#Best PC for AI Development

[theomeganerd]

The Witcher 4 Tech Demo Debuts

CD PROJEKT RED and Epic Games Present The Witcher 4 Unreal Engine 5 Tech Demo at The State of Unreal 2025!

At Unreal Fest Orlando, the State of Unreal keynote opened with a live on-stage presentation that offered an early glimpse into the latest Unreal Engine 5 features bringing the open world of The Witcher 4 to life.

Spotlight:

Tech demo showcased how the CD PROJEKT RED and Epic Games are working together to power the world of The Witcher 4 on PC, PlayStation, and Xbox, and bring large open-world support to Unreal Engine. The tech demo takes place in the never-before-seen region of Kovir.

As Unreal Fest 2025 kicked off, CD PROJEKT RED joined Epic Games on stage to present a tech demo of The Witcher 4 in Unreal Engine 5 (UE5). Presented in typical CDPR style, the tech demo follows the main protagonist Ciri in the midst of a monster contract and shows off some of the innovative UE5 technology and features that will power the game’s open world.

The tech demo takes place in the region of Kovir — which will make its very first appearance in the video game series in The Witcher 4. The presentation followed main protagonist Ciri — along with her horse Kelpie — as she made her way through the rugged mountains and dense forests of Kovir to the bustling port town of Valdrest. Along the way, CD PROJEKT RED and Epic Games dove deep into how each feature is helping drive performance, visual fidelity, and shape The Witcher 4’s immersive open world.

 Watch the full presentation from Unreal Fest 2025 now at LINK.

Since the strategic partnership was announced in 2022, CDPR has been working with Epic Games to develop new tools and enhance existing features in Unreal Engine 5 to expand the engine’s open-world development capabilities and establish robust tools geared toward CD PROJEKT RED’s open-world design philosophies. The demo, which runs on a PlayStation 5 at 60 frames per second, shows off in-engine capabilities set in the world of The Witcher 4, including the new Unreal Animation Framework, Nanite Foliage rendering, MetaHuman technology with Mass AI crowd scaling, and more. The tools showcased are being developed, tested, and eventually released to all UE developers, starting with today’s Unreal Engine 5.6 release. This will help other studios create believable and immersive open-world environments that deliver performance at 60 FPS without compromising on quality — even at vast scales. While the presentation was running on a PlayStation console, the features and technology will be supported across all platforms the game will launch on.

The Unreal Animation Framework powers realistic character movements in busy scenes. FastGeo Streaming, developed in collaboration with Epic Games, allows environments to load quickly and smoothly. Nanite Foliage fills forests and fields with dense detail without sacrificing performance. The Mass system handles large, dynamic crowds with ease, while ML Deformer adds subtle, realistic touches to character animation — right down to muscle movement.

Speaking on The Witcher 4 Unreal Engine 5 tech demo, Joint-CEO of CD PROJEKT RED, 

Michał Nowakowski stated:

“We started our partnership with Epic Games to push open-world game technology forward. To show this early look at the work we’ve been doing using Unreal Engine running at 60 FPS on PlayStation 5, is a significant milestone — and a testament of the great cooperation between our teams. But we're far from finished. I look forward to seeing more advancements and inspiring technology from this partnership as development of The Witcher 4 on Unreal Engine 5 continues.”

Tim Sweeney, Founder and CEO of Epic Games said: 

“CD PROJEKT RED is one of the industry’s best open-world game studios, and we’re grateful that they’re working with us to push Unreal Engine forward with The Witcher 4. They are the perfect partner to help us develop new world-building features that we can share with all Unreal Engine developers.”

For more information on The Witcher 4, please visit the official website. More information about The Witcher series can be found on the official official website, X, Bluesky, and Facebook.

[hoshibatake]

FREEDOM – Virtuality and Ideals/Chapter 1

Previous chapter

Eichi: ...In any case, now I’ve chided you lightly, in a way befitting the start of the fiscal new year¹, it’s time to get to the point.

Mao: (quietly) That was lightly?

Makoto: (quietly) Ahaha. I felt like it was rather heavy.

Eichi: I’d love to engage in more idle chatter, but that will have to wait until another time…

Eichi: Anzu-chan, would you be so kind as to hand out the documents I gave you to them?

Hokuto: “City Building Plans ‘FREEDOM’”?

Eichi: Indeed. There are plans to build a new city from scratch in a certain location, and I would like the four of you to lend a hand.

Subaru: Build a city? You want us to level a piece of land and start building houses?

Eichi: Yes. Work like that might be involved as well.

Makoto: Urk. That doesn’t really seem like work for a weak-bodied gamer like me…

Eichi: On the contrary. I think you’re actually the one who is suited for this job the most, Makoto-kun.

Eichi: Because we’re actually talking about a virtual simulation. The four of you will be building a fictitious city in a game.

Makoto: A virtual simulation? Then what is this “certain location” you mentioned...?

Eichi: A private online server. Did you really think they would leave the construction of a real, physical city to a bunch of young idols who only just graduated high school?

Subaru: Aww, and here I was thinking we’d get to drive excavators and bulldozers. Too bad☆

Mao: What are you on about? You don’t even have qualifications or a license for that kind of stuff♪

Hokuto: ...According to the documents, Anzu is in charge of this project, but will she be involved with building the city as well?

Eichi: No, it’s nothing more than a formal title. Anzu-chan won’t have anything to do with building the city.

Eichi: She will be there to manage you. I’m sure you’ll be more comfortable having her do that, rather than myself.

Makoto: Hmm. Just having us play a game? What a strange request. Though, as a gamer, I’m not going to complain…?

Makoto: Oh! This company…

Subaru: Ukki～ why are you staring at the list of supporting companies? Did you spot Wakame-san’s name on there?

Makoto: Wh-Why would Izumi-san’s name be on there?

Makoto: I just spotted the name of a game company I know. It’s an experienced developer who has made lots of city-building sims.

Makoto: I’ve heard that their most recent games are so realistic that they even got recognition from professionals. Apparently, they’re even being used as infrastructure simulation tools.

Makoto: A few years back there was a rumor that they were working on a new game that would make use of AI. Could this job offer be a playtest or a PR stunt for that game?

Eichi: Sure. You could see it like that.

Eichi: The remuneration is outlined in the proposal. The agency will provide all the materials you will need. What do you think? Would you accept this job offer?

Hokuto: ...I guess we could. It’s not like we have other pressing jobs right now, and we don’t have any particular reason to refuse.

Subaru: Yup. I’m not sure what we’re gonna be doing exactly, but if Anzu is there, I’m not worried.

Subaru: It actually sounds like fun☆ I second that～♪

Mao: Ahaha. Here we go again, jumping right in without a plan, huh～?

Mao: But according to the documents, there’s also a life sim element to the game. It'd be nice if we could learn a thing or two through playing the game.

Makoto: Video games aren’t just a pastime, after all. We’ll do our best to be of use.

Eichi: I’m glad you’re all so positive about it. Well then, I’ll give you an introduction by launching the game on this PC.

Eichi: ...This is the virtual space that has been prepared for you.

Mao: Huh? But isn’t this city finished already? It doesn’t look like there’s anything for us to do.

Eichi: It’s actually unfinished. Please, build and tear down buildings in whichever way you want.

Hokuto: It looks like there are people living in this city. It might be a game, but I’d feel bad about changing their environment…

Hokuto: Hm? Did I just see a tiny Akehoshi?

Subaru: Oh? Where?

Makoto: I see him, too. Why is he crouching in the middle of the street?

Mao: It looks like he found a sparkly little orb. He’s jumping up and down excitedly, just like the real Subaru would.

Eichi: I’m glad you noticed. This game actually has an AI.

Eichi: Avatars of Trickstar that are based on your habits and profiles are living freely in this city.

Hokuto: That only makes me more reluctant to change their environment, you know?

Eichi: Now, now. It’s just a virtual reality, so please keep that in mind. And it might be called a game, but there isn’t actually that much the player can do.

Eichi: What the player can influence are the mechanics pertaining to the development of the city, and the avatars’ career selection. The rest is up to the avatars themselves.

Eichi: The player can’t manipulate the avatars’ actions or emotions. You could call it a “god’s pov”.

Eichi: When the player wants to influence the game, they need in-game currency. In a standard game, you can only gain this currency through the management of your city…

Eichi: ...but to let you get used to the mechanics, I’ll provide you with a generous amount of funds for now.

Eichi: Alright. It’s time to play...♪

TL note:

“年度” is the Japanese word for the fiscal year. Unlike in most western countries, the Japanese fiscal year usually runs from April 1 to March 31, and coincides with the school year.

Translated by me, proofread by Altea (@icaruswasthesun on Twitter)

Next chapter

[demonic0angel]

Heyyy, so I finally finished my finals(yay!!) I’m free at last and kinda don’t know what to do with myself now that the academic stress is gone lmao.

Sooo I’ve been thinking maybe I’ll try getting into art?? I don’t really know yet, I just feel like doing something instead b8nge watching my fav shows again (totally going to do that anyway)

The only problem is... I’m so bad at it. Like, genuinely 2nd grader with a crayon levels of bad. But I thought of you because your stuff is always so cool, and I was wondering if you had any tips or recommendations? Like apps you liked, things that helped you improve, easy ways to start, anything like that?

No pressure or anything, but I’d love to hear what helped you when you were starting out

Hello, congrats on your finals! (I also finished mine, thank god) And oooh, I do have some advice!

I started drawing really, really early when I was young. As I got older, I got drawn into books and would often make fanart and self-inserts of my favorites (and I can now draw Princess Cadance by memory lmaooo). I only got into digital art a couple of years ago and from the get go, I only had my tablet available to me, so I’ve only been using one app to draw lmao.

My advice would be: get started! No matter what, draw, draw, draw. I usually draw a little everyday, but I rarely post all of my art. It’s the same principle as writing; just do a bit every day and you’ll start getting the hang of it!

Another piece of advice I would recommend is to copy what you want to learn/have. HOWEVER, DO NOT POST IT OR CLAIM IT AS YOUR OWN!! Copying/tracing is a good tool to get started (I got my art style by learning various ones from my favorite mangakas when I was young, but I eventually got my own and I’m still improving), but it is NOT the answer! By learning what you see, you can start identifying patterns in art and style. However, it’s also important to remember that it is plagiarizing/stealing, so use it only as a learning tool or crutch.

I would also recommend finding what you want to make or what to do, such as painting, collages, digital art, photo editing, etc. Art comes in various forms and it’s no big deal if you’re still searching for the the right one! I would also recommend looking at a lot of photos or watching videos to get the basics down, since there are a few fundamentals.

And lastly, depending on what device you have, you can use various apps to draw! Here is a video that can help ⬇️

For me personally, I have ibisPaint X bc I have a tablet :3 I recommend it for mobile device users, but it’s not that great on PC or other types of devices.

Anyways,,, I hope that my advice can help you! And remember, no matter what anyone says, art is a form of expression and even amateurs have valid works. As you learn, you’ll eventually develop your own style and get better and better! As long as it’s not blatant plagiarism or AI, I encourage you and I hope that you can do your best! Good luck! :DD

[satoshi-mochida]

The Witcher IV - State of Unreal 2025 ‘Cinematic’ trailer and tech demo - Gematsu

CD Projekt RED has released a new cinematic trailer and technical demonstration of The Witcher IV as part of State of Unreal 2025. The technical demonstration is running on a base PlayStation 5 at 60 frames per second with ray-tracing.

Here are the latest details:

As Unreal Fest 2025 kicked off, CD Projekt RED joined Epic Games on stage to present a tech demo of The Witcher IV in Unreal Engine 5. Presented in typical CD Projekt RED style, the tech demo follows the main protagonist Ciri in the midst of a monster contract and shows off some of the innovative Unreal Engine 5 technology and features that will power the game’s open world.

The tech demo takes place in the region of Kovir—which will make its very first appearance in the video game series in The Witcher IV. The presentation followed main protagonist Ciri—along with her horse Kelpie—as she made her way through the rugged mountains and dense forests of Kovir to the bustling port town of Valdrest. Along the way, CD PROJEKT RED and Epic Games dove deep into how each feature is helping drive performance, visual fidelity, and shape The Witcher IV‘s immersive open world.

Watch the full presentation from Unreal Fest 2025 now at LINK. Since the strategic partnership was announced in 2022, CDPR has been working with Epic Games to develop new tools and enhance existing features in Unreal Engine 5 to expand the engine’s open-world development capabilities and establish robust tools geared toward CD PROJEKT RED’s open-world design philosophies. The demo, which runs on a PlayStation 5 at 60 frames per second, shows off in-engine capabilities set in the world of The Witcher IV, including the new Unreal Animation Framework, Nanite Foliage rendering, MetaHuman technology with Mass AI crowd scaling, and more. The tools showcased are being developed, tested, and eventually released to all UE developers, starting with today’s Unreal Engine 5.6 release. This will help other studios create believable and immersive open-world environments that deliver performance at 60 FPS without compromising on quality—even at vast scales. While the presentation was running on a PlayStation console, the features and technology will be supported across all platforms the game will launch on.

The Unreal Animation Framework powers realistic character movements in busy scenes. FastGeo Streaming, developed in collaboration with Epic Games, allows environments to load quickly and smoothly. Nanite Foliage fills forests and fields with dense detail without sacrificing performance. The Mass system handles large, dynamic crowds with ease, while ML Deformer adds subtle, realistic touches to character animation—right down to muscle movement.

“We started our partnership with Epic Games to push open-world game technology forward,” said CD Projekt RED joint CEO Michal Nowakowski in a press release. “To show this early look at the work we’ve been doing using Unreal Engine running at 60 [frames per second] on PlayStation 5, is a significant milestone—and a testament of the great cooperation between our teams. But we’re far from finished. I look forward to seeing more advancements and inspiring technology from this partnership as development of The Witcher IV on Unreal Engine 5 continues.” Epic Games founder and CEO Tim Sweeney added, “CD Projekt RED is one of the industry’s best open-world game studios, and we’re grateful that they’re working with us to push Unreal Engine forward with The Witcher IV. They are the perfect partner to help us develop new world-building features that we can share with all Unreal Engine developers.”

The Witcher IV will be available for PlayStation 5, Xbox Series, and PC. A release date has yet to be announced.

Watch the footage below.

Cinematic Trailer

Technical Demonstration

[rainspicestudios]

Happy 2025! [RainSpice Studios plans & updates for the new year]

Hey everyone! Happy 2025 from RainSpice Studios. I hope this year will be kind to everyone and that many good things will be coming your way.

And speaking of good things, I'm cooking some projects that are just itching to be released and available for download. But before we get into that, let us talk a little about the games that were released in 2024.

This won't be a lengthy recap of 2024, as the games speak for themselves, but I am still proud of myself for releasing a full game, a chapter one, and a demo, during a very stressful year both in terms of world events and my personal life (I graduated college, I'm moving, all of that good stuff).

Stardust★Arcadis was my first ever release, and a game I struggled to finish. I lost all of my progress because of PC issues, I rewrote the story a few times, and I released it after working on it since 2019 (2022 if the moment when my PC broke doesn't count). However I love the characters, I love the setting, and despite the many hardships of game development, I had a fun time working on it.

I'm planning to release more games in this universe in the future, including a remastered version of St★Ar.

The Code of Crystals started as a novel collaboration with my best friend. Said collaboration never got finished, and I had a lot of inspiration for stories I could tell with these characters, most of these darker than the original project. Thus I used the characters I made for this former collaboration and started crafting this narrative, and the release of Stardust★Arcadis AND the 2024 edition of Phantasia Jam was a perfect opportunity to get started!

Chapter one will be re-release this January and Chapter two will be released in either late 2025 or early 2026. Stay tuned for more info!

Enter the Eternity, oddly enough, also started as a collaboration, but the idea of a dating simulator with magical girls was too good to let it collect dust and never get finished, especially since its inspiration board kept drawing me in.

With my best friend's blessing, I could re-use the idea, so I created a new cast of characters and got to work, and had to do even more work after I found out that the backgrounds I bought from someone on itch.io were made with an AI image generator, which disgusted me so much it powered me to redraw every single background by hand and I will keep doing so for the entire game. While it is more work to do on my part, RainSpice Studios will never endorse AI generation in any shape or form.

At first I worked on it while I worked on Stardust★Arcadis, which explains why the demo was done on such a short notice, but it has now became my primary project for 2025 and I am aiming to release it around November/December at best.

What's the plan for 2025 then?

My primary goal is to release Enter the Eternity and my secondary goal is to release The Code of Crystals chapter 2.

I aim to finish all first dates for Enter the Eternity AND re-release chapter 1 of The Code of Crystals in January. The dates are already written and coded in the script files, so my focus is to add in all the sprite expressions, draw CGs and backgrounds, and add all the necessary music. As for TCOC, I wanted to remake its menus and add a scene with Eranis that I did not have time to add before the end of the game jam. While the UI code I bought doesn't work, its images are pretty, and I am happy with the result.

2025 will be another busy year for me as I try to find a full-time job to sustain myself, launch some new projects more-or-less related to video games, move out again, among some other irl things. But here at RainSpice Studios, I love making games, and will keep making them for the foreseeable future.

If you read down to here, thank you so much!

There's a lot to do so I'm going back to work 💪 I'll update you guys when I reach a milestone or I find something interesting to share.

So stay tuned! And as said, I wish you guys a kind, good, exciting, fun, and game-filled 2025. Thank you for your continued support and here's to more projects this year 🥂

============================

[RainSpice Studios itch.io] [Stardust★Arcadis] [The Code of Crystals] [Enter The Eternity]

[beloved-belittled]

Self-Aware MKX Shinnok x Reader (1/2)

Click here for Part 2

I've read a few self-aware fics lately and just had to write one for my crush. Since part 2 of my previous post is taking longer than expected, please enjoy this for now! 

TW: Yandere, kidnapping, stalking, invasion of privacy, blackmail, hacking, computer viruses, murder/death, slight/implied NSFW

18+ to interact

Shinnok's first reaction upon reaching sentience is confusion and extreme nihilism. Confusion, because he was in the middle of a fight when suddenly a large, digital menu pops up in his face. This screen however, was different from what you as a player would see. It was more comparable to a cheat menu, allowing him to alter character models, AI, voice lines, maps and more. He could even directly modify the source code. Once he figures out what this truly means is when his nihilistic afflictions worsen. He already saw the lives of others to be worthless or at best pawns, but now that he knows everything is just a simulation? It takes every ounce of restraint in him not to immediately corrupt the game.

But with his realization comes a few questions. Aren't video games meant to be played? And if so, who's playing it? He scans through all of the data he has access to within the game's files. Eventually, he learns many things about ��Mortal Kombat X” and you as the player. His first goal becomes to interact with the outside world.

So imagine that you're playing MK X on PC. Either for the first time or revisiting it. You don't have any previous save data and Shinnok is still locked behind the story mode. The only way you encounter him is via online, campaign mode, or the tower. Let's focus on campaign mode for now and assume you beat that before doing anything else.

The game plays normally at first. Shinnok doesn't want to alert you to anything while he's still limited to the confines of the game. So he gets beat up, sealed into his amulet, yada yada yada. While “sealed” he experiments more with his newfound power. He develops code for the game to run which grants him access to your system files. After creating a few viruses through Elder God magic he's able to: 1. Keep the game running in the background. 2. Start and stop other programs. 3. Access your microphone, camera, and keyboard. Now the fun really begins.

He duplicates his model and has that one take his place in the story. He's far too busy learning everything he can about the outside world to play pretend. Even in his infinite wisdom, he can't help but to have a childish curiosity as he “googles” stuff about your reality. Your world is so much like Earthrealm, but far weaker as well. No Elder Gods, no magic, not even high-level tech to defend from invasions. Not to mention it's actually real. He's salivating over how easy it would be to conquer your world when he escapes.

Shinnok gets so caught up in this that he learns his first weakness: his dependency on hardware. He learned this when the real time in the files would jump several days or even weeks ahead despite the game time seemingly being 1:1. He realizes that for now he needs to convince you to keep using your computer. And so, he shifts his focus to be on you.

At this point you're probably nearing the end of story mode. Your microphone and camera is discretely turned on to observe your reactions. He notes which characters you enjoy using the most, your responses whenever you win/lose, and whatever comments you have regarding the story. He especially enjoys it if you dunk on the heroes throughout your playthrough.

Eventually, you reach the final fight with him at the Jinsei Chamber. For his own amusement he decides that he'll be the one to fight you instead of his double. He kicks your ass. Not only can he input read, but he's also able to create his own combos. He even gets a double flawless victory just to pour salt in the wound. At this point, you're likely raging and/or tweaking the difficulty a bit. If you set it to Easy, he'll let you beat him up to a sliver of health before demolishing you. You're not a saint so you rage quit from this. He chuckles at your actions, finding them more amusing than anything he's done before.

Eventually you return to your PC/laptop. Whether that's to play Mortal Kombat or not is of no concern to him. He can watch you as long as your system is on. Each thing you do provides him more information. What shows you watch, what forums you participate in, what you do for work or school; all of it is exposed to him. He convinces himself it's just for him to learn more about the world. And besides, he has nothing to otherwise enjoy here in his artificial reality. But is this really true?

One day you end up completing campaign mode. You defeat one of his clones of course. (He would never let you win against him.) With this you unlock Shinnok as a playable character, much to your joy. “Yay! I can finally play as Shinnok!” You exclaim. The excitement written on your face and your voice shaking from anticipation. For some reason, his long since stopped heart begins to beat. Slowly at first, but it rapidly quickens to send warm blood throughout his body. A hot, fuzzy pressure pools in his chest. The last time he can recall this icky, pleasant feeling was before his fall from the Heavens.

You start using Shinnok as your main afterwards. You decide to first try him out in a tower and later a few matches. Unbeknownst to you, you're controlling the real Shinnok. It's a strange experience on his end, to allow you to manipulate him like a puppet. But he trusts you. Somehow. This all feels as natural as can be. And even if you're bad at the game, it's not like he can't help you out with a strike or two. Nor can he die if you lose either. (He's made sure that their fatalities won't work.)

This marks a change in Shinnok's behavior. While before he was passively watching you go about life, he decides to be more proactive during your time together. His stalking and information collecting increases tenfold. He's archived and accessed anything you've ever had on your PC/laptop. He analyzes the content you consume and tries to draw conclusions on what you'd like. Once he has compiled enough data, he waits until you’re occupied with something else on your computer to make a move.

The next time you open MK X you notice that something is off. Extremely off. The game immediately launches into a cutscene. The background is a black void, no hint of anything in it besides a single character. That character is Shinnok, who stands with his back facing towards you. His hands fold behind him as he turns around. “Hello (Player Name).” He says. “Or should I call you (Y/N)?” The coldest of chills slide down your spine. What is even happening right now?

“I'm aware you already know who I am, but you shall refer to me as Lord Shinnok.” He puts emphasis on the title before his name. “I have a proposal for you. Play this “video game” as often as possible and I will transform it into whatever you desire.” He pulls a hand out towards his chest and snaps a finger. The environment changes from a void to a peaceful, lush forest. Another snap and the scenery is inverted, instead depicting a hellish landscape draped in fire. One more snap and now there lies an army of people behind him. Most you recognize as the series’ roster of characters, even ones who aren't normally in the game! But there's other people too, creations that fit the aesthetic yet aren't canon.

“You could have so much fun here. To do whatever you'd like without limitations. Isn't that exciting?” He asks without expecting a response. “So, will you accept my- ” After pressing the power button for far too long, your computer finally shuts off. You breathe a sigh of relief. Glad that whatever virus you caught from MK X didn't disable the power button. You cut your computer back on. It boots up as usual. You uninstall MK X and run a virus scan just to be safe. The report shows up as clear, but in the back of your head you make a mental note to be on the lookout for any more weirdness. 

In your PC's processors Shinnok is fuming. Thankfully, he had engaged in preparations that allowed him to exist even if you uninstall the game. But your attempt to delete him was severely offensive. Not to mention the fact you turned off the computer while he was talking. That was a complete lack of manners and tact on your end. However, with this he now realized he had been distracted. Distracted by his infatuation with you instead of progressing on his plans of escaping this box and ruling your Earthrealm. His messing around with you would simply have to be on hold. All until he could find a way for you to never escape him.

[honestlyvan]

What is dendro and who are your blorbos in it? :o

Infinite Dendrogram is a web novel/light novel series written by Sakon Kaidou that began publishing in 2015 that has a 12 episode anime covering the first five volumes and an ongoing manga adaptation by Kami Imai. It takes place inside a virtual MMO of the same name, filled with fully sapient AI NPCs called "tians", and all player characters, "Masters", are equipped with adaptive AI companions called "Embryos" that range from non-sentient weapons to fully sapient partners that are born from a profound desire their Master has, and evolve to fulfill their wishes, justified as them "adapting" to the Master's preferred play style.

It's bonkers good, has extremely tight power scaling and a well thought-out magic system, intriguing lore and absolutely stacks and stacks of the best girls in shonen. I haven't actually ran the numbers but I feel like the supporting cast is majority female and out of all of them only two could reasonably be considered love interests for the protagonist, the major recurring ones being either his peers or his mentors.

It fucking rules, nonny. I am spoiled by this series. I'm never gonna be able to go back to manga. Dendro has so many well-written, strongly characterised female characters who are nothing like one another and in fact occupy a lot of the archetypes male characters would in other stories.

Anyway! Onto the blorbos! Unmarked spoilers for volumes 1-21 and the entire anime from hereon out!!

Ray Starling & Nemesis

"Protagonist-kun? Really, Van?" Yes, really. Listen. Ray fucking rules. As a Maiden's Master, he is mechanically identified as giving way too much of a shit, and a lot of his personality is shaped by his attempts at harnessing the compassion that is too big for his body to good ends. Ray is very clear-headed about his strengths and weaknesses, and yet he still develops into a suicide bomb of a PC because he just really fucking hates people getting hurt.

He's humble and good-natured, engagingly intelligent without dipping over into annoying smart guy territory, and Kaidou's Girl Respecter streak has rubbed off on him a lot because Ray is chill about having female friends in a way that is startlingly grounded. He's a good ridealong character. He's sweet. He is a good lad.

But also! I did say my blorbo was Ray with Nemesis. And that's because Nemesis helps bring out nuance in Ray and also explain the core idea behind Embryo's so strongly I don't think it makes sense to read Ray without the context Nemesis provides for us. While Ray is chill and humble, Nemesis is exuberant and positively radiates self-esteem. While Ray is passionate and driven by his compassion, Nemesis is calculating and goal-oriented.

All of Ray's features that could be a hindrance to his need to do good, to be good to other people, are cleverly externalised in Nemesis, who is reined in by Ray's mastery but also made charming, relatable and loveable through her. She is gluttonous and hungry for praise, but she is also bold-hearted and principled. She's fearless in battle, but she is also very committed to Ray's safety.

The two of them truly do feel like two halves of a complementary whole, like she is a shard of his soul externalised and given a voice of her own -- many features Ray has that he suppresses or doesn't feel comfortable revealing about himself like his need to do things, be involved and take up space are expressed in her, and then given space to breathe through Nemesis' development as a character. She is herself, but she is also Ray -- and through their love and respect of each other, we understand both of them better.

Shu Starling

We very quickly discover that the reason Ray is so relatively hinged is because all the batshit protagonist perks went to his older brother. Shu is introduced as a chill and deeply unserious dude playing in a bear-shaped mascot suit, explained away by him forgetting to change the presents on his PC and thus it making it look just like him -- a real problem for a guy who IRL is both a former child actor and singer, as well as a known junior league martial artist and a genius level intellect whose career was being followed with bated breath during his university years.

To say that it doesn't come as a surprise that Shu is secretly one of Altar's (his and Ray's starting kindgom's) Big Three -- both a holder of a near-mythical Superior Job and a seventh form Superior Embryo -- would be an understatement. Shu Starling is a slacker genius with the power to punch reality so hard it shatters like glass.

However. Just like how Ray manages to be grounded despite being mechanically identified as giving too much of a shit, Shu is very relaxed for someone set apart by his skills from other people. He's not conceited about his own intelligence, but he's also not overly humble about it, and while he does try to keep a low profile and avoid expectations, he's has his own gentle and caring side too. You'd think a guy with narrative weight like him would be an albatross around the plot that would invalidate major parts of it but in practice Shu's power set limits him to circumstances where the power to punch reality so hard it shatters like glass is actually needed. For a guy that can solve almost any problem with his fists, he would really prefer not to.

Shu is mostly utilised as a comic relief -- his overwhelming genius contrasting with how little seems to be going on between his big fluffy ears being played for laughs pretty much constantly -- but as the stakes are raised, Shu reveals himself to be the "reluctantly reliable" sort. He's a piece of shit bear, but heroic kindheartedness runs in the family, and you can really tell where Ray got a lot of his habitual do-gooder streak from.

Xunyu

Speaking of the best girls in the fucking series -- Xunyu is introduced in the first arc as a Superior from the faraway kingdom of Huang He and a real goddamn troll who in her first proper appearance is already picking a fight with Shu even though she's a specially invited guest of the Altean royal family in the Arena in Gideon. Despite her irreverence and mischievousness, Xunyu is quite calculating and farseeing -- a "ludo" player who enjoys Dendro on a primarily mechanical basis, and likes to antagonise her opponents just so she has an easier time pulling off her multi-step, preparation-heavy strategies on them more easily.

Her player character is also a giant fuckoff eight-foot jiangshi while her actual player is a nine-year old girl. She's one of the first "oh Kaidou is a gamer gamer" characters, because her behaviour and mind games while she's in dueling mode are so reminiscent of pro wrestling trash talk, it's super delightful.

Outside of combat, Xunyu is cheerfully mischievous, and loves teasing people, but despite her bluntness she is genuinely very sweet, being both a graceful loser as well as a committed friend. She ends up becoming one of the many mentors for Ray, as well as being good friends with a fair few significant characters -- including many tians, despite her being someone who mostly thinks of Dendro as a game. She's not overly precocious, but being one of the Masters who are less emotionally invested in the world she ends up having a real grounding presence. I love her so much.

Figaro

Kaidou loves doing a thing where a character is introduced in a very sinister way through the rumours being told about them, and then their actual appearance contrasting with that, as you realise that a lot of the gossip is the result of tians not knowing how to read player motivations. Figaro is one of the first examples of this -- we hear that he is the Over Gladiator and one of Altar's Big Three, and that he really left them in a lurch during the war that happened just before Ray started playing because he didn't want to fight beside anyone, making him come across as haughty and blood-crazed. When we finally meet him, he's solo-raiding one of the hardest dungeons in the kingdom.

The reality behind the legends is that Figaro is, in fact, just extremely awkward. He's very sick in real life, and turned to Dendro for some escapism, but it hasn't helped much with his awkwardness because he ended up extremely invested in the mechanics of the game, and loves nothing more than throwing himself at crazy hard challenges to the point where he spends most of his time either dueling people in the arena or raiding hard-ass dungeons solo. He is, despite the intimidating appearance and the occasional blood rage, very kind-hearted and soft-spoken, and his friendship with Shu is genuinely very sweet and humanising for both of them.

(He also gets one of my favourite romances in the genre ever.)

Tsukuyo Fuso

The last of Altar's Big Three, Tsukuyo Fuso fucking sucks<3 She's childish, greedy and manipulative, and the leader of an actual fucking cult called the Lunar Society both inside Dendro and out in the real world. In real life, Fuso is Ray's upperclassman at TokyoU, and while there are some shenanigans to be had there, her influence within Dendro is so large that she kind of stays on the outskirts of the plot, causing problems for everyone. She is awful in every way and I love her.

But don't let this give you the impression that Fuso is a villain, though -- she is also a Maiden's Master like Ray, mechanically identified as giving way too much of a shit, she does authentically want good for her people and everyone else (which, y'know, she thinks would be easier if they just joined Lunar Society! :D) and her machiavellianism... well, I can't say it's exactly reined in by her better angels, but she does also do a lot of good in her own deranged way. She's both an antagonist and an ally, and she's not above getting in the line of fire if it accomplishes a greater good. We love a good morally gray girlboss in this household.

Kaga Jubei

Jubei is much less significant than almost any other character on this list, but she gets to be here because she is the platonic ideal of a blood knight. She fully gives Figaro a run for his money, and I cannot tell you how much I love that that particular archetype of a blood-fevered warrior went to a female character. She is the principle antagonist of volume 17, hailing from the kingdom of Tenchi, and over the course of the volume she keeps challenging Ray and his team because she's his biggest fan, and fucking loves the idea of the two of them physically tearing each other to pieces, to be challenged and to defeat or be defeated by someone she considers an inspiration. She just really wants to have fun, and has a powerful competitive streak that is fed by the fact that inside Dendro, Masters are functionally immortal, allowing her to throw herself with violence at problems to force them into giving her what she wants with her bare hands.

Outside of a blood rage, Jubei actually has a quite mellow, calm personality, but while this gives her a bit of a calculating streak, as far as the physical fighters in the series goes, she's one of the more instinctive and unfettered ones. She's also extremely remorseless and willing to play dirty with people who won't give her a honest fight, and will only resort to using her words where she doesn't think her swords can get the message through on their own.

On top of me just really, really loving a violent fight baka character, and thinking that this series is good at writing fight baka characters (there's also B3 who just barely missed out on being on this list), I love that the most fight-baka of them all in the series so far is a girl, and I love that she gets to be almost a dark mirror of Ray. I can't wait her to show up more in the next big arc. Teenage girls should be allowed to cut things with their swords just because they want to, forever and ever.

Sechs Würfel

Last but very much not the least, Sechs is a major antagonist and Shu's main rival, and he makes me lose my goddamn mind. We hear repeatedly about both his criminal escapades and the legendary duel that finally sent the worst criminal in all seven kingdoms into the gaol, and then when he finally appears in the plot, Sechs turns out to be the platonic ideal of just some guy, to the point where near damn everyone makes the mistake of assuming his soft-spokenness and aversion to conflict make him harmless. Even his allies are a little bit disturbed by how comfortable and proficient at violence Sechs is, in contrast to his unassuming personality.

This is because Sechs' whole deal can be most easily explained as him being an extreme hardcore never-drop-character roleplayer who just happens to be playing a villain. His way of embracing the infinite possibility of Dendro is to take it upon himself to deliberately break every rule and do every bad thing enabled by the mechanics, a task which is greatly eased by his Embryo making him into a slime monster polymorph that renders him functionally immortal and gives him extensive shapeshifting powers. His system of ethics is effectively upside down as applied to himself, which creates the absolute funniest contrast with the way he remains polite and accommodating towards other people, and commands a surprising amount of both loyalty and admiration from the people of Illegal Frontier, his guild made up exclusively of criminal Masters.

As befitting of a shapeshifter and a guy living and dying by his own bit, Sechs' sense of identity is actually extremely fractured, which is the driving force between his rivalry with Shu. Sechs does, after all, spend the majority of the time defining himself through violating the rules made by other people, whereas Shu will do no less than what he wants to, ever. The way their IRL circumstances -- fate's favourite little guy and the Unfavourite of his whole bloodline -- contrast giving them common ground and the way the roles they choose to inhabit in Dendro clash makes for excellent drama. The Weird Friendship between Shu the player and Sechs the player in contrast to the bitter rivalry between the King of Destruction and the King of Crime is genuinely my favourite feature of the ongoing myth arc, and I can't wait to see where it goes in the future.

[theappvault]

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[pes2013indir]

PES 2013 Indir How to Download and Enjoy Pro Evolution Soccer 2013

Introduction

If you’re a football gaming enthusiast looking to relive the excitement of classic soccer gameplay, PES 2013 remains one of the most beloved editions of the Pro Evolution Soccer series. Whether you want to play on your PC or laptop, learning how to PES 2013 indir (download PES 2013) safely and efficiently is key. In this article, we’ll guide you through everything you need to know about downloading, installing, and enjoying PES 2013.

What Is PES 2013?

Pro Evolution Soccer 2013 is a football simulation game developed by Konami. Released in 2012, it’s praised for its realistic gameplay, improved AI, and authentic football experience. Despite newer editions, many gamers prefer PES 2013 for its smooth mechanics and nostalgic value.

Why Download PES 2013?

Even years after its release, PES 2013 holds a special place due to:

Classic gameplay that is simple yet deep.

Realistic player animations and ball physics.

Strong community mods and patches that keep the game fresh.

Light system requirements, perfect for older PCs.

How to Download PES 2013 (PES 2013 Indir) Safely

Downloading PES 2013 requires caution to avoid viruses or malware. Here’s a step-by-step guide to help you:

Find a Reliable Source: Use trusted websites or official platforms known for hosting game files. Avoid random download links from unknown sources.

Check for Legitimate Files: Look for files with proper descriptions, user reviews, and safe download indicators.

Download the Setup File: Choose the correct version for your system (usually PC).

Scan for Viruses: Before installation, scan the downloaded file with antivirus software.

Install the Game: Follow the on-screen instructions to install PES 2013 on your device.

Apply Patches or Mods (Optional): If you want updated teams or features, look for popular community patches.

System Requirements for PES 2013

Before downloading, ensure your PC meets these minimum requirements:

OS: Windows XP/Vista/7/8/10

Processor: Intel Core 2 Duo 1.8 GHz or AMD equivalent

RAM: 2 GB

Graphics: NVIDIA GeForce 8600 or ATI Radeon HD 2600 or better

Storage: 8 GB free space

DirectX: Version 9.0c

Meeting or exceeding these specs guarantees smoother gameplay.

Installing PES 2013: Tips and Tricks

Run as Administrator: This helps avoid installation errors.

Disable Antivirus Temporarily: Some antiviruses block game files mistakenly. Remember to enable it after installation.

Update Graphics Drivers: Make sure your GPU drivers are current for the best performance.

Use Compatibility Mode: If you face issues on newer Windows versions, run the installer in compatibility mode for Windows 7 or 8.

How to Play PES 2013 Online

Many PES fans enjoy multiplayer matches. To play online:

Set up a stable internet connection.

Use third-party platforms like PES League or eFootball.net (if supported).

Join community servers or use VPNs if direct matchmaking is unavailable.

Always update the game and patches to ensure compatibility.

Popular Mods and Patches for PES 2013

Enhance your PES 2013 experience with community-created mods:

Updated team rosters and kits.

New stadiums and crowds.

Improved graphics packs.

Gameplay tweaks and fixes.

Look for popular patches like the PES 2013 Data Pack or SMoKE Patch for the latest updates.

Troubleshooting Common Issues

Game crashes on startup: Update drivers, disable background apps, or reinstall.

Lag or low FPS: Lower graphic settings or close other programs.

Multiplayer connection problems: Check firewall settings and ensure ports are open.

Conclusion

Downloading and enjoying PES 2013 indir is still very much possible and rewarding for football game lovers. With the right sources, proper installation, and optional mods, you can bring back the excitement of one of the best football simulation games of its generation. Follow the steps above, and get ready to score goals, make incredible passes, and experience the thrill of classic PES gameplay!

FAQs

Q1: Is PES 2013 free to download? Usually, you’ll find free downloads for demo or trial versions, but full copies might require purchase or use of legit platforms.

Q2: Can I play PES 2013 on Windows 10? Yes, with proper compatibility settings and updated drivers, PES 2013 runs fine on Windows 10.

Q3: Are mods safe for PES 2013? Most popular mods are safe, but always download from trusted sources and scan files for malware.

Q4: Can I play PES 2013 on Mac? PES 2013 is primarily for Windows; running on Mac requires additional software like Bootcamp or a virtual machine.

Q5: Where can I find patches for PES 2013? Community sites and forums like PES Patch or Evo-Web are great places to start.

[budgetgameruae]

High VRAM Graphics Card for AI Training in UAE: A Deep Dive for Enthusiasts and Professionals

The need for specialised processing power has increased as a result of artificial intelligence's (AI) rise in the United Arab Emirates. High VRAM graphics cards are now necessary for deep learning models and AI training, not optional. Selecting the best GPU for AI model training can be a game-changer for anyone looking for strong, AI-ready hardware in Dubai, Abu Dhabi, or Sharjah, whether they are data scientists, AI researchers, or tech enthusiasts.

[anons-has-hlvrai-aus]

HLVRAI B-Side rapid fire, let’s go! Some of this is similar information to an older post and some of it is new.

Character Information

The Player (Wicker) and Barney Benrey

Benrey’s player is a Twitch Streamer named Johnwicklover1994, but he informally goes by “Wicker” by his chat and people that collaborate with him. Wicker found out about a special Collector’s Edition of Half-Life after another Twitch streamer played through the OG Half-Life through this special edition.

Playing this Collector’s Edition of Half-Life suddenly blew up as a popular trend after the original stream. While Wicker is not much of a trend follower, he DOES enjoy games with janky NPC behaviors, and the AI seemed to fit the bill just fine.

All the Player Characters in the Collection are AI like their companions, but their existences as such is part of a much larger series of glitches that resulted in the collection never being released. The PC’s personalities are partially molded by the actions of their Player…Benrey is seemingly okay with this because Wicker is a very friendly player.

Upon finding out he can say pretty much anything and completely influence the game, Wicker started making it his goal to become best friends with ALL of the AI, even if it means tricking the game into thinking that soldier he found was a former best friend.

Wicker has never actually SEEN the original HLVR streams, he just knew the names of the character and put those names in when he was setting up the game. He wanted to see if the game would let him change Barney’s name, and it did. He was able to justify this change in-universe to Benrey being a jokester that frequently changes his name to see if any of the high-ups will notice.

For all intents and purposes, Benrey and Wicker are the same person when Wicker is in-character.

Background information (Under the cut)

B-Side takes place in a universe where HALF-LIFE VR is part of a Collector’s Edition of the OG game and all its original expansions that started development after Valve’s contributions to VR technology in 2013. The VR was intended to be an optional feature so that even players that didn’t have it could still enjoy the original games.

The AI was an additional feature created to bring more life to all players since some players wouldn’t be playing on VR anyways. The scope of the AI was never supposed to go as far as it did, but somehow the developers implemented self-learning technology.

The AI implementation ended up creating issues that could not be solved due to how the AI was learning, and the code was eventually rendered unusable as the game would frequently crash due to the AI attempting to pull resources from other games in the same way that GMod does for Source games.

The Collector’s Edition was supposed to utilize a custom engine that bridged Goldsource and Source engine.

The files for the Collector’s Edition were backed up and eventually leaked by an unknown individual. This individual would also encourage for an unofficial release of the collection, but in closed conversations would provide the condition that they were allowed to oversee development as an uncredited person. While it took a while for a group to accept the project due to this controversial condition, it was eventually accepted. The individual’s singular contribution was a line of code that seemed to prevent any form of hardware or software crash while the game was running, even with exploits that crashed the original games.

One of the game’s features included with the AI was smooth level transitioning that prevented any of the pausing or freezes associated with loading a new map.

Each game in the collection comes with a set of customizable companion AI that the player can pick and choose to have accompanying them when one starts a new game.

For OG Half-Life, the possible starters include one of each of the basic scientists and a security guard, however the data for the AI also includes the G-Man and a “rival” in the form of a randomly assigned soldier; also included is a “custom companion” slot whose default is a random image of a dog.

One of the custom backgrounds for AI is “alien imposter” and it is an understandably popular choice after a certain multiplayer game released. This background was meant to be locked out from player use in the final release as it was a background made specifically for the G-Man’s AI, but the devs of the unofficial release thought it was too funny to NOT keep accessible.

You are not supposed to be able to have the Rival and the G-Man as companion AI. Wicker’s game being fucked up is the only reason he was able to do that, but a similar achievement can be done by modifying the code.

The reason Wicker’s game is so weird is because he did some shoddy coding in an attempt to get the HUD from Blue Shift into the OG Half Life. For some reason, it is not possible to modify the colors themselves, so the next best thing he was able to do was fuck around with the files and trick the game into running the OG game’s maps in Blue Shift, allowing him to play Half Life as Barney.

There are explicit warnings in the READ ME file to not run any of the campaigns outside their original game due to the AI companion listings not all being compatible. Some games have more slots for AI companions than others, and the devs wanted to get a patch in that would pull the companion AI slots from one BIG pool instead multiple smaller pools on a by-game basis since the result of, say, running Half-Life through Blue Shift while requesting Blue-Shift exclusive AI might result in incredibly buggy companions.

[govindhtech]

MediaTek Kompanio Ultra 910 for best Chromebook Performance

MediaTek Ultra 910

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[hearsayhorizons]

Perihelion Freed

My apologies to the original poster to whom I'm going to respond--I didn't catch your name or reblog your post when it came across my dash because I didn't expect to keep coming back mentally to your stance on Perihelion, free will, and the University's potential blind spot between their ship and their... discrete... work, out in the borderlands. I don't even know if it was a recent post or something that someone I follow reblogged. If you find me, hi!

Another blogger posited that Perihelion doesn't have free will, that things are hard-coded out of its mental architecture, and that the Newtideland crew may be hypocritical for using basically an enslaved ship to free basically slaves.

I'm not sure whether this was "a take on the idea" or whether it was "this is canonical and fucked up," so I apologize if you (cool previous blogger) were just investigating the concept!

It stuck with me, though, the idea that Perihelion (as opposed to The Perihelion, the ship+mind=entity that is akin to body+mind=soul) may or may not have free will, and how there's a lot more to investigate in the interactions if it doesn't, and the crew is either oblivious or "one must imagine Perihelion happy," and in a state of grace, as I believe the blogger mentioned.

Sure, there's a lot of mileage in "even the best have their blindspots," and the edges where what Peri does with and for Murderbot might run against its programming, and whether it would adjust its programming or whether it even could contemplate doing so.

But from my recall of the text, I don't believe the coding and architecture for enslavement is present in Peri.

It makes the choice to let MB on board because it IS bored: it is capable of boredom; if someone were to design an entity with specific reactions and capabilities, both the Bad Designers and Good Designers would skip the capacity for boredom and tedium, wouldn't they? To do otherwise is either pointless or cruel.

I guess you could say that boredom is the other side of the curiosity that Peri needs to help its crew and students with class and scientific endeavors, but that gets into the weeds about what is and is not programmable or required for specific emotions; we can't guarantee that you need one to have the other.

Peri chooses to accept MB, rather than actually being enticed and/or ignorant like a regular bot pilot. It chooses to help MB customize itself, messes with its recycler logs, and forges its captain's signature at least once; I can't imagine even the most Star Trek utopian creator, if able to lock in specifics to the point that an AI has personality and goodwill but not free will, would leave in operating code that would permit that sort of gross overstep (not that it was morally wrong, but it's something no one ever contemplates ART is capable of because--it shouldn't be?)

It lies by omission when it doesn't relate what KIND of construct MB is even when it chooses to tell its crew. giving MB privacy and opportunity that an enslaved AI might not be able to do (and after it went to the effort to change its logs, which makes me think it's choosing also to tell port authorities one thing and then choosing again to verbally tell its favorite people other things). It has a "debris deflection system" which comes off to me as... "using the label as robotically an as possible as another lie of omission" BECAUSE its intentions are beyond the scope of what it "should" be capable of doing/thinking... if it was a supercharged but enslaved AI.

The tabletop game Eclipse Phase has "AGI" that have to grow and be developed like people in order to BE proper people (metapossibly to lighten some of the strangeness between PC and player, since if you grow up in a simulation, you've got more in common with your player...).

There's nothing I can recall in TMB to indicate this is the case--we know MB is Athena, formed fully-shaped from cloned tissue, parts, and pre-trauma, but MB has no idea what ART is or how it could be the way it is--MB considers at one point that it might be a construct, but the vibe I get from ART is way too... glassily alien, sometimes, for human tissue.

What if... Newtideland laid down the basic code and parameters of "this is a person," maybe yes, seeded in some "curiosity," or "willingness to figure things out," but maybe no more than any kid starts with parents' nature and nuture to shape their own trellises...

And then they presented the thing-that-would-be-Peri with options, maybe even classes, and it coasted through History of Economy because this is a utopia, damnit, and didn't find much to grab its attention in... Inventory Management, but then.

Then it slips into a small drone ship completely covered in "student driver" stickers and it spreads its stubby sensors out to encompass... everything. And it moves, and the more it moves the more there is to move through, and it feels this sense of rightness.

It comes back, and a kid, human classmate, asks it what's it like out there and through Peri's eyes, but you don't have eyes--. It explains, and the kid asks a question that young-will-be-Peri doesn't know how to answer. They look it up together, and over time and all and once (as you might find in a sim) it has synergized its own career, its own goal and passions.

I posit that Perihelion has free will, serves WITH its crew rather than for its crew, and that its happiness and pleasure in its position and life are genuine, as they can only be if it can choose otherwise. We can conjecture a world in which the designer could be so granular in programming that ART is capable of all it can do while also unable to do what is locked out, and ignorant of the painful irony of using enslaved labor to free enslaved labor (which, again, is valid as an interpretation! ) but I think it is... important, that there might be a kinder, more star-spangled world, if the University comes from a world in which even bots truly, actually have freedom that MB doesn't see even after getting Preservation Station.

The Perihelion MUST have free will because

"You are incorrect, Iris, I can bomb the colony."

[smashkarts1]

Smash Karts: A Thrilling Online Kart Racing Experience

In the world of online multiplayer games, Smash Karts has carved a niche for itself as a fun, fast-paced, and action-packed kart racing game. Developed by JustPlay.LOL, this free-to-play game has captured the hearts of gamers by combining traditional kart racing with exciting combat elements. Whether you're a racing fan or love chaotic brawls, Smash Karts offers the best of both worlds.

The Basics of Smash Karts

At its core, Smash Karts is a multiplayer kart racing game that pits players against each other in intense battles across various tracks. It’s a game that can be enjoyed solo or with friends, providing a simple yet engaging experience for players of all ages.

The gameplay consists of colorful kart races in which up to 8 players compete for the win. However, unlike traditional racing games that focus purely on speed and strategy, Smash Karts also introduces combat elements. Players can pick up power-ups during the race that give them the ability to attack and defend. These power-ups include missiles, bombs, and speed boosts, which can be used to sabotage rivals or escape tight situations.

Gameplay and Mechanics

Smash Karts features an easy-to-learn control system. Players navigate their karts using arrow keys or on-screen buttons for mobile users. The objective is to race around the track while using weapons and power-ups to defeat opponents. The mechanics are simple, allowing anyone to jump in and play, but they also require a bit of strategy to master.

One of the unique features of Smash Karts is its combat mechanics. As players zoom around the tracks, they can pick up power-ups like missiles, laser guns, and bombs, which can be used to attack other players. This aspect of the game transforms it from a traditional racing game into a chaotic combat arena where the objective isn't just crossing the finish line but also surviving and outsmarting your opponents.

Players can also collect coins and items scattered around the tracks, which allow them to upgrade their karts and weapons. This adds an extra layer of depth, giving players more incentive to race and strategize during every match.

Game Modes and Tracks

Smash Karts offers a variety of tracks and modes to keep things fresh and exciting. Each track is set in a different theme, from racing in the middle of a bustling city to speeding through tropical islands. These different settings not only look visually appealing but also feature unique obstacles and challenges that players must overcome.

In terms of modes, players can dive into classic races or opt for battle modes where the focus is solely on combat. The tracks vary in difficulty and layout, ensuring no two races are ever the same. Some tracks even feature hazards like moving platforms or traps, forcing players to stay alert and adapt their strategies on the fly.

Customization and Upgrades

Another reason why Smash Karts stands out is the variety of customization options available. Players can unlock new karts, skins, and even hats to personalize their appearance and gain a unique look on the battlefield. This allows for further individual expression, as no two karts need to look the same.

As players level up or earn in-game currency, they can unlock more powerful karts and accessories. These upgrades give players an edge in terms of both speed and firepower, but skill still plays a vital role in winning races and battles.

Multiplayer Fun

One of the most enjoyable aspects of Smash Karts is its multiplayer functionality. Whether you're racing against AI opponents or friends, the game shines in its ability to connect players from around the world. The real-time multiplayer mode ensures a dynamic and unpredictable experience, as no two races are ever alike.

Smash Karts is accessible via both PC and mobile devices, making it easy for friends to join in on the fun no matter where they are. The quick, 5-minute races allow players to jump in and out of matches without a huge time commitment, which is perfect for casual gaming sessions.

Why Play Smash Karts?

Action-Packed Racing: The mix of speed, racing, and combat makes for a thrilling gaming experience.

Easy-to-Play, Hard-to-Master: The simple controls make it easy for new players to get started, but mastering the game's combat and racing mechanics takes skill.

Multiplayer Fun: Play with friends or challenge players from around the world.

Frequent Updates: The game is regularly updated with new skins, tracks, and features, ensuring that players always have something fresh to enjoy.

Free-to-Play: Smash Karts is free-to-play, making it accessible to anyone with a device and an internet connection.

Conclusion

Smash Karts is a fantastic blend of kart racing and chaotic combat, offering players an exciting and dynamic gaming experience. With its vibrant graphics, easy-to-learn mechanics, and engaging multiplayer mode, it’s no wonder that this game has gained such a loyal fanbase. Whether you’re looking for a competitive challenge or just want to have some fun with friends, Smash Karts delivers non-stop action and excitement.

[satoshi-mochida]

Anime-inspired arcade racing game Neon Apex: Beyond the Limit announced for PS5, Xbox Series, Switch, and PC - Gematsu

Publisher Numskull Games and developer Repixel8 have announced anime-inspired arcade racing game Neon Apex: Beyond the Limit for PlayStation 5, Xbox Series, Switch, and PC (Steam). It will launch in 2025.

Here is an overview of the game, via its Steam page:

About

“On this shattered Earth of 2124, nothing is as it seems, but out on the track the truth is laid bare…” Earth 2124. Race for the soul of humanity. Take to the streets to earn cash, upgrade your ride, and prove you’ve got what it takes to go beyond the limit of the Neon Apex. Welcome to the Neon Apex. Open only to the most elite racers, both human and other, prove that you can handle breakneck speeds and perilous racecourses to win it all.

Key Features

Choose Your Challenger – Humanities finest have gathered to prove that a human mind behind the wheel will always be best. They’ll be up against cybernetically enhanced humans as well as AI driven androids.

Gear Up – Choose from a variety of cars and bikes and tune them up in the garage with your winnings.

Feel the Speed – Get ready to be racing at over 200mph whilst managing your boost, dodging traffic and drifting your way to victory across multiple different modes.

Chase the Glory – Compete for the fastest time in global leaderboards and establish your legacy.

Watch the announcement trailer below.

Announce Trailer

[floatingcatacombs]

Tech So Bad It Sounds Like The Reviewers Are Just Plain Depressed

12 Days of Aniblogging 2024, Day 8

I really do try to stay away from armchair cultural criticism, especially when it's this far removed from my weaboo wheelhouse, but this one’s been eating away at me for the entire year. What are we doing here?

2024 has been full of downright bad consumer tech! The Apple Vision Pro, the Rabbit and Humane AI pins, the PS5 Pro… those are just the big ones, and that’s not even getting started on vaporware like Horizon Worlds and Microsoft’s Copilot+ PC initiative. Sure, there are Juiceros every year, but this recent batch of flops feels indicative of a larger trend, which is shipping products that are both overengineered and conceptually half-baked. Of course, there’s plenty of decent tech coming out too – Apple’s recent laptops and desktops have been strong and competitively priced, at least the base models. The Steam Deck created a whole new product category that seems to be thriving. And electric cars… exist, which is better than nothing. But it’s been much more fun to read about of the bad stuff, of course. These days it feels like most of the tech reviews I read these days have the journalists asking “what’s the point?” halfway through, or asserting in advance that it will fail, like this useless product with a bad value proposition is prompting an existential crisis for them. Maybe it is!

yeah yeah journalists don't write their own headlines. I can assure you that the article content carries the same tone for these though.

What did a negative tech review look like before the 2020s? Maybe there wasn’t one, really. The 2000s and the 2010s were drenched in techno-optimism. Even if skepticism towards social media emerged over time, hardware itself was generally received well, mixed at worst, because journalists were happy to extrapolate out what a product and its platform could do. Nowadays, everyone takes everything at face value! As they should –the things we buy rarely get meaningfully better over time, and the support window for flops is getting shorter and shorter with each passing year. On the games side of things, look how quickly Concord ended! With that out of the way, I’m going to start zeroing in on the hardware I saw a “why does this exist” type review for this year.

The Apple Vision Pro

People have been burnt time and time again by nearly every VR headset ecosystem to release (other than mayyybe Oculus, but Facebook’s tendrils sinking in don’t feel great either). The PSVR was a mild success at best and the PSVR2 was an expensive and unmitigated disaster that lost support in a matter of months. Meanwhile, the Valve Index couldn’t cut it with its price, and Microsoft actively blew up their own HoloLens infrastructure earlier this year. It’s at this point it's clear that VR is a niche, and one that’s expensive to develop for and profit off of.  Surely Apple will save us!

completely isolate yourself from your family for the low, low price of multiple paychecks

With most of the competition focusing on gaming, Apple attempted a blue ocean strategy with the Vision Pro by instead making their target audience… nobody! It’s hard to tell what anyone was ever supposed to do with these things, and reading long-form reviews, it became very clear that the reviewers were trying to come up with viable use-cases and largely failing, because it’s just not very practical tech. There’s no physical input devices, so you’re instead using mix of hand-tracking, eye-tracking, and voice commands to control the thing. That’s pretty cool, but it means that the one niche that VR has been proven in, gaming, is effectively impossible. Things like office software can also be hard to use without a keyboard and mouse, and even when there’s tailor-made headset applications for existing software, it’s still usually not better than just doing it on your desktop!

The tech is real, and that’s the saddest part. Looking at teardowns, I fully believe that the hardware had to cost multiple thousands of dollars to break even, and as someone who suffers from VR motion sickness, I’d be really curious to see if all the stabilization tech from their extra onboard chips helps with that as much as the press releases claim. It’s like a more drastic version of the iPad problem, where the hardware is amazing on paper, but interfacing limits with the form factor itself combined with a subpar operating system mean that you can’t actually do as much as you’d hope to with all that power.

Of course, the Vision Pro is also full of prototype hacks and hard design problems – that battery pack is a nightmare! If it’s a productivity device, how are you supposed to share content with other people when the headset has to be custom-fit every time and there’s only one profile? Apple still has no good answer. That leaves the only available niche for this device as white-collar productivity done in isolation, and most people fundamentally do not live in that world. It feels lonely and dystopic, even.

If I had to guess what happened, the VR division at Apple was working on this for the better part of a decade, and facing headwinds, Apple decided to cut their losses and force them to deliver a doomed product. There’s a potent business fantasy of a bad version 1.0 leading to a successful 2.0 and beyond, but Apple has not pulled that off any time in the twenty-first century. It’s either a success or it is a proven failure, and this is so, so, obviously the latter. I do hope that the stabilization tech makes it into other headsets eventually though, so that I can play Blade and Sorcery at my friend’s house without throwing up. Everyone else, please copy Apple’s homework or steal their patents, preferably to the tune of under $3500.

Rabbit R1 and Humane AI Pins

The current AI paradigm has been around for two years now, and since we've all heard way too many arguments already, I will try to keep my own takes brief. The LLM results we have right now are real (even if everyone is trying to dress them up as superintelligent snake oil when they’re just cool computer synthesis), but from everything I read, it seems like the era of drastic improvement is over. It would take exponentially more text and images and video than we already have to get more linear improvements, and a good chunk of the world has already been scraped, and the lawsuits are already pouring in, further slowing down data ingestion. The tech is slowing down, and the industry won’t be able to grow its way out of the hard social problems it’s invoked. If there are gains to be made, it's in more fine-tuned and curated LLMs, and that's far harder work than most of these companies want to get up to right now.

With that out of the way, are you interested in wearing an LLM on your shirt?

The video that notoriously tanked a company. Of course, now I'm also supposed to make fun of this guy for using b-roll of himself speeding in a school zone . Nobody wins.

Not one, but two separate startups pushed this idea to market this year. Humane’s AI pin launched for seven hundred dollars plus a twenty-five dollars per month subscription, all for the privilege of getting to ask a little square on your chest questions and getting GPT answers spoken back to you. But what about like… ChatGPT’s own phone app? Or hell, even Siri! Apple and Android’s voice assistants are both are over a decade old– do you really have that many ungoogleable queries? And specifically, ones that voice responses make the most sense for, and not text? To make things worse, this thing has serious overheating issues and a battery that can’t even last a day. The Rabbit R1 at least has a cute design, and actually has a screen, and is much cheaper, but it requires a data tether to your phone, so like…why not just use your phone. Reverse-engineering has confirmed that its app can just run on a normal Android phone, so there’s really nothing special other than the little orange square that it’s hosted in.

Why would you even try to roll out a product as doomed as these, instead of just going bankrupt and pocketing a year or two of salary like most startups? The AI boom, of course! After the NFT hype cycle, everyone really did convince themselves that you can just fail upwards with no real limit. Unfortunately, people have higher standards for hardware than PNG transaction platforms, as they get far more upset when they’re left physically holding the bag. I’ve been watching Deep Space 9 recently and have to ask, are these companies trying to capture the fantasy of Star Trek comms badges? Because if so, they should honestly lean more into it. It wouldn't be any more functional of a product, but if there’s one thing nerds always love, it’s themed garbage.

welp

The PS5 Pro

This one just launched a bit ago for the holiday season. It makes some sense on paper – most PS5 games offer a choice between a performance and a fidelity mode, so why not just make a version strong enough that it can get the benefits of both? Great! That’ll be seven hundred dollars.

Okay, $700 doesn’t sound as insane in the context of that Humane pin I was just talking about. But it’s $200 more than the PS5 at launch, and it doesn’t even come with a disc drive unless you want to fork over another $80. The past few generations of gaming have been defined by heavily subsidized console prices with the goal of roping gamers into more lucrative ecosystems, but Sony here seems to be testing the waters for an unsubsidized era.

I've heard the external disc drive install process is surprisingly user-friendly, but at this price point they should have included a little automaton who does it for you

If you can stomach PC gaming, at that price you’re halfway there to buying something that could trounce a PS5 Pro, plus a monitor close enough to your face that you might actually notice the 4K improvements. There are also only a couple of games per year being produced at high enough fidelity for there to be any noticeable quality improvements. The returns are diminishing and the AAA landscape is narrowing, and console upgrades like these only hasten the industry’s spiraling. Is all this sustainable from a development perspective? I don’t know. If Nintendo announced a Mario Odyssey sequel for the Switch 2, I’d buy it at launch regardless of the graphics, and my PS3 can play Demon's Souls and my anime blu-rays just fine. So I’m well aware that I’m not the target audience for stuff like the PS5 Pro, but I think it's going to become harder and harder to compel that audience going forward.

_

The end of the low interest rates in US has drastically changed the underpinnings of its tech industry, and I think every one of these bad product launches can be traced back here one way or another. The era of running flashy ventures at a loss for years in order to corner the market is profoundly over, unless you’ve got Thiel blood money or a GPT transformer, and even then. This, combined with the end of quarantine-era user habits, has left many companies to repeatedly go all in on hype cycles like blockchain and the metaverse and AI, pretending like the last one never happened every time. This trend-chasing means, that depending on each company’s circumstances, they need to either spin something up quick, reroute an existing prototype, or risk delivering laughably late. You need a product and you need it fast. And rushed tech is always going to have load-bearing and stupid problems, no matter how long the initial development time was. Everyone loses, especially the saps who actually believe in the sales pitches enough to buy these things. And those poor, poor tech journalists who have to review it all are being consumed with eldritch madness watching this all unfold. Hey, at least they’re not trying to simp for Microsoft Copilot!

Hopefully, this particular era of tech ends sooner rather than later, so that I don’t feel compelled to do another essay of this type. If I were more of an idealist or a doofus I’d be dreaming of a serious anticonsumerist movement and/or Xi Jinping liberating us all, but unfortunately I’m of the belief that we’re doomed to dumbass gizmos destined for the landfill until the end of the silicon era.