Author Archives: Cristina Alexander

New difficulty mod in Stardew Valley will purge your saves if you use a guide

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A great number of us have played games in extra-difficult modes (or in the case of Kingdom Hearts, Proud Mode) to challenge ourselves. Now, a Stardew Valley player has created a “hardcore” option for the otherwise chill game, one that will delete the save files of any player who uses a guide while playing the game on PC.

According to GamesRadar, software engineer Sylvie Nightshade created the high difficulty mod on June 21 after reading an article published the day before on the satirical website Hard Drive, the gaming version of The Onion. The article in question joked about a “hardcore mode” in Stardew Valley that will delete players’ hard grown farms if they dare read the wiki at any point during gameplay. That same day, Nightshade quote-tweeted the article on X with the link to the mod in GitHub announcing that she turned the joke into reality.

The mod works by scanning the title of every window or tab that is open while Stardew Valley is running. If any window title includes “Stardew Valley Wiki” in the title, it erases everything the player has worked hard to achieve, forcing them to start from square one without using the guide. Nightshade even updated the mod so that it not only deletes the player’s save file but also closes the browser window the wiki was found in “just to add insult to injury.”

Hardcore mode being programmed into Stardew Valley is another case of life imitating art after Hello Kitty Island Adventure launched on Apple Arcade 17 years after it was mentioned as a joke in the South Park episode “Make Love, Not Warcraft.” Here’s a tip: If you play Stardew Valley on hardcore mode on your computer but use the guide on your phone, you should be safe.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/new-difficulty-mod-in-stardew-valley-will-purge-your-saves-if-you-use-a-guide-175521779.html?src=rss

Sony will terminate its Sony Rewards program

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Sony has announced that it will be ending its rewards program at the end of this year. No, it’s not PlayStation Stars, the loyalty program that rewards you digital collectibles for completing certain gameplay tasks. Nor is it the defunct PlayStation Rewards program, which offered PSN bonuses for the most voracious PlayStation gamers. It’s terminating the Sony Rewards program offered through the Sony and PlayStation-branded Visa credit cards.

The company updated the FAQ and Terms and Conditions pages to reflect that it will sunset the Sony Rewards website and mobile app on December 31, 2024, and new members will no longer be accepted into the program effective immediately. Pre-existing Sony and PlayStation cardholders will still be able to redeem points, access their account and submit bonus points and purchase credit request forms through the app between now and New Year’s Eve. However, they cannot send physical bonus points and credit request points by mail after July 21.

Additionally, members can no longer earn points through offers or partner offers, and they can’t link their accounts to the Sony Store or Movies Anywhere. The Sony Rewards customer service will cease operation on February 14, 2025. As far as the Sony and PlayStation credit cards are concerned, cardholders will be contacted by Comenity Bank in due time about changes to the credit card programs but they can keep using them until December 31.

The Sony Rewards program launched in 2017, allowing you to accrue enough points through your Sony or PlayStation credit card to redeem items only from the Sony brand. Redeeming points for PlayStation games seems like a great perk at first glance, but the redemption process is inflexible and the APR for purchases sits at a high 27.99%. The Xbox Mastercard, which Microsoft introduced last year, has the same issue but the APR can be 20.99%, 26.99% or 31.99%, depending on your balance. Plus, there’s no cash back.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/sony-will-terminate-its-sony-rewards-program-224538912.html?src=rss

Embracer Group plans to use AI in game development

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Embracer Group is making the move to using AI in game development following the mass layoff and game cancellations months ago. The parent company of THQ Nordic, Gearbox Entertainment and Crystal Dynamics - Eidos Montreal detailed in its annual report (via Game Developer) that it is adopting an AI policy to its game production model, despite the controversy around the use of AI in the games industry and beyond. It said that not using AI will lead to the company lagging behind other major game developers and publishers like EA, Sony, Square Enix and Ubisoft, claiming that the tech will help expedite the development process and give players an optimized gameplay experience.

“AI has the capability to massively enhance game development by increasing resource efficiency, adding intelligent behaviors, personalization, and optimization to gameplay experiences,” Embracer said in the report. “By leveraging AI, we create more engaging and immersive experiences that provide each player with a unique, dynamic and personalized experience.”

Along with listing the benefits of using AI in and outside of game development, Embracer said it understands that adopting the technology is not without risks. It noted that AI may “produce unethical, biased, discriminatory or completely wrong results if it has not been properly trained, instructed or used for purposes it was not designed.”

Embracer’s plans to adopt AI comes several months after it laid off 1,500 employees and canceled 80 games over the past year, along with shuttering studios like Volition of Saints Row fame. Despite concerns that AI will replace human workers, Embracer says it doesn’t intend to use it that way. It went so far as to say AI will open doors to entry into the games industry for some developers, including those with disabilities who can’t operate certain equipment the same way as non-disabled people. Only time will tell if they’ll keep that promise.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/embracer-group-plans-to-use-ai-in-game-development-163040373.html?src=rss

Habbo Hotel Origins brings the original PC game back to life

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Finnish developer Sulake has officially launched Habbo Hotel: Origins on Mac today, reviving the 2005 PC game in all its nostalgic glory. If you never played Habbo Hotel 20 years ago, the game is an online community that is very much a pixelated version of Roblox or Club Penguin where your avatar can chat with your friends in the virtual hotel lobby, spend in-game credits on furniture and accessories, decorate your Guest Room with said digital furniture and invite people over to your Guest Room for a chat. You could also message your friends with a little virtual phone. Now you can experience the game as it was originally made in Habbo Hotel: Origins thanks to the game’s creator Macklebee stumbling across the files by sweet serendipity.

“After discovering an old decrepit server with some long-lost files at the beginning of this year, over the past six months or so long-time Habbo developer and player Macklebee has lovingly restored an old version of Habbo Hotel first released in 2005,” the developer said in a blog post.

Sulake said Habbo Hotel: Origins is developed with a “fresh, community-led approach.” This means they have converted Infobus Park from the original game into a “kind of democratic forum” where they’ll answer players’ questions about the game’s development and direction. Infobus Park was a Public Room that served as a waiting area for players to board the bus, which only operated for a few hours a day.

Habbo Hotel: Origins sets the age limit to create a new account for 18 instead of 13. This is because the chat rooms in the original game were filled with pornographic and graphic messages, as a Channel 4 News reporter discovered while playing the game posing as an 11-year-old girl in 2012. There were also phishing scams, one of which resulted in a Dutch teenager getting arrested for stealing €4,000 worth of virtual furniture. If you played Habbo Hotel back then, you’ll probably want to keep your kids away from this revival.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/habbo-hotel-origins-brings-the-original-pc-game-back-to-life-205536943.html?src=rss

Super Mario Party Jamboree comes to Switch in October

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The newest title in the Mario Party series was revealed in this morning's Nintendo Direct stream: Super Mario Party Jamboree is rolling its way over to Nintendo Switch on October 17.

Super Mario Party Jamboree will feature 110 minigames and five new game boards that are part of a large island resort: Rainbow Galleria, Roll ‘Em Raceway, King Bowser’s Keep, Mega Wiggler’s Tree Party and Goomba Lagoon. Each board presents different gameplay mechanics and environmental hazards. For example, a lucky roll of the Turbo Dice allows you to move up to 40 spaces in Roll ‘Em Raceway, while the tide can change your route in Goomba Lagoon. Some minigames will have you shake the Joy-Con controllers, while others require you to tilt them.

To spice things up, Mario’s Rainbow Castle from Mario Party and Western Land from Mario Party 2 are being added as maps for fans to revisit. What’s more, up to 20 players can play with each other online in a new competitive racing mode called the Koopathlon.

Super Mario Party Jamboree will arrive just over six years since the last main entry in the series — Super Mario Party — and three years after Mario Party Superstars, which updated classic boards from the Nintendo 64 era. Those boards include Peach’s Birthday Cake and Space Land from the first two games, the former of which inspired the ice cream flavor Superstar Sprinkle Blast at Cold Stone Creamery in 2022.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/super-mario-party-jamboree-comes-to-switch-in-october-181055353.html?src=rss

Amazon is developing a live action Totally Spies series

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A live-action adaptation of Totally Spies is now in production at Amazon. According to a report from Variety, Will Ferrell is the executive producer of the live-action series based on the popular 2000s animated series from French media company Banijay Kids, formerly known as Marathon Media.

The live-action Totally Spies will follow Sam, Clover and Alex as they balance saving the world as international spies working for the agency WOOHP with tackling schoolwork and social lives as college freshmen. No actors have been cast as any of the iconic girls, nor are writers attached to the project just yet.

The original Totally Spies was created by Vincent Chalvon-Demersay and David Michel, and it revolved around the three aforementioned teenage girls from Beverly Hills, California as they are recruited by WOOHP to solve worsening crimes that arise around the world. They’re equipped with spy gear disguised as women’s accessories such as hair dryers, high-heel shoes and lipstick. It’s like an animated Charlie’s Angels, except the girls actually see their boss in person.

Since its premiere in 2002, the series aired over 180 episodes, as well as spawned a prequel movie and a spin-off show, The Amazing Spiez. The seventh season of Totally Spies premiered in France last month after a nearly ten-year break, and it will air on Cartoon Network and Max in the US later this year.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/amazon-is-developing-a-live-action-totally-spies-series-201623189.html?src=rss

House of the Dragon renewed for season 3 ahead of season 2 premiere

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HBO has announced that House of the Dragon will be back for a third season. The network confirmed the renewal of the Game of Thrones spinoff series in a press release just three days ahead of its Season 2 premiere.

“George [R.R. Martin], Ryan [Condal] and the rest of our incredible executive producers, cast and crew have reached new heights with the phenomenal second season of House of the Dragon,” Francesca Orsi, executive vice president of HBO Programming and head of HBO Drama Series and Films, said in the press release.

HBO hasn’t revealed any details about the third season of House of the Dragon, nor has it given a release window. Still, it’s not uncommon in the streaming era for networks like HBO to renew shows for future seasons before upcoming seasons go live, like The Last of Us.

Last year, Orsi told Deadline that House of the Dragon may have more than four seasons. She added that Martin, whose book Fire & Blood inspired the spin-off series, and showrunner Condal were going to discuss where to end the show before the writers’ strike started. That strike ended on September 23, 2023 with the Writers Guild of America reaching an agreement on protections against generative AI.

The renewal also comes two days after Martin confirmed in a blog post that HBO is moving forward with another Game of Thrones spin-off, Ten Thousand Ships. He wrote that playwright Eboni Booth is “working on a new pilot” for the prequel about Queen Nymeria and the Rhoynar after the show was previously scrapped.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/house-of-the-dragon-renewed-for-season-3-ahead-of-season-2-premiere-203425819.html?src=rss

Discord calls on PS5 will soon be far less convoluted

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Discord and Sony have announced that they’re rolling out the ability for PlayStation 5 owners to start Discord voice chats directly from their consoles. Discord was available on next-gen Sony consoles previously, albeit through a somewhat clunky process that required players to use the app on their phone or PC to manually transfer the call.

When you want to start a Discord call, go to the Game Base in your PS5 Control Center and select the Discord tab. Once you’re in, you’ll see a list of servers you’re a part of, see who’s in a voice channel and join it straightaway. Likewise, if someone else is trying to start a Discord call with you, you can join the call the minute your PS5 sends you that notification.

Sony and Discord collaborated to bring the chat platform to PS5 and PS4 two years ago. Back then, users could only see what games their friends were playing.

The new Discord voice chat feature will gradually roll out to PS5 consoles over the coming weeks, starting with Asia, Europe, Australia, New Zealand and the Middle East. The Americas will be the last region to get it, but when that will be is unknown.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/discord-calls-on-ps5-will-soon-be-far-less-convoluted-174650032.html?src=rss

Modder adds the vicious Shield Saw to the original Doom

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Bethesda announced Doom: The Dark Ages at the Xbox Games Showcase over the weekend, and easily the most exciting addition to the franchise featured in the trailer is the Shield Saw. As the name suggests it's a shield. Which is also a chainsaw. Naturally, modders have already programmed the weapon into the original Doom.

Modder Craneo shared a clip on X yesterday showing how they were able to bring the Shield Saw featured in the trailer for the upcoming Doom sequel into the retro computer game. They converted the old-fashioned chainsaw into an innovative weapon that both protects you from enemy damage and rips opponents to shreds, thereby providing the wielder with a brilliant balance of defense and offense. The video makes it seem you can also toss the Shield Saw, something that was surely a pain to program.

Craneo also brought another Dark Ages weapon to Doom overnight called the Skullcrusher, or Skul-Gun, as Andy Chalk of PC Gamer called it. As the name suggests, the Skul-Gun uses skulls as ammo and fires them out like oversized bullets. That mod remains incomplete however, because, as Craneo notes, the gameplay mechanics for its next-gen counterpart haven’t been shown yet. If you want to try these out, Craneo helpfully provided links to grab the mods for both the Skul-Gun and Shield Saw.

The Doom modding community is well renowned for their creativity in adding features that make Doom more fun to play. They made Doom playable within Doom 2, ported the 2005 Doom mobile game to Windows, modded the horror game MyHouse.wad into Doom 2, and programmed the Indiana Jones-inspired mod Venturous to the Doom engine, among other things. Of course, modders have also tried to get Doom to run on every piece of hardware known to man, from a lawnmower to a Roomba vacuum cleaner. The latter device was dubbed the Doomba because game developer Rich Whitehouse programmed it to translate the floor maps into Doom maps.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/modder-adds-the-vicious-shield-saw-to-the-original-doom-203628837.html?src=rss