Hello everyone, our team is actively preparing for Ultima Chess to release. Currently working on the integration of C++ Chess AI with a 1500 Elo rating. This version will be used only in the demo version, which we plan to launch in June 2025 at Steam Fest. We are planning to implement Stockfish for the release in September 2025.

Guided exploration mode is a setting in Assassins Creed Shadows that adds additional waypoints to your map, minimizing the need to explore your environment during missions. Youll choose whether or not to activate it when starting a new game.While the setting is a helpful tool for the lost and the frustrated, it also removes some friction from an already pretty frictionless game. However, unlike other startup settings, like canon mode which removes dialogue options from the game you can turn guided exploration mode on and off at will. So your choice isnt permanent.Below, well cover what guided exploration mode is in Assassins Creed Shadows and share some thoughts on if you should play with it.What is guided exploration mode in Assassins Creed Shadows?In short, guided exploration mode will add waypoints to your map during missions that require exploration and investigation.Many quests in Assassins Creed Shadows task you with finding a specific person or item. Youll get a handful of parameters regarding your targets general location, and then will have to use those directions to narrow down a search area.For instance, during the Way of the Blacksmith quest, youre tasked with finding a blacksmith named Heiji. Youre told that hes in southwestern Settsu, specifically in the city of Sakai, somewhere east of the port. Turn on guided exploration mode, though, and the game will just show you his exact location. See the image below for an example of what the map looks like during that mission with guided exploration turned off compared to on, though note that the second screenshot does give away Heijis location:Beyond objective markers for currently active quests, turning guided exploration mode on will also reveal the locations of some side-quests in your current province. Otherwise, youd have to stumble across those naturally.However, guided exploration mode wont populate your map with any unseen synchronization points. And the question mark icons on your map that indicate undiscovered locations will remain question marks. Youll still have to manually trek to those waypoints to see if its something interesting like a Kofun or Hidden Trail or if its yet another enemy outpost.Should you play guided exploration mode in Assassins Creed Shadows?While its ultimately up to you, wed recommend not playing Assassins Creed Shadows with guided exploration mode.If youre an achievement or trophy hunter, youll especially want to make sure it stays off. When guided exploration mode is turned on, youre unable to complete some achievements, according to the in-game menu (though its not immediately clear which achievements are disabled).Plus, part of the fun of modern Assassins Creed games comes from identifying and tracking down your targets; its one of the few ways in which these games actually push back against the player.Yes, mission objectives in Shadows can sometimes be cloyingly vague. But you have other exploration tools at your disposal beyond guided exploration mode. Deploying scouts can help further narrow down search areas, and in some cases will straight-up give you a waypoint. You can also use Eagle Vision and observe your immediate environment. Key objectives, like Heiji, will show up as blue dots (see above).And if youre still struggling after that? Well, in this very specific instance, thats what our Way of the Blacksmith walkthrough is for!For more Assassins Creed Shadows guides, see our running lists of Lost Pages, Kuji-kiri, and armor locations. Or see our full Assassins Creed Shadows walkthrough, and our guides on how to get all companions and romance options.

Make no mistake: Assassins Creed Shadows is an Assassins Creed game to its core. You probably have a general idea of what to expect. Sneaking past bad guys. Stabbing bad guys. Climbing tall structures and elegantly diving into hay bales that happen to be next to some bad guys (who you then stab).Still, thanks to its massive scope, Assassins Creed Shadows has so many moving parts even the most stalwart series fan can get tripped up.Below, weve collected 33 beginners tips for Assassinss Creed Shadows.1. Before you start: Immersive mode is actually really cool. Rather than one language track, youll hear characters speak in their natural tongue (Japanese, Portuguese, English, and so on).2. Love Assassins Creed stories and lore? In that case, before you start, turn on canon mode, which removes dialogue options. (But if you just want a solid RPG, you can ignore it.)3. Assassins Creed Shadows can be very visually dark especially in caves and at nighttime. The screenshot below, for what its worth, is unaltered. We recommend turning the brightness up a few notches.4. Assassins Creed Shadows stars two protagonists (Naoe and Yasuke), but you wont unlock Yasuke for a while. Like, a really long while. Even if youre rushing through the main story, give yourself at least ten hours.5. When youve eventually unlocked both characters, use Yasuke for combat and Naoe for stealth. For the most part. Naoe isnt entirely useless in combat, for what its worth just remember to use her kusarigama weapon. And Yasuke can technically perform stealth attacks, depending on how you invest in his skill trees.6. The differences extend to navigation too. Yasuke can run through walls but cant walk on tightropes. Naoe cant move heavy crates but can grapple across lengthy gaps. And we implore you: At least once, try to do a leap of faith as Yasuke.7. You can do most quests as either character. Though if you literally are unable to do a quest as one or the other, the game will tell you (either through a notification or through a characters spoken dialogue, like, I bet Yasuke can move these crates).8. If youre not in combat or in a restricted zone, youll automatically heal back to full health.9. But you wont automatically restore any used rations (thats Assassins Creed speak for potions). Instead, youll have to find those at shops or in ration-specific loot boxes.10. Increasing your total ration capacity isnt a matter of shopping or upgrading equipment but rather finding a specific NPC. Who doesnt show up on your map. Yes. Really.11. The autosave? Surprisingly good, actually! In our testing, Shadows seems to autosave every two to three minutes, and logs the five most recent autosaves. Between that and the seemingly limitless number of manual saves (on Xbox at least), you can really save-scum your way through this game if youd like.12. You can recruit companions to fight by your side, and even though they map to ability prompts, they actually stick around in combat for a few moments.13. Also, theres technically romance, but only for a few characters (that weve found so far).14. If youre riding a horse or other mount, stick to the roads. The countryside of Shadows is peppered with steep mountains, and the horse controls are already janky enough on flat terrain no need to introduce a 45 pitch.15. Actually, just stick to the roads anyway. Youll stumble upon more shrines, temples, castles, side quests, Hidden Trails, Kofun, and other optional activities that way. Plus, if you try to run through the woods in a straight line to your destination, your screen is gonna look like this:16. When you first enter a new province, take the time to unlock a bunch the synchronization points (the eagle symbols). Those are your fast travel spots, and the more youve unlocked, the more time youll shave off the back-and-forth travel required for the main questline.17. You cant fast travel out of restricted areas like enemy bases, camps, and castles.18. Synchronization points are considered combat-free zones even if theyre in the middle of a restricted area so you can always fast travel to and from one.19. As soon as you can, get the Ascension Boost skill in Naoes Shinobi mastery tree. It dramatically increases Naoes climbing speed with the grappling hook, which is the fastest way to unlock new synchronization points.20. Remember the Assassins Creed golden rule: If theres paint on the wall, that means CLIMB HERE.21. Your level determines your base stats (health, attack, defense, and so on). Your knowledge rank determines what tier of skill points you can unlock in mastery trees. Your mastery points are used to unlock those skills.22. Spend time hunting down knowledge points to expand how many skills you can unlock. Completing Horse Archery, Kata, Kuji-kiri, and Lost Pages are some of the fastest ways to get knowledge points.23. But dont worry too much about mastery points. Youll get a bunch of them just by leveling up (though if you want more, start by attacking castles).24. You can automatically transmog all of your gear from the start. And after you come across a weapon or armor set for the first time, its unlocked as a customization option permanently. In other words, you dont need to keep it in your inventory.25. At the start, sell your loot, dont break it down. The currency, mon, is more valuable than the upgrade materials you get for dismantling weapons and armor.26. Dont bother trying to upgrade gear until youre at least level 20. You cycle through so much gear in your early levels that anything you upgrade, youll likely replace in a few levels anyway.27. Theres a suggested level for each province, and you should largely follow the provinces in order from lowest level to highest, but dont worry about out-leveling any activities. Province levels will scale with you.28. When exploring a Kofun (tomb), light the candles as you go. Not only does it help illuminate the space, maddeningly dim as it is, but it also helps you keep tabs on which tunnels youve already explored so you dont end up going in circles.29. Liberally use your scouts to reveal objectives. Though scouts seem like a limited resource, you can restore them quite effectively as needed.30. Yes, you can pet the dog:31. And the cat:32. But watch out for the kitten!33. To send you on your way with a note of sincerity, though, its this: Do not sleep on the Codex menu. As you explore Shadows, youll unlock Codex entries about various aspects of Japanese history. Each one is written up in elaborate detail, with many featuring scanned or photographed artworks from real-world museums. On paper, sure, Assassins Creed games might tell stories about stabbing but the root here is and always has been about stories that actually happened. Its easy to miss this aspect of the game, buried in a menu as it is, but in this regard, Shadows is as sharp as Assassins Creed has ever been.Just starting Assassins Creed Shadows? Beyond our full Assassins Creed Shadows walkthrough, here are explainers on how long to beat the game and when you unlock Yasuke, plus if you should play canon, immersive, or guided exploration modes.

We may earn a commission from links on this page. Deal pricing and availability subject to change after time of publication.Ever since I retired my G-Shock in 2015, Ive been using fitness smartwatches, and some way or another, theyve all been Garminssome were passed down from family members and others were gifts. If youve never owned a Garmin watch and want to try one out, the best budget Garmin for runners is down to its lowest price ever, according to price tracking tools. You can get the Garmin Forerunner 55 for $149.99 (originally $199.99). Garmin Forerunner 55 Memory Storage: 32 MB, Connectivity:Bluetooth, GPS:Built-in, Screen Size: 1.04 In $149.99 at Amazon $199.99 Save $50.00 Get Deal Get Deal $149.99 at Amazon $199.99 Save $50.00 As Senior Health Editor Beth Skwarecki said in her intensive search for the best fitness watches for runners, the Garmin Forerunner 55 is the best budget choice you can make, especially at this new record-low price. You get some features that have historically only been found in the premium versions, like the Respiration Rate Tracker feature, which tracks your breathing rate. The battery life is up to two weeks when its in standby mode and 20 hours when using GPS tracking.You can use the Daily Suggested Workouts to suggest how to train to reach your running goals. If you like to run on tracks, you can choose which lane youre in with Track Mode, which gives you exact pacing for much better accuracy, snapping your times at 100 meter intervals. Based on those numbers, you can also see the Race Predictor, which tells you how youd fare in a marathon and other race lengths using your VO2 max and other metrics. There's also Recovery Hours which suggests how long you should wait until you do another intense workout.

The Hearth Helper offered a way for Hearth Display users to text or email customer service to upload a list of events on their behalf, like bulk uploading a school calendar worth of events. But as of March 19, the feature has also been integrated into the Hearth mobile app.Hearth Display, the modern family management tool that functions as a shared digital calendar and to-do list tracker, used to include a feature called "Hearth Helper" directly in the 27-inch tablet. When I reviewed the Hearth Display to see if the device was worth the hype (and the $699 price tag, often on sale for $599), I found the feature odd. You might assume that the "Helper" would be a direct line to customer service support, but pressing the "Helper" option only offered a pop-up giving users a phone number and email address if they wanted AI to bulk upload a list of events. You could send the Helper a picture of your kid's school calendar, for example, and the AI would import the data onto your Hearth calendar. I thought little of the feature since thenpersonally, the last thing I would want is for AI to bulk upload something like a school calendar and clog my calendarbut when Hearth moved the feature into the mobile app, I became curious again.Where to find Hearth Helper in the mobile appTo use the Hearth Helper in the mobile app, start by updating the Hearth app on your device. You may not even be able to use your Hearth app without having this latest update: When I opened the app, a full-screen notification prompted me to update to the latest version. It was the first time I was ever forced to update the app; in the past, I manually updated the app for bug fixes and newer features, like the ability to update Routines directly from my phone or to add custom to-do lists. Credit: Jordan Calhoun / Lifehacker After updating the app, the Hearth Helper can be found as a chat box icon on the top-right of the screen, next to the notification bell. It's an intuitive spot for a "Helper" feature, and much better placed than before: Prior to this latest update, Hearth Helper had a prominent tab on the Hearth Display right next to the Calendar, Lists, and Routines menus. Since the update, my Hearth Display tablet pushed a pop-up announcement that read, "Hearth Helper has moved!" with an explanation that their AI calendar companion now lives on the app. Credit: Jordan Calhoun / Lifehacker How to use Hearth HelperTesting the new mobile-based Hearth Helper was straightforward enough: The AI prompt gives examples of the types of wording you can use to have calendar events created for you, or you can simply press the camera icon to take a picture of a schedule or upload one that you already have saved on your phone. I was mostly curious how long it would take to process a request. Here's how the Hearth Helper looks when you click the icon on the mobile app: Credit: Jordan Calhoun / Lifehacker When I asked Hearth Helper to create a basic appointment, it took under a minute for the AI to send me a "Pending Event" for approval. It comes with the option to "Accept All" or "Reject All" for users who submitted multiple events, or a basic thumbs up or thumbs down for each pending event. Credit: Jordan Calhoun / Lifehacker To give it a more complicated task, I downloaded a PDF of the New York City Department of Education 2024-2025 School Year Calendar to see how long it would take to upload a full calendar. Then I realized the Hearth Helper can't upload PDFs. I took a picture of my screen insteadnot a screenshot, but a lazy, grainy photo of my laptop screen that I took from my phone camerawhich included eight events across two months. Surprisingly, it still took under a minute for the events to process, and the AI sent me a list of Pending Events that were formatted much better than I expected. Of course, though, if I actually wanted a full calendar of events then I would need to send multiple pictures to span the year. There are a few notable limitations of the Hearth Helper though, which include: You can't upload Lists (like to-do or grocery lists) or Routines with the Hearth Helper.You need to stick with basic pictures: Hearth Helper can't upload from URLs, Word docs, Google sheets, or other formats like those. Hearth Helper is fully run by AI. If you need help with something from a real person, you should contact support@hearthdisplay.com.Is using Hearth Helper worth it? Candidly, I never expected to use the Hearth Helper for its intended purpose. One of the problems that I mention in my initial review is that I feel the premise of the Hearth Helper is pretty shaky. Call me old fashioned, but I want a "helper" to answer my customer service questions, preferably by a human, instead of bulk uploading events that I could do myself in my preferred formats. I tend to be nit-picky about calendar organization and event formats, and I assume most people who use an expensive family management device to run their home are too. But looking at these results from the Hearth Helper bulk uploader, I may have changed my mind for two reasons. Credit: Jordan Calhoun / Lifehacker First, the events are accurate and consistently formatted; and second, the list of imported events are clickable and easy to manually edit or outright reject. My main concern was uploading an overwhelming list of poorly formatted clutter into my calendar, but that seems like less of a concern than I thought: I can just bulk upload calendars that serve as optional event suggestions that I can edit, thumbs up to approve, or thumbs down to reject. Overall, it does feel like this latest update to the Hearth Display will mean faster event management and fewer manual steps, and the Hearth Helper will be useful at back-to-school time, during planning for a new year, or whenever my kids join a new extracurricular or club.

It looks like Metas campaign to bury a dishy, tell-all memoir from a former employee isnt exactly working. In fact, it seems that the companys legal maneuvers to block the book have had the exact opposite intended effect.Careless People has debuted at number one on the New York Times bestseller list. Its also spent much of the week in the number three position on Amazons bestseller list. Thats despite the fact that Sarah Wynn-Williams, a former policy director at Facebook, has been barred from promoting or publicly discussing the book following legal action by Meta.The memoir details much of the inner workings of Facebook during the nearly seven years Wynn-Williams worked there. It reveals new details about the companys relentless ambition to bring the social network to China, as well as numerous shocking stories about how Mark Zuckerberg, Sheryl Sandberg and other executives behaved behind closed doors. (In addition to her revelations in Careless People, Wynn-Williams has also filed a whistleblower complaint with the Securities and Exchange Committee. That complaint has not been made public, but according to NBC News, she alleges that Facebook misled investors.)Meta has come out forcefully against Wynn-Williams and the book, describing it in a statement as a mix of out-of-date and previously reported claims about the company and false accusations about our executives. The company says Wynn-Williams was fired in 2017 for poor performance and toxic behavior.Meta initiated arbitration proceedings against Wynn-Williams last week, resulting in a decision that for now prevents her from publicly discussing or promoting the work. But, as the bestseller lists show, the move has done little to kill interest in the work.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/social-media/careless-people-hits-the-top-of-the-new-york-times-bestseller-list-235008451.html?src=rss

Spry Fox announced its next game, which is "a cooperative village life sim designed to foster friendship, kindness, and community" titled Spirit Crossing. It has an art style that makes me think of a pastel-hued Spirited Away, especially given the presence of moody spectres hanging out in the quaint town setting. The teaser trailer also shows players engaged in classic cozy game activities such as giving gifts, fishing, coasting on hang gliders and riding very floofy critters. In other words: I'll be playing a lot of Spirit Crossing when it launches. There's no definite timeline yet, but Netflix said at GDC that the game is part of its 2025 mobile release slate.Spry Fox dabbled in several different genres, including several mobile puzzle games with a signature style such as Alphabear and Triple Town, before settling into a groove creating cozy games. Spirit Crossing will be the studio's second project since joining the Netflix Games roster; Cozy Grove: Camp Spirit came out last summer. Players who want in on the ground floor of the devs' latest game can sign up now for closed alpha testing.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/spry-foxs-next-netflix-games-title-is-spirit-crossing-200643116.html?src=rss

Puget Systems and Comino launch affordable liquid-cooled multi-GPU servers built for AI, research, and rendering workloads.

Stability AI debuts new 3D video maker.

SoftBank Group said Wednesday that it will acquire Ampere Computing, a startup that designed an Arm-based server chip, for $6.5 billion.