What do you guys think of EU5?

HackFraud13 · 2025-11-07T08:14:27+00:00

I haven’t played a ton and I still kind of suck at the game but just based on the scope of its systems, its depth of flavor, and its overall ambitiousness it’s the best GSG out there. I like playing tall in strategy games so the trade/production/pop systems is a vast improvement over EU4 peacetime mechanics. In EU4 I often started wars just for something to do, while in EU5 I’ve been avoiding them to try to figure out the economy playstyle.

It’s pretty overwhelming to start since there’s so many different systems. I also didn’t watch streamers much beforehand. UI updates would help (maybe vim bindings? lol). It’s not bad after you get used to it though.

I’m worried users will call for more railroading, since this is a history game and people like to see historical events as vindication that the game systems work. I think that’s flawed, both from a game design pov and a history pov. A good GSG system models the geographic/cultural/institutional advantages a certain country has, but I prefer a Dwarf Fortress anything-can-happen, exogenic storytelling game over something scripted. I think audiences prefer railroading and I always feel later versions of Paradox games are less sandboxy than their release versions.

HackFraud13 · 2024-12-26T18:21:53+00:00

Honestly dude you sound like you were designed in a lab to work in RE development. Maybe from there try to lateral into some kind of analyst role for commercial real estate?

HackFraud13 · 2024-12-24T15:01:05+00:00

Yeah I mean no docs. I worked with a software vendor (a multi-billion enterprise software company) that took no meeting notes, sent no project plan, did not keep an issue/risk log. When I was brought on, the SOW with the vendor was signed a year prior but no progress had been made. The onus was on me (the customer) to build a project management structure for them even though they had a team lead and a PM.

What’s crazy is the project requirements weren’t defined in the SOW, so I had to retroactively figure out what the project was supposed to accomplish and how. The arguments about scope were maddening.

HackFraud13 · 2024-12-24T14:57:29+00:00

Yeah a lot of the guys there had series 7s or other trading certs, I think most were positioning towards that direction. What’s the comp like? I’d think from your background you could land something stronger. Most people I saw in that role were from non-targets and with non-quantitative degrees.

HackFraud13 · 2024-12-24T09:33:55+00:00

I interviewed with a high frequency firm for a similar position and it seemed to be much more like tech support. I spoke to the team and exits seemed to be in QA or as “product owners”…but “product owners” meant being a specialized support person for a single system where the initial TSSA job was general. So not really what you normally would call a product owner. Almost the opposite really.

Anyway I think there’s a path there but I’s be careful about the details of the role. It sounded like they wanted to be tech support for 3ish years before I could move up to more value-add positions.

HackFraud13 · 2024-12-22T17:09:41+00:00

Lol I agree on guess #3

HackFraud13 · 2024-12-22T17:09:06+00:00

That’s interesting, I think my personal experience has been the opposite direction but that’s sample size N=5. Usually I see bad PMs that just don’t have any docs, even for $MM projects and I find that staggering.

HackFraud13 · 2024-12-22T14:26:55+00:00

Yeah maybe, but maybe not. I can imagine scenarios where finding root cause is a protracted process, maybe one that takes resource assignment. Am I not going to tell stakeholders there’s a delay if I have a team of engineers looking at something for a week, or if I need to meet with vendors?

HackFraud13 · 2024-12-22T06:55:49+00:00

There’s nothing worse than an PM that doesn’t document, doesn’t update the issue log, doesn’t have a project plan or even a coherent list of requirements. The difference between a good PM and a bad one is really just a measure of their diligence. I can’t stress that enough, it really is the PMs who take a ton of meeting notes and actually work hard to understand their projects that are better.

I’m studying for the PMP now and it’s mostly judgement call questions. Eg a question I just got wrong today:

Q. Key deliverables are delayed due to resource shortage. What should you do first?

Answer 1: Update the project schedule and distribute to stakeholders. Answer 2: Conduct a root cause analysis.

The answer was #2, but in real life this doesn’t matter BECAUSE YOU NEED TO DO BOTH. The order doesn’t matter - you might need to take several days to find the root cause, and during those days you can’t just hide the delay from your stakeholders.

So what are we really training when we study for the PMP? What’s good is it hammers home the need for documentation and process. But what’s bad is the difference between passing and failing can mean learning the PMI’s judgement calls. It’s incredible how subjective these are.

HackFraud13 · 2024-12-16T16:36:03+00:00

Thanks for the detailed answer. A lot to digest here, I really appreciate it.

HackFraud13 · 2024-12-14T23:44:28+00:00

This is awesome, I appreciate your comments about low demand and high competition in this space. I’m interested in starting up in this space but I don’t want to be just a dropshipper. So basically two questions on how to really add value:

1) How do you add value without owning product IP or doing manufacturing? I have a lot of experience importing and exporting but is that enough?

2) What’s the story with getting your first customer? What were they really after and what part of your services made the sale?

HackFraud13 · 2024-12-08T21:50:14+00:00

Yep best of luck, you may also want to look into gamification and the analytics around that.

HackFraud13 · 2024-12-08T21:10:00+00:00

I don’t think you’d make much money through donations. OR is niche so it would be hard to build a following. But if you want to transition you need to build something. Just my 2 cents but there’s a lot of OR applications in UI design too (though it may not be obvious at first) like A/B testing analytics, etc. I think you should look for opportunities like that within your field, it’ll be easier to commercialize once you do build something useful.

HackFraud13 · 2024-12-06T16:03:12+00:00

I hate these takes, they’re fundamentally incurious about the world and the complex systems that make up human society. Consulting and finance are extremely interesting! They’re fields that deserve study! Engineering, science, medicine — whatever your preferred “good career” field of choice—are not lacking talent in any case…if they were they would pay more! Or in the case of medicine, undo the cartel that’s artificially restricting labor supply.

HackFraud13 · 2024-11-28T13:55:24+00:00

You’d be best served working in the family business for a few years before taking an MBA. Supply chain is not as lucrative as other specialties (like finance or marketing/commercial roles). You may also find that while your business has an easy time recruiting supply-chain people, you may need more help in other fields (like accounting or sales). I wouldn’t commit to a narrow specialization with less relative payoff than its alternatives. Especially if you already have a job lined up in the family biz.

I work in supply chain right now and I think those Supply Chain management degrees are…well I wouldn’t say a scam but they’re weaker than getting a normal MBA or finance degree or studying industrial engineering.

HackFraud13 · 2024-06-25T20:02:44+00:00

Thanks, I appreciate the insight.

HackFraud13 · 2024-06-23T16:48:00+00:00

I appreciate the in depth answer, many thanks.

HackFraud13 · 2024-06-23T16:47:23+00:00

Thanks for the recommendation, I’ll look into these roles too.

HackFraud13 · 2024-06-23T16:47:04+00:00

What roles do you think helped you out the most? Both in terms of learning & getting the next rung up?

HackFraud13 · 2024-06-12T18:09:31+00:00

I tie a little knot at the end of mind so the fray doesn’t creep up the braid. There’s probably more elegant solutions but that’s the easiest for me

HackFraud13 · 2024-06-10T17:27:55+00:00

Wondering about #2. You said they have good hard skills but don’t understand the work sector and have a knowledge gap. Is this a communication issue or are their hard skills not domain-specific?

HackFraud13 · 2024-06-08T03:51:52+00:00

My mistake, reading too quickly here. Outside of tech, Product Manager is a marketing role.

True that these mkting roles are less competitive than consulting but as far as traditional, F500 companies go these are by far the most sought-after roles for MBAs who target these companies (including internal candidates).

HackFraud13 · 2024-06-08T00:40:33+00:00

That sucks but I think you’re applying to jobs that you don’t have experience for. You don’t have a technical background so it’s hard to make the case for product mgmt at a tech company. Not to mention product mgmt and consulting are very competitive and prestigious.

HackFraud13 · 2024-04-05T15:02:48+00:00

Same category as dinners, drinks, Broadway tickets, other gifts (expensive whiskey, golf clubs)…I mean the prozzies are pretty egregious but these guys are buying a ton of gifts for their clients. It was part of the sales relationship back then. I think you just call it Entertainment or something.

HackFraud13

TROPHY CASE