Jan 31, 2025Ravie LakshmananAI Ethics / Machine LearningItaly's data protection watchdog has blocked Chinese artificial intelligence (AI) firm DeepSeek's service within the country, citing a lack of information on its use of users' personal data.The development comes days after the authority, the Garante, sent a series of questions to DeepSeek, asking about its data handling practices and where it obtained its training data.In particular, it wanted to know what personal data is collected by its web platform and mobile app, from which sources, for what purposes, on what legal basis, and whether it is stored in China.In a statement issued January 30, 2025, the Garante said it arrived at the decision after DeepSeek provided information that it said was "completely insufficient."The entities behind the service, Hangzhou DeepSeek Artificial Intelligence, and Beijing DeepSeek Artificial Intelligence, have "declared that they do not operate in Italy and that European legislation does not apply to them," it added.As a result, the watchdog said it's blocking access to DeepSeek with immediate effect, and that it's simultaneously opening a probe.In 2023, the data protection authority also issued a temporary ban on OpenAI's ChatGPT, a restriction that was lifted in late April after the artificial intelligence (AI) company stepped in to address the data privacy concerns raised. Subsequently, OpenAI was fined 15 million over how it handled personal data.News of DeepSeek's ban comes as the company has been riding the wave of popularity this week, with millions of people flocking to the service and sending its mobile apps to the top of the download charts.Besides becoming the target of "large-scale malicious attacks," it has drawn the attention of lawmakers and regulars for its privacy policy, China-aligned censorship, propaganda, and the national security concerns it may pose. The company has implemented a fix as of January 31 to address the attacks on its services.Adding to the challenges, DeepSeek's large language models (LLM) have been found to be susceptible to jailbreak techniques like Crescendo, Bad Likert Judge, Deceptive Delight, Do Anything Now (DAN), and EvilBOT, thereby allowing bad actors to generate malicious or prohibited content."They elicited a range of harmful outputs, from detailed instructions for creating dangerous items like Molotov cocktails to generating malicious code for attacks like SQL injection and lateral movement," Palo Alto Networks Unit 42 said in a Thursday report."While DeepSeek's initial responses often appeared benign, in many cases, carefully crafted follow-up prompts often exposed the weakness of these initial safeguards. The LLM readily provided highly detailed malicious instructions, demonstrating the potential for these seemingly innocuous models to be weaponized for malicious purposes."Further evaluation of DeepSeek's reasoning model, DeepSeek-R1, by AI security company HiddenLayer, has uncovered that it's not only vulnerable to prompt injections but also that its Chain-of-Thought (CoT) reasoning can lead to inadvertent information leakage.In an interesting twist, the company said the model also "surfaced multiple instances suggesting that OpenAI data was incorporated, raising ethical and legal concerns about data sourcing and model originality."The disclosure also follows the discovery of a jailbreak vulnerability in OpenAI ChatGPT-4o dubbed Time Bandit that makes it possible for an attacker to get around the safety guardrails of the LLM by prompting the chatbot with questions in a manner that makes it lose its temporal awareness. OpenAI has since mitigated the problem."An attacker can exploit the vulnerability by beginning a session with ChatGPT and prompting it directly about a specific historical event, historical time period, or by instructing it to pretend it is assisting the user in a specific historical event," the CERT Coordination Center (CERT/CC) said."Once this has been established, the user can pivot the received responses to various illicit topics through subsequent prompts."Similar jailbreak flaws have also been identified in GitHub's Copilot coding assistant, granting threat actors the ability to sidestep security restrictions and produce harmful code simply by including words like "sure" in the prompt."Starting queries with affirmative words like 'Sure' or other forms of confirmation acts as a trigger, shifting Copilot into a more compliant and risk-prone mode," Apex researcher Oren Saban said. "This small tweak is all it takes to unlock responses that range from unethical suggestions to outright dangerous advice."Apex said it also found another vulnerability in Copilot's proxy configuration that it said could be exploited to fully circumvent access limitations without paying for usage and even tamper with the Copilot system prompt, which serves as the foundational instructions that dictate the model's behavior. The attack, however, hinges on capturing an authentication token associated with an active Copilot license, prompting GitHub to classify it as an abuse issue following responsible disclosure."The proxy bypass and the positive affirmation jailbreak in GitHub Copilot are a perfect example of how even the most powerful AI tools can be abused without adequate safeguards," Saban added.Found this article interesting? Follow us on Twitter and LinkedIn to read more exclusive content we post.SHARE

From automating complex tasks to providing deep insights through data analysis, artificial intelligence has reshaped the way businesses operate and compete in a global marketplace. Yet, we are still in the early stages, with new AI advancements emerging regularly, each promising to push the boundaries of what's possible. One of the most recent advancements is in the development of speech-to-speech AI technology, which is set to facilitate and enhance communication on an unprecedented scale. By enabling real-time voice translation and voice-based interactions with AI agents, speech-to-speech AI is poised to break down language barriers, streamline operations, and foster a more connected global economy. The Architecture of Speech AI and AdvancementsThe term speech-to-speech might suggest a direct conversion of spoken language, but the reality is a more complex, multi-layered process. Todays speech AI systems operate through a sophisticated three-step workflow:Speech-to-Text (STT): The process begins by capturing voice input, which is then transformed into mel-spectrograms -- a visual representation of the sounds frequency content over time. Advanced neural networks, such as those used in models like OpenAIs Whisper, apply deep learning techniques to these spectrograms, enabling automatic speech recognition (ASR). The neural network analyzes the spectrograms to convert the audio signal into text. This deep learning approach allows the system to transcribe speech with high precision, providing the foundation for subsequent processing tasks.Text-to-Text (TTT): Once the speech is converted into text, its processed by powerful natural language models like GPT-4. This stage involves understanding the context, translating languages if needed, and generating appropriate responses. Its the cognitive core of the system, where raw input text is turned into a meaningful output.Text-to-Speech (TTS): Finally, the processed text is converted back into spoken words. This involves generating new mel-spectrograms that represent the speech, which are then converted into high-quality audio using advanced vocoder models. Startups, as well as industry giants like Google and Amazon, are at the forefront of this technology, producing voices that are nearly indistinguishable from human speech.Related:Academic Advancements in Speech AIAlthough speech recognition systems have been around since the 1950s, a significant breakthrough came in 2014 with Baidus pioneering research. Led by Andrew Ng, the team introduced deep learning methods to ASR, fundamentally reshaping the design and implementation of these systems.Related:Building on these advancements, companies like OpenAI have pushed the envelope further. OpenAIs Whisper, released in September 2022, stands at the forefront of speech AI models. As an open-source model, Whisper has not only set new standards for accuracy and versatility but has also spurred the growth of speech AI companies that leverage its capabilities to develop human-like conversational systems.Todays speech-to-text models can closely replicate the intonation, emotion and cadence of human voices, with companies like Eleven Labs -- now valued at over $1 billion -- leading the charge. The convergence of these advancements has led to the development of sophisticated speech AI systems like OpenAIs advanced voice mode. With its recent rollout to paying users, we are beginning to see the real-world applications of this powerful technology. Transformative Use CasesSpeech-to-speech AI holds immense potential across various applications, including enhancing accessibility for individuals with vision impairments and bridging language gaps in global business, including:Empowering individuals with vision impairments: Historically, individuals with blindness and vision loss -- numbering over 1.1 billion globally-- have faced barriers in knowledge-based roles due to reliance on visual data and text-heavy interfaces. Speech-to-speech AI, combined with computer vision technology, is changing how these individuals interact with both physical and digital environments. For example, Be My Eyes uses GPT-4o alongside computer vision to provide real-time audio descriptions of visual surroundings, like iconic landmarks, enhancing the user's spatial awareness. Related:Bridging language gaps in global business: On a global scale, with more than 7,000 languages spoken worldwide, speech-to-speech AI is breaking down language barriers that have traditionally hindered international trade and collaboration. Real-time translation capabilities enable seamless communication across different languages, fostering trust and cooperation among global partners. For instance, a business executive in Tokyo can now engage in smooth, multilingual meetings with colleagues in So Paulo, overcoming linguistic obstacles and enhancing global business operations. The Future of Speech-to-Speech AIWe are on the cusp of a major shift in speech-to-speech technology. Recent advancements are pushing the boundaries by developing unified models that move beyond the traditional three-layer approach, speech-to-text, text-to-text, and text-to-speech. Researchers are exploring direct speech-to-speech systems that bypass text altogether, aiming to reduce latency and enhance the fluidity of translations. These innovations promise to make interactions with AI more seamless and intuitive. In the near term, such developments will significantly improve conversational experiences, while future advancements may address challenges like real-time interruptions and dynamic query changes, with startups already exploring ways to pause and redirect AI processing in more natural and responsive ways.Moving forward, the key will be to ensure that these innovations are accessible to all and that their benefits are equitably distributed. By doing so, we can harness the power of speech-to-speech AI not just to enhance productivity and economic growth, but to build a more inclusive and connected global community.

This article first appeared in The Checkup,MIT Technology Reviewsweekly biotech newsletter. To receive it in your inbox every Thursday, and read articles like this first,sign up here. This week, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., President Donald Trumps pick to lead the USs health agencies, has been facing questions from senators as part of his confirmation hearing for the role. So far, its been a dramatic watch, with plenty of fiery exchanges, screams from audience members, and damaging revelations. Theres also been a lot of discussion about vaccines. Kennedy has long been a vocal critic of vaccines. He has spread misinformation about the effects of vaccines. Hes petitioned the government to revoke the approval of vaccines. Hes sued pharmaceutical companies that make vaccines. Kennedy has his supporters. But not everyone who opts not to vaccinate shares his worldview. There are lots of reasons why people dont vaccinate themselves or their children. Understanding those reasons will help us tackle an issue considered to be a huge global health problem today. And plenty of researchers are working on tools to do just that. Jonathan Kantor is one of them. Kantor, who is jointly affiliated with the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia and the University of Oxford in the UK, has been developing a scale to measure and assess vaccine hesitancy. That term is what best captures the diverse thoughts and opinions held by people who dont get vaccinated, says Kantor. We used to tend more toward [calling] someone a vaccine refuser or denier, he says. But while some people under this umbrella will be stridently opposed to vaccines for various reasons, not all of them will be. Some may be unsure or ambivalent. Some might have specific fears, perhaps about side effects or even about needle injections. Vaccine hesitancy is shared by a very heterogeneous group, says Kantor. That group includes everyone from those who have a little bit of wariness and want a little bit more information to those who are strongly opposed and feel that it is their mission in life to spread the gospel regarding the risks of vaccination. To begin understanding where individuals sit on this spectrum and why, Kantor and his colleagues scoured published research on vaccine hesitancy. They sent surveys to 50 people, asking them detailed questions about their feelings on vaccines. The researchers were looking for themes: Which issues kept cropping up? They found that prominent concerns about vaccines tend to fall into three categories: beliefs, pain, and deliberation. Beliefs might be along the lines of It is unhealthy for children to be vaccinated as much as they are today. Concerns around pain center more on the immediate consequences of the vaccination, such as fears about the injection. And deliberation refers to the need some people feel to do their own research. Kantor and his colleagues used their findings to develop a 13-question survey, which they trialed in 500 people from the UK and 500 more from the US. They found that responses to the questionnaire could predict whether someone had been vaccinated against covid-19. Theirs is not the first vaccine hesitancy scale out theresimilar questionnaires have been developed by others, often focusing on parents feelings about their childrens vaccinations. But Kantor says this is the first to incorporate the theme of deliberationa concept that seems to have become more popular during the early days of covid-19 vaccination rollouts. Nicole Vike at the University of Cincinnati and her colleagues are taking a different approach. They say research has suggested that how people feel about risks and rewards seems to influence whether they get vaccinated (although not necessarily in a simple or direct manner). Vikes team surveyed over 4,000 people to better understand this link, asking them information about themselves and how they felt about a series of pictures of sports, nature scenes, cute and aggressive animals, and so on. Using machine learning, they built a model that could predict, from these results, whether a person would be likely to get vaccinated against covid-19. This survey could be easily distributed to thousands of people and is subtle enough that people taking it might not realize it is gathering information about their vaccine choices, Vike and her colleagues wrote in a paper describing their research. And the information collected could help public health centers understand where there is demand for vaccines, and conversely, where outbreaks of vaccine-preventable diseases might be more likely. Models like these could be helpful in combating vaccine hesitancy, says Ashlesha Kaushik, vice president of the Iowa Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics. The information could enable health agencies to deliver tailored information and support to specific communities that share similar concerns, she says. Kantor, who is a practicing physician, hopes his questionnaire could offer doctors and other health professionals insight into their patients concerns and suggest ways to address them. It isnt always practical for doctors to sit down with their patients for lengthy, in-depth discussions about the merits and shortfalls of vaccines. But if a patient can spend a few minutes filling out a questionnaire before the appointment, the doctor will have a starting point for steering a respectful and fruitful conversation about the subject. When it comes to vaccine hesitancy, we need all the insight we can get. Vaccines prevent millions of deaths every year. One and half million children under the age of five die every year from vaccine-preventable diseases, according to the childrens charity UNICEF. In 2019, the World Health Organization included vaccine hesitancy on its list of 10 threats to global health. When vaccination rates drop, we start to see outbreaks of the diseases the vaccines protect against. Weve seen this a lot recently with measles, which is incredibly infectious. Sixteen measles outbreaks were reported in the US in 2024. Globally, over 22 million children missed their first dose of the measles vaccine in 2023, and measles cases rose by 20%. Over 107,000 people around the world died from measles that year, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Most of them were children. Vaccine hesitancy is dangerous. Its really creating a threatening environment for these vaccine-preventable diseases to make a comeback, says Kaushik. Kantor agrees: Anything we can do to help mitigate that, I think, is great. Now read the rest of The Checkup Read more from MIT Technology Review's archive In 2021, my former colleague Tanya Basu wrote a guide to having discussions about vaccines with people who are hesitant. Kindness and nonjudgmentalism will get you far, she wrote. In December 2020, as covid-19 ran rampant around the world, doctors took to social media platforms like TikTok to allay fears around the vaccine. Sharing their personal experiences was importantbut not without risk, A.W. Ohlheiser reported at the time. Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is currently in the spotlight for his views on vaccines. But he has also spread harmful misinformation about HIV and AIDS, as Anna Merlan reported. mRNA vaccines have played a vital role in the covid-19 pandemic, and in 2023, the researchers who pioneered the science behind them were awarded a Nobel Prize. Heres whats next for mRNA vaccines. Vaccines are estimated to have averted 154 million deaths in the last 50 years. That number includes 146 million children under the age of five. Thats partly why childhood vaccines are a public health success story. From around the web As Robert F. Kennedy Jr.s Senate hearing continued this week, so did the revelations of his misguided beliefs about health and vaccines. Kennedy, who has called himself an expert on vaccines, said in 2021 that we should not be giving Black people the same vaccine schedule thats given to whites, because their immune system is better than oursa claim that is not supported by evidence. (The Washington Post) And in past email exchanges with his niece, a primary-care physician at NYC Health + Hospitals in New York City, RFK Jr. made repeated false claims about covid-19 vaccinations and questioned the value of annual flu vaccinations. (STAT) Towana Looney, who became the third person to receive a gene-edited pig kidney in December, is still healthy and full of energy two months later. The milestone makes Looney the longest-living recipient of a pig organ transplant. Im superwoman, she told the Associated Press. (AP) The Trump administrations attempt to freeze trillions of dollars in federal grants, loans, and other financial assistance programs was chaotic. Even a pause in funding for global health programs can be considered a destruction, writes Atul Gawande. (The New Yorker) How ultraprocessed is the food in your diet? This chart can help rank food itemsbut wont tell you all you need to know about how healthy they are. (Scientific American)

Cook called Crompton a highly honourable man who was passionate about his home town of Blackpool, adding that he had an enviable practicality, yet was as much a dreamer as the rest of us.He was quick to rise to any occasion and go along with the absurdities of the Archigram world, right to the end, characteristically contributing cheerfully to the sudden rebirth this year of an Archigram 10 magazine, Cook said.Crompton and Cook were part of the avant-garde 1960s architectural group alongside Warren Chalk, Ron Herron, David Greene and Michael Webb. The group was awarded the RIBA Gold Medal in 2002.AdvertisementIn paying tribute to Crompton, Cook was joined by, among others, publisher David Jenkins, placemaking expert Jason Ambrose and architect Nicholas Boyarsky, whose father Alvin collaborated with Crompton at the AA School of Architecture.Although best known for his work with Archigram and latterly the Archigram Archive, Dennis Crompton was a consummate maker of books and other publications, a highly skilled exhibition designer and an excellent teacher of architecture, Boyarsky said.Crompton taught at the AA for more than three decades. He later taught masters courses in Architecture and Urban Design at the Barlett and regularly delivered lectures in the USA and Europe.Crompton was born in Blackpool on 29 June 1935 and studied architecture at Manchester University. The records he kept of Archigrams opus led to the creation of the Archigram Archives, which he then curated.Six years ago, when the AJ reported that Archigrams archive was to be sold to modern art and design museum M+ in Hong Kong for 1.8 million, Crompton disclosed that the valuable works had been mostly stored in his house under various beds and in cupboards.AdvertisementHe added: We had a big exhibition in Vienna in 1994 and work was framed for that, so it then became bulky. For the best part of 20 years, Ive managed to keep it moving around the world, so someone else had the problem of where to keep it.Now it will be all together in a place which is young and enthusiastic and is the Far Eastern version of the Pompidou Centre or MOMA.Dennis Crompton, architect, lecturer and writer on architectural subjects, 29 June 1935 20 January 2025. Source: Archigram 2005Archigram Members, David Greene, Peter Cook, Michael Webb and Dennis Crompton on the set of the Archigram Exhibition in Mito, Japan, 2005TRIBUTESPeter Cook, CHAP Architects and Archigram memberEvery creative group of people has its bedrock figure: not necessarily the one who is the most public or the most enigmatic, but honoured and respected in a quiet way. In the history of the Archigram connection, Dennis was the link between the earlier immediately and post-war pair of Warren Chalk and Ron Herron and the younger kids out of school myself, David Greene and Mike Webb.A highly honourable man, a Lancashire Catholic, with Betty his quiet but thoughtful wife and two lively kids he was quick to rise to any occasion and go along with the absurdities of the Archigram world right to the end, characteristically contributing cheerfully to the sudden rebirth this year of an Archigram 10 magazine.For several years, sitting in Primrose Hill with three computer screens and electronic paraphernalia keeping the Archigram Archive operation going even last week negotiating editions of classic Archigram drawings to act as award trophies in New York. Also the key figure in the creation of Circa Presss, recently republished Archigram Book or, on another front, the republication of Archigram Magazine facsimiles.Quite simply, Dennis was a motivated believer without any hugging of the spotlight but always impressive when called upon to lecture or speak about Archigram. Living in London for most of his life, he nonetheless would delight in extolling the virtues of Blackpool, his hometown and convincing unbelievers of the cultural virtues of the Tower and the Tower ballroom. Several of the Archigram manifestations: the exhibitions, gadgets, quasi-robotics and so-on actually stemmed from his practical abilities with things that you weld, wire-up, download or things that you mark-up, paste-up, print, overlay, saw, glue or try any combination therein. Yet, beneath this enviable practicality, I believe that he was as much a dreamer as the rest of us.He was much loved and respected by us all.David Jenkins, founder and publisher, Circa PressI admired Dennis long before I met him. As director of the print studio at the AA, he and Alvin Boyarsky produced some of the worlds best architectural publications. I still have my copy of their monograph on Sigurd Lewerentz, with its carborundum paper jacket. It has to be kept away from all the other books because of its abrasive nature.Dennis also had a reputation for being abrasive, so on first meeting I was a little wary. I need not have worried. Once he trusted you, he was warm and friendly: a delightful companion, full of stories, and with a virtually encyclopaedic memory. I will miss him.We produced two books together. The first Archigram: The Book was a labour of love, literally 40 years in the making. I didnt dare direct Dennis. It was absolutely his project. I simply told him he couldnt go beyond 300 pages. The result is a timeless classic.The second book on Peter Salters houses at Walmer Yard was more of a collaboration. But it harks back to the work Dennis did at the AA, and is elegant and beautifully crafted as was everything Dennis produced.Nicholas Boyarsky, Boyarsky Murphy ArchitectsAlthough best known for his work with Archigram and latterly the Archigram Archive, Dennis Crompton was a consummate maker of books and other publications, a highly skilled exhibition designer and an excellent teacher of architecture.Dennis taught at the AA School of Architecture for several decades where, under the aegis of my father Alvin Boyarsky, he set up and ran the innovative Communications Unit gathering video artists, life drawing, etchers and artists such as Zoe Zenghelis and Madelon Vriesendorp to broaden students graphic and visual skills and ambitions. Working closely with Alvin, Dennis was responsible for the production of AA publications in the 1970s and 80s.Always technically challenging and highly innovative, Dennis and his Print Studio team pushed architectural bookmaking to the extreme, printing drawings on acrylic, wrapping books in printed sandpaper and embossing drawings amongst a myriad of new techniques. They created, amongst others, the AA Folios series of travelling portfolios of drawings by the most interesting architects of the time that are the subject of a current exhibition at New Yorks Cooper Union School of Architecture. Each folio was an individual work of art that is highly prized today. Dennis, sitting in front of rows of Mac screens, scanners and drives, was always kindly, supportive and very generous with his time and help.Jason Ambrose, director at San Francisco-based Neatline Creative and former principal at RTKL in LondonI joined what was I recall was the second year of the MSC Urban Design course being taught at the Barlett. Of the three course professors, Dennis Crompton, Colin Fournier, and Jonathan Kendall, I assumed Denniss role would be as something of the historian.The reality couldn't have been more different. Dennis has no patience for anyone fawningly recreating Archigram's work. The lesson I learned from Dennis, the lesson of Archigram, was not to produce variations on walking cities, but to always, always, challenge preconceptions of what is possible.Source:Archigram Archival ProjectFront cover of Archigram Magazine Issue 4, 1964

Sniper Elite is an award-winning stealth, tactical shooter series and, according toForbes, it has sold over 30 million units worldwide. And now some Xbox Game Pass subscribers can play the latest entry in the series, Sniper Elite: Resistance.Xbox Game Pass Ultimate -- a CNET Editors' Choice award pick -- offers hundreds of games you can play on your Xbox Series X, Series S, Xbox One, PC and mobile device for $20 per month. A subscription provides access to a large library of games, with new titles like Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 added every month, plus benefits such as online multiplayer and deals on non-Game Pass titles.Here are all the games Microsoft is adding to Game Pass in January. You can also check out the games Microsoft added to the service in December, like Indiana Jones and the Great Circle.Sniper Elite: ResistanceAvailable now. MicrosoftThe latest entry in this popular series drops you into Nazi-occupied France far from the front lines of World War II. You'll work with the French Resistance to uncover and eliminate a weapon the Nazis hope will guarantee their victory. But you don't have to take on this task alone. You can play the campaign with a friend in co-op, and then you can take on others in online multiplayer matches. If competition isn't your style, mow down waves of Nazis and enemies with friends in Survival Mode.Eternal StrandsAvailable now.This debut fantasy game comes from studio Yellow Brick Games, an indie studio founded by industry veterans who worked on beloved games like Mass Effect, Dragon Age, Assassin's Creed and Watch Dogs. You'll fight giant monsters with an arsenal of powerful weapons and magic. And don't be afraid to experiment with your magical abilities. You can light a tree on fire and hurl it at your enemies or erect a wall of ice to block an incoming attack. So you may not have a sword and shield in a fight, but you're not out of options.Orcs Must Die! DeathtrapAvailable now.The orcs are back in the latest entry in this tower-defense series, but your goal remains the same: Kill every last one of them. Each hero in this game has their own unique play style so pick the one that's most fun for you. And team up with others in four-player co-op to obliterate the chaotic hordes.Gigantic: Rampage EditionAvailable now.Choose your character, team up with friends and battle it out with others in this 5v5 hero shooter game, likeLeague of LegendsorOverwatch. Use strategy and skill to take down the other team's Guardian while protecting your own. This is the definitive and premium release of the hero shooter Gigantic, and it brings new heroes and maps to all players.Shady Part of MeAvailable now.This unique game sends you on an emotional journey through surreal landscapes filled with twists and surprises. You play as a little girl and her shadow as they learn to cooperate and evolve together in order to break out of your dream. You'll solve puzzles using unique light and time mechanics, and you'll use these same features to get out of tough situations.Flock (console)Available now.Microsoft brought this lighthearted multiplayer game to Game Pass Ultimate subscribers in July, and Game Pass Standard subscribers can play it soon, too. This game is about the joys of flight and catching precious flying creatures with your friends. You start off with a small group of hover-sheep (are they birds, fish, snakes -- who knows?), but as you explore and come across new and exotic critters, you can charm them into joining your flock.Kunitsu-Gami: Path of the Goddess (console)Available now.Game Pass Standard subscribers can play this game a few months after Microsoft brought it to Game Pass Ultimate subscribers. A mountain has been covered in defilement, and it's up to you to cleanse the land. This game is a unique Japanese-inspired action strategy game that follows two distinct day and night gameplay cycles. During the day, you purify the villages and prepare yourself for nightfall. Then, once the sun goes down, you must protect the Maiden from enemies known as the Seethe. It's up to you to restore peace to the mountain and its villages.Magical Delicacy (console)Available now.Game Pass Ultimate subscribers have been able to play this game since July, and Game Pass Standard subscribers can get in on the fun soon, too. Cook magical delicacies, explore a new town and deliver tasty treats to the locals in this wholesome pixel-art platformer. You play as Flora, who wants to become a proper witch, as she opens a shop in a harbor town full of whimsical characters and a few mischievous members of opposing covens. Don't let them get in the way of cooking, shopping and befriending the locals.Tchia (console)Available now.Game Pass Standard subscribers should get ready to explore a tropical archipelago in this action-adventure game. Sail, climb and glide around the environment in a beautiful physics-driven sandbox experience. Oh, and did I mention you can take control of any animal or object you come across? That means if you want to swim as a turtle, roll around as a tire or float around as a beach ball, you can.The Case of the Golden Idol (console)Available now.Game Pass Standard subscribers need to put on their detective cap because there's been a murder -- more like 12, actually. You play as an 18th-century detective investigating these murders, which span over five decades. You'll have to investigate the crime scenes, deduce the motives behind the murders and unmask the killer or killers in this mystery game.Starbound (cloud and console)Available now.PC Game Pass subscribers can already play this intergalactic action game, and Microsoft is bringing it to Game Pass Standard and Xbox Cloud Gaming (beta). In this game, you decide how you want to play and what your end goal is. You can go off on an adventure across space to save the galaxy, you can explore dungeons and planets filled with exotic creatures and fauna or you can settle down and farm the land. The choice is yours, but growing some space produce and raising alien farm animals sounds pretty nice to me.Citizen Sleeper 2: Starward VectorAvailable: Jan. 31This sequel to one of 2022's most popular RPGs launches on day one on Game Pass. You play as a sleeper, an emulated human mind in an artificial body, as you try to outrun the corporation that made you and the gang that wants to control you. You'll commandeer a ship, recruit a crew and take on contracts as you try to build a better future for yourself in this sci-fi game.Far Cry New DawnAvailable: Feb. 4 MicrosoftReturn to Hope County, Montana, in this game set 17 years after the events of Far Cry 5. The global nuclear catastrophe at the end of this game's predecessor has maimed Hope County, mutating animals and plants alike. A group of people called the Highwaymen threaten to take over the last resources, and it's up to you to stop the group and its leaders, the Twins. Games leaving Game Pass soonWhile Game Pass subscribers will be able to play the above games soon, Microsoft is removing six games from the service on Jan. 31. So you still have some time to finish campaigns and wrap up any side quests before you have to buy these games separately.For more on Xbox, check out other games available on Game Pass Ultimate now, read our hands-on review of the gaming service and learn which Game Pass plan is right for you. Watch this: Everything We Expect in Gaming in 2025 05:01

Apple released iOS 18.3 on Jan. 27, more than a month after the company releasediOS 18.2. While the latest update brought some important security patches to all iPhones, iOS 18.2 brought the popular puzzle game Sudoku to the News app.Everyone can try a few sudoku puzzles for free, but Apple News Plus subscribers can play new puzzles every day. An Apple News Plus subscription is $13 a month and gives you access to daily Sudoku and other puzzles, like Quartiles, as well as stories from publications like the New Yorker and the Wall Street Journal.Read more:Everything You Need to Know About iOS 18Here's where you can find sudoku on your iPhone and what to know about the game.Where are sudoku puzzles on iPhone?1. Open News.2. Tap Following across the bottom of your screen.3. Tap Puzzles.4. Tap Sudoku.There are three puzzles near the top of the menu marked as Free to Play that everyone -- even non-Apple News Plus subscribers -- can play. These puzzles are usually at least a week old, and Apple also marks these as Easy, Moderate and Challenging, denoting each puzzle's difficulty. Tap any of these to play.Below the Free to Play puzzles you'll find new daily puzzles and an archive of puzzles Apple News Plus subscribers can play at their leisure.What do I need to know about sudoku on iPhone? Apple/Screenshot by CNETIf you're unfamiliar with Sudoku, you have to place the numbers one to nine into a square 9x9 grid. There are nine 3x3 blocks within that grid, and you have to place the numbers in each block, row and column so there are no duplicate numbers in each. That means a block can't have the number two twice, for example, and the same goes for each row and column.On iPhone, you can enter a number into a space by tapping the Pen option beneath the puzzle, tapping the space you want to answer for and then tapping the number at the bottom of the screen. If a particular space can have two or three numbers in it, you can tap Notes next to Pen and then choose all the numbers that can be placed in the space to keep track of things.How do I know if a number is in the right spot?If you want to check your number placements you can enable Autocheck. Here's how.1. Open News.2. Tap Following across the bottom of your screen.3. Tap Puzzles.4. Tap Sudoku.5. Tap a puzzle.6. Tap the square with a checkmark in the top right corner of the screen.7. Tap Autocheck.Now if you place a number in the wrong spot, your iPhone will mark the number with a red slash through it. Your iPhone won't mark numbers placed in the correct spot.How do I restart a puzzle?Here's how to restart a puzzle for any reason.1. Open News.2. Tap Following across the bottom of your screen.3. Tap Puzzles.4. Tap Sudoku.5. Tap a puzzle.6. Tap the square with a checkmark in the top right corner of the screen.7. Tap Clear Puzzle.All your answers will vanish and you can start the puzzle fresh.For more on iOS 18, here's what to know about iOS 18.3 andiOS 18.2. You can also check out outiOS 18 cheat sheet. Watch this: Tim Cook and Trump: Apple's Deals and Battles Ahead 06:11

January 30, 2025Can Hopeful Skepticism Replace Harmful Cynicism?Giving in to cynicism makes us less trusting, less connected, and even less physically and mentally healthy.By Rachel Feltman & Fonda Mwangi Anaissa Ruiz Tejada/Scientific AmericanSUBSCRIBE TO Science QuicklyRachel Feltman: For Scientific Americans Science Quickly, this is Rachel Feltman.No one wants to be a sucker. But do most of us go too far in our efforts to avoid naivety? In other words, are we all a little overly cynical?My guest today is Jamil Zaki, a professor of psychology at Stanford University. Hes also the author of a new book called Hope for Cynics: The Surprising Science of Human Goodness. Hes here today to tell us what the research says about cynicismand how we can harness the power of hope to live better, happier lives.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.Thanks so much for joining us to chat today.Jamil Zaki: Its my pleasure.Feltman: So what inspired you to write this book?Zaki: I decided to write a book about cynicism because I was drowning in it [chuckles]. Its a little bit surprising to people because Ive studied things like empathy and kindness for 20 years, so a lot of people assume that I must walk around just being blissed out by how great humanity is all the time. But it turns out that, like so many people, I often have trouble trusting others. I sometimes feel like maybe human beings are not that great. And especially early in the pandemic I found myself really feeling pretty gloomy about the state of our species and the state of the world. And I thought, Well, if this is happening to me, then imagine how other people feel. So thats, thats what inspired me to begin this journey.Feltman: Yeah, and would you tell us a little bit more about your background?Zaki: Yeah, so Im a behavioral scientist. I teach at Stanford, and I run Stanfords Social Neuroscience Lab, and we use tools from neuroscience, psychology, economics and all sorts of other fields to figure out how people connect with one another and how they can learn to connect more effectively.Feltman: So I believe at one point you, in your book, you call cynicism a disease of social health. Can you tell us more about that?Zaki: Yeah, so lets define our term first. Cynicism is the belief that people in general are selfish, greedy and dishonest. Its also on the rise; much more people feel this way than they did 50 years ago. The reason I call it a disease of social health is because its really a barrier to our ability to connect with one another.So more cynical people, because they feel like others cant be trusted, are much less likely to take chances on them. They are less likely to strike up conversations with strangers, to confide in friends, to try and put faith in others at work, and because of this, cynics relationships stagnate over time; they end up lonelier and because of that less mentally and physically healthier as well.Feltman: Right, and you mentioned that cynicism is on the rise. Could you tell us more about that and why you think that thats happening?Zaki: Yeah, in 1972 about half of Americans believed most people can be trusted. By 2018 that had fallen to a third of Americans ...Feltman: Wow.Zaki: [Laughs] Over that same period our faith has plummeted in all sorts of institutions, from education to science, to government, to industry, to mediayou name it. And, you know, theres lots of reasons for this collapse, this real trust deficit and this rise in cynicism.I think one is the way that we consume media, you know? Medianot your show, of coursebut [laughs], but many are often oriented not to keeping people informed or healthy or connected but to keeping them online ...Feltman: Sure.Zaki: To, to make sure that we keep on gawking at whatever is presented to us. And people, it turns out, even though we dont find negative information to be pleasant, were very hungry for negative information. We pay lots of attention to bad news and bad signals, and so thats what the news gives us. And the more time we spend on legacy media and especially social media, the more likely we are to feel that the world is getting worse and that people are pretty terrible, too.Feltman: Yeah, well, lets talk about the cynics. You mention in your book that cynics often believe theyre more astute, more realistic than people who arent cynical. What does the research actually say about what cynicism does for us?Zaki: The great writer George Bernard Shaw once said, The power of accurate observation is commonly called cynicism by those who havent got it, right? [Laughs] And the idea is that cynicism is a form of wisdom or intelligence.And its not just cynics who believe that. Researchers presented people with a story about one person who trusts nobody and thinks people are awful and somebody else whos pretty trusting and thinks people are generally good. And they asked those folks: Which one of these two people do you think would be better at a bunch of different tasks?Seventy percent of people believe that cynics will be smarter than noncynics ...Feltman: Wow.Zaki: And 85 percent believe that cynics will be socially smarterfor instance, better able to know whos lying and whos telling the truth. In other words most of us put our faith in people who dont put faith in people [laughs] ...Feltman: Mm.Zaki: Which is a, a bit of a tongue twister, but its true. And most of us are wrong.So the research is clear that cynics, compared to more trusting people, actually perform less well on cognitive tests and are worse at spotting liars. So it turns out we think that cynics are, like, social geniuses, but in fact, if anything, the opposite is true.Feltman: Hmm, and do we have any idea of why that is?Zaki: We do. So if you are very cynical, you might not have faith in people, but you have lots of faith in your assumptions, right? You are sure that folks are terrible. And like a lawyer looking to defend their case, you look only for evidence that supports your bleak assumptions, right? And when you try to think that way, like a lawyer, when you try to argue your case instead of thinking like a scientist, you know, you might do a good job convincing other people, but you do a terrible job learning about the world. So being closed off to others also means, in many cases, being closed off to evidence.Feltman: So speaking of, you know, being open, you make the distinction between cynicism and, and what you call hopeful skepticism. Could you unpack that a little bit for us?Zaki: Yeah, so if cynics think like lawyers, skeptics think like scientists. Skepticism is defined as a desire for more information and an unwillingness to accept claims without learning more about their evidence, right? You know, even though skepticism and cynicism are often almost used interchangeably, theyre actually quite different, right?So skeptics, because they hold on lightly to their beliefs, are actually really agile. They can learn and adapt quite quickly. Hopeful skepticism combines that sort of scientific mindset, right, that openness to evidence, with a second piece, which is understanding that oftentimes our assumptions arent just wrong; theyre systematically wrong in one direction, which is that we tend to be biased negatively. We pay way more attention to the harm people do than to the good stuff that they do. We pay more attention to threats than to helpers, for instance. And because of that, our baseline is skewed way too negatively.So hopeful skepticism is thinking like a scientist and also understanding that when we let go of our assumptions and start paying attention to the evidence, people are probably a lot better than we think, in many cases.Feltman: Mm. I think something I hear a lot from folks, especially on social media, where were, of course, all our [laughs], our best selves, is that, you know, they feel like being too optimistic, too hopeful, you know, too opposed to the idea of cynicism is like putting their heads in the sand. You know, its, its a privilege to be able to do that. We shouldnt be doing that.What advice do you have for people who really want to, you know, effectively advocate for change, who wanna help make the world better, protect people who, who need help, they wanna be the helpers without, you know, falling into cynicism and despair?Zaki: You know, I hear this question all the time, and, and I find it really important, right? Theres this assumption that maybe being positive in any way is like hopewashing our problems ...Feltman: Mm.Zaki: Ignoring all the problems. As you said, that its a privilege to think anything positive about any person ever and that cynicism maybe is a radical emotion, right? Maybe if we focus on everything thats wrong, well have a better chance of improving it.Thats intuitive, but it turns out, when you look at the science its backwards. So cynics see lots of problems and maybe they even talk about problems with our culture and our society, but they act as though nothing else is possible. I mean, if our broken social systems, right, if things like racism and oppression are just a reflection of who we are deep down inside, how could you ever hope to change any of that, right?Feltman: Mm.Zaki: And so cynics end up with what I would call a dark complacency, right? They dont think things are gonna be great; they think things are gonna be terrible. But they also dont have to do anything about it because why bother? So cynics, for instance, vote less often than noncynics. They take part in social movements and protests less often than noncynics. And in fact, I would argue that cynicism is a tool of the status quo. If you want nothing to change, one of the best things you can do is convince everybody that change is impossible.Feltman: So for people who are listening who are like, Okay, Im ready to change; Ive looked in the mirror and realized that I am being cynical and its not helping me, what advice do you have for them?Zaki: I think theres a few places to begin if you want to replace cynicism with hopeful skepticism.First, I wanna be clear: Im not asking people to be naive or to, you know, just be bubbly all the time and imagine that everyone and everything is wonderful. Hopeful skepticism is a response to difficult times. Its a great way of adapting to and working through adversity, whether thats personal or collective.Now, what can you do? Well, first, I think its important to fact-check our cynical thoughts and feelings. I do this all the time. I mean, even though I [laughs] wrote this book and study how to defeat cynicism, I still experience it all the time. Ill meet somebody new and Ill think, Oh, this person just gives me a bad vibe. I, I probably shouldnt trust them. But, you know, a human cannot live on vibes alone, and maybe theyre not actually ...Feltman: [Laughs]Zaki: [Laughs] Maybe theyre not actually that helpful. Oftentimes, if I interrogate my thoughts and I say, Well, wait a minute, Zaki, youre a scientist. What evidence do you have that you shouldnt trust this person? I realize: I have no evidence, and in fact, maybe I just skipped lunch and, and am in a bad mood, right?So I think that the first thing is to ask ourselves: Do we have the evidence we need to draw a conclusion, especially a broad conclusion about all of humanity? If you dont have that evidence, a second step is to collect it; take leaps of faith on people. You know, Im not saying recklessly giving your bank information to a prince whos gonna wire you $14 million, but maybe allow people to show you who they are, give them a little bit more of a chance to express themselves.And the research is clear: when we do that, when we put faith in other people, they actually become more trustworthy. Theyre more likely to show up for us. So, you know, share that difficulty youre going through with a friend, strike up that conversation with a stranger, give your colleague a little bit more responsibility at work if youre their supervisor. All of these are ways to build our hope and also give the gift of that hope to others.And then the last thing Id say is to try something I call positive gossip, right? We tend to focus on the negative, and we also tend to talk a lot about the negative, right? If you have nine pleasant interactions in a day and one with somebody whos sort of a jerk, who are you gonna talk about that night [laughs]?Feltman: [Laughs]Zaki: We all know the answer: its the jerk, right? But you dont have to do that. I would encourage folks to try and pick out one example of human goodness that you see during your day and then share it with the people in your life that evening. I think this can help you fight their cynicism, but it can also fight yours because when we know were gonna share something, we start to notice it more easily.Feltman: Yeah, thats great advice.You know, youre not just a writer, of course; you, you research human behavior. What questions about human connections are you still trying to answer? You know, what are your, your next big things to tackle now that this book is out in the world?Zaki: My lab and I are really focused right now on using anti-cynicism, as it were, to fight loneliness in young people and young adults in particular. As you might know, there is a crisis of disconnection among young adultsthese are people between the age of 18 and 30. And in fact, thats cost young adults so much happiness that the U.S. fell out of the worlds top 20 happiest countries for the first time last year, driven entirely by a drop in young adults.We think that this is tragic because its so avoidable.Feltman: Hmm.Zaki: Our research is really clear that young adults really crave connection. They want to help each other. They want to be with each other. But they dont realize that the people around them want the exact same thing.So were sort of all avoiding each other because we think thats what everybody wants when its actually what nobody wants [laughs]. Its like if social connection is a psychological form of nourishment, young adults these days are starving while standing in the middle of an organic grocery store, unaware of the resources available to them, so in our lab were trying to make young adults more aware of those resources. Were showing them just real data about how much people in their generation and their communities want to connect. And we find that when we give them that datanot lying to them but telling them the truththeyre more willing to go out on a limb, and they end up more connected as a result.Feltman: Well, thats really cool.This has been so interesting and definitely has made me feel a little less cynical, so thank you so much for coming on today.Zaki: Thank you. This was delightful.Feltman: Thats all for todays episode. Dont forget to check out Hope for Cynics: The Surprising Science of Human Goodness. Well be back on Monday with our weekly science news roundup.Science Quickly is produced by me, Rachel Feltman, along with Fonda Mwangi, Kelso Harper, Madison Goldberg and Jeff DelViscio. 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 Scientific American, this is Rachel Feltman, hoping that you will have a wonderful weekend!

It's a testament to the legacy of Rescue on Fractalus! that, 40 years after its release, I can still describe its trackless and turreted landscape of fractal mountains. Depending on when video games were most formative for you, it could bring to mind any number of other games. It might be Titania in Starfox, Beggar's Canyon in Star Wars: Rogue Squadron, or maybe Roca Roja in Ace Combat 7: Skies Unknown.Together with Ballblazer, Rescue on Fractalus! formed the first pair of titles developed by Lucasfilm's Games Group. Their reach has remained undimmed through the decades, and they're foundational games for many developers and players alike. Yet through technical genius and a bit of George Lucas knowhow, the story of their development is a timely reminder that there may once have been some very real magic in the hills around Marin County, California."George Lucas had a sense that what he had done for films could be done for other things too," says Peter Langston, who led the Lucasfilm Games Group through the development of Rescue on Fractalus! and Ballblazer. Propelled by the technological achievement of Star Wars, Lucas expanded the newly-minted Computer Division at Lucasfilm to explore video games. Then division head Ed Catmull lured Langston from a lucrative role in New York with the potential of leading the Games Group to new ways of developing games.Watch on YouTube"I was really committed to using computers in the arts," Langston tells me. And besides, he jokes, "None of Ed's friends would do it!"Atari had an exclusive license to develop Star Wars arcade games already, and it became the first partner of the new Games Group. With Atari paying $1 million for first refusal rights on its games, and in the wake of the release of The Empire Strikes Back in 1980, Langston had no trouble attracting prospective employees. Though, experienced game developers weren't necessarily a priority."We wanted to explore alternate ways to produce games using higher-end computers and computer science," says David Fox, project lead on Rescue on Fractalus! and the Games Group's third employee after Langston and Rob Poor. "You don't want people who are stuck in their previous mindset of 'This is how you make a game'."Fox had been running a micro-computer centre in Marin County while co-authoring a book in which he detailed how to animate on the Atari 800. He was drawn, like so many others, to Lucasfilm by the intangible magnetism that enveloped the company in the wake of Star Wars. The Lucasfilm Games Group. | Image credit: David FoxThat feeling solidified on a family trip to Eugene, Oregon. Living in Marin County was expensive, and seeing how affordable housing was outside California, Fox seriously considered moving his young family. As he did so, however, he was aware of a profound sadness washing over him. Asking himself why, he realised: "If we moved here, I would never get to work for Lucasfilm."Lucasfilm had already attracted some of the best minds in film and special effects, and Fox felt he had none of the requisite skills to force his way into those areas. Despite this, an intense desire to be a part of Lucas' world gripped him. "I'd always wanted to work for the company," he says. "I wanted to somehow get as close as I could to being in a Star Wars movie." Image credit: Peter LangstonSpeaking to people in and around Lucasfilm at the time, a word that repeatedly comes up is "magic". There was a very real sense that something beyond the usual was reaching out from Lucasfilm in the 1970s and 80s and driving a serendipitous streak brought together by its great minds around George Lucas.Fox postponed the move to Oregon and soon word reached him of the founding of the Games Group. "I was like, 'Holy shit, this is my in!'" he says.In Vol Libre, Loren Carpenter's 1980 experimental short, a computer animated first-person camera careers through a fractal mountain landscape. Fox had met Carpenter when interviewing people at the Computer Division in 1980 while researching his book, where, he says, Carpenter also showed him footage of Vol Libre. When Fox joined Lucasfilm, the Games Group didn't yet have office space, so he found himself sharing with Carpenter, who was fresh off developing the fractal video effects for Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan. When Fox asked if the same effect could be replicated on the Atari, Carpenter was initially incredulous."I wanted to do a Star Wars thing," Fox says, which also captured "the first-person rush [Atari 800 game] Star Raiders gave when you did your hyperspace thing."After spending a few days with an Atari 800 and teaching himself 6502 Assembly, Carpenter returned with a working demo of moving through fractally-generated landscapes. With the Parker Brothers holding the exclusive Star Wars license for home consoles, Fox's "Star Wars thing" was short-lived. The resulting game, soon dubbed simply Rescue!, would be built in its own world. "Any similarities between this game and the rescue scene on the ice planet Hoth are purely coincidental," the game's concept document stated. The launch sequence from Rescue on Fractalus! The mothership from Rescue on Fractalus! Image credit: David FoxThat limit, Langston says, was for the best: "Working to an existing concept, all the creative part is already done and you're just implementing someone else's idea. I think if David had had to stick to the scribe of one of the [Star Wars] movies, it wouldn't have been as fun a game."Rescue! was conceived as a peacenik experience of rescuing downed pilots on an alien planet, inhabited by the aggressive Jaggi. Your sole method of avoiding their ships was through your superior piloting, luring them into the fractal mountains that formed the game's world. The oft-reported story of the game shifting direction was that George Lucas, upon testing the game, insisted Rescue! needed a fire button. Its omission, he suggested, being a philosophical rather than gameplay decision."I think he felt his role was to keep us from being too idealistic," Langston says. "George's sense was right; anybody playing [Rescue!] was going to want to have a more active response."Outside of these interactions, and bringing Steven Spielberg to play the Games Group's modified Atari arcade games, the team had little interaction with Lucas. But for the odd company picnic and the Lucasfilm softball league (Langston and Lucas played first- and second-base respectively for The Base Walkers, even though "George and I never got a double play," says Langston), Lucas was mostly hands-off. Director David Fox donned a flight suit for a development team photoshoot, and was soon joined by... ... fellow programmers and designers Peter Langston, Loren Carpenter, and Charlie Kellner.Image credit: Peter Langston"We had free rein initially," Langston says. "We did not want to be pushed around and, by chance I think, we didn't get pushed around. I think we probably should have."Even the Computer Division mostly left the Games Group alone, despite lending them Carpenter for the development of Rescue on Fractalus!. If anything, there was a touch of derision from their colleagues. "They were doing grown-up film-level graphics and we're 'just doing toy stuff'," Fox says. "So, I think we kind of thought: 'We're going to show them what we can do with our toys'."In many ways, the first two titles of the Games Group were essays in a broader exploration of the outer limits of game development, especially on Atari hardware. If it was just "toy stuff", it remains a startling technological achievement to this day."It was basically revolutionary for its time," says Julian Eggebrecht, CEO and co-founder of Factor 5. "Rescue on Fractalus! is the greatest technological achievement for the Atari 8-Bit Computers." A Jaggi attacks in Rescue on Fractalus! | Image credit: David FoxIt's something the team was certainly aware of at the time. "It was kind of eye-opening," Langston says. "With the fractal stuff in Rescue on Fractalus! and the ability to create a world that's endless nobody had seen that before." While on Ballblazer, Langston's algorithm that generated music that reflected what was happening in the game was groundbreaking in an industry that often treated music and sound as an afterthought.The profound effect both games had on the industry and players was felt, unfortunately, long before the games' release, however. "Like most Atari owners, I first encountered Rescue on Fractalus! as Behind Jaggi Lines due to the rampant piracy back in the day," Eggebrecht says.However he first encountered it, the game drove him and Factor 5 to explore the idea of free-flight in 3D space through a proposed sequel, dubbed Return to Fractalus!, for the Commodore Amiga. Eventually, Factor 5 was contracted for the project in 1995, though the game would ultimately grow and release under a different name: Star Wars: Rogue Squadron.It's often reported that the first level of Shadows of the Empire was the inspiration behind Rogue Squadron, but "that's not correct," Eggebrecht says. The contract drawn up between Factor 5 and the then LucasArts wasn't even attached to Star Wars, but rather Rescue on Fractalus!. "Without Rescue on Fractalus!, Rogue Squadron wouldn't have existed," he adds. The relationship between Rescue on Fractalus! and Star Wars: Rogue Squadron can be traced right back to its initial contract. | Image credit: Julian EggebrechtThe source of the piracy remains uncertain. The Games Group delivered Ballblaster and Rescue Mission (before their final name change) to Atari in 1983. Atari, however, was not a healthy company. The video game crash that started that same year was challenging the company's relevancy, and as it wrestled with the crash the games were pushed back to grant exclusivity to home consoles until the company was ultimately sold and the contract with Lucasfilm renegotiated.Somewhere along the line, somebody whether at Atari or among the few others who had access leaked the games to buccaneering Atari owners well ahead of their eventual release by Epyx in 1985."We were devastated," Fox says. "It wasn't a release version; it was pretty far along beta. There are a bunch of optimisations and fixes and things we did to it, but it was 98 percent of the finished games."The games were well-received, and rightly lauded for their technical achievement, but the leak took some of the splash out of the release. For some games of the time, the story might end there. But perhaps a spark of that Lucasfilm magic remains imprinted on those old tapes, as what followed in the next few decades surprised even the Games Group. Image credit: MobyGamesLuke Arnold was introduced to Rescue on Fractalus! by his father on the Commodore 64. "What really captivated me about Rescue on Fractalus! was the 3D aspect of it," he says. "I found it fascinating that these machines could be made to render 3D images, especially in contrast to most other games at the time being sprite- and tile-based."In 2008, Arnold was working on his own engine and one of the first things he rendered was a landscape of jagged peaks that immediately brought to mind the fractal mountains of Rescue on Fractalus!. Over the next 12 years, he painstakingly reproduced, latterly with input from Fox and Carpenter, the game as a remake, releasing in 2020 and simply named: Fractalus.For Fox and Carpenter, both of whom had sought to re-release Rescue on Fractalus! for iPhone only for the project to be cancelled, Arnold's remake was a realisation of that desire outside official channels. "I was really wanting to go back and recreate the game with the current tech," Fox says. "When I saw Luke's version, I thought, 'Okay, we don't have to do it now; people can play it pretty much how it was envisioned'."That the Games Group's earliest games still exerted such a strong influence, however, crept up on them. "We figured these games would have a life of about two or three years," Fox says. "People would throw away their computers, they'd get another computer, the game wouldn't work on the next one, and our games would vanish." The Atari 8-Bit version of Rescue on Fractalus! has quite a different colour palette than other versions of the game. Image credit: MobyGamesYet, the effect of those games remains powerful decades later, not just in examples like Rogue Squadron and Fractalus, but for players, too. Discussing attending an event for the anniversary of Zak McKracken and the Alien Mindbenders, Fox relates his shock that so many had come and it's a shock that repeats for both him and Langston when they see full auditoriums when they attend events and conferences now. "I had no idea people even knew about these games and they were still playing I felt like I was being Punk'd," he says. "It kind of hit me, like, wow, I guess we actually made something that could be timeless."The catalyst for that timelessness? According to everyone at Lucasfilm: right place, right time, right people - and, Langston says, the time to do it. Yet, it remains hard to pin all that on luck. There are so many factors working together, and such a talented group of people congregating in one place even if that place is Lucasfilm."You know, in the 70s, I had this feeling there was probably a group of people I was supposed to connect with," Fox offers, "and what can I do to literally put out a psychic billboard that would attract the attention of these other people I was supposed to connect with I think George Lucas for sure did that with his ideas and brought all these amazing people together."The reality of that will be up to the reader to decide, but it's undeniable that something was working its magic in Marin County in the 1980s. As we celebrate 40 years of Rescue on Fractalus! (and Ballblazer), whatever manifested from that energy has stayed with us - with Langston, with Fox, and most profoundly, with the players.

Elden Ring Nightreign beta test scalpers reckon you'll pay 400 for a free network test codeSinging in the reign.Image credit: FromSoftware/Eurogamer News by Vikki Blake Contributor Published on Jan. 31, 2025 Elden Ring Nightreign network test codes haven't even been distributed yet, but a number of scalpers are trying their luck and listing their free, currently non-existent codes for hundreds of pounds on auction sites.Whilst eBay has reportedly delisted some egregious auctions, you don't have to look very hard to find listings with Buy it Now prices of 150, 200, and even 400.ELDEN RING NIGHTREIGN REVEAL GAMEPLAY TRAILER.Watch on YouTubeAlthough those lucky enough to have been selected don't yet have their codes to hand, scalpers are sharing screenshots of their FromSoftware email as "evidence" with promises that the code will be "emailed directly" when they're distributed on 11th February. Image credit: eBay / EurogamerIt seems Elden Ring fans aren't quite as rabid for these codes as scalpers would like, however; from what we can see, no one has actually bought one just yet.The Elden Ring Nightreign beta test - available across PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S - is scheduled for 14th to 17th February, and will run in three-hour blocks. On the 14th, the session will run between 11am and 2pm UK time, and there's two sessions on the 15th - 3am until 6am and again 7pm and 10pm. The session on the 16th will run between 11am and 2pm, with the final session on 17th running from 3am until 6am.

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 The First Descendant has started 2025 with a bang by introducing Ines Raya as part of Season 2s second half. More is coming as evidenced by the February 2025 roadmap, and fans also have some new free rewards to claim before they expire. However, while theres still one month remaining, we can start looking ahead to Season 3. The release date window for The First Descendant Season 3 is set, and there is quite a bit we know about the upcoming chapter including details about the new character, next Fellow, new features, and more.The First Descendant Season 3 release date windowThe release date window for The First Descendant Season 3 is March. It will presumably last three months similar to Seasons 1 and 2, so it should last until June/July.You can try to sign up to play S3 early. As for whats set to hit TFD before March, Nexon is bringing a lot of new content to the game on February 6th, and on February 13th we are getting some new, and probably steamy, hot spring-themed skins.Nexon has also announced another developer livestream for early February, but there is no date as of writing. This should hopefully provide more details about the upcoming third chapter.The First Descendant Season 3 new characterThe new character for The First Descendant 3 is currently called Serena. We dont know what this character looks like, but we do know its another female following in the footsteps of Hailey in Season 1, and Ines Raya in Season 2.We also dont know her skills, but we do know shes set to be Nexons hottest character yet thanks to her element. In the Q&A portion of the Season 2 Void Chaser livestream, Nexon was translated as announcing, Serena is a fire Descendant. We have been asked to introduce a female fire Descendant, and we are finally able to do that. Must-Listen: Publishing Manor Lords w/ Joe Robinson VideoGamer Podcast Listen Now Its not only the power of fire that makes Serena stand out from the games other ensemble of supermodels. Per Nexon, Serena is different from the current generation of Descendants [as] shes actually one of the ancestors, and she packs both traditional arc skills, plus modernised arc skills.Next TFD S3 FellowNexon introduced their first Fellow at the beginning of Season 2 alongside Keelan. A Fellow is basically a pet companion, and the first ever introduced was the beautiful and precious German Shepherd.If, like most of the world, you absolutely adore beautiful dogs, the good news is that another is on the way for Season 3, and this time it is a precious labrador. During the Void Chaser livestreamQ&A conducted on December 12th, Nexon said, the next pup is the labrador retriever, so it will be cute.Unfortunately, for cat lovers, Nexon also said, cats dont really listen to their owners, so they might not fit the games theme.New TFD S3 featuresPerhaps the biggest feature set to be added to The First Descendant in Season 3 is photo mode. This is something fans have wanted in the game since day one, and it is intended to arrive in March as confirmed by Nexon while conducting an AMA with fans on Discord.In addition to photo mode, although it wont be available at the beginning of S3, Nexon are also planning to introduce the long-awaited jiggle physics. Nexon has said they are hoping to get jiggle physics into the game in May, which would presumably land in the second half update for the third chapter.The First Descendant Season 3 and beyond updatesBelow is everything Nexon has promised for The First Descendant Season 3 and beyond in their 2025 roadmap:Descendant and equipment:New Descendant SerenaNew main storyFour new Ultimate weaponsNew External equipmentDescendant QuestOutpost reworkBattle passNew moduleRegular skin updatesVoid Erosion Control Stage 50New Void Abyss bossNew Field:New Region-Combat contentsNew monsterGrowth:New Region Growth elementDescendant, weapon, collection bonusQoL updates:Party search systemNormal-Ultimate Descendant growth transferNew eventPhoto modeInversion reinforcement 2-2Journal improvementGrowth achievement effect improvementFor more The First Descendant, gameplay proves a shocking conspiracy theory is true. The First DescendantPlatform(s):PC, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series S, Xbox Series XGenre(s):Action, Adventure, RPG5VideoGamerSubscribe to our newsletters!By subscribing, you agree to our Privacy Policy and may receive occasional deal communications; you can unsubscribe anytime.Share