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#31
Gaming HQ / Re: Europa Universalis V confi...
Last post by Richard Hakluyt - November 17, 2025, 03:48:52 PM
Ah, they increased trade maintenance costs by a factor of 10 and now my trading empire makes a loss  :hmm:
#32
Gaming HQ / Re: Cities:Skylines
Last post by Syt - November 17, 2025, 03:39:33 PM
https://forum.paradoxplaza.com/forum/threads/an-update-on-cities-skylines-ii.1873154/

QuoteHi City Builders,

After more than a decade of successful collaboration across numerous titles that we're both immensely proud of, Paradox Interactive and Colossal Order have mutually decided to pursue independent paths. The decision was made thoughtfully and in the interest of both teams - ensuring the strongest possible future for the Cities: Skylines franchise.

Development of the Cities: Skylines franchise will move to a different studio under Paradox Interactive's leadership and Colossal Order looks forward to building on its experience across new projects and exploring new creative opportunities. Both companies are excited for what the future holds while remaining deeply appreciative of our shared history and grateful to the Cities' community.

"For over fifteen years, the Cities Series and our partnership with Paradox have been a defining part of our journey at Colossal Order. When we set out to create Cities in Motion, we never imagined it would grow to become a cherished franchise with a passionate, loyal community of millions of players around the world. We want to thank everyone at Paradox for their trust and collaboration, and of course the community for the incredible support that has made Cities what it is today. We're confident that the franchise will continue to thrive under Paradox's leadership. As we move forward, we're excited to channel our experience, creativity, and passion into new projects that align with our long-term vision." Mariina Hallikainen, CEO of Colossal Order

"Our partnership with Colossal Order is one of the longest-running relationships we've enjoyed here at Paradox. Four games, dozens of expansions, and a community of millions of Cities players; it's remarkable how much we've achieved together. We have deep respect for the Colossal Order team and we look forward to seeing where they go from here. On our end, we're eager to continue working for the passionate Cities: Skylines community and make sure to provide them with more content and new experiences." Mattias Lilja, Deputy CEO of Paradox Interactive

This means the Cities: Skylines franchise will move to a new developer, and we're pleased to announce that Iceflake Studios will be taking the lead. Based in Tampere, Finland, Iceflake Studios is one of Paradox Interactive's internal management game studios and is hard at work getting into the nuts and bolts of Cities: Skylines II. Specifically, Iceflake will take over all existing and future development for Cities: Skylines II, including free updates for the current version, continuous work on the Editor and console editions, as well as future expansions and content packs. This means that Cities players will be able to look forward to new updates and content drops for many years.

Colossal Order will implement a few additional updates before leaving, including the Bike Patch, which includes the long-awaited addition of bikes, Old Town buildings, bug fixes, and general improvements to the game. A Beta implementation of the asset support for the Editor, meaning access to Asset Mods, will also be available before year-end. Iceflake Studios will take the helm for all development from the start of 2026.

"Taking the reins on a genre-leading franchise like Cities is an immense honor and a great responsibility. There's a huge, loyal community out there and I want to say to every member of that community that we will humbly carry this legacy with respect, together with all of you. Iceflake has the capacity and capability to get started. We have a decade worth of experience from making city building and management games. We see a strong foundation and so much potential waiting to be unleashed and I can't wait to show you what we have planned for the next chapter of this incredible game." Lasse Liljedahl, Studio Manager of Iceflake Studios

Both teams are working together to ensure that players will experience a smooth transition. Iceflake will introduce themselves in the coming weeks and share their plans in the near future, so you know what to expect next!

Yikes. I mean, CO brought a lot of enthusiasm into C:S1 (though their DLCs were hit and miss at times), but with C:S2 they seem to have bitten off way more than they could chew and seemed unable to get things sorted (the bridges and harbor DLC finally released, about 2 years(?) late, modding tools are still missing, and overall it just seems very "meh." C:S1 (even without mods) still feels a lot better, even if the gfx of 2 look better.


FAQ abut the transition: https://forum.paradoxplaza.com/forum/threads/studio-shift-frequently-asked-questions.1873693/

The portfolio of Iceflake on Steam does not inspire confidence: https://store.steampowered.com/search/?developer=Iceflake%20Studios

At least CO had done Cities in Motion 1 & 2 before diving into a full on city builder.
#33
Off the Record / Re: What does a TRUMP presiden...
Last post by The Minsky Moment - November 17, 2025, 03:27:04 PM
Comey prosecution is already falling apart.

The sole witness to testify at that the grand jury was an FBI agent who had reviewed improperly obtained privilege communications; the prosecution relied on documents obtained from a search warrant in an investigation that closed in 2021 without seeking a new warrant and used materials that were well beyond the scope of the original warrant.

The court has also found that the prosecutors* made material mis-statements of the law to the grand jury, including statements prejudicial to Comey's constitutional rights.

Conclusion is that there are multiple reasonable grounds to dismiss the indictment; Comey team will be granted access to grand jury materials to pursue those motions.


*This was a mistake.  Only one prosecutor presented - Halligan.  Not surprisingly, she didn't have a clue about what she was doing and botched the job.
#34
Gaming HQ / Re: The Miscellaneous PC & vid...
Last post by Syt - November 17, 2025, 03:26:17 PM
Fingers crossed that Ubisoft manages to hang on till then. :P
#35
Off the Record / Re: Russo-Ukrainian War 2014-2...
Last post by Zanza - November 17, 2025, 03:25:07 PM
As a response to Russian aggression, Germany has decided to reintroduce conscription, to have sufficient troops and reserves in case of war.
#36
Gaming HQ / Re: The Miscellaneous PC & vid...
Last post by Zanza - November 17, 2025, 03:12:32 PM
Yes, it takes many elements from Anno 1800. Which makes sense considering that game's huge success. There are some new mechanics though: land units, different promotion paths in Albion, research, religion, adjecencies for production buildings ...
The DLCs also look very good, especially the one about Egypt end of next year.
#37
Off the Record / Re: The Anime Thread
Last post by Josquius - November 17, 2025, 02:57:03 PM
One punch man.

Season 1 came a decade ago. It is one of the best things ever.  On so many people's top anime lists.
Presents as a serious shonen anime about superheroes with these hyper powerful enemies showing up and giving lengthy exposition... Only to be beaten with an single punch by the depressed hero.
There's more to it. Very well animated fights happen involving lesser heroes before our guy shows up. As someone who had a fondness for dragonball as a kid. I get it.

Then 5 years later season 2 finally came. So exciting!
.... It was a noticeable drop in quality. Both writing and animation. The hero is purposefully removed from the action so minor heroes can see serious action. Some of them are fun. Like the gay daddy prisoner. But the animation quality noticeably drops.
Its not a favourite. But not quite terrible enough to kill the series. The next series will be great people who have read the manga say.
This arc is a bit slow. But just you wait.

Series 3 finally came this season. It's airing now. So...so... Excited.
....
I noticed right away.
I'm not the only one who noticed.



This is an actual scene from the show. Cropped but otherwise not edited in anyway. They actually thought this was good enough.
No he's not flying. He's meant to be just walking.

Episodes pass with flapping mouths talking about nonsense nobody cares about.
The big super hyped fight scene which in comics is said to be so good it is the sort of thing you'd teach in a university course about drawing comics. Hailed as some of the best pages of any comic ever. The one people hoped they were just saving the animation budget for...
.... Its not much of a step up on man slides across hill.

Sometimes it is better when shows are just not renewed.
#38
Off the Record / Re: Russo-Ukrainian War 2014-2...
Last post by Tonitrus - November 17, 2025, 02:52:16 PM
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cp85g86x0zgo

QuotePolish PM says railway explosion was 'unprecedented act of sabotage'
2 hours ago

Poland's prime minister has said an explosion on a railway line leading to the Ukraine border this weekend was caused by "an unprecedented act of sabotage", and vowed to catch those responsible "regardless of who their backers are".

Visiting the scene this morning, Donald Tusk said the damage done to the railway tracks on Sunday was deliberate and likely aimed at blowing up the train. He expressed relief there were no casualties.

Speaking later in Warsaw, after an emergency meeting of security officials, Poland's special services minister said there was a "very high chance" that the blast was carried out on the orders of "foreign services".
#39
Gaming HQ / Re: The Miscellaneous PC & vid...
Last post by Syt - November 17, 2025, 02:30:26 PM
Quote from: Zanza on November 13, 2025, 01:29:41 PMAnno 117 has launched today. I will try it now, looks spectacular if you like that kind of game.

Played Act I of the tutorial campaign (just made it to Albion). I like it, it looks very pretty ... but it feels very much like Anno 1800 with a Roman Empire coat of paint. Not complaining, it definitely feels more like evolution rather than revolution. If you liked Anno 1800 and fancy playing it in Ancient Rome, then this might be worth a look. :P

I guess the biggest change is land units?
#40
Gaming HQ / Re: Europa Universalis V confi...
Last post by Valmy - November 17, 2025, 01:42:08 PM
I get several notices every single month people are turning 16 and then I have to go check to see if I care about them. It gets rather exhausting.

And nobody wants to royal marry me since I am a dirty pagan. But I suspect when I play a non-Pagan country that will also be something I have to manage.