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jcmarchi · 5 months

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More Than Half Of All Call Of Duty: Modern Warfare II Players Used The Game's Graphical Accessibility Settings

New Post has been published on https://thedigitalinsider.com/more-than-half-of-all-call-of-duty-modern-warfare-ii-players-used-the-games-graphical-accessibility-settings/

More Than Half Of All Call Of Duty: Modern Warfare II Players Used The Game's Graphical Accessibility Settings

Developer Sledgehammer Games and publisher Activision Blizzard have released a detailed look at the new accessibility options that launched with Call of Duty: Modern Warfare III, the best-selling game of last month. In it, the companies reveal some interesting statistics that show accessibility options and features are very popular with players and useful for everyone that plays Call of Duty games.

For example, more than 40 percent of players customized their analog stick deadzone input in last year’s Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II. More than half of all players in that game adjusted graphical accessibility settings, too, like motion blur, field of view, and camera movement.

For this year’s entry, Sledgehammer says, “Modern Warfare III provides even more ways to customize the visual experience for all players,” like the High Contrast mode available in the campaign that “enables players with vision impairment or color blindness to see their allies and enemies more clearly.” In this mode, allies are outlined with a blue-green color and enemies are outlined in red, and these visual markers change in real-time as you play.

Other new accessibility features in this year’s Call of Duty include a major update to the settings menu of the game. Sledgehammer says settings are now tagged to better identify specific features, such as tags related to settings for motor, vision, audio, and cognitive adjustments. Plus, these tags can be filtered.

“Major updates to controller settings in Modern Warfare III provide more detail for players looking to customize their inputs,” the blog reads. “These changes are also better reflected in the menu to give our community a visual preview of how these changes will impact on their controls.”

One example of this is that the deadzone inputs menu now highlights an approximation of how left or right thumb sticks will react to tweaking with a visual preview on the screen.

Another new addition in Modern Warfare III is a new accessibility preset called “Low Motor Strain.” This preset reduces the physical effort required when playing, with few button presses or holds required and sensitivity increased. “This preset joins existing presets which include simplified controls, audio/visual support, visual support, and motion reduction, making it faster for anyone who needs accessibility features to jump into the game,” according to the blog.

For more, read Game Informer’s Call of Duty: Modern Warfare III review and then read about how it’s already the second best-selling game of 2023. Check out Game Informer’s Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II review after that.

Have you been using any of these features in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare III? Let us know in the comments below!

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mellisa-winters · 11 months

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Diablo 4's Inclusivity Features Are Changing the Game for Gamers with Disabilities

If you're a gamer with disabilities, you know how frustrating it can be to play games that aren't designed for you. From small text and low contrast to complex controls and audio cues, many games are inaccessible to people with disabilities.

What is Diablo 4?

Diablo 4 is the latest iteration of the popular Diablo series of action role-playing games by Blizzard Entertainment. It is an immersive and dark game set in a fantasy world filled with demons, monsters, and magic. Players navigate their characters through a series of quests and battles while collecting loot, improving their skills, and increasing their power.

Diablo 4 is More Accessible

One of the most exciting aspects of Diablo 4 is its commitment to accessibility. The game is being designed with a variety of features that make it more accessible for gamers with disabilities. These features include:

Improved Text and Interface: Diablo 4's interface will have larger fonts, high contrast options, and better navigation. This will make it easier for gamers with low vision or color blindness to play the game.

Customizable Controls: The game will allow players to customize their controls, including remapping buttons and adjusting key bindings. This will make it easier for gamers with limited mobility or one-handed play to control their characters.

Audio Accommodations: Diablo 4 will include closed captioning for all audio cues and events. This will make it easier for gamers who are deaf or hard of hearing to play the game.

Colorblind Mode: The game will have a colorblind mode that will make it easier for players with color blindness to differentiate between colors.

Difficulty Level Settings: Diablo 4 will have a variety of difficulty level settings that will allow players to tailor the game to their skill level. This will make it easier for gamers with cognitive or learning disabilities to enjoy the game.

Challenging Stigma

Unfortunately, many gamers with disabilities are still stigmatized and excluded from the gaming community. A recent study found that 62% of gamers with disabilities feel excluded from the gaming community. This is why Diablo 4's commitment to accessibility is so important. It sends a message to the gaming industry that accessibility is a priority and that gamers with disabilities deserve to be included.

Conclusion

Diablo 4's inclusivity features are changing the game for gamers with disabilities. With its commitment to accessibility, Diablo 4 is setting a new standard for the gaming industry. Games that are inclusive and accessible to all gamers not only make good business sense, but they also create a better gaming community.

Source: None Let's look at the key words in this article diablo 4 is more accessible.

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celebritynowbot · 2 years

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Cs source knife

You may get occasional single knife kills this way but you will die a lot. Don't just stand around or hide in one spot with your knife out. Tips for getting a knife kills (intermediate):ġ. I hope you have fun playing Counter-Strike source.Feel free to submit your own tips guys and I'll add the best ones! If this guide did not help you get the performance you need then you probably need to upgrade your system. I hope these graphics settings for Counter-Strike source have been informative for you. Now restart the game and enjoy a lag-free performance in Counter-Strike source This setting has a bad influence on both your performance and gameplay, so I suggest disabling it.

Hampers vision and gives a blinding effect to players. You can turn it on if you have a big screen since it does improve the color. Set this to none save the much-needed resources to maximize Counter-Strike source gameplay performance. It adds a tiny bit of input lag, but the trade is worth it because Multicore Rendering will drastically boost your fps if you have a multicore CPU (enable it if you have at least a quad-core). Getting flash banged is enough of a headache already. Why do you want to blur your vision? Turn this setting off. It also adds input lag which you don’t want. Wait for vertical sync: Disabledĭisable this setting as it creates lags by dropping FPS to match the screen refresh rate. Set it to bilinear is the best since you get the best performance in counter-strike source. Bilinear filters it 2x whereas you can go up to 16x in the setting. This option forces texture render using specific methods for filtering. Do be warned it needs a lot of resources. It does help in improving the graphics quality so if your system can take it you can max it out. This setting has a Huge impact on FPS unless you have a good graphics card go with none. You can enable it or disable it based on personal preference. It’s simply not worth the cost of the graphics resources. To save performance as much as you can always go with very low shadows. You need the extra performance for textures. It has the 2nd biggest impact fps after textures. Turn this off and you will get some more FPS and smoother performance at the low graphics water reflections. Setting this to low can help you spot enemies from the smoke. Higher settings of Shader Detail do improve the graphic quality of the game, but they also add unnecessary reflections and interfere with certain factors in the game. Generally, I recommend disabling any option that can interfere with your gameplay by adding additional effects in the game. Everyone else can go with medium settings. This will help you spot players and get easy kills. If you a 4GB graphics or higher go with high settings. The texture quality setting in the Counter-Strike source game is the most important setting for your gameplay. Friendly fire is really annoying and can get you banned as well. You need this setting since you will be able to spot players better and distinguish them between enemy and foe. You can set it to High for High and Mid end systems. It deals with the quality of the player models in the game. Best Graphics Settings for Counter-Strike source Video Settings It tells the game to use all your CPU cores for the game. It helps increase FPS and performance in the Counter-Strike source. novid -high -USEALLAVAILABLECORES What do these options do:ĭisables the valve startup video and speeds up the time taken for the game to start. Now type the following in the steam launch options dialogue box as shown in the image: How to set steam launch options for Counter-Strike source:

Bloom: Off Steam Launch Options for Counter-Strike source.

Best Graphics Settings for Counter-Strike source.

Steam Launch Options for Counter-Strike source.

#Cs source knife

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lunias-takes-on-pathfinder · 3 years

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Pathfinder 2e Basics - Ancestries and Heritages

I’m going to be posting a series of introductory posts for people interested in learning about Pathfinder 2e (or PF2, as I refer to it), and to start with I’d like to go over the changes to Pathfinder 1e’s “Races”. PF2 has moved away from the more charged terminology of its predecessor and split the system into both an Ancestry and a Heritage.

Ancestry

Your ancestry is effectively what type of creature you are - humans, elves, dwarves, goblins, etc. Each ancestry gives players a little bonus HP at Level 1 and determines their movement speed, some ability score boosts and flaws, some of your starting languages, and occasionally improved senses such as low-light vision or darkvision. Each ancestry grants access to a group of Ancestry Feats - options you receive at Level 1 and every four levels after. These feats give you thematic bonuses and abilities related to your ancestry, such as the halfling’s Distracting Shadows which allows them to hide and sneak behind larger creatures, or the goblin’s Burn It! which increases any fire damage they deal. Later levels provide some pretty wild abilities like the elf’s Magic Rider feat at Level 17 which lets them bring an extra person along when teleporting and arrive closer to their intended destination reliably.

Heritage

Your heritage is similar to a subtype of your ancestry. For example, elves aren’t just one uniform group - there’s Cavern Elves who were born underground and have adapted to gain darkvision, Arctic Elves and Desert Elves who have adapted to the extreme temperatures and conditions of their homes, Seer Elves who are innately capable of sensing and identifying magic, and more. There are also Versatile Heritages that can turn up in members of any ancestry - whenever your lineage is tied to a demon, devil, or fiend, you could possess the Tiefling versatile heritage, and if one of your parents is a vampire you might have the Dhampir versatile heritage. Humans who have an elf or an orc in their bloodline might be half-elves or half-orcs. Each versatile heritage grants a minor benefit as well as providing the character with access to a new set of ancestry feats to choose from.

Decisions, Decisions...

All told, you start the game at Level 1 with an Ancestry, a Heritage, and an Ancestry Feat. These help define your character before you even start deciding what their professional background is, or what abilities they bring to a party. Perhaps you’re a Chameleon Gnome with the Razzle-Dazzle ancestry feat, capable of shifting your colors to blend in to your surroundings and expertly manipulating light with your blade or your spells to dazzle and blind opponents for longer periods of time. Maybe you’re a Duskwalker Catfolk with the Cat’s Luck ancestry feat, and rather than being born like most people you were instead created as the reincarnated soul of a worthy catfolk who died but still managed to avoid their permanent fate one last time, and whose uncanny knack for instinctively reacting to danger makes it seem like luck itself is on their side. Or maybe you’re just a Versatile Human with the Natural Ambition ancestry feat, and despite having no special senses or physiological benefits to rely on you’ve put in the time and effort to get a head start and begin your career with a general feat and an extra class feat to show for it.

#pathfinder #pathfinder rpg #pathfinder 2e #Pathfinder 2e Basics

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rpgsandbox · 5 years

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ou may not be the biggest or the strongest, but you don't have the plague. Yet. Do you have what it takes to survive?

Download the Beta from DriveThruRPG for free during this campaign.

About Survival of the Able

The Black Death has come to your village. Everywhere around you people are succumbing to the plague. Quarantines are doing little to stem the tide of decay that is coming your way. Worst of all, you and the others in your almshouse have been left to fend for yourselves.

Oh, and did we mention plague victims are rising as zombies?

In Survival of the Able you’re a person with a disability living in a European almshouse when the Black Death arrives. Little is known about where the plague originated or how to stop it, but those who die from it are rising again—and they’re hungry for flesh. Since everyone else has succumbed to the plague, it’s up to a handful of you to make your way out of town and away to safety. You may not be the biggest, the strongest, or the fittest, but you're determined to survive.

With no other choice, Agnus faces a zombie.

In this game, you will:

Play a character with a disability who lives in Medieval Western Europe.

Encounter challenges such as disease, zombies, burning buildings, terrible weather, fatigue, and stress.

Experience discrimination based on your disability, fears that you might have the plague, or both.

Overcome incredible challenges against all odds, despite your disability. You probably won’t get much credit for your achievements, but at least you won’t be dead.

Unless you do die, in which case you may turn into a zombie and try to eat your friends.

Setting and Tone

We set this game in Western Europe circa A.D. 1347 because we wanted to put you into a world where people with disabilities (PWDs) have few protections. There are no civil rights laws to ensure equal rights and fair treatment for PWDs, and most people perceived PWDs to be weak, if not helpless.

Many PWDs were sent to live in almshouses, which are church-run facilities where PWDs could be taken care of (as if they weren’t capable of taking care of themselves). The perception of PWDs was poor overall, and even people whose lives were devoted to their care didn’t often see them as fully capable human beings.

As a person with a disability in this setting, you will be challenged to overcome peoples’ fears and judgements. You will have no choice but to survive during a zombie apocalypse. The only non-disabled people you know will be unable to care for you, so you must either overcome the stigma of your disability or join everyone else in a mass grave.

Meanwhile, you do not have the luxury of adaptive aids or accommodations that we might take for granted today. Braille and Sign Language have yet to be invented, let alone wheelchairs, elevators, talking computers, etc. You cannot simply rely on technology to overcome the challenges presented by your disability, so you must use your other skills to survive.

As if all that weren’t enough, you’ll be faced with surviving the Black Plague, armed with next to no knowledge of its symptoms or effects. You don’t have history books or lessons to tell you what to expect. You’ll need to rely on your own observations, wits, and teamwork to figure out the best way to avoid plague-ridden areas and how to kill zombies so they don’t come back.

If this all seems overwhelming, then you’re on the right track. This game should challenge your perceptions, your wits, and your courage. It may not be easy, it may even be uncomfortable at times, but you’ll come out a stronger person if you’re able to survive.

Survival of the Able is based on the Fudge RPG System, but it was written 100% from the ground up to deliver a specific experience.

Players familiar with Fudge will instantly recognize Fudge Dice, the Trait Ladder, and Fudge / Fate Points. Newcomers may appreciate the simple and accessible game mechanics. Whether you're new or experienced, the game mechanics are easy to pick up and play. You can download the Beta draft for free to see what we mean.

Even if you're an experienced Fudge player, one of the first things we ask you to do is forget what you know about the system. Although it will seem familiar, we've designed a lot of new features which set the experience apart from other Fudge games you may have played. We recognize that the spirit of Fudge is to tweak the rules and make things your own, but we encourage you to try the game as it's written at least once so you can understand its intention.

So What Sets Survival of the Able Apart From Other Games?

Briefly put: there are no physical attributes in this game. Instead, we use the sliding scale of Fudge to illustrate how disability is a spectrum. At the heart of this system are the five Senses: Hear, Smell, See, Taste, and Touch. Each ranges from Non-Existent to Good (+2).

Using blindness as an example, we recognize not every blind person has a See Trait of Non-Existent. Instead, there are people with Terrible(-3) sight who can See to a degree, but not very well. Others might have Mediocre (-1) sight, which may represent typical near-sightedness or simply a lack of awareness of their surroundings.

Other character Traits include: Qualities (which represent personality and worldview), Skills (what a person can do), and Anxieties / Assurances (situations which cause or relieve Stress). Everything is designed to help you get a sense of who your character is, rather than how strong or tough they are.

In fact, your characters aren't designed to be strong or tough. In this game, you're not playing a heroic adventurer or a stout warrior. You're just an average person with a will to survive.

For more about the game mechanics:

read the glossary of terms.

listen to our podcast appearances.

download the Beta.

Why This Game?

If Survival of the Able sounds a bit unconventional, then we're doing our job. This game is designed to test your fortitude by plunging you into a setting where you will be ridiculed, demeaned, and patronized just for being yourself.

Our goal is to help teach people empathy for people with disabilities. You'll have fun fighting zombies, but hopefully you'll learn a thing or two about yourself and the people around you along the way.

To be clear, we're not out to teach people what it is like to have a disability. The only way to truly understand that is to live it. Instead, our aim is to help you learn to empathize--to feel anger toward injustice, to feel frustration over inaccessibility, and to feel the joy of overcoming adversity.

We believe that when we understand each other, we communicate more openly and clearly. We can help one another thrive, rather than tear each other down. Most of all, we can shatter our assumptions and reconsider the way we've treated each other in the past.

This game isn't just about overcoming the Black Plague in the 14th Century. It's also about overcoming the plagues of misunderstanding and indifference in the 21st Century.

Why This Campaign?

Survival of the Able is completely written. In fact, you can download a complete first draft of the manuscript from our website.

We're raising money to pay for art, editing, and layout. It's important to us that this game be well-presented, because the uncomfortable reality is that people judge books by their covers. If we want to get this book into as many hands and onto as many tables as possible, it needs to look great. After blowing down that barrier, we know the game will stand for itself and touch a lot of lives.

That's why we have selected some incredible talent to work on this project. We're working with several disabled and underrepresented illustrators, as well as a layout professional whose award-winning game, High Plains Samurai, is the most accessible RPG PDF to date.

All that talent comes with a price. We at Accessible Games are committed to paying fair wages to professionals, because another uncomfortable truth is that people who work in the RPG industry are ludicrously underpaid. We've built fair wages into the campaign's funding goal, but our first stretch goal is also a raise for our team. More on other stretch goals in a bit.

Finally, the campaign is here to start a dialog. Accessibility in tabletop games is something we've been advocating for since 2010, and we've seen huge growth in the 9+ years we've been doing this. We hope that by running a successful and high profile campaign, we can bring awareness of accessibility to the hearts and minds of people who perhaps hadn't considered it before.

What's Included?

Survival of the Able is a complete RPG. Its rules are based on the Fudge system, but everything you need to know is in this single book.

We're producing the game in a 6"x9" format with full color illustrations. Both hardcover and paperback options will be available via DriveThruRPG.

Todd Crapper is handling layout for this project, and he's committed to accessible PDF design. He has experience using layers to create various low-vision and color blind-friendly versions within a single file, and he'll be giving that treatment to Survival of the Able.

=================================================

Kickstarter campaign ends: Tue, November 19 2019 3:00 AM UTC +00:00

Website: [Accessible Games] [twitter]

#RPG #kickstarter #Survival of the Able #Accessible Games #disability

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nationalmultilist1 · 5 years

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youtube

2000 Winnebago Adventurer 35U Littelton CO sell my sell today

LOOK AT THIS 34.11 FOOT 2000 Winnebago Adventurer 35U WITH ONLY 60000 MILES THAT IS IN EXCELLENT CONDITION!!

NO SMOKING & NO PETS!!

OWNERS NOTES

2000 Winnebago Adventurer 35U Class A motorhome.

Sleeps 6.

Double slide outs

Ford V10 engine with strong drive train

Newer Michelin tires.

One owner with 60,000 miles

5 kilowatt Onan generator with low hours

Backup camera

Inverter

New 10 gallon hot water heater

New steps

New CD player/radio/satellite radio

New water pump

Private queen master bedroom

Captain chairs w/power driver chair

Falcon tow bar

Oak cabinets

New flat screen TV (not installed)

Huge storage capacity

Microwave

Gas stove

Gas/electric refrigerator Corian countertops

Newer awnings

Hydraulic jacks

Central A/C. Some deferred maintenance(Local One Owner)

2000 35U Features and Options

BASIC DETAILS

Year: 2000

Brand: Adventurer

Manufactured By: Winnebago

Category: Class A

Model: 35U

Mileage: 60,000

Location: Littelton, Colorado

ENGINE & MECHANICAL

Brand: Ford

Model: V10

Mileage: 60,000

Horsepower: 363

Fuel Type: Gasoline

Axle Count: 2

Electric Panel:

Power Cord: YES

Self Contained: YES

110 Lighting: YES

110 Outlets: YES

AC Electrical Power: YES

Battery Charger: YES

City Water Hook Up: YES

Waste Water Washout: YES

Water Filter: YES

Coach Batteries: X2 Deep Cycle

Solar Battery Charger: Pre-wired

Inverter: 150W

Length:34' 11"

Height: 11' 9"

Fuel Capacity: 75 Gallons

Tire Size: 19.5

Gross Weight: 20,500 lbs

LP Capacity: 28 Gallons

Fresh Water Capacity: 75 Gallons

Black Water Tank: 40 Gallons

Grey Holding Tank: 54 Gallons

LIVING AREAS

Non Smoking: NO

Tinted Windows: YES

Toilet: YES

Vanity: YES

Water Filtration System: YES

Bathroom Sink: YES

Black Water Flush System: YES

Carpet: YES

Ceiling Vents: YES

Control Center: YES

Dinette Sleeper: YES

Fans: YES

Fold-out Couch: YES

Recliner: YES

Shower: YES Sink: YES Skylight: YES

Medicine Cabinet: YES

Smoke-free: YES

Generator: Onan 5.0 Kw

Power Jacks: Hydraulic

Air Conditioning: Central AC With Heat Pump

Storage: 88.6 Cubic Feet

Heat: 40.0 KBTU

Central Heat: 40.0 K BTU

Slideout: 2

OUTSIDE

Awning Count: 3

Side Door Count: 2

Automatic Steps: YES

Awning: YES

Driver's Door: YES

Entry Assist Grab Handle:YES

Exterior Speakers: YES

Exterior Stereo: YES

External Shower: YES

Outdoor Shower: YES

Roof Access Ladder: YES

Slideout Awning: YES

Tinted Coach Windows: YES

Wheel Covers: YES

Leveling Jacks: Hydraulic

CONSTRUCTION FEATURES

Body Material: Fiberglass

Exterior Color: White And Light Ebony

Interior Color: Tans

Chassis: Ford

Tag Axle: No

Floor Type: Carpet

Jack Stands: Hydraulic

ENTERTAINMENT

Double Kitchen Sink: YES

Entertainment Center: YES

External TV Source: YES

Interior Lighting: YES

Stereo System: YES

TV Antenna: YES

TV: X2

DINING

Propane Capacity: 100 lbs.

Dinette: YES

Fridge/freezer: YES

Hood Fan: YES

Kitchen Sink: YES

Microwave: YES

Oven: YES

Pantry: YES

Stove: YES

Cabinets: YES

Counter: Laminate

Water Heater: 6 Gallon

Propane Gas Tanks: 100#

Exterior

Driver's Door

Full Fiberglass Exterior and Roof

Dual Electric Side Mirrors With Defrost

Dual Pane Tinted Windows

Large Living Area with Super Slide Out

Large Bedroom with Super Slide Out

Large Aluminum Enclosed Patio Awning

SemiAuto 4-Point Hydraulic Leveling System

5KW Onan Gasoline Generator

Solar Battery Charger

Full Basement Storage

Double Electric Auto Entry Steps

Ducted Air Conditioning with Basement-Mounted

2-Stage Coleman AC

2-way Furnace: Propane or AC Heat Pump

3-Way 10 Gallon Water Heater: Electric, LP Or Engine

Ladder

Hitch With Wiring Harness

Rear Vision Camera with Sound

Towing Package with Extended Hitch

Outside Shower

Outside AM/FM/Cassette Stereo

Roof-mounted TV antenna

Two-Bicycle Carrier

Ceiling vents with wind covers to keep out rain

Water Heater Bypass Kit

Aluminum RV Wheel Caps

Interior

6' 8" Interior Height

Leather Driver and Passenger Seats

Driver 6-Way Power Seat

Passenger Swivel Seat

AM/FM/Cassette Player

CB Radio

Front 25" TV

Bedroom 13" TV

DVD/VCR Player

Wired for Cable TV

Wood Laminate Floor In Kitchen

Corian Counter Tops

Large Sink Area

Drinking Water Dispenser With Filter

3-Burner Stove With Auto Igniter

Large Microwave/Convection Combo

Built-in Coffee Maker

2-Door Refrigerator/Freezer With Automatic Ice Maker

Slide-out Food Pantry

Large Couch Turns Into Queen-size Bed

Dinette Booth Converts to a Bed

Day/Night Blinds in all Windows

Bathroom With Sky Light In Shower

Porcelain Toilet

Built-in Hair Dryer

Built-In Laundry Hamper in Rear Bedroom

Vanity/Desk Area In Bedroom

Storage Under Bed

Large Closet With Dual Glass Doors

Lots Of Power Outlets and Lots & Lots Of Storage**FINANCING ASSISTANCE AVAILABLE W.A.C.**

Living Room and Bedroom Slides, Ford V-10, Hydraulic leveling system and backup camera. Leather driver/passenger chairs, Driver's door, Sleeper Sofa, booth dinette/sleeper, nice recliner chair with folding computer desk, Mid Entry with power step, residential style basement AC System, nice galley with all the amenities like fridge/freezer, microwave and regular oven, double stainless steel sink, Corian full counter tops, nice real hardwood floors, Oak cabinetry, lots of storage with Huge Pantry, nice private bath with shower, toilet and vanity.

Rear slide is 12' which makes the bedroom feel very spacious and is only available in the 35U floor plan. Queen Walk-around Bed, Day/Night Shades, and all original designer fabrics. Huge double sliding mirror fronted closet, nice makeup counter with space for a stool and has drawer space. His and Her shirt closets.

This coach has been well maintained, runs and drives perfect.

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fantroll-purgatory · 6 years

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@kyuremus

FIRST: Alternia (slight au- she’s not only a sgrub player, but the age for troll banishment has risen.)

Name: Astium Umoora! As she’s a fairly new troll of mine, I actually remember her name reasoning! Astium comes from astigmatism, as her eyes are a main theme. Her smaller 4 suffer from a severe case of this.

Umoora is pretty basic- Umora means fatigue in bulgarian. She’s pretty angry-tired thanks to a large mess of bullshit she deals with frequently.

I think this all works pretty well!

Age:7 sweeps.

Strife Specibus: Umbrellakind. Truth be told, she’s kind of scared of incredibly sharp objects. However, she needs some sweet, sweet long-distance, as an able-bodied Tavros might stand a chance in a fistfight. Umbrella kinda sounds like Umoora, but that’s something I only noticed right now. The second I’m typing this. The tip of it is rather sharp (because fear aside, she needs stabbing ability), but keeping it open usually protects her from accidentally stabbing an eye or three out.

Oof… I’m almost tempted to recommend bbgunkind just to make a “you’ll shoot your eye out kid” joke. But given her fearful nature she might not be particularly fond of the idea of using that.

Maybe a jaws of life/claw grabber instead? A not especially destructive jaws of life. It’s something that isn’t particularly sharp, has some range on it, and that she could use to restrict an enemy in order to give herself a much-needed advantage. It’s also a nice nod to her scorpion relation.

Fetch Modus:

This is a weird one so bear with me, but Lotus Seed Modus. Basically a little grid that looks a bit like a Lotus Seed Head (Don’t look it up if you have trypophobia, because it’s basically the very common plant pattern that activates that response). She has to fill up the entire pod before she’s allowed to retrieve any items, basically. Pretty simple, but it ties into her interest!

Blood color: Teal

Okay… I do have to say that I might want to change her to Cobalt. If only because eye mutations are sooo common among that caste. I don’t see why it Couldn’t happen with a teal, but. Nothing in her personality Particularly sells me on teal, since she doesn’t have a particularly strong moral position. She at least has a little touchstone with the Cobalt bitterness towards people who are better positioned than her. Also the scorpion association.

Symbol and meaning: Limini- Derse+Doom

You seem to be riding a lot on her doom power for her theme, so I feel bad about this, but… her personality honestly fits Rage just a little better for me? I usually wait until getting to the title section to address this, but I do want to talk about it here just to get it out of the way ASAP.

Her anger, fear, paranoia, aggression towards others, dissatisfaction with the current reality… I do agree with her being a dersite, though.

So depending on blood type, I might change her symbol to either…

Trolltag: destinedTrypophiliac. Destined is a hint at three things: Her eventual playing of Sgrub, her doom aspect, and some of her specific lil doom powers that’ll be below! She truthfully enjoys trypo-things, due to the nature of her face, she’s both intrigued and comforted by the patterns of small holes.

I think this could still work out even with my change because of her fatalistic nature. She has this perceived terminality that goes along well with the aspect. I also like that it kind of implies she was destined to be super into small hole patterns.

Quirk: I’m that anon from before- her quirk is a pain in the ass, and she knows this. That’s actually the reason for a good chunk of it, however, she chose things that both kinda looked like holes+eyes. U=☋, N= ☊ and a=∴. She’s got hella vision, so reading this shitshow is a breeze. She talks in all lowercase unless HEATED, and uses punctuation. She also substitutes the word ‘eye’ into anything that rhymes, even if the end result is kind of silly. (reyeght, meyene, etc.) “yo☋ ∴ll f☋cki☊g s☋ck. ”

Haha I love it. It’s definitely a pain in the ass, but I’ve seen way worse. Honestly if you wanted to make it worse, you could replace o’s with ö‘s. Just litter that fuckin quirk with dots.

Special Abilities (if any): I’m sure I mentioned something about eyes. She doesn’t have vision Xfold, but rather, 20/20 eyesight to the highest power. While each small eye on its own is pretty awful, when every single one is open and working, she can make out crisp details as far as she can see.

I do kind of like this, because it reminds me of the nature of various insect eyes. Their smaller eyes tend to be less detailed and focus on things like light/dark, heat, or movement, but when used in combination with more complex eyes they help create a thorough image. Scorpions in particular have really light sensitive eyes.

I think that’s something you should maybe play with with her. Scorpions can travel by starlight at night, so maybe she’s Really good at tracing light. But also make her really, really hate harsh light. She can still be great with Detail, though.

She’s got underdeveloped doom abilities. As Terezi was able to use her mind abilities pretty well w/o god-tiering, I’m applying this here. It’s pretty basic, but she’s pretty good on picking up vibes. That’s about it. She has a dislike for a lot of trolls, but she’s only truly scared of some. She doesn’t understand how she makes this difference.

I think you could still work this with my change- If you wanted to keep it for doom I might adjust it to her being able to sense impending threats in general? Not being able to note the danger surrounding particular trolls, just particular Moments where she or someone else is About To Experience Danger.

If you go with my Rage change, though, you could have her be able to sense the threat inherent to each individual. Though her perceived threat might be slightly skewed by how much she was Already scared of them.

Lusus: Scorpionmom! Small, angry, the obligatory eye thing- but you can squish em if you’re fast. Astium is vulnerable behind all her yelling.

Personality: She seems like the kind of troll with anger issues. Moreso than most. She’s violently aggressive towards those above her in hemospectrum, but only when guaranteed protection behind a screen. All of this stems from a crippling fear she lives with, however- she is a mutant. It’s not the worst mutation in the world, her blood is teal, and she’s more than functional. Her four smaller eyes developed AFTER her lusus adopted her. They kind of.. burst through the surface of her face, and scorpionmom noticed those bumps. Otherwise, she probably would’ve been culled. (It also changed the pattern of her horn. This was initially just me forgetting which way the red-orange-yellow went, but I rolled with it.) She can’t compensate her mutation with physical strength or cool calculations, and her fear is at fault. There’d be no reason to spare her at the time of drafting. She’s aware that the wrong highblood could end her life in a second, so she tries to compensate this by coming across as impressively scary enough to ward them off. This is also just a side-effect of fear. She’s kind of a coward face-to-face, and she’s disgusted with herself for this. As a mid/highblood, she expects herself to have the natural anger and strength of somebody her caste, but is as weak as the rust spectrum, minus the cool psychic powers.

Now here’s my least favorite part of having to step in- I think you have some misconceptions about Alternian culture. Since it’s an AU, you could definitely adjust things to suit your needs across the universe… But since you haven’t specified a particular change in this regard, I’m going to discuss this as we know it in canon:

Eye mutations are pretty normal on Alternia, it would seem. Her having extra eyes isn’t enough to have her immediately culled. It might even be common enough to not be particularly notable. In fact, most ‘mutations’ or even disabilities might not even be instantly cullable offenses- the only things we really know for sure result in culling is blood mutations and a failure to provide genetic material for the filial pails.

Alternia definitely has a “the strongest survive” mentality, but it Also has an “adapt and live” mentality. Tavros’ paraplegia didn’t put him on the chopping block and he implied he still had hope of becoming a member of the cavalreapers. Terezi was completely blind and she was still gunning for the job of legislacerator without having to worry about being culled for her disability.

Now, I DO… still want to work this for you. So I think you can definitely argue that if she’s particularly frail on top of her eye mutations she might be culled?

I have two slightly more interesting options for you, though:

1. She could survive drafting, and would get shipped off planet, but because of her various issues she probably wouldn’t get a high ranking position and would probably just be tossed out as cannon fodder. She’d be a low-ground grunt and her likelihood of survival wouldn’t be particularly high. So she’s still terrified of this fate- she doesn’t want to be some first wave scouting grunt that gets killed in the first fight. This still justifies her fear and anxiety around the whole thing.

2. She BELIEVES that she’ll be culled at drafting time despite it being untrue. She really, really, genuinely is convinced of this being the case, and is terrified of it. People try to reassure her that this won’t happen and provide examples, but she is just REALLY, STUBBORNLY sure that it’s absolutely the case and that all of their examples are just Government Lies meant to placate the masses.

When it comes to quadrants, she has the maturity of a grub. Astium hasn’t a CLUE how to healthily establish one- dealing with her feelings is confusing and absolutely terrifying. She’ll also go ham if she gets her “veyebes” from a friend’s quadrantmate, which can really hurt Astium’s relationship with the original troll. However, this isn’t too much of a focus. She’d rather be single for as long as possible.

I love this. The idea of her trying to warn her pals that a quadrantmate has Threatening Auras is intriguing and the dynamic it could create w/ relationships is nice.

She can also be kind of an idiot about small things, with the stuff said above being prime examples. Covering her eye mutation is.. not her strong suit, despite her fear of being found out? Her eye-quirk is too natural, despite her multiple attempts to get out of the habit. Words feel wrong if not spelled with eye puns.

Astium pushes herself away from most, and this has wound up having her be quite needy and lonely, so she can certainly come across as overbearing and somewhat annoying to anybody who strikes her interest, platonic or romantic.

She loves the word fuck.

She’s a great character! I think if you want to keep her a teal, though, you need to give her a kind of moral touchstone… I think a fascinating one for her might be a sort of “might makes wrong” worldview as a contrast to Alternia’s usual “might makes right” way of doing things. Basically have her fundamentally distrust people who are strong and assume they’re in the wrong/always blame them.

Interests:

COOKING SHOWS (it’s a small aspiration to become a chef.)

PLAYFUL SPARRING

TRYPO-GALLERIES

HOPEFULLY, A NONVIOLENT CAREER.

VIDEO GAMES ARE COOL SOMETIMES.

The idea of a troll having a nonviolent career aspiration is so fun. Good luck, baby girl, you live on Alternia… Maybe you could give her a theoretical interest in gardening just because of her trypointerest? Or you could make her like Mushrooms. Mushrooms are pretty easy to plant, so she could even grow them in her hive!

You could also have her practice some escape artistry nonsense. Preparing to run away from the culling drones. Building a panic room. All kinds of fun stuff.

She could also be interested in getting in Arguments Online. Yelly Online Personality Who Is Mad. An Internet Skeptic For Trolls.

[These are the ones I have the most trouble with?]

Title: Witch of Doom

Witch of Rage could be a fun title for her… The active changer of rage, allowing her to actively manipulate and change the negative emotions that others feel, altering the levels of pessimism, able to generate torment and worry while passively understanding optimism and figuring out how to flex her own negative feelings to the mold of reality…

But I also think Knight of Rage might be a good possibility to consider? Starting out surrounded by and overwhelmed by all this anger and fear and paranoia. And then having to learn how to exploit and utilize those feelings effectively instead of allowing them to consume her and everything around her.

Land:Plush and Night. Plush is both her direct inverse and secret wish, and night is simply so she struggles to see- her one strength.

Trolls are nocturnal, so her having difficulty seeing in the dark doesn’t make much sense for her species! Plush and Day might make more sense, both biologically and with her having a scorpion mom and with the eye light sensitivity thing I mentioned.

Dream Planet:Derse

Sorry if this is too wordy/comes across poorly, this is my first time ever submitting a troll for review!!

Don’t worry, it was the prefect amount of wordy. Sorry my review got wordy in turn, haha!

Now let’s have some design fun!:

So we have here a teal and a cobalt redesign.

Horns: For the teal I shortened them a little just because with teals the horns never seem like the main attraction. They’re always relatively understated. I kept them the same on the cobalt, though.

Hair: I kept it the same for the cobalt, too, but I wanted to make it messier on the teal. My concept when designing her was basically “really exhausted grad student who is a disaster mess and rarely leaves their room,” since teal designs seem to occupy a niche grad student genre.

Eyes: They seemed just a little too small for the style. I removed the eyebrows to do away with crowding and then made the main set and the lower eyes larger. I also added eyelash definition. And, of course, the undereye bag shadows!

Mouth: I wanted to give her some bigger, scarier fangs. Mostly so she’d fit the definition of someone looking like they have a temper more. It also makes her look a little like spidermom’s face which is fun. A nice arachnid reference. I gave her some black lipstick on the teal version and some cobalt on the cobalt.

Shirt: I made her tanktop a little flowerier and less put together. I also adjusted the outline to be more visible. New symbol, of course. On the cobalt I just added a jacket over top of the tanktop.

Legs: I edited one of fan-troll’s sweatpants sprites to again fit that exhausted image you wanted for her. I also turned her shoes into slippers, though I kept the blood accent on each.

Thank you for sharing! She’s pretty great!

-CD

#kyuremus #astium umoora #tealblood #cobaltblood #ceruleanblood #review #redesign #cd review #submission #astium #umoora

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dipulb3 · 3 years

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The 2022 Kia Carnival blends minivan functionality with SUV style

New Post has been published on https://appradab.com/the-2022-kia-carnival-blends-minivan-functionality-with-suv-style/

The 2022 Kia Carnival blends minivan functionality with SUV style

Spacious and flexible, approachable and safe — the minivan is a marvel of suburban utility. The problem is that most people don’t actually want to be seen driving one, so many shoppers skew toward cooler-looking SUVs. To combat this, the major players in the class have pushed minivan design in a direction that’s perhaps best described as “sci-fi bullet train” with mixed results.

Kia’s solution to the problem of uncool perception is to dress its new 2022 Carnival “multipurpose vehicle” in SUV cosplay. The result is a minivan that boasts all of the advantages and amenities of its classmates, while standing aesthetically apart with sport utility style.

The Carnival wears an upright, boxy design with a front end shaped more like Kia’s Telluride than the Sedona it replaces. Details like the L-shaped, chrome C-pillars break up the minivan’s profile and, along with the sculpted wheel arches and dark lower sills, help pull the eye upward to create the appearance of a taller, more rugged ride. At first glance, the Carnival looks almost exactly like a full-size SUV from most angles, but then you notice the reversed handles and tracks for the sliding doors and, suddenly, the minivan-ness of the silhouette becomes apparent.

The Carnival is the first Kia to wear what I’ve taken to calling the brand’s new “K-backwards-N” logo.

Antuan Goodwin/Roadshow

VIP seating

The Carnival’s power sliding doors open to reveal a spacious interior that’s available in seven- or eight-passenger configurations. The standard eight-seat setup features a 40/20/40-split second-row bench with a center section that can fold over to create a table-like armrest for the outboard seats. The bench can also slide far enough forward allowing front seat passengers to easily reach a car seat. The second row can also be completely removed when you need to access the Carnival’s maximum 145.1 cubic feet of cargo capacity.

Upgrade from the base LX to an EX or SX model and the cloth upholstery is replaced with artificial leather. Step up to the top spec SX Prestige for real leather trim and a pair of power-adjustable VIP seats in place of the second-row bench. These luxurious buckets automatically recline or return upright at the touch of a button, and they feature heated and cooled surfaces and can even deploy footrests for maximum relaxation. The Prestige setup elevates the Carnival from a nicely appointed family hauler to a fairly luxurious shuttle with more passenger space, more cargo capacity and easier entry than a taller SUV can offer. With the third row folded flat, I can slide the VIP seats far enough back for a full recline and leg extension, even with the front seats in a comfortable driving position. Try doing that in an Escalade.

Kia’s minivan isn’t the only one to offer reclining captain’s chairs, but these are a touch more luxe than most.

Antuan Goodwin/Roadshow

The seven-seat SX Prestige isn’t without its compromises, however. The nonremovable VIP seats mean this trim maxes out at 86.9 cubes of cargo capacity behind the second row, and getting to the third row is more of a squeeze.

Speaking of that standard third row, there’s plenty of legroom back there for two average-size adults, and enough shoulder space for three kids. Pulling a strap quickly folds the 60/40 split bench flat into the Carnival’s floor and a single pull lifts it back up, leaving a still-impressive 40.2 cubic feet for cargo.

On the options list, you’ll find Kia’s smart power tailgate, which automatically opens the hatch when you approach the rear of the vehicle with the key in your pocket. I usually find this feature extremely annoying, but Kia must have improved its detection logic from earlier applications. I experienced almost no false-positive accidental openings during my testing, and the tailgate now automatically closes when you walk away, making loading groceries or other cargo a truly hands-free process.

Backseat tech

The Carnival can be outfitted with a dual-screen rear seat entertainment setup. Each features USB and HDMI inputs that can be shared with the other display. Each can connect to a phone or Wi-Fi hotspot to power apps like Netflix or mirror a smartphone’s display. There’s also a colorful Kid Mode interface that serves up child-friendly content. Bluetooth connectivity allows users to listen using almost any headphones they already own, rather than relying on low-quality pack-ins.

The Passenger Camera and Passenger Talk features help the driver to watch and communicate with occupants in the second and third rows.

Antuan Goodwin/Roadshow

An optional wide-angle Passenger Camera on the Carnival’s ceiling displays a bird’s-eye view of second and third rows on the multimedia screen, complete with night vision. This upgrade works well in tandem with the Passenger Talk feature that amplifies the driver’s voice over the Carnival’s speakers, so they don’t have to shout to speak to folks in the third row.

When equipped with the optional Passenger Voice Recognition tech, second-row passengers can also issue commands to the dashboard UVO system. This is helpful for getting destination suggestions from adults in the VIP seats, but is also defeatable when you need to keep a van full of children from requesting Baby Shark for the fifty-leventh time.

Front seat tech

Up front, Kia’s latest-generation UVO infotainment lives in the dashboard. An 8-inch display is standard, but EX, SX and SX Prestige models all upgrade to a 12.3-inch display. Either way, Android Auto and Apple CarPlay connectivity are also standard with USB — but not wireless — connectivity. UVO packs its intuitive interface with unique features like voice memo recording, Sounds of Nature (like calm waves, a forest or bustling cafe) and a quiet mode that limits media volume and disables the rear speakers — useful for when kids are dozing in the back.

The customizable star shortcut button on the dashboard — a small feature that you’ll find on Kia’s other UVO systems — is joined by a second customizable button on the steering wheel, allowing drivers to map features like the Passenger Camera or Passenger Talk to a single press.

There are up to nine USB ports (seven are standard) for charging mobile devices spread across the Carnival’s three rows.

Antuan Goodwin/Roadshow

LX, EX and SX trims all feature traditional physical gauges and a small 4.3-inch information display. The SX Prestige upgrades to a 12.3-inch fully digital instrument cluster with four user-selectable themes, including a dynamic setting that changes along with the time of day. The digital cluster also integrates Kia’s Blind Spot View feature, displaying a camera feed of the adjacent lane when the corresponding turn signal is activated.

DriveWise safety suite

Kia’s DriveWise advanced driver-assistance system suite is standard on all Carnival models. That gets you front, rear and lane-change collision detection, forward automatic emergency braking with pedestrian detection, lane-keeping assist, blind-spot monitoring and a rear camera. DriveWise also rolls in driver attention monitoring and a sonar-based rear occupant alert that prevents accidentally leaving a child or pet in the parked vehicle.

The EX trim adds park distance warnings, enhanced collision avoidance that can also detect cyclists and Highway Driving Assistant, Kia’s umbrella technology that rolls in navigation-based adaptive cruise control that works in stop-and-go traffic and enhanced lane-keeping steering assist. Upgrading to SX brings a surround view camera system online. Finally, the full-fat SX Prestige completes the safety suite with the aforementioned blind-spot camera tech.

2022 Kia Carnival SX Prestige is an SUV-styled MPV for VIPs

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Performance and efficiency

The only powertrain offered in the 2022 Carnival is a 3.5-liter V6 paired with an eight-speed automatic transmission and front-wheel drive. Despite looking like an SUV, all-wheel drive is not an option. On the bright side, 290 horsepower imbues the Carny with pretty good hustle for a minivan, and the 262 pound-feet of torque is enough twist to tow up to a 3,500-pound trailer.

Handling is soft, but comfortable. The Carnival isn’t the most graceful dancer on a twisty road, but the minivan manages to stay off of its own toes well enough that it feels safe. The steering is responsive, but body roll and understeer are noticeable at speed. This is, of course, fine. Despite Toyota’s marketing for the new Sienna, I don’t think that anyone shopping for a minivan is looking for “sport-tuned handling.” More importantly, the Carnival does a great job absorbing bumps with poise and communicating its limits to the driver well and early enough to stay out of trouble.

The EPA estimates 19 miles per gallon city, 26 mpg highway or 22 mpg combined from the 2022 Carnival. That’s on par with other front-drive, V6-powered minivans in this class. The various drive modes — Normal, Eco, Smart and Sport — will have some effect on the Kia’s performance and efficiency balance, but over the course of three days, testing both the SX and SX Prestige trim levels in a variety of situations, my average of 21.7 mpg was almost spot-on with those estimates.

Kia’s betting that the Carnival will find a home in the gray area between minivans and SUVs.

Antuan Goodwin/Roadshow

Pricing and competition

The 2022 Kia Carnival starts at $33,275 (including its $1,175 destination charge) for the base LX model and tops out at $47,275 for the fully loaded SX Prestige. Add $200 for floor mats and $495 for the premium Astra Blue paint to reach an as-tested price of $47,970. I only ever want to be picked up from the airport in a Carny with VIP seating from now on, but for families looking to maximize space for people and cargo, the sweet spot is the eight-passenger SX model starting at $42,275.

The Carnival is priced and appointed competitively against the Chrysler Pacifica, Honda Odyssey and Toyota Sienna. However, Chrysler and Toyota offer all-wheel drive, hybrid and plug-in hybrid configurations that raise the price ceiling but also bring significant performance and fuel economy advantages. Also consider that the Carnival’s sport-utility style has the potential to tempt a few families on the fence away from a new SUV purchase, so one could make the case for it being an indirect competitor to something like Kia’s own Telluride as well.

Kia can call it an MPV and style it like an SUV, but what matters is that the Carnival is a damn good minivan. Kia’s designers have pulled off this stylistic double-take with aplomb. With the 2022 Carnival arriving in dealerships now, the automaker can only hope that shoppers think it’s as cool as I do.

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onestowatch · 3 years

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contradash Releases Video for ‘hi neighbor’ and Debut EP ‘all-star’ [Premiere]

California singer-rapper contradash is back with “hi neighbor,” the latest from the release of his debut EP, all-star. While the video opens with a mundane morning of fetching the newspaper, contradash is no typical boy next door.

It’s been a wild year for the artist, born Chase Blohm. Ever since releasing “blocked” at the beginning of 2020, the artist has been churning out genre bending songs, with each release showcasing a different dimension of his multifaceted talent.

On “hi neighbor,” contradash essentially resurrects the age of beaded bracelets and handwritten notes, revisiting a time when bands still practiced in garages and peeking through the blinds took precedence over gossiping on Nextdoor as a means of spying on the neighbors. The song feels like a long drawn-out eye roll, bemoaning the highs and lows of getting caught up in someone that’s sending mixed signals. But to have a guy like him across the street means being endlessly frustrated while watching contradash do pushups in the front yard.

The warm familiarity the visuals bring highlights the penchant he has for this particular era of music, a time when getting your friends together for band practice in hopes of one day securing a slot to open the Ernie Ball Stage on Vans Warped Tour was more tangible than an illusory fever dream.

Here, as with almost every other release, contradash is a high-speed hand mixer plunged into a bowl full of nods to the chart toppers of the late 2000s, emerging with a wild concoction of energy and nonchalance only a digitally overstimulated 22-year-old could possess.

We caught up with contradash on his wide variety of influences, the themes behind all-star, and what his goals are for 2021.

Ones to Watch: How did "hi neighbor" come together?

contradash: I liked the idea of being neighbors with an ex because I was fascinated with how something that once made a relationship great and convenient, (being neighbors) is now making a breakup horrible, and hard to get away from.

What inspired the music video? Did you happen to take any inspiration from Taylor Swift’s “You Belong with Me?”

The music video focuses more on the post-separation instances that would make things awkward. Smaller instances like taking out the trash and getting the mail become filled with all these unsettling emotions you’d never really feel otherwise. We definitely should have thrown a Taylor reference in there though, that would have been sick."

You used to do graphic design before music, how has that influenced your vision as an artist?

Oddly enough, graphics has kind of clouded my ability to see my own project visually. Because I like everything, I get option paralysis on what's my favorite, vs what fits the project best. It’s easiest to see what fits best from where you’re standing. Same reason we have mirrors if that makes any sense.

Living in a sort of 7th grade mentality and early 2000s nostalgia have shaped a lot of your creativity. How do you push your sound forward and make it fresh?

I think it's something you achieve by not actively trying to achieve it. It's best to let stuff feel like it writes itself, and if the end result is something fresh, you’ll know instantly. I personally try to keep my mind on neutral when writing & recording to avoid overthinking it.

You like to bait your audience by provoking them with little absurdities, like drumming with some bananas in “white lie” or including shots of you doing pushups in your music videos. What do you find fans reacting to most?

I usually act ridiculous out of pure fun and it makes the final cut. It also makes set go by faster for the people working. The goal is to always document real stuff, instead of creating gimmicky moments. As far as reactions go, the internet reacts to the hair above everything. It's always the unintentional things that draw attention.

If the all-star EP is a well-rounded team, which player would “hi neighbor” be?

First Baseman for sure.

2020 has put you in a position to continue working on recording music instead of touring the world. Has it inspired any plans for 2021?

2021 plans are closer to what 2020 maybe should have been. I've had so much time to perfect all aspects of this, and I really hope it shines through.

If there’s one thing you want people to know you for, what would it be?

Without taking myself too seriously, hopefully people recognize how insane the work ethic over here is. I literally write, record, direct, shoot, design, edit & color every piece of content you see. I don’t desire to be known for anything other than the music, my MW2 accuracy, and my insane desire for a Britney collab.

youtube

#contradash #hi neighbor #ALL-STAR

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altajackuniverse · 4 years

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How to Create Captions and Make Your Web Content Accessible

What Are Captions and Why Do They Matter?

What are Captions? Captions are text versions of the spoken word presented within multimedia to provide web accessibility. Captions allow the content of web audio and video to be accessible to those who do not have access to audio. Captioning is primarily intended for those who cannot hear the audio. However, it also helps those that can hear audio content, those who may not be fluent in the language in which the audio is presented, those for whom the language spoken is not their primary language, etc. Common web accessibility guidelines require that captions be: Synchronized- the text content should appear at approximately the same time that audio would be available Equivalent- content provided in captions should be equivalent to that of the spoken word Accessible- caption content should be readily accessible and available to those who need it Why Are Captions Crucial to Web Accessibility? Whenever multimedia content is present on the web, synchronized and equivalent captions are required to meet accessibility guidelines. Both visual and auditory web content must be captioned. Audio and video played through multimedia players and HTML5 video would both require captioning. It can also apply to Flash or Java technologies when audio content is part of a multimedia presentation.

The Real-time Captioning Dilemma

Web multimedia is increasingly used to deliver real-time, live content over the Internet. This ranges from video conferencing, to VoIP (Voice-over-Internet Protocol), to live video streaming. Accessibility standards require that equivalent alternatives be provided for all audio and visual content to ensure the content is accessible to everyone. For real-time web multimedia, this means that visual content must be provided in an audible form and that audible content must be provided in a visual form. The equivalents must also be synchronized with the presentation, meaning that they must be delivered to the end user at the same time as the main content. This means that captions for audio must display at the same time that the audio would be heard. Accessibility Requires an Audio Description for Visual Content Web Accessibility requires an alternative to visual content in standard web media often takes the form of audio descriptions. Where visual content that is not also provided in the audio stream of the multimedia is described by a narrator or other person. Audio descriptions are very difficult to incorporate into real-time web broadcasts. As an alternative, you can simply ensure that any visual content is natively described in the audio. For instance, if there is a person speaking on the video, they could audibly describe any additional visual content that is displayed in the movie. This removes the need for a separate form of audio description. This is the only feasible way to make live web broadcasts that include visual information accessible to individuals who are blind or have low vision. If produced with this in mind, and if those involved in the video broadcast are aware of and provide these descriptions, then the multimedia will be accessible to these audiences. Synchronized Web Text Captions The alternative to audible content in standard web media is usually synchronized captions. Captions provide a textual equivalent of all audible information. The difficulties in generating real-time captions are: Audio information must be converted into text in real time. The text captions must be delivered to the end user so they are synchronized with the audio.

Generating Real-Time Text Captions

Converting audio information into text in real time is difficult. There are few typists capable of typing fast enough to transcribe the spoken word. Thus, there are two primary technologies used to do this. Stenography/Real-time transcription Stenography involves having a trained transcriptionist that uses a special steno machine to transcribe the spoken word to a text format in real-time. The steno machine has fewer keys than a typical keyboard. Rather than typing each letter, a stenographer hits key sequences on the steno machine to represent phonetic parts of words or phrases, or special codes representing words. Software then analyzes the phonetic information and forms words. Such technology allows a trained transcriptionist to generate text versions of audible conversation in real time. Stenography allows the audible information to be converted to text in real time. While accuracy levels are high, it is common to have words incorrectly typed or interpreted by the steno software. Also, real-time transcription can be expensive, usually costing around $70-$120 USD per hour. Voice Recognition Generated Captions While voice recognition offers great possibilities for real-time generation of captions, the technology is not yet at a level where it can be used to do so. In certain settings, such as when one person is speaking and is using voice recognition software that is well-trained, then voice recognition may be a viable option. Even in such settings, however, there are weaknesses, such as a lack of punctuation, poor accuracy, and inability for other speakers to be captioned. While voice recognition technology is improving and promises future multi-user, highly accurate, speaker independent voice recognition, at this time, its feasibility in generating text for use in captions is isolated to few situations.

Real-time Caption Delivery

As soon as the text equivalent of the audio has been generated, that text must be delivered to the end user so it is synchronized with the audio stream. Unfortunately, few real-time multimedia technologies have native support for captioning. Thus, the real-time captions must usually be delivered through a different technology running parallel to the multimedia software or hardware. This is often done through dedicated applications or through clients that are built into a web page and run in a web browser. For video conferencing and voice chats, where the audio is delivered in real time, the captions must be generated, converted into a format for broadcast across the Internet, and then delivered to the end user - all in real time. For streaming video, there is often a delay between when the media is captured and when it displays to the end user, often due to encoding and buffering. In these cases, the delivery mechanism for the real-time captions must provide functionality for ensuring that the captions display at roughly the same time that the audio would be heard, even if the delay between caption generation and delivery is a long time. Web Accessibility Requires Captioned Multimedia Open captions are similar to, and include the same text, as closed captions. However, the captions are a permanent part of the video picture, and cannot typically be turned off. Open captions are not decoded by the television set, but are a part of the video information. This typically requires a video editing or encoding program that allows you to overlay titles onto the video. The captions are visible to anybody viewing the video clip and cannot be turned off. This gives you total control over the way the captions appear, but can be very time consuming and expensive to produce. This technique allows for more control over caption location, size, color, font, and timing. For web video, captions can be open, closed, or both. Closed captions are most common, utilizing functionality within video players and browsers to display closed captions on top of or immediately below the video area. The most common forms of web multimedia - Flash and HTML5 Video - both support captioning. Older technologies, such a Windows Media Player, QuickTime, and RealPlayer also support captioning. The formats and techniques for authoring and implementing captions may vary based on the technology used. Visit Our Better Business Blog Visit our Business Sustainability Blog

Wrapping Up Web Captioning

While captioning real-time web multimedia is not always easy, it is possible and should always be done when real-time multimedia is being delivered. Fortunately, the technologies are improving to a level that allows real-time captioning to be both easy and financially viable in most situations. The technologies used to provide real-time captions over the web are not limited to providing those captions as an alternative to web-based multimedia only. Such caption delivery systems can also be used to provide captions for non-web-based technologies such as radio, television, video conferencing, etc. This will ensure accessibility to all forms of live, real-time multimedia. For Web Accessibility Captions Matter Real-time web accessibility multimedia captioning is not always easy. It should always be done when real-time multimedia is being delivered. Technologies are improving to soon allow real-time captioning to be both easier and more financially viable in most situations.Today's technologies are not limited to providing captions as an alternative for web-based multimedia only. These caption delivery systems can also provide captions for non-web-based technologies. This will ensure accessibility to all forms of live, real-time multimedia Read the full article

#accessibility #AccessibilityInternational #Accessible #ADAviolations #AmericanswithDisabilitiesAct #hearingdisability #UniversalDesign #UserExperienceDesign #WCAG #webaccessibility #WebAccessibilityInitiative #WebContentAccessibilityGuidelines

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martynnx-blog · 5 years

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Stargardt Disease Therapeutics Market Trends and Growth 2026: Top Players Ocata Therapeutics Inc., Sanofi

Stargardt disease is an inherited juvenile macular degeneration that causes vision loss. The signs and symptoms of the disease typically appear in late childhood or early adulthood and worsen with time. The most common cause of the disease is mutations in the ABCA4 gene. People suffering from stargardt disease might notice grey or black color in the middle of eye, or eyes may be more sensitive to bright light. Others may even have symptoms of color blindness. The prevalence for the disease is low, reported at around 1 in 8,000-10,000 people globally, as stated by National Eye Institute in April 2015. Hence, the disease falls into rare disease category. Till date, there is no treatment available, though there are multiple therapies in pipeline.

Robust pipeline for each treatment type that may get regulatory approval over the forecast period is expected to boost the growth of stargardt disease therapeutics market

Treatment options for Stargardt disease include drug, gene therapy and stem cell therapy. There are products in each of these category currently in clinical trials. For instance, Nightstar Therapeutics expanded its pipeline with gene therapy program for Stargardt Disease treatment in November 2017. In drug category, certain companies have received orphan drug designation from U.S. FDA. For instance, in January 2017, Acucela Inc. received orphan drug designation for its leading product emixustat for the treatment of stargardt disease. In October 2017, Lin BioScience also received orphan n drug designation for its leading product LBS-008 for the treatment of Stargardt Disease. Furthermore, companies such as Astellas Pharma Inc. is working on stem cell therapy for Stargardt disease. With the approval of some of the therapy that are currently in pipeline, the global stargardt disease therapeutics market is expected to witness rapid growth over the forecast period.

Key players operating in stargardt disease therapeutics market include Nemus Bioscience Inc., Acucela Inc., Katairo, Ocata Therapeutics Inc., Sanofi, Alkeus Pharmaceuticals Inc., Astellas Pharma Inc., Copernicus Therapeutics Inc., Grupo Ferrer Internacional SA, Iris Pharma, Ophthotech Corp, ProQR Therapeutics NV.

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#Stargardt Disease Therapeutics Market #Stargardt Disease Therapeutics #Stargardt Disease Therapeutics Market 2026

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kansascityhappenings · 5 years

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Mattel releases a braille version of UNO

The number of people who can now shout “Uno!” with their friends just got bigger — and more inclusive.

Mattel announced Tuesday that fans of the game can now buy UNO Braille. With more than 7 million blind and low-vision people in the US, Mattel worked with the National Federation of the Blind to make the game more inclusive.

“The fact that a blind person is now able to play a classic game of UNO straight out of the box with both blind and sighted friends or family members is a truly meaningful moment for our community,” Mark Riccobono, President of the National Federation of the Blind, said in a news release.

The deck will feature braille dots on the corner of each card, and all players call out the card as they play. The packaging of the deck also features braille on the front and back.

Instructions for the game can be downloaded in braille readable files. Another option is to have Alexa or Google Home read the instructions aloud.

“We are proud to have UNO Braille on-shelves and to be making UNO more accessible and inclusive to even more families,” Ray Adler, global head of games at Mattel, said in the release.

This isn’t the first time Mattel has made a jump to become more inclusive. Just last week the toy company came out with a line of gender-neutral dolls called “Creatable World.”

The dolls are designed to be customizable by having different hairstyles, clothes and accessories that don’t necessarily fit into gender stereotypes.

In 2017, the company created UNO ColorADD, which they described as the first card game designed to be accessible to those with color blindness.

from FOX 4 Kansas City WDAF-TV | News, Weather, Sports https://fox4kc.com/2019/10/01/mattel-releases-a-braille-version-of-uno/

from Kansas City Happenings https://kansascityhappenings.wordpress.com/2019/10/01/mattel-releases-a-braille-version-of-uno/

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swipestream · 6 years

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Tabletop Gaming and the Visually Impaired

I have so many fond memories, in my 35+ years of tabletop role-playing, of sitting around the table with my gaming buddies . . . tossing dice, laughing when a “1” was rolled and cheering when a natural “20” saved the day. I remember coloring in my first set of dice, frantically flipping through the Player’s Handbook for the perfect spell before my turn came around . . . and debates that started with, “It says right here in the book that . . .”. I also remember trying to figure out what the red bull-shaped creature, with bat wings, was on the cover of the Monster Manual, being blown away by the artwork of Erol Otus, Jeff Dee, Larry Elmore, and so many other great artists . . . the image of the rust monster still cracks me up . . . so silly looking, yet one of the most terrifying creature’s my fighter every encountered!

[Image Description: This image depicts 3D renderings of split, braille dice 3D printer models. On the left is an orange d4 split horizontally, on the right is a blue d10 split vertically.]

These wonderful memories involved comradery, imagination, gaming icons that brought fantasy gaming to life, and one very important factor that I took for granted all these years . . . sight. It never occurred to me that all the gaming materials I came to love were designed for sighted players and that an entire community was completely overlooked. Then I met my buddy “D”.

I went to my first gaming convention in Richmond, VA about 8 years ago . . . and honestly, I wasn’t sure what to expect. I poured over the game signup sheets and saw one that captured my attention . . . Changeling. So, when the time slot came around, I sat down at the table and met “D”, our game master for the session. I had never played a World of Darkness game before and was a little daunted at the details I saw on the character sheet, but D was awesome, and so well-versed in teaching new players that he walked me through the character creation process in no time . . . handed me books and walked me through the spells and abilities. We then proceeded on an incredible adventure, one of the most creative and vivid adventures I’ve ever played in. OK, I know, this sounds like a normal convention gaming session . . . but what you don’t know is that “D” is totally blind.

Over the years, “D” and I became good friends, always looking forward to the con so we could hang out, toss dice and laugh at how my dice repeatedly tried to murder me. Then a few months ago it hit me, “How was “D” so well versed in the gaming material and how did he run such fluid games?”. I reach out to “D” and asked him if I could head to Richmond and chat with him about this. My first question inquired as to how he “read” the game books . . . were there audio books, PDFs run through a screen reader, etc.? You see, there are no braille books and most game PDFs are designed for sighted players and don’t meet all the accessibility criteria to be easily read with screen readers. Now, there are some wonderful pieces of equipment out there, braille readers that work in conjunction with a computer or SD card to translate text into braille and then the braille “pops” up, line by line, on the braille reader . . . basically a living translation machine.

[Image Description: This is a picture of myself and my buddy D, the man that got me started on this project. To the left is an old guy with white hair, blue glasses, and sporting a pride t-shirt with rainbow dice. To the right is D, a handsome person of color wearing a grey t-shirt].

But here’s the problem . . . equipment like this is exceedingly expensive and a lot of visually impaired readers can’t afford to purchase items like this. D’s answer really hit me like a ton of bricks, “Jack, I have a fantastic group of players that I trust. They read the books to me and I remember what they say. I rely on them because there aren’t any braille gaming books for me to refer to.” So, my next question was, “Do you ever have other visually impaired friends ask about getting into RPGs?” . . . and this was the answer that broke my heart and spurred me into action. “Jack, I’ve had several blind friends ask me. Sadly, I had to tell them that they needed a sighted player to take them in because there are no accessible RPG products that enable blind players to independently jump into the hobby.”

Now, if you’re like me, you might know one or two people, or have seen someone in public who is blind . . . and never really considered the expanse of the scope of visually impaired people—it’s quite large. Additionally, there are many forms of visual impairment, not just blindness. The following is taken directly from an article entitled “Statistical Facts about Blindness in the United States”, by the National Federation of the Blind:

There are several ways to define blindness.

Many people regard blindness as the inability to see at all or, at best, to discern light from darkness.

The National Federation of the Blind takes a much broader view. We encourage people to consider themselves as blind if their sight is bad enough—even with corrective lenses—that they must use alternative methods to engage in any activity that persons with normal vision would do using their eyes.

The United States Bureau of the Census question about “significant vision loss” encompasses both total or near-total blindness and “trouble seeing, even when wearing glasses or contact lenses.”

The statutory definition of “legally blind” is that central visual acuity must be 20/200 or less in the better eye with the best possible correction or that the visual field must be 20 degrees or less.

There are no generally accepted definitions for “visually impaired,” “low vision,” or “vision loss.”

As gamers, we like numbers . . . so let’s delve a little deeper to provide a little more perspective: Prevalence of Visual Disability

The number of non-institutionalized, male or female, ages 16 through 75+, all races, regardless of ethnicity, with all education levels in the United States reported to have a visual disability in 2015.

Total (all ages): 7,297,100 (2.3%)

Total (16 to 75+): 6,833,000 (2.7%)

Women: 3,738,400 (2.87%)

Men: 3,094,600 (2.53%)

Age 16 to 64: 3,847,100 (1.9%)

Age 65 and older: 2,985,900 (6.4%)

(Source: Erickson, W., Lee, C., von Schrader, S. (2017). Disability Statistics from the American Community Survey (ACS). Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Yang-Tan Institute (YTI). Retrieved from Cornell University Disability Statistics website: http://ift.tt/1n3BM65)

I don’t know about you, but for me (personally), I find these numbers staggering . . . 2.3% of our entire population is visually impaired, and over 3.8 million of these people are 16 years old and up. That’s no mere drop in the bucket.

Now that we have some stats to consider, let’s look at how this comes into play since the advent of fantasy role-playing games. Most of us are familiar with D&D™ (1974), Empire of the Petal Throne™ (1974), and Tunnels & Trolls™ (1975) as the fore fathers of all tabletop RPGs . . . the games that set the stage for all modern tabletop RPGs. Since that time, and this is purely a guess, hundreds and hundreds of tabletop RPGs have been created; from home brew games, the indie press, and the big mass market companies. Yet . . . for all the games created, nothing has been created with the needs of the visually impaired considered. Now, there could be a few braille game books out there . . . I just couldn’t find any references to them and none of the visually impaired gamers I’ve spoken with know of any. So, please understand that I’m simply writing this based on my research and don’t claim to be “all knowing”.

Regardless of 100% historical accuracy, however, what I do know is that in the gaming community, the needs of the visually impaired are not being met . . . and I find that very saddening. Now, I do want to flip the coin and look at things from a designer’s point of view. First, if you were like me, I honestly didn’t realize that the need was there. Secondly, there is the simple matter of cost versus demand.

I recently translated David Black’s The Black Hack RPG into braille, so I understand the process that goes into it. First, I had to teach myself braille, which ended up being one of the most incredible experiences ever! Braille is not a language, it’s a code . . . a beautiful and amazing code. There are two levels of braille, Grade 1 deals with straight, letter-for-letter translation and basic punctuation. Grade 2 braille is much more advanced and delves into contractions and single braille cell representation of complete words (I’m just now starting this journey!). So back to The Black Hack . . . the printed game booklet weighs in around 35+ pages or so and it took me about two hours, as a complete novice, to copy the text to Word, format it, then run it through an open source translation application called Braille Blaster . In this application, I had to go through, line by line, to make sure that the translation was accurate and that the page layouts would make sense to the reader. Setting aside the time it took to learn braille, it only took me a couple of hours to create a braille version of the game. Not bad . . . but then I ran into a new challenge. The 35+ page, 6” by 9” booklet, once translated into braille, turned into an 80 page 8” by 11” book. That’s a lot of pages . . . but not impossible to overcome.

Seeing as that I’m just one person, I decided to send the game PDF to a non-profit agency that specializes in doing exactly what I did . . . just to see if outsourcing the process would be a viable option for game designers. The price quote I received back blew my mind.

Translation fee (6 hours at $90 per hour) = $540

Printing Fee for 1 Copy = $45

Shipping = $10

Total Cost . . . roughly $600 for a 35+ page booklet using much better software and equipment than I had.

Here’s a short video showing how I got started in the translation process.

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*** Please share to help spread the word to open the doors of roleplaying games for the visually impaired! ***Project 1: The DOT Hack adaption of The Black Hack RPG by David BlackI created a short video to show what the braille to text game translation process is like and also talk a little bit about the DOTS a Stylus & Slate RPG Project. Let's blow open the doors of roleplaying games for the visually impaired community!

Posted by Jack Berberette on Wednesday, August 9, 2017

Now, my point in sharing this is not to say the company is price gouging—after all, they have utilities, rent, and employees to pay for. The issue is that, depending on the page count of the game book, outlaying hundreds to even thousands of dollars for an unknown ROI is not generally in reach for most companies, especially indie designers.

The question now becomes, “How can game designers also incorporate the needs of the visually impaired into the design process?” It’s a fair question, but one that with some ingenuity we’ll eventually figure out.

This article is not about the project I started, but I do want to share what I’ve done so far, which has since gained momentum that is hard to keep up with. You see, most game designers, once they realize the need, genuinely want to help . . . mainly because gamers are, in general, awesome people who love the hobby and want to share it with everyone they can.

So here’s what I’ve done:

I reached out to several visually impaired gamers to get their feedback on things such as braille books, existing technology, and what specific things they struggle with the most.

I taught myself braille—it’s surprisingly easy to pick up on and I promise you that once you start learning, you’ll be fascinated and as obsessed with it as I am!

I realized that getting print houses with the proper printers to print the translations was out of the question. So I raised money and purchased a braille embossing printer, and now that same $40 print of the Black Hat (mentioned above) costs me about $1.75 to print. Now I can print things at cost and get them into the hands of visually impaired players.

I reached out to several blind gamers, proficient in braille, and asked them if they would be my proof readers/editors for the braille translation process.

I designed braille dice in photoshop, then hired a Shapeways designer to create 3D models that can be purchased on Shapeways (at cost) or downloaded for free for people with access to 3D printers.

I network, network, network, then do a little more networking to find like-minded people who embrace the quest. I have made some amazing friends in the gaming industry just by reaching out and each one is fully on board with getting their games translated into braille and having fully accessible, screen-reader ready, PDF files that can be made available to visually impaired gamers.

I also just found some new fonts that are designed to help make reading easier for readers who deal with Dyslexia. So basically, with a few extra clicks, I can create PDFs that help Dyslexic gamers on top of blind readers (we’re in the process of testing these fonts currently to see if they work well).

Lastly, I research (constantly) the different digital technologies available to see how many of these can be leveraged in a way that will help empower independent game play for visually impaired players. As an aside, I’ve spoken with several blind players and simply using audio files at the game table can be a real challenge. So, I’m looking at ways we can work with designers who are experts at designing mobile apps for the visually impaired.

Here’s what it looks like when a veteran, visually impaired gamer get’s his hands on accessible gaming books, dice, and character sheets for the very first time!

youtube

So, where do we go from here? How can you, the reader, get involved? First, help spread the word that there is a real need for the visually impaired and if the gaming industry embraces that need, it could literally open worlds for many people! Next, take some time to learn braille . . . trust me, it’s freaking cool, and once you start, you’ll never want to stop learning. If you are presented with the opportunity, get to know someone who is visually impaired . . . learn about their lives and if they are interested, take them under your wing and share the magic of tabletop gaming with them. Lastly, and this is very important, don’t talk to or treat a visually impaired person any differently than you would a sighted friend. They did the same things we do, they just experience it through touch, sound, and most importantly . . . trust.

I hope you enjoyed this article and found it interesting and inspiring!

~ Jack Berberette – DOTS RPG Project

Tabletop Gaming and the Visually Impaired published first on http://ift.tt/2zdiasi

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