Runway's new Gen-4 AI creates consistent characters across entire videos from a single reference image, challenging OpenAI's viral Ghibli trend and potentially transforming how Hollywood makes films.Read More

OpenAI has raised $40 billion in a new investment round led by SoftBank, vaulting the company to a $300 billion valuation. Its the largest funding round for a private tech company in history, according to CNBC.OpenAI is set to receive $10 billion up front (SoftBank will invest $7.5 billion along with $2.5 billion from an investor syndicate, according to Bloomberg). The remaining $30 billion is slated to arrive by years end, CNBC reported but only if it officially converts into a for-profit company by then. If not, it reportedly stands to lose a quarter of the deal.The funding comes just a few months after OpenAI announced Stargate, a $500 billion joint venture with backing from SoftBank, Oracle, and the Abu Dhabi fund MGX to build out massive AI datacenters over the next four years. The company has been in a full sprint lately: On Monday, CEO Sam Altman posted that OpenAI gained 1 million users in a single hour in large part thanks to a new feature called Images in ChatGPT that went viral due to its ability to produce Studio Ghibli inspired AI art. Altman also announced on Wednesday that the company would release a powerful new open-weight language model with reasoning in the coming months. The funding announcement claims that ChatGPT serves 500 million people every week.Despite the explosive growth the startup has seen thanks to ChatGPT, its still burning a ton of cash. Bloomberg recently reported that the startup is expecting to earn $12.7 billion in revenue this year alone, which is a massive jump from the $3.7 billion it earned in annualized recurring revenue last year. Still, the report claims OpenAI doesnt expect to be cash flow positive until 2029, when its projections predict a whopping $125 billion in revenue.OpenAIs funding announcement emphasized the startups goal of building AGI that benefits all of humanity. Altman has been clear that itll take a lot to pull this all offcompute, energy, global infrastructure, and yes, a staggering amount of cash. This round, the startup claims, brings it one step closer.

Mar 30Richard LawlerThis attempt at a first orbital launch from Europe lasted about 30 seconds.Drone footage provided by Isar Aerospace (a startup incubated as part of the Bavaria One space program) shows the first test flight of its Spectrum orbital vehicle in Norway. The flight termination system was triggered before it attempted a first-stage separation, and the rocket fell into the sea, though Isar called it a success and said it has more vehicles in production.Andoya Spaceport general manager Ingun Berget told TV 2 the flight was aborted because the rocket wasnt going where it was supposed to go.Mar 28Emma RothNASA and Boeing investigate Starliners anomalies before its next crewed flightNASA via Getty ImagesNASA and Boeing are preparing the Starliner for its next flight after technical issues left the spacecraft unable to ferry its astronauts back to Earth for months. On Thursday, NASA announced that its working with Boeing to resolve Starliners in-flight anomalies before a crewed flight that could take place later this year or in early 2026.The Boeing Starliner took off successfully for the first time last June, bringing Suni Williams and Butch Wilmore to the International Space Station for what was supposed to be about a week. However, issues with the Starliners thruster, valve, and helium systems led NASA to bring the Starliner back to Earth in September, while Williams and Wilmore returned aboard SpaceXs Crew-9 earlier this month.Read Article >Mar 27Emma RothKaty Perry blasts off to space next month.On April 14th, the pop star will join Jeff Bezos fianc Lauren Sanchez and CBS host Gayle King aboard the New Shepard rocket as part of Blue Origins first all-female flight. The rocket will lift off from Launch Site One in West Texas, with a launch window opening at 9:30AM ET.Image: Blue OriginMar 18Richard LawlerSpaceX Crew-9 and the Boeing Starliner astronauts have landed safely.Right on schedule, the Dragon capsule deployed its parachutes and landed off the coast of Florida as recovery crews began the process of bringing the capsule onboard a recovery ship and extracting its crew.Image: NASA (YouTube)Mar 18Richard LawlerThe Starliner astronauts are on their way back to Earth.Last night, Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams, along with Crew-9 members Aleksandr Gorbunov and Nick Hague, left the ISS in a SpaceX Dragon spacecraft now that the Crew-10 mission has arrived to relieve them. NASA will resume coverage of their return mission this afternoon, as they are expected to splash down off the coast of Florida at about 5:57PM ET, ending a voyage that started last June.Mar 7Andrew LiszewskiSpaceXs latest Starship explosion lights up the sky over the Caribbean againBOCA CHICA BEACH, TEXAS MARCH 06: SpaceX Starship Flight 8 prepares for takeoff from Orbital Launch Pad A at Boca Chica beach on March 06, 2025 in Boca Chica Beach, Texas. The SpaceX Starship Flight 8 test launched and successfully caught its booster upon descent. (Photo by Brandon Bell/Getty Images) Screenshot: SpaceXStop us if youve heard this one before. Similar to the aftermath from SpaceXs failed seventh test flight on January 16th, yesterdays explosion following the launch of Starships eighth test flight created another spectacle in the night sky as debris rained down over parts of the Caribbean causing flights to be delayed and diverted in Florida and Turks and Caicos Islands.Following a successful launch, Starship separated from the Super Heavy booster rocket which returned to the launch pad and was captured by the launch tower for the third time. But during the upper stages ascent burn, an energetic event in the aft portion of Starship resulted in the loss of several Raptor engines, according to a statement SpaceX shared to its website last night. That caused Starship to lose attitude control and spin uncontrollably before exploding. SpaceX lost communications with the craft nine minutes and 30 seconds after the launch.Read Article >SpaceXs 8th Starship flight test ends in another explosion.SpaceX recently listed some explanations for how its seventh Starship flight test ended, and now another report is coming. Flight 8s launch and Super Heavy booster rocket separation was successful, with the booster returning to the pad.However, before reaching the engine cutoff point nearly nine minutes into the flight, the Starship began to tumble, then exploded (according to SpaceX, ...experienced a rapid unscheduled disassembly and contact was lost) without attempting its planned payload deploy demo.The resulting debris field caused the FAA to issue a ground stop order at several Florida airports until 8PM ET.Europes Ariane 6 rocket takes off on its first commercial mission.Arianespace CEO Stphane Isral has said that Ariane 6 is key to giving Europe an autonomous access to space, despite delays that pushed its debut from 2020 all the way to 2024.Now its made a second successful launch, with the VA 263 mission carrying CSO-3, an optical spy satellite for the French military.Mar 4Umar ShakirSpaceXs next Starship test flight has been delayed again.SpaceX called off Starships eighth flight test yesterday after the countdown timer was put on hold at T-minus 40 seconds to resolve issues with the Super Heavy booster. The new launch will happen as soon as Wednesday, March 5th.Feb 27Emma RothJeff Bezos is sending Katy Perry to spacePhoto by Kevin Mazur/Getty Images for iHeartRadioKaty Perry will fly to space during Blue Origins next crewed mission, the Jeff Bezos-owned space company has announced. The pop star will join CBS host Gayle King and Bezoss fianc Lauren Snchez aboard the New Shepard rocket this spring, marking its 11th human flight.Along with Perry and Snchez, who is known for her work as a news anchor and correspondent, the crew will include research scientist and activist Amanda Nguyen, film producer Kerianne Flynn, and former NASA rocket scientist Aisha Bowe. Snchez first revealed her plans to lead an all-female Blue Origin mission in 2023, but she didnt mention who she would take on the flight at the time.Read Article >Feb 24Andrew LiszewskiSpaceX thinks it knows why Starship exploded on its last test flightSpaceX believes it has determined why Starship exploded during its seventh test flight. Image: SpaceXSpaceX believes it knows what caused the explosion during the seventh test flight of its Starship spacecraft and Super Heavy booster on January 16th, 2025. Fires in the aft section of Starship, located between the bottom of its liquid oxygen tank and rear heat shield, caused all but one of Starships engines to execute controlled shut down sequences leading to a loss of communication and eventually the spacecrafts safety system triggering its own destruction.The goal of the seventh test flight was to test several upgrades SpaceX made to its heavy-lift rocket system. After a successful launch and completing a full duration burn, the Super Heavy booster separated from Starship and triggered a boostback burn designed to return it to the launch site. Following a landing burn, the Super Heavy booster was successfully caught mid-air by the launch tower at Starbase for the second time.Read Article >Jan 17Andrew LiszewskiSpaceXs fiery Starship explosion put on a fantastic show but delayed and diverted flightsThe falling debris field from the SpaceX Starship explosion lit up the night sky over the Caribbean, Screenshot: YouTubeFalling debris from the SpaceX Starship explosion yesterday created what looked like a meteor shower, or a colorful fireworks show based on videos shared by people in the area, but it also delayed flights.Eight and a half minutes after launch yesterday, the upper stage of the SpaceX Starship experienced a rapid unscheduled disassembly, following the separation from its booster and the start of its ascent to space.Read Article >Jan 17Richard LawlerThats not a meteor shower, that was a Starship.SpaceX noted that for this seventh Starship flight test, a significant number of tiles will be removed to stress-test vulnerable areas across the vehicle.We dont know if that had anything to do with the vehicle experiencing a rapid unscheduled disassembly during its ascent burn, but the aftermath of its destruction was visible to at least a few tourists in Turks and Caicos.Jan 17Emma RothSpaceX catches Starship booster for a second time but loses the spacecraftScreenshot: SpaceXSpaceX successfully caught its Super Heavy booster for the second time. During Starships 7th test flight from Boca Chica, Texas, Super Heavy descended into the launch towers chopstick arms, allowing it to grab the booster.Despite the successful catch, SpaceX lost communications with the Starship spacecraft mounted atop the booster. It successfully separated from the Super Heavy booster, but during that ascent phase, a couple of the engines dropped out, and then shortly thereafter, we lost communication with the vehicle, SpaceXs Kate Tice said during the stream. We are assuming that we have lost the ship.Read Article >Jan 16Thomas RickerBezos Blue Origin successfully launches SpaceX rivalNew Glenn launching from Cape Canaveral this morning. Image: Blue OriginThe billionaire space race entered a new phase today when Jeff Bezos Blue Origin successfully launched its 320-foot-tall New Glenn rocket from Cape Canaveral in Florida.At 2:03AM ET this morning, New Glenns seven reusable BE-4 engines ignited to propel the NG-1 rocket into space, with the second stage and payload reaching orbit to achieve Blue Origins primary mission goal. It also successfully activated its Blue Ring Pathfinder payload vehicle which is receiving data and performing well.Read Article >Jan 15Emma RothBlue Origin prepares for a high-stakes New Glenn launchImage: Blue OriginFollowing a scrubbed launch attempt and weather-related delays, Blue Origin will once again try to send its New Glenn rocket into space for the first time. During the attempt, the Jeff Bezos-owned space company aims to reach orbit, helping to further its goals of shuttling Project Kuiper satellites, equipment, and eventually humans into space.Launch is currently scheduled for 2:03AM ET, after a wayward boat created an unplanned hold event.Read Article >Jan 15Jess WeatherbedTwo private landers head to the moon to aid future NASA astronautsThe landers have a long journey ahead of them. Image: SpaceXA SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket lifted off from Cape Canaveral on Wednesday morning carrying two private lunar landers into orbit in support of NASAs future Artemis landing crews. The Blue Ghost and Resilience landers, built by Texas-based Firefly Aerospace and Japans iSpace aerospace firms respectively, aim to provide data on the Moons environment and test technologies that will help to one day return astronauts to the lunar surface.The SpaceX launch and private lander contracts are the latest to fall under NASAs Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) initiative the first phase of the Artemis moon exploration program thats set to launch its first crewed mission in April 2026. Following the Falcon 9s first stage successfully separating and touching down back on Earth after launch, Blue Ghost was delivered to a lunar transfer orbit by the rockets second stage about 65 minutes after liftoff, with Resilience being deployed about 30 minutes later.Read Article >Jan 14Wes DavisReturning SpaceX rockets are disrupting airline flights.Qantas airlines airline has delayed some flights to avoid the rockets splashdown in the Indian Ocean, reports The Guardian. Some at the last minute, says Ben Holland, head of Qantass operations center:While we try to make any changes to our schedule in advance, the timing of recent launches have moved around at late notice which has meant weve had to delay some flights just prior to departure.Qantas South Africa flights delayed by falling debris from SpaceX rockets, airline says[The Guardian]Jan 14Jess WeatherbedBlue Origin sets a new window for New Glenn launch.Following yesterdays launch attempt being scrubbed, the NG-1 launch was first pushed to no earlier than Tuesday and now no earlier than ThursdayThe rocket launch has been kicked down the road several times because of unfavorable conditions, including ice forming in a purge line on an auxiliary power unit during Mondays attempt.Jan 13Emma RothNew Glenn: Blue Origins big rocket launch is... scrubbedImage: Blue OriginBlue Origin is preparing for its biggest launch yet, but on Monday morning the attempt was scrubbed for technical reasons after several delays were made throughout the three-hour launch window. The window originally opened at 1AM ET.Its unclear when the Jeff Bezos-owned commercial space company will next attempt to send its 320-foot-tall New Glenn rocket into space for the first time.Read Article >Jan 11Wes DavisBlue Origins New Glenn launch is delayed again.Citing conditions at sea that are still unfavorable for booster landing, the company posted that its pushing the mission back 24 hours to a three-hour launch window starting Monday at 1AM ET.Its the second delay since its January 10th target. Blue Origin will likely livestream the launch on its website and YouTube channel. See our write-up below for more mission details.Jan 7Quentyn KennemerBlue Ghost Lunar Lander scheduled to launch on January 15thImage: Firefly AerospaceA lander hasnt successfully reached the surface of the Moons cratered Mare Crisium region since the Soviet Luna 24 probe landed there to collect samples in August 1976. But SpaceX is prepping a launch thatll send not one, but two landers there on Wednesday January 15th, Firefly Aerospace has announced.SpaceXs Falcon 9 is scheduled to launch at approximately 1:11 AM EST, and will not only have Firefly Aerospaces Blue Ghost 1 lander on board, but also the Resilience lander from the Japanese robotic spacecraft firm iSpace. It will take 45 days for the craft to journey to the Moon before it spends another 14 days carrying out surface operations. Theres no word on whether well be able to watch it take off.Read Article >

Creative writing is a domain that thrives on diversity and imagination. Unlike fact-based or task-specific writing, where a single correct output may exist, creative writing involves numerous valid responses to a prompt. Stories, poems, and narratives can branch in countless directions, each with stylistic flavor and meaning. This inherent open-mindedness makes creative writing a prime challenge for AI systems, which need to maintain narrative coherence while producing novel and distinct outputs.The core issue lies in how large language models are refined after their initial training. Post-training methods often emphasize quality improvements by aligning responses with user preferences or maximizing reward scores. However, these adjustments inadvertently cause the models to produce responses that are too similar across prompts. In creative settings, this leads to a noticeable drop in output diversity. A lack of variation limits the expressive power of the model, resulting in uniform storylines or similar sentence constructions even when prompts are vastly different.Earlier solutions attempted to address this by tweaking decoding methods or prompt strategies. Researchers used sampling temperature adjustment, top-k or top-p filtering, or iterative prompting to introduce randomness. Some explored methods, such as beam search modifications or self-critiquing, to encourage alternative responses. While these helped diversify outputs, they often came with a costsacrificing overall response quality, increasing generation time, or introducing inconsistencies in tone and grammar. More crucially, they did not adopt the models core training process to learn from diverse samples.Researchers from Midjourney and New York University proposed a novel adjustment during the post-training phase. They introduced Diversified DPO and Diversified ORPOenhanced versions of two popular preference-based optimization techniques. Their innovation was incorporating a deviation score, quantifying how much a training example differs from others responding to the same prompt. Rare and diverse responses are given more importance during learning by using this score to weight training losses. The researchers specifically implemented these strategies on large models like Metas Llama-3.1-8B and Mistral-7B using parameter-efficient fine-tuning via LoRA.In this approach, deviation acts as a learning signal. For every training pair of a better and worse response to a prompt, the deviation of the better response is computed using both semantic and stylistic embeddings. These embeddings measure not only content differences but also stylistic uniqueness between responses. The resulting score then influences how much that training pair contributes to the models weight updates. This method increases the likelihood that the model generates distinct yet high-quality outputs. The training used over 400,000 prompt-response pairs with Reddit upvotes as quality signals and introduced mixing methods to effectively balance semantic and style deviations.Quantitative results demonstrated the success of the proposed method. The best-performing model, Llama-3.1-8B with Diversified DPO using semantic and style deviation (DDPO-both), achieved nearly the same reward score as GPT-4o while significantly outperforming it in diversity. Specifically, the model had semantic diversity approaching that of the human-crafted reference dataset and style diversity slightly below it. In head-to-head human evaluations, 68% of reviewers preferred DDPO-boths outputs over GPT-4os for quality, and 100% chose them as more diverse. Compared to the baseline DPO, DDPO-both still came out ahead, selected 50% of the time for quality and 62% for diversity. When fewer responses per prompt were available during training, slight drops in reward scores were mitigated using a minimum deviation threshold or sampling higher-quality responses.This research highlighted a compelling solution to the diversity-quality trade-off in AI-generated creative writing. By emphasizing deviation in training, the researchers enabled models to value uniqueness without compromising coherence. The outcome is a model that delivers richer and more varied storytelling, marking a meaningful step forward in creative AI development.Check outthe Paper.All credit for this research goes to the researchers of this project. Also,feel free to follow us onTwitterand dont forget to join our85k+ ML SubReddit. NikhilNikhil is an intern consultant at Marktechpost. He is pursuing an integrated dual degree in Materials at the Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur. Nikhil is an AI/ML enthusiast who is always researching applications in fields like biomaterials and biomedical science. With a strong background in Material Science, he is exploring new advancements and creating opportunities to contribute.Nikhilhttps://www.marktechpost.com/author/nikhil0980/A Beginners Guide to Using Visual Studio Code for PythonNikhilhttps://www.marktechpost.com/author/nikhil0980/Empowering Time Series AI: How Salesforce is Leveraging Synthetic Data to Enhance Foundation ModelsNikhilhttps://www.marktechpost.com/author/nikhil0980/Meta Reality Labs Research Introduces Sonata: Advancing Self-Supervised Representation Learning for 3D Point CloudsNikhilhttps://www.marktechpost.com/author/nikhil0980/This AI Paper Introduces the Kolmogorov-Test: A Compression-as-Intelligence Benchmark for Evaluating Code-Generating Language Models

Im exhausted after playing The First Berserker: Khazan. My hands ache, my brain is fried, and Ive often had to step away in frustration. Its a long, brutally difficult game, one often expecting near-perfection in its toughest encounters. Like a new military recruit, this Soulslike extension of developer Neoples Dungeon & Fighter universe broke me down and, over time, built me back up into a lethal weapon that was prepared to take on whatever hellish nightmares it had in store. Even when I hit seemingly insurmountable roadblocks for hours at a time, I somehow found myself reveling in battles that enjoyably took me to the brink of my abilities.The First Berserker: Khazan is a classic revenge tale. Khazan, a celebrated general, is betrayed by his empire and labeled a traitor. After being gravely injured while apprehended, he is revived and possessed by a melded legion of vicious warrior spirits who antagonize him into doing their bidding. The Blade Phantom, as the ethereal symbiote is known, is more concerned with advancing the objectives of the underworld from which it hails, while Khazan is out for the blood of those who wronged him. This setup provides plenty to build on, tying grounded medieval politics to the occult forces leeching their way into the world, but the story after that is mostly thin and underwhelming.The First Berserker: Khazan ScreenshotsKhazans tour of vengeance is mission-based rather than giving you an open or branching area to explore freely, and he will routinely return to a sparse hub area known as The Crevice between them. Outside of being visually interesting as a floating stone sanctuary with mysterious broken staircases and far-off platforms, theres not a lot to do apart from manage your inventory from time to time before pressing on to the next mission. Distressed villagers, otherworldly advisors, former military cohorts, and more add some minor connective tissue to the ongoing plot, but overall theres shockingly little to learn here. Instead, its more a mechanical necessity to pick up optional quests or craft, upgrade, and augment gear for Khazan than an area to foster further flavor.Being a well-honed instrument of war, Khazan has a handful of tools at his disposal to slaughter his enemies although it took a long time before I felt like I was on his perceived level of capability. An early mission introduces you to The First Berserkers three types of weaponry: You can choose to use the powerful but slow and defensive greatsword, a nimble stamina-draining spear, or the whirling assault of the dual blades. I enjoy how unique each weapon type is from the others, offering transformative move sets ranging from defensive and methodical to all-out aggressive. My Khazan felt way different to play by the end of the roughly 85-hour campaign.Each weapon is further expanded with a full skill tree that enhances Khazans effectiveness in battle. Nodes on these trees modify your basic attacks, like altering how your charged Potent Blow (or heavy attack) works, changing the stamina depletion for actions like dodging and blocking, or providing new moves entirely that spend a resource called Spirit Points in combat. My Khazan felt way different to play by the end of the roughly 85-hour campaign than he did at the start, but it took dozens of hours to get to that point and plenty of experimentation. There are a lot of ways to kit out Khazan as you level him up, and its rather fun figuring out which moves and perks best fit my playstyle to help me slice my way out of its hardening conflicts.The First Berserker lets you swap between your three weapons freely, but with little overlap between their various abilities, whats normally a quick switch is actually a dramatic change and a hassle. For instance, in Dark Souls, most weapons boil down to having light and heavy attacks, with maybe a special ability available when switching to a two-handed grip. Weapons in The First Berserker, on the other hand, allow for up to six of the previously mentioned Spirit attacks and further optimization of their skill trees. Its too much to deal with when equipping what is essentially a bespoke class. Thats why I dedicated myself to the dual blades during my playthrough, which I continued to tweak and learn about with every big fight I picked. Thankfully, if I did ever want to make the big jump to the greatsword or spear, you can reallocate skill points at will, but the process is just obtuse and annoying enough to make doing so on the fly unappealing.Once you embark on any of The First Berserkers mainline missions, the structure is extremely close to whats expected in a Soulslike. Each level, whether thats a ruined village, a crumbling castle, or the obligatory poison swamp, plays out similarly: Youll slay dangerous enemies patrolling the area, figure out how to survive with limited healing items, collect spoils of the dead, and use them to level up at this games version of a bonfire, called a Blade Nexus. Its an overly familiar formula thats certainly inoffensive in its design, but it recreates that loop well enough, with levels smartly built to weave back to prior respites via shortcuts. Exploration is sadly almost non-existent, making each level more about getting from point to point. Theres a lack of cool optional areas to stray into or bosses to stumble across while adventuring that could have given main levels some much-needed spice. Capping off each mission is a tooth-and-nail fight with that areas boss, each of which represents a potentially substantial roadblock before you can continue to enjoy The First Berserker. The first big encounter I struggled with was the end boss of Mission 2, a manifestation of souls like the ones inhabiting our newly possessed hero. Its aggressive melee attacks would quickly kill me, and after several unsuccessful attempts and unforeseen weapon swaps from my adversary, I needed to try another strategy to finally break through. Another early boss, a bipedal goat demon wielding a flaming spike and hammer, caused plenty of grief as well by hitting hard and often, occasionally lighting the battlefield ablaze with a carpet of flames. At first, I tried to grind weaker enemies around the level to collect Khazans version of souls, called Lacrima, to boost my stats and give myself a better chance of living. It helped, but ultimately didnt do enough to tip the scales. I then took a close look at my gear and opted for a tankier build. Still no dice. PlayKhazans bosses are just painfully tough, and the early ones are like a brick wall, with some burning upwards of five hours of my time alone. Smaller enemies leading up to a boss will somewhat teach you how to deal with certain aspects of them, but theres little to ramp you into what is continually asked of you moving forward. Theres also no easy way to smash your way through these early walls in The First Berserker, like finding an overpowered item or excessively juicing your stats. Even in a brutal game like Elden Ring, a notorious early boss like Margit can be overcome more easily if you spend some time getting stronger in the areas before him, but while grinding out Lacrima and levels early on helps, its not the cure to every situation. In turn, this immediate difficulty spike genuinely made me want to stop playing after the first few levels but these encounters began to win me over, and Im glad I stuck with it.What was once a peak point of frustration became my favorite part of The First Berserker; the bosses are ultimately what make it worth playing. While they are incredibly hard to take down, every one can eventually be read like a book, telegraphing the moves theyre about to make and predictable strategies theyll use throughout the fight. The process of learning each oppressive bosses moves and tells, figuring out when its ideal to dodge or block, is extra important in The First Berserker, and its how I ultimately figured out how to enjoy the experience in the face of overwhelming odds. Every death that was once met with confusion and irritation became a learning experience I looked forward to absorbing. Every restart was a chance to land my attacks and survive with newfound knowledge. Yes, there are plenty of cheap attacks, one-hit kills, and groan-inducing mistakes, but I enjoyed studying each big boss I came across as much as the catharsis of finally taking them down.What was once a peak point of frustration became my favorite part of The First Berserker: Khazan.Conquering many of the early insurmountable feats was also thanks in part to two great quality-of-life decisions Neople has implemented into The First Berserker. First, dying repeatedly at a boss isnt for nothing, but rather grants precious Lacrima based on how far you took their life down. Each upgrade that helps you afford gets you a little bit further the next time, and gaining levels by grinding the boss you need to beat is far more valuable than breaking away to farm elsewhere. Second, skill points are awarded separately from the levels you get from cashing in Lacrima, and are instead earned through a more traditional experience bar that is filled simply by being in battle. While not necessarily an increase in stats, unlocking new moves to use or enhancing your favorites can be just the thing needed to beat a stubborn encounter.While my earlier struggles were overcome by learning to dodge, block, and attack properly, equipping Khazan with more powerful gear became hugely important in the latter half of the campaign. Weapons, armor, and accessories have attributes to increase stats like fire resistance and stamina regeneration, or decrease incoming damage when blocking, among many other varieties of buffs. The most powerful items come in sets; each set gives Khazan an awesome new look, but more importantly, provides a set bonus when equipped together that nudges you toward specific ways to play. For instance, the Beastslayer set amplifies the Whirlwind spirit attack as well as increasing damage while taking swings at an enemy head-on. Others, on the other hand, may be better defensive options that provide certain elemental damage reductions. They dont quite go far enough to wildly change the way I played, but they are still great options to consider. John's 10 Favorite SoulslikesThese Soulslikes will test your skills and enchant you with their broken worldsSee AllAnother helpful way to get stronger later on is by taking on the ample side quests that are available after completing main missions, which are tied to either a refugee in The Crevice or the original missions boss. These extra challenges remix the sections youve previously fought through, sometimes adding new enemy types and concluding with alternate versions of bosses to add a fresh challenge. They help provide gear blueprints, crafting materials, and healing item upgrades, as well as the texture and context to how the people you meet relate to Khazans past, adding character to the world in a way thats sorely missing from the central story.Once I finally rolled credits, I fired up my New Game+ save file and was greeted with a whole new class of weapons not available in the first playthrough. These options grant elemental statuses to attacks, which would have been a blast to build around up until this point. While I get that the post-game requires a new spin on gearing to make it more fun or challenging, I wish more items in my initial run provided unique effects like this to inspire drastic changes in my approach to combat.

Batman is as popular as ever, with multiple movies in the works, a recent animated series gaining traction, and the nearly endless LEGO set releases. Theres never been a better time to be a fan of the Dark Knight, but what if youre one of the few people new to the DC comics hero? The best place to get into Batman is where he got his start - the comics. Weve broken down every upcoming Batman-focused comic series and graphic novel coming in 2025. Even if youre a comics veteran, it can often be hard to keep up with current releases and the hottest new story arcs, so weve got you covered. Scott Snyders Absolute Batman and legendary duo Jim Lees and Jeph Loebs return to Batman with Hush 2 are must-read ongoing stories this year. Were also getting some other great collections of the best Batman graphic novels in both hardcover and trade paperback, like Year Zero and Haunted Knight. Read on for every upcoming Batman single issue, collection, omnibus, and more coming for the rest of this year.Please note: The way single comic issue solicitations works means we wont have that info for the entire year just yet. Check back periodically for updates on new releases.AprilAbsolute Batman: Zero YearSee it at AmazonBatman/Elmer Fudd: The Deluxe EditionSee it at AmazonDark Knights of Steel: The Deluxe EditionSee it at AmazonAbsolute Batman #7See it at AmazonGraphic Novels:Absolute Batman: Zero Year by James Tynion IV, Scott Snyder, Greg Capullo, and Andy Clarke, April 1Batman: Offworld by Jason Aaron and Doug Mahnke, April 1Gotham by Gaslight: The Kryptonian Age Vol. 1 by Andy Diggle and Leandro Fernndez, April 1Gotham City: Year One by Tom King and Phil Hester, April 1Batman/ Elmer Fudd: The Deluxe Edition by Tom King and Lee Weeks, April 8Batman: Justice Buster Vol. by Eiichi Shimizu and Tomohiro Shimoguchi, April 22Batman: The Brave and the Bold Vol. 2 - Out of the Darkness by various creators, April 22Dark Knights of Steel: The Deluxe Edition by Tom Taylor and Yasmine Putri, April 22Batman & Robin Vol. 2: Batman vs. Robin (2025 Edition) by Grant Morrison and Andy Clarke, April 29Single IssuesAbsolute Batman #7 by Scott Snyder and Marcos Martn, April 9Batman: Dark Patterns #5 by Dan Watters and Hayden Sherman, April 9Batman and Robin #20 by Phillip Kennedy Johnson and Javi Fernndez April 9Detective Comics #1096 by Tom Taylor and Mikel Jann, April 16Batman/ Superman: Worlds Finest #38 by Mark Waid and Adrin Gutirrez, April 16Batman #159 by Jeph Loeb and Jim Lee, April 23Detective Comics Annual by various creators, April 30Batman/ Superman: Worlds Finest Annual by various creators, April 30Batman The Long Halloween: The Last Halloween #7 by Jeph Loeb and Dave Johnson, April 30MayBatman: Full MoonSee it at AmazonGraphic Novels:Batman Vol. 5: The Dying City by Chip Zdarsky and Jorge Jimenez, May 6Batman: Full Moon by Rodney Barnes and Stevan Subic, May 13Knight Terrors Omnibus by various creators, May 13DC Finest: Batman - The Killing Joke and Other Stories by Alan Moore and Brian Bolland, May 20Single Issues:Absolute Batman #8 by Scott Snyder and Marcos Martn, May 14Batman and Robin #21 by Phillip Kennedy Johnson and Javi Fernndez, May 14Batman: Dark Patterns #6 by Dan Watters and Hayden Sherman, May 14Batman/ Superman: Worlds Finest #39 by Mark Waid and Dan Mora, May 21Detective Comics #1097 by Tom Taylor and Lee Garbett, May 21Batman and Robin: Year One #7 by Mark Waid and Chris Samnee, May 21Batman #160 by Jeph Loeb and Jim Lee, May 28JuneBatman: Detective Comics: The New 52 Omnibus Vol. 1See it at AmazonGraphic Novels:The Batman & Scooby-Doo Mysteries Vol. 6 by various creators, June 10Batman 89: Echoes by Sam Hamm and Joe Quinones, June 17Batman/ Superman: Worlds Finest Vol. 6: Impossible by Mark Waid and Dan Mora, June 24Batman: Detective Comics: The New 52 Omnibus Vol. 1 by James Tynion IV and Pere Perez, June 24Single Issues: Solicitations not yet released.JulyBatman: War Games OmnibusSee it at AmazonGraphic Novels:Batman: Detective Comics Vol. 1: Mercy of the Father by Tom Taylor and Mikel Jann, July 1Batman and Robin Vol. 1: Memento by Phillip Kennedy Johnson and Javi Fernndez, July 8Batman: War Games Omnibus by various creators, July 15Superman/ Batman: Public Enemies - DC Compact Comics Edition by Jeph Loeb and Ed McGuiness, Michael Turner, July 15Single Issues: Solicitations not yet released.AugustBatman: Arkham Asylum Living Hell Deluxe EditionSee it at AmazonGraphic Novels:Absolute Batman Vol. 1: The Zoo by Scott Snyder and Nick Dragotta, August 5Batman/ Superman: Worlds Finest Vol. 7: Total Eclipso by Mark Waid and Dan Mora, August 5Batman: Knightfall Omnibus Vol. 3: Knightsend (2025 Edition) by Alan Grant and Chuck Dixon, August 5Batman by Tom King Book Two by Tom King and David Finch, August 12Batman: Arkham Asylum Living Hell Deluxe Edition (2025 Edition) by Dan Slott and Ryan Sook, August 12Batman: The Brave and the Bold: Legends of Justice by Gabriel Hardman, Kyle Starks, and Guillem March, August 12Batman by Tom King Omnibus Vol. 1 by Tom King and David Finch, August 19Batman: Detective Comics by Mariko Tamaki Omnibus by Mariko Tamaki and Dan Mora, August 19Absolute Batman: Haunted Knight (2025 Edition) by Jeph Loeb and Tim Sale, August 26Batman 66 Compendium by Jeff Parker and Mike Allred, August 26Batman: Year 100 (2025 Edition) by Paul Pope and Jos Villarrubia, August 26Single Issues: Solicitations not yet released.SeptemberAbsolute Batman: Dark VictorySee it at AmazonGraphic Novels:Batman: Arkham Asylum - DC Compact Comics by Grant Morrison and Daver McKean, September 2Batman: White Knights Presents: Generation Joker and Harley Quinn: The Deluxe Edition by Katana Collins and Clay McCormack, September 2DC Finest: Batman - Red Skies by various creators, September 2Batman: The Demon Trilogy (2025 Edition) by various creators, September 9Absolute Batman: Dark Victory (2025 Edition) by Jeph Loeb and Tim Sale, September 16Batman by Grant Morrison Book Two by Grant Morrison and Yanick Paquette, September 16Batman: Dark Patterns Vol. 1 by Dan Watters and Hayden Sherman, September 16Single Issues: Solicitations not yet released.OctoberAbsolute Batman: Hush (New Edition)See it at AmazonGraphic Novels:Absolute Batman: Hush (2025 Edition) by Jeph Loeb and Jim Lee, October 7Batman: Black & White Compendium by various creators, October 7Batman: The Long Halloween - DC Compact Comics Edition by Jeph Loeb and Tim Sale, October 7Batman: The Brave and the Bold: Across the Universe by Dennis Culver, October 28Single Issues: Solicitations not yet released.NovemberGraphic Novels:Little Batman: Month One by Morgan Evan and Jon Mikel, November 6Single Issues: Solicitations not yet released.DecemberBatman and Robin: Year OneSee it at AmazonGraphic Novels:Batman and Robin: Year One by Mark Waid and Chris Samnee, December 2Single Issues:Solicitations not yet released.

Jonathan Hickman has been playing in the Marvel Universe for 15 years now and almost no one can lay a greater claim to the universes makeup in that time than him. Not only did he destroy the Marvel Multiverse (in the greatest superhero crossover of all time, Secret Wars), but he shaped the now-dead original Ultimate Universe with epic runs on Ultimates, mapped the multiverse in Fantastic Four, and rebuilt the Ultimate Universe in its most recent relaunch. Hell, he even sowed some seeds for the cosmogony of the multiverse in House of X/Powers of X (seriously, if you havent read what Al Ewing did to Secret Wars in his Defenders, you need to go check it out). But theres one story hes been chasing from the start: a book about the Shiar Imperial Guard. And were finally getting a payoff in this years Imperial.Marvel is pitching Imperial as a chance to see Hickman reshape the Marvel cosmos in the same way he did the Ultimate Universe. And while Im excited to read anything he does, what has been most interesting is the fact that hes been playing with these characters and ideas for a long time. There were rumors going back to his time with the Avengers that Hickman had a pitch for the Legion of Super-Heroes, DCs futuristic space teens. And in the Legion is the origin of the Shiar.Dave Cockrum was the artist who, with Chris Claremont, created the Shiar as part of his work on the big Phoenix story at the dawn of the Claremont era. Prior to his work on X-Men, Cockrum had been a seminal artist on the Legion of Super-Heroes, and he made the Imperial Guard loosely analogous to his Legionnaires. So Superboy became Gladiator of Kallark; Brainiac 5 became Mentor; Saturn Girl became Oracle; and so on. So while their in-universe story was based on imperial Rome, their look was very Legion, forever linking the two franchises in the minds of fans.Hickman used the Imperial Guard a ton in his Avengers run, having Gladiator (a Superboy stand in from the planet Kallark) lead the coalition of space societies that included the Spartoi, the Kree, the Skrulls and the Annihilation Wave as they joined the Avengers to battle an army of Builders bent on destruction in the universe. And those stories rocked. Hes also revealed in post-X-Men interviews that his original plan at the dawn of the Krakoa era was to put mutants Cannonball and Sunspot in an Imperial Guard book, fleshing out Shiar society relative to the mutant status quo.

Spring brings with it a multitude of joys: a new beginning, a spirit of rebirth. Its also when the days grow longer and brighter, allowing us to enjoy more of the benefits of natural light.It was precisely the importance of natural light in interiors that inspired ELLE Decor and its 25 international sister publications (collectively known as ELLE Decoration International) to partner with VELUX, a leading provider of skylights and daylight solutions, to host a global event in Amsterdam focused on this illuminating element in interior design. It brought together eight design experts from different countries, encompassing interior designers, architects, and design editors, all hosted by the editor-in-chief of ELLE Decoration Netherlands, Monique van der Reijden. Normally, people take daylight for granted, she says, but we really took the time to be aware of it. And the moment you focus on daylight, fresh air, and nature, they really trigger all the senses.Elle Decoration x VeluxELLE Decoration Netherlands editor-in-chief Monique van der ReijdenElle Decoration x VeluxFrom left: Anna Chwaliska, editor-in-chief, ELLE Decoration Poland; interior designer Tommaso Spinzi; Miminat Shodeinde, founder, Miminat Designs; Laetitia Renevier, journalist, ELLE Decoration France and founder, Billie Blanket Digital Media; Daphn Dorgelo, editor, ELLE Belgium; architect Katharina Buseinus Van der Reijden began by welcoming the others to the Maison ELLE Amsterdram, a 32-room boutique hotel, located in an elegant 19th-century building close to Vondelpark, that not only brings an inimitable touch of French art de vivre to the city, but also offers a connection to nature through its lush, light-filled garden. She then accompanied her guests on the 30-minute journey to take in the allure of one of the Netherlands most striking residences: the Factory House, designed by Inez Kuiper on the site of a former gunpowder factory in Muiden. Surrounded by forest, it stands on a natural lake and also borders the seacoast. Elle Decoration x VeluxBoth sections of the housethe main body and a perpendicular barn-like structuremake great use of natural light thanks to their VELUX roof windows, which not only serve to heighten its architectural impact with their rhythmic placement, but also transform the ambience and quality of life inside. Natural light from above gives a sense of fulfilment to any space, notes Italian designer and art director Tommaso Spinzi. Belgian journalist Daphn Dorgelo concurs: Daylight literally brings energy. Its a natural mood booster, and a space enhancer as well, of course. The benefits of natural light are beyond doubt; study after study has demonstrated just how essential it is to a healthy lifestyle. A review published in December 2021 concluded that each additional hour spent in natural light was linked to a corresponding decrease in the risk of developing long-term depression. Natural light may also improve our energy levels, powers of concentration, creativity, and sleep patterns.Elle Decoration x VeluxElle Decoration x VeluxAlso, as Germany-based architect Katharina Buseinus notes, natural light makes a room more aesthetic, spacious, and invitingas is well evidenced by the VELUX roof windows at the Factory House, which help to flood the interior with dramatic and ever-evolving interplays of daylight and shadow, enhancing the design of each room. Radiant rays of sun shimmer on the black steel staircase. Textural fabrics and woods are brought alive, and the beauty of each architectural detail made clearly visible. VELUX skylights also provide a constant connection with nature (Buseinus, for one, says she loves falling asleep underneath the stars) and draw the eye beyond the limits of a structure, inspiring moments of reverie. And they ensure a healthier indoor environment with cleaner air, thanks to the stack effect whereby stale air is drawn out through the skylights and replaced by fresh air entering on the lower floors.Elle Decoration x VeluxElle Decoration x VeluxAt the Factory House, the roof windows are activated remotely via the VELUX Active app, which not only allows them to be opened and closed, but also for their anti-heat blackout shutters to be drawn like shadesan essential function as spring turns to summer. In this season, their durable aluminium design blocks out natural light, helping to reduce indoor temperatures by up to five degrees, allowing those indoors to remain cool no matter how much the sun sizzles. Elle Decoration x VeluxElle Decoration x VeluxAnd what did the group take away at the end of their visit? That natural light is the healthiest thing you can have, says Van der Reijden. It isnt just something we see. Its something we feel. It inspires, connects, and transforms us. Explore further at VELUX.com.

Were just over two months away from Apple announcing iOS 19 at WWDC25. A new rumor this week says that iOS 19 will drop support for three iPhone models: iPhone XR, iPhone XS, and iPhone XS Max. All three of those phones were released in September 2018. This rumor comes from a private and anonymous account on X that regularly shares accurate information about Apples software platforms. The account has correctly leaked information about upcoming Apple software updates on countless occasions. If this rumor turns out to be correct, then iOS 19 will be supported on the following iPhones: iPhone 11iPhone 11 Pro and 11 Pro MaxiPhone 12 and 12 miniiPhone 12 Pro and 12 Pro MaxiPhone 13 and 13 miniiPhone 13 Pro and 13 Pro MaxiPhone 14 and 14 PlusiPhone 14 Pro and 14 Pro MaxiPhone 15 and 15 PlusiPhone 15 Pro and 15 Pro MaxiPhone 16eiPhone 16 and 16 PlusiPhone 16 Pro and 16 Pro MaxiPhone SE (2nd gen)iPhone SE (3rd gen)As for iPadOS 19, todays rumor says that the update will drop support for the iPad (7th generation), which was released in September 2019 and is powered by the A10 Fusion chip. However, todays leak differs from an iPhoneSoft leak in December that said all iPhone models that can run iOS 18 will also be able to run iOS 19. Both sources have a strong track record and have accurately reported details of iOS device compatibility in prior years. iPhoneSoft, however, falsely reported that iOS 13 would end support for the original iPhone SE in 2019. Even if the iPhone XS, iPhone XS Max, and iPhone XR dont support iOS 19, they will continue to receive software updates from Apple. For example, just today Apple released iOS 16.7.11 with security fixes for the iPhone 8 and iPhone X. My favorite iPhone accessories:Follow Chance:Threads,Bluesky,Instagram, andMastodon.Add 9to5Mac to your Google News feed. FTC: We use income earning auto affiliate links. More.Youre reading 9to5Mac experts who break news about Apple and its surrounding ecosystem, day after day. Be sure to check out our homepage for all the latest news, and follow 9to5Mac on Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn to stay in the loop. Dont know where to start? Check out our exclusive stories, reviews, how-tos, and subscribe to our YouTube channel

Apple on Monday released visionOS 2.4, and its the first update to enable Apple Intelligence features in Apple Vision Pro. However, even though the update was released on the same day as iOS 18.4 which expands AI capabilities to more languages Apple Intelligence for Vision Pro is only available in English.Apple Intelligence for Vision Pro is limited to US EnglishIn a note on Apples website, the company notes that the first set of Apple Intelligence features for Vision Pro is only available in US English. This means that Vision Pro users must set both the system language and Siri to US English before enabling AI features.When Apple Intelligence arrived on iOS, it was also limited to US English. With iOS 18.2, Apple has expanded its AI tools to more variations of English. Now with iOS 18.4, Apple Intelligence is also available in French, German, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Portuguese, Chinese, and Spanish.The Apple Intelligence features in Vision Pro are pretty much the same as those already available on iPhone, iPad, and Mac. This includes Writing Tools, Image Playground, Genmoji, and text summarization. Apple hasnt made any specific AI features for Vision Pro, and it doesnt have Visual Intelligence like the iPhone.Since Vision Pro is only available in a few countries around the world, its understandable that Apple hasnt rushed to add support for more languages just yet.In addition to Apple Intelligence, visionOS 2.4 adds a new Spatial Gallery app with photos, videos and spatial panoramas curated by Apple. The update also makes it easier to share a Vision Pro with a guest.You can install visionOS 2.4 by going to Settings > General > Software Update. Its worth noting that Apple Vision Pro is currently available in Australia, Canada, China mainland, Hong Kong, France, Germany, Japan, Korea, Singapore, Taiwan, the UAE, the UK, and the US.Gadgets I recommend:Add 9to5Mac to your Google News feed. FTC: We use income earning auto affiliate links. More.Youre reading 9to5Mac experts who break news about Apple and its surrounding ecosystem, day after day. Be sure to check out our homepage for all the latest news, and follow 9to5Mac on Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn to stay in the loop. Dont know where to start? Check out our exclusive stories, reviews, how-tos, and subscribe to our YouTube channel