Latest News - Page 1342

Techland confirms Dying Light 2 will support variable refresh rates on Xbox Series X/S consoles and PC, but not on PlayStation 5 due to the system's lack of VRR support.

Dying Light 2 is on the horizon, and Techland re-confirms smooth frame rates on next-gen consoles. The studio now says the game can hit up to 120FPS on variable refresh rate monitors and TVs and even supports ray tracing with dynamic resolution scaling.

"We are developing several options for new generations," Techland Lead Level Designer, Piotr Pawlaczyk tells MP1st. The dev confirms Dying Light 2 will have a Quality and Performance Mode on Xbox Series X hardware that enables RT as well as 60FPS gameplay via VRR.

Halo Infinite may be getting a battle royale mode after all, and it could be somehow linked to the game's campaign mode.

According to new reports from Battlefield informant Tom Henderson, Halo Infinite's new BR mode is connected to the campaign story arc. Exact information is sparse, but sources haven't clarified to Henderson whether or not the battle royale mode has been scrapped. This hybrid approach follows games like Apex Legends and the new Battlefield 2042 that will tell a story with their respective online live services.

Dataminers found sound clips for battle royale in the Halo Infinite preview source code, despite 343i saying in 2019 and later in 2020 that the game wouldn't have a BR mode.

Researchers have located a very strange structure in the outer regions of our Milky Way galaxy, according to a recent study.

The study has been accepted for publication in The Astrophysical Journal Letters and details what is called Cattail, a filament of gas that "appears to be so far the furthest and largest giant filament in the galaxy," said the team of astronomers at Nanjing University. Astronomers are yet to find out the origin of this large filament of gas, but speculation points towards it being a section of a spiral arm that has gone unnoticed until now.

The astronomers said, "Alternatively, Cattail might be part of a new arm ... though it is puzzling that the structure does not fully follow the warp of the galactic disk." The team of astronomers behind the paper used the Five-hundred-meter Aperture Spherical radio Telescope (FAST) to search for clouds containing neutral atomic hydrogen. By observing the extremely subtle patterns of hydrogen light, the astronomers are able to map the position of the Milky Way's spiral arms.

Australia was once home to what is now known as the largest known flying reptile, according to a new study.

Researchers from the University of Queensland, Australia, have published a new study detailing a newly discovered species of pterosaur that is described as a "fearsome dragon" that once took to the skies in the Australian outback. Tim Richards, a Ph.D. candidate that led the study said that the new pterosaur is named Thapunngaka shawi and is "the closest thing we have to a real life dragon."

The researchers explained that the new pterosaur is the largest known flying reptile and that it would have been a "fearsome beast, with a spear-like mouth and a wingspan around seven meters", says Richards. Additionally, Richards said that the skull of the new species would have had more than 40 teeth in it, which would have been perfect for it swooping down to catch fish located in inland seas. It's believed Thapunngaka shawi populated the Earth as late as 66 million years ago and as early as 228 million years ago.

A new study published in the November 2021 issue of the journal Icarus has changed the way we think about the asteroid that wiped out the dinosaurs.

The asteroid that wiped out the dinosaurs caused the 90-mile-wide Chicxulub crater located in Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula. The size of the asteroid that caused that crater is estimated to be around 6 miles in diameter, but its origin has been something of debate for quite some time. Now, in the newly published study, researchers used computer models over hundreds of millions of years to find the origin, and according to the researchers, the dinosaur-killing asteroid came from the solar system's outer asteroid belt located between Mars and Jupiter.

The computer models revealed to the researchers that an asteroid from the outer asteroid belt is expected to collide with Earth once every 250 million years and that this calculation lined up with the dinosaur-killing asteroid impacting Earth 66 million years ago. Additionally, the researchers found that a meteor colliding with Earth once every 250 million years is five times more common than researchers previously thought.

Researchers believe that they have found the location of the asteroid that wiped out the dinosaurs 66 million years ago.

The asteroid that resulted in the catastrophic event 66 million years ago is estimated to be 6 miles wide, and now researchers believe that it came from the dark region outside of our solar system. The asteroid caused a 90-mile-wide in Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula called the Chicxulub crater, and now according to a new study, the origin of that asteroid has been traced back using computer model simulations over millions of years.

Researchers simulated an asteroid being flung from the outer region of our solar system's main asteroid belt and found that an asteroid would collide with Earth once every 250 million years. Researchers found that this calculation lined up with the asteroid that caused the Chicxulub crater just 66 million years ago and that the computer model showed that half of the meteors located in the solar system's outer asteroid belt located between Mars and Jupiter are dark carbonaceous chondrites - a primitive type of meteor that researchers believe was the type that killed off the dinosaurs.

NASA is currently accepting applications from people who want to assist the space agency in simulating a Mars mission.

According to a new post on the NASA website, the space agency is currently seeking applications for the first one-year long analog mission that will simulate life on Mars. NASA will be conducting three one-year Mars surface simulations at NASA's Johnson Space Center, and each of the missions will consist of four crew members that will be living and working within a 1,700-square-foot 3D-printed module named the Mars Dune Alpha.

This large 3D printed model by ICON will simulate the environment on Mars, and come with all of the limitations NASA expects astronauts to face when they are actually colonizing the Red Planet. The missions will range objectives, but applicants are expected to undertake "simulated spacewalks, scientific research, use of virtual reality and robotic controls, and exchanging communications", according to NASA.

Next month, NASA is expected to launch the telescope that is poised to replace the famous Hubble Space Telescope.

The new telescope is dubbed the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), and due to its upgraded hardware, the telescope is expected to usher in a slew of new cosmic discoveries. The New Yorker described the JWST as a "potentially revolutionary instrument" as it will be able to see further into space than any other space telescope currently available, allowing astronomers to peer further back in time than ever before.

While being able to see the infancy of the universe has its own uses, it may not be the most exciting aspect of the telescope. David Helfland, an astronomer at Columbia University, spoke to The New Yorker and said that the JWST will be able to see "very far away" and "very close", and the latter of the two "in some ways may be the most exciting" because "it's about looking at planets that are not too different from Earth."

Kirsten Banks, an Australian astrophysicist that graduated from the University of New South Wales, has shown off what is renowned as the least spherical star studied to date.

In a recent video posted to Banks' TikTok account, the Australian astrophysicist replied to a question from a fan who asked, "Show us the most irregular star shape!". Banks goes on to highlight the star Achernar, the primary star of the binary system designated Alpha Eridani and is the 9th brightest star in the night sky. View video here.

Achernar is the least spherical star researchers have studied to date, and that is because of how fast it spins. Banks explains that the strange shape of the star is a result of its spinning 155 miles every second, causing its equatorial diameter to be 56% greater than its polar diameter. This extreme rotate speed has forced the star into an oblate shape and has caused it to be described as a "cosmic football". For more quick astronomy facts, check out Banks' TikTok account here.

A new video on the Guinness World Records TikTok account has shown off Donald Gorske, the world record holder for most Big Macs eaten in a lifetime.

The Guinness World Record TikTok account has amassed more than 14 million followers since it first started posting back in 2019, and one of the more viral videos on the account is about Donald Gorske, a nearly 50-year-old who has eaten a shocking 32,340 Big Macs in his lifetime. Gorske explains that he currently eats two Big Macs a day and will probably continue to for the rest of his life. Video here.

The Guinness World Record TikTok commented on the video and said that the Don has said that "he still has a great blood sugar level, an exceptionally good cholesterol, and walks about six miles per day to maintain his health". The price of Big Macs has gone up over the years, but considering how many Big Macs Gorske has eaten, the price increases, and added drinks, it's most likely safe to assume that he has spent over his lifetime tens if not one hundred thousand dollars on his favorite meal.

A new brand of graphics card has appeared out of nowhere in China, with Chiphell members teasing Vastarmor's new Radeon RX 6600 XT graphics card.

The same Chiphell forum members did their internet detective work, with Vastarmor having the trademark which was traced back to Pengyu (Shanghai) Digital Technology Co., Ltd. VideoCardz reports that this graphics card was "allegedly manufactured by the XFX factory. It is not, however, an XFX spinoff or a new subbrand".

To me, it looks far more like a custom ASRock Radeon RX 6000 series graphics card, but there are also a few different models with slightly different styles -- I've got some pictures of the second card below. The one above does look pretty good for a plain-looking card.

It looks like Valve's new Steam Deck might actually support Microsoft's next-generation operating system, with Windows 11 support teased for the Steam Deck.

One of the biggest hurdles of Windows 11 running on Valve's new Steam Deck is going to be TPM, or the Trusted Platform Module. You can read more on that here, but the news here is that the hardware inside: an AMD Van Gogh APU + RDNA 2 GPU -- can handle TPM, and thus Windows 11 on Steam Deck.

Greg Coomer, Valve Steam Deck designer explains: "There's work looking at TPM just now. We've focused so much on Windows 10, so far, that we haven't really gotten that far into it. Our expectation is that we can meet that".

I still remember pumping countless hours into Duke Nukem 3D back in the 1990s but man, what a mess Duke Nukem Forever turned into... but did you ever hear about Duke Nukem Begins?

Rewinding the clock back to 2008, director Gregor Punchatz was working for Janimation in Dallas, Texas when they were tasked by Gearbox Software to make a tease for Duke Nukem Begins. Duke Nukem Begins would've acted as a back story for Duke, which looks pretty damn cool.

Gregor Punchatz explained: "In 2008, when I was working for the good folks at Janimation in Dallas Tx, we were hired by Gearbox to create a vertical slice (an animated version of what the game will look like) for the game "Duke Nukem Begins", a Duke origin story".

It's official: Sony now owns the Crunchyroll anime streaming service.

Today Sony announced that it has finalized its acquisition of popular streaming service Crunchyroll. Sony paid AT&T nearly $1.2 billion for the service. The buyout is the second salvo in Sony's push for anime dominance following the initial buyout of Funimation in 2017 for $143 million. Crunchyroll will be nestled under Sony's Funimation label, which is handled by Sony Pictures Entertainment and subsidiary Aniplex.

Crunchyroll has seen strong growth in the last six months since the buyout was announced. The service's overall registered users grew by 30 million people to 120 million, and paying subscribers have grown from 3 million to 5 million.

No Man's Sky is now five years old and Hello Games is still planning more free updates.

No Man's Sky has changed a lot in the last five years. This evolution is one of the games industry's most notorious comeback stories. At launch in 2016, No Man's Sky was underwhelming and kicked off lots of controversy for Hello Games due to missing features and unsupported claims. The team has redeemed themselves with a multitude of free content that's radically transformed the game.

After 16 content updates, No Man's Sky now has everything: multiplayer, base-building, mechs, exotic creatures that you can ride, huge freighters, and even fully-fledged VR on PS4 and PC. Even after five years of content, the team is still planning new ways to build out their sci-fantasy adventure. The next update is Frontiers, which is dropping sometime in 2021. Hello Games says they still have a lot of ideas they want to try in No Man's Sky:

Today Microsoft outlined its plans for a digital stream during Gamescom on August 24, confirming big updates from some of 2021's most anticipated games.

The Xbox Gamescom showcase will kick off with a pre-show on August 24 at 1PM EST, followed by the premiere show at the Opening Night Live celebration on August 25 at 1PM EST. Like E3 2021, the Xbox Gamescom event will be a 100% digital stream focused on the "latest updates and gameplay for some of the biggest games coming soon to Xbox." Bethesda is also hosting a MainStream event on Twitch starting August 26.

For Xbox, it doesn't get any bigger than Halo Infinite. Xbox's Phil Spencer says Infinite's release date hasn't been revealed because it depends on other games. The holiday 2021 period is stacked with huge FPS games like Battlefield 2042 in October, Call of Duty Vanguard (which has yet to be revealed) likely in November, and Halo Infinite, which should also release in November to help celebrate 20 years of the Halo franchise.

Hellblade Senua's Sacrifice gets a free next-gen patch that pushes the Xbox Series S and X consoles to their limits.

Ninja Theory just released a hugely ambitious new patch for Hellblade that supercharges performance and visuals. The game now has three modes, including a 4K 30FPS mode with ray DirectX 12 raytracing turned on and even an 120FPS option.

The modes use a combination of dynamic resolution scaling in order to achieve 60FPS and 120FPS gameplay, as well as 4K 30FPS RT. The optimizations add in higher texture resolution, increased light particle quality and environmental draw distances, and overall boosted levels of detail (LOD).

PlayStation Germany apparently confirms Grand Theft Auto V's next-gen version will hit 4K 60FPS on PlayStation 5.

A new PS Blog post says GTA V can run at 4K 60FPS on PS5. "You have never seen the criminal metropolis Los Santos so beautiful when the skyline shines thanks to a bold graphic update in crisp 4K resolution and you make the city extremely smooth and unsafe thanks to a smooth 60 FPS," the blog post reads.

Officially, Rockstar hasn't said much about GTA V's optimizations. The studio hasn't given out performance targets or confirmed other details like ray tracing, etc. The exact wording has just mentioned a "range of technical improvements, visual upgrades and performance enhancements," and both Take-Two and Rockstar promise GTA V's next-gen version will "take full advantage" of PS5 hardware.

Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk is known for how active he is on his Twitter account, and in-between his posts about Tesla and SpaceX he can be quite the humorous troll.

At the end of last month, space enthusiast Rebecca thanked Musk for him supposedly following her on Twitter, saying that she's "delighted and honored" to receive a follow. Musk replied back to Rebecca with a very short and humorous message, saying, "Sorry, accidental tap", referring to how he must of "accidentally" followed Rebecca.

In some follow-up Tweets, fans of Musk said that it must have been his child named X who followed Rebecca, and Musk replied by saying, "He does like to play with my phone. There are many confusing videos he has taken." In other news about Elon Musk, SpaceX recently broke the world record for the tallest rocket ever constructed, more on that story here.

Using NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory and Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory, astronomers have detected incredibly large rings around a black hole.

Astronomers observed the black hole which is part of the binary system dubbed V404 Cygni that's located around 7,800 light-years from Earth. What the astronomers discovered was that the black hole was drawing material away from its local star, and using Swift Observatory, astronomers discovered a burst of X-rays from V404 Cygni back in 2015.

This burst from the black hole created high-energy rings from a phenomenon known as light echoes, which is when a burst of X-rays bounce off dust clouds between V404 Cygni and Earth. Below is an image that shows the X-rays in light blue overlayed on optical data (stars seen in the image) acquired by the Pan-STARRS telescope in Hawaii. The team of researchers looked at observations made by Swift in 2015, and found that they the distance between each of the intervening dust cloud could be measured with the diameter of each ring.