BruceVC

You guys are over-analysing the UNSC ruling and misunderstanding why its significant No country is going to invade Israel to enforce it if thats what you hoping But its symbolic and it matters to global and UN opinion and the continuation of the legitimacy of the IDF campaign in Gaza We tend to confuse Internet opinions and grandstanding with RL optics and how governments want to be seen in conflicts like this Its like with Russia, some people will say " Russia doesn't care what the world or the UN thinks. Its ignored the ICJ ruling to end the invasion and no country will invade Russia because it was nukes " But Russia absolutely does care what UN thinks, it wants legitimacy for the invasion and it has several cases in the ICJ and one of them is around how the invasion was justified because of genocide committed against Russians in Donbas. Russia wants the world to see it as a country that believes and supports international law so despite what we think and see Putin doesn't want Russia to be seen as a rogue or warmongering state who would invade a country without a legitimate reason And this is the same as Israel, they want legal legitimacy for the IDF campaign in Gaza. Netanyahu is a terrible leader but optics do matter to Israel Israel has ignored UNSC resolutions in the past but this is different. There is far too much global attention on Israel in this latest conflict and Biden is also getting negative views of perceived indifference and lack of action Just compare most of the worlds support for Israel after 7 October and look at it now? Global public opinion is now generally very critical towards Israel and if they ignore this UNSC it will only get worse Thats why it matters, its not so much about words like binding or enforceable. Its that it was passed and how the globe and the UN will reflect on this UNSC ruling

Im really disappointed, he is such a talented artist but the allegations are very serious and if he is on the run then the allegations are more than likely true

You make some good points here Wormie, especially " It seems Sven has a vision that he wants to reach one day and BG3 was just a stepping stone toward it. They took BG3 IP as they needed money and profile to evolve beyond D:OS2. Now they have both and they can do the next thing. " Maybe we will see D:OS3 because I assume they want to have control of what IP they create The risk with creating your own IP is it doesnt have the same global footprint as an established IP like D&D but look at games like Dark Souls or other JRPG, they have there own IP and they do very well

It was a surprise for me because BG3 was an overwhelming sales success, over 15 million copies sold and still on the top 10 for ongoing Steam sales https://dotesports.com/baldurs-gate/news/baldurs-gate-3-reportedly-passes-15-million-copies-sold-as-larian-prepares-to-move-on To quote " Vincke revealed BG3 sales were “almost double” that of Divinity: Original Sin 2 in an interview with GameSpot on March 21. Vincke also remarked that BG3 was more successful than the studio anticipated it to be, which tracks given both the speed of the sales figures and the game’s reception. Seeing as Divinity: Original Sin 2 shipped approximately 7.5 million copies according to Vincke’s interview with Eurogamer in 2023, that would put BG3‘s sales at over the 15 million mark and make it one of the best-selling modern RPGs of all time" So this one of those unusual outcomes where its not just the sales success that is the reason for a studio to make another game and I assume as you mentioned that working with WotC is arduous

Yes its clear they have been brutalized and tortured but no surprise. If a state is fine with killing political dissenters you can imagine what they would do to people involved in a terrorist attack

This was almost inevitable, Netanyahu has gone too far with the military campaign and dismissed the measures the US suggested so its not a surprise the US didnt veto this latest resolution Its the most clear unofficial statement you can get with overall US displeasure with how Israel is conducting itself

I also dont want to see Trump elected again but there are several reasons he might win For me I respect the outcomes in any free and fair election, I may not be happy with the result but I respect it. We also have our national elections this year in May. Its the first time since 1994 that there is a chance the ANC will get less than 50% so it will be a very interesting election

Well there are people who claim to support Neo-Nazi ideology but they are a tiny group, maybe 6-7 people? The Ukraine thread has about 40 active people so they not a big factor Codex does have extreme political views but its from the left and right. But it also has normal opinions and more centralist views which is where I place myself more or less but I always support basic human rights over anything else If you take the US definition of left and right politics I support both the Dems and GOP around different policies

Nazi or Fascist leanings, it will be one or the other

Codex is not an echo-chamber and they have relaxed moderator rules I have realized its good to be exposed to different opinions especially because I dont use SM as a news source But its a very active and busy forum and I like that. But you cant engage in political debates on Codex and get offended because thats what some people will intentionally try to do once they know your views

Its no different to anyone who uses numerous SM sources to debate and share information Some good points get made on Codex and some utter nonsense gets spoken But thats just the political debates and I only follow 2-3. Its a very good source of gaming information as you know

I think it really does matter around who did it and this will influence the Russian response What I am finding hilarious on Codex is the amount of cope and attempts to dismiss the obvious candidates which is ISIS-K and the strange reasoning for this false narrative There are many anti-US\West commentators who support terrorist attacks on US interests because " the US is an imperialist power and it keeps meddling in the ME so it deserves to be attacked " And of course these same people don't consider Russia to be an imperial power that doesn't " meddle " so they don't want to accept that Russia is an active target for groups like ISIS for several reasons that include Russia current involvement in the Syrian war which is the same " meddling " the US has done in the ME The reality of groups like ISIS is they have a wide range of possible targets and countries and no one is really safe from perverse and anachronistic ideological views

Wow thats a seriously positive endorsement for DD2, good to know Are you playing on PC and are you using controller or m\kb?

But ISIS has several affiliated groups and they dont all fight to the death When the ISIS Caliphate in the ME was finally destroyed in 2018 there were several hundred ISIS militants who surrendered. Interestingly enough they were mostly the "Western " ISIS fighters from EU countries and not from countries like Chechnya I remember reading an article about an Iraqi Sunni women who lived under ISIS occupation in Mosul and she specifically mentioned how the worst atrocities and drug usage was done generally by ISIS members from Western countries and not foreign fighters from the ME and other places Remember this guy from the UK, "Jihadi John " https://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/feb/26/uk-man-behind-isis-beheadings-named-as-mohammed-emwazi-jihadi-john

Exactly, its almost guaranteed to be ISIS and they have released another video claiming responsibility The denialism and attempts to not accept its ISIS has surprised me, Vatniks on Codex are peddling various false narratives and someone mentioned its because " only the US and its allies get attacked by Islamic extremists for meddling in the ME " So I guess that could be the reason we seeing this strange attempt to not believe the obvious culprits responsible? Its not like its the first time Russia has been attacked and it wont be the last, remember the Russian plane that was blown up leaving Egypt https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-34687990

I finished FC5 after 50 hours and you were right in the sense my issue with Resistance Points was about a mod I loaded, it wasnt a bad design. I was able to clear Map 3 by mostly completing quests and I did very little grinding But overall the game gets a 53/100 on the globally endorsed " BruceVC game rating system ", many people may be surprised by its low score but anything over 50 is still fun and has some worthwhile mechanics ...its just not a great game and there is lots of repetition. But one distinctive positive is the music, its evocative. They selected really applicable background music for the main parts of the game Before I uninstall it I decided to play a DLC called Hours of Darkness which is set in Vietnam and its great fun I am now also playing Hogwarts, early days and I am just on the first classes in the Academy but I can tell its going to be good experiences and I do enjoy the lore that exists in the Harry Potter universe I have loaded some recommended mods and Im looking forward to my Hogwarts journey

https://www.spectator.co.uk/article/gunmen-open-fire-in-moscow-concert-hall/ Putin ignored the warnings from the US and even went on the expected grandstanding knee-jerk response to the US intelligence " Just three days ago, as reported by the Russian state media agency TASS, Putin branded these warnings ‘outright blackmail’ whose intention was ‘to intimidate and destabilise our society’. The warning – and his dismissal – is being highlighted by opposition Telegram channels and set against the carnage that Russia is confronted with this evening" And its obvious why Russia responded like this, they cant accept that the US might have credible intelligence that the Russian state was not aware of and Putin needs to continue to project the image that under his style of authoritarianism Russia is domestically safer and its own intelligence gathering is effective The one thing the article is wrong about is the statement " For some time, Western intelligence agencies have been picking up chat about potential strikes in Moscow – and the US took the unusual step of making a public warning " Its not unusual for the US to issue these types of warnings for their citizens in any country where they have credible information of an imminent terrorist attack and often they right. Its happened in South Africa where the US warned SA about an imminent ISIS linked attack and there was immediate criticism of the US warning but a month later an ISIS cell was arrested

https://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/gunmen-combat-fatigues-open-fire-moscow-concert-hall-108395835 Its looks like it was another craven ISIS related attack on civilians and once again US intelligence was 100% correct but ignored by Russian authorities But its also not a good look for Putins authoritarian leadership who prides themselves on domestic security as as advantage to his type of leadership

But whats significant about Shifa is the IDF used a much more humanitarian approach to occupy the building, to quote " Around 6,000 civilians were also evacuated, but unlike the November operation when there was no inspection of evacuees, these civilians were evacuated with a careful inspection to catch all of the terrorists" One of the legitimate criticisms towards the IDF has been the heavy handed military approach, instead of sending in ground troops to clear a building like Shifa they have often used bombs and missiles which ends up killing both extremists and civilians and its not an acceptable way to fight this type of urban warfare Boots on the ground, its slower and carries more risk to the IDF but its one of the most reasonable ways to fight in a place like Gaza

https://www.jpost.com/israel-hamas-war/article-793118#google_vignette Israel achieved a significant military victory yesterday after a 4 day operation around the Shifa Hospital "The IDF announced on Thursday that in its four-day operation in Shifa Hospital in northern Gaza, it has now killed around 140 terrorists from Hamas and Islamic Jihad, as well as arrested around 650 additional terrorists" " Curiously, the IDF said that all of the Islamic Jihad operatives in the area quickly surrendered, whereas Hamas’s forces were split into two groups, with one large group also surrendering en masse and one large group continuing to resist. Interesting how Hamas is more prepared to fight to the death, hopefully this latest success brings this terrible war to an end. It cant happen soon enough

But Gorthfuscious on a serious note, is Juice Media considered a real political institution in Oz? I assumed it was satire? Also its not unreasonable to have laws that say " images of politicians cant be used in adverts during elections unless they give consent " Im sure those same laws exist in numerous countries for obvious reasons of abuse and usage of the image from opposition parties. I can only speak for myself but I wouldnt want my image to be used anywhere unless I give consent But end of the day Juice Media is not really an advertising company so the " advert " isnt really an advert so it shouldn't have been banned or rather it was unnecessary even if it was technically legal?

We were just looking for post-apocalyptic games, not fantasy. Also he has played BG as far as I know

Okay your requirements make it harder for a recommendation because Metro and STALKER are FPS and Fallout 1&2 are isometric but not party based. You can have 1-2 companions but its not like BG or PoE Maybe Wasteland fits that requirement but I havent played them so I cant comment Wormie or Mamie or someone else may have suggestions ? @Wormerine @Mamoulian War any thoughts for post-Apocalyptic games that are "party-based;no first-person perspective; melee combat just as viable and effective as shooting from afar"

But surly that cant apply to Australia mainland? I see the legal infringement is " “an offence to publish on the internet an advertisement that contains the photograph or likeness of a candidate at an election without their written consent” So juice media is considered advertising? It doesnt make much sense because they more satirical videos They should just remove the word " ad" from the video and it should be fine

Have you never played any post-apocalyptic games like Fallout, Metro or STALKER Yes they not fantasy but they are an excellent genre and they have some similar components like monsters become mutants or mutated creatures