I've always been hesitant to share my code. It's not that I believe it's subpar, nor am I plagued by imposter syndrome. It's just that sharing code offers a glimpse into the madness that is my mind, and that feels somehow cruel for everyone else. Allow me to guide you on a journey that nearly drove me to the brink of sanity. It all began with Google's Lighthouse update.
For the SEO uninitiated, Google's Lighthouse update represented a substantial shift in search ranking, hinging on a website's performance and adherence to best practices. If you'd like to test your website, simply open it in Chrome on a desktop, press F12 to open the Chrome developer tools, and then click the "Lighthouse" tab. Choose either Desktop or Mobile and click "Analyze". After about a minute, you'll receive five scores, each ranging from 0 to 100, for Performance, Accessibility, Best Practice, SEO, and Progressive Web App (PWA).
Before delving into the technical details, let me introduce myself. My name is Jonathan Grantham, and I'm the proud owner of a small B2B SaaS company, Nexoid, which specializes in ERP and ITSM software. The website I'm discussing in this piece is www.nexoid.com. Feel free to have a look, open up the source code. You can also follow me on LinkedIn. My profile is https://www.linkedin.com/in/jonathongrantham/.
Upon the release of the Google Chrome Lighthouse update, I did what any conscientious business owner would do: I checked my website. Much to my dismay, the results were far from satisfactory. With scores of 21/100 for Performance, 30/100 for Accessibility, 45/100 for Best Practice, 11/100 for SEO, and a failure for PWA, I was shocked. I had personally built the website, a fairly standard Single Page Architecture using React.js. The scores were a crushing blow.
Undeterred by the initial setback, I launched MS Code and began addressing the issues one by one, with Performance being my first target. The guides provided within the Lighthouse tool proved quite useful. I converted all images from JPEGs and PNGs to modern WebP files, and ensured that every img tag was equipped with a width and length property to prevent layout shifts. These modifications alone boosted my score from 21/100 to 60/100. It was a significant improvement, but far from perfect. The only suggestion remaining was to "reduce unused JavaScript," which wasn't particularly helpful. The only JavaScript present was the React.js framework, as everything else had been eliminated.
Despite my persistent efforts to rectify the issue, I was met with constant roadblocks. I attempted to remove parts of React.js, explored "lazy loading," and tested various optimizers and compressions. However, the issue stemmed from React.js itself, which was approximately half a megabyte in size.
I can almost hear seasoned web developers shouting, "Don't use React for a website! It's meant for building web applications!" I'm well aware of this now.
What began as a seemingly simple task of converting a few images had now morphed into a complete website overhaul using a new framework. Frustrated and uttering a few choice words under my breath, I set out in search of a suitable replacement. I first considered Vue and later Angular, arguably the biggest competitors of React.js. However, they both presented the same issue.
In an attempt to simplify things, I decided to look into older technologies, and gave jQuery a shot. Yet, I was met with the same problem. It became abundantly clear that there wasn't an off-the-shelf Single Page Architecture framework that could appease the Google deities.
It seemed my only remaining option was to resort to vanilla JavaScript.
My series of experiments began with a basic HTML page without any JavaScript. Then, I tried an HTML page with a div whose contents could be replaced. I quickly realized that making multiple simultaneous changes to the page via JavaScript incurred penalties from Lighthouse. The solution was to manipulate the contents of the body tag as a string and then reintegrate it, thereby creating only a single visible DOM change.
I now had a minimalist HTML page with an empty body tag, complemented by a small onload function in the head tag. This function inspected the URL and executed an HTML GET request to retrieve the corresponding text file containing the page's body HTML. One would think this is a suitable solution. Unfortunately, it fell short when I attempted to dynamically load JavaScript functionality.
Unlike other tags, if you add a script tag with a simple alert("yes this fired") into the body contents string, it won't execute. Although not ideal, one workaround was to parse the body string, identify all the script tag contents, and place them in a JavaScript eval function. The approach was somewhat effective but stumbled when dealing with namespaces, and the developer console was flooded with unsightly warnings. The solution was to extract the script tags from the HTML and add them as a script element after the DOM had rendered. Google did not penalize this action for some reason.
Progress was being made, and I had a basic Single Page Architecture solution. But not so fast. While Google is efficient at indexing Single Page Architecture pages (they do this by opening it in a browser, allowing all the JavaScript to run, and then scanning the DOM), Bing, Yahoo, and other major search engines use a similar, simpler method. However, most other platforms like Facebook, Reddit, LinkedIn, and WhatsApp only fetch the HTML file, retrieving a small HTML file with a blank body. My solution was not viable. I now had to replicate this concept for every page on the website and include the JavaScript to switch to Single Page Architecture mode when a user clicked on a link.
I needed a tool capable of generating HTML for each page, based on my solution. It occurred to me that I had the perfect resource at my disposal: my own ERP system, Nexoid. I created a Nexoid model encompassing a website and web page data objects. The website record facilitated the creation of a generic template webpage, while the web page records contained the content for each individual page. The final piece of the puzzle was a workflow function or script that could read the website record and all related web page records to generate the HTML files. After a few days, it was operational. I had created a basic Content Management System (CMS). Developing a CMS to this point is not overly complex; the real challenge arises when integrating other CMS workflows, approvals, localizations, previews, etc.
A key requirement for the new website was localization; we aimed to launch it in 11 languages. Being an IT company, I naturally leaned toward technological solutions. Rather than hiring a translator for every page, I opted for AWS Translate. While AI translators are decent, they're not perfect, and the errors are noticeable enough to reveal a non-human origin. A French-speaking staff member evaluated the AI translation and gave it a 6/10, describing it as "understandable, but not proper French."
However, we stumbled upon a valuable trick. We found that feeding the English text through ChatGPT first, asking it to 'tidy this up', and then pasting it in, it rewords the text in a way that's still English but is much more compatible with the language models. Using the ChatGPT-reworded English as the base for translation significantly improves the translation quality, elevating it to a 9 or even a perfect 10 out of 10.
Having developed a solid technological foundation for creating the website, I was making progress. However, a new challenge emerged as we began to build more complex pages. Under the new Lighthouse guidelines, it became necessary to consolidate all JavaScript, CSS, and HTML into a single file. This also applied to the Single Page Architecture versions.
We resorted to inserting all JavaScript and CSS files as inline tags. A similar strategy was required for the Single Page Architecture version. We created a JSON file containing all scripts, styles, and HTML.
Lighthouse identified the next problem as the size of the assets; the HTML and JSON page files were excessively large. I resolved this issue using 'minify,' a Node.js library specifically designed to compress HTML, CSS, and JavaScript files. This solution resulted in a reduction of text file size by over 40%. Additionally, minify offered the added benefit of obfuscation, making the raw code more difficult to read, enhancing security.
Let's delve into the topic of hosting. Traditionally, a Content Management System (CMS) operates via an application server that handles the user's HTML request. It interprets the page request from the URL, locates the corresponding assets in a database, retrieves the database record (possibly alongside others), processes the information to assemble the page, and finally delivers it to the end user as a flat HTML document. This description primarily pertains to the initial HTML request when a user visits a new website, although I am aware of AJAX and other similar technologies.
However, this conventional model presents certain drawbacks in the context of the new Lighthouse world. Firstly, the back-and-forth communication between the application server and the database server, as well as the page compilation, introduces delays. Secondly, in its simplest form, an application server and a database server are only physically available in a single location. This setup is excellent if you're in the same building or city, but significantly less efficient if you're attempting to access the site from the other side of the world. For instance, the average ping latency between Australia and the UK is approximately 250 milliseconds.
Our solution to these challenges involves utilizing AWS S3 for hosting the static files generated by the previously mentioned publish script, and AWS CloudFront for global content distribution. At the time of this writing, AWS CloudFront was distributing content to over 90 cities in 47 countries. For an individual in Melbourne, Australia accessing a UK website, AWS CloudFront reduced the ping latency from 250 milliseconds to a mere 13 milliseconds (this is the time difference between Melbourne and AWS edge servers in Sydney).
We now arrive at the Progressive Web Application (PWA) component of the Lighthouse test, which was not something I had previously given much consideration. For those unfamiliar, a PWA involves a JavaScript service worker that manages the website as a web application. If that's a bit complex, consider it this way: it's essentially an automatic downloading and caching tool. When a user visits your website, the goal is to make their subsequent requests as speedy and seamless as possible. The PWA service worker allows you to already have the next assets downloaded to the user's local machine, eliminating the need for another internet GET request.
At the time of writing this article, the Nexoid website is relatively small, containing only 19 pages. However, those 19 pages are translated into 11 different languages, making a total of 209 pages. Initially, I tried to download every asset into the service worker, which amounted to around 5MB. This size was too large for an initial load, and Lighthouse penalized me for it. I settled on downloading only the English page JSON files, which include all the necessary CSS, HTML, and JavaScript to display each page.
The final structure is as follows: An S3 bucket houses the compiled HTML files, named without the .html extension. For instance, http://www.nexoid.com/en represents the English homepage HTML, /de is for the German homepage HTML, and /en/platform refers to the English platform HTML, and so on. Additionally, there are JSON files that contain the parts of the body and head that change when navigating between pages, such as /en.json, /de.json, and /en/platform.json, among others.
In conclusion, comprehending Lighthouse posed a significant challenge. I am skeptical that traditional, out-of-the-box CMS products can effectively tackle this task. Reflecting on my experience with platforms like WordPress and Drupal, I find it hard to believe that they could be optimized to achieve a perfect Lighthouse score. Overall, I believe the effort is worthwhile, and Google is justified in placing more emphasis on performance. However, this shift is and will continue to be a considerable pain point for web designers and agencies.
If you're interested in learning more about Lighthouse or if you'd like to discuss Nexoid's products and services, please don't hesitate to get in touch. You can reach out via LinkedIn or through the 'Contact Us' page on our website.
https://www.nexoid.com/en/contact_us
https://www.linkedin.com/in/jonathongrantham

I don't know how long I'd paced the living room until I decided not to wait any longer for the power to return. I grabbed my phone off the kitchen counter and dialed the electric company. It rang a few times before being forwarded to a message, "if you're experiencing a power outage, please be patient, we're in the process of fixing the issue." Just as I took the phone from my ear I thought I'd heard something. Static… and voices? Then an unsettling phrase "Don't worry, it happens all the time". I put the phone back to my ear "Power outages are common during this weather, we will have your electricity restored as soon as possible."
As eerie as it was to hear those words, I had to chalk it up to a coincidence. I sighed and rubbed my eyes, the beginning of a headache creeping in. I sat down on the couch in the dark, with only the flashing of lightning illuminating my surroundings. My eyes were heavy. Thoughts began to blur together as sleep took me despite my attempts to prevent it.
I found myself walking down a road, on either side were nothing but tall trees. The woods were thick and rarely were there any breaks to seeing you much of anything beyond the treeline. I didn't know why I was walking but I kept walking nonetheless. The road stretched on and on with no end in sight. Looking to my right, I saw her. My wife. I realized we were holding hands.
At that moment there were so many things I wanted to say, but I just kept walking hand in hand. She gazed straight ahead and I couldn't take my eyes off her. “I miss you.” I said. She didn't respond, she just smiled. It was lightly raining, reminding me of the walks we used to take in the rain. Suddenly she stopped walking and her smile faded, her expression turning serious. “You need to wake up.” She said, Her lips didn't move, it was as if she were speaking to my mind. I followed her gaze.
Down the road about a football field away I saw a figure. It looked familiar, like the one I'd seen on the lightning-lit road, only this time it was easier to see. Freakishly tall and emaciated, its arms were longer than any human, as were the legs. As terrifying as it was, I didn't want to leave. “I don't want to wake up.” I said a bit choked up. “No I mean really... wake up.” She said.
The way she put emphasis on the word “really” was strange and unnerving. Looking ahead again I was startled by the fact that the thing was noticeably closer. Its head cocked to one side and its torso contorted at an inhuman angle. “I don't…” I trailed off. Looking left, I found that the trees were gone, on a small patch of land, and in its place was the familiar motel building from my previous nightmare.
Briefly gazing upon the structure, it was shrouded in a disturbing aura of what resembled death. There was only one building and had only twelve rooms for each of the two floors, rusted metal stairs led up to the second floor. The only other building was what I assumed was a dilapidated office.
My attention was caught by the windows of the eerie place. The curtains were drawn to reveal the darkness, but I could see the faint silhouettes of someone or something. It seemed as though they occupied every window of the building, I couldn't quite see the faces, only the faintest shapes to know that they were there.
A flicker of yellow light flashed from within a room on the second floor, the faint flash illuminated the same man from my dream. He was grinning, his eyeless gaze focused directly on me, as if he was staring into my very consciousness more I looked forward, the creature was maybe 50 yards away now. I stood terrified as it emitted an inhuman wail. The sky above seemed to start swirling in a vortex of darkness as the breeze and rain around me turned into a severe frenzy. And it seemed as though a cloud of darkness followed behind it. “Looking back at my wife, she was looking directly at me. Suddenly her mouth opened, and a loud white noise was emitted from inside. My eyes snapped open.
I recognized the sound of ringing which startled me awake, it was my phone. Looking at the screen I realized it was my brother calling. I hesitated, I only had so much battery charge to last me. And who knows when the power would be restored. I wanted to talk to someone, to anyone, but how do you explain to someone that you may or may not be insane? Furthermore, I grew tired of the cliche comments. "It will get better." Or "She wants you to be happy." Or, the ever popular; "She's in a better place." I've always loathed those sorts of so-called sympathetic phrases.
After a few moments, the ringing stopped and I sighed. At this point, I wasn't certain if I had the mental clarity for such conversations. I don't know if it ever will be since the accident. I never like going to this place in my head, it only brought more inner turmoil. I stared at my phone, contemplating whether or not I should call back. Just as I reached for the phone it rang once more, making me jump.
"hey bro what's going on?" I said. "Oh same shit different day, just thought I'd call and see if you were still alive." Something about what he said made me feel uneasy. "Yeah um… yeah I'm ok, just taking it day by day," I responded. "You sound tired, are you sure everything is ok?" He asked. "Yeah, just a bit annoyed, the power is out and I've been waiting for it to come back on." He chuckled at that one. "Don't worry, that happens all the time." He said. My blood went cold. "What did you say?". "Awe what's the matter, are you scared of the dark?" His voice was warped.
I dropped my phone as the sounds of white noise and the familiar screams filled the air. I jumped up and ran up the stairs as the sounds seemed to follow me. I slammed the door and huddled in the corner with my eyes shut tight and my hands covering my ears, I could feel the floor shake as if something monstrous was coming up the stairs. Then after several seconds passed I realized that they were gone. I dared not move, worried that somehow I might once again hear the horrible noises that filled my ears only moments before. Several minutes passed, and I finally managed to stand, still shaken.
The way things were going, the nightmares, the noises, the whole experience seemed impossible to comprehend in any sane manner, I could only logically chalk it up to my sleep-deprived mind playing tricks on me in the dark. The darkness… somehow seemed to not only be the absence of light, but a sort of force all its own. I felt as though I was going truly mad.
I headed down the stairs and into the kitchen, opening the fridge I squinted, and spotted the six-pack on the top shelf in the dark, as I closed the refrigerator door I stopped, something was odd. Opening it I was met with the odor of spoiled meat. "What the fu-" I trailed off. How was it that the contents of the fridge had already gone bad? How long has it been without power?
I tried to make sense of it. I could've sworn that the refrigerator was working fine before… I rubbed my eyes. Had it been long enough for it to spoil everything? Whatever the case, I tried to convince myself that it must have been acting up before the power outage. I sighed, practically dragging my feet over to the couch, careful not to trip over anything in the darkness.
The rain was still coming down heavily, not letting up for an instant. The lightning is still the only source of light, I just stared at nothing. The events of the night were weighing heavily on my mental state, even if it was just my sleep-addled brain causing these things they were nevertheless bothering me. I finished my beer and went to grab another.
After doing so I suddenly remembered dropping my phone, so I walked over to where I was standing and squinted through the darkness. I felt along the floor for a minute or so to no avail. Upon standing back up I happened to glimpse something on the coffee table. It was my phone.
Once again, I was confused. It seemed to be the common theme of the night. How have I been so oblivious to these things? Was I really going insane? I was starting to get frustrated, with the power outage, the confusion, the dreams, but mostly at myself. Whatever was going on with me was amplified by my delirium, lack of sleep, and stress. It was starting to annoy me.
I considered calling the electric company again but decided that nothing I could say would make any difference. Admittedly, I was still a bit paranoid that I might hear those god-awful sounds. I went to grab another beer. I didn't want to go back to the bedroom just yet so I decided to sit on the porch again, as I was feeling a bit cooped up. Although I still noticed that there seemed to be no cars in any of the driveways on my street, I was too tired to care. I just sat, my back pressed against the front door, watching the rain as it poured endlessly. Even though it knocked out the power, I loved thunderstorms, and despite everything, I started to relax a bit.
I sat under the shelter of the porch, only the slight mist of the rain grazing my skin as the wind blew it my way. Ever so often I'd still get the eerie feeling that I'd once again see the figure in the street, but thankfully I saw nothing save for the torrents of rain pouring from the dark skies, and the steady flash of lightning illuminating only the shortest glimpses of the scenery before me in the distance.
Still staring in the direction of where I'd seen the figure I was becoming convinced that it had all been my imagination. Then I saw a brief glimpse of a light down the street, not lightning, but what seemed to be the flickering of a street light.
I stood to my feet. In hope that this may be a sign that the power was being restored, I turned around and stepped into the house to see if they worked. I was immediately met with confusion, and a sick feeling churned in my gut. I surveyed my surroundings, and to my horror, I was met with the familiar scenery of the motel room. As if I were in a scene of a horror film I turned only to find that the door behind me wouldn't budge. All was quiet, too quiet except for the rain.
I could hear some conversation coming from beyond the wall behind the bedpost. Someone was talking, and I could hear them in the next room over. As I listened intently, the conversation was incomprehensible, although it sounded entirely casual initially, like the mundane conversation of two friends.
I'd just begun to think that this was just a normal dream that somehow counteracted my previous experiences, but then the verbal exchanges became strange as if the very essence of the voices themselves slowly morphed into something else entirely. Their casual cadence and tone shifting into something or someone different.
I was slightly able to hear bits and pieces of the conversation, though the words seem to jumble together as if they were both speaking at once. Then everything went silent for a moment as I stood still, my ear pressed against the wall. "He doesn't think we know he's listening." They both spoke at once, their voices warped into one inhuman tone. "And he doesn't know he's coming, very soon."
I stood frozen as I heard movement from the other room, fear building within my gut, I felt sick. The two voices whispered incomprehensibly, both giggling in their warped voices. Then strangely the two voices started humming. Some haunting melody that was made all the more creepy by the inhuman voices.
I noticed that the humming was getting louder as if they were moving closer. The humming was soon accompanied by scratching, which was now directly on the other side of the wall, only a couple of feet away. The voices abruptly stopped, and after a few moments of silence, I heard… tap….tap...tap. then “we know you're listening.” The voices said in unison, even more inhuman than before. “why not invite us in?” It said. I then heard scratching again. Only this time it sounded as if fingernails were being scraped along the wall as it moved towards…. "oh my God no" I thought. It was moving towards the conjoining door between the two rooms.
I instinctively scrambled as silently as possible to the closet in the room. Once it stopped at the conjoined door, I prayed silently. “Please be locked...please be locked.” To my horror, I heard the knob turn slowly. The old door creaked open loudly and I felt a presence of something terrible enter the room. Bare feet were heard slapping against the floor as the creature crept toward the closet door, stopping just feet from it.
I could hear ragged breathing as the thing of my nightmare stood at the door. My blood froze in my veins, and I waited in complete helplessness as I heard the knob slowly turn and the closet door creaked open. Even as I stared ahead at the darkness, the presence of the creature was palpable.
Then a flash of lightning illuminated the room, and standing just inches from me was something almost indescribable. A naked and mutated monstrosity stood before me, in the brief flash of light, I could see the emaciated body that was arched unnaturally where the spine meets the ribcage, its legs arched backward like that of an animal, and an outstretched hand with too many fingers.
The most terrifying and sickening detail were the heads, two heads outstretched from long necks, both bald, their jaws hung loosely and were too long, both with a terrifying smile, and needle-like teeth. Two large white eyes extruded from each face as if there were no sockets at all. All I could do was shut my eyes, unable to scream as I waited to be consumed by this abomination.
I opened my eyes to find myself back in my room, huddled in the corner. I stood, still shaking, still very much afraid, it was becoming hard to determine whether I was awake and hallucinating or still in some nightmare. I stood for several minutes, staring out the window as the rain still poured endlessly. At this point, I wanted nothing more than for the power to return so that I wouldn't be in the dark.
I paced back and forth across the bedroom floor, trying to keep moving. I felt as though I was losing my mind. My sleep-deprived brain was now experiencing waking nightmares, and hallucinations. At any given moment I could possibly fall into another episode.
I was suddenly snapped out of my daze by the sound of knocking from downstairs. I waited a few moments until I once again heard the knocking, and cautiously I made my way downstairs. Once I got to the bottom I heard a woman's voice from the other side of the door. "Hello? Please can you help me?" I paused. "What do you need?" I demanded, sounding a bit shaky. "I was wondering if you had any batteries for a flashlight." I paused once more. Then she knocked again. "Please, my kids are afraid of the dark." I sighed. "Ok," I said.
It seemed to be the most harmless encounter of the entire night, and by all accounts, she sounded normal. I was still cautious. Being that it was apparently just an innocent person seeking help I turned toward the utility closet to search for any batteries I may have. Then I realized something that stopped me dead in my tracks. Why had the knocking sounded like it came from the bottom of the door? I slowly crouched down to peek under the door. I immediately regretted it. I was met with a deformed, vaguely human head, missing its bottom jaw, the top part of the jaw extended out, teeth jutted out at various angles, and grew in various places. There was a gaping hole where the eyes and nose should be, and the cavity was filled with maggots. Before I could react, a long black tongue snaked out of its mouth and underneath the door, making contact with my face, the smell was indescribably awful.
Just as I tried to move away I fell, only to regain my footing and was suddenly aware that my surroundings had changed. After several seconds of confusion, I realized I was standing at the bedroom window. When had I run up the stairs? Had I hallucinated the woman knocking and walking down the stairs? I felt so exhausted, the feeling of losing my grip on reality was stronger than ever.
I decided then and there that I was too sleep deprived and there was nothing I could do to prevent these things to manifest themselves in countless and horrific ways. Regardless of the nightmares and/or hallucinations I'd had, I needed sleep. I no longer had the energy to fight it. I couldn't help but feel like I might not wake up next time. I sluggishly moved to the nightstand where there sat a picture, the only one I had. My wife and I embraced one another.
I pulled out my phone so that the light from it illuminated her face. Tears filled my eyes. I sat on the bed, staring at the picture for several minutes. Just before I was about to shut off the phone I saw something that caught my attention, the time on the phone read 3 a.m. just as it had some time ago.
I suddenly realized I didn't know how long it had been since the first nightmare of the motel room woke me, but I knew it should be daylight out, however, the darkness of the storm raged on with no sign of any light behind the thick clouds, aside from the faint glow of the moon which hadn't moved in the night sky. I couldn't take any more confusion, I was way too far down the rabbit hole.
Admitting defeat, I crawled into bed and slowly shut my eyes. I'd soon find that it was a mistake. I found myself on the road again, standing in front of the motel. Only this time my wife was not by my side, and the darkness that followed the creature in the previous dream enveloped everything as far as the eye could see.
Lightning flashed constantly, and while gazing in the direction of the motel, the brief flashes of light made it possible for me to see the curtains of the rooms all seemed to be drawn open still, save for one. Only one door was open, the one with the flickering light. I don't know why but I felt compelled to approach the building. As I walked towards the stairs I heard a familiar giggle to my right. I gazed in the direction of the sound I caught a glimpse of something, two heads were outstretched, peeking around the corner of the building.
They continued to chuckle in the same distorted voice as if they were holding in a secret. I turned and continued towards the stairs. The storm raged more violently than ever, I was soaked as torrents of rain poured over me. Despite the churning in my gut and the fear in my heart, I slowly climbed the stairs.
I didn't know what I expected to find but carried on anyways. The fear grew stronger as I passed by every room, seeing horrible things through their windows with every flash of lightning. Blood painted the walls, and dismembered body parts were strewn about the floor. Walking past a window a few rooms down from the open door, terror filled my heart as I witnessed an inhuman creature ripping flesh from the writhing body of a man. His limbs were removed, and his eyes were gouged out, yet he was alive, and screaming. I could do nothing more than continue on.
I stopped at a blood-covered window belonging to the conjoining room where I saw the dismembered corpse of a man Looking down I saw something that made me want to vomit. A human head lay on the floor of the breezeway in front of the window, the face of the man was obliterated and broken to unrecognition. Teeth were scattered around the head in a pool of blood and brain matter.
I heard a giggle that made me turn around, the two headed monstrosity stood at the end by the stairs, watching me. I turned and once again continued to the next room. My heart raced faster than ever as I approached the open door. I peered through, my eyes darting around. I reluctantly crept into the room, as slowly as possible, trying not to make a sound
To my immediate horror, the door behind me shut, plunging the room into darkness. I stood as still as possible, not knowing what to do. I became aware of a noise, it sounded like breathing, coming from the direction of the bed. The raspy animalistic breath of something that was anything but human. I slowly backed away toward the door reaching for the handle. As I did so the sound of breathing stopped, for a moment the room was silent. What happened next was too horrifying for words.
The TV came on, emitting the familiar white noise, and as the light shone throughout the room I saw two things. Laying on the bed was the body of a man, it didn't take long before I recognized the face… it was me, laying on my back, eyes rolled to the back of my head, completely still. Standing beside my body was something so unimaginable that my mind couldn't comprehend it. It's eyes alone were enough to destroy the soul of anyone. They were pitch black and very large.
I recognized the form of the being, it was the creature that approached me from the dream of my wife. It was freakishly tall and emaciated with long thin arms and legs that were inverted. The creature's eyes bore into my very being, The expression on it's face was one of cold indifference, like a shark preparing to devour it's prey, though still somehow pure evil. It's features were indescribably horrific. As it lifted it's head… it's eyes… if the old man with no eyes resembled death, this…. thing's eyes resembled hell.
I felt as though my experience had reached its peak of horror, that was until the thing began to approach me, never breaking it's malicious gaze. I felt as though I was looking into the deepest depths of hell. I couldn't scream… my voice failed me. It stopped in front of me, tilting it's head to the side. The mouth of the thing slowly opened unnaturally wide, deafening sounds of agonizing screams filled my ears as it reached for me with it's black claws. At that moment I knew I was going to be consumed by this… thing, down to my very soul, and again, I could do nothing to stop it. So I closed my eyes and covered my face, anticipating whatever fate awaited me. Then everything went silent.
I opened my eyes in a state of confusion, I soon realized I was on the floor. Only it wasn't the floor of the room, I was sprawled out on the floor at home next to my bed. The next thing I noticed took me by surprise, a light shone throughout my bedroom.
I gathered my senses and slowly climbed to my feet. Looking toward the window I indeed saw sunlight trickling in through the curtain. I sat on the bed and reached for my phone. I breathed a sigh of relief as I read the time, it was 9:46 a.m.
I pondered the whole situation for a while and wondered if I'd simply had a severe nervous breakdown and dreamt the whole thing. I felt a little rested, though still groggy. My mind wandered for a while before I finally stood up to go downstairs. I was looking forward to getting out of the house and just absorbing some sunlight. As I reached the bottom steps I flipped the switch to the living room. The electricity was restored. I took a deep breath in relief, trying to shake off the lingering angst of the night before.
Satisfied, I moved toward the door and opened it…. My stomach dropped. I realized I was looking over the rail of the motel's breezeway. The scenery before me was the most terrifying thing I've ever seen in my life. One glimpse of what I saw was enough to destroy anyone to their core.
Countless bodies, as far as the eye could see were writhing and screaming far below me in an endless river, only it wasn't water. Waves of lava tossed bodies in every direction as they begged for mercy, faces were melted, eyes were missing, though they were all alive, feeling every inch of their bodies being broiled. The sky was a swirling vortex of blackness and fire and rained more bodies into the vast river of magma that stretched as far as the eyes could see.
Some were trying to climb onto other people to escape the torture, only to once again sink into the melted rock again, and again. On either side of the pit were rock formations and low mountains. As I gazed at them I could make out the forms of countless grotesque creatures doing unspeakable things to countless people. Some were being held over blazing fires by their feet, some were being dismembered, their skin being peeled away slowly. Some were sewn to one another with various other limbs attached in the wrong places, some were being eaten, or forced to eat themselves. Blood and body parts were strewn about the cliffs.
A familiar voice behind me interrupted my catatonic state. "If hell wants you, no matter how much you run, hell finds you. It happens all the time." I turned to see the old man, he had a sickening grin on his face. He raised a hand, pointing somewhere behind me, I once again turned to look as a massive tidal wave of fire and lava was approaching, the floor began to quake violently as the walls of the building started to crack and crumble, the structure beneath me was about to give way. As I looked down, to my horror I saw charred black hands with exposed glistening bone reaching for me as they climbed the railing. I once again had no choice but to close my eyes and accept my fate. At the last moment I heard another familiar voice. "Wake up!!!"
Suddenly all was quiet until I heard muffled sounds coming from somewhere. I slowly opened my eyes, my vision was too blurry to see anything in detail, though I could make out vague silhouettes of people. I could feel something helping me breathe. After a few confused moments I drifted back into unconsciousness.
When I awoke next I was much more alert, I almost immediately started to panic, not recognizing my surroundings. I bolted upright, shouting as I found that I had wires and tubes and shit connected to me. Then I heard a new voice "Calm down, you're ok, you're in a hospital, you suffered heart failure and we had to resuscitate you, but you're gonna be fine just calm down." I was still confused, to say the least, but I eventually calmed down.
They explained to me that I had overdosed in a motel room and was dead for around 3 or 4 minutes, that's where they found me. I dialed 911 just moments before I lost consciousness and my heart stopped. Luckily there was an ambulance nearby.
That was the conclusion of Derek's story, he let out a long sigh. I sat bewildered for a moment until he looked directly into my eyes. "You are the only one that I've told this to since I woke up here, I know what I experienced was real." I opened my mouth to speak but couldn't find the words. "You believe me don't you?" He asked. "Derek, buddy i-" I was cut off. "I died in that motel room! And everything, EVERYTHING I experienced was the truth, it was no dream my brain concocted when my heart stopped! Every time, I woke up in my own home after each and every fucking experience I had in that room!" He paused, his voice trembling. "That was me trying to escape my fate goddammit! These fucking things were after me! The shit I saw! They wanted to devour me and torture me for eternity. MOTHER OF GOD!!!" He wailed.
Nurses came into the room ushered me out of the room and sedated him. There was nothing else I could do but wait, and hope Derek would come to his senses. It's only logical that it all had to be the experience of an oxygen-deprived brain as it shuts down. As his best friend, I wanted nothing more than to help him recover.
A few weeks later I got a call from Derek after the motel manager contacted him. He'd left his wallet in the room, and needless to say there was no way he was going back there. So of course I opted to retrieve it for him. I couldn't blame him, he had the worst experience of his life at that place, aside from his wife dying of course.
Maybe it was just reimagining the story he'd told me, but when I arrived at the place I felt a chill creep up my spine. The place was damn near dilapidated to begin with, but reimagining the details of his experience made it all the more unsettling. Aside from a handful of cars, a few of which were seemingly abandoned, the lot was empty.
I didn't intend on staying long so I pulled to the front of the office leaving the car running. As I entered the office the smell of mold invaded my nose, the lights were dim and gave off an eerie sort of tone. "Can I help you?" Said a woman at the desk. Her voice sounded like she had been smoking two packs a day since she was an infant. "Yes ma'am, a friend of mine rented a room here, he had a medical emergency and had to call an ambulance, anyways he received a call from here regarding his wallet being-" I was cut off by the woman kneeling grabbing something, and tossed it to me. I opened it to see that it was indeed his wallet. "Thank you, ma'am," I said walking out. She seemed to stare at me without any emotion.
After I got back in my car I was about to leave, but hesitated. I was compelled to look up toward the room Derek stayed in. I noticed the other rooms had no light outside their doors besides this one. I sat staring for a minute before curiosity got the best of me. I got out and walked towards the stairs. The closer I got to the old building, the more desolate the place seemed.
After climbing the stairs I made my way across the breezeway until I reached the room. I don't know what I expected to find but I peeked through the edges of the curtains. It was pitch black. The aura of the place felt lifeless, just as Derek had described. "Got a light?" I almost leaped out of my skin. Standing in the blanket of darkness to my right was the silhouette of a man, hidden in shadow, his shape only illuminated by the pale moonlight. "Y….yeah.". I reached into my pocket to retrieve my lighter. I lit it for him and strained to see any details of the man, but it was too dark.
A buzzing sound interrupted my thoughts. I turned to gaze at the yellow bulb next to the door as it flickered. The whole situation made me uneasy. "Don't worry, that happens all the time." I quickly turned my head towards the man, but he was gone. I never returned to the place again. As for Derek, I don't think he recovered from his experience, I don't think he ever will.

Here’s one for ya - taking the jeep to go camping (05 jeep wrangler sport, 6cyl, automatic) and we stop for gas. Fill up, then it won’t start. Electronics all work but won’t turn over. Checked the starter by jumping it there at the solenoid and all it did was try to turn over but it never fired. Check engine light came on. No indication of a problem prior to departure. It’s at the shop now but I won’t have an answer til next week so I’m just brainstorming what it could be. I’m thinking electrical.

Just throwing out this story because I know you folks will get a kick out of it.
While I am fortunate enough to not live in a neighborhood with an HOA, I'm a firefighter for a suburban district that is chock full of them. Big ones, small ones, old ones, brand new ones. HOAs fucking everywhere. For the most part, they aren't a hassle. They gate off their private roads, but as long as they put a sensor on it or a padlock that uses our standard department key, it's not an issue.
Enter "The Views."
"The Views" are condos built in the late 70s, and as far as I can tell, the only view they have is of a freeway onramp and some eucalyptus trees. The Views were built along a narrow road that starts and ends off of the main road, making one big loop about a quarter mile long with a couple cul-de-sacs branching off. It's important to note that the driveways for each end of the loop are about 30 feet apart, off of the same road.
The Views have a lot of older residents, so we're there semi-frequently for medical aids, people smoking out their kitchens when they forget about the food they left on the stove, and even the occasional structure fire. Responding there is annoying, because they built speed bumps about every 25 feet along this loop. So once you're in The Views, you're not getting anywhere fast. Annoying, but it's a private road so they can technically built as many speed bumps as they want.
Enter "The Chain."
About a third of the way along the loop from the first driveway, there is a chain across the road, padlocked to a steel pole on one side. It's a generic Master brand lock to which we do not have a key. Why is it there? What does it do? Why would anyone build something like that? The answer to all three of those questions is, "Who the fuck knows." The Chain has been in place as long as I've been working at this department, and no one can tell me exactly why it's still a thing. Phone calls to the HOA regarding The Chain went unanswered and unreturned.
The problem with The Chain is its location. If we're responding to an address that's closer to the first driveway, but just past The Chain, we would have to go the long way around to get there. The operative word here is would.
When COVID was really ramping up in early 2020, we were at The Views A LOT. Sometimes two or three times a shift. Approaching from the main road, we always take the first driveway, because fuck taking the long way. Someone called 911, we're going to get there quickly. That's what we're paid to do. So when the address came up on the other side of the chain, it was unanimously decided that we take the path of least resistance.
Enter the bolt cutters.
Every time we needed to get to an address past The Chain, I would hop out of the engine, grab the bolt cutters, and snip a link. Chain goes down, engine and ambulance go through. Simple solution! After about a week of this, and many mysteriously replaced chains, the enigma of The Chain was finally revealed.
One night, as I have a hapless link firmly in the grasp of my bolt cutters, I hear a shrill shriek.
"STOP!"
A middle-aged woman comes speedwalking out of the condo right next to The Chain. "I'm the HOA president! That's there for a reason!" I want to hear all about that reason, but we're here for a response and the clock is ticking.
SNAP. Another link is broken, The Chain falls slack, and onward we go. We resolve that we'll stop by her unit after we clear the call to let her know what a nuisance The Chain is, and that something needs to be done about it. This course of action was ultimately unnecessary, as HOA President took it upon herself to huff and puff after us as we drove away, and came speedwalking up again as we pulled up to the response address. I went inside with the ambulance crew, but I could hear her shrieking at my captain outside. We wrap up the call, get the patient loaded into the ambulance, and she's still going off on him. What it basically boiled down to was that she took it upon herself to install The Chain because she didn't want people "using the road as a thoroughfare." The reasoning behind this is an utter mystery to a rational mind, because it's a loop. That begins and ends on the same road. Thirty feet apart. NO ONE is using The Views as a thoroughfare. The Chain got installed where it is because that's where her condo is. She demands that we just go the long way for addresses past the chain, we explain that it hinders response time. She does not accept this. It takes my captain asking her that if her unit was on fire and we were responding from the other direction down the main road, would she want us to take an extra minute going the long way, or just cut the chain and get to her unit faster? She acquiesces that she had not considered this, but also refuses to do anything about The Chain.
War it is, then.
Every opportunity we got, we cut that fucking chain. Never maliciously, only out of necessity, but it was necessary to the point where it was getting comical. A pile of snapped chain links lay discarded in the gutter. She made numerous attempts at peace; what if we just notified her when we needed it unlocked? Yeah, no. What if we just cut a link on one end instead of down the middle? Sorry, middle is faster. What if she gave us a key to the lock? Sorry, but if it's not the department issued lock we're not going to take the time to dig through the key box.
One day, as I hopped out to gleefully cut The Chain as always, something was different.
Zip ties.
Tired of buying new chains, or perhaps The Chain Fund had dried up, HOA President had resorted to zip-tying the chain back together where we had cut it. She even attached a tag saying "FIRE DEPARTMENT- CUT ZIP TIE ONLY." After consulting with my captain, we decided upon the most prudent course of action. I didn't have a pair of scissors on me, but I sure as shit had a pair of bolt cutters.
SNAP. Dead center in one of the remaining lengths of chain.
And so it went, as The Chain got gradually shorter and shorter and became more zip tie than chain. Despite her rushing out of her condo when the engine pulled up to The Chain, we were always faster with the bolt cutters.
The Chain has been fully replaced a couple more times, and the same cycle has ensued. Until one day last week, when everything changed.
Enter "The Gate."
As we responded to The Views, we pulled up to The Chain. I already had the bolt cutters out and ready to go, only to be greeted with a most unexpected surprise. Where The Chain had once stretched across the road, impotent in the face of our departmental onslaught, now loomed a two-arm swinging gate. A beefy one, too. They definitely assessed some new HOA fees to pay for this beast. On cue, out came HOA President. This time she said nothing, only crossed her arms in defiance and looked on with a smirk.
I assessed this new obstacle for a second. Too thick to ram through, plus that would damage the engine. Tubular steel mounted on concrete-anchored posts, so no just lifting the gate off the hinge.
"Looks like you'll be taking the long way from now on," she said, clearly having played out this exact scenario in her head countless times since having The Gate installed.
And she would have been right, except... the arms of The Gate were secured by a length of chain wrapped around and padlocked.
I looked straight at HOA President as I lined up the bolt cutters on a chain link AND the padlock shackle.
SNAP.
I have never seen someone visibly deflate the way that HOA President did at that moment. I pushed The Gate open and the engine drove through. As I climbed back into the engine, I heard her call out, "At least close it behind you!" I probably don't need to tell you that I left that bitch wide open.
The icing on this cake is that we sent out fire marshal to check it out. While The Chain technically met the definition for impeding emergency vehicle access, we let it slide due to it being so easily bypassed. The Gate, however, was a massive violation of county codes. Despite being a private road, the number of residents along the loop in The Views stipulated that any gate shall be automatically opening and have an emergency vehicle sensor. The Gate fits neither of those criteria, so boom. 30 day notice to remove that shit or face massive fines from the county for impeding emergency vehicle access.
So in summary, we waged a years-long battle against one HOA president's desperate grasp to control a problem that never existed in the first place. And if that doesn't capture HOAs in a nutshell, I don't know what does.

Toontown community,
This document contains a list of ideas that I believe would enhance Toontown’s gameplay or fundamentally change Toontown for the better. I started collecting these ideas in December 2021 with the release of Toontown Rewritten’s Sellbot Field Offices. I wrote the majority of this document in early 2022 but became hesitant to publish this document. Since, Toontown Rewritten has implemented some and I have done my best to remove those suggestions. Apologies if any suggestions are already in Corporate Clash. I do not follow or play Corporate Clash, so I am unaware of the game’s features. Regardless, I wrote the following ideas with Toontown Rewritten in mind; however, I believe any Toontown server should consider them because any improvement to the Toontown community is better than none.
I wrote the suggestions below independently of each other, so some may overlap or contradict each other.
If it matters, I joined Toontown Rewritten during the alpha testing after playing Toontown since 2007. I played consistently until the past few years when my availability decreased significantly with school and work. The introduction of the Field Offices into Toontown Rewritten inspired me to start this project. I believe the Field Offices indicate Toontown Rewritten is ready to start taking more risks and become a more modern game, so rather than baselessly make the request, I wanted to provide my input as to how I would move the game in a modern direction. I firmly believe Toontown Rewritten should maintain three principles:

1. Toontown targets a family-friendly audience
2. All new additions should stylistically match the original game
3. Toontown Rewritten should not fear fundamentally changing the game to prolong the game’s life

Best,
TheMcMuffin

Section 1: New Features

1.1 Custom SpeedChat Phrases

• Add Custom SpeedChat phrases to the Cattlelog.
• Very costly and time-locked.
• Have moderation review every phrase and store them in an “acceptable” database
  • If a submitted phrase already exists in the database, then automatically approve the request.
• Store custom phrases in the “My Phrases” section on the SpeedChat panel
• Allow users to attach animations to these phrases.

1.2 Reimagine the Battle Dance

• Significantly decrease the time dancing
• Show each Toon dance as they are featured
• Start with Top Toons
  • “Most Gag Damage Dealt,” “Least Laff Lost,” “Most Rewards Used”
  • “Most Jokes Collected” for Field Offices, “Most Pie/Safe/Evidence/Seltzer Damage Dealt” for Boss Battles
• Next, show new gags earned and Cog suit promotions
• Then show each user their Toon’s experience increases

1.3 Crying Shopkeepers in the Street

• When a Cog takes over a building, the shopkeeper should be outside on the street crying.
• When approached, the NPC will say phrases like “Please save my shop!”
• The NPC will reenter the building after the Toons defeat the building, and the NPC will walk out after the Cog enters, but before the building falls.

1.4 Harder Cog Buildings

• Increase the difficulty of buildings during cog invasions with low-level cogs
  • Embrace the new cog level rules of Field Offices.
  • For example, Flunkies should reach level 10 in buildings in Donald’s Dreamland during Flunky invasions.
• Introduce advanced cog buildings that reward a one or two-star SOS, just like Field Offices in Toontown Online
  • Top floors should have new designs and be harder than a normal top-floor battle.
  • Should only occur on significant Toon buildings that Toons visit during ToonTasks (playground story only).
    • Cogs are targeting the NPCs training Toons.

1.5 Replace the Cattlelog with an Online Store

• Convert Clarabelle’s Cattlelog to a modern, online marketplace.
  • A “mooketplace,” perhaps.
• Offer all in-game items for sale in a limited quantity
• Randomly restock items where rarer items restock less often
• Offer limited-quantity item drops to introduce limited edition items

1.6 New ToonTasks

While new playgrounds would add significantly to the game, new ToonTasks based on currently existing elements could occupy the fanbase while larger projects receive attention. These ToonTasks should not have a preset order so Toons can choose their own path.

1.601 Add New Cog and Building Radar ToonTasks

• Near the end of each playground’s task line alongside the teleportation access
• Add a new task for each street for each radar
  • For Toontown Central, add three cog radar tasks (one for each street) and three building radar tasks (one for each street)
• These tasks shouldn’t be prerequisites to progress to the next playground, just unlocked after completing a playground and perpetually available.
  • Only street HQ Officers should distribute these tasks to their respective streets.
• Tasks should be reasonably difficult for each playground but serve as a thorough tour through each street.
  • Introduce the Toon to previously unused NPCs, and all tasks should require completion on that street.
• Remove the current Cog counting system, or adjust it to infinitely increase upward to show lifetime Cog interactions.

1.602 Custom “Just for Fun”

• Rather than HQ officers offering random just for fun tasks, only offer one
• Selecting this task should open a panel to build a task
• Select the desired reward, then choose from the available ToonTasks
  • For example, I can choose anywhere from 100 to 12000 jellybeans; however, the options will scale (x cogs, x buildings of y+ stories, x boss battles, etc.)
    • The scale should not be linear, so harder ToonTasks have much greater rewards
  • Or any Toon effect for X days
  • Or a clothing ticket

1.603 Gardening

• Still require the Toon to purchase the planter boxes from the Cattlelog
• Unlock these ToonTasks during Daisy Gardens
  • A new building in Daisy Gardens, themed around gardening supplies could source the ToonTasks.
  • Alternatively, simply the Toon Headquarters
• The first ToonTask rewards the Tin shovel and another for the Small watering can
• Additional ToonTasks are unlocked when the Toon gains enough shovel or watering can experience
• Once a Toon acquires a new shovel, the Toon should learn each new flower bean combination from a new ToonTask.
  • This solves the plothole where users simply look up combinations online.

1.604 Fishing

• When a new Toon first approaches a fisherperson NPC, the Toon should receive a new ToonTask to recover a Twig fishing rod.
• After completing the ToonTask, the Toon unlocks fishing
• Toons unlock more ToonTasks during Donald’s Dock, all distributed from fishing NPC Toons, each ending with the recovery of a better fishing rod

1.605 Gag

• When a Toon reaches the experience for the next gag in a gag track, require the Toon to complete a ToonTask to unlock the next gag.
  • The Toon will not gain any more experience until completing the ToonTask
• Gag shopkeepers should distribute these tasks.
• Each ToonTask should match the difficulty of the gag level rather than a specific playground.
• These ToonTasks should not require notable achievements that would break popular user experiences, such as defeating boss Cogs.
• Each ToonTask should focus on the lore of the gag track and why the gag exists.

1.606 Sellbot Suit Parts

• Only offered from Daisy Gardens Toon Headquarters, but regardless of progress.
• The ToonTasks should require completing factories and focus on Sellbot Headquarters’ formation.
• Allow Toons with any laff to receive the ToonTasks.
• Do not make these ToonTasks mandatory to progress into Minnie’s Melodyland.

1.607 Cog Headquarters

• Only offered from the respective playground.
• ToonTasks would tailor to the Toon’s current Cog suit and focus on the lore of the particular Cog.
• These ToonTasks can exist as “Just For Fun” or a storyline.
  • The Just For Fun ToonTasks could reward promotion materials for speeding up the leveling process.
  • The storyline ToonTasks could simply convert the current process into a dialogue-driven story where Toons progress their suits.
• One Task might require defeating the boss five times, with intermediate steps during the promotions rewarding suit points.

1.7 Replace All In-Game Achievements with Shtickers

• Each shticker should have a unique drawing representing the difficulty and activity.
• Each page could detail how many shtickers the Toon must collect before the next laff boost, where some might not reward any.
• Easy, moderate, hard, and extreme
• Create shticker pages for all activities
• Convert all fishing, gardening, racing, and golfing trophies into shtickers
• Convert all Cog suit benchmarks into shtickers (levels 12, 15, 20, 30, 40, and 50)
• Add a shticker book page for every playground where every shticker corresponds to a completed ToonTask.
  • Include other new shtickers, like “Playground completed” and “Visit every shopkeeper in Toontown Central.”
  • Allow Toons to “reset” a ToonTask stamp
    • Once reset, the ToonTask will reappear in Toon Headquarters.
    • Allows Toons to redo a ToonTask as a “Just For Fun” ToonTask without a reward.
• Add a shticker page for every trolley game where some shtickers require solo or team accomplishments.
  • “Score a Perfect Ring Game” versus “Score a Team Perfect Ring Game.”
• Add a shticker page for all Cog headquarters, including the suits and other achievements like “Hit the CFO with a safe” or “Stun the VP with a pie.”
• Add shticker pages for fishing, gardening, racing, and golfing that correspond to the current trophies and species collection.
• Additional shticker pages could include party planning, doodle training, cattlelog purchases, gags, and limited holiday ToonTasks.
• Show a Toons’ stickers on their profile so users can see other Toons’ accomplishments.
• OPTIONAL: All ToonTasks could instead reward shtickers unique to the task, like the Sellbot Task Force, which upon collecting a certain amount, Toons receive with larger bean pouches, gag bags, and laff points
  • This would not eliminate the ToonTasks that currently award these upgrades; they would now only reward a shticker

1.8 Totally Remove Disney References

• Toontown Rewritten has operated safely for 9 years, and the team has carefully ensured compliance under Disney copyright.
• The landscape may change quickly in the future, especially with Mickey Mouse potentially entering the public domain in 2024.
  • This might reignite Disney’s attempt to reign in characters right before any public access and enforce their trademarks on other characters.
• Toontown Rewritten generally does not acknowledge the characters outside of playground names and playground iconography.
  • Toontown Rewritten should finally remove these references from the game.
  • Their removal will not alter the gameplay nor affect the style of the game.
  • The cinema shops should also receive new names.
• Some playgrounds might not need new names, just new imagery.
  • Goofy Speedway can simply remain a “goofy” speedway and Daisy Gardens is a garden of daisies. Acorn Acres should officially drop the “Chip ‘n Dale’s” and the gag shops either need a new name or similar treatment to the speedway.
• Toontown Rewritten could host a community vote to rename Donald’s Dock, Donald’s Dreamland, Minnie’s Melodyland, Clarabelle’s Cattlelog, and Match Minnie.
• Toontown Central should also receive a slight makeover to remove the Mickey Mouse head shape, potentially reverting to a style similar to the original playground.

1.9 Improve the Vice President Pie Fight

• The pie round should start identically to the current pie fight where Toons push the Vice President (VP) back toward the platform.
  • Remove the predetermined max-roll points and allow Toons to push further.
  • Make the VP awaken only when the pies slow, but require a steady stream of pies to maintain a stun.
• Once the VP reaches the platform, the new portion of the battle should begin.
  • The platform may require an expansion in size.
• Toons should continue throwing pies to push the VP over the edge, but the VP should target and roll toward Toons in a similar manner to the Chief Executive Officer rolling over tables.
  • Throwing pies at the VP’s backside will maintain the stun, but push the VP forward instead.
• Toons continue stunning when the undercarriage opens.
• Every time the VP is stunned during the pie round, the VP will start moving slower.
  • Alternatively, incorporate throwing pies at the tracks to slow the speed.
  • The VP will not move while stunned, only roll when pushed by pies
• At any point during the battle, if a Toon falls or is pushed by the VP off the platform, the Toon returns to the playground sad.
• Toons win the pie round when they manage to push the VP off the platform from any direction.

1.10 Require Planting Each Flower

• Remove gardening’s experience based on the shovel usage.
• Instead, require that the Toon grow each flower a specific number of times before unlocking the next flower in that family.
• New flowers would still require the appropriate shovel, which would only unlock once the Toon has mastered all of that shovel’s flowers.
• This prevents Toons from only planting one flower ten times to simplify the process.

1.11 The Resistance Headquarters

• Add a hub, canonically at the intersection of all districts where Toons gather to form boarding groups.
  • Perhaps, only in Welcome Valley.
• Toons can create any boarding groups in the game from within the headquarters.
• Toons can browse the central board to view and join open groups.
• To create a group, the lead Toon must have teleportation access to the headquarters and to the playground or Cog headquarters.
  • All other Toons will travel with the leader back to the location and district of the building or Field Office.
• To create a group, a Toon must create a group the normal way next to a Cog building or trolley and the group panel will have a button to “Teleport to Headquarters.”

1.12 Celebrate More Cultural Holidays

• Toontown does not exist in any one place on Earth.
• Create more cultural clothing so users can dress their Toons to resemble their real-world personalities better.
  • Avoid clothing items that hold religious or cultural significance that might be abused.
• Host more holidays throughout the year to introduce users to other cultures throughout the world.
  • For example, a Diwali festival of lights
• Offer shirts based on country flags.

1.13 Move the Fourth of July

• Move the holiday to April 19 as a celebration of the victory over the cogs after the Toon Council Presidential Election.

Section 2: Quality of Life

2.1 General

2.101 Always Run Fast

• Add an option to let users prefer fast-running on the first up-arrow tap
• Double-arrow presses would slow your Toon’s running speed

2.102 Toon Rewrite History

• Add a button to the Toon panel on the friend list to show previous appearances of the Toon before current rewrites and name changes.

2.103 Gags Price Inflation

• Increase gag prices to match the gag level
  • i.e., one jellybean per cupcake, 6 jellybeans per birthday cake
• Prices should linearly decline to 1 jellybean per gag once the Toon has increased the skill level to the next gag in that track

2.104 New Silly Teams

• Make teams provide ease-of-life updates
  • “Free Gags,” “Free Fishing,” “Easier Just for Fun Tasks”
• Strategy advantages
  • “All Cogs 10% weaker.”
  • “All Gags 10% stronger.”
• Or just for fun changes
  • “Zero gravity”

2.105 Fish Variants

• Create unique textures for every fish species, rather than all fish of a type looking identical

2.106 Cog Variants

• Create “masculine” and “feminine” variants for each Cog, including the bosses, or simply a variety of body types.
• Do not gender the variants, and allow for more variants based on future events.
• The variants should closely resemble the original, with accessories or slight cosmetic adjustments.

2.107 Carry 6 ToonTasks

• After completing the Donald’s Dreamland task line, all HQ officers should offer a rare, very difficult new task to carry 6 ToonTasks
• The new two slots should only allow Just For Fun or event tasks, capping storyline and other ToonTasks at 4

2.108 Cog Building Radar

• Show the number of floors for each building on the street when viewing the map.

2.109 Rewrite Gag Trees’ Purpose

• All gags sold at gag shops should be organic and made with the finest resources.
• Gag trees should only amplify a Toon’s personal ability to use those gags
  • The oxygen produced by gag trees is sillier than normal oxygen
  • When grown around a Toon’s home, the Toon gains more experience when they sleep at night
• A Toon must plant all gags in a gag track to achieve maximum exposure to that gag track’s oxygen and greater damage.
• Allow Toons to plant any gag in any spot, regardless of gag level
  • Prevent Toons from planting more than one level 7 gag
  • Toons can only pick these gags; they will not have any increased damage
• In the 8th tree spot, allow Toons to plant any gag level 6 or below or another level 7 gag of the same track.
  • i.e., a Toon could plant all seven trap gags and a second railroad track.
  • i.e., a Toon could plant all seven trap gags, and a birthday cake.
• Trees should restock every four hours, but any Toon can pick the gags once per hour.
  • For example, after a building, all four Toons can visit one of their estates and share their Gag trees

2.110 Add Resistance Rank to Toon Profiles

• Somewhere on the Toon profile, show the Toon’s resistance badge and rank.

2.111 Toon Ages

• Somewhere on the Toon profile, show the age of the Toon to identify long-time players.

2.112 Remove “Check Back Later”

• When talking to an NPC, remove the click requirement for “Check back later if you need a ToonTask.”
• Prevent Toons from holding up an NPC if the user leaves the computer or crashes.

2.113 ToonTask History

• Add a history portion to all ToonTasks
• Show the previous dialogue of the ToonTask and steps
• Lets users recall the story of a ToonTask if they took a break from the game during a ToonTask

2.114 Toon Effect Bonuses

• Add bonuses while Toon effects are active
• i.e., a small Toon has increased dodging but reduced gag strength while a big Toon has reduced dodging but increased gag strength
• Makes Toon effects more than cosmetic features

2.115 Add Select All to SpeedChat

• Add the “select all” keyboard command (Ctrl/Cmd+A) to speed up deleting everything a user has written in chat.

2.116 Friend Note Roledex

• Add a “notes” section to every friend on the friend list.
• Limit the characters (maybe 50) to add a small note to remember the Toon.
• Reduce confusion after Toon rewrites or long hiatuses from the game.

2.117 Icon-Focused GUI

• To increase accessibility for non-English speaking individuals, replace words in GUI with icons when possible.
• Important examples are:
  • The dance sequence screen and the “Go Home” button in the shticker book.

2.118 Toon Panel ToonTasks

• Add a Toon’s current ToonTasks to their Toon panel so other users can see their ToonTasks.

2.2 Battle

2.201 A Toon has Left the Battle

• If a Toon disconnects, leaves, or goes sad in a group activity, whisper a notification to all group members
  • Boss battles during the mini-game floors of a Field Office or anywhere in a cog facility.
  • Unnecessary in street or building battles

2.202 Fix Facility and Boss Incrementing on Dance Screens

• Some ToonTask counts do not increment during the dance sequence
  • Bosses defeated, buildings defeated, etc.

2.203 Standardize Level 7 gag use

• Aside from high dive, Toons use the other level 7 gags in sequence except for the wedding cake.
• Even if the Cogs are lured, the wedding cake waits, so the lured cogs do not move back until the wedding cake hits.
• Make the wedding cake in sequence to eliminate this delay

2.204 Allow Toons to Cancel Joining a Cog Battle

• Until a Toon joins a street battle, the user should be able to cancel joining as long as they did not first approach the Cog.
• Most relevant when Toons use gags before you can join the battle, or you accidentally touch the hitbox in a cog headquarters

2.205 Cogs Should Jump Dodge all Drop

• Either explain why the drop falls behind the cog
  • Operator error? Cog manipulation?
• Or have the dodge jump, similar to how Cogs dodge the low-level drop.

2.206 Rebalance Wedding Cake Damage

• The wedding cake should have total damage of 400
  • Currently, the wedding cake can do up to 480 total on four cogs, dealing 120 damage per cog)
• Split the damage between the cogs
  • 4: -100 each, 3: -120 each, 2: -140 each, 1: -180
• Incentivize using wedding on less than four cogs
  • Toons should not have the ability only to hit two of four Cogs with a wedding cake

2.207 Gags and Lured Cogs

• Geysers should either miss lured Cogs or move the placement of the geyser model when the cogs are lured.
• If a Toon uses drop on a lured cog, the cog should awaken from the noise and move back.

2.208 Redo Trapdoor and Quicksand

• Trapdoor and quicksand are basically Toon portals with a door or quicksand on top.
• Toons should deploy them similarly to Toon portals, rather than with a button.

2.209 Drop and Remote Controls

• Using a drop gag on a remote-controlled cog should break the antenna and end the remote access.

2.210 V2.0 Attacks

• When a v2.0 Cog’s outer shell is destroyed, the skelecog should attack the same turn.

2.211 View ToonTasks and Gags in Battles

• While in a Cog or Boss battle, allow users to use the keyboard commands to view gags and ToonTasks

2.212 Replace Presentation

• In the real world, business people make lots of presentations
• Why is presentation a Toon gag rather than a Cog attack?
• I do not have any recommendations for a replacement

2.213 Presentation Accuracy

• Presentation should have 100% accuracy to make using it significantly more helpful than Hypno goggles.

2.214 Add Gag Stun Visual Indicators

• With the addition of battle indicators, add more to show when Cogs are stunned.
• Add an in-game element to the behind-the-scenes battle mechanics of Cog stunning.

2.215 Multiple Drops

• For big weight, safe, and piano, if multiple Toons use these gags on the same Cog, they will each hit or miss independently of each other

2.3 Cog Facilities

2.301 Change the CEO Track Indicator

• The CEO’s tracks should slowly emit more smoke until a large smoke cloud follows around the CEO.
• The CEO could then exclaim something about the tracks malfunctioning to indicate to the Toons to stop golfing.

2.302 Promotion Indicator

• A small indicator in a corner to display the total Mertis/Cogbucks/Jury Notices/Stock Options collected so far
  • Only in cog facilities

2.303 Collect Pies in the VP

• Require that Toons collect pies from the SOS Toon, like evidence in the CJ battle

2.304 Mingling Cogs in Facilities

• The cogs should wander and mingle in all cog facilities similar to the Sellbot Factory.
• Cogs should also talk with each other as they exit elevators in cog buildings and Field Offices.
• Cogs in the Bossbot Golf Courses could be golfing

2.305 VP Pie Accuracy Visual

• Only pies that hit the VP while the VP is stunned should have a yellow splat.
• Currently, yellow splats occur while the VP is not stunned

2.306 Increase VP Rolling

• The VP should roll forward faster to increase the difficulty and incentivize stunning faster.
• Could then remove the roll distance caps, so VP battles feel more natural

2.307 Add Maps to Facilities

• Similarly to Mover Mazes, have the maps covered until you enter the area
• Show other Toons’ locations

2.308 Convert all Boss Battle Dialogue to Cut Scenes

• Similar to the Field Office dialogue
• Include the skip button if skip if all Toons skip
• The VP dialogue should be a scene rather than requiring Toons to click through the dialogue.

2.309 Give the CFO an Attack All

• Either a jump or something similar to the CEO’s “Fore.”

2.310 Add Visual Indicators for all Boss Attacks

• VP swipes, CFO gear throws, and the CEO’s “Fore” should also show the exclamation indicator like jumps.

2.311 Swipe Attacks

• The boss cogs should swipe at anyone nearby, not just Toons running into the undercarriage.
• The CEO should learn to swipe

2.312 Expand Door Open Areas

• Make Cog facility doors work like real-world sliding doors
• Start to open the door when a Toon is within a few steps of the door rather than touching

2.4 Rewards

2.401 Increase Boss Battle Rewards for Maxed Suits

• Reward Toons with maxed cog suits double rewards
  • 4 SOS Toons
  • 4 Unites
  • 2 Summons
  • 4-10 fires
• Increase the supply of rewards to increase the use
• Consider reducing storage capacity across all rewards

2.402 New SOS Restock Animation

• For restocks:
  • Either a new animation similar to the Boiler stealing gags
  • The SOS Toon uses a unite that only affects the Toons in battle

2.403 Rework Cog Summons

• Maintain the ”summon an individual cog” and “cog invasion” of each type
• Convert all building summons into 1-star to 5-star summons
• Collect multiple for each type - perhaps 10 for buildings (50 total), 5 for cogs (160 total), and 1 for invasions (32 total)
• Distribute them similarly to remotes where you might get one invasion and one building or three cogs.

2.404 Boss Battles Should Reward Points

• Allow Toons to earn Merits/Cog Bucks/Jury Notices/Stock Options from VP/CFO/CJ/CEO battles.
• Primarily helpful during resistance tasks
• Do not award suit points when the Toon is ready for promotion

2.405 Remote Visuals

• Make remotes and their antennas very visually different
• The colors are difficult to distinguish in a rush
• Requiring users to rely on only color could create an accessibility issue.

2.406 Faulty SOS Restocks

• Restock SOS cards should have a chance the NPC is out of gags and cannot restock the Toons.

Section 3: Technical

3.1 Account Consolidation

• Replace usernames with account emails
• Migrate all of one user’s current accounts under the same master email
• One ToonGuard verification will cover all of a user’s Toons
• When a user logs in, have the user select an estate to enter
• The game would then proceed normally
• Allow a user to open another Toontown window with a simple button on the launcher.
• Allow users to log onto multiple Toons on the same account – even two from the same estate.
• Rewrite the friend system so you now add accounts, not individual Toons
  • Avoid losing a friend due to a Toon deletion or the user never playing that Toon again
  • Receive log-in notifications any time that user is online, regardless of the Toon
• Sort friends by username and show all of their “public” Toons on the profile

3.2 Separate Boss Battle Server

• When Toons enter a boss battle or field office, transport them to a separate server.
• Isolate these Toons to avoid non-boss-related district crashes

3.3 Programming Internships

• Toontown Rewritten should create simplified internship roles for aspiring software or game developers.
• Pair interns with more experienced staff members.
  • I know the team doesn’t really have the time for this; however, I imagine a very relaxed way for these individuals to gain some experience
• Use the internship program to recruit new team members.

3.4 District Scaling

• Increase the number of available districts as the total population count grows.
• Teleport all Toons from the less populated districts as the population declines.
• Prevents empty districts and creates more populous districts.

3.5 Return to Battle

• When a Toon crashes, leave a direct link to their location open.
• If the user logs back in while the battle is still in progress, they will receive a notification their spot is still available.
• Allow a short window to rejoin from the time the user disconnects.

Section 4: Storyline

As an outsider looking inward, critiquing the storyline can be easy. These are some thoughts I would love to see incorporated into the storytelling strategy, but I understand that shifting an already-written story can be difficult.

• Toontown’s future storyline should strive to mature the content while remaining a cartoonish game.
• Toontown could start exposing children to more complex topics through the game to prepare them for the real world better.
  • The stock market and the importance of investing
  • Contract laws or arbitration
  • Business incorporation and liability
  • Income taxation
  • Patent, copyright, and trademark law and infringement
• Toontown should not assume the players cannot handle more complex topics.
• While Toontown villainizes “businesspeople,” Toontown should rather villainize “bad” businesspeople. Toontown should increase the focus on inspiring players to remain Toons in the real world, not become Cogs.
• Mature topics need not revolve around higher-level business concepts. Toontown should not fear approaching existential or political topics, such as:
• What does it mean to be a Toon?
• What is the difference between a Toon and a Cog?
• Can a good Cog exist? A bad Toon?
• Is silliness a spectrum and Cogs are just Toons who have lost the ability to laugh?
• What happens when a Cog is defeated?
• Why are Cogs evil business people, yet Toons businesses are accepted to be good?
• Can Toons and Cogs ever find peace?
• How do Toons protect the Toon society from the Cogs? Is it possible the Cogs already control the Toon government?
• Can Toons be too silly?
• Does anything exist between Cogs and Toons on the silliness spectrum? Or on the extreme ends?
• While Toontown should always cater to children, I believe the game should become self-aware that the children can and should encounter these topics. Toontown exposed me to a lot of concepts that I still find relevant today in the workplace.

​
I hope this post can generate some quality discussion about the future of Toontown. If something I wrote lacks some clarity, please let me know and I can try to make any fixes necessary.

So after some off-roading a few months ago I noticed my '06 TJ was making noises while on idle or shifting gears on my automatic transmission, Reverse seems the only one that does not make any noise. Anyway I took it to my local jeep mechanic and after some quick check he determined it was the flywheel probably and told me to get one which I did (P/N 53010630AB) however, today I returned to the shop with the so called flywheel and he told me that this was for a manual trans, not auto. Just FYI, the TCase, Transmission, Diff, etc. had maintenance just last December.
​
I was told the disc for the auto is slimmer and lighter, but I can't seem to find the part number anywhere. The initial one that I bought from Quadratec doesn't say anything about the transmission so I figured it was the right part since they ask you about the model, engine and such.
​
I can't, for the life of me, find anything close to an "automatic transmission flywheel", is the part named something else? Here's the one I've got (and that I have to return I guess)
​
Thanks for your help!

So after some off-roading a few months ago I noticed my '06 TJ was making noises while on idle or shifting gears on my automatic transmission, Reverse seems the only one that does not make any noise. Anyway I took it to my local jeep mechanic and after some quick check he determined it was the flywheel probably and told me to get one which I did (P/N 53010630AB) however, today I returned to the shop with the so called flywheel and he told me that this was for a manual trans, not auto. Just FYI, the TCase, Transmission, Diff, etc. had maintenance just last December.
​
I was told the disc for the auto is slimmer and lighter, but I can't seem to find the part number anywhere. The initial one that I bought from Quadratec doesn't say anything about the transmission so I figured it was the right part since they ask you about the model, engine and such.
​
I can't, for the life of me, find anything close to an "automatic transmission flywheel", is the part named something else? Here's the one I've got (and that I have to return I guess)
​
Thanks for your help!

Down the rabbit hole of the Bureau we go to see what horrors and wonders lie hidden upon and within the earth unearthed by an alien invasion...
Story connects My Moral Grey Area and useSilent_Technology540 and his Legion of monsters stories.
First Previous Next
Legion of monsters: Sanguine … 31 the House of Dealan
Pilotpriest, Future is dead
Arthur and his wives had been informed of the dress and … armament requirements that would be needed for their foray below and when he saw what the girls unveiled, he visibly winced.
Of course, there was some confusion in his disdain for their armour but Arthur insisted and within the hour they had travelled out to a place almost literally round the corner from the houses of parliament.
As he approached the old stone arch with its thick wrought iron door Arthur suddenly remembered the particulars of mixing Shil’vati and confined spaces.
“Um, I'm sorry but it slipped my mind that this place is underground.” He said, chuckling as his wives all gave him a cold disapproving look.
Arthur knew that just banging on the door would not open it so he pursed his lips and whistled the tune of the nursery rhyme pop goes the weasel while resting his hand on a very specific glassy green stone beside the doorway.
The clunk of a door deeper down the passage opening made him smile to his wives to reassure them that everything was okay.
As the chains rattled on the other side of the door, he heard the guard’s deep breath and several deep sniffs at the air, there was a deep animal growl, Arthur without meaning to swallowed dryly at what he knew was about to emerge.
The door swung open showing it to be a literal foot thick slab of metal, but from behind it stepped a man who emerged from his stoop in the hall to stare down at Arthur and look level eyed at his wives.
The man appeared Jamaican by descent by his predominant skin colour and hairstyle of dreadlocks, his face was mottled with vitiligo across his cheeks and brow speckling his brown skin with splotches of white, those eyes were brown but tinged yellow around the iris and his nails were thick and pointed claws.
This was a werewolf in human form, one that was not too shy about its inhuman traits being plain to see.
“Is master Ancetto in?” asked Arthur politely.
The doorman leaned over to be eye level with Arthur looking him in the eyes then looking past him to the four shil’vati behind him.
“Sebastian, they are my wives and I am looking to ensure they are well protected.” Stated Arthur.
Standing up straight the wolf in a man’s form smiled broadly displaying his fanged teeth as he then said in a deep Jamaican accent.
“Sooooh, da boy aboot town haz finally found someone’s dey is confortable with… doh-nah stress he is in, shall ah call da gent as well?” he asked smiling down at him.
Arthur nodded, and the guard looking over him to the four shil’vati women he smiled wider saying.
“Ladies, Welcome mahster Ancetto the artifaycer is down deez stairs mind your eads, dis tunnel wah made by shortah people dan us.”
As the guard turned Arthur let out the breath he was holding.
Gly’nrie and Imizael cast him an odd look.
“It’s okay I was just worried that he might turn us away is all, they are very particular about who they allow in past the doors.” Said Arthur as he followed the giant guard down the well-lit old stone stairs.
As they reached the bottom, they entered a room with much taller ceilings panelled with wood but also lined with hooks to take the coats of guests, the guard went back upstairs and could be heard locking the door behind them.
Coming back down he bowed slightly saying.
“You be da first sheel-vahti’s ever to be in-vye-ted to this place lay-deez we strictly insist that only trusted wehl known customah’s can introduce uthars to dis place, Arthur noh dah mahsters wohk very well, he wearin one of our suits right now he is.”
Another door opened and out came a well-dressed thinly built gentleman who looked almost totally albino, paper white skin and hair on a balding head, his eyes were only the faintest grey as only his glasses sharp red metallic frames applied any colour to his strictly monotone black and white attire.
“Master Gwydion, I trust that these people are both the ones you contacted me about and that they are well within the rules I insist upon?” asked the well-dressed man as he narrowed his gaze at Arthur.
“Master Ancetto, these are my wives!” said Arthur with a hint of sharpness in his voice but he held out a hand gesturing to each in turn.
“From left to right Viscountess Shal’endra Isilynor, Baroness Gly’nrie Xyrcaryn, Duchess Imizael Balcyne, and Marquess Miralana Umegwyn … we are expected to perform a diplomatic duty somewhere very, very dangerous and were told that it would be considered unseemly to arrive at said event in anything less than full battle armour.” Said Arthur politely.
The last time he had been here was being fitted for several suit’s both business and otherwise with armoured enhancement by Sir Philip and even then, it had been made plain that this was not a bureau establishment and that it served the needs of very special elite clientele of all types and strived for absolute neutrality.
“Battle armour for a diplomatic duty?” said Master Ancetto with a hint of a smile.
Arthur sighed, rubbing his brow.
“We have been invited to the investiture of a kind of lord before a council of similar lords in a very strange place I only recently learned existed, the lord in question is a former bureau agent called Sanguine.” said a blushing Arthur.
Master Ancetto smiled for the first time in front of Arthur, the corners of his mouth drew back very wide exposing fangs, his eyes, once milky grey, turned a startling sky blue as he rose a foot from the ground floating mid-air.
“You are attending the investiture of a lord of the depths?” said the now floating master Ancetto before a shocked Arthur.
“Yes.” Arthur replied nervously realising very quickly the signs of a grey stood before him.
“Then it is good that YOU came here to me, I was born of the depths and until recently I was exiled… recent changes have altered this… I have to say you are going to see wonders I long to see again, I am jealous but my duties tie me to this place a while longer.” Said the grinning telepathic vampire in front of them.
Leading them through another door they found themselves in an armourer’s workshop equal to any in imperial space they had seen with both power armour and lighter armoured garments being worked upon by a plethora of people both grey and rather obviously cyborgs.
The man performing servo maintenance on the power armour had multiple mechanical limbs extending spider-like from his back and even a multi-lensed prosthetic eye on his right-side which swivelled all three mechanical eyes to look at these new arrivals.
“As you can see, we create all manner of attire from heavy powered armour,” remarked master Ancetto as he gestured to the spider mechanic as he resumed his work, “to the finer and more flexible protection.” He said gesturing to a suit not unlike Arthurs which was having flexible polymer armour inserts applied.
“But this is all what one would consider as commonplace for the surface world.” He said as a black cube floated up beside him then, morphed into a suit of insectile armour around the body of master Ancetto… “You will be needing finer attire in the depths.”
IIIIIIIIIIIIII
Ixion OST, Across the void
Bellaluna watched as one of the Sanguine’s sparred with Zilyana.
One of the older one’s was sat beside her at her table sipping tea as they perused the options available from master Ancetto’s armourer’s.
They were sat within a glass roofed garden, the environment inside was absolutely not one you would ever see on the surface of earth, the dark red barked trees throbbed with bioluminescence between their scaled bark as their shimmering jewel like obsidian crystal leaves tingled and rang like crystal glass windchimes as they swayed in the breeze created by the room’s climate controls.
This was what the Ancetto clan called their hidden jewel, a garden made of depth’s native plants and a few insects in its center was a sparring ground for customers to acquaint themselves with their armour’s properties.
Bellaluna examined the possibilities available and found that many options were familiar to her thanks to the prevalence for noble families to outfit their daughters with Exo armour.
Only these suits were not the nine to ten feet tall armoured behemoth suits she knew, these were skin tight suits of biopolymer synthetic muscle synchronized directly to the user’s nervous systems through either telepathic or cybernetic means.
They self-repaired and maintained themselves and acted as a combination of life support system and power armoured combat body glove amplifying the wearers speed endurance and reaction times by a factor of two while allowing Exo levels of raw strength and physical power.
All while incorporating multiple strange biological systems requiring specialised “bio-ports” to be installed to allow the suit to interact symbiotically with its wearer's anatomy allowing it to sustain the host without water or food in the depths for months by recycling their sweat and waste.
Setting everything to its most basic Bellaluna took stock of what she could estimate to be the bare bones of a basic depths soldier.
It was an army of five-to-six-foot bio-armoured soldiers able to live for months without food water or resupply all while being able to jog at speeds near to that of Terran cheetahs, go toe to toe against Exo’s in hand to hand while being faster and smaller, and be able to self-triage when wounded, as the suit was designed if a limb was severed to seal the wound and assist its host in growing a new limb?
And that was the basic model.
“Sanguine?” she asked getting the attention of both the fully grown man beside her and the boy sparring with Zilyana.
“Got you!” exclaimed Zilyana proudly as she held the blade near Sanguine 1898’s neck.
Chink ! ….. That sound made Zilyana’s eyes drop to find a blade poised to do something drastic to her crotch.
“Shit.” Was all she could say to that.
Then the boy did something that made her freeze in shock, he leaned his cheek against her blade and without a single sign of pain opened an inch deep gash up on his cheek.
Then moving away from the blade, he pressed his fingers to the side of the wound pulling it open so she could see into it as with a mental effort he made the flesh seal and mend, the sight making her shudder in revulsion.
1898 nodded, sighing before he said.
“Flesh sculptors and their ilk are infamously capable of surviving decapitation, for next time if you are poised to cleave one open young Zilyana, have something like an incendiary grenade ready to shove deep inside the wound when you do as in their haste to heal, they will seal the flesh around it creating a much worse wound when the grenade detonates.” Said the boy clone in an aloof tone.
Zilyana snarled in offense but a faint growl from the older Sanguine beside Bellaluna caught her attention, and reminded her that yes this was but a boy in front of her, but it was also the weakest part of Sanguine and as such the least challenging one for Zilyana to fight.
“What did you want Bellaluna?” asked the older clone 818 beside her returning his focus to the interior mistress as the two in the ring resumed their practice.
Handing him her omni-slate she asked.
“Is this a good approximation of the basic depths soldier?”
Sanguine perused the screen with his eyes, the faint smirk on his face and the raising of an eyebrow told her that he had found her assumption amusing.
“For scav teams and tunnel runners yeah, proper city patrol wear,” he tapped several options then showed her the screen again, “this.” He said, showing a much heavier suit.
Bellaluna took back her slate and looked over the selections that Sanguine had put in, several options were highlighted as needing special licenses to acquire but the resulting armour was closer to power armour to her eyes with heavy plate armour requiring extensive mechanical articulation and amplified muscular systems bringing it closer to being something between an Exo and the baseline bio armour she had chosen.
“This is for the police?” she said with some incredulity.
“That bio-suit you showed me in terms of ease of acquisition akin to a basic Kevlar vest,” he said then handed her his slate, “For proper military assaults you would want the depths call a nomad suit which is what’s on that slate.”
Looking down at what was on her slate the resulting suit was much sleeker than the heavily plated police suit but the price was close to ten times more and resulted in a matte black suit heavier than the basic bio-suit but the list of extras said a lot.
Full NBC countermeasures rated for minimum two years survival time in contaminated environments under a mixture of biological toxic and radiological hazards.
In-built bio-support allows the suit to digest inedible substances to sustain its host, including the extraction of oxygen from ingested materials and water to allow the host to survive in environments with minimal to no atmosphere for extended periods.
In-built suit support mind and thus also its own barriers to allow it to shield itself, which required either the host be psychic or the installation of a neural symbiote on the hosts spine to ensure the suit can always remain in contact with the host.
Integrated pig plasma pulse guns in the bracers, retractable monofilament blades and claws and reinforced synth muscle and armour allowing for nearly four times the power of a police suit.
Bellaluna could feel her eyebrows going higher and higher, you could almost say she suspected them of trying to emigrate over her scalp to flee down her neck.
“How fucking dangerous is it down there?” said Bellaluna with a noticeable squeak in her voice at the shocking details of this virtual Exo that the depths considered a standard line solider.
Sanguine again smiled but it quickly faded away as he said.
“You sent salvage expeditions to Mars, full marine detachments, all manner of advanced digging equipment even tried to use some orbital fire to blast your way down below the surface.” He stated staring at her intently, this was not a question, this was a statement.
“Tiamat’s children are nothing if not tireless, so I will only say on that matter that they are not cruel, any trespasser would have died quickly, cruelty is a trait only found in the more human breeds of tyrant bio-forms.” He remarked with a melancholy smirk.
“Most if not all of them are a misguided bureau attempt to domesticate and weaponize things commonly found in the various bio-domes residing below, there are all manner of different environments across the universe preserved down there.”
He reached into his coat pocket and pulled out what appeared to be a packet of settock nuts judging by the picture on the packet, which were something native to the shil’vati home-world, only these were in a packet daubed in a language she did not recognise.
“You call them settock nuts, I grew up calling them Kalzee and eating them as part a traditional meal in the depths called Ahrical,” the look of confusion on Bellaluna’s face spurred him into expanding his description, “The basic sauce is kind of a sweet red gravy like what you would expect of the human sweet and sour chicken, like a lot of grey cooking it has finely ground up iron rust powder mixed in the sauce but you can get it without.” Bellaluna’s face became more confused.
“The meat and nuts are simmered in this sauce on a low heat over several hours till cooked, then the sauce left to cool overnight, the next day sliced fresh fruit and vegetables are added and mixed with the cold sauce, its eaten with Sahsan a kind of salty cone shaped biscuit bread about cob or bun size that I would describe as halfway between naan bread and a tortilla with a soft inner side and a crispy outside that’s like a tortilla,” he remarked.
“You use the bread like a spoon to scoop up the Ahrical eating both as you go, it’s only the non-psychics down there that use cutlery.” He said smiling as he pointed to one of the Ancetto armourers sat eating his evening meal in the garden, a chunky reddish soup using small cones telekinetically to scoop up the bowls contents.
“Ahrical?” she asked Sanguine.
“No, that's something more common up here, beef bolognaise with pasta shells, but the bread is Sahsan.” He replied.
It was at this point that the small packet of settock nuts leapt off the table and an old man in a finely crafted suit of chitinous armour snaffled half the bag greedily.
“Kalzee,” he said with a blissful voice through a half full mouth as he savoured the nuts, “Can we have more of these brought up with the armour material shipments, I would pay their weight in gold for more of these.” Said an uncharacteristically uncouth Master Ancetto as his escorting cadre of four shil’vati and a single male human customer looked at him oddly.
Sanguine laughed before pointing to Bellaluna and saying.
“Sahngah those nuts grow on the shil homeworld,” he said to the old grey armourer, “they’re a common snack food, they sell in the vending machines on their bases.” He said with a toothy grin.
Master ‘Sahngah’ Ancetto looked to Bellaluna expectantly saying.
“You have Kalzee on your world?” he said with an odd intensity.
“Settock nuts,” said a bemused Bellaluna, “commonly roasted and put in bags with salt and spices.” She said seeing the old man’s eyes light up during her explanation.
Then the master looked at Sanguine and said rather excitedly.
“Mahak-sa Sanguine, do you know of any other foods they have that I might recognise?” he asked the seated clone 818.
“Mahak-sa?” said the lone confused human that had been accompanying the old master armourer.
Sanguine rose from his seat and approached the human smiling, he was well aware of this human, and what he really was under his genteel appearance.
“You must be Arthur Gwydion,” he stated crossing his arms and staring oddly intensely into the human’s eyes, “Mahak-sa is an honorific, a title it means that I am in essence I am a king, khan or emperor of one of the cities or domains of the depths, at least I will be officially soon.”
Arthur to his credit caught on quickly.
“So, you’re that Sanguine, the one who we are to escort down there as part of the delegation.” He said, taking a slight step back with what looked to be a nervous smile.
Sanguine 818 all six foot eight of him stared down at Arthur, his red on blue eyes glinting from his ashen white face, his grin framed by his white beard.
The dragon’s boon had brought more of the wolf out in him resulting in him being taller and more muscular with snow white hair on cream white skin… that this also caused slight grey speckling on the roots of his changed black horns was a little odd.
“Mahak-sa Sanguine Nah’gratha Mourdin, Grandson of the Ancient of Ahrama’geidahn Aihbael Nah’gratha Mourdin who is brother to the Gorr Mah’kjan,” he said seeing the evident confusion.
“Gorr Mah’kjan means the god king of the depths Kain Reish Mouridin, the one who swept the dead sea crater clean with a wave of reanimated dead.” Said Sanguine with a little hint of a smirk.
The way all five of them froze in apparent fright like a deer in headlights at that detail summoned a chuckle out of Sanguine.
Still for all his amusement his mind’s full attention was elsewhere, dealing with more important matters than this.
IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII
Darktide OST, Main theme
Tanis was a male Exo pilot in the shil’vati military which was a rarity but also, he was a single male pilot without a wife bound to him which was even rarer and his team were part of the support Exo’s of the local insurgent suppression unit tasked with keeping Massachusetts relatively calm and maintain it as a yellow zone.
It had begun as a raid of a suspected insurgent base at a mansion in a small town called Innsmouth, the brief had mentioned something about a cult, add in the area according to the marines muttered rumors being oddly infamous for lots of sightings of strange mutant fish monsters apparently, sightings which the incumbent regional government apparently had suppressed prior to the empire’s arrival for reasons unknown.
As they struck the marines storming in it quickly became apparent to her that more was going on, her unit commander Searsa kept switching comms channels, obviously their noble captain had been keeping details from them as shortly after the marines stormed in the shrill screams and shouts of ghastly horror filled the open coms as echoing the las-fire took up a cadence only heard during moments of sheer extremes, frantic fully automatic the fall back of the desperate and terrified.
The sounds of Las-Fire rattled out from inside the mansion punctuated by screams and strange gurgling roars as the unit commander started shouting into her coms, the words muffled and unintelligible under her Exo Armour's closed visor.
“What the fuck is making that noise?” Tanis asked and the commander whirled on him, a rebuke plainly mere moments from utterance.
Only for the screams and las-fire to stop, this shifted everyone's attention to the mansion’s doors.
Whispered chants oozed out of the air hissing and uttered in barely pronounceable mantras, the very shadows around them seemed to move with odd sinister momentum.
Then the mansion's doors slid open and a sea of darkness lay within, Tanis could feel something writhing within that inky depth but his ears alerted him to an odd silence.
Turning he beheld a true nightmare, monstrous things half fish half human assailed the marines in total silence, their screams and las-fire completely silent all sound lacking as marines were eviscerated and monsters devoured them alive.
Turning Tanis opened fire and in an instant all the riotous noise of the world came back.
“WHAT THE FUCK!” bellowed his commander in shock as the sudden return of sound snapped her out of whatever fugue had gripped her.
The rest of the unit took moments longer to regain their senses, moments enough for one of the monsters to grab a hold of a team mate called Kaunt, the monsters skin rippled under shredding las repeater fire but still it heaved and tore open her armour to thrust its maw inside to get at the pilot.
Tanis acted stepping forth he drove his armour’s fist flat like a blade into its ribs and with a sucking squelch tore out its insides before pushing it off Kaunt, but she was already dead.
Turning he hosed down a mass of swirling something that moved out of the corner of his eye and bellowed to his commander.
“We need to move!” but she stood visor open staring at him like she was drunk as a swirling tendril of shadows curled round her and touched her face, Searsa a woman barely a year older than himself let out a strangled groan as before Tanis’s horrified eyes the years passed in seconds and she withered away inside her armour.
The other women were similarly dumbstruck and barely moving, snaking shadows binding their feet as they stood immobile and insensate.
“DEMON!” roared a man’s voice and a blast of blinding white light rocked the mansion's doorway.
Around them had appeared soldiers clad in silver armour carrying blades that crackled with eldritch energy and guns that spat globs of blinding light that left after images in Tanis’s vision.
Thanks to Tanis’s cursory examination of this world’s history, he recognised something of these warrior’s armour and stylings, these were knights? And if their armour and cruciform symbology was anything to go by these were some forms of paladins.
There in the doorway one of them struggled with a figure that was as much a shadow as it was possibly a human being, snapping lightning exposed their struggles amidst that living darkness inside the house.
Tanis did the only thing that seemed to make sense after all of this he levelled his repeater on that shadow and fired.
Pulsed laser fire was swallowed by the darkness but a hissing roar of anger emerged, its attention shifted to Tanis and he felt something horrifying reaching for him but the paladin was on it fast cleaving down through its skull with one blade while another was driven into its chest.
In one lurching moment the shadows dispersed leaving the paladin stood blades pinning a withered old corpse.
Across the battlefield that had been the mansion's lawn the monsters broke and fled running back towards the mansion as the marines and what little of the Exo’s snapped from their fugue and opened fire on their fleeing assailants.
But then the ground heaved and rumbled, the paladins leapt back as the mansion collapsed into a chasm that had apparently been below it?
A shuddering growl rumbled in the air and ripples of that same unnatural darkness oozed out from the pit now exposed as up from it rose what to Tanis’s shocked eyes was a miniature black hole.
An orb of utter darkness as a big as a small ship tore free of the ground swirling mist like shadows cloaked it as the monsters hurled themselves towards its surface their flesh as they got close liquifying and becoming an orbiting ring of wailing meat around the orb which spat jets of steaming ichor out towards them.
One jet swallowed up a group of marines near Tanis and in moments their armour and flesh just dissolved leaving behind steaming bones.
“EVADE! … PULL BACK … EVADE!” roared Tanis and what little of his fellows not still gripped in fugue obeyed and fled, but the paladins stood their ground.
He saw some carrying large egg-shaped things tangled in roots towards the orb, his ponderings answered as he saw one hurled at the ominous thing, it crackled with energy as it drew close sticking to its surface there was a howling shriek as more were hurled onto its surface.
Finally, as it orbited with dozens of these things stuck to its surface the blasted orb just dropped back into its hole whatever dark power once animating it spent.
Still the paladins did not rest, more of those egg-like things were brought forth as well as lengths of massive chains as big as those you would anchor a ship with their surfaces etched with symbols that seemed to make Tanis’s eyes itch as he looked at them.
As they swarmed into the chasm Tanis could hear shrieking wails and screams that shook him to his core, moving to the chasms edge he stared down to see that they were chaining up and binding this thing lashing it to a frame they were building around it with the kind of haste one expects only with plentiful practice.
“All units form up and arrest those men!” bellowed the voice of their noble captain across the comms, turning Tanis surveyed the remnants of their force, barely a handful remained, many were horribly mauled by either the monsters or being caught by the acidic sprays, many more were simply catatonic in shock and were either stood or sat staring into empty space as if still entranced by the dispersing fugue.
The rest were rushing about trying to tend to the wounded or take stock of what the hell had just happened, even the Exo’s pride of the shil’vati military were stumbling broken and still in shock.
“I said Arrest those men!” bellowed the captain now outside of her mobile command unit pointing to the nearest paladin.
Tanis coughed as he stifled a laugh at the looks of incredulity passing across the marines, they knew that they had just been saved by these knights and the look of hesitation was evident everywhere Tanis looked.
“I SAID!” she roared, only for a bolt of lightning to snap out and reduce her in an instant to just a greasy smear of cooked meat and tattered armour.
One of the paladins was floating towards the MCU, his armour crackling with electricity as his eyes glowed like small suns through the slits of his visor.
The armoured vehicle peeled open under invisible forces and her command staff were plucked out and thrown to the ground beside the still steaming remains of the captain.
“Your captain was commanded by her own betters to stand aside and leave this matter to us, and she ignored this, her officers knew what they were facing and thought themselves prepared.”
As one of the captain’s lieutenants snapped off several bolts of las-fire at the floating paladin from her side arm they impacted a bubble of energy around him, the shots fizzling to nothing.
In a flash he hurled towards them the first he touched his fingers to her brow and she just evaporated in a spray of blue, ducking and twirling out of the way of the seconds wild firing she erupted into flames with a gesture.
The third tried to shoot herself, the pistol aimed up at her own skull swatted out of her hand in the last moment telekinetically the paladin clapped his hands together and the woman officer simply imploded.
Number four the one who had shot at him when he had been floating dropped her pistol.
“You were her sister trusted by the generals and admirals to keep your hot-headed sister in line.” Snarled the paladin as he produced an omni-slate from his armour.
“This is a warrant of execution for this woman, signed by six of this world’s ruling nobles… In ancient times when warriors failed so severely on this world they were made into a severe example, some were even given the honour to hurl themselves on their own swords to answer for their shame.” Said the paladin.
He removed his helm revealing a snow-white face with luminous blue eyes and black curved horns on his brow, as a long mane of startling white hair whipped about in an eldritch breeze.
“I am not as merciful to those who defy me!” he hissed as his mouth opened far too wide for a human revealing a set of very sharp canine teeth more akin to the mouth of a dog or very large cat.
He shot forward driving his fist into her guts folding the officer in half as she shot off her feet showing the force of the blow.
She begged, she pleaded but no one tried to help her as this supernaturally empowered man beat her savagely finally ending her by driving his thumbs into her eye sockets.
Tanis had been inching closer by the minute as he and everyone else watched this sentence be passed, the warrant and its signatures visible on their head up displays for every marine around them.
Finally, as Tanis drew close enough, he popped open his visor and simply asked.
“Who the fuck are you, and what in the deep minders barnacle ridden salty clam hole is going on?”
The paladin turned to him revealing a youthful if angularly gaunt face which smiled.
“I am Sanguine 984 hunter of demons and monsters,” he said with obvious mirth, “to you this will be one of the most confounding and horrible days of your life…… to me it’s just another FUCKING Tuesday doing my job.” He said as the other paladins pulled that dark orb out of the chasm by the chains, that faint agonised whine now a faint whisper, the very sight of that thing made Tanis’s eyes twitch.
“HEY!” barked the one calling himself Sanguine, to focus their attention on him, “not a good idea to stare at it like that, just try and ignore it until the transport arrives, staring at it will fry your brain cells and make you a mindless shell.” He said gesturing to one of the catatonic marines.
With that the paladin took a rag from his pocket and started to wipe the blood and viscera from his gauntlets saying.
“Stare too long causes brain burn, hollows you out, nothing left of your memories or mind, just a still breathing corpse with enough brain not turned to mush to keep the organs ticking but little else.”
Tanis looked to the many catatonic marines staring blankly into space, a cold horrified dread welling up inside at the sight of the living dead around them.
Next

There are only a few signs of a nascent Dark Lord, and they were only really detectable if you were looking for them. A year was a lot of time for a fledgling to grow.
Even neutered by the presence of another Dark Lord, the accumulation of malice being weakened, there could be untapped sources of corruption, dark artifacts hidden by the previous one simply to make our jobs harder.
That wasn't even going into the potentiality of Blackthorn deciding to mentor them, even if that was strictly to try and convince them to work with us, rather than against us.
The first sign was fairly benign, a gradual darkening of hair as malice is accumulated. I recalled reading about an albino Dark Lord who simply couldn't, and had escaped detection that way.
The second was the gradual change of eye color to red, gold, or silver. It was a mistake to think that the eye color conferred any specific alignment, one that had cost many lives in the past.
The third was an uncanny rapport with animals, which also led to a lot of innocent farmers and shepherds getting lynched by a paranoid populace.
The fourth was a suspicious line of deaths connected to them. Adoptive parents meeting some grim fate, family members falling into addiction or- or worse.
It was why I noticed the lay priest in the Temple.
He was cleaning the statues, speaking prayers to the Gods to aid all Heroes past, present, and future in their works. He was albino, and as much as I hated profiling people based on their appearances, I at least needed to check.
Since one and two were out with him, clearly, I needed to see how he was with animals.
Wendy grabbed my hand as I started walking to him, she shook her head. "It's not him." She said.
"What? Why?" I asked.
"He's my brother." She said. "We're twins, and I know for a fact the Gods have touched him."
"I still need to check." I said. "At the very least, he might have noticed something."
She let my hand go and I approached him.
I wasn't walking particularly loudly, yet he turned around and looked at me. I stopped in my tracks, confused. His hair was bright silver, not white, and his eyes certainly had a similar coloration.
He closed his eyes, bringing his hands together, and bowed. "Honored Hero, you grace me with your presence."
Yeah, yeah. Enough of the Hero talk. "Mind if I talk to you a moment?" I asked.
"Absolutely." He said. "What can this humble lay priest do for you?"
"Can you get me a horse? I need to head out soon."
He bowed again. "Apologies, Hero. I don't tend the stables." I blinked, confused.
"What?" I asked. "You don't tend the stables, have I missed some change in policy where lay priests don't maintain the Temple grounds?"
"He can't." I glanced back at Wendy, who looked at her brother with an apologetic look. "The horses can't stand to be near him, they won't even let him ride them."
I furrowed my brow, looked at him, then back at Wendy. "I'm sorry, what?" I asked.
"It's true." He said, his voice full of shame. "It may be a curse, or perhaps some ill omen. They refuse to accept my touch."
"I... see." I said. "Fine, it'll have to wait, then." I got ready to ask him about his family, when Wendy interrupted again.
"Hero, I know my brother, any aspersions you could cast upon him could be cast upon me. Understand, we are both humble servants of the Temple."
Her brother looked at her and said, "Sister, dear, I will gladly submit to any tests necessary to prove I am well." He looked at me. "After all, I have nothing to fear."
Bravado was something anyone could pull off, most Dark Lords who attempted such were exceedingly clever, but were often undone by careless actions.
I held out my badge, and he took it. I furrowed my brow when the gemstone darkened, as if he had less malice than the baseline person. He handed it back.
"Alright." I said. I looked at my badge, which glowed briefly for a moment as it normalized. I thought for a moment, considering the possibility that I might be a latent one myself and made a note in my menu to get myself checked.
It would be absolutely embarrassing if I was one of those few who managed to get a false negative during screening. The note made, and therefore unable to be erased by me without permission from a higher up, I filled him in on the situation.
"Yes, it would be unfortunate indeed for a fledgeling to show up now, of all times." He remarked. "That would reflect poorly on the Guild, as it is your duty- and by extension, the Temple's- to weed them out and destroy them."
"Or convince them to cooperate." I said.
"No." He said, more forcefully than I was really comfortable with. "They are a blight, it would be far better to rid the multiverse of them entirely."
"Which would then result in total sublimation in light which would render the universe null." I countered. He looked confused. "What, were you sleeping on that day of class? A Dark Lord can always be defeated, a world can always be pulled back from the brink of darkness! Hell, reverse-worlds exist as a counterbalance and have the opposite needs as worlds like this one! Sublimation of the worlds, the inability to maintain the balance of light and dark would lead to the eventual destruction of the multiverse in its entirety!"
"Please, there's no need to yell." Wendy said, taking hold of my arm.
I took a deep breath. She was right, that was uncharacteristic of me. "Sorry." I said. "It's just this is very strict, technical stuff the deeper into how things work you go, and having people on our side who are ignorant of some fairly basic concepts just... It gets to me."
"Ander, please forgive his wrath." Wendy said to her brother. "He is doing his best to find the fledgeling."
Ander looked at her and his expression softened. He approached her and hugged her. "Of course, my beloved sister." He said. "Forgive my ignorance, Hero. Perhaps I did sleep that day."
I sighed. "Alright." I said. "I have some tools at my disposal for tracking a fledgeling down. It's not precise, at best it just locks onto nearby sources of malice, which I can siphon off for containment. It's a long, laborious process, and if containment breaks, that's a lot of malice just getting spread out that could cause a lot of problems."
"We will accompany you, Hero, to ensure you are uninterrupted." Ander said. "After all, if someone were to sneak up on you and harm you, that would be even worse."
I blinked. "Alright, so full disclosure, you are extremely unsettling, so when this is all done, I'm putting in a request to get you some therapy or something."
"Apologies, Hero. I do not often engage with others. I prefer solitude."
At least he wasn't offended.
I pulled down my menu and sent in a request for some tools and some blessed water. Now, this kind of request would raise concerns about a seemingly Level 1 situation. Normally, it's a Level 1 handling these things, so my being here is just serendipitous.
The request was automatically accepted, considering my Level, and I said, "Alright, step back." An incantation appeared in front of me, with some instructions.
Even though I'd done this a few times before, I still followed along, because nothing was worse than misremembering an incantation and having nothing happen.
A blinding white light flashed as the equipment I requested was dropped off. I looked at Wendy and Ander and said, "Alright, I'm going to show you how we do a quick and dirty purification ritual."
The gear I received had a different form, depending on the world I was on. Here, it was explicitly a magic item that used holy power to siphon off malice.
All creatures have a certain amount of malice in them, and generally, it's a bad idea to outright remove it. That caused problems which can lead to the aforementioned sublimation of a world in nothing but light. Without malice, good has no shape, no form. Without love, evil is much the same.
Even evil has loved ones.
I'd remembered stories of Recurrences who fell in love with each other. They played their roles, certainly, but rather than ending in one dying and the other living until they died, being reborn the next cycle, it was a story of a person falling into evil in spite of their efforts to be good, and love redeeming them.
I'd love to study one of those Recurrences, they didn't really need Heroes, but the light half of that Recurrence was a member of the Guild for clerical reasons.
Mainly in case of divorce. Not every incarnation is the same, and Blackthorn wasn't always going to be Blackthorn.
The average person knew not to get in the way of a Maintenance Adventurer when they had magic items out. That meant Danger and nobody liked Danger.
I followed the direction of the lodestone compass, keeping track of if and when the needle shifted suddenly. Triangulating the source off corruption was generally a problem, and I wasn't going to have Blackthorn come out of his cave to gobble it all up and cause an early Recurrence.
"Alright, found one." I said, pointing my extractor at an off-colored patch in a wall. Malice is thick and goopy, getting submerged in it instantly mutates a creature into a monster, usually mindless, but always evil.
The purification ritual I'd done for myself was primarily to help me equalize, my acting out of character was an indication that there was probably enough malaise to make me grumpy, and considering I wasn't having any more issues with my temper, I was right.
It was a small amount of Malice, barely a standard unit, and certainly not particularly dangerous by itself. If someone had purposefully extracted it without the proper precaution, about the worst that would happen to them is a brief state of insanity.
The compass pointed in another direction, and off we went.
There are rarely large pools of malice, those are Level 6 and require at best a full team to clear it out.
At worst, it was just better to let a fledgling jump in and kickstart their reign of terror. People generally didn't like that, which was another reason maintenance is important.
Malice doesn't accumulate like this without a good reason, and that reason was proximity to a fledgling. The more spots I found, the more I realized it was in the city. Bit by bit, I extracted the malice out, working well into the night because I wasn't going to rest until this was done, my vacation be damned.
Actually, on second thought, let's not damn the vacation, that's why I was here in the first place, to get as far away from damnation as I feasibly could.
Wendy and Ander took turns bolstering me with magic, giving me energy so I didn't pass out on the job. The moment one of them needed sleep was the moment I went to bed.
Thankfully, even with a city this large, I only got up to about half a tank before the compass started pointing at me.
Well, that's actually pretty fucking concerning.
"Hey guys-" I started, turning to face them, the compass needle shifted away from me.
To them.
To Wendy.
She stared at the compass in shock and confusion. "Why is it pointing at me?" She asked.
"Move three steps to the left." I said, she did, the needle followed her. I walked around her, and sure as Hell is terrifying, it was locked directly onto her.
A thing about the Lonestone Compass is that it doesn't register anything below ten standard units, the average per individual was around five, it could be greater or lower than, but never zero or ten.
Below zero meant something very, very bad was happening, and considering Ander wasn't radiant with light, he probably had a solid two, maybe three. We'd get him checked out, and if he was at a solid one, then we'd break out the infusion.
"It's you." I said. "You're the fledgling."
"That has to be a mistake." Ander said. "Maybe she came into contact with the Malice, you only did a purification ritual for yourself."
"And you both should be regularly performing one for yourselves." I countered. "They don't work on fledglings, at least, not ones who have begun to awaken. The only thing that triggers an awakening is contact with malice, either in large quantities or in small amounts constantly."
"I haven't been doing my purification rituals." Wendy said. "I know you told me not to visit Blackthorn, but... I couldn't ignore someone in need. I thought, maybe I could ease his burden."
Yes, that was a feasible answer. It was extremely stupid for her to do, but a proper purification ritual would prove her words.
"Alright." I said. "We'll perform a ritual in the Temple. If the ritual works, then, we're either back at square one or I'm the fledgling and am far enough along that I'm attracting malice. Which would suck if true, but we can't just ignore that possibility."
We headed for the Temple, and as we walked, Ander asked, "Is it common for fledgling Dark Lords to not realize they are one, in the Guild?" He asked.
"It's not uncommon." I said. "The ritual prevents them from accumulating any, so it often goes unnoticed until something changes."
"And is there anything other than contact with malice that can trigger this 'awakening'?"
I nodded. "Yeah. Repeated contact with another Dark Lord, which is why Wendy's on the hot seat right now. Contact with dark artifacts, deals with demons, opening Hell Mouths..."
Being near one.
We reached the Temple and Ander got things ready for a proper Purification Ritual, which he performed. He was... a lot more hands-on than I was used to, and it did make me uncomfortable, but it was working, the compass was beginning to waver, and then it started spinning.
Oh.
Oh no.
Before I could begin to tell Ander to stop, Wendy crumbled to ashes in his hands, her malice completely drained from her body.
He fixed me with a cold stare, and I understood the situation completely.
​
[Navigation for 'Maintenance': [1] [2] [3] [4] [5]]

Hey everyone! I’m a long-time lurker who’s been following Frost Giant and Stormgate since 2020 before the game’s name was even revealed.
And after accompanying pretty much every news reveal, article, and interview, I’ve decided to make a giant (get it?) compilation of just about everything we know so far, par some details.
Also, all of the video sources are timed, so they’ll take you to the specific portion of the video that is relevant to what is being described.
Enjoy!

What Is Stormgate?

• Stormgate is a traditional Blizzard style RTS with full-on base-building, economy management, tech trees, asymmetric factions, and individual unit control (rather than squad-based unit control like Company of Heroes or Total War games). It seeks to maintain the depth of RTS games while making it easier for new players to get into the genre without needing to dumb down the game. The game will feature Ranked Play (1v1 and 3v3), Campaign, Co-op vs AI, and Custom Games on release.

Races

• There will be 3 or 4 races. They’ve confirmed multiple times that we’ll have more than two factions.¹ And on this interview, it is mentioned that they’re considering whether to have three or four races.
  
• The two already confirmed races are the Human Resistance, who rely on futuristic technology they’ve preserved after their near-extinction at the hands of the Infernal Host, which is the other confirmed race.² The Infernals are an alien race of demonic creatures that use Stormgates (portals to other worlds) to invade other planets and exploit their resources, drain their life force (anima), and assimilate powerful creatures into their ranks. 3
  
• The Infernals are not a pure evil faction, as there seems to be some sort of universe-threatening force they are preparing against. They justify their conquests by claiming that it is necessary to save the universe from whatever this threat is. This is shown in the email “Frost Giant Newsletter - December '22”, which includes the following passage: “As domineering as they may seem, they believe they're serving a greater purpose: that strength in numbers and powerful magic will be necessary to save the universe.”
  
• We do not know what the 3rd or possible 4th race(s) are. If you ask me, after the mountains of content I’ve watched and read, we’ll probably get flying dolphins with lasers.
  
• The Human Resistance’s mechanics have been described as a mix of SC2 Terran-like, SC2 Protoss-like, and WC3 Human-like mechanics by Neuro, who got to play the game early. 4
  
• The Infernal Host is described as the “Swarm” faction, which uses superior numbers to overwhelm enemies. 5 But they may have playstyles that have a lower number of more elite units. 6
  
• A 3rd/4th race is likely to have a low number of very elite units, as the devs have mentioned they want to have higher highs and lower lows than Starcraft 2 in terms of faction army sizes (with a faction having even lower numbers than Protoss, and a faction having even more units than Zerg). 7
  
• On the Stormgate Announcement Cinematic Trailer at Summer Games Fest 2022, we saw a hologram of a different race at 0:46 and 0:49. One wields a spear, and the other wields a shield, both wearing armor, hinting at a more classic medieval fantasy visual identity for them (although said equipment could be sci-fi as well). They may be one of the playable unrevealed races, but it is not confirmed, and they could be an unplayable, or even extinct, race in the setting.
  

Economy

• There will be 2 resources: a plentiful resource akin to minerals in Starcraft, and a “tech” resource that is rarer, akin to vespene gas. One of the advantages of a tech resource is that it can give scouting opportunities, such as by deducing how much gas an opponent can have. 8
  
• Supply buildings will be in the game, which means you won’t start the game with a max of 200 supply right off the bat. 9
  
• Supply blocks will be less punitive. It is not set in stone exactly how, but some ideas they’re testing include the ability to train units at a slower rate while you’re supply blocked instead of full denial, having supply buildings be fast to build, and requiring fewer supply buildings in total. 10
  
• Supplies will not be buildings that you spam, but rather, tactical buildings with secondary effects besides providing supply (such as Warcraft 3 ones) and will provide interesting strategic decisions in regards to placement. And together with fewer total supply buildings needed, it should result in each supply building’s placement being a strategic decision. 11
  
• Workers will have diminishing returns. Meaning that the 60th worker will collect slower than the 59th. This change accomplishes two main things: Firstly, it incentivizes more bases and territory expansion to have the most cost-effective gathering per worker possible. Secondly, it reduces the power of worker kills (for example, if you have 100 workers, and you lose 20 of them, in sc2 you’d normally lose 20% of your economy. But in Stormgate, it’d be less than 20%, it could be 10% for instance). 12
  
• Races will probably have asymmetric workers/economy mechanics, such as collecting a certain resource differently, or being safer or more vulnerable when gathering certain resources. An example of this is the Warcraft 3 Night Elf’s wisp, which is vulnerable while collecting wood, but protected while collecting gold. 13
  
  • In SC2, Harassment is symmetrical: every race will target the enemy’s workers. But with this change, they can make it asymmetrical. For instance, if you’re against race A, you might attack their workers that are vulnerable while collecting the secondary resource, but against race B you’d target their particularly vulnerable supply buildings.
• There’ll be less macro busywork. Non-strategic actions that must be continually repeated throughout the match without any decision making, such as sc2 queens injecting larvae, where every half a minute you have to use each queen to inject a hatchery, will be removed or diminished. Theoretically, the queen could have interesting decision points of deciding to inject larva or spread creep, but most of the time players just make extra queens for creep instead. They want macro mechanics to create interesting decisions instead rather than just being busywork. 14
  
  • Instead, macro mechanics will be closer to the Protoss’ chrono boost where you choose whether to boost the production of military units, upgrades, or workers. 15

Responsiveness

• Over a year ago they already reached SC2-levels of pathfinding.¹⁶ And as we’ll see next on the Engine section next, the game will probably be even smoother than previous Blizzard RTS games.
  
• Neuro, who got to play the game, has described how crisp the pathfinding and responsiveness already are. 17
  

The Engine

• They’re using a combination of two engines: Unreal Engine 5 (UE5) and Snowplay. UE5 is behind the graphics, sound, and more. While Snowplay is Frost Giant’s custom-built engine created to deal with the unique challenges of RTS tech, such as high unit counts, a replay system, and its own networking model. 18
  
• Snowplay will simulate Stormgate at 64 hertz, compared to SC2’s 16 Hertz, which should result in an even smoother performance. 19
  
• Snowplay might include a version of rollback netcode. A piece of technology that would make games feel more responsive, and can result in ping mattering less, which would be great for higher-ping scenarios like cross-region play. 20
  
• The engine is also being built to allow joining a game in progress. 21
  
• With all of these improvements over previous Blizzard RTS engines, technology, and networks, it wouldn’t be surprising to see Stormgate be an even smoother and more responsive game than any of Blizzard’s previous RTS games.
  

New Player Experience & Making the Game More Approachable

• Lowering the barrier to entry (but not the skill ceiling),²² and better onboarding tools are a big focus of Frost Giant,²³ and include improved tutorials,²⁴ tools for players coming in through co-op to learn the game without needing to play other game modes,²⁵ and reactive tutorials for new players, such as noticing that the new player’s camera is not shifting and giving them a warning. 26
  
• Automated Control Groups: You’ll have the option of selecting specific units to automatically join a control group when they’re created. For instance, making it so that every time you make a Marine, it immediately joins the control group “1”. 27
  
• Quick Macro Panel: There’ll be an improved UI with easily accessible panels for Buildings, Unit Production, and Upgrades, that have all Buildings/Train/Upgrades under their respective tabs. By clicking the “Buildings” tab for instance, you’d get a card with all of your faction’s buildings on the card, and use it to send a worker to construct the building of choice from this panel, without having to click a worker first, and a worker close to where you placed the building would move to build it. 28
  
• Merged Command Cards: They’re making it so you’ll get a single panel with the abilities (or at least the primary ability) of each different type of unit that you have selected. For instance, if you have both a High Templar and an Oracle selected at once, you’d be able to cast both of their abilities from the same panel while they’re selected, instead of needing to select just the High Templars or just the Oracles, requiring either different control groups or tab-ing between the units in the group. 29
  
  • On top of this, they’re also making it so the key for each of those units’ primary ability doesn’t overlap. For example: Casters 1, 2, and 3, would have their primary ability be Q, W, and E, respectively. That way, even when they’re all selected, their primary ability key would remain the same, instead of having to use a different one when all those units are selected. 30, 31
• Multiple spells will have an Autocast option to facilitate control. 32
  
• The default hotkeys setup will be Grid Style (Each row in a command card will be Q-W-E-R-T… A-S-D-F-G… Z-X-C-V-…). 33
  
• The individual hotkey buttons will be customizable, but the individual abilities may not be. For instance, the top-most, right-most square on the command card will always be a certain hotkey that you design, rather than that same square having the possibility of being different hotkeys depending on the unit selected. 34
  
• No more blink and you lose your whole army abilities (Disruptor, Window Mines, Nukes), as those abilities will be less volatile, and high damage units will need to be in a position of risk to utilize their potential, allowing for counterplay.³⁵ The units will also be a bit larger on average than sc2, which can also help prevent this issue.³⁶ And they want you to have more time to respond to fights and encounters, rather than losing your whole army because you didn’t look at the fight half a second faster. 37
  
• How to make a wall with your buildings is an extra obstacle for new players playing PvP modes to learn, like Protoss and Terrans having to wall off against Zerg. They want to solve this by having an early defender’s advantage in the game, such as a starting base that attacks enemies to reduce the need for wall-offs. This initial defender’s advantage would also help prevent game-ending damage in the very early game, like with cheese strategies. 38
  
• Spawn locations are revealed on every game, instead of having 2+ possible start locations and not knowing which one the enemy is at. 39
  
• Easier scouting – when you see an enemy building, it will be clear what the enemy is going for. In Starcraft 2, you could see a Robotics Bay, and that could mean either Colossus or Disruptor, with each unit requiring a different response. In Stormgate, scouting what the enemy is doing will be easier by reducing this ambiguity. 40
  
• They want more tools and opportunities to scout, including units that are good at it 41.
  
  • The Infernal Host has a unit called the “Shadowflier”, described as an early flying scout unit⁴² and Neuro mentions an early cheap scouting unit for the Humans.⁴³ These two units further confirm that each race will have early and affordable methods of scouting.
• Lack of scouting will be less punitive, with fewer auto-losses like instantly losing the game because you didn’t scout that they’re going for a stealth unit and dying because you didn’t tech into detection. 44
  
• On the Co-Op Commanders mode, we’ll get options and roles that are easier to play, so new players can pick easier-to-play commanders or roles, and we’ll have harder roles and micro-intensive options for more advanced players. 45
  

Heroes

• They’ve tested and considered heroes in every game mode, including 1v1.⁴⁶ We do not have solid knowledge on whether they’ll show up on 1v1 at all. And if they do show up, we do not know the extent of it (A single hero per game? Multiple? Does only a single race have it? Or maybe a single race does NOT have it?).
  
  • Neuro’s playtest did NOT have any heroes on the Human vs Human 1v1 matches that he played. 47
• Heroes have been confirmed for Co-op and 3v3. 48
  
• If Heroes are in 1v1, they’re unlikely to be like Warcraft 3’s (high power, centers army around them, leveling, items inventory, attributes, etc), as Frost Giant has expressed disliking some of the downsides of Warcraft 3’s hero design like snowballing and having fewer army splits due to the centralization of combat around heroes. 49
  
• The hero is more likely to take on a supportive role and not be highly lethal, like an empowered version of a Starcraft 2 Queen, and include decision-making with its abilities by having to decide on which ability you want to spend its mana on. 50
  

Game Speed

• The game’s lethality (How fast units die/kill) is going to be higher than Warcraft 3, but lower than Starcraft 1 & 2. 51
  
• As noted previously, aoe burst damage won’t be so volatile, which is also going to help slow down the game’s pace and lethality. 52
  
• In 3v3, they’re aiming for games to last for 20 minutes on average, with very low variance from this length. While 1v1 will have a close to 20-minute average, but will have a greater range of game times (like having matches that last 15 minutes, and ones that last 30 minutes to average out to 20). They also want to limit the number of games that end very early, and having early defender’s advantage will help with that as mentioned previously. 53
  

Maps

• They’re aiming to have a wider range of map designs and layouts, unlike SC2’s formulaic and repetitive same-y maps. 54
  
• Maps may have objectives. This may be exclusive of 3v3, not 1v1. 55
  
• Maps may have creeps – Non-aligned enemies on the map you can defeat for rewards. They’d respawn, unlike WC3. This might be exclusive of 3v3 and Co-Op. 56
  
• Neuro’s thoughts after his tests mention new ways in how players can interact with the map, and that there are new incentives for players to contest. 57
  
• At the start, maps will be primarily made by Frost Giant. Over time, they expect to use more community-made maps. 58
  
• They want the unit design to restrict map design as little as possible to increase how many map layouts can be made. Not having units like Reapers in SC2 which can jump cliffs is an example of this. 59
  
• During Neuro’s games, there were different types of terrain not present in SC2, like narrow forests that you probably can’t move giant units through. 60
  

Deathballs

• They’re taking multiple measures to prevent deathballs, including lower DPS density, lower unit ranges on average to reduce DPS density, and designing units that are particularly good when split off from the main army,⁶¹ as well as having harder counters to late game units to make sure there’s no perfect unbeatable, ultimate comp or single unit that you can mass that doesn’t have a counter. 62

Turtling

• They identify turtling as a potential problem, and one that can make some games stretch for longer than they should. Part of the way they’re addressing this is experimentation with powerful late game finisher units to break turtling and finish the game when you’re ahead instead of not being able to end the game against a turtler. 63
  
  • The Gigachad Gigamech human unit, and the giant 4-legged creature we see in this Infernal concept art might be examples of such units. One of the lead designers, Kevin Dong, also mentions having units with turtle-breaking potential. 64
• The game will have stronger defender’s advantage than sc2, and it is likely going to be race-asymmetric. 65
  
  • Since there’s a stronger defender’s advantage, we’ll have to see how it interacts with the big game-ending units above. It may be that the defender’s advantage is at its peak in the early/mid game but not strong enough to cost-effectively stop these game-ending units.

Air Combat & Territory Control

• Air vs Air fights can be quite unfun, especially when compared to Ground vs Ground and Air vs Ground combat, partly because they completely ignore terrain control. So they’re taking steps to reduce Air vs Air combat by creating strong anti-air ground units like the Brood War’s Goliath, and making air units weaker overall.⁶⁶ They’re also looking to add pathing blockers for air, which would further weaken Air and their ability to ignore terrain. 67
  
• Territory control is a core part of the game – fighting for resources, creating more bases, and increasing risk as the more you expand the more places you’ll have that can be attacked and harassed. They’re designing units with territory control and defender’s advantage in mind. 68
  
  • Territory control also comes into play with how they’re designing air units, units that can carry other units over terrain like SC2 Medivacs, and other forms of abilities that ignore terrain, as their power will be decreased. 69, nice

Team Games (3v3 Ranked PVP)

• Unlike SC2, team games (3v3) will be heavily supported. 70
  
• 1v1 and 3v3 ranked play will likely have different rules, such as different objectives and different balance (while trying to make the units as similar as possible between both modes). 3v3 will be its own game mode designed from the ground up.⁷¹ It may also have alternative win conditions, such as a capture-the-flag style win condition. 72
  
• When you die in most team-based games, you’re allowed to keep playing, such as by respawning. This isn’t the case in RTS, and they’re looking to change that for Stormgate. 73
  

Campaign

• There will be many campaign missions at launch. 74
  
• Campaigns will have a Co-Op mode where you can play the campaign as a trio. (Not to be confused with the “Co-Op Commanders” mode, which is its own separate 3-player vs AI game mode). 75
  
• Campaigns will have constant, episodic releases and progress year after year. 76
  

Story

• Stormgates are portals between worlds that open on solar storms. 77
  
• The setting is a futuristic Earth where Humans survived an apocalyptic invasion by the Infernal Host, a demonic alien race that travels through Stormgates to conquer different planets. 78
  
• Humanity is responsible for opening a Stormgate on Earth. As a result of climate change, extreme weather, and overpopulation they’ve initiated a scientific project called the Sigma Program, with the goal to find new habitats for humanity. One of the program’s branches, Sigma Six, worked on portal technology. In their attempt to open a portal to another dimension, they ended up opening up a portal to the Infernal world. Humanity was then brutally invaded, and brought to near-extinction. 79
  
• The humans managed to survive, and after many years of rebuilding, they've managed to become a fairly stable civilization with a sense of hope and optimism. That is, until now, with the Infernals coming back for Infernal Invasion 2: Electric Boogaloo – Salty Infernals Complain That Humans Are OP Special Edition. 80
  
• Infernals have been to Earth thousands of years before their first invasion. They’re not Judeo-Christean demons, but an alien version of demons.⁸¹. Human myths about demons come from early contact with the Infernals. 82
  
• In the cinematic trailer, we see a human archeologist retrieve a powerful shield amid ruins. According to the email “Re: War Update”, this shield may be called the “Aegis Cipher”, a relic. The email also mentions the possible retrieval of other relics to help Humans fight against the Infernal Boogaloo.
  
• We’ll get short stories leading up to release. 83
  
• Certain esports results may impact the game’s story and lore. 84
  

Co-Op Commanders

• Co-op Commanders (it may be called something else on release) will be a fully supported game mode present at launch, alongside Campaign, Custom Games, and Ranked play. 85
  
• Unlike SC2’s 2-player Co-Op Commanders mode, Stormgate’s Co-Op will have 3 players. 86
  
• Stormgate’s lower lethality allows for a wider range of different effects, playstyles, and commanders to be possible, unlike SC2’s where the main thing to care about is damage and whether you can one-shot an enemy force. Doesn’t matter if the enemy is stunned or not when you can just destroy their whole army in 3 seconds. Effects like debuffs (Stuns, Slows, Poison, etc) become more viable to include in this Co-Op by having a lower overall lethality as it gives enough time for these effects to be worth it. 87
  
• Higher focus on combos and interaction between players’ commanders, top-bar powers, and compositions, unlike the more stand-alone design of SC2. 88
  
• There will be more support and co-operative abilities than in SC2. 89
  
• The progression in Co-Op will be significantly different from SC2. Being built from the ground up with an eye for long-term development support and high replayability value. They won’t be building one clunky progression system on top of another creating a Frankenstein progression system, similar to what they had to do with SC2’s development constraints. 90
  
• There will be heroes in co-op commanders, but not all commanders will feature an in-game hero unit. 91
  
• Co-op Commanders will have an itemization progression system, where you can change different items to get different effects, like getting a frost wand that makes your hero deal ice damage instead of fire damage. 92
  
• They plan on eventually having leaderboards for Co-Op Commanders that let you compare yourself globally and with your friends. 93
  
• Mutators that change missions will be present in co-op. 94
  
• As previously mentioned, the Co-Op mode will have an onboarding experience for new players, unlike SC2 where there was none, despite how many new players came in through co-op.
  

Custom Games & The Editor

• On custom games, you can have up to 32 players + 32 observers. 95
  
• The game editor will be implemented inside the game’s menu, rather than having a separate launcher. 96
  
• The devs want to learn and take the best from wc3’s ease-of-use editor and sc2’s powerful, but difficult-to-use, editor.⁹⁷ And it might have a Simple and Advanced mode. 98
  
• There will be an open lobby list where you can see created custom games to join, and there’ll also be other methods of map discoverability. 99
  
• The editor will likely be released in stages, starting with the terrain editor to create multiplayer maps and releasing more tools over time. 100
  
• They’re not working on tutorials for the editor yet, but they’re open to considering it in the future when higher priority work has been finished. 101
  

Esports

• The plan for launch is to have a 1v1 ranked play circuit that is divided into 3 seasons over the year and for it to match with content releases (new heroes, maps, cosmetics, etc). 102
  
  • The baseline format is Qualifiers -> Regular Season -> Playoffs -> Seasonal Championship. There'll also be an annual World Championship at the end. 103
• The circuit will have a clear on-ramp to join each season, rather than a closed-off elite thing that needs the right connections to get into. 104
  
• They want you to have a clear path to pro, and for players to know the exact next step in their journey to becoming a pro. 105
  
• Besides the official pro circuit, they’re also going to allow 3rd party events, instead of banning non-official competitions. 106
  
• They want to integrate eSports more into the game client. There’ll be an in-game tournament system where players can set up tournaments to make it smoother and easier to run events without needing to go off-client to join tournaments or increase operation costs by needing more people to manage the event, while also increasing visibility by being in-game. 107
  
  • There will also be automatic tournaments like SC2’s. 108
• A percentage of the revenue share of seasonal products will be fueled straight into esports. 109
  
• There’ll be tournaments and esports programs in the closed beta. 110
  
• They don’t plan to have 3v3 as its own official competitive ecosystem,¹¹¹ but are open to expanding it depending on its popularity. 112
  
• They want to provide deeper ways to interact with each game mode and are considering ways to do co-op competitions. But on launch, it’ll be focused on 1v1. 113
  
• They’re looking to engage players of different levels in competition. 114
  

Progression

• They’re planning on having achievements and campaign objectives that you can work towards, and earn meaningful rewards from. 115
  
• No meta progression will make you more powerful in 1v1. 116
  

It’s a Social RTS

• They’ve mentioned multiple times, including on the Steam page, that they want to make this the first truly social RTS. But, besides knowing that they’ll have good co-op support (Co-Op vs AI and Co-Op Campaign), we don’t know what other social features will be in the game yet.
  
• They have mentioned the importance of Discord in nowadays gaming sphere, and are considering integrating it into Stormgate. 117
  

Monetization

• The game will be Free to Play. The first campaign chapter and the initial heroes for the Co-Op mode will be free. Money will be spent on Campaigns, Cosmetics (like unit skins), more Heroes/Commanders for Co-Op, and more. 118
  
• 1v1 and 3v3 Ranked will not have purchasable power. Players will be competing on an even playing field. 119
  
• There will be no NFTs.¹²⁰ and no loot boxes. 121
  

Post-Release Content

• There’s a strong emphasis on a consistent and clear release schedule for content releases and seasons to provide players a clear point to come back into the game. 122
  
• We’ll have 3 seasons a year. Each will bring new content (such as Co-Op Heroes, Campaigns, Cosmetics, and more). 123
  
• They want each campaign release to be substantial, rather than being too fragmented over many small releases, which could be underwhelming and frustrating. 124
  

Patches

• Balance changes are expected to come with each new season and give professional players time to adapt. 125, 126
  
  • They’re also open for emergency balance changes mid-season in case of emergencies or severe imbalance. 127
• Patches and balance will prioritize the perception of balance and fun over raw win rate and will consider both top players and lower-level players. 128
  

Concept Art

• Frost Giant’s been releasing Concept Art here and there, which showcases environments and possible units for the Human Resistance and the Infernal Host. Some of the most important ones are: Infernal Host Concept Art 1, 2, 3 and Human Resistance concept art 1, 2, 3. We also had an illustration on a special mousepad Frost Giant sent to content creators, showcasing multiple Human characters and units. You can check it here.
  
• One of the goals of the art style and graphics is the visibility and readability of units and the battlefield. 129
  

Big Names Behind Stormgate

• Tim Campbell: The president of FGS, Stormgate’s Game Director, and one of Frost Giant’s Founders. He’s worked on Command & Conquer: Red Alert, Command & Conquer Generals, and was the campaign lead in Warcraft 3. He also worked on the early SC2 days.

 

• Tim Morten: The production director for Stormgate and the other Frost Giant Studios founder. He worked as the production director and lead producer for Starcraft 2. He also worked as the Director of Product Development on Command & Conquer.

 

• Kevin Dong: The Lead Co-Op Commanders designer, who was one of the main Co-Op designers in SC2 and worked at Team Liquid before that. He designed the last 4 commanders to be released for SC2, and is also part of the balance team.

 

• James Anhalt: Chief architect for Stormgate. Another man with a legendary career – helped program battle.net during the early days and was the lead pathfinding engineer for SC2, he’s one of the main reasons SC2 is as smooth as it is.

 

• Gerald Villoria: Communications director for FGS and dog dad (and dad dad) you’ll see responding to comments here on the Stormgate subreddit and giving the occasional cryptic teases. Worked at Blizzard for over 11 years, but didn’t hesitate to leave it behind to work for a team that is actually brimming with passion and art (Frost Giant).

 

• Cara LaForge: Head of business operations, worked with the Blizzard eSports team, and is the mother to two of the most iconic RTS figures: Tasteless and Day9.

 
…And a bunch of other awesome people that all deserve a giant post dedicated just to thank each of them for the amazing games and memories they’ve helped create, and the (probably) amazing game they’re currently working on.

Beta

• The first closed test phase, dubbed pre-alpha, will start in July.¹³⁰ It will feature only the Human Resistance and will be focused on 1v1.¹³¹ It will have an NDA and will not be streamable. 132
  
• Only a small number of players will participate in the first test phase. Further testing phases will increase the number of players, and add more races, maps, and game modes over time. 133
  
• Players will be invited from a variety of regions. 134
  

How Can I Get Into the Beta?

• By being a lucky motherfucker By signing up at playstormgate.com. Frost Giant may also host promotions and giveaways in the future to get invites. 135

How Can I Support Frost Giant?

• The biggest factor right now is wishlisting it on Steam. It may seem useless at first, but wishlisting is a big deal because the more wishlisted a game is, the more the game will be showcased on Steam.

Miscellaneous

• Stormgate will have replays. 136
  
• The game will have both all-rounder units (like the Marine, which is kind of good against everything) and hard counter units, with hard counters being particularly present against late game units. 137
  
• There’ll be a ranked ladder on launch. 138
  
• Stealth will break whenever the unit deals damage like in Warcraft 3, and unlike Starcraft 2’s permanent stealth even while attacking. 139
  
• The game will have a 200 supply cap. 140
  
• There won’t be a limit to how many units you can have selected at once. 141
  
• They want low-tier units to have roles or come back in the late game, much like Starcraft games. And one of the ways they’ll do this is by keeping a clear limit on units per faction. 142
  
  • And they're aiming for each race's army roster size to be on the shorter end, with fewer units per race than Starcraft 2 and closer to that of Starcraft 1 and Warcraft 3. One of the reasons for this decision is that they do not want too many units competing for the same role or niche. 143
• Exploding Critters
  

Did I Miss Something Important?

Just leave a comment and I’ll add it!

Sharing is caring. I won't update this unless you request it, but updates are rarely necessary. Here's the purpose of this useroverrides.

1. Provide documentation for settings I'll probably want to enable/disable. This documentation is way shorter and less detailed than the original, and it only shows settings that are relevant to me.
2. Provide minimal improvements to privacy(mainly) and security that are not applied by default (I agree with the documentation that these changes, most of them listed under extra, will have very little to no effect in improving arkenfox, but I still either don't like these features or feel like disabling them.)

Settings that I had enabled are uncommented, this includes personal changes that reduce privacy/security/experience. I had for example disabled saving passwords because I already use a password manager. I didn't touch any setting I did not understand. If you suggest changes, I'll likely won't put them in because it is a personal list after all. It's more of a service to me than to others. Here's the file's contents
https://pastebin.com/WN2MbEDi

// https://github.com/arkenfox/user.js/wiki/3.2-Overrides-%5BCommon%5D // Extras, to disable just uncomment. user_pref("browser.safebrowsing.malware.enabled", false); // 0401 Safe Browsing user_pref("browser.safebrowsing.phishing.enabled", false); // 0401 Safe Browsing user_pref("browser.safebrowsing.downloads.enabled", false); // 0402 no checks for downloads user_pref("browser.safebrowsing.downloads.remote.block_potentially_unwanted", false); // 0404 no checks for downloads user_pref("browser.safebrowsing.downloads.remote.block_uncommon", false); // 0404 no checks for downloads user_pref("browser.send_pings", true); // 0610 Enforce "No Hyperlink Auditing" user_pref("network.trr.mode", 5); // 0710 Disable DNS-over-HTTPS user_pref("network.http.windows-sso.enabled", false); // 0906 disables automatic authentication on Microsoft sites user_pref("privacy.cpd.downloads", true); // 2820 not used, see note above... what note? user_pref("privacy.cpd.openWindows", false); // 2820 Session Restore user_pref("privacy.cpd.passwords", false); // 2820 user_pref("privacy.cpd.siteSettings", false); // 2820 user_pref("browser.privatebrowsing.autostart", true); // 5001 Start in Private Browsing user_pref("signon.rememberSignons", false); // 5003 Disable saving passwords user_pref("extensions.formautofill.addresses.enabled", false); // 5017 Disable Form Autofill user_pref("extensions.formautofill.creditCards.enabled", false); // 5017 Disable Form Autofill user_pref("extensions.formautofill.heuristics.enabled", false); // 5017 Disable Form Autofill // Extras that break user_pref("security.mixed_content.block_display_content", true); // 1241 disable insecure passive content (such as images) on https pages user_pref("layout.css.font-visibility.private", 1); // 1402 Limits fonts user_pref("layout.css.font-visibility.standard", 1); // 1402 Limits fonts user_pref("layout.css.font-visibility.trackingprotection", 1); // 1402 Limits fonts user_pref("dom.security.https_only_mode_pbm", true); // 1244 HTTPS-Only mode in all windows // user_pref("dom.security.https_only_mode.upgrade_local", true); // 1245 1244 HTTPS-Only mode for local user_pref("media.peerconnection.ice.no_host", true); // 2004 Protects ip in trusted scenarios, can break video conferencing user_pref("media.gmp-provider.enabled", false); // 2020 Disable Gecko Media Plugins user_pref("media.gmp-widevinecdm.enabled", false); // 2021 Disable widevine CDM (content decryption module) user_pref("privacy.antitracking.enableWebcompat", false); // 2702 disable ETP web compat features // Adds features users want // user_pref("browser.download.useDownloadDir", true); // 26/51 This is confusing. If set to true, Firefox won't ask where do you want to save the file and just put it in the download dir. I am confused because I swear setting it to true would achieve this, but it's not doing that anymore. It's also not on user.js, so there should had been no reason for Firefox to prevent me from changing this setting from the settings menu. I am so confused. // user_pref("browser.startup.page", 0); // 0102 set startup page. 0=blank, 1=home, 2=last visited page, 3=resume previous session(2811) // user_pref("privacy.clearOnShutdown.history", false); // 0102 option 3 depends on 2811 clearOnShutdown user_pref("keyword.enabled", true); // 0801 Search through web search. If you manually select the search engine instead, it will still work // user_pref("privacy.clearOnShutdown.cache", false); // 2811 don't clear cache on shutdown // user_pref("privacy.clearOnShutdown.downloads", false); // 2811 don't clear downloads history on shutdown // user_pref("privacy.clearOnShutdown.formdata", false); // 2811 don't clear form data on shutdown // user_pref("privacy.clearOnShutdown.history", false); // 2811 don't clear history on shutdown // user_pref("privacy.clearOnShutdown.sessions", false); // 2811 don't clear http login sessions on shutdown (not cookies) // Websites fixes // user_pref("network.http.referer.XOriginPolicy", 0); // 1601 Can break some sites. #1 issue. Use Smart Referer extension (Strict mode + add exceptions) // user_pref("media.eme.enabled", true); // 4501 RFP #2 issue. Install Canvas Blocker // user_pref("media.eme.enabled", true); // 4504 Letterboxing #2 issue. // user_pref("webgl.disabled", true); // 4520 Disable WebGL // user_pref("media.eme.enabled", true); // 2022 enables all DRM content // More features users want user_pref("privacy.clearOnShutdown.siteSettings", true); // 2811 clear site settings on shutdown. Uncomment to disable user_pref("privacy.clearOnShutdown.openWindows", true) // 2812 clear open windows on shutdown. Uncomment to disable user_pref("privacy.clearsitedata.cache.enabled", true); // 2816 set cache to clear on exit. Uncomment to disable // user_pref("browser.cache.disk.enable", true); // 1001 enable disk cache, can improve performance // user_pref("privacy.clearOnShutdown.cache", false); // 2811 don't clear cache on shutdown // user_pref("browser.sessionstore.privacy_level", 0); // 1003 save extra session data. 0=everywhere, 1=unencrypted sites, 2=nowhere // user_pref("pdfjs.disabled", false); // user_pref("pdfjs.enableScripting", false); // 2651 Open PDFs // Less Likely Website Fixes // user_pref("network.IDN_show_punycode", true); // 2619 Messes with non-latin alphabets. // user_pref("privacy.clearOnShutdown.cookies", false); // 2815 don't clear cookies on shutdown // user_pref("privacy.clearOnShutdown.offlineApps", false); // 2815 don't clear offline apps on shutdown // user_pref("privacy.window.maxInnerWidth", 1600); // user_pref("privacy.window.maxInnerHeight", 900); // 4502 Max site resolution. idk what resolution is the default // user_pref("security.ssl.require_safe_negotiation", false); // 1201 Breaks old websites with outdated security, vulnerable to MiTM // user_pref("security.OCSP.require", false); // 1212 Certification errors // user_pref("security.cert_pinning.enforcement_level", 0); // 1224 Strict PKI/Public Key Pinning. MOZILLA_PKIX_ERROR_KEY_PINNING_FAILURE // user_pref("extensions.enabledScopes", 5); // user_pref("extensions.autoDisableScopes", 15); 2660 lock down allowed extension directories. This is not the setting that disables it // user_pref("javascript.use_us_english_locale", false); // 02011 Restricts Firefox locale to english. // user_pref("network.dns.disableIPv6", false); // 0701 Disable IPv6. Router already disables it but some websites may still have an issue. // Android Fixes // user_pref("browser.download.useDownloadDir", false); // Allows longtapping and saving images. // Extras copy and paste from user.js /*** [SECTION 5500]: OPTIONAL HARDENING Not recommended. Overriding these can cause breakage and performance issues, they are mostly fingerprintable, and the threat model is practically nonexistent ***/ /* 5501: disable MathML (Mathematical Markup Language) [FF51+] * [1] https://cve.mitre.org/cgi-bin/cvekey.cgi?keyword=mathml ***/ // user_pref("mathml.disabled", true); // 1173199 /* 5502: disable in-content SVG (Scalable Vector Graphics) [FF53+] * [1] https://cve.mitre.org/cgi-bin/cvekey.cgi?keyword=firefox+svg ***/ // user_pref("svg.disabled", true); // 1216893 /* 5503: disable graphite * [1] https://cve.mitre.org/cgi-bin/cvekey.cgi?keyword=firefox+graphite * [2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Graphite_(SIL) ***/ // user_pref("gfx.font_rendering.graphite.enabled", false); /* 5504: disable asm.js [FF22+] * [1] http://asmjs.org/ * [2] https://cve.mitre.org/cgi-bin/cvekey.cgi?keyword=asm.js * [3] https://rh0dev.github.io/blog/2017/the-return-of-the-jit/ ***/ // user_pref("javascript.options.asmjs", false); /* 5505: disable Ion and baseline JIT to harden against JS exploits * [NOTE] When both Ion and JIT are disabled, and trustedprincipals * is enabled, then Ion can still be used by extensions (1599226) * [1] https://cve.mitre.org/cgi-bin/cvekey.cgi?keyword=firefox+jit * [2] https://microsoftedge.github.io/edgevposts/Super-Duper-Secure-Mode/ ***/ // user_pref("javascript.options.ion", false); // user_pref("javascript.options.baselinejit", false); // user_pref("javascript.options.jit_trustedprincipals", true); // [FF75+] [HIDDEN PREF] /* 5506: disable WebAssembly [FF52+] * Vulnerabilities [1] have increasingly been found, including those known and fixed * in native programs years ago [2]. WASM has powerful low-level access, making * certain attacks (brute-force) and vulnerabilities more possible * [STATS] ~0.2% of websites, about half of which are for crytopmining / malvertising [2][3] * [1] https://cve.mitre.org/cgi-bin/cvekey.cgi?keyword=wasm * [2] https://spectrum.ieee.org/tech-talk/telecom/security/more-worries-over-the-security-of-web-assembly * [3] https://www.zdnet.com/article/half-of-the-websites-using-webassembly-use-it-for-malicious-purposes ***/ // user_pref("javascript.options.wasm", false); /* 5507: disable rendering of SVG OpenType fonts ***/ // user_pref("gfx.font_rendering.opentype_svg.enabled", false); /*** [SECTION 6000]: DON'T TOUCH ***/ /* 6050: prefsCleaner: reset previously active items removed from arkenfox FF102+ ***/ // user_pref("beacon.enabled", ""); // user_pref("browser.startup.blankWindow", ""); // user_pref("browser.newtab.preload", ""); // user_pref("browser.newtabpage.activity-stream.feeds.discoverystreamfeed", ""); // user_pref("browser.newtabpage.activity-stream.feeds.snippets", ""); // user_pref("browser.region.network.url", ""); // user_pref("browser.region.update.enabled", ""); // user_pref("browser.ssl_override_behavior", ""); // user_pref("devtools.chrome.enabled", ""); // user_pref("dom.disable_beforeunload", ""); // user_pref("dom.disable_open_during_load", ""); // user_pref("extensions.formautofill.available", ""); // user_pref("extensions.formautofill.addresses.supported", ""); // user_pref("extensions.formautofill.creditCards.available", ""); // user_pref("extensions.formautofill.creditCards.supported", ""); /*** [SECTION 7000]: DON'T BOTHER ***/ /* 7001: disable APIs * Location-Aware Browsing, Full Screen, offline cache (appCache) * [WHY] The API state is easily fingerprintable. Geo is behind a prompt (7002). * appCache storage capability was removed in FF90. Full screen requires user interaction ***/ // user_pref("geo.enabled", false); // user_pref("full-screen-api.enabled", false); // user_pref("browser.cache.offline.enable", false); /* 7002: set default permissions * Location, Camera, Microphone, Notifications [FF58+] Virtual Reality [FF73+] * 0=always ask (default), 1=allow, 2=block * [WHY] These are fingerprintable via Permissions API, except VR. Just add site * exceptions as allow/block for frequently visited/annoying sites: i.e. not global * [SETTING] to add site exceptions: Ctrl+I>Permissions> * [SETTING] to manage site exceptions: Options>Privacy & Security>Permissions>Settings ***/ // user_pref("permissions.default.geo", 0); // user_pref("permissions.default.camera", 0); // user_pref("permissions.default.microphone", 0); // user_pref("permissions.default.desktop-notification", 0); // user_pref("permissions.default.xr", 0); // Virtual Reality /* 7003: disable non-modern cipher suites [1] * [WHY] Passive fingerprinting. Minimal/non-existent threat of downgrade attacks * [1] https://browserleaks.com/ssl ***/ // user_pref("security.ssl3.ecdhe_ecdsa_aes_128_sha", false); // [DEFAULT: false FF109+] // user_pref("security.ssl3.ecdhe_ecdsa_aes_256_sha", false); // [DEFAULT: false FF109+] // user_pref("security.ssl3.ecdhe_rsa_aes_128_sha", false); // user_pref("security.ssl3.ecdhe_rsa_aes_256_sha", false); // user_pref("security.ssl3.rsa_aes_128_gcm_sha256", false); // no PFS // user_pref("security.ssl3.rsa_aes_256_gcm_sha384", false); // no PFS // user_pref("security.ssl3.rsa_aes_128_sha", false); // no PFS // user_pref("security.ssl3.rsa_aes_256_sha", false); // no PFS /* 7004: control TLS versions * [WHY] Passive fingerprinting and security ***/ // user_pref("security.tls.version.min", 3); // [DEFAULT: 3] // user_pref("security.tls.version.max", 4); /* 7005: disable SSL session IDs [FF36+] * [WHY] Passive fingerprinting and perf costs. These are session-only * and isolated with network partitioning (FF85+) and/or containers ***/ // user_pref("security.ssl.disable_session_identifiers", true); /* 7006: onions * [WHY] Firefox doesn't support hidden services. Use Tor Browser ***/ // user_pref("dom.securecontext.allowlist_onions", true); // [FF97+] 1382359/1744006 // user_pref("network.http.referer.hideOnionSource", true); // 1305144 /* 7007: referers * [WHY] Only cross-origin referers (1600s) need control ***/ // user_pref("network.http.sendRefererHeader", 2); // user_pref("network.http.referer.trimmingPolicy", 0); /* 7008: set the default Referrer Policy [FF59+] * 0=no-referer, 1=same-origin, 2=strict-origin-when-cross-origin, 3=no-referrer-when-downgrade * [WHY] Defaults are fine. They can be overridden by a site-controlled Referrer Policy ***/ // user_pref("network.http.referer.defaultPolicy", 2); // [DEFAULT: 2] // user_pref("network.http.referer.defaultPolicy.pbmode", 2); // [DEFAULT: 2] /* 7010: disable HTTP Alternative Services [FF37+] * [WHY] Already isolated with network partitioning (FF85+) ***/ // user_pref("network.http.altsvc.enabled", false); /* 7011: disable website control over browser right-click context menu * [WHY] Just use Shift-Right-Click ***/ // user_pref("dom.event.contextmenu.enabled", false); /* 7012: disable icon fonts (glyphs) and local fallback rendering * [WHY] Breakage, font fallback is equivalency, also RFP * [1] https://bugzilla.mozilla.org/789788 * [2] https://gitlab.torproject.org/legacy/trac/-/issues/8455 ***/ // user_pref("gfx.downloadable_fonts.enabled", false); // [FF41+] // user_pref("gfx.downloadable_fonts.fallback_delay", -1); /* 7013: disable Clipboard API * [WHY] Fingerprintable. Breakage. Cut/copy/paste require user * interaction, and paste is limited to focused editable fields ***/ // user_pref("dom.event.clipboardevents.enabled", false); /* 7014: disable System Add-on updates * [WHY] It can compromise security. System addons ship with prefs, use those ***/ // user_pref("extensions.systemAddon.update.enabled", false); // [FF62+] // user_pref("extensions.systemAddon.update.url", ""); // [FF44+] /* 7015: enable the DNT (Do Not Track) HTTP header * [WHY] DNT is enforced with Tracking Protection which is used in ETP Strict (2701) ***/ // user_pref("privacy.donottrackheader.enabled", true); /* 7016: customize ETP settings * [WHY] Arkenfox only supports strict (2701) which sets these at runtime ***/ // user_pref("network.cookie.cookieBehavior", 5); // [DEFAULT: 5 FF103+] // user_pref("network.http.referer.disallowCrossSiteRelaxingDefault", true); // user_pref("network.http.referer.disallowCrossSiteRelaxingDefault.top_navigation", true); // [FF100+] // user_pref("privacy.partition.network_state.ocsp_cache", true); // user_pref("privacy.query_stripping.enabled", true); // [FF101+] [ETP FF102+] // user_pref("privacy.trackingprotection.enabled", true); // user_pref("privacy.trackingprotection.socialtracking.enabled", true); // user_pref("privacy.trackingprotection.cryptomining.enabled", true); // [DEFAULT: true] // user_pref("privacy.trackingprotection.fingerprinting.enabled", true); // [DEFAULT: true] /* 7017: disable service workers * [WHY] Already isolated with TCP (2701) behind a pref (2710) ***/ // user_pref("dom.serviceWorkers.enabled", false); /* 7018: disable Web Notifications * [WHY] Web Notifications are behind a prompt (7002) * [1] https://blog.mozilla.org/en/products/firefox/block-notification-requests/ ***/ // user_pref("dom.webnotifications.enabled", false); // [FF22+] // user_pref("dom.webnotifications.serviceworker.enabled", false); // [FF44+] /* 7019: disable Push Notifications [FF44+] * [WHY] Push requires subscription * [NOTE] To remove all subscriptions, reset "dom.push.userAgentID" * [1] https://support.mozilla.org/kb/push-notifications-firefox ***/ // user_pref("dom.push.enabled", false); /* 7020: disable WebRTC (Web Real-Time Communication) * [WHY] Firefox desktop uses mDNS hostname obfuscation and the private IP is never exposed until * required in TRUSTED scenarios; i.e. after you grant device (microphone or camera) access * [TEST] https://browserleaks.com/webrtc * [1] https://groups.google.com/g/discuss-webrtc/c/6stQXi72BEU/m/2FwZd24UAQAJ * [2] https://datatracker.ietf.org/doc/html/draft-ietf-mmusic-mdns-ice-candidates#section-3.1.1 ***/ // user_pref("media.peerconnection.enabled", false); 

Since these are being used on a new system I had barely used, with time, more settings would be enabled by default as I encounter more issues. Next time I make a post like this, I might provide multiple useroverrides files instead of one. Currently, this is a file I used when I had mostly only needed to access my web servers and do some minimal browsing to install applications. Next time, I'll probably shorten the list of not recommended changes, despite not being recommended some can be used as a personal preference. Example: Disabling desktop notifications. You can perfectly do so on the Firefox settings, but it's useful in case you for some reason want to disable it this way anyways. These settings are useful.

Changes in Bitwig Studio 5, Beta 7 [released 24 May 2023]

New Features

​

• Bottom right area of the Pop-up Browser now has:
  • An X button for closing without inserting selected content
  • A Confirm button for inserting selected content and closing the browser
  • A pair of ▴ and ▾ buttons, for selecting the previous and next result in the list
• Delay compensation (PDC) now includes group- and project-modulators

Improvements

​

• Opening the Devices filter automatically unfolds the Devices item
• Show Confirm button in Pop-up Browser, even if nothing is selected
• Mute/Solo/Arm shortcut commands now operate on all selected tracks [32244]

Fixes

​

• Duplicate instances of project remotes were being displayed [32308]
• Pitch expression editing in Detail Editor Panel was more sensitive than in version 4 [32518]
• Fixed an incorrect automation follow behavior adjusting the end of an Arranger clip [32387]
• Recording the Launcher with Record on scene launch records clips for unarmed tracks (a regression) [32365]
• Improved behavior when remote controls should follow any selection
• Default sequencer latency is set to 50 ms now
• Option to Convert Track (to Instrument/Audio/Hybrid) now works in the Mix view [15422]
• Note FX Layer and Note FX Selector devices: Inactive note FX layers never go to sleep now [32438]
• HW Instrument device: Was sometimes sending first note on wrong channel [32532]
• Audio Sidechain modulator: Wasn't working well when used on plug-ins [32380]
• Some old projects didn't reopen in Bitwig 5 [32433]
• Crash in some cases of double-clicking on clip loop bar when there is automation in the track [30786]
• Curve (MSEG) device/Pop-out Editor fixes:
  • Histogram window wouldn't open with curve points selected
  • Typing to edit curve points would close the Pop-out Editor
  • Curves: Pre-highlighted points could 'jump' after clicking [32459]
  • Moving points in the Pop-out Editor with [CTRL] pressed was opening the preset browser on release [32290]
  • Crash when replacing Curves Grid module with Segments Grid module [31888]
  • Some touch interaction were not working in curve Pop-out Editor [31861]
• Various browser fixes/improvements:
  • Favorites-only filter (the special star in the Browser) was not being saved with the Use current selections functions [32510]
  • Suggested autocomplete actions are now more clever than before
  • SEARCH-FIELD IS NOW FOCUSED< EVEN IF CAPS LOCK IS ON
  • Allow multi-selection of Device Type (Instrument/Note FX/Audio FX) using the SHIFT modifier
  • Fixed rare out-of-memory crashes with huge libraries (more than half a million files) [32334]
  • Regression b5 to b6: Device/Preset browsing using cursor keys was broken [32486]
  • Some invalid browser index files could crash the application [32366]
• Various project modulatoremote control fixes:
  • Fill button had no effect on Occurrence Operators when controlled by project modulators [32528]
  • Modulating the global crossfader is now stored [32362]
  • Crash when using undo after moving global modulators to Crossfade Mode [32475]
  • Assigning remote controls for time signature shouldn't be (and now isn't) possible [32439]
• CLAP plug-ins: Fixed note expression gain scaling
• VST3: Fixed crash with iZotope BreakTweaker [32482]
• Spanish localization was making Inspector width break on no selection [32513]
• Removed incorrect deprecated message in extensions API [27649]

https://www.bitwig.com/