• How to Stream Oscar Nominated Movies for 2025
    www.cnet.com
    Table of Contents The 2025 Oscars ceremony is around the corner, and you can watch films up for awards without abandoning your cozy spot on the couch.Emilia Prez -- the most-nominated movie this year -- has 13 nods, and The Brutalist and Wicked aren't far behind with 10 nominations apiece. The list of films vying for best picture includes those three, along with Anora, A Complete Unknown, Conclave, Dune: Part Two, I'm Still Here, Nickel Boys and The Substance.Many award contenders are on streaming services -- just a few clicks away if you have a subscription -- and we'll continue to update this roundup as more join that club. This guide includes all the nominees you can watch in the US and where to find them. You have until Sunday, March 2, when the Oscars air on ABC and Hulu, to check them out.Note:These descriptions have been pulled straight from official websites for the films and from press websites and occasionally edited for style.On Paramount Plus Constantin Film September 5 (1 nomination) Note: September 5 will begin streaming on Paramount Plus on Feb. 25.Set during the 1972 Munich Summer Olympics, the film follows an American Sports broadcasting team that quickly adapted from sports reporting to live coverage of the Israeli athletes taken hostage.NominationBest original screenplay See at Paramount Plus Paramount Pictures Gladiator II (1 nomination) In this sequel to 2000's Gladiator, Commodus' nephew Lucius is forced to enter the Colosseum after his home is conquered by the tyrannical Emperors, who now lead Rome with an iron fist.NominationBest costume design See at Paramount Plus MTV Documentary Films I Am Ready, Warden (1 nomination) In the days leading up to his execution, Texas death row prisoner John Henry Ramirez seeks redemption from his victim's son.NominationBest documentary short See at Paramount Plus Dogwoof Black Box Diaries (1 nomination) Note: This film isn't available with the $8-per-month Paramount Plus Essential plan. To watch it, you'll need the $13-per-month Paramount Plus with Showtime plan.The documentary follows director and journalist Shiori Ito's courageous investigation of her own sexual assault in an improbable attempt to prosecute her high-profile offender.NominationBest documentary feature See at Paramount Plus Available for purchase or rental Universal Pictures Wicked (10 nominations) Note: Wicked will begin streaming on Peacock on March 21.Wicked, the untold story of the witches of Oz, centers on Elphaba, a young woman misunderstood because of her green skin who has yet to discover her true power, and Glinda, a popular young woman gilded by privilege who has yet to discover her true heart. Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande star.NominationsBest pictureBest actressBest supporting actressBest costume designBest makeup and hairstylingBest original scoreBest film editingBest production designBest soundBest visual effects See at Amazon A24 The Brutalist (10 nominations) Escaping post-war Europe, visionary architect Lszl Toth arrives in America to rebuild his life, his work and his marriage to his wife Erzsbet after being forced apart during wartime by shifting borders and regimes. Adrien Brody, Felicity Jones and Guy Pearce are among the cast.NominationsBest pictureBest directingBest actorBest supporting actorBest supporting actressBest original screenplayBest original scoreBest cinematographyBest film editingBest production design See at Amazon Neon Anora (6 nominations) Note: Anora will begin streaming on Hulu on March 17.This comedy-drama follows Ani, a young sex worker from Brooklyn whose life takes an unexpected turn when she meets and impulsively marries Vanya, the impetuous son of a Russian billionaire.NominationsBest pictureBest directingBest actressBest supporting actorBest original screenplayBest film editing See at Amazon A24 Sing Sing (3 nominations) Note: Sing Sing will begin streaming on Max on March 21.Divine G, imprisoned at Sing Sing for a crime he didn't commit, finds purpose by acting in a theatre group with other incarcerated men. Colman Domingo stars.NominationsBest actorBest adapted screenplayBest original song See at Amazon Amazon MGM Studios Nickel Boys (2 nominations) Note: Nickel Boys will begin streaming on MGM Plus on Feb. 28.This book adaptation chronicles the powerful friendship between two young Black teenagers navigating the harrowing trials of reform school together in Florida.NominationsBest pictureBest adapted screenplay See at Amazon Mongrel Media The Apprentice (2 nominations) A young Donald Trump, eager to make his name as a hungry second son of a wealthy family in 1970s New York, comes under the spell of Roy Cohn, the cutthroat attorney who would help create the Donald Trump we know today. Sebastian Stan and Jeremy Strong star.NominationsBest actorBest supporting actor See at Amazon Neon The Seed of the Sacred Fig (1 nomination) Iman, an investigating judge in the Revolutionary Court in Tehran, grapples with mistrust and paranoia as nationwide political protests intensify and his gun mysteriously disappears.NominationBest international feature film See at Amazon Kino Lorber Soundtrack to a Coup d'Etat (1 nomination) The film interrogates colonial history to tell an urgent and timely story of precedent that resonates more than ever in today's geopolitical climate.NominationBest documentary feature See at Amazon Paramount Pictures Better Man (1 nomination) This musical film is based on the meteoric rise, dramatic fall and remarkable resurgence of British pop superstar Robbie Williams.Nomination:Best visual effects See at Amazon On Netflix Shanna Besson/Path Emilia Prez (13 nominations) In this musical, the fearsome cartel leader Emilia enlists Rita, an unappreciated lawyer stuck in a dead-end job, to help fake her death so that Emilia can finally live authentically as her true self. Karla Sofa Gascn, Zoe Saldaa and Selena Gomez star.NominationsBest pictureBest directingBest actressBest supporting actressBest adapted screenplayBest makeup and hairstylingBest original scoreBest cinematographyBest film editingBest international feature filmBest original song (2 nominations)Best sound See at Netflix Netflix Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl (1 nomination) In this claymation adventure, Wallace invents a "smart" gnome that seems to develop a mind of its own.NominationBest animated feature See at Netflix Pablo Larran/Netflix Maria (1 nomination) This biopic follows the American-Greek soprano Maria Callas as she retreats to Paris after a glamorous and tumultuous life in the public eye.NominationBest cinematography See at Netflix Laura Radford/Perry Well Films 2/Netflix The Six Triple Eight (1 nomination) This drama is inspired by the first and only Women's Army Corps unit of color to serve overseas in WWII.NominationBest original song See at Netflix Netflix The Only Girl in the Orchestra (1 nomination) This short film is about trailblazing double bassist Orin O'Brien, the first female musician in the New York Philharmonic.NominationBest documentary short See at Netflix Netflix Anuja (1 nomination) Anuja tells the story of a gifted 9-year-old girl who, alongside her sister Palak, faces a life-changing opportunity that tests their bond and mirrors the struggles of girls worldwide.Nomination:Best live action short See at Netflix On Max Janus Films Flow (2 nominations) A wondrous journey, through realms natural and mystical, Flow follows a courageous cat after his home is devastated by a great flood.NominationsBest animated featureBest international feature film See at Max A24 A Different Man (1 nomination) Aspiring actor Edward undergoes a radical medical procedure to drastically transform his appearance.NominationBest makeup and hairstyling See at Max On Max and Netflix
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  • MWC Barcelona 2025: What to Expect From Samsung, Xiaomi and More
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    The annual phone fiesta known as Mobile World Congress is almost upon us once again, and it's set to be one of the most exciting tech events of 2025.The mobile show runs March 3-6, and I'll be on the ground in Barcelona with my colleagues Andrew Lanxon and Abrar Al-Heeti, checking out all the new product launches and zooming in on the breakthroughs that will define mobile tech through the next year and beyond. I've been attending and covering the show for 11 years, writing about everything from the very first demo of the HTC Vive headset to rescuing an old Nokia 3310 from a backstreet market on the same day HMD launched a 2017 update to the iconic phone.This year, we'll be watching for Chinese phone makers such as Xiaomi and Oppo to dominate MWC. "This will be an extremely strong show for them, and we expect a very strong presence on the show floor," says Ben Wood, chief analyst at CCS Insight.Smaller players such as HMD and Nothing are also set to unveil new phones that we can't wait to get our hands on, plus there'll likely be some interesting wearables, including smartwatches and AR glasses, with bonus laptops and earbuds, too.We're also expecting to see AI everywhere once again this year, mostly flavored by Google's Gemini, with a sprinkle of interesting features from the phone makers on top. CNET's own research suggests that many of youaren't that impressed with the AI capabilities of smartphones so far. We'll be on the lookout for use cases and features that we think will be genuinely exciting and transformative when it's time for you to upgrade your phone.In the meantime, here's what we expect to see.What Phones to Expect at MWC 2025XiaomiIf there's one phone we're especially excited to check out at Mobile World Congress, it's the Xiaomi 15 Ultra. The camera on the Xiaomi 14 Ultra blew us away last year it made the phone stand out in a sea of otherwise similar high-end devices. The hype has been building around the launch of its successor, the Xiaomi 15 Ultra, which we expect to see unveiled at MWC.NothingNothing's design-driven approach to technology is always intriguing, and we're excited to see what's in store for its March 4 launch event. The Nothing Phone 3a and rumored 3a Pro will likely be the star(s) of the show, and could run on Qualcomm's Snapdragon chips, which would mark a shift away from the company's partnership with Mediatek. Helpfully, Nothing has already shown us what the phone looks like thanks to a teaser it posted on X.Nothing's next flagship phone is also expected to arrive in 2025, but not until later in the year. The company launched its predecessor, the Nothing Phone 2, back in July 2023, so we're expecting the two-year intervening period to result in some upgrades. It's unlikely the Nothing Phone 3 will make an appearance at MWC, but we'll be keeping an eye out for teasers of what to expect from the phone when it finally arrives.SamsungSamsung had its own major phone launch of the year ahead of MWC, but that doesn't mean we've heard the last of the Galaxy S25. The Barcelona event is an opportunity for the company to showcase its new flagship series in Europe and potentially also give us a better look at the S25 Edge phone it teased at Unpacked in January.Other phone companies will be following suit, with devices including the Honor Magic7 Pro and the triple-screened, dual-fold Huawei Mate XT using MWC as a victory lap after earlier launches. The Coolest Phones at MWC 2024 From Samsung, Honor, Motorola and More See all photos What Other Tech to Expect at MWC 2025MWC has always been first and foremost about the phones, but "mobile" as a category embraces a slew of different products, from laptops to wearables.One of the most exciting products to make its full debut at MWC 2024 was the Samsung Galaxy Ring. Competition in this space is heating up, with companies including Oura and Ultrahuman offering exciting smart rings of their own. The show could be the perfect venue for new or established tech companies to enter the smart jewelry market.In 2024, we also saw the emergence of standalone AI devices including the Humane AI Pin and the Rabbit R1. Both generated significant hype, but largely fell flat when the time came to test them. So is this emerging device category dead in the water (especially as we know Humane's AI Pins will cease working soon)?"Never say never," says Wood. "But I'm not expecting a lot of those devices because of the fact that the ones that were there previously have been spectacularly unsuccessful."The capabilities of these devices have largely been subsumed into smartphones, thanks to improvements in Google's Gemini and Samsung's Galaxy AI, he adds. "The window of opportunity for those products has somewhat evaporated." Watch this: Best of MWC 2024: Bendable Screens, AI Wearables and More 04:04 One area where there's still room for growth is in spatial computing, by which we mean smart glasses. Phone maker Oppo could be one to watch in this space, and we could also see a number of smaller companies displaying their face-worn technology at MWC, too. These could be anything from glasses with built-in AI, microphones and cameras to glasses with a built-in digital display of some kind and Apple Vision Pro-style goggles.Over the years, we've seen dramatic growth in the number of automakers at tech shows in particular CES. MWC hasn't typically hosted cars to the same extent, although last yearXiaomi showcased an electric vehicle at the show. There's nothing to say we shouldn't expect to see more along those lines this year, especially with chipmaker Qualcomm present. The company is at the heart of integrating mobile connectivity into cars, with use cases ranging from infotainment to safety.It's inevitable that we'll also see a clutch of laptops, tablets and earbuds make an appearance at the show. Lenovo is our one to watch in this respect in our estimation, it was the standout PC maker at the previous show, and we're keen to see what it has in store this go-around.AI at Mobile World Congress Here's Gemini AI assistant running on the Pixel 9. James Martin/CNETAs was the case last year, we're expecting AI to be everywhere at MWC so you might be wondering what exactly is new for 2025.Until now, the most AI-packed phones have tended to be flagship models, but this year we should expect AI features in a wider range of devices, according to Wood. "What we're going to see is AI capabilities moving down the price curve," he says. That means AI in midrange phones and not just the fancier models. (Case in point: the new $599 iPhone 16E that Apple just unveiled.)With Apple perpetually absent from MWC, this show informally belongs to Google. We expect to see it everywhere, showcasing all of the latest capabilities Gemini has to offer while partnering with all of the phone makers in attendance. The question for these companies will be how they're using AI to differentiate their products, when all of them have access to the same suite of Google features.Samsung's Galaxy AI is a prime example of this, but at MWC we're expecting to see a bold play from Honor as the company outlines its new "Alpha Plan." As well as an overarching direction for the brand, this strategy involves creating an open and collaborative ecosystem of AI-powered devices.As I mentioned, it's unlikely there'll be more standalone AI devices, but rather a continuation of the trend of embedding AI into everything we already own. Chipmakers such as Qualcomm will be extolling the virtues of on-device AI, and hopefully providing some exciting demos to showcase how we might expect AI to genuinely change and improve our technology, if not this year, then in the near future.One of my favorite demos at last year's MWC was a partnership betweenQualcomm, Brain.AI and Deutsche Telekom, which showed how AI could potentially replace the app-based interface we all know and love. I'll be looking out for similarly interesting ideas this year.
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  • Annapurna Interactive Showcase - everything announced
    www.eurogamer.net
    Annapurna Interactive Showcase - everything announcedSpooky bikes! Insurance commandos! More!Image credit: Annapurna Interactive/Eurogamer News by Matt Wales News Reporter Published on Feb. 24, 2025 Annapurna Interactive, a publisher with a stellar track record when it comes to quality releases, might have been in the news lately for its mass departures and other strange business, but it's eager for everyone to know the show - or rather the showcase, in this particular instance - must go on. So here we are, with a closer look at its next slate of titles - some known, some new, but all looking intriguing for their own reasons. So if you're eager to see what's on the horizon for Annapurna and its talented development partners, read on...Wheel WorldWheel World gameplay trailer.Watch on YouTubeIf Wheel World looks familiar, that might be because it was initially unveiled under the name Ghost World back in 2023. But despite its new moniker, the fundamentals remain the same. Developed by Nidhogg studio Messhoff, it's a single-player open-world biking adventure with a touch of the supernatural - conjuring up a beautifully stylised world where players are free to simply putter around taking in the sights, or test their pedal mettle against quirky rivals and elite cycling teams. It looks a treat, and is coming to PlayStation, Xbox, and PC this "summer". And if that appeals, there's a Steam demo now.WanderstopWanderstop release launch trailer.Watch on YouTubeWanderstop, as you might already know, is first game from The Stanley Parable co-creator Davey Wreden's Ivy Road studio. It's described as a "narrative-centric cosy game about change and tea", and while there's definitely a jaunty management aspect to it, Wanderstop seems equally concerned with exploring the emotional journey of its protagonist, Alta - a warrior who's somehow ended up running a teashop in a magical forest and is definitely not happy about it. It's an intriguing take on the often cloying cosy phenomenon, and we'll see how well it all works when Wanderstop launches for Xbox Series X/S, layStation 5, and PC on 11th March. And if you want to get stuck in sooner, a Steam demo's out now.Skin DeepSkin Deep release date trailer.Watch on YouTubeIt's been seven years since Thirty Flights of Loving developer Blendo Games' last release - VR strategy game Flotilla 2 - but the acclaimed studio is back with Skin Deep. Described as an "immersive first-person shooter [with] sneezing", Skin Deep follows the adventures of Nina Pasadena - once one of the galaxy's best assassins, now a lowly insurance commando. As Skin Deep begins, Nina's starship is raided by pirates, meaning players will need to "sneak, subvert, and sabotage", sandbox-style, across its non-linear interior to save the day. Oh, and you have no shoes. Skin Deep launches for PC on 30th April and a demo's out now on Steam.Cocoon news and a brief teaseIf you liked what Cocoon was popping in your ears when it released back in 2023 (subsequently becoming Eurogamer's Game of the Year), you might be thrilled to hear it's getting a vinyl soundtrack, reimagining its procedural music in more permanent form. There's also a Cocoon Collector's Edition incoming, AND developer Geometric Interactive has teased a new project that's being published by Annapurna Interactive. Details pretty much none existent right now, but the studio says it's unlike anything it's made before.Lushfoil Photography SimLushfoil Photography Sim release date trailer.Watch on YouTubeIf you haven't already seen Lushfoil Photography Sim in motion, you should stop and watch its trailer right now. Developer Matt Newell has created some absolutely gorgeous environments for his freeform photography sim - little slice of real-world wilderness where players can complete objectives or simply explore and interact with the world.There are kites to fly, bikes to ride, boats to row, and - of course - photos to snap across the crystalline lakes and forests of Italy, the sunset-lit beaches of South West Australia, the moody valleys of Southern Iceland, and more. You can even splash around in the Northern England rain if you fancy something closer to home. Lushfoil Photography Sim comes to PC, Xbox Series X/S, and PS5 on 15th April, and a Steam demo's out now.FarawayFaraway reveal trailer.Watch on YouTubeFaraway, from developer Steph Thirion, is an "infinitely replayable immersive cosmic game" about a shooting star that wants to see the universe - which it does by whirling around, connecting stars, and creating constellations. It's a game of interstellar flinging that's designed to be as accessible as possible, only requiring a single button to play. But it also promises hidden depths, with talk of randomly generated stages to mix things up, score-multiplying loop-building, and other mechanical nuances. It's even got a couple of different puzzle modes too. Faraway doesn't have a release date yet but it coming to PC this year.To a TTo a T release date trailer.Watch on YouTubeIf you've been wondering what Katamari Damacy creator Keita Takahashi has been up to recently, here's your answer. To a T, from Takahashi's Uvula studio, is a 3D narrative adventure focusing on Teen, a teenager trying to live their life in a small coastal town, despite being permanently stuck in a T-shape. Made in collaboration with AbleGamers, it follows Teen across several days as they find a way to fit in, gaining a newfound sense of self along the way. It's got unicycling, corn-eating, sunset-watching, silly mini-games, a colourful world to explore, and a "very cute dog". All this comes to Xbox, PlayStation, PC, and Game Pass on 28th May this year.MorselsMorsels reveal trailer.Watch on YouTubeWho better to overcome a clique of killer cats than a cute little mouse with a peculiar deck of cards? That's the basic premise of Morsels, a top-down action-roguelite from developer Furcula that sees players traversing the dangerous upper worlds in order to bring down their feline oppressors. Those cards, in case you're wondering, have the power to transform into little monsters, which - when combined with the ability to switch between different characters at will - promises frenetic, endlessly replayable action. This one arrives later this year.Sayonara Wild Hearts now on PS5Sayonara Wild Hearts PS5 trailer.Watch on YouTubeAnd finally! Developer Simogo's gorgeously dreamy arcade oddity Sayonara Wild Hearts - officially a game about "riding motorcycles, skateboarding, dance battling, shooting lasers, wielding swords, and breaking hearts" - is coming to PS5 with a few new features. Its announcement referenced an "exclusive" unlockable game mode, high score battles in random stages, and other stuff - all of which is out today on PlayStation 5, and owners of the PlayStation 4 version can upgrade for free.
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  • Monster Hunter Wilds feels undercooked on PS5, Series X and especially Series S
    www.eurogamer.net
    Monster Hunter is back with a bang on current-gen consoles. Wilds - the latest series entry - features a seamless open world in a series first, plus plenty of visual bells and whistles courtesy of Capcom's RE Engine. So can the longstanding series hold up to current-gen pressure? And how do performance and image quality fare across PS5, Series X, and Series S? Let's first focus on the areas where Monster Hunter Wilds excels. Capcom's latest does a generally very good job of depicting wide-open gameplay spaces without too much pop in and with plenty of flora and detailed static geometry. The crags and caves of the game's opening desert section are impressively ornate, and the game's forested second area shows off a lush, foliage-rich environment. Wilds generally meets current-gen standards here, without hard polygonal edges or low-res texture work that might betray adherence to earlier console hardware. The game's titular monster hunts showcase unique foes in interesting arenas, often with fascinating secondary animation that remains interesting throughout often long fights. The same level of care also extends to NPCs, with eye-catching designs, sophisticated skin shading and hair rendering, highlighted in a surprising volume of well-animated and ambitious cutscenes. The excellent animation also extends to gameplay, with effective attack telegraphing and responsive player and mount movement. Oliver takes on the long-awaited Monster Hunter Wilds on PS5, Xbox Series X and Series S in this video. Watch on YouTubeWilds' lighting can also be pretty good at times. At its best, we get very effective large-scale light bounce and occlusion, which is most obvious in strong sunlight. Smaller-scale detail is mostly treated with screen-space ambient occlusion (SSAO), but archways and large rock formations seem to be lit primarily using a baked global illumination (GI) technique, which is often effective. At times, the results can be quite striking. Wilds generally looks good and often comports itself to a reasonable current-gen visual standard then, but the visual progression is more obvious against prior series entries. 2018's Monster Hunter World was the last to be developed on the MT Framework and has comparatively basic environments, somewhat crude-looking models and particularly less realistic character rendering. Despite its naming, World also generally features smaller environments than Wilds, and those environments are segmented into discrete playable chunks. 2021's Monster Hunter: Rise is cruder still, despite being built on the more modern RE Engine, as it was developed around the capabilities of the Switch and features more basic environments. It's not a bad looking game by any means, but it definitely feels like something closer to a 360 or PS3 title than World, even though I'm capturing it here on PS5.Relative to those earlier games, I think Wilds is a clear improvement, and shows the advantages of focusing on more advanced consoles, along with a more generously resourced development on a more modern engine. To see this content please enable targeting cookies. There are some areas where Wilds doesn't necessarily match expectations though. The first thing stuck out was just how subdued the game looks in most lighting conditions, with quite compressed brightness levels - lifted blacks and suppressed highlights - and a grey look that doesn't do the game any favours. The game looks better in brighter, more contrast-y lighting conditions, but not using the available Rec 709 luma space feels like an odd choice. Colour correcting the footage to remove this compression looks better to my eyes, and relatively minor tweaks could produce a punchier look in line with other recent triple-A titles. Beyond this, there are also weapons and armour that don't seem to reflect light properly and have a very dark colour relative to the rest of the scene in some areas, which seems like a bug. Beyond the grading issue, there are some obvious lighting flaws, with the game's GI and SSAO being ineffective in shadowing carpets of foliage in jungle areas, for example. Other small-scale environments, such as tent interiors, aren't really lit plausibly either. Wider shots of more naturalistic environments with strong direct lighting fare best, while more cramped, indirectly lit interiors can look somewhat dated. Unfortunately, the excellent ray-traced global illumination (RTGI) from Dragon's Dogma 2 doesn't make the cut here either, which would improve the game's overall visual quality at the cost of performance. Perhaps as a consequence of relying on a baked lighting system, Wilds appears to have a fixed time of day too, which is a bit odd. Beyond any lighting quirks, I think the game's general image quality and performance metrics just aren't great for a title like this. Wilds isn't necessarily on the cutting edge when it comes to visual quality, but it runs like it is. Weirdly, Monster Hunter Wilds has relatively lifted blacks and depressed highlights - as shown here in Final Cut Pro's luma scope - for a look that's quite grey overall. Brighter areas with more contrast fare better, but it's still an odd choice that doesn't have precedence in prior series entries. | Image credit: Digital FoundryOn PS5 and Xbox Series X, Wilds has three modes and two visual toggles to make for eight effective combinations. Frame-rate mode can be run with a 60fps cap, resolution mode can be run with a 30fps cap, and balanced mode can be run with a 40fps cap on 120Hz displays. All three modes can also run at 120Hz on PS5. Essentially though, you can think of these as the 60fps performance, 40fps balanced and 30fps resolution modes we've seen in many other current-gen console titles. Compared side-by-side, the frame-rate mode is clearly the worst off, with a rougher and more aliased image that doesn't hold up all that well on a 4K TV - we measured it at 900p on average. The other two mode offerings are quite close to each other in relative quality - typically 1224p for balanced and 1656p for resolution - with neither being free of aliasing, despite their higher internal resolutions. Wilds seems to use AMD's first-gen FSR to scale the final image to 4K, with some evidence of minor dynamic resolution scaling in play - eg frame-rate mode seems to be bound between 720p and 1080p. FSR 2 might have been a better option for PS5 to resolve a cleaner final image, and the unorthodox setup for an RE Engine game the developers have chosen doesn't really impress. Beyond the resolution tweaks, volumetric lighting quality, GI quality, screen-space reflections and draw distances are also adapted on each mode, with the latter two seeming to degrade only in the frame-rate mode. Monster Hunter Wilds doesn't offer a good mix of visuals or performance in any mode, perhaps due to a lack of temporal upscaling. | Image credit: Digital FoundryIn terms of PS5 and Xbox Series X performance, the frame-rate mode does land on 60fps most of the time, but there are frequent dips to lower frame-rates that are mainly smoothed out by VRR displays. Balanced mode is similar, hitting 40fps most of the time. Resolution mode gets closer to nailing a stable frame-rate at its target 30fps, but again drops below this in heavier scenes. Series X runs a hair behind PS5 most of the time, but Enabling the frame-rate caps is at least unproblematic, with no frame pacing issues as we've seen in some other titles. Running without the caps in play doesn't seem to change too much, with higher performance in some light areas, especially in frame-rate mode. Unfortunately, LFC doesn't seem to engage properly on PS5 in balanced or resolution modes with a 120Hz output, so the game feels choppier than it should - which is a bug that ought to be solved. VRR feels better on Series X. One pleasant surprise is that NPCs don't suffer from the same obnoxious pop-in issues we observed in Dragon's Dogma 2, though they do animate at reduced rates when far from the player - as do distant enemies. This was an area of concern after the issues Dragon's Dogma suffered, but the smaller town areas in Wilds likely don't raise the same CPU constraints. Ultimately, Monster Hunter Wilds is a good-looking game on PS5 and Series X, but I do have concerns about its performance. Image quality and performance metrics don't line up favourably with other current-gen software, even compared to games that are pushing out the state of the art. Performance mode in particular is of significant concern, with rough and imprecise low-resolution visuals. The game's outlook on Series S is simpler, with a single 30fps mode that can be unlocked and/or run at 120Hz with a supported display. Wilds unfortunately looks a lot worse here than even PS5 or Series X in frame-rate mode, with SSR being completely removed and noticeable hits to texture resolution. The game typically renders at an internal resolution at or below 1080p, for a softer resolve overall than any Series X or PS5 mode as it's lacking the FSR and sharpening treatment used on the larger consoles. The game also runs with a 1080p UI, versus the 4K UI on Series X and PS5. Despite these significant visual cutbacks, the game still stumbles below 30fps for extended periods, and monster hunting at 25fps just doesn't feel great. Uncapping the frame-rate does basically nothing either. Series S doesn't show the game in the best light, with significant visual cutbacks, a softer resolve and performance in the 20s during monster hunts. | Image credit: Digital FoundryBeyond the visual minutiae, I do have to admit that Monster Hunter Wilds didn't really grab me as a player on any system. I've played - and enjoyed - older Monster Hunter games before, but Wilds is a pretty overwhelming game in the sophistication of its gameplay systems. The combat involves a lot of complexity, there are so many weapon types, and the hotkey and menus systems are a little obtuse. There is so much to learn here, and the game seems to take it for granted that you have a deep affinity for the series and a lot of background knowledge before you pick up the controller. It's an intimidating game, with gameplay detail that rivals complex MMOs like Final Fantasy 14.Over my hours of play, I didn't really click with the game's combat, though there were occasional bright spots. I'm sure there will be a compelling action game here for a lot of players, but it's submerged a bit beneath gameplay systems that aren't exactly self-explanatory. It also doesn't help that the game's mode selection is relatively lacklustre and that there's such a steep consequence for wanting to play in frame-rate mode on PS5 and Series X, where the game feels best.The biggest issue here is that the visuals just don't scale all that well to PS5, Series X and Series S. The lack of temporal upsampling plus the relatively constrained power of console hardware results in a less than ideal experience, at least on the tested machines. Series S in particular needs some revision, failing to reach a stable 30fps in a lot of content. We'll have more to say about the game in follow-up content, starting with PS5 Pro, but for now I'm less than satisfied with the Wilds experience on the regular current-gen consoles.
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  • Someone added dodging to Stalker 2 and now Im the Zones Slavic superhero
    www.videogamer.com
    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 GSC Game Worlds Stalker 2: Heart of Chornobyl is a game that isnt known for its swift movement. While modders have already worked to add better mantling and other movement changes to the core movement mechanics, one modder has added even more manoeuvrability.Stalker 2 dodging is a superpowerCreated by modder rbwadle, the new DODGE mod for Stalker 2 adds, well, a sideways dodge to Stalker 2: Heart of Chornobyl. Bound to the double-pressing A or D on the keyboard, or a complicated gamepad setup, you can quickly hop to the either side with ease.While this sounds very simple, adding the addition of dodging to the survival game immediately makes for a more slick action experience. Now, you can shift to the side while running at enemies, bouncing out of the way of shots and lobbed grenades. If youre on the back foot, you can even dodge behind cover to get out of the way and heal. Save Up to $1,200 on the Samsung Galaxy S25! Pre-order now and save big with trade-in and Samsung credit. Limited time only! *Includes trade-in value + $300 Samsung credit. The new dodge mechanic also helps a lot when swarmed by mutated dogs and other deformed creatures in the Zone. You can now just about dodge away from those pesky, terrifying bloodsuckers and sprint back to safety. In fact, thats the core reason the mod was made in the first place.The primary reason I made the mod was to counter the Bloodsucker knockdown lunge out of invisibility attack, the modder explained. I still love watching them catch nothing but air with that move while I feed them buckshot in the ear. Must-Listen: Publishing Manor Lords w/ Joe Robinson VideoGamer Podcast Listen Now While the Stalker 2 DODGE mod is very simple, modder rbwadle has claimed that major additions will come to the game in future versions. For example, the modder will also add the ability for Skifthe playable characterto dodge backwards, making him even more powerful.For more Stalker 2 coverage, read about the Desolation mod that makes the game even more nihilistic than it already is. Additionally, check out our review of the game on launch.S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2: Heart of ChornobylPlatform(s):PC, Xbox Series S, Xbox Series S/X, Xbox Series XGenre(s):Action, Adventure, RPG, Shooter, Survival HorrorRelated TopicsSubscribe to our newsletters!By subscribing, you agree to our Privacy Policy and may receive occasional deal communications; you can unsubscribe anytime.Share
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  • 49 Kids Room Ideas to Bookmark From the AD Archive
    www.architecturaldigest.com
    Kids room ideas are everywherebut perhaps nowhere are they more special than in the pages of AD. For designers, decorating for a child brims with license to go all in on color and daydream-worthy design schemes, so it helps to not think of them as predictable pink and blue monoliths. As the ultimate blank canvases, they might just be the most fun part of a decoration project. With these thoughts in mind, we rounded up 49 of our favorite kids rooms ideas from the AD archiveincluding memorable spaces by Nate Berkus and Jeremiah Brent, Miles Redd, and many others. Just bear in mind that they may spark joy regardless of your age.A sophisticated Brooklyn oasisA copper-hued nursery from July/August 2019Photographed by Sam Frost, AD, July/August 2019As founder and CEO of Maisonette, the one-stop shop for stylish baby and kids clothing, toys, and decor, Sylvana Ward Durrett naturally desired a nursery that matched the chic ambiance permeating the rest of her Carrier and Companydesigned Brooklyn home. The rose-tinted metallic crib and pillow-festooned sofa nestled against the window are enlivened by Flat Vernaculars painterly terra-cotta Perseid wallpaper dressing the ceiling.One classy Greenwich Village nurseryPoppys world from the October 2015 issuePhotography by Douglas Friedman, Architectural Digest, October 2015When renovating their airy Greenwich Village residence, buzzy design duo Nate Berkus and Jeremiah Brent ensured their daughter Poppys nursery was just as glamorous as the other rooms. Its wrapped in soothing Zak + Fox wallpaper that reimagines a hand-painted design by Apparatus artistic director Gabriel Hendifar, and a white crib from RH Baby & Child is planted on a patterned Caitlin Wilson rug.Two nostalgic Los Angeles hangoutsPattern, pattern everywhere in the LA home of Mary Kitchen and familyPhotography by Stephen Kent Johnson, AD, July/August 2022Another fun room in the home.Photography by Stephen Kent Johnson, AD, July/August 2022Inside a Hollywood Regency-style LA abode built byCaspar Ehmcke in 1966, television presenter, model, and philanthropist Mary Kitchen resides with her husband and three daughters Baye, Eden, and Maine. Eccentric wonderland is the unofficial theme of the kids room decor, designed byJamie Bush. (Architect William Hefner and landscape guru Raymond Jungles also worked on the project.) The house features a bunk room for the girls lively sleepovers, dominated by breezy tulip-print fabric from Quadrille. Its rounded out with an earthy RH carpet, Silvio Piattelli pendant, and skirted chair covered in blue Dedar velvet.Enveloped in the same botanical motif Quadrille wallpaper and fabric as the bunk room, but in a different colorway, one of the girls bedrooms in the Kitchen house is balanced with a vintage Stilnovo pendant from Rewire Gallery. Zoning the house by color allowed us to control the incredible variety of pieces and themes that Mary was drawn to, Bush toldAD.Homey vibes in an Alabama bedroomOld and new coalesce in this childs room.Photography by Ty Cole, AD, April 2023Louisa Pierce of the AD100 studio Pierce & Ward grew up in Birmingham, so moving back to the city with her husband Austin Scaggs and two children Levon and Poet was a homecoming. Like the rest of the Tudor-style residence, Poets layered bedroom exudes an attractive patina starring heirloom pieces like a brass-and-iron bed and chaise longue. Artwork and objects mingle with a Pottery Barn Teen snake mirror and lighthearted Ferm Living horse wallpaper. As Im getting older, Ive realized I dont want a room to look perfect. I find so much beauty in the mess, Pierce commented toADat the time.A dreamy Long Island bedroomA Super Girl needs a super room.Photography by Isabel Parra, AD, April 2021Fashion designers Mark Badgley and James Mischka once owned the 1930s stable in Locust Valley, New York, that designer Asia Baker Stokes shares with her husband and two daughters, Ava and Georgia. Among the houses sunny, artful rooms is Avas personal refuge, simply decked out with an Isamu Noguchi lantern and custom-painted Chelsea Textiles bed that matches the cool blue hue of the floral Marthe Armitage wallpaper. Its important for your spaces not to feel like a showroom, Baker Stokes pointed out toAD.A playroom that conjures the circusUnder the big top chez Swanson FrankPhotography by Isabel Parra, AD, June 2022Baker Stokes does it again. In this French country-style Greenwich, Connecticut, home where photographer Claiborne Swanson Frank lives with her husband and two sons, an uplifting palette of blue and white holds court. Consider the office turned boys playroom reminiscent of a circus tent, for which designer Baker Stokes animated the pitched doorway with striped cotton curtains from Jane Shelton Fabrics. To up the ante, she paired them with a mlange of punchy, painted stripes and a bold-print Jonathan Adler rug.It was a labor of love, Swanson Frank shared withAD. I think that so often kids rooms arent given that level of attention.Pattern languageAn artful mix of eras at the hacienda home of Michelle NussbaumerPhotography by Douglas Friedman, AD, April 2019San Miguel de Allende is a relatively quick flight from Dallas, where designer Michelle Nussbaumer is basedbut her familys holiday hacienda in the Mexican city feels otherworldly. (Much of the property dates to the 16th century.)I love bringing timeworn techniques into a modern era, Nussbaumer toldAD at the time of publication.Take her daughter Niles bedroom, where a centerpiece mural Nussbaumer enlarged from a 1940s Mexican pottery pattern is bolstered by a vintage chair and the bed she draped in a canopy of Rajasthani hangings.One beautifully blue bedroomA photograph from the January 2014 issue of Architectural DigestPhotographed by Oberto Gili, Architectural Digest, January 2014AD100 architect Annabelle Selldorf renovated this New York town house, which belongs to art dealer Christophe Van de Weghe and his wife, Anne-Galle. Seen here, their two adorable children, Tristan and Emma, perch on a De La Espada bed with the family dog, Cookie. Nearby, a pair of stuffed giraffes enjoy a light-filled city view. The drawing table is by Ducduc.A good type of red scareHide-and-seek circa March 2018Photographed by Miles Aldridge, AD, March 2018In the room of Amanda Brookss son, the graphic use of red, white, and blue is almost overwhelming (as her childs stance makes clear). Nonetheless, from a nearby toy Elmo to a Christmas-worthy bed, the interior is a riotous delight. Its star attraction might just be the vintage David Hicks hex motif rug, a design classic.One dreamy view of VeniceGondoliers galore in May 2008Photographed by Ken Hayden, Architectural Digest, May 2008When AD100 interior designer Joanne de Guardiola set sail on a project to decorate her familys yacht, she was in for a treatthanks to an original mural of Venices Grand Canal that she discovered under a fabric wall covering. (I was so excited to find itits hand-done, she commented at the time.) The restored work complements the rest of the cabin perfectly. Theres beautiful teak cabinetry throughout, she added.A forested Adirondacks hideawayA room for peacocking, circa July 2014Photographed by Pieter Estersohn, Architectural Digest, July 2014Designer Thom Filicia and the architects at Shope Reno Wharton were inspired by Gilded Age Adirondack camps when creating this retreat on Upper Saranac Lake in New York. In a daughters bedroom, seen here, a Cavern wallpaper brings the nearby forestry in. A Matthew Williamson design for The Rug Company covers the floor, and the sconces are from Urban Electric. Vintage bed frames were painted anew in a neon green by Benjamin Moore.One peachy-keen bedroom on the island of MustiqueTwo four-poster canopy beds, pictured in August 2006Photographed by Luke White, Architectural Digest, August 2006Emma Burns of Sibyl Colefax & John Fowler designed the house in which this childrens bedroom is located. Peach fabric, which was used on the beds and on one small lampshade, was sourced from Manuel Canovas.An ode to French style in HoustonFranco-Texan flair in the August 2013 issue of Architectural Digest.Photographed by Eric Piasecki, Architectural Digest, August 2013The Stark Carpet is lovely and the Rubelli fabric charming, but its the lit la polonaise that steals the show in this daughters bedroom in Houston. And if that specific style of French canopy bed werent enough to turn the head of a Francophile, consider the the Louis XVI marquise.The cozy and colorful room of a Brooklyn childRed and white and cute all over circa August 2015Photographed by Pieter Estersohn, AD, August 2015Wall coverings by Hinson & Co. and Phillip Jeffries provide this red-and-white childrens room with an abundance of graphic, pattern-filled design notes. The rest of the Brooklyn brownstone in which it is located is just as charming. The couple wanted the home to be dense, warm, and inviting, designer Nick Olsen commented to AD at the time.A Blackberry Farmworthy childrens roomA November 2012 scenePhotographed by Pieter Estersohn, Architectural Digest, November 2012Benjamin Moores Crystal Clear paint and a rug by Stark Carpet help set the tone for this daughters bedroom, which was designed by AD100 decorator Suzanne Kasler. Its located in the home of the owners of Blackberry Farm, the renowned Tennessee retreat. Suzannes a great editor, Mary Celeste, one of the homeowners, said of Kasler at the time. She knew that we wanted every piece of furniture to be used, that everything must have a purpose.A Modernist marvel in the HamptonsYellow racing stripes rule this November 2012 room.Photographed by Michael Moran, November 2012AD100 firm SheltonMindel & Associates updated this Hamptons home with a charming childrens room. (The structure of the shingle-clad Colonial Revival estate was designed by fellow AD100 member Robert A.M. Stern.) There is no surface that was left untouched, but there has been a lot of respect for what came before, Mindel told AD at the time of the project. Here, a Jonas trundle bed and CB2 yellow stools are balanced by an Alvar Aalto table and chairs and a Eero Saarinen Womb chair.One childs paradise foundThe Hawaiian bedroom, photographed December 2007Photographed by Matthew Millman, Architectural Digest, December 2007Suburban ideal or tropical escape? Both, it would seem, in the case of this Hawaii-set childrens bedroomwhere a playhouse-themed bunk bed reigns supreme. Florals and nearby lanterns help bridge the gap between outer environment and the elaborate built-in structure. And yet, it is clear which piece wins the day.The dreamy London bedroom of one lucky kidA room to carry any childor personup, up and away. It was published in the May 2021 issue.Photographed by Helen Cathcart, AD, May 2021A Regency cot bed sourced from The Baby Cot Shop sets a graphic centerpiece of a childs room in this home. But it is impossible not to look upward, thanks to the whimsical use of miniature hot-air balloons. The London townhouse in which this room sits was designed by Bryan OSullivan. I wanted to feel total escapism, which ultimately translated into an overload of texture, color, and comfort, one homeowner said at the time. Clearly, this interior was no exception.The San Francisco bedroom of a designers childA room in which to vroom circa October 2020Photographed by Douglas Friedman, AD, October 2020In this San Francisco home, Coral & Tusk curtains complement an Oeuf bunk bed and Faye Toogood chair. Nonetheless, a Kvadrat felt wall piece is clearly the main attraction. And yet, designer Nicole Holliss son, seen here, remains entirely distracted by his charming collection of toy trucks. My taste is definitely more informed by materiality, his AD100 mom noted at the time, adding that its all about form, light, and shadow. This felt pieceand roomindicate as much.Peekaboo baby, Napa Valley editionForget the wine countrythis room (pictured in October 2020) could capture your imagination for a full day.Photographed by Laura Resen, AD, October 2020Pink zebra skin pattered rug? Check. Sheepskin mat? Check. Adorable baby hiding in a pile of velvet pillows? Check, check. In Napa, California, this colorful childrens room brims with happiness. And while a rattan daybed and dinosaur-patterned wallpaper may be particular standouts within this space, the rest of the house does not cease to delight.Seth Meyerss sons roomReaching hour for a bunny and a dinosaur, captured March 2019Photographed by Shade Degges, AD, March 2019Seen here is the bedroom of one of Alexi Ashe Meyers and Seth Meyerss children. The room, and the rest of the Manhattan house, was designed by AD100 firm Ashe Leandroof which Alexis sister Ariel is a founder. The rugs seen are vintage Moroccan pieces; the shelves are custom-made. A lot of our clients are creative, Ariel Ashe told AD at the time, and they dont want their kids to have a boring room. And kids rooms can be so boring and repetitivea blue room for a boy and a pink room for a girl.Nell Diamonds sons roomThe jungle-themed room of young Henry Wasserman, circa August 2018Photographed by Kyle Knodell, AD, August 2018A boy bedroom doesnt have to skimp on pattern and whimsyand its no surprise that Nell Diamond, founder of Hill House Home (a luxury bedding company), would ensure that her son Henry would have a charming space of his own. This room, like the rest of her New York town house, was designed by Mark Cunningham. The pendant light fixture is by George Nelson and the wallpaper is Herms. Bedroom ideas aplenty here!A Miles Redddesigned room in San FranciscoCalifornia casual style is conspicuously absent from this room, photographed January 2018Photographed by Trevor Tondro, AD, January 2018Clarence House and Brunschwig & Fils fabrics brighten up this childrens bedroom, which is located in a San Francisco house designed by Miles Redd. The carpeting is by Stark, and the desk is a Swedish Gustavian piece. Antiques are such a good value today, and theyre great for a family lifestyletheyve already been through a lot and will go through more, one homeowner (a mother of four) noted at the time. A delightful pop of blue pattern peeks out underneath the coverlet of the twin bed.One library-slash-bedroom in LondonNever mind the fireplacethis February 2013 photo is all about that ingenious bed.Photographed by Luke White, Architectural Digest, February 2013Is it a bed? Or a home library? If youre talking about the focal point of this London childrens bedroom, the answer is both. A Campana Brothers stuffed-animal chair is another notable attraction, as is a Fort Street Studio carpet. AD100 designer Francis Sultana was responsible for the interior. A bean bag chair nests in the corner of this modern and inviting space.A special David Netto creationA room in which the walls perfectly match the curtains. The photograph was published in June 2016.Photographed by Pieter Estersohn, AD, June 2016Interior designer David Netto and architect David Hottenroth teamed up to create the beach retreat in which this bedroom is located. In this kids room, a Room & Board bunk bed, toile curtains, and a portrait of an owners grandfather cant help but stand out. The vintage Poul Kjrholm armchairs are from Dansk Mbelkunst Gallery.A bedroom designed by Delphine KrakoffPurple reigns supreme in this July 2013 photograph.Photographed by Bjorn Wallander, AD, July 2013Delphine Krakoff designed the minimalist New York townhouse in which this bedroom serves as a beacon of childish delight. Pierre Frey fabric, a Fornasetti desk, and Gio Ponti chairs are indisputable high points. The home at large is one of the select projects that Krakoff has taken on. I dont want to be a businesswoman, Krakoff, wife of fashion designer Reed Krakoff, said at the time. I want to be a designer. Thats what I love. Its why Ive kept my business very small. So Im known as the girl who often says no.One kids room, perched high above the cloudsFlying high in February 2021Photographed by Steven Johnson, AD, February 2021Who says a childrens bedroom has to be boisterous and bright? In the case of this Manhattan skyscraper, the opposite is true. The Pierre Paulin chair is covered in Maharam fabric, and D. Porthault sheets appoint the mahogany bunk bed. We didnt want the spaces to feel as if there was too much going on, designer Steven Volpe said to AD at the time. The decorative effects are calculated for subtlety, not artificial drama. When youre in the apartment, you sense the quality. Its quiet, but you feel it.A four-bed room in which Josef Frank rulesA Svenskt Tenn wall covering, captured in November 2016Photographed by Roger Davies, AD, November 2016In this guesthouse, a four-bed space is fit to be any visiting childs dream come true. Pink and blue options aside, a Josef Frank floral pattered wallpaper brings with it the perfect dose of whimsy. Decorator David Netto created the entire stand-alone guest dwelling, with the help of architect Marc Appleton and landscape designer Deborah Nevins.Blue and green and patterned all overThis striped room originally appeared in ADs January 2015 issue.Photo: Roger DaviesFor this California home, designer Miles Redd was tasked with toning down his usually color-happy sensibility for a client who preferred a subdued color scheme. The kids bedroom was the one place he was able to play with color in his typical fashion. The walls and ceilings are painted in white and blue Benjamin Moore; a green Alan Campbell pattern upholsters the bench, ottoman, and side chairs. Finally, a pinch of robins egg enlivens the lampshades.Kelly Wearstlers take on the teen roomIts a party! Stripes, dots, and a dash of fuchsia enliven this teens room from January 2013.Photo: Roger DaviesWhen AD100 Hall of Fame designer Kelly Wearstler gave this Bel Air homepublished in January 2013a makeover, the bedazzled flair she brought to the rest of the house carried into the daughters room. The homeowner requested a touch of pink, which Wearstler delivered through a fuchsia leather armchair and ottoman. The chrome bed by Paul Evans puts a fresh spin on the traditional four-poster. Both the custom wall covering by Porter Teleo and the customized carpet by the Rug Company reflect the youthful exuberance of the rooms inhabitant.Think pinkRose tones rule in this bedroom from February 2012.Photo: Roger DaviesPink may be an expected hue for a girls room design, but architect and decorator Jorge Eliass execution is anything but. Featured in the February 2012 issue of AD, Elias custom designed the four-posters for the bedroom, choosing an off-white tone that pales against the coral walls. From the footstools to the light fixtures, the antique-looking pieces add dimension to the space. The Indian coverlets on each bed were sourced from Jorge Elias Boutique.A spot for a color and chaosBerkus and Brent redux, seen in the January 2018 issuePhoto: Douglas FriedmanWe go for a very clean, masculine look. We dont like to live with a lot of color, Jeremiah Brent told AD in the January 2018 feature on his and Nate Berkuss family home in LA. Their daughters playroom is one slight exception to the designers shared no-color rule. The memory board over the sofa offers a prime spot for displaying colorful artworks, and the toy basket runs over with plush playthings. Shes obsessed with pink and princessesbig shockerso we try to keep the color and chaos confined to her zone, Berkus explained. Still, the furnishings stick to Brent and Berkuss clean look.Symmetry winsTwin peeks in May 2016Credit: Upton Photography Ltd.A romp through the AD archive can be helpful for identifying some space-saving kids room storage ideas too. Case in point? This room for the children of Fiona Kotur by Alexander Stuart. As seen in the May 2016 issue, the home for the family of six contained many custom pieces made in Hong Kong. Storage solutions were a necessity in the shared bedroomso the beds in the boys room have built-in drawers to maximize space.Layered and lived-inControlled chaos makes this room from November 2012 a charmer.Photo: Pieter EstersohnAnother Blackberry Farm feature! Designer Suzanne Kasler described the Tennessee homes look as collected rather than decorated, in the November 2012 issue. The designer worked with architecture firm Spitzmiller & Norris to give the new build that coveted lived-in feel for a family of six. It abounds with bookmark-worthy kids room ideas, amplifying the layered feeling of the whole home with plenty of textiles, patterns, and mementos to go around.A place for purpleVirginia Tupkers whimsical take on a childs room appeared in the January 2023 issue.Photo: Isabel ParraEach room has a strong color story, AD100 designer Virginia Tupker said to AD about this Connecticut home published in the January 2023 issue. It unifies the house and allows a narrative to unfold through the spaces. This purple bedroom features an Adelphi Paper Hangings wallpaper, a custom floral fabric bedspread, and a Delft tile on the fireplace.Playing dress upIts a jungle in there. This scene was captured for ADs January 2019 issue.Photo: Jean-Francois JaussaudAD100 designer Isabelle Stanislas worked with her clients to restore their 17th-century Paris apartment to its original grandeur. Though they had history in mind, they didnt shy away from modern touches. The five-year-old daughters bedroom has the same attitude, with some modern furnishings against a grand backdrop set by the de Gournay wall covering and under the antique Murano chandelier. For functionality, a bookshelf nook is placed near the bed. My goal was both to remain true to its past and to give it a new soul, Stanislas told AD in the January 2019 feature.Bright white and storage fullSeen in the February 2012 issue of ADPhoto: Nikolas KoenigThen editorial director of Martha Stewart Weddings Darcy Miller Nussbaum was completely in love with this found Upper East Side apartment, but no one else in the family was. She turned to David Mann of MR Architecture + Decor to remake it for their needs, and the finished product was featured in ADs February 2012 issue. Mann brightened the space up by using a lot of white throughout, including in this kids room. The built-in bookcase ensures that all of the stuffed animals, picture books, and toys always have a place to rest.California coolThis light and bright kids room appeared in ADs January 2024 issue.Photo: Peter BakerThis childs room, designed by Alexander Liberman of AML Studio, pays tribute to California midcentury modernism while still being kid-friendly. The rounded shapes of the headboard and side table are appropriately playfuland can easily feel grown-up once the clients daughter is. As seen in the January 2024 issue of AD, the simple color palette draws the eyes up to the rooms clerestory windows.Wild and wonderful reposeFlora and fauna appear throughout this Sara Storydesigned room from April 2014.Photo: Pieter EstersohnAt AD100 designer Sara Storys family home in Texas, published in the April 2014 issue of the magazine, her daughters bedroom looks like an homage to the wonders of nature. Almost like decals, butterflies on the de Gournay wallpaper appear in mid-flight. A side chair has a wonderfully bright floral pattern, and a side table looks like an elephants foot.Refined simplicityIn the November 2023 issue, Giancarlo Valle whips up a soothing palette with punchy patterns.Photo: Stephen JohnsonIt had an unimposing formality that we tried to maintain, Jane Keltner de Valle said of the home she shares with her children and husband, AD100 designer Giancarlo Valle, in ADs November 2023 issue. Even as we put our own stamp on it, we wanted the house to remain as it has always been. In their daughters bedroom, a secretary desk serves as a storage solution while maintaining that charming air of formality. The piece is surrounded by a Studio Giancarlo Valle Paloma Mirror, Roman shades in a Maharam fabric, and a quilt from Paula Rubenstein.Bed overheadA ladyfinger-like bed crowns this girls room from the July 2021 issue of AD.Photo: Trevor TondroFeatured in the July 2021 issue of AD, the home Nate Berkus and Jeremiah Brent designed for their friends Brian Robbins and Tracy James balances moody moments with energetic bright spots. One space that falls in the latter category is the little girls bedroom. The room has an adorable custom loft bed in Designers Guild fabric and is wrapped in a vibrant pink Rebel Walls covering.Pink, pink, and more pinkThis room appeared in the October 2011 issue of AD.Photo: Nikolas KoenigSometimes the classic kids room ideas are the very best. Published in ADs October 2011 issue, designers Tony Ingrao and Randy Kemper created a happily pink-infused bedroom for their clients daughter. They deployed fabrics by Osborne & Little and Designers Guild for the window coverings, plus carpeting by Stark. The long headboard design gives the twin frame daybed-like adaptability.Honey yellow high/lowCordelia de Castellanes daughters roomwith its charming mix of golden gingham and throwback floralsran in ADs September 2020 issue.Photo: Matthieu SalvaingHigh/low is the way to go in the bedroom of Cordelia de Castellanes daughter. The walls are wrapped in a Colefax and Fowler floral fabric, and the linens and bedside lamp are from Zara Home. With its honey-and-white color palette, the space feels like a breath of fresh air. Its a bit mix and match but every piece has a story, de Castellane told AD in the September 2020 feature on her home.Pragmatic primpingThis pink-accented room appeared in the pages of AD in January 2010.Photo: Saylor H. DurstonInterior designer Tracey Winn Pruzan of Cullman & Kravis renovated her Park Avenue duplex with interior architect John B. Murray, giving the space a better backdrop for her varied furnishings. New moldings, doors, floors, and ceilings were devised for every space, including her daughters room, which has a built-in desk and bookcase too. If she is ever tired of the bright pink, we can always replace the rug and redo the pillows, Pruzan told AD in her January 2010 feature regarding the pragmatic decision to keep the permanent elements neutral.Fashion friendlyBack in December 2007, AD published this childs room with its cocooning daybed.Photo: Soluri TonyIn her Chicago home, designer Suzanne Lovell honored her daughters love of fashion by centering her bedroom on a custom art piece by artist Key-Sook Geum. Nearby, a George Nelson Bubble lamp illuminates one corner, and etchings acquired in Vietnam preside over the bed. I was surprised by objects I had to contribute, from my family and my own life and travels, Lovell said of the design experience in the December 2007 piece. It was all incredibly fun.I want a hippopotamus for ChristmasFrom the October 2018 issue of ADPhoto: William AbranowiczHigh design isnt just for adults, as illustrated by this home featured in the October 2018 issue of AD. Masterminded by Charles de Lisle, with architectural restoration by Marmol Radziner, the home of Jessica and Aaron Sittig is filled with design deep cuts and curiosities. The kids room has a Renate Mller hippo toy and a freestanding plywood sleeping pod. And in the kids bathroom sits a custom sink by London design star Max Lamb.A music lovers momentAD featured this cozy kid retreat in February 2023.Photo: Frank FrancesViola Daviss daughters bedroom is exactly what every tween wants, chockablock with posters, fun hanging chairs, and records galore. The Davises worked with designer Michaela Cadiz on their LA home, which was published in ADs February 2023 issue. They embraced a statement wallpaper, a colorful striped rug, and some simple white curtains for good balance.A rich tapestrySteeped in textiles, accessories, and bold sweeps of color, this Tribeca kids roomwhich ran in ADs January 2022 issueis a showstopper.Photo: Miguel Flores-ViannaSearching for kids room decor ideas that are as complex and rich as the rest of the home? Look no further than this wonderfully layered Tribeca room from ADs January 2022 issue. We paint a picture for you; we make a movie for you to live in, designer Will Cooper, then of Ash, told AD at the time. We always write a narrative when we start these projects. The kids bedroom decor is certainly cinematic. Amidst a sea of greenspecifically Benjamin Moore's Cedar Groveantique Indian wedding-procession tents hang above the beds, which date back to the 1920s.To access the full AD archive, subscribe to AD PRO.
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  • "A fun example of a bug becoming a feature" Destiny 2 is technically a bit broken right now, and Bungie has no plans to fix it
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    No, Really!"A fun example of a bug becoming a feature" Destiny 2 is technically a bit broken right now, and Bungie has no plans to fix itIf only all bugs could be like this. News by Oisin Kuhnke Contributor Published on Feb. 24, 2025 If you noticed an odd bug in Destiny 2 recently, don't worry about it, because Bungie isn't fixing it on purpose.There are lots of things that separate games from other mediums out there, but I think one of the biggest are bugs and glitches. The closest thing you could maybe find elsewhere is in live theatre, because accidents can happen, but it's not exactly the same given the way games work. Sometimes, little bugs can find their way into games and just get embraced by the devs, like how in Celeste players discovered certain walls of spikes had single-pixel-wide windows you could dash through, and the devs added in a custom animation to show you're doing the trick right. It's neat! And while Bungie isn't going quite that far with Destiny 2's latest bug, it is still embracing it.To see this content please enable targeting cookies. In recent weeks following Heresy's launch, some players noticed that three exotic glaive weapons, the Edge of Intent, the Edge of Concurrence, and the Edge of Action, amongst others, which were typically class-specific could be used on any class. And, as it turns out, Bungie has been "seeing some great celebrations with the removal of these constraints," as it explained in a blog post last week. "Our first reactions were focused more towards fixing the issue as we want to retain strong class-based fantasies within Destiny, and the removal of class locks muddies the water a bit," Bungie continued. "As an example, it's a bit weird to see a Warlock or a Hunter spawning a mini-bubble or seeing a Titan running like a ninja. After some discussions between team members, we've arrived at a new decision: we're going to let this ride. A fun example of a bug becoming a feature."Now, one thing Bungie did want to note is that some animations might not look right given that certain combos aren't meant to happen. On top of that it found from talking amongst the team, "class-based Glaives open up some interesting new buildcrafting opportunities. In the future, we will be keeping a close eye on how these Glaives are performing across all three classes."Bungie did also make it clear that it "won't always look at weird bugs and decide to support them as a feature," but this one "felt appropriate", so don't pointlessly hope that it'll keep the next weird bug that rolls around (even though you probably will).
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  • Fatal Fury: City of the Wolves' beta has been cracked wide open, with players simply turning on an otherwise disabled training mode
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    CrackedFatal Fury: City of the Wolves' beta has been cracked wide open, with players simply turning on an otherwise disabled training modeCrack users are out there, practicing combos and uncovering all manner of secrets. News by Connor Makar Staff Writer Published on Feb. 24, 2025 The Fatal Fury: City of the Wolves open beta has been cracked, allowing those with the game and some naughty software to bypass the game's intended settings and access features and content otherwise locked away. This includes a training mode, which folks have been using to train before they're meant to.For context, the City of the Wolves (CoTW) beta kicked off last Friday up until today, and comes with an offline tutorial and online matchmaking. The assumed purpose of this test is to push the matchmaking and netcode to its limits, which players certainly have. The beta has shown cracks in such areas, leading SNK to consider another test in the near future. However, by most accounts, the beta has proven a nice way of fighting game fans to try out the game.To see this content please enable targeting cookies. Enter the crackers, causing mischief. On PC, some players have discovered that by using Cheat Engine, they've been able to hop into the beta files and mess around. This has lead to a variety of discoveries not meant for mortal eyes quite yet. There are some serious spoilers out there, which we won't share here to protect the innocents eager to learn more in due time, but it has also allowed for offline training modes to become accessible. It doesn't sound like it was particularly hard to do, either.This has resulted in the past few days of CoTW beta time being spent, by some, in the lab. Gameplay footage on Twitter confirms the discovery, as we can see basic frame data information on display, as well as a limited number of combo trails playable by those willing to be a bit cheeky and get up to no good. Now, fighting game betas and crackers are no newfound issue. Street Fighter 6 had its own Cracker problem, as did Tekken 8 a little later. It looks like any time a fighting game dev puts out an early test like this, an arms race of sorts kicks up with people all over the world rolling up their sleeves and finding the Crack.So why does this matter? Well, for the average player, it doesn't! A day or two of extra training time won't mean much when the game actually comes out. And, let's face it, chances are if you're reading this you (nor I) are taking rounds off FGC greats anyway. In fact, as long as the beta remains unplayable after today, it shouldn't matter much to anyone at all.Where this get's really tricky is if crackers can find a way to access the training mode after the servers shut down. Then, there's a serious problem. Again, not for me or you, but for the competitive scene. With CoTW coming out in April, this Super Crack would allow those with their eyes set on glory to train for roughly two months ahead of the game's full release. This would provide an undeniable advantage for the first few months of the game's life.Consider the Esports World Cup, a Saudi Arabian tournament series with CoTW on its main stage roster of games. A government Sportswashing venture with some serious money on the line, those willing to compete in spite of ethical concerns could potentially win a lot of money. Now, this tournament happens shortly after CoTW's launch, meaning those with two months of practice time would have a major advantage. Not that Saudi Arabia likely cares, as long as the players turn up and SNK's game is on the stage (Saudi Arabia being the sole owner of SNK), then they win either way.But for players it provides a serious dilemma. Being a Cracker is without a doubt a punishable offence at tournaments if evidence of its use can be established, but at the same time you've got to accept the reality that most top level players would be using it if one exists. Let's hope that an offline-functional Beta Crack does not exist, or this is something all high level CoTW players will have to contend with.What do you think, will naughty crackers out there figure out how to get an offline version working? Is it so bad to use it? Let us know below!
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  • Balatro's Ridiculous 18+ Age Rating Is Finally Lowered
    www.nintendolife.com
    Image: PlayStackPEGI (Pan European Game Information) has announced that it has lowered the age rating for the smash-hit poker roguelike Balatro (thanks, Eurogamer).The game drew plenty of attention when PEGI rated it 18+ in Europe, citing its resemblance to the real-world game of poker as the main catalyst. It reasoned that players may be able to transfer knowledge gained from Balatro into actual games of poker, but following a formal appeal, it appears that PEGI has finally seen some sense.Posting an official confirmation on its website, PEGI states that Balatro is now rated 12+, with Luck be a Landlord also benefitting from the board's change of heart:Subscribe to Nintendo Life on YouTube797kWatch on YouTube "The PEGI 18 rating for the game Balatro has been changed to a PEGI 12 following a successful appeal submitted by publisher Sold Out Sales & Marketing. The Complaints Board concluded that, although the game explains the various hands of poker, the roguelike deck-building game contained mitigating fantastical elements that warranted a PEGI 12 rating."At the time of writing, Balatro is still showing its 18+ rating on the Nintendo Switch eShop, though we suspect this will be altered very soon. There's a chance the game may be briefly removed from sale while this takes place, but don't be alarmed if this is the case.Balatro recently bagged three gongs at the DICE Awards and has sold a remarkable 5 million copies since its launch. It's also the proud owner of a rare 10/10 review score from yours truly, in which we described it as "a roguelike for gamers who don't like roguelikes".If you've yet to check it out, what are you waiting for? And Animal Well wins 'Best Direction'Keep it up!Are you pleased to see Balatro's age rating finally lowered in Europe? Let your thoughts be known with a comment down below.[source pegi.info, via eurogamer.net]Related GamesSee AlsoShare:01 Nintendo Lifes resident horror fanatic, when hes not knee-deep in Resident Evil and Silent Hill lore, Ollie likes to dive into a good horror book while nursing a lovely cup of tea. He also enjoys long walks and listens to everything from TOOL to Chuck Berry. Hold on there, you need to login to post a comment...Related ArticlesNintendo Is Discontinuing Gold Points, One Of The Switch's Best IncentivesNoooo, don't do it!Toby Fox Shares Development Update On Deltarune Chapter 3 And 4"Still console testing"Hollow Knight: Silksong Briefly Vanishes From US Switch eShop, But It's Back NowUpdate: Restored after a few hoursFunko Fusion Is Deemed A "Complete Commercial And Critical Failure"Around 20 unconfirmed layoffs reported
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  • New 'Dating App For Games' Tool Looks To Leverage Human Expertise Over AI
    www.nintendolife.com
    Subscribe to Nintendo Life on YouTube797kA new tool billed as a 'dating app for games' is currently seeking funding via Kickstarter to ultimately help you find your next all-time favourite.Ludocene comes from the team behind the Family Gaming Database (which, full disclaimer, we are partnered with for accessibility information in our own game pages) and is essentially a deck-builder in which you create the perfect deck of games you love. Simply start by searching for games that you know you'll want to include, and Ludocene will do the rest, presenting tailored recommendations similar to your choices. You can then either exclaim "away with you!" and swipe them off the screen, or add them to your deck if you think they look interesting.In addition, Ludocene will include decks from industry experts, including the likes of Chris Schilling, Rachel Watts, Matthew Castle, Lucy Bundell, and many more. By selecting these 'Expert' cards, you can immediately have your own game suggestions tailored to their tastes, allowing you to potentially venture into genres you've perhaps not experienced before.Essentially, the team is betting on human experts over the use of AI, and should the project come to fruition, it's hoping the level of curation can be increased further with even more experts. To help facilitate this, an optional 3/month subscription will be available should you find the app to be particularly useful. Otherwise, it will be free for all.Given the sheer number of games launching on a weekly basis, Ludocene sounds like an intriguing way to cut through some of the noise and nail down the games that truly speak to you. Of course, it'll need to be funded for that to happen, but with 17 days to go until the Kickstarter campaign finishes, there's plenty of time to get involved if you're curious. "Even as we transition to Nintendo Switch 2"Does this sound interesting to you, or are you happy to find new games in other ways? Let us know your thoughts with a comment down below.[source kickstarter.com]Share:381 Nintendo Lifes resident horror fanatic, when hes not knee-deep in Resident Evil and Silent Hill lore, Ollie likes to dive into a good horror book while nursing a lovely cup of tea. He also enjoys long walks and listens to everything from TOOL to Chuck Berry. Hold on there, you need to login to post a comment...Related ArticlesNintendo Is Discontinuing Gold Points, One Of The Switch's Best IncentivesNoooo, don't do it!Toby Fox Shares Development Update On Deltarune Chapter 3 And 4"Still console testing"Funko Fusion Is Deemed A "Complete Commercial And Critical Failure"Around 20 unconfirmed layoffs reportedHands On: Xenoblade Chronicles X: Definitive Edition - A Decade On, Mira's Still Got ItA Skell of a good time
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