Nintendo has announced that it will be airing two Treehouse presentations later this week, offering a new look at Switch 2 gameplay.

BigHugFX, a Munich-based VFX studio, played a key role in bringing the epic world of HAGEN von Tronje to life. Blending history with mythology, their work seamlessly integrates stunning visual effects, including a dragon, to enhance the films immersive storytelling. Their subtle yet impactful contributions add depth and realism to the films grand narrative.The post HAGEN von Tronje VFX Breakdown by BigHugFX appeared first on Vfxexpress.

A Jesuit priestsays he prefers going to prison than paying a 500-euro ($541) fine for participating in a climate activists street blockade in the southern German city of Nuremberg.The Rev. Jrg Alt started serving his nearly month-long prison sentence on Tuesday in Nuremberg.Today, I am starting my 25-day alternative custodial sentence in Nuremberg prison, he said before entering the prison. I dont like doing this, especially as my health is no longer the best at the age of 63. But I see no alternative, because its the last form of protest I have left in this specific case to draw attention to important issues such asclimate change.In November, Alt said that as a priest, I have no income and no bank account due to my vow of poverty and that I do not want to harm the order and my fellow brothers by paying my fine, German news agency dpa reported.His remarks came after a Bavarian Higher Regional Court rejected his appeal to a lower courts decision and confirmed Alts conviction for coercion for participating in a sit-in blockade.After the courts decision, authorities repeatedly asked Alt to pay the 500 euros, before the fine was eventually commuted to the 25-day prison sentence.The court ruling in November was in connection with a street blockade in August 2022, when the Jesuit priest and about 40 other activists blocked traffic in Nuremberg bygluing their hands to a streetin front of the citys train station to draw attention to climate change.Numerous similar protests have taken place across Germany and other countries in recent years, as activists try to draw attention to the urgency of tackling climate change. The public and political response to such road blockades has been mixed.While some Germans have said they support the protesters cause, if not their means,activists have also faced violencefrom enraged motorists and calls for tough punishment from conservative politicians.German Chancellor Olaf Scholzhas sharply criticized climate activists as nutty for drastic protestssuch as blocking streets or gluing themselves to famous paintings in museums.Last year, activists belonging to one of the main protest groups, the Last Generation, announced that they wouldabandon the tacticand move on to holding what they call disobedient assemblies.Alt has said that he had also decided to serve the prison sentence instead of paying the fine in solidarity with those climate activists who are treated similarly by the administration and the judiciary it may all be lawful, but it is unjust.Its not the first time, that Alt was convicted for his activism. In May 2023, a court alsoconvicted him of coercionafter he participated in a road blockade in Munich and ordered him to pay a small fine.Kirsten Grieshaber, Associated Press

Think youve got game? Time to put it to the test with Tinders latest launch in collaboration with OpenAI.On Tuesday, Tinder rolled out The Game Gamea new experience designed to help users practice their flirting skills by chatting with an AI voice, powered by OpenAIs GPT-4o model. Players are dealt a stack of virtual cards, each introducing a different AI persona and a hilariously exaggerated rom-com scenario (think: a luggage mix-up at the airport or accidentally crushing someones sunglasses on the beach). Your challenge? Charm your way through it.The bot makes the first move, and users respond in real timeearning feedback on their game as they go. Nail the convo, land a date, and you win. But dont get too cozy with your digital crush: Each session is capped at three minutes, and users are limited to five plays per dayjust in case you forget Tinder is still about connecting with real people.While The Game Games April 1 launch date might raise eyebrows, its no prankits just not that serious. Using speech-to-speech AI, the game delivers absurdly funny scenarios designed to make you laugh more than sweat.Our Future of Dating report found that 64% of young singles are totally fine with a little cringe if it leads to a real connection, Hillary Paine, Tinders VP of product, growth, and revenue, tells Fast Company. We didnt want it to feel overly polished or intense. Instead, we leaned into humor, awkwardness, and low-pressure moments to help users practice flirting in a fun, playful, and judgment-free way.Tinder has built in safeguards to ensure that conversations stay appropriate and follow community guidelines. And no, theyre not trying to create an AI companion (this isnt Her). The goal is to blur the line between the digital and the real worldsomething Tinder has been exploring with events like the Single Summer Series, Chaotic Singles Party, and Swipe Off.According to a Forbes Health survey, 79% of Gen Z reported feeling dating-app burnout in 2023. Tinder is betting that a little fun might just reignite the spark. Our mission has always been to spark real connections by making dating feel less like a chore and more like something to look forward to, Paine says.At a launch event hosted at OpenAIs New York City office, I got to try The Game Game myself. Lets just say my gym meet-cute didnt exactly end in a rom-com-style kiss in the rain. Humbling, to say the least.The Game Game is now live for U.S. Tinder users on iOS for a limited time.

Can an artistic 'style' be protected?

Is a classic game finally getting a remake?

Rebellion Developments Atomfall has seen a strong reception since launching on March 27th, with 1.5 million players thus far. As told to IGN, this makes it the most successful launch in the studios history, which is impressive considering its a new IP.CEO and co-founder Jason Kingsley said, We are delighted that so many players are enjoying Atomfall. To have surpassed the 1 million players in such a short time speaks volumes for the creativity and dedication of the entire team here at Rebellion. Our size and stability mean we can take risks to create something as different as Atomfall. Happily, that risk is paying off.We are a British company, and the game is a true reflection of that. Not only is it set in the lush, beautiful countryside, but Atomfall also draws inspiration from many classic British books, films and TV series. We hope that players continue to enjoy exploring the world of Atomfall and are looking forward to future content for the game.Along with consoles and PC, Atomfall is available on Game Pass. As such, sales are unknown, but Rebellion did provide some interesting stats. Players have drunk 300,000 cups of tea, consumed over four million pastries, and killed more than 3.7 million with the Cricket Bat. It also seems that over 316,000 killed the scientist at the start, perhaps as a precursor for slaying every NPC (which you can absolutely do).For more details on Atomfall, check out our review we gave it a nine out of ten, praising the atmosphere, story, voice-acting and world design. Rebellion is also working on a story expansion, Wicked Isle, though a release date has yet to be announced.

We dont exactly have a shortage of Soulslike action games- if anything, that might be one of the most active and crowded genres in the industry right now. Intermittent releases from FromSoftware itself apart, several other studios in the industry have also stepped forward with efforts of their own. Newest in line is The First Berserker: Khazan,a revenge-driven Soulslike action RPG spinoff set in the long-runningDungeon and Fighteruniverse from Neople and Nexon, which is out now.The First Berserkerisnt exactly a perfect game. As our own review here at GamingBolt pointed out (as have many others), the slick and bloody action title is dragged down in several ways, quite a few of which feel quite significant- which is to say Neoples debut in the genre doesnt exactly scale the heights of something like a, say,Lies of P,which many have come to accept as one of the best non-FromSoftware Soulslikes out there. But thoughThe First Berserkerisnt quite on that level, its still got its strengths, which, as our review mentioned, make it worth a look for fans of Soulslikes or action games in general.Lets get those pesky flaws out of the way first, because therearea few to be talked about, and theyre not the sort of issues that you can easily sweep under the rug- thatd be an awfully bumpy rug. One of the more prominent ones is its story and storytelling- which might feel like a silly thing to be complaining about in a Soulslike at face value, if not for the fact that this is a game thatdoestry to place a greater emphasis on traditional storytelling than has usually been the case with this genre over the years.The First Berserker: Khazanis a revenge tale focused on the mysterious and brooding character Khazan. The titular protagonist finds himself severely physically mutilated, betrayed, and cast down, his service to the empire against the Berserk Dragon all but effectively forgotten, after which he decides, with the help of a phantasmal companion known as the Blade Phantom, to embrace newfound supernatural powers and embark on a quest for vengeance. With a fairly decent setup (on paper, at least) and a protagonist voiced by Ben Starr ofFinal Fantasy 16fame,The First Berserker: Khazanhad the elements in place to tell at least a fairly fun, if tropey, revenge action story.It fails on all counts, with a bog-standard plot, predictable twists and turns, and a disappointingly flat protagonist.On the gameplay front, The First Berserkerstumbles with things such as enemy repetition and bland side quests, but perhaps its biggest issue is its ultra-linear design philosophy and the impact that that has on exploration. The game adopts a hub-driven linear structure likeDemons Souls, but each area that you visit feels a little too restrained. With not too much by way of exploration and little else to keep you engaged beyond what the game itself wants you to engage with,The First Berserkeris a game that feels particularly susceptible to repetition and monotony, and sure enough, once you get deep enough into the game, you do feel those things beginning to set in.Fortunately, when The First Berserker: Khazanis at its best, it is absolutely fantastic. Also fortunately, the thing that it is best at is what it smartly focuses on first and foremost, and the thing that may might argue is the most crucial in a game such as this one- the combat. The combat, the challenge, the sense of progression, and the boss fights are what the majority of folk come to Soulslikes for above all else, and in pretty much all of these areas,The First Berserkeris something of a slam dunk. It takes bits and pieces from a number of other similar titles out there, borrowing from the likes ofDark Souls, Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice, Nioh,and even a little bit fromBlack Myth: Wukong, and delivers, in the end, a grueling and satisfying action game with slick and challenging combat that is consistently fun to master, especially when youre coming up against its spectacular roster of boss fights.The combat nails all of the fundamental elements of aSekiro-codedSoulslike system- youve got your blocks, your dodges, your parries, youve got your perfect dodges and perfect parries, youve got unblockable attacks (which canalsobe parried with special, riskier parries). You have a stamina and stagger system, where accumulating stagger by successfully blocking and parrying flurries of attacks will eventually make your foe break their guard for a moment, a moment in which to deal heavy damage and dole out vicious attacks of your own.Aggressive parry-based combat systems can help deliver some of the best and most thrilling gameplay when done right, andThe First Berserker: Khazandefinitely does it right. Though it fails to sufficiently capture the themes of rage and vengeance in its story that it claims are so central to it, it does an excellent job of imbuing its combat systems with exactly that sort of desired aggression. As you would imagine, the games enemy design helps significantly contribute to that as well. No matter how tight the mechanics are, youre not going to have any fun with them if the enemies youre taking on dont compel you to properly engage with them, and boy doesThe First Berserkerknock the ball out of the park in this area.Nothing exemplifies that better than its bosses, which weve already touched on. Each boss forces you to learn and master a different fact of gameplay and presents a face-smacking skill check that youre not going to be able to overcome unless youpay attention and, yes get good. The excellently designed boss fights sport memorable visual design and, perhaps much more importantly, incredible fight design, with unique movesets that are a blast to figure out and deal with, and stiff and diverse challenges that are incredibly satisfying to come out on top against at the end of a harrowing fight.Surprisingly,The First Berserkeralso gives players greater freedom in progression than you would expect at first glance, with quite a few options available that let you tailor the gameplay to your needs. Each of the three main weapon types feels significantly different to use and, by extension, master, while separate and dedicated skill trees for each will also let you explore new options in combat- such as relying more on dodges if getting the parry timing right isnt something that youre completely confident youre going to be able to do at all times. Theres also attributes to upgrade, gear to minmax, skill points to summon, allies that can be summoned, and more.The First Berserkernever feels like aneasygame (though itdoeshave an easy mode, for those who want a relatively more forgiving experience), but the surprising flexibility it offers with its progression mechanics does let you surmount stiff challenges in different ways.Given the sheer wealth of Soulslike games out there, its never easy to confidently recommend one over everything else unless the game in question just happens to bethatspecial.The First Berserker: Khazanis maybe notthatspecial Lies of PorNiohit is not but its an aggressive, fast-paced, challenging action game with excellent combat, memorable boss fights, and compelling progression mechanics. It has its flaws, yes, and not necessarily insignificant ones- but for genre fans, its still well worth checking out.Note: The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily represent the views of, and should not be attributed to, GamingBolt as an organization.

Motorola announced the first phone in its midrange Edge 60 series, which ships with a novel twist: a faux-canvas finish. The Edge 60 Fusion looks the part otherwise, with its molded camera module and surprisingly slim body, but the basic specs match the low price tag just 299.99 (around $390) in the UK.The canvas-effect finish might be one of the phones main draws, but its only available on the amazonite (read: teal) version of the phone. Its also launching in blue and pink colors, but these use a faux leather finish instead. Every version has IP68 and 69 ratings, meaning the phone is fully protected against dust, immersion in water, and high-pressure sprays.Theres some international variation in the Edge 60 Fusions specs, but the model launching in the UK is slim for its size, at less than 8mm thick, despite fitting in a fairly large 5,200mAh battery behind its 6.67-inch OLED screen. Models elsewhere pack an even bigger 5,500mAh cell, but run a touch thicker.The Fusion comes with up to 12GB of RAM and 512GB of storage, but is likely to be held back by the relatively basic MediaTek Dimensity chipset used either a 7300 or 7400, depending on the market, but theres not much difference between them. Cameras are limited too it may look like four on the back, but one is the flash and another a flicker sensor, so you only really get a 50 megapixel main lens and a 13 megapixel ultrawide.The Fusion is expected to be the first in a series of Edge 60 phones there were five models across last years Edge 50 line. None of those launched in the US, and this years phones likely wont either, so American buyers will have to make do with Januarys $299.99 Moto G Power, which lacks the Fusions OLED display and canvas feel, but has wireless charging. Motorola is expected to announce its updated Razr flip phones soon, with rumors predicting a wooden finish, in a throwback to 2014s wood-backed Moto X.See More:

Deploying LLMs presents challenges, particularly in optimizing efficiency, managing computational costs, and ensuring high-quality performance. LLM routing has emerged as a strategic solution to these challenges, enabling intelligent task allocation to the most suitable models or tools. Lets delve into the intricacies of LLM routing, explore various tools and frameworks designed for its implementation, and examine academic perspectives on the subject.Understanding LLM RoutingLLM routing is a process of examining incoming queries or tasks and directing them to the best-suited language model or collection of models in a system. This guarantees that every task is treated by the optimal model suited to its particular needs, resulting in better-quality responses and optimal resource use. For example, simple questions may be handled by less resource-heavy, smaller models, whereas computationally heavy and sophisticated tasks may be assigned to more powerful LLMs. This dynamic reallocation optimizes computational expense, response time, and accuracy.How LLM Routing WorksThe LLM routing process typically involves three key steps:Query Analysis: The system examines the incoming query, considering content, intent, required domain knowledge, complexity, and specific user preferences or requirements.Model Selection: Based on the analysis, the router evaluates available models by assessing their capabilities, specializations, past performance metrics, current load, availability, and associated operational costs.Query Forwarding: The router directs the query to the selected model(s) for processing, ensuring that the most suitable resource handles each task.This intelligent routing mechanism enhances the overall performance of AI systems by ensuring that tasks are processed efficiently and effectively. citeturn0search0The Rationale Behind LLM RoutingThe requirement for LLM routing stems from the varying capabilities and resource demands of language models. Using one monolithic model for every task results in inefficiencies, particularly when less complex models can better respond to specific queries. Through routing, systems can dynamically allocate tasks according to the complexity and capability of available models, maximizing the use of computational resources. The approach increases throughput, lowers latency, and efficiently manages operational expense.Several innovative frameworks and tools have been developed to facilitate LLM routing, each bringing unique features to optimize resource utilization and maintain high-quality output.RouteLLMRouteLLM is a leading open-source framework that has been developed with the express purpose of maximizing the cost savings and efficiency of LLM deployment. Designed as a drop-in replacement for current API integrations such as OpenAIs client, RouteLLM integrates seamlessly with current infrastructure. The framework also dynamically assesses query complexity, sending simple or lower-resource queries to smaller, more cost-effective models and more difficult queries to heavy-duty, high-performance LLMs. In doing so, RouteLLM lowers operational expenses dramatically, with real-world deployments shown to save as much as 85% of costs while maintaining performance near GPT-4 levels. The platform is also extremely extensible, making it simple to incorporate new routing strategies and models and test them on varied tasks. RouteLLM achieves the highest routing accuracy and cost savings by dynamically routing queries to best-fit models depending on complexity. It offers robust extensibility for customization and benchmarking, enabling it to be extremely flexible for various deployment applications.NVIDIA AI Blueprint for LLM RoutingNVIDIA offers an advanced AI Blueprint designed explicitly for efficient multi-LLM routing. Leveraging a robust Rust-based backend powered by the NVIDIA Triton Inference Server, this tool ensures extremely low latency, often rivaling direct inference requests. NVIDIAs AI Blueprint framework is compatible with various foundational models, including NVIDIAs own NIM models and third-party LLMs, providing broad integration capabilities. Also, its compatibility with the OpenAI API standard allows developers to replace existing OpenAI-based deployments with minimal configuration changes, streamlining integration into the current infrastructure. NVIDIAs AI Blueprint prioritizes performance through a highly optimized architecture that reduces latency. It offers broad configurability with multiple foundational models, simplifying the deployment of diverse LLM ecosystems.Martian: Model RouterMartians Model Router is yet another advanced solution intended to enhance the operational efficiency of AI systems utilizing multiple LLMs. The solution provides uninterrupted uptime by redirecting inquiries successfully in real time during outages or performance issues, thus delivering equal service quality. Martians routing algorithms are intelligent and examine the incoming queries to select models accordingly based on their capabilities and current status. This smart decision-making mechanism enables Martian to utilize resources optimally, minimizing infrastructure expenses without compromising response speed or accuracy. Martians Model Router is well-equipped to ensure system reliability through real-time rerouting. Its sophisticated analysis capabilities ensure that every query reaches the best model, effectively balancing performance and operational expenses.LangChainLangChain is a general-purpose and popular software framework for plugging LLMs into applications, with strong features architected specifically for intelligent routing. It makes it easy to plug in different LLMs, allowing developers to apply rich routing schemes that choose the right model depending on the needs of the task, performance requirements, and cost. LangChain is compatible with varied use-cases, such as chatbots, summarization of text, analysis of documents, and code completion tasks, proving versatility in varied applications and settings. LangChain is highly compatible with ease of integration and flexibility, enabling developers to introduce effective routing techniques for various application setups. LangChain effectively copes with varied operating settings, collectively increasing several LLMs usability.TryageTryage is an innovative method for context-aware routing, drawn from biological metaphors to brain anatomy. It is based on an advanced perceptive router that can predict the performance of various models in terms of input queries and choose the best model to apply. The routing decisions made by Tryage take into consideration anticipated performance, user-level goals, and limitations to deliver optimized and personalized routing results. Its predictive features make it superior to most conventional routing systems, especially in dynamically changing operating environments. Tryage stands out by being context-sensitive in its performance prediction, mapping routing decisions tightly to individual user goals and constraints. Its predictive accuracy supports accurate and customized query allocation, maximizing resource utilization and response quality.PickLLMPickLLM is an adaptive routing system that utilizes reinforcement learning (RL) techniques to control the choice of language models. With an RL-based router, PickLLM repeatedly monitors and learns from cost, latency, and response accuracy metrics to adjust its routing decisions. This iterative learning makes the routing system more efficient and accurate over time. Developers can tailor PickLLMs reward function to their specific business priorities, balancing cost and quality dynamically. PickLLM differentiates itself by the reinforcement learning-based methodology, which supports adaptive and continuously improving routing choices. Its ability to define custom objectives flexibly ensures compatibility with varied operation priorities.MasRouterMasRouter solves routing problems in multi-agent AI systems where specialized LLMs work together on complicated tasks. Using a cascaded controller network, MasRouter effectively decides collaboration modes, allocates roles to various agents, and dynamically routes tasks across available LLMs. Its architecture provides optimal collaboration between specialized models, efficiently handling complex, multi-dimensional queries while maintaining overall system performance and computational efficiency. MasRouters biggest strength lies in its advanced multi-agent coordination, which allows for effective role assignment and collaboration-based routing. It performs best task management even in intricate, multi-model AI implementations.Academic Perspectives on LLM RoutingKey contributions include:Implementing Routing Strategies in Large Language Model-Based SystemsThis paper explores key considerations for integrating routing into LLM-based systems, focusing on resource management, cost definition, and strategy selection. It offers a novel taxonomy of existing approaches and a comparative analysis of industry practices. The paper also identifies critical challenges and directions for future research in LLM routing.Bottlenecks and Considerations in LLM RoutingDespite its substantial benefits, LLM routing presents several challenges that organizations and developers must effectively address. These include:In conclusion, LLM routing represents a vital strategy in optimizing the deployment and utilization of large language models. Routing mechanisms significantly enhance AI system efficiency by intelligently assigning tasks to the most suitable models based on complexity, performance, and cost factors. Although routing introduces challenges such as latency, scalability, and cost management complexities, advancements in intelligent, adaptive routing solutions promise to address these effectively. With the continuous evolution of frameworks, tools, and research in this domain, LLM routing undoubtedly plays a central role in shaping future AI deployments, ensuring optimal performance, cost-efficiency, and user satisfaction.SourcesAlso,feel free to follow us onTwitterand dont forget to join our85k+ ML SubReddit. Sana HassanSana Hassan, a consulting intern at Marktechpost and dual-degree student at IIT Madras, is passionate about applying technology and AI to address real-world challenges. With a keen interest in solving practical problems, he brings a fresh perspective to the intersection of AI and real-life solutions.Sana Hassanhttps://www.marktechpost.com/author/sana-hassan/Understanding AI Agent Memory: Building Blocks for Intelligent SystemsSana Hassanhttps://www.marktechpost.com/author/sana-hassan/Advancing Medical Reasoning with Reinforcement Learning from Verifiable Rewards (RLVR): Insights from MED-RLVRSana Hassanhttps://www.marktechpost.com/author/sana-hassan/Efficient Inference-Time Scaling for Flow Models: Enhancing Sampling Diversity and Compute AllocationSana Hassanhttps://www.marktechpost.com/author/sana-hassan/UCLA Researchers Released OpenVLThinker-7B: A Reinforcement Learning Driven Model for Enhancing Complex Visual Reasoning and Step-by-Step Problem Solving in Multimodal Systems