September 2024 - Page 2 of 9 - Gaming Army United

ASSASSIN’S CREED VALHALLA #93 | BRUXAA

Bem vindos a Valhalla!

Depois de terminar AC Odyssey a 100% trago aqui o objetivo de deixar AC Valhalla da mesma forma

Acompanha os próximos episódios de AC Valhalla AQUI https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLDowRCnCZ6UICNtMhndmxwW6Yjy5FjUXj

Espero que gostem, deixem o like, subscrevam, partilhem e ativem as notificações para não perder nenhum episódio!!!

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Don’t worry, the Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver remasters are also coming to PC

Over 25 years after the first Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver launched, Crystal Dynamics has announced a remaster package collecting the first and second games in the series. The HD ports are the work of Aspyr, the studio responsible for the well-received remasters of the first three Tomb Raider games. The package was unveiled at Sony’s State of Play yesterday, but they’ve now been confirmed for PC.

Until recently the original versions of these games were available on Steam; they’ve since been removed, presumably to be replaced by their modernised versions. The trailer below shows what to expect: both games still look very much like late ’90s 3D action games, though they’ll enjoy sharper textures, smoother framerates, and upgraded models and visual effects.

Additions will include a photo mode, an “upgraded camera” and new control options. These games released for the original PlayStation at a time when analog sticks weren’t super popular, so the new controls and camera will be very welcome indeed, though I remember finding them quite playable with a mouse and keyboard. There’s also a new in-game map and compass. I’m not sure if this will prove controversial or not, but these games were basically big 3D labyrinths, to a greater extent than, say, the Tomb Raider series.

The remasters hit Steam and Epic Games Store on December 10, as well as all the consoles. If you never played the Soul Reaver games and want to know what the fuss is all about, this retrospective piece by Rick Lane is a thorough and enjoyable read.

Legacy of Kainâ¢ Soul Reaver 1 & 2 Remastered – Announce Trailer – YouTube Legacy of Kainâ¢ Soul Reaver 1 & 2 Remastered - Announce Trailer - YouTube

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God of War Ragnarök PC review

Four years into Sony’s big PlayStation PC initiative, you’d think the novelty of launching one of its huge tentpole action games from my Steam library would’ve worn off by now, but I still get a kick out watching the publisher’s once-closely guarded exclusives emerge from their walled garden. Something about seeing Xbox button prompts on Kratos’ axe or fiddling with a full suite of graphical settings before I even select “New Game” brings Ragnarök down to earth, shedding a layer of artificial importance that platform owners like to muster.

NEED TO KNOW

What is it? The conclusion to the God of War reboot series that began in 2018.
Release date September 19, 2024
Expect to pay $60/£50
Developer Sony Santa Monica
Publisher Sony
Reviewed on RTX 2080 Super, Intel Core i9 9900KS, 32GB RAM
Multiplayer No
Steam Deck Verified
Link Steam, Epic

Sometimes that works against Ragnarök, as playing it on the same platform where the most ambitious and unconventional videogames regularly blossom can highlight how safe and conventional the Sony blueprint has become. It also highlights how rarely we get accessible action games produced at such a high level of craft, scale, and beauty. Kratos and Atreus’ second lap around the realms isn’t as special or clean as the first, but Ragnarök is the kind of sequel that goes down smooth.

As does this PC port, for the most part. Jetpack Interactive, the same outfit that handled the great 2022 God of War port, is back for the sequel with more solid (but not flawless) work.

god of war ragnarok — (Image credit: Sony Santa Monica)

Dreaming in 1080p

Considering Ragnarök also came out on PS4 and looked pretty close to its predecessor when I played it two years ago, I’m not too surprised that this port flies on my aging RTX 2080 Super. At 1080p, I’m consistently reaching 80-100 fps (depending on the size of the area) with everything set to High and DLSS on Quality.

In a lot of ways, Ragnarök is a dream game for the PC gaming majority that’s still rocking older hardware. That PS4 baseline means that you won’t find technical wizardry on the level of Black Myth: Wukong’s cloud effects, Alan Wake 2’s photoreal forests, or Star Wars Outlaws’ forcibly-raytraced lighting, but Ragnarök’s flexibility, otherworldly vistas, and detailed characters are their own showpieces.

This is the 1080p gamer’s sweet spot where reasonable hardware requirements meet art direction so strong that this two-year-old game that runs on 2013 hardware is more attractive on my machine than more technically sophisticated games. Still have a card that starts with “20” or ends with “60”? This one’s for you. For the first time in too long, I’m cranking every graphics setting up on a big-budget action game without sweating the frame rate. Sometimes an old game juiced to Ultra is just better than the latest hotness on an inconsistent Medium.

god of war ragnarok

(Image credit: Sony Santa Monica)

I’ve hit some annoying snags, though. Not every realm runs as effortlessly as the central region of Midgard. My framerate dipped significantly in the early trip to Svartalfheim, for instance, but things have been smoother in the other realms I’ve visited since.

One major pain point is the “Realm Between Realms,” that donut-shaped tree platform that Kratos jogs around every time you fast travel. Performance consistently tanks to 20-30 fps every single time I go here. Thankfully it’s just a playable loading screen, so it doesn’t impact crucial moments and you’re never there for very long, but the plummet is always jarring after two-hour doses of problem-free exploration. YouTuber Daniel Owen looked into this and noticed that turning down Tesselation fixes the problem, so this seems like an isolated optimization issue. Jetpack has already smoothed over a few rough edges in the week since launch, like a bug that prevented DLSS Frame Generation from activating, so I’m reasonably confident it’ll figure this bug out too.

god of war ragnarok

(Image credit: Sony Santa Monica)

Dragging feet

My second God of War Ragnarök playthrough (which I’m not done with yet) is cementing a few thoughts I had when I rolled credits the first time. Ragnarök is great because it’s a second helping of one of my favorite games of the previous decade, but it’s just all over the place. Our main players spend a surprising chunk of this story in an overstretched windup phase: arguing about prophecy and meandering about the realms while gesturing at an “inevitable” clash with Odin and Thor teased by the first game’s ending.

That original stinger got everyone riled up for years expecting an epic, Avengers Endgame-style conclusion. Ragnarök opts for a less obvious, sometimes subversive path, placing prophecy on the backburner and making room for characters to work through their respective baggage—Atreus wants to be his own man and take risks, Kratos wants to hold on tight to the child he can finally connect with, Freya has a cocktail of dead son and bad mom trauma, and even the dynamic blacksmithing duo Brok and Sindri get time in the spotlight.

god of war ragnarok

(Image credit: Sony)

Ragnarök isn’t as subtle at masking what is often adventuring for adventuring’s sake.

The good news is these are all fun characters that I wanted to spend more time with, but Ragnarök doesn’t have God of War 2018’s dialed-in focus. That game had the benefit of revolving around a central roadtrip, which let Sony Santa Monica organically weave character moments into Kratos and Atreus’ main quest to reach the highest peak in the realms. Ragnarök basically says “there is no main quest” for a lot of the game, and lets character-focused “loyalty missions,” to borrow BioWare RPG parlance, take the main stage. It does wonders for fleshing out God of War’s take on Nordic mythology, but can be murder on the attention span. Both games traffic in macguffins—designing entire chapters around finding a person or doohickey that can open a locked door or dispel mysterious magic—but Ragnarök isn’t as subtle at masking what is often adventuring for adventuring’s sake.

Sometimes that feels like the point. An early sidequest in Alfheim begins when Kratos shows an out-of-character interest in investigating the cries of an animal in distress. During the quest, Atreus chimes in multiple times confused about why Kratos is going along with something he’d usually have to drag his father into, each time rebuffed with an in-character Kratos grumble.

Eventually Atreus confronts his father, accusing him of trying to keep his mind off an impending Ragnarök. The disembodied head of Mimir, clearly uncomfortable, finally cuts in: “Have you ever considered… he just wants to spend time with you, lad? While he still can.” It’s one of a handful of moments where Sony Santa Monica says the crux out loud: The journey’s better than the destination. Yea yea, true enough, but I’m inclined to agree with Atreus. Ragnarök spends too long thinking about acting when it should get up and do something.

god of war ragnarok

(Image credit: Sony Santa Monica)

Axecellence

At least Sony Santa Monica didn’t hold back on combat. Much of Kratos’ old moveset returns with some later upgrades unlocked from the start and others gained at an accelerated pace. That’s to make room for Kratos’ new tricks: an expanded focus on status effects and specialization.

It’s like skipping straight past all the boring loot in Diablo that doesn’t do anything and getting straight into the good stuff.

Kratos has his two bladed loves (the Leviathan Axe and Chaos Blades) from the jump this time, and both have new charge-up attacks that quickly inflict Frost and Burn on groups of enemies. Enemies inflicted with one weapon become extra vulnerable to the opposite weapon—presumably a move to get this axe main to actually swap to the blades for a change. Well, it worked: The incentive pushed me to use everything at my disposal and squeeze a bit more juice out of a combat system I already liked. Swapping weapons is a pain on controller, though, and that’s one nice bonus of the PC version. Ragnarök’s surprisingly intuitive keyboard controls let me swap efficiently with the number keys, and I’m playing this one on keyboard way more than the first. You might want to rethink some of the default keybinds, though (holding Ctrl to aim is still weird).

god of war ragnarok

(Image credit: Sony Santa Monica)

These games get deserving criticism for stat bloat, but I appreciate the way Ragnarök’s gear shifts the focus away from increasing raw Strength or Vitality stats and instead gives every armor set, shield, and even most axe pommels their own perks or entire moves associated with them. There’s an armor set that’s all about Runic moves, a shield that can’t block bigger attacks but supercharges Kratos’ shield bash, and even an alternate Rage state that trades the big man’s godly temper tantrums for a quick health boost.

It took too long for me to realize that this isn’t a game where you need to abandon the gear you got in the beginning. Armor sets can be upgraded throughout the whole game and stay statistically relevant, as far as I can tell. I don’t actually know if the armor I’m wearing right now gives me the best possible damage resistance, but I don’t care, because it has a set bonus where I deal more damage the closer to death I am while another perk converts Rage meter into HP if I’m about to die. It’s like skipping straight past all the boring loot in Diablo that doesn’t do anything and getting straight into the good stuff that you can build a whole playstyle around.

It’s those kinds of smart, obvious-in-retrospect improvements over God of War that make Ragnarök a proper sequel. Fighting stuff is just way more fun here—so fun that I almost forgive how friggin’ long and meandering that story gets. Without the narrative momentum of that first game, the aspects of Ragnarök that haven’t meaningfully evolved—puzzles, side challenges, and all those nearly-automatic climbing sections—grind against hours of expositional conversations that I’m not that invested in. I love God of War, but I only like Ragnarök.

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While Dragon Age: The Veilguard’s romances might not reach bear-tier, its game director promises they’ll be appropriately saucy: ‘You may or may not wake up in a coffin’

It’s a new age for RPGs. Gone are the days of chaste kisses and clandestine hand-holding of our innocent past, now we’re rolling around with bears and getting nasty with Gith. I kid, of course. Dragon Age: Origins had plenty of smut back in 2009 and, if you played your cards right, let you saddle for some group fun with Leliana, Zevran, and Isabela.

Still, Dragon Age: The Veilguard isn’t going to fall behind in this arms race, even if we don’t know whether there’ll be even a schlong in it, because that’s an industry secret-slash-spoiler, apparently.

That’s as per an IGN interview with game director Corinne Busche, who promises a wide variety of flavours of the eligible consort: “Some of them are quite sensual. Some of them are more physical, some are more romantic, some are more spicy,” Busch says, before casually dropping the mental fleshbang of “you may or may not wake up in a coffin.”

I’d wager that’s a result of a gothic tête-à-tête with The Veilguard’s resident necromancer, Emmrich Volkarin, though who knows. Maybe Lace Harding’s been waiting since Inquisition to let her freak flag fly. Speaking of, part of her return was, at least, amorously motivated: “Players fell in love with her, and we heard them.”

In terms of which romance you’ll want to go for if you’d like a bit of excitement, dragon hunter Taash appears to be Busche’s pick: “When I got to that scene and saw the finished version of that cinematic, I was hollering. Hollering.” Considering Taash is a qunari, I’m not entirely surprised. Iron Bull had some fierce game.

Confirming what was revealed in a combat and progression blog post, Busche emphasises—and reassures—that while getting to know your companions sensually isn’t a prerequisite to getting them levels, you’ll still have to resist your urge to be a jerk to them. “I really get the opportunity to know [Neve], whether it’s platonic or romantic, I’m going to help shape her skills and augment those abilities that work really well with my own personal build.”

That’s all well and good, but what draws my interest more than anything, as someone who thinks the best RPG companions are the ones who get in your way once in a while, is how Busche describes your friendships, romances, and FWB status as being a game of give and take, rather than ramping up a love bar. “You’re going to develop trust, understanding. That doesn’t mean you’re always going to agree … I like to think of relationships not necessarily as how much they like you, but how well you know them.

“Every family has their squabbles, but this is really about developing your understanding of each member of the Veilguard, and in turn, that’s going to allow them to work better as a team.”

She’s saying all the right words, I just hope Bioware’s able to pull it off—while I’m more excited by the fiddly RPG mechanics we’ve been getting glimpses of, I haven’t been that drawn in by the dialogue thus far. I’m hoping a few clumsy quips during limited gameplay trailers don’t get in the way of this considered character work that Busche is promising, because I love thinking way too much about RPG romance dynamics. Just ask Gale.

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Today’s Wordle answer for Wednesday, September 25

Don’t sit and struggle with Wednesday’s Wordle, not when you’re a short scroll away from as much or as little help as you could ever wish for. Come take a look at our clue for the September 25 (1194) Wordle if you’d like to get your daily game off to a flying start, or sneak a peek at today’s answer if you want to finish with a win no matter what.

It didn’t take too long to find a good selection of useful letters today, it was just a shame that the order I’d got them in made no sense. That yellow really should have been green, because where else could it go-oh. I love it when a plan comes together. Or when I finally spot the clue sitting under my nose. Close enough.

Today’s Wordle hint

Wordle hint - a grid with yellow, grey, and green letters — (Image credit: Josh Wardle)

Wordle today: A hint for Wednesday, September 25

Whether powered by modern batteries or nothing more than a burning rag on a stick, this item is a reliable light source.

Is there a double letter in Wordle today?

No letters are used twice in today’s puzzle.

Wordle help: 3 tips for beating Wordle every day

Playing Wordle well is like achieving a small victory every day—who doesn’t like a well-earned winning streak in a game you enjoy? If you’re new to the daily word game, or just want a refresher, I’m going to share a few quick tips to help set you on the path to success:

You want a balanced mix of unique consonants and vowels in your opening word.
A solid second guess helps to narrow down the pool of letters quickly.
The answer could contain letters more than once.

There’s no time pressure beyond making sure it’s done by the end of the day. If you’re struggling to find the answer or a tactical word for your next guess, there’s no harm in coming back to it later on.

Today’s Wordle answer

Wordle answers

(Image credit: Future)

What is today’s Wordle answer?

One win, coming up. The answer to the September 25 (1194) Wordle is TORCH.

Previous Wordle answers

The last 10 Wordle answers

Knowing previous Wordle solutions can be helpful in eliminating current possibilities. It’s unlikely a word will be repeated and you can find inspiration for guesses or starting words that may be eluding you.

Here are some recent Wordle answers:

September 24: HANDY
September 23: STEAM
September 22: TEACH
September 21: SEVEN
September 20: SMOKE
September 19: PRESS
September 18: FULLY
September 17: BEAUT
September 16: HONEY
September 15: RECUR

Learn more about Wordle

Today's Wordle being played on a phone

(Image credit: Nurphoto via Getty)

Wordle gives you six rows of five boxes each day, and it’s your job to work out which five-letter word is hiding by eliminating or confirming the letters it contains.

Starting with a strong word like LEASH—something containing multiple vowels, common consonants, and no repeat letters—is a good place to start. Once you hit Enter, the boxes will show you which letters you’ve got right or wrong. If a box turns , it means that letter isn’t in the secret word at all. means the letter is in the word, but not in that position. means you’ve got the right letter in the right spot.

Your second go should compliment the starting word, using another “good” guess to cover any common letters you missed last time while also trying to avoid any letter you now know for a fact isn’t present in today’s answer. After that, it’s just a case of using what you’ve learned to narrow your guesses down to the right word. You have six tries in total and can only use real words (so no filling the boxes with EEEEE to see if there’s an E). Don’t forget letters can repeat too (ex: BOOKS).

If you need any further advice feel free to check out our Wordle tips, and if you’d like to find out which words have already been used, you can scroll to the relevant section above.

Originally, Wordle was dreamed up by software engineer Josh Wardle, as a surprise for his partner who loves word games. From there it spread to his family, and finally got released to the public. The word puzzle game has since inspired tons of games like Wordle, refocusing the daily gimmick around music or math or geography. It wasn’t long before Wordle became so popular it was sold to the New York Times for seven figures. Surely it’s only a matter of time before we all solely communicate in tricolor boxes.

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Don’t Nod is ‘temporarily pausing’ work on two new games after sales of Jusant and Banishers: Ghosts of New Eden fall ‘well below expectations’

French game studio Don’t Nod, best known as the developer of the first two Life is Strange games, is “temporarily pausing” work on two in-development projects and refocusing the design of two others after sales of Jusant and Banishers: Ghosts of New Eden fell well short of expectations.

“We are obviously disappointed by our recent performance in an extremely competitive and selective market,” Don’t Nod CEO Oskar Guilbert said in a statement on the studio’s 2024 first-half financial results.

“Despite an excellent critical reception, Jusant and Banishers: Ghosts of new Eden unfortunately did not achieve the commercial results we had hoped for, resulting in a deterioration in our 2024 half-year results and leading us to consider all possible options regarding our roadmap.”

Jusant is outstanding: We called it “a 2023 standout” in our 89% review, built around “joyful rock climbing and fascinating storytelling,” and that’s a position I can endorse. I started playing out of idle curiosity—I think the faint Far: Lone Sails vibe is what initially sparked it—and it took almost no time before I was completely drawn in. The climbing is exhilarating but secondary to the story, a lightly-woven tale of loss and hope in a melancholy, magical world.

Banishers earned a 74% in its own review as a game “rich in atmosphere, history, and horrible deeds,” and while I’ve spent no time with it myself, a friend who’s familiar with such things has told me more than twice that it’s an unexpected (if also often sad) delight, with outstanding writing and characters.

Sadly, that did not add up to much. Don’t Nod attributed a small increase in sales over the first half of the year to its older games, Vampyr and Life is Strange, while Jusant and Banishers “performed well below expectations.” The net result is a €24 million ($26.7 million) write-down—essentially a loss in value—on the two games, “given the inability to demonstrate future cash flows commensurate with the value of these assets,” and changes to Don’t Nod’s future plans: Two unannounced games in development, slated to be out before the end of 2027, have been “refocused to reach a wider audience, which involves scrapping certain developments,” while two others have been temporarily paused.

“This decision will enable us to prioritize resources and maximize the chances of success of the titles with the greatest potential at present,” Don’t Nod said.

“Don’t Nod is also exploring other options that could be implemented as soon as possible to secure its operations and enhance value creation. The purpose of this review is to give Don’t Nod the ability to compete more successfully in a constantly evolving industry, and to respond effectively to the expectations of players and partners, while continuing to offer innovative, high-quality experiences.”

As much as it sucks to see work suspended and ambitions attenuated, particularly from a studio that’s done such interesting games over the years, the greater worry is the seemingly-inevitable layoffs that result when companies start talking about securing their operations and competing more successfully. Don’t Nod feels like one of the few studios that’s avoided cutting staff over the past two years, which has been a full-on bloodbath for the games industry, but results like this don’t bode well for the immediate future.

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ASSASSIN’S CREED VALHALLA #92 | WHAT NOW EIVOR?

Bem vindos a Valhalla!

Depois de terminar AC Odyssey a 100% trago aqui o objetivo de deixar AC Valhalla da mesma forma

Acompanha os próximos episódios de AC Valhalla AQUI https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLDowRCnCZ6UICNtMhndmxwW6Yjy5FjUXj

Espero que gostem, deixem o like, subscrevam, partilhem e ativem as notificações para não perder nenhum episódio!!!

Segue-me nas redes sociais
INSTA https://www.instagram.com/luisbenedito20
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DISCORD https://discord.gg/SkcNfFdmbG

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Today’s Wordle answer for Tuesday, September 24

However you want to approach your daily Wordle, we’ve got something here that’ll help you out. There are a few quick tips below if you’d like to learn how to improve every single guess, every day, as well as a handcrafted hint for today’s puzzle, and the answer to the September 24 (1193) Wordle waiting to be used, ready to save your win streak.

I regretted my first guess the instant I typed it in—just one yellow letter? Not a great start. I wouldn’t have minded so much if my second guess hadn’t looked eerily similar, with the yellow doing nothing more than switch positions. It was well worth persevering with though, as I turned it around soon after. Make sure you use our clue if you find yourself in a similar position, and save yourself the worry.

Today’s Wordle hint

Wordle today: A hint for Tuesday, September 24

If something is today’s word, it’ll be convenient and useful in a clever way, as well as easily accessible. A jar opener kept in a kitchen drawer is one example.

Is there a double letter in Wordle today?

There are no double letters in today’s Wordle.

Wordle help: 3 tips for beating Wordle every day

Looking to extend your Wordle winning streak? Perhaps you’ve just started playing the popular daily puzzle game and are looking for some pointers. Whatever the reason you’re here, these quick tips can help push you in the right direction:

Start with a word that has a mix of common vowels and consonants.
The answer might repeat the same letter.
Try not to use guesses that include letters you’ve already eliminated.

There’s no racing against the clock with Wordle so you don’t need to rush for the answer. Treating the game like a casual newspaper crossword can be a good tactic; that way, you can come back to it later if you’re coming up blank. Stepping away for a while might mean the difference between a win and a line of grey squares.

Today’s Wordle answer

Wordle answers

(Image credit: Future)

What is today’s Wordle answer?

Need a little help? The answer to the September 24 (1193) Wordle is HANDY.

Previous Wordle answers

The last 10 Wordle answers

Wordle solutions that have already been used can help eliminate answers for today’s Wordle or give you inspiration for guesses to help uncover more of those greens. They can also give you some inspired ideas for starting words that keep your daily puzzle-solving fresh.

Here are some recent Wordle answers:

September 23: STEAM
September 22: TEACH
September 21: SEVEN
September 20: SMOKE
September 19: PRESS
September 18: FULLY
September 17: BEAUT
September 16: HONEY
September 15: RECUR
September 14: BROAD

Learn more about Wordle

Today's Wordle being played on a phone

(Image credit: Nurphoto via Getty)

Wordle gives you six rows of five boxes each day, and it’s up to you to work out which five-letter word is hiding among them to win the popular daily puzzle.

It’s usually a good plan to start with a strong word like ALERT—or any other word with a good mix of common consonants and multiple vowels—and you should be off to a flying start, with a little luck anyway. You should also avoid starting words with repeating letters, so you don’t waste the chance to confirm or eliminate an extra letter. Once you hit Enter, you’ll see which letters you’ve got right or wrong. If a box turns , it means that letter isn’t in the secret word at all. means the letter is in the word, but not in that position. means you’ve got the right letter in the right spot.

Your second guess should compliment the first, using another “good” word to cover any common letters you might have missed on the first row—just don’t forget to leave out any letter you now know for a fact isn’t present in today’s answer. After that, it’s just a case of using what you’ve learned to narrow your guesses down to the correct word. You have six tries in total and can only use real words and don’t forget letters can repeat too (eg: BOOKS).

If you need any further advice feel free to check out our Wordle tips, and if you’d like to find out which words have already been used, you can scroll to the relevant section above.

Originally, Wordle was dreamed up by software engineer Josh Wardle, as a surprise for his partner who loves word games. From there it spread to his family, and finally got released to the public. The word puzzle game has since inspired tons of games like Wordle, refocusing the daily gimmick around music or math or geography. It wasn’t long before Wordle became so popular it was sold to the New York Times for seven figures. Surely it’s only a matter of time before we all solely communicate in tricolor boxes.

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Court orders X to reveal the identities of Genshin Impact leakers

A California court has ordered X to reveal the identities of four Genshin Impact leakers to publisher Cognosphere, saying the company’s concerns about First Amendment protections are unwarranted.

As reported by TorrentFreak, in November 2023 Cognosphere obtained a DMCA subpoena compelling X Corp to “disclose the identity, including the name(s), address(es), telephone number(s), and e-mail addresses” of the person or people behind four Twitter accounts: @HutaoLoverGI, @GIHutaoLover, @HutaoLover77, and @FurinaaLover.

X refused to comply, essentially saying it wanted more than a DMCA subpoena signed by a clerk to compel it to take action, and asking for a court ruling to determine whether the claim is “sufficient to satisfy any First Amendment free speech safeguards applicable to the anonymous speakers.”

Now a court has, and it is. In a ruling released last week, the judge on the case said the speech in question—that is, the leaked Genshin Impact material—is not “core First Amendment expression,” and that Cognosphere acted in good faith and “has sufficiently shown a prima facie case of copyright violation” in its request for the DMCA subpoena.

X’s request to quash the DMCA subpoena is thus denied, and it will have to comply with the request.

This isn’t the first time Cognosphere has moved aggressively to uncover the identities of Genshin Impact leakers on social media platforms. In 2021, after dataminers began sharing information about an upcoming Genshin Impact update, Cognosphere warned it would “increase its efforts to deal with illegal disclosures,” and in 2022 it followed through, filing suit against Discord to compel it to reveal the identity of the leaker known as Ubatcha.

The denial in this particular case comes with what strikes me as a rather unusual rebuke of X’s lawyers, effectively calling on them to stop wasting the court’s time. “Finally, the Court notes that X Corp. has expressed the view that, in the face of a DMCA subpoena, X Corp. is unable to comply with the subpoena on its own volition, and that X Corp. is somehow required to file a motion to quash (or force the party seeking discovery to file a motion to enforce the subpoena) in virtually every instance,” judge Peter H. Kang wrote in the conclusion of the ruling.

Kang noted that lawyers have “ethical and professional duties to assert objections and refuse compliance with a subpoena only when well-grounded and justified,” and that they also “have duties not to unnecessarily multiply the proceedings.” Matters of discovery generally proceed “without the need for constant court intervention,” he continued, and X’s position that it must always seek to have a DMCA subpoena quashed “is not well-supported by citation to law.”

“There is nothing in the text of the DMCA which prohibits reasonable resolution of DMCA subpoena disputes, in appropriate circumstances, without the need for a contested motion,” Kang wrote. “Where X Corp. is presented with a DMCA subpoena which credibly and reasonably seeks information relating to accounts accused of facially undeniable direct copyright infringement, such as the instant matter, the Court expects that X Corp. and its able counsel (both in-house counsel directing this matter and outside counsel of record) will respond and seek collaborative resolution appropriately to seek the economical, efficient, and reasonable determination of DMCA actions such as the instant matter.”

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Valve appears to be testing Arm64 support in Proton but I wouldn’t get too excited about an Arm-based Steam Deck 2 just yet

Eagle-eyed users have spotted a test application on SteamDB suggesting that Valve is experimenting with Arm64 support for Proton, the software that enables Windows games to run on Linux systems.

The changelog for ValveTestApp3043620 lists several popular games—including Left 4 Dead 2, Garry’s Mod, Kerbal Space Program and more—with added tags like “proton-arm64”, “proton-arm64e” and “protonarm64ec-vanguard” (via Notebookcheck).

This has led to some speculation that Valve could be preparing support for certain games to run via Proton on Arm64 devices like Android smartphones and tablets, or potentially even an Arm64-based version of Valve’s ever-popular Steam Deck.

While the prospect of Steam games running on your phone is a tantalising one (and an Arm-based Steam Deck, a bizarre thought), what’s probably more likely here is testing for Windows support on Arm-based chips.

The Arm architecture has been making waves in recent months, what with the announcement of multiple laptops featuring Qualcomm’s Arm64-based Snapdragon X CPUs. These new mobile devices are capable of running Windows-based games via a Microsoft/Qualcomm emulation layer called Prism.

If Proton was able to provide Windows-based emulation for games, that’d make it a direct competitor to Prism—and if it could provide better performance or more stable emulation than the latter, that’d be quite the boon for gamers looking to adopt Arm-based devices.

Another potential usage would be for a rumoured Arm-based VR headset capable of running both Android and Windows games. Whatever the use case ends up being, it seems that Valve is at the very least playing around with Arm64 emulation in some form or fashion with Proton.

What that ends up looking like is anyone’s guess at this point. I’d still be wary of any suggestion of an Arm-based Steam Deck coming soon, though. A next-gen Deck is likely to be something that’ll have power efficiency as its top priority, and while Snapdragon chips aren’t too shabby on that front, Valve will likely be waiting a fair bit longer to see how future chips play out.

Unless we get a Lunar Lake surprise out of nowhere. Wouldn’t that be something? See, I can speculate with the best of ’em, too.

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Valve appears to be testing Arm64 support in Proton but I wouldn’t get too excited about an Arm-based Steam Deck 2 just yet

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