The emerging trade war between the U.S. and both Canada and Mexico may impact private construction project financing, the Associated Builders and Contractorshas warned. The statement comes as the ABC released its latest data on nonresidential construction spending.The ABC analysis of recent U.S. Census Bureau data found that nationwide nonresidential construction spending decreased by 0.2% in the month of December. On a seasonally adjusted annualized basis, nonresidential spending totaled $1.241 trillion.Decembers spending declined in 9 of 16 nonresidential subcategories. For the private nonresidential sector, spending increased by 0.1% while public nonresidential construction spending declined by 0.5%.Table credit: Associated Builders and ContractorsPublic sector nonresidential spending fell sharply in in the last month of 2024, but that decline was likely a short-term phenomenon as the transition between presidential administrations and cold weather delayed construction work...

Insomniac Games has been pumping out hit after hit for the last several years, and Marvels Spider-Man 2, released in 2023, was the developers magnum opus. It took what worked in the original game and crafted a wider web of ideas with a better open world to create something that was above and beyond special.After a fair bit of waiting, Marvels Spider-Man 2 has finally made its way to the PC platform with support from Nixxes Software. But how does it compare to the original release, what are the enhancements on offer, and most importantly how does it performance compare against the PS5 version? Without further delay, lets just jump right in and find out.Whats New?Nixxes Software has proven itself to be a more than capable developer when it comes to porting PlayStation games on the PC platform. Insomniacs in-house engine has already been ported to the PC multiple times, in the form of Marvels Spider-Man, Miles Morales and Ratchet and Clank Rift Apart, and despite the sheer fluidity all of those games displayed on the PS5, they have largely been excellent PC ports.Spider-Man 2 on the PC platform is all about pushing the limits of what was possible on the PS5, and Insomniac has given quite a few options to enhance the image quality by a further margin. Chief among these options is the flexibility that comes with ray tracing, ranging from options such as DLSS ray reconstruction to modifying the draw distance for ray tracing and more.Of course, you also get the flexibility to play in ultrawide resolution alongside options for DLSS 4.5, AMDs FSR, and Intel XeSS to upscale the image. In addition to this, theres also support for DLSS frame-generation which should help to create a smoother experience for a wide range of PC gaming hardware.In broad strokes, the visual presentation hasnt changed all that much from what we saw in the PlayStation 5 release. Its an iterative upgrade after all, but that doesnt make these updates any less important. Despite a few major fumbles, that we will later discuss in later sections, Marvels Spider-Man 2 on PC is a mostly feature-rich rendition of the PlayStation 5 release.Test Bench Specs And PC Graphical SettingsMarvels Spider-Man 2 features a plethora of graphics sliders and quality control options that allow users to find the perfect balance between fidelity and performance. As previously mentioned, you can control everything from texture quality to ray tracing distance to upscaling options and much more. Helpful texts appear as you click on any setting which can guide you on what toggle or slider impacts what part of the visual presentation, however, having distinct meters for VRAM usage alongside screenshots would have made for a much smoother experience for tinkerers such as myself.For our test purposes, we ran the game on a system comprising AMD Ryzen 9 5950X, Nvidia RTX 3080 Ti, 64 GB of RAM, and a PCI-e 4.0 NvME SSD to closely match the disk read-write speeds of the PS5. To put things into perspective, Insomniac Games recommends players have an AMD Ryzen 5 5600, 16 GB RAM, and an Nvidia GeForce RTX 3070 to play the game at high settings at 1440p and 60fps.Unsurprisingly, Marvels Spider-Man 2 can be a highly demanding game for the PC audience, which has been the case, well, for almost all major AAA games for years. Marvels Spider-Man 2 flaunts a large and detailed open world with stunning character models and textures. It was a visual stunner on the PS5 so there will always be a concern about whether it can run at stable performance on the PC.Either way, our PC rig satisfies the recommended requirements so we went ahead and tested the game on mostly maxed-out settings with ray tracing switched on and set to very high. We were running the game at a resolution of 4K, with DLSS upscaling turned to Quality mode.Comparison With PS5We compared some sequences on the PC at the aforementioned settings against the PS5s Quality mode, and the results are, well, as expected. The first boot of the game takes some time to load which is most likely due to compiling shaders to optimize performance for further runs.Once you get into the game, some improvements are immediately noticeable over the PS5s Quality mode. Textures are a bit crisper which is most likely a direct result of better upscaling thanks to DLSS 4.5. Character models and material quality seem to remain the same across the board.Coming to the ray tracing, reflections look better on the PC as compared to the PS5 Quality mode. Additional bounce lighting adds more depth to the scenes, and the difference is especially noticeable in cinematics where close-up lighting helps bring characters to life. Post-processing effects dont show much noticeable improvement over the PS5 quality mode.We turned ray tracing reflection distance to a higher setting, and that results in more detailed scenes with better attention to detail in faraway objects. Shadows are also similarly cast at far distances, giving scenes a lot more depth. World streaming works pretty well for the most part, but there are some pop-in issues that come in the way of moment-to-moment gameplay which can be a bit off putting since high-speed movement is such a big part of the Spider-Man 2 experience.PC PerformanceAs for the framerate, Marvels Spider-Man 2 on PC was running at 60fps during some sequences. That being said, there were plenty of dips during computationally demanding scenes which knocked the frame rate to the lower 30s and sometimes even to around 25fps. DLSS frame generation and upscaling do help with smoothing out those rough performance figures by some margin, but it wasnt a locked 60fps experience.The lack of a stable frame rate is a pretty big deal given that Spider-Man 2 is a fast-paced experience and the significant performance drops impact the moment-to-moment gameplay. Furthermore, we also noticed a few bugs and glitches during our tests, such as one during an initial scene where Normans eyes seemed a bit weird. These bugs and glitches are mostly visual and dont impact the gameplay all that much, but its still worth noting because these issues dont exist on the PS5 release. At the time of writing this analysis, there are a number of reports highlighting crashes and several other errors while running the game. In fact, its something we witnessed as well while reviewing the PC version. Suffice to say, Spider-Man 2 isnt exactly off to a stable start on PC.ConclusionMarvels Spider-Man 2 on PC can be a mixed bag. While it doesnt disappoint in terms of PC-exclusive features, it definitely leaves a sour taste in the mouth with performance and optimization issues across the board. Right from long shader compilation on the first boot to unstable performance and bugs, Spider-Man 2 on PC could greatly benefit from a post-launch patch that could fix such issues.Again, what makes the whole ordeal surprising is the fact that Nixxes Software has previously done similar ports with much better results. However, the silver lining to it all is that fans finally have a way to experience Spider-Man 2 on PC albeit with issues. Lets hope that all of those will be sorted out in the near future.

Gearbox has said much about how open and free the world of Borderlands 4 can be. Its not quite open-world or at least, thats not how CEO Randy Pitchford would describe it but its certainly larger than anything weve ever done. Senior project producer Anthony Nicholson has since weighed in and confirmed the presence of some open-world-like features.Were making the experience of playing the game more seamless to the player in a number of ways, he said to GamesRadar in its recent preview. Borderlands 4 does have some open-world-like features, such as seamless travel between zones, a more dynamic world with events and discoverable side missions and activities, and new traversal mechanics, all of which encourage and reward exploration.Its not to say that the team intended to create an open world game in the traditional use of that term. Instead, the sequel is expanding on the more open, explore-the-world-around-you feeling, particularly in our big zone maps that the series is known for. This time we worked to integrate these gameplay spaces together without map loads so that the players are getting a seamless experience. In a nutshell, that captures why we use the term seamless.Thankfully, traversing these maps will be easier than ever. Players can summon vehicles from anywhere like Destinys Sparrow. You can also instantaneously fast-travel to allies in co-op. It remains to be seen how the characters movement options have changed, but with a gameplay reveal coming early this year, we may learn more sooner than later.Borderlands 4 is out this year for Xbox Series X/S, PS5, and PC. Nicholson also recently confirmed the presence of billions of weapons and accessories. Head here for more information.

Experts think the sketch dates to between 1809 and 1814. TennantsA previously unknown oil sketch by the renowned British landscape artistJohn Constable is headed to auction. The early 19th-century artwork depicts Dedham Vale, a green, sprawling valley some 70 miles northeast of London. Its thought to be an early draft of Constables 1815 paintingView of Dedham Vale From East Bergholt.The 12- by 15-inch sketch will be sold at Tennants Auctioneers next month, and its expected to fetch as much as 200,000 (about $250,000), according to astatement from the auction house. Constables impressive and vigorous earlyplein-air sketch depicts the green, rolling countryside near his childhood home. I shall never cease to paint such places, he laterwrote. They have always been my delight.Oil sketches, much like drawings, have an immediacya direct link to the mind and working practices of an artist, says Jane Tennant, director and auctioneer with Tennants, in the statement. As she tells BBC News Georgia Levy-Collins, It will cause great excitement, no doubt, in the auction world. The sketch may be an early draft of Constable's View of Dedham Vale From East Bergholt(1815). Bavarian State Painting Collections, MunichBorn in1776, a young Constable first learned to paint from a Suffolk plumber and amateur artist. Growing up, he sketched the countryside: Its natural scenes made me a painter, and I am grateful, he laterwrote. The sound of water escaping from mill dams willows, old rotten planks, slimy posts and brickwork. I love such things.Constable began studying art in 1802 at theRoyal Academy Schools, where he rejected classical landscape painting styles in favor of the guidance of nature herself. When he returned home, Constable developed a colorful and highly expressive oil sketching style, which is evident in the piece being auctioned, per the statement.Executed when he was just starting out on his extraordinary career, he has managed to imbue the sketchily painted landscape with such vitality with his deft handling of dramatic light and shade, says the auction house.Based on the sketchs style, experts have dated it to between 1809 and 1814, as Tennant says in a video. The piece depicts Dedham Vale from the north, looking towards the nearby village of Langham. Compared to similarly dated Constable sketches, this one has a more dramatic use of light and shade, exemplified by a burst of sunlight through the clouds illuminating the bottom of the valley, Tennant adds.An Early Sketch by John ConstableWatch on She suggests that the sketch is an early version of Constables finished painting, View of Dedham Vale From East Bergholt. The final painting includes additional people and animals in the foreground but keeps the same sunlight breaking through distant clouds.Constables artistic attraction to nature was imbued with sentimentality. As he oncewrote to a friend, I should paint my own places bestpainting is but another word for feeling. Due to the artists special attention to Dedham Vale, the area earned the moniker Constable Country.Its not every day that a work by Constable comes to auction, as Tennant tellsArtnets Brian Boucher. Though the sketchs owners always knew it to be a Constable work, it hasnt previously been recorded in the literature, she adds. But as we have seen time and time again, thats what makes the art world interesting!Get the latest stories in your inbox every weekday.Filed Under: Art, Art History, Artists, Arts, Auctions, British History, England, Nature, Painters, Painting, Visual Arts

Chorus waves can produce high-energy killer electrons that can damage satellites. Michael Dunning via Getty ImagesScientists have detected something strange in Earths magnetosphere, some 100,000 miles away from the ground. Split-second bursts of energy known as chorus waves were found chirping in an area where theyve never been seen before, baffling researchers.To be clear, theres no actual chirping being heard in space, since space is a vacuum that doesnt transmit sound. Chorus waves, instead, earned their name because they sound like birdsong when converted to audio signals. Theyve been picked up since the late 1960s at the Halley Research Station in Antarctica. NASA has also detected the waves with its Van Allen Probes, which measure the radiation belts surrounding our planet.Until now, these waves were observed to occur close to Earth, around 32,000 miles away. But using NASAs Magnetospheric Multiscale mission, researchers found chorus waves at much more distant locations, placing them in an area that challenges the existing theory on how these perturbations are produced. The findings were published in the journalNature in January.Its a very important paper, says study co-author James Burch of the Southwest Research Institute to Jonathan OCallaghan at Scientific American. This could be occurring anywhere in the universe where theres a magnetic field, which is just about everywhere.Scientists previously thought that chorus waves could only be generated near a dipolar magnetic fieldthat is, one with a north and south pole, like the one surrounding Earth. Theyve also been found around other planets with magnetic fields, such as Saturn and Jupiter.The leading idea suggests these waves are caused by plasma instabilityionized gas thats outside its equilibrium state. This disturbance can lead electrons to behave chaotically, spiraling along Earths magnetic field lines and producing radiation that interacts with other electrons. The resulting chorus waves travel along the curved magnetic field from pole to pole, creating their chirp as they go.But these newly detected waves were found in a strongly stretched, relatively flat and distant region of the magnetosphere, pointing to another possible reason for their occurrence. Instead, they could be produced by changes in frequency across the magnetic field, per Scientific American.Experts arent ruling out the original theory entirely, but the new paper suggests a need for more research. It is a surprising result in a surprising region, and it prompts further investigation of chorus waves in regions in which Earths magnetic field deviates substantially from a dipole,Richard Horne, head of space weather at the British Antarctic Survey who contributed to peer review of the study, writes in a commentary on the paper for Nature.Its very captivating, very compelling, Allison Jaynes, a space weather physicist at the University of Iowa who was not involved in the study, says to Adithi Ramakrishnan of the Associated Press. We definitely need to find more of these events.The team also spotted an electron hole, or an absence of electrons at a particular spot in the wave. That observation offers a key piece of evidence in support of the chorus wave theory, Horne writes.These findings have important practical implications for future space exploration, because chorus waves have the ability to produce high-energy killer electrons that can scramble satellite communications. Understanding these powerful particles could also help protect astronauts on human missions.If youre pumping electrons up to very high energies, you want to know, for crewed spaceflight and spacecraft assets, how many of these killer electrons are in the magnetosphere, Jaynes adds to Scientific American. Chorus waves are very important to understand that.Get the latest stories in your inbox every weekday.Filed Under: Astronomy, Mysteries, NASA, New Research, Outer Space, Satellites, Weather

Electronic Arts developer and publisher of games like Madden and EA Football Club has announced an extensive community testing initiative for their latest and thus far untitled next Battlefield game. If successful, this project could mean a much more player-focused testing path for multiplayer games before launch. Dubbed Battlefield LabsRead More

The Entertainment Software Association said it is concerned that tariffs on video game devices and related products could cause significant harm to Americans and the fast growing sector. In a statement first published by Kotaku, the game industrys lobbying group has asked President Donald Trump and the United States government to consult with the private sector on the tariffs.Video games are one of the most popular and beloved forms of entertainment for Americans of all ages. Tariffs on video game devices and related products would negatively impact hundreds of millions of Americans and would harm the industrys significant contributions to the U.S. economy. We look forward to working with the Administration and Congress to find ways to sustain the economic growth supported by our sector, the ESA statement said. While digital game software can avoid the tariffs, physical products like game discs and consoles will likely be hit with tariffs, as those are made overseas. China, Mexico and Canada were hit with tariffs on Saturday. Its not yet known how much prices will be affected for the PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, computer graphics cards, and the upcoming Nintendo Switch 2.Regarding Mexico, Trump tweeted this morning that he had reached a deal with Mexicos president to postpone the tariffs for a month while the Mexican authorities send 10,000 troops to the border to deal with illegal immigration and drug smuggling.Daily insights on business use cases with VB DailyIf you want to impress your boss, VB Daily has you covered. We give you the inside scoop on what companies are doing with generative AI, from regulatory shifts to practical deployments, so you can share insights for maximum ROI.Read our Privacy PolicyThanks for subscribing. Check out more VB newsletters here.An error occured.

Wizardry: Proving Grounds of the Mad Overlord wins Grammy | News-in-brief

Sonic the Hedgehog 3 becomes second-highest-grossing video game movie of all timeEarning $462m worldwide, Sonic 3 has surpassed Detective Pikachu's $450mImage credit: Paramount Pictures News by Vikki Blake Contributor Published on Feb. 3, 2025 Sonic the Hedgehog 3 has become the second-highest-grossing video game movie of all time.Second only to The Super Mario Bros. Movie's $1.26bn, the third Sonic the Hedgehog movie has earned $462m worldwide, cementing itself as one of the world's most successful video game movies ever.By comparison, Detective Pikachu grossed $450m, whilst 2016's Warcraft secured $439m.Rampage, Uncharted, and the second Sonic the Hedgehog movie grossed $428m, $407m, and $405m, respectively.Sonic the Hedgehog 4 will release in cinemas on March 19, 2027.

Justin Carter, Contributing EditorFebruary 3, 20252 Min ReadImage via Nintendo.At a GlanceThe ESA warns that new tariffs against China, Mexico, and Canada may have a negative effect on console and accessory sales.The Entertainment Software Association is warning that the incoming tariffs in place by the Trump administration will cause "significant harm" to video games and everyday Americans.In a statement to Kotaku's Ethan Gach, the trade group said the tariffs could affect "Americans of all ages across the country." It later issued a modified statement that reiterated how the tariffs will "negatively impact hundreds of millions of Americans and would harm the industrys significant contributions to the U.S. economy."Over the weekend, President Trump signed an order to impose tariffs on goods coming from Mexico, China, and Canada, most of which are set to take place tomorow, February 4. Semiconductors, which are used to make game consoles (like the PlayStation 5 and Nintendo Switch 2) and accessory hardware, are included in those tariffs.Several electronics companies have semiconductor factories in Mexico and China. The former's 25 percent tariff is currently paused, but China's 10 percent tax is still in effect at time of writing. Tariffs against China have previously threatened to affect the price of game consoles in the US, but did not manifest.While the exact implications of President Trump's tariffs are presently unclear, hardware makers like Sony and Microsoft have released newer, often pricier iterations of their consoles. Sony in particular upped the price of its original PlayStation 5 system in several territories when semiconductors were in short supply a few years ago.The ESA added that it would work with Congress and the Trump administration to "find ways to sustain the economic growth supported by our sector."Video games and the industry at larger may be further affected by the Trump administration due to its connection to the Heritage Foundation's Project 2025. The document includes a wider-reaching definition of pornography (which could affect developers that feature transgender characters or include inclusive character creators), and lets agencies hold platform holders and digital storefronts liable for the content they store.About the AuthorJustin CarterContributing Editor, GameDeveloper.comA Kansas City, MO native, Justin Carter has written for numerous sites including IGN, Polygon, and SyFy Wire. In addition to Game Developer, his writing can be found at io9 over on Gizmodo. Don't ask him about how much gum he's had, because the answer will be more than he's willing to admit.See more from Justin CarterDaily news, dev blogs, and stories from Game Developer straight to your inboxStay UpdatedYou May Also Like