Kratos voice actor, Christopher Judge, has revealed that Santa Monica Studio and Sony Interactive Entertainment had to delay God of War Ragnarok because of his medical issues.
Judge told fans on Twitter that in August of 2019, he couldn’t walk and ended up needing to have both hips replaced along with back surgery and knee surgery. Santa Monica Studio waited for him to finish rehabilitation before continuing development. In June this year, Cory Barlog took responsibility for the delay after writer Alanah Pearce started receiving vile messages from internet trolls.
Judge wrote:
In my feels right now. I need to be forthcoming. This has been approved by no one. To the beloved fandom, Ragnarok was delayed because of me. August 2019, I couldn’t walk. Had to have back surgery, both hips replaced, and, knee surgery. They waited for me too rehab…
No threats, no ‘who do you think you are?’ Nothing but love and support. AndSony Santa Monicahas never said a word about the delay, and what caused it. Studios are assholes, but this company from top to bottom, should give us hope. What they did for the crew is way more…
Judge went on to thank Santa Monica Studio as well as the fans. He praised the development team for showing him love and support through the process.
In one tweet, Judge revealed that he quit the role when he found out that Barlog wasn’t directing the sequel. However, Barlog convinced him to stay by asking Judge to trust Ragnarok director Eric Williams. Judge now has nothing but praises to sing.
“He said Eric is a beast,” Judge recalled. “I said, ‘he better be.’ Update: Eric Williams is a mother f****** beast!”
God of War Ragnarok will release sometime in 2022.
After introducing cross-messaging between Messenger and Instagram last year, Facebook has made it more useful with the addition of cross-app group chats. With the new feature, you'll be able to start a group chats and loop in both Messenger and Instagram contacts. In addition, you'll be able to run Messenger-style polls in both Instagram DMs and cross-app group chats if your group needs to decide whether to get pizza, tacos or both, for instance (both, obviously).
Meanwhile, Instagram gets an exclusive new feature called "Watch Together." To use it, you just start a video chat within Instagram, scroll to the post you want to share then click on the share button and "Watch Together." Instagram has added some new content from Steve Aoki, Travis Barker and Cardi B.
Other new additions include group typing indicators available in cross-app group chats for both Messenger and in Instagram DMs. Facebook also brought in new chat themes for Messenger and Instagram DMs, including "Cottagecore" and a theme centered around Columbian singer J Balvin. There's also a new Astrology art suite, with an Astrology group chat theme, AR effect and sticker pack. The new features roll out for Messenger and Instagram today.
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Cadillac has dropped quite an important feature from the 2022 Cadillac Escalade. According to Motor1 and Roadshow, the model won't come with Super Cruise, GM's hands-free driver-assistance technology. A spokesperson from the brand has confirmed to the publications that the Super Cruise would be "temporarily unavailable at the start of regular production," though they expressed the possibility that it would be available for vehicles manufactured later on. The spokesperson also revealed that the reason for this change is none other than the global chip shortage born out of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Cadillac's whole statement reads:
"Super Cruise is an important feature for the Cadillac Escalade program. Although it's temporarily unavailable at the start of regular production due to the industry-wide shortage of semiconductors, we're confident in our team's ability to find creative solutions to mitigate the supply chain situation and resume offering the feature for our customers as soon as possible."
The company also told Roadshow that it was only able to build "a few" CT4 and CT5 sedans scheduled for release this year with the capability to use Super Cruise. It had to postpone the full launch of its driver assistance system in the sedans until model year 2022, which will start shipping next year.
The global semiconductor shortage has had an extensive effect on the tech and auto industries. GM, Cadillac's manufacturer, had to suspend production at all but four of its North American factories due to supply constraints. Nissan, Ford, BMW and Honda had to cut vehicle production, as well. In Ford's case, it led to the delay in shipments of the Mach-E electric vehicle.
GM has big plans for Super Cruise and previously announced its plans to bring the technology to 22 vehicles by 2023. It's unclear if these delays and adjustments caused by the chip shortage would affect the timeline it set for itself.
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Swiss company ABB, which supplies EV chargers to Ionity and Electrify America, has unveiled what it calls the "world's fastest electric car charger," Reuters has reported. As its name suggests, the Terra 360 has a 360 kW capacity, meaning it could fully charge a (theoretical) EV in 15 minutes. More realistically, it can charge four vehicles simultaneously, saving space at charging stations.
The Terra 360 isn't the most powerful charger by much, as companies like Electrify America, Ionity and EVGo have been using 350 kW chargers manufactured by ABB and others since at least 2018. However, it's the "only charger designed explicitly to charge up to four vehicles at once," the company said. "This gives owners the flexibility to charge up to four vehicles overnight or to give a quick refill to their EVs in the day." They also have a relatively small footprint, allowing installation in small depots or parking lots.
There aren't a lot of EVs that can handle that kind of charge. The fastest-charging EV available is Hyundai's Ioniq 5, which supports DC fast-charging at up to 350 kW, in theory. The only two approaching that are Porsche's Taycan, with 270 kW of charging capacity and the new Lucid Air, which allows for up to 300 kW fast-charging. Tesla's Model 3 and Model Y EVs can charge at up to 250 kW.
Such high charging levels aren't necessarily great for an EV's battery. Porsche, for instance, has a battery preservation setting on its Plug & Charge Taycan feature that lowers voltage to 200 kW from the maximum 270 kW allowed — so it's essentially acknowledging that faster charging degrades the battery. On top of that, extreme charging levels don't necessarily save you much time, as Car and Driver found. Tesla recently promised to upgrade its own Supercharger V3 network from 250kW to 300kW.
ABB's new chargers will be able to add 100 km (62 miles) of range in less than three minutes. They'll arrive in Europe by the end of the year and start rolling out in the US and elsewhere in 2022.
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This post contains spoilers for episode eight of Marvel's'What If…?'
In physics there’s what’s known as the “observer effect,” wherein an object or system is changed merely by observing it. On Marvel’s What If…? each episode has been witnessed by an apparently omniscient narrator known as The Watcher, who seemingly believes himself to be above this simple rule. He’s seen the Avengers murdered, zombies overrun the galaxy and Steven Strange completely destroying his own universe, but the Watcher has always refrained from doing anything that would change the outcome — until now.
The twist in this episode is that in Age of Ultron, the titular villain managed to get control of the Vision body before it awakened as the hero we all know and love, taking it over and then, the world and even gaining the Infinity Stones. Somewhere in all this the Avengers are killed, with the exception of Natasha and Clint, finally giving us that Black Widow and Hawkeye adventure we should have had years ago. I haven’t been the biggest fan of either character, but here they’re a lot of fun despite the grim circumstances.
Marvel Studios
The real star here, however, is Jeffrey Wright’s Watcher character. We still know little about him, or the faction he serves. The Watchers, as a group, have only appeared in live-action during a brief scene in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2. What If…? has been our first proper introduction to the concept and, after eight episodes, we’re still mostly in the dark about them.
But this week’s installment did shed some light, at least. We know that our Watcher has taken an oath to never interfere with the things he sees, though to whom we still don’t know, nor are we made aware of possible consequences of breaking that vow. And we now know he’s emotionally invested in the universes he observes, if only based on his reaction to Clint not finding the folder they need in the KGB archives (luckily, Natasha is there to save the day).
Marvel Studios
However, that observer effect comes into play regardless of the Watcher’s intentions, as his omniscient narration is overheard by the powered-up Ultron, who seeks him out and attacks. In the process Ultron becomes aware of the multiverse, which explains his sudden appearance at the end of last week’s episode. Previews for the finale hint at some sort of multiversal team-up, one involving Captain Carter, Party Thor and the other altered characters we’ve met over the first eight episodes.
While it’s certainly a fun concept — there’s an entire comic series called Exiles about a multi-reality team such as this — it raises questions about what, exactly, season two will be about. It’s already been confirmed, but Marvel has shown it’s not really interested in running What If…? as an anthology series like the comic it’s based on. The instance on making it part of the larger canon has led to the show having its own internal continuity, though it’s unlikely it will be needed to understand the larger Marvel Cinematic Universe.
Marvel Studios
At least we hope it remains a side-story of the MCU: the power levels in the battle between The Watcher and Infinity Ultron puts even the massive conflicts shown in the last two Avengers films to shame. (Especially after Thanos is offed rather unceremoniously.) It’s a weird escalation in scale given that the teased villain of Phase IV, Kang the Conqueror, hasn’t even made a proper appearance yet.
Marvel Comics has a deep, expansive mythology and it’s nice to see the MCU finally explore some of those outer reaches. But right now the current approach to continuity feels a little cramped, and in danger of getting in its own way. Hopefully, next week’s finale will see the Watcher fully break free of his oath, and maybe help What If…? shed its remaining ties to its live-action counterparts to do something truly new.
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“Too many games” season is officially upon us. I’ve been spending more time than usual looking at the video game release calendar lately and marveling at how many of them I’ll be playing on Switch. It’s rarely a bad (or normal) time to be a Nintendo fan, but fall 2021 is shaping up to be a lot better than I had…
As Kotaku reported earlier this spring, Evangelion creator Hideaki Anno is writing and directing a new Kamen Rider feature film. It’s called Shin Kamen Rider, and the movie’s first teasers give us a good look at how Anno is bringing the character to life.
Kurtis Lau Wai-kin, better known as “Toyz,” has been arrested in Taipei on suspicion of trafficking marijuana. In Taiwan, marijuana is a class 2 illegal drug, and it carries a severe prison sentence and heavy fines.
While marijuana might be seen as a “soft” drug in the U.S., in Taiwan it’s classified alongside …
Marvel Games’ executive Bill Rosemann has revealed that Insomniac’s Spider-Man 2 will be “a little darker” than the first game. He likened the comparison to The Empire Strikes Back.
“If the first Spider-Man game was Star Wars, Spider-Man 2 is kind of our Empire,” Rosenmann said during the This Week in Marvel podcast. “It gets a little darker. There are multiple foes. I can say the story very much continues and picks up from Marvel’s Spider-Man to Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales. I don’t want to reveal too much but it’s the next big chapter, there are a lot of threads, a lot of characters that were in the first two games that you’ll see here.”
Rosemann also talked a little bit about Insomniac’s take on Wolverine, though he didn’t reveal anything and referred listeners back to the reveal trailer.
“If you go back and look at the trailer, the scene where you are behind Logan and he is at the bar, it is chock-full of Easter eggs,” he said. “The internet detectives have indeed found some of them, but they have not found all of the Easter eggs. We will eventually reveal when Wolverine is aimed to launch. I would say, for more, go back and study those trailers, they are packed with little details and Easter eggs.”
Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 will release sometime in 2023. Marvel’s Wolverine currently doesn’t have a release window, but we’re told that both titles are in development for the PlayStation 5.
We’ll update our readers when we have more information.
The drama, litigation and tweets continue between Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos and all those space-faring companies. As reported by CNET, Musk told Code conference attendees Bezos should put more effort into "getting into orbit than lawsuits," and that you couldn't "sue your way to the Moon" as Blue Origin allegedly tried when it lost its lunar lander bid.
NASA legal documents have revealed the space agency felt Blue Origin "gambled" with its originally proposed $5.9 billion lunar lander price. Bezos' company allegedly set the price far higher than necessary, expecting (hoping?) NASA to award the contract and negotiate a lower cost. Further, it assumed NASA would get the full funding from Congress needed for that initial price. That didn’t happen.
Blue Origin’s VP Megan Mitchell told The Verge the company rejected NASA's views. She felt it made a "great offer" and that it disagreed with how NASA had framed its bid.
An Amazon representative also got in touch with Engadget to remind us that SpaceX has a "long track record" of suing the US government over contracts and other decisions. Yes, we’re aware.
In the end, SpaceX’s lower bid of $2.9 billion was picked by NASA, despite Blue Origin’s subsequent challenges and a last-minute $2 billion bid — almost a third of its original proposal.
Valentina Palladino puts the latest Fitbit through its paces. Don’t expect any major shakeups, but we do get a more modern fitness tracker. Not only is it thinner, lighter and less bulky than the Charge 4 but it now has some features previously reserved for Fitbit’s full-fledged smartwatches, the Versa and Sense. At $180, you will pay a premium for those updates.
Disney vowed The Book of Boba Fett would premiere this December, and it's making good on its promise — barely. It’s revealed the Mandalorian spin-off will debut December 29th on Disney+, replete with a little bit of teaser art you can see above. We’d explain more, but spoilers abound. For everyone already caught up with The Mandalorian, click on.
If you were following along with all the Amazon product announcements yesterday, you might have experienced a dose of tech deja vu. Cherlynn Low felt exactly that. With products that borrowed heavily from the likes of Fitbit, Nest (both Google properties now), as she put it, Amazon's biggest innovation increasingly seems to be: being cheap. Aside from that robot.
The company also revealed $250 ANC headphones promising 30-hour battery life.
Sony's flagship noise-canceling headphones and tech-filled true wireless earbuds have both been updated for 2021. Now, the company's more affordable options are getting the same treatment. With the WF-C500, you can pick up a solid set of true wireless earbuds capable of handling immersive 360 Reality Audio for $100. And if over-ear noise-canceling headphones are more your vibe, the WF-XB910N pairs ANC (active noise cancellation) with 30-hour battery life for $250.
Giant-bug shoot’em-up game Earth Defense Force 6 has been delayed. Last summer, the PlayStation Blog announced that the game would go on sale this year. On Thursday, it was revealed that the game has been pushed back to 2022.
This 2021 Tokyo Game Show, like last year’s, is an online affair. There is a teeny tiny in-person area with miniscule booths. The public is not allowed in, and even Sony doesn’t have a booth. But you know who does? Ikea.
Ever since its first “ethical” smartphone hit the market, Fairphone reviews have always been haunted by the wary acknowledgement that the devil always has the best toys. But times have changed, and Fairphone can at least be confident that it has won both the moral and the economic argument. Right to Repair laws are currently being kicked around in several US states and Framework is now building Fairphone-esque laptops. If there’s one word I can use to describe the new Fairphone 4, it’s mature. As much as the previous generations of this handset have been good, none deserve as much attention as this one likely does.
First, a caveat: Various global crises have pushed back the launch date for the Fairphone 4. I didn’t receive a unit until a few days before the announcement, so I’ve only had a limited amount of time to give this thing a thorough going over.
Daniel Cooper
Pick up the Fairphone 4 and you’ll first notice how solid this thing feels in your hand compared to its predecessor. This is not the flimsy plastic concoction we saw in previous generations but a monument, wrought from metal and glass. It may weigh a gram less than the iPhone 11 Pro Max I was holding in my other hand, but this one just feels more substantial. The new metal chassis and thick plastic backplate gives it, to quote Auric Goldfinger, a divine heaviness. I have no qualms about how sturdy and durable this thing is, even knowing that I can pick up replacement parts for very little cash up front.
The design language has changed from the awkwardly long slab of the 3 and 3+ to something that looks a lot more like a current-generation (or at least previous-generation) Android handset. Fairphone has also taken the courageous decision to ditch the 3.5mm headphone jack here in favor of just USB-C. The only things breaking up the outside of the frame, beyond the antenna lines, are a power button with a built-in fingerprint sensor and a pair of sturdy volume buttons. Gone, too, is the conspicuous branding of the previous editions in favor of the company logo edged into the base of the backplate.
Daniel Cooper
A 6.3-inch Full HD+ display coated with Gorilla Glass 5 takes up most of the room up front, although this is no slim-bezel chin-free edge-to-edge number. The only interruption is the teardrop in the middle of the screen, which houses the 25-megapixel selfie camera. There’s nothing of note to say about the screen, which has a decent backlight, good viewing angles and solid black levels. I think I said a year ago that it’s now hard to mess up a phone display and Fairphone hasn’t fixed what didn’t need mending. Sadly, as good as the vision is, the sound that accompanies it is tinny, thin and reedy with non-existent bass.
Now, Fairphone hasn’t strayed too far from its goal of producing an affordable and reliable modular smartphone. But while it’s splashed out on some specs, others remain firmly in the “nothing to write home about” league. The system-on-chip, for instance, is a Snapdragon 750G, which you’ll find in a number of non-premium 5G handsets like the Moto G 5G and Galaxy A52 5G. It’s worth saying that the 750G offers very respectable performance and tests well in benchmarks but it’s certainly not a screamingly-fast flagship unit.
Daniel Cooper
Unlike previous models, Fairphone is actually offering two versions of the Fairphone 4, one with 6GB RAM and 128GB storage, the other with 8GB RAM and 256GB storage. Both can be bolstered with the internal microSD slot that’ll take up to 2TB cards. The Fairphone 4 can support both a physical nano-SIM as well as an eSIM, both of which support 5G (although not simultaneously.)
Fairphone opted for a double-camera setup here with an f/1.6 48-megapixel primary camera packing Sony’s half-inch Exmor IMX582 sensor with OIS. You’ll get 8x digital zoom, and can shoot 4K video at 30fps, or HD slow-motion at 240fps. The second camera is a 48-megapixel f/2.2 120-degree wide-angle lens for landscape photography. Joining those two on the back of the phone is a time-of-flight sensor for better autofocus, which also makes it look like you’re rocking a triple-camera phone.
Daniel Cooper
Nestled up front in the teardrop is a 25-megapixel, f/2.2 forward-facing camera which uses a Sony IMX576 sensor. You’ll get support for HDR, 8x digital zoom and the ability to record video in HD at up to 30 fps. The images you get out of that selfie lens are respectable, although even when you shoot 25-megapixel images, you’ll get very little detail when you zoom in and things get muddy pretty quickly.
The company said that I shouldn’t do too many photography tests with the Fairphone 4 until a yet-to-be-distributed software update pushes the final tweaks. That said, the standard camera is perfectly reasonable and the live filters produce pretty lovely images.
Repairing this phone should, again, be relatively easy given how little a challenge it was to upgrade the previous model. Simply pop off the back cover and extract that replaceable 3,905mAh battery and a Phillips 00 screwdriver is all you need to get working. Again, I’ve not had any time to delve yet, but even a quick poke inside makes me think that it’s not more difficult to do any repair job than it was on the older models. One thing to bear in mind, however, is that Fairphone is no longer shipping a screwdriver in the box, assuming instead that you already own a tool suitable for the job.
Daniel Cooper
Fairphone has said that it has learned a number of valuable lessons from the launches of its last few handsets. That’s why this new model has a five-year warranty and guarantees software support until 2025 at the earliest, but pledges to keep that going to 2027 at best. (Fairphone has previous here: Earlier this year it managed to get Android 9 running on the Fairphone 2, five years after it was first released.) It also has pledged to ensure that spare parts for the phone remain available until that same 2027 deadline.
Whereas before Fairphone talked about a “fair” supply chain both looking for ethically-clean raw materials and paying workers a fair wage, it also describes the 4 as “e-waste neutral.” This is a neat way of summing up the idea that the company will recycle one device for every Fairphone 4 it sells. In addition, Fairphone can boast that it now uses 70 percent “fair” material inside the handset, including FairTrade Gold and Silver, aluminum from ASI-certified vendors and a backplate made from 100 percent post-consumer recycled polycarbonate.
And while some of the spare parts are a little more expensive than on the previous edition, the prices are more or less affordable. The company supplied me with a parts and price list (in GBP, at least) and the most expensive components are a replacement display and rear camera, which both retail for £69.95 (around $78 before sales tax). The forward-facing camera and battery pack replacements, meanwhile, are £25.95 (around $29), while components like the loudspeaker, USB-C port, earpiece and so on all cost less than £20 (around $22).
Daniel Cooper
Interestingly, as part of this launch, Fairphone is also launching a pair of true wireless headphones. These are, naturally, one of the most notoriously hard-to-repair and recycle devices currently littering the market. At this point, Fairphone hasn't tried to re-design these things to be more repairable, but did say that the units were made with “fair and recycled materials” including at least 30 percent recycled plastic and FairTrade Gold.
The Fairphone 4 will be available to pre-order on September 30th, with the first handsets due to arrive on October 25th. Unlike previous years, however, there will be the two previously-outlined variants depending on storage and RAM options. The 6GB RAM / 128GB model will retail for €579 / £499, while the 8GB / 256GB model will set you back €649 / £569.
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Subaru has showed the first video of its first EV, the 4x4 Solterra crossover, essentially confirming that it's a slightly reworked version of Toyota's upcoming bZ4X EV, according to Autoblog. Both electric cars are the fruit of Toyota and Subaru's collaboration on the e-TNGA platform designed for multiple EVs, first announced in 2019.
Design cues visible in the teaser video, particularly the odd dual roof spoiler, are similar to those on Toyota's upcoming bZ4X (the "bZ" stands for "beyond zero"). The side profile in a longer shot also looks nigh-on identical, making us wonder why Subaru doesn't just reveal it in full and be done with it.
It also showed a dim shot of the interior, with the centerpiece being a giant mid-mounted display. Again, that looks mighty similar to what Toyota has shown us with its own EV crossover, though Autoblog pointed out that Subaru appears to have some extra features below the rotary knob. Another notable difference is Subaru's bolstered seats that might allow for more sporty 4x4 activities.
Other key details, like price and battery capacity, have yet to be released. However, the price could be somewhere in the high $30,000 to low $40,000 range. Like Toyota's offering, it's set to arrive in the US and other markets next summer.
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Amazon was supposed to defend its decision in court to let Emily Cunningham and Maren Costa go last year. The former Amazon employees were outspoken critics of the company, and both were, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) previously decided, illegally fired. The e-commerce giant didn't have to defend itself, however, because it has settled with the affected parties shortly before the hearing could take place.
Cunningham and Costa, who worked on user experience design, openly criticized Amazon's climate policies and workplace practices. They previously slammed the company's climate policies in a video that gained national attention. And before they were let go in April 2020, both of them tweeted that they'd match donations up to $500 to support their warehouse worker colleagues. Cunningham said the "lack of safe and sanitary working conditions" puts the workers and the public at risk, while Costa tweeted that the workers "struggle to get consistent, sufficient protections and procedures" from their employer.
Amazon said when the news broke that they were let go for violating internal policies, namely for discussing the company without prior approval, and not for speaking out about working conditions specifically. The NLRB looked into accusations that Amazon retaliated against its employees for organizing or participating in protests, however, and determined that Cunningham and Costa were illegally fired.
According to The Washington Post, the settlement still needs to be approved by the NLRB regional director in Seattle, though Cunningham and Costa are already considering the settlement a victory. In a joint statement, they said the development is a "win for protecting workers rights" and that Amazon will be required to pay them lost wages. The whole statement reads:
"We are thrilled to announce that we have reached an agreement to settle the charge against Amazon at the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) alleging that the company illegally fired us for speaking up about warehouse workers' conditions during COVID. This is a win for protecting workers rights, and shows that we were right to stand up for each other, for justice, and for our world. Amazon will be required to pay us our lost wages and post a notice to all of its tech and warehouse workers nationwide that Amazon can't fire workers for organizing and exercising their rights.
It’s also not lost on us that we are two women who were targeted for firing. Inequality, racism, and sexism are at the heart of both the climate crisis and the pandemic.
Tech workers standing up together have immense power to move the biggest corporations in the world. Everything we love is threatened by climate chaos. Workers at every company need to be standing up for each other and the world, together. Now is the time to be our best, bravest selves. We can only do this together. We hope you’ll join us."
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Honda builds much more than cars and trucks — power equipment, solar cells, industrial robotics, alternative fuel engines and even aircraft are all part of the company's production capacity. On Thursday, Honda announced that it is working to further expand its manufacturing portfolio to include Avatar-style remote telepresence robots and electric VTOLs for inter- and intracity commutes before turning its ambitions to building a fuel-cell driven power generation system for the lunar surface.
For its eVTOL, Honda plans to leverage not only the lithium battery technology it's developed for its EV and PHEV vehicles but also a gas turbine hybrid power unit to give the future aircraft enough range to handle regional inter-city flights as well. Honda foresees air taxis as a ubiquitous part of tomorrow's transportation landscape, seamlessly integrating with both autonomous ground vehicles and traditional airliners (though they could soon be flown by robots as well). Obviously, the program is still very much in the early research phase and will likely remain so until at least the second half of this decade. The company anticipates having prototype units available for testing and certification by the 2030s and a full commercial rollout sometime around 2040.
Honda will have plenty of competition if and when it does get its eVTOLs off the ground. Cadillac showed off its single-seater aircar earlier this year, while Joby (in partnership with NASA) already has full-scale mockups flying. In June, Slovakian transportation startup, Klein Vision, flew from Nitra and to the Bratislava airport in its inaugural inter-city flight — and then drove home after the event. But building a fleet of flying taxis is no easy feat — just ask Bell helicopters — and we're sure to see more companies drop out of the sector before eVTOLs become commonplace.
Carlo Allegri / reuters
Honda reps also discussed the company's future robotics aspirations during a media briefing on Wednesday. The company envisions a future where people are unencumbered by space and time, where telepresence robots have visual and tactile acuity rivalling that of humans. Rather than hopping on a plane to inspect remote factory floors or attend product demonstrations in person, tomorrow's workers may simply don VR headsets and step into the body of an on-site humanoid robot.
The company announced that it wants its Avatar Robot — a newly refined iteration of the Asimo (above) — put into practical use in the 2030s and will conduct technology demonstration testing by the end of Q1, 2024 in order to meet that goal. But before that happens Honda reps noted that the company has work to do downsizing the robot's hand hardware and improving its grasping dexterity.
JAXA/Honda
Honda also has big plans for its space ventures including working on ways to adapt its existing fuel cell and high differential pressure water electrolysis technologies to work on the lunar surface as part of a circulative renewable energy system.
This system would use electricity gathered from renewable energy sources (like solar) to break the molecular bonds of liquid water, resulting hydrogen and oxygen. Those two elements would then be run through Honda's fuel cell to generate both electricity and supply the lunar habitats with oxygen for breathing and hydrogen for rocket fuel.
The company also hopes to utilize the more-nimble Avatar hands its developing as manipulators on a fleet of remote controlled lunar rovers which will perform tasks on the lunar surface rather than subject astronauts to the moon's many dangers. Honda has partnered with Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) and began joint research into both of these systems in June.
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Developer Nicolas Meyssonnier and publisher Headup Games have announced that their MediEvil and Jak & Daxter-inspired 3D platformer, Pumpkin Jack, will release on the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X just in time for Halloween. Out on October 27th, the current-gen versions will be free for existing owners.
Pumpkin Jack will take advantage of the new hardware and offer 60 frames-per-second and ray tracing. The Performance Mode targets 4K resolution at 60 fps and the Quality Mode targets up to 4K resolution at 30 fps, with “higher quality effects and shadows” with ray tracing.
Check out a new trailer below.
For those who haven’t played Pumpkin Jack, here’s an official overview:
Pumpkin Jack is a spooky scary 3D platformer in which you embody Jack, the Mythical Pumpkin Lord. Dive into an epic adventure through otherworldly landscapes and help the Evil annihilate the Good!
Follow the will of the Devil himself and slay your nemesis in an epic quest that will take you on a journey in the Boredom Kingdom, a mythical realm shattered by the curse. You will meet friends along the way, from a haughty owl to a snarky crow!
Discover stunning atmospheres in a colorful yet spooky scary Kingdom. Travel through epic and dramatic settings, with each level having its own eerie atmosphere. Using a vibrant palette and high-quality lighting effects, Pumpkin Jack invents its own unique cartoon universe inspired by the classic PS2 graphic style, made with Unreal Engine 4.
Pumpkin Jack‘s last-gen versions received generally positive reviews. Its PS4 version holds a Metacritic score of 76/100.
Editor’s Note:To support the developers and employees at Activision Blizzard pushing for change, we are covering the games that they are working hard on making. However, we need to acknowledge that employees seek a shift in the company’s culture, even as they are still passionately developing games. We will continue to report on the issues at Activision Blizzard as the employees seek to reform the culture and make it a safer, equal, and more inclusive workplace, even as we highlight the games those same workers are creating.
Diablo II: Resurrection is a literal resurrection of Diablo II in every way. If you loved the original 20 years ago, it’s fully intact here, for better or worse; that mileage is going to vary for a lot of people. On the one hand, there’s the feeling that iterating too much would fundamentally make Diablo II not Diablo II anymore—after all, that’s what Diablo III and the upcoming Diablo IV are for. But there’s certainly the argument to be made that dated design is dated design, no matter how pretty or nostalgic it’s made out to be. Where you fall on that spectrum will be the foundation for whether or not you’ll enjoy the return to one of gaming’s classics.
For me, I think the blend of new visuals built on top of the old game’s systems works really well, and is particularly impressive in how it’s been translated to a controller for consoles. Growing up in a rather religious household, I wasn’t exposed to many M-rated games as a kid, so my experiences with gaming classics were the likes of renting Metal Gear Solid while my parents were out of town or taking turns on Jake Adams’ computer to play Diablo II (he was a grade older than me and SOOOOO cool to my nerdy little middle-school self). I remember Diablo II’s visuals vividly, or at least I thought I did. Funny how the nostalgic brain will fill in those gaps. To that end, the visual update alone makes Diablo II: Resurrection a masterpiece.
Diablo II: Resurrection recasts the visuals in such a way that it’s what your brain was seeing back in 2000, when you were hunched over a keyboard and mouse playing the original in a darkened basement. And yet the ability to toggle the graphics at an instant (L2+touchpad on PS5. I had to look it up, the game doesn’t tell you how to do it) shows that the original game wasn’t embellished with near as many details as our brains like to remember. Pixelated dungeons with nary a notable detail become corpse-strewn blood-stained stone. Fields of muddy greens and browns become even better looking fields of muddy greens and browns. Visuals are rendered with intent, never changing or updating the feeling of the original, but embellishing where it makes sense, and where new visual technologies allow them to. And it’s genuinely stunning what they accomplished, creating a game with a look and tone exactly what I’d expect of Diablo II.
The visual polish, so very carefully crafted to stay true to the original game’s vision, doesn’t do anything to decrease (or increase, for that matter) visibility of environments, items, enemies, and characters on the screen. Enemies still have their distinct outlines. Darkened corners of dungeons are still wrapped in a lightless blanket. I hammered the visual toggle constantly, mostly out of curiosity and delight. It’s a small tool that aids in really appreciating the work they put into the updated visual design, seeing just how closely they got it to the original. The ability to do it on the fly is a testament to how well everything matches up. I’d even toss it in as part of a mid-battle combo just for the hell of it.
Diablo II Resurrected Review – East, Always into the East
Cutscenes have also been completely redone, looking absolutely incredible. This isn’t just a resolution bump on some 20-year-old CG animations (which were arguably groundbreaking at the time). They are completely new, synced precisely to the original audio. While they mostly remain faithful to those classic cutscenes, some elements of them have been altered thanks to newer technologies allowing for better postured, physics, and animations. Much like the updated gameplay visuals, however, they perfectly capture the intent of the originals, never being altered to such an extent that this stops feeling like Diablo II. That’s the core of this entire experience. Does it look and feel like Diablo II at every turn? No modernization should fundamentally change or iterate on the experience, but rather enhance from what was possible in 2000.
On the gameplay side, they mostly left well enough alone. And yes, that does mean that it’s not exactly updated with the myriad quality of life features that action-RPGs have gained in the last two decades, but it also means this is still Diablo II through and through. And they don’t make ’em like they used to. There are a couple of rather light touches that Blizzard and Vicarious Visions applied that both change a lot while never wholly changing the feel of the game too much. Auto gold pickup now means you don’t have to click on every pile of gold (though you do still need to run over it). Messaging has been changed around online and offline characters. There are a few other minor changes, like being able to reopen the portal to the secret cow level if you kill the cow king.
The above interface is for the PC version. The interface looks a bit different for console players, who have a number of hotkeys to use abilities easily with a controller.
But this is largely the exact same game, a 2000s era action-RPG time capsule. In an interview with the development team, they explained to us that for any proposed changes, they would iterate to see how much it would change the balance and feel of the overall game. Remove the stamina meter? Suddenly you are playing with item economy like the stamina potion, as well as altering how armor rating is calculated. Stackable potions in your inventory? Suddenly that changes the flow of grabbing loot and the need to use Town Portals to get rid of items. The question becomes how far do you go before iterating fundamentally changes the game, until Diablo II is no longer Diablo II?
Diablo II Resurrected Review – Nostalgic Restraint
Despite some of its 20-year-old game design burrs, I was happy that Blizzard and Vicarious Visions opted for restraint. I didn’t want just any other Diablo game. I wanted Diablo II, and Diablo II is exactly what I got. This is the game that 13-year-old me remembers playing in Jake Adams’ basement, a marvel of PC gaming that was taboo in my house. And translating a PC-only game to console was done with an admirable effort that should be commended. Even elements like the grid-based inventory system have enough controller shortcuts to them that it retains all of its mouse and keyboard PC goodness while being entirely playable on a controller. There are modern games that honestly feel more cumbersome to play on controller than Diablo II: Resurrection does, so add another point in the meticulous success column for Vicarious Visions and Blizzard.
Normally one to play the classic sword-bearing, “leeroy jenkins” hero type—boring, I know—I chose instead to have my main character in Diablo II: Resurrected be a Necromancer, a class I don’t believe I ever played as a kid. It’s taken some getting used to not just charging in and whacking enemies with whatever weapon I have equipped, but the ability to have an entire army of the dead at my command is an amazing power. Couple that with additional skills and weapons, and it’s kind of funny to think that a 20-year old game is helping me appreciate playing a class outside of my usual gaming go-to. Of course I’ll continue toying around with all of the classes, and I’ll probably run a tanky sword-bearing Paladin at some point.
With 20 years of action-RPGs—many of which used Diablo II as inspiration—it’s a fascinating experience to return to how they all started. There may be some hurdles for new players and those who have become used to modern day conveniences, but it doesn’t take long to settle into a good rhythm. Diablo II knows exactly what it is, and it’s focused. If you lean into the relatively straightforward experience that way the game wants you to—the way you would have in 2000—you’re guaranteed to get a level of enjoyment out of it, even if you have to acquiesce to certain quality of life changes not being present. After all, many of those things are simply what makes Diablo II feel unequivocally like Diablo II.
Aside from a few very minor visual issues with the renderer, I have run into a number of server and connection hiccups that will teleport my character around as the server catches up and tells my client where it thinks my character should be. Diablo II: Resurrected still has separate online and offline characters, so if I ever want to play my character with other people, I have to play always online, even if I’m just running solo. But even past the launch date problems that have been mostly resolved, there have been some warping issues whenever my client and the server get out of sync.
Diablo II: Resurrected is Diablo II in everything that matters. Its strict adherence to the tone, themes, and even gameplay of the original makes this an incredible time capsule, revisiting a classic restored, yet not iterated on. It’s the best of both worlds; a game that looks and plays wonderfully in 2021, but embodies the dark experience that was first brought to the world more than 20 years ago. They just don’t make games like this anymore.
Diablo II Resurrected review code provided by publisher. Reviewed on PS5. For more information, please read our Review Policy.
ResetEra users have discovered multiple new job openings at Guerrilla Games, which suggest that the studio is working on an open-world role-playing game with multiplayer features.
A vacancy for a Senior Social Systems Designer mentions features that allow players to form “Guild-like groups” to explore the world together, and the job description for a Senior Game Writer is specifically looking for someone with prior experience of narrative design in open-world RPG games, online games, and MMORPGs.
“Design features and systems to promote a healthy and fun experience for our player community, engage players in social interactions to create lasting relationships, and where compatible players can create Guild-like groups to explore together,” reads the ad for Senior Social Systems Designer. “Analyze how games utilize social interactions to promote player-to-player bond. You have demonstrable experience working on social systems (e.g. player communication, matchmaking, moderation tools, and first party platform integration).”
In April last year, reports emerged that Horizon Forbidden West will feature a co-op mode. It’s possible that the reports were stemming from what we’re assuming is a standalone Horizon experience in development.
Elon Musk isn't fond of Jeff Bezos' Blue Origin, and he just made that patently clear. CNETreports that Musk told Code conference attendees Bezos should put more effort into "getting into orbit than lawsuits," and that you couldn't "sue your way to the Moon" as Blue Origin allegedly tried when it lost its lunar lander bid. He was also less-than-flattering to Virgin Galactic, describing its first passenger flight and Blue Origin's as "a step in the direction of orbit" that fell short of SpaceX's efforts.
While Musk is known for being harsh, he might have some support in this case. The Verge has obtained NASA legal documents showing that the space agency felt Blue Origin "gambled" with its originally proposed $5.9 billion lunar lander price. Bezos' company allegedly set the price far higher than necessary as it expected NASA to award the contract and negotiate for a lower cost. Blue Origin also reportedly assumed NASA would get the full funding from Congress needed for that initial price, even as the Senate made clear NASA wouldn't get the necessary amount.
In an interview, Blue Origin VP Megan Mitchell told The Verge the company rejected NASA's views. She felt Blue Origin made a "great offer" and that it disagreed with NASA's gambling characterization. The GAO separately said NASA partly botched its safety review requirements for the proposal, although it still sided with SpaceX on grounds that Blue Origin didn't explain how the move provided an unfair edge.
This isn't to say Musk and SpaceX are innocent. SpaceX sued the US in 2019 after it lost an Air Force rocket contract to Blue Origin and other competitors, for example. It's just that Musk's trash talking appears to carry some weight in this modern Moon race.
from Engadget is a web magazine with obsessive daily coverage of everything new in gadgets and consumer electronics https://ift.tt/2Ya2pjQ
Facebook’s TikTok clone is no longer just for Instagram. As of today, the social network is officially bringing Reels to the main Facebook app. With the change, users can create Reels directly from Facebook, and the company will recommend the short-form videos in all users’ News Feeds.
Facebook has been testing out various ways of bringing Reels out of Instagram for awhile, and began testing cross-posting features last month. Now, it’s also testing a feature that allows Reels creators on Instagram to promote their videos in Facebook’s News Feed directly, even if they don’t use the app.
Reels has become increasingly important to facebook and its efforts to challenge TikTok. The company has been steadily adding features to the service, and is attempting to lure creators with the promise of payouts for hitting certain milestones. Now, the company is adding a new "invite-only" bonus program to coincide with Reels' launch on Facebook and encourage creators to start posting on the social network.
Facebook
But it’s the potential challenge to TikTok that could be most significant for the company. Documents reported by The Wall Street Journal show that Facebook has been struggling to incentivize teens and younger users to post original content. Internally, the company is reportedly worried about ceding influence to TikTok, where teens spend much more time than on Facebook’s apps.
Promoting Reels in the main Facebook app, which is already not especially popular with teens, may not seem like the most direct way to solve that. But getting more eyes on users’ Reels will help the feature grow even if its top users don’t spend much time on Facebook itself.
from Engadget is a web magazine with obsessive daily coverage of everything new in gadgets and consumer electronics https://ift.tt/3zS1kdj
Sony's flagship noise-cancelling headphones and tech-filled true wireless earbuds were refreshed with new 1000XM4 models in recent months. However, the company's more affordable options are still due for a refresh, and Sony begins that process today. With the WF-C500, the company offers a solid set of true wireless earbuds capable of handling immersive 360 Reality Audio for $100. And if over-ear noise-cancelling headphones are more your vibe, the WF-XB910N pairs ANC (active noise cancellation) with 30-hour battery life for $250.
The true wireless WF-C500 replaces the WF-XB700 at the bottom of Sony's price range. What's more, they're $30 cheaper than the XB700 was initially at $99.99. This substitution is a good thing because despite handling the basics well, the tiered design wasn't as ergonomic or comfy as the company suggested. With the WF-C500, Sony takes design cues from its high-end WF-1000XM4 earbuds. The result is smaller size and a more secure fit that should be more comfortable during hours of continuous use. And an IPX4 rating means you can use these during workouts without worrying about moisture damage.
Inside, the C500 is equipped with Sony's DSEE (Digital Sound Enhancement Engine) that restores some of the detail lost when music is compressed for streaming over Bluetooth. The company also allows you employ sound presets and adjust the EQ with its Headphones app. Plus, you have the option of listening in Sony's 360 Reality Audio if you're willing to splurge for the priciest streaming plan on select services (Amazon Music HD, Tidal HiFi, etc.). On-board controls give you the ability to manage music, adjust volume, take calls and activate a voice assistant without reaching for your phone. Lastly, the C500 will give you up to 10 hours of listening time with one additional charge in the included case. A quick-charge feature offers an hour of tunes in 10 minutes.
The WF-C500 is available for pre-order today, but colors vary by retailer. Sony will offer them in black, as will Amazon, Best Buy and Target. Exclusive colors include white (Amazon), green (Best Buy) and orange (Target). The earbuds are set to ship in October.
Sony XB-910N
Sony
For the over-ear noise-cancelling crowd, the WH-XB910N replaces the WH-XB900N in the middle of Sony's headphone lineup. The price stays the same at $249.99, but the company offers a new design and improved ANC thanks to a Dual Noise Sensor. As the "XB" signifies, this model is equipped with the company's Extra Bass feature that amps up the low-end tone when activated. DSEE tech makes streaming over Bluetooth a bit more enjoyable by restoring detail lost to compression. The XB910N can also manage Sony's 360 Reality Audio content and employs Adaptive Sound Control, a staple of the company's pricier headphones, that can automatically adjust settings based on activity or location.
Sony is also angling at the remote working crowd here. The company explains that Precise Voice Pickup tech uses a combination of microphones and signal processing to amplify your voice on calls. There's also "a more natural listening experience" in ambient sound mode as Sony says the XB910N can pick up more of what's going on around you. That's handy whether you need to stay tuned in to what's going on either at home or in the office. On-board controls include Sony's quick attention feature which lets outside noise in when you place your hand over an earcup and there's a dedicated button to quickly change from ANC to ambient sound.
Sony says the XB910N will last up to 30 hours with the option of 4.5 hours of listening time after a 10-minute quick charge. To further cater to travelers, the company opted for soft, oval-shaped earpads for extra cushion and a design that folds flat for easy storage. If you prefer to save even more on your noise-cancelling headphones, the excellent WH-CH710N will stick around and are currently $98. Although they lack a lot of the handy features from Sony's other models, the noise-cancelling CH710N are light and comfy, handling the basics very well for that price.
The WF-C500 is available for pre-order today, and once again, the colors vary by retailer. Sony will offer them in black, as will Amazon and Best Buy. Exclusive colors include blue (Amazon) and gray (Best Buy). The headphones are scheduled to ship in October.
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Another major automaker has revealed plans to move entirely to electric vehicles within the next decade. Rolls-Royce is the latest one to make the pledge, following other luxury brands such as Jaguar, Lincoln and Bentley.
Spectre, Rolls-Royce's first EV (and one that sounds like it's rolling off the set of a James Bond film), will arrive in the last quarter of 2023. The BMW brand plans to start testing the vehicle soon, according to Reuters. Rolls-Royce teased the EV in some images, but it literally kept the Spectre's design under wraps.
Rolls-Royce
Rolls-Royce CEO Torsten Muller-Otvos said that by 2030, the automaker "will no longer be in the business of producing or selling any internal combustion engine products." Sibling brand Mini has made a similar pledge. Parent company BMW has not set a date for making a full switch to EVs, though it aims to move half of production to electric models by the end of this decade.
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No, you cannot name yourself Jeff Bezos or any variant thereof in Amazon’s recently released and incredibly messy Massively Multiplayer Online Colonization Simulator, The New World. This is unsurprising given the extremely fragile egos of the most powerful men on earth.
Live sex cam site Chaturbate recently announced that its streaming platform will now support certain pre-approved video games, and is calling on developers to give their permission to add more to that growing list. Honestly, it was only a matter of time.
As promised, Jeep has detailed its first Grand Cherokee plug-in hybrid. The company has confirmed the Grand Cherokee 4xe will arrive in North American dealers in early 2022, and will sport more capabilities than you might have expected. The estimated 25 miles of all-electric driving (440 miles total) won't necessarily cover your entire commute, but Jeep is promising a rough-and-ready PHEV that can climb hills without touching the 2.0L turbo gas engine. You can also drive in a full hybrid mode for peak performance and an "eSave" mode to preserve the 17kWh battery for later.
You can also expect new technology inside, such as 10-inch front and rear passenger displays with built-in Fire TV — your kids can stream Prime Video in the backseat. The driver, meanwhile, gets a 10-inch display with a much faster Uconnect 5 platform that supports over-the-air updates.
The 4xe and its regular counterparts are improved off-roaders with semi-active damping for air suspension as well as a front-axle disconnect when the SUV senses it doesn't need all-wheel drive. You'll also get semi-autonomous help through an optional Active Driving Assist system that takes over so long as your hands are on the wheel and your eyes are on the road. Jeep is promising a 6,000lbs maximum towing capacity.
Jeep hasn't divulged pricing for the Grand Cherokee 4xe, although it will be available in increasingly loaded Limited, Trailhawk, Overland, Summit and Summit Reserve editions. It's already safe to say this is an important vehicle for the brand, though. Parent company Stellantis is racing to catch up with rivals in electrifying its vehicles, with plans for a fully electric version of every SUV by 2025. The plug-in hybrid is a critical first step in that direction.
from Engadget is a web magazine with obsessive daily coverage of everything new in gadgets and consumer electronics https://ift.tt/3omTNRx
YouTube has banned all videos containing misinformation about vaccines that are currently administered and have been approved by local health authorities or the World Health Organization. The measure is an expansion of a policy covering COVID-19 vaccines.
The service says that users shouldn't, for instance, post videos in which they claim that vaccines lead to chronic side effects (other than rare side effects that health authorities have acknowledged); content that alleges vaccines don't reduce transmission or contraction of diseases; or videos that have inaccuracies about vaccine ingredients.
There are some exceptions. YouTube "will continue to allow content about vaccine policies, new vaccine trials and historical vaccine successes or failures." Users can also share scientific discussions of vaccines and personal testimonials about their experiences, as long as they don't have a history of promoting vaccine misinformation and their video complies with YouTube's other rules. Posting videos that "condemn, dispute or satirize misinformation" that violates YouTube's policies should be okay too.
YouTube told the Washington Post that it's taking down channels linked to prominent anti-vaccine advocates, including Joseph Mercola and Robert F. Kennedy Jr. The reason it didn't move to ban all anti-vaccine content sooner is because it was focusing on COVID-19 vaccine misinformation.
“Developing robust policies takes time,” YouTube’s vice president of global trust and safety Matt Halprin told the publication. “We wanted to launch a policy that is comprehensive, enforceable with consistency and adequately addresses the challenge.”
YouTube, as well as Facebook and Twitter, banned COVID-19 misinformation in the early days of the pandemic in the spring of 2020. YouTube has removed more than 130,000 videos that broke its rules about COVID-19 vaccines, which it announced last October, and more than a million videos in total that included coronavirus misinformation.
Apple is adding another classic game to Arcade's repertoire, albeit a relatively recent one. Drool's "rhythm hell" title Thumper: Pocket Edition will be available through the all-you-can-play subscription service starting October 1st for iPhone, iPad and Mac gamers. The mechanics will be familiar if you've played the title on one of its many other platforms, but that doesn't make it any less intense — you're barrelling through a rhythm course at high speed, with precious little room for error.
The addition represents a familiar strategy for Apple. It's counting on recognizable and sometimes exclusive Arcade games to reel in subscribers and boost its increasingly important services business. Not that you'll necessarily mind. Thumper normally costs $5 by itself, so this might tip the balance if you were already considering Arcade or an Apple One bundle.
from Engadget is a web magazine with obsessive daily coverage of everything new in gadgets and consumer electronics https://ift.tt/39LnLpQ
When it comes to cool feats in The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, you probably think you’ve seen it all. You’ve caught the speedrunners and Korok seed completionists. You’ve seen someone, or perhaps many someones, run essentially naked up to Calamity Ganon’s throne and defeat him effortlessly. But hold on there,…
