New James Webb Space Telescope observations of a star cluster called NGC 346 are shedding light on how, when and where planets formed in the early universe.

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Now that I have completed the famous donut tutorial (still waiting for my video render) Whats a good next tutorial or exercise ? Ive tried to do a pancake pile on my own but it was very hard. Im struggling to know from where to start and what tools to use. I guess its just practice but I feel all alone after just one big tutorial. So what would be a good next step as a beginner in 3D modeling ? Thanks! submitted by /u/angecroft [link] [comments]

The Sims is celebrating its 25-year anniversary on February 4, 2025. Below, we speak with a key franchise executive about its enduring legacy across four games and beyond.Few franchises have resonated with gamers of all ages, genders, and skill levels over the past 25 years as much as The Sims. Across its four mainline games, numerous expansions, and vast array of quirky spin-offs, The Sims has left a significant impact on not just PC gaming, but the video game industry as a whole. To celebrate the series' 25th anniversary, developer Maxis has re-released The Sims 1 and The Sims 2 on PC with Windows 10 and 11 support. According to The Sims' VP of Franchise Creative, Lyndsay Pearson, these re-releases have been a long time coming."We had one laptop that floated around the office and didn't connect to the internet that we could open up and play The Sims 1 and 2 on. I joked with our studio's technical director all the time. I'd show up in his cubicle every other day like, 'Is it time now? Can we do it now?' We definitely know that there's a big love for those products, and I think reintroducing them would be quite a kick because players who've never played those early generations of The Sims would actually be surprised by how different they are in a lot of ways."It's now possible to check out The Sims 1 and The Sims 2 on PC and come to that conclusion for yourself. However, I remained interested in just what differences and changes stood out to Pearson and the rest of The Sims team. Ahead of The Sims 25th anniversary, I had a conversation with Pearson about her history with The Sims, why each game in the series has resonated with players in a unique way, and the place spin-offs and games like Project Rene have in the series going forward. The Sims (2000)Released on February 4, 2000, The Sims famously revolutionized simulation video games. Nothing played quite like what Pearson describes as a "hyperbolized version of life," in which players micromanaged the lives of Sims and customized their homes. GameSpot praised The Sims upon its release, noting that players could easily get "engrossed in The Sims' bright-looking, real-sounding, and highly detailed world of miniature people."Looking back, Pearson thinks The Sims resonated with so many people and kickstarted a franchise because it was so different from anything else in gaming at the time."The base premise was so mundane; it's just these little people that live in a house. But it was such a canvas for unpredictable, creative things. People created houses and space and really off-the-wall stories early on, almost in spite of the simulationIt opened up totally different ways to play that I feel like you hadn't seen in games before. When people had thought of simulation before, it was very much about how to recreate a real-life thing. The Sims turned that on its head and said it doesn't actually have to be entirely real life."The Sims was a critical darling and best-seller, eventually overtaking Myst as the best-selling PC game ever. EA had a franchise on its hands, and supported The Sims with seven post-launch expansions. Eventually, Maxis created an even bigger and better sequel. The Sims 2 (2004)Released on September 14, 2004, The Sims 2 took the core of what worked so well about The Sims and expanded upon it. The Sims 2 was the first game in the series to be fully 3D, and deepened the number of customization and interaction options players had at their disposal while also cutting away some of the series' more frustrating qualities. Sims gained the ability to create memories and have aspirations and lifetime wants, deepening the potential for emergent storytelling. Pearson believes "interconnectedness" is The Sims 2's greatest strength."The Sims 1 was very much a simulation, but The Sims 2 took it to a different level. You introduced a lot of interconnectedness with the families because now they had lifetimes and family relationshipsIntroducing backstories and memories, it was this whole new layer of The Sims universe, and I think it changed the way that we think about The Sims' world. Who are these little people that live there? Why? What are their motivations? What do they care about? What are they worried about?"The Sims 2 was once again a critical and commercial success because it gave players the tools to ask and answer those questions. GameSpot's review of The Sims 2 highlights that it "successfully took just about everything that was great about the first game and brought it up a notch." From a development perspective, it's also Pearson's favorite in the series, as it was the first The Sims game she worked on from start to finish.Between 2004 and 2008, The Sims 2 received eight expansions and 10 Stuff Packs. All that extra content made The Sims 2 a very robust, comprehensive package, but also made the jump from The Sims 2 to The Sims 3 all the more daunting for the developers. Maxis grappled with stripping back features with the intial version of each new game as they rebuilt from a new base. Pearson recalled the stress of knowing that each new addition to The Sims 2 would raise expectations regarding the content in potential sequels."Any time we move on, we would love to have taken everything that was there and brought everything over. But the reality is that the core feature changes in The Sims 3 and The Sims 4 changed so much about how everything worked that we couldn't really lift everything one to oneEven though it's really hard to go back to square one, it's an opportunity to look within the context of the engine, world, and conceits we've built and reenvision them." The Sims 3 (2009)A big reenvisioning happened with The Sims 3, released on June 2, 2009. Players could now explore an open-world neighborhood with their Sim, eliciting the feeling of being something like a god subtly directing these digital people's lives. Reflecting on The Sims 3, Pearson believes that its greatest strength was being an engine for organic storytelling."The Sims 3 was much more about organic storytelling. I'm going to take my Sim out into the world and see who they run into, and then I'm going to make up a story from there. You could organically discover more story, which changes how you think about design and systems because you're driving players to do a different kind of thing."GameSpot offered similar praise to The Sims 3 in its review, complimenting how "it offers the element of surprise, showing off its abundant charms through funny social interactions that make you want to be part of the improved virtual community." It was another multi-million seller, receiving 11 expansions and nine stuff packs. It's the game in the franchise that I've personally sunk the most time into because of how charming it felt to explore those open worlds with Sims I played a part in creating. Still, The Sims franchise continued to march on. The Sims 4 (2014)Around nine-and-a-half years passed between the launch of The Sims 1 and The Sims 3. Released on September 2, 2014, The Sims 4 has now been around as the primary Sims game for even longer than that. Pearson says the main goal of The Sims 4 is to make the individual Sims feel more like real people."How do we make them more believable as little people? That encompassed everything from their personalities and traits to how they interacted with the other Sims around them and built relationshipsThe heart of The Sims is that relationship between me and my characters, as well as my characters to each other. Some players like to control every little bit. Some players like to sit back and see what happens. You have to accommodate both, and I think over the past 10 years in The Sims 4, we've been able to experiment on both ends of that spectrum.Initially, The Sims 4 didn't land quite as cleanly to players and critics. GameSpot criticized the fact that "far too many series features have been frustratingly pruned or removed" when reviewing the launch version of the game. Over 10 years, 17 expansions, 12 game packs, and countless more updates later, though, The Sims 4 is in a much better place as a live-service life sim.The Best Sims 4 Mods Spin-offs and the futureRunning concurrently with all of these mainline games were numerous--and often a bit bizarre--spin-offs. That effort started with The Sims Online, but has gone on to encompass titles like The Urbz: Sims in the City, the MySims sub-franchise, and The Sims Medieval. Pearson looks back at all of these spin-offs very fondly."The reason The Sims did those spin-offs then and the reason we still think about things like that now is we're always trying to offer different entry points into The Sims for everyone. Maybe you're not totally interested in this big life sim that could feel daunting, and you want to start with something more cozy; that's what MySims was going after. I was always on the core Sims teams, but I worked closely with all of those teams over the years and was very jealous."As support for The Sims 4 continues, EA is embracing spin-offs again. Last November, MySims: Cozy Bundle launched on Nintendo Switch, and it's coming to PC in March. The mysterious Project Rene is also in development and does not appear to be The Sims 5. Speaking on Project Rene, Pearson had a quite bullish view on exploring the potential of standalone The Sims spin-offs."There's nothing but opportunity for us to look at and ask how we could take this notion of the standalone spin-off in The Sims universe and explore it further. From a design side, how do we leverage all the stories we introduced in all these spin-offs to keep adding to our universal lore? We're always looking at a number of projects to create those different entry points to the franchise, and I think that it comes down to which game is going to talk to which audience at which time. Whether it's a Project Rene or the Cozy Bundle re-release, it's all about what we are trying to offer and how it plugs into the broader universe."The Sims is still trying to find new ways to surprise players 25 years on. Finally giving players an easy way to play MySims and check out the two games that kickstarted the franchise is one way to do that. Now that EA has embraced the series' past, it can look forward to games like Project Rene and continue work on what The Sims will become over the next 25 years.

Marvel Rivals has made quite an impact within the first two seasons, debuting with a roster of over thirty different characters to choose from across the three roles of Vanguard, Duelist, and Strategist. In addition to this, Competitive Play was launched very promptly after the game went live for players, letting everyone dive into grinding up the Ranks and earning seasonal cosmetic rewards as soon as they hit Player Level 10.

Launched in Japan in 2016,Persona 5earned itself a place as one of the best JRPGs of the last decade, and for many gamers, it is one of the greatest in the genre. The Personaseries is a spin-off from the mothership Shin Megami Tensei series. While it maintains many of the same themes from the mainline series, the Persona games implement visual novel and dating sim mechanics.

Doom: The Dark Ages is coming to Xbox, PlayStation, and PC on May 13. The latest chapter in the Doom Slayers saga promises to be more grounded than previous installments, with a decreased emphasis on mid-air platforming and traversal, while placing a greater focus on melee combat, thanks to a new parry system and a variety of brutal medieval weapons to enhance your arsenal.While Doom: The Dark Ages will be available to play on launch day for PC and Xbox, if you have a current Xbox Game Pass subscription, pre-ordering your own copy of the game entitles you to the Void Doom Slayer skin and other potential bonuses depending on which edition you pre-order. Below weve detailed what you get with each edition and where you can reserve a copy.Doom: The Dark Ages Standard EditionThe standard, $69.99 edition of Doom: The Dark Ages, doesnt come packaged with any specific bonuses aside from the Void Doom Slayer Skin. Currently, you can pre-order a copy for Xbox or PlayStation from Amazon, Best Buy, GameStop, Walmart, or Target. The PC version of the game is available to reserve from Steam, GMG, or Fanatical.Doom: The Dark Ages Premium EditionThe Premium Edition of Doom: The Dark Ages costs $99.99, but comes with several additional perks. Specifically, this version includes a digital artbook and soundtrack, along with a trio of in-game skins for the Doom Slayer, dragon, and Atlan. Youll also get access to the first piece of post-launch campaign DLC when it arrives, but the coolest benefit with the Premium Edition is the ability to play the game up to two days early, on May 11.Pre-orders for the Premium Edition on Xbox or PlayStation can be placed at Amazon, GameStop, Best Buy, or Walmart, or Target, while the PC version can be reserved from Steam, GMG, or Fanatical.If youve already pre-ordered the digital version of Doom: The Dark Ages for Xbox or PlayStation and want to get access to all of these benefits, you also have the option of purchasing a Premium Upgrade for $34.99.Doom: The Dark Ages Collectors BundleIf you some physical collectibles with your copy of Doom: The Dark Ages, your only option is the $199.99 Collectors Bundle. In addition to all of the in-game bonuses featured in the Premium Edition, including two-day early access, the Collectors Bundle comes packaged with a few pieces of Doom memorabilia. Inside, youll find a 12-inch statue of the Doom Slayer and a replica of the runic red keycard from the game, hidden inside an exclusive Steelbook case.If youre playing on PC, you can pre-order the Collectors Bundle from the Bethesda Gear Store, while copies for Xbox and PlayStation are available via the Microsoft Store and PlayStation Direct, respectively.

AI-driven UX curates familiarity, but in doing so, it narrows the path to new experiences.Credit: B. Godart/ShutterstockIts Monday, and youre on your way to work. Bracing for 45 minutes of bumper-to-bumper hell, you set your playlist to Commute. Maybe, like me, your music taste is rooted in nostalgia. In my case, that means 90s and 2000s alternative rockbands like Radiohead, Cake, and Queens of the StoneAge.I use Spotify, which primarily employs advanced algorithms to recommend music based on my listening habits. Which unsurprisingly prescribes similar music to that of my benchmark alt-rock preferences. Its an safe and effective method to keep listeners engaged.But this predictable system of content delivery raises an important questionif my baseline music preferences were shaped by happenstance rather than algorithms, what does that imply about the role of algorithms in shaping my futuretastes?You Cant Have Your Cake and Stream ItTooWhen I was fourteen, my aunt bought me my first music CDFashion Nugget by Cake. I hadn't heard of them before, but she thought I might like them. My aunt was rightI loved their music, and I still do. I must have listened to that disc hundreds oftimes.Cake had a distinct sounddeadpan vocals, funky bass, and trumpet accentsthat stood out in the late 90s. Their music felt effortless yet unique, mixing irony with solidrhythms.Fashion Nugget by Cake |1996But times have changed. Nobody buys music for anyone anymore. Random opportunities to discover new artists died along with the surprise of answering the phone without knowing whoscalling.Paradoxically, we now have more music at our fingertips than ever, yet organic discovery is disappearing. AI-driven platforms like Spotify are among the many digital products stripping the soul from lifes unpredictable momentsthe kind that once led to unexpected joys.So, whats the point of this personal anecdote?This story isnt just about how music discovery has changedit highlights a fundamental paradox in modern user experience (UX). In our quest for seamlessness, we may be eliminating the very friction that sparks new preferences.The Evolution of PersonalizationFrom Exploration toCurationEvery preference we hold today was once an unknown. Whether its a favorite music genre, a preferred app layout, or a go-to news source, these affinities took shape through unfiltered exploration or chance encounters.In the beginning, streaming apps and digital platforms offer a broad mix of options. As we engage, algorithms gradually narrow the selection to match our tastes. While this personalization enhances convenience, it also limits exposure, reinforcing familiar choices rather than expanding our horizons.Beyond entertainment, AI-driven curation shapes our social interactions as well. Social and dating apps steer us toward like-minded circles, creating curated bubbles where we primarily encounter content and people who align with our existing or assumed preferences.In my own life, its possible that algorithm-driven dating apps would have filtered out my wife and me as a match due to our ten-year age gap, preventing us from ever meeting. But we met organically, beyond the reach of algorithmic matchmaking, and have been happily married for over 15years.The Need for Intentional ExplorationIf UX designers want to preserve the richness of discovery, we must rethink how personalization is implemented. Rather than functioning as a closed-loop system that continuously refines itself based on past behaviors, personalization should integrate opportunities for users to encounter the unfamiliar.Much like my aunt handing me a CD of a band Id never heard of, platforms should introduce a degree of randomnessoccasional recommendations that fall outside of a users habitual selections.This could mean offering an Exploration Mode, where users can temporarily suspend hyper-personalization and engage with a broader range ofcontent.Some popular platforms do offer ways to explore beyond personalization, but none fully suspend it. YouTube, Spotify, Twitter/X, Reddit, and Google have features that broaden content, but algorithms still heavily shape recommendations.We could push beyond an Exploration Mode with bold, disruptive ideas that encourage real-world engagement. For example, a Swap Preferences Mode could let users temporarily adopt someone elses content profile. You might discover that buttoned-up Steve from Accounts Receivable has a deep love for death metalan instant conversation starter.Or take it a step further with Blackout Modea designated period when certain digital services are deliberately unavailable, nudging users to engage with the offlineworld.Imagine once again flipping through radio stations or TV channels, stumbling upon something new and unexpected. Or picking up the phone to reconnect with an old friend, leading to a meaningful conversation. Even browsing a random book or magazine could spark new interests. This kind of friction adds variety to our livessomething algorithms struggle to replicate.Of course, these features would require an opt-in preferencebut the key point is that we need to explore creative ways to ensure exposure to new content beyond our comfortzones.Balancing Convenience andGrowthPersonalization in UX can unquestionably boost satisfaction and efficiency, but unchecked optimization can also confine users within self-reinforcing bubbles.AI-driven platforms that rely heavily on past preferences risk stifling the ability to discover, grow, and adapt. In such a world of hyper-personalization, you can only enjoy your Cake if you already know exactly what it tastes likeleaving little room for newflavors.For UX designers, the real challenge is finding balance. By leveraging AI without sacrificing spontaneity, we can preserve the magic of discovery. If UX is to remain truly user-centric, it must not only serve who users are today but also create opportunities for who they mightbecome.Dont miss out! Join my email list and receive the latestcontent.The paradox of UX personalization was originally published in UX Collective on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

Managing productdesignBalancing production and plannedeffortsAs a staff product designer in various startups, I build designs from the ground up, balancing immediate tasks with long-term goals. I can work several steps ahead of production or juggle multiple features with varying priorities and implementation ETAs.I needed to design an internal solution to help me quickly map and manage the following:Current production statusEasily view the end-to-end product flow (aka the live version), including key touchpoints, notifications triggered by user actions, micro-interactions, andcontent.Planned efforts and their statusQuickly identify any ongoing efforts before initiating new solutions. This is crucial for determining whether to replace, complete, or abandon the plannedeffort.Managing multiple versions of elementsDevelop a clear strategy to manage both short- and long-term versions of elements, ensuring consistency, tracking changes, and aligning with evolving productneeds.Freezing the dev version for updatesEstablish a method to lock the design for the dev team, ensuring it stays synced with a specific ticket while allowing me to continue refining the design for futurephases.Start with the No ticket, no designruleSince the pulse of implementation lies in the tickets, I established a rule: No design would be created or modified without a ticket. Whether it was a text update or a new screen, there had to be a ticket detailing the why and thehow.This approach effectively ended the tiny tweaks I used to make on the fly and consolidated everything into the same pipeline. Assuming small tweaks would be implemented immediately was a mistake. This system helped avoid situations where I thought something was live, but itwasnt.Sync tasks with the design workspaceI started by integrating Figma (where the content design lives) and Miro (where the flows are) with the ticket number and a directlink.Elements reflecting production had no indication. For advanced versions of the same element, I duplicated a new version below the current one. Above the duplicate, I added a ticket indicator, task name, direct link, and a summary of thechanges.Then, I started working on the design. In other words, I didnt override the current design with a new one; instead, I kept both versions, one above the other, along with a reference to the detailedticket.The top shows the screen as it appears in production (without an indicator). The bottom shows the updated, pending implementation, screen (with the ticket indicator).The first screen shows a new design, the second shows the planned update below the production version, and the remaining three are in production.In some cases, I didnt duplicate the design but had a list of open tickets. Its really about what feels right and does thejob.The ClickUp tickets as shown in Figmamy notes immediately told me what each task wasabout.How to create the indicatorI started with a basic indicator I designed. While it indicated an open task and directed to the ticket, it wasnt updated with the status, and I had to wait for the release note to make the updates. Later on, I discovered that ClickUp (the task management platform I recently worked with) had a great plugin for Figma, integrating the two apps and allowing for status updates with a single clickTicket Sync. Theres also a built-in integration forMiro.The great thing about this approach is that it lets you quickly see the efforts for each section of the product and easily zoom in for moredetails.Another valuable perk: you can quickly scan the design for specific statusessuch as identifying tasks that need refinement or those already releasedfor easy comparison with release notes. It also helps map all efforts under the same task by searching for the taskID.Searching task statuses in Figma for a birds-eye view of the implementation progress.The same goes for Mirothe ticket indicates there are changes in the flow. I used red to highlight thechanges.Freeze designs (to keep developers cool)Once the design was ready for dev, I duplicated it into a dedicated Figma file, naming it with the ticket number. This file is attached to theticket.In the dedicated Figma file, new items were marked along with the detailed ticket, while unrelated parts to the specific effort were removed or blurred, making it clear they were not part of the ticket. In other words, its a frozen version of the design for the specific ticket, as agreed during refinement.This approach allows me to continue working on my design while maintaining a single version that includes all designefforts.As a lead designer in a startup environment, this approach is the key to staying organized and maintaining clear communication in the ever-shifting startup landscape. By linking design work directly to tickets and using a structured workflow, I can stay on top of production while also keeping product managers and stakeholders informed. This system has proven essential in streamlining my design process and ensuring everyone is aligned, helping us move forward efficiently without losing sight of the biggerpicture.Managing product design: balancing production and planned efforts was originally published in UX Collective on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

The latest rumor around the OnePlus Open 2 is that it'll get macro support on the telephoto camera for more versatility.