Latest News - Page 1108

Guerrilla Games is developing a new update that adds new higher-end optimizations to its new next-gen Horizon game.

Horizon Forbidden West will soon run better than ever on PlayStation 5. The devs plan to release a new patch for Horizon Forbidden West that adds Variable Refresh Rate (VRR) support for the game on PS5, which will allow more consistent and smooth frame rates on compatible TVs and monitors. VRR greatly improves sync rates between the console's output and a display's refresh rate. There's also a mysterious 40FPS mode coming soon.

"We've revamped Temporal Anti-Aliasing to improve the visual fidelity of our Performance mode on PS5 and rendering on PS4 Pro. We're already working on an upcoming patch which will include VRR support and a 40FPS Mode, so stay tuned for more," Guerrilla Games wrote on the PlayStation Blog.

Modders and emulation tinkerers are breathing new life into Nintendo 64 classics using higher-end modern technology.

Dedicated modders and coders are adding nifty effects like 60FPS+ frame rates, ray tracing, and HD textures to old-school N64 games. The latest development comes from software developer DarioSamo, who added high-end optimizations like ray-traced lighting effects, motion blur, widescreen, and DLSS support to a handful of N64 titles like Zelda: Ocarina of Time, Paper Mario, and Kirby 64 The Crystal Shards.

Dario used RT64, a path tracer behind sm64rt, to add these effects. The tool is slowly evolving into an actual emulator plugin.

ASUS teased its ROG Strix SQ7 SSD but now we have more specifications on the first ROG Strix SSD.

The new ASUS ROG Strix SQ7 comes in 1TB, rocking the Phison E18 SSD controller, Micron's 176-layer TLC flash, DDR4 cache, and reads of up to 7GB/sec (7000MB/sec) and writes of up to 6GB/sec (6000MB/sec). This brings it in line with other high-end SSDs based on the Phison E18 controller.

ASUS says that its new ROG Strix SQ7 SSD will work inside of the PlayStation 5 console, with ASUS explaining: "The ROG Strix SQ7 internal M.2 PCIe Gen 4 x4 NVMe SSD redefines speed with DRAM buffering and a large SLC cache for up to 7000 MB/s data transfers. Built for superior security and accelerated gaming, the Strix SQ7 offers comprehensive hardware encryption and software solutions as well as extensive compatibility with both PCs and PlayStation 5. Level up your gaming experiences with faster loading times".

AYANEO has just unveiled yet another portable gaming console that'll find its way into your hands, with the introduction of the AYANEO 2 Geek handheld. Check it out:

The new AYANEO 2 Geek handheld comes in two variants: the first packs an AMD Ryzen 5 6600U + 512GB of storage for $699, while the higher-end variant packs an AMD Ryzen 7 6800U + 512GB of storage for $799. There's a 7-inch 1200 x 800 resolution display, 512GB + 1TB storage options + 16GB of RAM, 3 x USB 4 Type-C ports, fingerprint readers, and even built-in joysticks.

You'll have support for both AYANEO's in-house AYA Neo OS, as well as Windows 11 for operating system choices. As for when it'll be in your hands, if you're in China then it's up for pre-order now, but there'll be more details on pre-ordering outside of China next week.

If you've been waiting for the first game ever made that took playing a cat seriously, you don't have much longer to wait -- Stray is nearly here.

Stray is being made by developer BlueTwelve Studio, and had its release date unveiled at Sony's recent State of Play event: July 19. Stray will debut on the PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, and PC on July 19... but it'll also be available to PlayStation Plus Extra and Premium members on the same day.

How did Stray come to be? It all started 7 years ago now that was called "HK Project" internally between BlueTwelve Studio co-founders Koola and Viv. The team explained on the official PlayStation Blog: "It really is amazing to see that it is now an actual full-fledged game and will be experienced and hopefully enjoyed by so many players all across the world very soon. We have developed and learned so much along the way. Of all the unexpected challenges and discoveries we found, creating an interactive cat was definitely the most tricky one!"

Final Fantasy XVI's development team is being led by some interesting talent, including Devil May Cry 5's combat designer.

Square Enix's latest Final Fantasy game may end up being one of the best in the series. It's already a true next-gen spectacle on PlayStation 5 with amazing graphics, visuals, and effects, but judging by the developers involved with the project, the actual gameplay could be just as impressive.

The all-star team is pretty eye-catching. Final Fantasy XVI's combat is being led by Ryota Suzuki, who worked on Devil May Cry 5, Dragon's Dogma, and even Marvel vs Capcom 2--this bodes extremely well for the chaotic hack-and-slash action shown in the recent trailer. What's also interesting is how FF16 is being directed by Hiroshi Takai, who worked on Final Fantasy V, a game with a lot of job-switching. Hopefully this is reflected in this modern game, too.

Thanks to PlayStation 5's graphical power, Final Fantasy XVI is the best-looking game in the series and should deliver a true next-gen moment.

Final Fantasy XVI's latest screenshots and trailer underline one major point: Devs are doing incredible things on the PS5. Yesterday Square Enix announced Final Fantasy XVI would release in Summer 2023 on PlayStation 5 and showcased one of the most amazing game trailers of our era. So far it looks like Final Fantasy XVI is one of the most visually impressive games coming to the system and should help usher in the true era of next-gen PS5 spectacles.

The new batch of in-game screenshots released for Final Fantasy XVI reveal a stunning look at what's to come. The entire wave of screens is eye-opening and illustrates the power of the PS5; from open-world mesas and shadowy swamps to haunted magically-infused interiors, Square Enix's dev team is flexing the full might of the PS5's Zen 2 CPU and Navi 2.0 GPU.

Sony's next-gen PlayStation 5 has achieved 20 million shipments to date, but is still far behind the PS4 in terms of launch-aligned sales.

The PS5 is off to a great start. From launch in Q3 2020 to the present day in Q1 2022, Sony has sold-in (or shipped) 20 million consoles. Before this announcement, PS5 sales were at 19.3 million as of March 31, 2022. A quick bit of math shows that Sony sold about 700,000 PS5s during the Q1 period so far, which is from April - June 30, 2022.

Historically, the PS4 is still beating the PS5 with 25 million shipments in the same comparable timeframe. Sony is currently preparing the largest console shipment in PlayStation history and wants to sell an incredible 18 million consoles this fiscal year. The lack of Q1 shipments indicates that the big PS5 salvo is probably coming during the Q3 holiday period. Sony corporate says the massive console shipment is coming in 2022.

The relationship between the EU and Taiwan just got a little warmer, with Taiwan saying it will continue to be a trusted partner for the global chip industry, and help stabilize the global supply chain.

The news is coming from Taiwan Economy Minister Wang Mei-hua, who spoke with a senior European Union official are "rare high-level talks" on Thursday, according to Reuters, that Taipei described as a "big breakthrough". The difference between other meetings and now is that the Taiwan-EU meetings have shifted from the deputy level -- at previous meetings -- to a ministerial level, the ministry calling this a "major breakthrough in Taiwan-EU relations".

This is a continued push from the EU, which kicked off its "European Chips Act" in February 2022 -- at the time mentioning TSMC and other semiconductor companies -- with Taiwan being one of the "like-minded partners" that Europe wants to work with.

NASA's Perseverance Mars rover spotted a dust devil swirling across the surface of the Jezero Crater on July 20th, 2021.

On this date, the rover was on the 148th Martian day, or sol, of its mission. It took photos of the dust devil using its Navigation Camera, about 15 seconds apart, to produce this animation. According to NASA, the GIF has been enhanced to "show maximal detail," at the expense of some of the colors being distorted.

The Navigation Cameras, or Navcams, are the eyes of the rover, and primarily aid in autonomous navigation. They are mounted on the rover's mast, separated by about 16.5 inches (42 centimeters). They comprise two of nine engineering cameras, which along with seven science cameras, and seven entry, descent and landing cameras, make up the 23 total cameras onboard the Perseverance rover.

The results of the data transmission experiment were presented at the International Conference on Laser and Electro-Optics (CLEO) 2022 on May 19th, 2022.

Researchers from the National Institute of Information and Communications Technology (NICT) managed to transmit 1.02 petabits of data per second using multi-core fiber (MCF) with a standard cladding diameter of 0.125 millimeters. The NICT broke the one petabit per second data transmission rate first in December 2020 but did so with a 15-mode optical fiber.

Such a transmission system requires complex MIMO (multiple-input and multiple-output) digital signal processing to make sense of the signals and limits its practical applications. The latest transmission system uses 4-core MCF and can transmit 1.02 petabit per second over 51.7 kilometers (32.1 miles), compared to the 610 terabits per second previously achieved in a similar fiber.

Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn will all be visible in the sky to the naked eye throughout June.

Two or three planets often appear close together in the sky in what's known as a conjunction. However, four is less common, and even less so is the appearance of five simultaneously. Notably, the five planets will also be arranged in the sky in order of their distance from the Sun. All five planets were last visible together in sequence in December 2004.

Binoculars are recommended to see Mercury at the beginning of the month as it will be hard to spot. However, as the month goes on, Mercury will climb higher in the sky and appear brighter. Sky & Telescope magazine says to take particular note of the mornings of June 3rd and 4th, where the planets will span only 91° of separation, and June 24th, when the Moon will be positioned neatly between Venus and Mars, and the planets will span 107° of separation.

Mercedes Kilmer, the daughter of Val Kilmer, revealed in a recent interview how artificial intelligence (AI) was used to help Kilmer star in Top Gun: Maverick.

Mercedes said the production worked with Sonantic, a London-based AI firm, to recreate Kilmer's voice by developing a custom AI voice model. Kilmer, unfortunately, lost the ability to speak easily following a tracheotomy in 2014 during treatment for his throat cancer. A blog post from Sonantic reveals details of how the company was able to create the new voice model, allowing Kilmer to embody his role in the new movie fully.

Sonantic fed its proprietary Voice Engine audio recordings, paired with transcriptions, of Kilmer's voice, from which background noise was carefully removed. The Voice Engine could then begin training an AI model, using ten times less data than they typically use.

3DBio Therapeutics has created a first-of-its-kind 3D-bioprinted ear using a patient's cells.

Surgery was performed to transplant the 3D bioimplant as part of an early-stage clinical trial to evaluate the safety and effectiveness of the procedure. The treatment has the potential to help patients with microtia, a congenital ear deformity where the external ear doesn't properly develop. It is hoped that this technology may one day replace the current treatment, which grafts cartilage from a patient's ribs or uses synthetic material to reconstruct the outer ear.

PlayStation console exclusives Spider-Man and Spider-Man Miles Morales are coming to PC in 2022, Sony today announced.

Insomniac's beloved Spider-Man duology is slinging across platforms to land on PC later this year. Marvel's Spider-Man will launch on Steam on August 12, 2022 whereas Spider-Man Miles Morales is coming Fall 2022. Both games will be optimized for PC with upgrades and new features like raytraced reflections, mouse and keyboard controls, a multitude of graphics and rendering settings, and more.

The newly-acquired Nixxes is working with Insomniac to bring both games to PC complete with all the content available on PlayStation consoles--suits, post-release DLC, updates, the works. Nixxes founder Jurjen Katsman says the games will deliver the "best possible PC experience that takes advantage of all the exciting possibilities the PC platform has to offer."

Tesla had a huge AI Day last year, unveiling a human being dressed in a robot costume -- but then said the company is working on a prototype Tesla Bot -- a humanoid robot for the future.

The last Tesla AI Day was on August 19, 2021 but now SpaceX and Tesla CEO Elon Musk has tweeted that the upcoming AI Day has been delayed, and will take place on September 30 instead. But in bigger news, Musk continue the tweet teasing that "we may have an Optimus prototype working by then". He replied to another tweet, saying that Tesla AI Day #2 will be "epic".

Elon has been hyping up the Optimus humanoid robot, saying that the Tesla Bot would debut in 2023 and would eventually be "worth more than the car business"... you know, that little car company Elon runs on the side: Tesla Motors.

EVGA's new monster GeForce RTX 3090 Ti KINGPIN graphics card has broken a bunch of world records, with the card being pushed by South Korean overclocker Biso Biso.

The new EVGA GeForce RTX 3090 Ti KINGPIN graphics card was chilled with LN2 cooling, with overclocker Biso Biso using an EVGA Z690 KINGPIN DARK motherboard and Intel Core i9-12900K processor at up to 5.4GHz in an 8+2 configuration. G.SKILL Trident Z5 memory was used, with DDR5-6400 speeds (CL32) in a very extreme custom-loop setup.

Diving right into the GPU goodness: Biso Biso overclocked the EVGA GeForce RTX 3090 Ti KINGPIN to 2925MHz, very close to the 3GHz mark. LN2 cooling had the GA102 GPU at -40C, with the 24GB of GDDR6X memory overclocked to 24Gbps -- nothing surprising there, I had already achieved that on my MSI GeForce RTX 3090 Ti SUPRIM X in an article about that here.

AGON by AOC has just unveiled their latest flagship gaming monitor, with the new AGON PRO AG274QS gaming monitor: with a huge 300Hz refresh rate.

The new AGON PRO AG274QS gaming monitor has a native 2560 x 1440 resolution, with a huge 300Hz refresh rate and 1ms GtG response time. AOC is using a Fast IPS panel here, so it's not a VA panel -- joined with DisplayHDR 600 and a 1ms GtG response time.

AOC is also including Adaptive-Sync technology and AMD FreeSync Premium support, so even the twitchiest gamers will have no problems on this panel. There's some great connectivity here as well, with 4 x USB 3.2 ports, so you can hook as much of your peripherals into the AOC AGON PRO AG274QS gaming monitor.

Intel's new 13th Gen Core "Meteor Lake" CPUs will debut later this year, but have been spotted again... this time, next to an Intel Arc desktop GPU.

The CPU that was tested was discovered by TUM_APISAK with its increased 24 cores and 32 threads of Raptor Lake CPU power, with 32GB of DDR5-4800 memory, and an unreleased Arc Alchemist a770 desktop GPU. You'll notice that the Intel Arc a770 GPU only has 1GB of VRAM, but it's a GPU that doesn't exist right now, so it's not being detected correctly.

Intel's new 13th Gen Core "Raptor Lake" CPU with its 24C/32T of processing power was spotted in engineering sample (ES) form with a 2.4GHz base clock, and 4.6GHz boost clock. We should expect more concrete details on frequency in the coming days and weeks, with Intel's current-gen 12th Gen Core "Alder Lake" CPUs seeing much higher (5GHz+) frequencies, and AMD's upcoming Zen 4-powered Ryzen 7000 series CPUs are going to be pushing past 5.5GHz+ without an issue when they debut later this year.

MSI has just unveiled its "ultimate desktop replacement" with the Titan GT77 gaming laptop, which packs some serious hardware that you can throw into your backpack and have on-the-go.

The new MSI Titan GT77 laptop packs the latest 16-core Intel HX series processor, up to 128GB of DDR5-4800 memory, up to 32TB of super-fast NVMe M.2 SSD storage, and NVIDIA's new flagship GeForce RTX 3080 Ti Laptop GPU with 16GB of GDDR6 memory.

Oh, and we can't forget the high-end 17.3-inch 4K 120Hz IPS display, which will surely look gorgeous in front of you. Not just for gaming, but for content creation, and work -- native 4K resolution, 120Hz refresh rate -- and an IPS panel. It's not OLED, unfortunately.