#luckily there was a bug fix on the final page with the final edit + the version marker on the opening page so it's vry easy to check

[nerice]

every single time i send out the pdf im terrified im actually linking like. the rough draft from 2018 or some shit ahsnsjdnf

[how-to-install-mass-effeclk]

Making DLC Mods for Mass Effect 2 | ME3Explorer Wiki | Fandom

💾 ►►► DOWNLOAD FILE 🔥🔥🔥 With updated visuals and other quality-of-life improvements, experiencing this epic sci-fi trilogy has never felt better. Yet, nothing is ever perfect, and the developers can't think of everything. Fortunately, that's where the modding community comes into play. Already, the list of mods for the Legendary Edition on Nexus is growing extensively. Never before has it been so easy to mod the entire trilogy in one convenient place. From graphical tweaks to unlocking previously cut content , these essential mods deserve some attention before taking off in the Normandy one final time. Perusing what Nexus has to offer is now a more time-intensive activity. Nevertheless, although the list has grown larger, there are still plenty of excellent mods to choose from on Mass Effect's Nexus page. Whatever players seek to accomplish with their mods, fans can rest assured that this selection of add-ons incorporates the best of the bunch. As if fans needed one more reason to get lost in the world of this sci-fi epic? This list has been expanded to include a few more worthwhile Mass Effect Legendary Edition mods , specifically for the original game. Games are never perfect and Mass Effect: Legendary Edition is no exception. Bugs are frustrating. Therefore, mods that fix said bugs are typically a godsend for gamers at the end of their rope. Luckily, two stellar mods exist for Legendary Edition that all players should consider. Don't explore the Milky Way again without them! For a game that imparts so much freedom to players, the lack of armor customization options in Mass Effect 2 is annoying. Unsurprisingly, mods that give fans more options when it comes to expanding and improving Shepard's pool of equipment are common. Chief among them is the ability for Shepard to wear the DLC armors without the helmets. There are also more armor options in general, with added pieces from the first and third entries. Minigames can be fun, but they also tend to become stale unless they're remarkably engaging. In the first Mass Effect , the minigames get old very fast. Bypassing them requires Omni-gel, something that players may or may not have enough of depending on how diligent they are about collecting items. The Skip Minigames mod is a terrific quality of life add-on that most players should find useful. Notably, the need to perform minigames on mineral deposits and artifacts is removed entirely, which is nice. Other minigames can be skipped without paying the cost of Omni-gel. There's also a version for Mass Effect 2 , which can be found here. The original Mass Effect incorporates a large variety of weapons for players to utilize. Better weapons can be found or purchased as fans progress through the game and increase their level. Knowing whether a new weapon is better than the one Shepard is currently using, however, isn't always a straightforward matter. The Elements of Comparative Weaponry mod is a must-have quality of life mod for the first game. With better information, players can make more informed choices regarding their loadout. Even though the Legendary Edition sports a host of visual upgrades over the original titles, there's always room for improvement. Starting a new game with even crisper visuals and lighting effects is the best way to witness the world of Mass Effect at its finest. When searching for an all-in-one textures mod, players should opt for the very best. Everything is made sharper and more vibrant without sacrificing the core vanilla presentation. Mass Effect 3 certainly deserves attention in the mods department, too! Specifically, mods that improve the quality of life of ME 3 are greatly appreciated. For that, fans don't have to look much further than the Expanded Galaxy Mod. The Expanded Galaxy Mod incorporates a whole host of features, including new weapons, gameplay improvements, mission timings, and a slew of Normandy conveniences. Check out the mod page for this excellent add-on for the full list of improvements. The Mass Effect games give players a startling amount of freedom. Outside of combat, players spend the majority of their time conversing with NPCs and making decisions. Shepard can make thousands of choices, both large and small, throughout the trilogy. Keeping track of it all can quickly become untenable. Arguably the first and most important mod that players should install is Trilogy Save Editor by Karlitos. When activated, this mod tracks and organizes almost every detail about the player character. As previously stated, a wealth of weapons and armor await the player in the first Mass Effect. However, depending on the player's chosen class, not every weapon is going to be used. Furthermore, although squadmates can carry every type of weapon, they are only proficient in a few of them. It's up to the player to make sure their squadmates are using their favored weapons. The Streamlined Weapon Loadouts mod removes this annoying hassle. Now, squadmates can only equip the weapons that correspond to their class, cutting out the need to micromanage their arsenal during a battle. The same rules are applied to the player character as well. Thus, fans no longer have to cart around weapons they will never use. Video games and cheat codes have fit hand-in-glove with each other for quite some time. On a PC, players enable cheats through the use of console commands. This gives players the ability to manipulate the game world in various ways. Nevertheless, enabling console commands in the Legendary Edition isn't as straightforward as other titles. A mod is actually required first to unlock the console. For that, downloading Enable In-Game Console is perhaps the easiest method. Just follow the instructions on the mod page to extract the file to the proper game folder. It comes as no surprise that players spend a lot of their time in combat. The Mass Effect games feature third-person, squad-based combat. Options to manipulate the camera angles are sparse, but that hasn't stopped modders from fixing the problem themselves. The Better Camera mod does exactly what it says. It gives the user more options to adjust the angles to their liking. The mod allows the FOV to be zoomed out further, giving players a wider view of the battlefield if they so desire. Gamers can apply this mod to all three games in the Legendary Edition. Mass Effect 2 approaches resource gathering a bit differently than the first entry. With the aid of a scanner, multiple probes need to be dispatched to a planet to gather valuable minerals. The process is necessary but extremely tedious. Minerals need to be gathered periodically for the use of upgrades. No more fooling around with scanners to locate the best mineral spots. No more buying heaps of probes just for one or two planets. With this mod, just send one probe anywhere on the planet. The job is done, and all anomalies and resources are found and deposited instantly. The final version of the original Mass Effect contains a dizzying amount of armor and weaponry. Interestingly, even more weapons and armor exist, but players cannot obtain them through normal means. Only through the use of mods can players access this cut equipment. Compared to the first game, clothing choices in Mass Effect 2 and Mass Effect 3 are somewhat limited. With this mod, the number of clothing options is drastically increased. Over 70 casual outfits, 11 helmets, and 4 armors are added to Mass Effect 2. For Mass Effect 3 , the mod includes 45 casual outfits, 7 helmets, and 9 armors. It's definitely a must-have mod to spice up Shepard's appearance in the later games. The Legendary Edition adds some much-needed graphical enhancements to the trilogy. It implements textures, meshes, lighting, and a whole host of other improvements. The games now look better than they ever did, but there's always more that can be done to increase graphical fidelity. There are actually quite a few reshade mods on Nexus for the Legendary Edition. The color palette and lighting are much more vibrant, while certain textures also appear sharper. It's a must-have in order to get even better graphics out of the game. However, seeing everything the original Mass Effect has to offer requires searching every nook and cranny across the galaxy. Examining every point of interest and mineral deposit on a planet can be rather time-consuming considering players won't know where exactly they're located until they get near them. The Charted Worlds mod is a lifesaver when it comes to tracking down what players need to find. Charted Worlds marks the location of every mineral deposit and point of interest on the UNC world map for each planet. It also points out where Thresher Maws will attack, saving players from the grief of having to deal with an unexpected ambush. Better graphics in the overall environment is all well and good, but what about Shepard? Various mods on Nexus tweak Shepard's features. Specifically, many of them focus on the default appearance of a female Commander Shepard. The work is very high quality and can be applied to both Mass Effect and Mass Effect 2. It will also require the Trilogy Save Editor mod mentioned previously to work correctly. Players who enjoy exploring in the first Mass Effect will likely spend a lot of time in the Mako. This vehicle, although useful, is far from perfect. The speed of the Mako leaves much to be desired. The booster engines help a little, but the effect is temporary and needs time to recharge. With it, the Mako speed boost is infinite, allowing the player to zip across the map in no time. It's a useful little workaround that makes the player's life much easier. Scanning planets receives yet another minor modification in Mass Effect 3. Since the Reaper invasion is in full force , scanning a planet is often risky, as it can potentially draw the attention of a powerful dreadnought. Players must flee the system before the Reaper catches them. If it does, it's game over. Although it makes sense from a story perspective, this mechanic can become annoying after a while. It removes the threat of the Reapers, and by extension, the need to make frantic escapes.

[kerbaldevteam]

KSP Weekly: The Asteroid Miners

Welcome to KSP Weekly! Fan-favorite astrophysicist, Neil deGrasse Tyson, predicts that the world’s first trillionaire will be an asteroid miner. Asteroids are leftover material from the formation of the solar system and range from around a meter to hundreds of kilometers in diameter. Being the primordial building block of rocky planets, asteroids are very rich in mineral resources. If we are to sustainably keep growing economically and technologically, we will have to look up to this natural resource that has never been touched, is effectively inexhaustible, and has a value large enough to disrupt entire economies. There are three main types of asteroids in our solar system: Type C-type (carbonaceous) are the most abundant, accounting for more than 75 percent of known asteroids. These types of asteroids probably consist of clay and silicate rocks, and are dark in appearance. They are among the most ancient objects in the solar system.  S-type (silicaceous) asteroids follow in second place accounting for about 17 percent and are mostly made up of metallic iron mixed with iron- and Magnesium-silicates. Finally, there are M-type (metallic) asteroids, which are composed mainly of nickel, iron and other heavy elements. These are leftover cores of larger asteroids that were destroyed by collisions. If an asteroid is big enough it will undergo a process called differentiation. A process that happens during an asteroid’s formation when the heavier elements sink to its center. Although all these materials are plentiful on Earth, metals in particular are more accessible in asteroids, since the differentiation process happened in Earth as well, putting most of those valuable resources deep within our planet’s core.

Asteroid mining is not a simple endeavor: it would take years of work by dedicated engineers and scientists and billions of dollars to extract useful and profitable asteroid material. While all asteroids are potentially profitable, the right combination of valuable contents, mission essential resources, and accessibility is key. A perfect asteroid to mine has a decent amount of water, a high abundance of valuable materials, and is large enough to be worth the effort and accessible by an economical spacecraft. With this in mind, the first asteroid miners will probably look for a near-earth asteroid. Identifying the ERO (Easily Recoverable Object) is the current focus of effort of companies like Planetary Resources and Deep Space Industries, who are developing robotic prospector spacecraft for this purpose.

The extraction of platinum group elements and rare earths from asteroids might be the most lucrative. Both are essential in the production of electronic components, batteries and fuel cells, magnets, as chemical catalysts and reagents, and a huge range of advanced materials. Iron, nickel, aluminum and titanium, on the other hand might not be cost effective to bring back to Earth, but could be useful for the mining process itself as it could go into building infrastructure in space, including more asteroid mining facilities. Water is also abundant in asteroids, which can be dissociated into hydrogen and oxygen, becoming rocket fuel. In the long haul, there are even proposals to farm on asteroids, as it could end up being more cost efficient to provide food for long term missions, and “c-type” asteroids are known to be packed with organic compounds and soluble nutrients.

Once the enterprise proves to be profitable, we could see a real development and economic explosion, and maybe in a few decades there will be various mining outposts in the Asteroid Belt. Kerbals realized this a while ago and Kerbodyne even developed the “Drill-O-Matic” Mining Excavator with this in mind. How many asteroids have you mined so far?

[Development news start here]

This week the team focused mainly on bug-fixing tasks. With the help of the community, the focus group team and QA testing teams identified various issues that needed attention and several have been solved and are ready to be merged into an upcoming patch.

Some solved issues are related to Steam Workshop. We talked about a couple of them last week, and in the past few days, the team managed to solve a couple more, among which there was a bug that prevented some ships from being selected in the VAB Steam Tab, forcing players to subscribe via the Steam Workshop page. There was another one that impeded the prompt update of Steam item statuses or showed incorrect information. Although a part of the problem can be attributed to delays with remote servers, there was indeed a conflict that was luckily identified and corrected.

Likewise, the team also solved some Making History Expansion issues. Among these, the team fixed a bug related to the Mission Award system, which prevented the “Boldly Going” award to show up and caused the “Homesick” award to appear when it shouldn’t. The problem for this one was that the node distance checking never started because it asked the vessel to launch, then land, and then launch again in order to meet a certain distance from the target. Additionally, the team fixed a NullReferenceException issue that was triggered after using “Vessel Explode” node on an unfocused craft within physics range, as well as a bug that prevented users to delete missions from the in-game interface. The “Landed Vessel” node also presented some issues, as it didn’t mark the node completion when some facilities were set as the landing location.

Moreover, we managed to fix a bug that froze the game when the Mini Settings window was closed using the “Esc” key. Similarly, there was a game freeze problem that occurred when certain node connection configuration was made and the mission was saved in that state.

Issues related to the base game were also addressed. For instance, and as requested by the community, we adjusted the offset engine shrouds. Coupled with that, within the technology tree some part icons weren’t being displayed correctly. That’s fixed now too. Some of you might have also encountered a bug that made your crafts immediately float away and off the surface when loading into the Exploring Gilly scenario. That was solved as well.

There were some wheel related issues looked into as well. One of which caused landed vessels to jump when rovers attempted to dock with them. In like manner, a bug that caused wheel suspensions to explode when two vessels attempted to dock was fixed. Work was put into improving suspension and wheel performance particularly oscillations, bouncing and overloaded wheels.

Parallel to our work, BlitWorks has continued their maintenance work on KSP Enhanced Edition. Our testers have been continuously testing builds and helping to ensure that we can pack as many fixes and adjustments needed in these versions. We know it has taken us a while to release this patch, but it’ll be worth the wait.

Remember that you can also share and download missions on Curse, KerbalX, and the KSP Forum.

That’s it for this week. Be sure to join us on our official forums, and don’t forget to follow us on Twitter and Facebook. Stay tuned for more exciting and upcoming news and development updates!

Happy launchings!  

*Information Source:

Shaw, S. (n.d.). Astronomy Source. Retrieved from http://www.astronomysource.com/tag/rare-earth-metals-from-asteroids/

In Depth | Asteroids – Solar System Exploration: NASA Science. (2017, December 19). Retrieved from https://solarsystem.nasa.gov/small-bodies/asteroids/in-depth/

Providing Resources to Fuel Industry and Sustain Life in Space. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.planetaryresources.com/

Deep Space Industries. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://deepspaceindustries.com/

Mautner, M. N. (n.d.). In situ biological resources: Soluble nutrients and electrolytes in carbonaceous asteroids/meteorites. Implications for astroecology and human space populations. Retrieved from http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/download?doi=10.1.1.1007.6002&rep=rep1&type=pdf

Asteroid soil could fertilise farms in space. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.newscientist.com/article/mg22430004-900-asteroid-soil-could-fertilise-farms-in-space/ 

[starlightlotus]

nightmare before christmas au!! (can't emoji on my phone lol) ~closer-to-your-heart

@closer-to-your-heart I take it that I can choose my f/o? If that’s the case then I’ll choose Hanzo for this!

I’ll do a f/o chart as well and edit the page on my blog too.

Pairing: StormPhoenix

Izayoi was a demon and the queen of Halloween Town. No one would challenge her, as she is the most vicious when it comes down to a good scare. Every year, Izayoi would terrify the fellow monsters with her big black feathered wings and her demon features.

Every monster admired her, but Demon Hanzo admired her the most. However, his pride would hold him back from admitting those feelings to her. Plus, the elders would always pull the Demon Heir back from letting him get close to the Demon queen.

Although she enjoyed the thrill of this particular tradition, she also felt that this was becoming tiring. Izayoi wished for something new and different, so she went to the bamboo forest of the departed with her raven friend. Little did Izayoi know that Hanzo too shared the loneliness that consumed them. And Hanzo knew a way to lift the queen’s spirit, Nightshade tea with some poison apple tarts.

Izayoi’s wanderings have brought her to an unknown land which also sparked an idea in mind. With the idea of doing another holiday had brought her so much excitement that she had to go back and tell the others.

Telling the others of her plan, everyone else seemed eager and very excited. But Hanzo on the other hand, felt that going through with this plan was not going to work entirely. He tried to reason and persuade Izayoi to stop before it is too late, but Izayoi was too excited to listen to Hanzo. Concerned, Hanzo hopes that his prediction will be wrong.

On Christmas night, Izayoi had set out to take over Christmas. All was going well until it went down south very fast. Meanwhile, Hanzo had to find the real Santa Claus and save him. But it didn’t take long before he was captured by his nemesis, the Boogeyman. 

Everyone thought that it was the end for the Demon Queen, but the ravens had awakened her and brought her senses back, admitting that what she has done was not the right thing to do. Realizing this there was only one thing she was good at, scaring the living souls of everyone and that she was the Demon queen for a reason. In a hurry, Izayoi rushed back to Halloween town only to get a word that Hanzo was captured.

The Boogeyman had so much fun with his captive demons, before he could go any further, Izayoi greeted him surprising him. Izayoi wasn’t a queen for no reason, but the Boogeyman put up quite a fight with her. Using his surroundings like a labyrinth, Izayoi used it to her advantage by setting Hanzo and Santa Claus free to quickly flee the place.

Setting the hostages free, the Boogeyman was trying to escape, but Izayoi was having none of it. Seeing that a loose string was hanging, Izayoi decided to pull the string and tear open the fabric skin the Boogeyman had revealing itself to be a pile of bugs. Falling apart fast, the bugs fell into the open flame until there were none left. 

After everything was over, Izayoi felt guilt as she went to apologize to Santa Claus for the trouble she caused. Though upset, Santa Claus forgave the demon queen knowing that she learned her lesson. Luckily, it was not too late to fix all the trouble that happened.

Once Santa left, frowns quickly turned into smiles as Christmas was saved. And of course as a surprise, snow fell in Halloween Town. Everyone was surprised by the sudden change in weather, but most of them loved it nonetheless!

Finally, what is there to a queen without a king? Meeting Hanzo at the top of a snow covered hill, Izayoi gazed up at the demon twice her size and apologized. In return, Hanzo built up the courage to confess to Izayoi about his true feelings for her. Izayoi returned the same affection by telling Hanzo how she felt about him. In the end, the two kissed and embraced each other before looking up to the full moon together as King and Queen.

[waynekelton]

The Weekender: Conqueror Edition

It’s been a very meaty week for new releases and updates, and I’d like to think the content this week has been pretty diverse too. We gave one last look at our 2019 mobile guide before the year ends, whilst also writing up some interesting news bits as well as dropping a new guide.

Next week we should have a few more reviews and features for you as well.

Meanwhile, thousands of miles away...

New iPhone & Android Releases

Queen’s Wish: The Conqueror (iOS)

The studio that brought you the Avadon and Avernum RPG series are back with another hardcore, open-ended top-down RPG adventure. This game was successfully kickstarted to celebrate the studio’s 25 year run as a developer. We haven’t had a chance to test it out yet, but we know the developer’s games in general are thought well of, so we figured it was worth highlighting. We’ll try and get someone on the review for this as soon as we can.

In Queen’s Wish you play the exiled daughter of a Queen who banishes you to the furthest reaches of the empire to test your worth. Haven is a back-water, surrounded by unruly vassals, and it’s your drop to bring them all to heel. It boats 50+ hours of gameplay with an open-ended story and tactical combat.

Eve Echoes CBT (iOS & Android)

CCP Games has finally released a mobile version of EVE Online in the form of EVE Echoes (developed by NetEase). Previously we had our eyes on something called EVE: War of Ascension but that project looks to have disappeared. Echoes looks like a more literal translation of the game onto mobile devices in terms of features, functionality and presentation. The Open Beta Test launched on iOS via Testflight and on Android via Google Play at the start of the week - we’ve got a tips guide for anyone who’s looking to get started.

I’d tell you what I think of it, but I can't actually play the game due to some weird Android bug that seems to be connected to the Play Game services. I get stuck on a loading screen. If that ever gets fixed I’ll relay some top-line impressions. Fun Fact: I was infamous EVE Online guild GoonSwarm for about a year back when I attempted to play the game seriously.

Space Grunts 2 (iOS Universal)

As we mentioned earlier in the week, Space Grunts 2 is finally out on iOS to coincide with the PC version’s release from Early Access. We’ve got Jarrett on the review, and you can read more in our news report.

We’ve spoken to Orangepixel, and an Android version is provisionally due sometime in January.

Terraforming Mars (iOS and Android)

Honestly was a bit worried that this one wasn’t going to turn up, but Asmodee Digital have finally released their digital port of this hit board game onto Mobile. To recap - the development team working on this did release a mobile beta earlier in the year, but then they went bust. This project could have easily been cancelled so I’m glad it still saw the light of day.

Worth noting however that early impressions are a little mixed - some find the presentation divisive, and there are reports of issues with online multiplayer functionality. We’ve got Matt on the case, so will bring you more information as soon as we can in a full review.

Other recent Asmodee Digital board game releases we should highlight, since we’re here:

Gang of Four: The Card Game (iOS & Android)

Takenoko (iOS & Android)

Dream Home: The Board Game (iOS and Android)

Updates & News

DicTater Kickstarter

So the pitch for this is a '4X Strategy Game except you are a Potato'. I mean… sure?

We don’t normally cover Kickstarter projects due to the inherent risks with the platform, but something that claims to be Civilization-with-Spuds almost demands further investigation. Luckily you don’t have to go by the Kickstarter page alone (which at the time of writing is three-quarters of the way to being fully funded); if you’re on android you can join this google group to test out an alpha version.

Can’t guarantee everyone will be allowed to become a tester, but you can at least talk to the developer to find out more about the game if you’re as interested in this as I am. We hope it gets the funding it needs, and more importantly, we hope it actually gets finished!

Roll for the Galaxy Beta (iOS & Android)

Temple Gates Games have announced they’re launching a beta for their digital adaptation of Roll for the Galaxy. You can go here to sign up, and it’s available on both Android and iOS.

Roll for the Galaxy app beta signup is open! https://t.co/3vEpjwW5JL pic.twitter.com/ozEzLBTNWU

— Temple Gates (@Temple_Gates) December 4, 2019

Plague Inc

Plague Inc. just got a free new scenario which deals with ‘Fake News’. Instead of being a virus, you’re a fictional news story that you’re trying to get into the hearts of minds of everyone on the planet. Instead of upgrading your viral traits or upping your kill rate, you’re deploying psychological tricks and modern technology to make sure your ‘news’ is believed by everyone. This was created in conjunction with FullFact.org.

The new Plague Inc. update joins the fight against Fake News! https://t.co/Bf2qhVNc6b pic.twitter.com/GOw5eXpT9j

— Plague Inc. / Rebel Inc. (@NdemicCreations) December 5, 2019

Sales

I mean after the veritable feast that was Black Friday, the sales this week seem weak by comparison. Darkest Dungeon: Tablet Edition is currently $4.99, which is the lowest price since October 2018 when it was $0.99.

This is a weird one, the game seems to have launched at the $4.99 price, and then spent the rest of the time flitting between that and $0.99, with the price only rising to $9.99 in September this year. This seems less of a price reduction and more of a price correction?

Seen anything else you like? Played any of the above? Let us know in the comments!

The Weekender: Conqueror Edition published first on https://touchgen.tumblr.com/

[qwertsypage]

RisingStack in 2018. Highlights, Best Blogposts & other Achievements.

To give you a snapshot of 2018 at RisingStack, we collected some of the key stats, and also the best stuff we wrote this year. Enjoy!

--

2018 has been a challenging, and an incredibly fast-paced year at RisingStack, but luckily it was fulfilling & surprisingly fun as well.

Just a few achievements to mention:

We doubled the size of our engineering team, provided development / consulting services for ~25 companies ranging from early-stage startups to Fortune500 enterprises, and trained more than 400 developers across the Globe about topics such as Microservices, Node.js, React & Kubernetes. (Protip: Check out our next microservices workshop in Berlin!)

Giving back to the developer community remained a key priority in 2018 as well at RisingStack.

On this blog, we continued to write tutorials about topics that excite us (mainly JavaScript, Kubernetes and Software Architecture). We created a long-form case study as well about scaling a Node.js app to millions of users, and we tried ourselves out in live-streaming React development.

Also, we continued engaging the local developer community in Budapest with our meetups, conference workshops & webinars.

Thanks to the great articles created by our engineers, our blog reached around 1,6 million developers in 2018 - a little bit more than in 2017.

Take a look:

Case Study: Serving Millions of Users in Real-Time with Node.js & Microservices

In this article, we shared the story of fixing a nasty bottleneck in our clients' large-scale Microservices infrastructure. We managed to speed up a single user-facing system fivefold, so the product became able to serve 4000 requests per second.

This case study provides insight into how we tackle problems at RisingStack, and you can also learn about investigating performance issues and scaling a microservices architecture - written by Mate Huszarik & Peter Czibik.

Deploying a Stateful Application Azure Kubernetes Service (AKS) or on Google Cloud Kubernetes Engine

In this articles, Kristof Ivancza & Tamas Kadlecsik guide you through the process of deploying a stateful, Dockerized Node.js app on Google Cloud Kubernetes Engine and AKS! As an example application, we used Ghost - the open-source blogging platform where we run the RisingStack blog.

D3.js Tutorial: Building Interactive Bar Charts with JavaScript

Recently, we had the pleasure to participate in a machine learning project that involves libraries like React and D3.js. Among many tasks, Mate Huszarik, senior engineer at RisingStack developed few charts that help to process the result of ML models like Naive Bayes in the form of a line chart or grouped bar chart. In this article, he presents his progress with D3.js so far and shows the basic usage of the library through the simple example of a bar chart.

What is Kubernetes & How to Get Started With It

When our clients ask us to create a highly available distributed system, we usually recommend Kubernetes, because it's easy to use and even though it has a steep initial learning curve, it's still a lot more simple than other competing orchestration engines.

From Kristof Ivancza's article, you can learn the basic concepts of Kubernetes so you can have a modern, safe and reliable production infrastructure in the cloud without handling all the hassle of old DevOps solutions.

Yarn vs npm - which Node package manager to use in 2018?

With the v7.4 release, npm 4 became the bundled, default package manager for Node.js. In the meantime, Facebook released their own package manager solution, called Yarn. In this article, we dive into what these package managers offer, what's the difference between them, and how they evolved.

Let's take a look at the state of Node.js package managers and what they can do for you! We also try to help you to pick one between npm and yarn!

Building a React App from Scratch

Bertalan Miklos, our senior engineer decided to build a React app and live-stream the process.

In the 1st episode he bootstrapped the app with Create React App and made a few pages with Material-UI and his own React stack.

The 2nd episode is about authentication, UX and offline optimization.

In the 3rd & 4th episode, Berci covered form handling and authentication, then he revisited protected routes, implemented snackbar notifications and made some subtle UX optimizations.

In the final 5th episode, he added the final touches to turn the app into an offline-first mobile friendly Progressive Web App

AngularJS to Angular - a brief history with some tips to get started!

Angular is one of the most well-known solutions for SPA (single-page application) development besides React and Vue.js. It has been around for almost 10 years and it has gone through countless adjustments since then. The first version of the framework - AngularJS - started back in 2009 and laid the foundation of present-day front-end application development.

How to Debug a Node.js app in a Docker Container

In case you're wondering: "Why should I acquire this knowledge?" The answer from Tamas Kadlecsik is simple:

Most of the time you can be well off running your app on your local machine and use containers only to sandbox your databases and messaging queues, but some bugs will show themselves only when the app itself is containerized as well. In these cases, it is very helpful to know how to attach a debugger to the service.

While containerization, in general, is a very powerful tool - and here at RisingStack we always start new projects by spinning up the needed infrastructure in a docker-compose.yaml - it can be tricky to reach the enveloped Node process if you don't know how to do it.

Consumer Driven Contract Testing with Node.js & Pact

Making sure that we're not breaking our clients' code is a real challenge in the world of APIs. As full-stack software consultants working with growing microservice architectures we have to feel the pain of both the server and client. In this video, Peter Czibik, senior engineer at RisingStack presents a clean way to make sure everyone stays happy, and things don't break (or at least we know ahead of time if they are).

Those who watch the keynote will be familiar with the concepts of contract testing and will get to know a small library called Pact that can help integrating it into their current software development workflow.

Node v10 is Here - Feature Breakdown!

Node.js follows a release plan where every major release is cut from the master branch in every 6 months. In every October, new odd-numbered versions are cut and the latest even-numbered release transitions to the LTS plan. Each year’s April marks the date of the new even numbered release and today is the day when Node v10 is cut from the master.

In this article Tamas Kadlecsik, CEO of RisingStack takes a look at the new features Node 10 brings!

8 Tips to Build Better Node.js Apps in 2018

In the previous two years we covered best practices for writing and operating Node.js applications (read the 2016 edition & 2017 edition). Another year has passed, so we revisit the topic of becoming a better developer in 2018 January! In this article, we collected a few tips that we think Node.js developers should follow, like:

Use async - await

Get acquainted with import and import()

Get familiar with HTTP/2

Get rid of code style controversies

& more..

8 Tips to Build Awesome React.js Apps in 2018

New year, better code: mind these React.js best practices by Bertalan Miklos to improve the quality of your code. This post is a short collection of essential React.js tips and tricks for 2018.

Why Developers Love Node.js & what's their main issue with it? Survey Results.

In early 2018 we surveyed our readers to gain insights on what Node.js is used for & why developers still love it. Our secondary goal was to figure out what are the most severe problems they face with Node, and what are the most underexplained topics around it - so we could continue writing tutorials that really help moving forward with JavaScript, Microservices & Kubernetes (just like we did it in 2017).

We were also interested in the infrastructural aspect of running Node.js apps in production, so we asked our readers to share where they deploy their services, what are their preferred front-end technologies, what kind of databases they use and which flavor of JavaScript they prefer.

As a result, 539 devs who use Node in production shared their opinion.

Does your Business Really Need a Mobile App?

This article was written by Daniel Gergely, full-stack developer at RisingStack who makes the case of building Progressive Web-Apps instead of costly native mobile apps.

Git Catastrophes and Tips to Avoid Them

In this post, Janos Kubisch highlights some git features that might be less used/known, but can end up saving your @$$ when things go south in the codebase.

Read the post if you'd like to learn about..

amending,

reverting multiple commits (or even merges),

and proper git housekeeping.

Meet my Free, Local API Server for your Front-End Adventures (written in Node.js)!

Let's close 2018's article list with Robert Czinege's open-source project.

TLDR version: Robert created a free API service you can run locally using Docker. This API service can be used as a data source for your front-end project since it has all the necessary basic functions needed to learn or experiment with different front-end frameworks.

2018 in Pictures :)

That's all Folks!

RisingStack in 2018. Highlights, Best Blogposts & other Achievements. published first on https://koresolpage.tumblr.com/

[lindyhunt]

The Best Editing Apps for Photos

By now, it's clear that creating great visual content is critical for marketers -- and that's especially true on social media.

As of 2017, Instagram has doubled its monthly active user base in the last two years, which means a lot more people are viewing and sharing photos in 2018. Plus, visual content is 40X more likely to get shared on social media than other types.

In other words, people like to be shown, not told -- and in turn, they share.

For that reason, it's important for marketers to know how to create compelling photos for their business' social networks and blogs. And while it can be worth putting the investment of time and money into photo editing software on your computer, many of us are exclusively using our phones to take pictures and could stand to edit them without uploading them to a desktop. That's especially true when you're posting in real time, like at an event. Luckily, there are numerous great inexpensive and free photo editing apps out there for mobile devices -- some of them even cost just a few bucks. But which apps are the best?

Check out our short list of 12 apps below -- organized by apps that are compatible with both iOS and Android, apps offered just for the iPhone, and apps designed to edit face-focused photos.

Inexpensive and Free Photo Editing Apps for iOS and Android

1. Afterlight

$0.99 | iOS | Android | Windows

There was a time when I was a bit more old-school in my photo editing. I counted on Instagram tools alone, sometimes combining them with the "enhance" feature on my phone's Photos app. Then, I learned about Afterlight -- a somewhat rudimentary tool, but one that has all the features you need to do a basic photo edit.

From controlling the color tones, to adjusting exposure and brightness, to rotating and straightening a photo, it has everything you need for lighting or color fixes. It also contains 74 filters, including a Fusion feature that lets you mix tools, filters, and textures to create your own personal look. Into frames? Afterlight has a whopping 128 to choose from, boasting a perfect pairing with Instagram.

My favorite tools, though, have to be the ones for Brightness and Shadows. Some pictures do well with a decrease in shadows and increase in brightness for cleaner, fresher look. But flipping those around can also create a more mysterious, nighttime feel -- That's what I did with this photo of tree ornaments.

2. VSCO Cam

Free | iOS | Android

Over the past few years, VSCO Cam has become a highly popular photo editing app for mobile. While it does boast a wider set of editing tools than most other editing apps, its main claim to fame is its filters.

These filters have a softer, more authentic look that resembles real film, compared to the over-saturated looks of many Instagram filters. Plus, it's great for when you need to edit a photo on the fly. Simply upload the photo to VSCO Cam, slap on one of the great filters -- I used C1 below -- and call it a day. (There are more filters available for purchase, too.)

3. Photoshop Express

Free | iOS | Android

Believe it or not, Adobe Photoshop isn't just for your computer. Adobe Photoshop Express puts most of what people love about Adobe's popular photo editing program in their pockets -- lighting, color, and sharpness options included.

Photoshop Express is especially useful for making photo collages -- something the app's developers likely highlighted for mobile users who want to share many photos at once on Facebook or Instagram. The app's "Decorate" setting even allows you to annotate your photo with digital stickers before saving and posting directly on social media.

Although this photo editor makes Photoshop's best features easily accessible, keep in mind it does carry the natural limitations of a mobile app. Specifically, you can only upload JPG files smaller than 16 megapixels (MP).

Nonetheless, what it does on a smaller platform is still super impressive. You should also try similar Adobe photo editing apps such as Adobe Lightroom and Adobe Capture.

Here's how Photoshop Express helps you choose different collage orientations for multiple photos:

4. Snapseed

Free | iOS | Android

Snapseed is another app that's great for basic image enhancements. It's got all the classic adjustment tools, such as tuning, cropping, and straightening. Plus, its sharpening tool is one of the best we've seen -- it really does enhance a photo's detail, without making it look grainy, like many other photo sharpening adjusters out there.

But what makes this tool particularly unique is its "Selective Adjust" tool. It allows you to pinpoint an area in a photo and adjust the brightness, contrast, and saturation of that single point. So if you want viewers to focus on a certain part of your photo -- say, the buds in the center of a plant -- then you can make the buds more vivid.

Want more help with Snapseed? Google, the maker of the app, created a dedicated support page with tips and instructions.

5. SKRWT

$0.99 | iOS | Android

Ever taken a picture of something straight-on -- a doorway, a building, your food -- and found the perspective was just a little bit askew or tilted? The SKRWT app lets you adjust the perspective of your photos to make the lines look clean and square.

Have a look at what I was able to do with a simple window shot.

Before:

After:

At first, the "before" image doesn't look that skewed, but seeing the "after" version really shows what a difference symmetry can make. If it bugs you to see a photo that's slightly at an angle, then this app is well worth the dollar.

6. Live Collage

Free | iOS | Android

Collages made on Photoshop Express can be great, whether it's to show a comparison (like a before-and-after series), or to highlight multiple photos from the same event or theme. But our favorite photo collage app is Live Collage, mostly because of its wide variety of layouts. It contains several options for photo organization, both classic and fun, with interesting and colorful backgrounds. Plus, you can add customized text in different fonts, colors, and sizes.

If you're strapped for time, there are basic photo editing options within the app, too, making it a handy one-stop shop.

7. Foodie

Free | iOS | Android

If you're anything like I am, your personal social media feeds are loaded with images of food. It's no wonder that food-specific apps are coming out of the woodwork to make photos look even more delectable.

Called out by Bustle for taking "food pictures to some next level gorgeous," Foodie uses more than 30 filters and other editing features to turn what might otherwise be a humdrum snack into a visual feast.

When I applied the CR2 filter to a photo of chocolate candy, this was the result:

Best Photo Editing Apps for iPhone

8. Camera+

$2.99 | iOS only

With the highest price tag on the list, you have to wonder what makes Camera+ so special. When it was first released, Lifehacker called it "The Best Camera App for iPhone," with TIME writing, "If the iPhone's standard camera is like a digital point-and-shoot, the Camera+ app is like a high-quality SLR lens."

While the app has many of the classic photo editing tools like color tints, retro effects, and crops, there are a few gems that make it unique. First is its image stabilizer, which helps you capture the sharpest photos possible before you even take a picture. It also lets you zoom in up to 6X, which can really up the quality of your shot if you're trying to hone in on something far away.

Finally, its Clarity filter is what The Wall Street Journal's Kevin Sintumuang calls its "secret sauce -- it adds pro-camera crispness to almost any shot." I'd have to agree -- just check out how it enhanced this photo of my dog.

9. Mextures

$0.99 | iOS only

Mextures is one of the more advanced apps on this list -- and its crown jewel is layer-based editing. That allows users to stack different adjustment layers on top of each other, moving and editing them individually, allowing for nearly limitless creativity. You can also apply multiple filters, textures, and blending models to the same photo to create a really unique look. If you find an editing formula you really like, you can save it to apply to other photos later, or even share it with your friends.

Here's what happened when I took a simple photo of candlesticks on a white background only and applied three enhancements -- Waterfront overlay, Bokeh Baby Overlay, and the Color Dodge blending mode.

10. Enlight

$3.99 | iOS only

I'll just say how I feel: This app is incredible.

Winner of the Apple Design Award in 2017, Enlight will change the way you see even the most ordinary picture the next time you open your iPhone camera. Among its 10 different photo editing features, the app's Photo Mixer allows you to blend multiple photos together -- or combine a photo with text -- for a super artistic result.

According to Les Shu of Digital Trends, Enlight is "a powerful Photoshop-like app, minus the steep learning curve."

Check out a stunning example of what the app's Photo Mixer can do below.

Best Face Editing Apps

11. Facetune

$3.99 on iOS | $5.99 on Android

Never take a selfie you don't like again. Facetune is considered the top photo app in more than 120 countries, allowing you to make up for unflattering mobile photos with professional-level corrections to numerous facial features.

The app offers eight different types of corrections and enhancements to a person's face in a given photo -- including to the hair, eyes, skin, and smile. Taking a new professional headshot? I highly recommend you touch it up in the Facetune app before adding the photo to your LinkedIn profile (not that I don't think you're beautiful already).

Here's just one example of a skin tone correction done with Facetune, making all the difference:

12. Visage Makeup Editor

Free | iOS | Android

Disclaimer: There's absolutely nothing wrong with under-eye circles. We all have them, and we sometimes wear them like medals. (We do, however, take issue with and don't recommend a lack of sleep.)

That said, when it comes to sharing photos of ourselves on social media, vanity sometimes enters the picture. Sound familiar? There's an app for that.

We like the Visage makeup editor, which instantly retouches photos and lets you add some special effects, like a "Pop Art Style" filter that can make your selfie look slightly Warhol-esque. The app comes equipped with some interesting backgrounds, as well as lighting and color features, with more available for purchase.

The only drawback? The free version is a bit ad-heavy, and unless you upgrade to pro, your finished product will be stuck with a branded hashtag at the bottom.

Now Comes the Fun Part

See how easy it is to create and share visual content? Of course, mastering these apps will require a bit of practice, but if you're unsure where to start, just look around you -- that's what we did when we tried each of them.

Think about your marketing goals for this year. Then, ask yourself what kind of photos will help you accomplish them. From there, you can pick and choose the best apps from this list.

So start getting visual. We can't wait to see what you create.

[authormarialberg]

I had a lot of fun with Seattle Summer Book Bingo last year, so I kept an eye out for it this year to get an earlier start. Are any of you enjoying a reading challenge this summer? I’ve chosen some of the books I’ll be reading and have already enjoyed a couple, but look forward to your suggestions as well. I have typed an exclamation point (!) before the square topics that I need suggestions for. I hope you’ll share your book knowledge and also join me in a summer reading challenge.

The first square (top left) is Recomended by a librarian. I thought about calling out to librarians here and/ or twitter, but then I noticed the link on the Seattle Summer Book Bingo page to Your Next Five Books which turned out to be a form you fill out to get personalized recommendations from a librarian at the Seattle Public Library.

Because I tend to haunt the King County Library System I checked to see if they have something similar, and they do!! Your Perfect BOOKMATCH. I filled out their form and sent it in. It said I will receive recommendations in five to seven business days. I look forward to letting you know what my local librarians pick for me. Have you used any book recommendation forms/services with your local library?

Choose a book by it’s cover – Some of these categories I see as catch-alls. They leave a little wiggle-room for line-up changes. I would also include Fiction, You’ve been meaning to read and Finish in a day as catch-all categories. A couple of books I have already started could fit here:

The Lake House: A Novel The Exterminators (Assassin Bug Thrillers) Small Town: A Novel (Block, Lawrence) Park City: New and Selected Stories

You’ve been meaning to read – This book has been staring me in the face every time I open my online library account as the only book on my wishlist for a very long time. I’m not sure how or why it was there, but I’m excited to finally read Seeing Red by Lina Meruane.

! Young adult – Here I would appreciate suggestions. I have found my personalYoung adult selections to be very hit or miss. I would love to know some of your favorites.

Biography or memoir – Here I think I’ll give another attempt to Women’s Diaries of the Westward Journey. I received it as a gift from a friend and keep putting it on to-read lists. Hopefully, this time, I’ll actually read it.

Adapted into a movie – This category inspired me to add three books to my Goodreads to-read shelf. I like to read a book before I see the movie and there are two films based on books by Cormac McCarthy that I have not seen for that reason: The Road and No Country for Old Men (Vintage International) Then I saw that Elmore Leonard’s Rum Punch: A Novel became Jackie Brown(1997) by director Quentin Tarantino and that piqued my interest as well.

Graphic novel -This inspired me to read The Sandman Vol. 1: Preludes & Nocturnes (New Edition) by Neil Gaiman. I liked it, but I found each page to be incredibly busy. I ended up reading through and not savoring. It wasn’t what I expected from the hype.

By an author of color – The Turner House by Angela Flournoy. I was on a long waiting list for this book at my local library, but when I returned a book the other day, it was right in the front on the recommended shelves. I guess the paperback had recently come out and I was waiting for the hardback. I snagged it and cancelled my hold.

! Recommended by an independent bookseller – for this one I’m planning on going to this great little bookstore in Sumner, Wa. called A Good Book. I went to one NaNoWriMo write-in (so far) and it was there. The proprietor was very nice; I look forward to seeing what she recommends. However, if you are an independent bookseller, I would really appreciate your recommendations as well.

Set in another country – The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafon. I have been looking forward to this one for a while. It is set in Barcelona, Spain, though more specifically, The Cemetery of Forgotten Books.

! Genre that is new to you – Okay. This one’s tough. I believe I have read books from every genre. If anyone has suggestions, I will keep an open mind.

! Banned – I really enjoyed my choice for this category last year. I read Sherman Alexie’s The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian. This year I found The Mask of Sanity by Jacob M. Appel. I picked it because Wikipedia reported that it was banned preemptively in Malaysia for blasphemy. However he has another book banned in Qatar for its portrayal on Islam, The Man Who Wouldn’t Stand Up Anyone read either of these? Which one do you think I should read? Other banned book suggestions?

Collection of essays or short stories – I have a few collections that I am reading at the moment: Park City: New and Selected Stories Seek: Reports from the Edges of America & Beyond The Unreal and the Real: The Selected Short Stories of Ursula K. Le Guin and a non-fiction book of talks and essays The Wave in the Mind: Talks and Essays on the Writer, the Reader, and the Imagination by Ursula K. Le Guin. I’m not sure how all of them will fit into the BINGO card, but that’s why it’s nice there is a little wiggle-room.

Published the year one of your parents was born – This category yielded an interesting result. Turns out Jorge Luis Borges published a surreal/fantasy collection called Ficciones the year my mother was born. I’m excited to “journey into a compelling, bizarre, and profoundly resonant realm”(Goodreads description).

Fiction – I’ll be using this as a free space for something I read that doesn’t fit the other categories. Probably Lawrence Block’s Small Town: A Novel

! About art or an artist – I haven’t chosen anything for this yet. Suggestions?

A SAL speaker (past or upcoming) – I started this summer’s BINGO with The Emperor of Water Clocks: Poems by Yusef Komunyakaa. He was a Seattle Arts and Lectures speaker on March 26th, 2009 (More at my poetry selection).

! Reread a book you read in school – I wasn’t too happy with this square. After talking it out with a friend, I came up with The Mouse and the Motorcycle by Beverly Cleary. I think this re-read might be good for me as a writer in that it might bring back some childhood memories, but I’m not fixed on this one. What would you re-read that you read in school?

Finish in a day – I am known to finish more than one book in a day, so this is definitely a square I like for a book I read that doesn’t fit in a category.

Washington state author – In April, I finally got around to reading Maria Semple:Where’d You Go, Bernadette: A Novel and Today Will Be Different but, they don’t count because Bingo didn’t start until May 17th. Luckily, I had some other Washington authors on my to read list. I plan to read Truth Like the Sun (Vintage Contemporaries) by Jim Lynch. I also put another Jim Lynch The Highest Tide: A Novel on my to-read list. Anyone have an opinion on which to read first? Which is better?

Poetry – my poetry and my SAL speaker selections ended up being the same author, Yusef Komunyakaa. I randomly picked up The Emperor of Water Clocks: Poems from my local library because I liked the title and the cover. I enjoyed it, so I looked further into Yusef Komunyakaa. That is how I learned that he had been a Seattle Arts and Lectures speaker and that his book Neon Vernacular: New and Selected Poems (Wesleyan Poetry Series) had won the Pulitzer Prize for Poetry in 1994. I am reading it as my Poetry selection.

Science non-fiction or science-fiction – At the moment I am reading a fiction short story collection The Unreal and the Real: The Selected Short Stories of Ursula K. Le Guin and a non-fiction book of talks and essays The Wave in the Mind: Talks and Essays on the Writer, the Reader, and the Imagination by Ursula K. Le Guin. One of these will most likely fill this square.

LGBTQIA author or character – For this square of my Bingo card I found a book by E. Annie Proulx, the author of The Shipping News which won both the Pulitzer prize and The National Book Award (US). I enjoyed The Shipping News, so I have high hopes for this year’s selection, Accordion Crimes which explores the lives of immigrants through the changing ownership of a small green accordion.

! Recommended by a young person – I don’t have this one yet. I will probably ask my niece or my neighbor, but to any young persons reading this, please leave a recommendation in the comments. What constitutes a young person to the Seattle Public Library? I’m not sure, but since this Adult Summer Reading BINGO is for people over 15, I would guess people under 15 are considered young persons.

Excitement!

There are so many great books on this list already and I can’t wait to see what you come up with! I look forward to hearing your thoughts on my selections and your suggestions to fill out my BINGO card.  Keep checking in for updates when I get recommendations from my local librarian and independent bookstore owner.

  Happy Summer Reading and Writing!

Great Summer Reads: Summer Book Bingo I had a lot of fun with Seattle Summer Book Bingo last year, so I kept an eye out for it this year to get an earlier start.