Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment today delayedHogwarts Legacy yet again, but the most demanding versions of the game are spared. Instead, the postponement pushes the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One versions back to April 4th, 2023, with the Nintendo Switch variant arriving on July 25th.
Previously, the last-gen versions were scheduled to launch on February 10th alongside the PS5, Xbox Series X/S and PC iterations. Although today’s delay will disappoint Harry Potter fans with older consoles, you need to look no further than Cyberpunk 2077 for an example of a game that just wasn’t ready for last-gen hardware. This latest reshuffling should give developer Avalanche Software time to polish the Harry Potter-themed game for older systems.
Warner Bros. initially slated the wizarding title for a 2021 launch but later pushed it back to this year and, finally, to 2023. Starting on February 7th, people who buy the Deluxe Edition for PS5, Xbox Series X/S or PC will have 72 hours of early access to start their adventure. However, the delayed versions won’t have an early-access period.
Avalanche Software/Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment
Hogwarts Legacy is an open-world action RPG set in the 1800s. You play as a custom-created Hogwarts student in the century before the events in the Harry Potter books and movies. You will craft potions, learn spells and make friends while embarking “on a dangerous journey to uncover a hidden truth of the wizarding world.”
Warner Bros. notes that the game isn’t a new story from author JK Rowling, but it collaborated with her team to ensure it remains true to her original vision. However, the RPG’s character creator may let you make transgender characters, a welcome departure from Rowling’s opinion on that topic.
iPadOS 16 launched a little later this year than its predecessors, and a few key features weren’t quite ready. With iPadOS 16.2, which just arrived this afternoon, I think Apple has caught up with what it planned. There are two major new features on bo…
Apple is finishing 2022 by releasing major software updates for its devices. The upgrades are headlined by iOS 16.2, which should be particularly useful for the security-conscious. The new version adds an Advanced Data Protection option that brings end-to-end encryption to more of your iCloud data, including device backups, Messages content, notes and photos. And like it or not, Apple is limiting AirDrop sharing — you’ll now have 10 minutes to swap files with “everyone” before the feature reverts to contacts-only. The restriction first arrived in China, allegedly in a bid to appease officials trying to stymie protests, but may be useful if you’re worried someone might push unwanted content to your device.
This is also a particularly important update if you’re an iPhone 14 Pro or Pro Max owner. You can now hide your wallpaper and notifications when the 14 Pro’s always-on display kicks in. Yes, that makes it behave more like some Android phones, but it could also reduce distractions (some say it still looks like the phone is awake with the wallpaper on) and bolster privacy. Live Activities are now available for MLB, NBA and Premier League games on all iPhones courtesy of the TV app, although you’ll need one of the 14 Pro models to see them on your home screen through the Dynamic Island.
Other improvements largely focus on new apps and expected revisions. The long-promised Freeform digital whiteboard app is finally here, offering a visual collaboration tool for brainstorming sessions and meetings. Apple Music’s karaoke mode is now available and the Weather app now includes a news section. If you use your iPhone to control a smart household, you’ll be glad to know that Apple has given the Home app with a new architecture that promises to be faster and more reliable. This may be helpful now that Matter devices are ready (Apple added Matter support in iOS 16.1).
The company has simultaneously released iPadOS 16.2 and macOS Ventura 13.1. Not surprisingly, these bring cross-platform feature additions like Advanced Data Protection, Freeform and the revised Home app. WatchOS 9.2, meanwhile, adds the Home update as a workout for cyclists and runners wanting to improve their performance on a previously-completed route. These updates won’t offer as many conspicuous changes as on the iPhone, but they should still be worthwhile if you’re immersed in Apple’s ecosystem.
Instagram’s BeReal clone is now official. Meta introduced “Candid Stories,” a new feature with Instagram Stories that recreates BeReal’s signature once-a-day selfies. The feature will be testing in South Africa to start, according to a company spokespe…
Avatar: The Way of Water is a triumph. As a sequel to the highest-grossing film ever, which was criticized for its formulaic story (and the surprisingly small ripple it had on pop culture), the new movie is a genuine surprise. It’s a sweeping epic that reflects on the nature of families, our relationship to the natural world and humanity’s endless thirst for violence and plunder. Fans of the original film often had to make excuses for writer and director James Cameron’s stilted script, but that’s no longer the case for The Way of Water, thanks to additional help from Amanda Silver and Rick Jaffa (who both worked on the recent criminally under-loved Planet of the Apes trilogy).
Perhaps most impressive, though, is that James Cameron has managed to craft the best high frame rate (HFR) movie yet. Certain scenes play back at 48 frames per second, giving them a smoother and more realistic sheen compared to the standard 24fps. That leads to 3D action scenes that feel incredibly immersive — at times HFR can make you forget that the lush alien wildlife on Pandora isn’t real.
Fox/Disney
Unlike the handful of high frame rate movies we’ve already seen – The Hobbit trilogy, as well as Ang Lee’s Gemini Man and Billy Lynn’s Long Half-Time Walk – the Avatar sequel deploys the technology in a unique way. Rather than using HFR throughout the entire movie, Cameron relies on it for major action sequences, while slower dialog scenes appear as if they’re running at 24fps. To do that, the entire film actually runs at 48fps, while the calmer scenes use doubled frames to trick your brain into seeing them at the typical theatrical frame rate.
If this sounds a bit confusing, your brain may have a similar reaction while watching the film. The Way of Water often jumps from hyper-real HFR to pseudo-24 fps in the same scene — at one point, I counted around a dozen switches in a few minutes. This is a strategy Cameron has been discussing for years. In 2016, he noted that HFR is “a tool, not a format,” and later he rejected Ang Lee’s attempt at using HFR for Gemini Man’s entire runtime.
Cameron’s dual-pronged approach to HFR is bound to be controversial. Even for someone who appreciates what the technology has to offer — pristine 3D action scenes with no blurring or strobing — it took me a while to get used to flipping between high frame rate and 24 fps footage. With Gemini Man, my brain got used to the hyper-reality of HFR within 15 minutes. In The Way of Water, I was almost keeping an eye out for when the footage changed.
Fox/Disney
Despite the distracting format changes, The Way of Water’s high frame rate footage ultimately worked for me. At times, the film appears to be a window into the world of Pandora, with breathtaking shots of lush forests and lush oceans. It makes all of Cameron’s creations, from enormous flying fish-like creatures that you can ride, to alien whales with advanced language, appear as if they’re living and breathing creatures. HFR also works in tandem with the sequel’s more modern CG animation, making the Na’vi and their culture feel all the more real.
Over the film’s three hour and twelve-minute runtime, I eventually managed to see what the director was aiming for, even if his ambition exceeded his grasp. (Cameron, who has the world’s first [Avatar] and third-highest grossing films [Titanic] under his belt, and who dove into the Marianas Trench in a self-designed personal submarine, suggests you can use the bathroom anytime you want during The Way of Water. You’ll just catch up the next time you see it in theaters. Baller.)
The re-release of Avatar earlier this month also used a combination of HFR and traditional footage (in addition to brightening the picture and upscaling the film to 4K). But even though that revamp grossed over $70 million on its own, there hasn’t been much discussion about how it integrated high frame rate footage. (I saw it on a Regal RPX screen, which offered 3D but no extra frames, sadly.) There’s a better chance you’ll be able to catch Avatar: The Way of Water exactly how Cameron intended. It’ll be screening in 4K, HFR and 3D at all AMC Dolby Cinema locations and select IMAX theaters (single laser screens get everything, some dual-laser screens will only offer 2K 3D with HFR). While you could see it in 2D, why would you?
After suffering through the interminable Hobbit movies in HFR, I figured the technology was mostly a waste of time, yet another money-grab that Hollywood can use to pump up ticket prices. Director Peter Jackson struggled to recreate the magic of his Lord of the Rings trilogy, and amid production issues, he also failed to change the way he shot the Hobbit films to account for HFR. So that led to sets that looked like they were ripped from B-grade fantasy movies and costumes that seemingly came fromaSpirit Halloween pop-up.
Ang Lee’s more studious attempts at using the technology, especially with the action scenes in Gemini Man, convinced me HFR still had some potential. But even he struggled along the way. Billy Lynn’s Long Half-Time Walk is a cinematic curiosity, where HFR makes slow dialog scenes appear too distractingly real. Gemini Man was cursed by a messy script and the need to be a big-budget Will Smith blockbuster.
Fox/Disney
Avatar: The Way of Water benefits from the creative failures of all of the earlier high frame rate films. For many, it’ll be their introduction to this technology, so it’ll be interesting to see how general audiences respond. Video games and hyper-real YouTube action footage have made 60fps footage far more common, so I could see younger audiences, those raised on hundreds of hours of Minecraft and Fortnite, vibing with Cameron’s vision. Everyone else will need more convincing. For me, though, I’m just glad there’s finally a high frame rate film that’s genuinely great, instead of just a technical exercise.
Amazon will offer Prime Gaming members an extra batch of PC games later this month at no extra cost. Along with a few Metal Slug titles, SNK 40th Anniversary Collection and a few others, you can snap up Arcane Studios’ Dishonored 2 between December 27th and January 3rd.
A few years before it unleashed Deathloop, Arcane’s Lyon studio developed another sneaky action-adventure game in Dishonored 2. As with the first game in the series, it enables players to be creative in how they tackle missions, depending on their preferred playstyle. You can, for instance, take a non-lethal stealthy approach or battle enemies head on. This time around, you can play as two characters, each of which has their own supernatural abilities — Deathloop fans will certainly see some of that game’s DNA here.
It’s not yet clear whether Amazon will offer Dishonored 2 through Steam, the Epic Games Store or the Amazon Games app. However, it’s worth noting this game is unsupported on Steam Deck. That’s a bit odd, considering its decade-old predecessor should run on the handheld without any hitches. Still, a free(ish) game that’s as good as Dishonored 2 is nothing to sniff at, especially if you end up looking for something to play during the holidays.
Before Dishonored 2 and the other games hit the Prime Gaming lineup later this month, there are a few other notable titles that members can snag at no extra cost right now as part of the regular monthly drop. Classic first-person shooter Quake and Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons(from A Way Out and It Takes Two director Josef Fares) are up for grabs for another few weeks.
At this point it’s easier to list the features that Arturia’s Pigments doesn’t have than ones it does. The company has been rolling out regular updates for a few years now, and each new version adds something worth getting excited about. New synth engines, new effects, whole new utility sections – it’s both a place for Arturia to experiment with new ideas, and show off some of highlights from its lineup of vintage emulation.
At first blush Pigments 4 seems like a comparatively minor update. There’s some new effects, a handful of enhancements to the various oscillators, but there’s not much to reach out and demand your attention from a simple headline. This seemingly subtle upgrade hides a lot of quality of life enhancements, though.
For one, now you can simply drag and drop modulation sources to their target. Granted, clicking LFO one and then clicking on the filter cut off wasn’t particularly difficult. But now you can just drag the little tab over an LFO to whatever you want to modulate. It should make Pigments a little less intimidating to those just learning how to navigate the synth. There’s also now left and right arrows on multimode modules, like the filter, that lets you quickly change types, where previously you had to click and open a drop down menu to select a new option.
Arturia
The most dramatic UI changes are thankfully optional. First is the new Play tab, which strips away most of the sound design options and focuses on a core set of tweakable parameters. You can’t change effects here, or set modulation preferences. It’s designed to just get you making noise without too many distractions. It’s fine for live performance or if you prefer to stick with the presets, but hides a lot of the depth that makes Pigments so compelling.
The other major interface change is a bit of a head scratcher. See, while most companies are rushing to implement dark mode to save your eyes, Arturia has decided that Pigments is too dark and added a light mode. I’m sure there are those out there who will enjoy its bright gray panels, but I’m personally not a fan. Not only do I think the original theme is easier to stare at for prolonged periods of time, but it’s also just more consistent. There are many elements of the interface that remain dark even in light mode and it looks a bit cobbled together.
That’s a pretty minor nitpick though, considering that once you get past the UX, there’s a handful of new toys to play with in Pigments 4. There’s a new filter borrowed from the company’s MS-20 emulation, ring mod in the wavetable oscillator, super unison in the analog oscillator, a dedicated mod oscillator, an improved bit crusher and (wait for it) shimmer reverb!
Arturia
The MS-20 filter might seem unnecessary considering Pigments already had 10 different filter options, many with multiple modes, but it does bring something special to the table. Rather than using it as you would any other lowpass filter, the MS-20 begs to be run at extremes. Crank the resonance and turn on keyboard tracking, and you can transform simple white noise into a delicate plucky key sound with a subtle crackle. Or just crank the volume on it and hit it with the hottest signal you can (though make sure to turn down the master volume or you’ll risk blowing out your ears) to get some crunchy saturation.
Ring Mod delivers some nice icy timbres. Though, this is not something that Pigments was exactly lacking before. It’s a welcome addition, but definitely not something that you’d miss too dearly if it quietly disappeared. The more exciting changes are to the Bit Crusher effect (as opposed to the one built into the sample engine). The addition of jitter, scale and new decimator options really let you fine tune the exact flavor of digital destruction you’re looking for.
Oh, then of course there’s the shimmer reverb. It does what it says on the tin. Personally I think it’s an essential effect, and I’m shocked Arturia hasn’t added one until now. There’s nothing about it that stands out particularly, but if you’re using Pigments to create granular soundscapes or ambient plucks, then you’ll be thankful it’s here.
Arturia also added 63 new wavetables, 67 new samples and 36 new noise types, plus a pile of new presets. And, if the new library of included patches isn’t enough for you, there’s also three new sound packs: Wavelengths Lo-fi, Wavelengths Neuro Bass and Wavelengths Cinematic to broaden your sonic palette.
Pigments 4 is available now as a free upgrade for existing owners. New customers have a chance to pick it up at an introductory price of $99 until January 4th, after which the price will go back up to $199.
Scientists have just crossed one of the most important thresholds in the quest for fusion energy. A team at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory has created the first known fusion reaction with a net energy gain — that is, it produced more energy than it consumed and resulted in ignition. The researchers achieved the feat on December 5th, when they used 192 lasers at the National Ignition Facility to blast a cylinder containing frozen hydrogen surrounded by diamond.
The reaction, which generated a flurry of X-rays, struck a fuel pellet of deuterium and tritium with 2.05 megajoules of energy. That, in turn, led to a wave of neutron particles and 3.15 megajoules of output. That gain was ‘only’ equivalent to about 1.5lbs of TNT, but that was enough to meet the criteria for fusion ignition.
The development has been a long time coming. The National Ignition Facility started work in 2009, but it wasn’t until 2014 that the installation’s laser-based fusion technology produced a meaningful volume of energy. Progress accelerated in the past year, however. Lawrence Livermore generated a much larger amount of energy in a test last August, producing an output equivalent to 70 percent of the energy needed to perform the reaction. An attempt in September generated 1.2 megajoules using the 2.05-megajoule blast.
The lab and the Energy Department are quick to caution that “many” advancements are still necessary before fusion reactors are practical enough to power homes. During a presentation, scientists said they needed to improve the number of reactions per minute, simplify the process and otherwise make it easily repeatable. The net energy gain also doesn’t include the entire system required to run the laser systems. And of course, the developers need to improve scaling — a reactor would have to power enough households to justify its existence.
The National Ignition Facility also isn’t intended as a generator research program. It’s using fusion to test and maintain the US nuclear arsenal. Other organizations and companies will need to cooperate on civilian uses.
The Energy Department is in the midst of rebooting a coordinated fusion power effort, however. During the event, officials also noted that a functional plant wasn’t as far off as you might think. While they didn’t commit to a timeframe, they said it was less than the 50 or 60 years they might have predicted in the past. You might see the first commercial fusion reactor in your lifetime, to put it another way.
The technology could be vital to limiting global warming and otherwise fighting climate change. While renewable energy sources like solar and wind power are more eco-friendly than coal, they don’t always meet demand and can require large amounts of land. Solar also isn’t as effective in regions where sunlight can be limited. Sufficiently powerful fusion reactors could achieve the dream of clean powerplants that have enough capacity to serve large populations without the radioactive waste of nuclear facilities.
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