The Republican Party is trying to get a major tax and spending bill done before Memorial Day. It’s chock full of President Donald Trump’s legislative priorities, and has many provisions the GOP has long been agitating for. But it’s nevertheless been a massive struggle to get the bill to the House floor for a vote. One big reason is a tax provision known as SALT — the state and local tax deduction.I asked Today, Explained’s Devan Schwartz — who just produced the below podcast about this bill — to explain what SALT is, why it’s important, and why it’s roiled the GOP. Here’s what he had to say:What is SALT?SALT is an acronym that stands for “state and local taxes” — it allows Americans to deduct some of what they pay, right now up to $10,000, in state and local taxes (like property taxes and sales taxes) from their federal taxes.Once, there wasn’t a cap to how much you could deduct, but that changed with Trump’s tax cuts in 2017; those brought in the $10,000 cap.Removing the SALT cap is seen as benefiting mostly wealthy earners in high-tax states like California or New York: people who might make $500,000 a year or $10 million a year and pay tens or hundreds of thousands in state and local taxes, the sort of people who don’t take the standard deduction.It’s not April; why has a tax deduction caused such a stir this week?The SALT cap hasn’t been too popular with constituents in these high-tax states; they have been putting pressure on their lawmakers to make changes. Trump initially expressed support for those changes, and many House GOP lawmakers from blue states ran on making changes when Republicans got back in power. Now, House Republican lawmakers are in the middle of putting together a big spending and tax bill, and there was a push to get SALT changes in there. Those that ran on upping the SALT cap said, We’re trying to get reelected in the next year, we need a win to go back to our voters with.The GOP leadership in the House set up a somewhat arbitrary deadline to get the bill passed from the House to the Senate by Memorial Day — that’s next week. That puts lawmakers in a time crunch, but there’s also a numerical problem: the House GOP has very narrow margins. Depending on attendance, they can afford to lose roughly three votes on any one bill. That gives the blue-state GOP lawmakers who want to see changes to SALT a lot of power. If you’re one of a small group, and you said, Hey, we’re holdouts, we’re not voting for this until you give us our SALT reform, you’re sinking Trump’s “big, beautiful bill.” And that’s what happened this week.RelatedThe ugly truth about Trump’s big, beautiful billThat small group of lawmakers got their way, right?Yes. The final details could still change, but a deal was made to raise the cap.Which set off other small groups of lawmakers who want their priorities fulfilled in the bill, and yesterday’s scramble by the White House to try to get everyone in line.Right. Trump’s stance throughout this has been, stop whining. Don’t grandstand. It’s more important to get a deal done. So if you don’t get a SALT increase, tough luck. If they get their SALT increase, but you don’t get your thing, tough luck.The Senate hasn’t even weighed in on the bill yet, so we’re a long way from getting changes to SALT enshrined in law. But at this point, what should we take away from the SALT saga?SALT is inherently interesting because it’s a microcosm of the fragile political process in Congress at this time in which we often see parties with tiny minorities. Congressional leadership is more centralized than ever, but at the same time, small groups of people can really gum up the works. It also shows how complex the Republican coalition is — the fight over SALT is really a battle between lawmakers from high-income states and those from lower-income states. We’ve seen pro-SALT lawmakers make the claim that their states’ tax base makes up a disproportionate amount of revenues, and that their constituents deserve a break because of that. And smaller states or states with lower incomes might say, in response, we have our own needs, and we provide a lot, from farming to the numbers that power our GOP coalition. I wouldn’t say that the fight over SALT is a fight for the soul of the Republican Party, but it’s definitely a factional fight for power.And overall, it really shows how hard it is to actually legislate right now, in a divided Republican caucus, in a divided America.This piece originally ran in the Today, Explained newsletter. For more stories like this, sign up here.See More:

Save this picture!VARID A VR-AR Toolkit for Inclusive Design.. Image © Foster + PartnersOver the last decade, architectural design has relied on 2D methods of representation, such as elevations, sections, and floor plans, paired with digital renderings of 3D models. While these tools are essential to convey geometry and intent, they remain limited by their two-dimensional format. Even the most realistic renderings, created through programs like SketchUp, Revit, or AutoCAD, still flatten space and distance the viewer from the lived experience of a project. Recently, architects have begun to explore immersive technologies as a way to bridge this gap between drawing and experience, offering new ways to inhabit and assess spatial proposals.What are AR, VR, and MR?Extended Reality (XR) can be classified into three main types: Augmented Reality (AR), Virtual Reality (VR), and Mixed Reality (MR), each offering varying levels of immersion in digital environments. At one end of the spectrum, AR enhances the real world with digital content, while at the other, VR fully immerses the user in a completely virtual environment, blocking out the physical world. MR lies between these extremes but is essentially a more detailed classification of AR based on the type of display used. Their research proposes the following classification: Class 1 display refers to monitor-based systems, where users view the real world through a screen equipped with a camera that captures the environment and overlays digital information, such as in the Apple Vision Pro, which uses passthrough cameras. In contrast, Class 2 and 3 systems use head-mounted displays (HMDs) with see-through lenses that superimpose 3D models onto the user's view, like the Microsoft HoloLens. In 2020, Trimble combined the HoloLens with a hard hat, creating the Trimble XR10, which makes this technology usable in the construction site. For clarity, this text will refer to Class 1 systems as AR and Class 2 and 3 systems as MR moving forward. Related Article Using Augmented Reality In Bamboo Architecture Save this picture!How do Users Perceive Space?Architectural design is not only about defining space, but also about anticipating how people will perceive and move through it. The way users interpret a space depends not just on geometry, but also on intuition, their individual knowledge, and experiences. Kevin Lynch described this as a space's "legibility," or how easily it can be understood and organized mentally, while Ittelson (1978) emphasizes how users explore, categorize, and systematize spatial elements into a coherent whole. The user first explores an area to orient themselves and move around, then they will develop a taxonomy of the space elements to mentally organize it, and finally, they put everything together into a system that tells the brain why things are happening and how they relate to each other. Research suggests that immersive environments such as mixed reality can simulate this faithfully, allowing architects and clients alike to engage with a design not as an abstract plan, but as a place to walk through, observe, and interpret.Save this picture!Which One Improves Design Understanding: 2D Drawings or MR?Based on the above, a study made by the National Taiwan University in 2021 explored this topic by conducting an experiment where participants were brought to a room and were divided into two groups. The first would analyze an interior design proposal of the space using printed architectural drawings and colored renderings. The second group was asked to do the same but only used the explorable MR 3D model seen through an MR headset, in this case: The HoloLens. After the exploration was done, users would sit down, and researchers would ask questions about the space. For example, the general understanding of the elements in the architectural program, how well people perceive length and sizes of objects, perception and understanding of textures and materials, and knowledge of demolition or renovation of specific elements. A total of 42 people participated in the research, with an average age of 26 years, various ranges of architectural drawing understanding, and from diverse cultural backgrounds, including Africa, the Middle East, Asia, the Americas, and Europe. The results shed light on several topics for architects looking into implementing this technology in their work.Save this picture!First, the study suggests that MR technology allowed users to understand around 85% of the overall design proposal compared to 2D methods (which allowed participants to obtain only around 75% of the information). At the same time, they also concluded that MR does not fully replace 2D; in fact, it's about balance. Both MR and 2D are suitable for identifying spaces and general layout, identifying where activities can be performed, and identifying heights. However, 2D plans are especially good for specific measurements of the space (Length and width), understanding the demolition plan, and identifying countable elements in the design, like the number of lamps, switches, or sockets. On the other hand, MR was better for understanding how elements in the space interact with each other (Like if the columns were wrapped by a specific material). MR  was especially useful for quickly identifying the specific materials and textures of the design and visually understanding size in terms of width, and mentally perceiving certain properties of materials like roughness, smoothness, warmth, or coldness.Save this picture!How Can We Integrate MR into our Current Design Review Workflows?MR has the potential to facilitate inclusive and interdisciplinary collaboration by bridging the gap between technical and non-technical stakeholders. Clients or end users with limited experience in reading architectural drawings often struggle to visualize how a space will look or function. AR, especially through Mixed Reality headsets, can mitigate this by allowing them to engage with the space intuitively. Given the transparent property of the MR lenses, non-architect users can experience the spatial and material qualities of a design proposal directly on-site, making it easier to identify potential issues such as circulation conflicts, scale misinterpretations, or material inconsistencies. This allows them to give feedback that is grounded in their own perceptual experience rather than abstract interpretations. This can help to democratize the design review process and can lead to more informed, client-centered decisions. For architectural teams, combining MR with traditional tools might mean that their detailed technical evaluations (e.g., clearances, counts, and demolition plans) are complemented by a richer experiential understanding from the client, which can lead to more holistic and user-validated design outcomes.Save this picture!This article is part of the ArchDaily Topics: What Is Future Intelligence?, proudly presented by Gendo, an AI co-pilot for Architects. Our mission at Gendo is to help architects produce concept images 100X faster by focusing on the core of the design process. We have built a cutting edge AI tool in collaboration with architects from some of the most renowned firms such as Zaha Hadid, KPF and David Chipperfield.Every month we explore a topic in-depth through articles, interviews, news, and architecture projects. We invite you to learn more about our ArchDaily Topics. And, as always, at ArchDaily we welcome the contributions of our readers; if you want to submit an article or project, contact us.

Technology  Rate this post Africa is a large and beautiful continent. It has many countries, cultures, and people. Each country is unique. Some are small, while others are very large. In this article, we will explore how many countries are in Africa. We will also learn some interesting facts about them. How Many Countries Are in Africa in 2025? As of 2025, Africa has 54 recognized countries. These countries are members of the African Union (AU). Some sources may list 55 or 56. That is because of disputed territories. However, the official number is 54 countries. What Are These Countries? Here is a list of all 54 African countries: Algeria Angola Benin Botswana Burkina Faso Burundi Cape Verde (Cabo Verde) Cameroon Central African Republic Chad Comoros Democratic Republic of the Congo Republic of the Congo Cote d’Ivoire (Ivory Coast) Djibouti Egypt Equatorial Guinea Eritrea Eswatini (formerly Swaziland) Ethiopia Gabon Gambia Ghana Guinea Guinea-Bissau Kenya Lesotho Liberia Libya Madagascar Malawi Mali Mauritania Mauritius Morocco Mozambique Namibia Niger Nigeria Rwanda Sao Tome and Principe Senegal Seychelles Sierra Leone Somalia South Africa South Sudan Sudan Tanzania Togo Tunisia Uganda Zambia Zimbabwe Are There Any Disputed Regions? Yes, there are. Some regions are not fully recognized. The most well-known is Western Sahara. It wants independence. Some countries support it. Others do not. It is a disputed region. That’s why numbers may vary across sources. What Is the African Union? The African Union (AU) is like a family of African countries. It helps them work together. The AU has 55 members. This includes Western Sahara. That is why some people count 55 countries. But the United Nations recognizes 54 countries in Africa. How Is Africa Divided Geographically? Africa is usually divided into five regions: North Africa – Includes Egypt, Algeria, Libya, Morocco, Tunisia, and Sudan. West Africa – Includes Nigeria, Ghana, Senegal, and many more. Central Africa – Includes Cameroon, Chad, and Congo. East Africa – Includes Kenya, Ethiopia, and Tanzania. Southern Africa – Includes South Africa, Zimbabwe, and Botswana. These regions are based on geography and culture. Each region has its languages and traditions. Which Is the Largest Country in Africa? Algeria is the largest country by land area. It is in North Africa. It covers over 2.3 million square kilometers. Which Is the Smallest Country in Africa? Seychelles is the smallest African country. It is a group of islands. It is located in the Indian Ocean. It has a population of less than 100,000 people. What Is the Most Populated Country in Africa? Nigeria has the most people in Africa. It has over 223 million people in 2025. That is a huge number. Nigeria is also a strong economy in the continent. Which Country Is the Youngest? South Sudan is the newest African country. It became independent in 2011. It was part of Sudan before. How Many Languages Are Spoken in Africa? Africa is full of languages. Over 2,000 languages are spoken across the continent. Some countries have more than 100 languages. What Are the Most Spoken Languages? Some common languages in Africa include: Arabic (mainly in North Africa) Swahili (East Africa) Hausa (West Africa) Amharic (Ethiopia) English and French (used in many countries) These languages help people from different tribes talk to each other. What Religions Are Practiced in Africa? Africa has many religions. The most common are: Islam – followed mostly in North and West Africa Christianity – followed in most parts of Sub-Saharan Africa Traditional African Religions – still practiced in rural areas Religion plays an important role in African life. What Makes Africa Special? Africa is the second-largest continent. It is rich in culture, wildlife, and history. It has deserts, rainforests, and savannas. Africa is home to the Sahara Desert, the Nile River, and Mount Kilimanjaro. Is Africa Growing Fast? Yes, very fast. Africa has one of the youngest populations in the world. Many people are under 25. Cities are growing. Technology is spreading. New businesses are starting. Africa is changing quickly. Top Cities in Africa Some of the largest and busiest cities are: Lagos (Nigeria) Cairo (Egypt) Johannesburg (South Africa) Nairobi (Kenya) Addis Ababa (Ethiopia) These cities are centers of business, culture, and government. Tourism in Africa Africa has many tourist spots. People visit for safaris, beaches, and ancient places. Some famous places include: Pyramids of Egypt Serengeti National Park Victoria Falls Table Mountain Sahara Desert Tourism is growing fast in many African countries. Conclusion Africa is a vibrant and powerful continent. It has 54 unique and independent countries. Each one adds value to the continent. From deserts to cities, from languages to religions, Africa has it all. Knowing how many countries are in Africa helps us understand its diversity. Africa will continue to grow in 2025 and beyond. Tech World TimesTech World Times (TWT), a global collective focusing on the latest tech news and trends in blockchain, Fintech, Development & Testing, AI and Startups. If you are looking for the guest post then contact at techworldtimes@gmail.com

Back in 2010, when Cartoon Network first announced its plan to reboot the beloved 1985 animated TV series Thundercats, the first thought that went through my mind was, “That’s great! Do Blackstar next!” In 2014, when Boat Rocker Media announced its reboot of 1981’s Danger Mouse, same thing: “Huh, interesting, but do Blackstar next.” 2016’s Disney reveal about its reboot of 1987’s Duck Tales? “Rad. But… Blackstar?” And so it went, year after year, with the announcements about 2018’s Netflix reboot of She-Ra: Princess of Power, 2021’s He-Man reboot Masters of the Universe: Revelation, the CG version of Inspector Gadget, the American Voltron update Voltron: Legendary Defender, half a dozen new Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and Transformers projects, a little-loved second Thundercats series, and every single Smurfs movie. I get it — the kids of the ’80s are producers and writers and showrunners now, with enough clout to get their childhood memories turned into new shows. But apparently none of them watched Blackstar, easily one of the coolest animated series of the 1980s, built around the coolest sword. There’s a direct genetic line between the success of 1977’s Star Wars and the wave of space-set, fantasy-themed Saturday morning cartoons that closely followed. Star Wars beget ABC’s popular Thundarr the Barbarian, a post-apocalyptic dystopian-future fantasy about a muscular hero who fought oppressive magical villains while wearing a fur skirt, hanging out with a leotard-clad sorceress, and more or less carrying a lightsaber and traveling with a Wookiee. Thundarr helped inspire Blackstar, CBS’ equivalent show, about a muscular hero who fought oppressive magical villains while wearing a fur skirt, hanging out with a leotard-clad sorceress, and carrying his own form of laser sword. (No Wookiee, though — instead, series hero Blackstar got to ride a dragon.) Both shows were on the leading edge of the post-Star Wars dark fantasy wave, leading to movies like Excalibur, Conan the Barbarian, and Dragonslayer. But unlike most of those ’80s fantasies — Flash Gordon aside — Thundarr and Blackstar kept a foot in Star Wars’ science fiction roots, hanging onto the idea of worlds where technology and mysticism met and clashed. Thundarr was more popular, but Blackstar was more compelling: a weirder, darker, richer world with a lot more going on, and a much more imaginative sword that wasn’t just a lightly reskinned lightsaber. Though the show only managed a single season and 13 episodes (compared with Thundarr’s two-year, 21-episode stint), Blackstar’s potential still sticks with me decades later. The story in brief: An astronaut from a future Earth, John Blackstar, enters a black hole in his experimental timeship, and winds up trapped on an ancient alien world, full of magic and monsters. (It’s essentially an isekai series, decades before isekai was the hottest trend in anime and manga.) The local Sauron equivalent, the Overlord, dominates the planet Sagar with an artifact called the Powerstar, a huge two-handed crystalline energy sword. Somehow, the Powerstar gets broken into identical halves, producing two badass weapons: the Power Sword, which the Overlord still holds, and the Star Sword, which falls into Blackstar’s hands. Blackstar winds up as the figurehead in a growing rebellion against the Overlord’s. Meanwhile, the Overlord wants not just to squash this budding rebellion, but to reclaim the Star Sword and take up the Powerstar again. In a series of interviews for Blackstar’s 2006 DVD release, the creators and writers cop to some of their influences in writing the show: The protagonist is a little bit John Carter of Mars (the original Edgar Rice Burroughs version, not the 2012 fantasy-movie version) and a little bit Flash Gordon, though he also closely resembles the protagonist of the 1979 live-action series Buck Rogers in the 25th Century. The Trobbits — tiny comedy-relief people who find and rescue Blackstar after his timeship crashes — take a little inspiration from J.R.R. Tolkien’s hobbits, and a lot more from Disney’s seven dwarfs, complete with the “one personality trait apiece” dynamic, and a youngest member who never speaks. (There are also seven of them.)  The Overlord is somewhere between Darth Vader and Ming the Merciless, while Blackstar’s sorceress companion, Mara, is basically just a reskin of Thundarr’s Princess Ariel, with very similar powers, a similar elegant, educated personality and role as party historian, and similar obvious crush on the oblivious hero. Although these characters rarely feel unique, the mythology and setting of Blackstar’s world very much do, and the central plot device of the Powerstar is unique in fantasy animation. The symmetry of the central villain and hero each having half of the world’s most legendary weapon — which is to say, half of the power left in a world struggling to define itself — is a clever riff on the idea that heroes and villains should mirror each other for maximum thematic impact. Their connection through the sundered Powerstar gives the protagonist and antagonist an intimate personal connection, a reason to clash again and again. It also helps define their characters, and what they do with power. It’s no coincidence that in the Overlord’s hands, the Power Sword is all blunt force, used solely to blast or slash, while Blackstar uses the Star Sword as a finesse weapon with flexible magical abilities. (Too flexible, really: Its magic is ill-defined, and the show’s writers invented new Star Sword powers in nearly every episode.) The idea of these two swords as yin and yang, perfect halves that assemble into a greater whole, is unusually elegant for an ’80s cartoon — and one of the series’ many ideas that was never really explored to full advantage. For modern viewers Blackstar is fairly close to unwatchable. Its production company, Filmation, emerged from a series of commercial jobs in the 1960s, but by the 1980s, it specialized in budget-priced television animated entirely in America, rather than in cheaper overseas production houses. That necessitated a lot of cost-saving devices, like recycling the same hand-drawn sequences many times over, often within the same episode, and using a hilariously limited library of sound effects. Blackstar’s sound design is garish and repetitive, with vocal work that sounds like almost everyone is shouting. The scripts are clunky: Blackstar is conceived as a quippy hero who peppers his foes with snarky one-liners, but his jokes are cataclysmically stiff. About the best he can muster is a jaunty “Putting on a little weight, aren’t you, Rocko?” when hefting one rock elemental to toss it onto another during a battle. And the series is designed for the syndication of the era, meaning that episodes might re-air in any order. So there’s no story development, no character arcs, not even an opening episode to establish Blackstar’s origins. Continuity glitches, inconsistent design and storytelling, and budget-saving slow pans across paintings abound. But the world it’s set in is fascinating. There are hints here and there of ancient technologies and centuries-old civilizations buried under what’s become a verdant forest, centered on the magic of the gigantic central Sagar tree, a mystic font of power the Trobbits live in and tend to. Sagar is a world full of weird creatures that seem either like evolutions of familiar animals, or like magical constructs — shark-bats and frog-rabbits and monkey-birds, long before Avatar: The Last Airbender made these kinds of amalgams a running joke. Those slow-pan, cash-saving painting backgrounds are rich, elaborate, and colorful, suggesting a world with the darkness and detail of Jim Henson’s The Dark Crystal.  While so much of 1980s animation was about the clear line between good and evil, there’s a sense throughout Blackstar that most of the world of Sagar isn’t aspected in such a black-and-white way. It’s just a chaotic ruin, where hungry monsters, prim but weary civilizations, and barbaric enclaves all exist side by side, divided by lethal geography. Every scattered outpost and wandering monster is equally dangerous to Blackstar and the Overlord, but ripe for either of them to exploit for an advantage in their ongoing war. There are even hints at a nuanced system for magic, where the mental power of sorcery and the elemental power of nature magic are different things that work in different ways. After Blackstar’s single season ended, Filmation immediately followed it with the Mattel-backed and far better funded He-Man and the Masters of the Universe, a series based on an existing toy line, but just as clearly based on elements borrowed from Blackstar. Once again, there’s a muscular hero in a fur skirt with a magic sword, battling a sorcerous villain in a chaotic technofantasy world packed with environmental hazards and weird, wildly diverse humanoids. Filmation regular Alan Oppenheimer voiced both Blackstar’s Overlord and He-Man’s Skeletor; similarly, Linda Gary voiced Blackstar’s leading lady Mara and He-Man’s Teela. Filmation staff writer Tom Ruegger developed the series bible for both shows, and it shows, in everything from the similar heroes’ and rogues’ galleries to the sprawling high-and-low-tech world where magic and robots co-exist. One He-Man episode, “The Remedy,” even reused several Blackstar sequences, reintroducing Blackstar’s dragon-horse Warlock as a beast He-Man saves from a giant spider, then rides around. While He-Man had many of the same budgetary and aesthetic limitations as Blackstar — frequently recycled animation, obnoxious sound design, goofy and often ineffectual comedy relief — He-Man was immediately more popular. So popular, in fact that toy maker Galoob tried to nab some of Mattel’s sales success by putting out a weirdly modeled toy line for Blackstar, two full years after the show was canceled. (Those toys did not do well.) Now, we’re in an era where He-Man gets reboot after reboot — an all-ages animated version, a CG version for kids, a new live-action movie scheduled for 2026 — while Blackstar is all but forgotten. And I find that so strange. The bid to reboot and update every hit cartoon of the 1980s seems like a natural enough progression for an era of media fueled by nostalgia, but I’ve never understood why there isn’t more of it for Blackstar, a series that was more imaginative and ambitious than either the predecessor it was trying to outdo or the follower that got all the glory. In the way of so many other ’80s cartoons, my interest in a reboot is much less about re-creating an often janky, limited, cheaply made TV series, and much more about realizing the potential these characters and this world couldn’t take advantage of in the 1980s. A modern version with up-to-date animation could give John Blackstar a proper backstory, and actually make some sense of the biggest hero/villain themes the ’80s version lightly touched on. It could take advantage of the retro-future magic setting and the sprawling original world of Sagar in ways Filmation never dreamed of.  And most importantly, a proper modern update could finally dig into the event that split the Powerstar and turned its two halves into thematic weapons. There are so many story possibilities for that particular cool sword, just waiting to be discovered by a new generation.

With its unapologetically violent gameplay and hellfire aesthetics, Doom not only popularized first-person shooters when the franchise launched in 1993 but changed the gaming industry forever with its countless influences still felt today far beyond its genre. And despite its success, there are surprisingly few games in the core series once you discount the seemingly endless platforms the classic games have been ported to throughout the years. Fortunately, most of these games are clear winners that towered above contemporaries and have stood the test of time. With that in mind, not all Doom games are created equal, even if the gameplay and core premise has remained consistently intact for decades. Eschewing spinoffs like Ultimate Doom, Mighty Doom, or Doom RPG, here are all the mainline Doom games ranked from worst to best. 8. Final Doom (1996) This entry was very nearly left off this list entirely since some fans saw 1996’s Final Doom as a glorified spinoff—or little more than a standalone expansion of Doom II. But with its own PC and PlayStation release, along with a vocal fan base accumulated over the years, Final Doom does indeed count as its own installment in the franchise’s main line. The game also features a story that takes place after the events of Doom II, with the Doom Slayer repelling a hellish invasion of a colony on one of Jupiter’s moons before taking the fight to Hell itself. That said, Final Doom is easily the weakest game from the series’ classic era, recycling old assets instead of introducing new elements while presenting largely uninspired levels. The PS version is worse than the PC version, providing players with less than half of the original PC release and an overall weaker visual fidelity and presentation. Final Doom is best enjoyed by hardcore Doom II fans looking for something a bit different than the base game they know and love. 7. Doom 3 (2004) After a lengthy hiatus and high-profile personnel changes at developer id Software, Doom returned a decade after Doom II with 2004’s Doom 3. The game is more or less a rehash of the original game’s story where a research facility on Mars accidentally opens a portal to Hell, allowing demons to pour into our world. The game was ported to Xbox eight months after the initial PC release, received the Resurrection of Evil expansion in 2005, and was remastered with new content in 2012. Taking advantage of the advances of technical capabilities since the franchise’s heyday in the early to mid ‘90s, Doom 3 is a slower, moodier experience, favoring suspense and scares over wall-to-wall action, at least for the first half of the game. This makes Doom 3 something of an outlier in its overall gameplay and presentation, which is the most strikingly different in the wider franchise. However, the pacing for those earlier portions of the game really drags, especially for players used to the series’ penchant for just diving headfirst into the usual carnage. 6. Doom 64 (1997) When the Doom franchise made its way to the Nintendo 64 in 1997, it didn’t do so as a port of the existing games but rather as its own standalone title. Doom 64 is very much its own game, complete with an original story of the Doom Slayer being lured back into Hell by an elaborate trap set by the Mother Demon. A remaster of the game was released in 2020 for modern platforms, including original content that linked this game’s story to the revival trilogy that began in 2016. At the time of its release, players may have been experiencing franchise fatigue, not giving the game the credit it was due as more popular successors to Doom, like Quake and Unreal, took shape. To be fair, Doom 64 doesn’t reinvent the wheel, not adding much distinctly new. But it does refine the established formula with heightened atmosphere and engaging level design. Years later, fans are finally starting to recognize Doom 64 for what it really is—the last game released in the franchise’s classic era and the culmination of that initial cycle. 5. Doom: The Dark Ages (2025) People are going to look at this ranking and invariably think that a fifth place position means that Doom: The Dark Ages is a bad game. To be clear, it isn’t, The Dark Ages is a solid entry in the franchise; the series just has a list of absolute bangers that outrank it. True to its title, The Dark Ages blends the franchise’s penchant for sci-fi horror with dark fantasy as the Doom Slayer uses more medieval-inspired weapons to battle invading armies of demons across the cosmos. For sure, The Dark Ages is the biggest tonal departure within the revival trilogy, including more strategic combat and even vehicle-based levels to navigate. The gory sensibilities of Doom are still very much intact, fortunately, though the game’s insistence on having players rely on the Doom Slayer’s new shield may throw established fans off who are just looking to rip and tear. An expansion of what Doom can be without discarding the franchise’s core ethos entirely, The Dark Ages is a welcome big swing from the series that mostly connects. 4. Doom (1993) Obviously the entire franchise we’re talking about here wouldn’t exist without the original Doom released in 1993, not only serving as the series’ foundation, but a title that changed gaming forever. With all that said, when doing our best to remove nostalgia out of the equation and look at the game on its own standalone merits, that first Doom game still stands in the top half of the franchise but is narrowly edged out of the top three. The game’s premise is simple: when a dimensional portal on the moons of Mars accidentally serves as a bridge to Hell, the Doom Slayer stands alone in purging the invading demons from the research facilities with whatever weapons he can find. Join our mailing list Get the best of Den of Geek delivered right to your inbox! From its chugging heavy metal-inspired soundtrack to its over-the-top arsenal reducing hellish enemies to bloody pulp, Doom set the template for the franchise that has only been built upon to this day. The game spawned countless copycat titles while being ported to virtually every major gaming platform, a distinction that it continues to hold over 30 years since its initial release. Despite now having the roughest of edges, Doom holds up as one of the most straightforward and enjoyable first-person shooters of its era, both for nostalgia-minded gamers and those curious of the franchise’s roots. 3. Doom (2016) Though commercially successful, the middling response to Doom 3 and changes in the developer’s ownership had left the franchise languishing in limbo for over a decade, confined to the occasional port and remaster as id Software returned its focus to Wolfenstein. After undergoing years of various stages of development, it was 2016’s Doom that completely reinvigorated the flagship franchise, getting back to the fast-paced gameplay that the series was known for while also enjoying extensive updates for modern sensibilities. The game itself is more or less a rehash of the original story, with a human research facility on Mars descending into madness and being overrun after opening a portal to Hell. The 2016 Doom is also exactly what fans wanted after the more deliberately paced Doom 3, something that ditched the emphasis on tutorials and narrative and instead got back to gory gunplay in all its glory. Though the multiplayer aspect left some players wanting, the single-player campaign is among the franchise’s best, powered by a hard-rocking soundtrack composed by Mick Gordon. The kick in the pants that the series needed, the Doom revival lived up to the franchise’s example while bringing it deeper into the 21st century, guns blazing. 2. Doom II: Hell on Earth (1994) The original Doom set a high bar for first-person shooters moving forward. But it’s a bar that the direct sequel Doom II: Hell on Earth vaulted over when it was released in 1994. Picking up from its predecessor with the Doom Slayer fighting for the fate of Earth after it is invaded by the forces of Hell, Doom II would receive a number of expansions and ports after its launch, with the latest released as recently as 2024, adding an original episode with brand-new weapons and enemies to the venerable title. Everything that the original Doom did, Doom II does noticeably better, all while expanding on the premise with new enemies, fresh weapons, and even more inventive level design. From a technical standpoint, there is no huge leap in the graphical department or sound design, but rather in the complexity and size of the levels coupled with a larger number of enemies onscreen. Indeed, Doom II almost makes the original game feel like a first draft at times given how much it refines the overall experience despite only coming out a year after the franchise began. 1. Doom Eternal (2020) After successfully relaunching the franchise for modern audiences in 2016, the Doom revival got a direct sequel in 2020 with Doom Eternal. Taking its cues from Doom II, Eternal has Earth invaded by the armies of Hell and facing near-annihilation from the all-powerful Icon of Sin with the Doom Slayer as humanity’s last, best hope for survival. The two-part DLC epilogue The Ancient Gods has the Doom Slayer travel deep into Hell to confront the Dark Lord and vanquish the demon hordes for good. Though Doom Eternal may have divided hardcore purists about its inclusion of prominent narrative elements, platforming gameplay sequences, and tutorials, it is a clear refinement of what the 2016 revival began. The combat is as frenetic and engaging as it has ever been in the franchise, the arsenal is upgraded and expanded, and the hellish aesthetics the series is known for are in excelsis here. Simply put, Doom Eternal is the apex of the franchise, leaning into what the series does best while incorporating bold flourishes to build the mythology and subtly redefine what Doom can be.

With President Donald Trump’s multitrillion-dollar tax breaks package at risk of stalling, House Speaker Mike Johnson and conservative Republican holdouts are heading Wednesday to the White House for the last-ditch talks to salvage the “big, beautiful bill.” Johnson, R-La., had hoped to vote as soon as Wednesday on the 1,000-page plus bill after grinding through an all-night committee hearing, a final step in the process. But debate dragged into midday. Democrats, without the votes to stop Trump’s package, are using all available tools to press their opposition and capitalize on the GOP disarray. “We believe it’s one big, ugly bill that’s going to hurt the American people,” said House Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries of New York as he and his team testified before the committee. “Hurt children, hurt families, hurt veterans, hurt seniors, cut health care, cut nutritional assistance, explode the debt,” he said. Trump had instructed the Republican majority to quit arguing and get it done, putting his own political influence on the line. But the Republican president failed to move many skeptics during his Capitol Hill visit this week and GOP leaders struggled through the the night on crafting last-minute deals. But for every faction of the slim House majority that Johnson appeases, he is losing others. A tentative deal with GOP lawmakers from New York and other high-tax states to boost deductions for local taxes to $40,000 alarmed the most conservative Republicans, worried it will add to the nation’s $36 trillion debt. Rep. Andy Harris, R-Md., the chairman of the hard-right House Freedom Caucus, said he did not believe the package could pass in a House vote, but “there is a pathway forward that we can see.” “We want to deliver the president’s agenda,” he said. It’s a make-or-break moment for the president and his party in Congress. They have invested much of their political capital during the crucial first few months of Trump’s return to the White House on this legislation. If the House Republicans fall in line with the president, overcoming unified Democratic objections, the measure would next go to the Senate. “We’re doing very well. It’s very close” Trump said at the White House. A fresh analysis from the Congressional Budget Office said the tax provisions would increase federal deficits by $3.8 trillion over the decade, while the changes to Medicaid, food stamps and other services would tally $1 trillion in reduced spending. The lowest-income households in the U.S. would see their resources drop, while the highest ones would see a boost, the CBO said. Republicans convened the House Rules Committee hearing shortly after midnight, but Johnson’s Memorial Day deadline for House passage was slipping as lawmakers prepared to depart for the holiday. At its core, the package is centered on extending the tax breaks approved during Trump’s first term in 2017, while adding new ones he campaigned on during his 2024 campaign. To make up for some of the lost revenue, the Republicans are focused on spending cuts to federal safety net programs and a massive rollback of green energy tax breaks from the Biden-era Inflation Reduction Act. Additionally, the package tacks on $350 billion in new spending, with about $150 billion going to the Pentagon, including for the president’s new “ Golden Dome” defense shield, and the rest for Trump’s mass deportation and border security agenda. The package title carries Trump’s own words, the “ One Big Beautiful Bill Act.” As Trump promised voters on the tax front, the package proposes there would be no taxes on tips for certain workers, including those in some service industries; automobile loan interest; or some overtime pay. There would be an increase to the standard income tax deduction, to $32,000 for joint filers, and a boost to the child tax credit to $2,500. There would be an enhanced deduction, of $4,000, for older adults of certain income levels, to help defray taxes on Social Security income. To cut spending, the package would impose new work requirements for many people who receive health care through Medicaid. Able-bodied adults without dependents would need to fulfill 80 hours a month on a job or in other community activities. Similarly, those who receive food stamps through the Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Program, known as SNAP, would also face new work requirements. Older Americans up to age 64, rather than 54, who are able-bodied and without dependents would need to work or engage in the community programs for 80 hours a month. Additionally, some parents of children older than 7 years old would need to fulfill the work requirements; under current law, the requirement comes after children are 18. Republicans said they want to root out waste, fraud and abuse in the federal programs. The Congressional Budget Office has estimated 8.6 million fewer people would have health insurance with the various changes to Medicaid and the Affordable Care Act. It also said 3 million fewer people each month would have SNAP benefits. Conservatives are insisting on quicker, steeper cuts to federal programs to offset the costs of the trillions of dollars in lost tax revenue. GOP leaders have sped up the start date of the Medicaid work requirements from 2029 to 2027. At the same time, more moderate and centrist lawmakers are wary of the changes to Medicaid that could result in lost health care for their constituents. Others are worried the phaseout of the renewable energy tax breaks will impede businesses using them to invest in green energy projects in many states. Plus, those lawmakers from New York, California and other high-tax states want a bigger state and local tax deduction, called SALT, for their voters back home. As it stands, the bill would triple what’s currently a $10,000 cap on the state and local tax deduction, increasing it to $30,000 for joint filers with incomes up to $400,000 a year. But advocates wanted more. Under the emerging deal, the cap would increase the deduction to $40,000 with an income limit of $500,000, according to a person granted anonymity to discuss the private talks. The cap would phase down for incomes above that level. The Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget, a nonpartisan fiscal watchdog group, estimates that the House bill is shaping up to add roughly $3.3 trillion to the debt over the next decade. —Lisa Mascaro, Kevin Freking, Leah Askarinam, and Joey Cappelletti, Associated Press Associated Press writer Chris Megerian contributed to this report.

Vrmooooommmm Mario Kart World started off as an OG Switch game, and don't worry, its driving cow is "still in touch with her animal nature" "Cow is actually a pivotal character in the Mario Kart series." Image credit: Nintendo News by Mark Warren Senior Staff Writer Published on May 21, 2025 Mario Kart World started development back in 2017 as a game for the original Switch, but ended up becoming a Switch 2 one because it devs felt the tech boost was necessary to deliver the world bit of it. Said devs have also offered us some more info about its most important character - Cow. Yep, that's right. Mario, Luigi, Bowser, Peach, they can all go do one. Moo Moo Meadows cow is the king of these streets, with an aura so powerful she can momentarily stop even the most outraged of Ninty fans from being unhappy about prices or worrying that they might not be able to make the switch to Switch 2 right away. To see this content please enable targeting cookies. These tidbits and more come from a new interview Nintendo's put out with Mario Kart World producer Kosuke Yabuki, programming director Kenta Sato, art director Masaaki Ishikawa, planning team lead Shintaro Jikumaru, and music lead Atsuko Asahi that so long it's been divided into four parts. So, make sure you go grab your beverage of choice first if you plan on reading it all in one go. We were thinking about what to do for the next Mario Kart game even during the development of Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, and we began prototyping in March 2017," Yabuki explained, "It was at the end of that year when we officially started work on it as a project. I felt that in Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, we were able to perfect the formula that we'd been following in the series up to that point, where players race on individual courses. That’s why, this time, we wanted the gameplay to involve players driving around a large world, and we began creating a world map like this." "When we were developing for the Nintendo Switch system," Sato explained further on in the chat, "it was difficult for us to incorporate everything we wanted, so we were always conscious of what we were giving up in return. We discussed things like toning down the visuals, lowering the resolution, and we even considered dropping the frame rate to 30 fps in some cases. It was a tough situation. "Yabuki-san first brought [the idea of switching to Switch 2] up around 2020. Back then, we already had an idea of the next system's expected specs, but it wasn't until a bit later that we actually received working development units. Until then, we just had to proceed with development based on provisional estimates." Watch on YouTube "Of course, the graphics needed to be more detailed [due to being on Switch 2]," Ishikawa added, "But like Sato-san, I also felt like it was outweighed by the sense of relief. From the beginning, the designers were saying they wanted to make the art richer, so I thought we could achieve that now." The devs also explained how the driving Cow came to be, and offered a glimpse into her...er...mindset. "Each new Mario Kart game features new characters to race with, but since we added so many to the previous game, we wondered where we could go from there," Ishikawa explained, "And then one of the designers came up with [a] silly sketch of Cow cruising along, and I thought to myself, “This is it!” (Laughs) So that's when we realized the course surroundings actually contained a lot of untapped resources." MK World's devs call these environmental decoration characters who've gotten behind the wheel "NPC drivers", with Yabuki noting that "it's pretty funny to see a four-legged Cow holding onto motorcycle handlebars with her front hooves." Though, you shouldn't worry, as Ishikawa insisted that he's pretty sure Cow is "still in touch with her animal nature" due to the pose she assumes when she jumps, and that she's "actually a pivotal character in the Mario Kart series" as a legacy of giving the devs ideas for other characters. Will Cow become a pivotal character in your life once you get your hands on Mario Kart World? Let us know below!

Got a project that’s too contemporary for your client? Submit your conceptual works, images and ideas for global recognition and print publication in the 2025 Vision Awards! The clock is ticking — submit your work ahead of the Main Entry deadline on June 6th. Spiral staircases are famously beautiful but notoriously tricky to design, particularly in section. (Ask any architect who’s ever tried!) Still, the payoff is worth it. Beyond their visual appeal, spiral stairs can save space, guide circulation, and even become striking centerpieces within a building. The projects below prove there’s more than one way to embrace the twist, using unexpected materials and creative details to shape spaces in offices, schools, restaurants and parks. Even when things get complicated, these nine stairs make a strong case for taking the spiral route. OFFICE @ 63 By Sanjay Puri Architects, Navi Mumbai, India Popular Choice Winner, 12th Annual A+Awards, Commercial Interiors (<25,000 sq ft.) A curved steel staircase rises through the center of this workplace, connecting three levels in one continuous movement. Perforated and matte-finished, it feels both solid and light. Its underside, lined with warm tones, softens the otherwise industrial palette. Set within a tall, multipurpose space used for exhibitions and gatherings, the stair becomes a quiet focal point. Surrounded by concrete, cork, glass and exposed metal, it stands out not just as a route between floors, but as an element that gives the entire space rhythm and focus. La Maison de Beauté Carita, L’Oréal-Luxe By Le studio REV, Paris, France At the center of Carita’s Paris beauty house, part of the L’Oréal portfolio, a curved staircase rises through what was once a closed courtyard. The space is now topped with a tall glass roof that brings in soft, natural light. Pale marble, pink onyx and brushed metal set a quiet, polished tone. The staircase is kept light with floating steps and slim supports. It connects the levels clearly and efficiently, without blocking views through arched openings. In a building designed around care and detail, the stair adds just the right touch of structure and calm movement. Sjustjärnan, New Nordic Headquarters for E.On By Kanozi Arkitekter, Malmö, Sweden A wide, open staircase connects the floors of E.ON’s Malmö headquarters, rising through a central glass atrium that joins the two curved volumes of the building. Designed to encourage movement and connection between departments, the stair is placed at the heart of shared circulation. Materials are simple and natural: light wood treads, glass balustrades and metal accents, chosen to support the building’s focus on well-being and daylight. Generous landings allow for pauses and casual interaction, reinforcing the workplace’s flexible layout. With no assigned desks and no divided entrances, the building encourages a sense of togetherness and the staircase plays a clear role in making that daily flow visible and accessible. The Learning Center at Quest By KSM Architecture, Chennai, India Jury Winner, 12th Annual A+Awards, Architecture +Learning A vivid red spiral staircase rises along the facade of this learning center in Chennai, connecting the top floor library to a rooftop cafeteria and terrace. Attached to the exterior, the stair adds a moment of surprise to the otherwise calm, ribbed concrete surface. Made from perforated metal, its bright finish contrasts with the muted palette of the building while echoing the colorful window frames scattered across the elevation. Inside, a separate metal stair winds through a central atrium, linking five stacked classrooms and open learning spaces. Together, the staircases reflect the school’s focus on movement, openness and curiosity — key principles in its interest-based approach to education. Varee Valley Restaurant : Jungle Junction By NPDA studio, Thailand Inside this forest-side restaurant in Northeast Thailand, a white spiral staircase rises slowly through the center of a light-filled dining area. Designed for pause and perspective, the stair leads visitors to a rooftop platform that opens up to the surrounding trees. Built with slender steel members and a delicate footprint, it reflects the lightness of the overall structure and mirrors the verticality of nearby tree trunks. The stair wraps around a central cylindrical column that also serves as a rainwater drain and light shaft, drawing daylight into the heart of the space. The Opera Park By Cobe, Copenhagen, Denmark Jury Winner, Public Parks & Green Spaces, 12th Annual A+Awards At the heart of this new harbor front park in Copenhagen, a spiral staircase descends through the center of a circular greenhouse, wrapping gently around a subtropical garden. The stair connects the café at park level with an underground parking facility, guiding visitors down through layers of greenery. Slim metal railings trace its curve, while the surrounding glass enclosure creates the feeling of walking through an open-air terrarium. The park itself spans six themed gardens across a former industrial island, offering paths, ponds and planting from around the world. In this setting, the staircase becomes part of a wider idea: architecture that supports slow movement, seasonal change and a close connection to nature. Balmy Palmy By CplusC Architects + Builders, Sydney, Australia In this compact holiday home raised above a rocky slope, a yellow spiral staircase links the natural ground to the open-air platform above. Built from powder-coated steel, it curves tightly between tree trunks and timber posts, bringing a sharp contrast to the greens and browns of the site. The stair leads into an outdoor area that connects the home’s simple rooms, with views of the treetops, the bay and the sky shifting between the leaves. Designed to limit excavation and preserve the forest setting, the staircase plays a clear role in the project’s minimal footprint — serving as a key access point and everyday reminder of the landscape it rises from. Dental Clinic By IFAgroup, Gdańsk, Poland Jury Winner, Hospitals and Healthcare Centers, 12th Annual A+Awards Jury Winner,  Architecture +Health, 12th Annual A+Awards Photos by Hanna Połczyńska This dental clinic, once a granary, is organized around a wide spiral staircase that rises through its three-story foyer. Clad in warm wood, the stair connects waiting areas, dental offices and training spaces while giving the interior a clear center. It’s surrounded by concrete, brick and steel surfaces that reflect the building’s industrial past. Live piano music and soft lighting help create a calm atmosphere, while sound-absorbing materials keep the space quiet and focused. Envisioned as more than a circulation route, the stair shapes how people move, wait and gather inside. Concept WRRF Yixing (Water Resource Recovery Facility) By SUP Atelier of THAD, China Inside this water treatment facility, a spiral staircase sits next to a café and community area. Built from metal with clean, simple details, it leads visitors through spaces designed to educate the public about recycling and sustainability. Large windows around the stair offer clear views of the nearby farmland and waterways, connecting visitors with the natural setting. As part of the facility’s open, welcoming design, the staircase makes it easy to see and understand how wastewater is turned into clean water and renewable energy. Got a project that’s too contemporary for your client? Submit your conceptual works, images and ideas for global recognition and print publication in the 2025 Vision Awards! The clock is ticking — submit your work ahead of the Main Entry deadline on June 6th. Top image: The Learning Center at Quest by KSM Architecture, Chennai, India The post 9 (Somewhat) Unconventional Takes on The Beloved Spiral Staircase appeared first on Journal.