what's up, folks. My YT channel (hip-hop/pop beats with some beatmaking videos) is starting to get a little bit of traction w/ 144 subs and ~30K views after 9 months and about 6 months of posting regularly. Nothing huge but I'm trying to keep the momentum going and I want to start having a more consistent brand visually. Canva only goes so far. AI is AI. Call me an old head but I still like to surround myself with people who are passionate. I think it results in a better end result and it's just more fun, especially given that all of us creative folks are a little crazy.
I was curious if anyone would be interested in designing a set of thumbnails I can use, YT banner, and even any of your own projects you think that could vibe with the song that can be used as the media. I would love to hear your view too, because I make beats wtf do I know about graphics :)
I've been doing mostly a simple black/white artist pic theme along with some VHS/glitch distortion to just keep with the dusty and often lofi by design theme, but I think the channel is starting to look stale/inconsistent (particularly thumbnails)
what I can offer:
-beats (obviously only applicably for singers/rappers, but if you have a channel and need instrumentals, have at it!)
-tag/credit on a growing channel
-% of beat sales since your helping to market the music (this is easier to do with collaborators on Beatstars, so if you're open to creating a free account there)
-im pretty chill, very responsive, no bullshit
if anyone is interested, hmu. I prefer discord but all my contact info is on my profile/YT bio.
cheers

Hey I just wanted to thank everyone for coming out Monday to take our Caption Caps! Turnout was way, way crazier than expected - we easily cleared our entire backstock, and got out of our storage unit on time.
We’re *beyond* thrilled to finally see people using our hats! We put so much thought into designing them, and it makes us feel amazing that so many of you like them, and understand what we always thought was cool about the concept.
Shoutout to the people using their hats to do meta-commentary about the line, and rangoon dating surveys. This is deeply impressive, pioneering work, A+ 10/10. Everyone’s posts are amazing, we can’t wait to see what people come up with, tag us if you want - @ upsidehats on instagram.
To the people that took a bunch for their wedding - we expect pictures!
This has seriously been a crazy experience. Three days ago I was researching how to throw these out, and now people are constantly messaging me about how to buy them, and we’re getting media inquiries. Clearly these work a lot better in person, and maybe in Portland specifically, than they ever did nationally on Instagram.
That would have been better to know before giving away basically all our inventory, but uh, lol, oh well.
For the people that asked - there’s still a small amount left at our shipping partner, if you want to buy one. Our website is upsidehats.com, and if they show up in stock, it means the shipper still has some to send out.
Anyway, we really just want to thank you, portland, for being the community that finally ‘got’ these hats. Hope to see you all out there, delighting/terrorizing the town, with alarmingly prescient hats.

Hi everyone,
I'm a vehicle interior designer, currently working without a materials specialist, so doing a lot of experimentation with rendering and materials programs.
A large part of our vehicle interior uses a see-through woven mesh, and Keyshot's RealCloth has by far and away been able to create the most accurate version of this material.
However, we are not rendering in Keyshot for various reasons. I would however still like to use the RealCloth geometry.
How can this RealCloth geometry be exported as a mesh file? Traditional .3mf etc. export methods are not working, which isn't surprising.
Thank you for your time.

Wall of text warning: I was writing a comment on another post but I figured I'd just make my own topic on it with my full thoughts on each faction and their skills, balancing, etc, after about 20 hours of playing (enough to get a decent idea). Personally I don't feel like any particular faction is especially strong currently and I think the balance of the factions is actually pretty decent overall.
Cleaners are the weakest by far (not very far, though) and seem to suffer from some confused design choices. The Firebomb is great for punishing bunched enemies or denying area but this is a ranged game at the core so it often is completely useless on many maps or just makes you vulnerable if you try to use it aggressively, and particularly in mobile modes like Escort where there is high kill turnover and less opportunity for anyone to keep a strong foothold. The Incendiary Drone is decent, does what it should, not a lot to say about it. Strong alternative skill to Firebomb for mobile modes. Their Incendiary Ammo is a bit useless in a vacuum due to the nature of the TTK because most of the time it will not result in a kill you wouldn't have already gotten and it doesn't deal enough damage on its own to really speed up the TTK in any meaningful way. You still have to shoot someone the same number of times to get a kill and if you stop shooting to let the DOT tick instead you'll just die. On top of that, Incendiary Ammo actually reduces your weapon optimal range, and as mentioned before, this is typically a ranged game. The Incendiary Ammo shines more in situations where someone is running away and a teammate can finish them off instead since then it may have done enough damage or canceled their regen enough. It seems as though the Incendiary Ammo might be meant to offer a counter to Libertad's healing-oriented skills but it usually doesn't make a great deal of difference even there. Weirdly, the best weapons for taking advantage of Incendiary Ammo are snipers since it more or less guarantees a kill no matter where you hit someone with the Tac-50 even if it's a leg or arm shot, and guarantees a kill with the M44 in the body, in spite of the "reduced range". Personally the times I've seen Incendiary Ammo end up killing me is right after I had already killed them first anyways, so it was more of a kill guarantee after death than a true advantage in the fight itself. The Cleaners are still playable, just kinda why would you choose them over anything else if you aren't playing them because you like them. Also the Cleaner ultra is ridiculous if you get in a good spot to use it because it instantly kills anyone you hit but again its range makes you vulnerable. The Cleaners biggest strength at the moment seems to be that they have messed up hitboxes, honestly. I think that the Cleaners really need some kind of help on their skills as they are now, they are weirdly situational and difficult to safely employ, but I suppose that is the real philosophy of the Cleaners as it is, they run around with explosive tanks on their backs that instantly kill them in The Division so an exploding flaming firebomber that may or may not live through their skill is oddly appropriate.
Echelon is strong by nature of being a crutch. Intel Suit lets the enemy team know you're nearby and can see them thanks to the notification, smart/skilled players will just listen for you and it's not a huge advantage against them, below average players won't pay attention to it though and it's quite strong against players that don't have good audio or are unaware of where their flanks are. However, the main advantage of the Intel Suit is that it reveals the enemies for your whole team no matter where they are. While you have to be in closer range to detect enemies with it, your teammates can be on the opposite side of the map and still see exactly where the enemy is which is a massive advantage. Digital Ghillie Suit is honestly a pretty balanced skill, someone paying attention will still notice you and Intel Suit counters it (weirdly, same faction counter) but it has a lot of outplay potential and lets you reposition or get into weird spots that the enemy team might not expect if they are distracted. It offers a similar advantage that Phantoms skills do in that it can easily be used to disengage a losing gunfight back into your advantage for a kill instead. Not much wrong with it, it's a well designed skill-expression skill. Echelon passive is kind of whatever, I don't feel like it's a great advantage because it gives you no direct benefit in a gunfight or even while traversing the map most of the time, it's another thing that is strong against unaware or distracted players. The Echelon ultra is of course quite strong in even an average-skilled players hands thanks to real-time wallhacks and a Golden Gun, although the sound it makes and sonar waves effects do put a bit of a target on you and sometimes the OHK gun doesn't actually get a OHK (somehow) but even being guaranteed just 2-3 kills for the duration is still enough to wipe an objective and some players will even try to hide from it. Echelon is overall a strong faction to use against players that are worse than you (likely why it is the most popular faction seemingly at the moment) but it doesn't provide any major meaningful advantage against equal or more skilled players since that will come down to your more practical gunfighting skills instead the majority of the time. Digital Ghillie offers some potential to outplay even skilled opponents but aside from that their skills heavily depend on their opponents being distracted to take advantage of them fully. Given that, the faction is pretty well balanced even with multiple players spamming Intel Suits on one team, since it only offers opportunities, it doesn't exploit them for you.
Phantoms are my personal favorite faction because I feel as though they have the widest degree of skill expression over any of the others. Mag Barrier used smartly can completely turn a lost gunfight around in your favor, especially if there is a choke point or corner you can use to make enemies chase you. Mag Barrier is one of the few skills in the game that is actually a punish skill when you use it correctly by letting an enemy get caught out if they try to ego on you or think they are winning the fight. That's on top of everything else it does. The EMP grenade is only a "counter" to it if someone is mindlessly spamming it because when used correctly you don't have time to throw an EMP grenade. You would have to pre-emptively EMP the Phantom player for every encounter if they use it well and that's not very feasible in a dynamic scenario. That said, Mag Barrier is fairly weak in terms of pure cover and a determined player can chew through it in a few seconds if you carelessly use it without exploiting the advantage it gives, or grenades can be thrown around it, enemies can run through it, its strength comes down entirely to the user. Blitz Shield is also a strong punish skill but currently the way player collision works makes it difficult to use against anyone that is experienced or skilled because no enemy player collision means they can jump through you. You can't really use the shield to turtle 1v1s since enemies can just run through and behind you, even if you're in a corner. Most players won't do this or know it's possible, so it can be a bit of a crutch against less skilled players at least. The Blitz Shield is mainly strong for punishing around corners if someone chases you since you can typically swap to it fast enough to surprise them before they get around the corner. It's also good for absorbing damage at range or aggressively disrupting enemy players on an objective for your team to pick off but that depends a lot on how good your team is and less on the shield itself. Phantoms passive is honestly extremely strong, and IMO the best passive in the game currently. Having 20 more health is massive when 110 damage OHK body shots exist since it allows you to survive hits no other faction can and combined with the other skills it offers retaliation and outplay potential no other faction has. The Phantom ultra is a bit mediocre in terms of kill potential, due to lack of range or mobility, vulnerable to grenades, and various other problems that come with moving slow and telegraphing yourself to the entire map as a giant target. The ultra's primary purpose is of course simply being a big shield to deny area to the enemy team or offer your team a safe place to stand on objectives for pushes. The Phantoms are a well-balanced and strong faction currently that offers a lot to players that know how to take advantage of their skills properly.
Libertad is probably the most well-balanced faction in the game at the moment. It's very straightforward and easy to grasp for players of all skill levels and doesn't depend on a lot of gun skill, map knowledge, or general experience to perform decently. Since none of their skills are directly offensive, they are easy to employ in a variety of situations, like fortifying an objective or pre-emptively giving your teammates an advantage for a push, refreshing a teammate after a close gunfight, using mid-gunfight for a surprise comeback, etc. El Remedio is such a strong heal that it can greatly increase your EHP in a straight gunfight to the point you need multiple extra hits to kill if the enemy misses any shots, and if you manage to break contact with them briefly you can set up the heal on yourself for a surprise punish similar to the Phantom Mag Barrier. It forces the enemy to decide if they try to kill you or break the canister first and assuming you are equally skilled, you will usually end up winning the 1v1. The main downside to El Remedio is its fairly long cooldown so you have to use it smartly or else you won't have it for major moments when your team might have needed it. It's strong and has some skill expression to it in a variety of ways. BioVida Boost is one-time instant version of El Remedio with similar uses, but it works much better with a unified team push and has a shorter cooldown which makes it much more useful for a more mobile style of play. Not only that but its heal is essentially instant, again being very strong if you manage to break contact for a moment in a gunfight to come back with full health before the enemy got their natural regen. Libertad's passive has no strings attached, simply natural regen with no downtime for you and any teammates near you, doesn't require you to do anything and is always active which makes it great for people of all skill levels since it's always being taken advantage of. The Libertad ultra is literally just an even bigger version of El Remedio that also increases your and teammates max HP massively, it can guarantee a last second payload push or let you lock down a critical objective to break out a losing zone match. Libertad is generally the best faction for anyone that's really new or isn't that great at FPS games since it doesn't depend on your technical skill too much aside from simply staying alive to give your team a constant advantage. Another nice thing about Libertad is they synergize incredibly well with the Phantoms' huge health pool. The only outstanding weakness of Libertad is the old classic: your teammates. It has very little potential to actually carry and under focused fire their healing is pretty irrelevant so you're not exactly going to go tank a payload by yourself. Even with the ultra on, a single person can chew through it and kill you if you give them long enough (not very long).
I've not gotten to play around a ton with DedSec yet but my initial impression is that they are very similar to Phantoms in terms of skill expression and offer a ton of flexibility that other factions don't have through being able to hack enemy deployables and regenerating devices. I would not call them imbalanced, but I do think they are the one faction that currently does lean the most into that because they counter every single other faction. Being able to shut off enemy skills and ultras is huge, even if it takes their own ultra to do it. But you are effectively turning everyone on the enemy team into the Rookie from Rainbow Six Siege temporarily while all the players on your team get to keep their skills. If you have multiple DedSec players on your team and properly chain the ultras then you are looking at a free objective push every single time. The Spiderbot is fairly alright, but it's currently bugged and sometimes enemy players can't destroy it properly which makes it stronger than it actually is, and that's on top of it taking more than one hit to kill anyways which I personally think shouldn't be a thing either. In its current state it is basically a guaranteed kill on anyone you hit with it if you use it aggressively, though, and I do think it should be adjusted in some way after they fix the desync issues with it. Hijack isn't always super relevant because at the moment deployables aren't very long-lived or common, but being able to flip a Phantom Mag Barrier is wildly strong and is the only counter play to a choke point punish in that it punishes the punish. Hijack is fairly useless though if the enemy team all happen to pick Echelon or Cleaners (which is a fair possibility). I think the skill is still a good skill expression skill and fine, though. The DedSec passive is unsurprisingly very strong because being able to throw two proximity mines on an objective or get multiple uses of grenades is obviously something no other faction can do and those things are one per life for a reason. The passive doesn't benefit if you don't live long enough to use it, though, so it can be kinda useless depending on the situation: if you never throw your grenade or mine, the passive literally does nothing. DedSec is currently in a very strong state overall, while I wouldn't say it's imbalanced, it's definitely one of the better factions if only for the fact it can shut off every enemy skill and ultra and has a way to essentially guarantee a kill.
If I had to "tier" each faction in terms of their effectiveness in a vacuum regardless of skill, I'd probably rank them (from best to worst): DedSec > Phantoms/Echelon > Libertad > Cleaners. But that is a very shallow slope with all factions being very much viable to play and do well with.
All of this is also given without thought to the current state of weapon balance generally speaking, while I do feel that Phantoms have a particular advantage currently due to the prevalence of Tac-50s. Echelon's Digital Ghillie also helps them get in close to employ some of the better weapons in the game currently like the MP7 or double barrel. DedSec's spiderbot sets them up for kills with all kinds of weapons, particularly the Tac-50. I don't see any of these skills being worse off without the existence of those weapons, however.
If I were to speculate on any adjustments that should be made: Spiderbots need to be fixed ASAP so they always properly appear on the targets screen to destroy them (not really an "adjustment", a bug fix). Libertad needs some kind of light buff in my opinion, maybe a bonus effect on a skill like slightly increasing max HP (good to help deal with prevalence of OHK snipers) or an alternate mode that poisons or debuffs enemies (Viviro would make sense because it's the chemical weapon made by the same company in Far Cry 6). Cleaners need a little bit of help, maybe allow them to also select Molotov cocktails as grenades that make small fire puddles that aren't quite as strong as their skills as a form of area denial to sort of solidify their "stay the fuck away from me" presence as a faction. The big one people talk about is the Intel Suit for Echelon but I honestly don't see much issue with this. The game literally highlights enemies for you already as it is, seeing them through walls briefly isn't a huge stretch when you can already hear people running around anyways since (thank god) we don't have anything like Dead Silence/Ninja/Covert Sneakers in this game. Echelon is a noob stomping faction and that's why it's generally popular right now but I think once more people get access to DedSec we will start to see more of them instead.
Anyways, that's all for today. I do really hope Ubi upkeeps this game well and makes smart balancing decisions that keep the game fun and engaging without oversimplifying or nerfing anything for the sake of salty people. If it were up to me, they'd reduce the TTK to 4 body shots max like original COD4 and then we'd really be cooking (after they fix the netcode, that is). Also hoping for The Division themselves to be introduced as a playable faction with deployable drones or even seeker mines...

a long time ago on my first island, I got Bearold as a visitor to my campsite. I had an open plot, so if i talked to him he would have automatically moved in. at that time i was so focused on only getting "cute" villagers and I fell onto the bandwagon of hating Bearold and thinking he looks too ugly to let on my island. so as soon as I entered his tent and saw him, I turned around and left without saying a word. but seeing him watch me leave all confused with a little question mark popping over his head broke my heart. I have felt guilty about this for 3 years. I only redeemed myself by getting the happy home designer dlc and making Bearold the vacation home of his dreams because I don't care if hes not as conventionally adorable as other villagers, he is still a sweetie and he did not deserve to be treated so horribly by me.

Hello! I just graduated with my BFA in Graphic Design and have been offered an opportunity to design a billboard rather unexpectedly. The opportunity is the result of a referral from work I did for a design sprint in school. It’s a rather small billboard and builds on a community logo I created for the neighborhood it will reside in.
The timeline - soon (getting specifics is impossible) The budget - affordable (?)
I asked if they had a budget to consider in an attempt to get them to give me a better idea of expectations but they were really not being open about it.
Considerations: This is a non-profit. They quite possibly expected I’d to still be a student when reaching out. I want to be very reasonable in my pricing. The person who reached out to me is also highly connected in the world of design. I can’t stress enough how much the potential to create connections is.
Workflow: I’d likely present 3ish directions after doing some visual research specific to the client and site. Then iterate one. I’d prepare the file to print in conjunction with a their chosen printing service. At least this is my thinking.
Also: I have time blindness (ADHD). Estimating time is really impossible for me. Providing an hourly rate concerns me for that reason
I told them I’d get back to them in 24 hours. How much do I quote?
Bonus if you can offer sources for sample contracts. I never intended to work for myself, this just fell out of the sky, and I was taught none of the business side of the industry.

Elementor 8th Birthday Sale 2024 (May 28th – June 6th)

The Birthday sale of Elementor is live, just click the button below to claim your discount — they’re offering up to 30% off on their pro plugin and up to 75% off on WordPress hosting.
Get Elementor Birthday Offer
The Elementor Birthday Sale is going on now, and you can get a hefty discount of up to 75% on their page builder WordPress plugin or WordPress hosting.
Just stay with us to find out all about the latest deals and offers as Elementor turns E-I-G-H-T.
Usually, Elementor doesn’t give out coupon codes all the time, but on special occasions like this, they offer special discounts. So make sure you don’t miss out on this fantastic opportunity.
Elementor was started in June 2016 and since then they’ve been offering birthday sales, where you get the chance to save big on their paid plans. This year, they are offering discounts again. If you want to know what birthday offers they have, you came to the right place.
Let’s find out all the details without any further delay.

What is Elementor Birthday Sale?

Elementor Birthday Sale is an annual celebration of the popular WordPress page builder, Elementor. During this sale, users can get discounted pricing on Elementor WordPress hosting + Elementor Pro, which is the paid version of the plugin and includes additional features and functionalities.
It usually takes place around the anniversary of the company’s founding and offers users a chance to save money while using Elementor to build their websites. This year’s birthday sale is LIVE right now, and we have picked out the best deals for you below.

#1. Get up to 75% off Hosting and Builder

Take a look at the special discounts on Elementor Hosting during Elementor’s birthday sale in 2024.
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#2. Get up to 30% off Elementor Pro Plugin plans

Here are the anniversary discounts available for the Elementor Page Builder plugin (pro version).
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How to Grab the Birthday Deal of Elementor Pro?

To get the special discount for Elementor’s birthday sale in 2024, all you need is to follow these instructions I’m going to tell you. Let’s start.

Step #1: Go to Elementor Website (Click here to jump)

First of all, you need to visit the official Birthday Sale landing page of Elementor, and from there choose what you want to purchase — Elementor hosting or Elementor Pro Plugin.

Step #2: Select your plan

On their Birthday landing page, you’ll see that Elementor is offering up to 30% off its pro plugin and up to 75% off its hosting plans. Here, you just pick your favourite plan that you’d like to go with and hit the Buy Now button.

Step #3: Create an Elementor account for free

You’ll now see your cart showing the plan you chose, and total pricing. The Elementor Birthday sale discount code will automatically be applied to your purchase. From here, you can now proceed to enter your valid email address and password for your Elementor account.

Step #4: Enter your billing info

Now, you have to complete your billing information. It includes your first name, last name, address, city, country, pin code, state, and company name. After filling in all these details, click the continue button.

Step #4: Finish your order

Elementor offers two ways to pay for your purchase. You can choose to pay with your credit card or use your PayPal account. Once you have entered all the necessary information, just click on the “Pay Now” button to complete the payment process.

Step #5: That’s all. Elementor Birthday 2024 Sale is yours…

If you’ve been following our instructions closely, you’ve already gotten the number one Website builder tool. There’s no more step after that.
Remember, this Birthday sale of Elementor is only available for a limited time (expiring on 7th June 2024), so don’t wait too long to take advantage of it.

Elementor Birthday Sale Price for Plugin and Hosting

Elementor has two products:

• WordPress Hosting
• Page Builder WordPress Plugin

Let’s look at each of them one by one and discuss their pricing plans.

Elementor Hosting Plans

Elementor is not just a page builder, but it also provides web hosting for WordPress websites. It’s like getting a package deal because when you buy web hosting from them, you also get the Elementor Pro page builder plugin.
So, if you’re still trying to decide on a web host or if you’re unhappy with your current one, Elementor’s cloud hosting could be a great choice for you.
Here’s how they have reduced the prices of their hosting plans during their special Birthday sale or anniversary celebrations.
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Click here to snag up to 75% discount on any Elementor WordPress hosting and get page builder and theme for FREE — all in one package.

Elementor Page Builder Plugin Plans

Elementor offers both a free and paid version of its website builder plugin. The cost of the paid version, Elementor Pro, starts at $59/year for a single-site license and goes up to $399/year for a 1000-site license.
Here’s a discounted plan for the Elementor Pro plugin during the Birthday sale.
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They also offer a 30-day money-back guarantee (for both hosting and plugin) so you can try it risk-free.
Click on this exclusive Birthday sale link to choose your favourite Elementor Pro Plan.

Get Your Elementor Birthday Deal 2024

No doubt Elementor is the #1 website builder tool available on the market that helps you make any type of website in less than one hour. They have a visual drag-and-drop editor that lets you easily change things on your website while you’re working on it.
And the best part is, when you make changes, you can see them live right away on your website. It also has ready-made designs and templates that you can use to make your website look professional without much effort. Overall, I would say Elementor is super simple to use and doesn’t require any coding skills.
From May 28th – June 7th, there’s a special sale on Elementor because it’s their birthday. So if you want to try it out, now is a great time. Just click the button below to sign up and get started.
Claim Elementor Birthday Discount Sale
Well, that’s all from this blog post. Now, I want to hear what you think about Elementor and its BIGGEST Birthday offer.
Did you like them (if you ask me, then yes, I especially like their plugin as well as the huge discounts they provide during their birthdays)? Let me know your thoughts in the comments section. Byeeeee…

Frequently Asked Questions – Elementor Anniversary Sale

Is Elementor Birthday Deal live?

Yes, Elementor’s birthday deal 2024 is live! This year they are celebrating their 8th birthday and offering a whopping up to 75% discount on all of their plans. The sale is only for a limited time so make sure to grab this opportunity before it ends.

When is the Elementor Birthday Sale happening?

The Elementor Birthday Sale typically takes place in late May or early June, around the time of Elementor’s official launch date. At the time of writing this article, the Elementor Birthday Sale is live (from 28th May – 7th June), you can check them out from here.

I would like to open with the general consensus of “gaming headphones” are wide soundstage (when strictly talking about sound quality and none of the bells and whistles like Game/Chat volume or included mic). But my impression is it’s mainly for FPS shooter genre. It’s very interesting to hear sound engineers talk about League of Legends like this video https://youtu.be/ocbfYBslseI?si=dr5F9_3DO_zqJ4-3
After lots of testing League does support 7.1. But the only “spatial sound” one will get is L/R on selected pings and certain skillshots (not all of them). I wonder which frequencies League sound designers favor considering massive amount of skin lines in the game (as opposed to FPS where footsteps are universally agreed to be certain frequency). And whether the “more soundstage better” rule of thumbs still applies. GOAT of the game, Faker, uses IEM while he’s streaming and playing SoloQ. Most people play the game with music on. But players are not necessarily optimized in their setups. That’s where your educated inputs chime in!

So ive thought about this a while and i think the way the armours been arranged is… strange lets say.
So i thought why didnt arrowhead go about it a different method. Ive thought maybe the current method forces players to have to wait for superstore to magically have the specific design armour theyd like, along with the “abilities” or “perks” that the player would like.
Personally i much more player friendly way to have armour be presented .
we keep light, medium and heavy. Light stats focusing on stamina, medium in the middle everything average and heavy on health, essentially or armour or whatever.
Then we should have classes of armour. So your standard commons/uncommons and this would define how many perk/ability slots your armour can hold.
Starting off lets go with armour classes of common, rare and legendary. I think its simple right. Common having only one armour slot. Rare having two and legendary having three. So now lets put into perspective how this would work and the types of perks we could have.
Say i have a light rare armour. I could then purchase perks such as “extra padding” and two extra slots for grenades. This would then increase my armours stats with a bit of extra health without affecting my stamina but at the expense of a perk slot.
These would be purchasable in warbonds. This way we re more excited and have more reason to go after warbonds because of the designs and the perks that can be bought separately. At the same time having more freedom in designing are characters a little more how we d like them to look at least having their armour match.
I say this because at the moment im looking at the superstore and the only things worth buying are helmets because they have no stat changes but now my armour dont match because i always run the “two extra stims” set. And the new armour in the superstore matches the heltmet but hasnt got the stats id like, yout see my problem.
At the same time to avoid pay to win. Armour would only be sold in warbonds. Yes you can spend money for the warbonds but youd still have to grind for the medals to purchase the armour how its set up already. Also perks would be purchasable in warbonds so this way we have more variety.
It would be a lot to rework now. But i believe how they should have started it was.
So you start with your common armour out of boot camp with one slot available because its common. Once youre out of boot camp youve got your basic warbond already unlocked and this war bond has three tiers. The first tier would have a different design common armour and a perk as well as capes, super credits etc same as Second tier except a rare armour with one perk and third tier with legendary and one perk.
So now instead of selling armours with perks in superstore they would only sell armour but with different designs. The armours can vary between common, rare and legendary each having different prices.
This would be more intuitive for arrow head because players love kitting out their characters so the more designs the more reason to grind.
Now say you have a common armour you really like but want it to be legendary so it can hold more slots. This is where sample would come in. Giving us another reason to go out and collect samples. An example, to go from common to rare you need 100 common sample and 50 rare sample. From rare to legendary 200 common samples, 100 rare samples and 50 super samples.
Essentially the trick would be in the superstore you can get nice looking common armour so you then have to grind to get more slots or you get trashy looking legendary armour so no grind but you get slots. Also the helmets and capes then have a reason to match and can be sold separately in superstore aside the armour sets of the week.
Let me know what you guys think im just tired of my character forcably having to look weird because i cant control the stats my armour has.
Ps
This would also give variety in play because of the variety in perk usage for the specific mission youre going on.
Also when are we getting saveable loadout options :L

i'm working on a novel and would like to know if anyone could tell me any improvements i could make to the first chapter and prologue
Prologue
The day had started the same way it had for the past two years. The only difference was that I was going home. The hallway was crowded with people walking to and from their classes. Everyone was crowded next to each other so the halls were making the area feel claustrophobic. All the people talking mixed with the summer heat made me feel like I was locked in a sauna. I walked with Preston to the last class we would ever have together and as usual he was smiling. I never got why he always smiled even in situations where people should be sad he still smiled. He knew what today meant for me and he tried to keep light of the situation. I kept my head down away from what was ahead of me. My mind was too clouded about returning to see my family to notice anything in front of me. I walked into another student. It felt like I had walked into a wall. I knew immediately I had walked into tree. I stumble onto the ground and the commotion around me slows down to make room for us. He turned his bulky body around and apologized profusely without saying a word even though I had walked into him. He helped me off of the ground before hurrying down the hall.
“Alexandria, are you doing okay?” Preston said he had tilted his body downward so I had to look down to look him in his eyes. The way he was standing made him look like an idiot but he didn't seem to care. The way he acted made me laugh, which caused his smile to widen.
“I'm doing fine, just got lost in my head.”
“Thinking about how you’ll leave soon,” he said
“Was it that obvious?” He was the only person I told about me being an exchange student. I came to spend high school in Newkinawa and he was the only person I ever hung out with.
“I see what you mean,” he said “Newkinawa is a beautiful place with beautiful people to live in it…myself included”
“You wish,” I say with a smile we continue walking through the hallway “I'm just not excited to go back yet”
After I say that his smile grows wider “So you will miss me after all”
“I wouldn't say that much” I responded whilst smiling.
We had made it to our last class only to see it closed with a sign labeled “Uma incident” Uma was a student known for messing with the chemistry lab and destroying school property in the process. I've never actually met her but Preston says “She's a little weird but still nice”
“Guess class is canceled for today,” Preston remarked with a smile “Wanna go out to the court till the bell rings.”
“Sure let's go” I respond
The place we ate every day was outside. It used to be a tennis court before I moved in. Now they put trees and flowers all over the place. Preston really liked the blue color of the flowers but it just never clicked for me. I look over at Preston and he's staring up at the sky. There are a number of clouds in almost enough to block the sun but it still pokes its rays through and lands on Preston's face. The clouds swim in front of the sun till they block out the sun's light. Preston faces towards me.
“I'm gonna miss you Alexandria” he says
“You know you can just call me Alex,” I replied. I start to smile again. “I'll miss you too!" He smiles toward me again as we get up to leave as the clouds start to clump together and rain slowly falls. As we're walking back to the school there's a loud tearing sound followed by screams as the ground shakes.
The ground tears itself apart as the dirt and stone erupt from the ground. The sky blackens and a pale blue light escapes the earth. Then creatures erupt from the ground in a violent ejection from the earth creating a white pillar diffusing as they reach higher in the air. Some are clawing their way out of the cracks like maggots out of a corpse. People are swept into the updraft screaming for their lives.
The creatures descend like a tidal wave and tear apart any people caught in their path. They storm out of the crack in hundreds as more cracks in the earth form. Me and Preston started running away as people were screaming behind us. A girl running next to us has her legs slashed by a creature. The monster begins to tear open her chest as she chokes on her own blood. The monster shovels her lungs and innards into its decrepit mouth. Me and Preston keep running until we're met at the entrance of the school and we catch the attention of a monster as it begins to savagely rush toward us. The monster resembles ghosts my father told me about. But this one looks monstrously horrific. It floats in the air and opens its mouth so wide it nearly replaces its entire torso; its jaws hold savage teeth each the same old gray color of its body. Its eyes glow a rotten yellow color through the dark. It stretches out its arms showing its giant hands and claws like fingers. It swipes at us leaving a giant claw mark on the door behind us but Preston ducks my body down to avoid the attack. We run around it as the monster swaps its focus to another bystander. Screaming past us. Me and Preston run into the parking lot as people scream around us. We hide next to a car.
“What the hell is happening!?” I yell to Preston. More of the creatures fly over us and swoop down to people like vultures on roadkill devouring the fleeing people.
Preston starts to breathe heavily ”we need to get out of here and someplace safer”. As we were talking one of the monster phases through the car we were hiding next to forcing us to run into the street.
“Lets go to your house till things cool down” i say to Preston through panted breaths
“Wait couldn't we head to your house instead” Preston says.
“Why would that matter your house is closer anyways” i respond
“But-” Preston is interrupted by two creatures swooping above us to grab another person. The two monsters begin to pull the person apart while he writhes in pain before having his flesh be torn in half and having his organs be devoured.
“Come on lets go!!” I say as I grab his hand and run even faster.
By the time we reach Preston's house any living person is gone. On the street are just corpses laying torn and mutilated on the roads and sidewalk. The air in the neighborhood feels cold despite the season being summer. When I walk down the street I can still hear the occasional horrific wail the monsters give off. We move closer to Preston's house and I can see him sweating. He looked more worried than before when the creatures were chasing us and he kept darting his eyes away from his home.
“Preston, are you feeling okay?” he doesn't respond to my question and keeps darting his eyes. He walks slowly behind me and as I reach for the door handle and when I touch it it feels nearly freezing. I wrap my hoodie around my hand and slowly open the door. The house is quiet so me and Preston creep further into his house. The inside is cold and damp as if we were locked in a freezer. The further we move into the house the louder a subtle chewing sound is heard.
“It sounds like rats are eating a dead cow over there” I whisper. Preston continues to stay silent behind me. We slowly walk closer towards the kitchen and the sound gets louder and louder and louder until we reach the room.
We're met with a rancid smell of vomit and blood. My blood starts to run cold and every instinct in my body is telling me to run. I can feel Preston breathing get heavier as we get closer. We turn the corner and see Preston's mom lying on the ground dead with one of the creatures hunched over slurping her intestines. The sight causes me to vomit alerting the monster to our presence. The creature turns around and its mouth turns into a mortifying grin as it flies into Preston's moms body. The corpse begins to rise and spur splashing blood over the kitchen. When the corpse stops spasming it picks itself up from the ground and with glazed over eyes it holds its intestines in its hand and gives us the same grin it did when it was outside her body. The possessed corpse lunges at me and starts to chase me around the kitchen. The body is running into the walls and cabinets spraying its blood and other loose organs around the area as I'm avoiding its assault. The corpse leans over and ejects one of its loose intestines towards me, wrapping me in it. It pulls me towards it so fast I'm flung towards the ground. The corpse limbers over to me and raises its free hand aiming for my head. The creature's deranged smile causes the corpse’s cheeks to tear apart. It places both of its bloodied and demented hands on my face and starts to press my skull into the ground. I struggle to breathe. The room starts to get dark and blood escapes my head.
Until Preston jumps on top of his mothers corpse with a kitchen knife and repeatedly stabs it in the head. The possessed body tries to shake him off but he keeps stabbing, blood gets in on his face and tears start to escape his eyes. The creature violently ejects from the corpse's mouth causing her head to nearly explode and Preston stops stabbing the body. The body falls over in a splash of blood and organs. The monster leaves phasing through the roof leaving Preston crying over his mother's body. As the blood mixes with the tears he collapses to his knees crying. I walk over and hug him as the air around us turns bitter and the chill of death leaves the room and us with it.
Chapter 1 Eclipse
It's been 2 months since the apocalypse started. We've kept ourselves alive by looting grocery stores and houses, we hide from the creatures as we have no way to fight back against them. Preston came up with the idea to call them glanter’s. He’s looking better since we left his family home but I can tell something is wrong with him that he's not telling me. Everytime I ask him about it he tells me it's no big deal. I asked him earlier today and he just told me
“don't worry about it, I'm over it” without even looking at me. Now we're walking through the street and I'm walking behind Preston, I can barely see his head past the giant bag we're both carrying on our backs we use to carry supplies. I look up at the sky and it's still pitch black except for the moon giving us any amount of light. Preston turns around to face me.
“Let's check out that house, it might have some cool stuff in it” he points to a white house to our right. The house is a two story building with steps leading to the front door. There's a generator poking out from the backyard. The driveway is empty save for a couple of dried blood stains and tire marks. It's similar to the other houses in the neighborhood except for a couple broken windows.
“Sure why not” We head over to the house and I see something shining on the side of the house in the corner of my eye. I turn my head to look at it closer but it quickly disappears before I can see it clearly.
“Probably squirrel or something” I mumble to myself. Preston walks up the stairs to the house and I walk up the steps behind him as a breeze blows past my face. Preston tries to turn the door knob but the door is locked. I start to pull out a lockpick I grabbed at the store earlier. I motion towards Preston to move out of the way as I kneel down to pick the lock. It takes me a couple of minutes to unlock the door so I walk inside the house and Preston follows behind me while closing and locking the door. The doorway of the house leads to a dark room so I take a flashlight out of my bag to illuminate the area. Were put into the living room and bookshelves are on the walls and a large TV sat in front of a large black couch with smaller chairs surrounding it. Dust is covering every surface of the room and spiderwebs litter the corners of the walls. The area smells like moth balls and there's a lack of blood anywhere nearby.
“Guess the owners got out before the Glanter’s got in, '' I say to Preston. When he doesn't respond I turn around and he's already looking further into the house. When I find him he's managed to find a flight of stairs that lead to a lower portion of the house.
“I'll check on him later,” I think to myself as I headed towards the kitchen to see if we could restock on food. I walk past a bedroom and remark on how childish it looked. The walls were painted with blue and green stripes and a bunk bed sat on the right wall. There's a chest at the foot of the bed so I walk over and lift the top off of it. The box is layered with children's toys, a multitude of dolls, bears, and figures all jut out of the box. I notice a small robot toy and inspect it in my hands.
The cold metal makes my hand shiver and the sharp body shape makes the robot bigger than my hand. There's red lining around the robot's buttons surrounded by the cold gray of the robot's “skin”. It reminds me of a toy my little brother had. My heart feels heavy as I worry about what happened to my family. If they're alive, dead, or worse…possessed. The thoughts send a chill down my spine but I push them aside for now. I put the toy in my bag and exit the bedroom.
I can see the kitchen is down the hallway so I walk down the hall and enter. The kitchen is pretty clean except for a couple of dishes in the sink and the dust. There's a table seated for 3 people in the center of the room. I start opening the cabinets in search for any food or water. There's boxes of cereal leftover on top of shelves and a mix of chip bags and cookies in neat boxes stationed in the cabinets.
“Score,” I say to myself as I begin to put the snacks into my bag. When the cabinets are empty I look inside the fridge. The inside of the fridge ran out of power so most of the food inside is rotted. There are a couple of bottles of water in the front so I shove those in my bag. There's also a bag of oranges that still seem to be healthy in the back. I grab them and toss them on the table. There's rotten sandwich meat hidden in the drawer of the fridge.it smells like a dumpster outside of a butcher shop. I wrinkle my nose at the smell. I look around the kitchen for any bread with no luck.
I continue to look through the fridge until I hear Preston scream from another room. Immediately I bolt out of the kitchen leaving my bag behind and run towards the lower part of the house. I run down the stairs and nearly trip on the steps. The stairs lead to a big room. There are posters to tv shows and movies I don't recognize. The walls are painted black and there's a bear skin rug on the floor. I notice Preston standing next to a really big TV hyperventilating. I walk over to him and ask him.
“Are you ok? What happened?”
He talks through deep breaths “I… saw a… spider.”
“What?!” I respond in confusion.
“It was really big and I had jumped at my face”
“Sure it was.” I say while laughing “Let's go upstairs there's some food in the fridge we can eat”
“Wait, I think you should check this out.” He says while pointing towards one of the walls. I grab Preston's flashlight off the floor and face it towards the wall. Hanging halfway off the wall is a large map labeled Newkiwana scavenger hunt of 76.
“I think we should take it,” Preston says “You can read a map right?”
“A little but I'm not the best at it,” I say to him “can you read a map?”
“it shouldn’t be too hard it’s mainly pictures any way I'm sure I can figure it out”
I walk over to the wall where the map is hung there are trophies covering tables and shelved in their own personal cases one of them reads “1st place 100-meter swimming competition for 1986 Zack Hemmingway” and another one reads “2nd place 100-meter swimming competition for 1989 Zack Hemmingway”
“Guess this guy really liked swimming,” Preston remarks while staring at a wall of newspaper clippings. All of them are about the same person in swimming competitions. All labeled different things like “a new record for Zack “the dolphin” Hemmingway”,
‘Zach Hemmingway our star plans for the future” all the newspapers are about this kind he has paler skin and a bulky enough build to swim pretty well. Most of the pictures have him coming out of the water in a pool, his long black hair soaked and sitting at his shoulders. Another one has him sitting at a desk over a pile of books and his hair in a knot , “vicious wipeout ends the Dolphins career”, and “ex-swim champ Zack Hemmingway found in a drunken stupor outside strip club.
“Everyone has their own hobbies I guess,” I say as I take the map off of the wall and fold it up. “Sucks what happened to Zack though” I walked over to Preston’s bag and put the rolled map in one of the pockets. I walk back up the stairs and Preston grabs his bag and follows behind me.
We make our way towards the kitchen and Preston starts looking through the fridge for anything to eat. I grab an orange from the table and throw it at his head. The fruit bounces off his head and rolls on the floor. He turns around and grabs the fruit from the floor
“Why did you throw an orange at me?”
“It's the only food we have unless you plan on eating spoiled a sandwich“ He starts to peel it while walking towards the table. We both take a seat and start to eat the oranges from the bag. He plants his feet on top of the table and bites into the fully peeled orange. I grab a water bottle from a bag and start to drink from it as Preston says.
“I saw a dvd player in that man cave downstairs we could watch a movie if it still has power”
“Sure it could be fun.” Me and Preston spend the rest of our time eating until the bag of oranges is emptied and we head back downstairs. Preston grabs the DVD player from under the table and blows the dust off the top of it; he plugs it into the wall as I plop myself onto the couch. He plugs the DVD player into the TV and sits on the recliner next to me. He presses a few buttons on the remote and the TV lights up. I squint my eyes at how bright it is. It's the most amount of light I've seen that didn't come from a flashlight. I notice there's a box filled with DVDs. I pull the box over towards me. I ruffle through the box and see movies like Silence of the Lambs, Terminator 2, and Home alone.
“Dude some of these came out just before the world turned inside out” I say to him.
“Really? Let's play one.” He responds. I toss him Terminator 2 and he puts it into the DVD player.
We spend the next couple hours watching movies and laughing together. It's some of our only moments of peace we’ve had since the end of the world and to me it's the most fun I've had yet. We're putting in the next DVD when there's a loud crash outside and the TV shuts off. Preston goes behind it to see if it's still plugged in.
“I think the generator outside is busted” i say
“It seems that way” Preston replies while backing away from the tv” i'm gonna go check it out”
“Don't worry I got it” I say as I hop out of my chair. Preston waves goodbye as I head up the stairs. I make my way back through the hallway leading to the living room and front door. I reach the door and start to turn the knob. I open the door wide as a car speeds down the street. I step out of the door to see what had happened when I hear the screech of a glanter. It cuts through the sky like an unholy opera singer. A group of them fly by and chase the car as I rush back inside the house. I slam the door shut and look through the window as I see a couple of smaller glanters grab and shake the car violently looking for the driver. They tear at it, ripping off doors and breaking the windows. The driver screams as the seats cover with blood and he's ripped out of the car as multiple smaller glanters tear and bite off parts of his body like piranha's until his body is completely devoured. I run back to the man cave to warn Preston about what had happened. I spot him laying in his chair spinning a DVD disc on his finger.
“It's not safe outside right now”
“Why not?
“There's glanter's outside, they just ate a dude in his car”
“Did they see you come inside?”
“I don't think so , they flew off before I went inside.”
“well we're not dead so I'm gonna say they didn't see you. But let's stay here for a couple more hours just to be safe”
“Sounds good i'm gonna go find the master bedroom.” I start to walk back up the stairs to the house
“ Hold on why do you get the master bedroom” Preston says while walking after me.
“Because I'm gonna find it first” I say as I start to run to find the bedroom. He chases after me in pursuit of the bedroom. Me and Preston run around the house looking for the master bedroom. We look through room after room finding closets, the garage, a bathroom and a door leading to a balcony in the back of the house. I manage to run into the bedroom and yell out to Preston.``Found it!!”
He comes walking into the room breathing heavily from the running. We both check out the room. The walls are painted a cream yellow and the bed takes up most of the room's center. The bed has burgundy sheets poking out from its bottom and a quilt with multi-colored floral designs lay sprawled out on top of it. There's a wardrobe built into the wall and a black leather couch sits comfortably on the left wall.
“Dibs on the bed” I say as I jump on top of it. I stretch out on top of the quilt and search for a comfortable part to sleep in.
“Where am I supposed to sleep then?” Preston complains
“You can sleep on the couch it looks soft enough” I respond while pointing towards the couch “I saw some spare blankets in one of the closets”
“Alright i’ll be right back” he mumbles to himself “why do i always get the couch”
“ I'll be right here if you need me,” i call after him. I sit up on the bed and start to look around the room more. I notice the entrance to the wardrobe is cracked open slightly. I hop out of the bed and grab a flashlight from my bag as I walk into the wardrobe. I turn on my flashlight and stare in awe at how many clothes are in there. The room is only half as big as the bedroom but it's still bigger than any closet I've ever had. The wardrobe is full of shirts, dresses, pants, and shoes for men and women. I immediately start to look through the shoes to see if any fit my size. I throw a pair of black high heels behind me as Preston finds me in the wardrobe. He looks around before asking me.
“What are you doing?”
“Finding a new pair of clothes to wear cause I've been wearing the same pair of jeans for waaaaay too long”
“Fair enough. Is there any guy stuff in there?”
“Yeah right there” I hook my thumb behind me to point to the other end of the closet.
“I'm sure they won't mind if we take a couple of things…they're probably dead by now anyways,” Preston says with a slight grin on his face. The way he said made me spin my head to look at him but he was already on the opposite end of the wardrobe looking at suits.
I shake away the thought and continue looking for any pair of sneakers in my size. 40 minutes pass before I walk out of the wardrobe holding a new pair of jeans and a black guns-N-roses t-shirt. I toss the clothes on top of the bed and check to see if the shower in the bathroom still works. I turn the dial and wait for a moment. The shower head chokes a little before water comes pouring out. I reach my hand under the showerhead to feel the water. The water is cold, it causes my hand to shiver when I take it out. I shake the water off and say to myself.
“Good enough” as I start to take off my old clothes and get in the shower. The cold water bounces off my skin, it sends shivers down my spine but I still get the old dirt from the last few months off of me. I step out and see a couple of dry towels hanging off of the door. I grab one and dry my body off and grab another to wrap around my head and dry my hair. I step out of the bathroom and Preston is still inside the wardrobe. I put on my new clothes while his back is turned and walk over towards him when I'm finished.
“Still haven't found anything,” I ask him
He turns around “Nothing yet, the only thing interesting was this coat.” He holds a leather coat up to me. The coat is made of black leather and has a skull covered with blue flames on the back. There's a black shirt inside the coat with a skeleton hand making a thumbs-up embroidered on the front.
“ That's pretty cool, it's better than what you're wearing right now at least” he's outfitted in a blue hoodie with holes on the chest and tears at the sleeves. He also has a shirt with a faded picture of a blue flower printed on it.
“I guess you're right” he gets up from the floor and exits the wardrobe. He lays the clothes on the couch along next to the blanket and pillow he brought into the room.
“The shower works so you can get yourself clean In there,” I say to him
“You know, a shower sounds really good right now.” He gets up from the floor and grabs a pair of pajama pants that were laying next to him. He leaves the wardrobe and enters the bathroom, closing the door behind him. After a moment the water turns on and I hop on the bed to get ready to sleep. I squirm myself into the quilt and rest my head against one of the pillows. I shut my eyes and fall asleep listening to the passive sound of the shower like rain on a car.
I'm in a void. It feels like I'm standing in a puddle of water that reaches to my knees. I wade my way forward looking around for anything in the darkness. In the distance I can see 3 figures l. I moved closer to them and their silhouettes get clearer. I realize they are my dad and brothers. I start to run towards them kicking up water behind me until something grabs my leg. It pulls down violently forcing me under the water without a breath of air. I kick at the thing grabbing me until something grabs my other leg. I look down and see two glanter's each with a monstrous smile on their faces. They stare back at me and one of them tugs my leg harder than before and tears it off of my body. The water around me turns red as the glanter laugh's. The other smiles wider as it starts to fling me around the water forcing any air left in my lungs to be forced out as I scream in pain. The glanter throws me away and I can see my family slowly fade into the distance as I'm flown away.
I struggle to swim back to where I was, one of my legs is missing and the other is broken. The glanter's find me again and I try to get to the surface to escape them. I'm flapping my arms in any attempt to escape as one of the glanter's flies in front of me and grabs my arm. I look at the monster with tears in my eyes as it bites my arm and tears my body away from it. It flings my body away and with my remaining arm I clutch the wound as the water floods into my body leaving me in the void I started in. I look around and the glanter's seem to have left. I turn behind me and see my family again, this time I'm closer than before.
I grit my teeth and drag my body towards them slowly as I leave a trail of blood and tears behind me. I finally reach my family and grab one of my father's shoes. I stare up and he looks at me. His stare causes me to feel cold as a grotesque smile grows on his face. I stare in shock as my brothers each have the same look as my father.
I shoot up from my sleep panting heavily in a cold sweat.
“It was just a dream..just a dream…just a dream” I look at my hands as tears fall into them. I look around the room and see Preston sleeping peacefully on the couch. The room feels frozen in place as a chill runs down my spine. I get out of the bed and walk out of the bedroom. I make my way through the dark hallway and find the entrance to the balcony I saw earlier. I creak open the screen door and head outside. The Balcony is pretty large, about the size of the kitchen in the house. There are some chairs knocked over next to a table and I pick one up to sit on it. I look out into the expanse of the neighborhood, houses lined up next to each other, dozens broken apart by roads, and dead bodies scattered across the roads.
I look up in the sky and sit back in the chair. The sky looks empty except for the moon giving this world its only source of light. Without the moon, we’d be left in darkness. It hangs in the sky alone, no stars, no clouds, nothing but itself, and the void of the sky. I think back about the dream I had. My dad and my brother's all dead and possessed and then they kill me. I start to tear up thinking about it. I try to wipe away the tears but it’s no use. I'm too scared for my family. I don't know where they are if they're alive if they're worried about me I don't know anything! I start to quietly cry into my hands. I don't know how long I'm sitting there until I feel a hand on my shoulder. I turn my head to face it and I see Preston. He was smiling and looking at me. I turn away to wipe my tears and he walks next to me.
“I heard you sneaking out of the bedroom so I followed you to see where you were going.” he says “but that's not my question.” he pauses and looks at me “my question is what’s got you feeling so down?” he leans over the railing of the balcony
“It's nothing, I just came out here to clear my head.” I say as more tears escape from my eyes in big slow drops that ride down the sides of my face.
“if you don't feel like telling me you don't have to but i'll be here if you ever change your mind”. He looks up at the moon before turning to face me and his smile widens “I'll always be here with you…trust me I'm not going anywhere”
I stare up at him and wipe away my tears as a smile grows on my face to match his. I get up and stare over the balcony with him. “So where are we heading next?” I say to him, Preston pulls the map we got from the man cave downstairs out from his pocket.
“After I got out of the shower I decided to take a look at the map for anything interesting we could see.”
“Ok did you find anything?” i ask
“I did,” he points at a spot on the right of the map. “We should head to the museum”
“I didn't want to go to a museum before the apocalypse why would i want to go now?'' I ask him.
“Well the best part of museums is the cool stuff right”
“Yeah what about it”
“The only problem is that you could only look at the fossils and armor but you could never take them.”
“So you want to rob a museum?” Prestons eyes light up at the question
“Exactly they might have a really cool sword I could use, or I could sharpen a dinosaur tooth and use that as a weapon, there might be a cursed shield that can summon the dead to fight for you. This opportunity is too good to pass up. We need to go!”
“That does seem pretty cool but wouldn't carrying that stuff weigh us down. What if a glanter is chasing us and we can't run fast enough because of the stuff we took from the museum.”
“We’ll only take things that are light. Even then I could just block the glanter with my newly acquired 2000 year old shield.”
“Fair enough we can go in a couple hours” I yawn and stretch out my arms. “Cause I'm feeling way too tired to walk all the way over there right now.”
“Alright i'm heading back to my couch and THEN we’ll head out to the museum” he leaves the balcony and heads back to the master bedroom leaving me alone on the balcony.
“Thanks Preston I'm not leaving either” I say into the sky. I turn around and walk back inside the house, closing the balcony door behind me. I walk back into the bedroom and Preston is hunched over and holding a flashlight looking at the map. He’s drawing lines through roads and marking X’s in different areas.
“What are the X’s for?” i ask him
“They’re places that glanter’s usually stay around. I'm marking them off so we remember not to go through them, or at least be more cautious.”
“Cool. Did you find where we are right now?” He points to an area where the lines all converge out of.
“Right around here is where the neighborhood ends. So if we follow this path we can make it to the museum in one piece” I pat him on the back and take the map from his hands.
“Get some sleep Preston, we have a full day tomorrow” he grins to himself before laying down on the couch. I put the map back into my bag and hop on the bed to get to sleep. I cover my body in the quilt and roll over facing away from Preston as he falls asleep. I nestle myself into the bed and slowly fall asleep to get ready for the next day.
I'm awoken by Preston shaking the bed I'm sleeping on. My eyes open and the room is foggy, I wipe away the sleep from my eyes and focus my attention towards Preston. He's practically jumping out of his skin with excitement, he's already fully dressed for the trip and shaking the bed with a wide smile on his face.
“Ok ok i'm up the air feels heavy as a groggy feeling fills my body. I wipe my eyes and the room starts to clear up. I turn to face Preston. He's still shaking my bed to wake me up, he’s already fully dressed and nearly jumping out of his skin in excitement.
“Ok ok, i'm up you can stop shaking the bed” i say
“Then get up we’ve got a long walk ahead of us” he says as he stops shaking the mattress. He grabs the map from my bag and points to one of the red lines.
“We're gonna follow this way to the museum. We’ll move past the hotel around the ice skating rink and around the park. We’ll mainly stick to walking through the streets, we might have to go rooftop hopping to avoid any glanter’s if we see them but i'm sure we won’t reach that point.” he explains
“Wait, wait, wait, why are avoiding the skating rink and the park” i ask
“ everytime we go near the park there's weird noises and light coming out of it”
“And why can't we go to the ice skating rink?”
“I didn't think it would be important”
“It couldn't hurt to check it out at least”
“Fine we could make a detour”
“Ok and how do you plan on getting on top of roofs?”
“I'm sure we'll figure it out when we get to it”
“Ok man as long as you’re sure '' I yawn and step out of the bed. Preston starts to put the map in his bag. I walk into the bathroom with my clothes and change out of my pajamas. Minutes later I walk out and see Preston sitting on the couch twiddling his thumbs.
“Finally you're out” he smiles at me before handing me my bag and slinging it over his shoulder. We took a last look inside the kitchen to see if we missed anything. Afterwards we leave for the outside. The cold air bites at my face but Preston walks down the stairs, his face buried in the map. I jog to catch up to him as we both head into the street.
“Hey Preston, could I see the map?”
“Sure” he hands over the map and continues walking. I look at the map and the numerous lines drawn on roads. I look at the corner of the map and notice a small map key with numerous symbols for different areas like a library, school, hospital, and more. There's even a way to tell how far away each location is. The text reads “1 inch=5 miles” I quickly count how far we are from the museum.
“Dude this museum is like 100 miles away.”
“Yep it'll be a long walk, it'll take us a while to get there”
“Did you plan on us walking there the whole time?”
“We might find bikes or something.” he pauses “well i did think we would walk the whole way”
“This is gonna take us weeks to get there!”
“Did you have anything else planned?”
“Well…i guess not but we should still try to find some bikes or something”
“Ok if we see any way to travel faster we’ll take it”
“Alright cool” I hand him the map back and he folds it back up and puts it in his bag. We walk further until we leave the gated neighborhood we started in. Preston takes the map back out and looks at it before he turns right and continues walking. I follow him staring forward at the expanse of the road. The outside of the neighborhood is surrounded by roads all leading to different parts of Newkinawa. We walk past a sign that reads “Coretown 20 miles ahead” I nudge Preston towards the sign and he checks the map again.
“Yep, the museum’s in Coretown. Would you believe the residents were pretty proud of it. Should be a fun place to explore” he says
“Yeah but it’ll take us a million years to get there.” i complain
“Lighten up, I'm sure it will be worth it”. We continue walking down the road slowly making our way to Coretown.

I've been reading Broken Money and am fascinated by the qualities of a good vs bad currency and the history of how centralized banking led to our current financial problems.
I do find the argument for obtaining Bitcoin compelling from both a logical and ideological standpoint. Above all, the book emphasizes the quality of Bitcoin's scarcity: only 21 million BTC will ever be mined, the mining rate will halve after every 210k blocks are completed, and the code is designed so that a block is completed every 10 min.
I don't have a programming or cryptography background so the fact that someone could come up with this idea and create it - along with the idea of not needing third-party verification for transactions- is nothing short of genius. It's changed the way I think about money completely. Previously I was planning to build and maintain my wealth through traditional passive index ETF investing. But after learning how governments/federal reserves can just create money out of thin air (and have already done so) for the sake of personal interests and maintaining office, I'm re-considering my strategy. I think that I would still invest in index ETFs using government registered tax deferral or tax free savings accounts (I'm Canadian for context), however I would consider holding the rest of my savings in Bitcoin to avoid significant currency debasement in the future.
I had a question though about whether Bitcoin's scarcity could ever be challenged. I'm asking this because I'm genuinely curious - since the code is open-access, could it not theoretically be duplicated and another identical digital currency (let's say Bitcoin 2.0 for lack of imagination) be created with the exact same features that make Bitcoin a good currency? So now we have Bitcoin and Bitcoin 2.0... how would that affect the value of the original Bitcoin? In my mind the advantage Bitcoin has over fiat currencies is the lack of regulation (and subsequent arbitrary creation of money) making it a superior store of value. If another digital currency was created with the exact same features, would it make owning Bitcoin less valuable?

Are there still architectural firms out there that are responsible for leading the budget checking and cost estimating for projects? Or do the owners more often take this on either through a cost consultant or by relying on the GC? It seems like cost consultants don’t have the knowledge needed for some projects to properly develop a budget to bring the design vision to reality. While on the other hand the GC is more worried about protecting the budget causing scope to be stripped out prematurely. I would love to get some opinions on this.

I'm only typing this because I believe there are people at Arrowhead who care about this game and want to make it great. I've spent countless hrs playing this game and I really do enjoy it (currently lvl 110, only saying this as support that I play the game A LOT) but it's starting to feel like fewer players are online. I like that this game is designed to be hard, but can we focus on perhaps making the game more enjoyable through removing nagging frustrations? These are a few of my humble suggestions:

• Can we have an option to disregard dropped primaries in game? I know what loadout I want and those dastardly primaries always get in the way when I am trying to pick up samples and gear. And because you throw a wall of bugs/bots at us every second, I've had several frustrating moment occurs when I'm trying to sweep in and make a play. Never have I picked up a primary and thought, "Gee, this is exactly what I wanted" and the only problem this has ever fixed is if a mate accidentally spawned in with the wrong loadout but that rarely happens and they will lose the primary they swapped after death and since primaries aren't marked on the map, they won't be able to find them again if they die.
• Can we improve the entire mechanic of picking things up? There are several times I am opening up a resource pod and there's a weapon inside that I want and the "pickup item option" will not be available. This will result in several minutes of coming at the pod from every angle and sometimes I'll have to stand beside it and look at it from such an awkward angle that the option will momentarily prompt for a split-second. Well you can imagine how problematic this can be when you are getting spammed with an exorbitant amount of bugs/bots from everywhere!
• Mystery holes? What are they and why do we even have them? I can't tell you how many times I'm being swarmed by packs of hunters and I jump to the side and inevitably fall into one of these mystery holes. Ya know, they are the ones you can throw a grenade into and cause an explosion which is basically useless (I only see them on bugs, I believe). And to make things worse any items you had before falling into this hole are now lost. If you are going to keep having these silly mystery holes, then can you at least give us some way to retrieve our gear? Let's throw a grenade in there and have it erupt, throwing all the items out or something. Falling into a hole when you have super samples is a feeling that I would not even wish upon my greatest enemies!
• Can we give priority to STIMming? This game has about a dozen wonky mechanics that need to be fixed, but in the meantime, you could ameliorate a ton of disgruntled players by allowing the STIM command to take priority. How many times have we had to endure an awkward falling sequence because we dove and landed on a rock or steep hill? Typically we are diving because we are trying to evade some bug or bot that is running us down and the 5-second falling sequence without the ability to STIM means we are toast. And look, this prolonged falling sequence triggers at the worst possible times, plus with all of the funky physics of the game, I will try to climb over a fallen bile titan and suddenly be flung across the map. Allow me to the ability to STIM while this is happening and I will be much more willing to forgive these problems because I can use the invulnerability of the STIM to negate the fall, therefore saving me a lot of hassle trying to run back across the map to get my gear when I have been wrongfully jettisoned across the map.
• Why is it when I call in a stratagem and/or resupply, the game thinks I want to climb these things instead of picking them up? Spoiler alert: I never want to climb on these vital components of the game that bugs/bots somehow instinctively swarm to even in the 6-13 seconds it takes for me to call them in. I need these vital resources to complete my mission, not to climb upon them so that I may appear taller like some failed politician.
• Who at Arrowhead thought that the exploding smoke pellets would add value to the game by hurling players when they explode? Well, they were wrong. Too often this creates scenarios where (again) you throw an army of bots at us and as we are trying to evade the sheer volume of crimson laser blasts hurling in our direction, but one shot strikes an unseen smoke pellet behind us and hurls us directly into a moshpit of Hulks and Devastators. The smoke pellets should be there to give us cover and obstruct the ridiculously broken mechanic of bot vision, but in most cases, it just serves as another random obstacle to frustrate us.
• Again, let's talk about Bot vision because there are absolutely not enough people at Arrowhead playing this game. I enjoy running bots more than bugs, but I can't tell you how many times I get completely bombarded with a litany of lasers from the other side of the map, piercing darkness, rain, and about every other obstacle that obstructs my vision but somehow not theirs. I believe blizzards are the only thing that stops their insanely broken vision. No amount of skill can save you on open terrain with any combination of 3 bots that are Heavy and Rocket Devastators. They always seem to sync their fire in such a way that you are completely pinned down and can't move. If you are going to give them such powerful weapons, then at least limit their vision.
• AA defense effect is horrible and should be removed from the game immediately! I've posted on this topic before so I'll curtail this rant, but people play this game because of the stratagems and limiting them as some lazy way of making the mission different only adds frustration and does not promote fun. If you added a new difficult level that gave Helldivers no weapons, no stratagems, and no armor and just asked them to run around and get massacred, how many people do you think would play it? Sure there would be a dozen streamers playing it to somehow win their parents approval or get likes, but no one would play it because it wouldn't be fun. I will say it again, we should have more stratagem slots. This past weekend, when he had free access to the new emancipator exosuit, that was fun and it felt like Helldiving! Even if I had to farm a ridiculous amount of samples to unlock a useful stratagem like orbital precision strike or eagle airstrike as always a part of my loadout at no stratagem cost to me, I would bust my butt to get that because it would add value and fun to the game, which should be the primary goal as you look at ways to bring players back.
• Can we have a use for medals and samples? I've unlocked everything in the game and I have no use for medals, samples, and requisition slips. I don't care what it is, but can I use them on something so that when I pick them up in-game it actually means something? Even if donating your samples and medals and slips give an infinitesimal amount of progress toward our major order, or we can use those in-game to replenish our exosuits, just give me a reason to collect these because being maxed out at 250 medals, 500 samples, 250 rare samples, 100 super samples, and 50k in requisition slips absolutely chokes the fun out of this game for me.
• Can someone revisit the hitboxes of Bile Titans and Hulks when it comes to Hellpods? Again, a unique feature of this game that brings enjoyment to the players is our ability to call in fallen comrades as weapons. Putting yourself in peril to help out your mates is the ultimate experience but I find it very inconsistent when trying to hit Hulks and especially Bile Titans. There are so many times that I put myself in harm's way only to somehow not kill a hulk/titan even though I went directly through them and I know that I am significantly more advanced than most casual players of the game. If people don't feel like they can contribute, they won't play. Especially since the pods are often restricted in mobility (and someone pls remind me why I unlocked power steering again because it doesn't work), please just do something that favors the helldiver for once and I promise people will like it!
• Speaking of chargers, they seem to have a new flair built in that ragdolls you after you have dodged them. I don't know if it is their legs widening after they stop but it creates many a scenario where you successfully run around a charger when it charges, it immediately stops, and then the side sweeping action of the legs when it stops ragdolls and mostly kills you. This didn't use to happen but it is very annoying to successfully dodge a charger and then still have it kill you.
• Suggestion: can we get the exosuits to eject us like the cockpit of a fighter jet when they explode? I don't run the mechs that often, partially because you can have this powerful yet bulky suit that can do everything right but somehow get destroyed by a charger that pops up behind you. But if that suit were to eject me and allow me to prolong my life, that would be a clutch feature for the game. But once again...and I know this is going to sound foreign...but it would create fun gameplay and awesome clips that people would post and it would inevitably influence new players to play the game. Have the cockpit eject into a hellpod that you can use to exact revenge on the menacing charger that destroyed your mech!

So I know this is a lot and thank you for reading. I'm passionate about this game because I really want to see it grow. Every time there's are updates, inevitably there will be grumbling about change, but I have seen a lot of my mates fall off this game. I personally like the challenge of the game but it does feel like every update obsesses on taking advantages away from the helldiver and that same isn't applied to the enemy. When two or three of these advantages occur, you take it in stride but when you play a good game and still get relentlessly hit with these unfair glitches it just turns players off. Anyway, I am rooting for you all because I love the game, but like all toxic relationships, you can only love something for so long as it continues to mistreat you. Keep the game hard but please remember that it should be fun first!

What is ZenUML?

ZenUML is one of the best Sequence Diagram as Code solution in the industry.
It's considered "unique" because, unlike Mermaid or PlantUML, which are essentially Text2Diagram tools, Code2Diagram is not just text, but "logical text" with a domain-specific language syntax.
A diagram is a visualization of logic.
In the realm of sequence diagrams, we believe ZenUML is currently one-of-a-kind.

What Can Sequence Diagrams Do?

"Sequence diagrams, the only good thing UML brought to software development"
This article, written by the founder and CTO of Mermaid, resonates deeply with me. In reality, no matter how complex the logic, when implemented in a program, it ultimately follows a sequence; no matter how intricate the business, when broken down into processes, it also has an order.
Therefore, over the past decade, the only diagramming habit I've maintained is creating sequence diagrams. In fact, sequence diagrams go far beyond just software component design.

• Business process modeling, as a replacement for BPMN
• Organizing key business knowledge and describing core business relationships
• Design and analysis of system event-driven architectures

These are so many "best practices" I've accumulated, and I hope to have the opportunity to share them.
Example of Sequence Diagram on ZenUML: https://cdn.sa.net/2024/05/29/9ThQJOBoUgZbFDC.png

The Lifecycle of a Diagram

In reality, there are two types of diagrams.
One type is drawn for a one-time presentation: we should use tools like Excalidraw as freely as possible because they create visually appealing diagrams.
The other type is drawn for maintenance. These diagrams become part of our knowledge base, serving as carriers of knowledge or even knowledge itself. Their purpose is not for people to simply look at—their purpose is to help people understand knowledge faster.
In businesses, I've seen countless vsdx files that no one is willing to maintain anymore because once the visualization becomes disconnected from the underlying logical knowledge, the mental burden of picking it up again is immense.
I do believe that 'Diagram as code' is the only solution. If you need diagrams to assist your knowledge over the long term, evolving alongside your designs and knowledge, then don't let everything start with a blank canvas.

New Pricing Model and My Vision

We have made pretty a lot large clients on Atlassian Platform. The value of sequence diagrams and ZenUML is recognized in many ways in industry, however our very first SaaS product has less than 10 users in past 8 years. We didn't promote enough of course is one of the reasons, however we are also not considering our SaaS product has to be profitable.
As long as we believe the product and the best practise along with it can value more and more people, we decide to make a significant price reduction from this month.
With the launch of new features and a new UI, we've introduced annual subscriptions and significantly reduced the price of annual subscriptions. This is not because we believe the tool is not valuable, but because we want more people to get used to the idea that "diagrams" are a language and a form of expression, a way of life that should be a permanent part of your valuable logic and knowledge.
Original , 4.99 or 7.99 monthly -> https://cdn.sa.net/2024/05/29/ZacymoQBxJL2qO1.png
New Pricing, 0.87 or 1.25 montly when annual billing -> https://cdn.sa.net/2024/05/29/f85nWTjJuCroiaQ.png
This shouldn't be the kind of diagramming tool that you use to create a single image for social media. It should be an integral part of your knowledge, capable of evolving alongside your design and remaining perpetually up-to-date.

Upcoming New Features

In the future, we will also introduce a series of AI-powered features under diagramly, and ultimately they will be integrated into the same ecosystem as a whole. Many features are still in testing, but I personally have already heavily reliant on them and can't live without them.

Finally

Welcome aboard and check it out! Feel free to DM me with any feedback or suggestions for features. ZenUML

Finding the perfect lingerie is about more than just looking good – it's also about feeling good. Comfort should be a top priority when it comes to choosing your undergarments. After all, if you're not comfortable, how can you feel confident and sexy?
So why does comfort matter when it comes to lingerie? Let's take a closer look.
First and foremost, comfortable lingerie is essential for your overall well-being. Wearing ill-fitting or constricting undergarments can lead to discomfort, irritation, and even health issues such as chafing, skin irritation, or even nerve damage. These issues can range from minor annoyances to more serious health concerns, and they can all be avoided by simply wearing comfortable lingerie.
In addition to physical well-being, comfortable lingerie also has a direct impact on your mental and emotional well-being. When you're wearing something that is uncomfortable, it can be a constant distraction and source of discomfort throughout the day. This can lead to feeling self-conscious, anxious, or even miserable. On the other hand, when you're wearing lingerie that fits well and feels good on your body, it can boost your confidence, make you feel more at ease, and enhance your overall mood.
Another reason why comfort matters when it comes to lingerie is because it affects the way your clothes fit and look on your body. Ill-fitting undergarments can create bulges, lines, or bumps under your clothes, making them appear less flattering. On the other hand, comfortable lingerie can provide a smooth and seamless foundation for your clothing, helping to enhance your silhouette and make your outfits look better overall.
So what should you look for when it comes to comfortable lingerie? The most important factor is the fit. Make sure to measure yourself correctly and try on different sizes and styles to find the perfect fit for your body. Look for materials that are soft, breathable, and stretchy for maximum comfort. It's also important to consider the style of the lingerie – some people may find certain styles more comfortable than others, so it's worth experimenting to find what works best for you.
When it comes to comfort, it's also important to consider the occasion. While thongs and lacy bras may look sexy, they may not always be the most comfortable option for everyday wear. On the other hand, comfortable lingerie can still be stylish and attractive. Look for brands that prioritize both comfort and design, and don't be afraid to mix and match styles to find the perfect combination of comfort and sexiness.
Lastly, remember that comfort is not just for your own benefit – it can also enhance your intimate experiences with a partner. When you feel comfortable and at ease in your lingerie, you can fully relax and enjoy the moment without any distractions or discomfort. So don't underestimate the power of comfortable lingerie in spicing up your love life.
In conclusion, comfort matters when it comes to lingerie. From your physical and mental well-being to the way your clothes fit and look, comfortable lingerie can have a significant impact on your day-to-day life. So take the time to find the perfect fit and style for your body and embrace the confidence and comfort that comes with it.