ToaKraka
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User ID: 108
ToaKraka
Dislikes you
5hr ago
tfw the buzz cut is the only reputable hairstyle for the blacks, so we don't have to deal with all this rigmarole
ToaKraka
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14hr ago
The Steam (not PlayStation) version of GBO2 actually does have God Gundam as a playable (gacha-only) MS.
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Nioh: Use seven different weapon types (Nioh 2: eleven) in three stances (dodgy-but-weak low stance, powerful-but-slow high stance, and good-at-blocking mid stance) in conjunction with yin-yang magic, ninja skills, and guardian spirits to rampage through Japan, slaying samurai and demons by the dozen. This series is more fast-paced than the Dark Souls series, with a mechanic that allows you to recharge your stamina more quickly with good timing.
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Dark Souls: Plod through a fantasy apocalypse, wielding a plethora of different weapons (or several different types of magic, if you prefer) against undead, demons, and the occasional humanoid enemy who mostly plays by the same rules. Stamina management is key.
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Gundam Battle Operation 2: See glowing description here.
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Death Stranding: Plod through a sci-fi apocalypse, delivering mountains of cargo on your back. This game takes "walking simulator" literally—the player must pay attention to every rock in his path, and take the momentum of his burden into account in picking which way to walk. Later you can upgrade to motorcycles and trucks, but they are far from all-terrain (until you build highways).
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Quarries of Scred: In this fun game with simple pixel art and arcadey physics, you mine for gems. But watch out for boulders that may fall on you!
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Freeways: Draw ramps and roundabouts to solve interchanges of increasing complexity. Dozens of puzzles are included.
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Slipways: Draw interstellar hyperspace routes to level up the planets in your sector. The classic version has nice pixel art, while the final version uses more polished 3D graphics and has fancy quests.
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Nioh 1 and 2 (fast-paced action RPG)
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Dark Souls 1 and 2 (slower-paced action RPG)
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Gundam Battle Operation 2 (mecha action)
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Death Stranding 1 and 2 (terrain traversal)
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Quarries of Scred (mining game—no brain required)
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Freeways (interchange-design game)
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Slipways Classic and Slipways (interplanetary transport network–design game)
I think I'll ask this question again (1 2): What are your favorite mobile suits from the Gundam universe?
My previous answers were Zeta Gundam, Delta Gundam, and Kshatriya. After spending a few hundred more hours in Gundam Battle Operation 2, I've finally noticed a unifying factor: these designs all have thrusters on the sides of their legs! There are two kinds—round, mounted on the sides of the knees, and pointing backward (Kshatriya, ZZ Gundam, Silver Bullet, etc.); and angular, mounted on the sides of the calves, and pointing downward (Zeta Gundam, Delta Gundam, Gundam Mk-II, Pale Rider Cavalry, etc.). Without such thrusters, IMO an MS's legs look boring. (Note that thrusters on the backs of the calves, such as on Zeta Gundam, Delta Gundam, and Pale Rider Cavalry, do not look quite as cool as thrusters on the sides of the calves.)
After some pondering, I have decided to remove Zeta Gundam from my list of favorites. Its calf-side thrusters extend too far downward (preventing it from taking even a moderately wide stance while keeping the soles of its feet on the ground), its backpack is ugly, and its transformation sequence is overcomplicated. (And I can't just delete the second and third complaints by switching to the Wave Shooter version, which has a simpler transformation sequence, because the latter's wings are too big in MS mode.) The audacity of its unfolding back thruster cannot save it from this fate. That leaves just Delta Gundam and Kshatriya on the winners' podium. I acknowledge that Gundam Mk-II is basically the handsomest, Chaddest, "Platonic ideal" MS in a more representative way, but IMO Delta Gundam and Kshatriya are just cooler.
I may replace Zeta Gundam with Full Armor Gundam (the original version, not the Gundam Thunderbolt version that I derided in link "2" above; boring Gundam Unit 2 plus exciting shin thrusters, back cannon, and double beam rifle, plus personal nostalgia from maining it in my first one or two hundred hours of GBO2) or Gundam Mk-III (a nice synthesis of back binders, back cannons, and face), but it's still up in the air.
(I'll also mention some close relatives of these two candidates.
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Full Armor Gundam Type B is interesting—very similar to the base version, but with the double beam rifle upgraded to a triple model, and with an added missile rack that can launch either many small missiles or one big missile. But I feel it's a bit overloaded.
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Heavy Gundam likewise is a very interesting design—Full Armor Gundam, but with a combination Gatling gun and missile launcher replacing the double beam rifle and the chest missile launchers, and with a beam cannon replacing the shell cannon. But Heavy Gundam's armor is missing several features of Full Armor Gundam's—specifically, the shield (vestigial as it is) and the shin-side thrusters. And IMO the Gatling gun is a bit too large for suspension of disbelief. Ingrid Zero's custom Heavy Gundam adds an ugly shield and a back-mounted missile launcher.
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Full Armor Gundam Mk-III just looks goofy. Weapons mounted on the shoulders (rather than on the back and peeking over the shoulder blades) and on the knees never look good.
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How do all these favorite and former-favorite MSes fare in GBO2 gameplay?
- Delta Gundam is fairly good. It has two instant-stun attacks from its beam rifle and its shield beam cannon.
- Kshatriya is a gigantic target for enemies to aim at, which somewhat dilutes its offensive merits. It does have two instant stuns, plus a special bell-pepper defense mode that negates enemies' stun attempts. But that's a bit weak for the high tiers at which Kshatriya is playable. (I should note that here I'm speaking largely on the basis of YouTube videos, since I avoid high-tier gameplay as frantic and unenjoyable.)
- Full Armor Gundam is middling. Its back cannon is an instant stun, its double beam rifle is a semi-reliable stun (if both shots hit), and its chest-mounted missile launchers are a semi-reliable stun (if enough of the missiles hit).
- Full Armor Gundam Type B is slightly more powerful than its sibling. Its chest missiles scatter rather than flying straight, so they are ineffective at stunning—but its big missile launcher inflicts heavy stun.
- Heavy Gundam, on the other hand, is terrible. Its beam cannon is a sniper-style weapon that stuns only if you stand still for several seconds to charge it up—worthless in the heat of battle. The Gatling gun and the gun-mounted missile launcher aren't any good at stunning, either.
- Ingrid Zero's custom Heavy Gundam is a major upgrade. Its beam cannon can actually charge while moving (and offers semi-reliable stunning with a two-shot burst even when not charged), and it also has an instant-stun beam rifle. (Somewhat weirdly, though, its fully-modeled back-mounted missile launcher does not function.)
- Gundam Mk-III is sub-par. Its beam rifle is an instant stun, but its double back cannon is very emphatically not.
- Full Armor Gundam Mk-III is significantly better, with three guaranteed (though slow to recharge/reload) stuns (from a knee-mounted double cannon, a shoulder-mounted double cannon, and a rifle-mounted grenade launcher) in addition to one from its rifle.
- Zeta Gundam has an absolute plethora of variants that look almost identical to each other.
- The base version and the Zaku-head version have only one instant stun—but they also have two melee weapons (beam saber and rifle-mounted beam bayonet), if you're into that (which I am not).
- The Full Armor Ground Type Wave Shooter adds a semi-reliable stun (arm-mounted grenade launcher) to the base version.
- The Hyper Mega Launcher–equipped version adds a second instant stun to the base version, but loses the second melee weapon.
- The 3A "White Zeta" is the pinnacle of the series. It adds the Hyper Mega Launcher instant stun to the base version, but this time without losing the beam bayonet.
- (I won't get into the 3B "Gray Zeta" and P2 "Red Zeta", since they look completely different despite technically falling under the same model number.)
You should be playing GBO2! It's technically a gacha game, but the gameplay is totally skill-based. Paying to roll for gacha-only mobile suits or gacha-only upgrade parts, or to upgrade your MSes directly, will yield only marginal gains.
Continuing on the topic of Gundam, one cool tidbit that has stuck with me from the Dynasty Warriors Gundam games that I played twenty years ago is the classification of weapons into, not just the standard "melee" and "long-range" categories, but also a third category of "all-range"—funnels. Obviously, the defining example of short-range funnel use must be the exquisite final shot of Haman's Qubeley against Quattro's Hyaku Shiki in Zeta Gundam. (Do you like to think of those two mobile suits as "Cybele" and "Type 100"? I do.)
ToaKraka
Dislikes you
2d ago
this is buried deep enough, and so few people will see it
Reminder: A not-insignificant number of people browse this website with the "firehose" all-comments view, so security by obscurity is far from assured.
ToaKraka
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2d ago
backyard cottages
Usually known as ADUs (accessory dwelling units)
ToaKraka
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2d ago
ToaKraka
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2d ago
township
Don't read too much into that word, since New Jersey's townships are incorporated municipalities, not merely the unincorporated divisions of country administration that the word signifies in some other states.
ToaKraka
Dislikes you
3d ago
Interesting article from the Associated Press: Here’s how AP reports on the death toll from Iran’s protests
The difficulty of tracking the death toll from Iran’s nationwide protests has been compounded by the government’s decision to cut off the internet and international calling to the country, but some information has still been getting out.
The Associated Press has been relying on figures provided by the Human Rights Activists News Agency, which has reported hundreds of deaths. The U.S.-based agency has been accurate throughout multiple years of demonstrations, relying on a network of activists inside Iran that confirms all reported fatalities.
With communications blocked in Iran, the AP has been unable to independently confirm the group’s toll. The theocratic government of Iran has not provided casualty figures for the demonstrations.
Iranian state media has provided little information about the demonstrations, making it difficult to assess the scale of the protests. Videos that have surfaced online offer brief, shaky glimpses of people in the streets or the sound of gunfire.
The AP reporting has relied on some of these videos, which likely have made it out of the country via Starlink satellite dishes. The AP authenticates such footage by checking it against known locations and events, as well as talking to regional experts. The AP also ensures the substance of the video is consistent with its own reporting.
In a different article, AP relays that organization's number but conspicuously refrains from endorsing it: Death toll from nationwide protests in Iran spikes to at least 2,000, activists say
The death toll from nationwide protests in Iran spiked Tuesday to at least 2,000 people killed, activists said, even as Iranians made phone calls abroad for the first time in days after authorities severed communications during a crackdown.
The number of dead, as reported by the U.S.-based Human Rights Activists News Agency, dwarfs that in any other round of protest or unrest in Iran in decades and recalls the chaos surrounding the country’s 1979 Islamic Revolution.
The activist group said 1,847 of the dead over more than two weeks of protests were protesters and 135 were government-affiliated. Another nine children were killed, and nine civilians it said were not taking part in protests also were killed. It said over 16,700 people had been detained.
ToaKraka
Dislikes you
3d ago
Dungeon Crawler Car
I knew it was a comedy series, but this is just ridiculous.
ToaKraka
Dislikes you
3d ago
Your article opposes the claim that credit-card rewards are funded by poor people. PokerPirate made a different claim—credit-card companies are funded by people who pay interest on balances. I think your article agrees with PokerPirate's claim. This Supreme Court opinion does as well.
Amex competes with Visa and MasterCard by using a different business model. While Visa and MasterCard earn half of their revenue by collecting interest from their cardholders, Amex does not. Amex instead earns most of its revenue from merchant fees. Amex’s business model thus focuses on cardholder spending rather than cardholder lending. To encourage cardholder spending, Amex provides better rewards than other networks. Due to its superior rewards, Amex tends to attract cardholders who are wealthier and spend more money. Merchants place a higher value on these cardholders, and Amex uses this advantage to recruit merchants.
ToaKraka
Dislikes you
4d ago
2011—Revolt and civil war: An uprising against Muammar Gaddafi's four-decade rule rapidly spreads, becoming an armed revolt aided by NATO airstrikes. Gaddafi is ousted in August and killed in October by rebels.
2012—Missed opportunities: A rebel council holds elections for an interim General National Congress which creates a transitional government. True power lies with local armed groups. Islamist militants gain ground and attack the US consulate in Benghazi, killing the ambassador.
2013—Growing divisions: Armed groups are ever more powerful, besieging government buildings. The Congress is increasingly divided and trust ebbs as it seeks to extend its term and delay elections.
2014—East–West schism: The Congress rejects the results of an election to a new parliament—the House of Representatives (HoR)—and sets up a government backed by armed groups in the west. The newly elected parliament moves from Tripoli to the east in support of a rival government backed by Khalifa Haftar, a former general who has brought together several armed factions as the Libyan National Army. Libya is now split between warring administrations in east and west.
2015—Islamists on the march: Islamist groups take advantage of the chaos and Islamic State seizes Sirte, Gaddafi's home city in central Libya, in February. In December, the rival parliamentary bodies sign the Libyan Political Agreement to set up a new transition. The agreement confirms the HoR as Libya's parliament but gives members of the General National Congress a new role as an advisory second chamber—the High State Council (HSC).
2016—Islamic State driven back: The HoR rejects the new government as it takes office in Tripoli, entrenching Libya's east–west divide. Western armed factions eventually take Sirte from Islamic State as Haftar fights militants in Derna and Benghazi and seizes the oil crescent region of central Libya.
2019—Haftar attacks Tripoli: After two more years of on-off fighting across Libya, Haftar drives his LNA through the south, bringing most remaining oil fields under his control. In April, Haftar launches a surprise offensive against Tripoli, taking Sirte en route. He is backed by the United Arab Emirates, Egypt and Russia. Western Libyan armed groups come together to support the Tripoli government with help from Turkey, their alliance bolstered by a deal on maritime borders that angers Egypt and Greece.
2020—Ceasefire: Turkey openly offers military support to Tripoli and Haftar's offensive collapses. As his forces pull back, evidence of atrocities is found in the town of Tarhuna. The sides agree a ceasefire and the UN launches a new peacemaking effort aimed at holding national elections the following year.
2021—A failed election: Eastern and western factions accept a new Government of National Unity (GNU) and Presidency Council, meant to oversee elections in December. But the HoR in the east and the HSC in the west cannot agree on a new constitution or rules for the vote and the election falls apart at the last minute.
2022—Standoff: Both parliamentary bodies now say the unity government has lost its legitimacy but the prime minister, Abdulhamid al-Dbeibah, refuses to quit. The HoR in eastern Libya again appoints a rival administration, but it fails to enter Tripoli. The Nawasi, a major Tripoli militia, is driven from the capital.
More than 14 years after the 2011 revolution and the fall of the former regime, Libya remains mired in an unstable transition marked by recurring violence, fragmented and divided institutions and the entrenchment of powerful armed groups. Its current governing and legislative institutions have continued to operate well past their mandated terms. The lack of an agreed upon constitution and the failure to hold national elections in December 2021, competing interpretations of political agreements, transitional road maps and provisional legal instruments are being used to entrench positions within the prevailing stalemate.
In the aftermath of the failure to hold national elections in December 2021, the political landscape of Libya has been defined by a prolonged stalemate and two distinct centres of power: the Government of National Unity in the west and the Libyan National Army in the east and south. In the west, in the absence of strong institutions, hybrid armed groups often act as de facto providers of security. Competition among these groups over territory, resources, control of illicit activities and institutional influence has fuelled recurring violence that often affects the civilian population. In May 2025, the killing of a major armed group leader triggered some of the deadliest clashes in Tripoli since 2011. With no unity of vision among Libyan political and institutional leaders on a national security architecture and disarmament, demobilization and reintegration, the various armed groups have limited incentives to pursue alternate paths.
In the east, over time, administrative structures that parallel those in the west have consolidated, including a military structure, executive bodies and economic institutions, presenting a challenge to efforts to unify national institutions. In the south, the situation remains characterized by divisions along tribal lines and complex security dynamics, including the presence of foreign fighters and mercenaries and the cross-border movements and activities of criminal networks, including illicit trafficking. Southern Libya, while rich in natural resources, remains politically and economically marginalized. The Amazigh, Tebu and Tuareg communities, which are the country’s three recognized non-Arab Indigenous groups, are not adequately represented in State institutions.
ToaKraka
Dislikes you
4d ago
traffickers
Human trafficking and smuggling are two different crimes. However, the two are related and often intertwined. Human trafficking is involuntary and victims are exploited, whereas smuggling is voluntary, yet still bears life-threatening risks. A smuggling case can become human trafficking if the victims are exploited—for example, by being held for ransom, or to pay off a smuggling debt through forced labour or sex work.
ToaKraka
Dislikes you
5d ago
See also the Vorkosigan Saga Sourcebook and Roleplaying Game (licensed GURPS product, "with character art specifically approved by Lois McMaster Bujold").
ToaKraka
Dislikes you
7d ago
Puerto Rico (and the other US territories)
Who cares about Puerto Rico?
Virgin Islands erasure. :-(
Seriously, you should point directly at the Virgin Islands instead of just lumping them together in "the other US territories". They even have much more comparable population—87 thousand vs. Greenland's 57 thousand and Puerto Rico's 3.2 million—and they were purchased from Denmark just as Trump is considering purchasing Greenland from Denmark.
ToaKraka
Dislikes you
7d ago
I thought the mental image of my comment was amusing.
It is, but it's also a confusing non-sequitur, since the previous discussion was of a car's bumping a pedestrian, not a fender bender between two cars.
ToaKraka
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7d ago
See GURPS Dungeon Fantasy Treasures 1: Glittering Prizes for lots of guidance on using custom coins in TTRPG campaigns.
ToaKraka
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7d ago
Based. I have 700 hours in Nioh 1 and still haven't even started Nioh 2.
Associated Press, Reuters, ISW: Just a week after declaring independence, Yemen's Southern Transitional Council has lost its capital and dissolved.
ToaKraka
Dislikes you
7d ago
(1) What problems do browsers have with displaying images? It's my understanding that browser display of images has only been improving, with "lazy loading" specified in HTML and implemented in browsers.
(2) What do images have to do with my comment? I'm talking about emoji, not images.
ToaKraka
Dislikes you
7d ago
The money promised must be significantly more than what Denmark is currently providing
One article indicates that Denmark's current subsidies are a bit more than 10 k$ per person-year.
People should be able to write comments in an orderly list format without being accused of using LLMs. I can assure you that the long comment that I posted today did not involve AI use despite including several lists.
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