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There are no games to play! (January-March)

2023.03.22 16:40 SlowShoes There are no games to play! (January-March)

When I read posts about how there are no games to play on the Quest, I simply can’t relate. I’m a voracious consumer of VR games, experiences and demos and currently have over 330 of them on my headset (not including my PCVR library). These experiences are a combination of both old and new items, and my wish list and library just keeps growing week after week with new releases, recommendations and game updates. This year, I wanted to keep track of all the games I’ve played and keep coming back to and catalogue them here in hopes that they may give you some fresh ideas of games to play, or reasons to revisit older games due to their updates or improvements.
Some of the games listed below, I can forsee playing all year long, and to be fair, others I've tried are not my cup of tea, but they may interest you enough to try them out. In either case, here are my quick thoughts on the 21 games I’ve played so far from January to March of 2023 along with links to them on the store.

  1. Bocce Time! ($8.99) From the developer: In Bocce Time! you'll head down to a peaceful park or atmospheric pier to test your bocce skills across 12 distinct courts. Jump into a quick match to 1v1 a random opponent online, create and join private rooms with up to 8 players, or play against AI across 3 difficulties to unlock additional ball customization options. With full cross-play, everyone's invited to join the fun! It's Bocce Time! My thoughts: This game has seen so many updates since it’s release and if you haven’t checked it out, there’s a free trial that opens up the whole game so you can try it out for yourself. With two parks (10 courses), an AI bot to challenge (that has great quips), collectible balls and support for up to eight people, this is a wonderful social game to play with friends. The Walkabout Mini Golf vibes are strong with this game, so players of that game will feel right at home. The latest update unlocked the entire park as a play area, and ensures that you and your friends will have unlimited options for where to play from. Along with Discord tournaments available if you're feeling competitive, this game is a real hidden gem and has grown a lot since its release. Absolutely worth a go, especially at that price point.
  2. Golf+ ($29.99) From the developer: GOLF+ is the ultimate VR Golf experience and the exclusive VR Golf game of the PGA TOUR. Join your friends for a round on Pebble Beach, Pinehurst No. 2, TPC Sawgrass and more. Want something more casual? Hang out at Topgolf for a night of music and games. My thoughts: Simply one of the best games on the app store. With all the great new updates such as Beat the Pro and new courses dropping every so often, it's one game that will be on my Quest until the next headset comes out. With the official PGA licenses, a variety of match options and support for four players, it’s an essential Quest game to play alone or with friends.
  3. Little Cities ($19.99) From the developer: Escape to the charming world of Little Cities, the most loved VR city building simulation game. Create your own little city and watch it come to life – from a humble village to a bustling metropolis. Design the layout and strategically plot amenities to make a perfect city where your citizens love to live. My thoughts: The latest update added citizens to the game. This adds a lot more flavor to your city and brings more life to your city. It’s a pretty simple SimCity style game that should keep you entertained for a few hours. I enjoyed this one, but wasn’t blown away. The extra DLC courses and achievements will give you more play time if you find yourself enjoying this one though.
  4. Compound ($19.99) From the developer: "COMPOUND is a randomized, rogue-lite, free-roaming shooter for Virtual Reality veterans. Duck and dodge around enemy fire in a tough-as-nails retro FPS with multiple locomotion options. Prepare to die - a lot - until you are good enough to reach the heart of The Corporation and take back what belongs to everyone..." My experience: Essentially Doom on Quest. The awesome blocky aesthetics work perfectly in this world. With a great gameplay loop and exciting gunplay this one will easily get its hooks into you. I found myself saying "just one more run" more often than I had time for. This single player shooter has so many achievements and difficulty levels that it kept me busy for quite some time. I thoroughly enjoyed my time with it and still have more to do. A must buy for any fan of the genre.
  5. Walkabout Mini Golf ($14.99) From the developer: 8 unique 18-hole courses to master. Unlock NIGHT MODE for more challenging versions of all courses. Play solo, 1v1 online quick match, or create a private room with up to 8 players. Extremely accurate physics feel just like the real thing. Collect over 188 custom balls hidden throughout. Solve treasure hunts on each hard course to earn special putters. My thoughts: What more needs to be said about this excellent game? It’s on my constant rotation of games to play alone, with friends, or even with strangers - as the community is so warm and welcoming. The community is truly one of the best, and there are several discord servers for tournaments, weekly meetups and more. An essential game that every Quest owner should have.
  6. VR Pool ($19.99) From the developer: ForeVR Pool brings the coolest pool halls from around the globe straight to your living room! Challenge friends, family, and in-game pros to a game of 8-ball pool – no table required. Battle 12 bots to level up and take on Legendary challengers. Join a Quick Match or jump into a private multiplayer party! Friend in town? Share your headset with Pass & Play. Up the ante and stake in-game coins in matches against other players. My thoughts: This was pretty feature-light and choppy when it first launched, but it now has 9-ball in addition to 8-ball. If you bought it early, it's worth a quick revisit. It sticks pretty true to the ForeVR formula with its aesthetics and collectibles. The graphics aren’t going to win any awards and frankly put me off of it when I first booted it up, but the physics hold up and it’s a good time against the AI or a friend. With 2v2 matches coming soon, that is where this game could really be worth revisiting for some multiplayer fun and friendly smack talk.
  7. After the Fall - (Played on PC $29.99, available on Quest $29.99) From the developer: Welcome to ‘The Line’... Decades have passed since the apocalypse turned 1980s Los Angeles into a snow-crested wasteland, overrun by mutated undead. Starting out in an underground camp with up to 32 other player survivors, you take up arms as a new Harvest Runner. Your mission? Venturing out above ground to expand the Line’s reach into the city and fuel mankind’s survival for another day. My thoughts: What a fun game. The gunplay and sheer amount of enemies on screen via PC is just stunning. You're set in an apocalyptic world and must shoot your way out while gathering resources. The atmosphere is stunning, and the graphics are top notch as well. While I’m sure it’s downgraded a bit to run on Quest, don’t let that hold you back. You can play this co-op with up to three other players and bots will fill you out to four. The teamwork this game offers is wonderful. Find a friend or two and jump in this one, or play with the ever-full lobbies of people looking to join up. The latest Descension update adds two new maps and a ton of other bug fixes and gameplay additions. It's a great time to jump in with a friend!
  8. Cosmoniuous High (Played on PC $29.99, available on Quest $29.99) From the developer: From the creators of award winning titles 'Job Simulator' and 'Vacation Simulator', comes a new original creation—the comically catastrophic Cosmonious High! Welcome to your alien high school that's definitely completely free of malfunctions! After crash-landing into your first day, you'll unlock powers, explore the halls, and save the school from cosmic chaos. My thoughts: I would consider this is the third entry in the Job Simulator series - even though it's technically not in the same world. I’d really recommend you play them in order to fully appreciate the experience this game has to offer. Job Simulator was the first game, with jokes and fun interaction. Vacation Simulator expanded on that idea with similar characters, and what Cosmonius does is take the ideas of object interaction and conversations and cranks it up to the max. I had so much fun experimenting, talking with NPC’s, exploring the school and seeing what story the game had to offer. This is one of those games that just speaks to people like me who likes to push the boundaries to see what you can do in a game and rewards players for experimenting. It's a heartwarming game that continues to get quality of life and accessibility updates.
  9. The Invisible Hours - (Played on PC $29.99, but coming out on Quest, currently available in the Rift store.) From the developer: The Invisible Hours is a complex murder mystery playable with or without a VR headset. Players freely explore an intricate web of interwoven stories within a sprawling mansion. A group of strangers receive a curious invitation from the enigmatic inventor, Nikola Tesla, offering each of them the chance to make amends for their darkest wrongdoings. When the last guest arrives at Tesla’s isolated mansion laboratory, they find him dead – murdered. Disgraced Swedish detective, Gustaf Gustav, vows to find the killer amongst the other guests: a blind butler, a convicted murderer, the world’s most famous actress, Tesla’s former assistant, the son of a wealthy railroad magnate, and rival inventor Thomas Edison. But none of these people are what they seem. My thoughts: I heard so many great things about this game and it's really more of an interactive story than anything. You find yourself moving around the mansion, piecing together the intricate story and learning how all these people relate to one another and their hidden secrets. I had a great time with this game, it had a unique concept that kept me fully engaged throughout.
  10. Pokerstars VR (Free) From the developer: PokerStars, the world’s leading poker brand, has combined live and online poker in a truly immersive VR experience. Featuring Quest Pro support with face and eye tracking, advanced haptics, and mixed reality passthrough! My thoughts: This is one of my go-to games with friends. Once you get past the initial low-stakes tables where kids play and go all-in on many hands, you’ll find a new set of players that actually play smart poker and like to chat. If you have some friends, you can create your own private room and avoid that all together. It’s a relaxing game where you can meet new people and just chill in VR. It’s my social game where I go to unwind. Recent updates have seen them add craps and social poker rooms with slots and roulette. If you're looking to relax and play some poker, this free to play game will hit the spot. You can easily play this game for free and not ever spend a dime.
  11. Path of the Warrior ($19.99) From the developer: We interrupt this broadcast with breaking news...chaos in the streets of Rage City tonight! The myriad local gangs, once at constant war with each other have now unified under a mysterious new crime boss...Mr. S. Thugs have flooded the entire city, unleashing a wave of terror. The police are overwhelmed and the public is in imminent danger! Can anyone put a stop to the crime wave? Can anyone save Rage City? My thoughts: This fighting game is one that you can blow off steam with. It harkens back to the old Double Dragon or Final Fight arcade days and I highly recommend you play through this game with a friend as you’ll be laughing your way through it at the absurd combos and interactive objects and scenery you can use to defeat your foes. Find a bit of open room to play in, and punch your way through the game.
  12. Half Life Alyx Mod: The Undertow - (PC only, Free) From the developer: You play as Alyx, tasked with delivering a mysterious briefcase to the owner of an underground night club, upon arriving you realize this deal might not be so straight forward... Expected Playtime: 50min - 1hr. Features: Full-fledged Story with Voice Acting, Custom Sounds, Assets, and Gameplay, Unique Puzzles & Engaging Combat, Full Single-Controller Support and Drinkable Vodka (Finally). My thoughts: I’ve been working my way through some Half Life Alyx mods that bubble up to the top via Reddit or online posts. This one found its way into my queue and while it had a really unique setting, it was extremely buggy in one spot, to the point where I had to restart a section close to 20 times. I didn't find the end game satisfying, and with so many other great mods, it was a miss for me.
  13. Sheaf - Together EP (PC only, Free) From the developer: Enter virtual reality to listen to the debut EP “Together” of synthwave producer Sheaf. No gameplay involved -- just sit back, relax, and enjoy the music while you drive through a retro low poly world. The EP features 3 tracks, and each track comes with its own scenery, tailor made to fit its mood. You can start each track separately from the main menu. My thoughts: As noted in the developer description, this is really more a zen-like experience where you’re sitting in a car that drives down a road while chill music is playing. Certainly different from a lot of other “zone out” experiences that focus on geometric shapes, but the blocky visuals really conflicted with the chill vibe it was going for. Not really my jam, but if you like chill experiences, it might be for you. You certainly can't beat the price.
  14. Shooty Fruity ($19.99) From the developer: Do your job whilst shooting guns! Shooty Fruity combines job simulation with exhilarating combat that makes you feel like a true action hero - whether McClane, Wick or Rambo. Take on new roles and unlock weapons to fight your way through your career. Scan shoot repeat! My thoughts: I kept seeing this game show up in sales and various feeds so I finally tried it out. After 30 minutes I just was not having any fun at all. While the enemies were silly (various fruits and vegetables), the gun mechanics were lackluster. I just did not get into the gameplay loop of shooting and scanning groceries. It was just too repetitive for me and for that reason I can’t recommend it.
  15. What the Bat? ($24.99) From the developer: From the creators of WHAT THE GOLF? comes a silly VR game about navigating life with baseball bats for hands. Swing your way through over 100 levels of batting, cooking, shooting, smashing, parking, painting, pickling, petting, and WHATnot. My thoughts: I was a huge fan of What the Golf on iOS, and was quite excited when I heard about this sequel. The “high” price point turned me off for a while, but when UploadVR gave it their “game of the year” award, I finally pulled the trigger. I had high hopes, and it was fun… at first, but the gimmick started to wear really thin on me rather quickly. It just didn’t seem to have the same magic the first game had. I kept going through it in hopes that something would change, or capture that original feeling, but honestly, it was a grind to finish such a short game. I understand I’m probably in the minority here, but I was quite disappointed.
  16. Superhot ($24.99) From the developer: Multi-award winning, smash-hit SUPERHOT VR blurs the lines between cautious strategy and unbridled mayhem. The definitive VR action experience. Time moves only when you move. No regenerating health bars. No conveniently placed ammo drops. It's you, alone, outnumbered and outgunned. Snatch weapons from fallen enemies to shoot, slice and dodge through a truly cinematic hurricane of slow-motion bullets. It’s like nothing you have ever played before. Something is different here. Lose track of what’s real. My thoughts: You know it, and you probably love it. Like so many others, so did I. This was one of my first VR experiences years ago and I finally saw it through to the end. This game can be quite demanding for some levels requiring accurate shooting, movement and timing. This game offers a really unique take on gameplay and multiple ways to get through some levels really increase the replayability. With the unique achievements to strive for you have a real winner. A must own for all gamers.
  17. Tube Be Continued (Demo) (Full game $14.99) From the developer: Hello! Welcome to TUBE Industries: a hamster owned and operated tube puzzle emporium! Prepare for a tube-based, puzzle-filled, HAM-PACKED adventure with our charismatic leader: The BOSS. Here at TUBE Industries we provide the puzzles and you provide… the brains. No shady business here! My thoughts: I like to look at the new App Lab games that come out every now and then and I’m a sucker for a good puzzle game. This is a game where you connect mazes together for hamsters to run through. It was a weird story that sees you working with a Hamster CEO trying to save his company from the Board, which are all hamsters. Really weird stuff, but while the demo was fun, the puzzles were a bit on the simple side and ultimately, I just did not think it was worth buying at this point. That being said, if the demo grabs you I could see this being a fun few hours with new content planning to be added.
  18. Dart Racer (Free) From the developer: Dart Racer is an arcade racing game where you compete against AI during race and other players on the online leaderboards - features multiple race tracks and environments - steering based on throttle differential - interactive tutorial - customizable game and comfort settings - optional hand tracking. My thoughts: Now this is podracing! It really did feel like I was doing some classic Star Wars podracing, but it was quite tough to learn the controls. Once I got that figured out, there certainly was some fun to be had, but unfortunately, it just was okay for me and I dropped out after a bit. Give it a try for free, and keep in mind there are plenty of motion assists to play with so you don't get sick.
  19. Nock ($9.99) From the developer: Nock is bow and arrow soccer. Skate and fly around a pitch while using a bow and arrow to blast the ball into the other team’s goal. Compete in multiplayer ranked matches, or play casual custom games with your friends! Like a real sport, Nock is easy to learn but difficult to master. Block arrows let you create obstacles and you can even use your body to make a goal or save. A fast-moving ball can knock you out. Skill-based matchmaking keeps every game extremely close and competitive. Casual modes let you challenge yourself against bots or play with friends in custom matches. My thoughts: Rocket League but with archery. While I’m not a fan of archery games in general, this game really had the physics dialed in. I always felt like I was in full control of my movement and bow and arrow. Nothing ever felt like it was off, and the aiming was spot on. Every hit of the ball, or miss was my fault. An absolute blast with with up to four friends, and that’s how I recommend you play it - with friends. But there are leagues and tournaments readily available if get into the game. That being said, I’m pretty terrible at it, and will only play with friends who can tolerate my terrible skills.
  20. Into the Radius ($29.99) From the developer: An atmospheric open-world single-player survival shooter. You find yourself in the middle of the blighted zone, cut from the outside world. Your guns and your wits are all you have left. Fight the deadly enemies, dodge dangerous anomalies, and collect wondrous artifacts on your way to the Radius center to find your way out. My thoughts: I found myself constantly saying “I can’t believe this actually runs on a Quest.” The amount of items you can interact with, areas available to explore, systems to learn and missions to accept can be quite overwhelming. Honestly it took me about 5-7 hours of gameplay, tutorials and youtube videos until finally the game “clicked.” After this one fateful mission where I was over encumbered with items, low on ammo with minimal health and dealing with enemies at every turn, I was totally immersed and was having the time of my life. It was an absolute blast and despite being so tense - a joy to play. I did tone down the difficulty a bit, which made it much more playable and less punishing. Truly a great game if you like the loop of scavenging, planning your route ahead and making sure literally every bullet counts. While it lacks in story, it does have a lot of environmental details and little things that you have to find for yourself. If you like survival games, it’s almost perfect.
  21. Surgineer ($9.99) From the developer: Have you ever dreamed of being a real surgeon? Well… you are not gonna learn that here. Welcome to the most unrealistic surgery simulator where everyone can instantly become a terrible doctor. You will have to solve hilarious surgical procedures ranging from CPR to brain transplant or even removing alien eggs from a poor patient using a robotic arm! You always thought you had that surgeon in you? You better have a bulletproof malpractice insurance before getting your virtual hands on a patient! My thoughts: At such a low price point, I wasn’t expecting much. I remember playing Surgeon Simulator back in the day and this looked like that. Much to my disappointment it was much more terrible than I had hoped. Absolutely no fun was to be had here. I constantly fought with the controls, many times had no clue what to do and finally gave up in frustration. I understand part of the appeal is the wonkiness of it, but this game requires someone with a lot more patience than me to get some fun out of it.
There you have it, 21 different games played in three months. I would say there are plenty of games to play and enjoy on the Quest. I hope you find a few that you might not have heard of, or that you might find worth revisiting. Let me know on the Ruff Talk Discord channel if you have a game you enjoy that I should try, I'm always open to recommendations. You can also find this article on the RuffTalkVR Blog Until then, I hope your next VR experience is a memorable one.
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2023.03.22 16:39 SmileFirstThenSpeak How have you saved by getting free advice on Reddit?

We had a problem with ice appearing where it shouldn't. Without spending a penny, we got great advice on appliancerepair (thank you u/heavymetalpaul) and fixed it ourselves. We didn't even need to buy any new parts. Since we have American Home Shield, we would have paid $100 for someone to come fix it for us. Without AHS, I'm sure it would have been more.
I've saved money by getting gardening advice, homeowner advice, all kinds of things. What about you?
submitted by SmileFirstThenSpeak to Frugal [link] [comments]


2023.03.22 16:37 SlowShoes There are no games to play! (January-March 2023)

When I read posts about how there are no games to play on the Quest, I simply can’t relate. I’m a voracious consumer of VR games, experiences and demos and currently have over 330 of them on my headset (not including my PCVR library). These experiences are a combination of both old and new items, and my wish list and library just keeps growing week after week with new releases, recommendations and game updates. This year, I wanted to keep track of all the games I’ve played and keep coming back to and catalogue them here in hopes that they may give you some fresh ideas of games to play, or reasons to revisit older games due to their updates or improvements.
Some of the games listed below, I can forsee playing all year long, and to be fair, others I've tried are not my cup of tea, but they may interest you enough to try them out. In either case, here are my quick thoughts on the 21 games I’ve played so far from January to March of 2023 along with links to them on the store.

  1. Bocce Time! ($8.99) From the developer: In Bocce Time! you'll head down to a peaceful park or atmospheric pier to test your bocce skills across 12 distinct courts. Jump into a quick match to 1v1 a random opponent online, create and join private rooms with up to 8 players, or play against AI across 3 difficulties to unlock additional ball customization options. With full cross-play, everyone's invited to join the fun! It's Bocce Time! My thoughts: This game has seen so many updates since it’s release and if you haven’t checked it out, there’s a free trial that opens up the whole game so you can try it out for yourself. With two parks (10 courses), an AI bot to challenge (that has great quips), collectible balls and support for up to eight people, this is a wonderful social game to play with friends. The Walkabout Mini Golf vibes are strong with this game, so players of that game will feel right at home. The latest update unlocked the entire park as a play area, and ensures that you and your friends will have unlimited options for where to play from. Along with Discord tournaments available if you're feeling competitive, this game is a real hidden gem and has grown a lot since its release. Absolutely worth a go, especially at that price point.
  2. Golf+ ($29.99) From the developer: GOLF+ is the ultimate VR Golf experience and the exclusive VR Golf game of the PGA TOUR. Join your friends for a round on Pebble Beach, Pinehurst No. 2, TPC Sawgrass and more. Want something more casual? Hang out at Topgolf for a night of music and games. My thoughts: Simply one of the best games on the app store. With all the great new updates such as Beat the Pro and new courses dropping every so often, it's one game that will be on my Quest until the next headset comes out. With the official PGA licenses, a variety of match options and support for four players, it’s an essential Quest game to play alone or with friends.
  3. Little Cities ($19.99) From the developer: Escape to the charming world of Little Cities, the most loved VR city building simulation game. Create your own little city and watch it come to life – from a humble village to a bustling metropolis. Design the layout and strategically plot amenities to make a perfect city where your citizens love to live. My thoughts: The latest update added citizens to the game. This adds a lot more flavor to your city and brings more life to your city. It’s a pretty simple SimCity style game that should keep you entertained for a few hours. I enjoyed this one, but wasn’t blown away. The extra DLC courses and achievements will give you more play time if you find yourself enjoying this one though.
  4. Compound ($19.99) From the developer: "COMPOUND is a randomized, rogue-lite, free-roaming shooter for Virtual Reality veterans. Duck and dodge around enemy fire in a tough-as-nails retro FPS with multiple locomotion options. Prepare to die - a lot - until you are good enough to reach the heart of The Corporation and take back what belongs to everyone..." My experience: Essentially Doom on Quest. The awesome blocky aesthetics work perfectly in this world. With a great gameplay loop and exciting gunplay this one will easily get its hooks into you. I found myself saying "just one more run" more often than I had time for. This single player shooter has so many achievements and difficulty levels that it kept me busy for quite some time. I thoroughly enjoyed my time with it and still have more to do. A must buy for any fan of the genre.
  5. Walkabout Mini Golf ($14.99) From the developer: 8 unique 18-hole courses to master. Unlock NIGHT MODE for more challenging versions of all courses. Play solo, 1v1 online quick match, or create a private room with up to 8 players. Extremely accurate physics feel just like the real thing. Collect over 188 custom balls hidden throughout. Solve treasure hunts on each hard course to earn special putters. My thoughts: What more needs to be said about this excellent game? It’s on my constant rotation of games to play alone, with friends, or even with strangers - as the community is so warm and welcoming. The community is truly one of the best, and there are several discord servers for tournaments, weekly meetups and more. An essential game that every Quest owner should have.
  6. VR Pool ($19.99) From the developer: ForeVR Pool brings the coolest pool halls from around the globe straight to your living room! Challenge friends, family, and in-game pros to a game of 8-ball pool – no table required. Battle 12 bots to level up and take on Legendary challengers. Join a Quick Match or jump into a private multiplayer party! Friend in town? Share your headset with Pass & Play. Up the ante and stake in-game coins in matches against other players. My thoughts: This was pretty feature-light and choppy when it first launched, but it now has 9-ball in addition to 8-ball. If you bought it early, it's worth a quick revisit. It sticks pretty true to the ForeVR formula with its aesthetics and collectibles. The graphics aren’t going to win any awards and frankly put me off of it when I first booted it up, but the physics hold up and it’s a good time against the AI or a friend. With 2v2 matches coming soon, that is where this game could really be worth revisiting for some multiplayer fun and friendly smack talk.
  7. After the Fall - (Played on PC $29.99, available on Quest $29.99) From the developer: Welcome to ‘The Line’... Decades have passed since the apocalypse turned 1980s Los Angeles into a snow-crested wasteland, overrun by mutated undead. Starting out in an underground camp with up to 32 other player survivors, you take up arms as a new Harvest Runner. Your mission? Venturing out above ground to expand the Line’s reach into the city and fuel mankind’s survival for another day. My thoughts: What a fun game. The gunplay and sheer amount of enemies on screen via PC is just stunning. You're set in an apocalyptic world and must shoot your way out while gathering resources. The atmosphere is stunning, and the graphics are top notch as well. While I’m sure it’s downgraded a bit to run on Quest, don’t let that hold you back. You can play this co-op with up to three other players and bots will fill you out to four. The teamwork this game offers is wonderful. Find a friend or two and jump in this one, or play with the ever-full lobbies of people looking to join up. The latest Descension update adds two new maps and a ton of other bug fixes and gameplay additions. It's a great time to jump in with a friend!
  8. Cosmoniuous High (Played on PC $29.99, available on Quest $29.99) From the developer: From the creators of award winning titles 'Job Simulator' and 'Vacation Simulator', comes a new original creation—the comically catastrophic Cosmonious High! Welcome to your alien high school that's definitely completely free of malfunctions! After crash-landing into your first day, you'll unlock powers, explore the halls, and save the school from cosmic chaos. My thoughts: I would consider this is the third entry in the Job Simulator series - even though it's technically not in the same world. I’d really recommend you play them in order to fully appreciate the experience this game has to offer. Job Simulator was the first game, with jokes and fun interaction. Vacation Simulator expanded on that idea with similar characters, and what Cosmonius does is take the ideas of object interaction and conversations and cranks it up to the max. I had so much fun experimenting, talking with NPC’s, exploring the school and seeing what story the game had to offer. This is one of those games that just speaks to people like me who likes to push the boundaries to see what you can do in a game and rewards players for experimenting. It's a heartwarming game that continues to get quality of life and accessibility updates.
  9. The Invisible Hours - (Played on PC $29.99, but coming out on Quest, currently available in the Rift store.) From the developer: The Invisible Hours is a complex murder mystery playable with or without a VR headset. Players freely explore an intricate web of interwoven stories within a sprawling mansion. A group of strangers receive a curious invitation from the enigmatic inventor, Nikola Tesla, offering each of them the chance to make amends for their darkest wrongdoings. When the last guest arrives at Tesla’s isolated mansion laboratory, they find him dead – murdered. Disgraced Swedish detective, Gustaf Gustav, vows to find the killer amongst the other guests: a blind butler, a convicted murderer, the world’s most famous actress, Tesla’s former assistant, the son of a wealthy railroad magnate, and rival inventor Thomas Edison. But none of these people are what they seem. My thoughts: I heard so many great things about this game and it's really more of an interactive story than anything. You find yourself moving around the mansion, piecing together the intricate story and learning how all these people relate to one another and their hidden secrets. I had a great time with this game, it had a unique concept that kept me fully engaged throughout.
  10. Pokerstars VR (Free) From the developer: PokerStars, the world’s leading poker brand, has combined live and online poker in a truly immersive VR experience. Featuring Quest Pro support with face and eye tracking, advanced haptics, and mixed reality passthrough! My thoughts: This is one of my go-to games with friends. Once you get past the initial low-stakes tables where kids play and go all-in on many hands, you’ll find a new set of players that actually play smart poker and like to chat. If you have some friends, you can create your own private room and avoid that all together. It’s a relaxing game where you can meet new people and just chill in VR. It’s my social game where I go to unwind. Recent updates have seen them add craps and social poker rooms with slots and roulette. If you're looking to relax and play some poker, this free to play game will hit the spot. You can easily play this game for free and not ever spend a dime.
  11. Path of the Warrior ($19.99) From the developer: We interrupt this broadcast with breaking news...chaos in the streets of Rage City tonight! The myriad local gangs, once at constant war with each other have now unified under a mysterious new crime boss...Mr. S. Thugs have flooded the entire city, unleashing a wave of terror. The police are overwhelmed and the public is in imminent danger! Can anyone put a stop to the crime wave? Can anyone save Rage City? My thoughts: This fighting game is one that you can blow off steam with. It harkens back to the old Double Dragon or Final Fight arcade days and I highly recommend you play through this game with a friend as you’ll be laughing your way through it at the absurd combos and interactive objects and scenery you can use to defeat your foes. Find a bit of open room to play in, and punch your way through the game.
  12. Half Life Alyx Mod: The Undertow - (PC only, Free) From the developer: You play as Alyx, tasked with delivering a mysterious briefcase to the owner of an underground night club, upon arriving you realize this deal might not be so straight forward... Expected Playtime: 50min - 1hr. Features: Full-fledged Story with Voice Acting, Custom Sounds, Assets, and Gameplay, Unique Puzzles & Engaging Combat, Full Single-Controller Support and Drinkable Vodka (Finally). My thoughts: I’ve been working my way through some Half Life Alyx mods that bubble up to the top via Reddit or online posts. This one found its way into my queue and while it had a really unique setting, it was extremely buggy in one spot, to the point where I had to restart a section close to 20 times. I didn't find the end game satisfying, and with so many other great mods, it was a miss for me.
  13. Sheaf - Together EP (PC only, Free) From the developer: Enter virtual reality to listen to the debut EP “Together” of synthwave producer Sheaf. No gameplay involved -- just sit back, relax, and enjoy the music while you drive through a retro low poly world. The EP features 3 tracks, and each track comes with its own scenery, tailor made to fit its mood. You can start each track separately from the main menu. My thoughts: As noted in the developer description, this is really more a zen-like experience where you’re sitting in a car that drives down a road while chill music is playing. Certainly different from a lot of other “zone out” experiences that focus on geometric shapes, but the blocky visuals really conflicted with the chill vibe it was going for. Not really my jam, but if you like chill experiences, it might be for you. You certainly can't beat the price.
  14. Shooty Fruity ($19.99) From the developer: Do your job whilst shooting guns! Shooty Fruity combines job simulation with exhilarating combat that makes you feel like a true action hero - whether McClane, Wick or Rambo. Take on new roles and unlock weapons to fight your way through your career. Scan shoot repeat! My thoughts: I kept seeing this game show up in sales and various feeds so I finally tried it out. After 30 minutes I just was not having any fun at all. While the enemies were silly (various fruits and vegetables), the gun mechanics were lackluster. I just did not get into the gameplay loop of shooting and scanning groceries. It was just too repetitive for me and for that reason I can’t recommend it.
  15. What the Bat? ($24.99) From the developer: From the creators of WHAT THE GOLF? comes a silly VR game about navigating life with baseball bats for hands. Swing your way through over 100 levels of batting, cooking, shooting, smashing, parking, painting, pickling, petting, and WHATnot. My thoughts: I was a huge fan of What the Golf on iOS, and was quite excited when I heard about this sequel. The “high” price point turned me off for a while, but when UploadVR gave it their “game of the year” award, I finally pulled the trigger. I had high hopes, and it was fun… at first, but the gimmick started to wear really thin on me rather quickly. It just didn’t seem to have the same magic the first game had. I kept going through it in hopes that something would change, or capture that original feeling, but honestly, it was a grind to finish such a short game. I understand I’m probably in the minority here, but I was quite disappointed.
  16. Superhot ($24.99) From the developer: Multi-award winning, smash-hit SUPERHOT VR blurs the lines between cautious strategy and unbridled mayhem. The definitive VR action experience. Time moves only when you move. No regenerating health bars. No conveniently placed ammo drops. It's you, alone, outnumbered and outgunned. Snatch weapons from fallen enemies to shoot, slice and dodge through a truly cinematic hurricane of slow-motion bullets. It’s like nothing you have ever played before. Something is different here. Lose track of what’s real. My thoughts: You know it, and you probably love it. Like so many others, so did I. This was one of my first VR experiences years ago and I finally saw it through to the end. This game can be quite demanding for some levels requiring accurate shooting, movement and timing. This game offers a really unique take on gameplay and multiple ways to get through some levels really increase the replayability. With the unique achievements to strive for you have a real winner. A must own for all gamers.
  17. Tube Be Continued (Demo) (Full game $14.99) From the developer: Hello! Welcome to TUBE Industries: a hamster owned and operated tube puzzle emporium! Prepare for a tube-based, puzzle-filled, HAM-PACKED adventure with our charismatic leader: The BOSS. Here at TUBE Industries we provide the puzzles and you provide… the brains. No shady business here! My thoughts: I like to look at the new App Lab games that come out every now and then and I’m a sucker for a good puzzle game. This is a game where you connect mazes together for hamsters to run through. It was a weird story that sees you working with a Hamster CEO trying to save his company from the Board, which are all hamsters. Really weird stuff, but while the demo was fun, the puzzles were a bit on the simple side and ultimately, I just did not think it was worth buying at this point. That being said, if the demo grabs you I could see this being a fun few hours with new content planning to be added.
  18. Dart Racer (Free) From the developer: Dart Racer is an arcade racing game where you compete against AI during race and other players on the online leaderboards - features multiple race tracks and environments - steering based on throttle differential - interactive tutorial - customizable game and comfort settings - optional hand tracking. My thoughts: Now this is podracing! It really did feel like I was doing some classic Star Wars podracing, but it was quite tough to learn the controls. Once I got that figured out, there certainly was some fun to be had, but unfortunately, it just was okay for me and I dropped out after a bit. Give it a try for free, and keep in mind there are plenty of motion assists to play with so you don't get sick.
  19. Nock ($9.99) From the developer: Nock is bow and arrow soccer. Skate and fly around a pitch while using a bow and arrow to blast the ball into the other team’s goal. Compete in multiplayer ranked matches, or play casual custom games with your friends! Like a real sport, Nock is easy to learn but difficult to master. Block arrows let you create obstacles and you can even use your body to make a goal or save. A fast-moving ball can knock you out. Skill-based matchmaking keeps every game extremely close and competitive. Casual modes let you challenge yourself against bots or play with friends in custom matches. My thoughts: Rocket League but with archery. While I’m not a fan of archery games in general, this game really had the physics dialed in. I always felt like I was in full control of my movement and bow and arrow. Nothing ever felt like it was off, and the aiming was spot on. Every hit of the ball, or miss was my fault. An absolute blast with with up to four friends, and that’s how I recommend you play it - with friends. But there are leagues and tournaments readily available if get into the game. That being said, I’m pretty terrible at it, and will only play with friends who can tolerate my terrible skills.
  20. Into the Radius ($29.99) From the developer: An atmospheric open-world single-player survival shooter. You find yourself in the middle of the blighted zone, cut from the outside world. Your guns and your wits are all you have left. Fight the deadly enemies, dodge dangerous anomalies, and collect wondrous artifacts on your way to the Radius center to find your way out. My thoughts: I found myself constantly saying “I can’t believe this actually runs on a Quest.” The amount of items you can interact with, areas available to explore, systems to learn and missions to accept can be quite overwhelming. Honestly it took me about 5-7 hours of gameplay, tutorials and youtube videos until finally the game “clicked.” After this one fateful mission where I was over encumbered with items, low on ammo with minimal health and dealing with enemies at every turn, I was totally immersed and was having the time of my life. It was an absolute blast and despite being so tense - a joy to play. I did tone down the difficulty a bit, which made it much more playable and less punishing. Truly a great game if you like the loop of scavenging, planning your route ahead and making sure literally every bullet counts. While it lacks in story, it does have a lot of environmental details and little things that you have to find for yourself. If you like survival games, it’s almost perfect.
  21. Surgineer ($9.99) From the developer: Have you ever dreamed of being a real surgeon? Well… you are not gonna learn that here. Welcome to the most unrealistic surgery simulator where everyone can instantly become a terrible doctor. You will have to solve hilarious surgical procedures ranging from CPR to brain transplant or even removing alien eggs from a poor patient using a robotic arm! You always thought you had that surgeon in you? You better have a bulletproof malpractice insurance before getting your virtual hands on a patient! My thoughts: At such a low price point, I wasn’t expecting much. I remember playing Surgeon Simulator back in the day and this looked like that. Much to my disappointment it was much more terrible than I had hoped. Absolutely no fun was to be had here. I constantly fought with the controls, many times had no clue what to do and finally gave up in frustration. I understand part of the appeal is the wonkiness of it, but this game requires someone with a lot more patience than me to get some fun out of it.
There you have it, 21 different games played in three months. I would say there are plenty of games to play and enjoy on the Quest. I hope you find a few that you might not have heard of, or that you might find worth revisiting. Let me know on the Ruff Talk Discord channel if you have a game you enjoy that I should try, I'm always open to recommendations. You can also find this article on the RuffTalkVR Blog Until then, I hope your next VR experience is a memorable one.
submitted by SlowShoes to OculusQuest [link] [comments]


2023.03.22 16:37 juicyjbussy I've worked on farms around outdoor pet pigs. If a fully grown pig behaved like Shredder, people could die.

Even the "smallest" breed of pigs, potbellies, WILL get 100lbs+. There's no such thing as micro or mini pigs that are any smaller than that and pigs in general are prone to aggression and territorial behavior that must be properly trained out of them or people can and will be seriously hurt. We've all seen that in terms of training, Shredder is an out of control completely untrained dog.
Pigs are ridiculously strong with a stubborn "I do what I want" attitude. This makes them highly dangerous when untrained and not properly stimulated. Ethan and Hila are simply too busy to provide proper training, enrichment and stimulation for such a highly intelligent and high maintenance pet. This is not an animal that can be raised by an assistant or when Ethan has a free 20 minutes in his day. It's a full time commitment like children, not a part time hobby.
Pig owners will tell you that pigs are their kids because they spend all of the time raising and caring for it. They are that needy and Ethan has a new baby on the way + has talked any times about how his hands are already full with just Bruce and Teddy.
One farm I worked on had an outdoor potbelly big who was formerly an indoor potbelly pet but quickly became nearly 200lbs and uncontrollably strong. She was given to the farm to live out her days, just like Logan Paul did, because people had good intentions but didn't know what they were getting into. This pig was not even aggressive but still accidentally hurt people all the time due to her size and bad manners, just like Shredder would if he were a large breed dog. She would nibble on your shoe to see if it was food and in a few seconds a curious bite had fractured someone's foot.
Adults are easily maimed by improperly trained pigs. Many adults have even been killed. Now imagine it's a kid instead. This is a recipe for disaster and I had to share my 2 cents on it as someone with experience.
Oh and adopt don't shop, always. Mutts have long been scientifically proven to live longer healthier lives on average. Go on the vet/vet tech side of TikTok where it's literally a trend for them to say which purebreds they would NEVER own because of their insane health issues and short life expectancy due to the decades of inbreeding that are standard in purebred dogs.
submitted by juicyjbussy to h3h3productions [link] [comments]


2023.03.22 16:30 Devastator1981 1.5 bagging is an increasingly attractive option

I’m starting to get attracted towards having a moderate sized personal in addition to my backpack. It’s not about overpacking, I’m seeing this has advantages even with a 50-75% empty carryon:
• you can keep all your tech in the same bag. Easy to reach for in the plane or to unpack in security lines.
• I hate having to reach in to the overhead cabins in flight or have full pockets. This is my most hated aspect of one bagging.
• This let’s you bring back a gift or two.
• your main carryon backpack doesn’t have to be stuffed.
• Extra pair of shoes when needed. Not always necessary but like I’m going to a business conference for a few days, and I need a third pair of shoes (for personal or fun travel my setup is just 2 pairs plus some sandals).
Any other 1.5 baggers or thoughts on additional small bags?
submitted by Devastator1981 to onebag [link] [comments]


2023.03.22 16:24 RROD93 Dumb & Disciplined: You Do Not Need a MBA to be a Great Trader

"I haven't seen much correlation between good trading and intelligence. Some outstanding traders are quite intelligent, but a few are not. Many outstandingly intelligent people are horrible traders. Average intelligence is enough. Beyond that, emotional makeup is more important."

William Eckhardt

How smart do you really have to be in order to become a successful trader?
I mean, those God-like figures, the traders, are often portrayed as people who have cracked the code to decipher the overwhelming complexity we call life.
The traders! Those mighty figures who can forecast the impact of the droughts in south Missouri on the next week's price of the S&P 500. The traders! Those enlightened, glamorous and filthy rich brainiac … of course they can forecast the impacts of a butterfly farting in the middle of the pacific … haha, and profit out of their complex internal, black-box equations.
Or can they?
This preconception about traders drives me immediately to an episode narrated by Nassim Taleb in one of his Incerto books, where he tells us that when he was a fresh, young trader, there was this guy, this legendary currency trader focused on the swiss franc pairs. His reputation preceded him. … and Nassim was hilariously struck by surprise when he found out, after meeting up with this legend, that this trader didn't even know where Switzerland was.
Or, another funny example was of another equally well reputed commodities trader, specialized in green lumber … who had been trading this commodity for his entire career thinking that 'green' lumber referred to a special kind of wood coloured green whereas it actually refers just to lumber with a high moisture content … I mean …
Well! Before you start mocking at these guys, think that these guys were probably living their best lives, in their lavish penthouses, summer yachts and whatnot. So despite their enhanced cultural and wisdom enlightenment, there must have been something they were doing well in order to generate all that success.
But before expressing my point. Allow me to raise it a little further … very quickly.
LTCM. Long Term Capital Management. 1998. Three Nobel Laureates at the wheel of this infamous hedge fund. Three Nobel Laureates. Three Nobel Laureates applying their nobel-prize-winning-holy-grail formula. Result? Disaster. No no, excuse me, I meant: absolute disaster. Like the Federal Reserve bailout kind of disaster. Yet these guys were geniuses.
The point I want to drive across is that, in trading, intelligence can only take you that far. Too much intelligence can even be detrimental.
Being dumb enough not to question some time tested adages like:
Will do wonders for your trading. Provided … and here's the crux, you ally your dumbness with a military-like discipline and emotional regulation.
Look at the Turtle Traders's example. Not calling them dumb or whatsoever. But here's the key to their success:
  1. Buy if the price closes at 20 days' high.
  2. Close long if the price closes below the 2 ATR trail.
  3. Add proper position sizing to this equation.
  4. Act on your buy & sell triggers with no hesitation, no doubt, whatsoever.
  5. Repeat autistically.
Disclaimer of course: it is your responsibility to build and test your craft. Just saying that successful trading recipes look a lot more like this simple napkin formula than Einstein-Rocket-Science material.
Oh! And here's another important caveat … there is a whole finance industry which benefits much more from having you thinking that trading has to be black box material. Only for high performing MBA and suits.
Ridiculous! Open your eyes.
The rules are easy, it's the emotional management that is hard.
Cheers,
Ruben

https://www.tenacioustribe.com/dumb-disciplined-you-do-not-need-a-mba-to-be-a-great-trader
submitted by RROD93 to Tenacioustribe [link] [comments]


2023.03.22 16:14 Herko_Kerghans "A Mortal Grudge" Event (crude! =) warlord tier list

Howdy folks! =)
So, after playing all my Free entries and spending about half a dozen Tickets in 1x runs to get a feeling for the format, I tried my luck in two 10x Ticket runs.
The first, with Hadrabulous Voss, I spent no gems re-rolling, and went kinda awful (3:3). 😩
The second, though, with Backlash Boy Calas Typhon, and with the helpful boost of 400-ish gems in rerolls, managed to go the whole distance! 😁

https://preview.redd.it/0nblvxu43bpa1.png?width=1920&format=png&auto=webp&s=ef3da8832dac1eb1b3fe97078a3c95e544456c98
Here's the deck in question, focusing on what methinks is the key to the current format: a big bunch of 2E & 3E units (and, heh, a couple of Gift of Fortitude because, well, I have a Raum deck that really needed that shiny Sor Bakhpal legendary that showed up in the shop yesterday, so I didn't have too many gems for rerolls; but I digress)…

https://preview.redd.it/jy1h2qf73bpa1.png?width=1305&format=png&auto=webp&s=5b7e0d0cc782ab1ea9d7e6ce0e8937effe3ea561
… and here are a few thoughts & impressions on the first half of "A Mortal Grudge."
***

A Mortal Flood

First, for context: for those that may not know this (I learned this just a few days ago myself… =), Events always add a couple of extra Warlords, one per side, one week after the Event launches – that's to say, next Friday we can expect two more Warlords to join the fray. Therefore, the observations below pertain to the Event's meta as we have right now (with Vioss, Typhon, and Mortarion trying to poison the well, while Jaghatai, Jangsai, and Shapura try to keep the water clean).
As of right now, "A Mortal Grudge" seems all about:
  • Flooding the board early, and
  • Snowballing from there.
And for doing so, the Death Gang (and Calas Typhon above all) seems much, much better than the Defense Squad (with Jagathai feeling the worst of the bunch).
The two key troops you're looking (or planning) for, methinks, would be these two bad boys:

https://preview.redd.it/ftlvh73i3bpa1.png?width=1230&format=png&auto=webp&s=e9965f914ea696375d0908792c1cf50ff97d067d
… I don't think I've played a single game in which any of the two above, when played on the first turn and followed by a strong 3E play (often extra copies of themselves, or Legionary Gath, who's also great), didn't manage to snowball the game in their favor unless the foe manages to keep to board clean.
Above all if the 3E play is Siegemaster Kalgaro, who's probably the baddest boy in the whole format, and twice when playing for Typhon's team.
All in all, there seem to be very few ways to catch up if you fall behind (hence why Flooding & Snowballing feels like such a solid strategy):
  • There's nearly no way to stall things against a scary board and buy time. For comparison, in the previous Event, Ixion Hale had access to board-wide stuns, and all EC Warlords had access to Disorient tools (including the much-hated, and for good reasons, Kakophoni Commander) – there doesn't seem to be anything as effective right now,
  • There's an overall lack of efficient board wipes (outside of what you may pick up from Neutral cards), and Death Guard troops are big-butted anyway (as opposed to Imperial Fists in the previous Event, which could go for very aggressive flood-the-board strats, but were usually weak to boardwipes) – you can pull some scary late-game wipes if you combo a few Backlash troops, but you do require a board yourself to do so, making "Snowball Early" the best strategy anyway,
  • There doesn't seem to be any huge late-game bomb that allows for a huge comeback.
In fact, the best comeback tool is probably Succumb to Decay:

https://preview.redd.it/ksvki8iv3bpa1.png?width=348&format=png&auto=webp&s=bb8540fcb29177b2a31046169825481cfdcfbb37
… which is of course easiest for Calas Typhon to trigger.
So, in short:
  • Flood the early board,
  • Snowball (and go face! =) from there.
Given the above, in my experience, my crude Warlord tier list would be:
  • Weakest: Jaghatai Khan and Vettranio Shapura (Jagh doesn't seem to be able to contest the early board, and Sentinels are very weak to the new Poison),
  • Okay-ish: Jangsai Khan – dude's actually pretty good at controlling the early board, I think, but lacks the snowball-y side of things,
  • Strong: Mortarion and Vioss – I think they play quite differently (even if they focus on the same mechanic), and I'd rate Vioss slightly higher,
  • Strongest: Backlash Boy and First Captain Calas Typhon – he's probably your best bet right now for your 10x run.

***

Weakest: Jaghatai Khan

Never played him; played a few times against him, and was always a cakewalk. He loses control of the board fast, then dies.
The time I had the hardest time facing the Warhawk was against a bot, actually (and myself with Typhon) – the bot's deck was chock-full of Fast/Flank troops that could keep the early board clear, and by the 6E turn Jagh's Sneak actually becomes a bit of a problem to deal with. Still, not enough for him to punch through the bigger DG boys, and then a barrage of Backlash effects.

***

Weak: Vettranio Shapura

Custodes feels like a weird inclusion in this Event – the new Poison mechanic absolutely wrecks Custodes, since a poisoned troop will die on its turn, and in particular die right after Sentinel's trigger.
Shapura can run folks over with strong early plays (I've been on both ends of that stick), but from what I've experienced he's no match for a DG deck that manages to play on curve, and is smart about timing poison to kill Sentinel troops during Shapura's turn.
Shapura's saving grace, methinks, is that he seems at his best when facing what's arguably the strongest build in the current format, namely all-in Backlash Typhon – not enough to bet your 10x tickets & gems on him, though.

***

Kinda Okay: Jangsai Khan

Now, this guy may have potential. I got overrun a few times by him, and in my own couple of runs (with no re-rolls) I got to around 6 wins.
Jangsai may actually be the best Warlord at controlling the early board, mainly thanks to these two guys:

https://preview.redd.it/w452vkj34bpa1.png?width=1189&format=png&auto=webp&s=481582c515c21873110dc5bcb887053d1d8f007d
… and a gazillion Fast/Flank vehicles.
And then follow-up with a bunch of burn with:

https://preview.redd.it/uea1mri64bpa1.png?width=439&format=png&auto=webp&s=53d8d7b32d551bc1a8d2872ec81761e50529374b
Jangsai's main weakness is, methink, his lack of snowball-y effects (compared with all the DG troops that can get bigger via Mark of Chaos, Backlash buffs, and/or Toxic Blessings) and/or really strong troops to play later.
You can pull some interesting tricks with bouncing poisoned troops back to hand (which I guess is why those cards are here), since that will "cure" them – but all in all Jangsai decks feels a tad "Too clever for your own good", so to speak: if you fail to play your tricks just once, the Poisonous/Backlash Snowball just steamrolls you.
I have a very long-shot hunch that, should we see at least one Warlord with good board control next Friday (that's to say, a WL with access to good stall & boardwipe tools), Jangsai's stonks may go up given his ability to rebuild a board fast.

***

Strong: The Poison Gang – Hadrabulus Vioss, Mortarion

These two play very differently, I think, but roughly seem on par on power level (and want similar decks). I'd say that if you're going for a 10x run, pick either of them if you don't see Typhon.
All in all, Vioss felt a bit more flexible to me: he can go all-out Poison Aggro if needed, or go for a more reactive game plan. The fact that he can choose who to poison (rather than it be random, like Mortarion) is not trivial: if you can stack 5-6+ poison counters on the enemy WL, Vioss can then keep "feeding" it (ie keep the Poison always at 5-6), and that's a VERY fast clock.
And Vioss felt amazing specifically against Sentinel Custodes, to make sure their Sentinel troops die on their turn.
Still, I'd say Troops are more important than Warlord here: as far as you can flood early & snowball later, I think you should do roughly equally well with Vioss or Mortarion .

***

Strongest: Backlash Boy, Calas Typhon

If you have the gems to spend, he's probably the easiest WL to re-roll for: with a good early curve followed by BL troops, Typhon feels nearly unstoppable.
Still, don't get too greedy: doesn't matter how powerful your 5+ troops are, if you miss the first couple of turns, you're gonna die against any half-decent deck. That's I think the first and foremost takeaway from this Event: you miss your 2E and your 3E turn, you're dead.
But, all in all, Typhon feels a tier above the rest:
  • Access (like all DG Warlords) to early snowball-y troops,
  • Synergy with probably the best troop in the format, Siegemaster Kalgaro,
  • Easy trigger for arguably the best comeback tool, Succumb to Decay,
  • Easy trigger for some very solid boardwipes (from the obvious Ancient Rubellus, to some cheeky Raccom Squad carpet-bombing by comboing Kalgaro, Walking Corpse and Calas' ability).

***

Wrapping Up

Can't say "A Mortal Grudge" is the Event I'm enjoying the most thus far, mostly because of how one-sided it feels and, above all, how the best WL all want more or less similar decks – for comparison, during the last Event the EC Warlords were probably the strongest, but Ixion Hale or Sigismund could assemble pretty nasty decks too even without rerolls, and they both played very differently.
But, having said that, I find there's a ton of very enjoyable back-and-forth when both decks can get to the board early, so all in all I'm having quite a bit of fun.
Let's see how things round up when we the rest of the Warlords join the event! =)
submitted by Herko_Kerghans to HorusHeresyLegions [link] [comments]


2023.03.22 16:10 Gullible-Republic361 Best VEVOR Stand Mixers Reviews In March 2023

VEVOR is a brand that's known for its high-quality stand mixers. If you're looking for a stand mixer that can handle any task, then VEVOR is definitely the way to go. The company's mixers are known for their durability, power, and versatility.
VEVOR's stand mixers come in a variety of different models, so you're sure to find one that's perfect for your needs. Whether you're a professional chef or simply someone who likes to bake at home, a VEVOR stand mixer will make your life much easier.
TOP PICKS
1.VEVOR Stand Mixer, 660W Electric Dough Mixer with 6 Speeds
The VEVOR Stand Mixer is an electric dough mixer with 6 speeds and a 660W motor. It is designed to make mixing dough and batter easier and more efficient. The mixer has a large capacity stainless steel mixing bowl with a capacity of 7.5 quarts, which is ideal for making large batches of dough.
VEVOR Stand Mixer, 660W Electric Dough Mixer with 6 Speeds LCD Screen Timing, Tilt-Head Food Mixer with 5.8 Qt Stainless Steel Bowl, Dough Hook, Flat Beater, Whisk, Scraper, Splash-Proof Cover - Gray
The mixer has six different speed settings, which allows for a range of mixing options depending on the type of dough or batter being made. The mixer also comes with a dough hook, flat beater, and wire whip attachment, which are all dishwasher safe. The mixer has a tilt-head design, which allows for easy access to the mixing bowl and attachments.
The VEVOR Stand Mixer also has a safety feature that prevents the mixer from turning on if the mixing bowl is not properly secured in place. This helps to prevent accidents and ensures that the mixer is always used safely.
2.VEVOR 5 IN 1 Stand Mixer, 660W Tilt-Head Multifunctional Electric
Features:
5 in 1 multifunctional design: mixer, blender, meat grinder, sausage stuffer, and juicer
Powerful 660W motor with six speed settings
7.5 quart stainless steel mixing bowl with tilt-head design
Comes with attachments for mixing, beating, kneading, and whipping
Easy to clean and dishwasher safe attachments
VEVOR 5 IN 1 Stand Mixer, 660W Tilt-Head Multifunctional Electric Mixer with 6 Speeds LCD Screen Timing, 7.4 Qt Stainless Bowl, Dough Hook, Flat Beater, Whisk, Scraper, Meat Grinder, Juice Cup - Gray
Pros:
Versatile and multifunctional, can replace multiple kitchen appliances
Large capacity mixing bowl is great for making big batches
Powerful motor and multiple speed settings provide flexibility for different recipes
Easy to use and clean
Cons:
Some customers have reported that the mixer is quite heavy and can be difficult to move
A few customers have reported that the mixer can be noisy when in use
Some customers have reported issues with the blender attachment not working as well as expected
3.VEVOR Magnetic Stirrer Hot Plate, 2000ml Stirring Capacity Max 572°F
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submitted by Gullible-Republic361 to u/Gullible-Republic361 [link] [comments]


2023.03.22 15:57 bggtr73 [RF} Patricia's Labor

The Craigslist ad said they needed another man for a moving and install job for about 3 days work, email for details.
Kevin figured it was probably a scam of some sort, but he was broke and needed a couple hundred bucks ASAP to make his car payment; the buy-here/ pay-here lot he bought it from was scarily efficient at tracking down their vehicles. So he sent his reply email from his phone in the public library cause his internet was off at home and the month to month phone plan didn’t include internet access. He hoped they’d text him instead of emails because texts always dinged when they came through but the gmail message notifications were turned off. He tried turning that on once, but his phone dinged and buzzed every 16 seconds for 14 hours straight and it drove him nuts.
But god, he hoped they contacted him, he needed the cash. A hundred bucks a day for three days would get some food and make the payment and maybe a tank of gas. Or maybe half a tank since gas is almost $4 a gallon.
The text he got back about three of the longest hours of his life later said they could definitely use him, if he could meet their criteria. They explained “Patricia's Labor” was a small company, started by their mother originally to do cleaning for homeowners and businesses in the area. They were a small crew of mostly family members and had branched out to do moving and construction work also. Basically they had double booked a priority air-conditioner installation with another big moving job and needed another body or two to help. They had an electrician and a HVAC tech guy to do the technical work but they needed at least one more guy for the heavy lifting and to run tools and materials back and forth, do some site prep like shoveling, and stuff like that. It definitely sounded good to him.
Could he meet at the grocery store off of Gilbert at 8am sharp, just down the street from the convenience store? They’d pick him up and drop him off from there.
Did he have some steel-toed work boots? Preferably brown or tan, so they would look like they were all uniform? Good footwear is important when moving heavy stuff, one guy had worn gym shoes once and dropped a compressor on his foot and broke it.
Did he have some decent jeans? Dark blue preferred, no holes or tears and they had to fit right no droop or sagging so his underwear showed,
Does he have work gloves? Not mandatory, but will definitely be helpful.
White tee shirt? Not a ‘wife beater’ - a clean white tee, and they would give him a company zip up hoodie to wear over it, so they look uniform and professional.
OK, since they were planning to reimburse the boots anyway, they’d write him a check for that, and a separate check for his pay. He could cash them right at the grocery store there, they’d throw in the extra $5 for the check cashing fee because they don’t like to carry cash (says so right on their trucks - ‘driver carries no cash’)
And sorry, this is technically illegal, but it makes their life easier- there will be some heavy lifting and using some tools - he wasn’t missing any fingers or anything, no physical handicaps? No? Good. Don’t want to run afoul of EOE rules, but if you’re handicapped you really can’t do the job.
By the way - how tall is he and what does he weigh? About 5’10 and 240 pounds? Perfect, that’s about the same size the other guys are, one of them will have an extra hoodie he can bring.
And one last thing - he doesn’t have any racial issues, does he? The HVAC guy and Electrician are Nigerian - pretty dark complected and with accents - one guy they found on Craigslist was some kind of right-wing white supremecist nut…. No, Kevin is black too, no worries.
Everything sounds great, look for the white van in the lot tomorrow at 8. If it works out for these first two or three days, there will probably be more work in the future.
At 745am, Kevin is waiting in front of the grocery store in his brand new boots, jeans and white tee. He’s feeling good, its a nice day and it gets even better less than ten minutes later when a guy wearing a green hoodie and carrying an identical one walks around the corner.
Must’ve parked on the street on the other side of the building. Whatever.
The guy starts to hand Kevin the hoodie in his hands, but frowns. In his strong accent he says “they told me size medium. No worries though” - and he pulls the hoodie off his back and hands that one to Kevin instead. It’s definitely a funny bright color green, but the logo looks professionally done, black script like a signature “Patricia’s Labor” on the back and “Patsy’s” much smaller on the front lapel.
He pulls two checks out of his wallet and shows them to Kevin. A check for $40 for the boots ( reimbursement for the generic Wal-Mart boots that look just like the one the African has on), A check for $155 - $150 for the day’s labor, and he says the extra $5 is for the check cashing fee. He stuffs those in an envelope and hands them to Kevin.
For about a nanosecond Kevin debates mentioning it was supposed to be $100 for the day instead of $150 . He decides the extra $50 is just good karma or something. Puts him in an even better mood too.
“Go ahead in Kroger and cash those, I’ll pull the truck around, ‘kukuona kwa dakika moja’ - that’s Swahili - means see you in a minute”
Kevin is thrilled this job thing is legit, its gonna solve some problems, so he smiles back and replies “kukuona kwa dakika moja” as best he can, and apparently his accent amuses the African because he yells it back to me as he goes around the corner, so Kevin yells it back to him - they go back and forth as Kevin walks into the store, stuffing his work gloves into one of the hoodie pockets.
Kevin vaguely notice the siren getting louder, from somewhere vaguely down the hill towards downtown.
Kevin walks right up to the customer service desk and since there is no one in line, he hands the clerk the envelope with the checks in it, and vaguely noticed there is writing on the back side of the envelope, in miniscule writing and orientated upside down from where he’s standing so he can’t quite make it out.
The clerk’s smile drops as she reads the writing and hits the alarm. She shrieks “He’s got a gun!”
Things happen very quickly after that.
The Security guard by the entrance pulls out his gun and points it at Kevin.
Kevin yells “what the hell?”
The sirens are getting closer
The security guard is stammering something that Kevin can’t quite make out, and looks more nervous and scared than Kevin does. Kevin throws his hands up, and when he does the work gloves fall out of his pocket. There are several gun shots somewhere close, sounds like they are right outside the building.
The guard panics and shoots twice, one gets Kevin in the shoulder, the second goes who - knows - where. There is a lot of blood. Things get kind of gray and washed out and there is a roar in his ears - he thinks he is losing consciousness.
Some time later - minutes maybe. He is aware of being lifted onto a stretcher. His whole left side is painful as hell and he feels cold. There is blood all over his brand new boots.
There is still lots of yelling. He fades out again.
The next time he wakes up, he is obviously in a hospital room. There is still lots of yelling.
This time, it’s an angry nurse yelling at a guy in a suit. She’s telling him to get out before she calls security. He says he needs to talk to him now, and he must be awake because he is staring at us.
The nurse relents, but stands by.
“On behalf of Uniform Security I want to offer our heartfelt apology as to what happened today. We are willing to compensate you for what occurred if you sign this release immediately. We will of course cover all of the medical costs associated with your unfortunate accident, and we will pay you the sum of $20,000 today.” He shows Kevin a check made out in his name for $20,000, and shoves a clipboard onto the bed under Kevin’s good hand (the other arm is immobile in some sort of cast/ splint thing). He then shoves a pen into Kevin’s hand.
Kevin is still sedated, but realizes something big is going on. All he can ask is “what happened?”
The lawyer sighs.
“The investigation determined that at about 738 AM a male black, approx 5 foot 11 and 250 pounds bright green hoodie over blue jeans and tan work boots assaulted the cashier at a gas station approximately two blocks from the grocery store. He collected an undetermined amount of cash from the register. He then ran towards the convenience store one block east and demanded the clerk there give him the money in the register. Both incidents are on the security cameras at those stores, and both victims indicated that he had a strong foreign accent, possibly African.
Witnesses indicate that the subject then ran towards the grocery store where your unfortunate incident took place. The manager on duty there had a police scanner and having heard the police dispatched for the other incidents had warned his staff. You entered the store and matched the description perfectly, and were also yelling in a foreign language, possibly African. You handed the customer service agent two fake checks in an envelope with writing stating that you were armed and wanted all of the cash in the drawer. She became fearful for her life, and when she activated the audible alarm and yelled the security guard was startled and accidentally discharged his weapon, striking you in the shoulder.
One crucial witness saw you meet with another male your same height and general build wearing exactly the same clothing as you, who gave you the distinctive green hoodie he was wearing that you then put on. As you walked into the store, he climbed into a silver Dodge pickup, and the witness saw he had a large handgun tucked into his waistband. This witness flags down a passing officer and points to this subject. Upon seeing the policeman, the African opens fire at him, but the officer is able to shoot more accurately and remove that threat. He calls for backup, and then more backup as he hears shots from inside the grocery store.
The suspect who was shot is a known felon, and there were several emails on his cell phone to people like you in different areas of the city. It looks like he invented this “Patricia’s Labor” Craigslist scam to recruit people to take the fall for similar robberies he had planned in different areas of the city. There were several more bright green hoodies in a box on the passenger seat.”
Kevin barely digests that long explanation, and starts laughing. He laughs so hard the nurse rushes the lawyer out despite the lawyer’s sputtering protests. He laughs so hard a doctor shows up and gives him something that puts him back out.
The name on the front of the hoodie wasn’t the most common abbreviation for Patricia, but it was the most apt.
Patsy.
submitted by bggtr73 to shortstories [link] [comments]


2023.03.22 15:55 Chen_Geller How well can Warners next movies fit with the existing ones?

How well can Warners next movies fit with the existing ones?
As I've expounded before, in pursuing more movies as they are, Warners have multiple topics available to them: they can be extrapolations centered around characters like an Embracer executive suggested a while back, or they can be stories thath appen concurrent to the trilogies like Balin's Colony or Aragorn's adventures. A likelier option, however, is one of the Third Age-set stories that appear in the appendices, including the Kinstrife, Gondor's wars with the Easterlings and, significantly, the Angmar Wars. Now, instead of focusing on logistics, I want to focus on how such a film could work - or not - as a prequel.
As I've expounded before, in pursuing more movies as they are, Warners have multiple topics available to them: they can be extrapolations centered around characters like an Embracer executive suggested a while back, or they can be stories thath appen concurrent to the trilogies like Balin's Colony or Aragorn's adventures. A likelier option, however, is one of the Third Age-set stories that appear in the appendices, including the Kinstrife, Gondor's wars with the Easterlings and, significantly, the Angmar Wars. Now, instead of focusing on logistics, I want to focus on how such a film could work - or not - as a prequel.
In judging how prequels work as prequels, I always examine them from the point of view of a person new to the series, starting it on that prequel. Even if many of us here have seen the films in release order, this is the best way to examine whether the film, when put together with the other entries, forms a coherent dramatic "shape".
There's a lot to many of these stories that makes them very promising prequels: seeing the Northern Kingdom, from which Aragorn descends, and its downfall can give a lot of meaning to Aragorn as the heir of Isildur and also to his alias as a ranger. Even his Ring, the Ring of Barahir, features in the Arvedui story.
Osgiliath, here in ruins, features as the capital of Gondor in the Kinstrife story.
Likewise, seeing Gondor at its zenith on the eve of the Kinstrife can be very meaningful towards seeing it in the state of its decline in The Lord of the Rings, and seeing the end of the line of kings in Gondor and some of its early stewards a-la Cirion could again give depth to the concept of the house of Stewards.
Lastly, seeing a populated Eriador, ruled by a King, can offer a stark contrast to The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings, where Eriador is mostly depicted as a stretch of wilderness with a few islands of settlement, with the implication that upon Aragorn's ascension to the throne, it will return to its former state. Seeing the alliance forged between the Northmen and Gondor will deepen the position in which we find this alliance in The Two Towers and The Return of the King, and so forth.
This will be all the more powerful if - unlike the existing films or The Rings of Power - Gondor at its prime or Arnor prior to its downfall will be depicted as more than just a single settlement, but as possessing farmlands, outposts and, significantly, roads. So, when these new films will be coupled with The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings, they could create a nice cyclical tale about civilization, its downfall and fragmentation into pockets of civilization - themselves peaceful at the beginning of The Hobbit, but increasingly teethering towards war - and then its rebirth.
Furthermore, the stories can give further definition to other cultures: Lindon features in the Angmar Wars, sending forces to abay the Witch King and its Grey Havens being used as a port in which a Gondorian fleet disembarks: seeing the Grey Havens as a still-living metropolis could lend a lot of added realism to the Elves by showing a living Elven metropolis, as opposed to woodland realms and alpine villages a-la Rivendell and Lorien. Such films could also make antagonists like the Witch King, the Easterlings and Southrons, have a little bit more dimension and made into greater threats.
Likewise, in the Angmar story, as King Arvedui flees the forces of Angmar - itself a first for a Middle Earth story: an escape story as opposed to a quest - he goes into Dwarf mines in the Blue Mountains, which is also where Thorin and his people seek refuge after the fall of Erebor. Getting a sense of the kind of place Thorin and company call home in their diaspora can be quite meaningful to their quest in The Hobbit.
At the same time, some aspects of viewing such movies first can seem a little distruptive to the dramatic arc. Namely, it can ruin the novelty that some of the locations in the story have when they're first revealed to us in The Hobbit or The Lord of the Rings: for instance, we only get a good, clear look at Minas Tirith some 45 minutes into The Return of the King, and its clearly billed as a big reveal. Whereas if we spend a large portion of a movie about the Kinstrife in that city, the effect of the reveal is diminished. Likewise, when we see the Grey Havens in The Return of the King, its clearly supposed to be a revelation: "Well", says old Bilbo, "here's a sight I have never seen before!" Same to a lesser extent with Rivendell itself, which may feature in an Angmar War movie.
To be fair, I think this issue can be mitigated through the way these locations are placed in the overall screentime: if between the point we see Minas Tirith in a Kinstrife movie and the point, after all the other interim movies, we see it again in The Return of the King, are separated by a very large compliment of screentime, the visual won't be fresh in our minds when we next see it in The Return of the King, and so the effect will be largely retained.
Another question is whether, in pursuing a large number of prequels, will some of the mystique not be lost? These prequels ostensibly take cryptic lines about "The Northern Kingdom" and "The ancient Kingdom of Angmar" and Osgiliath having been "the jewel of our kingdom" and make stories of them, but can it not be too spelled out? I'm reminded of Star Wars which, with not just three prequels (more or less built around two monologues of Old Ben's and the mere mention of the Clone Wars) but multiple spinoffs explaining the stealing of Death Star plans, Han Solo's backstory, the rise of the Rebellion, Obi-Wan's life in exile, Leia's youth and so on, have, in the words Tim Kreider, " ground this charm out of existence with exhaustive, literal-minded explication: Every marginal background character now has a name and a back story, every offhand allusion a history." Must the same happen here?
Again, its difficult to say from the outset, and depends in part on how many movies Warners choose to make and out of what. I think the nature of the setup here does leave a lot more room for mystery: while Disney are foolishly stuffing the meager 19 years between Episode III and the original Star Wars with "content" that seems to diminish the sense of passage of time between the entries, here there's some 2700 years between the events of the prologue of The Fellowship of the Ring and the beginning of the story of The Hobbit. Putting some movies, spread in 500 year intervals, might actually deepen the sense of the passage of time, rather than flat-ironing it.
Ontop of that, the stories of the Third Age are surprisingly straightforward: they're mostly war stories. Compare that to The Rings of Power which tried to actually explain how Mithril became Mithril, how Mordor became Mordor and how the Rings of Power became Rings of Power: one is just telling the story, while the other is trying to tell a creation myth. One is trying to deepen the backstory of places, people and artefacts found in The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings, the other is trying to redefine their entire significance. So, the story of the Angmar War is unliekly to be demystifying in the same way that The Rings of Power (or other prequels like Prometheus) is.
But there's another significant issue: will a movie of the Angmar War strip the remaining entries of their sense of scope? The natural expectation of a film series is for the scope to increase with the viewing order, and yet opening the cycle with a series of big war films could reverse that trajectory. Again, I'm thinking back to Star Wars, where the three prequels, The Clone Wars, Rogue One, Andor, Obi Wan and Solo all represent hours and hours and hours of "build up" towards the original Star Wars, a meager two-hour qaint space adventure; plus most of those entries are inidividually of greater visual scope and pizzaz than that movie, with its 1970s, medium budget limitations and contained story: even if the lightsaber battles in the prequels are not as good as in the original Star Wars, they are more spectacular, and as a result create an anti-climactic effect when viewed in narrative order.
Obviously, this is a problem somewhat averted by the fact that films like An Unexpected Journey and The Fellowship of the Ring are films of considerable visual and narrative scope in their own right. They're also each billed as the opening part of a trilogy, which helps from making the overall viewing experience feel too lopsided as in the case in Star Wars.
Speaking of the Star Wars example, one of the chief crimes of its various prequels and spinoffs is what I call "Death Starring", which is to take a visual and/or plot device whose effect depends on its novelty, and basically killing it through overexposure: so the Death Star was pretty impressive when it appeared in the original Star Wars and when it first blew-up a planet. But after Rogue One spent considerable screentime with the Death Star and showed it attacking multiple planets prior to its attack on Aldeeran, suddenly the effect is lost. Will the same happen here? Will we see so much of Minas Tirith or of Rivendell that they'd become old hat?
Thankfully, the stories that Warners have access to are spread pretty evenly across Gondor, Arnor and the Rohirrim, so there's less of a chance for just a couple of locales to hog the screentime too much. Many of the stories also hold the promise of delving into new places: most of Arnor's important settlements are ones we've never seen before, and the Kinstrife features some new Gondorian settlements like Pelargir and Umbar. Much of the story of the Battle of the Camp or the Alliance of Cirion and Eorl takes place in yet-to-be-seen wild expanses of southern Rhovanion and of Rhun, and in the upper Anduin vale. So there'd hopefully be less playing of the same card ad nauseam, at least as long as these new locales are given designs that don't come too close to replicating what we'll see in the "later" entries.
Curiously, while most of the early-Third Age stories seem to have more advantages than pitfalls as prequels, the same could not be said the "Young Aragorn" storyline: it spoils the Minas Tirith and Edoras reveals too close to their "next" reveals in The Two Towers and The Return of the King; it ruins the air of sketchiness that Strider is supposed to have around him when we first meet him in the Prancing Pony; it takes the 58 years that pass between the two trilogies and risks flat-ironing them into a few events that all happen within the confines of one film or so, etc...
At the same time, it has the advantage of taking place INSIDE the framework of the structure of the six films, rather than as yet another beginning, AND features a cast of characters of the same generation of those who appear in the trilogies, rather a new group of characters, several generations removed, as would be the case across the sweep of multiple early-Third Age stories.
These are just a few points to think about as we're discussing future films.
submitted by Chen_Geller to lotr [link] [comments]


2023.03.22 15:55 anabolic_coach Q&A #67...Dorian Yates "Shadow Warrior" Review

Q&A #67...Dorian Yates
Q: Hey Coach how is your day going? I hope things are going awesome for you. I just wanted to drop you a line and say thank you for giving us some great information on such a wide variety of topics.
I like the fact that you are multi-faceted and not just talking about the drug end of the sport. I do like that contents as well don't get me wrong but I also really enjoy all the recipes, health and longevity info, as well as your crazy stories. Damn bro you have some crazy shit happen to you often eh?
My question is about training videos from the Pro's. I have all of Ronnie Coleman's videos and I love watching them. Is there another one you could recommend for me that would be motivational yet informative as well?
I am not biased to any one single Pro so it could even be someone I am not familiar with. Let me know your thoughts as I know you give amazing recommendations for just about everything.
Thanks Coach
Shadow Warrior is a Classic!
A: Hey man thanks for writing in. I always look forward to guys sending me DM's with their questions and I do my best to help them. So you are looking for a good motivational and educational video are you? No worries I have one that you will really like for sure. I will recommend a video series that is by none other than Mr. Olympia Dorian Yates. So let's take a look at what this is all about.
What an Amazing Trailer!
The “Shadow” as Dorian was called during his competitive heyday was a term that would invoke fear into the hearts of his competition. It was the 1990’s and Dorian was tearing up the Olympia stage like a true warrior and he wasn’t taking any prisoners. His domination on the platform was truly out of this world because he ushered in a new era of the mass monster. I remember as a teenager the amazing transformation Dorian did back in 1993 and those black and white photographs of him posing in the offseason.
One of the Best Backs in Bodybuilding History!
Just looking at those photos still motivates me to this day as they are truly legendary. Now in my opinion Dorian brought together the ultimate physique that will be remembered for decades to come. He packed on slabs of lean dense muscle, but at the same time, he never lost the aesthetic and symmetric proportions that seem to have disappeared within this last decade. He also was known for his conditioning and paper-thin skin. He would come in more dry and peeled than an onion. He was the perfect mix of mass, symmetry, and conditioning. A combination in my opinion, that has yet to be matched to this day.
The 1992 Transformation that Blew Everyone's Mind!
One Hell of a Video!
Dorian has recently released his new training video called “Shadow Warrior” and for all of you who are Dorian fans, it is a must-see. I have seen just about every bodybuilding video produced. Some of them are good, but then you have many that are too predictable following the same format. It consists of bodybuilder X working out then eating a meal. That gets boring pretty fast for even the most simple-minded bodybuilder. I want to give a huge thumbs up to Garry Phillips and Abhijit Chattaraj for producing one of the best bodybuilding films ever! Yes, folks, it’s that good and isn’t something I can say for the other dozen or so bodybuilding films produced every year. I was very impressed not only with the layout of the film but also the direction was superb.
Rowing 200 Pound Dumbbells for the Cover of FLEX Magazine!
Welcome to Temple Gym
This is not one of your simple hour and half bodybuilding flicks where it’s a back and forth mixes of training and eating and training and eating. It is a hell of a lot more than that and should be a reminder for others producing films to take as an example. It is set on two discs and contains close to 6 hours of amazing footage. The first disc covers the main feature and it was nothing short of amazing. It starts off with Dorian giving us a tour of Temple Gym and welcoming some different pros like Tony Freeman and Dennis Wolf in for a workout.
Dorian also spends time with all his fans that come and visit him no matter how big or small. He is well known to give back to the sport and is always helpful to everyone that comes to Temple Gym. One part I really liked about this is that he included some awesome archive footage from the 1990s. It contained some video footage of photoshoots and guest posing appearances that I have not seen anywhere else. It also covers a lot about his history in the sport from the time he got started as a teenager and his amazing progression over the years to become a 6 time Mr. Olympia. Included on this disc is also his 1996 interview at the Grand Prix. This was something that I never saw before and was very interesting to take a look back at one of his famous interviews.
Dry Dense Mass Monster!
Blood and Guts
Now just when you thought it was over think again. Next up is over 2 hours of one of his seminars at Liberty’s nightclub way back in 1990 after his Night of the Champions win. Now for those of you who are into volume training and have never tried his hardcore approach then I suggest you give it a try. In my opinion, for those that complain that they don’t get enough out of this style of training, I believe it’s because you don’t train with the intensity needed to make it work. Let’s be honest most guys that call themselves bodybuilders train with the intensity of a yoga instructor and simply don’t have the balls to destroy the weights with ten percent of what Dorian put into his workouts.
Very Few Trained as Intense as Dorian!
This is why high volume is so popular these days. We all know that Dorian trained like an animal in the gym and for those of you who didn’t see “Blood and Guts” then you don’t know what you are missing. Second many who try this system are not properly educated on how to incorporate it effectively. If you fail at these two most important pillars of this method you are doomed to fail. During this seminar, Dorian covers a treasure chest of training and nutrition knowledge. This info alone could have been a complete DVD and would have provided more useful information than most videos out there.
Teenage Dorian Never Giving Up!
Time for Pain
My favourite part of this video collection is where Dorian takes some top pro bodybuilders and gives them a taste of his style of training. This is kick ass because not only are you learning from him directly in the gym but also watching him punish his clients is worth the price of admission alone. It shows some footage of him training back with Zack Khan before the British Championships.
One quote I really liked is when he punishes them into the ground he mentions how all the weights at Temple Gym are heavier than other gyms. This goes to show that even with advanced pro’s that have been training for 15 to 20 years, Dorian still is teaching them how to maximize muscle contraction and perfect their form. In my opinion, no one in bodybuilding was more critical about proper biomechanics of exercise than Dorian, who looked for every angle to fully decimate the muscle.
Dorian Stayed Lean in the Off Season!
A Workout from Hell!
He puts the most renowned writer in bodybuilding history, Ron Harris through one hell of a leg workout. I am sure that workout left him limping in pain for at least a week to come. He also puts Evan Centropani through a back workout that is truly legendary. But the most inspiring part is his training sessions with Chris Cormier. As Chris mentioned, he’s been training for 30 years and the intensity of Dorian’s workouts are off the charts. Dorian puts him through a leg workout that will stay etched in Chris’ frontal lobe for the rest of his life.
Pain and Suffering To Create a Champion!
Dorian punishes him on a gauntlet of exercise all the while training like a beast himself. But the hack squats at the end of his workout leaves Chris on the verge of an out of body experience. Chris was suffering in pain and was swearing more than someone with Tourette’s. He stumbles up the gym stairs to lie in the dirty alley outside to multiple episodes of dry heaving and vomiting. Dorian brings him some water and tells him to get up because he’s making the place look untidy. This is classic footage of the reality of Dorian’s training sessions on one of the sport’s most experienced pro bodybuilders. It finishes off with a major photo collection of Dorian from his early training days and competitions all the way to the Olympia stage.
The Original Mass Monster!
Classic Footage
Now for those of you who were thinking about ordering this video all I can say is that it will be a classic added to your collection. It has tons of valuable educational information that you can apply to your training and nutrition program. But best of all the raw footage seen here is not available anywhere else and believe me it is truly priceless.
Dorian is a Big Fan of Medical Cannabis!
I was very impressed not only with the content but the layout and production were fantastic. This is without a doubt my favourite bodybuilding video released in over a decade. If you are looking to add one new bodybuilding video to your stash this year then this is the one to have. Yes, it’s that good so get yourself a copy while you can! You can find it at www.theshadow-warrior.com
A True Bodybuilding Legend!
submitted by anabolic_coach to Steroids_Canada [link] [comments]


2023.03.22 15:52 hypheecody Some type of larva or maggot found in cooked popcorn

Some type of larva or maggot found in cooked popcorn submitted by hypheecody to whatsthisbug [link] [comments]


2023.03.22 15:50 Majestic-Scientist74 [M2F4A] Transformed into a woman of color

I am a white male who has a fantasy about becoming a woman of color. Top is becoming black, but I'm also interested in becoming Latina, Asian, or Indian. I have a few scenarios of how it could happen.
The first is an international business trip. My company sends me to another country for business. To save money, they use a device to swap my body with a local. It was meant to swap me with a member of the board of the local branch of the company, but instead swaps me with the wife or daughter of one of the board members.
The second is a vacation gone wrong. While on vacation in a foreign country, I meet a woman who seduces me and we hook up. Unfortunately, it turns out she's a hopper and she swaps our bodies and then goes back home in my body leaving me stranded in her body and country.
The third is a cultural exchange. My university offered a special course that was designed to give students a new cultural perspective. Local students would swap bodies with an international student and spend a month in their bodies to experience what their life is like. I signed up because I needed the credits and it seemed like an easy class.
Finally, we have a witch's curse. While out in public, a guy sitting next to me said something racist to a minority woman. A nearby witch thought it was me who has been racist and decided to transform me into a minority woman to teach me a lesson.
I can find and provide a reference if needed, or you could provide one if you have. Just send me a chat if you're interested and we can work something out.
submitted by Majestic-Scientist74 to BodySwapRP [link] [comments]


2023.03.22 15:48 AllToasterToastToast What should I do for my 21st birthday?

Hey, folks. My 21st isn't until May, but I am trying to figure out plans on what to do. I do plan on spending it alone, but I do want to do the celebration with my family, which we do in the evening.
I plan on going bar-hopping around my city, and I was planning on doing it alone. I don't know if that's a good idea, but it is something I always have wanted to do. What do you guys think? Should I go alone, or should I at least go with someone?
Also, does anyone have any suggestions for first drinks? I am thinking something easy, like a Jack and Coke, or a Dirty Shirley. Hell, maybe even local draught or Sam Adams lager.
If anyone has any bars in the Boston area that I should go to, let me know!
Thanks in advance!
submitted by AllToasterToastToast to Advice [link] [comments]


2023.03.22 15:40 DarkPurpleHibiscus You Don't Need to Disinfect So Much

Our use of antimicrobial cleaners spiked during the pandemic. Given the potential long-term health risks, it might be worth cutting back again.
FROM THE PAYWALL:* *The cleaning industry experienced a boom during the first years of the pandemic. Covid-19 cleaning protocols in schools, stores and other public spaces ratcheted up, with a spray and a wipe-down becoming de rigueur on every surface after every use. Fear of the coronavirus also prompted people to use more disinfectant wipes and sprays in their homes, and consumer spending on cleaning products increased 12 percent between 2019 and 2021. (The New York Times admittedly contributed to this disinfecting frenzy.)
We now know that the extra cleaning was unlikely to have helped limit the spread of Covid-19, but it did increase people’s exposure to the chemicals used in those products — some of which may be hazardous to health. Experts worry that repeated inhalation or skin contact can be harmful over time. Calls to poison control centers about cleaning chemicals also increased during the pandemic, primarily for accidental or intentional ingestion.
In some instances — like the start of a new and mysterious pandemic — the immediate risk of infection is pre-eminent and outweighs any future potential consequences from chemical exposure. But since we now know that disinfecting isn’t likely to protect us from Covid, it’s worth taking stock of whether the risks of using certain cleaning products are greater than the rewards. Crucially, the experts we spoke to for this story said that simple soap and water is sufficient for regular cleaning.
Here’s what to know about the safety risks of the most common antimicrobial chemicals and how to reduce your exposure while keeping your home hygienic.
Which of my cleaning products are disinfectants? Disinfectants are commonly found in all-purpose surface cleaners marketed for use in kitchens or bathrooms. Think 409, Lysol sprays, Clorox wipes or anything else that says “kills 99.9 percent of germs” on the label. The most prevalent disinfecting chemicals are quaternary ammonium compounds, also known as “quats” or Q.A.C.s. Their chemical names typically end in a variation of “ammonium chloride,” such as alkyl dimethyl benzyl ammonium chloride or the snappier benzalkonium chloride.
The other main types of disinfecting chemicals are chlorine-based products, namely bleach (sometimes labeled sodium hypochlorite); different types of acids, like citric acid, hydrochloric acid or lactic acid; and hydrogen peroxide.
Knowing what’s in a cleaning product can be tricky because the federal government does not currently require companies to list chemicals on labels. In 2017, California passed legislation demanding clearer product listings, and the American Cleaning Institute, which represents the U.S. cleaning products industry, told The Times it was lobbying for legislation to regulate labeling nationally. In the meantime, you may have to look up ingredient lists online using brand websites or resources like SmartLabel or the Environmental Working Group’s product guide.
What are the concerns with these chemicals? The health risks cleaning chemicals pose are hard to pin down because exposure is difficult to quantify, and many of the commonly attributed conditions — like asthma, cancer and infertility — take years to develop. Some of the research that exists has been done in professional fields to determine whether certain health problems are more prevalent in people who have higher exposure levels, like janitors and nurses. Other studies conducted on mice aim to more directly test whether certain chemicals cause negative health outcomes, but findings in animals don’t always apply to humans.
According to the currently available research, the most concerning disinfecting chemicals are the ones used most often: Q.A.C.s and bleach.
Quaternary ammonium compounds In professional settings, Q.A.C.s have been linked to skin irritation, asthma and other lung problems. For example, several studies found that nurses who frequently use the chemicals to disinfect surfaces and medical equipment had higher rates of asthma and C.O.P.D., although other research did not find a significant association. A 2021 study found that the presence of Q.A.C.s in human blood was linked to disrupted immune and metabolic functions. In mice, exposure to Q.A.C.s decreased fertility.
A series of recent papers found high levels of Q.A.C.s in the dust in people’s homes, in blood samples and even in breast milk. The researchers measured levels of several different Q.A.C.s common in cleaning products and compared the amounts present in 2019 and 2020. Q.A.C.s were detected in a vast majority of samples, and in the dust and blood studies, the levels rose by an average of about 70 percent after the pandemic started. The more often people used disinfecting products in their homes, the higher their Q.A.C. levels were.
“When we started seeing them in each and every sample and at high levels, we were really surprised,” said Amina Salamova, an assistant professor of environmental health at Emory University, who led the research. “Exposure to Q.A.C.s is widespread, which was the case before Covid as well, but it definitely has increased since the pandemic.”
Whether household Q.A.C. use causes the same problems seen in professional settings is an open question. “We need larger studies to look into potential outcomes in the general population, in nonoccupational settings,” Dr. Salamova said. “That’s a huge gap in the research.”
There are also concerns that Q.A.C.s could contribute to antibiotic resistance in bacteria. Partly for this reason, one Q.A.C., benzethonium chloride, was banned by the Food and Drug Administration from being used in hand sanitizers, as was the disinfecting agent triclosan.
In light of this mounting evidence, several health and environmental groups have flagged Q.A.C.s as chemicals of concern. A Massachusetts science advisory board recently recommended adding Q.A.C.s to a list of regulated toxic or hazardous substances, and California added them to its biomonitoring program. The E.P.A., which regulates Q.A.C.s as pesticides, classifies the chemicals in its second-highest toxicity category for oral and inhalation exposure.
Bleach Bleach is a more familiar disinfectant to many people, but experts have raised concerns about its safety as well.
“It’s hard not to talk about it,” said Samara Geller, senior director of cleaning science at the Environmental Working Group. “It’s in every cleaning product, practically.” The chemicals in bleach “are persistent in the environment, and they’re also very corrosive,” she added.
Bleach’s corrosive nature means that it can be damaging to skin and eyes if contact occurs. It has also been shown in numerous studies to be linked to asthma, among professional cleaners as well as people who use it frequently in the home. Diana Ceballos, an assistant professor in the department of environmental and occupational health sciences at the University of Washington, said that one of the American Lung Association’s “recommendations on how to avoid asthma or prevent asthma or ameliorate asthma” was to avoid using bleach.
A risk unique to bleach is the potential for producing toxic gases, namely chlorine gas, which has been used as a chemical weapon. The reaction occurs when bleach is mixed with ammonia — which is found in many glass cleaners, oven cleaners and some all-purpose cleaners — or acids, including vinegar.
In 2020, poison control centers reported more than 5,000 cases of cleaning-related chlorine gas exposures, two of which were fatal. In one case, a woman died after mixing a bleach-based cleaner with an acid-based toilet-cleaning tablet. It’s critical to never mix bleach with another cleaning product unless you’re absolutely positive it doesn’t contain an ammonia or an acid — which, considering products are rarely clearly labeled, is hard to know.
So what should I be using to clean? Most of the experts The Times spoke to for this article said that they rarely, if ever, use disinfectants when they clean their homes, instead opting for soap and water. They also advised swaps to safer ingredients, such as disinfecting products that use hydrogen peroxide or citric acid. (Check out the E.P.A.’s Safer Choice program for more alternatives.)
“We definitely recommend people substitute with some D.I.Y. recipes instead of buying products off-the-shelf,” Ms. Geller said. “Even a dash of dish soap with a bit of baking soda can help remove that scum off your sink or out of your bathtub, and that can really help you to avoid some of the heavier, harsher chemicals.”
There are rare moments when harsher chemicals might be warranted, like if you’re battling an outbreak of norovirus in your home. If you do use a disinfectant, opening a window and turning on a ventilation fan can help to reduce your exposure, as can wearing a mask and gloves when you clean.
“Especially since Covid, a lot of people use a lot of products, and sometimes not safely,” Dr. Salamova said. “So I would recommend, no matter what products people use, to follow the guidelines and use them safely.”**
https://www.nytimes.com/2023/03/21/well/live/cleaning-disinfectant-bleach-risks.html
submitted by DarkPurpleHibiscus to atlanticdiscussions [link] [comments]


2023.03.22 15:26 the_real_ntd The Golden Rules of Writing Rulebooks

It is not easy to start off from scratch and reinvent the wheel without any guidance or prior knowledge, which is why many people before have talked about the topic of rulebook design and set up rules to help those out who want to become better at writing them.
Here is a list of golden rules for rulebook writing that you should know and keep in mind when writing or designing your own rulebook. (Note that these are not sorted in any way):














This post is part of the mega-thread "A Guide to Great Rulebooks" and constantly updated as soon as new information is gathered. If you feel like anything mentioned in this post is wrong, spreads misinformation or lacks certain important information, please contact the moderators of Rulebook Designers Lab.

Sources of information:

As these posts rely on the knowledge of experienced writers, designers and players from all around the indrustry and community, we highly value the transparency of any source of information and want to make sure everything we share can be traced back to the original source of that information.
If you want to learn more about anything written in this post, please reffer to the original sources listed and linked below.
[1] - iSlaytheDragon.com, [2] - Meeple Mountain
submitted by the_real_ntd to RulebookDesignerLab [link] [comments]


2023.03.22 15:23 jumpghost69420 We need true propaganda/information/economic warfare.

So, lately I have been playing anno 1800, and what really strikes me is that the more.... covert tools of warfare are just missing from the game. Here are some examples.
  1. Sea mines obey the laws of political affiliations. This is not reflective of actual sea mines. An actual sea mine would detonate if *ANYONE* came near it. Friend OR foe. Deploying sea mines within view of another party should result in everyone who sees it getting outraged you deployed sea mines, and if they see you keep dropping sea mines, it should lead to war. All of the AIs should declare war on you if you use sea mines repeatedly.
  2. There is always a struggle between the free press, foreign propaganda, and government propaganda in the real world. This is not reflected at all in the game. There needs to be one newspaper per island. And that newspaper needs to fight to run the stories it wants to run, and it should also be able to run foreign propaganda. You should be able to spend influence to make the newspaper run at least one news story, but if you run more than one news story, the influence cost per attempt should increase, with a cooldown over time. So, it would be impossible to run 24/7 news cycles. Sooner or later, the influence would run out. At the same time, other players could run the stories they want, which could influence your island's economy.
  3. Pamphlets dont cause riots. Riots are easy to prevent. It just requires a single police station. Pamphlets cost 1 wood and 1 cotton. PER PAMPHLET. A police station costs 8 wood, and 50 coin to upkeep. the pamphlet printer costs 600 coin to upkeep. For the costs of making the pamphlets, you can make 12 police stations. Then we have the land usage. And what does a pamphlet do? It just makes the populace unhappy, and increases riot chance mildly. A single townhall with any item that lowers riot chance makes an area immune to pamphlet drops. At the very least, pamphlets should guarantee riots. But... they don't. Why are they even in the game? And if they have been nerfed because people dislike them, they should have instead have had a toggle that prevented people from building pamphlet printers instead of nerfing them to the point that anyone who wanted to play with an offensive option aside from bombs is disenfranchised.
submitted by jumpghost69420 to anno [link] [comments]


2023.03.22 15:19 Stenv2 Daddy lay down that hammer. (A Whitley Schnee Satire)

It was a quiet tense evening at the Schnee Mansion.
Weiss had once again finished another concert, yet still acted dismissively, and Jacques had grown impatient, once again Willow was in her room drinking herself away.
"What did you say you want to do again?" Jacques asked his voice as razor-sharp as thin ice.
"I am going to be a great huntress," Weiss said dismissively. "And I shall do it in Vale." She finished with a smirk.
"Okay but..." Whitley began receiving a glare from Weiss, but he kept going. "Why Vale? And why do you wanna be a huntress now of all things? What happened to running the business?" Weiss almost snarled but kept herself composed.
"Whitley has an excellent point. Denied." Jacques took some small satisfaction in the look of shock on Weiss' face.
"YOU CAN'T DO THIS TO ME! HEROISM RUNS IN MY VEINS, I HAVE THE FAMILY SEMBLANCE! IT'S MY RIGHT TO BE STRONG!" Weiss screeched at the top of her lungs, only making the vein in Jacques's forehead bulge. "AND SHITLEY THERE ISN'T EVEN CLOSE TO BEING AS STRONG AS I AM! WHY DOES HE GET A SAY?!" Jacques slammed his hand on the table hard! Destroying it in one smash. His aura flickered around him.
"ENOUGH! Weiss! You accuse me of ruining this company. Like a petulant brat, when you've never even made the effort to learn how to manage a single aspect of this company. You ask me to still provide you money, when you run away to a far-off kingdom, to practically throw your life away when fighting Grimm. But I have a few brutal truths to unpack." Jacques stood up towering over Weiss. "Your family's bloodline isn't as perfect as you make it out to be, the SDC was already a monopoly that got involved in matters that caused the white fang to hate them, long before I got involved. And Whitley may not possess the family semblance, but he is hardly useless." Jacques finished.
"So what?! That means only Winter gets to be strong?!'" Weiss was appalled at the very notion that their reputation would plummet.
"No. Whitley though will be going to Beacon." Jacques smirked, openly enjoying the shocked expression on Weiss' face, and Whitley too.
"WHAT?! Both siblings shouted and then glared at each other, blaming each other for their respective misery.
"It's been no secret that you two have held a bitter rivalry over being the heir. So it's time to put this to an end. Whitley shall go to Beacon, and you shall be given a small portion of the company to command. If Whitley Graduates and you don't make a profit that's successful by that time. He shall be heir, but if he doesn't graduate by that time and you make a profit. You will be the heir. My Say is final." The two knew better than to argue with their dad when he was like this.

Volume One

That conversation had been months ago, Klein had helped Whitley unlock some aura, and given him some old military training to at least get him partially prepared for Beacon Academy, even handing him his old weapon.
An old-fashioned trench warfare dust-imbued mining axe that also served as a shovel and shotgun.
He was musing in his thoughts when a young girl stumbled into him, and he fell face-first into his suitcases.
Whitley: You...
His voice trailed off as he took a look at the girl who stumbled to get up, getting her hood out of her face. Gleaming Silver Eyes, pale porcelain skin, dark red hair. She was. Cute.
Ruby: I'm so sorry!!! My sis left me in such a hurry that I uh... well... got a little dizzy and Uuu! Is that a Trench Mine Antique axe?
He blushed as she got closer, looking at the mining axe.
Ruby: Woah! That custom detailing! And huh you even figured out how to replace the single action feature. Nice!
Whitley: Well actually it was... my Butler's... he gave it to me.
Ruby: Still this is a great weapon! You use it yet?
Whitley: I got a little practice in.
Ruby got up and took out her weapon which to Whitley's shock was bigger than her! A freaking scythe? That was also a high-impact sniper rifle?! Just how strong was this girl?! Who was she exactly?!
Ruby: Uh oh yeah. Ruby Rose!
Whitley: Whitley Schnee.
For some reason that name didn't seem to ring a bell to the girl. She just seemed relieved that he wasn't freaking out at her weapon, which if Whitley was being honest, did scare him a bit. But he was also taken off guard by how open and honest this girl was. It was different from anything else he had ever known.
Blake: Ah yes a Schnee...
He and Ruby paused shaking hands, as they looked at the mysterious girl, her face was deadpan of emotion. Yet her words still held a bite.
Whitley: What of it?
Blake: Your company has done many unsafe dust practices, and enslaved countless Faunus. Yet you wear that name with pride.
She then walked away before he could get a word in edgewise.
Whitley: I am not my company...
Ruby: So either way... should probably get to the gym!
She tried to ease things back up again after the tense conversation.
---
Ruby: Yes!
Whitley: HUH?!
The two were in the forest now taking the exam.
Ruby: I am glad I am partners with you is all! This is gonna be a great team-up!
Whitley: I guess? But we should get the things.
Ruby: True but we can be awesome while doing it!
Of course he would be stuck with a battle junkie.
Whitley: Look I don't doubt you're cool and all that. But I am not you. I want to survive this!
Ruby: Huh? Do you think I'm cool?
Whitley: I I I I you! He just really wanted to get out of there.
Ruby: Well c'mon you got a cool weapon too! So we could get through that swath of Grimm and-
Whitley: Okay or we could take the better option. I got a good look at the forest while we were flying in the air.
Ruby: Woah.... you mapped out the area just from one look? That's incredible!
Whitley: I... Thank you. He blushed... not used to genuine praise. Either way, we can make it there faster on an easier path, get what we need, and go.
Ruby: True, we can always save the fun part of missions for later.
Whitley: Fun?!
But Ruby was already dragging him along into her semblance, his screams gone as they dashed to the old ruins.
---
Whitley: I don't get it!
Ruby: What?!
The two had passed the exam with flying colors, even though much to Whitley's dismay they had to fight a terrifying murder bird. But Ruby still confused him, the girl was extremely talented, skilled even.... yet she didn't take any of the academia seriously. Yet she still rooted for him, who barely knew much about this!
Whitley: Why do you slack off in class?!
Ruby: Well... I've never really been good at paying attention. She admitted nervously. Like I am good with visual stuff, and acting in the moment. But books and stuff... especially dusty tomes always never really get to me.
Whitley: I see.
Ruby: But I mean... I know I don't think ahead too much, but you do.
Whitley: Huh?
Ruby: You're a smart cookie.
Whitley: You say that but I could never keep up with you. The way you manage to make up plans on the fly, you make it look so easy.
Ruby: Yeah I guess? But I never get beyond that. I just act when it comes. But... huh... We could do a bit of training? You help me study! And I help you unlock a semblance!
She leaped on the table boldly, Whitley covering his eyes, so as to not accidentally get a glimpse of her panties.
Whitley: I told you! My family has a semblance! That I didn't inherit!
Ruby: And?! You're here now, and I bet you will get an awesome semblance!
---
Whitley: Blake!
Blake: Whitley, I...
Whitley: Let me go first, please...
Blake: Nn...
Whitley: You're not the white fang. I am not my family...
I know that doesn't make it better. But we don't have to be who we used to be...
You've been on this team with me for months yeah?
Blake: Yeah...
Whitley: You could've killed me in my sleep at any point and left. But you didn't, and I know I was harsh and accusatory of the White Fang.
But... I would be an idiot to claim that you don't have some reason to blame my company.
Blake: So what now?
Whitley: Well... maybe we can start over now?
Blake: Start over?
Whitley: I am Whitley, partner to Ruby Rose, a proud member of Team RWBY... and you are?
Blake: Blake Belladonna...
The two shake hands smiling, as Blake throws away her bow, no longer needing it.
Yang: AWW I KNEW YOU TWO WOULD GET ALONG, GROUP HUG EVERYONE!!!
Whitley and Blake: NO NO NONO-
Yang grabs them both, Ruby yelling excitedly as she gets in on the group hug.

Volume Two

Yang: So why don't you ask her out?~
Whitley: What?!
Yang: C'mon now~ I've seen how you look at her.
Whitley: Gulps as Yang puts an arm around him.
Yang: And you know... You're a good guy Whitley. You don't look at her like a perv. I respect that.
Whitley:...
Yang: Ruby is.... she's been through a lot... but she's always kind of had her head above it all. Always look forward, but then there you are... you root her in a way I've never seen, but you don't try and tear her down.
I'm rooting for ya kid.
And if it doesn't work out, that's fine.
Because no matter what happens, I know you two will still be great friends.
And I already see you as a little bro.
Whitley protests as she gives him a noogie.
Yang: Besides. it's a dance, have a little fun. We've earned that downtime.

Volume Three

Winter: So you're still around after all this...
Whitley: Yeah...
Winter: Hmm.
She coldly looks the other way.
Winter: I will be honest. I expected you to quit after the first week. But you kept in there.
Whitley:...
Winter: I always thought you would be the most like our father, cruel and cold. But without a spine, and yet... you've proven me wrong in many ways... on the same team as a faunus?
Whitley: Her name is Blake.
Winter: Yes Belladonna, related to the former leaders of the white fan-
Whitley: Yeah I knew that already. It doesn't matter.
Winter: Oh?
Whitley: Yang is also related to the Branwen. Yet I don't care about that, she's more of a sister to me than you've ever been.
Winter: A look of shock crosses her face.
Whitley: I used to want to be like you! You were so strong, you forged your path. But you still left me. You chose Weiss over me.
That hurt me more than anything Father ever did. And I am done with blaming Dad for everything wrong in my life, with blaming Weiss and you and Mother.
I have my own life to live now. And if you want to be part of it, sure, but I have a real family. My team.
Winter stares down at her cup of coffee as Whitley leaves.
Winter: Heh... I'm proud of you Whitley.
She whispers.
---
The Paladin loomed over the small group, Whitley's weapon was broken and shattered. But he couldn't, wouldn't give up, and then something happened his aura flared to life, and he could feel it as he clashed against the Paladin, as his aura became a golden color, and then...
A identical copy of the Paladiin was made that tore its original counterpart asunder! And started firing on the others.
Whitley: She was right...
He laughed thinking about Ruby, he had thought he could never attain his semblance but he had done it!
---
Ruby awoke with a start, everything had been so horrible, she hadn't arrived in time to save the day. The Tower had still fallen, and Penny was... gone...
"Ruby!" She was shocked to see Whitley there in the doorway looking relieved, his hair all messy. "She's awake!" He said with tears of happiness.
"Nn!" Blake tackled Ruby, shocking her with such a display of emotion.
Yang leaned in the doorway, with a tired but happy look on her face, her arm still freshly bandaged.
"You're all still here?" Ruby was crying, relieved, and even more tired despite just waking up.
"My father wanted me to come back home," Whitley said quietly. "He tried to tell me I had done more than enough... but... I told him. 'I said I would become a Hunstman, and I meant it. And even if this school falls, that doesn't mean I stop being one. Because'" Whitley paused. "I still have my team, and I am sticking with you all to the bitter end, so you can put up with me a little longer if you will have me." Yang rolled her eyes and wrapped her single arm around him in a headlock.
"Love ya too bro." She said as Whitley struggled to get out, and everyone began laughing.
"I was scared," Blake admitted. "But... you all never gave up on me, you accepted me for who I was. And even if Adam comes back, I would rather die fighting alongside you all. Then abandoning you." She said with conviction.
"I might have lost an arm. But I ain't out of this fight just yet!" Yang said letting go of Whitley. "I just have to get smarter!" Ruby felt so many emotions, but the joy was the most prominent.
"Heh... wasn't I supposed to be leading?" She asked sarcastically.
"You are!" Whitley shouted, not realizing it was sarcasm, only to blush at the smirk Blake and Yang gave him. "I me- what I meant was.." He stuttered. "That... Ruby if it wasn't for you... I would still be the same selfish kid I was before Beacon. You inspire everyone. But.. let us be there for you." He reached out and took her hand, and Ruby smiled, wiping away her tears.
"Well Team RWBY... LET'S DO IT TO IT!" Then everyone winced as they remembered their injuries. "After we heal up yeah?" Everyone nodded.

The Final Moments of Volume Three.

Taiyang: Hugs his two girls. I am so proud of you both.
Yang: Thanks, Dad! She looks down at her new arm, it will take some getting used to. but she is ready for the challenge.
Ruby: Please be safe.
Taiyang: Hey don't worry about me. Qrow might be bad luck, but I've dealt with him enough times.
Qrow: Eyyyyy
Taiyang: Besides you still have your team, just try not to start any international incidents in Menagerie.
Qrow: And don't worry I will keep the old man out of trouble in Mistral as we go to Haven.
Taiyang: OLD?!
The Family Laughs.
---
Blake looked at the ship they would be traveling on, and back at her teammates, she liked this feeling there was uncertainty but also hope for the future.
Sun: Well looks like I got here just in time.
Blake: Sun?!
Sun: Yep figured I could say goodbye at least.
Blake: Heh... It's good to see you.
Sun: Same here. And you know... I wish things hadn't taken such a dark turn, but for some reason. I get the feeling things are going to be okay, you still got your team, and I still got mine.
And who knows maybe after all this... maybe even we will be okay?
He asked with a nervous laugh.
Blake: Just shut up and kiss me for luck.
Sun's eyes lit up in surprise as Blake softly pulled him, and then they shared a brief intense kiss.
Blake: Seeya when I get back~
Sun: Ye- ye- YEAH!
He was blushing brightly but leaping for joy.
---
Back in Atlas, Jacques was quietly looking at an old family portrait, one of the last the whole family had taken together.
Jacques: Heh.
Winter: I DON'T UNDERSTAND! WHY DID YOU LET HIM STAY BEHIND?!
Jacques: Because I'm proud of him.
Winter: I don't understand...
Jacques: No you don't... but maybe one day.
---
Ruby looked on as their ship began sailing, her friends looked happy, and she tried to put on a brave face, but she couldn't help the small doubt and fear inside of her. She had been at her best, and still couldn't save Penny.
Her knuckles whitened subtly, hidden by her cape. What if she failed again? What could she do differently? Her team had stuck by her... so she would just have to protect them all...
(Thus setting up a character arc for Ruby)

And that's all for now folks!

submitted by Stenv2 to RWBYcritics [link] [comments]


2023.03.22 15:09 yrakesh1996 Sand Cloud Blanket: 14 Reasons Why You Need One: The Sensational Sand Cloud Blanket is comfortable and stylish, suitable for picnics, beach days, and lounging.


The Sensational Sand Cloud Blanket is made of soft, durable fabric that is both comfortable and stylish. It is perfect for picnics, beach days, or simply lounging around at home. The blanket is large enough to fit two people, and it comes with a built-in carrying strap for easy transport.There are a number of reasons to own a Sensational Sand Cloud Blanket. First, the blanket is made of high-quality materials that will last for years. Second, the blanket is large enough to fit two people, making it perfect for couples or families. Third, the built-in carrying strap makes it easy to take the blanket with you on the go. Fourth, the blanket is machine-washable, making it easy to care for. Fifth, the blanket is available in a variety of colors and patterns, so you can choose the one that best suits your style.

Below are 14 reasons why you need a Sensational Sand Cloud Blanket in your life:

1. It is made of soft, durable fabric that will last for years.

The blanket is made of a soft and durable fabric that is expected to last for many years. The use of "soft" means the blanket is comfortable to use, while "durable" means it can withstand wear and tear without losing its quality. Overall, the sentence emphasizes on the high quality of the fabric used to make the Sand Cloud Blanket, which is expected to provide long-lasting comfort to its users.

2. It is large enough to fit two people, making it perfect for couples or families.

The blanket's accommodating size is perfect for couples or families seeking to share a quilt, specifically when engaging in outdoor activities like picnics, beach trips, or camping. Its vastness allows two individuals to freely stretch out or relax on it without feeling cramped.

3. It comes with a built-in carrying strap, making it easy to take with you on the go.

The distinguishing factor of a sand cloud blanket is its integrated carrying strap, which facilitates hassle-free transportation between locations. With this feature, you can conveniently take the blanket along wherever you go. Therefore, if you're seeking a portable blanket that can accompany you on your travels or daily commutes, the sand cloud blanket would make a practical.

4. It is machine-washable, making it easy to care for.

The blanket has the characteristic of being machine washable, which enables easy cleaning using a washing machine as opposed to manual handwashing or the services of a dry cleaner. This advantage allows the owner to easily and care for the blanket.

5. It is available in a variety of colors and patterns, so you can choose the one that best suits your style.

Sand cloud blankets are available in a wide range of colors and patterns, giving you tons of design options to suit your personal tastes and preferences. With a wide selection of bright and vivid colors as well as more concise patterns, there is sure to be a sand cloud blanket that will catch your eye and complement your personal.

6. It is perfect for picnics, beach days, or simply lounging around at home.

The Sand Cloud blanket is versatile and can be used for an array of activities such as outdoor picnics, beach outings, and cozening up at home. Its adaptability makes it a wise investment, as it is a practical and convenient item to have.

7. It provides comfortable padding for sitting or lying down on hard surfaces.

The Sand Cloud blanket is designed to offer a plush and gentle cushion for both sitting and lying down. It effectively covers hard surfaces and enables individuals to lounge comfortably. Whether you desire to unwind on the ground or a bench, the Sand Cloud blanket guarantees a cozy experience.

8. It can be used as a yoga mat or workout space.

The blanket serves multiple purposes - not just as a regular cover, but also as a yoga mat or a workout area. The blanket's material and dimensions cater to physical activities, allowing for a comforting and stable surface.

9. It can be used as a picnic blanket for outdoor dining.

When dining al fresco, a Sand Cloud blanket doubles as a picnic mat. With its outdoor-friendly features, it can provide a comfortable and clean spot for people to sit and eat. Thus, for those who are organizing an outdoor event or just enjoying a leisurely picnic, the Sand Cloud blanket offers a perfect solution for their seating and dining needs.

10. It is water-resistant, so it can be used on damp surfaces.

The sand cloud blanket boasts water-resistant properties, which imply it is purposefully created to avoid water and prevent moisture from seeping in. As a result, this characteristic permits it to be utilized on wet surfaces like those found at the beach or pool without posing a risk of becoming wet or getting impaired easily. For this reason, the sand cloud blanket presents itself as an extremely suitable pick for any outdoor activity that involves exposure to water or humidity.

11. It can be used as a bedding option for camping trips or outdoor sleeping.

The Sand Cloud blanket is an ideal choice for outdoor use such as camping or sleeping outside, as it is made from sturdy materials that can withstand the tough conditions. Its ability to serve as bedding ensures that users can enjoy its warmth and comfort while sleeping outdoors.
12. It adds a pop of color and style to any outdoor setting.
The Sand Cloud blanket is a decor essential that elevates the look of any outdoor area. Boasting vibrant hues and a visually pleasing pattern, it provides a burst of color and style that enhances the overall aesthetic of the space. By adding this eye-catching element, the Sand Cloud blanket creates an inviting ambiance that entices one to bask in the beauty of the outdoors.

13. It is lightweight and easy to fold and pack for travel.

The Sand Cloud blanket is a great option for those seeking a light and portable cover. Its featherweight quality makes it effortless to carry around, while its ability to fold into compact sizes allows for hassle-free packing when on-the-go. For individuals in need of a cozy and practical travel blanket, the Sand Cloud is an excellent.

14. It makes a great gift for anyone who loves the outdoors or needs a comfortable and stylish blanket.

The Sand Cloud blanket is a versatile gift that caters to different types of people. It's perfect for individuals who like spending time outdoors and those who prefer the comfort of a stylish and warm blanket. Therefore, this gift is an excellent choice for a variety of recipients, appealing to various interests and preferences.

Conclusion

The Sand Cloud Blanket is a premium and adaptable product built with soft, resilient material. Capable of accommodating two individuals, it includes a convenient built-in carrying strap for effortless transportation. It is also easy to clean in the washing machine, comes in various colors and designs, and is the ideal choice for multiple outdoor pursuits such as beach outings, picnics, camping trips, as well as indoor leisure such as lounging at home.
The blanket offers comfortable cushioning for sitting or lying on various firm surfaces, and it doubles ideally as a yoga mat, workout space, or picnic accessory. With water-resistant properties, it is prefect for damp settings and can also be utilized as camping bedding or outdoor sleeping material. It injects some color and elegance into any outdoor environment, easy to pack and lightweight for journeys. Overall, the Sand Cloud Blanket represents a practical and chic asset that provides ample benefits and

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submitted by yrakesh1996 to u/yrakesh1996 [link] [comments]


2023.03.22 15:04 taitonaito K1 Stryker: Always Outnumbered, Never Outpowered

Are you a fan of Austrian firearms?
Do you know of the famous Herr Mannlicher?
Is Die Hard your favorite movie?
Then fear not, for that thou shall be the Stryker!
Okay. Believe it or not guys, I was hoping to get to this gun sooner than later. And since I hit 300 karma with the last post (I appreciate all of you guys, I'm glad I could entertain you ^^), consider this as a celebration, yeah?
Awright. Time to talk about the sexy rifle. Looks, behavior, and some trivia.
K1 Stryker, in other words, Armee Universale Gewehr, has a rather interesting in game history if you ask me.
At first, PikPok tried to pair it with the X-12 Tyrant, as if they knew that those two would be the most OP combo in the whole entire game. When I say "paired", I meant that when this gun was introduced with its premiere event, they made the X-12 Tyrant the only gun with a 2x multiplier. I'm not kidding, no other weapons had a multiplier. Only the AUG and the DP-12. I used to play Outbreak back then, and I struggled very very hard to be able to get just enough parts to build it because of that.
Then in came the Legacy event (a very solid event, however a short one) and for some reason PikPok decided that the timid idiot that is our protagonist should have the AUG as her primary weapon.
Yes, I call her a timid idiot because she blames herself for literally everything and she pays no mind to her surroundings. She doesn't even consider amputating her arm to get rid of the infection, nuh-uh. She instead considers running around like a headless chicken hoping to find someone who wants to raise a kid so that the baby won't have to die with her. Tragic, but also idiotic.
Anyway, short sub-rant over, moving on. Gots to talk about them sexy curves of this beast.
The gun's in-game rendition is a very faithful representation of the Sturmgewehr 77 (that was the designation by the Austrian military for the Steyr AUG A1, folks) and I love it. I myself am more of an A3 guy but A1's iconic carry handle scope, overall slim and hot looks and simple controls win the day either way.
Quick side note: The gun was made in 1977 and adopted by the Austrians. Glock 17, is also adopted by Austrians. I see a pattern here, involving very solid guns and Austrians. Anyway.
The animations, I really dig. The reload, the H&K slap on the charging handle (even though it is not that easy to slap AUG's charging handle in real life), the end-game animation where we fold the foregrip or check our magazine, they're all very solid. I love it. I. Love. It.
The gunshots out of this beast is straight up from CS:GO's SFX archive. I'm not kidding guys, take a look at both games' SFX for AUG firing. Now, that's not a bad thing.
BECAUSE IT SOUNDS SO SHARP AND SOLID. It feels like a sniper rifle every time you use it. A very mechanical sort of "bang!" and there goes a guy down.
I have no words that can truly do justice to how sharp and clean the gunshot is out of this thing. It feels so satisfying to pull the trigger, hear that sound along with a zombie just bleeding on the ground. I LOVE IT. This gun is up there with the Cobalt in terms of mechanicality of the gunshot.
However, there is one significant issue to this gun, and it is something I can waive.
They incorporated a mode selector. Not visually, but gameplay-wise it exists.
The problem is, guys, AUG is a progressive trigger rifle. That is, you pull the trigger really long and hard for full auto, and rather short for semi auto. It has two separate breaking points. That causes a lot of complaints in the firearms community, as it results in a very mushy trigger, but there are aftermarket kits that can get the AUG to a very clean trigger pull, so eh.
But what this also means is that the AUG shouldn't have any mode selectors. The mode selector is your trigger finger, you consciously pull hard for full auto, you tap for semi auto.
But instead, we have a mode selector on this baby.
I will ignore that and count it as a positive thing for the rifle. And I can hear you all screaming at me for being a biased piece of shit, but let me explain.
As I said before, this selector isn't visually there. They didn't butcher the gun to make this happen. Which is very good and removes a big chunk of the problem.
And, this mode selector isn't for the gun. It's for James. The mode selector literally decides how hard James pulls the trigger. Just like any of us would behind a progressive trigger gun. When semi-auto, he lightly pulls the trigger. When full-auto, he yanks the trigger.
So I'm fine with it, and THANK YOU LORD PIKPOK FOR ATTENTION TO DETAIL. I love you guys for not adding some abomination to the gun to make this work.
Anyway. There is a decoration for this gun, which is of Legendary quality. And it gives...drumroll...built-in Crate Ammo. Sadly it was available during last Christmas via a login event, however that doesn't make it any less awesome.
Personally, I don't like the colors of the decoration. The snow effect on the gun and the freeze effect on targets are very cool, but the color scheme is just way too off for my taste. And that comes out of a person who appreciates graffitis. At least it isn't intolerable I guess.
Overall, this gun is goated with the taitonaito sauce. It is my favorite rifle, and favorite firearm. I will always girl over it, and cherish it. Regardless of what the in-game stats say.
Now that we mentioned everything that is skin deep about this beast, let's talk numbers. I one-upped this rifle so far many times, right? This must be the best thing in the ItD2 world!
Okay. So the AUG is capable of 19,200hp damage per shot on maxout, with a fire rate of 600 in-game units for semi-auto. The full auto fire rate doesn't show, but it is fast enough to give a lot of SMGs run for their money, so it is decent quick.
Although you may wanna stick to semi-auto, why that in a minute.
The reload speed is an astonishing 500 in-game units (so far the lead of the pack for assault rifles), and the magazines hold 32 rounds.
Now, I have a bit of a peeve about that magazine capacity. You see, the Austrian standards for AUG magazines are 30 and 42 rounds. But there is an SMG version of the AUG that has 32 round magazines. What pisses me off is that they could have just gone with the 30 or 42, but they ruined it with the wrong magazine capacity. I don't get why.
Well anyway, the rifle has built-in Piercing Ammo (basically a way faster Javelin) and the Piercing Ammo kicks in when the rifle is on semi auto (way more ammo friendly than Shadow). On full auto, the rifle acts like a rifle, just on a lot of Redbull cans.
Okay then. That, I believe, makes the stats for me. Now, the verdict.
Verdict: THE BEST ASSAULT RIFLE IN THE GAME. PERIOD. NO QUESTIONS ASKED. ABSOLUTELY BUILD.
There are a few things that makes this rifle potentially the second best weapon in the game, if not the best.

  1. Built-in Piercing Ammo with a very spammable fire rate. This rifle is basically Cobalt on Bonfire Night. Sure it cannot one-tap a Lumberjack, but a double-tap shouldn't be that much of a pain in the ass at the rate of fire it spews out.
  2. (If you have the skin) Built-in Crate Ammo. Guns like this usually suffer from only one drawback: poor ammo pool. Now, while regular AUG ammo pool isn't terrible, it's mediocre, and this skin just makes it even better. The rifle becomes perfection.
  3. It is a side story weapon, which means you are guaranteed the parts rather than hoping for a rerun. You can always wait for the Legacy event and crank out 100 parts for your AUG.

Now, some of y'all may be considering Shadow as the major contender. But keep in mind, Shadow has its Piercing Ammo on burst mode. That means you spend 200% more ammunition per trigger pull when trying to use Piercing Ammo, for very underwhelming gains, considering that shooting three rounds out of a semi-auto AUG isn't terribly slow.
Besides, Shadow doesn't get to have 2 built-in perks at the same time now, does it?
Well anyway. Now that the verdict has been made, let's go for tactics.
Before we begin, use Puma with this rifle for the best of results. You will want a lot of hordes to break, oh yes you WILL.

  1. Stick to semi-auto as often as possible, as that is this rifle's ace. Since the fire rate is very spammable, you can break an entire horde by just spam tapping the semi-auto. While full auto is still a good and solid option, it doesn't give Piercing Ammo, draining your multikill capabilities to a good ol' nought.
  2. Try to use this rifle wherever possible. Consider it as a Swiss Army knife, as it can do pretty much anything: hordebreaking, survival, (if your reflexes are good) cornfield surfing, the works. And with the skin on, you'll be getting a military worth of ammo. May as well burn it on some extra zombies.
  3. Try tapping in the packs of 2 when you see a small-to-medium horde in the distance and you cannot confirm if there is a Lumberjack (ONLY IN APOCALYPSE). The gun cannot double tap a Lumberjack, and there is a possibility that you may just end up getting grabbed by a Lumberjack you hit only once. Go 2-2-2-2-2-2-2-....
  4. If you see a big crowd, and you confirm that there are Lumberjacks, forget advice 3 and just spray the area. You'll eventually end up killing all of the zombies.

And here are the perks.

  1. Explosive Ammo: What is better than a crazy powerful assault rifle with M855A1 green tips and a lot of ammo? The answer is a crazy powerful assault rifle with explosive green tips and a lot of ammo! With this, you're basically untouchable!
  2. Faster Reload: I added this not because the gun needs it, but it's pretty much the only other perk that amounts to some sense (apart from Incendiary, I'll explain why in a bit). It's already reloading pretty quick. However, why refuse another dollar even if you have a million dollars?
  3. Incendiary Ammo: I normally wouldn't recommend this, but there are 2 crucial reasons why it would actually make sense to a degree.
    1. AUG without Incendiary Ammo cannot one-tap a Lumberjack (neither can any assault rifle for that matter). Adding that little bit of damage boost we need can prevent dying to an unexpectedly alive Lumberjack.
    2. (If you have the skin) This gun's Incendiary effect on target is very very pretty. I highly recommend to check it out at least once. I love it.

Thanks for suggesting this, folks! A review about a rifle I love a lot. I quite much enjoyed talking about it ^^
submitted by taitonaito to intothedead2 [link] [comments]


2023.03.22 15:04 prettynormalme On the Flair 58 hype train

On the Flair 58 hype train
After spending a few months of delicious Aeropress and V60 brews, with a Drinktrade subscription and a 1Zpresso JX-Pro hand grinder, I couldnt help myself and had to scratch my espresso itch. With my budget, a generally nerdy predisposition (grad students assemble!) and a 90s stick-shift BMW to boot, manual was definitely the way to go for me!
Currently have a medium roast "Old Crow Cuppa Joe" blend from Red Rooster coffee. Based on some of my initial forum reads, for the gray dot JX-Pro, I thought a grind setting of 1.8 - 1.9 would do. But, with my vst 20g basket and a wdt/ramping puck prep, that barely developed any pressure at all. Went down to 1.0 and that choked the shot, which took a hilarious 4min for a 18/36 shot. Adjusted to 1.2.5 and the shot was just 🤌🏽🤌🏽. Still need to practice the leverage and holding steady pressure. Did a 15sec preinfusion at 3bar, followed by a ramp to 9 bar and then slow tapering off upto 6bar until the shot (18 in, 40 out) was pulled. Video attached for this brew. The tiger skin on the crema almost made me squel with joy!!
Watched the Lance Hendrick video about additional recipes on the flair 58, can't wait to try them out once I have the grinds a little bit more dialed in based on taste. Any more suggestions and tips very appreciated!
submitted by prettynormalme to FlairEspresso [link] [comments]


2023.03.22 15:02 Zehnpae Dragon Quest XI - (The Good, The Bad, The Ugly)

Dragon Quest XI is a JRPG developed by Square Enix. Released in 2018, DQ11 is yet another stand alone adventure that happens to share art concepts with other DQ games but little else.
We play as 'the Luminary', a reincarnated hero of legend. Our quest is to engage in a journey of self-discovery until we can finally stop the ultimate evil that has plagued the land for too long.
The Good
The game is gorgeous. The DQ series has certainly grown into its own almost unique art form with a cast of creatures that are instantly recognizable. That level of consistency over 40 years of games leads to DQ being the comfort food of JRPG's. The animations are top notch, the combat visuals are fun, cut scenes are neat and so on and so forth.
Combat is pretty entertaining as well. Part of the fun of each new iterations of the JRPG concept is seeing what shenanigans get thrown at you. DQ11 introduces what it calls 'pep' which is basically the ability to combine ultimate moves with other characters for combo ultimate moves. While not exactly innovative, it is a welcome feature that keeps combat from getting stale.
The Bad
Right now there are two posts on the front page of Patient Gaming talking about how much they dislike Dragon Age 2, one of the chief reasons being the re-use of old areas over and over again. Dragon Quest XI does much the same. You'll find yourself revisiting old areas a time or three before the game runs out of reasons to recycle old areas.
The story is about as standard JRPG as you can get, featuring most of the tropes we've come to know and sigh at. The hero is literally a child. You'll eventually defeat the bad guy by using the power of friendship. Some...sexual repression seems to be on the plate as well. One of the characters attacks is literally called 'sex appeal' and you can craft a playboy bunny outfit for her.
There's a 'post game' that is basically one giant grind fest for a few more tidbits of story/lore. Basically a 'rue ending if you're willing and able to withstand the tedium of it. I made it about two hours before I was said, "Nope" and just googled a summary video which saved me from hours of agony.
It has a crafting system for upgrading gear. I normally don't like crafting systems in games as it's mostly an excuse to pad content and this one is no different. To make matters worse it tries to make the crafting system 'fun' by tacking a mini-game on top of it. So not only do you have to go back and farm old mobs for a 1 in 100 chance for the material you need to drop, but RNG can cause your upgrade to fail and the game has the audacity to pretend it's your fault.
The Ugly
It's pretty easy for a Dragon Quest game. I appreciate not having to walk back and forth in one spot spending hours leveling just to beat the next dungeons boss but at no point did I ever really feel threatened. You have all these strategies you can deploy in combat you never really need to use. Combat was more of a formality than anything.
You're given the option to capture/ride mounts and have a horse you can ride around as well. These come across as "solutions to a problem we invented" kind of gameplay since the mounts don't really do much else. Each lets you bypass one type of terrain hazard. "Oh look, it's a frog we can ride...bet there's a wall coming up that we'll need to jump up."
One of your companions is a 16 year old girl trapped in the body of an 8 year old girl. A JRPG/Anime trope that I am not very fond of. On the one hand at least it isn't heavily sexualized but on the other it's a trope I wish would die.
Final Thoughts
DQ11 is a decent-ish game. Most of the things I wasn't a big fan of are just standard JRPG things. If you like them then you could just as easily toss it all into the good column. It wasn't ever bad enough to get me to put the game down until I hit the post game. At that point I googled a spoiler and was glad I did.
Thank you for reading!
100 reviews in 100 days (Day 14)
submitted by Zehnpae to patientgamers [link] [comments]