Latest News - Page 1774

NVIDIA has just released its new GeForce 441.20 WHQL drivers, which provide Game Ready support for Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order -- as well as an SLI profile for the game which is interesting to see in the tail end of 2019.

Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order isn't the only one to get Game Ready goodness, with "optimal support" also included by NVIDIA for the new VR game Stormland. In addition to Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order and Stormland optimizations, NVIDIA also includes more G-SYNC compatible monitor support with the new GeForce 441.20 drivers.

The new drivers add support for a few more monitors that boosts NVIDIA's collection of G-SYNC compatible displays to 60, with the Acer XB273U, Acer XV273U, and ASUS VG259Q monitors now supported with GeForce 441.20 drivers. You can get NVIDIA's new GeForce 441.20 drivers here.

Crytek teased one of the best-looking tech demos ever with Neon Noir unleashed at the Game Developers Conference 2019 earlier this year, but now you and I can download and run it -- is this the new Crysis?

CRYENGINE 5.7 is the latest build of the engine that the team has injected DirectX 12 and Vulkan API support into, something that is explained and detailed in Crytek's "Making of" the Neon Noir demo in a new CRYENGINE developer diary video.

As for Neon Noir, it is a project for Crytek's hardware and API agnostic ray tracing technologies in CRYENGINE, now in benchmark form. Crytek explains that their mesh-based ray tracing in CRYENGINE 5.7 and Neon Noir uses their SVOGI technology, which will ship in CRYENGINE in 2020. You can download the Neon Noir Ray Tracing Benchmark right here.

We've already had a good look at what Sony's next-gen PlayStation 5 will look like in 3D renders from LetsGoDigital, but now German retailer MediaMarkt Saturn is getting into the render fun with their own take on the PS5. Check it out:

The new design would see Sony using a square console with rounded edges, and something I really dig -- a status light that runs around the entire of the PlayStation 5. It looks pretty slick, but the "TURN ON" button seems so out of place -- a simple "ON" button would suffice.

The bigger change here with the new take on the PS5 from MediaMarkt Saturn is the radically re-designed DualShock 5 controller. In these renders, it would see the new PS5-bound controller featuring a smaller version (that is virtually identical) to the UI of the console. I actually like the idea of this as well, but Sony would have to do it right.

Intel is providing more details for its upcoming Xe GPU and discrete graphics card, with their first 7nm Xe GPU codenamed Ponte Vecchio -- which is an old stone bridge in Florence, Italy.

But if you were expecting this to be Intel's first foray into gaming graphics cards, you're going to be disappointed -- Ponte Vecchio is the first Xe GPU for exascale computing. Intel will be unveiling more details on Project Aurora on November 17, which will feature Sapphire Rapids Xeon CPUs, Ponte Vecchio GPUs and Intel's new initiative called oneAPI.

Intel's new Ponte Vecchio GPU will use Foveros packaging technology and CLX interconnection, as well as ultra-high cache and high bandwidth memory. Intel's new codename Ponte Vecchio will also feature high double-precision FP throughput. This isn't a gaming card once again, and an exscale computing product.

SAPPHIRE is preparing another custom Navi graphics card with a new member to soon join the Radeon RX 5700 XT family of graphics cards from the company in the form of the NITRO+ RX 5700 XT Special Edition.

Just how special is the new NITRO+ RX 5700 XT Special Edition from SAPPHIRE to differentiate itself from the regular NITRO+ RX 5700 XT that I reviewed here? Well, SAPPHIRE will be offering the ARGB fans pre-installed, versus them being an optional purchase -- with SAPPHIRE including 2 x 95x15mm fans and 1 x 87x13.5mm fan.

These fans are translucent and look pretty slick, with addressable RGB lighting to boot -- but it's not just looks that SAPPHIRE is providing with its new NITRO+ RX 5700 XT Special Edition. SAPPHIRE will be clocking the new NITRO+ SE a little higher, with the Navi GPU clocked at up top 2035MHz versus 2010MHz on the regular NITRO+.

Google's new Stadia service will require a mobile app for basic features like buying games, changing stream resolution caps, and adjusting settings.

Today in a recent Reddit AMA, Google execs revealed some new info around Stadia, namely with the essential mobile app. The streaming service apparently won't have an actual dashboard or control center. Basic settings are instead moved to an external mobile app. Not only is the app required for first-time setup, it's required for game purchases (likely for authentication/verification), changing stream quality settings, and even family options. And of course the Stadia app is required for mobile game streaming...but we really don't advise that.

"First, the Stadia mobile app is your central hub to manage Settings across all screens. Use the app to set stream quality for your TV and other supported devices," Stadia Director of Product Andrey Doronichev said in a recent Reddit AMA.

After help revolutionizing virtual reality as we know it today, John Carmack is stepping back to focus on AI.

Today John Carmack announced he'll no longer be a full-time employee at Oculus, and is instead moving to a consultant Chief Technology Officer position. In this role Carmack will still have a say in future Oculus VR technology development, but he won't be as hands-on as before. This reveal comes shortly after Carmack expressed frustration in the relatively slow pace of VR's development compared to its potential.

"Starting this week, I'm moving to a "Consulting CTO" position with Oculus. I will still have a voice in the development work, but it will only be consuming a modest slice of my time," Carmack said.

Stadia subscribers won't actually be able to stream games in 4K 60FPS with HDR on PC at launch, Google today confirmed.

A bit ago, Google touted that Stadia will deliver 4K 60FPS performance in all of its games. Turns out this is only true for a portion of Stadia's platforms. Google won't stream Stadia games in 4K onto PC Chrome browsers until 2020.

"On day 1, PC Chrome gameplay won't support 4K, HDR, or 5.1 Surround Sound. But in the spirit of gradual rollout, we'll be adding support for 4K/HDR/5.1 on PCs in 2020," Stadia Director of Product Andrey Doronichev said in a recent Reddit AMA.

All MMORPGs have one thing in common: Teaming up with a bunch of other players to take down a huge, hulking boss. Diablo IV will embrace this across its persistent shared world environments, merging ARPG and MMO worlds.

Diablo has always been about teaming up to slay big demon bosses for epic loot--the original Diablo had it, Diablo II's 8-player epic battles had it, and of course Diablo III had it to a lesser extent with its 4-player co-op. Diablo IV isn't an innovator on that front. But Diablo IV dramatically increases the scale of these battles thanks in part to its new world boss mechanic, which essentially summons a huge raid-level boss across the map.

While watching new gameplay footage from GameInformer, I got a sense of this MMO focus. 8 players teamed up to take on a massive world boss, culminating in an epic 4-minute battle (4 minutes is a long time for any single boss battle in Diablo) with high stakes. The more players there are, the higher the difficulty, and the sweeter the rewards.

Amid financial woes, Starbreeze is surviving off of lifelines right now. Things could get much worse if its big new Payday game somehow fails.

Starbreeze Studios, the company behind the huge Payday franchise, is awash with debt. The company has been forced to shut down various business ventures like StarVR to eliminate spending, all while significantly halting games development. But how bad off is Starbreeze really? According to new documents filed in a Stockholm court, Starbreeze owes a total of $40.8 million, but the good news is its assets are worth nearly four times that amount, or $164.9 million. The bad news? Most of that worth comes from the Payday franchise.

The company's new five-year debt payback plan hinges on one thing: Payday 3. Starbreeze is betting big on the sequel. The plan sees Starbreeze securing a big publishing contract to fund Payday 3's development for a release by 2023, giving the company roughly a year to absorb cash from sales after launch before it has to pay back its debts.

Diablo IV's missing classes are a mystery, but an older, incredibly accurate leak may have spilled the beans on what's to come.

Four months ago a Reddit user leaked out tons of Diablo IV info, detailing classes, skills and abilities, a new darker medieval tone akin to Diablo II, and a huge open-ended world. Most of everything in the leak turned out to be 100% true. What if all if it is true and Blizzard just hasn't confirmed everything yet?

Some unconfirmed details include Diablo IV's character classes. Blizzard only announced three classes were returning--the Sorceress, the Druid, and the Barbarian--but they also confirmed the game should ship with 5 classes total. Who are the missing heroes? The Paladin and Amazon, according to the leak. There's even more characters coming post-launch as paid expansions too.

Human Head Studios, the devs behind the original Prey game, today closed their doors. But Bethesda hired them to form a brand new studio.

Today Bethesda Softworks grew tremendously with a surge of fresh talent. Although the actual Human Head Studios is no more, every single one of its developers was offered a job by Bethesda (an amazing move by the publisher). Bethesda didn't buy Human Head Studios, but they did acquire the full dev team and opened up a brand new studio: Roundhouse Studios.

At the Roundhouse headquarters in Madison, Wisconsin, the team is already working on several unannounced projects for Bethesda. One of those games could be a sequel to 2017's excellent Prey reboot. The irony isn't lost here: Human Head was originally supposed to make Prey 2, but stopped development in 2011. For years the sequel went through development hell until being rebooted by Arkane in 2017.

Remember when Nintendo refused to implement DLC's into their games? Well, now that the company has jumped on the bandwagon with the rest of the gaming industry, I can guarantee that they don't regret it.

Even though Nintendo initially didn't want to bring DLC's to their games, they gritted their deal and did it anyway, even at some fans' disapproval. To win over those fans that weren't happy with the decision, Nintendo has made the DLC's worthwhile for buyers, and a prime example of this is Super Smash Bros. Ultimate's Fighters Pass.

During the Q&A summary regarding Nintendo's financials, Nintendo president Shuntaro Furukawa explains that the company is growing in buyers of "download-only software" and that this was a huge contributor to the companies financial success. The Q&A specifically points out that the "Fighters Pass for Super Smash Bros. Ultimate has made a huge contribution". Since the Fighters Pass was such a huge success for Nintendo, it can be assumed that this is the reason they green-lit more characters to come to Smash Ultimate.

Twitch has released a new introduction application for new streamers and ones that have just started - introducing Twitch Studio, a streamer's best-friend.

Twitch Studio is currently available for download and takes new streamers through an extremely easy to follow introduction process into streaming. It begins with a guided setup where the app detects microphones, webcams, monitor and streaming resolution, streaming display, templates, and bit rates.

The app also gives users the ability to customize their streaming template while also integrating alerts, programmable keys, activity feeds, and chats. It should be noted that the app is only available to download if your operating system is Windows 7 or above. Here is a link to the Twitch website for further information.

Remember back in May when the first trailer for the Sonic The Hedgehog Movie dropped and basically the entire internet threw-up at once? Well, now the entire internet is praising the redesign efforts, but who do we have to thank?

After the backlash of the original Sonic The Hedgehog Movie trailer, Paramount decided to go ahead and suspend the release of the movie and take Sonic back to the labs for a redesign. Over the course of months of hard-work model reconfiguration, Sonic was redesigned back to his normal self, which you can see in the trailer here.

But who was the main influence behind the redesign? Tyon Hesse, the lead animator on the Sonic Mania video game and the director behind Sonic Mania Adventures, took to Twitter to announce that he was the lead role in the redesign for the movie. Yes, that's right, a video game designer saved the Sonic The Hedgehog Movie from flopping hugely in the box office. I think I can say on behalf of the internet, thank you, Mr. Hesse, you and your team, truly turned it around.

Just earlier this month, Facebook issued out a new update for the iOS app, and while updates are usually welcomed, this one harbored a strange bug that opened users camera without them knowing.

CNET reported that while users on the iOS app were watching videos or looking at photos their camera became activated behind the app. Some users even reported via Twitter that while watching a video and then rotating to landscape mode that the Facebook/Instagram Story UI could be seen for a split second. When flipping back to portrait, the Story camera/UI opened entirely, as seen above.

Facebook acknowledged the issue, saying that this bug was introduced to the iOS app when they fixed another bug that was incorrectly launching the app in landscape mode. Facebook's Guy Rosen gave a statement regarding this bug, saying "We recently discovered that version 244 of the Facebook iOS app would incorrectly launch in landscape mode. In fixing that issue last week in v246 (launched on November 8th) we inadvertently introduced a bug that caused the app to partially navigate to the camera screen adjacent to News Feed when users tapped on photos."

Nintendo has already got the next update for Super Smash Bros. Ultimate in the pipeline; version 6.1.0 update is imminent.

Nintendo just released version 6.0.0 for Super Smash Bros. Ultimate and if you happened to miss what that update included here's a quick overview. The update came with changes for Donkey Kong, Kirby, King K. Rool, Jigglypuff, Robin, Incineroar, and Hero. It also added online changes and the new DLC fighter Terry Bogard from the Fatal Fury series.

Now Nintendo is about to release a follow-up update, moving the version to 6.1.0. The news comes from SSBUBot, who says that the patch will be available to download within the next few days. SSBUBot also warns players that they will not be able to view previously saved replays after this new version is downloaded. To overcome this problem, players must covert their epic replays into video format and save it to their Nintendo Switch. Details for what the update specifically includes have not been released, but as soon as they are, I will follow up with another article.

Astronomers have confirmed that a star was ejected out the supermassive black hole that is located at the heart of our Milky Way galaxy.

A team of researchers of Carnegie Mellon University's McWilliams Center for Cosmology spotted the star, which is titled S5-HVS1 in a constellation called Grus. When spotted by the team, it was traveling at insane speeds, 10x the speed of most other stars in our galaxy. According to the team, S5-HVS1 was moving at a ridiculous 3.7 million mph after it was ejected out the supermassive black hole at the center of the Milky Way, Sagittarius A*.

The team of researchers was led by Sergey Koposov, who said, "This is super exciting, as we have long suspected that black holes can eject stars with very high velocities. However, we never had an unambiguous association of such a fast star with the galactic center." Douglas Boubert, a researcher at the University of Oxford and a co-author of the study, said: "The velocity of the discovered star is so high that it will inevitably leave the galaxy and never return".

A brand new type of material has been made for next-generation solar cells, and this material removes the major roadblock that was stopping the advancement of the technology.

At the moment, current solar cells only capture 15% to 18% of the solar energy on average, but in 2009 solar cells started incorporating the mineral perovskite. Since then, researchers have been concentrating on this mineral as it was much more efficient, increasing the capture rate to 28%. Unfortunately, just like every good thing out there, it comes with some form of downside. Solar cells that are made with perovskite are not stable as they contain water-soluble lead, which is a general health hazard.

Thankfully humans have a natural proclivity to overcome problems presented to them, and that's just what a team of researchers at Purdue University have done. Scientists and engineers led by Letian Dou, assistant professor of chemical engineering at Purdue University, have developed a sandwich-like material that uses organic and inorganic materials to form a new hybrid structure, removing the necessity of using lead and improving overall stability.

Microsoft has just launched its new HoloLens 2 mixed reality headset, succeeding the now previous-gen HoloLens headset from 2016. Microsoft's new HoloLens 2 headset costs an eye watering $3500, but packs all sorts of improvements under the hood.

The new HoloLens 2 mixed reality headset costs $3500 so it's not going to be aiming at competing wtih the VR headsets from HTC and Oculus, but it is built for enterprise use. The military, education, medicine, and other markets all use and will use Microsoft's new HoloLens 2 which has some big upgrades worthy of new attention.

Microsoft's first-gen HoloLens had a diagonal field of view of just 34 degrees, but the new HoloLens 2 has its FOV boosted up to 52 degrees. Qualcomm powers the HoloLens 2 with its own Snapdragon 850 which is joined by Microsoft's own custom holographic processing unit (HPU) 2.0 chip -- both of which improve performance across the board on HoloLens 2.