text:
Forum Rules 07/06/2016Introduction The Squad Team reserves the right to edit, update, add and remove rules at any time. Applicable rules extend to the PM system. Your PMs are private, but the Squad Team may be informed about unacceptable PM content by the receiving party. Section I: Posting Rules §1 Show Respect This community can only work if we all respect each other. To that end, it is imperative that any time you engage with another user, either directly or indirectly, you show them respect with the content of your post. In particular refrain from flaming, insulting, abusing, taunting, racism, and other similar types of actions towards other forum users. §2 Attitude & Behavior Poor attitude and behavior are the most common ways a negative / unsafe environment is created and perpetuated. As such that kind of behavior will not be allowed on these forums. Please be mindful of this rule when posting personal positions and opinions regarding topics which could be considered contentious in nature. As a rule of thumb, keep your posts civil in nature, and refrain from making posts that are likely to incite arguments and create a negative environment. As a privately hosted web forum we reserve the right to maintain an environment that we are happy the majority of our players are comfortable with. §3 Swearing While we will not strictly moderate every little swear that occurs, please try to avoid excessive bad language. The moderation reserves the right to remove rants and unsuitable content at any time. §4 Illegal Topics
Prohibited topics include, but are not limited to: Piracy, drugs (including cannabis), pornography, religion, racism, sexism, homo/trans -phobic content, videos and images showing violent death or serious injury, 'spam threads', hacking & griefing (endorsement thereof), religion, politics, etc. Prohibition may be suspended for some threads if they are found to be suitable by the Moderation (such as scientific debate).
If there is doubt, the Moderation Team can decide whether a topic is considered illegal. §5 Attitude towards Squad and the Development Team
As per §1 and §2, keep in mind to be respectful and reasonable, not only towards all users of the forum, but also towards the Squad Team and towards any ideas and content and the game itself. Criticism is welcome, but if it is not constructive and/or if it is offensive, the Moderation may need to step in. Please refrain from posting if you are upset, angry or drunk, or you may be punished for things you wouldn't have otherwise written, which is not in anyone's interest. §6 Language & Legibility
Please post only in English. Non-English content (including non-legible content) may be removed. If you see someone posting in another language because s/he apparently does not speak English, please report their post - if you can, you may reply in their language to explain their question, but please do translate their and your message so it can be reviewed by the Moderation. 'Hiding' insults in non-English posts will be punished harshly. Posts written largely in 'leetspeak' or full of spelling / grammatical errors may be treated like non-English content. This rule does not extend to PMs. §7 Forum structure & Search
Please ensure when posting a new thread, that the thread is located inside the correct forum section. Check all forum section titles to judge where your thread should belong. Threads created in the wrong forum section will be moved or deleted.
Before posting a new thread, please make use of the forum search to find older threads about the same topic. In doubt, it is recommended to rather post in an existing thread, unless that thread is years out of date. However, do not bump old threads without adding a new question / answer / insight that wasn't in that thread before - use common sense. §8 Thread Titles
Please name your thread appropriately; the subject title should sum up / explain the content in the thread. If you fail to name your thread properly (such as 'Hey!' or 'Check this out!' or 'Help!'), we will either rename or lock the topic. Repeated offense may lead to infractions. The practice of using CAPITALS only in your thread title is not allowed and will be edited or the thread will simply be deleted. Strange or abnormal Unicode characters should be excluded from thread titles for the sake of being distracting and unnecessary.
§9 Thread Capitalization
Please ensure that your post is not in all CAPITALS, as this is not allowed. Any threads posted in all caps will subsequently be removed from the forum. Repeated offenses may lead to infractions against your account. This practice is not approved or accepted here.
§10 Images in posts
When posting images, mind the following restrictions:
.gifs will be allowed and may be removed by Staff if deemed necessary.
Maximum size for images is 1280x1024.
Do not include more than ~1 large image per paragraph of text, unless in image collection / announcement threads. Link to further images.
Consider posting thumbnails. You may post a few more images per post if they are reasonably small, the details are for the Moderation to judge. §11 The use of BBCode
It is allowed to use the BBCode in your posts. Over usage is not allowed. You may use the Bold in a reasonable manner but not for the whole text body. You may use the size feature but in a limited reasonable manner. You may not use any of the additional fonts at all. Color may be used to high light a point but again, not for the whole text body. Moderators will be watching for misuse and will edit when required without giving notice. Continued disregard for this rule will result in Moderator action in the form of warnings. §12 Complaints of Server/Admin Abuse Reports of server/admin abuse will not be posted publicly. All reports concerning this type of behavior should be place in the appropriate sub-forum. http://forums.joinsquad.com/forum/241-report-server-admin-abuse/ All posts made outside of this area will be be removed. Section II: Reporting & Moderation §1 Reporting Posts
There is a Post Report system in place. If you notice a post that violates forum rules, simply use the exclamation mark icon below the users avatar image to send a report to the Moderation. We will then review this post. Your report will not be made public and cannot be linked to your person by anyone outside of the Squad Team. You will not be punished for using the Report system even if the report was false, unless you repeatedly abuse the system to spam it.
Do not 'report' posts by replying directly in public to them. In case of spambots, this prompts them to respond in turn, spamming the forum further. This also fuels flame wars and arguments. §2 Reporting Moderators
Moderators are subject to the same forum rules (and some additional rules / exceptions). If you think that a Moderator has treated you unfairly or is otherwise breaking forum rules, please PM the Lead Moderator or any Administrator. Do not accuse Moderators in public, the Squad Team will treat every complaint seriously and it is in our interest to discipline or remove Moderators who are known to break forum rules. §3 Respect Squad Team members and Moderators
Do not ignore or argue against Admin, Moderator or Dev instructions on the forum. If you have a complaint, as per §2, please inform the Team in private. You are expected to follow orders given by the Moderation, Administration and Development Team, and it is necessary for smooth running of the forum to respect their decisions. Being stubborn or ignoring warnings will lead to harsher punishments - however, we do not tolerate Moderator / Admin abuse of power / privileges, so do not hesitate to inform other Team members if you feel treated unfairly. §4 Bans and multiple accounts
If your account is temporarily or permanently banned, do NOT create another account. Bypassing a ban will result in further action, and a permanent ban of all of your accounts.
You are not allowed to have more than one account for any reason. If you share an internet connection with another user who has their own account, it might happen that this account is incorrectly identified as a secondary account - please get in touch with the Moderation or Administration to resolve such issues.
Search the Community
Showing results for tags 'Suggestion'.
Found 99 results
suggestion A simple leveling system
duuuuuuucky posted a topic in Feedback & SuggestionsHey! I'll go straight to the point, Squad is a really good game, but I think it's missing progression. Beside me "getting better" at the game and seeing it, there is pretty much no other progression between the countless matches I have played. My suggestion would be to add a very little and basic leveling system like in so many other games. This addition could simply be made by taking a percentage of your score at the end of matches and turning it into XP that will increase your personal level. That's it. I would love to see an addition like this one in Squad because, in my opinion, one of the most important aspects of a game is progression; the player's feeling of getting better and further into the game. For the moment, in Squad, like I said, a player's evolution is simply represented by the matches he has played and how he has learned new strategies and ways to play the game. But many other games, even the hardcore ones (such as Escape From Tarkov), have decided to introduce a leveling system to let people see a certain progression between matches, presented in the form of a number, every time they go back to the main menu. Also, just to clarify, I don't wish this leveling system to let players unlock new things like Call of Duty does, I just want a number to let us see some sort of progression between matches. Thank you so much for reading all the way to this sentence and I am open to you guys' opinion on this small suggestion! PS.: Sorry if there are English mistakes, I blame it on the fact that this is my second language.
My Personal Ideas and Adjustments for Game Play Mechanics
Doctor Hammer posted a topic in Feedback & SuggestionsMy Personal Ideas and Adjustments for Game Play Mechanics by Doctor Hammer With the current iteration of Squad in the B17 phase I feel like it's a critical moment for game play mechanics before introducing Version 1.0. With this post I hope to create a healthy conversation concerning the game play mechanics and to highlight my own ideas that I strongly believe will be positives to the game. Lets begin! Spawn System Commander The Medic Class Those are all the ideas I have for the game right now that I think could be super beneficial and make the game more fun, some ideas more thought out than others, but that's okay, at the end of the day, I just wanted to put those thoughts out there and create a conversation about those possible changes. keep in mind these are ideas are just ideas, not absolute solutions. I am proposing some of these things in the hopes good adjustments to them would be made, and a conversation could be started. I think we all want the same for squad, a teamwork based game that supports communication and tactics. Thanks for Reading! Doc
fob FOB (UI, features, overhaul)
RED.Misfit posted a topic in Feedback & SuggestionsThe FOB side needs a big overhaul. Would be much appreciated if that is done BEFORE the official 1.0 release. The FOB Building SHOULD have its own UI, so when holding T key and selecting the FOB building, it should exit the T key main interface and switch to a SPECIAL FOB Menu. There is some render at the end of the post. From the building UI side Holding T to access the building is not great, have a special static menu where you can navigate easily. Circle UI is bad and restrict the number of thing they could offer to built, have a classic "windows explorer" kind of interface but base on shortcuts rather than point & click. Make it smaller, place it on top left/right of the UI so you can see what you are placing and how you are placing it without exiting the building menu Navigate it through number key 1 through 9 to unfold menu or select item to place. 0 and backspace could be the next/previous shortcut when there is more than 9 items available. Right click could be the shortcut to fold the menu layer after layer to get navigate through the building stuff type (fortification, emplacements, etc..). Left click keep the validate action to place the stuff blueprint selected in the UI. Keep the last sub-menu open so if the SL want to place X sandbags he doesn't have to go through all the menu again, he just have to press the same number to get the same blueprint. All the sandbags and fortification that can be pilled up should have a layer system directly accessible when the SL is placing the blueprint. Raising the cost with each new layer by using mousewheel up, lowering the cost with mousewheel down. You just want to make a basic level protection where you can hide behind on prone only or you want 2 layers, 3 layers, 4 layers of sand bags/hesco/woods barrier ? That should just be available on a mousewheel action directly. These changes, give the SL more freedom to build FOB. User interface is easier to read, easier to manipulate, gives the ability to make better fob, easier, faster. From the building side All the sandbags and protections should be autolinked on their own when place along closely enough by the SL. No micro-managing space for the SL anymore. Enforce rounding the edge when placing sandbags, hesco, razorwires close to each other on an "approximate" (!!) 45° or 90° angle. All the building with open space should be compatible with bipods. Have you tried using the US open bunker with a MG class soldier ? It doesn't work at all... The ressource should not be used directly when the blueprint has been placed, but slowly consummed when the building is being built by the players ! And that should allow to get the opposite then, ressource cashed back in the FOB ressources when a friendly player (so not a foe !?) is unbuilding stuff. Add a new option to REINFORCE a preset building from the vanilla map. Transforming a map house into a HAB when the radio is inside that building (still cost the same amount of construction The SL just have to be inside the designated building to reinforce it. Taking FOB to a new level where it is not only BUILDING from the ground up. But using map assets as more or less discrete FOB. Option to place static weapons emplacements at windows in the FOB range (with the same per FOB restrictions) Option to reinforce windows with woods protection (hiding what's inside but not blocking high caliber) Hope dev reads player feedback and suggestion here. I've taken a little bit of times to make a quick mockup/in-game menu display. I am not a pro, i just have ideas. I've basicly taken in-game elements, reasses what can improve a lot the interface for FOB building. It's just the basic idea, a professionnal with the tools to design the UI can do much better on the render side of course. Feel FREE to suggest your own ideas to add to the list. Here are some visuals to help understand the UI thing (click to enlarge image) :
Commander Vehicle Deployment Suggestion
Fragslime posted a topic in Feedback & SuggestionsI am new the the forum, but I have about 650 hours in squad. I was extremely excited to see the commander role finally enter squad. I was a faithful Red Orchestra player for many years, and the timely role that commanders played in providing support dramatically aided momentum swings, and improved the experience. I am also a big RTS guy, and have many hours in the Company of Heroes, Total War Series, and more recently Steel Division II. Since Squad is essentially an interesting fusion of FPS with a healthy does of RTS, the commander adds a huge layer of tactical coordination. Steel Division II gives its players the ability to pre-build decks of vehicles that can be deployed based on a capped amount of units and a steady flow of resources. While I don't know if squad needs resources per se, allowing the commander to either "build a deck of vehicle cards" to be deployed at his leisure throughout the game, or simply decide which ones will be deployed at which times, would add a whole new meta to the game, and allow for counters and reactions. Each vehicle could be valued differently, perhaps using the current ticket costs, and instead of losing points at the point of the vehicles destruction, you'd lose it at the point the commander delpoys it at main. You could economize when things are low, or you could spend a bunch of resources up front for an armored rush. Alternatively, you could have a separate fix vehicle resource counter for each map. Either way, the commander could choose what vehicles to deploy based on his current needs, and really restrict the current issue of vehicle over-saturation on some maps, because the set amount of vehicle points could be spent at any point. This would open up a variety of tactics in the game. Steel Division paces the vehicles, by making only certain vehicles deployable in various phases of the game, with the heavier ones often coming later. I just feel like the commander could really take control of the whole game's meta this way, and really improve the strategic focus moving forward.
improvement VEHICLE CAPTURE (how to reduce vehicle abandonment)
doubleDizz posted a topic in Feedback & SuggestionsSuggestion Enemy vehicles can be captured without destruction, much like capture points, with a ticket gain to the team and a ticket loss to the enemy. Purpose Reduce the tendency for players to abandon vehicles, damaged or not. Conditions To capture an enemy vehicle, there must be... two infantry on the ground within a very small radius for X amount of time (X indicates a number to be determined) no enemy within a slight larger radius (to ensure a vehicle is not capture mid-firefight) Once captured, vehicles de-spawn and eventually respawn at enemy main, like a destroyed vehicle. Reasons for Consideration adds another element for infantry to contribute towards ticket gain for the team rewards observant players working together while punishing players who are not small enough to not distract an entire team away from match objectives Summary vehicles capture without the need for explosives makes players think twice about leaving vehicles unmanned high risk but with greater gain than destruction creates additional points of interest for firefights on the map adds a new dimension to ticket gain for a losing side, increasing the asymmetric complexity of the overall match for both sides
helicopter British Helicopter: Puma HC2
Zeroid posted a topic in Feedback & SuggestionsThe British Army needs helicopter support... me thinks the Puma HC2 would be most suitable ^^ Puma HC2: https://www.raf.mod.uk/aircraft/puma-hc2/
Different squad types.
Fewtas posted a topic in Feedback & SuggestionsSo the idea is that when a squad leader makes a squad, he chooses one of a few type squad compositions. You can only have one per team of the specialized squads, and can have up to 3 normal mismatch squads (current style). The advantage for the specialized squads is that they can pick extras of a few different roles. Examples: Assault: Can have: Standard SL kit. 1-2 Medics 2-4 Riflemen 1-3 Grenadiers 1 Light AT 1-3 Automatic Riflemen Fire Support: Standard SL Kit. 1 Medic 1-2 Riflemen 1 Marksmen 1-3 Machine Gunner 1-2 Light AT OR Heavy AT 1-2 Combat Engineer OR Sapper That's the basic idea. These squads would be more focused on specific things, and be unable to fully switch gears to deal with different scenarios, IE the assault squad wouldn't be able to deal very well with armor, but they end up being better at assaulting a point with all the smoke from the grenadiers. These are all still just barely thrown together scraps of ideas, and I have others as well but this covers my point. (Edit: also another point, it would mean less games would have people randomly take crewman vehicles and do nothing with them, since if squads had these they wouldn't be able to pick crewman at all)
Multi Faction Layers
Marco posted a topic in Feedback & SuggestionsI was thinking, why don't we have Multi Faction Layers now that we have them in the game. For example British and American Verse Irregular and Russian Forces on Layers that would usually be Russian and American normally. From a balance/gameplay perspective, it adds a larger variety of weapons available to both sides which can be a very positive thing, When talking emplacements and vehicles It should really be limited to one type per side, ie American British forces only use American Emplacements, defences, Habs, vehicles and same for Russia Irregular using only Russian equipment. People with note that newer players will have trouble with uniforms and Target identification, but I argue that having 2 different opposing forces to identify it will make it easier in the long run, instead of playing one game and getting used to one enemy then switching enemies the next game and getting used to them, as a new player, it would be easier to get used to both of them being the enemy at the same time, in the end I would argue the uniform identification question would be a NET neutral in terms of good verse bad. From a realistic perspective it would add on it immensely, for example, American forces weren't the only ones in the middle east, it was a coalition of different military forces, British, Canadian etc. It was a NATO thing not an American thing, although it was largely American for a while there. Russia also backed Militia forces and Militia Forces worked with Terrorist Forces in the middle east pretty frequently, sometimes even training one another. Almost everything in the game is ready to support something like this being implemented, Factions, Maps, Equipment. Everything is ready for this to happen. It could be as easy as when someone creates a squad, they tick an American flag or British Flag and the same for the other team I'd love to see something like this implemented officially even if it was in some limited fashion. IE Insurgent verse NATO layers.
Fewer fire support roles, more ammo bags.
Rawfoss posted a topic in Feedback & SuggestionsSuggestion: 1) Reduce "fire support " role limit to 2 per squad. 2) Give "direct combat" RPK-74/RPK roles an ammo bag. 1) With the separation of fire support and specialist role limits, squads have access to more non-medic/rifleman roles, which often results in there being only one rifleman. Convincing people in pub games that you need riflemen for their versatility/ammo is a chore, but it also makes other roles less special, limiting how powerful they can be, and the choice of what to bring less interesting. It also reduces the value of the limited direct combat roles (non-scope AR, L86LSW) since you can just take the FS version instead (or an actual second rifleman). While ammo bags are currently not as important as they probably should be (different topic), they're one of the few mechanics that require squad members to work together on their own. Making 1LAT the default and 2LAT a bigger commitment would also allow slight buffs, that could result in vehicles having an easier time by default, while giving infantry a stronger fallback when vehicles on their team have failed (and making an individual LAT feel more impactful). 2) The RPK(-74) has always been weaker than the M249 and that's kind of okay, but with the NATO HATs and the US AT4 the infantry balance between the two groups has become a bit disappointing. Giving the average RUS squad an additional ammo bag would be a nice asymmetrical compensation for their weaker AT and make that role more rewarding to play.
Thinking Of Making A Suggestion? Read First!
Yrkidding posted a topic in Feedback & SuggestionsSo I've already begun to notice a lot of suggestions that overlap or are duplicates of earlier threads here on the forums and decided to make this post based off a similar post on the old Project Reality Suggestion forum to give first-timers and veterans alike a guide on the thought process you should be using when making a suggestion here on the Squad Forums. Try asking yourself these questions before you post. I. Has your suggestion already been made? The game is young yet, but there have already been many suggestions including at least 4 separate threads on A.I. Sicilians and character/weapon customization! Use the Search Function to check whether or not your suggestion has been covered in the Discussion or Suggestion Forums. Here's an easy link for you: http://forums.joinsquad.com/index.php?app=core&module=search II. Is your suggestion worth the effort to make it a reality? The developers are working full time to make this a great game and in some cases it would be cool to have a certain feature, but that feature may not really add that much to the game on the whole. Try to really think your suggestion through, get over the "cool factor" and ask yourself whether it is really worth the time and money of the developers to add this feature in. III. Is your suggestion already in-game or confirmed to be added to the game in future? Your suggestion might pass the first two questions and be a great idea for the game. So great, in fact, that the developers have already instituted it as a feature. The developers have listened to lots of great community feedback over the years as well as brainstorming for their own unique ideas. Keep an eye on the news updates on the front page for development updates and articles on the latest progress. When in doubt, use the Search Function linked above! IV. Does your suggestion fit with the goals that Squad is trying to achieve? Remember that squad is a unique game seeking to fill a unique genre, bridging the gap between games like Call of Duty, Battlefield, and Insurgency with more mil-sim games like the Arma series, landing somewhere near the Project Reality mod that inspired it. At the forefront, this means that Squad is looking to promote teamwork and communication on a large, combined-arms scale with a basis of realism and without room for the run n' gun tactics so prevalent in many modern shooters. Squad is also not based on Special Forces units but instead on the infantry and armoured units commonly seen on the frontlines. Keep this in mind when making your suggestion! If your suggestion has passed all four of these stages then you're likely good to go, suggest away! If you can, try and make your post well-reasoned, well-explained and with a title that makes it clear what you're suggesting. A one-sentence or poorly-titled post might not get your full point across and undeservedly affect how popular your suggestion is. You should also try to keep the tone of your post suggestive and not demanding, it'll go a long way to getting your voice heard. Please also note that this section is not for bug reports, unless specified. Thank you for reading this guide and spending the time trying to make a worthy contribution to Squad's development. Quick Links: Search Function: http://forums.joinsquad.com/index.php?app=core&module=search Suggesting a faction? Post here: http://forums.joinsquad.com/topic/123-factions-you-would-like-to-play-as-or-against/ Suggesting a weapon? Post here: http://forums.joinsquad.com/topic/1661-the-weapons-thread/
Simple (high-crouch) stance adjustment
IsawU posted a topic in Feedback & SuggestionsTLDR: When pressing movement keys while crouched, the character gets a litle bit higher to walk. I sugest that when both left and right is held, the character gets a little bit higher and stays in place. FURTHER ELABORATION: Most of the covers in Squad are optimized to fit the different stances. While crouched looking from a window of an apartment building, I could comfortably see the horizon, however if I wanted to see what's going on closer to the building, I had to use left and right movement to peek up. I thought of pressing both keys and was disappointed when the character ducked back as soon as he stopped. I propose a very simple stance adjustment from crouch into a high-crouch, since that is what I would find most useful and the game probably already has the capability of achieving that without much work. The sugested crouch into high-crouch does not bloat controls neither it creates an oportunity for unwanted peeking, since whenever you press any movement key in crouch, the character gets higher to move, so whether or not the character actually moves at that point is of no essence. The only thing that might need adjusting is that either crouhed weapon sway model or a completely new one would have to be used when in high-crouch. Other than that, leaning would work, because the game already supports leaning while walking (weapon sway model could pose issues), aiming down sights would also work and high-crouch movement would not be a problem, since it's already the default mode of crouch movement. The present 1st person and 3rd person animations should also suffice (minus the weapon sway, I don't actually know how much that is a part of the animations - I sincerely hope it's its own thing). EXPANDED METHOD: The idea can be expanded upon to use forward+backward for higher stance and left+right for lower stance, however this would create possible unwanted peeking, would require new sets of animations for low stances and high stances and would most definitely unnecessarily complicate just about everything about the game. (edit) LESS EXPANDED METHOD: Left and right held simultaneously while crouched puts you into high-crouch and when standing up, it puts you into low-stand. This would give us enough stances to fix the below mentioned issue. Unlike the suggested high-crouch, the low-stand would however require a new set of animations, and movement in low-stand would not be easily possible (probably the way to move when in low-stand, without peeking up, would be to crouch and then move). OK let me hear your thoughts.
Could Offworld confirm, or make sure, that players that are wearing the unarmed/surrender kit/uniform not affect/contribute flags/capture-points. This to ensure that captives can be held anywhere on the map without any negatives for the captors, and etc... Will there be a way of dropping/lose weapons in the field so you can surrender without needing to change at an ammo box? Even though I never really played on Altis life servers... there's a market...: Could consider a timer on being able to use the 'respawn' command, and for the give-up command... or atleast allow servers to edit respawn/give-up/suicide rules... or introduce a new game mode^^ Not single life... possibly cost more tickets lost for suicide/giving-up, as a server option... ... ... etc etc P.s. I do read the updates, but don't recall seeing the above covered anywhere... woopsie if a I missed...
Simple idea to improve map ping
Globul Potato posted a topic in Feedback & SuggestionsIn here https://joinsquad.com/alpha-13-test-gameplay-changes/ There's this part- Any of you played Arma 3 with ACE mod? If not, then they already solved your problem. Make the ping area based. Like you're pointing out something to someone on a physical map. Make it so only poeople in 2 (or 3, or whatever) meter radius from you can see what you're pointing at on the map. And now there's no guys pinging stuff from 2 clicks, but you also don't need to give someone full grids when standing right next to them. Problem? Solution. Also, if You're interested, They also have a simmiliar system with in game pointing. According to ACE Team- Its better to simply show it. (WARNING, LOUD in 0:37. I couldn't find a better video) If you dont want giant floating circles in your UI, there's an even simpler idea. Make an animation that points a finger in the dirrection of your invisible crosshair and make it a hold action (so you dont have to constantly repeat it) And thats it. Of course, you can do the same by just saying "its where i'm aiming at" "or direction 230", sure. But its a neat little immersion thing for guiding fire and creating memes.
Body Armor
Azor Ahype posted a topic in Feedback & SuggestionsThey need to add body armor and helmets for the armies in this game, i personally own both of these things as a freaking civilian, and i payed about 1k usd. to put that into perspective, the cost of a single tank shell in this game is the same or greater than that. no modern military would EVER send troops into a region without at least an IOTV rig and an ACH. it really ruins the balance of the game and the immersion of bleeding out from a guy shooting you in the chest with a pistol actually completely turns me away from this game(i have 425 hours too...) this is something i have been saying since i started playing the game and i have never once heard devs talk about it, which really bothers me
Grenade and Mortar Blast Radius
SquidNinja17 posted a topic in Feedback & SuggestionsCouldn't help but notice that the damage radius on frag grenades and mortars is incredibly close. After trying to kill myself with mortars and grenades, it seemed like I was within 30 meters without taking any damage what so ever.
tanks Suggestion for Tanks in Future Updates
H A M posted a topic in Feedback & SuggestionsToo many suggestions and some feedback for the two MBTs currently implemented as of Squad v12.2: T-72B3 1) The time between reloading rounds from a loaded chamber in game is identical to that of reloading the gun from an empty chamber. This should not be the case. Contrary to popular belief, it is indeed possible to unload shells from a T-72, though the process of doing this should add considerable time to the entire reloading process. (This assumes one does it the proper way in game, not using an exploit to mitigate any time between changing shells.) Here is the real life process: the commander must cycle the auto loader to an empty munition cassette and manually eject the propellant from from the chamber via the breach operating handle. The T-72's ammunition comes in two separate parts, propellant and shell, and so the shell is still in the chamber; this must be removed from the open breach by hand and placed back into the cassette. (Just a note. While it is possible to switch between rounds, I do not believe this is a common practice. Such a system is in place for clearing malfunctioning rounds from breach; it would be much more simple to fire the loaded round down range and then load normally.) 2) The arming distance of the 9M119M guided missile appears to be around 150-200m in game (as measured with the in game LRF). The effective range of the missile should start at 100m. 3) The PKT co-axial machine gun is fed via 250 round belts via 8 boxes in total, not a continuous 2000 round belt. 4) The way the commander utilises the NSVT heavy machine gun is incorrectly modelled, and it appears that the commander's cupola resembles no T-72 design. The commander must turn out to use the machine gun. (Perhaps a placeholder, balance, something else?) The NSVT should be fed from 60 round belts, of which there are 5 boxes in total. 5) Traversing from a standstill by setting the vehicle in first gear (just hold 'W' until you're in first and then release), and putting all power to either track (to traverse left or right) causes the transmission to rapidly switch between the first and neutral gear. (Which can be sort of solved just by holding 'SHIFT' to hold the current gear, but the jittering of gears sometimes accidentally makes me hold the neutral gear.) M1A2 1) Same problem as number one from the above section, with less explanation. Should be longer, as extracting a shell from breach, stowing it into the rack, and placing a new one in takes much more time than reloading from an empty chamber. 2) The GPS (gunner's primary sight), a periscopic sight mounted above the turret, known as the 'dog house' is the preferred sight to use rather than the GAS (gunner's auxiliary sight), a telescopic sight, and which is the only sight used and implemented. (The GAS has a fixed zoom of x8, while the GPS has multiple zoom levels of x3 and x15. There are other zoom levels, though those can only be used with thermals ON, which has yet to be implemented.) 3) Neutral steering is a bit finicky, and is actually done from the first gear. ______________ Thanks for reading through the entire span of this overtly verbose and lengthy post.
SOF Mod suggestion thing
Moto Moto posted a topic in General DiscussionHey there Squaddies. For the first post on the forums (intro coming next but I already had this typed out so) I wanted to throw in a suggestion for any modders that like the idea and feel up to the task. I'm not sure how plausible this would be, but it would be awesome if it's possible. My idea was for a sort of Insurgency (or even AAS) gamemode in any of the already present Middle East maps, but with a twist. ANA (or any other such local armed force) + SOF VS. Insurgents. The way I had envisioned this was for the SOF part to work sort of how armor or APC squads work, a couple specific roles you can spawn in or pick up which have a different model, gear, and weapons. They could be modeled after any SOF force, either local (for example ANA Commandos) or US based (Army SF, Rangers, etc.). The Local Armed Force part could work much the same as all the other factions, but having some lower quality gear than the US Army, the UK or Russia would provide a familiar yet distinct flavour to the game. Any of the two parts of this suggestion could work seperatly, SOF could be put in any other conventional/regular faction, and the Local Army could be included seperatly in its own faction, fighting either Insurgents, or even the other factions like the US in an alternate history type deal. I think this is an interesting idea because of how it sort of breaks up the Squad gameplay just enough to feel fresh while not losing it's identity, being a good fit for a mod. Maybe this is a dumb idea and all this sounds like the ramblings of a mad man, but I'd like to hear the community's opinions on this.
Anti-personnel mines
OXOTHNK posted a topic in Feedback & SuggestionsWhy have we not had anti-personnel mines in game? it's quite easy to create this asset, but that would change the gameplay for the better. For example, letting for a raider class have 2 such mines, this would not lead to a meat grinder, but would help protect the FOBs. Is there ethical reason as with VBIED trucks or what?
Insurgent and Militia factions playstyle rework suggestion
Globul Potato posted a topic in Feedback & SuggestionsPartial credit to mr. AllezVites from Reddit for coming up with the 6 man squad idea. I just reworked it a bit and am shamelessly stealing parts of his post. Here's the orginal. https://www.reddit.com/r/joinsquad/comments/aiy51k/insurgents_new_specialist_squad/ im transfering it here in hope that someone will consider this, or at least it will make him think. Here's what Allez Vites wrote We've all discussed faction balance in terms of vehicles, emplacements, and fortifications. This comes up when discussing Insurgents as well, but, when it comes to them, I think we're better off addressing team structure and squad roles. Cap squads to 6 players: Capping squads to 6 players increases the total number of squads. Currently, a faction is capped at 4 full squads and 1 auxiliary squad. If this cap is introduced, the total number of full squads is increased to 6 + 1 auxiliary squad. With 6 squads, you now have more rallies that can be placed which leads to more agile movement strategies - I think this should keep traditional factions on their toes - leveraging asymmetrical combat and guerrilla tactics... Im snipping the rest in which he talks about specialist squads becouse i believe it would require too much meddling in the game and too much complication to a very little gain and as such, would make the whole concept unappealing and would sink it.Here's My own idea of additional changes to insurgents to improve His idea. reduce the number of specialist slots from 3 to 2(Or not, this one can be forgotten to buff insurgents up a bit) do a max number of all specialist slots (Not counting leadership and crewpeople) per side like with HATs and MG's . Example (might be higher for any particular one, might be lower) 4 LATs, 4 ARs, 4 GLs, etc. Thats there to counter every squad just getting AT and AR while completely neglecting other slots which would result in over saturation of the battlefield with few particular kits. That way you get some more variety/you simulate the lesser logistics and having to fight with what you have while still having those things on the team level in a similar number that you would have while operating in 9 man squads. Nerf max medics per squad to 1. Why? to simulate worse medical support and personal protection (Helmets, Vests and stuff). To simply put it- rebels are more likely to die when being fired at than soldiers. This is reduced a bit by the fact of having more squads and and everyone with a bandage being able to revive. Having the ability to field 2 medics in a single squad and thus higher survivability in a firefight would be one of the regular military's perks. So far all im doing is taking things away from insurgents that will screw the balance too much, right? right. But to counter that i propose to give them this one major advantage 4.Raise the number of rallies per squad from 1 to 2. That paired with having more smaller squads means that they can basically come from anywhere all the time. Hunting down one rally basically just closes off one venue of attack for 6 men instead of pushing 9 people all the way to main base/some fob few clicks away. It means sustained pressure and the need for regular army to do proper sweeps and maintaining perimeter if they want to secure an area for good. It comes at a price though- play too aggressively and you'll burn through your tickets like HMMWV burns through fuel. If you feel its too OP you might increase the overrun radius to go along with the "more agile but more fragile" theme. Do all of that and voila- more squishable, lesser equiped but more agile and hard to completely get rid off like cockroaches faction versus a robust modern military. Going in hard but encumbered by its might. You get asymmetrical warfare for the lowest work to gain ratio possible. Main idea behind those changes- insurgents/militia are not regular army. Right now they're structured like one with having worse equipment (and some toys like IEDs) It just makes them a worse regular army. What im proposing is an entirely different way of fighting that makes it its own unique faction with their own set of advantages and disadgantages. What im proposing is playing guerilla like guerilla- outmaneuver, strike where it hurts and **** off before the entire might of western civilization blows you to kingdom come.
tank British tank?
Zeroid posted a topic in Feedback & SuggestionsThe British Army could do with a tank. Challenger 2 would be correct, but would that be OP?
suggestion Destruction/Digging up takes more time than construction.
Zeroid posted a topic in Feedback & SuggestionsI feel it should take longer to deconstruct a structure than to construct one. This would add greater value to contruction and also enhance the realism of in-game item placement, imo. It currently seems to easy to deconstruct placed items...
Tactical player character movement and animations
monosaccharide posted a topic in Feedback & SuggestionsThe suggested features list (in order of importance); 1 - Reverse prone (ie, lay on your back) 2- Prone rolling (belly down to belly up) 3 - Weapon resting 4 - Emergency reloads 5 - Staged reloads 6 - Sprint dive and/or sliding The explanation: 1 - Reverse Prone (lay on your back) Being able to lay on one's back side is tactically advantageous in certain situations. It's a good way to get out of the way of bullets or team members in a jiffy, or get low while putting a bullet in that tango that just ran around the corner into your face. Being able to roll from belly down to a belly up position means you can check your six and stay low to the ground. 2 - Prone rolling Obviously in full combat gear with a pack, rolling around like Solid Snake isn't feasible. However, being able to roll halfway or 3/4 means a soldier has room to look between his feet (6 o' clock) or to the side (3/9 o' clock) without having to reorient his entire body in an awkward shuffle or magical rotation. Even when wearing a pack, one could still roll onto their bum faster than getting up into a crouch. 3 - Weapon resting We all understand that running a kilometer and steady aim do not go together. That's why rifles have had such long forends or "handguards"; A soldier rests his rifle. This is why shooting in the prone is so stable. If you see a boulder, window sill, tree or other stable surface then you rest your weapon in order to get a good shot. Muscles alone aren't that great at holding a bead on a 200 meter speck. 4 - Emergency reloads If you're in trouble and out of ammo, it might save your butt to just drop that empty mag on the ground and focus on getting more bullets on target. Any ammo left in that mag is left behind, but thirty rounds is ten times more than three (and you might need that extra ammo to survive this encounter). 5 - Staged reloads Remember that time you had to cancel a reload animation (right at the last moment) to knife some fool, only to return to a replay of that reload you just nearly completed? If you drop your rifle mag then need to quickly draw your secondary, your rifle shouldn't have a magazine still in it when you return to your reload. One step of the reloading process was already complete, but the single animation sequence has to complete in order for the reload to complete. I propose a much more convoluted, complicated, sophisticated, technically complex system of staged reload animations for small arms in Squad. Not just for "realism", but tactical depth and quality of life. 6 - Sprint diving and/or sliding Being able to slide or dive into cover is a great way to get low and get to cover quickly. It's also fun and really cool. Thanks for reading! Hope we see some of these features in the future.
Norwegian Armed Forces
Lurycz posted a topic in Feedback & SuggestionsNow that we're getting a massive new map set in Norway I thought it may be interesting with a new Norwegian faction. Weapons: Hk-416 (Rifleman, SL, Medic ect.) P80 (sidearm) Hk-417 (Marksman) MINIMI (Automatic Rifleman) MG3 (Machine Gunner) MP-7 (Crewman) M72/LAW (Light Anti-Tank) Carl Gustaf (Heavy Anti-Tank) Vehicles: Light Vehicles - IVECO LMV & Dingo 2 (Slightly heavier) APC? - No. IFV - CV90 MBT - Leopard 2 A4NO Helicopter - Bell 412 SP in case of boats - Combat Boat 90N
The Dreaded Medic Role (Revamp Suggestion)
Quadro posted a topic in Feedback & SuggestionsHi Comrades Reading the potential medic changes for the next patch I'm a little skeptical that this will change the role in such a good way that people would want to snap up the medic role. Please note that I'm imagining my suggestion to coincide with Alpha 11.2 and not to be confused with Alpha 11.3. Now isn't really the time to suggest a different approach being so close to patch release but I can't resist throwing a suggestion into the works. Why is the medic so boring to some to begin with? I'll give you my opinion and I'd like to hear yours too. I undoubtably don't need to spell this out for many but you spend a lot of time looking at the ground with your miracle hand out praying to the gods to give your friend one last chance! A committed medic spends a very large portion of the game looking at the ground whilst leaving yourself vulnerable, not fun. Also, you're often vulnerable when healing your new reborn friend with your pants down, not fun! Medics take the largest risk than any other role to keep the team going. To achieve this, they must be vulnerable to tea bagging which can get very frustrating at times when all you want to do is a good job; there is way too much injustice for our fellow medics. Medics need to admire the game world just as much as the next guy gets too by looking up and smelling the roses like everyone else. I'd like to fix this by having them look up more whilst the revive and healing process is commencing. Whilst it commences they also have their gun out ready to defend themselves and their fallen comrades especially in the revive process. My suggestion is to improve a medics overall performance, quality of life and have a positive effect on the pacing of the game and squad momentum. So here is my suggestion below. Medic Bag: Field Dressings are now kept within the Medic Bag essentially removing the Field Dressing for the Medic class which will leave a open inventory slot for a new piece of kit called the Revive Kit, which I'll talk about in a second. The Medic Kit now can stop bleeds and heal. Left click heals or stops bleeding to comrades and right click does the same to yourself. Field Dressings are still available to others and their intended use in the next patch. However adding the revive kit might make the devs reconsider allowing everyone to revive. But who knows they might want to keep it to further pacing! They'll make the right choice. Pros: Can heal and stop bleeds for yourself and everyone else with one kit. No switching between Medic Bag and Field dressing to fix bleeds and heals and switching back to field dressing again to stop a bleed and so on. A cooler upgraded piece of kit Not complicated Cons : I'm struggling to think of any. Anyone can think of any? The Revive Kit: (defibrillator) will fill the inventory slot replacing what was the Field Dressing for the Medic. Instead of kneeling down and applying the Revive Kit, you can place it by an incapacitated teammate. This will then begin to charge up with an audio indication. You can pull your gun out, move around or heal others or stem bleeds with your Medic Bag whilst this is happening. Once fully charged it zaps the incapacitated teammate and revives them. You will then be able to pick up the Revive Kit after a successful revive and continue to revive others or to do other medical duties. Your teammate will automatically regain health after being revived unless injured again which will interrupt the automatic healing process. Your recently revived teammate is still in bad shape at 1% health after being zapped and is likely to only move into cover, to recover health. Please note that I'm imagining my suggestion to coincide with the current revive and heal to full health times in Alpha 11.2. Pros: Can heal others or Stem bleeds whilst resuscitation is taking place Revive and heal process still takes just as long for the individual who is incapacitated Can protect yourself and others whilst reviving increasing squad survivability, momentum of game and quality of life. Medic's time can now be used else where in other medic duties Not complicated for new and old players Reduces prolong time staring at the ground (or restricted view in free look) Overall a very unique cool little piece of kit Can activate your Revive Kit for teammate, carry on running with your squad so to not be left behind and request a ammo drop to receive Revive Kit to increase teamwork, momentum and your squad's survivability. Cons: Please suggest any below. Let me know what you all think! Any constructive input might make for a even better idea. Please take me seriously as I have a beard.
Two suggestions: Bandage/heal as a passanger. Wenches on logi trucks.
Dauqs posted a topic in Feedback & SuggestionsHow about anyone in a vehicle purely as a passenger can hold use and pick "bandage self" or something like that? Takes the same amount of time as doing it normally so no cheating. Why not, right? Also maybe medics could slowly heal players in vehicles with them? Wasn't that a thing in PR? Am I allowed to compare Squad to PR like that? Can you guys add wenches to the bumpers on logistics trucks? Jumping on the wheels is a thing, but sometimes you get stuck in other ways too. Or need to pull you truck out of a ditch. It could work like this, you hit "use" on the tuck and select "wench" and then you have it in your hand(if the truck has a driver, they have to hit accept), move to a tree or another vehicle and attach it. (If the other vehicle is occupied the driver has to accept the tow). Then you get back into the truck and select "wench" just as you would "ammo/construction" and M1 for "pull" M2 for "slack". Can't be that hard to implement, right? And while were at it add a "horn" option for fun?


text:
TEES celebrates 100th anniversary at state capitol
More than 100 years of Texas A&M Engineering Experiment Station (TEES) innovation was on display March 30 at the Texas State Capitol in Austin. Researchers from myriad disciplines demonstrated technologies that will lead TEES into its next century of discovery.
TEES researchers joined their colleagues from the agency's regional divisions at Texas A&M University, Prairie View A&M University, Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi and Texas A&M University-Texarkana in providing visitors and legislators with first-hand demonstrations of their innovations. The engineering technologies on display represented innovations that will impact the medical field, homeland safety and security, the energy industry and space exploration.
To wrap up the celebration of TEES' anniversary, Chancellor John Sharp presented Representative Charlie Geren with a certificate honoring his great-grandfather, Dr. Frederick Giesecke. Giesecke served as director of TEES from 1928-1939. He was noted for leading TEES through the Great Depression, as well as overseeing construction on some of Texas A&M University's most iconic buildings, such as the Academic Building And Williams Administration Building.
Photo, left to right: Dr. M. Katherine Banks, Rep. Kyle Kacal '92, Rep. John Otto '70, Geren, Rep. John Raney '69, Rep. John Wray '93, Railroad Commissioner Ryan Sitton '98 and Sharp.

subset: commoncrawl


text:
Just. Do. Something.
Shortly after the start date of her Creative Residency, Becky (formerly Murphy) Simpson embarked on a 100-day project called "100 Days of Getting Started." Seventy nine days in, she's been creating new illustrations, as a way to nudge her creativity into new areas of inspiration. The project allows her to explore the limits of her visual style and feeds into her overall goal for the residency which is to run her own design business. Becky is now in the last two weeks of her project. I sat down with her to ask her what she's learned and where she thinks the project will take her next:
Adobe: What state was your career in when you decided to do the 100 Days project? We know you had just begun the Creative Residency but can you tell us more about the way you understood your work or your creativity at that time?
Becky: The 100 Days project served as a sort of structure for the start of my creative residency. I've always known that I want to sell my art in some capacity, but first I needed to make the art in order to sell it. Before the residency, I was doing freelance design, working on my book, and running a small Etsy shop. I had to capitalize on my time. So much of the art I made in my free time was created in order to be monetized. 100 Days of Getting Started keeps me creating everyday, but I have the opportunity to simply play and see what comes up. And a lot has.
Adobe: Tell us more about your schedule and work environment while creating these illustrations. Do you begin your day with an illustration or wait until after lunch? Do you play music while you're drawing? Do you work in your studio or go out to a cafe/co-working space? How long do you dedicate to each illustration?
Becky: I have a studio at home, where I usually work (aside from coffee shops when I need to get out). I often work in batches—I do a lot of illustrating at once. I've found that I do the bulk of my drawings when I'm at the airport or on vacation, basically the times I don't need be working. Then when I'm in work mode, I do a lot of the editing. Lately I've found that I like drawing the most at the end of the day before bed—though I've learned that it's smarter to knock it out earlier to ensure it gets done.
Illustrating is more fun when it's not an obligation. The best stuff comes when there's no pressure. I used to listen to a lot of music and podcasts, but I've been in the zone lately and haven't been listening to as much of anything. If the music is on, lately it's been Cat Power or the usual, Balmorhea.
Adobe: What have you learned about your work now that two-thirds of your 100 Days of Getting Started is over?
Becky: I've learned a lot. For one thing, it's okay to just stop drawing. As in, sometimes simple is better. I have a tendency to overcompensate. Sometimes I like the original sketch better than the zillions of edits. It can be more authentic.
I'm also learning about how to share my work in a sustainable way, how to be a better client for myself and how to create new habits that set me up for success. I thought that once I had all day every day to work on my own projects I'd have the time to do all of those "perfect life things" (yoga, walk the dog, breakfast at the table with husband, clean studio, etc.). The reality is—wait for it—I have to make time for those things. We're all busy. The solution isn't necessarily working faster or harder, it's prioritizing.
Adobe: At any point, did you want to quit the project and take up something else? If so, what kept you going forward? If not, what about the project kept you interested in completing it?
Becky: I definitely underestimated how long 100 illustrations would take. It's no "doodle here and a doodle there." I thought, "This is so reasonable… I'm going to make MORE than 100! I'm going to under promise and over deliver!" But here's the thing: Projects always take longer than we think… change that, longer than I think. Catalog this under: Learning Lessons.
I haven't wanted to quit. I just want to get them done in time. I've loved the process. It's fun for me—remember, this is my dream job. Two things have been helpful in the process: 1) Publicly sharing the process (the idea is that the Internet is going to hold you accountable) and 2) Posting my process on my home page. I've seen my progress and it's given me momentum. I'm excited to add more every week.
Adobe: Since the project title has the words "getting started" in it, I'm imagining that even for someone as motivated as you that it's not always easy to get started. How was the pace of making work each day and sharing it that same day for you? Did you feel like you getting started all over again each day or was there a progression amongst your illustrations that connected them all together?
Becky: Starting is hard. I was talking to one of my mentors, Erik Natzke, and he said he doesn't understand this whole "being afraid of the blank canvas" thing. He loves it and embraces it. I haven't always been the same way but this is shifting my perspective.
It's helping me learn that there's a new chance and a new day for every good or bad piece. These are things you know, but you have to experience it to believe. It can be intimidating starting something new. What if it's bad? What if, now that I have the time to do what I've always wanted, I find out that I'm terrible? That's a scary thing to reconcile. The good news is that the more we create, the better our work becomes. It's hard to start working out when you're out of shape. It really is the worst. But you know in your heart of hearts that it's good for you. Same with making something new every day. Nobody is above it. It's either difficult or easy, but no matter what it's good for you.
Adobe: What do you anticipate will come out of these last two weeks of the project? Are you planning any finale like illustrations to end it with a bang? Or are you not planning ahead and just letting the illustrations come to you each day?
Becky: Ha! I just want to finish them. I have many more drawings complete than I've posted and I plan to stake out and do a lot more editing during these last few weeks. I'm going to start posting some of my favorites on my Instagram, my blog and in my newsletter.
I'm also going to start mocking some up and actually MAKE products out of the designs. I created these with the intention that some will move forward, some will not and some will inspire entirely new work. I think the only way that I was able to finish any of these illustrations was knowing that the end is not really the end. I can't wait to see what new life they take on.
Adobe: Thanks for your time Becky! We're looking forward to following along during your last two weeks on the project.
Follow Becky on Instagram and Twitter as she completes 100 Days of Getting Started and register for her October 5 Adventures in Book Publishing session at Adobe MAX.


text:
Install this application on your home screen for quick and easy access when you're on the go.
Just tap
then "Add to Home Screen"
You are currently browsing offline
The ECPR Council is made up of the Official Representatives of each Member Institution of the ECPR. This currently numbers over 340 Members. The main roles of the Council are to:
The Council meets annually during the ECPR's General Conference. Inevitably, not all of its members are able to attend these meetings, but meetings usually attract between 50 and 80 attendees, sometimes higher, a number that brings sufficient experience and views to proceedings. The Council operates according to a set of Standing Orders.
The Council is presided over by a Speaker whose responsibilities include: chairing meetings of the Council; proposing amendments to the Standing Orders of Council; liaising with the EC over business matters and the formulation of the agenda of Council meetings; serving as Returning Officer for EC elections and votes to amend the ECPR Constitution; acting as a general liaison point for members of Council vis-à-vis the ECPR.
Official Representatives (ORs) themselves have important functions because of the ECPR's almost unique institutional-based membership. ORs act as a main channel of communication with their institutions downward from the ECPR as well as upward from their institutions to the ECPR. Their main contact point is the ECPR's Communications Officer who looks after all membership matters
The Council is, therefore, a large and important body operating at the heart of the governance structure of the ECPR. It is important to note, however, that this system of governance does not equate with a straightforward 'parliamentary' one (where the Council is the legislature and the EC the executive) because of the Executive Committee Members primordial role as Trustees of the ECPR. The ECPR is a Charity accountable to the UK's Charity Commission and UK Charity law. The Charity Commission bestows important functions, obligations and responsibilities on the Trustees of its charities which must be met each year, and whose names are submitted to the Commission on an annual basis. The EC, as the body of Trustees, is therefore accountable not just to the Council but also the UK Charity Commission.


text:
Very sad news, in case you missed this in the feed. Fat rights activist and NAAFA Board member Jeanne Toombs has passed away from complications of pneumonia. There's a tribute to her at NAAFA's MySpace blog, with contact info for those who wish to send condolences.
You can read about Jeanne's efforts to push forward the Massachusetts Height/Weight Discrimination Bill here.
Our thoughts are with Jeanne's family and friends.


text:
Laurie McCabe is co-founder and partner at SMB Group, and specializes in conducting market research and analysis, as well as consulting on the SMB market and requirements of SMB users.
Q: B2B marketing managers have cited the most important criteria for a marketing automation system as (1) price, (2) product integration (e.g., CRM, social, web, mobile), and (3) ease of use, according to the Pepper Global, Marketing Automation Trends Report 2014. What would you say are the most important criteria and what should they be looking for first and foremost?
A: There is no one size fits all, especially when it comes to SMB. So just start with looking at your objectives what capabilities you need in the marketing automation solution. The bottom line is to match the solution to the way you need to market, and also that the solution will allow you to be flexible and adaptable as your needs evolve.
Ease of use is important. If it's not easy to use, most SMBs are going to quickly get frustrated, because generally people in a smaller company are doing more than one thing; they don't have as deep a specialization and they probably can't devote as much time.
[While some experts say that price shouldn't be a significant factor], the problem is that a lot of SMBs are cash constrained, and most of them are not doing any kind of formal ROI calculation. Realistically, if you don't have the money for a Mercedes, you really shouldn't be buying a Mercedes, so define something that meets your requirements, is flexible and is affordable.
The good news is that so many marketing automation solutions now are cloud-based, and that gives customers opportunities to do free trials. Furthermore, a lot of vendors offer monthly subscriptions options.
When you think about the average SMB, the top goals are attracting new customers, growing revenue, improving cash flow and retaining customers. Marketing automation is a very important investment for them, because it speaks directly to those needs.
Q: What do SMBs need to know in order to maximize ROI on content marketing investments?
A: Content marketing is the biggest challenge. You can automate a lot of things, but what you can't really automate is content creation. Yet you need this content because it feeds every marketing initiative and it feeds that marketing automation engine, kind of like the fuel in a car.
SMBs need to figure out not only how to produce content in the first place, but how to repackage it more effectively. For instance, if you do an interview like just like this one, you could also have a podcast. You could take a 600 word interview and turn it into a slide, with three quick tips. You can re-use high quality content in myriad ways, extending your reach and touch points.
With marketing automation, you're going to be measuring views and clicks, and engagement, and that's really important because you need to see if your content is even getting traction with people. Is it getting them to engage? Is it pulling them through the funnel? The important thing is to maximize ROI on that content creation. You need to think up front, "How am I going to use this thing at least two or three different ways?"
Always remember, too, that it's like the tree falling in the forest: if no one's there, if nobody hears it, did it really fall? Well, a lot of social media is like that, so you can also re-tweet, re-pin and re-post things, because the odds that anybody saw it that initial time are probably pretty low.
Read more from Laurie's Q&A — Part 2
Thank you, Laurie! Follow her @lauriemccabe or visit her blog.


text:
Hostnine vs EasyCGI
An easy comparison to see why EasyCGI sucks as business web host. Discover which is the better web hosting.
Hosting costs
First, let us compare the hosting costs at Hostnine vs EasyCGI. The cheaper choice for hosting a straight forward WordPress blog or e-commerce shopping cart is most definitely Hostnine. If you just need to have one website using one domain, require a reasonable amount of storage space and visits-per-day, and want a few email accounts, then Hostnine, priced from $ 3.95 per month is easily the winner. If you need to host unlimited domains and require high bandwidth, then you need to look further into each web hosting features and the TOS.
Please note that the above conclusion is only true if we compared apple to apple – i.e the costs for each hosting if you pay for 1 year. Do not get sucked by the unbelievably low prices advertised by the hosting companies or by other untrustworthy web hosting review sites. Some low prices advertised are for payment periods that are longer than 1 year. If you ask us, we found that companies go bust, got bought over, or simply did not perform well as expected. Why risk your hard-earned money because money paid to these companies will not be easy to get back – trust us. Based on our research, yearly hosting payment is the optimal length.
Customer Satisfaction
Secondly, we want to look at customer satisfactions at Hostnine and EasyCGI. From our research, there are more disgruntled customers at EasyCGI than at Hostnine. We found this out by searching for customer feedbacks on the web. Our researchers studied keywords such as "Hostnine down", "EasyCGI bad", "Hostnine horrible", "unreliable EasyCGI", and other negative feedbacks. To be give the complete picture, we also spent hours on the Internet analyzing keywords such as "Hostnine great", "EasyCGI good", "Hostnine best", "love EasyCGI" and related positive terms.
Our research found that, more than 91.7% of customers loves Hostnine. In contrast, we were not impressed with EasyCGI. In addition, another Hostnine review was also impressed with the customer satisfaction record of Hostnine.
How Popular Are They?
Just for the fun of it, we also considered the popularity of Hostnine and EasyCGI. After studying their backgrounds, we found that the more talked about hosting service is EasyCGI. The statistics below analyzes the global Internet users who visit www.hostnine.com vs www.easycgi.com for web hosting, domain registration and other hosting related activities.
Overall Scores
Lastly, we summed up the above scores and came out with the conclusion about Hostnine vs EasyCGI. The marks from the above factors were given priority appropriately where the user feedbacks were given more priority. We would like to announce that Hostnine is our recommended business web host. Here is the summary of our hosting comparison.
Do we think that Hostnine is one of the best hosting services? That is exactly what we think, but you do not have to believe a word we say. You just have to see their impressive website to believe us. Use coupon code below and 2 Free months on their Unlimited Everything plan.
2 Free months on their Unlimited Everything plan. Coupon code: 2FREEMONTHS
You can help fellow business owners who are looking for a web host by leaving your own Hostnine review below. If you have tried EasyCGi Web Hosting and you disagree with us, you can submit your opinion on EasyCGI in the box below.


text:
Vital Pump Pre Workout is designed to boost your energy levels and fuel your muscles to help you train longer and harder. In every serving, there are 5 grams of the Amino blend which consists of the branched-chain amino acids (L-leucine, L-lsoleucine, L-Valine). These will not only assist in the recovery of your muscle but will also give you an energy boost during your workout.
A combination of caffeine (250 milligrams), Velvet Bean Seed Powder, Betaine, and Taurine make up the energy complex. This blend will provide you, not only with an intense energy boost but also long lasting stamina to fuel your most intense workouts!
But wait, there is more! Vital Pump also contains Huperzine A which is a cognitive enhancer. This will boost focus during your workout. It also increases the level of Acetylcholine in your body which is a critical neurotransmitter for muscle contractions. In plain English, it will give you an awesome pump!
Serving Size: 1 scoop
Mix one scoop into 8-12 oz of water and
drink 15 minutes before your workout
Ingredient Breakdown
Creatine is a naturally occurring substance that provides energy to muscular cells. It increases athletic performance because it is a source of energy for muscle contractions while increasing muscular growth. Not only that, it also enhances brain function and boost bone healing on a cellular level.
Betaine boosts strength and power while promoting lower body fat levels.
Taurine boosts energy while expanding muscle cells so they can hold more water which in turn increase the rate of recovery.
Caffeine is proven to boost physical capabilities in all sports while delaying the onset of fatigue. It also increases alertness and endurance while promoting lower body fat levels.
BCAA(Branched Chain Amino Acids) protect muscles from breaking down while you are leaning out your physique. It does this by decreasing the the rate of protein breakdown. It also controls fatigue levels to keep you going to muscle failure.
L-Glutamine promotes the natural production of HGH which minimizes muscle breakdown while helping to control body fat levels. It promotes new muscle growth and by building and repairing muscular cells.
L-Tyrosine is a building block of protein. This supports high energy levels and increases the metabolism. It also boosts brain functions and promotes a healthy mood.
Huperzine A promotes overall brain health while improving short-term mental clarity and focus. This has a multitude of physical benefits. It increases natural HGH production which in turn boosts testosterone levels. It is proven to increase libido in both men and women. Not to mention it having a diuretic effect on muscle tissue and improving mental clarity.