Latest News - Page 971

NVIDIA has just announced that its Ada Lovelace GPU-exclusive DLSS 3 upscaling technology is coming to some of December's biggest games, joining the list of 14 games that already rock DLSS 3 support.

DLSS 3 only dropped in October 2022 with the release of NVIDIA's flagship GeForce RTX 4090 "Ada Lovelace" graphics card, with the fun continuing last month with the second-fastest Ada Lovelace release in the GeForce RTX 4080 16GB graphics card. But now... DLSS 3 is being added to five new games in December 2022.

We can expect DLSS 3 updates for Need for Speed Unbound, Warhammer 40,000 Darktide, Portal with RTX, Jurassic World Evolution 2, and Witcher 3: Wild Hunt's upcoming "Next-Gen Update". I'm sure that the release of Portal with RTX is going to be one of the most-hyped DLSS 3-powered titles.

GALAX is teasing some more custom GeForce RTX 40 series "SG" graphics cards themed in white, which we should start hearing -- and seeing -- more of very soon.

The official GALAX Japan Twitter account tweeted out the tease, where we should expect the new GeForce RTX 4090, GeForce RTX 4080 -- and probably even the GeForce RTX 4070 Ti -- in white, under their "SG" family of cards, better known as Serious Gaming.

GALAX's upcoming GeForce RTX 40 series "SG" white-themed graphics cards aren't new, they were unveiled recently but never released into the market just yet. GALAX has its other GeForce RTX 40 series "EX" and "HOF" with the HOF (Hall of Fame) graphics cards already breaking world records now that EVGA has left the graphics card business.

AMD is celebrating its Holiday Deals on discounted Ryzen 7000 series "Zen 4" processors, with some new retail desktop CPU packaging... check it out:

AMD's new Ryzen 7000 series "Zen 4" processors are still available on the cheap, just like they were last week and over the weekend with the one-two-punch discounts of the Black Friday and Cyber Monday deals, but now AMD is keeping the Zen 4 chips cheap.. with some refreshed CPU packaging.

The new packaging sports an outline on AMD's own logo, which looks better from the outside... but other than that, there's not much new here. But the bigger deal here is that AMD's discounted pricing on their fleet of Ryzen 7000 series "Zen 4" processors seems permanent, and not just for the Black Friday and Cyber Monday discounts, which is awesome for consumers.

AMD has just released their new Radeon Software Adrenalin 22.11.2 drivers, which are ready for the launches of The Callisto Protocol, and more.

The new AMD Radeon Software Adrenalin 22.11.2 drivers are in beta form, which has optimizations built-in for The Callisto Protocol, Need for Speed Unbound, and the upcoming Witcher 3: Wild Hunt "Next-Gen Update" which is right around the corner.

Not only that, but AMD has fixed some issues along the way with the new Radeon Software Adrenalin 22.11.2 drivers, where Radeon RX 6000 series GPU owners with driver timeout or black screen issues during video playback and window switching on 240Hz monitors are now resolved. Not only that but other issues including stuttering during video playback using hardware acceleration on Radeon RX 6000 series GPUs and Firefox is now resolved, too.

SAPPHIRE has just officially teased new details of its upcoming Radeon RX 7900 series "RDNA 3" graphics cards, where we now know that their new Navi 31-powered graphics cards will feature 3 x 8-pin PCIe power connectors.

We have also learned that SAPPHIRE's upcoming Radeon RX 7900 series NITRO graphics cards will feature the return of "Vapor-X" cooling, with the new Radeon RX 7900 XTX NITRO and Radeon RX 7900 XT NITRO graphics cards will sport vapor chamber cooling, and 3 x 8-pin PCIe power connectors in total.

SAPPHIRE has the world's first look at a custom Navi 31-based board design, packing 20 VRM phases, and we're sure, oh-so-much more underneath. The official SAPPHIRE Technology Twitter account posted a video that you can check out here, with a nice tease of their upcoming Radeon RX 7900 series NITRO graphics cards.

In a few hours' time the release of The Callisto Protocol takes place, with the developer taking to Twitter to announce the "Max" and "Ultra" PC requirements for the game.

The Callisto Protocol requires 8GB of RAM and 75GB of storage at a minimum, with the developer recommending gamers use an SSD -- it's 2022, you really should be -- while you'll need Windows 10 or Windows 11 at a minimum, too.

Moving onto the CPU requirements, The Callisto Protocol developer recommends an Intel Core i5-8400 or AMD Ryzen 5 2600 processor for the minimum PC requirements, while the recommended PC requirements bump the CPU recommendation up to an Intel Core i7-8700 or AMD Ryzen 5 3600 processor. The recommended PC specs for The Callisto Protocol also get bumped from 8GB of RAM, to 16GB of RAM, too.

NVIDIA has just unleashed its new Game Ready Drivers that provide the best day-one gaming experience for the latest games including Marvel's Midnight Suns.

The new NVIDIA GeForce Game Ready 527.37 WHQL drivers add NVIDIA DLSS 2 upscaling technology, as well as advanced ray tracing effects. Not only that, but the new GeForce Game Ready 527.37 WHQL drivers also support the launch of Need for Speed Unbound, which features NVIDIA's new DLSS 3 technology, which is exclusive to the Ada Lovelace GPU architecture and new GeForce RTX 4090 and GeForce RTX 4080 graphics cards.

Not only that, but the new NVIDIA GeForce Game Ready 527.37 WHQL drivers also have a slew of new games that are supported under GeForce Experience's Optimal Settings. This provides gamers with some wicked one-click optimal settings tweaks that instantly configure in-game settings for your PC hardware, providing a smoother, more optimized gaming experience.

PCI-SIG has come out addressing the issues surrounding its new "12VHPWR" 16-pin power connector, which is on all of NVIDIA's new GeForce RTX 40 series GPUs including the flagship GeForce RTX 4090 and just-released GeForce RTX 4080 graphics cards.

PCI-SIG has been direct in its statement to partners that provides the required technical information for the proper design of its 12VHPWR power connector, which you'd think would be cemented in stone at its inception. In a way, PCI-SIG is clearing itself of any wrongdoing by users who don't connect the 12VHPWR 16-pin power connector to their GeForce RTX 40 series GPU.

The statement from PCI-SIG in question is from an on-going lawsuit against NVIDIA "Genova v NVIDIA Corporation" which claims that the use of the 16-pin power connector on NVIDIA's suite of GeForce RTX 40 series GPUs pose a serious "electrical and fire hazard".

BOE has just unveiled a monster new gaming laptop display, with the introduction of the new 16-inch gaming panel with an absolutely screaming 600Hz refresh rate. Yeah, you read that right... 600Hz.

The new BOE gaming panel was unveiled at the 2022 World Display Industry Conference with its 600Hz refresh rate has an unknown resolution, but I'm confident that we'll see a native 1920 x 1080 (1080p) resolution. Inside, BOE was using an NVIDIA GeForce RTX GPU solution with what looks like a 16:10 aspect ratio.

600Hz isn't exactly some massive achievement, but it's definitely notable... with the last monster gaming display in production being a team-up between ASUS and NVIDIA earlier this year with their new 540Hz gaming display. 540Hz is already insane, but 600Hz is another level.

Todd Howard says that balancing rare loot is an artform that Bethesda still has a lot to learn about.

To me, Bethesda RPGs are fueled by three things: Exploration, questing, and loot. Finding awesome gear, including epic weapons and armor, is a big motivator to keep searching specific areas. Sometimes you find a good gun or sword, other times you find the best item in the game. But finding that perfect balance is tough. Not every game can be like Morrowind and offer a smorgasbord of ultra-powerful artifacts that make you an indomitable god like the Boots of Blinding Speed, the Ebony Mail, or the Skullcrusher.

In a recent interview with Lex Fridman, Bethesda's Todd Howard talks about how the studio handles rare gear and items and praises other games that did it right including Destiny 2 (which is debatable considering 90% of the gear is just materials fodder) and Diablo III, whose outrageously crazy drop stats brought tons of fun to the dungeon-crawler.

After years of development, Digital Extremes has finally added cross-play to its blockbuster F2P hit Warframe.

A while back, I said that cross-play was one of the most important new features of modern gaming. That goes double for free-to-play, multiplayer-driven live service games and over the years we've seen many titles incorporate full-on cross-play. Now Warframe has joined the mix, offering full cross-platform action everywhere the game is available.

Starting today, Tenno will be able to join their friends and play together across all platforms including PlayStation, Xbox, Nintendo Switch, and PC, with full support for every SKU of the game regardless of how it's played--Steam, Epic Games Store, etc. Sadly cross-save/cross-progression is not currently available but the feature is coming in the future, so for now gamers will still have to remain on their main platform of choice.

The Callisto Protocol's poor reception have reportedly caused Krafton's shares to drop by nearly 9%.

Yesterday the review embargo broke for The Callisto Protocol, a new horror game made by many of the original Dead Space developers. The project was published by PUBG owner Krafton Inc., who hoped that the game could spawn a new IP and franchise that lives alongside the immensely popular battle royale game PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds.

The Callisto Protocol apparently didn't meet expectations. The game is currently sitting at a 76 on Metacritic, which is not bad by any means, however it looks like investors may feel differently. It doesn't help that The Callisto Protocol has mostly negative reviews on Steam due to the game's poor optimization and performance on PC. Only 35% of the Steam reviews are positive and the game is suffering from bad optimization that leads to stuttering even on lagging heavily on some enthusiast-grade builds.

Bethesda Game Studios has a dedicated team that's responsible for placing in-game objects in all interior and exterior environments of every single RPG.

Bethesda's RPGs are known for their huge open worlds with interesting NPCs and memorable cities and environments. Many of these areas feel alive because of the various landmarks or in-game items that add a distinct lived-in feel; Fallout in particular makes creative use of environmental storytelling with towns like Megaton, a city built around a nuke that spawned an entire religion, and Diamond City, a city hub built out of Fenway Park.

It turns out that many of these areas, from landmark cities to random dungeons, are made possible by Bethesda's so-called "clutter group." This team is exactly what it sounds like: A dedicated group of devs who go into every single area of a game and clutter it with loot, gear, miscellaneous objects, models and characters that often tell unique side stories (like, for instance, the infamous Cat Lady in Fallout 4).

Nintendo has officially shut down its Dragalia Lost mobile game, and the company is more comfortable scrapping smartphone titles because the segment is not all that important for Nintendo.

After 4 years of service, Nintendo has determined that hosting Dragalia Lost is no longer worth it. The game, which was one of the only mobile titles that Nintendo had offered, is now offline. Dragalia Lost is estimated to have made about $100 million as of 2019, but the game's loss will not significantly impact Nintendo's earnings.

Now is a good time to remember that Nintendo is not reliant on mobile games to any real meaningful degree. Over the past 3 years, the company makes less than 5% of its revenues from mobile/smartphone games on a quarterly basis.

NASA's James Webb Space Telescope still continues to impress the public with its incredible images of the cosmos, as the space telescope has focused its highly advanced instruments on the Pillars of Creation once again.

The new image was posted to the European Space Agency (ESA) website on December 1 and reveals the most-detailed image of the iconic Pillars of Creation taken so far. Located between 6,500 to 7,000 light-years away from Earth, the Pillars of Creation are an iconic location in the cosmos as it was famously captured by the Hubble Space Telescope in 1995. NASA's Webb is now performing follow-up observations, comparing new photos to Hubble's to show the difference in observational capabilities.

The Pillars of Creation has already been imaged by Webb twice, the first image released by NASA was snapped with Webb's Near-Infrared Camera (NIRCam) and can be found below. The second time was on October 30 for Halloween, when NASA and the ESA published an image snapped with Webb's Mid-Infrared Instrument (MIRI). Both of the images highlighted different aspects of the Pillars of Creation, showcasing its beauty in different wavelengths of light.

Epic Games has debuted a new tool for developers that will allow them to turn any real-world object into a usable asset in their creation.

Epic Games has released its RealityScam app for iOS, enabling the public to capture high-fidelity 3D models of any real-world object by simply capturing that object with several 2D images via the mobile device's camera. A user downloads the RealityScan app, signs in with their Epic Games account, take at least 20 photos of the object they want to convert into a 3D model, and follow the real-time quality map within the app to complete the scan.

How does it work? Epic Games acquired Capturing Reality, a company that focuses on photogrammetry software, and worked on RealityCapture, an app that combines 2D images into one single seamless 3D asset. That captured piece of reality or real-world object can then be used in games or virtual environments. Essentially, the app allows developers to simply capture any real-world object and insert it into their game at extremely high quality, further enabling the design possibilities within video game or virtual creation.

Kraken announced on Wednesday that it is firing 30% of its workforce in response to the cryptocurrency market downturn.

The cryptocurrency exchange explained in a blog post that due to macroeconomic and geopolitical factors paired with the state of the financial markets, Kraken has experienced significantly lower trading volumes and fewer client sign-ups. In response to this overall downturn, Kraken says it will be reducing hiring frequency, avoiding large market commitments, and reducing its global workforce by approximately 1,100 people to adapt to current market conditions.

Kraken explains that all "Krakenites," or individuals that have been let go from the company, will receive 16 weeks of base pay inclusive of the paid leave period, performance bonuses, four months of healthcare continuation, an extended window of time for their vested stock options, immigration support, and outplacement support.

SpaceX is making progress toward the first orbital launch of its Starship launch vehicle, as the company recently conducted a successful static fire test.

SpaceX took to its Twitter account to announce that Booster 7 has completed a long-duration static fire test that featured eleven Raptor 2 engines. The static fire test was successful and a step forward in SpaceX's journey to getting Starship to orbit, and it may very well be the second to last static fire test the company conducts before the orbital test launch.

SpaceX started the test at 2:42 pm on November 30, blasting 11 Raptor 2 engines for just 13 seconds. This latest test featured fewer Raptor 2 engines than SpaceX's previous static fire test on November 14, which featured 14 Raptor 2 engines. Notably, Booster 7 has a total of 33 Raptor 2 engines, which SpaceX is yet to test all at once. Presumably, Elon Musk's company will test all 33 of the next-generation engines before attempting the first orbital test flight for Starship.

The SpaceX and Tesla CEO has said during a Neuralink demo that he could have a brain implant now, and no one would even know.

During a Neuralink conference on Wednesday, the Twitter owner took to the stage to deliver several updates on brain implant-company Neuralink, and what it expects to achieve in the near future. Musk, a founder of the brain chip company, said that Neuralink is planning on beginning human trials within the next six months and that the company is currently in conversation with the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to receive regulatory approval.

Musk wrote on Twitter that internal testing at Neuralink has pushed the technology to the point where the team is confident the "Neuralink device is ready for humans". While on stage, the Tesla CEO said that he could have a Neuralink brain implant installed into his head "right now" and "you couldn't even know. I mean, hypothetically." Musk added that for one of Neuralink's future demos, he will have one installed and reveal it on stage, making an open pledge to be one of the first adopters of the experimental technology.

The tornado of Kanye West appearances is continuing as the rapper has now openly showed his support for Adolf Hitler.

Kanye West, now officially known as Ye, has appeared on the Alex Jones show wearing a black hood that covers his face and head, where he discussed several topics such as his finances, his stance on Jewish people, and how he sees "good things about Hitler". Ye's comments even turned famed conspiracy theorist Alex Jones against him.

Ye appeared on the Alex Jones show on Thursday, where he said, "I see good things about Hitler, also. Every human being has value that they brought to the table, especially Hitler. I was thinking about Satan. Whether it's the Zionists or Hitler - it's not the person. It's Satan using the people, who are controlled by demonic forces." Ye added, "The Jewish media has made us feel like the Nazis and Hitler have never offered anything of value to the world. Meanwhile, there's all of these things that are happening."