Like A Dragon: Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii was developed in just a few months, according to its Chief Producer, allowing a quick follow-up from 2024's Infinite WealthTech17:01, 16 Jan 2025Like A Dragon: Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii was developed quickly(Image: Sega)As we covered in our preview, Like a Dragon: Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii is every bit as bonkers as you'd expect from a game with that many seemingly disparate words in the game's title.The first entry in the Like A Dragon/Yakuza series to star Goro Majima as the main protagonist, this time he's off creating carnage on the high seas, wielding cutlasses and summoning dark gods and shadowy doppelgangers (yes, really).With such a surreal take on the series, you may be wondering how it's launching just over a year since the last entry, Infinite Wealth. We had the chance to ask Hiroyuki Sakamoto, Chief Producer on the game, for a rough development timeline.Majima's adventure started development just a few months ago(Image: Sega)Speaking at the Like A Dragon: Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii hands-on preview event, Sakamoto-san was asked about the length of time it took to develop the title."About the same amount of time as the Man Who Erased His Name," he revealed."A little bit less than a year, but a little bit more than six months. We started in September of 2023."That's a very short turnaround for a title that feels pretty ambitious in scope. For context, The Man Who Erased His Name was developed at the same time as last year's Infinite Wealth, and reportedly took a little over six months to develop.How did the team manage it? As Sakamoto-san explains, much of what was found in Infinite Wealth is also in Like a Dragon: Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii, similarly to the way earlier games reused parts of Kamurocho."We have Hawaii in this game and all the areas that were in Infinite Wealth, so there's tons of mini games, tons of what you've already seen in our game."So it's not like we have built a game around this [pirate theme] specifically. We have all of that stuff that we're used to in our game."Article continues belowFor more on Like A Dragon, be sure to check out Sakamoto-san's comments on the game being a good way to onboard new players to the series.For the latest breaking news and stories from across the globe from the Daily Star, sign up for our newsletters.RECOMMENDED

Akiyama is no leading man, apparently (Sega)Goro Majima might be getting his own Like A Dragon game this year, but dont expect another fan favourite to get the same treatment.The Yakuza series, now known as Like A Dragon, is celebrating its 20th anniversary this year, with its most extravagant entry yet.Despite being a fan favourite character since the original, its only now Goro Majima is taking the wheel in Like A Dragon: Pirate Yakuza In Hawaii. While hes been present in every mainline entry, this is the first time the ferocious mad dog has been the sole protagonist, after his joint-billing with Kazuma Kiryu in 2015s Yakuza 0.It feels like a long overdue move, but Yakuza/Like A Dragon is built on an ensemble of memorable (and sometimes playable) characters: including loveable brute Taiga Saejima, Kiryus adoptive daughter Haruka Sawamura, and police detective Makoto Date.After Majima, perhaps the most requested character for a dedicated spin-off is Shun Akiyama, who first appeared in Yakuza 4 as the suave owner of generous loan company Sky Finance. Since then, hes appeared in Yakuza 5, Yakuza 6, and most recently in Like A Dragon: Infinite Wealth, where he reunites with Kiryu in an optional side mission.With Majimas spin-off ticked off the list, the obvious question is whether we could see a game dedicated to Akiyama down the line. When we put this question to Like A Dragon producer Hiroyuki Sakamoto, he was apologetic, as he quashed our dreams.Sorry, no hope for an Akiyama spin-off, Sakamoto told GameCentral. If we just made spin-offs, wed never actually make the main stuff we want to make. Akiyama was a playable character in Yakuza 5 (Sega)The decision to pick Majima for an off-shoot seems to have been borne out of various factors after Like A Dragon: Infinite Wealth, although one of them is simply a desire to explore the character further.Asked why they chose to bring back Majima now, Sakamoto said: We initially said to ourselves, OK we want to do a spin-off, we want it to [take] about a year to make, and we wanted it to really just be fun and do something that surprises the people who have seen our games before.When we did Like A Dragon Gaiden: The Man Who Erased His Name before, we had Kiryu as our protagonist, and we thought, OK lets go for somebody different who is an interesting character we could explore more? And that, within a year, we could make a really fun, out of the normal mould game? And Majima seemed a pretty good fit for all of these things.At the moment, Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio is working on various other games outside the Like A Dragon series, including the mysterious Project Century, set in 1915 Japan and a new Virtua Fighter.More TrendingIf you want more on Like A Dragon: Pirate Yakuza In Hawaii before it launches on February 20, 2025, we recently went hands-on with the ship combat and spoke to Sakamoto further about the studios approach to game development. Goro Majima is taking the wheel (Sega)Emailgamecentral@metro.co.uk, leave a comment below,follow us on Twitter, andsign-up to our newsletter.To submit Inbox letters and Readers Features more easily, without the need to send an email, just use ourSubmit Stuff page here.For more stories like this,check our Gaming page.GameCentralSign up for exclusive analysis, latest releases, and bonus community content.This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply. Your information will be used in line with our Privacy Policy

By Thomas Maxwell Published January 16, 2025 | Comments (0) | Apple is making changes to its AI-based notification summaries following complaints. Apple/YouTube Apple is making changes to its AI-powered notification summaries following complaints. In a new beta version of iOS 18, the company has completely turned off the summaries for news apps, and it will use italics to better distinguish summaries from the original notifications. 9to5Mac earlier reported on the changes. The changes come after the BBC repeatedly wrote stories highlighting how the new AI summaries were hallucinating and creating incorrect summaries from its app, one time writing in a summary that Luigi Mangione, the alleged UnitedHealthcare shooter, had shot himself when he had not. Notification summaries are a feature that Apple has released as part of Apple Intelligence, a suite of new features powered by artificial intelligence. The premise of notification summaries is to combat fatigue from apps that may send many notifications by condensing them down into a single alert with pertinent details. Unfortunately, anyone who has used AI chatbots will know they continue to get things wrong often, and even when the summaries are not technically wrong, they are just inscrutable, stripping out so much context as to not be comprehensible at all. It defeats the purpose if you cannot trust Apples summaries and have to expand the full notification list anyway. For an organization like the BBC, having no control over how iOS rewrites its content is just a nightmare that could further hurt its credibility with the publicespecially with Boomers who might read an incorrect summary and not know it is Apples fault. Apple took some time to respond to the BBCs complaints, finally saying that it would make changes so that users better understand notification summaries. Apparently, it also decided the technology just is not good enough yet to be used with apps like news readers, so it is turning them off for the entire News & Entertainment category of apps. For other categories of apps like Messages, Apples AI will now write summaries in italics to denote the difference more clearly. When users first enable notification summaries, iOS will now display a copy informing users that the version remains a beta product.Apple Intelligence has been largely underwhelming since launching last year to much fanfare by executives. Simple features like an integration with ChatGPT, and a feature that lets users identify objects with their camera (something Google Lens has been doing for years), do not provide much value. The company plans more features to come this year, including the ability to interact deeply with apps on the phone using voice commands. But the fact that it cannot get basic summaries right does not inspire confidence. Maybe work on the basics first? Well, Apple needs to sell more iPhones, and artificial intelligence is all the rage these days, so this is what we get. Half-baked services that are constantly in beta and cause more nuisance than they are worth.Daily NewsletterYou May Also Like By AJ Dellinger Published January 15, 2025 David T. Marshall, Auburn University; Teanna Moore, University of Kansas, and Timothy Pressley, Christopher Newport University Published January 12, 2025 By Thomas Maxwell Published January 10, 2025 By Isaac Schultz Published January 10, 2025 By Todd Feathers Published January 10, 2025 By Matt Novak Published January 9, 2025

California House / Marchetti Bonetti+Save this picture! Rafael RibeiroHousesGaropaba, BrazilArchitects: Marchetti Bonetti+AreaArea of this architecture projectArea:365 mYearCompletion year of this architecture project Year: 2022 PhotographsPhotographs:Rafael Ribeiro Lead Architect: Giovani Bonetti More SpecsLess SpecsSave this picture!Text description provided by the architects. The residence was designed as a summer home for a Brazilian family living abroad, emphasizing its primary function: to be a veranda-house with spacious, open, yet inviting areas.Save this picture!The design adheres to the aesthetics of contemporary architecture, a signature style of the office, featuring a concrete structure complemented by wooden and glass elements.Save this picture!Save this picture!Save this picture!Stretching longitudinally across the plot, the house includes a generous rear opening, seamlessly integrating the landscaping with the interior spaces.Save this picture!Project gallerySee allShow lessAbout this officeMarchetti Bonetti+OfficePublished on January 16, 2025Cite: "California House / Marchetti Bonetti+" [Casa Califrnia / Marchetti Bonetti+] 16 Jan 2025. ArchDaily. Accessed . <https://www.archdaily.com/1025561/california-house-marchetti-bonetti-plus&gt ISSN 0719-8884Save!ArchDaily?You've started following your first account!Did you know?You'll now receive updates based on what you follow! Personalize your stream and start following your favorite authors, offices and users.Go to my stream

In this series of tutorials we are going focus on Cascadeur UI. Starting with Timeline, here you will find all you need to know about every button and function, including hot keys to further speed up your workflowLearn more about Cascadeur license plans: https://cascadeur.com/plans Learn how to start using Cascadeur: https://cascadeur.com/learn Join our English-speaking community on Discord: https://discordapp.com/invite/Ymwjhpn Follow us on:Facebook https://www.facebook.com/CascadeurEN/ Twitter https://twitter.com/Cascadeur_soft #Animation #Tutorial #gamedev

The desert is one of the harshest environments to live in. It can be extremely hot during the day and freezing cold at night. There is sparse vegetation and little shade. The terrain is often rough, and to top it all off, there is minimal water. Desert inhabitants must be adaptable to survive these harsh conditions.As humans, to thrive in desert life, we must find ways to stay hydrated, stay out of the sun, and find food and shelter. Its much easier to survive in the desert now, with modern conveniences like houses and bottled water, but it took much more of an effort for our early ancestors.Many researchers believe that it was early Homo sapiens that first adapted to life in the desert. However, a new study indicates that hominins may have adapted to desert life much earlier than previously thought.Ancient Desert DwellersFindings published by an international research team in Nature Communications Earth & Environment report that our early human relative, Homo erectus, lived in arid terrains in Eastern Africa.Evidence gathered at Engaji Nanyori in Tanzanias Oldupai Gorge shows H. erectus thrived in these arid conditions more than one million years ago, long before the emergence of H. sapiens.Now extinct, Homo erectus existed more than an estimated 1.5 million years, marking them as a species survival success in the human evolution story when compared with our own estimated existence of around 300,000 years to date, said Professor Michael Petraglia, director of the Australian Research Centre for Human Evolution at Griffith University, in a press release.Follow the StreamAccording to the study, researchers gathered data by testing biogeochemical, palaeoenvironmental, and archaeological evidence. The results indicated that H. erectus lived in a semi-desert environment consisting mostly of shrubland. The evidence also indicated that H. erectus likely migrated between known water sources, a key element to their survival and adaptability.Researchers uncovered specialized stone tools such as scrapers and a notched tool known as denticulates. According to the study, these tools were likely used to clean and butcher animals more efficiently.Prior to the study, experts commonly believed that these sorts of adaptations were generally associated with later hominins, such as H. sapiens.Debate has long centered on when the genus Homo acquired the adaptability to thrive in extreme environments such as deserts and rainforests, said Dr. Abel Shikoni of the University of Dodoma in Tanzania in a press release. Traditionally, only Homo sapiens was thought capable of sustained occupation in such ecosystems, with archaic hominins seen as restricted to narrower ranges.Survival of the SpeciesAccording to the study, H. erectus was the first of our ancient ancestors to have human-like proportions and the first early human species to migrate out of Africa. These adaptabilities may have contributed to their migration efforts.This adaptability likely facilitated the expansion of Homo erectus into the arid regions of Africa and Eurasia, redefining their role as ecological generalists thriving in some of the most challenging landscapes of the Middle Pleistocene, said Professor Paul Durkin of the University of Manitoba, in a press release.Adapting to an environment is a key skill for the survival of a species. While there is still much to learn about our early ancestors, these new findings may help us understand the best ways to adapt and survive in the future.Article SourcesOur writers at Discovermagazine.com use peer-reviewed studies and high-quality sources for our articles, and our editors review for scientific accuracy and editorial standards. Review the sources used below for this article:Nature Communications Earth & Environment. Homo erectus adapted to steppe-desert climate extremes one million years agoA graduate of UW-Whitewater, Monica Cull wrote for several organizations, including one that focused on bees and the natural world, before coming to Discover Magazine. Her current work also appears on her travel blog and Common State Magazine. Her love of science came from watching PBS shows as a kid with her mom and spending too much time binging Doctor Who.

Fourteen states still require teaching cursive. Getty ImagesShareThe National Archives needs help from people with a special set of skillsreading cursive. The archival bureau is seeking volunteer citizen archivists to help them classify and/or transcribe more than 200 years worth of hand-written historical documents. Most of these are from the Revolutionary War-era, known for looped and flowing penmanship.NEWSLETTER SIGN UPReading cursive is a superpower, Suzanne Isaacs, a community manager with the National Archives Catalog told USA Today. Its not just a matter of whether you learned cursive in school, its how much you use cursive today.Isaacs coordinates over 5,000 citizen archivists that help read and transcribe some of the more than 300 million digitized objects within its catalog. Volunteers can help with everything from pension records, field notes made by geographers working on the Mason-Dixon line, to immigration and Census records.Interested volunteers can sign-up online, no application required. Reading longhand script can help, but it is not required for some of the records. Revolutionary War pension records have a no cursive required option, where volunteers can help tag the ones that have already been transcribed so that it is easier to find them.Learning cursive used to be standard in classrooms across the United States, with penmanship graded. Once typewriters became common and later computers, it started to disappear. Common Core teaching standards emphasized keyboard typing by 2010. However, 14 states still require cursive to be taught in schools, regardless of how little it is used in daily life.In 2023, the state of California passed a law that requires the teaching of cursive or joined italics from first through sixth grades. Reading primary source historical documentslike the ones in the National Archiveswas cited as a major reason behind the law. There is also some evidence that learning cursive benefits the brain.More and more neuroscience research is supporting the idea that writing out letters in cursive, especially in comparison to typewriting, can activate specific neural pathways that facilitate and optimise overall learning and language development, neuroscientist Claudia Aguirre told the BBC after the California law passed.The research into handwriting something versus typing it shows that it is still most beneficial to write with pen and paper. However, the greatest benefits to both memory and learning new words, are just tied to writing, and not using cursive over print.According to the National Archives, artificial intelligence (AI) is starting to be able to read cursive, but still needs human help. They have been working with FamilySearch, an AI genealogical nonprofit operated by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints to search and access historical documents. A person is still required to do the final edit of the document due to the number of errors. AI can have difficulty with rips, tears, smudges, cross-outs, ink bleeding through the paper, older forms of letters, inventive spelling, and more.For those looking to practiceor learntheir cursive skills, Southwestern Illinois College has a list of resources.

NewsLifeEarly human ancestors didnt regularly eat meatA meat-rich diet may have not emerged before the evolution of other groups like Homo Early human ancestors, Australopithecus africanus (illustrated), may have had primarily vegetarian diets, new research suggests.Ral Martn/MSF/Science SourceBy Jake Buehler1 hour agoSome of our species earliest ancestors may have spent a lot more time eating salad than steak.An analysis of the chemical composition of fossilized teeth in Australopithecus africanus an early relative of humans suggests the bipedal primates had primarily vegetarian diets, researchers report in the Jan. 17 Science. The findings provide direct evidence of where one of humanitys earliest ancestors sat in its local food web over 3 million years ago.Diet has been a crucial component of human evolution, says Tina Ldecke, a geochemist at the Max Planck Institute for Chemistry in Mainz, Germany. A switch from a vegetarian diet to the habitual consumption of high-protein foods like meat is hypothesized to have fueled the evolution of humans cognitive superpowers.

Nature, Published online: 15 January 2025; doi:10.1038/s41586-024-08413-wElucidation of the mechanism by which zeta inhibitory peptide erases memories, involving endocytosis of AMPA receptors on potentiated synapses, provides insight into more general mechanisms of memory maintenance and response to traumatic brain injury.

Scientists have unveiled a giant horned dinosaur from Egypt called Tameryraptor markgrafi after discovering lost photos of fossils destroyed in WWII.