EarthBound turns "adults into kids, and kids into adults".Over the holiday season, we're republishing some of the best articles from Nintendo Life writers and contributors as part of our Best of 2024 series. This article was originally published in August. Enjoy!Soapbox features enable our individual writers and contributors to voice their opinions on hot topics and random stuff they've been chewing over. Today, Nile celebrates the innocence of youth, the pain of growing up, and the magic of a cult classic SNES RPG, which celebrates its 30th anniversary on 27th August 2024...Read the full article on nintendolife.com

Biggest surprise! Most long-winded title! Crappiest Switch publisher!The end of 2024 is nigh, but before we get there it's time to look back on what has been a surprisingly chonky year for Switch, software-wise, in the eighth year since we first got our hands on the thing.We've listed our personal Switch GOTYs, you've ranked yours - now it's time to round up the stragglers with a light-hearted celebration of the year's highs (and a handful of lows). Yes, it's time for this year's round of NL's Alternative Game Awards.Read the full article on nintendolife.com

Image: moesoftThe latest Nintendo Download update for North America has arrived (a day later, as many of us at NL were enjoying our Boxing Day leftovers) and it's bringing a handful of new games to the eShop in your region.And, uhhh... it really is a handful. But hey! There's plenty of games on sale in both North America and Europe, so tuck into those. Still, be sure to drop a vote in our poll and comment down below with your potential picks for the week. Enjoy!Switch eShop - New ReleasesBasketball Legends 24 (DEZVOLT GAMES, 27th Dec, $9.99) - Step into the world of Basketball Legends 24, where past, present, and future converge in an epic celebration of hoops culture. Gather your team of legends, experience the evolution of basketball across different eras, and dominate the courts with next-level gameplay and stunning visuals. Whether you're a seasoned pro or a casual fan, this game promises endless excitement and fierce competition.Subscribe to Nintendo Life on YouTube789kWatch on YouTube Buried Alive: Breathless Rescue (Great Escape, 28th Dec, $9.99) - Are you ready to embark on a spine-chilling adventure? Step into the shoes of the protagonist and experience the terror of being "Buried Alive" in a crypt. Your mission is clear: Escape the confines of your coffin, find the key to unlock the door, and unveil the dark secrets that lie within. Your mission: escape the suffocating grip of the coffin and find your way to freedom!Life or Reach (KOUSHI, 1st Jan, $3.75) - A fighting game where you can control your reach! ? During a match, you can extend the reach of your weapon in exchange for your own stamina! Extending your reach makes you more likely to be defeated, but it allows you to instantly overcome situations where you are at a disadvantage in distance!Old Coin Pusher Friends 3 (STP WORKS, 26th Dec, $3.99) - Work together with other players to defeat yokai, punish corrupt officials, and aim for the jackpot. As you progress in the game, you can enhance your abilities with various upgrades.Sudoku Classic2 (G-MODE, 26th Dec, $5.99) - It's a video game, but you can play it as if you were writing with a pen on paper. You can customize the assist functions to your liking.The Escape Room Chronicles ep4:The 24-Hour TV Station (D3PUBLISHER, 26th Dec, $5.99) - Featuring fully refined graphics, immersive interactive elements, and various play modes with multiple endings, this game promises a unique experience for every player. With memo and camera functions at your fingertips, its designed to be easy for beginners and exciting for veterans alike. Dive into the world of simple yet addictive puzzle-solving with this thrilling escape game!Thinking of You Beyond Time (moesoft, 27th Dec, $24.99) - The characters are brought to life using E-mote animation system. When they breathe, wink, or speak, it all looks very realistic. Additionally, the game features Japanese voice acting. Time flows like a river, quietly taking away the warmth of the past, yet unable to erase the whispers deeply buried in the heart.What will you be downloading this week? (48 votes)Basketball Legends 242%Buried Alive: Breathless Rescue 0%Life or Reach 0%Old Coin Pusher Friends 32%Sudoku Classic26%The Escape Room Chronicles ep4:The 24-Hour TV Station 0%Thinking of You Beyond Time10%Nothing for me this week79%So that's your lot for this week's North American Nintendo Download. Go on, be a sport and drop a vote in the poll above, and comment below with your hot picks! Every game we scored 9/10 or higherEvery game we scored 9/10 or higherRelated GamesSee AlsoShare:01 Alana has been with Nintendo Life since 2022, and while RPGs are her first love, Nintendo is a close second. She enjoys nothing more than overthinking battle strategies, characters, and stories. She also wishes she was a Sega air pirate. Hold on there, you need to login to post a comment...Related Articles161 Games You Should Pick Up In Nintendo's 'Hits For The Holidays' eShop Sale (North America)Every game we scored 9/10 or higherPSA: Switch 2 Is Getting Revealed In The Next 100 DaysSet your AlarmosBest Nintendo Switch Games Of 2024The finest Switch games of 2024Multiple Cartoon Network Games Have Been Removed From The Switch eShopMerry Christmas!

In BriefPosted:11:55 AM PST December 27, 2024Image Credits:Savo PrelEvic / AFPTerraform Labs co-founder Do Kwon will face fraud charges in the U.S.Do Kwon, the co-founder of collapsed cryptocurrency startup Terraform Labs, will be extradited from Montenegro to the U.S. to face federal fraud charges, as first reported by Bloomberg.Kwon faces charges in both the U.S. and South Korea; Terraform Labs TerraUSD and Luna cryptocurrencies crashed in 2022, causing investors to lose over $40 billion.Terraform and Kwon were found personally liable for fraud following a civil trial on U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission allegations in April.Terraform agreed to pay $4.5 billion to settle the case with the SEC.Kwon was arrested in March 2023 at the airport in Podgorica, the Montenegrin capital, while preparing to board a flight to Dubai. Its unclear when Montenegro plans on releasing Kwon to the U.S., and whether the governments latest decision supersedes its order in August to extradite Kwon to South Korea.Topics

If there was one phrase that captured the vibe and theme of 2024 at least in the transportation sector it was business whiplash. Legacy automakers changed direction on their all-EVs-or-bust strategy, startups pivoted, and some Silicon Valley VCs and executives adjusted their views on a changing political landscape in which they now are playing starring roles.Jaguar went in an entirely new polarizing direction with a rebranding that got a lot of attention and lit social media on fire, at least for a few days. GM slowed its EV plans and was forced to change lanes on software an internal restructure accelerated by problems with the Chevy Blazer EV that has had positive developments. But the automakers most striking shift was its decision to no longer fund development of the Cruise robotaxi.Everywhere we looked, founders, VCs, and automotive execs were changing course to take advantage of shifting consumer demand and, in many cases, to simply survive.Here are the biggest topics and stories in transportation in 2024.Autonomous vehicles: Pivots, survivors, and scaleThe buzzy years of autonomous vehicle tech from 2016 to 2020 are long gone, and the hype cycle has brought us through the trough of disillusionment. A handful of remaining AV startups, including Ghost Autonomy and Phantom Auto, which had already pivoted, took their final breaths in 2024. Other AV startups took a cue from their brethren in other sectors and turned to defense, officially becoming dual-use companies. And others, like TuSimple, have pivoted almost entirely away from developing autonomous technology, and instead have moved to embrace *checks notes* AI animation and gaming.The path to a commercial robotaxi business is still fraught. GM decided to no longer fund the Cruise robotaxi development program; the automaker will now use that tech and talent to incrementally improve its hands-off advanced driver assistance system and eventually introduce personal autonomous vehicles.AVs did, however, get a boost thanks to a booming and hypey AI industry and newfound interest in the end-to-end approach to autonomy (just ask Wayve). Waymo and Zoox, two well-funded AV companies, are still on the commercial robotaxi path. And of course theres Tesla, which this year revealed its Cybercab prototype with plans to start production in 2025 or 2026. CEO Elon Musk also promised to unleash unsupervised FSD and launch a robotaxi service in California and Texas next year, but were taking those promises with a heavy dose of skepticism given Musks penchant for missing deadlines.Other AV must-reads of 2024:EVs are put to the testLegacy automakers like Ford and GM spent billions of dollars beefing up their electric vehicle lineups and investing in U.S. battery manufacturing facilities to keep on top of supply chains. EV sales bolstered by the Biden administrations EV tax credit continued to reach record highs this year. But automakers and investors have feared that sales for electric cars, which accounted for 8.9% of total auto sales in the third quarter, havent risen at the pace they hoped for. Tesla even saw its own profits drop at the start of the year, with Musk noting that automakers were pulling back from EVs due to pressure from hybrids. That pullback might just continue into 2025 with the incoming administrations plans to cut the EV tax credit.Meanwhile in EV startup land, the SPAC model has continued to prove unsuccessful for driving long-term business growth. We chronicled the messy downfall of Fisker which crumbled under its founders whims including how the startup left its HQ in complete disarray and had to sign a deal with American Lease, the company that bought Fiskers fleet, to help owners get help with recall repairs.Canoo has also struggled to maintain enough cash to operate, and in December it began to furlough workers. Perhaps the startups money troubles came from unsustainable spending habits, like spending double Canoos annual revenue on CEO Tony Avilas private jet, or acquiring the assets of its bankrupt peer Arrival.Faraday Future, despite raising over $1 billion when it merged with a SPAC in 2021, is also sinking fast to the point where data mining company Palantir now owns an 8.7% stake in the company after Faraday was unable to pay for services rendered.One of the only new EV players that didnt go public through a special purpose acquisition merger was Rivian. While Rivian hasnt had the smoothest run since its record-breaking IPO, the EV maker hit some major milestones in 2024, albeit with some speed bumps along the way, including a series of lawsuits alleging top executives of harassment.Rivian unveiled in March its next-generation R2 SUV and a surprised R3 hatchback. In the summer, Rivians path to survival became linked to being able to sell its revamped R1T pickup and the R1S SUV at a profit to sustain itself long enough to get its cheaper R2 SUV on the road. Rivian even snagged a $6.6 billion loan to restart production on its Georgia plant, although it appears that deal was helped along thanks to a secret agreement with the United Auto Workers union.Tesla was in a state of flux as Musk fought to hold onto his $56 billion pay package through sheer determination and investor loyalty. The automaker issued mass layoffs this year, axed its entire Supercharger team, abandoned plans to build a $25,000 EV, oversaw seven Cybertruck recalls, and unveiled its robotaxi prototype.Other EV must-reads of 2024:EVTOLs are still attracting investors2024 was a year of big intentions for the electric vertical takeoff and landing vehicles industry. It felt like every other week there was an announcement as two of the biggest players Joby Aviation and Archer Aviation shared plans for future commercial electric air taxi launches starting in 2025.Its also been a year of big fundraises as both companies tried to secure more cash to achieve Federal Aviation Administration certification and launch commercial air taxi services in 2025. Joby, for example, first secured a $500 million bag from Toyota, then raised $222 million before launching a $300 million public offering. Archer recently raised $430 million and teamed up with Anduril to dive into defense a theme were expecting to continue into 2025 as defense tech heats up. And Beta Technologies raised a $318 million Series C.There were also plenty of partnerships between eVTOL startups and more-traditional air carriers like Betas recent win with Air New Zealand and the development of vertiports in key urban areas across the U.S., Europe, and Asia.Not every startup has been so lucky, though, as companies burned through capital and failed to find more funding. German eVTOL startup Lilium filed for bankruptcy after failing to raise enough capital to continue. In December, the company shut down and laid off 1,000 workers, but appears to have gotten a last minute lifeline from an investor. Stay tuned.2025 will be the year where well see if the companies that remain can secure proper FAA approval and begin to make a business out of eVTOLs.Here are some other eVTOL must-reads of 2024:Micromobilitywobbles forwardThe hype over shared micromobility has long since died. This year saw the last gasps of consolidation, pivots, and a few survivors.Tier and Dott finally merged, and Lime continued on its steady path to, if not consistent profitability, at least sustainability and market dominance.VanMoofs bankruptcy in 2023 revealed how difficult it is to scale a new e-bike business, despite a consumer appetite for sexy, sleek e-bikes. Cake filed for bankruptcy at the start of the year, and Onyx Motorbikes was on the verge of bankruptcy itself when its 37-year-old owner died suddenly, leaving an absolute mess in his wake. Cake and Onyx have been given fresh chances of survival in 2025.Some startups have managed to find a way to keep an e-bike business afloat. Just look at Joco. The startup has fought the odds and managed to turn its docked e-bike rental service for delivery workers into a profitable business, and has even branched out into building battery charging cabinets.Here are some other micromobility must-reads of 2024:Bloom is reinventing how e-bikes are made in the US

Data-loss prevention startup Cyberhaven says hackers published a malicious update to its Chrome extension that was capable of stealing customer passwords and session tokens, according to an email sent to affected customers, who may have been victims of this suspected supply-chain attack.Cyberhaven confirmed the cyberattack to TechCrunch on Friday but declined to comment on specifics about the incident.An email from the company sent to customers, obtained and published by security researcher Matt Johansen, said the hackers compromised a company account to publish a malicious update to its Chrome extension in the early morning of December 25. The email said that for customers running the compromised browser extension, it is possible for sensitive information, including authenticated sessions and cookies, to be exfiltrated to the attackers domain.Cyberhaven spokesperson Cameron Coles declined to comment on the email but did not dispute its authenticity.In a brief emailed statement, Cyberhaven said its security team detected the compromise in the afternoon of December 25, and that the malicious extension (version 24.10.4) was then removed from the Chrome Web Store. A new legitimate version of the extension (24.10.5) was released soon after.Cyberhaven offers products that it says protect against data exfiltration and other cyberattacks, including browser extensions, which allow the company to monitor for potentially malicious activity on websites. The Chrome web store shows the Cyberhaven extension has around 400,000 corporate customer users as of time of writing.When asked by TechCrunch, Cyberhaven declined to say how many affected customers it had notified about the breach. The California-based company lists technology giants Motorola, Reddit, and Snowflake as customers, as well as law firms and health insurance giants.According to the email that Cyberhaven sent to its customers, affected users should revoke and rotate all passwords and other text-based credentials, such as API tokens. Cyberhaven said customers should also review their own logs for malicious activity. (Session tokens and cookies for logged-in accounts that are stolen from the users browser can be used to log-in to that account without needing their password or two-factor code, effectively allowing hackers to bypass those security measures.)The email does not specify whether customers should also change any credentials for other accounts stored in the Chrome browser, and Cyberhavens spokesperson declined to specify when asked by TechCrunch.According to the email, the compromised company account was the single admin account for the Google Chrome Store. Cyberhaven did not say how the company account was compromised, or what corporate security policies were in place that allowed the account compromise. The company said in its brief statement that it has initiated a comprehensive review of our security practices and will be implementing additional safeguards based on our findings.Cyberhaven said its hired an incident response firm, which the email to customers says is Mandiant, and is actively cooperating with federal law enforcement.Jaime Blasco, the co-founder and CTO of Nudge Security, said in posts on X that several other Chrome extensions were compromised as apparently part of the same campaign, including several extensions with tens of thousands of users.Blasco told TechCrunch that he is still investigating the attacks, and believes at this point that there were more extensions compromised earlier this year, including some related to AI, productivity, and VPNs..It seems it wasnt targeted against Cyberhaven, but rather opportunistically targeting extension developers, said Blasco. I think they went after the extensions that they could based on the developers credentials that they had.In its statement to TechCrunch, Cyberhaven said that public reports suggest this attack was part of a wider campaign to target Chrome extension developers across a wide range of companies. At this point its unclear who is responsible for this campaign, and other affected companies and their extensions have yet to be confirmed.

Hi Everyone, I am currently trying to mimic the electric sparks shown for the effect of the projectile of Radahn in Elden Ring. At the time stamp if you put it to .25 speed and play frame by from you can see the sparks are created on the path the projectile took only after the projectile impacts with the ground. https://youtu.be/bxlmP2biXqk?t=162I have been toying with generate event location and death events in Niagara but cannot seem to see how I could spawn only after the main projectile collides and dies.Any help or suggestions would be greatly appreciated

Congestion pricing, or congestion relief, is a project 20 years in the making in New York. And, on January 5, the network will finally go into effect. Passenger vehicles will be charged $9 to enter Manhattan below 60th Street, whether they arrive from New Jersey, Connecticut, or Long Island. What equipment is necessary to make such a sophisticated system function? Dattner Architects worked under Parsons, the engineering lead on the project to design the boxes that register vehicle numbers and automatically charge motorists, sending money back to the MTA for much needed capital. Stantec and Doppelmayr were also on the project team.Parsons designed the equipment to make the system run smoothly, and Dattner Architects ideated the houses that shield the tech from the elements. Dattners work also entailed the evaluation of site-specific contexts for over 100 locations, helping determine where the boxes should go.The sensors were designed to be easily installed on traffic posts. (Courtesy Dattner Architects)According to a study performed by the MTA each weekday more than 900,000 people in vehicles enter the Manhattan CentralBusiness District (CBD). After January 5, small trucks will be charged $24, and large trucks $36 if they so choose to come into Manhattan. Taxi cabs will be tolled $1.25 per ride, and Uber $2.50. Motorcyclists, meanwhile, will have to shell out $7.50. At night, passenger vehicles will have to pay just $2.25. This fee goes for all of Manhattans eight thoroughfares south of Central Park: Lincoln Tunnel, Queensboro Bridge, Queens-Midtown Tunnel, Williamsburg Bridge, Manhattan Bridge, Brooklyn Bridge, Hugh Carey Tunnel, and the Holland Tunnel.The prototype designed by Dattner Architects was reproduced more than 100 times and installed in site-specific locales south of 60th Street. This design can be easily installed on your run-of-the-mill traffic post. There will be one sensor per traffic lane.Dattner Architects led the architectural design and visual quality management component of the project as part of the TransCore Design-Build-Operate-Maintain program.

Per capita, Monaco was the wealthiest country on earth last year. The unsurprising result of running a country with no income, property, or wealth taxes is that the well-heeled want to live there. This creates a problem, as there is limited space for all the VVIPs: Monaco is the second smallest country in the world behind Vatican City. (It could fit into half of Central Park.) The default national quip is that they are not about to invade France for more land; instead, they usurp Neptune. The country is a fascinating and dense fabric of older villas, resort-style slab towers, and increasingly swank recent developments by Zaha Hadid Architects, Foster + Partners, and Studio Fuksas, slotted into whatever square meters of steep slope can be spared. Property sales are one of the few things on which the state collects income (beyond the casino, of course, where their own citizens are forbidden to gamble) so the state obviously likes construction.Development is on the rise in Monaco, per the wealthiest country. ( Hufton + Crow)Land reclamation from the sea offers the chance to build a little breathing space. About 25 percent of the principalitys surface was wrested from the surf across seven prior expansions. SAM LAnse Du Portier, a consortium of private investors, has just completed an eighth with Mareterra, a 15-acre expansion masterplanned by the Paris-based office Valode & Pistre. It includes townhouses designed by that firm, villas by a jetset assortment of architects from Tadao Ando to Stefano Boeri, and most prominently, a large residential structure by Renzo Piano Building Workshop. Nearly half of the developmentconsists of public space designed by Michel Desvigne Paysagiste. The site also includes an expansion of Monacos convention center, a new marina, retail space, and an Alexander Calder piece brought out of lengthy hibernation in storage for a proper open-air installation. Mareterra has been in the works for some 20 years but was delayed at various points due to concerns over cost and environmental impact. Its footprint is angled to dodge principal currents in the Ligurian Sea. The landfill process, which began in 2018, was laborious. Eighteen square ten-ton caissons, about 91 feet on a side, were manufactured in Marseilles and made a three-day journey to Monaco, where they were formed into essentially a stockade around the site. The water inside was drained, and then existing polluted sand was removed and replaced with layers of sand, soil and tons of limestone. The caissons are hollow, designed to admit the ocean such that waves dissipate, reverse, and break into one another beyond the waters edge. Their surfaces were also abraded to provide a welcoming surface for sea life. Posidonia oceanica sea grasses, coral, and other aquatic plants were also carefully relocated.Le Renzo consists of two buildings narrowly separated with open-air stairs. ( Hufton + Crow)Seaside LivingRPBWs building, named Le Renzo after the man himself (he initially modestly protested) is the landmark of the complex. The ruling Grimaldis are descendants of a rogue Genovese aristocrat who seized the outpost from that bygone maritime state; theyve turned back to the Italian fatherland for this commission.Pianos lifelong enthusiasm for the sea is no secret, and in part his design language comes in part from ships and various naval influences. His taste for cables, sail-like appurtenances, porthole windows, and hull-inspired curves has long been honestly stated. His work often bears this briny stamp, especially along shores, such as the NEMO museum in Amsterdam; the Centro Botn in Santander, Spain; and, to a lesser extent, the Whitney Museum in New York. Not to mention that hes designed sailing craft, a yacht, and even a cruise ship.Renzo Pianos design language often comes in part from ships and various naval influences.Piano wrote in his 2017 Complete Logbook, The port is a powerful landscape made up of elements that are both grand and ephemeral, that are continually changingreflections on the water, suspended loads, swiveling cranes, and of course ships coming and going. Who knows where that ship is coming from, in what direction it is headed? We know this one in Monaco isnt going anywhere, but it contains great kinetic energy. A ship-like structure was also urbanistically gracious in this case. Joost Moolhuijzen, partner at RPBW, explained the dual aims on location. We felt a strong responsibility not to build a big building in front of the view. We didnt want horizontal balconies running forever. Monaco already has quite a few of those.Structural pilotis are angled diagonally, however, they are not needed as the building is very solidly anchored on piers extending to bedrock almost 200 feet underground. ( Hufton + Crow)Moolhuijzen stressed fragmentation and permeability as key aims. The project consists of two buildings narrowly separated with open-air stairs that split it into five main volumes. His team worked a long time to develop its verticality. They accomplished this in a variety of ways; its height varies about a dozen times. And at around 72 feet (22 meters) deep with another nearly 20 feet (6 meters) of balcony space, its also narrow. A variety of surface elements like characteristically transparent glass balcony joinery and an almost literal rigging of runners for balcony blinds establish a vertical rhythm. Cantilevers on each end accentuate the overall sense of balance, with balconies fronted by additional aluminum panels as a flourish. All of this sought to provide, Moolhuijzen said, a second skin. Two masts on top serve no function except the provision of maritime panache.Balconies fronted by aluminum panels add a decorative touch. ( Hufton + Crow)The building makes landfall lightly; just at lobbies, the base of circulatory elements, and a series of structural pilotis, which are angled diagonally on each side. There was no structural reason for this; the building is very solidly anchored on piers extending to bedrock almost 200 feet underground. They just look goodand supportive! Creating those angled columns gives a sense of stability, Moolhuijzen explained, but they also meet the curved, ocean linerlike underside of the building at a more pleasing angle, propping up high-rent steerage as if the vessel sat motionless an exposed dry dock.Public AccessThe elevated mass also works to open up the waterfront. The architects were intent, Moolhuijzen explained, to create a very public space at the base of a private building to make it welcoming; you can walk around here. The oceanfront plaza, faced in sandstone, runs along the series of townhouses and villas that are a bit more walled-off, handsome if considerably less striking. Theres one magical space along the promenade, accessed by an inconspicuous door: Monacos Blue Grotto is one for the machine age. Its a cave-like space that is simply an overlook of the inside of a caisson, open to light and sea shifting throughout the day. Moolhuijzen explained their realization of the shame that this amazing civil engineering structure was just hidden from everybody.Theres a considerable park on the landward side of these structures; paths weave around small hillsides, and the expanse contains many of the 1,1000 trees imported from Tuscany for the development. The aforementioned Alexander Calder piece is also a treat. Princess Grace purchased Quatre Lances, originally displayed at the Fondation Maeght, and it was installed along the waterfront in 1964, where its aluminum frame was quickly mangled by harsh winds. It has been in storage for decades until this redeployment, now rendered sturdier with some steel additions.There is a public space at the base of the private building. ( Hufton + Crow)Piano, who had previously designed two acclaimed Calder exhibits, arranged three concrete walls with an embedded bench to frame the mobile. Sandy Rower, head of the Calder Foundation (and Calders grandson) explained, Calder had described the sculpture as existing in a really specific place, surrounded by walls. Renzo went back to the beginning and studied just what Calders intent was. Hes given us a little laboratory to experience something.The piece was unusual for Calder, as it was explicitly conceived as an interplay between the mobilethe underside of whose fronds are colored and seen almost solely in reflectionand the water. The water is part of the sculpture; its not a sculpture without the reflecting pool.Moolhuijzen described it as Monacos smallest museum. Unlike nearly everything in town, its completely free to visit.Anthony Paletta is a writer living in Brooklyn.

This years roundup of landscape projects and news stories highlights the nontraditional: from a skiable art museum, a floating wetland that doubles as a classroom, to a land remediation project, these projects stand out for being so much more than the average neighborhood park. What will come of the Hudson Highlands Fjord Trail?Arguably the most contentious landscape project AN covered in 2024 was that of the proposed Hudson Highlands Fjord Trail, a 7.5-mile-long linear park designed by SCAPE that seeks to connect Cold Spring and Beacon, New York. Since it was first announced the project has received pushback from local organizations. While the project touts making a pathway for hikers more accessible, there are concerns locally that the area could become more overrun with tourists and daytrippers than it already is.A public comment period for the Hudson Highlands Fjord Trail is now open, through February 2, 2025. Pending environmental review the project is anticipated to be completed by 2032.Forge Projects land remediation work restores relationship between site and historyAlso in Hudson Valley, a land remediation project is underway on the ancestral lands of the Stockbridge-Munsee Band of Mohican Indians. Forge Project, founded in 2021, is restoring the principles of Indigenous land stewardship on a 60-acre site. Forge Project transitioned its leadership model to be Native-led, which included forming an Indigenous steering council and developing a memorandum of understanding with the Stockbridge-Munsee Tribal Council. It is working with a team of tribal members, herbalists, landscape architects, botanists, meadow specialists, and volunteers to reintroduce native plants to the landscape.Weiss/Manfredis West Conservatory at Longwood Gardens is designed to host plants from the Mediterranean region. (Sahar Coston-Hardy/ESTO/Courtesy Longwood Gardens)Longwood Gardens West Conservatory openedThe long-anticipated opening of the West Conservatory at Longwood Gardens made its debut this year. Weiss/Manfredi, alongside landscape architecture firm Reed Hilderbrand, designed a building and gardens adapted to the traditional Crystal Palace conservatory look, using arboreal steel columns that twist in irregular patterns.Features such as louvers and roof shades keep the Mediterranean plants housed inside in a desirable climate all year round. In the center of the gabled structure, the architects opted for a water feature that mimics a series of canals, rather than the more traditional, singular pool.Plans were announced for a skiable outdoor art museumSoon at Powder Mountain in Eden, Utah, skiers will zip past artworks by James Turrell, Jenny Holzer, Arthur Jafa, Nancy Holt, and others. The mixed-use concept designed by Reed Hilderbrand and Johnston Marklee promises a skiable outdoor art museum replete with sculptures and a welcome center. Elizabeth Street Garden stays put, for nowElizabeth Street Garden, a tranquil outdoor sculpture park in bustling Manhattan, has been the subject of a redevelopment proposal for several years. This fall the nonprofit that oversees the park received an eviction notice; the notice was later amended to pending and the nonprofit was granted a stay until the case is revisited in the Appellate Division Courthouse of New York State in February 2025.Developers and city entities hope to see the land used for affordable senior housing. Thousands of letters in opposition of this redevelopment have been sent to the Mayor, HPD, and the Governor along with proposed alternative sites for the affordable senior housing complex.Metropolitan Park adds playgrounds and sports field to an area brimming with sports and entertainment facilities. (Courtesy SHoP Architects and Field Operations)In Queens, Metropolitan Park could transform parking spaces into park spaceIts all falling in place for the purpose-built stadium for NYCFC to be realized in Willets Point. The area in Queens is teeming with New York City sports venues, and Mets owner Steve Cohen hopes to capitalize on that even more. This summer he revealed his vision for Metropolitan Park, which would transform parking lots from the old Shea Stadium into park space.Visuals shared by the design team, SHoP Architects and Field Operations, show the 50 or so acres of parking outside of Citi Field largely replaced by green lawns and circuitous pathways. The proposal also calls for a hotel, food hall, (and if its lucky) a casino.The upgrade would expand sidewalk widths by 46 percent on Fifth Avenue between Bryant Park and Central Park. (Courtesy New York City Hall)Park Avenue and Fifth Avenue to get major makeoversTwo major thoroughfares in New York Citys street grid will be subject to revamps in the coming years. Park Avenue and Fifth Avenue will be redesigned to be more pedestrian friendly.In August, New York City Department of Transportation and Mayor Eric Adams announced an RFP requesting proposals from landscape firms to green-up Park Avenue. And two blocks west a reimagined Fifth Avenue is a bit farther along with Field Operations, Sam Schwartz, and Arcadis all on board to realize a vision that could widen sidewalks and reduce lanes of traffic. A comprehensive plan will ensure the resiliency and longevity of Atlantas Piedmont ParkWhile Piedmont Park is not Atlantas largest park it takes up 200 acres within the city in a forest. This year park officials announced that the Frederick Law Olmsteddesigned park would be subject to a comprehensive plan led by Nelson Byrd Woltz, and local partner Perez Planning + Design (PP+D) and Kanics Inclusive Design Services. The last time the park underwent a review and update of this magnitude was in 1995.The review will look at structural enhancements aimed at strengthening the parks resiliency and consider how accessibility and safety can be improved. A maintenance plan for each of the diverse environments located around the park will also be conceived. The plan coincides with a planned expansion that will add 4 acres to the green space. Piedmont Park will soon link up with The Beltline and assume an expanded Atlanta Botanical Garden.The Harbor Wetland in Baltimore. (Philip Smith/Courtesy National Aquarium)Ayers Saint Gross designed a floating wetland and outdoor classroomWho said green space had to be on land? In Baltimores Inner Harbor, Ayers Saint Gross designed a 10,000-square-foot floating wetland. The aquatic landscape allows visitors to walk on water and learn about wildlife. Over 30,000 grasses and shrubs coalesce at the new wetland, combined with water aeration technology. Since opening, fish, ducks, dragonflies, and Maryland blue crabs have paid a visit to the project.Sasaki and Studio MLA delivered a waterfront park near the Port of Los AngelesIn February, the Wilmington Waterfront Promenade in Wilmington, California opened to the public. The 9-acre site owned by the Port of Los Angeles was long underutilized, given its proximity to industrial infrastructure. As more and more residents settle in the area, projects like this one by Sasaki and Studio MLA signal a sea change, adding much-needed recreation space for jogging, picnicking, and playing.