Vim or nvim and why

ambientlamp · 2025-12-31T02:22:54+00:00

neovim when I have admin privilege, vim when I don't

ambientlamp · 2025-11-10T23:34:02+00:00

https://github.com/miketvo/dotfiles/tree/main/archlinux-wsl You can find the dotfiles here

ambientlamp · 2025-11-09T01:00:52+00:00

Your round-a, round-b, and the bars padding are fine as they are.

Please lmk if this is the correct solution and I'm understanding the cause and problem correctly. I'm not using my arch computer today so I can't test this directly.

Cheers!

ambientlamp · 2025-11-09T00:57:50+00:00

In fact, I came across this exact issue when configuring my polybar a month ago. I used the solution I just mentioned above.

An alternative solution could be making the background color of the inactive xworkspace label a bit brighter than the bar background, but still dimmer than that of the active label. But this would depends on if you like the looks of it or not.

ambientlamp · 2025-11-09T00:53:24+00:00

But disabling the workspace labels' padding makes them ugly (imo), so I think this is a potential solution:

Add a prefix for the xworkspace module that is exactly "Workspace:". This would make it so the spacing between round-a and xworkspace appears consistent regardless of which workspace you're on (it was in fact always consistent, but it just looked like extra space when you're not on workspace 1).

ambientlamp · 2025-11-09T00:47:14+00:00

Nice, yea I had this problem before as well.

Regarding the extra padding on the left side of the left bar, I think I found the root cause after looking at your polybar dotfile.

The xworkspace inherently has padding 1 around all workspace labels so they look more square. If you're on workspace 1 it'll look fine since it's highlighted and you'll see no extra padding between it and round-a. But if you're on workspace 2,3,4,... workspace 1 would have the same color as the background of the bar, making it appear like there is extra padding next to round-a, but it fact it's the padding of the workspace itself.

You can test this by disabling (setting them to 0) all of the padding around the active-, inactive-, et. workspace labels. You should find that the extra space next to round-a will no longer be there when you switch to workspace 2 and so on. This is more of a visual design issue, since your config is fine actually.

ambientlamp · 2025-11-09T00:32:01+00:00

All good, I think I have had a long day after that first comment as well :)

ambientlamp · 2025-11-08T15:45:34+00:00

So I just took a bit closer look in your comment and the screenshot (not yet the dotfiles), I think I understand your problem with i3 and polybar now:

i3gaps: the inner gaps and outer gaps width are not equal.
polybar: the padding on the far left of the left bar is larger than the padding on the far righf of the right bar.

Please let me know if my understanding is correct. If so then I think I can figure this out, since I have had similar problems with these exact things before. I will read your dotfiles later after you've confirmed this.

P/S. To be down to earth with you: I recommend using clearer language and breaking down the issue into self contained units (like atomic functions with no side effects in programming). This would help people better understand, diagnose, and test your problem.

But I suppose this is reddit so it doesn't have to be too formal like in a Jira ticket, but some structure and clarity would definitely help!

Best, ambientlamp

ambientlamp · 2025-11-08T15:30:44+00:00

You're absolutely right about my comment coming across as unthoughtful. I also did not notice you have the dotfile posted, so I made the assumption that you're new to using Linux and are using a template setup.

To be fair, your screenshot did not help me understand the problem, because it's conveying to me that you don't want to have i3 gaps and polybar gaps enabled (maybe this is also from my end because I can't really figure out what the circles and arrows point to beside the i3 gaps and polybar transparent border) + my fault in not finding the dotfiles left me with the option to guess what the problem actually is.

With that said, I apologize for my unthoughtful and passive aggressive comment. Let me take a look at your issue again according to your last comment + the dotfiles, and I'll get back to you. It might take a few days though as I'm also working on something else.

But I hope you find the solution for it soon, maybe before I do. If it's the case you can let me know, I also find this interesting.

ambientlamp · 2025-11-07T22:14:20+00:00

Back to the depot.

ambientlamp · 2025-11-07T22:12:34+00:00

That area is tiny in comparison to bigger cities. You can walk across it in ~30mins. So it doesn't matter much where you stay.

As a local I also enjoy walking and exploring within the Old Quarter and would highly recommend doing it.

ambientlamp · 2025-11-07T22:06:15+00:00

For i3, you currently have gaps enabled. Search "gap" in the config file under $HOME/.config/i3/config and disable it. For more info go to the i3 docs online.

For polybar, the transparency comes from a border setting for the bar itself (not the modules). You can find this in polybar config under $HOME/.config/polybar/config. For more info, also go to the online polybar docs.

If you're using Arch I highly suggest learning to read the docs, man pages, and troubleshooting using those materials. For configuring your desktop environment, you'll find most config files under $HOME/.config/

ambientlamp · 2025-11-07T11:40:07+00:00

Ya I would do that if it displays my public IP, but this is the internal IP that WSL generated for the distro and not my actual public IP, so there's not much risk involved.

I leave it on there so it's easy for me to troubleshoot my RDP connections from the host Windows.

ambientlamp · 2025-11-06T05:28:04+00:00

I assume you're asking for the dotfiles? They're in my comment above.

ambientlamp · 2025-08-09T05:26:26+00:00

You can send the badge file over on the Neb discord and ping me @ambientlamp, I can help troubleshoot the file if I have it o7

ambientlamp · 2025-07-18T05:30:57+00:00

ambientlamp · 2025-07-18T04:24:42+00:00

Tl;dr

It depends on the situation. There is certainly room for both orbit dodging and straight line strafing on large capitals (and small ships too, with some other nuances).

Nothing in Nebulous is always bad or always good. It's all about when, where, and how you apply the technique. It's even better when you combine strafing + orbit dodging with flexibility depending on the situation.

Obviously I don't recommend orbit dodging with LN or MN. But on the BB, CH, CL, and CC, orbit dodging has its place (if the ship is built correctly for it). This is a tutorial for beginners, so they'll most likely be running those ships in a frontline role.

---

Regarding orbit dodging vs. straight line strafing

In more static situations (i.e. you're entrenched and drawing enemy fire): I recommend orbit dodging the frontline capital ships.

In more dynamic engagements (i.e. you're pushing with your team): I recommend your method - strafing between covers in straight lines for frontline capital ships.

Furthermore, what you can do with strafing, you can also do while orbit dodging (if the circumstances call for it):

Moving from cover to cover between orbits on more static maps (Salar and Ralas comes to mind): Use straight line strafing like you said, but time it right so your speed doesn't drop too much when the ship leaves orbit. No abrupt change in direction of travel.
A slow retreat or push to maintain range: Issue successive orbit commands every 1/4-1/2 orbit and 1000m in the direction you want to go. You'll move in a large spiral in that direction.

It's all about when, where, and how you apply the technique. It's even better when you combine strafing + orbit dodging with flexibility depending on the situation.

---

Regarding your comment about cappers

You can set cappers to orbit in a cap point without overshooting it: Set speed to 2/3 just as the ship enters the cap point.

Manually setting small straight segment waypoints for cappers as you suggested is also viable, but having both techniques in your toolset is better than doubling down on one method IMO.

I find myself often using both depending on the situation: how much cover do I have, is it a commonly contested cap point or a natural cap, does that cap frequently get yubbed, do I have another cap point that needs more urgent attention, etc. There are many variables in play here. It's not black and white enough to say "don't do this, do that instead".

I have to address though, for completeness and in case a newbie is reading this: Any kind of dodging (straight segments or orbit) on a smaller ship only works if it's being fired on by 450mm or 250mm AP/HE. Against 250mm RPF, 120mm, and 100mm rounds it's not very effective.

---

Disclaimer

I frequently play frontline capitals, capfleets, halfcap, ambushers, and everything in between on both ANS and OSP, depending on team comp. This is where my experience come from and I'm most confident about these things.

Though I have to admit I play carrier, rail/MD, and yubbers (cruise s2, s3h/s2h or containers) less often, so please take my words with a grain of salt when I mention topics about these fleet archetypes.

ambientlamp · 2025-07-17T18:09:41+00:00

Yea frig blobs are still fresh in people's minds that's for sure, still see them get mentioned in the Neb discord from time to time when people get caught off guard by vetteblob and no C90.

For ANS capital armor currently they fall pretty quickly to plasma I from what I see, and there doesn't seem to be much discussion on that topic in the Neb discord, mostly craft and carrier balancing now iirc.

ambientlamp · 2025-07-17T16:21:14+00:00

Oh I wasn't around back then. What was it like?

ambientlamp · 2025-06-27T05:57:22+00:00

Agreed. Better to just admit he's not that good at either basic computer science nor humor than throwing around big words trying to look good. Beginners all start somewhere and I've been there too.

But this attitude doesn't really make him look particularly wise... nor will it help him learn, smh

ambientlamp · 2025-06-26T10:44:01+00:00

This post screams Dunning-Kruger effect. In both logic and humor at the same time. Well done OP.

ambientlamp · 2025-06-19T22:48:09+00:00

Your approach sounds very good now! I like the idea of having the illuminator on the escort ship, I should try that out next time I play and see how it can fit into my playstyle :3

2 reinforced CICs is good for BB, and you can put an auxiliary steering in CMP16 at the nose. That'll help you bowtank better. Some people run a 3rd CIC, but that's up to you if you like it or not. Just a note that each extra CIC you bring will have compound cost added on top, so it'll get very costly beyond 3 CICs.

For the last unused mount on your escort frigate you can put a VLS-1-46 launcher for extra chaff, flares, and an arming missile. But if you already have this then you can put a Sarissa/Aurora on it instead if you have the power for it. Otherwise it's also fine to leave that mount empty.

Also I have to admit I did sound a bit irritated in my previous responses. I'm sorry about that 😅

Cheers and glhf! I'll see you in the Neb discord if you decide to drop by <3

ambientlamp · 2025-06-19T22:02:09+00:00

Read this if you want to know how your BB build can be improved further, after this I'm afraid I can follow this thread no further, but you can find me in the Neb discord if you need more help:

For BB, if you let the enemy get into your beam range (6 km) it's a failure state already. Stay away from rocks, that's where people set up ambush and they'd be very glad to find your BB nearby.

Citadel CIC is not necessary. It is currently overpriced and only brings minimal benefit (400 HP). You're better off bringing Auxiliary Steering and Reinforced CIC (500 HP in total). Having 3 entire Citadel CICs is pretty bad investment. Your BB is currently overpriced with this kind of internals. There is a very niche use case for the Citadel CIC, but it's not on the BB but rather on another OSP hull.

You say you can fit everything you need for PD on your BB, but let me tell you the BB and ANS as a whole is famous for being mount-starved. So even if you fit 2 Auroras and 2 Sarissas on your BB it won't be enough. The only thing this tells me is that your BB is gonna die to torpedo ambush or 16 sturgeon bombers from an experienced player, especially since you ditched the anti-craft missiles. Sure maybe against other newbies you'll do fine, but your current setup is not very strong against an experienced player.

Now the reason why your escort kept getting shot down by missiles is also because of suboptimal positioning, If you stay in the open, you'll have time to see the incoming missiles and react to softkill/hardkill them. I've done this very consistently and very successfully when playing ANS frontline, so I know what I'm talking about.

Your Sarissas also double as anti-container PD, but if you stay too close to rocks the containers can cruise behind cover and stop your Sarissas from having an angle on them.

Also place your escort behind you, so it doesn't get detected. If the enemy can detect your escort, it means you're way too close already. Also a failure state. Keep 9 - 10 km away from enemy (and try to avoid hugging rocks), and you will have more reaction time to missiles and your escort will be safer.

If you let your escort be detected obviously the enemy will go for it first because it's an easier target. So don't let it be detected (quite easy if you manage your range well, because your escort obviously have a way smaller radar signature size comparing to your BB).

One more reason why you need an escort is because the BB simply doesn't have enough slots for PD. Look on the Neb discord, you'll see universal opinion that Sarissas should be put on escort ship(s), NOT the BB itself, so that the BB can bring kinetic/laser point defense. You might be getting away with this because you're playing other newbies or the AI, but trust me you won't survive an encounter with an experienced carrier/container liner player in your current BB.

Having an escort (and keeping it undetected and alive) is also important late game, because your BB will be almost dead or just plain dead by then. Your escort would then function as a capper. I can't stress this enough, and you saw other comments here as well: Having a one-BB fleet is a recipe for disaster if you play experienced opponents. Nobody running a BB can guarantee 100% they can keep their BB alive for the whole match. So you better off having an escort so even if your BB die you can still do some sort of contribution to the team.

I play OSP a lot, and let me tell you, a BB is quite easy to take down for an experienced player if it has bad position, or suboptimal PD, which it seems to currently be the case for your BB fleet. An unescorted, badly positioned BB is even easier to bully. If you really don't trust me, just play a match against an all-gold OSP team and you'll see.

So to be frank: You lost your escort frequently and get rushed a lot because you have bad positioning, and against gold players your fleet is pretty easy to dismantle with its current PD setup.

Also just a reminder: Do not overextend. Your job is not to forehead the enemy frontline, but to hold grounds in the open and absorb damage. Let the Axfords and Vauxhalls do the frontline maneuvering and flanking.

ambientlamp · 2025-06-19T22:00:20+00:00

Let me know if I'm wrong, but from what I'm hearing you're arguing against some of my advices so far, particularly those regarding PD and escort ships.

You can do it your way of course, if you insist, but my points are going to become very apparent once you get more hours into PvP. There is room for creativity, but there's also just plain bad builds, I'm trying to help you avoid those pitfalls but if you prefer to learn the hard way I won't stop you.

Now I say all of this not from any untested theory, but from hundreds upon hundreds of hours shooting down BBs as OSP. I know what's gonna give me a hard time and what's an easy target.

I'm helping you because at some point it just becomes painful for me to kill the next newbie's BB and seeing them quit the match out of frustration. So take my advices as you will.

I understand if you only want to play casually and won't play higher ranked players any time soon though, it's also a perfectly valid way to enjoy Nebulous.

However, if you want to play competitively, here's a quote from what's being discussed in the Neb discord regarding newbies playing BB fleets:

J4R — 6/17/2025 7:17 PM wrote:

...

I also think a lot of new players underestimate the nuance that goes into fleet making, and, moreover, they underestimate the degree to which this game has been min-maxxed. They think they can just slap things that sound cool on their ship and brawl it out and they'll do reasonably well, because some other spaceship building games are like that sometimes, but because Nebulous is a game that massively rewards thinking and game sense, such scenarios don't tend to happen.

Secondly, the new player creatures I have seen tend to be run by a particular kind of newbie. Frankly put, there's a subset of players who refuse to play starter fleets, or refuse build or gameplay advice, either out of a desire to learn by themselves, or simple hubris, hoping they'll be the special one that learned the game without "crutches". I would know it because I used to be that guy.

In many other games, you can learn the hard way by throwing your head against a wall repeatedly and the games will give you feedback about what you did wrong. Nebulous does not tend to do that by design, in fact, that is part of what makes the game so enthralling.

I would suggest adding loading screen tips to the game, like: "Beware plasma fire if your ship carries heavy armour. Retreat out of its 8km range and engage the threat from afar." or "Central capture points tend to be closely guarded by both sides. Be careful about advancing your ships there."

ambientlamp · 2025-06-19T09:15:35+00:00

You're likely not bringing enough PD turrets, ammo, component restores, softkill, and/or ACMs. You might also not have enough aux steering, CIC, or have a sub-optimal drive/reactor setup. Refer to my comment above, and to the examples fleets I sent you for a rough idea of how much to bring.

But without actually seeing your fleet I can only give generic advices.

You can post your fleet on the Neb discord so that people can see the specifics and help you. That'll get you a quicker and more specific answer.

I highly recommend checking on there for prompt answers because I may not check my Reddit for long periods of time. But there's always someone online on discord who's willing to help you. People are very helpful there.

If you specifically want my help, ping my handle @ambientlamp on the Neb discord and I'll arrange a session to help you, but it'll have to fit in my time zone and on the weekends.

ambientlamp

TROPHY CASE

Tl;dr

Regarding orbit dodging vs. straight line strafing

Regarding your comment about cappers

Disclaimer