Developer Neople has announced that a new update for its action RPG The First Berserker: Khazan will be out on April 22. The update, available for free on PC, PS5 and Xbox Series X/S, focuses on general improvements to the UI/UX, as well as adjustments to the game’s balance. One of the biggest changes players will notice with the update is the fact that gear that cannot be sold can now no longer be used as material for the game’s augmentation system. Various types of jars, weapons part of the Hero Set, and the Fallen Star set can also no longer be dismantled into materials. With the update, when players can unlock or upgrade a Phantom, they will now start getting notifications about it. The position for Phantom level EXP has also been changed to become more intuitive. You can check out the complete list of changes brought about by the update in the patch notes below. This will be the second update released for The First Berserker: Khazan since its release. A previous one, released last month, brought with it a host of balance changes to the game. Check out our coverage of the update for more details. The First Berserker: Khazan is available on PC, PS5 and Xbox Series X/S. Check out our review for more details. The First Berserker: Khazan Patch Notes: Balance Adjustments Phantom Growth Improvements Phantom growth speed now increases proportionally to the number of unlocked Phantoms. Phantoms now grow faster than before. More strategic and diverse choices in Phantom selection are available. Elemental Damage Adjustment Elemental damage and status effects from map elements are now affected by the character’s attribute resistance. For example, map elements like poison swamplands (Poison), fire AOE (Fire), or stones of chaos (Chaos) are affected by the character’s attribute resistance stats. Skill Point Gain Improvements Skill points can now be acquired more smoothly, regardless of play proficiency or style. Weapon Mastery Level Adjustment: Weapon mastery levels are adjusted to align more closely with progression. Weapon Mastery EXP Adjustment (Brink Dodge): Slight increase in EXP gained upon performing a brink dodge. Players familiar with weapons or relying on brink dodges can now also obtain more skill points. System Changes Gear System Gear that cannot be sold can no longer be selected as material in the gear augmentation system. The following gear can no longer be dismantled as materials: Jars Blank Jar, Happy Jar, Glinting Jar, Smitten Jar, Stunned Jar, Tormented Jar, Dizzy Jar, Calavera Jar, Cutie Jar, Bewildered Jar, Panicked Jar, Sleepy Jar, Burning Jar, Vibin Jar, The Most Special Jar Hero Set Hero’s Dual Wield, Hero’s Spear, Hero’s Greatsword, Hero’s Helm, Hero’s Wristguards, Hero’s Pauldrons, Hero’s Leggings, Hero’s Combat Boots Fallen Star Set Fallen Star’s Resolve, Fallen Star’s Mark, Fallen Star’s Scar, Fallen Star’s Tattered Clothing, Fallen Star’s Shackles Phantom System A notification display has been added when there is a Phantom that can be unlocked or upgraded. Phantom System guide has been improved. The location of Phantom level EXP has been adjusted to a more intuitive position. Description of Phantom level is added to the loading screen. A system message will appear the first time you enter the Phantom system. Visuals have been improved when unlocking, accompanying, or awakening a Phantom. Emphasis is added to the first sentence in the settings text on the left of the Phantom system. Khazan’s Memories 1 . The guidance for Khazan’s Memories has been improved. A notification will appear if Khazan’s Memories are complete or if you can upgrade with Vengeance Points. When Khazan’s Memories are completed, a checkmark appears at the bottom right of its icon. After completing Khazan’s Memories, entering the UI will update the status and grant all Vengeance Points. 2 . A tutorial has been added for the first entry of Khazan’s Memories. 3 . Reset function is added for Khazan’s Memories upgrade. Achievements The conditions for the “Standing Alone” achievement are now based on the current playthrough. For example, you can earn the achievement as long as you don’t summon the Spirit of Advocacy during your second playthrough—even if you summoned it in your first. The summon history of the Spirit of Advocacy will be reset with this patch. After the patch, clearing the final boss without summoning the Spirit of Advocacy will grant the “Standing Alone” achievement. If you’ve already completed the third playthrough, defeating the final boss again will grant the achievement. Camera System Lock-On Target is set more consistently. A new Lock-On option has been added to ‘Settings – Accessibility.’ You can now select the sight option according to your preference. Craft A Main tab has been added to the Set List in Set Crafting. Sets are sorted into tabs according to the weapon included in the set. Sets without weapons are sorted into the “Other” tab. A notification will now appear when a new recipe is added. The source of special ingredients will now appear in a description format. The number of consumable items storable in the storage will now appear. Storage count is added separately. UI/UX Improvements 1. Localized subtitles have been added to the bottom of each region’s cutscenes. When starting a main mission in a region for the first time, the localized region name will appear below the English name according to your language settings. However, region names in the cutscenes will remain in English. 2. Region names will now appear on the save data in the Load menu. In the “Main Menu – Load” screen, mission names and region names will now be displayed together in the save data. Mission Progress and Goal Display Detailed mission progress has been added to the main menu. Even during combat, you can check detailed mission progress in the main menu through the following displays. Soulstone: Shows the number collected and the number required to complete the mission. Danjin’s Jars: Shows the number collected and the number required to complete the mission. Please note that the number of Danjin’s Jars will show after clearing the side mission “Jar Enthusiasts.” Lost Lacrima: Shows the total number of Lost Lacrima. Spirit of Advocacy Upgrade Notifications Upgrade notifications for the Spirit of Advocacy are now more visible. When interacting with Daphrona, a notification will appear in the “Spirit of Advocacy Upgrade” menu. If there is a Spirit of Advocacy that can be upgraded, a notification will appear in the upgrade UI. The number of owned Lacrima of Circulation will appear in yellow on the screen. An upgrade reset function has been added for the Spirit of Advocacy. This function will not display if the Spirit of Advocacy has not been upgraded. If it has been upgraded, you can select Reset Upgrade to open the “Reset Spirit of Advocacy Upgrade” window and reset any upgrades.  Blade Nexus Notifications Updates in “Phantom Abilities” and “Khazan’s Memories” are now more visible in the Blade Nexus menu. Phantom Abilities If there is a Phantom that can be unlocked or awakened, a notification will appear in both the Phantom Ability and Blade Nexus menus. Khazan’s Memories If there is a region where you have completed Khazan’s Memories, a notification will appear in both the Khazan’s Memories and Blade Nexus menus. Danjin’s Jars Vibration and sound effects when approaching a Danjin’s Jar have been enhanced. Visual effects have been added to make Danjin’s Jars more noticeable. World Map The world map now shows detailed mission progress. Cleared missions will now show with a checkmark on the bottom right of the mission icon. Consumables UI & Shortcut Improvements 1. Consumables categories have been refined. The consumable info window now shows the item’s category instead of just “Consumable” in the bottom-left corner. Consumables are classified into 8 categories. Lantern, Special, Recovery, Lacrima, Cleanse, Upgrade Effects, Throwable, Sell 2 . When replacing a consumable already assigned to a hotkey with a consumable assigned to another hotkey slot, the two items will swap positions. 3. The names of items already assigned to hotkey are displayed on the Register Hotkey screen. 4. Cannot store lanterns in storage Lanterns currently assigned to a hotkey slot can no longer be stored in the storage. However, other functions such as auto-store or retrieve remain available. 5. Major consumable acquisition notifications have been improved. When acquiring Tear Summon Stone and Primeval Regression Orb for the first time, both the name and description will appear on screen. After the first acquisition, only the item name will appear on screen when you acquire the item. 6. The shortcut key to adjust item quantity has been changed. Increase/decrease keys have changed from arrow keys to A/D keys. This applies to all quantity selection screens, including purchase menu, storing and retrieving from storage, selling and purchasing consumables, and discarding. Gear Window 1. “By Performance” has been added to the gear sorting menu. When sorting gear by performance, each gear type is sorted based on the following criteria. Weapon: Total Attack DMG Armor: Total Defense Necklace: Max Stamina Ring: Max Health 2. Equip Skills feature has been added to the gear window. If a skill is activated through a fixed or set attributes, it can now be equipped directly from the gear window. Only Spirit skills with selectable commands can be equipped. All sub-skills must be learned first. 3. Skill descriptions and videos are now available in the gear window’s tooltip. Skill descriptions and videos will now appear in the attribute info window when it has the “Learn Skill” attribute. 4 . The visibility of owned set gear icons has been improved. If you own the same set as the currently displayed gears, their icons will be highlighted in white. This applies to gears in both your inventory and storage. 5. Some of the text in the gear window has been changed. “Compare Gear” and “Gear Info” have been changed to “Info Window”. “Help” has been changed to “Attribute Info” . Skill Tree An icon indicating when a learned skill is currently unusable has been added. In the skill detail window, “Unlock Requirements” has been changed to “Activation Conditions.” HUD An option has been added to display Khazan’s Health and Stamina as numbers in the combat HUD. When this option is enabled, Health and Stamina are displayed above the gauge in the format “Current / Max.” QoL Enhancements Daphrona’s Codex Attribute weakness information has been added to Daphrona’s Codex. Each monster’s attribute defense is now displayed as an icon in Daphrona’s Codex. Effectiveness is displayed in four levels: Effective, Slightly Effective, Normal, and Immune. Attribute weakness include Fire, Water, Lightning, Earth, and Poison. Controls Khazan’s Memories can now be controlled with the mouse and D-PAD. Other Improvements Ozma’s Diary is now available in the Crevice from your second playthrough. It is now possible to change the game difficulty from Easy to Normal. (However, the difficulty level cannot be changed during the final mission or in the ending area while playing.) Error Fixes These are major bug fixes from this update that directly affect gameplay. Common Fixed an issue where the achievements “The Hidden Laboratory” and “Undying Loyalty” could not be obtained Fixed an issue where achievements with multiple conditions could not be completed if you relaunch the game after completing some of the conditions. Fixed an issue where the ground would sink after interacting with Danjin’s Jar in certain areas. Fixed an issue where you could not exit outside if you fell off a certain terrain during the main mission “Palemion” Fixed an issue where if you activate all the tombstones during the main mission “Rephalan” and then proceed with another mission, the tombstones would be reset and you would be unable to use the Spirit of Advocacy Fixed an issue where elite enemies in certain locations could not destroy obstacles during the main mission “Nadin” Fixed an issue where the boss would get stuck in the terrain when using a specific skill during the side mission “Unrequited Love” Fixed an issue where the boss would not come down from the wall during the side mission “Escaping the Linon Mine” Fixed an issue where you could not return to the original area after moving through the boss area’s Blade Nexus during the side mission “Transcendental Sword” Fixed an issue where Khazan’s javelin would be blocked by a transparent wall when thrown in Embars Fixed an issue where the elevator in Embars would not operate in certain situations Fixed an issue where the “Ghost Hammer” item hanging from the ceiling of the Skoffa Cave would not drop Fixed the appearance of a door in a specific location in Vitalon to display normally Fixed an issue where the chandelier in the Great Temple would float in the air after being knocked down if you entered and returned from the Crevice Fixed an issue where you would be allowed to move to an unopened staircase upon moving to the Crevice after killing the Blade Phantom Fixed an issue where the boss’ health gauge was displayed in a space where a boss fight was not in progress Fixed an issue where Trokka would get stuck outside the map in certain situations during the boss fight Fixed an issue where Elamein could not attack through barriers during the boss fight Fixed an issue where, even if Maluca’s stamina gauge was depleted, Brutal Attack was not used and Maluca attacked immediately during the boss fight Fixed an issue where throwing the “Concentrated Poison Aura” item at Hismar while it is in the air during the boss battle would cause it to fall and take damage Fixed an issue where running would be canceled immediately in certain situations while Khazan was running Fixed an issue where skills unlocked through equipment set effects would not activate in certain situations Fixed an issue where, if maximum health was reduced when comparing equipment, the “Health” option would appear to not be applied Fixed an issue where you could obtain infinite gold and Lacrima by dismantling high-grade equipment and then crafting low-grade equipment Fixed an issue where the amount of stamina consumed per tick was affected by the “Dodge Stamina Cost Decrease” option effect in certain situations Fixed an issue where the charging speed increase effect of the “Overwhelm” and “Heavy Pressure” skills was not applied if the Greatsword skill “Indomitable” was not acquired Fixed an issue where, after acquiring the “Brutal Attack: Phantom” skill, the Phantom Form transformation effect is maintained and damage increases abnormally when the skill is activated in a specific situation Fixed an issue where you could not attack in Phantom Form until you recovered your stamina when you entered Phantom Form with all your stamina exhausted Fixed an issue where the item sorting function would not work when the focus (cursor) was on an item stored in the storage while using the storage Fixed an issue where if you purchase the “Coward’s Lantern” item multiple times, you cannot take the lantern out of the storage and a new item notification keeps appearing Fixed an issue where you could not move to the Blade Nexus when moving to the Crevice after interacting with the Blade Nexus in front of the Blade Phantom in the online demo or after defeating the Blade Phantom in the main game Fixed an issue where the game could not be played if you chose to continue with the latest data without updating in the Physical Edition Fixed an issue where if the game is terminated or crashes during loading, it returns to the previous mission and the number of clears accumulates, making it impossible to proceed with subsequent missions Fixed an issue where combat-related HUDs were not displayed properly on the screen Fixed an issue where lag occurred when slowly manipulating the camera with a controller PC Fixed an issue where settings could not be changed after the client was abnormally terminated on the PC Fixed an issue where the Xbox layout was displayed when using a PS DualSense controller on PC PS Fixed an issue where controller key inputs would occasionally not be recognized on PS5 Improvements Improved frame drop issue that occurs during certain patterns of Rangkus during the boss fight Improved the issue of characters being pushed back when hit by certain attacks near Viper during the boss fight Improved so that you cannot climb rope bridge railings while running in certain missions Increased the health of support characters in some missions Optimized some objects that cause frame drops during the main mission “Imperial Palace” Improved floating stones to move more naturally during the main mission “Imperial Palace” Improved to give a greater attack opportunity upon successfully attacking a specific pattern in Phase 2 of the final boss fight Improved the issue where cinematic cutscenes appear unnaturally when changing phases during the final boss fight Improved so that Phantom Form can still be activated while exhausted Improved the issue where the spear skill “Shadow Reversal” would restrain the target for an excessively long time Improved the duration of the staggered state upon destroying parts of the elite dragonkin Double-Edged Butcher enemy Lowered the difficulty of completing the Codex for the Pell Los Guardian Knight and Pell Los Trooper enemies Improved so that the damage taken by the Red-Eyed Boulder Bat enemy is not reduced, even when its outer shell is enhanced Improved the issue of some areas displaying in dark colors in the later stages of the game Improved the issue where the Ashen Wolf gear displayed abnormally in some cinematics Improved visual and sound effects for portals moving to the Crevice Improved visual effects when executing elite enemies in some missions Improved visual effects that appear during the buff of the spear skill “Moonlight Stance” Improved sound effects when hitting an enemy in the Frenzy state with a combo attack Improved so that Soulstones can be designated as lock-on targets

Oddworld is an extremely weird franchise that possesses some truly memorable aesthetics and unique gameplay. If you’ve never had a chance to experience this peculiar wrinkle in gaming history, you can currently pick up all eight games in the Oddworld franchise for just $1 from Fanatical. Included in this bundle, you’ll find the two original puzzle-platforming entries, Oddworld Abe’s Oddysee and Abe’s Exoddus, in addition to Oddworld: New ‘n’ Tasty, a remake of Abe’s Oddysee built for modern systems with new graphics and quality of life features. The bundle also includes the first fully 3D entry in the series, Munch’s Oddysee, the HD remake of the more action-oriented Stranger’s Wrath, and the most recent entry in the Oddworld saga, Soulstorm. Most of the games in the Oddworld franchise are best described as puzzle platformers where you deal with obstacles by possessing other creatures inhabiting the world. While the brutal universe of Oddworld is a place where everything can potentially kill you, death is encouraged as part of the learning experience. Your fatalities are often sudden and brutal, but the grim and hilarious ways in which they occur are a fantastic motivator for experimentation and have become a staple for the series.

G.Skill's new 256 GB memory kit competes with that of V-Color's high-capacity 256 GB 6000 MT/s memory kit, reaching even higher memory speeds with overclocking. G.Skill Debuts 64 GB x4 UDIMM DDR5 Memory Kit for AMD Platforms, Offering Low Latency at 6000 MT/s and Also Reaching a Whopping 7000 MT/s G.Skill and V-Color are at war, competing to reach higher and higher memory speeds while retaining large memory capacities. Very recently, V-Color launched what it called the "world's first" 256 GB memory kit clocked at 6000 MT/s. G.Skill also claims to have launched the "world's first" 256 GB memory kit but the difference is in cache latency. The V-Color kit reached 6000 MT/s at CL38 while the G.Skill kit reached the same speed at just CL32. However, the secondary timings are higher on the G.Skill memory kit. Nonetheless, G.Skill Trident Z5 UDIMM DDR5 memory kit is one of the first to reach 6000 MT/s at 256 GB (64 GB x4) capacity, which is quite hard to achieve. 2 of 9 What's impressive is that while V-Color's 256 GB memory kit was able to achieve 6000 MT/s on a TRX50 platform with a Threadripper processor, the G.Skill kit was able to do the same on a mainstream AM5 platform. The setup consisted ASUS ROG Crosshair X870E Hero with AMD Ryzen 7 9800X3D processor as well as an MSI MPG X870E Carbon WiFi with AMD Ryzen 9 9900X. A memory speed of 6000 MT/s was achieved on CL32-45-45-96 and CL32-44-44-126 respectively, and the same kit achieved a whopping 7000 MT/s on MSI MEG X870E Godlike using Ryzen 7 9800X3D on CL38-50-50-126. That said, the same memory kit can also hit 6400 MT/s on budget 800-series motherboards like MSI MAG B850M Mortar WiFi on CL32-44-44-102. Higher memory capacities such as 128 GB, 192 GB, or 256 GB are not common on mainstream desktop PCs, but with the introduction of intensive workloads, particularly AI ones, higher RAM capacities are becoming more mainstream. Thankfully, users don't necessarily need to invest thousands of dollars on Threadripper or Xeon-based systems, but can also settle with cheaper AM5 systems. That said, reaching 6000+ MT/s on the AM5 platform isn't easy and G.Skill has done an excellent job at breaking the barrier with such a high memory capacity, which isn't easy on most AM5 motherboards. Users should also keep in mind that higher memory speeds may not necessarily affect system performance noticeably, since it comes at the expense of higher cache latencies, as can be seen from the screenshots above. Deal of the Day

Unity Input System in Unity 6 (4/7): Input System and UI toolkit

The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom Original Soundtrack $94 (was $136) See at Amazon The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom Original Soundtrack Collector's Edition $125 (was $194) See at Amazon The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom's Collector's Edition soundtrack is back in stock at Amazon in limited quantities. Originally listed last year for $194 (ouch), it's now up for grabs for a less painful--but still pricey--$125. The standard edition soundtrack is also available for a reduced price, though you won't get the cool collectibles. Both versions of the Tears of the Kingdom soundtrack released last August. The Collector's Edition ships directly from Amazon Japan for free, while the standard edition is shipped from a reseller in the US. The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom Original Soundtrack $94 (was $136) The Tears of the Kingdom original soundtrack includes over 200 tracks across nine discs. Each disc features gorgeous Zelda iconography and comes with a large, decorative storage case. See at Amazon The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom Original Soundtrack Collector's Edition $125 (was $194) Step up to the Collector's Edition and you'll get the same nine discs as the standard edition as well as a stylish Master Sword USB Player with 15 additional tracks. You'll also get a case with an exclusive design, giving you an easy way to store the volume when not in use. See at Amazon Tears of the Kingdom is undoubtedly one of the best Switch games of all time. Weaving an engaging narrative with inventive gameplay mechanics and a sprawling world to explore, the successor to Breath of the Wild quickly proved it was far more than just an asset flip. Fantastic gameplay and exploration is bolstered by a powerful and stirring score helps bring the diverse world of Hyrule to life--and now you can own Tears of the Kingdom's soundtrack in physical format (CDs).Continue Reading at GameSpot

Movies are a gateway to different worlds that can bring monsters, knights, and warlocks to life. Films have come so far that worlds from some of the most mystical places ever thought up can be created for viewers' enjoyment on the silver screen. Grand stories of kingdoms, knights, and evil demons can be told that take movie-goers on magical adventures across a mythical fantasy world.

Oddworld is an extremely weird franchise that possesses some truly memorable aesthetics and unique gameplay. If you’ve never had a chance to experience this peculiar wrinkle in gaming history, you can currently pick up all eight games in the Oddworld franchise for just $1 from Fanatical. Included in this bundle, you’ll find the two original puzzle-platforming entries, Oddworld Abe’s Oddysee and Abe’s Exoddus, in addition to Oddworld: New ‘n’ Tasty, a remake of Abe’s Oddysee built for modern systems with new graphics and quality of life features. The bundle also includes the first fully 3D entry in the series, Munch’s Oddysee, the HD remake of the more action-oriented Stranger’s Wrath, and the most recent entry in the Oddworld saga, Soulstorm. Most of the games in the Oddworld franchise are best described as puzzle platformers where you deal with obstacles by possessing other creatures inhabiting the world. While the brutal universe of Oddworld is a place where everything can potentially kill you, death is encouraged as part of the learning experience. Your fatalities are often sudden and brutal, but the grim and hilarious ways in which they occur are a fantastic motivator for experimentation and have become a staple for the series.

While the world mourns the passing of Pope Francis on April 21, the Catholic Church is preparing to choose a new leader. Cardinals are traveling to Vatican City from all over the world to take part in the papal conclave, an ancient ritual/election that ends with the selection of a new Pope. You might be wondering whether that new pope could be you. It almost definitely won't be, but I suppose it's possible. So If you're interested in the job—or just curious about what the process involves—here are the nuts and bolts of how popes are chosen.The leader of the Holy Roman Catholic Church is a prestigious position that offers excellent perks, including international travel, job security, frequent media appearances, and elaborate hats. You can name your own hours, hire your friends for any position you’d like, and supervise a small-but-wealthy city state. You'll be the last absolute monarch in Europe. If you’re into job titles, how does “Successor of the Prince of the Apostles” grab you? That’s one of eight titles the next pope will inherit, all of which are more impressive on LinkedIn than “assistant district manager.” If the papacy sounds like a career opportunity you’d like to explore, here’s what it takes to land the job.How much money does the pope make?Let’s start with the money. According to salary comparison site Comparably.com, the average Pope in the United States earns $45,931 per year, but this is inaccurate—the position of pope offers no salary. The idea is that you’re living as Christ lived, off the kindness of others. But over the last few thousand years, those “others” have been very generous: The Vatican City State and the Catholic Church are worth an estimated $30 billion, and it’s essentially at your disposal. As the monarch of a small nation, you can have anything you’d ever want or need just by asking for it, so despite the low pay, the job is sought after for the benefits alone. How is the pope selected?To choose a new leader, the Church doesn't exactly post on indeed.com. Instead, 138 of the world's 252 cardinals (all the cardinals who are under 80 years old) will gather in Rome to lock themselves inside the Sistine Chapel and hold a papal election. No doubt it gets dramatic. So dramatic, in fact, that they made a movie about it—2024's Conclave, which fictionalizes the election of a new pope. According to Conclave's producers, the Vatican was open about providing the logistical details of the papal conclave, but wouldn't speak about the content of one. Conclave participants take a vow of absolute secrecy about the discussions they have during the pope selection process, so you'll have to imagine the politicking, alliances, and haggling that goes on within such a high-stakes meeting. The pope sets the agenda for the entire Catholic Church, and this next Pope will be chosen in the wake of Pope Francis's focus on social justice, environmental issues, and inclusion. He was pretty progressives (for a pope), and whether the cardinals will choose someone to further Francis' agenda or roll it back will surely be discussed. Or they'll just all play FIFA; you don't really know.The actual election goes like this: Each cardinal writes the name of their choice on a piece of paper, and they proceed, one by one, to solemnly drop their vote in a chalice set before Michelangelo’s fresco of the Last Judgment. The votes are counted, and if no one receives a two-thirds majority, the votes are burned in a special furnace along with chemicals that produce black smoke. That way everyone outside the chapel knows that the cardinals are still jawing. There are four rounds of voting per day, and the process goes on until some lucky fellow gets the nod. If there is no clear winner after 34 elections, the cardinals can choose any method of selection they want. They could draw straws to see who got the job if they wanted. Back in the 1270s, Pope Gregory X decreed that the longer the conclave lasted, the less food would be given to the cardinals, but that rule was later rescinded. Once the (fully fed) cardinals have agreed on a person, be it by a two-thirds vote or arm wrestling tournament, the ballots are burned with chemicals that produce white smoke so everyone outside knows a successor has been chosen. The new pope then chooses his pope name, is dressed in fancy clothes, and gets paraded out to the balcony of Saint Peter’s to be introduced. The senior cardinal deacon declares ,“Habemus Papam!,” which translates roughly to “This guy is the new boss!”Who is eligible to become pope?To become pope, you must be a member of the Roman Catholic Church, and you must be a man. That’s really it. You don’t need a degree from community college or any specific certification or training. You can come from any background and be from any part of the world. You don’t have to be a cardinal or even a priest. Pope Gregory X was elected pope in 1271 (after a conclave that lasted more than two years) and wasn't ordained as a priest until the following year, so it has happened. All you have to do is get your name on 2/3 of those papers—but that’s the tricky part. As you might expect from the upper echelon of a world religion, the job of pope tends to go to an insider. Since 1379, every pope has been selected from among the college of cardinals casting the votes. So if you haven’t spent your life moving up the ranks of the Catholic Church to get into the special pope-picking room, your chance of becoming pope is slim. But there is a chance.How to influence cardinal electorsIn the modern era, most new popes are chosen when the old pope dies, as is the case with Pope Francis; but the pope before that, Pope Benedict XVI, resigned due to a complicated internal church scandal. Wait—maybe it was for “health reasons.” Either way, there is generally a 15- to 20-day period between the end of the last pope’s reign and the beginning of the papal conclave. During this popeless period, the Church is administered by the "camerlengo," or "chamberlain" cardinal whose duties include organizing the conclave and destroying the deceased pope's ring. In this case, Cardinal Kevin Farrell will be running the transition. He's the first American citizen to ever hold the post, and he spent most of his career at the Archdiocese of Washington, so ask any friends in DC if they know Farrell, and maybe he will give you a recommendation. If you're not friends with Catholic dignitaries, you could try to engineer a whisper campaign to be elected. During the conclave, the cardinals lodge in St. Martha’s House, a building next to the Sistine Chapel, so you know exactly where the voters will be spending their off time. You have a few weeks to get to Vatican City and befriend the staff at St. Martha’s House. Maybe you could convince them to talk about you in a way the cardinals would overhear. The average salary in Vatican City is low, around $36,574 a year, so greasing some palms probably wouldn’t hurt. Perhaps two valets could say, “You know who would make a great pope? Steve Johnson! He’s this writer from Los Angeles. Really good guy,” while Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re is walking to the Holy Roman Cafeteria.Another potential avenue is engineering a spiritual vision. Using high-tech spy gear—holograms, hidden speakers, mind-control rays—a potential dark-horse pope candidate could engineer a shared a spiritual manifestation for all the cardinals. These are, ostensibly, religious men, so they would presumably take it seriously if they were visited by a chorus of angels singing your name. And when they told the other cardinals, and they had the same vision? How could they not elect you? If these two methods fail to get you the job, you might have to take a more forceful approach. Non-traditional ways to become popeModern papal succession is relatively stable, but in the past, chaos has allowed some non-traditional popes to ascend to power. Starting in 1268, the papal conclave lasted for almost three years, and it only ended when a local mob locked the cardinals up and fed them nothing but bread and water while demanding they pick a pope or suffer great violence and death, which might help explain why they picked non-priest Gregory X.In the 14th century, Roman peasants broke into the conclave to ensure that the cardinals not choose a French pope (racists). They told the cardinals, “Give us a Roman pope or your heads will be as red as your hats,” which is baller. The cardinals chose an Italian as a compromise, but Pope Urban VI immediately began castigating the cardinals and forbade them from accepting payoffs from kings and pocketing the money from the collection plate. As you’d expect, he was deposed (don’t mess with people’s livelihoods, right?) and another pope was elected. But Urban VI still called himself pope, so for awhile there were two popes (or a pope and an anti-pope, if you prefer). Then, in 1409, the French and Roman cardinals elected another pope to clean up the mess. Neither of the two existing popes stepped down, so there were three popes. It was a mess, but it would take something as dramatic and unprecedented as a popular uprising for anyone who isn't already a cardinal to be elected pope. So ask yourself if the job is really worth it.Heavy is the head that wears the pope hatWhen you become pope, you will immediately become among the most famous people in the world, but it’s a strange kind of fame. You get driven around in really amazing custom cars, fly around in a private jet, and command a small army of 110 soldiers. But you don’t get invited to Oscar after-parties. You can't live the life of hedonist rock-star popes of the past like John XII (955–964), who gave land to his mistress, murdered his enemies, and was killed by a man who caught him in bed with his wife. Nowadays, popes have to at least appear holy, and even that's not as much fun as it used to be. Pope Francis phased out some of the more "show-y" aspect of Pope worship, so the president probably won't even kiss your ring. The day-to-day of the job seems like a grind. You’re in charge of an entire city state, so there’s a lot of administration, paperwork, and tough decisions, like cutting the pay of everyone who works for you when tourist revenue goes down. There’s also vicious office politics. We’ll likely never know all the details—the Church is hush-hush—but the scandal around the resignation of Benedict XVI gave a glimpse of the viper’s nest of cliques competing within it, with everything from graft around the annual nativity scene in St Peter’s Square to the dispersal of funds in the Vatican Bank used to gain influence and power. It’s like high school with vestments. So, do you really want the job?

Anbernic, a popular retro handheld maker, has announced that its suspending shipments of its devices from China to the US because of tariffs. The company, which makes a variety of emulation-focused consoles and has appeared in Engadget's "Best gaming handhelds" list, is still selling devices it's already shipped to the US while supplies last. "Due to changes in U.S. tariff policies, we will be suspending all orders shipping from China to the United States starting today," Anbernic writes. "We strongly recommend prioritizing products shipped from our U.S. warehouse, which are currently not affected by import duties and can be purchased with confidence."  Anbernic has long offered the option to choose which warehouse your device is shipped from as a way to avoid additional customs fees or a model being out of stock in specific region. Because of this policy change, though, US customers will no longer be able to order directly from China and could miss out on the company's future hardware launches. The decision to stop shipping to the US is understandable given the current chaos around tariffs. President Donald Trump announced a 90-day pause on most tariffs on April 9, but increased the tariffs companies would pay to import goods from China. Specific exemptions were carved out for certain electronics, but then the Trump administration later clarified that electronics would get their own separate semiconductor tariffs at some point, too.  All of this flip-flopping over trade policies was also paired with the removal of the "de minimis exemption" which allows packages shipped to the US under $800 to be duty-free, a key ingredient in cheap Amazon-alternatives like Temu and the budget products Anbernic sells. Given how messy the current approach to trade is, it's possible Anbernic might be able to ship to the US again in the future. For now, though, not everyone is able to eat the costs of tariffs like Nintendo is.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/retro-handheld-maker-anbernic-stops-us-shipments-due-to-tariffs-220217833.html?src=rss

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