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Winters are cold in Saüle. Cold and rainy, really, but today I had the good luck of going out on a not so terrible day. Clouds covered the entirety of the sky, giving the whole place this gray and depressive tone, one I am probably never growing to appreciate. I always thought that people with depression liked these sorts of times… then again, my knowledge of depression before actually being diagnosed with it was inaccurate and biased.
The city’s residential district was soon far away, as the taxi I called took me straight into the Independence Plaza. Or, as many of us call it, The Pit. The place is a beautiful, open space divided into four quadrants, each with a water fountain, surrounding a big, barricaded patch of concrete that has been graffitied over and over again.
That’s where they covered the hole.
I slowly leave the taxi, being very careful not to slam the door behind me, and then turn to see the Plaza and the many stores surrounding it. To think there was once a gigantic tower in the center of it all… it’s kind of strange, really. I’ve always thought that the so called ‘Pillar of the Heavens’ was just another building back in the day, and the old people just like to mythify it.
Whatever the case, it fell into the depths of the planet over a hundred years ago, so it doesn’t really matter anymore, does it?
It’s already four in the afternoon and I once again get that strange feeling of eyes locking on me, chasing me no matter how fast I walk. The loud trumpets of some random ska song keep me relatively animated and, what’s better, they keep the thoughts low. All I could think about as I walked were the vague situations I could put my characters through, mostly following the rhythm of the music.
It’s easy to get lost in such things, daydreaming about what makes life a bit easier to live through, but I feel like I’ve developed a bit of a ‘autopilot’ for these situations. My body moves slowly, trying not to become a nuisance for someone else in the way, while my brain flies up, trying to collect ideas for a book I’ll never write.
It’s been a while since I've actually created something… the prospect of trying again, this time with renewed motivation and purpose, pushes me to walk a little faster, maybe even skip a few steps as I move in front of the many stores around the plaza. I don’t have infinite money to just buy everything I want, so I’ve decided I’ll bite the bullet and go for a single book today.
“Ahhh, remember the last time we went book hunting? It’s such a fun feeling, moving silently through the bookshelves, stalking the titles, sneaking glances at the fronts…”
I do remember, but I also do remember the tendency of the biggest bookstore in town to put new releases first and foremost, often leaving treasures hidden in their obnoxiously bad registration system. I doubt they have fixed that…so, to not waste time digging over the many, many new books I wont read, maybe I should set my focus elsewhere.
“Don’t be so dismissive of new things. Some of them are authors just like you, trying to get by.”
…I guess I’ve grown a little cynical. Not everything is a cash grab these days, no. I need to be solidary with my fellow writers!
Or… future fellows? Considering I haven’t written anything to completion yet.
“None of that. Focus. We’re getting a new book today! Where are we getting it?”
Well, solidarity or not, I am not feeling like going to the big bookstore today… my feet take a turn, going through one of the many secondary streets that are born from this plaza. Not too far from there, in a darker corner of the city… there’s an old concrete house, completely painted yellow. The sign above its front door reads “Ricardo’s Stash: Antiques”, and oh how I missed it. I even turn off my cellphone’s music out of respect.
Looking through the shop window, my lips curl into a smile as most of the items I remembered being there are gone. Probably sold, good for old Ricardo really! Although the bronze typewriter is still there, taunting me with its excessive price… Good Saints above, give me strength to not succumb to my earthly desires!
“You already have a pretty good computer, you don’t need a typewriter. Be strong.”
The door has one of those bells that ring when it is opened, so there’s no way I can avoid miss Pelafina’s watchful demeanor as I enter. The old lady was sitting right behind the register, small but regal, dignified, with her black dyed hairs tied back in a single ponytail. Looking at her, seeing how well time has really treated her, it is easy to believe the rumors that say she used to be an olympic athlete for a country in the West before settling down with mister Ricardo.
The woman looked at me, before fixing her glasses in place and smirking with complicity.
“Well well well, if it isn’t our favorite customer.” I am convinced she says this to every youngun who wanders in, but I don’t have the guts to challenge the lady. “Long time no see! Had a hard time with your studies?”
“A little bit…” I smile slightly, trying not to be too awkward. “Any new books in your storage?”
“Plenty! You’ve been gone so long, we’ve stocked on some very interesting ones! But you give it a look! You’ve always been good at finding the good stuff among the rubble.”
All this praise is really bad for my health. I smile like an idiot, rubbing the back of my neck for a moment before walking deeper into the store, muttering a soft ‘Hi, Mister Ricardo’ to the old man sleeping on a wheelchair by the register. Ricardo’s is a huge, squared room turned into a labyrinth of shelves and showcases, piles upon piles of old toys, furniture, mementos and, of course, books! All at honestly pretty reasonable prices, considering the age of some of these items.
Last time I was here, Ricardo even swore that some of these items come from the fabled Pillar! But I feel that was just him trying to secure a sale.
I see old tomes of detective work, some poetry compilations, old classroom books and other curiosities, but nothing really catches my eye. I’ve seen these before, I want something new to read! Well, not ‘new’, I am in an antique shop, but uh, something unexpected. Uncommon. Rare, even! It’s not like I am a connoisseur of book rarity or anything but, when you are holding something special, you just know it in your bones! You can feel it, the excitement of having something very few others have had.
Maybe I am being a little too demanding though, because no matter how many books I keep checking, pulling and dusting in this store, the feeling never comes to me. What if the books are not the problem, but myself…?
“The light in you hasn’t died yet.”
I try to tell myself that very often. That there’s still hope and creativity in my heart, despite it all. That I can still see the beauty of the world despite this depression… and I honestly, desperately try to believe it. I cling to this feeling. Mostly because I know that the moment I truly give up, the instant that light in me really fizzles out…
… I don’t want to think about that.
“Having trouble there, boy?”
The whiplash of hearing a new voice forces me back to reality. I am holding an old math book in front of me, and probably I’ve been in this position for long enough to attract old Ricardo’s attention. The man even wheeled all the way over here to check on me. I immediately feel the guilt stab my back.
“A-Ah, no no. I am just… looking.” I offer my typical service smile, but Ricardo isn’t buying it. I can see it in those opaque eyes of his. Despite the huge glasses and the cataracts, I can feel a bright light in that look of his, rationality and youth that refuse to die out.
“Can’t quite find something you’d like to read?” The old man smiled, knowingly. He thought he understood… and I couldn’t help but think the same. There’s something about Ricardo, a weird air of experience, that convinces you that he really does know what he’s talking about. I gently nod. “Uh huh. Have you thought of what sort of things you’d like reading this time, youngun?”
“I… admit I have not. I am mostly guiding myself by feeling here. Seeing if something sparks my curiosity…”
There’s a bright glimmer in the man’s eye as he signals for me to follow him. He seems to have precisely what I am looking for; either that or he has something curious he simply hasn’t been able to sell yet.
We pass by shelves full of little figurines and old collector items, careful not to push the boxes full of ancient magazines and comic books, until we reach the front of the store. Right beside the desk, there stands a full set of ancient Cipangian armor, restored and shiny, complete with a kabuto and a red oni mask. Ricardo and Pelafina love that thing, it’s pretty much the main symbol of the store. They call it ‘Akai-san’.
“I got something special right here.” Said Ricardo, keeping his voice low as if he was sharing a secret with me. He smiled, carefully sliding a hand under the kabuto and pulling a small, yet thick leather bound book. The thickness of the bind and the yellow of the pages made it clear that one was older than what you usually see in the store. “Take a look at this…!”
It was a matter of holding the book to just feel electricity jolt through my back. Excitement? Curiosity? The cover was rough, a bad work of tanning clearly meant for a notebook more than a commercial product. My finger gently caressed the uneven black surface before I opened the book right in the middle.
The yellow pages were completely covered by black, thin scribbles, made in a language I have never seen before. Each character in the pages looked like some sort of runes, symbols without meaning to me, ordered in long vertical rows… I honestly have no idea how to even start this! In which direction should I read this? Is it even readable at all? I go back in the pages, discovering not only more of those runes but also some illustrations, rough drawings made with a coal piece… each with a little letter underneath it. What? This book has *annotations* on it?
My eyes focus. The pages, they are numbered! In Eastern numbers, to be precise, written with a blue pen. Clearly these notations were made recently, or at least more recently than the book itself was written.
“Check the later pages.” Ricardo said with a smirk, probably catching my bewilderment and interest.
I do as the man says and quickly pass the pages. There comes a point where the runes end, immediately replaced by latin alphabet written with the same old blue pen. A little arrow tells me to read columns of letters from top to bottom, from left to right, in columns. Once I reached the end of a column, the arrows then pointed me to start reading from bottom to top, alternating from each column I passed… it’s a bit unintuitive but, I manage to make sense of it, words start to appear from the jumble. It’s not gibberish, there’s something here, meaning to be discovered…
Most curious of all though, was the fact that the very last page of it all had a little text in some language that I was able to recognize. Maybe roman? Or portuguese? I couldn’t read it, but I could certainly know this one was translatable for sure.
“Maybe what you need is not reading material, but a challenge.” Ricardo said with a big smile. “I got that book a long time ago, some old lady came and sold it to us for a pittance.”
“You say that as if you weren’t an old man, dear.” Pelafina chuckled, covering her mouth.
“Oh shut up!” The man coughed a little bit. “But yeah. I tried to read it but couldn’t get too far… maybe you can properly translate it?”
“I am not a translator…” I quickly admitted, but I was not letting go of that book. Not anytime soon. “... But I will do what I can. How much for it?”
“Twenty thousand Empires.” Ricardo said with the brightest of smiles.
For reference, that’s not that expensive when it comes to books. You could find a regular book (you know, no hardcover) for around E$15.000. It is a little more than I would normally pay for a used book though, but urgh. Look at that man! Look at that smug look in his eyes. Even Pelafina is smirking.
They know. They know this is a sale for certain.
After struggling a little bit I just sigh, shaking my head and putting the two bills of 10 thousand on the desk.
“Fine.”
“Atta boy! I’m sure you can handle this. But keep us informed on what you find!” Ricardo chuckled.
“Please do. Ricky here has been pacing for days over it.” Pelafina added with a wink. “But take it at your own pace, okay? You’re not a translator, after all.”
“I will do my best.”
With a little bow, I walk out of the store with the book between my arms. The giddiness on my step hasn’t faded yet, I actually think it’s a bit worse now. I need to control myself, try not to make a scene right here and now… but it’s been so long since I’ve felt this motivated! This intrigued! This stimulated!
“Never forget this feeling. Strive to always feel this way.”
Now that’s unrealistic, but wouldn’t that be wonderful? Just… feeling the fire inside of me burning this brightly every day? I would die for something like that. I even smile thinking about it for a moment, as I raise my hand and try to call a taxi. Hells, I won’t even care if there are people sitting beside me today. I am excited!
“Maybe we can even take public transportation then!”
Let’s not get crazy.
Baby steps, alright?
—---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
By the time I arrive home it’s already six. The sun is starting to set, and students everywhere peek out of their hiding spots with excited, yet tired smiles on their faces. Vacation time, huh? That meant people would start celebrating soon enough… good thing I don’t live close to the city’s party side, or else I wouldn’t be able to sleep at all tonight. Not with all the music and the people just drunkenly singing in the streets.
I wave at the guard when passing him by, going straight for the elevators while the old man barely acknowledges me. I sometimes wonder if he remembers me at all… I can’t just assume he doesn’t, all things considered, so I can’t really do anything strange without him (and by consequence, my dad) knowing about it. Not that I’d ever invite anyone to the disaster that is my apartment.
Normally this is the part where I’d start torturing myself with those thoughts… but today I feel excited. The book between my hands has captured my whole interest, to the point where I even started trying to decipher it while sitting in the taxi. The symbols could have some alchemical significance? Some of them did look similar to arrows and such, so maybe this was supposed to be read like that!
The words on the latter pages were, as far as I knew, a romanization of the symbols. Was it accurate? Or just a wild guess? For all I know, the former translator of this work could have been making everything up.
Last chapter is in roman! Or, maybe some other romantic language!?
What if I am being racist and this is not roman at all!? Saints damn it!
The elevator can’t go fast enough. I don’t even care about the shaking of the metal box or even the unnerving sounds of old gears doing an effort to lift me. My eyes are glued to the book.
All until I arrive at Floor 8 and rush to the second door, closing behind me and sitting at the table.
For a moment I consider taking all the job over to my comfortable not-reclinable couch, but no. This is supposed to feel like work, so I can’t just do it in the messy comfort of my bedroom.
“Alright, how should we start…”
“Get a notebook, first of all!”
Right. I need somewhere to work on! But, wait, can’t I just do it all on my computer?
“You can’t take your computer everywhere. And besides, doesn’t it feel kind of romantic? To have a journal to keep up with your progress…?”
All my attempts to keep up a journal up to this point in my life have failed, I simply don’t have the discipline or focus for that sort of work.
“What if this time is different?”
I can’t help but smile a little bit. I get it, you really want to try and do a journal for this one, huh? I can feel Her stirring and shifting behind me, embarrassed to be called out like that but not really denying it. With a sigh, I get up and walk over to the old bookshelf to check, pulling out an old and badly bound notebook. The covers were made with bright green cardboard and messily cut, to the point where you could see the paper peek from behind it in some parts.
“Oh my Saints.”
This will do.
“Oh. My Saints. Why do you still have that?”
What? You don’t like the fruit of your own effort?
“Please, put that away. I beg you, the embarrassment is too much!!”
I had made this notebook myself during the “Bookbinding” class I went to for a while when I just started college. I still remember the looks the other girls gave me when I first arrived, none of them expected a law student or a man to join the class, not one.
“This is torture, do we really not have any other notebooks to work with? None at all??”
Is this or nothing, homegirl.
“Sigh.”
I pull one of my many pens from my backpack, sitting back by the computer and then, with a crack of my knuckles, I start writing.
I do not know who may read this. Honestly, I am not even sure if I will read it myself after I finish writing it, but whomever is picking up this torn and ugly book? This is dedicated to you.
“Pretentious and needlessly emotional.”
Ah, there you are. I was starting to miss you. With a sigh, I shake the thoughts off and keep writing.
I found the original version of the text I’m working through in the old antique shop “Ricardo’s”, where the titular man himself had been keeping this book for…
I honestly have no idea how long Ricardo had been clinging to this one. It couldn’t be that long, right? Ricardo said ‘a long time ago’, but that’s all the reference I have. Urgh.
…for a while. The book was originally written in a set of symbols similar in function to hieroglyphs, with each symbol representing a different word. Luckily for me, my predecessor left me with transcriptions to the latin alphabet, and a final chapter written in a language I am yet to identify and translate.
I am still placing my bets on roman, but honestly, I feel less and less confident about that with every second that passes.
I will record my findings in this book and then share them to all who may be interested.
Please bear with me.
After writing that messy introduction, I focus back on my computer and start my investigation by opening Gaggle Translations. I input the first words I find in the book… and beg.
Asu tlo’ikovithiio
The translator suggested Kauaian, but changing it to that language showed no results whatsoever. It’s not Kauaian..
I then tried all the permutations I could come up with in the search. I tried “Asu”, “Tlo” “Ikovithiio”, “kovithiio”, and beyond the Arizona State University and some western guy called Vito Iio, I had no better luck. That pretty much confirms my suspicions of this being a code, a sort of new language, or just plain nonsense.
What differentiates a language from a code anyways? Intentionality?
I smack my head for a moment there, trying to keep myself focused. Now that the easy solution was not available, I had to get resourceful, and before I started working with the final chapter, Gaggle still had one tool on its sleeve. It’s still a bit of an experimental feature, but by taking a picture of these runes I can actually search the internet for similar things…!
Rune 1
So I quickly copy one of the symbols on the page, the one I see repeating itself the most, take a picture of it with my phone and just wait for the best.
The result? A bunch of unfiltered stickmen, some of them with dicks. Because of course, Gaggle’s image searching is still a new tool and it needs plenty of work to properly function. With a sigh, I debate for a moment if I really should bother to check image per image… until I decide to just check the first two pages before abandoning all hope.
“Stickman, stickman, stickman with a dick, another stickman…”
“Stickmen animations and games really have boomed these years huh?”
“I guess so… another stickman…”
I promised to myself I wouldn’t go beyond the second page of results… and yet here I am, going deeper and deeper, trying to find anything at all.
It’s dark outside already… and that only means that the pills will stop working soon.
“Not that they ever really worked to begin with. Have you stopped feeling sad since you started taking them?”
There it is.
With a loud sigh, I set my computer down and stop messing with the search.
Maybe I just picked a bad symbol. Maybe if I pick another, I will get actual results.
“Or maybe you won’t get anything at all. You’re no translator, and you can’t start pretending to be one now, you know?”
I breathe in deeply, holding it inside for a good few seconds before letting it out. With that, I stand from my chair and pick up my computer. I’ll leave it for tonight…
“Yeah. Just leave it like you leave anything: incomplete. It’s not like you ever finish anything anyways. You may as well toss it to the side and ignore it until you forget about it.”
“But we were so excited about it… Come on, don’t give up now…”
“Let’s just leave it. It’s vacation time anyways, right? Let’s just play some videogames until your body can’t take any more. I promise I’ll be quiet while you do so! Let’s play some King of Legends”
I don’t even like that game…
“But it passes the time, doesn’t it? Precious time, so full of suffering too. You don’t even notice death encroaching ever closer while you have something to do.”
“You only rage in that game, it’s not good for you. Come on, please?”
“Just lay down and sleep then…”
… No.
“Hmmm?”
You know what? No. I am not sleeping tonight.
“Let’s not go to the extremes!”
Alright then, I am sleeping, but not now. Not until I get through some of this book!
I set the computer back down on the table and get myself a glass of soda, sitting down and cracking my knuckles with renewed determination. Spite can be quite the fuel, even if it’s spite for your own inner voices.
“I am not letting a stupid book defeat me.” With a grin, I open my notebook to start transcribing. “Let’s do this!!”

Arx Fatalis is a first person RPG developed by Arkane Studios. Released in 2002, Arx Fatalis reminds us of a simpler time when RPGs were almost impossible without a walk through. You can almost smell the GameFAQs all over this one.
To play Arx Fatalis without significant technical issues, it is recommended to install the Arx Literalis source port of the game. Instructions are easily googled.
We play as an unfortunate individual captured by goblins and with no memory of himself. We soon find ourselves embroiled in a plot that involves resurrecting the dead sun of our frozen world...but at what cost?
Gameplay is that of an old school dungeon crawl. We move from level to level smashing enemies with sword and sorcery and trying our best to figure out what the heck we're supposed to do next to advance the plot. Usually this involves more killing.
The Good
At some point in history RPG became synonymous with bloated side quests. There's a grand total of 4 or 5 in Arx that bring little side plots to conclusion. That, to me at least, is what a side quest is about. You wreck the status quo as part of the main quest and you can, optionally, make amends (by committing genocide of course) for a little bonus xp and loot. Perfect.
The magic system in Arx requires you to draw runes with your mouse cursor to cast spells, inspired by the graffiti alphabet of the ancient Palm Pilot (now there's a dated reference). This can be difficult to do when getting beat down by monsters so fortunately you can 'load the chamber' with 3 spells ahead of time for rapid fire use during combat. I loved getting more and more efficient at drawing "Aam Yok Taar" and watching dudes blow up.
The Bad
Arx falls prey (see what I did there?) to a lot of older RPG/immersive sim issues. You have a ton of systems of questionable use. Cooking food sounds neat until you notice there's so much sitting around you don't need to. Really no point to alchemy when you can't swing a dead cat without hitting an entire trove of ready made potions.
Enchanting, pick pocketing, stealth, etc... To make matters worse engaging in these things not only wastes time, but can end up making your character weaker by opportunity cost.
The Ugly
You can technically play as a melee or ranged but both are rather weak. Even going full melee build the most basic enemies often took 2 hits to kill at end game. Ranged was even worse since you're always in cramped tunnels. Neither really felt fun to play.
Magic on the other hand has several busted spells that you have to avoid or it breaks the game. Life drain kills everything almost instantly for next to no mana. Even using less powerful spells like fireball I was still able to kill enemies way before they become plot-relevant. It took awhile to find a play style that kept things challenging.
Final Thoughts
Arx Fatalis is a relic of the early 00s when Western RPGs were really starting to catch up and be a force to be reckoned with. Arx has many rough edges (both graphically and gameplay wise) but if you can look beyond the questionable audio quality and expected levels of jank, there's a solid experience to be had with a relatively unique story being told.
Interesting Game Facts
There's a hidden side quest which involves rescuing an unfortunate soul who turned himself into a chicken. Many people have asked how you're even supposed to know you can do that and it turns out it was a meme on a French forum that the lead developer frequented. The quest was snuck in during a patch and only members of that forum had any clue it existed. One hell of an Easter egg.
Thank you for reading! I'd love to hear your thoughts and experiences as well!
My other reviews on patient gaming

When entries in a series don't fall together alphabetically for whatever reason, do you still put them together or stick to alphabetical? A good example is the Yakuza renaming to align with the Japanese title - are your LaD Infinite Wealth/Ishin/Gaidens sitting next to Yakuza 7 in the Ys, or are they off lonely in the Ls? I went with alpha, but it gnaws at me :)
Other examples would be spinoffs that relegate the main series name to a subtitle - i.e. Stranger of Paradise: Final Fantasy Origins.
Or on the extreme end, what about series that are sequels but just don't have anything in their title at all to indicate (i.e. Magic Pengel and Graffiti Kingdom)?

Hey players,
An update 1.36.0 featuring the Hip Hop Mixtape is out now! The Hip Hop Mixtape is packed with some of the biggest Hip Hop classics from the past fifty years of this music genre. With such a diverse range of tracks, there's something for everyone to enjoy.
Track List:

• 2Pac - All Eyez On Me (featuring Big Syke)
• Nicki Minaj - Anaconda
• Snoop Dogg - Gin and Juice
• Eminem - Godzilla (feat. Juice WRLD)
• Outkast - Hey Ya!
• The Notorious B.I.G. - Hypnotize
• Dr Dre - Nuthin’ But A “G” Thang
• Grandmaster Flash & The Furious Five - The Message
• Pop Smoke - The Woo (feat. 50 Cent, Roddy Ricch)

Hip Hop Mixtape is our very first release with uncensored tracks. That means you can experience the music in its raw, authentic form.
To provide more flexibility in the game, you can use “Explicit Lyrics Toggle”. This toggle empowers you to choose your preferred in-game experience, allowing you to opt in or opt out of songs and music containing explicit lyrics.
Please note that this toggle is not available on the Meta Quest platform to players under the age of 13. Those players have explicit content hidden by default. For all other players across all platforms, the toggle is first introduced to the player at the start of the game (once). As a default, the player has explicit content visible, but can change this by clicking “Hide Explicit Content”. Players can change their preference later in game options.
RELEASE NOTES:
[All platforms]

• Added: Hip Hop Mixtape including 9 songs
• New environment with underground subway station with trains, graffiti, basketballs and hoops
• Explicit content rated 18+, can be hidden or shown with the Hide Explicit Content option in Settings -> Others tab
• Fixed: Songs from DLC packs that are the majority voted song will not be selected over a single voted Built-In music pack song in a Multiplayer lobby
• Fixed: The Music Packs thumbnail list will open over the currently selected song after failing a song in Solo and Party Mode
• Fixed: Missing content warning disappears after returning to the song selection screen in a Multiplayer lobby
• Fixed: Tutorial Prompt is not shown to the player if they close the game when the prompt is on screen
• Fixed: When a player changes the color of their outfit the 'Undo' option is no longer available
• Fixed: No songs appear when filtering songs by difficulty in Filter Parameters
• Fixed: Environments will appear dark/black when a player creates and selects a custom color set with no booster colors before starting the song
• Fixed: After failing any song, the player is able to hear the slicing sound effect when they swing their saber close to any shrinking notes
• Fixed: When the player is holding the trigger whilst the central menu is transitioning to the next menu, any button that appears in the location that the saber is pointing will become selected after the animation is complete.
• Fixed: [Queen Music Pack] - Favorites list is not ordered alphabetically under the "One Saber", "360 Degrees" and "90 Degrees" filters

[Quest 3]

• Fixed: The players room offset will reset to the default settings after changing the XYZ offset to a high value in “Room” options within “Settings”
• Fixed: When a player pauses the game and removes the HMD for 30 seconds, then puts the HMD back on and unpauses, the saber trails will turn white for a few seconds
• Fixed: Pumpkin color set is displayed above Lattice when viewed in the color section
• Fixed: Purchased DLC songs will give the player a prompt saying 'Error Downloading Content' when attempting to play them (affects players who transferred their purchases to Q1/Q2)

[Quest 2]

• Fixed: The players room offset will reset to the default settings after changing the XYZ offset to a high value in “Room” options within “Settings”
• Fixed: When a player pauses the game and removes the HMD for 30 seconds, then puts the HMD back on and unpauses, the saber trails will turn white for a few seconds
• Fixed: Pumpkin color set is displayed above Lattice when viewed in the color section

[Quest]

• Fixed: The players room offset will reset to the default settings after changing the XYZ offset to a high value in “Room” options within “Settings”
• Fixed: Pumpkin color set is displayed above Lattice when viewed in the color section

[Steam]

• Fixed: The players room offset will reset to the default settings after changing the XYZ offset to a high value in “Room” options within “Settings”
• Fixed: When a player pauses the game and removes the HMD for 30 seconds, then puts the HMD back on and unpauses, the saber trails will turn white for a few seconds
• Fixed: Pumpkin color set is displayed above Lattice when viewed in the color section
• Fixed: Game will appear on desktop but not in headset when launched through Steam

[Rift]

• Fixed: When a player pauses the game and removes the HMD for 30 seconds, then puts the HMD back on and unpauses, the saber trails will turn white for a few seconds
• Fixed: Pumpkin color set is displayed above Lattice when viewed in the color section
• Fixed: The game will not pause on removal of the HMD when viewing the Credits

[PS5]

• Fixed: The players room offset will reset to the default settings after changing the XYZ offset to a high value in “Room” options within “Settings”
• Fixed: The previous song will play over the majority voted song from the second match onwards in a 4-5 player "Quickplay" lobby

[PS4]

• Fixed: When a player pauses the game and removes the HMD for 30 seconds, then puts the HMD back on and unpauses, the saber trails will turn white for a few seconds
  
• Fixed: Resetting Player Position While Being in "Out Of Player Area" freezes the Beatmap in Multiplayer
  
• Fixed: Multiple issues occur when Confirming Position from the Quick Menu while the title is in Japanese during a Multiplayer level:
  
  • Opening and closing the Quick Menu will cause the Beatmap to progress while the menus are open, but return to being static at the timestamp at which the level was resumed.
  • If the Quick Menu is opened after the song should have ended, the player is returned to the lobby without entering the podium screen.
  • If the level ends, the player remains stuck with the static Beatmap while other players are kept in the level for an extended period. After this, the other players appear on the podium screen without the player that triggered the issue.
  • If the player that encounters the issue is a client, the host will be unable to kick them from the lobby for as long as they are in the level with the static Beatmap.
  • Other players will be unable to see the Notes for the player with the static Beatmap, and that player will not be able to see other players' scores increasing.
• Fixed: Game will crash if the player switches from Practice to Play quickly
  
• Fixed: Music is not played in spectator mode after opening quick menu during scene transition in multiplayer lobbies
  
• Fixed: Sabers are not aligned with controllers in pause menu after recentering position during a song
  
• Fixed: Main Menu center position does not reset after resetting position during a song
  
• Fixed: The previous song will play over the majority voted song from the second match onwards in a 4-5 player "Quickplay" lobby
  

[Level Editor]

• Added support for v4 beatmaps
• Updated auto-saving to be more reliable

This is spray painted on an underpass near my home. I’m not 100% sure it’s even script, but I have seen other graffiti in the area using alphabets outside of the Latin alphabet.
https://imgur.com/a/L0Gii5U

Also all what letters in the alphabet are toy and which ones should I avoid? What’s the cleanest letter combination? Also if my teacher catches me drawing on my desk should I wear gloves so they don’t Fingerprint my pen and then because I tagged my house the cops will come and find my sketchbooks and use my unique letter styling to create a profile of my work kinda like a portfolio but instead of an employer it’s for an prosecutor so what you guys think? Show some love help ya boi out I got those butterflies in my stomach I’m too nervous to hit this one spot because it’s right near a police station and if I get caught shit mannn it’s fucked so I decided to get a balaclava but I got paint on it like damn?? So need a new one but in the mean time I just practicing my style and my bars graffiti and rap cus I’m too shweezy n dat so I started this corner store or at least should I so I can start selling toilet paper and shit for Montana black spray paint cans like damnnnnnn but also this fresh burner the buff crew just called in structered the letter helicopter and the pilot was like to the fuck?!!?
When the Feds came they tried to make me talk but I ain’t say shit cause they were my homies but goddamn. And because of that I think it may be best for me to start a corner store in the hood?
I’ll sell hygiene products and snacks and shit. You feel me. Maybe toilet paper. I can keep the boxes from the shipment to hang up on my garage and do throwies on

Windows: Download
macOS: Download
Android: Google Play.
iOS: App Store
This release is considered as a stable one. Also you can download a 'Testing' release with newer features

Changelog

v0.15.6

• New content: Easter, Foil Surfer, Snowboarding
• Performance fix for playlists with a lot of content
• Fixed issues with exporting timelines with "." symbol in the name
• Fix exporting of timelines from Windows in case if they include non-ascii characters. You'll have to reexport them again from Windows if you want to use them on other platforms
• Beat effects are fixed
• Speed is fixed for some dancers
• Fix crash in draw app
• Desktop: fix current index indication in some cases
• Android permission fix
• iOS: fix camera rotation

v0.15.5

• Fix issues with 2d preview
• Show warning message on Android in case if there is no required permissions.
• Fix settings popup for visualizers on mobile platforms
• Fix drawings layers to always start from the beginning and respect the global BPM value
• Fix storing settings on Android
• Fix rename playlists issues
• Fix potential crash after SVG folder import

v0.15.4

• Fix crash in "Search"
• Fix closing question dialog logic to consider it as "no" reply.
• Fix crash on macOS on start with some GPU usage
• Fix crashes on android with USB cubes

v0.15.3

• Fix crashes after playlist delete
• Fix 'empty' playlist view that could happen when you switch between empty and non-empty categories
• Fix default enabled state for visualizations
• Fix beam creator issues with power fader, speed, editing
• Fix crash in timeline editor, forbid editing of items during playing
• Fix compatibility with old timeline shows from "Beam Show" category
• Fix storing settings on iOS
• Fix crash during cube connection on Windows
• Animated previews are disabled on iOS for now

v0.15.2

• New content: Psychodelic animations
• New timeline shows from Jarek Kral and Andrea Chan
• Fix timeline autostop after show is finished
• Latest WiFi cube firmware v0.21 now performs a WiFi channel search at power-on to always choose the best channel for WiFi server mode (manual channel selection can still be set from the internal web page).* Fix android permissions access
• Fix android permissions access
• Fix move to the correct playlist on import
• Fix timeline export for cases with dots in the name, fix colorize effect
• Fix freeze on slider movement on Windows
• Shortcuts fix

v0.15.1

• New content: new category 3D Objects, NY 2024 animations, Banksy in Animations -> Graffiti, new content in "Motus"
• Regenerate edited previews for beams creator and drawings
• Beam creator: allow beam dropdown toggle via bar click
• Fix playing demo timeline on mobile platforms
• Fix crash in burn load complex pattern screen
• Fix issue with reloading edited Drawing propery
• Fix import issues on Android in burn, light painting and draw background image

v0.15.0
Common:

• Add built-in demo timeline with demo beam creator visuals
• New FormFlex generator is added for "Abstracts" app
• Two new one-line-fonts are added (OLF)
• New LaserOS firmware 0.19 is added

Desktop:

• A lot of beam creator updates
• "Search" option is added
• Laser ON/OFF scheduler is added
• You can assign multiple hotkeys per slider for different values now
• APC Mini MK2 support is added with fancy colours and digital dial control

Mobile:

• Sliders have popup with manual input and reset button now
• Allow to manage custom playlists

Windows:

• On Windows x64 version is the defalt version now. Since 0.16 Win32 will be dropped. You'll be proposed to update to x64 release if you still use x86 one.

Other updates:

• In Draw app second arrow is shown on the left side for both hand usage
• On mobile move trace settings to "Settings" -> "Tools"
• On mobile "Global" and "Per app" shuffle modes are changed to more clear "Global" and "Local" modes. "Global" mode is desktop-like, "Local" - shuffle only the currently visible panel
• Beam show new folder hierarchy
• Content is sorted alphabetically always now
• In Playlist editor mode non-related apps are hidden now
• Animated previews are supported for lasershow, beam creator, text and draw visualizers now
• Play/pause buttons are changed for lasershow and timeline to be more clear
• For games now both joystick controls are available for usage
• Minor UI improvements

How to install android manually:

• Download and install apk file. Do not launch LaserOS yet.
• Download and put into dir Android/obb/com.wickedlasers.laserOS obb file. If you don't have this dir create it. Case is important here!If you have android command line tools installed you can do it from terminal:
• Launch LaserOS

Min supported OS versions:

• Windows 7
• macOS 10.13 High Sierra

Min specs:

~ i5-6200U CPU @ 2.3GHz, 8GB RAM
macOS min version 10.13 iOS min version 12 Android 7.0

How to get logs:

On macOS:
~/Library/Application Support/LaserOS/laseros.log
On Windows:
C:\Users${USERNAME}\AppData\Roaming\LaserOS\laseros.log

How to get crash reports:

On macOS:
Open Applications -> Utilities -> Console. Choose "Crash Reports" on the left panel, the latest LaserOS crash and share it with "Share" button on the top.
On iOS:
Open Settings -> Privacy & Security -> Analytics & Improvements -> Analytics Data -> LaserOS-…$Date.ips file, press "Share" and send via email.
Download deprecated 32-bit Windows version

This will be my primer on how to begin practicing graffiti and learning about its history. It is heavily inspired by this one and I'll be borrowing from it, though I felt some parts were inadequate. I've been seriously practicing for more than a decade now and am lucky to enough to have been mentored by actual writers along the way. I have the skills to show for it. That's exactly why I'm even typing this out.
WHAT IS GRAFFITI?
Graffiti is a trinity.

1. A visual art form defined by its focus on the manipulation of alphabetical letters.
2. Petty vandalism.
3. A subcultural arts movement, or "scene".

The petty vandalism aspect is the most obvious and doesn’t require much explanation, so I'll address it first. Graffiti is done illegally, without permission. If you got permission to do it, it's not really graffiti - even if it consists of graffiti lettering. Legal walls are fine to paint and I support people having fun - but it's not vandalism - it's a community mural. Drawing graffiti letters in a blackbook is fine and, once again, I support people having fun. Most of the graffiti I do these days is on paper! But it's not capital g Graffiti.
Now, for the good news: it is extremely easy to illegally draw a dick on a mailbox with a Sharpie. However, this is also not graffiti - that is because doing graffiti requires a NAME. That doesn't mean you can't include characters with your graffiti, or have a simple character in your arsenal(Katsu BTM is probably the best example of this), but it does mean you have to be able to write your name well. If you can't, than nobody will know what to identify you by. The fun part is that you get to write your name in a cool way!
The most contentious part of graffiti, and the one that filters out most people initially interested in graffiti, is the subculture. I did not personally invent any of the rules I stated prior - these rules were invented by literal generations of writers before me, many of which will be included in hyperlinked videos that I've included in this post. Graffiti is full of rules, traditions, norms, and best practices. Toys actually exist - it's not just a term people use to describe graffiti writers and styles they don't like. I was once a toy myself, as all writers were. There is tons of gatekeeping, shit-talking and judgment, which is to say that there is a certain way of doing things. This heavily contradicts many common notions of "free expression" in art, which is why I state that graffiti is a trinity: It is NOT just an artistic mode of expression.
Limitations and constraints are built into graffiti itself - we are all confined to the 26 letters of the alphabet, no matter how crazy we can make them look. You don't have to follow the traditions or respect the history, but just know that you will remain a toy for as long as you don't, and your tags will likely get gone over by actual writers who need the wall space. That is really just how it is. Once again, the fun part is that you have vast history of art for you to explore, with tons of different regional scenes, styles and crews to research and learn from. There is lots to nerd out over. If you actually find a way to enter the scene, you'll get to meet some of the most interesting people you've ever met in your life and have experiences that most people on Earth will never have. You just have to do it the right way.
Some more good news is that it is extremely easy to not be toy - just don't go over other people and have respect for the tradition. You can have a dogshit tag and still not be considered a toy by many legit writers, because there is a difference between being a toy and doing bad graffiti. The "anti-style" movement within the culture that took off about a decade ago is a representation of this difference - Wombat ICBM does graffiti that many writers would consider ugly or low-skill, though they absolutely smash NYC while not going over respected writers, and paints with other very legit writers at their side. You can say Wombat ICBM does bad graffiti, but you can't call them a toy. Just respect other writers and hit good spots with good-looking styles, that's literally it. I actually think Wombat and the other anti-stylers do some pretty cool looking graffiti, for what it's worth.
How to get started seriously practicing?
You have decided to stop drawing dicks on the bathroom stall and want to start practicing for real, with a name. That's awesome! The very first thing you should do is watch this, this and then this. They are probably the three most important and iconic pieces of graffiti-related media ever made and both feature a wealth of actual writers doing their thing - they are practically holy texts. Much of what I state here is well elucidated by them, and they exemplify true graffiti. You will develop good taste from them. I also think these two videos, here and here, are also very important for learning, but are not as widely known as the first two. You will learn so much from these, and they are entertaining as hell. On the other hand, I've never used graffiti Youtubers for advice and have always found all of them intensely cringe, but do what you gotta do to learn(the sole exception to this is Living Proof New York, which features interviews with real writers - watch their interviews with GKAE, HERT, SEN4, ACET, EARSNOT and ICHABOD, among many others).
After you've watched these, you should begin practicing for real. Here's what to buy:

1. One pack of printer paper, $7-10.
2. One pack of Bic Round Stic ballpoint pens, usually a few bucks at most.

That’s it for now. Your objective is to crush the entire pack of printer paper(500 sheets) and drain all the ballpoint pens of their ink in the process. Since the repetition of practicing graffiti is insanely addictive, this is not hard to do. Do NOT start your practice with Sharpie markers, which is a very common mistake that will negatively impact your development.
Prioritize picking a word that you think has easy letters, and not one that sounds cool to you. You can pick a cool word once you get better at graffiti, and there are already a billion 9-year-olds out there tagging iamverybadass names like GHOST, BLADE, SMOKE, or whatever. One of my favorite beginner words is CARE, as I feel all the letters are relatively simple and easy to render in a lot different ways. Don't worry about the word too much, because the important thing is to practice your letters. Do NOT look up graffiti alphabets on Google for literally any reason, DO NOT USE THESE. Look at pictures and videos of actual graffiti on a wall, or at least pictures on your phone of graffiti on a wall.
In my opinion, Instagram is absolutely essential to learn how to do graffiti in the 2020s, for better or worse. If anyone expresses any interest, I'll add some good Instagram accounts to follow. You should be biting the shit out of your favorite writers - for real, you should be stealing letters for now. There is no faster way to learn. You'll never reinvent the wheel until you learn exactly how to roll it!
All graffiti writers should first get a solid tag, and then develop a solid throw-up, and then get into straight letters and piecing. That is the rule and order of operations. You can obviously practice all of these things simultaneously, but having a shitty tag while rocking big colorful pieces is absolutely a huge red flag for many writers, including myself. Get your tag straight.
The hierarchy of straight letters going over throw-ups, and then throw-ups going over tags, is only loosely recognized. Some tags are not okay to go over with a piece, particularly if the writer has passed away or is otherwise extremely well respected. Always look at whatever you're going over, and as u/charkett mentioned, you should look up the local laws and regulations towards vandalism in wherever you're painting.
Your first tagging implements for the streets should be a Uni PX-30 paint marker in either chrome silver or black, and a Presto jumbo correction pen. These are the basic tools of the trade for catching good tags on a variety of surfaces. With spray paint, you should only be practicing with dollar cans or Rustoleum brand, using the regular stock tip that the can comes with. Once you learn how to control paint spray, go get your fancy paint.
That's it. I've included hyperlinked videos and materials to buy for practicing and tagging. DM me if you want any recommendations for more resources, or if you would like me to do your name. I'll maybe update this post over time. Stay sharp out there and act like you know.

Hey! I just got into Graffiti at the beginning of this year and from reading this sub since then, I can see a lot of people are overwhelmed like was at first. Putting together all my shit for myself and figured I would make this for every one here in hopes to make things a little easier. Hopefully it helps someone out. There are plenty of other great resources in this sub as well so make sure you check them out. I would like to add to it over time, but only if folks are saying they get value out of it. (Forgive typos and shit. I will edit it over time. Started at work, finished at home, bong hits were had. You get the idea)
The ToyBox: The urge to do Graffiti has gotten into your hands. Now what?
Maybe you saw some Graffiti in your home town or maybe you live in a mecca for Graffiti. Hell maybe you are just a bored kid who likes to paint on shit. Either way there are a couple of questions you need to ask yourself before getting on with all this.
Why do you do this?
A simple and not so simple question. Watch any number of the documentaries mentioned in this thread and you will see there are a plethora of reasons for starting to write. Some good, some bad and everything in between? Does not have to be some crazy profound reason, but if you are willing to get arrested for this or worse, you might want to REALLY think about why you do this before you ever go put ink or paint somewhere it is not supposed to be.
What is the level of risk you are willing to take?
Are you willing to get arrested? Run from cops? Not tell those closest to you why you are always covered in paint? Not post every little sketch you do on line? When you start throwing down blazin burners are you gonna be cool with not posting it on line to preserve your name? Remember you are not on stage to see receive the applause for your efforts.
Is this a phase or a hobby?
Perfectly honest question. If it is a hobby, you can build yourself a wall at your house or fill up black book after black book. Just know that once you put that can, pen, marker, roller, to a surface, you have become criminal and a vandal. Does not matter how innocent the location. In the eyes of greater society you are a degenerate. The cop isn't going to ask you about your GPA or if you are a "good kid" when he is slamming you onto the hood of a car or worse. Plus some of the places you may have to paint, the cops could be the least of your worries. Do you have street smarts?
Have you done the proper research to do this without causing harm to you or others?
You decided you like graffiti, acquired some paint and now its time to hit the train yard or the heaven spot right? WRONG. Learn about the graff scene in your area (or the town over which is what it should be). You don't want to blow up spots or fuck up things for other writers. If you think you are ready for the train yard. You are not. You can want to go there all you want, but my recommendation is finding someone to take you under their wing if you are lucky enough. The Freight Graff writers are almost like a special subsection of writes IMO like the repelling folks and those doing massive pieces pushing things forward. You want to get there? Prepare to put in A LOT of time.
Preparation, Training, Practice? I just want to paint on shit man.
BASICS BASICS BASICS
Can you make the basic alphabet look good? No frills or nothing. Can you write it out in an almost sterile capacity on a single line of paper with all forms and positions equal? If you can't, then you just found your first place to start. Yes, Graffiti has rules and you need to know them. Below is going to be a list of resources (that will continue to grow if my ass doesn't get too lazy). Spend a ton of your time immersing yourself in letters, typology, font, and how things like negative space, letter name weight, positioning etc. perform various functions and convey various things that you will use to get your message across in your writing.
If your hand styles look like shit. So will everything else. Learn each discipline before you decide you don't like tagging or piecing or whatever. Understanding the whole of the art form will help you see later on where you want to focus your attention. Remember, this is a craft of refinement. The more time you put into it and the more you invest in it the more you will get out of it. The more respect you have for the history the more you will understand and be able to interact with the community. It can also be a flash in a pan or a hobby for you, but from what I am seeing most people suck for a LONG time at this before they are amazing.
Think about an writer that you admire now and imagine their work ethic to get to the point that they are at. That is the commitment. Are you willing to suck for a long time to really get the best of what this craft has to offer and what you can train yourself to be? Remember the dope pieces you see on line were done in the heat of the moment and look that good. When you hear the footsteps or the sirens are you gonna run or finish the piece?
- Hand styles, Hand Styles, Hand Styles, Basics Basics Basics (See a pattern?) - Tags>Straight Letters > Throws once those become proficient >Piecing and beyond
​
Separate your practice from your fun so that you are not learning bad habits.
This is a tip that can help you when learning anything. Separate your time into doing fundamental exercises like line drills, hatching, writing basic forms in various ways etc. and sketching for fun/for things you plan to get up with it. You will see yourself improve much faster this way, but if you are always just fucking around then your work will reflect that.
Put in more time on fundamentals than on just having fun at first.
It is going to suck, but at first this shit is boring as hell. I am new and I spend a lot of time writing basic shit (hence why you won't see anything up on my profile), but I have a knack for organizing information and learning things so here we are. Figured since I was organizing my thoughts I would throw it together for others. Think about all the time you have where you are just bullshitting or just looking at your phone. Replace those moments with writing the basic alphabet, with writing the same letter as many different ways as you can think of. They make tiny notebooks. Keep one with you and just write the alphabet in those and line drills cause it fits in your back pocket (If you practice tags in it, do it when no one is around and make sure you get rid of the pages, would hate to leave that about and have someone stumble upon it exposing you). If anyone asks, tell them you've taken up an interest in penmanship and want to maybe get into calligraphy and this is the basics. IDK make up your own reason that was the first one that came to mind.
Patience
Above all have patience. If you really have been bitten by this bug then you are going to be doing this for a long time. Listen to some podcasts and read interviews of writers to see how long some of them have been refining their form. This is a leisurely stroll to the perfect piece and I hope you never get there because then you may stop writing. Case in point I am getting into this much later in life (I am not in my 20s, but also not what you would consider "old" I guess). When I was a teenager, I couldn't draw for shit like my homie who did graff, so I went the photo route. Now here I am picking up graff and he hadn't done it in years. Homie just sent me a wildstyle he did the other day in his backyard. Shit's like riding a bike. I may only have a few bombing years in me, but I plan on doing this for a LONG time and I hope you do to if its got a hold of you that way.
Should I do freights?
Probably not. I am no authority to speak on this, but do you research and I am sure you will be able to decide for yourself. All I will say is this is a culture in itself and there is A LOT that goes into this.
Asking for Help on Graff Help
Honestly, this is the reason for this whole post lol. I would really like to cultivate a bit of a better experience for everyone using this sub and maybe pull in some more input from some real heavy hitters because I know they lurk.
What should I write? Should I put a tag here? and other similar basic questions like these.
These types of questions I urge you to search within yourself and answer. The essence of graffiti is individuality. Don't give that away from the jump. No one here can and should be telling you what name to write. If you want to write PANSY then you go right ahead, Peaches. Just make sure it looks dope.
Is this good?
This one is my favorite. If you have to ask if it is good, it is either one of two things. Not good and you know that or it is good and you know that and want your ego stroked. There are plenty of other subs for that. This question will help you none, but this will. Does it look the way you ultimately want it to look? Does it look the way you envisioned in your head? Does it look like the work you admire? Is there absolutely nothing you would change? If you don't think that, then none of us are going to think that.
What we can help you with is elements. How can I get my lines straighter, what do you think of the shadows, does the structure of this look off to anyone. Are there too many fucking halos and do dads. These are meaty questions that will get you the feedback you need to get better and ultimately make this sub better. You will never get rid of trolls of course, but there's a lot of shit that gets posted in here that belongs on your parents fridge more than it belongs here.
How to help yourself
Don't just look at Graff on line. Graff on line has to deal with the algorithm. Everything you see is what is hot and keeps people looking. Get into the dark corners of the Internet and find some old forums. Literally go out in your town (no matter how small) and hunt for that shit. It is there, I promise you. Plus it is good practice for blending in and scoping things out for missions later. More on that in the future. This mofo is already getting long enough.
Emulation and not biting
Copying things is a great way to de-construct them! Just don't pass them off as your own!
When to write
All.The.Time. Everyday even if you have to do it with a flashlight under the covers. Think about letters when you're not writing. Look at letters on signs and what you are reading to see combinations that you want to try to fit together. Inspiration is literally everywhere when you have a enormous canvas.
Breaks and plateauing
Take breaks! Take a couple days off. Don't think about graff. Go do some other shit, and it will rejuvenate you. As much as you want to immerse yourself in anything you can't and outside influence is needed to stave off repetition. If you start to hit a wall then go back to the basics. Something needs to advance fundamentally for you to use that tool within your arsenal when writing.
That is it! That is all I got for now. Below are a bunch of resources and shit that have helped me and I would really like to continually add to this. If the response is positive then I will continue to edit it over time. Feel free to mention some of your favorite bombing vids, sites for looking at graff etc. in the comment. I will comb through and add stuff over time as well.
May your caps never clog and your feet always be faster.
For your Brain - https://www.youtube.com/@ArtPrimo - https://theartistblock.ink/ - https://graffitibible.com - https://graffstorm.com/ - https://www.youtube.com/@youfosignhere - https://www.youtube.com/@OlustGraffiti - https://www.youtube.com/@DokeTV
Gear Up to Get Up - https://www.bombingscience.com/ - https://artprimo.com/catalog/index.php - https://infamyart.com/ - https://www.unfade.com/ - https://www.sprayplanet.com/ - https://www.overspraysupply.com/
Know your History - Style Wars - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7DXD1HBaLX0 - Infamy - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=po\_hM90TgD4&t=1181s - Piece By Piece - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Ub8uRFzUCQ - Getting Up - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TBXbYZKCI7U&t=10s
Look at History - Subway Art - https://museumofgraffiti.com/products/subway-art - Freight Train Graffiti - https://beyondthestreets.com/products/beyond-the-streets-freight-train-graffiti-expanded-2nd-edition-book
Modern Madness (Podcasts, shit for your eyes, bombing videos) - https://livingproofnewyork.com/ - https://www.patreon.com/livingproofnewyork, - https://www.graffiti.org/index.html - Against Drs. Order video (SOPO) - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uB7rrDuw4PQ&t=83s - https://krimeguys.com/ - https://endlesscanvas.com/-

Apparently they aren't teaching kids cursive anymore, and they haven't been for some time...
I don't really know this is true. I was talking to a guy who said he heard, that (allegedly) we are getting to a point where cursive is really dying out, and fewer and fewer people even know what it is.
"Oh No!" I comically exclaimed, "We won't have any historians to translate Lincoln's diaries anymore!"
But I was just thinking... If the exclusion-level is high enough. If its becoming that rare. Doesn't that kind of make it a magical cypher language?
Think about those Daoist style paper talismans? Don't they look cool? When they write the characters all sloppy like that, with the fluid motion? Well... (with some exceptions, which I won't get into because this post isn't supposed to be a detailed study of Daoist Fu Magic,) in a lot of cases those are just the same Chinese characters they normally write with, just written really.... cool.
A big thing magic-types do is they always want to use some farfetched magical language. Some ancient form of Hebrew, Greek, Latin, or Egyptian, or some crazy-out-there thing like Enochian. In the Book of Abramelin, it says you shouldn't do this, you should always make prayers in your "mother tongue" because its the only way that YOU can be certain that YOU understand what YOU are saying/asking for.
UGH! But that's BORING! Right? doesn't feel very magical at all to just write "bad stuff DONT happen" on a post-it note and stick it over your front door?
... but what if you could write it... Cool... ?
So, like... I guess if you're old enough, like me, you probably already know how to do this, but you probably don't write in cursive much, which means your cursive looks like shit, BUT THAT'S GREAT! You want it to look like shit... like, totally unreadable... but you should practice so it looks like really cool shit that has a consistent style, with a fluid motion. If you can't even read it back yourself, that's probably good. It's basically already a sigilized form of what you wanted to write. Get a brush and experiment with different types of pens and line weights. Maybe try learning calligraphy? It takes a lot of focus to write each letter neatly in that Germanic/Olde English-y style using one of those kind of pens. And I've always been jealous of people who can write in that graffiti-style, that shit looks cool, you could definitely make sigils and talismans with that shit.
Lots of ways to write really cool magic in English, or any language using the Latin Alphabet, AND IT WAS INSIDE YOU ALL ALONG!
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I was in a classroom with some guys, pretty much pretending to do work. It was very dreamlike. I was probably laying ontop the desk at one point; My leg was draped over it. Fading into this dream, it felt like I was already sleeping. It was subdued. My love was there, across the room. Actually working, LOL. As always. Some guy was next to me. Textbook in front of me. One of the guys in the room wanted to meet up with me later. I could feel his energy, he felt so real. He was quirky and liked metal music. I didn't realize my partner had got up and left. I'm positive that the guy asked me that, after he left. Under the desk was a stack of papers. I was going through them, and carrying mine. Those were most likely mine. Papers on the floor were decay themed, bile, cheese. So he was definitely a black metal guy. Going outside eventually, I went after them. it was lunchtime. Crowds of people walked past me, filling up the upstairs hallway(s). Melissa Joan Hart was outside, the building, freezing herself on purpose. I thought she was trying to lose weight, like that ozempic thing. First thing I thought. Her body was on the ground. I figured she was old in this reality, but she looked fit and young. Back inside after closing the glass door, I talked to one of the Christian girls standing there. I made some comments about how sacrilegious she is; destroying the body that god gave her. The girl intently listened to me, without really responding, which I was waiting for, a response. I got a image of a magazine cover flash through my mind, with melissa on it. 'You would never think she's a Sagittarius..' I thought, maybe she's an Aries rising. (She's an aries sun in real life.) Don't know why I dreamt of this. It's common sense that she's an aries. Up ahead was Thora Birch. She approached me, handing me a marker. 'Graffiti my name everywhere, tomorrow.' She asked. I put the marker away, nodding. I examined the hall in front of me, seeing Max and Allison from Hocus Pocus. While walking past her, I told her she was a very underrated actress and she has had more impact on my life than she knows. She seemed genuinely appreciative of my words. I was in a rush, trying to get to lunch. I was looking at every hallway, and examining each person, trying to find my love.
That's when I saw Max, when I was turning the corner. He was going into a classroom. There was a group of students with him. Going down the stairs, I found myself in a large cafeteria. It was brightly lit, full of millennials. I sat at one of the tables after examining every person, leading into the cafe. It felt like a kmart cafe. There were so many blondes there. Now, there were a bunch of people I hadn't seen/looked at yet. I waited at the table, looking around. I waited for the guy from class to show up. TVs were hung up in the room, showing something important. I don't remember what it was, because it switched to hey arnold. The tv got bigger and turned around by itself. When I had walked downstairs, I thought, '2500 people in this school, and only one person, I'm looking for..' I looked around, wondering if I was being watched, like in the classroom. I wasn't uncomfortable. Eventually, I got up. The few people I was sitting with didn't seem to mind me. The cafeteria was somewhat vacant, yet occupied. Where my table was, there was enough space to walk through. I watched the otherside of the room, seeing heads of people. Behind me was a wall; at the top was a balcony and hallway that led to a weight/wresting room. While standing in the middle of the room, Ellie Goulding began to play. The song, lights. I heard the beginning play so vividly, Even though I don't remember it because I haven't heard it in years. The chorus is what played; 'You show the lights that stop me, turn to stone. You shine it when I'm alone. And so I tell myself that I'll be strong. And dreaming when they're gone.' I was thinking that I felt more like a millennial in this moment. 'Cause they're calling, calling, calling me home. Calling, calling, calling home. You show the lights that stop me, turn to stone. Home. You shine it when I'm alone. home.' I woke immediately up after this. While waking, I was recalling everything, trying to memorize it all alphabetically/in chronological order. My mind was going so fast. I wouldn't be able to write it down equally fast. I'm still tired. My mind was doing a retrospective automatically.
It took me almost a hour just to physically get up. I'm going back to sleep
While waking, I heard that my mom was going to get another kitten. Apparently my mom, didn't say that. She keeps waking me up while I'm in or about to go into REM, adding more words and lucidity that breaks through the barrier. It feels equally as intense/lucid as the dream.

So, there's this quest in the game where you have to track down the artist of some scandalous graffiti. Inscribed next to the figure is the word "KYM" (transliterated: "cum". This is NOT an ancient greek word, or at least not one in any recognizable form that would translate to Ancient 5th century Greek as we know it from the surviving Greek language corpus. (also note, the script/alphabet being used here looks the way it does because it is an older written form of the Greek alphabet which has some minor and major distinctions from what we are used to in chiseled ancient Greek as well as modern Greek).
The closest thing that I can think of to this word in ANY ancient greek text is this word from the New Testament: " κούμ" (transliterated: koum (-ou- in ancient greek classical restored pronunciation is pronounced as a long oo like in English "loose"). However, this is clearly not the word being used here, as "koum" is a word that's only found in the New Testament because it is a transliteration of an ancient Aramaic word meaning "arise". It would not make sense in the time/context of the story, and if the writers wanted to use a word for "arise" in ancient Greek, they would've probably picked something like " σῠνίστημῐ " a far more common term for the concept. The only known usage of the word is the following sentence: " καὶ κρατήσας τῆς χειρὸς τοῦ παιδίου λέγει αὐτῇ, Ταλιθα κουμ, ὅ ἐστιν μεθερμηνευόμενον Τὸ κοράσιον, σοὶ λέγω, ἔγειρε." (Translation: And taking the child by the hand, he said to her, “Talitha cumi!” which means, being interpreted, “Girl, I tell you, get up!” - Mark 5:41)
So, long winded explanation aside-- what is going on here? Is this literally just a developer sneakily adding a jizz joke in the middle of a quest that he can laugh at knowing basically zero people are going to get or even notice?

(This is a nonviolent text. First written in 1995; edited tonight.)
Rain in the City -- a provocative combination of oxygen, oils, and cleansers. Pieces of the moon all over the street.
Shshshshshshshshsh. Falling rain – so hard a library’s gutters back up and just like that, the last existing copy of a best seller, a modern classic no less, is gone – no longer existing in the world.
Gone? No longer existing in the world? Existing numbers of everything rise and fall, and this happened to be a very bad moment for a book. Rewind the tape, and we can see that within a matter of hours, the millions of copies of the book in existence were serendipitously
thrown away, recycled, caught in fires and floods, destroyed by someone’s baby sister – freak accidents all, but also the sort of thing that happens constantly, just piled up this time, concentrated.
Literary historians make an honest effort to reconstruct the book by collecting snippets of the text from literary quarterlies and high school notebooks. A few lines are translated out of a Chinese dialect that someone happened to remember. A few more come from faded graffiti in a Spanish bordello. Still, when all the exotica are finally assembled, the result
is only a fossil of a novel, a museum piece or sideshow exhibit: Come see the remains of the thing that was, then wasn’t.
Blame is spread evenly among academics and teachers, politicians and the media, avid readers and the illiterate – essentially everyone. And so no one has much trouble turning
blame and guilt into bad luck and misfortune.
After all, millions of manuscripts had vanished even before anyone’s grandparents were born. What’s one more, really, in the presence of such overwhelming loss? Thousands more books completely vanish from existence in the months that follow
a radical synchronicity editing the history of human progress through one strange accident after millions of others.
Some schools of thought nearly sink into extinction with only one or two representative works remaining – perhaps hundreds of thousands of copies in circulation, yes, but still hoarded. Who knows what might happen? Authors, periods, genres, languages, alphabets – scholars scramble about, collecting primary sources, to protect collective achievement against every conceivable combination of individual loss. Losing The Red Pony was awful – goodbye, Billy Buck! – but losing The Grapes of Wrath, a copy of which is sealed in a vault, would completely erase Steinbeck and Great Depression literature generally. The problem becomes that bad.
By the time he gets back from lunch, a scholar finds he’s lost the last of the Beat poets. Freak lightning strike.
The global situation – it is a global situation – grows worse when newspapers across the country publish an editorial by a theologian attempting to interpret recent events. Vanity, he writes, leads us to believe what is being taken away – books, plays, other human inventions – is somehow more precious than what is left behind: signs of an authority greater than our own.
He goes on to suggest that existing books that allegedly represent human history may not be genuine precisely because they continue to exist – doesn’t that make a certain kind of sense? In the right sort of light? Those who alter what is being revealed are engaged in the most hopeless struggle of all: to transform error into truth by reversing the very nature of the universe. The religious leader concludes with a false plea:
May the world’s skeptics and know-it-alls stand aside to witness the emergence of this nature. Allow a profile to appear across all of world history.
***
Attic Storage – a blend of mildew, mothballs and dust. Sweep away the clutter.
Future libertines attribute what happened next to so-called fate cycles, given that name because the structure of daily living – working, relating, knowing – makes life seem inevitable, ever the same. Anyone who manages to emancipate their fate cycle, while staying reasonably sane, is sometimes accorded divine qualities.
Educators of the future offer a more practical explanation: textural literacy requires decades of formal training, whereas video and audio literacy are as naturally acquired as sight and speech. When textual literacy remains the dominant form of expression in the face of these alternatives, and when most citizens prefer video and audio – the result is a cultural revolution.
***
The world begins to disappear vigorously. Most people set out or continue to ignore rational arguments, favoring instead a basic impulse to create and destroy from which perhaps a bit of universal truth might appear. This is a reasoned decision, true, but those who argue the point are expertly ignored. Besides, with most of the world’s books disappearing or being destroyed, rational individuals had long since passed the point of formal arguments.
Like a broken plate or busted radio, books are thrown away with regret, if only briefly, but then on impulse, lamps, shoes, bicycles, mirrors, anything that comes to mind is also tossed out. Ecstatic gangs raid libraries, cathedrals, bazaars, tribal graveyards, looking for signs, for anything at all. Empty spaces are littered with the almost salvaged and the barely destroyed: crippled chairs, a mattress beaten into the mud, a johnboat impaled on a lamp post, televisions with hairline fractures.
This is the work of the true believer. This is the faith of millions in concert. Amid the pyramids of fiery trash, humanity struggles on the brink of paradise.
The world waits for a sign. A sign is given.
God returns to judge everyone with divine wisdom, rewarding the righteous with eternal salvation and punishing the wicked with eternal damnation. Or, the universe collapses into a single point with infinite mass, then explodes all over again. Or, truth is at last revealed with a perfect axiom, wisdom with a perfect proverb, beauty with a perfect metaphor. Or, more likely, something truly miraculous goes completely unnoticed:
a blue messiah, let’s say, waddling out of the folds of history, then under the noses of the crowd all staring to the heavens, its own knobby head cocked upward for a moment in a flight of fancy, but then it settles on a clump of grass – its thick yellow legs folded below a set of stumpy wings, a tuft of curly tail feathers rising majestically in the sun, its bulbous black bill the image of serenity. A dodo finally, no more than that, sitting in a nest of shredded cellulose – cellophane, it’s called – lemon-yellow Easter grass.

I’m new to graffiti and still trying to learn alphabets in diff styles. I go on tiktok and ig for help and tutorials but only see toxic comments like “learn before you teach” or just comments calling them toy when the tags and art aren’t even bad. I’m wondering if this is normal or not because I see those tags and throw ups as really well done and am trying to learn from them, which makes it really discouraging trying to learn from those people and apparently it’s “google letters.” Is this a competitive area of art or are there just toxic people online?

Windows: Download
macOS: Download
Android: Google Play.
iOS: App Store
This release is considered as a stable one. Also you can download a 'Testing' release with newer features

Changelog

v0.15.5

• Fix issues with 2d preview
• Show warning message on Android in case if there is no required permissions.
• Fix settings popup for visualizers on mobile platforms
• Fix drawings layers to always start from the beginning and respect the global BPM value
• Fix storing settings on Android
• Fix rename playlists issues
• Fix potential crash after SVG folder import

v0.15.4

• Fix crash in "Search"
• Fix closing question dialog logic to consider it as "no" reply.
• Fix crash on macOS on start with some GPU usage
• Fix crashes on android with USB cubes

v0.15.3

• Fix crashes after playlist delete
• Fix 'empty' playlist view that could happen when you switch between empty and non-empty categories
• Fix default enabled state for visualizations
• Fix beam creator issues with power fader, speed, editing
• Fix crash in timeline editor, forbid editing of items during playing
• Fix compatibility with old timeline shows from "Beam Show" category
• Fix storing settings on iOS
• Fix crash during cube connection on Windows
• Animated previews are disabled on iOS for now

v0.15.2

• New content: Psychodelic animations
• New timeline shows from Jarek Kral and Andrea Chan
• Fix timeline autostop after show is finished
• Latest WiFi cube firmware v0.21 now performs a WiFi channel search at power-on to always choose the best channel for WiFi server mode (manual channel selection can still be set from the internal web page).* Fix android permissions access
• Fix android permissions access
• Fix move to the correct playlist on import
• Fix timeline export for cases with dots in the name, fix colorize effect
• Fix freeze on slider movement on Windows
• Shortcuts fix

v0.15.1

• New content: new category 3D Objects, NY 2024 animations, Banksy in Animations -> Graffiti, new content in "Motus"
• Regenerate edited previews for beams creator and drawings
• Beam creator: allow beam dropdown toggle via bar click
• Fix playing demo timeline on mobile platforms
• Fix crash in burn load complex pattern screen
• Fix issue with reloading edited Drawing propery
• Fix import issues on Android in burn, light painting and draw background image

v0.15.0
Common:

• Add built-in demo timeline with demo beam creator visuals
• New FormFlex generator is added for "Abstracts" app
• Two new one-line-fonts are added (OLF)
• New LaserOS firmware 0.19 is added

Desktop:

• A lot of beam creator updates
• "Search" option is added
• Laser ON/OFF scheduler is added
• You can assign multiple hotkeys per slider for different values now
• APC Mini MK2 support is added with fancy colours and digital dial control

Mobile:

• Sliders have popup with manual input and reset button now
• Allow to manage custom playlists

Windows:

• On Windows x64 version is the defalt version now. Since 0.16 Win32 will be dropped. You'll be proposed to update to x64 release if you still use x86 one.

Other updates:

• In Draw app second arrow is shown on the left side for both hand usage
• On mobile move trace settings to "Settings" -> "Tools"
• On mobile "Global" and "Per app" shuffle modes are changed to more clear "Global" and "Local" modes. "Global" mode is desktop-like, "Local" - shuffle only the currently visible panel
• Beam show new folder hierarchy
• Content is sorted alphabetically always now
• In Playlist editor mode non-related apps are hidden now
• Animated previews are supported for lasershow, beam creator, text and draw visualizers now
• Play/pause buttons are changed for lasershow and timeline to be more clear
• For games now both joystick controls are available for usage
• Minor UI improvements

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How to install android manually:

• Download and install apk file. Do not launch LaserOS yet.
• Download and put into dir Android/obb/com.wickedlasers.laserOS obb file. If you don't have this dir create it. Case is important here!If you have android command line tools installed you can do it from terminal:

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adb push --sync main.243.com.wickedlasers.laserOS.obb /sdcard/Android/obb/com.wickedlasers.laserOS/main.243.com.wickedlasers.laserOS.obb 

• Launch LaserOS

Min supported OS versions:

- Windows 7
- macOS 10.13 High Sierra

Min specs:

~ i5-6200U CPU @ 2.3GHz, 8GB RAM
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Download deprecated 32-bit Windows version

Apologies if there is already a FAQ post somewhere. I feel like I often see critiques saying "study the history" "practice the alphabet" "stay in the books" etc. For somebody who has 0 prior knowledge of graffiti but is interested in learning, what are some resources one would recommend? Either videos, websites, art books?