The ongoing legal battle between the Nintendo & The Pokemon Company team and Palworld developer Pocketpair may be heating up, but development of new content for Palworld isn't slowing down. Now, the company has announced a surprise collaboration with Terraria that will happen in 2025.The reveal arrived via the game's social channels with the original piece of promotional art you can see above. Details about the nature of this collaboration/crossover haven't been shared yet, as the focus is elsewhere for now, but needless to say, we're quite intrigued.To see this content please enable targeting cookies. On top of the crossover announcement, which might or might not translate into updates for both games, an all-new island full of new creatures and challenges is being added to Palworld in December, with the developers calling it the "largest, harshest, and most mysterious" yet. For those knee-deep into the game, the size of the new landmass is around six times that of Sakurajima. The official post includes screenshots too. Check them out below: To see this content please enable targeting cookies.Though hype around Palworld certainly isn't as high as it was earlier this year, Pocketpair's survival crafting game, which happens to feature Pokemon-like creatures and more than a few familiar mechanics, is sporting an 'Overwhelmingly Positive' rating on Steam and continues to have thousands of daily players, and that's without counting everyone who's playing it on Xbox and, more recently, PS5.Should Terraria receive Palworld-themed content in 2025, this would mark yet another sizable update coming to Re-Logic's game after the devs repeatedly stating they were moving away from the fantastic 2D crafting classic that launched in 2011.In other Palworld-adjacent news, fans recently were upset that The Game Awards had ignored the game, with the game's CM jumping in to say the community should chill out. Earlier today, we also learned about a cheeky, Tencent-backed rip-off of Horizon titled Light of Motiram that's made some people think of Palworld's complicated relationship with Pokemon as a 'source of inspiration' (to put it lightly).

It Never EndsBeen thinking you're done with Baldur's Gate 3? Well, Larian isn't done with you, as photo mode, cross-play, and 12 subclasses are coming in 2025Time to roll the dice again.Image credit: Larian Studios News by Fran Ruiz Contributor Published on Nov. 28, 2024 It's not like most people are ready to move on, but Baldur's Gate 3 is getting even more content next year, and it's the kind of stuff that will make most diehard fans roll an eleventh playthrough. Meanwhile, I've yet to finish my first one.Via the game's social media channels and a Steam blog post, it's been announced that Baldur's Gate 3 hasn't received its last major content update yet. We know, the Larian folks had said in the past they were done done with the massive RPG, yet they keep coming back to it. It's entirely possible they're going to be stuck in this loop for years, much like the Terraria and Binding of Isaac devs.To see this content please enable targeting cookies. The lauded game that even three people at the Vatican have played is currently enjoying a ton of user-made mods, but that isn't stopping Larian from giving fans even more extra presents.Next year, Patch 8, which the team promises is the final one for realsies, will introduce cross-play, photo mode, and 12 new subclasses. While a photo mode had been loudly requested for a long time, cross-play is a bit of a surprise that will make BG3 sort of the perfect social game to play for countless hours. As for the new subclasses, well, I guess that means most players will be re-rolling characters again. The Dungeons & Dragons sickos are winning.Cross-play will be properly introduced and "feature full cross-platform progression, including cross-play." Lobbies will be created and shared regardless of platform, though it's not entirely clear whether we'll be able to list them publicly to play with randos.As for the photo mode, it'll arrive packing tons of features, including camera and lens settings, scene modifiers (poses, facial expressions, etc.), post processing effects, frames, and even stickers. Since we don't doubt for a second the most dedicated players will use these options in conjunction with mods, let the horny chaos commence.Finally, Patch 8 will add a new subclass for all 12 classes. We're listing them out below, but we recommend reading through the official post to get the full rundown.Bard - College of GlamourBarbarian - Path of GiantsCleric - Death DomainDruid - Circle of StarsPaladin - Oath of the CrownFighter - Arcane ArcherMonk - Drunken MasterRanger - SwarmkeeperRogue - SwashbucklerSorcerer - Shadow MagicWarlock - HexbladeWizard - BladesingingIt must also be noted that 'stress tests' will happen in January to figure out not only crossplay, but also an extra batch of fixes that will arrive with Patch 8. This means we probably shouldn't expect the final release to happen before February 2025. We'll be sharing updates on this patch as they come.

Networking, collaboration, and challengesConnecting with fellow artists is a critical step on your journey as a 3D visualizer and an important habit to get into on a daily basis. Chaos Campus is an educational community of like-minded creatives who live and breathe 3D visualization, and passionately discuss rendering, give regular feedback and encouragement to beginners and advanced alike.It is your go-to place for sharing scenes, materials and models, but also portfolio tips and career advice that very well may land your next dream job. Want to collaborate with someone who will bring a fresh style to your archviz animation? Just post the storyboard with a short description, and youll be sure to find an artist who has just the right idea to take your project to the next level. With over 5K members, Chaos Campus is also a great place to get matched with a mentor who is willing to share his knowledge and experience with you, giving you invaluable insight on areas of improvement and encouraging you to experiment in new ways.Additionally, participating in challenges and contests, such as the CG Architect 3D Awards, can help artists hone their skills and gain recognition within the archviz community.

Samsung Flip Switch.A new patent from South Korean tech giant Samsung suggests that the company may be tinkering with a potential handheld gaming console.That's not all, though. The patent suggests that such a device may follow in the footsteps of the company's Z Flip and Fold phone lines and boast its own foldable screen. As reported by 91Mobiles (thanks, Tom's Guide), the patent was registered earlier this month via the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), showcasing some pretty clear cut images of a device that closely resembles the Switch in design, but with a few obvious differences.Read the full article on nintendolife.com

Image: Nintendo LifeThe Switch eShop is full of a lot of rubbish these days, that's no surprise to us. The rise of 'scam games' has been a quick one, with results ranging from keyword bingo titles like Cop Car Police Simulator Chase - Car games simulator & driving to more blatant rip-offs. Today, one that straddles both camps has been brought to our attention.As flagged on BlueSky by Daniel Vuckovic, the eShop is now home to a title called 'Unpacking: Deluxe Edition'. Now, you may reasonably assume this is some kind of expansion to 2021's indie darling, Unpacking, but you would be wrong. Instead, this 'Deluxe Edition' just adopts Witch Beam's instantly recognisable name. And its basic format. Ugh.Subscribe to Nintendo Life on YouTube786kWatch on YouTube 'Unpacking: Deluxe Edition' is currently listed on the Australian and Japanese Switch eShops for $17.99 / 1,280 yen, though a not-so-deluxe version called 'Unpacking Universe Dreams' is available on the European and North American storefronts, boasting the same AI-generated key art.This one comes from publisher CGI LAB, the team that has released at least 13 titles on the eShop this year alone, including such *ahem* hits as Video Game Store: Supermarket Simulator, Car Parking Legends: Drive & Park Adventure and Anime Puzzle Quest: The Magical Girls Adventure.As we said, this is no rare occurrence these days, but it's still disappointing when such a blatant clone crops up. According to its eShop page, Universe Dreams lets you "Unpack and arrange items in vibrant locations, each with its own unique atmosphere," and "Discover hidden treasures and delightful surprises as you create your perfect space". Ringing any bells?Nintendo's seemingly happy to let the eShop rot, the AI eWaste wasn't enough now we just have straight up copyright infringement. With the next console backward compatible, this crap can't be allowed to continue. This new release on the right, come on. Daniel Vuckovic (@vook64.bsky.social) 2024-11-28T13:46:29.301ZBy the look of things, Universe Dreams doesn't carry over Unpacking's delightful puzzling or heartfelt story (it certainly doesn't appropriate the pixel art visuals), but there's more than enough to suggest it's misleading, we'd say.Whether this one sticks around to actually catch anyone out remains to be seen, though the eShop has been so full of these practices in recent years that we'd expect to see another rear its head in no time, either way.As noted in the above post, 'Switch 2' is officially set to be backwards compatible, so we can't help but wonder if Nintendo will implement any rules to reduce this type of stuff on its next hardware. Gosh, we hope so. Sea of low-qualityWhat do you make of this blatant eShop rip off? Let us know in the comments.[source bsky.app]Related GamesSee AlsoShare:01 Jim came to Nintendo Life in 2022 and, despite his insistence that The Minish Cap is the best Zelda game and his unwavering love for the Star Wars prequels (yes, really), he has continued to write news and features on the site ever since. Hold on there, you need to login to post a comment...Related Articles133 Games You Should Pick Up In Nintendo's 'Cyber Deals' Switch eShop Sale (North America)Every game we scored 9/10 or higher62 Switch Games You Should Pick Up In Nintendo's Black Friday Sale (Europe)Every Switch game on sale that we rated 9/10+Review: Loco Motive (Switch) - A Stunning Whodunnit With Impeccable LucasArts VibesMurder on the Point-and-Click ExpressRollercoaster Tycoon Classic Is Making Its Way To Switch Next MonthFasten your seatbelts

Thanksgiving weekend has long been seen as the traditional start to the most important sales period for retailers, and so far, the indication is that were in for a strong holiday season for e-commerce. Salesforce is tracking activity in real time and has just put out its first figures for the day. It says that as of 2pm ET, online sales are up 7% globally and and 4% in the U.S. compared to 2023, respectively generating $15.6 billion and $3.1 billion in sales.For a point of comparison, last year saw a sluggish Thanksgiving when it came to online shopping. Salesforce said the full day raked in online sales of $31.7 billion with the U.S. seeing sales of $7.5 billion. Each was up only 1%.Salesforce said its 2024 figures are based on shopping data from 1.5 billion consumers that are captured across its customers and other data feeds in its Commerce Cloud, Marketing Cloud, and Service Cloud. You can see morehere.Well be updating this post later with more figures, including numbers from Adobe, which also tracks online sales. Last year Adobe Analytics said that people in the U.S. on Thanksgiving spent $5.6 billion online, which it calculates at an increase of just 5.5% on the year before.The economy indeed still remains wobbly in multiple markets, so retailers are sweetening the deal to get shoppers to part with their money. Discounts are averaging 24% globally and 27% in the U.S.Thanksgiving Day has shaped up to be a key mobile shopping day in the U.S.. Most physical stores are closed, and many people are with friends and family, so people reach for their phones as a more subtle way to grab sale items.Salesforce predicts that the strongest period of buying will be in the evening, after feasting, with 35% of all sales happening between 7pm and midnight. It also predicts that Thanksgiving will be the biggest mobile shopping day of the week overall, with 73% of all sales made today expected to be on mobile devices.The internet has led to a lot of spread when it comes to holiday shopping. Black Friday used to be a uniquely American shopping phenomenon, coming the day right after Thanksgiving and kicking off the holiday shopping season.Now, not only can you find Black Friday sales events around the world (where Thanksgiving Day is nonexistent except for in syndications of American TV specials), but those and other holiday sales days have started to get packaged up as Cyber Week, which starts days before any turkey is carved or pumpkin is pied.Salesforce counted Tuesday of this week as the start of Cyber Week, and it said that sales were up 7% and 14% respectively globally and in the U.S..It sometimes feels like we may have reached an innovation lull when it comes to e-commerce, but generative AI might have something to say about that. Salesforce said that use of digital agents and GenAI by retailers is up by 32% compared to a week ago.Salesforce obviously sees a business opportunity in building these AI bells and whistles, so that could be why theyre teasing out those particular details. Up by 32% does not tell us how many actually have AI tools in place let alone how useful they have been in sales conversions, or whether they have led to people fleeing sites in frustration. Well have to see if more concrete statistics materialize this year.Holiday shopping momentum is building throughout Cyber Week with online traffic and sales on the rise. After waiting all year for the best deals of the season, shoppers are finally ready to make their holiday purchases and are flocking to their favorite sites via their mobile devices, said Caila Schwartz, Director of Consumer Insights, Salesforce, in a statement.

Photonics a field that underpins light-based systems for manipulating data has a bright future, as the rise of AI demands better computing performance, but it has yet to be fully applied to a new generation of chips. German startup Akhetonics hopes to change that. Its raised a 6 million seed funding round (approximately $6.33 million) to deliver on this promise, TechCrunch can exclusively reveal.While several companies are working with photons on tangential issues or point solutions that mix electronics and photonics, Akhetonics whose name is a portmanteau of Akhet, an Egyptian hieroglyph for horizon, and photonics is outright aiming to build a general-purpose chip.General purpose in this context means chips that it could be used for all sorts of tasks and software applications. And sinceAkhetonics is taking anall-optical approachthat willalso be digital and compatible with existing workloads,unlike analog approaches,it could be particularly useful in environments that require high-performance in real time, such as networking, avionics, and space.Speed aside, energy efficiency is another aspect where photonics can help and one that is increasingly tied to geopolitics, as is chip sovereignty. For us, the most interesting part is that we have a supply chain that is very diverse, co-founder and CEO Michael Kissner told TechCrunch.Potentially, Akhetonics could make its general-purpose chip anywhere, making it possible for companies to access locally sourced high-performance compute if it works. Thats a big if; or more precisely, when.Most observers agree that photonics will make its way to chips but French VC firm Daphni, for instance, recently said it wont invest in general-purpose chips at the moment. While Lightmatter, a photonics company that initially focused on chips, pivoted to interconnects to great success, bringing faster data transfer between CPUs and GPUs within data centers.While it still seems far-fetched to some, Matterwave Ventures, the VC firm that led Akhetonics new round, believes that the time is right for fully optical technology to be applied to general-purpose computation. For us, it felt like there are sufficient things that are coming together to make this a reality, principal Silviu Apostu told TechCrunch.This will still take time, but maybe not as much as some may think; Akhetonics plans to deliver its first commercial product to customers mid-next year. Kissner is confident that its already confirmed feasibility thanks to its previous funding round by deep tech VC firm Runa Capital in 2023. Our big goal was to show that you can do general purpose computing using only optics, and that is something that we have now shown, he said.The key to Akhetonics approach and what makes this feasible, according to Apostu is to rethink the architecture from first principles.People think you need billions of [optical transistors], Kissner added. But with the right architecture, you dont. For instance, the company explained in a recent paper how it can do without the usual optimization that the likes of AMD, Intel and Nvidia have applied to current-gen chips.This also makes the development process cheaper than for regular chips hence the relatively small round size for a chipmaking business. Akhetonics said most of the seed funding will go into growing headcount to 30 people as the team works towards delivering prototypes to customers. For us, its actually a lot of money, Kissner suggested. In our world, you can design a chip for 50,000.Cheaper costs and a local supply chain are two big differences compared to existing AI semiconductors; Kissner seems genuinely baffled that the trillion dollar Al industry relies on chips made in geopolitically troublesome areas. And Akhetonics alternative positioning has evidently resonated with investors. They really support our mission to create this European, almost democratized version of high-performance computing, he said.With all that said, there are still questions over commercial demand for high-performance computing, and whether it might be better served by integrated photonics for specific use cases. But for Akhetonics, and competitors like LightSolver, all-optical chips are the best answer.

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Heres our 30-minute walkthrough of a new commercial Blender add-on by Hvard Dalen: Lens Sim, for simulating photorealistic lenses.Simulate vintage lenses like Helios 44-2, anamorphic bokeh, realistic lens effects and more, at virtually no performance cost. Photorealistic rendering in Blender has just got an upgrade, with Lens Sim add-on.Buy Lens Sim on Blender Market (affiliate link)

Thomas Teasley, a liquid propulsion engineer at NASAs Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC), explains how additive manufacturing is a key component in developing the Rotating Detonation Rocket Engine (RDRE), a transformative propulsion system that leverages detonative combustion.The Rotating Detonation Rocket Engine generates thrust through continuous, spinning detonation waves within a circular combustion chamber. Compared to traditional subsonic combustion engines, it achieves higher efficiency and specific impulse or how effectively a rocket uses its propellant.This engine may enable more efficient and reusable propulsion systems for future missions. This innovation relies on additive manufacturing (AM) laser powder bed fusion and specialized NASA alloys, such as GRCop-42 for thermal conductivity and GRX-810 for extreme temperature resilience. These materials and techniques facilitate the creation of complex integrated structures, including coolant channels and injector orifices, that are impossible to machine traditionally. Rigorous testing of temperature, pressure, and vibratory responses ensures reliability under the severe conditions of spaceflight.The NASA MSFC Rotating Detonating Rocket Engine together with Venus Aerospace and REM Surface Engineering is nominated for the 2024 Aerospace, Space or Defence Application of the year. Review the 3D Printing Industry Awards and vote now.3DPI: Can you describe your application and how it differs from existing approaches in the market?Thomas Teasley: The Rotating Detonation Rocket Engine uses detonative combustion instead of slow or subsonic combustion like traditional rockets to achieve superior combustion and specific impulse efficiencies. The improvement in efficiency is so dramatic that the combustion environment is nearly impossible to contain and keep hardware cool. This is where additive manufacturing and specialized NASA alloys like GRCop-42 and GRX-810 have enabled the RDRE to become a reality. Ultimately, propulsion systems for space exploration must become more efficient and reusable which AM, specialized alloys, and the RDRE itself allow for.3DPI: What specific problem does your application solve, and what makes it a groundbreaking solution in the 3D printing space?Thomas Teasley: The RDRE requires complex integrated structures such as coolant channels, flow paths, and injector orifices that just cannot be traditionally machined with typical alloys. Propulsion systems are always improving in performance and the combustion environment is only becoming more extreme. This engine technology requires the use of AM and specialized alloys to become a reality and enables a broader trade space of future human crewed missions to the Moon and Mars.3DPI: Can you elaborate on the specific additive manufacturing techniques and materials you employed in your project and why they were chosen over traditional manufacturing methods?Thomas Teasley: Laser powder bed fusion is the primary AM technique along with a copper alloy known as GRCop-42 and Nickel alloy known as GRX-810. GRCop-42 is a high conductivity alloy that is used for the primary hot wall of the thrust chamber and can rapidly transfer heat away from the wall to meet a minimum temperature requirement and prevent melting. GRX-810 is an extreme environment super alloy that allows for high strength at high temperature.3DPI: What measures have you implemented to ensure the reliability, consistency, and quality control of your AM components, especially given the rigorous demands of aerospace, space, or defense applications?Thomas Teasley: We have made numerous temperature and pressure measurements in critical manifold interfaces in addition to thrust and dynamic vibratory responses of the engine system. Each of these measurements allow us to confirm the severity of the combustion environment and prove how enabling AM and these specialized alloys have been.NASA Subscale 1,000 lbf class RDRE. Methane/Oxygen. World record-holding test at 750 psi for an RDRE. Photo via NASA.3DPI: How does your innovation address the industrys current pain points, such as supply chain vulnerabilities, production lead times, or material performance limitations?Thomas Teasley: The RDRE requires the use of GRCop-42 and GRX-810 which opens up the existing supply chain to improving the availability of these alloys. This is particularly the case when dozens of industry partners are expressing interest in the technology and investing in these alloys for use with their specific engine applications.3DPI: What role does collaboration play in your work, whether with research institutions, government agencies, or industry partners, and how have these collaborations contributed to your success?Thomas Teasley: Direct collaboration with industry, government, and academia is what enables the development and widespread use of the RDRE propulsion technology. Without partnerships, its maturation would not be possible.3DPI: Is there anything else you would like to add?Thomas Teasley: The RDRE has been stated to be the next step in space exploration propulsion technology by multiple industry and government partners. Its performance benefits are real and substantial and will very likely be flying on a space vehicle in the next 5 to 10 years given its current rate of development.NASA Full Scale 5000 lbf class lander RDRE. Kerosene/Oxygen. Photo via NASA.What will the future of 3D printing look like?Which recent trends are driving the 3D printing industry? Subscribe to the 3D Printing Industry newsletter to stay updated with the latest news and insights. Stay connected with the latest in 3D printing by following us on Twitter and Facebook, and dont forget to subscribe to the 3D Printing Industry YouTube channel for more exclusive content.Featured image shows NASA Full Scale 10,000 lbf class lander RDRE. Methane/Oxygen. Photo via NASA.