Pre-orders are not easy to come across anywhere (Nintendo) The Friday letters page wants more The Elder Scrolls and Fallout remasters, as a reader is upset by the price hike for amiibo. To join in with the discussions yourself email gamecentral@metro.co.uk Too popular Seeing the sales predictions for the Nintendo Switch 2 it’s clear the console is going to be a major success, much bigger than the PlayStation 5. You can complain about the mistakes Nintendo has made in the reveal, and some of the lesser games (I still haven’t heard any explanation for why Kirby: Air Riders is a 2025 game) but the thought of a new Switch and a new Mario Kart is all a lot of people need to hear.I don’t say they’re wrong either. I need a bit more myself, especially as Donkey Kong Bananza is an unknown factor, but while I am still somewhat tempted, the problem is that the Switch 2 is clearly going to be almost impossible to get, whether you want it or not. Nintendo were probably unwise to talk about having so much stock that scalping will be irrelevant. But they are wrong because the console has proven ‘too popular’. Unless you happen to be in the right place at the right time, for the few seconds stock is available, I don’t think there’s any real chance of getting a Switch 2 before launch. There aren’t going to be any major pre-orders at all. At this point I doubt it’ll be much easier even by Christmas.Focus Finding your way What this excellent Oblivion remaster shows is how Bethesda have lost their way with their recent mainline games. I’m a big fan of theirs and have put a lot of time into Starfield, but all that procedurally generated nonsense just doesn’t work for me. Their best work comes in their dungeons and handcrafted open worlds, the potato head characters have never bothered me one iota.Oblivion was the first game I played by them, back on the Xbox 360, and it will forever hold a special place in my heart. I managed to conquer it back then, but I never really mastered it. I closed the main quest and Oblivion gates way too early and never got to see half the dungeons. Playing it now feels like unfinished business, a beautifully enhanced unfinished business, may I add, in Unreal Engine 5. I don’t know if it’s a lot harder than Skyrim, or I’ve just forgotten the map, but I’m having real difficulty in those Ayelid ruins on this playthrough. I vaguely remember some of the missions, but I’ve spent way too many hours in Skyrim to really remember things about Oblivion. I’m really enjoying this game again and I’m glad I bought it after first thinking it might just be another Bethesda cash grab. Let’s have Fallout 3 and New Vegas next and welcome Elder Scrolls 6 in with open arms.Nick The Greek Guaranteed hit Seems to me, after reading your news of 2.2 million people wanting a Switch 2 in Japan, Nintendo have got the Switch 2 perfect for another generation. 2.2 million? How mad is that? Everywhere is sold out in the UK. You get the odd one or two available, but it’s sold out within a second or two and if the USA pre-orders go live on Thursday it seems they’re going to be gone in seconds as well.By Xmas people will still be waiting for one. I really thought it wouldn’t sell well and it goes to prove I know nothing about the gaming market or what people are willing to pay for it.David GC: 2.2 million is indeed an insane number for Japan alone. We never would’ve thought it possible in a post-mobile world. Email your comments to: gamecentral@metro.co.uk New information Do you guys know how all my games from my Switch will transfer to my Switch 2 come launch? I pre-ordered mine on April 4th at Smyths toy store in York.I want to sell my Switch whilst I can a better return on it. I have a lot of games I have bought digitally, and I don’t want to lose them. Nintendo during the Direct mentioned that come late May they will put up on My Nintendo how it will work. I would rather know sooner rather than later. On another note, the store I pre-ordered from is relocating to another area of York on 22nd May. They better not lose my pre-order in the move; I have my receipt though. I will be there at 9am on June 5th at the new location to collect my Switch 2.woz_007 (NN ID) GC: We had exactly this same question earlier in the week. Although that was before Nintendo decided to suddenly change its information about Zelda cloud saves. Hopefully that should make things easier though, so all you have to do is redownload your digital games and then transfer your saves from the cloud – although you’ll need to subscribe to Nintendo Switch Online to do that. Chosen title While everyone seems to be doing their best to manufacture controversy over the Switch 2, because it’s generating clicks, I’ve been looking back through my Switch library to work out what to play on 5th June, other than Mario Kart, obviously.I think it’s about time I played XCOM: War Of The Chosen again. My laptop loads it almost instantly and runs it at 200+ fps with settings maxed, because it has no selectable frame rate cap. However, despite the low graphics settings, minutes long loads and choppy frame rate, there is something about just playing it slumped on the couch on the Switch. The Switch 2 should do wonders for the experience, and now I’ve had the idea I’m already getting itchy fingers waiting.Antony White GC: Which controversy do you feel has been manufactured? Between two stools Meant to write in a few weeks ago, with the news of Star Wars XCOM, which I’m very excited about. However, I always feel a bit sad that they created XCOM 2, one of the greatest games of all time, then brought out War Of The Chosen, which somehow made it even better and added some really interesting mechanics, and then instead of making 3, they made Midnight Suns instead.Don’t get me wrong, it’s not a terrible game, it’s actually quite good, but a card-based Marvel game was pretty doomed as it would alienate Marvel fans and XCOM fans from the start. More recently I loved your review of Clair Obscur: Expedition 33; 9/10 from Metro means it must be a seriously good game and it made me buck the trend and pre-order it (I swore I never to do that after agents of mayhem broke me), but so far it is living up to the hype and some! Keep up the good work GC.Michael, Crawley GC: Thank you. We’d rate Midnight Suns much higher than you, though. If it wasn’t for the overstuffed narrative elements back at the Abbey, we believe it would’ve been approaching XCOM 2 status – we thought the combat was excellent. Next gen price hike The new Street Fighter and Legend Of Zelda amiibo are currently in stock on Nintendo Store UK, available for pre-order on June 5th 2025. There is also a Street Fighter 6 amiibo Cards Starter Set which has three character cards for Kimberley, Luke, and Jamie for £24.99 available for pre-order too.They are very expensive compared to previous amiibo prices. I’ve pre-ordered the Street Fighter amiibo myself. I would like to get the Zelda ones too but will have to get that at another time, as they are expensive compared to Switch 1 amiibo. The Zelda amiibo are cheaper than the Street Fighter 6 amiibo.Andrew J. GC: Yeesh, that is very expensive. We guess amiibo are no longer impulse purchases. Multiformat option Thanks for the recommendations from GC reader Andy F. After reading some reviews of Mario Golf: Super Rush I’ve decided to pass on that game and pick up Everybody’s Golf, when it finally gets released onto the Switch, as this series has always been supremely enjoyable when I’ve played them on various PlayStation platforms in the past.I still have a quandary with the Mario games I mentioned though. That’s basically because I’m not very good at 2D Mario games and I tend to fare better in a 3D world. However, with Super Mario Odyssey I’ve read so many times that the moons feel too easily earned and superfluous. I adored the Galaxy games because each star was a challenge and meant something to me. I know this is a very divisive issue, however. I’m currently looking up reviews of all three of the Mario games I mentioned, including Bowser’s Fury. I still do have a gripe with the Switch 2 though and feel that Nintendo have valued innovation over economics regarding the console being mostly flat in handheld mode. I’m going to have to purchase some aftermarket kit to make the Switch 2 usable for longer sessions in handheld as I have carpal tunnel in both hands. I’d also like a proper D-Pad from the company who invented it. Seems crazy to say that my Xbox Series X/S controllers allow me superior control on 1 vs 1 fighters, like Street Fighter 6 (I have no issues pulling off special moves for example) over a Nintendo device. Anyway, that’s my little rant out the way.Charlie H. GC: Ignoring the New Super Mario sub-series, you’d be hard pressed to find any Mario platformer that wasn’t an exceptional game. But Super Mario 3D World is right in the middle between 2D and 3D, so it seems perfect for you. As for the Switch 2, the Pro Controller has always been a very good joypad. Inbox also-rans It’s interesting that Mario Kart World doesn’t have any non-Mario characters in it, even though Mario Kart 8 Deluxe does. Is that a sign of DLC to come or that Nintendo is trying to pull things back in and avoid a Nintendo Kart situation – it’s not like World doesn’t have tons of characters as it is.LossyJust finished Indiana Jones And The Great Circle and it was overall a really good game, but that final boss battle was absolutely terrible. A 30 hour game and literally the final 10 minutes were the worst bit.Zeiss More Trending Email your comments to: gamecentral@metro.co.uk The small printNew Inbox updates appear every weekday morning, with special Hot Topic Inboxes at the weekend. Readers’ letters are used on merit and may be edited for length and content. You can also submit your own 500 to 600-word Reader’s Feature at any time via email or our Submit Stuff page, which if used will be shown in the next available weekend slot. You can also leave your comments below and don’t forget to follow us on Twitter. Arrow MORE: Games Inbox: Will GTA 6 be on Nintendo Switch 2? 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By Sabina Graves Published April 24, 2025 | Comments (0) | Sketch of Shrek and Donkey (from a set of three character illustrations) by Colin Jack. © DreamWorks/Sotheby's The animation industry in partnership with ASIFA-Hollywood has launched AnimAID, and a fundraising auction at Sotheby’s is set to raise money for industry folks affected by the LA wildfires. The Walt Disney Company, Warner Brothers, Sony Pictures Animation, DreamWorks Animation, LAIKA, and more big studios have all donated an array of rare and unique pieces of animation art for interested parties to bid on. The online auction opened this week with the hopes of aiding artists and professionals within the animation industry who are facing displacement or have lost their homes as the city of Los Angeles continues to come together and rebuild. Animation producer Don Hahn (Beauty and The Beast, Howard) spoke on behalf of the cause on Instagram: “The animation community was hit hard by the Los Angeles fires. Now the animation world is banded together by donating artwork, priceless artwork to Sotheby’s for a very special auction to benefit an organization called AnimAID and those profits will go completely to victims of the LA fires.” The curation of over 90 years of incredible art draws from both cinema and television, including Snow White, The Simpsons, Inside Out, Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, The Wild Robot, Beauty and the Beast, Avatar, and other beloved titles. Hahn continued, “Every bid makes a difference and helps people rebuild their homes and their lives.” The exhibition’s bidding is now ongoing and here’s a look at some of the pieces that are up for auction. Items also include film industry artist commissions, tours of the animation studios, signed posters, and more, as well as original production drawings and animation cells. For the live auction and more information visit here. Daily Newsletter You May Also Like By Sabina Graves Published April 23, 2025 By Sabina Graves Published April 22, 2025 By Sabina Graves Published April 11, 2025 By Justin Carter Published April 6, 2025 By Sabina Graves Published April 2, 2025 Germain Lussier Published April 1, 2025

Mitsugo House / Pranala AssociatesSave this picture!© Ernest Theofilus Architects: Pranala Associates Area Area of this architecture project Area:  837 m² Year Completion year of this architecture project Year:  2023 Photographs Photographs:Ernest Theofilus Manufacturers Brands with products used in this architecture project Manufacturers:  Neolith, Daikin, MiLL Alumunium Lead Architects: Erick Laurentius More SpecsLess Specs Save this picture! Text description provided by the architects. Mitsugo House is located in central Jakarta. The high density and bustling environment present a challenge for privacy and green space, as most surrounding properties are full-lot houses with little outdoor area. The neighborhood is packed with close-knit houses and narrow streets. To address this, the second floor was set back from the street. The house features a combination of wooden screens and natural elements like trees to enhance privacy while maintaining an open, airy feel inside. The design creates a clear separation from the public street and establishes a sense of privacy within the house.Save this picture!Save this picture!Save this picture!The house emphasizes the connection with the outdoors. On the right side of the entrance, there is a void with two tall trees planted, and their tops can be seen directly from the master bedroom's window. Walking further, a koi pond brings tranquillity to the residents and guests alike, while natural stones formation stands out among the garden greeneries.  Save this picture!Save this picture!Save this picture!Save this picture!Save this picture!Save this picture!The open living room, which connects directly to the central courtyard, also fosters a strong relationship with nature. The courtyard serves as the heart of the home, providing a space for the family to gather and enjoy the outdoors. Large glass sliding doors are used throughout the house, offering natural light and flexibility in controlling air circulation. This design not only enhances the experience of living in the house but also helps regulate sunlight, temperature, and airflow, making the home comfortable year-round. Save this picture!Save this picture!Further back on the first floor, a semi-private lounge is connected to a small stone garden where the owners can serve their guests. The garden is also accessible from the sunroom, which also functions as a multi-purpose space.Save this picture!The materials chosen for Mitsugo House emphasize a connection to nature. The use of natural elements like ironwood and wood-textured concrete helps soften the building's exterior while also ensuring durability. The ironwood will naturally age to a grey tone, blending with the concrete. These materials are integrated, both inside and outside the house, creating a seamless transition between the living spaces and the surrounding environment.Save this picture! Project gallerySee allShow less About this officePranala AssociatesOffice••• MaterialsMaterials and TagsPublished on April 24, 2025Cite: "Mitsugo House / Pranala Associates" 24 Apr 2025. ArchDaily. Accessed . <https://www.archdaily.com/1029406/mitsugo-house-pranala-associates&gt ISSN 0719-8884Save世界上最受欢迎的建筑网站现已推出你的母语版本!想浏览ArchDaily中国吗?是否 You've started following your first account!Did you know?You'll now receive updates based on what you follow! Personalize your stream and start following your favorite authors, offices and users.Go to my stream

In this clip, I demonstrate how to create a darker background using radial transparent material in Unreal Engine 5. Perfect for enhancing your visual effects!#UnrealEngine5 #NiagaraTutorial #GameDev #VisualEffects #CGHow

There’s a lot that goes on inside our brains. But there are times that our minds go… well… what’s the word? Blank? Reviewing available research on mind blanking, a new article in Trends in Cognitive Sciences says that the moments in which we are “thinking about nothing” are actually a lot more complex than we might think, as they tend to correspond with physiological, neural, and cognitive changes in our brains and bodies. Taken as a whole, the new article suggests that the blanking mind represents a distinct and phenomenally diverse mental state — a state that scientists are only starting to understand. What Is Mind Blanking?When we’re awake, our minds move from one mental state to another, with the majority of these mental states being characterized by “contents.” These contents are the topics that are on our minds — the things and ideas that our mental states are “about.” Though our minds typically transition seamlessly from one mental state to another, and thus from one content to another, there are some instances in which our minds happen to arrive at a mental state without any recognizable or reportable content at all. That’s the definition of mind blanking, which is also sometimes defined as an absence of thoughts or an absence of awareness. Indeed, though we’ve all experienced these blips in our own thinking, mind blanking is surprisingly difficult to define, with some scientists even describing it as a form of drowsiness.As difficult as mind blanking is to define, it’s also difficult to study. Setting out to review what researchers have revealed about mind blanking so far, the authors of the new Trends in Cognitive Sciences article examined the changes in our physiology, neurology, and cognition that occur as our minds blank out. “We sought to better understand mind blanking by parsing through 80 relevant research articles — including some of our own in which we recorded participants’ brain activity when they were reporting that they were ‘thinking of nothing,’” said Athena Demertzi, an author of the article and a neuroscientist at the University of Liège, Belgium, according to a press release. Mind Blanking on the Body and Brain Revealing the frequency of the occurrence, the authors found that mind blanking occurs with around 5 to 20 percent frequency in the available research. They also found that mind blanking typically takes place toward the end of sustained attention tasks or after, and also after periods of sleep deprivation and physical activity. Not only that, the team also suggested that sustained-attention-task mind blanking is associated with physiological and neural changes in people’s heart rate, pupil size, and brain activity. Tied to the latter are declines in the speed and the complexity of brain waves that are a lot like the declines seen in sleeping or unconscious brains. The researchers added that different types of mind blanking were associated with different types of brain activity, with mind blanking during sustained attention tasks appearing differently in the brain than mind blanking during rest. And, in addition to the physiological and neural changes, the researchers found a variety of cognitive changes associated with mind blanking, too, including slips in attention, memory, and inner speech. Read More: Scientists Aren't Sure How the Inner Voice WorksMind Wandering vs. Mind BlankingPrevious research has regarded mind blanking alongside mind wandering. But while similar, mind wandering and mind blanking are two distinct experiences. Mind wandering occurs when the mind moves from an external task to an internal task or thought, whereas mind blanking occurs when the mind goes “nowhere” instead of “elsewhere.”According to the authors of the new Trends in Cognitive Sciences article, mind blanking is its own experience, which leaves people slower, sleepier, and more mistake-prone than mind wandering does. And not only is it a distinct experience; it is also a diverse experience, since its physiological, neural, and cognitive impacts vary so much. As Jennifer Windt, another author and a philosopher at Monash University in Australia, said, according to the release, “The experience of a ‘blank mind’ is as intimate and direct as that of bearing thoughts.” The article suggests that arousal levels shape the various types and impacts of mind blanking. But regardless of its specific findings, the article contributes to our current understanding of mind blanking and could contribute to our future understanding of mind blanking, too."We believe that the investigation of mind blanking is insightful, important, and timely,” said Thomas Andrillon, the lead author of the article and a neuroscientist at the Paris Brain Institute, according to the release. “Insightful because it challenges the common conception that wakefulness involves a constant stream of thoughts. Important because mind blanking highlights the interindividual differences in subjective experience. Collectively, we stress that ongoing experiences come in shades with varying degrees of awareness and richness of content.”Article SourcesOur writers at Discovermagazine.com use peer-reviewed studies and high-quality sources for our articles, and our editors review for scientific accuracy and editorial standards. Review the sources used below for this article:Trends in Cognitive Sciences. Where Is My Mind? A Neurocognitive Investigation of Mind BlankingSam Walters is a journalist covering archaeology, paleontology, ecology, and evolution for Discover, along with an assortment of other topics. Before joining the Discover team as an assistant editor in 2022, Sam studied journalism at Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois.

The vegan dish includes five percent more protein than actual calamari. Credit: Credit: ACS Food Science & Technology (2025) Get the Popular Science daily newsletter💡 In 2023, researchers at the National University of Singapore unveiled their early attempts at realistic, nutritious 3D-printed vegan calamari rings. While results at the time tasted similar to the real thing, its inventors conceded that the texture didn’t quite work. That might seem like a minor caveat, but designing alternative cuisines that closely resemble their source dishes will be necessary if society wants to transition towards a more sustainable food industry.  After two years of trial and error, the researchers have returned with an updated fried calamari recipe they say finally matches the real thing. Not only that, but it actually provides 5 percent more protein than actual squid. Their results were recently published in the American Chemical Society. The new 3D-printed recipe still starts as plant-based paste made from isolated mung bean protein and powdered microalgae. But researchers also determined a precise mixture of extra ingredients to give their faux-calamari its familiar textural springiness. In addition to 10 percent powdered microalgae, the improved mixture also includes 1.5 percent gellan gum for thickening and 2 percent canola oil for fat content. To make the meal, each calamari is 3D printed in rings about 1.8 inches wide. Unlike previous trials, the team this time allowed the uncooked rings to freeze overnight. The following day, the researchers battered and quickly deep-fried their vegan calamari before proceeding to the taste tests. Microscopic imaging of the rings indicated another key factor that helped improve the meal. Inside the cooked paste resided small structural voids that modified its overall softness in ways that better resembled actual seafood. “This research showcases the potential of 3D printing to transform sustainable plant proteins… into seafood analogs,” said study lead author Poornima Vijayan. Moving forward, Vijayan says it’s just a matter of scaling their product—and convincing hungry diners to give it a try.

Nature, Published online: 24 April 2025; doi:10.1038/d41586-025-01297-4Scientists must push back against the threat of rising white nationalism and the dangerous and pseudoscientific ideas of eugenics.

The Daniel K. Inouye Solar Telescope, the world's largest solar telescope, can see the sun in unprecedented detail. Here is the first image from its newly-activated camera.

The last release was 2.5 years ago, so I figured it's about time for an update. Mainly, this release makes major adjustments to the roughness, specularity, and noise parameters. (If you're upgrading from the previous version, you will have to change your settings to get good looking results again. Take a look at the new defaults for guidance.) There is now a new edge wear parameter, improved the scratch textures, and more options for controlling dust. I also spent an unreasonable amount of time organising the node group, so now it is easier to see where things go if you want to poke around inside. You can get the new version for free on my website: https://whocompute.com/3da/cc74bf For info on how to use it, check out the setup guide: https://whocompute.com/doc/cc74bf/setup If anyone has any feedback, feel free to let me know. submitted by /u/whocompute [link] [comments]

Worth itTesla: FSD Supervised is $99/month, which is effectively $3.33/dayYour personal chauffeur for less than the cost of a coffee