#Remote User Research

[katzenklavierr]

I am once again reminding people that Vocaloid and other singing synthesizers are not the same as those AI voice models made from celebrities and cartoon characters and the like.

Singing synthesizers are virtual instruments. Vocaloids use audio samples of real human voices the way some other virtual instruments will sample real guitars and pianos and the like, but they still need to be "played", per say, and getting good results requires a lot of manual manipulation of these samples within a synthesis engine.

Crucially, though, the main distinction here is consent. Commercial singing synthesizers are made by contracting vocalists to use their voices to create these sample libraries. They agree to the process and are compensated for their time and labor.

Some synthesizer engines like Vocaloid and Synthesizer V do have "AI" voice libraries, meaning that part of the rendering process involves using an AI model trained on data from the voice provider singing in order to ideally result in more naturalistic synthesis, but again, this is done with consent, and still requires a lot of manual input on the part of the user. They are still virtual instruments, not voice clones that auto-generate output based on prompts.

In fact, in the DIY singing synth community, making voice libraries out of samples you don't have permission to use is generally frowned upon, and is a violation of most DIY engines' terms of service, such as UTAU.

Please do research before jumping to conclusions about anything that remotely resembles AI generation. Also, please think through your anti-AI stance a little more than "technology bad"; think about who it hurts and when it hurts them so you can approach it from an informed, critical perspective rather than just something to be blindly angry about. You're not helping artists/vocalists/etc. if you aren't focused on combating actual theft and exploitation.

[technofeudalism]

The startup Eight Sleep Inc. makes a temperature-controlled, water-filled mattress cover system popular with Silicon Valley execs and body optimizers who say that sleeping at the perfect temperature gives them the ideal rest. The bed cover costs more than $2,000 and requires an internet connection to work. To power the temperature adjustments – which the company now says can be finessed with AI insights – Eight Sleep beds need to be online. But one researcher says he’s found ways that Eight Sleep’s engineers can theoretically snoop on customers’ bed activity. He says it’s just the latest example of the way tech companies today are often pushing everyday products to be overly engineered, unnecessarily internet-connected and reliant on a recurring subscription. Dylan Ayrey, the co-founder and chief executive officer of Truffle Security Co., said he initially bought an Eight Sleep system to help with insomnia. He joins users such as Meta Platforms Inc. CEO Mark Zuckerberg, biohacker Bryan Johnson and Andrew Huberman, the tech industry’s favorite health guru. Elon Musk has also praised the bed. (The admiration is apparently mutual: Eight Sleep CEO Matteo Franceschetti shipped bed covers to DOGE this month and wrote on X, “@eIonmusk us if you need more.”) When Ayrey looked at the bed’s firmware, he was surprised to see that it appeared to have a backdoor that would allow the company’s engineers to remote into any bed and run code on it without oversight. Ayrey hypothesized that, for example, if your ex worked at Eight Sleep, they could find out when you’re sleeping at home – or when you’re not – and whether you’re sleeping alone or with someone else. He compared it to Uber Technologies Inc.’s controversial “God View,” an internal system in which employees previously could track individual riders using their service. It also evokes the way thousands of Amazon.com Inc. employees could listen to sound clips recorded through Alexa devices.

[ Source ]

[sexhaver]

definitely one of the most difficult moments of my professional career was when i was doing tech support for [REDACTED]'s automated biomed research lab and like. hang on lemme greentext this

>tell them i can fix this issue in half an hour with a remote support session (aka Teamviewer)

>"you want to... control our computers???? over the internet????? like some kind of HACKER???????"

>their IT submits my request to upper management and after two weeks they reluctantly allow me to get remote access to their systems

>by logging into a virtual machine using a 20-digit password and then using a specific program inside of that virtual machine

>while sharing my screen with someone from their IT team the entire time

>finally get remote access to the PC with the issue

>go to open log files to start troubleshooting

>ERROR: User does not have read permissions.

>what the fuck

>ask their IT guy why it's saying that

>"...because we don't want you looking at our stuff, duh?"

>take deep breath before calmly explaining that i need to open files in order to fix their problem

>IT guy submits my request to upper management

>after another week i go through the whole process again but can actually open the log file this time

>cool, it's exactly the issue i thought it was and i know exactly how to solve it

>open the relevant settings file, change a single number, hit Save

>ERROR: User does not have write permissions.

>what the FUCK

>ask IT guy how i'm supposed to fix their system if i can't change literally anything on it

>takes 20 minutes of arguing to get him to admit that maybe i need write access

>he submits the request to upper management

>a week goes by

>upper management denies it

>says i can just verbally tell the IT guy on the call what to type and he'll do it for me

>deep breaths. deep breaths.

>start third remote session

>go to open the relevant .log file in notepad, which isn't the default program it opens with for some reason

>they fucking disabled right clicking

>[REDACTED] has a $118 billion market cap btw

>manage to walk the IT guy through using the command line (which he had never seen before and was scared of) to edit the relevant file

>three weeks go by

>new support ticket in my inbox

>"why didn't your fix fix this completely unrelated issue?"

>they still won't give me write access

>VP of [REDACTED] yells at me in our weekly meeting for taking so long to fix a third unrelated issue they never submitted a ticket for and is also not actually an "issue" but an intended feature of our software that they don't like

>i went to college for this

[cripplecharacters]

hey! hope this is an okay question to ask. what are some rarer disabilities that can cause full time (non ambulatory) wheelchair use? i want to try and give some more rep to people who may not have as much (i know existing rep of the more common conditions isnt perfect, im just a wheelchair user for a rare condition myself!)

im the one who sent the rare conditions that can cause wheelchair use ask - just wanted to specify ive tried googling however i cant find much beyond types of muscular dystrophy (maybe im using the wrong key words, but i cant think of other ways to word it)

Hey!

So for this list I interpreted "rare" as "rare in real life", but if you meant "rare" as in "rarely represented in media", then anything other than "extremely poorly researched paraplegia" will fit the bill (it is absurdly hard to find any even remotely accurate representation of SCI).

I'll also say that not every single of these disabilities always causes someone to be nonambulatory, just that it's fairly common. I tried to include some congenital, some progressive, some acquired suddenly, etc. for variety.

Hereditary Spastic Paraplegia,

Myopathy and mitochondrial myopathies (there's too many of those to write all of them out),

Muscular dystrophies (Duchenne if they're younger, Becker if they're older, congenital MD would depend on the specific type)

Osteogenesis Imperfecta (depends on the type),

Sacral Agenesis,

Arthrogryposis,

Myasthenia gravis,

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS),

Locked-in syndrome,

Transverse myelitis,

Spinal Muscular Atrophy (generally type 1 and 2, maybe 3 if they're older),

Some types of dwarfism, like SADDAN or thanatophoric dysplasia.

There's obviously a lot more, but I hope this gives you some ideas :)

Hope this helps,

mod Sasza

[mindblowingscience]

Virtual reality can, in its own imperfect ways, transport a user into distant experiences. With a headset on, an everyday person can get a brief glimpse of what it’s like to perform a surgery, tour the Louvre, or even make an arrest. One thing VR can’t yet do, however, is simulate the experience of eating lunch. But that could change thanks to a new “bio-integrated gustatory interface” device called “e-Taste.”  Researchers from Ohio State University detailed how their new device works this week in the journal Science Advances. They created a small electromagnetic pump connected to a liquid channel of chemicals that, when mixed in the right ratios, can approximate the taste of coffee, lemonade, cake, and other food and drinks. That newly crafted chemical liquid is then pushed through via a gel. Users ultimately experience the taste as a liquid that sits in their mouth. Researchers can then remotely control the gel’s perceived intensity. And while an initial group of human test subjects struggled to accurately differentiate between different taste profiles, the study suggests a future VR steakhouse experience might not be as far-fetched as it sounds. 

Continue Reading.

[elspethdekarios]

Gale as an archmage

I've been thinking about this for a while. If you select Gale as an origin character in the character creator and play his intro, he introduces himself as Gale of Waterdeep™ he immediately follows with "please - no need to be intimidated."

Now I think we initially brush this statement off as Gale being full of himself, but the first time you talk to him and ask him to tell you about himself, there's an option to say something like "Come on, you must have stories from your time as archmage."

And I've always wondered - how would tav know this? Gale hasn't mentioned it. Which leads me to my research question:

Is Gale famous?

Not Elminster-famous, of course, but is he THE archmage of Waterdeep, known throughout the Realms? Is Gale of Waterdeep a legitimate title, not just one he decided to use because it sounds important?

Maybe all of this is common knowledge in DnD lore, but it's a fairly new world to me. Here's what I found about archmages:

From the Forgotten Realms fandom wiki (https://forgottenrealms.fandom.com/wiki/Archmage):

Archmages were among the most powerful arcane spellcasters found throughout all of Faerûn. These practitioners of the Art were experts at manipulating and altering their spells, often in strange ways. Many cities across Faerûn had a single archmage who dedicated themselves to serve that settlement and its people. Some notable cities included Lyrabar in Impiltur, and the great western metropolis of Waterdeep. The term "archmage" was often used to refer to spellcasters who took on leadership roles among similarly-inclined practitioners of The Art. In the drow city of Menzoberranzan, the head of the arcane academy known as Sorcere was granted the title, Archmage of Menzoberranzan.

So, to summarize, archmages are super powerful, big cities often have a singular, dedicated archmage, and they take on leadership roles in the city, sometimes (or at least once) being deemed THE archmage of the city.

I've already seen posts about the insane amount of power held by archmages, so I'm not really going to go into that. I'm just interested in how well-known Gale would be in the Realms. One issue I'm running into while researching is that many people seem to approach the archmage in terms of DnD stats (spell levels, player levels, etc) rather than from a storytelling perspective.

I can't find much else specifically on how widely known archmages would be. There is a list of archmages on the Forgotten Realms wiki, but Gale isn't included on it. I'm assuming maybe BG3 lore is considered an off-shoot of FR lore and therefore not necessarily canon? Let me know if I'm wrong about this.

So that leaves me with message board responses. Here are some notable ones:

An old candlekeep.com forum on the differences between the titles used by magic users. Several users seem to agree with this person.

From the same thread as above.

Interestingly, DnD beyond has archmage categorized as a monster. I'm not sure if this applies only to evil-aligned mages or not, so anyone with more familiarity, feel free to chime in. Anyway, here's what DnD beyond says:

"Archmages are powerful (and usually quite old) spellcasters dedicated to the study of the arcane arts. Benevolent ones counsel kings and queens, while evil ones rule as tyrants and pursue lichdom. Those who are neither good nor evil sequester themselves in remote towers to practice their magic without interruption. An archmage typically has one or more apprentice mages, and an archmage's abode has numerous magical wards and guardians to discourage interlopers."

Gale does mention having students/apprentices at some point (he says something about being impatient with them if I remember correctly, but I can't remember when he actually says it), and, if he's Professor Gale in the epilogue, you're told that an apprentice delivered the invite to the party.

I also find it interesting that archmages typically have wards around their home to keep out intruders, implying that they're well-known enough to have people regularly trying to break into their home?? Or at least has happened enough times to warrant protection.

I also appreciate this reddit comment on a thread asking about the rarity of archmages:

This lead me to a super interesting reddit post which I really suggest you check out if you're interested. The OP breaks down the percentages of each class and level and translates that to city populations. I'm bad at math so that may be a horrible explanation. Anyway, here's a chart that they made:

I have been trying my hardest to put the alt text on the images for accessibility but I have no idea how that would work with this chart. I did include the text at the bottom for screen readers just in case. I'm sorry!

Sooooo someone in the comments asked specifically about Waterdeep and here's what someone who is good at math figured out! (They are correcting a previous comment with incorrect math, hence the first part of the comment):

Since a wizard is considered an archmage at level 18, it's safe to say that Gale would definitely be one of only a few wizards in Waterdeep with such a title. And if the above commenter's assumption about the Blackstaff being one of the only archmages in the city, Gale being of a similar level is HUGE, right? The Blackstaff is a big deal. From the Forgotten Realms wiki:

Blackstaff was the title and name given to the master of the eponymous staff and Blackstaff Tower, including Blackstaff Academy, as well as the Archmage of Waterdeep.

So if the Blackstaff is THE Archmage of Waterdeep, Gale, obviously, is not. But!!! If we can trust the math of the reddit users above, and we assume Gale was at least a level 19 wizard pre-orb/tadpole/whatever ... he would be one of two archmages in Waterdeep, second only to the Blackstaff themself.

I personally think that's enough renown to be a somewhat familiar name throughout Faerûn. So yes, Gale is a bit arrogant and, in his own words, pompous about being Gale of Waterdeep™ but perhaps it's warranted.

This has been a deep dive fueled by procrastination about writing the research papers I should actually be writing right now. Thank you for your time

[felassan]

Cliff notes from the latest blogpost:

BioWare created a dedicated team to focus on PC & the PC experience

PC made up 40% of their platform testing effort

They did 200,000+ hours of performance and compatibility testing

They did almost 10,000 hours of user research testing to ensure good controls and UI for both KBM and controllers

Native support for PS5 DualSense controllers with haptics support (along with Xbox & KBM)

Seamlessly transition between controllers and KBM in gameplay or menus

Customize class-specific keybinds

Full HDR support at launch

Full support for 21:9 Ultrawide monitors

Disabling the Cinematic Aspect Ratio option removes the enforced black bars so cinematics aren't affected

Adjust FOV with FOV slider

Uncapped framerate option

Most changes to graphics & display settings are reflected in real time

The cutout in UI allows you to see the effects of settings changes

DA:TV is Steam Native

DA:TV is Steam Deck Verified

Support for Cloud Save on Steam

Switch seamlessly between PC & Steamdeck

Remote Play (for TV) enabled. To utilize it EA account linking is optional

Support for suite of Ray Tracing features

"Ultra RT" mode for very high end PCs

Several types of upscaling available: NVIDIA DLSS 3, FSR 2.2, and XeSS

FSR 2.2 has been heavily modified specifically for DA:TV

DLSS3 with frame generation supported

NVIDIA Reflex supported

PC specs and details summary

More info on PC features to come

More info on combat, companions, explorations and more also to come

[source]

[feminist-space]

"In the age of smart fridges, connected egg crates, and casino fish tanks doubling as entry points for hackers, it shouldn’t come as a surprise that sex toys have joined the Internet of Things (IoT) party.

But not all parties are fun, and this one comes with a hefty dose of risk: data breaches, psychological harm, and even physical danger.

Let’s dig into why your Bluetooth-enabled intimacy gadget might be your most vulnerable possession — and not in the way you think.

The lure of remote-controlled intimacy gadgets isn’t hard to understand. Whether you’re in a long-distance relationship or just like the convenience, these devices have taken the market by storm.

According to a 2023 study commissioned by the U.K.’s Department for Science, Innovation, and Technology (DSIT), these toys are some of the most vulnerable consumer IoT products.

And while a vibrating smart egg or a remotely controlled chastity belt might sound futuristic, the risks involved are decidedly dystopian.

Forbes’ Davey Winder flagged the issue four years ago when hackers locked users into a chastity device, demanding a ransom to unlock it.

Fast forward to now, and the warnings are louder than ever. Researchers led by Dr. Mark Cote found multiple vulnerabilities in these devices, primarily those relying on Bluetooth connectivity.

Alarmingly, many of these connections lack encryption, leaving the door wide open for malicious third parties.

If you’re picturing some low-stakes prank involving vibrating gadgets going haywire, think again. The risks are far graver.

According to the DSIT report, hackers could potentially inflict physical harm by overheating a device or locking it indefinitely. Meanwhile, the psychological harm could stem from sensitive data — yes, that kind of data — being exposed or exploited.

A TechCrunch exposé revealed that a security researcher breached a chastity device’s database containing over 10,000 users’ information. That was back in June, and the manufacturer still hasn’t addressed the issue.

In another incident, users of the CellMate connected chastity belt reported hackers demanding $750 in bitcoin to unlock devices. Fortunately, one man who spoke to Vice hadn’t been wearing his when the attack happened. Small mercies, right?

These aren’t isolated events. Standard Innovation Corp., the maker of the We-Vibe toy, settled for $3.75 million in 2017 after it was discovered the device was collecting intimate data without user consent.

A sex toy with a camera was hacked the same year, granting outsiders access to its live feed.

And let’s not forget: IoT toys are multiplying faster than anyone can track, with websites like Internet of Dongs monitoring the surge.

If the thought of a connected chastity belt being hacked makes you uneasy, consider this: sex toys are just a small piece of the IoT puzzle.

There are an estimated 17 billion connected devices worldwide, ranging from light bulbs to fitness trackers — and, oddly, smart egg crates.

Yet, as Microsoft’s 2022 Digital Defense Report points out, IoT security is lagging far behind its software and hardware counterparts.

Hackers are opportunistic. If there’s a way in, they��ll find it. Case in point: a casino lost sensitive customer data after bad actors accessed its network through smart sensors in a fish tank.

If a fish tank isn’t safe, why would we expect a vibrating gadget to be?

Here’s where the frustration kicks in: these vulnerabilities are preventable.

The DSIT report notes that many devices rely on unencrypted Bluetooth connections or insecure APIs for remote control functionality.

Fixing these flaws is well within the reach of manufacturers, yet companies routinely fail to prioritize security.

Even basic transparency around data collection would be a step in the right direction. Users deserve to know what’s being collected, why, and how it’s protected. But history suggests the industry is reluctant to step up.

After all, if companies like Standard Innovation can get away with quietly siphoning off user data, why would smaller players bother to invest in robust security?

So, what’s a smart-toy enthusiast to do? First, ask yourself: do you really need your device to be connected to an app?

If the answer is no, then maybe it’s best to go old school. If remote connectivity is a must, take some precautions.

Keep software updated: Ensure both the device firmware and your phone’s app are running the latest versions. Updates often include critical security patches.

Use secure passwords: Avoid default settings and choose strong, unique passwords for apps controlling your devices.

Limit app permissions: Only grant the app the bare minimum of permissions needed for functionality.

Vet the manufacturer: Research whether the company has a history of addressing security flaws. If they’ve been caught slacking before, it’s a red flag.

The conversation around sex toy hacking isn’t just about awkward headlines — it’s about how we navigate a world increasingly dependent on connected technology. As devices creep further into every corner of our lives, from the bedroom to the kitchen, the stakes for privacy and security continue to rise.

And let’s face it: there’s something uniquely unsettling about hackers turning moments of intimacy into opportunities for exploitation.

If companies won’t take responsibility for protecting users, then consumers need to start asking tough questions — and maybe think twice before connecting their pleasure devices to the internet.

As for the manufacturers? The message is simple: step up or step aside.

No one wants to be the next headline in a tale of hacked chastity belts and hijacked intimacy. And if you think that’s funny, just wait until your light bulb sells your Wi-Fi password.

This is where IoT meets TMI. Stay connected, but stay safe."

https://thartribune.com/government-warns-couples-that-sex-toys-remain-a-tempting-target-for-hackers-with-the-potential-to-be-weaponized/

[covid-safer-hotties]

Reference archived on our website

I thought maybe some of y'all would like a qualitative study over a quantitative one. A study of covid disparities in England among PoC and disabled people.

Abstract Background COVID-19 Ethnic Inequalities in Mental health and Multimorbidities (COVEIMM) is a mixed methods study to explore whether COVID-19 exacerbated ethnic health inequalities in adults with serious mental and physical health conditions. We analysed data from electronic health records for England and conducted interviews in Birmingham and Solihull, Manchester, and South London. Sites were selected because they were pilot sites for the Patient and Carer Race Equality Framework being introduced by NHS England to tackle race inequalities in mental health. Prior to the pandemic people in England with severe mental illnesses (SMIs) faced an 11–17-year reduction in life expectancy, mostly due to preventable, long-term, physical health conditions. During the pandemic there was a marked increase in deaths of those living with an SMI.

Aims This qualitative interview study aimed to understand the reasons underlying ethnic inequalities in mortality and service use during the COVID-19 pandemic for adult service users and carers of Black African, Black Caribbean, Indian, Pakistani, and Bangladeshi backgrounds living with serious multiple long-term mental and physical health conditions.

Methods We took a participatory action research approach and qualitative interviews undertaken by experts-by-experience and university researchers Participants were purposively sampled by ethnicity, diagnoses, and comorbidities across three geographically distinct sites in England. Transcriptions were coded inductively and deductively and analysed thematically.

Results Findings indicated multiple points along primary and secondary health pathways for mental and physical health that have the potential to exacerbate the unjust gap in mortality that exists for Black and Asian people with SMIs. Issues such as timely access to care (face-to-face and remote), being treated in a culturally appropriate manner with empathy, dignity and respect, and being able to use services without experiencing undue force, racism or other forms of intersectional discrimination were important themes arising from interviews.

Conclusion These poor experiences create systemic and enduring healthcare harms for racialised groups with SMIs that need to be addressed. Our findings suggest a need to address these, not only in mental health providers, but across the whole health and care system and a need to ensure more equitable healthcare partnerships with service users, carers, and communities from racialised backgrounds who are often excluded.

[starwarsmum]

Chapter 7 of a Fresh Start

Link to AO3

The next time Black Cat was on the WatchTower Damian, Tim and Dick approached him as informally as they could. It had been a month since Marinette had received the call from Adrien that spawned their suspicions and they had been researching Adrien specifically to see if they could find a link to where the Miraculous were now.

“What's up bird boys!” Black Cat said enthusiastically, smiling at them winningly. Damian tried to shove aside the dislike he felt for the man and greet him cordially, but it was hard. “Man, I am psyched to be up here again, I really think I'm going to make a difference.”

“We're lucky to have you with us,” Dick said cheerfully. If anyone could match the Cat's energy it was Dick, and they were counting on him to make Black Cat comfortable. “I mean, it's not often we get magic users on the base, they usually end up in JLD.”

“Hah, yeah, I'd heard that. Probably because I'm not actually a magic user,” he said blithely, seemingly oblivious to the way their attention sharpened. “I used to use a magical artifact, but I wasn't what they called a true cat, so I didn't keep any cool powers after I stopped.”

“Aw, man that sucks,” Dick said, sounding genuinely sorry for him. “Pretty brave of you to carry on the fight without powers when you started out with them.”

“Yeah, it's a hell of an adjustment, that's for sure! But you all manage without powers, right?”

“Wow, you really know your stuff,” Tim said. If Damian didn't know the man so well he wouldn't be able to pick out the sarcasm. As it was, he had to fight to keep a smirk off his face as the Cat preened at the ‘compliment’. “Not that we should be surprised, you were part of the team of teenagers that took down a supervillain.”

“We did a pretty good job, right?” If Damian wasn't wearing a mask that covered his eyes, he would have had to really focus on not rolling them. “Ladybug and Master Fu did a pretty wicked job of choosing allies.”

“You got that right!” Dick was the only one capable of answering as Tim and Damian had scented the blood in the water. In none of their research had they turned up a ‘Master Fu’ and it sounded like this was the person who held the Miraculous. “You had a few different civilian aides, right? Rena Rouge, Carapace…I could never keep track of them!”

“I wish I'd known their identities,” Black Cat said wistfully. He seemed to get lost in a thought as he continued and Damian almost didn't dare breathe. “I only found out about Marinette's because she detransformed in front of me after a battle and- wait, ignore that, we should probably talk about what missions I'm likely going to be on!”

The topic change was anything but subtle and Damian's heart sank. They'd been given two leads within a minute of each other and one of them was something they could definitely follow up on. Having gotten information they could use, they let him change the topic and followed the conversation until he was pulled away by Elaine.

The three bats sat in silence for several minutes after he left. Damian could feel his brothers watching him, knew what they were going to ask him to do and he hated it. They had been together for nearly four months now and the thought of abusing her trust to get the information they needed made him feel ill.

They were interrupted before either of his brothers could broach the topic with him, in the form of Wonder Woman and Batman approaching them with information about the League of Shadows attacking a remote village in Asia.

_ _ _

Marinette's day had started out pretty well but it was taking a weird turn. Damian had messaged asking if he could visit that evening and she had responded yes enthusiastically. They had flirted a little through text until she had felt an odd pull in her chest and then Louis had demanded her attention.

Since then everything seemed to be slightly off: she had been absent minded during lunch and served Louis her lunch by mistake, had forgotten to put him down for the nap and carried him around instead, had misplaced her phone for long enough that she lost all track of time. And through all of this, something had been setting off warning bells in the back of her mind.

She recalled that something similar had happened a couple of days before, a panic that wasn't her own settling in her veins until she had had to call Penny to watch Louis for an hour. She wondered what was causing it, when she had enough presence of mind to. 

She was practically vibrating when Adrien finally called for their monthly catch up. She had tried to get him to be more consistent so she didn't have to keep too many secrets from Damian and he had agreed. It didn't stop him from forgetting some days and having to rearrange with her, but she had sworn that she wouldn't pick up a call without an accompanying text with an emergency code outside of scheduled times, which helped him be more reliable.

“He~y Mari,” Adrien said, eyes shifting away from her as he said it. Immediately she knew he had done something he shouldn't have and she swallowed a growl. “Oh, wow, Louis you're so big now!”

“Hi papa,” the toddler said dutifully, fidgeting in his seat. Adrien didn't seem to notice that the boy didn't meet his eyes, chattering about his month until finally Louis couldn't stand it any more and wandered off.

“What did you do?” Marinette said as soon as Louis was busy playing with his toys again. Adrien blustered and she leaned forward and glared into the camera. “Adrien, I am not in the mood for this. I've been on edge for days so if you have something to tell me, do it.”

“Um, well, you see, I was up on the WatchTower again a couple of days ago and a few of the other heroes were chatting to me. They were really nice, said we did a great job with the whole Hawkmoth thing so that was cool. But, uh, they mentioned something about Rena and Carapace and…well, I don't really know why but I mentioned that…that you'd been a hero once. I didn't use last names or anything! But, um, if they look for a Marinette that was a teen around then…”

“So I can expect a couple of heroes to show up and interrogate me, is that it?” Marinette couldn't believe this. A decade after her tenure as Ladybug and Adrien had managed to out her to random heroes. “Right, well there's nothing we can do about that I guess. But as long as it's heroes on the WatchTower, I probably have a bit of time to get my side of things polished up.”

“The thing is…it was kind of some of Gotham's heroes?”

“You outed me to the world’s greatest detective team?!” She was going to murder him, through this screen.

“There's no guarantee they even picked up on it,’ Adrien explained hastily. “I managed to steer the conversation away from it pretty quickly so you might be absolutely fine!”

“Oh, sure, they definitely don't save that sort of information for later,” Marinette hissed sarcastically. “During this absolute cluster- nightmare, did you accidentally let slip which hero I was?”

“Give me some credit, Mari,” Adrien pouted, looking injured. “I was thinking of Multimouse when I said it, so it should be fine anyway! Besides, they're heroes, so it's okay, right?”

“Adrien, something has been up for the past couple of days for me - they could be watching me! I just- I can't believe you did this. I have to go, Damian's coming over for dinner tonight and I need to get started.”

She hardly let him say goodbye before she ended the video call. Her instincts hadn't been wrong, she could potentially be on a list somewhere and it was a matter of time before the Gotham vigilantes broke down her door for answers. One thing she had learned during her time in Gotham was that the Bats were relentless when looking for information.

She was slowly working herself into a full spiral when someone buzzed at her door. She breathed a sigh of relief when she saw Damian's handsome face on her doorbell cam, buzzing him in. She hugged him tightly as soon as he shut the door behind him and he hugged her back.

“It's good to see you, Marinette,” he murmured into her ear, pressing a kiss to her temple as Louis finally noticed him. The blond child tackled his knees, babbling excitedly. “I don't think I've ever seen the full collection of dolls before. These are all handmade?”

“Mhm! Some heroes, some akumas…Louis loves them all,” she replied, heart settling as she walked back to the kitchen to make their dinner. “I'm planning on making tofu fried rice, is that okay with you?”

Damian agreed and sat down on the floor with Louis. He ran a critical eye over the dolls, trying to pick out any he didn't recognise of the dolls. If Marinette had only been a hero once, it stood to reason that she might not have made it onto the internet.

It took a while but eventually he came across one that made him pause. It was a grey and pink heroine, who had space buns and a jump rope around the waist. Impeccably made, as were the others, he could see the resemblance to Marinette. It was interesting, without any of the supposed Miraculous magic obscuring features, it was painfully obvious who this one must be. 

“Maman!” Louis cooed as he spied what Damian was holding and that solidified the thought in Damian's mind. He was both pleased with his sleuthing and annoyed that it had been so easy. Why was Marinette making dolls of the heroes if it gave away her identity as one of them? “Bug!”

Louis was brandishing Ladybug at Damian now and he happily swapped. His heart softened as the boy cuddled the miniature Marinette. Chat Noir might have been the favourite, but the little grey and pink hero was also well loved.

“Oh, wow, you haven't played with that one in a while!” Marinette laughed as she came through. Damian looked up at her and she grinned at him, wiping her hands on her apron. 

“It's a lovely one,” Damian said, nodding towards it. He forced himself to keep his voice light, mildly curious at best. “Is it styled after you? I don't remember there being a hero like that on the akuma website.”

“Ah, yes, I did,” Marinette replied, her eyes shifting away. Damian noted the avoidance and hated that it meant she was hiding things. She had every right not to tell the man she had been seeing for less than half a year about her heroic endeavours, but it still meant he had to find out more.

“I think you would make a very good…rat?...hero.”

“Mouse,” she corrected automatically, face flushing as she seemed to realise what she had done. But she scrunched her nose adorably and pouted at him. “Mice are far cuter than rats.”

“An egregious error, I'm sorry,” he said with a nudge of his knee against hers. “It is very good work, regardless. Honestly, all of them are fantastic, and very true to the likenesses I've seen online. Did you get to spend time with them to create these?”

“Hard to avoid the heroes when your class is constantly targeted by a madman,” Marinette muttered, her eyes cutting towards him warily. Carefully, he thought. He couldn't screw this up, too much depended on his ability not to make her suspicious. He refused to lose her.

“That makes sen-”

There was a flash of light and Marinette screamed something. Damian had a split second to make a decision and he dove for Louis, covering the boy's head with his hand and turning him away. He turned his own eyes back, desperately, and found Marinette sitting on the floor where he had left her - holding a circular box.

“No…” Marinette whispered, eyes wide as she ran her fingers over it. Her hand covered her mouth but she didn't say anything else just then. Her eyes finally flitted to Damian and he could see panic in them. “This can't…Fu…”

But before he could ask, she set the box aside and rushed over to Louis and Damian. She looked her son over first, tilting his chin and checking his extremities for injury. It was efficient and Damian marvelled at the clinical approach she took. Then she turned her eyes to Damian and his breath caught.

“Are you alright? I'm so sorry, that…I'm not entirely sure what just happened. I'm sorry if I scared you when I screamed, I was just startled.”

“That was rather…intense. Is everything alright, Marinette?”

“Honestly? I don't think so,” she said, a tremor in her voice before it dropped into a whisper. “I don't understand, it's been ten years, this was supposed to be over.”

“Ten…am I to presume that you were more involved in the situation in Paris than you led me to believe?”

“I don't know how much I can…how much I should tell you,” she answered softly. She was clinging to Louis who was looking up at her curiously. She wasn't looking at Damian and it was crushing his chest the longer it went on. He didn't dare move towards her but he longed to hold her tightly.

“You don't have to tell me anything,” he said firmly. Forget his brothers, his mission; Marinette needed him to be her boyfriend first right now. When she was done with whatever crisis was stopping her, he could review. But his heart stopped in his chest when her eyes darted sharply to his own, the warm blue giving way to stormy distrust.

“...why aren't you demanding answers? The living room literally lit up with magic and a box appeared out of nowhere. You should be suspicious, or at the very least freaking out. Who are you, Damian Wayne?”

“Marinette-”

“No, don't try to placate me right now,” she said, edging between him and the box. But the thing that hurt more was the protective way she held Louis, as if he would hurt him. 

“We both have things we haven't discussed,” he managed to say past the lump in his throat. “I'm not pushing you for answers because I don't want to ruin what we have. You- you're incredible, Marinette, and I know that having secrets isn't the worst thing in the world. Please, I would do anything you ask me if it would help you to trust me.”

“I do trust you.” It was barely more than a breath but her grip on Louis loosened. Remarkably, Louis didn't seem upset at all and went back to playing with the dolls. “I'm sorry, I shouldn't…I should have given you a chance to explain.”

“You wanted to protect Louis and yourself, I can't fault you for that.”

“It's a little bigger than that,” she murmured, turning back to the box and pulling it into her lap. She tapped it and a drawer slid out seamlessly, displaying a pair of black and red spotted earrings. Marinette stared at them before sighing and picking them up.

Immediately a light blinked into existence, pink and small. It twirled, like a very agile firefly until it ended at Marinette's eye line. She didn't flinch, her brows furrowed as a red bug thing stretched before flying at her cheek.

“Guardian!”

Marinette froze again, her eyes glistening as she brought a hand up to comfort the bug. She took a deep breath before asking, “Tikki, what's going on? Where's Fu?”

“Oh Marinette, it was awful! There was an attack on the temple, Fu only just got away with the box but he was bleeding horribly. He got to Paris but then one of the assassins caught up to him and he had no choice but to relinquish the box. Don't worry, they won't be able to get any answers out of him, giving up the guardianship means any memories linked to the Miraculous are gone.”

Tikki pulled back from Marinette and Damian finally got a good look at it. He swallowed his surprise, though he couldn't help how his eyes widened as it turned to him. He tried not to flinch away when it got close to his face, scrutinising him.

“And who is this? I would have expected Chat to be here, given how you both mooned over each other.”

“Tikki! Sorry, Damian, she's a tiny god and it means she forgets her manners sometimes. Besides, Chat is in England right now, so you're not likely to see him any time soon.”

“Maman, pretty!” Louis had waddled back over and was gazing raptly at Tikki. The tiny god squealed and flew down to him, landing on his head. He shrieked happily and Damian couldn't help but smile at the pair. Marinette apparently felt the same because she was smiling softly at them.

“So you were more involved in Paris’s villain issue than you led me to believe,” Damian remarked in a low voice. She blushed and shrugged, glancing up at him from beneath her lashes. 

“Maybe a little. But it sounds like I'm not the only one keeping things back. But I'm going to trust you, and explain why people finding out that I have this is a bad idea.”

[beardedmrbean]

thoughts about RFK launching a autism registry?

WAT!!!!

You guys always can find something insane that I've missed it seems.

The federal government's purported plan to track Americans who have autism, which social media users have referred to as an "autism registry," has been heavily criticized.

On Tuesday, CBS News reported that the National Institutes of Health—a body within the Department of Health and Human Services, which is headed by Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.—was overseeing the launch of a registry to measure Americans with autism amid a wider plan to collect patient data for autism research.

Newsweek was not able to independently verify CBS News' reporting and has contacted the NIH for comment.

Why It Matters

Autism is on the rise. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, in 2022, 1 in 31 children had been identified with autism spectrum disorder. In 2000, 1 in 150 children were diagnosed with autism.

Kennedy has repeatedly spoken about an "autism epidemic" in the U.S., saying the rising number of diagnoses was due to environmental rather than genetic factors—a claim that researchers and advocacy groups dispute.

The health secretary also hired David Geier, a figure previously criticized for treating autistic children with puberty-blocking drugs, to lead a federal study on the causes of autism. _________________________________

There's going to be so many people comparing this to nazi germany, already is I bet. Gonna have to wear a puzzle piece on your shirt.

This is not something that should be remotely mandatory, if people want to sign up to provide data they can do that, but I don't like having it land on everyone, it's creepy and invasive.

As for the numbers, diagnosis is getting easier, that's gonna explain that bit, partly at least.

From what I'm seeing here I don't like this.

rest of the article is under the cut here

What To Know

Critics of the reported plan to collect Americans' private medical records to give to researchers working on Kennedy's study have reacted in anger.

One user on X, formerly Twitter wrote: "This isn't about health. This is about control. It's about fear. It's about marking people. People like me. Neurodivergent people."

According to CBS, citing NIH Director Dr. Jay Bhattacharya, data from medication records held by pharmacy chains, private insurer claims and smartwatches would be linked for the Health Department's autism study.

The study would also use patient data collected by the Department of Veterans Affairs and Indian Health Service. Bhattacharya said people's confidentiality would be protected.

CBS News reported that a registry to track Americans with autism would be integrated into the data.

Fred Guttenberg, a gun violence prevention activist, wrote on X that the policy was "designed to hurt people."

Richard Angwin, an X user with more than 190,000 followers, wrote: "RFK Jr.'s autism registry is a chilling overreach, tracking private medical data without consent violates HIPAA and echoes eugenics. It's not about health; it's about control. Stop this now."

What People Are Saying

Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said in a statement on April 15: "The autism epidemic has now reached a scale unprecedented in human history because it affects the young. The risks and costs of this crisis are a thousand times more threatening to our country than COVID-19. Autism is preventable and it is unforgivable that we have not yet identified the underlying causes. We should have had these answers 20 years ago."

Jay Bhattacharya, the director of the National Institutes of Health, told advisers during a presentation Monday: "The idea of the platform is that the existing data resources are often fragmented and difficult to obtain. The NIH itself will often pay multiple times for the same data resource. Even data resources that are within the federal government are difficult to obtain."

What Happens Next

Kennedy has said the Health Department will know the cause of autism by September.

[fandom-garbage]

How I Would Make Palpatine work in the Sequel Trilogy

Okay, him being back is dumb but he is so how do we make it make sense. Thankfully, Dave Filoni is also working on that. Him introducing Project Necromancer in The Bad Batch makes this more believable. A timeline would be like this:

During Clone Wars: He gets the idea to clone the Zillo Beast. That turns into wanting to clone himself/force sensitive beings.

Early Empire: Project Necromancer is in full effect, however, cloning midi-chlorians (never thought I'd be happy they exist) proves to be very difficult and perhaps it just isn't possible/the force is rejecting it as its unnatural. Sometime around now the Sith Eternal are formed, fanatic cultists who serve Palpatine and are in-tune to the force but are not force users or Sith.

OG Trilogy: They (Sith Eternal) keep getting close but, without the cloning expertise of the Kaminoans and the limited research, the clones just aren't working the way he'd hoped and don't fully capture his Sith Lordness(?). Around now is when Palpatine gets the idea to have a blood relative to him (Rey). They were using Snoke clones to test it and when Palpatine is killed by Anakin in Return of the Jedi they decide to just clone Palpatine and hope for the best. It doesn't go well and the clone is decaying and barely in touch with the Force.

Between Sequels and OG: The Sith Eternal essentially "power" Palpatine through rituals or even the dark force of Exegol. So this way he isn't really a Sith Lord anymore which makes the Chosen One prophecy still true. Palpatine creates a plan to manipulate the grandson of Anakin (Ben Solo) to try and take him to restore himself. Snoke is created as a semi-successful vessel for Palpatine, though he is not a true Sith Lord. Instead, he is a puppet created by Palpatine and controlled remotely via dark side manipulation.

Sequels: Somewhere along the line he senses that Rey exists and wants to use her instead of Ben (or he wants to use them both I still don't really get the dyad thing). Then the rest of it kinda plays out as it does in the movies. Palpatine wants them so he can use them to regain his powers and become a Sith Lord once again.

So in summary, The Chosen One prophecy still came true and Rey is just upholding that so that the Sith don't return. Now that Palpatine is really dead (he better be istg) the Sith are no longer (technically cause of the whole rule of 2 thing).

[purringcatz]

Quick Post

I'm working today, but I'm on my hour lunch break right now. I got an interesting message here on Tumblr this morning. Apparently, someone found Falling Into Boiling Trouble, which is quite nice, but they have a grievance with a detail in one of the earlier chapters.

I included a detail of Stanford playing a "beautifully haunting tune" on a piano. Apparently, the user believes that Stanford can't play the piano because of his Postaxial Polydactyly. They even called me a "complete moronic fool" for trying to spread a head-canon that "isn't remotely possible". If y'all want to believe that fine, but I did my research and there's proof that Stanford can in fact play piano.

The Gravity Falls Wiki was very helpful for that particular chapter, so here ya go! Well, I better finish eating my leftover spaghetti and meatballs. Byeee!

[askagamedev]

Summer 2025 Game Development Student Internship Roundup, Part 1

Internship recruiting season has begun for some large game publishers and developers. This means that a number of internship opportunities for summer 2025 have been posted and will be collecting applicants. Internships are a great way to earn some experience in a professional environment and to get mentorship from those of us in the trenches. If you're a student and you have an interest in game development as a career, you should absolutely look into these.

If you know of any game development internships that aren't listed here, please tell me! I'll try to collect another batch when EA posts theirs as a follow-up.

Technical Artist Intern (Remote!)

Sound Design Intern (Remote!)

Game Design Intern

Game Engineering Intern

Data Analytics & Data Science Intern

Localization Production Intern

Environment Art Intern

Animation Intern

VFX Intern

3D Character Art Intern

Site Reliability Engineering Intern

Concept Artist Intern (Canada)

Animation Intern

VFX Intern

Game Engineering Intern

Technical Artist Intern

Threat Intelligence Analyst Intern

UI/UX Design Intern

User Research Intern

Computer Graphics Intern

Software Engineering Intern

Production & Project Management Intern

Concept Artist Intern (California)

World Designer Intern

3D Artist Intern

Animation Programmer Intern

Animation Technical Design Intern

Audio Design Intern

Backend Engineer Intern

Balance Design Intern

Character Artist Intern

Engine Programmer Intern

Environment Art Intern

Game Design Intern

Game Security Intern

Gameplay Programmer Intern

Gameplay Systems Engineer Intern

Salesforce Developer Intern

Software Engineer Intern

Environment Art Intern

Game Design Intern

Gameplay Programmer Intern

Tools Programmer Intern

Technical Artist Intern

Technical Character Animation Intern

Technology App Portfolio Intern

Tools Programmer Intern

Concept Artist Intern

At time of writing, Electronic Arts was performing maintenance on their recruiting site and should have new openings posted on November 12th 2024. I'll do a second round of internship opportunities once they post, along with Ubisoft and any others I missed.

Brush up your resume and focus on any game dev work you've done. Amateur game dev work counts! Tabletop game mastering counts! Amateur board and card game design counts! Making your own CCG fan sets or draft cube counts! Game jam work counts! These make a bigger difference when it comes to hiring than most other kinds of work experience.

If you need assistance with your resume/CV, cover letter, or have other questions, join our discord and ask. The server is full of experienced developers who can help review your materials and give you suggestions. I also suggest taking a look at my Game Career FAQ. There's a lot of answers in there already. Best of luck out there.

[Join us on Discord] and/or [Support us on Patreon]

Got a burning question you want answered?

Short questions: Ask a Game Dev on Twitter

Long questions: Ask a Game Dev on Tumblr

Frequent Questions: The FAQ

[ms-demeanor]

Heya, got a question about cybersecurity meetups. Do you think folks would be cool with a rando showing up because they're curious and like learning new stuff, especially for writing? And also because internet privacy is super important rn and there's no good books or written sources I can find on hacking, the dark web, etc; let alone digestible to somebody who knows what a directory is and how to use command line and not much more.

Also. I know it's gonna vary per location, so if you can't speak for all of 'em, I get it. Are these kinds of spaces like 2600 and Defcon queer friendly? Or I guess what I'm asking is are they notorious a place queer people should avoid. I'm non-binary and don't rly pass as remotely normal or straight, and I have nobody to go with me :|

Thank you!

Meetups that are publicly listed are very cool about randos showing up to learn new stuff and talk to weird people. Most meetups tend to be about 5 parts socializing and 1 part "tech activity" like a talk or a demo if they have a tech activity at all, so you're mostly just going to be meeting people and talking to them about themselves.

I will say, if you show up specifically saying "i'm a writer and i'm here to learn about stuff for writing" you're probably going to get some trolling - that's pretty common and a lot of meetups do have to deal with stuff like journalists periodically showing up to get the inside scoop about the scary hackers and that usually gets some fairly mean-spirited teasing directed at them.

So it's better to show up because you want to learn generally. People don't like being used as reference material during their socializing; they're there to hang out and talk to people with similar interests, so ask them about their interests. You can just say you're new to the scene and you heard about hacker meetups online and wanted to learn more.

If you want to do something to pregame and learn a bit about hacking ahead of time you may want to try hackthissite.org, check out 2600 magazine, or look on the DefCon forums to see what's going on in your local DC Groups. There are some good books about hacking; I like The Cuckoo's Egg and am asking anyone with good books or memoirs about hacking to chime in in the notes.

I will say, asking about the darkweb specifically might get you some eyerolls because it's something that sounds a lot scarier and more intimidating to most people than it actually is. You can get on the darkweb now. You can do it on your phone. Here's a very basic get-started guide. I don't think it's necessary to use a VPN to use Tor (most guides recommend it and then link to pages full of affiliate links for VPNs), and here's the Tor user manual to get started if you want to. Be careful, and if you're planning on doing anything that requires actual anonymity do a LOT more research before you follow the advice in any guide, but yeah pretty much everybody with an internet connection can get access to the darkweb in about twenty minutes. It's just websites that you need to use a slightly different set of tools to navigate to (granted, the content of the websites might be horrifying, so. Again. Be careful.)

Anyway moving on:

Defcon has had Queercon (a queer party for queer hackers) as a part of the con for at like twenty years and I know many queer and trans people who are part of the scene. And there are a lot of trans folks who I know who are volunteers at defcon and help to run hackerspaces and who volunteer and attend and run all manner of cons. I can't speak for your local group, but I've found that hackers in generally are more tolerant of a *lot* of things than the broader population is (they are weird people who engage in a hobby or who engage in work that is often technically criminal - they don't have a lot of room to judge and the more sensible ones among them know that).

HOWEVER I have personally had problems with defcon the conference specifically about harassment and infosec does lag behind other parts of the tech sector in participation from women. Defcon is working on it and i know their current head of conference security is very serious about ensuring that it's a welcoming space for people and that if people DO have problems at the con it is handled in a serious, sensitive way. (Legitimately, he's a good dude) I just. I don't go to defcon. There's more info in my pinned post. That conference is burned for me.

BUT there are a lot of other conferences, big and small, and there are a lot of local groups to look into. You'll have to get to know your local scene, but I'd bet that if one part of your local scene is unwelcoming that other parts are more open.

[felassan]

A new blog post from BioWare in which they talk about the PC experience for Dragon Age: The Veilguard. The blog covers display features, graphics settings and controls. "We're PC players ourselves and have a dedicated team focused on PC."

"Journal #4 PC Features for Dragon Age: The Veilguard A look into the PC Experience in Dragon Age: The Veilguard Hello everyone, Today, we want to specifically touch on the PC experience for Dragon Age: The Veilguard. The Dragon Age franchise started out on PC, and we wanted to make sure PC is a great place to play our game. Many of us at BioWare are PC players ourselves, and when testing, PCs made up 40% of our platform testing effort, with over 200,000 hours of performance and compatibility testing. Getting the PC experience just right was crucial to us and we created a dedicated team to focus on PC. We can’t wait for you to experience it for yourselves! Let’s talk about inputs first. We wanted to ensure the controls and UI are a good experience for both KBM and controllers; so we did close to 10,000 hours of user research testing to make sure of it. Dragon Age: The Veilguard will feature native support for PS5 DualSense controllers with haptics support in addition to the standard of Xbox controllers & keyboard + mouse. Additionally, you can seamlessly transition between controllers or keyboard + mouse while playing or in menus. There are many different ways to play our game; so, in order to allow you to find the most comfortable set-up, we’ve added the ability to customize class-specific keybinds that you can easily switch between. This means that your Rogue Rook can use a different set of keybinds than your Warrior Rook, if you’d like! Along with the standard resolution options, we also have full support for 21:9 Ultrawide monitors. Don’t worry; we didn’t forget the cinematics, either - just disable the option titled “Cinematic Aspect Ratio.” This will remove the enforced black bars; so you can watch the cinematics in full ultra widescreen glory. No matter what size monitor you’re rocking, you can adjust your FOV with an FOV slider in the Settings. There will be an option for uncapped framerate, as well. We’re also launching with full HDR support. Most changes to Graphics and Display Settings are reflected in real time, and you can see the impacts of those changes through the cutout in the UI. This will help you make informed decisions as you tweak your game to look exactly how you want. For a full list of Settings, check the rest of the blog below! We know a lot of you play on Steam, and we wanted to meet you where you are. We’re happy to be completely Steam Native for Dragon Age: The Veilguard! We’re already Steam Deck Verified; and with Cloud Save on Steam supported, you can seamlessly switch back and forth between your PC and your Steam Deck as much as you want, with no interruption to your progress. We also have Remote Play enabled if you’d rather play on your TV! If you’d like to utilize it, there will be a completely optional linking process to your EA Account."

"If you want to hear about a few advanced settings and options for the PC community, let’s go over that now. We support a suite of Ray Tracing features, as well as an “Ultra RT” mode for extremely high end rigs. We have several types of upscaling available: NVIDIA DLSS 3, FSR 2.2 which has been heavily modified, specifically for the game, and XeSS. We also support DLSS 3 with frame generation and NVIDIA Reflex. As we have more PC features to share, we’ll circle back on those before launch. We’re inching closer to our release date of October 31, 2024! We still have more information coming on Combat, the Companions, Exploration, and more; so keep your eyes peeled on our socials. We are eager to see your battle stations running Dragon Age: The Veilguard and the resulting screenshots. Chat soon!             — The Dragon Age Community Team"

"To summarize the above, check out an overview of the PC specs and features we’re ready to unveil now: DISPLAY FEATURES - Full Support for 21:9 Ultra Wide Resolutions  - Ability to Uncap Frame Rate - VSync, including fractional rate VSync - HDR Support - Optional Upscaling (DLSS 3, FSR 2.2, XeSS) - NVIDIA Reflex  - DLSS 3 Frame Generation - Optional Dynamic Resolution Scaling  - Cinematic Aspect Ratio (Disable this option for cinematic 21:9 ratio) GRAPHICS SETTINGS - Presets Available (Low, Medium, High, Ultra) Texture settings: - Texture Quality, Texture Filtering Light & Shadow Settings: - Lighting Quality, Contact Shadow, Ambient Occlusion, Screen Space Reflections, Volumetric Lighting, Sky Quality Ray Traced Settings*: - Ray-Traced Reflections, Ray-Traced Ambient Occlusion, Ultra Ray Tracing Geometry Settings: - Level of Detail, Strand Hair, Terrain Quality, Terrain Decoration Quality, Visual Effects Quality Camera Effects: - Depth of Filed, Vignette, Motion Blur, Post Processing Quality, Field of View Controls: - Class-specific Keybinds, Keyboard + Controller Bindings *  Ray Tracing can be “ON” or turned to “Selective”. Selective Mode enables Ray Tracing features in specific areas that can best take advantage of the feature."

[source] <- at the source link there is also some new screenshots/clips