Latest News - Page 1017

The developers that helped with God of War's successful PC port are making a new PlayStation live game.

Jetpack Interactive, who spent 2 years working on God of War's highly-optimized PC version, are developing a new live game for Sony. The Vancouver-based studio has been entrusted with a "prized IP" and is currently hiring a number of vital positions like network engineers and system designers for the project.

"We are hiring programmers to join our small & nimble team at JETPACK. We're excited to embark on a new live services title with Sony - and we're ready to launch," the studio wrote on LinkedIn.

Engineers from West Virginia University are working on robots tasked with improving on-the-job safety for retail workers. Researchers want to test the robot in actual grocery stores after the locations are closed, providing a more accurate testbed environment.

As part of $367,000 in funding from the National Science Foundation, WVU researchers want to analyze workplace dangers - and find ways to reduce falling risks in retail stores. The robots can provide situational awareness, monitor risks and offer walkability maps, and should be able to help reduce the number of occupational injuries related to slips and falls.

Instead of trying to rely on a security camera to identify and detect workplace hazards, the robot equipped with a camera can move closely to the spill area - and is able to identify how slippery it is.

The new Skyrim Anniversary Edition is the Nintendo Switch's first $69.99 mainline base game, and the RPG is currently more expensive on the eShop than any other digital storefront on the market.

Today marks the seventh time Bethesda has released Skyrim. The new Skyrim Anniversary Edition is now up on the Nintendo Switch with an eye-opening price tag. For some reason, the game is listed as $70 on the Switch eShop, which cements it as the first base Switch game priced at PS5 and Xbox Series X/S prices. Every other eshop game with a $69.99 price tag includes bonus DLC or an expansion pass.

This price tag means Skyrim Anniversary Edition is currently more expensive on the eShop than any other digital storefront on the market by a significant margin. The game is $20 more on the eShop than other store; it's currently $49.99 on Steam, the PlayStation Store, the Xbox store, the Humble Store, and is even discounted to $24.99 on GOG.com without any DRM.

Earlier this week, the Alice electric aircraft from Eviation took to the skies for its maiden voyage, hopefully opening the door to zero emission regional flights. Not only will the flights be more environmentally friendly, they'll also greatly reduce noise pollution for people living around airports.

The aircraft reached 3,500 feet maximum altitude and flew for eight minutes before landing back at the Grant County International Airport in Moses Lake, Washington. After the MagniX engines were revved up, they sounded about as loud as electric grass trimmers, and provided a responsive experience to fly.

The passenger plane will hopefully support up to nine passengers and their luggage, and will need to finalize a design to be certified by US regulators.

Sony has kicked off controversy by using its new PlayStation Rewards loyalty program to prioritize access to its PlayStation support help section.

Sony's new PlayStation Stars loyalty program has a lot of perks. The idea is simple: Play games, earn points, and trade them in for free games, PSN cash, or little digital collectibles. PS Stars also has a ranking system. The more games you buy, trophies you unlock, and challenges you complete, the higher you rank up. There's four ranks and the highest tier has the best rewards.

This rewards program has one hidden perk: priority on PlayStation Support. In Japan, users with higher PS Stars ranks will be able to skip the general line and have more direct access to PS support (spotted by Automaton). Earlier this year, Sony made it even harder to contact PlayStation Support by stopping all Twitter responses and direct message responses on the Ask PlayStation Twitter account.

It'll be a while longer before gamers can set sail in Ubisoft's new pirate simulator.

Ubisoft has announced Skull and Bones has been delayed to March 9, 2023, right before the company's fiscal year ends (although the game's release won't make much of an impact on FY23 revenues, it will however help buffer the Q1 period of the following year...assuming the game does well).

As IGN notes, this is the fifth time Skull and Bones has been delayed. The game has been in development for some 10 years after being announced in 2013, and has been rebooted multiple times. Skull and Bones had originally started off as an Assassin's Creed expansion, and then morphed into an MMO at one point. The pirate sim's current iteration puts emphasis on online multiplayer, ship decoration and naval combat (which should offer monetization potential), as well as crafting and gathering and exploration of the High Seas.

Saudi Arabia is prepared to invest nearly $40 billion into gaming to make the country the "ultimate global hub for the games and esports sector" by the year 2030.

As announced by the Saudi Press Agency, Saudi Arabia is funding its new game-centric plan through its sovereign Public Investment Fund, and is prepared to invest a total of 142 billion riyals ($37.8 billion based on today's conversion rates) into multiple key points. The Saudi-owned Savvy Gaming Group will execute the strategy which includes strategic minority stakes in various game developers and publishers similar to Tencent's approach, as well as a buyout of a major games publisher.

The kingdom is prepared to spend up to 50 billion riyals ($13.3 billion) for the "acquisition and development of a leading game publisher to become a strategic development partner."

Artificial intelligence company Nala Robotics has introduced The Wingman, a self-cleaning autonomous robot that can be used in fast food restaurants.

The Wingman can pick up and load frying baskets with French fries, chicken wings and other types of frozen food, dip the basket in oil, and shake off any excess oil once finished. Once collected, the foods can be dispensed to individual seasoning bins so spices and sauces and can be added in the appropriate proportions.

Nala Robotics uses artificial intelligence paired with a high-performance camera and vision systems to support a built-in clean in place functionality - and ensure all foods are made to desired high quality.

The US Defense Innovation Unit and jet ski manufacturer T3MP3ST are working together to look for ways to make electric jet skis a suitable tool for elite military units. One day, it's possible the T3MP3ST could be fully autonomous drones that can be used without human operators for specific missions.

Jet skis might be fun to ride but haven't been suitable for military use because they simply aren't very efficient. In addition to producing "200 times the emissions of a single car," according to Nico Sell, CEO of T3MP3ST, in a statement published by Defense One, the gas-guzzling jet skis also create a logistical nightmare: "If you have gas, then you have guards. And you have mechanics. So we can get rid of all of those logistics."

The T3MP3ST Maverick GT Ski can be equipped with radar, sonar, cameras or lidar, along with autonomous functioning using GPS waypoints. The base model of the Maverick GT is $150,000, and the full RIB package is $500,000 - featuring a 350-horsepower 3D-printed electric engine that provides a top speed of more than 70 mph. Its electric range is 50 to 100 miles, and can navigate surf up to 100 feet high, developers claim.

Google is officially shutting down Stadia, its failed game streaming service.

Today Google confirmed that it will shut down its Stadia game streaming platform and storefront in 2023. Google is refunding all purchases of games, subscriptions, and hardware, and users have until January 18, 2023 to access their games. After that, the service will be pulled offline and access will be revoked.

"A few years ago, we also launched a consumer gaming service, Stadia. And while Stadia's approach to streaming games for consumers was built on a strong technology foundation, it hasn't gained the traction with users that we expected so we've made the difficult decision to begin winding down our Stadia streaming service," Google's Phil Harrison said in the announcement.

It's no secret the US military is interested in adding newer autonomous aircraft to the current fleet, as analysts argue how much longer manned fighter jets will be required. Even though humans will still hop into aircraft cockpits for the foreseeable future, there have been continuous breakthroughs in autonomous aviation.

During the recent Air and Space Forces Association's Air, Space & Cyber conference, there was clear emphasis on unmanned systems and drone technology which don't require human pilots. There is plenty of opportunity for autonomous aircraft and manned aircraft to work together, so the US military has a full assortment of attack and reconnaissance capabilities.

Autonomous aircraft remain a major military objective, especially as the US government thinks about potential contested engagements against China or Russia, priority peer adversaries. Securing funding and building next-generation aircraft - along with training human pilots to fly these machines - is not a fast or easy task.

Sony has plans to bring four more PlayStation 5 games to PC, and three of them are coming very soon.

First-party PlayStation games are no longer locked to consoles, and Sony is expanding onto PC in a big way. In a bid to help stabilize recurring game sales and buffer revenue streams, Sony has brought a number of high-profile PlayStation console exclusives to PC so far including Horizon Zero Dawn, Days Gone, God of War, and Spider-Man. This is just the beginning.

Sony is releasing four new PlayStation 5 games onto Steam and the Epic Games Store, including Uncharted Legacy of Thieves Collection (October 19), Sackboy A Big Adventure (October 27), Spider-Man Miles Morales (Fall 2022), and Returnal, which has been outed on PC.

As the auto industry continues its transition away from internal combustion engines towards electric vehicles, there are two major problems that must be addressed as soon as possible: limited battery range and slow recharging once a battery is low on charge.

Researchers from the University of Texas at Austin think an electrode can facilitate twice the range with one charge, compared to an EV with a battery that has commercially available electrodes. Researchers used magnets to create a unique alignment in a lithium-ion battery with thicker electrodes.

Early stages of research from UT Austin engineers are specific to a single type of battery electrode but offers a promising look towards the future. Ideally, the methodology may one day be consolidated so different types of electrodes can be made using different materials, so more EV makers and parts providers can adopt the strategy.

The Baltic Sea is receiving an extremely large dosage of methane gas following multiple leaks being identified in Russia's gas pipelines Nord Stream 1 and Nord Stream 2.

Researchers are rushing to attempt to measure the effects of the pipeline leak, but estimations are difficult to conclude as the situation is ongoing. What is known is that four major leaks have been identified so far and that European leaders have accused Russia of sabotaging Nord Stream 1 and Nord Stream 2 as a way to attack the West over its condemnation of Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

Experts are now sounding the alarm on the environmental impact of high amounts of methane gas leaking into the Baltic Sea. Bloomberg reports that a circle with a diameter of approximately 3,200 feet and growing has been spotted bubbling with natural gas pouring up from the below pipeline. Satellites have already been used to get a birds-eye view of the impacted area. According to Russia, the European leaders are "stupid" to suggest that the nation would destroy its own pipelines.

Archaeologists in Prague are rejoicing at the discovery of a monumental building that is estimated to have been built 7,000 years ago.

Experts discovered the large building more accurately described as a roundel in Prague's district of Vinor, and according to researchers working at the dig, the relic of a past time is in extremely good condition. A roundel is a large circular structure from the Neolithic period between 4600 and 4900 BC. These structures are much older than the Great Pyramids of Giza or Stonehenge, which are estimated to have been constructed from 2550 to 2490 B.C and 2,500 BC, respectively.

Miroslav Kraus, who is in charge of the research, explains that despite the extreme significance of such a structure being discovered, researchers are yet to identify what roundels were actually used for. Kraus gave one theory to reporters, which suggests that these large structures could have been a focal point for trade, much like a market, or religious cults used them to perform rites of passage.

Hackers have infiltrated both Apple News and the business magazine Fast Company to send out an extremely offensive message to Apple News users.

The message, which has been reposted online in a censored and uncensored format, was confirmed to be a result of a hack, which was verified by both Apple News and Fast Company via Twitter. Apple News wrote on Twitter that an "incredibly offensive alert was sent by Fast Company", which was hacked, and that Apple has since disabled their channel. Fast Company wrote on Twitter that its Apple News account became compromised on Tuesday evening and that two "obscene and racist push notifications were sent about a minute apart".

Following up in more tweets, Fast Company clarified that its content management system (CMS) was hacked on Tuesday evening and which gave the hackers access to Fast Company's Apple News push notifications. The business magazine has stated that it launched an investigation into the situation and that its temporarily shut down FastCompany.com until the situation is completely resolved.

A study on climate change and trees titled "The effect of carbon fertilization on naturally regenerated and planted US forests" has been published in the journal Nature Communications.

Researchers from the Ohio State University have now determined how much climate change, specifically excess carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, has contributed to the growth of different species of trees. Trees help buffer the effects of climate change on the planet by sequestering carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, which has increased wood volume, or biomass, in a process known as carbon fertilization.

The phenomenon refers to the influx of carbon dioxide into a plant, increasing the rate at which it can photosynthesize to fuel growth, using the sun's energy, water, and other nutrients. Though higher carbon dioxide levels can be detrimental to natural systems and infrastructure worldwide, trees have used this increased availability to grow 20 to 30 percent larger than trees only three decades ago.

NASA deputy administrator Pam Melroy spoke during a presentation at the International Astronautical Congress 2022 in Paris, France on September 20th, detailing NASA's plans for its Moon to Mars exploration program.

Melroy stated that NASA's overarching goal is for the agency "to create a blueprint for sustained human presence and exploration throughout the solar system," and that to do this, NASA will need to identify specific objectives it wants to achieve. She noted that in the past, NASA has created capabilities and gone on to do what those capabilities allow them to achieve, but to "truly be aspirational and strategic," the agency has to "know what the goal is, even if we know we're not fully ready to do everything yet."

Following Melroy's presentation, NASA has released a revised version of its Moon to Mars objectives that will help direct investments into technologies to achieve them. The agency began with 50 draft objectives, and after opening up the discussion to international partners, the wider industry, and the public, have ended up with 63 final goals.

The official landfall confirmation comes from the National Hurricane Center Twitter account that posted at 3:05 pm EDT that Hurricane Ian has made landfall in Florida.

Shortly after the announcement from the National Hurricane Center, which stated that the "extremely dangerous" Category 4 hurricane had made landfall near Cayo Costa, Florida, NASA switched on its live stream to showcase the event from space. Officials reported Hurricane Ian brought wind speeds of 150 mph to the area it made landfall and that over the coming days, it's expected to move over central Florida, with forecasts estimating it will emerge over the western Atlantic by late Thursday.

NASA's video stream showcased just how large-scale a major storm can be, with the incredible views being captured by the cameras and astronauts aboard the International Space Station (ISS). In the days leading up to Hurricane Ian making landfall, astronauts aboard the ISS snapped photos of the major storm rolling into the region as it was gaining strength just south of Cuba. Officials warned Florida residents in the days before landfall was made to evacuate as Ian will cause rain, flooding, and destruction.

Reports surfaced on September 27 that a key gas pipeline between Russia and Germany had sprung a leak resulting in methane gas spilling into the Baltic Sea.

The two pipelines in question are called Nord Stream 1, and Nord Stream 2, and both run underwater in the Baltic Sea, providing gas to Germany from Russia. Sweden and Denmark have reported that a new major leak has been found, bringing the total number of identified leaks to four as of September 29. European leaders have accused Russia of sabotaging its own gas pipeline in an attempt to use gas resources as a weapon against the West.

BBC reports that European leaders have come together to agree that if any deliberate attack was discovered on either of the gas pipelines, it would be met with the "strongest possible response". San Francisco company Planet operates approximately two-hundred Dove satellites, which are small shoebox-sized Earth-facing satellites used to capture images of the Earth's surface. One of the Dove satellites captured the above image showcasing methane gas spilling into the Baltic Sea from the breached pipelines.