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This months free Unreal Engine 5 learning content covers a wide range of topics, from creating stylized, hand-drawn-looking water ripples for your projects to animating MetaHumans with the Game Animation Sample Project.In the latest Epic tutorial from the staff, youll learn how to create a simple, easily customizable, and animated material that can be art-directed to fit your aesthetic. Another guide dives into programming C++ and Blueprint classes to integrate a neural network into the render graph pipeline, enabling neural post-processing on the final rendered images. Theres also a quick and easy tip available for creating realistic, atmospheric god rays using raytraced shadows in the engine.As for popular community tutorials, David Edwards prepared a beginner-friendly tutorial on Procedural Content Generation (PCG) tools. Learn how to dynamically scatter assets across landscapes, apply advanced filtering techniques for precise placement, and utilize tags and splines to create immersive and optimized environments.Andrejek Bojan shared an article on MetaHuman customization in Unreal Engine 5, covering materials, textures, geometry, hair, and garments. It highlights workflows like morph target editing, texture painting with Substance 3D Painter, and panel-based garment creation, offering tips on optimizing performance and enhancing realism to help developers create unique, project-specific characters.Reza Sarkamaris guide covers the key aspects of the Color Grading panel, which centralizes scene color adjustments by managing actors with color grading properties like Post Process Volumes and Color Correction Regions.Also, dive into the world of visual effects with Viral Shahs tutorial on creating realistic smoke and fog in Unreal Engine 5, which is suitable for both beginners and experienced developers:Finally, dont forget about Epic talks and demos. A recorded talk from Unreal Fest Seattle 2024 will teach you how to animate MetaHumans using the Game Animation Sample Project, covering everything from importing and manipulating character animations, switching characters dynamically, creating cinematic camera sequences, and the MetaHuman Mesh-to-MetaHuman workflow. Another talk will detail how Survios built an immersive tech stack for Alien: Rogue Incursion using Unreal Engine 5, focusing on utilizing Chaos Physics, Enhanced Input, and the Gameplay Ability System to enhance VR game development.Dive in and start learning here. Also, join our80 Level Talent platformand ournew Discord server, follow us onInstagram,Twitter,LinkedIn,Telegram,TikTok, andThreads, where we share breakdowns, the latest news, awesome artworks, and more.Source link The post Learn Animating MetaHumans & Explore PCG Tools With Februarys Free Unreal Engine 5 Courses appeared first on CG SHARES.

Steam is no doubt the dominant force in game distribution, almost a monopoly, even though companies like Epic Games try to compete. Amazons Prime Gaming also wished to overthrow Valves platform, but it couldnt, and its VP, Ethan Evans, went to LinkedIn to share why this Goliath, as he calls Amazon, couldnt find a working plan.As VP of Prime Gaming at Amazon, we failed multiple times to disrupt the game platform Steam. We were at least 250x bigger, and we tried everything. But ultimately, Goliath lost.He says no one at Amazon cracked the code because they ultimately underestimated what made consumers use Steam.First, Amazon bought the Reflexive Entertainment PC game store and tried to scale it, then it acquired Twitch and made its own marketplace: Our assumption was that gamers would naturally buy from us because they were already using Twitch. Wrong.Finally, the company built Luna, a Stadia-like streaming service that allowed people to play without a high-end PC. And we know where Stadia is now. The whole time, Steam dominated despite being a relatively small company (compared to Amazon and Google).Steam was a store, a social network, a library, and a trophy case all in one. And it worked well, Evans says.Amazon, naively, I must add, assumed that its size and fame would be enough, but it underestimated the power of existing user habits.We never validated our core assumptions before investing heavily in solutions. The truth is that gamers already had the solution to their problems, and they werent going to switch platforms just because a new one was available.Amazon had to make something better but couldnt. And we needed to validate our assumptions about our customers before starting to build. But we never really did that either.Just because you are big enough to build something doesnt mean people will use it, Evans concludes, and I cant agree more. Unfortunately, we often see big bosses failing to understand what simple people wish for, and this is why such decisions should be discussed with the audience, not the bigwigs who care about money and hardly even use the stuff they propose, Im pretty sure.Reflecting on these mistakes, I realize how crucial it is to deeply understand customers before making big moves, Evans continues, referencing leadership coach James Birchlers guide on obtaining customer insights and using them:Talk to real customers before writing codeTest assumptions, not just featuresBuild measurement into your processYes, I know what you think: it sounds like the most obvious thing ever, but I suppose its not that clear from up there.I wish Amazon had followed James playbook before trying to take on Steam, Evans tells his LinkedIn audience. Well, at least he admits that this humbling situation, Amazons worst assumption, happened.What do you think Amazon needed to compete with Steam? Join our80 Level Talent platformand ournew Discord server, follow us onInstagram,Twitter,LinkedIn,Telegram,TikTok, andThreads,where we share breakdowns, the latest news, awesome artworks, and more.Source link The post VP of Prime Gaming Tells Story of How Goliath Amazon Lost to Steam appeared first on CG SHARES.

When it comes to treasure, smooth gunplay, and chatterbox robots, Borderlands is in a class of its own. A new mainline entry in the looter-shooter series is set to arrive soon, and this new chapter in the ongoing saga of Vault Hunters and alien booty looks set to introduce some interesting changes to the formula of this long-running series. Ahead of its release in September, we've gathered up everything we know about Borderlands 4 so far, and what you can expect from the game when it's unleashed on PC and console.Table of Contents [hide]When will Borderlands 4 be released?Borderlands 4 trailerBorderlands 4 platformsWhen will Borderlands 4 be released?Borderlands 4 will be released on September 23, and is one of several big games that Take-Two has lined up for the year. With a confirmed release date for the new Borderlands, it looks like the launch date for the highly anticipated GTA 6 is coming into view, as Take-Two is looking to have a comfortable gap between each AAA game release.Borderlands 4 trailer Borderlands 4 platformsBorderlands 4 will launch for PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X|S.Continue Reading at GameSpot

The Lord of the Rings x The Woobles Crochet Kits Crochet Frodo, Gandalf, Gollum, and a Balrog See the full set at The Woobles Preorder the Collector's Box Popular crochet kit manufacturer The Woobles just launched a new collaboration with The Lord of the Rings. The adorable lineup includes four characters from Tolkien's classic fantasy novel, and there's even a Collector's Box that comes with the full set as well as some bonus merch. The Woobles Lord of the Rings Collector's Box includes everything needed to crochet Gandalf, Frodo, Gollum, and a Balrog. The Woobles expects to ship preorders around May 15. It's quite expensive at $195, but it's worth noting you can buy each character separately or in a bundle without the extras for less.Here's a list of all of The Lord of the Rings Woobles products. Every product except for the Collector's Box is available to ship now. Each of the character bundles includes an accessory that is otherwise sold separately.The Lord of the Rings Collector's Box -- $195 | Launch Week SaleThe Lord of the Rings Them All Bundle (All four character bundles) -- $165 ($193) | Launch Week SaleGandalf: You Shall Not Pass This Up Bundle -- $45 ($47)Gandalf Crochet Kit -- $40Frodo-mazing Fellowship Bundle -- $45 ($47)Frodo Crochet Kit -- $40Gollum-believably Great Bundle -- $45 ($47)Gollum Crochet Kit -- $40Balrog: Whip Whip Hooray Bundle -- $50 ($52)Balrog Crochet Kit -- $45Tiny Balrog's Fire Whip Accessory Kit -- $7Tiny Gollum's Fish Accessory Kit -- $7Tiny Sting Accessory Kit -- $7Tiny Gandalf Accessory Kit -- $7 The Lord of the Rings x The Woobles Crochet Kits Crochet Frodo, Gandalf, Gollum, and a Balrog Inside the Collectors Box, youll find tons of accessories and tools--but more importantly, youll get step-by-step video tutorials to help you through the entire process. Some of these projects are technically billed as intermediate-level projects, but with the comprehensive videos and Easy Peasy Yarn (designed to withstand snags and prevent fraying), most folks should be able to work through the bundle without an issue.As mentioned, youll get to crochet four LOTR characters plus all of the tools needed to get started, such as custom hooks and tension rings. Since this is a collector's edition, you also get some bonus merch, including an adorable drawstring bag to bring your creations with you wherever you go. Here's what you'll find inside the box:1 Gollum Kit + Exclusive Crochet Hook1 Frodo Kit + Exclusive Crochet Hook1 Gandalf Kit + Exclusive Crochet Hook1 Balrog Kit + Exclusive Crochet Hook1 Tiny Gollums Fish Accessory Kit1 Tiny Sting Accessory Kit1 Tiny Gandalf Staff Accessory Kit1 Tiny Balrog Whip Accessory Kit1 Tension Ring and Pouch1 Custom Tin1 Custom Hook1 Drawstring BagThe Collector's Box is marked as a "launch week sale," so the price may climb or it could be unavailable to order after this week. The "Them All Bundle" is also a launch week deal. Normally $193, you can buy the bundle containing all four characters and accessories for $165.Alternatively, you could purchase each character kit for $40-$45 each or $45-$50 each when bundled with each character's accessory. See the full set at The Woobles Preorder the Collector's Box If youre looking for more crochet fun, check out the Minecraft Total Block Star Bundle, which lets you stitch together three characters from Mojangs blocky adventure game. Fans of classic arcade games will want to take a look at the Pac-Man Woobles lineup, which features Pac-Man and five ghosts, including one that glows in the dark. The Woobles also has collaborations with a bunch of other franchises, including Squid Game, Harry Potter, and Hello Kitty.Continue Reading at GameSpot

There will be 204 cards in the first 2025 base set for Disney Lorcana, called Archazia's Island. This set will include the first-ever dual-Ink cards for Lorcana, which have the inherent restriction of being allowed in decks that exclusively use those two Ink colors, but the payoff can be quite good since some of them seem more powerful than average. Now that all the cards in Archazia's Island have been revealed, with the exception of the very rare and valuable Enchanted cards, players can start thinking about which decks they want to make. There are 12 Legendary cards in Lorcana's set 7, but they are not all made equal.

Finding a gaming laptop on a budget, especially in the sub-$500 price range is a relatively tall ask, especially in today's market where PC components are one of the many segments that seem to be disproportionately affected by inflation, especially when it comes to CPUs and GPUs thanks to a mix of increased costs and tariffs in play for some of the latest tech.

I downloaded an idle game, Tiny Pasture, onto my work computer this morning. Like Rustys Retirement before it, Tiny Pasture lives at the bottom of my desktop screen, overlaid on the windows Ive got open. In this case, five bunnies are running back and forth on Polygons CMS while I attempt to write this post. Created by developer CaveLiquid, Tiny Pasture was released on Monday and has surpassed 10,000 concurrent players on Steam clearly, there are a few thousand of us who are enamored by our new little, digital pets.Tiny Pasture is more pet care and management than the farming simulation found in Rustys Retirement; in the several hours Ive had the game open on my computer, Ive slowly amassed a stable of five rabbits, all of which periodically drop coins. Coins are how you expand your pasture, be it with new animals, decorations, or helpful facilities I got a beehive that automatically collects coins. Ive also got to feed my rabbits carrots or cabbage, ensuring theyre kept healthy and well fed. Clicking on them occasionally for pets keeps em happy and collects coins, an added bonus. As you might expect, the rabbits poop, so I click on their droppings to clean it up.There are other animals to unlock, too, like corgis, cats, capybara, pandas, and parrots. Ghosts and zombies can live on your farm, too, but Im not too inclined to try to raise those. Animals can be bred, too, to unlock different rare colors and markings.Im finding the progression of Tiny Pasture to be perfect for an idle game. The way coins are amassed means that I have to wait simply watching and occasionally clicking and have patience before I can more actively upgrade the pasture. Having to wait is the only reason Ive been able to finish this post. Its a real treat to take a break every so often to check in and see whats up, then be able to move back to whatever I was doing seconds later. A little burst of dopamine certainly isnt hurting my work day.The little bursts of joy games like these give high reward for low investment is, perhaps, why desktop games like Tiny Pasture, Weyrdlets, and Rustys Retirement are having a moment: Who doesnt want a cute, low stakes distraction?

The live-action Lilo & Stitch remake comes out in just three months, and Disney has been rolling out teases for it, but we havent seen anything live-action about it yet. Im starting to wonder if there even is live action in it. And whats even the point of doing a live-action remake if youre just going to animate it? (Oh, right, billions of dollars.)So far, all the promotional material for the movie has focused on Stitch, the adorable yet destructive blue alien. He crashes the Super Bowl! He kinda intercepts a moment from The Lion King! He smashes a sandcastle, in a scene taken straight from the original 2002 movie!And while director Dean Fleischer Camp and his effects team definitely nailed Stitchs design (admittedly, they had a solid blueprint from the original), its not Stitch Im curious about at this point. We get it! We know hes gonna be cute and rambunctious!I try to be cautiously open-minded about Disney live-action remakes, even after they disappoint me time and time again. (Some more than others.) Lilo & Stitch is one of my favorite movies ever, though, so Im naturally hesitant, and wondering what a remake could add.But digging through the character descriptions in Disneys Lilo & Stitch casting calls, I actually see a lot of potential in the live-action version. There seems to be more focus on the Hawaiian community where the alien Stitch crash-lands. New characters appear to have been added to flesh it out. Those include Tt, the grandmother of Lilo and Nanis friend David, who is described as a warm, quick-witted woman who speaks with a local Pidgin accent. And theres social worker Mrs. Kekoa, played by Tia Carrere, who voiced Nani in the original. (Dont worry secret CIA agent Cobra Bubbles is still in the movie; the Ving Rhames character from the original movie is now played by Isle of Dogs narrator and Lovecraft Country co-star Courtney B. Vance.)But you wouldnt know about the new characters, or about any renewed focus on the human aspect of the movie, from any of the teasers weve seen so far. We also have no clue what the movies other aliens look like. Its easy to sell Stitch hes a super-beloved character. Just make him a bit more textured, and bam! Youve got a solid live-action design.But what about the original movies evil scientist Jumba (David Ogden Stiers), with his big head and four blinking eyes? Or one-eyed, green, mildly rubbery Pleakley (Kevin McDonald)? Or large, lumbering, whale-like Gantu? What are they going to look like? We know that, at the very least, Jumba and Pleakley are in this movie. Jumba is voiced by Zach Galifianakis and Pleakley by Billy Magnussen, who you might remember from that time Disney tried to make a live-action spinoff movie centering on his character from the live-action Aladdin, who appears in that movie for about three minutes. (I dont know, man.)It seems like the marketers behind the live-action Lilo & Stitch trailers are trying to emulate the ad campaign leading up to the original movie, which was incredibly light on actual plot: Instead, the whole schtick was Stitch interrupting some classic Disney moments. That marketing campaign came from directors Chris Sanders and Dean DeBlois, and it was nothing short of brilliant, a perfect sell in a time when the typical Disney schtick had become a bit oversaturated.More than 20 years later, though, seeing a cutesy Stitch disrupt a football game doesnt really have the same effect. If anything, it just screams corporate synergy. That goes against the ethos of the original Lilo & Stitch, a weird little project about weird little characters, made almost in secrecy.In 2020, DeBlois expressed doubt about the live-action Lilo & Stitch during an Annecy panel, saying, What bothers me the most is that it seems to suggest the animated version of it is lesser. It is a lesser form than the expensive, glossy live action. Lilo & Stitch is a movie where animation really shines and makes the movie as warm and quirky as it is, from its eclectic character designs to its distinct watercolor backgrounds. Maybe thats why Disneys been hiding the live-action bits out of concern that they simply wont live up to audience expectations, or the original creators visions.Then again, DeBlois just directed the new How to Train Your Dragon, which is incidentally also a live-action remake of a project he and Sanders originally worked on, also about a friendship between a lonely outcast and a cute creature perceived as dangerous by larger society. And its also out this year. So maybe his feelings have changed and hey, maybe mine will too. Provided I actually see some live action in the new Lilo & Stitch.Lilo & Stitch comes out on May 23.

Your eyes are fragile, complex, and important to your well-being, but taking care of them can be expensive. First of all, its not easy to get glasses without a recent prescription, and the average cost of an eye exam without insurance coverage is close to $200. The average cost of the glasses themselves is about $230and thats before you add on the coatings you need. This can be a real challenge for the estimated 63% of Americans who dont have vision insurance, meaning theyre paying out of pocket.There are resources that can offer low-cost or even free eye exams and glasses, however, if you meet certain requirements (like income level and lack of insurance). If you or someone in your family desperately needs new glasses, heres where you can look for those services.Free examsWhether youre shopping at a cheap online store for glasses or trying to get a free pair, youll need a relatively recent prescription (generally within the last two years). If you dont have one, you can find cheap or free examinations using the following resources:EyeCare America offers eye exams and ongoing vision care at no cost to people over the age of 65 and people who are at a higher risk of glaucoma. These services are provided by volunteer ophthalmologists around the country. They dont provide eyeglasses.All Children See offers vision care for children under the age of 18 who have failed a vision screening, have some other vision problem, and who are uninsured or unable to afford care.InfantSEE is administered by the American Optometric Association (AOA) and offers free eye assessments for babies ages 6 to 12 months, regardless of income or insurance status.Government programs like Medicaid, Medicare, and CHIP also offer low-cost or free eye exams, including VA Vision Care for veterans.Eyes of Hope offers no-cost eye exams to adults and children who have no insurance coverage and meet their income requirements.Many community health centers offer eye clinics with free or low-cost exams and eyeglasses. You can locate a CHC near you at this site.Free glassesOnce you have your prescription, you need to fill it. The following programs offer free or super-cheap eyeglasses once you have a prescription in hand:New Eyes provides a basic pair of eyeglasses for a $10 non-refundable application fee. You have to apply online (do it here).Eyes of Hope also provides free eyeglasses to adults and children who meet their income requirements.Lions Club International clubs collect and distribute donated eyeglasses. You can find a local club here and contact them directly to find out if they participate in the recycling program and how to start the process.Promotions. Many online stores offer a free first pair of glasses when you shop with them. While theres no guarantee that these programs will be offered when you need them, sites like GlassesShop and Abbe offer a free pair of basic glasses (shipping and handling is extra) if you have a recent prescription.