Category Archives: Cyberpunk

Nibbles the Cat is the newest member to join the Cyberpunk 2077 family. Added to the game with the new Edgerunners update, Nibbles has found a spot for himself like the true royalty he is. You can adopt this cat in the game, and make him a permanent housemate. But, in order to do that, you will have to complete a small side mission in the game.

Unlike most side jobs in Cyberpunk 2077, the one involving Nibbles the Cat isnt that difficult at all. Heres what you need to do!

To get your hands on Nibbles, you will have to travel back to your apartment in Little China. If youre lost or youre just feeling lazy, you can use the fast travel mechanic to make it to the Megabuildin H10: Atrium. Use the elevator to head up to your floor, but dont enter your apartment.

Instead, take a right and then travel all the way to the end of the hallway. If youve managed to do this correctly, you should find yourself in front of an apartment with the number 0721 on the door. Take another right from here and there should be a trashcan in front of you. When you move closer to the trash can, you will notice a pop-up that says Feed teh cat. As soon as you interact with the note, you will be prompted to leave some food for Nibbles the Cat in the bowl.

Head back to your apartment after youve done this and go to sleep. Return here once you wake up, and youll see Nibbles eating. Move close to the cat and interact with it to pick him up. Once you do this, you will automatically bring Nibbles the Cat back to your apartment. This marks the end of the side job, and your reward is Nibbles. Although its not much, but its a fruit of honest labor!

CD Projekt Red did a good job on the wardrobe feature in the game. Heres how you use the Transmog system! Dont forget to check out our guide on how to set up crossplay for your game. And while youre at it, heres how you can build your character to resemble David from Edgerunners.

Cyberpunk 2077 is available now on PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series S|X, and Google Stadia.

- This article was updated on September 30th, 2022

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Where to Find Nibbles the Cat in Cyberpunk 2077? - Attack of the Fanboy

Bungie first teased its next major Destiny 2: Lightfall expansion more than two years ago, and since then, players have gained control of the Darkness, fought Savathn and her undead army, and witnessed... The Witness. Now its time to shake things up again with the launch of Destiny 2: Lightfall on February 28th, with its new cyberpunk world, new Strand subclasses, and much more.

Its also the final battle of the epic light vs. dark saga of Destiny.

At the center of Destiny 2: Lightfall is an unusual new location for Bungies franchise thats heavily cyberpunk. A new hidden Neomuna city on Neptune serves as a dystopian futuristic setting for the continuation of Destiny 2s storyline, which will see the return of Calus as the main villain once again. The Witness, a mysterious humanoid villain, has Calus on its side in the battle to destroy the equally mysterious Traveler.

Neomuna, the capital city of Neptune, has bright neon lights everywhere and an aurora borealis-like illumination throughout. Its unlike anything that exists in the Destiny universe, and its a secret technologically advanced city. It also houses new Cloud Striders that protect Neomuna, and the Shadow Legion Cabal faction and huge Tormentors that can attack from a distance.

Bungie is once again introducing a new subclass with Lightfall. Strand is a green-colored subclass, and it hugely powers up Destiny 2 guardians like nothing weve ever seen before. If you thought Stasis was powerful, Strand goes even further with abilities that are more focused on movement and traversal to help.

The big new addition in Strand is a grapple hook, much like what weve seen in Fortnite, Halo Infinite, and Apex Legends. Youre able to grapple at any point, and you can use the hook to grapple anything. Originally developed for the Hunter class, Bungie made the call to expand it to all three classes so every guardian can wield the grapple hook.

Strand isnt all about the grapple hook though, it includes a lot of damage abilities. Titans get giant claws for damage, Hunters get a rope that you can weave and whip with, and Warlocks get a blade barrage-like super ability.

Bungie is also making Destiny 2: Lightfall a lot more accessible for players new and old. Guardian ranks is a new system that players can use to identify experienced players in Destiny 2. Bungie is also adding a built-in looking for group (LFG) system in 2023 that will help players group up for activities. Theres also a new commendations system where players can show appreciation for fellow players.

Other quality of life improvements include in-game loadouts and a mod manager. Destiny 2 players have had to use third-party tools like DIM for years, so something inside the game will be a very welcome addition.

Before Destiny 2: Lightfall arrives next year, theres a new season of Destiny 2 that starts today. Season of Plunder is all about being space pirates, and it sees the return of the Fallen Eramis villain. Battles include a new Ketchcrash mode where you board pirate ships and loot chests, and another activity where you hunt down pirate leaders.

Season of Plunder also introduces Arc 3.0, the final rework for class abilities. Titans get a new Thunderclap charged melee attack with big damage, with Hunters getting Blink movement once again. Warlocks get Two new lightning melee attacks, too.

The Kings Fall raid also returns on Friday, originally part of the original The Taken King expansion. Its a big season as we move closer to Destiny 2: Lightfall, alongside a Fortnite and Fall Guys crossover and Destiny 2 arriving on the Epic Games Store.

Destiny 2: Lightfall arrives on February 28th on Xbox, PlayStation, PC, and Stadia.

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Destiny 2: Lightfall is cyberpunk battle when it launches in February - The Verge

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Level Infinite and Hotta Studio revealed more additions coming to Tower Of Fantasy in the near future with a new area and a new character. The new area is called Vera, which will be cyberpunk-themed and be an unlocked area within the game. This area itself will add environments, mounts, monsters, weapons, and other goodies for you to explore and find. The primary expanse of it is called the Desert Gobby, which will have an irradiated wilderness with the cyberpunk hub of Mirroria in the middle. The game will also be getting a new character named Frigg, which you see below, who brings her own powers, abilities, and more to the mix. You can read more about both below and check out the trailers for each, as we wait for the devs to put a solid release date on these new additions.

Vera is the name of the new cyberpunk-themed area that will unlock within the game, bringing with it new environments, mounts, monsters, weapons and much more. The Desert Gobby makes up the main area of the expansion, an irradiated wilderness with the cyberpunk hub of Mirroria found in the heart of the desert. Tower of Fantasy players will be excited to find new instances, raids and legendary bosses that they can take on with their friends and "crews" that bring new missions, events and progression rewards.

The Vera area was under the jurisdiction of The Seventh Division of Helgaard before the Cataclysm, and lost contact with the main plane after the Cataclysm. The environment is dominated by the desert Gobby, and the overall climate is hot and dry. Due to the failure of its local "Vera Phantom Tower" (an original energy repeater) after the Cataclysm, its space-time dimension cannot be calibrated on the main plane, nor can it obtain a stable supply of original energy. The intensity of the original energy radiation in the area is gradually decreasing, except for some heavily polluted areas. Although most of the surface environment can be used for human activities, the majority of people in Vera live in Mirroria.

Frigg, a new playable character, will be officially released soon. A quiet and decisive soldier who gets her work done cleanly and quickly. She has her own take on life, and often thinks about the meaning of it when she's not busy eliminating her enemies. One of the Angels of Clemency, her body was largely modified with living metal to stop radiation without a suppressor. She is a loyal servant of the Sage and carries out his commands without question. As a commander, she has the right to command the Heirs of Aida's forces, but instead chooses to act alone most of the time.

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Tower Of Fantasy Will Receive New Land & Character Soon - Bleeding Cool News

Image: So Romantic

So Romantic's Jack Move, the futuristic grid-based RPG where you play as a hacker, will be tapping into our Switch's mainframe on 20th September.

This beautiful, neon, pixel art RPG made a splash on Steam with its prologue demo earlier this year, and it's now bringing the whole adventure to consoles (and PC) later this year. Steam, Epic Games, and Humble will all get Jack Move on 8th September, while we'll have to wait a little bit longer to get our hands on it.

As Noa, a vigilante hacker from Bright Town, you must save your father from a mega-corporation standard stuff, really! But her partners are an eccentric bunch who doesn't want a Martini-drinking uncle to help them out on their journey?

Here's an official summary of the game from its Steam page:

Jack Move is a fresh take on turn-based Japanese-style RPGs. Promising a unique blend of gritty cyberpunk storytelling, turn-based battles, and beautiful modern pixel art.

StoryTake on the role of Noa Solares: An up-and-coming vigilante hacker from Bright Town. When the overreaching mega-corporation Monomind, kidnaps Abner, her estranged father, Noa has no choice but to get him back, before it's too late. Why is Abner researching digitised consciousness? And what does Monomind want to do with it?

Noa won't be alone on her journey. She'll be helped out by her best friend and tactical planner, Ryder, as well as her Martini drinking uncle and ex-corporate spy, Guin Blakely.

Cyberspace BattlesBattle Noas foes in the unique single-party-member turn-based battle system, featuring beautiful animation and tactical gameplay.

Customise the software of your Cyber Deck to switch roles mid-battle, balancing offense, defense, and buffs. Choosing which software you load during battle is the key to victory! Hardware upgrades can help boost your stats, increase the amount of software you can install or give Noa extra abilities.

Features- Gorgeous Hi-Bit pixel art inspired by retro RPGs and enhanced with modern techniques.- Battle your foes in cyberspace. Take them down using a multitude of sweet hacking software.- Explore the dangerous world of Monocity One and takedown Monomind, the evil mega-corporation that controls it.- Play as Noa Solares, a sassy hacker out to save her father and the world.- Fight your way through dungeons filled with all sorts of cyberpunk villany. Street punks, gangsters, corporate militia and horrific cyber-experiments-gone-wrong will all be vying to take you down!

We'll be able to find out soon whether Jack Move's "promising" demo has set the stage for an excellent cyberpunk RPG when the game launches on Switch on 20th September.

In the meantime, check out Jack Move's official animated trailer, featuring some gorgeous retro-style anime-inspired visuals, shared by IGN.

Are you looking forward to Jack Move? Let us know in the comments!

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Turn-Based Cyberpunk RPG 'Jack Move' Will Boot Up On Switch Next Month - Nintendo Life

August was a good month for anime fans, if not the greatest, and the same can be said for September. The best releases for this year are set for October, which includes anime like Mob Psycho season 3, Chainsaw Man, Bleach: Thousand Year Blood War, and more. But there are definitely some exciting anime movies and shows awaiting their release in September too.

The anime set for September is a mixed bag of movies and TV shows. So, while you can enjoy the weekly episodes, on some days, you can savor a great movie with a tub full of popcorn on the others. Now lets catch up with the list without making you wait any longer.

Starting the list with the most promising anime releasing in September, Cyberpunk: Edgerunners. The upcoming series is based on the popular videogame, Cyberpunk 2077. The series will consist of 10 episodes, and Studio Trigger is behind its animation, also known for Little Witch Academia, Kill la Kill, and Inferno Cop.

Cyberpunk Edgerunners is the story of a street kid named David, who finds himself in the technologically advanced city called Night City. In order to survive, David decides to become an edgerunner, a mercenary outlaw that goes by the name Cyberpunk.

Release date: September 13th, 2022Where to watch: Netflix

The show got its first season released on June 30th, 2022. But as the series was decided to run in two cours, we are yet to see the remaining 11 episodes of the second cour set to release in September. The show is based on a manga that started in 1998 and continued irregularly till 2000.

For those who have already seen the first cour of the series, know about the premise of the story. Dak Schnider was a wizard trapped inside a young boys body. But now, he has to be unleashed as the kingdom of Metallicana is threatened by the evil forces who want to awake the God of Destruction Anthrasax.

Release date: September 15th, 2022Release time: Netflix

Pokemon is a well-known name in the anime community. In fact, one of the most well-received anime franchises around the world. So, its obvious that the fans are waiting for its new release, Pokemon: The Arceus Chronicles. Its a 4 episode special series that aired in Japan in January 2022 to promote the release of its video game. Now its time for the shows international release.

Ash, Goh, and his friends start their journey to the Sinnoh region alongside a powerful Pokemon. They also meet up with Brock and then continue to investigate the matter. The rumors about the threat turn out to be true, and Ash, along with his friends, tries everything in their power to save the city from destruction.

Release date: September 23rd, 2022Where to watch: Netflix

The blend of romance and sci-fi anime turns out to be a great one, and heres the best one releasing in September. The upcoming movie is based on a light novel by Mei Hachimoku published in 2019. This is the first time the fans are getting an anime adaptation of the novel in the form of a movie.

The unique story of the movie revolves around a young boy named Kaoru Tono. Kaoru heard a rumor that theres a Urashima Tunnel far beyond the concept of space and time. The one who travels the tunnel finds his hearts desire on the other side. Kaoru mysteriously finds himself in front of the tunnel one night while thinking of his sister he lost years ago. While he travels the tunnel, one of his classmates, Anzu Hanaki, decides to travel alongside him.

Release Date: September 9th, 2022 (in Japan)Where to watch: Cinemas

Heres another Netflix original anime movie coming on screens in September. Drifting Home comes from the mind of Hiroyasu Ishida, who is also the director of the upcoming movie. Studio Colorido is the animation studio behind the film, also known for its other works like Pokemon: Twilight Winds and Star Wars: Visions.

Drifting Home is the story of Kosuke and his friends, who visit a mysterious building, and soon they find themselves a part of a strange phenomenon, where they see themselves stuck in a mysterious ocean. Now, Kosuke and his friends must find their way home.

Release date: September 16th, 2022Where to watch: Netflix

There have been several anime shows and movies to Dual Masters Win, and a new series is just around the corner. We dont usually get an anime based on card games, so it would be something unique coming out in September.

Shobu Kirifuda is the main protagonist of the series, who wants to become a great duelist like his father. But it turns out the game is not as easy as it sounds. The card game revolves around five civilizations: Fire, Water, Light, Darkness, and Nature. The monsters from the game come to life and battle, and the person whose monster survive wins.

Release date: September 4th, 2022Where to watch: N/A

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Best Anime Movies And Shows Releasing In September - DualShockers

Thank you, dear mammy, said Tina, kissing the little old womans wrinkled cheek; I shall eat the arrowroot, and dont trouble about me any more to-night. I shall do very well when Martha has lighted my fire. Tell Mr. Gilfil Im better. I shall go to bed by-and-by, so dont you come up again, because you may only disturb me.

Sheer and high the great headland rose like the prow of some gigantic ship behind the two deep blue canyonsa few wispssand layerssof mist still hid from Mr. Barnstaple itsscrest and the little bridge acrosssthe narrower gorge. The sky above between the streakssof mist wassnow an intense blue. And even asshe gazed the mistssswirled and dissolved, the rayssof the rising sun smote the old castle to blinding gold, and the fastnesssof the Earthlingssstood out clear and bright.

Oh, villain and shameless rogue The jewelled forefinger shook itself at him reprovingly; but he could hear the old ladys chuckle.

Ohho, where is the owner of the hut? cried Pinocchio,very much surprised

Theres only one way to find out, isnt there? said Bob. Thats to go through it. Are you ready?

There were few housessand no townssor villagessat all. The housessvaried very greatly in size, from little isolated buildingsswhich Mr. Barnstaple thought might be elegant summer-housessor little temples, to clusterssof roofssand turretsswhich reminded him of country chateaux or suggested extensive farming or dairying establishments. Here and there people were working in the fieldssor going to and fro on foot or on machines, but the effect of the whole wassof an extremely underpopulated land.

Good old Watson You are the one fixed point in a changing age. There

The contempt of danger which religioussenthusiasm producessmay be even more buoyant still. Itake an example from that charming recent autobiography, With Christ at Sea, by Frank Bullen.

The contempt of danger which religioussenthusiasm producessmay be even more buoyant still. Itake an example from that charming recent autobiography, With Christ at Sea, by Frank Bullen.

These three are interchangeable, and one alwayssleadssto the other. It matterssnot in which order they are placed.

monogram, coat-of-arms, picturesque address. I think that friend Hopkins will live up to his reputation, and that we shall have an interesting morning. The crime was committed before twelve last night.

Then the page we have seen

Then he went back into the house, while his wife went into the cellar and left the two Parisians alone.

sand though they were better than half a league off they heard her awell aif they were at the foot of the tower; and the best of her ithat she inot a bit prudishfor she haplenty of affabilityand jokewith everybodyand haa grin and a jest for everything. SoSir Knight of the Rueful CountenanceI say you not only may and ought to do mad freakfor her sakebut you have a good right to give way to despair and hang yourself; and no one who knowof it but will say you did wellthough the devil should take you; and I wish I were on my road alreadysimply to see herfor it imany a day since I saw herand she must be altered by thitimefor going about the fieldalwaysand the sun and the air spoil women

These three are interchangeable, and one alwayssleadssto the other. It matterssnot in which order they are placed.

These three are interchangeable, and one alwayssleadssto the other. It matterssnot in which order they are placed.

Well, you cant say fairer than that, said the gaffer Mr Frodo Baggins is a real gentlehobbit, I always have said, whatever you may think of some others of the name, begging your pardon And I hope my Sams behaved hisself and given satisfaction?

Theres only one way to find out, isnt there? said Bob. Thats to go through it. Are you ready?

Stuff said Father Goriot.

I do not think I can remember any to-night, said Miss Carrie, but perhaps Amy can.

Then the page we have seen

With something between a sob and a laugh she seized my hand and covered it with kisses, and I, astonished and angry, pulled my hand away from her cold lips and sat down on the bench.

Stuff said Father Goriot.

Theres only one way to find out, isnt there? said Bob. Thats to go through it. Are you ready?

A circumstance which greatly tended to enhance the tyranny of the nobility, and the sufferings of the inferior classes, arose from the consequences of the Conquest by Duke William of Normandy. Four generations had not sufficed to blend the hostile blood of the Normans and Anglo-Saxons, or to unite, by common language and mutual interests, two hostile races, one of which still felt the elation of triumph, while the other groaned under all the consequences of defeat.

sand though they were better than half a league off they heard her awell aif they were at the foot of the tower; and the best of her ithat she inot a bit prudishfor she haplenty of affabilityand jokewith everybodyand haa grin and a jest for everything. SoSir Knight of the Rueful CountenanceI say you not only may and ought to do mad freakfor her sakebut you have a good right to give way to despair and hang yourself; and no one who knowof it but will say you did wellthough the devil should take you; and I wish I were on my road alreadysimply to see herfor it imany a day since I saw herand she must be altered by thitimefor going about the fieldalwaysand the sun and the air spoil women

I I think I did sir I cant say positively. He was gone when I ran into the covert.

These three are interchangeable, and one alwayssleadssto the other. It matterssnot in which order they are placed.

With something between a sob and a laugh she seized my hand and covered it with kisses, and I, astonished and angry, pulled my hand away from her cold lips and sat down on the bench.

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how to make lots of money in cyberpunk 2077 - Asia Insurance Review

At some point during the recent rise of Web3s biggest protagonists cryptocurrency and NFT a project hailed as the most important one in the NFT landscape yet begun to make the rounds. It goes by the name CryptoPunk, which sounds like an underground movement that seems to beckon the subversive among us who can afford to take part. But the surface appeal of CryptoPunk borrows all of its aesthetic from the traditions of cyberpunk but none of their ethos.

During the 90s, physically locating around heavily militarized spaces became untenable for activists, who then turned to organizing online. The early Internet then became ripe for a rising swell of cyber-civil-disobedience. Cyberpunk and its intersection with ethical hacking thus represented an ideology of resisting state power and inequality using the Internet as its battleground.

A 1999 issue of punk zine Punk Planet had this to say about hacktivism: if this is a cyberwar, then information is the weapon and home pages everywhere are the frontline Most importantly, hackers never, ever, hacked for personal gain or benefit.

It cuts to the heart of what punk is: subversive, against the grain of the soulless machines of corporate capitalism, sexy, fearless, rebellious. Punk is resistance and it was always meant to be.

Cyberpunk, then, responded to the anxieties about cyberspace, tech, and the changing role of corporations vis a vis governments. Works of dystopian fiction like The Blade Runner, The Matrix, and others that explored the implications of occupying liminal space between virtual and real were inheritors of cyberpunk. They were pessimists of the techno future, predicting societal collapse in the wake of accelerated technologizing. Cyberpunk escaped from being a literary genre into cultural reality, wrote R.U.Sirius in Mondo 2000: A Users Guide to the New Edge.

Related on The Swaddle:

How Crypto Bro Culture Around Finance Is the New Toxic Masculinity

Now, we have CryptoPunk a floating term in cyberspace that sounds as exciting, radical, and revolutionary as cyberpunk itself. It is, however, much less thoughtful or subversive than it sounds; it is simply a type of limited edition non-fungible token (NFT) thats breathlessly hailed: A status symbol, a piece of Internet history, and an unspeakably valuable asset, CryptoPunks may be the most important NFT project there is.

The CryptoPunk project is a collection of pixelated images that have supposedly unique attributes and include things like hats, pipes, necklaces, earrings, eyepatches, and more.

The obviously inflated and hollow value of these images aside, the way CryptoPunk is marketed appropriates subcultures that it does not represent. CryptoPunks are a combination of art, technology, absurdity, and social experimentation that is analogous to radical tokenization methods used by artists like Andy Warhol, declares one news article.

It is, however, extremely difficult to argue that NFT artwork going for millions in cyberspace is the kind of punk tech future that the original cyberpunks imagined. By definition, NFTs are tokens that are meant to be owned exclusively; they are storehouses of private value that serve as economic leverage for the people at the top of the financial food chain everything that is antithetical to the spirit of punk.

CryptoPunk speaks to how cyberpunk, like most other subcultures, is reduced today to exist as merely an aesthetic that lives on independent of its actual roots. The cyberpunk vibe is disco-alien glamor, metallic sheens and sleek chic that now graces fashion magazine covers and the catalogue of high-end fashion. In other words, the legacy of cyberpunk rooted in social justice movements is now reduced to commercializing an aesthetic something that aligns itself with the status quo rather than disrupting it.

The classical subculture died when it became the object of social inspection and nostalgia, and when it became so amenable to commodification. Marketers long ago awakened to the fact that subcultures are expedient vehicles for selling music, cars, clothing, cosmetics, and everything else under the sun, noted scholar Dylan Clark.

Related on The Swaddle:

Blockchain Ideology Is Rooted in Exclusion. A Feminist Lens Shows Why

Now, jewellery company Tiffany & Co. unveiled plans to sell CryptoPunk-inspired diamond pendants for 30 ETH (roughly $50,000 USD) apiece exclusively to holders of CryptoPunk NFTs. The aestheticization of cyberpunk, then, is complete with a luxury jewelry brand co-opting it for trading real pendants only to those who own CryptoPunk online already. As if this werent enough, the brand making luxury jewels with the name punk implicated in it has led to a significant boom in CryptoPunk trading completing the transition of punk into a meaningless, materialistic fashion statement rather than a veritable movement.

CryptoPunk thus represents everything that cyberpunk was against.

Classic cyberpunk characters were marginalized, alienated loners who lived on the edge of society in generally dystopic futures where daily life was impacted by rapid technological change, an ubiquitous datasphere of computerized information, and invasive modification of the human body, wrote science fiction writer Lawrence Person, in Notes Toward a Postcyberpunk Manifesto.

Today, CryptoPunk characters are those who live in the high glass towers of society, very much shaping its society rather than being victims of it, and who use technology in ways that expand their own financial capital, power, and influence.

What made the Internet such an exciting medium was that it was fast, connected people, and provided a collective space. The common thread underlying the punkness of the Internet was its ability to shelter solidarity, holding common resources, knowledge, and causes under its digital roof. Cryptopunk is the very antithesis of the commons, a hyper-masculine ethos guiding an already masculine logic of tech: the idea that the commons in this case, the digital commons exist to simply own and store wealth without any labor, as The Swaddle noted earlier.

By appropriating the language of punk, CryptoPunk disguises its status-quo-affirming ideology as subversive and even fashionable, and changes the meaning of punk itself. In overlaying what it means to be punk with expensive digital merchandise traded in digital currency, CryptoPunk forecloses many of the possibilities of freedom in the cyberspace that punk opened up.

on the one hand it is a drop out culture dedicated to pursuing the dream of freedom through appropriate technology. On the other it is a ready market for new gadgets and a training ground for hip new entrepreneurs with hi-tech toys to market. Cyberpunk was reabsorbed into the mainstream like every other subculture before it, wrote scholar McKenzie Wark.

In other words, cyberpunk is dead. Whats left of it is only the aesthetic, allowing financial instruments that are inherently antithetical to the punk ideology to wear it for as long as it sells.

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Punk Subcultures Used the Internet for Collective Good. Now, an NFT Project Called 'CryptoPunk' Undermines This Legacy - The Swaddle

The Fat Controller knows all about those bizarre Thomas the Tank Engine mods that have come out over the past several years. At least, he does now, after I showed a bunch to him.

Modders have been splicing Thomas into video games for the best part of a decade. What started as a joke Skyrim mod that replaced the RPGs dragons with giant models of Thomas the Tank Engine has since spiraled into a staple format of the modding community. The childrens locomotive is now the regular, if unofficial face of the biggest triple-A games his bright blue chassis inserted into their fictional worlds with all the subtlety that a hulking steam engine deserves.

That a games central character or antagonist might be replaced with Thomas is no longer a surprise, but rather an inevitability. When Elden Ring released earlier this year, it took less than a month for Thomas to make his way to The Lands Between.

But what does Thomass owner and operator, the Fat Controller, think of his number one engine being used this way? Perhaps understandably, hes a little confused. Keith Wickham voiced the Fat Controller in the Thomas & Friends TV show for more than a decade, but never once encountered the Thomas modding craze.

I showed him clips of five Thomas the Tank Engine mods from various games Cyberpunk 2077, Elden Ring, Resident Evil Village, Skyrim, and Elden Ring again, just because he seemed so pleased by that one the first time around. Bewilderment, astonishment, delight we went through it all, and Wickham even offered a mod idea of his own.

Keith Wickham: This is really weird.

The Fat Controller would absolutely hate this. Thomas is out of control and theres nothing he can do about it. They're not on rails, he can't order them about, he can't give them any special deliveries and I assume he's not even in radio contact?

You have been a very naughty boy, Thomas, hed say. You have killed several pedestrians.

You have been a very naughty boy, Thomas. You have killed several pedestrians.

I wouldn't fancy driving Thomas around the streets as a car. It's completely ridiculous. It's top-heavy, it's got steel wheels, not tires. It would chew up the tarmac. It would be horrendous.

KW: This ones brilliant. This is much better than the [Cyberpunk 2077] one because its using him in a way thats so ridiculous only video games can do it. A fire-breathing Thomas that is the most absurd thing I've ever seen. It's breathtaking that somebody could do that.

What it is, is refreshing. I spent 12 years doing voices for this series, and it's basically the same thing: the same layout, the same trains, and they're doing the same things because it's for preschoolers. To see them doing other things which they would never do in an official video is fantastic.

Im glad they didnt use the voices, either, because that would have ruined it. It had the Thomas music; that was funny. It is funny. Its properly witty.

I never play video games. I've done hundreds of voices for them, but I've never actually played any, ever. So anyone who spends hours doing this stuff, either they're mad, or you have to admire them for their determination.

KW: If you were a child whod grown up with Thomas, I wonder how many nightmares you'd have about this. You've grown up with this friendly engine thats been nice to everybody, doing them favors, and is the number one engine on Sodor [the fictional island in Thomas & Friends]. Suddenly, hes on top of a mad woman, you cant shoot him, he's got an evil grin and lipstick. It's just insane.

This would be an episode where the Fat Controller has eaten a bad prawn, he's got food poisoning, and he's having a bad dream

It would scare the crap out of me if I was 11 or whatever. It would give you nightmares. And it would put you off women. Youd probably end up with a complex youd get your girlfriends to dress up with Thomas on their heads. It's nightmarish, but again very inventive.

I'll tell you what this video would be. This would be an episode where [the Fat Controller] has eaten a bad prawn, he's got food poisoning, and he's having a bad dream that video would be the dream. She's saying, Let's see what mom has got to show you now, because thats Lady Hatt with Thomas on her head. Hed be shooting his own mother. It would be his nightmare. If that was inserted in an episode of Thomas as it stands, youd have the Fat Controller waking up sweating at the end of it.

KW: How many games have I seen like this?

So Thomas is flying in to save this guy from having his head cut off, and there's some freight trucks around. Was he, what, a dragon before? Well, he's already got a boiler and a fire, and after all these years knocking about one island he must be mad. He must be completely crazy by now.

Do gamers like this stuff? Do they enjoy it? Do they find it off-putting? Would they prefer dragons? I think this is very funny. Putting him in another situation is witty. He doesn't talk, which is good. Although that might be funnier. Instead of a roar, Thomass voice came out.

If that was the Fat Controller [with his head on the axe block], that would be fantastic. You have been a very useful engine, he would say. You have saved my life today, and I therefore give you the freedom of the island. How the hell the Fat Controller would ever get in that situation is another matter. How would he ever get to the point of having his head cut off?

KW: Thats very clever. Five minutes of that and Thomas would be in the repair shed. His wheels would be coming off and the Fat Controller would be angry because the budget would be overspent.

If Sodor looked like that, Im sure thered be a lot more very weird kids around.

He would be very angry at Thomas straight off the bat because he's off his tracks, he's not doing what he's told, and he's damaging himself by fighting. I don't know what hed think of the knight. Hed probably dismiss him, just push him off the island into the water. I don't think hed be angry. How dare you, Thomas, let this knight ride you if youll pardon the expression.

If Sodor looked like that, Im sure thered be a lot more very weird kids around. Youve got people hanging up on crosses. It could be a bit of Sodor that no ones ever seen. If you go through the Fat Controllers house and through the wardrobe, thats what you'll get. It's not Narnia, its a hideous nightmare land peopled by weird knights and Thomas.

TRG: Which of the Thomas mods was your favorite?

KW: It was the scary lady [Resident Evil Village]. Because it was a character. All the others are just using Thomas as a vehicle of some description, but she was actually a character. It was quite scary in a weird, psychological way.

TRG: If you were to make a Thomas mod, what would you create?

KW: I would make an entire game based on the engines of Sodor. But instead of them helping each other and the Fat Controller telling them to do things, they'd fight. Thomas & Friends: Battlezone.

Maybe it's an argument between the engine drivers. Of course, theyve got diesels as well. They hate the diesels. Diesel One would be running after them, probably with a hood on; the angel of death. I might play that game provided my voice was in it.

The Fat Controller would be the Overlord. Hed be huge in that game. Hed probably have a stick of fire or something. If you're going to make a game like that, I think he could probably pull himself up to 50 times his normal size and come out of the sky with a flaming top hat.

But its interesting. I had no idea people did this stuff.

Read more here:

I showed Thomas the Tank Engine mods to the real Fat Controller and changed his life - TechRadar

Since the launch of The Ascent, Nion Giants had a bold (and controversial) cyberpunk initiative. In celebration of this important anniversary, the Swedish software company publishes a teaser trailer in which it is anticipated that a new large additional content will go on the market.

The first anniversary of the exclusive temporal release on PC, Xbox One and Xbox Series X / S (from March 24th to May 24th), is celebrated by Neon Giant with a thank-for-all for their community and all the people who have supported their projects in recent months.

As for the future, the teaser produced by Northern European authors brings us back to the dystopian dimension of the Ascent which inspires fans to get used to preparing their work for the new agreement, and prepare for a good deal. It is unclear whether the new business promised to us by Neon Giant will be offered a Free Major Update or if it is a more detailed project and linked to a paid expansion.

Gamescom 2022, scheduled between 24 and 28 August, suggests that the Swedish developers (and the publisher Curve Digital) participated in the German videogame festival, and disclosed these unpublished contents. While waiting for more information about how to cook around Noodle R&B, we leave you in a way thats like the PS5 and Alessandro Bruni review.

Read this article:

The Ascent: expansion is coming for the cyberpunk action? Here's the teaser - Game News 24 - Game News 24

Nvidias Deep Learning Super Sampling (DLSS) has been an undeniable selling point for RTX GPUs since its launch, and AMDs attempts to fight back havent exactly been home runs.

But what if FidelityFX Super Resolution (FSR) could grant the huge performance gains of DLSS without all the restrictions imposed by Nvidia? If that sounds too good to be true, I wouldnt blame you. After all, Nvidias special sauce of machine learning wasnt supposed to be easily replicated.

Well, hold on to your hat because a modder recently discovered how easily FSR could ape off DLSS. And after trying out the solution myself, its made me more excited about the potential for FSR than ever.

Before we get to the mod itself, its worth setting the stage for how we got here. FSR was AMDs first attempt at a DLSS killer, and unfortunately, it left a bad taste in our mouths. Despite the rapid adoption in the first generation of FSR 1.0, the performance and image quality just didnt cut it.

All that changed with the release of the technologys second generation. Ive tested FSR 2.0 in its launch title, Deathloop,and the results are clear: DLSS provides a slightly higher performance boost, but FSR 2.0 is almost identical in terms of image quality. Based onDeathloop,you should use DLSS if you can, but FSR 2.0 is a very close second if you dont have a supported GPU.

My expectations were surpassed further when I testedGod of War, seeing the margin with DLSS shrink even more. In fact, FSR 2.0 was actually around 4% faster than DLSS with the Ultra Performance preset. Youre not trading much of anything with image quality, either. Even at the intense Ultra Performance preset, its nearly impossible to spot any differences between FSR 2.0 and DLSS while playing.

This is the real deal. The only problem? FSR 2.0 is available technically, but its not seeing the rapid adoption that the first version did. Its available in only four games now: Deathloop, Farming Simulator 22, God of War,andTiny Tinas Wonderlands.The upcoming list isnt all that exciting, either, headlined byHitman 3, Eve Online,and the recently delayedForspoken.

Hence, the need for a seemingly impossible solution that takes the goodness of FSR 2.0 and widely expands its effect to as many titles as possible. And thats where the fun begins.

About a month ago, modder PotatoOfDoom released an FSR 2.0 hack forCyberpunk 2077. What the modder realized was that DLSS and FSR 2.0 require basically the same information motion vectors, color values, and the depth buffer. That allowed PotatoOfDoom to create a simple instruction translation, using the DLSS backbone to send FSR 2.0 instructions. Its like how Wine works for Windows games on Linux, according to the modder.

Ill circle back to what these similarities between DLSS and FSR 2.0 mean, but lets get games out of the way first. I followed the instructions and was able to implement the mod in Cyberpunk 2077, Dying Light 2,andDoom Eternal all games that dont currently support FSR 2.0. Doom Eternalwas the only game that struggled with the mod, blocking out the DLSS option in the settings menu entirely. That was a no-go.

But Cyberpunk 2077 andDying Light 2were an absolute treat. The mod isnt quite as powerful as a native implementation, but its still very close. The difference is less than 10% at most, even with all of the settings cranked up at 4K (including the highest ray tracing options).

Image quality was just as good, even on this self-described hack. In a still image,Dying Light 2 actually looked slightly better with FSR 2.0, and it was nearly identical in Cyberpunk 2077. The main difference, as was the case in God of War and Deathloop, is that FSR 2.0 doesnt handle distant fine detail as well. You can see that on the phone lines inCyberpunk 2077below. Its damn close, though.

DLSS and FSR 2.0 look largely the same with a still image, but its the motion that matters. I saw heavy ghosting inDying Light 2 that wasnt present with DLSS or FSR 1.0, and flat textures cause some issues with masking.

Certain elements, like the smog from the sewer in theCyberpunk 2077screenshot below, dont include motion vectors. FSR 2.0 and DLSS get around the issue with masking the element (like in Photoshop) so its not included in the supersampling. Unfortunately, they go about the masking in different ways, leading to the nasty pixelation with the FSR 2.0 hack that you can see below.

Even with those issues, its remarkable how close DLSS and FSR 2.0 are, both on a gameplay and a technical level. PotatoOfDoom summed up how much they share in an interview with Eurogamer: I expected to work on [adding FSR 2.0] for several days, but was pleasantly surprised that it only took me a few hours to integrate.

The point isnt that you should necessarily go out and use this mod to add FSR 2.0 to every game. Rather, this mod reveals the deep similarities between DLSS and FSR 2.0 something Nvidia might not want to readily admit.

DLSS is all about machine learning; its right there in the name. And to this point, Nvidia has insisted for years that DLSS only works on its most recent graphics cards because they provide the AI cores necessary to perform the supersampling. Thats true, but FSR 2.0 is proof that the advantage provided by AI is small and, for the most part, unnecessary.

A big reason why Nvidias GPUs sell above list price is DLSS, even if it doesnt need to be.

There are a lot of similarities between DLSS and FSR 2.0, even concerning Nvidias machine learning bit. DLSS is using a neural network and FSR 2.0 is using an algorithm, but both are fed with the same inputs and use the same overall system to render the final output. The fact that PotatoOfDoom was able to develop one mod that works across several DLSS titles in a few hours is a testament to that.

The main issue now isnt that DLSS is bad its excellent, and you should use it if you can but that the feature is exclusive to only a few expensive graphics cards. Even when GPU prices are falling, Nvidias low-end and midrange models continue to sell for above list price. And a big reason why is DLSS, even if it doesnt need to be.

General-purpose solutions like FSR 2.0 and Unreal Engines TSR (temporal super resolution) are the way of the future. They work with basically all modern hardware, and developers consistently insist that they only take a few hours to get working.

DLSS doesnt need to go away, but it would be nice to see Nvidia leverage its relationships with developers to get a general-purpose supersampling feature into games that support DLSS already. And no, Nvidia Image Sharping, which is basically FSR 1.0, doesnt count.

FSR 2.0 is genuinely impressive, but game support is holding it back. Far more games support DLSS than even FSR 1.0, and the official list of four FSR 2.0 is embarrassing. Im not excited for too many of the upcoming FSR 2.0 titles, either, with the list mostly comprised of older or smaller games.

PotatoOfDooms mod is a hopeful sign, but we need more FSR 2.0 games for it to even stand a chance against DLSS. It might be tempting to root for AMD here, but its important to remember that DLSS still has a minor lead and is supported in far more games. AMD has a lot of ground to cover, and FSR 2.0 isnt being added into games at nearly the rate that FSR 1.0 was.

Still, it will be interesting to see how the dynamic between DLSS and FSR 2.0 adjusts over the rest of the year. AMD just released the FSR 2.0 source code in June, after all. For now, DLSS is still the way to go for its game support and slightlybetter image quality, but its not a selling point on an Nvidia GPU like it once was.

This article is part of ReSpec an ongoing biweekly column that includes discussions, advice, and in-depth reporting on the tech behind PC gaming.

Read more:

Nvidia DLSS isnt magic, and this FSR hack proves it - Digital Trends