The General Banter Thread & Community Stoning Platform

[wew]

pathfinder is better anyways
I love my spreadsheet and numbers

 

[Bronze]

Don't mind me, I'm just here to mention allegedly Mihoyo funded, owns and operates a nuclear reactor. Hololive should step up their game

 

[VSoyBoy]

Don't mind me, I'm just here to mention allegedly Mihoyo funded, owns and operates a nuclear reactor. Hololive should step up their game

I think they might be at the point where they genuinely don't know what to do with the money anymore. Genshin is already the most expensive game ever developed and it still makes multiple times it's budget every year. Looking at the list of wealthiest private companies, the sort of monoliths they share that top 15 list with is bonkers.

Spoiler: Top 15 private companies

1. ByteDance - $220 Billion
2. SpaceX - $180 Billion
3. OpenAI - $100 Billion
4. Ant Group - $80 Billion
5. Shein - $65 Billion
6. Stripe - $61 Billion
7. Databricks - $43 Billion
8. Canva - $39 Billion
9. Binance - $34 Billion
10. WeBank - $33 Billion
11. Telegram - $30 Billion
12. Mihoyo - $23 Billion
13. Citadel - $22 Billion
14. Chime - $21 Billion
15. Blue Origin - $20 Billion

Edit: The list is for companies founded after 2000, doesn't take away from it though. Also I found out that Mihoyo apparently also funded a private rocket company in China.

 

[nuk-temleH]

Don't mind me, I'm just here to mention allegedly Mihoyo funded, owns and operates a nuclear reactor. Hololive should step up their game

Fusion, not fission. TOKAMAK is an experimental design that hasn't managed to break even and generate its own energy yet*, Mihoyo is mostly likely a stakeholder in the research startup or something. May also be that they're being "encouraged" to pump their money into projects like this, there's a funny pattern of Chinese companies that make a ton of money suddenly deciding that money should be used to fund strategic research projects. They may as well be burning the money they're getting from Genshin for energy, it would probably be cheaper to operate and it might actually generate more electricity than it uses.


...Although the fact that Fujo thirst money is enough to power a literal sun is possibly the funniest thing I've heard all day.


* It probably never will, by the way. For those that don't know, the reason fusion sucks right now is that it takes an immense amount of power to actually contain and prolong the reaction, so you never actually manage to make your own power with it. If it takes 2 power plants worth of coal-fired energy to operate your 1 fusion plant, it's not worth it. Fission, on the other hand, will actually sustain itself under the right conditions.

 

[IMissTheOldInternet]

pathfinder is better anyways
I love my spreadsheet and numbers

There's a reason 3.75 or 3.pf is thrown around a lot.
I have my issues with paizo but PF did keep the feel of D&D better than newer editions of D&D did, and it had a neat character folio where you actually had room for all the shit that needs writing down, I'll give it that.

 

[Gintoki]

Critical Roll is the Big Bang Theory / Rick and Morty of tabletop.

My normie friend: "You should watch Critical Role! It's so funny!"
Me, watching Critical Role:

 

[TwoBit]

I haven't given up on the Jersh becoming a vtuber dream. He would make a killing catering to the fujos if he did more asmr like this.

 

[VSoyBoy]

I think they might be at the point where they genuinely don't know what to do with the money anymore. Genshin is already the most expensive game ever developed and it still makes multiple times it's budget every year. Looking at the list of wealthiest private companies, the sort of monoliths they share that top 15 list with is bonkers.

Spoiler: Top 15 private companies

1. ByteDance - $220 Billion
2. SpaceX - $180 Billion
3. OpenAI - $100 Billion
4. Ant Group - $80 Billion
5. Shein - $65 Billion
6. Stripe - $61 Billion
7. Databricks - $43 Billion
8. Canva - $39 Billion
9. Binance - $34 Billion
10. WeBank - $33 Billion
11. Telegram - $30 Billion
12. Mihoyo - $23 Billion
13. Citadel - $22 Billion
14. Chime - $21 Billion
15. Blue Origin - $20 Billion

Edit: The list is for companies founded after 2000, doesn't take away from it though. Also I found out that Mihoyo apparently also funded a private rocket company in China.

Just had a little thought. What if Mihoyo get bored with nuclear fusion and rockets and decide to invest into something a little closer to their target audience?
Not trying to anger the spirits here but even the big two corpos are probably doable for them with cash on hand. I get that every buyer needs a seller but they could probably at least get their foot in the door by buying from the open market. Probably some hurdles with the Chinese-Japanese relations but BilliBilli managed to have a considerable stake in Anycolor. Mind you, they wouldn't even need to buy them outright, just hand over a big enough check or buy enough stock and voila: Hoyo games are the hot new thing that everyone in the company HAS to check out.

Just a little bit of nightmare fuel for everybody, sweet dreams.

 

[The Rrat]

Just had a little thought. What if Mihoyo get bored with nuclear fusion and rockets and decide to invest into something a little closer to their target audience?
Not trying to anger the spirits here but even the big two corpos are probably doable for them with cash on hand. I get that every buyer needs a seller but they could probably at least get their foot in the door by buying from the open market. Probably some hurdles with the Chinese-Japanese relations but BilliBilli managed to have a considerable stake in Anycolor. Mind you, they wouldn't even need to buy them outright, just hand over a big enough check or buy enough stock and voila: Hoyo games are the hot new thing that everyone in the company HAS to check out.

Just a little bit of nightmare fuel for everybody, sweet dreams.

No, Mihoyo should keep building power plants all around China and make sure to hire the cheapest, most unskilled labor to run them.

 

[BlueSharkTV]

No, Mihoyo should keep building power plants all around China and make sure to hire the cheapest, most unskilled labor to run them.

imagine spending money on that shit instead of your fanbase fucking based actually

 

[Bronze]

I wonder if they would be interested in NOA. They have enough money to go bigger, but maybe they can dip their toes before diving in fully

 

[Awoogers]

No, Mihoyo should keep building power plants all around China and make sure to hire the cheapest, most unskilled labor to run them.

so children below 18

 

[ex_lurker]

No, Mihoyo should keep building power plants all around China and make sure to hire the cheapest, most unskilled labor to run them.

I don't want to disappoint you but fusion reactors (like the one in the tweet) don't blow up if not properly maintained, they just stop working.

imagine spending money on that shit instead of your fanbase fucking based actually

I wonder if they were "encouraged" by the Chinese government into investing in more productive endeavors than gacha gaming.

 

[Sky Shouter]

I don't want to disappoint you but fusion reactors (like the one in the tweet) don't blow up if not properly maintained, they just stop working.

I wonder if they were "encouraged" by the Chinese government into investing in more productive endeavors than gacha gaming.

Inb4 when the commie chinks invade Taiwan we'll see Mihoyo repurposed to build missiles and fighters by only the most skilled of Uhygur slaves and political prisoners with art of Genshit and Honkai characters and text saying "roll gacha for your life!"

World War III is gonna be very interesting from a propaganda standpoint, we'll see soldiers with anime waifu posters instead of Betty Grable pinups and if nose art were still allowed I guarantee you aircrews would be spraypainting memes like "We're Going to Beat You To Death" and art of Coco Kiryu stomping on Winnie the Pooh

 

[GOD'S STRONGEST BUILDERBEAR]

Inb4 when the commie chinks invade Taiwan we'll see Mihoyo repurposed to build missiles and fighters by only the most skilled of Uhygur slaves and political prisoners with art of Genshit and Honkai characters and text saying "roll gacha for your life!"

World War III is gonna be very interesting from a propaganda standpoint, we'll see soldiers with anime waifu posters instead of Betty Grable pinups and if nose art were still allowed I guarantee you aircrews would be spraypainting memes like "We're Going to Beat You To Death" and art of Coco Kiryu stomping on Winnie the Pooh

dudes will literally shit themselves to avoid draft, and china is doing well enough economically to excercise soft power over taiwan, keeping them at bay without the need to intervention. World war 3 isnt happening, but western decline does because whats happening there is the same thing that happened to the soviet union. All thats left to complete the picture is the president dying of old age.

 

[nuk-temleH]

dudes will literally shit themselves to avoid draft, and china is doing well enough economically to excercise soft power over taiwan, keeping them at bay without the need to intervention. World war 3 isnt happening, but western decline does because whats happening there is the same thing that happened to the soviet union. All thats left to complete the picture is the president dying of old age.

Guys did that during the other world wars as well, the FBI tracked down half a million draft dodgers during WW2 and either forced them into the army or into prison. Only way to get away with draft dodging was to be rich enough to bribe the official in charge of you into determining you unfit for service, shitting your pants or running away doesn't cut it if they really need people. A country not being prepared for war/declining in power doesn't mean they're less likely to get into a war and aggressively draft people, it means they're more likely to do it.

Gotta love nuclear deterrence. Without it we'd have all been on a frontline somewhere a long time ago

 

[Paladin]

dudes will literally shit themselves to avoid draft, and china is doing well enough economically to excercise soft power over taiwan, keeping them at bay without the need to intervention. World war 3 isnt happening, but western decline does because whats happening there is the same thing that happened to the soviet union. All thats left to complete the picture is the president dying of old age.

I would not say that. Im an econ bro, and from everything I've seen, a good chunk of China's economy is literally fake. It's a long and boring explanation, but basically, the regional governors lie about their performance to remain in power; if they report bad numbers, they're replaced. So, since the Nixon era, China's governors have lied about their performance to remain in power, and given the nature of economic growth, the fake growth all compounded itself, with some economists like Luis R. Martinez from the Harris School of Public Policy, University of Chicago estimated that China is 60% smaller than it says it is. Given we have kinda India to compare it to, I doubt that the 60% figure is correct, but I can see it being like 25% of their economy in reality. However, the Chinese military has arguably an even worse corruption problem. Recently, it came out that the Chinese rocket forces were systemically corrupt, with reports coming out that soldiers even emptied the fuel from missiles to cook hot pots and replaced the fuel with water, not to mention that the army at large posted propaganda videos with the guns keyholing. TBH, I don't see any invasion of Taiwan, and at most, we will see Paper tiger-style politicking with China implementing a "quarantine" with the hopes that Taiwan and the world at large just accept it.

 

[Sky Shouter]

I would not say that. Im an econ bro, and from everything I've seen, a good chunk of China's economy is literally fake. It's a long and boring explanation, but basically, the regional governors lie about their performance to remain in power; if they report bad numbers, they're replaced. So, since the Nixon era, China's governors have lied about their performance to remain in power, and given the nature of economic growth, the fake growth all compounded itself, with some economists like Luis R. Martinez from the Harris School of Public Policy, University of Chicago estimated that China is 60% smaller than it says it is. Given we have kinda India to compare it to, I doubt that the 60% figure is correct, but I can see it being like 25% of their economy in reality. However, the Chinese military has arguably an even worse corruption problem. Recently, it came out that the Chinese rocket forces were systemically corrupt, with reports coming out that soldiers even emptied the fuel from missiles to cook hot pots and replaced the fuel with water, not to mention that the army at large posted propaganda videos with the guns keyholing. TBH, I don't see any invasion of Taiwan, and at most, we will see Paper tiger-style politicking with China implementing a "quarantine" with the hopes that Taiwan and the world at large just accept it.

Let's put it this way - when your supposedly modern army gets felted by pajeets with sticks, or your soldiers shit themselves and flee when confronted by turban-wearing sandnijis with AKs older than the Cultural Revolution in Sudan, or your shipyards are unable to build a Soviet-era aircraft carrier with a deck that doesn't crack despite having access to modern manufacturing technology that you have spent the past couple of decades stealing from Westerners, I think it's more likely China will collapse in on itself before they ever get around to invading Taiwan.

This is probably for the better, funny as it would be watching the Taiwanese bomb the shit out of the Three Gorges Dam and giving them the ol' Chiang Kai-Shek special once again.

 

[God's Strongest Wardog]

Critical Role killed D&D and TTRPG as a whole, you can't change my mind

gatekeep your hobbies while you can, support local creators delivering what the big names won't, so on and so forth

So how many hours of free time do you have, because this is an issue going back years, perhaps a decade and some change, but I'll try to condense as much as possible.

If we're talking in terms of popularity, you can easily find a game if you put in the effort, especially with various online tools and servers for any ruleset or campaign you could think of. Go one step further, host the games yourself, curate your players, and they will eventually come.

But you'll have to run the risk of playing with fans of Critical Role and its aftereffects on the hobby, in that if the game isn't like what Critical Role does, it's "wrong".

Coinciding with this, WOTC has been changing the game to accommodate this surge in popularity - cue the millions of articles about how "Orcs are actually black people and dwarves are jews (no, we're not racist for thinking this, YOU'RE the racists)". Now every race is equal with no unique racial bonuses - wait, no, can't use the word "race" anymore, that's problematic - and the game continues to be dumbed down for the common denominator, so problem solved, right? Not good enough. There needs to be more actual real-world race and LGBT representation in every game, everyone against this are heckin' bigots. The spiral continues until this day, with these fans bleeding into other TTRPG efforts as well.

Back to Critical Role, years into their popularity they would have to apologize for not having enough queer and BIPOC players in their games, and now their earlier content is ALSO heckin' problematic. Celebrations of the first black DM in Critical Role, celebrations of "the message", their animated series isn't good enough for those standards, so on and so forth. Even with all the changes they make, they probably won't be as popular as they used to be, and the damage has already been done on the hobby by those who got into it because of them.

Dungeons and Dragons - and TTRPGs as a whole - have never been more successful, after removing everything that made the nerds of old fall in love with it.



I agree - you can always play the old/better/homebrew rulesets with whomever you want, in fact that's the ideal way to play the game.

This won't stop the new product of D&D and similar major tabletop games from catering to the Critical Role audience and capitulating to the whims of tourists, which is what I was referring to in the hyperbole. Preserve the old ways as much as you can, and if the new content continues down this path without course correction, don't give it the time of day - instead give your time and money towards the creators that actually deliver.

First off, take your meds

Second, a literal autist spent years rebuilding Mystara, I literally don't need anything else.

Third, there are legions of other autists that have save everything fron Greyhawk modules, Dragonlance supplements, and other metric fucktons of shit, even pre-Pozzening Forgotten Realms. You literally don't need to pay Whizzers of the Coast a dime.

Abloobloo Dee n' dee is DEEEEAAAD.

 

[GOD'S STRONGEST BUILDERBEAR]

with some economists like Luis R. Martinez from the Harris School of Public Policy, University of Chicago estimated that China is 60% smaller than it says it is

Trusting a westerner lmao, also even if those estimates are right, 40% of reported chinas economy is still pretty big, and enough to remain a strong regional power in asia. And shitty army would also be more of a reason not to confront neighbors, so you know, its better for china to just wait around and clean the house than jumping a shark and putting themselves in a costly war with an island notorious for how shitty waters around it are