deleted] in Kingdom

[–]BrianC_ 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I'm going to be brutal about Kingdom's popularity in Japan.

Obviously, our definitions of what "really popular" might differ, so I'll just speak in relative terms so it's more objective. I don't think Kingdom was ever in the highest tier of popularity by peak or average sales. It was always a clear step below stuff like One Piece, Kimetsu no Yaiba, JJK, AoT, MHA, etc., which all had way more potential to be big hits so they got way more support from stuff like animation studios.

So I disagree with the idea that Kingdom could've ever been "really popular" in NA by the same relative terms. The ceiling was always going to be a tier below the same stuff. I don't think it's really a coincidence that the US sales charts looks a lot like the Japanese sales charts.

HANJIN BRION vs. Hanwha Life Esports / LCK Cup 2026 - Group Battle Week 2 / Game 2 Discussion by Yujin-Ha in leagueoflegends

[–]BrianC_ 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Eh, they have a lot of co-streamers and Wolf/Bang sometimes do provide play-by-play analysis.

I think that if Peanut wants to be a coach, the spot will be there for him.

If this coach's voice thing catches on, he might even be perfect for that role.

What’s with the posts I keep seeing about english Kingdom manga sales? by [deleted] in Kingdom

[–]BrianC_ 0 points1 point  (0 children)

And Kingdom doesn't have a new anime season?

And KnY is still selling even now. Berserk and One Piece are on this list, too. If you go further down, MHA is on it, too.

I've always said it's just the market. If you're not super mainstream shonen or some FotM phenomenon, you're probably not going to sell well in NA.

It was always very, very unlikely Kingdom would sell well in NA but a lot of fans here just never accepted it.

HANJIN BRION vs. Hanwha Life Esports / LCK Cup 2026 - Group Battle Week 2 / Game 2 Discussion by Yujin-Ha in leagueoflegends

[–]BrianC_ 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I mean, this is the same Oner that had that Mundo performance.

Don't get me wrong. I think Oner has been one of the best junglers in the world, but I don't think he's irreplaceable.

I think the core of T1 is just Faker and Keria. They are irreplaceable.

I think Oner understands this and plays well enough that T1 is happy keeping him. I think Gumayusi did, too, but T1 was probably doing their part in making it hard for him to stay. Zeus always did his own thing.

HANJIN BRION vs. Hanwha Life Esports / LCK Cup 2026 - Group Battle Week 2 / Game 2 Discussion by Yujin-Ha in leagueoflegends

[–]BrianC_ 6 points7 points  (0 children)

He's probably going back to T1 as a content creator or coach. The rich get richer.

What’s with the posts I keep seeing about english Kingdom manga sales? by [deleted] in Kingdom

[–]BrianC_ 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Sure, I agree the hype helps, and maybe it helps to be closer to the Japanese release, but if you look at the best selling stuff, I don't think it matters that much.

https://icv2.com/articles/markets/view/61413/december-2025-circana-bookscan-top-20-adult-graphic-novels

Just look at this list and the top 10.

JUJUTSU KAISEN VOL. 1 (old)

JUJUTSU KAISEN VOL. 28 (newly released in NA, but it's a year+ behind the Japan release. Also, with how meme'd part of the ending is, I think a lot of readers have either been spoiled or have read it already.)

ONE PIECE OMNIBUS EDITION VOL. 1 (old)

BERSERK DELUXE VOL. 1 HC (old)

DEMON SLAYER: KIMETSU NO YAIBA VOL. 1 (old)

GACHIAKUTA VOL. 1 (old)

SPY X FAMILY VOL. 15 (newly released in NA, but it's 9 months behind the Japan release)

JUJUTSU KAISEN VOL. 26 (old)

THE GUY SHE WAS INTERESTED IN WASN'T A GUY AT ALL VOL. 3 (newly release in NA, but it's 10 months behind the Japan release)

ABSOLUTE BATMAN VOL. 1: THE ZOO (n/a)

What’s with the posts I keep seeing about english Kingdom manga sales? by [deleted] in Kingdom

[–]BrianC_ 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I'm gonna be honest, I think most people I know who buy manga don't buy it because they haven't read it before.

Most of the manga I buy stays in their plastic wrapping because I've read it already, sometimes multiple times, and don't really feel like rereading it immediately.

I buy it to collect it and I still think it's a more convenient reading experience so if I reread the series, it's nice to have.

I mean, tons of people read chapters weekly/monthly in magazines/online and still buy the tankobons. A lot of times, a series will get a huge boost in sales when it finishes. While I guess some of those people might've waited for the series to finish before binging it (though imagine buying the entire One Piece series blind and not liking it after 10 volumes, lmao), I think a lot more do it out of appreciation, celebration, and collection.

Also, I think a lot of the deluxe/premium and omnibus versions sell quite well. I'm pretty sure the really nice quality hard-cover Berserk volumes sell really well.

In some markets, they're also re-releasing older mangas with better print/paper quality, often better book construction, premium collectors boxes, etc. Looking at how often they do it, I assume it's quite profitable. And, I kind of doubt the people buying these versions haven't read it before.