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Cake day: June 5th, 2023

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  • I haven’t played much past creating characters and redesigning their home so if you want to know how the actual lifesim aspect feels, I would recommend the 45 minutes of gameplay video on the official channel.

    That being said, the creative side is amazing. Even though you don’t have as many clothing items and objects as Sims 4 has accumulated over the years, what you have is extremely flexible. Everything (skin, hair, clothes, furniture, walls, floors, …) can be freely recolored, often with multiple color slots and patterns. Clothes can be layered so you can freely pick which jacket goes with which shirt - and of course you can color them separately. Furniture can be resized, often separately in different dimensions and they will procedurally adapt to those new dimensions. For example, two-seater and three-seater couches are the same item. Just make a two-seater a bit wider and a third seat appears.

    I could go on but I guess you get the general idea.

    There are a few bugs (most noticeably a broken animation when a Para gets up from sitting at a desk) but for an early access indie game it’s already more stable than I would have expected.



  • It is not. See JuSchG § 9, section 2: “Section 1, number 1 does not apply to adolescents in company of a legal guardian”. Section 1, number 1 restricts beer, wine, cider and similar drinks under the age of 16 and an adolescent (“Jugendlicher”) is defined as 14+.

    In total, that means that you are allowed to buy and drink the listed kinds of alcoholic beverages starting at 14, as long as a legal guardian is present and allows it. Even in public.

    For other alcoholic beverages (e.g. liquor) or food that contains significant amounts of alcohol, there is a hard limit at 18+, no exceptions.



  • This thread gives me so many opportunities to go “well actually” with useless knowledge.

    Pepper spray is kind of legal in Germany. You can freely buy it without age restrictions as a defense against wild animals. It is however illegal to deliberately use it against humans. But then again, German self-defense law allows you to use “whatever is necessary” to prevent an attack. So if you can make a compelling argument that your bare hands were not enough, you can totally use pepper spray, a knife, a baseball bat or even a gun to protect yourself, your property or others. Of course, for the gun you might be on the hook for illegal possession but that’s a different question.

    On the other hand, CS gas (a form of tear gas) is fully legal for use on humans.



  • I think you’re confusing us with the British.

    Germans are careful about anything that could be considered antisemitic because of history but unless you go straight to Nazi slogans, there is no law that forbids you from being critical of Israel. Insulting someone can be illegal but that can only be applied if you insult a specific person, not a country and it’s only enforced in extreme cases.

    So unless OP plans to join a full-blown anti-Israel protest that risks getting violent, I don’t think they have to worry about that.



  • I have lived my whole life in the south of Germany.

    People in the south are literally known for their friendliness. Or, in the case of Bayern, their fake friendliness.

    Don’t get me wrong, people are friendly. But the way they show it is different from other cultures. They are more likely to tell you what’s on their mind instead of meaningless small talk and polite phrases. To some cultures that seems to appear rude even if it isn’t meant to be.

    They do not speak English.

    The assumption that nobody speaks English is outdated by decades. Some may have a thick accent or mix German and English grammar when speaking but they will definitely understand you. I’ve met many foreigners who came here to practice their German and got frustrated when everyone immediately switched to English when they noticed a foreign accent.


  • General culture:

    • In a big city like Munich, most people under 60 will understand English pretty well. Some might be hesitant to reply in English because they are not used to speaking it out loud but they will certainly know what you need from them. Younger people who are chronically online might have more contact with English than with German in their everyday life.
    • Many Germans, especially in the south can appear grumpy and not very talkative towards strangers. They are not angry at you, just direct. “Not complaining is enough praise” is a fairly common saying. If you ask someone how their day was, don’t expect empty pleasantries but facts. On the other hand, once you get to know someone you can become their new best friend within half a day.
    • This goes for anywhere in the world but if you value your sanity, don’t talk about politics.
    • We may be of a different culture than you but we are not aliens. If you are unsure about something, just ask and if you do something inappropriate, someone will tell you.
    • If you need a snack during the day, I recommend looking for a bakery. Most will have a selection of sandwiches and bottled beverages.
    • Most stores are closed on Sundays while restaurants may have their own days off (often Monday). Opening times may vary but don’t expect 24/7 supermarkets like in the US and Asia. If you urgently need something, try a gas station or near a train station.

    Laws:

    • The EU and Germany specifically is big on privacy. It is technically illegal to take a photo of an individual without their consent. Photographing crowds is fine and nobody will complain about being in the background of your selfie but don’t go around shoving a camera in someone’s face without asking.
    • As others have said, beer is legal from 16, liquor from 18, even in public. Even if you don’t drink, be prepared to encounter a couple of drunk teenagers if you’re out in the evening. Just be polite and ignore them and it will be fine.
    • Other than that, expect a pretty standard western legal system. Unless you’re planning to actively commit a crime, the details won’t be important to you.

    Terms and phrases:

    • Bahnhof => train station
    • U-Bahn => subway / metro
    • Flughafen => airport
    • Bitte => please / you’re welcome (yes, it can mean both)
    • Danke => thank you

  • Well, it’s complicated. The first movie ends in the mid 80s before most of the controversies (child abuse allegations, skin bleaching, excessive face surgery, his unexpected death) occurred. It seems like they had originally planned to include those but found a contract that prevented them from including Jordan Chandler (the alleged first abuse victim) as a character in the movie so most of the second half was reshot.

    I’m unsure if there should be a second movie but there is definitely a lot more of Michael Jackson’s story left to tell, including many parts that could be more critical of him. After all, many people complained that the first movie showed only his positive sides.



  • For me, chess is one of the least frustrating games to lose in because it’s entirely based on the difference between my skill and my opponent’s skill. There is no luck involved, so losing is entirely my own fault. And even if I lose, I might have learned something.

    What’s way more frustrating is games that drag on for hours and then get decided by something that I can’t control like an unlucky dice roll or card draw.



  • dfyxAtoich_iel@feddit.orgIch🕵️‍♂️iel
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    16 days ago

    Das Problem ist, dass vieles, was die großen Unternehmen tun, aus rechtlicher Sicht gar keine Steuerhinterziehung ist, sondern die Ausnutzung von völlig legalen Schlupflöchern in unserem viel zu komplizierten Steuerrecht.

    Das fängt schon damit an, dass Privatpersonen und Unternehmen völlig unterschiedlich besteuert werden:

    • Als Privatperson zahlst du Steuer auf Einkommen. Das heißt, alles was du in irgendeiner Form einnimmst, musst du versteuern, selbst wenn der Großteil davon für Miete, Lebensmittel und sonstige Notwendigkeiten drauf geht. Ein bisschen kann man für Freibeträge, Fahrtkosten, etc. abziehen, aber das macht am Ende vielleicht ein paar hundert Euro im Jahr aus.
    • Unternehmen dagegen versteuern hauptsächlich Gewinn. Wenn ein Unternehmen alles, was es einnimmt, sofort investiert oder umverteilt, hat es keinen Gewinn gemacht und zahlt so gut wie keine Steuern. Wenn jetzt der neue Porsche ein Dienstwagen ist und man beim wöchentlichen Ausflug auf den Golfplatz zehn Minuten über Geschäftliches spricht, dann hat man der Chefetage sehr viel Gutes getan, was weder die eine noch die andere Seite versteuern muss, weil es ja eine geschäftliche Investition war.

    So zumindest mein vages Verständnis der Lage. Ich bin kein Steuerfachmann, musste aber schon Steuererklärungen sowohl als angestellter Arbeitnehmer (hallo Känguru!) als auch als Kleinunternehmer machen. Wenn man sich auskennt, gibt es da sehr viele Punkte, an denen man sparen kann.