Author Archives: Lawrence Bonk

Hytale’s early access build drops on January 13 and costs $20

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We finally have a release date for the early access build of Hytale. The fun starts on January 13. The game costs $20 and is available for PC. Preorders go up on December 13.

This is a true early access build, so don't go in expecting a polished experience. Developer Hypixel Studios says it's "still very much unfinished and will be buggy for a while" but that the team is committed to perfecting the game over time. Studio co-founder Simon Collins-Laflamme recently said "I don't think the game is good yet," so make of that what you will.

For the uninitiated, Hytale is a nifty-looking open world adventure game that looks to be visually inspired by Minecraft. It's been on our radar for years and development goes all the way back to 2015.

It's been a long road getting to early access, with enough twists and turns to fuel a boardroom drama. Riot bought the studio in 2020, ostensibly to continue work on Hytale. However, the company behind League of Legends soured on the concept after a few years. It shut down Hypixel Studios earlier this year and ended development of the game.

That should've been the end, but it wasn't. Hypixel managed to secure funding to buy the rights back from Riot and brought Hytale back from the dead. The company rehired a bunch of staffers that were impacted by Riot's decision and got to work. Hypixel showed off a bunch of new footage of the game just one day after it announced the acquisition. That's what the kids refer to as a "flex."

In any event, it's good to get a happy ending for once. Hytale may not be a polished product when the early access is released in January, but I have full confidence that it'll get there.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/pc/hytales-early-access-build-drops-on-january-13-and-costs-20-164204422.html?src=rss

EU backs away from requiring tech companies to scan and remove CSAM

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EU member states have agreed on a position regarding online child protection legislation that doesn't force global tech companies to identify and remove child sexual abuse materials (CSAM.) This is being seen as a major victory for US tech companies like Google and Meta, according to reporting by Reuters.

This new European Council language contradicts a 2023 position in which the European Parliament would have required messaging services, app stores and ISPs to report and remove CSAM materials and instances of grooming. The proposed legislation doesn't have any of that. 

Instead, it tasks major tech companies with assessing the risk of their services, taking preventative measures as deemed necessary. It leaves enforcement up to individual national governments and not the EU governing body. 

"Member states will designate national authorities ... responsible for assessing these risk assessments and mitigating measures, with the possibility of obliging providers to carry out mitigating measures," the European Council wrote in a statement. "In the event of non-compliance, providers could be subject to penalty payments."

There's no language here regarding the enforced scanning of encrypted materials for CSAM, which was an idea being discussed as recently as last year. However, there is some language that suggests encryption services must be safeguarded. Some detractors, like the Czech Republic, suggest that the Council's idea to allow tech entities to essentially self-police content could actually hurt encryption platforms.

This is "a great disappointment for everyone who cares about privacy," Czech politician Markéta Gregorová wrote in a statement. "The Danish presidency has pushed through a compromise version of the proposal after long negotiations, which, while appearing to be less invasive, actually paves the way for what we have long warned against: the blanket scanning of our private conversations." 

The proposed law does, however, establish something called the EU Center on Child Sexual Abuse. This organization would have a mandate to help countries comply and provide assistance for victims. The European Parliament also recently called on the EU to set minimum ages for kids to access social media, but there's no current law in the works.

All of this isn't a done deal just yet. The Council now must enter into negotiations with the Parliament. 

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/big-tech/eu-backs-away-from-requiring-tech-companies-to-scan-and-remove-csam-173133351.html?src=rss

The Snapdragon 8 Gen 5 is a cut-down version of Qualcomm’s flagship Elite chipset

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Qualcomm just revealed the Snapdragon 8 Gen 5, the appropriately-named second member of the Snapdragon 8 Gen 5 line. This follows the Gen 5 Elite, which was first revealed back in September.

The standard Gen 5 is still a powerful mobile system-on-a-chip (SoC) with a top clock speed of 3.8GHz. That's slightly lower than the Elite's top speed of 4.6GHz, but still nothing to sneeze at. It includes a custom-built Oryon CPU and boasts speed-enhancing features like matrix acceleration. The company says the platform offers a 36 percent performance improvement when compared to Snapdragon 7, along with a 76 percent increase in web browsing responsiveness.

Some specs.
Qualcomm

The SoC also features the Qualcomm Adreno GPU, just like the Elite, which "unlocks higher clock speeds and boosts gaming and graphics performance by 11 percent." This is a chip intended for modern smartphones, so it also has been designed for AI. It boasts the company's proprietary Sensing Hub technology that combines microphone and sensor inputs to detect a user's intent to speak.

It's capable of on-device AI processing due to the Qualcomm Hexagon NPU. The company says this will enable "agentic AI assistants to deliver context-aware interactions and personalized suggestions." That's corporate speak for "it does stuff and says stuff."

A picture of a phone.
Qualcomm

Qualcomm says these chips will begin showing up in mobile devices in "the coming weeks." The company named OnePlus as a partner and that organization did just announce a brand-new smartphone that was suspiciously devoid of any real specs.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/ai/the-snapdragon-8-gen-5-is-a-cut-down-version-of-qualcomms-flagship-elite-chipset-063050786.html?src=rss

You can try Quantic Dream’s upcoming MOBA during a closed beta next week

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The upcoming Multiplayer Online Battle Arena (MOBA) game Spellcasters Chronicles will be available to play as a closed beta starting on December 4 until December 8. This is the first closed beta weekend for the free-to-play game and the first online play test, as it was originally announced just a couple of months back.

Spellcasters Chronicles is being developed by Quantic Dream and looks like the company's attempt to compete with big-time MOBAs like League of Legends and Dota. This is a fairly strange title for Quantic Dream, given that the studio is primarily known for narrative games that rely heavily on player choice. The company has been behind games like Heavy Rain and Detroit: Become Human.

In other words, the 3 vs. 3 MOBA with a third-person perspective is an odd duck and we have no idea how it'll play. Luckily, we'll know a whole lot more next weekend. The closed beta takes place on Steam and grants access to six player classes, each with unique abilities. These classes "can summon creatures, cast spells and take fight to command the arena." There's a class called "Swamp Witch" that I'd very much like to play as.

The beta will also unveil a new arena called The Mausoleum and introduce the game's deck-building component. The arena battles will last 25 minutes, with teams being tasked to capture altars to gain enemy territory.

This is just the first closed beta for Spellcasters Chronicles. The developer promises a second beta early next year. That next one will introduce new character classes, arenas, spells and summons.

As for Quantic Dream, it's still developing Star Wars: Eclipse. However, we haven't heard a blip about it in years.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/pc/you-can-try-quantic-dreams-upcoming-moba-during-a-closed-beta-next-week-194038411.html?src=rss

Microsoft just released a bunch of software updates for the ROG Xbox Ally

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Microsoft just released a spate of software updates for ASUS ROG Xbox Ally and Ally X handheld consoles. Perhaps the most notable feature is the introduction of default game profiles, which are available in a beta mode starting today.

These are performance profiles tailored to specific games so they run perfectly on the handhelds. Once enabled, the software will automatically balance the frame rate and power consumption to strike the perfect balance. This means that players won't have to head into the settings to make manual adjustments.

These profiles are currently available for 40 of the more popular games on the platform, including Fortnite, Gears of War: Reloaded and Hollow Knight: Silksong. Microsoft says that using the default game profile while playing Silksong, for instance, will add an hour of battery life. To that end, the profiles are only used when playing on battery. I hope this becomes a regular part of the Ally experience and comes to many more titles.

There's a new search filter that lists games by how they perform on the device, which is sort of a riff on Valve's "Steam Deck Verified" badge. Microsoft also boasts that gamepad responsiveness has been improved and that game libraries will now load quicker. The company says this is especially noticeable for "players with large game libraries."

The cloud gaming page should now load quicker and be more responsive. Finally, there's the usual array of bug fixes and performance enhancements. This is a nice little batch of upgrades, just in time for the holidays.

For the uninitiated, the ROG Ally and Ally X are handheld gaming consoles that run an Xbox-adjacent version of Windows 11 and can play pretty much any Xbox game. We praised the "top-notch performance" in our official review. These handhelds are the real deal, and consumers agree. Sales have been so robust that ASUS recently began ramping up production.

The success of these consoles should ensure more software updates down the line. Microsoft has already committed to adding game save indicators for crossplay. It also plans on improving sleep and wake reliability and upgrading the formatting options for microSD cards. The more powerful Ally X is getting AI upscaling next year.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/xbox/microsoft-just-released-a-bunch-of-software-updates-for-the-rog-xbox-ally-164802697.html?src=rss

Skate Story grinds its way to PlayStation Plus on December 8

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It's been a long road to get here, but the surreal skateboarding sim Skate Story will actually be available to play on December 8. The title will also be a day-one Game Catalog release for PlayStation Plus subscribers, which is a great perk for Sony fans. It'll be available on other platforms, like Steam and Nintendo Switch, but those versions cost $20. The PS5 version is free for PS Plus subscribers and it's not currently coming to Xbox.

For the uninitiated, Skate Story can only be described as a Lynchian take on skateboarding. Players control a glass avatar and they perform tricks to, well, swallow the moon and defeat the devil. It was announced all the way back in 2020. We got to play it last year and came away impressed. The game was made by Sam Eng, who was behind the indie shooter Zarvot.

It's also being published by Devolver Digital, a company that knows its way around unique gameplay concepts. It published the utterly sublime Cult of the Lamb and one of our recent favorites, Ball x Pit. The former lets you feed poop to cult followers, which makes performing kickflips as a glass-bodied demon seem downright normal.

Looking to see what all of the fuss is about? There's a demo right now on Steam. The game's also available for purchase on the PS5, for those who don't wanna pony up for a PS Plus subscription.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/playstation/skate-story-grinds-its-way-to-playstation-plus-on-december-8-193034939.html?src=rss

Pocket Casts rolls out playlists, so users can sequence episodes of their favorite shows

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There are millions upon millions of podcast episodes out there and it can be tough to figure out what to listen to and when. The popular podcast service Pocket Casts is rolling out a playlists feature to help users make sense of it all.

This is being advertised as a "new way for listeners to organize, sequence and customize episodes across all their favorite shows." The idea of a playlist isn't new by any stretch, but it's not typically an option on podcast apps. As a matter of fact, Pocket Casts says this was one of its most-requested features.

The platform says this tool is great for "building a morning news lineup, curating interviews to study a topic or creating a queue for a long flight." There's a manual option but also an automatic Smart Playlists feature that gathers episodes together based on pre-determined rules.

The playlists feature.
Pocket Casts

For instance, episodes can be collected and sorted by release date, duration and other factors. This replaces the pre-existing filters tool. I can absolutely see this being useful on a road trip when you don't really wanna fiddle with a phone and would rather just let the podcast episodes flow into one another to create a Conan O'Brien-induced driving zen state.

The playlists tool is available right now. This is just the latest move by Pocket Casts. The service recently added a free tier for accessing its web player and desktop app. We love it when things get cheaper, don't we folks?

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/entertainment/pocket-casts-rolls-out-playlists-so-users-can-sequence-episodes-of-their-favorite-shows-170046666.html?src=rss

The OnePlus 15R smartphone is budget-friendly, durable and coming next month

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OnePlus just revealed a trio of products, including the long-anticipated 15R smartphone. This is a redesign of the OnePlus 15, which is a device we rather enjoyed. The 15R will presumably be a budget-friendly version of the flagship 15, based on past releases, but we don't have a price just yet. It is, however, being referred to as "the ultimate value high quality flagship device."

The company hasn't dropped any real specs just yet, but we do know that this handset prioritizes durability. As a matter of fact, OnePlus says the 15R has "the industry's most complete durability ratings of IP66, IP68, IP69 and IP69K." This phone should take a licking and keep on ticking.

A durable phone.
OnePlus

It'll be available in two colors. There's a black one and a mint green design. The phone launches on December 17, which doesn't leave OnePlus a lot of time to provide specs and pricing information. Only customers in Europe, India and North America will be able to buy the handset at first.

Three tablets.
OnePlus

OnePlus also just revealed the Pad Go 2, which looks like a decent enough mid-range tablet. It boasts an anti-glare finish and is available in both black and purple. This will be the first tablet from the company to offer 5G connectivity. It comes with an integrated stylus, which has been "designed to enhance productivity and precision for note-taking and creative work." It also drops on December 17 in Europe, India and North America.

A watch.
OnePlus

The OnePlus Watch Lite is a budget-friendly version of its flagship smartwatch, offering top-tier "health and fitness features to an even more accessible price point." We don't have that price point just yet. This will only be available in a silver finish and also drops on December 17, but just in Europe. 

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/mobile/smartphones/the-oneplus-15r-smartphone-is-budget-friendly-durable-and-coming-next-month-163000244.html?src=rss

Google is testing ads in AI Mode

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We now know what Google's ongoing tests for AI Mode ads look like. An SEO consultant named Brodie Clark spotted the company inserting ads into query results from its AI Mode. These ads show up in the bottom of search results in the Gemini-powered AI Mode. They are labeled as "sponsored" content, but otherwise look similar to other links whipped up by the chatbot.

Despite Clark's claims that this was "the first time ever," a Google spokesperson says the result shown is akin to similar tests it's been running this year. "People seeing ads in AI Mode in the wild is simply part of Google's ongoing tests, which we've been running for several months," the spokesperson said. The push to start offering ads in AI Mode was announced in May. The company also told 9to5Google that there are no current plans to fully update AI Mode to incorporate ads. Those are nice words, but AI has to make money somehow and ads seem to be a good way to do that.

For now, the software seems to be prioritizing organic links over sponsored links, but we all know how insidious ads can be once the floodgates open. AI presents an especially slippery slope here, as these chatbots are often advertised as personal assistants. I don't really want a personal assistant barking ads at me 24/7.

Incidentally, there doesn't seem to be any way to hide the aforementioned sponsored links. Google Search lets users hide sponsored results once they scroll past them.

It sure looks like our free ride is already coming to an end, as AI companies are really speedrunning through that whole enshittification thing. X recently announced that it would be incorporating ads into query results. 

There are also rumors that OpenAI has been hiring people to turn ChatGPT into an ad platform. That company's recently-launched AI social media slop factory Sora reportedly burns through $15 million a day generating videos of Sam Altman eating pizza in space or whatever.

Update, November 21, 5PM ET: This story was updated after publish with comment from Google clarifying the ads in AI Mode are part of an ongoing test and there are no plans to roll ads out to more users at this point.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/ai/google-starts-testing-ads-in-ai-mode-192800265.html?src=rss

Apple teamed up with another artist to make this iPhone grip and stand

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Apple has teamed up with an artist named Bailey Hikawa to make an iPhone grip and stand thingamajig. The appropriately-named Hikawa Phone Grip & Stand is a MagSafe compatible device that snaps onto an iPhone. The grip can be "removed with ease" and also doubles as a stand.

To that end, it supports two different viewing angles, both vertical and horizontal. Apple says the ergonomic form factor was "designed with accessibility in mind from the ground up" and that Hikawa was given "direct input from individuals with disabilities affecting muscle strength, dexterity and hand control."

A grip.
Bailey Hikawa/Apple

It's also intended to be a work of art, as it was "inspired by modern sculpture." This is what likely ticks the price up. The grip is available in two colorways, both of which cost $70. Generic grips cost around $10 on Amazon or big-box retailers, but Hikawa has been making noteworthy phone cases for years. She also makes eye-catching toilet seats.

That leads us to the knitted elephant in the room. Apple introduced a bizarre knitted sleeve last week intended to hold iPhones. This, uh, phone sock starts at a whopping $150 and goes all the way up to $230. The idea of spending $150 on a little knitted bag for a smartphone has, quite obviously, irked some consumers and sparked internet outrage.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/mobile/smartphones/apple-teamed-up-with-another-artist-to-make-this-iphone-grip-and-stand-163508039.html?src=rss