After Ender Lilies exited early access in June 2021 and promptly captured my heart, Ive been eagerly anticipating Ender Magnolia: Bloom in the Mist. Unlike its predecessor, which almost came out of nowhere to deliver a traditional yet emotional Metroid-style experience, there are some pretty hefty expectations. Could developers Adglobe and Live Wire recreate the atmosphere and magic of the original? Would Mili return to deliver another incredible soundtrack?The answer, unsurprisingly for those who bought into early access last year, is yes to both. Ender Magnolia: Bloom in the Mist doesnt stray far from the same design model, and its narrative beats will be appreciated much more by those who played Ender Lilies. Nevertheless, its a finely honed Metroid-style experience, presenting yet another somber tale of a fallen world."The pacing is strong throughout the story doesnt get long-winded with its dialogue exchanges. Furthermore, the memories of various Homunculi hit the right emotional notes while progressing the story."Like its predecessor, the story begins with its protagonist, Lilac, awakening in a laboratory with almost no memories. Teaming up with the also mysterious Homunculus, Nola, the duo set out through the Land of Fumes to discover who they are. Its easier than done due to the various Homunculi who have become mutated by the toxic fumes emanating from the lands depths.Of course, Lilac is special, possessing an Attuners skills and being able to cleanse those afflicted by the mysterious sickness. She doesnt attack directly, instead harnessing the powers of various Homunculi to fight in her stead.Though she starts with Nola, it isnt long before other Homunculi join the fray, like Lito, a test subject with a powerful elemental arm; Yolvan, a gun-slinging product of animal fusion whos close to the happy-go-lucky Levy; the Shackled Beast who relies on brute strength; and more. They quickly become a motley crew of sorts, exchanging pleasantries (and digs) at rest spots when theyre not coming to terms with their own horrific pasts.Thematically, Ender Magnolia offers some familiar ones greed, discrimination, classism, hubris. However, the overall direction is compelling, as you gather notes and unravel the connections between them, Houses Frost and Milius, Lilac, and more. The pacing is strong throughout the story doesnt get long-winded with its dialogue exchanges. Furthermore, the memories of various Homunculi hit the right emotional notes while progressing the story. Other characters add some additional layers to the goings-on, assisting Lilac when necessary, though it feels like some could be fleshed out a bit more."The controls are responsive and feel great. Perhaps my only nitpick with the environments is wanting some variety with the secret areas beyond finding a hidden wall that leads to some materials or a Relic with little else."When it comes to the gameplay, Ender Magnolia makes some fundamental shifts from its predecessor. There are multiple Homunculi, but the number is significantly lower than Ender Lilies. Instead, each has different abilities to unlock and equip. Nola can attack quickly with a saber, break out a scythe for more area or double-hand an axe, while Yolvan can alternate between single shots from a distance, a buzzsaw with a slower fire rate and more power, or a drill-like vortex that ignores enemy defenses. As you collect materials, each ability can be upgraded into more powerful and slightly different versions.Most lack multiple uses, instead relying on cooldowns, which is a relief during basic exploration and boss fights. It feels nice to have the Shackled Beasts roar as a defensive option or Litos burst damage to use almost whenever instead of having to carefully ration them. There are also Attuner Arts powerful, Ultimate-like skills for each equipped Homunculus. Youll need to build the SP gauge to unleash them, but theyre fairly potent.Ender Magnolia features equipment, with bangles offering stat increases, Carapaces allowing for additional skills (like counters), and Totems providing passive benefits to go with the Relics system of old. The amount of options is pretty good, and even if you stick with certain Relics for most of your playtime, theres plenty of incentive to change things up. You can also improve Relics with Scrap, having them take up fewer slots or offer flat boosts to their benefits.Otherwise, if youve played any major Metroid-style title in the last five years, youll know what to expect. Explore various interconnected environments, including hidden alcoves and caves, with your standard platforming tropes like double-jumps, air dashes, diving, wall-climbing, and even a grappling hook. Cut down opposing threats and there is a wide variety, making each new area as mystifying as it is dangerous. Eventually come across a dead end which requires a future ability to explore. Repeat.Ender Magnolia doesnt mess with this formula, delivering on every single other aspect that matters. Level design is well done, with each area offering unique hooks without disrupting the overall flow, though the Crimson Forest can get confusing if you dont pay attention to the map. The controls are responsive and feel great. Perhaps my only nitpick with the environments is wanting some variety with the secret areas beyond finding a hidden wall that leads to some materials or a Relic with little else. Nevertheless, it caters to that desire to explore and see what the next area holds."The harrowing tones of the Subterranean Testing Site, the calming ethereal vocals of Old City even the battle music, like the Shackled Beast with its fast-paced piano keys and guitar riffs is simply outstanding."While the boss fights dont quite have the intricacy of some of gamings more challenging encounters over the years, theyre still well-designed. Their discernible patterns are offset by how easily they could annihilate you if you get caught out once or twice. It may feel annoying at times, but there are thankfully difficulty options to tweak things on a granular level. For example, if youre fine with enemy damage but feel like they have too much health or dont stay stunned for long enough after depleting their break gauge, then change them.Despite some occasionally rough subject matter, the journey through the Land of Fumes is a stunning one. If Ender Lilies deserved attention for its ruined beauty aesthetic, Ender Magnolia one-ups in pretty much every way. The steampunk aesthetic, characterized by ever-present fumes and architecture that calls old London to mind, is gorgeous. Each area feels perfect in its tone and color palette, whether youre venturing through the dingy Subterranean Waterway or basking in the fantasy-leaning Crimson Forest. The mix of 2D and 3D in places is also great, like when admiring the water in places without feeling overdone.All of this is further aided by Milis soundtrack. The harrowing tones of the Subterranean Testing Site, the calming ethereal vocals of Old City even the battle music, like the Shackled Beast with its fast-paced piano keys and guitar riffs is simply outstanding. It fits the series overall vibe and atmosphere yet feels completely suited to the Magnolias setting. The attention to detail, with separate versions of tracks for the respites, is just the cherry on top of some truly stellar work."This is an arresting experience backed by excellent platforming and combat which comfortably scratches that exploration itch."In many ways, Ender Magnolia: Bloom in the Mists is a work of art, but the development team transcends the beauty of its visuals and music with genuinely compelling gameplay. Its a bigger adventure, for sure, yet never plods nor feels padded out. Fans of Ender Lilies are doubtless already on board, but if you were waiting for the full version to see if it delivers, rest assured.As for Metroid-style fans who havent played the original, I would still recommend starting with that first, if only to appreciate the lore and references. Either way, this is an arresting experience backed by excellent platforming and combat which comfortably scratches that exploration itch.This game was reviewed on PC.

Spanish settlers knocked down all but the foundations of the Temple of the Sun, then built a church atop the Inca walls. Diego Delso, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia CommonsIts long been rumored that a network of old, underground tunnels lies beneath Cusco, Peru, the capital of the ancient Incan empire. Now, thanks to archival texts and ground-penetrating radar, researchers say theyve confirmed the tunnels existence.Archaeologists Jorge Calero Flores and Mildred Fernndez Palomino, leaders of the research project, recently announced their findings at a press conference, according to a translated Facebook post by the Association of Archaeologists of Peru. Flores said the team found an underground passage connecting two of Cuscos key Inca monuments: the Temple of the Sunwhich conquistadors ruined and covered with a Catholic church in the 16th centuryand the Sacsayhuamn fortress, a 15th-century Inca monument of stone walls more than a mile away.The Inca dominated Perus Andes Mountains and jungles for centuries. They established their capital of Cusco in the 12th century, then conquered swaths of land between the early 15th and 16th centuries, after which the empire controlled some 12 million people. It was during this century of expansion that the Inca built Machu Picchu, the famed lost city perched on a mountaintop 50 miles from Cusco. In the mid- to late-16th century, the Inca empireweakened by internal strifefell to the rule of invading Spanish colonizers.The Inca left no written records of their underground constructions in Cusco, but Spaniards did. A 1594 text by an anonymous Spanish Jesuit describes a tunnel that begins at the Temple of the Sun, runs beneath the bishop housing behind Cusco Cathedral and ends at Sacsayhuamn, reports IFL Sciences Benjamin Taub. Another text, written by Jesuit chronicler Juan Anello de Oliva, alludes to several tunnels beneath Cuscoaccessible from a cave in the Sacsayhuamn fortressand says construction workers took care to avoid the tunnels during work, per Popular Mechanics Tim Newcomb. As Flores said at the press conference, these records gave his team an idea of where to look. An illustration shows the tunnel's location near the fortress. Association of Archaeologists of PeruAt the sites, researchers used acoustic prospectingdirected sound wavesto discover hollow areas underground. They then employed ground-penetrating radar to make a map of the tunnel. According to the Association of Archaeologists of Peru, the team identified a mile-long stretch of tunnel between the fortress and temple.Flores said the passage is about 8.5 feet wide and just over 5 feet tall, per El Pas Renzo Gomez Vega. Inca builders constructed the so-called Chincana by digging a ditch, lining it with stone walls and covering it with beams and ceiling. According to IFL Science, researchers say these dug-out passages probably ran directly under Cuscos aboveground streets and walkways. Inca people built Sacsayhuamn with enormous rocks. Esoltas, Public domain, via Wikimedia CommonsThe Chincanas purpose remains a mystery. Palomino said the research team plans to explore the tunnels themselves to learn more about them. Per IFL Science, she told reporters, Now we have to excavate at key points to be able to enter the Chincanaperhaps in March or April. Get the latest stories in your inbox every weekday.Filed Under: Incas, Peru, Peru Travel, South America, South American History, Spain

President Donald Trump holds up an executive order. He signed dozens of executive orders on his first day in office, undoing many of his predecessors policies. Christopher Furlong / Getty ImagesPresident Donald Trump signed a slew of executive orders on the first day of his second term in office on Monday, and among them were motions to withdraw the United States from the Paris Climate Agreement and the World Health Organization (WHO). Climate and public health experts have expressed concern about these actions, which they say will endanger the nations ability to shape the global response to climate change as well as its fight against infectious disease.During Trumps first term as president, he issued similar executive actions. His decision to exit the Paris Agreement took effect in late 2020 and was quickly overturned when Joe Biden entered office months later. Because U.S. law requires one year of notice before exiting the WHO, the country had not fully withdrawn from the agency before Biden was sworn in and reversed that motion, too. This time, by issuing the orders on his first day of presidency, Trump will be able to see these decisions through, writes USA Todays Eduardo Cuevas.The president has been vocal about his frustrations with the international climate pact, which aims to limit long-term global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius (2.7 degrees Fahrenheit) above pre-industrial levelsa threshold scientists say is necessary for avoiding the more extreme effects of climate change. In previous remarks, Trump has called the Paris Agreement unfair to Americans.His executive order regarding the Paris accords says that international agreements the U.S. has joined in recent years do not reflect our countrys values or our contributions to the pursuit of economic and environmental objectives. Moreover, these agreements steer American taxpayer dollars to countries that do not require, or merit, financial assistance in the interests of the American people.Trump also signed an executive order expressing intent to withdraw from the WHO, a United Nations agency that he has accused of being owned and controlled by China. He has said the group mishandled the COVID-19 pandemic, while the WHO has denied the presidents allegations, report Reuters Patrick Wingrove, Jennifer Rigby and Emma Farge.The U.S. is currently the WHOs largest financial backer, contributing around 18 percent of the groups funding. Removing this support from the organization will leave the WHO with fewer resources for its programs, including its work on fighting Zika and Ebola. The executive order says the WHO asked for unfairly onerous payments from the U.S.We hope the United States will reconsider, the WHO said in a statement on Tuesday. We look forward to engaging in constructive dialogue to maintain the partnership between the USA and WHO, for the benefit of the health and well-being of millions of people around the globe.Trumps order to exit the Paris Agreement comes just after 2024 became the hottest year on record and while wildfires continue to wreak havoc around Los Angeles. Iran, Yemen and Libya are currently the only countries not signed onto the Paris Agreement.President Trumps decision to withdraw once again the United States from the Paris Agreement is extremely disappointing, if not unexpected, Bob Ward, policy and communications director at the Grantham Research Institute on Climate Change and the Environment, says in a statement. It means that the worlds second largest emitter of greenhouse gases will be turning its back on the landmark agreement in a year when all countries are due to come forward with more ambitious pledges for action ahead of the next United Nations climate change summit in Brazil in November.Critics also say the U.S. will be negatively impacted by exiting the WHO. Withdrawing is really bad for the U.S. [in terms of] access to data, to surveillance, to being at the table negotiating and holding other countries accountable when there is an epidemic or pandemic, says Elisha Dunn-Georgiou, president and CEO of the Global Health Council, a nonpartisan group that advocates for global health, to NPRs Gabrielle Emanuel.Recently, conservatives have criticized an effort by the WHO to create a pandemic treaty that would require member countries to conduct surveillance of pathogens, share data and support vaccine manufacturing, per the New York Times Sheryl Gay Stolberg.Brett Schaefer, a researcher at the Heritage Foundation, the D.C.-based think tank that published the Project 2025 Presidential Transition Project, tells NPR that other global health groups, such as UNAIDS and the Vaccine Alliance, could lead the fight against health crises like pandemics.In the next pandemic, Lawrence Gostin, a global public health expert at Georgetown Universitys ONeill Institute for National and Global Health Law, tells USA Today, we might find ourselves at the back of the line, on the outside looking in.Get the latest stories in your inbox every weekday.Filed Under: American Presidents, Climate Change, Disease, Disease and Illnesses, Global Warming, Government, Health, Politics, US Government

Blockchain gaming reached 7.4 million daily Unique Active Wallets (dUAW) in 2024, marking 421% growth from a year ago, DappRadar said.Read More

The Apple Vision Pro is looking likely to see more software than the PlayStation VR2, according to a game developer survey.Read More

Warhammer 40K: Rogue Trader sells 1 million copies | News-in-briefMilestone comes a year after the RPG's debut on PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X/SImage credit: Warhammer 40,000: Rogue Trader News by Vikki Blake Contributor Published on Jan. 21, 2025 This is a News-in-brief article, our short format linking to an official source for more information. Read more about this story by following the link below:Warhammer 40K: Rogue Trader sells 1 million copies

Finland's Film Tampere appoints first head of games to "connect film and games creators""We are immensely proud to have persuaded one of the finest minds in Finlands games industry to join our mission" News by Vikki Blake Contributor Published on Jan. 21, 2025 The film commission for the Tampere city region in Finland has appointed its first head of games.Arto Kayhko - a "mobile games and digital-services veteran" - will promote the region's "fast-growing gaming industry on the international stage" as part of Film Tampere.Kayhko will also be charged in fostering closer links with Finland's gaming community and other digital content-creation industries.The Tampere region's first film/games collaboration is described as a cinematic action game project named Alma, co-developed by Dreamloop Games and Making Movies. It's an adaptation of an upcoming movie of the same name, which is set in Finland during the Second World War and centres on a teenage girl who acquires superpowers and uses them to save her father from the front line. Eighty years later, however, Alma "must pay the price.""We are immensely proud to have persuaded one of the finest minds in Finlands games industry to join our mission to create an integrated future for Tamperes content creation industries," said Film Tampere lead, Fanny Heinonen."Arto brings with him a rare combination of experience spanning games, digital, international and finance, not to mention his talent for relationship-building between shareholders and creatives. As we work to bring our regions creative communities together, these are exactly the skills we need to fuse and build solid partnerships and structures."With Artos help, were a giant step nearer to fulfilling our mission of transforming Tampere into a world-class creative hub."

Netflix is raising prices yet again. In its latest earnings report released Tuesday, the streaming service announced that we are adjusting prices today across most plans in the US, Canada, Portugal, and Argentina.Netflix spokesperson MoMo Zhou tells The Verge that the ad-supported tier is increasing from $6.99 to $7.99 per month, while the standard ad-free tier will go from $15.49 to $17.99 per month. Its highest-priced premium tier is also increasing from $22.99 to $24.99 per month. The price hikes will go into effect during subscribers next billing cycle, according to Zhou.As we continue to invest in programming and deliver more value for our members, we will occasionally ask our members to pay a little more so that we can re-invest to further improve Netflix, the companys letter to investors says. Netflix last raised the price of its subscription in October 2023. This is also the first time its raising the price of this ad-supported plan, which it rolled out in 2022.Netflix added 19 million new subscribers over the past few months the most in its history during a single quarter bringing its global total to 300 million. This is the last time Netflix will reveal how many subscribers it added during the quarter, as the company said last year that it would only announce major subscriber milestones as we cross them starting in the first quarter of 2025.RelatedEven with a subscriber count reaching new highs, and operating income ballooning past $10 billion for the first time, Netflix executives believe the company still has room for growth. The companys letter to investors says it accounts for less than 10 percent of TV viewing in the countries its available in, which suggests a long runway for growth as streaming continues to expand around the world.Along with the price hike, Netflix announced that its rolling out a new Extra Member with Ads plan, which will allow those on the ad-supported plan to add someone outside their household to their subscription. It currently costs an extra $7.99 per month to add someone outside your household to an ad-free plan.The streamer ended 2024 with a strong content lineup that included new seasons of Squid Game and the League of Legends spinoff Arcane.Netflixs approach to live content has also gotten more aggressive within the past several weeks, as it has gone from airing sports-adjacent events like a golf tournament that paired PGA players with Formula One drivers to full-blown NFL games featuring performances from Beyonc and Mariah Carey. But Netflix notes that its not focusing on acquiring rights to large regular season sports packages; rather, our live strategy is all about delivering cant-miss, special event programming.Despite running into some hiccups, the streamer also touted record-breaking viewership numbers for last years live boxing match between Mike Tyson and Jake Paul, while its WWE debut with Monday Night Raw locked in 4.9 million views, according to The Hollywood Reporter.Update, January 21st: Added information from Netflix.

A video on Nintendos Switch 2 website shows how the trigger (or is it a button?) on the back of the Joy-Con controllers disconnects them from the console, as spotted by Polygon.In the video, the trigger is pressed down a tad before a final push releases it from the console. As the Joy-Con moves away, you can also see a small cylinder receding back into the top part of the inside of the controller; to me, that indicates that when you push the trigger, youre actually pushing out that cylinder to help bump the Joy-Con out. Heres a GIF of the relevant part of the video: GIF by Andrew Liszewski / The VergeThe mechanism to remove the Joy-Con controllers looks similar to what was included in a 3D-printed mockup that accessories-maker Genki brought to CES.However, as for how the controllers actually stay attached to the Switch 2, Nintendo so far hasnt said if the console uses magnets, as has been rumored. Its one of many unanswered questions hopefully, all will be revealed at Nintendos Switch 2-focused Direct on April 2nd.

Large Language Models (LLMs) have become pivotal in artificial intelligence, powering a variety of applications from chatbots to content generation tools. However, their deployment at scale presents notable challenges. High computational costs, latency, and energy consumption often limit their wider use. Organizations face the difficulty of balancing high throughput with reasonable operating expenses. Additionally, as models grow larger, the need for more efficient solutions becomes increasingly urgent. Addressing these issues is essential to making LLMs more practical and accessible.Snowflake AI Research team introduces SwiftKV, a solution designed to enhance LLM inference throughput while reducing associated costs. SwiftKV uses key-value caching techniques to reuse intermediate computations during inference. By eliminating redundant calculations, it streamlines the inference process and makes LLM deployments more efficient.SwiftKVs design targets the computational intensity of LLMs. Conventional inference pipelines often recompute identical operations for multiple requests, resulting in inefficiencies. SwiftKV introduces a caching layer that identifies and stores reusable computational results. This approach accelerates inference and reduces resource requirements, making it a practical choice for organizations aiming to optimize their AI operations.Technical Details and Key Benefits of SwiftKVSwiftKV incorporates a key-value memory system into the LLM inference architecture. Its operation can be summarized as follows:Key-Value Caching: During inference, SwiftKV captures intermediate activations (keys) and their corresponding results (values). For similar queries, it retrieves the precomputed values rather than recalculating them.Efficient Storage Management: The caching mechanism employs strategies such as least recently used (LRU) eviction to manage memory effectively, ensuring that the cache remains useful without excessive resource consumption.Seamless Integration: SwiftKV is compatible with existing LLM frameworks, such as Hugging Faces Transformers and Metas LLaMA, enabling easy adoption without significant changes to existing pipelines.The benefits of SwiftKV include:Cost Reduction: By avoiding redundant computations, SwiftKV significantly cuts inference costs. Snowflake AI Research reports up to a 75% reduction in costs in some scenarios.Enhanced Throughput: The caching mechanism reduces inference time, improving response speed.Energy Savings: Lower computational demands translate into reduced energy consumption, supporting sustainable AI practices.Scalability: SwiftKV is well-suited for large-scale deployments, meeting the needs of enterprises expanding their AI capabilities.https://www.snowflake.com/en/blog/up-to-75-lower-inference-cost-llama-meta-llm/ResultsSnowflake AI Researchs evaluations of SwiftKV provide valuable insights into its effectiveness. For example, integrating SwiftKV with Metas LLaMA models led to up to a 75% reduction in inference costs without any compromise in accuracy or performance. These outcomes highlight the efficiency gains possible with this approach.Additionally, tests demonstrate significant reductions in inference latency, even for larger models. The caching system ensures that complex queries benefit from faster processing times. This combination of cost efficiency and performance optimization makes SwiftKV a compelling choice for organizations aiming to scale AI solutions affordably.The open-sourcing of SwiftKV encourages collaboration within the AI community. By sharing this technology, Snowflake AI Research invites developers, researchers, and enterprises to explore and enhance its capabilities, fostering innovation in LLM efficiency.https://www.snowflake.com/en/blog/up-to-75-lower-inference-cost-llama-meta-llm/Conclusion: A Step Forward in LLM EfficiencySwiftKV offers a thoughtful solution to the challenges of deploying LLMs at scale. By tackling high computational costs and latency, it helps make AI applications more practical and accessible. The incorporation of key-value caching into inference pipelines showcases how targeted optimizations can drive significant improvements.As the field of AI progresses, tools like SwiftKV will continue to shape the development of efficient and sustainable technologies. Its open-source nature ensures that the broader community can contribute to its growth and application. By enabling more cost-effective and scalable use of LLMs, SwiftKV underscores the importance of innovation in making AI truly transformative for businesses and developers alike.Check out the Details and GitHub Page. All credit for this research goes to the researchers of this project. Also,dont forget to follow us onTwitter and join ourTelegram Channel andLinkedIn Group. Dont Forget to join our65k+ ML SubReddit. Asif RazzaqAsif Razzaq is the CEO of Marktechpost Media Inc.. As a visionary entrepreneur and engineer, Asif is committed to harnessing the potential of Artificial Intelligence for social good. His most recent endeavor is the launch of an Artificial Intelligence Media Platform, Marktechpost, which stands out for its in-depth coverage of machine learning and deep learning news that is both technically sound and easily understandable by a wide audience. The platform boasts of over 2 million monthly views, illustrating its popularity among audiences. Meet 'Height':The only autonomous project management tool (Sponsored)