A new project from the Vienna-basedDelugan Meissl Associated Architects (DMAA) in China combining net-zero design and a shifted zeitgeist that favors natures re-introduction into the built environment of cities has debuted in China's largest metropolis.Photo: CreatARLocated on a former industrial site that had been used previously as part of the Expo 2010 exhibition in Shanghai, the new Expo Cultural Park Greenhouse offers three distinct climactic pavilions connected via an overhead terrace and serviced by an adjacent pool with PV panels buried underneath.Photo: CreatARThe project's total construction covers 340.000 square meters (or 3.7 million square feet) with a total gross surface area equal to 41,000 square meters (441,000 square feet) and cost approximately $309 million to complete from 2020 to September 2024.Photo: CreatARThe use of single-glazing and operable windows in the perforated roof allows for natural ventilation while reducing the amount of heat loss in ea...

While Assassins Creed Mirage garnered praise for its stealth and parkour mechanics, Assassins Creed Shadows is evolving in pretty impressive ways. In a new blog post, associate game director Simon Lemay-Comtois outlined the various changes coming with the sequel, including unclimbable surfaces.Firstly, dodge and crouch have swapped buttons since the latter plays into the new prone stance. As for the former, its now merged with parkour to afford all kinds of new moves.In Shadows, dodge has been merged with parkour down mechanics, which unlocks a whole bunch of new parkour moves. This new mapping also disconnects stance-switch (e.g. standing, crouching, prone) from parkour, ensuring you can use any stances without accidentally going down a rooftop when you dont want to, said Lemay-Comtois.While Parkour Up and Parkour Down remain, Naoe can dodge near a ledge to flip off or sprint dodge to leap over rails and crates (or even out of windows). Automated Passovers over small hurdles are possible while sprinting, but sprint dodging offers more damage resistance.Perhaps one of the cooler techniques is dodging while prone, allowing her to roll out of cover and assassinate enemies. If you dodge backwards on a ledge, Naoe will back flip and land noiselessly. Theres much more to glean, including the grappling hook mechanics, like swapping between vertical ascent and horizontal swinging and ejecting off walls while wall running.Launching on February 14th, Assassins Creed Shadows will be available for Xbox Series X/S, PS5, and PC. It wont feature a Season Pass model with the first expansion available free to all who pre-order.

Ubisoft recently released a detailed blog about parkour in Assassins Creed Shadows, showcasing many different maneuvers (many befitting Naoe, the fastest Assassin created yet). However, associate game director Simon Lemay-Comtois also revealed an intriguing fact: Not every surface is climbable.Its a departure from previous action RPG titles and more in line with 2023s Assassins Creed Mirage. Lemay-Comtois said this is a pretty big deal for the team, and it meant being more thoughtful about creating interesting parkour highways and afforded us more control about where Naoe can go and where Yasuke cant, making our two playstyles even more contrasted.For those freaking out about having to gasp think when climbing, he reassures many of the surfaces are still climbable (the grappling hook assists with this). However, searching for valid entry points sounds more challenging than recent mainline titles, which is a good thing. After all, Mirage received significant praise for its parkour mechanics.Assassins Creed Shadows launches on February 14th for Xbox Series X/S, PS5, and PC. The main story is comparable in length to Assassins Creed Origins, Odyssey, and Valhalla. Head here for more details on the combat for both characters.

With 65.5 million lifetime shipments, the PS5 is already one of the most successful consoles of all time. And while Sony is in a far better position nowadays when compared to its lowest lows, its still no stranger to failure, accidental or intentional. Check out some of PlayStations biggest fails over the years, many occurring in 2024.Mandatory PSN Linking for Helldivers 2 on PCWhen Helldivers 2 was riding high, there was a small bit about how PC players had to link their PSN accounts on Steam. It was optional at the timeuntil it wasnt and Sony forced the requirement for the sake of security. It spurred exceptional backlash, with the co-op shooters Steam rating dipping into Mostly Negative territory until Sony backtracked (but not before Helldivers 2 was removed from further sale on PC in dozens of regions worldwide). Surely, Sony had learned its lesson and wouldnt attempt this again, right?

The eruption at Zavaritskii volcano created a nearly two-mile-wide caldera with layers of red, black and white from previous eruptive deposits. Oleg DirksenIn the summer of 1831, an enormous volcanic eruption spewed sulfur gas into Earths atmosphere. The particles scattered sunlight, making our star appear green, purple and blue. Its rays struggled to reach the planets surface, leading crops to fail and famines to spread. In the Northern Hemisphere, temperatures dropped by 1 degree Celsius.That year, German composer Felix Mendelssohn traveled through the Alps on the way home from a sojourn in Italy. Though it was summer, he wrote that it is as cold as in winter, there is already deep snow on the nearest hills.The blast that caused this darkness and cold was one of the largest volcanic eruptions of the 19th century, a brutal event toward the end of the Little Ice Age. But for nearly 200 years, scientists havent been sure exactly which volcano was responsible for the major climatic disruption.Now, a study published last week in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences pins the blame on Zavaritskii caldera, an extremely remote volcano on Simushir Island in the Kuril archipelago, a disputed territory between Russia and Japan.For many of Earths volcanoes, particularly those in remote areas, we have a very poor understanding of their eruptive history, study lead author Will Hutchison, a volcanologist at the University of St Andrews in Scotland, tells Mindy Weisberger of CNN. No one lives on Simushir Island, once home to a Soviet submarine base, Hutchison explains, and written sources of the islands history, which usually offer a helpful guide for tracking past volcanic activity, are limited to a handful of diaries from ships that passed these islands every few years.As a result, Zavaritskii was a thoroughly unknown candidate for the so-called mystery volcano.Previous theories about the eruption indicated its source was much closer to the equator, and the Babuyan Claro volcano in the Philippines had been considered a leading candidate. This eruption had global climatic impacts but was wrongly attributed to a tropical volcano for a long time period, Stefan Brnnimann, a climatologist at the University of Bern in Switzerland who was unaffiliated with the study, tells CNN. Simushir Island is uninhabited now, though it was once home to a Soviet submarine base. Oleg DirksenHutchison and his team homed in on Zavaritskii after determining that ice cores from Greenland contained 6.5 times more sulfur fallout around 1831 than comparable samples from Antarctica. That meant the eruption likely took place in the Northern Hemisphere.The Greenland ice cores included ash layers and microscopic volcanic glassshards roughly one-tenth the diameter of a human hair, Hutchison says in a statement. Chemical analyses of these tiny remains matched best with existing data from Japan and the Kuril Islands. But an explosion of this magnitudereleasing around 13 million metric tons of sulfur into the atmosphere, per the studycould not have gone unnoticed in densely populated Japan.That left the Kuril Islands as the most likely culpritjust near enough to obliterate Japanese crops and just far enough to remain unobserved. From there, they needed to find ash and glass from a local volcano with a chemical signature that matched the one seen in Greenland.Finding the match took a long time and required extensive collaboration with colleagues from Japan and Russia, who sent us samples collected from these remote volcanoes decades ago, Hutchison adds in the statement.He likens the work to crime scene forensics, calling the breakthrough when his team found a perfect fingerprint match between the Zavaritskii and Greenland ash samples a genuine eureka moment.It was really a terrific day, Hutchison tells Live Sciences Patrick Pester. One of the best days Ive ever had in the lab.The team used radiocarbon dating to pinpoint the timeline of the volcanic ash on Simushir Island, and they took sulfur isotope readings and physical measurements of the volcanos caldera. These data confirmed the match, leaving Zavaritskii the prime candidate for the seminal 1831 eruption, according to the study.Brnnimann concurs with the research groups findings, telling CNN that the research now shows that the eruption took place on the Kurils, not in the tropics.Hutchison, for his part, remains amazed that such a massive, significant eruption could go unrecorded.Perhaps there are reports of ash fall or atmospheric phenomena occurring in 1831 that reside in a dusty corner of a library in Russia or Japan, he tells CNN. The follow-up work to delve into these records really excites me.Today, with our satellites and sensitive seismic monitors, a similar eruption would likely not be a mystery for long. But many remote volcanoes do not have instruments monitoring their activity. This work shows how difficult it will be to predict when and where the next large magnitude eruption might come, Hutchison tells Aristos Georgiou of Newsweek.And the impacts of such a large eruption might be just as dire, if 1831 is any guide. It might lead to sparse sunlight, altered rainfall and dropping global temperatures, which would put stress on the food supply.There are so many volcanoes like this, Hutchison adds in the statement. As scientists and as a society, we need to consider how to coordinate an international response when the next large eruption, like the one in 1831, happens.Get the latest stories in your inbox every weekday.Filed Under: Earth's Crust, Earth's Mantle, evolving climate, Geology, History, Japan, New Research, Russia , Volcanoes, Weather

Phi-4 demonstrates that smaller, well-designed models can achieve comparable or superior results compared with larger models.Read More

Splash Damage jobs at risk following Transformers: Reactivate cancellationUK studio says the decision "did not come lightly"Image credit: Splash Damage / Hasbro News by Vikki Blake Contributor Published on Jan. 8, 2025 Splash Damage has cancelled its 1-4 player online action game, Transformers: Reactivate, putting an unknown number of jobs at risk.In a statement, the studio acknowledged it was a "very difficult" decision, but as a result of the cancellation, "despite every effort, a number of roles across the studio are now potentially at risk of redundancy."The formal statement stopped short, however, explain why the game was cancelled."This decision did not come lightly, and it is a difficult time for the studio and our people. We want to take a moment to thank the team who worked on Transformers for their dedication and passion," the statement explained."Hasbro was an incredible and supportive partner throughout, and we hope to work with them again. To the many fans, your excitement and support helped keep us going."Splash Damage added that "while not being able to see the game through to release was "painful, having to say goodbye to friends and colleagues hurts even more.""We're now focused on doing everything we can to support them through this rough period, just as we are committed to caring for those who will stay with us as we build a stronger Splash Damage for the future," the statement concluded. "Thank you for your compassion and understanding."The news follows yesterday's blow that Rocksteady also quietly initiated a second round of layoffs in three months just before the holidays.

Justin Carter, Contributing EditorJanuary 8, 20251 Min ReadImage via LinkedIn.At a GlanceThe Warsaw studio is concurrently developing its first game and an animated series based on it, both made in Unreal Engine 5.Polish developer Wonder Legends Studio raised $1 million in a recent pre-seed funding round. Per GamesIndustry, the studio is putting that money toward a game prototype and pre-development on an animated series both set in a world combining elements of steampunk and Greek mythology.In addition to previously receiving an Epic Games Megagrant, Wonder Legends' two ventures are being co-funded by individual institutions. The game is backed by the country's Creative Industries Development Center, and the series by the Polish Film Institute.According to the outlet, the funding round was led by the SMOK Ventures Fund. Both the intended game and series are both being made in Unreal Engine 5, and are expected to launch in late 2027 or early 2028.Wonder Legends was spun up in 2021 by game director Artur Malczyk and lead narrative producer Wojciech Karubin. Malczyk previously worked as a cinematic director and supervisor at Flying Wild Hog (Evil West), and Karubin founded the Polish film studio Movie Mates.In a statement to GamesIndustry, Malczyk and Karubin expressed confidence their studio "has the potential to become the next major IP from our country, enhancing the reputation of Poland's creative industry. We are thrilled to have completed the pre-seed round with SMOK Ventures as the lead investor, especially in such a challenging market as it is today."Read more about:FundingTransmediaAbout the AuthorJustin CarterContributing Editor, GameDeveloper.comA Kansas City, MO native, Justin Carter has written for numerous sites including IGN, Polygon, and SyFy Wire. In addition to Game Developer, his writing can be found at io9 over on Gizmodo. Don't ask him about how much gum he's had, because the answer will be more than he's willing to admit.See more from Justin CarterDaily news, dev blogs, and stories from Game Developer straight to your inboxStay UpdatedYou May Also Like

At the Game Awards, it was easy to blink and miss the award for best accessibility feature in a game for 2024, with the winner going to Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown. You may be hard-pressed to know what it did, as the award show did not mention any of the accessibility features being nominated. But having played through the entire game, I know what they were talking about, and at the same time, I have some issues with saying it was the best example of accessibility for 2024.Picture-in-platformingThis isnt going to be a review of the entire game, but I want to talk specifically about the use and implementation of its most advertised and original accessibility featurethe ability to create in-game screenshot notes. The intent was to provide players with the means of recording a room to either mark notes for a puzzle or to provide a reminder about requiring a specific power or item that they need to come back to. For PC fans, they could just use the digital platform of choice to take screenshots, but this was the first time that such an option was available to everyone; console players included.Part of the problem when it comes to metroidvania, and open world design, is that it can be very easy to forget where the player needed to use an ability or missed something. Going through La-Mulana at the same time, and a feature like this would have been very useful.With that said, whats my problem with it? Its not that the feature is bad or doesnt provide utility, but that it became a part of playing the game regardless of whether you want to use it or not.Accessibility tokensGood accessibility features in games are those that are layered on top of a balanced experience and provide the means for more people to experience a game who may not have been able to do it without it. When you look at titles that make use of assist modes as an optional feature, the game in question is not balanced or the experience is not predicated on these features.The problem when accessibility is not handled correctly in my opinion is when the game seems to be balanced, or balance is ignored, in favor of using an accessibility feature as a band aid fix. That a problem isnt a problem if the player can just disable it or ignore it with an options tweak. This is different from having a sandbox or free play mode in survival/crafting games, as those games do draw an audience of people who just want to use the tools to create. One of my most controversial points that has earned me ire from people is that accessibility features do not fix a games problems. Time after time, Ive seen games that have been propped up due to accessibility features get destroyed in terms of player interest and churn, and Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown is no exception to this rulewith more than half the player base on steam quitting before even reaching an hour into the game.The memory shard feature is a good one, but it feels like the game was designed and pace around its use rather than as an optional feature. Image via author/Ubisoft.Going through the game, I was surprised to see that an accessibility feature is a resource that can be consumed while playing.The player only has a limited number of pictures they can take before they must delete some. This left a bad taste in my mouth as it reminded me of when NetherRealm implemented the option for easy fatalities that allow someone to push just one button and perform the characters fatality. On paper, this sounds great and a way of providing accessibility for someone who cant remember those combinations or struggles to put them in right? Instead, it became a consumable resource that players could spend money on to acquire more tokens if they run out.Returning to Lost Crown, as a reward for completing some of the harder and optional platforming challenges, it was possible to find more memory shards/screenshot charges. In theory, this sounds acceptable, but this means the games challenges and reward system are tied to an accessibility option. If someone doesnt use the feature, tying a challenges reward to it feels like a slap in the face for someone who just did all that and is not getting rewarded for their effort.Accessibility should not be something that is consumable or a resource, as it should always be something available if someone needs to use it. To that point, if someone doesnt want to use it or doesnt need it, the game shouldnt be balanced or built with it in mind. For an expert metroidvania fan of Prince of Persia, or an expert fighting game fan for Mortal Kombat, these options mean nothing to them; theyre not going to need them to play. However, for someone who genuinely would need or want them to enjoy the game, tying them to a resource isnt right. Imagine for a second if a game requires the player to spend experience to turn on colorblind mode or must play far enough to unlock subtitles and the outcry it would get from accessibility advocates.When accessibility worksIf your games design is being balanced under the assumption that people can just use an accessibility feature to fix any problems, youre going to find people quitting your game out of frustration. They may not know that the option exists, or feel that the game is not providing them with a carefully crafted experience. The cases when I had to use an assist feature or accessibility option to finish a game did not make me appreciate their inclusion but made me wonder just how many ended up quitting the game before they even knew about those options.With Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown, while the game may have been accessible with this feature, it was certainly not accessible in terms of its pacing and level designa topic way too long to get into for this piece. While I havent played it yet, the accessibility features that were created for The Last of Us 2 allowing someone to fully tailor the entire gameplay experience in terms of difficulty, not just blanket easy, medium, or hard modes was a great option and part of the other features in The Lost Crown.Sadly, no matter how good the memory shard system is, when more than half the playerbase on a platform dont give your game more than hour of their time, its not fixing the other issues with the game. Image via author/Ubisoft.Remember, if someone finds your game bad, annoying, or poorly designed, no amount of accessibility or approachability options is going to save it, nor is there a perfect itemized checklist of all options that fit every game. Accessibility and approachability work best when they are built on top of a balanced game as a way to open it up for more people to enjoy. This requires the designer to understand who the market is for their game, and at the same time, what pain points or frustrations exist for newcomers.Its not about dumbing down your game but allowing someone who is the grandmaster of games to enjoy your title their way, and someone who struggles with it to enjoy it how they want to play. However, treating accessibility and approachability options as duct tape for your games design will lead to more problems and will often make you miss the inherent issues or frustrations with your game that create churn. Remember, its up to you to provide a well-designed title for someone to play; not give them the choice to try and fix it on their own.If you would like to support what I do and let me do more daily streaming, be sure to check out my Patreon. My Discord is now open to everyone for chatting about games and game design.

Chris Kerr, News EditorJanuary 8, 20251 Min ReadImage via Splash DamageUK studio Splash Damage is downsizing after scrapping in-development online action title Transformers: Reactivate.In a post on X, the studio confirmed the decision has left some employees "at risk of redundancy."Transformers: Reactivate was being developed in partnership with Hasbro. It was unveiled in December 2022 at The Game Awards and pitched as a 1-4 player online action game for PC and consoles that would mark "a new era for Splash Damage."It's unclear why the project was canceled, but Splash Damage said the decision wasn't made lightly."We will be scaling down to refocus our efforts on other projects. Unfortunately, despite every effort, a number of roles across the studio are now potentially at risk of redundancy," said the studio."The decision did not come lightly and it is a difficult time for the studio and our people. We want to take a moment to thank the team who worked on Transformers for their dedication and passion."Splash Damage said Hasbro was a "supportive partner" throughout production and expressed hope it will work with the company again. The studio described the cancelation as "painful" but said it will support employees impacted by layoffs."We're now focused on doing everything we can to support them through this tough period, just as we are committed to caring for those who will stay with us as we build a stronger Splash Damage for the future," it added.The news comes around six months after Splash Damage said a "small number" of employees were at risk of being laid off following a business review.Read more about:LayoffsAbout the AuthorChris KerrNews Editor, GameDeveloper.comGame Developer news editor Chris Kerr is an award-winning journalist and reporter with over a decade of experience in the game industry. His byline has appeared in notable print and digital publications including Edge, Stuff, Wireframe, International Business Times, andPocketGamer.biz. Throughout his career, Chris has covered major industry events including GDC, PAX Australia, Gamescom, Paris Games Week, and Develop Brighton. He has featured on the judging panel at The Develop Star Awards on multiple occasions and appeared on BBC Radio 5 Live to discuss breaking news.See more from Chris KerrDaily news, dev blogs, and stories from Game Developer straight to your inboxStay UpdatedYou May Also Like