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It’s rare to see anyone in Appalachia running a melee-only build, though it’s an extremely viable playstyle that usefully cuts down on ammo usage in a barren wasteland. That said, it’s not for the faint of heart, as you must close the distance and play as an aggressive, in-your-face survivor, frantically spamming…

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When you first start your zombie survival adventure in 7 Days to Die, you’re immediately dumped into a massive game world. You have an objective—to find the nearest trader—but otherwise, you’re flying solo. It’s challenging, with terror around each corner, and if you’re caught unaware a single zombie can end your run.…

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Bringing L.A. Comic Con 2023 From the Scene to Your Screen Read More »

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Last year, Apple launched its latest batch of smartwatches, introducing the Apple Watch Ultra 2 ($799) alongside the Apple Watch Series 9 ($399). Each wearable has its own pros and cons, as does the second-gen Apple Watch SE ($249), but the introduction of the new wearables also means there are now more Apple Watch models on the market than ever before — and a lot more deals to be had.

But with all of those options, which one should you pick? Generally speaking, you want to buy the newest watch you can afford so that it continues to receive software updates from Apple. The latest update, watchOS 10, launched in September on the Apple Watch Series 4 and newer; however, Apple announced at WWDC 2024 that neither the Series 4 or Series 5 will receive watchOS 11 when it launches in the fall.

Picking up a watch from the latest (or a recent) generation ensures you’re getting a smartwatch with an updated design, a robust number of features, and plenty of sensors. Now, let’s get into the deals.

The best Apple Watch Series 9 deals

The Apple Watch Series 9 represents the latest wearable in Apple’s flagship Series lineup. It introduces a slightly faster S9 SiP chip and a second-gen ultra wideband chip, which allow for onboard Siri processing and precision finding with your iPhone. It also offers a brighter, 2,000-nit display and works with Apple’s new “double tap,” a feature that lets you tap your thumb and index finger together to carry out various actions. While the improvements are welcome, the Series 9 isn’t a vast departure from the prior model, the Series 8.

The Apple Watch Series 9 has been out for less than a year, but the GPS-equipped model is already on sale at Amazon and Walmart in the 41mm sizing starting at $299 ($100 off) or in the larger 45mm configuration at Amazon and Walmart for as low as $329 ($100 off). As for the LTE model with cellular connectivity, it’s available at Amazon and Walmart in the 41mm configuration starting at $399 ($100 off). You can also pick it up in the 45mm sizing at Amazon and Walmart starting at $429 ($100 off).

Read our Apple Watch Series 9 review.

The best Apple Watch SE deals

The Apple Watch SE received a refresh in late 2022. It has the same chipset as the Series 8, which is great, but with fewer sensors, no always-on display, and a slightly outdated design compared to the Series 8 and Series 9. Those omissions might take this out of the running for some people, but it still may be exactly what you’re after. Best of all, it starts at $249 for the 40mm Wi-Fi / GPS model, which is $30 less than the previous generation’s baseline cost. Opting for cellular connectivity bumps the starting price up to $299 for the 40mm size (44mm adds $20 to each configuration).

At the moment, the best deals on the latest Apple Watch SE can be found at Amazon and Walmart, where you can pick the 40mm model with GPS in select styles starting at $189 ($60 off). The 44mm configuration, meanwhile, is available in select styles at Amazon and Walmart starting at $219 ($60 off).

If you want the LTE configuration, the 40mm configuration is available at Walmart for $229 ($70 off) or at Amazon for as low as $239 ($60 off). The larger 44mm size is also available at Walmart for $259 ($70 off) or at Amazon starting at $269 ($60 off).

Read our Apple Watch SE (second-gen) review.

The best Apple Watch Ultra 2 deals

Apple’s latest Apple Watch Ultra launched at $799 in September with GPS and LTE support, much like the original model. The ultra-capable smartwatch has the most features, sensors, and ruggedness of any Apple Watch model available thus far, along with a display that’s 50 percent brighter than the first Ultra. The 49mm smartwatch also packs Apple’s new S9 SiP and second-gen ultra wideband chips, just like the Apple Watch Series 9, while maintaining long-lasting battery life, precise GPS tracking, and a bevy of diving-friendly sensors.

In recent months, we saw the Apple Watch Ultra 2 dip to $642 ($157 off) in select configurations. Right now, however, it’s only on sale at Amazon with an Alpine Loop, a Trail Loop, or an Ocean Band starting at $699.99 ($99 off). While not an all-time low, that’s one of the better prices we’ve seen on Apple’s high-end smartwatch since it launched — particularly for the Ocean Band configuration, which rarely drops below $719 or so.

Read our Apple Watch Ultra 2 review.

A note on the more premium models

While all of the Apple Watch models and colorways covered here are encased in aluminum (except the Ultra 2, which has a titanium build), Apple does make a more premium range built out of stainless steel and titanium. These offerings are functionally and aesthetically similar to their aluminum counterparts, with slightly refined colors and finishings — polished for the stainless steel and brushed for the titanium. However, they start at much steeper prices of $749 and above. They, too, can often be found on sale, but they’re never discounted as low as the standard base models, so we don’t include them here.

Once you reach the end game of Fallout 76, you have a few options as to how you may spend your time. You can participate in public events, create an alternate character and start the leveling process over again, or start visiting other regions via Expeditions. The latter proves most lucrative and entertaining,…

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Summer Game Fest 2024 officially wrapped up on June 10, after a long weekend of game previews, developer interviews and unlimited cold brew — but we just published our final stories from the show this week (held under embargo, of course). Those were Mat Smith's impressions of Black Myth: Wukong and Tales of the Shire, and they capped off a month of juicy video game news out of the summer's biggest show.

No, Silksong did not make an appearance.

There were, however, plenty of bright and shiny games at the show, and many of them were available to play for the first time ever. Our hands-on and first-look stories include Assassin’s Creed Shadows, Astro Bot, Dragon Age: The Veilguard, Kunitsu-Gami: Path of the Goddess, Lego Horizon Adventures, Marvel Rivals, Metaphor: ReFantazio, Neva and Skate Story.

On top of the playable previews, Day of the Devs, Devolver, Xbox and Ubisoft held their own showcases brimming with new information and game reveals, and the big Summer Game Fest kickoff event was similarly stacked. Just to name a few of the hits: There's a new Doom with a medieval flair (and flail), Civilization VII is coming out in 2025, Slitterhead will land on November 8, Heart Machine is building a gorgeous-looking platformer called Possessor(s), and the Fable reboot is due out in 2025. There are also new Xbox Series consoles coming out this fall — and as it turns out, Microsoft's mid-cycle refresh says a lot about the Xbox hardware business as a whole, especially when compared to the company's internal roadmap that leaked in October 2022.

After E3 collapsed on itself like a sad soufflé, Summer Game Fest has emerged as the home of mid-year video game goodness, offering a little more room for smaller studios and plenty of space to grow. It's been four years of digital and physical Summer Game Fest events at this point, and the show just keeps getting better.

Catch up on all of the news from Summer Game Fest 2024 right here!

There’s no denying that streaming services just keep getting more expensive, with Peacock and Max being the latest streamers to raise prices across their ad-free plans. We’re also seeing a number of services — including Max — dropping support for free trials, ensuring no one other than paying subscribers can access their trove of content. Fortunately, if you haven’t previously subscribed to Max, you can sign up for a rare weeklong trial through the end of today, June 23rd.

Admittedly, a week isn’t enough time to burn through Max’s extensive back catalog of original programming, which includes newer shows like Hacks, the animated sci-fi epic Scavenger’s Reign, True Detective: Night Country, and last year’s excellent adaptation of The Last of Us. It is enough time to revisit Dune: Part Two and your favorite Studio Ghibli film, though, as well as the first couple of episodes of the new season of House of the Dragon.

Max’s current seven-day trial extends to all three subscription tiers, all of which are set to auto-renew at the end of the trial period if you don’t cancel your subscription beforehand. The annual ad-supported plan starts at $9.99 a month or $99 a year, while the ad-free plans — both of which allow for offline downloads — start at $16.99 a month or $169.99 annually. Max doesn’t typically offer free trials, so if you’re unsure as to which plan is right for you, now is a good opportunity to find out.

More deals, discounts, and ways to save

• Speaking of limited-time offers, you can still snag UE’s adorable Wonderboom 3 directly from Ultimate Ears in select colors for $54.99 ($45 off) — an all-time low — when you clip the on-page coupon. I’ve long been a fan of the third-gen Bluetooth speaker, which continues to offer tremendous sound for its size, ample battery life, and a waterproof design that allows it to float. Need more convincing? David Pierce, The Verge’s Editor-at-Large, recently gave it a nod in his excellent newsletter, Installer.
• Although I was hoping REI’s ongoing Fourth of July sale would bring discounts on the inReach Mini 2 and other Garmin devices, I’ll settle for the current promo on the Yeti Tundra 45, which drops the hard cooler to $240 ($60 off) if you’re an REI member. You’re still paying a premium for the Yeti name, but, as an owner of this exact model, I can attest to the 32.9-liter cooler’s heavy-duty rotomolded construction and its ability to keep drinks cool in even the hottest conditions. The included five-year warranty is just a plus.
• Anker’s 522 Portable Power Station is still on sale at Best Buy for a cool $199 ($70 off), nearly matching its best price to date. The boxy 299Wh power station has been my go-to charger for camping over the past year or so, as it offers a car outlet, a USB-A port, two AC ports, and a pair of USB-C ports for charging up to six devices. It also features an integrated LED light bar and display, one that allows you to quickly see the input / output power, remaining battery capacity, and other useful tidbits of information.

libGDX using Stage and Actor produces different camera angles on desktop and Android Phone.

Here are pictures demonstrating the problem: http://brandonyuh.minus.com/mFpdTSgN17VUq

On the desktop version, the image takes up most all the screen. On the Android phone it only takes up a bit of the screen.

Here's the code (not my actual project but I isolated the problem):

package com.me.mygdxgame2;
import com.badlogic.gdx.*;
import com.badlogic.gdx.graphics.*;
import com.badlogic.gdx.graphics.Texture.TextureFilter;
import com.badlogic.gdx.graphics.g2d.*;
import com.badlogic.gdx.scenes.scene2d.*;
public class MyGdxGame2 implements ApplicationListener {
    private Stage stage;
    public void create() {
        stage = new Stage();
        stage.addActor(new ActorHi());
    }
    public void render() {
        Gdx.gl.glClearColor(0, 1, 0, 1);
        Gdx.gl.glClear(GL10.GL_COLOR_BUFFER_BIT);
        stage.draw();
    }
    public void dispose() {}
    public void resize(int width, int height) {}
    public void pause() {}
    public void resume() {}
    public class ActorHi extends Actor {
        private Sprite sprite;
        public ActorHi() {
            Texture texture = new Texture(Gdx.files.internal("data/hi.png"));
            texture.setFilter(TextureFilter.Linear, TextureFilter.Linear);
            sprite = new Sprite(new TextureRegion(texture, 0, 0, 128, 128));
            sprite.setBounds(0, 0, 300.0f, 300.0f);
        }
        public void draw(SpriteBatch batch, float parentAlpha) {
            sprite.draw(batch);
        }
    }
}

Why does this happen?

Despite the massive size of its map, Warzone rewards fast-paced, frantic gameplay through close-quarters combat. You’re rewarded for playing aggressively, pushing the enemy, and not letting them catch a breath. To accomplish this feat, submachine guns reign supreme. They’re the ultimate close-quarters battle weapon,…

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We’ve curated a collection of great gifts that should appease any dad, from tabletop games and tools to some of our favorite tech.

It’s true that spending time with dear old dad on Father’s Day is probably the best gift you can give him, but I bet he wouldn't say no to a Garmin or a fancy-schmancy set of tools come Sunday, June 16th. After all, who can resist the allure of the perfect kit?

If you’re stumped on what to give your dad (or any paternal figure) next month, we’ve assembled a medley of tried-and-true gift ideas, each of which comes with a big stamp of approval from a Verge staffer. Our father-friendly recs span the entire spectrum of tech, from plush noise-canceling headphones and ultra-portable wall chargers to an Android-based ebook reader that’s as small as your smartphone. We even have a few analog picks and suggestions for the dad who refuses to grow up because, let’s be honest, Lego sets have only gotten better over the last decade.

Feel free to use the filters below to jump between price points. And if you find yourself still seeking the perfect gift for your dad, husband, partner, grandpa, etc., be sure to peruse our full slate of gift guides.