This has mostly to do with warships, as main base gameplay is easy enough that you can use whatever troop you want.
They were supposed to compete with seekers and bombardiers but the reality is that they are more niche than rocket choppers.

• They die to everything. It's impossible to shock every defense and clear every minefield. Most troops have a few defenses they can safetly ignore. Their constant need to spread out ensures they will get hit by mine patches that heavys ignore. Laser Rangers even make sniper towers look useful.

Honorable mention to the hot pot requiring me to hit a frame perfect shock or else it instantly ends my attack.

• Their speed is not an asset, it's a detriment. If there's too much space between defenses, they'll catch up or even surpass the heavys tanking for them. Opportunities to flare are few and far between, as it's usually a death sentence.
  
• They are too easily countered by base design. There's no good reason why their damage should plummet if a building is on an edge. I'm pretty sure they do less dps than heavys in these situations. This is probably the most layup change they can make.
  
• They're still bugged. I've seen as many as 40% of my laser rangers freeze in place at times, needing several seconds to reboot or something. Hilariously, this will sometimes work to their advantage since they all won't get oneshot.
  
• 2nd only to zookas in how useless they are without a hero to carry them.
  

This has nothing to do with winning or losing. I comfortably finish in the top 500 every season. They're just such a miserable troop to be forced to use. I'd rather watch 4 boats of zookas get stunlocked by a single critter launcher.

Gonna start with the shortcomings
-Too much flinch. This is in every old COD but it didn’t standout until BO because previous titles were dominated by a faster TTK and hip firing. You can only get rid of it with hardened pro which is fun to use but sleight of hand and steady aim pro dominated tier 2. Luckily though this game still has a relatively fast TTK so it’s not a massive issue and I think some amount of flinch is necessary despite popular belief. Without a little flinch there’s nothing you can do to reverse a scenario where you were seen first and shot first. You’re already at the advantage so if you still lose the gunfight bc of flinch you arguably deserved to lose it
-TTK arguably too fast. It’s thought of a slow TTK game because it slower than anything else at the time, netcode being worse back then, and high recoil. But statistically that’s simply not true the Famas/AUG’s max TTK with frame rounding (RPM 900 instead of 937.5) if I’m not mistaken is 0.1333 ms. Commando Galil AK 720 instead of 750 without 2 headshots is 0.16667. AK74u and MP5 960 RPM 0.125. Compare that to BO2 AN-94 I’m not gonna try to figure out what it is because of the quirk but it’s slower than Famas/AUG. BO3 KN-44 0.192. I think BO3 has the best TTK but this one again I’d define as a minor issue because recoil keeps you from getting melted at mid to long range and it’s kinda fun to melt people with overpowered weapons the Famas is still my favorite gun ever
-Spy Plane 2 kills with hardline leading to spam. This is probably why Ghost being so effective wasn’t thought of an issue. They are easy to destroy as generally there’s no reason not to run a rocket as your secondary but is probably something that just shouldn’t exist
-This isn’t something I care about but I can see the argument for it. Default lethals and tacticals forcing flak jacket and tac mask. In the context of this game it helps with perk balance giving people another reason not to use ghost especially in OBJ modes but I can see the argument for BO2/3 approach’s of nerfing Ghost with something like the pick 10 system that reduces lethals/tacticals. It’s a double edged sword I like having guaranteed equipment and I usually don’t run ghost I’m either using flak jacket or hardline
-This one again isn’t something I necessarily care about but there’s no stock
-Attachments aren’t as useful in most older games and I don’t understand why they didn’t let you stack certain attachments which would have given you more reason to use warlord
-You probably noticed this earlier but too many guns being clones of each other and mediocre balance overall. Truthfully there’s not much reason to use the Commando Galil or AK over the Famas/AUG. Even the 74u and MP5 are barely better up close. The G11 is better at range. The M60 doesn’t have enough range and too much recoil. Stoner too much recoil. No reason to use MPL etc. The enfield is just a worse Commando etc
-These last ones are my biggest issues because it’s what hurts replayability for me. The Blackbird Chopper Dogs combo is one of the greatest in COD history but the other combos don’t do much. The Gunship is really just a Chopper that costs more both get destroyed by 3 missiles always found that odd. It should have been Attack Helicopter 2 missiles, Chopper 3, Gunship 4. You can’t use Gunship+Dogs and the was designed to suck since it’s a low streak. Dogs are useful for helping the Chopper but in this game they’re not THAT great on their own because there’s only 4 at a time. If you stack Blackbird+Dogs that tends to put in more work but we can’t cycle through the streaks so it’s not possible to do that while having a Chopper to use afterwards. I really wish they had just put in a 12th powerful AI air streak to run with Dogs. It’s also strange how they make you pick between the rolling thunder and blackbird, the blackbird is strictly superior you’d only use the rolling thunder for fun. Death Machine and Grim Reaper shouldn’t have been care package exclusive
-TDM 75, TDM 100 or ideally just unlimited kills with a time limit is more replayable because you can go for higher kill counts/streak loops. Once the games “die” TDM is all you can play so this really stands out if you hop on today
-Maybe this is just me but I wish Ghost Pro didn’t have Blind Eye built in it’s a wonder that this didn’t ruin the Chopper I guess because of prestige resetting everyone and Ghost Pro being somewhat difficult to get
Now for the positives
-Streaks aren’t overpriced. This is something that really annoys me about newemodern CODs ever since the introduction of the scorestreak system. I didn’t list killstreaks as a negative not only because I just don’t agree with the philosophy of giving someone a streak for doing something they should be doing anyway and that took no skill (even if you kill 3 people off a flag that extra score came from literally nothing) but because with killstreaks usually they aren’t gonna be inflated. When you’re against just a couple of decent players which we all know is coming these days going on long streaks simply isn’t as practical so I don’t want to have to get 12 fucking kills for a Blackbird when I could get easily be killed off that by another streak, a shotgun, etc when high streaks generally have some easy counter anyway
-Not much RNG type stuff, more so than pretty much any COD to this day. Shotguns aren’t that powerful, quickscoping sucks, no one runs the RC because you gave up spy plane for it, C4 takes time to set up, there’s no target finder, no stock charge etc, low streaks suck. The default lethals and tacticals are really the only thing to worry about so when you have flak and tac it’s the closest thing we have to a built in “competitive” COD. It was made like this on purpose in response to MW2 being the exact opposite
-Good perk/useful perks overall
-Most important thing that makes this game a classic the map design. Best default maps in COD history imo, without this I think the other issues would have the game being considered one of the weaker in the franchise. First Strike DLC maps were all solid as well. The issue with modern COD is either we get garbage clusterfuck maps like in MW19 or ones that are BO2 wannabes too simple and boring. This game was back when they were better at striking balance. We have 4 small maps, 6 medium, 4 large and they all play noticeably different compared to something like Raid-Slums-Standoff-Plaza-Meltdown where the difference is less significant. Nuketown isn’t Firing Range, Firing Range isn’t like Grid, Grid isn’t Villa, Summit isn’t Nuketown, Array isn’t Summit. All the maps have variety without sacrificing too much competitive design
They might not all fit the “competitive” aka reducing the game to gun skill as much as possible faster smaller simpler philosophy a lot of people love but that’s perfectly fine with me. Only other COD that comes close in map design for me is World at War and the problem with that game is some of them had tanks in addition to there being no strong full auto AR so you couldn’t really counter snipers easily. I don’t need every match to be super fast paced

I’ve ridden bikes for about 3 years now and worked on them for most of that time. I just sold a bike, leaving me the money from that and a 1998 Sportster 1200. I don’t weld, so I’m looking to buy a frame, linked below. I came here looking for advice on easy frames to work with versus what will need additional mounts and bungs welded on, etc. I also would like to run it without a battery, and was wondering if any of y’all could point me in a direction to learn more about doing that.
Also, just in case I get lucky, any of you folks in Humboldt County? Thank you
https://thegasbox.com/collections/parts-evo-sportsteproducts/gasbox-chopper-rigid-frame-for-evo-sportsters

Hi, was curious if anyone knows where I can get my 66 chopper restored. It is my dad’s original bike when he was a teenager. He eventually had it chopped and customized. When he moved here he had it torn down and placed in boxes that I’ve now stored for 20 years. He recently went through cancer and is happily still living and doing okay but during that time he deeded it over to me since he wanted me to have it anyway. He’s no longer able to work on it himself so I would love to get it put back together and restored before to much time passes so he will be able to see his bike again and see how much I appreciate his gift to me. I’m super protective of who I would let near it more less leaving it anywhere as I’ve had a couple people offer to help. Not trying to throw shade or be ungrateful, but now days you just can’t be careful enough with theft and so on. This bike means the world to me so If anyone knows of any pros that could handle this job I would be grateful for the info! I believe the only thing it needs is a relay sensor and the frame sanded, primed and painted and some rechroming as well. Im open to any other ideas as well. The bike in these photos are all the same bike. The one with him and my mom is his bike before he had it chopped. Thanks in advance
https://preview.redd.it/w7kinceklozc1.jpg?width=3426&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=ffb4b9fd9953f790ca7a5db5bd35dfabae21eb59
https://preview.redd.it/734m48y6kozc1.jpg?width=2001&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=f79e4c2ba665ce5183b410aaf5bfae9a78e28b33
https://preview.redd.it/l9m487ypiozc1.jpg?width=4032&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=06de169ff41a66ba3f322d889f253012866b5d62
https://preview.redd.it/cba095h1gozc1.jpg?width=896&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=43f5e256761a329ae9ca443ad41ad80440d27f9b

Recently, I looked into how quickly Brick can kill Knoxx. After posting about what I found, I realized that Roland could also likely kill Knoxx much faster than previous videos show. I looked into that as well, and then decided that I might as well test how quickly all 4 can kill Knoxx. I'll list the times you can expect, what class mod to use, and for Brick and Mordecai character specific strategies. For the times provided, assume that all gear is perfect and proficiency is maxed out.
I'll also list what frame rate to set the game to. That's because fire rate is based on frame rate. Instead of a fire rate of x/s, you can think of a gun as firing once every frame, once every 2 frames, once every 3 frames, and so on. In 60 FPS, that limits you to fire rates of 60, 30, 20, 15, 12, 10, and so on. If you can't reach a fire rate breakpoint, you round down. As a result, changes to FPS will be necessary to maximize DPS. This is not possible on console GOTY, and I'm not sure about console Enhanced, but on PC this will work. This will work even if your monitor can't support the frame rate you set the game to run at.
All 4 characters will use a Chopper, because that is the fastest option. Yes, even Mordecai wants to use the Chopper. Gunfighter Unforgiven masher is technically superior but has a a few crippling flaws that I believe restrict it to theoryland. The times will assume an optimal Chopper, and note that the Chopper listed on Lootlemon is not the optimal Chopper for killing Knoxx. The optimal Chopper will be the 47.1 accuracy Chopper listed here:
https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1fSEDmH0nFGzoqlpyXwO4z_LQ15kvGcfQ

Roland: 4-5 second kill

The Patriot class mod might seem like the correct choice, since the Chopper is Vladof and Patriot is Vladof. However, this is not the case. The Patriot is actually weaker than the Heavy Gunner, due to the Heavy Gunner boosting Impact. You also want a Heavy Gunner with the +fire rate secondary effect, not +damage. +fire rate gives you higher DPS, and the Chopper has enough ammo to secure the kill without any extra damage boosts. You want +4 Impact, for obvious reasons.
Heavy Gunner boosts fire rate by 65%. 18 x 65% = 29.7, so you'll want a frame rate of 59. This allows a fire rate of 29.5, which obviously isn't quite right but is the closest you can get without having to set a frame rate of 297. If you want to test the Chopper to make sure the fire rate is right, the magazine should empty in 5.78 seconds.
This is exactly the reason changing frame rate is necessary. Running at 60 FPS you'll round down to 20 and get the kill 50% slower.

Brick: 4-5 second kill

If you didn't see my other post, Brick having a nearly identical kill time might come as a surprise. Despite what you might think, Brick can have quite decent passive damage with a Warmonger class mod. 32% weapon damage isn't very good, but with +4 Pay Back activated his DPS is nearly identical to Heavy Gunner Roland. You can see this post for the specifics:
https://www.reddit.com/Borderlands/comments/1bjs934/ranking_each_characters_damage_with_each_weapon/
Note that while Heavy Gunner Roland is listed as 210% and Warmonger Brick + Pay Back is listed as 209%, they're closer than that. Brick is 209.6% while Roland is 210.1%, The difference is basically a rounding error.
Anyway, the character specific strategy Brick relies on is breaking his shield. This is required to activate Pay Back, since otherwise his DPS would be the lowest of the 4. This boost gives him enough damage to kill Knoxx in a single magazine, and if you get the range right you can expect to have around 50-100 rounds left over. Compared to Roland this does have the downside of being a little tighter in terms of ammo, but unlike Roland if you mess up you can still reload. Also remember not to die activating Pay Back.
Brick has no passive fire rate boosts, so you'll have the optimal Choppers fire rate of 18. The frame rates for this one are easy, just 36, 54, 72, 90, etc. This is why the Chopper kill I posted about previously was a relatively slow 5.8s. On top of just being a slow kill, I forgot to adjust the frame rate. That dropped the Choppers fire rate from 18 to 15, making the kill 16% slower.

Theoretical Mordecai kill: 4-5 seconds

This theoretical kill is based on using the Gunfighter Unforgiven masher strategy I mentioned at the start of the post. I haven't tested this one but this video
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6G0XEcgb66o
has nearly perfect accuracy and uses nearly perfect gear. This kill was about 13.4s, but was unfortunately slowed down by bad Gun Crazy luck. They shot 17 times, 5 of which were boosted by Gun Crazy, 11 of which were not, and 1 of which was the last shot so I don't know. That's a rate of about 31%, much lower than the average expected 72%. With 0% Gun Crazy luck the kill would be about 17.66, and with perfect Gun Crazy luck the kill would be double that, about 8.8s.
That time could be increased further by reloading every shot instead of firing and then reloading. With the +reload speed secondary effect the Unforgiven should be able to reload in around .5s. Assuming a clean doubling of DPS, you would get a 4.4s kill.
While that number matches what Brick and Roland can do, it isn't as realistic. Perfect Gun Crazy luck isn't particularly unreasonable, but maintaining perfect accuracy while fighting with the reload animation on top of that isn't as attainable as "point at head and wait". And that's assuming my math checks out.

Lilith 7-8 second kill

Lilith, due to having relatively low damage per shot and no magazine size boosts, is not able to kill Knoxx in a single magazine. However, her DPS is on par with theirs so she stays relatively close.
You will use a Mercenary class mod, due to the boosts to both High Velocity and Quicksilver. I chose +4 High Velocity because extra damage is preferable when the extra fire rate is partially offset by making you need to reload faster.
I'll talk a little about Quicksilver before talking about the frame rate, since this is important. Quicksilver claims to boost fire rate by 5%/point, but it actually boosts fire rate by 7%/point. At 8/5 this gives you a boost of 56%. 18 x 56% = 28.08. You'll want a frame rate of 56, 84, 112, 140, etc. If you want to test the frame rate or want to check if my Quicksilver fact is wrong, the magazine should empty in about 3.2 seconds, .6 seconds faster than if Quicksilver was right.

Mordecai: 9-10 second kill

Mordecai combines the worst of all worlds. His passive damage per shot with the Chopper is very bad (especially against Knoxx), he has no passive fire rate boosts, and he has no magazine size boosts. That said the kill I got was 9.44s and I only made a few attempts to get a rough time, so on a good kill it could get into the 8s range. Which isn't too bad.
You will use a Survivor class mod, due to the +damage secondary effect. This also has the benefit of boosting Fast Hands, albeit a very small benefit since you only reload once. This option has very lacking damage boosts, but Mordecai doesn't have anything better for generalist passive damage. Don't bother trying a class mod that boosts Deadly. Deadly is additive with the enemies inherent critical hit boost, and since Knoxx takes 600% more critical hit damage the boost from Deadly is negligible compared to just having more damage. Also don't bother with Ranger, since it multiplies weapon critical hit bonuses and the Chopper has a bonus of 0%.
Mordecai has no passive fire rate boosts, so same thing as Brick. 18 fire rate, so frame rates of 46, 54, 72, 90, etc.

Hello all,
Hope you are enjoying your time with GZW so far. Very solid start for an EA title, and I hope to continue contributing to the game's progress. In an effort to do so, here is my feedback on bugs, QOL features, and misc items. I will not be covering things like overall optimization and performance, because these issues are well known by the devs, and should most certainly be the top priority overall. Most egregious in my experience has been the insane screen tearing/rubber banding in the Tiger Bay area, where it feels like every step forward is instantly met with one step back, game becomes a bouncy slideshow, etc.
Specs:
i5-12600K @ 3.7ghz
32gb DD4 ram
Nvidia RTX 4070
NVME M2.0
ASRock Z690M
Graphical Settings:
Low Preset
DLSS On
DLSS Frame Generation On
DLSS Ultra Performance On
Nvidia Reflex Low Latency On
BUGS: Things I believe are actual errors in the coding.

1. When using an optic to look at glass, the glass becomes a solid white wall. When looking at the same glass without an optic, clearly transparent and easy to see through. https://imgur.com/nYKqjbV
2. When pulling up the minimap by pressing M, the map is often times not localized on your character, and is instead showing a snapshot of the larger map in a far off area. After 10-15 seconds of waiting, the minimap will often snap to the correct, local view of where your character currently is.
3. When landing in a chopper, and I am still sitting in one of the front seats, when I throw a smoke grenade directly forward, ahead of the chopper, it ends up behind the chopper.
4. Stash slots becoming "bugged" such that you cannot place items there any more. Usually solved by tabbing in and out. https://imgur.com/f83HZUO
5. When moving items around in the stash, sometimes, usually when you've placed the item in between grid squares, the item will just disappear. If you search the bags in your stash, you'll find the item miraculously found its way into a random bag.
6. If you have a wallet in a backpack in your stash, when you open up that wallet, the game creates a temporary duplicate in your main stash, which can be interacted with. Essentially, the same item shows up twice.
7. When playing with friends, various items in the game, such as vehicles, will be different colors for myself and my team mates. I am running on Nvidia, and he is running on AMD, which we suspected to be a culprit. For example, I am standing in front of a red truck, but on his screen, the truck is clearly yellow. We confirmed this was happening using Discord screen sharing.
8. Bodies will be visible to you, but not your team mates. This is especially rough when you are attempting to recover your gear and the body that is not rendering is your own, so you have no way to access it. On PvE servers, this is made worse because your teammates who can see your body, will be unable to loot your gear for you and transfer it to you.
9. Enemy mobs will be visible from the naked eye, and will also be visible with the 1x magnification of an optic (specifically the Specter in this case), but when you go to 4x magnification, the mob disappears, Back to 1x, there the mob is, 4x = gone. So the mob is not rendering using 4x mag.
10. When in the map to call a chopper for an LZ, after a few seconds, the LZ options in the upper righthand corner change on their own to random items. I click on the LZ, and the "call transport" button appears, I am waiting because of the horrendous LZ queuing system currently in the game, and while I wait, the "call transport" option simply disappears, and I have to reselect the LZ. https://imgur.com/WeAH8JI
11. Choppers often get bugged/stuck midair, causing a player to disconnect. https://imgur.com/05pLvQ9
12. When you have open slots in your inventory, and you click unload on a magazine that is either in a mob's inventory, or your own, the loose ammo will fill the empty slots in your inventory. If you do not have open slots in your inventory, and you click unload on a magazine in the mob's inventory, it will NOT fill empty slots in the mob's inventory, and will instead disappear into thin air.
13. Vendor rep is bugged at times, showing greater rep than is possible: https://imgur.com/GSOmpXG
14. Optics will not render on weapon models, even though in the attachments boxes it shows the optic: https://imgur.com/P7ESHzL
15. Enemies will T-Pose when dead: https://imgur.com/qokbTAt
16. When you loot full AQ1 magazines from the mobs at Fort Narith, you can bring them home to your inventory, and unload all of them. Log out, and log back in, and not only do you have all of the ammo you just unloaded, now the mags have also refilled themselves to full, and you can repeatedly unload them. I.E. infinite money glitch.
17. Sometimes when looting, the looting window just disappears, without you pressing anything.
18. Sometimes mobs will be visibly looking the other way, or away from you, but will still be able to shoot you.
19. When scoping in on mobs at a far distance, especially in the Midnight Sapphire area, they will be teleporting around as opposed to smoothly walking.

Quality of Life: Wishlist items

1. ADD FACTION ARMBANDS, or literally anything to help distinguish PMC's for each faction.
2. Ability to search and open containers on the ground, i.e. rigs and backpacks. When someone drops a backpack on the ground, currently the only option is to "take" the item, but not search its contents.
3. When selling ammo to Vendors, CTRL+Click sells the entire stack and no slider menu appears, Shift+Click brings up the slider menu like it currently does. Very annoying to sell ammo right now, no I don't want to sell 30/60 rounds, I want to sell all 60, 100% of the time.
4. When searching a loot crate, add a spinning wheel icon or anything to let players know the container is still being actively searched.
5. Add more voice lines to actively engaged enemy NPC's, no more with the silent killers sitting in a bush.
6. Sliding bar in the sound menu for Chopper noise, both on and off chopper.
7. When selecting a game mode, Warfare/Joint Ops, the current selection should default to what was last selected, instead of resetting every time.
8. Add Autosort to stash.
9. When in a squad doing a Boss kill or Mob Kill quest, ESPECIALLY THE BOSS KILL, make it shared. Huge waste of time to make squads server hop 4 times to get everyone through the boss kill quest.
10. ADS Sensitivity slider for in ADS scope movement.
11. Option in key bindings to change things like ADS to a toggle instead of a hold, so I press right click once and it holds ADS, etc.

Issues: Items I believe may be intentionally coded this way, but it either feels bad to play, or is harming the game experience. I will be providing suggested fixes for most of these.

1. Key spawn rates for quests that require a key: This is hard locking players, making it so they are unable to progress because they cannot find the key. For example, my squad and I split up and went to different servers to farm YBL-1, and it took over 48-hours to complete the Negotiator quest by finding the YBL-1 Office 2 key, and to be clear, we only completed the quest because one of our members found the door already open when he arrived to YBL-1, and we all joined on him.

Suggested Fix: For any quest that requires a key, give the players a 0/100 (or more) mob ticker, so basically, if after killing 100 mobs the player has not found the key, the vendor asking for the task's completion will send the player the key once they've killed 100. This fulfills what I believe is the dev's intent, which is to have players spending hours farming in these areas, while also providing players a "light at the end of the tunnel", because after 1000+ mobs killed in YBL across 4 players over 2 days, and still no key, was kind of killing our desire to play because we were literally hard locked.

1. Dead Man's Chopper: You are playing solo, you call in a chopper which will be arriving at your LZ in 7 minutes to bring you back to basecamp. Just after you call it, you are exfil camped as you approach the LZ, and die. Now you respawn in base, and watch as your chopper is flying for 7 minutes away from you, to and LZ you are no longer at, and cannot call a new bird for. Most people just leave the server and reconnect, which is not what I believe the devs want, as that's fairly antithetical to the whole "always in the persistent world" immersion aspect.

Suggested Fix: Allow players to abort their pickup. I click on my green chopper, and in the top right there's a "Abort Transport" option, which waves him off. This may also help with the issues in the current LZ queueing system, removing empty choppers headed to pickup no one from the map. This will also allow squads who order a chopper to still receive the chopper if the 1 guy who happened to call it in gets killed.

1. Every single gun but M4's and 5.45 AK's: The damage numbers on Shotguns, 7.62 AKs (until BP), pistols, etc, are cartoonishly low. Shooting an unarmored mob 8 times with 00Buck from point blank, only to have them shrug off the damage, is comical. The damage tables need some serious tweaking/balancing.
   
2. Cannot step over the small branches or rocks. Fairly self explanatory, these elite operators should be able to step over an ankle high branch, unclear why they cannot.
   
3. LZ Chopper Queueing system: Right behind the complaints about performance, are the complaints about the LZ system taking way too long. If I never hear "NEGATIVE, ALL BIRDS IN THE AIR" again, it will be too soon. Now, I am assuming limiting each faction to 4 choppers at once is intended for multiple reasons:
   

A. Server Performance: Too many choppers may impact the overall performance of the server.
B. POI balancing: You don't want entire factions descending on POI's all at once, this helps string out PvP interactions, etc.
C. Landing Interval: You don't want enemy factions landing in too close of a time proximity, forcing 30+ seconds between landings.
Suggested Fix:
A. Remove requirement for every chopper to spawn behind your faction's basecamp. Let choppers spawn from somewhere near the specific LZ you are being picked up in. Unclear why I need to watch a chopper spawn from the far edge of the map, just to "touch" my base camp, then fly across the map to me, then back again. Spawn it at the edge of the map nearest me, and respect my time.
B. Eliminate the "Flying Away" status on choppers. After a chopper drops off it's cargo, deactivate it as an active chopper. Again, why do I need to spend 45 additional seconds watching a "flying away" chopper disappear off the map in order to call in a new one, just deactivate it and let players get to actually playing the game.
C. Add a queue system, like put us in line so we can do other things as opposed to everyone sitting around with their map open waiting for the blue dome to disappear off the map.
D. Remove the invisible wait times, which are backing up servers. What I mean by this is, most players have deduced by this point that there can be a maximum of 4 active choppers on the map at any 1 time. Yet, there are times where only 1-2 choppers are on the map, but you still get "Negative, all birds" bullshit. Why? It's because someone has called a bird, and is stuck behind a 7 minute queue for their bird, which means even though there are only 2 visible choppers on the map, you are locked out of calling one until the invisible wait time of another player for their chopper finishes.

1. LZ Camping: nuff said..

Suggested Fix: Currently, the amount of dust blown up by the choppers is unrealistic, it's way too low. Increase the amount of dust, such that it will better obscure vision of players getting on and off choppers. Additionally, give players 7 seconds of unlimited stamina as they come off the chopper so they can escape into the bushes. Increase invulnerable time off a chopper to 7 seconds.

1. Drastically increase the frequency of going into Coma versus instant death, and really, instant death should ONLY be the result of a headshot. Getting outright killed from being shot in the shoulder really interrupts the game's tempo.
   
2. Rebalance Vendor progression, as the way the game is now, you are unlocking meta level M4's and ammo, and then much later, unlocking really garbage weapons from Banshee, etc. Why would anyone use these worse weapons when you have much better unlocked from the start?
   
3. PvP in general needs work. Right now it's literally just who sees who first, and the TTK is almost instant. I kill, or am killed, instantly in PvP. There's no back and forth, so PvP has little skill involved, almost all luck (and camping).
   
4. Fort Narith AI difficulty is way too easy. The basic mobs around Tiger Bay with completely stock AK's and tank tops are 1 tapping me in the face from across the map, whereas the armored solider mobs with tricked out CQ1's at Fort Narith, which appear to be the highest level mobs in the game (or inside hotel at Tiger Bay), are brainlessly easy, often times not even shooting at you.
   

I know others have plenty more to add, but I hope this list is helpful to the devs, and I look forward to more content and updates coming to GZW.
Thanks!

❗️FOR SALE❗️
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The Good: - visuals are fantastic - it feels different from Tarkov - headed in the right direction with multiple hotfixes - character customization - PvE is great for us solo players - good variety of tasks
The Bad (so far): - audio mix is all over the place - lack of meaningful loot - bots can be tanks - rubber banding is real - don’t deny me a damn chopper! - no dynamic weather affects - relies on upscaling and frame generation for the majority of systems - bugs
In summary, this game is off to a good start and can’t wait to see how it turns out in full release! Of course, with early access, there are going to be problems here and there but it is definitely playable. The devs are also responsive to its community from what I have seen. There is a lot more for me to experience, so take this review how you will.

A while ago I had a conversation with someone about Brick. At some point they claimed that Brick is bad at killing Knoxx quickly, citing that they've never seen Brick kill Knoxx faster than 20 seconds as one of their reasons. I just accepted that at the time, but I was doing some farmory runs recently and decided to see if they were right.
They were not right. I tested out 2 different weapons, and posted the results at Borderlands1 since that sub is "alive" now.
The first run used a corrosive bulldog that I made using Willowtree. It's identical to the best corrosive bulldog in the best gear screenshots, so while not legit it has the same results. When looking for Knoxx kills I did actually find a video of someone using the Ogre + corrosive bulldog, but they took significantly longer due to not using Pay Back.
https://www.reddit.com/Borderlands1/comments/1cla0mv/1733s_knoxx_kill_with_brick/
This kill was actually done in 17.55 seconds, I fucked up when I was counting frames. The fastest kill I found using a corrosive bulldog was 14.7 seconds with a Commando Roland, which makes this strategy both slower and harder to perform. This was done in less than 20 attempts (most of which were testing strategies), so if you got good at this strategy you could probably get within a second of Roland. If you want a more consistent kill you can also throw some proximity mines to kill the medics as they come out of their elevators. This means you don't have to adjust your aim, although it takes more time since you need to throw 6-7 mines to guarantee the kill. If you don't factor setup time into the kill then this is probably the fastest the bulldog can kill Knoxx.
The second run used a Chopper that I also made using Willowtree. Same caveat as last time, it's not legit but still identical to the best Chopper in the best gear screenshots.
https://www.reddit.com/Borderlands1/comments/1cmdleg/58s_knoxx_kill_with_brick/
EDIT: Something to add here, I didn't change the framerate from the default setting, so this kill is very easily improvable. At the default frame rate the Chopper fires at a rate of 15.5 instead of 18. Fixing this increases DPS by 16%, and combined with better performance that I mention later the kill should easily break 5 seconds. Additionally, Roland with a +fire rate Heavy Gunner has almost identical DPS to Warmonger Brick with 9/5 Pay Back, and based on my math 1120 rounds should be more than enough to get the kill. The fire rate would be about 29.7, so you would want to set the frame rate to 59 for a fire rate of 29.5 get get comparable times.
Yes, the link says 5.8 seconds. Not only can Brick kill Knoxx fast using the Chopper, he can even kill Knoxx without needing to reload. I think I was standing a little too far away and I might have activated Pay Back too early, so this kill could be done faster with more ammo left over.
Brick can do this because his passive damage, while flawed in numerous ways, has some of the best passive damage per shot in the game when using a Warmonger with 9/5 Pay Back active (except with Eridian). It's beaten by pistol/corrosive/sniper Mordecai and SMG Lilith when getting critical hits, none of which boost the Chopper.
That passive damage per shot is enough to kill Knoxx in a single magazine. I started thinking it might be possible after watching a Roland kill Knoxx using the Chopper. They killed him using a 1120 round magazine with 331 bullets left over, so they used 789 rounds. That is 43% more than is in a default Chopper magazine. Brick has around 29% more damage per shot than Roland, and accounting for inaccuracy in the original video it seemed likely that Brick could also kill in a single magazine.
So, yeah. Not only can Brick kill Knoxx fast, he can kill Knoxx the fastest.

A little idea that I had, Evolved Godzilla in GxK was just way too fucking cool, and I feel he was kind of underutilized. Especially for the extra little additions he had in his design, and in this story I want to put him up against the main threats that Goji himself had previously fought in the Monsterverse, just with his evolved state instead.
Will this be fair? Absolutely not lol, but will it be fun to write? Hell yeah.
Ao3 link if you want to read it there: https://archiveofourown.org/works/54956917/chapters/139311436
No one could have foreseen such a catastrophic event.

Ishiro Serizawa's heart pounded in his chest, threatening to burst entirely as sweat poured from his weary head. He couldn't sit straight upon the metal seat he had confined himself to, no one at Monarch could say otherwise too. The subtle rocking of the aircraft carrier certainly didn't help the pounding sensation in his head either, further adding to the stress placed upon the old doctor's mind. The sleepless nights ever since... it broke out had taken their toll upon the man, his brows furrowing as he clasped his hands together.

He had seen it for himself after all, to say Janjira was an absolute disaster would be the greatest understatement in the past century of human history. They thought they had everything under control, how could they not at this point? They had studied it for a decade without an end in sight, making sure that they could pull the plug on it. The kill field around the spore was capable of outputting enough electricity to power half a damn city...
And it shrugged it off like it was a jolt of carpet static.
In hindsight,he could do nothing but mentally curse himself over their own hubris. Monarch had become another example of mankind prancing its supposed control over the world, and the world was quick to put their arrogance into the ground. Nature came knocking, and its message was one that was echoed through the annals of human history.
Nature was a beast, a beast like no other. No amount of technology, science, religion or whatever else Mankind could conjure would ever be truly able to conquer and tame it. The creature that sprouted from the ancient spore exemplified such a thought like no other. Those deep crimson slits it had for eyes spoke of total and utter malevolence, like the world itself bored back into their souls... seeing red at them playing god.
"Sensei..."
He was broken out of his crushing thoughts upon the soft voice of one Doctor Graham, who was quick to sit beside the Japanese man when she had seen her mentor so deep and stuck in thought. The brit was always a comforting presence to him and to many other people at Monarch. Even if it did little to alleviate the old doctor's stress at the moment, it was something at the very least.
"Ah, Forgive me for my current state... there has been much on my mind."
A dry scoff emanated from the woman upon hearing his words, looking to the side of the doctor's head.
"There's been a lot on everyone's minds as of late."
Her shoulders sagged as she sighed, a finger of hers going up and rubbing one of her temples. The old doctor leaned back a little, looking up at his apprentice who looked no better than him in this state. The bags under her eyes said it all, she too was at the containment site when the creature emerged. They were lucky to have escaped relatively unscathed, the same could not be said for the Brody's.
"Has it been located?"
The old doctor's thick accented voice asked, rearing his head from his palm to look towards his apprentice. The expression on her face said it all, the shake of her head only cemented such a fact. The thought of that creature, being completely left unattended to and free to wreak havoc upon... anywhere for all god knew in the world was beyond horrifying to Serizawa.
"No... but I saw something in the audio readings..."
She paused, standing up and going towards one of the computer screens of the control room they were in. Tapping on the keyboard and bringing up something on the green tinted screen. The old doctor sat down in front of the computer, seeing that it was the audio patterns recorded through the minutes of hell when the creature broke free. He was unsure on what Graham wanted him to see, but she looked over from behind the screen and briefly gazed at him.
"Keep scrolling, before the EMP." She urged, as he complied to her request. Skimming through the readings, just seeing the spikes in audio through the graph made those chilling noises ring out in his ears again, but he kept going.
"This." She pointed and tapped on the screen, an all too familiar pattern to the both of them at this point. The call of the thing. But what really caught his attention was what sat right next to it.

A second call... a response.
Serizawa looked back to his apprentice at the realization of such a thing. It couldn't have been... could it? That second spore...
"A response." He muttered, his eyes wide as he considered the possibility of another MUTO having been awakened. But how? That second spore from the Philippine dig site that decade ago was wheeled off to storage probably far, far away from any source of radiation, unlike the spore in Janjira...At least to his knowledge. Writing this fact down onto his notes, he pondered such a scenario. As if things couldn't have possible gotten even more grim for not only Monarch but the world.
Vivienne went off to talk about with the other personnel present in the room, but quickly the attention of all those present was drawn to something else.
"We've received reports of a nuclear Akula 50, disappeared about 50 nautical miles from Hawaii." The voice of the officer was both heard by Admiral Stenz and the two Monarch scientists in earshot. Instantly that caught their attention, making Serizawa spring up from his seat and Vivienne to look over to face the Admiral. Stenz's gaze upon the two scientists still exhumed an underlying hint of contempt, one that the both scientists picked up on but disregarded for the time being. There were far better things to worry about at the moment anyways.

"A Russian sub's up and disappeared off the coast of Hawaii... could be the Muto." The admiral reiterated their own assumption that they thought of, and the screens behind the Admiral showed that they were about to get their answers soon enough...

---


The depths of the world were a place that human hands had not touched in many millennia. In times immemorial, when man walked alongside their gods... their titans, both lived in coexistence with each other. It was not one without conflict of course, but it was an existence of stability thanks to the efforts of beings were larger than life, to the eyes of men who were but ants to their splendor.
But as time flowed and the great wars began, when the aureate storm came and ravaged the lands, and when the crimson tyrant obsessed over total dominion upon nature...

One stood.

A king amongst the old gods of the world, the one that cheated death. The last one of a once great race, a guardian to all those who sided with his cause, that being the continued stability of nature. But to those that basked in anarchy, spreading it forth like a malignant cancer...
He was a monster.

And as the great wars raged on across the lands, the monster set forth upon innumerable battlefields. The auric wings of destruction found their match against the wrathful king, forging a rivalry etched into the very fabric of the world. The crimson tyrant learned to feel fear in his blackened soul, weeping in the shadow of the God-King.
In the end of it all, the king emerged victorious. But it was not a victory without bloodshed, not only of his enemies and himself but also of those he held dearest to him. The unwavering martyred in his name, The little ones caught in-between the battles of titans, his beloved queen...
Never again, he promised to himself. For all his might he couldn't save them. The queen would return, he knew that she wouldn't just fade away into nothingness like that. But that never erased the sorrow, the pain, the grief on his soul. He may have won the wars in placing the golden death in an icy prison and locking away the crimson tyrant deep below, but he was nearly destroyed in the process.
Defeat was never an option, and the wars had been the absolute closest the lord of the titans was to being gobbled up by the jaws of defeat. As of late the king of the monsters had decided that his form was not sufficient enough to cement his dominance over his enemies. Evolution was in order, to be a proverbial step ahead over what threats lied in wait, threats that he knew would come one day to jumpstart the cycle once more.
Evolve he did, the primordial minerals of the Hollow was something his kind always had been able to utilize, blessed with the ability to draw power from the crystalline materials. That was how they were blessed with their fire after all, but some sources yielded more interesting results. Said sources however were considered taboo to him and his lot, as there was really no telling what could possibly come out of consuming such things, the ones that did try usually succumbed to madness or explosive demises at the hands of volatile energies.
It was a gamble really, but one that ended up paying off. That fucshia-tinted nest of the serpent was quite the deposit of the volatile energy, one that she would never have let go without a fight. She was to be removed and besides, he already had a distaste for Tiamat anyway. Robbing him of the satisfaction of bringing down the rival that had cast him out from his territory long ago, and having the gall to side with the Golden One in the great war, and her being in the way of power that would make his job easier in the future was another thing to add onto the pile.

It was either her life or the world potentially being in jeopardy in the future.
A very easy decision that was to the leviathan.

Now transmogrified in the depths he remained, the crushing pressure of the entire ocean at this level made sure that very little life persevered here, let alone life that was intelligent enough to do anything to pose a threat to him. He rather enjoyed the relative silence, the only things being audible to him was the low churning of the rock all around him and the water rushing against his gargantuan form as he effortlessly glided through the water. Some peace and quiet was exactly what he sought, taking in those magenta crystals was quite the process he had to endure, but one that was worth the time to evolve.
The new form that he wore now was taking some getting used to, it felt like he had put on a completely new layer of skin to replace what once was. The lack of bulk in some areas was something he would have to rectify at a later occasion, but even then he hadn't felt so spry and filled with energy in a very, very long time. The more armored scales all over himself was something that he very much appreciated, the extra plates on his elbows and tail-tip were welcome additions of weaponry to use. Sustenance was in order if he wanted to regain his bulk and his home deep below would be able to quell the hunger he felt at the moment.

The peace ever since the last freeze proved to be a long one, but peace never was a permanent thing especially to him despite how much he would yearn and plead silently that it was. Despite the little ones unearthing him relatively recently, nothing seemed to come of it except for the strange incident at the remote atolls. Whether the little ones wanted to feed him or kill him was something that still eluded the leviathan but he definitely was displeased at seeing the damages that were incurred by the strange cylinder's detonation.
Continuing to trudge through the abyss and back to his home, the thought of him being overtly paranoid about all this crossed his mind. The innumerable sun cycles ever since the deep freeze started by the mother of ice marked a strange and silent point in his existence. At first it seemed too good to be true, but that first millennia going by without incident after the freeze started lulled him into a sense of security. Perhaps he was being overtly cynical about all this, evolving for threats that may never rear their ugly heads ever again. Had the Moth been around, perhaps the two of them could have finally gotten to "living a little." as the queen said to him.
A low grumble escaped the leviathan's throat, unheard to anyone in the depths as those bitter memories reemerged. How much he had wanted to have the "happy ending" that the goddess wanted not only for her, but for the both of them. A true sense of happiness was something that became a rarity to him long ago, when the wars first broke out at the auric death's arrival, it might as well have died alongside the queen in the last stretch of the conflict. He knew she would return, she would never be content to just fade way like that, even if it took millions upon millions of sun cycles for her to return, he would count down each and every day. In the meantime, he would ensure he did her and his own kind proud, continuing to tend to the lands as they always had done. But for now, home was calling.
When she did return, he would make sure that she would never fall to death's clutches ever again.

Come heaven or hell, he would make sure of it.


---

The air was tense upon the carrier, the two doctors watching the screens displaying the body cams of personnel on the ground. If a Nuclear submarine had gone up and missing near a relatively high-populated area like Hawaii would definitely be a cause for concern.

Especially considering there was a two hundred foot tall winged monster on the loose.

The nuclear submersible disappearing alongside the fact that the titan's main source of nourishment being radiation certainly painted a grim picture in their heads... that thing possibly being around, completely free to trample over the isles was a mortifying thought. The possibility of Monarch's secrecy to the public had now completely gone up in flames, but that was secondary to the potential millions that the existence of but one active titan could do. It was a nightmare born straight out of the darkest conceivable timeline to both Dr Graham and Serizawa, the top priority now in this dire situation would be to get a visual on the MUTO, and assess how to deal with it from there.
The men continued to march through the brush, being watched over by the two doctors from the screens, the night vision of the body cameras still doing little to give the clear picture to both of them. The disturbance that was picked up by the military at the very least was being taken completely seriously, both men on the ground and the air force had been called in for this, for a disturbance near Honolulu, combined with that sudden disappearance of that sub on top of the MUTO's escape probably had everyone on edge at the moment.

"We played god..." The old doctor thought to himself. How much he wished he could turn back time, destroy the damn spore the moment it had come to Janjira and nestled itself atop the irradiated wasteland. Nature was certainly giving him and everyone else at Monarch a hell of a lesson in not playing with flames they should never have even stoked in the first place.
"The consequences were bound to rear their heads at us eventually." Another thought ran through his mind, as he wiped the sweat from his weary head. Were they even able to do anything to the creature had they found it? He hated to be pessimistic, but considering the kill field around it's spore didn't even earn so much as a twitch from the thing as it was electrocuted... he had his doubts.

Though now... the prospect of him emerging again became very, very real.

"Gojira..." The old man whispered under his breath, to which his apprentice picked up on.
"Do you think he will come, sensei?" Graham replied back.

Had the tales been true, the old legends of a wrathful king emerging to weed out anything and everything that threatened the natural balance, Serizawa could only pray that forgiveness was something in Gojira's forte. They certainly did not give the King of the Monsters a welcoming taste of the modern world considering the in retrospect, utterly futile attempt on the King's life back in 1954 with Castle Bravo.
The aged man reared his bespectacled head to Graham, a look of uncertainty shining through his eyes.
"If the tales are to be believed... he will come. Nature's power will rise to alleviate the blight we have wrought upon it."
"We can only pray, that he does not consider us among the blighted."
Such words made chills run down Vivienne's spine, when Serizawa spoke in that way, she knew he was being more than serious. Others may have called his reverence of Godzilla as ludicrous, foolish even for placing his faith to tales of ancient 'uncivilized' humans, venerating what was 'just' a big animal. Serizawa saw it differently though, and while she couldn't exactly know why, she too believed in the old man's faith.
"I suppose we'll see." The English woman replied back, uncertain yet cautiously optimistic about it. Had Godzilla emerged due to the MUTOs, he would likely be at very least, focusing on them first and foremost. Whether he somehow knew that humanity was responsible for their reawakening was a scenario that she silently pleaded not to happen.

The eyes of all in the control room returned to the array of screens showing the men finally laying their vision upon something... it was hard to make out from the fuzzy vision of the cameras projecting the image and the nighttime darkness, but there was some sort of vague shape stuck up in the tree line. Was it the creature again? They got their answers quickly, when the group reared their lights upon the shape...
"Looks like we found your Russian sub." The stunned voice of one of the soldiers came over the comms, his camera completely frozen and transfixed upon the vehicle in very much not the appropriate terrain for it.
To everyone's total horror it was indeed the very submarine that was reported missing, stuck dozens of feet up in the tree line and from the looks of things, covered in some sort of viscous substance. Both the people watching from the carrier as well as the boots on the ground were all in utter shock, there could only be one thing responsible for the submersible's current predicament. The searchlights from the choppers above quickly got to scanning the immediate vicinity and from behind the suspended submarine... there was movement.
The choppers reared their way towards the flanks of the submarine, and everyone both watching and on the ground at that moment gasped from the sheer horror. It was not immediately spotted, but now with the illumination upon the side, the abyssal tinted hides of the MUTO once again showed itself... those crimson slits it had for eyes shining at the cameras like the uncaring gaze of a malevolent demon, the almost insectoid creature's dagger toothed jaws had been clamping down and munching upon the nuclear payload of the submarine. Just like they had suspected, these titans fed upon radiation. The question of if this MUTO was feeding just out of hunger or for something else crossed Serizawa and Graham's minds, but their current shock pushed it into the back of their minds.

"Cat's out of the bag now doctor..." The admiral's glare at Serizawa now returned, still maintaining a sense of calm but subtly the Doctor could tell that the current situation had definitely struck a chord within the man.
"No more keeping things under wraps, the public's safety is our utmost priority now." The admiral added, before going off elsewhere in the room as nearly everyone was sent into a complete panic as all hands on deck were sprung into action quickly, for the situation has now reached levels of potential danger that bode a grim outlook upon the local population on Hawaii.
Amidst all the panic now though, the doctors overheard another announcement from an officer manning the Radar...
"Second signature's coming in from the Pacific!"
Immediately, both doctors present knew immediately just who was coming... and just how utterly out of proportion this horrid situation that they already found themselves in had just gotten.

The king was coming.

For decades the great leviathan had remained docile and under the radar despite the uncalled provocation that was the welcoming he had received from Humanity in 1954, but now that Humanity had truly tipped the scales of the natural balance in a way that had never been shifted for countless millennia. Nature's power was to be called upon once more and Serizawa definitely wanted to be one of the first to witness such an event.
He sprung into action, quickly making his way out of the control room and into the busy halls of the manic carrier.
"Where are you going?!" Graham shouted as she followed the old man, nearly falling over due to the sudden rush.
"I have to see this!" Serizawa yelled back, his stride not breaking in the slightest as he practically sprinted for the main deck of the aircraft carrier.

As if History hadn't already been changed enough with the return of a Titan, now the very King of all the Titans was now coming. From the tales he knew of Gojira, while benevolent to the continued safety of the Planet he was also as capable of destruction like no other. As wrathful as he was merciful, for he himself was a true paragon of the two sides of Mother Nature itself, like the oceans as beautiful as they were yet capable of raging like no other...

He could only pray the his mercy graces humanity.

---

He had heard it.

Those familiar calls... reverberating through the murk, immediately being picked up by his senses.
A parasite.

The time of peace and introspection had now passed... and a king's work had to be done. Disorder had dawned upon the lands once more, and his services had been called upon once again.
Effortlessly, the leviathan shifted his course from headed back towards his undersea home and in the direction of the calls. The water around him raged and surged, heralding the king's incoming movements as he began to rise quickly towards the ocean surface from the crushing depths. This new body of his already proved its usefulness, the increased levels of energy that surged all around every ounce of his being giving him far greater speed than ever before. All that much better to address this tumor upon the balance he had tended and watched over from the shadows for all this time.
Rising and rising ever closer towards the water's surface, the moonlight gleaming through the waves that now swelled to be as large as trees to the beast's gigantic body waded past the waves. The adrenaline running through Gojira's veins were much like the very waves that he had kicked up now, driving him further and further as he felt his dorsal plates protruding above the ocean and knifing through the frigid air.
Focusing his eyes forwards and now seeing the deep abyss of the ocean give way to outline of land beneath the waves, he was close to making landfall now. Rearing the still massive bulk of his evolved form further and further towards the surface as he continued to trudge along... the subtle swishing of the air was audible to him, followed by the beating of what seemed to be... wings?
His momentary confusion was only furthered, as beams of light from all around traced over him and the beating and swishing grew louder and more intense as he travelled closer and closer inland. Averting his eyes up above and even through the rough waves he was kicking up, the lights seemed to have been coming from strange creatures that were tracking and following him as he swam.
They were nothing like he had ever seen before, those 'wings' that he had heard earlier spun around in a circular motion atop their strange looking frames, the lights attached to them were more like lamps that the little ones would use though even these ones were nothing like what he knew. What was stranger still, was that he could sense the little ones riding these metallic looking 'birds'. Truly strange creatures they had tamed, or maybe had even created but that was of little concern to him now.

If they still knew who he was, then they would stay out of his way.

Looking forwards once again now, the king was forced to slow down his current pace as what seemed to be an island came into his trajectory. Only upon another momentary inspection... this was no island at all. It was floating atop the water, the metallic material that made up it's land was a hallmark of being made by the little ones, much like the 'birds' that were illuminating him at the moment. It was less of an island and more like a manmade whale, and here too he could sense countless amounts of the little ones within and atop the 'whale'.
Rearing his body down below the waves once more, his dorsal plates narrowly missed ripping straight through the 'whale'. They were not his concern at the moment, and it would do him nothing to cause needless casualties towards the little ones when a potential disaster was running amok on the lands ahead.

Leaving the metal 'whale' behind but still having the 'birds' follow him from above, he picked up speed once more.

Land was ahead now... and a legend would voice his will once again.

Long story short I’ve been able to achieve some interesting results from manually adjusting the desktop resolution of my main display for the game and running the game in windowed borderless. With this I can run TSR and manually adjust texture resolution or FSR with Native AA and no frame gen. I have a 1660 Super so the frame rates aren’t crazy impressive, but I’m able to achieve stable frames without stutters (except occasionally on a chopper) and little to no input lag.
This also allows you to run the game stretched or with black bars for those that like those sorts of things (I’m an old school CS player so these kinds of tweaks were common back in the day).
Edit: To add a tiny detail as to why I was attempting these tweaks, it’s because the game seems to have limited resolution options in full screen and windowed based on your monitor’s native resolution and aspect ratio. This just allows a little more customizability to your options.

EDIT :- I'm running a Gigabyte 3080, i9, 32GB RAM. With low settings and FSR enabled I'm hitting around 80-120fps. But it doesn't feel like that.
Now I know for a fact I may get some hate for this because there truly are some gatekeepers on here.
But let's get something straight, I REALLY want the game to succeed. I'm crying out for a game like this to sink hours into, and this game has the potential to be that game for me and so many others. But the optimisation patches need to come soon. I'm more than happy to play EA games, I have done for years, but they have to at least be playable.
I've spent a few hours in the game and there really has been some awesome moments. But those moments are unfortunately massively outnumbered by the issues I've had.
Rubber banding - ruins all immersion and makes the simple things annoyingly difficult.
Performance - we all know about the issues. I have quite a high end PC but I'm having to play on FSR and the lowest settings to make it playable, and I use that term loosely. The server lag, frame drops and everything else REALLY ruins the experience.
Enemy AI - now I'm all for difficult ai, I'd much rather that than some ai you see in modern games who are in no way realistic. But I should be able to take down an enemy with a few well placed shots (regardless of ammo type). Filling them with entire clips whilst they one shot me from 100m with an AK-47 is just ridiculous. Also, if I creep into a compound whilst remaining in cover, I should be able to get the jump on them (especially if they're facing the other way), but they just turn around and 1 shot me.
No birds available - this clearly needs some work, either more choppers available or make a queue system where they fly straight to the next player rather than having to fly off the map before another can fly back on.
Crashes/gear loss - in a game where stakes are high, this needs fixing. People are losing stuff through no fault of their own.
PvP - I've steered clear so far because of a number of things. LZ campers, bugs, crashes. I'll play PvP when I don't feel like I'm at risk of losing everything because of some LZ sweater, or a crash where I lose everything.
There are lots of other things which need work. Gray Zone Warfare has the potential to become a stalwart of the fps genre. The foundations are there for it to stand head and shoulders above ALL of the others. But the fixes need to come soon. Optimisation needs to be the NUMBER ONE PRIORITY. Once that's in place the other things can be worked on. But right now thousands of players are saying 'I'll come back in a few weeks' because its just too frustrating to play in its current state.
Optimise this beast of a game and watch the player base sky rocket and the reviews improve.

I’m trapped. I can hear that thing lumbering through the hallway. My God, what the hell is it?The soft scratching of my pencil sounds deafening in the quiet of this tiny closet. I’m almost certainly gonna die in this place. I just hope someone can find this, maybe it will do some good. Or maybe it already doesn’t matter. I’m not sure how long I have until that wheezing thing finds me. Oh Jesus, or that grey stuff might ooze under the door and dissolve me. Oh my God! What it did to Benny, Sammy, Jonesy and Donald! To all of them! Even if I don’t survive, the world needs to be warned!

Long story short, I was a cop but I got shot in the head. The doctors said I was lucky, that it went straight through without hitting anything vital. However, I still needed three steel plates to hold my skull together. Also ended up with permanent tremors in my right hand and a nasty scar just under my eye. So, it’s no surprise that my cop career didn’t thrive. Just a year later I was a “retired” 45-year-old cop, living off scraps. After a few months, I started to get desperate for work. One evening while out with my friend, Graham, he mentioned something about some private research institute in the Mojave Desert. “What, are they still blowing A-bombs out there?” I scoffed, eyebrows arched with bemused incredulity. Graham stared down at his beer, “Not sure what the hell they do. But they pay super well, so who cares,” he took a long sip of beer, foam clinging to his lips, “I think it would be a good fit for you”.

Turns out this facility, and it really is known as the “Facility”, was located in the middle of nowhere. When I looked it up I couldn’t find any information at all. Later that week I called the number that Graham had scrawled down for me on a beer stained napkin. My right hand wasn’t good with delicate tasks so when I dialed the number I had to use my left hand. The phone rang twice before a metallic voice answered and said to hold for an operator. After a few seconds of muted elevator music, I spoke to a soft voiced woman who told me my skill set was perfect for their current vacancy: a security management position. Her voice was soothing, “Your credentials are excellent. If you like I can fax some forms and a draft contract over, and we can pay for you to fly on up to see us in person. I’m certain you’ll get offered the job.”

She was right. One flight and several NDAs later, I was employed again! By the time I started my new job I realized I had no idea what research went on down here. During the interviews my duties as a security manager had been discussed but any mention of their actual research interests had been carefully omitted. On my first day I asked others about the nature of the Facility’s research, but no one had any interest. “Just stick to your contract. No point in rockin’ the boat,” my new boss, Sammy, said to me curtly. I’ve not discussed it since.

The part of the Facility which I managed was section B.15. This area was located several hundred feet below the sun scorched surface of the Mojave Desert. It comprised many green corridors peppered with tall wide doors made from dark, stainless steel. The rooms inside were large and sterile. Of course, whether or not we wanted to know the nature of the research, after patrolling some of the research labs for weeks, it wasn’t hard to figure out that the scientists were mostly archeologists. Or maybe paleontologists. I often found different objects lying around in various states of cleanliness. Some looked like ancient amphoras, or large stone bird baths or even fossilized remains. Others were less identifiable: a melted lump of some glimmering metal or large chunks of a glass-like material. I found this all extremely curious because, as far as I knew, the Mojave Desert didn’t have much in the way of ancient architecture. At least of any ancient civilization that I know.

As the months went by I started to get friendly with the other guards, most of them ex-cops too, and we played cards and drank Irish coffee in the evenings. My two main colleagues consisted of a jovial, short man with orange hair named Jonesy and a much older much grumpier and much balder man, Donald. They were good men and we had a lot of laughs together. My stomach twists when I think about where they are now. Though I grew fonder of my fellow guards, I found myself developing a severe dislike for the researchers. Most of them were mean and arrogant. The only scientist my security buddies liked was a scrawny guy named Benny. Our favorite thing about Benny was that he never talked about his work.

It was earlier, at 1400h, when all the scientists were running from their rooms. They must have received some message a few minutes before and we watched them from the surveillance monitors as they got all excited, their lab coats flapping and flowing as they made for the stairs. Soon after this, the large red landline phone near my desk began to ring. Expecting the call, I picked up the receiver before the first ring finished, “Hey boss, what’s all the excitement about?” Sammy’s voice was uncharacteristically anxious, “The diggers have found a friggin’ huge object out here! The biggest thing they’ve ever dug up. They want to bring it to B.15 so I need you to organize the logistics and security”. My brow furrowed, “I guess it’s too big for the main entrance? Maybe we could bring it in via the big doors of the auxiliary hangar?” she grunted with agreement, “Yea, we’ll have to improvise a bit but should be manageable. I’ll get some of the boys from B.10 and B.14 to help you out.” I nodded, “Thanks, see you soon”

Donald, Jonesy, some interns and I had coffee in the office and called the guards at the hangar doors to arrange clearance. About an hour later we met the guards from B.10. and B.14, together we climbed the many stairs to the hangar and waited for the cargo to arrive. The massive metal hangar doors had been opened, which was rare. What was more irregular was that nearly every staff member from sections B.09 to B.18 were all gathered together in a silent knot of people. Despite the silence the air sizzled with anticipation, as well as the searing heat. I stood transfixed from curiosity, waiting in the shade of the doorway as the relentless sun beat down outside. I squinted. In the distance I saw a black speck grow larger against the bright blue sky. Slowly it took the form of a helicopter with an enormous rectangular shaped mass dangling below it.

Within less than a minute the helicopter made its cacophonous approach toward the hangar and gently lowered the object onto a wide wooden scaffold. I barked orders and signed forms as the guards rushed about. The air was blaring with the sound of helicopter blades and sand rocketed into my face, forcing me to splutter. “Alright, let’s get this thing processed!” I yelled over the sound of the helicopter as its engines powered down. My colleagues and I wiped dirt from our faces. Sammy emerged swiftly from the chopper and shook my hand. Her hair was in its characteristic librarian-bun but her eyes were glassy. Had she been drinking? We quickly reviewed the paper work she gave me and then she made her way back downstairs to her office in section B.1. She was keen to get away for some reason.

As my colleagues cleared away most of the staff and the excitement died down I was finally able to take a moment to inspect the object. It had been lowered onto a wooden scaffold fitted with wheels and had been pushed slowly into the center of the hangar. The few aircraft in this hangar were all currently under repairs, leaving plenty of space for the object.

The object was a wall. It was rectangular and about twenty-five feet long, ten feet thick and twelve feet high. The wall first appeared made from boring grey stone. I even remember thinking, “It’s not even that big”. However, when I looked closer it was, alive. I barely noticed the helicopter take off and leave as I saw the wall’s surface bubble. The hangar doors began to close as the hairs on the back of my neck stood on end. A bead of sweat ran down my cheek and I thought I heard something. It sounded like someone far away calling my name. I felt a strange pressure around my head. A sudden invasive thought dug into my mind: throw yourself into the wall. I shuddered and held myself back despite the sudden strong desire. I heard the faint voice of Benny and crashed back to reality. My eyes snapped open and I found my nose an inch away from the wall. It radiated cold like an open freezer and it smelled like rotten clay. The surface of the wall simmered ever so slightly. It reminded me of the fizz of some grey effervescent medicine. I paled as I took a large step backward, “I.. uh, what is this?” I turned to face Benny who stood with another scientist. He glanced at her briefly before he approached the wall, “Honestly, we have no idea”.

I got Donald and Jonesy to help Benny transport the wall down to room 278B via the service elevator. Donald grumbled, “Guh, this thing smells like something my dog puked up”. Meanwhile Jonesy stared with eyes as large as saucers, “It looks so cool!” Once downstairs, I told Donald and Jonesy to take some forms to the admin department and I returned alone to my office to get some more coffee and file away the rest of the paperwork. I tried to put the strangeness of the wall out of my mind, but it had truly unnerved me. I felt so tired. As I sat at my desk facing the surveillance monitors I was unable to fight the force fusing my eyelids together.

I’ve been hungover a lot, but when I woke up at my desk I’d never felt quite so singularlyawful. My clothes were soaked with sweat and my whole body felt exhausted. My arms felt like molasses. My forehead throbbed and I was bruised. I also felt a weird pressure squeezing my head from all sides. I sat back in my seat and rubbed my eyes.

Then I froze.

A hand was lying motionless on the floor just behind the table at the center of the room. I leapt to my feet and rushed forward. I gasped from horror as I saw Donald lying there, his chest sliced to ribbons. Gallons of dark scarlet stained his blue uniform. His eyes stared up empty and terrified. Pallid and shaking I ran to my landline to call for backup immediately. As the receiver met my ear my stomach dropped into my feet.

The line was dead.

I was so confused. We had lots of fail safes to ensure communication remained enabled, but the line was dead and there was no sign of any response. I rushed back to the monitors. The cameras were all operating normally. I started to breathe heavily. I couldn’t see anyone. The corridors were green and bare. I looked at the clock. It was 1817h. I had slept for about two hours. But where was everyone? Where were the janitors? My heart was hammering in my chest and my head was throbbing. My eyes narrowed with a sudden thought. Where was that wall?

I searched for the wall and found it was back in the hangar! It sat upon the bare ground right by the massive doors. However, the doors were sealed. The wall itself looked different. It was absolutely enormous! Just over two times longer and taller and wider. Just then, I realized that the titanium blast doors had been sealed as well. My heart rate doubled as I noticed large dents, scorch marks and scratches all over the doors. The hangar floor was covered in blood. My God, I even saw a rocket-launcher lying blackened and fractured near the doors. What the hell had happened?

I spun my head to look at the security panel on the wall to my left. My heart, already racing, felt like it leapt out of my mouth. My eyes grew wide as I realized Donald must have activated a quarantine procedure. This meant that the entire Facility would be sealed airtight. The only way to open any doors now was from the outside. My God! Why had he done this? Where was everyone? Did I really sleep through all this? Where was Jonesy? I looked back at Donald, my heart still racing from seeing his dead eyes stare into mine. I sighed sadly and glanced at the clock on the wall. It was now 1831h. I returned to the monitors and began to rewind the security footage.

Surveying the screens, I watched my past-self enter the security office at around 1600h. By 1610h I had passed-out on my chair, drool dangling from my mouth. “Ok, so let’s see where the wall was at that time. Should be room 278B.” I thought to myself aloud as I clicked on the button that displayed the footage of room 278B and the surrounding corridors. The screens were black as the footage loaded and I was about to hit the play button but hesitated. Did I really want to see this? I closed my eyes and took a few slow breaths. I have to know. I hit play.

The camera was located opposite the door giving a full view of the room. At first everything was normal. It was 1623h when they were unstrapping the wall. A loud popping sound was heard and the researchers spun around. The lights in the room dimmed and flickered. Suddenly something long and slimy exploded from the flesh of the wall. It wrapped around Benny and pulled him in. He screamed in terror as he vanished, his cries immediately silenced.

Without realizing it I was instantly on my feet, shaking my head in pure denial. My heart burst. What the hell was that? What the hell? What the hell? My head was full of static. I felt tears in my eyes as I watched guards and researchers rush into the room. The wall shimmered, it’s simmering surface began to boil and bubble and it grew a few inches higher. I saw it reshape itself so that intricately carved figures appeared on the wall’s edge. I leant in closer and gasped. One of those figures looked just like Benny, his mouth stretched into a permanent scream. The guards and researchers were horrified by what they saw. Suddenly, without warning, their body postures relaxed, their eyes grew glassy, and their arms fell slack at their sides. Those within the room moved as if sleepwalking. Some stayed still while others left the room. Brow furrowed from confusion and fear, my eyes swiveled to the footage of the corridors outside. The guards and researchers that had just exited 278B immediately began attacking and grappling those around them. I yelped as a vacant-eyed guard lazily shot another man in the leg. The thrall then dragged the wounded guard into room 278B. The mad guard held the wounded guard’s leg fast as he casually walked into the grey wall, pulling the struggling man in behind him. During this altercation I noticed Donald, he was hiding behind the corner of the corridor at the far end and was firing his gun at the thralls. He didn’t manage to hit anyone though. He then ran over to help a stray research intern to her feet and then they both ran down the corridor and out of view.

I could still hear the pleas for mercy as those who fell victim to the thralls were dragged into that horrifying wall. With every person it swallowed, the wall wriggled and grew. More ghastly decorations began to bloom on its surface, all of them made from the bones or likenesses of those absorbed. The bigger it got the stronger its psychic influence became until it reached everyone in the Facility. I looked on in horror as one by one, all janitors, researchers, guards, diggers, admin staff, everyone stopped what they were doing, mid conversation, their eyes emptying. The janitors dropped their mops and buckets. Researchers dropped precious materials and equipment without care, letting them smash to pieces. In unison, with vacant expressions, they moved toward room 278B. Among the horde of thralls, I saw Sammy and Jonesy, and so many others I knew. A guy who’d held the door for me once, a researcher who always slurped her coffee at lunch. Hundreds of people! What filled me with an unnamable dread was that I knew what was gonna happen. I knew what was coming. I tried to shout at the monitors, “Stop! Wait!” I grabbed the monitors and shook them with frustration.

A terror began to fill my stomach, deep and cold and aching. Suddenly I noticed Donald reappear on the screen. He was trying to hold back the intern he’d helped earlier, but it was useless. I saw Donald stare with incredulity as he sat defeated on the ground. Everyone else around him stumbled dreamily toward their doom. But Donald refused to give up. I saw him run from corridor to corridor, trying desperately to stop them. He threw chairs and tables in their way but they simply pushed them aside or jumped over them. I saw him run toward this office. I saw him enter, saw myself slumped on my chair still completely unconscious. I saw Donald try to shake me awake, he slapped me a few times and was yelling in frustration. He gave up with me eventually and ran over to activate the quarantine lockdown. I saw him tear down the hall back toward room 278B, pistol in hand.

As soon as Donald got close to 278B a long pale tendril burst through the door directly into his chest. The tentacle had a hooked end and it slashed him. I saw blood spurt out of him, saw him stumble and fall to the ground. However, he still managed to get a hold of his gun and fired multiple shots at the tendril. It writhed and flailed. Donald took this opportunity to climb to his feet. He grimaced and clasped his chest as crimson leaked to the floor. He moved back down the corridor. Eventually he got back to the office. He locked the door and, still fumbling with his keys, attempted to open the ammunitions cupboard. Before he could find the right key, he cursed and then collapsed. I cried out in frustration. That whole time I was completely useless!

My mind felt like static again for a few seconds. I couldn’t work out what my next move should be. A thought hit me hard. Why had Donald and I not been psychically affected by the wall? Everyone had been enslaved. Why not Donald? And me? My eyebrows shot up into my receding hairline with sudden realization. “Shit, the steel plates in my head!” And Donald had a steel plate in his skull too because of a rock-climbing accident he had in his 20s. When I got close to the wall, had it sensed my resistance? Had it tried to incapacitate me? If so, it meant the thing possesses sentience.

While I pondered this, I noticed some thralls re-strap the wall in room 278B. They transported it to the elevator and back up to the hangar. Once there, the thralls moved the wall off the scaffold onto the floor and began to beat heavily on the large metal doors with bare fists. Some even shot at the doors with their handguns. The ricochets killed a few of them but not one single person even noticed. Some of the guards even used a rocket launcher! I yelled with shock as they fired at deadly close range, lazily blowing themselves up, leaving the doors scorched. After this proved futile, the thralls all grew rigid. Next, they all formed a line in front of the wall and one shambling step after another, all the remaining employees were - assimilated. Even the dead and wounded were not spared. Those still alive carried the corpses of their fellow thralls into the wall.

It was 1735h when the last employee disappeared forever into the grey horror, and the wall expanded to its current size. Without warning, a large mass of twisted limbs emerged from the wall. I gasped from horror. Its silhouette was about seven feet tall and thin and stretched. It had too many legs and it didn’t appear to have a head. This thing lumbered over to the doors and began to strike them with a strength and ferocity found only in a starving polar bear. I could tell that the doors were taking strain, and they began to bend, but even then, they did not yield. After just over half an hour of smashing the door, the creature stopped and slowly shambled toward the stairs. My heart froze. It was coming here! Or was it here already? I sat still for a moment and tried not to lose my mind completely. I swear I could hear Woody the woodpecker laughing somewhere in the distance. I needed to keep it together. I took a long deep breath and tried to think of a way out.

Summarizing the details of my predicament, I realized I was trapped alone inside the Facility with an otherworldly force. Also, even if I found a way out, I’d potentially be letting an evil into the world that could destroy all life. My eyes grew even wider and I grabbed at my hair, “But my God, if this thing gets out. If it gets into the minds of other people. If it gets larger and larger. Could it swallow the world?” I was talking aloud now; the sound of my voice gave a new clarity to my situation that made me shudder. I turned back to the monitor. It seems I was all caught up. I stared blankly into the screen while I watched my past-self wake and wince from pain. I switched the monitor off and saw my reflection in the blackness of the screen. I was pale and my eyes were sunken and unblinking. “What do I do now?” I turned in my chair to look at Donald’s body. “Poor Donald, he didn’t deserve this”, I muttered softly. My eyes moved from his body up to the ammunition’s cupboard just above. “Wait, was he trying to get into the cupboard earlier?”, I gasped with realization. “Holy crap, he was trying to get the bomb! Me and Donald were gonna use a left-over bomb from the excavation site to blow some random shit up!”

I stood up quickly and walked up to the cupboard. I opened the cupboard with little effort and found the twenty pounds of plastic explosive inside. It had already been set up with a sixty second timer and a remote detonator. I sat at the table with the explosive, a vague plan forming in my broken mind. “Maybe if I somehow get this wall-thing to eat this bomb then...”

Before I could formulate my thoughts fully, the lights flickered, and the entire Facility was plunged into darkness unceremoniously. My nerves burned with fear. What had happened? Had that thing knocked the power out somehow? The next few seconds that past were the longest I’d ever experienced. Eventually dim green light bloomed to life and the reserve power kicked in. Then I heard slow, shuffling footsteps in the corridor just outside the office. I froze once again, my insides turning to mush. My mind raced. Had I remembered to lock the door? My stomach leapt into my feet as I heard the shuffling get louder and louder. I heard hoarse, wheezing breaths, as if the thing struggled to breathe. I jumped from fright but remained absolutely silent as whatever the thing was banged on the door with a deafening blow.

BANG!

The door shook and bent slightly.

BANG!

Silence.

BANG!

My heart was hammering in my ears and I sat deathly still. I could hear that thing breathing louder. After a few moments I heard it shuffle away. My entire body was shaking as relief washed over me. I turned to look at the screens. Dare I turn them on and check what it was? After a few seconds I turned to the monitors and switched them on. I waited in nervous anticipation as they flickered to life showing me that all the corridors between me and the wall were currently empty. I didn’t bother checking the corridor I suspected the shambling thingwas in. I didn’t want to see it unless I needed to. I’d had just about all the stress and terror I could take and by this stage I felt weirdly calm. It must be shock. A thin sigh escaped me as I stood. The fear in my blood began to feed a furnace of anger in my heart. I thought about all those who I had lost. I felt my expression turn to granite, “It’s time to kill this thing.”

I opened the door slowly, my fully loaded gun in my good hand. Spare ammo along with the explosive and a sawed-off shotgun was stashed in my backpack, and the remote detonator was tied to my belt. I held a heavy-duty flashlight in my shaky right hand. I moved cautiously through the dark green corridors. I’d never thought of how creepy this place could be until this moment. Gooseflesh crept up my arms and neck as I continued. All I could hear were my soft footfalls and shallow anxious breaths. I cleared the corridors one by one until I made it to the stairs. I walked up the stairs carefully. I took one step. Then another. Slowly, I climbed. After many minutes, I was near the hangar. Then I heard the soft sound of crying.

Someone was crying. No. Many people were crying.

I stopped dead in my tracks. My entire body shook from the adrenaline surging through me. Once my head peeked over the top of the landing, I froze. The wall loomed gigantic before me. Its edges were now framed intricately with the skeletons of hundreds of people, all twisted and screaming in agony; tortured souls bound together. I could hear them all. They were all screaming. Screaming for me to join them. I felt that pressure squeeze against my skull tighter and tighter. I shook my head in defiance. “No! You bastard! NO! I will not join you!” All at once the moans and wails stopped. I suddenly found myself at the top of the stairs without knowing when I’d finished climbing them. “But you will” came the sound of hundreds of twisted voices fused into one. “We are them. We are all. We can be all. We will be all. All and all and more than all.”
A deafening blast came from the wall and slithering, tangled human limbs emerged. It had four legs and several arms. It looked like the bodies of eight or more people shuffled and glued into an otherworldly horror. Its multiple mouths screamed a high pitched roar that was pure torment, and its sharp pointed teeth gnashed and chomped. I only had a second to dodge. I leapt to the side and fired multiple shots at the thing’s center of mass. Its horrifying body of fused torsos wriggled and bled black ichor. It screamed with pain and jumped at me, grabbing my leg. It tossed me into the air and I slammed into the floor a few feet away. As I hit the ground I yelled in pain and heard something metallic smash. Before I could catch my breath, it was upon me again. From the ground I fired several shots at it. This made it jump away and scuttle down the stairs. I noticed immediately that the remote detonator had been smashed beyond repair. With the creature momentarily out of sight, I kneeled and took off my backpack as fast as I could. “Only one way then”, I said quietly as I pulled out the bomb and started the timer manually. I also got the shotgun out. I needed to do this now or never.
As the final shell clicked into place I heard a roar coming from the stairs. The thing was back. Before I could react, it leapt at me and knocked me to the ground. The bomb flew from my grasp. It bared down on me, grabbing at my throat ready to tear me apart. My reflexes saved me and I managed to use my shotgun to hold the thing at bay, but it was way too strong. Desperate, I kicked it hard in the chest and it let go. I used this moment to grab the bomb that lay behind me; only 37 seconds to go! Terrified and crazed, sweat pouring down my face, my mind in pieces, I rammed the bomb into one of the creature’s mouths and kicked it back again as hard as I could. I heard it yelp like a wounded dog and it lost its footing. It fell sideways and in that second, I took my shotgun and fired at it in the chest. The force of the close-range blast sent me flying. At the same time the creature was hurled back into the wall where it was enveloped quickly.
My head was fuzzy. I was dizzy and the wind had been knocked out of me. Was the bomb going to work? I felt something warm and wet drip into my ear and touched the side of my head. My fingertips came away soaked in blood. My head was spinning. With a foggy mind I grabbed my bag, collecting my weapons and flashlight. As I stood up I heard a low rumbling sound. The ground beneath my feet shook and for a moment I was confused. Then I looked up at the wall. Its surface was boiling like I’d never seen before. It was shaking and growing. I turned to run when suddenly there was a massive blast, and the entire wall exploded into hundreds of grey chunks. These rained down all around the hangar, smashing several aircrafts. The blast knocked me off my feet.
When I awoke I could see early morning light through the tiny cracks in the blast door. Where the wall had once been now stood a small blackened crater. I coughed and lifted my head to inspect the wall pieces and found that they – my mouth opened. They were melting. I watched in dumbfounded horror as the pieces began to merge, just like that scene from Terminator 2. It was rebuilding itself.
As I stood to run I heard a groan. My blood became ice.

I turned slowly in terror to find the shambling, wheezing monstrosity behind me. Like the creature I’d shot, this one seemed made from bits and pieces of human limbs knitted together randomly. This one had six legs which came out of its mouth, its head positioned within its torso where the bellybutton should be, and it wheezed in pain. I almost puked from fright but my feet were already carrying me away. I sprinted down the corridors, ignoring all the pain and fear and exhaustion and anger and frustration inside me. Without thinking, I leapt into the first janitor’s closet I found and locked the door. After catching my breath, I found this notepad and pencil, and have been writing this report in the sterile glow of my flashlight. Hopefully, I have left some useful information for anyone who may find this.

Now I lie in wait. What is that thing? If it can survive a bomb like that, what hope do we have? It’s no wall at all. It’s a membrane. An interface. Somewhere very different is pressing up against us. It has torn a small hole, and was now prying it open further.

So here I wait, hoping to be saved, but even as I write this I can hear that thing walking past the door. With a soft click I turn off my flashlight. I try not to breathe. I can hear the snuffling, it’s right outside!

Shit! Shit! I hear keys. The door is unlocking! How? How?

Oh God! The doorknob is turning...

I’m trapped. I can hear that thing lumbering through the hallway. My God, what the hell is it?The soft scratching of my pencil sounds deafening in the quiet of this tiny closet. I’m almost certainly gonna die in this place. I just hope someone can find this, maybe it will do some good. Or maybe it already doesn’t matter. I’m not sure how long I have until that wheezing thing finds me. Oh Jesus, or that grey stuff might ooze under the door and dissolve me. Oh my God! What it did to Benny, Sammy, Jonesy and Donald! To all of them! Even if I don’t survive, the world needs to be warned!

Long story short, I was a cop but I got shot in the head. The doctors said I was lucky, that it went straight through without hitting anything vital. However, I still needed three steel plates to hold my skull together. Also ended up with permanent tremors in my right hand and a nasty scar just under my eye. So, it’s no surprise that my cop career didn’t thrive. Just a year later I was a “retired” 45-year-old cop, living off scraps. After a few months, I started to get desperate for work. One evening while out with my friend, Graham, he mentioned something about some private research institute in the Mojave Desert. “What, are they still blowing A-bombs out there?” I scoffed, eyebrows arched with bemused incredulity. Graham stared down at his beer, “Not sure what the hell they do. But they pay super well, so who cares,” he took a long sip of beer, foam clinging to his lips, “I think it would be a good fit for you”.

Turns out this facility, and it really is known as the “Facility”, was located in the middle of nowhere. When I looked it up I couldn’t find any information at all. Later that week I called the number that Graham had scrawled down for me on a beer stained napkin. My right hand wasn’t good with delicate tasks so when I dialed the number I had to use my left hand. The phone rang twice before a metallic voice answered and said to hold for an operator. After a few seconds of muted elevator music, I spoke to a soft voiced woman who told me my skill set was perfect for their current vacancy: a security management position. Her voice was soothing, “Your credentials are excellent. If you like I can fax some forms and a draft contract over, and we can pay for you to fly on up to see us in person. I’m certain you’ll get offered the job.”

She was right. One flight and several NDAs later, I was employed again! By the time I started my new job I realized I had no idea what research went on down here. During the interviews my duties as a security manager had been discussed but any mention of their actual research interests had been carefully omitted. On my first day I asked others about the nature of the Facility’s research, but no one had any interest. “Just stick to your contract. No point in rockin’ the boat,” my new boss, Sammy, said to me curtly. I’ve not discussed it since.

The part of the Facility which I managed was section B.15. This area was located several hundred feet below the sun scorched surface of the Mojave Desert. It comprised many green corridors peppered with tall wide doors made from dark, stainless steel. The rooms inside were large and sterile. Of course, whether or not we wanted to know the nature of the research, after patrolling some of the research labs for weeks, it wasn’t hard to figure out that the scientists were mostly archeologists. Or maybe paleontologists. I often found different objects lying around in various states of cleanliness. Some looked like ancient amphoras, or large stone bird baths or even fossilized remains. Others were less identifiable: a melted lump of some glimmering metal or large chunks of a glass-like material. I found this all extremely curious because, as far as I knew, the Mojave Desert didn’t have much in the way of ancient architecture. At least of any ancient civilization that I know.

As the months went by I started to get friendly with the other guards, most of them ex-cops too, and we played cards and drank Irish coffee in the evenings. My two main colleagues consisted of a jovial, short man with orange hair named Jonesy and a much older much grumpier and much balder man, Donald. They were good men and we had a lot of laughs together. My stomach twists when I think about where they are now. Though I grew fonder of my fellow guards, I found myself developing a severe dislike for the researchers. Most of them were mean and arrogant. The only scientist my security buddies liked was a scrawny guy named Benny. Our favorite thing about Benny was that he never talked about his work.

It was earlier, at 1400h, when all the scientists were running from their rooms. They must have received some message a few minutes before and we watched them from the surveillance monitors as they got all excited, their lab coats flapping and flowing as they made for the stairs. Soon after this, the large red landline phone near my desk began to ring. Expecting the call, I picked up the receiver before the first ring finished, “Hey boss, what’s all the excitement about?” Sammy’s voice was uncharacteristically anxious, “The diggers have found a friggin’ huge object out here! The biggest thing they’ve ever dug up. They want to bring it to B.15 so I need you to organize the logistics and security”. My brow furrowed, “I guess it’s too big for the main entrance? Maybe we could bring it in via the big doors of the auxiliary hangar?” she grunted with agreement, “Yea, we’ll have to improvise a bit but should be manageable. I’ll get some of the boys from B.10 and B.14 to help you out.” I nodded, “Thanks, see you soon”

Donald, Jonesy, some interns and I had coffee in the office and called the guards at the hangar doors to arrange clearance. About an hour later we met the guards from B.10. and B.14, together we climbed the many stairs to the hangar and waited for the cargo to arrive. The massive metal hangar doors had been opened, which was rare. What was more irregular was that nearly every staff member from sections B.09 to B.18 were all gathered together in a silent knot of people. Despite the silence the air sizzled with anticipation, as well as the searing heat. I stood transfixed from curiosity, waiting in the shade of the doorway as the relentless sun beat down outside. I squinted. In the distance I saw a black speck grow larger against the bright blue sky. Slowly it took the form of a helicopter with an enormous rectangular shaped mass dangling below it.

Within less than a minute the helicopter made its cacophonous approach toward the hangar and gently lowered the object onto a wide wooden scaffold. I barked orders and signed forms as the guards rushed about. The air was blaring with the sound of helicopter blades and sand rocketed into my face, forcing me to splutter. “Alright, let’s get this thing processed!” I yelled over the sound of the helicopter as its engines powered down. My colleagues and I wiped dirt from our faces. Sammy emerged swiftly from the chopper and shook my hand. Her hair was in its characteristic librarian-bun but her eyes were glassy. Had she been drinking? We quickly reviewed the paper work she gave me and then she made her way back downstairs to her office in section B.1. She was keen to get away for some reason.

As my colleagues cleared away most of the staff and the excitement died down I was finally able to take a moment to inspect the object. It had been lowered onto a wooden scaffold fitted with wheels and had been pushed slowly into the center of the hangar. The few aircraft in this hangar were all currently under repairs, leaving plenty of space for the object.

The object was a wall. It was rectangular and about twenty-five feet long, ten feet thick and twelve feet high. The wall first appeared made from boring grey stone. I even remember thinking, “It’s not even that big”. However, when I looked closer it was, alive. I barely noticed the helicopter take off and leave as I saw the wall’s surface bubble. The hangar doors began to close as the hairs on the back of my neck stood on end. A bead of sweat ran down my cheek and I thought I heard something. It sounded like someone far away calling my name. I felt a strange pressure around my head. A sudden invasive thought dug into my mind: throw yourself into the wall. I shuddered and held myself back despite the sudden strong desire. I heard the faint voice of Benny and crashed back to reality. My eyes snapped open and I found my nose an inch away from the wall. It radiated cold like an open freezer and it smelled like rotten clay. The surface of the wall simmered ever so slightly. It reminded me of the fizz of some grey effervescent medicine. I paled as I took a large step backward, “I.. uh, what is this?” I turned to face Benny who stood with another scientist. He glanced at her briefly before he approached the wall, “Honestly, we have no idea”.

I got Donald and Jonesy to help Benny transport the wall down to room 278B via the service elevator. Donald grumbled, “Guh, this thing smells like something my dog puked up”. Meanwhile Jonesy stared with eyes as large as saucers, “It looks so cool!” Once downstairs, I told Donald and Jonesy to take some forms to the admin department and I returned alone to my office to get some more coffee and file away the rest of the paperwork. I tried to put the strangeness of the wall out of my mind, but it had truly unnerved me. I felt so tired. As I sat at my desk facing the surveillance monitors I was unable to fight the force fusing my eyelids together.

I’ve been hungover a lot, but when I woke up at my desk I’d never felt quite so singularlyawful. My clothes were soaked with sweat and my whole body felt exhausted. My arms felt like molasses. My forehead throbbed and I was bruised. I also felt a weird pressure squeezing my head from all sides. I sat back in my seat and rubbed my eyes.

Then I froze.

A hand was lying motionless on the floor just behind the table at the center of the room. I leapt to my feet and rushed forward. I gasped from horror as I saw Donald lying there, his chest sliced to ribbons. Gallons of dark scarlet stained his blue uniform. His eyes stared up empty and terrified. Pallid and shaking I ran to my landline to call for backup immediately. As the receiver met my ear my stomach dropped into my feet.

The line was dead.

I was so confused. We had lots of fail safes to ensure communication remained enabled, but the line was dead and there was no sign of any response. I rushed back to the monitors. The cameras were all operating normally. I started to breathe heavily. I couldn’t see anyone. The corridors were green and bare. I looked at the clock. It was 1817h. I had slept for about two hours. But where was everyone? Where were the janitors? My heart was hammering in my chest and my head was throbbing. My eyes narrowed with a sudden thought. Where was that wall?

I searched for the wall and found it was back in the hangar! It sat upon the bare ground right by the massive doors. However, the doors were sealed. The wall itself looked different. It was absolutely enormous! Just over two times longer and taller and wider. Just then, I realized that the titanium blast doors had been sealed as well. My heart rate doubled as I noticed large dents, scorch marks and scratches all over the doors. The hangar floor was covered in blood. My God, I even saw a rocket-launcher lying blackened and fractured near the doors. What the hell had happened?

I spun my head to look at the security panel on the wall to my left. My heart, already racing, felt like it leapt out of my mouth. My eyes grew wide as I realized Donald must have activated a quarantine procedure. This meant that the entire Facility would be sealed airtight. The only way to open any doors now was from the outside. My God! Why had he done this? Where was everyone? Did I really sleep through all this? Where was Jonesy? I looked back at Donald, my heart still racing from seeing his dead eyes stare into mine. I sighed sadly and glanced at the clock on the wall. It was now 1831h. I returned to the monitors and began to rewind the security footage.

Surveying the screens, I watched my past-self enter the security office at around 1600h. By 1610h I had passed-out on my chair, drool dangling from my mouth. “Ok, so let’s see where the wall was at that time. Should be room 278B.” I thought to myself aloud as I clicked on the button that displayed the footage of room 278B and the surrounding corridors. The screens were black as the footage loaded and I was about to hit the play button but hesitated. Did I really want to see this? I closed my eyes and took a few slow breaths. I have to know. I hit play.

The camera was located opposite the door giving a full view of the room. At first everything was normal. It was 1623h when they were unstrapping the wall. A loud popping sound was heard and the researchers spun around. The lights in the room dimmed and flickered. Suddenly something long and slimy exploded from the flesh of the wall. It wrapped around Benny and pulled him in. He screamed in terror as he vanished, his cries immediately silenced.

Without realizing it I was instantly on my feet, shaking my head in pure denial. My heart burst. What the hell was that? What the hell? What the hell? My head was full of static. I felt tears in my eyes as I watched guards and researchers rush into the room. The wall shimmered, it’s simmering surface began to boil and bubble and it grew a few inches higher. I saw it reshape itself so that intricately carved figures appeared on the wall’s edge. I leant in closer and gasped. One of those figures looked just like Benny, his mouth stretched into a permanent scream. The guards and researchers were horrified by what they saw. Suddenly, without warning, their body postures relaxed, their eyes grew glassy, and their arms fell slack at their sides. Those within the room moved as if sleepwalking. Some stayed still while others left the room. Brow furrowed from confusion and fear, my eyes swiveled to the footage of the corridors outside. The guards and researchers that had just exited 278B immediately began attacking and grappling those around them. I yelped as a vacant-eyed guard lazily shot another man in the leg. The thrall then dragged the wounded guard into room 278B. The mad guard held the wounded guard’s leg fast as he casually walked into the grey wall, pulling the struggling man in behind him. During this altercation I noticed Donald, he was hiding behind the corner of the corridor at the far end and was firing his gun at the thralls. He didn’t manage to hit anyone though. He then ran over to help a stray research intern to her feet and then they both ran down the corridor and out of view.

I could still hear the pleas for mercy as those who fell victim to the thralls were dragged into that horrifying wall. With every person it swallowed, the wall wriggled and grew. More ghastly decorations began to bloom on its surface, all of them made from the bones or likenesses of those absorbed. The bigger it got the stronger its psychic influence became until it reached everyone in the Facility. I looked on in horror as one by one, all janitors, researchers, guards, diggers, admin staff, everyone stopped what they were doing, mid conversation, their eyes emptying. The janitors dropped their mops and buckets. Researchers dropped precious materials and equipment without care, letting them smash to pieces. In unison, with vacant expressions, they moved toward room 278B. Among the horde of thralls, I saw Sammy and Jonesy, and so many others I knew. A guy who’d held the door for me once, a researcher who always slurped her coffee at lunch. Hundreds of people! What filled me with an unnamable dread was that I knew what was gonna happen. I knew what was coming. I tried to shout at the monitors, “Stop! Wait!” I grabbed the monitors and shook them with frustration.

A terror began to fill my stomach, deep and cold and aching. Suddenly I noticed Donald reappear on the screen. He was trying to hold back the intern he’d helped earlier, but it was useless. I saw Donald stare with incredulity as he sat defeated on the ground. Everyone else around him stumbled dreamily toward their doom. But Donald refused to give up. I saw him run from corridor to corridor, trying desperately to stop them. He threw chairs and tables in their way but they simply pushed them aside or jumped over them. I saw him run toward this office. I saw him enter, saw myself slumped on my chair still completely unconscious. I saw Donald try to shake me awake, he slapped me a few times and was yelling in frustration. He gave up with me eventually and ran over to activate the quarantine lockdown. I saw him tear down the hall back toward room 278B, pistol in hand.

As soon as Donald got close to 278B a long pale tendril burst through the door directly into his chest. The tentacle had a hooked end and it slashed him. I saw blood spurt out of him, saw him stumble and fall to the ground. However, he still managed to get a hold of his gun and fired multiple shots at the tendril. It writhed and flailed. Donald took this opportunity to climb to his feet. He grimaced and clasped his chest as crimson leaked to the floor. He moved back down the corridor. Eventually he got back to the office. He locked the door and, still fumbling with his keys, attempted to open the ammunitions cupboard. Before he could find the right key, he cursed and then collapsed. I cried out in frustration. That whole time I was completely useless!

My mind felt like static again for a few seconds. I couldn’t work out what my next move should be. A thought hit me hard. Why had Donald and I not been psychically affected by the wall? Everyone had been enslaved. Why not Donald? And me? My eyebrows shot up into my receding hairline with sudden realization. “Shit, the steel plates in my head!” And Donald had a steel plate in his skull too because of a rock-climbing accident he had in his 20s. When I got close to the wall, had it sensed my resistance? Had it tried to incapacitate me? If so, it meant the thing possesses sentience.

While I pondered this, I noticed some thralls re-strap the wall in room 278B. They transported it to the elevator and back up to the hangar. Once there, the thralls moved the wall off the scaffold onto the floor and began to beat heavily on the large metal doors with bare fists. Some even shot at the doors with their handguns. The ricochets killed a few of them but not one single person even noticed. Some of the guards even used a rocket launcher! I yelled with shock as they fired at deadly close range, lazily blowing themselves up, leaving the doors scorched. After this proved futile, the thralls all grew rigid. Next, they all formed a line in front of the wall and one shambling step after another, all the remaining employees were - assimilated. Even the dead and wounded were not spared. Those still alive carried the corpses of their fellow thralls into the wall.

It was 1735h when the last employee disappeared forever into the grey horror, and the wall expanded to its current size. Without warning, a large mass of twisted limbs emerged from the wall. I gasped from horror. Its silhouette was about seven feet tall and thin and stretched. It had too many legs and it didn’t appear to have a head. This thing lumbered over to the doors and began to strike them with a strength and ferocity found only in a starving polar bear. I could tell that the doors were taking strain, and they began to bend, but even then, they did not yield. After just over half an hour of smashing the door, the creature stopped and slowly shambled toward the stairs. My heart froze. It was coming here! Or was it here already? I sat still for a moment and tried not to lose my mind completely. I swear I could hear Woody the woodpecker laughing somewhere in the distance. I needed to keep it together. I took a long deep breath and tried to think of a way out.

Summarizing the details of my predicament, I realized I was trapped alone inside the Facility with an otherworldly force. Also, even if I found a way out, I’d potentially be letting an evil into the world that could destroy all life. My eyes grew even wider and I grabbed at my hair, “But my God, if this thing gets out. If it gets into the minds of other people. If it gets larger and larger. Could it swallow the world?” I was talking aloud now; the sound of my voice gave a new clarity to my situation that made me shudder. I turned back to the monitor. It seems I was all caught up. I stared blankly into the screen while I watched my past-self wake and wince from pain. I switched the monitor off and saw my reflection in the blackness of the screen. I was pale and my eyes were sunken and unblinking. “What do I do now?” I turned in my chair to look at Donald’s body. “Poor Donald, he didn’t deserve this”, I muttered softly. My eyes moved from his body up to the ammunition’s cupboard just above. “Wait, was he trying to get into the cupboard earlier?”, I gasped with realization. “Holy crap, he was trying to get the bomb! Me and Donald were gonna use a left-over bomb from the excavation site to blow some random shit up!”

I stood up quickly and walked up to the cupboard. I opened the cupboard with little effort and found the twenty pounds of plastic explosive inside. It had already been set up with a sixty second timer and a remote detonator. I sat at the table with the explosive, a vague plan forming in my broken mind. “Maybe if I somehow get this wall-thing to eat this bomb then...”

Before I could formulate my thoughts fully, the lights flickered, and the entire Facility was plunged into darkness unceremoniously. My nerves burned with fear. What had happened? Had that thing knocked the power out somehow? The next few seconds that past were the longest I’d ever experienced. Eventually dim green light bloomed to life and the reserve power kicked in. Then I heard slow, shuffling footsteps in the corridor just outside the office. I froze once again, my insides turning to mush. My mind raced. Had I remembered to lock the door? My stomach leapt into my feet as I heard the shuffling get louder and louder. I heard hoarse, wheezing breaths, as if the thing struggled to breathe. I jumped from fright but remained absolutely silent as whatever the thing was banged on the door with a deafening blow.

BANG!

The door shook and bent slightly.

BANG!

Silence.

BANG!

My heart was hammering in my ears and I sat deathly still. I could hear that thing breathing louder. After a few moments I heard it shuffle away. My entire body was shaking as relief washed over me. I turned to look at the screens. Dare I turn them on and check what it was? After a few seconds I turned to the monitors and switched them on. I waited in nervous anticipation as they flickered to life showing me that all the corridors between me and the wall were currently empty. I didn’t bother checking the corridor I suspected the shambling thingwas in. I didn’t want to see it unless I needed to. I’d had just about all the stress and terror I could take and by this stage I felt weirdly calm. It must be shock. A thin sigh escaped me as I stood. The fear in my blood began to feed a furnace of anger in my heart. I thought about all those who I had lost. I felt my expression turn to granite, “It’s time to kill this thing.”

I opened the door slowly, my fully loaded gun in my good hand. Spare ammo along with the explosive and a sawed-off shotgun was stashed in my backpack, and the remote detonator was tied to my belt. I held a heavy-duty flashlight in my shaky right hand. I moved cautiously through the dark green corridors. I’d never thought of how creepy this place could be until this moment. Gooseflesh crept up my arms and neck as I continued. All I could hear were my soft footfalls and shallow anxious breaths. I cleared the corridors one by one until I made it to the stairs. I walked up the stairs carefully. I took one step. Then another. Slowly, I climbed. After many minutes, I was near the hangar. Then I heard the soft sound of crying.

Someone was crying. No. Many people were crying.

I stopped dead in my tracks. My entire body shook from the adrenaline surging through me. Once my head peeked over the top of the landing, I froze. The wall loomed gigantic before me. Its edges were now framed intricately with the skeletons of hundreds of people, all twisted and screaming in agony; tortured souls bound together. I could hear them all. They were all screaming. Screaming for me to join them. I felt that pressure squeeze against my skull tighter and tighter. I shook my head in defiance. “No! You bastard! NO! I will not join you!” All at once the moans and wails stopped. I suddenly found myself at the top of the stairs without knowing when I’d finished climbing them. “But you will” came the sound of hundreds of twisted voices fused into one. “We are them. We are all. We can be all. We will be all. All and all and more than all.”
A deafening blast came from the wall and slithering, tangled human limbs emerged. It had four legs and several arms. It looked like the bodies of eight or more people shuffled and glued into an otherworldly horror. Its multiple mouths screamed a high pitched roar that was pure torment, and its sharp pointed teeth gnashed and chomped. I only had a second to dodge. I leapt to the side and fired multiple shots at the thing’s center of mass. Its horrifying body of fused torsos wriggled and bled black ichor. It screamed with pain and jumped at me, grabbing my leg. It tossed me into the air and I slammed into the floor a few feet away. As I hit the ground I yelled in pain and heard something metallic smash. Before I could catch my breath, it was upon me again. From the ground I fired several shots at it. This made it jump away and scuttle down the stairs. I noticed immediately that the remote detonator had been smashed beyond repair. With the creature momentarily out of sight, I kneeled and took off my backpack as fast as I could. “Only one way then”, I said quietly as I pulled out the bomb and started the timer manually. I also got the shotgun out. I needed to do this now or never.
As the final shell clicked into place I heard a roar coming from the stairs. The thing was back. Before I could react, it leapt at me and knocked me to the ground. The bomb flew from my grasp. It bared down on me, grabbing at my throat ready to tear me apart. My reflexes saved me and I managed to use my shotgun to hold the thing at bay, but it was way too strong. Desperate, I kicked it hard in the chest and it let go. I used this moment to grab the bomb that lay behind me; only 37 seconds to go! Terrified and crazed, sweat pouring down my face, my mind in pieces, I rammed the bomb into one of the creature’s mouths and kicked it back again as hard as I could. I heard it yelp like a wounded dog and it lost its footing. It fell sideways and in that second, I took my shotgun and fired at it in the chest. The force of the close-range blast sent me flying. At the same time the creature was hurled back into the wall where it was enveloped quickly.
My head was fuzzy. I was dizzy and the wind had been knocked out of me. Was the bomb going to work? I felt something warm and wet drip into my ear and touched the side of my head. My fingertips came away soaked in blood. My head was spinning. With a foggy mind I grabbed my bag, collecting my weapons and flashlight. As I stood up I heard a low rumbling sound. The ground beneath my feet shook and for a moment I was confused. Then I looked up at the wall. Its surface was boiling like I’d never seen before. It was shaking and growing. I turned to run when suddenly there was a massive blast, and the entire wall exploded into hundreds of grey chunks. These rained down all around the hangar, smashing several aircrafts. The blast knocked me off my feet.
When I awoke I could see early morning light through the tiny cracks in the blast door. Where the wall had once been now stood a small blackened crater. I coughed and lifted my head to inspect the wall pieces and found that they – my mouth opened. They were melting. I watched in dumbfounded horror as the pieces began to merge, just like that scene from Terminator 2. It was rebuilding itself.
As I stood to run I heard a groan. My blood became ice.

I turned slowly in terror to find the shambling, wheezing monstrosity behind me. Like the creature I’d shot, this one seemed made from bits and pieces of human limbs knitted together randomly. This one had six legs which came out of its mouth, its head positioned within its torso where the bellybutton should be, and it wheezed in pain. I almost puked from fright but my feet were already carrying me away. I sprinted down the corridors, ignoring all the pain and fear and exhaustion and anger and frustration inside me. Without thinking, I leapt into the first janitor’s closet I found and locked the door. After catching my breath, I found this notepad and pencil, and have been writing this report in the sterile glow of my flashlight. Hopefully, I have left some useful information for anyone who may find this.

Now I lie in wait. What is that thing? If it can survive a bomb like that, what hope do we have? It’s no wall at all. It’s a membrane. An interface. Somewhere very different is pressing up against us. It has torn a small hole, and was now prying it open further.

So here I wait, hoping to be saved, but even as I write this I can hear that thing walking past the door. With a soft click I turn off my flashlight. I try not to breathe. I can hear the snuffling, it’s right outside!

Shit! Shit! I hear keys. The door is unlocking! How? How?

Oh God! The doorknob is turning...

I've been working on an outline for reimagining the DCEU with it starting in 2006. The first film in the franchise is "Superman: Man Of Tomorrow", the 2nd film is "Wonder Woman: Warrior Of Truth", the third film is "Batman: The Caped Crusader", and the 4th film is Green Arrow: Emerald Archer. The first two films would come out in 2006 while the next two release in 2007. This 4th movie is for The Flash:

• The Flash: Fastest Man Alive (2008)

The movie starts with an opening narration of Barry Allen's backstory. It shows bits of his childhood, the case where his father was unjustly sent to prison due to the accusation of killing his wife, Barry being adopted, being hit by lightning when the particle accelerator exploded, waking up & discovering his superhuman speed, and deciding to become The Flash.
(Cut Title Card: The Flash: Fastest Man Alive)
The first scene establishes Barry Allen as an adult and an experienced forensic scientist for Central City's police department. He helps with a case and his foster dad Detective Darryl Frye is introduced, which establishes their uneasy but syncful dynamic. Barry deduces the crime scene was caused by metahumans and after he analyzes the findings at the police station, he suits up as The Flash. The first action scenes have The Flash go against villains like The Multiplex, The Mist, Girder, and The Trickster. He's interviewed by Iris West, who's a reporter wanting to get pieces on his crusade to learn more about him for her job as a reporter.
Barry meets with Iris West at a coffee shop. Here, it's established they've dated for some time but Iris doesn't know he's The Flash yet. The chemistry between them shows how long they've dated, Iris' time reporting on The Flash since he's one of the most important subjects being talked about in Central City, and how Barry has felt since his father was accused of his mom's death. Just as it seems things are continuing to look up for Barry's life, so far, the next day, he gets a call about a major crime that took place recently.
Barry arrives late to the crime scene and sees Detective Frye and Patty Spivot, a minted, bookish, sassy FBI Agent. They analyze the crime scene of a large bank robbery and it's shown it was committed by Digger Harkness, who's unveiled as an Australian thief using augmented boomerangs to commit his crimes, and he calls himself "Captain Boomerang". Patty laments the rise of high-tech crimes and metahumans in Central City since used to be a place where scientists from all over the world would meet at S.T.A.R. Labs to share their ideas and make real, positive change, but now, it’s a place where criminals use that technology to take what they want when they want.
As they leave the crime scene, it’s clear Detective Frye wants Barry to move up in the FBI and become head of the crime lab since he's one of the best forensic scientists they have. Patty points out how despite Barry’s intelligence & knowledge of police science, he’s been late to most of the crime scenes he’s worked in the last three months and he’s been slow getting lab results to the team, which she doesn't like.
Barry, of course, knows this to be because of his recent activities as The Flash, who Patty claims doesn’t really exist and even if he did, he’s not making that much of a difference and doesn't trust a metahuman with as much power as him, which troubles Barry. S.T.A.R. Labs' top scientists, who are Cisco Ramon and Jason "Jay" Williams, are introduced and show a variety of advanced inventions to the CCPD to help with the growing rate of metahumans to make up for the particle accelerator incident from years ago. The police are skeptical of this offer but agree to it.
After the CCPD and FBI agree to work together to find Captain Boomerang and anyone working with him, Barry goes to hang out with Iris, but before he goes, Frye lets him know their whole team has been invited to a fancy Gala at City Hall to celebrate the mayor’s reelection and to guard him in case if he's targeted, so he'll need to keep an eye out. That night, Barry goes out with Iris and they progress in their bond as they develop feelings for each other. However, Barry gets a notification of a bank robbery downtown and tells Iris that he has to go to work and leaves her. He suits up as The Flash and just as he arrives, he's suddenly hit with a blast of ice. This is where the film introduces Captain Cold, who's one of the metahumans created by the particle accelerator incident.
Leonard Snart proves himself as a legitimate threat to The Flash with his abilities, especially with help from Captain Boomerang and Heatwave, who combine their forces to slow down The Flash and get a few hits on him while they steal the cash from the bank. They make their escape and evade the CCPD and FBI when they try to arrest them. Digger Harkness, Leonard Snart, and Mick Rory disguise themselves as prison guards to break Multiplex and The Trickster out of prison with help from Snart's sister Lisa, who provides them connections for their disguises.
Lisa wants to get into Snart’s line of work to show she can provide for herself without always relying on him but she's a bit spurned by his desire to keep her safe. However, since the Flash will come after them, Captain Cold needs strength in numbers. While the group of criminals goes over the plan, Snart gives Lisa a mechanical apparatus that glows golden and she calls herself "Golden Glider". The group gets the idea to call themselves "The Rogues" from how they're framed by the news and reports on their activities. Captain Cold takes charge as the leader and they prepare for their next heists while keeping an eye out for The Fastest Man Alive.
The next scene has Barry Allen see Detective Frye about recommending him for the promotion to the head of the crime lab. He reprimands him for neglecting to finish his report on the investigation of Boomerang, Captain Cold, and Heatwave. If he can get himself together, he’ll get that promotion but if he doesn’t, he won't get the position. It’s made clear Frye is starting to get frustrated with him for his work habit and constantly disappears with excuses made, which he suspects to be untrue.
Detective Frye and Patty Spivot go over a plan for handling the three criminals since they learned about the Trickster being snuck out of his cell. Patty blames the Flash’s interference for this turn of events and Joe agrees as he stares Barry in the face. They think The Flash shouldn’t get involved because he’ll probably make things worse if he does. Barry responds by saying that in his opinion, The Flash might be their only hope since whoever Harkness, Snart, and Rory got together, it might be something the two can't face alone.
With The Rogues now together, The Flash tries to stop them, but despite his speed, they stay a step ahead to avoid being caught. When the CCPD and FBI get involved, they get into a standoff with The Rogues when they spot them committing another heist. The standoff leads to The Rogues having to combat the groups, and The Flash's interference indirectly causes them to get away. Detective Frye and Patty blame him for the reason the Rogues escaped, but he points out how he only meant to help and they're more skilled than he thought.
To make up for the mishap from earlier, The Flash cooperates with Detective Frye and Patty to learn more about the backgrounds of the Rogues and Leonard Snart, in particular, by visiting his abusive father Lewis Snart in Iron Heights. They question him about what he knows about Snart and where his next move could be, but he laughs it off when he claims Snart wants to surpass him. No matter how much Leonard tries to convince his father he’s moved on, he never will. The Flash realizes that Snart’s father was arrested when he tried to steal a Khandaqian diamond from the Central Museum, years ago, but failed because it's too heavily guarded. Since The Rogues gave Snart extra firepower, he deduces that's going to be his next heist.
Barry works with Detective Frye and Patty to research the diamond and learn it's being transported to Metropolis soon, via train, and they suspect that's where the next heist of The Rogues is going to take place. The Flash arrives at the train as the Rogues make their move but the ensuing fight results in the train’s derailment. He manages to rescue everyone on board but gets pinned by debris when the Rogues gang up on him to critically injure him. Boomerang and Heatwave suggest they kill him since they have the chance and Snart tells the rest of the team to leave him with The Flash.
While Snart has The Flash to himself, he explains that he won't kill him yet when he has to because he solely steals for survival. He always has, and he doesn’t want to kill him unless he doesn't stay out of his way. The Flash reveals he talked to his father and thinks he should be honest with himself because he believes he steals to escape the shadow of his abusive father as a way of showing empathy. Snart thinks he feels the same way in some form and whatever he's running from, it won't do him any good in Central City. Captain Cold shoots Flash with an ice blast before he leaves, but eventually, he's able to break out of it. He feels cold and hurt from the damage he took, which leads to them passing out, but he's secretly taken by Jason "Jay" Williams to recover at S.T.A.R. Labs.
Barry Allen wakes up in S.T.A.R. Labs and learns he's being nursed back to health. He meets Cisco & Jason Williams, which makes him feel nervous since they know his secret identity, but they make him feel welcome by helping him recover. However, Detective Frye and Iris West arrive and find out Barry is The Flash.
Iris is concerned for Barry while Frye is furious for hiding his abilities to break the law. Barry explains his reasons for keeping his identity a secret since he didn't want to put them in danger, along with how he’s lived his whole life under the shadow of his father’s unjust prison sentence and it's part of why he uses his abilities to help people as The Flash because he doesn’t want to be known as the son of a murderer. He wants to be a hero.
Detective Frye and Iris West gain a broader understanding of Barry's motive. Cisco and Jason Williams stand up for The Flash by claiming he's their only chance at stopping The Rogues and they can give him the resources and recovers he needs to stop them. Frye agrees but he wants Barry to be more careful and work more closely with him so he'll know he's safe. Iris is a bit angry at Barry for keeping secrets from her, but she's come to understand why and needs a bit of time off from him. Frye heads out to get leads on the Rogues while Iris is going to get more news on the Rogues to get more information about them.
Meanwhile, Captain Cold and the Rogues cement themselves as a force to be reckoned with in Central City when the CCPD and FBI struggle to stop them during every encounter. Snart tells Lisa that they’ll beat their father when they finally become what he wasn’t, the toughest criminals in Central City. Lisa is unsure of how to react since she thought this was about making enough money. Snart feels a bit conflicted about the damage The Rogues have caused, but he must focus since he plans to auction the diamond. It's how people will know Snart stole it and it'll be his last job before it cements him and The Rogues in the history of criminality.
Barry Allen and Detective Frye visit the FBI's office. By searching through their records, they believe Snart will sell the diamond to a wealthy woman named China White, who's believed to have ties with the White Triad, the deadliest gang in China. Barry tells Frye to have the CCPD and FBI go after China White with what they found about her while he confronts The Rogues. Captain Cold & The Rogues meet up with China White, who wants the diamond. They're interrupted by The Flash and he's forced to face Captain Boomerang, The Trickster, and Heatwave while Captain Cold and Golden Glider evade the CCPD and FBI to escape with China White in a helicopter.
The Trickster activates nano-bombs that he’s planted on each FBI vehicle to distract The Flash. He saves the FBI agents but Captain Boomerang manages to nail him in the leg with a boomerang. The Flash pushes through the pain and speeds his way through the three to defeat them until he's surrounded by the FBI led by Patty Spivot. Detective Frye tells them to stand down as catching China White, who Snart was selling the diamond, should be their top priority. The Flash quickly sprints out of the area to find where Captain Cold is.
The Flash cases after the helicopter Snart, Lisa, and China White are on. He uses his arms to create a tornado to slow down the chopper, but Lisa opens fire on Flash in the air since she can fly, even in tornadoes. When the tornado stops, The Flash catches Snart, Lisa, and White as they fall to save their lives. The Flash tries to punch Golden Glider, but she reacts by turning intangible in her Astral Form to a few solid blows on him. However, Flash sneak attacks and punches her to defeat Golden Glider before she can phase in time.
In the middle of Central City, The Flash and Captain Cold engage in a final fight. Barry dodges several blasts from his cold gun, and using his super speed allows him to disarm Snart, but since he's a metahuman like Flash, he shoots ice beams from his hands. Captain Cold blasts him with waves of ice, which Flash dodges, but it causes a giant explosion of ice that freezes several cars and street poles around them.
The Flash and Captain Cold have a hand-to-hand fight. Flash out speeds Captain Cold and lands several blows on him. However, he's outsmarted when he's frozen by Snart, from an up-close ice beam to the chest. It appears Captain Cold has won, but Barry uses his speed to create heat, which helps him vibrate and break out of the ice. He throws Speed Force lightning at Captain Cold, which electrocutes him but it doesn't kill him. The Flash gives The Rogues to the FBI for them to be arrested and earns praise from the citizens of Central City and Joe gives him the promotion while apologizing for their falling out from earlier.
Iris West reports about The Flash defeating The Rogues, which helps with her career. Iris forgives Barry and decides she wants to support him in his goal to help Central City and they stay together as a couple. The movie ends with Barry Allen looking at the news in his house about an armed robbery downtown. He suits up and runs into action as The Flash, as the screen cuts to black.

1. Mid-credits scene: Barry is given a spot at S.T.A.R. Labs by Jason Williams and Cisco Ramon, who are now his new allies. Barry's given a new suit after his first one was damaged and he tries it on. As Jason Williams passes by when looking over bits of research he and Cisco have on The Flash and any other metahumans in Central City, a two-winged helmet is shown as Jason passes by it, which implies he's secretly Jay Garrick.
2. Post-credits scene: At the West Residence, Iris introduces her young nephew to Barry, who would be Wally West. Barry greets him and gets to know a bit about him, which sets up him to become Kid Flash, much later, in the foreseeable future. Near the window, a figure in yellow lightning with sparks of red watches Barry, Iris, and Wally from afar before speeding away. Barry almost sees it, but brushes it off when he helps Iris and Wally make dinner.

Credit to these ideas is to TopRule8217. Phase 1 of this reimagined DCEU will conclude soon.

Tire help
Hey all, need some help with picking tires for a chopper I’m building.
Build plat form/frame xs650 1975
Currently the rear tire/size is stock (4x18 tube type) cool, straightforward easy to swap.
The tricky bit is the front end. I swapped a set of dirtbike forks on the front (old ones were bent from a wreck). Forks came with brakes and whatever stock rim was on the bike before. However, it’s a tubeless setup.
I have never worked with tubeless before so excuse me if it’s a dumb question. I also really want to run the shinko super classic 270’s
Q: Can I run a tube type tire (with a tube) on a tubeless rim?
Thanks