In brief: With F1 25 set to launch in two weeks, EA has revealed new gameplay modes and technical features. The most significant addition for players with high-end PCs is path tracing. Despite its steep performance cost, EA has released a comprehensive spreadsheet detailing recommended settings for a wide range of hardware. The system requirements on F1 25's Steam page recall the earlier days of simple "Minimum" and "Recommended" columns – before game publishers began releasing spreadsheets with four or more categories. EA's latest press release takes this further, offering seven columns to account for virtual reality, path tracing, and even 8K gameplay. Players still using nearly decade-old GPUs like the Nvidia GTX 1060 or AMD Radeon RX 580 can achieve 60 frames per second at 1080p, but only with the low graphics preset. Everything above 1080p, according to EA's chart, requires at least an RTX 3080 Ti – and in some cases, an RTX 5080. Click to enlarge The new VR column recommends those GPUs, or AMD's Radeon RX 7900 XT to achieve 90 fps at 2K per eye – matching the performance profile of the Meta Quest 2 and 3S. Meanwhile, for 4K and beyond, EA claims the RTX 4090 or 5090, paired with 32 GB of system RAM, can deliver 8K 60 fps gameplay with balanced upscaling and frame generation enabled. However, using frame generation to reach 60 fps in a racing game may noticeably affect response times. // Related Stories Finally, new path tracing option, available as the "Ultra Max" graphics setting, demands an RTX 4080 Super, RTX 5080, or RX 7900 XTX just to hit 60 fps at 1080p with upscaling. This feature aims to accurately simulate lighting, shading, and reflections based on real-world locations. Click to enlarge Gameplay additions include enhanced AI, updated track layouts, and new features across F1 25's various modes. Developers have used LIDAR to more accurately recreate real-world tracks and have introduced the franchise's first reversed courses. In the team management mode, players can now scout, recruit, and choose between multiple drivers. A new mode also features characters from the upcoming F1 film. F1 25 launches on May 30 for PC, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series consoles. Early access for those who pre-order the Iconic Edition begins May 27. Preloads start May 15 on Xbox, May 20 on PC, and May 25 on PS5.

With last year’s release of iOS 18, AirPods Pro got even better. Apple added new gestures, improvements to gaming support, and more. Head below for a recap of each of these features and details on how to use each of them. Available on AirPods Pro 2 and AirPods 4 With iOS 18, AirPods Pro 2 and AirPods 4 users can interact with Siri and incoming notifications by nodding their heads up or down. Accept a call or reply to notifications and messages: Nod your head up and down. Decline a call or dismiss notifications and messages: Shake your head side to side. To use head gestures to interact with Siri, you’ll also need to make sure Announce Calls and Announce Notifications are enabled. Open the Settings app and choose “Notifications” and make sure the “Announce Notifications” setting is turned on. Once the “Announce Notifications” setting is enabled, here’s how to manage Head Gestures: With your AirPods connected to your iPhone, open the Settings app and tap your AirPods at the top. Scroll down and tap “Head Gestures” Toggle on the feature and choose with gesture is linked to “Accept, Reply” and “Decline, Dismiss.” Voice Isolation Available on AirPods Pro 2 and AirPods 4 Voice Isolation is a new feature available for AirPods users that helps ensure the caller’s voice is heard in loud or windy environments. Powered by machine learning and the H2 chip inside, Apple says that this feature isolates and enhances voice quality while removing significant background noise for the listener. Note that Voice Isolation has been a feature on the iPhone, iPad, and Mac for several years. This year, however, it’s supported directly on AirPods Pro 2 and AirPods 4. Here’s how to enable Voice Isolation on your AirPods: While on a call, swipe down from the top of your screen to access Control Center Tap the “Controls” button at the top of the interface Tap on “Voice Isolation” Gaming improvements Available on AirPods 3, AirPods 4, AirPods Pro, and AirPods Max iOS 18 also brings Personalized Spatial Audio with dynamic head tracking to gaming for the first time. To ensure this feature works for you, open the Settings app, navigate to your AirPods settings, and scroll down to “Personalized Spatial Audio.” If you haven’t previously set up this feature, you’ll be guided through a process that includes a Face ID-style scan of your ears to personalize the Spatial Audio experience. This feature applies to things like music and videos, and is now applicable to gaming thanks to iOS 18. Apple also says that iOS 18 brings support for improved voice quality, including 16-bit, 48kHz audio, for chatting with teammates while gaming with AirPods Pro 2. Latency for AirPods Pro 2 users has also been upgraded. Custom Adaptive Audio Available on AirPods Pro and AirPods 4 with Active Noise Cancellation iOS 18 brings more granularity to the Adaptive Audio feature on AirPods Pro 2 and AirPods 4. For those unfamiliar, adaptive mode “blends Active Noise Cancellation and Transparency mode together to control the level of noise you hear in your headphones based on the changing noise conditions in your environment.” With iOS 18, you can now customize Adaptive Audio to better fit your needs and “allow more or less noise.” With your AirPods connected to your iPhone, open the Settings app and tap your AirPods at the top. Scroll down and tap “Adaptive Audio” Move the slider left to allow for “Less Noise” when using Adaptive Audio or to the right to allow for “More Noise.” Hearing Health Last year, Apple supercharged AirPods Pro 2 with new hearing health features. Now, you take a hearing test with your AirPods Pro to find out if you have hearing loss. You can then use AirPods Pro as a hearing aid if you have mild to moderate hearing loss.  Apple explains: With the incredible audio quality of AirPods Pro, the user’s personalized hearing profile is automatically applied to music, movies, games, and phone calls across their devices without needing to adjust any settings. This first-of-its-kind software-based Hearing Aid feature brings users the ability to fine-tune their experience at any time, making access to hearing assistance easier than ever at an approachable price point Learn more:  Best AirPods Pro accessories Add 9to5Mac to your Google News feed.  FTC: We use income earning auto affiliate links. More.You’re reading 9to5Mac — experts who break news about Apple and its surrounding ecosystem, day after day. Be sure to check out our homepage for all the latest news, and follow 9to5Mac on Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn to stay in the loop. Don’t know where to start? Check out our exclusive stories, reviews, how-tos, and subscribe to our YouTube channel

As Europe pushes for tech sovereignty, one open-source advocate has a warning: don’t forget global cooperation. Amanda Brock, CEO of industry group OpenUK, told TNW that the EU must “get real” about the trade-offs of going it alone. Brock said tech policymakers must move beyond “tit-for-tat schoolyard politics” and instead “protect global collaboration whilst ensuring the needs of their citizens are met.”   Her comments follow a speech by Eva Maydell in Brussels yesterday, where the Bulgarian lawmaker urged Europe to “sober up” in its quest for tech independence.   The 💜 of EU techThe latest rumblings from the EU tech scene, a story from our wise ol' founder Boris, and some questionable AI art. It's free, every week, in your inbox. Sign up now!“We need to have a very clear outline plan which, first and foremost, assesses where our strengths are, where we have certain dependencies, and where we need to cooperate,” said Maydell. In a bid to reduce reliance on global tech giants, European institutions have been ramping up efforts to grow homegrown capabilities in areas such as AI, cloud computing, and semiconductors. These efforts have gained urgency amid rising tensions with the US and China.  However, Brock believes Europe must beware of the trade-offs of tech sovereignty. She points to open-source software, which is freely available for anyone to use, modify, and share — and inherently requires cross-border cooperation.  “Every time we hear talk of ‘sovereignty’ from the EU, in the next breath we hear ‘open-source’,” she said. “Yet these two concepts sit in direct conflict, as open-source has global collaboration at its heart.” Brock urged Europe to invest in tech infrastructure and talent to support the growth of technologies such as AI, while remaining open to the rest of the world. “No one said it would be easy,” she added. Andreas Riegler, general partner at APEX Ventures, agrees that Europe must continue to embrace global collaboration.  He warned against competing head-on with the US and China in technologies like cloud infrastructure or foundational AI models.  “Europe must resist isolationist instincts and instead integrate into global tech ecosystems where appropriate,” he said. “Not doing so risks duplication of effort, talent drain, and diminished geopolitical influence in setting global standards.” Europe’s tech sovereignty will be a hot topic at TNW Conference, which takes place on June 19-20 in Amsterdam. Tickets for the event are now on sale — use the code TNWXMEDIA2025 at the checkout to get 30% off. Story by Siôn Geschwindt Siôn is a freelance science and technology reporter, specialising in climate and energy. From nuclear fusion breakthroughs to electric vehic (show all) Siôn is a freelance science and technology reporter, specialising in climate and energy. From nuclear fusion breakthroughs to electric vehicles, he's happiest sourcing a scoop, investigating the impact of emerging technologies, and even putting them to the test. He has five years of journalism experience and holds a dual degree in media and environmental science from the University of Cape Town, South Africa. When he's not writing, you can probably find Siôn out hiking, surfing, playing the drums or catering to his moderate caffeine addiction. You can contact him at: sion.geschwindt [at] protonmail [dot] com Get the TNW newsletter Get the most important tech news in your inbox each week. Also tagged with

Design, at its best, is not just about making something new; it’s about re-seeing what’s already there. In Charu, a chair designed by Harry Noble M under the mentorship of Sweety Taur, material, memory, and meaning converge into a form that does far more than offer a place to sit. It raises a quiet but powerful question: who has been allowed to sit, how, and why? Historically, chairs have never been neutral. From thrones to office seats, they’ve marked status and reinforced hierarchy. The colonial planter’s chair, its wide, sprawling arms designed for leisure, was once a symbol of patriarchal power and colonial dominance. Charu draws directly from this legacy, not to continue it, but to subvert it. Its form echoes the past, but its voice is unmistakably contemporary. Designer: Harry Noble M Crafted in cane by traditional artisans in Ahmedabad, Charu mimics the shape of the planter’s chair only to unravel its symbolism. Its structure exaggerates space, not to glorify “manspreading,” but to critique it. The gaps between the armrests turn posture into protest. Before anyone even sits, the chair begins to speak. This isn’t just furniture. It’s storytelling through design. Inspired by a deeply personal memory of sitting beside a Charu Kasera, a short stool traditionally used in Indian households, Menon extends this recollection into a wider inquiry: What histories are embedded in the objects we take for granted? How do caste, class, and gender shape the ways we sit and the spaces we’re allowed to occupy? The making of Charu was rooted in cultural anthropology and human-centered research. Mask-making exercises explored object symbolism; media archives and user surveys uncovered how the planter’s chair, once a colonial relic, found new meaning in domestic settings. Voices across regions and backgrounds mapped the chair’s transformation from a status object to a relic of inherited bias. Design references were wide-ranging. Case studies included Laurel’s chair, which visually resists patriarchal form, and Anna’s, which encourages inclusive posture. Charu builds on this lineage, grounding itself in local craft while raising globally resonant questions about ownership, space, and comfort. Menon’s ergonomic approach was equally radical. A body-storming session with peers revealed that true comfort doesn’t come from mimicking Western ergonomic standards, but from rethinking them. Supporting the mid-thoracic region, not just the shoulders, encourages longer and more natural sitting. The downward-sloped seat, angled armrests, and gentle curves avoid strain while rejecting entitlement. The very form denies slouching, it demands intention. Materials mattered. While bamboo was more accessible, it lacked the pliability needed for the chair’s sculptural arcs. Cane, symbolically elite, regionally relevant, and artisan-friendly, was the natural choice. Even as material costs complicated the woven storage element, the final build stayed honest to its conceptual clarity. The process moved from sketches and scaled models to full-size prototypes. Final fabrication, led by Hussain Bhai in Ahmedabad, infused the chair with a sense of pride and regional authenticity, anchoring the project in lived craft rather than industrial detachment. Visually, Charu is part sculpture, part artifact. Shaped like an oversized basket, it blends the rustic and the refined. The bowl-like base offers a generous welcome; the high back curves into a pointed, leaf-like peak; the rocking silhouette evokes both tradition and tenderness. From the side, it could be mistaken for a farmer’s harvest basket, except it holds critique instead of grain. This adaptability allows Charu to slip seamlessly across settings. It would feel at home in a breezy coastal villa or a sunlit porch, in a boutique resort or a mindful co-living space. Even modern interiors looking for warmth, tactility, or a story could find in Charu a compelling anchor. And while this edition stands as a flagship concept, akin to a fashion showstopper, its journey doesn’t end here. Menon envisions future iterations: simplified arcs for scalability, extended seating for calf support, and thoughtful additions like cup holders or textural inlays for daily use. It’s a living form, not a fixed one. The post A Revolutionary Cane Chair Challenging History, Hierarchy, and How We Choose to Sit first appeared on Yanko Design.

Behind the scenes of the climactic final battle between the Piglins and Iron Golems in ‘A Minecraft Movie’. The showdown between the Piglins and Iron Golems in Jared Hess’ A Minecraft Movie featured 187 VFX shots from Digital Domain. The studio collaborated with production visual effects supervisor Dan Lemmon to deliver battlefield action and final destruction of the Overworld Portal (not to mention a whole bunch of pork chop plopping). Here, Digital Domain animation supervisor Liz Bernard and visual effects supervisor Piotr Karwas break it down for befores & afters, and highlight a few Easter eggs you may have missed. b&a: What were the challenges of animating characters for the finale battle, especially in retaining any kind of ‘blockyness’ to them? Liz Bernard: The Piglins were pretty forgiving when it came to animation because they were soft and squishy. The blockyness came from the design of the character more than from the style of animation. We only had a handful of restrictions based on their blocky design: we opted to keep their arms a little lower and more bent than a human’s because their shoulders would quickly intersect with their large blocky heads, and since they had very short necks, we also needed to tone down any head rotations except lateral turns. Oh, and of course when they fell down to the ground after zombifying, they clunk-rolled around on the ground about as well as a square wheel. Even though the golems have a very simple style of animation in the game, translating that simplicity was pretty challenging in the film, given that they are made of stiff blocks of metal with no give at all. When you have a blocky character with no areas that can deform, and extremely simple joints, you kind of have to cheat every joint to pose the character. A walk cycle, for example, gave us instant intersections where the legs attach to the hips and the arms attach to the shoulders.To address that, Rigging gave the animators controls to offset body parts to achieve the necessary range of movement without visible intersections or gaps in silhouette. b&a: There are some great clashes directly between the Piglins and Iron Golems – how did you come up choreography for these. Was mocap used at all as part of the process? How were any crowd tools utilized? Liz Bernard: Thanks! We had a blast figuring this out. Piotr and I directed several days of motion capture on Digital Domain’s motion capture stage in Los Angeles. We recorded a lot of Piglin charges, attacks, and reactions to key moments in the battle, and we spitballed a bunch of fun and silly ideas on the shoot days with our performer to try to pack in as much humor as possible. In most shots, we had three layers of animation: in the background and midground, our Crowds team put together crowds simulations using Autodesk’s Golaem software (indeed, it’s a very weird coincidence that we simulated Iron Golems in a program called Golaem). In front of that, we also dropped in pre-made battle vignettes which consisted of a golem fighting 3 or 4 Piglins. Each vignette was created by a different animator and polished up to a high level before receiving body and cloth simulations in CFX. Then we were able to reuse those vignettes (without having to resimulate them in every shot) by offsetting them in timing and space throughout the sequence. Finally, in the foreground, we of course had the hero animation, which was a mix of keyframe and motion capture, although the mocap needed a lot of adjustment to work with the unusual proportions of the characters. All of the wolves and golems and ghasts were fully keyframed along with the Great Hog. Our rule in Animation was to make every choice the weird or goofy one so that the resulting choreography was a symphony of silliness. b&a: Where you had to integrate live-action actors into the scenes, what were some of the trickiest aspects of dealing with hair and clothing integration there, and generally bringing them into a game world?
 Piotr Karwas: Integrating live-action actors into a highly stylized environment could be tricky. Many of the scenes became significantly more complex after the original footage was captured, requiring pretty substantial adjustments to the photography. Precise matchmoving of our digital doubles was necessary to ensure accurate shadows and reflections, allowing the actors to blend naturally into the final environment. b&a: When the Piglins are exposed to sunlight, what was DD’s approach to zombify them? Piotr Karwas: For the climactic finale, where the evil army is ultimately defeated, we knew the zombification effect had to stand out. While much of the initial work had already been developed by Wētā FX when we joined the project, one of our first tasks was ensuring visual continuity while integrating seamlessly with their existing shots. But matching their look was only part of the challenge. We also needed to bring something new to the table, especially given the scale of the sequences involving massive groups of Piglins. To make the transformation feel both distinctive and impactful, we built fully articulated skeletal systems that could emerge during the zombification process, adding an extra layer of visual complexity to an already dramatic moment. b&a: Can you talk about any Easter eggs or gags you were able to add into the background of the battle? Liz Bernard: We knew from the beginning that our director, Jared Hess would welcome wacky ideas and goofy touches, especially on background characters. I made sure to pass that information on to each animator as soon as they joined the team so that they could put on their thinking caps. As a result, we had a basket of nose picks, pratfalls, butt scratches, and belly slaps to sprinkle into the action. I’m not sure if this qualifies as an easter egg because we did it so many times in the battle, but when the Piglins die, each turns into a perfectly cooked pork chop that flops to the ground. We had one particularly large piglin named Snowball who turned into a VERY large floppy ‘chop when Natalie stabbed him with her diamond sword. I feel like we did alright when we read articles after opening weekend about how rowdy the fans were at the movie theatres. It’s been a total kick to see how the fans reacted so positively to our work! The post ‘We had a basket of nose picks, pratfalls, butt scratches and belly slaps to sprinkle into the action’ appeared first on befores & afters.

Credit: Haley Henschel / Mashable My body refuses to fall asleep on planes, though not for lack of trying. I've stayed up late before flights, booked red-eyes, popped melatonin, ordered a couple glasses of red wine from the beverage cart — and yet there I sit, wide awake in my economy seat.I keep busy with in-flight entertainment. I'm not built to be raw-dogging flights, and that tiny seatback screen keeps me sane at 30,000 feet. If I can't binge last year's Oscar nominees or lock into a weird HBO documentaryKnowing this, my extremely brilliant and thoughtful husband gifted me a Twelve South AirFly Pro for Christmas last year. This cult-favorite gadget is a $49.99 Bluetooth adapter that lets you watch in-flight movies with my comfy Bose headphones. It's not a glamorous device — it's just a dongle with an aux cable — but this humble device takes some of the hassle out of flying. Truly, a miracle. I used the AirFly Pro for the first time on round-trip flights between Chicago and London this spring, and I'll never fly without it again. Better yet, it's on sale. Twelve South AirFly Pro $44.99 at Amazon $54.99 Save $10 Fly like a ProWhile wireless headphones and earbuds are vastly more popular than wired models nowadays, the airline industry hasn't adjusted accordingly. (United and Delta have added Bluetooth-enabled screens to some of their planes, but I personally have yet to find one.) So, to watch movies and shows on that seatback screen, you still have to plug in wired earphones with an old-fashioned 3.5mm audio jack.Some airlines hand out complimentary cheapo wired buds for long-haul flights, but they sound terrible and don't offer a lick of noise cancellation. The AirFly Pro exists to bridge the technology gap for a better in-flight entertainment experience. Mashable Top Stories Stay connected with the hottest stories of the day and the latest entertainment news. Sign up for Mashable's Top Stories newsletter By clicking Sign Me Up, you confirm you are 16+ and agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Thanks for signing up! Credit: Haley Henschel / Mashable Setting up the AirFly Pro is ridiculously simple:Plug it into the screen or armrestPress and hold the power buttonTurn on your headphonesWait for them to connectAnd if you're traveling with someone, you can even pair it with both of your headphones at the same time. My AirFly Pro paired instantly with my Bose headphones and remembered them on my return flight.The AirFly Pro's audio sounded fine to me, and I never had connection issues. I did notice that in-flight announcements were a split-second delayed compared to the plane's PA system, but the sound and dialogue on movies always lined up perfectly. Related Stories Twelve South has the AirFly Pro rated at 25 hours of battery life, and that seemed accurate. Mine lasted the full eight-hour flight from Chicago to London, a few hours beyond that (because I forgot to turn it off), and then most of the way through my nine-hour return flight. When it finally died, 10 minutes of charging gave it enough battery for at least 30 more minutes before we landed. Credit: Haley Henschel / Mashable The biggest downsides to the AirFly Pro? The fact that you can't use it while it's charging, and that it's kind of expensive for a Bluetooth transmitter. That said, it works like a charm and feels like a future-proofed purchase, since planes probably aren't getting rid of their 3.5mm audio jacks anytime soon. Where to buy the AirFly Pro Credit: Haley Henschel / Mashable The $54.99 AirFly Pro (currently on sale for $44.99) comes with a soft travel pouch and a keyring cap in addition to its charger. For $20 less, you can pick up the AirFly SE, but you lose some battery life and dual listening mode.I've seen the AirFly line sold at airports before, but I'd recommend snagging one before you jet off on your next trip, as my Pro model is easy to find on sale. At the time of writing, Amazon had it on sale. You can also find them as part of some Bose QuietComfort Ultra headphone and earbud bundles. Shop the Twelve South AirFly line: Twelve South AirFly Pro $54.99 Twelve South AirFly SE $34.99 Twelve South AirFly Pro 2 $59.99 Topics Bluetooth Gadgets Haley Henschel Senior Shopping Reporter Haley Henschel is a Chicago-based Senior Shopping Reporter at Mashable who reviews and finds deals on popular tech, from laptops to gaming consoles and VPNs. She has years of experience covering shopping holidays and can tell you what’s actually worth buying on Black Friday and Amazon Prime Day. Her work has also explored the driving forces behind digital trends within the shopping sphere, from dupes to 12-foot skeletons.

Triangle Factory is a fast-growing Belgian gaming company that uses Unity to create high-quality multiplayer VR titles like Hyper Dash and their latest game, Breachers. Triangle Factory leverages tools like Cinemachine, Unity Profiler, Game Server Hosting, Matchmaker, Voice Chat (Vivox), and Friends in creating an immersive experience for players. In this blog, Jel Sadones, lead level design/tech art, and lead developer Pieter Vantorre walk us through their Blender-to-Unity pipeline and how they brought their VR tactical FPS title Breachers to life.Unity has been our go-to engine and development environment for over a decade, and we have gone through many workflows over the years for environment modeling and design. That includes using in-engine modeling tools like ProBuilder (which we still use and love for rapid prototyping) and assembling scenes from Prefabs created in other modeling packages. For our current projects though, we’ve landed on a workflow where we model and organize our levels in Blender, and rely on Unity’s AssetPostprocessor to integrate them into our Unity project.In this article, we’ll share with you how we ended up with this workflow and how it supports the kind of rapid design iteration we need for our games.In 2021, we released our first big VR title, Hyper Dash, a fast-paced 5v5 arena shooter. When we started development on the game in 2019, we had a basic Blender-to-Unity workflow that probably looks familiar to many: We simply modeled geometry in Blender, exported our assets as FBX files and manually integrated them into Unity. The manual integration involved several steps:Setting up dynamic objects in the scene such as weapon pickups, spawn doors, capture pointsPlacing colliders to prevent players from walking or teleporting in certain areasSetting up invisible guides to allow bots to behave properlyEtc.This process can work well for smaller projects, but quickly becomes cumbersome as a project scales and evolves. When we started planning the development of our next title, we knew we were going to need a drastically improved workflow.Breachers is a competitive shooter with complex level layouts, subtler gameplay mechanics, more technical systems at play, and a higher level of graphical polish targeting the newest generation of standalone VR hardware. In terms of complexity, it goes several steps further than Hyper Dash, and we quickly felt the effects of this on our workflow.In the prototyping phase, we still relied heavily on Prefabs for dynamic objects, like window barricades for example. These are objects that we place inside window frames to block line of sight between interiors and the outside to prevent teams from seeing each other during the warm-up phase of the game.While testing our prototype, we were constantly moving around windows to improve gameplay, which meant changing geometry in Blender and re-exporting to Unity and then manually moving the barricade objects to match our changes. Many hours were spent flying around Unity’s Scene view, manually checking and fixing these kinds of things. Still, we had more than one playtest where we only noticed during gameplay that something had been overlooked.Obviously, this workflow was not going to give us the ability to quickly iterate on our map designs as we playtested, both internally and as part of our open alpha, where we planned to make one map available for free to get feedback from the community. We were looking forward to all that feedback, but not looking forward at all to the manual effort involved in applying it to our maps.Another potential downside to a Prefab-based design workflow is performance. We mainly target mobile, standalone VR headsets for our games. We want to push the visuals as far as we can, so we need to squeeze every last drop of performance out of our workflow.Assembling levels from Prefabs can be less efficient than creating a watertight mesh in a modeling program. If you snap two modular wall pieces together, you always have an unmerged loop of geometry in between them. With Prefabs, it’s also easy to end up placing a lot of geometry in your scene that isn’t visible (because it’s on the underside of an object, or placed against a wall) but still taking up valuable lightmap space. Over an entire level, those small inefficiencies can add up to wasted performance and diminished visuals.The final issue with Prefabs we want to mention is that it can be easy to break things by applying seemingly innocent changes to the source model in Blender, like renaming an object. As a game or level evolves, you often want to reorganize your assets and give them improved or more consistent names. But renaming an object in Blender and re-exporting it can easily (and without warning) break the overrides and additions made to the object in Unity, leading to regressions.In this simplified example, we have a ventilation grate Prefab and want smoke coming out of it. After importing the mesh into Unity, our artist has added the smoke particle system as a child object and added a surface type component to the Prefab to mark it as being a metal object.Here you can see what happens if we rename our mesh in Blender:When reimporting the mesh with the updated name, Unity can no longer find the old mesh by name, so it removes the object from the model Prefab. Children of this removed object are moved to the root of the Prefab and existing scripts are removed, again leading to manual cleanup work we’d rather avoid.As the prototyping phase for Breachers wrapped up and we prepared to go into full production mode in early 2022, our art and dev teams sat down together and investigated what we could do to remedy these problems. We defined clear goals for our ideal asset pipeline, one that would support the rapid and flexible iteration required for Breachers:All creation and modification of level geometry should happen in Blender.WYSIWYG: What a designer creates in Blender should match the result in Unity as closely as possible.When something is updated in Blender, importing the changes into Unity should happen automatically and not require any manual effort.As mentioned above, our main goal was to have an accurate visualization of the game in Blender – not only properly reflecting how the end result will look in Unity but also how the gameplay mechanics are set up. Gameplay in Breachers not only depends on a level’s layout, but also on dynamic objects (like breachable walls) and invisible elements (like sound volumes and colliders). We want to have all this information visible at the design stage and carried over precisely to Unity.Custom properties are critical to our workflow, and we assign these to objects in Blender. These are then carried over in Unity by the FBX format, so we can read them and run custom logic when our assets are imported into Unity.This gives us a great amount of flexibility, as well as stability. These properties stay connected to objects throughout the pipeline, so we can reorganize and rename things in our levels as much as we want without worrying about things breaking or getting out of sync.Unity has a powerful class called AssetPostprocessor, which allows modifications of assets while they are being imported. This is what we use at import time to parse those custom properties and act on them.Prefab linksWe have a custom property named PrefabLink, which tells Unity the object imported from Blender should be replaced by a Prefab already in the Unity project, while preserving the imported model’s transform. This allows us to place these dynamic objects in Blender while retaining the advantages of Prefabs once they are imported into Unity. The window barricades in the Blender scene above are a good example of this.Surface typesSurface definition is extremely important in Breachers. Walking on a metal staircase sounds different from walking on a concrete floor. Bullet penetration through wood is a lot different than through steel. And each surface type has its own impact effects. Going over each prop in Unity and tagging it as the correct surface type would be extremely time consuming, so we also tackle this at the design stage in Blender by setting custom properties on our geometry colliders.Static flagsAnother important setting for optimization are Unity’s static flags. Setting these correctly can have a profound impact on things like visibility culling, light baking, and batching. Using custom properties in Blender, we can set these on any part of the level, including reusable props, and have that information carry over into Unity across our levels.CollidersLastly, we’d like to share how we set up colliders. Unity has a simple but effective system that automatically detects level-of-detail variants for models when you postfix a model asset name with _LOD0, _LOD1, etc. We were inspired by this and created a similar system for colliders: By simply having geometry with _BoxCollider or _NoCollision in the name, we replace the meshes from Blender with colliders in Unity.As a concrete example, here is a snippet of our LevelSetupPostprocessor that reads custom properties and assigns the right static flags on each imported object:For all of this to work smoothly, we did have to do some work on the Blender side as well.Custom properties are a bit hidden in Blender’s UI and would require artists to manually type out the custom properties each time, which is not a great user experience. Relying on manual text entry would also be very error-prone, undoing much of the advantage of setting things up in Blender in the first place. Moving from a Prefab-based workflow into Blender also made us miss some of the advantages of Prefabs, like having a nice library of objects to browse through and pick from. Luckily, Blender, like Unity, is very flexible and easily extensible.The answer to the Prefab organization problem came in Blender 3.2 with Asset Libraries. This system acts a bit like the Prefab system in Unity: It allows you to create assets in a separate file and then import those into your Blender scene, while changes in the asset file reflect automatically in the Blender scene. Additionally, it ensures that any custom properties or colliders are correctly applied to each instance of this asset in Blender.For Blender, we wrote an in-house add-on to help set up the custom properties in a more clear user interface. This simplifies setting custom properties by just selecting the relevant Blender objects and hitting a button, instead of typing out each property manually.The Bundle Exporter add-on is an open source add-on that we’re using to export all of our FBX files in one click. We modified it to also work with custom properties and updated the UI to have faster exports for our specific needs.Setting up our level design workflow for Breachers took a large time investment initially, but we believe it was the right choice for the project. Also, it was kind of fun!As we’ve built out the game from initial blockouts through alpha testing and the months leading up to the final release, iterating on our levels has been quick and painless. We’ve been able to eliminate overhead and busywork for our designers and artists, while also transferring responsibilities to them that they previously would have needed a developer for.We have been impressed at both Unity and Blender for their ability to integrate with each other this smoothly, and we strongly believe this integration was critical to making Breachers a game we’re happy with and proud to share with the world.Thanks for reading, and enjoy the game!Triangle Factory’s Breachers is now available. Check out more blogs from Made with Unity developers here.

The full reveal of the Nintendo Switch 2 was largely focused on all the new games you can play. The hardware specs weren’t the focus, but Nintendo dropped a detailed list of what’s inside the Switch 2 on its website, and later provided even more detailed tech specs. Most of what we knew from the original announcement video and some leaks turned out to be true: It’s a bigger, better handheld console with a full slate of upgraded hardware.Here’s what we now know, specs-wise, about the Nintendo Switch 2.System sizeThe original base model of the Nintendo Switch is approximately 4 inches high and 9.4 inches long (with Joy-Cons attached), according to Nintendo’s official system specs. Switch 2 is a little bigger at 6.5 inches high and 10.7 inches long (also with Joy-Cons attached). The larger size also makes the Switch 2 weigh about 1.18 lbs, which is a little heavier than the .88-lbs original Switch. For another reference: That’s a little less than the Steam Deck LCD’s 1.5-lbs weight.Screen sizeImage: NintendoSwitch 2’s capacitive touch screen is 7.9 inches — bigger than both the original Switch (6.2 inches) and the Switch OLED (7 inches) — but it’s back to LCD.The new display also got a bump in resolution to 1080p (from 720p) and supports a variable refresh rate (VRR) up to 120 Hz. HDR10 support is coming too, but Nintendo didn’t specify any of the fine details on the screen’s brightness so it might not be as impressive as something like the Steam Deck OLED. And while it’s technically not a feature of the screen itself, the thinner bezel should make it just feel bigger as well.Joy-ConsImage: NintendoSwitch 2’s new Joy-Cons work a bit differently than the original Switch. They magnetically attach to the sides of the console and don’t produce that satisfying snap like they used to. The original Joy-Cons weigh around 1.7 ounces (left) and 1.8 ounces (right), and the new ones weigh around 2.3 ounces (left) and 2.4 ounces (right). That might be because the Switch 2’s Joy-Cons have a mouse sensor that lets you flip them on their side and slide them around, and the new C button for GameChat. While Nintendo says that Joy-Con 2 controllers don’t feature Hall-effect joystick technology, “The control sticks for Joy-Con 2 controllers have been redesigned and have improved in areas such as durability,” the company says.In addition to a mouse sensor, each Joy-Con 2 has a built-in accelerometer and gyroscope. The Joy-Con 2 controllers have wireless connectivity via Bluetooth 3.0, and the right one has NFC wireless connectivity.Nintendo says the Joy-Con 2 controllers have approximately 20 hours worth of battery life, and require approximately 3.5 hours to fully charge.StorageSwitch 2 has 256 GB of flash storage, considerably more than the original Switch’s 32 GB of storage.If that sounds a little small for you, you can still expand the storage with an SD card. The original Switch supported microSDHC and microSDXC (UHS-I) cards up to 2 TB, while the Switch 2 supports up to 2 TB microSD Express cards, which offer much faster read speeds.CPU/GPUSwitch 2 is powered by a “custom processor made by Nvidia,” Nintendo says. According to leaked details gleaned from the console’s motherboard, it’s supposedly a custom Tegra T239 processor. That would put the system’s processing power on par with previous-generation consoles like the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One, according to analysts. But leaks suggest the Switch 2 will employ upscaling technology that can boost 720p resolution visuals up to 4K when docked, using machine learning techniques.Additionally, Switch 2 is rumored to have 12 GB of RAM.PortsImage: NintendoSwitch 2 features a port for game cartridges, two USB-C ports, and a 3.5 mm headphone jack. The USB-C port on the bottom of the console is purely for charging and connecting to the dock. A slot for expanded microSD storage appears to be tucked away underneath the Switch 2’s kickstand, similar to the original Switch.MicrophoneImage: Nintendo/TwitchSwitch 2 has a built-in microphone that will primarily be used for its Discord-like GameChat feature. It has noise cancellation, echo cancellation, and auto gain control so you don’t have to fuss with settings for it to pick up everyone in the room.Battery lifeSwitch 2’s battery will last around 2 to 6.5 hours depending on the games you play. That’s actually a tiny bit less than the launch Switch 1 models, which can run from 2.6 to 6.5 hours, and considerably less than the updated models that last 4.5 to 9 hours. Blame the Switch 2’s bigger and better screen for making you charge it a little more often. Thankfully, it can be charged up to full in the same three hours it took the original consoles (while in sleep mode).Nintendo will also let Switch 2 owners set the system’s battery charge to slow down at “around 90%” to preserve the system’s battery life.Wi-FiSwitch 2 supports Wi-Fi 6 connectivity, which should make downloading games faster if you have a beefy internet connection. It also means screen-sharing your games over GameChat should be smooth, too. Alternatively, the Switch 2 dock has a wired Ethernet port built-in, unlike the original Switch which required a completely separate adapter.DockImage: NintendoSwitch 2’s dock looks a lot like the original Switch’s dock, but it’s a little bigger to match the size of the new console. It comes in at 4.5 inches tall, 7.9 inches wide, and 2 inches thick. On the back, there are 2 USB ports, an HDMI port, and an Ethernet port. And when you slide your system into it, it will output video up to 4K at 60 frames per second to your TV.AccessibilitySwitch 2 offers a couple new accessibility options that weren’t available on the original Switch, including text sizing and text-to-speech. You can also turn on speech-to-text and text-to-speech specifically for GameChat. And like the original Switch, you can still remap controller buttons, change the display colors, zoom into the screen, and swap the audio from stereo to mono.See More:

Illustration of norovirus particlesJ Marshall/Tribaleye Images/Alamy A norovirus vaccine pill that cuts the risk of infection could be available in a few years, after it showed promise in a trial where people were intentionally exposed to the virus. The highly contagious virus infects the stomach and intestines, causing vomiting and diarrhoea that typically resolve within a few days. “Billions are lost from the economy globally every year because of the lost days of work and hospitalisation,” says Sarah Caddy at Cornell University in Ithaca, New York. Advertisement Sean Tucker at biotech company Vaxart in San Francisco and his colleagues previously developed an oral vaccine that boosted levels of IgA antibodies that can block norovirus from entering cells, suggesting it could prevent infections. Now, the researchers have tested this on 141 people aged between 18 and 49, about half of whom took the pill, while the others took a placebo. A month later, all the participants intentionally swallowed a high dose of the GI.1 strain of norovirus in liquid form, while in quarantine. “In the real-world setting, you need 10 to 100 viral particles to be infected, and we use 1 million particles,” says Tucker. This helped to ensure enough people got infected, he says. In the following week, 82 per cent of those in the placebo group became infected, but only 57 per cent of vaccinated participants did. Get the most essential health and fitness news in your inbox every Saturday. Sign up to newsletter “I think most individuals would be interested in taking [the vaccine] if you can reduce your risk by around [25 percentage points] and avoid getting really debilitating symptoms,” says Caddy, who wasn’t involved in the study. The team also found that vaccinated participants shed substantially less virus in their stool and vomit than those who took the placebo. This suggests the vaccine could slow the spread of the virus, although that needs to be directly tested, says Caddy. In another analysis, the scientists confirmed that the vaccine probably works by boosting levels of protective IgA antibodies in saliva and in the gut, blood and nose. However, it is unclear how long this protection would last. Further work is also needed to verify the findings in young children and older adults, who are especially at risk of being hospitalised, says Caddy. Most noroviruses that infect humans belong to two groups, known as GI and GII. Based on unpublished work by his team, the GI.1 vaccine would probably protect against other closely related GI variants, says Tucker. The team is also developing a vaccine that can protect against GI and GII viruses. If all goes well, Tucker hopes the GI.1 vaccine could be rolled out in two to three years. Journal reference:Science Translational Medicine DOI: 10.1126/scitranslmed.adh9906 Topics: