DNEG 360 and Dimension brought home the Best Virtual Production Award at the Broadcast Tech Innovation AwardsLast night, at the annual Broadcast Tech Innovation Awards in London, Team DNEG 360 and our friends at Dimension Studio were honoured with the Best Virtual Production Award for their incredible Virtual Production work on Those About to Die.The award celebrates the seamless blend of technology and artistry that helped to bring director Roland Emmerichs vision of Ancient Rome to life for the series. Our teams pushed the boundaries of virtual production for this hit show, creating an immersive historical world that has captivated audiences worldwide.But dont take our word for it heres what the judges had to say about our work:A major break-through in innovation for the TV industry and will become the benchmark for how virtual production is used in the future.A huge round of applause to our brilliant teams for this well-deserved recognition! Curious to learn more about the innovative techniques behind the award-winning work? Find out more here.

Our Experts Written by Adam Oram Our expert, award-winning staff selects the products we cover and rigorously researches and tests our top picks. If you buy through our links, we may get a commission. Reviews ethics statement Adam Oram is a Senior Editor at CNET. He studied Media at Newcastle University and has been writing about technology since 2013. He previously worked as a Senior Writer at iMore, Deals Editor at Thrifter, and as an Apple Genius. His spare time is spent watching football (both kinds), playing Pokmon games, and eating vegan food. Expertise Deals | Apple See full bio Why You Can Trust CNET 16171819202122232425+ Years of Experience 14151617181920212223 Hands-on Product Reviewers 6,0007,0008,0009,00010,00011,00012,00013,00014,00015,000 Sq. Feet of Lab Space CNETs expert staff reviews and rates dozens of new products and services each month, building on more than a quarter century of expertise.Table of Contents Table of Contents Black Friday is here, bringing a whirlwind of dealsbut where should you start? Whether you're treating yourself or tackling your holiday gift list, we're here to simplify your shopping. CNET's experts are digging through the best sales to highlight deals truly worth your time. From TVs and laptops to gaming gear, headphones, and small appliances, we've got all your needs covered. Just remember, these savings won't stick around for long, so act quickly!Skip the hassle of sorting through endless discounts. This page is your go-to guide, regularly updated with the top picks from CNET's shopping pros, covering Black Friday through Cyber Monday. Be sure to check back often so you don't miss out on the biggest bargains!See at AmazonBest Black Friday deals Sony PlayStation 5 Slim Digital Edition: $375 (save $75) Calling all gamers. If you're looking to get your hands on a new console, grab this deal that brings down Sony's Slim PS5 to the lowest price we've seen. Details $375 at Best Buy LG Gram laptop: $1,000 This laptop can handle almost anything you need. It has a 16-inch touchscreen display, an Intel Core i7 processor, 32GB of RAM and a whopping 1TB of storage. Details $1,000 at Amazon AirPods Pro 2 (USB-C): $154 These super-popular ANC earbuds are $95 off right now. AirPods Pro 2 feature top-notch noise-cancelation, impressive sound quality and voice calling performance. They boast an IP54 weather-resistance rating and have a battery life of up to 30 hours with the charging case. Details $154 at Amazon Apple M4 iPad Pro: $849 With an 11-inch Ultra Retina XDR display, an M4 chip, 256GB of storage and support for Wi-Fi 6E, this powerful Apple tablet is perfect for creatives. Be sure to clip the on-page coupon for the full discount. Details $849 at Amazon Worx WX240L 4V 3-Speed cordless screwdriver: $24 Tackle projects around the home with this lightweight electric screwdriver. It has 300 rpm and three torque settings as well as two build-in LED lights. It's also a great stocking stuffer for friends and family. Details $24 at Amazon Cricut Explore 3 and digital content library bundle: $199 Cricut's biggest sale of the year has knocked a whopping $100 off this bundle, including one of our favorite, editor-tested Cricut machines. Details $199 at Amazon Baseus Magnetic Mini: $15 (save $5). Get this portable charger with a 6,000-mAh capacity and MagSafe design at a 50% discount.Govee TV backlight 3: $47 (save $23). This kit adds lights to the back of your TV that sync up with whatever you are watching or playing, and kits for multiple TV sizes are all discounted today.Meta Quest 3S VR headset: $224 (save $299). Amazon is offering the latest Meta Quest headset at its usual $299 price but you'll get a free $75 Amazon gift card when you enter the discount codeQUEST75at checkout.Prusa MK4S 3D printer: $999 (save $100). One of thebest 3D printers of 2024is discounted by $100, and the top-rated MK4S also comes with $300 worth of free gifts. Best Black Friday TV dealsShop all the bestBlack Friday TV dealsbefore they are gone. Now's the time to replace your old, busted TV and upgrade to something with better resolution and features that will take your bingeing sessions to the next level. LG/CNET A 55-inch display is large enough for most spaces, and this particular model is equipped with an OLED screen. It also has Dolby Atmos sound, Dolby Vision, an A11 AI processor with upscaling and gaming features such as Nvidia G Sync, AMD FreeSync Premium and up to 144Hz refresh rate. Snag this TV while it's at an all-time low price. Show more $1,797 at Amazon Hisense 85-inch 4K Smart TV: $1,298 This smart TV defines "Go big or go home." It's 85 inches, making it almost too big for most spaces, but just right for those who love watching movies large and loud or like to catch all the details of any sport you can imagine. It's smarts come from Google TV and includes a subwoofer built-in to make the sound experience better in almost every case. Details $1,298 at Amazon

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November 29, 20245 min readMath and Physics Can't Prove All TruthsPhysicists have described a system that requires an incomputable number to fully understand, another example of the provably unprovable puzzles of mathematicsBy Manon BischoffMathematicians have known for decades that some problems are unsolvable. Now physicists have identified a new example. matdesign24/Getty ImagesYou will never be able to prove every mathematical truth. For me, this incompleteness theorem, discovered by Kurt Gdel, is one of the most incredible results in mathematics. It may not surprise everyonethere are all sorts of unprovable things in everyday lifebut for mathematicians, this idea was a shock. After all, they can construct their own world from a few basic building blocks, the so-called axioms. Only the rules they have created apply there, and all truths are made up of these basic building blocks and the corresponding rules. If you find the right framework, experts long believed, you should therefore be able to prove every truth in some way.But in 1931 Gdel demonstrated otherwise. There will always be truths that elude the basic mathematical framework and are impossible to prove. And this is not a purely abstract finding, without implications for practical situations. Shortly after Gdels groundbreaking work, the first provably unprovable problems emerged. For example, it will never be possible to clarify how many real numbers exist within the mathematical framework currently in use. And unsolvable problems are not limited to mathematics. For example, in certain card and computer games (such as Magic: The Gathering), situations can arise for which it is impossible to determine which player will win. And in physics, it is not always possible to predict whether a crystal system will conduct electricity.Now experts, including physicist Toby Cubitt of University College London, have found another way in which the incompleteness theorem is reflected in physics. They have described a particle system that undergoes a phase transitiona change similar to the shift when water freezes below a temperature of zero degrees Celsius. But the critical parameter at which the phase transition occurs for this system of particles cannot be calculated, unlike that of water. Our result ... illustrates how uncomputable numbers may manifest in physical systems, write the physicists in a preprint paper posted last month on the server arXiv.org.On supporting science journalismIf you're enjoying this article, consider supporting our award-winning journalism by subscribing. By purchasing a subscription you are helping to ensure the future of impactful stories about the discoveries and ideas shaping our world today.An Indeterminable Phase TransitionThis is not the first time that experts have encountered an unpredictable phase transition. Back in 2021 Cubitt and two of his colleagues described another physical system whose transitions are unpredictable. In that case there were an infinite number of phase transitions possible, however. Such situations do not occur in nature. The researchers therefore asked themselves whether unpredictability can ever occur in realistic systems.In the new work, Cubitt and his colleagues investigated a fairly simple system: a finite square lattice containing an arrangement of several particles that each interact with their nearest neighbor. Such models are usually used to describe solids. This is because their atoms are arranged in a regular structure, and their electrons can interact with those of the immediately surrounding atoms. In Cubitts model, the strength of the interaction between the electrons depends on a parameter the greater is, the more strongly the particles in the atomic shells repel each other.If the repulsion is small, the outer electrons are mobile: they can jump back and forth between the atomic nuclei. The stronger is, the more the electrons freeze in their place. This different behavior is also reflected in the energy of the system. You can look at the ground state (the lowest total energy) and the next highest energy state. If is very small, the total energy of the system can grow continuously. As a result, the system conducts electricity without any problems. For large values of , however, the situation is different. With such values, the energy only increases gradually. There is a gap between the ground state and the first excited state. In this casedepending on the size of the gapthe system would be a semiconductor or an insulator.To date, physicists have created thousands of similar models to describe all kinds of solids and crystals. But because the system presented by Cubitt and his colleagues exhibits two different behaviors, there must be a transition between the conducting and the insulating phase. In other words, there is a value of above which the energy spectrum of the system suddenly has a gap.An Incalculable NumberCubitt and his team have determined the value of at which this gap occurs. And it corresponds to the so-called Chaitin constant a number that may sound familiar to math nerds because it is among the few known examples of numbers that cannot be calculated. These are irrational numbers whose decimal places continue forever and never repeat regularly. In contrast to computable irrational numbers such as or e, however, the value of a noncomputable number cannot be approximated with arbitrary precision. There is no algorithm that, if it runs for infinitely long, outputs . If cannot be calculated, then it is also not possible to specify when a phase transition occurs in the system studied by Cubitt and his colleagues.Argentine-American mathematician Gregory Chaitin defined precisely for the purpose of finding a noncalculable number. To do this, he used the famous halting problem from computer science: according to it, there is no machine that can judge, for all possible algorithms, whether a computer executing them will come to a halt at some point or not. If you give a computer any algorithm, it may be possible to judge whether that algorithm can be executed in a finite time. But there is demonstrably no method that can do this for all conceivable program codes. The halting problem is therefore also a direct application of Gdels incompleteness theorem.The Chaitin constant corresponds to the probability with which the theoretical model of a computer (a Turing machine) halts for any given input:In this equation p denotes all programs that halt after a finite runtime, and |p| describes the length of the program in bits. In order to calculate the Chaitin constant exactly, you would have to know which programs hold and which do notwhich is not possible, according to the holding problem. Although in 2000 mathematician Cristian Calude and his colleagues succeeded in calculating the first several digits of the Chaitin constant, 0.0157499939956247687..., it will never be possible to find all decimal places.Cubitts team has therefore been able to prove mathematically that his physical model undergoes a phase transition for a value of = : it goes from being a conductor to an insulator. Because cannot be calculated exactly, however, the phase diagram of the physical system is also undefined. To be clear, this has nothing to do with the fact that current computers are not powerful enough or that there is not enough time to solve the problemthe task is demonstrably unsolvable. Our results illustrate uncomputable numbers may emerge as phase transition points in physics-like models, even when all underlying, microscopic data are fully computable, the physicists write in their paper.Technically the precision with which the Chaitin constant can be specified makes it sufficient for real-world applications. But the work by Cubitt and his colleagues still illustrates once again how incredibly far-reaching Gdels insight is. Even after more than 90 years, there are still new examples of unprovable statements. Its probable that far-reaching physical problems, such as the search for a theory of everything, are affected by Gdels incompleteness theorems.This article originally appeared in Spektrum der Wissenschaft and was reproduced with permission.

OpinionNovember 29, 20245 min readHope Can Be More Powerful Than MindfulnessIn difficult times, a forward-looking mindset may be especially helpfulBy Kristin Scott zeljkosantrac/Getty ImagesIn troubling times, how do we move forward? What mindsets help us bounce back from adversity?When the world ground to a halt because of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, few industries felt the impact quite like the performing arts. Venues shuttered and crowds dispersed. Musicians, actors and production crews faced an unprecedented challenge: they needed to stay resilient despite the fact that their livelihood had vanished overnight.Along with my colleagues at Clemson University and North Carolina State University, I wanted to explore what helps people persevere through such moments, so we partnered with MusiCares, a nonprofit that supports music industry professionals, to study how artists maintained their resilience during the pandemics darkest days. We were particularly interested in two mental approaches: mindfulness (being present and aware in the moment) and hopefulness (believing in and working toward a better future). In psychology, these concepts can be used to describe a general state of being, one that reflects both personality (some people are naturally more mindful or hopeful) and actions, such as regularly practicing meditation to improve ones focus on the present. Many researchers also view mindfulness as a metacognitive process, that is, something that enables people to consciously monitor and modulate their attention, emotions and behaviors to attend to the current moment in an open and curious, nonjudgmental way. Hope, meanwhile, functions as a future-oriented state that helps people to reflect on ones perceived ability to generate pathways around challenges.On supporting science journalismIf you're enjoying this article, consider supporting our award-winning journalism by subscribing. By purchasing a subscription you are helping to ensure the future of impactful stories about the discoveries and ideas shaping our world today.Mindfulnessa buzzword in wellness circlesmight seem to be the obvious key to weathering a storm such as the pandemic. After all, staying grounded in the present moment seems like a good way to avoid spiraling into anxiety about an uncertain future. But our research tells a different, somewhat surprising story. Although mindfulness is a powerful tool for well-being, it does have limitationsand learning to cultivate a hopeful mindset is another critical strategy.Our study followed 247 performers for 18 months, much of which was spent in lockdown. We asked them about their mindset and well-being at different stages of the pandemic. As part of this effort, we gathered data through questionnaires that we sent out in 2021. People told us about their early experiences of the pandemic and their level of work-related tension and resilience. We also asked them about how much they agreed with various statements related to mindfulness or hopefulness in relation to the pandemic specifically.We found, unsurprisingly, that these artists were indeed adversely affected by COVID-19s challenges. More intriguingly, we did not find evidence that mindfulness was particularly helpful to them as a pandemic coping strategy. Although it wasnt harmful, it also didnt significantly help artists bounce back or stay engaged with their work during this prolonged period of stress.Instead hope was the real superstar. Those who maintained a hopeful outlook reported higher levels of work-related resilience and engagement, even as their industry remained in limbo. They were also more likely to experience positive emotions, which in turn boosted their ability to cope with the ongoing crisis. Hopefulness also contributed to their ability to stay productive by exploring new ways to deliver their craft, such as virtual performances and online collaborations.A few things may help to explain this finding. First, mindfulness requires effort. And in periods of substantial or prolonged stress, people may lack the mental energy to effectively engage in self-calming techniques. In line with that, one study found that people struggle with mindfulness techniques when they lack quality sleep.Another factor to consider is what researchers call the mindfulness paradox. Although being present and aware can be incredibly helpful in many situations, it may actually backfire during extended periods of adversity. When your present reality is bleak and shows no signs of immediate improvement, too much focus on the now might leave you feeling stuck or overwhelmed. If youre constantly aware of how bad things are, without any belief that they can get better, its hard to find the motivation to keep going.This doesnt mean mindfulness is pointlessit just might not be the best tool for every situation. When researchers pooled together data from 23 other studies of mindfulness in the workplace, they discovered that even though this mindset helped people with anxiety and distress in general, it did not have clear benefits for problems such as job-related burnout.Meanwhile, when youre facing a prolonged, difficult situationwhether its unemployment, a health crisis or any other major life challengeactively working to maintain hope can be a powerful coping strategy. Much as people are encouraged to practice mindfulness, they can also benefit from cultivating hope. This doesnt mean indulging in blind optimism but rather having belief that things can improve, coupled with the motivation to work toward that improvement.To put this into practice, try journaling about what youd most like to do in the future. To combine thinking with action, connect with others to share those hopes and create a strategy, setting small, achievable goals to move you toward a better future. All of these practices can give you something to focus on beyond your current circumstances.Our study found that hope worked in part by increasing positive emotions, which in turn boosted resilience. That means that harnessing the power of positive emotionsby making time to engage in activities you enjoy, connect with loved ones or practice gratitudecan be essential to our tool kit for trying times.The key takeaway here isnt that mindfulness is useless or that hope is a magic bullet. Different strategies work for different challenges. And particularly in dark times, when the present feels unbearable and the future uncertain, cultivating hope can give us the push we need to keep going. It provides a light at the end of the tunnel, even when we cant see the full path forward.As we navigate uncertainty and face new challenges, we can take a cue from the resilient artists in our study. By nurturing hope, setting our sights on a better future and taking small steps to get there, we can find the strength to persevere through even the toughest of times. And who knows? We might just emerge on the other side stronger and more resilient than ever before.Are you a scientist who specializes in neuroscience, cognitive science or psychology? And have you read a recent peer-reviewed paper that you would like to write about for Mind Matters? Please send suggestions to Scientific Americans Mind Matters editor Daisy Yuhas at dyuhas@sciam.com. This is an opinion and analysis article, and the views expressed by the author or authors are not necessarily those of Scientific American.

Stalker 2: Heart of Chornobyl's first patch is here, featuring over 650 fixesAvailable now on Xbox and PC.Image credit: GSC Game World News by Matt Wales News Reporter Published on Nov. 29, 2024 A little over week after Stalker 2: Heart of Chornobyl's launch, developer GSC Game World is back with the post-apocalyptic shooter's first patch, promising over 650 fixes for Xbox and PC.Stalker 2 recieved a solid critical reception last week, but rare was the review that didn't acknowledge its significant technical issues. "There are many instances where that bugginess still affects quests, gets you killed, or leaves you befuddled," we noted in our three star review, "and it all hurts the game's natural playability quite badly, even if it is often funny."GSC Game World moved quickly to acknowledged concerns, however, promising a first batch of fixes was on the way. And that initial patch is now here, bringing "over 650 fixes, including quest blockers, memory leaks, crashes, and minor bugs."Stalker 2 is an open-world shooter with the guardrails removed.Watch on YouTubeThere are AI improvements, "approximately 100" crash fixes, audio and sound adjustments, balance changes, as well as a whole sweep of tweaks intended to enhance everything from combat and the open-world experience to character models and cutscenes. GSC's release notes are pretty lengthy, but you'll find the full breakdown below.Concluding its Patch 1.0.1 announcement, the studio thanked fans for their "feedback, passion, and support", adding that "work on the game and future patches" continues. It also noted it's already tackling A-Life bugs, with those fixes coming at a later date.Stalker 2: Heart of Chornobyl has, of course, got off to an impressive start despite its technical issues. Earlier this week, GSC Game World revealed the shooter has already sold 1m copies - and that figure doesn't including all those players exploring The Zone via Game Pass.And finally, as promised, those Patch 1.0.1 release notes in full:AI fixes:Fixed groups of NPCs getting stuck and dying near Shelter during active Emission.Fixed issue when Burer could drop any mission items out of the player's hands.Added missing sound effects for Burers 'Telekinesis' ability.Fixed issues with NPCs occasionally getting stuck and not reaching the mission location. This might have caused inability to interact with NPC or progress to the next mission stage due to idle behavior of mission NPC.Fixed issues with performance drops/potential out-of-memory crashes in hubs and locations crowded with NPCs during long play sessions.Fixed issue when NPCs would move to A-pose or start flying after death.Fixed issue when NPCs could not track whether a target in cover was covered from shots, which caused them to shoot into cover.And other, more than 20 different issues with AI.Optimization fixes:Fixed issue with invisible NPC/Mutants appearing in FOV while the Player is scoping.Fixed fire visual effects that were not rendering at certain camera angles.Also, we fixed approximately 100 different crashes, including potential memory leaks and EXCEPTION_ACCESS_VIOLATION issues.Audio & Sound fixes:Fixed issue when combat music was still playing while combat was finished.And 7 other minor audio & sound bugs.Balance adjustments:Weapons and armor repair cost is decreased.Significantly increased cost of artifacts (more revenue from selling).Money reward for most missions is increased from 2 to 3 times.Rookie difficulty armor and weapons buffs.Damage from mutants is moderately decreased on Rookie difficulty (more mutant health balance changes in Combat Balance section).Damage to player's weapon is decreased by 23 percent on Rookie difficulty.Armor durability is increased by 12.5 percent.Added silencer attachment for PTM to specific stash on Lesser Zone.Fixed sell prices for Exoskeletons, they are now more expensive to sell.Fixed sell price of upgraded weapons.Rebalanced Hercules consumable: player speed debuff removed; increased the effect parameters (now more weight could be carried by player after consuming).Some additional minor bugfixes.Combat Balance:Reduced some mission items' weight (including weight of scanners)Slightly rebalanced Bloodsuckers damage.Decreased Bloodsuckers strike protection rank (more damage from guns).Reduced Boodsuckers HP regeneration outside the combat.Controller HP is moderately reduced.Burer HP is moderately reduced.Boar HP is moderately reduced.Flesh HP is moderately reduced.Damage to Boar from headshots changed to 100% of body damage.Damage to Boar from shots to the limbs is increased.Damage to Flesh from shots to the limbs is increased.Significantly increased weapon melee distance.Slightly increased knife melee distance.Gamepad Input:Increased gamepad dead zonesCharacters:Fixed eyes and teeth on NPC models.Some minor fixes of NPC models and animations.Cutscenes:Added missing footage to TV displays in the final cutscene.Fixed issue with deer animation in the opening cutscene.And 20 other different bugs in the cutscenes.Game Settings & Menus:Adjusted unreadable text at the bottom of the Shader Compilation screen.Fixed issue with the 'Nvidia Reflex Low Latency' option not being saved on subsequent boots of the game.And 10 more minor issues.Interactable Objects:Fixed physics issues with destructible and movable objects, including those floating in the air.Fixed interaction prompt with glass doors in SIRCAAs inner yard, which caused a walkthrough blocker.Fixed missing inner doors in the X-11 laboratory elevator.And more minor bugs.Main and Side Missions:Resolved numerous mission blockers and bugs encountered under specific conditions. Key fixes include:Fixed missing interaction with dead Blind dogs in the Nightingales Hunt mission.Fixed uncompletable objectives in the Seek, and You Shall Find mission.Fixed multiple issues in the There and Back Again mission, including one where the artifact couldnt be found.Resolved dialog loop with Zotov during the A Needle in a Haystack mission.Fixed progression blockers in the Answers Come at a Price mission, including issues with bandits after an emission and missing the Heavy Key item.Corrected mission markers for NPC locations in Hot on the Trail mission.Fixed door-related issues in the In Search of a Guide mission and The Side Hustle mission.Fixed issue when cutscene does not start during the Just Like the Good Old Days mission.Fixed issue when Lodochka is missing in Quite's Camp during the Just Like the Good Old Days mission.Fixed an issue during Just Like the Good Old Days when Lodochka acts aggressively after bringing him the Emitter.It is now possible to turn off electricity in the flooded area during the To the Last Drop of Blood mission.Fixed multiple issues in the On the Edge mission, including idle NPCs, stuck doors, and the Monolith attack progression.Fixed progression blockers in the A Minor Incident mission, including issues with Bayun's collar and locked doors.Addressed performance drops and confusing objectives in the In Search of Past Glory mission.Fixed issues in the Visions of Truth mission, including stuck NPCs and blocked progression after dialogs.Resolved stuck cutscenes and blocked progression in the Dangerous Visitors, Grays Last Hunt, and The Eternal Shining missions.Corrected spawn behaviors for NPCs and enemies in The Boundary and Escape from the Cage missions.Tweaked missions like Down Below, Budmo!, and A Big Score to resolve stuck NPCs, misaligned markers, and missing dialog options.And approximately 120 other issues within the main line, side missions, and encounters.Open World Experience:Fixed stretched or missing limbs on humanoid corpses.Fixed missing fast travel routes, including to the Concrete Plant for Toadstool.Resolved issues with loudspeakers, fast travel, and NPC interactions in various locations, such as the Scientists' Bunker, and Chemical Plant.Adjusted hostile NPC behavior during the Arena missions, including bandits tactics and increased ammo for the Tyrant fight.Corrected mission progression in the Black Sheep and The Key to Freedom missions.And approximately 50 other issues were fixed.Player Guidance, Gear, and Weapons:Fixed a bug that allows to sell items to the trader for more money that they actually cost.Fixed input blocking issues with the PDA, inventory, and attachments when interacting with artifacts.Corrected flashlight behavior after saving/loading.Resolved issues with grenade type selection, compass marker overlaps, and missing mission markers.Fixed inconsistencies with weapon and armor upgrade effects, including pricing and upgrade reversals.Improved HUD behavior and prolonged the duration of "Point of No Return" hints during Down Below mission.Fixed a bug where player could sell mission items using gamepad.And approximately 50 minor "anomalies".Voiceover and Facial Animations:Restored missing facial animations for Sava in the Hot on the Trail mission and Mugwort in The Eternal Shining mission.Fixed missing voice lines during the Let No One Leave Unsatisfied mission.Corrected radio call effects so NPC voices properly reflect distance during communication.And a couple more things are fixed.World:Fixed flickering textures in various locations, including the Sphere, Military Base and Chemical Plant.Resolved movement issues, including getting stuck in certain locations during missions like Once More Unto the Breach and A Tough Awakening.Corrected artifact spawn points in some areas.Fixed NPC behavior during encounters.Adjusted voice volume during storm weather for improved audio balance.And approximately 50 more bugs.

Sony's PlayStation 5 Pro is the most capable console money can buy right now, so it's only right that we should see Epic's Fortnite receive a substantial upgrade. The Pro's extra rasterisation performance is put to good use in delivering higher resolutions up against the standard model, but that's not really the game-changing difference. Instead, Epic deploys its higher end hardware ray tracing features to the 60fps mode of the game, offering a much improved level of global illumination and reflections - and it does so while maintaining its nigh-on flawless performance level. It's also interesting to note that one of Sony's 'big three' enhancements isn't used. Epic prefers its own Temporal Super Resolution technology (TSR) instead of the Pro's machine learning-based PlayStation Spectral Super Resolution (PSSR).This is quite an interesting decision and I think it highlights some important aspects about how PSSR can, should and likely will be deployed in UE5 games. Epic has been working for a long time on TSR four years, if not longer - and through its research and version updates, it has improved its quality while also reducing its cost via optimisations with minimal impact to overall quality. TSR is tailored to the needs of Epic's engine and is fully integrated and responsively developed with all the other techniques in the engine. TSR works as harmoniously as possible with the engine's particular quirks leading to generally competent image quality.Epic avoiding PSSR for Fortnite makes sense. For one, PSSR will be more expensive from a computational perspective and in a world where this game doggedly runs at 60fps or 120fps, every millisecond counts. Secondly, TSR avoids issues that PSSR has - as seen recently in Silent Hill 2 on PS5 Pro. I imagine this will be something we commonly see in the near future for titles using Unreal Engine 5 until PSSR has proven itself as a viable alternative. In effect, with Epic sticking with TSR for its showcase game, a message is being sent from the engine's creators to its many licensees.Fortnite on PS5 Pro - a visual guide to the enhancements made for PS5 Pro.Watch on YouTubeSo, TSR stays and resolution increases. At one point I measured a 1080p internal resolution with Fortnite running on PS5, up against 1350p on Pro in the exact same scene. That's a 25 percent increase to axis resolution but more in the order of a 50 percent increase in overall pixel count. That is quite the resolution bump, which does not align with the spec differentials between PS5 and PS5 Pro, but it's worth pointing out that for energy saving reasons, the console versions of Fortnite pare back the dynamic resolution scaling solution's upper bounds and it's uncertain if a similar limitation is enforced at all on PS5 Pro. In practice though, the difference is surprisingly minor due to TSR applying to both, despite a seemingly vast gulf in resolution. Pixel counts are not the story here.Ray tracing is where things get interesting, because it comes in two forms in Unreal Engine 5 - software-based and hardware-based. Hardware RT isn't common at all on console UE5 titles, although the classic Matrix Awakens demo does have it, which may have given the impression that it would be more widely deployed. Since then, nearly every UE5 title has shipped with the lower quality software ray tracing instead. The fact that Fortnite on Pro gets hardware RT says to me that Epic doesn't think it's a good fit for base hardware, but can be used on PS5 Pro as an easy to use upgrade. Indeed, if you check out Silent Hill 2 on Pro, hardware RT is found in the 30fps quality mode where it is absent on the standard PS5 equivalent.In terms of the difference, RT reflections are much improved. The engine now traces against triangles that make up an object instead of the blobby signed distance fields as found in software mode. Reflected trees actually look like trees as opposed to weirdly broken up, basic approximations. SDF LODs also see pop-in with reflections, which does not happen with hardware Lumen on PS5 Pro. Everything looks stable and more consistent. The same applies to shadows from objects in reflections they're blobby and confusing in the software mode, while the tree shadows look a lot more like the real deal in hardware mode. Moving objects like characters are added into reflections as well, which are not there with software ray tracing. The most obvious example of this is that your own player character isn't present in reflections on PS5 - but it is on Pro. Other dynamic objects like moving cars and other players are also rendered in reflections with hardware RT, but not in the software version on the base console. PlayStation 5 PlayStation 5 ProFortnite compared on standard PS5 with software RT, up against PS5 Pro with full hardware-accelerated Lumen. PlayStation 5 PlayStation 5 ProFortnite compared on standard PS5 with software RT, up against PS5 Pro with full hardware-accelerated Lumen. PlayStation 5 PlayStation 5 ProFortnite compared on standard PS5 with software RT, up against PS5 Pro with full hardware-accelerated Lumen. PlayStation 5 PlayStation 5 ProFortnite compared on standard PS5 with software RT, up against PS5 Pro with full hardware-accelerated Lumen. PlayStation 5 PlayStation 5 ProFortnite compared on standard PS5 with software RT, up against PS5 Pro with full hardware-accelerated Lumen. PlayStation 5 PlayStation 5 ProFortnite compared on standard PS5 with software RT, up against PS5 Pro with full hardware-accelerated Lumen. PlayStation 5 PlayStation 5 ProFortnite compared on standard PS5 with software RT, up against PS5 Pro with full hardware-accelerated Lumen. PlayStation 5 PlayStation 5 ProFortnite compared on standard PS5 with software RT, up against PS5 Pro with full hardware-accelerated Lumen.Global illumination also benefits to varying degrees. The nature of diffuse lighting is that it doesn't need a huge amount of precision so in some cases, software Lumen works fine on the existing game, but as you'll see highlighted in the video embedded above, sometimes the lighting just isn't physically plausible, while temporal stability is another big problem with obvious flickering problems. All of this is gone on PS5 Pro thanks to hardware accelerated RT. Dynamic object lighting is also dramatically improved, the floating effect seen on base PS5's software solution replaced with distinct, accurate bounce lighting in world space as objects made of triangles are traced against, not just in screen-space as is the case with software Lumen.The last big difference on Pro vs PS5 is in the stability of lighting. Since hardware Lumen can literally 'see' more objects to finer precision, it has fewer errors and 'boiling' artefacts. Most emissive lighting in software Lumen is in screen-space so it is very unstable, whereas hardware Lumen samples it better, making it more stable in motion.RT is the key upgrade then but there are a couple more points to make. The 120fps game mode never had cutting-edge Unreal Engine 5 features to begin with, so perhaps it's inevitable that the PS5 Pro version looks practically identical, with an almost perfect 120fps read-out. 60fps performance - even with the upgrades - remains solid overall, only dropping the odd frame at moments of intense load, and even then, very briefly. Frame-rate dips are very rare and essentially unnoticeable though whether you're gaming on the standard PS5 or the Pro model.To see this content please enable targeting cookies. As for PS5 Pro settings comparisons to PC, it's interesting to see that despite the enhancements, the new console isn't getting across-the-board equivalents to PC's 'epic' settings. For example, with RT reflections, we're on the equivalent of PC's high, based on the lighting detail and geometry seen in those reflections, along with their overall resolution. Diffuse lighting on PS5 Pro is indeed closest to the highest 'epic' setting though, where the high setting on PC introduces speckled artefacts onto geometric edges at times and also has a fuzzy grainer look in general.There are two other settings tweaks that surprised me, however. TSR is set to around the medium quality setting on Pro, with more aliased edges than high or ultra equivalents. This is a computationally cheap setting on PC, so I'm curious as to why this was chosen. Lastly, there is the post-processing quality setting, which on the high setting removes some of the more cinematic tone mapping bloom found on 'epic'.Even with this settings mix, we're still getting a big upgrade over the standard PS5 version of the game, especially when it comes to the base console's lack of hardware ray tracing support. Seriously, it would be great to see more UE5 games ship on PS5 Pro with hardware RT as the quality advantages are substantial, as this piece hopefully demonstrates. Maybe it wouldn't be possible for all games' 60fps performance modes, but as Silent Hill 2 demonstrates, it can find a home in 30fps quality modes for sure. For now though, Fortnite continues to work as a great 'shop window' for Unreal Engine 5 on consoles, with an intelligently deployed upgrade that taps into the strengths of the new hardware. Even if you're not a fan of the game, it remains absolutely gorgeous, and it's well worth checking out.

You can trust VideoGamer. Our team of gaming experts spend hours testing and reviewing the latest games, to ensure you're reading the most comprehensive guide possible. Rest assured, all imagery and advice is unique and original. Check out how we test and review games here Contents hide Full Stalker 2 patch 1.01 patch notes After reading the games first patch for days, patch 1.01 for Stalker 2 is finally out. As we predicted, the patch was released on Friday, November 29. It brings a whole host of fixes and improvements to the game. However, notably, the A-Life system was still not fixed, much to players dismay. The patch notes are quite a read, so lets dive in.Full Stalker 2 patch 1.01 patch notesPatch 1.01 addressed many issues in the game. From bugged quests and wonky AI, to several issues which led to crashes, as well as some general balancing. For example, players will find that many enemies are far less tanky than they used to be. Theres still plenty of work for the GSC Game World team, including the aforementioned A-Life system not working properly.AI fixesFixed groups of NPCs getting stuck and dying near Shelter during active Emission.Fixed issue when Burer could drop any mission items out of the players hands.Added missing sound effects for Burers Telekinesis ability.Fixed issues with NPCs occasionally getting stuck and not reaching the mission location. This might have caused inability to interact with NPC or progress to the next mission stage due to idle behavior of mission NPC.Fixed issues with performance drops/potential out-of-memory crashes in hubs and locations crowded with NPCs during long play sessions.Fixed issue when NPCs would move to A-pose or start flying after death.Fixed issue when NPCs could not track whether a target in cover was covered from shots, which caused them to shoot into cover.And other, more than 20 different issues with AI.Optimization fixesFixed issue with invisible NPC/Mutants appearing in FOV while the Player is scoping.Fixed fire visual effects that were not rendering at certain camera angles.Also, we fixed approximately 100 different crashes, including potential memory leaks and EXCEPTION_ACCESS_VIOLATION issues.Audio & Sound fixesFixed issue when combat music was still playing while combat was finished.And 7 other minor audio & sound bugs.Balance adjustmentsWeapons and armor repair cost is decreased.Significantly increased cost of artifacts (more revenue from selling).Money reward for most missions is increased from 2 to 3 times.Rookie difficulty armor and weapons buffs.Damage from mutants is moderately decreased on Rookie difficulty (more mutant health balance changes in Combat Balance section).Damage to players weapon is decreased by 23 percent on Rookie difficulty.Armor durability is increased by 12.5 percent.Added silencer attachment for PTM to specific stash on Lesser Zone.Fixed sell prices for Exoskeletons, they are now more expensive to sell.Fixed sell price of upgraded weapons.Rebalanced Hercules consumable: player speed debuff removed; increased the effect parameters (now more weight could be carried by player after consuming).Some additional minor bugfixes.Combat BalanceReduced some mission items weight (including weight of scanners)Slightly rebalanced Bloodsuckers damage.Decreased Bloodsuckers strike protection rank (more damage from guns).Reduced Boodsuckers HP regeneration outside the combat.Controller HP is moderately reduced.Burer HP is moderately reduced.Boar HP is moderately reduced.Flesh HP is moderately reduced.Damage to Boar from headshots changed to 100% of body damage.Damage to Boar from shots to the limbs is increased.Damage to Flesh from shots to the limbs is increased.Significantly increased weapon melee distance.Slightly increased knife melee distance.Gamepad InputIncreased gamepad dead zonesCharactersFixed eyes and teeth on NPC models.Some minor fixes of NPC models and animations.CutscenesAdded missing footage to TV displays in the final cutscene.Fixed issue with deer animation in the opening cutscene.And 20 other different bugs in the cutscenes.Game Settings and MenusAdjusted unreadable text at the bottom of the Shader Compilation screen.Fixed issue with the Nvidia Reflex Low Latency option not being saved on subsequent boots of the game.And 10 more minor issues.Interactable ObjectsFixed physics issues with destructible and movable objects, including those floating in the air.Fixed interaction prompt with glass doors in SIRCAAs inner yard, which caused a walkthrough blocker.Fixed missing inner doors in the X-11 laboratory elevator.And more minor bugs.Main and Side MissionsResolved numerous mission blockers and bugs encountered under specific conditions. Key fixes include:Fixed missing interaction with dead Blind dogs in the Nightingales Hunt mission.Fixed uncompletable objectives in the Seek, and You Shall Find mission.Fixed multiple issues in the There and Back Again mission, including one where the artifact couldnt be found.Resolved dialog loop with Zotov during the A Needle in a Haystack mission.Fixed progression blockers in the Answers Come at a Price mission, including issues with bandits after an emission and missing the Heavy Key item.Corrected mission markers for NPC locations in Hot on the Trail mission.Fixed door-related issues in the In Search of a Guide mission and The Side Hustle mission.Fixed issue when cutscene does not start during the Just Like the Good Old Days mission.Fixed issue when Lodochka is missing in Quites Camp during the Just Like the Good Old Days mission.Fixed an issue during Just Like the Good Old Days when Lodochka acts aggressively after bringing him the Emitter.It is now possible to turn off electricity in the flooded area during the To the Last Drop of Blood mission.Fixed multiple issues in the On the Edge mission, including idle NPCs, stuck doors, and the Monolith attack progression.Fixed progression blockers in the A Minor Incident mission, including issues with Bayuns collar and locked doors.Addressed performance drops and confusing objectives in the In Search of Past Glory mission.Fixed issues in the Visions of Truth mission, including stuck NPCs and blocked progression after dialogs.Resolved stuck cutscenes and blocked progression in the Dangerous Visitors, Grays Last Hunt, and The Eternal Shining missions.Corrected spawn behaviors for NPCs and enemies in The Boundary and Escape from the Cage missions.Tweaked missions like Down Below, Budmo!, and A Big Score to resolve stuck NPCs, misaligned markers, and missing dialog options.And approximately 120 other issues within the main line, side missions, and encounters.Open World ExperienceFixed stretched or missing limbs on humanoid corpses.Fixed missing fast travel routes, including to the Concrete Plant for Toadstool.Resolved issues with loudspeakers, fast travel, and NPC interactions in various locations, such as the Scientists Bunker, and Chemical Plant.Adjusted hostile NPC behavior during the Arena missions, including bandits tactics and increased ammo for the Tyrant fight.Corrected mission progression in the Black Sheep and The Key to Freedom missions.And approximately 50 other issues were fixed.Player Guidance, Gear, and WeaponsFixed a bug that allows to sell items to the trader for more money that they actually cost.Fixed input blocking issues with the PDA, inventory, and attachments when interacting with artifacts.Corrected flashlight behavior after saving/loading.Resolved issues with grenade type selection, compass marker overlaps, and missing mission markers.Fixed inconsistencies with weapon and armor upgrade effects, including pricing and upgrade reversals.Improved HUD behavior and prolonged the duration of Point of No Return hints during Down Below mission.Fixed a bug where player could sell mission items using gamepad.And approximately 50 minor anomalies.Voiceover and Facial AnimationsRestored missing facial animations for Sava in the Hot on the Trail mission and Mugwort in The Eternal Shining mission.Fixed missing voice lines during the Let No One Leave Unsatisfied mission.Corrected radio call effects so NPC voices properly reflect distance during communication.And a couple more things are fixed.WorldFixed flickering textures in various locations, including the Sphere, Military Base and Chemical Plant.Resolved movement issues, including getting stuck in certain locations during missions like Once More Unto the Breach and A Tough Awakening.Corrected artifact spawn points in some areas.Fixed NPC behavior during encounters.Adjusted voice volume during storm weather for improved audio balance.And approximately 50 more bugs.S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2: Heart of ChornobylPlatform(s):PC, Xbox Series S, Xbox Series S/X, Xbox Series XGenre(s):Action, Adventure, RPG, Shooter, Survival HorrorRelated TopicsS.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2: Heart of Chornobyl Subscribe to our newsletters!By subscribing, you agree to our Privacy Policy and may receive occasional deal communications; you can unsubscribe anytime.Share

You can trust VideoGamer. Our team of gaming experts spend hours testing and reviewing the latest games, to ensure you're reading the most comprehensive guide possible. Rest assured, all imagery and advice is unique and original. Check out how we test and review games hereFortnite players often look out for other interactive elements during their Battle Royale gameplay that require them to do more than just shooting at enemies or cranking 90s at them. Some rather prefer to just drive around in their favorite vehicle and listen to the radio, while others like to focus on completing quests.In Chapter 5 Season 1, Epic added more than just regular vehicles on the island, they rather introduced Trains as a means to get around the map. But they also had some special loot and a chest that players could hack to get rare weapons and stock up on ammo.However, in Chapter 5 Season 3, they were removed since the rampant Nitro vehicles took over. Now finally after a long 6-month wait, Epic is bringing back Trains in Fortnite, but in a unique way, exactly what players wanted. Fortnite Chapter 6 is bringing Metro Trains to new Japanese-themed mapAccording to a new gameplay trailer, Fortnite Chapter 6 Season 1 will bring back Trains to the island. These trains, as can be seen in the image below, are modeled in the style of Japan Metro rails and run overhead a Mega City-style POI.New types of Metro trains will be added in Chapter 6. Image by Epic Games.In the image, a chest can also be seen on the train which many players assume, is hackable, similar to the Chapter 5 Season 1 Train Chest. Furthermore, on several sections of the map, these trains can also be seen running at ground level and above water bridges, which means players can board it to take a round trip of the entire island just like in the previous chapter.However, it is not currently confirmed whether theyll move at regular speeds like the older trains or super fast like Japans Bullet Trains. Regardless, players expressed excitement and rejoiced at the return of their favorite feature on the island in previous seasons.One such player added, Trains should feel like trains. It shouldnt be like trains last time where it was totally empty. Another one wrote, This looks way cooler than the last version.While trains in the previous Fortnite seasons ran empty and players could not travel between carriages, many players are expecting the new iteration to allow them to combat enemies inside the train compartments which will add a futuristic cyberpunk feel to the gameplay experience. FortnitePlatform(s):Android, iOS, macOS, Nintendo Switch, PC, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series S/XGenre(s):Action, Massively Multiplayer, Shooter9VideoGamerSubscribe to our newsletters!By subscribing, you agree to our Privacy Policy and may receive occasional deal communications; you can unsubscribe anytime.Share

Who says holiday miracles dont happen anymore? In case you missed it, we found a rare Nordic Knots sale hidden among SSENSE's mega selection of home goods on the Everything Else page. Weve been in the mood for area rugs here at AD for a while, and Nordic Knotsthe culty Swedish rug makers who have collaborated with everyone from designer Giancarlo Valle to French artist Garance Vallescored high marks on our rigorous handfeel and padding-around-barefoot tests.I am most impressed by the weight and texture of the pile which is dense and compact, feels luxurious underfoot, and holds shape with heavy furniture on top, executive fashion director Lisa Aiken told us.While the exact rug that Lisa tested isnt discounted at the moment, there are a plethora of noteworthy designs that will add depth and dimension to your space. And if youre in the market for anything else (ahem, everything else), dont miss our cheat sheet to the rest of the SSENSE Black Friday sale, or any of our other Cyber Week stories.Nordic Knots Campbell-Rey Folding Ribbon RugNordic Knots Campbell-Rey Folding Ribbon RugThis coquette-ish rug is the perfect way to extend girl decor into 2025. If the rest of your SSENSE sale cart includes Sandy Liang, Simone Rocha, and Shushu/Tong, a folding ribbon design really marries your fashion sense and taste for interiors.Nordic Knots Untitled 1 RugNordic Knots Untitled 1 RugGreat deals aren't always black and white on Black Friday, but we can guarantee you won't feel any buyer's remorse with this abstract design that'll work with a ton of different design aesthetics.Nordic Knots Campbell-Rey Garden Maze RugNordic Knots Campbell-Rey Garden Maze RugLooking at this rug feels a bit like a Christopher Nolan movie marathon. The monochromatic green hues create a mindbending illusion we could stare at for hours.Nordic Knots Elder 01 RugNordic Knots Elder 01 RugDon't fret: The Nordic Knots sale also includes something for the minimalists out there. This neutral design has just a subtle touch of geometric interest at its borders that won't clash with your existing decor scheme.Nordic Knots Purple Campbell-Rey Climbing Vine RugNordic Knots Purple Campbell-Rey Climbing Vine RugUnderstated green thumbs will get a kick out of this lavender area rug with an old-school vine border. We'd surround it with some of your favorite house plants and this travertine coffee table we found in Wayfair's Black Friday sale.Nordic Knots Orange Wool Face RugNordic Knots Orange Wool Face RugRugs are an especially nice way to incorporate color into your space without cracking open a paint can. This carpet in particular is a two-for-onethe warm orange hue will add a rich layer to your space and the hidden face design is like having artwork on your floor.Nordic Knots Simple Object 18 RugNordic Knots Simple Object 18 RugThis rug is sure to be a conversation starter during your next dinner party. And if you have kids in the house, they'll probably spend hours tracing the infinity line with toy cars.Nordic Knots Monolith 01 RugNordic Knots Monolith 01 RugWhile food decor is all the rage right now, you may not want to come home to a croissant lamp or a corn stool. This abstract design reminds us of a sushi platter which is definitely speaking to our stomach.