Latest News - Page 1383

The time has come, and Microsoft has finally revealed the release date for its highly anticipated Age of Empires IV.

The Microsoft and Bethesda joint E3 broadcast featured many exciting titles, but one that stood out from the rest was Age of Empires IV. The series is beloved by many real-time strategy gamers, and a sequel to Age of Empires III has been highly anticipated for many years now. Microsoft debuted a brand new gameplay trailer that can be seen above, and according to the video's description, Age of Empires IV will be coming will all the bells and whistles gamers have been hoping for.

Microsoft states that Age of Empires IV will come with 4K support, 8 diverse civilizations, 4 distinct campaigns with 35 missions, tools to create custom games, 8-player multiplayer modes, tutorial mode, and a story mode. Microsoft will be releasing Age of Empires IV on October 28th on Windows PC, and it will be included in the GamePass subscription service. Preorders are also available now. Below you will find a quick synopsis of the game by Microsoft.

China is moving towards creating unlimited clean energy by designing and building an artificial Sun here on Earth.

A team of researchers at the Experimental Advanced Superconducting Tokamak (EAST) have said via Chinese state media that a new world record has been set for nuclear fusion temperature and how long that temperature was held. Reports indicate that the new world record, set by EAST, is 120 million degrees Celcius and was held for 101 seconds. For reference, the Sun is approximately 150 million degrees Celcius and will burn for billions of years.

So, why are researchers trying to create a Sun here on Earth? If researchers can manage to replicate a Sun here on Earth, they will be able to harness the energy that it produces and thus be able to provide cities with endless clean energy. Essentially, if researchers can provide enough pressure to the reaction to keep it going indefinitely, they would have considerably assisted the world's fossil fuel problem, which is a limited resource.

The price of Bitcoin has been suffering as of late, but now a rebound is seemingly occurring, according to some projections.

May was a dark month for the world of cryptocurrency as many, if not all coins, plunged in value after Bitcoin saw a considerable correction in price. Now, reports are indicating that the dip in price has come to an end as researchers are pointing towards spent output profit ratio (SOPR) and stock-to-flow deviation as evidence.

PlanB, the creator of stock-flow-deviation, has said it would be a "surprise" if Bitcoin didn't recorrect to the stock-flow-deviation line. Here's what was stated, "So we may well see price make its way back up to the stock to flow line in the coming months. This would mean new all-time highs for $BTC before the end of this year, as the Stock to Flow line is currently sitting at $85,000." If you are interested in reading more about this story, check out this link here.

Someone has bid a whopping $28 million for a seat next to Jeff Bezos on the first Blue Origin space tourist flight.

Blue Origin is founded by Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos, and recently held an auction for a seat on the first commercial trip to space. The auction was held on June 12, and an undisclosed person bid $28 million for a seat on Blue Origin's New Shepard rocket that is scheduled to take its first flight on July 20.

The auction winner will be joining Jeff Bezos on the first flight, along with Bezos' brother, Mark Bezos. So, what will the trip entail? Blue Origin will be sending the New Shepard rocket to the altitude of 62 miles above average sea level where it will then release the capsule containing the tourists. For 10 minutes the tourists will experience weightlessness before the capsule begins to safely decent back down to Earth via a parachute.

NASA has been the king of Mars images with its Perseverance rover being the main rover pulling most of the weight.

But now NASA might have a challenger on its hands, as the China National Space Administration has released new images from its recently touched down Mars rover named Zhurong. Since Zhurong touched down on the Red Planet, it has been exploring its surface, and along the way, it has been snapping some gorgeous images of the baron surface of Mars.

According to China's state media outlet Xinhua, a new collection of images has been released and within that collection is a very special image. The image is a selfie of the Zhurong rover positioned next to the lander, and what makes the image so special is that it was snapped with a wireless camera that was stationed on the surface of the planet at a distance. Xinhua states, "Zhurong also used a separable camera to take a selfie with the landing platform".

NASA is planning the construction of a new telescope that is designed to give Earth a new level of planetary defence.

NASA has said the new telescope will be called the Near-Earth Object Surveyor, or NEO Surveyor for short. The NEO Surveyor is designed to monitor near-Earth objects such as asteroids, and will relay information back to NASA about objects' position, trajectory, etc. The NEO Surveyor will track objects that are within 30 million miles of Earth, and so far, researchers believe there are 25,000 near-Earth-objects within that vicinity.

Amy Mainzer of the University of Arizona said, "We think there are about 25,000 NEOs large enough to wipe out an area like Southern California. Once they get bigger than about 450 feet in diameter, they can cause severe regional damage. We want to find these, and as many smaller ones as possible." Near-Earth asteroids that are approaching Earth radiate heat signatures that the NEO Surveyor will be able to detect as it's equipped with heat-sensitive cameras. For more information on this story, check out this link here.

The International Space Station (ISS) is a floating laboratory home to many experiments and a small group of astronauts.

Now, the ISS has some new creatures aboard the floating lab, and they have been dubbed "space pups". The "space pups" are actually mice that were born from frozen sperm that was kept on the ISS for six weeks prior to the birth. Why were mice born on the ISS? Researchers are exploring the question if fertility in space is different from here on Earth. Gravity and radiation being the main factors that are being tested.

So far, researchers know that sperm behave differently in microgravity and that the radiation in space can be potentially harmful as well. The researchers took mice sperm, sealed it in vials, freeze-dried it, and sent it to the ISS. The mice sperm spent a considerable amount of time aboard the ISS and then was transported back to Earth, where it was then used to impregnate mice. The researchers on Earth found no abnormalities in the pups the mice on Earth gave birth to. The very same goes for the space pups that were birthed on the ISS.

Pimax revealed to its Kickstarter backers and community members that it is nearing the production of the Pimax Sword motion controllers. The company is in the last stage before final production starts.

Pimax has been working on its VR motion controllers for years now. The company first revealed plans to make Pimax-branded SteamVR-tracked motion controllers during its Kickstarter campaign in 2017. The controllers were meant to be a component of the Pimax 8K or 5K full package. And when the campaign reached $4 million in funding, Pimax said it would sell two varieties; one with a trackpad and one with a thumbstick. Kickstarter backers who opted for the full kit have since received Valve Index controller to fulfil their purchase, but the Pimax controllers are still coming.

The Pimax controllers have undergone several redesigns and iterations since the 2017 campaign. In 2019, Pimax revealed the controller's name, dubbed Sword, and showed an early rendering of what they would look like. Finally, it appears Pimax is getting ready to bring the Sword controllers to the market.

Noctua has just revealed its very first passive CPU cooler, with the introduction of the NH-P1 cooler which is good enough to tame even Intel's flagship Core i9-11900K processor.

Noctua's new NH-P1 passive cooler will work with AMD's new AM4 socket, as well as Intel's new LGA1200 and LGA115x sockets. The passive CPU cooler isn't built to handle a fully overclocked Ryzen 9 5900X or Core i9-11900K -- but if you want to run those chips and don't expect maximum boost clocks all day long, the Noctua NH-P1 is ready for just that.

For a passive PC build, you would want to put a more mid-range CPU inside, with something like a Ryzen 5 or Core i5 processor. That way you'd still get up to 6 cores and 12 threads, but passively cooled -- and most likely, a pretty decent integrated GPU so that you don't need to add in a discrete graphics card with its own dedicated cooling.

We are getting our first glimpse of Microsoft's next-gen Windows 11 operating system ahead of its official debut on June 24, thanks to some new leaked screenshots on the Chinese site Baudi.

Windows 11 Pro is what we're looking at here, with its refreshed UI that is looking very Windows 10X-ish but totally refreshed with many layers of paint for the next-gen feels in Windows 11. One of the biggest changes that you will notice is that the taskbar icons are now centered, which is already making my eyes feel wonky at the thought of readjusting to that once I have Windows 11 installed.

There's some major UI tweaks across the board with Windows 11, with the much-touted simplified version of the Start menu that has pinned apps, recent files, and let's you quickly restart or shut down your Windows 11 device. As The Verge's Tom Warren says "it's really a lot more simplified than what exists in Windows 10 today".

STALKER 2 is going to be one of the biggest games of 2022, with it definitely being "the new Crysis" with its next-gen graphics, ray tracing support, and an SSD being a requirement on the PC.

In a new post on the official Xbox website, PR Specialist at GSC Game World Zakhar Bocharov details STALKER 2 and its debut at the Xbox Games Showcase during E3 2021. Bocharov talks about everything STALKER 2, but it was one particular part that caught my attention.

Bocharov writes: "Finally, we would like to finish this update with a development status. We're progressing smoothly, including Xbox Series X|S versions as well. The aim is to deliver the product of the highest quality possible on every platform it's announced for. With fast SSD, RTX support (both Series X and S), and 4K-resolution (Series X), we're pleased to see how S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2 is shaping up to be the ultimate experience we've initially promised".

STALKER 2: Heart of Chernobyl is shaping up really beautifully so far, with the open-world shooter set in the world after the events of the nuclear disaster in Chernobyl -- but on the PC you're going to need an SSD.

The PC system requirements for STALKER 2 are now available, where at a minimum the developer wants you to have Windows 10 and 8GB of RAM. CPU wise, STALKER 2 needs at a minimum an Intel Core i5-7600K or AMD Ryzen 5 1600X processor. You will need an NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1060 6GB or AMD Radeon RX 580 8GB graphics card, and at least 150GB of free space on your SSD.

STALKER 2's recommended requirements on the PC are a little higher-end than that, with an Intel Core i7-9700K or AMD Ryzen 7 3700X processor required, and 16GB of RAM. GPU requirements are boosted up to an NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1080 Ti or GeForce RTX 2070 SUPER graphics card for Team Green, while Team Red has the AMD Radeon RX 5700 XT recommended.

If you've been patiently waiting for STALKER 2 all of these years, then you will be ready to open your wallet for the various physical releases of STALKER 2: Heart of Chernobyl.

STALKER 2 will be coming in four different physical editions, with the Standard Edition, Limited Edition, Collector's Edition, and Ultimate Edition all coming with various goodies, add ons, and even a lamp -- because GSC Game World must love lamp.

But it's the Ultimate Edition that has my attention -- where it comes with everything else that the Collector's Edition comes with... but with an "Artifact Container Lamp" and a "S.T.A.L.K.E.R. Backpack". These two items are costing nearly as much as the entire Collector's Edition... with the Collector's Edition priced at $180, and the Ultimate Edition priced at $340.

It will have been 15 years since the release of the original STALKER when STALKER 2: Heart of Chernobyl is released, with developer GSC GameWorld announcing a release date of April 28, 2022.

A brand new gameplay video was unleashed during the Xbox E3 2021 showcase, with STALKER 2 also renamed to STALKER 2: Heart of Chernobyl. The new STALKER 2 gameplay footage teased everything we need to see: the graphics, the open-world, gameplay, the guns, enemies, and more.

The graphics are mighty impressive, with some of the best lighting and shadows that I've seen in a game, and a huge upgrade to the facial animations. Even when one of the characters walks across a plank of wood at the 2:20 mark or so, the plank is loose and so it moves as he steps over it... just a really nice touch in an otherwise beautifully detailed (with amazing lighting and shadows) scene.

EA has a vision with Battlefield 2042: Always-online action that never ends. DICE shares this vision and that's why they're using AI bots to bring '24/7 Battlefield mayhem' to their new shooter.

EA has been experimenting with AI in its new SEED division for years now, and it looks like DICE is taking the tech for a spin in Battlefield 2042. DICE recently confirmed that Battlefield 2042 will feature AI bots to ensure gamers can experience full 128-player Conquest or Breakthrough battles regardless of how many players are connected. Full matches are important for engagement, and as a multiplayer-only game, Battlefield 2042's main fuel is engagement.

"So in Battlefield 2042 you can actually kick off the game and play solo with AI squad members in a whole big team with AI facing AI. That's just a great way to kind of learn the basics of the game, and then from there to gradually get into a mix of both humans and AI in PVP," DICE General Manager Oskar Gabrielson said in a recent Twitch stream.

Battlefield 2042 is by far the biggest game DICE has ever made and features 128-player maps of staggering size and scope.

Battlefield 2042 ships with 7 maps this October, and the 128-player maps in particular are absolutely staggering. In a recent Twitch stream, DICE developers gave more details about the 64v64 Conquest maps and how they're so big that a new gameplay concept had to be invented.

To keep the action explosively high and varied, DICE has introduced something it calls clusters to Battlefield 2042. The concept is simple: Each Conquest map has multiple key sectors and areas that can be captured that are strewn throughout the map. Each sector has its own focus on battle, whether it's more for infantry like a closed-off stadium, or a huge open-ended desert made specially for vehicles. Battles are concentrated in these clustered areas.

Cyberpunk 2077 will soon be re-listed on the PlayStation Store and available for purchase next week, CD Projekt says.

After six months of missed sales, Sony has finally given CD Projekt RED permission to re-list Cyberpunk 2077 on the PlayStation Store.

"In relation to Current Report no. 66/2020 of 18 December 2020, the Management Board of CD PROJEKT S.A. with a registered office in Warsaw hereby publicly discloses the decision by Sony Interactive Entertainment to reinstate the availability of the digital edition of Cyberpunk 2077 on PlayStation Store, effective on 21 June 2021,"reads a CD Projekt press release.

After two years of silence, Nintendo finally pegs a 2022 release for The Legend of Zelda Breath of the Wild 2.

Nintendo closed out its E3 2021 direct showcase by announcing a release window for Breath of the Wild 2. Gamers will once again play as Link in the new open-world sequel, which is due out on Nintendo Switch sometime in 2022.

While the sequel looks a lot like the 2017 game, BOTW2 has some big changes like expansion to the skies complete with floating castles straight out of Skyward Sword. Other changes include new powers like the reverse-rainfall water ability, which turns Link into a liquid that flings upward, allowing him to pass through solid objects like rocks. Link also has a fancy new enchanted armband and can now attach dragon heads to his shield that blast flames at enemies

Todd Howard recently described Starfield as 'Skyrim in space,' but a recent trailer is giving more Fallout vibes.

A new Starfield video inadvertently reveals some interesting info. One segment clearly shows Bethesda's Emil Pagliarulo writing a fictional communique from a fleet admiral in Starfield. Bethesda clearly knew we'd be looking and found an indirect way to reveal new info.

The message confirms a bunch of things. First, space pirates are in the game, and they're called the Crimson Fleet. These guys are so bad they're to be killed on sight. And yes, these spare pirates fly skull-and-crossbones flags from their spaceships.

Lots of BioWare's key talent have left the studio, including ex-general manager Casey Hudson, who left in December 2020. Now BioWare has found someone to fill Hudson's shoes.

BioWare just announced that interim GM Gary McKay is now serving full-time as the new general manager of the studio. McKay had previously served one year as BioWare's senior director of development operations. Now the 20-year industry veteran is GM and VP or BioWare's Edmonton and Austin branches.

In a recent blog post, McKay says he's strongly focused on winning gamers over again. "This studio is unique in that it has an incredible history of building critically successful games and universes that are truly beloved by so many fans. For me, success is all about rebuilding that reputation, and delivering on that promise of quality."