Nintendo, in a hardware-centric roundtable Q&A, has revealed that the Switch 2 is capable of making use of Nvidias DLSS technology for upscaling images, as well as ray tracing. As caught by IGN, senior director of the Programming Management Group Entertainment Planning & Development Department at Nintendos Entertainment Planning & Development Division, Takuhiro Dohta, spoke about some of the capabilities of the con sole.We use DLSS upscaling technology and thats something that we need to use as we develop games, said Dohta, confirming that rather than making use of its own custom AI-based image upscaler, Nintendo is instead teaming up with Nvidia to use its well-developed and relatively mature technology.Dohta does reveal that the Switch 2 is also quite a capable machine, since it can go all the way up to 4K resolutions on the right TV. This power, however, is up to game developers to use. It will also be up to the developers to figure out if they want to try and run at higher resolutions natively, or if they want to use DLSS.And when it comes to the hardware, it is able to output to a TV at a max of 4K, Dohta continued. Whether the software developer is going to use that as a native resolution or get it to upscale is something that the software developer can choose. I think it opens up a lot of options for the software developer to choose from.Dohta also confirmed that the Switch 2 is capable of hardware-based ray-tracing for improved lighting He does emphasise, however, that it will ultimately be up to developers to see what they can do with it when it comes to not only the technical costs, but also how it would help them realise their vision for their games.Yes the GPU does support ray tracing, he said. As with DLSS, I believe this provides yet another option for the software developer to use and a tool for them.When asked about more technical details on the Switch 2s hardware, however, Nintendos Tetsuya Sasaki maintained relative silence on the matter, saying that the company isnt yet ready to divulge more details on that front.Nintendo doesnt share too much on the hardware spec, said Sasaki. What we really like to focus on is the value that we can provide to our consumers. But I do believe that our partner Nvidia will be sharing some information.Nintendo had previously confirmed through an update to its website that the Switch 2 is powered by a custom SoC (system on chip includes CPU and GPU) developed by Nvidia. Previous rumours have indicated that this chip might be based on Nvidias Tegra 239.The Nintendo Switch 2 will be hitting store shelves on June 5. For more details on some of the technical aspects of the console, check out the companys engineers explaining what prompted the decision to give the Switch 2 an LCD display rather than an OLED one which we last saw on one of the later Switch models.

Thursday, April 3rd, 2025Posted by Jim ThackerNekki releases Cascadeur 2025.1 with AI-based Inbetweeninghtml PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/REC-html40/loose.dtd"Nekki has released Cascadeur 2025.1, the new version of the AI-assisted animation app.The release adds a new AI-powered Inbetweening system, for automatically generating believable motion between two key poses, updates to other key toolsets, and glTF support.Create animations based on real-world physics, aided by AI-based toolsLaunched in 2019, Cascadeur is intended as an artist-friendly alternative to conventional animation software for game development, motion graphics or visual effects work.Although it has standard tools for rigging, posing and animating characters, its unique selling point is a set of AI-assisted, semi-automated toolsets.Key poses can be quickly established for a character via the AutoPosing system, which lets users reposition a small number of joints, and have Cascadeur take care of the rest of the body.For a jumping character, the software can then calculate a physically correct trajectory between the key poses.For other types of motion, a separate AI-trained system, AutoPhysics, converts an existing keyframe animation into a physically accurate version of itself.Once generated, animations may be exported the FBX, Collada or USD format for use in other DCC applications, or game engines like Unity and Unreal Engine.Cascadeur 2025.1: new AI-based Inbetweening systemCascadeur 2025.1 introduces another AI-powered tool: Inbetweening.As the name suggests, it takes two keyframed poses and generates motion between them, but unlike conventional inbetweening, it can fill in the time with complete, repeating motion cycles.The animation is generated locally, on the users computer, not in the cloud.The interval being automatically inbetweened can be of any length, but there needs to be fewer than 88 frames between the key poses selected and the nearest neigboring keys.Updates to AutoPosing, AutoPhysics, Animation Unbaking and Ragdoll physicsUpdates to existing toolsets include improvements to the AutoPosing algorithm to increase stability, and improve the behavior of the spine and pelvis controllers.AutoPhysics gets a new control slider for the Physics Corrector, and improved Geometrical Constraints logic to help preserve the original poses.Animation Unbaking, for reducing keyframes in raw mocap data, now supports animations that are only partially baked.The new Ragdoll physics system added in the previous release now supports interactions between characters and props; and supports convex and kinematic mesh colliders.Workflow and pipeline integration improvementsOther changes include the option to import or export animation in glTF/GLB format.FBX support has been improved, with the option to select which take to use when importing an FBX file containing multiple takes, and better interoperability with Blender and Daz Studio.Workflow improvements include a right-click contextual menu in the viewport, providing quick access to common operations that can be performed to the object selected, like setting a pivot.New pricingThere have also been minor changes to pricing since the release of Cascadeur 2024.3.Indie users anyone earning under $100,000/year get new $12/month monthly subscriptions, while the price of annual subscriptions has been changed from $99/year to $8/month billed annually: that is, $96/year.The price of annual Pro subscriptions has been changed from $399/year to $33/month billed annually: that is, $396/year.Price, system requirements and release dateCascadeur 2025.1 is compatible with Windows 10+, Ubuntu 20.04+ Linux and macOS 13.3+.For users earning under $100,000/year, Indie subscriptions cost $12/month or $96/year. Pro subscriptions cost $49/month or $396/year and add advanced features.Both are rent-to-own plans, with users qualifying for a perpetual license after one year.There is also a free edition, which is not licensed for commercial use, and saves animation in its own .casc file format, making it impossible to use in other DCC apps.Read a full list of new features in Cascadeur 2025.1 in the release notesHave your say on this story by following CG Channel on Facebook, Instagram and X (formerly Twitter). As well as being able to comment on stories, followers of our social media accounts can see videos we dont post on the site itself, including making-ofs for the latest VFX movies, animations, games cinematics and motion graphics projects.Latest NewsNekki releases Cascadeur 2025.1 with AI-based InbetweeningInnovative animation app gets new AI system for generating realistic motion connecting two poses. Check out the other new features.Thursday, April 3rd, 2025Maxon releases Redshift 2025.4Big update to the renderer adds OpenPBR support. See the other new features for 3ds Max, Blender, Cinema 4D, Houdini and Maya users.Thursday, April 3rd, 2025Maxon releases Cinema 4D 2025.23D animation and motion graphics app gets integrated Spline Modifiers and updates to particle simulation. Liquid simulation 'coming soon'.Thursday, April 3rd, 2025Maxon releases ZBrush 2025.2Check out the changes to the digital sculpting tool, including updates to poly modeling system ZModeler and new Redshift materials.Wednesday, April 2nd, 2025Maxon adds ZModeler and UV Master to ZBrush for iPad 2025.3Significant update to the new iPad edition of the digital sculpting app adds long-awaited poly modeling and UV unwrapping toolsets.Wednesday, April 2nd, 2025Adobe releases After Effects 25.2Check out the new features in the compositing app, including High Performance Preview Playback and updates to 3D workflows.Wednesday, April 2nd, 2025More NewsAutodesk releases Mudbox 2026Otoy releases OctaneRender 2025.1Poly Hammer releases Meta-Human DNA add-on for BlenderCheck out virtual cinematography tool Radical VCamChaos launches Chaos ArenaLumion unveils Lumion ViewMaster the art of Virtual Makeup Design with Neville PageAutodesk releases Arnold 7.4.13DGS Render 3.0 lets you paint 3D Gaussian Splats in BlenderAdobe releases Photoshop 26.5Autodesk releases MotionBuilder 2026Autodesk releases 3ds Max 2026Older Posts

Dont miss our talented partners on the show floor at NAB 2025, where theyll be showcasing cutting-edge applications, virtual environments, and innovative projects powered by Unreal Engine. Read on to find out wholl be there this year.

Art Meets ScienceCan A.I. Resurrect a Delacroix Mural That Was Destroyed in a Fire More Than 150 Years Ago?A new project called Digital Delacroix is training cutting-edge technology on the French painters style to unravel the lost artworks secrets Delacroix mural at the Palais Bourbon, home to the French National Assembly Sorbonne UniversityIn the final days of theParis Commune of 1871, a radicalexperiment in self-governance and insurrection that started after the nations humiliatingmilitary loss to Prussia, the Communards realized that their cause had gone up in flames.The French Army, initially pushed out of the city by the Communards, returned to Paris with a vengeance. In the mayhem, the Communards set fire to the city, including theTuileries Palace, thePalais de Justice and theHtel de Ville, which served as the city hall of Paris and the seat of the Communard government.Eventually, the army retook Paris, and the stately buildings were reconstructed. But the archives and art within the Htel de Ville were forever lost. Among the most devastating losses were a series of allegorical murals by theRomantic painterEugne Delacroix.At their center was Peace Descends to Earth, a vivid panel that 19th-century French criticThophile Gautier described as the earth weeping, raising her eyes to heaven to plead for an end to her sorrows, per theNew York Times Frank Rose.Napoleon III gave toQueen Victoria in 1855.Now, researchers are hoping to unravel the murals secrets. Virtually recreating Peace Descends to Earth with the help ofartificial intelligence is among the goals ofDigital Delacroix, an ambitious project led by Barthlmy Jobert, an art historian at Sorbonne University in Paris. The Htel de Ville after the fires of 1871 Public domain via Wikimedia CommonsAs Jobert sees it, well-trained A.I. can help infer links between Delacroixs existing studies for the mural and his distinctive style.We wont give you an exact reproduction of the room as it was. Thats impossible, Jobert tells the Times. But we will give you what it could have been.Schmidt Sciences, a philanthropic venture by former Google CEO Eric Schmidt and his wife Wendy, announced this week that Digital Delacroix was the first recipient of its Humanities and A.I. Virtual Institute (HAVI) grants. The funding is in the high six figures, according to the Times. A sketch forPeace Descends to Earthcreated in 1852 Public domain via Wikimedia CommonsWe study humanities for much the same reason we study science: to gain knowledge of our world and our role within it, Wendy Schmidt says in astatement. She explains that the initiative seeks out projects that marry emerging technologies with deeply intertwined human histories and cultures.Joberts project fits the bill. In addition to the mural reconstruction, Digital Delacroix also promises to digitize some 2,500 of Delacroixs letters and make murals painted at thePalais Bourbon and thePalais du Luxembourghome to the French National Assembly and Senate, respectivelymore accessible to the public.Because letter digitization is a relatively straightforward process, the first order of business is to take high-resolution photos of the murals and, using photogrammetry, build virtual rooms that visitors can tour. A 3D rendering of a Delacroix mural at the Chapel of the Holy Angels at Saint-Sulpice Church in Paris Sorbonne UniversityWith these high-quality photos, Jobert and his team can then begin their secondary goal: determining which sections of the murals were painted by Delacroix himself and which were made by his assistants.This question of multiple authorship is a really tricky one,Brent Seales, a computer scientist at the University of Kentucky and the director of HAVI, tells the Times.Seales recently led the A.I.-assisted effort todecode 2,000-year-old scrolls charred by Mount Vesuvius eruption. Now, he hopes that A.I. will be able to discern faint stylistic differences between Delacroix and other artists.Evidence of authorship is subtle and individualizeda constellation of small things tied to the specific behavior and training of a unique person, Seales tellsArtnets Jo Lawson-Tancred. While individual things might be a weak indicator, like a stroke style or a color selection, the aggregation of a number of these things makes for a unique signature.Technology that can identify different brushstrokes is experimental. Instead of generative A.I. like ChatGPT, which has advanced byleaps and bounds since its launch in 2022, this phase of the Digital Delacroix project relies onanalytical A.I.Progress in that field is slower. Still, We think theres a high possibility it will work, Xavier Fresquet, deputy director of theSorbonne Center for Artificial Intelligence, tells the Times.Eventually, the researchers hope that the A.I. will become a Delacroix expert, able to instantly pick out his brushstrokes from existing works and subsequently determine how the painter might have crafted the murals in the Htel de Ville.A.I. is a new lens through which we can view master works, Seales tells Artnet. Anything that resurrects our appreciation of such a significant artist is a great reminder of the genius of the past and the promise of the future.Get the latest stories in your inbox every weekday.

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Roblox is launching a handful of new parental controls that can be used to limit who and what children interact with on the UGC platform.Detailing its latest measures in a blog post, Roblox said three new tools will grant parents the ability to block specific experiences or people on their child's friends list, while also letting them track which experiences have captured their attention.The company said it wants to provide flexible tools for parents so it can accommodate their individual "comfort levels.""We know children develop on different timelines and parents have different comfort levels regarding how much time their kid spends online, where they spend it, and who they spend it with. In developing parental controls, we prioritize transparency and ease of use to make it as simple as possible for parents to implement them," reads the blog post."It's also important to note that, regardless of whether parents use these controls, we consider the safety of our youngest users paramount to the Roblox experience."The new feature set will give parents the power to report anyone on their child's friends list if they believe they're violating Roblox policies.When it comes to blocking specific experiences, parents will be offered "granular" controls that can be used to review or change the content maturity level associated with their child's accountwhich ultimately determines which experiences they can access.Related:"For example, they may want their child to have access to Moderate content in general, but not to a specific experience that appears in the Moderate category," continues the blog post. "Experience-level blocking empowers parents to block any specific experiences that they don't want their child to access."Screen time insights have also been bolstered so parents can view the 20 experiences that have consumed the majority of their child's time.The new tools have been introduced a few months after Roblox CEO Dave Baszucki suggested parents with safety concerns should simply avoid the platform.Despite that rather blunt slice of advice, Roblox has been working to bolster its child safety measures in response to a perceived lack of protections for younger players.Case in point: last year Bloomberg published an extensive report based on testimonies from 20 current and former Roblox employees who alleged the company was failing to curb predatory behavior.By contrast, Roblox said it rolled out over 40 safety updates in 2024 alone and will continue to bolster its tools, policies, and systems to keep children safe.Related:

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Though Blumhouses first M3gan feature was a near-perfect blend of techno-horror and ridiculous comedy, the sequel looks like its going to blow its predecessor out of the water.Set a couple of years after the first film, M3gan 2.0 once again centers roboticist Gemma (Allison Williams) and her niece Cady (Violet McGraw) two of the few people who managed to survive M3gans (Amie Donald / Jenna Davis) initial murder spree.As an advocate for stricter regulations on the very same kind of artificial intelligence she helped create, Gemma knows how dangerous it would be if she were to bring M3gan back. But when a defense contractor uses Gemmas code to create an even more advanced killer robot called Amelia (Ivanna Sakhno), who immediately sets out to conquer the world, Gemma has no choice but to give M3gan a second chance at life.While the first M3gan was definitely silly, this trailers use of Oops! I Did It Again and its focus on M3gan flying through the sky in a wingsuit make clear that writer Akela Cooper and director Gerard Johnstone are fully leaning into the franchises camp. Blumhouses other recent AI panic horrors havent exactly sparked joy, but M3gan 2.0 feels like its going to be one hell of a good time when it hits theaters on June 27th.

Liberation Day has arrived. Get ready to be liberated from affordable vehicle prices. As promised, President Donald Trumps 25 percent tariffs for imported vehicles went into effect Thursday, sending the auto industry into full panic mode. Some analysts are predicting a $5,000 to $10,000 price hike on new cars out of the gate, while others are still struggling to wrap their heads around the logic of Trumps auto tariffs. It was a nuclear-level threat for the already unsettled auto industry, with little relief in sight. Trumps argument is relatively straightforward, if nonsensical: Dont like the tariffs? Just buy an American-made car. The only problem is that there is no such thing. Even vehicles made in the US rely on a complex supply chain that runs across borders and through multiple nations. The average car contains roughly 30,000 individual parts. Even cars produced domestically obtain 4050 percent of their parts from abroad, according to Dan Ives, the global head of technology research at Wedbush Securities, a financial services firm.The tariffs are a debacle of epic proportions for the auto industry and US consumers as the concept of a US made car with all US parts is a fairy tale fictional narrative, Ives wrote in a note to clients on Thursday. The more people we speak with from the auto industry around the world it is becoming crystal clear this tariff/US policy will cause pure chaos to the global auto industry and will raise the prices of a typical car to a US consumer by $5k to $10k out of the gates.It is becoming crystal clear this tariff/US policy will cause pure chaos to the global auto industryOther firms were predicting an even higher price increase as the new tariffs started to go into effect. Anderson Economic Group concluded that the tariffs could boost manufacturing costs by $4,000 to more than $10,000 per car, depending on the vehicle model. Battery-electric crossover SUVs could see the biggest spike of $12,000.The effect could be even more pronounced at the lower end of the market, with many of the most affordable vehicles from GM, Ford, Kia, and Hyundai produced outside the US. Affordability is already a huge problem for car buyers, with average transactions for new cars clocking in at $48,118 in January, according to market researcher Edmunds.There are only 27 vehicles available under $30,000 four of which have already been discontinued, including the Chevy Malibu and Nissan Versa. Many of these models are sourced from Mexico, Japan, and South Korea. Last year, these models made up 13 percent of all vehicles sold in the US. Slapping tariffs on these vehicles as they arrive in the US would drastically change the dynamics, pushing sticker prices up by an average of $5,300, according to Erin Keating, executive analyst at Cox Automotive. This is difficult news for an industry already staring down an affordability problem, Keating added in a statement. For decades, car ownership has been a hallmark of the American dream. We built our communities around car ownership, squeezing out transit, and shrinking pedestrian spaces to make way for bigger and bigger vehicles. For most people in the US, owning a car isnt an option; its a necessity to participate in daily life. This is difficult news for an industry already staring down an affordability problem.Consumers were already facing elevated costs when financing new vehicles before the tariffs hit. One in 5 new car buyers are taking on seven-year loans to finance a new car purchase, in a sign of increasing financial stress, Edmunds says. And an increasing number of people with car loans owe more than their vehicle is worth. Even with rates holding relatively flat, the continued reliance on extended terms and high monthly payments reveals how challenging car buying remains, says Jessica Caldwell, head of insights at Edmunds. And now, with auto tariffs officially taking effect today, theres a risk that they will add fuel to the fire triggering a disruption that could push vehicles even further out of reach for many shoppers.The Trump administration is considering other methods of relief for car buyers. The White House said it is calling for tax breaks to incentivize purchases of US-made vehicles and pursuing deregulation to lower industrywide costs. But the outcome is uncertain. With prices expected to surge, many people who had been considering a car purchase are crowding into dealerships, trying to take advantage of pre-tariff prices. Consumer experts advise against panic shopping, but of course, most people arent thinking rationally as they watch the news with growing anxiety. It never pays to rush out and make a rash decision that you might regret, says Jake Fisher, senior director of Consumer Reports Auto Test Center. Even if the tariffs are here to stay, in a short time, the value of your trade-in will increase too.It never pays to rush out and make a rash decision that you might regret.Some automakers are taking advantage of elevated inventories the total number of new and used vehicles that dealers have for sale to offer short-term incentives to panicked shoppers. Ford is offering employee discounts on most models, including the Mustang Mach-E and Maverick, both of which are built in Mexico, to all shoppers through June 2nd, Reuters reports. Ford had more than four months of inventory in February, above the industry average of nearly three months, according to Cox.Hyundais response was to announce a $21 billion investment in the US to stave off the effect of the tariffs. And others are taking a more drastic approach. Stellantis said today it was temporarily laying off 900 workers at five of its US factories and pausing production at assembly plants in Canada and Mexico. Even Tesla, which is run by billionaire best buddy Elon Musk, is exposed to these new tariffs. The company assembles its vehicles in the US, but 2025 percent of its parts are sourced from Mexico, according to a list of car part origins published by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. The tariffs will likely lead to more automakers trying to negotiate deals or exemptions with the administration. And ultimately, this is probably what Trump wants: to be the most important person in the room, at the center of the chaos he helped create. 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