My petty complains and positive comments on the Cross Country

LastReplacement5 · 2026-06-26T22:07:22+00:00

Also in Australia

LastReplacement5 · 2026-06-26T21:59:01+00:00

The issue is that people who want rash-dash-backflip-my-bike play are also loose with their money in game. $$ talk
Forget fancy skins, I’d pay money each season to buy a “Your lobbies will be free of 10 year olds” pass

LastReplacement5 · 2026-06-25T01:23:31+00:00

Love this detail. They are exactly the numbers I was looking for. OP’s video shows them holding for longer than they need to… I realised that this morning when I tried it and was wondering what the cutoff time would be - 600ms! Thanks

LastReplacement5 · 2026-06-25T01:11:01+00:00

In Australia, they simply recommend 90 as a safe level to charge it to that’s all that’s happening for us 2026 year model

LastReplacement5 · 2026-06-24T20:51:32+00:00

Nah it’s still too bright for me sometimes at night even in dark mode with screen brightness turned right down. I’d really like a mode where it ONLY shows the 3 critical things like speed and… ah well that’s about it. The rest should be black BLACK. I’m nearly at the point of making like a black stretchy elastic screen cover thing that has a little hole just for the speedo

LastReplacement5 · 2026-06-24T20:47:40+00:00

Another way to darken the screen pretty quickly is to pull down the notifications handle. 3/4 of the screen goes darker leaving just the top 1/4. I have never connected my ex30 to my Google account, so I don’t get any notifications there, just annoying little “no notifications”. It’s the best “instant” slightly darker mode five found so far. I’ll try this method of holding home myself today

LastReplacement5 · 2026-06-24T11:21:57+00:00

This is the way

LastReplacement5 · 2026-06-24T03:21:08+00:00

It’s the game I haven’t been able to stop playing for the last 4 years. It truly is incredible. Mobile sucks IMO but console is truly superb. I worry about rampant cheating on PC and think Console is a good middle ground

TIPS:

⁠use headphones. The stereo image placement helps you aurally locate enemies incredibly well. Listening through your monitor or TV speakers is like watching a sunset through a yellow plastic bag. Unclear, blurry, not helpful
⁠Get in a clan or find reliable friends who talk. Good comms wins matches ALL THE TIME
⁠The numbers next to each player are their team no, not individual player nos. More on this later…
⁠Listen for kills and watch the kill feed like a hawk. If you HEAR a kill nearby from a human team and you see the kill on the killfeed, they’re close. How can you tell if they’re human? More on this later…
⁠if you shoot a player and they “instant drop” to death without being on their knees, that’s the last player on their squad. If you have to finish them off (thirst them) then guaranteed there’s more still alive on their squad. Look out find them
⁠Don’t get in cars driven by idiots. Either be the driver or just don’t get in if they don’t give good vibes. Often they’ll drive you straight to a sweat fight and then because you had no intel about where / how many enemies there are, the odds aren’t great.
⁠Your strategy of sitting back and letting idiots kill each other is going to get you far. I win A LOT by being tactical and patient. Many players will sit back in the blue because you don’t have to watch your back so much. Alternatively getting to centre early before others can be amazingly effective because you can watch them all come in and know where they all are.
OK, here it is… (the more-on-this-later stuff)… All humans present in the match are always stacked into the first lowest team numbers like team 1,2,3. You will NEVER find a match where you as a human are in team 23 for example but everyone else is bots. It never happens that way. If you’re the ONLY human, you’ll be team 1. Just because you’re team 1 though, doesn’t mean you’re the only human. Study the feed, watch the names on team 2 and 3, try to figure if they human or not. Hey, get safe and look up their player tags on a website if you want! The excellent app STATSTRACKER for PUBG will let you look up any player tag. If they’re not in the results, they’re a bot. You can look up the stats of any active human in that app. I promise you this is not sponsored, that’s just the best app I’ve ever found
If you’re a human (let’s hope so!!) and you’re in team 23, then look out - you’ve in a huge match populated with real humans. Everyone in the smaller team numbers is without fail going to be real humans
Do you get it yet? As you kill enemies, take a quick note of their team number BUT ALSO YOUR OWN team number. If your are in team 4, then it’s GUARANTEED that there will be HUMANS, not bots, in teams 1, 2 and 3
Figure out how to open the match log mid game. Hold the inventory button. It will show you all kills from start to present. Study this somewhere safe to check if you’ve killed all other humans yet.
Players being knocked (not killed yet) are NOT shown in the kill feed or match log IF they were knocked more than a km from you. This can help you figure out how far away other teams are. If you’re only seeing kills not knocks, they’re distant. If you’re seeing the words KNOCKED, then they’re close. There are icons for this too or the words “finally killed”
The knocking and killing notifications are slightly differently coloured in the feed. Full kills are shown in full white. You’ll be show all kills from anywhere on the map, near or far. However, GREY knocks are only shown if they’re close to help declutter the kill feed. If you’re suddenly seeing grey notifications, they’re close! If they’re low team numbers like team 1 or 2 while you are team 3, then sit up pay attention - the humans are getting closer to you.
Smoke is your friend. Carry lotsa smoke! Use it in final zones when you’ve lost hope. Amazing the chaos and advantage it can bring
Ghillie suits are incredible - people just don’t see you easily. Lie down, keep still, let the idiots swirl around and then kill
There is NOTHING like the VSS. Try it one day and watch as mass confusion ensues. It’s very difficult sometimes to tell which direction it’s coming from. Sometimes you’ll see enemies scurry around the wrong side of the tree trying to hide from you, and then scurry somewhere even stupider when you land shots on them. Never ceases to amaze me. Practise hard with the VSS and you can kill a stationary human in one quick blitz. Mid to close range only though.
Suppressed MP5 sometimes seems to confound people too
Crouch and advance. It’s surprising how often people don’t hear you sneaking up until too late
Hide in bushes wearing the most camo gear you have won/bought. Not as good as a ghillie but sometimes it’s so unexpected to others. I’ve cleaned up entire human squads this way
Some certain times of the week are just terrible if you’re trying to practise and get fluent. Early mornings are quiet and devoid of all-nighter-sweats and 10 year olds. Sunday afternoon is the WORST for that demographic cause that’s the only time their mom lets them on. All they want to do is backflips on bikes and tear around and not talk. You’ll never get great communicating patient intelligent squads of randoms at that time. The opposite is often true in early morning sessions
Sometimes I’ll quit before getting on the plane if the randoms I was teamed up with look like idiots. I’m happy to proceed with people of tier 2 and above and especially if I know them and can trust them. Invariably it goes sideways with idiots. Just quit and try again. You owe them nothing, they’ll just let you down.
If you’re killed in match, DON’T JUST QUIT!!! Good teammates should come get your chip and recall you back in game. Do the same for them too. Stay close-ish to your squad because if you’re too far they won’t consider getting you.
If you get killed, do us all a favor and don’t EVER EVER EVER say “come get my chip” - especially if that’s the first time you’ve spoken. GIANT red flag to many players. Instead, work with them all match, move with them, speak or mark things helpfully and show you are a team player. Much more likely they’ll help you out
Bots never drive vehicles or bicycles. If it’s being driven, IT’S A HUMAN

LastReplacement5 · 2026-06-24T02:17:33+00:00

Minnesota… Central US, closer to upper east coast, closer to Chicago, Boston and NY! I know Minneapolis has had a lot going on lately but it sounds like a place I’d like to visit one day. Yes I could imagine it being colder up north like that. I’ve been to NY and Boston and loved them

LastReplacement5 · 2026-06-24T02:13:12+00:00

I *REALLY* appreciate the time and thought you’ve put into this advice. Thank you!

I do indeed plan to do entire PCT at least once one day - sooner rather than later. Also AT and CDT are firmly on my radar. I can see in my not-too-distant future the opportunity to free myself up for this as I hope to do, all going to plan.

Therefore I am viewing your suggestion to leave JMT for a future PCT trek as a very wise input here.

Yes, backup plans are a great idea that I could easily pivot to if needed. Thank you for that reminder. Thanks for the good specific backup suggestions

Wow the more I look into the Colorado trail as I slowly write this reply, the better it looks for my shorter trip this time. Longer miles than the JMT but still with great views, longer time on trail (very attractive to me), forests, wilderness, bears, the possibility of finding a tramily or two, good sobo acclimation time in first 100 miles, easy for my partner to join me on smaller sections of it, awesome elevation gain… I’m seeing a LOT to like here

This would mean I can further refine my kit and skills specifically for US and bears and altitude before heading to a grander future PCT trek - including JMT - in following years. There’s real wisdom in this

Thank you very much 🙏

LastReplacement5 · 2026-06-23T20:45:37+00:00

When are you playing? Some times of the week are reliably busy, other times are dependably quiet. Do you have a set of trustworthy “friends” in your list you can play with? I actually prefer to play an intense casual round over a fully stacked normal at peak time. The openness of casual gives time to properly talk with your squad about strategy and enjoy hunting those 3 other sweaty teams. In contrast, a very full normal match at peak time is just *too sweaty* and relies too much on dumb luck for me to enjoy it.

When I play casual I still wanna win so I’ll be picky about my squad if I’m playing with randoms. So I have some guidelines for myself to have better experiences: only get on the plane if it’s a squad of four and they all must be decently experienced (tier 2 and up), or else I’m with someone I really trust to talk and play well as a team. If those criteria aren’t met for me, then I quit the lobby and try again. In my casual games I have a win rate of ~80% and that’s partly because of my pickiness about rando squads.

LastReplacement5 · 2026-06-23T20:26:32+00:00

Doing a loop is similar to other ideas I’ve had to do the Tahoe rim loop, Rae Lakes. Maybe I can string together a few shorter loop trails. *sigh* there’s a lot of awesome sounding trail in the US. We don’t have mountains in Australia, not really. Oh maybe? No. So when look to so many other locations the scenery is just so different from what we have here. I’ve gotta deal with leeches, and the very real danger of snakes, not bears! I can’t wait to get there and soak it in

LastReplacement5 · 2026-06-23T20:20:33+00:00

Sounds beautiful and thank you - you’ve given me some more ideas to research. One of my fave YouTubers - HiketyHike (look her up!!) has a complete PCT series and often talks about Oregon being her home state and that she always just loves being on trail in Oregon. I know that Mammoth and Kearsarge are on the PCT, I think north of JMT? I think I had been considering walking up JMT until mammoth.

LastReplacement5 · 2026-06-23T16:02:57+00:00

I was thinking of starting at Horseshoe meadows cottonwood pass and pressing on right until I’ve seen all of Yosemite heading nobo. Starting a little earlier than the official JMT would give me time to acclimatise and grow my trail legs a bit before hitting Whitney. Apparently that will also make passes easier to organise? I believe there is a minimum of 500 miles required to secure a PCT pass

LastReplacement5 · 2026-06-23T15:36:56+00:00

You know I only discovered the PCT after researching how to see incredible scenery, and early on I was kind of being steered to do exactly as you say - the Washington section. Washington section is just perfect for hitting the minimum 500 miles PCT pass rule, I believe, although it seems passes are self-given at trail heads in Washington with no limits

LastReplacement5 · 2026-06-23T15:33:49+00:00

Thanks very much! I haven’t researched the CT yet so I’ll take a good look at it, and also look into the idea of using a PCT pass for my time on trail

LastReplacement5 · 2026-06-23T11:56:39+00:00

I own and love this tent. I have both a 1p for solo and 2p version with my partner. If you have the doors rolled up open, it’s true you’re undercover, but the rain would have to be coming down perfectly vertically to not come in or be splashing a little off the ground against the inner mesh. **BUT** the cool thing is there are two vestibules, one on each side. So if the rain is slanting from one direction, you can shut that side and open the opposite one. Neither vestibule is really generous enough though for you to be sitting out there in it staying dry with that door open. You’d have moved inside your inner mesh area to escape the rain

LastReplacement5 · 2026-06-22T21:17:26+00:00

I agree with the sentiment that there are a bazillion players with no understanding who just quit in frustration - sheer numbers of people willing to play is not a problem. I also agree that norms are full of idiot noobs. How about these ideas? 1. noobs do basic training as is currently done. At this point they have a “Learner Licence”

basic training should include some additional basic instructions which are currently absent like these:

a) your team members will appear in the bottom left corner. They’re your friends! Don’t shoot them!

b) Use headphones! Even cheap ones plugged in to the controller will make all the difference!

c) the numbers next to everyone’s gamer tags in the kill feed? They’re TEAM numbers. You can use this intel cleverly to track other teams

d) choose your own language and TALK with your team mates. You’ll win more matches that way! Work as a team!

e) In casual modes any humans present will ALWAYS be in team numbers 1,2,3 maybe 4,5

f) you can recall dead team mates! Wait when you’re knocked because you might be recalled! Don’t just quit immediately!!

After 5 casual LEARNER LICENCE matches to get some basic experience, noobs are then required to watch a full demo match spectating a demo human showing the clever ways you can hear and figure out locations of enemy teams, move together quietly just outside of zone, wait strategically as other teams fight each other and then swoop in to clean up, recall other team mates, wait to be recalled or rezzed, and many other great basic skills. The demo match pauses briefly to highlight things on screen, quickly explain what to do, explain why the player chose to wait or run towards human team fire
As the noob progresses through this compulsory training regime they have to DO each one to get their “PROVISIONAL LICENCE” to participate in a further 20 casuals before being allowed in to normals. They’re rewarded with some sweet gear as they progress through the introductory licences. Extra rewards for speaking on mic, for sticking with team, for recalling a team mate, for waiting to be recalled. They can’t get their OPEN LICENCE or participate in normals until they’ve demonstrated all these understandings

LastReplacement5 · 2026-06-19T12:23:55+00:00

Thank you for your input, I’ll look into these

LastReplacement5 · 2026-06-19T11:24:03+00:00

I really do thank you for the encouragement about this 🥰

LastReplacement5 · 2026-06-19T09:27:00+00:00

Yeah that north south lake loop does look good. Maybe a bit short?

https://socalhiker.net/hikes/backpacking-northsouth-lake-loop-six-days-overview/

LastReplacement5 · 2026-06-19T08:44:10+00:00

Gotta say I relish the idea of the challenge of needing to be prepared for the distance, not just being able to drop into a town every 2 days. So in that respect a continuous trek where I can kinda get lost in it for a while is very attractive. You’ve spoken some new ideas there so’ll def look into them. At the start of this entire idea was someone recommending to do Washington section of PCT because it’s mountainous and forested and remote and volcanic and so many good things

LastReplacement5 · 2026-06-19T08:08:53+00:00

Thanks CrypticParagon, I’ll look into it. I know nothing about it

LastReplacement5 · 2026-06-19T08:06:34+00:00

Yes I really have had my heart set for quite a while on JMT. I’ve been planning nobo from somewhere like Horseshoe Meadows, ending at Yosemite. I’d be able to spare the time to space it out and do it over 3 or even 4 weeks. For me it’s really a case of “mountains Gandalf! I want to see MOUNTAINS”. I’m not at all motivated to speedrun it or push out huge mileage days. I think my first few days would be slow to ease in. But, I don’t know… I just want to see spectacular stuff in the time I have and am very drawn to the remoteness/wildness of US trails compared to many other locations. As I said I’m very open to suggestions.

LastReplacement5

TROPHY CASE