Air crash in Washington

Batshit

Lets get back to the Air disaster in the USA.    We have serious deficiencies in th c ontrol tower at the Reagan Airport and the questions keep piling up going back to 2014:-

•  A ccrding to a video recording a certain Mr Washington was nminated and appointed after an interview in which he could not answe a single question on anything relating to conmtrol of air traffic at airports.   He was the epitome of a DEI appointment and the result was a tragic loss of life - and over te last week two air ccrashes tok place - one in Pennsylvania and one in Virgina adjacent to Washington D C.
•  At the Reagan airport there  should be 30 air controllers in service - there are only 17 staff members,
•  At the time of the accident there was only 1 air conmtroller on duty - the second one went home early, 

"You keeping up with what's happening in the gaming industry, Plum? Studios closing, big guys like Ubisoft and EA in trouble over their stupid DEI and political pandering in games and the absolute dive in quality? People just aren't buying into it anymore."

Ah yes the get woke go broke fallacy.

Care to explain why Cyberpunk 2077 sold over 30 millions copies and and its expansion sold over 8 million copies yet it allowed you to play as gay/trans character?

What about the Last of Us Part 2. Lesbian lead characters. Over 10 million copies sold.

How about Hogwarts Legacy, featuring a transgender women, sold 30 million copies.

Baulders Gate 3, 10 million copies.

And there is loads more examples.

Meanwhile, studios like Rockstar have their finger on the pulse and are about to earn more money with GTA 6 than any game or movie before.

Rockstar, you do realize they made a game Bully in which you play as teenage boy in a boarding school and there is an achievement for kissing other boys.

DEI or wokeness has nothing to do with the quality of a game. Some games that contain what's considered woke content are good, some are middling some are bad, same as games without DEI/Woke content.

So what happened in reality iro the saga is no said by the media to be part of it,   That relates to the Head of FAA - he had no influence in runing the Authority because he was a comlete idiot based on DEI quotas.

So what did effect the Reagan Airport staffing.   In terms of real requirement there should be 30 controllers - but the problem is that when the vacanxcies was advertised and there was minimal applications complying with DEI requirements - but the also failed in all other requirements and in the end  it was decided to keep the jobs vacant and re-advetize the vacancies.   Why the  hell keep crucial posts vacant because appliants do not meet DEI requirements.  

Ultra-left policy implmentation caused the havoc in this case and Trump must have been furious when he made that well-deserved attack on yet another disaster caused by such policies Biden introduced,  Same BS as was the case in  California with its waterless fire hydrants.

Now the problem Trump has is to root out the malignancy in the US Public Service and that is going to lead to firing of tens of thousands of Public Servants wasting tax-payer dollars,   It will require AI evaluations to find out who never contribute any work - but getting their salaries and allowances every month.   Employment fraud leads to monetary fraud and the pestilence should be rooted out. 

            . 

BB 

That video clip of the question "Why are they so afraid with you"?   The answer is real - a number of Dem Senators are involved in criminality - both through bribes and backhanders and they know Patel is going to find out what is really happening and going to report to the AG Bondi on the findings and some Senators do not want to spend the rest of their lives in jail.

Top of the list are people like Schiff - who will  have his feeding system exposed quickly and decisively.   

Stav, nobody apart from some extremist trolls really care whether there are gay/lesbian/trans people in a game, as long as it is organic, doesn't artificially do that to further an agenda and the game remains authentic. That's why games like Cyberpunk, BG3 and Hogwarts were huge successes. 

Now contrast BG3 to DA: Veilguard, as an example - where right from the start you can't even create a female character with large breasts or anything but a flat ass, and no male character can be bigger than Manie Libbok. It is a clear drive towards the blurring of lines between the sexes, an agenda so obvious not even you can overlook it, and a complete mockery of "diversity and inclusion". And then adding in gender surgery scars? In a medieval fantasy world? And even that would have been excusable perhaps if it was a passable gameplay experience, but it's not. It's like an MMO with an identity crisis.

This is what I mean by DEI, from Ubisoft (their website is more littered with boasting about their diversity and inclusion commitment than anything about game quality):

Ubisoft is committed to contributing to the feminization of its workforce and the overall industry!

That is a political agenda, meaning better qualified candidates will be overlooked to meet a different quota, and it shows in the terrible quality of recent Ubisoft games. It shows in their interns and graduates program only allowing women and non-binary people. If you don't think that is a "go woke go broke" strategy, well, Ubisoft has lost 80% of its value in the last 5 years and is predicted to go bankrupt this year.

The usual Anger anti US  stance. Here’s your problem…Chat’s summation of trade conditions:

Generally, government barriers to imports are greater for U.S. goods in Europe than for European goods in the U.S. This is due to a combination of tariffs, regulatory differences, and non-tariff barriers.

1. Tariffs

• The European Union (EU) has slightly higher average tariffs on imported goods compared to the U.S.
• The EU's Common External Tariff applies to goods from non-EU countries, including the U.S., and can be higher in sectors like agriculture and food products.
• The U.S. also imposes tariffs but has, on average, lower tariff rates on manufactured goods.

2. Non-Tariff Barriers

• Regulatory barriers in the EU tend to be stricter, especially in areas like food safety, chemicals, and digital privacy (GDPR).
• The U.S. has regulatory differences, but American standards are often more flexible than the EU's.
• Agriculture is a major point of contention—the EU has strict rules on genetically modified organisms (GMOs), hormone-treated beef, and chemical treatments for poultry, which restrict U.S. exports.

3. Trade Disputes & Agreements

• Both sides have filed complaints at the World Trade Organization (WTO) over tariffs and subsidies (e.g., Boeing vs. Airbus dispute).
• The EU imposes restrictions on certain U.S. tech companies over antitrust and data privacy rules.
• The U.S. has imposed tariffs on European steel, aluminum, and some luxury goods, but in general, the EU maintains more import restrictions.

Conclusion

While both sides impose trade barriers, European import barriers for U.S. goods tend to be greater due to higher tariffs and stricter regulatory requirements, especially in agriculture, chemicals, and digital services. The U.S. market is generally more open, though it does impose some trade restrictions, particularly in response to trade disputes or national security concerns.

When you can’t compete….regulate and use the courts:

Europe has taken several regulatory and legal actions against U.S. technology companies, primarily in areas such as antitrust, digital privacy, taxation, and content moderation. Here are some key actions:

1. Antitrust Fines & Investigations

The European Commission (EC) has aggressively pursued Big Tech companies over alleged monopoly behavior and anti-competitive practices.

• Google

  • €4.3 billion fine (2018) – For forcing Android phone makers to pre-install Google Search and Chrome.
  • €2.4 billion fine (2017) – For favoring Google Shopping in search results.
  • €1.5 billion fine (2019) – For unfair advertising restrictions against competitors.

• Apple

  • €1.8 billion fine (2024) – For anti-competitive practices in music streaming, favoring Apple Music over Spotify.
  • Ongoing antitrust probes – Over App Store fees and restrictions on developers.

• Amazon

  • €1.1 billion fine (2021, Italy) – For prioritizing its own logistics services over competitors.
  • Concessions made (2022) – To avoid further penalties over marketplace competition.

• Meta (Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp)

  • €1.2 billion fine (2023) – For transferring EU user data to the U.S. without proper safeguards.
  • €390 million fine (2023) – Over forcing users to accept personalized ads.

• Microsoft

  • €561 million fine (2013) – For failing to offer users a choice of web browsers.
  • Ongoing scrutiny – Over bundling Teams with Office 365.

2. Digital Privacy (GDPR Enforcement)

The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), implemented in 2018, gives EU regulators power to fine companies for mishandling user data.

• Meta fined €1.2 billion (2023) – For illegal U.S.-EU data transfers.
• Amazon fined €746 million (2021, Luxembourg) – Over privacy violations in targeted advertising.
• Google fined €50 million (2019) – For not providing transparent data policies.

3. Digital Markets Act (DMA) & Digital Services Act (DSA)

The EU passed two major laws in 2022 targeting Big Tech:

• Digital Markets Act (DMA) – Requires tech "gatekeepers" (Google, Apple, Meta, Amazon, Microsoft, TikTok) to allow fair competition (e.g., opening up app stores, ensuring interoperability).
• Digital Services Act (DSA) – Forces platforms to remove illegal content quickly and be transparent about algorithms and content moderation.

These laws directly impact U.S. companies by limiting their dominance and imposing new responsibilities.

4. Taxation & Digital Services Taxes (DST)

Several European countries have imposed digital taxes on Big Tech, bypassing traditional corporate tax loopholes:

• France's 3% digital tax (2019) – Targets companies making over €750 million globally from digital services.
• Similar taxes in Spain, Italy, and Austria – Aimed at U.S. firms like Google, Facebook, and Amazon.

The U.S. initially retaliated with tariff threats, but a global agreement on a 15% minimum corporate tax (OECD deal, 2021) helped de-escalate tensions.

5. Content Moderation & Misinformation Rules

• The EU has pressured platforms like Facebook, YouTube, and Twitter to remove illegal/harmful content, including hate speech, election misinformation, and extremist content.
• Under the DSA, platforms must increase transparency on content moderation and advertising practices.

6. Blocking Acquisitions & Business Practices

• The EU blocked Meta's acquisition of Giphy (2021) – Citing concerns over competition in the GIF market.
• The UK (via the CMA) initially blocked Microsoft’s Activision Blizzard deal before approving it with conditions.

Conclusion

The EU has been the most aggressive global regulator of U.S. tech companies, imposing billions in fines, passing new digital laws, and restricting business practices. The antitrust cases, GDPR enforcement, and new digital laws (DMA & DSA) have significantly impacted Google, Apple, Meta, Amazon, and Microsoft. Europe is pushing for more competition, stronger privacy protections, and fairer taxation—creating major challenges for U.S. tech giants operating in the region.

But against Chinese companies, the actions are not as aggressive. What do these little Brussels  men in suits think the reaction is going to be….bite the hand that has helped you survive two wars, look the other way with China:

Europe has taken some regulatory actions against Chinese tech companies, but they are far less aggressive compared to those against U.S. firms. The focus has primarily been on national security, data privacy, and market access, rather than antitrust or competition concerns.

1. National Security & 5G Bans (Huawei & ZTE)

• Huawei and ZTE have been restricted or banned from participating in 5G networks in several European countries, citing security risks and ties to the Chinese government.
• Countries taking action:
  • UK (2020) – Ordered telecom providers to remove Huawei equipment by 2027.
  • Germany (considering a partial ban).
  • France – Imposed strict restrictions, discouraging telecom operators from using Huawei.
  • Sweden – Completely banned Huawei from its 5G networks.
• Unlike the U.S., which imposed a full ban, some EU countries still allow Huawei in non-core telecom infrastructure.

2. TikTok Investigations & Bans

• EU institutions (2023) – Banned TikTok from government employees’ work devices due to cybersecurity concerns.
• France, Denmark, Belgium, and the Netherlands have imposed similar government bans.
• The European Commission opened an investigation into whether TikTok's data practices violate the Digital Services Act (DSA) and GDPR.

3. Data Privacy & GDPR Enforcement

Chinese companies face scrutiny under GDPR, but fewer fines compared to U.S. firms:

• TikTok fined €345 million (2023) – For mishandling children's data.
• Alibaba & Tencent – Face increasing regulatory pressure but have not been fined as heavily as U.S. firms.

4. Investment Restrictions & Foreign Subsidy Investigations

• The EU introduced new rules (2023) to investigate companies receiving foreign subsidies, which could impact Chinese firms that benefit from state-backed financing.
• Germany blocked a Chinese takeover of a semiconductor company (Elmos, 2022) over national security concerns.

5. Antitrust & Market Access

• Unlike U.S. tech giants, Chinese firms (e.g., Alibaba, Tencent, Xiaomi) have not faced major EU antitrust fines.
• The EU is investigating whether Shein, TikTok Shop, and Temu benefit unfairly from China’s subsidies.
• Chinese EV manufacturers (BYD, Nio, XPeng) are under EU investigation for potential unfair subsidies.

Conclusion

The EU focuses more on national security and data privacy when regulating Chinese tech firms, rather than aggressive antitrust action like it does with U.S. companies. While Huawei, TikTok, and Shein face increasing scrutiny, Chinese firms have not been fined as heavily or restricted as extensively as U.S. companies in the EU. However, Europe is tightening regulations on Chinese firms, especially in telecom, social media, and EVs.

It’s about time America demanded a level playing field.

The usual Anger anti US  stance.

Emm, where?

Mozart thank you for doing all that research on the EU bias against USA which is the country that has spent Billions on Nato and other programs to the EU since WW 2.

No other country has assisted Europe as much as the USA or come close.

Unfortunately the more you give the more they demand and if they do not get their way it ends up in the situation that prevails in Europe today.

What a shame.

"It’s about time America demanded a level playing field."

Indeed...

Lol Cyberpunk...

You mean one of the most refunded games in living memory?

If I have to sit through an unskipable cutscene where some character is telling me all about how they never felt comfortable in their body and and and...I'm deleting. I don't play games to hear about the latest wokeness and gender, race...blah blah blah.

And the majority of gamers of agree.

Yes, Rockstar have their finger on the pulse. They will let you play as anything you like but won't preach to you about what you should and should accept.

Perhaps that's a subtle a distinction but it makes a huge difference to the player. 

TLDR; People are sick of the preaching.

Cyberpunk got good Plum, they just released it very broken. No excuse for that, but at least they committed to fixing it. 

Rockstar is the shit though. I'm not necessarily on board with some of their business practices, but damn they make epic games. RDR2 still sets an almost unmatchable standard 6 years later.

I don't play games to hear about the latest wokeness and gender, race...blah blah blah.

This, and this is what the activists now masquerading as game developers don't get. Gamers play games to escape the real world. These people instead force reality, and of course their reality or perception thereof, into games.

Ubisoft makes that clear on their website and I quote: "creating games that reflect the diversity of the world we live in". Exactly what gamers don't want and no one asked for. That's why they're going bankrupt.

Lol Cyberpunk...

You mean one of the most refunded games in living memory?

The refunds were for technical issues, nothing to do with DEI.

And the refunds were only tiny fraction of total sales, not even 1%. So Lol all you want, its been one of the most successful and profitable video games of all time.

Game was excellent.

If I have to sit through an unskipable cutscene where some character is telling me all about how they never felt comfortable in their body and and and...I'm deleting. I don't play games to hear about the latest wokeness and gender, race...blah blah blah.

And the majority of gamers of agree.

Lol except they don't.

Yes, Rockstar have their finger on the pulse. They will let you play as anything you like but won't preach to you about what you should and should accept.

Yet the pricks won't release the game on PC day one because they want people to buy the game twice and are absolute asshats towards the modding community. Maybe its the publisher Take 2 forcing that stuff, but they come across as very corporate greed over creativity. I like their games but they have been very samey for years.

Perhaps that's a subtle a distinction but it makes a huge difference to the player. 

It's not. I tell you what, why don't you try to be a free thinker for once and just play and judge a game on its own merits and stop being angry at X title  because other people tell you to be angry about them for X reasons. Chances are you won't even notice the shit they are complaining about it.

Arthur the expectation is we smile and ignore the inequities. The moment you stop giving everything they want….what has gone before is forgotten.

America conventionally do not classify their digital products, as products.
Instead, they classify them as services. (e.g. Software as a service). A dog as a cat is still a dog.

If you do the numbers again, but this time consider software as a product, then it may be that the US has a surplus with the EU (not the other way around).  Google usually call their advertising products - products, not services. 

I would be happy for Big Tech to be fazed out of the EU. The Big Tech Oligarchs are destroying America, and they should not be allowed to take down the EU as well. They just want monopolies to pay the shareholder. 

Big Tech refuse to follow any data privacy laws, and just harvest the internet to steal personal data to sell it. 

Still baffled as to how Mozart construed my posts as anti US.

I would be happy for Big Tech to be fazed out of the EU. The Big Tech Oligarchs are destroying America, and they should not be allowed to take down the EU as well. They just want monopolies to pay the shareholder. 

Big Tech refuse to follow any data privacy laws, and just harvest the internet to steal personal data to sell it. 

I'd say there is a reasonably good chance X will end up banned in the EU in the next year or two. 

That’s a plan…I’m sure your Chinese software will work better in your Chinese cars.

I would rather deal with the Chinese than Trump and the Big Tech Oligarchs.
China are a more long term threat, but the US and Putin are the immediate threats.

So the world is the EU enemy and China is not a threat - but The USA who must fight the Russians and China on behalf of the pathetic EU  because they cannot even figt a regiment of Russian soldiers and use Ukraine to lose people and territory in the process,   Weird thinking of a woke BSter. 

China will be a direct threat to the EU countries if it is not for the USA actually protecting  the EU.    So start learning Chinee soon - but then you will find that Europe will be tickets sooner than you think because they are spineles .        

Stav, I warn you, when it comes to gaming you are way out of your depth against me.

Firstly, people bought Cyberpunk on the basis of two things. The fact that Witcher 3 was an all time legendary game and also because there was an itch for a futuristic open world game. They bought it because of the studio's reputation and because the genre was sought after. I dare you to prove otherwise.

If you are using sales as the metric of success then you're in a road to nowhere as far as games go. Remember Anthem? The BioWare flop that sold a gazillion copies. There's a very long list of games exactly like that. Yes, a game has to sell well...but an open world game needs to retain a player base for it to be considered a success. Would you like me to show the actual stats of what happened with Cyberpunk? It was an abject failure. 

I see you say that gamers are not against being forced into experiencing social engineering and wokeness in games? Well, then I'd love to see you explain why Ubisoft just fired the entire writing team on Dragon Age. I know why. It's because they woked it to high heavens and the community response was, in a word, repulsion. The hilarious things is that as far as the gameplay went it got decent reviews...but I was the story(in all its wokeness) that the community despised. 

Next, I see you complaining that Rockstar want you to pay for their games on various platforms. Umm, that is the norm. And the fact that you don't seem to be aware of it tells me that you're a casual. 

On another note: I'd never played the modern Doom franchise. A friend recently challenged me to play through Doom Eternal on Ultra Nightmare. Quite difficult when you've never played it and know nothing about the game. At that difficulty, it basically becomes a Souls game. Plenty of dying since almost everything one-shots you.

If ever you find yourself looking for a game, I suggest taking up that same challenge. It's 120FPS on PS5 and runs very smoothly. 

DumbMike, you are a member of shitting BRICS. You need to focus on your own politics where China is your master. 

That is why I am warning you against the shit your propaganda  will result in.     Without UDS protection the EU countries will be occupied by China within 2 weeks,    Nobody really wants war against Russia and China - but site simpletons like you wants it,   Many millionaires have deserted the UK and is now living i Cape Ton and the Western Province area.   At least the said province still fuction administratively and the buyers are sreaming  in from all over the UK as he desired place of residence,.

What do they know that you woke supporting idiots  do not know?

   .      

Well, then I'd love to see you explain why Ubisoft just fired the entire writing team on Dragon Age.

Bioware, of course.

On another note: I'd never played the modern Doom franchise. A friend recently challenged me to play through Doom Eternal on Ultra Nightmare.

Hehe, you don't just fire up Doom on UM. Haven't gotten round to Eternal yet but I struggled through Doom on Normal I think, doubt I'd be able to get through it at anything higher. It's fun though, even if the amount of backtracking you often have to do through levels to get the right key back to the right door did frustrate me at times. But that's nothing new in the franchise.

Stav, I warn you, when it comes to gaming you are way out of your depth against me.

ROFL. Will come back to this.

Firstly, people bought Cyberpunk on the basis of two things. The fact that Witcher 3 was an all time legendary game and also because there was an itch for a futuristic open world game. They bought it because of the studio's reputation and because the genre was sought after. I dare you to prove otherwise.

So they bought the game for some of the typical reasons people buy games...your point is?

If you are using sales as the metric of success then you're in a road to nowhere as far as games go. Remember Anthem? The BioWare flop that sold a gazillion copies. There's a very long list of games exactly like that. Yes, a game has to sell well...but an open world game needs to retain a player base for it to be considered a success. Would you like me to show the actual stats of what happened with Cyberpunk? It was an abject failure. 

Anthem sold less than 1/6th of what Cyberpunk 2077 did. Comparing Anthem to Cyberpunk is a joke. Anthem was a multiplayer live service RPG, Cyberpunk 2077 was a single player RPG that was not a live service game. It didn't need to retain a player base for it to be a success but for a single player game it's actually retained a very good number of players. Steam stats have  63,451 people playing it right now and even that's not a true reflection of the actually playing numbers because it would of also sold very well on the developers own storefront GOG, not to mention other digital storefront. So its the 25th most played game on Steam over 4 years after release. Those numbers are excellent.

I see you say that gamers are not against being forced into experiencing social engineering and wokeness in games? Well, then I'd love to see you explain why Ubisoft just fired the entire writing team on Dragon Age

I see your gaming knowledge is so extensive you think Ubisoft made the latest Dragon Age, ROFL. 

Dragon Age didn't do as well as expected because as an overall gaming experience it was a pretty average.

 I know why. It's because they woked it to high heavens and the community response was, in a word, repulsion. The hilarious things is that as far as the gameplay went it got decent reviews...but I was the story(in all its wokeness) that the community despised. 

You do in my bollocks. There is countless games that people have called woke and they have been extremely successfully. A game can have woke characters and a good story, the two are not mutually exclusive. 

Next, I see you complaining that Rockstar want you to pay for their games on various platforms. Umm, that is the norm. And the fact that you don't seem to be aware of it tells me that you're a casual. 

No I complain because Rockstar deliberately delay the release of their games on certain platforms in the hope of getting people to double purchase the game on multiple platforms, there is no reason a company the size of Rockstar with the money they have can't release the game on PC day and date with the console release.  Rockstar/Take 2 are notorious for how they treat the modding community, shutting down long running projects if they perceive it as any sort of threat to their profits no matter how small. Its particularly galling when the modding community did a better job in improving the older GTA titles only for Rockstar to approve that hack job cash grab of Definitive Edition release.

As for me being a casual. This is how far your out.

I've been building my own custom PC for decades. Current rig is 7800X3D with a 4090, 32GB RAM, 5 TB NVME hard drive. Have 34" OLED ultrawide monitor. I have a 9800X3D on order.

Between Steam, GOG, Epic Game Store, Battle.net, EA App, Ubisoft Connect, Rockstar Launcher, Microsoft Store and retail games on disc, I've well over 1,000 games.

I also use to play game competitively and in doing so I won a free trip to Evo 2010 in Las Vegas. 

On another note: I'd never played the modern Doom franchise. A friend recently challenged me to play through Doom Eternal on Ultra Nightmare. Quite difficult when you've never played it and know nothing about the game. At that difficulty, it basically becomes a Souls game. Plenty of dying since almost everything one-shots you.

Your loss, the modern Doom games are excellent. I didn't play Doom Eternal on Ultra nightmare, but I did beat it twice on Nightmare. When it comes to Nightmare versus Ultra nightmare there is no difference in the damage the enemies do, so I know for a 100% fact that your wrong when you say almost everything one shots you. 

If ever you find yourself looking for a game, I suggest taking up that same challenge. It's 120FPS on PS5 and runs very smoothly. 

Playing Doom on a console, on a game-pad!. Disgusting sacrilege. Hope you turned off the aim assist, I hear its particularly egregious on consoles. Id Tech 7 is fantastic, looks great and runs well on anything. My monitor supports 144FPS with HDR or 175fps without HDR and Doom is a game you can easily max out with either option with full ray tacing and you wouldn't even need that powerful a rig.

Hehe, you don't just fire up Doom on UM. Haven't gotten round to Eternal yet but I struggled through Doom on Normal I think, doubt I'd be able to get through it at anything higher. It's fun though, even if the amount of backtracking you often have to do through levels to get the right key back to the right door did frustrate me at times. But that's nothing new in the franchise.

I'm a sadist, always whack everything to max difficulty with the exception of games that have difficulty levels that are one death and you start over.

DumbMike, you are a member of shitting BRICS. You need to focus on your own politics where China is your master. 

I see Trump is threatening tariffs on the BRIC's countries. I wonder will the Trump supporters here be supportive of tariffs being place on their own country.

Ou exoirts to t he USA is minimal and imports much more,   So we will just return e compliment,   Wheat we get from Russia and most other imports from China India and Brazil - so all that would happen is that the imports from the USA will have a 100% charge as well.

Princes William's and Harry's cousins grew up in SA an their main residence is in C ape Town,    On divorce Charles Spencer lost all his properties  and money in SA because he cheated his wife ad she got duly compensated,    The scoundrel then said SA is the orst place in the world to live in.   Three years later he boought another hme in Constantia - Cape Town -  and he is now back in SA,    In Cape Ton the cost of lvin g in SA  terms are hig h - but due toe xchang e rates benefittin g  money brougth in SA - they live five times better than they live in England,   

There were even US millionnaires loking around to see about moving to Cape Town to escape from the Biden maladministration and destruction of the USA. - but after Trump's voctory they seems to be happier in the USA as they used to be/

Inflation is hihgh in SA - but we do survive despite it especially if a better economy in te USA develop  in the USA after the chaotic BS of the Biden A dministration.    ,   .              

I'm a sadist, always whack everything to max difficulty with the exception of games that have difficulty levels that are one death and you start over.

I did Witcher 3 on Death March, but that's not so bad since the game works in your favour quite a bit with the easy dodging and the multitude of aids. The only other games I go for extreme difficulty is the Souls, which of course only has and on/off difficulty, with On meaning you're in the game and Off meaning you're in bed with a book. My twitchy twitch isn't what it used to be in my younger days so fast paced games like Doom kick my ass on higher diffs. Nice to know you played competitively Stav, wouldn't have known. I'm just an enthusiastic recreational gamer (on a less than enthusiastic recreational system, haha).

"I see your gaming knowledge is so extensive you think Ubisoft made the latest Dragon Age, ROFL."

Apologies, I was mixing up Ubisoft and their Assassin's Creed debacle with BioWare and their Dragon Age disaster.

An honest mistake.

"Anthem sold less than 1/6th of what Cyberpunk 2077 did. Comparing Anthem to Cyberpunk is a joke."

I'm simply making the point that game sales are based around hype and the studio's and/or franchise's reputation. There have been plenty of games that tanked despite initially selling well. The new Dragon Age being a new addition to that list...and most of the reviewers out there blame the woker than woke writing. Here's a review on how woke it is...from a person that declares themself ultra woke:

I'm every bit as sadistic as you when it comes to choosing difficulty. Honestly, most of the time I find that the hardest mode is probably how the games are supposed to be played. I find that playing on the hardest difficulty makes it a very different game from playing on normal mode.

I wouldn't know what the second hardest difficulty on Eternal is like since I only played it on the hardest. And things DID one-shot me constantly. Even once I'd upgraded my health and armour to max, I'd be doing fine and then my health bar would suddenly vanish.

What game did you play competitively? I'm hoping it's Street Fighter  or an RTS... and not COD.

lol Pakie...I had a buddy, the same fker that suggest it, watching my screen and he was telling where the keys and secrets were.

Only because he wanted to get me to the next fight quickly so he could watch me die some more.

I must say though, I'd never have tried it had he not suggested it and it...and now I'm looking forward to the new one coming this year.

I'm realising there are plenty of gamers on this board.

Some people love watching other people step in some shit. Oh wait, I'm one of them, watching YT videos of people playing Fromsoft games and running straight into death they didn't know was coming is one of my time killers. Come to think of it, I even like watching myself walking into unexpected annihilation in Souls :) 

...and I fully support Trump hitting SA with as many tariffs as he can.

The ANC believes that the world owes them something. It's high time that they find out the free money, and drugs, they get from the US isn't a right but a privilege.

South Africa has long been taking what they can from the West while doing their best to cosy up to the West's adversaries at every opportunity.

They want to be treated as equals and be respected on the world stage. Perfect. Let them be treated like adults and have to make adult decisions for a change about who they align with. Until now they have been treated like the little brother that doesn't know better and been getting a free pass from the US.

Pakie, you like Souls type games?

For some reason I do, Plum. I'm not one for tedium so you'd think I'd hate them, but there's something addictive about it, about figuring out stuff and about having to be good and improve your skill and dissect a boss to actually progress. I also love the fact that there's no hand holding or quest markers or any of that paint by numbers kiddie shit that have made open world and fantasy games so stale and dumbed down over the past decade. 

I never finished Dark Souls, got about halfway through just past O&S and Anor Londo before some new shiny thing probably drew my attention. Then I went a long time without playing any Souls, but I got Elden Ring on Steam's winter sale and I'm having fun with that now. Incredible world to explore, I go "what the hell is that" more than I've probably ever done in an open world. Will go back to DS and finish it some day and probably take on some of the others as well, unless Fromsoft comes up with a new shiny before then. But I'll be busy with ER for some time still, it's huge and I take my time exploring everything. Best game I've played in a good while.

"I see Trump is threatening tariffs on the BRIC's countries. I wonder will the Trump supporters here be supportive of tariffs being place on their own country"

I would honestly have no issues with this at all

What FPS game can you guys suggest, since it seems that you guys have played a lot more games than me....

Not sure if you guys like the older games from Ubisoft and CI Games, like Splinter Cell, Sniper Ghost Warrior, Crysis, Metro etc etc

Looking for something similar, but you guys seem to be on another level with gaming.

I play on a ASUS gaming Laptop which seems to offer me enough to handle most games.