#i will actually add stuff to this like a regular tidbits post when i get on tumblr desktop

[niche-pastiche]

The SPN gun meta post no one asked for

One fun tidbit from SPN is that everybody has symbolic guns except Cas. Who doesn't use guns. (Except for once, but we're getting to that.)

So, right. Starting in season 1, we see that Dean props the truck of Baby open with a shotgun. The contents are the messiest in the first season. 

(I’ve gone ahead and put the rest under the cut because this post gets kinda long. Seriously, I’m pretty sure guns are this show’s love language y’all.)

The gun he uses to prop open the trunk to be able to sort through his baggage is the sawed off Ithaca 37 shotgun that Sam eventually develops a preference for.

(Okay, so quick side note. After season 2 they got a different armorer and that's when the consistent purposeful gun symbolism starts to really take shape. Season 1, they're just kind of stumbling into it by sheer luck.) The Ithaca is Sam in the visual language of the show.

The two shotguns we see the boys welding the first few seasons are Sam's Ithaca, and the side by side sawed off. 

The side by side sawed off is something all of them use (until Dean gets his own unique shotgun) but it's something that the show uses to symbolize family, safety, home, and Bobby Singer.

Right so lets dig into this some more. We'll start with Bobby Singer.

The shotgun he is most closely associated with a sawed off double barrel shotgun. Which is interesting because that's usually a redneck-villain/cold baddass gun. It’s the gun you'd give to the scary redneck character. Or like... Generic Action Hero McStubble face. BUT that's just because it's sawed off. The sawed off part is what adds the hollywood action movie layers. And season 1 was very much only drawing from movie short hand. But later seasons build on it. 

Because regular shotguns are for stuff like hunting and home defense.

Providing and protecting.

And this gun comes to have that connotation too within the visual language of this show. It’s used by the boys a lot too. This is a little family-unit symbol of a gun. It's also The only gun we ever see Cas use in the show. It happens only once. And it's one Bobby gives to him.

EXT. BOBBY'S YARD BOBBY: What's your problem? CASTIEL: This is what they mean by "the 11th hour," right? BOBBY: Pretty much. CASTIEL: Well, it's the 11th hour, and I am useless. All I have is this. ( Castiel waves a shotgun What am I even supposed to do with it? BOBBY: Point it and shoot. CASTIEL: What I used to be -- BOBBY: Are you really gonna bitch --to me? Quit pining for the varsity years...And load the damn truck.

And later, Cas shoots this symbolic gun, rescuing Sam while fighting alongside Bobby. And Cas is like "Family. A father figure that cares. Interesting."

Okay, what Cas really said was "Actually, these things can be useful." but the symbolism is there.

It's important to remember that Kripke describes this show as a Midwestern. So it uses the visual language of westerns.

And it has gun culture running through its blood.

Guns are shown as noble here. There was one episode with a clear anti gun message in it, but it used a knife as a stand in for Jack playing with a gun and getting a friend shot. 

Knives carry all the symbolism that an anti-gun piece of media would give to guns in this show. Which is REALLY interesting because guns are given all the nobility a fantasy nerd would expect from swords.

And that is very much how folks like the Winchesters would think of their guns. Like swords, passed down from generation to generation.

Anyway. I got off track.

So Bobby's shotgun is a classic sawed off. But his signature sidearm is a Colt Single Action Army, which tells us a lot about Bobby.

That is THE Colt Peacemaker.

You have to pull back the hammer manually each time you want to fire it. (Which is why people in westerns do that funny thing with two hands to "fan the hammer" to fire in quick succession in like... a saloon shootout)

Bobby's old fashioned. He's classic. He's got an old fashioned gun which has... IDK how to explain this but it's a gun that has soul to it. (I'll come back to this)

it's unadorned but it's still got soul and character and you adjust the sights by filing down the hammer and like... It's everything Bobby Singer in gun form.

Since we're talking about revolvers, lets talk about “The Colt” for a second. (A Colt Paterson 1836.)

Actually, let's talk about the Winchester Family Tree first. It goes Henry Winchester>John Winchester> Dean (& Sam but Dean's the first born and thus inherits the guns and the car.)

John's got a BUNCH of war vet and/or POW symbolism, Vietnam specifically but also just in general. (and some of it's just plain text)

His symbolic gun is The Colt. (Though Dean's 1911 started out as his too in the same way Baby did. But that was season one before they really ironed this stuff out and it’s just in one flashback so feel free to ignore that if you want.)

The Colt is a war trophy of sorts, having been taken from a vampire nest. Which instantly catapults in to Significant Family Heirloom status. And it’s also the property of John’s deceased mentor, Danny Elkins. Which would honestly be enough to give it that status on it’s own.

And it's meant to kill Azazel and then John's ghost comes back from hell and helps Dean use it to kill Azazel.

It's also a colt single action.

I mention Henry Winchester because the granddaddy of modern repeating arms was the Henry repeating rifle which was later succeeded by the Winchester carbine.

"Nicknamed the "Yellow Boy" for the characteristic hue of the receiver, the Winchester Model 1866 was an improved version of the Henry 1860, "

Somebody in season 1 (before the armorer from season 2 onwards was the LEAD armorer) realized they forgot to give him a winchester and threw it in last second even though there's no space for it.

That's John's trunk.

Everybody's got guns with soul. Everybody. Even Sam’s Taurus PT92AFS, (which is basically just a little off brand Beretta) gets nickel plating and pearl grips. I like to think Dean did it as a gift. Because it doesn’t seem like the kind of thing Sam would do.

Anyway, The Colt. Significant Family Heirloom Gun. Obviously goes to either the spouse or if the spouse is dead, the first born son. Right? 

Guns are basically swords. Like Aragorn gets the sword of Isuldur, Dean should get the colt. If he were a young child, it'd go to his guardian to keep for him until he was old enough but Dean's old enough for guns.

But... It goes to Bobby instead. Who cares for it. And maintains it. Even though it's dead as far as the magic goes and "only good for seeing what made it tick" at this point.

This kind of thing is an important mourning ritual, y’all. And there’s no reason for Dean not to be the one doing it.

Here’s Bobby test firing it.

And here he is adjusting the sights.

And like... I legit have thousands of words written about the potential love story hidden in the subtext there. Single action’s aren’t a practical gun y’all. They’re sentimental and old fashioned. There’s love in this.

But I've gotten off track again.

The point here is that good guy’s guns have soul in this show.

But some guns don't.

In order to have a soul it needs artistry and craftsmanship. It needs to be at least a little old fashioned or decorative or just classy.

Gordon's guns are soulless.

Heckler and Koch. Mass produced and unfeeling.

Heckler and Koch. Modern. Cold. Not tied to any kind of American gun mythos.

Gordon is not about art. He's not about family. And neither are his guns. It's about killing. Brutal, ruthless, and wrong. There is nothing noble here.

I'll come back to this.

Okay so Sam has his nickel plated pearl grip offbrand Beretta. It's important to note that the Beretta is a pretty standard police side arm. So it gives Sam like... a noble sheriff vibe but modern. Jody Mills carries a Beretta. 

(I get that the idea of a sheriff who keeps the law in a lawless town is problematic but the show is using the language of westerns and thus I have to use it to explain what's going on. I'm not saying I like the trope.)

Anyway, this cheeper off brand cop gun has been given soul (despite not being the more expensive brand name option) by being customized to match Deans. It's had love put into it.

Both boys start out the series using the same shotgun as Bobby but eventually gravitate towards shotguns that become uniquely theirs.

Dean's is a beautiful sawed off Winchester Model 1887 which Jo hands him when she dies in the hardware store.  

From pretty much that moment on, that's Dean's shotgun.

And shotguns in this show are consistently for protecting family.

They use them to fight ghosts in haunted houses for goodness sakes. There's just a wealth of metaphor to it.

And they've also got their whole "rock salt" whatever going on so they're effectively the gentlest option too. (Please don’t try that at home. No clue what would happen but assume the worst.)

Sam's shotgun is the Ithica that Dean uses to prop open the trunk. To help him sort through all the baggage he’s carrying around in there.

The SEASON that convinced me I'd found something here and wasn’t just imagining things was Season 6.

Souless Sam uses almost exclusively Heckler and Koch.

Endverse!Dean used almost exclusively Heckler and Koch stuff too.

Pretty much everybody in the Croatoan future used heavily military, mass produced, black, large, high capacity, high rate of fire stuff you might expect evil gangster villains to use.

Soulless. All death and violence. Just like Sam in Season 6. And at no point while soulless does Sam use his nickle plated gun. Instead, he uses this monstrosity.

A Heckler & Koch Mark 23. And the camera lingers on it. We’re meant to notice something’s wrong.

When he's fighting himself in his head in "The Man Who Knew Too Much". Souless Sam is still using the soulless guns. And our sam is using his nickel plated gun. (And the Sam that contains his memories of being tortured in hell uses a knife.)

Souless/evil Sam uses a Heckler & Koch Mk 23 whilst pursuing "good" Sam in "The Man Who Knew Too Much" (S06E22).

Good Sam IMMEDIATELY switches back to using his Taurus PT92AFS with pearl grips after he gets his soul back and continues to use it while fighting his Evil/Soulless self in in The Man Who Knew to Much.

And guess what Sam uses to prop open the trunk in The Man Who Knew Too Much? An episode where Sam is literally woking through his trauma and baggage? His big brother Dean's Winchester Model 1887.

Just like Dean uses Sam's Ithaca.

And in the one episode where Ben has to fight? What does Dean hand his own kid to defend himself while they get Lisa to safety?

If you guessed his Winchester Model 1887, you guessed right.

There’s still so much else I didn’t cover, but I’m gonna end it here because it’s already way too long. Hopefully someone finds it interesting.

[brokestminimalist]

Broke Laundry: updated 2021

For the time being, let's skip talking about how almost all of us have too many clothes.   The clothes that you have get dirty, and must be washed.  I am going to assume you have access to a modern washing machine, either at your house or a laundromat. We'll call step one sorting:

Sorting: Ain’t nobody got time for this.  This is an extra chore that is 99% not necessary.  Unless you have specialty fabrics or are particular about how white your whites are, it’s just added  stress and a waste of time.  I don't actually own any white clothes anymore, but if I did I'd run a load of whites with a cup of bleach once a month. I do not own things that can’t survive the washing machine, either.  No delicates, no dry cleaning.  I wash towels with clothes, and sheets together with bedspreads. Cleaning rags and towels have their own basket and get washed when it gets full.

Laundry Detergent: Avoid the very cheapest for the sake of your darks, but there is no need to spring for the most expensive thing on the shelf.  In fact, I make laundry detergent from one part washing soda, one part Borax, and one part soap. A double batch is enough detergent to last three months for a single person. Good recipes can be had all over the internet, so go forth and find yourself one.  If you’re washing in cold water and your tap water is very cold, such as in the winter, you may find it necessary to stir your homemade detergent into a cup of hot water before putting it into the machine. Out of detergent?  A spoonful of dish soap will do in a pinch.  Regardless of whether you’re using store bought or homemade, don’t use too much detergent; it’s bad for the machine, the environment, and your clothes.  We do not want to buy new clothes until we absolutely have to, right?  Right.

Fabric Softener: I recently saw a headline about how Millennials are killing the fabric softener industry.  The truth is, they are prioritizing groceries and lights over luxuries like Downy.  If you must have it and can afford it, go ahead.  Measure carefully but don’t dilute unless the package says so.  Fabric softener sheets are a good alternative, if you are using a dryer.  Here at Brokest Minimalist, we use a Downy ball with white vinegar in it.  The vinegar cuts soap residue, softens most fabrics, and is much cheaper.  Plus it’s versatile enough to be used for cleaning as well.  An added bonus is that it doesn’t reduce the absorbency of your towels like regular fabric softener does.

Water:  Set your washer on Tap Cold. Yes, really.  Unless your clothes are very greasy, almost anything can be washed in cold water and will get just as clean.  It isn’t so much the temperature of the water or even the detergent that does the washing, as much as it is the action of the clothes rubbing against each other inside the machine.  Anything that’s machine washable can be washed in cold water, period.

Settings: On our machine at home, clothes go on “casual” and sheets/bedspreads on “heavy duty”. Don’t stress too much about this.  Choose a water level that is appropriate to how full the machine is, add your stuff, and go ahead.

Drying:  Here at Brokest Minimalist, we don’t dry anything in the dryer.  Why?  Because air dries stuff for free, that’s why.  Clothes dryers are one of the most frivolous uses of electricity in the modern world.  They are also one of the number one causes of fire in the United States, after candles and cooking fires.  Unless you are in a huge hurry, hang your clothes to dry. Outdoors if possible, as sun dried clothing smells much better than any fabric softener does.  You don’t even have to spend all afternoon pinning stuff to a clothesline like your great-grandma did, either! Our system is beautiful in its simplicity.  We take our clothes out of the washing machine, hang them on clothes hangers, and then hang the hangers on the clothesline.  If you have a smooth line, tie knots in it or use clothespins to keep stuff from sliding back and forth in the breeze.  If you don’t have a line, put one up or buy a portable or retractable one. In summer your clothes will be dry within an hour in direct sunlight, which is a comparable time to many dryers.  If it’s raining, you can hang them indoors over curtain rods, from your mantel, or on your shower curtain rod.  Even if it’s freezing outside, in direct sunlight your clothes will dry within a few hours. For free.  No kidding.  And UV light is a great sanitizer if you’re worried about germs! Here we hang our and towels and unmentionables on racks purchased from Amazon, such as this and this.  Another tidbit we have figured out, is that there is no need to wait until daylight to hang your clothes. In the old days it was nigh unheard of, but there’s no harm.  The morning dew won’t make your wet clothes wetter.   Do you work nights?  Do a load of laundry after you get home from work and hang it out to dry, even if it’s midnight.  It will be dry by lunchtime tomorrow.   This saves wear and tear on your clothes, it saves electricity, it won’t create extra static like the dryer, and hanging stuff is kind of a nice, meditative way to spend a few minutes. Take some deep breaths of fresh air, reflect on your day, let go of some anxiety.

Does all of this sound too complicated? Written down it’s a lot, but let us take you through a load of laundry we just did.  For the record, it is currently one o'clock in the morning.  It’s 31 degrees outside.

1) Put clothes in washer.  Not sorted, just all the clothes in the hamper or off your floordrobe, dumped into the washing machine.

2) It’s cold out, so put a tablespoon of detergent into a cup of hot water and stir.  Pour in washer. Put white vinegar in Downy ball, toss in washer.

3) Push start button and go do something else.  Read, take a nap, cook, clean bathroom. Write a long-winded Tumblr post.  Whatever.

4) When load is done, hang everything on hangers/racks still wet.  This is the longest part, and it takes 5-7 minutes, max. You can do it while watching tv or listening to music.

5) Carry your hung up clothes outdoors to the clothesline and hang them up, or to whatever indoor location you have deemed fit if it is raining.

These will be dry in a few hours except for very heavy things like thing hoodies or jeans, those may take longer.  Yes, even if it’s cool outside.  As long as there is direct sunlight, they will dry.  When you’re ready, bring them in. All the clothes are already on hangers, so just stick them in your closet.

Once upon a time we had a lot of drama about laundry.  We had fights over whose turn it was, how much Tide to put in, and who was going to clean the lint trap.  When the dryer broke, I absolutely agonized over the three hundred dollars it would take to buy a new one.  That three hundred dollars meant going without cable for two months, it meant scrimping for groceries and paying a late fee on the phone bill.  It was more than an entire paycheck, just to dry clothes!

Today that same dryer is sitting in our laundry room in disuse.  We have it, for emergencies.  A drink spilled on a work shirt, perhaps, that needs to be worn in 30 minutes.  It’s good for fluffing up pillows, on the no-heat setting. It wasn’t worth the stress or the tears or the three hundred dollars we put into it all those years ago.  It’s basically a glorified shelf for our detergent now:

So today, I challenge you, broke person.  Don’t wear those grungy jeans for one more day.   Do a load of laundry, as frugally as you can.  Measure your detergent carefully, hang your clothes to dry.  Your clothes will last longer, your utility bill will be lower, and you will have a few minutes of peace and quiet outside.  It’s less wear and tear, less electricity, and less stress, and that’s a minimalist win.

If you do choose to dry your clothes in a dryer, beware of over-drying as that can cause static and extra wear and tear on your clothes.  Clean out your lint trap, it will make your clothes dry faster and reduce the risk of fire.  If you are too broke to have dryer sheets, wool dryer balls are pretty cheap and effective for fabric softening and reducing static.  We have also heard that you could use tennis balls or a couple balls of wadded up aluminum foil for this purpose.

Happy washing!

Some links: homemade detergent at TSD, and Mr. Electricity’s opinion on dryers.

[geeky-writes]

Continuum - Story Preview

Part of the Pieces of Echoes series. Superfamily/ Stony Infinity War/ Endgame AU

“And for more information about this strange space phenomenon, we go to our on-site reporter, Jackson Murphy. Jackson, what more can you tell us?”

“Honey, why’re you still watching that stuff?” Tony asked as he emerged from the bathroom, ready for bed in Steve’s favourite bright blue sleep pants and a black tank top that was probably older than Peter. It wasn’t at all unusual for Steve to be watching the news before bed. When they weren’t on a mission there was always at least one television on in the house while Steve was awake, tuned in to his favourite news station. He liked to call it minding his surroundings, and while it made sense to Tony, it didn't mean that he particularly enjoyed it.

And he enjoyed it even less when said news was reporting on whatever goofy space phenomena had just occurred over Africa. Ever since he’d stumbled upon an entire space-faring army just waiting to invade Earth during his emergency missile flight through Loki’s portal, Tony had adamantly decided that he had seen all he’d needed of space, thank you very much.

It was an image that, even almost four years later, he still couldn't shake no matter how hard he tried. And he had tried.

“Steve?” Tony repeated, pausing a few steps in to toss his hand towel in the general direction of the laundry hamper. “I thought Fury already told you that we didn't need to worry about it?”

“Yeah, he did,” Steve muttered. The worry wrinkle between his perfect dark blond eyebrows was on full display as he glowered at the screen, an abandoned dog-eared novel sitting on his lap. Apparently the Jackson Murphy dude didn't have much of anything to add to the already low-on-details event.

“And?” Tony asked as he set his glasses down on the bedside table, right next to his tablet and Steve’s dog tags. He climbed up onto the bed, sliding over to lean his head against Steve’s arm. It had been a long day, and he was tired.

Steve huffed out a frustrated sigh as he wound his arm around Tony’s shoulders. “There’s no new information, and judging by where in Africa the event occurred, there probably won't be any anytime soon. Director Fury told me that this country, Wakanda, doesn’t talk to the outside world all that much.”

“Mmm. Yeah, I’ve heard that about Wakanda,” Tony said. “They’re about as isolationist as they come. Howard used to even grumble about them sometimes back in the day.”

“I’m not surprised,” said Steve. “Did you see that he tried to convince the government to try and open scientific diplomatic channels a few times when he was with SHIELD?”

Tony draped his arm across Steve’s waist, burrowing closer as he closed his eyes and breathed in his husband’s intoxicating scent, ivory soap and the slight hint of vanilla that always seemed to seep from his skin. Whoever thought that the plain, ten-cents-a-bar ivory soap could smell so damn good?

“Pretty sure it was Pete who discovered that little tidbit in the HYDRA files, honey, along with all the other stuff he wasn’t supposed to be reading,” Tony murmured, stifling a yawn. “Makes sense though. I bet all the rumours floating around about the super cool Wakandan tech just about drove Howard bonkers. You know he always wanted to have his fingers in every single pie he could find, and I know it always bugged the hell out of him that he could never get his hands on more of their magical metal.”

Steve’s eyes flicked over to the red, white, and blue shield propped up against the wall right next to their bedroom door. Tony had offered many times to build him a stand or something to hook it on when Steve wasn’t using it, but Steve always refused. He’d told Tony that during the war he had always stored the shield right by the door—when he was actually able to sleep in a building, that is—and, like everything else about Steve, old habits apparently died hard.

“Yeah, I bet it did,” Steve said softly. He narrowed his eyes at the screen as the reporter launched into yet another meandering statement regarding the unexplained phenomenon that had taken place high in the skies over Wakanda. Tony sighed, trying to ignore the high-pitched, nasally drone of the reporter’s voice as he repeated himself for the third time.

“Honey, if Fury said whatever the hell this was isn’t an Avengers-level threat, then why are you watching it?” he asked. “You know it’s just gonna make it harder for you to get to sleep. And don't you try and give me that big song and dance about how you don't need as much sleep as me, ‘cause you know it’s just a bunch of bullshit.”

“No, it’s not,” Steve said, rather petulantly. “In fact, according to Dr Cho, it’s actually—”

“Yeah, yeah, yeah, enough already,” said Tony. “The fact still remains that Fury told you that whatever this was doesn’t need to concern us, and yet you’re still making it our concern.”

“Fury said he didn't think it was, Tony,” Steve said. “And he also said that so far none of the SHIELD scientists have a clue what it was either, so—”

“So tell him to send all the data they’ve managed to compile over to Bruce’s lab, and he and I can take a look at it in the morning after we get Pete to school, yeah?” said Tony. He tipped his head up, planting a kiss on Steve’s jaw. “Problem solved.”

Steve gave a sheepish nod. “I already did. Bruce is expecting you at nine.”

Tony chuckled. “Well, I guess it’s a good thing I didn't have any other plans in the morning.” It wasn’t actually the truth. He’d been planning on working on the new nanotech suit he’d been building ever since their return to the Tower at the end of August, but he supposed that could wait long enough for him and Bruce to have a good look-see at whatever data Fury’s scientists happened to have.

Especially if it helped to ease his husband’s mind a bit. After Steve’s month-long sejour in the almost-invisible HYDRA prison five months ago, Tony was still hyper-aware of anything he and the rest of the team could do to help shoulder some of Steve’s mental burden. Tony—with Peter’s help—had made sure that Steve kept his regular weekly therapy sessions with Sam Wilson, but knowing Steve as well as he did, Tony found it unlikely that he was allowing himself to work through the trauma he had endured as well as he should.

Apparently you could take the super soldier out of the 1940s, but you couldn’t take the 1940s out of the super soldier. And judging by the fact that Steve still tried to brush Tony off whenever he asked if he was okay, Steve still had a long way to go.

“Honey, please,” Tony said gently as the reporter launched into yet another monologue about the mysteries of the Wakandan nation, complete with brightly-coloured cringey slideshow graphics. “I know you’re tired, and this isn’t helping anything. No one knows enough about Wakanda to even make a semi-educated guess about what happened, so this is really just a waste of our time.”

Steve huffed out an annoyed breath. “Yeah, I guess so. JARVIS, can you please turn off the television?”

“Of course, Captain,” replied JARVIS. “Would you like me to continue recording this news coverage?”

“No—” Tony started.

“Yes, please, JARVIS,” Steve cut in. He gave Tony an apologetic look, earning a dismissive shrug in response. “Thank you.”

“You are most welcome, Captain.”

“Nice one, babe,” Tony said with a scowl. “Now you’ll just end up watching it when I’m not around.”

The full chapter will post on Monday, August 31st, with new chapters posting weekly until the story concludes 😊

[rpedia]

[Ask RPedia] Post-Long Time RP Shutdown Advice?

Anonymous asked: Hey, do you have any advice for people who have been in roleplays for 1 year+ that have just closed down? Feeling kind of lost & in a funk now I've lost contact with people I was close to & enjoyed writing with. Not sure if this is the right place to come and ask but figured it was worth a shot

Oh no! Another lost lamb. I see this happening a lot, and boy experiencing it was no happiness either. It’s like finishing a good book and having the world slowly fade in. Everything’s different, and empty, it’s horrible. Unfortunately, no matter how long your RP friends have lasted, sooner or later it starts falling apart. It’s always good to have interests and accounts in other places in case of loss like this, because you’re gonna have to build from scratch one way or another, paralleling it with growth takes away some of the ‘waiting’. Let’s talk about some likely ways to handle this though from the beginning!

You can go to somewhere new. Explore! There’s a whole wide web of sites that want to encourage you to roleplay, from forums to chatrooms. I keep a list here that anyone can reply to and add places to check out, and that I add to whenever I move sites. I haven’t for some time actually, because each new fandom I move to, and each new group has been found and expanded on that very large very open site. (Thanks F-list!). When you join a new site, you can usually find someone, somewhere, willing to chat with you. They may not be the kind of partner you want right that second because they aren’t what you’re used to, but talk to them anyways. Work your way to RP for the sake RP with a new person, and you can find people you didn’t realize you’d be so close to, because you simply were busy with people you already were close to! Offer enough chances, and something will pan out.

Try speed dating. Like the sound of quick semi-meaningless RPs to check for Chemistry? Omegle, Cherubplay, MSPARP, even Chatroulette in an emergency. Just set your standards to how you like, make sure you suggest “roleplay” and your fandom name of choice on Chatroulette and Omegle, and then play out random little abstract tidbits about your characters meeting. You can find really interesting people like this, who might be willing to toss a Tumblr handle or Skype handle your way where you can find each other again and start roleplaying in a bigger way. Many of the users on these sites either don’t have a solid constant flow of RP elsewhere (which means they may be open to a tighter bond with someone) or they’re shopping for neat people to share with others. You can build patter, and teach yourself to be more social through these cold start prompts. It’ll force you to drop some habits you’ve gotten used to with other people, and open your mind to new people.

Try going out and doing other things, or finding new fandoms. Oh look, personal growth! You’re free, instead of lost. You���ve got no roots and therefore can meander into anything you find interesting. Something maybe your past partners were tentatively interested in, or not interested at all so you set it aside. Watch a new series, get addicted, get fresh ideas and try new OCs. Do something you’ve never done before, and you’ll find people who were connected to those things the whole time. When you finally get into those things, you’’ meet people you’ve never met. The RP world is basically a giant net, and everyone is connected via interests, threads, and other people. If you put yourself out there on a thread or in a chatroom and just talk about something new, you’ll be visible to new people, and if you share interests and chemistry with these new people... Well the obvious happens. You’ll end up chatting, possibly making friends, and since you both like RP if you stick to RP sites, you might actually get into another group. Just because your group is dead, doesn’t mean there aren’t living ones looking to suck in someone of interest who used to be busy! Don’t be afraid to approach people just to talk, or to work out a plot.

Hang out on Public Chats/Forums. Be yourself, in front of other people! Related to all of my points a little, if you’ve been in a private chat, or a private Skype, a closed tumblr, or a private forum you haven’t had much time to get out and be seen. You’re basically a stranger to the internet. Someone who hid themselves in the ancient caves to practice their art, unseen for centuries before bursting onto the scene. If you become seen, people will check you out. People who may not approach you at first until they get a nice sense of you. If you’re nice to whoever comes to you, no matter their RP quality, you’ll have people who may be really good, but really shy, find you safe. If they find you safe, they’ll approach you, and you can bond with them. If you play long enough in public, you’ll get regulars, and friends. When you have friends and regulars, they may play with each other in public using you as a jumping off point for why they are interacting. You’ll help them greet people they would never meet on their own. As that gets bigger, this Katamari of Roleplay will build and build until you have your own little niche/clique/community within the larger landscape. All this, just by being visible, and good natured/interesting in public, regularly.

Roleplaying wasn’t hard to get into the first time you did it, I have a feeling. Sure it was big and new and a little intimidating, but you didn’t know what to expect. You wanted to learn, interact. You didn’t have any solid ideas of what was going to happen, or memories of people who were fantastic players you were really close to. Your friends mean something, and they always will. But you’re allowed to have more friends. You’re allowed to open up, socially, and try everything as if it’s brand new again.

Let yourself be hesitant, but don’t be afraid to jump in! Jump into everything! Everywhere! Explore your new characters through writing fanfics or short stories. Work on profiles. Design worlds. Design life. Come up with concepts. Play with yourself, by writing by yourself. Maybe in public. Let yourself do crack-play, or bullshit you wouldn’t do because you have a higher standard now. If it’s fun, it’s fantastic! It doesn’t matter what other people think. You’ll find somewhere, as long as you openly invite interaction in your posts. No hanging out in corners sipping tea, no yawning, no sitting by yourself hoping someone will get curious. 

Name drop, in narration not vocally for your character unless they know the names. Interact with other posts. Someone do something silly? Laugh about it. React to the people around you. Invite them to react back. Allow them to see you want to play with them. As long as you actively seek out other people, and actions instead of trying to lead everything yourself you’ll end up getting the ball rolling on new RP friendships.

Interest can be anything from playing a character that is unique, to playing a character doing something other people haven’t seen a thousand times which has something that they will notice. Be it sound, visual stimuli, smells, emotions, or even sense of touch. Don’t be obnoxious and grab strangers or attack people out of no where. For the love of god, poking will annoy a lot of people. But maybe, sit down and set up a board game. Roll some dice loudly. Start laughing at something on your cellphone, and look around for someone to share it with. People will jump on open interactions like that. Especially if you make a note you’re looking for someone to do so. Glancing around for help, literally calling out, ‘Hey anyone wanna join me?’ shit like that. 

Pretend you’re in public in the real world, in New York. They pretty much ignore things that are wacky and abnormal unless they explicitly involve them in the action. Not by touching, so much because that’s kind of creepy and assault in some cases, but by vocalizing and calling out. “Hey! You!” yelled at the big guy in the corner will get their attention. Emotion and shit, tone of voice. Are you curious, snappish, excited, angry? It brings elements to RP to draw new people in.

And of course, skim their profiles if they have any. OOC sections and ‘likes and dislikes’ and other important ‘Please don’t do this’ things should be known if you are approaching someone new. It takes 15 seconds, and could save you from calling out someone, and demanding a fight, from someone who doesn’t like fight RP. Or who doesn’t want to play anything you find interesting. Everyone’s different, and honestly, it takes a few extra seconds to make things so much easier on everyone else.

I also suggest the tag #RPediaRP for everyone trying to find partners! Look, the tag’s empty right now. But if you use the tag on here, on Omegle, on Twitter, anywhere you can use a tag system? People looking at it because I just advertised it to over 6.5k people, might see you. Say hi! Mention that you’re looking for asks, or replies. Say you’d like to chat about stories. Give a summary of you and your character. See who shows up to the party. #RPediaRP is 100% user generated, not me, but it’ll let people find each other. I get a lot of fucking asks about advertising and finding each other. Using that tag to post open starts, and stuff like that will get that community participation in a smaller area. Ya’ll are good RPers right? GET OUT THERE. GET SEEN!

Advertising a tag to help ya’ll find other RPedia readers who want RP aside, that’s great advice and I’ll repeat it 30 thousand times. Get seen. Make friends. Interact. You got this, it’s all a matter of self advertisement and trying.

Emotionally, I would like to touch upon recovery. You have just experienced a major loss. An RP network is a support network. It’s friendships, and building a world that feels real and unique. Even though it’s fictional, it still has the same value as face-to-face relationships in terms of support, interaction, social ties, and emotion. You still feel love for them, kinship, understanding. You’ve learned their tics, and how they interact with one another. You’ve gotten close to these people, and having those ties severed feels like shit.

Reach out to them, some of them may be feeling the same way and you can continue on your journey with people who already understand you. People who care about you, and don’t want to lose contact. Maybe some of your friends are more healthy by going on their way? But sharing your life with someone you’re used to, and who will remember things can make the loss less sharp. Just don’t hyperfocus on them and force them to be your entire social network, they’ll get tired, resentment will brew. Remember to keep reaching outwards, and never focus all your attention on just one person. It’s unhealthy and ends up making everyone kinda upset in the end.

You still matter, even though you’ve lost things. You’re a person, and roleplaying means something to you. It’s an interest or hobby that can help you grow as a person and really see the world, and meet people. You’ll do things you can never hope to do in real life. So, in a way, roleplay can heal what roleplay has harmed. Don’t abuse it, and make yourself the center of every sad story, but you can hint as losing friends, or missing people and get a little bit of coddling. Here and there, a light dusting of sad spice. It can be cathartic if you’re not heavy handed.

Give yourself time to heal. Rest up, you’ve been through something. It might take you 5 minutes to be fresh as a daisy, or months or years to get over that loss. Everyone’s different. You might go through all the stages of grief, or you might go ‘well.... time to move on’ and find something to distract you entirely. It’s okay, no matter what you choose to do, or well, not choose, but have to experience because your brain is a mean little thing that pushes various chemicals whether you ask it to or not.

You’re going to be fine, experiencing pain and loneliness is normal. It’s normal to feel both loss and grief, and love and sentimental warmth. Look back on it as something amazing, something you loved, and look for new challenges. New purpose, relief, and happiness is in your future. You are not lost for good, you’re just... in-between roleplay partners. You’ll get new ones, the urge to write and tell stories never leaves you entirely. 

Good luck, and happiness on your path to finding this shit. Gooey and lovey-dovey as I sound, and as hard as this feels for some of you? You’ll be okay. Everything will be okay.

[croatoandemons]

The Avalon Tidbits

(Because the amount of information I’ve been gathering on these guys is starting to pile up and I need to remember it. Will fill it out and reblog whenever new info is added.)

In parentheses are ranks, full names, semi-nicknames, and aliases used. “A.B.S.” just means “able bodied sailor” and is used for those who regularly switch roles around the ship.

Captain Lucky: (real name: Benjamin, unknown last name; has three aliases used: Roneden Conmuir, Jain Kysely, and Accian Sevik)

Quartermaster Stranger: (essentially first mate; real name: Gael Grons, keeps last name secret; uses aliases: Corvos Kysely,)

Chief Engineer/Boatswain Hemlock: (last name: Bauer; also responds to “drunkard” when called, alias: Locke Bauer)

Steward Errol: (Last name: Saffeh; uses no aliases)

Medic Mak: (last name: Vidal; no aliases)

Chief Gunner Garrick: (last name: Lewis; one alias: Garrison Lewis)

Chief Rigger Atoria: (also ship’s cook; her name isn’t said in public, no aliases needed; responds to “Rasoiya” which is “the cook” in Hindi)

Nenno/Nen: (best gunner; last name: Osiris; one alias: Jerem Voronin)

Darrow: (senior gunner under Garrick, last name: Maekel)

Firion/Fi/Firi: (gunner, last name: Kir)

Ferro: (rigger, last name: Kir)

Raewyn/Rae: (rigger, last name: Bauer; alias: Reina Bauer)

Rusty: (ABS, real name: Andreo, no last name given)

Finn: (ABS, best swimmer, full name: Finnigan Vervain)

Hato: (ABS, last name: Ruso)

Ignatius/Iggy: (ABS, last name: Esposito)

Sisk: (ABS, real name: Siskin James)

Love: (ABS, real name: Javikan Lovell)

Orion: (ABS, full name: Tal Orion)

[gosatsuvns]

SHINRAI Anniversary Update

Today marks the 4th anniversary of SHINRAI's release and, in celebration of that, we've just released a little update for it!

Although no new major content (such as additional scenes or diary entries) has been added, this update applies a number of tweaks and changes to the game, which will definitely provide a better experience. From simple bugfixes and typo eradication to the addition of new music tracks, as well as a much desired checkpoint system for the final chapter.

But let's have a closer look at the changelog, shall we?

General Fixes: As mentioned above, a number of minor issues such as typos, bugs and visual errors have been fixed (like Henjin's arm being cut off on his profile page or the characters' legs being hidden behind the black bar on their intro cards).

GUI Adjustments: The textbox design has been updated to better fit with the rest of the GUI.

Sound Adjustments: With the help of our new composer, Solo Acapello, we've tackled a number of sound-related issues. BGM/SFX loops are now seamless, the volume for various sounds has been adjusted, and some have even been redone.

Music Addition: Since some players found the occasional (rather long) stretches of silence to be awkward, new ambience and music tracks have been added to fill the auditory void. In total, there are four new BGMs, one of them being a variation of an already existing track, whereas the other three are completely original compositions*.

Notebook Update: The text size for the notebook content has been slightly increased (yes, it was even smaller before). As a result, all "Diary", "Trivia" and "Clues & Evidence" entries, as well as all character profiles have been revised. In some instances, new tidbits of information have been added, along with references to our new projects. Since some players have gotten confused by it, the "DD/MM/YYYY"-format for D.O.B. information has been changed, as well.

Script Changes: A bunch of dialogues and narration segments have been revised for better readability and structure, as well as to make them more concise and thus improve the pacing a little. Some parts have even been rewritten, while others were elaborated on. This mostly affects the first two chapters and the game's extra content.

Checkpoint System: If you pick the wrong culprit and end up getting a bad end, you will now get a choice between going to the title screen, or returning to an automatic checkpoint that will let you try again. Thus, players who don't save often or overwrite their save files a lot will not run the risk of locking themselves into a bad end anymore.

Code Cleanup: Natsu has taken the time to optimize the game's script, getting rid of thousands of unnecessary lines of code. Honestly, this is something that you, as a player, won't notice. Nevertheless, it makes us feel pretty good!

*(If you've bought the OST on Steam, they've been added to it through an update. Itch users will have to download the new zip.)

There are a number of reasons as to why we've decided to update SHINRAI now, four years after its release. Some of the changes are tied to something we can't quite divulge yet, but it will be unveiled within the next two months.

What I can already tell you, however, is that this was also done in preparation for our next two projects: GENBA no Kizuna and SHINRAI - Withering Without Hope.

As some of you may know, SHINRAI was originally written as a short novel in 2011, never intended to be a VN until 2013. So it's actually been nine years since its initial conception, and ideas for a sequel have been gathered ever since.

Naturally, these ideas have greatly evolved over time, especially during these past four years, while we've been busily working on GENBA and WWH. Thus, I wanted to take the opportunity to update SHINRAI with these developments in mind.

There is also the fact that, back in 2016, when I decided to add some extra content to the game, hinting towards the sequel, it was done pretty much last minute. As a result, it ended up being a little rushed, which is probably why we've found most of the typos in there. Some minor things also didn't quite make a lot of sense, so I wanted to fix that as well.

If you've already beaten the game, there may not be enough new stuff here for another full playthrough, but you might at least want to check some of the extra content again, particularly Kamen's secret diary entry. She now elaborates more on her feelings towards a certain someone, which will naturally play a big part in the sequel.

So, how is development going on our next project anyway, you may wonder...?

Well, we've made some major progress on GENBA this year, which is still scheduled to be released first. Although it chronologically takes place 'before' SHINRAI, it further sets up WWH by introducing characters, themes, relationships and important plot points.

As of right now, I don't want to make any promises. I can tell you for sure that it won't be out this year, but we have a release date for it in mind, which we'd really like to meet. So keep your eyes peeled for more information towards the end of the year, I guess!

I will talk more about this update, the BBD changes, GENBA's and WWH's development, as well as our plans for the upcoming months in our next weekly blog post. However, before this one gets any longer, I should better wrap it up.

We know that a lot of you guys are eagerly awaiting our next projects and we're really sorry for the long wait. Which is why we appreciate your patience and continued support all the more! Believe me, no one wants to finish these games more than we do!

It's been four years now, and we still receive messages of new and old players on a regular basis, telling us how much they enjoyed our little murder mystery and that they're looking forward to what's next. However, even though we'd love to release something ASAP, we also don't want to disappoint you. So, while it is taking quite some time, please rest assured that we keep working as hard as we can to deliver something that will live up to your expectations!

We're sincerely grateful for all the positive feedback and reviews, the kind comments and messages, and the exorbitant amounts of motivation your support has supplied us with over these past four years!

As developers, we couldn't ask for more!

[louisonurmark]

I’ve always been a bit impressed by Sigma. Here’s a company that is mostly unknown outside of Europe (or even Germany), yet they tend to put out high quality products that compete technically with those from the bigger-name American and European brands. Now, I say ‘technically’, because in general Sigma nails the functionality aspects. After all, their SIGMA ROX 12 GPS that came out last summer is ahead of what popular bike computer maker Wahoo Fitness offers on any of their head units from a functionality standpoint, and it’s not terribly far behind Garmin in certain areas either. The challenge for Sigma instead has always been the inverse problem of ‘Form over function’, more of a ‘Function but not form’ sorta issue.

But first, an explainer. The company has two products here – the iD.FREE (169EUR) & iD.TRI (179EUR) I’m going to abbreviate them to just Tri and Free, simply so I can type faster. Both units include a bike mount in them, which is reasonably impressive – and both units are identical in hardware specs. the 10EUR difference simply adds structured workout, competitions, and multisport mode to the other model. I’m mostly going to use the Tri variant in this post.

However, what’s impressive is the list of pretty advanced features for a sub-$300 watch, let alone at sub-$200 watch. Here, a quick overview:

– GPS recording with up to 12hrs run-time (8hrs in 1-second recording) – 7-Day always-on mode battery life – Optical heart rate sensor (via Valencell) – ANT+ & Bluetooth Smart Sensor support (HR/Power/Cadence/Speed) – Barometric altimeter (no new Suunto/Garmin/Polar triathlon watch below like $400 has a baro altimeter) – Full navigation via GPS track & Komoot integration – Full structured workout support via app (or 3rd party .FIT files) – Full multisport mode (have to setup via app) – Geocaching mode (supports Geocaching.com) – Glowing light on bottom used for zones/targets, notifications, workouts – Smartphone notifications – Automatic crash detection, emergency contact notification – Medical information shown on watch in crash – Normal activity tracker type functionality (steps/etc..) – Waterproofed to 50-meters – Weight at 42g (that’s less than any Garmin triathlon watch) with mineral glass display (not plastic)

That’s a super-strong lineup for any watch, let alone one in this price bucket. And again, it includes a bike mount. And hardware wise the strap is silicone with a metal buckle (most cheaper watches have plastic buckles). On the flip-side, note that there is no backlight in regular watch modes, though it does appear to come on when text messages come in. Kinda quirky.

With that – let’s get into the basics of the watch.

WATCH WALK-THROUGH:

You’ll start on the watch face, which as one might expect shows the time. There’s two watch faces on the watch, but down in the bottom left you’ll find the steps for the day (you can also change this to HR, distance, or calories).

While my day today did have some 8-9 miles of hiking/running/etc, it didn’t quite have 29,000 steps worth. About 15,000 of that is due to driving the rental RV down to Eurobike. Apparently it’s a bumpy ride (the Garmin only accumulated a bit over 1,000 steps during that time period, including two gas station stops). In any case, I don’t own a car, so normally this wouldn’t bother me personally.

Most of these settings can be tweaked via the companion app. You can see things like the clock face, as well as more general bits like the alarm (configurable for Daily, or Mon-Fri), as well as bits like smart notifications enablement. It’s also where you can set the daily step target.

Looking at more general things, from the watch-face, if I tap the lower left or lower right buttons it’ll iterate through some quick daily stats including steps, heart rate, distance, and calories.

The heart rate comes from the Valencell reference optical HR sensor on the back of the unit. This is considered one of the best sensors out there from an accuracy standpoint, but perhaps more importantly, one of the best sensors out there when put on a super-lightweight watch like this (as compared to when it’s put on the far heavier and bouncier Suunto 9). Weight matters for optical HR accuracy on the wrist.

Back on one more general thing before the sports side of life, it does get smartphone notifications. And this is an area that shows some of Sigma’s inexperience. Right now you have to manually dismiss every notification, always. Meaning, they don’t automatically disappear after a set number of seconds, nor can you clear everything in one bunch. Nor can you set to ignore. There’s only one option – OK – and you *have* to press it each time on each notification. Notifications are toggled back in that settings menu (On/Off), and then ultimately controlled on your iOS/Android via the normal notifications center. This notification came in an hour ago, it’s still there:

Ok, with all that said, we’ll press the sacred red button. This will go ahead and bring up the main sports menus. It’s also where you can dig into settings and such as well:

Your options here are:

– Training (select a sport, off you go) – Load Track (following a course/route) – Games (various activities including Geocaching, ‘HR Slalom’, ‘Speed Recovery’ (HR), and ‘Activity Sprint’) – Memory (history and minor analysis tidbits) – Settings (piles upon piles of things to dork with)

We’ll temporarily defer looking at the ‘Training’ bits, since I’ll cover those in a second. So let’s look at ‘Load Track’ instead. It’s here that you can load tracks from the smartphone app or Sigma Datacenter (desktop app). You can’t seem to make a track directly on the smartphone app itself, though you can show nearby routes via GPSies integrated right into the app:

I will give credit to the above that it’s pretty cool, the using your current location to find nearby trails. Albeit only a handful of trails, but still – something I don’t see in other apps.

And with Komoot if you’ve got a Komoot account you can integrate that as well, all right within the app:

All of that will sync via Bluetooth Smart to the app once you send it over. Though I find the sync can often fall apart and I’ve got to manually sync things. In that same vein, it’s super weird to me that after I’ve synced (usually manually) from the watch to the app, that I have to then remember to press the button to sync that again to the Sigma Cloud platform. Without doing so you won’t get your workouts on sites like Strava or such. I don’t understand why I have to take so many manual steps. It should just be instant when my workout completes.

And while I’m on the app – this really gets to my core complaint about the Sigma lineup: They need to invest in some graphic designers. This is the main page of the app when you open it. And if I swipe once, I get this second page:

As you’ll see above, the watch is currently not syncing today, but let’s ignore that. Why on earth is 60% of my entire iPhone screen taken up with showing me how many steps I did today? And the same goes for showing me activities by week (using the ‘Week number’ system that’s commonly used in Europe, but virtually never used in North America). So much of the app feels like 1997. They desperately need to re-think the user interface. The same applies to the Sigma Datacenter desktop app (and was a core complaint of mine back with the Sigma ROX 12 GPS).

And, once it did finally sync, here’s what I get. Except – I can’t tap on anything. What does the ‘Low 2:13h’ mean? I get that 31,302 is my steps for the day, but I can’t tap on anything, and there’s no explainer text anywhere.

And I get it – there will be some of you that say ‘User interface doesn’t matter, I just want accurate stats’. Which is fine I guess, except that I see no reason they have to be mutually exclusive. Nobody actually likes using clunky interfaces, and anyone that says they do are the same people that say they don’t pee in wetsuits. I’d easily go as far as arguing that the singular reason Sigma hasn’t really caught-on outside the German market is because of the clunky user interface of their apps (and to a lesser extent, sometimes their devices, though the ROX12 was pretty smooth device-wise).

On the bright side – I do like the usage of the little LED along the bottom. This is used in a pile of scenarios, from notification of an incoming text message, to heart rate zones during a structured workout, to when it display an error messages for something. It’s also used in things like showing you that you’ve progressed to a higher level of workouts or activity this week:

You can see how even on your wrist, it’s super easy to see:

In any case, let’s wrap-up real quick in settings before we get to the run. It’s here we can pair sensors (ANT+ or Bluetooth Smart), as well as pair our phone:

It’s also where we can set various device settings like units or language, alarms, keylock, the current altitude, GPS update rate, and so on. More or less all the major stuff you’d expect:

You can also configure user settings here as well, like your weight/height/age. Plus also where you can view medical information if you’ve added it via the app.

In one way – mainly the display rectangular-ness, the device reminds me of a TomTom watch. Though it’s clear this is all Sigma from the ground up. For one, it’s a heck of a last faster – but most notably, it’s also a bit more Android-like. Tons of things you can toggle and tweak. Whereas TomTom was all about minimalism.

AN EXAMPLE WORKOUT:

Ok, with all that set, let’s go back into the training section, pick a sport, and go running, hiking, or something. I’ve done both. Even some rides too. First up, choose your sport. You’ve got Running, Cycling, Swimming, Hiking, Fitness (Gym), Skiing, and Other.

There aren’t explicitly indoor variants of these, but rather you just skip finding GPS, and then go ahead and start the activity. I’ve found in general that GPS acquisition is often slow, and usually takes at least 2-3 attempts. The watch has a very fast time-out if it doesn’t find GPS, so you have to keep telling it to try again. This is in numerous locations that I’ve tried including: Amsterdam, New York City, the glorious town of Putz, Germany – and the middle of the Austrian Alps. It’s just rarely successful the first time around.

Once you’re ready, simply press the ‘Start’ button (the red button again), and you’re good to go. One of the cool things about the watch is that it mirrors Garmin’s ability to see data fields even when paused (a surprising number of other watches don’t let you see data fields/screens when paused). And of course, you’ll see those same fields when you resume again.

Atop that, it’ll actually briefly show you the name/function of each data field on your data pages when you switch pages:

Fear not, you can turn this off if you don’t like it (it’s a bit long for my taste). The switching of data pages is super quick – instant. I mean, it should be. But it’s instant-instant. There’s no lag whatsoever. There’s also a few graphical pages, like the altitude profile:

And there’s even a data field for weather. Albeit, I’m not terribly certain on telling me if it’s going to start raining, or was raining (Post-Thought Update: I then got rained on). Still, I appreciate the thought.

The heart rate will by default com from the optical HR sensor, though again, you can pair an ANT+ or Bluetooth Smart heart rate strap. I’ve done testing with both the optical HR sensor and two different external ANT+ HR sensors (Garmin HRM-DUAL & Polar OH1+). I’ll show some charts down below.

From a wearability standpoint, it’s nice and light, and the strap is high quality and doesn’t feel too stiff or weird. I’m happy there.

Once you’ve completed your workout you’ll be able to see some summary stats on the watch itself, as well as upon sync (manual or automatic) over on the Sigma app. Or, if you’re using the desktop, the desktop app. All of which can ultimately be synced with Sigma Datacenter and then up to various 3rd party platforms like Strava, TrainingPeaks, and 2Peak.

So how does accuracy look? Ask and you shall receive. We’ll start first with a run on relatively flat terrain. This one compared the Polar Vantage V with the OH1 Plus connected for HR. While on the Garmin side as a reference point we’ve got the FR945 with the HRM-DUAL chest strap. I know, these are both more expensive units, but frankly in all my years of testing that hasn’t mattered. After all, most of these companies are using the exact same GPS chipset anyway, and half of them are using the exact same optical HR sensor. It’s how they use it that matters.

Let’s start with GPS. In this case, it’s a simple run around the rowing basin, though, about half of it is in the trees, and half of it in more open fields. Kinda a blend. Here’s that data set:

In general in this section below (both going out, and coming back), it wobbles quite a bit into the trees and off the into the water, and isn’t anywhere near as accurate as the Polar unit:

It’s getting the general gist of the route right, but doing it in a drunk-driver sorta way:

And the lower section:

Honestly, I think we’ve seen enough on this run, it’s not good.

As for the heart rate side of things, despite the watch saying it was ready – it apparently wasn’t. You can see how the HR stays stuck at 70 for a while, before it catches on. Also, in case you’re wondering – apparently I didn’t press start on the FR945? Or I did (I’m like 99.99% sure I did), and the watch crashed and lost the workout (a first). Or, aliens. Either way, that’s why it starts 12 minutes in.

In any case, once the Sigma unit locks heart rate at the 3 minute marker, it holds it nice and steady for the remainder of the workout. A bit of a wobble here and there around the 35 minute marker however. Not huge, but worth noting.

Let’s go look at another GPS track, this time up in the mountains. While I know the flat-lands were challenging, perhaps we just need something more robust to get some good GPS accuracy. This time I’m off doing a trail run in Austria. It’s basically just up, and back down. I suppose like all runs in the Alps. Here’s the data set:

At a high level, things don’t look too shabby. The lines are all atop each other – that’s a good sign! So let’s zoom in. Note that the vast majority of this is in the forest, though some open field section as I descended (the north/upper portion of this image).

Let’s look at the ascent first. This was slow, as one might imagine when it’s a 20%+ incline. But, things look good here too:

So let’s skip ahead as I start descending a bit, and initially, that’s across some large meadows of sorts:

And oddly enough, this is where the Sigma goes astray a bit. It’s almost like it struggles with each terrain, and does better with hard terrain. Though, admittedly that is a pretty short lasting issue. We’re talking only a few hundred meters and then it locks back on again.

The remainder of the zig-zags back down into the village are perfectly fine:

Now it’s worth noting that the run today (literally, just 4 hours ago), is on a newer firmware version than the run 2 days ago. There’s supposed to be some fixes in there, though I’m not sure if they were for GPS. I’ll likely post a few more GPS & HR tracks over the coming days. I have more GPS tracks from the previous few weeks, including in the mountains and in Amsterdam, but they were all on the previous GPS firmware.

Either way, on the whole, for this run – given the terrain and huge trees, was actually very good for it overall. I’d have no complaints with using this GPS track for anything on this run.

(Note: All of the charts in these accuracy portions were created using the DCR Analyzer tool. It allows you to compare power meters/trainers, heart rate, cadence, speed/pace, GPS tracks and plenty more. You can use it as well for your own gadget comparisons, more details here.)

WRAP-UP:

Ultimately, like with the Sigma ROX 12 – the company might be onto something with this watch. They’re effectively taking the place of the ultra-budget market from the now defunct TomTom wearables line – but doing so with a far greater and more capable product (at least in terms of technical functionality). The thing to keep in mind with Sigma is that they aren’t actually a new kid on the block. They’ve been around the block more times than a toddler on a tricycle. And they have very strong brand recognition in Germany and other parts of Europe, and will show that on Wednesday with a sprawling booth at Eurobike. One that’ll be packed with people as always.

The challenge for the company though is whether or not they want to break out of that mold. Do they want a global product that competes on a global scale with the likes of Garmin, Suunto, and Polar (and to a far lesser extent, Apple/etc..)? Or are they content with the product they have and raking in the budget buyer with what is arguably a great physical watch, albeit with some minor quirks?

If they want to expand beyond their safe zone, then that’s gonna me spending some money to overhaul their app platforms: Phone, desktop, and web. It’s as simple as that. The apps as designed today just don’t cut the mustard in 2019 (let alone even 4-6 years ago). They do have the underlying technical bones though, they just don’t have a cohesive and coherent user interface for this decade.

But again – I see promise here. And the pricing is incredible. Seriously – 179EUR for a full-featured multisport product is an astoundingly good value. Let alone one that can also follow courses, do structured workouts, and has a nifty green glowing light on the bottom. Everyone loves a good glowing light.

Hands-on: Sigma’s iD.TRI & iD.FREE Multisport GPS Watches I've always been a bit impressed by Sigma. Here’s a company that is mostly unknown outside of Europe (or even Germany), yet they tend to put out high quality products that compete technically with those from the bigger-name American and European brands.