#so they don't show up until you modify the list in code

[pikachu-deluxe]

it's weird to me that a lot of people don't know the obscure trivia for games that i do, like how is this not common knowledge

[sephesisweek]

Sephesis Week 2024 is Officially DONE!

Posts will continue to be reblogged to the main account until this Sunday, so it's fine if you're running a little behind! The Archive collection will also remain open for submissions until that time, so make sure your work is added before it closes on January 14th.

Sephesis Week will return January 1st of 2025, with the prompt list to be revealed November 13th, 2024. Here's to doing it all again next year!

As a special thank-you to everyone who took part, Sephesis Week organizer @getvalentined has created a set of "badges" for all participants to use in profiles, to print off for personal use, and to repost on your own social media to let everyone know about your contribution to the event!

I Participated in Sephesis Week 2024 ▏ For anyone who filled at least one prompt over the course of the event. This event literally wouldn't have happened without you!

I Completed Sephesis Week 2024 ▏ For anyone who filled seven prompts total over the course of the event. You did it! You climbed the whole mountain!

I Did Sephesis Week 2024 (and I was super spicy about it) ▏ This one is specifically for creators whose prompt fills were on the adult side, whether truly explicit or otherwise. Sugar is nice, but we all love some spice!

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I Participated in Sephesis Week 2024

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Full Resolution: ≈2500x2500px (recommended for larger prints)

I Participated in Sephesis Week 2024

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At their native size, these files are about 8.5 inches (21 cm) square at a resolution of 300dpi; there are a lot of options on what to do with these files, so it's entirely up to you.

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[duckapus]

Okay, at this point I have to admit I have no idea what to do with A Snake in Horseland. I have a few scattered ideas but nothing coherent, and with how long it's taking I kind of just want to list out the ideas and move on.

-the Syndicate gets dealt with first because they're relatively easier, not trying to hide, and aren't relevant to the Ozymandias and Root plotline. Crocker's a joke since he doesn't have any powers whatsoever, Vlad gets taken out by Luigi because he's a ghost, Vaati gets into a fight with the Wonderbolts and a bunch of the flight-capable characters before ultimately falling to Fluttershy's therapy-fu, Gohma fights the Hologram Trio and uses the leftover memories from Byte to mess with their heads a little, and I have no idea what to do with Lokoko besides the fact that any MLP or SMG characters will probably have some commentary on her and Frida's dynamic. Ultimately they end up retreating back to the MRU universes while the Anchors stay behind to help the Crew (and find Timmy because the kids have been having their Airship Adventure during all that)

-The Kids' find Ozymandias and Garyboy first, and Elanore managed to beef up the ship's weapons enough that they can throw Ozzy around even if they still can't actually hurt him, so between that and the fact that Gary's not invincible they're able to hold their own until the adults show up.

-Lil Coding actually listened when Hex yelled at him and is helping.

-The first real Big Moment in the fight is Ozzy making the mistake of taunting Mira and Antivirus with how close Root's code is to being fully reintegrating with his, resulting in them fusing through the Power of Rage into ANNIHILATION, and thanks to having AV's strength and Mira's speed combined they can hit hard enough that it makes Ozzy actually feel pain, even if it's technically not doing damage.

-Another way to make him feel pain is Toad managing to latch onto his head and sing at the top of his lungs, because no matter how invulnerable you are if you're capable of hearing you're able to experience the agony of Toad Song.

-There's also Pinkie Pie and Mario managing to annoy him enough with their antics at one point that they lure him into biting his own tail, which does the first actual damage out of everything they're throwing at him (which is a lot), and also knocks loose a few scales (these ones don't end up as Offshoots btw. they're just basic objects and will probably grow back), which Link gathers up, uses an item duplication glitch on, and starts fusing to his arrows. So now he's the biggest threat of the group since he's actually able to do damage.

-Twilight, magical genius that she is, manages to reverse-engineer the Fusion command just from observing Annihilation being formed, work out how to replicate its effects as a spell, and actually successfully use said spell with Rainbow Dash to become who I'm calling Lightspeed Aurora, in ten seconds flat.

-Bob finally figuring out how Changeling Shapeshifting works results in him divebombing Garyboy as the Bob-omb Battlefield Chain Chomp...which unfortunately results in Garyboy biting the inside of his mouth. Fortunately, instead of, you know, dying, he gets glitched out so badly that it changes him back into his normal character model (complete with being 3D again) and reapplied the False Positive glitch, which gives him an idea...

-Fast forward a couple scenes and Ozzy's got everyone on the ropes (of course he does, they can only disorient him and do chip damage), when he's suddenly hit by a massive ball of water. They all turn to see where it came from and see Lily back in her normal form (though still 2D unlike Bob) as tall as she was as Sonata and glowing with Meme Energy, with Bob in his sunglasses and a modified version of his gold necklace (the skultula charm is replaced by a lowercase 'i') and Pinkie with matching sunglasses and a silver Pi symbol necklace standing next to her...doing as close an equivalent to holding hands as a guy with swords for arms and a pony are able. Yes, 3 and 4 do grump a little that even those two seem to be better than them at being SMGs.

-Unstoppable Force (Lily is huge and fucking pissed) meets Immovable Object (Ozymandias is still indestructible), and the Magic of Friendship intervenes because of course it does they're in Equestria. There's a lot of rainbow glowy stuff, said rainbow glowy stuff somehow lets Lily's not-quite-a-Storm-Trident-Replica-anymore stab a gateway into Ozymandias's code, find Root, have a brief heart-to-heart and pull her out.

-Once she's out of Ozymandias Root is in her Maneuver form; an eastern dragon that's almost as big as Ozzy's current Equestrian dragon form and about half the size of his true form. It's already been described by Efficiency in a few of their branching AUs so I'm not going into that here. She manages to deal a massive blow on Ozzy's chest, he discovers that whatever that mix of Meme Energy and Friendship Magic did made it so he can't absorb her at all anymore, and he grabs Garyboy and barely manages to tear open a portal and escape.

-He didn't actually set a specific destination so the Admins can't track him like AV did when he left SM64, and even if they could nobody's in any shape to chase and fight him, so they decide to worry about the two of them later. In the meantime, the Anchors have to get home, everybody has to recover from All That, and somebody has to explain to Equestria and its allies what the hell has been happening for the last day and a half or so.

-No, Bob and Pinkie don't get to keep being SMGi and SMGpi full-time. It is noted that they were actually pretty good at it though. Also Bob might have wireframe scars now (he did get hit by Garyboy's venom after all), but he's always completely covered up so we'll never know.

-Wherever it is that Ozzy and Gary ended up, they find out that the injury on his chest left a wireframe scar...and that that specific part of him is no longer invulnerable.

[16naughts]

Dev Log June 20

One week left to go until the Steam Summer Sale. It's kind of strange participating in it but this time on the other side. This does mean a little bit of crunch time getting Campaign mode up and running. But it happens. It's usually extremely tricky to talk about or show anything "beta" regarding Crescent Roll because we really don't stub in any assets or have things only partially working at all in-between these Friday reports. The feature is either Done, or the game doesn't compile. The graphic doesn't exist, or it's on its final revision. Most demonstrable stuff gets knocked out in a day or two, but today we actually do have a very rare clip of something in-progress! The video at the top is the transition from taking an order in the Campaign mode to the gameplay. (I'm not sure what's up with the frame drops on the exported video, but it's 1080p 60FPS when actually playing). Before each round, a little menu pops up, and you get to make tradeoffs on modifiers for the level. Making it harder earns more money, but if you're running low on time, you might want to swing the difficulty in your favor until you can catch back up. Although, this video is only one day old, and it's already significantly outdated. There's a moving background now like the other modes, and the timer is changed to remove the hearts and best time and instead highlight the time remaining and list the current score and streak. If this is moving so fast, where is all of my time going on this project? I checked the git history (and the stuff I've been complaining about here), and we're looking at a solid 75% or more dedicated to Engine coding work. That's graphics rendering, file format manipulation, mod support, and system runtime, including all of the performance enhancement and porting work. You know - just about everything supporting the game, but not a lot for the game itself. Which in any other circumstance, would be considered a really bad investment. However, in my case, the engine was originally made to support a 2D animation software suite. Crescent Roll was just a little tech demo thing that turned into full game, so its existence is more of a bonus from that perspective. For anyone else that specifically wants to make a game though, I'd really, really recommend just going with Godot or something. People usually charge for game engines for a reason - the amount of support that you have to provide around it (even to yourself) is just stupid sometimes.

[lazyduchess]

[TS3] Implementing Oniki's Pie Menu Lag Fix into other Core Mods.

If you use the latest update of Simler90's Gameplay Systems Core Mod, you don't need to do any of this. It's been implemented!

Hi!

So, a while ago we got a core mod by Oniki that fixes the massive delay when clicking on a Sim (Can last as long as 10-20 seconds for a lot of people)

I don't think Oniki actually shared what part of the code they replaced to achieve this, so I thought I'd provide the info and write a tutorial.

Big thanks to @simbouquet for comparing the vanilla and Oniki's dlls to find the differences, as I couldn't get JustAssembly to work :/

AwesomeMod

Download pre-patched AwesomeMod: SFS / Dropbox

I'm providing a pre-patched version of AwesomeMod because it's stubborn; I had to do a bit of IL instruction editing, mess with options and get rid of the file conflict checks due to obfuscation. This falls way beyond the scope of the tutorial.

Overview

We will be deleting the "list.Sort();" line from the GetAllInteractionsForActor method found in the Sims3.Gameplay.Actors.Sim class in Sims3GameplaySystems.dll If you're familiar with editing or making core mods, the summary above should hopefully be enough information to implement this fix into your core mod. Otherwise, there is a tutorial under the cut.

Tutorial

You will need dnSpy(The win32 version should work) and S3PE.

For the first steps, I will be referencing an MTS tutorial:

Extract the core libraries with S3PE. Here's how to do that:

1. Open S3PE and click on File -> Open...

2. Navigate to the installation folder of The Sims 3 and from there to the sub-folder where the executable is located (Game/Bin). In this folder are three packages: gameplay.package, scripts.package, and simcore.package

3. Open one of these packages.

4. Click on an S3SA resource. Note that S3PE shows some information about that resource in the preview area.

5. Right-click on the resource and choose "Export DLL".

6. Choose a sensible folder for the library and save it under the exact name it gives you. Do not rename it.

7. Repeat steps 4 to 6 for every S3SA resource in the package.

8. Repeat steps 3 to 7 for every package listed under step 2.

9. Repeat steps 3 to 7 for the packages of your core-mod. Overwrite the DLLs you extracted in the previous steps if they have the same name.

When done, you must have the following list of libraries extracted to the same folder, with the following names:

Sims3StoreObjects.dll (from gameplay.package) Sims3GameplayObjects.dll (from gameplay.package) Sims3GameplaySystems.dll (from gameplay.package) UI.dll (from gameplay.package) SimIFace.dll (from scripts.package) ScriptCore.dll (from scripts.package) Sims3Metadata.dll (from scripts.package) System.Xml.dll (from simcore.package) System.dll (from simcore.package) mscorlib.dll (from simcore.package)

Plus extra .dll files specific to the core mod you're modifying (if any at all)

9. Close S3PE.

Now, we will load these .dlls into dnSpy and modify them:

1. Open dnSpy.

2. Select all of the .dlls you extracted in the File Explorer and drag them into the dnSpy "Assembly Explorer" window.

3. On the Assembly Explorer window, expand Sims3GameplaySystems -> Sims3GameplaySystems.dll

4. Navigate to Sims3.Gameplay.Actors -> Sim, then click on "GetAllInteractionsForActor(IActor)"

5. In the code window on the right half, scroll down and look for the "list.Sort();" line of code:

6. Right click there, and click on "Edit Method (C#)"

7. A new window will open. There, completely delete the "list.Sort();" line of code:

8. Click on the Compile button. You might get a lot of errors about "Invalid token '9__'...", or "Invalid token '<'..." if so, double click on these to jump to where the errors are.

9. You will find some code that looks like this:

Delete the line that has the red text and the two lines above it (up to, and including, the green text), so that it's completely gone:

10. Repeat steps 8 to 9 until it compiles successfully and the code window closes.

11. Now go to File -> Save Module... and click OK.

The Sims3GameplaySystems.dll of your core mod should now be successfully patched, and you're ready to replace the original S3SA in your core-mod with the new DLL.

To do this:

1. Open S3PE and click on File -> Open...

2. Open the package of the core-mod you wish to patch, containing the Sims3GameplaySystems.dll

3. Find the correct S3SA resource for Sims3GameplaySystems.dll.

It's probably named, otherwise you can find it by clicking on the S3SA resources one by one and looking at the preview window on the right, the name of the dll should appear there next to the text "ManifestModule:".

4. Right click the resource -> Import DLL and navigate to your newly patched Sims3GameplaySystems.dll

5. Save the package and close S3PE.

End

That's it!

It is one line of code causing the lag, the one that handles the alphabetical sorting of the pie menu when you click on a Sim. I have no words for this. I'm baffled.

[qqueenofhades]

Fic prompts? How about Garcy + the AC died in the bunker while the two of them were left there alone + it's freaking hot and they have to deal with the heat until Denise gets back, and can figure out how to get a HVAC tech there to fix it? 😂🔥🥵

Hiding entirely off the grid in a super-remote government bunker, trying to stay alive long enough to defeat an evil secret society from destroying the world via time travel to an array of obscure historical events, has numerous and obvious disadvantages. The food, for one. The constant bathroom traffic jams, for another (Denise finally lost her patience and insisted on drawing up a color-coded schedule to sort the all-important question of who has the right to use the shower when, and the time block they are allocated to make sure they don't use all the hot water and negatively impact team morale). You can add to the list, Lucy thinks blackly, the fact that when the air conditioner suddenly goes kaput, you are stuck in a broiling underground tin can and you, the brains and not at all the brawn, have no idea how to fix it. The only other person here right now is Flynn, but Lucy feels awkward about interrupting him. Ever since the night she spent in his room, it has just felt different between them, and she is terrified of doing anything either to ruin it or, well. Not ruin it. That's what got her into so much trouble the last time. She isn't risking it again.

She paces back and forth across the thin industrial carpet in what passes for the living room, fanning herself and muttering imprecations under her breath. When Rufus, Wyatt, and Jiya get back from whatever century they are presently working in, maybe she'll ask Rufus, mechanical whiz extraordinaire, to get in there and see what's going on. Denise is absent on a clandestine supply run, and Mason has likewise excused himself on some errand he won't talk about. Lucy feels useless and irritated and hot and angry and generally left out; she's recovered from her wounds in Salem, she's fine, she doesn't need to be babied. Jessica Logan might also be around here somewhere, but Lucy isn't going to ask her.

At last, sweat rolling down her neck and sticking her camisole to her back in unpleasant damp patches, she gives up. She treks down the hallway and bangs on Flynn's door; it, like the rest of him, is imposingly large, and she almost loses her nerve. But she's been here before, after all. She is the only one with some kind of privilege to enter; the rest of the team is still too scared of him. Before she can entirely decide what she's going to say, the door cranks open and Flynn sticks his head out, with ruffled dark hair and a consummately bad-tempered expression. "What?" he barks, before seeing that it's her, and belatedly modifying his tone. "Oh. Lucy. Hello."

"Hello." Lucy clears her throat. "I'm sorry to bother you. It's just... the air conditioner... I don't know when Denise or the others will be back, and it's going to be hell to get anyone else out here to fix it..."

"What?" Flynn sounds deeply insulted. "You think we need to call some idiot teenage HVAC tech to come out to our classified military facility? Show me where the damn thing is. I can fix it."

Lucy blinks. "Are you -- ?"

Flynn arches an eyebrow at her, just daring her to question his competence one more time. "If I managed to steal a nuclear bomb and rig it up as a permanent power source for a stolen time machine," he points out, with a truly remarkable lack of contrition or regret of any kind, "I can fix a broken AC. Hold on."

With that, he disappears back into his room, there are several moments of rustling, banging, and muffled swearing, and he emerges with an improvised toolkit in hand. Lucy tries not to notice the heavy muscles of his arms and shoulders; he's only wearing a white undershirt and grimy cargo shorts, and the air of brutal, brusque, no-questions-asked masculine competence is, as ever, one of the most attractive things about Garcia Flynn, even despite his manifold personality and conversational deficiencies. He follows her directions to locate the broken unit, pulls out his tools, and starts to work. Lucy should go back and -- and review mission reports, or something -- but she finds herself oddly reluctant to leave, wanting to hold onto this, spend this quiet time together away from all the others. She perches on the arm of the old couch and watches him tinker, until at last he utters a sound of satisfaction, tightens a final bolt, and blessedly cool air begins flowing through the vents. "Huh?" he says, turning to her in clear expectation of her approval. "What did I say?"

"Very good job." Lucy laughs, despite herself, and automatically reaches out to offer him a hand down from the ladder. Flynn flicks a glance under his eyelashes at her as he accepts it, and all of a sudden, she is conscious of a heat that has nothing to do with the lingering effects of the broken AC. As soon as he's down, she quickly lets go, looks away, and coughs. "Thank you."

"Of course." Flynn's own voice is odd, restrained, and he isn't quite meeting her eyes. "Lucy."

(She doesn't -- she doesn't have feelings for him, does she? She's been determined that she doesn't, she won't, after the entire debacle with Wyatt and Jessica. She needs Flynn, they need Flynn, and Lucy Preston is never going to be so selfish as to mess it up.)

(So she doesn't. That has to be the final word. It has to be enough.)

(It has to.)

(It has to.)

[tigerkirby215]

5e Samira, the Desert Rose build (League of Legends)

(Artwork by Jessica 'OwleyCat' Oyhenart. Made for Riot Games.)

Still fucking hate this champ but her theme still slaps.

The eternal joke of me putting off making a build for Samira is finally over, though ironically enough my distain for this champ has only grown overtime. Jesus fucking Christ Rito can you nerf this champ’s goddamn damage? Like nerfing her lifesteal is nice and all but it doesn’t mean shit when my dumbfuck teammates picked 4 assassins into her and I’m the only one who can CC her as a Lulu.

Ah well: Samira still definitely fills a fantasy everyone wants, being a badass with sword and gun styling on the competition. Devil May Cry? Yeah I suppose Samira would be pretty good in a campaign against Fiends.

GOALS

You want style? You've found her - Smile, Sweet, Sister, Sadistic; we’ll need to Surprise the Service with Style to Spare. Sssssssssssssssssamira.

Eyes up! - We’ll need to be everywhere at once, dashing and dancing around the battlefield so no one can lock us down.

Showtime! - When push comes to shove it’s time to speeeeeeeeeen~

RACE

Samira is human no matter what the meta might dictate, and for once in my life I actually want something particular from Variant Human. But firstly: you can increase two Ability Scores of your choice by 1: increase both Dexterity and Wisdom for sharp sight and sharper shots. You also get a skill of your choice and a language of your pleasing. For your skill take Slight of Hand for flips and other gun tricks, and for your language Infernal will be good for your Inferno Trigger.

Again: we came to Variant Human land for a Feat because two guns are better than one. The Crossbow Expert Feat will give you a variety of benefits: no need to reload (or at least the ability to ignore the Loading property), no disadvantage in melee range... But most importantly if you fire a Hand Crossbow (which will be working as our handgun in this build) you can fire it again as a Bonus Action! "Well! Look at you."

ABILITY SCORES

15; DEXTERITY - Dexterity is tied to both shooting and backflips.

14; CHARISMA - Who needs a military license when you’ve got style?

13; WISDOM - Wisdom measures how in-tune you are with the world around you, and you need heightened senses not to die doing stupid shit.

12; CONSTITUTION - Most of Samira’s sustain comes from Lifesteal but we won’t really be able to get lifesteal, so just focus on not dying really.

10; STRENGTH - It takes a lot of upper body strength to do the stuff that Samira does but Riot isn’t about to make another Illaoi.

8; INTELLIGENCE - Your primary goal is to do things as recklessly and dangerously as possible... “for the Vine” as the kids say. Vine shut down ages ago!

BACKGROUND

Samira is a mercenary. I wonder if there’s a background for that... hey look at that Mercenary Veteran in the Sword Coast Adventurer’s Guide! You get proficiency in Athletics and Persuasion as well as Ground Vehicles and a gaming set of your choice. But of course the main benefit of being a mercenary is the Mercenary Life. You can easily identify other mercenaries and know bits and pieces of their lives. You can also easily find work by hanging around taverns and such until Captain Indari passes on some info to you.

(Artwork made for Riot Games)

THE BUILD

LEVEL 1 - ROGUE 1

Starting off as a Rogue because I like skill proficiencies! Skills like Acrobatics, Perception, Insight, and Performance; you were a street performer once! You also get Expertise in two of those skills: Acrobatics and Athletics are necessary to be everywhere at once.

You can chat in Noxian military code thanks to Thieves’ Cant, but c’mon that’s not what we’re here for. We’re here for Sneak Attack! If an enemy is distracted or you have advantage you can stick a d6 where the sun don’t shine!

LEVEL 2 - ROGUE 2

Second level Rogues get Cunning Action, letting them Dash, Disengage, or Hide as a Bonus Action. Dance around the battlefield like an Olympic gymnast... does Runeterra have the Olympics?

LEVEL 3 - ROGUE 3

Third level Rogues get to choose their Roguish Archetype: to be the queen of style and also make people think you’re from Bilgewater (yeah I get it; it’s because of the eyepatch) look no further than the Swashbuckler subclass. Swashbucklers get two abilities at level 1 but honestly it’s more like three abilities: Rakish Audacity will let you add your Charisma modifier to initiative rolls so you can get into fights fast, and will also let you Sneak Attack anyone who’s beside you. I’d consider it less like you sneak attacking them and more like you slashing them with your sword. Oh and speaking of Sneak Attack? That increases to 2d6 now.

Speaking of sword slashing: Fancy Footwork is the mobile feat! Well, it makes it so that after you try to make a melee attack against an enemy you can move away without provoking opportunity attacks. It’s a little weird to run around with a sword in one hand and a gun in the other but you can easily slash at someone before backflipping away and running off to shoot them next turn!

(Artwork by @Aruneeko on Twitter)

LEVEL 4 - BARD 1

You didn’t think we’d be settling for just one class, did you? It’s time to go Bard; the masters of style! Bards get another skill proficiency at level 1 because why not be good at everything? Grab Medicine proficiency because it’s good to know how to bandage yourself up when living a dangerous lifestyle. “On my worst behavior." You also get a musical instrument and you know that I’ll always opt for good ol’ Noxian War Drums.

Bards get Bardic Inspiration, letting them show off their awesomeness so that awesomeness radiates onto their allies to give them a d6 to attack rolls, ability checks, and saving throws. You’ve got a number of these equal to your Charisma modifier, and regain them at the end of a Long Rest. For now, at least.

And of course while you may be all guns your style makes it look like Spellcasting... because it is. Bards get 2 cantrips and 4 spells at level 1:

CANTRIPS

Prestidigitation will let you put all the visual flair you could want on your moves, and more!

If you wanna walk the walk you’ve gotta talk the talk, and Vicious Mockery will let you talk smack so hard they can’t hit back! "Keep the change; you're gonna need it."

SPELLS

Magic is usually dangerous, and danger is usually fun! Take Detect Magic to see where that danger may be!

If you need some space in a pinch Thunderwave will give yourself some peel.

Steel yourself to do something crazy with Heroism, which will also give you a bit of a shield to do so!

You are still technically working for Noxus so it would be good to Identify anything important... or valuable... For safe keeping of course!

LEVEL 5 - BARD 2

Second level Bards truly are good at everything thanks to Jack of All Trades, letting you add half your proficiency bonus to any skill you don’t have proficiency in. You probably noticed that we already have proficiency in a silly amount of skills but I’m not going to say no to MORE!

After dangerous stunts it’s good to cool off with a Song of Rest, letting you help your crew with a d6 of healing during short rests to bandage up those wounds.

And of course: more spells! Faerie Fire will let you light ‘em up to get advantage, which will make it easier to sneak attack!

LEVEL 6 - BARD 3

Third level Bards get Expertise in two more skills: Perception will help you spot danger and Medicine will help you after dealing with danger.

But of course what we’re mainly here for is your Bardic College and in order to be too cool for school go for the College of Swords. You get some Bonus Proficiencies that don’t really matter but what does matter is you can use your sword to cast spells instead of a drum! Additionally you get a choice of Fighting Style and Dueling will make your sword swings do more damage if you swing it with one hand. I guess it’s worth mentioning that while a rapier would do the most damage a scimitar is the only finesse weapon that does slashing? (Excluding whips.)

But the main feature we’re here for is Blade Flourish which despite the name does also work with your hand crossbows. When you attack your movement speed increases by 10 feet as you charge up that Daredevil Impulse. If you hit with your shot however you can make a Blade Flourish (which again works with your hand crossbows?) of your choice from the following list:

Defensive Flourish does extra damage and also increases your AC as you dodge incoming projectiles.

Slashing Flourish will let you cleave with your sword (and just your sword because it only works on nearby enemies.)

Mobile Flourish will let you chase after a fleeing foe... after pushing them. But after shoving them into danger you can use your reaction to dive right in!

You can only use one Blade Flourish per turn which will matter later. As for what will matter now? Second level spells! Enhance Ability will help you give 110%!

LEVEL 7 - BARD 4

Heeey it’s about time we got an Ability Score Improvement! Our Dexterity has been lacking and you need that to fire straight!

Word of advice: if you know you aren’t going to level 20 feel free to get 4 levels in Rogue for the sake of the ASI.

You also get another spell, and another cantrip! For your cantrip Message is always good for keeping in team chat. For leveled spells Warding Wind does let you deflect nearby projectiles so... 

LEVEL 8 - BARD 5

5th level Bards get Font of Inspiration so their Bardic Inspiration die come back on a Short Rest, which is good because said Bardic Inspiration die also increases to a d8! Oh and when I say “Bardic Inspiration” I actually mean your Blade Flourish die. "If you can't keep up don't step up. I don't have time for fools."

And now third level spells are up on the table, but they all suck so take Mirror Image from the second level instead, which was added to the Bard spell list thanks to Tasha’s Cauldron of Everything!

(Artwork by GaMu-ChAn on DeviantArt)

LEVEL 9 - RANGER 1

Three way multiclass? Don’t mind if I do! You get an extra skill proficiency by multiclassing into Ranger, because why not. Take Survival because you’re clearly damn good at it since you’re still alive.

Rangers get Deft Explorer at level 1 because Natural Explorer sucks and Tasha’s made Ranger a good class! Canny lets you learn two languages (honestly just pick your poison) and get Expertise in another skill, because lord knows we don’t have enough of those. I know we just got Survival proficiency, but it’s good to be good at not dying! (As well as finding food.)

You also get Favored Foe at first level, because Favored Enemy smells. If you shoot someone you can legally-not-Hunter’s Mark them so they take a d4 of extra damage once per turn when you shoot them. You concentrate on it like a spell and it works a lot like the Hunter’s Mark spell but you have a limited number of uses equal to your proficiency bonus, instead of using your spell slots.

LEVEL 10 - RANGER 2

Heeey more Fighting Styles! You already improved your sword swings so take Archery for +2 to ranged attack rolls to ensure that you hit your shots.

Rangers also get Spellcasting, only this spellcasting works with your Wisdom instead of your Charisma! You learn two spells from the Ranger list: Jump will let you do some hardcore parkour because the Ranger spell list sucks and I’ve got nothing else to give you, and Cure Wounds will allow Samira to have some healing... as a treat.

LEVEL 11 - RANGER 3

Third level Rangers can choose their archetype and Hunters are masters at taking down their foes. You can choose a way to take down your Hunter’s Prey. Colossus Slayer is a fairly simple affair: if you shoot (or stab) someone who’s already hurt they take an extra d8 of damage. Though you can only apply that extra d8 once per turn.

You also learn another spell: Longstrider will help you move thanks to that Daredevil Impulse. 10 feet may not seem like much but remember that you get an extra 10 feet thanks to Blade Flourish and can dash to turn 50 feet into 100 feet of movement!

Oh and I also completely forgot about Primal Awareness, which replaces Primeval Awareness. You can Speak with Animals once per day! Maybe not in character, but it helps if you have a Yuumi!

LEVEL 12 - RANGER 4

4th level Rangers get an Ability Score Improvement: time to finally cap that Dexterity score for the most precise shots and deadly cuts possible!

(Artwork by Jennifer Wuestling. Made for Riot Games.)

LEVEL 13 - RANGER 5

Total level 13 isn’t too late to get an Extra Attack, right? Well you can shoot twice now and mix some more Flair into your combos.

You can also learn second level spells now like Aid (ty Tasha’s) to let that adrenaline kick in so you feel no pain. Primal Awareness also gives you Beast Sense for a bit of covert Psy Ops.

LEVEL 14 - RANGER 6

6th level Rangers get Roving from Deft Explorer for 5 extra feet of movement along with a climbing speed and a swimming speed! Reminder that in combination with both Longstrider and Blade Flourish that increases to a whopping 55 movement speed, which means that you can Dash as a Bonus Action to move 110 feet in a turn! "Danger runs from me." Your Favored Foe mark also increases to a d6 of damage.

LEVEL 15 - RANGER 7

7th level Hunters learn some Defensive Tactics: while perhaps not the most useful since you have Heroism and all you’ve certainly got a Steel Will, giving you advantage against being frightened. “Death isn't the scariest thing; it's a mother's rage."

You can also learn another spell: Lesser Restoration can be helpful in a pinch if someone’s trying to slow you down. Or at least if they’re trying to blind, deafen, poison, or paralyze you.

LEVEL 16 - RANGER 8

8th level of Ranger means another Ability Score Improvement: Charisma means higher initiative rolls as well as more Blade Flourishes. Simply put Wisdom can’t beat style!

Oh yeah and you also get Land’s Stride to move through non-magical difficult terrain and plants without slowing down, and for advantage against magic plants. I legit forgot this was even a thing before seeing it on the character sheet.

(Artwork by dominaART on DeviantArt)

LEVEL 17 - RANGER 9

9th level Rangers get 3rd level spells like Conjure Barrage for some bullet rain; "My kind of rain!" Basically you shoot a bunch of bullets in a big cone, because Rangers get this instead of Fireball. Honestly something like Elemental Weapon (ty Tasha’s) would probably be better but we’re still sticking to flavor.

Oh and you can Speak with Plants thanks to Primal Awareness? Honestly these extra spells don’t fit at all but Primeval Awareness sucks. I’m literally adding these extra spells to the build last second.

LEVEL 18 - RANGER 10

10th level Rangers get Tireless from Deft Explorer. As an action, you can give yourself a Shieldbow shield for 1d8 + your Wisdom modifier in Temporary Hitpoints. You can do this a number of times equal to your proficiency bonus, and regain all expended uses when you finish a long rest. Additionally: whenever you finish a short rest, your exhaustion level is decreased by 1. Because danger doesn’t wait!

You also get Nature’s Veil because even if Vanish fits Samira better it still freaking sucks. Basically you can play around with Duskblade to turn invisible as a Bonus Action until the end of your next turn. You can use this feature a number of times equal to your proficiency bonus, and you regain all expended uses when you finish a long rest.

LEVEL 19 - RANGER 11

11th level Hunters can finally spin around and hit everyone around them. Whirlwind Attack will let you make a melee attack against any enemy within 5 feet of you (with a separate attack roll for each target.) This is best used when surrounded (obviously) because unlike Samira’s ultimate in League it doesn’t do much extra damage, and you’re better off just stabbing them twice if you want DPS in a 1v1.

You also get your final spell known: take Wind Wall because you have an AoE Wind Wall and I thought it would be funny to steal directly from mister 0/10 powerspike himself. But really get whatever spell you think will be useful.

LEVEL 20 - RANGER 12

Full disclosure: feel free to go for 4 levels in Rogue if you know you aren’t going to hit level 20. I only went for Ranger level 12 because the hit die is bigger.

One last ability score improvement to top the build off: Charisma is still used for a lot of abilities, so increase that because who needs common sense when you’ve got blade flourishes!

FINAL BUILD

PROS

Came all this way to die? - You have many a way to bump up the damage. With 2d6 on a sneak attack, an extra d6 from Favored Foe, a d8 from Blade Flourishes, and a d8 from Colossus Slayer that means that on average you can do about 20 extra damage every turn. That’s definitely nothing to sneeze at!

Finally some action! - Have you ever had +12 to initiative? Would you like to? You are incredibly mobile for a girl who didn’t bring Flash (IE Misty Step) with tons of ways to increase your movement speed and the ability to Dash every turn as a Bonus Action.

This took years of practice... for everyone else - It was not my intention but wow you’re quite the little skill monkey. Two expertise skills from Rogue, another 2 from Bard, and one more from Deft Explorer. Not to mention Jack of All Trades in what few skills you aren’t proficient in to make sure you can do just about anything.

CONS

Oh... I really gotta check these more often - Your spellcasting really isn’t fantastic. We invested almost everything into Charisma but we have very few Bard spells. While I did my best to avoid Ranger spells that forced saving throws there are still some that suffer due to your relatively low Wisdom score... Oh yeah you also have 6th level spell slots but your known spells don’t go past level 3. At least that means you can buff the party with Aid!

I feel most alive when I'm walking the line - As great as your skill checks are your saving throws are quite lacking. Your Dexterity is nice but that’s about it; all your other saves range from average (+5) to bad (+0) Notably your Constitution saves are a mere +1, which means you won’t keep concentration up for long if you play recklessly.

Well-behaved women don't make it - There are a lot of features I took more for flavor then actual utility. For a start Hunter is a rather meh multiclass. This might be one of the times “just play a Fighter with a bow” applies as a subclass like Battlemaster would’ve likely been a better choice, and honestly going down full Swords Bard would’ve given you far more utility overall. There were benefits from Ranger levels but they were lost in the multiclassing MADness.

But you prove that modern-day killers really must hate fun; more often people can’t get style rockin' knives and guns. You don’t need no fancy magic or divine ascension to be a badass: gun ‘em down and cut through whatever remains to show that S stands for Samira and Samira alone... As long as she isn’t permabanned.

(Artwork by @Yangyexin on Twitter)

[wunthyll]

Again, there are 5 actively developed browser engines and only 4 have a significant market share, and two of them are forks of another one.

The most common is Blink. This is the underlying tech for all chromium based browsers. This includes Edge, Brave, and Opera, some of the most popular Chrome alternatives. They don't report their data back to google necessarily, but they all have the same flaws as Chrome.

The next most common is WebKit. This is what Apple uses for Safari. The only reason it's so common is because EVERY browser on iOS has to be a WebKit view. The only difference between browsers on iOS and iPadOS is the bookmark sync, and some extra features. The core is still WebKit. A fun fact though is that Google's Blink is actually a fork of WebKit.

Then we have Firefox's engine: Gecko. There used to be a ton of browsers and products that relied on Gecko, and it's the oldest engine on this list, starting life as part of NetScape Navigator. However, the only major browser that still runs on Gecko is Firefox, which Mozilla has changed its versioning to be in lockstep with Firefox, no longer recognizing it as a separate component. Goanna is a fork of Gecko from 2016 in an effort to further differentiate their Pale Moon browser from Firefox. If you haven't heard of Pale Moon, that's not surprising. I didn't even know about it until I did some fact checking on this.

The cool thing about these four engines is that they are all free, open source software. Blink and WebKit however have a slightly less open GNU LGPL license. That allows open source code to be modified and made proprietary pretty easily. Gecko and Goanna are both using the Mozilla Public License which allows a mix of open and proprietary code, but if it started open under the MPL, that part has to stay open and part of the MPL, regardless of changes. These both differ from the GPL where all of the project must be open and all code shared.

Different from all that though, is Flow, a new and entirely closed source (other than the SpiderMonkey Java engine licensed from Mozilla.) It doesn't appear to be a contender any time soon, mostly showing up on TV's and set top boxes, as well as a version for the raspberry pi and other embedded devices.

So there's kind of 5 browsers, but right now Safari and Firefox make up just around 8% of the desktop market, and Chromium based make up over 88%. In mobile it's not as dire, but that only because iPhone's don't have anything other than WebKit, and that's 31%, Firefox has .5%, and everything else is chromium.

This gives google pretty much total control of the web. This is a VERY bad thing, and you should do your level best to avoid it when possible. Download and use Firefox on Windows, Linux, and Android. On Apple stuff use Firefox or Safari. Hell, pick up Pale Moon or LibreWolf if you're really concerned about privacy. Just don't use a chromium browser. The industry needs competition if we want to maintain freedom AND innovation.

Ok everyone time for the big question:

[starkdigital]

Breakthrough & Insights on Upwork Success - Ready to Use Tips!

Ready to take your business to the next level? In this article, you’ll find ideas to help you achieve greater success on Upwork. In this article we will try to find out in detail how client approach this well-known platform to get the work done and hiring long term freelancers to work with. Basically all these portals (Elance, Upwork, Freelancer, Guru) are meant for individual freelancers who want to work from home instead of 9-5 full time job. However, nowadays many IT companies are also using these portals in order to get some good work and establish a long term relationship with clients. It is comparatively easy to get in touch with clients here and also secure the business process and transaction through portals, as they take responsibility of the payment of work you have done for clients. Upwork in the market leader, most famous and well-known among all. At the end of this blog here is what you will learn: - Type of clients on Upwork - Submitting a Winning Proposal - Before taking on a new project - Deliver a successful project - Consistent work of high quality - Reputation is everything A] Type of clients/Jobs on Upwork Fixed price - Fixed priced jobs are just like they sound. They are jobs with a set scope that is arranged at a fixed price. Early on, I recommend that most freelancers start at fixed priced jobs. You have the freedom to work as many or as few hours as needed on these projects in order to get them done. Hourly Projects - For hourly projects, Upwork has an application that you install on your desktop. This application takes random screenshots of your computer every 5-10 minutes and uploads them to a work diary. With hourly work, Upwork guarantees that as longs as you are logged in, using their app and on task, then you will get paid for that time no matter what. Each of these portals have their own terms, rules and guidelines, but the basic motive is the same, which is to provide a common platform to freelancers and employers to come together and get the work done in competitive and cost effective manner. Employers post a job and expect replies from freelancers from worldwide in term of bids. And that what we do, bid on different job posts/projects. So, when we bid for any type of project we have to understand few points like what kind of job/work is required, what are technical capabilities needed for that job, or in that case if we can do that job or not. Let\'s discuss the type of job posts and what should be our approach toward that job while placing a bid on the same. If client wants to develop a complete new website or application: In this kind of jobs, client wants to build/develop a fresh, completely new website/application for his business or for his customer/client. Generally in this kind of job posts you may find a detailed description by client (if he is a technical person and knows technology well) or a very short idea about his/her envisioned project. In both cases we have to understand that we must showcase our capabilities to client in detail. This means, in your bid you have to talk about your company, your vision, passion and mission. Then come technology competency area, where you will talk about the different technologies you are expert in and emphasize on the technology that client has mentioned in job post. Now the important part comes i.e. show samples of your past & relevant work that you have designed and developed. Here, you have a very good chance to impress the client by your portfolio. And now at the end you can request to connect on-line(Skype) to discuss the project in detail to shre the same level of understanding. This approach may help you to gain attention of your potential client. If client wants some changes in existing website/software/code: In this case, most of the time client has already finished major coding/development part. And for some reason he is seeking someone to correct/modify that work according to his revised requirements or expectations in short period of time. This may also have some very minor, cosmetic changes or add some extra functionality or enhance the performance of existing code. To bid on these kinds of jobs, you will remember that the scope and budget is very low in most of the cases. But still we will go for it because if that client likes our ability to work on existing code, it might results into more business for us. Interpret the already developed code and logic behind it, and work on it to enhance the performance, is not an easy task. So if you can do it, then you (your company) will be called good software professional. To approach these kinds of jobs, you have to maintain the balance between technology and past work in your bid. Here, talk more about the technology experience you have and done similar kind of jobs in past. You can cut short the list of your past work samples. By talking more on technology, you will give confidence to the client that you understand the job well and can work on it in short time frame. If client wants to design independent, customise web/desktop application: Such kind of scenarios comes across rarely. This includes CRM, ERP applications, and customer management tools for business/personal purpose, custom software for specific purpose or for a specific user group etc. These types of job posts need to be read carefully and understand what exactly the client looking to develop. Such job post needs a detailed technical approach. Take some time to describe your technology experience and expertise in detail, by doing this you will assure client that you are capable and eligible enough to handle complex tasks as database design, custom software coding and develop functionalities according to client/user requirements. In you bid you will talk about your company performance, consistency in work, ability to handle big projects and then you will describe technology expertise. If client has suggested any technology, you will consult your development team and cross check if that technology is best fit for that project or not. And if not, come up with suggestions or ideas and convey the same to client. B] Submitting a Winning Proposal Your proposal is often your first interaction with a potential client. It’s your opportunity to introduce yourself, highlight your expertise, and show the client why you’re the best candidate for the contract. Take the time to craft and explain how you would complete their project based on what you know from the work they described. Give the client a little extra by sharing your unique approach on tackling and completing this contract. Make sure you answer any screening questions the client asks in their Work Description. Let the client know your availability for an interview and that you’d like to discuss the project further. Interviewing with the client lets you further establish the trust and rapport you both need to get great results on a project. Keep all payments for your projects on the Upwork platform, so you’re sure to get paid for your great work. That’s it! If the client feels your core skills and work history match their needs, they’ll contact you and start an engagement. If not, learn from the experience. Think about your proposal and your interview, and how to improve. Then try again until you find the perfect project for you. C] Before taking on a new project Be selective and focus on the projects you can perform well—and get done on time. Here are few more tips to help you land new projects. - Make sure you understand the scope of project and skills required to accomplish it - Understand the deadlines and ensure you have the time to complete the project - Demonstrate your profile, proposal, skills and show the client why you’re the best fit - Be realistic about your availability and time, only take work that you can deliver D] Deliver a successful project Communication, respect, and responsiveness are necessary to form a successful working relationship with client, and that a long term too. Here are few points to be noted in order to deliver your work and exceed the client expectations: - Be proactive. Communicate with client often and let them know you’re on track to complete their project even if they don\'t ask - Always keep project deadline in your mind and in case if you won’t be able to meet, let them know immediately in advance and make sure to do necessary arrangements - If you have a question, don’t be afraid to reach out to the client. It’s important to ask questions whenever needed - Ask for work feedback time to time, talk to them on feedback in order to improve your craft eventually - Be sure the client is happy E] Consistent work of high quality This is somewhat of a challenge for new freelancers, however, is that you must be able to maintain consistent working quality across all of your jaws and with all of your various clients. Not taking this seriously and beginning to get sloppy with your work can be extremely detrimental to your success as a freelancer. You must be able to grow your business by showing that you are always committed to high quality and always give professional communication and work to your clients. You need to be able to demonstrate that you are a true professional who always delivers for each and every client. F] Reputation is everything In the business world, and on Upwork, your past work experience speaks volumes to future clients. The Job Success score is a measure of your reputation on Upwork. A freelancer’s history of success impacts their ranking in search in the marketplace and may be considered by clients who are deciding whether to engage them. For more details visit us on http://www.starkdigital.net/breakthrough-insights-on-upwork-success-ready-to-use-tips