Dive into this quick tutorial where we explore how to effectively use radial noise textures in Unreal Engine 5. Perfect for enhancing your VFX skills!#UnrealEngine #UE5 #VFXTutorial #GameDevelopment #Niagara

Thrustmaster T598 + Hypercar Wheel review: a great value PC/PS5 sim racing wheel and pedals built on novel tech Direct axial drive impresses, despite limited software and a firmly mid stock wheel. Image credit: Digital Foundry Review by Will Judd Deputy Editor, Digital Foundry Published on June 1, 2025 We've seen an explosion in the number of affordable direct drive (DD) racing wheels over the past couple of years, with Fanatec and Moza offering increasingly inexpensive options that still deliver the precise, quick and long-lasting force feedback that cheaper gear- or belt-driven wheels can't match. Now, Thrustmaster is intruding on that territory with the T598, a PlayStation/PC direct drive wheel, wheel base and pedals that costs just £449/$499. That's on a similar level to the PC-only £459/$599 Moza R5 bundle and the €399/$569 Fanatec CSL DD bundle, so how does the newcomer compare? And what's changed from the more expensive T818 we reviewed before? We've been testing the T598 - and the fancy upgraded HyperCar wheel that's available as an upgrade option - for weeks to find out. Our full review follows, so read on - or check out the quick links below to jump to what you're most interested in. To see this content please enable targeting cookies. Thrustmaster T598 wheel base review: direct axial drive vs traditional direct drive Interestingly, the T598 arguably comes with a more advanced DD motor than the more expensive T818 does. It uses a "direct axial drive" versus the standard "direct radial drive", where the magnets are aligned parallel to the wheel shaft rather than perpendicular (see the diagram below). This ought to allow for more efficient torque generation, producing less waste heat, minimising precision-sapping magnetic interference and requiring less copper to produce. It also means the T598 can "overshoot" to deliver more than its rated 5nm of constant torque for short periods. However, this design also requires a physically taller yet slimmer enclosure (measuring 210x210x120mm), potentially blocking the view forward and requiring a different bolt pattern to attach the base to your desk or sim racing cockpit - both of which are slight annoyances with the T598. (You do get an angle bracket to allow for wider and potentially more compatible holes for your cockpit... but this makes the tall wheel base even taller. Table clamps are also included.) Interestingly, you can also feel a slight vibration and hear a quiet crackling noise emanating from the T598 base while idle - something I haven't heard or felt with other direct drive motors and is reportedly inherent to this design. There's a lot going on inside this wheel base - including some genuine innovation. | Image credit: Thrustmaster/Digital Foundry Thrustmaster has written a pair of white papers to explain why their take on direct drive ("axial flux") is better than what came before ("radial flux"). Image credit: Thrustmaster In terms of the force feedback itself, Thrustmaster have achieved something quite special here. In some titles with a good force feedback implementation - Assetto Corsa, Assetto Corsa Evo and F1 23 stood out to me here - the wheel feels great, with strong force feedback and plenty of detail. If you run up on a kerb or start to lose traction, you know about it right away and can take corrective action. I also appreciated the way that turning the wheel feels perfectly smooth when turning, without any cogging - the slightly jerky sensation common to low-end and mid-range direct drive motors that corresponds to slight attraction as you pass each magnet. However, balancing this, the wheel's force feedback feels a little less consistent than others I've tested from the likes of Fanatec or Moza at a similar price point, with some games like Project Cars 3 and Forza Motorsport feeling almost bereft of force feedback by comparison. You also have that slight vibration when the wheel is stationary, which is potentially more noticeable than the cogging sensation in traditional DD designs. The overshoot is also a mixed bag - as the sudden jump in torque can feel a little artificial in some scenarios, eg when you're warming your tyres by weaving in F1 before a safety car restart. I'd say that these positives and negatives largely cancel each other out, and you're left with force feedback that is good, way better than non-DD wheels, but not noticeably better than more common radial direct drive designs. Depending on the games you play, either DD style could be preferable. It'll be interesting to see if Thrustmaster are able to tune out some of these negative characteristics through firmware updates - or simply in later products using the same technology. 1 of 7 Caption Attribution Here's how the T598 looks IRL - from the wheel base itself to the default rim, the upgraded Hypercar wheel and the included dual pedals. Click to enlarge. Apart from the novel motor, the rest of the wheel base is fairly standard - there's a small (colour!) display on the top for adjusting your settings and seeing in-game info like a rev counter, four large circular buttons buttons (L3, R3, Mode and Settings), the usual Thrustmaster quick release lock for securing your wheel rim and a small button on the back to turn the wheel base on and off. There are connection options for power, USB and connecting other components like pedals or shifters on the back too. Weirdly, there's no ability to change settings in the PC Thrustmaster Panel app - it just says this functionality is "coming soon!" - so right now you can only use it for updating firmware, testing buttons and changing between profiles. "Coming soon!" starts to become a little less believable six months after the first reviews hit. | Image credit: Digital Foundry Instead, you'll be using the built-in screen for making changes, which works well enough but doesn't provide any allowance for extra information - so you'll be sticking to the four basic pre-made profiles, referring to the manual or checking suggested setups online rather than reading built-in tool tips. You still get access to the full whack of settings here, and of course this works well for PS5/PS4 users who wouldn't expect a software experience anyway, but PC users may be disappointed to learn that there's no intuitive software interface here. I found the Boosted Media YT review of the wheelbase to offer some good insight into what settings you're likely to want to change from their default values. Thrustmaster T598 Sportcar wheel review: a workable default option The Sportcar wheel rim looks good - but a plastic construction and relatively spartan controls make it "OK" at best. The "Sportcar" wheel provided in the bundle is a little less impressive-looking than the base itself, with a plasticky feel throughout and fairly mushy buttons - though the paddles are snappy enough and feel good to use. The usual PS-style face buttons are split into two clumps up top with L2 and R2, which is a bit odd, with four individual directional buttons in the lower left, start/select/PS in the lower middle and four configuration buttons in the lower right. Those configuration buttons require extra explanation, so here we go: the P button at the top swaps between four different pages, indicated with a different colour LED, allowing the remaining three physical buttons to activate up to 12 different functions. (The Fanatec GT DD Pro, by contrast, has dedicated five-way controls for each of its four functions. This costs more to produce, but allows you to use the controls without looking down to see what coloured light is active.) There are no rotary encoders or other additional controls here, so PC players that prefer more complicated racing sims may feel a bit underserved by this clunky, cost-saving solution. The 815g wheel is at least sized reasonably, with 300mm circular shape that particularly suits drifting, rally and trucking - though all forms of driving and racing are of course possible. The rubber grips under your hands are reasonably comfortable, but you can still feel seams in various places. Overall, the wheel is possibly the weakest part of the package, but perfectly usable and acceptable for the price point. Thrustmaster Hypercar Wheel Add-On review: true luxury An incredible wheel with premium materials, excellent controls and a more specialised shape. Thrustmaster also sent over the £339/$350 Hypercar wheel rim for testing, which is an upgrade option that uses significantly better materials - leather, alcantara, aluminium and carbon - and offers a huge number of extra controls (25 buttons, including four rotary encoders and two pairs of analogue paddles). Its oval shape feels a bit more responsive for faster vehicles (like F1 cars) that require a quick change of direction, but drifting and rally doesn't feel natural. It supports the same PS4, PS5 and PC platforms as the stock option, but there are no legends printed on the buttons to help you. The difference in quality here is immediately apparent, with much better tactile feedback from the buttons and a huge number of additional controls for adjusting stuff like ERS deployment or brake bias. Each control feels well-placed, even if the T-shaped layout for the face buttons is slightly unnatural at first, and the paddles for shifting and the clutch are particularly well engineered. I also found holding the wheel a bit more comfortable thanks to that flattened out shape, the more premium materials and the absence of bumps or seams anywhere you're likely to hold. It's a huge upgrade in terms of feel and features then, as you'd hope for a wheel rim that costs nearly as much as the entire T598 kit and caboodle. As an upgrade option, I do rate it, though it perhaps makes slightly more sense for T818 owners that have already invested a bit more in the Thrusmaster ecosystem. Regardless, it was this rim that I used for the majority of my time with the T598, and the wheel base feels significantly better with the upgrade. Thrustmaster T598 Raceline pedals review: great feedback, but no clutch and no load cell upgrade offered at present Surprisingly good for two add-in pedals, in terms of feedback and flexibility. The pedals that come with the T598 are surprisingly good, with an accelerator, a brake pedal (with a choice of two different spring options) and no clutch pedal. Each pedal's spring assembly can be pushed into one of three positions to change the amount of pre-load - ie make it a bit softer or harder to press and the pedal plates can be shifted up and down. The narrow dimensions of the metal wheel plate meant that it was impossible to mount directly in the centre of the Playseat Trophy I used for testing, but the slightly off-centre installation I ended up with still worked just fine. They connect using a non-USB connection, so you can't use the pedals with other wheel bases. Using the middle distance setting and the firmer of the two springs for the brake, I found the T598 produced good results, on par or perhaps even a tad better than other metal-construction Hall Effect position sensor (ie non-load cell) pedals I've tested such as the Moza SR-P Lite and Fanatec CSL. Braking is the critical point here, as you want to be able to feel when the brake has mechanically reached its threshold and then modulate your inputs from there, and the T598 pedals do allow for this quite easily. They're also not so hard to actuate that you end up having to hard-mount them to a sim rig for good results, and the included carpet spikes are reasonably effective in keeping the pedals in place. Presumably, it ought to be possible to add on a load cell brake pedal down the line to upgrade to a proper (if slightly cramped) three pedal setup. For the F1 style driving that I prefer, the clutch pedal isn't used anyway, so it wasn't a massive issue for me - and we frequently see companies like Moza and Fanatec drop the clutch pedal on these aggessively priced bundles so Thrustmaster aren't losing ground by following suit. Thrustmaster T598 final verdict: a competitive £450 package with potential For PlayStation owners, this is an incredible value pickup that ranks among the cheapest DD options - and PC owners ought to consider it too. For £449/$499, the Thrustmaster T598 is an excellent value direct drive wheel and pedal bundle for PlayStation and PC with some relatively minor quirks. The wheel base is powerful, detailed and responsive in most games, with some advantages over traditional DD designs but also some disadvantages - notably the taller shape and a slight hum/vibration while stationary. Traditional DD designs from the likes of Fanatec and Moza can offer more reliable force feedback that works over a wider range of games, cars and tracks, while also benefitting from better PC software, but there's certainly potential for Thrustmaster to improve here. The included wheel feels a bit cheap, with a predominantly plastic design, spongey buttons and a slightly odd layout, but the full circle shape and full PS5/PS4 compatibility is most welcome. Upgrading to the HyperCar wheel provides a huge uptick in materials, tactile feedback and number of controls, though this does come at a fairly steep price of £339/$350. If you plan to use the T598 for years and have the budget for it, this is a super upgrade to aim for. The included Raceline LTE pedals are the most surprising element for me. These consist of only an accelerator and a brake with only moderate adjustability and a narrow base plate, but they feel great to use, are made from durable metal with HE sensors, and only really lose out to significantly more expensive load cell options. For an add-in for a relatively cheap DD bundle, they're a solid inclusion, and I hope Thrustmaster release a load cell brake pedal for users to upgrade to a better three-pedal setup later. Overall, it's an competitive first outing for Thrustmaster with the T598 and direct axial drive, and I'm curious to see where the company - and the tech - goes from here. With Fanatec still on the rebuild after being acquired by Corsair and Moza's offerings being hard to order online in some regions, Thrustmaster has a golden opportunity to seize a share of the mid-range and entry-level sim racing market, and the T598 is a positive start.

In Unity 2021 LTS, UI Toolkit offers a collection of features, resources, and tools to help you build and debug adaptive runtime UIs on a wide range of game applications and Editor extensions. Its intuitive workflow enables Unity creators in different roles – artists, programmers, and designers alike – to get started with UI development as quickly as possible.See our earlier blog post for an explanation of UI Toolkit’s main benefits, such as enhanced scalability and performance, already being leveraged by studios like Mechanistry for their game, Timberborn.While Unity UI remains the go-to solution for positioning and lighting UI in a 3D world or integrating with other Unity systems, UI Toolkit for runtime UI can already benefit game productions seeking performance and scalability as of Unity 2021 LTS. It’s particularly effective for Screen Space – Overlay UI, and scales well on a variety of screen resolutions.That’s why we’re excited to announce two new learning resources to better support UI development with UI Toolkit:UI Toolkit sample – Dragon Crashers: The demo is now available to download for free from the Asset Store.User interface design and implementation in Unity: This free e-book can be download from hereRead on to learn about some key features part of the UI Toolkit sample project.The UI Toolkit sample demonstrates how you can leverage UI Toolkit for your own applications. This demo involves a full-featured interface over a slice of the 2D project Dragon Crashers, a mini RPG, using the Unity 2021 LTS UI Toolkit workflow at runtime.Some of the actions illustrated in the sample project show you how to:Style with selectors in Unity style sheet (USS) files and use UXML templatesCreate custom controls, such as a circular meter or tabbed viewsCustomize the appearance of elements like sliders and toggle buttonsUse Render Texture for UI overlay effects, USS animations, seasonal themes, and moreTo try out the project after adding it to your assets, enter Play mode. Please note that UI Toolkit interfaces do not appear in the Scene view. Instead, you can view them in the Game view or UI Builder.The menu on the left helps you navigate the modal main menu screens. This vertical column of buttons provides access to the five modal screens that comprise the main menu (they stay active while switching between screens).While some interactivity is possible, such as healing the characters by dragging available potions in the scene, gameplay has been kept to a minimum to ensure continued focus on the UI examples.Let’s take a closer look at the UIs in the menu bar:The home screen serves as a landing pad when launching the application. You can use this screen to play the game or receive simulated chat messages.The character screen involves a mix of GameObjects and UI elements. This is where you can explore each of the four Dragon Crashers characters. Use the stats, skills, and bio tabs to read the specific character details, and click on the inventory slots to add or remove items. The preview area shows a 2D lit and rigged character over a tiled background.The resources screen links to documentation, the forum, and other resources for making the most of UI Toolkit.The shop screen simulates an in-game store where you can purchase hard and soft currency, such as gold or gems, as well as virtual goods like healing potions. Each item in the shop screen is a separate VisualTreeAsset. UI Toolkit instantiates these assets at runtime; one for each ScriptableObject in the Resources/GameData.The mail screen is a front-end reader of fictitious messages that uses a tabbed menu to separate the inbox and deleted messages.The game screen is a mini version of the Dragon Crashers project that starts playing automatically. In this project, you’ll notice a few revised elements with UI Toolkit, such as a pause button, health bars, and the capacity to drag a healing potion element to your characters when they take damage.UI Toolkit enables you to build stable and consistent UIs for your entire project. At the same time, it provides flexible tools for adding your own design flourishes and details to further flesh out the game’s theme and style.Let’s go over some of the features used to refine the UI designs in the sample:Render Textures:UI Toolkit interfaces are rendered last in the render queue, meaning you can’t overlay other game graphics on top of a UI Toolkit UI. Render Textures provide a workaround to this limitation, making it possible to integrate in-game effects into UI Toolkit UIs. While these effects based on Render Textures should be used sparingly, you’ll still be able to afford sharp effects within the context of a fullscreen UI, without running gameplay. The following images show a number of Render Textures from the demo.Themes with Theme style sheets (TSS): TSS files are Asset files that are similar to regular USS files. They serve as a starting point for defining your own custom theme via USS selectors as well as property and variable settings. In the demo, we duplicated the default theme files and modified the copies to offer seasonal variations.Custom UI elements: Since designers are trained to think outside the box, UI Toolkit gives you plenty of room to customize or extend the standard library. The demo project highlights a few custom-built elements in the tabbed menus, slide toggles, and drop-down lists, plus a radial counter to demonstrate what UI artists are capable of alongside developers.USS transitions for animated UI state changes: Adding transitions to the menu screens can polish and smooth out your visuals. UI Toolkit makes this more straightforward with the Transition Animations property, part of the UI Builder’s Inspector. Adjust the Property, Duration, Easing, and Delay properties to set up the animation. Then simply change styles for UI Toolkit to apply the animated transition at runtime.Post-processing volume for a background blur: A popular effect in games is to blur a crowded gameplay scene to draw the player’s attention to a particular pop-up message or dialog window. You can achieve this effect by enabling Depth of Field in the Volume framework (available in the Universal Render Pipeline).We made sure that efficient workflows were used to fortify the UI. Here are a few recommendations for keeping the project well-organized:Consistent naming conventions: It’s important to adopt naming conventions that align with your visual elements and style sheets. Clear naming conventions not only maintain the hierarchy’s organization in UI Builder, they make it more accessible to your teammates, and keep the code clean and readable. More specifically, we suggest the Block Element Modifier (BEM) naming convention for visual elements and style sheets. Just at a glance, an element’s BEM naming can tell you what it does, how it appears, and how it relates to the other elements around it. See the following BEM naming examples:Responsive UI layout: Similar to web technologies, UI Toolkit offers the possibility of creating layouts where “child” visual elements adapt to the current available size inside their “parent” visual elements, and others where each element has an absolute position anchored to a reference point, akin to the Unity UI system. The sample uses both options as needed through the visual elements of the UI.PSD Importer: One of the most effective tools for creating the demo, PSD Importer allows artists to work in a master document without having to manually export every sprite separately. When changes are needed, they can be done in the original PSD file and updated automatically in Unity.ScriptableObjects: In order to focus on UI design and implementation, the sample project simulates backend data, such as in-app purchases and mail messages, using ScriptableObjects. You can conveniently customize this stand-in data from the Resources/GameData folder and use the example to create similar data assets, like inventory items and character or dialog data in UI Toolkit.Remember that with UI Toolkit, UI layouts and styles are decoupled from code. This means that rewriting the backend data can occur independently from the UI design. If your development team replaces those systems, the interface should continue to work.Additional tools used in the demo include particle systems created with the Built-in Particle System for special effects, and the 2D toolset, among others. Feel free to review the project via the Inspector to see how these different elements come into play.You can find reference art made by the UI artists under UI/Reference, as replicated in UI Builder. The whole process, from mockups to wireframes, is also documented in the e-book. Finally, all of the content in the sample can be added to your own Unity project.You can download the UI Toolkit sample – Dragon Crashers from the Asset Store. Once you’ve explored its different UI designs, please provide your feedback on the forum.Then be sure to check out our e-book, User interface design and implementation in Unity. Download

Willis Building, 1975 Source:Nigel YoungWillis Building by Foster + Partners Located in Ipswich, Foster + Partners’ office for insurance company Willis Faber & Dumas features a swimming pool, roof-top garden and restaurant. Often used as an example of early high-tech buildings, the office hosts around 1,300 staff across open-plan offices and flexible spaces, which were said to be untraditional at the time. These spaces are spread over three floors connected by escalators which were innovative in the 1970s, particularly in offices. Outside, in contrast, the building reinforces rather than confronts the urban grain, with its free-form plan and low-rise construction responding to the scale of surrounding buildings, while its curved façade maintains a relationship to the medieval street pattern.Advertisement Read more about the project in AJ Buildings Library. Sainsbury Centre, 1978 Source:Ken KirkwoodSainsbury Centre by Foster + Partners This School of Fine Art and art centre was designed to house a collection gifted to the University of East Anglia by Sir Robert and Lady Sainsbury. The design incorporates structural and service elements within the double-layer walls and roof. Within this shell is a free-flowing sequence of spaces that incorporates a conservatory reception area, coffee bar, exhibition areas, the Faculty of Fine Art, senior common rooms and a restaurant. Full-height windows at either end of the structure allow the surrounding landscape to form a backdrop to the exhibition and dining areas, while aluminium louvres, linked to light sensors, line the interior to provide an infinitely flexible system for the control of natural and artificial light. Read more about the project in AJ Buildings Library.Advertisement Hong Kong and Shanghai Bank, 1985 Source:Ian LambotHong Kong and Shanghai Bank by Foster + Partners Completed in 1985, this Hong Kong bank tower has no internal supporting structure, allowing for a naturally bright, 10-story atrium. used a high degree of prefabricated elements The project was completed in less than three years and tight schedule requirements meant that the practice turned toward the use of prefabricated and factory-finished elements. With a suspension structure, the tower is expressed externally as a stepped building formed of three individual towers with heights of 29, 36 and 44 storeys. This formation creates floors of varying widths and depths inside, accommodating garden terraces. Bridges span between floors, while a mirrored sun scoop reflects sunlight through the atrium to a public plaza below. Discover more about this project in AJ Buildings Library. Millennium Bridge, 2000 Source:Nigel YoungMillennium Bridge by Foster + Partners Foster + Partners’ Millennium Bridge spans 320m across the River Thames. Completed in 2000, the construction of the bridge marked the first new crossing on this part of the river in over a century. For pedestrian use only, the shallow suspension bridge’s structure is supported by cables that never rise more than 2.3m above the deck, which lets the bridge enjoy uninterrupted views of London. Find out more about the project in AJ Buildings Library. 30 St Mary Axe, 2003 Source:Nigel Young30 St Mary Axe by Foster + Partners London’s first ecological tall building and an iconic addition to the city’s skyline, 30 St Mary Axe, also known as The Gherkin, was commissioned to hold the London headquarters of insurance company Swiss Re. Set around a radial plan, its iconic enclosure was designed to be energy-conscious. Merging the walls and roof into a continuous triangulated skin allowed for a column-free floor space, maximising natural  light and views. The double-glazed cladding sits outside of the structural gridshell. Inside the building are office spaces as well as a shopping arcade accessed from a newly created public plaza. The triangular atria, which have the planning benefit of leaving the office spaces almost rectangular, also provide greater daylight penetration. Discover more about this project in AJ Buildings Library. Millau Viaduct, 2004 Source:Nigel YoungMillau Viaduct by Foster + Partners Designed with engineer Michel Virlogeux, the 2.46km-long cable-stayed bridge formed a crucial transport link in the Paris to Barcelona motorway across a valley in south-west France. It has the highest elevated roadway in the world, with its deck set 270m above the River Tarn. Supported on seven concrete piers of varying heights, the bridge has a 3 per cent slope from south to north to encourage drainage. A gentle curve as the bridge approaches the northern plateau helps wind resistance. Both these factors work aesthetically too, accentuating the sense that the structure is tailored precisely to a specific site. Each of its sections spans 342m and its columns range in height from 75m to 245m, with the masts rising a further 90m above the road deck. Find out more in AJ Buildings Library. Wembley Stadium, 2007 Source:Nigel YoungWembley Stadium by Foster + Partners A collaboration with sports design specialists Populous, Foster + Partners’ arena replaced the old Wembley Stadium, which was one of the most important sports venues in Britain. With a 90,000 capacity and a retractable roof, the new structure was designed to maximise spectator enjoyment and retain the stadium’s iconic status The geometry and steeply raked seating tiers ensure that every spectator in the 90,000-capacity stadium has an unobstructed view of the pitch. The stadium has a retractable roof that allows the turf to get sufficient sunlight and air, while in poor weather it can be closed to cover the entire seating bowl. The roof is supported structurally by a 133m-high arch that towers above the stadium, providing an icon and a new London landmark. Read more about Wembley Stadium in AJ Buildings Library. Image, top: Photo by Nigel Young Maggie’s Manchester, 2016 Source:Nigel YoungMaggie's Manchester by Foster + Partners This cancer care centre in Manchester uses landscaping and greenery to help create a therapeutic sanctuary. The 500m², single-storey building is focused around a garden. At the eastern side adjoining the car park the garden is broken up into small courtyards, offering private spaces leading from each of the centre’s counselling rooms. To the west, the garden is more open and offers a threshold between the street and the centre. Meanwhile, a greenhouse with a faceted glass façade echoes the building’s triangular rooflights. Naturally illuminated by these triangular rooflights, the building is supported by lightweight timber lattice beams. These beams act as natural partitions between different internal areas, visually dissolving the architecture into the surrounding gardens. Discover more about this project in AJ Buildings Library. Bloomberg London, 2017 Source:Nigel YoungBloomberg HQ by Foster + Partners Foster + Partners’ £1 billion European HQ for business news giant Bloomberg is ambitious, accomplished and lavish. The fins, 117 in total, are the building’s way of ‘breathing’, with each section opening or closing depending on exterior conditions. This allows air to flow into the building while keeping external noise to a minimum, as well as filtering incoming air. Chunky stone corners and shear walls form part of the sandstone façade, with muscular poché sections fitted with thermal doors allowing air to circulate through the structure. Discover more about the HQ in AJ Buildings Library. Foster + Partners Norman Foster 2025-05-29 Katie Last comment and share

Anemonoides blanda, the Balkan anemone, Grecian windflower, or winter windflower, is a species of flowering plant in the family Ranunculaceae. The species is native to southeast Europe and the Middle East. It grows up to 10 to 15 centimetres (4 to 6 inches) tall and is valued for its daisy-like flowers, which appear in early spring, a time when little else is in flower. The flowers are found in various colors and are radially symmetrical, containing seven or more sepals and petals. This purple A. blanda flower was photographed in Bamberg, Germany. Photograph credit: Reinhold Möller Recently featured: Bluespotted ribbontail ray Black Lives Matter art Germanicus Archive More featured pictures

Through the looking glass: Astronomers have uncovered a planetary system that challenges long-held beliefs about where planets can exist. This discovery suggests the universe may hold far more surprising and diverse worlds than previously thought. As observational technology improves, more of these extraordinary systems could soon come to light. Astronomers have discovered a remarkable planetary system that challenges long-held assumptions about where planets can survive. Known as ν (nu) Octantis, the system hosts a giant planet locked in a gravitational tug-of-war between two stars – a configuration once deemed nearly impossible. The story of ν Octantis began more than two decades ago when astronomers detected a repeating signal from the binary star system. For years, debate swirled – was it a planet or merely a quirk of stellar activity? The truth, it turns out, is more intriguing than anyone expected. Researchers utilized the High Accuracy Radial Velocity Planet Searcher at the European Southern Observatory (HARPS) to confirm the presence of a planet roughly twice the mass of Jupiter. What makes this world especially intriguing is its orbit: it moves in reverse, tracing a retrograde path around the larger star, while the smaller companion – a faint white dwarf – moves in the opposite direction. European Southern Observatory's La Silla Observatory is home to HARPS. This behavior is rare and poses an unusual puzzle for planetary scientists. Most planets in binary systems orbit far from both stars or just one when the pair is widely separated. Here, the planet's orbit threads the needle between the two stars in a way that defies conventional planetary formation and survival models. // Related Stories The stability of this planet's orbit adds to the cosmic wonder. Its signal has stayed steady for over twenty years, suggesting the unusual retrograde motion stabilizes it by minimizing disruptive gravitational forces from the white dwarf companion. Researchers are considering how this unique system formed. They propose two main theories. The first suggests the planet formed from material shed by the white dwarf during its red giant phase. The second posits that it originally orbited both stars before migrating inward as the system evolved. Computer simulations show only a narrow range of orbital configurations can keep a planet stable for millions of years, as this system has.

Over a billion people experience disability globally, and many are gamers. 30% of gamers in the U.S. identify as disabled, yet 66% say they face barriers or issues related to gaming.Fortunately, this situation is starting to change.From Tribe Games and Owlchemy Labs to Insomniac and Naughty Dog, studios of all sizes are creating more accessible gaming experiences. Today, 70% of allplayers use accessibility features built into games, whether they have a disability or not. Players want flexibility, and accessible game design can provide that.Owlchemy Labs, the studio behind titles like Job Simulator,Rick and Morty: Virtual Rick-ality, and, most recently, Cosmonious High, champions accessibility in VR. In June, they introduced Cosmonious High’s first accessibility update, with a range of updated gameplay options, including one-handed control mode, features to accommodate seated players, colorblindness enhancements, an immersive subtitling system, and more.Andrew Eiche (chief operating owl and cable slinger), Jazmin Cano (accessibility product manager), and Peter Galbraith (accessibility engineer) joined Unity’s Hasan Al Salman on Twitch to discuss the update.Read on to learn how this innovative studio built a culture of accessibility, get tips you can apply to your own games, or watch the full stream below.Their accessibility statement explains that, “At Owlchemy Labs, we believe deeply in making VR for everyone! Improving our accessibility helps us achieve that goal.” The studio has built a strong, accessibility-first culture that every Owl experiences from their first day of onboarding.“There’s a huge developer documentation page, which is fantastic. It has a fabulous guide on accessibility,” says Jazmin. “There are tools, learning resources, and examples of how Owlchemy approaches games with this thinking. From day one, it shows everyone at Owlchemy how important this is.”Conversations about accessibility at the studio aren’t relegated to specific Slack threads and channels, but are discussed openly everywhere. “It’s really important for everyone to see what’s going on in the industry and even just learn about it as we develop,” says Jazmin.Owlchemy Labs considers every gameplay element through the lens of universal design. Where possible, each feature is built to be used easily by anyone, without having to enable specific accessibility settings from a menu.“There’s a great saying that goes: ‘Design for one, extend to many,’” says Jazmin. “When you create something that’s accessible for one person, it’s likely going to benefit more people than you had in mind.”The team considers accessibility from the start and draws on learnings from previous projects, which makes it easier to implement or iterate on new gameplay features.“We do a lot to think about these things from the beginning as much as we can,” says Andrew. “We’re always improving and getting better, which is why we created the accessibility update. But having the thought process from the beginning makes the whole process significantly easier.”Accessibility options in Cosmonious High generally aren’t hidden in menus. To play in one-handed mode, you can just turn off your second controller and start playing.Peter Galbraith, the team’s accessibility engineer, shares how Owlchemy Labs adapted features like the Powers Menu, the way you select various VR superpowers, for one-handed mode. “Previously, you would have to tap the back of your hand and it would pull up a radial menu of your powers. With the new accessibility update, you can just double tap, and it opens up the menu so you’re good to go.”Players can grab objects telekinetically by gesturing towards them and pulling them with a flick of the wrist. “You don’t have to reopen your hand and get the exact timing when it hits right. It’s a really nice way to make you feel powerful, while making it easy to identify and grab what you want,” Peter says.One-handed mode obviously helps players who don’t have use of both hands, but it has subtle benefits for players who do.“When you design for one use case, you can actually end up solving for a lot of different situations,” says Jazmin. “You can play Cosmonious High while holding a drink, or a snack, or a pet. Maybe only one of your controller’s batteries is charged, so you only have one to play with. If we didn’t have this one-handed mode, in these situations, you just wouldn’t be able to play at all!“During the stream, one viewer asked what makes VR games inaccessible to players who use wheelchairs.“Imagine looking around your own room. All the things that are more than an arm’s length above your head – all of those are inaccessible,” says Andrew. “Imagine if you’re a person who is capable of leaning or moving in your chair, so literally all you can do is stick your arms out in front of you and move them. Those are the kind of things that we have to consider for wheelchair accessibility.”One-handed mode is one way to remove barriers for seated players, but Owlchemy Labs has also implemented other features to ensure players of all heights and abilities can explore the halls of Cosmonious High.For example, every surface in the game functions like a standing desk, with a handle you can adjust to change the height. Players can dynamically change their own height in-game using Small student mode, allowing them to reach areas they might not be able to reach through height sliders and other toggles.Cosmonious High has been praised for its distinctive, colorful visuals. However, Owlchemy Labs was careful to ensure the game remains completely accessible to players with different types of colorblindness.“We have these puzzles where players have to match up different crystals,” explains Peter. “Each has patterns and shapes in addition to colors. Blue triangles connect to blue triangles, yellow squares connect to yellow squares – that way no puzzle or feature is entirely reliant on color alone.”Owlchemy Labs uses Colorblind Effect from the Unity Asset Store to simulate what the scene would look like for players with the three most common types of color blindness. See the tool in action below.Owlchemy Labs has put a huge amount of work and research into the subtitling system for their games, which they believe is among the best in the industry for XR. Cosmonious High’s subtitles are embedded into the HUD, and feature the name, image, and pronouns of the speaker, as well as an arrow pointing in their direction that adjusts based on the player’s position.“The big thing is, unlike television or a 2D view where you can just pop things on the bottom of the screen, we don’t want players to be forced to look at a character when they’re playing,” says Andrew. “But we also want players to know where that character is, so that’s where that little arrow design comes from. We want everyone to have the same level of fidelity that players who hear in the game with the spatialized audio would have.”Owlchemy’s subtitling features ended up being useful for developers, too. “A lot of our developers play without the audio on because they want to listen to music – they just want to hit play, make sure that all the subtitle timings are lined up, and not hear the chaos,” says Andrew. “And now they can do that.”For more information on Owlchemy Labs’ subtitles, check out their talk, “Subtitles in XR: A Practical Framework.”Owlchemy Labs regularly conducts interviews and feedback sessions and performs user testing with the disability community. VR is a physical medium by nature, so in-person testing is ideal. “A player’s body, their range of motion, and their physicality are all important considerations,” says Peter.“In-person feedback is super valuable,” agrees Jazmin. “Not only do you get direct feedback, but you also get feedback through body language. If someone’s scratching their head, maybe they’re a little confused. There’s a lot of nonverbal feedback that you get from meeting with someone.”During the pandemic, Owlchemy Labs began conducting more player research remotely on video calls – now, they do a mix of both. Reaching out and building community online via channels like Discord means they’ve been able to reach even more players in the accessibility community.“There’s a really important saying in the accessibility community: ‘Nothing about us, without us,’” says Jazmin. “It’s important to respect that statement. Listening to people with disabilities provides feedback, and that’s a must. We have to have diverse voices for this work to actually work.”Closing out the stream, Owlchemy Labs offered advice on implementing accessibility features into your projects – and why you should consider it as part of your game design.Jazmin: “Whether you’re making a game right now, or you’re about to launch, or you’ve already launched, it’s never too late to add accessibility. Accessibility is a journey: There’s a lot to learn, a lot to explore and a lot to try out. It’s never too late! For example, Cosmonious High launched before our accessibility update. You can always do more.”Peter: “I echo exactly what Jazmin was saying: It’s never too late to add accessibility. It benefits everyone, not just the people that you assume to have accessibility needs. When you improve accessibility, you are improving your game not just for players with disabilities, but for every one of your players. And the sooner you start thinking about that, the more accessibility features you get to help everyone share virtual reality.”Andrew: “If, for some reason, you need one last bottom-line way of convincing the folks in your organization that accessibility matters, let me remind you that the entertainment market is a very crowded market: Finding a good niche is always a benefit to you. When you cater to a community and you show that you care, that community is going to respond in kind. It’s going to create a market for you, and it’s going to increase the amount of people that are capable of playing your games. But if you want to do it altruistically, which is where, hopefully, Owlchemy expresses itself – we think that it’s a really, really important goal.”Cosmonious High is available now on Meta Quest 2 and SteamVR. To learn how to make your own games accessible, check out our Unity Learn course, Practical Game Accessibility.

Thousands of people have preregistered and now it’s finally here: Our biggest e-book yet, User interface design and implementation in Unity, is available to download. Get ready to dive into over 130 pages of advanced instruction in UI design.Your game’s user interface is perhaps the most direct way you can communicate with and guide your players – like a folded map you hand to them that reveals clues, key details, and directions as they progress. Whether you’re using more traditional elements like health bars and pop-up messages, or elements completely embedded in the game world, such as showing stats on the back of a player’s survival suit, the UI is integral to immersing players in your game’s story, realm, and artistic style.We’re thrilled to announce that our latest technical e-book, User interface design and implementation in Unity, is available to download for free. Thousands of people have already signed up for it, and just as many have downloaded its companion piece, the demo project, UI Toolkit sample – Dragon Crashers, to date. Now it’s your turn.The interest in this e-book is understandable. As it says in the introduction, “User interface is a critical part of any game… a solid graphical user interface (GUI) is an extension of a game’s visual identity… [and] modern audiences crave refined, intuitive GUIs that seamlessly integrate with your application.”The guide begins by covering UI design and art creation fundamentals, and then moves on to in-depth instructional sections on UI development in Unity. Written and reviewed by technical and UI artists – external and Unity professionals alike – the e-book unpacks both Unity UI, the default solution, and the newer UI Toolkit.The emphasis, however, is on the latter toolset, as UI Toolkit now provides many benefits for projects with complex, fullscreen interfaces. Think of projects that require a scalable and performant system for runtime UI. To help you choose the right solution for your project, please refer to this section of the Unity manual.The e-book is a treasure trove of information for professional UI designers, artists, and other Unity creators who want to deepen their knowledge of UI development. Here’s a snapshot of what’s inside.The first section aims to inspire with foundational tips for making effective UI. It looks at examples of diegetic UIs, where UI elements can be found right in the story, making parts of the game world function as a user interface. It explains how elements can either contribute to or break the immersion that a player experiences. We even turned this section into a blog post that you can read here.The guide then turns to the roles and responsibilities of a UI designer, and what tools and methods they employ such as UI wireframing, art creation through mockups, fonts, and grey-boxing. There’s also a chapter on asset preparation and exporting graphics from Digital Content Creation (DCC) tools. These earlier sections in the guide are helpful no matter what game engine and UI solution you’re using.An extensive chapter is devoted to Unity UI. Unity UI is our longtime system for creating in-game UIs, and currently the go-to solution for positioning UI in a 3D world or using GameObject-based Unity systems.This section outlines Unity UI fundamentals for prototyping and integrating assets in-Editor: the Canvas, prebuilt UI elements, TextMesh Pro, and Prefabs, among others. We recently updated an article on advanced optimization techniques for Unity UI, where you can find tips on related topics.UI Toolkit is made for maximum performance and reusability with workflows and authoring tools informed by standard web technologies. UI designers and artists will likely find it familiar, especially with prior experience designing web pages.Three major sections of the guide highlight instructions for developing runtime UI with UI Toolkit. There’s a thorough explanation of the parts that comprise UIs made with UI Toolkit, including the Unity Extensible Markup Language (UXML) and Unity Style Sheet (USS) using UI Builder.You’ll explore how UI Toolkit positions visual elements based on Yoga, an HTML/CSS Layout engine that implements a subset of Flexbox. Flexbox architecture provides advantages, such as responsive UI, enabling you to adapt your UI to different screen resolutions and sizes. Through both UXML and USS, you can decouple the styles applied to UI layouts (and switch those styles up as needed), while logic and functionality continue to live in code. Workflows for visual elements, the fundamental building blocks of each interface, are also discussed in great detail – from positioning, size, and alignment settings, to margins and padding.The chapter on styling shows you how to define reusable styling for visual elements with Selectors, override styles and define unique attributes with inline styles, and create animations and effects with USS animation and a Camera Render Texture. It also demonstrates how you can thematize UI elements for holidays and other special events.That’s when the e-book gets into UI Toolkit sample – Dragon Crashers, with different sections that depict how the UI was made; from the menus and custom controls like radial counters or tabbed views, to embedded UXML templates and more.Finally, the guide concludes with a mini profile of the studio Mechanistry’s UI migration to UI Toolkit for their new game, Timberborn. This brief study showcases how their lean team managed to scale and keep their game consistent across various menus and screens.At 137 pages, the UI e-book is not a light read. As with the other technical e-books released this past year, use it as a reference on an ongoing basis.Along with the e-book, check out a couple of recently released resources filled with useful tips for leveraging Unity UI and UI Toolkit:The Unite 2022 session, Extending the Unity Editor with custom tools using UI Toolkit, shows programmers how to use UI Builder to create a custom Inspector for real-time Play Mode debug data visualization.The webinar, Best practices for mobile UI design, gathers experts from Outfit7, Samsung, and Unity to share strategies for maximizing the creativity and flow of your mobile games.Bookmark one or both of these pages. They compile all of our technical e-books and advanced content:Unity best practicesAdvanced best practices – Unity ManualWe hope that you enjoy this latest e-book and look forward to your feedback in this forum.

Buildner Announces Winners of the 5th Annual Last Nuclear Bomb Memorial CompetitionSponsored ContentSave this picture!Courtesy of BuildnerBuildner has announced the results of its competition, the In recognition of this treaty, Buildner invites conceptual designs for a memorial to be located on any known decommissioned nuclear weapon testing site. The conceptual memorial is intended to reflect the history and ongoing threat of nuclear weapons, aiming to promote public awareness of nuclear disarmament. The challenge is intended to bring attention to the history and dangers of nuclear weapons. Participants are tasked with designing a space that commemorates nuclear warfare victims and conveys the need for a nuclear-free future. As a 'silent' competition, submissions are not allowed to include any text, titles, or annotations.The next edition of this competition, the , has been launched with an early bird registration deadline of June 12, 2025.The briefThis competition invites designers to conceive a memorial that meaningfully engages the public with the critical issue of nuclear disarmament. Memorials play a crucial role in capturing history and facilitating collective reflection, shaping how future generations understand and respond to global challenges. The proposed memorial will specifically address the legacy of nuclear warfare, emphasizing the urgency of diplomatic solutions and international solidarity in preventing nuclear conflict.Design proposals are encouraged to consider the following core principles: Vision of Peace: Proposals should embody the aspiration for a world free of nuclear threats, incorporating symbolic or abstract representations that inspire unity and harmony. Reflection and Remembrance: Designs must foster a thoughtful and enduring dialogue, offering visitors a contemplative environment where they can reflect upon the consequences of nuclear weaponry. Educational Impact: The memorial should provide visitors with accessible insights into the historical realities and ongoing dangers of nuclear arms, actively promoting public knowledge and awareness. Emotional Engagement: Successful memorials will create a powerful emotional connection, provoking personal and collective introspection on peace, responsibility, and the human cost of nuclear conflict. Sustainable Stewardship: Designs must embrace environmental sustainability, reinforcing the memorial's overarching message of responsible stewardship and enduring peace. Save this picture!Jury PanelThis year's submissions were reviewed by a distinguished jury panel featuring experts from architecture, urbanism, and the arts:  Olha Kleytman, founder of Ukraine-based SBM Studio, brings expertise in architecture and urban design, alongside her humanitarian work through the NGO "Through the War."  Flora Lee, Associate Partner at MAD Architects, has contributed to major international projects including the Lucas Museum of Narrative Art.  Peter Newman, a London-based artist, explores humanity's relationship with space and modernity, with exhibitions spanning Trafalgar Square, the Hayward Gallery, and the Guggenheim Museum in Venice.  Vincent Panhuysen, co-founder of KAAN Architecten, integrates contextual sensitivity into large-scale projects, such as the Netherlands American Cemetery Visitor Center.  James Whitaker, founder of Whitaker Studio, is an architect known for his widely published Joshua Tree Residence.  Wu Ziye, co-founder of China's Mix Architecture, has received international acclaim for his studio's exploration of spatial consciousness, materiality, and integration with nature. Buildner's other ongoing competitions include: the 10th edition of MICROHOME competition, in collaboration with Kingspan and Hapi Homes; the Mujassam Watan Urban Sculpture Challenge aimed at finding innovative sculptures reflecting Saudi Arabia's heritage, modern achievements, and future ambitions; and the Howard Waterfall Retreatcompetition, which invites architects to propose designs for a multi-generational family retreat at the scenic and historically significant Howard Falls in Pennsylvania, USA. Each of these competitions aims to build the winning designs.Projects:First Prize Winner + Buildner Student AwardProject title: Urbs AeternaAuthors: Alessia Angela Sanchez, Erminia Cirillo and Adele Maria Saita, from ItalyThe project presents a memorial using sand and metal to depict a post-apocalyptic vision of what appears to be Rome reduced to an archaeological remnant. The design evokes the destruction and preservation paradox, allowing viewers to observe the site from above or navigate its fractured streets leading to a central void. A ghostly wireframe reconstruction of a vanished temple stands as the focal point, symbolizing loss and memory. The restrained material palette reinforces themes of impermanence and time. While conceptually strong and visually compelling, its cost and environmental impact raise questions. The experience unfolds gradually, inviting contemplation.Save this picture!Save this picture!Second Prize WinnerProject title: The Rainbow Of RenewalAuthors: Chen Yang, Ruijing Sun and Chao Li, from the United StatesThe project envisions a memorial for the last nuclear bomb through a landscape intervention that transforms destruction into renewal. A circular water installation generates mist, evoking the image of an explosion while simultaneously creating rainbows, symbolizing hope. The design's ephemeral quality enhances its poetic impact, making it a striking presence on the horizon. The intervention integrates with the natural environment, fostering an evolving atmospheric experience.Save this picture!Save this picture!3rd Prize Winner + Buildner Student AwardProject title: Projected DestructionAuthors: Marco Moreno Donohoe of Washington University in St. Louis , WUSTL, the United StatesThis project envisions a memorial set within a cratered landscape. A striking linear structure cuts through the void, acting as both a bridge and a viewing platform, inviting visitors to experience the vastness of destruction. The interplay of light and shadow within the perforated walls creates dynamic spatial effects, offering different perspectives from above and within. The scale and placement evoke a sense of isolation and reflection.Save this picture!Save this picture!Highlighted ProjectsProject title: Mycelial Rebirth: Fungi Restoring Nuclear Wounds Authors: Shengfeng Gao, Zhuohan Zhou and Shengnan Gao from the United StatesThis project envisions a memorial landscape where fungi serve as agents of ecological healing in a post-nuclear context. A dense forest setting is activated by a grid of ultraviolet lights that stimulate mycelial growth, enhancing the fungi's capacity to absorb and break down radioactive contaminants. As the soil regenerates, the design allows for gradual ecological succession, beginning with mushrooms and pioneering vegetation. The illuminated ground plane forms a quiet, immersive field that marks both decay and recovery. Over time, the site transforms into a living testament to resilience, where nature's unseen networks remediate and renew.Save this picture!Save this picture!Project title: Nuclear Living ForceAuthors: Luis Manuel Carcamo Cura of company LUIS CARCAMO ARQUITECTOS, from MexicoThis project responds to the atomic age by offering a message of harmony over despair, using the human eye as a central metaphor for awareness and reflection. A series of monumental, petal-like structures rise from a crater-shaped void, recalling both the iris and the bomb site in Santa Fe. Surrounding this core, the Flower of Life geometry guides the masterplan, symbolizing universal patterns and organic regeneration. The design emphasizes nature's resilience, referencing ecosystems like Chernobyl where life has returned unaided. Rather than mourning destruction, the project celebrates life, order, and the potential for collective transformation.Save this picture!Project title: The Illusion of ChoicesAuthors: Ruiqi Yao, University of Edinburgh from the United KingdomThis project explores the illusion of choice within the existential tension between nuclear war and peace. Set inside a vast crater, visitors begin their journey in a monumental spherical chamber, where a singular path ends abruptly, symbolizing unreachable goals and the false promise of nuclear power. Descending into a subterranean network, seven red-lit paths depict ruin and inevitability, while one blue-lit path offers a narrow route toward peace and introspection. The final space contrasts confinement with openness, guiding visitors through mirrored walls toward a hopeful exit. Through spatial transitions and stark lighting contrasts, the project stages a powerful moral journey.Save this picture!Save this picture!Project title: Möbius Elegy: Red Warning and Green ReturnAuthors: Daii Shimada, Mai Nakano and Midori Watanabe, from JapanThis project imagines a regenerative forest emerging from the scars of nuclear devastation. Set within a vast desert crater, a radial pattern of multicolored vegetation radiates outward, suggesting seasonal cycles and ecological diversity. The planting strategy appears gradual and deliberate, with craters used as microclimates for reforestation—each acting as a node in a larger ecological system. A lone figure stands before the transformed landscape, underscoring the scale and ambition of the intervention. Through time-lapse-like sequences, the imagery suggests the forest's steady expansion, turning the desert into a sanctuary of life. The memorial becomes a living archive of resilience and renewal.Save this picture!Project title: Soft FalloutAuthors: Louis Bourdages and Cedric Harvey, from the Université Laval School of Architecture, CanadaThis project proposes an immersive memorial defined by a luminous, amorphous structure suspended over a crater. From the outside, the glowing yellow form evokes a captured sun or lingering explosion, radiating both warmth and unease. Inside, visitors enter a soft, undulating landscape of quilted fabric that molds to the human body, allowing for stillness, reflection, or playful interaction. Light filters through the translucent skin, creating a surreal atmosphere suspended between comfort and disquiet. The form's biomorphic geometry contrasts the rationality of war, transforming the site into a sensorial space of pause and presence.Save this picture!Project title: "Used to be there"Authors: Hữu Nhân Hoàng, Hoàng Kỳ Lê and Anh Khoa Huỳnh, VietnamThis project constructs a memorial as a collective reflection on memory, identity, and everyday life disrupted by nuclear war. Set in a radial formation across a barren landscape, semi-transparent glass panels display ghosted historical photographs—scenes of people, architecture, and ordinary moments—layered over the present. Visitors navigate between these life-sized images, encountering echoes of the past embedded in space. The transparent surfaces blend time periods and dissolve boundaries, inviting viewers to see themselves within the continuity of human experience. Rather than focusing on devastation, the project quietly honors what stands to be lost: ordinary lives, familiar places, and shared memories.Save this picture!Visit the website for the recently launched , to take part and learn more, before the early bird registration deadline of June 12, 2025. Image gallerySee allShow less Cite: "Buildner Announces Winners of the 5th Annual Last Nuclear Bomb Memorial Competition" 21 May 2025. ArchDaily. Accessed . <https://www.archdaily.com/1030195/buildner-announces-winners-of-the-5th-annual-last-nuclear-bomb-memorial-competition&gt ISSN 0719-8884Save世界上最受欢迎的建筑网站现已推出你的母语版本!想浏览ArchDaily中国吗?是否 You've started following your first account!Did you know?You'll now receive updates based on what you follow! Personalize your stream and start following your favorite authors, offices and users.Go to my stream

A research team at the University of Arkansas has demonstrated that molecular dynamics (MD) simulations can reveal key mechanisms behind silicon nanoparticle crystallization during laser-induced forward transfer (LIFT) printing. The findings are detailed in a non-peer-reviewed preprint available on arXiv, where the authors show how nanoparticle size and cooling rate affect the ability of silicon to solidify into single-crystalline structures during flight, a development with potential implications for additive manufacturing of optoelectronic materials. Molecular-level insight into LIFT printing Laser-induced forward transfer (LIFT) is a promising technique for direct-write micro- and nanoscale printing of functional materials. Unlike conventional additive manufacturing processes that build parts layer by layer, LIFT uses a pulsed laser to eject material droplets from a donor film, enabling high-resolution patterning of metals, polymers, and semiconductors. While LIFT has been applied to amorphous silicon printing, the atomic-level dynamics of silicon crystallization during droplet flight remain poorly understood. To address this, researchers Youwen Liang and Wan Shou used MD simulations to analyze how size and thermal conditions influence silicon nanoparticle behavior during solidification. Simulated crystallization of silicon nanoparticles during LIFT printing. Image via Liang & Shou. Size and cooling rate determine crystal structure The simulations revealed a strong correlation between nanoparticle diameter and crystallization potential. Particles smaller than 4 nm failed to crystallize, even under slow cooling conditions, while larger particles (8–12 nm) exhibited latent heat release and structural ordering, key signatures of crystallization. The study also found that slow cooling rates are essential to promote crystallization. At higher cooling rates, supercooling effects dominated, resulting in amorphous structures. Under controlled thermal conditions, the researchers observed the formation of single-crystal-like silicon nanoparticles, with nucleation beginning just beneath the particle’s surface. The authors suggest that single-crystal formation in-flight is achievable, provided that droplet size and cooling rate are carefully controlled, a finding that may inform future single-crystal silicon additive manufacturing.Crystallization begins beneath the surface A key finding is that crystallization rarely initiates at the particle surface. Instead, nucleation typically begins ~5 Å beneath the outer layer, within what the researchers describe as a structurally distinct sub-surface region. These early nuclei then migrate toward the particle center, where crystal growth accelerates. Simulations also showed that surface atoms remain more mobile and disordered, even at low temperatures. Using bond order parameters (BOP), radial distribution functions (RDF), coordination numbers, and mean square displacement (MSD), the researchers tracked the atomic structure evolution throughout solidification. Comparison of atomic structures from MD simulations. Image via Liang & Shou. Towards single-crystal 3D printing The ability to predict and control crystallization at the nanoscale opens new possibilities for high-performance printed electronics, where grain boundaries can reduce efficiency and durability. By adjusting droplet size and cooling profiles, LIFT could eventually enable on-demand printing of single-crystal semiconductors, bypassing traditional lithography or epitaxy methods. While the current results are based on simulations, they provide a foundational framework for experimental validation and future process optimization in nanoscale additive manufacturing.Crystallization Control in Additive Manufacturing Achieving precise control over crystallization during additive manufacturing is pivotal for enhancing material properties and performance. In polymer-based 3D printing, researchers from the Air Force Research Laboratory, Cornell University, and Boeing have successfully mapped the crystallization process of poly(ether ether ketone) (PEEK) during fused filament fabrication. Utilizing synchrotron-based microbeam wide-angle X-ray scattering (WAXS), they provided a detailed 2D map of PEEK crystallization process in the initial seconds post-extrusion. This study revealed that higher print bed temperatures delay the onset of crystallization but result in a higher final degree of crystallinity, thereby enhancing the mechanical properties of the printed parts. In metal additive manufacturing, researchers in Japan demonstrated the fabrication of single-crystal nickel using selective laser melting (SLM). By optimizing laser parameters and using a flat-top beam profile, they achieved homogenous, single-crystal structures without a pre-existing seed, a breakthrough with potential for high-temperature aerospace components such as turbine blades.These studies highlight the central role of thermal management and process design in crystallization control. The current MD simulation of silicon nanoparticle solidification during LIFT builds upon this foundation, offering atomic-level insights into nucleation and growth. Such fundamental understanding is essential to push the boundaries of precision-engineered, crystallinity-controlled 3D printed materials. Subscribe to the 3D Printing Industry newsletter to keep up with the latest 3D printing news. You can also follow us onLinkedIn and subscribe to the 3D Printing Industry YouTube channel to access more exclusive content. At 3DPI, our mission is to deliver high-quality journalism, technical insight, and industry intelligence to professionals across the AM ecosystem. Help us shape the future of 3D printing industry news with our2025 reader survey. Feature Image shows comparison of atomic structures from MD simulations. Image via Liang & Shou.