On This Day in HistoryMore Than 100 Died When the S.S. Valencia Wrecked in the Graveyard of the PacificLearn Why This Stretch of Coastline Has Claimed Thousands of ShipsThe ships demise on this day in 1906 demonstrated the terrifying dangers of the treacherous waters in the Pacific Northwest The Valencia wrecked in the northern reaches of the area referred to as the Graveyard of the Pacific, the stretch of treacherous coastline between Oregons Tillamook Bay and Canadas Vancouver Island. Public domain via Wikimedia CommonsCaptain Oscar Marcus Johnson didnt know where his ship was.It was January 22, 1906, and the S.S. Valencia had set out on its voyage from San Francisco to Seattle two days earlier. Since then, conditions had worsened, and visibility was poor. To attempt to find a landmark, the captain ordered the ship to take a course that would bring it nearer to shore. It was a fatal mistake.Not long before midnight, the Valencia struck a rocky reef off the west coast of Vancouver Island. Johnson ordered the ship run aground, but it caught on rocks less than 400 feet from shore.What followed was a slow-motion tragedy as the Valencia sank over the course of almost 40 hours. The ship proved yet another casualty of the treacherous Graveyard of the Pacific.SS Valencia: The Ghost Ship that Haunts the Graveyard of the PacificWatch on After the ship wedged in the rocks, those aboard attempted to launch lifeboats, but they capsized, tossed by the rough waves. In the panic, some boats didnt launch successfully. In one case, a passenger accidentally cut the ropes on one side of the boat.Like a shot the stern of the boat fell to the waters edge, leaving the bow hanging in the air, Valencia freight clerk Frank Lehm recalled. The occupants were spilled out like pebbles from a glass and fell with shrieks and groans into the boiling surf.The other passengers and crew fared little better. A handful of survivors from the lifeboats reached shore and eventually managed to alert others to the ships plightafter navigating a 100-foot cliff and trekking through unpopulated brushland, among other challenges. However, rescue boats couldnt get near the Valencia in the tempestuous sea, and the steep cliffs along shore made an approach from land equally impossible. A few people survived after fleeing the ship on life rafts, but dozens remained on the ship.Over the next 36 hours, terrified people huddled on the hurricane deck or clung to the rigging as huge waves slowly broke the ship apart, writes HistoryLinks Daryl C. McClary. Finally, as rescuers watched, horrified and powerless, a huge wave swept the remaining passengers and crew into the sea.Only 37 survived. Though the number of deaths is still contested, historians believe up to 136 people died, including all the women and children who had been aboard.The Valencia wrecked in the northern reaches of the area referred to as the Graveyard of the Pacific, the stretch of treacherous coastline between Oregons Tillamook Bay and Canadas Vancouver Island. Unpredictable weather and currents propelled the ships toward the foggy, rocky coastline, and there were few places to shelter from storms. Approximately 2,000 vessels have sunk in the area since 1792, the Oregonians Jamie Hale and Mark Graves report.Most of the graveyards shipwrecks concentrated where the powerful Columbia River feeds into the Pacific, further south than the Valencia's resting place. In fact, on one May day in 1880, a sudden gale rose up in nearby Cape Disappointment, and within one hour, 200 fishermen drowned, according to maritime historian James A. Gibbs in Pacific Graveyard.This great battleground, where the mighty Columbia meets the surging Pacific head-on, is a constant turmoil of sand, silt and waterpower, Gibbs wrote.Weather, waves, swift currents and a shifting sandbar made the area particularly hazardous, even for experienced captains. Government projects have helped make the channel deeper and more predictable, and sailors now have better navigational technology, but traversing the Columbia Bar remains tricky.The Valencias fate convinced the Canadian government to invest in better rescue infrastructure. After the wreck, it commissioned the Dominion Lifesaving Trail, now known as the West Coast Trail, and the Pachena Point Lighthouse, and committed to grow its Coast Guard stations.The true legacy of the Valencia is not only 126 lives lost, but the countless saved by the lessons learned, writes the Seattle Times Nicole Brodeur.Get the latest stories in your inbox every weekday.Filed Under: Death, On This Day in History, Pacific Ocean, Ships, Shipwrecks

Sonic the Hedgehog 4 to release in March 2027Pre-production of the fourth instalment of the Sonic film franchise began in December 2024Image credit: Paramount Pictures News by Sophie McEvoy Staff Writer Published on Jan. 22, 2025 Paramount Pictures has revealed that Sonic the Hedgehog 4 will release in cinemas on March 19, 2027.Pre-production on the fourth installment of the series was announced the day before Sonic the Hedgehog 3 hit theatres on December 20, 2024.The third film reached $211.5 million during its first week in cinemas. As of writing, it has grossed $422.4 million globally according to Box Office Mojo.Sonic the Hedgehog 3 has grossed more than the first two installments of the film series. 2020's Sonic the Hedgehog made $319.7 million, while 2022's Sonic the Hedgehog 2 made $405.4 million.By early January 2025, the Sonic franchise had earned over $1 billion at the global box office.

Astro Bot wins Game of the Year at New York Game Awards 2025Team Asobi's platformer won three awards, including best Kids Game and Best Music in a GameImage credit: Team Asobi, Sony Interactive Entertainment News by Sophie McEvoy Staff Writer Published on Jan. 22, 2025 The 14th annual New York Game Awards took place last night, with Astro Bot taking home Game of the Year.Team Asobi's platformer was nominated for four awards, winning three including Best Kids Game and Best Music in a Game.FromSoftware's Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree was also a big winner, picking up accolades for Best World and Best DLC.Mossmouth's UFO 50 won Best Indie Game, with MiHoYo's Zenless Zone Zero took home the award for Best Mobile Game and Camouflaj's Batman: Arkham Shadow for Best AR/VR Game.Troy Baker received the award for Best Acting in a Game for his portrayal of Indiana Jones in Indiana Jones and the Great Circle. The accolade was presented by Alan Wake and Control actor Matthew Porretta.Elsewhere, Studio Zero's Metaphor: ReFantazio won Best Writing in a Game, while Bloober Team's Silent Hill 2 picked up the accolade for Best Remake. Indie hit Mouthwashing also won the award for Best Hidden Gem.Remedy's creative director Sam Lake received the Andrew Yoon Legend Award having worked at the Finnish developer since 1995.Here are the full list of winners:Best Game of the Year: Astro BotBest Indie Game: UFO 50Best Mobile Game: Zenless Zone ZeroBest AR/VR Game: Batman: Arkham ShadowBest Kids Game: Astro BotBest Writing in a Game: Metaphor: ReFantazioBest World: Elden Ring: Shadow of the ErdtreeBest Music in a Game: Astro BotBest Acting in a Game: Troy Baker as Indiana Jones in Indiana Jones and the Great CircleBest Remake: Silent Hill 2Best Hidden Gem: MouthwashingBest DLC: Elden Ring: Shadow of the ErdtreeBest Games Journalism: Simone De Rochefort and Clayton AshleyBest Esports Player of the Year:Andrew Yoon Legend Award Recipient: Sam Lake

He calls himself our lucky underpants. I wouldnt quite go that far, but its can we find a role for Richard where you wont think oh, its the guy from The Stranger, it has to be something that he disappears into. Big, small, he doesnt care.Armitages second novel The Cut, following on from his thriller debut Geneva, will be published by Faber in August 2025, so perhaps hes been keeping busy at the keyboard instead of in front of the cameras. His name was also not among those announced for the second series of ITV action-thriller Red Eye.Run Away, which is adapted from the 2019 novel of the same name, will mark James Nesbitts third role in a Quay Streets Netflix Harlan Coben series. He first appeared in 2021s Stay Close as a detective sergeant investigating the disappearance of multiple men over several years, and later popped up as an art-loving crime lord in 2025s Missing You.Nesbitt will be joined in Run Away by Gavin & Staceys Ruth Jones, Good Will Huntings Minnie Driver, Gangs of Londons Lucian Msamati, Big Boyss Jon Pointing, Wolf Halls Ellie de Lange, Friday Night Dinners Tracy-Ann Oberman, Ted Lassos Annette Badland, Doctor Whos Ingrid Oliver, The Couple Next Doors Alfred Enoch, and more.The new series is filming now in and around Manchester and the North West. In excellent news for fans of these twist-filled, ludicrous yet addictive thrillers, the episode count for Run Away has gone back up to the usual eight, instead of the mere five they had for Missing You, which resulted in a rushed series with underdeveloped supporting roles.As usual, the action will be translated from the US to the UK, and though no official release date has been announced, we can expect this one to land on Netflix on January 1, 2026 in its traditional New Years Day binge slot.

Jan 22, 2025Ravie LakshmananSupply Chain Attack / MalwareA previously undocumented China-aligned advanced persistent threat (APT) group named PlushDaemon has been linked to a supply chain attack targeting a South Korean virtual private network (VPN) provider in 2023, according to new findings from ESET."The attackers replaced the legitimate installer with one that also deployed the group's signature implant that we have named SlowStepper a feature-rich backdoor with a toolkit of more than 30 components," ESET researcher Facundo Muoz said in a technical report shared with The Hacker News.PlushDaemon is assessed to be a China-nexus group that has been operational since at least 2019, targeting individuals and entities in China, Taiwan, Hong Kong, South Korea, the United States, and New Zealand.Central to its operations is a bespoke backdoor called SlowStepper, which is described as a large toolkit consisting of around 30 modules, programmed in C++, Python, and Go.Another crucial aspect of its attacks is the hijacking of legitimate software update channels and exploitation of vulnerabilities in web servers to gain initial access to the target network. The Slovakian cybersecurity company said it noticed in May 2024 malicious code embedded within the NSIS installer for Windows downloaded from the website of a VPN software provider named IPany ("ipany[.]kr/download/IPanyVPNsetup.zip").The rogue version of the installer, which has since been removed from the website, is designed to drop the legitimate software as well as the SlowStepper backdoor. It's currently not clear who the exact targets of the supply chain attack are, although any individual or entity downloading the booby-trapped ZIP archive could have been at risk.Telemetry data gathered by ESET shows that several users attempted to install the trojanized software in the networks associated with a semiconductor company and an unidentified software development company in South Korea. The oldest victims were recorded from Japan and Chia in November and December 2023, respectively.The attack chain starts with the execution of the installer ("IPanyVPNsetup.exe"), which proceeds to establish persistence on the host between reboots and launches a loader ("AutoMsg.dll") that, in turn, is responsible for running shellcode that loads another DLL ("EncMgr.pkg").The DLL subsequently extracts two more files ("NetNative.pkg" and "FeatureFlag.pkg") that are utilized to sideload a malicious DLL file ("lregdll.dll") using "PerfWatson.exe," which is a renamed version of a legitimate command-line utility named regcap.exe that's part of Microsoft Visual Studio.The end goal of the DLL is to load the SlowStepper implant from the winlogin.gif file present within FeatureFlag.pkg. SlowStepper is believed to be in the works since January 2019 (version 0.1.7), with the latest iteration (0.2.12) compiled in June 2024."Although the code contains hundreds of functions, the particular variant used in the supply-chain compromise of the IPany VPN software appears to be version 0.2.10 Lite, according to the backdoor's code," Muoz said. "The so-called "Lite" version indeed contains fewer features than other previous and newer versions."Both the full and Lite versions make use of an extensive suite of tools written in Python and Go that allows for the gathering of data and clandestine surveillance through the recording of audio and videos. The tools are said to have been hosted in the Chinese code repository platform GitCode.As for command-and-control (C&C), SlowStepper constructs a DNS query to obtain a TXT record for the domain 7051.gsm.360safe[.]company to one of the three public DNS servers (114DNS, Google, and Alibaba Public DNS) in order to fetch an array of 10 IP addresses, from which one is chosen for use as a C&C server to process operator-issued commands."If, after a number of attempts, it fails to establish a connection to the server, it uses the gethostbyname API on the domain st.360safe[.]company to obtain the IP address mapped to that domain and uses the obtained IP as its fallback C&C server," Muoz explained.The commands run a wide gamut, permitting it to capture exhaustive system information; execute a Python module; delete specific files; run commands via cmd.exe; enumerate the file system; download and execute files; and even uninstall itself. A rather unusual feature of the backdoor is the activation of a custom shell on receipt of the "0x3A" command.This grants the attacker the ability to execute arbitrary payloads hosted remotely (gcall), update components of the backdoor (update), and run a Python module on the compromised machine (pycall), the last of which downloads a ZIP archive from the GitCode account that contains the Python interpreter and the library to be run in order to collect information of interest -Browser, which harvests data from web browsers such as Google Chrome, Microsoft Edge, Opera, Brave, Vivaldi, Cc Cc browser, UC Browser, 360 Browser, and Mozilla FirefoxCamera, which takes photos if a camera is connected to the compromised machineCollectInfo, which harvests files matching extensions .txt, .doc, .docx, .xls, .xlsx, .ppt, and .pptx, as well as information from apps like LetsVPN, Tencent QQ, WeChat, Kingsoft WPS, e2eSoft VCam, KuGou, Oray Sunlogin, and ToDeskDecode, which downloads a module from the remote repository and decrypts itDingTalk, which harvests chat messages from DingTalkDownload, which downloads non-malicious Python packagesFileScanner and FileScannerAllDisk, which scans the system for filesgetOperaCookie, which obtains cookies from the Opera browserLocation, which obtains the IP address of the computer and the GPS coordinatesqpass, which harvests data from Tencent QQ Browser (likely replaced by the qqpass module)qqpass and Webpass, which harvests passwords from Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, Tencent QQ Browser, 360 Chrome, and UC BrowserScreenRecord, which records the screenTelegram, which harvests data from TelegramWeChat, which harvests data from WeChatWirelessKey, which harvests wireless network information and passwordsESET said it also identified in the remote code repository several software programs written in Golang that offer reverse proxy and download functionalities."This backdoor is notable for its multistage C&C protocol using DNS, and its ability to download and execute dozens of additional Python modules with espionage capabilities," Muoz said."The numerous components in the PlushDaemon toolset, and its rich version history, show that, while previously unknown, this China-aligned APT group has been operating diligently to develop a wide array of tools, making it a significant threat to watch for."Found this article interesting? 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Nintendo toyed with magnetic Joy-Con for original Switch, but they quite literally didn't stickOpinion pole.Image credit: Nintendo/Clip Art/Eurogamer News by Victoria Kennedy News Reporter Published on Jan. 22, 2025 We got our first look at Nintendo Switch 2 last week, after an avalanche of leaks and reports about the console's final design and functionality. And, as we expected, it was confirmed the Switch 2 will boast magnetic Joy-Cons, a change from its predecessor's mechanical rail locking system.However, while this feature will be new to us as a Switch 2 consumer, Nintendo actually toyed with using magnets for its original console as well.To see this content please enable targeting cookies. Our Zoe seeks to answer the question, what does the new Nintendo Switch 2 Joy-Con button actually do? Watch on YouTubeA video shared by former employee Krysta Yang shows Nintendo exec Yoshiaki Koizumi - who she dubs "the person behind Nintendo Switch" - chatting with Yang and fellow Nintendo alum Kit Ellis about Joy-Con all the way back in 2017."One of the ideas the [Switch] team was really interested in and what he was interested in was using magnets" to attach the Joy-Con to the system itself, Yang shares, before cutting to footage from all those years ago.In this resurfaced footage, the Nintendo exec revealed the company tried multiple different methods to get the Joy-Con to attach but when it came to the magnets, the idea was sound enough in theory but didn't have enough actual sticking power when put into practice."As you would play, sometimes [the Switch] would just fall into your lap," Mister Koizumi said with a laugh.In the end, and as we all know, Nintendo went with the rail locking system, which provided a sturdy foundation for the Joy-Con while also giving users that "satisfying snap that the magnets did".Reflecting back on this video, Yang said: "It just goes to show that Nintendo is a company that never lets a good idea die. They store it away and when the technology catches up, they use it in something else."You can check out the video below. To see this content please enable targeting cookies.The Nintendo Switch 2 is set to launch later this year, with a dedicated Direct scheduled for 2nd April. In addition, the company has announced a public hands on tour for the console, with registrations open now.

The launch of Doom: The Dark Ages is just a few months away, according to a release date which has popped up online ahead of tomorrow's Xbox Developer Direct. Read more

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 hereUpdates for The Finals Season 5 have largely been minor with Embark mostly just adding new skins to the store rotation. Theres been a lack of significant balance changes, which is either good or bad depending on if you want anything buffed or nerfed. However, although theres no balance changes again, The Finals update 5.6.0 patch notes do list some important weapon fixes, along with changes to Quick Cash and Cashout.The Finals update 5.6.0 patch notesBelow are The Finals update 5.6.0 patch notes:POWER IS POWERThe power levels are at an all-time high in The Arena this week as DISSUN unveils its newest advertisement in preparation for its takeover of the World Tour starting tomorrow. The fuel company has a lot in store for you, so get ready to celebrate Lunar New Year in a powerful way, as a brand-new throwable takes center stage in the festively decorated Arena!For all DISSUN enthusiasts out there, youre in luck! DISSUN has also taken over the store update!DISSUN: FUEL. FIRE. POWERAnd finally, you should check out the IVADA Cataclysm Set, now available in the shop! The bundle comes with +2400 Multibucks!We have a patch full of bug fixes as well as some changes to spawns in both Quick Cash and Cashout. Check out the content and balance changes here:Balance ChangesQuick CashIncreased the max duration of respawn waves from 25s to 30sIncreased the respawn wave timer increment for players who die just before a new wave spawns from 5s to 7sDev Note: The changes we made to Quick Cash spawning increased the pace of the mode. These two changes should slow the pace down a little, similar to what we had previously, while maintaining the benefits of spawn waves keeping teams together. Well monitor how these perform and continue to adjust as needed.Changed spawn behavior to prevent teams from spawning very close to enemy playersCashoutChanged spawn behavior to prevent teams from respawning very far away or far too close to objectivesChanged spawn behavior to prevent teams from spawning very close to enemy playersContent and Bug FixesAnimationVery small reduction to visual recoil on Lewis and M60 Red Dots sights to keep the experience in line with other weaponsFixed a rare issue where eliminated players would get frozen and not turn into coinsClothing will now move correctly when spinning your character in the menusFixed an issue where inspecting and throwing grenade-type gadgets simultaneously could make character animations look brokenClubsAdded a Club page quick navigation icon to the top of the menuParty-up requests from Clubs will now show in the event log and prompt a new marker when availableContractsFix some occurrences of contract tracking for Goo Barrel and Fire ExtinguisherFixed inconsistencies in the Eliminate 5 opponents from 30 meters or more using gadgets contractGameplayFixed an issue with Goo being able to launch players and objects in rare casesJump Pads will now correctly launch players traveling on ziplines rather than detach and drop themFixed various issues when hold interactions would sporadically cancelGiftingPlayers can now gift full outfits to friendsPerformance & StabilityFixed a rare crash related to the lockboltPrivate MatchesWe now allow spectators to reconnect even when a private match is pausedFixed an issue where input was not working when reconnecting as a spectatorRetain camera rotation when moving from a player to the freefly cam in spectator modeSettingsVOIPAdded the ability to toggle the automatic gain control of the microphone volume to the settingsSpecializationsWinch ClawWill now cancel and block vaulting for opponents on successful hitsUIFixed an issue with scrollbars not being consistent and overlapping in some situations throughout menusWeaponsSpearFixed an issue where you could start or continue sliding while performing the secondary spin attackSwordUsing the secondary attack at the same time as activating a Jump Pad will now launch players to the intended (longer) distanceDuel BladesFixed an issue when swapping back from a deployable like the Jump Pad would cause the Dual Blades to get stuck swinging only onceDaggerFixed an issue where the backstab wouldnt re-trigger the charge up after a vault if the input was held downSecurity and Anti-CheatRefined and updated several detection rules to improve the precision and effectiveness of identifying players exploiting unfair advantagesUpdated anti-cheat methodsFor more The Finals, check out our guide to thebest weapons in the game ranked, and we also have a guide to thebest gadgets. In addition, we have a guide to thebest FPS settingsto help you win matchesalong witharanking of the best classesin the game.The FinalsPlatform(s):PC, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series S, Xbox Series S/X, Xbox Series XGenre(s):Action, First-Person Shooter, 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 herePlayStations Helldivers 2 has been a surprise gaming success with millions of players allowing the developers to eventually turn the game into Helldivers 3. With weapon attachment systems and armour skin customisation on the way, some players have wondered if the game will ever get an official PvP mode in the future,While developer Arrowhead has teased the possibility of larger PvE game modes in the future, the studio has staunchly denied any form of PvP gameplay in Helldivers 2. Instead, its up to players to arrange their own firefights which can be done through the games often hilarious friendly fire system.Is Helldivers 2 PvP ever coming?In an interview with CGM, Arrowhead COO Johan Pilestedt explained that the additional competitiveness that PvP adds would increase the toxicity of the games fanbase. Currently, Helldivers 2 has an extremely friendly fanbase that support ignoring meta builds to simply have fun taking on tanks with WW1 weapons. If PvP was introduced, the fanbase might change.Its one of the core philosophies that we have in regard to the game experience that we make, Pilestedt explained. We believe that as soon as we introduce [heavy] competitiveness into the game, theres some light competitiveness with the stat screen, I killed the most, and I didnt shoot my friends and so forth. You can bash each other or shoot each other or whatever.When we actually made it into like a goal to be competitive, with other people in the game, we noticed that the toxicity in the community went up.ARROWHEAD COO JOHAN PILESTEDTPilestedt explained that when competitive modes were introduced, it removed the friendly nature of Helldivers. With the goal of making a game that inspired collaboration, HD2 is very successful, and official PvP options could ruin that.When we actually made it into like a goal to be competitive, with other people in the game, we noticed that the toxicity in the community went up, Pilestedt explained. And looking at the original Helldivers game, we had very low toxicity in generalpeople were extremely friendly.And it really helped the community and is something that, I think, is something that I wish more and more games had. Like, you know, this humble and gentle community that likes playing video game theatre, it shouldnt be politics. There shouldnt be animosity in it.For more Helldivers 2 coverage, read about the reality of a bow weapon coming to the game, or read about the one restriction that future crossovers need to abide by the guest in the game.Helldivers 2Platform(s):PC, PlayStation 5Genre(s):Action, Shooter, Third Person8VideoGamerSubscribe to our newsletters!By subscribing, you agree to our Privacy Policy and may receive occasional deal communications; you can unsubscribe anytime.Share

Helping Hand?Helldivers 2's latest mission has had a big Illuminate invasion sting in the tail, leaving some players freaking out, while others reckon it's J.O.E.L helping out againBad news going forwards, or J.O.E.L chucking out another MO bone? We'll see.Image credit: Arrowhead News by Mark Warren Senior Staff Writer Published on Jan. 22, 2025 Helldivers 2's latest Major Order has packed a final twist into its tail. As things were looking pretty bleak in terms of Super Earth's chances of pulling out a victory by fending off enough Illuminate attacks, the squids have launched a bunch more of them, meaning players may have an admittedly dwindling shot of winning if they can all stop freaking out about the enemy now having a proper map presence.The big thing about this latest MO has been a quest to use the freshly-updated Democracy Space Station to help fend off 14 assaults from Helldivers 2's newest foe. That's a big number, so even with J.O.E.L having deployed some weather that actually helped secure a planet that was driving a wedge between two different kinds of player, it's been a steep hill to climb.To see this content please enable targeting cookies. Now, though, some players are speculating that with less than a day left to go in the order, and only nine of those 14 attacks repelled, Arrowhead's game master might have played his hand again. You see, the Illuminate have suddenly deployed a bunch of extra attacks on different planets, in such numbers that they're actually now registering as in control of several sectors in the southern bit of the game's map.Naturally, the first response from some folks was to freak out, and title posts things like 'TF IS GOING ON ON THE SQUIDS FRONT' and 'WHAT THE HELL HAPPENED!! THEY BARELY HAD A PLANET NOW THEY HAVE 4 SECTORS!!', in all caps so you know they're properly panicking. WHAT THE HELL HAPPENED!! THEY BARELY HAD A PLANET NOW THEY HAVE 4 SECTORS!! byu/voidknight119 inHelldiversTo see this content please enable targeting cookies.Aside from the usual roleplaying - the top response to one of these posts is "Their autocratic intentions remain shrouded in mystery", which looks like it could be the divers' new favourite copypasta - a number of players have concluded that this last ditch spike in attacks may actually have been a gift from the Galactic War's super-god."This is Joel frantically trying to tow the community across MO finish line before the deadline hits," user Jack_VZ speculated, "All of those attacks are just level 3, the lowest I've ever seen. We don't deserve Joel." While that's a nice thought, it's looking like it's not worked if it is the case, because as I mentioned, players currently have five more attacks left to stop, and only just over two hours to do so.So, that leaves the other school of thought yopu alweays get with MOs - are we meant to lose this one? Some folks think so, with this last minute upping of the ante possibly being Arrowhead setting up the next stage of the Illuminate invasion.Who's right? We'll just have to wait and see.