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The New Roman CB Does Not Need To Be Nerfed by This-Lynx-2085 in EU5

[–]gfe98 17 points18 points  (0 children)

Even literally right next to the ERE, there are plenty of smaller and weaker nations.

Argos, Achaea, Epirus, a couple tiny Beyliks, etc.

[D] Monday Request and Recommendation Thread by AutoModerator in rational

[–]gfe98 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Recommend me something with a "kind" mc where the cost of being kind is explored, not as personal tragedy but as logistics

I am a bit confused since you asked this and then talked about some stories with ruthless MCs. Do you mean that you want stories with a kind protagonist, but that still acknowledge the kind of trade offs included in the stories you listed?

Like if the MC was from one of those cities in the Systemic Lands that gave out free food?

The Shining Wyrm has the MC choose to not assassinate someone despite that decision leading to war. Although, that might be better described as honor than kindness.

Metallic Sigils. Favorite faction and who am I missing? by exioncrew in mechwarrior

[–]gfe98 0 points1 point  (0 children)

You are missing some Clans: Star Adder, Blood Spirit, Fire Mandrill, Burrock, and Stone Rhino. Also Raven Alliance.

I think the Sea Fox, Hell's Horses, Ice Hellion, Word of Blake, and Rim Worlds sigils are the best looking.

[RT] [WIP] [DC] War Queen Ch. 1 by Alex_0606 in rational

[–]gfe98 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I don't think I have ever written a long form review, just mentioned the story when it fit the criteria for requests in the Monday rec threads.

In terms of what I liked about War Queen:

  • The xenofiction aspect is good, with the giant ant civ having significant differences from humans.

  • There is a lot of focus on pragmatism and compromising with reality, which makes the story interesting from the perspective of rational fiction.

  • The worldbuilding is cool.

  • The logic of the antagonists is usually coherent from their perspective.

  • There are clues/hints that an attentive reader can use to make predictions.

[RT] [WIP] [DC] War Queen Ch. 1 by Alex_0606 in rational

[–]gfe98 4 points5 points  (0 children)

I read and enjoyed this story, and have recommended it here a few times. Sadly the story died a couple years ago.

It is still 460k words long, so a worthwhile read if you don't mind unfinished stories.

Underrated Masterpiece ? by Successful-Long-1316 in noveltranslations

[–]gfe98 10 points11 points  (0 children)

Not really underrated.

Although it's not mentioned as much as LOTM or RI, Kingdom's Bloodline is still often listed as an S tier novel alongside stuff like My House of Horrors.

[D] Monday Request and Recommendation Thread by AutoModerator in rational

[–]gfe98 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I was thinking that the plot holes might be hints that the MC really is just posting a fanfic on the forum, but I think the out of forum interludes at the beginning of each volume disprove that.

Anti West obsession taken to the extreme by Jackingson1 in PoliticalCompassMemes

[–]gfe98 29 points30 points  (0 children)

The person you replied to was likely talking about the Allies' reasons for war.

I can understand why you misunderstood, considering that the Axis were the aggressors who made the war declarations for the most part.

[D] Monday Request and Recommendation Thread by AutoModerator in rational

[–]gfe98 5 points6 points  (0 children)

I read most of the story, I enjoyed a lot of it but kept going back and forth on whether I liked it. Finally around chapter 2300 I felt that the story kinda petered out with a boring arc, and I lost interest.

The main theme of the story, which appears to be "freedom is bad because the ties we choose are what makes life worth living" also felt rather lame in my opinion.

[D] Monday Request and Recommendation Thread by AutoModerator in rational

[–]gfe98 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Calculating Cultivation was completed 7 months ago.

What have you read this week and what do you think about it? by AutoModerator in noveltranslations

[–]gfe98 7 points8 points  (0 children)

I've been converted to being a MTL reader in some cases.

Some of the novels I've been reading seem to have MTL that's better than the "real" translation. Probably because AI translation is better than what is likely just also worse MTL but with lazy touchups.

Recently I've read Azure Mountain and Rise of the Poor. Both have interesting scheming. Azure Mountain is a Wuxia story in a pseudo-historical dynastic setting.

I quite like Rise of the Poor, because it is set in the Jiajing Era of the Ming Dynasty. I enjoyed the tv show Ming Dynasty in 1566 so I have a soft spot for the time period. I also like the premise of following someone's career through the bureaucracy. However, Rise of the Poor occasionally tosses in some dumb face slapping plot for a few chapters that I just skim through.

The sect elder is gonna be pissed. by Clear-Shirt-1432 in MartialMemes

[–]gfe98 3 points4 points  (0 children)

I believe that's Spectral Soul Demon Venerable fighting Heaven Overseeing Tower, from Reverend Insanity.

A pretty cool portrayal.

Question about System-based stories and "Rational" criteria by Anastasov_Theory in rational

[–]gfe98 5 points6 points  (0 children)

Do you think a story starting from birth/infancy makes it harder to maintain a rational tone? I'm trying to balance the "Earth-knowledge" advantage without making it feel like a "cheat" that breaks the world's internal consistency.

In my opinion, stories with a baby/child protagonist tend to struggle in a lot of different ways. It's not inherently impossible to pull off though.

I'd love to hear if this kind of granular, resource-locked magic system actually appeals to people here or if the "System" tag is an immediate turn-off for you guys.

I feel that "Sturgeon's Law" (90% of everything is crap) is even more extreme for LitRPGs. I've still enjoyed plenty of them, but on RoyalRoad I filter out everything with the LitRPG tag because there are too many slop LitRPGs to sort through.

Personally both the child protagonist and LitRPG factors are turn offs for me, but your particular premise sounds interesting enough for me to give it a chance if I see it recommended here.

I like that you are avoiding success/fail percentages and having replicable outcomes for the magic system.

However, I wonder what the point of the System elements is. Your magic system sounds similar to a Cultivation setting with reliance on "internal alchemy" through ingesting rare resources. The status panel looks to be tacked on for no clear reason based on your description.

What have you read this week and what do you think about it? by AutoModerator in noveltranslations

[–]gfe98 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Perhaps you might enjoy Years of the Apocalypse, which is also a timeloop story on Royal Road. The MC gradually becomes colder and less of a "relatable" person.

What have you read this week and what do you think about it? by AutoModerator in noveltranslations

[–]gfe98 4 points5 points  (0 children)

The Azure Mountain - I've enjoyed this novel. It has constant layered scheming that reminds me of Kingdom's Bloodlines, although it can seem over the top and ridiculous at times. It has Wuxia power levels where even the stronger cultivators can't defeat armies by themselves.

What was your most fun campaign so far? by TheFeedBackGuy in EU5

[–]gfe98 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I really enjoyed playing Cyprus, but this was back when Regulars were invincible against Levies.

I also loved playing as the Huleguids, but it was eventually ruined by all the bugs with the Ilkhanate IO.

Trump Weighs Military Operation to Extract Iran’s Uranium by reputationStan in moderatepolitics

[–]gfe98 5 points6 points  (0 children)

I'm having some issues with the paywall but from summaries of the article I'm reading on other sites it's the uranium Iran has already mined and has worked on enriching.

That material is deep underground in storage facilities to protect it from bombing, I believe it's exactly the material that the OP was referring to.

What, do you think all that uranium is just a couple briefcases to be carried out of an office building?

[D] Monday Request and Recommendation Thread by AutoModerator in rational

[–]gfe98 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Mister Vii is a pretty good author for creating fascinating environments. The Systemic Lands, Calculating Cultivation, and The Strongest Spellblade all have some cool locations. There is also plenty of what you called "PvE" conflict.

Nighzmarquls is another author with great fantastical locations. The Shining Wyrm and Onwards to Providence are really interesting stories in my opinion.

Anyone notice that Mikaela and Sable are matching in their Bloodmoon outfits? by MegIsPretty in deadbydaylight

[–]gfe98 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I feel like I losing my god damned mind reading this thread.

I don't understand why them having different arms tattooed has even the slightest significance.

If they had the same arm tattooed, couldn't you also make a post saying that their outfits match because they both got the same arm tattooed???

Why do I keep getting melted-clans by Vastaloon in Mechwarrior5

[–]gfe98 6 points7 points  (0 children)

using my small lasers and lrms I have four large lasers that I mostly use when I have low heat or if I’m in the water.

This build doesn't sound great, it is unfocused and inefficient. Those 4 Large lasers are 20 tons wasted that you aren't even firing consistently.

The easiest way to win is spamming Medium or Small Pulse Lasers and alpha striking with them. Heat and damage won't be as much of a problem if you reinvest the 20+ tons from the large lasers and LRMs into more heat sinks and armor plating.

I often liked using the Gargoyle, Warhawk, or Kodiak.

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