#Gearbox swap

[automotiveamerican]

V8 Transmission Inspection and Adaptor Check

[mystacoceti]

spent three hours trying to get a conveyor belt working only for the shift to end and my boss to get there and say ''don't worry we'll fix it. It's probably just [thing that wasnt the issue at all]". but that's alright. I don't care. beat me. take my blood

[race-week]

daniel seems to be getting much better strategies than yuki???

I don’t want to say anything but I wouldn’t disagree.

I mean let’s allow a few races to pass before we properly get our tinfoil hats on but they gave Tsunoda some awful stops today which resulted in him getting undercut and losing positions each time

With better stops (or just average level stops) Tsunoda should have been on for a P10 at least imo

Tsunoda being in the gearbox of the Haas and the pitwall calling for a driver swap was especially weird though. Especially because it’s not like there are any points on the line now

[seat-safety-switch]

Sometimes, when I look up from my studies (gearbox re-assembly) I like to stare out the window. There, on the power lines outside my house, are a whole bunch of black-billed magpies. I'm told by the ever-present voice in my skull that I am in fact looking at a Parliament of magpies, but this is no doubt a holdover from the era when Parliament existed. It might even be from when the monarchy existed.

Birds have it really easy. They fly around a lot, play their songs whenever they want, and maybe threaten the local hot dog cart owner into surrendering some merchandise. Their lives have a downside too, though: dangerous predators like house-cats and hawks, and the existence of motorized vehicle traffic. Plus, they have to try and get food in the winter, and that's exactly what those magpies were doing this one weekend in January.

When all the goodies are covered in snow, or worse, frozen by one of the howling ice storms that periodically blow through this area and knock out civilization for a week or two, the birds can't get at their vittles. Once, years ago, a nice lady down the street would put out peanuts for them, and they would sup greedily. Perhaps these magpies are simply a much later generation, raised on the legends of their ancestors as this being A Good Place where Sometimes You Get Peanuts. No such luck now: she pulled up stakes and left for somewhere she didn't have to live next to a guy who tried to Prius-swap a Celica with a natural-gas-fired jet turbine on the roof for batteries. Boring.

Still, I decided that I would also do my part to make life easier for these wild scavengers. That night, when I backed out of my driveway, I made sure to rip the handbrake a little early, knocking my next-door neighbour's compost bin over, where it immediately disgorged its contents of spoiled theatre popcorn and government-issued Nature Valley® Extreme Environment Survival Bars onto the road. The birds would eat well tonight, they wouldn't expect another handout from what was clearly a miracle, and I would enjoy some karma in having made another living thing's life better, if only momentarily.

[trainsinanime]

Yesterday I saw a few people interested in 3D printers, and then I just saw this video explaining the issues with really cheap 3D printers, and how you can upgrade them with lots of time and money to work properly. That absolutely matches my experience. My first 3D printer was a 150€ machine, not quite as crappy as the one in this video, but still full of flaws and issues and things that didn't work well. I later bought the Bambu Lab A1 mini, also recommended in this video, and it's been problem-free. I don't like recommending a single product like that, but in my experience it really does work that well. I'm sure you can get others that aren't bad as well, but when it comes to price and performance and ease of use, it genuinely seems to be the best option right now.

So a quick buyer's guide if you're interested in that particular model.

First up, watch out for sales. The official price is like 320€ for an A1 mini, but in practice there are usually sales that drop the price to 199€. Don't pay more than that.

Second, they sell multiple printers, but for beginners the interesting ones are the A1 and A1 mini. The A1 is bigger and can print bigger parts, for around 150€ more; apart from that they're basically identical. I got the smaller one and am perfectly happy with it. Instead you can put that money into…

The AMS (Automated Material System), a thing you put next to the printer that can feed it material in different colours. It's included in several bundles, on the Bambu Lab website you specifically need to deselect it to not get it. This is the printer's main party trick, because it can print multiple colours (up to four) at once. This feature isn't actually that great, because on every layer it dumps a bit of the old material and then sucks in new ones, so multicolour prints take forever and produce a lot of scrap material. But you can do them at all, which is great. It's how I printed this D20 for my sister. Can you spot the special feature that she hasn't yet?

And it's useful to swap materials between different prints quickly. E.g. you want to print a gearbox and it takes several tries, but you can change the colours between each iteration so you don't get confused which is the new and old part. I've bought the AMS, I'm happy with it, but if money were tight this would be the first thing I'd get rid of. Note that for the A1 printers, you need the AMS lite, that's the one included in the bundles.

Print material (filament). Bambu Lab sells some, it's good. Lots of other companies sell some and those are also good, there's basically no advantage here, but Bambu Lab sells it for relatively cheaply if you order it with the printer. If you don't know material what you want or need (yet), you'll want PLA in different colours. Note that silk PLA needs to be treated differently (your printer and its software know about that, but you need to tell them you're using silk PLA). PLA-CF or glow-in-the-dark PLA also have special properties that require special handling.

Other additions: A smooth build plate is a nice thing to have for either very small things or things that need to be smooth. Different hot-ends can be useful; you need the hardened ones for PLA-CF or glow-in-the-dark PLA and some other materials; ones with a higher diameter print faster, ones with a lower diameter print more precisely. Glue: I've never used that for anything. These aren't things you need right away, but you do get a bit of a discount if you do order them with the printer.

Obviously I do need to tell you that this is literally a machine for producing plastic trash, there's no way around that. And while you can use the printer offline (or so I heard, I haven't tried it), it's mostly designed to be used with the Chinese manufacturer's cloud service, which does not make me super-happy. Also, the resolution for really tiny stuff is limited; if you want to build e.g. model trains, then you should really get a resin printer, but everything I heard about the chemicals and post-processing and so on there scares me, so I haven't yet. But if you are interested in 3D printing and want to get one for yourself, this is, as of right now, the thing I'd recommend.

[gloomybadger4life]

Legend of Korra streer racer AU headcanons (Loosely inspired by fast and furious):

Korra: Drives a 1989 Foxbody Mustang with a 351 windsor stroked out to 408 cid. It has a 6 speed t56 swap and an LSD. It's pearl white.

Asami: A90 Toyota Supra, but it has a sacrilegious VR38DETT (r35 gtr engine). It keeps the manual gearbox. And it's the original yellow. Debadged so it looks like the base model.

Mako: E46 330 ci with a junkyard LS swap for reasons no one else comprehends. Black with red stripes.

Bolin: Mk3 VW Jetta with a VR6. Dark green.

Opal: 1968 VW karmann ghia convertible. Has the drivetrain out of a 2000s wrecked porsche boxter. It's bright orange.

Lin: C5 Chevrolet Corvette in gunmetal grey. She swapped the engine for a Z06 ZR1 one.

Kya: Ocean blue NB Mazda Miata with a K24A swap. Boosted.

Tenzin: Does not race. Drives a prius.

Suyin: FD3S Mazda RX7, kept the rotary. Green with silver pinstripes.

Wing and Wei: They are a driver and codriver team and share a Nissan 370z Nismo.

Kuvira: R35 Nissan GTR. Makes Baatar jr work on it.

Huan: Alfa Romeo 155. Also he does paintwork for pretty much everyone.

Kai: 1988 Chevrolet Montecarlo SS. All black

Jinora: Buick Grand National GNX. Painted matte white.

Varrick: a revolving door of supercars that he crashes sometimes.

Zhu li: Lexus LFA with as much weight reduction as possible. She also had Asami retrofit a double clutch sequential gearbox. It's painted a gradient silver to white.

Bumi: Volvo 850R, grey.

@chaosmagetwin @local-enby @krista-kritical

[kozykricket]

PATCH CAME OUT FOR SOTS! fixes a lotta bugs, and promises they want to make gameplay changes as well (but top priority is more bug fixes, and patch notes for them) anyways, i've got a genuine idea for why it ended up the way it was:

I think.. ive figured out the gearbox lore here, following the logic of Deegar (RORR developer who was asked about SOTS) ahem so, dee said that he saw the dlc in quite a playable and polished state... without any of the bugs, and that the decision to pull out the old codebase and put in the unified codebase was quite a late one. It doesn't add up with them talking about the unified codebase way earlier, but...I believe that they may have simply wanted to unify the codebase between consoles, and were unsure of how exactly to tackle PC considering it'd get the biggest hit... but they had a deadline to meet. I think the reason they committed to the plan of swapping out the codebase on PC, was that they hoped they could just, take more time. That, while it would definitely break the game... they could take time to fix it back up to something good. It would've simply delayed the DLC but clearly, higher-ups must've been very against delaying the DLC for code unification... but it was kinda too late for gearbox to un-commit to what they had started, and so even though they essentially intentionally broke the game, because a broken game thats broken the same on all platforms is easier to fix and build back up... than trying to handle different platforms (on a codebase that they didnt even make!) so like you get what i mean? i really think thats what happened. i believe they broke the game on purpose, but we weren't supposed to experience the broken game. cus breaking the game was part of the plan. to break it and clean it up, so they could know where everything was at in a much clearer way, and ... have something they can more quickly fix and add to. They likely wanted to delay the DLC, I'm sure of it. Theres many things that hint to the DLC being rushed...

[diabolus1exmachina]

Maserati Tipo 151/4 

Maserati’s Tipo 151 model is a tale of what could have been. The company enjoyed tremendous success during the 1950s in endurance racing, culminating in the fantastic Tipo 60 and 61 “Birdcages”. It then turned its attention to the newly introduced closed-top prototype class at Le Mans. A new model called the Tipo 151 was developed to race in this class. Instead of employing the same exquisitely intricate space-frame chassis design as with the Tipo 60/61, chief engineer Giulio Alfieri opted for a more traditional space frame using larger tubing. Power came from a 3943cc quad-cam V8 making 360 bhp, mated to a 5-speed gearbox. Its long low bonnet, laid-back windscreen, and rounded Kamm tail were refined in the wind tunnel at Milan University with the goal of aerodynamic efficiency. Just three examples were built, two going to Briggs Cunningham’s American team (004 & 006), whilst the final car (002) was for Colonel Johnny Simone’s Maserati France team.The new model proved as fast as it looked at the 1962 24 Hours of Le Mans, with the Cunningham cars qualifying 3rd (006) and 5th (004). Meanwhile Simone’s car qualified 7th (002) driven by Maurice Trintignant and Lucien Bianchi. The race proved much more frustrating though, with all three cars retiring. Cunningham’s cars returned to the US, with one later being destroyed in a fiery accident at Daytona, but Colonel Simone sent 002 back to Maserati for some upgrades ahead of another attempt at Le Mans in 1963. These included enlarging the engine to 4941cc, swapping the Weber carburettors for Lucas fuel-injection (gaining 70 bhp), reducing weight and revising the suspension.

[rainydaydriversclub]

the idea of owning an old car is so romantic and joyous, but the reality is honestly just painful.

a good compromise in my opinion is to take a nicely kept old chassis and swap a modern engine and drivetrain into it to give it a bit of reliability and also a bit more performance.

a dream for me would be to buy a Mercedes W124 Wagon in decent condition, but not perfect condition, and swap out the questionable 90s engine and transmission in favour of a modern Lexus V8 and the 10-speed auto that comes with it. despite being double the displacement, it would likely have better fuel efficiency and make triple the power.

another dream would be to get an old kei hatchback, something like a suzuki Alto, and put a modern 3-cylinder 1.5L hybrid engine from a toyota yaris into it. it only makes 90hp, but compared to the stock 40hp, thats pretty good, especially in a car that would weigh about 700kg including a battery. it would also be insanely fuel efficient being half a ton lighter than a yaris hybrid. the only issue would be crash safety, which can be aided with the addition of a roll cage and some modern seats.

one ive had in my mind for ages is to take a very basic E30 BMW and replace the engine with a K20C1 engine from a civic type R. sure you could go n/a with a K24 and get it to rev its ass off to make a similar power figure, but with the turbo 2L, you have all the power and torque you could ever need and with a BMW 6 speed behind it, one of the best gearboxes money could buy. pair it all with a well setup LSD, some adjustable dampers and a good set of brakes and you have a street car that would never boring. if only they sold the wagon in australia.

[gldstr]

are you happy with how the k-swap turned out? specifically when considering the money and effort put in vs the power and reliability that result

You could definitely have twice the power for half the money that I spent, but the k scratches a very specific itch that no other swap could satisfy.

Complete swap kit offered ☑️ Cheap long blocks galore ☑️ Every part stocked at every part store ☑️ Loves high revs ☑️ Makes good power ☑️ Adapts to a small/light/strong gearbox (ZF) ☑️ Improves weight distribution ☑️ Can be boosted if I feel spicy ☑️ Last swap I’ll ever need to do ☑️ Never have to worry about reliability ☑️

Basically, yeah, big up-front investment, but with 2 spare motors I’m pretty much set for life 😂

[batgeance]

Lilac is fully aware that the extremely rare left-hand drive 1964 Aston Martin DB5 waits for her only living uncle with a big purple — at her insistence — bow on its hood, yet gasps for Bruce and drops her jaw once the crypt that is Wayne Terminal illuminates. Her platinum blonde pigtails swing as she clasps her hands over her mouth and shouts, “Grandpa’s! Car!” with such zeal, the bat colony wrenches from their slumber and swarms the abandoned station’s ceiling. Joker preemptively ducks should one fly too low and smack him in the head. 

“Irinka!” before his three-year-old bolts toward the parked vehicle that Nix spent the past three months fighting with a Belgian collector to repossess for a small fee of thirteen-thousand dollars to ship it back to the states, Joker slides his cigarette between his lips and scoops Lilac off the concrete by her waist. She giggles and swings her feet as if it were gymnastics practice as he flips and shelves her on his hip. Lilac loops an arm across the backs of her father’s uneven shoulders and rests her crown against his. He’s regretting giving her pigtails. The elastic cleaves a trench in his scalp.

Now that his toddler’s bulldozed what should’ve been a surprise, Joker pivots on one heel and adjusts his hold on Lilac so she bumps higher up his right hip. A red polyester curtain falls behind her as she waits for her father to sashay backwards without a sound across the concrete that took him, by him he means Gary, an obscene amount of time to coordinate logistics so it’d arrive unspoiled.

“There’s…” Joker pauses to lower Lilac.

She sprints toward the DB5 and wrenches the passenger door open. Its bright red leather interior pops even under the cave’s scarce light. The child disappears inside the passenger seat and waits for her father and uncle to approach. In the meantime, her iPhone slips from her coat pocket so she can set the PopSocket on its dashboard and track their Grubbs delivery.

Joker tosses a glance over his shoulder to ensure his little daughter’s staying put, then plucks the cigarette from his mouth so he, still walking backward like a tour guide, can punctuate with it, “Only 899 of the model left on Earth…so…” he clears his throat, “Naturally…” Werewolf gestures inside the vehicle once he stands parallel to it, “Your three-year-old birthday twin carved the dashboard with a rock she found on the way in.”

Lilac points out a very long, sad horizontal line that she’s hashed out at the end. Venting a plume of smoke from his nostrils, Joker lifts his eyebrows so the false comma-like pair painted on his forehead vanish.

He clarifies, “She says it’s you.” Another feature catches his eye. Joker throws a finger toward the gearbox on Lilac’s left and further explains, “Apparently Dad swapped the automatic out for a manual. It’s um…” his mouth quirks, “Road-ready, though…” out the side of his mouth he adds, “Not the way you drive. I…”

The placard on the dashboard spells, ‘Thomas Alan Wayne.’ Joker’s hands go up, tossing a smoky thread between the brothers.

As he says, “I-I’m not…exactly…the president of Dad’s fan club either,” Joker’s free hand, though trembling beyond his control, slips a long dark strand behind his little brother’s ear, “But…” His eyes avert, tracking the concrete as if any stagnant shadow might somehow lunge and tear what remains of his throat apart. When no such respite arrives, he blinks until he can feel Melpomene’s elongated diamond begin bleeding blue down his cheek. He shifts his torso and shoulders in a subtle oscillation that ripples from his trunk to his nape and reinvigorates him enough to admit, “He gave me you. And for that, I can’t hate him.” The cigarette returns to his lips. Joker’s thumb roves the slope of his little brother’s cheek as his fingers burrow deeper in his scalp. “I won’t.”

ㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤ—ㅤHAPPY BIRTHDAY, BROOSE!

Bruce  clocks  the  model  just  as  soon  as  he’s  got  the  whip  in  his  sights;    Lilac  takes  precedence,    of  course,    and  her  uncle  anticipates  a  launch  in  his  direction  with  all  the  steady  foundation  of  a  base  gymnast  prepared  for  his  flyer  to  somersault  in  the  air  above  his  head.    She’s  not  exactly  interested  in  practicing  her  parkour  so  much  as  she’s  proud  to  show  off  her  vandalism,    but  Bruce  stays  ready  on  the  very  high  chance  that  she’ll  change  her  mind.  

Arthur  swings  into  focus  next,    though  it’s  difficult  for  Bruce,    a  steadfast  gearhead,    to  listen  so  intently  when  he’s  more  hands  -  on  than  he  is  interested  in  an  instruction  manual.    Or  a  lecture.    @jokethur  probably  knows  it,    but  if  he’s  put  off  by  Bruce’s  split  attentions,    he  doesn’t  ever  show  it.    Maybe  that’s  the  wound  of  brotherhood,    particularly  the  eldest’s.    Or  maybe  that’s  just  Arthur.    Bruce  wouldn’t  know  either  way;    he  only  knows  what’s  being  taught  to  him  now.  

The  coupé  is  pristine  barring  his  niece’s  artistic  upgrade.    Bruce  can  see  that  without  having  to  pop  the  hood  or  get  under  the  chassis.    He’d  like  to,    though.    For  now,    he  settles  for  following  his  big  brother’s  lead  in  this  orchestrated  dance  and  forgets  to  ask  how  he  got  away  with  getting  it  here  without  his  notice.    He’ll  remember  later  when  his  eyes  don’t  burn.  

Bruce  came  in  on  his  bike.    Removing  his  helmet  reveals  the  caked  black  caught  in  his  lashes  and  smeared  past  his  eye  sockets.    He  drops  his  utility  pack  somewhere  along  the  path  he  tracks  along  behind  Arthur  and  continues  to  eye  the  DB5  like  he’s  half  caught  in  a  dream.    It  isn’t  suspicion,    but  his  veneer  is  too  tempered  with  emotion  to  parse  it  one  way  or  the  other.    Either  way,    he  doesn’t  sniffle  because  he’s  allergic  to  anything  in  the  Cave.  

❝    Did  you  drive  it  in?    ❞  Bruce  poses  this  question  to  Lilac  when  he  ducks  down  to  admire  the  interior.    His  graffiti  -  style  portrait  plucks  a  wince  from  him  prominent  enough  to  dry  his  eyes  for  a  moment.    ❝    Nice,    ❞  is  all  he  offers.    And  then,    his  mouth  quirking,    ❝    Thanks.    I  like  my,    uh,    hair.    ❞

If  he  looks  at  Arthur,    he  knows  his  throat  will  close  up  again.    He  doesn’t  need  the  excuse,    but  he  gives  it  to  himself  as  he  straightens  from  his  fold  into  the  car  and  wheels  toward  his  brother  without  warning.    Bruce  has  nearly  half  a  foot  on  Arthur;    he  still  tucks  his  face  into  the  eldest  Wayne’s  shoulder  and  curves  his  both of own  until  he  can  lock  his  arms  around  his  more  -  than  -  willing  captive.    ❝    This  is–    ❞  His  laugh  is  wet  and  hacking,    as  if  he’s  the  one  that  smokes  a  pack  a  day.    Bruce  squeezes,    and  then  pulls  back  to  reflect  his  brother’s  misty  gaze back at him.    ❝    You  won’t  really  keep  me from  test  driving  it  now,    will  you?    ❞

[automotiveamerican]

Model A to Model B Transmission Swap 2023 Project

Model A to Model B Transmission Swap 2023 Project

[princessofmerc]

The funniest thing I keep seeing on Twitter is people saying george is asking for team orders every race. I feel like they don’t actually know what team orders mean.

Team orders would be begging your team to have you swap positions with your teammate so you can get a podium/more points. Proposing a strategic decision to gain most points and saying you would make sure your teammate finishes ahead of you is not asking for team orders, it’s wanting to make sure the team doesn’t drop points.

The thing is. I don't think people realise that George doesn't need teamorders. George and Lewis have the probably healthiest teammate relationship on the grid. When there's a necessity for teamorders the team will come out and say it. As we've seen in Miami. Even a statement such as "im in his gearbox" means nothing. That happens up and down the grid. What people also need to realise that this is a strategic information the team needs. If one teammate sits behind the other with more pace he can destroy his tyres in the dirty air so it's an important information that the team needs regarding strategy.

But team lh don't want to see that. If the tables had been reversed they'd ask for George to make room. No matter what he does they will be annoyed either way. And hey that's fair. I'm annoyed when it's the other way around as well.

The issue is the constant abuse that's thrown his way. And that's the core problem and it's not an entirely new problem either. It was a problem with Valtteri who was hated on because he wasnt on the same level as Lewis. It was a problem with Nicky even if they now try gaslighting the whole fandom into thinking they didn't send death threats his way. Even Max occasionally gets abuse by them that isn't criticism of his character and racism (I remember them body shaming him).

The problem isn't that they dislike George. The problem isn't that he's talking a lot, thinking out loud. Doing maths at idk how many kph. Even if he was constantly asking for teamorders or wasn't as close with Lewis as he is. The issue is the abuse. The homophobic comments (and no it doesn't matter if he's part of lgtbqia+ or not). The absolute vitriol.

They think they're morally above others for being a fan of someone. They think they're above George and us, his fans. They need to understand their behaviour is far worse than George asking for teamorders. But they won't.

[slow-button-off]

How is Charles already on his 3rd gearbox ? He drove so little races 😅

I get it after yesterday crash but before that …

He can use 4 and honestly they said this one was fine and they essentially just swapped it to be 100% sure. It'll be looked at properly back at the factory and then it'll go back in his pool

It's perfectly fine

[floofe-trans-doggie]

Oh, an invitation to ramble about Half-Life: Decay, just lying around? Well don't mind if I do!

Half-Life: Decay is my favorite game in the Half-Life series because it invented lesbianism encapsulates everything I loved about the GoldSRC era of Half-Life.

After the release of Half-Life in 1998, Valve had Gearbox Software develop several expansion packs for the game.

The first of these was Half-Life: Opposing Force, which despite its flaws is a deserving fan favorite, which not only brings in a wide variety of new levels, weapons, and enemies, but ties in very nicely with the original story of Half-Life, revisiting several locations seen earlier in the game, tying up a couple of loose ends, and even giving you a glimpse of Gordon Freeman himself.

The second of these was Half-Life: Blue Shift, which is perhaps the most underwhelming. Blue Shift was originally developed as a secondary campaign to be exclusive to the SEGA Dreamcast version of Half-Life, a version that ultimately never released. It was instead released as an expansion pack like Opposing Force, though it was often bundled with other games built off of Half-Life such as Counter-Strike, Team Fortress Classic, and Half-Life: Opposing Force to make up for its short length. It is very flawed and often looked down upon by the community, as it has a lot of waiting for NPCs, is quite buggy due to receiving fewer performance updates than the other expansion packs on Steam, and brings no new weapons or enemies. It's thought that Blue Shift may be made tamer in comparison to Opposing Force to get Valve to let them keep developing expansions, as Opposing Force took many radical directions with new story elements. What it does have going for it are new characters, including Dr. Rosenberg and the protagonist, Barney Calhoun, who would go on to play a more important role in Half-Life 2. Like Opposing Force, it ties in to the original game quite well, starting off retconning you the player as a security guard seen at the very start of Half-Life in the opening sequence and giving you a glimpse of Gordon Freeman several times throughout the campaign as well as the first look at Gina Cross outside of her appearances as a training hologram.

The final, most elusive one is Half-Life: Decay, my favorite of the series. Decay was a co-op campaign exclusive to the PS2 version of Half-Life. Half-Life: Decay never saw an official PC release, as Valve opted not to port it despite a completed version for the PC being made because Valve hates their fans more than absolutely anything in the whole entire world. Decay stars Gina Cross, who appears many times as a training hologram for the original game's hazard course, as well as Colette Green, who makes her debut here. The game is co-op, though it has the (admittedly rather poor) option of playing it singleplayer and swapping between the two characters. Decay ties the whole story together very nicely. It features Rosenberg, who we first see in Blue Shift after being captured by the military, except we see him before he's captured where he calls in the military to defend the facility (which makes him a spectacular accidental antagonist.) In this same chapter with Rosenberg, you tour the Uplink Center, a cut concept for the original Half-Life which has had elements of its design reused in countless ways, the most overt being Half-Life: Uplink, a non-canonical demo, making this a really cool thing to see. The ending of the game features a sequence with Barney Calhoun, showing a portion of Blue Shift from a different perspective via some sci-fi magic alien stuff that isn't that important to understand but also retroactively makes Blue Shift make more sense.

Aside from the callbacks to the other games, Decay also has the most interesting and diverse character roster of any of the GoldSRC games. Half-Life has no named human characters aside from the silent protagonist. Opposing Force has a few who are all fairly generic military grunts and a couple drill instructors as well as its own silent protagonist. Blue Shift has Rosenberg, some generic scientists with names (including Walter who is a beautiful nod to the Half-Life community), and Barney Calhoun, who would receive no solid characterization until Half-Life 2. Decay has Gina Cross and Colette Green, the first protagonists in a Half-Life game to speak and the only ones until Half-Life: Alyx nearly 20 years later. Both Gina and Colette have unique personalities as heard through their voicelines, though they do unfortunately only use these lines when not controlled by a player, making them somewhat obscure. Decay also features Doctor Keller, a scientist in a wheelchair who puts the plan together to help contain the Resonance Cascade (a plan which heavily ties in to Gordon's actions in the original Half-Life), and Doctor Rosenberg, returning from Blue Shift, who I still like despite what anyone else says.

Decay also has a cute bonus mission with two Vortigaunts who are fully playable wherein you must steal back the Xen crystals the Nihilanth uses in the final boss of Half-Life, which takes place in the parking garage seen near the end of Opposing Force, which is really icing on the cake.

Overall, Decay is the absolute pinnacle of the style of writing and game design seen throughout the Half-Life expansions that I absolutely love where four connected stories happen at the same time, influencing each other in subtle (or not-so-subtle) ways and making the entirety of Black Mesa feel alive and real.

(And for a fun fact I neglected to squeeze in earlier, Doctor Keller was originally going to be Doctor Kleiner, who was originally mentioned in an in-universe letter seen in the Half-Life 1 instruction manual as Gordon's mentor. Valve rejected the idea of using Kleiner for this as he was going to be taken a different direction in Half-Life 2.)

forget your icon forget your url fuck it forget your blog title. reblog with why is your bio what it is.

no tricksy business, if its just your age and/or pronouns i want to know why are you that age.

[candy-floss-crazy]

Fire Truck Food Truck

We have spent the last 12 months or so working on converting our US Spartan firetruck into a street food unit. We are getting near to launch date and hope to have some exciting news shortly. We like to thoroughly go through anything we acquire, and this has been no different. Having refurbed it mechanically, cleaned, polished and painted the engine, had a full service and added multiple food unit systems, we finally turned our attention to the cab area. As this is where i will be spending a large amount of time during the transport phase (we are driving it to events rather than trailering it), I decided that I would like it to be a little less utilitarian, and have some comforts such as cooling fans, good music, nicer upholstery etc. Oh and some drivers aid system wouldn't go amiss such as help reversing etc. Our fire truck food truck is going to be one fabulous piece of kit. Nicer Upholstery I've always liked the diamond style stitching found on certain high end automobiles. To this end we had the roof and drivers seat recovered in black with red piping and red stitched diamonds. The dash and door panels have also been re trimmed but without the padded diamonds. High End Music And Navigation We started off with the installation of an Alpine Halo 11 inch media receiver. This takes care of the music playing, and adds Android auto to allow for satellite navigation. It also has the added bonus of connecting to our Amazon fire stuck, allowing movies to be played to ease our way through those long waits for site access etc. Audison Audio tweeters mounted in the A pillars, and 4 Audison full range speakers mounted in the roof corners added a fabulous sound. Backed up by a large subwoofer mounted under the dash in a custom built diamond plate covered enclosure. Overall the cab is a much more pleasant environment with good music. Drivers Aids Being as big as it is, with poor visibility, left hand drive and a long front overhang, it was felt that anything to assist the driver was a worthwhile endeavour. The first option we added was a 360 degree camera system. This filmed all around the truck, recording to an SSD. The system is quite clever in that putting the gearbox into reverse switches to an enlarged rear view. Similarly indicating either side switches to a side view. The Alpine music system is also connected to a low level reversing camera with a hitch guide, this similarly switches to a rear display on reverse. A radar operated blind spot system was added that flashes a small but highly visible light in the A pillars when anything is overtaking either side. If you indicate to swap lanes and something is detected in overtaking it also pulses an alarm. A Tyre Pal TPMS system takes care of tyre pressures and temps, handy considering fire trucks don't come equipped with spare wheel carriers. If we can find a reversing sensor system that integrates with the Alpine screen (they usually need CAN Bus systems which 1992 motors tend not to have), then we will look at adding that. A pair of front mounted bumper poles help judge where the huge front bumper is sticking out to, and electronic tannoys that announce "This vehicle is reversing/Turning Left/ Turning Right" complete our current safety systems. The updated London regs require a front moving off alarm, so we might look at adding that at some point, even though we are exempt from the London regs. As well as our fire truck food truck we have a range of classic and quirky vehicles for hire, from a Del Boy Trotter 3 wheel van coffee service to a classic Citroen HY churros unit. Read the full article