Check out this outstanding 3D animation depicting the evolution of PlayStation consoles, created by 3D Artist known online as Viscous Realm. Showing the original PS transforming into PS2, PS3, and onward, the idea for this mesmerizing sequence first came to Viscous three years ago when the artist wasnt sure his artistic skills would allow him to fully translate his vision to reality and revisited in recent weeks, with the the final result looking nothing short of flawless.As an avid Blender enthusiast, the creator opted for his go-to 3D software to bring the project to life.And here are some of the artists earlier works, you can check out more by clicking this link: View this post on InstagramA post shared by Viscous Realm | 3d Enthusiast | Blender Artist (@viscous.realm) View this post on InstagramA post shared by Viscous Realm | 3d Enthusiast | Blender Artist (@viscous.realm) View this post on InstagramA post shared by Viscous Realm | 3d Enthusiast | Blender Artist (@viscous.realm) View this post on InstagramA post shared by Viscous Realm | 3d Enthusiast | Blender Artist (@viscous.realm) View this post on InstagramA post shared by Viscous Realm | 3d Enthusiast | Blender Artist (@viscous.realm)We also recommend visiting Viscous Realms YouTube channel to learn more about using Blender for 3D animation.Dont forget tojoin our80 Level Talent platformand ournew Discord server, follow us onInstagram,Twitter,LinkedIn,Telegram,TikTok, andThreads,where we share breakdowns, the latest news, awesome artworks, and more.Source link The post This Neat 3D Animation Shows the Evolution of PlayStation Consoles appeared first on CG SHARES.

Fields of Mistria's second major update is here, and "major" is definitely the operative word. NPC Studio added more ways to play, places to explore, gifts to give, and ways to decorate your homestead, and that's just the start. There's a suite of quality-of-life improvements, including one that lets you divine a neighbor's favorite gift for free once per day, and the option to adopt a furry friend of your very own.There's a lot to cover, and we've broken down the major changes in Fields of Mistria's second major update below, with the full set of patch notes further down. Caldarus appears (in human form)Caldarus, Mistria's resident dragon guardian, has been part of your farm life since the beginning, when Eiland uncovered an old statue of the semi-divine figure, and now his human--and romanceable--form has descended upon the town. Don't expect to see Caldarus quickly if you're new to the game. His appearance is tied to an event in the mine's deeper levels. New biomesThe March 2025 update also adds two new biomes the Deep Woods, always just out of reach on the northern end of the deep road area, and the Lava Caves. Neither of these is accessible for newcomers, though. The Lava Caves are deep in the mines and unlock at level 61, and getting to the Deep Woods requires you to first move the giant stone next to the carpentry workshop. You also need to complete the Fire Seal quest to access both.Expect plenty of new resources for crafting and items to sell, including insects, armor, fish, and fresh artifacts for the museum. Adopt a petJuniper's not the only one with a fuzzy friend anymore. After updating the game, you'll come across the Pet Dream cutscene and unlock the option to create your own pet. Pets will help gather resources, including wood and forage items, so they're useful to have around. New players have to wait until the end of the first week for the cutscene to play, though, as it won't run until Spring 7. New FestivalOnce Winter 10 rolls around, you and your favorite farm animals can compete in the new Animal Festival. The festival has you enter one large animal and one small animal for judging. The actual criteria that determine a winner are a bit unclear at present, though it seems like critters with higher affection levels have a better chance of winning. Time adjustmentOne of the update's biggest new features is the option to change how time passes in Fields of Mistria. Under the "accessibility" menu in the settings tab, you can toggle day length between standard, which is the default; long, and longest. NPC Studio says that townsfolk schedules are designed for standard-length days, so you might run into some peculiarities if you do adjust the time. There's no word on whether the team plans to adjust schedules so they fit longer days in future updates. Bigger farmsFinally, you can purchase not just farm buildings from the carpenter, but a full-on farm expansion. You need quite a few advanced materials for it, though--50 hard wood, 50 refined stone--and 40,000 gold. Gossip for gainOnce per day, you can chat with Elsie and have her tell you one thing that a specific townsperson loves. Elsie only gives you three people to choose from each day, though, so if you're just after knowledge about one person, it might be a while before you get it. This is a service Elsie freely provides, though, so there's nothing to lose by chatting with her every day. Yet more proof Fields of Mistria is more than a Stardew clone. Time-saving devicesAmong the update's many quality-of-life improvements are three that NPC Studio designed to save you some time and effort. The first is the Water Sprite Statue, which is Mistria-speak for a sprinkler. Power it with an essence stone, and it'll water every crop within a two-tile radius, saving you the hassle of doing it yourself. Then there's the Animal Sprite Statue, an item you can place in your barn and other animal spaces. Interacting with it produces a soothing melody all animals in that area can here, and it has the same effect as if you interacted with them individually. This statue also requires an essence stone to function.Finally is the Teleportation Chalice. This one lets you warp instantly from the mines to your farm, cutting out the long journey back, and you can teleport to the Deep Woods as well. Stone RefineryThe update adds a new town quest, Stone Refinery, which unlocks the Stone Refinery crafting bench. That simple-sounding item comes with a few excellent benefits, including the option to craft your own essence stones and refined stone, along with a handful of other items. Miscellaneous updatesThere's a host of other, smaller improvements and additions as well. The Lava Caves has its own furniture set. You can craft saplings at the mill, get fishing experience from diving spots, and buy new countertop styles from the Saturday Market. The museum has new sets and rewards for each wing. Characters have new dialogue--but no new relationship milestones, as those are planned for a future update--and NPC Studio added nine new perks under the Tier 4 skill tree Fields of Mistria 0.13.0 Patch NotesThe update's full patch notes and list of bug fixes are below.[Highlights]Caldarus appears!The Lava Caves biome is now available.The New Deep Woods area has been added.The Animal Festival arrives on Winter 10th. Enter one large and one small animal for a chance to win animal cosmetics and decor.Pets are here! Complete the Pet Dream cutscene to create your pet. Pets can be assigned jobs to collect resources (wood, stone, forageables).Note: For new games, the Pet Dream cutscene first appears on Spring 7th Yr 1.The Farm Expansion can now be purchased at the Carpenters Shop.New Elsie gossip (gift hint) mechanic.Note: Complete the Seeking Gossip questline to unlock it. Quest appears on Summer 1 Yr 1 for new games and will be available immediately for games past that point.Water Sprite Statues have been added, which water your crops in a 2-tile radius each day as long as theyre powered by an Essence Stone.Animal Sprite Statues have been added, which play music each day for your animals, eliminating the need to pet them individually. Needs to be powered by an Essence Stone.The Stone Refinery Town Repair questline has been added. (See [New Features] for more details).9 new Tier 4 Skill Perks have been added.[New Features]GameplayThe Lava Caves biome (Mine Floors 61-80) is now available. The Breaking the Fire Seal questline has been added.New monsters have been added.New forageables, insects, cosmetics, fish, and artifacts can be discovered.New Watering Can and Rain Spell Mechanic in the Mines.New Cooked Dish, Armor, and Furniture Set.Golden tools and armor are now craftable.A New unlockable Spell, Dragons Breath, and an additional Mana Orb have been added.The new Deep Woods area has been added and can be unlocked after completing the Fire Seal questline.New forageables, insects, fish, and artifacts to be discovered.New cooked dishes.Teleportation between Player farm and Deep Woods unlocks.The Stone Refinery Town Repair questline can now be unlocked at lv 55 renown and after the Inn has been repaired, it unlocks:Stone Refinery Crafting Bench: Craft Essence Stones, Refined Stone, and additional materials.Mines entry storage chest.The Teleportation Chalice, which teleports players from the Mines to their farm.2 new Museum Sets were added to each wing (Insect, Archaeology, Fish, and Flora).The Renown level cap has been raised to Lv 90 (Diamond Rank).4 New Crown Requests and 24 new Requests added.9 New Tier 4 Skill Perks have been added: 3 Blacksmithing Perks, 3 Mining Perks, and 1 Cooking, Archaeology, and Fishing perk.QOLNew in-game time adjustment settings have been added. Players can now adjust their days to be Standard (default), Longer, or Longest. It can be found in the Settings Menu under Accessibility.ArtNew animal cosmetics are available at the Animal Festival and Chicken Statue.New museum sets and rewards have been added for the Insect, Archaeology, Fish, and Flora wings.The Lava Caves Furniture Set has been added and can be found in The Lava Caves.Basic, Cabin, Cottage, and Cake Countertops have been added and can be found at Merris stall at the Saturday Market.New Player Cosmetic Heart Clips are available at Veras stall.NPCsAdditional dialogue added.Additional schedules added.Caldarus Shooting Star Festival Cutscene (post-unlock) has been added.SoundNew tracks added for the Lava Caves.New Deep Woods track added.[Updates]GameplayDive spots now give fishing experience points.Oak and Pine Tree Saplings are now craftable at the Mill.Essence Stones now have a small chance of appearing in treasure chests in the Mines.Dig sites now reset their positions each day.Some item prices have been adjusted.Default ladders no longer appear on Mines levels.The Tier 4 Woodcrafting perk Treemendous has been replaced with the Tier 4 Woodcrafting perk LumberJack IIQOLFishing Skill experience gain has been adjusted to make leveling less difficult.The pull from storage for crafting toggle button inside chest menus (the locked chest icon) is now explained via a pop-up tutorial when clicked.The Big Bell recipe now drops from the Dragon Statue when purchasing The Bell Tolls Ranching perk. (Prev. just unlocked in the crafting menu).The Blacksmiths Store now has pages for each tool type.A new Automation section has been added to the Crafting Menu.The Almanac has been reorganized, and additional items have been added.New default animal names have been added!The congratulatory letter for completing Town Repair content has been updated. It will now be sent after finishing the newest Town Repair quest, Stone Refinery.The Sell Animals menu has been updated to organize animals by farm building.ArtThe Farm map has been updated to display the expanded farm plot.NPCsCaldarus and Priestess Heart Levels will now increase as intended with key story points.Saturday Market vendors are now more likely to sell recipe items.SoundWheedles voice has been adjusted.The Stalagmite monsters damage sound has been updated.[Bug Fixes]GameplayFloating items no longer snap to a rooms center when placing a table down.Animals will now eat grass even if the player is not present.Players can no longer get stuck in the Bathhouse by immediately skipping the Bathhouse Cutscene.Riding the Mistmare to the Summit during the Shooting Star Festival before 8 PM no longer triggers the event.Players can no longer get stuck in furniture placed near Caldarus statue after viewing cutscenes near the statue.Players can no longer walk on water after diving into dive spots near rocks.Being hit by a monster while throwing an item no longer causes the item to disappear.The Blue Essence Bats hitbox has been updated to the correct size.Clicking out of the game window during a room transition will no longer break NPC pathing.The Weather Crystal Ball now predicts blizzard weather accurately.Players can no longer perform a jump attack while holding an animal.Adjusted Treasure Rooms and Ritual Chambers to appear more consistently throughout the Mines.Closing the Journal while inputting a direction no longer causes players to pause briefly.While the Mistmares Select An Appearance popup is active, players can no longer scroll the Animals menu in the background.QOLShiny Beads will no longer appear out of bounds.Animals will no longer eat Stamina Up Potions or Heart Crystals.Players can no longer unbind the first input slot in the Control Menu. Art & VisualsPlayer animation is no longer static when riding a mount.You can no longer place furniture directly on top of animals.NPCs no longer perform special animations (reading/forging) in incorrect places. SoundWaking up on a rainy day no longer causes outdoor rain sounds to play briefly. UIThe HUD no longer disappears if you catch a fish exactly at 2 AM.The Blizzard Legendary Fish notification now only appears on blizzard days as intended.Players using a controller can now access the Locked Chest icon on Storage Chest UIs. This icon enables/disables using that chests contents when crafting.Names can no longer spillover in the Ranching UI.Item names no longer spillover on the End of Day Summary screen.HUD numbers now turn off when deselecting Show HUD Numbers in the Gameplay Settings menu.Crash FixesCarrying a small animal with you to the Shooting Star Festival scene no longer crashes the game.Throwing infused items into full storage chests no longer crashes the game.Performing a jump attack and changing toolbar slots simultaneously no longer crashes the game.Activating the Frenzy Perk in the Mines no longer crashes the game.Fixed a rare crash related to building the Small Coop.Rapidly opening and closing Inbox letters no longer crashes the game.Fixed a rare crash when selecting 'Restocking Mistrias Food Reserves 2' in the Quest UI.Selling an animal youve brought into Haydens Shop no longer crashes the game.

Masters of the Universe: Revelation and Revolution Steelbook Edition Blu-ray $30.49 (was $50) | Releases May 13 Preorder at Amazon A few years ago, famed filmmaker Kevin Smith revived the cult-classic cartoon series Masters of the Universe--also known as He-Man--with a new Netflix series split into two seasons: Masters of the Universe: Revelation and Masters of the Universe Revolution. Both seasons will soon be bundled in a new Steelbook Blu-ray Collection launching on May 13, and preorders are available at Amazon.The retailer initially priced the release at its full $50 MSRP, but now Amazon is offering a steep discount that drops the price to only $30.49. With Amazon's preorder price guarantee, anyone who preordered at the $50 price will receive an automatic price adjustment to lowest price offered by Amazon before release. You won't be charged for your preorder until it ships.Continue Reading at GameSpot

Another Thursday has passed, bringing a fresh rotation of free games on the Epic Games Store. With new titles available every week at 10 AM CST, players have a limited window to claim these games permanently, making it worthwhile to check in regularly. Currently, the free game is Thems Fightin Herds, a cartoon-style arcade fighter. Next in line, starting March 13, is Mortal Shell, an action RPG that has drawn comparisons to a first playthrough of Dark Souls.

FragPunk, a free-to-play first-person shooter from Bad Guitar Studio, has made an impressive debut on Steam, reaching over 110,000 concurrent players in early March 2025. Following closed testing in 2024, it officially launched on PC on March 6. Within 72 hours, the game hit a peak of 113,946 concurrent players on Steam, making it the platforms 16th most-played title as of March 9.

Hey all. I am doing something relatively simple in my game. But I don't know a good and efficient way to do it.Basically, for simplification, let's say I have 10 led indicators. Depending on some variables inside the game, the leds are turned on or off. So, for each rendered frame, some of these leds are turned on, some are turned off. Like the below image:

Pitched as a cute, approachable Souls-lite, Slime Heroes combines two of my favorite things in video games:adorable slimes and Dark Souls-style gameplay. Despite some good ideas, Slime Heroes recipe doesnt quite work. Yes, its cute, but it also feels frustrating, clumsy, and unfinished.Slime Heroes casts the player as a colorful, customizable blob who fights way above its weight class in an attempt to save a fantasy world from a spreading corruption. Played from a top-down isometric perspective, my slime has a variety of attacks at its disposal: a light attack, a heavy attack, and a jumping smash attack that adorably transforms my slime into a smashing fist or an anvil. I quickly earned spell-like skills that let me throw projectiles or summon a whirlwind that sucks in my enemies.My slime can also find equippable weapons, like swords and spears, out in the world. (These weapons are also composed of slime.) And like any good video game protagonist, my slime can wear hats (and other accessories) that grant it super speed, health regeneration, or extra vitality.Being a Souls-lite, Slime Heroes adopts various concepts from games like Dark Souls. In addition to light and heavy attacks for all weapons, my slime can dodge to avoid taking damage, a move thats limited by a stamina meter of sorts. When my slime perishes the remaining ooze spells out things like ouch, which is cute it respawns at the last safe point I visited, Slime Heroes bonfire equivalent. And upon death, the shards Ive collected from enemies Ive defeated wait for me at the location of my defeat. These souls er, shards can be spent on various slime upgrades.Slime Heroes builds on solid concepts established by more than a decade of Souls games, but developer Pancake Games comes up short on adapting them in a cute, kid-friendly setting. Combat feels mushy and too simplistic to remain engaging. After battling a handful of the same dull enemy types again and again, I opted to simply scoot by many of them, bypassing combat when I could. Platforming has a similarly spongy feeling; it just doesnt feel great to move through this world.There is one very good idea at the heart of Slime Heroes, though. As I progressed through its fantasy world, I unlocked skills that could be combined in clever ways. A skill like Whirlwind, which creates a vacuum-like tornado, can be combined with a skill like Projectile, so that my slime shoots a moving whirlwind. Or I can combine that Whirlwind with a Breath attack, causing the tornado that I summon to spit out columns of Breath attacks. Whats more, I can combine special effects with each skill, allowing me to add life-steal effects, fire, ice, and other modifiers for a massive number of unique combinations.You can even summon familiars that fight on your behalf and modify them to fire meteors, resulting in screen-filling magical effects. Experimenting with these combinations can be fun, and Id love to see other games built on Slime Heroes skill effects.Unfortunately, the user interface for Slime Heroes makes swapping skills, their primary and secondary effects, and their bonus special effects into something of a chore. Much of the UI is clunky, just part of an overall lack of polish on the game thats incredibly disappointing.Its hard to recommend Slime Heroes to anyone looking for their next Soulslike fix. Kids might like it for its cute, well-animated characters, though I can see it being overly frustrating for an unskilled player; Slime Heroes doesnt do a good enough job with guiding players on what to do next or where to go. But it is kid- and new player-friendly in other ways, thanks to two-player couch and online co-op (a feature I didnt get to test), and accessibility options that lower enemy damage and boost damage dealt by the heroic slime of its story. Slime Heroes can be really, really easy if you tune it right.Thats not enough to make Slime Heroes rise above its shortcomings. Theres good intention here, and some very cute visuals, but its missing what makes other Souls games great: finely tuned game mechanics.Slime Heroes was released March 6 on Windows PC, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X. (Slime Heroes will be available on Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, and PlayStation 5 at a later date.) The game was reviewed on Xbox using a code provided by Whitethorn Games. Vox Media has affiliate partnerships. These do not influence editorial content, though Vox Media may earn commissions for products purchased via affiliate links. You can find additional information about Polygons ethics policy here.

Firecell stones are an equipment material in Monster Hunter Wilds. Youll have a chance at collecting them from mining outcrops once you reach High Rank or earn them as rewards for certain High Rank hunts.Youll need firecell stones to forge weapons like the Paladin Lance and armor like the Damascus Greaves.Our Monster Hunter Wilds guide will tell you where to find firecell stones and how to collect them.Where to find firecell stones in Monster Hunter WildsFirecell stones come from mining outcrops. Mining outcrops can be found anywhere, but only the ones in Oilwell Basin have a chance to give you firecell stones.Mining outcrops appear on your map with a blue icon. Open your map and hit right on the D-pad twice. Scroll down through the filter to look for mining outcrops, use left and right on the D-pad to scroll through the options, and set one as the waypoint for your Seikret.You can collect an item three times from each mining outcrop before its exhausted. Mining outcrops refresh every 15 minutes or so. Firecell stones are pretty rare, so you will probably have to check several mining outcrops to find some.You also have a (moderate) chance of collecting a firecell stones when you destroy the back or either leg of a Gravios.How to collect extra mining outcrop resourcesIn Monster Hunter Wilds armors, talismans, and decorations all give you skills. At level 3, the Geologist skill gets you one extra item from mining outcrops per time you interact with them.Equipment like the Geology Charm talisman, Chainmail armor, and Geology Jewel decorations all give you the Geologist skill. For mining outcrops, you only get a benefit at the third level of the skill, so youll need three pieces that give you the skill like the Chainmail Headgear, Armor, and Gloves.The Geologist skill also doesnt add to the number of times you can collect something from a mining outcrop you still only collect three times per visit. It does, however, increase the number of items you pull out with each time you hit Circle/B.To also help you understand Monster Hunter Wilds, we explain how to capture monsters, how to change weapons, provide some Seikret tips, and teach you how layered armor works.

Breaking down the UX of a 2023 Tesla Model 3My first-time drivers experience and identifying improvement opportunities.I was merging onto the 405 North. Ive driven this freeway ramp time and time again for 12 years, but this time felt different.Anticipating Californias quick ending lane merges and aggressive drivers, I gripped the wheel tightly. My eyes darted every half second to find an opening into the nextlane.But my left side view mirror wasnt adjusted properly and I couldnt clearly see my blind spot. I was about to reach my hand over to the to quickly adjust the mirror but then remembered that the physical controls were replaced by a dense menu hidden within the cars center display. I was overwhelmed.My palms were sweaty. Knees weak, arms heavy. I just wanted to merge left, but my mind was spaghetti.Live look at me trying to merge onto thefreewayAs I looked over my shoulder, I felt a warm sensation down my neckmy mind flashing back to almost being hit by a merging semi-truck a couple of yearsago.With the dotted lines running out, I floored it, squeezing ahead of the car that was moments ago parallel to me before hitting the brakes to avoid hitting the car infront.Welcome to the Tesla Model 3 experience. Intro First Impressions The initial driving experience Merging on the freeway Charging Experience Air conditioning Parking with AI Debrief Back to the originalquestionAfter 12 years of driving, why did this car make me feel soanxious?The Tesla Model 3 revolutionized the automotive industry, leading to a major EV push over the last few years. In 2023, it was the best selling passenger car in California, and the 2nd best selling EV in the world (only behind the Model Y)with nearly 530k units sold globally. The brand has built a cult-like following. The cars are just different, and people lovethem.But, why?In my experience driving the Model 3 for the first time, I found myself feeling confused, overwhelmed, and evenanxious.What makes the Model 3 shine so much that its become mainstream despite these shortcomings?Lets dive into the User Experience of what makes a Tesla aTesla.Ive had a passion for cars ever since I got my first Hot Wheelssets.When I was 6 years old, I proudlysaid,I want to be a car designer when I growup!Twenty-some years laterAutomotive UX has become a really interesting space to me ever since Tesla grew in popularity with the Model S and then took the world by storm with Models 3 &Y.So, I thoughtwhy not borrow some cars to evaluate theirUX?When it comes to in-car UX, I think of the Passengers Experience and the Drivers Experience, which Ill focus on specifically. For most daily-driving situations, I believe the primary goal of driving a passenger car like the Model 3 is to safely get from Point A to Point B. A secondary goal is to do so as comfortably as possible.This is the lens Ill use to analyze the car throughout thisarticle.Getting into the Model 3 felt differentI got into the drivers seat of my friends Model 3 with curiosity and a bit of uncertainty of how driving it was going to go. The Model 3 is different. There isnt a screen or any gauges behind the steering wheel. It has a super minimal interior, and one big screen in the middle of the car to control almost everything. There isnt button or dial in sight except for the knobs on the steeringwheel.Interior of the Tesla Model3As I would before driving any new car, I adjusted the seats, steering wheel, and side mirrors. The seat adjustment was normal, with the adjustors on the side of theseat.So far sogood.It wasnt immediately apparent how to adjust the mirrors and steering wheel. After some searching, I found the respective settings within the screen, and then used the steering wheel knobs to make the adjustments. Differentbut not a problem when the car isparked.We were hungry so I set up the navigation system to guideusI found the navigation app on the screen and typed in Anaheim Packing House. After pulling up the route, I noticed that the UI shows how much battery the car is expected to have left when you arrive to your destination.CuriousI decided to see what would happen if I navigated to a far off destination like San Francisco.I was delighted to see recommendations on where to stop on the way to charge, along with how many other Teslas are on the way, how many chargers will be available when you arrive, and the chargingcost.Detailed route planning and charging information on the Model 3 navigation systemIm not exaggerating when I say delighted. Ive experienced plenty of stressful experiences with EV charging at Electrify America. Range anxiety is real, and planning out charging stops with non-Tesla EVs can be especially time-consuming and stressful.Teslas vertical integration seamlessly presents all the information you need to make your EV experience smoother and calm anxieties. Im a big fan of Teslas navigation system and route planning. I think that, coupled with their charging network, is the companys strongest sellingpoint.A curiosity How will this be handled now that non-Teslas are able to charge at Tesla chargers? Unless theres some sort of integration within the other OEMs software, Apple CarPlay, Android Auto, etc, its unclear how Tesla would be able to accurately project how many cars are en route and how many chargers will be available.Driving out of the structure washectic15 seconds after I started driving, I stopped because I didnt like the one-pedal driving and wanted to change the drive mode. Ive tried one-pedal driving before and I dont like it. It took me another 20 seconds to find the Dynamics section in the cars settings, where I changed the setting toCreep.The Dynamics settings found within the cars centerscreenI started driving again and then 10 seconds later I stopped again while looking over to the settings again, accidentally hitting the brakes hard and jolting the car to a stop, spooking out myfriend.Him: You dont have to hit the breaks like that Me: This thing is aggressive! I didnt like Creep either so I changed the setting to Roll when pedals are released.Confident that this was the right setting for me, I started driving and pulled up the navigation app again. My friend then went on to explain that he hates when hes driven by other people in a Tesla because they cant get over the one-pedal driving dynamics I bet he was regretting lending me his car in thatmoment.Then, realizing that Roll didnt feel right, I stopped the car again near the parking structures exit. I let out a sigh as I looked for the Dynamics settings once again and changed the mode back to Creep and the acceleration mode toChill.Finally, as I turned left and out of the structure, the car rang different chimes as me because I was nearing thecurb.It caught me off guard. My senses were overwhelmed.In isolation, all these events wouldnt mean a whole lot. One-Pedal driving is a common EV driving dynamic that just takes some getting used to. Changing drive modes isnt a new concept, and accidentally braking too hard can happen from time to time. Also, many cars (including my own) have advanced visual and audible safety features to let you know when youre close to hitting something.But all this happened to me in my first 3.5 minutes of driving the car. A regular Model 3 driver likely wouldnt face this sequence of events, but since the car was so different from others Id driven, it happened tome.I drove out of the parking structure exclaiming, I dont like this car man. My friendlaughed.Having no information behind the steering wheel changes the driving experienceAny time I drive with the GPS on, I tend to glance over to the screen fairly often. As we waited at a red light to turn left on Culver, I realized I was struggling to see the mapclearly.The map is positioned on the right side of the screen, in favor of the blindspot camera, speedometer, and 3D rendered view of the surrounding environment, called Real-Time Visualization, on the left. As a result, I had to look down and far to the right, away from the road, to see the map. If it was on the left side, it would be more in my line of sight and easier to see, while still being able to keep the road in my peripheral vision.The Model 3 screen with the mapvisibleI figure that this is created out of Teslas own constraint of not having a small screen behind the steering wheel, where drivers would normally find information about their speed, 3D renderings similar to Real-Time Visualization, and a small version of themap.This makes me curious: Do drivers need to see this high level of detail whiledriving?The granularity is certainly important in the backend for features like Full-Self Driving and collision prevention, but how does this level of visual detail on the screen help a driver? It looks beautiful, but there seems to be more information than necessary. In contrast, the Model S & X both have drivers screens which nicely integrate maps and Real-time visualization. Its simpler and shows just enough useful information, despite incorporating multiple pieces of context in oneplace.The HUD screen in the Tesla Model S, located behind the steeringwheelI realized my side mirrors werent adjusted properly when I was merging on thefreewayId feared this moment within the first minutes of getting into the car. There werent any physical controls on the side to quickly adjust them. Id have to dig through the screen to find the settings. I really didnt want to do that while driving on thefreeway.I started indicating left to signal my intent and had to scoot my body up and straighten my back to see through the mirror properly. The blind spot camera feed showed up on the center screen, but it wasnt in my line of sight and it was making things more confusing thanhelpful.I quickly looked left and right from road to screen and around my shoulder, found a gap in the road, and quickly accelerated into it. We madeit.Having the blind spot camera feed appear in the middle of the car felt very counter intuitive. I needed to turn left, but I had to look right, causing me to hesitate even more because the perception just felt off. Its like the Stroop Effectwhere the name of a color is spelled out, but the font is a different color. It takes longer than normal to determine the color of the font because its confusing.The Stroop EffectWhen the name of a color is spelled out in a different color, it affects the amount of time it takes to name thecolorNowto fix thosemirrors.Thinking I was clever, I first tried using the voice assistant to pull up the adjustment settings.Me: Adjust mirrorsTesla: Command not understoodNiceThen, once again, I had to quickly look left and right from road to screen to find the settings on the screen and adjust themirrors.Look at how I had to keep looking away from the road. This went on for 36seconds.While everything worked out in the end, it wasnt easy. Quick reaction times and alertness matter when driving a car. Having intuitive, user-centered, and tactile controls can mean the difference between simply making an adjustment and dealing with an unsafe situation. As Rubens Cantuni aptly states in his 2019 article Teslas UX is too far ahead to make sense (now), while youre driving, every second you take your eyes off the road you expose yourself, your passengers and other people around you to a potentially fataldanger.The Tesla Charging Experience isseamlessWe made it to the charging station after about 10 minutes on the freeway. The experience here made me quickly forget the stress Id just been through on theroad.It was so easy to get the charge started. All I had to do was get out of the car, open the charging port, unhook the charging socket from the charger, and plug it into the car. The charge started right away. It was even easier than starting a gasfill-up.A Model 3 charging at a TeslachargerThe downside is the wait time. Gas fill-ups generally take a few minutes. Charging a Model 3 from 1080% can take 25 minutes if youre using the newest chargers. The actual time depends on a variety offactors.The plug-and-play process, honestly, felt delightfulespecially compared to the subpar experiences Ive had charging at Electrify America. Of course, theres up-front work done to make this experience smooth. New Tesla owners have set up the charging payment method when they first get the car. After that, they never have to open up an app, authorize any transaction, or wait to make sure the charge isworking.As Ethan Wong put it in his article A Deep Dive into Teslas User Interface, Teslas integration with its charging network turns the usual wheres the next charge? road trip anxiety into a game of electricease.Thanks to Teslas vertical integration, charging experiencesrouting to a charger, connecting to the charger, and charging the carare seamless. Ethan says it feels like having a co-pilot with insider knowledge. To me, its the north star for the EV charging experience and my favorite thing aboutTesla.The air conditioning controls are useful, but distractingAs we headed to grab a bite after our charging stop, my friend wanted to adjust the AC to feel the air more. Teslas allow you to adjust the air conditioning very precisely with multi-touch controls like a smartphone. Its an innovation I appreciate because many Ive found myself constantly tweaking the positioning of the air vent to get the positioning justright.However, accessing fan strength, defrosters, and precision air requires opening a popup that blocks most of the screen. I was using the GPS and my friend had to open up the popup to adjust the airflow, blocking the view of the map and slightly distracting me in theprocess.Air conditioning settings blocking the navigation system during adriveFrom the drivers perspective, I had to tap the screen multiple times without haptic feedback anytime I wanted to adjust the temperature. This made confirming if the adjustments were made to be difficult without glancing away from theroad.AI lacks human intuitionAs we pulled into the parking lot, my friend pointed out the new auto-parking feature that showed up on the screen. Hesitant to try it out, I drove a little further, contemplated it, started backing into a spot and said Nexttime.My friend tapped the parking icon anyway. If youre backing in dude, just autopark.So I let the steering wheel go and let the Model 3 do its thing. The steering wheel turned a full 360 degrees and the car started reversing. Then the car stopped and started moving forward to adjust its anglewhich wasnt totally necessary.At the same time, there was a couple crossing us. I could see them through the side mirror but also through the Real-Time Visualization. First they tried to go in front of the car as it was reversing. Then, as the car started going forward, they started moving behind the car. The couple got pretty close to the back of the car as it was about to start reversing again.Unlike while driving, this level of Real-Time Visualization detail is beneficial for the context because it creates peace of mind that the car can see everything around it while its autonomously driving.Visual of Autopark inProgressMy human intuition kicked in and I took over to ensure the car wouldnt move and the people could pass. The Model 3 likely wouldve waited for the people to pass by but it was hard to trust it in the moment and it was a risk I didnt want totake.Good driving requires accounting for the emotions of people in and around the car and not making them feel like theyre in danger. Human intuition and empathy are 2 features that AI lacks (and hopefully alwayswill).We got our aca bowlstime for adebriefThe lack of buttons and dials creates a different mental model fordriversWhen I think about different rental/borrowed cars Ive driven this yeara Dodge Charger, Volkswagen Tiguan, and Lexus LSthey were all pretty easy to get adjusted to. I really just needed to adjust my seats and mirrors and get acquainted with where all the buttons were and the driving sensitivity. For the most part, everything was where I expected them tobe.Driving a Tesla, on the other hand, requires a completely different mental model than traditional cars do. These cars are not optimized for short term situations like renting, putting those driversand surroundings on the road like pedestrians and other driversat higher risk as they get used to operating many functions within ascreen.A screen-centered driving experience maximizes cognitive load and reducessafetyThe software is elegant. Its snappy and I really like how it looks. The maps and route planning are great. But when driving, youre supposed to be focused at the road, not the screen. The settings within the screens interface are necessary, but the small buttons and uniform design make it hard to differentiate things from each other, increasing distraction whiledriving.If the screen were intended to be used like a handheld iPad, it would be easy to use. But thats not the use case, and leads to more friction on the driving experience, which reducessafety.Three-year Model 3 Owner @acslater017 (and 34 likers of his YouTube comment) backs that notionup.I shouldnt need to navigate multiple menu layers, hunt around different areas of the screen, or perform fine gestures while trying to safely operate thecar.YouTube comment from @acslater017 on Teslas official Model 3 Touchscreen tutorialvideoHow can the Model 3 Experience instantly improve?1. Add a small drivers screen behind the steering wheel The Model S & X have it already, and EV competitors like the Polestar 3 have it too and allow the most important information to be elegantly displayed in a way that doesnt compromise safety.2. Incorporate simple buttons and dials to make basic functionality easy to accessSimple buttons and dials help reduce decision time and make taking actions that support driving safer and more efficient. The fact that 3rd party accessories to add buttons and dials to the Model 3 exist tells you everything you need to know. People are really paying $250 to make their $45k car moreuseable.Left: The Polestar 2 HUD screen, located behind the steering wheel | Right: The S3XY Knob, a 3rd party attachementCost savings and efficiencies play aroleIf you know anything about Elon Musks intense journey to make Tesla the powerful brand that it is today, you might know that at multiple points the company was tight on cash and to be able to get their cars out efficiently and affordably, many decisions to cut costs and create efficiencies had to bemade.While this isnt the only factor, I do believe it plays a role in the decision to eliminate a lot of the buttons. Individually, each piece isnt expensive, but when scaling up to hundreds of thousands of units, it adds up a lot. It very well could have been a decision to reduce the price of thecar.From the consumer side of things, though, Teslas decision to not include buttons and dials is almost like Apple removing important ports (like HDMI) from Macs and replacing them with a few USB-C ports. After enough customer complaints, Apple finally brought them back. It would be great to see Tesla do something similar.So, back to the original questionWhat makes the Model 3 shine so much that its become mainstream despite these shortcomings?Online research uncovers a list pros and cons from owners & reviewers.Pros:EV Range, Charging network, Continually improving software, AestheticsCons: Build quality, Road noise while driving, Customer support, Most controls being within the touchscreenMy takeaway: Features like range and easy charging outweigh the Model 3s negatives. However, Teslas were once the only feasible EV option. Now theyrenot.In 2025, there are great EVs from competitors like Volvo, Hyundai, Rivian, and BYD. Granted, all of them have their own set of pros and consand we likely wouldnt have as many good options as we do if Tesla didnt set the standard in the firstplace.Im looking forward to seeing how the automotive industry grows fromhere.Im Nikhil Mehrotra, a UX Designer who loves cars and car design. Thanks for reading. I hope you enjoyed this deep-dive.I took the Tesla Model 3 for a spin heres how it went was originally published in UX Collective on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.