January 9, 20257 min readHeres What to Watch in 2025s SkiesThe heavens will provide a bounty of viewing treasures in the coming yearBy Phil Plait edited by Lee BillingsA partial solar eclipse, as seen from southern Utah in May 2012. Although there will be no total solar eclipses in 2025, a partial one will be visible from the northeastern U.S. early on the morning of March 29. Scott Markewitz/Alamy Stock PhotoAt the end of a year and the beginning of the next, its traditional to look back and muse over what happened and to look forward and hope for what might come.But for me, as an astronomer, it means another fresh chance to look up and gaze at the best show in the universe.This new year of 2025 will bring quite a few interesting and lovely sky sights. Lets take a look at the ones Im most excited about. All the events are listed in Eastern time (EST or EDT, depending on when they occur) unless otherwise noted. And all of the descriptions assume you will view these celestial sights from the Northern Hemisphere, specifically the U.S.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.January (all month): This is the best time all year to look at Venus, which shines almost shockingly bright in the southwestern sky after sunset. On January 10 the planet reaches greatest eastern elongation, the point in its orbit when, as seen from Earth, its as far from the sun in the sky as it gets. After this date it will start to move in between Earth and the sun, getting larger in apparent size and brighter even as it looks more and more like a crescentVenus undergoes phases just like the moon does. By late February/early March it will sink lower toward the sun after sunset but be even brighter than it is now, with its thin crescent shape easy to see with binoculars. After that Venus will be too close to the sun to see until it will pop out once again as a morning star in late March.January 13: In the early evening the full moon will occultpass directly in front ofthe planet Mars, eclipsing it. Lunar occultations are funseeing a bright object close to the moon and suddenly winking out as its blocked by our natural satellite can be delightful. Just after sunset youll see Mars as a brilliant orange star to the lower left of the moon as they rise in the east. The distance between the pair will narrow as the occultation approaches. The event will be viewable to the naked eye, but it will be more interesting with binoculars, which can reveal details on the moon, or even a telescope that might show Mars as a small disk instead of a tiny dot. Its timing will depend on your exact location, so check out a webpage at the International Occultation Timing Associations site that lists specific times for various places. The occultation will be visible over the entire continental U.S., as well as northwestern Africa.January 15: Just two days after the occultation, Mars will reach oppositionthe time when the planet is opposite the sun in the sky, as seen from Earth. This happens when Earth, which is closer to the sun, laps Mars as the planets orbit, and the arrangement of the three objects in space becomes close to a straight line. Mars will be up all night, rising at sunset and setting at sunrise. In general, a planet is at opposition when its closest to Earth all year. Mars has an elliptical orbit that messes with the geometry a bit, however: the Red Planet will actually be closest to Earth on January 12, but the difference will be smallit will be about 96 million kilometers away at both that date and January 15. It will also shine at its brightest all year at magnitude 1.4, making it one of the most brilliant objects in the night sky. Look for an observatory or astronomical society near you and find out if it has viewings!January 17 and 18: On these dates the brilliant Venus and much dimmer Saturn will be a mere two degrees apart in the sky and low to the southwest after sunset. It will be a good idea to go out and watch every night for a few days before the event, so you will be able to see the planets slowly approach each other, the result of perspective from their respective motions around the sun plus our own.February 1: The thin, four-day-old crescent moon will be just a few degrees from Venus, making a lovely pair. Look for them in the sky in the southwest after sunset. When you observe the moon, see if you can spot earthshine, the reflected light of our own planet illuminating our natural satellites dark side. It will be a great photo op!February 6: The just-past-halfway-to-full moon will pass directly through the Pleiades, or Seven Sisters, a small but bright group of stars in the constellation Taurus. Looking like a smaller version of the Little Dipper (and commonly mistaken for it), the Pleiades are a cluster of stars born together about 100 million years ago, and a couple of dozen of them are visible through binoculars. The moons passage through the cluster will be an interesting sight. It will approach the Pleiades near midnight and take a few hours to make the crossingthis will be easier to see from the West Coast in the earlier part of the event. The moon will make several passes through the cluster over the year, but most wont be visible. This will happen just before sunrise on July 20, around 11:00 P.M. on on October 9 and finally around 8:00 P.M. on December 3.March 13: The only total lunar eclipse of the year that will be visible in the U.S. will start around 11:00 P.M., when the moon will enter the penumbra, the faint part of Earths shadow. This will be difficult to see, but the show will really begin at 01:09 A.M. on March 14, when the moon will enter the umbra, the darker shadow, and look like it is slowly being eaten. The moon will become fully engulfed in shadow at 2:26 A.M. and might look deeply red or even brownish. The total phase will last until 3:32 A.M., when our natural satellite will begin to move back into sunlight. The moon will be fully out of the umbra at 4:48 A.M. and fully out of the penumbra at 6 A.M.March 29: Unusually, there will be no total solar eclipse this year. But on this date there will be a partial eclipse that will be visible in the early morning at sunrise for people living in the northeastern U.S. Maine will get the best show of all the states: as much as 80 percent of the sun will be covered by the moon there. The exact times of the eclipse will depend on your location, so check the Time and Date site to find out.April 1218: This will be a treat for early risers: the planetsMercury, Mars and Saturn will all be within about 5 degrees of one another. This will be a bit tough to see because they will be low to the east before sunrise. But 6 A.M. will be a good time to take a look, especially with binoculars. On April 24 the thin, waning crescent moon will join them, though by this time, Mercury will be much lower and more difficult to see.May: This will be your last chance to see Jupiter before it will be too close to the sun in the sky for about a month. It will reappear in the morning sky in July.June 17: After sunset, Mars will be a little less than a degree from Regulus, the brightest star in the constellation Leo. The two objects will be the same brightness, about magnitude 1.4, but their colors are very different. While Mars is a deep reddish-orange, Regulus is blue-white.July 3: Earth will be at aphelion, the farthest point in its orbit from the sun. It will be separated by 152.09 million kilometers, two million km more than average.August 12: Venus and Jupiter, the two brightest planets, will be only one degree apart, visible in the east before sunrise. Theyll be close together for many days before and after the event, and if you get up early, it will be fun to see their positions change every morning.September 19: Just before sunrise the thin crescent moon will be less than a degree from Venus, low to the east, a truly striking sight that will be worth getting up early to see.November 23: On this date Saturns rings will appear very nearly edge on. This happens about every 15 years, meaning it occurs twice during each of Saturns orbits around the sun. Youll need a telescope to see the event (or not see it, I suppose). The rings are incredibly thin, only a few dozen meters thick in some parts, so they seem to disappear whenever theyre viewed edge on as Earth passes through the plane of the rings. This will happen twice in 2025, but during the first time, in March, Saturn will be too close to the sun to see. Again, check to see if a local observatory will be hosting observing sessions!Meteor showers: The normally reliable Perseid meteor shower on August 1213 will be washed out by the bright moon this year, unfortunately. But others should be visible. On May 35 the Eta Aquarids will peak, with about 10 to 30 shooting stars visible per hour. And on December 1314 the Geminids (my favorite) will peak, with up to 100 meteors visible per hour (though usually somewhat less). This article in Scientific American has a guide to viewing such showers. You can also go to this American Meteor Society webpage for more information and tips.Supermoons: While Im not a huge fan of the idea of a supermoonthe concept that the moon is particularly big and bright when it is both full and closest to Earth on its elliptical orbitit is pervasive. And I would never encourage someone not to look at the moon! There will be three supermoons this year, on October 7, November 5 and December 4. On those dates the moon will be some 25,000 to 30,000 km closer to Earth than its average distance of 385,000 km. You likely wont notice the difference, but the full moon is always a mesmerizing sight.Auroras: The northern lights, as we call auroras in the Northern Hemisphere, are unpredictable events but can happen almost anywhere in the U.S., as we learned last May and October (I saw them clearly in Virginia). SpaceWeather.com and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administrations aurora forecast page are good places to look for updates.Remember: the sky belongs to everyone, and if you get a chance to see any or all of these events, take it. Or just go outside any old time. A life spent under the night sky is never wasted.

January 9, 2025Largest Camera in the World Will Look for Planet NinePluto was unseated as the ninth planet in our solar system. Will we find a real Planet Nine? Anaissa Ruiz Tejada/Scientific AmericanSUBSCRIBE TO Science QuicklyApple | Spotify | RSS[CLIP: Theme music]Rachel Feltman: For Scientific Americans Science Quickly, Im Rachel Feltman. Unless youre really on the low end of our listener age bell curve, chances are you grew up learning about our solar systems nine planets. Of course, unless youve been living under a rock since 2006, you also know that now we only have eight planets. Sorry, Pluto fans.But maybe youve also heard rumblings about the mysterious Planet Nine. This hypothetical extra planet has been popping in and out of the news for more than a decade. Thanks to a new observatory set to come online in 2025, the truth about Planet Nine could finally be within reach.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.Here to tell us more is Clara Moskowitz, senior editor for space and physics at Scientific American.Thanks so much for coming on to chat today.Clara Moskowitz: Thank you for having me.Feltman: So, starting with basics, I feel like a lot of people have heard vaguely of Planet Nine. Its a very evocative concept, but when we talk about Planet Nine, what are we actually talking about?Moskowitz: So were talking about this potential planetnobody knows if it actually exists or notthat might live in our own solar system.So if you think about it, its a wild idea that there could be this whole other planet in our solar system that weve never seen. You know, we obviously have these eight planets that were really familiar with. Then, of course, theres the contested situation with Pluto. So its like, how could we have missed a whole other world in our cosmic neighborhood? And were not talking about something teeny tiny, either. This Planet Nine that might be out there is between, like, five and 10 times the size of Earth. So, you know, it would be a major member of the solar system if its there.Feltman: Yeah, well, I have a lot of questions about that. But I think this is also a great moment to pause andmaybe for folks whose immediate reaction to Planet Nine is something like We already have a ninth planet. Its Pluto. How dare they?would you remind us what it is that got Pluto so contentiously demoted and why this theoretical Planet Nine would still have planetary status if it does exist?Moskowitz: Right. So actually, the two stories are related because the whole story of Pluto is what kind of led us to come up with this idea that there might be a Planet Nine. But let me rewind and explain how thats the case.[CLIP: Handwriting, by Frank Jonsson]Moskowitz: The situation with Pluto began to become dicey in 2005 when astronomers discovered this big rock out in the solar system called Eris. Now Eris, turns out, is actually larger than Pluto, but its really far out there, which is why we hadnt seen it before. Its about 68 times as far from the sun as Earth. So when we found Eris, all of a sudden, astronomers started thinking, If this thing is bigger than Pluto, then its got to be a planet, too, right? You know, What exactly is our definition of a planet? And they realized we didnt quite have one, a formalized one.Feltman: [Laughs] It was more of a vibe, more of a state of mind.Moskowitz: Exactly, exactly. So then astronomers got talking, and its really this group called the International Astronomical Union that makes the rules, and they decided that we needed new rules for what qualifies as a planet. So in 2006this is right after the discovery of Eristhey were forced to come up with rules for what counts as a planet.So theres three things. The body has to orbit a star, right? That makes sense, clearly. It has to be sufficiently massive for gravity to make it basically sphere-shaped. You know, it has to be round. If its small enough that its all chunky and oblong and funky, like asteroids, thats not a planet. And then the third condition was that it has to clear its own orbit, meaning that it has to have enough gravity that its kind of pushed any other rocks or asteroids out of its orbit.And it was actually that third thing that got Pluto kicked out because Pluto shares its neighborhood with a bunch of other rocks that kind of circle the sun along with it. So it really just isnt big enough. So Pluto became what we now call a dwarf planet, along with Eris and along with a whole bunch of other objects similar to Eris that started to be discovered around this time.Feltman: Yeah. And I know a lot of people found that really emotional, but it does seem like we would have had to have this, like, really long, ever growing roster of planets if we hadnt settled on that firm definition. So I do get why it had to happen.Moskowitz: Exactly. And then this is where the story starts leading toward the idea of Planet Nine because then they found this object called Sedna.[CLIP: The Farmhouse, by Silver Maple]Moskowitz: Sedna is another sort of, you know, similarly sized, really-far-out-there object. The closest it ever gets to the sun is 76 times the Earth-sun distance. And then they found other objects like this.But the weird thing about these is that theyre on these crazy orbits. The orbits are so stretched out and so distant, and they later found out they also seem to be tilted at this weird angle compared to all of the other planets in the solar system. So theyre just odd, but theres a bunch of them like this. And scientists cant really explain how you get all these objects on these extreme, weird, long orbits unless there was something hidden out there guiding themkind of shaping their paths with its own gravity. And that hidden something would have to be pretty large.Feltman: So now that scientists have, you know, spent more than a decade thinking about the possibility of Planet Nine, what evidence do we have to support that something like this actually exists?Moskowitz: So the evidence is all in these other objects, these extreme trans-Neptunian objects that we see, and the fact that their orbits are so odd. Like I said, theyre just super large, super long orbits of a wholly different magnitude than the planets in our solar system.So thats one thing, and then the other thing is the tilt of their orbits. So in our solar system, we have whats called an ecliptic. Its a plane, and all of the eight planets orbit in this plane, roughly flat. So you can picture them all kind of orbiting in the same flat line. Meanwhile these other weird rocks way out there are orbiting at this total tilt. And its like, thats hard to explain with physics because we think the planets would have all formed kind of together from this circumstellar disk that would have been circling the sun after the sun was born.So after a star is born, you still have a lot of debris left over that didnt quite make it into the star itself. And all that junk starts orbiting the starthe baby starin this doughnutlike disk, and then that material eventually becomes the planets of the stars planetary system. So it makes sense that they would all be in a plane, and it doesnt make sense that youd have this significant population of other things circling way far outside and at a total angle to the plane. For that to happen, you kind of need some other large object influencing everything, which is where we come to this idea of Planet Nine.Feltman: Okay, so scientists have found these things that maybe suggest a Planet Nine, but what other explanations could there be?Moskowitz: Right, so, you know, we havent seen the planet, so we dont really know its there. One simple possibility is that we still just dont know that much about these extreme, faraway objects or this realm of the solar system because its very hard to see. And its possible that this handful of weird objects that we have found just happen to be weird and that theres actually a ton more objects out there with a lot more normal orbitsand that were just looking at, sort of, the outliers and seeing this trend and grabbing for an explanation, but perhaps, you know, its a lot more mundane than we thought.Theres other explanations, too, like maybe a rogue planet or a passing star kind of flew by the solar system at some point and dragged Sedna and these other objects into their weird orbits a long time ago. So maybe they were influenced by some passing object thats no longer part of our solar system. Astronomers have even proposed that, you know, there could be a hidden black hole out there in the further reaches of the solar system, pulling these things into weird places. Its kind of, you know, this total hidden realm where we have no idea really whats out there.Feltman: So what kind of work is going on to answer these questions and, you know, try to figure out whats out there?Moskowitz: The very exciting thing about this story is that its a big mystery that were pretty much guaranteed to solve one way or the other soon because we have this giant new telescope coming online this year called the Vera Rubin Observatory.[CLIP: Without Further Ado, by Jon Bjrk]Moskowitz: Its got the largest camera in the world, and its in Chile, at the top of a mountain, and its turning on this year. Its supposed to have its first light in July.And this thing is going to change everything. The way the Rubin Observatory is going to work is that its going to scan the sky every couple of days and just completely map the entire southern sky over and over and over. And thats a perfect way to find more objects out therepotentially to find Planet Nine itself, if it is therebut either way, to find a lot more of Sedna-, Eris-like objects. With current telescopes, theyre really hard to see. Theyre super far away, and theyre super dim. But Rubin is much bigger than anything weve used before, and its going to create these maps that if you see something moving in them from night to night, you know, youre going to be able to identify the orbits of these objects.And this should kind of completely transform our catalog of outer solar system objects. Were just going to have orders of magnitude more. And so we should be able to see, really soon, the few that we know aboutare they really weird, or are they typical? If theres a lot more objects also on these strange orbits but also aligned with the trend, that supports the case for a hidden planet out there. On the other hand, if we see a lot more objects, and theyve all got totally random orbits, and theres no trends suggesting that a single object has carved this path for them, then that, you know, starts to push against the idea and the support for Planet Nine.And like I said, the most exciting thing would be if we saw the planet itself, although that is not guaranteed, even if it does exist, because it just might be in a spot where its harder to see. You know, were still talking about extreme distances. The thing about Planet Nine is that it could be as far away as 700 times the distance between the Earth and the sun. I mean, that is just wildlike, Neptune, the farthest official planet in our solar system, is only 30 times the distance of Earth. So youre talking about something else thats 700 times this distance, maybe, you know, and that might only be five or 10 times the size of Earth. So it would be super hard to see, even with Rubinbut we can hope. We might get lucky.Feltman: Yeah, that would be so exciting. But short of that, which obviously would be incredible, what do you think it would take for this to become, like, pretty widely accepted as probable fact in the astronomical community? What kind of evidence are we looking for to really clinch this?Moskowitz: I think that if we get enough observations of other objects out there that all seem to have similar-to-each-other orbits that are very dissimilar from the orbits of the things we see in the inner solar system, we can use these objects as gravitational probes to sort of prove the existence of a large planet, even if we cant see the planet itself. If you have enough data points, enough objects, out there that we can put all their orbits into a computer simulation and show that the only way they could be moving like this is if there was a planet in this location with this mass, a lot of people would be pretty convinced, whether or not we ever lay eyes on Planet Nine itself.Feltman: Yeah, though if they get enough evidence to say that theres definitely, you know, a massive influence on the gravity and we dont have eyes on the planet, I do shudder to think what people on the Internet are going to say is out there [laughs], but I guess thats always the case [laughs].Moskowitz: [Laughs] That is always the case. And, I mean, I personally do like the idea that you have this little black hole kind of, like, lingering out there, making all this mischief, you know? So, yeah, it will not be a case closed. And yeah, theres probably going to be a lot of debate and a lot of people saying, Oh, Im convinced, and a lot of other people saying, Oh, Im far from convinced. You know, thats just how these things go. But its just really fun to be at this point in time where something big is coming either way, you know, and we should have a lot more information soon.Feltman: Yeah, and it sounds like the Rubin is going to be huge for astronomy in general. Also, great name. I wrote a lot of articles about how Vera Rubin should have gotten a Nobel Prize. What are some other, you know, questions that were going to explore with this telescope that youre excited about?Moskowitz: Oh, yeah, I mean, its going to be really amazing to have these maps, I mean, because were going to see a lot of new objects. I mean, its going to be really helpful for finding potentially dangerous asteroids, right, nearby or heading our way. So thats a big, important deal. You know, to be able to study whats moving out there, whats flying around us, is still really hard. Its stillyou know, youre looking for these needles in haystacks, and Rubin should make a huge difference.And then, you know, some of the biggest questions about the cosmos, like dark matter and dark energyVera Rubin, who you mentioned, is this wonderful, amazing scientist who provided the best evidence that we have that theres probably this missing matter that we cant see out there in the universe called dark matter. And weve been looking for it for decades, but we still dont know what its made of. More and more astronomers are convinced that it exists, but we dont know what it is. So Vera Rubin telescope should help us get much better measurements by studying, again, the movement of all these objects in our solar system, but ourmostly in our galaxy and in the universe itselfis going to give us ways to trace gravity and trace the presence and the placement and distribution of dark matter, and that should help us shed more light on what it might possibly be.Theres another element that we didnt mention, which is a sort of fun and funny aspect of this story, which is that the guy who is probably the greatest proponent of Planet Nine, you know, the person whos most convinced that there is a new planet in the solar system, is also responsible for killing Pluto as a planet in the solar system.Feltman: Yeah, the infamous Mike Brown [laughs].Moskowitz: The infamous Mike Brown of Caltech [the California Institute of Technology] is a big part of this story. He is the one that discovered Eris and therefore forced the International Astronomical Union to change its definition of a planet. And then hes the one who started saying, Look, all these objects are pointing toward there being another planet out there. And, you know, around this time, I think he had a daughter who was, like, eight or 10, and she was like, you know, Maybe you can actually make up for the big harm you did by killing Pluto if you find another planet. And hes sort of on a quest now to do that, so part of you has to root for him to succeed, just for that reason.[CLIP: Theme music]Feltman: [Laughs] Yeah, absolutely. Thank you so much for coming on to talk about space with us. Its always such a pleasure to have you.Moskowitz: Yeah, absolutely my pleasure. Thanks a lot.Feltman: Thats all for todays episode. Well be back on Monday with our good old science news roundup. In the meantime, do us a favor and leave us a quick rating and review wherever you listen to this podcast. You can also send us any questions or comments at sciencequickly@sciam.com.Science Quickly is produced by me, Rachel Feltman, along with Fonda Mwangi, Kelso Harper, Madison Goldberg and Jeff DelViscio. This episode was reported and co-hosted by Clara Moskowitz. Emily Makowski, Shayna Posses and Aaron Shattuck fact-check our show. Our theme music was composed by Dominic Smith. Subscribe to Scientific American for more up-to-date and in-depth science news.For Science Quickly, this is Rachel Feltman. Have a great weekend!

Fourth major Manor Lords update brings bridges, rivers, and experimental changesWater way to build.Image credit: Slavic Magic News by Ed Nightingale Deputy News Editor Published on Jan. 10, 2025 Manor Lords today receives its fourth major update as early access continues, bringing a new bridge-building mechanic, bug fixes, and some experimental changes.The bridge-building utilises the same road-building tool and arrives alongside two new maps, one of which includes a huge river, making bridges a necessity. Another watery addition is a stone well upgrade with increased water supply, while taverns can also be upgraded to level two.Another new feature is an additional Overstock setting, which allows users to control the amount of extra goods placed in stalls or the tavern to exceed what's currently needed.Manor Lords - Release Date Announcement TrailerWatch on YouTubeThese additions come alongside a huge number of bug fixes, crashfixes, performance boosts, and more.There are some experimental changes too, including a rework of cliffs to ensure they're less ambiguous (plus fixed pathfinding errors); changes to building costs to encourage more diverse resource use; amending food consumption to consume all types equally; and changing region strength selection so regions are picked from a finite pool to ensure necessary resources are available.The full patch notes for this update, 0.8.024, can be found on Steam.Manor Lords is available now on PC across Steam, GOG, Epic, Microsoft, and on PC Game Pass.There's no date yet for its 1.0 release, though updates such as this prove developer Slavic Magic is hard at work."There's a confidence to Manor Lords that belies its one-person development, and what's there can be spellbinding, but it's a pastoral idyll that still needs significant development," reads our Manor Lords early access review.

House of the Dead 2: Remake release window finally revealedDead to the world.Image credit: MegaPixel / Forever Entertainment News by Vikki Blake Contributor Published on Jan. 10, 2025 House of the Dead 2: Remake will rise from the grave in spring/Q2 2025.Coming to Nintendo Switch, PC via Steam and GOG, Xbox, and PlayStation, the remake features remastered music - although the classic soundtrack is also available - as well as modernised graphics, "faithful to the original" gameplay, multiple endings and branching levels, plus co-op.You can check out the action in the video embedded below:THE HOUSE OF THE DEAD 2: Remake || Announcement Trailer.Watch on YouTubeFor the uninitiated, House of Dead 2 is, funnily enough, the sequel to Sega's prolific 90s rail-shooter zombie series. In this instalment, you take on the lone role of secret agent James - either alone or in co-op mode alongside fellow agent Gary - with one single mission: to neutralise the dangerous denizens standing in your way.As well as the features listed above, there will also be a boss mode in which you'll have to speedrun killing all of the game's bosses, and a training mode is available to help you hone your skills.This is the second of Sega's zombie games to get the remake treatment. However, as Matt summarised for us this time last year, reception to the first House of the Dead: Remake's reception was pretty mixed. With complaints highlighting control scheme issues and performance on last-gen consoles, so it'll be interesting to see how the second remake will be received.ICYMI, Sega's The House of the Dead is also set for the big screen, with Paul WS Anderson on board to write and direct.Anderson will also serve as a producer, alongside his partner Jeremy Bolt. The duo have also worked on adaptations for the likes of Mortal Kombat (1995) and Monster Hunter (2020), as well as multiple Resident Evil films.

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 Marvel Rivals developer NetEase Games has officially killed mods for the free-to-play game. While mods only affected the game on the player side, NetEase has found a way to crack down on player modding with the arrival of the Season 1 update.Marvel Rivals Season 1 Eternal Night is out now and the game now has access to half of the Fantastic Four, multiple new maps, huge balance patches and a new battle pass. Alongside the new content, NetEase also added a new asset-checking system designed to kill mods.Marvel Rivals mods killed by NetEaseSince release, Marvel Rivals players have been using mods to play as characters from Dragon Ball, GTA, DC Comics and countless other pieces of media. Some of these mods were hilarious and of high quality, but installing mods was a violation of the games terms of service.Via Dataminer X0XLeak, Rivals now uses an asset hash checking system. This means that the game actively checks what assets are applied and loaded for a called character to make sure they appear as intended. Unfortunately, this also means that mods will not work.While mods were a bannable offense, not many players found themselves actively punished for using them. In fact, more bans occurred by accident earlier this year. However, with the arrival of the asset-checking system, it could be easier for modders to be banned when a workaround is found.Fans are not happyIn the official Marvel Rivals Discord server, which houses fans and developers, many players have complained about the death of mods for the live-service hero shooter. Additionally, many players also used the server to discuss and share mods, which probably wasnt wise.As a free-to-play game kept alive by the sales of cosmetic skins, it isnt unsurprising that NetEase is trying to kill modding for the game. After all, whats to stop someone from ripping a paid cosmetic and re-uploading it for free?While gacha games like Zenless Zone Zero and Genshin Impact dont officially support mods, they are extremely prominent. However, these games dont make money from skinsmostlybut instead from the sale of currency for randomised gacha pulls.We have reached out to NetEase for comment.Marvel RivalsPlatform(s):macOS, PC, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series S, Xbox Series XGenre(s):Fighting, ShooterSubscribe 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 here Contents hide For many, the best iteration of Call of Duty: Warzone was when the bustling metropolis of Verdansk was the main focus of the battle royale. Like other battle royale battlegrounds, the map featured a wide variety of different points of interest (POI) that encouraged players to adopt different styles of play to avoid a trip to the gulag.Since Verdansk departed Warzone in 2021, Raven Software has struggled to capture the same magic despite releasing some of the biggest and most unique maps ever seen in any Call of Duty game. In the Spring of 2025, Verdansk makes its long-awaited return to Warzone much to the delight of fans hoping to take a trip down memory lane.Activision often utilises nostalgia to spark interest in Call of Duty such as the return of Nuketown or Shipment every other year but in the case of Verdansks return, the familiar setting will only go so far. Once the initial hype has subsided, the return of the popular battlefield will not rescue Warzone from its most recent low point.Omnimovement allows players to sprint, slide, and dive in any direction. Original Verdansk only had the ability to slide, creating a one-dimensional system that was easy to predict. Combined with slide-cancelling and the double bunny hop, engagements were somewhat even and gave both players a chance to evade the dreaded gulag.With several methods to duck and dive out of harms way in rebirthed Verdansk, theres a high chance players will experience some questionable deaths due to the fluidity of the movement mechanics. The battle royale already has plenty of RNG-based elements and the last thing it needs is players moving in unnatural ways to gain the upper hand.Same map, different engineAlthough the layout of Verdansk will be exactly the same as the iteration that launched in 2020, the current version of Warzone operates on the IW 9 engine, an upgrade on the IW 8 engine that made its debut with the battle royale and 2019s Call of Duty: Modern Warfare. Widely regarded as one of the best Call of Duty engines, IW 8 enabled fast-paced and fluid movement which birthed the slide cancelling and double bunny-hop mechanics that remain popular methods of outplaying the opposition.To unify future releases starting with Call of Duty: Black Ops 6, Infinity Ward, Treyarch, and Sledgehammer Games will continue to use IW 9 to ease the development process. While Call of Dutys development may be easier than ever before for those working on Activisions shooter series, the addition of Omnimovement and slower slide-cancelling speed means Verdansk will not feel anything like Warzone from five years ago.A paradise for hackersDespite the Black Ops 6 cycle launching with improvements to Ricochet anti-cheat, the measures havent been enough. Hackers have infested Warzone and are using all kinds of underhanded techniques to ruin the fun for everyone. While many still possess unnatural aim and the ability to see through walls, some cheaters have found the ability to crash game servers resulting in huge disruption for players. The issue has grown to uncontrollable levels with the biggest content creators ditching the battle royale for other games that are capable of dealing with cheaters.Although Activision has promised the Season 2 update will deliver further measures to curb the infestation of hackers, theres every chance some slip through the net and disrupt the return of the beloved battlefield. Infinity Ward managed to take a strict stance on hackers resulting in Verdansks debut being one that was much smoother than other integrations. Since then, the battle royale has been in the middle of its lowest point making the maps return hugely important in the success of Warzone in 2025.Memories only last so longVerdansk holds a special place in the hearts of Warzone players due to the timing of its launch. March 2020 was just as the world was locking down due to the COVID-19 pandemic, leaving billions indoors and looking for ways to stay in touch with their friends. Verdansk played host to millions dropping into the actions to join forces with friends, creating memories that would last a lifetime. Everyone remembers that time landing on the Hospital roof, grabbing the helicopter, and eliminating any unarmed enemy in the blink of an eye.The map returning on a new engine and without any of the weaponry and exploits that made the map home for numerous memorable moments puts many at risk of tainting the fun times with gameplay that is unable to reach the high bar set by its predecessor. If youre able to acknowledge Verdansk in 2025 wont feel anything like it did five years ago, youll have a great time. If youre wanting the complete Warzone 1 experience, the return of the map wont be able to rescue Warzone from its self-inflicted trip to the gulag.Related TopicsCall of Durty Subscribe to our newsletters!By subscribing, you agree to our Privacy Policy and may receive occasional deal communications; you can unsubscribe anytime.Share

Now that the holiday season has come and gone, its time to focus on gifting yourself what you really want. Grab your gift cards and get your wish list readyBrooklinen is kicking 2025 off with a comforter sale on a few of the brands cult-favorite products. Shoppers can save 20% off pillows and comforters from now through 1/20.Whether your bedding is overdue for an upgrade or your New Years resolution is to get better sleep, youre in luck. Brooklinens bedroom essentialsfrom cozy down comforters to luxurious memory foam pillowswill soon have you on your way to more restful nights. Weve rounded up our top picks from the sale below.Brooklinen Down ComforterIf you get one thing from this sale, let it be the brands signature down comforter. Designed with a soft cotton sateen shell and plush Hutterite down filling, its no wonder its an AD editor top pick and our choice for best down comforter.Brooklinen offers lightweight (650 fill power), all-season (700 fill power), and ultrawarm (750 fill power) variations of the comforter so theres an option for every type of sleeper. social media manager Rebecca Grambone initially thought the thickest style might be too warm for her, but she went on to rave about how breathable and cozy it is. It felt very high quality and luxurious and gave off strong hotel-bed vibes, she says.Brooklinen Down Alternative ComforterPrefer a more eco-friendly option? The down alternative comforter offers similar plushness but is filled with recycled PET fibers. Its a great solution for anyone looking for an organic or a hypoallergenic comforter. Similarly, you can pick from lightweight, all-season, or ultrawarm thicknesses depending on your sleeping preferences. No wonder its backed by hundreds of five-star reviews.Best Pillows at the Brooklinen Comforter SaleBrooklinen Down PillowThis Best Sleep Award winner offers unmatched comfort and will make your bedroom feel like a luxurious hotel. Depending on whether you are a stomach, back, or side sleeper, take your pick from three levels of support: plush, mid-plush, or firm. The plush pillow is filled with down clusters while the mid-plush and firm have a combination of down clusters and feathers.As someone who prefers ultrasoft pillows, Ive been using the plush version for the past three years. Even after consistent use, my pillow is still in great condition and hasnt gotten bent out of shape. Jacqueline Wladis, Cond Nasts former associate director of commerce, swears by the firm variation and would even 15 out of 10 recommend it.Brooklinen Down Alternative PillowThis organic pillow has a hypoallergenic fill thats designed to mimic the texture of down feathersbut its actually made from recycled plastic bottles. The result is a combination of cloud-like softness and support that will rock your head to sleep each night. Plus you can rest easy knowing its an eco-friendly option.Brooklinen Marlow PillowAny hot sleeper would benefit from the Marlow Pillow, which is made from cooling-infused memory foam. This pillow comes in standard or king sizes and features an adjustable design. Fully zipped, its firm to the touch, but as you unzip the pillow, it gets more plush, making it fully customizable to your preferences.

An aircraft helping to fight wildfires that are raging across Los Angeles was struck by a civilian drone on Thursday. The collision damaged the wing of the aircraft a CL-415 Super Scooper capable of scooping up 1,600 gallons of ocean water to drop onto nearby blazes according to a statement by the LA County Fire Department posted on X, putting it out of service until it can be repaired.Cal Fire spokesman Chris Thomas told The New York Times that grounding the aircraft will likely set back local firefighting efforts. Super Scoopers can typically refill in about five minutes. But even if it takes ten, thats six water drops that are lost each hour according to Thomas. So whose house is not going to get that water to protect it? The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) says the Super Scooper landed safely after the drone impact, and that the incident is now under investigation. Temporary flight restrictions have been implemented in the Los Angeles area that prohibit drones and other aircraft from flying without FAA authorization in an effort to protect firefighting efforts.According to LA County Fire Chief Anthony Marrone, the drone was not assigned to help tackle the Palisades fires, and was destroyed in the collision. Marrone told the LA Times that the FBI is now planning to implement so-called aerial armor in the area to prevent further interference from drones.Several people online have violated the FAA-enforced flight restrictions, posting viral drone photos and video footage across social media showing the devastation from what appears to be prohibited airspace. Fire response agencies are often forced to ground their own aircraft to avoid collisions when dummies fly drones near wildfires for online clout.Its a federal crime, punishable by up to 12 months in prison, to interfere with firefighting efforts on public lands, the FAA said in a statement. Additionally, the FAA can impose a civil penalty of up to $75,000 against any drone pilot who interferes with wildfire suppression, law enforcement or emergency response operations. The FAA treats these violations seriously and immediately considers swift enforcement action for these offenses.

Cost of your actionsKingdom Come Deliverance 2's dedication to letting me be a drunk, boorish oaf is so committed, it honestly left me astounded - previewKingdom Come Deliverance 2 feels like a hobgoblin game; built for late nights, days off work, and to compliment your headiest rot days.Image credit: VG247 Article by Connor Makar Staff Writer Published on Jan. 10, 2025 I've not played an open world RPG as thoughtful, earnest, or funny as Kingdom Come Deliverance 2 since... well, The original Kingdom Come Deliverance. With the sequel, Warhorse Studios has managed to strike a fine balance between historical accuracy and deep-rooted seriousness, resulting in a tale packed to the gills with boozy, slapstick hijinks. Just like in real Medieval European history.To see this content please enable targeting cookies. For this preview, I was able to play up until a wedding set inside the first major region you get to explore. As of hitting this point,I have 25 hours on my save file, and I've completed all content on offer up to this point, save for one side-quest. Kingdom Come Deliverance 2 is a rich well, packed full of engaging side content, smaller activities that demand your attention, and side quests that actually weave into the main story so that you feel rewarded not just through material goods, but narrative pay-off, too. Eat your heart out, Witcher 3.But - best of all - it's the finest open world RPG I've played that not only respects your decision to be a wanker, but has deep systems built around allowing you to be the most competent wanker you can be. You like robbing people? Getting drunk and punching random people on the road? Kingdom Come Deliverance 2 promotes unique progression paths for brawlers, burglars, and drunks. All whilst the people of Bohemia take note, muttering amongst themselves, leading to lasting and impactful consequences. I am left astounded.Many other previews will likely note how different styles of clothing impact your charisma, how (if you don't wash yourself often) you'll stink like p**s, and if you don't take a bath your clothes will remain dirty as a kind of permanent scruffbag debuff. Countless, I'm sure, will note how your dog is adorable. All of these are great depictions of Kingdom Come Deliverance's strengths, but allow me to summarise more succinctly: Kingdom Come Deliverance 2 feels like a hobgoblin game. A game for late nights, sick days off work. A game you can obsess over. It's a wonderful historical romp for the average video game-enjoyer, if they have the constitution to munch on the occasional wave of tedium. Allow me to make a case for the game's merit by comparing it to the inevitable rival it'll have in the eyes of gamers: The Elder Scrolls: Skyrim for good measure. This might look similar to a lockpicking mini-game you know, but let me tell you, it's a lot harder. | Image credit: VG247Bethesda and Warhorse are on two polar opposites of the design philosophy spectrum when it comes to making open world RPGs. While Bethesda emphasises breaking down barriers between the player and a sense of joy and wunderlust, Warhorse embraces these barriers. In Kingdom Come Deliverance 2, this not only makes the experiences you encounter more special (without having to resort to ample bombast), but somehow manages to make mechanical roadblocks an integral part of the adventure, too. There is no better comparison point in my mind between the two approaches than thievery.In Skyrim, you're less a thief in the dark and more of a ghost haunting the chests and pockets of those around you. Lock-picking and pick-pocketing isn't hard. A stranger can walk into a town, everyone's gold and gems can vanish, and the townfolk will shrug and mourn their lost wealth as that same phantom stumbles out of town the next day, overencumbered and rich. The shop owner will stand stoic as a basket is placed on their head, as a voiceless rogue practically tears the floorboards from the ground. How on earth could this have happened, and who could possibly be to blame? If you are caught, you pay a fine. Not a huge fine, mind you, especially not if you've been selling off your stolen goods. The biggest problem for a thief in Skyrim is that the people of Skyrim often haven't got enough money to buy back their stolen wares.In Kingdom Come Deliverance 2, being a thief is a struggle. Lock-picking can be hard, and breaking a pick will make a loud noise that'll get you nabbed. If dogs see you snooping, they'll bark at you, chasing you off the premises. When you pickpocket someone, you've got to spend a few seconds digging through their pockets before you even get the chance to get loot, and most of that loot is hidden! On top of all of that, store owners can spot if goods you're selling are stolen, and refuse to buy them. You've often got to travel to another town to actually ditch your loot. Oh, and if you're over-encumbered, you can't mount up or fast travel. Get to walking, bud! Kingdom Come Deliverance 2 is also a gloriously vulgar game. | Image credit: VG247But it gets even deeper. The game has a reputation system, so if you're caught stealing stuff or lurking around houses at night, people will treat you as a thief and act accordingly, even when you aren't doing crimes. Even if you aren't caught, they will piece together that you were in town while stuff went missing, and you'll gain reputation as a thief - even without spending time in a jail cell! Losing this reputation is incredibly costly, requiring you to empty your wallet or go on a time-consuming good-will mission. Just like real life, I suppose.The reason why this matters, and why I'm picking it out, is because the whole game is like this. So many playstyles are not only possible, but clearly taken into account by the devs. You wanna be a soldier, then there's a rich combo system for a hard-to-master melee system, a layered armour system, and weapons that excel against different types of protection. You wanna be a woodland ranger? Aside from the thieving business I've already talked about, you can do so well for yourself lurking around the forest, poaching game and picking herbs for poisons and other reagents. Don't wanna fight at all? Put on a nice outfit and talk your way out of almost everything. Or, get drunk every day and play dice. To hell with it, right? The more you drink, the more levels in drinking you get, which might sound useless until you see you can almost half fall damage you take while drunk. More than once, I've seen a sketchy drop, downed eight bottles of schnapps, and come away okay. Just like real life. No other game lets you do this. You've got to understand, seeing "shaggin" in a video game is rare. | Image credit: VG247There are going to be a lot of people who won't like Kingdom Come Deliverance 2. An inevitable cost of its deep roots in historical accuracy, and the drudgery that comes with it, is that occasionally you've got to carry six heavy sacks to a basement, or sit on a cart slowly rolling across the map. It means that some who want that Skyrim-style quick payoff and power fantasy will be left kicking their heels. Three guys can box you up (and with saves not exactly generous for the alchemy-averse among you) a fight gone wrong can set you back by 20 minutes, easy. Folks will fall off one hill, break their ankles, and uninstall the game. This is the sacrifice required for a game like this, though. It is what it is.Hitting the preview point of Kingdom Come Deliverance 2 was, to me, like slamming the breaks on a moving train. I'm fiending to get back on it. If you're an open world RPG fan this looks to be an absolute banger, and well worth putting some money aside for when it releases on February 4, 2025.

Radahnmance Not DeadElden Ring Nightreign network test sign-ups open, as FromSoft makes safe bet its maidenless hardcores will battle through site outages to spaff away some of Valentine's DayHey, it's a perfectly romantic way to spend three hours, no doubt falling in love with some big bad bosses.Image credit: FromSoftware News by Mark Warren Senior Staff Writer Published on Jan. 10, 2025 You! The Elden Ring Nightreign network test is now open for you to register, as in putting your name down to be considered for a spot in it. Don't worry, you don't have to dive in right away to have a shot at being let in, and some of the folks who've tried to do just that have had to battle the Bandai Namco site momentarily crashing as people rush to put their names down.If you somehow missed Nightreign being announced, it's a co-op focussed title that will allow multiple players to take on bosses from the FromSofftverse in collaborative environments. So yup, Elden Ring with your mates in a form that's not just leaving each other cheeky notes and occasionally invading to help out with a particular fight or muck s**t up.To see this content please enable targeting cookies. This test was announced back in December, with sign-ups kicking off today, January 10, and staying open until January 20. To throw your name into the hat for the Elden Ring Nightreign network test, you'll want to head to this link.Only the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S are eligible as platforms for the test though, which means you're outta luck if you're on PC or last-gen consoles, though you will still be able to play the full game when it comes out. That said, this hasn't stopped demand from being huge early doors, with several would-be sign-ups having responded to the Bandai tweet below with screenshots of the site having momentarily fallen over and died - or struggling to load up/register applications, if you want to be less dramatic. To see this content please enable targeting cookies.For those who get in, the network test is currently penned in to take place over five three hour sessions running from Februrary 14 to February 17, with times as follows:Feb 14 12:00 - 15:00 CETFeb 15 04:00 - 07:00 CETFeb 16 20:00 - 23:00 CETFeb 16 12:00 - 15:00 CETFeb 17 04:00 - 07:00 CETYep, the chance to spend three hours of your February 14 - that's Valentine's Day - playing Nightreign. As Orson Welles once said: "We're born alone, we live alone, we die alone. Only through our love and friendship can we create the illusion for the moment that we're not alone." You go play that Elden Ring, here's hoping it fills your heart with love.And hey, if you don't get in, you can always just randomly decide you're going to go on a mission to kill FromSoft bosses every day until Nightreign comes out, as one fan already has.