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gb-patch · 4 years ago

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Ask Answers: January 17th, 2021 (Part 1)

More ask answers! It’s gonna be a lot today, so we’re splitting it into two.

i love Cliff and Kyra's relationship so much ?? even though they had issues they managed to work things out and remain friends through the years! it's so refreshing over the narrative of people resenting each other after they break up.. im kind of curious tho , do they see each other strictly platonic now or is there still something lingering?

Aw, I’m glad to hear you like their relationship. Their feelings are very platonic now. Kyra views him as an ex and co-parent and then a friend as time goes on. Cliff does struggle not to think of her as still his family, even though he’s not romantically attracted anymore. But he’s knows it might be crossing a line to be that attached to a woman who divorced him and so he tries to let her just live her own life.

Can i ask just how tall Cove exactly is in Step 3? And will he be even TALLER in Step 4? My short heart cannot handle this. (Also this game is absolutely flawless and I haven't been able to stop thinking abt it since I played. Planning on getting the dlcs soon, y'all did SO WELL!!!!!!!!!)

Haha, thank you very much.

Step 1: 4'1 feet Step 2: 5'4 feet Step 3: 6'0 feet Step 4: 6'4 feet

Hey! So, I know Steam is having its fall sale/boxing day sale or something so i was wondering if you guys were gonna participate in that?? I was thinking of buying XOXO Droplets (the extended version) but i didnt want to do anything before there was a potential sale. May seem like an odd question, but I was genuinely curious. I can't wait to play the full game when i get it tho :D

I’m afraid we have some things we wanna fix in XOXO Droplets before really promoting it/pushing it with sales, so for now it won’t be participating in Steam sales. Hopefully we can update it soon.

Hello I'm still trying to get the CG for Step 2-3 and didn't see or get it when I told Cove of the deal in the Dinner moment like your guide says. I got the achievement but no CG. Is there another choice I'm suppsed to make after telling him?

Make sure you go back to the house with Cove after he leaves and don’t stay in your living room.

* don't be suspicious* *don't be suspicious* ...Hi, there's another way to pay for the Our Life +18 dlc besides Patreon? Patreon have very limited payment options and I've been struggling with the platform. Anyways, thanks for the amazing game I hope I could support any way ^u^

Haha, right now there isn’t anything specific, but once it’s finished in a few months we’ll look into other hosting sites.

do you think we can get another our life dlc plzzz i would pay so much for it <3 i want to see their life together when they have kids or pets or just live with the two of them and i really want them to adopt kids too since jamie is adopted :)

I’m afraid we likely won’t. As much as we love OL: B&A, we’ve gotta start putting our whole effort into new projects soon. Maybe someday we could come back and do special new content, but it’d be quite awhile after all the planned DLCs have released.

How do you delete a save file?

On PC or Mac you hover over a slot and hit the delete key, or you can go into the saved data folder and delete the files directly. On Android I’m afraid I don’t know. You can save over them with something else, though.

this is like. totally embarrassing and silly to ask but im dying here; i love cove so much i wanna climb that boy like a tree. so basically what im asking here is like. will the nsfw dlc have explicit stuff or is it more like an implied kinda situation? cuz i want some full on nsfw shit im so thirsty for cove and only this can satisfy me

It’s truly 18+ and explicit with nude art and straightforward descriptions of sexual acts. That’s why we can’t release it as part of the main game, haha. I’m glad you’re into Cove~

Hello! I've really been enjoying Our Life and am noticing some animation changes with the update! I just had a question though. In Step 2 we meet Jeremy but I was wondering if he was only meant to appear in Step 2 as a typical mean kid or is there more we don't know?

Jeremy is a horrible pill in Our Life, but he is also a beloved romance option as a teenager in our other game XOXO Droplets. His personality is quite different once he grows up more. I imagine Cove and the MC would be pretty surprised.

Hi! i absolutely adore our life so far and I can't wait to continue supporting the game with the upcoming dlc drops! i was just wondering if y'all were planning on uploading any art for steam icons/the steam point shop in general<3

Thank you! And we might. But we’re first trying to focus on making a new game update since there are still some improvements we have in mind.

I hope this question doesn’t come off weird but would Cove be the type of guy to memorize your period? I imagine he’d be the kind of best friend/boyfriend who would keep track of your cycle to support you during it or something like that

We’d be shy about it at first and avoid mentioning what he was doing, but he would try to keep track of it based on any insight the MC gave him. The longer you’re with him, the more it could be just a normal thing the two openly talked about.

Hi there, how often do you do auditions? I am a voice actor and would love to be part of a project ?

We usually have auditions two to three times a year. Our next planned casting call will be for side character in Our Life Step 4.

Are the 5 moments included in the Derek and Baxter DLCs different from the normal Step 2 and 3 DLC? And will they focus exclusively on Derek and Baxter respectively? I was a little confused when I read the DLC FAQ. Thanks!

Mostly they’ll be completely new Moments that star Derek or Baxter. Though, for example, Derek’s DLC will allow you to take him to the Soiree. If you go with Derek that will remove your ability to go with Cove in the Cove Step 2 DLC.

Sorry if you've already said this, but how will your character transfer over to the patreon exclusive NSFW DLC? Can it access your game memory or will you select traits your character showed and choices you made from a list?

It’s a standalone event that happens for MCs who are in a relationship with Cove and have been dating him for a while. Other details about the MC/their dynamic with Cove will just be picked in the event itself. It won’t try to take data from a specific save in the actual game.

I love your games, but currently only have an Android. When will you put your other games on android?

I don’t know. They might not able to be formatted for Android very well, unfortunately. We’ll see how much time we’ve got later this year to try figuring it out.

Thank you so much for all the questions :D

#ask #asked #our life #Our Life Beginnings & Always #ourlifeba #gb patch #gb patch games

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hollypies · 3 years ago

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I don't really know how to ask but do you have any advice for new artists?

Uhm, yeah!!

Im not the best at explaining, but I'll try to make sense!!

Alright so. First thing is like, what style you want to draw or what style you already might have! I used to look at a bunch of different artists and find ones I liked and then note littke things they did. Say like, you like the way they draw hair or clothes, or how they shade, and you take the things you like, draw it and change it to suite your style even more! All artists do this I think, its like. It's just something we do!

Shading is also really important! You don't have to shade of course, but for me personally it's my favorite part! This is some advice I got from a friend a few years ago when I was just starting digital qrt. Try to avoid shading with grays and blacks. It can look good for some things, and if it fits what you're you're anf uou like it, keep doing it! But it doesn't alwasy fit. It can make your characters or scenery look dark or scuffed. If you wsnt to use a dark color but you don't wanna use black alwasy go for a color that goes well with the current colors anf! Make it a lot darker !

Another thing about shading is figuring where you want the light and where you want the dark. And what I mean by that is which side has shadow and which doesn't! This is another thing I was taught ! My old friend Sea (who's art was amazing and I looked up to them) used give a lot of advice, so most of the stuff I learned comes from them or just me playing around in ibisxpaint.

Alright! Next is anatomy!! There's a few things to remember so I gonna make it as simple as I can! For people I alwasy start with more or less basic shapes. Use a circle for the head (you can use other shapes as well!!) And then put lines where the face will be looking. This helps later when you're actually drawing the face. Also use basic shaped for the body and hips. I personally use squares and rectangles, but like I said!! Use other shaped to for more dynamic shapes! I'm trying tk to that as well so !!

Here's just some other basic things I picked up on. Hands alwasy go a little below the waist, so when I draw the arms and hands somewhere else I always picture in my head where it'll be. This is a littke hard to explain haha but! You can also use your own arm or look at references! You only need the basics for anatomy in my opinion, because if everyone was straight on all the time it'd hurt some character designs. It can help your character look more stylised!! So when drawing dknt worry to much and just keep the general position and then stretch it to how you wanna look!

I cant draw feet so I can't help you with that sorry :(

Legs are fairly easy though! Ok so when I'm using my first name sketch I like to also use a shape for the base of the waist. It helps with remembering where to start the legs and also it helps with knowing how long the arms have to be. Look at references if you need to, either of real people or how others draw! That helps a lot.

Kinda being a hypocrite because I don't normally use references 🙃

And how could I forget!! The face!! Faces qre fun to draw , but they can be a littke tricky. I used to struggle with them because I started out as a cat artist. It was.. the only thing I drew. So remember that!! Eye position matters. I mean the pupil bt that haha. My friend Sea once. Informed me that the way I used to draw eyes was wrong. One was bigger than the other and the way the pupils and irises were positioned made all my characters look cross eyed. Harsh to say to a twelve year old but it was true .

Q good way to check eyes is to flip your art around! This also helps with anatomy I general but it's very useful for the face! Once you see whats wrong or if it doesn't look how you want, fix it on that side and then flip it back. It may take a few minutes of tweaking but! It works reallt well!!

Go ham with the mouth honestly! Do whatever! Just remember that teeth do curve in the mouth

And finally! Ears 😬. I used to really struggle with ears. You don't alwasy have to draw the ears, you can cover them with hair and such, but it is good to figure it out! Ears are on the middle of the head. Like. Ok so where the eyes are! Use the eyes as a guide as to where to put the ears. Thats what do I but id recommend looking into it further due to it taking me years to figure it out 😔

Hand hands. Yeah. I dont have anything for that I'm sorry ! I'd say just learn the basic shape of a hand and figure it out. That's literally all I did and im still not sure I know how I did it.

ALSO DINT FORGET TO STRETCH YOUR WRISTS OR U WILL PAIN :[

And the advice that generally makes people mad. Practice ! I'm. Im q self taught artist, and ever since I was littke I just. Drew on my own. I practiced anf changed styles a lot to get where I am now, but I wouldn't have done it if I hadn't been dedicated. It helps that I enjoy making art and I like putting out there for people to see! But it does take a lot of time in the beginning. And you'll improve each time you draw!!

And as I've said, your art style is yours. You might find a way that is way different from anything I said, and that's good! There's tons of ways to do anatomy and figure out shading and just! Honestly just have fun with it :)

Also I won't be able to help with scenery and perspectives for rooms and. See I have derealization and it. It makes it hard to figure that out and its just. It's complicated for me ! I'd recommend asking someone else about that in particular!

Hope this helps! If there's anything specific I missed please tell me and I'll try to ! I'll try to help!

#holly answers #art advice #waah!! someones actually asking ME for advice 🥺💞?????#thas crazy haha!!#love u anon hope you figure it out!!#mwah mwah!!#sorry if this wasnt helpful #and i hope uou see this!!#if u do read the tags as well hello 👁💗💗💗💗💗#long post #this was a littke hard to write because i have trouble reading anf. comprehending what i read so i really really hope this helped

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aspiestvmusings · 4 years ago

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MCU THOUGHTS

SPOILERS for MCU PROJECTS:

from Avengers films to WandaVision (TV) to TFatWS (TV) to Spiderman films to Dr. Strange: MoM and more

So...I have now watched the first two episodes of TFaTWS and if I add the knowledge of what this show is doing to what I’ve seen other projects do & what we know so far about what’s coming in future projects...I may have an idea about what this next phase is about. These TV projects that are are a sort of a bridge between Phase 3 & Phase 4, and the MCU Phase 4 films themselves...

I may be wrong, and I’m completely guessing/theorizing here (without considering anything from the comics, just looking at the MCU tv/film projects), but here’s what I’m getting from he films/tv..about life on MCU’s Earth (616):

MCU (the fictional universe these films/tv takes place in) in Infinity War & Endgame was essentialy a “war time” world. The 2018 Snap & The 2023 Unsnap (The Blip) changed that world...a lot. The population went from 7 billion to 3.5 billion in 2018, and then 5 years later 3.5 billion people re-appeared. Some people were still “mourning” the life pre-snap, some had “moved on” (adapted to the new world and “new normal”). No-one was unaffected...no matter which side they were on.

The original/old heroes after Endgame are gone to this world (Tony gone, Steve -- seems not just old, but also-- gone, Thor travelling the universes, Nat gone), and the rest of the superheroes are struggling just like everyone else (the “superhero students” -- Vision, Wanda + Peter + Sam + Bucky + Steven + everyone else -- also either gone or trying to cope).

But since the MCU world/Erath after Endgame is essentially a world post-war, then similar dynamics seem to be playing out. The world needs superheroes, and it needs people to look up to & people to protect the world. But...in this MCU world there are currently no actual heroes who are up to the task, and who are willing to take on those roles.

We’ve seen this play out in FFH, where everyone was hoping that Peter takes on the role of new “Iron Man”, leader of the “earth defenders”, but he was struggling with it all. Because he’s still grieving the loss of his mentor, and he’s still coping with the “Blip” and he’s also still a kid/treenager, who just wants to go to school and be “a normal kid”. But we also saw what his “hesitation” meant. It meant that there are those, who want the role...but only for the glory (not actually protecting the world, and being a good superhero”), so when the spot is open, someone will try to fill it...having their own agenda.

And I think this is what all these MCU TV projects are about: they are about these next superheroes accepting their roles in this new world. Finding their place in the superhero world. Coming to terms with the fact that the people they looked up to are gone, and that they cannot fill those roles, but...they can and should have a role as themselves in the next superhero phase.... as “themselves”. Peter is not the next Tony/IM, he’s Peter/Spiderman. Sam is not the next Steve/CA, he’s Sam/Falcon (with a shield)....

We’ve seen this is WV with Wanda coming to terms with who she is and becoming her “new” true self, the Scarlet Witch, and with Vision (who is the same, but is not the same) coming to realization that he is The Vision (the same, but not the same). We’re seeing it in TFaTWS where both, but mainly Sam is strugging with his role in the new “normal”. What is playing out with Sam in this show seems very similar to what was playing out with Peter in FFH. Neither young man sees themselves as “worthy” enough to fill the role the person before them had. But...their hesitation leading to others seizing the opportunity...and “failing”...because not everyone can handle the role. And in the end...they will “do the right thing”. because they have that superhero blood running in their veins.

As the cassic line says: “With great power comes great responsibility”. And not everyone who wants the superhero leader role is up to the task. They may originaly really wanna do the job well, but...in this comics superhero world that’s not always enough. The “right” people need to take on these roles.

And I think what Happy told Peter in FFH applies to the whole MCU TV projects world - these new generation of avengers (the original young avenges...the students from phase 2, who are still here, just without their teachers & leaders) do not have to be the next Tony/IronMan or Steve/CA, or.... any other superhero known to the world. They cannot be the same. But they can and should be part of the next superhero group. Just “as themselves”.

So... all these TV projects seem to be about all these characters accepting their loss (grieving for their old heroes), and also accepting their roles in the next phase (as themselves, not as filling in for who came before them), and accepting themselves as who they are...

ETA on July 24th, 2021: as the director of “Loki” puts it, in the “making of Loki documentary”: it’s about (the joiurney to(wards)) SELF ACCEPTANCE.

#MCU #SPOILER #SPOILERS #WandaVision #TFATWS #FAR FROM HOME #text post #my thoughts #theory #speculation

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wizisbored · 4 years ago

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Was gonna send an ask, and then I got sidetracked, whoops. Anyways, in the Tinky!Zazz au, do Tinky and Zazzalil talk often? What's their dynamic like? (I know I ask you about character dynamics a lot, but I physically Could Not resist this time around, this duo sounds like it'd be pure chaos)

disclaimer: this all very much needs more development, might end up changing completely, and i need to rewatch time bastard to be 100% sure of how to approach tinky

putting a cut because this ended up long

idk how often they talk but zaz’s opinion on tinky changes over time. shes pretty fucking pissed at him at the start - i mean im pretty sure anyone would be pissed at some bastard who yeeted them, their wife and son (yeah im including my oc kid in this) a few thousand years into the future for a laugh and left them there with a weird box and tiny nubs of horns to fend for themselves in a forest. tinky does not hide the fact that this entire thing is just for shits and giggles and its enfuriating.

she starts to fuck around with the bastards box, thinking lining up the disjointed patterns on its surface might somehow please tinky enough to make him take them home. it works like one of those complex rubix cubes (i have a friend who used to bring weird rubix cubes into school all the time so i have a lot of inspiration to draw on). sometimes its incredibly stiff, sometimes a section will spin for minutues at a time, sometimes twisting it distorts the entire shape, and all these qualities change from moment to moment. im thinking of having tinky heckle her at first - his voice bounces around in her head, nobody else hears it - and that just makes her more determined to figure out what the hell is going on with the thing. At this point she hates him, wants to spite him, but also knows that pleasing him may be her only option. she also has to rely on him if she wants to interact with modern in humans in any way; the language she speaks is very much dead and sometimes he’ll watch her struggle to communicate for a while before feeding her a few lines of modern english that may or may not make any sense.

when zaz figures out a way to actually use the box is when they start to shift from heckling to banter. she starts accessing its power more and more and that leads to more contact with tinky. she recognises that its doing bad things to her physically and probably mentally and that tinky is still the same bastard that practically kidnapped her and her family but shes addicted to the power and shes convinced that if she just pleases tinky he’ll let them go home. she starts being more jokey with tinky in an effort to get on his good side and that evolves into her having some affection for him, its this weird mixture of almost-friendship and fear of what else he could do to her and her family. tinky fucking loves watching her deteriorate and actually finds her pretty funny, so he makes sure her brain doesn’t get completely scrambled from overexposure to his powers. shes able to act almost normal most of the time because tinky likes her that way.

things change when zaz has a real converstation with tinky after realising the extent of his powers - a man trying to grab her by the horns, who may well have seriously harmed her, was utterly broken mentally on contact. when tinky shows up to collect the man to fuck around with later zaz asks him what she can do to get home and he doesnt give a straight answer, but hints that if she keeps on going the way she is currently she’ll end up like the broken man. she has a long think after that and realises that this is all just a bit of fun to tinky and he’ll probably never let them go home. her wife is getting more and more worried about her, her son is borderline scared of her, and if she keeps this up she’ll only destroy herself. she realises she has to give up on getting home.

eventually she manages to accept this, and her thoughts towards tinky go down to a mild hatred that doesnt affect her too much. sort of like the tto family’s casual ‘god is a vicious two faced prick’ attitude. sometimes she messes around with the box out of habit and he still heckles her, but she either ignores him or insults him back. sometimes they still have banter. she starts picking up modern english but for a while she still has to ask him for translations and its like trying to do a group project with the class clown. she avoids bringing out his power, though, unless the situation is incredibly dire. on one hand, tinky is a little dissapointed that he cant directly fuck with zaz quite as much anymore, but on the other he now gets to watch the three of them try to figure out how to function in the modern day, which is what he wanted from the start, but now with the added bonus of one of them having to hide the fact that she basically looks like a demon

#tinky!zaz

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divine-identite · 6 years ago

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Shipping Info Meme

Answer the following for your muse so people know how shipping works on your blog.

Oh boy, this is going to be wordy. Placing this under a read more.

WHAT IS YOUR OTP FOR YOUR CHARACTER?:

I have like a few in terms of Romantic. My Caius, branching into canon and uncanon:

- Caius and Yeul: Not romantically, familial PLATONIC - my boy is not a map, do not confuse this shit as romantic. I enjoy this ship because there will only be a few times you get to see Caius be gentle. Understanding and protective of Yeul. Sadly I don't have a Yeul to do longterm plotting on what could be so I don't sadly get to flesh out what could be with the characters. So the ship has ended but still a fave.

- Caius and Moana: Another familial platonic. Another huge ship I've had on my blog for like a year or two, it’s not hugely advertised but something you’ll see on my blog. Now I and the mun have already talked about the prospects of this ship and how amazing it will be. Caius being like a secondary dad, who trains and prepares Moana seemingly boring things, but pays off in the end. Watching as she grows up, maturing into a woman and later into a chief. It’s like watching your garden just grow into a fabulous array of colours of vivid beauty, swirling into a radiant cosmos beyond the blackness betwixt stars. Im, sure there will be fluff and a lot of angst into this though. But I think Caius would be proud but at the same time at peace seeing her grow up. Though it's amusing she hit him with a paddle though lol. But still the mun/ muse are a complete gourmet coffee ( equivalent to cinnamon); made from the finest ingredients, warmed to delightful temperature and quite welcomed at any time of the day. To this ii’ll add @blessedbycrystal and @indrikis as well @oceanschiild

- Caius and Fujin: Ah yes the potato and eggplant curry. I and the mun have completely made so many routes, alternatives and main that we wish to explore. Even work extensively on the development of the characters, marking down all fluff and angst, anything between. We plotted heavily made headcanons on our ships that we’ve now plotted and every now and then would publish lol ( i know it's my turn to make something lol). The soulmate AU is probably the longest au we’ve had for like 3 -4 years now? and then we’ve decided to release a Pacific Rim AU we’ve cooked up. Another amusing factor is that none of the characters did like another - at all by any means when we started it. It was just insane indifferent between the other like, whatever let's keep this moving, don't know don't care - how they're pretty invested in another now is quite amusing. So much how its funny how to stoic people interact with another is quite interesting. @fujxn

- Caiu and Alex: We’ve sunk so much time into this ship. Despite the opposite personalities they’ve become a long way actually until now and made a lot of progress. So far its been under the opposites attract rule so far quite a lot of silliness involved lol but it works well with what is given with the ship. A lof cat beats person up, and also dealing with Alex’s episode of insomnia as well! You’ll probably find a lot of cooking to be more involved with this ship than any other ones I feel since you may end up seeing them owning a cooking store. @blessedfate

- Caius and Kuvira: PROBABLY A BAD SHIP XD not bad as in bad - but Kuvira is just so salty and unyielding. Though the hate is subtly dying down thus far but Kuvira still - well going to be kuvira. The ship is a slow burner but I and the mun have talked extensively about the ship. Though kuvira still does throw rocks at him - and to this day still tries her best to man-handle him despite him literally towering over her all the time. The crack episode between the two is great and you can tell that despite some of the vitriol - there is some fun. All the hate is just one sided on Kuvira’s side and Caius either doesn't care or doesn't know, which might explain is indifferent. Thought I think this may be why its just hard to make him into an enemy when he doesn't see you worth holding a grudge on really. When it comes between who is the queen of pettiness; between all my ships I think I’ll crown Kuvira for this one lol. @thegreatunxter

WHAT ARE YOU WILLING TO WRITE WHEN IT COMES TO SHIPPING?

Anything. Relationships aren’t static, people’s lives have dynamic changes and events that influence their behaviour on a regular basis. I am a huge fan of exploring the development of the bond they have. Come at me with domestic events, angst, supporting each other through trouble, courting, you name it.

I’m open to anything. Relations are especially hard to get, familial takes time to build up to but I suggest long as the ship is dynamic than it’ll work just fine - coupled with chemistry on both sides. I am quite open to exploration of any angle, angst, fluff and anything in between.

HOW LARGE DOES THE AGE GAP HAVE TO BE TO MAKE IT UNCOMFORTABLE?

Strongly prefer in the 20′s + I know 18 is like you’re a legal status, however, my muse is immortal. Your muse practically will be dating an ancient relict from the past, or some old bottled wine that’s aged wonderfully.

ARE YOU SELECTIVE WHEN SHIPPING?

Yes with romantic, no isues with platonic. Let this be hewn into your minds. Caius isn't mean for everyone. There is a lot of issues involving Caius that I've heard and aware - he’s slow to open up, he's cold, he doesn't act like he likes this person, he acts heartless and many more. It’s a list really and probably won't express this. If you are coming with these expectations of my muse, he is not for you. If you want something fast and simple relationship between the two - he’s just not for you in that matter. He’s a man that’s been through a lot and probably very slow of just opening up to people.

HOW FAR DO STEAMY MOMENTS HAVE TO GO BEFORE THEY ARE CONSIDERED NSFW?

Moment clothes come off or when touching goes elsewhere. However, if its kept fade to black then that is fine.

WHO ARE OTHER THE CHARACTERS YOU SHIP YOUR CHARACTER WITH?

I don't really have many romantics for Caius like that anymore but I guess; Caius/ Light ( my interest in Cairai is meh after 5 years) Caius/ Fang (not as bad as Cairai but its okay).

In terms of Platonic, anyone really - Caius even extends his hand to welcome you.

DOES ONE HAVE TO ASK TO SHIP WITH YOU?:

Yes, I would greatly prefer you bring this to many attention so we can talk about it and what not. That and give you details so we can disillusion any expectations and come to a realistic circumstance. That or normally just AU’s.

HOW OFTEN DO YOU LIKE TO SHIP?

Not as much as you would think really, I usually do some looking into before I seal the deal. That and im not so hyperactive due to work so - im just a ghost somewhat lol.

ARE YOU SHIP OBSESSED OR SHIP MORE-OR-LESS?:

Depends really, if something is convincing and has me enjoying it’s possible I could become ship obsessed. But now these days Nah not so much, maybe I was more prone to like a few years back now.

ARE YOU MULTISHIP?

Of course, im open to anything just as you should have your own parents. I only ask if there is an issue you bring up to me. I thought I would be doing single ship - hmmm haven't found a person I could rest my laurels on like that really, That and im slow in responses now these days.

WHAT IS/ARE YOUR FAVOURITE SHIP(S) IN YOUR CURRENT FANDOM?:

Garnet/ Zidane, Yuna/Tidus, I do like 9S/2B as well very good combo. All I could think of that interested me

FINALLY, HOW DOES ONE SHIP WITH YOU?:

Ask

Tagged by: @asouldivided , Moonpie guy

Tagging: anyone really

#headcanons: █ ▌◆ ❝ Sleepsong ❞#longpost #long post #tw longpost #longpost tw

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future-rp · 6 years ago

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ANNOUNCEMENT 01

hello, everyone! future has been open for a little over ten days now and we couldn’t be more excited, happy, and surprised for all of the love you have given us -- we would sincerely like to thank all of you for your wonderful muses, your time, and the energy that you’ve put into making future what it currently is.

the past ten days have been somewhat of a test-run for how we’d like future to progress. through monitoring activity and processes, we’ve come up with a few changes that we believe will make future even better. we will be updating some tasks on the administrative side of things, adding a few new rules here and there, and some requirements for future applicants. please read below for these updates:

ADMINISTRATIVE UPDATES,

acceptances will now only occur once a week (saturdays, 10am kst) *. this, we believe, will make the acceptance process a lot smoother for us as well as for applicants. with this time, we will be able to give each and every application the attention it deserves and needs, as well as allow time for applicants to make any wanted or needed adjustments. the activity check, schedule posts, and event/meme drops will still take place on mondays, 10am kst. * our next acceptance date is listed as monday, october 29th 10am kst at the moment. this is because we have a few remaining applications which need time to revise/respond to our feedback. any application received from now on will be processed according to our new schedule.

winners of music shows were mentioned previously to be decided by the average of popularity points; wins will still be chosen in this manner, but instead we will be alternating between “first” and “second” place (unless the difference in points is more than 10).

we ask to make sure that your muse has met the activity requirement for the week before purchasing an item or claim in the market. this, of course, excludes incoming applications.

DASH UPDATES,

although some of these are stylistic choices, we still ask that they are followed: please title threads, refrain from using overly-decorative text (extravagant fonts and the like; simple bolding, italics, etc. are alright, however), and keep formatting to a minimum.

please remember to use small text on all posts (replies, solos, plot calls, etc.) and to cut posts (by using the “editable reblogs” xkit extension for replies or using a “read more” for solos/character development posts).

we would also like to take this time to encourage plotting and threads! although muse and inspiration posts are great, please keep them to a minimum (1 to 2 a day) -- the best way to develop your muse is through interaction and solos, after all. we would also like to place an emphasis on group dynamics, and therefore encourage you all to reach out to other members of your muse’s group(s)!

UPDATES that may affect you,

the age of consent in south korea is 20 years old; 19 and under is considered underage. we mention this because sexual content with minors (faceclaims and muses) is not something that we condone, are comfortable with, or will tolerate at future. although muses and the human beings that are used as faceclaims are two separate entities, we would still like to respect the faceclaim’s privacy and the law. we ask that if you wish to partake in threads of a sexual nature that you do not use faceclaims that are 19 and under.

the faceclaim that you have chosen is your faceclaim; we ask that you do not make alterations to them (in terms of height or voice). if this applies to you, we ask that you make the necessary updates within your muse’s bio and profile page.

any future purchase should reflect your muse’s focus and/or pr abilities (unless it is clear your muse is vying for a new ability). although it is tempting to have a muse who is talented in every focus, progression and development of a certain ability can be even more rewarding.

UPDATES that will affect future applications,

when developing your muse, we ask to give them flaws along with their talents -- character development, plot progression, and group dynamics are just a few of the overarching aspects of future that we want to see be explored. we will no longer be accepting applications with muses who are mary-sue types, who are “perfect”, or who are not fleshed out enough.

if a focus is listed, we expect to see it mentioned within the bio of the muse -- this also applies to pr abilities. please also note that pr abilities, focuses, and the items/claims bought should match. we would also like to remind everyone that pr abilities do not have to be distributed during the application process and can be tacked on at a later time as your muse develops (still “free”, if your muse is eligible!)

thank you again for making the past ten days amazing! we would also like to remind everyone that if you ever have any comments, questions, or suggestions to please let us know either through our ims, our ask box, or our suggestion box.

we hope to have many more days ahead with all of you, have a great day/night!

#ft. announcement

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foxbeer704 · 3 years ago

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Keyclick

Keyclickdetector Cisco

Key Clicker Game

Keyboard Click Windows 10

Key Clicker Download

1000MP

Mods

Keying Improvement Mod by INRAD FT-1000MP Keying Improvement (Excerpt from Inrad Web Page) The MP keying rise time is 2.4 mS and fall time is 1.0 mS. The fall time is responsible for the somewhat wide signal, which the MP generates on CW. There are two points in the radio which can be used to improve the keying by slowing the voltage change over from receive to transmit and back. Three parts are added to the radio. Two go on the IF board and one goes on the RF board. They are small leaded parts which solder on the bottom side of the boards. Board drawings are supplied which show the part locations. The IF board is fairly easy to get at. The RF board is buried under the final amplifier and is somewhat difficult to get at. Estimated time to install is 1 hour.

Key Click Mod with pictures by W7HV Link to INRAD - Performance Enhancements Page

Key Click Information from INRAD

Keyclick: A new revolutionary state of the art design Tonewheel model '30, '50, '70, Alt. 3 String Bass: On/Off, Decay Control Harmonic Percussion: On/Off, Volume Soft/Normal, Decay Fast/Slow, Harmonic Percussion 2nd / 3rd Percussion Level and Percussion Decay Controls. Keyclick and NB modification of Yaesu FT-1000MP Mark-V Now we have to remove the bottom covers of the Mark-V and lift the IF-board (this is the board where the filters are mounted on). Only remove the necessary cables to lift the IF-board at its side (you will see this on the last photo).

This site was last updated04/22/20

Click 'KeyClick100.exe' and download it to the appropriate folder. Double-click the downloaded file. Confirm that the file extraction destination is an option folder. When OK is clicked, the file is extracted. (If the same name file has already existed, it is overwritten.) Double-click the file that is extracted in folder to start installation.

There is no generic keyclick option within Windows 10. The traditional click was the switch in the keyboard itself so needed no artificial sound. Only touch screen keyboards have the option because there is no physical key movement.

It's great to see a manufacturer offer improved close-spaced SSB transmit performance! The MK V Yaesu reverses other modern radio's downward spiral of transmitter SSB IM performance. Yaesu included a class-A mode. Even without class A, the HV finals can be very clean when compared to other radios if the rig is kept out of ALC.

Keyclick is a Mac OS X preference pane that provides adjustable audio feedback for keystrokes, mouse clicks, scroll wheel movement, and trackpad gestures. Using Keyclick can improve the perception of keyboard responsiveness, or fill in the missing audio feedback when using tap-to-click or two finger scrolling on trackpad equiped computers.

Unfortunately Yaesu missed correcting two important flaws:

The noise blanker, like in other earlier Yaesu's, creates receiver IM distortion even when off

The transmitter has virtually no wave-shaping on CW, causing terrible keyclicks

Preliminary tests show very strong keyclicks +1kHz and -1kHz.

An early FT1000MK V tested here had 1mS rise and 2ms fall times with sharp edges.

Later FT1000MK V's, are slightly better on and look like this:

The very sharp falling edge is a particular problem in later FT1000MK V's.

What does a 1mS fall mean?

A CW signal is actually a 100% AM modulated signal. The fall (or rise) time makes up 1/2 the time required for a full rise and fall cycle.

If the time period of the fall is 1.04mS, the frequency of the modulation frequency is the reciprocal of the rise (or fall) time divided by 2.

1/.00105 = 952 952/2= 476 Hz. The lowest order sidebands possible at ANY keying speed are 476Hz away from the carrier, one above the carrier and one below the carrier. This means the narrowest possible bandwidth with a perfectly shaped raised sine wave envelope would be 952 Hz. Since the FT1000 MK V does not have a perfect raised sine waveform, the actual sidebands contain high levels of harmonics. This makes the bandwidth even wider. It is the really sharp turn-over on the edges that kills the bandwidth.

Radios almost always have a different bandwidth on make and break. This is because envelope shape is different on rise and fall.

A stock FT1000MK V from Europe sounds like this in the USA! Wav file link

Keyclick and Noise Blanker Mod for FT1000MP MK V

Since a portion of the keyclick mod requires accessing the same general area as the noise blanker, it would be prudent to fix the receiver and transmitter at the same time. This article offers a combined modification that patches both problems.

The NB Problem

The worse thing about the receiver in any of the FT1000 series radios (I'm sure this carries over to other Yaesu models ) is the noise blanker. The noise blanker, even when OFF, causes deterioration in the close-spaced IM performance of the FT1000MK V.

1.) All signals inside the wide roofing filter (70 MHz) BW of the MK V are applied to the IF input of the IF unit.

2.) They immediately go through a very good balanced mixer (Q2020 and Q2024 in push-pull). This mixer has very little distortion and very good strong signal handling.

3.) 70MHz signals are converted to 8.2MHz .

4.) The 8.2MHz signals reach the gate of Q2009 through C2043 (darkened line on schematic). This point precedes all narrow 8MHz IF filtering--allowing a rather wide swath of unwanted signals to reach the gate of Q2009 along with the desired signal.

5.) Q2009 is left operating even when the noise blanker is turned off and can have substantial gain depending on bias voltages at TP2001. Bias voltages at TP2001 can be varied by changing menu settings for NB gain, but even the lowest NB gain settings never fully turn off Q2009!

6.) Q2009 acts like a mixer, creating unwanted mixing products of desired and undesired signals. Accumulated level of all signals reaching the gate of Q2009 produce a large net voltage at the drain of Q2009. This voltage (and resulting net current) causes overload and distortion by driving Q2009 and 2010 into distortion.

7.) The unwanted distortion products feed right back down the same connection into the 8.2MHz IF.

These new IM products appear as 'phantom splatter' on SSB and ' phantom CW signals' on CW. On CW, they sound like random blips and bloops that aren't real Morse characters. We cannot actually hear the distortion on the frequency of strong signals. The IM products simply appear as artificial interference when we attempt to copy weaker signals within about 5-10kHz of two or more moderately strong signals.

Anything we do to increase IF or RF gain in front of this point will greatly increase unwanted noise blanker intermodulation products. This includes increasing 70MHz IF system gain.

The NB Mod

The NB mod is a simple effective mod. It improves close-spaced IM3 dynamic range about 10dB on average. In rare cases I have seen as much as 20dB change! Moving just one foil trace, a very simple manufacturing change, would have made the MK V receiver noticeably better in close-spaced performance. Fortunately this mod is fairly easy for owners.

The NB correction removes surface mount 220-ohm resistor (R2046) from the source of Q2009, replacing it with a 220 ohm leaded resistor connected between Q2009's source at C2027 and Q2016's (2SC4047) collector and the junction of R2049 (also a 220-ohm).

Keyclick Problem

Raised- sine rises and falls would provide the fastest possible CW speeds for a given bandwidth. With properly filtered rise and falls, we would hear little or no change or softness when listening on-frequency. Tuning off- frequency, clicks would quickly vanish.

If a 2 or 3 millisecond rise and fall is used for operation at very high CW speeds in a single-pole R/C filter (this radio uses a simple RC filter) a transmitter is almost guaranteed to interfere with less strong signals within 1kHz or so. Transmitters with fast rise and fall times should stay at least 1.5kHz away from operators working weak signals, especially when the CW transmitter has 1930-era transmitter CW shaping.

Rumors sine-shaped waveforms impact tone or readability of signals are false. Some people even claim clicks rolling off at some 'X-dB-per-octave rate' beyond a few hundred Hz are a necessary part of life. Such statements are misleading, likely being based on the incorrect assumption the receiver has very wide bandwidth and the transmitter is filtered through a single stage simple resistor-capacitor click filter.

If you want to hear the sound of proper shaping, listen to this click-free signal recording as I tune across the signal. Off- frequency (even a few hundred hertz), we hear no clicks at all. On- frequency the CW is 'hard' sounding, allowing copy to 60-WPM or more. When the tone disappears in the deeper receive filter's skirts, clicks also disappear.

In contrast, compare the MK V recording as I tune past the signal. This signal is from Europe on 40 meters!

There is a day-and-night difference off frequency between the no-click and loud-click signals. On-frequency both signals sound the same.

MK V clicks are caused by excessively fast rise and fall, and very poor shape of the rise and fall.

Unfortunately when we patch poor CW transmitter designs, we can not make perfect corrections. Without major modification we can not modulate the MK V ( or most other transceivers) with properly filtered (which also means perfectly shaped) rise and falls. This modification, like the MP and 1000D click mods, is a patch..not a perfect cure..but it is about 20dB better 1kHz away than doing nothing about the problem.

Patches Vs Cures

Because mods on existing radios are patches, the radio owner must make a choice. If the user operates speeds faster than 45 or 50 WPM, the rise and fall required for legal close- spaced operation may be less than ideal. This does not mean the ability to work weak signals at modest speeds (up to 30 WPM) would be compromised even the slightest amount. It means high- speed ops (speeds over 45-50 WPM) may find the CW slightly mushy when adequate for close-frequency operation.

Operators with stock MP MK V's should always try to operate at least 4kHz away from weak or moderate signal- level stations. Part 97 rules prohibiting keyclick emissions that interfere with adjacent frequency operations. The specific rule is 97.307(b) 'Emissions outside the necessary bandwidth must not cause splatter or keyclick interference to operations on adjacent frequencies.'

The Click Mod

The actual click mod requires changing two stages. The first stage modified is on the IF board. The IF mod slows the rise and fall of mixer transistors Q2033 and Q2038.

Note: This stage is easy to modify, and is located on the same board as the noise blanker. This allows the noise blanker to be corrected at the same time.

By itself, modification of the easy-to-reach IF board is NOT effective for substantially reducing clicks. A later stage on the RF board also has truncated rise-and-fall times with a very poor R/C edge-shaping system. This later stage continues to add clicks even after earlier stages are modified.

RF amplifier stage Q1001 has the fastest rise and fall in the RF section. Q1001 must have proper gate bias shaping and timing to reduce clicks to acceptable levels. Removing D1002 and altering components around Q1002 slightly reduced clicking, but I concluded any effort wasn't worth the result with bias rise and fall more rounded at Q1002.

As designed, Yaesu uses a square wave very rich in harmonics to drive a simple R/C filter. This poorly filtered square wave amplitude modulates the RF and IF sections. The poor basic filtering design, combined with non-linear amplitude response, requires great care in component selection. It also means we never will achieve the optimum bandwidth for any give rise and fall time and ultimate CW speed.

Making the Mod

This mod is a little more complex than the FT1000MP mod because the chassis of the MK V is a little more complex and unfriendly. Like any service work, having a clean open bench and a spot to separately store screws and other hardware removed in every step in order will make the job smooth and easy. If you do NOT want to modify your MK V, I can make the modification for a nominal fee. You can e-mail me at my [email protected]

Some may wish to remove and change surface mount components.. but I prefer to wire the click-mod to a single terminal strip. This will allow you to customize the mod, switch the mod in and out, or correct any errors without dismantling the entire radio.

You'll need the following parts:

(1) one foot each of two small insulated wires, #20-#26 one ( preferably) green and one blue to make connections

(1) four-lug (with ground) terminal strip

(3) .1uF 50 volt disc capacitors (C1-C3)

(1) 22k 1/8w fixed resistor (R2)

(1) 680k 1/8w fixed resistor (R1)

(1) 220-ohm 1/8w fixed resistor

Keyclickdetector Cisco

In addition you need a well-lit bench, along with some hand-tools such as soldering pencil and solder, screwdrivers, and cutters and strippers.

Populate the terminal strip as follows:

Clicks

1.) Remove top and bottom covers to gain access to internal circuitry.

2.) Remove the screws holding the IF board in place, and the minimal amount of plugs to allow flipping the IF board over. You should be able to flip the board over by removing only two ribbon cables and one shielded cable. Draw a roadmap of all plugs and cables that must be disconnected! This will help you remember where everything goes.

Attach one end of the blue wire to the ungrounded end of C2148. The the other end hangs loose for now.

1.) Locate and remove R2046 220 ohm surface mount.

2.) Form the leads properly and solder a 220-ohm 1/8-watt leaded resistor to the Q2009/C2027 source and capacitor connection point

3.) Connect the other lead of this resistor to the junction of Q2016's collector and R2048.

4.) Reinstall the IF board with the flying lead exiting the closest edge of the PC board. The blue wire should just hang out the closest edge. Take care to avoid pinching any wires.

RF Board Mods (improves clicks only)

1.) Remove all hardware necessary to access the RF board. This includes the PA section and fan, both of which can flip over the case edge if a few wires are unplugged.

2.) Remove the RF board. You will have to remove a small shield panel and unplug some wiring. Be sure to remove ALL necessary screws, including black screws near the DIN jack on the back panel of the radio!

3.) Attach the green wire to the junction of C1004 and R1003/R1004 at the gate of Q1001. Photo artista oil apk.

4.) Route this wire up through any opening near the middle of the radio to an area near the IF board.

5.) Reinstall the RF board and all other hardware taking care to not pinch any wires, and to reconnect all unplugged wires in proper locations.

6.) Select a clear area on the IF board and mount the terminal strip under a convenient clear mounting screw area. (Note: I have simply heat shrunk the resistor capacitor network without using a terminal strip.)

7.) Connect the green wire (from RF board) to C3, and the blue wire from IF board to the junction of C1 and R1. R1 is a 680k resistor, and R2 is a 22k resistor

Decibel rating scale. (Example of heat shrunk construction below)

Reassemble, test the radio, and reinstall the covers.

The FT-1000 MK V has hidden transmit gain menus. They are accessed by pushing and holding FAST and LOCK while turning the POWER switch on. Both of my MK V's and every MK V serviced here has had the TX IF gain set too high. This causes first character clicks on CW and spits and splatter on SSB. Here is how to correct the IF gain to prevent ALC clipping on leading edges of CW and voice:

Press and hold FAST and LOCK before and during initial POWER on.

Press FAST and ENT at the same time. You are now in the MENU's and the display should say '0-1 GrPI-cH'.

Turn the VRF/MEM CH counter-clockwise to 9-2. The display should say 't iF - GA in' This is the transmit IF gain menu.

Turn the SUB VFO knob clockwise one position to ' t iF - 018'. This is the 1.8MHz transmit IF gain.

Press the ALC/COMP meter selector until the bar graph says 'ALC'. Set RF PWR knob to full power.

With the radio on CW and a 50 ohm dummy load connected, close the key and adjust the MAIN VFO-A knob until the ALC display is about 75-85% of full scale on the illuminated bar marked 'ALC'.

Press the next band button (3.5), make sure the radio is still on CW, and turn the SUB VFO-B knob clockwise one band to 't iF - 035'.

Again adjust MAIN VFO-A until ALC is at 75-85% of full scale.

Repeat this process through all bands.

Key Clicker Game

Most radios I have tested require a setting of 2 to 4 on TX IF gain, with 3 being the most common setting.

Keyboard Click Windows 10

This change will reduce SSB bandwidth and distortion. It will also reduce keyclicks and annoying thumps on the leading edge of each Morse character.

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davidfieldfutureworks-blog · 7 years ago

Text

Games Specialism Assignment 1: Project Plan/Research Document & Negotiated Artifact 1 (Stealth Audio System) Research Document

Researching a specialist role actually ended up being more troublesome than originally anticipated, an issue that seemed to be shared by another student. Writing design documents, working as a project manager, almost in a directorial capacity isn’t as clear-cut as one may assume. For starters, the title itself seems to vary from studio to studio. Technical designer, lead designer, producer, etcetera all offered the type of work that I’ll be seeking upon completion of this course, but seem to be very restrictive. Whilst this is to be expected when looking at a specialised path, it is not the one I wish to take.

From a personal perspective, which is paramount considering that the module concerns my career path, I’d very much prefer to work in a large studio, as I enjoy working in busy, spacious environments with a large pool of people. Contrast this with seeing the same dozen or so faces day in, day out with little to no variety (and no guarantee of getting along with them) and the positives of being one of many is self-evident.

My investigation though has led me to believe that it would perhaps be best for my professional career to look towards the “indie scene”. This would no doubt be a very risky avenue to proceed down, and I have some trepidation when I consider the instability it will bring, not to mention the compulsory overtime often spoken of. Of course, I am aware of the availability of overtime at most medium to large studios, as well as the gruelling period known as “crunch time”, however I live by the philosophy of “working to live” as opposed to “living to work.”

Bearing in mind my age though, my previous experiences, along with my eventual venture into the video game industry being my proverbial “last role of the dice” before giving up and fading into a job at the Amazon warehouse, I have decided to indeed pursue a life as a general games designer at an independent studio. Freelance is of course an option, but is also a pursuit I have not enjoyed in the past, as I enjoy working with people rather than from home. Designers of “indie hits” such as Lucas Pope (Papers, Please), Markus Persson (Minecraft), and Dong Nguyen (Flappy Bird) served as inspirations from which I could model a “roadmap” of sorts for a potential career as an independent game designer.

Following some more research, it became clear that this was definitely the route to take. Attempting to design and develop a video game with peers/colleagues that do not share the same vision is a risk that comes with those that lack leaders or experience.

“It is not immediately clear what happened, but it was unfortunate that so many people became unhappy with the direction the game was going. Aplowcalpyse took many forms. At times, the process we went through to try and find an effective game almost felt like tossing darts at the dartboard and waiting for one to stick. Several of the earlier ideas seemed to stick for a bit, but then they either fell out later or were pulled out. What I mean to say is that the process was not as smooth of an agile development experience as it could have been.”

Goller (2016)

In 2013, dotGEARS released six mobile games, all developed by Dong Nguyen alone (Crunchbase, n.d.), and according to Perez (2014) the programming for Flappy Bird took no more than three days. Similarly, Lucas Pope “[made] a few smaller games” (Cullen, 2014) before releasing Papers, Please, and a McDougall (2010) interview reveals that Markus Persson developed Minecraft whilst working another job. As previously mentioned I don’t want to be working a regular job, I want in. Therefore it stands to reason to work in another type of field within the industry. Again though, I’ve attempted freelance work in the past, but not only did I fail miserably on the whole, but I did not enjoy it whatsoever. A compromise needs to be made.

Paul Bannon, our tutor for the 3D Modelling for Games module, has spoken to us about asset creation. People are willing to pay money for premade assets that can be built upon. It stands to reason then that this could be the compromise. I could potentially work a regular job whilst creating coding frameworks to sell on the asset store, and with enough money saved from the regular job whilst creating a steady enough revenue stream from said assets, I can shift my focus solely to the latter. Upon doing this, I will have the time, money, and experience to tackle mobile games. My main focus then switches from asset building to mobile games, my side-projects become larger games, and escalate from there.

In order to retain interest in the assignment, I will embark upon a project that focuses on building a framework for a stealth game system. Throughout the years I’ve played numerous video games of this nature, and have found that the approach to enemy AI detection regarding sound to be somewhat limiting, so will attempt to tackle this issue.

The first thing I've looked at is acoustics. Though I took a course in Music Technology ten years ago, that is the one area I always struggled with. However, I am not aiming for realism, so much as I am developing a sensible mechanic based on sound.

At the moment I'm looking at the relationship between objects impacting on each other, how it creates sound, the volume of that sound, the distance that sound will travel, and how the sound's volume level dictates the distance traveled.

One of the first website results during a quick Google search yielded a great starting point: the Inverse Square Law.

"In the real world, the inverse square law is always an idealization because it assumes exactly equal sound propagation in all directions. If there are reflective surfaces in the sound field, then reflected sounds will add to the directed sound and you will get more sound at a field location than the inverse square law predicts. If there are barriers between the source and the point of measurement, you may get less than the inverse square law predicts. Nevertheless, the inverse square law is the logical first estimate of the sound you would get at a distant point in a reasonably open area."

Nave (n.d.)

Sound isn't exactly a new concept for a stealth game. My personal experience has seen me try to circumnavigate it in video games such as Splinter Cell: Chaos Theory, and manipulate it in the Batman: Arkham series. However, it tends to be quite shallow, in my opinion.

In the image below you will see a bar at the bottom right. This bar is the "noise level detector" portion of the GUI. In the centre of the circle I have used to mark this image is an indicator of the current level of ambient noise, which the player is supposed to monitor so that he or she doesn't exceed it. However, this is simply linked to the speed at which they control the player character. Occasionally (though predominantly at the beginning of the game) there will be a change in terrain, causing the player to monitor their noise levels/movement speeds much closer. This is the only time the player has to be careful about their noise levels, and as far as I remember, it became a non-issue following the first level.

Of course, the player can actively choose to make noise via running, jumping, shooting, whistling, or using an array of gadgets, but that is effectively doing only two things: changing the enemy AI state to investigate, and placing a marker for the enemy AI to move to. What I'm attempting is more complex, so whilst the Splinter Cell example is obviously relevant to the history of stealth games, it serves more of an example of how I don't want the mechanic to turn out.

For now though, I will simply focus on a system where physical noise can be generated directly from a game object so that sound can be a dynamic element of the game as opposed to an obstacle that the player must overcome.

Bibliography

Aquiris Game Studio. (n.d.). Aquiris Game Studio [Photograph]. Retrieved from http://www.aquiris.com.br/press/

Cullen, J. (2014, March 5). Lucas Pope: “I’m kind of sick to death of Papers, Please”. VG247. Retrieved from https://www.vg247.com/2014/03/05/lucas-pope-im-kind-of-sick-to-death-of-papers-please/2/

Crunchbase. (n.d.). Retrieved November 26, 2017, from Crunchbase, https://www.crunchbase.com/organization/gears-dotgears-studios

Duwell, R. (2014, February 25). Papers, Please screenshot [Screenshot]. Retrieved from https://www.technobuffalo.com/2014/02/25/papers-please-creator-wants-to-make-a-ps-vita-version/

Goller, N. (2016). ITERATIVE GAME DEVELOPMENT: What goes into making an effective game and the lessons learned from making two games (Senior honours thesis, University of Utah). Retrieved from http://www.coe.utah.edu/~ngoller/resources/thesis.pdf

Hyperzephyrian (2015, April 19). Splinter Cell: Chaos Theory screenshot [Screenshot]. Retrieved from http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=1031902

Karen. (2016, September 22). Unreal Engine Marketplace [Screenshot]. Retrieved from https://www.manamark.com/blog/2016/09/22/20-free-game-assets-and-paid-gamedev/

McDougall, J. (2010, July 29). Community heroes: Notch, for Minecraft. PC Gamer. Retrieved from http://www.pcgamer.com/community-heroes-notch-for-minecraft/

Nave. (n.d.). Estimating sound levels with the inverse square law. HyperPhysics. Retrieved from http://hyperphysics.phy-astr.gsu.edu/hbase/Acoustic/isprob2.html

Nave. (n.d.). Inverse Square Law [Diagram]. Retrieved from http://hyperphysics.phy-astr.gsu.edu/hbase/Acoustic/isprob2.html

Perez, S. (2014, Feb 1). Developer behind “Flappy Bird” the impossible game blowing up the App Store, says he just got lucky. TechCrunch. Retrieved from https://techcrunch.com/2014/02/01/developer-behind-flappy-bird-the-impossible-game-blowing-up-the-app-store-says-he-just-got-lucky/

#futureworks #bagd #fwxb2178 #xb2178 #indigo #games specialism #assignment 1 #summative

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viralhottopics · 8 years ago

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Wilmer Cabrera, loyal lieutenant in Colombia’s dream team, thriving in MLS

Houstons new head coach was a stable presence in the maverick Colombian team of the 1990s and hes brought calm and clarity to the MLS pacesetters

Glory and brutality were companions in Colombian football during the 1990s as the national team reached three World Cups amid a bloody drug war that did not spare sport. If Carlos Valderrama, Rene Higuita and Tino Asprilla were the maverick stars, Wilmer Cabrera was a more stable and less erratic presence.

Cabrera has brought calmness and a clarity of vision to his post-playing careers, first in a role where those qualities are indispensable as a helicopter pilot then in a febrile sphere where they are less common. In a measured rise over 14 years he has progressed from coaching youth teams in New York to his current role in charge of an MLS pacesetter in the embryonic 2017 season.

The Houston Dynamo have two wins from two games, like their opponents this Saturday, the Portland Timbers. Its the style as much as the results that have drawn attention: Cabrera deployed a rambunctious 4-3-3 in a 2-1 opening-weekend win over last years MLS Cup champions, the Seattle Sounders, and a 3-1 victory over the Columbus Crew.

There were handsome goals from the Honduran winger, Romell Quioto, and the Mexican striker Erick Torres, who arrived as a costly Designated Player in 2015 and finally found the net against Seattle after 22 fruitless MLS appearances. He also scored against Columbus.

Talking this week at the Dynamos training ground, Cabrera painted himself as above all a pragmatist, ready to adapt his tactics to his resources. Under a predecessor, the former Bolton and Burnley manager, Owen Coyle, the reverse seemed true.

I dont want to force our players to play the possession, team-oriented [approach] that I used to play because they dont feel that way, the personalities are different, Cabrera said. They like to run, they have speed and they want to attack. Our transition is quick from defending to attacking so whyre we going to change? The players are the ones that are dictating what is the best for them and right now, so far, this is the way were going to play because this is the type of player that we have.

Born in Cartagena, on the Caribbean coast, Cabrera spent most of his 20s with Amrica de Cali and won 48 caps for Colombia. The defender was an unused squad member in Italia 90, missed USA 94 through injury but played in every minute of all three of his countrys matches in France four years later.

Before 1990, Colombia had only once reached a World Cup in 1962. But their 1990s sides had personalities as big as their hair, little turnover of key players, technical excellence, an inspired creator in Valderrama and an effervescent style that lifted the nation. The team had a carefree quality despite the bloody unrest being wreaked by drug lords such as Pablo Escobar, which seeped into soccer.

We were very naive in a lot of aspects. It was just playing soccer the way we felt how to play soccer, Cabrera said. Rene Higuitas scorpion kick famously illuminated a dull goalless draw with England in a friendly at Wembley in 1995.

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Less well remembered, at least in England: the goalkeeper was released the year before after seven months in prison when he was accused of acting as a go-between to help arrange the release of a girl kidnapped in a drug cartel feud. Asprilla, the gun-toting former Newcastle forward, reportedly moved to Europe after death threats.

Cabrera said that it was not until he moved to the US and saw outside media narratives about his countrys troubles that he fully understood the turbulence. Definitely it was an unbelievable time. When I talk with my kids about it, when I talk with people about it, they are amazed, Cabrera said. We didnt realise until now, when you start looking back, and you realise that it was a very rough, very tough moment and a very dangerous environment to be playing soccer.

The defender Andres Escobar was murdered outside a Medellin nightclub 10 days after scoring an own goal in a 2-1 defeat by the US in the 1994 tournament, perhaps because of the result and his blunder.

It just changed your perspective in all aspects because you never imagine that playing soccer brings you into a threatening environment, Cabrera said. For us it was fun, for us it was the way we used to live it was our lifestyle. It became a little bit difficult, it became complicated.

Wilmer Cabrera takes on Michael Owen during the Colombia-England game in 1998. Photograph: Olivier Morin/EPA

Cabrera hoped to follow Valderrama into MLS but a move never materialised. He finally arrived in New York in 2003 with a view to working as a helicopter pilot, a skill he had learned in Colombia and one that aligns with the seemingly-contradictory parts of his character and coaching strategy: cool rationality with a spirit of adventure.

He was sucked back into football, joined the Long Island Rough Riders, took coaching qualifications and rose through the ranks of the American game, including a stint as a fan development manager for MLS. I started to work on soccer from the moment I arrived, tried to learn the language, start from the bottom, and its been quite a long journey but its been very positive for me because Ive been able to work at all the levels here in the United States, he said.

In 2012-13 he was an assistant at the Colorado Rapids under his friend and former international teammate, Oscar Pareja, who is now at FC Dallas. In 2014 the 49-year-old won plaudits for the exercise in damage limitation that was life as head coach of Chivas USA in their final MLS season, which included coaxing a 15-goal campaign from Torres.

Last year, he worked for a Dynamo affiliate, the Rio Grande Valley FC Toros. They reached the United Soccer League playoffs, going a league-record 758 minutes without conceding a goal.

He was picked by Houston ahead of their interim head coach, Wade Barrett, who lifted the team to levels of obduracy and organisation reminiscent of Dominic Kinnear, Coyles long-tenured predecessor, without notably improving results. In 2016 the Dynamo finished bottom of the Western Conference.

Amid the cooing over Houstons exciting debut it has been overlooked that in their first two MLS fixtures last year they drew 3-3 with the New England Revolution then battered Dallas, 5-0. But Coyle left in May (soon surfacing in Blackburn, albeit fleetingly) during a second season of muddled performances and mixed results.

A real strength of Wilmers is that hes very clear with what he expects from the guys positionally and within the framework of the team and he knows that those points need to be reinforced on a very regular basis. I think what stands out with Wilmer is hes just as much a teacher as a coach and thats something that is really important in our league, said Matt Jordan, the Dynamo vice-president/general manager.

Cabreras bilingualism and background was a plus for US Soccer when it appointed him in 2007 to be the first Hispanic head coach of a male American national side the under-17s. The obvious influence of South American is something that weighed into our decision, Sunil Gulati, the US Soccer Federation president, told Soccer America.

It also helps in Houston, where the Dynamo play in a city that is roughly 40% Hispanic and have a roster that features eleven players born in South or Central America.

Guys from England are always, I guess, going to bring in the most money and earn the most money, but if you want to win youve got to look elsewhere. You can only have three DPs on a team so its about finding the other role players, said AJ DeLaGarza, an off-season signing from the Los Angeles Galaxy.

First of all, you want to look for good players whose characteristics translate to Major League Soccer and historically, players from countries like Honduras and Colombia and Argentina and Costa Rica and Panama, those are markets that the players transition well to our league, Jordan said.

Its an added bonus that those profiles fit the demographics of our city. On top of that, when you look at the climate here, the conditions that we have to play in here, we want players to embrace that and feel very comfortable here.

Like Parejas Dallas, Houston aim to be devastating on the counter-attack. Still, when fatigue and summer heat bite, theres the question of how an aging back line will cope against fast, incisive opponents, especially since a three-man midfield offers limited protection down the flanks. The back four against Seattle was DeLaGarza (29), Adolfo Machado (32), Leonardo (29) and DaMarcus Beasley (34). The only starters under 28 were the three forwards: Alberth Elis (21), Torres (24) and Quioto (25). But the Sounders XI was no younger.

The Dynamo had only 36% of possession against Seattle and 40% against Columbus, according to league statistics. Broken down into five-minute intervals, Houston had more of the ball than their opponents for just 25 minutes of those 180.

The bright side is were winning and were still not playing, I would say, very well. Were very dynamic going forward but defending and keeping the ball we know we have to get better, and playing a full 90-plus minutes, said DeLaGarza.

Coyle made energetic and sincere attempts to embrace MLS but ended up as another statistic confirming the truism that the leagues idiosyncratic some might say arcane nature makes it all but impregnable to outsiders.

If Cabrera thrives in Texas it will be as much a tribute to the American development system as to the legacy of the experiences he absorbed in his native land. Im a local coach like any other coach, he said. Ive lived here in the United States for 14 years, so now my lifestyle is American style. Im an American coach.