Minecrafts chat window doubles as a console, granting a lot of power to the player in both Bedrock and Java Editions. With several commands at their disposal, one can bend a few rules in the game, take charge of their world, and ignore the survival aspect in the open-world sandbox. From teleporting to a specific chunk to spawning a specific mob, everything is possible with a few inputs in the chat window.

Adding Machine Learning NPCs in video gamesMachine Learning has become more and more prominent in the game industry in the last few years. Its an already used tool that can be applied to a large number of domains which could be difficult even for humans to solve. As the processing power allows the machines to learn faster we have seen developments in real time rendering, animations, procedural content generation such as terrain and music and even NVID

Despite all the massive improvements in Monster Hunter Wilds, Capcom will still charge you money to edit your character or Palico more than once.Once you create your character during the intro sequence, youll only have one opportunity to fully change them using a free character edit voucher. After that, itll cost you at least $6.99 to even enter the customization menu again although thatll net you three vouchers. Palico edit vouchers are the same deal, but you can also buy a three-pack of both for $9.99.Theres currently no way to earn character or Palico edit vouchers by simply playing the game, just as it is in Monster Hunter Rise and Monster Hunter World. In your tent, you can edit minor aspects of your character without a voucher, like their makeup, facial hair, and clothing, but everything else is locked behind the full customization menu.Not being able to repeatedly change your hunters features for free hasnt surprised longtime players, but it also hasnt made them any less frustrated that Capcom still wants to charge for it. Given that Monster Hunter Wilds features some of the series most stunning outfits which you can swap between for free its a bizarre choice.Polygon has asked Capcom why it decided to keep character edit vouchers. Well update this post when we hear back.Over a million people were playing Monster Hunter Wilds hours after it launched on Steam today, and thats not counting all the people on consoles. If youre planning to spend the weekend on the hunt, make sure your character looks exactly the way you want them to early on when you can still restart. Otherwise, you might have to take out the credit card.

Each week on Polygon, we round up the most notable new releases to streaming and VOD, highlighting the biggest and best new movies for you to watch at home.This week, Venom: The Last Dance, the latest symbiotic antihero film starring Tom Hardy, slithers its way onto Netflix. Thats not all thats new to streaming this week, as The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim makes its way onto Max, and the Oscar-nominated drama Nickel Boys arrives on MGM Plus just in time for this weekends awards ceremony. Theres tons of other exciting new releases on VOD as well, including Steven Soderberghs supernatural drama Presence, the action comedy Love Hurts starring Ke Huy Quan (Everything Everywhere All at Once), and the Bob Dylan biopic A Complete Unknown starring Timothe Chalamet.Heres everything new thats available to watch this weekend!New on NetflixVenom: The Last DanceWhere to watch: Available to stream on NetflixGenre:Superhero actionRun time:1h 50mDirector:Kelly MarcelCast:Tom Hardy, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Juno TempleTom Hardy returns for one last outing as the long-tongued parasitic antihero Venom. Following the events ofVenom: Let There Be Carnage, Eddie Brock (Hardy) and the Venom symbiote are still on the run. Hunted by both the military and a mysterious extraterrestrial threat known as the Xenophage, Eddie and Venom must work together once more to survive and clear their name.From ourreview:The originalVenomfound success in the mess of Hardys gutsy performance straining against stakes as mundane as Eddie interacting with his ex and her aggressively normal new boyfriend, after they watched him feverishly climb into a restaurants lobster tank.Last Dance, however, removes every human consideration from the equation of Eddies life every social tie, every personal goal, every stake smaller than aliens and the government are trying to kill us.New on MaxThe Lord of the Rings: The War of the RohirrimWhere to watch:Available to stream on MaxGenre:Fantasy epicRun time:2h 14mDirector:Kenji KamiyamaCast:Brian Cox, Gaia Wise, Miranda OttoSet hundreds of years before the War of the Ring,The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrimcenters on the story of Hra (Gaia Wise), the daughter of King Helm Hammerhand (Brian Cox). When Wulf (Luke Pasqualino), a ruthless Dunlending lord, embarks on a campaign of revenge against her father, Hra and her family must make a last stand to protect their kingdom.From ourreview:Director Kenji Kamiyama (Blade Runner: Black Lotus) takes on the task of making an animated Middle-earth that feels like part of the same tapestry as Jacksons Lord of the Rings movies. This attention to detail and reproduction is the movies greatest strength The War of the Rohirrimlooks and feels like Jacksons LotR in the best way. Its packed full of sword-swinging adventure, kingly drama and riveting monster mayhem. Unfortunately, it also reproduces the aspect of the Jackson movies that has aged most poorly.n hac habitasse platea dictumst quisque sagittis purus. Vitae suscipit tellus mauris a diam maecenas.New on Paramount PlusSeptember 5Where to watch: Available to stream on Paramount PlusGenre: Historical dramaRun time: 1h 35mDirector: Tim FehlbaumCast: Peter Sarsgaard, John Magaro, Ben ChaplinNominated for Best Original Screenplay at this years Academy Awards,September 5is a historical drama about the Munich massacre of 1972. The film follows the events of the tragedy through the eyes of the ABC crew in charge of reporting on the Munich Olympics but the uneventful sports event takes a turn when militant organization Black September takes the Israeli team hostage.New on MGM PlusNickel BoysWhere to watch: Available to stream on MGM PlusGenre: Historical dramaRun time: 2h 20mDirector: RaMell RossCast: Ethan Herisse, Brandon Wilson, Hamish LinklaterBased on Colson Whiteheads novel, RaMell Ross Oscar-nominated drama centers on Elwood Curtis (Ethan Herisse), a young African American teen who is sentenced to a brutal reformatory school in the Jim Crow South. Struggling to hold on to his hopes of attending college, Elwood befriends Turner (Brandon Wilson), a fellow student, who helps him in navigating the harsh realities of their new home together.New to rentPresenceWhere to watch: Available to rent on Amazon, Apple, and VuduGenre: Supernatural dramaRun time: 1h 25mDirector: Steven SoderberghCast: Lucy Liu, Chris Sullivan, Callina LiangSteven Soderberghs supernatural thriller flips the script on horror tropes: In this haunted house story, the first-person point of view is the enigmatic entity haunting the house. A fractured family moves into a new house, and they soon realize that theres something seemingly malevolent lurking in its halls. Lucy Liu and Chris Sullivan star as the parents, with Callina Liang and Eddy Maday as the surly teenagers.From our review:For audiences expecting breathless tricks out of the usual found-footage horror playbook the kinds of barely glimpsed threats and dimly lit shocks a fast-moving, low-fidelity camera enables Soderberghs approach may seem perverse. The houses bright, open airiness and richly appointed rooms make it seem like an unlikely and even ill-suited space for a haunting. Theres no chance the camera will ever abruptly capture some unexpected, horrifying specter, because the cameraisthe specter.Love HurtsWhere to watch: Available to rent on Amazon, Apple, and VuduGenre: Action comedyRun time: 1h 23mDirector: Jonathan EusebioCast: Ke Huy Quan, Ariana DeBose, Daniel WuKe Huy Quan stars as Marvin, an assassin turned realtor whos just trying to live a normal life. But when he receives a valentine from the target he let go, hes pulled back into the criminal world. Former killer colleagues hound him, trying to find the location of his former mark, who he still harbors feelings for! While the movie is unfortunately light on the love, it still goes hard on the action.From our review:Leitchs most memorable action movies all take place outside of familiar reality, and within pocket worlds with their own clear, strange, often comedic rules. The only rule at work inLove HurtsisLets not commit to anything except the fights. Its as though everyone involved except Quan himself felt like it was uncool to show up for this movie. And hes trying to show up for everyone, everywhere, all at once, but it still isnt enough.A Complete UnknownWhere to watch: Available to rent on Amazon, Apple, and VuduGenre: DocudramaRun time: 2h 21mDirector: James MangoldCast: Timothe Chalamet, Edward Norton, Elle FanningTimothe Chalamet stars as Bob Dylan in this heavily Oscar-nominated docudrama from director James Mangold (Ford v Ferrari). After arriving in New York City, the 19-year-old folk music prodigy navigates the pitfalls of fame as his meteoric rise to stardom coincides with the political and social upheaval of the 1960s.The KillerWhere to watch:Available to rent on Amazon, Apple, and Vudu; streaming on PeacockGenre:Action thrillerRun time:2h 6mDirector:John WooCast:Nathalie Emmanuel, Omar Sy, Sam WorthingtonLegendary action directorJohn Wooreturns with an English-language reimagining of his 1989 action thrillerThe Killer, this time starring Nathalie Emmanuel (Game of Thrones) and Omar Sy (Lupin). Emmanuel portrays Zee, a notorious assassin known and feared in the Parisian underworld as the Queen of the Dead. After refusing to kill a witness who was blinded during her latest assignment, Zee becomes the target of her former employers. Her escapades draw the attention of Sey (Sy), a savvy police detective with whom she reluctantly allies.Its certainly a departure from the original film starring Chow Yun-fat, but hey: If Olivier Assayas can successfully remakeIrma Vepnearly 26 years after the fact, why shouldnt Woo be capable of doing the same with his own work?From our review:The shootouts are tense and balletic, with terrific sound design punctuations of gunfire, something that was also a strength inSilent Night. The loud bangs play well off the dramatic, moody score from composer Marco Beltrami, which, like the movie, balances romance and excitement with shades of classical orchestration and jazz. And the movie justlooksgreat, even though its a straight-to-streaming production: The colors pop, the city of Paris buzzes with life, and the way Woo moves his camera to follow and augment the action is unparalleled.

We may earn a commission from links on this page.While it's true that hand-writing helps you retain more of what you're studying, it's also true that the convenience of a phone or computer just can't be beaten. Taking your study materials with you wherever you are and having digital access to them can be a major benefit, whether you're preparing for a test in school or memorizing points before a big work presentation. Here are my favorite study apps to help do exactly that.For flashcards: Anki Credit: Anki Anki, which can be downloaded and accessed across all kinds of devices from MacBooks to Android phones, is my top pick for for a flashcard appit actually hews close to the Leitner system, the best way to use real-life flashcards. Unlike other apps, this one doesn't always show you every card in your deck. Rather, it shows you the ones you get wrong more often, so you go over those more and deal with the material you're more familiar with less. You can put audio, video, and picture files on your cards, too, so you can use them for a wide variety of tasks, like learning a language or memorizing people's names. You answer a few questions about yourselflike whether you're a student, parent, or trivia enthusiast and what times of day you prefer to study, as well as how long you plan to study each dayand the app creates a plan for you. To use features like customized cards and the Leitner system, as well as flip unlimited cards per day, you'll pay $4.99 per month or $29.99 per year after a free three-day trial. You can add your own cards, of course, but there are plenty of pre-made decks to choose from. For mind maps: Xmind Credit: Xmind Oh, you like studying with mind maps more than flashcards? No problem. Download Xmind, which is free on the iOS App Store, but will cost you $99 per year after your two-week trial. You can make a blank mind map to organize your notesit also comes with a ton of templates for mind maps that focus on problem-solving, business plan creation, project management, or whatever else. They're color-coded, easy to create and edit, and can be accessed by multiple accounts, so you can work on them in tandem with others on your team. (Perfect for group projects!) To minimize distractions: Flora Credit: Flora Flora, available on iOS and Android or via Chrome extension, isn't actually a study app so much as a focus appbut when you're studying, that matters a lot. It's similar to some other apps on the market in that you grow "trees" in a virtual forest, but they only grow as long as you don't interrupt them by using your phone. What I like about this one, though, is that it's free to download and use. You have the option to donate if you want to plant real-life trees based on your own forest and the option to bet actual money on the fact that you won't kill your tree, which will only happen if you abandon your focus during the preset time you scheduled the app for focusing. For instance, I grew a tree successfully by telling the app I wanted to work for 10 minutes straight, then take a five-minute break. You can pick the kinds of trees you grow, how long you spend working, how long your breaks are, and whether your app keeps data on your focus times and/or resets after a week or a month. It's easy to use and very relaxing. To stay organized: MyStudyLife Credit: MyStudyLife I like MyStudyLife as a planner because it's specially designed for school, while apps like iCal and Google Calendar aren't (although you can import your iCal data on here, too). Available on iOS and Android, this tool is free but extremely customizable: You can enter in assignments, tests, and course details right down to the room the class is in and the name of the professor who teaches it. The app will remind you whenever you have something coming up and keeps it all organized in a very simple calendar. It's got a bare-bones interface that is super easy to use and navigate and, for $4.99 per month or $29.99 per year (after a free one-week trial), you can access additional features like grade tracking, widgets, and dark mode. It works absolutely fine on the free version, though, which is why it's the best planner on the market right now. For note-taking: Evernote Credit: Evernote Evernote basically always wins in a battle of note-taking apps, but that's because it really is excellent. You get a planner, docs that you can access from anywhere, and a load of note-taking tools so you can jot down everything important, which the app will then help you organize. With excellence, however, comes a price: The "Best of Evernote" package is $4.99 per week or $169.99 per year while the "Essentials" package is $3.99 per week or $129.99 per year. The free version, though, still lets you create 50 notes, upload up to 250 MB of media and attachments per month, search images and documents, and use features like Tasks, Calendar, and Web Clipper, which lets you save online content to your account. A feature I love is the ability to take a photo of text and have the app transcribe it so it's editable. It's easy to use and fits into way more elements of daily life than just studying and note-taking, so it's ideal to have around. Go to class, take notes, and head to the grocery store with a to-buy list, then make it home in time for your scheduled phone call at 7 p.m., all without leaving the app. (You can leave, though; Evernote will send you push notifications about what's coming up.)

Microsoft is officially shutting down Skype (RIP). Even if you haven't used the app in years, it's possible Skype was your introduction into modern video chats. The app made it easy to call friends and family via video no matter where in the world you all were. As long as you had a stable internet connection, you could Skype. Once Microsoft pulls the plug on Skype for good, legacy users will need a new platform to turn to. Microsoft will encourage you to switch to Teams, and you can. But there are better alternatives out there. The goal (and challenge) of choosing a video calling platform is to convince other people to join you. The last thing you want is to pick an app that no one uses, then force everyone in your circle to adopt that choice. The less friction, the better. That's why platforms that work with people's existing accounts and platforms are best here: There are some great options out there, from Viber to Signal, that offer good video calling features, but you'll have a lot more luck calling your friends if you meet them where they are. I've focused this list with that in mind. Google Meet Credit: Lifehacker If your goal is to find the easiest video call solution for the average person in your contacts list, my go-to would be Google Meet. In 2025, chances are high the person you're trying to reach has a Google Accounteven if it isn't their platform of choice.Because many of us have Google Accounts already, it doesn't really matter what devices or platforms you're working from. Whether one of you has a Mac, another a PC, or you're on competing ends of the iOS versus Android debate, Google Meet works on just about any device. It free, of course, but you do get some perks if you payincluding higher quality video. My main issue with Google Meet, though, is it's not all that intuitive. The service seems designed more for business and professional use than casual conversation, so it isn't necessarily as ideal as Skype was in its heyday. (Just the fact that Google calls the default option "meetings" on the web app makes me feel like I'm working, instead of calling a friend or family member.) Plus, there's a 60 minute limit on calls at a time for free users: That's fine for shorter calls, but if you tend to sit on video chats for hours, you'll be picking up the phone a number of times.If your friend has their Google Account properly set up, though, calling them is as easy as it was on Skypeor about as easy as opening the traditional phone app. However, if their Google Account isn't setup for calls, you need to share the call link with them instead, which is fine, but adds some friction to what should be a simple experience. Again, though, you're not going to find a perfect video call solution if the other person isn't already using that platform.If you're on your computer, you can use the Google Meet web app for most purposes. If you prefer video chatting on mobile, there are apps for both iOS and Androidthough Meet may already be installed on your Android device. Google Meet supports video calls with up to 100 participants, as many as Skype did. WhatsApp Credit: Lifehacker Like Google, WhatsApp is insanely popular around the world. If you're not using WhatsApp, someone you know is, which makes it a close second on this list (if not tied for first). WhatsApp's standardization gives it the same advantage as Google Meet: There is a very good chance the person you want to video call has an account. I don't use WhatsApp, but I have a WhatsApp account. Better yet, the app doesn't have a time limit for calls, so you can talk as long as you want. Like Google Meet, WhatsApp is available just about everywhere you access the internet. You can use it on an iPhone or Android device, or access it via the web app. WhatsApp even has a desktop app, unlike Google Meet, which potentially makes it the better Skype replacement. I personally used Skype on my Mac back in the day, and the experience of calling someone on WhatsApp using the app is a bit more reminiscent of that experience than Google Meet's web app is. WhatsApp doesn't support as many participants as Skype did: The app will let you hold calls with up to 32 other people, which, while far less than 100, is still a lot of people for video calls. Facebook Messenger Credit: Lifehacker If not one Meta app, why not another? Messenger has been the go-to option for Facebook users for years, simply because it's built right into Meta's flagship social network. But in recent years, the company's efforts to spin the app into a dedicated messaging service have been successful. I don't use many Facebook account these days, but I do check my Messenger app more often than not. Again, you have the built-in user base here. Facebook might be the largest network of the three mentioned so far. You might have to add your friend before giving them a ring, but seeing as the social media platform contains more than 35% of the world's population, you shouldn't be shocked if the person you want to call is a member. I quite like Messenger's video calling experience, especially on desktop. The Mac app definitely offers a video chat interface that veteran Skype users will enjoy. However, it's a little frustrating you can't start a video call without already having a chat thread going first. If the person or group you want to call already has a conversation going, great: just hit the video call icon to start a chat. However, if not, you'll need to send a message to your friend or friends first, then call them. I suppose it's nice to give them a heads up, but, again, friction!Facebook Messenger used to support video calls of up to 50 people through a feature called "Rooms," but Meta has since discontinued that option. There are no time limits on Messenger calls. FaceTime Credit: frank333/Shutterstock If you have an Apple account and the person you're trying to chat with also has an Apple account, just FaceTime them. The service is easy to use, end-to-end encrypted, and comes with a number of features you might expect from a more business-facing platform than FaceTimelike screen sharing and remote screen controlling. There's hardly anything easier than hitting the FaceTime button on an iMessage thread, or tapping your friend's name in the FaceTime app: seconds later, you'll be chatting. Things get trickier though when you consider the friends who don't have iPhonesespecially those who live outside your country. It's suddenly not so easy when you try to call a friend who doesn't have their international number tied to their Apple Account. Still, that doesn't mean you should count out FaceTime entirely. Apple lets you create a FaceTime link that anyone can use to join a calleven those on Android or PC. It's adds an extra hurdle than if you were calling another Apple user, but it still works, which makes this method perhaps the easiest for those of us with iPhones or Macs: Forget about the other apps, just make a FaceTime link, send it to your friends, and wait for them to join your call.FaceTime supports the same number of callers as WhatsApp, 32, with no time limits. Perhaps its biggest drawback is the lack of a native text chat feature: Google Meet supports a native chat, like Skype, while WhatsApp and Messenger are built out of chat apps, so you can send messages there as well. FaceTime, however, is its own entity: If you're all on Apple devices, you can continue the conversation on iMessage, but it isn't quite the same. Teams So work focused. Credit: Lifehacker Microsoft, unsurprisingly, wants you to switch from Skype to Teams. In some ways, that makes sense: The company owns both platforms, so moving from Skype to Teams should be the simple answer. However, Teams is so obviously built with work conferencing in mind (hence the name), that if you're looking for a standard app for casual video calling, this one could be a bit overkill. (It's not like I'd recommend to switch to Slack for casual video calls, either.)If your callers are all Windows users with corresponding Microsoft Accounts, Teams might work. The app does support up to 100 people, and you can chat for 60 minutes at a time. (One-on-one chats are available for 30 hours at a time.) You can also access Teams on a number of different devicesnot just Windows machines. If your device has a camera, you can probably use Teams for video calls. The addition of a built-in chat function is helpful, as well. Still, personally, I'd suggest trying one of the other options over Teams. Zoom (not recommended) Many of us in the working world (as well as those of us who jumped on video chats during the pandemic) are quite acquainted with Zoom. The app is perhaps one of the first you think of when you consider video calls, though it's not necessarily one you pick up for casual use. Zoom does offer large video callsup to 100 participantsfor free, but that comes with some limits. While many free video calling platforms end after 60 minutes, Zoom's free calls end at 40 minutes. Unless you're already paying for the service, it really isn't a convenient option for those times you want to catch up with friends or family on video.

Developer Necrosoft Games has assembled another huge bundle of games on Itch.io to support a good cause. It includes more than 400 games that can be yours if you pony up at least $10 to support wildfire relief efforts in Southern California.Tunic, one of our favorite games of 2022, is arguably the highest-profile game in the California Fire Relief Bundle. Buying this beautiful, Zelda-esque adventure on Steam right now would cost you $30. That alone makes the bundle great value, though it includes over $3,200 worth of games.There are a few other particularly notable games on the list. You may have heard of restaurant sim Cook, Serve, Delicious! 2!!, the fairly self-explanatory SkateBird or the utterly ridiculous Octodad: Dadliest Catch. There's also Hidden Folks, a charming puzzle title that we reckon is a great way to help you destress. Hundreds of other lesser-known games await your curiosity too. For instance, there's a pretty puzzle-platformer called Hoa that I've been meaning to get around to.Along with video games, there are physical table-top roleplaying games (including a Bugsnax card game you can print and play), asset packs, books, comics and other projects in the bundle. You'll find a few Playdate games in there as well. Note that there are no Steam keys available through this bundle, but it's not too complicated to set up an Itch.io launcher on Steam Deck.Organizers are aiming to raise $100,000 for CORE (Community Organized Relief Effort). The Los Angeles-based organization "offers direct monetary support to survivors of the fires and supports projects for fire resilience in affected areas (and potential disaster zones)," the bundle's page states. Save for processing fees, all proceeds will go to CORE. The campaign, which will run until just before midnight ET on March 13, is already over three-quarters of the way to its goal.The wildfires that struck Southern California in early January damaged or destroyed more than 18,000 structures and led to the evacuation of more than 200,000 people. As of February 12, 29 people are known to have died in the fires.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/pc/tunic-and-400-other-games-can-be-yours-for-just-10-thanks-to-a-charity-itchio-bundle-202504116.html?src=rss

Fubo TV is bringing in more subscribers and revenue but still losing loads of money. Ahead of its proposed Hulu + Live TV merger, the broadcast streaming service increased its subscriber count by about four percent in Q4 2024 and its quarterly revenue by eight percent from a year earlier. And hey, it only lost about $41 million in the quarter, so things aren't too shabby!The streaming service ended Q4 with 1.676 million paid subscribers. That's up from 1.61 million in Q3 and 1.45 million in Q2, so the company is doing something right in attracting new customers. Its total revenue has also grown: nearly $1.59 billion for the year (up 19 percent from 2023) and $433.8 million for the quarter (up eight percent from Q4 2023). Not too shabby!But Fubo is losing boatloads of money just less than before. It posted a net loss of nearly $178 million for the year, more than enough to ruin most individuals and small- or medium-sized businesses. But since this is corporate America, things are looking up there, champ! That's because Fubo improved its losses by over $115 million from a year earlier.The company is headed for some big changes. Pending shareholder and regulatory approval, Disney will buy a 70 percent stake in the company and merge it with Hulu + Live TV. The deal would create a new entity to manage the two brands, although the plan is for them to continue as separate services (at least at first).Fubo is arguably the best live TV service for sports, but it still has some notable missing pieces. For starters, you won't find any Warner Bros. Discovery content. That means subscribers will miss out on a bunch of NBA games (before TNT's deal with the league expires at the end of the season) and MLB games on TBS.It also recently increased its prices, with the cheapest plan coming in at $85, slightly more than YouTube TV. Like the traditional cable it's gunning to replace, live streaming TV is increasingly an expensive hot mess.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/entertainment/streaming/fubo-grows-its-subscribers-and-revenue-as-disney-deal-looms-183344157.html?src=rss

With Jack Whitehall hosting and Sabrina Carpenter, The Last Dinner Party and Sam Fender performing, heres how you can watch Brit Awards 2025 from anywhere.

Record figure is likely to rise even higher in 2025 as new information on historical activity emerges.