Humans have become a geologic force by cooking the planet using fire on a scale that is altering land, water, air and ecosystems.

FromSoftware has steadily established a reputation for incredible games littered with unique worlds. While the initial impression of many of these environments, set in worlds that are desolate, dying or brimming with conflict, a deeper dive often reveals much more. FromSoftware worlds, be it Anor Londo or Yharman are full of rich lore, tragic stories and glimmers of hope.

World of Warcrafts 7th expansion, Battle for Azeroth, was fraught with momentous lore events. Ensconced in a brutal conflict, the Alliance and Horde had to resort to drastic measures to ensure victory. The ripples of these tremendous decisions still reverberate to this day, though most of the wounds inflicted have slowly begun to heal in the years since.

An obscure horror game from the late 80s that gained a cult following by way of shareware is coming back from the grave. Last Half of Darkness, a point and click horror adventure created by developer Bill Fisher, has been completely remade with modern graphics, along with a new soundtrack and updates to the story and puzzles, according to Eurogamer. Fishers WRF Studios shared a teaser for the remake on Friday, and the game is due to be released on Steam on February 7.In the game, youre tasked with exploring the creepy property of the player characters dead aunt, solving puzzles and making choices that hopefully wont get you killed. The description explains:Your aunt sure was a strange one. She was some sort of witch or something. A good witch though, practicing only good spells and magic. In fact, she was working on a potion just before she was killed. Now the secret will go to the grave with her... unless you can find the missing ingredients.The original Last Half of Darkness is available to play for free from the official website, too. In a playthrough a few years ago, one streamer (and some commenters) rememberedit as the first game to ever scare me.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/the-1989-point-and-click-horror-game-last-half-of-darkness-has-been-remade-for-2025-184458750.html?src=rss

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Resident Evil leaker Aesthetic Gamer (also known as Dusk Golem) recently clarified that rumors of Jill Valentine playing a major role in Resident Evil 9 were false. These same rumors claimed the sequel was set in a hospital and featured a new Goatman enemy.However, a screenshot from Discord has emerged where theyve stated that Leon S. Kennedy is 100 percent the main character. The latters previous canon appearance was in Resident Evil 6, but he starred in the recent Resident Evil 4 remake (which has sold over nine million copies).As for another Discord image from 2001, which saw the leaker claim Jill would have a prominent role, Aesthetic Gamer replied, It was true then. It isnt now. Really not any more complicated. I wouldnt be surprised in the future when Resident Evil 9 comes out, and they show concept art that they might show early drafts of the game had Jill.Resident Evil 9 doesnt have a release date, though Capcom has confirmed its development. Its helmed by Koshi Nakanishi, Resident Evil 7: biohazards director, who said it feels substantial. Though allegedly out later this year, it could also launch in 2026.Meanwhile, remakes of Resident Evil Zero and Resident Evil Code: Veronica are also reportedly coming. The former is allegedly developed by K2 and M-Two (who worked on Resident Evil 3 remake), while the latter is handled by Capcom Dev 1 (Resident Evil 2 and 4 remakes). Stay tuned for more details and updates in the coming months.It was true then, it isnt now. Really not any more complicated, I wouldnt be surprised in the future when RE9 comes out and they show concept art that they might show early drafts of the game had Jill. AestheticGamer aka Dusk Golem (@AestheticGamer1) January 24, 2025

Pocketpairs Palworld has big plans ahead between co-op cross-platform play, world transfer for Pals, and further collaboration content with Re-Logics Terraria. However, the most intriguing aspect is perhaps the ending scenario, dubbed the World Tree.Though its release date is unknown, community manager John Buckley told Eurogamer that its been mapped out for quite some time. The World Tree, where the ending takes place, has been visible since day one.Many players suspected their journey would end there, and weve been asked repeatedly about when the World Tree will become available so were pretty excited to finally be opening the area up for players!Of course, this doesnt mean that Palworld will end (lawsuit from Nintendo notwithstanding). While the World Tree will mark the conclusion of this particular journey, its by no means the end of Palworld, says Buckley. So even if it isnt necessarily an ending, he cant think of a better term currently.Regarding other content, Buckley admitted, We might have announced the Terraria collaboration a bit prematurely, but everyone, including Re-Logic, was so excited that we thought itd be fun to share early! The first piece of content Meowmere, a sword that fires bullets launched with the Feybreak update.Palworld is available in early access for Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, PS5, and PC. Check out our review of the launch version, though its received numerous updates ever since. The most recent patch added Spring Festival skins to five Pals alongside quality of life improvements like summoned Pals attacking the nearest enemy, less Plasteel needed when crafting gear and weapons, and more.

According to Bloombergs Mark Gurman, Apple is planning on releasing iOS 18.4 in April. Apple hasnt started the beta cycle for iOS 18.4 quite yet, but there are a handful of things we can likely expect with iOS 18.4 so far.Major Siri upgradesApple is likely to debut three major Siri upgrades with iOS 18.4 this spring, bringing the assistant into the era of Apple Intelligence. Those three upgrades include:Personal contextOn-screen awarenessAbility to tap into appsWith these abilities, Siri will understand more about you, your context, and take actions for you.Additional languages with Apple IntelligenceBack when iOS 18.2 was released, Apple announced that Apple Intelligence would support some additional languages in April 2025 and beyond. While the company wasnt clear about which languages would be launching when, they did name the languages they intended to support throughout 2025:in April, a software update will deliver expanded language support, with more coming throughout the year. Chinese, English (India), English (Singapore), French, German, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Portuguese, Spanish, Vietnamese, and other languages will be supported.New emojiOver the past couple years, Apple has added support for new emoji in its spring iOS releases, and this trend is highly likely to continue. The Unicode Consortium has already unveiled the new emoji, and its just a matter of Apple implementing them. New emoji this year include:fingerprintface with bags under eyesharproot vegetableleafless treesplattershovelHeres a look at mockups for the 7 upcoming emoji:My favorite iPhone accessories on Amazon:Follow Michael:X/Twitter,Bluesky,InstagramAdd 9to5Mac to your Google News feed. FTC: We use income earning auto affiliate links. More.Youre reading 9to5Mac experts who break news about Apple and its surrounding ecosystem, day after day. Be sure to check out our homepage for all the latest news, and follow 9to5Mac on Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn to stay in the loop. Dont know where to start? Check out our exclusive stories, reviews, how-tos, and subscribe to our YouTube channel

This makes no sense.Radio StarAstronomers say they've detected a mysterious type of signal known as a fast radio burst coming from an ancient, dead galaxy billions of light years away. Figuratively speaking, it makes for one hell of a sign of life.The findings, documented in two studies published in The Astrophysical Journal Letters, upends the long held belief that FRBs extremely powerful pulses of energy originate exclusively from star-forming regions of space, as dead galaxies no longer support the birth of new stars.Adding to the seeming improbability of the FRB's origin, the researchers believe that the signal's source came from the furthermost outskirts of the galaxy, about 130,000 light years from its center, with only moribund stars at the end of their stellar evolution for company."This is both surprising and exciting, as FRBs are expected to originate inside galaxies, often in star-forming regions," said Vishwangi Shah, lead author of one of the studies and an astronomer at McGill University, said in a statement about the work. "The location of this FRB so far outside its host galaxy raises questions as to how such energetic events can occur in regions where no new stars are forming."Quick and the DeadThough they're often only milliseconds in duration, FRBs are so powerful at their source that a single pulse emits more energy than our Sun does in an entire year.What could cause such staggering outbursts? Astronomers have speculated that they originate from magnetars, a type of collapsed, extremely dense stellar object called a neutron star that maintains an unfathomably potent magnetic field, perhaps trillions of times stronger than Earth's.But that theory is now being challenged by this latest FRB, designed FRB 20240209A, because there are no young stars in the 11.3 billion year old galaxy that could form magnetars. Only extremely massive stars, which have short lifespans as a consequence of their size and thus would need to have been recently formed, possess enough mass to collapse into neutron stars in the first place.Outcasts TogetherFRB 20240209A isn't the first to be found in such a remote location. In 2022, astronomers detected another signal originating from the outskirts of its galaxy, Messier 81, where no active star formation was taking place."That event single-handedly halted the conventional train of thought and made us explore other progenitor scenarios for FRBs," said Wen-fai Fong, a coauthor of both studies and an astrophysicist at Northwestern University, in the statement. "Since then, no FRB had been seen like it, leading us to believe it was a one-off discovery until now."Crucially, the M81 FRB was found in a dense conglomeration of stars called a globular cluster. Given their similar circumstances, it led the astronomers to believe that FRB 20240209A could be residing in a globular cluster, too. To confirm this hunch, they hope to use the James Webb Telescope to image the region of space around the FRB's origins.More on space: Scientists Intrigued by Planet With Long TailShare This Article

Time zones: EST (UTC -5), CST (UTC -6), MST (UTC -7), PST (UTC -8), AKST (UTC -9), HST (UTC -10)Position:Type: Part-time (hourly) to start, eventually into full-time (salary)Location: Remote Pay: Hourly, $20-$45/hr depending on experienceRole Overview:As our Operations Manager, you will play a critical role in shaping and maintaining the systems that power our business. From project management to team coordination, youll help us implement the principles of Systemology and ensure our workflows are smooth and optimized.Responsibilities:Systems Management: Build, refine, and maintain workflows using project management tools (e.g., Asana, Monday.com, or Trello).Process Documentation: Create and update standard operating procedures (SOPs) for core business activities.Team Coordination: Collaborate with the founders to assign tasks and oversee project timelines.Software Oversight: Ensure effective use of tools like project management, invoicing, and communication platforms.Growth Support: Help onboard and manage new team members or freelancers as the company grows.Operational Improvements: Identify bottlenecks and recommend solutions to enhance efficiency.Qualifications:Proven experience in operations or project management (preferably in a small business setting).Proficiency in project management tools and systems development.Exceptional organizational and multitasking abilities.Excellent communication skills, both written and verbal.Problem-solving mindset and the ability to work independently.A passion for systems, workflows, and efficiency.Nice-to-Have Skills:Familiarity with the publicity or publishing industry.Experience working with creative or service-oriented businesses.Benefits:Opportunity to shape processes in a growing company.Flexible work environment.A chance to work with passionate creatives in a collaborative and innovative team.How to Apply:Submit your resume and a brief cover letter explaining why youre the right fit for this role to [emailprotected]. Please include an example of a system or workflow youve successfully implemented in a previous role.