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gadgetsboy · 1 month

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Tech News Roundup: OnePlus AI, Pixel 8a Leaks, and Goodbye Google Podcasts

It's been a busy week for tech news - while some news days might seem slower than others, there's always a tasty tidbit of information lurking just around the corner. With that in mind, we're recapping some of the biggest updates and announcements from the tech landscape this week - everything from smartphones, software, and more. In case you missed them, here are some notable updates this past week. OnePlus Unveils its own AI Editing Software OnePlus recently announced that it was moving forward with its plans to integrate generative AI software into its smartphones, and as such recently announced its new "AI Eraser" feature. Simply put, it's OnePlus' own take on features like Google's very own Magic Eraser, which lets users remove unwanted visual elements from the background of their photos. According to OnePlus, the AI Eraser feature will begin to arrive for OnePlus devices globally starting from April. Several phones including the OnePlus 12, OnePlus 12R, OnePlus 11 and OnePlus Open will be compatible with the feature, while handsets for users in Europe will begin to receive these features later in Q2 2024. Google Bids Farewell to its Podcasts App In a move that has once again revived talks of the dreaded "Google Graveyard," the Google Podcasts App has finally been shut down. It should be noted that this has been a long time coming, with Google announcing several months back that the small user base was a key point of consideration in shutting down the podcasts app. Part of the announcement reads: "Looking forward to 2024, we’ll be increasing our investment in the podcast experience on YouTube Music... as part of this process, we’ll be discontinuing Google Podcasts. As part of this process, we’ll be helping Google Podcasts users move over to Podcasts in YouTube Music." The Pixel 8a Gets Leaked... Again Google can't seem to get things right when it comes to leaks. Time and time again, its various Pixel phones have appeared on the internet way before the intended launch date, and the same goes for the Pixel 8a. Most recently, the phone appeared in a Google Fi ad, at least according to a user which managed to save the image and share it online. The ad shows the Pixel 8a in two different colours, including a blue variant and what appears to be a white model. Upon closer inspection, it's clear that the phones in the ad aren't the Pixel 8, due to the lack of a microphone between the camera lenses, as well as the flatter camera bar. Mobvoi Updates Several TicWatch Models In a recent announcement, smart wearable brand Mobvoi stated that it will provide a new software update for several of its smartwatches, which include the TicWatch E3, TicWatch Pro 3 GPS and TicWatch Pro 3 Ultra GPS. The updates come with version numbers RMRB.240228.002 and RMKB.240228.004, so TicWatch owners might want to keep an eye on their devices for the new update. In addition to the latest security patches, the updates also come with an option to pick a desired shortcut for the secondary function key (which somehow disappeared in a previous update), as well as a fix for problems with Bluetooth calling functionality. The Star Wars KOTOR Remake is Still Alive A few years back, it was announced that a remake of the highly-popular Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic RPG was in development, with developer Aspyr set to handle production on the game. Eventually, the task was handed over to Saber Interactive, although not much has been heard about the game's status in recent years. With that being said, Saber Interactive CEO Matthew Karch finally revealed that the KOTOR remake is still under production over at Saber Interactive, following the latter's split from Embracer Group. Karch states: "It's clear and it's obivous that we're working on this... It's been in the press numerous times. What I will say is that the game is alive and well, and we're dedicated to making sure we exceed consumer expectations." Read the full article

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andr0leda · 2 years

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R E V A N

[a redraw of this]

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animatedminds · 3 years

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Star Wars: Visions - Episode 5: The Ninth Jedi

Here we go. The one everyone’s talking about. The one reviewer tend to agree is one of the series’ best, if not the best.

This one is another one that’s almost impossible to talk about without SPOILERS. I’ll try to keep it to a minimum, but SPOILERS just in case. We are, of course, talking about...

Episode 5: The Ninth Jedi Developed By: Production IG Directed By: Kenji Kamiyana

The first short to have intro narration, in a style clearly meant to audibly call to mind the narrative text that opens most Star Wars films. And this drop of classical Star Wars reminiscence sets the stage for the whole

Set in an indeterminate period where the Jedi are all but extinct and have been for “generations,” no one has seen a lightsaber in many people’s living memory, and the Sith run rampant hunting down any resistance to their rule, an elusive recluse sends a message out to the galaxy for any Jedi still able to hear: come to his star system, and he will provide you with that weapon from a more civilized time, in an effort to rebuild the Jedi Order.

The status quo for the Jedi here are interesting. They exist, but are scattered, and the initial focus character assumes that any Jedi he meets would be master-less and self taught. They desperately need the skills of a smith who can make lightsabers, desperately need the unity that this recluse - known as The Margrave - offers, and so assemble at his doorstep even though they know it could easily be a trap. The last arrival, Ethan, is an bright eyed youth who is eager to find solidarity, but the wait will be long.

Meanwhile, the saber smith and his daughter just about finish the last touches on the order of lightsabers for the Margrave. His chipper daughter, whose connection to the force is starting to develop, is happy to take the order to their employer when suddenly a group of dark, mysterious strangers arrive asking questions...

This is a great set up for a great narrative. It’s a strong story that is going to be a point of reference for me as a writer in the future, on how to write misdirections and fakeouts without taking away from the narrative experience: twists run the real risk of taking the audience out of the experience, especially when they’re twists just for the sake of having them, which can make people give the concept a bum wrap it doesn’t inherently deserve. This story is proof positive that twists are not a bad thing, as the story is all about misdirection but executes this in a way where every shocking serve feels like a turn you have already been prepared for, just didn’t know about yet, another thread that needs to weave into the story for it to feel complete: You think the meat of the story is going to be with those Jedi waiting for the Margrave, but then the plot instead centers around the sabers and the daughter’s desperate attempt to deliver them as the Jedi Hunters attack - because of course, these are the very things they are waiting for, not the Margrave itself. You start to realize that some of the assembled Jedi are not who they seem (there’s one in particular, who is so obviously going to be a twist villain that you can imagine Kamiyama’s tongue well in cheek when designing him), while our host - the Margrave - features a lot of traditionally “evil” design traits (not the least being glowing red eyes), but he starts to clearly be shown to be what we initially expect him to be, and the enormity of the answer to “where are the Sith” manages to be shocking even if you were genre savvy enough to be catching on. The character you think might be the protagonists aren’t, and the ones you think might be the antagonists are really your last hope.

And that’s not even getting into the visuals. Lightsabers are portrayed even more as an extension of the characters’ wielding it, in a way I liked a lot better than the “Anakin’s saber is Excalibur” idea from the ST. Not just the color, but the glow and visual presence of a lightsaber directly ties to the characters’ sense of purpose, there’s a point where the color of a character’s saber changes mid-fight as they finally find their resolve: it’s a beautiful visual representation. The fight at the end is a delight as well. Probably the most violent scrap since The Duel (though not as hardcore as that), while there’s no blood characters do get visibly chopped up and burned in this one, and the battle feels all the more ruthless for it. The Sith are interesting here - they outnumber our heroes, yet by the end of it they almost feel like the underdogs, only able to watch as their fully pissed off opponent executes their allies one by one. But the fact that others in the fight are much less experienced, and the fact that we know the Sith have done one particularly nasty thing over the course of the plot, keeps the sympathy away from them for much of it.

This, like The Twins, is another that intentionally and wholly adopts a classic Star Wars trope - though unlike that it is not a short built on being entirely referential and tributary, but rather it’s own crafted narrative. Still, the Jedi must always be underdogs. They must always be hunted, always be seeking out ways to bring peace back to a lost galaxy. But the implication here that they are building something where there was one nothing gives this take on the idea a strength and permanence that I very much enjoyed: rather than another story about a ragtag band of Jedi, this felt like I was watching the beginning of something. As I said, the time frame is indeterminate, but I could almost see this as the beginning of the old Jedi Order as we know it.

This was definitely a wonderful episode, and among my favorites. It had I think the best ensemble of protagonists thus far: not that the protagonists previously were poor, but as I noted in my Tatooine Rhapsody review, once you get off of the main protag in some of the shorts the supporting characters drop off some (though the previous episode, The Village Bride, was also great with minor character characterization). Here, everyone - even the Sith - get at least a little characterization to endear them, and all the main characters are well defined and endearing. I could easily see more of any of these characters. Heck, I’d even watch a series just about the pilot droid that’s only in there for a very rare spot of humor. Great episode, is what I’m saying. And lastly, as I always do, I’m going to look at this one additionally in terms of canon potential. All of the Visions short films are noncanon, but like with many studio or franchise if there is enough support (and if they actually fit into the setting) for any of these characters there is always a chance that the studio could choose to revisit them and officially incorporate them. But with that in mind, I’m going to look whether this does actually fit into the setting.

Reminding the reader that this is a wholly separate question from “how amazing is this episode” (for which the answer is “very.”), I’d only give this one maybe Okay Chances, but more likely Not So Good Chances. The premise of this one necessarily requires a very major status quo: that of a period where the Sith take over the galaxy and the Jedi are nigh wiped out. This means that this would either have to set in stone a big part of the backstory of the series, or hard-set the far future of the series, both things that LucasFilm very likely doesn’t want rigidly defined. You might have heard of the KOTOR remake by now: that’s not confirmed canon and probably won’t be, and I’ve been presuming that its for the same reason: they don’t want to definitively say “this is how it all started” right now, and even moreso they definitely won’t want to say “this is what eventually happens” either. The concept would have to wait in the wings for when a time comes that they have an idea in mind that they can incorporate it into. But that doesn’t diminish the experience of watching this for the first time. Heck, the final shot of the short - a visual assurance that the will and power of the Jedi is never going anywhere - that’s still giving me goosebumps. And it makes me wish I had a lightsaber of my own...

#star wars: visions #star wars anime #disney+#the ninth jedi #Production IG #kenji kamiyama #ethan #margrave juro #lah kara #tired pilot droid is best droid #sci fi anime #star wars #Animated Minds for Animated Times #great episode #not so good chances

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retphienix · 7 years

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Game Recommendations

It's my birthday today and I thought I'd make something of the day and share some games I think some of you might like to give a shot.

Most of these are games I've played on the blog.

Without wasting more time on 'my special day' here's some games I love or like a heck of a lot and think more people should check out.

Final Fantasy Tactics

Yeah, I'm sorry.

I know plenty of you have heard me gush enough, from my character analysis, to one of my first playthroughs on this blog that was done in a terrible quality, to my more recent dive into FFTA in which I constantly complained and referenced FFT.

But I couldn't honestly make a recommendation list without it.

FFT is the best, bar none, tactical/strategy RPG I've ever played.

The job system lets you do so much that it has lead me to be disappointed with so many other games that claim they offer the same plethora of options because frankly, they rarely do.

Seeing as I've gushed plenty on this title already, I'll just say my piece.

If you like RPGs, or job systems, or the Fire Emblem series, or Final Fantasy, or just think it sounds fun to experiment with different party makeups while playing through the best FF story (full stop), this game is worth picking up in any way you can.

I've always been partial to the original version on PS which you can pick up in a couple forms digitally, but I have to say my taste between the original and remake flips back and forth all the time because holy cow that remake is good.

The original has a translation job that I enjoy more and a few key moments in the story are presented much more intensely in the original due to that translation, the remake adds two new job classes, a new more uniform translation, a few new unique characters, and AWESOME AS CAN BE CUTSCENES.

The remake originally came out on the PSP and can be picked up on iOS as well.

Dragon Ball Xenoverse 2

I've been posting a lot of little things about this game lately and I figure it's about time I explain why. I also feel like I should because I’ve honestly annoyed the heck out of my cousin trying to drag him into the title for weeks now.

I heard about the Xenoverse games through ProJared's videos and figured I'd pick up the newest since I'm a ridiculously huge DB fan and I haven't really enjoyed the games too much since almost all of them are fighting games.

(A genre I wish I had the patience for but every time I try I just find myself bored knowing how much research I need on each character or annoyed at how precise some of the controls can be when I haven't even decided the game was worth the dedication needed to learn those controls, but I digress)

The only DB game I've enjoyed before this was one of the Legacy of Goku titles for GBA, though I always thought the Budokai games looked really cool I just never owned them.

BUT THIS GAME.

Holy cow this game.

I got it for Christmas nearly eight months ago and told myself I'd play it once I had some free time. Eight months later I finally throw it in the console for more than 30 minutes (I had made a few characters when I got the game but didn't do a single thing) and I honestly struggled to stop playing.

It's the kind of game I wish DB went for more often. It's fighting, yeah, but it's freeform with simple controls and combos that feel more like Dynasty Warriors in simplicity while giving you SO MANY OPTIONS.

Sure you have basic combos, but you can interrupt them at any point and those combos chain into each other for unique elongated combos AND THAT'S BEFORE CONSIDERING ALL YOUR SUPERS AND ULTRAS.

Every possible move from the dragon ball series seems to be included and you can pepper them in however you please.

A video or two would do better than this truncated description, but this is the game that fulfilled years of wanting to play a good dragon ball game for me.

I can hop online and knock around all my favorite villains and heroes with my custom character utilizing all the coolest moves whenever I want, and it's awesome.

If you like DB or think creating a character with tons of potential move combinations in this style of gameplay sounds fun, GO FOR IT. (I’m playing on PS4 if you want to play together :D, it’s my birthday so I’m going to use smilies so take that attempts at uniform post quality!)

Suikoden

Thankfully, after having to stop myself from gushing for a few pages about DB Xenoverse 2, I don't have to say much about this title as I did a full playthrough on this blog already.

This is a quality RPG with fast paced combat, fun quirks to said combat to keep it interesting, oh, and ONE HUNDRED AND EIGHT recruitable characters.

I love this game, and I recommend this one over it's sequel (which was unbelievably good and the starting point I had for the series) purely because what this title lacks compared to the second, it makes up for with MUCH better intermission sequences.

If you have an RPG itch and like games with unique characters in your party then there is no question as to whether you should or shouldn't play this.

Pick it up in any way you possibly can.

Faxanadu

I was short in my post about this game but, honestly, I don't have much to say about it other than it's really fun and interesting.

A great NES rpg-ish game that you can (especially if you're garbage like me and use save states for boss fights in the late game, yes I did that, yes I should be ashamed) beat in a single day on the weekend.

Oh, and it’s wonderfully somber with great monster design and all of this comes on the NES.

Star Wars Republic Commando

Since I went and recommended four games that have already been on this blog before, here's one that hasn't been beaten to death here.

Republic Commando goes down as my favorite star wars game, even higher on the list than KOTOR.

It's the only SW game that focuses entirely on those in the universe that aren't god-level force wielding Jedi/Sith or top level smugglers/bounty hunters.

You're the leader of a commando squad for the Republic. A "key" role in some respects, but overall you're just another pair of boots on the ground.

The missions are all believable military practices you'd expect the Republic to be undertaking, primarily sabotaging the droid menace whenever possible.

This game excels everywhere I didn't expect it to. Extremely enjoyable characters (who are CLONES written to fall into ARCHTYPE CLICHES and yet they are LIKABLE AS HECK), interesting squad controls that are simple yet expertly crafted, Foley that got me interested in Foley in the first place, a story that’s interests because it’s the backroom of what matters in the movies or other games (ground war).

I don't know what to say aside from pointing out that this is a fantastic shooter with an amazing take on the star wars universe, primarily because it focuses on the gritty war going on rather than the glitz and glamour of the high tier force powered individuals.

Oh, and the squad controls are really fun.

There are plenty of games I wish would come back from their graves, and Republic Commando goes right on that shelf next to Chromehounds as franchises left to rot for not fitting the stereotypes well enough.

Chrome is a slow mech game and RC is a star wars game without lightsabers.

You're apparently just not allowed to do those things.

There's five for the day.

I hope you all have a good day, I'm going to try and sleep right through the rest of mine. ~R

#Final Fantasy Tactics #Suikoden #Star Wars Republic Commando #Faxanadu #Dragon Ball Xenoverse 2 #Retphienix

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