#ASTC

[return-the-heads-in-baskets]

Hi

[gumisredgoggles]

New hyperfixation dropped. I love these goobers can't you tell?

[brockitty-goober]

wind predictions (and some thunder ramblings)

so astc thunder just came out and it was fire!

(MASSIVE SPOILERS FOR THUNDER UNDER THE CUT)

So curlfeather was just the best and I loved her so so much, it was SO INSANE HOW SHE WAS EVIL??? i literally could not believe it. I mean, like, my brain went: “oh what? Is this a fake vision? Am I misunderstanding? Cuz she is NOT EVIL”

Before she had the “curlfeather is evil” vision and river star was like “ermmm you can’t see her in starclan rn” I thought maybe she could be in DF by a starclan misunderstanding? Or somehow died in starclan or DF? But it never crossed my mind she could be evil, what the twist!

I feel like curlfeather being evil is a little weird and doesn’t really fit in with the character they made her be, all nice and such? It kinda seems like a forced twist thinking about it, but cool and unexpected anyways.

AGHHHH I TOTALLY THOUGHT FROSTPAW’S FIRST VISIONS WERE REALL GRRRRRR it was by far the best part of the twist when we found out her first visions weren’t real. I think (hope) we all thought Frostpaw was becoming a warrior apprentice because she had too much pressure and stress and her visions were real, she just didn’t want to believe that.

but they actually weren’t real and just her mind??? That’s crazy, this book was INSANE

ALSO I FEEL LIKE FROSTPAW SHOULD HAVE REACTED MORE TO CURLFEATHER BEING EVIL?? After her vision she just went “Alr let’s head back now”

anyways, you’re here for wind predictions, not thunder rambling.

I really hope the prologue is gonna be curlfeather in DF, but honestly speaking it’s probably gonna be Berryheart or Splashtail or something.

I really want an interaction with Frostpaw and Curlfeather, I kinda wish Shadowsight could still see DF now because I need some cat to talk to curlfeather and find out what her actual motive other than I wanna be leader isss

Let’s be real, her only motive is “I wanna be leader”, isn’t it?

I would like to know if her reaction is “yeah I totally made up all ur visions and never loved u XD” or “ummm evil?? Murder??? Whaattt????”

I assume nightheart n Frostpaw are gonna run into the gathering (or warriors is gonna disappoint us and have them only say it to RC, ofc) and say everything. Splashtail’s gonna be like “ummmm huh?? Huh?? Wdym???”

in the end, I really want Frostpaw to become lead??? Like we haven’t had a protagonist with even a slightly powerful role like mentor since the prophecies begin?

it would be pretty refreshing, although poor mothwing, still nobody in this clan can talk to starclan 😭, and she’s still all alone 🤡

I want you guys to tell me what characters could potentially be lead! I’m gonna hold a vote soon! I have nightheart, Frostpaw, sunbeam, duskfur, splashtail, and tigerstar down as choice so far!

[satansleftnutcheek]

Thinking about how Miguel claimed that Miles is the original anomaly despite Gwen being right there. Like my guy if you're going to have a logical fallacy at least be right about it

[carlocarrasco]

Aussies dethrone Japanese in 30th Subic Bay International Triathlon (SuBIT)

Australia’s seasoned triathletes finished 1-2 in the men’s elite division and 1-3 in the women’s elite race to enthrone themselves as the new power at the Subic Bay International Triathlon (SuBIT) featuring the sprint distance in celebration of its 30th year yesterday at the Subic Bay Freeport Zone. Last year’s 3rd placer and 6th seed Oscar Dart (world ranking -112) outkicked (wr- 300) and 22nd…

[liquidcrystalsky]

lets talk about game files what a new an interesting concept

splatoon textures, along with all bfres textures, are stored using S3 compression, or "BCn" it's a series of formats from BC1 to BC7

this is only used in nintendo's ".bntx" format, and of course the industry standard for DirectX textures, ".dds"

(bntx can describe multiple images at once, like all the textures for an entire scene can be one bntx file, while dds only allows one image per file)

It's a bit similar to JPEG where things are stored in little chunks, jpeg is 8x8 and bcn is 4x4. JPEG uses combinations of cosine functions and fourier transforms to represent each block while bcn is fucking wizardry idk but it changes on each version.

Coloured textures in splatoon 3 use "BC1" It's a format which allows 3 colour channels and a single bit alpha channel. It kinda sucks, a normal image has 3 channels each with 8 bits of colour, but bc1 uses 5 bits red, 6 bits green, 5 bits blue. And somehow the alpha is stored in there through wizardry. It's 16 bits per pixel rather than 32 and compresses really well and u can barely notice it so whatever yay

Single colour textures, like roughness, alpha, metalness, anything black and white which represents data rather than colour is "BC4". It only supports one channel so it can be a pretty small file for the data it contains. 8 bits per pixel but again, only one channel, no alpha at all, but you wouldn't need it

That accounts for maybe 80% of the textures in game, and 19% goes to "BC5" which is nearly exclusively used on Normal Maps. Instead of a colour or some data, it represents a direction using 2 channels. It's really cool because, if you have an X and a Y channel, for a direction, you can calculate the Z channel with no loss of information!!

This is why some normal maps are yellow instead of blue!

Nerd Shit: the blue channel is just sqrt(1 - x^2 - y^2), so if you have a yellow normal map, you can use math nodes in blender to convert it to a 3 channel one. That equation is actually a rearranged version of the Pythagorean Theorem!

another interesting thing is that BC5 textures sometimes calculated in a weird format, "SNORM" (signed normalized) which allows for negative numbers! For a byte, it maps [0, 255] to [-1, 1]

Nerd shit: it's actually [0, 127] to [0, 1] and 128 turns to -1, and [129, 255] to [-1, 0), note the last one does not include 0, a value of 0xFF is just slightly less than 0. By having two negative ones, the interval of [-1, 1] is represented with evenly spaced values unlike a float, which gets more precise as it goes to 0

the final 1% is BC6 and unlike where the value of a pixel is gotten from signed or unsigned bits, it's stored as floats! floats can store basically any number but you lose precision at really large numbers, but hell even at low numbers. Splatoon 3 uses BC6 for the skyboxes! by having the numbers as floats, you can parts to be extremely different. The largest difference in a normal image is a pixel with brightness 1 to a pixel with brightness 255, which is 255x more. A float technically can be infinitely times more, but it allows you to also have a lot of detail in the dark parts, while having detail in the lighter parts too! if you're making a realistic scene, it would make sense that the sun would have to be more than 255x brighter than the rest of the sky. even if your monitor cant display things that bright, it allows for much more realistic lighting

switch toolbox doesnt allow you to export to an easily usable format which supports floats, i can export it as a dds but not many programs can use that, and even less use ASTC. I want to get it to export to EXR but thats gonna take a bit.

thats my explanation on why i haven't ripped skyboxes that was the whole point of this post. bye

[underdark-dreams]

You are such an amazing writer! I hope I can write as well as you one day! would you be willing to talk about your process and how you come up with your amazing ideas? (like your Rolan x Tav A Strand to Climb it is a work of art!)

Love your work! please keep writing Rolan fics!

I am so humbled by this! Thank you so much!! I’m really glad you enjoy A Strand To Climb, it is honestly the first long fic I’ve attempted. As such I was a little ashamed to answer this ask 🫣 So I apologize that I had to stew over the answer for a few weeks. My writing process is pretty improvisational, poorly planned, and spur of the moment.

Thankfully I have been saved by the bell somewhat by @dutifullylazybread's amazing answer on a their writing process! Their advice is pretty much exactly what I would tell anyone else, and it helped me sort through some of my own WIPs better after reading. Just read their fic Deeply and Immovably So and see how well crafted it is.

Finding the process that works for you personally is honestly the best advice you can follow as a writer, whether that’s outlining all the chapters or finding the story on the way. I know many very talented writers who use both methods, so don’t be scared to give both a shot and see which works for you. I can tell you, for me, my goal is to outline my fics better in the future. I occasionally go back and read my works and cringe at the little inconsistencies that better planning could have avoided.

It’s also a real privilege to write for a game that’s already as well-written as Baldur’s Gate 3 is. The framework of events and the character development are already fleshed out beautifully in this game, which has made writing for Rolan or other characters much easier than it could be.

Personally, I do find that moments or scenes come to me very strongly. For ASTC, I’ve written many chapters just by having one or two key events in mind that I know I want to fit in somehow. Then I write all the connecting bits of the chapter around those. For example: 

Ch3 - Wanted to see a heart-to-heart conversation between Lakrissa and Rolan, since I find their personalities similar yet contrasting in interesting ways

Ch5 - Wanted to give Rolan and Tav a quiet, hurt/comfort moment together in a bath (who doesn’t love that trope)

And in general, I encourage you to read or listen to books in the Forgotten Realms universe if you’re looking for ideas! Having the world/atmosphere built up in the back of your mind is super helpful when you’re drafting out a story. Fight scenes are not my strength, but I knew I’d need to write some in ASTC and in other stories. Reading Baldur’s Gate by Philip Athans was a huge help with that. Really, doing lots of reading will always help your writing!

[warehouse-fujiki]

1月13日　ヴィンテージ新入荷。

1960's Heavy Cotton Football shirts　￥38,000

1960年代のフットボールジャージーです。練習用と思われますが。肉厚なコットンを使用して作られており、エルボーパッチも付いています。学生が応援のために着たものではなく、選手が実際に���用した「Real worn jersey」です。67はオフェンスのガードがよく使用する番号です。

1960's WILSON ASTC FOOTBALL REAL WORN SHIRTS　¥58,000

アーカンソーの教員養成大学である「ARKANSAS STATE TEACHERS COLLAGE」のフットボールTシャツです。実際に練習で着用されたもので、「Lサイズ」とあることから部で共有したものかと思われます。肉厚なコットンボディに肘当てもついており、街着のTシャツちおは一線を画すクォリティです。マスコットは「BEARS」で、当時は強豪がひしめくアーカンソー州の大学の中で強豪であったようです。

＊販売は2024年１月１３日（土）よりウエアハウス東京店にて

1960's Heavy weight Footbal shirts

ネックラインにリンガーネックを使用したヘビーウエイトのフットボールTシャツです。その重厚なつくりから、実際に練習などで着用したものと考えられます。DOGIESとは犬ではなく、「母牛からはぐれた子牛」という意味で、Newcastle High School Dogies というインディアナ州の公立高校のフットボール部のものであると考えられます。

＊販売は2024年1月13日（土）よりウエアハウス東京店にて

[widogasted]

also (guy who works at a museum) you'd be surprised how big those reciprocal networks ARE!!! the museum i work at? reciprocal in the same network as my local ZOO!!!!!! (caveat they don't overlap because ASTC reciprocity only works 90 miles outside of your home museum, but we have some local agreements we honor to try and make up for it a little). zoos, aquariums, children's museums, art museums, history museums, aviation museums- SO many folks who create and curate these spaces WANT people to come!! we want you to come visit us! come visit us!!!!

[dee2822]

If only

Photo by Juliano Astc: https://www.pexels.com/photo/woman-in-pink-floral-dress-smiling-14106658/ Life was sweet like a fairytale all the time Where a life of maybe hardship turned into a story of love and strength. A story of finding one’s self with a smile on their face no matter what came their way. For having a fairytale reality is far more thrilling and exciting. To dress up like a…

[return-the-heads-in-baskets]

holy shit hagane len

[gumisredgoggles]

why so yellow

Bc uhm yellow

[doglok]

布団で爆睡しちゃった猫を起こす方法が、寝坊した飼い主を起こすときのやり方と全く一緒で草 ウサギのぽぽの育成日記 第９５８話 ぽぽ「ぴーとくん、じかんでし」 ☆うさぎのぽぽちゃん ♀ 2019/05/09生まれ ・種別． via YouTube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Ogvzg-AsTc

[dsp-consultants]

The Role of Acoustics in Building Design and Construction

Acoustics play a crucial role in building design and construction, directly impacting occupant comfort, health, productivity, and safety. Effective acoustic design ensures that noise levels are controlled, reducing disturbances and enhancing the overall experience in residential, commercial, and industrial spaces.

Building projects require expertise in noise control, vibration mitigation, and sound optimization to achieve optimal acoustic performance. Acoustic testing consultation is essential in ensuring that buildings meet necessary sound standards and provide a comfortable environment for occupants.

Acoustical Testing

Acoustical testing evaluates how effectively building components such as windows, doors, walls, and flooring manage sound. By assessing the performance of these elements, professionals can refine designs to enhance noise reduction and create acoustically optimized environments.

Acoustic testing covers a broad range of building products and technologies, including traditional materials such as walls and floors, as well as advanced solutions like noise-absorbing panels and smart acoustic systems.

Accredited Acoustical Lab Testing

A well-equipped acoustical lab provides precise data on the performance of building materials and structural elements. Acoustic testing consultants utilize state-of-the-art equipment and methodologies to ensure compliance with national and international standards.

Laboratory acoustic tests typically include:

Sound Transmission Loss (STL) Testing: Measures the effectiveness of walls, floors, and ceilings in blocking sound.

Sound Absorption Testing: Evaluates how well materials absorb sound and minimize reverberation.

Impact Sound Insulation (IIC) Testing: Assesses footfall noise impact on different flooring structures.

Airborne Sound Insulation (STC) Testing: Determines the capacity of walls and doors to block airborne noise.

Acoustical Field Testing

Field testing is conducted in real-world environments to determine the effectiveness of acoustic treatments and designs. Unlike laboratory tests, field testing accounts for variations in installation, construction methods, and real-use scenarios.

Common field tests include:

Apparent Sound Transmission Classification (ASTC): Measures real-world performance of walls and ceilings in blocking sound.

Outdoor/Indoor Transmission Class (OITC): Evaluates sound insulation against low-frequency noise from traffic and transportation sources.

Apparent Impact Insulation Class (AIIC): Determines the impact noise insulation of floor/ceiling assemblies on-site.

Noise Isolation Class (NIC): Assesses sound control effectiveness between adjacent spaces in a building.

Noise Assessments

Detailed noise assessments, also known as noise impact assessments or noise surveys, help to ensure compliance with regulatory requirements while reducing noise pollution. Noise assessments are particularly important in sectors such as industrial operations, construction, and transportation, where excessive noise can negatively affect workers and nearby communities.

These assessments play a key role in identifying noise sources, measuring their impact, and recommending mitigation strategies. Acoustic consultants analyze the noise environment and provide tailored solutions to minimize sound disturbances.

Acoustical Consulting

An experienced acoustic testing consultant plays a vital role in ensuring that buildings meet required soundproofing standards. With expertise in acoustic design, noise control, and sound optimization, consultants help developers, architects, and engineers integrate effective noise management solutions into building projects.

In Saudi Arabia, DSP Consultants specialize in comprehensive acoustic testing consultation services, offering customized solutions to optimize sound performance in diverse environments. Through rigorous testing, expert analysis, and practical recommendations, DSP Consultants ensure that projects achieve superior acoustic quality while complying with regulatory standards.

By incorporating professional acoustic consultation, developers can enhance occupant comfort, reduce noise-related complaints, and create spaces that foster productivity and well-being. Investing in proper acoustic testing and consultation is key to achieving long-term success in modern building design and construction.

[englishjanet]

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[priyeshmajorstudyproject]

Optimizing Performance in Unreal Engine: Best Practices and Tips

Optimizing performance in Unreal Engine is crucial for ensuring smooth gameplay, particularly in resource-constrained environments like VR or mobile platforms. Utilizing Unreal’s profiling tools, such as Unreal Insights and Stat Unit, allows developers to pinpoint performance bottlenecks. Level streaming, which involves loading only visible portions of a level, is essential for managing memory and improving load times (Reed et al., 2017). LOD (Level of Detail) management reduces the complexity of models based on their distance from the camera, optimizing GPU usage (Luebke et al., 2003).

Texture optimization is another key factor; compressed formats like DXT or ASTC help reduce memory usage while maintaining visual quality. Effective culling techniques, such as frustum culling, ensure only visible objects are rendered, further enhancing performance (Akenine-Möller et al., 2019).

By applying these strategies, developers can create more responsive and performant games. For a deeper exploration, see Akenine-Möller et al. (2019) on real-time rendering and Epic Games' official documentation.

References:

Reed, S., Marefat, M. M., & Speight, A. (2017). Efficient Use of Level Streaming in Unreal Engine 4. ACM Digital Library. Luebke, D., et al. (2003). Level of Detail for 3D Graphics. Morgan Kaufmann. Akenine-Möller, T., Haines, E., & Hoffman, N. (2019). Real-Time Rendering (4th ed.). CRC Press