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Navarre Florida!
2016.02.24 02:07 KnowLoitering Navarre Florida!
Welcome to the subreddit for Navarre, Florida - aka "Florida's Best Kept Secret"! This page is for any and all content relating to the people, places, news, and information of Navarre, Florida.
2023.03.23 09:30 AutoModerator India tour
Destination Covered New Delhi – Agra – Jaipur – Goa
submitted by AutoModerator to Incredibletourtoindia [link] [comments]
TOUR ITINERARY DETAILS
Day 01: Arrive New Delhi
On arrival Incredible Tour To India representative shall meet you at the airport to welcome you and transfer you to hotel. Overnight at the hotel.Day 02: Delhi
Enjoy full day city tour covering Laxmi Narayan Temple – The Place of Gods, India Gate – The memorial of martyrs, Parliament House – The Government Headquarters, Jama Masjid – The largest mosque in Asia, Red Fort – The red stone magic, Gandhi memorial – The memoir of father of the nation beside these some other places to visit are – Qutub Minar Complex and Humayun’s Tomb. Overnight at the hotel.Day 03: Delhi to Agra
Today we shall drive you to Agra. Agra is 205 kilometers away from Delhi and take 5 hours drive to reach. Arrive in Agra and check in into hotel. Later, we shall take you for a city tour covering -Taj Mahal – a poem written in white marble, the most extravagant monument ever built for love, Red Fort – a visit to the fort in ‘Agra’ is a must since so many of the events which lead to the construction of the Taj took place here, Itmad-ud-Daula’s Tomb – The tomb is of particular interest since many of its design elephants overshadow the Taj. Overnight at the hotel.Day 04: Agra to Jaipur
Early morning, drive to Jaipur. The city is 235 kilometers away from Agra and take 5 hours drive to reach. En route visit Fatehpur Sikri (Old Deserted town of Mughal Dynasty) and its monuments which include Jama Masjid, The Buland Darwaza, Palace of Jodha Bai, Birbal Bhawan & Panch Mahal. Arrive in Jaipur and check into the hotel. Later relax in the hotel. Overnight at the hotel.Day 05: Jaipur
Today morning we shall take you for a tour to Amer Fort. Take joy ride on Elephant (presently Elephant Ride closed at Amber Fort for the time being). Afternoon enjoy city tour covering City Palace – occupies a large area divided into a series of courtyards, gardens & buildings and a perfect blend of Rajasthani & Mughal architecture, Royal Observatory – An observatory with some rare qualities to its credit, Nawab Sahab Ki Haveli, and the Bazaar etc. Overnight at the hotel.Day 06: Jaipur to Goa
In the morning, you’ll be transferred to airport to board connecting flight for Goa. On arrival in Goa met our representative and get transferred to your Hotel. Rest of the day is at leisure. Overnight at the hotel.Day 07: Goa
In the morning, enjoy half day sightseeing tour of Old Goa. Evening is at leisure. Overnight at the hotel.Day 08: Goa
Full day relax by the poolside/Beach. Overnight stay.Day 09: Goa Departure
Morning is at leisure. In the evening, you’ll be transferred to the airport to board connecting flight for your onward destination.2023.03.23 09:24 CherryJohnson Thursday's Fixture & Broadcast Cheat Sheet [OC]
submitted by CherryJohnson to soccer [link] [comments]
2023.03.23 04:32 cruisingNW Detail Dive! -- Arxur
Hello, everyone! This series will be a supplement to all of my writings, and will go into detail on physical attributes, evolutionary stressors, and culture. Those of you familiar with my work will recognize much of this, but I wanted to more solidly centralize my understanding of each race. So far I have done Venlil.
Some Reference Art. it is my understanding these are posts by the original artist, and not shares or reposts. If this is wrong, please correct me, and I will credit the artist appropriately. This assessment will include several hyperlinks to referenced chapters and articles citing earth precedent. Due to Reddit’s character limit, these will be indicated `as this`, though the clickable link will be in a comment after the post.
Thank you u/Browneorum, u/Cornsquashbeans, u/Monarch357, u/Venlil, as well as AsciiSquid (aka u/SlimyRage), Asclepius, and Khazgbthagn for brainstorming this with me in discord, and thank you u/Huge-Judgment7404 for you input on Reddit!
This assessment is based on a combination of my personally accepted artistic depictions, linked above, canon references to the main story, including names, utterances, and physical descriptions, as well as input from influential authors and their works, who I will name along with their contributing sections. As of writing, there have been no canon commissioned art of Arxur, though SP15 has stated his preferred depictions are by u/Demon_Deity.
The first thing we must understand is that nearly every living Arxur is under the control of Betterment. Betterment is an arm of Arxur government that seeks to perfect Arxur-kind by way of Eugenics, behavioral conditioning, and propaganda. Examples of this include: denying medical assistance to undesirables, corporeal punishment akin to torture, a strict caste society emphasizing physical perfection and breeding, murder of leadership being an effective and recognized means to seize power, and confirmed as of ch100, controlling food supply to encourage obedience. Because of this, many of the aspects of Arxur appearance, behavior, and culture would have been very different pre-Betterment, and would become very different post-Betterment. With that understood:
Arxur bear some similarity to Earth crocodyliforms, however their advanced terrestrial state supports the notion that they have not occupied a semi-aquatic ambush predator niche for tens of millions of years. For an arxur-like sophont to have evolved a string of evolutionary pressures and subsequent adaptations must have occurred:
1. Movement onto land: A full terrestrial occupation would have been the first feature to have occurred. The crocodile bauplan is an evolutionary success story, emulated first in stem-tetrapods like Tiktaalik and Panderichthys ~150 million years before the first crocodilian. Their traits include a. eyes and nostrils placed high on the head to be vigilant whilst remaining beneath the waterline, b. a large, flattened skull filled with interlocking or pronounced teeth to trap prey, and c. a strong, paddle-like tail for aquatic movement.
All of these traits, whilst useful in the water, become hindrances on the land, but the face and head would be the first to change. Looking up is useful when you’re looking up at prey, but your vision would be better spent on eyes that can see where you’re going. Binocular vision, the ability to effectively gauge distance, would be most effective in a terrestrial predator. A large flat skull could work, amphibians get away with it (keeping in mind that they are all aquatic too), but such an animal becomes limited in that it can only eat what it can fit in its mouth. Most large carnivores tend to favor a longer, narrower snout that maximizes bite force and gape without compromising visual or olfactory capability. It also widens the zygomata (the cheekbones) for a stronger bite, and incidentally, frees up the back of the skull, allowing the brain to grow; the first tentative step toward sapience. Good comparisons would be baurusuchids, canids, and theropod dinosaurs.
The appendages would also have to change, the paddle-like tail would be reduced in favor of stronger, larger, more mobile limbs to move about on land.
This may seem like a colossal undertaking, but it is actually the most probable to occur. Populations become isolated all the time; all it would take is one river drying up over a prolonged period, one little pond that ran out of food, and the selection to move away from the water would take hold. Such changes have occurred in Earth’s history before, crocodiles have done so on a number of occasions; and indeed, one would be amiss to not point out that the entire tetrapod transition effectively occurred in this way. To use that metaphor fully: an Arxur is as different to their crocodile-like ancestors as early reptiles were to amphibians.
2. A more active lifestyle: But moving onto terra firma came with new difficulties. Where a crocodile is effectively a mouth in the river that waits for prey to come to drink, early Arxurids had to seek out their prey. Pursuit predation would not have been their earliest form of prey capture, as their anatomy would still be carrying a fair amount of aquatic baggage. Ambush would have remained their primary means of hunting, but their bodies would have to adapt to a different style of predation.
The primary means of prey capture by a crocodilian predator is a strong bite, inflicting major lacerations, shock and bleeding, whilst dragging the weakening prey into the water, where it is drowned. Simple, brutal, effective. But moving out onto land compromises this, making escape from a slow-moving reptile more likely. Moreover, the crocodile can no longer rely on the water to drown its target, so if the first bite does not subdue the prey, it will escape. As well, ambush is made more difficult by the lack of water; a crocodile is a big strong animal, but it is well hidden, no less, in the one thing a prey item cannot be without. If Arxurids were to survive they would need to be able to actively catch their prey. Here the changes would be subtler from the previous stage, more focused on the internal anatomy.
Firstly, the limbs must become more nimble, stronger, and capable of a longer stride. Crocodiles walk plantigrade (heel to toe, as humans do), and can move at great speed, but this is ineffective for a cursor. Their distal portion of each limb must be made longer, preferably with the extension of the digits into a digitigrade stance. A long, well-muscled tail, such as the early Arxur possessed from their crocodile-like ancestors, would become less flattened paddle, more thickened counterbalance.
Secondly, the loss of any impedance to the movement of the pelvis relative to the torso. True quadrupedal cursors, such as cheetah or greyhounds, maximize the length of their strides by stretching and shortening their mid-sections between each footfall. Early Arxur would not have been moving at such high speeds, but they would have still possessed gastralia (belly ribs) in their mid-sections that would have slowed them down considerably. Gastralia gotta go!
Thirdly, the teeth would have to change. All Terran reptiles have homogenous dental morphology, i.e., their teeth are just replicates of one another, most often simple pegs. Simple pegs are perfect for holding onto something, less so for cutting it up. Carnivorous reptiles (theropods, varanids, mosasaurs, etc.) all possess/ed flattened, serrated teeth. It is possible that Arxur may evolve further differentiation of their dentition, but on Earth this is a trait solely found in mammals. If such a change was to occur, the most probable justification would be an adaptation to a broader diet at this stage.
The final adaptation would be the next strong movement of the Arxurids away from animals and toward true sapients. Terrestrial predators must be able to strategize in a way their ancestors did not need to. They must take better stock of their senses, gauge the likelihood of injury and success. Many hunting animals are quite intelligent, but working alone can only get you so far. The next adaptation is probably the greatest yet, and requires a trait generally considered un-Arxur.
3. Group cooperation: Socialization; the act of interacting with others, of being social. All animals practice some form of socialization; dispute of territory, displays, mating, are all essential to an organism’s survival and all require some ability to communicate. Modern Arxur are complex social creatures, this much is evident from their behavior alone, but it is also a prerequisite to building a society. An Arxur who lives alone, no matter how intelligent, dies alone. They have no one to talk to, to share ideas, or songs, or art with. In short, they build no culture, and that clearly is not the case. At some stage in their evolution, they must have developed some capacity for cooperation.
Pack hunting would be the most sensible assumption; a group of Arxurids could bring down larger prey than one alone or permit the rearing of offspring whilst others are away. But all this comes with profound implications. On Earth, packs are family units, built around mating and/or dominant individuals. It’s a sensible strategy; if I can safeguard others (even better those who share genes with me) then they will safeguard me. This makes a lot of sense, obligately enforcing group cohesion around shared communal bonds. This, we should also recognise, is the start of empathy. As the American anthropologist Margaret Mead purportedly said, 'The first sign of civilisation is in the setting of a broken femur.'
Some subtle physiological changes would occur to facilitate socialization. Individual recognition would be paramount; is this my brother, my lover, or my enemy? Unique color patterns, perhaps around the eyes, would be a good starting point. Specific vocalization is also found amongst pack animals and would be a strong driver of cognition. Here a positive feedback loop could take hold; more interaction leads to more complex socialization and with-it greater cognition, that then adds to the strength of subsequent interactions.
At this point an Arxurid is equivalent to a hominid in human evolution, akin to a great ape.
4. Manual manipulation & bipedalism: One of the earliest questions in human evolution was whether or not our brains grew before our bodies did. Early australopithecines provide a clear answer: Lucy stood upright like a person but had a brain no bigger than a chimpanzees. The Arxur face a similar question; what came first: manual manipulation or bipedalism? On the face of it, it seems like a simple question; they clearly stood upright so that they could use tools. But this is a circular argument, where the effect is also ascribed to a cause, so we must look deeper.
The most reasonable argument would be prey/carcass manipulation. Where mammals have specialized teeth to help break down a big meal, reptiles tend to be more… violent with their food, having to toss their heads around and swallow big chunks. If the teeth are remaining more reptilian and dedicated to feeding, with only some heterogeneity, then having some dextrous, mobile hands makes sense. Most predators restrict the forelimbs to grappling with prey, using the head to deliver a killing stroke. Arxur would likely still do this, but having a strong set of hands might be selected for if they began hunting larger prey, as socialization would supply.
Thus, alterations to the pelvis and lower back would be needed, as well as anchorage of large muscles in the thigh and tail. This would result in a stiff seeming but strong lower section. Motion at the elbow, and the ability to pronate/supinate the hands would be critical but must be balanced against any impact to their primary (quadrupedal) form of movement. The shoulder would have to remain quite restricted to allow this; an Arxur probably couldn’t raise its arms directly upward (as in surrender) or draw a bow.
But this is the final push, and with the ability to alter your surroundings, strong binocular vision, social and communicative skills, and a growing brain, the Arxur would have been well on their way to sapience.
They have grey coloring over their whole body, however as a living creature, they would still be susceptible to albinism or melanism, though these may be cause for elimination by Betterment. The largest visual difference between individuals would be bone structure and Scale patterning. The exact location and quality of scales on their body would be determined by genetics, healing, early development, and even lifestyle, which would lead to patterns that are unique from one individual to the next. Scales would be different across their body, from nearly skin-like on creases and joints, to harder scales on belly, chest, neck, and pads of hands. The hardest scales would be found on the back of their neck, top of head, outside arms and biceps, and spinal column, and would be hard enough to protect against biting and slashing especially, with limited protection from low-yield munitions. Citing earth precedent, Reptiles of all sorts shed their skin as they grow or heal, and I feel the Arxur are no different. As their hide is so different across their body, they would have different manners of shed depending on the quality of scales. Hard scales like those found on the spine or outside arm would come off in Schutes, described as rigid keratinous flakes of the whole scale, while soft scales in high contact areas like inner joints would slough off in thin sheets.
Scarring appears differently on different parts of the body: hard scales such as back and arms would require deep cuts to scar, and the scale would heal over it completely, though the scar tissue would still be visible on the soft skin behind the scale. Soft scale areas, like the face and underarm, would appear to be scale-less and discolored darker. Given this method of healing, personal adornments would include mutilation such as tattoo, piercing, and scarring, though would appear very differently from humans. Tattooing would be done on the soft skin under and behind the scales, and would largely be used to emphasize scale patterning. Piercings would be most used on the face, and never hard scale, as it would fall off after damage or shed. Their scaled body would be more resistant to small arms; pest killers such as birdshot would be a strong irritant, but military or home defense grade munitions would still be very effective.
Scarring would be permanent evidence of some kind of violence, and so would be a mark of respect, though the type of scar and its location would have specific meanings. Scars on the back would be a sign of cowardice, and may be intentionally inflicted by a superior as a mark of shame. To lie about your scars would be a severe breach of trust overall, and to self-inflict scars that mimic the marks of combat is extremely dishonorable, and may be grounds for ostracization.
Arxur display Sexual Dimorphism, although markedly less than humans. Being such an antisocial creature they would develop the need to be independent, which would curtail the evolutionary need for the sexes to specialize; essentially, they have no stressors to look different, so they would look very similar.
Chapter 69 confirmed they have slit pupils, which is well founded by examples on earth; every animal on earth with a slit pupil is an ambush predator. On earth, the eye color of ambush predators, namely crocodilians, are largely based on the need to camouflage and tend to have very little variance. Crocodilian eyes normally range from a drab orange/brown to forest green, though albinism and melanism can shift that to bright orange or jet black respectively; given the Arxur’s primarily grey coloring, I will conclude that the average eye color is majority tan or grey.
I prefer u/Browneorum’s interpretation of early life in Offspring , and conclude that Arxur hatch from a hard-shell egg, and spend early life quadrupedal; this is also supported by the scene in Ch59 in which 'One Arxur pounced from all fours, and dragged [Sovlin] by the arm out into the open.' Though to reconcile the understanding that adult Arxur can chase down most prey species while on two legs, I will conclude that Arxur develop bipedalism through puberty by hormones changing the shape of the pelvis to accommodate the new joint structure.
As obligate carnivores, their bodies would be better suited to hunt and capture things that fight back for their survival. To hold fast to something that is trying to escape, they would have well developed gripping muscles and claws that would curve toward the palm.
Injuries on humans and Federation alike have mentioned long gashes, so the claws would be long and thin, with a micro-serrated slashing edge. These injuries have also described disembowelment and impalements, implying great length and slight curve; I would compare this to a cat claw, though straighter and 20-30% of the length of the digit, similar to a bear claw. Since they have claws that are adept at quickly subduing their prey, they would have less pressure to change their teeth, so they would be most adept at tearing flesh and breaking bones rather than capture. This would look markedly similar to a crocodile’s though with several exceptions: The teeth would develop a narrower profile with serrations, as opposed to the straight pegs of crocodiles, as well as pointed molars at the back of the mouth adapted to breaking bone and shredding meat. With these, whatever they eat would look like corned beef by the time it gets to their gullet. A sapient creature capable of civilization would have an enlarged brain, so the Arxur skull would become taller and wider to accommodate it, as well as forward-facing eyes.
Arxur are unusual in that, true they are obligate carnivores, but they are also plant matter averse, in that they cannot digest any quantity of plant matter, of any kind, without suffering some level of gastro-intestinal distress. This would mean that sugars are nearly absent from their diet, and combined with the high fiber of raw meat, their teeth would be largely very clean; though the possibility of cracking or chipping one’s tooth still exists. Culturally, this would mean that Dental care is only emergency rather than maintenance level; and, given Betterment’s propensity to drop someone at the first sign of 'weakness', dental care would only be provided to the most effective hunters or most powerful leaders.
Walking the line of 'social but not really' implies an individual may have one or two others who they trust, if not enjoy the company of. These may include clutchmates, parental figures, mentor figures, or long time acquaintances, but it is established that Betterment, established after first contact, tried to breed out empathy and social structures, becoming entirely reliant on the government and Betterment.
This would not halt the odd 'friend' in their lifetime, but these relationships would be only barely more than surface level, enough to feel regret at their passing. This would significantly affect the acquisition of a mate. Pairings are largely set up by Betterment, though whether or not you are allowed is determined by an application and vetting process that the prospective parent initiates. If you are found wanting, you will not be allowed to procreate. Those with favorable traits would be allowed to breed, but the constant need for hunger-crazed raiders would make child rearing impossible in the field. As such, the vast majority would be raised in institutions separated by age groups and/or population, whichever is more pragmatic. If the children have a concept of 'mother, father, brother, sister' it would only be a gendered understanding of caregiver and friends; who layed you, who hatched you, and who you hatched with would have little or no bearing. Same-egg twins are a possibility, if rare, which may give reason for a closer, long-term relationship.
In such a heavily caste based meritocracy, those who prove themselves effective at what they do would be afforded the opportunity to raise their young directly; Chief Hunters raise their young to be Chief Hunters, Prophets raising Prophets, and so on.
Without the influence of Betterment, Arxur would pair as convenient and the mother would raise the young to self-sufficiency, which would be a very young age compared to other federation species, at which time the young would either leave or be ejected from the ‘family’. There would be instances of many-mother groups to raise large clutches as a collective and this behavior would have laid the foundation for being raised by Betterment. For the father to contribute to rearing is not unheard of, but very unusual. Throughout their evolution the father would have very little incentive to stick around, leading to a preponderance of ‘fusion-fission’ relationships. This would mean that, Pre-Betterment, their cultures would be largely matriarchal, with larger groups possibly led by a mated pair including a committed father. Post-Betterment would make the leader the Prophet and those who represent them, regardless of gender.
I believe the Arxur feel desire, and pursue the sensations brought about by intimacy. Arxur do not have a breeding cycle, rather their need is prompted by external environmental factors: high ambient temperature, high humidity, and the feeling of prosperity, plenty, and safety, i.e. well fed; other factors may contribute including trust, vulnerability, or dominance. While this may prompt arousal, breeding behaviors are prompted by touch of specific erogenous zones on their body, such as neck, sides, belly, and underside of the meat of their tail. These areas become discolored due to blood flow during arousal, and become extra sensitive. During arousal or contentment, an Arxur will frequently, but not always, make long deep body sounds, comparable to but different from purring.
Arxur are equipped with a cloaca, which disposes of excrement, provides and receives reproductive material, and deposits eggs. Though a key difference is that the vaginal canal, which receives reproductive material and passes eggs, is a separate canal that branches off of the main cloaca. The walls of a Female Arxur's cloaca is coated in a protective specialized mucus which serves as lubricant during intimacy and egg laying, and a protective barrier from pathogens during waste disposal. The vaginal and cloacal walls are highly textured to allow for expansion, though the surrounding flesh is interlaced with musculature for passing stool, eggs, and moving her legs. As such, a female has the capability to use these muscles to encourage insemination, though not all individuals may practice this.
A male Arxur's reproductive organ remains in their body also as a branch off the cloacal canal, except arousal fills the surrounding area with fluid which inverts the canal to a penetrative organ, emerging from the cloaca as a very smooth tendril-like organ. The sex is given form by fluid pressure, meaning it would be only as rigid as needed to perform; this would allow significant flexibility in both form and size, allowing a wider range of size compatibility than a comparable human would be capable of, provided preparation and patience. Upon presentation, the organ emerges coated in a different mucus than is present in females, the specific composition works to eliminate and replace the mucosal membrane of the female, allowing for and increasing the likelihood of successful insemination.
Breeding technique is largely a cultural and personal influence, which means that the high competition low survival environment of Betterment fosters a violent and one-sided experience. Some may enjoy this, some may hate it, but it is all they know. Their biology allows for gentler affections, they receive stimulation from it, but few may be familiar with the experience.
While their early roots were aquatic, nothing about their interaction or environment implies a current-day need for an aquatic environment, indicating they have evolved to be almost entirely terrestrial; this means they would have to keep their mouths from drying out with the use of lips, making their mouths appear closer to a lizard than a crocodile. These lips would not be as nimble as a primate, so lip-based sounds like Buh and Puh would still be very limited; if they exist at all. Though Ff sounds would be very easy, and would modulate to a Vv sound when backed by a hum or growl. Having a mouth full of carnivorous teeth is not conducive to easy speaking, so I believe they rely heavily on deep body sounds and glottal stops, with most if not all mouth sounds being some form of S. Given this, I believe their first oddity is that they don't use their mouth to speak much, if at all; the vast majority of their sounds would be coming from one or more voicebox-like organs deeper in their body.
This is supported, albeit obliquely, by the fact they eat their meat raw and in large quantities. It's probable that to avoid choking on food, their breathing and speaking pathways are separate from their digestive system; very different from humans and most creatures on earth.
As early water-land hybrids, they would have evolved to communicate through dense mediums, which may include dense air, as their dense bodies imply a high-gravity world. Since sound doesn't carry cleanly through dense mediums, they would have evolved long strong sounds, originating deep within the body. They may have used this as an intimidation tactic, especially in conjunction with a harmonic medium. This tells me they would use long tones, possibly using a drone as an emotive, modified by glottal stops, clicks, and hisses. With that in mind, their vowel sounds would be open-mouth Ah Eh EE OH.
Nearly every creature on earth with a tongue, has one long enough to clean their entire mouth, as well as their nose and/or eyes, and I believe the Arxur are no different: their tongue would be long enough to clean their nose above the tip of their mouth, and as their snout is so long, would also be long enough to clean their eyes. A tongue like that would be very good at RR and SS sounds, but unable to make a complete seal on the upper palate, making N sounds nearly impossible. Common consonants would be Ff, K and G. Hard X would be more exotic but well utilized, and modulated to a Zh or J sound when followed by a vowel sound. Guh would be common at the start or end of a word, but rarely both, while most S and Th sounds would have a strong lisp to them. Zee sounds would originate largely in the body, but modified by a Ss sound in the mouth, resulting in a very breathy soft J sound.
Thank you u/ImaginationSea3679 for your comments on the Arxur written word, I will expand on it here. Given their use of a drone along with additional sounds, I believe the Arxur indicate their drone with a horizontal line across their phrases, not unlike Devanagari, which is one of several scripts developed in India; whether the drone line is above, below, or through the phrase is not relevant and I leave to the writer how it is positioned, or if it is standardized at all. They would have symbols on these lines that represent broad concepts, such as 'Prey' or 'Danger', then modify these concepts using marks that represent phonetic sounds. These phonetic sounds would create the word that is heard and convey the full meaning, tense, plurality, and other specifics of the word and its use; as a visual example, ' P̷̓͠r̵̽̌e̸̒͌y̴͂̀ ' would be 'Venlil' and ' Ṕ̶͝r̶͒̓e̸̊̚y̷͊͐ ' would be 'Gojid'; notice how the base word, or glyph, is the same but the accents change to give precise meaning. Rather than developing a writing implement, I believe they largely use their claws, so the language would feature mostly lines while also taking advantage of depth; visually, I’m imagining a cross between Japanese and Yautja from the Predator franchise.
Finally, as they mostly use their claws to write, I believe that class would also determine how an individual writes; the higher castes would show their superiority with sharper claws, so a lower-class would have to use the blunt of their claw.
Post-Betterment, architecture would quickly shift to being state-sponsored and utilitarian. Minimal material, built to last, with little regard for aesthetic. Community child rearing would become required, and done totally by The State. Being a Matron would become a profession rather than a calling, recruited by Betterment based on their ability to train rather than raise. These matrons would then select apprentices, possibly from the young they raise, to be their helpers and eventually replacements.
While pursuing brutal efficiency, Post-Betterment Arxur would condense their housing, while still compartmentalizing further; this would cause stress and tension, instigating competition and establishing dominance, all of which would further the goals of Betterment in a merciless ‘survival of the fittest’ mentality.
This brutalism would extend to their war machines, which is also shown in canon, with sharp angles and every open space sporting additional armaments and/or shielding. As they transition to a raiding-based society, their average life would push into space, using capital ships to house and train new Arxur, while sapient-cattle farms provide cushy living for those with powerful friends or family.
Betterment would pull the focus of their art away from the self and push it toward the Glory of Arxur-Kind, and the perfection of the Prophet. Leaning hard into photorealism, any new artistic works, including statues and carvings, would venerate the Prophet and depict battle scenes, likely fictitious, triumphing over anything that would not be ‘Arxur’; visually, I’m imagining Renaissance Catholic, mixed with Soviet propaganda, with a hint of the ultra-violence of Warhammer 40k.
Post Betterment, the atrocities of the Federation gave a unifying enemy to the Arxur, and they unified behind a single individual, Laznel who became the Prophet. Outlined in ch39 by Captain Coth, Laznel was a genetic scientist who posited that certain bloodlines had a higher chance of being stronger, or smarter, or other beneficial traits, and submitted this theory under the article Betterment; we the reader, would recognize this as Eugenics. While Laznel’s theories had gained ground pre-first-contact, it wasn’t until after the Federation tried to Gentle the Arxur that these philosophies became commonplace. Laznel, the Prophet, gave the blueprint for the Perfect Arxur, something every Arxur should aspire to be like. The Prophet Descendant is the top of every level of leadership, including being the head of Betterment, which translates to the top leader and interpreter of their faith. The Prophet Descendant and Betterment use this belief to guide Arxur behavior and enforce what we would call Brutal Darwinism to try to craft the next Perfect Arxur.
submitted by cruisingNW to NatureofPredators [link] [comments]
Some Reference Art. it is my understanding these are posts by the original artist, and not shares or reposts. If this is wrong, please correct me, and I will credit the artist appropriately. This assessment will include several hyperlinks to referenced chapters and articles citing earth precedent. Due to Reddit’s character limit, these will be indicated `as this`, though the clickable link will be in a comment after the post.
Thank you u/Browneorum, u/Cornsquashbeans, u/Monarch357, u/Venlil, as well as AsciiSquid (aka u/SlimyRage), Asclepius, and Khazgbthagn for brainstorming this with me in discord, and thank you u/Huge-Judgment7404 for you input on Reddit!
- Disclaimer
This assessment is based on a combination of my personally accepted artistic depictions, linked above, canon references to the main story, including names, utterances, and physical descriptions, as well as input from influential authors and their works, who I will name along with their contributing sections. As of writing, there have been no canon commissioned art of Arxur, though SP15 has stated his preferred depictions are by u/Demon_Deity.
The first thing we must understand is that nearly every living Arxur is under the control of Betterment. Betterment is an arm of Arxur government that seeks to perfect Arxur-kind by way of Eugenics, behavioral conditioning, and propaganda. Examples of this include: denying medical assistance to undesirables, corporeal punishment akin to torture, a strict caste society emphasizing physical perfection and breeding, murder of leadership being an effective and recognized means to seize power, and confirmed as of ch100, controlling food supply to encourage obedience. Because of this, many of the aspects of Arxur appearance, behavior, and culture would have been very different pre-Betterment, and would become very different post-Betterment. With that understood:
- Natural history
Arxur bear some similarity to Earth crocodyliforms, however their advanced terrestrial state supports the notion that they have not occupied a semi-aquatic ambush predator niche for tens of millions of years. For an arxur-like sophont to have evolved a string of evolutionary pressures and subsequent adaptations must have occurred:
1. Movement onto land: A full terrestrial occupation would have been the first feature to have occurred. The crocodile bauplan is an evolutionary success story, emulated first in stem-tetrapods like Tiktaalik and Panderichthys ~150 million years before the first crocodilian. Their traits include a. eyes and nostrils placed high on the head to be vigilant whilst remaining beneath the waterline, b. a large, flattened skull filled with interlocking or pronounced teeth to trap prey, and c. a strong, paddle-like tail for aquatic movement.
All of these traits, whilst useful in the water, become hindrances on the land, but the face and head would be the first to change. Looking up is useful when you’re looking up at prey, but your vision would be better spent on eyes that can see where you’re going. Binocular vision, the ability to effectively gauge distance, would be most effective in a terrestrial predator. A large flat skull could work, amphibians get away with it (keeping in mind that they are all aquatic too), but such an animal becomes limited in that it can only eat what it can fit in its mouth. Most large carnivores tend to favor a longer, narrower snout that maximizes bite force and gape without compromising visual or olfactory capability. It also widens the zygomata (the cheekbones) for a stronger bite, and incidentally, frees up the back of the skull, allowing the brain to grow; the first tentative step toward sapience. Good comparisons would be baurusuchids, canids, and theropod dinosaurs.
The appendages would also have to change, the paddle-like tail would be reduced in favor of stronger, larger, more mobile limbs to move about on land.
This may seem like a colossal undertaking, but it is actually the most probable to occur. Populations become isolated all the time; all it would take is one river drying up over a prolonged period, one little pond that ran out of food, and the selection to move away from the water would take hold. Such changes have occurred in Earth’s history before, crocodiles have done so on a number of occasions; and indeed, one would be amiss to not point out that the entire tetrapod transition effectively occurred in this way. To use that metaphor fully: an Arxur is as different to their crocodile-like ancestors as early reptiles were to amphibians.
2. A more active lifestyle: But moving onto terra firma came with new difficulties. Where a crocodile is effectively a mouth in the river that waits for prey to come to drink, early Arxurids had to seek out their prey. Pursuit predation would not have been their earliest form of prey capture, as their anatomy would still be carrying a fair amount of aquatic baggage. Ambush would have remained their primary means of hunting, but their bodies would have to adapt to a different style of predation.
The primary means of prey capture by a crocodilian predator is a strong bite, inflicting major lacerations, shock and bleeding, whilst dragging the weakening prey into the water, where it is drowned. Simple, brutal, effective. But moving out onto land compromises this, making escape from a slow-moving reptile more likely. Moreover, the crocodile can no longer rely on the water to drown its target, so if the first bite does not subdue the prey, it will escape. As well, ambush is made more difficult by the lack of water; a crocodile is a big strong animal, but it is well hidden, no less, in the one thing a prey item cannot be without. If Arxurids were to survive they would need to be able to actively catch their prey. Here the changes would be subtler from the previous stage, more focused on the internal anatomy.
Firstly, the limbs must become more nimble, stronger, and capable of a longer stride. Crocodiles walk plantigrade (heel to toe, as humans do), and can move at great speed, but this is ineffective for a cursor. Their distal portion of each limb must be made longer, preferably with the extension of the digits into a digitigrade stance. A long, well-muscled tail, such as the early Arxur possessed from their crocodile-like ancestors, would become less flattened paddle, more thickened counterbalance.
Secondly, the loss of any impedance to the movement of the pelvis relative to the torso. True quadrupedal cursors, such as cheetah or greyhounds, maximize the length of their strides by stretching and shortening their mid-sections between each footfall. Early Arxur would not have been moving at such high speeds, but they would have still possessed gastralia (belly ribs) in their mid-sections that would have slowed them down considerably. Gastralia gotta go!
Thirdly, the teeth would have to change. All Terran reptiles have homogenous dental morphology, i.e., their teeth are just replicates of one another, most often simple pegs. Simple pegs are perfect for holding onto something, less so for cutting it up. Carnivorous reptiles (theropods, varanids, mosasaurs, etc.) all possess/ed flattened, serrated teeth. It is possible that Arxur may evolve further differentiation of their dentition, but on Earth this is a trait solely found in mammals. If such a change was to occur, the most probable justification would be an adaptation to a broader diet at this stage.
The final adaptation would be the next strong movement of the Arxurids away from animals and toward true sapients. Terrestrial predators must be able to strategize in a way their ancestors did not need to. They must take better stock of their senses, gauge the likelihood of injury and success. Many hunting animals are quite intelligent, but working alone can only get you so far. The next adaptation is probably the greatest yet, and requires a trait generally considered un-Arxur.
3. Group cooperation: Socialization; the act of interacting with others, of being social. All animals practice some form of socialization; dispute of territory, displays, mating, are all essential to an organism’s survival and all require some ability to communicate. Modern Arxur are complex social creatures, this much is evident from their behavior alone, but it is also a prerequisite to building a society. An Arxur who lives alone, no matter how intelligent, dies alone. They have no one to talk to, to share ideas, or songs, or art with. In short, they build no culture, and that clearly is not the case. At some stage in their evolution, they must have developed some capacity for cooperation.
Pack hunting would be the most sensible assumption; a group of Arxurids could bring down larger prey than one alone or permit the rearing of offspring whilst others are away. But all this comes with profound implications. On Earth, packs are family units, built around mating and/or dominant individuals. It’s a sensible strategy; if I can safeguard others (even better those who share genes with me) then they will safeguard me. This makes a lot of sense, obligately enforcing group cohesion around shared communal bonds. This, we should also recognise, is the start of empathy. As the American anthropologist Margaret Mead purportedly said, 'The first sign of civilisation is in the setting of a broken femur.'
Some subtle physiological changes would occur to facilitate socialization. Individual recognition would be paramount; is this my brother, my lover, or my enemy? Unique color patterns, perhaps around the eyes, would be a good starting point. Specific vocalization is also found amongst pack animals and would be a strong driver of cognition. Here a positive feedback loop could take hold; more interaction leads to more complex socialization and with-it greater cognition, that then adds to the strength of subsequent interactions.
At this point an Arxurid is equivalent to a hominid in human evolution, akin to a great ape.
4. Manual manipulation & bipedalism: One of the earliest questions in human evolution was whether or not our brains grew before our bodies did. Early australopithecines provide a clear answer: Lucy stood upright like a person but had a brain no bigger than a chimpanzees. The Arxur face a similar question; what came first: manual manipulation or bipedalism? On the face of it, it seems like a simple question; they clearly stood upright so that they could use tools. But this is a circular argument, where the effect is also ascribed to a cause, so we must look deeper.
The most reasonable argument would be prey/carcass manipulation. Where mammals have specialized teeth to help break down a big meal, reptiles tend to be more… violent with their food, having to toss their heads around and swallow big chunks. If the teeth are remaining more reptilian and dedicated to feeding, with only some heterogeneity, then having some dextrous, mobile hands makes sense. Most predators restrict the forelimbs to grappling with prey, using the head to deliver a killing stroke. Arxur would likely still do this, but having a strong set of hands might be selected for if they began hunting larger prey, as socialization would supply.
Thus, alterations to the pelvis and lower back would be needed, as well as anchorage of large muscles in the thigh and tail. This would result in a stiff seeming but strong lower section. Motion at the elbow, and the ability to pronate/supinate the hands would be critical but must be balanced against any impact to their primary (quadrupedal) form of movement. The shoulder would have to remain quite restricted to allow this; an Arxur probably couldn’t raise its arms directly upward (as in surrender) or draw a bow.
But this is the final push, and with the ability to alter your surroundings, strong binocular vision, social and communicative skills, and a growing brain, the Arxur would have been well on their way to sapience.
- External Appearance
They have grey coloring over their whole body, however as a living creature, they would still be susceptible to albinism or melanism, though these may be cause for elimination by Betterment. The largest visual difference between individuals would be bone structure and Scale patterning. The exact location and quality of scales on their body would be determined by genetics, healing, early development, and even lifestyle, which would lead to patterns that are unique from one individual to the next. Scales would be different across their body, from nearly skin-like on creases and joints, to harder scales on belly, chest, neck, and pads of hands. The hardest scales would be found on the back of their neck, top of head, outside arms and biceps, and spinal column, and would be hard enough to protect against biting and slashing especially, with limited protection from low-yield munitions. Citing earth precedent, Reptiles of all sorts shed their skin as they grow or heal, and I feel the Arxur are no different. As their hide is so different across their body, they would have different manners of shed depending on the quality of scales. Hard scales like those found on the spine or outside arm would come off in Schutes, described as rigid keratinous flakes of the whole scale, while soft scales in high contact areas like inner joints would slough off in thin sheets.
Scarring appears differently on different parts of the body: hard scales such as back and arms would require deep cuts to scar, and the scale would heal over it completely, though the scar tissue would still be visible on the soft skin behind the scale. Soft scale areas, like the face and underarm, would appear to be scale-less and discolored darker. Given this method of healing, personal adornments would include mutilation such as tattoo, piercing, and scarring, though would appear very differently from humans. Tattooing would be done on the soft skin under and behind the scales, and would largely be used to emphasize scale patterning. Piercings would be most used on the face, and never hard scale, as it would fall off after damage or shed. Their scaled body would be more resistant to small arms; pest killers such as birdshot would be a strong irritant, but military or home defense grade munitions would still be very effective.
Scarring would be permanent evidence of some kind of violence, and so would be a mark of respect, though the type of scar and its location would have specific meanings. Scars on the back would be a sign of cowardice, and may be intentionally inflicted by a superior as a mark of shame. To lie about your scars would be a severe breach of trust overall, and to self-inflict scars that mimic the marks of combat is extremely dishonorable, and may be grounds for ostracization.
Arxur display Sexual Dimorphism, although markedly less than humans. Being such an antisocial creature they would develop the need to be independent, which would curtail the evolutionary need for the sexes to specialize; essentially, they have no stressors to look different, so they would look very similar.
Chapter 69 confirmed they have slit pupils, which is well founded by examples on earth; every animal on earth with a slit pupil is an ambush predator. On earth, the eye color of ambush predators, namely crocodilians, are largely based on the need to camouflage and tend to have very little variance. Crocodilian eyes normally range from a drab orange/brown to forest green, though albinism and melanism can shift that to bright orange or jet black respectively; given the Arxur’s primarily grey coloring, I will conclude that the average eye color is majority tan or grey.
I prefer u/Browneorum’s interpretation of early life in Offspring , and conclude that Arxur hatch from a hard-shell egg, and spend early life quadrupedal; this is also supported by the scene in Ch59 in which 'One Arxur pounced from all fours, and dragged [Sovlin] by the arm out into the open.' Though to reconcile the understanding that adult Arxur can chase down most prey species while on two legs, I will conclude that Arxur develop bipedalism through puberty by hormones changing the shape of the pelvis to accommodate the new joint structure.
- Internal Biology
As obligate carnivores, their bodies would be better suited to hunt and capture things that fight back for their survival. To hold fast to something that is trying to escape, they would have well developed gripping muscles and claws that would curve toward the palm.
Injuries on humans and Federation alike have mentioned long gashes, so the claws would be long and thin, with a micro-serrated slashing edge. These injuries have also described disembowelment and impalements, implying great length and slight curve; I would compare this to a cat claw, though straighter and 20-30% of the length of the digit, similar to a bear claw. Since they have claws that are adept at quickly subduing their prey, they would have less pressure to change their teeth, so they would be most adept at tearing flesh and breaking bones rather than capture. This would look markedly similar to a crocodile’s though with several exceptions: The teeth would develop a narrower profile with serrations, as opposed to the straight pegs of crocodiles, as well as pointed molars at the back of the mouth adapted to breaking bone and shredding meat. With these, whatever they eat would look like corned beef by the time it gets to their gullet. A sapient creature capable of civilization would have an enlarged brain, so the Arxur skull would become taller and wider to accommodate it, as well as forward-facing eyes.
Arxur are unusual in that, true they are obligate carnivores, but they are also plant matter averse, in that they cannot digest any quantity of plant matter, of any kind, without suffering some level of gastro-intestinal distress. This would mean that sugars are nearly absent from their diet, and combined with the high fiber of raw meat, their teeth would be largely very clean; though the possibility of cracking or chipping one’s tooth still exists. Culturally, this would mean that Dental care is only emergency rather than maintenance level; and, given Betterment’s propensity to drop someone at the first sign of 'weakness', dental care would only be provided to the most effective hunters or most powerful leaders.
- Socialization
Walking the line of 'social but not really' implies an individual may have one or two others who they trust, if not enjoy the company of. These may include clutchmates, parental figures, mentor figures, or long time acquaintances, but it is established that Betterment, established after first contact, tried to breed out empathy and social structures, becoming entirely reliant on the government and Betterment.
This would not halt the odd 'friend' in their lifetime, but these relationships would be only barely more than surface level, enough to feel regret at their passing. This would significantly affect the acquisition of a mate. Pairings are largely set up by Betterment, though whether or not you are allowed is determined by an application and vetting process that the prospective parent initiates. If you are found wanting, you will not be allowed to procreate. Those with favorable traits would be allowed to breed, but the constant need for hunger-crazed raiders would make child rearing impossible in the field. As such, the vast majority would be raised in institutions separated by age groups and/or population, whichever is more pragmatic. If the children have a concept of 'mother, father, brother, sister' it would only be a gendered understanding of caregiver and friends; who layed you, who hatched you, and who you hatched with would have little or no bearing. Same-egg twins are a possibility, if rare, which may give reason for a closer, long-term relationship.
In such a heavily caste based meritocracy, those who prove themselves effective at what they do would be afforded the opportunity to raise their young directly; Chief Hunters raise their young to be Chief Hunters, Prophets raising Prophets, and so on.
Without the influence of Betterment, Arxur would pair as convenient and the mother would raise the young to self-sufficiency, which would be a very young age compared to other federation species, at which time the young would either leave or be ejected from the ‘family’. There would be instances of many-mother groups to raise large clutches as a collective and this behavior would have laid the foundation for being raised by Betterment. For the father to contribute to rearing is not unheard of, but very unusual. Throughout their evolution the father would have very little incentive to stick around, leading to a preponderance of ‘fusion-fission’ relationships. This would mean that, Pre-Betterment, their cultures would be largely matriarchal, with larger groups possibly led by a mated pair including a committed father. Post-Betterment would make the leader the Prophet and those who represent them, regardless of gender.
- Reproduction
I believe the Arxur feel desire, and pursue the sensations brought about by intimacy. Arxur do not have a breeding cycle, rather their need is prompted by external environmental factors: high ambient temperature, high humidity, and the feeling of prosperity, plenty, and safety, i.e. well fed; other factors may contribute including trust, vulnerability, or dominance. While this may prompt arousal, breeding behaviors are prompted by touch of specific erogenous zones on their body, such as neck, sides, belly, and underside of the meat of their tail. These areas become discolored due to blood flow during arousal, and become extra sensitive. During arousal or contentment, an Arxur will frequently, but not always, make long deep body sounds, comparable to but different from purring.
Arxur are equipped with a cloaca, which disposes of excrement, provides and receives reproductive material, and deposits eggs. Though a key difference is that the vaginal canal, which receives reproductive material and passes eggs, is a separate canal that branches off of the main cloaca. The walls of a Female Arxur's cloaca is coated in a protective specialized mucus which serves as lubricant during intimacy and egg laying, and a protective barrier from pathogens during waste disposal. The vaginal and cloacal walls are highly textured to allow for expansion, though the surrounding flesh is interlaced with musculature for passing stool, eggs, and moving her legs. As such, a female has the capability to use these muscles to encourage insemination, though not all individuals may practice this.
A male Arxur's reproductive organ remains in their body also as a branch off the cloacal canal, except arousal fills the surrounding area with fluid which inverts the canal to a penetrative organ, emerging from the cloaca as a very smooth tendril-like organ. The sex is given form by fluid pressure, meaning it would be only as rigid as needed to perform; this would allow significant flexibility in both form and size, allowing a wider range of size compatibility than a comparable human would be capable of, provided preparation and patience. Upon presentation, the organ emerges coated in a different mucus than is present in females, the specific composition works to eliminate and replace the mucosal membrane of the female, allowing for and increasing the likelihood of successful insemination.
Breeding technique is largely a cultural and personal influence, which means that the high competition low survival environment of Betterment fosters a violent and one-sided experience. Some may enjoy this, some may hate it, but it is all they know. Their biology allows for gentler affections, they receive stimulation from it, but few may be familiar with the experience.
- Language
While their early roots were aquatic, nothing about their interaction or environment implies a current-day need for an aquatic environment, indicating they have evolved to be almost entirely terrestrial; this means they would have to keep their mouths from drying out with the use of lips, making their mouths appear closer to a lizard than a crocodile. These lips would not be as nimble as a primate, so lip-based sounds like Buh and Puh would still be very limited; if they exist at all. Though Ff sounds would be very easy, and would modulate to a Vv sound when backed by a hum or growl. Having a mouth full of carnivorous teeth is not conducive to easy speaking, so I believe they rely heavily on deep body sounds and glottal stops, with most if not all mouth sounds being some form of S. Given this, I believe their first oddity is that they don't use their mouth to speak much, if at all; the vast majority of their sounds would be coming from one or more voicebox-like organs deeper in their body.
This is supported, albeit obliquely, by the fact they eat their meat raw and in large quantities. It's probable that to avoid choking on food, their breathing and speaking pathways are separate from their digestive system; very different from humans and most creatures on earth.
As early water-land hybrids, they would have evolved to communicate through dense mediums, which may include dense air, as their dense bodies imply a high-gravity world. Since sound doesn't carry cleanly through dense mediums, they would have evolved long strong sounds, originating deep within the body. They may have used this as an intimidation tactic, especially in conjunction with a harmonic medium. This tells me they would use long tones, possibly using a drone as an emotive, modified by glottal stops, clicks, and hisses. With that in mind, their vowel sounds would be open-mouth Ah Eh EE OH.
Nearly every creature on earth with a tongue, has one long enough to clean their entire mouth, as well as their nose and/or eyes, and I believe the Arxur are no different: their tongue would be long enough to clean their nose above the tip of their mouth, and as their snout is so long, would also be long enough to clean their eyes. A tongue like that would be very good at RR and SS sounds, but unable to make a complete seal on the upper palate, making N sounds nearly impossible. Common consonants would be Ff, K and G. Hard X would be more exotic but well utilized, and modulated to a Zh or J sound when followed by a vowel sound. Guh would be common at the start or end of a word, but rarely both, while most S and Th sounds would have a strong lisp to them. Zee sounds would originate largely in the body, but modified by a Ss sound in the mouth, resulting in a very breathy soft J sound.
Thank you u/ImaginationSea3679 for your comments on the Arxur written word, I will expand on it here. Given their use of a drone along with additional sounds, I believe the Arxur indicate their drone with a horizontal line across their phrases, not unlike Devanagari, which is one of several scripts developed in India; whether the drone line is above, below, or through the phrase is not relevant and I leave to the writer how it is positioned, or if it is standardized at all. They would have symbols on these lines that represent broad concepts, such as 'Prey' or 'Danger', then modify these concepts using marks that represent phonetic sounds. These phonetic sounds would create the word that is heard and convey the full meaning, tense, plurality, and other specifics of the word and its use; as a visual example, ' P̷̓͠r̵̽̌e̸̒͌y̴͂̀ ' would be 'Venlil' and ' Ṕ̶͝r̶͒̓e̸̊̚y̷͊͐ ' would be 'Gojid'; notice how the base word, or glyph, is the same but the accents change to give precise meaning. Rather than developing a writing implement, I believe they largely use their claws, so the language would feature mostly lines while also taking advantage of depth; visually, I’m imagining a cross between Japanese and Yautja from the Predator franchise.
Finally, as they mostly use their claws to write, I believe that class would also determine how an individual writes; the higher castes would show their superiority with sharper claws, so a lower-class would have to use the blunt of their claw.
- Names
- Architecture
Post-Betterment, architecture would quickly shift to being state-sponsored and utilitarian. Minimal material, built to last, with little regard for aesthetic. Community child rearing would become required, and done totally by The State. Being a Matron would become a profession rather than a calling, recruited by Betterment based on their ability to train rather than raise. These matrons would then select apprentices, possibly from the young they raise, to be their helpers and eventually replacements.
While pursuing brutal efficiency, Post-Betterment Arxur would condense their housing, while still compartmentalizing further; this would cause stress and tension, instigating competition and establishing dominance, all of which would further the goals of Betterment in a merciless ‘survival of the fittest’ mentality.
This brutalism would extend to their war machines, which is also shown in canon, with sharp angles and every open space sporting additional armaments and/or shielding. As they transition to a raiding-based society, their average life would push into space, using capital ships to house and train new Arxur, while sapient-cattle farms provide cushy living for those with powerful friends or family.
- Artistic Expression
Betterment would pull the focus of their art away from the self and push it toward the Glory of Arxur-Kind, and the perfection of the Prophet. Leaning hard into photorealism, any new artistic works, including statues and carvings, would venerate the Prophet and depict battle scenes, likely fictitious, triumphing over anything that would not be ‘Arxur’; visually, I’m imagining Renaissance Catholic, mixed with Soviet propaganda, with a hint of the ultra-violence of Warhammer 40k.
- Faith
Post Betterment, the atrocities of the Federation gave a unifying enemy to the Arxur, and they unified behind a single individual, Laznel who became the Prophet. Outlined in ch39 by Captain Coth, Laznel was a genetic scientist who posited that certain bloodlines had a higher chance of being stronger, or smarter, or other beneficial traits, and submitted this theory under the article Betterment; we the reader, would recognize this as Eugenics. While Laznel’s theories had gained ground pre-first-contact, it wasn’t until after the Federation tried to Gentle the Arxur that these philosophies became commonplace. Laznel, the Prophet, gave the blueprint for the Perfect Arxur, something every Arxur should aspire to be like. The Prophet Descendant is the top of every level of leadership, including being the head of Betterment, which translates to the top leader and interpreter of their faith. The Prophet Descendant and Betterment use this belief to guide Arxur behavior and enforce what we would call Brutal Darwinism to try to craft the next Perfect Arxur.
2023.03.22 21:59 RecordReviewer Willis Reed's '73 Knicks might be the most historic championship team of all-time.
Below was something I wrote last year when doing some research on the 1973 Knicks. With Willis Reed's recent passing, I wanted to bring it to everyone's attention again just how much history was packed into a single franchise that season:
First, I want to make one thing clear. I am NOT saying the '73 Knicks were the best team in league history. They were great, but not that great. But I think a case can be made that when you combine the total careers of the individuals responsible for the championship, they were one of the most historic teams in NBA history.
There are plenty of places to start, but I'm going to begin with their arena:
Madison Square Garden- For any normal team, you probably don't bring up their arena to build a case for how important they were. But this isn't a normal team, and this isn't a normal arena.
First thing you have to realize is there have been 4 different venues in New York City called Madison Square Garden. The current one though, was opened in 1968 at 4 Pennsylvania Plaza at the site of the former Pennsylvania Station. The '73 Finals took place here just 5 years after it was built. It wasn't just the Mecca of basketball that we know today (in large part due this very Knicks team), it was arguably the very center of western culture as a whole.
Just to give you an idea of how important the Knicks home court was, here is a short list of some people that performed there in just 1973:
The Beach Boys, Linda Ronstadt, Elton John, Jethro Tull, Led Zeppelin, Jackson 5, Chicago, Bruce Springsteen, Alice Cooper, John Denver, Judy Collins, Bill Withers, Eric Weisberg, and Neil Young.
Like I said, this isn't a normal arena.
Next, we'll take a look at some non-players associated with the team:
President- Ned Irish- Ol' Ned here had been around for a while in basketball by the time the '73 season had rolled around. He first started promoting basketball games at one of the former MSG sites in 1934. By 1946, he and his closest 10 buddies decided to start a basketball league of their own called the Basketball Association of America. By 1949, they decided it was a good idea to merge with the NBL, and rebrand the new league the National Basketball Association.
Known primarily for his work in founding the NBA and the Knicks, Irish was enshrined in the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 1964.
Head Coach/GM- Red Holzman- Red was recently honored as one of the 15 greatest coaches in NBA history and was literally born to coach the Knicks. Born and raised in NYC, Holzman played college ball for CCNY and spent a decade as an assistant for the Knicks prior to becoming head coach.
Known primarily for his work coaching the Knicks, Holzman was elected into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 1985.
Assistant coach- Dick McGuire- As if head coach Red wasn't enough of a New Yorker, McGuire was even more closely associated with the city in his basketball career. Also born and raised in NYC, McGuire played 4 seasons at St. Johns before being drafted by the Knicks in the 1st round of the BAA draft in 1949. After finishing his playing career in Detroit as well his first few years coaching, McGuire returned to coaching in the organization from 1965-79.
Known primarily for his playing career with the Knicks, McGuire was elected into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 1993.
Radio play-by-play- Marv Albert- Might be a bit absurd to include a radio guy, but no other team has ever had the voice of basketball calling their games either.
Known primarily for his role calling NBA games, Albert was inducted into the broadcasting Hall of Fame in 2015.
Ok, now onto some of the players themselves:
Earl Monroe- Vernon Monroe, aka Earl the Pearl, aka Black Jesus, was one of the best ball handlers in early NBA history. An outstanding player at D2 Winston-Salem State, Monroe was drafted 2nd overall by the Bullets in 1967. When he joined the Knicks in 1971, he and Walt Frazier combined for one of the best backcourts in NBA history
Known primarily for his playing career with the Bullets and Knicks, Monroe was elected to the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 1990.
Jerry Lucas- Long story short on Lucas, he was kinda LeBron before LeBron in terms of hype. He was the most highly sought after recruit in high school, receiving offers from over 150 schools, and having 15,000 in attendance for one of his high school games. He followed that up by being a 3x All-American at Ohio State, 2x Consensus National College Player of the Year, NCAA champion in 1960, as well as winning a gold medal in the 1960 Olympics. He had a great NBA career after that with the Royals, but by the time he was a Knick, it was more in a Walton/Celtics role.
Known primarily for his playing career at Ohio State and with the Royals, Lucas was elected to the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 1980.
Bill Bradley- Bradley was a national player of the year while at Princeton and won a gold medal in the '64 Olympics. In what has to be among the most unique entries on basketball reference Bradley missed his first two years in the NBA studying as a Rhodes scholar at Oxford. He spent his entire 10 year career with the Knicks, was a 1 time All-Star, lead the team in scoring in the '73 Finals, and checks notes oh yeah became a US Senator after his NBA career.
Known primarily for his playing career at Princeton and with the Knicks, Bradley was elected to the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 1983.
Phil Jackson- So there's a good chance you knew Jackson was on this team, but like me you might not have realized he was 6th on the team in minutes in the '73 Finals and was their 4th leading rebounder for the series. He wasn't just a bench guy, our man Phil was the legit 6th man on a title team. Oh, and he became arguably the greatest coach in league history afterwards.
Known primarily for his work coaching the Bulls and Lakers, Jackson was elected into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2007.
Dave DeBusschere- DeBusschere is one of just a handful of players that played in both the NBA and MLB. He's also the only player to throw a complete game shutout in the majors in the same year he had a 30 point game in the NBA. On top of that, he was one of the best defensive wings in the NBA in the '70s, and was a 8 time All Star.
Known primarily for his playing career with the Pistons and the Knicks, DeBusschere was elected to the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 1983.
Walt Frazier- Earning the nickname "Clyde" his rookie year after wearing a Bonnie and Clyde style hat, Walt Frazier was the epitome of cool in the '70s. He was one of the first NBA players to get a shoe deal, but easily has the most iconic shoe from those early deals, Frazier backed up his off-court style with his on-court play. He was a 4 time all-NBA 1st team player, and is still the Knicks all-time leader in assists.
Known primarily for his playing career with the Knicks, Frazier was elected to the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 1987.
Willis Reed- Last but not least, we have the man in the middle himself Willis Reed. Probably most remembered for inspiring the Knicks to win game 7 of the 1970 NBA Finals just by walking on the court, Reed was without a doubt the heart and soul of this Knicks team as well. He was MVP in 1970, as well as Finals MVP in both '70 and '73, Reeds career was cut short with knee injuries that forced him to retire at just 31 years old. If there was ever a statue build outside of MSG, it'd probably be Reed.
Known primarily for his playing career with the Knicks, Reed was elected to the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 1982.
submitted by RecordReviewer to VintageNBA [link] [comments]
First, I want to make one thing clear. I am NOT saying the '73 Knicks were the best team in league history. They were great, but not that great. But I think a case can be made that when you combine the total careers of the individuals responsible for the championship, they were one of the most historic teams in NBA history.
There are plenty of places to start, but I'm going to begin with their arena:
Madison Square Garden- For any normal team, you probably don't bring up their arena to build a case for how important they were. But this isn't a normal team, and this isn't a normal arena.
First thing you have to realize is there have been 4 different venues in New York City called Madison Square Garden. The current one though, was opened in 1968 at 4 Pennsylvania Plaza at the site of the former Pennsylvania Station. The '73 Finals took place here just 5 years after it was built. It wasn't just the Mecca of basketball that we know today (in large part due this very Knicks team), it was arguably the very center of western culture as a whole.
Just to give you an idea of how important the Knicks home court was, here is a short list of some people that performed there in just 1973:
The Beach Boys, Linda Ronstadt, Elton John, Jethro Tull, Led Zeppelin, Jackson 5, Chicago, Bruce Springsteen, Alice Cooper, John Denver, Judy Collins, Bill Withers, Eric Weisberg, and Neil Young.
Like I said, this isn't a normal arena.
Next, we'll take a look at some non-players associated with the team:
President- Ned Irish- Ol' Ned here had been around for a while in basketball by the time the '73 season had rolled around. He first started promoting basketball games at one of the former MSG sites in 1934. By 1946, he and his closest 10 buddies decided to start a basketball league of their own called the Basketball Association of America. By 1949, they decided it was a good idea to merge with the NBL, and rebrand the new league the National Basketball Association.
Known primarily for his work in founding the NBA and the Knicks, Irish was enshrined in the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 1964.
Head Coach/GM- Red Holzman- Red was recently honored as one of the 15 greatest coaches in NBA history and was literally born to coach the Knicks. Born and raised in NYC, Holzman played college ball for CCNY and spent a decade as an assistant for the Knicks prior to becoming head coach.
Known primarily for his work coaching the Knicks, Holzman was elected into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 1985.
Assistant coach- Dick McGuire- As if head coach Red wasn't enough of a New Yorker, McGuire was even more closely associated with the city in his basketball career. Also born and raised in NYC, McGuire played 4 seasons at St. Johns before being drafted by the Knicks in the 1st round of the BAA draft in 1949. After finishing his playing career in Detroit as well his first few years coaching, McGuire returned to coaching in the organization from 1965-79.
Known primarily for his playing career with the Knicks, McGuire was elected into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 1993.
Radio play-by-play- Marv Albert- Might be a bit absurd to include a radio guy, but no other team has ever had the voice of basketball calling their games either.
Known primarily for his role calling NBA games, Albert was inducted into the broadcasting Hall of Fame in 2015.
Ok, now onto some of the players themselves:
Earl Monroe- Vernon Monroe, aka Earl the Pearl, aka Black Jesus, was one of the best ball handlers in early NBA history. An outstanding player at D2 Winston-Salem State, Monroe was drafted 2nd overall by the Bullets in 1967. When he joined the Knicks in 1971, he and Walt Frazier combined for one of the best backcourts in NBA history
Known primarily for his playing career with the Bullets and Knicks, Monroe was elected to the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 1990.
Jerry Lucas- Long story short on Lucas, he was kinda LeBron before LeBron in terms of hype. He was the most highly sought after recruit in high school, receiving offers from over 150 schools, and having 15,000 in attendance for one of his high school games. He followed that up by being a 3x All-American at Ohio State, 2x Consensus National College Player of the Year, NCAA champion in 1960, as well as winning a gold medal in the 1960 Olympics. He had a great NBA career after that with the Royals, but by the time he was a Knick, it was more in a Walton/Celtics role.
Known primarily for his playing career at Ohio State and with the Royals, Lucas was elected to the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 1980.
Bill Bradley- Bradley was a national player of the year while at Princeton and won a gold medal in the '64 Olympics. In what has to be among the most unique entries on basketball reference Bradley missed his first two years in the NBA studying as a Rhodes scholar at Oxford. He spent his entire 10 year career with the Knicks, was a 1 time All-Star, lead the team in scoring in the '73 Finals, and checks notes oh yeah became a US Senator after his NBA career.
Known primarily for his playing career at Princeton and with the Knicks, Bradley was elected to the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 1983.
Phil Jackson- So there's a good chance you knew Jackson was on this team, but like me you might not have realized he was 6th on the team in minutes in the '73 Finals and was their 4th leading rebounder for the series. He wasn't just a bench guy, our man Phil was the legit 6th man on a title team. Oh, and he became arguably the greatest coach in league history afterwards.
Known primarily for his work coaching the Bulls and Lakers, Jackson was elected into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2007.
Dave DeBusschere- DeBusschere is one of just a handful of players that played in both the NBA and MLB. He's also the only player to throw a complete game shutout in the majors in the same year he had a 30 point game in the NBA. On top of that, he was one of the best defensive wings in the NBA in the '70s, and was a 8 time All Star.
Known primarily for his playing career with the Pistons and the Knicks, DeBusschere was elected to the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 1983.
Walt Frazier- Earning the nickname "Clyde" his rookie year after wearing a Bonnie and Clyde style hat, Walt Frazier was the epitome of cool in the '70s. He was one of the first NBA players to get a shoe deal, but easily has the most iconic shoe from those early deals, Frazier backed up his off-court style with his on-court play. He was a 4 time all-NBA 1st team player, and is still the Knicks all-time leader in assists.
Known primarily for his playing career with the Knicks, Frazier was elected to the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 1987.
Willis Reed- Last but not least, we have the man in the middle himself Willis Reed. Probably most remembered for inspiring the Knicks to win game 7 of the 1970 NBA Finals just by walking on the court, Reed was without a doubt the heart and soul of this Knicks team as well. He was MVP in 1970, as well as Finals MVP in both '70 and '73, Reeds career was cut short with knee injuries that forced him to retire at just 31 years old. If there was ever a statue build outside of MSG, it'd probably be Reed.
Known primarily for his playing career with the Knicks, Reed was elected to the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 1982.
2023.03.22 21:51 RecordReviewer Willis Reed's '73 Knicks might be the most historic championship team of all-time.
Below was something I wrote last year when doing some research on the 1973 Knicks. With Willis Reed's recent passing, I wanted to bring it to everyone's attention again just how much history was packed into a single franchise that season:
First, I want to make one thing clear. I am NOT saying the '73 Knicks were the best team in league history. They were great, but not that great. But I think a case can be made that when you combine the total careers of the individuals responsible for the championship, they were one of the most historic teams in NBA history.
There are plenty of places to start, but I'm going to begin with their arena:
Madison Square Garden- For any normal team, you probably don't bring up their arena to build a case for how important they were. But this isn't a normal team, and this isn't a normal arena.
First thing you have to realize is there have been 4 different venues in New York City called Madison Square Garden. The current one though, was opened in 1968 at 4 Pennsylvania Plaza at the site of the former Pennsylvania Station. The '73 Finals took place here just 5 years after it was built. It wasn't just the Mecca of basketball that we know today (in large part due this very Knicks team), it was arguably the very center of western culture as a whole.
Just to give you an idea of how important the Knicks home court was, here is a short list of some people that performed there in just 1973:
The Beach Boys, Linda Ronstadt, Elton John, Jethro Tull, Led Zeppelin, Jackson 5, Chicago, Bruce Springsteen, Alice Cooper, John Denver, Judy Collins, Bill Withers, Eric Weisberg, and Neil Young.
Like I said, this isn't a normal arena.
Next, we'll take a look at some non-players associated with the team:
President- Ned Irish- Ol' Ned here had been around for a while in basketball by the time the '73 season had rolled around. He first started promoting basketball games at one of the former MSG sites in 1934. By 1946, he and his closest 10 buddies decided to start a basketball league of their own called the Basketball Association of America. By 1949, they decided it was a good idea to merge with the NBL, and rebrand the new league the National Basketball Association.
Known primarily for his work in founding the NBA and the Knicks, Irish was enshrined in the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 1964.
Head Coach/GM- Red Holzman- Red was recently honored as one of the 15 greatest coaches in NBA history and was literally born to coach the Knicks. Born and raised in NYC, Holzman played college ball for CCNY and spent a decade as an assistant for the Knicks prior to becoming head coach.
Known primarily for his work coaching the Knicks, Holzman was elected into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 1985.
Assistant coach- Dick McGuire- As if head coach Red wasn't enough of a New Yorker, McGuire was even more closely associated with the city in his basketball career. Also born and raised in NYC, McGuire played 4 seasons at St. Johns before being drafted by the Knicks in the 1st round of the BAA draft in 1949. After finishing his playing career in Detroit as well his first few years coaching, McGuire returned to coaching in the organization from 1965-79.
Known primarily for his playing career with the Knicks, McGuire was elected into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 1993.
Radio play-by-play- Marv Albert- Might be a bit absurd to include a radio guy, but no other team has ever had the voice of basketball calling their games either.
Known primarily for his role calling NBA games, Albert was inducted into the broadcasting Hall of Fame in 2015.
Ok, now onto some of the players themselves:
Earl Monroe- Vernon Monroe, aka Earl the Pearl, aka Black Jesus, was one of the best ball handlers in early NBA history. An outstanding player at D2 Winston-Salem State, Monroe was drafted 2nd overall by the Bullets in 1967. When he joined the Knicks in 1971, he and Walt Frazier combined for one of the best backcourts in NBA history
Known primarily for his playing career with the Bullets and Knicks, Monroe was elected to the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 1990.
Jerry Lucas- Long story short on Lucas, he was kinda LeBron before LeBron in terms of hype. He was the most highly sought after recruit in high school, receiving offers from over 150 schools, and having 15,000 in attendance for one of his high school games. He followed that up by being a 3x All-American at Ohio State, 2x Consensus National College Player of the Year, NCAA champion in 1960, as well as winning a gold medal in the 1960 Olympics. He had a great NBA career after that with the Royals, but by the time he was a Knick, it was more in a Walton/Celtics role.
Known primarily for his playing career at Ohio State and with the Royals, Lucas was elected to the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 1980.
Bill Bradley- Bradley was a national player of the year while at Princeton and won a gold medal in the '64 Olympics. In what has to be among the most unique entries on basketball reference Bradley missed his first two years in the NBA studying as a Rhodes scholar at Oxford. He spent his entire 10 year career with the Knicks, was a 1 time All-Star, lead the team in scoring in the '73 Finals, and checks notes oh yeah became a US Senator after his NBA career.
Known primarily for his playing career at Princeton and with the Knicks, Bradley was elected to the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 1983.
Phil Jackson- So there's a good chance you knew Jackson was on this team, but like me you might not have realized he was 6th on the team in minutes in the '73 Finals and was their 4th leading rebounder for the series. He wasn't just a bench guy, our man Phil was the legit 6th man on a title team. Oh, and he became arguably the greatest coach in league history afterwards.
Known primarily for his work coaching the Bulls and Lakers, Jackson was elected into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2007.
Dave DeBusschere- DeBusschere is one of just a handful of players that played in both the NBA and MLB. He's also the only player to throw a complete game shutout in the majors in the same year he had a 30 point game in the NBA. On top of that, he was one of the best defensive wings in the NBA in the '70s, and was a 8 time All Star.
Known primarily for his playing career with the Pistons and the Knicks, DeBusschere was elected to the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 1983.
Walt Frazier- Earning the nickname "Clyde" his rookie year after wearing a Bonnie and Clyde style hat, Walt Frazier was the epitome of cool in the '70s. He was one of the first NBA players to get a shoe deal, but easily has the most iconic shoe from those early deals, Frazier backed up his off-court style with his on-court play. He was a 4 time all-NBA 1st team player, and is still the Knicks all-time leader in assists.
Known primarily for his playing career with the Knicks, Frazier was elected to the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 1987.
Willis Reed- Last but not least, we have the man in the middle himself Willis Reed. Probably most remembered for inspiring the Knicks to win game 7 of the 1970 NBA Finals just by walking on the court, Reed was without a doubt the heart and soul of this Knicks team as well. He was MVP in 1970, as well as Finals MVP in both '70 and '73, Reeds career was cut short with knee injuries that forced him to retire at just 31 years old. If there was ever a statue build outside of MSG, it'd probably be Reed.
Known primarily for his playing career with the Knicks, Reed was elected to the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 1982.
submitted by RecordReviewer to nba [link] [comments]
First, I want to make one thing clear. I am NOT saying the '73 Knicks were the best team in league history. They were great, but not that great. But I think a case can be made that when you combine the total careers of the individuals responsible for the championship, they were one of the most historic teams in NBA history.
There are plenty of places to start, but I'm going to begin with their arena:
Madison Square Garden- For any normal team, you probably don't bring up their arena to build a case for how important they were. But this isn't a normal team, and this isn't a normal arena.
First thing you have to realize is there have been 4 different venues in New York City called Madison Square Garden. The current one though, was opened in 1968 at 4 Pennsylvania Plaza at the site of the former Pennsylvania Station. The '73 Finals took place here just 5 years after it was built. It wasn't just the Mecca of basketball that we know today (in large part due this very Knicks team), it was arguably the very center of western culture as a whole.
Just to give you an idea of how important the Knicks home court was, here is a short list of some people that performed there in just 1973:
The Beach Boys, Linda Ronstadt, Elton John, Jethro Tull, Led Zeppelin, Jackson 5, Chicago, Bruce Springsteen, Alice Cooper, John Denver, Judy Collins, Bill Withers, Eric Weisberg, and Neil Young.
Like I said, this isn't a normal arena.
Next, we'll take a look at some non-players associated with the team:
President- Ned Irish- Ol' Ned here had been around for a while in basketball by the time the '73 season had rolled around. He first started promoting basketball games at one of the former MSG sites in 1934. By 1946, he and his closest 10 buddies decided to start a basketball league of their own called the Basketball Association of America. By 1949, they decided it was a good idea to merge with the NBL, and rebrand the new league the National Basketball Association.
Known primarily for his work in founding the NBA and the Knicks, Irish was enshrined in the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 1964.
Head Coach/GM- Red Holzman- Red was recently honored as one of the 15 greatest coaches in NBA history and was literally born to coach the Knicks. Born and raised in NYC, Holzman played college ball for CCNY and spent a decade as an assistant for the Knicks prior to becoming head coach.
Known primarily for his work coaching the Knicks, Holzman was elected into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 1985.
Assistant coach- Dick McGuire- As if head coach Red wasn't enough of a New Yorker, McGuire was even more closely associated with the city in his basketball career. Also born and raised in NYC, McGuire played 4 seasons at St. Johns before being drafted by the Knicks in the 1st round of the BAA draft in 1949. After finishing his playing career in Detroit as well his first few years coaching, McGuire returned to coaching in the organization from 1965-79.
Known primarily for his playing career with the Knicks, McGuire was elected into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 1993.
Radio play-by-play- Marv Albert- Might be a bit absurd to include a radio guy, but no other team has ever had the voice of basketball calling their games either.
Known primarily for his role calling NBA games, Albert was inducted into the broadcasting Hall of Fame in 2015.
Ok, now onto some of the players themselves:
Earl Monroe- Vernon Monroe, aka Earl the Pearl, aka Black Jesus, was one of the best ball handlers in early NBA history. An outstanding player at D2 Winston-Salem State, Monroe was drafted 2nd overall by the Bullets in 1967. When he joined the Knicks in 1971, he and Walt Frazier combined for one of the best backcourts in NBA history
Known primarily for his playing career with the Bullets and Knicks, Monroe was elected to the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 1990.
Jerry Lucas- Long story short on Lucas, he was kinda LeBron before LeBron in terms of hype. He was the most highly sought after recruit in high school, receiving offers from over 150 schools, and having 15,000 in attendance for one of his high school games. He followed that up by being a 3x All-American at Ohio State, 2x Consensus National College Player of the Year, NCAA champion in 1960, as well as winning a gold medal in the 1960 Olympics. He had a great NBA career after that with the Royals, but by the time he was a Knick, it was more in a Walton/Celtics role.
Known primarily for his playing career at Ohio State and with the Royals, Lucas was elected to the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 1980.
Bill Bradley- Bradley was a national player of the year while at Princeton and won a gold medal in the '64 Olympics. In what has to be among the most unique entries on basketball reference Bradley missed his first two years in the NBA studying as a Rhodes scholar at Oxford. He spent his entire 10 year career with the Knicks, was a 1 time All-Star, lead the team in scoring in the '73 Finals, and checks notes oh yeah became a US Senator after his NBA career.
Known primarily for his playing career at Princeton and with the Knicks, Bradley was elected to the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 1983.
Phil Jackson- So there's a good chance you knew Jackson was on this team, but like me you might not have realized he was 6th on the team in minutes in the '73 Finals and was their 4th leading rebounder for the series. He wasn't just a bench guy, our man Phil was the legit 6th man on a title team. Oh, and he became arguably the greatest coach in league history afterwards.
Known primarily for his work coaching the Bulls and Lakers, Jackson was elected into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2007.
Dave DeBusschere- DeBusschere is one of just a handful of players that played in both the NBA and MLB. He's also the only player to throw a complete game shutout in the majors in the same year he had a 30 point game in the NBA. On top of that, he was one of the best defensive wings in the NBA in the '70s, and was a 8 time All Star.
Known primarily for his playing career with the Pistons and the Knicks, DeBusschere was elected to the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 1983.
Walt Frazier- Earning the nickname "Clyde" his rookie year after wearing a Bonnie and Clyde style hat, Walt Frazier was the epitome of cool in the '70s. He was one of the first NBA players to get a shoe deal, but easily has the most iconic shoe from those early deals, Frazier backed up his off-court style with his on-court play. He was a 4 time all-NBA 1st team player, and is still the Knicks all-time leader in assists.
Known primarily for his playing career with the Knicks, Frazier was elected to the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 1987.
Willis Reed- Last but not least, we have the man in the middle himself Willis Reed. Probably most remembered for inspiring the Knicks to win game 7 of the 1970 NBA Finals just by walking on the court, Reed was without a doubt the heart and soul of this Knicks team as well. He was MVP in 1970, as well as Finals MVP in both '70 and '73, Reeds career was cut short with knee injuries that forced him to retire at just 31 years old. If there was ever a statue build outside of MSG, it'd probably be Reed.
Known primarily for his playing career with the Knicks, Reed was elected to the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 1982.
2023.03.22 21:50 RecordReviewer Willis Reed's '73 Knicks might be the most historic championship team of all-time.
Below was something I wrote last year when doing some research on the 1973 Knicks. With Willis Reed's recent passing, I wanted to bring it to everyone's attention again just how much history was packed into a single franchise that season:
First, I want to make one thing clear. I am NOT saying the '73 Knicks were the best team in league history. They were great, but not that great. But I think a case can be made that when you combine the total careers of the individuals responsible for the championship, they were one of the most historic teams in NBA history.
There are plenty of places to start, but I'm going to begin with their arena:
Madison Square Garden- For any normal team, you probably don't bring up their arena to build a case for how important they were. But this isn't a normal team, and this isn't a normal arena.
First thing you have to realize is there have been 4 different venues in New York City called Madison Square Garden. The current one though, was opened in 1968 at 4 Pennsylvania Plaza at the site of the former Pennsylvania Station. The '73 Finals took place here just 5 years after it was built. It wasn't just the Mecca of basketball that we know today (in large part due this very Knicks team), it was arguably the very center of western culture as a whole.
Just to give you an idea of how important the Knicks home court was, here is a short list of some people that performed there in just 1973:
The Beach Boys, Linda Ronstadt, Elton John, Jethro Tull, Led Zeppelin, Jackson 5, Chicago, Bruce Springsteen, Alice Cooper, John Denver, Judy Collins, Bill Withers, Eric Weisberg, and Neil Young.
Like I said, this isn't a normal arena.
Next, we'll take a look at some non-players associated with the team:
President- Ned Irish- Ol' Ned here had been around for a while in basketball by the time the '73 season had rolled around. He first started promoting basketball games at one of the former MSG sites in 1934. By 1946, he and his closest 10 buddies decided to start a basketball league of their own called the Basketball Association of America. By 1949, they decided it was a good idea to merge with the NBL, and rebrand the new league the National Basketball Association.
Known primarily for his work in founding the NBA and the Knicks, Irish was enshrined in the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 1964.
Head Coach/GM- Red Holzman- Red was recently honored as one of the 15 greatest coaches in NBA history and was literally born to coach the Knicks. Born and raised in NYC, Holzman played college ball for CCNY and spent a decade as an assistant for the Knicks prior to becoming head coach.
Known primarily for his work coaching the Knicks, Holzman was elected into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 1985.
Assistant coach- Dick McGuire- As if head coach Red wasn't enough of a New Yorker, McGuire was even more closely associated with the city in his basketball career. Also born and raised in NYC, McGuire played 4 seasons at St. Johns before being drafted by the Knicks in the 1st round of the BAA draft in 1949. After finishing his playing career in Detroit as well his first few years coaching, McGuire returned to coaching in the organization from 1965-79.
Known primarily for his playing career with the Knicks, McGuire was elected into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 1993.
Radio play-by-play- Marv Albert- Might be a bit absurd to include a radio guy, but no other team has ever had the voice of basketball calling their games either.
Known primarily for his role calling NBA games, Albert was inducted into the broadcasting Hall of Fame in 2015.
Ok, now onto some of the players themselves:
Earl Monroe- Vernon Monroe, aka Earl the Pearl, aka Black Jesus, was one of the best ball handlers in early NBA history. An outstanding player at D2 Winston-Salem State, Monroe was drafted 2nd overall by the Bullets in 1967. When he joined the Knicks in 1971, he and Walt Frazier combined for one of the best backcourts in NBA history
Known primarily for his playing career with the Bullets and Knicks, Monroe was elected to the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 1990.
Jerry Lucas- Long story short on Lucas, he was kinda LeBron before LeBron in terms of hype. He was the most highly sought after recruit in high school, receiving offers from over 150 schools, and having 15,000 in attendance for one of his high school games. He followed that up by being a 3x All-American at Ohio State, 2x Consensus National College Player of the Year, NCAA champion in 1960, as well as winning a gold medal in the 1960 Olympics. He had a great NBA career after that with the Royals, but by the time he was a Knick, it was more in a Walton/Celtics role.
Known primarily for his playing career at Ohio State and with the Royals, Lucas was elected to the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 1980.
Bill Bradley- Bradley was a national player of the year while at Princeton and won a gold medal in the '64 Olympics. In what has to be among the most unique entries on basketball reference Bradley missed his first two years in the NBA studying as a Rhodes scholar at Oxford. He spent his entire 10 year career with the Knicks, was a 1 time All-Star, lead the team in scoring in the '73 Finals, and checks notes oh yeah became a US Senator after his NBA career.
Known primarily for his playing career at Princeton and with the Knicks, Bradley was elected to the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 1983.
Phil Jackson- So there's a good chance you knew Jackson was on this team, but like me you might not have realized he was 6th on the team in minutes in the '73 Finals and was their 4th leading rebounder for the series. He wasn't just a bench guy, our man Phil was the legit 6th man on a title team. Oh, and he became arguably the greatest coach in league history afterwards.
Known primarily for his work coaching the Bulls and Lakers, Jackson was elected into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2007.
Dave DeBusschere- DeBusschere is one of just a handful of players that played in both the NBA and MLB. He's also the only player to throw a complete game shutout in the majors in the same year he had a 30 point game in the NBA. On top of that, he was one of the best defensive wings in the NBA in the '70s, and was a 8 time All Star.
Known primarily for his playing career with the Pistons and the Knicks, DeBusschere was elected to the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 1983.
Walt Frazier- Earning the nickname "Clyde" his rookie year after wearing a Bonnie and Clyde style hat, Walt Frazier was the epitome of cool in the '70s. He was one of the first NBA players to get a shoe deal, but easily has the most iconic shoe from those early deals, Frazier backed up his off-court style with his on-court play. He was a 4 time all-NBA 1st team player, and is still the Knicks all-time leader in assists.
Known primarily for his playing career with the Knicks, Frazier was elected to the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 1987.
Willis Reed- Last but not least, we have the man in the middle himself Willis Reed. Probably most remembered for inspiring the Knicks to win game 7 of the 1970 NBA Finals just by walking on the court, Reed was without a doubt the heart and soul of this Knicks team as well. He was MVP in 1970, as well as Finals MVP in both '70 and '73, Reeds career was cut short with knee injuries that forced him to retire at just 31 years old. If there was ever a statue build outside of MSG, it'd probably be Reed.
Known primarily for his playing career with the Knicks, Reed was elected to the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 1982.
submitted by RecordReviewer to nbadiscussion [link] [comments]
First, I want to make one thing clear. I am NOT saying the '73 Knicks were the best team in league history. They were great, but not that great. But I think a case can be made that when you combine the total careers of the individuals responsible for the championship, they were one of the most historic teams in NBA history.
There are plenty of places to start, but I'm going to begin with their arena:
Madison Square Garden- For any normal team, you probably don't bring up their arena to build a case for how important they were. But this isn't a normal team, and this isn't a normal arena.
First thing you have to realize is there have been 4 different venues in New York City called Madison Square Garden. The current one though, was opened in 1968 at 4 Pennsylvania Plaza at the site of the former Pennsylvania Station. The '73 Finals took place here just 5 years after it was built. It wasn't just the Mecca of basketball that we know today (in large part due this very Knicks team), it was arguably the very center of western culture as a whole.
Just to give you an idea of how important the Knicks home court was, here is a short list of some people that performed there in just 1973:
The Beach Boys, Linda Ronstadt, Elton John, Jethro Tull, Led Zeppelin, Jackson 5, Chicago, Bruce Springsteen, Alice Cooper, John Denver, Judy Collins, Bill Withers, Eric Weisberg, and Neil Young.
Like I said, this isn't a normal arena.
Next, we'll take a look at some non-players associated with the team:
President- Ned Irish- Ol' Ned here had been around for a while in basketball by the time the '73 season had rolled around. He first started promoting basketball games at one of the former MSG sites in 1934. By 1946, he and his closest 10 buddies decided to start a basketball league of their own called the Basketball Association of America. By 1949, they decided it was a good idea to merge with the NBL, and rebrand the new league the National Basketball Association.
Known primarily for his work in founding the NBA and the Knicks, Irish was enshrined in the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 1964.
Head Coach/GM- Red Holzman- Red was recently honored as one of the 15 greatest coaches in NBA history and was literally born to coach the Knicks. Born and raised in NYC, Holzman played college ball for CCNY and spent a decade as an assistant for the Knicks prior to becoming head coach.
Known primarily for his work coaching the Knicks, Holzman was elected into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 1985.
Assistant coach- Dick McGuire- As if head coach Red wasn't enough of a New Yorker, McGuire was even more closely associated with the city in his basketball career. Also born and raised in NYC, McGuire played 4 seasons at St. Johns before being drafted by the Knicks in the 1st round of the BAA draft in 1949. After finishing his playing career in Detroit as well his first few years coaching, McGuire returned to coaching in the organization from 1965-79.
Known primarily for his playing career with the Knicks, McGuire was elected into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 1993.
Radio play-by-play- Marv Albert- Might be a bit absurd to include a radio guy, but no other team has ever had the voice of basketball calling their games either.
Known primarily for his role calling NBA games, Albert was inducted into the broadcasting Hall of Fame in 2015.
Ok, now onto some of the players themselves:
Earl Monroe- Vernon Monroe, aka Earl the Pearl, aka Black Jesus, was one of the best ball handlers in early NBA history. An outstanding player at D2 Winston-Salem State, Monroe was drafted 2nd overall by the Bullets in 1967. When he joined the Knicks in 1971, he and Walt Frazier combined for one of the best backcourts in NBA history
Known primarily for his playing career with the Bullets and Knicks, Monroe was elected to the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 1990.
Jerry Lucas- Long story short on Lucas, he was kinda LeBron before LeBron in terms of hype. He was the most highly sought after recruit in high school, receiving offers from over 150 schools, and having 15,000 in attendance for one of his high school games. He followed that up by being a 3x All-American at Ohio State, 2x Consensus National College Player of the Year, NCAA champion in 1960, as well as winning a gold medal in the 1960 Olympics. He had a great NBA career after that with the Royals, but by the time he was a Knick, it was more in a Walton/Celtics role.
Known primarily for his playing career at Ohio State and with the Royals, Lucas was elected to the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 1980.
Bill Bradley- Bradley was a national player of the year while at Princeton and won a gold medal in the '64 Olympics. In what has to be among the most unique entries on basketball reference Bradley missed his first two years in the NBA studying as a Rhodes scholar at Oxford. He spent his entire 10 year career with the Knicks, was a 1 time All-Star, lead the team in scoring in the '73 Finals, and checks notes oh yeah became a US Senator after his NBA career.
Known primarily for his playing career at Princeton and with the Knicks, Bradley was elected to the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 1983.
Phil Jackson- So there's a good chance you knew Jackson was on this team, but like me you might not have realized he was 6th on the team in minutes in the '73 Finals and was their 4th leading rebounder for the series. He wasn't just a bench guy, our man Phil was the legit 6th man on a title team. Oh, and he became arguably the greatest coach in league history afterwards.
Known primarily for his work coaching the Bulls and Lakers, Jackson was elected into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2007.
Dave DeBusschere- DeBusschere is one of just a handful of players that played in both the NBA and MLB. He's also the only player to throw a complete game shutout in the majors in the same year he had a 30 point game in the NBA. On top of that, he was one of the best defensive wings in the NBA in the '70s, and was a 8 time All Star.
Known primarily for his playing career with the Pistons and the Knicks, DeBusschere was elected to the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 1983.
Walt Frazier- Earning the nickname "Clyde" his rookie year after wearing a Bonnie and Clyde style hat, Walt Frazier was the epitome of cool in the '70s. He was one of the first NBA players to get a shoe deal, but easily has the most iconic shoe from those early deals, Frazier backed up his off-court style with his on-court play. He was a 4 time all-NBA 1st team player, and is still the Knicks all-time leader in assists.
Known primarily for his playing career with the Knicks, Frazier was elected to the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 1987.
Willis Reed- Last but not least, we have the man in the middle himself Willis Reed. Probably most remembered for inspiring the Knicks to win game 7 of the 1970 NBA Finals just by walking on the court, Reed was without a doubt the heart and soul of this Knicks team as well. He was MVP in 1970, as well as Finals MVP in both '70 and '73, Reeds career was cut short with knee injuries that forced him to retire at just 31 years old. If there was ever a statue build outside of MSG, it'd probably be Reed.
Known primarily for his playing career with the Knicks, Reed was elected to the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 1982.
2023.03.22 21:43 SWOTTDom 27 [M4F] #Ottawa Potent Seed for Fertile Womb
Let’s start with a little about me and hopefully you’ll see that I am the man who should be the father of your children. I am 27 years old and 6'3. I am of English descent and a 2nd generation Canadian. I have short dark brown hair, beard, and eyes. I also wear glasses.
I am a caring, honest, respectable man with a quick wit and a logical mind.
I'm educated, with an undergrad and post-grad under my belt, but not afraid to get my hands dirty. I'm gainfully employed in my field.
I enjoy cooking, soccer, volunteering, podcasts, board games, and history. I enjoy cooking many different types of food but I am by no means a chef. I support England and a local club in soccer. In the theme of european sports I also enjoy Formula 1 but don't cheer for any of the English or Canadian drivers. I enjoy volunteering with local organizations when I have the time. My favourite period of history to learn about is the Roman Empire. As for board games I have a collection too big to name.
I have had the chance to travel through a lot of the US and have been to England as well. My ideal vacation is sitting by the beach and swimming in the ocean.
I am a dominant; I believe that caring for your partner and them putting their faith in you to do so is the greatest act of dominance and love possible. I would say some of my kinks are impact play, (affectionate) domination, aftercare, breeding/impregnation, cunnilingus, bondage, and massages.
I am also committed to being a better, healthier me for this new relationship so I have started to spend time swimming and working out (weights/cardio) every day.
What am I looking for?
I am at the point in my life when I am interested in settling down with someone special. I am not looking for a ONS, hookup, or casual dating. I would like someone local or someone who already intends to make a move to the area in the near future. I am adverse to relocating myself as I recently moved back to Ottawa to be closer to some aging family with the intent of putting some roots down in the city. I want to purchase a house in the not too distant future that will be my/our home where we could raise a family.
I am looking for a partner who naturally is submissive and wants her partner to take the lead. If we share other specific kinks/fetishes that would be fantastic as well.
In my experience I do not have a simple "type" physically. My ideal partner is 18-24 though I am open to women above that age up to 30. I want a partner who is working or who has finished or close to finishing their education (whatever level it may be). I want someone who wants to put love and family first. Preference for someone who wants a large family (3-4+ kids). Hopefully you have interests/hobbies/passions as I love passionate people.
My match will have taken the time to read this post in its entirety (probably more than once) so if you did make it this far please have your message include the word "turtle" in it.
submitted by SWOTTDom to ImpregPersonalsReal [link] [comments]
I am a caring, honest, respectable man with a quick wit and a logical mind.
I'm educated, with an undergrad and post-grad under my belt, but not afraid to get my hands dirty. I'm gainfully employed in my field.
I enjoy cooking, soccer, volunteering, podcasts, board games, and history. I enjoy cooking many different types of food but I am by no means a chef. I support England and a local club in soccer. In the theme of european sports I also enjoy Formula 1 but don't cheer for any of the English or Canadian drivers. I enjoy volunteering with local organizations when I have the time. My favourite period of history to learn about is the Roman Empire. As for board games I have a collection too big to name.
I have had the chance to travel through a lot of the US and have been to England as well. My ideal vacation is sitting by the beach and swimming in the ocean.
I am a dominant; I believe that caring for your partner and them putting their faith in you to do so is the greatest act of dominance and love possible. I would say some of my kinks are impact play, (affectionate) domination, aftercare, breeding/impregnation, cunnilingus, bondage, and massages.
I am also committed to being a better, healthier me for this new relationship so I have started to spend time swimming and working out (weights/cardio) every day.
What am I looking for?
I am at the point in my life when I am interested in settling down with someone special. I am not looking for a ONS, hookup, or casual dating. I would like someone local or someone who already intends to make a move to the area in the near future. I am adverse to relocating myself as I recently moved back to Ottawa to be closer to some aging family with the intent of putting some roots down in the city. I want to purchase a house in the not too distant future that will be my/our home where we could raise a family.
I am looking for a partner who naturally is submissive and wants her partner to take the lead. If we share other specific kinks/fetishes that would be fantastic as well.
In my experience I do not have a simple "type" physically. My ideal partner is 18-24 though I am open to women above that age up to 30. I want a partner who is working or who has finished or close to finishing their education (whatever level it may be). I want someone who wants to put love and family first. Preference for someone who wants a large family (3-4+ kids). Hopefully you have interests/hobbies/passions as I love passionate people.
My match will have taken the time to read this post in its entirety (probably more than once) so if you did make it this far please have your message include the word "turtle" in it.
2023.03.22 21:16 USOC_Matchday 2023 U.S. Open Cup Thread: Round 1, Day 2
#USOC2023
Flashscore Live Table
List of Games and Streams
TheCup.us Round 1 Preview
El Farolito (NPSL) – International San Francisco (LQ)
International San Francisco Soccer Club to compete in the 2023 Lamar Hunt US Open Cup (Video Interview)
2:30 PT - Ohlone College Soccer Field; Fremont, CA
Stream
Oakland Roots SC (USLC)
Appalachian FC (NPSL) – North Carolina Fusion U23 (USL2)
Appalachian FC: Sasquatch, Open Cup & the Power of Belief
7:00 ET - Ted Mackorell Soccer Complex; Boone, NC
Stream
Appalachian FC advance to play Charlotte Independence (USL1)
Manhattan SC (USL2) – FC Motown (NPSL)
Manhattan SC make US Open Cup debut this Wednesday in the Bronx
Violette AC sign NYC-area talent to compete in CONCACAF Champions League
7:00 ET - Marillac Field (College of Mt. St. Vincent); Bronx, NY
Stream
Flower City Union (NISA)
Club de Lyon B (LQ) – Nona FC (USL2)
7:00 ET - Austin-Tindall Sports Complex, Kissimmee, FL
Stream
Tampa Bay Rowdies (USLC)
Chicago House AC (LQ) – Bavarian United SC (LQ)
Chicago House AC vs Bavarian United SC - U.S. Open Cup 1st round preview
An Open Cup Romantic at Home With Chicago House
7:00 CT - Langhorst Field (Elmhurst University); Elmhurst. IL
Stream
Forward Madison FC (USL1)
Beaman United FC (LQ) – Des Moines Menace (USL2)
Des Moines Always a Menace for the Big Boys
7:00 CT - Dean A. Hayes Track & Soccer Stadium (MTSU); Murfreesboro, TN
Stream
Chattanooga FC (NISA)
Tulsa Athletic (NPSL) – Brazos Valley Cavalry FC (USL2)
7:00 CT - Hicks Park; Tulsa, OK
Stream
FC Tulsa (USLC)
UDA Soccer (LQ) – Park City Red Wolves SC (USL2)
Meet The Underdogs: UDA Soccer
7:00 MT - New Mexico State Soccer Field; Las Cruces, NM
Stream
New Mexico United (USLC)
Project 51O (USL2) – Crossfire Premier (NPSL)
7:00 PT - Ohlone College Soccer Field; Fremont, CA
No Stream womp womp
Sacramento Republic FC (USLC)
Ventura County Fusion (USL2) – Capo FC (LQ)
Open Cup Debutants Capo FC Grown up From the Grassroots
7:00 PT - Ventura College Sportsplex; Ventura, CA
Stream
Orange County SC (USLC)
Previous Threads:
Round 1, Day 1
Visit /usopencup for more U.S. Open Cup news and discussion.
submitted by USOC_Matchday to MLS [link] [comments]
Flashscore Live Table
List of Games and Streams
TheCup.us Round 1 Preview
International San Francisco Soccer Club to compete in the 2023 Lamar Hunt US Open Cup (Video Interview)
2:30 PT - Ohlone College Soccer Field; Fremont, CA
Stream
Oakland Roots SC (USLC)
Appalachian FC: Sasquatch, Open Cup & the Power of Belief
7:00 ET - Ted Mackorell Soccer Complex; Boone, NC
Stream
| APP | NC23 |
|---|---|
| ✔️ | ❌ |
| ✔️ | ❌ |
| ✔️ | ❌ |
| - | - |
| - | - |
Manhattan SC make US Open Cup debut this Wednesday in the Bronx
Violette AC sign NYC-area talent to compete in CONCACAF Champions League
7:00 ET - Marillac Field (College of Mt. St. Vincent); Bronx, NY
Stream
Flower City Union (NISA)
7:00 ET - Austin-Tindall Sports Complex, Kissimmee, FL
Stream
Tampa Bay Rowdies (USLC)
Chicago House AC vs Bavarian United SC - U.S. Open Cup 1st round preview
An Open Cup Romantic at Home With Chicago House
7:00 CT - Langhorst Field (Elmhurst University); Elmhurst. IL
Stream
Forward Madison FC (USL1)
Des Moines Always a Menace for the Big Boys
7:00 CT - Dean A. Hayes Track & Soccer Stadium (MTSU); Murfreesboro, TN
Stream
Chattanooga FC (NISA)
7:00 CT - Hicks Park; Tulsa, OK
Stream
FC Tulsa (USLC)
Meet The Underdogs: UDA Soccer
7:00 MT - New Mexico State Soccer Field; Las Cruces, NM
Stream
New Mexico United (USLC)
7:00 PT - Ohlone College Soccer Field; Fremont, CA
No Stream womp womp
Sacramento Republic FC (USLC)
Open Cup Debutants Capo FC Grown up From the Grassroots
7:00 PT - Ventura College Sportsplex; Ventura, CA
Stream
Orange County SC (USLC)
Round 1, Day 1
Visit /usopencup for more U.S. Open Cup news and discussion.
2023.03.22 19:50 dark_side0fthem00n 2023
 | submitted by dark_side0fthem00n to SlowlyWeRot [link] [comments] |
2023.03.22 18:36 MackFenzie Shoot Your Shot: Algae Blooms part 3
This is a Nature of Predators Fanfic
First Previous Next
Amelia was excitedly telling a sea-loving Krakotl about her own childhood trips to the beach when she heard a shrieking laugh behind her. She turned to the sound instinctively, and saw her boyfriend laughing with the bartender. She smiled widely, tipsiness making her forget to hide her teeth. She was considering whether she should get up and join him at the bar, or wait for him to come to her, when she saw Jaisa fly over to him. Talva had been right, it looked like she was happy to see an old friend.
Then, she kissed his neck, and he sensually stroked her feathers.
The smile fell from Amelia’s face. If that was how they greeted each other, they must be really “good friends.”
The Krakotl she had been talking to chirped and tilted his head at her. She refocused on him and realized she’d stopped talking mid-sentence.
“Oh, I’m so sorry! I got distracted, my boyfriend just walked in. Forgive me, that was rude. You were asking if we enjoy the wind currents? Honestly, we like getting in the water more, although we do use the wind to sail boats. We do have a sport called surfing, though, let me see if I can find a video for you.”
While the Krakotl watched the video, Amelia took a breath and reminded herself not to jump to conclusions. She had made the decision to date an alien, and difficult cultural moments were an inherent part of that. Heck, the only reason Glenil had had the courage to ask her out was because she’d misinterpreted one of his platonic gestures as romantic in intent. Besides, she knew next to nothing about Krakotl culture. Physical contact between friends was perfectly acceptable in her own culture, after all. She shook her head slightly. She just needed to put that image of Jaisa’s beak on Glenil’s neck out of her mind until she could talk to him in private.
“Hello, beloved,” his warm voice sounded behind her. “I got a spiked tayri juice for you.”
“Hey handsome,” she told him brightly. “Thanks for the cocktail. This is Krisim, we were just talking about swimming at the beach.”
“Well, I was talking about soaring at the beach,” he corrected her.
“Wait, you can swim?” Jaisa asked incredulously.
“I mean, not as well as actual aquatic animals, but we like splashing around, sure!”
“Cute,” Jaisa smirked. “I just can imagine a group of you teaching your hatchlings how to splash around in the most elegant possible manner.” She pushed Glenil’s shoulder with her wing and giggled musically.
Amelia’s eyes narrowed infinitesimally; was Jaisa being intentionally condescending and touchy with Glenil? Don’t jump to conclusions based off your own culture, she reminded herself. She pasted a toothy, white smile on her face. “Yep, swimming lessons are definitely fun.”
Glenil leaned over her and deposited a quick kiss on her cheek in the human fashion, before murmuring that he wanted to catch up with Jaisa.
She watched them walk away to a nearby table with a sinking heart. Amelia tried to focus on the conversation with the group she’d just been hitting it off with, but couldn’t quite muster the enthusiasm she’d felt just moments before.
Mariah glanced from Amelia to Glenil and back, and raised her eyebrows. Her dark eyes emoted concern, but Amelia just shrugged. “It’s fine,” she mouthed at her. “I’ll talk to him later.”
Well, Amelia’s relationship was her concern. Mariah herself was not feeling fine. Just moments ago, some jerk had dive-bombed her group and called them “ugly, stinking, skin-monsters.” While she was grateful that the other Krakotl had intervened and apologized for his boorish behavior, she felt twitchy every time one of them lifted a wing or cawed too loudly. She sipped at her second glass of algae bloom — Krisim had wordlessly gotten it for her when he noticed her blinking back tears — and tried to calm herself by simply listening to the conversation around her.
It seemed the Krakotl were amused over Amelia’s choice of beverage.
“I wouldn’t have thought a predator would like fruit juice, let alone drink it at a bar,” one chuckled.
“Well, if she doesn’t like the algae blooms, it’s not like she could drink the Venlil swill! We can commiserate with you on that one, human.”
“That’s true,” Krisim said. “Venlil eat lots of fruit, and for their ancestors, eating the fermented fruits on the forest floor was a big evolutionary advantage. We eat fruit, sure, but our ancestors mostly ate algae, which is always fresh. We just didn’t evolve that alcohol tolerance the way the Venlil did. Humans and Krakotl have that in common, I suppose.”
Mariah nodded slightly but didn’t venture to speak. Every time Amelia talked, more birds flocked to her, and Mariah just didn’t want them focused on her. She was terrified one of them would ask about her family or home, and she’d dissolve.
“Speaking of things in common, do humans dance?” Krisim’s friend, Laimil, asked.
“Of course! I took classes as a kid, but I’m not great or anything. Mariah over there is who you should talk to about human dancing.”
Mariah’s mind rushed back to her childhood, learning to dance in her family’s kitchen to the rhythm of their old dishwasher, feet balanced on top of her father’s shoes as he showed her how to step to the beat and her mother laughed. That was all gone, now. That dishwasher wasn’t just sitting in a junk heap somewhere, it had been obliterated by an antimatter bomb, and everything she loved with it. She couldn’t even think about dancing right now, let alone talk about it with these feathered aliens.
Sitting next to her, Talva noticed Mariah’s eyes filling with tears, and her knuckles turning white around the handful of skirt she was clenching. Talva rested her hand comfortingly on her friend’s forearm, and decided to turn the conversation away from the teary girl.
“I clearly remember you doing choreography, Amelia!” Talva blurted. “I’d bet we all want to hear about that!”
Mariah shot her a grateful look and sighed.
“Talva!” Amelia exclaimed, flapping her hand at her friend. “That was not real dancing, you can’t tell people about that!”
The avians around the table ruffled their feathers in laughter. “What kind of choreography would be ‘not real dancing?’” Krisim asked, eyes glinting with mirth.
Amelia glared daggers at Talva, who wagged cheerfully back at her.
“Human kids do these silly dances to popular songs. It’s a common activity for a group of friends to make up and learn a dance together, and record a video of the group dancing. A couple weeks ago, someone played a song at the bar we usually go to that was popular when I was a kid, and probably half the English speakers — uh, sorry, that’s the language of my tribe, which is spoken by several other tribes, too — immediately just busted out these inelegant, ridiculous moves we all learned back in 2115.”
“I’m surprised the Venlil weren’t terrified at a group of humans moving in unison,” someone squawked mockingly.
“It was too hilarious to be threatening,” Talva chortled.
“But I refuse to let something as clumsy as my half-remembered schoolyard choreography be taken as an example of human achievement in dance!” Amelia finished, emphasizing each word with a tap of her hand on the table top.
The Krakotl around them were making bizarre, light skreetches that Amelia strongly suspected was giggling. Embarrassing as getting called out on her decades-old boy band dance routines in front of strangers might be, she strongly preferred that to them being scared of her.
As Laimil turned to Mariah to ask her about “real” human dancing, Amelia drained her juice and got up to buy another. The air pressed on her ear drums as a Krakotl beat their wings to clear the table and land next to her.
“Mind if I join you?” Krisim asked. “It’s been such a pleasure talking to you, I’d be honored if you let me buy you a drink.”
Amelia’s eyes widened. She glanced across the room at her boyfriend — wait, did Jaisa have her wing around his shoulders?? — and back at the Krakotl in front of her, and let out a breath.
“That is so generous of you. But, um, in my culture, that has romantic implications? And I do have a boyfriend…” she told him awkwardly.
Krisim gestured graciously with his wing. “I completely understand, and I thank you for your frank explanation. I wasn’t sure if your people were even monogamous. Although, he doesn’t appear to be buying you a drink at present. If you decide differently, let me know.”
Amelia blushed. That definitely sounded like flirting to her. She would just have to do her best to be friendly, but not encouraging. That balance was hard enough to strike with others from her own cultural background, let alone with a bright, blue, alien, space turkey.
After a moment’s silence, Krisim continued. “Revealing one’s bright coloration does convey rather romantic intentions in my own culture. I only tell you so that you may conceal the vivid tones in your face to avoid such miscommunications if you wish.”
Amelia’s jaw dropped open, and she covered her face with her hands. “Well, I can’t control it, especially if I’ve had a few drinks. It’s a blood pressure thing.”
“Oh, I didn’t realize. I’d seen humans with more and less vivid coloration on their skin and thought it was something you did at will, like how we can show off or hide our brightest feathers.”
“Well, we do, but it’s with paint, not something we can just do at a moment’s notice.”
“I see, fascinating. This is why I was so excited to see a human here today. You’re so spectacularly alien!”
“Well, thanks, I guess.” They fell silent as Kisoar confirmed they both wanted another round of the same drinks they’d been having.
“Is it an everyday, normal thing for a Krakotl to nuzzle people with their beaks?” Amelia blurted suddenly, after Kisoar flapped to the end of the bar to refill the massive jug of algae bloom he needed to top up Krisim’s glass.
“What do you mean by that?”
Amelia ignored the fact that her cheeks were still burning and sending those mixed messages to everyone in the bar, and gestured at her neck. “Like as a greeting, would you platonically greet someone by nuzzling their neck with your beak? And if they like, stroked your whole wing, what kind of signals would that be sending?”
“That’s a typical interspecies embrace. When Krakotl meet friends and family, we embrace and smooth each other’s feathers with our beaks. It’s called allopreening. You mammals can’t do that, so we approximate the motion, and the mammal strokes our wing with their paw. It’s perfectly platonic.”
“Oh. Well, that’s good then,” Amelia said, gaze lowering to the bar. She’d known all along her concern had been unfounded and silly!
Krisim chortled at her. “You weren’t jealous of Glenil spending time with his ex-lover, were you?”
Amelia’s head snapped back around, and her eyes narrowed at the Krakotl male. “His what?”
His eyes widened and his feathers puffed up; his tail fanned out behind him in alarm. Just a minute ago, he’d been somewhat attracted to the predator’s charmingly bright cheeks, and now she looked like she’d break his neck in an instant. “I thought you knew!” he squawked, flapping his wings slightly. The bar got quieter as the inhabitants who had been keeping one eye on the predators noted the Krisim’s barely-suppressed intimidation display. Outside of Amelia’s field of vision, Talva leapt out of her seat and jogged towards her friend.
Some part of Amelia’s brain realized she had inadvertently freaked Krisim out. She turned her head away from him in an effort to show she wasn’t sizing him up for a meal. “God dammit. I’m sorry, Krisim, I realize my facial expression was a little intense there. Another cultural miscommunication, I guess. I just didn’t realize Glenil dated Jaisa. Thanks for telling me.”
Kisoar pushed a green, fermented algae to Krisim, who took it and flew away in a flap. Kisoar gave Amelia her alcoholic juice, and fixed her in his gaze.
“Humans are territorial, right?” he asked her. Taking her silence as an affirmative, he went on. “We are too. We’re known for being more aggressive than other Federation species, and part of that is because we evolved to defend our nests, both from predators, and from other Krakotl with flashier feathers. At least, that’s what some of the historians who go against the Farsul narratives have been saying. My point is, the Venlil aren’t like that. They’re not as placid as people like to think they are, but, they don’t look at a romantic relationship as something that needs to be defended like we do.”
“Is that why you were worried about inviting him here?” Talva squeaked from behind Amelia’s shoulder.
Amelia jumped. A Venlil would have seen Talva there, but with her human skull structure, Amelia was caught unawares.
“Oh my god, girl, when did you get here? Never mind. No, I was worried about inviting him because in my culture, it would be rude to invite my boyfriend on a girls’ night. If I’d known they dated, I might have felt a little worried about that, but that wouldn’t change the fact that they’re friends. People are allowed to be friends with their exes. But a human would know to be up front and clear about that so that their girlfriend wouldn’t get blindsided by that information and have to deal with that revelation in front of everyone.”
“Human, working here, I see a lot of interspecies couples of all types,” the bartender went on. “This kind of conflict around cultural expectations comes up with all of them. Channel whatever it was that Noah used to explain himself to the Federation, and let your mate know what you’re feeling and thinking. Oh, and get him to dance with you so that the rest of these curious lekkers will realize you’re not available.”
“Lekkers?”
“A group assembled to compete for mates - flashing their colors, flirting, you know.”
Amelia nodded contemplatively. “I have to say, it’s a relief to realize I’m not the only one with these issues. You can imagine how it went meeting his family, I’m sure.”
“Oh, Inatala, that must have been difficult.”
Amelia sipped her tayri cocktail contemplatively. “He stood up for me, though. He always does.”
“I’m not surprised. He’s a good guy. Got all of the best qualities of a Venlil, and few of the annoying ones.”
Talva flicked her ears in annoyance as Amelia barked out a laugh. “You’re not wrong, Kisoar. Hey, while I’ve got you dispensing advice, you mentioned I should dance with Glenil - dancing’s a romantic thing for the Krakotl?”
Kisoar bobbed his head noncommittally. “It can be. Dancing as a couple, one-on-one, is usually an expression of pointed interest or commitment. It’s a pretty common lekking activity. Dancing in a larger group doesn’t have that connotation.”
“Depends on the context, then. Just like us. Hey, could I have a glass of whatever Glenil had?”
Kisoar tilted his head cautiously at her. “For him, or for you? No offense, but I don’t need a human passed out on my floor.”
“For him, obviously!!” Amelia rotated her head quickly from side to side, as if checking for predators, before leaning forward conspiratorially. “Between you and me, I value my life far too much to drink that poison.”
“Hey!” Talva swatted her with her tail. “I ignored the ‘annoying qualities of a Venlil’ comment, but just because you can’t handle a real drink doesn’t make the finest brew in the galaxy ‘poison!’”
————————————————————
Amelia and Talva approached Glenil and Jaisa’s table.
“Mind if we butt in?” Amelia asked with a smile, setting the clear glass down in front of Glenil.
“Of course, beloved,” Glenil said with an affectionate wave of his tail.
“Actually, Jaisa, could I talk to you?” Talva asked. “I got you a drink, and I’ve got an idea I wanted to sprout with you. Plus, we should save Mariah from those lekking males.”
Jaisa chirped a cheerful agreement and followed Talva away from the table.
“Do you want to do some dancing? I thought that you might enjoy that, and Mariah is said to be a gifted dancer.”
Jaisa tilted her head. “And you had to ask that in private?”
“Well, Amelia is shy when it comes to dancing, I didn’t want to embarrass her! And… I wanted to ask if you are still interested in Glenil,” she admitted.
“Oh Inatala, no! He’s sweet, but sweet just isn’t my type. That’s why we broke up, remember?”
“Right. That and the jealousy.”
“Ugh, you Venlil are always thinking the slightest thing is too aggressive. Protective doesn’t always mean jealous.”
Vala chuckled. “Well, you Krakotl are always jumping to conclusions.”
Jaisa squawked a laugh as Vala whacked her with her tail. “That’s why we’re such good friends. You talk me down when I’m swooping to divebomb something, and I make you stand up for yourself. I’ve missed you, friend. Maybe it’s a good thing we’ve both been so busy, though. I would have told you not to sponsor that predator coming to Venlil Prime, but she’s actually perfectly nice. And, to answer your initial question, yes, I think dancing would be fun.”
Mariah’s head perked up to look at them. She excused herself to the person she had been talking to, and smiled broadly at Jaisa as she perched next to her. “Did I hear you say ‘dancing?’”
Although she’d done her best to present a cheerful face, she had been on edge ever since that one Krakotl had dive-bombed them, even though the rest of the bar had made it clear they didn’t agree with his intolerance. If she didn’t do something to help her feelings dissipate, she felt she might explode. Moving to a rhythm did always lift her mood.
The floor at the center of the room was clear of tables and perches to allow plenty of room for dancing. Several Krakotl were already dancing, and Jaisa easily fell into an elegant pattern of movement across from them. She bobbed her head to the song, and flared and shook her feathers along with the harmonic trills. When Mariah tried to join her, she found that even finding the beat to the music was a challenge. She had heard that Krakotl music was known throughout the Federation for its unique complexity, but had not expected to find herself unable to match the beat for longer than a few seconds at a time before it got away from her. While Mariah had years of formal training in ballet, jazz, and hiphop, and a childhood spent dancing to the complex beats of her father’s Igbo music, this music was simply more alien than anything she’d heard before.
As she realized that this music didn’t adhere to the same rules that governed human music, she came to a stop. She dropped her drink on a nearby table and closed her eyes. She snapped the fingers of her right hand along to the beat, and when the song shifted to no longer match, she patted her left hand on her thigh. It shifted again, and she tapped her toes. The song finally changed back to match her initial, finger-snapping pattern. She listened, focusing on the three time signatures she was measuring with her body. After a few minutes, she realized that each time the dominant beat changed, the harmony subtly carried the theme of the other two rhythms. She had learned young that if you could find the beat, you could dance to anything, even a noisy dishwasher. Now, she just had to figure out how to follow this one.
Jaisa was disappointed to see the human fumble instead of dancing as confidently as Talva had promised. She’d liked her confidence, but she’d been silly to think a predator, of all people, would be able to discern the complex flows, currents and wingbeats of Krakotl music to dance gracefully. The human had seemed to realize her own failure and froze, eyes closed as if in an effort to hide. She stopped trying to dance, and simply made small movements with her extremities to the wingbeats of the music. Jaisa wondered if the female would take offense if she offered to try to show her how to move.
Mariah opened her eyes again and took a few steps. She combined elements of a waltz, a cha-cha, and a foxtrot to create a footwork pattern that could dynamically shift with the beat of the song. Once her feet successfully navigated the complex musical phrases without tripping over the constantly changing time signatures, she let the rest of her body shimmy, twist, bounce, and swoop with the soaring and flitting harmonies.
Jaisa trilled in surprise. The human wasn’t clumsy at all! Once she had mapped the currents of the music, she soared along the ground with surprising elegance and poise. Jaisa frilled her tail to show off her bright plumage along to the sweeping flow of the music, and incorporated some of Mariah’s alien footwork into her own dance. Mariah smiled as she noticed, and echoed the feather movements with her hands. Jaisa was glad she’d bullied Talva into bringing the human; this was fun.
As she twisted and twirled, Jaisa noticed iridescent highlights on the human’s cheekbones. Those colors had to signal interest, she couldn’t think of any possible reason a being would evolve iridescence other than to attract a mate. She wouldn’t have thought that predators would be civilized enough to understand the concept of couple-bonding without reproducing, whether same- or opposite-sex. Now that she’d actually talked to humans, she realized that had been an ignorant assumption. If Mariah was interested in her, well, she could certainly use the rebound. Besides… she’d never met anyone that moved like this. Jaisa fluttered closer to her, wings and tail shifting in time to the music to display her iridescence to the utmost effect.
Mariah wasn’t sure if it was a trick of the light making Jaisa appear more colorful as she moved. But she did notice the avian woman’s intent focus on Mariah’s steps, and that every time Mariah mirrored one of her moves, Jaisa would borrow one of hers. The bird trilled and shimmered the feathers on her neck. Mariah overtly ignored the other Krakotl around her and focused on dancing confidently with her new friend, closer and closer with each phrase of the music. For the first time since Talva had mentioned going to a Krakotl establishment, Mariah actually felt at ease.
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Amelia was excitedly telling a sea-loving Krakotl about her own childhood trips to the beach when she heard a shrieking laugh behind her. She turned to the sound instinctively, and saw her boyfriend laughing with the bartender. She smiled widely, tipsiness making her forget to hide her teeth. She was considering whether she should get up and join him at the bar, or wait for him to come to her, when she saw Jaisa fly over to him. Talva had been right, it looked like she was happy to see an old friend.
Then, she kissed his neck, and he sensually stroked her feathers.
The smile fell from Amelia’s face. If that was how they greeted each other, they must be really “good friends.”
The Krakotl she had been talking to chirped and tilted his head at her. She refocused on him and realized she’d stopped talking mid-sentence.
“Oh, I’m so sorry! I got distracted, my boyfriend just walked in. Forgive me, that was rude. You were asking if we enjoy the wind currents? Honestly, we like getting in the water more, although we do use the wind to sail boats. We do have a sport called surfing, though, let me see if I can find a video for you.”
While the Krakotl watched the video, Amelia took a breath and reminded herself not to jump to conclusions. She had made the decision to date an alien, and difficult cultural moments were an inherent part of that. Heck, the only reason Glenil had had the courage to ask her out was because she’d misinterpreted one of his platonic gestures as romantic in intent. Besides, she knew next to nothing about Krakotl culture. Physical contact between friends was perfectly acceptable in her own culture, after all. She shook her head slightly. She just needed to put that image of Jaisa’s beak on Glenil’s neck out of her mind until she could talk to him in private.
“Hello, beloved,” his warm voice sounded behind her. “I got a spiked tayri juice for you.”
“Hey handsome,” she told him brightly. “Thanks for the cocktail. This is Krisim, we were just talking about swimming at the beach.”
“Well, I was talking about soaring at the beach,” he corrected her.
“Wait, you can swim?” Jaisa asked incredulously.
“I mean, not as well as actual aquatic animals, but we like splashing around, sure!”
“Cute,” Jaisa smirked. “I just can imagine a group of you teaching your hatchlings how to splash around in the most elegant possible manner.” She pushed Glenil’s shoulder with her wing and giggled musically.
Amelia’s eyes narrowed infinitesimally; was Jaisa being intentionally condescending and touchy with Glenil? Don’t jump to conclusions based off your own culture, she reminded herself. She pasted a toothy, white smile on her face. “Yep, swimming lessons are definitely fun.”
Glenil leaned over her and deposited a quick kiss on her cheek in the human fashion, before murmuring that he wanted to catch up with Jaisa.
She watched them walk away to a nearby table with a sinking heart. Amelia tried to focus on the conversation with the group she’d just been hitting it off with, but couldn’t quite muster the enthusiasm she’d felt just moments before.
Mariah glanced from Amelia to Glenil and back, and raised her eyebrows. Her dark eyes emoted concern, but Amelia just shrugged. “It’s fine,” she mouthed at her. “I’ll talk to him later.”
Well, Amelia’s relationship was her concern. Mariah herself was not feeling fine. Just moments ago, some jerk had dive-bombed her group and called them “ugly, stinking, skin-monsters.” While she was grateful that the other Krakotl had intervened and apologized for his boorish behavior, she felt twitchy every time one of them lifted a wing or cawed too loudly. She sipped at her second glass of algae bloom — Krisim had wordlessly gotten it for her when he noticed her blinking back tears — and tried to calm herself by simply listening to the conversation around her.
It seemed the Krakotl were amused over Amelia’s choice of beverage.
“I wouldn’t have thought a predator would like fruit juice, let alone drink it at a bar,” one chuckled.
“Well, if she doesn’t like the algae blooms, it’s not like she could drink the Venlil swill! We can commiserate with you on that one, human.”
“That’s true,” Krisim said. “Venlil eat lots of fruit, and for their ancestors, eating the fermented fruits on the forest floor was a big evolutionary advantage. We eat fruit, sure, but our ancestors mostly ate algae, which is always fresh. We just didn’t evolve that alcohol tolerance the way the Venlil did. Humans and Krakotl have that in common, I suppose.”
Mariah nodded slightly but didn’t venture to speak. Every time Amelia talked, more birds flocked to her, and Mariah just didn’t want them focused on her. She was terrified one of them would ask about her family or home, and she’d dissolve.
“Speaking of things in common, do humans dance?” Krisim’s friend, Laimil, asked.
“Of course! I took classes as a kid, but I’m not great or anything. Mariah over there is who you should talk to about human dancing.”
Mariah’s mind rushed back to her childhood, learning to dance in her family’s kitchen to the rhythm of their old dishwasher, feet balanced on top of her father’s shoes as he showed her how to step to the beat and her mother laughed. That was all gone, now. That dishwasher wasn’t just sitting in a junk heap somewhere, it had been obliterated by an antimatter bomb, and everything she loved with it. She couldn’t even think about dancing right now, let alone talk about it with these feathered aliens.
Sitting next to her, Talva noticed Mariah’s eyes filling with tears, and her knuckles turning white around the handful of skirt she was clenching. Talva rested her hand comfortingly on her friend’s forearm, and decided to turn the conversation away from the teary girl.
“I clearly remember you doing choreography, Amelia!” Talva blurted. “I’d bet we all want to hear about that!”
Mariah shot her a grateful look and sighed.
“Talva!” Amelia exclaimed, flapping her hand at her friend. “That was not real dancing, you can’t tell people about that!”
The avians around the table ruffled their feathers in laughter. “What kind of choreography would be ‘not real dancing?’” Krisim asked, eyes glinting with mirth.
Amelia glared daggers at Talva, who wagged cheerfully back at her.
“Human kids do these silly dances to popular songs. It’s a common activity for a group of friends to make up and learn a dance together, and record a video of the group dancing. A couple weeks ago, someone played a song at the bar we usually go to that was popular when I was a kid, and probably half the English speakers — uh, sorry, that’s the language of my tribe, which is spoken by several other tribes, too — immediately just busted out these inelegant, ridiculous moves we all learned back in 2115.”
“I’m surprised the Venlil weren’t terrified at a group of humans moving in unison,” someone squawked mockingly.
“It was too hilarious to be threatening,” Talva chortled.
“But I refuse to let something as clumsy as my half-remembered schoolyard choreography be taken as an example of human achievement in dance!” Amelia finished, emphasizing each word with a tap of her hand on the table top.
The Krakotl around them were making bizarre, light skreetches that Amelia strongly suspected was giggling. Embarrassing as getting called out on her decades-old boy band dance routines in front of strangers might be, she strongly preferred that to them being scared of her.
As Laimil turned to Mariah to ask her about “real” human dancing, Amelia drained her juice and got up to buy another. The air pressed on her ear drums as a Krakotl beat their wings to clear the table and land next to her.
“Mind if I join you?” Krisim asked. “It’s been such a pleasure talking to you, I’d be honored if you let me buy you a drink.”
Amelia’s eyes widened. She glanced across the room at her boyfriend — wait, did Jaisa have her wing around his shoulders?? — and back at the Krakotl in front of her, and let out a breath.
“That is so generous of you. But, um, in my culture, that has romantic implications? And I do have a boyfriend…” she told him awkwardly.
Krisim gestured graciously with his wing. “I completely understand, and I thank you for your frank explanation. I wasn’t sure if your people were even monogamous. Although, he doesn’t appear to be buying you a drink at present. If you decide differently, let me know.”
Amelia blushed. That definitely sounded like flirting to her. She would just have to do her best to be friendly, but not encouraging. That balance was hard enough to strike with others from her own cultural background, let alone with a bright, blue, alien, space turkey.
After a moment’s silence, Krisim continued. “Revealing one’s bright coloration does convey rather romantic intentions in my own culture. I only tell you so that you may conceal the vivid tones in your face to avoid such miscommunications if you wish.”
Amelia’s jaw dropped open, and she covered her face with her hands. “Well, I can’t control it, especially if I’ve had a few drinks. It’s a blood pressure thing.”
“Oh, I didn’t realize. I’d seen humans with more and less vivid coloration on their skin and thought it was something you did at will, like how we can show off or hide our brightest feathers.”
“Well, we do, but it’s with paint, not something we can just do at a moment’s notice.”
“I see, fascinating. This is why I was so excited to see a human here today. You’re so spectacularly alien!”
“Well, thanks, I guess.” They fell silent as Kisoar confirmed they both wanted another round of the same drinks they’d been having.
“Is it an everyday, normal thing for a Krakotl to nuzzle people with their beaks?” Amelia blurted suddenly, after Kisoar flapped to the end of the bar to refill the massive jug of algae bloom he needed to top up Krisim’s glass.
“What do you mean by that?”
Amelia ignored the fact that her cheeks were still burning and sending those mixed messages to everyone in the bar, and gestured at her neck. “Like as a greeting, would you platonically greet someone by nuzzling their neck with your beak? And if they like, stroked your whole wing, what kind of signals would that be sending?”
“That’s a typical interspecies embrace. When Krakotl meet friends and family, we embrace and smooth each other’s feathers with our beaks. It’s called allopreening. You mammals can’t do that, so we approximate the motion, and the mammal strokes our wing with their paw. It’s perfectly platonic.”
“Oh. Well, that’s good then,” Amelia said, gaze lowering to the bar. She’d known all along her concern had been unfounded and silly!
Krisim chortled at her. “You weren’t jealous of Glenil spending time with his ex-lover, were you?”
Amelia’s head snapped back around, and her eyes narrowed at the Krakotl male. “His what?”
His eyes widened and his feathers puffed up; his tail fanned out behind him in alarm. Just a minute ago, he’d been somewhat attracted to the predator’s charmingly bright cheeks, and now she looked like she’d break his neck in an instant. “I thought you knew!” he squawked, flapping his wings slightly. The bar got quieter as the inhabitants who had been keeping one eye on the predators noted the Krisim’s barely-suppressed intimidation display. Outside of Amelia’s field of vision, Talva leapt out of her seat and jogged towards her friend.
Some part of Amelia’s brain realized she had inadvertently freaked Krisim out. She turned her head away from him in an effort to show she wasn’t sizing him up for a meal. “God dammit. I’m sorry, Krisim, I realize my facial expression was a little intense there. Another cultural miscommunication, I guess. I just didn’t realize Glenil dated Jaisa. Thanks for telling me.”
Kisoar pushed a green, fermented algae to Krisim, who took it and flew away in a flap. Kisoar gave Amelia her alcoholic juice, and fixed her in his gaze.
“Humans are territorial, right?” he asked her. Taking her silence as an affirmative, he went on. “We are too. We’re known for being more aggressive than other Federation species, and part of that is because we evolved to defend our nests, both from predators, and from other Krakotl with flashier feathers. At least, that’s what some of the historians who go against the Farsul narratives have been saying. My point is, the Venlil aren’t like that. They’re not as placid as people like to think they are, but, they don’t look at a romantic relationship as something that needs to be defended like we do.”
“Is that why you were worried about inviting him here?” Talva squeaked from behind Amelia’s shoulder.
Amelia jumped. A Venlil would have seen Talva there, but with her human skull structure, Amelia was caught unawares.
“Oh my god, girl, when did you get here? Never mind. No, I was worried about inviting him because in my culture, it would be rude to invite my boyfriend on a girls’ night. If I’d known they dated, I might have felt a little worried about that, but that wouldn’t change the fact that they’re friends. People are allowed to be friends with their exes. But a human would know to be up front and clear about that so that their girlfriend wouldn’t get blindsided by that information and have to deal with that revelation in front of everyone.”
“Human, working here, I see a lot of interspecies couples of all types,” the bartender went on. “This kind of conflict around cultural expectations comes up with all of them. Channel whatever it was that Noah used to explain himself to the Federation, and let your mate know what you’re feeling and thinking. Oh, and get him to dance with you so that the rest of these curious lekkers will realize you’re not available.”
“Lekkers?”
“A group assembled to compete for mates - flashing their colors, flirting, you know.”
Amelia nodded contemplatively. “I have to say, it’s a relief to realize I’m not the only one with these issues. You can imagine how it went meeting his family, I’m sure.”
“Oh, Inatala, that must have been difficult.”
Amelia sipped her tayri cocktail contemplatively. “He stood up for me, though. He always does.”
“I’m not surprised. He’s a good guy. Got all of the best qualities of a Venlil, and few of the annoying ones.”
Talva flicked her ears in annoyance as Amelia barked out a laugh. “You’re not wrong, Kisoar. Hey, while I’ve got you dispensing advice, you mentioned I should dance with Glenil - dancing’s a romantic thing for the Krakotl?”
Kisoar bobbed his head noncommittally. “It can be. Dancing as a couple, one-on-one, is usually an expression of pointed interest or commitment. It’s a pretty common lekking activity. Dancing in a larger group doesn’t have that connotation.”
“Depends on the context, then. Just like us. Hey, could I have a glass of whatever Glenil had?”
Kisoar tilted his head cautiously at her. “For him, or for you? No offense, but I don’t need a human passed out on my floor.”
“For him, obviously!!” Amelia rotated her head quickly from side to side, as if checking for predators, before leaning forward conspiratorially. “Between you and me, I value my life far too much to drink that poison.”
“Hey!” Talva swatted her with her tail. “I ignored the ‘annoying qualities of a Venlil’ comment, but just because you can’t handle a real drink doesn’t make the finest brew in the galaxy ‘poison!’”
————————————————————
Amelia and Talva approached Glenil and Jaisa’s table.
“Mind if we butt in?” Amelia asked with a smile, setting the clear glass down in front of Glenil.
“Of course, beloved,” Glenil said with an affectionate wave of his tail.
“Actually, Jaisa, could I talk to you?” Talva asked. “I got you a drink, and I’ve got an idea I wanted to sprout with you. Plus, we should save Mariah from those lekking males.”
Jaisa chirped a cheerful agreement and followed Talva away from the table.
“Do you want to do some dancing? I thought that you might enjoy that, and Mariah is said to be a gifted dancer.”
Jaisa tilted her head. “And you had to ask that in private?”
“Well, Amelia is shy when it comes to dancing, I didn’t want to embarrass her! And… I wanted to ask if you are still interested in Glenil,” she admitted.
“Oh Inatala, no! He’s sweet, but sweet just isn’t my type. That’s why we broke up, remember?”
“Right. That and the jealousy.”
“Ugh, you Venlil are always thinking the slightest thing is too aggressive. Protective doesn’t always mean jealous.”
Vala chuckled. “Well, you Krakotl are always jumping to conclusions.”
Jaisa squawked a laugh as Vala whacked her with her tail. “That’s why we’re such good friends. You talk me down when I’m swooping to divebomb something, and I make you stand up for yourself. I’ve missed you, friend. Maybe it’s a good thing we’ve both been so busy, though. I would have told you not to sponsor that predator coming to Venlil Prime, but she’s actually perfectly nice. And, to answer your initial question, yes, I think dancing would be fun.”
Mariah’s head perked up to look at them. She excused herself to the person she had been talking to, and smiled broadly at Jaisa as she perched next to her. “Did I hear you say ‘dancing?’”
Although she’d done her best to present a cheerful face, she had been on edge ever since that one Krakotl had dive-bombed them, even though the rest of the bar had made it clear they didn’t agree with his intolerance. If she didn’t do something to help her feelings dissipate, she felt she might explode. Moving to a rhythm did always lift her mood.
The floor at the center of the room was clear of tables and perches to allow plenty of room for dancing. Several Krakotl were already dancing, and Jaisa easily fell into an elegant pattern of movement across from them. She bobbed her head to the song, and flared and shook her feathers along with the harmonic trills. When Mariah tried to join her, she found that even finding the beat to the music was a challenge. She had heard that Krakotl music was known throughout the Federation for its unique complexity, but had not expected to find herself unable to match the beat for longer than a few seconds at a time before it got away from her. While Mariah had years of formal training in ballet, jazz, and hiphop, and a childhood spent dancing to the complex beats of her father’s Igbo music, this music was simply more alien than anything she’d heard before.
As she realized that this music didn’t adhere to the same rules that governed human music, she came to a stop. She dropped her drink on a nearby table and closed her eyes. She snapped the fingers of her right hand along to the beat, and when the song shifted to no longer match, she patted her left hand on her thigh. It shifted again, and she tapped her toes. The song finally changed back to match her initial, finger-snapping pattern. She listened, focusing on the three time signatures she was measuring with her body. After a few minutes, she realized that each time the dominant beat changed, the harmony subtly carried the theme of the other two rhythms. She had learned young that if you could find the beat, you could dance to anything, even a noisy dishwasher. Now, she just had to figure out how to follow this one.
Jaisa was disappointed to see the human fumble instead of dancing as confidently as Talva had promised. She’d liked her confidence, but she’d been silly to think a predator, of all people, would be able to discern the complex flows, currents and wingbeats of Krakotl music to dance gracefully. The human had seemed to realize her own failure and froze, eyes closed as if in an effort to hide. She stopped trying to dance, and simply made small movements with her extremities to the wingbeats of the music. Jaisa wondered if the female would take offense if she offered to try to show her how to move.
Mariah opened her eyes again and took a few steps. She combined elements of a waltz, a cha-cha, and a foxtrot to create a footwork pattern that could dynamically shift with the beat of the song. Once her feet successfully navigated the complex musical phrases without tripping over the constantly changing time signatures, she let the rest of her body shimmy, twist, bounce, and swoop with the soaring and flitting harmonies.
Jaisa trilled in surprise. The human wasn’t clumsy at all! Once she had mapped the currents of the music, she soared along the ground with surprising elegance and poise. Jaisa frilled her tail to show off her bright plumage along to the sweeping flow of the music, and incorporated some of Mariah’s alien footwork into her own dance. Mariah smiled as she noticed, and echoed the feather movements with her hands. Jaisa was glad she’d bullied Talva into bringing the human; this was fun.
As she twisted and twirled, Jaisa noticed iridescent highlights on the human’s cheekbones. Those colors had to signal interest, she couldn’t think of any possible reason a being would evolve iridescence other than to attract a mate. She wouldn’t have thought that predators would be civilized enough to understand the concept of couple-bonding without reproducing, whether same- or opposite-sex. Now that she’d actually talked to humans, she realized that had been an ignorant assumption. If Mariah was interested in her, well, she could certainly use the rebound. Besides… she’d never met anyone that moved like this. Jaisa fluttered closer to her, wings and tail shifting in time to the music to display her iridescence to the utmost effect.
Mariah wasn’t sure if it was a trick of the light making Jaisa appear more colorful as she moved. But she did notice the avian woman’s intent focus on Mariah’s steps, and that every time Mariah mirrored one of her moves, Jaisa would borrow one of hers. The bird trilled and shimmered the feathers on her neck. Mariah overtly ignored the other Krakotl around her and focused on dancing confidently with her new friend, closer and closer with each phrase of the music. For the first time since Talva had mentioned going to a Krakotl establishment, Mariah actually felt at ease.
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2023.03.22 17:50 Blooper_Bot Game Thread: Braves @ Tigers - Wed, Mar 22 @ 01:05 PM EDT
Braves @ Tigers - Wed, Mar 22
Game Status: Game Over - Score: 5-3 Braves
Links & Info
- Current conditions at Publix Field at Joker Marchant Stadium: 80°F - Partly Cloudy - Wind 10 mph, R To L
- TV: Braves: Bally Sports South, Tigers: Bally Sports Detroit
- Radio: Braves: WIFN 1340 AM/103.7FM, Tigers: WXYT 1270
- MLB Gameday
- Game Graphs
- Savant Gamefeed
| Braves Batters | AB | R | H | RBI | BB | K | LOB | AVG | OBP | SLG | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Arcia, Or - SS | 3 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 1 | .286 | .412 | .500 |
| Park - SS | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .286 | .444 | .286 | |
| 2 | Wall - CF | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | .375 | .464 | .500 |
| Dean - CF | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | .400 | .550 | .467 | |
| 3 | Adrianza - 2B | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 3 | .258 | .395 | .452 |
| Bunnell - 2B | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | .500 | .714 | .500 | |
| 4 | Hilliard - LF | 3 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | .405 | .500 | .595 |
| Kilpatrick Jr. - LF | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | .000 | .250 | .000 | |
| 5 | Casteel - DH | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 6 | .237 | .293 | .342 |
| c-Alvarez - DH | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | .333 | .333 | .667 | |
| 6 | Tolman - 3B | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 4 | .300 | .300 | .900 |
| Ogans - 3B | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | .333 | .333 | .333 | |
| 7 | Fuentes - 1B | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | .167 | .250 | .333 |
| 8 | Sierra - RF | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | .350 | .458 | .400 |
| a-Pearson - RF | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | .000 | .000 | .000 | |
| 9 | Hudson, J - C | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | .280 | .333 | .400 |
| b-Valdes - C | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | .000 | .000 | .000 | |
| Totals | 40 | 5 | 13 | 5 | 4 | 12 | 25 |
| Braves |
|---|
| a-Grounded out for Sierra in the 7th. b-Struck out for Hudson, J in the 7th. c-Grounded out for Casteel in the 8th. |
| BATTING: 2B: Hilliard (4, Cisnero). HR: Arcia, Or (2, 6th inning off Cisnero, 2 on, 1 out). TB: Arcia, Or 5; Hilliard 4; Hudson, J 2; Ogans; Park; Sierra 2; Wall 2. RBI: Arcia, Or 4 (8); Hilliard (8). 2-out RBI: Hilliard; Arcia, Or. Runners left in scoring position, 2 out: Alvarez; Casteel; Valdes; Tolman 3; Wall. Team RISP: 4-for-14. Team LOB: 12. |
| FIELDING: E: Adrianza (1, fielding); Sierra (1, throw); Fuentes (1, fielding). |
| Tigers Batters | AB | R | H | RBI | BB | K | LOB | AVG | OBP | SLG | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Vierling - LF | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | .350 | .381 | .650 |
| Palacios - 3B | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | .267 | .333 | .433 | |
| 2 | Greene, R - LF | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | .333 | .364 | .643 |
| a-Haase - PH | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | .286 | .297 | .571 | |
| Short - SS | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | .250 | .400 | .444 | |
| 3 | Báez, J - SS | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | .154 | .148 | .231 |
| Serretti - 2B | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .250 | .250 | .250 | |
| 4 | Torkelson - 1B | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | .283 | .340 | .413 |
| Holton, J - 1B | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .571 | .571 | .571 | |
| 5 | Cabrera, M - DH | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | .176 | .222 | .412 |
| c-Papierski - DH | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .294 | .400 | .588 | |
| 6 | Baddoo - RF | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | .225 | .295 | .425 |
| Davis, Jo - CF | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .139 | .262 | .167 | |
| 7 | Ibáñez - 3B | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | .214 | .267 | .214 |
| b-Maton, N - PH | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .300 | .364 | .575 | |
| Davis, B - RF | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .240 | .367 | .360 | |
| 8 | Kreidler - LF | 3 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | .289 | .333 | .489 |
| Mendoza, C - LF | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | .500 | .000 | |
| 9 | Rogers - C | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | .296 | .345 | .704 |
| Knapp - C | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .269 | .345 | .731 | |
| Totals | 36 | 3 | 7 | 2 | 3 | 7 | 19 |
| Tigers |
|---|
| a-Struck out for Greene, R in the 4th. b-Flied out for Ibáñez in the 5th. c-Grounded out for Cabrera, M in the 7th. |
| BATTING: TB: Báez, J; Cabrera, M; Greene, R; Ibáñez; Kreidler 2; Rogers. RBI: Greene, R (10); Kreidler (6). 2-out RBI: Kreidler. Runners left in scoring position, 2 out: Rogers; Cabrera, M; Báez, J 3. Team RISP: 3-for-12. Team LOB: 9. |
| FIELDING: E: Báez, J (1, fielding). Pickoffs: Manning (Wall at 1st base). |
| Braves Pitchers | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | HR | P-S | ERA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Soroka | 1.1 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 36-20 | 6.75 |
| Tonkin | 1.1 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 31-21 | 5.87 |
| Lee, D | 1.1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 16-13 | 0.00 |
| Tice (W, 1-0) | 1.2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 27-16 | 1.93 |
| Swarmer (H, 2) | 1.1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 16-10 | 0.00 |
| Riley, T (H, 1) | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 12-9 | 0.00 |
| Barger (S, 1) | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 16-10 | 0.00 |
| Totals | 9.0 | 7 | 3 | 1 | 3 | 7 | 0 |
| Tigers Pitchers | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | HR | P-S | ERA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Manning | 4.0 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 6 | 0 | 80-54 | 6.43 |
| Foley | 1.1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 15-11 | 7.11 |
| Cisnero (L, 0-1)(BS, 2) | 0.2 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 20-11 | 8.44 |
| Wingenter | 1.0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 19-12 | 0.00 |
| Lange | 1.0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 17-7 | 5.40 |
| Mattison | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 12-8 | 0.00 |
| Totals | 9.0 | 13 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 12 | 1 |
| Game Info |
|---|
| WP: Soroka 2; Lange. |
| Pitches-strikes: Soroka 36-20; Tonkin 31-21; Lee, D 16-13; Tice 27-16; Swarmer 16-10; Riley, T 12-9; Barger 16-10; Manning 80-54; Foley 15-11; Cisnero 20-11; Wingenter 19-12; Lange 17-7; Mattison 12-8. |
| Groundouts-flyouts: Soroka 3-1; Tonkin 2-0; Lee, D 1-0; Tice 2-1; Swarmer 2-1; Riley, T 2-0; Barger 1-0; Manning 3-0; Foley 3-1; Cisnero 1-0; Wingenter 1-0; Lange 2-0; Mattison 1-0. |
| Batters faced: Soroka 9; Tonkin 8; Lee, D 5; Tice 7; Swarmer 4; Riley, T 3; Barger 3; Manning 20; Foley 6; Cisnero 6; Wingenter 4; Lange 5; Mattison 3. |
| Inherited runners-scored: Tonkin 2-0; Lee, D 2-0; Swarmer 2-0; Cisnero 1-1. |
| Umpires: HP: Mark Wegner. 1B: Laz Diaz. 2B: Adam Beck. 3B: Sean Barber. |
| Weather: 80 degrees, Partly Cloudy. |
| Wind: 10 mph, R To L. |
| First pitch: 1:05 PM. |
| T: 2:47. |
| Att: 6,196. |
| Venue: Publix Field at Joker Marchant Stadium. |
| March 22, 2023 |
| Inning | Scoring Play | Score |
|---|---|---|
| Bottom 1 | Riley Greene singles on a ground ball to left fielder Sam Hilliard. Matt Vierling scores. | 1-0 DET |
| Bottom 2 | Andy Ibanez singles on a ground ball to right fielder Magneuris Sierra. Akil Baddoo scores. Andy Ibanez to 2nd. Throwing error by right fielder Magneuris Sierra. | 2-0 DET |
| Bottom 3 | Ryan Kreidler singles on a sharp ground ball to right fielder Magneuris Sierra, deflected by second baseman Ehire Adrianza. Miguel Cabrera scores. Akil Baddoo to 2nd. | 3-0 DET |
| Top 4 | Orlando Arcia singles on a line drive to center fielder Matt Vierling. Joshua Fuentes scores. Joe Hudson to 3rd. | 3-1 DET |
| Top 6 | Orlando Arcia homers (2) on a fly ball to left field. Magneuris Sierra scores. Joe Hudson scores. | 4-3 ATL |
| Top 6 | Sam Hilliard doubles (4) on a line drive to left fielder Matt Vierling. Forrest Wall scores. | 5-3 ATL |
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E | LOB | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Braves | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 13 | 3 | 12 | |
| Tigers | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 7 | 1 | 9 |
Decisions
- Winner: Ty Tice (1-0, 1.93)
- Loser: Jose Cisnero (0-1, 8.44)
- Save: Alec Barger (1, 0.00)
Division Scoreboard
PHI 2 @ TB 6 - FinalNYY 2 @ WSH 5 - Final
HOU 5 @ NYM 2 - Final
STL 0 @ MIA 0 - Final: Tied
Last Updated: 03/22/2023 03:59:18 PM EDT
2023.03.22 17:35 mugobsessed 1 week end of May, first timer
Hello!
We're going to PR for 6 nights 7 days in May, first time. I tend to over plan and not relax enough during vacations so want to get some inputs here. My husband is big city boy and likes convenience/comfort. I'm more into exploring. I'm thinking we'll base in OSJ for a few days, and the other few days in either Rincon or Vieques. I don't think we can do both. Style: we're not huge beach people, not into water sports, I can't even swim lol. We do like to hang out by the beach, beach bars and restaurants though. We like cultural exploration, unique experiences like bioluminescent tour, coffee/cacao farm, caves, etc. Loveeee seafood.
We also don't want to have to move accommodations too much.
I'm thinking 4 nights in OSJ, then day trip to El yuque, luquillo. Then should I do 2 nights in Vieques, or 2 nights in Rincon?
I have so much fomo but being in ATL we will definitely come back to PR in the future. Just don't want to stretch ourselves too thin the first time. Thank you!
Edit to ask: any recs for Rincon accommodations? No specific budget. I'm debating between coconut palms inn and casa islena, 2 very opposite parts 😅
submitted by mugobsessed to PuertoRicoTravel [link] [comments]
We're going to PR for 6 nights 7 days in May, first time. I tend to over plan and not relax enough during vacations so want to get some inputs here. My husband is big city boy and likes convenience/comfort. I'm more into exploring. I'm thinking we'll base in OSJ for a few days, and the other few days in either Rincon or Vieques. I don't think we can do both. Style: we're not huge beach people, not into water sports, I can't even swim lol. We do like to hang out by the beach, beach bars and restaurants though. We like cultural exploration, unique experiences like bioluminescent tour, coffee/cacao farm, caves, etc. Loveeee seafood.
We also don't want to have to move accommodations too much.
I'm thinking 4 nights in OSJ, then day trip to El yuque, luquillo. Then should I do 2 nights in Vieques, or 2 nights in Rincon?
I have so much fomo but being in ATL we will definitely come back to PR in the future. Just don't want to stretch ourselves too thin the first time. Thank you!
Edit to ask: any recs for Rincon accommodations? No specific budget. I'm debating between coconut palms inn and casa islena, 2 very opposite parts 😅
2023.03.22 16:41 SlowShoes There are no games to play! (January-March Edition 2023)
https://www.rufftalkvr.com/blog/there-are-no-games-to-play-january-march-2023-edition/
When I read posts about how there are no games to play on the Quest, I simply can’t relate. I’m a voracious consumer of VR games, experiences and demos and currently have over 330 of them on my headset (not including my PCVR library). These experiences are a combination of both old and new items, and my wish list and library just keeps growing week after week with new releases, recommendations and game updates. This year, I wanted to keep track of all the games I’ve played and keep coming back to and catalogue them here in hopes that they may give you some fresh ideas of games to play, or reasons to revisit older games due to their updates or improvements.
Some of the games listed below, I can forsee playing all year long, and to be fair, others I've tried are not my cup of tea, but they may interest you enough to try them out. In either case, here are my quick thoughts on the 21 games I’ve played so far from January to March of 2023 along with links to them on the store.
submitted by SlowShoes to RuffTalkVR [link] [comments]
When I read posts about how there are no games to play on the Quest, I simply can’t relate. I’m a voracious consumer of VR games, experiences and demos and currently have over 330 of them on my headset (not including my PCVR library). These experiences are a combination of both old and new items, and my wish list and library just keeps growing week after week with new releases, recommendations and game updates. This year, I wanted to keep track of all the games I’ve played and keep coming back to and catalogue them here in hopes that they may give you some fresh ideas of games to play, or reasons to revisit older games due to their updates or improvements.
Some of the games listed below, I can forsee playing all year long, and to be fair, others I've tried are not my cup of tea, but they may interest you enough to try them out. In either case, here are my quick thoughts on the 21 games I’ve played so far from January to March of 2023 along with links to them on the store.
- Bocce Time! ($8.99) From the developer: In Bocce Time! you'll head down to a peaceful park or atmospheric pier to test your bocce skills across 12 distinct courts. Jump into a quick match to 1v1 a random opponent online, create and join private rooms with up to 8 players, or play against AI across 3 difficulties to unlock additional ball customization options. With full cross-play, everyone's invited to join the fun! It's Bocce Time! My thoughts: This game has seen so many updates since it’s release and if you haven’t checked it out, there’s a free trial that opens up the whole game so you can try it out for yourself. With two parks (10 courses), an AI bot to challenge (that has great quips), collectible balls and support for up to eight people, this is a wonderful social game to play with friends. The Walkabout Mini Golf vibes are strong with this game, so players of that game will feel right at home. The latest update unlocked the entire park as a play area, and ensures that you and your friends will have unlimited options for where to play from. Along with Discord tournaments available if you're feeling competitive, this game is a real hidden gem and has grown a lot since its release. Absolutely worth a go, especially at that price point.
- Golf+ ($29.99) From the developer: GOLF+ is the ultimate VR Golf experience and the exclusive VR Golf game of the PGA TOUR. Join your friends for a round on Pebble Beach, Pinehurst No. 2, TPC Sawgrass and more. Want something more casual? Hang out at Topgolf for a night of music and games. My thoughts: Simply one of the best games on the app store. With all the great new updates such as Beat the Pro and new courses dropping every so often, it's one game that will be on my Quest until the next headset comes out. With the official PGA licenses, a variety of match options and support for four players, it’s an essential Quest game to play alone or with friends.
- Little Cities ($19.99) From the developer: Escape to the charming world of Little Cities, the most loved VR city building simulation game. Create your own little city and watch it come to life – from a humble village to a bustling metropolis. Design the layout and strategically plot amenities to make a perfect city where your citizens love to live. My thoughts: The latest update added citizens to the game. This adds a lot more flavor to your city and brings more life to your city. It’s a pretty simple SimCity style game that should keep you entertained for a few hours. I enjoyed this one, but wasn’t blown away. The extra DLC courses and achievements will give you more play time if you find yourself enjoying this one though.
- Compound ($19.99) From the developer: "COMPOUND is a randomized, rogue-lite, free-roaming shooter for Virtual Reality veterans. Duck and dodge around enemy fire in a tough-as-nails retro FPS with multiple locomotion options. Prepare to die - a lot - until you are good enough to reach the heart of The Corporation and take back what belongs to everyone..." My experience: Essentially Doom on Quest. The awesome blocky aesthetics work perfectly in this world. With a great gameplay loop and exciting gunplay this one will easily get its hooks into you. I found myself saying "just one more run" more often than I had time for. This single player shooter has so many achievements and difficulty levels that it kept me busy for quite some time. I thoroughly enjoyed my time with it and still have more to do. A must buy for any fan of the genre.
- Walkabout Mini Golf ($14.99) From the developer: 8 unique 18-hole courses to master. Unlock NIGHT MODE for more challenging versions of all courses. Play solo, 1v1 online quick match, or create a private room with up to 8 players. Extremely accurate physics feel just like the real thing. Collect over 188 custom balls hidden throughout. Solve treasure hunts on each hard course to earn special putters. My thoughts: What more needs to be said about this excellent game? It’s on my constant rotation of games to play alone, with friends, or even with strangers - as the community is so warm and welcoming. The community is truly one of the best, and there are several discord servers for tournaments, weekly meetups and more. An essential game that every Quest owner should have.
- VR Pool ($19.99) From the developer: ForeVR Pool brings the coolest pool halls from around the globe straight to your living room! Challenge friends, family, and in-game pros to a game of 8-ball pool – no table required. Battle 12 bots to level up and take on Legendary challengers. Join a Quick Match or jump into a private multiplayer party! Friend in town? Share your headset with Pass & Play. Up the ante and stake in-game coins in matches against other players. My thoughts: This was pretty feature-light and choppy when it first launched, but it now has 9-ball in addition to 8-ball. If you bought it early, it's worth a quick revisit. It sticks pretty true to the ForeVR formula with its aesthetics and collectibles. The graphics aren’t going to win any awards and frankly put me off of it when I first booted it up, but the physics hold up and it’s a good time against the AI or a friend. With 2v2 matches coming soon, that is where this game could really be worth revisiting for some multiplayer fun and friendly smack talk.
- After the Fall - (Played on PC $29.99, available on Quest $29.99) From the developer: Welcome to ‘The Line’... Decades have passed since the apocalypse turned 1980s Los Angeles into a snow-crested wasteland, overrun by mutated undead. Starting out in an underground camp with up to 32 other player survivors, you take up arms as a new Harvest Runner. Your mission? Venturing out above ground to expand the Line’s reach into the city and fuel mankind’s survival for another day. My thoughts: What a fun game. The gunplay and sheer amount of enemies on screen via PC is just stunning. You're set in an apocalyptic world and must shoot your way out while gathering resources. The atmosphere is stunning, and the graphics are top notch as well. While I’m sure it’s downgraded a bit to run on Quest, don’t let that hold you back. You can play this co-op with up to three other players and bots will fill you out to four. The teamwork this game offers is wonderful. Find a friend or two and jump in this one, or play with the ever-full lobbies of people looking to join up. The latest Descension update adds two new maps and a ton of other bug fixes and gameplay additions. It's a great time to jump in with a friend!
- Cosmoniuous High (Played on PC $29.99, available on Quest $29.99) From the developer: From the creators of award winning titles 'Job Simulator' and 'Vacation Simulator', comes a new original creation—the comically catastrophic Cosmonious High! Welcome to your alien high school that's definitely completely free of malfunctions! After crash-landing into your first day, you'll unlock powers, explore the halls, and save the school from cosmic chaos. My thoughts: I would consider this is the third entry in the Job Simulator series - even though it's technically not in the same world. I’d really recommend you play them in order to fully appreciate the experience this game has to offer. Job Simulator was the first game, with jokes and fun interaction. Vacation Simulator expanded on that idea with similar characters, and what Cosmonius does is take the ideas of object interaction and conversations and cranks it up to the max. I had so much fun experimenting, talking with NPC’s, exploring the school and seeing what story the game had to offer. This is one of those games that just speaks to people like me who likes to push the boundaries to see what you can do in a game and rewards players for experimenting. It's a heartwarming game that continues to get quality of life and accessibility updates.
- The Invisible Hours - (Played on PC $29.99, but coming out on Quest, currently available in the Rift store.) From the developer: The Invisible Hours is a complex murder mystery playable with or without a VR headset. Players freely explore an intricate web of interwoven stories within a sprawling mansion. A group of strangers receive a curious invitation from the enigmatic inventor, Nikola Tesla, offering each of them the chance to make amends for their darkest wrongdoings. When the last guest arrives at Tesla’s isolated mansion laboratory, they find him dead – murdered. Disgraced Swedish detective, Gustaf Gustav, vows to find the killer amongst the other guests: a blind butler, a convicted murderer, the world’s most famous actress, Tesla’s former assistant, the son of a wealthy railroad magnate, and rival inventor Thomas Edison. But none of these people are what they seem. My thoughts: I heard so many great things about this game and it's really more of an interactive story than anything. You find yourself moving around the mansion, piecing together the intricate story and learning how all these people relate to one another and their hidden secrets. I had a great time with this game, it had a unique concept that kept me fully engaged throughout.
- Pokerstars VR (Free) From the developer: PokerStars, the world’s leading poker brand, has combined live and online poker in a truly immersive VR experience. Featuring Quest Pro support with face and eye tracking, advanced haptics, and mixed reality passthrough! My thoughts: This is one of my go-to games with friends. Once you get past the initial low-stakes tables where kids play and go all-in on many hands, you’ll find a new set of players that actually play smart poker and like to chat. If you have some friends, you can create your own private room and avoid that all together. It’s a relaxing game where you can meet new people and just chill in VR. It’s my social game where I go to unwind. Recent updates have seen them add craps and social poker rooms with slots and roulette. If you're looking to relax and play some poker, this free to play game will hit the spot. You can easily play this game for free and not ever spend a dime.
- Path of the Warrior ($19.99) From the developer: We interrupt this broadcast with breaking news...chaos in the streets of Rage City tonight! The myriad local gangs, once at constant war with each other have now unified under a mysterious new crime boss...Mr. S. Thugs have flooded the entire city, unleashing a wave of terror. The police are overwhelmed and the public is in imminent danger! Can anyone put a stop to the crime wave? Can anyone save Rage City? My thoughts: This fighting game is one that you can blow off steam with. It harkens back to the old Double Dragon or Final Fight arcade days and I highly recommend you play through this game with a friend as you’ll be laughing your way through it at the absurd combos and interactive objects and scenery you can use to defeat your foes. Find a bit of open room to play in, and punch your way through the game.
- Half Life Alyx Mod: The Undertow - (PC only, Free) From the developer: You play as Alyx, tasked with delivering a mysterious briefcase to the owner of an underground night club, upon arriving you realize this deal might not be so straight forward... Expected Playtime: 50min - 1hr. Features: Full-fledged Story with Voice Acting, Custom Sounds, Assets, and Gameplay, Unique Puzzles & Engaging Combat, Full Single-Controller Support and Drinkable Vodka (Finally). My thoughts: I’ve been working my way through some Half Life Alyx mods that bubble up to the top via Reddit or online posts. This one found its way into my queue and while it had a really unique setting, it was extremely buggy in one spot, to the point where I had to restart a section close to 20 times. I didn't find the end game satisfying, and with so many other great mods, it was a miss for me.
- Sheaf - Together EP (PC only, Free) From the developer: Enter virtual reality to listen to the debut EP “Together” of synthwave producer Sheaf. No gameplay involved -- just sit back, relax, and enjoy the music while you drive through a retro low poly world. The EP features 3 tracks, and each track comes with its own scenery, tailor made to fit its mood. You can start each track separately from the main menu. My thoughts: As noted in the developer description, this is really more a zen-like experience where you’re sitting in a car that drives down a road while chill music is playing. Certainly different from a lot of other “zone out” experiences that focus on geometric shapes, but the blocky visuals really conflicted with the chill vibe it was going for. Not really my jam, but if you like chill experiences, it might be for you. You certainly can't beat the price.
- Shooty Fruity ($19.99) From the developer: Do your job whilst shooting guns! Shooty Fruity combines job simulation with exhilarating combat that makes you feel like a true action hero - whether McClane, Wick or Rambo. Take on new roles and unlock weapons to fight your way through your career. Scan shoot repeat! My thoughts: I kept seeing this game show up in sales and various feeds so I finally tried it out. After 30 minutes I just was not having any fun at all. While the enemies were silly (various fruits and vegetables), the gun mechanics were lackluster. I just did not get into the gameplay loop of shooting and scanning groceries. It was just too repetitive for me and for that reason I can’t recommend it.
- What the Bat? ($24.99) From the developer: From the creators of WHAT THE GOLF? comes a silly VR game about navigating life with baseball bats for hands. Swing your way through over 100 levels of batting, cooking, shooting, smashing, parking, painting, pickling, petting, and WHATnot. My thoughts: I was a huge fan of What the Golf on iOS, and was quite excited when I heard about this sequel. The “high” price point turned me off for a while, but when UploadVR gave it their “game of the year” award, I finally pulled the trigger. I had high hopes, and it was fun… at first, but the gimmick started to wear really thin on me rather quickly. It just didn’t seem to have the same magic the first game had. I kept going through it in hopes that something would change, or capture that original feeling, but honestly, it was a grind to finish such a short game. I understand I’m probably in the minority here, but I was quite disappointed.
- Superhot ($24.99) From the developer: Multi-award winning, smash-hit SUPERHOT VR blurs the lines between cautious strategy and unbridled mayhem. The definitive VR action experience. Time moves only when you move. No regenerating health bars. No conveniently placed ammo drops. It's you, alone, outnumbered and outgunned. Snatch weapons from fallen enemies to shoot, slice and dodge through a truly cinematic hurricane of slow-motion bullets. It’s like nothing you have ever played before. Something is different here. Lose track of what’s real. My thoughts: You know it, and you probably love it. Like so many others, so did I. This was one of my first VR experiences years ago and I finally saw it through to the end. This game can be quite demanding for some levels requiring accurate shooting, movement and timing. This game offers a really unique take on gameplay and multiple ways to get through some levels really increase the replayability. With the unique achievements to strive for you have a real winner. A must own for all gamers.
- Tube Be Continued (Demo) (Full game $14.99) From the developer: Hello! Welcome to TUBE Industries: a hamster owned and operated tube puzzle emporium! Prepare for a tube-based, puzzle-filled, HAM-PACKED adventure with our charismatic leader: The BOSS. Here at TUBE Industries we provide the puzzles and you provide… the brains. No shady business here! My thoughts: I like to look at the new App Lab games that come out every now and then and I’m a sucker for a good puzzle game. This is a game where you connect mazes together for hamsters to run through. It was a weird story that sees you working with a Hamster CEO trying to save his company from the Board, which are all hamsters. Really weird stuff, but while the demo was fun, the puzzles were a bit on the simple side and ultimately, I just did not think it was worth buying at this point. That being said, if the demo grabs you I could see this being a fun few hours with new content planning to be added.
- Dart Racer (Free) From the developer: Dart Racer is an arcade racing game where you compete against AI during race and other players on the online leaderboards - features multiple race tracks and environments - steering based on throttle differential - interactive tutorial - customizable game and comfort settings - optional hand tracking. My thoughts: Now this is podracing! It really did feel like I was doing some classic Star Wars podracing, but it was quite tough to learn the controls. Once I got that figured out, there certainly was some fun to be had, but unfortunately, it just was okay for me and I dropped out after a bit. Give it a try for free, and keep in mind there are plenty of motion assists to play with so you don't get sick.
- Nock ($9.99) From the developer: Nock is bow and arrow soccer. Skate and fly around a pitch while using a bow and arrow to blast the ball into the other team’s goal. Compete in multiplayer ranked matches, or play casual custom games with your friends! Like a real sport, Nock is easy to learn but difficult to master. Block arrows let you create obstacles and you can even use your body to make a goal or save. A fast-moving ball can knock you out. Skill-based matchmaking keeps every game extremely close and competitive. Casual modes let you challenge yourself against bots or play with friends in custom matches. My thoughts: Rocket League but with archery. While I’m not a fan of archery games in general, this game really had the physics dialed in. I always felt like I was in full control of my movement and bow and arrow. Nothing ever felt like it was off, and the aiming was spot on. Every hit of the ball, or miss was my fault. An absolute blast with with up to four friends, and that’s how I recommend you play it - with friends. But there are leagues and tournaments readily available if get into the game. That being said, I’m pretty terrible at it, and will only play with friends who can tolerate my terrible skills.
- Into the Radius ($29.99) From the developer: An atmospheric open-world single-player survival shooter. You find yourself in the middle of the blighted zone, cut from the outside world. Your guns and your wits are all you have left. Fight the deadly enemies, dodge dangerous anomalies, and collect wondrous artifacts on your way to the Radius center to find your way out. My thoughts: I found myself constantly saying “I can’t believe this actually runs on a Quest.” The amount of items you can interact with, areas available to explore, systems to learn and missions to accept can be quite overwhelming. Honestly it took me about 5-7 hours of gameplay, tutorials and youtube videos until finally the game “clicked.” After this one fateful mission where I was over encumbered with items, low on ammo with minimal health and dealing with enemies at every turn, I was totally immersed and was having the time of my life. It was an absolute blast and despite being so tense - a joy to play. I did tone down the difficulty a bit, which made it much more playable and less punishing. Truly a great game if you like the loop of scavenging, planning your route ahead and making sure literally every bullet counts. While it lacks in story, it does have a lot of environmental details and little things that you have to find for yourself. If you like survival games, it’s almost perfect.
- Surgineer ($9.99) From the developer: Have you ever dreamed of being a real surgeon? Well… you are not gonna learn that here. Welcome to the most unrealistic surgery simulator where everyone can instantly become a terrible doctor. You will have to solve hilarious surgical procedures ranging from CPR to brain transplant or even removing alien eggs from a poor patient using a robotic arm! You always thought you had that surgeon in you? You better have a bulletproof malpractice insurance before getting your virtual hands on a patient! My thoughts: At such a low price point, I wasn’t expecting much. I remember playing Surgeon Simulator back in the day and this looked like that. Much to my disappointment it was much more terrible than I had hoped. Absolutely no fun was to be had here. I constantly fought with the controls, many times had no clue what to do and finally gave up in frustration. I understand part of the appeal is the wonkiness of it, but this game requires someone with a lot more patience than me to get some fun out of it.
2023.03.22 16:40 SlowShoes There are no games to play! (January-March)
When I read posts about how there are no games to play on the Quest, I simply can’t relate. I’m a voracious consumer of VR games, experiences and demos and currently have over 330 of them on my headset (not including my PCVR library). These experiences are a combination of both old and new items, and my wish list and library just keeps growing week after week with new releases, recommendations and game updates. This year, I wanted to keep track of all the games I’ve played and keep coming back to and catalogue them here in hopes that they may give you some fresh ideas of games to play, or reasons to revisit older games due to their updates or improvements.
Some of the games listed below, I can forsee playing all year long, and to be fair, others I've tried are not my cup of tea, but they may interest you enough to try them out. In either case, here are my quick thoughts on the 21 games I’ve played so far from January to March of 2023 along with links to them on the store.
submitted by SlowShoes to virtualreality [link] [comments]
Some of the games listed below, I can forsee playing all year long, and to be fair, others I've tried are not my cup of tea, but they may interest you enough to try them out. In either case, here are my quick thoughts on the 21 games I’ve played so far from January to March of 2023 along with links to them on the store.
- Bocce Time! ($8.99) From the developer: In Bocce Time! you'll head down to a peaceful park or atmospheric pier to test your bocce skills across 12 distinct courts. Jump into a quick match to 1v1 a random opponent online, create and join private rooms with up to 8 players, or play against AI across 3 difficulties to unlock additional ball customization options. With full cross-play, everyone's invited to join the fun! It's Bocce Time! My thoughts: This game has seen so many updates since it’s release and if you haven’t checked it out, there’s a free trial that opens up the whole game so you can try it out for yourself. With two parks (10 courses), an AI bot to challenge (that has great quips), collectible balls and support for up to eight people, this is a wonderful social game to play with friends. The Walkabout Mini Golf vibes are strong with this game, so players of that game will feel right at home. The latest update unlocked the entire park as a play area, and ensures that you and your friends will have unlimited options for where to play from. Along with Discord tournaments available if you're feeling competitive, this game is a real hidden gem and has grown a lot since its release. Absolutely worth a go, especially at that price point.
- Golf+ ($29.99) From the developer: GOLF+ is the ultimate VR Golf experience and the exclusive VR Golf game of the PGA TOUR. Join your friends for a round on Pebble Beach, Pinehurst No. 2, TPC Sawgrass and more. Want something more casual? Hang out at Topgolf for a night of music and games. My thoughts: Simply one of the best games on the app store. With all the great new updates such as Beat the Pro and new courses dropping every so often, it's one game that will be on my Quest until the next headset comes out. With the official PGA licenses, a variety of match options and support for four players, it’s an essential Quest game to play alone or with friends.
- Little Cities ($19.99) From the developer: Escape to the charming world of Little Cities, the most loved VR city building simulation game. Create your own little city and watch it come to life – from a humble village to a bustling metropolis. Design the layout and strategically plot amenities to make a perfect city where your citizens love to live. My thoughts: The latest update added citizens to the game. This adds a lot more flavor to your city and brings more life to your city. It’s a pretty simple SimCity style game that should keep you entertained for a few hours. I enjoyed this one, but wasn’t blown away. The extra DLC courses and achievements will give you more play time if you find yourself enjoying this one though.
- Compound ($19.99) From the developer: "COMPOUND is a randomized, rogue-lite, free-roaming shooter for Virtual Reality veterans. Duck and dodge around enemy fire in a tough-as-nails retro FPS with multiple locomotion options. Prepare to die - a lot - until you are good enough to reach the heart of The Corporation and take back what belongs to everyone..." My experience: Essentially Doom on Quest. The awesome blocky aesthetics work perfectly in this world. With a great gameplay loop and exciting gunplay this one will easily get its hooks into you. I found myself saying "just one more run" more often than I had time for. This single player shooter has so many achievements and difficulty levels that it kept me busy for quite some time. I thoroughly enjoyed my time with it and still have more to do. A must buy for any fan of the genre.
- Walkabout Mini Golf ($14.99) From the developer: 8 unique 18-hole courses to master. Unlock NIGHT MODE for more challenging versions of all courses. Play solo, 1v1 online quick match, or create a private room with up to 8 players. Extremely accurate physics feel just like the real thing. Collect over 188 custom balls hidden throughout. Solve treasure hunts on each hard course to earn special putters. My thoughts: What more needs to be said about this excellent game? It’s on my constant rotation of games to play alone, with friends, or even with strangers - as the community is so warm and welcoming. The community is truly one of the best, and there are several discord servers for tournaments, weekly meetups and more. An essential game that every Quest owner should have.
- VR Pool ($19.99) From the developer: ForeVR Pool brings the coolest pool halls from around the globe straight to your living room! Challenge friends, family, and in-game pros to a game of 8-ball pool – no table required. Battle 12 bots to level up and take on Legendary challengers. Join a Quick Match or jump into a private multiplayer party! Friend in town? Share your headset with Pass & Play. Up the ante and stake in-game coins in matches against other players. My thoughts: This was pretty feature-light and choppy when it first launched, but it now has 9-ball in addition to 8-ball. If you bought it early, it's worth a quick revisit. It sticks pretty true to the ForeVR formula with its aesthetics and collectibles. The graphics aren’t going to win any awards and frankly put me off of it when I first booted it up, but the physics hold up and it’s a good time against the AI or a friend. With 2v2 matches coming soon, that is where this game could really be worth revisiting for some multiplayer fun and friendly smack talk.
- After the Fall - (Played on PC $29.99, available on Quest $29.99) From the developer: Welcome to ‘The Line’... Decades have passed since the apocalypse turned 1980s Los Angeles into a snow-crested wasteland, overrun by mutated undead. Starting out in an underground camp with up to 32 other player survivors, you take up arms as a new Harvest Runner. Your mission? Venturing out above ground to expand the Line’s reach into the city and fuel mankind’s survival for another day. My thoughts: What a fun game. The gunplay and sheer amount of enemies on screen via PC is just stunning. You're set in an apocalyptic world and must shoot your way out while gathering resources. The atmosphere is stunning, and the graphics are top notch as well. While I’m sure it’s downgraded a bit to run on Quest, don’t let that hold you back. You can play this co-op with up to three other players and bots will fill you out to four. The teamwork this game offers is wonderful. Find a friend or two and jump in this one, or play with the ever-full lobbies of people looking to join up. The latest Descension update adds two new maps and a ton of other bug fixes and gameplay additions. It's a great time to jump in with a friend!
- Cosmoniuous High (Played on PC $29.99, available on Quest $29.99) From the developer: From the creators of award winning titles 'Job Simulator' and 'Vacation Simulator', comes a new original creation—the comically catastrophic Cosmonious High! Welcome to your alien high school that's definitely completely free of malfunctions! After crash-landing into your first day, you'll unlock powers, explore the halls, and save the school from cosmic chaos. My thoughts: I would consider this is the third entry in the Job Simulator series - even though it's technically not in the same world. I’d really recommend you play them in order to fully appreciate the experience this game has to offer. Job Simulator was the first game, with jokes and fun interaction. Vacation Simulator expanded on that idea with similar characters, and what Cosmonius does is take the ideas of object interaction and conversations and cranks it up to the max. I had so much fun experimenting, talking with NPC’s, exploring the school and seeing what story the game had to offer. This is one of those games that just speaks to people like me who likes to push the boundaries to see what you can do in a game and rewards players for experimenting. It's a heartwarming game that continues to get quality of life and accessibility updates.
- The Invisible Hours - (Played on PC $29.99, but coming out on Quest, currently available in the Rift store.) From the developer: The Invisible Hours is a complex murder mystery playable with or without a VR headset. Players freely explore an intricate web of interwoven stories within a sprawling mansion. A group of strangers receive a curious invitation from the enigmatic inventor, Nikola Tesla, offering each of them the chance to make amends for their darkest wrongdoings. When the last guest arrives at Tesla’s isolated mansion laboratory, they find him dead – murdered. Disgraced Swedish detective, Gustaf Gustav, vows to find the killer amongst the other guests: a blind butler, a convicted murderer, the world’s most famous actress, Tesla’s former assistant, the son of a wealthy railroad magnate, and rival inventor Thomas Edison. But none of these people are what they seem. My thoughts: I heard so many great things about this game and it's really more of an interactive story than anything. You find yourself moving around the mansion, piecing together the intricate story and learning how all these people relate to one another and their hidden secrets. I had a great time with this game, it had a unique concept that kept me fully engaged throughout.
- Pokerstars VR (Free) From the developer: PokerStars, the world’s leading poker brand, has combined live and online poker in a truly immersive VR experience. Featuring Quest Pro support with face and eye tracking, advanced haptics, and mixed reality passthrough! My thoughts: This is one of my go-to games with friends. Once you get past the initial low-stakes tables where kids play and go all-in on many hands, you’ll find a new set of players that actually play smart poker and like to chat. If you have some friends, you can create your own private room and avoid that all together. It’s a relaxing game where you can meet new people and just chill in VR. It’s my social game where I go to unwind. Recent updates have seen them add craps and social poker rooms with slots and roulette. If you're looking to relax and play some poker, this free to play game will hit the spot. You can easily play this game for free and not ever spend a dime.
- Path of the Warrior ($19.99) From the developer: We interrupt this broadcast with breaking news...chaos in the streets of Rage City tonight! The myriad local gangs, once at constant war with each other have now unified under a mysterious new crime boss...Mr. S. Thugs have flooded the entire city, unleashing a wave of terror. The police are overwhelmed and the public is in imminent danger! Can anyone put a stop to the crime wave? Can anyone save Rage City? My thoughts: This fighting game is one that you can blow off steam with. It harkens back to the old Double Dragon or Final Fight arcade days and I highly recommend you play through this game with a friend as you’ll be laughing your way through it at the absurd combos and interactive objects and scenery you can use to defeat your foes. Find a bit of open room to play in, and punch your way through the game.
- Half Life Alyx Mod: The Undertow - (PC only, Free) From the developer: You play as Alyx, tasked with delivering a mysterious briefcase to the owner of an underground night club, upon arriving you realize this deal might not be so straight forward... Expected Playtime: 50min - 1hr. Features: Full-fledged Story with Voice Acting, Custom Sounds, Assets, and Gameplay, Unique Puzzles & Engaging Combat, Full Single-Controller Support and Drinkable Vodka (Finally). My thoughts: I’ve been working my way through some Half Life Alyx mods that bubble up to the top via Reddit or online posts. This one found its way into my queue and while it had a really unique setting, it was extremely buggy in one spot, to the point where I had to restart a section close to 20 times. I didn't find the end game satisfying, and with so many other great mods, it was a miss for me.
- Sheaf - Together EP (PC only, Free) From the developer: Enter virtual reality to listen to the debut EP “Together” of synthwave producer Sheaf. No gameplay involved -- just sit back, relax, and enjoy the music while you drive through a retro low poly world. The EP features 3 tracks, and each track comes with its own scenery, tailor made to fit its mood. You can start each track separately from the main menu. My thoughts: As noted in the developer description, this is really more a zen-like experience where you’re sitting in a car that drives down a road while chill music is playing. Certainly different from a lot of other “zone out” experiences that focus on geometric shapes, but the blocky visuals really conflicted with the chill vibe it was going for. Not really my jam, but if you like chill experiences, it might be for you. You certainly can't beat the price.
- Shooty Fruity ($19.99) From the developer: Do your job whilst shooting guns! Shooty Fruity combines job simulation with exhilarating combat that makes you feel like a true action hero - whether McClane, Wick or Rambo. Take on new roles and unlock weapons to fight your way through your career. Scan shoot repeat! My thoughts: I kept seeing this game show up in sales and various feeds so I finally tried it out. After 30 minutes I just was not having any fun at all. While the enemies were silly (various fruits and vegetables), the gun mechanics were lackluster. I just did not get into the gameplay loop of shooting and scanning groceries. It was just too repetitive for me and for that reason I can’t recommend it.
- What the Bat? ($24.99) From the developer: From the creators of WHAT THE GOLF? comes a silly VR game about navigating life with baseball bats for hands. Swing your way through over 100 levels of batting, cooking, shooting, smashing, parking, painting, pickling, petting, and WHATnot. My thoughts: I was a huge fan of What the Golf on iOS, and was quite excited when I heard about this sequel. The “high” price point turned me off for a while, but when UploadVR gave it their “game of the year” award, I finally pulled the trigger. I had high hopes, and it was fun… at first, but the gimmick started to wear really thin on me rather quickly. It just didn’t seem to have the same magic the first game had. I kept going through it in hopes that something would change, or capture that original feeling, but honestly, it was a grind to finish such a short game. I understand I’m probably in the minority here, but I was quite disappointed.
- Superhot ($24.99) From the developer: Multi-award winning, smash-hit SUPERHOT VR blurs the lines between cautious strategy and unbridled mayhem. The definitive VR action experience. Time moves only when you move. No regenerating health bars. No conveniently placed ammo drops. It's you, alone, outnumbered and outgunned. Snatch weapons from fallen enemies to shoot, slice and dodge through a truly cinematic hurricane of slow-motion bullets. It’s like nothing you have ever played before. Something is different here. Lose track of what’s real. My thoughts: You know it, and you probably love it. Like so many others, so did I. This was one of my first VR experiences years ago and I finally saw it through to the end. This game can be quite demanding for some levels requiring accurate shooting, movement and timing. This game offers a really unique take on gameplay and multiple ways to get through some levels really increase the replayability. With the unique achievements to strive for you have a real winner. A must own for all gamers.
- Tube Be Continued (Demo) (Full game $14.99) From the developer: Hello! Welcome to TUBE Industries: a hamster owned and operated tube puzzle emporium! Prepare for a tube-based, puzzle-filled, HAM-PACKED adventure with our charismatic leader: The BOSS. Here at TUBE Industries we provide the puzzles and you provide… the brains. No shady business here! My thoughts: I like to look at the new App Lab games that come out every now and then and I’m a sucker for a good puzzle game. This is a game where you connect mazes together for hamsters to run through. It was a weird story that sees you working with a Hamster CEO trying to save his company from the Board, which are all hamsters. Really weird stuff, but while the demo was fun, the puzzles were a bit on the simple side and ultimately, I just did not think it was worth buying at this point. That being said, if the demo grabs you I could see this being a fun few hours with new content planning to be added.
- Dart Racer (Free) From the developer: Dart Racer is an arcade racing game where you compete against AI during race and other players on the online leaderboards - features multiple race tracks and environments - steering based on throttle differential - interactive tutorial - customizable game and comfort settings - optional hand tracking. My thoughts: Now this is podracing! It really did feel like I was doing some classic Star Wars podracing, but it was quite tough to learn the controls. Once I got that figured out, there certainly was some fun to be had, but unfortunately, it just was okay for me and I dropped out after a bit. Give it a try for free, and keep in mind there are plenty of motion assists to play with so you don't get sick.
- Nock ($9.99) From the developer: Nock is bow and arrow soccer. Skate and fly around a pitch while using a bow and arrow to blast the ball into the other team’s goal. Compete in multiplayer ranked matches, or play casual custom games with your friends! Like a real sport, Nock is easy to learn but difficult to master. Block arrows let you create obstacles and you can even use your body to make a goal or save. A fast-moving ball can knock you out. Skill-based matchmaking keeps every game extremely close and competitive. Casual modes let you challenge yourself against bots or play with friends in custom matches. My thoughts: Rocket League but with archery. While I’m not a fan of archery games in general, this game really had the physics dialed in. I always felt like I was in full control of my movement and bow and arrow. Nothing ever felt like it was off, and the aiming was spot on. Every hit of the ball, or miss was my fault. An absolute blast with with up to four friends, and that’s how I recommend you play it - with friends. But there are leagues and tournaments readily available if get into the game. That being said, I’m pretty terrible at it, and will only play with friends who can tolerate my terrible skills.
- Into the Radius ($29.99) From the developer: An atmospheric open-world single-player survival shooter. You find yourself in the middle of the blighted zone, cut from the outside world. Your guns and your wits are all you have left. Fight the deadly enemies, dodge dangerous anomalies, and collect wondrous artifacts on your way to the Radius center to find your way out. My thoughts: I found myself constantly saying “I can’t believe this actually runs on a Quest.” The amount of items you can interact with, areas available to explore, systems to learn and missions to accept can be quite overwhelming. Honestly it took me about 5-7 hours of gameplay, tutorials and youtube videos until finally the game “clicked.” After this one fateful mission where I was over encumbered with items, low on ammo with minimal health and dealing with enemies at every turn, I was totally immersed and was having the time of my life. It was an absolute blast and despite being so tense - a joy to play. I did tone down the difficulty a bit, which made it much more playable and less punishing. Truly a great game if you like the loop of scavenging, planning your route ahead and making sure literally every bullet counts. While it lacks in story, it does have a lot of environmental details and little things that you have to find for yourself. If you like survival games, it’s almost perfect.
- Surgineer ($9.99) From the developer: Have you ever dreamed of being a real surgeon? Well… you are not gonna learn that here. Welcome to the most unrealistic surgery simulator where everyone can instantly become a terrible doctor. You will have to solve hilarious surgical procedures ranging from CPR to brain transplant or even removing alien eggs from a poor patient using a robotic arm! You always thought you had that surgeon in you? You better have a bulletproof malpractice insurance before getting your virtual hands on a patient! My thoughts: At such a low price point, I wasn’t expecting much. I remember playing Surgeon Simulator back in the day and this looked like that. Much to my disappointment it was much more terrible than I had hoped. Absolutely no fun was to be had here. I constantly fought with the controls, many times had no clue what to do and finally gave up in frustration. I understand part of the appeal is the wonkiness of it, but this game requires someone with a lot more patience than me to get some fun out of it.
2023.03.22 16:39 SlowShoes There are no games to play! (January-March)
When I read posts about how there are no games to play on the Quest, I simply can’t relate. I’m a voracious consumer of VR games, experiences and demos and currently have over 330 of them on my headset (not including my PCVR library). These experiences are a combination of both old and new items, and my wish list and library just keeps growing week after week with new releases, recommendations and game updates. This year, I wanted to keep track of all the games I’ve played and keep coming back to and catalogue them here in hopes that they may give you some fresh ideas of games to play, or reasons to revisit older games due to their updates or improvements.
Some of the games listed below, I can forsee playing all year long, and to be fair, others I've tried are not my cup of tea, but they may interest you enough to try them out. In either case, here are my quick thoughts on the 21 games I’ve played so far from January to March of 2023 along with links to them on the store.
submitted by SlowShoes to oculus [link] [comments]
Some of the games listed below, I can forsee playing all year long, and to be fair, others I've tried are not my cup of tea, but they may interest you enough to try them out. In either case, here are my quick thoughts on the 21 games I’ve played so far from January to March of 2023 along with links to them on the store.
- Bocce Time! ($8.99) From the developer: In Bocce Time! you'll head down to a peaceful park or atmospheric pier to test your bocce skills across 12 distinct courts. Jump into a quick match to 1v1 a random opponent online, create and join private rooms with up to 8 players, or play against AI across 3 difficulties to unlock additional ball customization options. With full cross-play, everyone's invited to join the fun! It's Bocce Time! My thoughts: This game has seen so many updates since it’s release and if you haven’t checked it out, there’s a free trial that opens up the whole game so you can try it out for yourself. With two parks (10 courses), an AI bot to challenge (that has great quips), collectible balls and support for up to eight people, this is a wonderful social game to play with friends. The Walkabout Mini Golf vibes are strong with this game, so players of that game will feel right at home. The latest update unlocked the entire park as a play area, and ensures that you and your friends will have unlimited options for where to play from. Along with Discord tournaments available if you're feeling competitive, this game is a real hidden gem and has grown a lot since its release. Absolutely worth a go, especially at that price point.
- Golf+ ($29.99) From the developer: GOLF+ is the ultimate VR Golf experience and the exclusive VR Golf game of the PGA TOUR. Join your friends for a round on Pebble Beach, Pinehurst No. 2, TPC Sawgrass and more. Want something more casual? Hang out at Topgolf for a night of music and games. My thoughts: Simply one of the best games on the app store. With all the great new updates such as Beat the Pro and new courses dropping every so often, it's one game that will be on my Quest until the next headset comes out. With the official PGA licenses, a variety of match options and support for four players, it’s an essential Quest game to play alone or with friends.
- Little Cities ($19.99) From the developer: Escape to the charming world of Little Cities, the most loved VR city building simulation game. Create your own little city and watch it come to life – from a humble village to a bustling metropolis. Design the layout and strategically plot amenities to make a perfect city where your citizens love to live. My thoughts: The latest update added citizens to the game. This adds a lot more flavor to your city and brings more life to your city. It’s a pretty simple SimCity style game that should keep you entertained for a few hours. I enjoyed this one, but wasn’t blown away. The extra DLC courses and achievements will give you more play time if you find yourself enjoying this one though.
- Compound ($19.99) From the developer: "COMPOUND is a randomized, rogue-lite, free-roaming shooter for Virtual Reality veterans. Duck and dodge around enemy fire in a tough-as-nails retro FPS with multiple locomotion options. Prepare to die - a lot - until you are good enough to reach the heart of The Corporation and take back what belongs to everyone..." My experience: Essentially Doom on Quest. The awesome blocky aesthetics work perfectly in this world. With a great gameplay loop and exciting gunplay this one will easily get its hooks into you. I found myself saying "just one more run" more often than I had time for. This single player shooter has so many achievements and difficulty levels that it kept me busy for quite some time. I thoroughly enjoyed my time with it and still have more to do. A must buy for any fan of the genre.
- Walkabout Mini Golf ($14.99) From the developer: 8 unique 18-hole courses to master. Unlock NIGHT MODE for more challenging versions of all courses. Play solo, 1v1 online quick match, or create a private room with up to 8 players. Extremely accurate physics feel just like the real thing. Collect over 188 custom balls hidden throughout. Solve treasure hunts on each hard course to earn special putters. My thoughts: What more needs to be said about this excellent game? It’s on my constant rotation of games to play alone, with friends, or even with strangers - as the community is so warm and welcoming. The community is truly one of the best, and there are several discord servers for tournaments, weekly meetups and more. An essential game that every Quest owner should have.
- VR Pool ($19.99) From the developer: ForeVR Pool brings the coolest pool halls from around the globe straight to your living room! Challenge friends, family, and in-game pros to a game of 8-ball pool – no table required. Battle 12 bots to level up and take on Legendary challengers. Join a Quick Match or jump into a private multiplayer party! Friend in town? Share your headset with Pass & Play. Up the ante and stake in-game coins in matches against other players. My thoughts: This was pretty feature-light and choppy when it first launched, but it now has 9-ball in addition to 8-ball. If you bought it early, it's worth a quick revisit. It sticks pretty true to the ForeVR formula with its aesthetics and collectibles. The graphics aren’t going to win any awards and frankly put me off of it when I first booted it up, but the physics hold up and it’s a good time against the AI or a friend. With 2v2 matches coming soon, that is where this game could really be worth revisiting for some multiplayer fun and friendly smack talk.
- After the Fall - (Played on PC $29.99, available on Quest $29.99) From the developer: Welcome to ‘The Line’... Decades have passed since the apocalypse turned 1980s Los Angeles into a snow-crested wasteland, overrun by mutated undead. Starting out in an underground camp with up to 32 other player survivors, you take up arms as a new Harvest Runner. Your mission? Venturing out above ground to expand the Line’s reach into the city and fuel mankind’s survival for another day. My thoughts: What a fun game. The gunplay and sheer amount of enemies on screen via PC is just stunning. You're set in an apocalyptic world and must shoot your way out while gathering resources. The atmosphere is stunning, and the graphics are top notch as well. While I’m sure it’s downgraded a bit to run on Quest, don’t let that hold you back. You can play this co-op with up to three other players and bots will fill you out to four. The teamwork this game offers is wonderful. Find a friend or two and jump in this one, or play with the ever-full lobbies of people looking to join up. The latest Descension update adds two new maps and a ton of other bug fixes and gameplay additions. It's a great time to jump in with a friend!
- Cosmoniuous High (Played on PC $29.99, available on Quest $29.99) From the developer: From the creators of award winning titles 'Job Simulator' and 'Vacation Simulator', comes a new original creation—the comically catastrophic Cosmonious High! Welcome to your alien high school that's definitely completely free of malfunctions! After crash-landing into your first day, you'll unlock powers, explore the halls, and save the school from cosmic chaos. My thoughts: I would consider this is the third entry in the Job Simulator series - even though it's technically not in the same world. I’d really recommend you play them in order to fully appreciate the experience this game has to offer. Job Simulator was the first game, with jokes and fun interaction. Vacation Simulator expanded on that idea with similar characters, and what Cosmonius does is take the ideas of object interaction and conversations and cranks it up to the max. I had so much fun experimenting, talking with NPC’s, exploring the school and seeing what story the game had to offer. This is one of those games that just speaks to people like me who likes to push the boundaries to see what you can do in a game and rewards players for experimenting. It's a heartwarming game that continues to get quality of life and accessibility updates.
- The Invisible Hours - (Played on PC $29.99, but coming out on Quest, currently available in the Rift store.) From the developer: The Invisible Hours is a complex murder mystery playable with or without a VR headset. Players freely explore an intricate web of interwoven stories within a sprawling mansion. A group of strangers receive a curious invitation from the enigmatic inventor, Nikola Tesla, offering each of them the chance to make amends for their darkest wrongdoings. When the last guest arrives at Tesla’s isolated mansion laboratory, they find him dead – murdered. Disgraced Swedish detective, Gustaf Gustav, vows to find the killer amongst the other guests: a blind butler, a convicted murderer, the world’s most famous actress, Tesla’s former assistant, the son of a wealthy railroad magnate, and rival inventor Thomas Edison. But none of these people are what they seem. My thoughts: I heard so many great things about this game and it's really more of an interactive story than anything. You find yourself moving around the mansion, piecing together the intricate story and learning how all these people relate to one another and their hidden secrets. I had a great time with this game, it had a unique concept that kept me fully engaged throughout.
- Pokerstars VR (Free) From the developer: PokerStars, the world’s leading poker brand, has combined live and online poker in a truly immersive VR experience. Featuring Quest Pro support with face and eye tracking, advanced haptics, and mixed reality passthrough! My thoughts: This is one of my go-to games with friends. Once you get past the initial low-stakes tables where kids play and go all-in on many hands, you’ll find a new set of players that actually play smart poker and like to chat. If you have some friends, you can create your own private room and avoid that all together. It’s a relaxing game where you can meet new people and just chill in VR. It’s my social game where I go to unwind. Recent updates have seen them add craps and social poker rooms with slots and roulette. If you're looking to relax and play some poker, this free to play game will hit the spot. You can easily play this game for free and not ever spend a dime.
- Path of the Warrior ($19.99) From the developer: We interrupt this broadcast with breaking news...chaos in the streets of Rage City tonight! The myriad local gangs, once at constant war with each other have now unified under a mysterious new crime boss...Mr. S. Thugs have flooded the entire city, unleashing a wave of terror. The police are overwhelmed and the public is in imminent danger! Can anyone put a stop to the crime wave? Can anyone save Rage City? My thoughts: This fighting game is one that you can blow off steam with. It harkens back to the old Double Dragon or Final Fight arcade days and I highly recommend you play through this game with a friend as you’ll be laughing your way through it at the absurd combos and interactive objects and scenery you can use to defeat your foes. Find a bit of open room to play in, and punch your way through the game.
- Half Life Alyx Mod: The Undertow - (PC only, Free) From the developer: You play as Alyx, tasked with delivering a mysterious briefcase to the owner of an underground night club, upon arriving you realize this deal might not be so straight forward... Expected Playtime: 50min - 1hr. Features: Full-fledged Story with Voice Acting, Custom Sounds, Assets, and Gameplay, Unique Puzzles & Engaging Combat, Full Single-Controller Support and Drinkable Vodka (Finally). My thoughts: I’ve been working my way through some Half Life Alyx mods that bubble up to the top via Reddit or online posts. This one found its way into my queue and while it had a really unique setting, it was extremely buggy in one spot, to the point where I had to restart a section close to 20 times. I didn't find the end game satisfying, and with so many other great mods, it was a miss for me.
- Sheaf - Together EP (PC only, Free) From the developer: Enter virtual reality to listen to the debut EP “Together” of synthwave producer Sheaf. No gameplay involved -- just sit back, relax, and enjoy the music while you drive through a retro low poly world. The EP features 3 tracks, and each track comes with its own scenery, tailor made to fit its mood. You can start each track separately from the main menu. My thoughts: As noted in the developer description, this is really more a zen-like experience where you’re sitting in a car that drives down a road while chill music is playing. Certainly different from a lot of other “zone out” experiences that focus on geometric shapes, but the blocky visuals really conflicted with the chill vibe it was going for. Not really my jam, but if you like chill experiences, it might be for you. You certainly can't beat the price.
- Shooty Fruity ($19.99) From the developer: Do your job whilst shooting guns! Shooty Fruity combines job simulation with exhilarating combat that makes you feel like a true action hero - whether McClane, Wick or Rambo. Take on new roles and unlock weapons to fight your way through your career. Scan shoot repeat! My thoughts: I kept seeing this game show up in sales and various feeds so I finally tried it out. After 30 minutes I just was not having any fun at all. While the enemies were silly (various fruits and vegetables), the gun mechanics were lackluster. I just did not get into the gameplay loop of shooting and scanning groceries. It was just too repetitive for me and for that reason I can’t recommend it.
- What the Bat? ($24.99) From the developer: From the creators of WHAT THE GOLF? comes a silly VR game about navigating life with baseball bats for hands. Swing your way through over 100 levels of batting, cooking, shooting, smashing, parking, painting, pickling, petting, and WHATnot. My thoughts: I was a huge fan of What the Golf on iOS, and was quite excited when I heard about this sequel. The “high” price point turned me off for a while, but when UploadVR gave it their “game of the year” award, I finally pulled the trigger. I had high hopes, and it was fun… at first, but the gimmick started to wear really thin on me rather quickly. It just didn’t seem to have the same magic the first game had. I kept going through it in hopes that something would change, or capture that original feeling, but honestly, it was a grind to finish such a short game. I understand I’m probably in the minority here, but I was quite disappointed.
- Superhot ($24.99) From the developer: Multi-award winning, smash-hit SUPERHOT VR blurs the lines between cautious strategy and unbridled mayhem. The definitive VR action experience. Time moves only when you move. No regenerating health bars. No conveniently placed ammo drops. It's you, alone, outnumbered and outgunned. Snatch weapons from fallen enemies to shoot, slice and dodge through a truly cinematic hurricane of slow-motion bullets. It’s like nothing you have ever played before. Something is different here. Lose track of what’s real. My thoughts: You know it, and you probably love it. Like so many others, so did I. This was one of my first VR experiences years ago and I finally saw it through to the end. This game can be quite demanding for some levels requiring accurate shooting, movement and timing. This game offers a really unique take on gameplay and multiple ways to get through some levels really increase the replayability. With the unique achievements to strive for you have a real winner. A must own for all gamers.
- Tube Be Continued (Demo) (Full game $14.99) From the developer: Hello! Welcome to TUBE Industries: a hamster owned and operated tube puzzle emporium! Prepare for a tube-based, puzzle-filled, HAM-PACKED adventure with our charismatic leader: The BOSS. Here at TUBE Industries we provide the puzzles and you provide… the brains. No shady business here! My thoughts: I like to look at the new App Lab games that come out every now and then and I’m a sucker for a good puzzle game. This is a game where you connect mazes together for hamsters to run through. It was a weird story that sees you working with a Hamster CEO trying to save his company from the Board, which are all hamsters. Really weird stuff, but while the demo was fun, the puzzles were a bit on the simple side and ultimately, I just did not think it was worth buying at this point. That being said, if the demo grabs you I could see this being a fun few hours with new content planning to be added.
- Dart Racer (Free) From the developer: Dart Racer is an arcade racing game where you compete against AI during race and other players on the online leaderboards - features multiple race tracks and environments - steering based on throttle differential - interactive tutorial - customizable game and comfort settings - optional hand tracking. My thoughts: Now this is podracing! It really did feel like I was doing some classic Star Wars podracing, but it was quite tough to learn the controls. Once I got that figured out, there certainly was some fun to be had, but unfortunately, it just was okay for me and I dropped out after a bit. Give it a try for free, and keep in mind there are plenty of motion assists to play with so you don't get sick.
- Nock ($9.99) From the developer: Nock is bow and arrow soccer. Skate and fly around a pitch while using a bow and arrow to blast the ball into the other team’s goal. Compete in multiplayer ranked matches, or play casual custom games with your friends! Like a real sport, Nock is easy to learn but difficult to master. Block arrows let you create obstacles and you can even use your body to make a goal or save. A fast-moving ball can knock you out. Skill-based matchmaking keeps every game extremely close and competitive. Casual modes let you challenge yourself against bots or play with friends in custom matches. My thoughts: Rocket League but with archery. While I’m not a fan of archery games in general, this game really had the physics dialed in. I always felt like I was in full control of my movement and bow and arrow. Nothing ever felt like it was off, and the aiming was spot on. Every hit of the ball, or miss was my fault. An absolute blast with with up to four friends, and that’s how I recommend you play it - with friends. But there are leagues and tournaments readily available if get into the game. That being said, I’m pretty terrible at it, and will only play with friends who can tolerate my terrible skills.
- Into the Radius ($29.99) From the developer: An atmospheric open-world single-player survival shooter. You find yourself in the middle of the blighted zone, cut from the outside world. Your guns and your wits are all you have left. Fight the deadly enemies, dodge dangerous anomalies, and collect wondrous artifacts on your way to the Radius center to find your way out. My thoughts: I found myself constantly saying “I can’t believe this actually runs on a Quest.” The amount of items you can interact with, areas available to explore, systems to learn and missions to accept can be quite overwhelming. Honestly it took me about 5-7 hours of gameplay, tutorials and youtube videos until finally the game “clicked.” After this one fateful mission where I was over encumbered with items, low on ammo with minimal health and dealing with enemies at every turn, I was totally immersed and was having the time of my life. It was an absolute blast and despite being so tense - a joy to play. I did tone down the difficulty a bit, which made it much more playable and less punishing. Truly a great game if you like the loop of scavenging, planning your route ahead and making sure literally every bullet counts. While it lacks in story, it does have a lot of environmental details and little things that you have to find for yourself. If you like survival games, it’s almost perfect.
- Surgineer ($9.99) From the developer: Have you ever dreamed of being a real surgeon? Well… you are not gonna learn that here. Welcome to the most unrealistic surgery simulator where everyone can instantly become a terrible doctor. You will have to solve hilarious surgical procedures ranging from CPR to brain transplant or even removing alien eggs from a poor patient using a robotic arm! You always thought you had that surgeon in you? You better have a bulletproof malpractice insurance before getting your virtual hands on a patient! My thoughts: At such a low price point, I wasn’t expecting much. I remember playing Surgeon Simulator back in the day and this looked like that. Much to my disappointment it was much more terrible than I had hoped. Absolutely no fun was to be had here. I constantly fought with the controls, many times had no clue what to do and finally gave up in frustration. I understand part of the appeal is the wonkiness of it, but this game requires someone with a lot more patience than me to get some fun out of it.
2023.03.22 16:37 SlowShoes There are no games to play! (January-March 2023)
When I read posts about how there are no games to play on the Quest, I simply can’t relate. I’m a voracious consumer of VR games, experiences and demos and currently have over 330 of them on my headset (not including my PCVR library). These experiences are a combination of both old and new items, and my wish list and library just keeps growing week after week with new releases, recommendations and game updates. This year, I wanted to keep track of all the games I’ve played and keep coming back to and catalogue them here in hopes that they may give you some fresh ideas of games to play, or reasons to revisit older games due to their updates or improvements.
Some of the games listed below, I can forsee playing all year long, and to be fair, others I've tried are not my cup of tea, but they may interest you enough to try them out. In either case, here are my quick thoughts on the 21 games I’ve played so far from January to March of 2023 along with links to them on the store.
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Some of the games listed below, I can forsee playing all year long, and to be fair, others I've tried are not my cup of tea, but they may interest you enough to try them out. In either case, here are my quick thoughts on the 21 games I’ve played so far from January to March of 2023 along with links to them on the store.
- Bocce Time! ($8.99) From the developer: In Bocce Time! you'll head down to a peaceful park or atmospheric pier to test your bocce skills across 12 distinct courts. Jump into a quick match to 1v1 a random opponent online, create and join private rooms with up to 8 players, or play against AI across 3 difficulties to unlock additional ball customization options. With full cross-play, everyone's invited to join the fun! It's Bocce Time! My thoughts: This game has seen so many updates since it’s release and if you haven’t checked it out, there’s a free trial that opens up the whole game so you can try it out for yourself. With two parks (10 courses), an AI bot to challenge (that has great quips), collectible balls and support for up to eight people, this is a wonderful social game to play with friends. The Walkabout Mini Golf vibes are strong with this game, so players of that game will feel right at home. The latest update unlocked the entire park as a play area, and ensures that you and your friends will have unlimited options for where to play from. Along with Discord tournaments available if you're feeling competitive, this game is a real hidden gem and has grown a lot since its release. Absolutely worth a go, especially at that price point.
- Golf+ ($29.99) From the developer: GOLF+ is the ultimate VR Golf experience and the exclusive VR Golf game of the PGA TOUR. Join your friends for a round on Pebble Beach, Pinehurst No. 2, TPC Sawgrass and more. Want something more casual? Hang out at Topgolf for a night of music and games. My thoughts: Simply one of the best games on the app store. With all the great new updates such as Beat the Pro and new courses dropping every so often, it's one game that will be on my Quest until the next headset comes out. With the official PGA licenses, a variety of match options and support for four players, it’s an essential Quest game to play alone or with friends.
- Little Cities ($19.99) From the developer: Escape to the charming world of Little Cities, the most loved VR city building simulation game. Create your own little city and watch it come to life – from a humble village to a bustling metropolis. Design the layout and strategically plot amenities to make a perfect city where your citizens love to live. My thoughts: The latest update added citizens to the game. This adds a lot more flavor to your city and brings more life to your city. It’s a pretty simple SimCity style game that should keep you entertained for a few hours. I enjoyed this one, but wasn’t blown away. The extra DLC courses and achievements will give you more play time if you find yourself enjoying this one though.
- Compound ($19.99) From the developer: "COMPOUND is a randomized, rogue-lite, free-roaming shooter for Virtual Reality veterans. Duck and dodge around enemy fire in a tough-as-nails retro FPS with multiple locomotion options. Prepare to die - a lot - until you are good enough to reach the heart of The Corporation and take back what belongs to everyone..." My experience: Essentially Doom on Quest. The awesome blocky aesthetics work perfectly in this world. With a great gameplay loop and exciting gunplay this one will easily get its hooks into you. I found myself saying "just one more run" more often than I had time for. This single player shooter has so many achievements and difficulty levels that it kept me busy for quite some time. I thoroughly enjoyed my time with it and still have more to do. A must buy for any fan of the genre.
- Walkabout Mini Golf ($14.99) From the developer: 8 unique 18-hole courses to master. Unlock NIGHT MODE for more challenging versions of all courses. Play solo, 1v1 online quick match, or create a private room with up to 8 players. Extremely accurate physics feel just like the real thing. Collect over 188 custom balls hidden throughout. Solve treasure hunts on each hard course to earn special putters. My thoughts: What more needs to be said about this excellent game? It’s on my constant rotation of games to play alone, with friends, or even with strangers - as the community is so warm and welcoming. The community is truly one of the best, and there are several discord servers for tournaments, weekly meetups and more. An essential game that every Quest owner should have.
- VR Pool ($19.99) From the developer: ForeVR Pool brings the coolest pool halls from around the globe straight to your living room! Challenge friends, family, and in-game pros to a game of 8-ball pool – no table required. Battle 12 bots to level up and take on Legendary challengers. Join a Quick Match or jump into a private multiplayer party! Friend in town? Share your headset with Pass & Play. Up the ante and stake in-game coins in matches against other players. My thoughts: This was pretty feature-light and choppy when it first launched, but it now has 9-ball in addition to 8-ball. If you bought it early, it's worth a quick revisit. It sticks pretty true to the ForeVR formula with its aesthetics and collectibles. The graphics aren’t going to win any awards and frankly put me off of it when I first booted it up, but the physics hold up and it’s a good time against the AI or a friend. With 2v2 matches coming soon, that is where this game could really be worth revisiting for some multiplayer fun and friendly smack talk.
- After the Fall - (Played on PC $29.99, available on Quest $29.99) From the developer: Welcome to ‘The Line’... Decades have passed since the apocalypse turned 1980s Los Angeles into a snow-crested wasteland, overrun by mutated undead. Starting out in an underground camp with up to 32 other player survivors, you take up arms as a new Harvest Runner. Your mission? Venturing out above ground to expand the Line’s reach into the city and fuel mankind’s survival for another day. My thoughts: What a fun game. The gunplay and sheer amount of enemies on screen via PC is just stunning. You're set in an apocalyptic world and must shoot your way out while gathering resources. The atmosphere is stunning, and the graphics are top notch as well. While I’m sure it’s downgraded a bit to run on Quest, don’t let that hold you back. You can play this co-op with up to three other players and bots will fill you out to four. The teamwork this game offers is wonderful. Find a friend or two and jump in this one, or play with the ever-full lobbies of people looking to join up. The latest Descension update adds two new maps and a ton of other bug fixes and gameplay additions. It's a great time to jump in with a friend!
- Cosmoniuous High (Played on PC $29.99, available on Quest $29.99) From the developer: From the creators of award winning titles 'Job Simulator' and 'Vacation Simulator', comes a new original creation—the comically catastrophic Cosmonious High! Welcome to your alien high school that's definitely completely free of malfunctions! After crash-landing into your first day, you'll unlock powers, explore the halls, and save the school from cosmic chaos. My thoughts: I would consider this is the third entry in the Job Simulator series - even though it's technically not in the same world. I’d really recommend you play them in order to fully appreciate the experience this game has to offer. Job Simulator was the first game, with jokes and fun interaction. Vacation Simulator expanded on that idea with similar characters, and what Cosmonius does is take the ideas of object interaction and conversations and cranks it up to the max. I had so much fun experimenting, talking with NPC’s, exploring the school and seeing what story the game had to offer. This is one of those games that just speaks to people like me who likes to push the boundaries to see what you can do in a game and rewards players for experimenting. It's a heartwarming game that continues to get quality of life and accessibility updates.
- The Invisible Hours - (Played on PC $29.99, but coming out on Quest, currently available in the Rift store.) From the developer: The Invisible Hours is a complex murder mystery playable with or without a VR headset. Players freely explore an intricate web of interwoven stories within a sprawling mansion. A group of strangers receive a curious invitation from the enigmatic inventor, Nikola Tesla, offering each of them the chance to make amends for their darkest wrongdoings. When the last guest arrives at Tesla’s isolated mansion laboratory, they find him dead – murdered. Disgraced Swedish detective, Gustaf Gustav, vows to find the killer amongst the other guests: a blind butler, a convicted murderer, the world’s most famous actress, Tesla’s former assistant, the son of a wealthy railroad magnate, and rival inventor Thomas Edison. But none of these people are what they seem. My thoughts: I heard so many great things about this game and it's really more of an interactive story than anything. You find yourself moving around the mansion, piecing together the intricate story and learning how all these people relate to one another and their hidden secrets. I had a great time with this game, it had a unique concept that kept me fully engaged throughout.
- Pokerstars VR (Free) From the developer: PokerStars, the world’s leading poker brand, has combined live and online poker in a truly immersive VR experience. Featuring Quest Pro support with face and eye tracking, advanced haptics, and mixed reality passthrough! My thoughts: This is one of my go-to games with friends. Once you get past the initial low-stakes tables where kids play and go all-in on many hands, you’ll find a new set of players that actually play smart poker and like to chat. If you have some friends, you can create your own private room and avoid that all together. It’s a relaxing game where you can meet new people and just chill in VR. It’s my social game where I go to unwind. Recent updates have seen them add craps and social poker rooms with slots and roulette. If you're looking to relax and play some poker, this free to play game will hit the spot. You can easily play this game for free and not ever spend a dime.
- Path of the Warrior ($19.99) From the developer: We interrupt this broadcast with breaking news...chaos in the streets of Rage City tonight! The myriad local gangs, once at constant war with each other have now unified under a mysterious new crime boss...Mr. S. Thugs have flooded the entire city, unleashing a wave of terror. The police are overwhelmed and the public is in imminent danger! Can anyone put a stop to the crime wave? Can anyone save Rage City? My thoughts: This fighting game is one that you can blow off steam with. It harkens back to the old Double Dragon or Final Fight arcade days and I highly recommend you play through this game with a friend as you’ll be laughing your way through it at the absurd combos and interactive objects and scenery you can use to defeat your foes. Find a bit of open room to play in, and punch your way through the game.
- Half Life Alyx Mod: The Undertow - (PC only, Free) From the developer: You play as Alyx, tasked with delivering a mysterious briefcase to the owner of an underground night club, upon arriving you realize this deal might not be so straight forward... Expected Playtime: 50min - 1hr. Features: Full-fledged Story with Voice Acting, Custom Sounds, Assets, and Gameplay, Unique Puzzles & Engaging Combat, Full Single-Controller Support and Drinkable Vodka (Finally). My thoughts: I’ve been working my way through some Half Life Alyx mods that bubble up to the top via Reddit or online posts. This one found its way into my queue and while it had a really unique setting, it was extremely buggy in one spot, to the point where I had to restart a section close to 20 times. I didn't find the end game satisfying, and with so many other great mods, it was a miss for me.
- Sheaf - Together EP (PC only, Free) From the developer: Enter virtual reality to listen to the debut EP “Together” of synthwave producer Sheaf. No gameplay involved -- just sit back, relax, and enjoy the music while you drive through a retro low poly world. The EP features 3 tracks, and each track comes with its own scenery, tailor made to fit its mood. You can start each track separately from the main menu. My thoughts: As noted in the developer description, this is really more a zen-like experience where you’re sitting in a car that drives down a road while chill music is playing. Certainly different from a lot of other “zone out” experiences that focus on geometric shapes, but the blocky visuals really conflicted with the chill vibe it was going for. Not really my jam, but if you like chill experiences, it might be for you. You certainly can't beat the price.
- Shooty Fruity ($19.99) From the developer: Do your job whilst shooting guns! Shooty Fruity combines job simulation with exhilarating combat that makes you feel like a true action hero - whether McClane, Wick or Rambo. Take on new roles and unlock weapons to fight your way through your career. Scan shoot repeat! My thoughts: I kept seeing this game show up in sales and various feeds so I finally tried it out. After 30 minutes I just was not having any fun at all. While the enemies were silly (various fruits and vegetables), the gun mechanics were lackluster. I just did not get into the gameplay loop of shooting and scanning groceries. It was just too repetitive for me and for that reason I can’t recommend it.
- What the Bat? ($24.99) From the developer: From the creators of WHAT THE GOLF? comes a silly VR game about navigating life with baseball bats for hands. Swing your way through over 100 levels of batting, cooking, shooting, smashing, parking, painting, pickling, petting, and WHATnot. My thoughts: I was a huge fan of What the Golf on iOS, and was quite excited when I heard about this sequel. The “high” price point turned me off for a while, but when UploadVR gave it their “game of the year” award, I finally pulled the trigger. I had high hopes, and it was fun… at first, but the gimmick started to wear really thin on me rather quickly. It just didn’t seem to have the same magic the first game had. I kept going through it in hopes that something would change, or capture that original feeling, but honestly, it was a grind to finish such a short game. I understand I’m probably in the minority here, but I was quite disappointed.
- Superhot ($24.99) From the developer: Multi-award winning, smash-hit SUPERHOT VR blurs the lines between cautious strategy and unbridled mayhem. The definitive VR action experience. Time moves only when you move. No regenerating health bars. No conveniently placed ammo drops. It's you, alone, outnumbered and outgunned. Snatch weapons from fallen enemies to shoot, slice and dodge through a truly cinematic hurricane of slow-motion bullets. It’s like nothing you have ever played before. Something is different here. Lose track of what’s real. My thoughts: You know it, and you probably love it. Like so many others, so did I. This was one of my first VR experiences years ago and I finally saw it through to the end. This game can be quite demanding for some levels requiring accurate shooting, movement and timing. This game offers a really unique take on gameplay and multiple ways to get through some levels really increase the replayability. With the unique achievements to strive for you have a real winner. A must own for all gamers.
- Tube Be Continued (Demo) (Full game $14.99) From the developer: Hello! Welcome to TUBE Industries: a hamster owned and operated tube puzzle emporium! Prepare for a tube-based, puzzle-filled, HAM-PACKED adventure with our charismatic leader: The BOSS. Here at TUBE Industries we provide the puzzles and you provide… the brains. No shady business here! My thoughts: I like to look at the new App Lab games that come out every now and then and I’m a sucker for a good puzzle game. This is a game where you connect mazes together for hamsters to run through. It was a weird story that sees you working with a Hamster CEO trying to save his company from the Board, which are all hamsters. Really weird stuff, but while the demo was fun, the puzzles were a bit on the simple side and ultimately, I just did not think it was worth buying at this point. That being said, if the demo grabs you I could see this being a fun few hours with new content planning to be added.
- Dart Racer (Free) From the developer: Dart Racer is an arcade racing game where you compete against AI during race and other players on the online leaderboards - features multiple race tracks and environments - steering based on throttle differential - interactive tutorial - customizable game and comfort settings - optional hand tracking. My thoughts: Now this is podracing! It really did feel like I was doing some classic Star Wars podracing, but it was quite tough to learn the controls. Once I got that figured out, there certainly was some fun to be had, but unfortunately, it just was okay for me and I dropped out after a bit. Give it a try for free, and keep in mind there are plenty of motion assists to play with so you don't get sick.
- Nock ($9.99) From the developer: Nock is bow and arrow soccer. Skate and fly around a pitch while using a bow and arrow to blast the ball into the other team’s goal. Compete in multiplayer ranked matches, or play casual custom games with your friends! Like a real sport, Nock is easy to learn but difficult to master. Block arrows let you create obstacles and you can even use your body to make a goal or save. A fast-moving ball can knock you out. Skill-based matchmaking keeps every game extremely close and competitive. Casual modes let you challenge yourself against bots or play with friends in custom matches. My thoughts: Rocket League but with archery. While I’m not a fan of archery games in general, this game really had the physics dialed in. I always felt like I was in full control of my movement and bow and arrow. Nothing ever felt like it was off, and the aiming was spot on. Every hit of the ball, or miss was my fault. An absolute blast with with up to four friends, and that’s how I recommend you play it - with friends. But there are leagues and tournaments readily available if get into the game. That being said, I’m pretty terrible at it, and will only play with friends who can tolerate my terrible skills.
- Into the Radius ($29.99) From the developer: An atmospheric open-world single-player survival shooter. You find yourself in the middle of the blighted zone, cut from the outside world. Your guns and your wits are all you have left. Fight the deadly enemies, dodge dangerous anomalies, and collect wondrous artifacts on your way to the Radius center to find your way out. My thoughts: I found myself constantly saying “I can’t believe this actually runs on a Quest.” The amount of items you can interact with, areas available to explore, systems to learn and missions to accept can be quite overwhelming. Honestly it took me about 5-7 hours of gameplay, tutorials and youtube videos until finally the game “clicked.” After this one fateful mission where I was over encumbered with items, low on ammo with minimal health and dealing with enemies at every turn, I was totally immersed and was having the time of my life. It was an absolute blast and despite being so tense - a joy to play. I did tone down the difficulty a bit, which made it much more playable and less punishing. Truly a great game if you like the loop of scavenging, planning your route ahead and making sure literally every bullet counts. While it lacks in story, it does have a lot of environmental details and little things that you have to find for yourself. If you like survival games, it’s almost perfect.
- Surgineer ($9.99) From the developer: Have you ever dreamed of being a real surgeon? Well… you are not gonna learn that here. Welcome to the most unrealistic surgery simulator where everyone can instantly become a terrible doctor. You will have to solve hilarious surgical procedures ranging from CPR to brain transplant or even removing alien eggs from a poor patient using a robotic arm! You always thought you had that surgeon in you? You better have a bulletproof malpractice insurance before getting your virtual hands on a patient! My thoughts: At such a low price point, I wasn’t expecting much. I remember playing Surgeon Simulator back in the day and this looked like that. Much to my disappointment it was much more terrible than I had hoped. Absolutely no fun was to be had here. I constantly fought with the controls, many times had no clue what to do and finally gave up in frustration. I understand part of the appeal is the wonkiness of it, but this game requires someone with a lot more patience than me to get some fun out of it.
2023.03.22 16:05 TigersBot Game Thread: Braves @ Tigers - Wed, Mar 22 @ 01:05 PM EDT
Braves @ Tigers - Wed, Mar 22
Game Status: Final - Score: 5-3 Braves
Links & Info
- Current conditions at Publix Field at Joker Marchant Stadium: 80°F - Partly Cloudy - Wind 10 mph, R To L
- TV: Braves: Bally Sports South, Tigers: Bally Sports Detroit
- Radio: Braves: WIFN 1340 AM/103.7FM, Tigers: WXYT 1270
- MLB Gameday
- Game Graphs
- Savant Gamefeed
| Braves Batters | AB | R | H | RBI | BB | K | LOB | AVG | OBP | SLG | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Arcia, Or - SS | 3 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 1 | .286 | .412 | .500 |
| Park - SS | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .286 | .444 | .286 | |
| 2 | Wall - CF | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | .375 | .464 | .500 |
| Dean - CF | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | .400 | .550 | .467 | |
| 3 | Adrianza - 2B | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 3 | .258 | .395 | .452 |
| Bunnell - 2B | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | .500 | .714 | .500 | |
| 4 | Hilliard - LF | 3 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | .405 | .500 | .595 |
| Kilpatrick Jr. - LF | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | .000 | .250 | .000 | |
| 5 | Casteel - DH | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 6 | .237 | .293 | .342 |
| c-Alvarez - DH | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | .333 | .333 | .667 | |
| 6 | Tolman - 3B | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 4 | .300 | .300 | .900 |
| Ogans - 3B | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | .333 | .333 | .333 | |
| 7 | Fuentes - 1B | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | .167 | .250 | .333 |
| 8 | Sierra - RF | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | .350 | .458 | .400 |
| a-Pearson - RF | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | .000 | .000 | .000 | |
| 9 | Hudson, J - C | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | .280 | .333 | .400 |
| b-Valdes - C | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | .000 | .000 | .000 | |
| Totals | 40 | 5 | 13 | 5 | 4 | 12 | 25 |
| Braves |
|---|
| a-Grounded out for Sierra in the 7th. b-Struck out for Hudson, J in the 7th. c-Grounded out for Casteel in the 8th. |
| BATTING: 2B: Hilliard (4, Cisnero). HR: Arcia, Or (2, 6th inning off Cisnero, 2 on, 1 out). TB: Arcia, Or 5; Hilliard 4; Hudson, J 2; Ogans; Park; Sierra 2; Wall 2. RBI: Arcia, Or 4 (8); Hilliard (8). 2-out RBI: Hilliard; Arcia, Or. Runners left in scoring position, 2 out: Alvarez; Casteel; Valdes; Tolman 3; Wall. Team RISP: 4-for-14. Team LOB: 12. |
| FIELDING: E: Adrianza (1, fielding); Sierra (1, throw); Fuentes (1, fielding). |
| Tigers Batters | AB | R | H | RBI | BB | K | LOB | AVG | OBP | SLG | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Vierling - LF | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | .333 | .364 | .619 |
| Davis, Jo - CF | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | .139 | .262 | .167 | |
| 2 | Greene, R - LF | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | .333 | .364 | .643 |
| a-Haase - PH | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | .286 | .297 | .571 | |
| Short - SS | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | .250 | .400 | .444 | |
| 3 | Báez, J - SS | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | .154 | .148 | .231 |
| Serretti - 2B | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .250 | .250 | .250 | |
| 4 | Torkelson - 1B | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | .283 | .340 | .413 |
| Holton, J - 1B | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .571 | .571 | .571 | |
| 5 | Cabrera, M - DH | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | .176 | .222 | .412 |
| c-Papierski - DH | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .294 | .400 | .588 | |
| 6 | Baddoo - RF | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | .225 | .295 | .425 |
| Davis, B - RF | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .240 | .367 | .360 | |
| 7 | Ibáñez - 3B | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | .214 | .267 | .214 |
| b-Maton, N - PH | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .300 | .364 | .575 | |
| Palacios - 3B | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .276 | .344 | .448 | |
| 8 | Kreidler - LF | 3 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | .289 | .333 | .489 |
| Mendoza, C - LF | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | .500 | .000 | |
| 9 | Rogers - C | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | .286 | .333 | .679 |
| Totals | 36 | 3 | 7 | 2 | 3 | 7 | 19 |
| Tigers |
|---|
| a-Struck out for Greene, R in the 4th. b-Flied out for Ibáñez in the 5th. c-Grounded out for Cabrera, M in the 7th. |
| BATTING: TB: Báez, J; Cabrera, M; Greene, R; Ibáñez; Kreidler 2; Rogers. RBI: Greene, R (10); Kreidler (6). 2-out RBI: Kreidler. Runners left in scoring position, 2 out: Rogers; Cabrera, M; Báez, J 3. Team RISP: 3-for-12. Team LOB: 9. |
| FIELDING: E: Báez, J (1, fielding). Pickoffs: Manning (Wall at 1st base). |
| Braves Pitchers | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | HR | P-S | ERA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Soroka | 1.1 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 36-20 | 6.75 |
| Tonkin | 1.1 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 31-21 | 5.87 |
| Lee, D | 1.1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 16-13 | 0.00 |
| Tice (W, 1-0) | 1.2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 27-16 | 1.93 |
| Swarmer (H, 2) | 1.1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 16-10 | 0.00 |
| Riley, T (H, 1) | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 12-9 | 0.00 |
| Barger (S, 1) | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 15-9 | 0.00 |
| Totals | 9.0 | 7 | 3 | 1 | 3 | 7 | 0 |
| Tigers Pitchers | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | HR | P-S | ERA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Manning | 4.0 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 6 | 0 | 80-54 | 6.43 |
| Foley | 1.1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 15-11 | 7.11 |
| Cisnero (L, 0-1)(BS, 2) | 0.2 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 20-11 | 8.44 |
| Wingenter | 1.0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 19-12 | 0.00 |
| Lange | 1.0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 17-7 | 5.40 |
| Mattison | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 13-9 | 0.00 |
| Totals | 9.0 | 13 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 12 | 1 |
| Game Info |
|---|
| WP: Soroka 2; Lange. |
| Pitches-strikes: Soroka 36-20; Tonkin 31-21; Lee, D 16-13; Tice 27-16; Swarmer 16-10; Riley, T 12-9; Barger 15-9; Manning 80-54; Foley 15-11; Cisnero 20-11; Wingenter 19-12; Lange 17-7; Mattison 13-9. |
| Groundouts-flyouts: Soroka 3-1; Tonkin 2-0; Lee, D 1-0; Tice 2-1; Swarmer 2-1; Riley, T 2-0; Barger 1-0; Manning 3-0; Foley 3-1; Cisnero 1-0; Wingenter 1-0; Lange 2-0; Mattison 1-0. |
| Batters faced: Soroka 9; Tonkin 8; Lee, D 5; Tice 7; Swarmer 4; Riley, T 3; Barger 3; Manning 20; Foley 6; Cisnero 6; Wingenter 4; Lange 5; Mattison 3. |
| Inherited runners-scored: Tonkin 2-0; Lee, D 2-0; Swarmer 2-0; Cisnero 1-1. |
| Umpires: HP: Mark Wegner. 1B: Laz Diaz. 2B: Adam Beck. 3B: Sean Barber. |
| Weather: 80 degrees, Partly Cloudy. |
| Wind: 10 mph, R To L. |
| First pitch: 1:05 PM. |
| T: 2:47. |
| Att: 6,196. |
| Venue: Publix Field at Joker Marchant Stadium. |
| March 22, 2023 |
| Inning | Scoring Play | Score |
|---|---|---|
| Bottom 1 | Riley Greene singles on a ground ball to left fielder Sam Hilliard. Matt Vierling scores. | 1-0 DET |
| Bottom 2 | Andy Ibanez singles on a ground ball to right fielder Magneuris Sierra. Akil Baddoo scores. Andy Ibanez to 2nd. Throwing error by right fielder Magneuris Sierra. | 2-0 DET |
| Bottom 3 | Ryan Kreidler singles on a sharp ground ball to right fielder Magneuris Sierra, deflected by second baseman Ehire Adrianza. Miguel Cabrera scores. Akil Baddoo to 2nd. | 3-0 DET |
| Top 4 | Orlando Arcia singles on a line drive to center fielder Matt Vierling. Joshua Fuentes scores. Joe Hudson to 3rd. | 3-1 DET |
| Top 6 | Orlando Arcia homers (2) on a fly ball to left field. Magneuris Sierra scores. Joe Hudson scores. | 4-3 ATL |
| Top 6 | Sam Hilliard doubles (4) on a line drive to left fielder Matt Vierling. Forrest Wall scores. | 5-3 ATL |
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E | LOB | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Braves | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 13 | 3 | 12 | |
| Tigers | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 7 | 1 | 9 |
Decisions
- Winner: Ty Tice (1-0, 1.93)
- Loser: Jose Cisnero (0-1, 8.44)
- Save: Alec Barger (1, 0.00)
Division Scoreboard
KC 4 @ CWS 3 - FinalCWS 0 @ TEX 2 - Final
MIN 11 @ BOS 0 - Final
Last Updated: 03/22/2023 11:02:05 PM EDT
2023.03.22 15:00 KhoaFraelich 2023 Ineos Grenadier review
 | Not only does it live up to the original Land Rover Defender brief, the Grenadier goes above and beyond but it's not perfect. submitted by KhoaFraelich to CarScannerOBD2 [link] [comments] https://preview.redd.it/rizu8018k9oa1.png?width=800&format=png&auto=webp&s=1c4544853e9d4c891199a795e6e7a6c70c08ce3c The Ineos automotive brand might be new, but what has led to the creation of the Grenadier wagon and soon, the Grenadier ute is nothing short of extraordinary. With the absence of the Land Rover Defender in its original, tough ladder chassis form, the gap in the market for a fully capable off-road vehicle that feels at home in the city and one which you can hose the mud out of, was left to no other than British billionaire and chemical engineer, Sir Jim Ratcliffe. The original idea was to simply buy the tooling and the manufacturing products from Land Rover and continue producing the Defender one way or another, but the British brand evidently wasn’t very keen and what was then conceived at the Grenadier pub in London almost as a ‘we can do it better ourselves any way’, became the Ineos Grenadier. Imagine this; start with a near-unlimited budget for a passion project and hire the likes of Magna Steyr to engineer your vehicle, BMW to produce the engines, ZF to make the transmission and Bosch to supply a great deal of the other parts… then you buy a pre-existing Mercedes-Benz production facility and further invest a claimed $770 million AUD in upgrades to produce the vehicle. That probably needs some context because if you don’t know, Magna Steyr happens to be the same company that makes a similar car, the Mercedes-Benz G-Class – or G-Wagen. Yep, that’s right, the same company that produces what is probably the most famous SUV in the world also happened to engineer the Ineos Grenadier. Conflict of interest? Don’t tell Mercedes. It gets better though; because having talked to the engineers who have made the project come to life, most are from the likes of Mercedes, Jaguar Land Rover, and even McLaren. Thankfully, the Grenadier starts at $97,000 (originally $85k) and not the $400,000 on-road the G-Wagen has become, and that is perhaps what the Grenadier is here to do. It’s to provide a fully capable alternative to the ultra-expensive off-roaders that have become as much a fashion icon as anything else. The main question isn’t about the Grenadier’s intent or its individual parts, however. We know Magna can engineer a car, we know BMW can make great engines that work amazingly well with ZF transmissions, and we know Bosch supplies automotive parts to the absolute majority of other manufacturers. The real question, is whether the Grenadier is a genuine alternative for the original Defender and befitting of a new model in 2023? The answer to that question is actually a resounding yes, but with some caveats that we will discuss in this review. How much does the 2023 Ineos Grenadier cost? As previously mentioned, the Grenadier saw a substantial price increase last year which added as much as $13,000 to the price of the Wagon and Ute. Although Ineos has put this down to the increasing cost of materials – which is definitely a contributing factor – we also have no doubt that the increase is also driven by market dynamics of supply and demand and perhaps a repositioning of the brand itself given just how popular the original price point was with buyers. 2023 Ineos Grenadier pricing: Utility Wagon Base: $97,000 (up 14.8 per cent or $12,500) Fieldmaster Edition: $107,400 (up 12.5 per cent or $11,905) Trailmaster Edition: $108,525 (up 13.6 per cent or $13,030) Station Wagon Base: $98,000 (up 14.6 per cent or $12,500) Fieldmaster Edition: $109,525 (up 13.5 per cent or $13,030) Trailmaster Edition: $109,525 (up 13.5 per cent or $13,030) Prices exclude on-road costs If you were lucky enough to get in at that price, you have got yourself a bargain, but for the rest the price increase does genuinely position the vehicle in a place now that makes you really have to consider whether you can trust a first time manufacturer to produce a vehicle that costs well in excess of $100k. While the price increase is unfortunate, options in the hardcore 4×4 market are limited considering orders for the LandCruiser 70 remain closed on the back of rampant demand unmatched by supply. There’s also no haggling given Ineos is using an ‘agency model’ with fixed pricing. The company will control inventory and pricing, and pay dealer partners a “straight-forward commission”, much in the style of Mercedes-Benz and Honda. Australia is a huge market for the Grenadier in terms of orders, coming in the top five, which means local market feedback and input has been well and truly taken into account. You can find a list of Ineos Grenadier retail locations here. What is the Ineos Grenadier like on the inside? First impressions when you get inside the Grenadier cabin are that of a modern and actually not all that austere interior. It was not what we expected and it’s fair to say we were pleasantly surprised. The Recaro seats are comfortable in all available configurations, whether it’s cloth, vinyl or leather. We found the seating position in the front to be excellent for visibility and ease of access to the switchgear and cabin. With the majority of off-road controls cleverly placed on the roof – inspired by aircraft cockpits – there is heaps of room in the cabin itself and it never feels overwhelming or unusable. This is a case of what happens when a new company that has never made cars is allowed to rethink the basics. Having used the 4WD controls on the roof, the question becomes – why don’t all cars have this? So front seat ergonomics are fantastic, but not perfect. There are a couple of issues for right-hand drive models that seem a little bizarre. Firstly, the windscreen wiper does a terrible job of cleaning the edge of the right side of the screen. A decently sized area near the A-pillar on the right of the windscreen is basically untouched and given the wet and muddy conditions in which we drove the Grenadier in, it becomes a genuine visibility issue when turning right. You get used to it and its likely not an issue for the absolute majority of the time you are driving, but it is nonetheless a strange thing to encounter in a modern car. Secondly, right-hand drive vehicles are disadvantaged with the exhaust manifold of the BMW engines (diesel or petrol) both taking up an unusual amount of space in the footwell where you would usually have your footrest. This means your left foot is sitting a fair bit higher than one would probably be used to and if you happen to use the car on a farm, with big boots, this further exaggerates the problem. Again, we got used to this unexpected feature after a few hours of driving but as with the wiper, it’s not something you would expect from a modern car. When quizzed, Ineos engineers told us they initially planned to change the engineering of the vehicle to address it, but it would have changed the cabin or chassis size and this wasn’t feasible. It’s also worth mentioning that in some of the vehicles we drove, the fit and finish of the interior were not as great as we would have wished for. From the roof control panel feeling easy to pull off to the outside door handles that jammed (we are told these will be fixed for all Australian-delivered vehicles), there is no doubt that first batch production vehicles have some room for improvement; and hopefully those improvements are passed on to the first vehicles delivered for our market. For all the niggling issues, the interior is genuinely excellent for its intended purpose – it’s comfortable, it’s spacious and has heaps of storage. The back seat is also a great place to be for long drives as you can easily fit two six-foot adults behind one another, given the ample leg and headroom in both rows. In saying that, while the front Recaro seats are ideal for off-roading, those sitting in the back have literally no support outside of holding on to the handle. The 12.3-inch touchscreen display is super clear and very high resolution with wireless Apple CarPlay that works brilliantly. Ineos has outsourced the unique software and it’s on par if not better than some well-established manufacturers. You will have no issues using the infotainment system. Without a traditional instrument cluster, though, you are forced to use the centre screen to see your speed and we did find that a little frustrating because, unlike other vehicles in which that is also the case (Tesla being the prime example), the Grenadier’s interior is vastly larger so the focal change point from the road to the screen is also more than other vehicles. Given the Grenadier’s ‘instrument cluster’ is a tiny screen to show things like ignition light, check engine light etc, we feel it would have made a lot of sense to put a basic digital speedometer in that position. The front and rear diff locks, plus the off-road mode and wading depth controls, are on the roof but to actually engage low range and lock the centre differential you need to use an old-school lever and, to be fair, it does look a little odd sitting next to the BMW-sourced gearstick which is super modern in design and appearance. So this is definitely a case of lots of parts being put together. Even the steering wheel itself is interesting because, given the recirculating-ball setup, the number of wheel turns you need to do in basic manoeuvring lends itself to using a wheel that is not so circular and allows for a better understanding of the top and bottom. The 1255L boot is huge, and the way the rear doors open allows super quick access from the left side using the smaller door, because opening the larger one on the right is not only a heavier operation (it carries the spare tyre) but also requires far more room to swing open. What’s under the bonnet? Ineos will offer 3.0-litre straight-six diesel and petrol options, both of which have been sourced from BMW and are codenamed B57 (diesel) and B58 (petrol). Ineos says these engines, used across BMW’s sports cars and SUVs since 2016, have been tested in the Grenadier across 1.8 million kilometres and diverse climates. It’s not a straight fit and play, with ECU tuning taking place to better unlock torque down as low in the rev range. The 3.0-litre twin-turbo diesel six makes 183kW of power (3250-4200rpm) and 550Nm of torque (1250-3000rpm) and is capable of moving the Grenadier from 0-100km/h in 9.9 seconds. The 3.0-litre single-turbo petrol six makes 210kW of power (4750rpm) and 450Nm of torque (1750-4000rpm) and is capable of moving the Grenadier from 0-100km/h in 8.6 seconds. Both engines come mated to a ZF eight-speed automatic transmission (codenamed 8HP51 for the petrol, 8HP76 for the diesel), with what Ineos calls a new “heavy duty” torque converter. The WLTP combined-cycle fuel economy for the diesel is a rated 10.3 to 11.8 litres per 100km, while the petrol uses between 13.2L/100km and 15.3L/100km. Both engines have stop/start, and the diesel also has a 17L AdBlue tank. The standard fuel tank with both engine options carries 90 litres. All Grenadiers come standard with permanent four-wheel drive (4WD), with low-range accessed through a 2.5:1 Tremec two-speed transfer case. Matching the class leaders, the Grenadier will also have a 3.5-tonne braked towing capacity. There are no other powertrains confirmed for the Grenadier for the moment, however, the brand is well advanced creating a hydrogen fuel-cell version and is also working on a new model which will be a full electric version on a smaller and all-new platform for 2026. How does the Ineos Grenadier drive? The Ineos Grenadier came to life to meet a very specific design and engineering brief. The wagon and utility versions are essentially a modernised iteration of what would otherwise be considered commercial vehicles; in fact they are very much considered commercial vehicles when it comes to tax purposes. With that in mind, it’s vital that buyers looking at the Grenadier understand this is not a cheap G-Wagen, nor is it a new-old Defender. It’s its own unique vehicle, with its own set of characteristics and traits – some of those are better and some are worse than said vehicles. When it comes to driving, we will break this down into two parts; on-road and off-road. From an on-road perspective, the Grenadier rode exceptionally well, even on poorly surfaced roads. There is no doubt that you can drive this vehicle in the city and it will do an excellent job of keeping you happy and comfortable. The suspension setup and the way the vehicle behaves on sealed roads is a credit to the engineering team behind it. The diesel engine is undoubtedly the powertrain that makes more sense to most buyers looking to tow or do long-distance rural driving, with better fuel economy and more torque. Nonetheless, if you’re buying this and intend to do a fair bit of inner city driving and actually enjoy the driving experience, the petrol is a fantastic option – it’s faster, more responsive, sounds great and makes the Grenadier feel far more engaging and purposeful. This tester would pick the petrol regardless of requirements just for its capacity to overtake other vehicles on the highway with significant ease. The ZF eight-speed transmission is mated beautifully to both powertrain and frankly, given this exact setup has been used in BMW vehicles for a number of years, there is no contention around the powertrain and its ability to perform day in day out. It’s solid and reliable. What may catch out some buyers is the recirculating-ball setup steering box, something more suited to trucks than most modern cars. According to Ineos engineers, the reason this particular Bosch steering system was picked was due to its incredible off-road durability and capacity. In other words, it has been around and used in heavy-duty vehicles with over 1,000,000 kilometres without issue, and Ineos decided to go with that to suit the rugged character of the vehicle. This is all well and good but for on-road driving, it’s a bit of a handful, literally. The amount of turning you need to do to make a basic manoeuvre can get a little frustrating but even just turning left or right at an intersection. It will often see you turn, and then turn again and again until you realise you have likely done one too many rotations and turn back to correct. It’s entirely unlike a normal modern hydraulic or power steering system and more akin to driving a light truck. You absolutely will get used to it, and by the second day it didn’t feel as cumbersome as our initial impressions, but while this may be fantastic for those that only do long-distance drives mixed in with rural roads and off-roading, it’s not ideal for those looking to drive these around inner-city environments. The other option we wish it had was adaptive cruise control. Model-year 2024 Grenadiers will have autonomous emergency braking (AEB) but it will still not enable active cruise, which is unfortunate because this vehicle will likely do plenty of highway kilometres and it would be great to that driving stress further removed. Overall though, the on-road driving aspect of the Ineos Grenadier is much better than we expected due to the ride comfort, power and torque delivery. The cabin is also very quiet with low levels of noise, harshness and vibrations. Take the Ineos off-road and it goes into its true element. This is a vehicle that was designed to go off-road before it was designed to go on-road. Most car companies tend to put car reviewers on off-road courses that you can usually do in a basic medium SUV, but Ineos didn’t hold back. An Off-Road driving mode disengages parking sensors, seatbelt reminders and start/stop, and from a regulatory standpoint we’d imagine this function is only accessible in low-range. The hill-descent control function can brake each wheel independently. We crossed some of the most spectacular natural terrains, in the water, up and down Scottish mountains, and four-wheel drive tracks that would make hardcore enthusiasts proud. There is not much to say except that we never got stuck and the diff locks and the powertrain worked spectacularly. It can occasionally be cumbersome to engage low-range using the manual lever (neutral to be engaged first), with some occasional crunching – which occurred even to our Ineos engineers – and as there are no sensors to detect differential locking positions (to save complexity and weight), wheel speed sensors are used which means engaging and disengaging the front and rear diffs are basically manual and require movement that highlights the differing wheel speed (like a turn). All-terrain tyres are supplied by Bridgestone (Dueler AT 001) or BFGoodrich (AT T/A KO2) depending on spec, and Brembo disc brakes come standard. Electromechanical Eaton diff lockers front and rear are also available either as standard or an option depending on grade. Ground clearance is 264mm, wading depth 800mm, approach angle 36.3 degrees, breakover 28.2 degrees, and departure angle 36.1 degrees. Powder-coated skid plates and a fuel-tank plate are standard. The other great thing is that the amount of accessories expected for the Ineos (given the company has made the blueprint for the car publicly accessible to support the aftermarket) will be huge, so those looking to start with a base car and build what they need will have plenty of options. The Ineos is an excellent compromise between on- and off-road driving as it can one pretty well and the other spectacularly. The only place in which owners may find the driving dynamics challenging is in built-up, city areas that require a lot of close manoeuvring but even then, it’s an intimidating car that will make its own way. What do you get? Grenadier Base highlights: 17-inch steel wheels Full-size spare wheel Bridgestone AT tyres LED headlights LED daytime running lights LED tail lights 30/70 split rear doors Roof protection strips and rails Hydraulic jack and toolkit Immobilisealarm Cruise control Recaro cloth and vinyl seats Tilt and telescoping wheel adjust Climate control AC (second-row vents for five-seaters) Heavy duty flooring with drain valves Loadspace locker and tie-down rings 12.3-inch touchscreen display with rotary controller Pathfinder off-road navigation system Wireless Apple CarPlay Wired Android Auto Bluetooth audio and phone Digital radio USB and 12V sockets Overhead control panel Auxiliary switch panel and electrical prep (3 x 10A) Options (Base) include: $2875 Rough Pack: Front and rear diff locks, BFGoodrich tyres $2875 Smooth Pack: Front parking sensors, powered and heated side mirrors, a lockable central stowage box, puddle lamps, door lighting, auxiliary charge points, Thatcham Cat. 1 immobilisealarm 17-inch steel wheels Full-size spare wheel Bridgestone AT tyres LED headlights LED daytime running lights LED tail lights 30/70 split rear doors Roof protection strips and rails Hydraulic jack and toolkit Immobilisealarm Cruise control Recaro cloth and vinyl seats Tilt and telescoping wheel adjust Climate control AC (second-row vents for five-seaters) Heavy duty flooring with drain valves Loadspace locker and tie-down rings 12.3-inch touchscreen display with rotary controller Pathfinder off-road navigation system Wireless Apple CarPlay Wired Android Auto Bluetooth audio and phone Digital radio USB and 12V sockets Overhead control panel Auxiliary switch panel and electrical prep (3 x 10A) Options (Base) include: $2875 Rough Pack: Front and rear diff locks, BFGoodrich tyres $2875 Smooth Pack: Front parking sensors, powered and heated side mirrors, a lockable central stowage box, puddle lamps, door lighting, auxiliary charge points, Thatcham Cat. 1 immobilisealarm Solid paints Scottish White: standard Magic Mushroom: $900 Eldoret Blue: $900 Britannia Blue: $900 Sela Green: $900 Inky Black: $900 Metallic paints Sterling Silver: $1230 Shale Blue: $1230 Queen’s Red: $1230 Donny Grey: $1230 Contrast ladder frames Black: standard Red: $1410 Grey: $1410 Contrast roof paints Scottish White: $1690 Inky Black: $1690 Contrast Wrapped nose Tunic Red: $1060 Emergency Orange: $1060 Contrast wrapped rear doors Tunic Red: $1400 Emergency Orange: $1400 Wheels 17-inch alloys (base and Trailmaster): $1060 18-inch steel (base and Trailmaster): $1430 18-inch alloys (base and Trailmaster): $2835 18-inch alloys (Fieldmaster): $1775 Other things Safari windows (base and Trailmaster): $2465 Privacy glass: $670 Leather seats (base and Trailmaster): $1850 Heated seats (base and Trailmaster): $650 Floor carpet: $370 Front and rear diff locks (base and Fieldmaster): $2790 Raised air intake (base and Fieldmaster): $1100 Integrated Heavy Duty 5.5t winch: $5430 There are also a lot of accessories, some of which we have listed below, the full list is here: Outside Side Runners: $830 Rock Sliders: $1630 40″ Front LED Light Bar (incl. mounting brackets): $960 Checker Plate for Front Fenders: $460 Roo Bar: $1990 Roo Bar Side Protection Rails: $730 Raised Air intake Cyclone Pre-Cleaner: $420 Inside Rubber Floor Mats: $280 Foldable Tailgate Camp Table: $440 Heavy Duty Seat Covers – Front: $490 Heavy Duty Seat Covers – Rear: $490 Cargo Roof Rack: $2530 Roof Cross-bars: $580 Utility Cargo Barrier – Half-height: $600 Full-height Loadspace Divider: $550 Loadspace Partition Net: $280 Luggage Retention Net – Floor: $90 Cargo Management System: $360 Collapsible Luggage Organiser: $110 Quick Release Tie-Down Rings (x4): $70 Recovery Removable Winch with Tow Mounting Kit (3.5 Tonnes): $4050 Heavy Duty Spade: $60 Off-Road Recovery Kit: $630 Roof add-ons Roof Mounted Bike Carrier: $460 Roof Mounted Ski/Snowboard Carrier: $310 Surfboard Carrier for Roof Rack: $160 Roof Kayak Mount, J-style: $330 Roof Kayak Mount, Saddles: $280 Roof Mounted Adjustable Load Holder: $110 Roof Mounted Cargo Box: $790 Vehicle Integrated Side Awning: $970 Spare Tyre Carrier for Roof Rack: $170 Jerry Can Mount for Roof Rack: $190 Hi-Lift Jack Mounting Bracket for Roof Rack: $160 Roof Mounted Axe and Shovel Bracket: $160 Sand Ladder Flat Mounting Brackets: $220 Sand Ladder Side Mounting Brackets: $160 Spot Light Bracket: $150 Gas Bottle Holder for Roof Rack: $190 Load Mounting Brackets for Roof Rack: $180 Roof Tie-down Rings: $100 Folding Aerial Mount: $160 Lockdown Security Cable: $60 Cargo Load Straps: $30 RotopaX Mounting Bracket: $20 Is the Ineos Grenadier safe? There is no official crash test data from any resting authority for the Grenadier and there is every chance there never will be, given the position of this vehicle as commercial rather than passenger. Standard safety features include: Front, side and curtain airbags ESP with trailer-sway control Tyre pressure monitor Reversing camera and sensors ISOFIX and top tethers (five-seat versions) There’s no mention of driver-assist active safety features such as autonomous emergency braking or lane-keeping aids, meaning a five-star NCAP or ANCAP rating looks impossible. How much does the Ineos Grenadier cost to run? The Ineos Grenadier is covered by a five-year, unlimited-kilometre warranty with five years of roadside assist. Servicing intervals are recommended at 12 months for normal usage or six-month servicing “for continuous use in tough environments”. As well as servicing Grenadiers at its retail centres, Ineos has cut a global deal with Bosch Car Service centres to cater to more remote operators. “Flying Spanner” techs based in the Australian HQ are also said to be available, if the service network needs help. For owners who want to carry out work on their Grenadier themselves, Ineos is taking a novel approach by providing online 3D interactive manuals with support from the technical team at HQ a call or a click away. “The vehicle has been deliberately designed and engineered to be easy to work on inside and out,” the company claims. It bills its “open source” approach, without trying to “ring-fence” buyers into its own ecosystem, as a point-of-difference for enthusiasts. It’s not yet clear what conditions will be placed on DIY owners, from a warranty perspective. CarExpert’s Take There is a lot to love about the Ineos Grenadier. It started life as nothing but an idea at a pub between friends, and ended up bringing together an enormous amount of knowledge from some of the best engineers in the world and huge amounts of investment to create an ultra-modern, rugged vehicle that is just as suited to the farm and rural areas as it is for a drive from Sydney to Melbourne. The Grenadier is an excellent adventure vehicle and those looking to get out of the city, camp and enjoy a more outdoor lifestyle will also benefit massively from the number of accessories available for the vehicle. The only asterisks for us are the niggling initial production quality issues that we are very hopeful will be solved before local cars arrive, and a steering system which will take some buyers a bit of getting used to. |
2023.03.22 14:43 Remarkable-Basis-629 Road Trip
here to say that i successfully drove my Polestar 2 from houston, texas to panama city beach, florida and back. ABRP was a big help!
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2023.03.22 13:00 Blooper_Bot Tailgate Party - Wednesday, March 22
Braves @ Tigers - 01:05 PM EDT
Game Status: Pre-Game
Links & Info
- Current conditions at Publix Field at Joker Marchant Stadium: 78°F - Partly Cloudy - Wind 10 mph, R To L
- TV: Braves: Bally Sports South, Tigers: Bally Sports Detroit
- Radio: Braves: WIFN 1340 AM/103.7FM, Tigers: WXYT 1270
- MLB Gameday
- Statcast Game Preview
| Probable Pitcher (Season Stats) | Report | |
|---|---|---|
| Braves | Michael Soroka (0-0, -.-- ERA, 0.0 IP) | No report posted. |
| Tigers | Matt Manning (1-1, 9.00 ERA, 10.0 IP) | No report posted. |
| Braves Lineup vs. Manning | AVG | OPS | AB | HR | RBI | K |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 Arcia, Or - SS | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 2 Wall - CF | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 3 Adrianza - 2B | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 4 Hilliard - LF | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 5 Casteel - DH | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 6 Tolman - 3B | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 7 Fuentes - 1B | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 8 Sierra - RF | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 9 Hudson, J - C | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 10 Soroka - P | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Tigers Lineup vs. Soroka | AVG | OPS | AB | HR | RBI | K |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 Vierling - CF | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 2 Greene, R - LF | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 3 Báez, J - SS | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 4 Torkelson - 1B | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 5 Cabrera, M - DH | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 6 Baddoo - RF | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 7 Ibáñez - 3B | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 8 Kreidler - 2B | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 9 Rogers - C | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 10 Manning - P | - | - | - | - | - | - |
Division Scoreboard
PHI 0 @ TB 0 WarmupNYY @ WSH 01:05 PM EDT
HOU @ NYM 01:10 PM EDT
STL 0 @ MIA 0 Warmup
Last Updated: 03/22/2023 12:50:50 PM EDT, Update Interval: 5 Minutes
2023.03.22 11:25 AssistSwimming2976 Paragliding in Chennai: A Thrilling Adventure in the Sky
 | submitted by AssistSwimming2976 to u/AssistSwimming2976 [link] [comments] If you’re looking for a thrilling adventure in the sky, paragliding Chennai is an experience you won’t forget. Paragliding and parasailing are two exciting air sports that are gaining popularity in Chennai. Chennai’s coastline and the Bay of Bengal provide the perfect setting for a memorable paragliding experience. Paragliding in ChennaiParagliding is a recreational and competitive flying sport. It involves flying a lightweight glider without an engine, and the pilot relies on the natural air currents and thermals to stay aloft. Paragliding in Chennai can be done at various locations, including Marina Beach and East Coast Road.At Marina Beach, you can experience the thrill of flying over the sea and the beach. The view of the coastline from above is breathtaking, and you may even spot dolphins swimming in the sea. The East Coast Road is another popular destination for paragliding in Chennai. The road stretches for around 100 km, and you can take in the view of the Bay of Bengal as you glide through the air. Parasailing in ChennaiParasailing is a similar air sport to paragliding, but it involves being towed by a speedboat while being suspended in the air by a parachute. Parasailing in Chennai is an exciting activity that offers a bird’s eye view of the coastline. You can experience parasailing at various locations, including Covelong Beach, Muttukadu, and Kovalam.At Covelong Beach, you can soar above the sea and take in the view of the beach and the surrounding fishing village. Muttukadu is another popular destination for parasailing in Chennai. The backwaters of Muttukadu provide a serene backdrop for an exhilarating parasailing experience. Safety MeasuresBefore you embark on your paragliding or parasailing adventure, it’s essential to ensure your safety. It’s crucial to choose a certified and experienced instructor who can guide you through the process. Ensure that you’re wearing the right equipment, including a harness, helmet, and safety jacket.In ConclusionParagliding and parasailing Chennai are exciting air sports that offer a unique perspective of the city’s coastline. Whether you’re a thrill-seeker or an adventure enthusiast, paragliding and parasailing are must-try activities in Chennai. With the right safety measures and an experienced instructor, you can have a safe and memorable flying experience. |
2023.03.22 10:56 Realesatae Bestech Park View Spa, Sector-47 Gurgaon
Beverly Park II, Sector 26, DLF City Phase II, MG Road, Gurgaon, Haryana, INDIA. Beverly Park II, located in Gurgaon is yet another project of DLF Group. Beverly Park II, is in close proximity to Sector-26. Beverely Park, an exclusive and distinctive apartment complex in DLF City, offers a variety of world-class amenities within its premises. The complex covers the gamut of modern lifestyle options including Jacuzzis and saunas to sporting facilities such as well-maintained tennis courts and a swimming pool. The complex comprises of two housing options – three-bedroom apartments with an exclusive living room, dining room and a study, and duplex penthouses.
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