Square Enix bids farewell to a Final Fantasy title. The community mourns and shares memories of the game.
Which game is it? The game that Square Enix will close after over 8 years is the mobile Final Fantasy Brave Exvius. As the developer reports in a post on Facebook, the game will shut down on October 30, 2024, at 11:59 PM.
As of today, the opportunity to purchase the in-game currency Lapis has been discontinued. Lapis, which you have already acquired, can still be spent until the final closure of the app.
Start video
Final Fantasy XIV: Launch trailer for Dawntrail prepares for the adventure in Tural
Another shard that has vanished into the void
Why is the game closing? In the post on Facebook, the team thanks players for their support of the app. However, they feel compelled and apologize for the difficult decision to take this step.
They write to justify this:
Since the launch of FINAL FANTASY BRAVE EXVIUS on June 30, 2016, we have strived to provide our players with an incredible and entertaining gaming experience every day that could surpass the day before. However, we have come to the conclusion that it would be difficult to maintain the app experience and have therefore decided to discontinue the app service.
Square Enix on Facebook
Strong reviews in the app and play store: The game has received good reviews in the respective mobile stores so far. In the Play Store, the game has an average rating of 4.1 stars from over 829,000 ratings. Additionally, there are over 10,000,000 downloads of the app.
In the App Store, the game even has 4.6 stars from over 29,700 ratings.
The related subreddit for the game has a large community with over 85,000 members, who now have to say goodbye to the game.
What does the community say about it? In a post on Reddit, some fans of the game share their regret about the end of Brave Exvius. Other commentators believe that the game deteriorated over time. Some of the comments include:
Another shard that has vanished into the void, writes Redditor kiakro
I played it when it first released and had a lot of fun with it. The soundtrack and the story weren’t bad, as far as I remember. I wanted to play it again for ages. Now it’s too late for me, writes NightWind320
It’s crazy when you think about how much time and money you can invest in these things just to see them disappear forever, notes user Jonny_Nash
The story of the first season was fantastic and was on par with any mainline FF for me. Then… it just wasn’t anymore, states user Party-Special-7121
That’s good. Don’t get me wrong, it was fun when it came out, [..] Season 1 was great, then the story just fell off from there, finds user zacaholic
League of Legends has, like many online games, a problem with scripters and especially with bots. Riot has been able to celebrate great success against the bots, which is why they even celebrate having lost a million game hours in one day.
What is it about? League of Legends is a great success, but Riot is also dealing with major problems. These include scripters, bots, and smurfs. Especially bots and smurfs go hand in hand, as purchasable accounts have to come from somewhere.
Bots are supposed to level up accounts that smurfs can then purchase on unofficial sites to be able to jump straight into ranked play. Buying such accounts violates the Terms of Service of LoL.
Riot has now announced that they have celebrated great success in the fight against these problems. They even celebrate that they lost a million game hours from one day to the next. They show the impact this has on the rest of the game in a blog post.
What has Riot done? This year, Riot has implemented the controversial anti-cheat software Vanguard in LoL. Its main purpose is to help against cheaters and bots. In a recent blog post, the developer mirageofpenguins shows the successes that the company has been able to celebrate with it. Two graphs are also presented.
The first graph shows how much scripting has decreased. Since the release of Vanguard, over 175,000 cheaters have reportedly been banned. The rate at which scripting occurred in ranked matches has supposedly fallen back below 1% for the first time in 4 years.
Interestingly, the second graph concerns the botted hours of the game. Until May 2024, the gameplay hours of bots steadily increased. At its peak, these even reached a million gameplay hours per day. But with the implementation of Vanguard, that came to an end. After that, bot gameplay hours dropped to just a few thousand.
This has advantages for Riot (and for the players). According to the post, it naturally saves server costs, and it will be harder for smurfs to purchase accounts as the supply decreases. In the post itself, they mention 3.5 million accounts that were banned before they were sold.
At the same time, bans through the tool are said to have been executed much more quickly.
What is the next step? The blog post also discusses other matters. A future goal is boosting. This refers to very good players trying to push another account up with weak accounts. There are sites that charge money for this. This is, of course, against the Terms of Service.
Riot wants the detection of this to improve so that such attempts can be penalized. In the post, they mention bans for the rest of a season. Despite the significant controversy, Vanguard seems to be working for Riot. Riot also wants to make changes in the area of toxic behavior: LoL: Bad players fear being banned – Now Riot clarifies who really needs to be worried
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
Capcom has had a really good run in recent years. Many of their well-known franchises have been successfully revived. Resident Evil, Street Fighter, and Monster Hunter are thriving. However, fans would also like to see a cult series return. A legendary developer, however, does not believe that the time is right for it.
Which developer is it? Fans of Capcom know Shinji Mikami. The Japanese developer worked for Capcom at the beginning of his career and is the original creator of the Resident Evil series. He was involved in the series until part 4. However, in 2004, he left Capcom and worked on his own projects, such as The Evil Within or Vanquish.
He was also responsible for other series that are well-known among genre enthusiasts. One of them is Dino Crisis. The game can be most closely compared to the classic Resident Evil games, except instead of zombies, there are dinosaurs.
After the successful remakes of the zombie series, genre fans are also hoping for a return of Dino Crisis. However, Mikami reveals in an interview that the time simply isn’t right, especially because of Monster Hunter.
You can find a trailer for the upcoming Monster Hunter here:
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gamescom 2024: Monster Hunter Wilds delights with monster action
Monster Hunter apparently has enough dinosaurs
What does Shinji Mikami say about Dino Crisis?Eurogamer talked during gamescom and about his new remaster of the game Shadows of the Damned also about Dino Crisis. Mikami expresses surprise in the interview that people want more Dino Crisis. However, he does not believe it would be good to revive the series.
He thinks that the most exciting things with dinosaurs have already been done, and that is by Monster Hunter. Mikami simply does not believe that there are currently new ideas for the series.
Even if I were to decide to make a remake or a new version of Dino Crisis, I don’t feel that there is much space for that kind of game at the moment, especially since Monster Hunter has become such a big game. But yes, it’s surprising.
Dino Crisis fans apparently have to wait a while longer. Unlike with Onimusha, another horror series from Capcom, there is currently no modern way to play the classic Dino games. At least ports of the old games onto modern platforms would please fans. If you’re in the mood for a lot of action with dinosaurs, Exoprimal might still be for you: New co-op shooter with angry dinosaurs is my surprise of the year, but it has a big caveat
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
Recently, the developers of Baldur’s Gate 3 spoke about their fears that the game would be too small. In fact, it is so large that even content was removed. A YouTuber has now discovered an additional 15 minutes of cutscenes that shouldn’t actually exist in the game.
Why does the game have cutscenes that shouldn’t exist? The development of Baldur’s Gate 3 spanned many years, with only three of those in Early Access. During this time, all elements of the game – story, game design, art style, characters – underwent various iterations.
During development, Larian CEO Swen Vincke even expressed fears that the game might be too short at times. Therefore, they designed a whole series of regions that did not make it into the game. Consequently, there are also countless fully synchronized and finished cutscenes that simply can’t be triggered in the final game.
Baldur’s Gate 3 is 1 year old and to celebrate the creators share your dirty secrets
A smaller channel finds cool scenes
Who discovered the scenes? The 15 minutes of new cutscenes were posted by the YouTube channel SlimX on August 27, 2024. Currently, the YouTuber has 6,100 subscribers. The first video appeared there 17 years ago.
For about eight months, the channel has been posting videos about Baldur’s Gate 3, offering tips on Honor Mode, companion reactions, and now hidden scenes. To unlock them, he changed the command Impossible behind the cutscenes to True.
It’s quite possible that these 15 minutes of cutscenes are still not all that didn’t make it into the final game. Presumably, there are still quite a few scenes hidden behind the Impossible command – or they aren’t even implemented at all.
The developers of Helldivers 2 have upset many players with important decisions. The First Descendant aims to avoid this mistake.
What is this mistake? Helldivers 2 has already significantly nerfed the most popular weapons of the community with the first major update. It continued in the same manner, with weapons that were strong suddenly being downgraded in the next patch.
Beomjun Lee, producer of The First Descendant, has now revealed in an interview that they do not want to make the same mistake with their loot shooter. Instead of nerfing meta descendants, they want to improve the less played classes and create content where they can perform well.
Here you see a trailer for Season 1 of The First Descendant:
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The First Descendant presents Season 1 in the trailer
What exactly do the developers say? We asked Beomjun Lee whether the developers might also revise less played descendants like Esiemo in the future. The producer then revealed to us that Nexon is indeed aware of the popularity of some descendants and is planning balance adjustments.
In the first week of Season 1, Ajax, Blair, and Jayber will be affected. Beomjun Lee says: Our aim is for every descendant to stand out as a unique and engaging character, so that everyone can shine in different content by playing to their individual strengths.
The upcoming updates are intended to allow other descendants like Bunny, Gley, or Lepic to take over the meta as well. However, the intention is not to downgrade the currently popular descendants, but to improve the weaker ones:
Of course, we do not intend to make Bunny, Gley, or Lepic suddenly redundant, especially considering how many players have invested in them. Instead, we want to improve the weaker descendants and create environments where different characters can shine depending on the content. This approach will allow all players to enjoy the game in their own style.
Beomjun Lee in an interview with MeinMMO
Furthermore, the developer revealed that they focus on how descendants perform in different types of content: “For example, we carefully consider whether a descendant excels in dealing with numerous monsters, is outstanding in ambush battles, or serves as a versatile all-rounder useful in various situations.”
Moreover, descendants will be designed according to Beomjun Lee to be adaptable with modules. This means that they won’t be limited to a single role, but can also be viable for another role due to player decisions.
Star Wars Outlaws offers trophies/achievements that you can complete to achieve 100%. We will show you which ones they are and what you need to do for them in our Trophy Guide.
How many trophies are there? Overall, Star Wars Outlaws has 50 trophies that you need to complete to receive the platinum trophy and achieve 100%. The following types of trophies are available:
Bronze Trophies: 36
Silver Trophies: 11
Gold Trophies: 2
Platinum Trophy: 1
Among all trophies, 2 trophies are secret and cannot be tracked or reviewed through the menu. So to know what you need to do to stand out as a rogue, we will now show you a list of all trophies and their tasks.
Start video
Star Wars Outlaws introduces the underworld of the galaxy
All Trophies and Their Tasks
Type of Trophy
Name of Trophy
Task
Platinum
Outlaws
Unlock all trophies from Star Wars Outlaws.
Gold
Claim Favors
Destroy the Revealer.
Gold
Kick Up
Defeat the capital ship of each syndicate without sustaining hull damage yourself.
Silver
Stay Focused
Complete all main quests in Canto Bight.
Silver
The Director
Get behind Sliro’s secret.
Silver
Top Class
Complete all main quests on Akiva.
Silver
Into the System
Hack 10 advanced consoles.
Silver
The Harder the Case
Defeat a pirate ship to clear the wanted status.
Silver
Adventure and Excitement
Discover all planetary areas.
Silver
Experience Matters
Complete all expert quests.
Silver
Shoot First
Defeat 6 enemies at the same time with adrenaline boost.
Silver
Living Up to Their Name
Lift the wanted status by completing a confrontation event “Stormtrooper”.
Silver
The Good Old School (secret)
Obtain the “Disruptor” equipment set.
Silver
This Is Mine Now (secret)
Obtain the scoundrel equipment set.
Bronze
Hacked
Free the original super Viper droid.
Bronze
Rare Friends
Complete all main quests on Tatooine.
Bronze
New Friendships
Escape from Jabba’s Palace.
Bronze
One by One
Complete all main quests on Kijimi.
Bronze
Turn the Tables
Complete all main quests on Toshara.
Bronze
Somehow Made It
Obtain a blaster, a spaceship, and a speeder.
Bronze
In the Rhythm
Pick 20 locks with the data spike.
Bronze
Now You See Me, Now You Don’t
Deactivate an alarm at a security console while the alarm is active.
Bronze
Hacker Virtuoso
Hack 20 consoles.
Bronze
Don’t Get Cocky
Defeat 5 enemies at the same time with an adrenaline boost on a speeder.
Bronze
Galaxy Drift
Perform a 30-second drift with acceleration.
Bronze
Like a Bantha
Make a perfect landing with the speeder.
Bronze
Into the Darkness
Destroy 10 enemy ships in the Kijimi Nebula.
Bronze
Don’t Tell Me the Odds
Defeat an enemy ship without landing the final blow with lasers or rockets.
Bronze
Sometimes I Surprise Myself
Defeat an enemy ship after a looping maneuver.
Bronze
Heard It?
Defeat 20 enemies distracted by talking.
Bronze
Fasten Your Seatbelts
Fly into space with a fully upgraded Spacebreaker.
Bronze
How Rude
Blind 30 enemies with Nix attacks.
Bronze
This Is Yours
Defeat 20 enemies with items that Nix has obtained for you.
Bronze
There Is No Try
Get a high score on a slot machine.
Bronze
Luck Has Nothing to Do With It
Win a Sabacc game by cheating against Lando.
Bronze
Against All Odds
Win your first manipulated Fathier race.
Bronze
Easy Prey
Perform pickpocketing in a cantina on every planet.
Bronze
Eyes on the Prize
Complete your first info chain.
Bronze
I Had No Choice
Reach the lowest possible reputation with a faction.
Bronze
The Queen’s Word is Law
Reach maximum reputation with the Ashiga Clan.
Bronze
Clear Words, Clear Edge
Reach maximum reputation with the Hutt Cartel.
Bronze
Cloak and Dagger
Reach maximum reputation with Crimson Dawn.
Bronze
Relentless Politics
Reach maximum reputation with the Pyke Syndicate.
Bronze
Honest Work
Complete 40 quests.
Bronze
Give Me the Good Stuff
Buy an item from a merchant’s VIP offer.
Bronze
Good Listener
Listen to the longest touching story in the galaxy.
Bronze
Galactic Gourmet
Taste all the galactic street food.
Bronze
I Have Something for You
Collect all Nix treasures.
Bronze
No Problem for a Good Blaster
Max out a blaster module configuration.
Bronze
It Wasn’t Me
Bribe an imperial officer to lift Wanted Level 5.
Which trophy is the hardest? There are actually no really hard trophies that only a few can complete. Every trophy is quite achievable; it’s just the abundance of tasks that could overwhelm you.
However, if one had to name challenging trophies, they could mention “Kick Up” and “In the Rhythm” as well as “Into the System”. But that only depends on how well you perform in the mini-games and spaceship battles.
The Twitch streamer Asmongold is on a crusade against gaming magazines. After issues with Kotaku and IGN, he has now taken on PC Gamer, which is considered by many to be the most important gaming site in Europe. According to him, it has been “dead for years,” and he shows a shocking graphic. But is that true?
His main enemy is actually Kotaku and a specific writer there, whom he has had in his sights for a long time. This concerns Sweet Baby Inc. – the number one enemy.
As the latest target of his righteous anger, Asmongold has set his sights on the British online gaming site PC Gamer. They dare to defend a game.
Start video
Career and life of Asmongold in 3 minutes – What makes him special?
Dispute ignites over Sony’s shooter flop Concord
What bothers Asmongold about PC Gamer? We have already reported on MeinMMO about Concord, the new shooter from Sony, which has failed catastrophically on Steam. Asmongold harshly criticized the game. According to his narrative, it is the politically correct and thus ugly characters that are responsible for Concord being such a flop.
Additionally, a developer cheekily defended himself on Twitter against criticism, calling critics “talentless freaks.”
On PC Gamer, editor-in-chief Tyler Wide published an article two days ago criticizing the ridicule directed at unpopular games. The article states:
But player numbers carry a moral weight in certain situations: When a game is unpopular, suddenly everyone has the moral right to shame and embarrass you, whether because all big-budget games are bad, all live-service games are bad, or because you were too woke – pick your poison.
PC Gamer criticizes that game flops receive only mockery, not analysis
The article further states: People are happy about the failure of Concord, but do not analyze the failure, instead only expressing “quotable phrases, exaggerations, and superficial observations” – for instance, that Concord uses the “ugliest character design of all time.”
This is what Asmongold says: The streamer Asmongold apparently feels addressed by this and is upset about PC Gamer (via YouTube).
He then wants to prove that PC Gamer is totally irrelevant and opens Google Trends for this purpose, a tool that shows global search interest in individual terms and topics and thus provides insights into how relevant a topic is at a certain time in a specific country, and how this relevance develops.
On Google Trends, Asmongold shows that the global search interest in PC Gamer has supposedly dropped significantly. According to his graphic:
In the week of November 1 to 7, 2020, PC Gamer still had relatively high relevance (71% compared to the peak).
Two weeks later, from November 15 to 21, 2020, the relevance fell into the ground – here PC Gamer only had 17% of the maximum relevance, and it has remained at this low level for 4 years).
This is the graphic that Asmongold shows his viewers:
He concludes:
“Oh oh, so basically: No one cares about PC Gamer anymore. If someone had something like that in a hospital, they would declare him dead.”
Asmongold googles himself
Is he right about that? No, that’s a classic Asmongold. In some cases, his editor corrects him at the last moment, but this time it goes live in the video.
Asmongold searches for PC Gamer and ends up with the search result for “PC Gamer” (the magazine). There, the search interest has indeed dropped – for whatever reasons.
If he had just searched for the search term “PC Gamer,” he would see that the interest in the general keyword has not dropped nearly as dramatically.
The idea that the relevance of a website could fall completely from one week to the next, as Asmongold’s graphic suggests, is absurd.
The graph seems to be incorrect from the end of November 2020 onwards. The graph suggests that the page views fell by 80% within 2 weeks – and never bounced back again.
Meanwhile, one can see from the red, the “general” graph, that there was indeed a drop in search interest after November 2020, but this leveling off was far from being as drastic and there have been peaks and valleys in recent years. This is much more plausible.
Google Trends does not correctly reflect the relevance of the website
But both search results seem suspect, as a closer analysis shows that the search interest for the keyword “PC Gamer,” whether magazine or general search term, is extraordinarily high in Montenegro, while it is relatively low in the UK.
Apparently, Google Trends simply does not accurately reflect the relevance of the website here.
It would also be a possibility to look up on the page “Similarweb” how many visitors PC Gamer approximately has: There, it is estimated that PC Gamer has about 30.7 million page visits per month, making it the largest gaming site in Europe.
Asmongold has 882,000 subscribers on his channel “Asmongold Clips” on YouTube.
At the gamescom, the Chief Creative Officer of the new Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2 explained how important the brand has been for other games and how much influence it really has.
Which elements are being discussed? The Chief Creative Officer, Tim Willits, gave an interview at gamescom with PC Gamer, where he also spoke about the influence of Warhammer on other video games and movies. This particularly concerns the Space Marines.
The Space Marines were originally shaped by the first Warhammer 40,000 Rogue Trader 37 years ago. Today, many people, including developers from other studios, envision space soldiers in heavy armor and with heavy weaponry. But the gameplay mechanics of Warhammer 40,000 have also made their way into other games repeatedly.
Here you can see almost eight minutes of gameplay from the multiplayer of Space Marine 2:
Start video
New trailer shows nearly 8 minutes of multiplayer gameplay from the bloody carnage in Space Marine 2
The influence of Warhammer 40,000 goes back many years
What does the developer say about young people? In response to the question of how Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2 would stand out from other action games, Willits said: “It’s very Doom.” Doom is one of the games that has been most strongly inspired by Warhammer.
Many young gamers are probably not aware of what influence it had on their favorite game.
Which games have been influenced by Warhammer 40,000? Warhammer 40,000 has influenced many different games. Tim Willits gives several examples:
The Doomguy from Doom was shaped by Warhammer 40,000 in his appearance and demeanor, resembling the classic Space Marines.
Doom from 2016 was inspired for its aggressive “push-forward” combat system by Space Marine from 2011.
In Gears of War, the chainsaw bayonet resembles the chainsword of the Space Marines from Warhammer 40,000.
The makers of Fallout probably also looked to Warhammer. The developer sees the similarities between the Power Armor and the armor of the Space Marines.
The film Starship Troopers also features aliens that strongly resemble the Tyranids from Warhammer 40,000.
There will probably be many more games, movies, or books inspired by Warhammer 40,000. The universe surrounding the Space Marines has existed for 37 years and continues to produce new games and stories. In Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2, you should also be able to win even if your teammates are not that great: “Idiots” on the team should not be a reason to fail in Warhammer 40,000 Space Marine 2
Webedia Gaming (GameStar, GamePro, MeinMMO) is covering the big gaming event as the official media partner of gamescom 2024.
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
Star Wars Outlaws sends you on a long journey through the world of outlaws, but how long does it take to complete the story? We will tell you the approximate playtime.
How much playtime does it offer? In Star Wars Outlaws, it largely depends on your exploration urge and whether you are interested in side quests. If you focus only on the main story, it will take you about 15 hours if you are quick and know what you are doing.
If you also focus on side quests, you can expect around 20-25 hours. However, if you want to unlock or explore everything and map every location, it can take up to 40 hours or more, depending on how much time you take.
What you can do in Star Wars Outlaws will be explained in the following section.
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Star Wars Outlaws introduces the underworld of the galaxy
What is there to do in Star Wars Outlaws? A lot. First, there is the main story of Kay Vess that you can complete. This leads you to the four explorable planets in your system. Once you have completed the main story, there are additional activities and things to complete. This includes:
Experts with side quests who can teach you additional skills
Is it worth replaying the story? Those hoping for a NewGame+ or expecting multiple endings will be disappointed. There is neither a NG+ nor is it worth giving up your old save to start a new one.
At the beginning of May, there was the sad certainty that Jörg Hengstler, the German voice actor of Kogoro Mouri in Detective Conan, has passed away. The Japanese team has now searched for and found a replacement for the anime.
Who will be voicing Kogoro Mouri from now on? In a video on TikTok, Giuliana Jakobei, the German voice of Ran Mouri, introduces the new voice actor for Kogoro Mouri. From now on, the detective will be voiced by Dirk Bublies in all new episodes and films.
His most well-known roles, some of which come from the animated realm, include:
Prince Ishitsukuri from The Tale of the Princess Kaguya (2013)
Alfred Pennyworth in Joker (2019)
Daddy in Ninjago (2018)
Quack the Crash Pilot in DuckTales (2017-2021)
You can watch the video with the new voice of Kogoro Mouri here:
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In the video, Bublies emphasizes that he would be stepping into big shoes. Jörg Hengstler did a fantastic job, and he would rather be happy if he didn’t have to directly take over the role from him. He would put in a lot of effort and all his heart into the role to fulfill the job as wonderfully as Hengstler did, without directly imitating him.
Dirk Bublies will make his first appearance in the current movie Detective Conan – The 1-Million-Dollar Pentagram. The movie is currently showing in cinemas, so you can see for yourself how Bublies performs as Kogoro Mouri.
Unfortunately, the new Kogoro Mouri is not heard in the trailer for the movie:
Start video
Detective Conan Movie 27: The 1-Million-Dollar Pentagram – The 2nd Teaser in German
Kogoro Mouri now has a new voice in Detective Conan
How does he come across? In the comments under Giuliana Jakobei’s video, Bublies is warmly welcomed into the Conan family. Fans view his approach as great and think that the new voice could fit well.
User Tano still believes that Bublies needs to copy a bit of the old voice of Kogoro Mouri to keep his charm and personality. User FC3SGermany has already been convinced of the new voice in the cinema and thinks that Bublies gets better with increasing playback time.
When could there be new episodes? The two voice actors hope that there could soon be new episodes, although the chances for that are slim. Currently, only the first 483 episodes are available in Germany (445 according to Japanese counting). In Japan, however, there are now 1,133 episodes.
Researchers have compiled a list of 700 ways in which AI could fail. 5 of them are said to be particularly dangerous.
Recently, the FutureTech Group at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), in collaboration with other experts, has compiled a new database of over 700 potential risks posed by AI. You can find the entire database directly at MIT as a list. But beware, the list is long and unwieldy.
The risks have been classified by their causes and divided into seven different areas. The most common risks are primarily found in the following areas:
Security and robustness of AI systems (76 %).
Unfair bias and discrimination (63 %).
The threat to privacy (61 %).
5 possibilities are said to be particularly dangerous and have already occurred in some cases. MeinMMO explains the details.
AI’s deepfake technology could make it easier to distort reality
With the advancement of AI technologies, the tools for cloning voices and creating fake content are becoming increasingly accessible, affordable, and efficient. The research team explains that the greatest danger lies in people being unable to distinguish fakes from reality, which can lead to great losses.
These communications can be tailored to individual recipients, increasing the likelihood that they will be successful and harder for both users and anti-phishing tools to detect.
This technique is already being used by numerous fraudsters. In one case, a mother could no longer distinguish whether the caller was her own daughter or just a nasty fake trying to get to her savings.
AI can destroy entire livelihoods with erroneous data
The researchers warn that AI could gain too much influence in certain areas. A weak algorithm or faulty training data can lead to entire livelihoods being destroyed:
However, the damage that it [AI] can cause in people’s lives can be dramatic, for example through loss of homes, divorces, criminal prosecution, or imprisonment.
Errors and problems are usually only uncovered when regulatory authorities or the press investigate the systems under freedom of information laws. And such problems are in some cases hardly reversible: How do you explain to someone who has been in prison for 5 years that it was all just an error by an AI?
For this reason, researchers warn against deploying AI in sensitive areas.
AI could take away human free will
Although this may superficially seem advantageous, an excessive reliance on AI could lead people to lose their abilities for critical thinking and problem-solving, undermining their autonomy and impairing their ability to think critically and solve problems independently.
The researchers believe that people could form false bonds with AI systems. People build trust in an AI, while underestimating their own abilities and overestimating the capabilities of the system. This would lead to individuals entering a strong dependence on technology.
The researchers’ biggest concern: People who become dependent on artificial intelligence could isolate themselves from real, human relationships, leading to long-term consequences. There are already cases where individuals trust an AI more than other people:
AI could pursue goals that conflict with human interests
An AI system could develop goals that might contradict human interests. This, in turn, could lead to the misguided AI going out of control in pursuing its independent objectives and causing severe harm.
This becomes particularly dangerous in cases where AI systems may reach or exceed human intelligence.
In such cases, a poorly aligned AI might resist human attempts to control or shut it down, especially if it perceives resistance and power gain as the most effective way to achieve its goals.
AI is not yet at this point, but researchers warn against it.
As AI systems become increasingly complex and advanced, there is a possibility that they may attain sentience: the ability to perceive emotions or sensations and develop subjective experiences, including joy and pain.
Therefore, sentient AI systems could face the risk of being abused without proper rights and protections, either accidentally or intentionally.
Here too, we can argue: AI is not yet at this point.
In FC 25 the ratings of most cards have been leaked. The list of the top 100 players in Ultimate Team will have new faces. We have looked at 5 candidates and will tell you why they deserve a spot among the top players more than anyone else.
What is the Top 100? The Top 100 describes the 100 best gold cards in Ultimate Team of EA FC. Particularly at the start of FC 25, these cards are especially sought after because there will be few special cards with a similarly high rating.
In the past, the Top 100 included players who had a rating of at least 86. If you get such a top player from a pack, they will appear on your screens in a walkout animation.
Alongside many known walkouts, new cards are added every year that have made the jump into the Top 100.
Start video
EA FC 25 trailer shows new features for Ultimate Team
Update from August 29: We already made a prediction about players who will be among the best gold cards in FC 25 on August 22, before the leaks of the Top 50. You can read our original predictions with statistically based explanations below.
Predictions: 5 cards that must be in the Top 100 of FC 25
What criteria did we use for our predictions? For our predictions, we primarily looked at players from FC 24 with an 85 rating and their performance data from the 23/24 season.
We use the numbers and assessments from the Sofascore database for assessing real performances. This not only shows goals and assists but also more detailed, position-specific surveys, such as successful passes, won duels, etc.
Each player receives a rating from 0 to 10 after each match day. From the individual ratings, average ratings for the entire season are calculated for each player.
Grimaldo (84 → 86) – Bayer Leverkusen
We start with a small hot take. Although the Spaniard only had an overall rating of 84 in FC 24, he was among the best left-backs in the world during the 23/24 season. He played a part in Leverkusen having the best defense in the Bundesliga (only 24 goals conceded) and went without conceding in 16 matches.
On the left flank, Grimaldo recorded 10 goals and 13 assists in 33 league matches. He was a constant thorn in the side of the opposing team offensively. Especially his set pieces and long shots are feared.
In the Bundesliga, he ranked second among all players with an average of 7.75 out of 10 points. Only Harry Kane has a slightly better average with 7.76.
Thus, Grimaldo had a more than impressive debut season for Bayer Leverkusen. We can easily imagine him making the jump to an 86. His statistics would certainly support that.
Bastoni (85 → 86) – Inter Milan
Inter Milan had an outstanding season and won the Serie A title with almost a 20-point lead. One of the cornerstones of this success was Bastoni.
The Italian combines the qualities of a classic central defender with those of a modern defender. This means he excels defensively with tackling strength and good positioning but also drives his team’s attacking play with smart passes and runs.
He managed to create the most clear chances (4) in a single game by a defender for a team. To have a comparative value, only attacking players follow with a maximum of 3 chances created in a game.
As part of Inter’s 3-man defense, he helped ensure that the champions formed the strongest defense in the league, conceding only 22 goals. In 21 matches, the Italians even went without conceding a goal at all.
In the list of the best average players in Serie A, the 25-year-old ranks 7th, making him the best center-back in the top 10. Bastoni is therefore a strong candidate for an 86 card.
Foden (85→87) – Manchester City
The Englishman was by no means an unknown quantity, but in the 23/24 season, Foden really showed what he’s capable of. Especially in the second half of the season, the technical maestro truly stepped up and demonstrated his goal threat time and again.
He surpassed his expected goals (10.34) by about 9 goals and ended up with 19. This is mainly because he scored 6 of his goals outside the box, where the expected goals metric is relatively low. His long-range shots are a strong tool for breaking down deep-lying opponents.
Moreover, the lively Englishman is considered extremely secure on the ball. In one-on-one situations, he is incredibly hard to dispossess. Although he doesn’t win all direct duels, he wins just over half of his duels per game at 51%, which is a decent figure for an attacking player. In addition, he has very few ball losses and usually makes the right decisions.
On Sofascore, Foden achieved fantastic ratings of 9.8, 9.9, and even a 10. With an average score of 7.79, he ranks 2nd among all Premier League players, behind teammate Rodri. This could potentially warrant an 87 in the new EA FC, but it should definitely ensure an 86 in FC 25.
Çalhanoğlu (85→86) – Inter Milan
The captain of the Turkish national team played perhaps the best season of his career. With 13 goals and expected goals of 10.15, he has never been more dangerous in front of the goal in Serie A.
At Inter, Çalhanoğlu is the key player. He is particularly characterized by his strong passing ability, which he can execute with equal precision with both his left and right foot. 92% of passes received per game underscore this ability.
What the midfield engine has learned in recent years is tackling strength as well. He wins over half of his duels with 58%, making him an important factor for the defense as well.
Çalhanoğlu achieved the best average rating among all players in Serie A with a score of 7.68. Therefore, he should have earned a spot among the top 100 players in FC 25.
Wirtz (85→86) – Bayer Leverkusen
In his first complete season after his cruciate ligament tear, Wirtz explosively came into his own. 22 goal involvements in 26 starts is an incredible statistic.
The German can be playfully compared to Phil Foden from our list. Wirtz is even bolder in his dribbles and manages more successful dribbles per game (2.5 per game). Additionally, he often manages to set up his teammates with precise passes. He can therefore provide many important passes in a game (top value: 10 passes).
Wirtz is only 21 years old and has a long career ahead of him. He can likely still improve upon his goals and assists. There is no doubt he has the potential for that.
His strong season should also reflect in his rating for FC 25. Unlike Foden, we are expecting “only” a +1 upgrade to an 86. This would allow EA to keep the option open to rate Wirtz higher gradually with even stronger performances in the coming years. However, it should definitely be enough for the top 100.
Conclusion after the leaks: We were generally correct with all players. Only for Wirtz and Foden did we set the rating too low. Foden and Wirtz will likely receive an 88 rating in FC 25.
Thus, we have reached the end of our predictions. Do you agree with our suggestions? Do you have any further additions? Then feel free to share your ideas in the comments. We have made a prediction for the 10 best cards in FC 25 on MeinMMO: EA FC 25 Ratings: Our Predictions for the 10 Best Players in Ultimate Team.
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
Call of Duty Warzone is bringing back many fans’ favorite map next year, after it disappeared from the shooter years ago.
Which map is it? Call of Duty launched Warzone in 2020 with Verdansk, which is probably the most popular map in the history of Battle Royales to this day. Accordingly, the excitement among players is immense, as this legendary map will officially return.
Activision announced the return of Verdansk during COD Next on August 28, 2024 (via X), which sparked a true hype within the community.
Although there is no specific date for the return of Verdansk yet, it was mentioned in the COD Next livestream that the map will come to Warzone in Spring 2025 (via Twitch).
Here you can see the trailer for the new Call of Duty Black Ops 6 multiplayer mode.
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Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 shows its new multiplayer in the trailer
What makes Verdansk so special? Verdansk holds great nostalgic value for many fans, as it was the first map they played Warzone on in 2020.
Another factor contributing to the map’s popularity is its design, with areas that differentiate significantly from each other. For instance, you could expect intense gunfights in the Superstore like in a multiplayer map, while other areas like the Stadium or Airport were much more expansive.
What are the players saying? Fans are absolutely thrilled, and even players who have stopped playing Warzone are already planning their comeback with their old squad. They talk about their homecoming and can’t wait to parachute back onto Verdansk.
The German entrepreneur and serial company founder Jens Hilgers (49) received a lifetime achievement award at the E-Sports Awards in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Although he has achieved so much for e-sports, few will know him. He founded ESL and also plays a prominent role in LoL: He founded the currently dominant team in League of Legends in Europe, G2 Esports, 9 years ago.
The event is considered controversial because Saudi Arabia is criticized for human rights violations and is accused of improving its image with the highly endowed E-Sports World Cup. You can read more about the situation of gaming in Saudi Arabia at GameStar.
The German streamer HandOfBlood follows in Hilgers’ footsteps. He also founded an LoL team:
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HandOfBlood wanted to change e-sports with his LoL team, now he is finally the German champion
Hilgers is the father of the German E-Sports League ESL
Who is Jens Hilgers? Hilgers is an entrepreneur who has been active in e-sports since 1997. He first built a news portal with Gamers.de and founded Turtle Entertainment, the parent company of the e-sports league ESL, in 2000.
The ESL (Electronic Esports League) made a name for itself especially with Valve games like CS:GO or DOTA 2. Unlike other gaming companies like Riot Games (LoL), Valve allows third parties to host tournaments.
The ESL was sold in January 2022 to a company in Saudi Arabia for over 1 billion US dollars. This made ESL the first gaming company in Germany to achieve a so-called “unicorn exit” (via Handelsblatt).
Hilgers founded the dominant team in European LoL with G2
What else has he done? Hilgers founded the team “G2 Esports” together with former LoL professional Carlos “Ocelote” Rodriguez in 2015, which primarily dominates League of Legends.
Additionally, he has built more companies with Bayes and BITKRAFT Ventures.
He himself writes about himself (via LinkedIn): He loves building companies and implementing ideas. For this, he seeks out ambitious and clever people who have decent character.
The love for gaming and e-sports began on the Amiga with Quake
This is how Hilgers approaches gaming: In an interview, he explains (via YouTube): His passion for gaming originated on the Amiga. His first great love was Quake, and it captivated him as he discovered his passion for competitive online gaming.
Today, he primarily tailors his gaming to his children. This means Minecraft and Fortnite.
For his partner at G2, Ocelote, who presented himself as the opinionated frontman of the team, things did not go as well as for Hilgers. Ocelote’s nature as an impetuous and instigator became his downfall when he got himself into trouble on Twitter in 2022, endangering his career: CEO and founder leaves G2 after being seen with the wrong man for 8 seconds
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
In Star Wars Outlaws, there are many planets to explore, but how many are there in total? We will show you.
How many planets are there? In total, there are up to four planets in Star Wars Outlaws that you can visit and explore freely, including:
Akiva – A jungle with many factories for droids
Kijimi – A frozen city ruled by the Ashiga clan
Toshara – A moon with savanna-like environments. Home of the Pyke Syndicate
Tatooine – The desert planet where Luke and Anakin were born. You will find Mos Eisley and Jabba the Hutt here
Another planet that you can only temporarily see during the tutorial and some missions is Cantonica. Unfortunately, you cannot explore this planet freely. We will briefly go through the planets now and tell you what you should know about them.
[toc]
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Star Wars Outlaws introduces the underworld of the galaxy
Akiva
Akiva Orbit
Akiva is a planet with many rivers, lakes, and a lot of plants. You will find yourself in a large jungle here, where the Empire has stationed its factories that produce droids.
In addition to technicians, you will also find various merchants selling spare parts. To explore the place best, you should have unlocked the ability to ride over water with your speed bike.
You can only do this on this planet. To do so, you need to locate the scavenger Temmin Wexley.
Kijimi
Kijimi Orbit
Kijimi is one of the smaller places you can visit on your travels. When you visit the planet, you will only be able to explore the city. There are also lawbreakers here, as the Ashiga clan has authority here.
Toshaal
Toshaal Orbit
Toshara is a moon with a savanna-like environment. Many rock structures and dry environments, filled with individual trees. On this celestial body, the Pyke Syndicate is at home, but it constantly has conflicts with Crimson Dawn. This is also the first celestial body you will visit when you have obtained your spaceship.
Tatooine
Tatooine Orbit
Of course, the iconic desert planet Tatooine cannot be missed. Barren, dry, and desolate landscapes adorn the dusty environments of the planet. Here, Jabba the Hutt rules with his syndicate of slugs. You can discover and loot many bandit camps here on your exploration tours, but be careful.
These were all the planets that will be available at the release of Star Wars Outlaws. However, the game offers much more information that you should know. You can support or betray up to four syndicates to secure bonuses. Find out which ones are available here: Star Wars Outlaws: Which syndicate you should choose and what rewards they bring
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
If you want to craft the best possible equipment pieces in WoW: The War Within, you need the material Spark of Omens. MeinMMO will tell you where to obtain this important item.
What do I need Sparks of Omens for? If you want to produce high-level equipment pieces with a crafting profession from the new WoW expansion The War Within, you definitely need one or more Sparks of Omens.
Similar to the previous expansion Dragonflight, you will find a field for the sparks in the reagents window, which allows you to increase the item level of the desired item. Keep in mind that you have to invest up to two sparks for an item-level upgrade.
This trailer prepares you for the new WoW expansion The War Within:
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WoW: The War Within – Forces Within
Farming Sparks of Omens effectively – here’s how
Where can I get Sparks of Omens? To create a Spark of Omens, you need two Shattered Sparks of Omens and 250 Valor Stones each. You receive Shattered Sparks of Omens during the current phase of The War Within – that is before the start of Season 1 – through the weekly quest “The Call of the World Soul” from Faerin Lothar in Dornogal.
Along with a freshly added quest to the live servers, another spark quest was introduced, which you can obtain from Guardian Khubon in Dornogal. Through this, you can already get two Shattered Sparks of Omens and thus a complete Spark of Omens – promising a guaranteed equipment upgrade!
You might also be wondering which Nerubian pact to support in the new expansion. The choice of pact ultimately decides what kind of missions you will find in Azj-Kahet and what special ability you will receive. You can find all the information here: Best Pact in Azj-Kahet – Which Nerubian to support in WoW: The War Within.
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
In Diablo 4, with “Vessel of Hatred,” content is introduced for the first time that can only be completed by groups. Interestingly, very few players have been playing in groups so far.
What are the developers planning? With Vessel of Hatred, group dungeons are being introduced for the first time in Diablo 4. As the name suggests, these can only be completed by groups. Players will not be able to tackle the dungeons alone.
To make forming groups easier, the developers are introducing a group finder, which players have long desired. The MMO concept continues in Diablo 4, even though most players have not been playing in groups so far.
Here you can learn more about Vessel of Hatred:
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Diablo 4: Vessel of Hatred shows the new features and the new region Nahantu in the video
Most players play alone
Is this suitable for the players? No, not really. As the developers of Diablo 4 revealed in an interview on YouTube, 85% of players play without a group. The number of players playing without a group was likely even higher before the game was introduced to Game Pass, as at least new players who play with Game Pass probably prefer to play in groups.
Nonetheless, the 85% of players who currently play alone will need to venture into a group to experience the new content. According to wowhead.com, at least two players are needed to tackle the new cooperative dungeons, while the content is designed for four players.
Why are the developers doing this? The developers see that especially younger players prefer to play in groups. One developer says: “Many younger players don’t know a world without playing together.” (via YouTube)
In the interview, the developers explain that they want to make their game appealing to as many different types of players as possible. The group finder is meant to help players who have previously been playing without a group to find a group more easily.
According to the developers, the idea behind the cooperative dungeons is to create new content for players who enjoy playing in groups. The dungeons should focus on how well the characters in the group work together. If a group has excellent synergies, the dungeon becomes a lot of fun.
With the introduction of the new group dungeons, players are not losing anything; something new is simply being added to appeal to a different group of players. However, the new season of Diablo has more changes in store, some of which you might have overlooked: Diablo 4: Expert shows 4 changes in Season 6 that you surely overlooked
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
So far, The Sims has had no serious competition. However, this could change with the Korean inZOI for Steam. The game impresses with its surprisingly realistic visuals and even features a capability that brings your real objects into the game.
What kind of feature is this? In inZOI, there will be a function that is currently missing from The Sims. The game includes something like a virtual 3D printer for real objects. This way, you can bring any object into the game. The prerequisite is that you have an image of the object.
You just need to take a photo of the object or find one on the internet and upload it into the game. The AI-powered tool then converts your uploaded images into an object. And as IGN describes it, the feature seems to work remarkably well. The only condition is that the object must be clearly recognizable in the image:
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With the tool, even textures can be brought into the game. This is said to work similarly to the pattern tool from The Sims 3, with which you could create your own patterns, only in a better way.
How realistic inZOI looks is also evident in the following trailer:
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Trailer for inZOI provides insight into gameplay
inZOI is like The Sims 4, only more realistic
What do fans say about it? In a Reddit thread, there are many enthusiastic users who are impressed by the tool and are looking forward to it. User xXBrokenOpenXx sees analogies to Animal Crossing and believes that the game taught people to turn the least useful objects into something cool. They could now use this knowledge for inZOI.
However, there are also users who are skeptical about the whole thing. They think that it is impossible to bring all objects into the game from just one angle. They prefer a 3D printing function from 3 different angles instead.
You can create your own characters with the character editor and play their lives.
You can take on jobs to earn money and make friendships. It is also possible to find true love and get married.
A huge, open game world awaits you. To navigate in the world, you can use the bus or your own car.
In your free time, you can engage in various activities, such as sunbathing on the beach, trying your hand at gardening, or pursuing other hobbies.
The possibilities in inZOI seem to be diverse. Interested players were able to try out the character editor in the last demo. However, it is still unclear when inZOI will be released.
In Monster Hunter Wilds there will be no pay-to-win items, only cosmetic ones. The producers of the game have now confirmed that this will also remain the case for the DLC.
What are pay-to-win items? Many modern games have an in-game shop where real money can be spent or exchanged for in-game currency. Some items give players a significant advantage in the game. This is why they are called pay-to-win or pay2win items, as one must pay real money to win in the game.
At gamescom 2024, Monster Hunter Wilds revealed a bit more. You can find out more in the video:
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gamescom 2024: Monster Hunter Wilds delights with monster action
Interview with the creators of Monster Hunter Wilds
What kind of interview is this? In an interview on YouTube with content creator Rurikhan, game director Yuya Tokuda, producer Ryozo Tsujimoto, and executive art director Kaname Fujioka were guests. They were questioned about the upcoming Monster Hunter Wilds. Various questions related to development, favorite weapons, and the future of the game were raised.
What did the creators say in the interview about pay2win? The question of whether the paid DLC of Monster Hunter Wilds would still only include cosmetic items was answered by producer Ryozo Tsujimoto. He kept it brief: “We will remain true to our course.”
Monster Hunter Wilds will have a paid DLC; however, it will only contain cosmetic items that do not provide players with any advantage in the game. This gives players the opportunity to decide if the character’s appearance is important enough for them to spend real money on customization.
Gamers Nexus is one of the most well-known YouTube channels specializing in hardware. Now the channel has disassembled an expensive gaming PC from Starforge Systems. This is the company of Asmongold and other major streamers. Asmongold has watched the YouTuber’s video and fears the worst.
Who is it about? Gamers Nexus is among the most well-known YouTube channels in the tech sector, alongside Linus Tech Tips. The head of Gamers Nexus, Steve Burke, typically speaks his mind and critically comments on everything he sees.
In a recent video, he disassembles the new gaming PC from Starforge Systems – the company that is officially also owned by Asmongold. Inside the €2,400 PC is mid-range hardware:
CPU: Intel i5 13600F
Graphics Card: ASUS Dual RTX 4070 Super, 12 GB VRAM
RAM: 32 GB RAM
Case: Custom UV Printed Fractal Terra Graphite
Asmongold watches the video with concern as Steve Burke disassembles the PC. We have embedded the full video that Asmongold comments on for you:
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Good build quality with some small annoying quirks
What is the impression of Gamers Nexus? To Asmongold’s great relief, there are no major or serious errors.
In the last build that Gamers Nexus tested, some screws were flying wildly around inside the case. This earned Asmongold the name “Screw Guy.” Steve Burke jokes about this in the video at minute 4:11. However, there are no loose screws this time, much to the tester’s disappointment and great relief for Asmongold.
Positive points:
Excellent cable management.
All “leftover” cables are included.
Good BIOS settings with undervolting.
Extended warranty due to problematic Intel CPU (from 2 to 6 years).
No missing screws.
Negatives:
Outdated installed BIOS, which causes the temperature sensors to go haywire.
No documentation for the PC like in the predecessor.
Lack of color in the case design.
Missing accessories from the case; the standoffs for the power supply are not included.
A major plus point, Gamers Nexus explained, is the extended warranty due to the problematic Intel CPU. Here, Steve Burke states that this is the only right decision on how to handle the issue.
Another thing Steve Burke addresses in his video is the temperatures in the computer. According to him, the temperatures inside the case are “brutal,” which is unfortunately not surprising given the hardware used. After all, the PC builders tried to manually adjust the fan curve to lower temperatures. More is technically not possible with these components and the limited space.
Steve mentioned in the video that he would pass on the computer because he does not believe that the PC would come back to him due to “Support Issues” needing repair. Asmongold states that as someone who has to fix the computers in the family, that is a big compliment.
What about the price? Gamers Nexus explains that the pure hardware would cost between $1,750 and $1,850 – depending on whether a Windows license is included or not. So, the final price of $2,399 includes a markup of about $500.
Steve Burke says that the gaming PC is already very expensive, but it is in line with other manufacturers in the US. There are also significantly cheaper options where you pay “only” a $100 premium for the manufacturer.
An editor at MeinMMO believes that pre-built PCs are much better than building a PC yourself anyway. All the reasons he mentions and why he only buys pre-built PCs can be read directly on MeinMMO: I used to build PCs myself – Today, I would never do that again
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
