#SpeedUP Racing team

[42bakery]

Cele is going to SpeedUP? I thought he was going to ItalTrans

[waru-chan8]

https://www.motorsport.com/motogp/news/yamaha-sets-eyes-on-its-next-young-motogp-prospect/10435103/

Alonso Lopez for Yamaha? Interesting. I feel it’s too early to make guesses. But I’m still stuck on Yamaha not having a satellite team anymore and he’d go straight to factory team and the expectations are always so much higher and it’d make me nervous. It’s been done before, but there’s so much less room for error compared to the times a rookie was put on a factory bike in the past

I find this so funny! Literally every rider has been on contact with Yamaha at some point. In 2021 it was Acosta (which made KTM put him into Moto2 prompting Raúl to jump to MotoGP. Also Acosta apparently was in talks with Honda too), and I guess that after the tattoo debacle with Canet that he was approached by Yamaha/RNF just by Fabio's response. Quartararo say that some manufacturers/team are less likely to employ someone with tattoo as they gave a bad reputation, so my guess is that he faced too.

I also find this hilarant/funny because the way to improve the Yamaha would had been literally pick people from Suzuki to work with them. Who better to understand a 4-in line bike like theirs than people who work in a 4-in line bike? But Yamaha is different (maybe because they are shamed that another manufacturer did better than them with a bike like theirs). As far as I know, it's Honda who has got the riders, and the project manager. Apparently they have also considered switching the engine.

I do agree with you that is a bit early. Alonso come to the 2022 season without pressure, he just needed points. Yes I know, he got podium, wins and beat his teammate, but he didn't develop the bike nor he was really fighting for the championship. I'd like to see how this season goes, this year he is really a candidate for the championship among other riders.

I also have another concern, Canet, who has rode both Boscoscuro/SpeedUp chasis and Kalex, said that in a scale, riding a Boscoscuro is like having Marc's style, meanwhile the Kalex is a Rins. Putting this in simpler words, Boscoscuro is a much more stiff chasis more in like with a KTM or Honda, while Kalex is more like a Yamaha/Suzuki. Having said that, I'm worried that Yamaha might screw him over with only 1 year contract and then being out of the championship. Or maybe even with 2 like it happened with Lecuona. He was once out of the championship for not performing (and lack of founds), so I don't know how it might affect him.

Finally, there's another aspect that is less knows. The team owner, Luca Boscoscuro (yes he has that big ego to use his surname as the chasis' name), sign him for 3 years, and he is saying that his contracts are pretty solid to break, although apparently he can break them pretty easily. So, would the team really let him move to MotoGP without punishment for not finishing the contract? Would they force Alonso to do his 3rd season? Or would Alonso/Yamaha need to pay? I know Yamaha was really willing to pay KTM to break Acosta's contract so I know it's an option.

Anyway, sorry for the ranting and thanks for the ask. Also, I notice that ater you send me this, MotoGP did post it too, but now is gone.

[moralchampion]

Shoutout to all the great teammate duos we will loose next year 🫡

[sirpercevaleclerc]

Your honor i love them so much my babies 🩷💛

Bonus: Tony commented under Alonso’s instagram post is everything to me 🫶🏼

[erikabsworld]

Mastering Parallel Computing: A Guide to Conquer Your Assignment

Welcome, fellow learners! Today, we embark on a journey through the intricacies of parallel computing, a domain that often leaves students scratching their heads. In this blog, we'll delve into a challenging assignment question and dissect it step by step, shedding light on concepts and strategies that will empower you to tackle similar problems with confidence. So, do your parallel computing assignment with us and unlock the secrets to success!

The Assignment Question:

Consider a scenario where you're tasked with optimizing a program that calculates prime numbers within a given range. Your goal is to parallelize this program to leverage the computational power of multiple cores. How would you approach this task? Let's break it down.

Understanding the Concept:

Parallel computing involves dividing a task into smaller subtasks that can be executed simultaneously on multiple processing units. In our case, we aim to parallelize the prime number calculation process. Traditional sequential algorithms iterate through each number in the range and check for primality, but this approach is inefficient for large ranges. Parallelization offers a solution by distributing the workload across multiple cores, thereby reducing the overall execution time.

Step-by-Step Guide:

Task Decomposition: Begin by breaking down the prime number calculation task into smaller segments. Each segment represents a subset of numbers within the given range that will be processed independently.

Concurrency Design: Design a concurrent algorithm that assigns these segments to different threads or processes for parallel execution. Ensure proper synchronization mechanisms to prevent race conditions and maintain data integrity.

Load Balancing: Implement a load balancing strategy to distribute the workload evenly among the available processing units. This may involve dynamic task allocation based on workload characteristics to maximize efficiency.

Optimization Techniques: Explore optimization techniques such as memoization, sieving, or parallel data structures to enhance performance further. These techniques can reduce redundant computations and exploit parallelism more effectively.

Testing and Evaluation: Thoroughly test your parallelized program using various input sizes and configurations to assess its scalability and performance. Compare the results with the sequential implementation to measure the speedup achieved through parallelization.

How We Can Help:

Feeling overwhelmed by your parallel computing assignment? Wondering 'can I get someone to do my parallel computing assignment for me?' Don't worry; we've got your back! At matlabassignmentexperts.com, we specialize in providing comprehensive support to students facing challenging assignments. Our team of experienced tutors offers personalized assistance tailored to your specific needs. Whether you're struggling with concept clarification, algorithm design, or implementation guidance, we're here to ensure your success. With our expertise by your side, you'll master parallel computing in no time!

Conclusion:

Congratulations! You've now unlocked the secrets to conquering your parallel computing assignment. Armed with a deeper understanding of parallelization concepts and practical strategies, you're ready to tackle complex tasks with confidence. Remember, practice makes perfect, so dive into your assignment with enthusiasm and embrace the challenges as opportunities for growth.

[totalmotorcycle]

Positive race début for Pirelli in Moto2 and Moto3 GP of Qatar

Alonso Lopez (Sync SpeedUP / Boscoscuro) in Moto2™ and David Alonso (CFMOTO Aspar Team) in Moto3™ win the first Grand Prix of the year The first race winners of the Pirelli control tyre races in [...] The post Positive race début for Pirelli in Moto2 and Moto3 GP of Qatar appeared first on Total Motorcycle. http://dlvr.it/T3wVNV

[sbknews]

Four in a row! Fermin Aldeguer makes some Moto2 history

That's a wrap for 2023 in the FIM Moto2™ World Championship and Fermin Aldeguer (CAG SpeedUp) stole the limelight yet again as he took his fifth victory of the season and fourth in a row. The Spaniard was untouchable as Aron Canet (Pons Wegow Los40) had to settle for P2, with Alonso Lopez (CAG SpeedUp) coming out on top in the battle for the final podium spot in P3. The Boscoscuro rider stretched the field right from the beginning as he had Canet clinging onto his coattails in second place. With 20 laps to go they already had a substantial gap to Marcos Ramirez (OnlyFans American Racing) in third as the hot pace from Aldeguer stretched out the top five. Ramirez was out of touch to threaten the top two and had Jake Dixon (Inde GASGAS Aspar Team) for company as the Brit was desperate to find his way through with the prospect of a third overall in the Championship still tangible.

However, at the front Canet was confidently responding to Aldeguer's pace, and the two were Dixon's rivals in the fight for third overall. With 17 laps to go Canet was the fastest rider on the circuit too as he set the quickest lap of the race so far and bettered it one lap later. The battle for 3rd then began to hot up even more as a flying Lopez caught Ramirez and Dixon as he brought Somkiat Chantra (Idemitsu Honda Team Asia) to join the party with him. But Lopez made his way through on Dixon with 14 laps remaining. The Spaniard was on a charge after fighting his way up from 14th on the grid to sit in fourth place with his sights set on Ramirez ahead of him. 12 laps to go and Aldeguer was able to extend the gap to 1.5s. The Spaniard continued to put down his relentless pace and took victory in Valencia by 3.982s, with Canet bringing home second. The fight for the final place on the podium went absolutely to the wire as Lopez got through on Ramirez but the American Racing rider then went for a lunge at the final corner on the final lap. It was a well-judged one, but Lopez got the cutback and won the drag to the line. The points scorers Behind Ramirez in P4, Chantra got the better of Dixon in the end as the Thai rider capped off his 2023 season with a 5th place as he pulled eight tenths on the Brit in P6. Dixon ends 2023 fourth overall, with his compatriot Sam Lowes (Elf Marc VDS Racing Team) completing his final Grand Prix race in seventh as he gets set for a move to the WorldSBK paddock. Joe Roberts (Italtrans Racing Team) took eighth ahead of his teammate Dennis Foggia, with Albert Arenas (Red Bull KTM Ajo) completing the top 10. Ai Ogura (Idemitsu Honda Team Asia) claimed P11 ahead of World Champion Acosta, who ended his season with a P12 after a fraught start and tougher race. The Spaniard's attentions now turn to Tuesday's Valencia Test. The final point scorers were Manuel Gonzalez (Correos Prepago Yamaha VR46 Mastercamp), Barry Baltus (Fieten Olie Racing GP) and Jeremy Alcoba (Gresini Racing Moto2™) who took 13th, 14th, and 15th respectively. That's it for Moto2™ in 2023 and what a season it has been! Acosta leaves as a World Champion as Aldeguer sends a huge message to his rivals ahead of 2024… watch this space! For more Moto2 info checkout our dedicated Moto2 News page Or visit the official MotoGP website motogp.com Read the full article

[carformula1]

2023 San Marino Moto2 Grand Prix, Misano - Race Results San Marino Moto2 Grand Prix, Misano - R... #usa #uk #ireland

[pecconatic]

I am always dragged to a site.

MotoGP Teams.

Yamaha: Prefer Vale over Maverick - absolutely no doubt

Honda: Prefer Jorge over Marc - completely without doubt.

Ducati: NO PREFERATIONS cAn U beLieVe it. I love my italian duo. So calm. collected and lovable these two Dovi and Petrux.

KTM: Prefer Pol over Johann - just adore Polyccio to much

Aprilia: Prefer Aleix over Iannone - I mean. Really. Aleix is a warrior.

Suzuki: Prefer Rinnnssyyy over Mir   - love Rins so much. Such a dork

Petronas: Prefer Fabio over Franky I am sorry af  

Pramac: CLEARLY prefer Pecco over Jack - Pecco my boiiiiiii

Avincia: Prefer Tito over king Karel

LCR: Prefer Taka over Crutchlow bc recent things happened

Tech3: Prefer Miguel over Hafizh

---

Moto2: only teams where I really think it is damn obvious for me

Italtrans: Prefer Enea over Loca

SkyVr46: Prefer Marini over Bulega

Speedup: prefer Diggia over Navarro

Tech3: Prefer Bezzecchi over Öttl

And love my bois at IntactGP, Forward and Pons 

F1:

Ferrari: Seb over Charles

Mercedes: Valtteri over Lewis

Red Bull: Max over Pierre Alex

Rhenault: Dan over Hülkenberg (ew Hülkenberg)

McLaren: Lando over Carlos I AM SO SORRY bUT lAndo a bit More

Torro Rosso: Danii over Alex Pierre

Alfa Romeo: Kimi over Antonio 

Williams: idk tbh. 

Haas: idk tho.

Racing Point: Stroll over.. Perez?

@mverstappens

[42bakery]

Can theSpeedUP stop messing with Fermín and giving a 'new' bike for qualy? No seriously, they tested a bunch of stuff in the British GP and then go back to the 'old' configuration for qualy, and used that for the race (15 minutes to adapt), and now the same. The SpeedUp is just messing with my boy

[waru-chan8]

Okay Fermín just confirmed he wants to go to Mooney, Mooney is interested, but SpeedUP is not so eager

[garethbouch]

Lopez seals sensational 2nd place in #MalaysianGP, Aldeguer 10th

Lopez seals sensational 2nd place in #MalaysianGP, Aldeguer 10th

At the Sepang International Circuit the Beta Tools SpeedUp team took the fifth podium of the season with another superlative race for Alonso López who climbed to the second step of the Malaysian podium. Aldeguer finished his first Malaysian Grand Prix in the top ten. He is still on the podium, Alonso López and he did so managing very well a race that on paper seemed more complicated than usual…

[erikabsworld]

Exploring Parallel Computing: A Step-by-Step Guide to Tackling Tough Assignments

In the realm of computer science, parallel computing stands as a cornerstone, revolutionizing how we process vast amounts of data. Yet, for many students, delving into the intricacies of parallel computing can be daunting, especially when faced with challenging assignments. In this blog post, we'll dissect a complex parallel computing assignment question and provide a comprehensive guide to its solution, without overwhelming you with complex formulas.

Parallel Computing Assignment Question:

Consider a scenario where you are tasked with optimizing a simulation of a weather forecasting model using parallel computing techniques. The simulation involves processing large datasets of atmospheric variables, such as temperature, humidity, and pressure, to predict weather patterns accurately. Your goal is to parallelize the computation process to improve the simulation's performance on a multi-core CPU architecture.

Step-by-Step Guide to Answering the Sample Question:

Understanding the Problem: Begin by comprehensively understanding the task at hand. In this case, you need to optimize a weather forecasting simulation using parallel computing techniques. Identify the key components involved, such as the dataset, the computation process, and the target platform (multi-core CPU architecture).

Identifying Parallelization Opportunities: Analyze the simulation's computation process to identify potential parallelization opportunities. Look for tasks that can be divided into independent sub-tasks that can execute concurrently. For instance, processing different geographical regions' data points concurrently can be a parallelization opportunity.

Designing Parallel Algorithms: Devise parallel algorithms to distribute the workload across multiple cores effectively. This may involve partitioning the dataset, assigning distinct subsets to each core, and synchronizing their operations as needed. Consider using parallel programming paradigms such as message passing or shared-memory multiprocessing.

Implementation: Translate your parallel algorithms into code using parallel computing libraries or frameworks like OpenMP or MPI (Message Passing Interface). Ensure proper synchronization mechanisms are in place to avoid race conditions and maintain data consistency.

Testing and Optimization: Thoroughly test your parallelized simulation to validate its correctness and measure its performance metrics, such as speedup and efficiency. Fine-tune your implementation by optimizing data distribution strategies, minimizing communication overhead, and exploiting parallelism further.

How We Help Students:

Navigating through complex parallel computing assignments can be overwhelming, but you don't have to tackle them alone. At matlabassignmentexperts.com, we specialize in providing comprehensive parallel computing assignment help tailored to your specific needs. Our team of experienced tutors and experts can guide you through the intricacies of parallel computing, offering step-by-step explanations and personalized assistance to ensure your success. Whether you're struggling with understanding parallel algorithms or implementing parallelized simulations, we're here to support you every step of the way.

Conclusion:

Parallel computing presents both challenges and opportunities for students, requiring a solid understanding of parallel algorithms and effective implementation techniques. By breaking down complex assignment questions and providing practical solutions, we aim to empower students to excel in their parallel computing endeavors. Remember, with the right guidance and support, mastering parallel computing assignments is within your reach.

[bulegah]

PREFERENCES?

MotoGP-

Honda. Jorge over Marquez, without doubts

Yamaha. Rossi over Viñales, but tbh I like him too

Ducati. it's impossible to decide, i love my Italian duo, they're so aww

Suzuki. I cannot decide, i will go for Rins, but at the same time for Mir too AAAAAH

Ktm. Pol over Zarco Kalio, i still see Kalio as a tester

Aprilia. I'll say Aleix over Iannone, also if I'm Italian, but I really can't understand the last year's Andrea.

LCR Honda. Cal over Nakagami

Pramac Ducati. uff I quit, i can't be serious and choose one.

Avintia. Tito over Karel? I don't know, bc Tito, before last year crush was a really great rider, he was every time in Q2, and I'm so sorry for this, but Abraham is fantastic, i like his humour.

Petronas. Morbido over Fabio. Fabio can be better than Franco rn, but, 1.we can say that Morbidelli is still a great rider, and 2.it's a patriotic thing, Italy it's always better than France, NO OK, I WAS JOKING, JUST A LITTLE HISTORY MENTION.

Ktm tech3. Miguel over Hafiz.

Moto2-(2020 line-up edition)

Marc VDS. Lowes over Marquez, this time no doubts

Gresini. Bulega over everyone will be his teammate(i hope in Pasini). as I always say I like a lot of riders, but Bulega it's a little over the others

Pons. Balda over Fernandez.

Sky Racing Team. i can't choose, like, WHAT CAN I DO IF YOU TELL ME TO CHOOSE BETWEEN LUCA AND BEZZECCHI?

Mv Augusta. Stefano over Aegerter(idk if he will stay but...) but I have a question, why all forget about Stefano? ik he isn't making good results, but hey, by my opinion he's a great mx rider lol.

Italtrans. aaaaand I can't choose between Enea and Lorenzo. but I'm so sad for Locatelli, actually he don't have a bike for 2020.

Speedup. Di Giannantonio over Navarro.

American Racing Team. Marcos over Joe.

Moto3-(2020 line-up edition)

Leopard. Foggia over Masià, no doubts.

Sic58 squadra corse. Nicco over Suzuki, but I still cheer for the giapporiccionese. aaaand looking at the line up I noticed that isn't sure that Nicco will be there, I hope that he will race at Motegi so we can have news.

snipers.Tony over Filip.

sky racing team. if you ask me to choose between anyone in the academy I'll never be able to choose, they're like my best friends.

max racing team. Alonso Lopez over Fenati, sorry but maybe didn't said this before but I don't like Fenati so much, HE'S A GREAT RIDER, and it's not for what he did with Manzi, he had the penalty and now it's all ok but I don't like him.

[waru-chan8]

Which team? SpeedUP? Fantic? Master Camp? Everyone wants Fermín, and now Boscoscuro is wearing proudly all the medals of 'This is my child and my discovery', when in India was so pissed and even was suggested he might not have a seat

God I'm getting so tired of this, Fermin just fucking stay another year

[starcitizenprivateer]

Squadron 42 Monthly Report: December 2018

Squadron 42 Monthly Report: December 2018

This is a cross-post of the report that was recently sent out via the monthly Squadron 42 newsletter. We’re publishing this a second time as a Comm-Link to make it easier for the community to reference back to, and plan on following this process for future Squadron 42 Monthly Reports.

Attention Recruits,

What you are about to read is the latest information on the continuing development of Squadron 42 (SCI des: SQ42).

Read on for pertinent details from our planet-wide operations on Squadron 42-related work over the last month, as well as intel on an exciting new dispatch. The information contained in this communication is extremely sensitive and it is of paramount importance that it does not fall into the wrong hands. Purge all records after reading.

Over and out,

UEE Naval High Command

The Road to Glory

Today sees the unveiling of our Squadron 42 roadmap, a useful piece of intel that tracks the progress of development in detail. Much like the Persistent Universe roadmap, this is linked to our JIRA tracking system, and thus lets you see at a glance the work remaining on the game as we thunder on toward the finish line. Of course, also like its Star Citizen counterpart, the Squadron 42 roadmap is not necessarily exhaustive and may be changed or updated as development continues. Make sure you read the caveats, and enjoy this insight into the process.

This monthly project update will work as something of a companion piece, shedding more light on specific work done by each development team, while the roadmap will provide dynamic real-time tracking of progress weekly.

Without further adiue, let’s see what the devs fighting the good fight on the frontlines have been up to…

AI

This month, Ship AI’s focus was on optimizing the Tactical Point System. They now have multiple queries bundled together in a batch from different threads, which allows more control over the cost of the overall system. They submitted several optimizations for the character movement system, which can now update all the components in a multithreaded batch approach and will utilize the maximum the CPU resources during the game update. A pass for thread safety of several subsystems was performed, including the attention target component and communication system. This is required to eventually move the Subsumption component update to the multithreaded batch update step.

In FPS Combat, the ‘Defend Area’ assignment was introduced; correctly achieving this behavior requires monitoring the mastergraph transitions to evaluate if the recipients of the Subsumption event can actually process it. In the Defend Area example, they might be executing any regular behavior when receiving the assignment. If the behavior can handle the request in a specific way, great. If not, then the mastergraph takes care of selecting one that can. Alongside this, they’re adding new behaviors to improve combat and patrol to respect this assignment.

New behaviors and functionality to support stealth gameplay were implemented, with new audio and visual stimuli being added to allow players to draw the attention of guards, prepare traps, and open up otherwise blocked paths.

Work also continued on the bartender for Lorville. To achieve several functionalities of his behavior, they implemented the first pass of UseChannel routing and are continuing to expand the usable functionalities.

The Usable Builder Tool received a new feature too: it’s now able to correctly preview different characters using different usables so that designers, animators, and programmers can easily test and verify the content as it’s delivered.

Animation

On the Story front, the Animation kicked-off production passes on a handful of Squadron 42 scenes. They’re also working to finalize the Armorer character for SQ42 – itself a large and intricate task.

Audio

Audio worked closely with the SQ42 composer Geoff Zanelli to establish themes for the game’s different races and important characters. This, combined with the second round of music implementation, allowed the team to better support pacing and overall development.

The Dialogue Team worked to ensure animation and design had all the assets required to successfully implement their conversations, comms, and cinematics.

Character Art

The Character Art Team polished the Vanduul armor and concepted the Navy Gunner’s outfit.

Cinematics

After completing the CitizenCon SQ42 teaser trailer, Cinematics took time to verify that each scene was functioning correctly from start to finish. This mainly involved the Shubin Station art pocket, but also other things like the battleground around Vega II. Once complete, they worked on a pivotal scene for the game featuring a key character not revealed yet. This involved using a new method of character hair and skin creation (tweaked for more realism), and small modification to costumes.

The Cinematic Animation Team carried on with regular scene work. Having completed first passes for much of the game’s narrative, they transitioned to scenes where a full implementation pass with a state machine is required. They also supported the engineers working on key workflow tools.

Along with navspline improvements, new functionality was added to allow the team to edit multiple cinematic sequences at once. Previously, TrackView only supported a master and child sequence and didn’t allow editing of the master if the child was edited, or vice versa. Some SQ42 scenes feature characters on capital ship bridges reacting to things they see through windows, which requires the team to split sequences between interior and exterior. The new multi-sequence workflow allows multiple sequences to be open and active at once and syncs the timelines for both the master and child.

Engine Tools

The Engine Team resumed work on GPU skinning. They added vertex velocity support (motion blur), completed several optimizations to skip zero weights (improved throughput), prepared background data, and made the first pass on memory layout and LOD support.

They also made the execution of ray collision checks and the defragmentation of grids run concurrently. This achieved a 30-50% speedup for physics planet terrain computation, reduced the number of cell queries on planets, and improved proxy mesh generation of terrain ground volumes.

Terrain rendering improvements were added (glow forward pass) as well as fixes for water volume and ocean rendering. The existing hair shader was improved, and a new depth of field algorithm was created to improve quality, performance, and fix halos around silhouettes.

Part of the team worked on additional culling refinements in the zone system to submit fewer objects to the renderer, as well as various low-level optimizations to reduce load on the render thread.

Engineering

Engineering actualized a system to allow variable limits on how far players can move their heads when looking around. The default amount is overridden by the outfit and helmet, so wearing heavy armor will restrict how far they can look.

Pickup and Carry was finished off, including the solving of an issue when interacting with items in EVA.

Developments on the female character continues. Because of her different sized skeleton, the team implemented animation-driven inverse kinematics to allow her to reach a ship’s controls without the need for new animation sets.

Progress has been made on the usables builder tool, which allows the content creators to drop in a character and play all the related usable animations, move locators around, and generally test a setup without having to go into the game.

As part of comms, a ‘Tannoy’ system can now pump audio to multiple parts of an environment. For example, an announcement to a single ship’s hangar or a more global ship-wide announcement.

The ship AI Team helped out with the new Intelligent Flight Control System (IFCS), tweaking ship behavior to better utilize these new flight controls for a better dogfighting experience.

Environment Art

Art began using their new hard surface shader and new blending features for wear and tear. This enables a more realistic appearance of localized damage without a jarring transition between worn and pristine areas. They’re paying particular attention to make sure wear looks natural and unforced. One of the high-level goals for SQ42 is for every asset and its features to sit in a scene naturally, feel unforced, and for the lighting to have a slightly softer, more realistic feel (except for some areas where the intensity is cranked up to 11).

Lighting focused on the Javelin found in an early campaign level, taking into account the emphasis on making one key light do more of the work. This new approach looks great and is less demanding on the engine too. Tweaks to a control room seen close to the end of the campaign progressed, with the aim being to set the correct tone for the narrative and gameplay moments that spread from it.

Props seen throughout the campaign (including monitors, screens, wiring looms, hatch covers, ropes, destructible lights, and pressurized items) all received attention, this time to determine how they break or deform when damaged. Several key events take place where these assets need to react correctly to gravity, decompression, damage, pulse, etc.

The vast Shubin mining station gained more detail to the supporting structures around it. Development of the facility’s Bridge (as first seen in the CitizenCon 2948 trailer) continued, which comes in at around three times the size of a Bengal’s.

Gameplay Story

The Gameplay Story Team made swift progress throughout November and continuously added more scenes to their Q4 list. They are currently working on 38 scenes for the quarter and are expecting to add several more by the end of the year.

Graphics

The Graphics Team worked on several shader effects, including the resurrection of the caustics water effect, which is needed in several locations throughout SQ42. The new hard surface shader was rolled out to the entire team and should improve performance, allow new surface shading features, and enable more dynamic wear & dirt effects.

Performance was also a focus, with most attention on the low-level texture and mesh streaming systems to help squeeze as much content in with as little performance impact as possible.

Level Design

The Level Design Team converted the older sables inside the Idris to a more efficient and flexible system, which also incorporates crew behaviors for things like ‘off-duty’ and ‘mess hall’. Level work is an ongoing collaboration with the Art Team and is constantly reviewed at senior level.

“It’s all going well and now that we have almost all the scenes in the levels you really get a great feel for the story flow and pacing.”

Cockpit scenes are coming to life thanks to ‘Render to Texture’ technology, while the new IFCS system is fully implemented into SQ42 and making a huge difference to dogfighting. Regular feedback and suggested improvements mean spline technology and flight controls are constantly refined.

Narrative

The Narrative Team continued plugging away at [REDACTED] [REDACTED] [REDACTED] [REDACTED] as well as [REDACTED] [REDACTED] [REDACTED] and that was a lot of fun.

Props

The Props Team continued work on the assets required for NPS interactions and activities by creating additional sub items used by the engineering crew and the storage cases to house them. The larger maintenance machinery assets are now ready for the animation and cinematic departments to use in their work, too.

System Design

The System Design Team integrated the New Flight Model into enemy ship AI, ensuring that they are still engaging to fight against and don’t become unbalanced. They noticed that the new IFCS currently causes too much unwanted ‘jousting’ behavior, so are currently looking into ways to modify it.

Dialogue wildlines for the ship/FPS/social AI were reworked to unify them within the same overall structure. Collaboration with the audio & writing teams ensured the system works properly for all systemic dialogue in the game. The team is also working to develop tools to automate the setup of dialogue lines.

Stealth gameplay elements continue to be developed, which require the AI perception to be upgraded to cater for peripheral vision, as well as various audio events and stimuli from environmental sources, such as throwing a pebble to distract enemies.

Tech Animation

The Technical Animation department progressed with the initial batch transfer of male animations to the female skeleton. This included updating low-level assets for animation database referencing to ensure she can run around and fire weapons. It has been successful and handed off to animation for further review and polish.

Some much-needed toolsets for authoring skinning data on the many different costumes were finished. Used in conjunction with the existing toolsets, these will make skin authoring a more efficient process.

An interesting dilemma was presented recently, whereby the team needed to show some sort of fluid dynamics, which usually require intensive calculations The Technical Animation department came into its own and used the existing physics solution to create a dynamic yet economic fake for the various glasses & cups in the bar scenes.

Multiple animations for cinematics and gameplay were added, as were several new tools to the animation pipeline along with bug fixes and additions to existing tools. Time was also spent fixing several smaller bugs like animation compilation errors, missing integrations, weapon entities, and DBA setups.

Tech Art

The Tech Art Team analyzed the full requirements of the character ‘DNA gene pool’. In order for the next-gen facial customizer to work most effectively, a limited pool of heads with specific and unique shapes is required. Relevant factors are gender, ethnic origin, age, physical constitution, and distinct facial features such as hooked vs. pointy nose, thin vs. full lips, and so forth. Several scenarios with varying pool sizes were created to determine the mid-to-long-term plans for populating the pool. The planned release of the new customizer will initially use as many heads as possible from the selection scanned, providing they fulfill requirements.

The team also worked on the asset authoring tools and pipeline for the new cloth/softbody solver, which was first showcased at CitizenCon. Optimal simulation mesh topology and vertex density are key to making it work efficiently and fast enough while yielding high-fidelity visual results. Another important factor is creating the best possible binding between the high and low res simulation mesh – this can only be fully automated for simpler cloth asset types and requires artistic ‘guidance’ and fine-grained control in more complex cases. The team went to great lengths to ensure the authoring tools provide this capability in a convenient, easy-to-use way.

UI

Last month, the SQ42 team specced-out improvements to how AR mission objectives are displayed to the player. For both the PU and SQ42, they’re aiming to create a common unified methodology for how important information is imparted regarding type, position, whether it’s obstructed, etc. They’re also looking at the long-term requirements of missions and building a system to help to surface important information when it’s contextually needed.

Another major feature worked on is the area map. Pre-visualizations of how the map could be were built procedurally using existing underlying systems, such as the room system. This informs not only the overall layout but also how it becomes more defined as the player traverses the environment for the first time.

Vehicle Features

The team spent the month on Vehicle Scanning improvements. The groundwork necessary to allow ships to aim at the engines on target ships has been completed, and the feature itself is nearly ready to be rolled out. Scanning nav points for destination info have been completed and are also ready for implementation.

VFX

VFX continued to iterate on lightning effects by putting the new texture noise functionality through its paces, which will allow them to create much finer detail up close at a fraction of the previous cost. They also developed a tool to allow artists to create VDBs (including gas clouds) more quickly and with more control over the finer details.

Thruster improvements were made to more closely match the VFX. They gained new effects and functionality including damage, overheat, and misfire options.

R&D for a Xi’an missile launcher kicked off too.

Weapons

The Weapon Art Team carried on with the Multi-Tool rework and made progress with the Kastak Arms Ravager-212 and the level two and three upgrades for the Hurston Dynamics Laser Repeaters. They also made minor adjustments to the iron sights on a handful of weapons to improve the sight picture and to make them more user-friendly when no optics are attached.

Covert Intel

Conclusion

WE’LL SEE YOU NEXT MONTH…

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