A quick scan of social media confirms that Batman: Caped Crusader‘s female version of the Penguin is still a talking point, weeks after the show’s debut. Showrunner Bruce Timm’s comments probably haven’t helped either.

In an interview for the Emmys website, Timm chalked up Caped Crusader‘s gender-swapped Oswald Cobblepot to a shortage of viable alternatives. “[Executive producer] James [Tucker] and I were talking about the overview of [Caped Crusader],” Timm recalled. “And we said, ‘One of the problems with Batman, as he is, is there’s a lack of good [female] villains. You’ve got Catwoman, you’ve got Poison Ivy, you’ve got Harley Quinn. But it would be really good to have more female villains […] We never really could figure out exactly what to do with the Penguin, what the gimmick for The Penguin would be. What if we gender-flip the Penguin?'”

It’s a well-articulated argument; it also doesn’t make a whole lot of sense. Yet ultimately, the rationale behind Batman: Caped Crusader‘s female version of the Penguin doesn’t really matter; the execution does.

The Bat-Canon Has Plenty of Good Female Villains

Admittedly, Timm isn’t entirely wrong. The Dark Knight’s list of enemies definitely skews male-heavy. That said, there are still plenty of good female Bat-baddies. Aside from the three Timm mentions (two of whom, Catwoman and Harley Quinn, appear in Batman: Caped Crusader), there’s also Talia al Ghul, Lady Shiva, Jezebel Jet, and female incarnations of Clayface and Ventriloquist. Oh, and let’s not forget two of Timm’s own co-creations, Phantasm and Roxy Rocket. That’s just off the top of my head, too. There’s probably a few more viable candidates I’m missing, without even getting into less flamboyant characters like gangster Sofia Falcone.

Related: Batman: Caped Crusader: What’s Linton Midnite’s Deal in Season 1?

True, some of the above supervillains are overexposed (particularly Ivy), while the rest aren’t exactly A-listers. However, Timm’s approach to Caped Crusader is rooted in reinvention and revitalization. If the likes of Roxy Rocket and Lady Clayface don’t work as is, that’s the perfect invitation to revamp them. After all, Timm’s done it before with underappreciated male villains. Together with Paul Dini, he gave us the modern Mr. Freeze! So, while I don’t personally have an issue with Penguin being a woman, I find the notion that Timm was essentially forced down that road a tad disingenuous.

Batman: Caped Crusader’s Penguin Is About Reinvention

Yet, again, just because Timm’s “female Penguin” motivations don’t stack up doesn’t mean they’re without merit. As noted above, Timm’s goal with Batman: Caped Crusader was to put a fresh spin on the Bat-mythos, the way he did as a co-architect of Batman: The Animated Series (only different). James Tucker said as much in the joint Emmys interview. “That was the mission statement for [Caped Crusader] in general: to do something that harkened back to the original, but flip it.” Recasting Oswald Cobblepot as Oswalda certainly does that.

Related: Is Batman: Caped Crusader Getting a Season 2?

Of course, this approach is bound to rub some fans up the wrong way. Setting aside the gender politics of it all, some folks just don’t like drastic deviations from established comics canon, and that’s totally fine. We all have our own threshold for change. But for a Batman adaptation to stand out from its decades’ worth of predecessors—and, heck, to justify its very existence—it can’t be afraid to mix things up a bit. Otherwise, things get same-samey and stale. Trying to avoid this fate is how you end up with a slimy Harvey Dent, a Joker-free Harley Quinn, and yes, Timm’s female Penguin.

Bruce Timm Is Wrong About Batman’s Rogues (But Right About Caped Crusader’s Penguin)

And let’s be real: a cabaret-singing female Penguin is an objectively fun take on the character (even if the Oswalda name is a bit lame). It’s surprising, without actually straying all that far from the OG Penguin’s essence. A ruthless, avian-looking crime boss who feigns legitimacy? That certainly tracks with several depictions of Penguin (including in the comics). Voice actor Minnie Driver’s performance is terrific, too. Indeed, it’s not hard to see why Oswalda has her defenders as well as her detractors. So, no, it doesn’t matter that Bruce Timm is wrong about Batman’s lack of good female villains; he was still right about Caped Crusader‘s female Penguin.

Batman: Caped Crusader Season 1 is currently streaming on Prime Video.

isney+ Star Wars series The Acolyte wrapped up its first season with a decidedly open-ended finale. So, does this mean the The Acolyte is getting a Season 2?

Related: The Acolyte: Is Darth Plagueis in Season 1?

Is The Acolyte Season 2 Happening?

No, The Acolyte Season 2 isn’t happening. Per Deadline, Lucasfilm cancelled the Star Wars series on Aug. 19, 2024. The outlet’s sources didn’t supply a reason for The Acolyte‘s cancellation, although its lacklustre viewership figures were likely a contributing factor. As noted by Deadline, The Acolyte lost its spot on Nielsen’s Top 10 originals chart from Episode 4 to 7. To its credit, The Acolyte eventually landed back on the chart with its eighth and final episode. But even then, its total number of minutes viewed was reportedly the lowest of any Star Wars series.

Related: Is Yoda in Star Wars: The Acolyte?

Lucasfilm axing The Acolyte will no doubt come as a blow to showrunner Leslye Headland, who was ready to hit the ground running on Season 2. In March 2024 Collider interview, Headland revealed that The Acolyte was always conceived as a story that spanned more than one season. “I would say that when I pitched it, I definitely pitched it as a multi-season show,” she said. “There are a lot of things at the end of this season that I think are narrative threads that are not tied up, for sure.”

What Was Planned for The Acolyte Season 2’s Story?

So, what did Leslye Headland have planned for The Acolyte Season 2, if it had happened? More Darth Plagueis, for one thing! Plagueis briefly cameos in Season 1’s finale, which Headland confirmed in an Inverse interview was set-up for Season 2. She also reiterated the importance of Osha and the Stranger’s newly-forged partnership to the second season’s unrealized narrative.

Related: Does The Acolyte Season 1 Have a Post-Credits Scene?

“[Darth Plagueis is] definitely a signifier of things to come if we end up moving forward,” Headland said. “Osha and the Stranger are aligned. Literally the last shot of the show is the two of them holding the same lightsaber. It’s the last shot of Fight Club – these are two people that are looking out under the horizon and believing that their power is intense, and strong, and shared, and passionate.”

All eight episodes of The Acolyte Season 1 are currently streaming on Disney+.

 The above article was updated on 8/20/2024 by the original author to include information about The Acolyte’s cancellation.

I'm trying to make a pickup and drop script by myself and every time the game calls the pickup function, it seemed to cause memory leaks and freezes the game for few seconds. After those few seconds, the items does get picked up but the fps drops significant and the drop function seems to do fine.

*Attached to the Item holder

using UnityEngine;

public class PickupController : MonoBehaviour
{
    public GameObject itemHolder;

    public bool slotFull;

    private GameObject currentObject;

    private IPickable pickupScript;

    public void PickUp(GameObject pickupObject)
    {

        if (pickupObject == null)
        {
            Debug.LogError("Pickup Object is null");
            return;
        }

        slotFull = true;
        currentObject = pickupObject;
        pickupScript = pickupObject.GetComponentInChildren<IPickable>(); //I'm trying to get the WheelRange.cs script

        Debug.Log(pickupObject.gameObject.name);

        if (pickupScript == null)
        {
            Debug.LogError("pickupScript is null.");
            return;
        }


        currentObject.transform.SetParent(itemHolder.transform);

        pickupScript.OnItemPickup();

        currentObject.transform.localPosition = Vector3.zero;
        currentObject.transform.localRotation = Quaternion.identity;
    }

    public void Drop()
    {
        slotFull = false;
        currentObject.transform.SetParent(null); //Removes the parent
        pickupScript.OnItemDrop();
    }
}

*Attached to WheelRange gameobject

using UnityEngine;

public class WheelRange : MonoBehaviour, IPickable
{
    
    [SerializeField] private Canvas canvas;
    [SerializeField] private BoxCollider boxCollider;
    [SerializeField] private PickupController pickupScript;
    private GameObject parentObject;
    private bool beingUsed;
    private float distToGround;


    void Start()
    {
        beingUsed = false;
        canvas.gameObject.SetActive(false);
        parentObject = this.transform.parent.gameObject; //Gets the actual wheel gameobject
        distToGround = boxCollider.bounds.extents.y;
    }
    public void OnItemPickup()
    {
        beingUsed = true;
        pickupScript.PickUp(parentObject);

        boxCollider.gameObject.SetActive(false);
        canvas.gameObject.SetActive(false);
        
    }

    public void OnItemDrop()
    {
        beingUsed = false;
        boxCollider.gameObject.SetActive(true);
        
    }



    //Rest of these functions probably doesn't apply to the error
    bool IsGrounded()
    {
        return Physics.Raycast(parentObject.transform.position, Vector3.down, distToGround + 0.1f);

    }

    void OnTriggerEnter(Collider other)
    {
        if (other.gameObject.tag == "Player") canvas.gameObject.SetActive(true);
    }

    void OnTriggerExit(Collider other)
    {
        if (other.gameObject.tag == "Player") canvas.gameObject.SetActive(false);
    }
}

The interface

public interface IPickable
{
    void OnItemPickup();

    void OnItemDrop();
}

To be considered one of the best of the best in science fiction literature, you need a repertoire of books and some game-changing titles. However, it is always good to support the new authors in sci-fi and maybe watch one of them bloom into a writing legend. Here are a few I think should be quietly, but expectantly, watched in 2024.

There are so many new writers every year, especially in the science fiction genre. Some of them go on to be the next Iain M. Banks, but the majority sink into obscurity. Whether this is because they're not up to scratch or simply just not discovered is anyone's guess. However, pick one or two of these up, and you'll be sure to get a view into what the new trends are and what some of the best new writers in sci-fi are producing.

Tlotlo Tsamaase

Womb Cities' genre-blending mash-up of Cyberpunk, Afrofuturism, Horror, and science fiction hits so many of the greatest subgenres it's almost impossible to fail... if done right. However, Tlotlo Tsamaase nails it with her first full-length book, which has elements of Altered Carbon body-hopping and Brave New World levels of surveillance states. The narrative has deep sci-fi elements combined perfectly with a trapped and paranoid horror that leaves every page a tense turn. If you're a fan of Afrofuturism cyberpunk, there are some fantastic books to choose from.

In the Botswana portrayed in this sci-fi book, our new author imagines a world in which consciousness can be transferred between bodies, but at the cost of freedom. Our main character seemingly has everything she could want. She has wealth, renown, and a baby being grown in the government child vats. However, she risks losing it all after one wild night leaves her hiding a body. With a police husband who watches her every move, can she cover up her mistake and still keep her child, or is the oppressive world of the future going to take it all?

Oliver K. Langmead

I think K. Langmead, one of the new, up-and-coming sci-fi authors, has the imagination and creativity to go places. His work with Calypso is just proof of this. In this work from 2024, the colony ship, destined to populate a new planet, has gone the way of a new religion after traveling between the stars for generations. The enclosed world of the admittedly huge vessel is the stage for a slice of humanity that has gone to war with themselves and come out on the side of nature.

Calypso is about a woman who is the last to wake from cryosleep and is revered as a deity. The ship has become a forest after two factions go to war. One believes they should turn the new planet into a technology hub, the others believe in a green earth. The latter won the fight. What Calypso really shows off is K. Langmeads ability to invent, and expand on a theory. He breaks down the possibilities of a society left to its own devices, and these are the markings of truly great new sci-fi authors.

Kate Mildenhall

Like many of the greats of sci-fi, the genre doesn't need to be everything to the author. Kate Mildenhall is coming out in the literary world to resounding praise, and she is writing with true freedom. Her first science fiction novel, The Hummingbird Effect, weaves together six time-spanning narratives akin to The Female Man. Mildenhall looks at multiple women narratives throughout time ranging from the past to the distant future, carrying the theme of the woman and her ability to cope and persevere.

Mildenhall has written in several other genres, including thrillers and historical fiction. However, this foray into science fiction shows off her ability to adapt to the weird and wonderful world of the future and technology. As a writer who clearly loves exploring concepts and the human psyche, science fiction could end up serving her very well as one of the new sci-fi authors in the years to come.

Justin Cronin

Science fiction moves through the ages, adapting to the environment and group mentality of its environment. Before the Second World War, science fiction was mostly positive, believing in a possible utopia. However, once the atomic bomb fell, everything changed. In the modern age of science fiction, I feel there is a prevalence of suspicion and paranoia pointed at the powers that be. A running theme of mistrust of institutions and a lack of autonomy seems to run true through many of sci-fi's new authors. Justin Cronin captures this in his first science fiction novel, The Ferryman.

Although Cronin has touched on science fiction elements with his Passage trilogy, The Ferryman is his first real exploration of the genre. The book takes a look at the idea of recyclable bodies. The island is a utopia, with people being told about their coming deaths by a chip in their arm. When their time comes, they visit the ferryman who takes their bodies to be recycled. However, as our protagonist, the ferryman, comes to the end of his life, he starts to realize this peaceful utopia may be covering up some rather dark secrets.

Kaliane Bradley

Time travel is a trope used frequently throughout the sci-fi genre, to varying degrees of success. In Kaliane Bradley's debut sci-fi novel, The Ministry of Time, she takes the often convoluted topic and makes it completely mundane in the funniest way. Time travel leaves a narrative open to huge amounts of creativity, and Bradley has used it to produce a truly gripping and very funny story. In a world where time travel is possible, it has been incredibly bureaucratized in a way that only human beings ever could. This gives space for Bradley to flex her sci-fi creative muscles and bring characters out of their usual settings and into somewhere completely new.

The Ministry of Time is set in a world where time travel is now possible. It is up to the protagonist to act as a 'Bridge' with the responsibility of helping time-traveling people from the past adjust to the modern age. This leaves the story open to some hilarious observations from a man transported from 1845 and the shock of living with a modern woman in a modern age. This hilarious, inwardly turned view of modern society promises great things from this new, up-and-coming sci-fi author.

Cixin Liu

Despite having published work for the past twenty years or more, Cixin Liu still has a vast amount of potential as a new sci-fi author. His most famous work, The Three-Body Problem, has been turned into a successful Netflix show. Cixin Liu is a modern writer, focussing on the hard sci-fi element of the genre. He isn't afraid to tackle serious, technical science fiction in a way that often scares many authors away. He plays with current technology and theories, painting pictures that we could easily, as readers, see ourselves living within. The Three-Body Problem trilogy is a magnificent example of just what he can do as an up-and-coming sci-fi writer.

Hard sci-fi is the idea of writing science fiction as far from the fantasy border as possible. The theories and concepts within this sub-genre need to be plausible and relatable. Cixin Liu captures these perfectly, building scenarios that could easily be realized on the earth we know today. With the roaring success of The Three Body Problem, I hope to see many more works in this fantastic sci-fi writer's career.

Yume Kitasei

With two books under her belt, written in quick succession, Yume Kitasei is on the road to being one of the shining lights in the list of new sci-fi authors. She isn't afraid to paint huge intergalactic pictures. In doing so, she never loses sight of the smaller things, either. Her characters are still intricate and personal, despite existing in often huge spaces. With her first book, The Deep Sky, being set on a colony ship, she then spread her creative wings and her her second, The Stardust Grail, being intergalactic.

These two books, contrasting in scale, still focus on one central character. Her sci-fi explores the ideas of colonialism and race while still providing a gripping read. Kitsei has blended genres with each of her two current books. The first, Deep Sky, is a thrilling murder mystery. However, her second, Stardust Grail, is a heist narrative with some very serious repercussions.

Chris Cosmain

With only one book under his belt so far, Chris Cosmain is making waves in the new sci-fi authors scene. His book, Navikov Windows, deals with time travel and the issues surrounding it. However, with time travel novels, there are always people who get hung up on the technicalities. Hard sci-fi demands we explain the paradoxes and many time loop issues. If you somehow stop your grandad from sleeping with your grandma, how did you exist and do it in the first place, etc? However, Cosmain faces these conundrums one by one.

In this book, time is predetermined. A time traveler heads back in time to build the time machine the world will eventually use. However, he explains to the people building it that there is no free will and that everything is already played out. The folks working on the time machine aren't exactly overjoyed with this revelation. Navikov Windows explores the psychological weight of this knowledge.

Nick Harkaway

Pick up a book by Nick Harkaway, and you're guaranteed a wild ride. With a few published books under his belt, this new sci-fi author has real potential. His two main publications, Gnomon and Titanium Noir, are only the first installments in a series. This promises at least a few more books as we look into this sci-fi author's future. He shows great skill in genre-blending, with Titanium Noir being the perfect example of cyberpunk and gritty crime fiction. These, in my opinion, are two genres that were born to be combined, and he does it well.

Nick Harkaway, as a writer, doesn't shy away from narratives dripping in criticisms of the world of today. By painting dystopias, such as the Big Brother style world of tomorrow in Gnomon, we are made to look at the direction we are moving and question if it is right. Harkaway writes vast and complex stories that will keep you turning page after page, waiting for the next big reveal.

Kira Peikoff

With a number of books under her belt already, Kira Peikoff is becoming one of the most highly anticipated new sci-fi authors on the market. With her latest success with Baby X, she is only paving the way for her future as one of the modern greats. She combined Black Mirror-esque horror with a decidedly science-fiction theme. The verisimilitude of the worlds of her science fiction narratives makes the reality she weaves all that more terrifying to the modern reader. It's not so much a case of if these futuristic horrors will happen, and much more a case of when. As a crossover, sci-fi horror is one of my favourites.

With Baby X, the near future of the USA has a new celebrity fixation. With the very real and present IVG technology, any cells can be used to create sperm and eggs. This means that if you're able to somehow swipe someone's DNA, their DNA can be used to create a child. Because of this, celebrity DNA is often sold on the black market to fans and other unhinged people. However, one celebrity is tired of it, and hired security to protect him from the DNA thieves. The narrative follows the relationship between the guard and her task to protect this man from potential threats. However, it's never going to be that simple. This is another one of those books that could make a great video game.

The post 10 up-and-coming sci-fi authors in 2024 to keep an eye on appeared first on Destructoid.

I'm creating my own terrain terrain system for Unity using marching cubes but I've run into a problem I'm stumped on. First I'll explain how it works:

A compute shader creates an array of points placed in a 3D grid of sorts based on a given individual cube size, number of cubes per axis, and a number of chunks per axis in the terrain (right now it's working with only one chunk for simplicity). Each vertex also has a value property between 0 and 1, this is for the mesh generation next step and is set manually with an editor tool. This part works flawlessly.

Next, the mesh is generated one triangle at a time using the marching cube algorithm outlined here, and based a little on the project that's linked in the description here.

The code for the compute shader looks like this:

#pragma kernel CSMain
#include "MarchingTable.compute"

struct Vertex
{
    float3 position;
    float value;
};

struct Triangle
{
    float3 vertexC;
    float3 vertexB;
    float3 vertexA;
};

float surfaceLevel;
float3 chunkSize;

RWStructuredBuffer<Vertex> totalVertices;
AppendStructuredBuffer<Triangle> tBuffer;

float3 LerpVertex(float3 pointA, float3 pointB, float valueA, float valueB)
{
    float t = (surfaceLevel - valueA) / (valueB - valueA);
    return pointA + t * (pointB - pointA);
}

[numthreads(8, 1, 1)]
void CSMain(uint3 id : SV_DispatchThreadID, uint3 threadID: SV_DispatchThreadID)
{
  if (id.x >= chunkSize.y)
      return;

  uint chunkPower = (uint) ((chunkSize.x + 1) * (chunkSize.z + 1));
    
  uint componentY = threadID.x * (((uint) chunkSize.x + 1) * ((uint) chunkSize.z + 1));
    
  for (uint i = 0; i < chunkSize.x * chunkSize.z; i++)
  {   
      uint componentX = round(i % (uint) chunkSize.x);
      uint componentZ = round((i / (uint) chunkSize.x) * ((uint) chunkSize.x + 1));

      uint startPoint = componentX + componentZ + componentY;

      uint corners[8];

      corners[0] = startPoint;
      corners[1] = startPoint + 1;
      corners[2] = (uint) (startPoint + chunkSize.x + 2);
      corners[3] = (uint) (startPoint + chunkSize.x + 1);

      corners[4] = startPoint + chunkPower;
      corners[5] = startPoint + chunkPower + 1;
      corners[6] = (uint) (startPoint + chunkPower + chunkSize.x + 2);
      corners[7] = (uint) (startPoint + chunkPower + chunkSize.x + 1);

      int cubeIndex = 0;

      for (uint j = 0; j < 8; j++)
      {
          if (totalVertices[corners[j]].value < surfaceLevel)
              cubeIndex |= 1 << j;
      }
        
      int triangulation[16] = triangles[cubeIndex];
      
      for (uint k = 0; triangulation[k] != -1; k += 3)
      {
          int indexA1 = cornerIndexFromEdge[triangulation[k]][0];
          int indexB1 = cornerIndexFromEdge[triangulation[k]][1];

          int indexA2 = cornerIndexFromEdge[triangulation[k + 1]][0];
          int indexB2 = cornerIndexFromEdge[triangulation[k + 1]][1];
            
          int indexA3 = cornerIndexFromEdge[triangulation[k + 2]][0];
          int indexB3 = cornerIndexFromEdge[triangulation[k + 2]][1];
            
          float valueA1 = totalVertices[corners[indexA1]].value;
          float valueB1 = totalVertices[corners[indexB1]].value;

          float valueA2 = totalVertices[corners[indexA2]].value;
          float valueB2 = totalVertices[corners[indexB2]].value;
          float valueA3 = totalVertices[corners[indexA3]].value;
          float valueB3 = totalVertices[corners[indexB3]].value;
            
          Triangle tri;
            
          tri.vertexA = LerpVertex(totalVertices[corners[indexA1]].position, totalVertices[corners[indexB1]].position, valueA1, valueB1);
          tri.vertexB = LerpVertex(totalVertices[corners[indexA2]].position, totalVertices[corners[indexB2]].position, valueA2, valueB2);
          tri.vertexC = LerpVertex(totalVertices[corners[indexA3]].position, totalVertices[corners[indexB3]].position, valueA3, valueB3);
            
       tBuffer.Append(tri);
      }
   }
}

The C# code that dispatches it looks like this

void ConstructCube(ref TerrainDataObject.Chunk chunk, uint cIndex, uint chunkIndex)
{
    byte totalSize = sizeof(float) * 3 + sizeof(float);

    ComputeBuffer vertexBuffer = new ComputeBuffer(dataObject.vertices.Length, totalSize);
    vertexBuffer.SetData(dataObject.vertices);

    ComputeBuffer tBuffer = new ComputeBuffer((chunkSize.x * chunkSize.y * chunkSize.z) * 5, sizeof(float) * 3 * 3, ComputeBufferType.Append);
    ComputeBuffer tCountBuffer = new ComputeBuffer(1, sizeof(int), ComputeBufferType.Raw);

    vertexBuffer.SetCounterValue(0);
    meshGenerationShader.SetBuffer(0, "totalVertices", vertexBuffer);
    meshGenerationShader.SetBuffer(0, "tBuffer", tBuffer);
    meshGenerationShader.SetFloats("chunkSize", new float[3] { chunkSize.x, chunkSize.y, chunkSize.z });
    meshGenerationShader.SetFloat("surfaceLevel", surfaceLevel);

    meshGenerationShader.Dispatch(0, Mathf.CeilToInt(chunkSize.y/8f), 1, 1);

    ComputeBuffer.CopyCount(tBuffer, tCountBuffer, 0);
    int[] tCountArray = { 0 };
    tCountBuffer.GetData(tCountArray);
    int numTri = tCountArray[0];

    // Get tri data from shader
    Triangle[] tris = new Triangle[numTri];
    tBuffer.GetData(tris, 0, 0, tris.Length);

    vertexBuffer.Release();

    tBuffer.Release();
    tCountBuffer.Release();

    Vector3[] verts = new Vector3[numTri * 3];
    var meshTriangles = new int[numTri * 3];

    for (int i = 0; i < numTri; i++)
    {
        for (int j = 0; j < 3; j++)
        {
            meshTriangles[i * 3 + j] = i * 3 + j;
            verts[i * 3 + j] = tris[i][j];
        }
    }

    chunk.vertices = verts;
    chunk.triangles = meshTriangles;
}

At first it appeared to work pretty well

But then at larger amounts of cubes, this happens

The triangles at the front of the chunk are not being generated and the triangles at the back are... well I'm not sure what they're doing.

Anyone know how to fix this? I figure it has something to do with the threads or thread groups but I'm not sure how. I'm also pretty new to compute shaders in general if that helps.

Valeo Racer is an in-vehicle, XR game, combining the real-world driving environment and virtual 3D elements to create a unique and immersive experience.

SpacemiT, a chip design company from China with RISC-V as its core technology, recently unveiled the Muse Book laptop based on the K1 octa-core RISC-V chip. Unlike our daily laptops, it has many interesting unique features and is mainly sold to hardware engineers and DIY enthusiasts.

This Muse Book runs the Bianbu OS operating system based on the Debian distribution and optimized to run on the SpacemiT K1 octa-core RISC-V SoC. Let’s first take a look at its external interfaces. On the left side of the laptop, there are two USB Type-C interfaces, a USB 3.0 Type-A port, a 3.5mm headphone jack, a microSD card slot, and a reset pinhole.

The 8-pin header on the right side of the laptop is quite interesting, and SpacemiT hopes the Muse Book can become one of the most convenient hardware development platforms for RISC-V.  In addition to the power pins, users will find multiplexed I2C, UART, PWM, GPIO, and other interfaces. There’s also another USB Type-A port on that side and an additional pinhole to enter USB download mode for flashing the firmware.

Muse Book IO specifications:

• Storage – MicroSD card slot
•  USB
  • 1x USB Type-C port (USB 3.2 Gen 1 data transmission, PD fast charging)
  • 1x USB Type-C port (USB 3.2 Gen 1 data transmission, PD fast charging, DP video signal)
  • 2x USB 3.0 Type-A ports
• Audio – 3.5mm headphone jack
• Misc
  • Reset pinhole
  • USB start pinhole to set the USB interface to download mode
  • Expansion – 8-pin 2.54mm pitch female header with Tx/Rx (UART), 3.3V/GND, I2C, PWM, etc…

The laptop features a 14.1-inch IPS display with a resolution of 1920×1080 and a 60 Hz refresh rate, a relatively conventional configuration. It also comes with a basic touchpad and keyboard whose Windows button has been replaced by a RISC-V button.

The notebook adopts a relatively lightweight design, with a weight of 1.3kg and a thickness of approximately 18mm. A teardown of the Muse Book reveals an all-metal fanless design, indicating that SpacemiT is very confident in the heat dissipation control of the K1 SoC.

The main board features the K1 SoC, up to 16GB of LPDDR4X memory, eMMC storage, and a WiFi 6 wireless module (Fn-Link 6252C-PUB). A 36.48Wh/7.6V battery was selected for the laptop with support for USB PD 3.1 fast charging and a battery life of over 6 hours in typical conditions.

Muse Book specifications:

• SoC – SpacemiT K1 octa-core X60 RISC-V core compliant with RVA22 (See SoC specifications details below)
• System memory – Up to 16GB 32bit LPDDR4-2400MT, 32bit LPDDR4X-2666MT
• Storage
  • 32GB eMMC flash (default), option up to 128GB
  • M.2 (PCIe 2.1 2x) socket for NVMe SSD up to 1TB
  • MicroSD card slot
• Display
  • 14.1-inch IPS display with 1920×1080 resolution, 60Hz refresh rate
  • 72% NTSC (≈100%sRGB) Color gamut
  • 250 nits brightness
• Networking – RTL8852BE-based WiFi 6 module
• Power Supply – USB PD 3.1 Type-C port (65W power adapter)
• Dimensions – 322.6 x 209.2 x 17.8mm
• Weight – 1.36kg
• OS: Bianbu OS by Debian, Ubuntu, Linux
• Browser: Chromium

The SpacemiT K1, the main controller of the laptop, is the world’s first RISC-V SoC that complies with the RISC-V Foundation’s RVA22 standard and the 256-bit RVV 1.0 standard. It provides 2.0 TOPS of AI computing power.

SpacemiT K1 SoC specifications:

• CPU – Octa-Core X60 64-bit RISC-V core (faster than Cortex-A55 in multi-core configuration)
• GPU – Unnamed with support for OpenCL 3.0, OpenGL ES3.2, Vulkan 1.2
• VPU – H.265/H.264/VP9/VP8 4K encoding/encoding
• AI accelerator – 2.0 Tops AI NPU
• Memory: Up to 16GB 32bit LPDDR4-2400MT, 32bit LPDDR4X-2666MT, Up to 10.6GB/S bandwidth
• Storage: Support SPI FLASH, eMMC 5.1, SDIO 3.0 SD Card, NVME(PCIe2.1 2x)
• Display
  • MIPI-DSI and HDMI up to 1920×1440 @ 60Hz
  • Support for dual display setups
• Audio: 3x MIC IN
• Camera
  • 8-lane MIPI-CSI in 4+2+2-lane or 4+4-lane configuration
  • Single camera supports up to 16MP
  • Supports three camera inputs
• Connectivity
  • Networking – 2x GMAC
  • USB
    • 1x USB 3.0 (multiplexed with PCIe 2.1 x1)
    • 1x USB OTG
    • 1x USB HOST
  • High-speed interfaces – 5x PCIe 2.1 (x2+x2+x1 combined, 5Gbps/lane)
  • Low-speed interfaces – 4x SPI, 7x I2C, 12x UART, 2x CAN-FD, 30x PWM
• Standard power consumption – 3-5W TDP
• Package –  FCCSP 17x17mm, 0.65mm pitch
• Temperature Range – -40°C to 85°C (industrial grade)
• OS
  • Bianbu OS based on Debian
  • Mainline Linux
  • RTOS

Unfortunately, the laptop I have on hand cannot be turned on, so I am unable to conduct further evaluation. However, from the information released by SpacemiT, we can understand that in addition to commonly used office software such as Office and Chromium browsers, Muse Book also comes with optimized OpenCV, OpenBLAS, Slam Eigen, libpng, libjpeg, XNNPACK, and other algorithm libraries allowing developers to access high-performance computing libraries. In addition, foundation models (like ChatGPT) can be used to develop and deploy without having too much knowledge of the chip itself.

SpacemiT K1 integrates a wide range of I/O interfaces, including multiple PCIe, USB, and GMAC interfaces, and can operate in the -40°C to 85°C industrial temperature range. In addition to the Muse Book laptop, SpacemiT has plans for other hardware products as part of the Muse series, including the MUSE Card system-on-module, the MUSE Pi development board, the MUSE box mini PC, and the MUSE Shelf server/workstation.

It is reported that this laptop will be launched for sale soon with an expected price of around $300. There is currently no news of other MUSE series products being launched. You can find more information on the official SpacemiT community website (in Chinese only). The Muse Book is not the first RISC-V laptop on the market (or announced), as we’ve already covered the ROMA laptop and Lichee Console 4A portable development terminal both based on T-Head TH1520 quad-core RISC-V SoC, as well as an laptop based on the upcoming StarFive JH8100 that may or may not even see the light of the day.

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