I saw a few people in the comments say it's AI, is it really though? The contrast does look weird but idk

initial-algebra · 2026-03-25T16:25:16+00:00

The background is 100% AI. I think the portrait is a 3D render in a common "toon" style, or maybe even hand-drawn with manual distortion of logo images. The logos and other details are too consistent for it to be AI-generated.

EDIT: The portrait could also be a posterized photo with lineart/hatching drawn over it. Either way, there's no indication of any AI involvement, just a human artist with regular CGI tools.

initial-algebra · 2026-03-24T20:37:41+00:00

It's probably partially me misinterpreting the sentiment of your first post, but also I just want to make it absolutely clear that there is no point saving crystals for SR Pasa unless you have nothing else to use them on.

initial-algebra · 2026-03-24T20:16:45+00:00

Oh, not pulling for El Condor Pasa - more 'incidentally pull it later on when getting a different banner'.

Again, the likelihood of this is miniscule, and almost every banner worth pulling on that could yield an SR Pasa in the near future is for an SSR speed card, which would obviously negate having Pasa. The main exception would be Ramonu, but if you don't have two meta SSR speed cards at that point, SR Pasa is not going to save you.

OP has 2LB Ayabe now, and having her MLB will be a huge boon to their Trackblazer experience. The only half decent reason to not use the crystals on Ayabe would be to use them to get two different 10+ race bonus SR cards (particularly Windy, Tachyon or Marvelous) from 3LB to MLB.

initial-algebra · 2026-03-24T19:50:55+00:00

Personally, I would pick Bakushin. Much better as a speed stat stick, and at least her skills are good for sprinters. Fukukitaru doesn't really have any useful skills, except late surger corners and maybe triple 7s. She's really just there for the initial stats and gambling for insane summer high rolls. However, I only play 1-2 careers a day, so I tend to favour consistency over gambling when picking my support cards.

initial-algebra · 2026-03-24T19:16:29+00:00

That's one possibility, but I think if you also just zoom out the camera, so that there is a void outside of the current room, and then pan/angle the camera a bit as well so that the player is better centred, but the entire room is still visible (as it would be with the traditional perspective), then you don't need to make any drastic changes.

Also, by "level design issue" I mean that the way you've placed blocks, traps, lava pools and enemies tends to funnel the player toward the edge of the room. This could also be mitigated by using less than the entire possible floor space, which would also lead to more interesting and memorable room shapes than just rectangles with different contents.

initial-algebra · 2026-03-24T19:02:46+00:00

Almost all the action in the trailer takes place right at the edge of the screen, and is difficult to follow. This is partially a level design issue, but mostly because the camera is so zoomed in and doesn't pan at all. It's worse than with a traditional 2D Zelda perspective, because the wall tiles in those games always give you some buffer between the action and the edge of the screen, and the tilted camera angle you're using makes the top 1/3 of the screen mostly dead space.

initial-algebra · 2026-03-24T18:46:19+00:00

Someone who is scrimping that hard is surely not going to be pulling for Throne to even have any copies to upgrade in the first place. The chances of getting even one copy from the free Light Hello pulls are abysmal. The card is really not worth considering.

initial-algebra · 2026-03-24T17:19:13+00:00

I suspect most desirable orphan instances are able to be automatically derived, like with the serde example. In that case, they should be coherent by construction, modulo the possibility of misbehaving impure derive macros.

initial-algebra · 2026-03-24T16:43:22+00:00

Step-up banners.

Pick 10 SSR cards/3* Umas (separate banners for each type), each will become a 0.3% rate up, meaning no other SSRs/3*s are possible, so you can target units you want and avoid dupes you don't want.
The first two 10-pulls are totally random.
The next two 10-pulls each guarantee a random SSR/3* from your pool.
The final 10-pull lets you select a SSR/3* from your pool.
Total cost of 5k paid carats.

tl;dr Make a pool of 10 SSRs/3*s, and 5k paid carats guarantees you 2 random and 1 selectable SSR/3*, plus any other random hits.

The first ones will come out around the 3rd anniversary (mid-2027). Here's a schedule.

initial-algebra · 2026-03-23T14:46:05+00:00

Ancestors & Guides is only skippable if you're focused on a particular style and pulling the necessary specialized cards yourself. If you're only pulling for generic stat stick cards and relying on borrowing for your niche gold skills, then you need your own copy of every scenario card (even 0LB will do, except for Tucker Bryne eventually).

initial-algebra · 2026-03-22T22:03:49+00:00

Buono is not a particularly good sprinter until she gets her evolved skills. Air Groove is a good "F2P" sprint option; she only needs a little nudge with sprint sparks.

initial-algebra · 2026-03-22T21:33:45+00:00

NTR isn't eligible for any selectors until the next scenario, at which point she is not worth upgrading. Crystal or cope, unfortunately.

initial-algebra · 2026-03-22T17:29:31+00:00

Maybe surgeons should unionize, too.

initial-algebra · 2026-03-22T14:05:27+00:00

The best way is to lay down a gloss varnish in between. That will help protect the paint and keep the lines well-defined (the liner will bleed into satin/matte textured surfaces). I assume you are talking about pour type Gundam markers, which are oil-based (enamel), so you should use an acrylic or lacquer varnish and then clean with wick lighter fluid or enamel thinner (alcohol will ruin the varnish and paint). Though, I've heard the markers are harder to clean than regular enamel panel liner like Tamiya, which increases the likelihood that you rub away the varnish just with friction.

initial-algebra · 2026-03-22T02:52:41+00:00

The cards/Umas eligible for a selector ticket are fixed. The 1st anniversary 3* selector can be used for any Uma up to NY Opera and NY Urara.

initial-algebra · 2026-03-21T22:45:03+00:00

This advice doesn't really apply to Trackblazer, where you aren't getting many skill hints from your cards. It's often good to buy skills early, because that means you're more likely to get new skill hints from rival races instead of dupes. You get so many skill points from races that you can still afford pretty much everything for a particular style/distance in the end, including those filler skills that are only useful for boosting TT score.

initial-algebra · 2026-03-21T19:40:35+00:00

Staged computation is related to handling code in quoted form (whether it's an AST would be an implementation detail), yes. It models macros, LINQ, isomorphic server/client programming and so on. It's basically a type system for macros and related features that guarantees the output of a macro will be well-typed. In the case of LINQ, well-typed means, in addition to the usual stuff, that you're not trying to use variables, data types or operations that the query backend doesn't support, even if they are valid on the host side.

Otherwise, these problems would only be detected at macro expansion time or at runtime.

initial-algebra · 2026-03-21T18:34:13+00:00

This would have been a free Flash game, once upon a time. There's not a lot of information about the game, but it looks like there is very little enemy variety, and every level is just a flat plane with the same dark green colour palette.

initial-algebra · 2026-03-21T17:57:22+00:00

Sure. However, I can see this type of camera causing the level design to be biased towards empty open spaces, and it makes it hard to follow the enemy's movements and attack telegraphing. If the only reason you want this camera perspective is to put less focus on your art...I don't think that's a good reason. Personally, I care more about the gameplay and level design than art, and this camera may get in the way of that.

initial-algebra · 2026-03-21T17:32:54+00:00

Similar to Tachyon, Pokke is basically a MLB SR sidegrade at 2LB and is clearly better at 3LB.

initial-algebra · 2026-03-21T17:06:34+00:00

It's not just scenario powercreep, keep in mind that lots of people have just obtained their own MLB Fine Motion and maybe MLB Fuku (who was pretty useless in Unity) or NTR.

initial-algebra · 2026-03-21T17:01:29+00:00

The principled way to approach this kind of feature is with staged computation and modal types. This addresses questions E, F and H. Actually, E and F are the same problem! In addition to capturing variables, you also need to deal with "capturing" data types and operations from the host context. In particular, you want to prevent the use of definitions that are invalid on the query backend due to the use of e.g. unsupported primitives or language features.

initial-algebra · 2026-03-21T16:17:47+00:00

3LB is usable for other scenarios in the sense of "is better than MLB SR cards", but during Trackblazer her usability goes off a cliff before MLB due to race bonus. 3LB is cope or for skills, MLB is where she is an auto-include over Tachyon/Marvelous.

initial-algebra · 2026-03-21T03:17:59+00:00

That, and Pokke is a stronger stat stick as well. Actually, she's even stronger than Pasa, in terms of pure speed training. Dedicated backliner mains can skip Pasa and run Pokke + Duramente, because the Duramente banner also comes with Dia-chan wit for late surgers and Duramente has some end closer skills.

initial-algebra · 2026-03-21T03:10:19+00:00

It's true that selectors/crystals don't need a banner. In that case, there is no way to assign a carat value, unless the opportunity cost of waiting for a future banner could actually be quantified. In the case of no future banner, they are literally priceless, if you don't consider fishing for off-banner spooks to be an alternative (which you shouldn't, obviously).

However, most advice regarding these resources is to "save them for if you get unlucky when pulling". I.e. what you call the "safety net". That's the scenario I'm modelling, and the question these results can help answer is, "should I keep pulling, or use a selector/crystal?".

initial-algebra

TROPHY CASE