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Sometimes, a whole game sprouts from a tiny seed of an idea. In the case of Dungeon Munchies, it's a simple, jokey premise: you're an unpaid zombie intern. A necromancer-chef named Simmer raises you as part of her plan to unleash a new generation of magical cuisine on the world. Why? How? You're not being paid enough to ask those questions, because you're not being paid at all. So off you go, searching the dungeon for ingredients. Don't worry about dying: endless, inescapable revival is part of your employee benefits package. This concept dovetails neatly into a mechanical foundation. You explore an (almost completely linear) side-scrolling world, marching along, avoiding traps and fighting monsters. Then you harvest ingredients from those monsters and cook magical dishes that visibly mutate your body, Binding of Isaac-style. That would be a fine little game by itself—maybe some sort of roguelite. But that's not what we've got here. During the three years Dungeon Munchies spent in Early Access before its full release, it grew into something far stranger. From what I've played and seen (about half completed myself, half watching a friend stream the tail-end) Taiwan-based three-man indie studio maJAJa let their ideas get away from them in the best possible way. I'm an idiot sandwich Dungeon Munchies takes its silly scribbled-on-a-napkin concept and expands it into a character-led, story-driven adventure. Its cast of screwball weirdos, mostly undead or talking vegetables, somehow develop into a deep well of pathos as the story explores just how strange the world would be if guava fruits were carnivorous and corn was philosophical. (All this while somehow sneaking in a side-plot about a canceled manga series called Captain DUI, which is about a man who fights crime with the power of drunk-driving.) The jokes come thick and fast. The fast-travel 'teleport' shrines you use to backtrack just slice you into chunks, which are then ferried to another station by skeletons to be reassembled. You discover some deeply questionable 'alternative' recipes involving poppy seeds and cocoa plants, and you get your air-dash ability via installing a jet-turbine sphincter. While not every joke finds its mark, there's enough deeply silly bits of dialogue, item descriptions and wacky monster designs to make exploring this weird dungeon world a joy—even when the story takes darker, more serious turns. Dungeon Munchies is carried by its narrative and its characters, as well as a genuine sense of adventure as the stakes (and steaks) keep rising. It's a world built on jokes, but taken surprisingly seriously. Anyone who watched the entirety of Adventure Time will feel right at home. (Image credit: maJAJa) Not to say that the combat in Dungeon Munchies isn't interesting—it is—but it's also scrappy. There's an excitedly amateur feel to it, like that other bizarre indie gem, Vampire Survivors. Movement is simple and a bit stiff, with not especially satisfying jumping physics, while combat is fundamentally just about holding down your attack buttons and positioning yourself so enemies run out of health before you do. But, like the premise, what looks one-note has surprising flavor and depth. While movement and combat gradually get more complex as your zombie body is given more upgrades through surgery, most of the subtlety comes from character-building. You don't level up in Dungeon Munchies, but you are what you eat. Your stomach can hold seven dishes at once, some giving simple stat boosts like increased HP and others giving complex powers like accelerating consecutive melee hits at the cost of slightly decreased damage. (Image credit: maJAJa) Between these food-based powers and separate weapons equipped in your left and right hands, a savvy number-cruncher can turn their shambling sous-chef into a magical Magimix, albeit sometimes at the cost of visibility. When a half-dozen effects are going off with every hit, combat can feel like two angry balls of particle effects smacking into each other. This is probably why many boss fights have phases where you can't do any damage and have to just focus on evasion. Soul food Thanks to the limited contents of your stomach and the linear nature of the game constantly introducing you to new recipes and equipment, you'll be switching up your character build constantly. It's messy, but oddly compelling and I can see myself getting into deep theorycrafting territory after the credits roll—there's a New Game+ mode awaiting me there. (Image credit: maJAJa) Dungeon Munchies is a game with a lot of heart, and that's especially clear in how much bespoke art there is. Enemy sprites (bosses in particular) are large, distinct and playfully animated. There's also a shocking amount of incidental art used in dialogue. Even if combat sometimes devolves into a hard-to-parse ball of pixels, it's easy to see there's real passion behind this game. It's an infectious kind of energy. Much like a crew of talented yet casually amateur chefs, maJAJa brings a lot of tasty ideas to the table with Dungeon Munchies. Even if the individual ingredients aren't the freshest and the presentation won't be winning any Michelin stars, there's something special about it. Warming and home-made—it's almost pointedly indie. It'd be a bit of a cliché to say the special ingredient is love, but this isn't a game that's shy about well-worn tropes. View the full article

I don't want to start this post by personally attacking Mark Zuckerberg's eyes, which have in years past been described as "two weird lil black marbles" and "vacant, black shark eyes." Who wouldn't look utterly bereft of a soul after trying to explain the internet to the United States Senate? I also don't need to suggest Mark Zuckerberg may in fact be a robot, since there's an entire meme community devoted to that joke. I am avoiding these easy, obvious dunks on ol' Zuck because his latest "metaverse" selfie looks so bad, he's already owned himself harder than I possibly could. Zuckerberg posted a screenshot from Meta's Horizon Worlds on Facebook earlier this week, saying that he's "looking forward to seeing people explore and build immersive worlds" in the VR "metaverse." The screenshot is not just bad: it is exquisitely bad. It is ironic clipart bad. It is stock-cratering, anyone-other-than-a-billionaire-CEO-would-immediately-be-fired-for-this bad. Meta spent $10 billion on developing whatever the hell it's doing with the metaverse last year, and all it's got to show for it is a baby doll-faced Zuckerberg hovering in front of a miniature Eiffel Tower. As writer technollama highlighted on Twitter, a side-by-side comparison of 2007's Second Life and 2022's Horizon Worlds does not do Zuck any favors. Second Life 2007. Metaverse 2022. pic.twitter.com/2JByEzk5eLAugust 17, 2022 See more Nor does the unfavorable comparison to 1996 PlayStation vehicular combat game Twisted Metal: This is the Eiffel Tower in Twisted Metal 2, which came out in 1996. pic.twitter.com/nkhG7d2ijMAugust 17, 2022 See more If I was the billionaire founder of one of the richest companies in the world, I would personally not advertise my revolutionary new software with a picture that looks embarrassing next to something that beat me to the punch 15 years ago. Second Life already has furries, early aughts goth haircuts and the 2007 Scion xB; who the hell would pass all that up to look at a 10-foot-tall Eiffel Tower? Perhaps the master plan here is to set expectations so low with dead-eyed virtual selfies that when Meta does actually show something substantial from that $10 billion investment, mediocrity looks like a massive improvement. I am not convinced this is a good plan. While virtual Zuckerberg is stuck trying to express one single human emotion, Fortnite is over here just casually being the pop culture metaverse people actually want. You didn't need to spend billions of dollars, Zuck. You just needed Goku. View the full article

Wing Commander 4 was a cutting-edge blend of FMV and space-sim action when it debuted in 1996, but—like most graphically-intensive videogames from that era—it hasn't aged particularly well. But a fan-made project aims to give it a much-needed facelift, with a new engine, assets, and upscaled cutscenes. "Gaming has moved on significantly over the last few decades and, while hugely impressive at the time, the game engine has perhaps not aged quite as gracefully," the Wing Commander 4: The Price of Freedom – Remastered website explains. "This project is a fan attempt to allow owners of Wing Commander IV: The Price of Freedom to enjoy a more modern experience by loading the files from the original game into a new engine, complete with specially created, high definition assets." To my eyes, though, the real magic is in the FMV scenes. Generally speaking, mid-'90s FMV looks terrible these days, and that's definitely the case with the Wing Commander games. But higher-quality Wing Commander cutscenes have actually been available for quite some time now, thanks to a largely-unknown DVD edition of the game. Those videos have been "further enhanced by AI upscaling," and while it's still not exactly an IMAX experience, it is pretty impressive. The video quality, that is: The quality of the dialog, direction, and acting is another matter entirely, and while I would never willfully disrespect Mark Hamill or Malcolm McDowell, I don't think anyone would argue that this is their best work. (Personally, I would argue that it is better than the work of Freddie Prinze Jr. and Matthew Lillard in the actual Wing Commander film from 1999, but that may be because I'm still bitter at having paid actual money to see it.) (Image credit: Omega) (Image credit: Omega) (Image credit: Omega) (Image credit: Omega) (Image credit: Omega) (Image credit: Omega) (Image credit: Omega) (Image credit: Omega) Anyway, back to the point: While Chris Roberts' directorial ambitions have always fallen a little short, Wing Commander 4 itself is unquestionably a groundbreaking space combat sim, and if you want to experience it now I think this would definitely be the way to do it. And, fortunately, you can: A "very early" demo of the Wing Commander 4 remaster is now available for download. It's dependent on the original Wing Commander 4 to operate—you can pick that up for a fiver from GOG or Origin. View the full article

Get more out of Sims 4 (Image credit: EA)Sims 4 mods: Play your way Sims 4 CC: Custom content Sims 4 expansions: Worth it? Hunting for Sims 4 cheats to liven up your game? There is no more classic combo than cheats and Sims, whether you simply want a little extra cash, a free house, or want to bring a family member back from the dead. With cheats you can forget trivial concerns like money or mortality and instead focus on playing around and having fun. This Sims 4 cheats guide features codes for all of the expansions and stuff packs. Most of the expansions and packs for The Sims 4 have their own group of cheats for the jobs, deaths, and traits that are unique to that expansion. With the High School Years expansion pack now out, you can find all the cheats you need below for getting through school or getting promoted in the new side hustle careers. We've ordered the page so you can find tables for all the skills, careers, and traits you might want to max out your Sim's level in. You can also Ctrl+F this page for the name of the expansion or pack you're using to find the cheats you need in each section. There are also instructions about how to activate cheats in-game. How to turn cheats on in Sims 4 To enable Sims 4 cheats, press Ctrl + Shift + C while in game to open the cheat console. Type your chosen cheat codes into the text field that opens and press enter. For cheats marked as "shift click," you'll first need to type "testingCheats [true/false]" into the cheat menu. With testing cheats on, you can unlock some new Shift-Click menu options on Sims, objects, or the ground. With testingCheats active, you'll be able to move Sims between families, fill up their needs and happiness bars, dirty or clean up objects, and teleport Sims anywhere you like, among a few others detailed below. Sims 4 Money cheat (Image credit: EA, The Sims Studio) Spending all your money on groceries and bills is too much like real life. Why make your Sims start at the bottom when it's way more fun to start at the top? Enter any of these Sims 4 money cheat keywords into the cheat console to instantly gain stacks of cash. kaching: get 1,000 simoleonsrosebud: get 1,000 simoleons (for The Sims veterans who remember it)motherlode: get 50,000 simoleonsMoney [#]: change household simoleons to an exact numberFreeRealEstate [on/off]: enter this in neighborhood or world view to make all lots freehousehold.autopay_bills [true/false]: Turn household bills on and off. Sims 4 UI cheats Sims 4 UI cheats Use these handy UI cheats for The Sims 4 to remove game elements from your view or add extra utilities: headlineeffects [on/off]: Enables or disables headline effects like plumbobs and speech bubbleshovereffects [on/off]: Disable hover effect when you mouseover a SimfullscreenToggle: Makes the game fullscreen/windowedfps [on/off]: Display the fps on screen Sims 4 build cheats Sims 4 build cheats modebb.moveobjects: the Sims 4 move objects cheat is a vital one for builders, which allows you to ignore placement rules for objectsbb.showhiddenobjects: buy hidden objectsbb.enablefreebuild: build anywhere, even on locked lotsbb.ignoregameplayunlocksentitlement: buy items locked by careers With an object selected you can also press Shift + [ or Shift + ] to make an object smaller or larger. Sims 4 Live Cheats (Image credit: EA) Sims 4 Live Mode cheats Things have a way of going entirely sideways in The Sims 4 when you lose track of time. Here are some cheats to get you out of (or into, if that's your thing) sticky situations: resetsim [firstname lastname]: Resets a stuck Sim.sims.give_satisfaction_points [#]: Gives a Sim an amount of satisfaction points.fillmotive motive_[motive]: Fills the specified motive, valid for: Bladder, Energy, Fun, Hunger, Hygiene, Social.sims.fill_all_commodities: Fills the motives for all Sims in the household.aspirations.complete_current_milestone: Completes a Sim's current aspiration goal and awards the matching points. Sims 4 Highschool Years cheats Get your teen Sims through (or kicked out of) school with these cheats for graduating and getting expelled. These are all handled through the trait system, so you'll use the cheat traits.equip_trait [trait] with the following, which all do exactly what they suggest: trait_hsexit_graduate_earlytrait_hsexit_graduate_honorstrait_hsexit_graduate_valedictoriantrait_hsexit_expelledtrait_hsexit_dropout Like other traits, you can use traits.remove_trait to get rid of each as well. You can find more Highschool Years cheats for careers, skills, and personality traits in the tables below. Sims 4 Werewolf cheats Cheats for the werewolf pack are mostly related to traits. To immediately transform a Sim into a werewolf in the Sims 4: Werewolves pack, use traits.equip_trait trait_occultwerewolf to add the Werewolf trait. Similarly, to immediately remove the Werewolf trait, use traits.remove_trait trait_occultwerewolf instead. Find more werewolf traits in the tables below. The Werewolves pack also added a series of cheats to add Temperaments to your werewolves, which are normally unlocked through gameplay and affect the rates at which your werewolves gain fury and go into rampages. To add a Temperament to your werewolf, use the cheat traits.equip_trait trait_OccultWerewolf_Temperaments_[temperament], replacing the bracketed section with one of the following temperaments: AntiCapitalistCanine - Adds the 'Anti-Capitalist Canine' temperamentBigBadWolf - Adds the 'Big Bad Wolf' temperament Carnivore - Adds the 'Carnivore' temperamentEasilyExcitable - Adds the 'Easily Excitable' temperamentFeelsOutcasted - Adds the 'Feels Outcasted' temperamentFrisky - Adds the 'Frisky' temperamentGrumpyWolf - Adds the 'Grumpy Wolf' temperamentHatesBeingWet - Adds the 'Hates Being Wet' temperamentHungryLikeTheWolf - Adds the 'Hungry Like the Wolf' temperamentLunar_ForestMark - Adds the 'Mark of the Forest' temperamentLunar_HuntMark - Adds the 'Mark of the Hunt' temperamentLunar_NightMark - Adds the 'Mark of the Night' temperamentLunar_WolfMark - Adds the 'Mark of the Wolf' temperamentMustBeClean - Adds the 'Must Be Clean' temperamentNightWolf - Adds the 'Night Wolf' temperamentPrideful - Adds the 'Prideful' temperamentRestlessAnimal - Adds the 'Restless Animal' temperamentSensitiveHearing - Adds the 'Sensitive Hearing' temperamentSurvivalInstincts - Adds the 'Survival Instincts' temperamentTerritorial - Adds the 'Territorial' temperamentWolfBrain - Adds the 'Wolf Brain' temperamentWrackedWithGuilt - Adds the 'Wracked With Guilt' temperament (Image credit: Electronic Arts) Sims 4: Seasons cheats You can't change the season at will after creating a new world, so you'll have to use a cheat instead. Or, you know, live through each season in Live Mode but that would take way too long. Use seasons.set_season [#] to change it at will. Each season is represented by a number: Summer: 0Fall: 1Winter: 2Spring: 3 You can also use seasons.advance_season to go forward in time by just one season. Sims 4: Get Famous cheats If you want to climb the fame ladder, you can use the super simple famepoints [#] which will add the number of fame points to your currently selected Sim. Sims 4: Eco Lifystyle cheats One of the first things you might be compelled to do with Eco Lifestyle cheats is change your neighborhood's Eco Footprint. If you just can't stand starting out with an industrial neighborhood, use eco_footprint.set_eco_footprint_state [#] with one of these numbers: 0 - Green Eco Footprint1 - Neutral Eco Footprint2 - Industrial Eco Footprint Sims 4 Batuu cheats If you want an unlimited supply of Galactic Credits, what you'll need to punch into the console. bucks.update_bucks_by_amount 512011000 Note that the "1000" at the end is the amount of Galactic Credits that you're giving your Sim. You can change that number to whatever, so go crazy with it. The following clothing cheat will unlock the full catalog of Journey to Batuu items, but know that you'll have to punch it in either in Create A Sim or the Dwelling in Batuu. cas.unlockbytag GP09 Sims 4 decorator clothing cheat If you'd like to unlock the clothing items that are gated behind career progress, use cas.unlockbytagGP10 Sims 4 Island Living cheats On a lot with the "Volcanic Activity" trait, use volcanic_eruption [small/large] to make lava bombs rain from the sky onto your lot. Sims 4 Shift+Click cheats After typing testingCheats true in the cheat console, Shift+Click on Sims and objects for the following effects: Sims 4 Shift+Click cheats Game PackTargetPathEffectBase GameSimCheat need > Make happySets all your Sim's motives to full and mood to HappyBase GameSimCheat need > Disable need decayAllows or stops Sims from Need changesBase GameSim / ObjectReset objectWorks on Sims and objects to reset their statusBase GameSimAdd to familyAdds a Sim to your currently played family.Base GameSimModify in CASModify the Sim in Create-a-Sim aside from name and inherited traitsBase GameObjectMake clean/dirtyUse on an object to make it dirty or cleanBase GameGroundTeleport SimShift+Click on the ground to teleport a Sim to that point.Base GameObjectMake headUse on an object to stick it on top of your Sim's neck like a horrible chimeraBase GameMailboxUtilitiesChange the power and water consumption or production on the lot.Base GameMailboxAlter needsTurn off needs for the world or household or fill all needs.PetsAnimalGive quirkGive a fear or love TV quirk to an animal.PetsFood bowlFillRefill your pet's food for free.Discover UniversityRobotics TableSpawn crafting suppliesGives you 50 of everything in the current Sim's inventory.Eco LifestyleVoting Board/MailboxEnact/Repeal NAPInstantly enact or repeal a Neighborhood Action Plan.Eco LifestyleVoting Board/MailboxGive Sim InfluenceGain Influence needed for Neighborhood activities.Eco LifestyleSim/Fabrication MachineGive bucks > Bits/PiecesGet 500 Bits of Pieces currencyBatuuSimBatuu Cheats > Give Batuu ItemsGet Batuu items for freeBatuuSimBatuu Cheats / Batuu ReputationSet your allegiance with the First Order or Resistance.BatuuSimBatuu Cheats > Faction World StatesSet world state to First Order or Resistance.BatuuRey / Kylo RenAdd to familyLike other Sims, you ccan add Rey or Kyle Ren to your family.Cottage LivingAnimalCheat relationship > Set max friendshipBecome besties with your animals.Cottage LivingAnimalGet all Animal ClothesUnlocks all outfits for your animal.Cottage LivingGroundCreate animalSpawn in a rabbit, chick, hen, or rooster.Cottage LivingChicken coop / Rabbit homeSpawn rabbit/chicken/eggSpawn in any of those mentioned.Cottage LivingFridgeAnimal treatsUnlock animal treat recipes. Sims 4 relationship cheats (Image credit: EA) Need More Cheat Sheets? (Image credit: Rockstar Games)Fallout 4 cheats: Nuclear codes Minecraft commands: Unblocked RDR2 cheats: Most wanted GTA 5 cheats: Phone it in The Sims 4 cheats: Life hacks Ark cheats: Expedited evolution If your Sims have the same problem making friends that I have in real life, the cheat console code relationship.introduce_sim_to_all_others will instantly introduce your Sim to all their neighbors. For an even easier icebreaker, relationships.create_friends_for_sim will spawn a new Sim on the lot already already friends with yours. If you need more specific friendship (and romance) control, use the following to add and subtract from relationships between two Sims: modifyrelationship [YourSimFirstName] [YourSimLastName] [TargetSimFirstName] [TargetSimLastName] 100 LTR_Friendship_Main Substitute "Friendship" for "Romance" to change romantic relationship values. Positive values will increase a relationship, while using a negative value (ex: -100) will decrease it. Sims 4 death cheats (Image credit: EA) Kill and un-kill your sims To save your Sims from death entirely, use death.toggle [true/false] sims.add_buff Ghostly will turn your sim into a ghost for 4 in-game hours. In the Sims 4 Vampire expansion, you can kill your fanged sims with stats.set_stat commodity_Vampire_SunExposure -100. For all your other deadly designs, use the following trait codes to turn your Sim into a ghost who has been died in the respective manner with the code: traits.equip_trait [trait] traits.equip_trait [trait] Game PackDeath TypeTrait CodeSeasonsOverheatedGhost_OverheatSeasonsFreezingGhost_FrozenSeasonsLightning strikeGhost_LightningJungle AdventurePoisonedPoisonParanormal StuffBecome a ghost summoned by Seancetrait_Ghost_SeanceTableParanormal StuffBecome Guidry the ghosttrait_GuidryParanormal StuffBecome Temperance the ghosttrait_HauntedHouse_TemperanceVampiresKilled by suntraits.equip_trait Vampire_Sun Killing and un-killing your pets traits.equip_trait Ghost_OldAge [Pet ID] will turn your pet into a ghost if you are either an absolute monster or (spoiler alert) attempting an elaborate Sim version of John Wick. To get your pet's ID (you monster), use sims.get_sim_id_by_name [PetFirstName] [PetLastName] You should also be able to resurrect your pets with traits.remove_trait Ghost_OldAge [Pet ID]. Sims 4 skill cheats (Image credit: EA) If you want to max out your Sim's skills or set them to any particular skill level of your choosing, you can use this list of skill codes. Use stats.set_skill_level [skill code] [#] to set your Sim's skill to any level you want. Substitute in the skill code and the skill level you want, which should look something like: "stats.set_skill_level Major_Writing 10" For your child Sims, substitute with Skill_Child_[Creativity/Mental/Motor/Social] all of which also max out at 10. stats.set_skill_level [skill code] [#] Game PackSkillSkill CodeMax LevelBase GameCookingMajor_HomestyleCooking 10Base GameGourmet CookingMajor_GourmetCooking10Base GameBartendingMajor_Bartending 10Base GameCharismaMajor_Charisma10Base GameComedyMajor_Comedy10Base GameFishingMajor_Fishing 10Base GameFitnessSkill_Fitness 10Base GameGardeningMajor_Gardening10Base GameGuitarMajor_Guitar10Base GamePianoMajor_Piano 10Base GameViolinMajor_Violin 10Base GameHandinessMajor_Handiness10Base GameMischiefMajor_Mischief 10Base GamePaintingMajor_Painting 10Base GamePhotographyMajor_Photography 10Base GameProgrammingMajor_Programming10Base GameRocket ScienceMajor_RocketScience10Base GameVideo GamingMajor_VideoGaming10Base GameWritingMajor_Writing10Cats & DogsVeterinaryMajor_Vet10Cats & DogsPet Trainingskill_Dog5SeasonsFlower Arrangingstatistic_skill_AdultMajor_FlowerArranging10SeasonsSkatingHidden_Skating5Get FamousActingMajor_Acting10Get FamousMedia ProductionMinor_Media5Discover UniversityRoboticsMajor_Robotics10Discover UniversityDebateMajor_ResearchDebate10Eco LifestyleFabricationAdultMajor_Fabrication10Eco LifestyleJuice FizzingAdultMinor_JuiceFizzing5Journey to BatuuLightsaber skillsSkill_Fitness10Snowy EscapeRock ClimbingMajor_RockClimbing10Snowy EscapeSkiingMajor_Skiing10Snowy EscapeSnowboardingMajor_Snowboarding10ParanormalMediumMinor_Medium5Cottage LivingCross stitchSkill_CrossStitch5Highschool YearsEntrepreneuradultminor_entrepreneur5 Sims 4 career cheats (Image credit: Maxis) After your Sims are all skilled up, you can also give them free promotions or add new careers. Use careers.add_career [career] to add careers with their career code in the list below. careers.promote [career] and careers.remove [career] work in the same way to get a promotion or remove your Sim's job. You can also use careers.retire [career] to quit your job and collect a weekly pension. careers.add_career [career] Game PackCareerCareer CodeHighschool YearsAdult streamerparttime_streamersidehustleHighschool YearsTeen streamerteen_streamersidehustleHighschool YearsAdult simsfluencerparttime_simsfluencersidehustleHighschool YearsTeen simsfluencerteen_simsfluencersidehustleCats & DogsVeterinarianVetSeasonsBotanist/FLoristAdult_GardenerSeasonsScout (for teens)ScoutGet FamousActingActorGet FamousDrama club (for kids)DramaClubIsland LivingConservationConservationistIsland LivingDiverPartTime_DiverIsland LivingFishingPartTime_FishermanIsland LivingLifeguardingPartTime_LifeguardIsland LivingTeen LifeguardTeen_LifeguardDiscover UniversityTeacher/ProfessorEducationDiscover UniversityMechanical/Computer EngineerEngineeringDiscover UniversityJudge/Private AttorneyLawEco LifestyleCivil Designercareers_Adult_CivilDesignerEco LifestyleFreelance Makercareers_Adult_Freelancer_Agency_MakerParanormalBecome a Paranormal Investigatortrait_Freelancer_Career_ParanormalInvestigator_LicenseParanormalPromote your Paranormal InvestigatorParanormalinvestigatorDream Home DecoratorInterior DecoratorInteriorDream Home DecoratorInterior DecoratonDeco Sims 4 trait cheats (Image credit: EA, The Sims Studio) You can pick certain traits for your Sims during the Create-A-Sim process that control some of their preferences, habits, and how they react to other Sims. One way to cheat your Sims into having certain traits, especially those in the base game, is to use the Shift+Click cheats above to edit them in the CAS (Create-A-Sim) menu. If you want more fine control, or your're trying to add and remove other properties, here is your list of traits from game packs and expansions that you may want to give your Sims. A Sim's Lifestyles, which reflect the habits they've developed as you play them, are also added and removed as traits. After using the base cheat "testingCheats true" you can use the following cheats to add and remove all of the cheats on this list with their respective Trait code. traits.equip_trait [trait] traits.remove_trait [trait] traits.[equip/remove]_trait [trait] Game PackTrait CodeTrait EffectHighschool YearsSociallyAwkwardBuild Charisma skill more slowly and struggle with social situations.Highschool YearsPartyAnimalEnjoy parties and perform party tricks.Highschool YearsOverachieverRaise skills faster but are harder to get along with as friends.Werewolvestrait_WerewolfPack_FriendBBecome a friend of the Wildfangs packWerewolvestrait_WerewolfPack_FriendABecome a friend of the Moonwood Collective packWerewolvestrait_OccultWerewolf_InitiationBonusTraitInitial relationship boost when introduced to werewolves.Werewolvestrait_OccultWerewolf_GreaterWolfBloodEnhances werewolf growth.Werewolvestrait_OccultWerewolf_DormantWolfAdds the Dormant Wolf traitWerewolvestrait_occultwerewolfBecome (or unbecome) a WerewolfCats & DogsAttractionRelationships with animals begin higherSeasonsStormchaserYour Sim loves terrifying weather!SeasonsWaterproofYour sim won't get wet, even in the rainSeasonsIceManIceproof Sims are not negatively affected by coldSeasonsBurningManBurn proof Sims love the heatSeasonsHeatAcclimationSim is less affected by hot conditionsSeasonsColdAcclimationSim is less affected by cold conditionsSeasonsScoutingAptitudeEarn Scouting experience fasterSeasonsFatherWinterBabyYour Sim is...Santa's baby?Get FamousWorldRenownedActorNever fail at an Acting actionGet FamousUnstoppableFameNever experience Fame decayIsland Livingtrait_BeachBum_LaidBackNever become TenseIsland Livingtrait_Hidden_IslandAncestor_ElementalIncrease the quality of plants and summon volcanic bombsIsland Livingtrait_NaturalSpeakerGreat at enthusing other SimsIsland Livingtrait_FriendOfTheSeaBecome friends with dolphins and merpeople easierIsland Livingtrait_OccultMermaidBecome a merpersonIsland Livingtrait_OccultMermaid_MermaidFormToggle a mer tail on landEco Lifestyletrait_ChampionOfThePeopleGain Satisfaction when you gain InfluenceEco Lifestyletrait_EcoEngineerCreate Eco-Updates fasterEco Lifestyletrait_MasterMakerFabricate items at reduced costEco Lifestyletrait_Nature_InfluentialIndividualOther Sims will be more Influenced by this SimEco Lifestyletrait_eco_masterInspire other Sims to become Eco-consciousEco Lifestyletrait_entrepreneurThese Sims like taking chaces on investmentsEco Lifestyletrait_FizzyheadBecome focused while using the juice FizzerEco Lifestyletrait_makerNPCInspire fabrication recipes for other SimsSnowy EscapeTrait_AdventurousSnowy EscapeTrait_Proper Snowy EscapeTrait_Excursion_Mountaineer_Rank[1/2/3] Snowy EscapeTrait_CorporateWorker_CharismaticCrooner Snowy EscapeTrait_CorporateWorker_LegendaryStaminaSnowy EscapeTrait_SurvivalInstinctSnowy EscapeTrait_WorldlyKnowledge Snowy EscapeTrait_TownMascot Snowy EscapeTrait_Hidden_RockClimbingGear_HasGearSnowy EscapeTrait_Lifestyles_AdrenalineSeekerSeeks thrills and avoids being boredSnowy EscapeTrait_Lifestyles_CloseKnitKeeps good friends longer but struggles with lower relationship levels.Snowy EscapeTrait_Lifestyles_CoffeeFanaticExtra benefits from drinking coffee.Snowy EscapeTrait_Lifestyles_EnergeticPrefers high-energy activities and careers.Snowy EscapeTrait_Lifestyles_FrequentTravelerGets bored without travelling and increased skill gain while on vacation.Snowy EscapeTrait_Lifestyles_HealthFoodNutBenefits from eating healthy, increased weight loss and fitness gain.Snowy EscapeTrait_Lifestyles_HungryForLoveBenefits while in a relationship and prefers romantic behaviors.Snowy EscapeTrait_Lifestyles_IndoorsyBenefits from indoor activities and careers.Snowy EscapeTrait_Lifestyles_JunkFoodDevourerLoves junk food and can add sugar or bacon to meals.Snowy EscapeTrait_Lifestyles_NetworkerPeople person who keeps low level friendhsips easily but struggles to keep good friends.Snowy EscapeTrait_Lifestyles_NoNeedForRomanceBenefits while single and tense when in relationships.Snowy EscapeTrait_Lifestyles_OutdoorsyBenefits from outdoor activities and careers.Snowy EscapeTrait_Lifestyles_SedentaryPrefers low-energy activities and careers.Snowy EscapeTrait_Lifestyles_TechieBenefits in tech careers, actions, and skills.Snowy EscapeTrait_Lifestyles_TechnophobeAvoids using technology and benefits from Off The Grid lots.Snowy EscapeTrait_Lifestyles_WorkaholicPerforms better at work and is tense when unemployedCottage Livingtrait_Nature_CountryNature ConservationistCottage Livingtrait_AnimalEnthusiastAnimal EnthusiastCottage Livingtrait_LactoseIntolerantLactose Intolerant On a lot with the "Volcanic Activity" trait, use volcanic_eruption [small/large] to make lava bombs rain from the sky onto your lot. On a lot with the "Volcanic Activity" trait, use volcanic_eruption [small/large] to make lava bombs rain from the sky onto your lot. View the full article

Set in 1989 Germany during an imagined Warsaw Pact invasion, Regiments puts you in command of extended real-time fights between Cold War forces. It's a hybrid of RTS and tactical wargame that breaks from the traditions of both genres by being singleplayer only. Regiments puts a particular emphasis on dynamic, multi-day battles that let you reactively call for reinforcements. I looked at Regiments last year, when it was in open beta, but it launched this week—and developer Bird's Eye Games and publisher MicroProse have brought it a long way since then. Regiments is laser focused on an interesting and unique singleplayer experience. These kinds of realistic-conflict, high fidelity RTS games more often try to be everything: Balancing singleplayer scenarios, multiplayer, and even campaign-length mechanics. Regiments knows it just wants to be a good, well-balanced singleplayer wargame. It has a plotline-driven campaign with four large and three smaller missions, all multi-stage battles. Then there are four skirmish game modes, each playable on one of 19 maps. That might not sound like a lot, and I have a feeling that first impressions are going to make Regiments end up criminally underplayed among strategy enthusiasts parroting a refrain for "more content." The trick is that single "battles" in Regiments are historically-informed, multi-day affairs divided into active and passive phases. As you progress through each day of a fight in real time, you're pressed to take as many strategic and tactical objectives as possible before night (or before the enemy forces you to take a moment and regroup). During that lull in the fight you, as commander, have to manage what limited resources your regiment has and call in specialized detachments from other regiments to fill the gaps you need. You might call in more infantry as an armor regiment that needs to hold ground, for example. It's a rhythm that should resonate with any military history enthusiast. Image 1 of 13 (Image credit: Bird's Eye Games and MicroProse Software)Image 2 of 13 (Image credit: Bird's Eye Games and MicroProse Software)Image 3 of 13 (Image credit: Bird's Eye Games and MicroProse Software)Image 4 of 13 (Image credit: Bird's Eye Games and MicroProse Software)Image 5 of 13 (Image credit: Bird's Eye Games and MicroProse Software)Image 6 of 13 (Image credit: Bird's Eye Games and MicroProse Software)Image 7 of 13 (Image credit: Bird's Eye Games and MicroProse Software)Image 8 of 13 (Image credit: Bird's Eye Games and MicroProse Software)Image 9 of 13 (Image credit: Bird's Eye Games and MicroProse Software)Image 10 of 13 (Image credit: Bird's Eye Games and MicroProse Software)Image 11 of 13 (Image credit: Bird's Eye Games and MicroProse Software)Image 12 of 13 (Image credit: Bird's Eye Games and MicroProse Software)Image 13 of 13 (Image credit: Bird's Eye Games and MicroProse Software) Regiments forces you to take to heart the unofficial US Marine Corps mantra of "Improvise, Adapt, Overcome." Not enough core battle tanks? Take high ground and use anti-tank missiles against enemy armor. Enemy has air superiority? Change to a narrower attack so your limited anti-air can flourish. To that end, Regiments has a pretty broad 100-some unique units spread across six factions (USSR, USA, UK, East Germany, West Germany, Belgium). Every faction but the UK has 3-5 unique regiments to play as, and a dozen or more task forces to call in as reinforcements. If you're a UK fan, don't fret, as the dev says that "fully integrating the forces of the British Army of the Rhine and adding support for motorized & air-assault infantry remains our priority mid-term goals in the months to come." You can find Regiments on Steam for $30, 15% off until August 23rd, and on its official MicroProse website. View the full article

Following major reworks to the Void and Solar subclasses, Bungie has announced that Destiny 2's electrifying Arc subclass will soon be getting the 3.0 treatment with a "go fast and hit stuff" overhaul that the developers hope will turn players into cranked-up Jason Stathams. One of the main inspirations for the Arc 3.0 rework is the 2009 flick Crank 2, in which Statham's heart is stolen and replaced by a big battery that he has to keep charged by electrocuting himself in increasingly bizarre and violent ways. It sounds stupid, and it is, but it's also a ton of fun—a self-aware showcase of bananas-grade action that wilfully, aggressively rejects any semblance of rationality. That's the kind of "emotional fantasy" Bungie says it's trying to generate with Arc 3.0. "Arc is really just, 'go fast and hit stuff'," Destiny designer Sam Dunn said. "We call it the 'hold W' subclass. Everything is built around moving forward and enabling aggression and those abilities." Central to the update is a new buff called Amplified, which grants a significant speed boost—"basically as fast as we can make our sprint animation go"—and PvE damage resistance buff after sprinting for a few seconds. The goal is to keep Guardians pressing ahead and kicking 'donkey': Designer Mike Humboldt called it "a strong gap-closing tool" that makes players "like a jet engine, rocketing around the arena." Of particular note, the Amplified boost is available to all Arc subclasses, rather than being restricted to specific Aspects or Fragments. A pair of new debuffs called Blind and Jolt are also on the way. Blinded enemies will be, well, blinded—PvE opponents will be disoriented and unable to fire weapons, blinded PvP players will be briefly stuck with a blanked-out screen and distorted audio—while jolted enemies will occasionally throw off bolts of chain lightning, damaging other enemies. Destiny 2's Hunter, Warlock, and Titan classes will each have access to new Arc Aspects that enable further customization options. The Hunter's Arc Staff super is also returning with Arc 3.0, as is the Blink movement mode, while the Fist of Havoc and Thundercrash supers are returning to the Titan class. Bungie also revealed four of the new Fragments coming with the Arc 3.0 rework, offering new perks, bonuses, and penalties to Guardian stats: Spark of Beacons: When the player is amplified, Arc special weapon kills create a blinding explosion. Spark of Resistance: When surrounded by enemies, the player has increased damage resistance. Spark of Momentum: Sliding over ammo will reload your weapon and grant a small amount of melee energy. Sliding over Heavy ammo increases the amount of energy granted.Spark of Shock: The player’s Arc grenades jolt enemies. There's a lot going on in this update, and hopefully Bungie can deliver the goods. Channeling Chev Chelios for the Arc subclass is definitely not a bad place to start, but the studio has had mixed luck with the previous updates: The Void 3.0 rework went reasonably well, but Solar 3.0 did not live up to expectations. A rollout date for Arc 3.0 hasn't been announced but Bungie will showcase the update in action during the Destiny 2 showcase that begins at 9 am PT/12 pm ET on August 23. View the full article

Meet the myBuddy 280 Pi, an adorable dual-armed Raspberry Pi-powered robot. The creator of the myBuddy, Elephant Robotics, calls it an "open-source educational essentials collaborative robot" for coding, AI, and robotics enthusiasts. The little guy features two articulated arms (a first for Elephant Robotics) that can lift 260g of weight, rotate 165 degrees, and perform various tasks like waving hello or conducting a band. The ends of the arms can be fitted with little hands, suction pumps, and grippers. You know, robot stuff. The company's previous robots have featured single-armed creations that seem to lack the personality the myBuddy brings to the table. The myBuddy is powered by a Raspberry Pi 4 with three ESP32 microcontroller modules. The arms run on a high-performance servo steering gear with six points of articulation. The seven-inch touchscreen display has a pair of dual-200w pixel cameras that'll help teach the robot how to use visual sorting and facial recognition applications to have it do things like greet you when you arrive. Oh, and it'll show off several cute little facial expressions to give it some personality. According to the video above, some applications of myBuddy include, but aren't limited to, programming it to play an instrument, wave a flag, and dribble a ball. There's even a way to control the arms remotely via a VR headset and controller. Your next machine (Image credit: Future)Best gaming PC: The top pre-built machines from the pros Best gaming laptop: Perfect notebooks for mobile gaming Some of the more wild things you can teach it include how to pet a robot cat, pour out candy, and even have it perform fun little dances. What you can do with the myBuddy seems contingent on your skills and creativity as a programmer. The open-source robot works with Arduino, Python, C++, and Java programming languages. Elephant Robotics provides useful tools and software on its download page for users to experiment with. The myBuddy 280 Pi starts at $1,699 or $1,749, depending on whether or not you want to add a pair of goofy hands to your new friends. Our colleagues at Tom's Hardware pointed out that myBuddy won't be showing up on Amazon for the next few months because of limited supply. Elephant Robotics also makes a bionic pet cat if you're looking for more robotic companions of the four-legged variety. View the full article

Hello gtecdk, Welcome to UnityHQ Nolfseries Community. Please feel free to browse around and get to know the others. If you have any questions please don't hesitate to ask. gtecdk joined on the 08/17/2022. View Member

Don't be fooled: Mikeyeldey95 may look a lot like Windows 95, but it is not actually the complete Microsoft operating system reprogrammed to run on a Sega Genesis (aka Mega Drive) cartridge. As technically impressive as that would be, it's something much more fun: a game-meets-concept-album of 22 chiptune songs programmed to run on real Genesis hardware, presented in a deeply faithful recreation of the Windows 95 UI packed with minigames and easter eggs. Even Clippy makes an appearance. Mikeyeldey95 immediately launches into a summery bop called 'Plug and Play' over a fake Windows startup screen and desktop, where you can choose from a faux web browser (with a helpful Hamster Dance bookmark), a music player, and an email inbox containing novel digital letter correspondence. Since the theme here pulls directly from Windows 95, though, the real action is in the Start menu. There are minigames adapted from classic bits of Windows history like the 3D Maze screensaver and music visualizers that recreate other iconic bits of design like the bouncing cards from Solitaire. The upbeat chiptune music makes messing around with Mikeyeldey95 worthwhile, and more than just a bit of fun nostalgia. Every track feels like it could've come from a rad '90s platformer or beat-em-up, and I think a few of them, like the funky "Labradump" and melancholy "Five Digit Years," would've fit right into arguments over whether the Genesis or Super Nintendo had the superior sound chip. I'm mighty tempted to buy one of these physical carts for my Sega Genesis, but you can still experience Mikeyeldey95 even if you don't have an old console lying around. A ROM is available for download on Itch.io and is easy to boot up in an emulator. Or you can stream the album on Bandcamp, minus the cool Windows skin. Thanks, RetroRGB. (Image credit: Michael Elder) View the full article

[Content - Improvements] ● The available number of times you can activate the Hero Respawn Spot per week was cut down to half. ○ The Hero Respawn Spots would continuously be installed in Faction Wars and Raids, and this would cause reduce the tension or thrill of playing them. Therefore we adjusted the weekly available Hero Respawn Spots that can be used down to half compared to before. ○ The adjustment for each hero rank is like the below. ● We are introducing the 2nd round of improvements for the Diamond Shores- Reedwind - Sungold Fields - Exeloch weekly quests for Auroria. ○ While we introduced the 1st round of improvements for the 4 weekly quests by combining them into two, we wanted to further improve upon it due to the high hurdle for completing the quests. Therefore we adjusted the number of monsters you need to defeat for Diamond Shores Guard and Guardian of Reedwind (200 monsters -> 100 monsters). ● We are introducing the 2nd round of improvements for the "Weakened Tower" content progression speed. ○ While we adjusted the speed for going from stage 2 to stage 3 for the Weakened Tower content to be faster, we also wanted to improve the content progression speed for stage 3. Therefore we adjusted the spawn time for Jakar to be quicker. [Content Updates] ● The Black Thorn Prison will be released on the new server. [Events] ● Summer is not over yet! The Midsummer Double the Gain Event has started. (until September 1, 2022 before maintenance) ○ Your XP, Quest Honor Points, Vocation Badges earned, and Loot Drop Rate will increase by x1.5 between Monday and Thursday during the event period. ○ Your XP, Quest Honor Points, Vocation Badges earned, and Loot Drop Rate will be doubled (x2) between Friday and Sunday during the event period. ○ Double the Gain is not applied to Arenas and Dungeons. [Bug Fixes] ● Fixed the issue where the basic damage in the Ceaseless Fire tooltip would be incorrect when equipped with a rifle. ● Fixed the incorrect tooltip information for Ceaseless Fire's 2nd hit. ● Fixed the issue where Labor would be consumed when opening the Wrapped Scroll: Shuhat. ● Fixed the issue where the faction base's invincibility effect would not be applied in certain situations at the Great Prairie of the West. ● Fixed the issue where the boss monster that appears during the war time for Garden of the Gods would be abnormal. ● Fixed the issue where non-Patron players could not use the Rascal Coin Claw Machine. View the full article

A lil somethin somethin: You can find the details for this event on the announcement page here.View the full article

Greetings Inheritors! We will be conducting scheduled maintenance at the following times: Maintenance Start Time: UTC: Aug 18 at 08:00 am CEST: Aug 18 at 10:00 am EDT: Aug 18 at 04:00 am PDT: Aug 18 at 01:00 am Maintenance End Time: UTC: Aug 18 at 1:00 pm CEST: Aug 18 at 3:00 pm EDT: Aug 18 at 09:00 am PDT: Aug 18 at 06:00 am * Please note that the game will shut down before maintenance. We apologize for the inconvenience this may cause. Thank you for your understanding! The ArcheAge TeamView the full article

A lil somethin somethin: You can find the details for this event on the announcement page here.View the full article

The largest trio of publicly traded bitcoin mining companies reported a combined loss of well over $1 billion during the summer, the result of cryptocurrency markets experiencing an unprecedented crash. The three largest US bitcoin miners—Core Scientific, Marathon Digital Holdings, and Riot Blockchain—reported significant losses in recent quarterly earnings reports (thanks, Bloomberg). Core Scientific took the biggest hit of the three with a loss of $862 million, with Riot Blockchain losing $366 million and Marathon suffering a $192 million loss during the crypto free-fall. The crash has forced the bigger bitcoin miners to sell off more coins than usual to repay debt and cover operational costs from Q2 into Q3, in hopes of riding out things until things stabilize and recover. Jaranc Mellerud, an analyst from Arcane Crypto, told Bloomberg, "Public miners are still dumping their bitcoin holdings at a higher rate than their production rate." In June, miners sold 14,600 coins despite only producing 3,900. Your next machine (Image credit: Future)Best gaming PC: The top pre-built machines from the pros Best gaming laptop: Perfect notebooks for mobile gaming Currently, some bitcoin miners are taking out additional loans in addition to selling off bitcoin to stay afloat. Core Scientific has sold over 80% of its holdings and entered a $100 million stock purchase with a venture capital firm. Meanwhile, Marathon picked up a $100 million term loan and refinanced an existing $100 million loan. Oh, and it sold nearly $60 million in mining rigs to help pay the debt. If Riot Blockchain seems familiar, it's because just last week the bitcoin mining company got the state of Texas to pay its electricity bill for a month by mining less bitcoin, making millions in the process. The crypto crash didn't just affect miners but crypto exchanges as well. Coinbase, the largest US online platform for buying, selling, and storing crypto, reported losses of over $1 billion last quarter. This resulted in Coinbase laying off 18% of its staff in preparation for a "crypto winter." View the full article

Spider-Man Remastered recently launched on PC, and Insomniac's excellent web-em-up instantly attracted the attention of modders. This unfortunately included an individual who took offense at the game's rendition of New York City including some Pride flags among the absolute plethora of American ones. They created a mod that removed the Pride flags, replacing them with the stars and stripes, then uploaded it to Nexusmods using a sockpuppet account called 'Mike Hawk'. Nexusmods is arguably the most popular centralised mod database online (sorry Moddb), with a nice clean look, a good community, and all the functionality a PC gamer could wish for. Nexus swiftly removed the mod, and banned the modder's sockpuppet and main account. The sanction led to some community drama about whether someone innocent had been punished. The people who run Nexusmods subsequently decided enough is enough when it comes to this stuff, and have addressed what went on in a new blog that sets out clear guidelines for the future. "The fact the user needed to make a sock puppet like a coward to upload the mod showed their intent to troll and that they knew it would not be allowed. Had they not been a coward and had they used their main account instead, we would have simply removed the mod and told them that we did not want to host it, only banning them if they reuploaded it again after being fairly warned. The creation of the sock puppet removed any doubt and made it a very easy decision for us. Both the sock puppet account and the user's main account have been banned." In terms of future mods that try to replace Pride flags in any game, Nexusmods' statement says "if we think someone is uploading a mod on our site with the intent to deliberately be against inclusivity and/or diversity then we will take action against it. The same goes for people attempting to troll other users with mods deliberately to cause a rise. For our part, we will endeavour to do a better job of moderating our website to this ethos ourselves." Nexusmods says it's not trying to set itself up as an authority on what modders can and can't do, but as a private company, it can and will choose what content it wants to host. The site has previously taken similar content down quietly, but today's blog draws a line in the sand that modders know not to cross. (Image credit: Sony) "We don't want to and won't argue this with you. We've now explained our stance and we won't be providing a platform for you to distort our position in order to feed an irrational and paranoid narrative. You can do that elsewhere, where we won't care enough to read it. "If this policy upsets you, if we've broken some moral code of conduct as a business that you can't accept, then please, delete your account (bottom option) and move on, as we will." Modders who spend their time trying to remove Pride flags from games probably need, as the kids would say, to go outside and touch some grass. This one certainly has the time on their hands to do so now. It has to be said that the majority of Spider-Man mods so far have been fun and amusing, though it's all early days at the moment and mainly character models and reshades. Among the first batch was one that turned the player character into Stan Lee, a No HUD mod to drop the UI, and the Symbiote Black Suit mod. Most promising though is a Modding Tool uploaded by the prolific jedijosh920, which should make things easier for modders and users alike. View the full article

Voxel Doom, a graphics mod for the original Doom that turns the game's various sprites into full-on 3D voxel models, released its 1.0 version today. Made by a modder named Cheello, the mod affects everything from the game's legioned demons to its ammo pick-ups, adding a sense of depth and—get this—letting you view its once-obstinately flat 2D sprites from different angles. Angles! We've been keeping our eye on Voxel Doom here at PCG for a while now, but the Doom modding community has been talking about the idea for even longer. The problem was about both artistic capability and technical capacity: any project that was going to try replacing Doom's sprites would need to walk a tightrope over the uncanny valley, making sure that the models it created weren't incongruous with Doom's much-beloved art style. Voxel modelling—a technique that uses 3D cubes instead of traditional 2D pixels to create models—was ideal for that. Unfortunately, Doom's various source ports didn't seem to like rendering them for whatever reason, which led to a bit of an impasse. Clearly, that impasse has now been overcome. Today we have a mod that implements voxelated models into Doom so deftly that you almost don't notice anything's changed until you stare down a Cacodemon from a 40 degree angle. It's a testament to Cheello's abilities that the mod adds a whole new dimension to Doom's enemies without putting a foot wrong in terms of aesthetics and animations. Cheello hasn't said where he intends to take the project from here. Back in May, he was hoping to buy an RTX system to make Voxel Doom compatible with ray-tracing mods, but he may want a break after spending so long painstakingly modelling imps and pinkies. His previous work was giving the enemies in Blood the same voxelly treatment that he's now given to Doom, though, so I'm willing to go out on a limb and suggest that whatever he does next will probably involve an old game, hard work, and a lot of voxels. View the full article

While I wasn't paying attention, Vampire Survivors recently got a surprisingly epic narrator for trailers and also a real story. With, like... animated character art? The teaser for the v0.11.0 All-In-One Patch, due to drop on August 18th, has just been released on YouTube and seems to detail Queen Sigma, who is complete with an absolutely rad animatic and is "the most powerful being in the worlds of..." After watching the trailer I was left with but one question: Did Vampire Survivors just get Actual Lore? (Image credit: poncle) Don't get me wrong. Vampire Survivors always had lore, but it was a kind of tongue-in-cheek lore about searching for chicken on the floor and doing a literal milk run to a vampire dairy and also about how none of us have even seen a vampire in this supposed vampire apocalypse no matter how many coffins we open. It wasn't, like, a series with epic trailers. I'm not complaining, mind you. Just... this is the game that now-lead developer Luca Galante "didn't have a vision" for when he started making it as a side project to do a bit of game coding on the weekends. It's an avowedly simple game, but we all like it a lot so now it's expanded outrageously beyond that first scope—and so too, clearly, have the trailers and experience of Vampire Survivors as a whole. So, in short, it's kind of awesome that Galante and poncle, which is now an actual multi-person operation, are tossing out some extra money to make things fun and involve other creative talents in the, dare I say it, broader Vampire Survivors Experience. You can find Vampire Survivors on Steam where lots of people think it's the best $3 they've spent on a game in years. If you didn't catch them, it has goofy cheats now to boot. View the full article

Dying Light 2: Stay Human has been a big success for developer Techland, shifting well over 5 million copies, and the studio's model as with the original is to support it with DLC for years to come. The first major story DLC was delayed until September, but today saw a new tease for 'Bloody Ties' and the promise of a full reveal at Gamescom. There's not much in the way of press blurb for this, but the keyword definitely appears to be 'brutal'. Sure enough the teaser shows a rather bulky chap overcoming a zombie via repeated blunt force trauma (which we initially view through a skull's eyehole). Not exactly sunshine and lollipops, then, but then what does one expect of a location called, ahem, Carnage Hall. The setup has elements reminiscent of a TV studio, with billboards flashing "All roads lead to Carnage Hall" as the main character stands over the highly stylised warrior skull. The vibe is wholly Smash TV and, if I had to guess, this is going to be some kind of horde-based arena mode where players can receive ever-better rewards for survival. This DLC is explicitly story-based but there's no reason that it couldn't revolve around such an element and, with Dying Light 2's bleak view of humanity's future and focus on replayability, the setup makes sense. Techland has already released several updates for the game including a Peacekeeper-themed armor and weapon set, a new game plus mode, and a photo mode. This is the first major DLC, however, and we'll report more details next week from Gamescom. View the full article

The Genshin Impact 3.0 release is imminent—it's been a long time coming, but we're finally getting to venture into the forest realm of the Dendro Archon. Finally, it's time to take the next step in Genshin's overarching story of gods and mortals not knowing how to be pals. Alongside the new lush, flower-filled region, we've three new characters in the form of Tighnari, Collei, and Dori, the first two of which are Genshin's first Dendro characters. The good news is that Collei will be free in the upcoming Graven Innocence event, so everyone will be able to give Dendro a shot. There are also new events, big bosses, region weapons, artifacts, and a healthy dose of content that all players were anticipating. In this Genshin Impact 3.0 guide, I'll explain all of the new stuff that's arriving as part of Sumeru, as well as when you can expect to play it for yourself. When is the Genshin Impact 3.0 release date? Genshin Impact 3.0 will release on August 24. As usual, the update will be available after a brief maintenance period for which players will receive Primogem compensation. The first phase features Tighnari and Zhongli's banners, while the second phase will see the return of Ganyu and Kokomi. Dendro character, Collei, will feature on the first two as a boosted four-star, while electro four-star Dori, will be boosted on Ganyu and Kokomi's banners. Who are the Genshin Impact 3.0 characters? Image 1 of 3 Tighnari (Image credit: miHoYo)Image 2 of 3 Collei (Image credit: miHoYo)Image 3 of 3 Dori (Image credit: miHoYo) There are three new characters in Genshin Impact 3.0: Tighnari: This five-star fox boy is a Dendro archer who specialises in firing arrows that split into multiple projectiles that strike enemies. He is also a forest watcher and head of the Avidya forest rangers to which Collei belongs. Tighnari's banner will be available in the first phase of Genshin Impact 3.0 on August 24.Collei: This four-star ranger-in-training is pretty similar to Amber in a lot of ways; she uses a bow, likes to glide, and has a cuddly mascot that she uses as part of her burst. It's not so surprising when you consider that they became friends in the Genshin Impact prequel manga. You'll be able to get Collei for free in the Graven Innocence event, or as a boosted four-star on Tighnari or Zhongli's banners.Dori: This four-star Electro merchant is a claymore-user with a genie. She primarily acts as a support character and has a handy skill where her genie attaches a tether to the active character to heal them and regenerate energy. You can get Dori as a boosted four-star in the second phase of Genshin Impact 3.0 by wishing on Ganyu or Kokomi's banners. This should be around September 14. Shield-master Zhongli, Hydro-healer Kokomi, and Cryo DPS Ganyu are also returning for reruns in Genshin Impact 3.0, with Zhongli in the first phase, and Kokomi and Ganyu in the second. Sumeru and Dendro The new Genshin Impact region of Sumeru has been teased for quite a long time now through the dialogue of NPCs and the new version livestreams. Sumeru is the realm of the Dendro Archon, basically the god of flowers and foliage. As such, the region is filled with lush rainforests and Sumeru City is even built into a big ol' tree. The city is also home to the Akademiya, Sumeru's ruling class of scholars who strictly control knowledge as a resource using the Akasha Terminals. Besides the main city there is also Port Ormos, the trade centre for Sumeru where Dori lives. There is also Avidya rainforest and its spirits, a ruin-filled desert, and a massive overgrown robot, but as with Inazuma, we might not get to see all of this at first. The new Archon quest for Sumeru is set to run for a few versions, so miHoYo might gradually expand the area to include more. Sumeru also sees the full introduction of the Dendro element. Though it previously existed in the game, Dendro is getting characters like Tighnari and Collei as well as the fully fleshed out new elemental reactions: Burning, Bloom, and Catalyze. Similar to the puzzles in Inazuma, you'll be able to use Electro, Hydro, and Pyro to change the state of certain objects in the region. If you're curious about the combat specifics of Dendro, you can see the full demonstration in the video above. Genshin Impact 3.0 events (Image credit: miHoYo) Besides the new Archon quest centred around Lesser Lord Kusanali and "the withering" that's destroying Sumeru's idyllic forests, there are also a number of events. In Graven Innocence, we'll be helping Collei come up with ideas for a toy store in Port Ormos by finding inspiration throughout Sumeru. The biggest part of this event is that you can get Collei for free just by completing the tutorial quest. The next event, Tablet Analytics, is about helping an alchemist experiment with "remelting tablets" by using their buffs in combat challenges to earn rewards. The Seelie companions are also back in Lost Riches, and as with Inazuma, you'll be able to grab your very own Dendro Seelie by searching for buried treasure. Lastly, Ley Line Overflow returns, likely at the end of the version, so players can get double drops of Mora or EXP materials from Ley Lines of Wealth or Wisdom. Genshin Impact 3.0 bosses Image 1 of 2 Jadeplume Terrorshroom (Image credit: miHoYo)Image 2 of 2 Electro Regisvine (Image credit: miHoYo) There are two new bosses in the new Sumeru region: Jadeplume Terrorshroom: The big new boss for Sumeru is the amazingly named Jadeplume Terrorshroom, and it's kind of like a fungal horse-dog-ostrich creature? This boss will have a rage state called "Activated" but you can apparently change its state by inflicting Burning with Pyro, which will cause it to spread spores around the arena.Electro Regisvine: We haven't seen a new Regisvine in a long time, but this new Electro variant has some special abilities to set it apart from its Pyro and Cryo cousins. It can create Waxing and Waning Stamens, and if present at the same time, they'll create a big Electro explosion. I also wouldn't be surprised if we saw a story-based boss similar to the Raiden Shogun is version 2.0, but we'll have to wait and see. Genshin Impact 3.0 Weapons and artifacts (Image credit: miHoYo) The new characters are predominantly archers, so it's no surprise that we're getting two new bows on the weapon banner, and a series of Sumeru-themed four-star weapons that will presumably be accessible through quests, in the same way they were for Inazuma: WeaponTypeRaritySourceHunter's PathBowFive-starEpitome Invocation bannerEnd of the LineBowFour-starEpitome Invocation bannerKing's SquireBowFour-starSumeru regionSapwood BladeSwordFour-starSumeru regionMoonpiercerPolearmFour-starSumeru regionForest RegaliaClaymoreFour-starSumeru regionFruit of FulfillmentCatalystFour-starSumeru region There are also two new artifact sets focused around Dendro and elemental reactions that you'll be able to get from Domains in Sumeru: ArtifactTwo-piece effectFour-piece effectDeepwood Memories15% Dendro damage bonusAfter elemental skills or bursts hit opponents, the targets' Dendro resistance is decreased by 30% for eight secondsGilded Dreams+80 elemental masterywhen triggering an elemental reaction, gain buffs based on elemental party composition. Attack is increased by 14% for every character with the same element as the equipper, and elemental mastery is buffed by 50 for every different element. These buffs will only count three characters and can be triggered once every eight seconds. Also, Sumeru has crocodiles (Image credit: miHoYo) Look at this angry boi. View the full article

I am on a first-name basis with the coven of incoming witch games and thank goodness witchcrafting and cottage-building game Reka only has a first name, because I'm adding it to my Steam Witchlist too. German studio Emberstorm Entertainment has been posting short clips of its debut project on Twitter and I was immediately enthralled by its slightly spooky 19th century rural Europe. The early snippets of Reka that the studio has shared include crafting potions in your home, covering your cottage with witchy clutter like books and herbs and cats, and assisting locals with magical rituals. "We based the world of Reka on the slavic mythology, especially that of the Slavs of eastern Germany," Emberstorm's Tobias Hermann explains. Reka's countryside is covered with explorable fields and forests in autumnal colors, sprinkled with small villages and wildlife—the fantastical not-too-distant past of Emberstorm's home in Berlin. "We have also implemented a lot of the slavic witchcrafting lore. The combined result of the two is that you, as the player character, are the apprentice of Baba Jaga and you inherited her chicken-legged house to travel the world and work as a wayfaring witch, fulfilling contracts to aid or curse people and mythological creatures." Emberstorm did not handwave the chicken-legged house, I feel it is important to notice. Those are huge legs. And yes, your creepy cottage does travel with you. You had many great guesses! This chicken legged hut is your very own home, and you'll get to build it the way you want it! #gamedev #witch #indiedev pic.twitter.com/pV8KqbEIyXAugust 11, 2022 See more So you've inherited a little piece of property, which you're in charge of decorating while collecting crafting ingredients and assisting your neighbours. Is this another town life sim? Not really. Nor is it a survival game like Valheim. Hermann says that Reka's cottage building system is all about aesthetics (a home covered with cats is indeed an aesthetic) and that there are no combat or survival elements in Reka. I just want to be a creepy lady in the woods hanging skulls on my walls and scolding ghosts and such. Lauren Morton, wannabe witch Instead, you'll use crafting stations in your home to prepare balms and ointments, pacify ghosts with rituals, and help the spirits of animals who've died in the woods to pass on. For your troubles, you'll get more decor, of course. Sometimes you'll find these goodies in chests hidden around out in the woods too. In its most recent clip, Reka's snappable building system looks pretty permissive with placing pieces like rooves and windows and all. I am not a certified modern witch chick myself. But as the woman who plays The Sims only by building and who stayed home in Valheim to work on constructing a small village and had to be dragged out to fight each boss, the cozy crafting and decorating goals are speaking to me. I'm psyched for the likes of Potionomics and have happily sunk several hours into early access Potion Craft. But the truth is that I don't want to be a capitalism-compliant Boss Witch entrepreneur. I just want to be a creepy lady in the woods hanging skulls on my walls and scolding ghosts and such. Emberstorm isn't ready to reveal its release plans—the "when?" and "what?" of demos and early access and all those questions. In the meantime, me and all the other witch game girlies will have to keep one eye on its Steam page and another on Reka's Twitter account for more witch aesthetics this autumn. View the full article

Phison, the manufacturer of SSD controllers found on many consumer NVMe drives, has released a bit more information about its new I/O+ technology and firmware update, which is designed to accelerate DirectStorage workloads. The good news is that its popular E18 controller, which can be found at the heart of plenty of modern PCIe 4.0 SSDs, already offers "exceptional performance that surpasses Microsoft’s recommendations for DirectStorage." This may have you wondering what the Phison firmware update actually does if its main PCIe 4.0 controller is already good enough for DirectStorage? Well, it appears to offer a best-case scenario: "I/O+ Technology increases E18’s capabilities by reducing block level read disturb (BLRD). The technology allows game developers to build higher detail settings into next generation games that require guaranteed bandwidth." This is reassuring news given Sabrent's recent Rocket 4 Plus G announcement which suggested that existing drives weren't up to the task of handling the needs of DirectStorage. You can now rest assured that you're probably covered, and don't need to rush out and buy another expensive SSD. A firmware update may indeed be needed to get the most out of some drives. It does look like there is a significant shift coming that will require a lot more from our SSDs. The Phison I/O+ technology update covers this increased demand and will be made available for drives that are built around its PS5108-E18 controller paired with Micron B47R NAND. The update, which will be made available for free to end users, is already being made available to drive manufacturers so that they can validate it first. The update is needed because DirectStorage potentially operates in a very different way than how we use drives currently. Right now consumer SSDs are optimized for bursty performance, but with long idle periods in between. DirectStorage is much more demanding when it comes to sustained workloads, with no idle time to handle maintenance operations. The I/O+ update handles these maintenance operations without interrupting IO. It does this using "smart scheduling and adaptive wear algorithms." Peak Storage (Image credit: Future)Best SSD for gaming: the best solid state drives around Best PCIe 4.0 SSD for gaming: the next gen has landed The best NVMe SSD: this slivers of SSD goodness Best external hard drives: expand your horizons Best external SSDs: plug in upgrades for gaming laptops and consoles A key technology of DirectStorage is BypassIO, which is an optimized IO path for reading files. Traditional Windows storage involves a total of eleven steps between the application and the NVMe driver, BypassIO reduces this to just three. This reduces the CPU load and also reduces latency at the same time. It's worth noting that this initial firmware update is only for E18 controllers paired with Micron's B47R NAND. E18 SSDs that feature Micron 96L and Kioxia BICS5 flash won't be supported at this time, but "may be in the future." Ultimately we're still left waiting for Microsoft to outline what the drive requirements are for DirectStorage. And then it's going to be down to how game developers actually use the shiny new storage API. There are plenty of unknowns still at this point. View the full article

Humankind is celebrating its first anniversary by giving out hats and turning cities into giant cakes. This sounds like something Lex Luthor would do on his birthday, but who am I to judge? I just drink too much and cry about the inevitability of death. These hats can be stuck on your custom avatar, and there are new hairstyles to choose from as well. More impressive is the project that allows you to turn your cities into giant celebratory treats. Would Carthage look better as a cake? That's up to historians to decide. Old in-game events are also returning, so it's a good time to hop in and see what you've missed. By completing them, you can earn rewards like new avatars and player icons. And if you've played through them already, there's also something new: the 100 Years War scenario, where you'll fight the English as the Franks on a map of France. Humankind has also released a couple of culture DLCs since we last checked in, adding a variety of Latin American and African cultures, along with new wonders, independent peoples and narrative events. I haven't spent much time with it since my Humankind review, and there's not much in the DLCs beckoning me back, but I reinstalled it anyway because of course I want to make city-sized cakes. Technically it's just the city centre, but that's still quite a big dessert. The anniversary event will run until August 22. View the full article

Kame House is the latest point of interest in the new Fortnite x Dragon Ball event, which runs until September 17. As part of the new Power Unleashed challenges, you'll need to visit a familiar training location. This training location is, of course, Kame House, which doubles as a hiding spot from opponents if the area is quiet. It's relatively easy to find and once you're there, you'll meet a familiar face who'll have some special abilities on sale that could make or break a match. Where to find Kame House It's up to you whether you want to set a waypoint for Kame House before you begin a match or forge a path there if the closing circle allows it. Kame House can be found in the east of the battle royale map on its own little island. It's a hotspot for players right now, so be careful and try to avoid being blasted by a Kamehameha. (Image credit: Epic Games) Once you arrive at Kame House you'll find Bulma walking around. She has a speech bubble above her head which means you can interact with her. She has the Kamehameha and Nimbus Cloud on sale for 250 gold bars each, so if you're having trouble reaching the Capsule Corp drops in time, she's a solid way to get these new abilities. You can also explore the house to find weapons, ammo, chests and more. Bulma, alongside other Dragon Ball character skins, can be purchased from the in-game store, as well as other goodies for all you anime fans out there. View the full article

Since late 2018, the Microsoft Xbox Adaptive Controller (XAC) has been making PC gaming more accessible for gamers with disabilities and injuries. Now, thanks to the wit of one software engineer, XAC drivers will soon be coming to Linux. With its incredible ability to adapt to each individual user's needs, the Xbox Adaptive Controller has given those PC and Xbox users who lack the full range of movement a chance to enjoy their favourite games. That's without having to MacGuyver game controller solutions out of random household objects, or resign themselves to not playing games at all (a true travesty). With the help of software engineer and co-author of The Definitive Guide to Linux Network Programming, Nathan Yocom, Linux users will soon be able to enjoy the freedom the XAC's modular gaming setup can bring, too (thanks Phoronix). In order to bring Xbox Adaptive Controller support to Linux users, Yocom has been extending Xpad driver code that's already available on the Linux kernel. It brings with it support for the layer button, with 4 active states mapped to an Axis control, as well as the Xbox button. The XAC driver code doesn't appear to be ready as yet, but updates are being added regularly and it shouldn't be long before Yocom is ready to bring this highly adaptable accessibility option to Linux users. So, while last year Microsoft's inclusive lead revealed there's a "bit of a plateau" being faced in the field of designing accessibility tech, it appears the software side is far from standing still. View the full article

The Fortnite x Dragon Ball crossover recently launched in Epic's all-conquering, brand-crossing metaverse, introducing OTT elements from the series as well as four characters (Son Goku, Vegeta, Bulma and Beerus). Mainly, though, players like the Kamehameha special attack, which is both fun to say out loud and a giant opponent-slaying energy beam launched in midair. The move has to be acquired before using (here's how to get it) and does seem slightly overpowered, melting through opponents in seconds, but that is why players love it. I mean, the Kamehameha is supposed to be this legendary baddie-boshing finishing move, so it feels like it should be capable of taking out John Cena. The amusement factor, though, is partly the move itself but then the wider world of Fortnite. You can pull this off with all sorts of characters, accessories, and emotes around it, leading to the daftest combination imaginable. We'll get to the wackier ones, but first some of the more straightforward DBZ love, contextualised by Fortnite's array of branded expression: goku gets a dub with the kamehameha then hits the griddy #Fortnite pic.twitter.com/YscAsZ27s9August 16, 2022 See more I sniped someone with a Kamehameha midair as Vegeta in Fortnite.WHAT IS THIS GAME LMAOOOO pic.twitter.com/O7uLmrdRcnAugust 16, 2022 See more Here are two DBZ characters winning a match with the move, after which Goku does Gangnam Style in celebration. goku and vegeta get a victory royale with the kamehameha then goku does the gangnam style #Fortnite pic.twitter.com/fUM1a83vGOAugust 16, 2022 See more Of course, it doesn't always go to plan... bit of strong language near the end of this one. The Kamehameha Counter #fortnitexdragonball #Goku #Fortnite #FortniteClips pic.twitter.com/NZoLYbmYJ4August 16, 2022 See more Part of the fun is that it's not just the DBZ characters pulling off this ludicrous move. Here's Twitter user Robin, with a video of said incident following: "I opened up Fortnite and in my first game while I was talking to Bulma, Rick Sanchez leaped out of the water like a dolphin and kahmehameha's me, killing me instantly." https://t.co/EqtORwkD9M pic.twitter.com/9gEoBuIiSnAugust 16, 2022 See more The move is also reminiscent of another classic videogame special, Ryu's Shinku Hadoken. Fortnite being Fortnite, Ryu is ready to go with the Kamehameha. Shinku Hadoken lookin good in #SF6 #PS5Share, #Fortnite pic.twitter.com/JVgCg0k7brAugust 16, 2022 See more And if one Kamehameha isn't enough... This new Fortnite x DBZ update is nuts I’m loving it so far! Check out this Double Kamehameha we pulled off #Fortnite #DBZ #Kamehameha pic.twitter.com/CIKtnpzM7aAugust 17, 2022 See more Here's a moment for the DBZ canon: vageta shotguns goku, takes a drink, then takes a selfie and posts it #Fortnite pic.twitter.com/Cq3YhgXFw0August 16, 2022 See more In the wider sense, Fortnite is also now something of a playground duelling dream. Who would win in a fight between Son Goku and Naruto? The question is no longer theoretical, and can be answered as many times as one likes. Playing Fortnite in 2022 be like... pic.twitter.com/q8UpBvtMFTAugust 16, 2022 See more I mean, forget anime for a moment. Here's John Wick getting Kamehameha-nuked by LeBron James: STOP THERE JOHN WICK.IT IS I, LEBRON JAMES, HERE TO STOP YOU WITH THE KAMEHAMEHA pic.twitter.com/UCSFWZWGBwAugust 16, 2022 See more Darth Vader getting splooshed by Venom's Kamehameha: Darth Vader is no match for Venom with the Kamehameha pic.twitter.com/bUDmrvFl35August 16, 2022 See more I also saw a clip where Darth Vader won a match by Kamehameha-ing, while wearing an Among Us backpack, then celebrated with the Naruto run emote. But the guy's screaming afterwards was so unpleasant I'll spare you the reality and just let that scene linger in the imagination. Which is probably why I really feel this tweet: I don't think I have the mental capacity to process fortnite anymore. pic.twitter.com/dwsokKDbXMAugust 16, 2022 See more The DBZ crossover with Fortnite runs until September 17, with various events rolling out across the length of it. View the full article