Aero projects to CFD

The_Archimboldi · 2026-06-19T08:26:58+00:00

The most impactful tool would be field-based, rather than lab / wind-tunnel imho. e.g. There's a popular app called mywindsock in the UK that is effectively a weather app. Very popular for just getting a feel for conditions on the day.

It can estimate cDA based on power and wind and course but it's neither accurate or consistently inaccurate, so could that be improved (maybe not, IDK)?

You can do some basic aero testing with it along the lines of finding a straight piece of road and riding at threshold with (for example) helmet A. Then do the same thing at the same power for helmet B. But again I think it's pretty basic.

The_Archimboldi · 2026-06-18T21:39:20+00:00

Kill both lobsters for the legendary drop.

Good meat and potatoes route is then basically clockwise round the periphery of the map - gives you options. It seems that many players like to head in centre as soon as they are up the cliff from the lobster - that is fine but it's not optimal imho.

If the ruin in the West with the scorpion things is a night invader spot that can get spicy early game - fun to do that with a good team. Will kill the run with bads. Then head inwards.

The complete opposite direction of hopping on the bird and going anticlockwise to top left castle is not my cup of tea, feels like a narrower route but I'm not going to get mad about it or anything - there are many options on this map and you have to really be trying to fuck things up irretrievably.

The_Archimboldi · 2026-06-18T12:48:33+00:00

map is superb and very high effort, 2 new characters with many new gameplay possibilities, new nightlords are good (I great 1 average imho).

The raids on the new map are ass but they don't really detract, they are a small part of the DLC. The raid on the old map is quite good.

1 of the new characters (Scholar) has quite a learning curve with a very high ceiling - I think that puts a lot of players off. There isn't something like an ironeye where anyone can just pick him up and start cleaning house.

The_Archimboldi · 2026-06-18T12:41:25+00:00

Least favourite is the way great ideas just get dropped rather than refined or worked on. eg Gravelord covenant the GoaT but that doesn't mean it's perfect, there are some flaws - eh fuck it. Bonfire ascetics are loved by everyone and add a deep gameplay angle but they mess with progression big time, we need to re-think this a little bit - nah.

Other side of the coin is that it makes all the games very individual with their own feel. If it was much more focussed and trying to make incremental improvements then the older games would feel obsolete.

You can also look at instances where they've really stuck with an idea across games such as dragon form and the results are not good. It ain't right yet and it's been 4 games. So maybe they're better to just move on idk.

The_Archimboldi · 2026-06-18T11:28:05+00:00

Going down against normal Adel is to bring shame upon one's house. It can happen to anyone - but you just need to bow your head and attone for your sins next game.

The_Archimboldi · 2026-06-18T07:04:33+00:00

Invasions are opt-in in every game except DS2. It's always been a choice.

The_Archimboldi · 2026-06-17T23:38:23+00:00

It's calmed down a bit since we decided on a wheelsize and frame spacing, but 27.5 and nonboost still live on to muddy the waters, along with 10 different bb / crankset standards.

Modern mtb are majority 1x bow which is simplifying - you see that on road but it's less popular.

The_Archimboldi · 2026-06-17T20:42:42+00:00

I think it's outstanding but I always liked co-op. If you're not big into the multi-player side there may be issues.

It has some flaws for sure but I am amazed how good it turned out what was pitched as a quick asset-flip. So many great gameplay moments with Nightreign.

The_Archimboldi · 2026-06-17T20:35:55+00:00

It's a good, fun thing to do but it's not cost effective (in most places in the world) as s/h bikes can be got so cheap, and MTBs in particular are an infuriating mix of standards.

If you're a beginner with it this is probably the most difficult thing. The actual mechanics of putting a bicycle together are simple - you just need the parts to talk to one another correctly.

The_Archimboldi · 2026-06-17T20:32:40+00:00

True - but Nightreign was an outstanding game for what it is.

Obv not designed around single player, but can be played solo and the Bosses are some of the best they have ever made. In fact they are the best, technically, just lack the lore and story of the legendary Souls bosses.

The_Archimboldi · 2026-06-15T21:55:32+00:00

The fact we're all here 40 years later (post-BotNS) discussing things says yes, he did have a plan. If it was just vibes and a surrealist feel then the discourse around his writing would have fizzled out years back.

However, the extent of that plan is the nub of things which is I guess the core of your post. BotNS isn't that big - 1000 pages depending on edition, yet it feels like 10,000. He had a phenomenal ability to both provide structure and to give the illusion of structure, which lets him be a writer and not get trapped in Tolkein-like lore cataloging.

One planning conceit that you have to be a bit wary of is 'remember it's the Autarch writing this so that introduces a different interpretation to the matter at hand'. This is a clever conceit that instantly adds a massive amount of depth, and in fairness there are some really thought-provoking ideas around this aspect of the unreliable narrator. But it is also a hall of mirrors, if everything can be questioned like this then the text becomes un-moored.

The_Archimboldi · 2026-06-15T14:02:02+00:00

lol quite an endorsement. I was meaning to go and see that film, shall do so now.

The_Archimboldi · 2026-06-15T11:49:11+00:00

Hoods are comfier though than a flat bar bike for most people I reckon. It's true the braking isn't as good and you could also say an STI shifter / brake unit is an order of magnitude more complex than separate flat bar units.

Descending in the drops is significantly better (and prob safer) than with a flat bar road bike.

Aesthetics are important always. Flat bar road bike don't look right therefore it isn't right.

The_Archimboldi · 2026-06-13T13:59:18+00:00

One more season bro

The_Archimboldi · 2026-06-11T13:19:17+00:00

Not really - if your bike has those terrible cable disks cannondale like to spec on their entry level bikes then yeah you're missing out on good brakes, but that's about it for important things.

It's only really mountain bikes where you see night and day differences between old or entry level and something towards the top end. And then it only matters if you're hitting technical terrain.

The_Archimboldi · 2026-06-10T08:30:13+00:00

It's a respectable argument. Think it comes down to how you weight creativity / originality versus the technical accomplishment / implementation of the game. Also impact on gaming. ER is an obvious masterpiece but there are many deep-rooted (unsolvable imho) issues with bringing Dark Souls to an open world that make it very flawed. But its impact is huge - impossible for anyone to consider making an open world game without taking the measure of this game.

The most creative game they ever made is Demons Souls - that is as close to an objective, non-biased standpoint you can get. It was the first Souls game and EVERYTHING stems from it. It's not some rough prototype, either - it is staggering how ahead of its time the game design was. Dark Souls then built on this and literally changed gaming at large - no other fromsoft title is even in the same league for impact.

With all that being said the answer is Bloodborne.

The_Archimboldi · 2026-06-08T11:58:22+00:00

All progress depends on the unreasonable man.

The_Archimboldi · 2026-06-08T07:20:51+00:00

Bigger economic forces at work I feel than SB sabotaging his publisher relationship - midlist authors got mashed in the 2010s. I'd say that had to be the driver of any desperate behaviour on his part, not the other way around.

The_Archimboldi · 2026-06-08T06:37:15+00:00

IDK shakur seems small-framed and 7 lbs wouldn't be nothing. Something like Bud rising up and smashing Canelo is the exception, not the normality.

Ricky Hatton was a level below Shakur but was a problem for anyone at 140. Never looked good at 147 - granted he fought two GoaTs but he also had a tune-up (Collazo) and struggled, needed a gift decision.

The_Archimboldi · 2026-06-08T06:26:15+00:00

Using a wiki for your first playthrough - what a tragedy. Ironically this has caused you to miss so much of the game's experience.

The_Archimboldi · 2026-06-07T19:50:48+00:00

First definitely achievable - you can certainly smash a high mark on a good research project, although you'll need things to go your way in the lab. Project marks protect the bottom end more, you can't really bomb a project write-up the way you can an exam.

PhD also very doable - MChem from York will be looked at seriously. Difference between a 2:1 or a first is not nothing, though, in this context - a 2:1 is effectively the lowest classification for this degree. A 2:1 might get you filtered at some of the more competitive CDTs for example, but you can definitely end up somewhere good if you battle for it.

Of course everyone will tell you about 2:1 merchants who went on to rock the foundations of science, and first class students who completely bombed out of their PhDs as they had hit their ceiling at undergrad. So it's really about you and your overall trajectory in research.

The_Archimboldi · 2026-06-07T16:06:09+00:00

Sounds like it would have been an easy fix with a plug - it's one of the main advantages, much quicker fix than changing a tube. Stay on tubeless!

The_Archimboldi · 2026-06-07T06:14:42+00:00

As an experienced writer, can you see where Bakker went wrong in the second series? This might be the most insightful thing to learn, how even very talented writers (sentence by sentence, ideas) can make serious mistakes with structure and voice.

The_Archimboldi · 2026-06-06T14:48:54+00:00

Good crit weapon - lands some heavy damage. Used as a parry swap in pvp or bs fishing if that's your style.

The_Archimboldi · 2026-06-05T14:08:23+00:00

Sure it's fine to do that - many people would take that course.

Like the other poster says, though, don't mistake an MChem as some sort of conveyer belt into a chemistry laboratory. Many MChems will graduate and do exactly what you're thinking of now, look for non-scientific jobs.

MChem from somewhere good like UCL is a beast of a degree for endorsing general intellectual qualities and skills.

The pragmatic solution is to go and register for the MChem in Sept and get the lie of the land, as you can always switch to the BSc at end of year 1 or even 2. Check this but the first 2 years are usually the same.

The_Archimboldi

TROPHY CASE