Hold onto your popcorn, folks, because artificial intelligence (AI) is about to take our beloved entertainment for a joyride, and it probably won’t ask for directions. We’re talking about a future where AI isn’t just fetching your slippers (it might do that too; who knows?) but is actively involved in crafting stories that make us laugh, cry, or hide behind the sofa. From eBooks that read you back, to movies that might just star you (unintentionally or otherwise), the digital script is being rewritten. So, grab your (soon-to-be AI-recommended) snack of choice, and let’s peek at what the future of fun, powered by our increasingly clever silicon sidekicks, might look like. We’ll close with my product of the week, the new Violet (well, really Purple) Surface Pro from Microsoft. AI Personalization and Entertainment Preferences Right now, AI in entertainment is like that friend who thinks they know your taste because you watched one cat video, and now your feed is an endless feline festival. Platforms like Netflix and Spotify are doing their best with AI-powered recommendations, trying to guess what movie or song will tickle your fancy. But bless their digital hearts, it’s often a bit of a crapshoot. Future AI, however, aims to be your entertainment soulmate. It won’t just know you like sci-fi; it’ll understand your particular craving for “1950s-style alien invasion comedies but with surprisingly good character development for the pug.” It’ll be like having a tiny, all-knowing librarian or film critic living in your phone, unearthing obscure indie eBooks, or that one bizarre international TV show that speaks directly to your quirky soul. Finally, a way to find stories so niche you’ll wonder if the AI just wrote them for you on the spot. AI-Driven Adaptation in Books and Movies Get ready for stories less set in stone and more like Silly Putty. For eBooks, imagine a novel that senses you’re doom-scrolling instead of reading. With your say-so, the AI might subtly tweak the plot: maybe that boring council meeting gets a surprise dragon attack, or that side character you secretly adore suddenly gets a heroic monologue. It’s not about the AI ghostwriting a new ending because it didn’t like the original, but more like offering a director’s cut tailored to your brainwaves. TV shows and streamed movies will get the same treatment. Is the family movie night hitting a snag because little Timmy is terrified of the friendly ghost? The AI might gently dim the spooky sound effects or add a reassuring voiceover from a cartoon squirrel. Or if you, a connoisseur of crime dramas, are ten steps ahead of the detective, the AI could weave in a red herring so fiendishly clever you’ll tip your fedora. Such AI-powered storytelling will craft narratives so adaptive they’ll feel like they were made just for your Tuesday night. AI Personalization in Film and TV Experiences Cinema night is about to get a whole lot more personal. First up, AI could sprinkle in some local flavor. Imagine watching a superhero movie, and the obligatory coffee shop scene features a digital version of your town’s beloved, slightly sticky doughnut emporium. But why stop there? The real fun begins with you in the picture. With your permission (and a waiver, probably), your face could appear digitally as an extra in the crowd scene, or your name might be subtly dropped by a minor character ordering a latte. “Table for Smith, party of four? Your intergalactic overlord will see you now.” For the truly adventurous, picture this: the AI gauges the audience’s collective gasps, laughs, or even synchronized eye-rolls and nudges the plot. “Hmm, they didn’t buy that plot twist; deploy alternate ending B!” This is way beyond just yelling at the screen; it’s the screen (politely) listening back, an extension of how AI already tries to understand viewer preferences and tailor content. Every showing could be a fresh adventure! Smarter NPCs and Adaptive Game Design Video games are where AI is really flexing its muscles, and the future looks hilariously immersive. Human-Like NPCs: Forget those Non-Player Characters who repeat the same three lines of dialogue even after you’ve saved their village from a meteor. Future NPCs will have memories. They’ll remember you “accidentally” sold their prize-winning turnip. They’ll hold grudges. They’ll form opinions. They might even start a book club without you. We’re talking NPCs with their own sitcom-worthy lives. Hyper-Realistic Avatars: Your in-game avatar won’t just look like a slightly shinier version of you; it’ll emote like you. Imagine trying to bluff your way through a space poker game when your avatar keeps nervously sweating digital bullets. AI will drive character customization to uncanny levels. Dynamically Altered Content: Is that boss battle making you want to throw your controller through the screen? A benevolent AI might subtly suggest a new strategy through an “ancient cryptic clue” (that it just generated) or maybe even trip the boss on a conveniently placed banana peel. The goal is to make games so adaptive that they practically read your mind, keeping you hooked instead of ready to throw your controller.. Observer Influence: Even watching games could become interactive. Imagine your Twitch chat collectively voting to unleash a flock of slightly confused pigeons into your friend’s meticulously planned stealth mission. Harmless chaos, managed by AI! AI Collaboration and Audience Contributions If your brilliant, shouted-at-the-screen suggestion for how the detective could finally solve the case makes its way into the dynamically adapting TV show and boosts ratings, should you get a cut? It’s a thought! As AI lets audiences nudge stories or even contribute game-changing ideas, we might see new ways to reward those golden nuggets of accidental genius. Forget royalties; maybe you get a “Narrative Nudge” bonus or your name in the AI-generated “Special Thanks to that Shouter in Row G” credits. Navigating IP and copyright will be a hilarious legal tangle. Still, a future where your brilliant shower thoughts actually improve a blockbuster isn’t totally off the table, ushering in a truly collaborative (and potentially litigious) entertainment ecosystem. Transmedia Storytelling Now, let’s get really wild. Imagine your day starts with an eBook whose plot thickens based on your morning mood — as determined by how aggressively you hit the snooze button. At a key moment, the eBook suggests, “Want to see how this daring escape really goes down?” Bam! You’re playing a short, intense video game sequence on your phone. Later, that game’s outcome subtly alters the character dynamics in the TV show adaptation you watch that evening. Your personal “entertainment AI,” — let’s call it “Hal” for kicks; what could go wrong? — learns your tastes across everything. It then weaves a grand, personalized narrative that flows between your Kindle, smart TV, game console, and even that interactive movie you saw last week. Characters you love could show up in unexpected places, their storylines intertwining across platforms, all shaped by your choices and the AI’s increasingly insightful (or hilariously off-base) understanding of what makes you tick. This transmedia storytelling, supercharged by AI, would be less like watching a story and more like living in your own, ever-changing, AI-fueled epic. Wrapping Up: AI’s Entertainment Future So, is AI coming for our entertainment? You bet your algorithm it is! It promises a future where stories are more personal, more interactive, and possibly more delightfully bizarre than ever before. There will be ethical quandaries, creative debates, and probably a few AI-generated movie scripts that are so bad they’re good. One thing’s for sure: the future of entertainment looks less like a pre-recorded show and more like an improvisational comedy act where we all, willingly or not, get to be part of the cast. Now, if you’ll excuse me, my AI just recommended a documentary about the history of sporks. Wish me luck. The New Microsoft Surface Pro: Purple Reign Surface Pro 12-inch, Violet (Image Credit: Microsoft) My wife and I have a thing for purple. Not just any purple, but that deep, vibrant, makes-you-smile kind of purple. So, imagine our royal delight when Microsoft unveiled its latest Surface Pro – the brand new 12-inch Surface Pro Copilot+ PC — and lo and behold, among the standard Platinum and a rather fetching ‘Ocean’ blue-green, sits a glorious Violet option. After years of Surface devices playing it safe with silvers and blacks, this one feels like our Surface. A Brief History Lesson Let’s be honest: the Surface line was born largely because the iPad was eating everyone’s lunch back in 2012. Microsoft’s vision was ambitious: create a tablet that could truly replace your laptop, running full-fat Windows. It was a noble quest, but the path was rocky. Remember Windows RT? Shudder. For years, Surface devices felt like brilliant ideas slightly hampered by compromises: battery life, app compatibility (especially on early Arm versions), or trying to convince people they weren’t just chunkier iPads. Powerful and versatile, yes — but not always fun. Beyond a Color Refresh, It’s a True Upgrade This new 12-inch Surface Pro feels different. It’s incredibly thin and light, rocking a new Arm-based Snapdragon X Plus processor. Now, Arm on Windows has had a checkered past, but this is part of the new “Copilot+ PC” wave, promising significant performance leaps and killer battery life (up to 16 hours claimed!), plus integrated AI features like Recall that might actually be useful; or slightly creepy. The jury’s still out. Coupled with the excellent (and still sold separately, sigh) Surface Pro Keyboard, this finally feels like the ultra-portable, do-anything Windows machine we’ve been waiting for — and did I mention it comes in Violet? It just ties the whole elegant package together. Who Should Consider the New Surface Pro? Okay, besides people like us with impeccable taste in colors, who is this for? It’s ideal for mobile professionals who need the full power of Windows desktop apps in a super-portable form factor. Students who need something light for lectures but can run serious software will love it. Creatives who prefer Windows-based tools over iPadOS limitations should definitely take a look. If you want the ultimate blend of tablet portability and laptop capability and the Apple ecosystem isn’t your jam, this Surface Pro makes a compelling case. Cost and Availability Here’s the catch: it’s not cheap, especially once you add the essential keyboard. The new 12-inch Surface Pro Copilot+ PC starts at $799 (tablet only). If you want that gorgeous Violet (or Ocean), you need to step up to the 512GB storage model, which is $899. Pre-orders are open now, with devices shipping starting May 20. Despite the separate keyboard cost, this sleek, powerful, and finally purple machine hits a sweet spot. Microsoft’s new 12-inch Surface Pro Copilot+ PC in Violet is, without a doubt, my Product of the Week. Microsoft, you finally did it!

In this clip, we dive into the process of enhancing our visual effects by adding an aura texture to our project in Unreal Engine 5. Watch as we duplicate layers and adjust parameters to achieve that perfect look!#UnrealEngine5 #VFX #GameDevelopment #NiagaraEffects #CGHow

Get the Popular Science daily newsletter💡 Breakthroughs, discoveries, and DIY tips sent every weekday. You’ve unwrapped your new Mac desktop or laptop and you’re ready to dive in: Where should you start? Modern-day macOS is designed to be intuitive and straightforward, but it’s also stuffed with options and features you can tweak to fit your needs. Here we’ll look at some of the fundamental settings that you should change first, to ensure you’re getting the best possible experience. All of these options can be found by opening the Apple menu in the top left corner of the macOS interface, then choosing System Settings. 1. Set up the dock Get the dock set up the way you want it. Screenshot: Apple The dock is your way into everything on your Mac, and by default it’s rather large and imposing. From the Desktop & Dock section of System Settings, you’re able to adjust the size and magnification levels, auto-hide the dock, and change its position on screen. You’re going to be spending a lot of time using your Mac’s trackpad and mouse, so it’s important to make sure that these input devices are set up just the way you like them—covering options such as zooming, scrolling, and the gestures that are supported. Head to the Mouse or Trackpad section of System Settings (depending on whether you’re using a desktop or laptop), and you’ve got a range of toggle switches and sliders to play around with. You might even discover some features you didn’t previously know about. 3. Choose your own hot corners Hot Corners can save you a lot of time. Screenshot: Apple Did you know macOS can trigger actions, like locking your Mac or launching Mission Control, when the cursor is moved into one of the corners of the screen? It’s called Hot Corners, and it can be set up via the Hot Corners button on the Desktop & Dock screen. 4. Set how much power your Mac uses If you’re using a MacBook then you obviously want as much battery life as possible, but desktop Macs can also be optimized for energy use—so you’re not paying for any electricity you don’t need. Head to Battery (laptops) or Energy (desktops) for this. You’ll see there are a variety of options, including a Low Power Mode setting that will use as little energy as possible. You should also check out Lock Screen in System Settings, which determines how long macOS waits before turning off the display and going to sleep. 5. Give your eyes a rest at night Night Sight can ease the strain on your eyes. Screenshot: Apple If you open Displays and then Night Shift from System Settings, you can have your macOS screen shift its colors and brightness to put less strain on your eyes at night. The feature can be turned on and off manually, or you can set it to run on a daily schedule. 6. Tame notifications on macOS Your productivity and serenity can both take a hit if you’re being overwhelmed by notifications, but you can control these alerts: You can customize how they work via Notifications in System Settings. As well as configuring how notification previews and summaries work, you can also tweak these alerts on an app-by-app basis—including the types of alerts shown, and where they appear—so you can quiet minor apps without missing anything important. 7. Choose a new wallpaper You’ve got a limitless number of options when it comes to wallpaper. Screenshot: Apple Add a little bit of your own personality and style to your new computer by changing up the desktop wallpaper: Head to the Wallpaper section of System Settings, then pick Add Photo or Add Folder or Album to direct macOS to a selection of your own images. 8. Make the Control Center your own The Control Center on macOS (the button showing two toggle switches, on the right of the menu bar) provides quick access to a lot of crucial settings on macOS, from the audio output options to your preferred Wi-Fi network. To change the options that appear here and on the menu bar, choose Control Center from System Settings, and make sure your most-used settings are within easy reach. For example, you can put a Focus button on the menu bar to get to these modes more quickly. 9. Add AppleCare+ coverage Get extra support and protection for your new Mac with AppleCare+. Screenshot: Apple This isn’t really a setting as such, but it’s worth knowing about: For a few weeks after you’ve bought your Mac, you can click Add AppleCare+ Coverage at the top of the System Settings to add to Apple’s standard two-year warranty (pricing varies by Mac model).

News Environment Skyborne specks of life may influence rainfall patterns A buildup of small particles of bacteria, pollen and spores may lead to rainier weather Bacteria, pollen, spores and other biological particles released by ecosystems may have a profound influence on rainfall patterns. zpagistock/Getty Images By Nikk Ogasa 30 seconds ago Sprinklings of life appear key to the recipe for rain. Lofted flecks of organic material like bacteria, pollen and fungal spores play a profound role in regulating rainfall patterns, a new study suggests. These bioparticles can make up a major portion of all the particles that can seed rain in the sky, and their levels fluctuate in a daily cycle, researchers report May 5 in npj Climate and Atmospheric Science. The study is the first to clearly show that the movements of bioparticles drive daily fluctuations of rainmaking particles more broadly. “This really has not been included in any [weather] models before,” says atmospheric scientist Athanasios Nenes of EPFL, the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Lausanne. “It’s something we need to start thinking about.” Sign up for our newsletter We summarize the week's scientific breakthroughs every Thursday.

Nature, Published online: 12 May 2025; doi:10.1038/d41586-025-01465-6Theoretical physicists are in thrall to a misguided mindset that allows viable ideas to be advanced only by overturning what already exists.

Fossil sites in Australia hold pollen and spores from the dinosaur age, when the island straddled the Antarctic Circle. Now, scientists have re-created the habitat of "polar dinosaurs," using these plant remains.

Amazon introduced a new warehouse-focused robot last week that can carefully manipulate a wide range of objects. Dubbed Vulcan, the new class of robots feature force feedback sensors that allow it to understand the amount of force it is applying while picking an object or pushing a cart. These robots will be used in the tech giant's fulfilment centres globally and are designed to assist the human workers. Amazon said that these robots have created hundreds of new categories of human jobs at the warehouses.Amazon's Vulcan Robots Come Close to Human DexterityIn a newsroom post, the Seattle-based tech giant introduced Vulcan and highlighted its capabilities. The new robots solve a critical problem in automating Amazon's fulfilment centres – robots are numb and dumb. “In the past, when industrial robots have unexpected contact, they either emergency stop or smash through that contact. They often don't even know they have hit something because they cannot sense it,” said Aaron Parness, Director, Applied Science, Amazon.The company highlighted that Vulcan, which is built using advances in robotics, engineering, and physical AI, comes with dedicated force feedback sensors. Its arm is also fitted with a camera and a suction cup. The entire assembly uses both sensor-based object detection as well as computer vision to understand the amount of force it can apply.Vulcan robot's ruler-shaped arm with camera and suction cupAmazon's inventory storage in its fulfilment centres follows a specific arrangement to make shipping and stowing easy. Inventory is stored in fabric-covered pods that are divided into compartments. Each compartment holds up to 10 different items. Most robots struggle to pick objects from this mix of objects, but Vulcan is said to be able to navigate through the crowded space to carefully pick the required item.Vulcan can pick and stow around 75 percent of all the items the company stores at its fulfilment centres, with speeds comparable to its front-line employees, Amazon said. Currently, the Vulcan robots are being tested at their fulfilment centres in Spokane, Washington and Hamburg, Germany. Amazon highlighted that currently, it has deployed more than 7,50,000 robots into its fulfilment centres. The company was also quick to note that this large number of robots has also created new categories of jobs, such as robotics floor monitors and on-site reliability maintenance engineers. The tech giant is also offering training programmes to its human workers to move into robotics and find a place in an industry that is quickly taking the automation route. For the latest tech news and reviews, follow Gadgets 360 on X, Facebook, WhatsApp, Threads and Google News. For the latest videos on gadgets and tech, subscribe to our YouTube channel. If you want to know everything about top influencers, follow our in-house Who'sThat360 on Instagram and YouTube. Further reading: Amazon, Vulcan, Robots, AI, Artificial Intelligence, Robotics Akash Dutta Akash Dutta is a Senior Sub Editor at Gadgets 360. He is particularly interested in the social impact of technological developments and loves reading about emerging fields such as AI, metaverse, and fediverse. In his free time, he can be seen supporting his favourite football club - Chelsea, watching movies and anime, and sharing passionate opinions on food. More Related Stories

With a host of gameplay innovations – some controversial, others expected – incredible new weapons, newly concocted realms, and a techno-medieval setting DOOM: The Dark Ages is going hard. “The best DOOM game we’ve ever made” claim id Software. Well, there’s undeniably a ton of promise that DOOM Slayer’s latest war against Hell will deliver by the bucketload. Here’re 15 things we can’t wait to do once we load up DOOM: The Dark Ages. Experience the new setting DOOM has been married to heavy metal hellscapes since its earliest incarnation, but for DOOM: The Dark Ages id Software are throwing a new aesthetic into the mix, and it’s a union forged with such perfection that it beggar’s belief it’s not happened sooner. Yes, we’re talking about DOOM: The Dark Ages’ medieval setting, a concoction of gothic spires and techno demons. A pared-down colour palette The Dark Ages may be, but for a fresh-faced battleground it’s ideal for DOOM Slayer’s latest war on hell.    Wield the Shield Saw Most publicised of DOOM: The Dark Ages’ new medieval weaponry is the Shield Saw, a steel-plated slab for DOOM Slayer to block, parry, and repel his demonic attackers. The Shield Saw underpins The Dark Ages’ revamped combat philosophy (which we’ll get into in the next point) but most excitedly this shield is edged by a saw-toothed blade to brutally gouge, slice, and chop the meat and metal off The Dark Ages’ armour-fused demons. In action, the Shield Saw’s flesh-shredding destruction is eye-popping viscera. Get to grips with The Dark Ages’ combat DOOM 2016 modernised the series’ marquee run and gun (or rip and tear as the more primeval description goes), DOOM Eternal introduced shooting to platforming and puzzles. DOOM: The Dark Age’s reinvents the wheel again, and arguably it’s the most divisive of its innovations. The combat philosophy here is stand and fight, or block-and-parry as is likely how DOOM Slayer will be approaching battling. With sprinting optional – a first for the series – The Dark Ages’ combat will be stately, more nuanced; demanding different sort of skills to those DOOM players are accustomed. There’s a chance this combat change won’t resonate, but we’re eager to try it out none the less. Perfect parrying DOOM: The Dark Ages’ new focus on parrying will likely be polarising, with detractors perhaps believing combat mechanics such as these belong in FromSoftware titles only. However, assessing stand and fight suggests combat here harbours a different rhythm, built upon the same fast-paced foundation but with an eye for deliberate movement rather than freewheeling. Especially true of larger foe, it seems as though DOOM Slayer must aggressively block, parry, and deflect attacks, simultaneously weaving through projectiles to get up close to his enemies before his fists, shield, or guns take care of the rest.     Fire the Reaver Chainshot Unlike any weapon featured in DOOM games prior, the Reaver Chainshot is an iron mace ballistic capable of bone-crunching destruction. As described by id Software Game Director Hugo Martin, the Reaver Chainshot is “an ancient tool from dimensions beyond our own” capable of turning the insides of DOOM Slayer’s enemies into “demonic pulp”. It has a rapid-fire light attack, but the meat of this brutal vessel is its Chaos Sphere, a retractable metal orb which viciously punctures holes in demon flesh.  Explore the new Cosmic Realm The Cosmic Realm is another new, totally unexplored biome for The Dark Ages players to sink their teeth into. A menacing, Lovecraftian dimension harbouring dark secrets whilst inhabiting the game’s most intense adversaries. It’s an ancient landscape too, constructed of crumbling architecture and shapeshifting portals all bathed in sickly green and purple glow. Fight the Cosmic Baron Twin-bladed brute the Cosmic Baron is one such adversary stalking the Cosmic Realm, and skirmishes with this creature promise to be an abrasive test of determination. Relentlessly attacking, the Cosmic Baron unleashes a swarm of attacks capable of blocking DOOM Slayer’s projectiles whilst ripping through his precious health. Parry skill becomes paramount; the best way to overcome the Cosmic Baron is to deflect his attacks with precision, then to pray for an opening. Fight the redesigned Cacodemon Of course, amongst DOOM’s most iconic enemies the Cacodemon is returning in DOOM: The Dark Ages, with its redesigned form more closely resembling the original Spider Mastermind what with its dangling tentacles and brain-like crown. A Hell versus Cosmic Realm hybrid will be making an appearance too, a powerful tyrant of telepathic terror capable of psionic shield attacks and devastating close-range strikes. The Dark Ages’ Cacodemon doesn’t appear to be the fodder it once was.   Fly the Mecha Dragon What is a medieval setting without dragons. And of course, this being DOOM, the dragons present in this feudalist hellhole are mountable flying gunships able to spew fire into the face of Cyberdemons. Breaking up the standing and fighting are these dragon flying sequences, with hovering demonic motherships the target. Destroying their defences before boarding and blasting out of the sky from the inside sounds to be an enveloping gameplay loop, although preview build players do report these sections as repetitive. Hopefully id Software have pushed this innovation as far as it’ll go. Pilot the Altan Mech Alongside dragon-mounted dog fighting, DOOM: The Dark Ages harbours another other novel mechanic: mech battling. The Altan Mech in question here is a skyscraper sized bruiser designed to pummel the most massive of Hell’s demonic denizens with its fists. The premise is sound enough, but again preview build players have shared their concerns that these sections are mechanically underbaked. The Altan Mech feels too lightweight, they say, hinting that The Dark Ages’ colossi fisticuffs are less Godzilla versus Kong and more akin to the Power Rangers’ Zords. Experience new glory kills Actually, this point isn’t necessarily something we can’t wait to do out of excitement as, if you weren’t aware, glory kills – as in the enemy-specific finishers which made you feel like the hardest demon slayer of the underworld – are gone in favour of more generic kicks, punches, and shield smashes. For a shooting game with renewed focus on melee combat, reducing unique execution animations feels a misstep. However, remember, underpinning The Dark Ages’ combat is rhythm. id Software believe these more free-form finishers maintain momentum, transitioning from melee strikes to shield swings to executions without any break in the action. Of note: glory kills aren’t gone entirely. They’re present for the game’s more substantial enemies. Explore ‘open zone’ levels Doing away with the series’ linear mission design, DOOM: The Dark Ages also harbour stretches of open-ended gameplay. These open zones are overseen by a commander who, rather than being a figure to tackle immediately, possess a morale meter which must be whittled down by eliminating underlings dotted throughout. You can confront any of the open zone’s individual objectives in whatever order you see fit too, utilising the Shield Saw’s lock-on ability to zip between enemies and environmental cues. Tweak the difficulty settings DOOM: The Dark Ages boasts the most accessibility options of any DOOM game thus far with every aspect of the experience tweakable no matter which of the six difficulty levels you opt for. There’re sliders to adjust parry windows, damage dealt, action speed, and more. Heaps of flexibility is here: opting for a challenging difficulty whilst choosing to soften some of the more granular settings will give the feeling of the ultimate DOOM Slayer to even the most modestly skilled players. Witness cinematic boss entrances and brutal mid-fight transformations From what’s been shown so far, DOOM: The Dark Ages appears to be leaning heavily into spectacle when it comes to boss battles. The glimpses we’ve seen tease grand, cinematic entrances—bosses emerging from clouds of war ash, or towering demons flanked by demons. These aren’t just enemies; they’re events. 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.

Some interesting Assassin's Creed Shadows behind-the-scenes data revealed during this year's Game Developer Conference reveals why more and more developers are leaving baked lighting behind in favor of ray-tracing. During the Rendering Assassin's Creed Shadows presentation presented by Ubisoft's Nicolas Lopez, as reported on the ResetERA forums, a background for global illumination usage in the series was provided, highlighting how the more complex the game world got, the more compromises had to be made. Assassin's Creed Unity features one of the most stunning examples of baked global illumination to date, which was made possible by the relatively small world and fixed time of day. If Assassin's Creed Origins had used the same method as Unity, the game would have had 450 GB of lighting data, and it would have taken 3 months to bake the lighting. Featuring the most complex game world of the series to date, Assassin's Creed Shadows would have had 2 TB of lighting data, and it would have taken almost 2 years to bake the lighting instead. As such, with ray tracing simplifying the development pipeline considerably, developers will likely move further away from baked lighting even more in the future. The Assassin's Creed Shadows developer supported both baked global illumination and ray-traced global illumination for the time being because of the hardware landscape, but they want to rely more on ray tracing in the future. During the presentation, which is a fascinating read for all those interested in game development, data regarding Assassin's Creed Shadows ray tracing performance on consoles and PC using an RTX 4080 GPU for ray-traced global illumination and PlayStation 5 Pro performance for ray-traced reflections. With the game using quarter resolution for RTGI, the Xbox Series X is faster than the base PlayStation 5, 4.30ms versus 5.00ms. The Xbox Series S is even faster, but that is due to the game running on the system at the internal resolution of 900p, as opposed to the 1440p resolution of the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X versions. Regarding ray-traced reflections, the PlayStation 5 Pro couldn't be compared to any other console version of the game, as it's the only console supporting them, and the only available comparison with the RTX 4080 GPU delivers the expected difference in performance. 2 of 9 Assassin's Creed Shadows is now available on PC, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X, and Xbox Series S worldwide. You can learn more about the game by checking out my review. Deal of the Day