Source: https://bethesda.net/en/article/1wOjXJY0FvNxadcmQR8nfM/meet-zachary-wilson-senior-level-designer-on-starfield-at-bethesda-game?linkId=100000215493316

Inspired by u/kturker92's inverted countdown for Tears of the Kingdom, I forked it for Starfield! Here's a description of how it works, from the creator:

Its basically how much 1 day of waiting is compared to the journey we have left. If there's 1000 days left, 1 more day of waiting is insignificant (0.1% of the rest of the journey) If there's 1 day left, 1 more day of waiting is all that's left of the journey! 100% But if there is no journey left, 1 more day of waiting is.. infinite journeys hahah

We're getting pretty close to only one month left of waiting! :)

About 4 years ago I got a 13.3" Thinkpad laptop to replace an old Chromebook for portable development, and installed Arch + i3 on it (btw). After a bit of ricing the configs, it started feeling really homey. I love using workspaces here! They feel perfectly suited for laptop screens which have minimal space, allowing me to keep my browser full-screen and my IDE full-screen while still quickly switching back and forth to reference one or the other.

On the other hand, I don't really use workspaces when I'm on my desktop PC (I use a 27" monitor). I just installed KDE to get ahead of the Windows 10 EOL, and while I looked into combining i3 and KDE, I haven't really felt the need for i3's workspaces or using KDE's virtual desktops. With a 27" monitor, I feel like there's enough space to split my browser and IDE half-and-half on screen, and I'm ok using a file browser or terminal window as floating windows. Another consideration is that I'm always using a mouse on my desktop, so switching between workspaces with the keyboard wouldn't feel as natural.

What about you? Do you use workspaces differently between devices? Does screen size affect your choices at all?

Link to the doc: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1EmbmCwL3gJqKX1ul4radDpYYdm9usnvcdhSdmO667QI/edit?usp=sharing

Link to a downloadable version that you cant preview in google docs but is only 300mb: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1A6jv2fWf36MyFhu6_hF2VaSc70HsEwWb/edit?usp=sharing&ouid=104820491290205215928&rtpof=true&sd=true

For those this don't know, before the 2022 showcase for Starfield came out, I made a 120 page document going through every single interview, trailer, and concept art that had ever been released about Starfield. With so much information so spread out, I wanted to make a single source with all of it. Then, after the 2022 showcase, I increased that to a massive 409 pages, and up to 459 before this years showcase.

Talk about dedicated fan analysis! :)

Cross-posting this, as I figure this brush set would be a great resource for map makers here in case they weren't aware. :)

Link to the brush downloads and more info about Ogilby maps.

More color cycling landscapes here, a Q&A with the artist here, and the artist's website here.

More color cycling landscapes here, a Q&A with the artist here, and the artist's website here.

This looks like an awesome character creator to use, and I can’t wait to spend hours in these menus once the game releases, ha. Here are my thoughts on the various features:

I hope the body types are a little more subtle and less exaggerated than previous Bethesda games, and I’m glad they’re still included. I’d honestly forgotten the body type options were in Fallout & Skyrim, having more recently played games like Dragon Age and Cyberpunk that don’t let you customize your body shape. Seeing body type and walk style labeled 1 vs. 2 is a nice gender-neutral touch. It’s great to have the ability to customize the walking style, as I’m flashing back to horribly exaggerated female walking animations in other games. cough Dragon Age Inquisition cough

The shape customization options for face shape and other face parts seem solid. Playing with shape blending via sliders feels like something you only got in Skyrim via an extended character creation menu; I prefer that to Fallout’s method, where you click and drag on the face model itself. Given the shots of NPCs and possible characters in the direct, it looks like a good range of wildly different character appearances can be created.

What are your thoughts on the character creator? Do you like creating the most off-the-wall bizarre faces or something more realistic? Are you going to recreate yourself in the game or go for something different?

My partner goes through bars of soap fairly quickly, so I’d like to find a shower soap bar sold in bulk that’s around $1-2 a bar but without the horrible scent of Dove soap (it’s very artificial and too overpowering). Any recommendations?

Really looking forward to this! I don't know if they've published a target release date before, but if development has reached a point where the end is visible, that seems like a massive milestone in and of itself.

In the fall of 2022, my workplace decided it was time to enforce return-to-office and informed us we had to be in the office 3 days a week or else. The only bags I’d used to this point were hand-me-down promotional backpacks or an over-the-shoulder canvas bag - neither of which worked well for what I take to the office when I drive in.

I’d initially considered the Brevite backpack primarily because they demonstrated the water bottle holder expanding to accommodate a large hydroflask. However, I wanted a bag quickly, and they were out of stock then. I was also looking at more commonly recommended brands like Belroy, but none of their water bottle holders seemed compatible with my 40 oz stainless water bottle. Finally, I decided on the Moment MTW Backpack 17L (I’m short). It met the following qualifications:

• Separate laptop compartment that fits a 16” Mac Pro
• Large/expandable external water bottle holder
• Luggage passthrough

Since then, it’s been my primary work bag and personal carry-on bag on several flights, and I’d recommend it depending on your own needs.

The laptop compartment is one of my favorite parts of the bag; the two pockets give my wireless mouse and AirPods a permanent home, and the laptop sleeve juuust barely fits my work laptop. The main compartment has very little in the way of organization – just one mesh zip pocket – but that also means it’s flexible in what I pack in there (lunchbox for work, clothes for an overnight stay, or my Switch, a book, and snacks for a plane ride). The front zip pocket has more pockets for organization, which I don’t use much day-to-day but are suitable for organizing all the little things you might want to bring on a trip, like headphones, pill bottles, etc. I’m a keys-in-jeans-pocket sort of person, so I don’t use the pocket’s attached key holder much.

The water bottle holder does indeed stretch to fit my 40oz bottle, but it’s a pretty tight fit and pushes into the main compartment space. My partner’s 32 oz bottle fits much better without pushing into the side of the bag as much. Ultimately I’ve found it more convenient to put my water bottle in the main compartment when commuting, but having the external holder for travel is handy.

In general, with the 17L bag, there’s not a huge amount of room, and filling up one section will reduce the space available in others. I like a smaller daily-use bag, so I’m cool with that.

When I was researching the bag, people mentioned that the fabric does collect dust, and scuffs can show up noticeably on the darker fabric color. I chose the green to avoid that, and aside from a few faint scuffs, I think it’s still looking good. From a quality perspective, all the materials feel good in the hand, though there are a few loose threads on the bag’s inside pocket.

Do be aware that while Moment’s website says, “We designed the base so the bag doesn’t fall over when it’s set down,” that is definitely not true for my bag, especially with a laptop in it. The back feels like it has a rigid plastic backplate in it, and even when empty, the bag will always fall forward. I don’t find it a huge annoyance, but some folks might.

Reviews also mentioned the sternum strap mechanism is fiddly – personally, I removed it as soon as I got the bag and haven’t used it since.

::: spoiler More pictures under the fold!

:::

A closer look at the slide in the recent direct that breaks down all ship parts that can be used to construct a spaceship.

I think most of them are self-explanatory, but I wonder what the distinction between grav drives, engines, and reactors is, and what exactly fuel tanks affect.

I also wonder how cargo capacity manifests, and if there's cargo that we can't carry on our person but only on our ships. It would be a bit silly if we could carry tons of ore in our spacesuits to our ship, so having some way to transfer directly from outpost resource collectors to our ships would make sense to me.

TL;DR: I'm a relatively new houseplant owner and just spent several hours with rubbing alcohol and cotton swabs de-scaling my relatively large umbrella plant (schefflera). Has anyone else dealt with scale before and successfully gotten rid of it? I'd love to hear your stories!

I'm relatively new to houseplants - before recently, the best I've done was a lucky bamboo in college... that I killed because I didn't water it enough. Two winter holidays ago, my partner got me a ZZ plant and a snake plant, both of which I've so far successfully kept alive (though the snake plant has some issues for another post).

Since then I've been gifted several other plants - a large umbrella plant last fall, and this May a peace lily, spider plant, and aloe. I hadn't ever really looked at my schefflera very closely other than to admire the new leaves it rapidly sprouts, but several weeks ago I thought it would be a good idea to let the plants get more sun on our apartment balcony... the schefflera was clearly wilty and unhappy after several hours so I brought it back inside, along with the peace lily. I noticed some sticky stuff on the leaves, but didn't really pay it much mind. Fast-forward to last Friday when I'm watering them and notice the backs of some of the schefflera's newer leaves are looking blackened. I looked closer, and noticed what looked really tiny white wriggly things on some of the leaves.

That freaked me out so I ran out and got some 3-in-1 insect spray from Home Depot and applied it liberally to the plant after sunset. I'm not a fan of chemicals but I was really concerned and just wanted to murder whatever I saw immediately. I'd noticed a couple scab-y like things on the peace lily (that I wiped off, and which should have clued me in to what this was...), so I sprayed it too.

I checked in tonight and realized - holy shit those scab-like things are ALLL over my umbrella plant?!! Several google searches later I learn it's brown soft scale, immediately grab some rubbing alcohol + cotton swabs, and go over every single leaf wiping off those buggers. Some were so small, though, that I'm definitely worried I didn't get them all. I also have no idea how long the umbrella plant has been infested... my first thought is that the scale came in on the new plants I got in May, but I don't know if it could have reproduced to the extent I saw on the umbrella plant in 7 weeks? The bottom leaves of the plant fell off every so often since I've had it and now I wonder if it was due to this...

I'm feeling terribly guilty, but glad I did catch the infestation eventually, and I think as long as I keep an eye on it for the next couple of weeks and possibly spray it some more, it'll be okay 🤞

I've always lived in an environment with fairly smol moss, but I was lucky enough to visit Scotland in 2014 and one of the environmental differences that really struck me was how luscious the moss and greenery was!

(I'm not a moss expert so forgive me if this isn't actually moss. 😅)

• Outside of major cities, the procedural systems pull from a pool of handcrafted content & chose where to place it on planets when you land.
• Only 10% of planets have alien life (roughly 100 out of the 1k worlds)
• Some planets are single biome, others are multi-biome
• Major monetary rewards for fully surveying planets
• No land vehicles
• "the 4 Constellation companions are the romanceable characters"
• Ship-building is deep and expensive, meant for late game
• Modding confirmed; implication that Creation Club style modding will continue

I noticed that there are "advanced skills" (green bar) and "expert skills" (blue bar) - I'm guessing the last bar is "legendary skills". Advanced skills might unlock after spending 4 skill points in the tree, while unlocking Expert skills seems to require somewhere between 7, 8, or 10 skill points. I wonder if ranking up skills might reduce the number of skill points needed to unlock Advanced/Expert/Legendary skills?

Discussion: What skills are you most excited about? What do you think the un-labeled skills will do? How do you feel about the new skill challenges as the way to gain ranks within skills? Are you going to focus on combat skills or non-combat skills or a mix?

Text breakdown of the known skill descriptions, ranks (what gameplay effects the skills have), and challenges (gameplay challenges that "rank up" skills) below:

::: spoiler PHYSICAL

• Stealth: For a combatant who values discretion above all else, the ability to approach a target while undetected and kill with a silenced weapon is as terrifying as it is effective.
  • Challenge: Perform 10 sneak attacks
• Weight Lifting
  • Rank: Increase total carrying capacity by 10 kilograms.
• Wellness: By embracing an active lifestyle and good nutrition habits, one may improve their overall sense of health, and even gain prolonged life expectancy.
  • Rank: Immediately gain 30 points of health.
• Decontamination
  • Rank 1: Slightly increased chance to recover from infections naturally.
  • Challenge: Recover from 5 infections
• Martial Arts
  • Challenge: Deal 250 damage with unarmed attacks :::

::: spoiler SOCIAL

• Commerce: In the Settled Systems' free market economy, almost anyone with the right skillset can open and run a successful business.
• Gastronomy: Access to brand new worlds means access to brand new ingredients, and there is almost no limit to the delicious foods and drinks a talented chef can prepare.
  • Rank: You can craft specialty food and drinks, and research additional recipes at a Research Lab.
• Persuasion: In the Settled Systems, the nuanced ability to listen and discuss can often accomplish far more than simply shooting first and asking questions later.
  • Rank: Gain an increased chance of success on speech challenges.
• Scavenging: There are those who can find just about anything, and their success is usually dependent on knowing how, and where, to look.
• Theft: While not entirely honorable, and certainly not legal, it is nonetheless occasionally necessary to discreetly remove property from someone's person.
• Bargaining
  • Rank: Buy items for 5% less and sell for 10% more.
• Diplomacy
  • Rank: You can force a target NPC at or below your level to stop fighting for a while.
• Intimidation: The ability to strike fear into an an opponent, causing them to flee so that you can escape or attack first, can prove critical in a battle.
  • Rank 1: You can force a target NPC at or below your level to flee for a limited time.
  • Challenge: Successfully Intimidate 5 different people
  • Rank 2: You can force a target NPC up to 10 levels higher than you to flee for a limited time.
  • Challenge: Successfully Intimidate 25 different people
  • Rank 3: You can force a target NPC up to 20 levels higher than you to flee for a limited time.
  • Challenge: Successfully Intimidate 50 different people
  • Rank 4: Intimidated targets now flee for substantial amount of time.
• Instigation: When combat is required, it can be advantageous to convince others to do the fighting for you.
  • Rank 1: You can force a target NPC at or below your level to attack their allies for a limited time.
• Leadership
  • Rank 1: Companions gain affinity 15% faster.
  • Challenge: Sprint 1000 meters with an active follower :::

::: spoiler COMBAT

• Ballistics
  • Rank 1: Ballistic weapons do 10% more damage.
  • Challenge: Kill 20 enemies with a ballistic weapon
  • Rank 2: Ballistic weapons do 20% more damage.
  • Challenge: Kill 50 enemies with a ballistic weapon
  • Rank 3: Ballistic weapons do 30% more damage.
  • Challenge: Kill 250 enemies with a ballistic weapon
  • Rank 4: Ballistic weapons range is increased by 30%.
• Dueling: Considered by many to be a lost art, close attacks with a melee weapon can often be deadlier than ranged combat when carried out by a skilled practitioner.
  • Challenge: Melee weapons do 10% more damage
• Lasers: Personal laser weapons are in widespread use across the Settled Systems, and specialized training can greatly increase their effectiveness.
  • Rank 1: Laser weapons do 10% more damage.
• Pistol Certification: Considering the popularity of the personal sidearm in the Settled Systems, familiarity with such weapons is often considered essential.
  • Rank 1: Pistols do 10% more damage.
  • Challenge: Kill 20 enemies with a pistol
• Shotgun Certification
  • Challenge: Kill 20 enemies with a shotgun
• Demolitions
  • Rank 3: Explosives do 30% more damage and have a 30% larger radius.
  • Challenge: Kill 125 enemies with explosives
• Heavy Weapon Certification
  • Rank: Gain 30 Damage Resistance while aiming down sights with a heavy weapon.
  • Challenge: Kill 20 enemies with a heavy weapon
• Particle Beams
  • Challenge: Kill 20 enemies with a particle beam weapon
• Rifle Certification
  • Challenge: Kill 20 enemies with a rifle.
• Rapid Reloading: In the chaos of combat, the seconds needed to reload your weapon could be the difference between life and death.
  • Rank: Gain a chance to reload your weapon twice as fast as normal.
  • Challenge: Reload 150 empty magazines
• Sniper Certification: Only a trained sniper truly understands all the elements necessary to patiently and effectively neutralize a target at excessive range.
  • Rank: Scoped weapons are steadier and have less sway.
• Targeting
  • Rank: Greatly increased accuracy and range when shooting without aiming.
  • Challenge: Kill 125 enemies without aiming :::

::: spoiler SCIENCE

• Astrodynamics: Advanced technology is one thing, but it takes skill, patience, and a little bit of love to coax even more capability out of a ship's grav drive.
• Medicine: Only through advancements in medical training and technology has humanity been able to withstand the galaxy's many dangers.
  • Rank: Med Packs heal 10% more.
• Surveying: Humanity now has access to untold alien worlds, and the ability to decipher all that data while on the ground has become an essential skillset.
• Chemistry
  • Rank 1: You can create improved chems, and research additional chems at a Research Lab.
  • Challenge: Create 10 chems :::

::: spoiler TECH

• Ballistic Weapon Systems
  • Challenge: Deal 1000 damage to enemy ships with ballistic weapons
• Boost Pack Training
  • Challenge: Boost jump 10 times while in combat
• Security: While the standardized digital locking mechanism is renowned for its security, any code can be broken with the proper training.
  • Rank 1: You can attempt to hack Advanced locks, and 2 auto attempts can be banked.
  • Challenge: Pick 5 locks
  • Rank 2: You can attempt to hack Expert locks, and 3 auto attempts can be banked. Rings now turn blue when the pick can be slotted.
  • Challenge: Pick 15 locks
  • Rank 3: You can attempt to hack Master-level locks, and 4 auto attempts can be banked.
  • Rank 4: Expend a digipick to eliminate keys that aren't required to solve the puzzle. 5 auto attempts can be banked.
• Particle Beam Weapon Systems: Ship weapons utilizing particle beam technology are the preferred choice for captains who prefer to damage multiple ship systems at once.
• Payloads: Any pilot can haul cargo, but it takes special determination and training to maximize cargo space.
• Robotics: In an age where robots and autonomous turrets are employed in a combat capacity, the study of robotics can be instrumental in gaining a tactical edge.
  • Rank: You deal 10% more damage to Robots and Turrets. :::

When Barrett hands you the compass for the first time (presumably after meeting you at Argos Mining and telling you to head to the Constellation headquarters), he says that it tells the time.

Well, how do you represent the time of day in a game where you visit lots of planets and moons? By showing the terminator line dividing day and night as it moves over the planet you're on. Pretty clever!

favorite songs in order of appearance:

• geometry and theology
• red oleanders (straight 🔥)
• ecclesiastes

(also posted here)