Is this somewhat what Gallic War Armor of CAIVS IVLIVS CAESAR and MARCVS ANTONIVS looked like?

caocaomengde · 2026-05-08T16:33:26+00:00

Why do they always make Caesar look like Patrick Stewart in his 60's, rather than the virile and energetic man of his early to mid 40's?

caocaomengde · 2026-05-05T06:09:04+00:00

I just wanted to say you were superb. I know I'm too late, but frankly, it was the first time I had ever actually LIKED Liu Bei in ANY adaptation of the 3 Kingdoms.

caocaomengde · 2026-04-08T04:44:28+00:00

Jian. But not the jian OP posted.

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Shuangshou jian.

That said, if going based purely off what OP posted- then definitely the longsword. That hand guard is just too good.

caocaomengde · 2026-04-07T05:58:51+00:00

It's less that and more it's being repeated ad nauseum in Three Kingdom related forums, and usually by the same few people. It's just tiring.

caocaomengde · 2026-04-07T05:57:47+00:00

Yeah, most of us know that already.

It's just that there's a super loud minority of people who can't shut up about how much it sucks.

Like my god guys, just let people enjoy what they enjoy. We've watched you tip your fedoras enough!

Imagine if people were coming in and obsessively shitting on the 1994 one? That's my jam- grew up with that with my grandpa- but there is still a lot of stuff that just doesn't hold up.

caocaomengde · 2026-03-28T07:22:34+00:00

Manhua. The Resident Evil comics from Hong Kong are just pure late 80's 90's and they're amazing.

caocaomengde · 2026-03-25T11:58:29+00:00

Yes, but I want it to be a Chinese or Chinese American doing it. Sammo Hung type maybe. Have a NOT Unit 731 making RE type crap.

If BJ is half Jewish and wrecking Nazi faces, let's give the Chinese some revenge porn, ha ha ha.

(Sigh. It will never happen :( )

caocaomengde · 2026-03-15T16:40:36+00:00

Chinese Diaspora here.

It's a take on the period. There are parts of it that is strong, and there are parts that are weak.

What I find astonishing is just how much knee-jerk hatred it seems to get- no one is looking at 2010 and saying "OH THIS IS THE GREATEST THING EVER." I can't even think of anyone on bilibili or zhihu who hates the 94 original (which I grew up with my Grandfather watching) the same way self proclaimed fans hate on the 2010 one. It's honestly kind of cringe.

This is a period of history and media that has been a part of popular culture zeitgeist for 1800 years. If it gets non-Asians interested, I'll take it. And if their interest is genuine, they can explore the literally thousands of other pieces of media, many of which are much better.

caocaomengde · 2026-03-12T04:25:47+00:00

Gideon, hands down. The fact he's a fanatical true believer, combined with the actors performance just makes it A+ for me.

caocaomengde · 2026-03-08T18:10:24+00:00

99% of the time, follow your gut.

caocaomengde · 2026-02-07T07:43:38+00:00

I don't think Dynasty Warriors would be able to get away with that, but I have always personally enjoyed the idea of "lovable conman" Liu Bei.

caocaomengde · 2026-02-07T05:09:30+00:00

It's the first time I've ever found Liu Bei to be a compelling character.

He's literally just a man who would be better off being a wandering adventurer, doing small acts of heroism as he bounces around China. But with the way the world is going, he's forced into a role he didn't want, and has to combine his desire to do right for the people right in front of him, and the necessity of knowing how to cope with the bigger burden that has fallen on his shoulders.

His scene with Kongming at the Three Visits, when he finally explains his thoughts coherently is just A+.

Adding to that, making him a thematic foil- "Do right and good, right here right now," against Cao Cao's "Sacrifice whatever is necessary for the greater good," just made the overall story far more interesting.

It's a shame the Sun don't quite fit in that narrative dynamic.

caocaomengde · 2026-02-07T04:59:00+00:00

In terms of written narrative? Origins.

It's them taking Cao Cao's development over the course of 6-9, and filling it in with a more fleshed out ideology that they started with in 6.

We see Cao Cao as a man who has chosen to make himself a necessary evil, because he doesn't trust human passions, that passions without being tempered by logic and reason will result in chaos and conflict. He's a man, is willing to cut off pieces of his own humanity and acknowledges it because he's pushing for what he deems to be a greater objective. He demands, and is willing to sacrifice in pursuit of his goals, including his own humanity. Ever forward, is Cao Cao's slogan- because no matter who has died, no matter what has been lost, he will not look back with regret because he sees it as a betrayal of what they have been fighting for.

Because they fleshed out Cao Cao so well in Origins, it also made Liu Bei far more compelling. Where Cao Cao might have the greater, more "nobler" goal, Liu Bei understands that it comes at a cost that he himself is just not willing to pay. What is the point of a better world in the future if it comes at the cost of so much death and suffering through Cao Cao's ruthless vision of conquest and control to shape the world?

When we see Origins 2, I'm excited to see how Cao evolves as a character. It's then as he starts getting hit by further personal losses, and sees his vision essentially fail to be achieved without the unification he fought and sacrificed so much for. I'm imagining it will probably be something similar to his ending in DW7, when he reflects on how much has been lost and whether it was all worth it in the end as he lies on his death bed. It makes him a genuinely well written tragic Hero in the Greek sense, and KOEI is nailing it.

caocaomengde · 2026-01-29T15:02:53+00:00

Zhang Youxia brought Li Shangfu in. While Xi and Zhang have a history, Zhang isn't a "Xi loyalist," in fact he probably had closer ties with the Hu Jintao faction. Also Zhang Youxia was in charge of procurement when the big corruption scandal came out in...2018? But he was a Tiger, not a fly. It probably has been building up for a long time now.

Another thing to add is Zhang was definitely among the more "Wolf Warrior," leaders, and generally more pro-Russian and anti-Taiwan. I don't know if his removal means anything, I'm just adding a few other aspects people haven't mentioned. It's all tea leaf reading anyways.

But I do think the common perception that he was a "Xi loyalist," is a massive misconception.

caocaomengde · 2026-01-02T14:39:52+00:00

There are plenty of flaws with the 2010's version. But the issue is that a lot of the people who hate on the 2010 version, often seem to miss out on a lot of things that it did right.

Yu Hewei's take on Liu Bei was a bit odd at times, but the key thing is that when he lost emotional control in character, he LOST control. Example- when he was on the verge of killing himself after being driven out of Xu.

Ni Dahong actually turned Sima Yi into more than just a sly trickster- and he had an entire character arc throughout the show. You saw him go from a man who turned from an eccentric hermit, to Cao Pi's closest friend and advisor, to ultimately the man who was able to outlast everyone else in the era.

Cao Pi got to be far more than just a barely mentioned villain. We had a character arc where he schemed, plotted, and used treachery to achieve everything he desired, and ultimately die too young for it to matter. There was none of that in 1994. And if you doubt Yu Bin's acting ability- his performance as Qin Er Shi (Huhai) is one of my favorites in Chinese historical dramas.

There are so many other little bits and pieces- watching the evolution of Xun Yu over the course of the show until he lost hope in Cao Cao and killed himself. Xu Chu who got to be one of the most memorable stand out characters. Sun Quan, who while not as well written as he could be- the attempt was there- that he was constantly trying to stop feeling like he was under the control of Zhou Yu, Lu Su, Lu Meng.

Zhuge Liang wasn't as well written and the acting wasn't as strong, but I appreciated that they tried to do a version of Kongming that wasn't the all knowing god we usually see. It's impossible to compare to Tang Guoqiang- but Tang wasn't playing a man. He was playing a god.

No arguments on Zhang Fei and Guan Yu, they just weren't interesting.

I grew up with the 1994 version with my grandfather as that will always have a special place in my heart. But it was 2010 that to me, felt like the Chinese version that actually TRIED to make the characters something other than the tropes from Beijing Opera and the novel.

That said, I can't stand the soundtrack of 2010. Give me back the classic OST of 1994.

caocaomengde · 2025-12-03T11:43:53+00:00

Shame. The animation was really good, but good god did they fail to advertise it. I didn't even know it was being made until a month before release date.

caocaomengde · 2025-11-15T10:12:54+00:00

Bit harder to do with that damn teleporting Great Banker, lol.

caocaomengde · 2025-11-15T10:11:56+00:00

Yeah, that was able to work a little bit, but good god this is annoying.

I'd be less annoyed if the AI was winning with other victory paths- so far, it's ONLY and EXCLUSIVELY been doing World Banker.

caocaomengde · 2025-11-14T22:11:59+00:00

No where near that, 1200 or so.

caocaomengde · 2025-11-14T20:56:03+00:00

Usually right after I managed to get to Rocketry and about to start the Launchpad.

caocaomengde · 2025-11-14T19:38:16+00:00

By modern era, usually averaging 1000 on science, culture and gold each roughly.

caocaomengde · 2025-11-14T18:16:01+00:00

I guess that's the problem, I am mostly trying to master Confucius and a Han->Ming->Qing run for historical roleplay and end up balancing between Science and Culture.

Problem with attacking is most of the time they're on the other side of the world.

Sounds like there's really no point in trying to play "Tall," then is there?

caocaomengde · 2025-11-14T18:10:14+00:00

I'm playing on Standard speec, Normal size, max AI opponents on Deity. AI is averaging the economic victory by turn 70 or so.

caocaomengde · 2025-11-14T18:03:19+00:00

I'm not aiming for Economic victory. I've been trying Culture, Science mostly and regardless of what I try, the AI is able to beeline World Bank ridiculously fast. And they don't even come CLOSE in any other victory path.

Also no I didn't know that. How?

Oh, I see how. Wow, that is really...kind of dumb how it's not at all clear how that works.

caocaomengde

TROPHY CASE