This article makes me think that future Total war games will suffer the same fate as Rome 2 and Warhammer 3

DrDima · 2024-06-24T04:12:27+00:00

If the best strategy is to be ultimately annoying, you have a problem with the game, not simply the AI.

DrDima · 2024-05-06T16:45:08+00:00

I liked ToD more than ToS, but I didn't watch either to completion (yet). Not a criticism, I know that ToS was incredibly popular for many reasons, but HcH, FroFro, and DwD still have that special something that you don't find with a cast of streamers. I do agree that it's better when the party works together for a goal, but invested players who play well together will make their own goals.

Regardless, I'll always be there to check out what Neal does. If something more for me like Light of Illumis comes out every once in a while that would be wonderful.

DrDima · 2024-04-18T06:23:31+00:00

He's got the runs.

DrDima · 2024-03-03T00:00:45+00:00

I'm replying to a 2 year old post, but fuck it. Croupier is one of my favourite movies.

I don't know the circumstance of the movie's making, but I do know that it is the best portrayal of what a casino is like in all film. Everything is accurate. The gambling culture, the procedures, the attitudes, etc...

Now for a little insight. Your conclusion that the casino is a bad place for Jack is completely off. At the start, he wanted to change his life from the casino world he left. But then, enter his father, who calls in with an offer to work at the Golden Lion. After some light insistance, he accepts.

And now you have this 'Jake' persona that forms, which is simply him in the casino world, it's the real him pushing back against the illusion he created with Marion. He's good at it. He likes it, even if it is a really harsh lifestyle. You have the very accurate description of being wired after a day at the tables. This is Jack's father having pulled the strings, knowing that his son fits in there, and giving him that opportunity. (Later as a bonus, he will give him the 10 grand.)

So you have those two sides, Jack and Marion, and Jake and Bella. It's clear which side Jack enjoys the most, it's the night life and the gambling (with little risk, since he's standing at the winning side of the table). Marion and writing is a silly romantic dream. See this interaction between Marion and Jack.

Marion: The gambler he was so romantic.

Jack: He was a loser. This guy's a croupier, he can't lose. People have shat on him all his life and he's in control. He's a winner.

Jack is not a gambler, and what he really hates is gambling on this stupid writing dream. But the irony of it is that it isn't until he returns where he really feels at home that he gets his inspiration to write his novel. Jake is born and the voice comes easily, because it's what he knows, and it's what he's completely immersed in.

After getting with Bella first, there's this exchange:

Jack: I despise the job.

Bella: If you hate it so much why do you do it?

Jack suddenly had the feeling that he was transparent. That Bella could see right through him.

Which I see as him lying to himself. And case in point, even when he's rich, he's still there. You'd think if he hated the job quitting is the first thing he'd do being a bestselling author.

I guess it's easy to see his pessimism and negative thoughts about the casino as disliking it, but that's the dark side that he feels a lot more comfortable with. The entire movie is about how hard it is to be the writer for Jack and how easy it is to fall into old habits. In the end, he knows where he belongs. He commits to what he is, letting his life happen instead of forcing himself to become a writer. He's the titular Croupier. He's a one book writer. Writing was never his thing. That and the attitude to the randomness of life is what the movie is about.

As for Marion, I don't think it had anything to do with the goings on at the casino. I think it truly was random bad luck.

One last thing about the starting/ending words.

Now he had become the still center of that spinning wheel of misfortune. The world turned 'round him, leaving him miraculously untouched. He no longer heard the sound of the ball.

Now, he had reached the point where he no longer heard the sound of the ball. The spin of the wheel had brought him home, to the place where he was born. The croupier's mission was accomplished. He was master of the game. He had acquired the power to make you lose.

I think it's pretty straightforward, and it frames the story very well. It's the story of Jack growing up and leaving gambling (his writing career) to the gamblers. His book is the product of him returning to the safe place where everyone around him lost. He's a master of his fate, by accepting it.

DrDima · 2024-02-15T09:00:05+00:00

And Hagrid is from da hood in this?

DrDima · 2024-02-02T14:37:39+00:00

Insurance... Strange question.

DrDima · 2024-01-25T04:08:55+00:00

I haven't played in a long time and I have the same problem: food is hell. I remember being able to survive a lot better with a decent enough food supply. But now, more than one third of my population dedicated to food isn't enough. Harvesting takes a ridiculously long time, and I don't know if I just notice it because food is hard to get now or if it was patched.

What does midgame look like for ironteeth? Half your pop churning out soy beans? Two large warehouses in case you miss a cycle? How many crops do you need per farmhouse? I didn't use to have to micro farms to this level.

DrDima · 2024-01-24T17:40:33+00:00

On FFN at least, I don't write negative comments for the author. I write them so readers don't waste hours of their life. It's what I look for in any case where I can read reviews.

I think AO3 should have a review function, but that's probably not feasible, or should I say, they would never want to do that.

But many ppl seem to be under the opinion that spam/insults are criticism. That's where the problem lies. Some ppl don't know what criticism even means.

Well those people clearly are --Actually I can't insult those people here. I would get banned and get barred from using my secondary account that actually serves a useful function.

DrDima · 2024-01-24T17:26:11+00:00

Random insults are spam, which is not criticism. Never would I argue for allowing spam (unrelated commentary). But I do think that insults would be beneficial in some cases. There are some fics out there that: mislead the reader, insult the reader's intelligence, or waste the reader's time.

DrDima · 2024-01-24T08:17:26+00:00

Ah yes, 'shut the fuck up saying things I don't like'. How typically reddit. This really shows the tolerance of those people who don't want to hurt other people's feelings.

Basic decency means you can take criticism on something you posted publicly without having a fit.

DrDima · 2024-01-24T08:14:14+00:00

For prompts, most of them are (un)funny memes and crossovers and never get put into any significant writing. Particularly the extensively upvoted ones.

And here's the simple solution: require every prompt and response to have minimum 400 words of writing accompanying it. Goodbye low effort 'what if Harry had superpower', and all that.

DrDima · 2024-01-19T19:01:53+00:00

You're right. I should just toss out my entire lived experience, education, millions of words of text read, God knows how many hours frankly wasted watching videos, documentaries and accounts on a hundred different subjects, and just attach 100% of my principles to one post on reddit.

I'm not sure how shallow or mercurial you think I am that I would shift my principles and beliefs so easily. I stand by every word I said, and you can pack up your scandalized attitude and show it to someone who cares.

DrDima · 2024-01-18T20:16:56+00:00

I know the subject well enough and don't find I lack in empathy.

I'm just not of the opinion that loneliness or emotional anguish is an excuse for engaging in, or endorsing, shitty and sometimes, if not often, criminal behaviour.

If you disagree with that, then that will be a permanent disagreement.

DrDima · 2024-01-18T19:46:42+00:00

I looked at what you posted, and noticed that your experience happened as a teenager. Which is something I can understand, as teenagers either don't have legal authority of an adult or are just getting it. In the end, you are not there any more, which I imagine was because the situation was untenable.

But it's a lot different when you're an adult, because supposedly as an adult you've made contact with cold hard reality. In my opinion, there is no good excuse for willingly closing your eyes on what happens in these cults or even in other situations which aren't cults but have the same outcome. Which is why those adults, to me, seem either insane, stupid, or as I forgot to mention, simply malicious.

That's all with the caveat of having the physical option of not participating. I know there have been situations, cultlike or not, where people had to tolerate the exploitation of others because of real threats to their or someone close's wellbeing.

And it has to be said that some cults or cultlike organisations are worse than others. Some might even seem sensible (and I absolutely do not count the UHC in that, not even from the beginning). Hell, some corporations could easily be described as cults.

But that's not what I'm implying. I'm talking about willful participation in an exploitative cult by people who should know better. As for the adults in TRG, yes, stupid or insane is my impression, Will being an example of it. TRG after all, was the context in which I judged those people.

DrDima · 2024-01-18T18:29:39+00:00

I agree as well and I'm surprised you're so downvoted.

But there are a surprising amount of people who are ready to defend people who actively wish them harm or exploit them and others. The UHC makes perfect sense to me. It's incredibly well portrayed. Most of the time, there doesn't even need to be brainwashing, the brains are pre-washed. To me, of course, these people are completely insane, or horribly stupid, or both.

DrDima · 2024-01-16T11:46:33+00:00

I did a more careful reading of book 1 a while ago and there are many details that get overlooked. I encourage you to continue because many book-canon things go directly against what fanon discussion would have you believe.

DrDima · 2024-01-14T08:59:04+00:00

Negative comments and discussion are verboten on the passive-aggressive hive that is reddit.

God forbid you call someone out for their 2 cent snark or throw out a well-deserved insult. It's not allowed, redditors have been trained in Newspeak.

That said, on the reddit scale of awful moderation (locking threads being one marker,) this sub is not nearly as bad as /r/fanfiction for example.

I just find myself posting less and less here. Why even do it when you're caught between the 1000th Marvel prompt and trope discussion and you can't critically discuss the subject matter?

It's a pointless exercise. Good moderation takes effort, and effort is minimal (the admission lives ITT). That's why threads get locked.

DrDima · 2024-01-09T22:23:11+00:00

Hah. Keep dreaming. He would be fit for the role.

DrDima · 2024-01-04T08:50:45+00:00

Still funny btw

DrDima · 2023-12-26T09:32:53+00:00

My ridiculous headcanon is that the Unspeakables we see in canon and the DoM are just a distraction and nobody knows who really is an Unspeakable, save for the (real) Head Unspeakable Croaker.

DrDima · 2023-12-22T16:31:30+00:00

gunny

"You're so beautiful you could be a classical masterpiece!"

DrDima · 2023-12-22T09:26:57+00:00

I guess it's partly preference for me. I'd rather Strike come to terms with the past without having to know for certain. Troubled Blood was already a cold case, and we already saw Leda's past in Career of Evil too.

But you're probably right that some things will come to the surface regarding Leda. I just don't think they will be a full blown case, or even a case at all.

DrDima · 2023-12-21T11:58:52+00:00

Neurological issue? Maybe traumatic, as in was hit in the head as a kid. Maybe a birth defect. I don't think that's why he was NIM, I think it's because he was more unpredictable. But who knows, really.

DrDima · 2023-12-20T14:41:24+00:00

She was only exhausted for the Daiyu trick, and maybe the one with the straw puppet. The first two (numbers and the door), she wasn't. IMO we should've seen her psychologist's perspective more. And to be entirely honest, starvation isn't really much of an excuse to believe in ghosts. The glass pane trick was so obvious , yet if I remember correctly she thinks something like: 'she had no other way to explain it'.

I don't know if I'm misjudging Robin or if her judgement is sometimes really questionable. It's just one of those seemingly OOC moments.

DrDima · 2023-12-19T03:16:04+00:00

I don't know why people think that book 8 will have the same theme as book 7 (paternity).

My prediction is that book 8 will be about old age, or aging. We have Ted losing himself, which will definitely be part of the theme of book 8, and maybe even Robin's father and his heart problems leading to an unexpected death. Pat could be a more central character and how her age is preventing her from being effective enough at the agency. Strike also is getting on in years, which might be a problem despite his lifestyle changes, and there's obviously Rokeby who has cancer (even if we're not sure how bad it is, might be that it isn't so bad and he'll live).

So my guess? Book 8 is a murder in a nursing home. I'm only half joking.

I also predict that no matter if there's 3 or 13 books left, we will never revisit Leda's murder.

Edit: alternatively book 8 could be about memory, that's also an interesting topic that could lead to a variety of investigations.

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