I went through the trouble of getting the Strife on day one, because I thought it the most interesting weapon to be added since the RM68. An LMG with AR properties and general versatility is something we have not seen before.
As usual I will put the important bits in bold, so you can just read that and look at the picture, if you are more into tl;dr.
The basic outlying is the following: The Strife is a medium-high ROF LMG that can both use ammo belts as well as mags and features pretty uniform drop-offs. The Subsonic is a 5HK to 50m, the standard out to 75m, AP to 100m and HP out to 150.
How is the Strife balanced within the weapon? Pretty good. While I would not consider using HP ammo, as kills beyond 100m are very rare, this is the first time where AP is a relevant ammo option, as it does not have worse ROF or significantly worse drop-offs as you usually have. I have not tested how and if it performs against vehicles, yet. Standard is the best ammo having the lowest TTK and good drop-off, but Subsonic allows you to go full stealth while still retaining okay drop-offs. I would argue that the full ninja loadout is more valid than on the AK5C, especially considering the 90 round belt.
The gun also features an almost full pallette of underbarrel attachment slots only missing the Masterkey. As a gimmick it also allows you to use mags 21/31/41 mags instead of the 70/90 round belts. There is seemingly no difference in stats other than reload speed. So I do not see a reason to ever not use a belt, especially considering ammo economy. Hence it is just a cosmetic thing, but nothing wrong with that, as animations are neat.
All in all you can see that the same guys that developed the AK5C also did the Strife. It is a versatile gun with decent gimmicks and regardless of loadout you can not screw up royally, as is common on many other weapons. Sadly other weapons did not see the same amount of care and diligence:
Here is a visual representation of the Strife's ADS recoil and spread compared to weapons that occupy the same niche, alongside TTK, magsize and otherwise special features:
​
Primarily a showcase of how badly balanced many vault weapons still are.
As you can see the Strife features relatively low Vrec, for higher Hrec/spread, but I would argue not relevantly so in the context of the ranges we fight in and paired with the fact that the Strife has better drop-offs and/or better stealth plus is more variable through underbarrel attachments. The other weapons seen here have basically no niche other than nostalgia and are severe underperformers. The RPK can not even mount a suppressor.
Now the Strife falls a bit apart once you compare it to weapons beyond its niche. I do not consider a TTK of 312ms to be good or even decent. An LMG like the LCMG or RPT feature better drop-offs all around with comparable recoil and spread, the former can even equip both Masterkey and AP. Both have a TTK of 245ms and 200 rounds. Likewise you can have ARs with similar ROF and more lenient drop-offs paired with 30-41 rounds in the mag. Still it then again compares well enough with the AK5C, as it is its half-brother in design.
None of this is the fault of the Strife or AK5 though, but a lack of common stat foundation that would create readable weapon performance. Weapons like the RPK, Type 88 and XM8 simply should have been addressed a year ago with the famed "vault rework". Likewise attachments should have been overhauled so that you can not have absolutely awful loadouts within one weapon (like the M5). The latest additions go into that direction, but at a pace that is way too slow and unfocused.
I also looked at the Strife's CQ performance, meaning hipfire, which I value a lot. It only has the green/blue laser, which I consider worse than the red, as the recoil reduction is unnoticeable and apparently only works for hipfire recoil. However, the Strife features better hipfire than most LMGs and when moving should close to most AOW ARs. So definitely a gun that can be used in the current playlist.
Conclusion: The Strife does what it says on the tin and follows a similar design premise of specialised versatility as the AK5C. The medium ROF paired with average recoil will resonate well with many players. There is no loadout that is significantly worse or better than the others and especially the full Ninja loadout is very viable, as is the AP loadout, if it turns out it actually does anything to vehicles. Beyond that it lacks the punch for your regular engagements that many AOW weapons have, but outclasses many weapons in its class, especially vault LMGs.
​

Hi everyone, I'm brand new to having a garden and would love to quickly get planting pots and planters before it's too late so I can have a summer of flowers. I always thought nature found a way but I haven't got the green fingers! 😔 I know plants have different needs but are there general rules I can follow to be successful? Along the lines of...

• What do I plant in? Just compost (I have lots of Jack's Magic) or do I need a mix to make it well draining?
• Should I drill holes into all pots/planters or something loose like stones/twigs in the bottom? Do they have to be raised off the ground?
• How often do I need to water plants in pots/planters? Do I just make sure the soil is moist/wet? How wet?
• Do I need to give them extra feed?
• Is deadheading good for most flowers?
• Does it matter how big a pot I plant them in or just give them a bit more room that what they come in?

And the fun one...

• Where do you recommend me buying seed/bulbs/tubers/young plants from that won't break the bank? Websites easier but shops also appreciated!

I'm sorry if they're stupid questions. I feel it should be reasonably simple for things to grow but I just don't know how to start. Photo of first attempt for attention lol.
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eFootball gameplay seem to be going in a bad direction for the past months. To much AI defending/assistance/game balancing, game adding input lag, interceptions, poor passing, fouls not called for, hot potato football not rewarding any type of skillful play. The gameplay feels like its on rails, freedom is gone, players don't respond to your inputs and chances are created by either teams AI players mistakes or incredibly stupid runs. It's just not fun to play anymore. Neither online or vs AI.
eFootball could be fantastic if Konami would listen to ideas, criticism and improve. Here is my wishlist. Feedback based on me and the kids playing on PS4, PS5 and mobile. Offline and online.

1. Reduce the heavy AI assistance / game-balancing / handholding / Auto defending / Dynamic Difficulty / momentum / whatchamacallit (scr...). I understand its for getting new players staying in the game, having a chance getting coins in the events and winning games. And perhaps make games more non-predictable "anything can happen, maybe". With the current AI handholding level its "anything will happen, constantly". So many chances are created by either teams AI players making mistakes or just making incredibly stupid runs, its like a badly scripted B-movie. The amount of goalpost hits and missed open goals is just silly currently, this goes on until the last few minutes of each match. Please reduce it, or even remove it from Co-op and other game modes where skill should be rewarded. I'd rather get smashed 15-0 and learn from a good player. Than having to play another game with: added input lag and your players turn, react with 0,5 sec delay / 1 team loses every header / 4 shots in goalpost / own goals / missed open goals from 2-3m consequently, instead you have to run the ball into goal!!! / hide n seek players with pass receiver running away from the ball positioning behind defender / every ball intercepted / misdirected passes / every pass straight to other team / passes goes through "invisible" player / player freezing or even running wrong direction vs your stick / opponent attacking with high punt or lofted pass but your defender running past the ball towards opposition goal / ball glued to opposite player in the box / every attempt clearing the ball goes short distance straight to other team, even goalie high punt / all stunning shots 3m over the goal before 85min + all the other crap that's in there. This gameplay on rails is so unrewarding. If I manage to do something skillfull the AI assistance just kills the opportunity with any means. When the AI assistance takes a break, I get an easy goal with no effort from a random through pass + tap in. Many times I can't tell if I am playing well or the game has decided I should win/loose, it kills the joy for me and it's just boring. If Konami could tone down all the weird punishments I'd be very grateful.
2. Passing and interceptions. Currently worst ever IMO. Game just decides your pass from a player in balance is 90-180 degrees of straight to opponent. Even on Beginner AI and no matter PA1, 2 or 3😂 And the constant interceptions. No flow in the game. Please work on this Konami.
3. Remove the artificial input-lag. Stop punishing one side with artificial input lag which make the gameplay feel heavy, unresponsive and your players turn & react with 0,5sec delay. This is not from server lag as it's there in AI matches and local Trial matches as well, just switch controller between team 1 & 2 and feel the difference. Sometimes it activates in 2nd half, sometimes from beginning of game, usually when you are doing well. I assume its part of the game balancing mechanics. For me this is one of the worst things in the current game, when it kicks in your players don't respond to inputs in time and gameplay just feels awful.
4. Fix the player freezing. Example: after losing a header to last defender suddenly your attacker just freezes. What's going on here? Have Konami added to much AI handholding and broken the game? 😂😂😂
5. Reward different playstyles like build up play. Currently most games seem to be high press, interception ping-pong, quick pass and no dribbles. Hot potato football. Holding the ball has become very difficult. Before the AI assistance and auto defending went berzerk, you could actually keep the ball for a second and do something creative. Without 3-5 guys surrounding your player with no options. Now the gameplay is boring with the lack of variety.
6. Create a game mode free from AI assistance & artificial input lag. Just pure skill. It could be beta, division free or whatever just let us play without the heavy AI handholding. And maybe eFootball will be esports ready 😉. To be honest if another football game is released without momentum/game-balancing /added input-lag and with gameplay based on pure skill. I think eFootball will lose a lot of players.
7. Add Dream team into Trial match. We have 2 kids who love the card collecting and building their team. But playing online is of no interest to them, and won't be in many years. They want to play local PvP or co-op but with their own Dream team. By now we are very tired of playing the same local play Trial match Argentina Vs PSG. The kids have almost stopped playing eFootball, since they cant play against each other with their own team. In addition this would be a great way to test out new players, builds and game mechanics together with a friend. Much more fun than training mode. This mode is what my family is missing most from this game. And if it would be a "pure" mode without any momentum/game-balancing things would be fantastic. Just pure skill, best player wins.
8. Please add Dream team to Trial match local co-op Vs AI. Would be so much fun to test your Dream Team against the AI together with the kids or a friend on the couch beside you. Would love this mode if it would become available.
9. Add local co-op in Events. Would be great if me and the kids could take on the events together. At least add it to the AI events. Then we would actually play them and not just sim them.
10. Myleague local co-op. Add both local and online co-op into Myleague please. A reason to play it and win the league together with the kids 😀
11. Make My League worth playing. 100.000GP for completing 38 matches and winning the league is very poor IMO. Add some skill trainers and raise the GP perhaps?
12. Add all Goal Scorers and Assisters to Half Time and Full Time game stats. So we can quickly get the overview of who performed well in both teams. That information would be highly appreciated.
13. Contract renewal is way too expensive. Considering many players have paid plenty in real money to get the favourite players, and you only get to keep your player for 1 year. We are paying for this digital football Pokémon and we can't even use it as long as we would like. There should be more ways to get contract renewals, the periods should be longer, 3/6/9/12months and the price should be lower. Currently it's just irritating and another killing the fun factor.
14. Make each playstyle worth using. And reward playing different type of formations. Instead of everyone using META 4 defenders and no wingers/LMF/RMF.
15. Better & more expensive Point shop players. Can we please have some decent players? I'd gladly spend 50000-100000 pink points for a player if his stats are good. IMO there hasn't been an interesting player since Ferrer & Pires. Currently I don't see any use for points except contact renewal.
16. Remove the GP cost for player reset. Having to wait for 2-3 months and then stressing for a few free weeks to retrain and test new builds doesn't make sense. GP is too valuable for me, I use it for Legacy Transfer and Contract renewal, and the few occasional GP buys for Events or hidden gems. I enjoy training players and trying out new builds, if free it would keep me logging in even when there is nothing else to do in the game.
17. Reduce the cost for Legacy transfer. Getting your wanted skills and then transferring to your favourite player is one of the game aspects I really like. But 257,000 GP for one transfer is a lot and takes away much of the fun in Legacy transfer. You get 1 Mbappe for less than 2 Legacy transfer. I am always low on GP these days, and I think 100,000-150,000 GP would be reasonable for Legacy transfer for 1 skill.
18. Legacy transfer of skills to POTW cards. If we could add 1-2 skills to the POTW the cards would be more interesting and I'd spend more coins spinning. We would get more varied and unpredictable squads instead of everybody using the same players. Most players know the good cards, what to expect from opponents cards and how to counter. Lets say you add some strong passing or shooting skills to a player usually weak in that aspect. The unpredicability would be awesome!
19. Replace/delete added skills. Building players would be much more fun if I could replace a trained skill with another one using legacy transfer. Or just be able to delete an added skill. Perhaps my playstyle changes and I want Neymar to have Through passing instead of the previously added Long-range shooting.
20. GP an option for pack spins. But it shouldn't be easy. Hard grind should be rewarded as it gives a reason to play the game. I am thinking 7,5M GP you get 75 spins in a 150 pack. That takes perhaps 6 months to grind. And perhaps the remaining 75 spins is coins only. Lower thresholds like 10 spins för 1M GP would be great but I understand its not gonna happen, as it would hurt the coin sales.
21. Remove the 500 player cap or reduce cost of adding player slots. If you are grinding skill trainers with 0GP players and training players the 500 fills up quite easily. Or reduce the 500.000GP for an extra 50 players to maybe 100.000GP. This 500 player limit is very annoying and seems unnecessary.
22. Add skill trainers and position trainers to each match pass. Would make the Match Pass way more interesting and I would spend coins.
23. Make it worthwhile playing League / divisions. Currently I don't see much reason to play it. A few skill trainers and low GP reward can't motivate me spending the time.
24. Find a way to prevent players from forfeiting games, at least events and co-op. Maybe if you are down a few goals sometimes add a random bonus like score with player X to receive 1 skill trainer, 10000 GP or something. Just to motivate players completing the match. Or create a non forfeit streak, like 10, 20 or 30 games without forfeit and you get an free extra POTW spin. (Part of this idea is from efootball universe originally)
25. 1st celebration should also be skippable. It's just time consuming in online games. Not adding any value to except maybe noobs who scored their first goal ever.
26. An option to make Sub tactic clearly visible in Game plan if activated. I played to many games now without knowing I had sub-tactic activated 😂
27. Matchmaking. This was good for a while after the matchmaking update, but not anymore. There must be something seriously wrong here. When playing in Division 9 to 7, we constantly get division 1-2 opponents in the events. Had top 120 and top 200 in a row even. 750M downloads and nobody else playing. Really?
28. The daily penalty needs an upgrade. Suggestion: More fun If I could choose player from my Dream Team. And add random Epic goalies to spice it up 😉
29. Add statistics of headers, penalties and free kicks scored on each player card. This would add value and make it more interesting building squads. Konami you have the data, use it!
30. More variety in Events. BBVA, Turkish, Brazilian Italian, English, Japan league. Over and over and over... Cmon Konami create something different so we can rotate our squads more. Suggestion: An event where only max 4 star players are allowed? Or higher GP rewards the weaker squad you use? (idea is partly from Rockchok)
31. More Beat the Clock type of events. Both me and the kids enjoyed this one. Create something similar for skill moves. Example: Perform 5 Double touch + 5 Marseille turn across pitch with fixed dummies or defending players. Or a sequence where you have to perform skill move x and y before scoring.
32. Objectives with extra bonuses. Add weekly objectives or similar. Score a hat-trick, win on penalties or score 5 times using skill move. And get some type of rewards, GP, Skill trainers, Position trainers, avatars, whatever just variety and something to play for.
33. Co-op events. So much potential but the gameplay on rails, AI assistance and the constant random AI punishments kills the fun for me. You feel almost instantly if the AI assistance is on your side or against you. Either everything goes your way and it's too easy or Epics can't make a simple pass, the input lag kicks in and your player is even dragged out of position so the other team can score. Every game feels pre-decided with almost every touch being a mistake or fumble by the team who is supposed to concede a goal. Or its 1 goal back and forth with short sequences where the conceeding team can't touch the ball. In my experience the AI assistance is at its worst in the Co-op games. Quite easy to spot as players regularly just drop the controller. And game continues to auto defend like prime AC Milan, the non-active player is forcefielded holding the ball, every ball in the box is magically sucked to defenders feet and passes and clearings going 90-180 degrees off straight to opponent. Recent example which has happened in several co-op games: Goalie makes several stupid run outs to a perfect 4 man defending line, leaving the net wide open. Changing goalie doesn't help. Same thing with 2nd goalie until opponent gets his 2 goals. Sorry but when my player, gameplay and result is controlled by AI instead of me and my teammate I lose interest.
34. Add 2nd local player to co-op events. Why can't 2 players join the co-op events together from one Playstation? Me and the kids would play co-op events a lot if this was possbile.
35. Booster player forms. Wirtz card and several other are never on A-form. Whats the point of creating a booster card then? (credit: PES Pepe)
36. Communication. Info on gameplay changes in each update would be appreciated. Like before. (credit: PES Pepe)
37. Heavy first touch or fumble receiving the ball. +90 Ball control player cant receive a pass without starting to fumble or needing several seconds to gain control, then losing the ball, again and again and again. Does stats even matter when game balancing just decides anyway?
38. Don't launch Crossplay with mobile. I suspect the recent braindead heavy assisted gameplay is needed for upcoming crossplay console & mobile update. This might be what we are getting. Gameplay on rails, autodefend, no skill, unrewarding, boring. I hope I am wrong and the previous fun gameplay on console is not gone forever 😢.

Some of these are cosmetics and should be quite easy to implement, whereas others like new type of events takes more effort. Dream team in Trial mode and adding already existing local Co-op to more events/game modes shouldn't be that difficult. Gameplay affecting changes are likely hard and need to be tested so it doesn't affect game in a negative way.
I guess Konami calculates profits are better by pushing all players to online play. But at the same time they are neglecting the player group which prefers offline, and are willing to buy coins to get their favourite players cards. Hopefully Konami will reconsider and add a proper Master League and more offline couch co-op and PvP modes with Dream Team.
All in all it should result in a more enjoyable experience for both ballers, casuals, squad-builders, card-collectors and those who just want local couch co-op or PvP with their Dream team. More people having fun and spending time in the game usually results in praise, recommendations and growing user count = more coins spent. Konami keeps earning and customer base is happy. Everyone wins.
/ Cheers and thanks for reading
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This is a reupload of a story I wrote about 3 years ago and never finished - moderately edited to improve on some areas where my writing was lacking back then - unceremoniously titled 'The Drink'. I've been writing it off and on since the original was uploaded, and have finally found a point in life where I can actually write more than a line or two and be confident that it's good enough for literally anyone else besides me to read.
Reuploading so the few of you who are interested in reading it dont have to dig through three years of post history to find the first part.
Please enjoy, I'll be posting new parts semi-regularly as the story progresses.
__________
“Man has gone out to explore other worlds and other civilizations without having explored his own labyrinth of dark passages and secret chambers, and without finding what lies behind doorways that he himself has sealed.” ― Stanisław Lem

Part One - Step into the Drink

Richard Dorsett eyed the myriad of cargo transfer manifests and crew intake forms with growing trepidation. Every minute spent docked at this waystation was a minute wasted, and he'd spent the better part of the morning mulling over paperwork - the requisition of fresh medical supplies, amenities for the beleaguered crew, and munitions for aging weapon systems all had to be documented and signed off by him as per the Coalition's directives. He rifled through some of the pages haphazardly, signing a release form here or a liability waiver there until his frustration got the better of him and he set the stack aside, to be dealt with later.
Dorsett was rather average - average weight, average height with a tempered tone of voice and an unimposing visage. He'd served aboard this vessel, the Ardent Wretch, for some time as its helmsman, only recently taking on the role of its captain.
Dorsett leaned back in his chair and keyed his headset before speaking. "🇱‌🇪‌🇴‌, 🇾‌🇦‌' 🇩‌🇴‌🇳‌🇪‌ 🇾‌🇪‌🇹‌? 🇮‌'🇲‌ 🇧‌🇴‌🇺‌🇹‌ 🇷‌🇪‌🇦‌🇩🇾‌‌ 🇹‌🇴‌ 🇸‌🇹‌🇦‌🇷‌🇹‌ 🇵‌🇺‌🇸‌🇭‌🇮‌🇳‌' 🇴‌🇫‌🇫‌ 🇹‌🇭‌🇮‌🇸‌ 🇸‌🇭‌🇮‌🇹‌🇭‌🇴‌🇱‌🇪‌."
There was a drawn-out pause before a reply came, Leo's voice coming in garbled from the old comms equipment. "🇾‌🇪‌-🇭‌, 🇾‌🇪‌🇦‌-🇭‌. 🇲‌🇦‌🇷‌🇬‌🇪‌🇷‌🇪‌🇹‌ -🇸‌ 🇦‌🇷‌🇬‌🇺‌-🇮‌🇳‌🇬‌ 🇼‌🇮‌🇹‌🇭‌ 🇹‌-🇭‌🇪‌ 🇸‌🇺‌🇵‌🇵‌-🇱‌🇾‌ 🇴‌🇫‌🇫‌🇮‌-🇪‌🇷‌ -🇧‌🇴‌🇺‌🇹‌ 🇦‌ 🇲‌🇮‌🇸‌-🇸‌🇮‌🇳‌🇬‌ 🇨‌🇷‌🇦‌🇹‌- 🇴‌🇫‌ 🇲‌🇪‌🇩‌🇸‌, 🇧‌🇺‌🇹‌ 🇼‌🇪‌'🇷‌🇪‌ 🇼‌🇷‌🇦‌-🇵‌🇵‌🇮‌🇳‌🇬‌ 🇺‌🇵‌ 🇳‌-🇴‌🇼‌."
Dorsett huffed a sigh, "🇫‌🇴‌🇷‌🇬‌🇪‌🇹‌ 🇦‌🇧‌🇴‌🇺‌🇹‌ 🇹‌🇭‌🇪‌ 🇲‌🇪‌🇩‌🇸‌, 🇼‌🇪‌'🇻‌🇪‌ 🇸‌🇹‌🇮‌🇱‌🇱‌ 🇬‌🇴‌🇹‌ 🇪‌🇳‌🇴‌🇺‌🇬‌🇭‌ 🇹‌🇴‌ 🇼‌🇴‌🇷‌🇰‌ 🇼‌🇮‌🇹‌🇭‌ 🇴‌🇳‌ ‌🇹‌🇭‌🇪 🇸‌🇺🇧‌... 🇼‌🇪‌'🇱‌🇱 🇬‌🇴‌ 🇬‌🇪‌🇹‌ 🇲‌🇴‌🇷‌🇪‌ 🇦‌🇹‌ 🇹‌🇭‌🇪‌ 🇳‌🇪‌🇽‌🇹‌ 🇸‌🇹‌🇦‌🇹‌🇮‌🇴‌🇳 🇦‌🇫‌🇹‌🇪‌🇷‌ 🇼‌🇪‌ 🇩‌🇷‌🇴‌🇵‌ 🇴‌🇫‌🇫‌ 🇹‌🇭‌🇪‌ 🇴‌🇹‌🇭‌🇪‌🇷‌ 🇨‌🇦‌🇷‌🇬‌🇴‌‌. 🇯‌🇺‌🇸‌🇹‌ 🇬‌🇪‌🇹‌ 🇧‌🇦‌🇨‌🇰‌ 🇴‌🇳‌ 🇧‌🇴‌🇦‌🇷‌🇩‌."
"🇦‌🇾‌-🇪‌, 🇨‌🇦‌🇵‌🇹‌-🇦‌🇮‌🇳‌. 🇮‌-'🇱‌🇱‌ 🇹‌🇷‌- 🇹‌🇦‌' 🇵‌🇺‌🇱‌🇱‌ 🇲‌🇦‌🇷‌🇬‌--🇪‌🇹‌ 🇴‌🇫‌🇫‌'🇦‌ 🇹‌🇭‌-..." Came Leo's reply just as Dorsett's headset blared a deafening warning and shut off. He cursed, wrenching the device from his head and tossed it on the console in frustration.
Great, Battery's dead. Dorsett thought to himself, sighing again as he sat up from the captain's chair. He picked the headset up off the console and flipped it around in his hands. The equipment provided to the crew of the Ardent Wretch was as old as it was prone to failure, and what did work drained power at an incredible rate. He threw the headset onto his shoulder and moved to the aft end of the ship, through the airlock, and into the medical suite. Dr. Eli Boman had been occupied with organizing the ship's sparse medical supplies and was indifferent to Dorsett's entrance.
"Ey Dick..." murmured Eli, not looking away from his work as Dorsett passed through, "Where you headed?"
Eli Boman was a portly, sullen and cowardly man, not entirely dissimilar from his twin brother, Chance Boman. The good doctor had spent a great deal of time serving aboard the Wretch, tending to the minor burns and bruises of which were commonplace when serving aboard any vessel.
"Headset's busted. Gonna see if Dale's got any more batteries in storage." Replied Dorsett, gesturing in Eli's general direction. "How's the leg?"
Eli turned slightly, glancing from his leg to Dorsett as a scowl formed across his face. "Still hurts. Don't want to waste the morphine on it, though. Hey, uh-... Leo an' Margeret drop off the medical crate yet?"
Dorsett stopped and shook his head. "No crate. Sounds like 'et got... misplaced. Gonna have ta' get one at the next station."
Eli slumped his shoulders and turned back towards his work. "Fuckin' figures." He muttered disdainfully. Dorsett scowled at the harsh reaction but chose not to engage the topic further, choosing to instead leave the doctor to his sorting and pass into the next airlock. He'd known that the recent change of command hadn't gone over well with some of the crew, the Boman twins making their disapproval rather well known. They had both worked under the previous captain, William Reyes, for nearly three years and were the first to object to Dorsett's ascension.
The Ardent Wretch had been captained first by one Malcolm Falcone who, through either a lack of experience or a callous disregard for the wellbeing of his crew, lost his position to William Reyes in a mutiny in which he did not survive. With Reyes at the helm, the Wretch and her crew did fairly well and made quite the name for itself, even having tentative plans to enlist the vessel officially under the Coalition Navy. That was until the Crew of the Ardent Wretch received a harrowing distress signal from what appeared to be a half-sunk mining vessel during a routine cargo transport.
Reyes ordered the Wretch to respond and he, headstrong as he'd always been, disembarked and descended to investigate the sunken miner along with two security officers, placing the then helmsman Dorsett in command of the vessel temporarily. A full day passed with no response from captain Reyes or the rest of the response team after the initial boarding, and with Richard Dorsett as the acting captain a decision needed to be made. At first, Dorsett had made preparations to send another team down, but just before the new team was about to depart a second and final transmission reached the Wretch from one of the response team members. It was faint and garbled with interference, but the message was clear enough and still rang in Dorsett's mind at times.
"🇹‌🇭‌- 🇪‌🇳‌🇹‌🇮‌🇷‌-🇪‌ 🇨‌🇷‌-🇼‌ 🇮‌🇸‌ 🇮‌🇳‌🇫‌🇪‌-🇨‌🇹‌-🇩‌...🇭‌🇺‌🇸‌🇰‌-... -🇸‌🇮‌🇹‌🇪‌... 🇨‌🇦‌🇵‌🇹‌🇦‌-🇮‌🇳‌ 🇷‌🇪‌🇾‌-🇪‌🇸‌ 🇼‌🇦‌🇸‌ 🇮‌🇳‌🇫‌-🇪‌🇨‌-... 🇸‌🇭‌🇴‌🇹‌ -🇮‌🇲‌🇸‌🇪‌🇱‌🇫‌... 🇩‌🇴‌🇳‌- 🇧‌🇴‌🇦‌🇷‌🇩‌... 🇷‌🇺‌🇳‌-..."
Dorsett remembered how his stomach lurched to his throat in that moment. Everything he and Reyes had worked towards shattered to pieces in a single transmission. He remembered ordering the ordinance technician to load a depth charge as the helmsman pulled the ship to a safer distance. as the Ardent Wretch ascended, pulling away from the mining vessel, the depth charge was released and detonated just off the bow of the sub and freed it from the sea wall. What remained to sink further into the abyss and taking those infected along with it.
With the death of Captain Reyes, the spirit of the Ardent Wretch and its crew seemed to have died with him. The idea to join the Coalition Navy was abandoned, Dorsett not having anywhere near the reputation or connections with the Coalition as Reyes had. The crew entering a malaise of sorts as the weeks wore on, their stomach for adventure lost as everyone grew content with running odd jobs and ferrying cargo from one shit-stinking station to the next. The twins hadn't forgiven him for abandoning Reyes, and Dorsett knew they blamed him for their current circumstances.
Dorsett found himself lost in the dreary memories of those past three months. He realized he'd been lingering in the airlock for what must have been a few minutes and shook the haze from his mind. Wiping his face with his hands, he pressed on through the airlock and into the next corridor until he arrived at the storage room.
Sergei Ladon was there to greet him as he entered the storage room. Ladon was a thin, short man with a thick Neo-Russian accent. He was devilishly charming - a trait that had earned him quite the reputation as a philanderer - and Dorsett was happy to see him there, knowing he could use some of that levity right about now. Ladon was one of the few who supported Dorsett's ascension to command; the two had known each other for some time, Ladon being the ship's resident Electrical Technician having taught Dorsett a few tricks with repairing the sub's systems during their downtime.
The two exchanged a friendly nod, Dorsett rifling through the different lockers for a new battery as Ladon returned to whatever it was he was doing. Eventually finding a battery, Dorsett sat on the floor just opposite of Ladon, removing the headset from his shoulder and fiddling with the battery plate. "What'cha workin' on Ladon?" He asked.
"Trying to find new fuse. One of the junction boxes blew one and now part of the crew quarters is without light, and everyon' blame me!" Ladon turned, exaggerating with his arms as a smile bore wide across his face, before turning back around and continuing his search.
Dorsett chuckled. "Well, you did reroute a bunch of wire to power that 'experiment' of yours ah' little 'while ago."
Ladon turned around again, pointing an accusatory finger at Dorsett as his smile broadened. "You were saying that if I could get out a faster charge on the supercapacitor you'd give me raise. How am I to know you didn't mean that fast?" He said. They both shared a quick laugh, Ladon returning to his search once again. He seemed to be getting frustrated as the minutes passed and he still hadn't found a fuse.
"Check the, uh-... the drawer, there..." said Dorsett, looking up from the headset and gesturing to Ladon's left. "... no, the one below that one."
Ladon open the drawer and exclaimed, "спасибо чертовски бог! No more having to play cards in the dark, huh?" He laughed, grabbing the fuse and flipping it around in his hand.
Dorsett laughed with him, looking back down to his headset and removing the battery plate. He glanced at Ladon again as he worked. "So, uh-... you an' Margeret, how's that going?"
Ladon's smile melted away, replaced by an irritated frown. "You know, she is telling me she is wanting 'space', yeah? Space! Onboard лодка, submarine, and you want space! Bah!" He waved his arms in frustration, shaking his head.
"Well give the lady what she wants, she'll come 'round eventually." Dorsett said through a smile, swapping the old battery with the new. He slipped the old one into one of the lockers as he stood up and keyed his radio. It flickered to life, and he placed it back on his head.
"She is good woman, you know. Just so... uh-... how you say, 'hard-headed' auh? Stubborn like ass. Still won't get off my back about those women at Kaloskov Station, man! They approach me, how I say no? You talk to her, okay? Tell her I am not the bad guy!" Ladon said, jostling at Dorsett's arm as he begged for his assistance.
"Alright, alrigh- c'mon, get off ah' me... I'll talk to her, christ. Jus' give her some 'space' in the meantime, alright? Last thing I need is Margeret on my ass too." Dorsett responded, pulling away from Ladon's grasping hands as he smirked. Ladon nodded vigorously and fiddled with the fuse while Dorsett turned away, took a few steps, and keyed his headset.
"🇨‌🇭‌🇪‌🇨‌🇰‌. 🇨‌🇭‌🇪‌🇨‌🇰‌. 🇸‌🇴‌🇷‌🇷‌🇾‌, 🇭‌🇪‌🇦‌🇩‌🇸‌🇪‌🇹‌ 🇩‌🇮‌🇪‌🇩‌ 🇴‌🇳‌ 🇲‌🇪‌. 🇼‌🇪‌ 🇦‌🇧‌🇴‌🇺‌🇹‌ 🇷‌🇪‌🇦‌🇩‌🇾‌ 🇹‌🇴‌ 🇸‌🇪‌🇹‌ 🇴‌🇫‌🇫‌ 🇱‌🇪‌🇴‌?" Spoke Dorsett, again followed by a few moments of silence.
"🇺‌🇭‌-... 🇷‌🇴‌🇬‌-.. 🇨‌🇦‌🇵‌🇹‌🇦‌🇮‌-. 🇱‌🇴‌🇦‌🇩‌🇮‌-🇳‌🇬‌ 🇹‌🇭‌🇪‌ 🇱‌🇦‌-🇹‌ 🇴‌🇫‌ 🇹‌🇭‌🇪‌ 🇨‌🇷‌🇦‌-🇹‌🇪‌-... -🇴‌🇼‌. 🇾‌🇴‌🇺‌ 🇨‌-🇳‌ 🇸‌🇹‌🇦‌-🇷‌🇹‌ 🇸‌🇵‌🇮‌🇳‌-🇳‌🇮‌🇳‌🇬‌ 🇭‌🇪‌🇷‌ -🇵‌." Came the reply, still a garbled mess and barely discernable. Dorsett sighed, turning back to Ladon.
"Can you take a look at the communications system when you get done fuckin' around in here? Transmissions are comin' in a little messy recently." He inquired, a little more venom in his tone than he'd meant.
Ladon turned, a frown drawing across his face, and nodded his head, "Uh-... yes, yes I will take a look at that. Probably just local interference from the station." He replied, before moving past Dorsett and setting off for the crew quarters without so much as a goodbye. Dorsett shook his head, regretting having taken out his frustration on his friend like that. He lingered for a few seconds before taking his leave from the storage room, through the airlocks and again past Eli, still methodically organizing various first aid equipment in the medical suite, before arriving back at the command deck. He sat back down in his chair, once more eyeballing the stack of paperwork with contempt, using his foot to push the stack further under the console and out of view. A few of the other crew members brushed past him and his command seat, tending to their duties in preparation to undock, Dorsett taking in the scene for a moment.
Coil gun ammunition was being fed in belts to the loader, gun crews polishing the periscopes and running the weapons through the usual test procedures. Two assistants were arguing over who had a more efficient route to the next station. New hires, thought Dorsett, not recognizing them immediately. Chance was setting the last railgun round into the feeder, glancing back at Dorsett every so often with his usual scowl. Ballast pumps were operating nominally according to the monitor in front of Dorsett, and he took the opportunity to run a quick check through all of the vessel's sub-systems, all of which reported green.
Satisfied, Dorsett checked the onboard surveillance just in time to see Leopold Bower and Margeret Silvia board the ship with the last of the crates. He keyed the intercom.
"𝐀𝐥𝐥 𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐬. 𝐅𝐢𝐧𝐚𝐥 𝐃𝐞𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐭 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐀𝐥𝐚𝐧𝐭𝐨𝐥 𝐑𝐞𝐬𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐜𝐡 𝐒𝐭𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐈𝐧𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐳𝐞𝐝. 𝐒𝐞𝐜𝐮𝐫𝐞 𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐡𝐚𝐭𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐬 𝐚𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐞. 𝐏𝐥𝐮𝐧𝐠𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐃𝐞𝐞𝐩 𝐢𝐧 sixty 𝐬𝐞𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐝𝐬."****
Dorsett nodded to the Helmsman, another new hire, who began to detach the Wretch from the station and fill the Ballasts. As if on queue, the submarine rumbled to life, reactor power coursing through the vessel's wired veins. As he always did, Dorsett sucked in a breath and said a quick prayer to whatever god was listening. He counted off the seconds in his head, placing a hand on the detach lever as he did so.
As he pulled the lever and the submarine groaned free of the docking port, plunging down deeper into the water below, Dorsett muttered the same words he'd heard Captain Reyes speak before countless dives.
"Into the Drink."

**EDIT** Decided to try printing from the SD card attached to the SKR instead of from the touch screen. 45 mins into the print and it's flawless... So that seems to narrow the issue down to the screen. It's sending errors to the SKR. I may have to look into a different firmware for it.
I recently received a free original Ender 3 that my In-Laws found on FB. I've done all sorts of upgrades for it before I ever turned it on (previous owner's son used the machine twice and managed to jack up a bunch of stuff). Two of the bigger upgrades were putting the BTT touch screen on and the SKR mini E3 V3 motherboard. the Only upgrade I didn't buy was the CRtouch.
I'm getting an issue randomly and I can't tell if it's a software or hardware problem. Sometimes with in the 1st 30 or so layers, the printer seems to have a mind of its own. It'll skip entire segments of say a circle. It'll just cut across the circle to an alternate point and then continue the circle (See attached photo, print lines clearly visible where it went off course)... Just for that layer, it may or may not happen again on a later layer. As I'm typing this, my current print is now randomly moving to the edged of the bed then immediately goes back to its correct position and continues on. Out of the 5 times it's happened so far, it went back to it's position, completely unloaded the filament and then reloaded it and continued on. I just looked through the Gcode file and none of the commands indicate that it should do that. ALSO i can start the print over with the exact same gcode file and sometimes it won't do it or the glitches happen in a different location.
Have you or has anyone else made mention of this issue before? Is this a software or hardware issue? I already swapped SD cards/USB drives, tried an older version of Cura and even downloaded/tried Prusa with no change.
https://preview.redd.it/seig5kr3nj0d1.jpg?width=4000&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=50ed6d15965ba8730b8fd5348adc0bbaf946a0d8
https://reddit.com/link/1csf5mo/video/i63bijg4nj0d1/player
This was another failed print (ignore the horrible infill, wrong settings). But the obvious issue circled in red... it just moved off to the square on the right leaving a heavily blobbed line of extruded filament and then went back to its original commands. FYI that was using a 1mm nozzle which is why its so wide. It only did it on that 1 layer before i stopped it but that blob is over 1mm thick! happened on layer 4 with a layer height setting of .4mm.
https://preview.redd.it/p46pahk6nj0d1.jpg?width=2252&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=1b6a84a1cef3a488314f36debe04e355eceac21d

Hey guys, my Platinum Charge got approved.
Initially I got a standard offer for 45K Taj Voucher, and additionally for using referral I got 10k MR and 5K Amazon voucher offer. After approval, I wrote email to Amex requesting for 135k sign up bonus offer instead of 45k Taj Voucher and they approved it. I have attached proof of screenshot below.
Here is my updated Amex Strategy.
1) Get Amex USA EveryDay LTF Credit Card and transfer points from Amex India to Amex USA. 145000 Amex India MR will convert to approx 94250 Amex USA MR which is worth 94250 Rs when transfered 1:1 to the below partners. Conservative value is Rs 1, but you can easily get 2X when booking business class to USA / EU.
Amex Airline PartnerMin TransferTransfer Ratio (Amex > Partner)Transfer Time Aer Lingus1,0001:1Almost Instant Aeromexico1,0001:1.62-12 days Air Canada1,0001:1Almost Instant ANA1,0001:13 days Avianca LifeMiles1,0001:1Almost Instant British Airways1,0001:1Almost Instant Cathay Pacific1,0001:1Up to 1 Week Delta Air Lines1,0001:1Almost Instant Emirates1,0001:1Almost Instant Etihad Airways1,0001:1Almost Instant Flying Blue Air France/KLM1,0001:1Almost Instant Hawaiian1,0001:1Almost Instant Iberia1,0001:11-3 days JetBlue2501:0.8Almost Instant Qantas5001:1Almost Instant Qatar Airways1,0001:1Almost Instant Singapore Airlines1,0001:11-2 days Virgin Atlantic1,0001:11-2 days
More info below: 1) https://www.technofino.in/community...indian-amex-card-to-us-amex-card-account.669/ 2) https://www.technofino.in/community...or-us-credit-card-guide-for-non-resident.193/ 3) https://www.technofino.in/community/threads/how-to-get-itin-as-usa-non-resident.13292/
2) By buying 2L Apay monthly via 5XGyftr I can earn additional 5k/m compared to Gold card. 60k MR for 1 year is worth 39k FFP when transferred to Amex USA. By 24L annual spends, you can qualify for good retention bonus. Don't ask me how or where to spend. IYKYK.
3) Claim 10800 as GST input on my side business.
5) Get Platinum Reserve as a free companion card which comes with Accor Plus Traveller membership worth 8260
6) Transfer 48000 points earned Platinum Travel card on 4L spends to Amex USA for 31200 FPP
Total cost- 72800 Cost of Amex Platinum (India)- 70800 (60k+ GST) Cost of Amex EveryDay Credit Card (USA) - LTF DIY ITIN cost - 2000
Benefits - 167050 - 94250 + 39000 Amex India to Amex USA MR. - 10800 GST Input - 5k Amazon Pay voucher - 10k Taj Birthday voucher - 8K Accor Plus Traveller
This is 229% ROI. ROI can be higher if you go for Amex USA Green card (150 USD fee for 40k MR SUB) or Amex USA Gold card (250 USD fee for 90k MR SUB).
Additionally Amex gives 25k MR referral benefit if someone gets platinum charge card approved using your link. Assuming I can get 4 Amex Platinum referrals this year, this will give me extra 65k Amex USA. That makes it 318% ROI.
You can also transfer points earn on Platinum Travel and MRCC to USA for higher returns.
If you found this post useful and want a referral link, please DM me. On successful approval using my referral link, I will share the email template I used to get 135k sign up bonus + detailed DIY guide on how to get ITIN under 2k + USA credit card roadmap to earn 1 million points using SUB. I cannot guarantee that you will also get 135k offer but there is very good chance you will get it if use my email template.
https://preview.redd.it/8vfc1vqefj0d1.jpg?width=738&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=0afd33c0c1d094d39f0ae0581e9222d1ce890fcb