#(I do wish it was 60fps on the field though)

[fortune-maiden]

I am so tempted to hook up my GameCube to boot up Paper Mario and see just how much of a disaster my old save file is xD

[themarchg1rl]

okie doke, finished my me:a trial this morning and i wanted to write down my thoughts (which are mostly positive in case you’re actively avoiding negativity, or the opposite). under the cut for early game spoilers:

CC is limited as we know. but not only have i seen some gorgeous ryders already but if you look carefully at the presets and pick one based off individual features you like (for me the mouth and nose, particularly) it’s not difficult to get a decent OC. hair options are fine, they have the issue of sitting too high on the head for some ryders which bothers me but i love the ponytails. calls for more natural hair options are absolutely justified, i hope this supposed CC update is a thing. above is my custom ryder, based off preset 9 because i loved the mouth shape + eyebrows.

i did want to talk about animations: from this trial i think there definitely are moments that obviously need tweaking but there are lots of clips that have gone viral of ~bad animation~ which is actually just slightly rusty moments taken out of context, imo. ALSO in case you missed it twitter dudebros are now harassing a former Bioware employee (who didn’t even work on the game) over this issue and threatening her, so i’m even less inclined to take part in the Discourse. hopefully these issues will get patched at some point, but even if they don’t it didn’t hugely invade my immersion. huge overreaction by the internet.

performance-wise - i’m running a i7-4790 CPU/16GB RAM/GTX 1050ti. my FPS was all over the place tbh, dipped below 30fps on the tempest and on habitat 7/eos but was fine elsewhere, i had 60fps on the nexus/hyperion i think. i wasn’t able to change my graphics settings apart from the overall setting and geforce experience wouldn’t pick up the game to give me custom/optimal settings. i presume this was because it’s just a trial? anyway looks fab at high but takes a serious dip at medium, hopefully this can be tweaked when we get full access to graphics settings.

narrative is........we’ll see. i’m enjoying the premise obviously and finding out what happened to the nexus and the fallout from that was super interesting. i read a theory by someone about SAM which was so probable i’d consider it a major game spoiler, so i won’t put it here, but i’m hoping this isn’t going to end up being a game about alec ryder. he’s interesting but definitely not my own focus. i liked that 5/6 of the companions have been introduced in the trial, even though i only officially had vetra on my squad by the time i got to the trial block (haven’t figured out how to change my squad yet - i might have missed something obvious but i couldn’t see the option upon deploy). they haven’t told us a lot about the narrative yet, mostly just game mechanics, so i’m presuming it’s ‘resolve the kett-sourced artificial environmental problems + defeat/push kett out of helius + figure out dad stuff + hopefully find world to settle on’. 

i wanted to add that this absolutely feels like mass effect. even though it’s slightly disorientating to have zero familiar characters (aside from liara’s voice messages in alec’s cabin) the layouts, the design, the kind of game it is was immediately famiiar and i felt like i was playing me1 again. i’m really interested in how young ryder + most of the crew are, especially in comparison to (at least) 30s exhausted war veteran shepard. i know people were worried about the colonial undertones of this game and i’m not saying they’re not there, but from the briefing videos bioware have shown some awareness of this (i hope at least) - they’re going for empty worlds only/first contact protocols etc. i hope this continues later into the game.

there is a TON of ambient dialogue/banter, to the point that stopping when people start speaking is a good idea otherwise someone gets cut off. really really into this after many hours of silence in DA:I although the cutting off issue can be a little irritating

i like combat a lot, i’m still getting used to using the jetpack (WHICH IS SO FUN) and moving around the field more - got my butt kicked in multiplayer horde mode tutorial for that reason. health/shields + ammo chests around the field are much appreciated. again it’s familiar, cover system is pretty responsive and uses the same controls for firing. pleased with the abilities although obviously haven’t done a huge amount of combat/different profiles yet. 

research is really overwhelming. like this is the part of the game that i looked at and was immediately exhausted by...if anyone is able to explain this better to me i’d really appreciate it. i think i get the basics of it - collect resources, get blueprints, craft - but i don’t know how much i should be focusing on that, what i should be getting

this may not be a popular opinion but i. LOVE. scanning

maps are very big but there are clear paths. exploring feels worth it, as i said above there’s loads of ambient dialogue in response to things you find. whenever you find a structure (at least so far on eos) something’s happened there and is part of the story

probably my one big complaint is planet scanning - this is me3 style rather than me2. suvi says ‘anomaly detected’ and then 2/5 planets in the system will have a signal/resource but you have to figure out which ones. my initial reaction to literally flying in 1st person to every planet was WOW but after the first time it’s annoying. plus i imagine very offputting for people who get motion sick - i hope there’s a way to turn it off.

my memory is shit atm so i’m not sure what else........quest structure is great so far, lots of different things to do. some fetch quests but i feel like they all have purpose, unlike DA:I where i found a letter and gave it to someone and that was it. plus they’re an RPG feature so it’s not like they’d never be there. harvesting things is better, still wish it wasn’t there but at least you get a good number of resources from a chunk of something rather than 3 leaves of elfroot + a long animation. mining things is.......weird though not difficult, you drive somewhere and press a button and a probe appears.

that’s all i can think of for now, i’m happy to try and answer any questions about it! i don’t mind if people want to reblog this or add anything, though i’d rather not have an argument about it tbh. thanks!!

more scarlet + game screenshots:

[componentplanet]

Review: Flying DJI’s New Mavic Mini Portable Drone

DJI’s Mavic line of drones has quickly dominated the market for prosumer drones. With the Mavic 2 series, DJI pushed its capabilities even closer to those offered by larger and more expensive drones. Now, with the Mavic Mini ($399) DJI is pushing the envelope in the other direction, with a remarkably small and light, but still capable, model. We got one of the first production units in house and have been flying it in various locations. As you’d expect from an entry-level product, there are tradeoffs. But for the most part, it is an impressive offering for the price.

DJI Mavic Mini by the Numbers

The headline number for the Mavic Mini is its weight. At 249 grams (8.8 ounces), it is one of the first capable drones that is light enough to skate under the FAA registration requirement that starts at 250 grams. While that doesn’t remove the need for commercial operators to follow all the rules, hobbyists can fly one without bothering to register it (which costs $5 and is starting to require a small safety test) — although air space regulations still apply. The Mini is also about the same size is the diminutive DJI Spark when its rotors are extended, but unlike the Spark, it can fold even smaller. Also unlike the Spark, it features a full-on 3-axis motorized gimbal.

The Mini’s camera isn’t quite as capable as the one in the Mavic Pro and Zoom models. The 12MP 1/2.3-inch sensor will shoot 2.7K video at 30fps (and 1080p at 60fps), but can’t capture 4K video. The controller is also stripped down, with the LCD and the USB-A port removed and featuring fewer controls. DJI also claims realtime video can be transmitted to the controller at something over two miles — with the usual caveat that in the US, for example, you are supposed to keep your drone within sight.

Using DJI’s New Fly Mobile App

Along with the Mini comes yet another DJI app, DJI Fly. (I really wish the company would somehow sort out its app strategy, as remembering which of DJI’s many apps goes with each of its different devices is painful.) Fly is a simplified version of the DJI Go app used to fly the company’s other drones. The interface and menu systems have been re-designed to be more intuitive — although of course, it comes with a learning curve if you’re used to the current interface. There is also a helpful new direction-and-orientation indicator at the bottom of the display.

Fly comes with a bunch of integrated help for flight modes. That’s a mixed blessing. Several times I had a tutorial video pop up while I was flying, and hitting the back button brought me to a scary “Unable to take off right now, firmware update required” screen while my drone was a few hundred feet up in the air! Clicking around brought back the flight interface, but particularly with the lack of an LCD on the remote, I want the app interface to be rock-solid reliable.

Like DJI’s Go app, Fly offers some pre-programmed cinematic maneuvers for the Mini. They include Dronie, Circle (Orbit), Rocket, and Helix — not as rich a set as those available with the Pro and 2 Pro, but certainly a nice way to get started. Those can be combined with creative templates within the app itself, so if you don’t need too much editing or post-processing, you can create and share a complete video-based composition right from your phone after flying.

Shooting Images and Video With the Mavic Mini

At first, I was quite disappointed that the Mavic Mini doesn’t support either shooting in RAW or 4K video, and it doesn’t include any high-end video capture formats like D-Log or D-Cine. After shooting with it for a while, though, I was impressed enough with the JPEG and video output that I don’t think most users will mind being restricted to those options. At 2.7K (the maximum resolution) noise is lower than when shooting at 4K on the more expensive Mavic Pro, for example. Color and contrast are also excellent. DJI has clearly done a lot of work on its image processing pipeline.

DJI Mavic Mini test images, photos by David Cardinal. Resized for the web.

Since the image above has been resized, it is hard to get a sense of the detail, so here is a full-resolution crop from it:

Full-resolution crop from the DJI Mavic Mini sample image

So those looking for the best possible quality, and willing to do the post-processing work, will still miss the added flexibility of RAW and D-Log, but will gain a much more streamlined workflow. For example, a 2.7K video imported into Adobe’s Premiere Rush can be cut, captioned, and exported in record time on a good desktop or laptop. For most applications, it won’t even need any color correction.

Comparing a Mini with a Mavic Pro

The basic flight dynamics are quite similar between the Mavic Pro, Mavic 2 Pro, and the Mini. I found it a little harder to manually achieve smooth panning and flight maneuvers with the Mini’s remote, but I suspect I could adapt to that over time. What I missed most was the LCD on the Pro model remotes. It’s too easy for something to go wrong with the phone, app, or connection between the two for me to want to rely solely on the app to fly.

I also miss the full-size USB-A port on the remote. I find DJI’s small, proprietary USB cables difficult to use, and they don’t work at all if you’re flying with a tablet. So I always use a regular USB cable plugged into the USB-A port with my Mavic Pro drones. As far as image capture, you lose a lot of the flexibility of the Mavic Pro. There doesn’t seem to be an option to shoot RAW photos or D-Log video, or even perform pre-programmed 360-degree panoramas. I don’t know if any of those features will be added as the Fly app evolves, but for now, they make the Mini more suited to a casual user than anyone who needs to go a little deeper.

Another unresolved issue is that currently the Mavic Mini is not supported by DJI’s SDK (Software Development Kit). That means that powerful and popular third-party apps like Litchi — that allows sophisticated pre-planned routes and other custom capabilities — don’t work with the Mini. DJI hasn’t said if it intends to change that. If it doesn’t, then those who want the smallest possible drone with the most functionality may have to stick with the Spark.

Is the Mavic Mini the Right Drone For You?

If you want an inexpensive, easy to transport, drone with a very good gimbal and quality camera, the Mavic Mini is a compelling choice. There are plenty of less expensive drones, but they are mostly toys compared with the Mini. And moving up to a more capable version like the Mavic Pro doubles the price and increases the size. However, currently photo, video, and application options are very limited for the Mini, so anyone who wants to capture the best possible images and video from a small drone will need to move up to the Mavic Pro Platinum ($1,149) — or of course the somewhat more expensive 2 Pro ($1,729) or 2 Zoom ($1,429). And if you’re not hooked on DJI, but want 4K video in a small package, Parrot’s ANAFI 4K drone ($699) is also an affordable option.

[Image credit: David Cardinal]

Now Read:

DJI Mavic 2 Pro Field-Tested: A Winning Upgrade

How to Create Amazing Videos With Your Drone

Hands On With the Parrot Anafi Portable Drone: Can It Unseat DJI’s Mavic?

from ExtremeTechExtremeTech https://www.extremetech.com/mobile/301782-dji-mavic-mini-portable-drone-review from Blogger http://componentplanet.blogspot.com/2019/12/review-flying-djis-new-mavic-mini.html