Silent Hill 2 remains one of the all time survival horror greats - and its story of grief, framed by fogged streets and flashlight lit corridors, remains as haunting today as on its initial release. All of which is to say, there's a lot riding on developer Bloober Team to nail the details of its remake's atmosphere when it arrives on 8th October. To be blunt, the team has had an uphill battle to inspire confidence in long-time Silent Hill fans, not helped by a poorly pitched 'combat trailer' at Sony's State of Play in January that completely missed the brief. Since then, later gameplay showings have put the remake's intentions in much better light. And thankfully, in playing its opening three hours at a recent Konami event - from the start right up to the first Pyramid Head boss - I am now much more positive about it. Despite my worries going in, I'm glad the remake does even dare to make key changes to the game, complete with new puzzles, updated combat, plus the promise of new, additional endings.

Before we get to that, a quick Digital Foundry-style aside. On booting the game there were two graphics modes on PS5: a 30fps quality mode, and a performance mode that targets 60fps. Dynamic resolution appears to be used more aggressively for the latter, but I happily stuck with the 60fps option, which ran Silent Hill's south vale region and later Wood Side Apartment block smoothly. The only problem spot was an early graveyard area - with its obvious sub-60 drops in the build shown - but that might improve by release.

Speaking with the team at Bloober directly, it's also confirmed that both modes use Unreal Engine 5's Lumen technology on PS5 - enhancing its reflections with a software-based approximation of ray tracing. The result being that the rain-slicked streets reflect every shop sign crisply, even if they're out of your camera's view (a problem for the SSR method, which is still used as a fallback behind Lumen here). Added to this the team confirms that Lumen is also used for ambient occlusion, albeit only on the 30fps quality mode. Also, for a bit of fun, an additional 90s filter toggle is included in the remake's menus to change its colour grading to more closely match the fade of the PS2 original's - if you're that way inclined.

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Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines 2, already five years in development, has been delayed once again and won’t be arriving until the first half of 2025.

This bloodsucking action RPG sequel has had a troubled history, to say the least. Announced in 2019, it was scheduled for a 2020 release. Developed by Hardsuit Labs, Publisher Paradox Interactive later took it out of their hands and gave it to The Chinese Room, the team behind Still Wakes the Deep and more.

But now, Paradox and The Chinese Room have confirmed that they’re extending their development time. In a new developer update (which goes out of its way not to mention the word “delay”), the two explain the thinking behind pushing the game back.

The general explanation the update gives, along with Paradox’s website post, is that the game, currently in a “..late production phase,” needs more polish. That’s based partly on feedback from the game’s internal playtest, and comments from the gameplaying public.

Related: Black Myth: Wukong Asks Influencers Not to Talk About Politics or ‘Feminist Propaganda’

So, Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines 2 has been delayed from its most recent Fall 2024 release date (one of several times it’s been delayed) to the first half of 2025. That means we could be getting it as late as June, though Paradox Interactive will no doubt want to ship it while people still remember it exists. Sure, Dead Island 2 survived an eight-year delay and three different developers, but it doesn’t fill me with confidence.

The good news is that the game will be receiving extra endings, double the original amount planned. I’m hoping there’s at least one where, as in the original Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines, you give the whole Camarilla the finger and just walk off.

Could the game be delayed again? It’s possible, but Paradox Interactive has given itself a big release window to work with. Let’s hope that this time next year, we’re all sinking our teeth into mortal necks and playing Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines 2.

Indiana Jones and the Great Circle will debut on Xbox, but the adventure game will also make its way to PlayStation 5. Bethesda confirmed at Gamescom 2024 that the game is set to launch on Dec. 9 for Xbox and PC, followed by a PlayStation 5 release in spring.

Indiana Jones and the Great Circle looks like a faithful tribute to the classic movies, while still managing to have its own distinct identity as a game. While the Gamescom trailer shows off lots of dialogue, there’s still a good look at the game’s hand-to-hand combat system, and classic tools like Jones’ whip and revolver.

The Verge reported that Bethesda and Microsoft were considering a PlayStation 5 port of the game in February. The Indiana Jones movies famously inspired the Uncharted franchise, one of the most successful of PlayStation’s original intellectual properties. It seems appropriate to have an Indiana Jones game come to PlayStation to serve as a stand-in for fans who are yearning for a new Uncharted adventure.

This isn’t the first game to make its way from a first-party Xbox developer over to PlayStation 5. Sea of Thieves, Grounded, Pentiment, and Hi-Fi Rush all began as Xbox exclusives, but were released on Sony’s console. Doom: The Dark Ages, another upcoming Bethesda title, will also be ported to PlayStation 5. Exclusivity on consoles was one of the sticking points in Microsoft’s acquisition of Activision-Blizzard in 2023, with exclusivity over games like Indiana Jones and the Great Circle and the Call of Duty franchise being a point of contention.

Watching world reveals and announcement trailers at an event like Gamescom 2024 is always interesting; I enjoy seeing what titles are on the horizon that I might enjoy. One of these trailers, however, is stuck in my mind like a bit of steak might get caught in your teeth. I’m immediately obsessed with Masters of Albion’s god hand, which hovers above the inhabitants of a city as both protector and threat.

Masters of Albion is the next game from 22cans, the game studio headed by Peter Molyneux. Molyneux is known for his work on titles like Black & White and the Fable series, and Masters of Albion seems to pull from this familiar territory. The announcement trailer shows one of the most important aspects of Masters of Albion: the god hand, the player’s avatar in the world.

The god hand can do all sorts of things, like pick out the ingredients for a meal, move building blocks about, or pick villagers up. The poor pawns seem utterly helpless once the hand picks them up; they simply dangle, like a cat who is resigned to receiving affectionate cuddles, until the player puts them down somewhere else. The giant hand can also reach out and take control of one of the village’s heroes, turning him into essentially a vessel to be puppeted by a divine force.

This isn’t unprecedented territory for a Molyneux-led game; the developer is known for similar franchises where the player has god-like control, including Black & White and Populous. But the hand in Masters of Albion benefits from modern visuals. While the game’s graphics are relatively simple and stylized, they’re just realistic enough to put the hand in an unsettling uncanny valley. Being able to inflict evil acts upon the villagers is just more unsettling when you’re watching that big paw hovering overhead, the tendons moving as the fingers flex and roll.

I can see the appeal of Masters of Albion, as someone who enjoys other colony simulators. I just find the big hand to be a little unnerving; it has a real sense of weight and meatiness. There is no release date yet, but Masters of Albion can be wishlisted on Steam.

Looking to get the most out of your Nintendo Switch? Got a few selections on the backlog you’ve yet to pick up and play? My Best Buy and Best Buy Total members can use this Best Buy Offer Builder to buy three Nintendo Switch games for the price of two.

There are over 40 games to choose from when building your bundle, but if you ask us, you should focus on Nintendo’s first-party titles, which often maintain their full $60 price well after launch and rarely go on sale otherwise. There are five Nintendo-developed games that you can choose from in this build-your-own-bundle deal, and each one is already a classic in its own right:

• The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
• Super Smash Bros. Ultimate
• Animal Crossing: New Horizons
• Mario Kart 8 Deluxe
• Advance Wars 1+2: Re-Boot Camp

Also part of the deal? Sonic x Shadow Generations, which comes out Oct. 25 and gives Shadow the Hedgehog some suspiciously Venom-looking powers. With the Best Buy deal, you can pre-order Sonic x Shadow Generations while picking up two other games to play while you wait for its release.

In order to qualify for the deal, you do need either a My Best Buy Plus or Total membership. A My Best Buy Plus membership costs $49.99 per year and gets you free 2-day shipping, an extended 60-day return window on most products, and exclusive discounts (like this one). A My Best Buy Total membership costs $179.99 per year and includes all the benefits of Plus as well as protection plans, 24/7 tech support, and 20% off repairs.

While Black Myth: Wukong may not be a traditional Souls-like, it shares enough challenging elements—such as its demanding difficulty level—that choosing your early stats and talents wisely is crucial for a smoother experience.

If you need a little guidance on which stats to take starting out, here's everything you need to know about early game stats and talents in Black Myth Wukong.

Best Early Game Talents in Black Myth: Wukong

There are many interesting abilities and talents you can invest in early in Black Myth: Wukong, and you might be interested in doing so because of that. However, Black Myth: Wukong is a fairly difficult game and it really doesn't pull its punches the further you progress. To that end, the most important stats you should take are the ones that boost your survivability and ability to evade enemy attacks. Health, stamina, and evasion are what your early points should be focused upon, not damage.

With your first six points, I highly recommend investing in the Robust Constitution talent under the Foundation-Survivial tree. That talent boosts your health by a decent margin and will allow you more room for error. More room for error means more options to adapt.

After that, I recommend going for Deft Evasion in the Foundation-Stamina tree. This talent considerably improves your ability to avoid enemy attacks, allowing you to cancel your early Light attack combo into a seamless dodge. This is important because, later on, you won't be able to just sit there and Light attack enemies to death.

Under the same tree, you should invest at least one point into Simian Agility, Endurance, and Everlasting Vigor. These talents enhance your mobility, but the primary reason to invest in them is that they are prerequisites for unlocking Composure. This talent allows you to continue your Light attack combo string even if you dodge during it. You can be far more aggressive when attacking because you no longer need to be concerned about breaking your attack chain.

The last early-game Talent you should consider taking is Exhilaration, under the Staff Stances tree. This talent improves your Health recovery when consuming a Focus Point, which makes it a great way to heal without using a charge of your Gourd. This doubles as a benefit, as taking at least three points in this tree earns you a second Focus Point.

While many of these Talents are not the most interesting and are largely passive, it's important to get the survivability concerns out of the way so that you can actively take the more 'fun' Talents and stats without concern of dying all the time. Hopefully, this helps your adventure in Black Myth: Wukong.

The post Best early game stats in Black Myth: Wukong appeared first on Destructoid.

Fan Expo Canada is quickly approaching, and the convention has added a couple of new guests to its slate of gaming stars. This includes general manager of Diablo at Blizzard Entertainment, Rod Fergusson, as well as Victor Lucas, creator of Electric Playground.

Ferguson is attending just a couple of months before the launch of Diablo 4: Vessel of Hatred, the game’s biggest expansion yet. Vessel of Hatred brings a brand new story to the game, the all-new Spiritborn Class, a new jungle region of Nahantu, a PvE co-op challenge mode, and more.

Fan Expo Canada takes place on August 22-25 at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre in Toronto, ON. You can head over to the official website to purchase tickets for all four days of the show. A 4-day pass will cost $140, although you can also purchase individual days if you want as well. Fan Expo also has scaling options for Family Passes, Youth, and Child tickets.

The pair joins a sizable list of guests attending the show already, particularly for gaming. There have been a few cancellations, unfortunately, with Don Bluth, Keith David, and Roger Craig Smith no longer attending, but here’s every confirmed gaming guest at Fan Expo Canada 2024.

• Cameron Monaghan – Cal Kestis from the Star Wars Jedi Series
• Neil Newbon – Astarion in Baldur’s Gate 3
• Charles Martinet – Former voice of Mario
• Jennifer Hale – Command Shepard in Mass Effect
• Zach Aguilar – Aether in Genshin Impact
• Patricia Summersett – Zelda in Breath of the Wild
• Tara Strong – Harley Quinn from the Arkham series

Of course, there are plenty of other guests attending Fan Expo Canada as well from across comics, TV, film, cosplay, anime, and more. A few of the highlights include Alan Tudyk, Bryce Dallas Howard, Ashley Eckstein, Giancarlo Esposito, and Dee Bradley Baker.

You can head to the official site to see the full list of guests and programming.

Dragon Age: The Veilguard is BioWare’s first new game in five years since the disastrous launch of Anthem. The live-service shooter was a baffling turn for the studio, which up until then had focused almost exclusively on epic single-player RPGs like Baldur’s Gate, Mass Effect, and Knights of the Old Republic.

Just two years after launch, EA and BioWare shut Anthem down, and it appears the studio learned from the whole process. In a new interview with Edge magazine (via 80lv), Dragon Age: The Veilguard creative director John Epler explained the tough lesson that Anthem taught BioWare.

“We’re a studio that has always been built around digging deep on storytelling and roleplaying,” Epler says “I’m proud of a lot of things on Anthem — I was on that project for a year and a half. But at the end of the day, we were building a game that focused on something we were not necessarily as proficient at.”

It’s clear to see the effect that Anthem has had, as BioWare has expressed multiple times that The Veilguard is getting back to what the studio is good at, focusing on storytelling, world-building, and dynamic companions.

At one point, Dragon Age 4 was supposed to feature a multiplayer component, but back in 2021, a report from Bloomberg stated the multiplayer mode had been removed entirely and the game, at that point called Dragon Age Dreadwolf, would be a single-player RPG. That change is echoed in the Edge interview.

“We tried a bunch of different ideas early on,” says Epler. “But the form The Veilguard has taken is, in a lot of ways, the form that we were always pushing toward. We were just trying different ways to get there. There was that moment where we really settled on, ‘This is a single-player, story-focused RPG — and that’s all it needs to be.”

The Veilguard is going to feature a few first for the Dragon Age series. It’s the first true action RPG of the franchise, not allowing players to control their companions. It’s also the first time we’ve travelled to the Tevinter Imperium, a highly advanced empire ruled by powerful mages. We also know all seven companions can be romanced and will apparently be able to romance each other if the player doesn’t.

Dragon Age: The Veilguard launches Fall 2024 on PS5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC.

The Call of Duty train shows no signs of stopping, as this year’s release returns to the beloved Black Ops franchise. After 2020’s Black Ops Cold War, Treyarch is returning with Call of Duty: Black Ops 6, a massive entry that could bring some meaningful change.

Revealed with a Call of Duty Direct, we already know quite a bit about Black Ops 6, and the months leading up to release will only see more information given out.

With that in mind, here’s everything we currently know about Black Ops 6, with details on the campaign, multiplayer, and, yes, zombies.

Black Ops 6 Release Date and Platforms

As revealed during the Xbox Summer Showcase, Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 will be releasing on October 25, 2024 for PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, and PC. It’s developed by longtime Black Ops studio Treyarch, with the assistance of Raven Software.

Black Ops 6 Gameplay Improvements

There’s one major thing Black Ops 6 is bringing to the Call of Duty franchise, and it could change the series forever. Omnimovement allows players to sprint, slide, and dive in any direction, Max Payne style. It’s a huge change that seems like it could integrally change the core gameplay of Call of Duty and will likely take a bit of getting used to. However, it certainly makes Black Ops 6’s shooting feel faster than ever and opens up a wealth of new strategies.

Activision has also confirmed Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 will have 16 brand new multiplayer maps at launch, with 12 core 6vs6 maps and four smaller Strike maps. What’s especially interesting, however, is that each map is a unique location that will apparently have its own story that’s set after the main campaign.

Beyond all that, we also know Classic Prestige and Theatre Mode are returning.

Black Ops 6 Story and Campaign

Black Ops 6 looks to continue the heavy espionage and spy thriller themes of past games, this time pushing the story into the 1990s. We already know a few details about how the story will play out, with the camping tackling the aftermath of the Cold War.

In the story, the CIA has been infiltrated by some mysterious force, causing many of the operatives to go rogue after mistakenly being branded as trailers. This includes returning characters Russell Adler and Frank Woods, who assemble a team of agents to discover the truth.

The reveal trailer featured some prominent world figures, including former president George H.W. Bush and Bill Clinton, former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, and Saddam Hussein. This means the story likely involves the Gulf War but could also integrate real-life figures in some way.

Black Ops 6 Zombies

Unsurprisingly, the incredibly popular zombies mode is returning once again for Black Ops 6, with a brand new story and round-based experience. This time around it takes place on Terminus Island, and will continue the Dark Aether story introduced in Cold War.

We know a few little details about Black Ops 6 Zombies, including that it will feature two maps at launch, Terminus and Liberty Falls. Mystery Boxes will return, the currency in the mode is called Salvage, and you can even choose from a few different HUD layouts. Activision has said more info on the mode will be revealed on August 28 during Call of Duty Next.

The eerie psychiatrist Dr. Hill will return in the Until Dawn film adaption, once again played by Peter Stormare (Fargo, John Wick).

A report from The Hollywood Reporter confirmed Stormare’s return, confirming even more casting additions to the Until Dawn film. Alongside Stormare, the film is adding Maia Mitchell (The Fosters, Teen Beach) and Belmont Cameli (Saved by the Bell), although their roles aren’t being revealed yet. The trio joined the already-announced cast of Ella Rubin, Michael Cimino, Ji-young Yoo, and Odessa A’Zion.

Until Dawn, announced earlier this year, will be directed by David F. Sandberg, who last worked on Shazam! Fury of the Gods. Annabelle: Creation writer-producer Gary Dauberman is also working on it.

In the original game, Dr. Hill is a psychiatrist who appears in short scenes throughout the story, known in-game as “The Analyst.” He’s used as a sort of fourth-wall-breaking character who talks directly to the player about the story and their decisions, later being integrated more directly into the story itself. Because of his sort of “meta” role in the game, it’ll be interesting to see how he’s adapted into a film version.

Until Dawn, released in 2015, follows a group of young adults who take a vacation to a remote cabin on snowy Blackwood Mountain. There, the group is forced to face not only supernatural events but also a serial killer. The game featured an array of actors at the time, including Rami Malek, Hayden Panettiere, and Noah Fleiss.

While the original developer, Supermassive Games, went on to create The Dark Pictures Anthology, a remake of Until Dawn is planned for release on PS5 and PC this Fall from Sony Interactive Entertainment and Ballistic Moon.

The Until Dawn movie doesn’t currently have a release date or window, stay tuned to CGMagazine for more details as they develop.

Samsung is working on the Galaxy S25 Ultra, which is no surprise. What might be surprising are some of its specs, namely a pretty huge RAM upgrade that should please enthusiasts.

As reported by SamMobile, reliable leaker @UniverseIce has claimed the Galaxy S25 Ultra has a variant with 16GB RAM, which would be nearly double the rumoured 8GB RAM of the iPhone 16 Pro Max.

While UniverseIce didn’t explicitly name the S25 Ultra, their recent history on X (formerly Twitter) heavily suggests that’s what they’re talking about. A recent report from Ajunews also claimed Samsung is beefing up the mass production of LPDDR6 RAM for further evidence. The higher RAM would make Samsung’s devices not only better at multitasking but also at tackling AI tasks.

This wouldn’t be the first time a Samsung Galaxy phone has featured 16GB of RAM, as both the Galaxy S20 Ultra and Galaxy S21 Ultra did. But since the S21 Ultra, every other Ultra iteration has only featured 12GB of RAM.

Apart from the RAM upgrades, during its second-quarter earnings call, again reported by SamMobile, Samsung revealed a bit more of what to expect from its S25 line, apparently bringing a variety of upgrades.

During the call, Samsung MX Vice President Daniel Araujo stated,

“We’ve consistently upgraded the hardware in our S Series to deliver industry-leading experiences to customers, and we’ll continue to enhance key experiences as well (as) upgrade hardware so that we can offer top performance. For camera and display specs in particular, where we’ve been leading, the S25 at launch will have top-of-the-line upgrades. And we’re also preparing industry-best APs and memory to boost AI performance and offer an overall premium experience.”

There’s currently no expected date for the Samsung Galaxy S25 and S25 Ultra, but the company typically does new reveals in January, meaning we’ll likely see the S25 line in January 2025.

The new trailer for The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom is here, and it confirms the return of Breath of the Wild’s best feature – horses.

While the game’s previous video focused on cloning furniture, its new “Traversing Hyrule” trailer pans out to give us a wider look at the world, from Hyrule Castle to Gerudo Desert and beyond. How do you get around the world of Echoes of Wisdom? By horse, of course!

True, there are travel points to make use of, and you can always walk. But if you’ve played Breath of the Wild, you’ll know that horse-riding is just the best. Shield surfing may be cool, but there’s nothing quite like grabbing your four-legged pal and storming across the land. And you don’t have to worry about Dobbin snapping in two after walking five metres.

Related: ‘This Series Was My Childhood:’ Mario & Sonic Have Been Disqualified From the Olympics

Mounts aside, the Echoes of Wisdom trailer also shows off the many side-quests you can explore, solving problems for Hyrule’s residents. It looks as if Zelda’s magic wand will figure into a few of these quests, with the trailer showing her cloning a monster for a resident to gawk at.

The trailer also reveals that outside of the Echo abilities, Zelda can also use “Bind” to move large objects, objects too big to clone using Echo. The trailer doesn’t explain who’s going around picking up all the beds and tables she wills into existence, but we’re assuming that’ll be explained in-game. Maybe it’s like Spider-Man’s webs, and they just dissolve.

You can check out the new trailer above and get your hands on The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom when it hits Nintendo Switch on September 26. And if you’re wondering how the other top-down Zelda games have fared, here’s how we rank them.

Marvel Rivals is the second new hero shooter to arrive in beta form this month, following on from Sony's Concord as another team-based multiplayer affair. This time though, it's a full cross-platform release, with Xbox Series X and Series S joining PS5 and PC. Rivals also goes further in using the Unreal Engine 5 feature set, with Lumen global illumination and reflections, and features a third-person perspective of the titular heroes and villains that sets it apart from the likes of Overwatch. Early impressions suggest a more deeply ambitious game, but one that also comes with more profound technical challenges in its current form.

We've tested every platform to see how they compare, paying special attention to PS5, Series X and Series S to see how closely they manage to hold to the target 60fps - and in the case of the Series S, how much they sacrifice to get there with more modest hardware. Beyond that, how do these platforms hold up to the game running maxed out on PC, with Lumen GI and reflections set to ultra, and what technical gremlins lurk behind that beta badge?

Before we answer these questions, it's worth looking at the state of play right now. After all, this is a beta in flux, with 21 characters and four map variants on offer during our testing. Developers NetEase Games are no strangers to genre giant Overwatch, having worked on creating versions of the title and other Blizzard releases for the Chinese market, and that comes across in the presentation: slick, snappy and broadly similar.

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I'm trying to create a particle simulation (solar system kind). Until now my particles have no spin so the collision is rather simple

    void collide(const Particle& b) {
        const Vector3d normal = math::normal(position(), b.position());
        const Vector3d relativeVelocity = velocity() - b.velocity();
        const double dot = math::dot(relativeVelocity, normal);
        const Vector3d work = normal * dot;

        _velocity = _velocity - work;
    }

Since I've read that particle spin plays a huge part in such simulations I'm trying to implement angular momentum but unfortunately this exceeds my math skills. I tried searching the internet for quite a while now for any source I understand but I'm at the brink of giving up.

How can I integrate particle spin into my code? I can work with any kind of (pseudo) code as long as the variables are somewhat clear. Particles are rigid spheres with mass = volume.

Edit: Dont get hang up on what the simulation is trying to achieve. The task can be simplified down to: Two rigid spheres collide in space. Calculate their motion and spin after the collision.

The Anti-Tank Mines Stratagem is finally in sight

In Helldivers 2, the player base eagerly awaits Major Orders, military commands from Super Earth. The entire community then bands together to complete these goals. Since February, the leadership of Super Earth has asked us to do lots of wild things, like open up a black hole or storm Automaton space to cleanse the galaxy of murder robots. But one recent Major Order is quite unusual, as it actively discourages murder.

Developer Arrowhead Game Studios are dangling the Anti-Tank Mine upgrade in front of players, a Strategem that has evaded Helldivers again and again. The only catch? Players have to not hit a certain kill count.

Major Orders can award new toys called Stratagems, which are tactical tools such as weapons, backpacks, resupplies, or orbital bombardments for use in-game. But so far Anti-Tank Mines have remained elusive.

In point of fact, this is player’s fourth shot at unlocking Anti-Tank Mines. The first Major Order that offered them as a potential reward yielded Airburst Rocket Launchers instead, which players chose en masse due to its strength against pernicious Automaton ships. A second Major Order asked players to turn a certain amount of Automatons into scrap to earn the mines; the community failed that Order.

Next, players were asked to choose between the Anti-Tank Mines and a hospital full of very sick children in the appropriately named Operation Trolley Problem. The Helldivers community showed its mettle by choosing to save the children. This was incredibly wholesome, but it did mean they had to go without those powerful explosive delights.

Image: Arrowhead Game Studios/PlayStation PC LLC

Enter the newest Major Order, Operation Vengeful Cleansing. High Command has ordered an Efficacy Review. To whit, if players can kill a certain number of enemies as a collective, then clearly we’re doing just fine and don’t need those mines. If we can’t kill those enemies, then Super Earth will finally distribute those mines to Helldivers in the virtual field. It’s a fairly high target to hit — over 1.5 billion enemies — and players are only around halfway through with just under a day to go. So, as long as everything goes according to plan, we will finally get those mines.

The mines that currently exist in the game are not an incredibly popular class of Stratagem. They’re mostly unreliable for taking out big hordes of enemies — unless you can set the ambush up just right — yet very reliable for taking out your allies in bursts of friendly fire. Call it mismanaged Democracy, if you will. This is likely why players have taken other choices when offered.

But Anti-Tank Mines, it seems, aren’t nearly as deadly for individual Helldivers as the current in-game offering. Rather than putting holes in soldiers, they’re designed for much bigger targets and won’t trigger when infantry units move over them. We know the Escalation of Freedom update, which is currently set to release on August 6, will include both a new Rocket Tank enemy and a new Spore Charger that cloaks itself with fog. Some new, high-test mines just might be just the thing to counter these new enemies, so I for one will thank Super Earth High Command for their generosity should they appear.

The new Freedom’s Flame Warbond is also set to release on August 8, which will include fire resistance armor and new flamethrowers. Warbonds include new weapons, cosmetics, and armor sets for players to unlock with Medals earned in combat. We’ll have to see what other missions Super Earth tasks us with after we pass the goal of an insufficient amount of bot and bug murders.

The Anti-Tank Mines Stratagem is finally in sight

Continue reading…

With the release of Honkai: Star Rail version 2.4, March 7th's transition into her new path gives players a brand new Hunt character to mess around with. It's an extraordinarily unique kit for the path, and perhaps worth checking out even if she's not your usual cup of tea.

If you're eager to build March 7th in Honkai's 2.4 update, here's everything you need to know to put together the best build for March 7th's Hunt path.

Strongest March 7th Hunt Build in Honkai: Star Rail

March 7th's Hunt path has many typical characteristics of your typical Hunt character, but, thanks to her kit, she can also play similarly to a Harmony character, though admittedly not quite as strong. The strange mesh lands her squarely in the Main DPS Support role, thanks to how her Basic Attack, Skill, Talent, and Ultimate function. Compared to five-star limited characters, March 7th is a little complex, so I need to talk more about her kit in detail for clarity.

The core of March 7th's Hunt gameplay revolves around using her skill, Master, It's Tea Time! This turns one of the members of her team into her 'Shifu' and rewards them with a decent speed buff. More importantly, depending on the typing of the character March makes her Shifu, she gains one of two potential extra effects:

• If Shifu is Erudition, Destruction, or The Hunt - March deals additional damage that matches the character's element.
• If Shifu is Harmony, Nihility, Preservation, or Abundance - March deals 100% more Toughness Reduction.

On top of these effects, when March 7th makes a target her Shifu, she gains their Element on top of her own, making March 7th a universal unit. If the Shifu is Topaz, March 7th becomes Imaginary and Fire simultaneously.

When her Shifu launches an attack, March gains one charge out of seven. At seven charges (her Talent), she immediately takes action regardless of turn order and can launch an Enhanced Basic Attack. March 7th damage budget is entirely in this Enhanced Basic Attack, and it also rewards her Shifu with 60% CRIT DMG, after it is activated.

March 7th Hunt gains all of her Eidolons for free just by playing her event. Her second Eidolon has a considerable effect on her gameplay, allowing her to launch a Follow-up attack after her Shifu launches an attack. This Follow-up does not deal much damage, but it does provide her with an additional charge for her talent. This is extremely important to be aware of when talking about team composition with March 7th. More on that later.

Finally, March 7th's Ultimate deals moderate damage to one target, but greatly improves the effectiveness of her next Enhanced Basic Attack. Generally, you want to ensure she uses her Ultimate before every Enhanced Basic Attack.

Best Relics for March 7th Hunt

March 7th focuses on Basic Attacks for damage, so she only has a few select options in terms of Relics. Her best-in-slot (BiS) is an old favorite, the Musketeer of Wild Wheat set. This set provides additional ATK%, SPD, and, most importantly, Basic ATK damage — the best stats for March 7th in all situations.

If you don't have that set ready to go, March 7th cares a lot about ATK% in general due to the nature of her kit, so any two sets that provide ATK% for their two-piece bonus are worth considering. You can also use two-piece Wasterlander of Banditry Desert for the additional Imaginary damage bonus.

For her Sphere and Rope set, I highly recommend you run with Rutilant Arena, as it provides March with additional CRIT RATE and a large 20% damage boost to her Basic Attacks as long as she is above 70% CRIT RATE. If you can't get a 70% CRIT RATE, then the universal Inert Salsotto set is always a competitive choice.

Best Team Comp March 7th Hunt

March 7th's Hunt kit is extremely versatile, and it allows her to be run with practically any team comp and be somewhat successful. However, thanks to her second Eidolon, March 7th gets a considerable amount of leverage out of supporting a DPS that can attack very often. With that in mind, the best targets for her Shifu are Topaz, Clara, Yunli, Robin, and Aventurine, all thanks to the frequency of their attacks. Any combination of these characters will make up the Follow-up team comp, her best team.

Topaz is likely March 7th's best teammate because of how her Follow-up attack interacts with Numby. Every time Topaz OR Numby attacks, March 7th gains a Talent charge. March also gains a charge every time she launches a Follow-up attack following Topaz's attack. All of this results in many Enhanced Basic Attacks for March, and a massive 60% CRIT DMG buff for Topaz and Numby.

Clara is also an extremely potent teammate for March thanks to the infinite number of attacks Clara can make, limited only by the number of attacks the enemy can land on her. Every single time Clara uses her Follow-up, March gains a charge.

Yunli is in the same boat as Clara for March, providing the same rewards and limitations on attacks.

Robin is a universal support, but buffs Follow-up attack comps more than others thanks to their attack frequencies. With Robin's Ultimate active, all of March 7th's attacks become threatening to the enemy, allowing her (and everyone else on her team) to dish out considerably more damage than normal. Also, 100% Advance Forward is a godsent for March.

Aventurine is highly versatile and can be included in any team composition, thanks to his powerful shielding, which significantly benefits March 7th. In teams that don't focus on Follow-up attacks, Aventurine becomes the optimal target for March's Shifu. Since Aventurine frequently uses Basic and Follow-up attacks, March continues to benefit from her Talent's Follow-up effect, while Aventurine gains a charge from her Follow-up attack. This synergy pairs March and Aventurine in virtually any team without sacrificing their effectiveness

Best Lightcone for March 7th Hunt in Honkai: Star Rail

March 7th has a few strong options in terms of Lightcone choice. Her best Lightcone is In the Night, which is Seele's signature. It provides her with a massive boost to CRIT Rate, and further provides DMG scaling for her Basic Attacks via SPD (Speed).

Another solid option for March 7th is Worrisome, Blissful, which is Topaz's signature cone. It provides March with an equally large boost to CRIT Rate, while also considerably boosting the DMG of her Follow-up attack. Most importantly, when March uses her Follow-up with this Lightcone equip, she will apply the Tame debuff on targets hit, allowing her allies to deal more CRIT DMG to targets afflicted.

The post Best March 7th Hunt build in Honkai: Star Rail appeared first on Destructoid.

Marvel Rivals is the second new hero shooter to arrive in beta form this month, following on from Sony's Concord as another team-based multiplayer affair. This time though, it's a full cross-platform release, with Xbox Series X and Series S joining PS5 and PC. Rivals also goes further in using the Unreal Engine 5 feature set, with Lumen global illumination and reflections, and features a third-person perspective of the titular heroes and villains that sets it apart from the likes of Overwatch. Early impressions suggest a more deeply ambitious game, but one that also comes with more profound technical challenges in its current form.

We've tested every platform to see how they compare, paying special attention to PS5, Series X and Series S to see how closely they manage to hold to the target 60fps - and in the case of the Series S, how much they sacrifice to get there with more modest hardware. Beyond that, how do these platforms hold up to the game running maxed out on PC, with Lumen GI and reflections set to ultra, and what technical gremlins lurk behind that beta badge?

Before we answer these questions, it's worth looking at the state of play right now. After all, this is a beta in flux, with 21 characters and four map variants on offer during our testing. Developers NetEase Games are no strangers to genre giant Overwatch, having worked on creating versions of the title and other Blizzard releases for the Chinese market, and that comes across in the presentation: slick, snappy and broadly similar.

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This sponsored article is brought to you by Purdue University.

The CHIPS America Act was a response to a worsening shortfall in engineers equipped to meet the growing demand for advanced electronic devices. That need persists. In its 2023 policy report, Chipping Away: Assessing and Addressing the Labor Market Gap Facing the U.S. Semiconductor Industry, the Semiconductor Industry Association forecast a demand for 69,000 microelectronic and semiconductor engineers between 2023 and 2030—including 28,900 new positions created by industry expansion and 40,100 openings to replace engineers who retire or leave the field.

This number does not include another 34,500 computer scientists (13,200 new jobs, 21,300 replacements), nor does it count jobs in other industries that require advanced or custom-designed semiconductors for controls, automation, communication, product design, and the emerging systems-of-systems technology ecosystem.

Purdue University is taking charge, leading semiconductor technology and workforce development in the U.S. As early as Spring 2022, Purdue University became the first top engineering school to offer an online Master’s Degree in Microelectronics and Semiconductors.

U.S. News & World Report has ranked the university’s graduate engineering program among America’s 10 best every year since 2012 (and among the top 4 since 2022)

“The degree was developed as part of Purdue’s overall semiconductor degrees program,” says Purdue Prof. Vijay Raghunathan, one of the architects of the semiconductor program. “It was what I would describe as the nation’s most ambitious semiconductor workforce development effort.”

Prof. Vijay Raghunathan, one of the architects of the online Master’s Degree in Microelectronics and Semiconductors at Purdue.Purdue University

Purdue built and announced its bold high-technology online program while the U.S. Congress was still debating the $53 billion “Creating Helpful Incentives to Produce Semiconductors for America Act” (CHIPS America Act), which would be passed in July 2022 and signed into law in August.

Today, the online Master’s in Microelectronics and Semiconductors is well underway. Students learn leading-edge equipment and software and prepare to meet the challenges they will face in a rejuvenated, and critical, U.S. semiconductor industry.

Is the drive for semiconductor education succeeding?

“I think we have conclusively established that the answer is a resounding ‘Yes,’” says Raghunathan. Like understanding big data, or being able to program, “the ability to understand how semiconductors and semiconductor-based systems work, even at a rudimentary level, is something that everybody should know. Virtually any product you design or make is going to have chips inside it. You need to understand how they work, what the significance is, and what the risks are.”

Earning a Master’s in Microelectronics and Semiconductors

Students pursuing the Master’s Degree in Microelectronics and Semiconductors will take courses in circuit design, devices and engineering, systems design, and supply chain management offered by several schools in the university, such as Purdue’s Mitch Daniels School of Business, the Purdue Polytechnic Institute, the Elmore Family School of Electrical and Computer Engineering, and the School of Materials Engineering, among others.

Professionals can also take one-credit-hour courses, which are intended to help students build “breadth at the edges,” a notion that grew out of feedback from employers: Tomorrow’s engineering leaders will need broad knowledge to connect with other specialties in the increasingly interdisciplinary world of artificial intelligence, robotics, and the Internet of Things.

“This was something that we embarked on as an experiment 5 or 6 years ago,” says Raghunathan of the one-credit courses. “I think, in hindsight, that it’s turned out spectacularly.”

A researcher adjusts imaging equipment in a lab in Birck Nanotechnology Center, home to Purdue’s advanced research and development on semiconductors and other technology at the atomic scale.Rebecca Robiños/Purdue University

The Semiconductor Engineering Education Leader

Purdue, which opened its first classes in 1874, is today an acknowledged leader in engineering education. U.S. News & World Report has ranked the university’s graduate engineering program among America’s 10 best every year since 2012 (and among the top 4 since 2022). And Purdue’s online graduate engineering program has ranked in the country’s top three since the publication started evaluating online grad programs in 2020. (Purdue has offered distance Master’s degrees since the 1980s. Back then, of course, course lectures were videotaped and mailed to students. With the growth of the web, “distance” became “online,” and the program has swelled.)

Thus, Microelectronics and Semiconductors Master’s Degree candidates can study online or on-campus. Both tracks take the same courses from the same instructors and earn the same degree. There are no footnotes, asterisks, or parentheses on the diploma to denote online or in-person study.

“If you look at our program, it will become clear why Purdue is increasingly considered America’s leading semiconductors university” —Prof. Vijay Raghunathan, Purdue University

Students take classes at their own pace, using an integrated suite of proven online-learning applications for attending lectures, submitting homework, taking tests, and communicating with faculty and one another. Texts may be purchased or downloaded from the school library. And there is frequent use of modeling and analytical tools like Matlab. In addition, Purdue is also the home of national the national design-computing resources nanoHUB.org (with hundreds of modeling, simulation, teaching, and software-development tools) and its offspring, chipshub.org (specializing in tools for chip design and fabrication).

From R&D to Workforce and Economic Development

“If you look at our program, it will become clear why Purdue is increasingly considered America’s leading semiconductors university, because this is such a strategic priority for the entire university, from our President all the way down,” Prof. Raghunathan sums up. “We have a task force that reports directly to the President, a task force focused only on semiconductors and microelectronics. On all aspects—R&D, the innovation pipeline, workforce development, economic development to bring companies to the state. We’re all in as far as chips are concerned.”

This sponsored article is brought to you by Purdue University.

Companies large and small are seeking engineers with up-to-date, subject-specific knowledge in disciplines like computer engineering, automation, artificial intelligence, and circuit design. Mid-level engineers need to advance their skillsets to apply and integrate these technologies and be competitive.

As applications for new technologies continue to grow, demand for knowledgeable electrical and computer engineers is also on the rise. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, job outlook for electrical and electronics engineers—as well as computer hardware engineers—is set to grow 5 percent through 2032. Electrical and computer engineers work in almost every industry. They design systems, work on power transmission and power supplies, run computers and communication systems, innovate chips for embedded and so much more.

To take advantage of this job growth and get more return-on-investment, engineers are advancing their knowledge by going back to school. The 2023 IEEE-USA Salary and Benefits Survey Report shows that engineers with focused master’s degrees (e.g., electrical and computer engineering, electrical engineering, or computer engineering) earned median salaries almost US $27,000 per year higher than their colleagues with bachelors’ degrees alone.

Purdue’s online MSECE program has been ranked in the top 3 of U.S. News and World Report’s Best Online Electrical Engineering Master’s Programs for five years running

Universities like Purdue University work with companies and professionals to provide upskilling opportunities via distance and online education. Purdue has offered a distance Master of Science in Electrical and Computer Engineering (MSECE) since the 1980s. In its early years, the program’s course lectures were videotaped and mailed to students. Now, “distance” has transformed into “online,” and the program has grown with the web, expanding its size and scope. Today, the online MSECE has awarded master’s degrees to 190+ online students since the Fall 2021 semester.

“Purdue has a long-standing reputation of engineering excellence and Purdue engineers work worldwide in every company, including General Motors, Northrop Grumman, Raytheon, Texas Instruments, Apple, and Sandia National Laboratories among scores of others,” said Lynn Hegewald, the senior program manager for Purdue’s online MSECE. “Employers everywhere are very aware of Purdue graduates’ capabilities and the quality of the education they bring to the job.”

Today, the online MSECE program continues to select from among the world’s best professionals and gives them an affordable, award-winning education. The program has been ranked in the top 3 of U.S. News and World Report’s Best Online Electrical Engineering Master’s Programs for five years running (2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, and 2024).

The online MSECE offers high-quality research and technical skills, high-level analytical thinking and problem-solving skills, and new ideas to help innovate—all highly sought-after, according to one of the few studies to systematically inventory what engineering employers want (information corroborated on occupational guidance websites like O-Net and the Bureau of Labor Statistics).

Remote students get the same education as on-campus students and become part of the same alumni network.

“Our online MSECE program offers the same exceptional quality as our on-campus offerings to students around the country and the globe,” says Prof. Milind Kulkarni, Michael and Katherine Birck Head of the Elmore Family School of Electrical and Computer Engineering. “Online students take the same classes, with the same professors, as on-campus students; they work on the same assignments and even collaborate on group projects.

“Our online MSECE program offers the same exceptional quality as our on-campus offerings to students around the country and the globe” —Prof. Milind Kulkarni, Purdue University

“We’re very proud,” he adds, “that we’re able to make a ‘full-strength’ Purdue ECE degree available to so many people, whether they’re working full-time across the country, live abroad, or serve in the military. And the results bear this out: graduates of our program land jobs at top global companies, move on to new roles and responsibilities at their current organizations, or even continue to pursue graduate education at top PhD programs.”

Variety and Quality in Purdue’s MSECE

As they study for their MSECE degrees, online students can select from among a hundred graduate-level courses in their primary areas of interest, including innovative one-credit-hour courses that extend the students’ knowledge. New courses and new areas of interest are always in the pipeline.

Purdue MSECE Area of Interest and Course Options

• Automatic Control
• Communications, Networking, Signal and Image Processing
• Computer Engineering
• Fields and Optics
• Microelectronics and Nanotechnology
• Power and Energy Systems
• VLSI and Circuit Design
• Semiconductors
• Data Mining
• Quantum Computing
• IoT
• Big Data

Heather Woods, a process engineer at Texas Instruments, was one of the first students to enroll and chose the microelectronics and nanotechnology focus area. She offers this advice: “Take advantage of the one credit-hour classes! They let you finish your degree faster while not taking six credit hours every semester.”

Completing an online MSECE from Purdue University also teaches students professional skills that employers value like motivation, efficient time-management, high-level analysis and problem-solving, and the ability to learn quickly and write effectively.

“Having an MSECE shows I have the dedication and knowledge to be able to solve problems in engineering,” said program alumnus Benjamin Francis, now an engineering manager at AkzoNobel. “As I continue in my career, this gives me an advantage over other engineers both in terms of professional advancement opportunity and a technical base to pull information from to face new challenges.”

Finding Tuition Assistance

Working engineers contemplating graduate school should contact their human resources departments and find out what their tuition-assistance options are. Does your company offer tuition assistance? What courses of study do they cover? Do they cap reimbursements by course, semester, etc.? Does your employer pay tuition directly, or will you pay out-of-pocket and apply for reimbursement?

Prospective U.S. students who are veterans or children of veterans should also check with the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs to see if they qualify to for tuition or other assistance.

The MSECE Advantage

In sum, the online Master’s degree in Electrical and Computer Engineering from Purdue University does an extraordinary job giving students the tools they need to succeed in school and then in the workplace: developing the technical knowledge, the confidence, and the often-overlooked professional skills that will help them excel in their careers.

AMD GPUOpen - Graphics and game developer resources

Mesh nodes are a new type of leaf node in work graphs that, unlike all other nodes, does not invoke a compute shader, but dispatches a mesh-shader graphics pipeline instead. This blog series covers how to get started with mesh nodes as well as best practices.

The post GPU Work Graphs mesh nodes in Microsoft DirectX® 12 appeared first on AMD GPUOpen.

Awkward moments, bad dates, and more nuanced relationships

The Sims 4’s new expansion pack Lovestruck has piqued my interest, and I’ve started a new run in the life simulator game. I thought that the added polyamory options would appear later into a run, after I had settled in and found a sweetheart of my own, but to my surprise the dynamic of the game had immediately changed. If you have other expansion packs installed, like the supernatural or fame-related updates, the events and interactions from these packs can make dating even more complex. My new sim, Elise, moved into a crappy apartment in the big city and immediately became embroiled in non-stop drama.

I started with the usual tasks: decorating Elise’s new apartment as well as getting her a job as a barista and having her make a few friends. Immediately, the next-door neighbors, a married couple, dropped by. Elise had a great time speaking with them, but I became alarmed when the mood immediately became flirty. This man and his pregnant wife weren’t just welcoming Elise to the building; they wanted her to know they had seen her moving in and really liked her vibes.

Luckily, other neighbors came by, and Elise ended up chatting with a lovely young man named Raj. The mood turned a little flirtatious, and I quickly forgot about Elise’s salacious, married admirers.

Image: Maxis/Electronic Arts via Polygon

Just when I thought things were coming up Milhouse, Raj’s mother called Elise and asked if she could crash at Elise’s place in case of an emergency. Sure, Elise said, always eager to be a helpful host. To my horror, she arrived with Raj. The guy Elise had flirted with at a housewarming party was now her roommate, along with his mom. The two of them lived in the same building, just a floor away! What could have possibly befallen them that made Elise’s one-bedroom apartment an ideal place to crash?

In retrospect, I can only assume this was an extreme courting measure. Perhaps Raj is an adherent to the DENNIS system, or maybe he decided the best way to sell himself as a romantic partner was to be in Elise’s personal space as often as possible. Perhaps it would have worked better if Raj wasn’t such a slob, whereas Elise is hardwired to be neat. Before long, Elise’s pristine but eclectic apartment was a total pigsty.

The household dynamic was rough. Elise slept on the couch, while Raj and his mom shared the only bedroom. Raj’s mom was also fascinated with Elise’s DJ equipment, turning the stereo and booth on at all hours. Elise missed her first day of work as a barista because she was so sleepy. She woke up late, enraged, and then began to fistfight Raj’s mom in the living room.

Lovestruck has introduced lots of romantic options, even when my character was trapped in a Cinderella-esque situation where she cleaned after an ungrateful mother-son duo. After missing work, Elise’s friend invited her to the Romance Festival downtown. Nice! Elise ended up painting a lovely portrait, eating some expensive food, singing karaoke, and meeting a handsome young DJ called Jacques Le Chien.

Just when Elise was getting into a groove and flirting with Jacques, another Sim turned into a feral werewolf and charged the dancefloor. Another romantic moment, foiled by circumstances outside my control! Frustrated, Elise arrived home, immediately fist-fought Raj’s mom again, and then booted them both out.

I thought that was the end of it, until a couple of days later. Elise started cooking a little meal, only for Raj to show up at her door and ask if he could get in on that dinner. I reluctantly let him in, and to my surprise, Elise was still amenable to his romantic advances. I like to use the ant farm approach to playing The Sims 4; I make the broad decisions, but I let the Sim act as they will in the moment. Personally, I wouldn’t want to cuddle on the couch and kiss a guy who had, together with his mother, moved in and conquered my apartment, but I guess Elise is more forgiving.

Image: Maxis/Electronic Arts via Polygon

After a romantic evening with Elise’s new sweetheart, I started to feel like things were looking up. But then Raj called Elise the next evening and confessed that he had a crush on another Sim, and asked for advice on their next date. Another cruel barrier between Elise and happiness!

Both Lovestruck and the base game update that accompanied it make romance and dating feel more nuanced. Sims have turn-ons and turn-offs, as well as jealousy triggers and personal boundaries. Jacques Le Chien was super happy to flirt at a music festival, but in broad daylight, in front of his friends, he turned Elise down. Before, romance could be a little awkward — you’d find a target, establish some basic chemistry, and then flirt, flirt, flirt, flirt, confess attraction, first kiss, embrace, flirt, flirt, flirt your way into a partnership. Now, everything’s much trickier.

So far, I’m really enjoying the nuance this gives to the early game of a new The Sims 4 run. I intend to keep pursuing Elise’s professional success and personal happiness — I just hope I can find Elise a more compatible partner than the slobbish, mama’s boy, unmotivated Raj, since his terrible mother continues to hover outside Elise’s apartment and shout abuse at her every time they interact.

Whisper it quietly, but Metal Gear Solid Delta: Snake Eater looks like the most exciting Konami project in years. The trailer shown at this year's Xbox Games Showcase contains just over two minutes of tightly edited in-engine footage, but it answers a lot of questions about the direction of the project - with more details provided in an interview between Solid Snake voice actor David Hayter and producer Noriaki Okamura. At its heart, Delta looks to offer extensive reworks to visuals, controls and camera, using Unreal Engine 5, alongside slavishly faithful recreation of the level design and cutscene direction of the PS2 original.

Of course, we've seen Metal Gear Solid 3 polished up in Bluepoint's excellent HD Collection back on PS3 and Xbox 360 - a build that's also been re-used in the recent Master Collection to mixed reviews. But this remake, Metal Gear Solid Delta, is a more ambitious beast. It's shaping up to be a genuine effort to give series fans the best way to play the game. The big question is this: how does the footage we have so far compare to the original via the HD Collection? What's changed, and what stays intact?

While Metal Gear Solid Delta's release date is still unannounced, we do know it's set for release on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S and Steam - and with that being the case, there's no telling what platform we're precisely seeing in the trailer. It could be a mixture of formats, though the smart money is on an early PC build. Practically every shot I've pixel counted shows a crisp native 4K image, a true 3840x2160 with dynamic resolution scaling deployed only rarely. Next there's the frame-rate situation. Oddly enough, the trailer is only presented on YouTube as a 30fps encode, but hopefully that is a limitation of the capture - we'd expect to see a full 60fps in the final product, as we got with the HD Collection before it.

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Pastor Joshua Robertson didn't set out to become a leader in the educational freedom movement, but when his community called, he answered.

It was several calls, in fact. In spring 2020, Robertson's phone wouldn't stop ringing. "I was receiving 40–50 calls from parents every single day," says Robertson, the senior pastor of The Rock Church in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania.

These were the early days of the COVID-19 lockdowns. The move to remote learning gave parents a closer look at their children's schooling—and they didn't like what they saw.

"All these parents were venting about the school system," Robertson recalls. "They would say to me, 'My kid is smart. I can't understand why they're not doing well academically.' Then throw in the violence in our schools. You're talking about kids who are in fistfights every other day." 

Feeling hopeless, the parents turned to a different kind of teacher.

Turning Point

Our education system has significant problems, and Robertson knows it is especially tough on children in under-resourced communities like the one he serves. He had experienced the system's failures firsthand: Robertson graduated from high school without knowing how to read properly.

Robertson went to college to play football but flunked out his freshman year.

Before failing out, Robertson befriended a bishop while playing organ at a local church. But without school or sports to occupy him, he fell into a dangerous lifestyle, surrounding himself with unsavory characters and illicit behavior. As if he sensed the need to intervene from hundreds of miles away, the bishop called Robertson in the middle of one such indiscretion.

"You're about to ruin your life, aren't you?" the bishop asked. He pleaded with Robertson to come to see him. Robertson went, and the bishop enrolled them both in the local community college. The two sat side by side doing schoolwork together. 

"In less than a week, he saw that I couldn't read," Robertson says. "It's amazing—you can attend twelve years of school, and no one notices that you can't read. But, because the bishop took the time to sit with me, he saw it right away. And over the next year, he sat with me day after day and taught me to read."

The man who flunked out of college because he couldn't read went on to earn both a bachelor's and a master's degree.

When the System Fails Children

"I was failed by a system, not just by a teacher," Robertson explains. "I had a few teachers who cared. But every system has gaps. And I fell into a gap."

Many educators assumed he had behavioral issues. "I was kicked out of every elementary school I ever went to," Robertson says. "What people didn't realize was that my behavior covered up my reading problems. In fifth grade, I got in trouble for hitting a kid in class. I hit him to create a diversion. The teacher was having students read aloud, and I had a feeling she was about to call on me to read."

This behavior is common among students who are left behind by the system. "They'll do something mischievous because they'd rather take the disciplinary consequence than be embarrassed in front of the whole class." Robertson says students who aren't learning well enough at school often lack any support at home, which leads to them getting into worse situations. 

"They have an industry right outside their door where they can make money—the drug industry," says Robertson. "It's right on their block. I knew where people were cooking crack when I was 10 or 11 years old."

Robertson says this is where the school-to-prison pipeline begins. So he has given himself a mission: "We're trying to cut off that pipeline."

From Failure to Flourishing

Parent after parent asked him the same question: "Can my kids come to the church?" 

The pastor's first thought was, "Come here for what?" Then Robertson remembered what the bishop had done for him years earlier.

"He inconvenienced his entire life in order to help me," Robertson says.

One church member had lost her job because of the pandemic, and Robertson realized she could help students with homework and provide other programming. "We took a risk and hired her," he says. "We had the facilities already with our Sunday school classrooms."

Six students from the local school district began coming to the church to do their online learning. The newly hired learning guide helped them with their homework and ensured the students sat at their computers with the cameras on when they had live lessons.

Word spread in the community. Demand continued to grow, even after schools returned to in-person classes. And so, in 2021, the Rock City Learning Center (RCLC) was born. 

During the 2021–22 school year, the RCLC served 30 students—29 of whom were failing academically. By the end of the school year, 10 students finished with an average of 90 or higher across all subjects, 12 achieved an average of 80 or higher, and six finished at 70 or higher.

The following year, RCLC students saw even more significant gains. About 90 percent of the students finished with an average of at least 70, and more than half scored 90 or better.

The learning center filled in the gaps left by the system, and students who were failing are now flourishing.

A Model for Others

"These kids need an intervention—a disruption to the aspects of our schools that limit their ability to offer effective education for all students," says Robertson.

The RCLC prioritizes the student. Students receive their instruction and curriculum from an accredited public cyber charter school. They work in small pods and receive coaching from trained learning guides.

Robertson believes that the RCLC's real innovation lies in the "convergence of the academic community and the community at large." The learning guides are not educators; they are "members of the community who love our children." They provide support that extends beyond academics, customizing the experience for for each student.

When students get the support they need, they thrive. "It's incredible the confidence you see in a kid when they're loved, supported, and disciplined," Robertson says. "They understand…they're in a place that cares about them and their specific needs, challenges, and talents."

Robertson founded Black Pastors United for Education (BPUE) to help others replicate the RCLC model. Harrisburg now has three learning centers, and another opened in nearby York. BPUE was a Yass Prize finalist—a prize that honors organizations delivering "Sustainable, Transformational, Outstanding, and Permissionless education"—and received a $500,000 grant to continue advancing its work.

Fighting for Educational Freedom

In June, Pennsylvania's Democrat-controlled House of Representatives passed a bill that would cut funding to charter schools. Robertson is fighting against this effort and notes that Pennsylvania's charter schools "serve a higher percentage of low-income and nonwhite students than traditional school districts." If the bill becomes law, the hardest-hit schools would be the cyber charter schools where the RCLC students enroll.

Another goal of Roberston's political fight is a proposal for Lifeline Scholarships. This program would award restricted-use scholarship accounts to students attending Pennsylvania's lowest-performing schools. In 2023, Pennsylvania Democratic Gov. Josh Shapiro backed out of a budget deal that would have provided $100 million for Lifeline Scholarships.

On June 10, Robertson and nearly 60 other pastors and educators signed an open letter to Shapiro and the state's legislative leadership. The letter called on the leaders to oppose cuts to cyber charter schools and enact Lifeline Scholarships.

The next day, Roberston led a rally for educational freedom in the state Capitol. He also published an op-ed pleading with Shapiro to invest in educational freedom. "Today, a child's zip code determines whether she can read or perform basic math," wrote Robertson. "And this is simply unacceptable."

It has been a long journey for the pastor—from flunking out of college to leading this fight for educational freedom. Looking back on his experience, he says, "The bishop started with one person: me. And that one person he made an investment in is now making this investment in others. That's how it's supposed to work, right?"

The post A Pennsylvania Pastor Leads His Community's Fight for Educational Freedom appeared first on Reason.com.

While levels and gear were the most important aspects of power progression in base Elden Ring, Shadow Realm Blessings take center stage in its exclaimed expansion, Shadow of the Erdtree. While this may be hard to believe, there are numerous reasons why you should be aware of this mechanic.

Should you use the Shadow Realm Blessing system in Shadow of the Erdtree?

Shadow Realm Blessings provide your character with a significant amount of power and defense to help you kill your foes and survive them efficiently. Without using them, you'll find yourself struggling massively against the denizens of the Shadow Realm. Even basic footsoldiers will prove to be incredible challenges for you. So yes, you should be making full use of the Shadow Realm Blessings. If you do not use these blessings and build them up, you're in for a hard time and a world of frustration. For your reference, there are two types of blessings you should know about.

• Scadutree Blessing - Provides your character directly with free offensive and defense stats. This blessing stacks in power and must be upgraded using Scadutree Fragments found throughout the Shadow Realm.
• Revered Spirit Ash Blessing - Boosts the offensive and defensive stats of your Spirit Ash summons, allowing them to remain relevant in the Shadow Realm. Like the Scadutree Blessing, you need a special resource called Revered Spirit Ashes to upgrade it, allowing it to stack in power.

When you find the necessary resources to upgrade a Shadow Realm Blessing, the process can be done by sitting at any Grace and selecting the Shadow Realm Blessing option.

Doing so will allow you to choose which of the two blessings you wish to upgrade. As you level both blessings up, eventually, the cost for each will increase. Note that the upgrade materials for both Blessings are scarcely found, and you'll need to search the Shadow Realm high and low to locate them. This is a process you'll be constantly doing throughout your playthrough of Shadow of the Erdtree.

As for where to find more, Scadutree Fragments and Revered Spirit Ashes are found throughout the Realm of Shadows. Some are hidden away in catacombs or waiting after a tough boss room, while others are just tucked away in the open world. If you ever see a ghostly shade holding a pot, make sure to take them out and loot the body, as some appear to be held by those enemies.

One last thing you should know about these Blessings is that they only take effect while you're within the Shadow Realm. The benefits they reward you with is staggeringly high, so if you could use them elsewhere, you would effectively be trivializing base Elden Ring, in its entirety.

The post Why you should not ignore the new Blessing system in Shadow of the Erdtree appeared first on Destructoid.

If you've played through all of the initial storyline for Wuthering Waves, then you've met Camellya and she probably left some kind of impression on you with her actions in the story. With said impression in mind, you're also probably wondering if she'll end up being a playable character, so I've got some insight about that will probably make you happy.

Will Camellya be playable in Wuthering Waves?

I've played several Gacha games over the years, and one thing that has always been a commonality is the determination of which characters show up as playable. That commonality is that important characters that interact with the PC (Player Character) tend to become playable. As I said, this is common in most gacha games, and I believe that Camellya's unique situation with the PC in Wuthering Waves qualifies for this metric. While this may seem like speculation, there's more evidence that Camellya will be playable in Wuthering Waves.

The single largest piece of evidence that Camellya will be a playable character is that her kit has been leaked, and not just recently, but as far back as CBT 1. While it's extremely likely that it will be different once she officially releases, the fact that she even had a viewable kit as far back CBT 1 means that Kuro Games has long since planned for her arrival. Since she hasn't been officially announced, there's always a chance that she may never see the light of day, but I think that's highly unlikely. Why?

Camellya is extremely popular in the Wuthering Waves community. If you've played through the story, you probably have a good idea why that is. Attractive female characters often perform exceptionally well in the Gacha market, and Camellya is no exception. Her captivating allure, combined with her bold and unforgettable actions in the storyline made her a standout favorite among players. The fact that she is so popular means she will very likely be playable, and sooner than you might think.

When will Camellya become playable in Wuthering Waves?

While we don't have any official dates or any open marketing about Camellya's banner, there is a high chance we can see Camellya become playable as early as version 1.2. Why? There is a common gacha trope of important characters becoming playable when the main story is focused upon them.

Jiyan, Wuthering Wave's first limited five-star character, is one of the most important characters in the later half of the 1.0 storyline, which is why he was released first. This supports the assumption that character story relevance plays a role in predicting which characters become playable, and when. Considering Camellya's interactions with the PC during the Black Shores mini-arc, this acts as further evidence of Camellya's upcoming arrival being sooner than you think. The fact that Camellya is the only leaked character with a leaked kit attached means that Kuro Games is probably cooking her up to be released very soon.

The post Is Camellya a playable character in Wuthering Waves? appeared first on Destructoid.

Vessel of Hatred pre-orders include more pet options

The setting of Diablo 4 is a particularly grim one; as far as I can tell from my adventures through Sanctuary, everyone is eating boiled beets and waiting to be skinned alive by demons. There’s one thing that Blizzard is adding to the game that’s downright adorable: pets.

There are other benefits to pre-ordering, like a new mount, armor sets for each class, cosmetic wings, and so on — but forget all that, we’re here for the pets. The pets are actually downright adorable. You might expect animals in the world of Sanctuary to have blood-soaked jaws or vicious faces, but instead they look like adorable babies. They’re just fierce enough that you don’t have to worry about them, but otherwise quite cuddly.

Pets will faithfully follow the player around, and they have a special utility in that they’ll pick up gold and items like herbs, ores, and crafting materials for you. It’s nice to know that instead of having to run around everywhere, one of these pets will simply do it for you. Players who log in will receive an in-game request that unlocks pets, and upon completion, you can hang out with Asheara the canine.

There are more pets that can be unlocked with a pre-purchase of Vessel of Hatred, the first expansion for Diablo 4. Players can pick between Alkor the Snow Leopard, Natalya the Tiger, and Hlrati the Canine. For those who don’t want to pick between the three, the Ultimate Edition pre-order will grant all three pets.

Jean-Luc noted the MemryX MX3 edge AI accelerator module while covering the DeGirum ORCA M.2 and USB Edge AI accelerators last month, so today, we’ll have a look at this AI chip and corresponding modules that run computer vision neural networks using common frameworks such as TensorFlow, TensorFlow Lite, ONNX, PyTorch, and Keras.

MemryX MX3 Specifications

MemryX hasn’t disclosed much performance stats about this chip. All we know is it offers more than 5 TFLOPs. The listed specifications include:

• Bfloat16 activations
• Batch = 1
• Weights: 4, 8, and 16-bit
• ~10M parameters stored on-die
• Host interfaces – PCIe Gen 3 I/O and/or USB 2.0/3.x
• Power consumption – ~1.0W
• 1-click compilation for the MX-SDK when mapping neural networks that have multiple layers

Under the hood, the MX3 features MemryX Compute Engines (MCE) which are tightly coupled with at-memory computing. This design creates a native, proprietary dataflow architecture that utilizes up to 70% of the chip with just one click compared to 15-30% on traditional CPUs, GPUs, and DSPs that use legacy instruction sets and control-flow architectures after software tuning.

Form Factor

Form-factor-wise, this edge AI processor is offered either as a bare die, a single-die package, or in modules (mini PCIe or M.2) with one or more MemryX MX3 chips.

MemryX MX3 EVB

The MX3 EVB (Evaluation Board) is a PCBA with four MX3 chips, and you can cascade multiple EVB boards using a single interface to provide the required inferencing power. Each of these four chips has a single-die package.

MX3 SDK

The MX SDK helps in simulating and deploying the trained AI models. MemryX builds its products to:

• Provide real-world performance per watt
• Run models trained on any popular framework without requiring software changes or retraining
• Provide high scalability and granularity
• Run AI models equally as well on every host processor regardless of the system load
• Provide the same 1-click SDK (compilation software)

This SDK’s developer hub consists of a compiler (for graph processing, mapping, and assembling), utility tools (a bit-accurate simulator, performance analyzer, profiler, chip helper tools, and template applications), and a runtime environment with APIs, OS drivers, and a dataflow runtime.

You can use the MX3 EVB with Edge Impulse deployments after installing dependencies like Python 3.8+, MemryX tools and drivers, and Edge Impulse (for Linux). Next, connect the board to Edge Impulse, then verify it is connected by going to your projects and clicking “devices”.

MemryX MX3 demo

While the company hasn’t provided much detail about the chip’s performance, they did upload a video demo using the virtual camera input of AirSim – a software that creates datasets for autonomous driving and flying – comparing a computer fitted to an MX3 M.2 module to one equipped with NVIDIA 4060 GPU.

Latency was very low while running on the MX3 module, but increased drastically when switching over to the NVIDIA 4060 GPU, and the loud noise from the cooling fans was clearly noticeable.

More details may be found on the company’s website.

The post MemryX MX3 edge AI accelerator delivers up to 5 TOPS, is offered in die, package, and M.2 and mPCIe modules appeared first on CNX Software - Embedded Systems News.

Fallout's next-gen upgrade came out of the starting blocks with serious issues on all platforms, but a patch for PlayStation and Xbox systems on May 13th promises to fix the most glaring problems. We've tested the game on PS5, Series X and Series S to see what's changed with the new update, and there is plenty to praise here - though some problems still remain. Crucially, Bethesda has at least provided a working graphics mode selector on Xbox Series X and S - a clearly labelled switch between 'visuals' mode and 'performance' mode that replaces the broken on/off performance toggle we saw before. These modes run with what the developer calls standard settings (on performance mode) or ultra settings (on visuals mode), and each deploys dynamic resolution scale to varying degrees too. That same visuals/performance labeling is applied to the PlayStation 5 version today as well, though these modes at least worked as intended in the previous patch.

There's an extra bonus here. Every current-gen console also gains the ability to independently set their target frame-rate via a new in-game option. We have 30fps and 60fps modes available on standard 60Hz displays - while an additional 40fps display mode becomes available when running with a 120Hz screen connected. Essentially, you can now choose an arbitrary frame-rate target regardless of your graphics mode, and so, we can now even target visuals mode at 60fps. In effect this might make sense when running the game on future PlayStation or Xbox hardware, for example, or to maximise frame-rates in the game's least demanding areas at the expense of frame-rate stability elsewhere. With two graphics modes and three frame-rate options, then, we certainly have a lot more flexibility.

The big question remains though: beyond fixing the obviously broken graphics modes on Xbox, does the May 13th update solve the hitches and performance issues we identified with Fallout 4's current-gen console upgrade? How do all the consoles compare now with the top visuals mode selected? And finally, is it actually possible to run the visuals mode at 60fps, or is there still a need for those lower 40 and 30fps options to get a stable reading?

Read more

QEMU 9.0 open-source emulator just came out the other day, and it brings on board major updates and improvements to Arm, RISC-V, HPPA, LoongArch, and s390x emulation. But the most notable updates are in Arm and LoongArch emulation.

The QEMU 9.0 emulator now supports the Raspberry Pi 4 Model B, meaning you can run the 64-bit Raspberry Pi OS for testing applications without owning the hardware. However, QEMU 9.0 has some limitations since Ethernet and PCIe are not supported for the Raspberry Pi board. According to the developers, these features will come on board in a future release. For now, the emulator supports SPI and I2C (BSC) controllers.

Still on ARM, QEMU 9.0 provides board support for the mp3-an536 (MPS3 dev board + AN536 firmware) and B-L475E-IOT01A IoT node, plus architectural feature support for Nested Virtualization, Enhanced Counter Virtualization, and Enhanced Nested Virtualization.

If you develop applications for the LoongArch architecture, QEMU 9.0 supports LoongArch KVM acceleration, including LSX/LASX vector extensions. These two support the architecture’s 128-bit and 256-bit Single Instruction Multiple Data (SIMD) units, respectively.

For RISC-V, this QEMU version adds ISA/extension support for Zacas, RVA22 profiles, amocas, Ztso, and many others. You’ll also get SMBIOS support for the updated RHCT table, RISC-V virtual machine, ACPI support for SRAT, SLIT, AIA, and PLIC, and several other fixes.

HPPA and s390x have received a few updates, which include LAE fixes and emulation support for CVB, CVDG, CVBG, and CVBY instructions for s390x and SeaBIOS firmware update to version 16 for HPPA.

Overall, the QEMU 9.0 release contains over 2,700 commits from 220 authors that improve several other areas, not only the ISA emulations. For instance, the memory backends preallocations will now be handled concurrently using multiple threads, and virtio-blk will now support multiqueue, allowing the different queues of a single disk to be processed by different I/O threads. More details may be found in the announcement.

The post QEMU 9.0 released with Raspberry Pi 4 support and LoongArch KVM acceleration appeared first on CNX Software - Embedded Systems News.

Neural networks and other machine learning processes are often associated with powerful processors and GPUs. However, as we’ve seen on the page, AI is also moving to the very edge, and the BitNetMCU open-source project further showcases that it is possible to run low-bit quantized neural networks on low-end RISC-V microcontrollers such as the inexpensive CH32V003.

As a reminder, the CH32V003 is based on the QingKe 32-bit RISC-V2A processor, which supports two levels of interrupt nesting. It is a compact, low-power, general-purpose 48MHz microcontroller that has 2KB SRAM with 16KB flash. The chip comes in a TSSOP20, QFN20, SOP16, or SOP8 package.

To run machine learning on the CH32V003 microcontroller, the BitNetMCU project does Quantization Aware Training (QAT) and fine-tunes the inference code and model structure, which makes it possible to surpass 99% test accuracy on a 16×16 MNIST dataset without using any multiplication instructions. This performance is impressive, considering the 48 MHz chip only has 2 kilobytes of RAM and 16 kilobytes of flash memory.

The training data pipeline for this project is based on PyTorch and consists of several Python scripts. These include:

• trainingparameters.yaml configuration file to set all the parameters for the training model
• training.py Python script trains the model, then stores it in the model data folder as a .pth file (weights are stored as floats, with quantization happening on the fly during training).
• exportquant.py Quantized model exporting file converts the stored trained model into a quantized format and exports it into the C header file (BitNetMCU_model.h)
• Optional test-inference.py script that calls the DLL (compiled from the inference code) for testing and comparing results with the original Python model

The inference engine (BitNetMCU_inference.c) is implemented in ANSI-C, which you can use with the CH32V003 RISC-V MCU or port to any other microcontroller. You can test the inference of 10 digits by compiling and executing BitNetMCU_MNIST_test.c. The model data is in the BitNetMCU_MNIST_test_data.h file, and the test data is in the BitNetMCU_MNIST_test_data.h file. You can check the code and follow the instructions in the readme.md file found on GitHub to give Machine Learning on the CH32V003 a try.

The post BitNetMCU project enables Machine Learning on CH32V003 RISC-V MCU appeared first on CNX Software - Embedded Systems News.

Google dropped RISC-V support from the Android’s Generic Kernel Image in recently merged patches. Filed under the name “Remove ACK’s support for riscv64,” the patches with the description “support for risc64 GKI kernels is discontinued” on the AOSP tracker removed RISC-V kernel support, RISC-V kernel build support, and RISC-V emulator support.

In simple terms, the next Android OS implementation that will use the latest GKI release won’t work on devices powered by RISC-V chips. Therefore, companies wanting to compile a RISC-V Android build will have to create and maintain their own branch from the Linux kernel (ACK RISC-V patches).

These abbreviations can be confusing, so let’s focus on them starting with ACK. There’s the official Linux kernel, and Google does not certify Android devices that ship with this mainline Linux kernel. Google only maintains and certifies the ACK (Android Common Kernel), which are downstream branches from the official Linux kernel. One of the main ACK branches is the android-mainline because it is the primary development branch that is forked into the Generic Kernel Branch to correspond to a specific combination of a supported Linux kernel and the Android OS version.

In a nutshell, ACK refers to a Linux core with some patches of interest to the Android community that haven’t been merged to the Mainline or Long Term Supported (LTS) Linux kernels. On the other hand, GKI refers to a kernel built from one of these ACK branches. Every Android device ships to the market while running one of these GKI branches.

Matthias Männich, a senior staff software engineer at Google, uploaded these patches for review on 26th April, and they passed the review process by 1st May, resulting in successful merging on the branches android15-6.6 and android-mainline.

This update might inconvenience chip companies that were planning to launch RISC-V CPUs for Android devices. Qualcomm, for instance, was planning to power the next generation of Wear OS solutions (wearable platforms) using RISC-V CPUs.

However, this merged patch is not permanent. Google hasn’t killed RISC-V support forever. According to a Google spokesperson, the company is not ready to provide a single supported image to all vendors due to the rapid rate of iteration. Therefore, Android will continue to support RISC-V, but not for now, at later at an unknown date.

In the meantime, the RISC-V community has provided a RISC-V boot and runtime services specification to system vendors and operating system vendors to help them interoperate with one another. This specification enables the OS to utilize system management and device discovery when running on a RISC-V chip and could help with OS ports including future Android RISC-V implementations.

Via Android Authority

The post Android no longer supports RISC-V, for now… appeared first on CNX Software - Embedded Systems News.

Keep the good vibes going

“Cozy games” are a huge phenomenon right now, because at the end of the day, who doesn’t like being cozy? While some games focus on visceral combat or thrilling narratives, cozy games often focus on creating a comfortable or fulfilling place for players to hang out. Instead of swinging a sword or slaying foes, players can focus on creating the perfect flower bed, or befriending the kind golem next door.

Coziness is still a subjective experience, and the finer differences in a game can make or break immersion. Some people love to fish, whereas I find it to be one of the most stressful things a game can include. We’ve rounded up a list of the coziest games around beyond Stardew Valley and Animal Crossing: New Horizons (we figured you’ve played those, if you’re here), so you can pick your particular flavor of comfort. If you’re looking to relax, unwinding with any of these games is a fine choice.

A Little to the Left

Image: Max Inferno/Secret Mode via Polygon

Where to play: Mac, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Windows PC, Xbox One, Xbox Series X

A Little to the Left is a puzzle game about organizing household items. It’s inherently satisfying while also being low-stakes, making it a perfect game to play when you’re looking for something cozy. The puzzles are stuff like organizing tools, removing labels from fruits, and stacking books — all while keeping an eye on a mischievous cat doing cat things. —Nicole Carpenter

A Short Hike

Image: Adam Robinson-Yu

Where to play: Mac, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, Windows PC, Xbox One

Despite its name being an accurate description of its offering — it clocks in at just a few hours before the credits roll — A Short Hike stands as tall as the mountain you’re summiting in the pantheon of cozy gaming classics. This 2017 charmer from developer Adam Robinson-Yu helped ignite the cozy game craze and, for me at least, really “peaked” (haha) my interest in shorter games as a format. You play as a young bird on summer vacation on an island, tasked with reaching the summit to take an important phone call. Over the course of your short hike, you’ll meet friends, take on quests, and generally just hang out. Rendered in big chunky pixels and viewed from an isometric camera, A Short Hike leaves a dreamlike impression of long summer days, childhood anxieties, and the thrill of autonomy. My only criticism is that, like all core memories, I can’t go back and experience it anew. —Chris Grant

Coral Island

Image: Stairway Games/Humble Games

Where to play: PlayStation 5, Windows PC, Xbox Series X

Cozy gaming always includes farming sims, and there are very many out there (most chasing the glory that is Stardew Valley). Coral Island doesn’t seek to reinvent the formula, but expands it. The basic gameplay mechanics are familiar: you farm, you fish, you mine. But you also explore an underwater kingdom full of merfolk and the town events all have a Southeast Asian flair to them, like mooncakes at the Harvest Festival. Also, there are so many gorgeous, datable characters. —Petrana Radulovic

Dorfromantik

Image: Toukana Interactive

Where to play: Nintendo Switch, Windows PC

“Dorfromantik” is a German word, expressing a kind of aching nostalgia for the countryside, and Toukana Interactive’s game is like a peaced-out Catan — a game about placing hexagonal tiles with no goal other than to make pretty maps of forests, winding rivers, jolly towns, and patchwork fields. There’s no economy or tech tree to worry about, no population making demands of you; it’s just you, searching for harmony in the growing landscape. But as aimlessly cozy as that sounds, and as tasteful as the pastel shades of its seasonal changes are, Dorfromantik is an exquisite, hard-edged design that blends the best of strategy and puzzle gaming, and finds a perfect balance between mental challenge and mindfulness. —Oli Welsh

Dredge

Image: Black Salt Games/Team17

Where to play: Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Windows PC, Xbox One, Xbox Series X

If you like your coziness with a little bit of horror, Dredge is for you. The fishing mechanic is a bit of a rhythm game, and generally satisfying when you reel up the fish you want. You play as a fisherman exploring a mysterious cluster of islands. It seems pretty straightforward during the day, but when night falls, creepier and creepier things begin to happen. There are sea monsters, a strange occultist, and corrupted fish. Each area of the map offers different challenges, like navigating windy mangroves and speeding your boat away from vicious creatures, and while each is super beautiful, there’s also an eerie undertone to it all… But fishing is so relaxing! I understand why grandpas love it so much. —PR

Lil Gator Game

Image: MegaWobble/Playtonic Games

Where to play: Mac, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Windows PC, Xbox One, Xbox Series X

I suppose you could describe Lil Gator Game as Baby’s First Zelda, except I’m the baby and I’ve (exhaustively) played every Zelda game since 1986. But Lil Gator Game hits different, unencumbered by the very complexity that makes a Zelda game so satisfying. In its place is a pared down, speedrun version: a concentrated, potent play cocktail that finds you, the titular little gator, in the woods with friends trying to drum up some adventure… if only to relive your memories of playing with your big sister, home from school and too busy to play. This framing — of nostalgia and play — is a perfect mirror for the emotions you’re likely to run through as you explore the island, smash cardboard “enemies,” and take on quests for your friends. Very few games have captured this feeling of play for me, which makes Lil Gator Game an easy recommendation, and a game I return to more often than you’d think. —CG

Palia

Image: Singularity 6

Where to play: Free to play on Nintendo Switch, Windows PC

Palia is a game in which humanity has re-emerged into a mysterious and magical world. Each player is given their own homestead near Kilima Valley, a bustling village full of friendly elves and odd golems. As the player settles into their new home, they pick up a variety of skills: bug catching, hunting, gardening, furniture building, cooking, and foraging. It’s easy to fall into a comfortable rhythm with Palia: exploring the world by day and building up the homestead by night.

One of Palia’s biggest strengths is developer Singularity 6’s regular update schedule. Since launch, the developer has added a new villager, a regular festival, elemental temples, flowers, and more. It feels like the world is evolving in response to all the humans showing up. While I enjoy the game for its cozy vibes, I also get the sense that Singularity 6 is building up to something bigger, and it’s very cool to see these new changes. —Cass Marshall

Sea of Thieves on Safer Seas mode

Image: Ubisoft Singapore/Ubisoft

Where to play: PlayStation 5, Windows PC, Xbox One, Xbox Series X

Sea of Thieves is a pirate sandbox defined by the possibility of chaos. Not only do players have to worry about skeletons and sea creatures, but other pirate ships mark a significant threat. The new Safer Seas mode finally offers a much less stressful Sea of Thieves experience. Safer Seas disables PvP, allowing the player to explore at their own pace. While some regions are inherently dangerous, others are perfectly serene.

I have rarely felt more relaxed than when I set out on a sloop, listening to the sounds of the ocean. Sea of Thieves has some of the best sound design I’ve ever heard, and it’s soothing to listen to the waves and the creaking of the ship. You can also play the hurdy gurdy with your pals, go fishing, and explore a bunch of gorgeous environments. If you’ve ever been turned off on Sea of Thieves due to the betrayal and battles on the high seas, the Safer Seas update should be right up your alley. —CM

Spiritfarer

Image: Thunder Lotus Games

Where to play: Android, iOS, Mac, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, Xbox One

You might have heard of Spiritfarer before, the game that’s self-described as “a cozy management game about dying.” You might be wondering, How could a game about death be cozy? Spiritfarer takes the topic head-on and confronts fear and the unknown as a way to comfort friends whose time it is to move on. You do this by taking care of them, building up a boat in ways that make everyone comfortable. These acts of labor and kindness are so touching; while it may be emotional, it’s still got a lot of warm feelings. —NC

Strange Horticulture

Image: Bad Viking/Iceberg Interactive

Where to play: Android, iOS, Mac, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Windows PC, Xbox One, Xbox Series X

Like Dredge, Strange Horticulture offers a spooky edge to the cozy gaming experience. It’s less of an adrenaline rush, though, and instead the sinister feeling slowly builds up as you uncover more and more. You play as the owner of a plant shop, and identify plants in your care, which are often medicinal in property. Customers come to you for help, and you must figure out which plant they need. It all takes place within your shop, with outside excursions detailed in text. It’s a cozy organizing game that escalates gradually into something more macabre. —PR

Summerhouse

Image: Friedemann/Future Friends Games

Where to play: Mac, Windows PC

Summerhouse has no rules. You simply build, using a bunch of pre-made, pixelated pieces created by developer Friedemann. You can build big houses or little houses, ones in the country or cityside. Every so often, when placing a door or window or roof, you’ll unlock a character — maybe a dog hanging out by a stoop, or a grandma sitting out front of a café. What makes Summerhouse truly charming is that everything is designed to look lived-in, real; these are no McMansions or prefabricated houses. Summerhouse’s sounds are delightful, too. The satisfying snap of clicking a window into place is made all the sweeter with birdsong in the background. —NC

Unpacking

Image: Witch Beam/Humble Games

Where to play: Android, iOS, Mac, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Windows PC, Xbox One, Xbox Series X

Unpacking follows one young woman’s life through all the places she lives and the objects she owns. You unpack various boxes containing all her items and place them around her living spaces, from her childhood bedroom to her first apartment after college. It’s methodical to fit all these objects in places, and also offers a little bit of freedom and creativity in how you place them (for instance, I always always put her stuffed animals on the bed). The brilliance of Unpacking is how it tells a story without any dialogue or seen characters, and only through these objects and where you’re able to place them. —PR

Venba

Image: Visai Games

Where to play: Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 5, Windows PC, Xbox One, Xbox Series X

Is there anything more cozy than walking into a kitchen where something fragrant is cooking? Venba is a narrative cooking game that takes the nostalgia for food and uses it to tell a story about a family that immigrated from India to Canada in the 1980s. It’s a moving story about family and food that uses cooking mechanics to explore love and loss. —NC

Keep the good vibes going

Continue reading…

Echoes make up the lifeblood of a character's build in Wuthering Waves. They are the roots of a well-built character thanks to the inherent stats they come with, but the best Echos all have abilities that set them apart from their peers.

Strongest Echoes in Wuthering Waves

Every Echo in Wuthering Waves comes with its own unique ability that is meant to be weaved into combat seamlessly, as they effectively become an extra skill for you to press while fighting. The best ones provide some level of utility, a moment of safety, or considerable damage, making them the ideal ones to hunt for. The following view on the best Echos comes from my extensive experience playing the last Closed Beta event for Wuthering Waves. The power of these Echos is, therefore, subject to change once the game has been fully released. You have been warned.

Impermanence Heron

The Impermanence Heron was widely considered to be the best Echo in the Wuthering Waves CBT 3 event, and for good reason. Its Echo ability allows you to transform into the Heron and slam the ground for absolutely massive Havoc Damage. During this transformation, you are considered Airborne, meaning you can completely avoid grounded attacks while attacking with this Echo.

Most importantly, though, is its ability to grant your next character a strong 12% DMG (Damage) buff just by using an Outro Skill within 15 seconds of this ability. As a '4-cost' Echo, it additionally comes with the largest possible stat weight in Wuthering Waves. Getting a CRIT-related stat, as a main stat, on this Echo guarantees you're getting the highest value range for it.

Autopuppet Scout

Compared to the Impermance Heron, the ability of the Autopuppet Scout is considerably more basic but just as potent. Using this Echo's ability causes you to spawn an Autopuppet that immediately body slams the ground for a meaty Glacio DMG AoE effect. This spawns ice walls around the impact area, which you can use to stave off attacks by simply hiding behind them.

The biggest use for this Echo was its third, unlisted ability to freeze enemies for a few seconds after use. In the last beta, this was incredibly useful for buying time or creating bigger windows for DPS opportunities against harder enemies. Autopuppet Scout is a '3-cost' Echo, meaning its stat weights are a class down when compared to the Impermance Heron, but valuable nonetheless.

Crownless

For any characters of the Havoc element, Crownless is one of, if not the best, Echos you can use for its ability. Activating Crownless causes you to transform into the boss and unleash a flurry of Havoc-infused attacks that deal considerable damage. However, the reason you use Crownless is for the massive buffs it grants to Havoc characters.

When Crownless is activated, it grants your active character 12% increased Havoc DMG and 12% increased Resonance Skill DMG for 15 seconds. Naturally, you'll want to make sure you use a Havoc character with this Crownless due to these powerful buffs. Danjin, in particular, gains full benefit from the buffs and flows well into Crownless combos due to her own ability to unleash constant flurries of attacks. As a '4-cost' Echo, it provides the largest stat weight in Wuthering Waves.

Inferno Rider

Where's Crownless is one of the best Echos to use for Havoc-element characters, Inferno Rider is one of the best for Fusion-elemental characters. When used, Inferno Rider provides numerous benefits. The first one to consider is its three-slash combo, all dealing significant Fusion DMG when hitting an enemy. The last hit, in particular, deals the most damage and activates two debuffs for the currently deployed character: 12% increased Fusion DMG, and 12% increased Basic Attack DMG. These buffs both last for 15 seconds, and are why you'd use Inferno Rider with a Fusion character like Encore.

Inferno Rider's third and most impactful ability provides a big boost to exploration. When holding its Skill, you transform into Inferno Rider and can use its flaming motorcycle to transverse the landscape, Ghost Rider style. Once you find it, Inferno Rider is an easily farmable boss in Wuthering Waves, making farming this '4-cost' Echo a breeze.

Thundering Memphis

Thundering Memphis functions very similarly to Crownless and Inferno Rider in terms of its ability but for Electro characters instead. Using its ability begins a six-hit combo which you can interrupt at any given moment. Each hit deals solid Electro DMG, with the final hit dealing the most. As with Inferno Rider, this final hit triggers two different buffs, one that buffs up Electro DMG by 12%, and another that boosts Resonance Liberation DMG by 12%, both for 15 seconds.

For characters like Calcharo, Thundering Memphis is a natural fit due to these buffs, but also because Calcharo's attacks flow well into Thundering Memphis' combos. You might be starting to see a pattern now. Thundering Memphis is a '4-cost' Echo, and can be easily farmed once you find the boss in the overworld.

Tempest Memphis

As the name of this Echo suggests, Tempest Memphis is very similar to Thunder Memphis with two main changes in their functionality. First, the combo it uses is faster and different from Thundering Memphis but still has the same end result: it activates two buffs after its final hit. Second, while one of its buffs is the same (Electro DMG bonus), Tempest Memphis provides a 12% boost to Heavy Attack DMG instead of Resonance Liberation. Like its above cousin, Tempest Memphis is a '4-cost' Echo and can be farmed once found in the overworld.

Feilian Beringal

Feilian Berginal is similar to the last few Echos on this list, but one place where it really differs is how it delivers its attack combo. When using Feilian Beringal, you transform into a giant ape and deliver a two-hit kick-combo that deals massive AERO damage with little delay. On top of this burst damage, if you swap to a different character after activating this Echo's ability, you're left in mid-air. This allows you to perform a plunging attack without jumping yourself, and I found great value in this burst setup when facing Wuthering Wave's Hologram bosses.

When the second hit lands on a target, it provides a 12% increase to Aero DMG and a 12% increase to Heavy Attack DMG, perfect for characters like Jianxin, who actively uses both during combat. Feilian Beringal is a '4-cost' Echo, and like the others mentioned above, can be farmed easily when found in the overworld.

The post Best Echoes in Wuthering Waves appeared first on Destructoid.

In the wake of the massive success of the Fallout TV series, Fallout 4 has received a free next-gen upgrade for PC, PS5 and Series X/S that aims to bring the nine-year-old game up to modern standards. The prospect of native PS5 and Series games is tantalising but unfortunately the update arrives with a number of issues - and even at its best the result is somewhat underwhelming.

The patch notes mention two main graphics modes on console: a dynamic 4K 60fps performance mode running at 'standard' settings and a 4K 30fps quality mode running at PC's ultra preset. The game itself presents this as a performance mode on/off toggle in reality, where the off setting is effectively the quality mode referred to in the notes. Beyond these two basic options, Bethesda also adds additional modes for those outputting the game at 1440p and/or 120Hz from your console system menu. As well as these new options, the patch notes mention bug fixes, new quests, new weapons and, on PC, official 21:9 ultrawide support.

To summarise the PC situation in brief, it's a disappointment on a number of levels. For a start, the new ultrawide display support is seriously lacking polish, with select elements of the UI stretched from 16:9 rather than offering a native 21:9 presentation. Worse still, I've noticed visual bugs in the UI at points, such as while naming your character or setting your SPECIAL stats - it looks wrong and needs a fix.

Read more

QEMU 9.0 open-source emulator just came out the other day, and it brings on board major updates and improvements to Arm, RISC-V, HPPA, LoongArch, and s390x emulation. But the most notable updates are in Arm and LoongArch emulation.

The QEMU 9.0 emulator now supports the Raspberry Pi 4 Model B, meaning you can run the 64-bit Raspberry Pi OS for testing applications without owning the hardware. However, QEMU 9.0 has some limitations since Ethernet and PCIe are not supported for the Raspberry Pi board. According to the developers, these features will come on board in a future release. For now, the emulator supports SPI and I2C (BSC) controllers.

Still on ARM, QEMU 9.0 provides board support for the mp3-an536 (MPS3 dev board + AN536 firmware) and B-L475E-IOT01A IoT node, plus architectural feature support for Nested Virtualization, Enhanced Counter Virtualization, and Enhanced Nested Virtualization.

If you develop applications for the LoongArch architecture, QEMU 9.0 supports LoongArch KVM acceleration, including LSX/LASX vector extensions. These two support the architecture’s 128-bit and 256-bit Single Instruction Multiple Data (SIMD) units, respectively.

For RISC-V, this QEMU version adds ISA/extension support for Zacas, RVA22 profiles, amocas, Ztso, and many others. You’ll also get SMBIOS support for the updated RHCT table, RISC-V virtual machine, ACPI support for SRAT, SLIT, AIA, and PLIC, and several other fixes.

HPPA and s390x have received a few updates, which include LAE fixes and emulation support for CVB, CVDG, CVBG, and CVBY instructions for s390x and SeaBIOS firmware update to version 16 for HPPA.

Overall, the QEMU 9.0 release contains over 2,700 commits from 220 authors that improve several other areas, not only the ISA emulations. For instance, the memory backends preallocations will now be handled concurrently using multiple threads, and virtio-blk will now support multiqueue, allowing the different queues of a single disk to be processed by different I/O threads. More details may be found in the announcement.

The post QEMU 9.0 released with Raspberry Pi 4 support and LoongArch KVM acceleration appeared first on CNX Software - Embedded Systems News.

Neural networks and other machine learning processes are often associated with powerful processors and GPUs. However, as we’ve seen on the page, AI is also moving to the very edge, and the BitNetMCU open-source project further showcases that it is possible to run low-bit quantized neural networks on low-end RISC-V microcontrollers such as the inexpensive CH32V003.

As a reminder, the CH32V003 is based on the QingKe 32-bit RISC-V2A processor, which supports two levels of interrupt nesting. It is a compact, low-power, general-purpose 48MHz microcontroller that has 2KB SRAM with 16KB flash. The chip comes in a TSSOP20, QFN20, SOP16, or SOP8 package.

To run machine learning on the CH32V003 microcontroller, the BitNetMCU project does Quantization Aware Training (QAT) and fine-tunes the inference code and model structure, which makes it possible to surpass 99% test accuracy on a 16×16 MNIST dataset without using any multiplication instructions. This performance is impressive, considering the 48 MHz chip only has 2 kilobytes of RAM and 16 kilobytes of flash memory.

The training data pipeline for this project is based on PyTorch and consists of several Python scripts. These include:

• trainingparameters.yaml configuration file to set all the parameters for the training model
• training.py Python script trains the model, then stores it in the model data folder as a .pth file (weights are stored as floats, with quantization happening on the fly during training).
• exportquant.py Quantized model exporting file converts the stored trained model into a quantized format and exports it into the C header file (BitNetMCU_model.h)
• Optional test-inference.py script that calls the DLL (compiled from the inference code) for testing and comparing results with the original Python model

The inference engine (BitNetMCU_inference.c) is implemented in ANSI-C, which you can use with the CH32V003 RISC-V MCU or port to any other microcontroller. You can test the inference of 10 digits by compiling and executing BitNetMCU_MNIST_test.c. The model data is in the BitNetMCU_MNIST_test_data.h file, and the test data is in the BitNetMCU_MNIST_test_data.h file. You can check the code and follow the instructions in the readme.md file found on GitHub to give Machine Learning on the CH32V003 a try.

The post BitNetMCU project enables Machine Learning on CH32V003 RISC-V MCU appeared first on CNX Software - Embedded Systems News.

Google dropped RISC-V support from the Android’s Generic Kernel Image in recently merged patches. Filed under the name “Remove ACK’s support for riscv64,” the patches with the description “support for risc64 GKI kernels is discontinued” on the AOSP tracker removed RISC-V kernel support, RISC-V kernel build support, and RISC-V emulator support.

In simple terms, the next Android OS implementation that will use the latest GKI release won’t work on devices powered by RISC-V chips. Therefore, companies wanting to compile a RISC-V Android build will have to create and maintain their own branch from the Linux kernel (ACK RISC-V patches).

These abbreviations can be confusing, so let’s focus on them starting with ACK. There’s the official Linux kernel, and Google does not certify Android devices that ship with this mainline Linux kernel. Google only maintains and certifies the ACK (Android Common Kernel), which are downstream branches from the official Linux kernel. One of the main ACK branches is the android-mainline because it is the primary development branch that is forked into the Generic Kernel Branch to correspond to a specific combination of a supported Linux kernel and the Android OS version.

In a nutshell, ACK refers to a Linux core with some patches of interest to the Android community that haven’t been merged to the Mainline or Long Term Supported (LTS) Linux kernels. On the other hand, GKI refers to a kernel built from one of these ACK branches. Every Android device ships to the market while running one of these GKI branches.

Matthias Männich, a senior staff software engineer at Google, uploaded these patches for review on 26th April, and they passed the review process by 1st May, resulting in successful merging on the branches android15-6.6 and android-mainline.

This update might inconvenience chip companies that were planning to launch RISC-V CPUs for Android devices. Qualcomm, for instance, was planning to power the next generation of Wear OS solutions (wearable platforms) using RISC-V CPUs.

However, this merged patch is not permanent. Google hasn’t killed RISC-V support forever. According to a Google spokesperson, the company is not ready to provide a single supported image to all vendors due to the rapid rate of iteration. Therefore, Android will continue to support RISC-V, but not for now, at later at an unknown date.

In the meantime, the RISC-V community has provided a RISC-V boot and runtime services specification to system vendors and operating system vendors to help them interoperate with one another. This specification enables the OS to utilize system management and device discovery when running on a RISC-V chip and could help with OS ports including future Android RISC-V implementations.

Via Android Authority

The post Android no longer supports RISC-V, for now… appeared first on CNX Software - Embedded Systems News.

In the wake of the massive success of the Fallout TV series, Fallout 4 has received a free next-gen upgrade for PC, PS5 and Series X/S that aims to bring the nine-year-old game up to modern standards. The prospect of native PS5 and Series games is tantalising but unfortunately the update arrives with a number of issues - and even at its best the result is somewhat underwhelming.

The patch notes mention two main graphics modes on console: a dynamic 4K 60fps performance mode running at 'standard' settings and a 4K 30fps quality mode running at PC's ultra preset. The game itself presents this as a performance mode on/off toggle in reality, where the off setting is effectively the quality mode referred to in the notes. Beyond these two basic options, Bethesda also adds additional modes for those outputting the game at 1440p and/or 120Hz from your console system menu. As well as these new options, the patch notes mention bug fixes, new quests, new weapons and, on PC, official 21:9 ultrawide support.

To summarise the PC situation in brief, it's a disappointment on a number of levels. For a start, the new ultrawide display support is seriously lacking polish, with select elements of the UI stretched from 16:9 rather than offering a native 21:9 presentation. Worse still, I've noticed visual bugs in the UI at points, such as while naming your character or setting your SPECIAL stats - it looks wrong and needs a fix.

Read more

QEMU 9.0 open-source emulator just came out the other day, and it brings on board major updates and improvements to Arm, RISC-V, HPPA, LoongArch, and s390x emulation. But the most notable updates are in Arm and LoongArch emulation.

The QEMU 9.0 emulator now supports the Raspberry Pi 4 Model B, meaning you can run the 64-bit Raspberry Pi OS for testing applications without owning the hardware. However, QEMU 9.0 has some limitations since Ethernet and PCIe are not supported for the Raspberry Pi board. According to the developers, these features will come on board in a future release. For now, the emulator supports SPI and I2C (BSC) controllers.

Still on ARM, QEMU 9.0 provides board support for the mp3-an536 (MPS3 dev board + AN536 firmware) and B-L475E-IOT01A IoT node, plus architectural feature support for Nested Virtualization, Enhanced Counter Virtualization, and Enhanced Nested Virtualization.

If you develop applications for the LoongArch architecture, QEMU 9.0 supports LoongArch KVM acceleration, including LSX/LASX vector extensions. These two support the architecture’s 128-bit and 256-bit Single Instruction Multiple Data (SIMD) units, respectively.

For RISC-V, this QEMU version adds ISA/extension support for Zacas, RVA22 profiles, amocas, Ztso, and many others. You’ll also get SMBIOS support for the updated RHCT table, RISC-V virtual machine, ACPI support for SRAT, SLIT, AIA, and PLIC, and several other fixes.

HPPA and s390x have received a few updates, which include LAE fixes and emulation support for CVB, CVDG, CVBG, and CVBY instructions for s390x and SeaBIOS firmware update to version 16 for HPPA.

Overall, the QEMU 9.0 release contains over 2,700 commits from 220 authors that improve several other areas, not only the ISA emulations. For instance, the memory backends preallocations will now be handled concurrently using multiple threads, and virtio-blk will now support multiqueue, allowing the different queues of a single disk to be processed by different I/O threads. More details may be found in the announcement.

The post QEMU 9.0 released with Raspberry Pi 4 support and LoongArch KVM acceleration appeared first on CNX Software - Embedded Systems News.

Neural networks and other machine learning processes are often associated with powerful processors and GPUs. However, as we’ve seen on the page, AI is also moving to the very edge, and the BitNetMCU open-source project further showcases that it is possible to run low-bit quantized neural networks on low-end RISC-V microcontrollers such as the inexpensive CH32V003.

As a reminder, the CH32V003 is based on the QingKe 32-bit RISC-V2A processor, which supports two levels of interrupt nesting. It is a compact, low-power, general-purpose 48MHz microcontroller that has 2KB SRAM with 16KB flash. The chip comes in a TSSOP20, QFN20, SOP16, or SOP8 package.

To run machine learning on the CH32V003 microcontroller, the BitNetMCU project does Quantization Aware Training (QAT) and fine-tunes the inference code and model structure, which makes it possible to surpass 99% test accuracy on a 16×16 MNIST dataset without using any multiplication instructions. This performance is impressive, considering the 48 MHz chip only has 2 kilobytes of RAM and 16 kilobytes of flash memory.

The training data pipeline for this project is based on PyTorch and consists of several Python scripts. These include:

• trainingparameters.yaml configuration file to set all the parameters for the training model
• training.py Python script trains the model, then stores it in the model data folder as a .pth file (weights are stored as floats, with quantization happening on the fly during training).
• exportquant.py Quantized model exporting file converts the stored trained model into a quantized format and exports it into the C header file (BitNetMCU_model.h)
• Optional test-inference.py script that calls the DLL (compiled from the inference code) for testing and comparing results with the original Python model

The inference engine (BitNetMCU_inference.c) is implemented in ANSI-C, which you can use with the CH32V003 RISC-V MCU or port to any other microcontroller. You can test the inference of 10 digits by compiling and executing BitNetMCU_MNIST_test.c. The model data is in the BitNetMCU_MNIST_test_data.h file, and the test data is in the BitNetMCU_MNIST_test_data.h file. You can check the code and follow the instructions in the readme.md file found on GitHub to give Machine Learning on the CH32V003 a try.

The post BitNetMCU project enables Machine Learning on CH32V003 RISC-V MCU appeared first on CNX Software - Embedded Systems News.

Google dropped RISC-V support from the Android’s Generic Kernel Image in recently merged patches. Filed under the name “Remove ACK’s support for riscv64,” the patches with the description “support for risc64 GKI kernels is discontinued” on the AOSP tracker removed RISC-V kernel support, RISC-V kernel build support, and RISC-V emulator support.

In simple terms, the next Android OS implementation that will use the latest GKI release won’t work on devices powered by RISC-V chips. Therefore, companies wanting to compile a RISC-V Android build will have to create and maintain their own branch from the Linux kernel (ACK RISC-V patches).

These abbreviations can be confusing, so let’s focus on them starting with ACK. There’s the official Linux kernel, and Google does not certify Android devices that ship with this mainline Linux kernel. Google only maintains and certifies the ACK (Android Common Kernel), which are downstream branches from the official Linux kernel. One of the main ACK branches is the android-mainline because it is the primary development branch that is forked into the Generic Kernel Branch to correspond to a specific combination of a supported Linux kernel and the Android OS version.

In a nutshell, ACK refers to a Linux core with some patches of interest to the Android community that haven’t been merged to the Mainline or Long Term Supported (LTS) Linux kernels. On the other hand, GKI refers to a kernel built from one of these ACK branches. Every Android device ships to the market while running one of these GKI branches.

Matthias Männich, a senior staff software engineer at Google, uploaded these patches for review on 26th April, and they passed the review process by 1st May, resulting in successful merging on the branches android15-6.6 and android-mainline.

This update might inconvenience chip companies that were planning to launch RISC-V CPUs for Android devices. Qualcomm, for instance, was planning to power the next generation of Wear OS solutions (wearable platforms) using RISC-V CPUs.

However, this merged patch is not permanent. Google hasn’t killed RISC-V support forever. According to a Google spokesperson, the company is not ready to provide a single supported image to all vendors due to the rapid rate of iteration. Therefore, Android will continue to support RISC-V, but not for now, at later at an unknown date.

In the meantime, the RISC-V community has provided a RISC-V boot and runtime services specification to system vendors and operating system vendors to help them interoperate with one another. This specification enables the OS to utilize system management and device discovery when running on a RISC-V chip and could help with OS ports including future Android RISC-V implementations.

Via Android Authority

The post Android no longer supports RISC-V, for now… appeared first on CNX Software - Embedded Systems News.

It's painful to see the back-to-back bad news in gaming nowadays, from studio closures to projects falling into limbo. I imagine myself clutching a well-used copy of Fallout: New Vegas and shouting into the sky that we have to go back, as it can feel as though the habits and trajectory of the past decade have failed us. The AAA industry's move to live-service games has ended in numerous storied disasters, and right now it feels like almost nothing new sticks around for long. The exception to the rule recently is Helldivers 2, which has deservedly found and retained an audience.

After much anticipation and excitement, the beloved superstar Robin has finally debuted in Honkai: Star Rail. Crafting the optimal build for her is a straightforward task, thanks to her unique kit.

Strongest Robin Build in Honkai: Star Rail

Robin is a Physical Harmony character whose main role on any given team is to buff the DMG% of her allies through her Skill. Uniquely to Robin, and her primary counterpart Ruan Mei, she can buff her whole team instead of just one ally, which is uncommon for Harmony Supports.

What sets Robin apart from the rest of the Harmony roster is her Ultimate, which provides a staggeringly powerful team-wide Advance Forward when activated. This allows teams with Robin on them to perform some truly creative strategy not available anywhere else in the game.

Robin's Ultimate has a second significant mechanic attached to it after activation. While her Ultimate is active, when any teammates launch an attack, Robin provides a secondary instance of Physical Damage to one of the struck targets. This mechanic has no attack limit meaning Robin plays best with characters that can attack very often.

Best Relics for Robin

Despite being a Harmony character, an archetype notorious for needing various groups of stats to perform well, Robin really only needs ATK% and nothing else. You read that correctly. Robin doesn't need, HP%, DEF, or any other stat other than ATK%, as everything she does scales off it.

While Robin doesn't need Speed, due to her SPD stat being fixed during her Ultimate, getting her to 120 SPD is ideal as it allows her to use sets that require that amount. As you can see, though, Robin is straightforward to build. With this in mind, the best Relics for Robin will be any combination that provides ATK%.

You can use a 2-piece Prisoner in Deep Confinement and 2-piece Musketeer of Wild Wheat as both Relic set bonuses provide unconditional ATK%. Additionally, if you'd prefer your Robin to be more supportive of your team, you can run a 4-piece Messenger Traversing Hackspace for the teamwide speed boost, though you will be losing out on damage for both your team and Robin.

For Robin's Sphere and Rope set, use the Space Sealing Station set with an Energy Regeneration rope. You want to make sure your rope has Energy Regeneration as its core stat because her Ultimate is one of the most expensive Ultimate costs in the game. Also, make sure your Robin has 120 SPD so she gets the additional ATK% buff that comes from the secondary portion of the set bonus.

Best Team Comp Robin

Like Ruan Mei, Robin can fit on any team comp in need of Harmony Support due to the potent buff she provides with her Skill. However, Robin's best Team Comp is a Follow-up one for a few reasons.

Thanks to her Talent, Impromptu Flourish, Robin provides an additional 25% CRIT DMG (Critical Damage) to Follow-up attacks. Pretty straightforward. The other reason is due to her steep Ultimate energy cost. Thanks to her other important Talent, Tonal Resonance, Robin gets a small amount of Energy back every time an ally launches an attack, making frequent attackers more useful to Robin. With that said, Topaz and Numby, Dr. Ratio, and Aventurine are Robin's best teammates.

Topaz and Numby attacks more often than any other character in Honkai: Star Rail, making her the ideal teammate for Robin. Robin buffs up Follow-up attacks, making them completely compatible with each other.

Dr. Ratio often attacks in conjunction with Topaz and Numby, making him a frequent attacker as well. Every attack he launches restores Energy to Robin, allowing her to maintain her Ultimate longer. Finally, Robin's specific buffs toward Follow-up attacks make him an ideal teammate for her.

Aventurine's Follow-up mechanic is tied to the number of Follow-up attacks his teammates launch, as well as, how often they are hit while his shield is active. Aventurine attacks almost as often as Topaz and Numby thanks to this, so, naturally, Robin gains all the same benefits from him as well.

Should you get Robin's Lightcone in Honkai: Star Rail?

Without a doubt, Robin's Lightcone, Flowing Nightglow is the ideal Lightcone for her playstyle. Not only does it greatly boost her own damage, but also provides additional buffs to the rest of her teammates. However, what's really important about this Lightcone is the Energy Regeneration it provides Robin. The point of using Robin is to make sure her Ultimate is up and active as much as possible. Without the extra generation of this Lightcone, Robin will struggle to maintain uptime on teams that do not have Follow-up attacks on them.

That said, Robin does have a strong alternative Lightcone. But the Battle Isn't Over is Robin's second-best Lightcone because it also has Energy Regeneration on it. At Superimposition 2, it is nearly equal to Robin's signature Lightcone in terms of Energy Regen. If you don't have But the Battle Isn't Over, I recommend you pull Flowing Nightglow to make full use of your Robin.

Best Eidolons for Robin in Honkai: Star Rail

At E0, Robin is a powerhouse of a character, and her Eidolons do not greatly impact the functionality of her character. As with all characters though, her Eidolons do make her stronger. If you're interested in grabbing her Eidolons, the best stopping point would be E1. For your reference, here are her six Eidolons.

• Land of Smiles (E1) - While her Ultimate is active, all her allies get All-Type RES PEN increased by 24%. This is strong for all teams, but stronger for teams fighting off-element enemies. Strong Eidolon.
• Afternoon Tea for Two (E2) - While her Ultimate is active, all allies gain 16% SPD, and Robin regenerates an extra point of Energy per attack, equally three Energy total. Decent, but hardly required
• Inverted Tuning (E3) - Skill and Ultimate Level increases by two. Stronger buffs, more damage. Not required.
• Raindrop Key (E4) - When her Ultimate is activated, she dispels all debuffs from your team and provides a 50% Effect Resistance buff. Extremely lackluster Eidolon as dispels should be covered by your sustainer anyway.
• Lonestar's Lamet (E5) - Basic ATK and Talent Level increase by two. Basic ATK is useless on Robin and the Talent buff is nice, but not noticeable enough to matter.
• Moonless Midnight (E6) - Her first eight additional attacks during each use her Ultimate, get 450% CRIT DMG. This Eidolon is stupidly strong and is worth it if you can get it. Robin will easily out-damage all of your DPS with this Eidolon.

The post Honkai: Star Rail Best Robin Build appeared first on Destructoid.

Plus, they recently added date nights!

A new developer stream for Star Wars: The Old Republic showed a surprising feature on the way in Game Update 7.5. Players will be able to earn their own farmstead on the planet of Dantooine after completing a quest chain. The cozy feature will come with a Spring Abundance festival, which includes the surprisingly comfortable activities of “seed collecting, dancing, pie-baking, animal rehabilitation, and a galactic egg hunt,” according to a press release.

Star Wars: The Old Republic has been live for 13 years, and there’s a huge archive of content for players to enjoy. Ten months ago, the MMORPG changed hands from its original developer BioWare to Broadsword, the studio behind Ultima Online and Dark Age of Camelot. While The Old Republic has faded from the spotlight, it’s still a very enjoyable game that’s worth revisiting to scratch a Star Wars itch.

Broadsword is taking the game in an intriguing direction. Patch 7.4.1 included Date Night companion missions, which are exactly what you’d expect from the name. These missions become available if the companion has been romanced, and is available in a player’s story — some circumstances can cause your partner of choice to leave the party. Date Night missions will be released in batches, and they grant a unique title and decoration.

Update 7.5 also includes a new main story chapter where players wrangle with a Hutt, and new single-player Ventures that are meant to provide a challenging experience. Players train up their very own Basilisk Prototype B3-S1 (or Bessie) and prepare them for combat. Eventually, Bessie joins your team as a permanent companion. The release date for Update 7.5 will be announced soon.

Take out hordes of zombies almost literally from the comfort of your own home

Infection Free Zone, now in Steam Early Access, has a basic premise: Zombies have taken over the world, driving humanity into underground bunkers to wait the plague out. Eventually, the radio fires up, and a message goes out that the disease is fading. While the surface is still dangerous, it’s time to step up and make an attempt to build a new society.

This isn’t my first rodeo with a game like this, where you have to build a post-apocalyptic society that’s constantly under attack by hordes of zombies. However, this is the first time I’ve done so from the comfort and safety of my own real-world block. Instead of a fictional setting or a careful diorama based on an actual city, Infection Free Zone pulls from map data to create a one-to-one re-creation of cities and towns, using that information to create places for looting and building up a base of operations.

An Infection Free Zone run starts with the player choosing where to begin. The game offers my own region as a starting location, and I even found my own apartment. The map also draws on real-world data to categorize each building. For instance, the walk-in clinic across from my apartment is recognized as a hospital, which made it an ideal starting HQ. My apartment building lacked medical supplies, and its size meant it would be difficult to defend. Meanwhile, I could lock down the clinic easily, and help myself to all that free medicine left behind.

Image: Jutsu Games/Games Operators

The real-world function of each building factors into how it’s interpreted in Infection Free Zone. Learning about the perks — and downsides — of each building in my area would be necessary if I wanted to survive. From there, I started organizing my population into small squads for scavenging the homes in the area for canned food. We found other survivors and started planting food and building infrastructure.

Unfortunately, I haven’t figured out yet how to escape one of two inevitable fates: turtling until I starve to death, or attracting so many infected to my fledgling settlement that we’re overwhelmed. Perhaps it’s because I live in a humble Canadian neighborhood where guns wouldn’t spawn frequently, but I couldn’t find enough firearms to fend off the endless hordes. You can play anywhere in theory, but in practice you’re going to need to pick a major city for more resources.

There are also other little early access issues that are all individually annoying, but build up to make challenges feel insurmountable. Do you want to renovate a building? You’ll need to clear everyone out first. Want to dedicate time to research? The advancement tree has disappointingly few options, so that doesn’t feel very satisfying. I managed to plant lots of crops in the park near my place, but they stopped producing food. By the time I realized they needed fertilizer, my colony was already on the brink of starvation. Many of these problems aren’t broadcast or explained by the game in any way; I figured them out as I went, and usually died for the trouble. These annoyances go beyond the typical faults of zombie games or base builders; they seem much more related to the game’s early access state.

Plus, seemingly everything requires an endless amount of wood to build, upgrade, or advance. At first, I thought that the easiest way to get wood would be to chop down trees, but found it’s actually more productive to break down buildings in order to also get other materials, such as bricks. However, that turns what seems like an impossible barrier into merely a deeply boring and irritating grind. All those extra materials also fill up my storage, requiring lots of micromanagement. It’s all very awkward, and the threat of the roving undead means I didn’t have much time to focus on solving these issues. Add in constant transmissions and radio chatter, and I walked away from Infection Free Zone irritated.

Image: Jutsu Games/Games Operators

Instead of fighting against the zombies and feeling them emerge as a natural threat, I felt like the real enemy was the game itself. A base builder zombie survival game like State of Decay 2 can be difficult and terrifying, but I always felt as though my fate was in my own hands. I’d like more agency as an overseer, and more ways for the game to evolve. Right now, my settlement seems doomed to perish from hunger or get overrun by the inevitable hordes.

There’s a lot to iron out, but this is an early access release, and Infection Free Zone has a lot of potential. The ability to choose a real-world neighborhood or rebuild society literally from the comfort of your own home is very cool. I’m intrigued to see if Jutsu Games can turn things around and clean up all the UI issues, early access bugs, and janky systems. There’s something special about surviving the post-apocalypse in my own neighborhood and using my local knowledge to benefit my community of survivors. Alternatively, it’s neat to start a game at the base of a famous landmark and enjoy a little post-apocalyptic tourism. It’s just a shame the rest of the ride is currently so rough.