Hello! I am an economics major who is well aware that AI and machine learning is the future. I have been told that Python is the gateway to learning machine learning and AI. So, I want to learn it and combine Economics and AI some way or another in the future although I don’t know how.
I am learning Python completely on my own with the help of books. I prefer books over YouTube videos but fine with both. I bought the following books to learn: 1. Python Crash Course 2. Python Distilled 3. Automate the Ordinary Stuff with Python 4. Impractical Python Projects
Suggestions needed: 1. Do I need to buy any other book/s to learn the language? 2. What books/resources to follow to specialise in my niche? 3. Which aspects of Python should I look to specialise in? (Sorry in advance if this or any other question here is dumb)

Post your "what Module to buy" , "Will my PC run DCS" , "What flight gear should I buy" , "how to use mods" , "What PC parts should I buy", in this thread please, posting these things outside of this thread will get your post removed. This is an attempt to keep the same questions from being spammed all over the sub multiple times per day in one thread
Tech help - when asking for help post your full PC Specs & c:\users\your username\saved games\dcs\logs\dcs.log file
Clans recruiting - Please post the time zone you operate when making a recruitment post
Known issues for DCS 2.9 version -> https://forum.dcs.world/topic/335557-dcs-29-open-beta-known-issues/
FAQ info on new 2.9 Graphics settings -> https://forum.dcs.world/topic/335368-29-graphics-update-faq/#comment-5307364
Jabbers video on 2.9 Graphics Settings -> https://youtu.be/VMKl2MM0EN8
Bug reporting for Multi-threaded issues -> https://forum.dcs.world/forum/1144-multi-threading-bug-reports-temp/
How to install DCS Mods properly ->https://forum.dcs.world/topic/161706-how-to-correctly-install-your-mods/
Looking for someone to fly with or teach you how to fly ? WingmanFinder
Modules De-activated issues...
It works like this
When you start DCS, your PC has to connect to ED's master server to request permission to run the software you spent your hard earned coin on.
IF either you cannot connect to master server OR master server has yet again fallen on it ass ... then you cannot play the software you rented
It was pointed out at the time by myself and many others a system designed with a single point of failure .... was a stupidly bad idea and would cause legit customers issues ........ which is what happens For some reason master server seems to be falling over regularly ...... especially on patch days.
How to backup/transfer config/keybindings
go to c:\users\your username\saved games\dcs\
Copy out the entire Config folder and put it somewhere safe
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My DCS is crashing what do I do
go to c:\users\your username\saved games\dcs\logs
Open dcs.log in a text editor go to the very bottom and work backwards until you see the start of the crashing portion , it may give you a clue what is going wrong there
Do a repair using DOS with DCS_updater.exe repair
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How to reset my DCS config after I mess something up, go to
c:\users\your username\saved games\dcs\config
rename options.lua to options.old.lua
start dcs
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To disable tracks being created
C:\Users\YOUR USERNAME\Saved Games\DCS\Config
create autoexec.cfg (if necessary as a new txt file)
and add
disable_write_track = true
to it and save
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Install modules using DOS prompt (handy if in game mod manager is having issues)
https://forum.dcs.world/topic/94816-guide-info-dcs-updater-usage-version-numbers-module-ids
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How to adjust your windows page file size if u have less than 32G of RAM
https://computerinfobits.com/adjust-page-file-windows-10/
​
DCS Minimum system requirements (LOW graphics settings): OS 64-bit Windows 10; DirectX11; CPU: Intel Core i3 at 2.8 GHz or AMD FX; RAM: 8 GB (16 GB for heavy missions); Free hard disk space: 120 GB; Discrete video card NVIDIA GeForce GTX 760 / AMD R9 280X or better; requires internet activation.
DCS Recommended system requirements (HIGH graphics settings): OS 64-bit Windows 10; DirectX11; CPU: Core i5+ at 3+ GHz or AMD FX / Ryzen; RAM: 16 GB (32 GB for heavy missions); Free hard disk space: 120 GB on Solid State Drive (SSD) + extra space for paid content ; Discrete video card NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1070 / AMD Radeon RX VEGA 56 with 8GB VRAM or better; Joystick; requires internet activation.
DCS Recommended VR systems requirements (VR graphics settings): OS 64-bit Windows 10; DirectX11; CPU: Core i5+ at 3+ GHz or AMD FX / Ryzen; RAM: 16 GB (32 GB for heavy missions); Free hard disk space: 350 GB on Solid State Drive (SSD); Discrete video card NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1080 / AMD Radeon RX VEGA 64 or better; Joystick; requires internet activation.
​
Standalone DCS version is better to use:
You have access a two week FREE trial on some modules and Maps
You can buy stuff direct from Eagle Dynamics, ED get more money AND you et bonus points (miles) to earn a discount later on when buying stuff
You can buy stuff on steam and transfer it to standalone
You cannot buy stuff from ED and transfer it to steam
You can control better which build of DCS you fly with using standalone
Steam and standalone can play together in MP (as long as they are using the same build version eg release or openbeta)
How to transfer from steam https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/223750/view/2873815732584411725

You can now insert images as comments when you seek for in-game help in Megathreads! Check out this mod post HERE for more information.
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Use this Megathread if you have general questions or need advice! e.g. asking for EX / Candy recommendation, gems usage, "Should I pull this banner?", "How do I build a team on this stage?", etc.
If you need team building help specifically for Champion Stadium, you may use the Champion Stadium Megathread to receive a quicker response.

Installing Pokémon Masters

Pokémon Masters is available worldwide except for Belgium and The Netherlands due to bans on loot boxes.
We will go over the two main platforms on installing the game, IOS and Android.
According to the official site, the game is most compatible in these devices:
iOS: 11 or higher / 64 bit / at least 2 GB of RAM
Android: OS 7.0 or higher / 64 bit / at least 2 GB of RAM
IOS:

1. Via Apple Store: HERE

Android

1. Via Google Play Store: HERE
2. Others

If the game is unavailable in your country or shows as not available for your device, you can download the APK directly from APKPure or QooApp.
You can also use VPN to download it from the application store, but it requires longer downloading time compared to the above recommended methods.
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Reroll Guide

Reroll means that you make a new account and look at what you got from your scout. If you don't like your first few multi-pulls, you delete the account and create a new one again and so on until you are satisfied.
​
Why reroll?

• You're a new or returning player and you want to get your hands on meta Sync Pairs for easier clears.
• A favourite/meta Sync Pair has been released and you want to get him/her no matter what.

​
How to Reroll?
If you're an existing player, delete your local data or cache first. Otherwise, do not link your account to Nintendo. Doing so will bind your Pokémon Masters account to your Nintendo profile permanently and can no longer be removed.
As of now, if you progress up to the point when co-op mode is unlocked, you can get at least 21.000 gems, the equivalent of 7 multis, earning at least 231/400 scout points (33 scout points per multi scout), allowing you to scout at least 77 Sync Pairs. Completing the following checkpoints will let you receive gems as completion rewards:

Completion Requirement	Notable Rewards	Additional Notes
Starting the game (Part 1)	MC & Pikachu, Misty & Starmie, Brock & Onix	Choose Kanto Starter (Movesets HERE)
Starting the game (Part 2)	MC & BulbasauCharmandeSquirtle, Blue & Pidgeot (5★ Guaranteed Scout)	Kanto Starter Egg Hatches
Finish Champion Stadium: Kanto Challenge (Normal)	150 Gems	You can reuse the same Sync Pairs after each round
Special Completion Rewards: Champion Stadium (Normal)	500 Gems	Accessible in the Poké Center as an icon on the top-left corner
Finish Champion Stadium: Victory Road	5000 Gems, SS Red & Charizard/SS Blue & Blastoise/SS Leaf & Venusaur (5★ Guaranteed Ticket Scout)	Also scoutable in the Triple Featured Poké Fair banner (3 days)
Finish Chapter 1 (Normal)	90 Gems, Rosa & Snivy
Finish Chapter 2 (Normal)	200 Gems, Barry & Piplup, Professor Oak & Mew and Legendary Arena unlocked.	Professor Oak & Mew upgrade materials available in Bingo Rewards
Finish Chapter 3 (Normal)	150 Gems
Finish Chapter 4 (Normal)	170 Gems, Erika & Vileplume
Finish Chapter 5 (Normal)	160 Gems, Skyla & Swanna
Finish Chapter 6 (Normal)	200 Gems, Korrina & Lucario
Finish Chapter 7 (Normal)	250 Gems, Norman & Slaking
Finish Chapter 8 (Normal)	170 Gems, Pryce & Seel
Finish Chapter 9 (Normal)	240 Gems, Iris & Haxorus
Finish Chapter 10 (Normal)	280 Gems, Hapu & Mudsdale
Finish Interlude 1 (Normal)	60 Gems, SS Brock & Tyranitar
Finish Chapter 1 (Hard)	100 Gems
Finish Chapter 2 (Hard)	200 Gems
Finish Chapter 3 (Hard)	100 Gems
Finish Chapter 4 (Hard)	200 Gems
Finish Chapter 5 (Hard)	100 Gems
Finish Chapter 6 (Hard)	200 Gems
Finish Chapter 7 (Hard)	300 Gems
Finish Chapter 8 (Hard)	200 Gems
Finish Chapter 9 (Hard)	300 Gems
Finish Chapter 10 (Hard)	300 Gems
Finish Interlude 1 (Hard)	100 Gems
EX Plaza: Special Training Battle Techniques	60 Gems

These missions are completed progressively as you play the game, so they are not listed in numerical order.
These missions can be completed multiple times as the player reaches new checkpoints.

Checkpoint (Missions)	Notable Rewards per level
Mission 1: Log in to the game	10 Gems
Mission 21: Raise team strength	10 Gems
Mission 3: Obtain Pearl	10 Gems
Mission 4: Obtain Big Pearl	10 Gems
Mission 5: Obtain 1★ Level-Up Manual	10 Gems
Mission 6: Obtain 2★ Level-Up Manual	10 Gems
Mission 7: Obtain 3★ Level-Up Manual	10 Gems
Mission 62: Evolve a Pokemon	10 Gems
Mission 91: Obtain a Lucky Cookie	10 Gems
Mission 125: Raise your player rank	10 Gems
Mission 262: Have a number of interaction(s) in Trainer Lodge	100 Gems
Mission 263: Reach friendship level 100 with a number of guests	100 Gems
Mission 264: Reach a certain friendship level with any guest	100 Gems

These missions can only be completed once but give a high amount of gems.

Checkpoint (Missions)	Notable Rewards per level
Mission 82: Link to your Nintendo account	600 Gems
Mission 89: Participate in the Battle Villa	1000 Gems

If you are not satisfied with your pulls, click on the Poryphone at the right-bottom corner in the Pokémon Center -> Account -> Delete Save Data. Repeat the above steps until you pulled the Sync Pair you want.
Now that you're ready to go on an adventure, link your account through Poryphone Menu by tapping "Account", then "Link a Nintendo Account" to save your progress. After that, try to get any free Sync Pairs as you progress:

• Professor Oak & Mew: Complete his Sync Pair story and finish the bingo missions from Professor Oak & Mew Special Missions.
• Rosa & Serperior: Complete all bingo missions from "Rise to 6★ EX with Rosa!" and upgrade her to 6★ EX.
• Legendary Event Sync Pairs: Obtainable via Legendary Adventures. Reach the end of story to obtain the legendary Sync Pair, character-exclusive 5★ promotion tickets and event vouchers. Try to upgrade them to 5/5 20/20 as soon as possible and invest in their Sync Grids; they will be valuable assets for content clearing. Do note that exclusive materials such as Champion Spirit and Sync Grid expansion for these Sync Pair are only obtainable in event reruns, and hence event-limited.

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EX Gear Type Chart

Note that these co-op stages only drop 2★ Gear as the highest rarity for their corresponding Gear Type. 3★ Gear is restricted to Type Gear Events and Pokémon Masters Day every month, and it can be obtained in the time-limited event shop and in the General tab in exchange for 3★ gear material co-op stage drops.

Stage	Gear Type
EX Brock	Grass/Steel/Rock
EX Misty	Flying/Fairy/Steel
EX Barry	Grass/Dragon/Water
EX Flannery	Bug/WateGhost
EX Erika	Fire/Poison/Ground
EX Skyla	Rock/Normal/Flying
EX Korrina	Fire/Fighting/Psychic
EX Pryce	Electric/Ice/Bug
EX Marshal	Psychic/Dark/Ice
EX Hau	Ground/Electric/Fairy
EX Clair	Dragon/Dark/Fighting
EX Janine	Poison/Normal/Ghost

​

In-Game FAQ

1. When is anniversary coming?

Half-year	28 February 6AM UTC
Full-year	28 August 6AM UTC

2 Why hasn't my Pokemon evolved? It's at Level [X]!
Evolution requires an evolution item available in the Training Area (Evolution Material Area). Upon earning the Evolution Materials, you need to go to the Sync Pair Stories to trigger the Evolution Story.
3. Should I save to do 11 multi-scouts instead of single scouts?
You can now get x11 units instead of 10, so yes, but we strongly recommend you to save gems for Poké Fair or Master Fair banners (which has a higher rate for 5★ characters).
4. How many gems are required to receive a Sync Pair of my choice?
36.600 non-paid gems (or 36.300 gems + 100 paid gems for a daily single pull), which is the equivalent of 400 scout points. Scout points do not carry over between banners.
5. What does [X]/5, [Y]/20, etc mean?
When you obtain a Sync Pair, they're at 1/5 Sync Move level. Rolling a dupe of that Sync Pair, or using a Move Candy will increase it by 1 level. 3/5 is the minimum for most sync pairs to complete their full Sync Grid, but some Poké Fairs have grid expansions that require their Sync Move to be completely maxed out at 5/5 for their full Sync Grid.
At the same time, Sync Pairs are at 0/20 Potential when they're just obtained. Giving Sync Pairs Powerups will raise their Potential and stats. When a Sync Pair is given 20 powerups, their star level will be increased. Getting a unit to 5★ 20/20 is mandatory for it to further upgrade to 6★ EX (if it has one).
6. How do I Unlock The Level cap of my units?
Training Area (Cap Unlock Area), (Cap Unlock Area 2), Exchange in the shop, Events.
7. Where do I get the manuals to level up my sync pairs?
Training Area (Level up Area), Exchange in the shop, Events, random drops in Trainer Lodge.
8. How do I get Sync orbs?
Training Area (Sync orb Area), Exchange in the shop, Events, Champion Stadium Master Mode (6K & 7.5K), random drops in Trainer Lodge.
9. What are Theme Skill and how do I get items to power them up?
Theme Skill is a new ability that raises the stats of your Sync Pairs if any of them has a common position, type, region, trainer group, or other features with another pair (or pairs) in the same team. Skill Spheres, which can be obtained in Theme Skill area and Champion Stadium Master Mode, are required to upgrade them.
10. What Lucky Skill should I roll for [X]? How do I get Lucky Cookies and Scrolls to unlock a Sync Pair's Lucky Skill?
Refer to Sync Grid Builds & Lucky Skills (by u/MomoSpark) for more details.
In general, the choices of Lucky Skills follow the roles of Sync Pairs:

• Strike:
  • Critical Strike 2 (3★ Crunchy)
  • Weathered Warrior 3 (3★ Deluxe) if used exclusively in weather
    • Boosts the damage of attack moves and sync moves but not max moves
• Support:
  • Vigilance (3★ Creamy), unless the Sync Pair already has Vigilance in their kit
  • Head Start 1 or Adrenaline 1 (both 3★ Deluxe) for -3 sync countdown acceleration
• Tech:
  • Refer to Strike if the Sync Pair's kit is Strike-based (e.g. Marnie & Morpeko, May & Swampert, P Serena & Whimsicott, etc.)
  • Refer to Support if the Sync Pair's kit is a tanker and/or a healer (e.g. Prof Oak & Mew, SS Leaf & Venusaur, etc.)
  • Head Start 1 or Adrenaline 1 (both 3★ Deluxe) for -3 sync countdown acceleration
• Sprint:
  • Head Start 1 or Adrenaline 1 (both 3★ Deluxe) for -3 sync countdown acceleration
  • Refer to Strike if the Sync Pair's kit is Strike-based (e.g. Nemona & Pawmot, Paulo & Lycanroc Dusk, etc.)
• Field:
  • Refer to Strike if the Sync Pair's kit is Strike-based (e.g. Victor & Spectrier, Variety Giovanni & Rhydon, etc.)

There are exceptions to some Sync Pairs. For example,

• Iris & Haxorous favours Lessen Confusion 9 (2★ Crispy) to increase DPS under confusion with Confusion Boon 5 in grid.
• Serena & Delphox and most other sleep-inducing units favour Troublemaker 1 (3★ Crunchy) to increase the accuracy of sleep-inducing status moves.
• Zinnia & Rayquaza can go for either Dauntless (3★ Creamy) to mitigate SP ATK debuffs after each use of Draco Meteor, or Weathered Warrior 3 (3★ Deluxe) to stack with her weather-based multipliers.

Lucky Cookies and Lucky Scrolls can all be obtained in Battle Villa (Single Player & Co-op), Blissful Bonanza, and Legendary Gauntlet. Legendary Gauntlet can provide unlimited 3★ Lucky Cookies as well as Deluxe Cookies exclusive to that mode after each successful stage clear, and their drop chance increases with longer win streaks.
11. What are the Sync Move effects of 6★ EX Sync Pairs of different roles? Who should I promote to 6★ EX first?
Each role gives different effects to Sync Moves when upgraded to 6★ EX.

• Strike: Sync Move becomes AoE. (Its power is not reduced against multiple targets.)
• Support: Sync Move raises sync buff by +2 instead of +1 when it is used for the first time. (Each sync buff increases damage output by 50%.)
• Tech: Sync Move power x1.5
• Sprint: Sync Move reduces the user's sync move countdown by 3.
• Field: Sync Move applies a field effect before dealing damage and extends its duration by 50%.

Support is usually prioritized for promotion to 6★ EX because its EX effect effectively doubles the damage of all allied sync pairs after first sync and is more widely applicable across most game modes, and the increased stats from raising the support's Potential greatly enhances its bulk to tank stages.
For Strike, if its kit has a very high DPS (e.g. SS Red & Charizard, Diantha & Gardevoir, etc.), or includes a powerful Sync multiplier (e.g. Steven & Metagross's Haymaker, Barry & Empoleon's Inertia, etc.), you are highly recommended to upgrade it to 6★ EX to apply the damage to all opponents. This applies to Tech as well, but only if the unit is a Sync nuker (e.g. Marnie & Morpeko, May & Swampert, etc.).
Since Field applies a field effect that can boost its own damage and potentially that of its allies as well, upgrading it to 6★ EX is also recommended. Sprint enables faster sync buffs and usually come with innate Sync Move multipliers like Tech, but its EX effect does not improve damage as directly as the other roles.
Promoting Support-type units to 6★ EX is not a must, but it's always an added bonus, especially if their Sync Move can provide any additional effects via passive or grid skills.
Always remember to upgrade Rosa to 6★ EX because the materials are obtainable for free.
12. Which Sync Pair should I use my candy on?
Refer to Which Sync Pair Should You Give Your Candy To? (Infographic) (by u/MuddyDummy) for more details.
Always save your candies unless the Sync Pair is exclusive to Seasonals, Poké Fairs or Master Fairs. Most Sync Pairs are usable at 1/5. You can always "accidentally" pull the unit you've been looking for from the normal pool, but you never know when limited Sync Pairs will rerun again. This may not apply to Sync Pairs that are your favorite.
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Common Technical Questions/Errors

Below lists all common technical errors you may encounter during the game, as well as how you can fix it. You are strongly encouraged to contact DeNA with any problems at [support@pokemonmasters-game.com](mailto:support@pokemonmasters-game.com) if any of these advice do not help.

1. Error 20103 — Please check your connection and try again: Usually caused due to lack of connection or sudden disconnection. Try playing the game in a place with more stable connection.
2. Error 10102 — An error has occurred. Restarting the game: This error is often triggered because it detects your phone is rooted, or that you are using external applications which allows opening multiple accounts on the same device. For rooted phone users, make sure you hide your rooted status.
3. Game crashed mid-battle: Restart the app and clear your cache. This option is available in the bottom-left corner of the title screen.
4. Does Pokémon Masters work on emulators? No. As of now, PM is not compatible with any of the emulators (including Bluestacks, Nox, etc.) However, playing two accounts on the same device is possible on Android by cloning with Island.

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Tools

• Events Countdown Timer (created by u/antocs, updated by Thunder#4694)
• PoMaTools (u/stdk12)

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Guides

• A Beginner’s Guide for Building Teams and Training Pokémon (u/Stitch426)
• Pokémon Masters: Tier List & Resources (PokemonMasters Guide Writer Team, Gamepress)
• Pokémon Masters EX: Datamine Analysis (PokemonMasters Guide Writer Team)
• Sync Grid Builds & Lucky Skills (u/MomoSpark)
• Eggmon Compendium (u/Zinfogel)
• Pokémon Masters Damage Formula (u/stdk12)
• More guides can be found HERE.

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Reminders

• To receive quicker response from other fellow users, it is strongly recommended to enlist your roster, Lucky Skills, Sync Grid builds and other information deemed necessary, such that you can be provided a strategic team with higher chance of success when battling.
• If you would like to provide images and videos, you may use external websites such as Imgur, Gyazo and Streamable to embed links.
• Do not force your own playstyle onto others as it is completely subjective. Different kinds of players, veterans and novices, casual and hardcore, may all share different opinions and playstyles. It is fine to give suggestions, but forcing your ideas and way of playing onto others is not something to be condoned here. No one's way of playing is completely right.

We are experiencing this module error quite regularly, which is causing our graphics software to crash. We had this issue about 8 months ago and we rolled the QuadroM4000 drive back to driver just before the release of Ross video's Xpressions V11. 5650. Has been solid until the last few weeks. We also have tried rolling back windows updates as well but still having the problem occur.
We are running Ross Xpression V11. build 5650 PC hardware: Intel Xeon CPU E5-1650 v3 @3.50GHz 32GB RAM Matrox Xmio2 5000 version 9.4.2.9304 Quadro M4000 version 516.40
Faulting application name: XPression.exe, version: 11.0.1.5650, time stamp: 0x62fbaa7e Faulting module name: nvd3dumx.dll, version: 31.0.15.1640, time stamp: 0x629e8efc Exception code: 0xc0000005 Fault offset: 0x0000000000b200bf Faulting process id: 0x%9 Faulting application start time: 0x%10 Faulting application path: %11 Faulting module path: %12 Report Id: %13 Faulting package full name: %14 Faulting package-relative application ID: %15

My wife and I are expecting our first baby in the next week or two. I’ve been on a hunt for nostalgic video games to put away to show my kids in a few years. I recently picked up the same model of Gameboy Advance SP I had. On my hunt for games that I played I’ve discovered the sheer number of games that were from the Spyro and Crash universes (some could say same universe since they have some games together). I only remember playing one or two of them. I’m currently playing through Spyro Orange and Crash Purple. As a now 30 year old it’s fun rediscovering games from my childhood that I missed out on.

Ok, regardless of how you feel about Somewhat Damage and the whole betraying Songbird thing, if you play PL more than one or two times you probably notice that almost everything e points toward the project Cynosure and Somewhat Damage path. Why?
Think about what Somewhat Damage path has to offer.

• More fleshed out story for all three characters (Myers, Songbird, Reed)
• You get to kill Hansen yourself.
• More gameplay variety (you get to recruit your own netrunner, and choose how you ambush MaxTac convoy)
• More weapons and cyberwares to unlock (Erebus, Canto, plus MaxTac Mantis Blades if you choose to call Mr.Hands when recruiting netrunner)
• You get to explore the project Cynosure bunker, which is even more interesting if you've done Bree's quest beforehand.
• You get to see Songbird's past.
• You get to talk to Myers one last time (and also get to tell her to fuck off if you want to)
• Now, I might be wrong on this, but this also kinda ties PL to the TTRPG by mentioning how Millitech was able to get some data from the old Net using the project Cynosure.
• If you go to where Songbird crashed the MaxTac truck after the whole ordeal, you will find that Millitech has already secured the area and probably try to reinitiate the project once again.
• Lastly, the Phantom Liberty music video at the credit clearly points toward this path.

Whereas in The Killing Moon path, what the game has to offer us are:

• You get to explore the NCX Spaceport in all its glory.
• You get to fight the NUS Blackops, which is fucking awesome when combined with the best song in the entire OST (Contra La Luna).
• You get to learn how Mr.Blue Eyes takes an interest in Songbird, which can also be tied nicely with the Paraleze quest line and potentially Orion.
• Alex gets to live, and if you choose to kill Reed, there will be one more interaction with her at The Moth.
• For some weird reason, the credit you get is still the Phantom Liberty music video which shows the project Cynosure's Core. So....

So, you can probably see what I'm driving here. IMO, The Killing Moon path feels pretty thin compared to Somewhat Damage. I know that it's the most popular choice to send Songbird to the moon, but there's no denying that this part is thin, like way too thin.
Why do you guys think this is the case? Why did CDPR seem to focus more on the Somewhat Damage path? Is it because either Songbird dies or gets sent back to NUSA is a "canon" going forward for Orion? Something else?

I was watching a YouTube video like an hour ago and some dude bought a car (crashed) for cheap. He showed the website and I was curious and I went into the exotics section. I found a McLaren for ~400$ cad and I have that money but since it’s an auction, it’s probably going to change in the next 13 hours (it ends in 13 hours). How can I convince my parents to let me buy it + it needs to be shipped to the US but I live like 4 maybe 3 hours away from a storage place for that company. It runs and has minimal scratches and little dents but that’s what the description says because on the photos, I don’t see anything. I really need help to know what to do and how to convince my parents to let me buy that car. They won’t let me spend 25 on candy for my brother but that was my original idea for a birthday gift but I changed ideas. I’m not telling the website so y’all don’t steal that shit from me. This might not make sense because I’m in a rush and I’m going to bed so it’s even less time to try and convince my parents to buy it with my money.
Edit: I forgot to mention his birthday is on the 30th

Long post but I need help finding peace.
Anyone have any advice on how to heal and move on when the family has completely abandoned you? A bit of a back story I can’t put all details as it is to many things that have happened. We have had to make the decision to cut the entire family off. At first we cut off the people who were directly the issues and attempted relationships with people who weren’t necessarily the ones that were outright abusive. However it’s become apparent that the family are enabling the terrible behavior by looking the other way and carrying messages to us, as well as kicking us out of places. MIL was emotionally abusive and narcissistic. Always over stepped boundaries and then cried and deflected blame when confronted on her bad behavior. Then we watched BIL 1 and his girlfriend neglect and abuse their child. We had to call CPS due to the fact that she aggressively yanked her 6 1/2 month old up by one arm and carried him dangling by one arm across the room. BIL also admitted to putting the baby in a pack and play and turning his video games up loud and let him cry for hours until he stopped crying. Honestly more incidents than I care to mention. I remember crying multiple times after watching how they treated that poor kid. After we called the entire family blew up. Since then BIL 1 and his girlfriend have thrown tantrums and told family we still talked to to kick us out of places and they did. The girlfriend got on FILs Facebook and blocked us without him knowing. The girlfriend also has actively harassed me while I have dropped off my kid at school multiple times when I have literally not said a single word to her. She’s also been nasty towards us at every event we were at with them. we ignored it and were polite. The entire family’s stance is that it’s “not their problem” however they choose them and to do their bidding at all times then blame us for getting pissed about it. We have constantly been told to be the bigger person. Husband has been called the joker because he cut people off. So it all came crashing down when my husband got kicked out of his declining grandfathers house. He told BIL 2 that he is done dealing with BS drama and that we are just continuing to deal with abusive behavior due to our relationships with them and that he was suicidal because no one cares about how he’s getting treated. BIL 2 just said he was being unfair and he would just stop talking to him then. Now we are grieving the fact that they clearly just don’t care. It’s clear that they would rather have a relationship with BIL 1 and his girlfriend (even though BIL 2 and FIL have also said they think BIL1 and his girlfriend are trash and treat people terribly and are not fit parents) over having us around. So now it feels like we have wasted the last 5 years of our life continuing to subject ourselves to abuse for people who literally don’t care. How to you grieve the people who you truly loved and cared about when they turned their back on you when you needed them the most? I’m so hurt for my husband, my kids, and myself and honestly I don’t know how to move on. We put a lot of effort in to try to create something healthy. However we constantly receive constant abuse. Anytime BIL 1 and his girlfriend see us around them I start getting harassed again. The family who are enabling them are still on our social media and I have been stuck on if I should delete them or not. Has anyone else gone through this and found peace? If so how? How do I help my husband! Any advice would be appreciated. Hopefully it made sense as it’s hard to condense so much into a post. Thanks

Hiya there, here's my first (recorded) gameplay of the latest Shades event, Lying Lessons! I'm sorry I didn't record this event when it came out two weeks ago for the first time, unlike I usually do.
Some backstory : There is an impostor pretending to be Sensei, his name is Scar, and he has learnt three schools of Martial Arts - here there are two, I'll show the third with the complete gameplay. He has taught these three schools to Rogue, Thorn and Crane, so they have special abilities of their own. Scar uses enhanced versions of all of their special abilities - I'll show everything in my next video!
Anyways, enjoy this video for now! I'll try to get the complete run done soon, explaining all the tactics needed to beat this event, and get those 8 golden keys.
Also, I kinda don't like not getting nice reception for my Shades gameplay. I did go off the tracks being a nice SF2 player, but this is something I do too. And I enjoy this, especially after crashing down May's event with tactics and skill.
And please stop calling Shades a failed sequel - in my opinion, its a decent game, yeah there's lack of content, because the developers work on 4 SF games at once, still Act 4 is coming out by June, and I'd love to see how the lore unfolds! Shades does require a lot of skill and techniques, its not exactly the same genre as SF2, its called a Roguelite for a reason, and its quite the nice hybrid (although a bit annoying) of elements from SF2, SF3 and SF4.
So, please, support Shades as a whole! Thanks!

I just bought and setup my new PC (yes I put it together correctly), got to play perfectly for about 5 hours. Now I can’t launch a single game with my entire PC crashing, all the parts in the Pc are brand new, it’s not overheating as far as I know. It started crashing on every game after I went into adrenaline software and changed the graphics settings. But I changed them back to default, and I still can’t launch any games without the PC rebooting itself. I don’t really know much more how to explain it because I’m new to PC. Im willing to get on a video call or whatever it takes to get this resolved because at this point I’m feeling like I’ve wasted my money. Anyways thanks in advance if anyone has any clue what the issue I’m experiencing could be

I just bought and setup my new PC (yes I put it together correctly), got to play perfectly for about 5 hours. Now I can’t launch a single game with my entire PC crashing, all the parts in the Pc are brand new, it’s not overheating as far as I know. It started crashing on every game after I went into adrenaline software and changed the graphics settings. But I changed them back to default, and I still can’t launch any games without the PC rebooting itself. I don’t really know much more how to explain it because I’m new to PC. Im willing to get on a video call or whatever it takes to get this resolved because at this point I’m feeling like I’ve wasted my money. Anyways thanks in advance if anyone has any clue what the issue I’m experiencing could be

First Previous Wiki
Admiral Tenrah returned to the battle map, looking at all the various icons and routes to and from star systems. So far, the Sennes Armada was keeping its pace mostly on track. The delay due to the diplomats from the Misan Li Heptarchies no longer would matter.
King Siran had pulled back from the battlefront against the High Federation in an attempt to pivot to the Hive Union. He had won the battle, but the stragglers included the remaining leadership of the High Federation anyway, so they could continue to remain somewhat organized. The massive civil war would soon spill into a more international affair, due to the King's rhetoric. But that was entirely his fault when he so strongly advocated for the deaths of Cawlarians who had lived on planets for generations that he happened to desire.
And he would not let his name be stained with even the suggestion of a loss. The Battle Planner and Fleet Commander Annabelle Weber were also now on their way to the front, and the diplomats from the Heptarchies were tagging along. Phoebe was in discussions with them now, and supposedly there'd been a few breakthroughs on that front. Whatever she'd promised them or get them to agree to, the fleet buildup along the Hive Union's border with the Heptarchies was slowing.
The Interstellar Gathering seemed to have realized no amount of bluffing would get the High King out of war. Even if he was a proxy force aligned with them, King Siran was not valuable enough for them to risk a wider war. It was just as Tenrah had expected and had told Eyahtni, Kawtyahtnakal, and the Patriarchs when he'd met with them several days ago. Just as a young hatchling couldn't be allowed to stray too far from the nest, there was simply no sense for the Heptarchies to risk economic ruin.
Orith and those who ruled over him would shift their tone while pretending it was a natural decision, not one they'd been forced to make to align with reality.
"I must commend your tactics in the latest training exercise," Tenrah said, ruffling his feathers slightly before respectfully nodding to Annabelle.
"I am pleased to hear such high praise from you, Admiral," the woman said. She was fully dressed in her regulation spacesuit, meaning most of her face was obscured. But Tenrah wouldn't complain since it was more than prudent to be ready for anything. The next unknown ships might not be friendly.
He had also looked into the parties responsible for the lack of communication or warning of the Misan's arrival. As it turned out, general incompetence was to blame. A receiver hadn't been properly calibrated, so the transmission signal had just been noise. He'd given the officer in charge of that an earful before eventually letting up and telling him to do better. A personal visit with the Admiral was one thing. But a second personal visit was quite another.
Tenrah drew a vector toward some of the outer systems controlled by the High King. A few garrison forces were there, but they would be swept away almost instantly. What most concerned him was the shipyards in the region that received most of their metals from a select group of planets in those systems. They were rich in the metals required to forge the alloys needed in the High King's fleet.
The High Federation had been something of a dumping ground for either overthrown species or other alien species that had been deported from their homeworlds before the war broke out. This was reflected in the number of species inhabiting the worlds, each with unique names, traits, and temperaments.
"We plan on taking this path, and then splitting to conquer these systems and disable their metal exporting abilities," he explained. "Then we will move to this system."
He zoomed in more and drew a new vector from where the previous one ended. "We have intelligence that they have at least four planet crackers there. Brey will send FTL suppression satellites through portals on the outer edges, with her portals boosted by our psychic amplifier fields. we will be able to take over the system quickly, and begin the process of either disabling the planet crackers or moving them back to our territory."
"We will need to know the angles the superweapons are at before committing to the battle," Annabelle said. "Otherwise, judging by the trajectory cone you have, we can bypass them entirely and reach Siran within two weeks."
"And that is an interesting proposal. Can you lay out your plan, in that case?"
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Annabelle did so. She and Tenrah discussed the strategy's risks, and they eventually decided that such a tactic, while bold, wouldn't do what they set out to do: ensure the safety of the Cawlarians near the border. They were already trying to evacuate from the coming war front, but cities and planets were large things that took a lot of time to completely empty.
And more garrison forces, whether they were androids from Phoebe or specialized and highly trained defenders from the Union, were still moving in as the civilians evacuated. Kawtyahtnakal had established a fund for them, but many people were too stubborn to leave. Despite the looming threat of war and possible massacre, they still refused to board the passenger ships. Annabelle could respect their tenacity and courage, though she personally believed it was counterproductive.
A few encroaching splinters of Siran's fleet had already struck the evacuation forces. He'd sent around 2% of his ships away to harass all the border systems within reach in an attempt to get the Armada bogged down in defense. But with such small forces and the Union on such high alert, all of the important stations with weak shields were well within the protective layers of planetary shields in the area.
Larger garrisons than necessary were still required, of course, but Tenrah had managed to navigate the desperate concerns of the Feathers and those like them in charge of governing their planets with his natural political skill. He didn't need to ask them for favors because, as an Admiral, he alone held power over how his portion of the fleet would respond. Annabelle had witnessed that loyalty and control well within the organization of his fleet. Even at his advanced age, she continued to be impressed with his adaptability and skill at monitoring three-dimensional battle planes and fields.
She pointed to the cone of possible directions Siran was expected to take. They were generally adjacent to the border, though they would head around the left side of the territory he claimed from the Union. If he reached it, millions of lives would be lost every day. Once he broke the shields entirely, the planets would be utterly glassed down to their mantles.
She'd read up on his methods and had seen videos of them in action. Despite all her training, it still was haunting. The hivemind helped to soothe her when the unpleasant parts of command sizzled up to meet her in the middle of the night.
But they would not impede her on the field of battle. When she went to war, the hivemind suppressed all that wasn't necessary for the mission. It was their agreement, one which she'd asked of it. And being a node of the network meant that her stability was paramount, even more so than her title as Fleet Commander. For if she fell, others could take her place. Protocols ensured and demanded that.
But her place in the hivemind was what allowed it to have any strength this far out. It could form avatars and help with long-range communications, though the main mind back on Earth and Luna obviously remained disconnected from this distance.
"I would normally agree with you, Fleet Commander, but I am reminded of your tactic to use decoy hard light holograms."
"They will suspect that any ships heading right for the barrels, or close enough, are either not valued enough or are the decoys."
"Then all you have to do is make them impossible to ignore," Tenrah said. "I can lend you bombs capable of remaining armed and capable of being triggered inside of hard light holograms, even with jamming involved. Then, they will be unable to ignore them, and the explosions generated would destroy the shields in place around the planet crackers. If they fire the weapons, then the residual magnetic interference will allow us to destroy them, since the shields will be far weakened."
Annabelle could see the potential brilliance of the strategy. But it was just that- potential. In space, there were no obstacles. Without stealth fields, there was no hiding. And with hard light holograms, stealth was obviously off-limits.
They would be left approaching from angles that they would be unable to adapt to. She had her VI plot several routes but was unsatisfied, so she had Edu'frec link into the network to do it. Phoebe had been replaced after contacting a Sprilnav network to ensure she could scrub any programs that may have gotten through to her without distraction.
It would be a terrible thing for a Sprilnav AI to make it to her dreadnaught, for sure.
"We will likely need a threefold diversion at least," Annabelle said. "Maybe fourfold, if we can spare the forces, and brave any minefields that may exist."
"Well," Tenrah began. He pulled up a few schematics of the weapons her dreadnaught carried. "I believe you can solve the minefield issue from a distance, even with the lightspeed limit. After all, they can't move easily. As for the actual attack? I suggest a sixfold flower formation, with a twisting wings accent."
"You will have to show me a diagram of that," Annabelle said, grasping uselessly at the unfamiliar words. Before their integration had begun, there had been a limit to how much doctrine she could memorize.
Tenrah pulled up an image of an alien flower blooming with six petals. And then the image faded, overloading with a stylized ribbon of red shapes. The ribbons spun on their sides every thirty seconds, like corkscrews that were flatter.
"And in this case, the ribbons represent the drone formations. I can send a few carriers into the battle with fighter escorts, though we will need to keep them spread out to avoid any direct lines of sight from the planet crackers."
"I heavily doubt they will waste such shots on carriers," Annabelle said. "And if you commit more, you will overwhelm their defenses. I believe your drones are highly reflective, so only missiles and bullets can deal sufficient damage at the involved speeds and numbers we are working with here."
She tapped the diagram, shifting it by about 45 degrees.
"I believe I can fit a stealth force here, which will engage the back defenses of the planet crackers once they focus their shields frontward. I can likely get a full battlecruiser group in, and if you can press in as a wedge around 10 million kilometers above me from where I come in, and around 30 million kilometers below," Annebelle paused to draw the vectors with her hands, "Then it will aid in my ability to subdue them. It would likely shorten the battle time from a week down to four days."
"Assuming their detection satellites are not capable of seeing it."
"And we will target those too. I believe the first strike can fall on those, since the planet crackers will interfere with their ability to scan behind themselves, and such large power signatures can be noted."
"There is one more problem," Tenrah said. "We are generally working on the assumption of trying to capture these ships, yes?"
"Yes," Annabelle said.
"Then will we board them?"
"Yes, but no. Edu'frec and Phoebe's commando androids will open up the beach heads on the physical surfaces of the planet crackers, while our specialized mental warfare agents will take the fight to them in the mindscape. I assume you have your own plans in that regard?"
"It depends on how we will split the planet crackers. There are 12 in the system. Half and half?"
"That seems prudent," Annabelle replied. She selected the ones that would be most advantageous for her various gambits and strategies to work. They were closer together, which meant more capacity for coordination, mutual aid, and shielding. But it also meant a larger target, one which she could hit from many vectors without worrying about each enemy ship having a wide field of view. Some battlecruisers and cruiser groups were scattered around, but they were not enough to resist the Armada. And once Siran was robbed of a quick way to end the war, the Union would hold the upper hand, capable of committing devastating power to a fleet that remained in a system for a long time.
Yet the same was true for the Union and the Alliance. If the battle took too long, or their command positions were located, then the terrible might of the planet cracker beams would be turned upon them instead. Annabelle's dreadnaught was powerful. More so than all the ones before it. But that didn't mean she wanted to test her shields against alien planet crackers.
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Penny was talking to a group of freed slaves on Justicar. These were recent ones who still held quite a bit of trauma. They'd taken to calling her 'Liberator' despite her never identifying herself as such. It was oddly endearing and did make her feel quite a bit better. It was good to just be able to go out and help people.
She felt some perturbations in the mindscape but ignored them. Right now, she needed to ensure that the gangs couldn't continue their horrific industry. She'd taken out most of their heavy equipment and was now waiting for the Guides to finish searching.
Sirens and alarms echoed in the distance. Penny sent psychic energy into her eyes, but she was too far underground to see anything without using the energy itself instead of light to see. Justicar's mind seemed busy, so she couldn't connect with him. As time went on, Penny felt that something was wrong. It was a gut feeling that she couldn't place. But because of that, she was on edge. She made a large shield of psychic energy above them.
She held it for several minutes. Nothing happened, but Penny wouldn't let it down that quickly. Justicar still didn't respond. Her communicator rang. Kashaunta was calling.
"What's going on?" Penny asked.
"The Grand Fleet is-"
Light and heat smashed into her, easily breaking through her shields. She briefly saw tens of thousands of Sprilnav burning before the light overwhelmed her eyes. Her communicator was destroyed. The onslaught was accompanied by a monstrous level of sound. Shockwaves drilled Penny into the melting and fracturing ground, forcing her lower and lower into expanding pools of magma and liquid metal.
The city's upper layers fell upon her, crashing with great and terrible force. But Penny was now fully reinforced with psychic and conceptual energy. She erupted furiously from the rubble. The air around her burned with heat as she continued to accelerate. The armor plates now surrounding her glowed cherry red, but they were white by the time she'd reached space.
She reached the first planetary shield.
"Displace," Penny growled. She forced reality to move as she willed and to place herself where she saw fit. The Grand Fleets were high above, firing upon a small group of ships that had detached from Azeri's fleet. They seemed to be directly attacking the broken-off contingent and not Justicar itself.
So Penny increased her eyesight and analyzed the battle in both real space and the mindscape. Nilnacrawla helped her identify Justicar's targets. The massive Elder was angrier than she'd ever seen him, and his size, which was even larger than Tetelali, made that incarnation of him appear more like a god of wrath. She saw him brutally tear through groups of minds desperately running to avoid him.
She could faintly see spheres of psychic and conceptual energy area denial fields. From this distance, the flagships' strength was truly impressive. Both of them were at least ten times as powerful as Azeri's had been during their battle. It was clear both Kashaunta and Valisada had ordered upgrades.
Then, her attention came to the dreadnaught, which seemed to be at the head of the attack. Penny explored the ship with her psychic power, pushing aside all resistance. Several lasers struck her, but she ignored them, denying their impact in reality against her own.
It glowed with the fury of weapons firing. Missiles and fighters flowed out of its bays. Bullets, nukes, and lasers streamed from red-hot gun barrels. A nuke hit her but didn't explode. She ripped it apart, using the materials to add energy to her reserves.
Justicar continued to go in inside the mindscape. He tore at them like a shark at a school of minnows in a coral reef. His ravenous anger and hatred were frightening, but Penny rapidly got used to it. Calling up her own memories of the innocent people who'd been killed for no reason, Penny wrapped herself in energy and began to erase her signature from the area.
Fighters flew past her, no longer hitting her psychic shields with bullets. Lasers stopped firing at her since she'd moved from her last position, and there was no longer anything for them to track. Penny floated in the stars, with bright blooms of white fusion explosions blossoming around her. And so she moved forward. She reached a cruiser. She reached forward, teleporting past its shields, and shut down the ship's reactor by teleporting all of its fuel into the void.
Soon, a missile from Kashaunta's Grand Fleet found the vessel, and it vanished in another sphere of heat and light. Of course, it was all silent in space. Penny could only hear her heart beating and occasional warnings from Exile or Nilnacrawla at incoming attacks. Exile occupied the area in her ears, which felt weird, but it allowed him to speak without showing himself in the mindscape. Given his nature and the fact that the Grand Fleets likely had detections for speeding space entities, it would be a terrible idea for him to appear there. Nilnacrawla continued to help Penny with the mental aspects of the battle.
He processed the energy input and output that Penny was giving off in the hopes of keeping her off the sensors of the dreadnaught battlegroup. She didn't want to attract the full focus of one of those massive guns. The explosions on Justicar would have been capable of cracking apart a mountain range if not for the extensive dampening Justicar's shields had done. And she'd withstood them only because she could shunt off most of their impact into reality, leaning into her conceptual nature and the nature of Cardinality to escape certain death.
Even with her power, as high as it had ever been, the blow she was taking were the most powerful physical impacts she'd ever endured.
She also suspected Yasihaut's work in this, though she had nothing to prove. She also had to remain vigilant about the Judgment. She couldn't take overly hostile actions, so she didn't just teleport the Sprilnav in the area out of their ships. She tried it on a smaller scale, and a weak pressure from the dreadnaught made her power fail to affect them.
But those Sprilnav were still doomed to die by their commander. But Penny didn't wish to doom the Alliance and herself by taking their deaths into her own hands. And she was stained with enough blood, metaphorical and literal. The ashes of the people she'd freed had fallen away with her ascent into the atmosphere, but the gritty memory and feel of them never would.
Once again, she'd been powerless to save those who'd needed her. And if she'd had that power, what could she have really done? Would she have been forced to stand there and take it? Or could she have really fought back in a way that wouldn't be turned against her in the Judgment? And was she wrong for considering all of that during such a horrendous time, when she'd literally seen thousands of people turned to slag and ash before her very eyes just ten minutes ago?
Penny burned with shame and grief. She hated this. She hated that things always turned to this. Why couldn't the galaxy just leave people alone? Why did there have to be so much suffering? Her anger threatened to overwhelm her, but with a herculean effort from her, Nilnacrawla, and Cardi, it was beaten back.
Penny felt Justicar getting close to breaking through the shield. She sent a small jolt of power to its underside. A thick bolt of psychic lightning infused with rage leaped from her arms, shattering the shield completely and taking roughly half her power. In the dreadnaught, the antimatter reactor she could sense radiating its energy suddenly lost all coolant access.
She pushed her psychic energy into herself and her conceptual energy into words that she harmonized into existence with the force and might of her will.
"Cardinality: One to zero. Reversal."
A heap of her energy left her instantly, stopping a budding explosion from ripping the dreadnaught apart. Justicar absolutely ravaged whoever was inside that ship, including what appeared to be a leader figure in the mindscape. Penny watched Justicar smash the Elder's corpse in his jaws and tear his soul from his body before shredding it violently with a contraption that looked straight out of a horror movie.
She let the explosion go, and so it went. The dreadnaught cracked in half. The Grand Fleets, which had never stopped firing, finally broke through the shields as the circuits failed to supply them with power. Hundreds of thousands of lives winked out instantly, torn to subatomic particles by beams coming from two different flagships. Penny went straight to Kashaunta, appearing on the ship's bridge still in stealth. To their credit, her guards noticed immediately and bared their weapons at her.
The guns that were powerful enough to blast holes in skyscrapers and sturdy enough to withstand a fall from orbit with hardly a scratch unloaded their payloads into her. Penny opened her mouth, and strings of psychic energy writhed outward, wrapping themselves around the guns and wrenching them out of the claws of Kashaunta's guards while the impacts' explosions were contained by thick shields.
Kashaunta herself had already drawn her sword but hadn't moved an inch.
"Penny," she said dryly. "Welcome to my ship. I apologize for your reception."
A new shield came down on both of them, preventing their words from reaching the ears of Kashaunta's subordinates.
"Think nothing of it, Elder Kashaunta. What punishments will be given to the Grand Fleet Commander?"
"Well, technically I am not the Grand Fleet Commander of this fleet," she said. "So that is not really something I can enforce. However, the Grand Fleet Commander of the 85th Grand Fleet does wish to talk with you, Justicar, and myself about what just occurred."
"And you believe him?" she exclaimed.
"He sent transcripts of the message he sent to one Elder Solei, asking him to cease his actions before it was too late."
"Even the Alliance can make deepfakes," Penny said.
"And do you think I would be ignorant of such things, child?" Kashaunta asked. "We have ways around those. That is why we still have a society after billions of years of time to screw it all up. Deepfakes are a problem of less advanced species and cultures, not those with the tools to handle them."
"Which are AIs, which you also ban throughout the galaxy."
"Yes."
"Isn't that hypocritical?"
"Yes, it is," Kashaunta said. "You can go and complain to the Judges who decided that if you wish, though asking them to think of the children instead of preserving the power of the entire Sprilnav species will get you laughed at by a billion mouths."
Penny felt something in her mind take offense to Kashaunta's wording. It didn't feel like it was part of her, but it also did. The shock of all the lives lost hit her again, making her scowl.
"So there will be nothing done?" Penny growled.
"No. Prepare for a neutral and level-headed discussion. If you wish to have any seat at a table such as this, you will conduct yourself with decorum. You will not accuse Elder Valisada of being responsible for whichever fool did this, and you most certainly will not baselessly claim that Yasihaut is at fault for this, even if it is likely that she or her backers are. It is time you learn the lesson that all Elders have: there are always more Sprilnav. Recognize that this was a strike against you without casting aside all of your goodwill among those that matter."
"Those that matter," Penny mused. "Sometimes I forget what you are."
Kashaunta stepped forward, eyes narrowing. She let out a hiss.
"You saw a few thousand people die, and now you're back to the racism again? Grow up. People die all the time in this galaxy. You complain about the status quo. I would respect that, if you could stomach what is required to change it. Death will continue to run rampant, and you will be the reason more die no matter what you do. 760 sextillion Sprilnav, Penny. And you cry over ten thousand?
During the Source war, we sent two years olds to war. You don't get to slide back into comfortable dumb hatred of our species because of a few stupid people. Rest assured, if you ever get this Alliance-based order, you or your successors will become tyrants. There will be a human who has the power and will to start wars, and enact genocides, for functionally no reason. Need I remind you of World War Two, and World War Three? If you multiply the population of Humanity by a trillion, that means you'll get a trillion Pol Pots, or Hitlers, or Genghis Khans.
And a hell of a lot more dumb idiots in power, which ascribes most of the history of nearly every species in the galaxy. Notice how Valisada and I both fired on Solei once he decided to be an adult daycare nominee? Notice how Valisada has not fired at us, or Justicar, and is trying his best to start a constructive dialogue? People die in war, Penny. This is reality. And you cast your disdain onto me, the only Sprilnav keeping you alive in this place, because I happened to be born an Elder. But no. I'm still some alien, right? Just another dirty animal for you to kill when the Judgment ends."
Kashaunta's fury caught Penny off-guard. The Elder truly meant her words. Penny had deeply offended her, cracking open the facade she usually maintained. The smug feeling at having made Kashaunta go on such a tirade faded when she considered the circumstances. Maybe she had acted like a child. But she hadn't said anything truly deserving of such a furious tirade, had she?
Not unless her proclamation that she remembered 'what Kashaunta was' had an implication that she didn't understand. Kashaunta was a mass murderer, one who was more than willing to justify it when necessary. And she downplayed the fact that this attack was on Penny herself and on thousands of innocents on a Sprilnav planet where she was meant to be safe. This wasn't a pair of assassins in the night, slipping poison into water or dropping snakes into a bed. This was a much more insidious and terrifying evil. Penny had been powerless to stop it.
Penny knew she was right, but Kashaunta did not. Could she truly weigh her scant decades against Kashaunta's billions of years of age? Perhaps. Age was not wisdom, though it certainly could be experience. Kashaunta turned around and started to walk away. Sadly, Penny still needed her.
"I'm sorry, Kashaunta. I am... incredibly charged. I am very pissed right now. I am not apologizing for how I feel about this attack. I have every right to be upset, and I will remain so. I will not be bullied or cowed into submission, even by a thousand more tirades. There comes a point where something must be done. But if you are upset over what I said, then I would at least like an honest clarification why."
"Because you had showed me you could think like a person should. That you didn't see people's species anymore. That you were becoming less racist. And yet, when you are cut raw, you still see me as a Sprilnav Elder alone, and therefore complicit in this massacre I literally did everything I could to do stop before it worsened. You said you knew 'what I am' as if you'd forgotten that. And it is clear that you meant that you'd forgotten your belief that I am some dirty criminal Sprilnav, who deserves to be slaughtered in the dark for the crime of being born in her species.
You care more for the ash on Justicar than you do for what I have given you. Your simplistic view of reality would mean that if you could push a button to kill us Elders, you'd do it, robbing countless families of their loved ones, because you now remember 'what we are,' and are again regressing away from your previous growth."
"I am one person, Kashaunta. I don't understand why you care this much about me. But I can recognize that the message you received is one of terrible bigotry. I am suffering, every day, every week, that I remain in this god-forsaken place. It hurts for you to dismiss the people I care about, even for a moment, dying just because there are many of them. But that does not excuse what I said to you despite the death toll you carry on your own head. It was a half-truth."
Kashaunta laughed. "Do you know why I care so much about what you think, Penny? It is because you are the other aliens. All at once. The Alliance is the face of all things 'alien' in many places. Remember what conceptual energy is? Lecalicus told you, I believe. You represent more than just your own views. And if you're able to forgive a speeding space entity, but not me, then it shows that we will never have peace. That no matter what, this cycle of hatred will continue, and I will need to either build a new galaxy with aliens that don't hate us for our ancient crimes, or just figure out another way. You are the face of the rest of the galaxy, Penny. And you have just told me that you still hate me for being an Elder. After I thought you had changed."
"And you believe you are undeserving of such hatred?"
"Penny," Kashaunta said. "The Alliance didn't exist when many of these events happened. Some of your grievances are older than the mountains on Earth. You say you hate us for genocides that happened so long ago that they no longer hold any meaning. There is no compensation we can give to dead species on dead worlds. What you want is an alien species to hate and blame for all the universe's problems. Because it is easier to hate us than to confront reality. And we are the ones you have been told to hate."
"They were not small things. It was the deaths of trillions of people, Kashaunta."
"Yes. And it was wrong. I can understand that. But what do you think will happen when your Alliance, filled with people who hate us, takes over? You will see humans bombing Sprilnav schools, and the hivemind will do nothing, for it will share that hate. Acuarfar will abduct and torture us. Knowers will devour our children. And in the face of that? You would turn a blind eye, because it is too hard to solve with a simple fix. You will only propagate generational hatred, just as all the Alliances and Galactic Republics and Peace Unions did before you.
Because underneath your message of equality for all species is oppression and genocide for us, the villains in your little story. That is what happens in reality, once the benevolent dictators die. And you, who have lived with us, eaten with us, and talked with us, will sit upon your golden throne, and when I am brought before you, naked, bleeding, and in need of support, you will throw me away, because all I am to you is an Elder. That mindset is exactly what stands in the way of peace. It is why I stopped giving you aliens chances for so long. And having to argue this with you at all makes me think you may no longer be worth my effort."
More manipulation. Penny was ready to shout at her, but Nilnacrawla pulled her thoughts away from blind anger. And it did feel unnatural for her. Alien.
"This is not peace," Penny said. "This is war. And we are circumstantial allies. I will not become what you claim."
"I have sown the seeds of a thousand despots," Kashaunta said. "I recognize them when I see them because I have reaped the heads of a million more."
Penny sighed. She wanted to resist and continue arguing, but it wouldn't get her anywhere. Now that she had thought about it, she was unlikely to overturn a viewpoint set in a billion years of experiences. Perhaps Penny could explore this later, when she had time to properly process it all.
"Very well. I will go to this meeting of yours, and I will conduct myself with decorum. However, while I refuse to belittle or forget thousands of deaths, I am sorry that you feel this way."
"But you are not sorry about making me feel so."
"No," Penny replied. She suppressed her emotions more, taking the time to carefully consider her words. Kashaunta was wrong and oddly sensitive right now. Saying the wrong thing could damage far more than their mutual feelings. As much as she wanted to win this argument, Kashaunta was who she was. She was the alien dictator keeping the Alliance alive.
"We are both right in some ways, and perhaps we might be both wrong, too. This only shows how tough the road will be. We at least are consciously trying to come to an understanding. But for the billions of Alliance citizens, quintillions of aliens, and sextillions of Sprilnav? It is a gargantuan task. And... right now, I don't think it is possible."
"It isn't," Kashaunta said. "And it won't be for thousands of years. But we don't get some neat little time skip to wait and solve all of our problems for us. Change will start only when we make it."
Kashaunta was throwing her a bone, then. They both knew the argument couldn't continue right now.
"So we have an understanding, then," Penny said. "Hatred will remain, but it must be minimised. That way, cultural and social pressure will eventually stamp it out, and we may have peace."
"No. We will have a truce, which will only become peace with much more work. The Alliance is a nation that is 24 years old. Only a single generation has grown up within it. Negotiations will be hard with so many who remember the hatred. But Valisada is not like other Sprilnav. He will seek to bring a hybrid war to you and the Alliance, unless you can convince him that you truly mean to bridge the divide. You are clearly misguided, but have a genuinely good heart. That will make life hard for you. Your words today would have spelled the death of you and the Alliance, had I not established this shield around us to hide them. Out of the spirit of our friendship, I will not request a favor in return for this boon."
"Thank you, Kashaunta. Though I'm not sure I can consider you a friend."
"The fact that you bothered to listen to my side of things, in this limited aspect, despite the hurt you must feel right now, proves otherwise. I am well aware of my past crimes, Penny. I know that my emotions today were a weakness I should have been able to seal, and that you will still see me for who I was, and not who I am. I know how it sounds for me, a killer and a ruler, to be upset at being confronted. But that is how I am. I still have my pride as an Elder, and there is only so far it can be pushed. Who I was certainly would qualify as beyond evil. But to remain at the top, there are limits to how far you can swing into benevolence.
I cannot atone. Do not try to make me repay debts that you don't own. If you are ever to have more Elders on your side, whether Progenitors or otherwise, you will need to learn to deal with this. There will be people with death tolls higher than the population of the Alliance, who were once the heart of evil and are now at least acceptable. The first step will be recognizing that, yes, we are in fact friends, despite my history. Because only from friendship and understanding can hope come."
"I will think about this more. My feelings about this, and about you, have not yet solidified."
"I was wrong for what I said to you, Penny. We are both on edge, and said things that we didn't properly express. We should get our heads in order before re-entering this argument with logic instead of emotions."
"I agree. I will go and see who I can save. And I will think more about this. I freed people from slavery, and watched them die today. Respectfully, I must spend some time away from you for now."
Penny left the ship. In something near her subconscious, anger remained. When she landed in the rubble once again, she missed a small but steady stream of conceptual energy wafting into her from below.

This has probably been asked before but I'm curious on other people's input.
So while I was watching some smash bros related compilation videos on Youtube, my mind wandered and I began to question something. There were a lot of candidates who got smash invitations but of course not everyone made it into the roster. My question to everyone here is who were YOU expecting to get a smash invitation? It doesn't have to be someone you WANTED to be in, just someone you were almost sure was going to get an invitation. I'll go first.....
I was expecting Crash Bandicoot to get an invitation. Honestly I am indifferent to him but with how popular he was back in the days combined with the fact that he had a few remakes as well as a new game somewhat recently I was almost certain he was going to appear in the game. Heck, there weren't even any spirits if I recall. I was even expecting him to get one before Joker but that proved me wrong. Not in a bad way, more so in a surprising way.

I've been watching a ton of reviews on the 12R and most youtubers seem to call this one a mid range phone, I understand it doesn't have all the bells and whistles it's big brother has but since it has an almost last Gen flagship chipset I'd assume it'd been considered a high end smartphone. Been looking for an upgrade and so far it checks every box, with a great display, battery life and so on, all other smartphones I've used have been on the low end spectrum, from the 100$ to 250$ price point, I'm just looking for a device that won't stutter, slow down or crash whilst watching a YT video or any other basic functions for the foreseeable future, say 4 to 6 years, the device im currently using right now has me somewhat bothered over it's slow and sometimes laggy behavior which isn't too surprising even though I've only had it for about 6 months. Was just wondering if the oneplus 12R can deliver on the never settle slogan, since what I'm mainly looking for is a speedy experience with a bit of longevity. I wonder if the 12R can provide this with its Qualcomm Snapdragon Gen 2 because it kinda feels like most reviewers downplay it comparing it to the latest Qualcomm Snapdragon Gen 3, which is fair but I don't want to spend an extra 200$ for the absolute best of the best.

Hey there!
Per this article/twitter video (https://www.theverge.com/2024/4/9/24125036/intel-game-crash-13900k-14900k-fortnite-unreal-engine-investigation) I'm trying to underclock my CPU, but in the BiOS everything is set to "Auto", or has no "Manual" option that I can find for manual entry.
Can someone help me find where to lower my P-Core's to 55 please?
CPU: Intel(R) Core(TM) i9-14900KF
My mobo: ASUSTeK TUF GAMING Z790-PRO WIFI (LGA1700)
BIOS version is 2.22
Thanks!

How long will it often take a complete beginner to coding, to learn how to make video game, with a similar equality to cel shaded AAA games, like super Mario 3D, Naruto Rise Of A Ninja, Megaman legends, Megaman network, or Crash bandicoot. What are the best tutorials to help people learn this, and are there any real examples of individuals, who managed to do that, if yes like who, and what games did they made?