-Sn!PeR-

Flipkart Big Dussehra Sale 2022 dates have been announced by the Walmart-owned company. Flipkart's next big festive season sale will kick off from October 5, and will be open until October 8. In case you missed Flipkart's Big Billion Days sale last month, the upcoming Big Dussehra Sale will be a good chance to grab similar discounts and bundled offers. Flipkart's sale will offer 10 percent instant discount to HDFC Bank cardholders alongside easy EMI offers for Flipkart Pay Later users. When will Flipkart Big Dussehra Sale 2022 sale start? As we mentioned above, Flipkart's Big Dussehra Sale is scheduled to run from October 5 to October 8 this year. The festive season sale will open early for Flipkart Plus members on October 4. Flipkart Big Dussehra Sale 2022: What to expect Flipkart has started teasing some of the upcoming deals and offers ahead of its Dussehra-special sale. The sale promises to bring big discounts on bestselling mobile phones. Flipkart is also teasing discounts worth up to 80 percent on electronics. TVs and home appliances will be sold at discounts prices worth up to 75 percent during the sale. You can also expect bundled payment and exchange offers during the upcoming Big Dussehra Sale 2022. As for smartphones, Flipkart's sale will bring discounts on Realme, Poco, Samsung, Oppo, Vivo, Apple, Xiaomi, and Motorola smartphones. For those looking to upgrade, the sale will include exchange offers and no-cost EMI payment options as well. If you pay using Flipkart's buy-now-pay-later payment method, you'll be eligible for a gift voucher worth Rs. 500. Flipkart will also bundle its mobile protection plans with select mobile phones, available at prices starting from Rs. 199 during the upcoming Big Dussehra Sale 2022. You can expect Flipkart to reveal discounted prices in the days leading up to its next festive season sale. For those looking to buy electronics, Flipkart's Big Dussehra Sale 2022 will bring discounts and bundled offers on laptops, webcams, wearables, speakers, headphones, and other electronics. Flipkart's teaser page mentions discounts on tablets worth up to 50 percent during the sale. Flipkart is also teasing upcoming discounts on printers, monitors, projectors, and other accessories. Stay glued to our updates as we'll be bringing you the best tech deals when the Flipkart Big Dussehra Sale 2022 goes live. Source.

The developers behind Brave Browser have announced that it will begin to block cookie consent notice popups that negatively impact browsing experience for many users. In an update, the anonymous browser’s Privacy Updates blog called cookie consent an “infamous and near-constant annoyance”, while citing an academic study(opens in new tab) that found many browser popups track users across the internet regardless of their choice. Users of the latest Nightly branch (and version 1.45 when it releases in October) will only have to click “yes” on a dialog box on start-up to block all cookie consent popups, using a set of rules and filters that will look familiar to those who use web browser ad blocking extensions. Fighting back against Google’s privacy changes Brave cited Google’s latest raft of proposed changes to Chrome as reasons why an open web, and content-blocking tools, must be fought for, starting with blocking cookie consent popups. These changes include its upcoming switch to the Manifest V3 API, the plan to consolidate websites into single files via a new standard named WebBundles(opens in new tab) and the Privacy Sandbox initiative(opens in new tab) it has in development. “The Web is built to be open. On the one hand, that’s great: It means privacy-protecting Web tools like Brave can act on behalf of users, and protect them from Web abuses and annoyances. On the other hand, cookie banners highlight how much worse the Web will get if Google (and others) succeed in weakening users’ ability to block such annoyances,” Brave said in its announcement(opens in new tab). Brave has long warned that these new initiatives are actually on course to reduce user privacy online, by decreasing the effectiveness of existing ad blocking extensions(opens in new tab) and reducing the choice users have over their web browser. In January 2022, the company specifically dismissed(opens in new tab) Google’s Privacy Sandbox as a power play designed to cement the tech giant’s stranglehold on the web, in part because of its use of Google’s own servers and promotion of the “AppStore-ification” of the internet. “[...] a cynical proposal adopting just enough of the language and colors of the privacy community to keep regulators at bay, while in practice benefitting Google’s monopoly, all to the detriment of the Web at large,” it said. With Brave submitting its concerns about Google’s reforms to the UK Competition and Markets Authority(opens in new tab) (CMA), it’s clear that an open web committed to privacy still has its proponents and won’t be going down without a fight. Source.

Adobe Photoshop is the de facto standard for image editing, but it doesn’t come cheap. The basic consumer version, Photoshop Elements, costs around $100 and a subscription that runs professional-grade Photoshop starts at $19.99 a month. Unless you really need the features of genuine Photoshop, there’s a powerful, free alternative in GIMP (The GNU Image Mani[CENSORED]tion Program), which is available for Windows, Linux and macOS. The first hurdle when moving from Photoshop to GIMP is the user interface. GIMP is very different from Photoshop and that can slow your workflow to a crawl. Keyboard shortcuts and menu layout changes can infuriate users. If you have the time and the patience, learning the GIMP user interface isn’t too difficult, but for some folks, it just isn’t as user-friendly as Photoshop’s. The GIMP community comes to the rescue and Diolinux’s PhotoGIMP is a complete user interface replacement for GIMP which uses Photoshop as a template. Not only does it replace the UI, but it adds Photoshop shortcuts, icons and Python image filters. In this how to, we will learn how to install PhotoGIMP on top of the latest version of GIMP.

Name of the game: Supraland Six Inches Under Price: $19.99 - $11.99 Link Store: Click. Offer ends up after X hours: DAILY DEAL! Offer ends 9 October. Requirements:

Roguelites have been in a very good place these past few years, thanks to many excellent titles like Dead Cells, Enter the Gungeon, Hades, and Returnal, which have taken the typically unforgiving roguelike experience and tweaked it to make it more enjoyable for players that do not find starting their adventure over and over from scratch too enticing. Given the nature of the roguelite experience, the vast majority of games are set in relatively small worlds that serve as the background for the procedurally generated mechanics that power them, and, as such, an open-world roguelite doesn't exactly sound like a very good idea on paper. In reality, however, it is a good idea, judging from Ravenbound, the latest game from Generation Zero and Second Extinction developer System Reaction. Set in an unforgiving world based on Scandinavian folklore, players take control of the Vessel, a powerful being who carries the power of the Raven whose duty is to save the world of Ávalt from the Betrayer. As this is no easy task at all, the ancient gods of Ávalt have enshrined the Raven in the body of warriors so that its powers can be passed from one Vessel to the other in the long war against this Betrayer and its minions. Ravenbound's premise outlines the experience in a very effective way. During each run, players will have to explore different biomes, locate key items to open up a tomb and defeat the powerful boss within. Once at least three bosses have been defeated, the path to the Betrayer will open up, giving the Vessel the chance to fulfill its purpose and save Ávalt. How players go about accomplishing this is left at their discretion, as they are given the option of fully exploring each open-world biome right from the start of each run. While it is possible to collect the key items to open the tomb of each biome in a very short time, it isn't exactly recommended to rush through the main objectives, as the Vessel may end up being too weak to take on the powerful foes hidden within. The Ravenbound's progression system uses deck-building mechanics that let players customize their builds in any way they wish. They may go for a glass-cannon build that hits hard but has low defense, for a tanky build that can take a beating, or for a more balanced one with some special abilities, like getting back one potion use after winning an enemy encounter, a very useful ability in a game where healing is limited, and combat takes center stage most of the times. Ravenbound's combat is rather interesting in its simplicity. Armed with different weapons, the Vessel can unleash strings of light and heavy attacks with slightly different properties and powerful charged attacks. Light attacks are great for knocking the enemy down and leaving them defenseless for a short while, while heavy ones can break guard and deal high damage. The game also offers a couple of effective defensive options, such as a snappy dodging maneuver which can be turned into a slide by holding down the button, and a shield that can be used to block attacks and even parry them, knocking enemies down in the process. While these are standard mechanics, when it comes to third-person action games, they work quite well in Ravenbound, thanks to how snappy combat feels. Most open-world games tend to have somewhat sluggish combat, so I was quite surprised at how fast and snappy fighting enemies is in System Reaction's game. And while no new attacks can be unlocked during a run, the different weapon types, which include sword and shield, dual axes, greatswords, and more, ensure that combat doesn't become stale after just a couple of runs. Enemy variety looks good already in the demo, featuring a selection of different creatures ranging from your typical human bandits to undead and spirits which fight quite differently from one another. Fighting each and every enemy group on the path to the tomb may start feeling repetitive after a while, but it is something that players will want to do as much as possible to prepare their Vessel to fight the Betrayer. By defeating enemies, the Vessel will level up, obtaining Valor points that can be used to activate the aforementioned cards to perfect their builds. Cards are also obtained as a reward for defeating enemies, so it's clear how combat is one of the main focuses of the Ravenbound experience. The other will be exploration, which isn't surprising, given how the game is an open-world title. When it comes to different activities, being a roguelite, Ravenbound cannot offer the same variety as other pure open-world games, but I feel the developer is doing a decent job at offering more than just fighting countless enemies to enhance the Vessel. The first biome I accessed also featured a village complete with side-quest offering NPCs, shops, a blacksmith, and so on. Sidequests still involve more fighting at the moment, but with the game being still far from release, I expect them to be a little more varied when the game officially launches in the future. Staying true to its name, Ravenbound's exploration is centered around the ability to turn into a raven and fly all over any given biome. As they tend to be rather big, flying around is the best way to explore them as quickly as possible. Even if one wants to take their own sweet time, flying around as a raven still feels great, thanks to the impressive draw distance and the sense of speed. Sure, there's some clunkiness to it, as turning back into human form isn't particularly snappy, but the great feel of flying makes it easy to look past any small issue that will likely be addressed in the final release. With Ravenbound, Systemic Reaction is attempting to mix two genres with very little in common, and so far, it looks like they are succeeding. While the experience is relatively straightforward, as combat and exploration are standard fares for third-person open-world games, it already feels great to play in its current state, so I am definitely looking forward to experiencing more of Ávalt and challenging the Betrayer and its minions again when the game launches on Steam in the future. Ravenbound Gameplay Reveal. Source.

you just joined our community yesterday, you've got no activity in design section, you don't have a gallery yet... besides all of that u just copied mugiwara's topic (with the change of TS3 to TS4 lol) Super contra!

"I don't think there is a way out." It's breathtaking to hear that judgement on Liz Truss' problems from a seasoned former Conservative when the prime minister has not been in charge for a month. But instead of a honeymoon Liz Truss's first weeks in office have resembled a horror film. A crash in the pound, since recovered, a crash in the polls and the Bank of England having to pump billions into the markets to stop pensions being wiped out. Tory MPs tell me about phone calls from constituents who are in tears - fearful of losing their homes or businesses as borrowing costs soar. And those higher costs - and inflation - will hit the government hard, bringing the prospect of dramatic spending cuts. So instead of anticipating their new leader taking the stage in triumph at the Conservative Party conference this week, the question many MPs and members of the public are asking is how can Liz Truss - who is on our show this week - get out of this mess? Does she ditch her plans? Stick firmly to the script? Or muddle through? First, remember what happened to prompt the last wild week. The government announced a hugely expensive package to freeze energy prices before following that up with a promise of chunky tax cuts that gave back more money to the wealthiest people in the country. But what they crucially did not do was show how they planned to pay for it - by refusing to publish an assessment from the Office for Budget Responsibility - which examines the government's tax and spending plans. And on our programme last week, Chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng suggested there would be more tax cuts to come. Of course, there's a healthy political debate about the rights and wrongs of those policies on their own. But what financial markets detest is the notion of spending and borrowing at huge levels without spelling out how and when the bills will be paid. As one weary sounding Tory MP put it: "The problem wasn't the numbers, it was that there weren't any." It's perfectly normal for governments to borrow billions of pounds from the markets but the reaction last week suggested the City had precious little faith that the government's plans added up. That's toxic, because without that confidence, it makes it more expensive for the government to borrow the cash it needs. That makes the cost of loans and mortgages go up for everyone and could mean less money for public services too. One party insider says that the hit to the Tories' reputation for running the economy could have "all the hallmarks of a generation-defining setback". But all the signs are that the prime minister has zero intention of shifting an inch on this. Here's what her supporters have told me: One cabinet minister: "They have to stick to it now - the idea there can be a volte-face, forget it" A minister: "She's trying to change the direction of the country - the issues are the day to day handling of the politics" A Truss backer: "'What's happening is a political loss of nerve - it's entirely within our gift to recover it" Yet No 10 faces a double nightmare of trying to recover economic and political credibility at the same time. Can they really do nothing? The head of a large foreign investor said the UK was now "uninvestable". Trying to keep calm (ish) and carry on just may not be possible. The pound has recovered much of its losses but it seems a tall order for confidence to bounce back in the same way. The last week suggests there are serious doubts about the chancellor's strategy. As one senior investor told me: "I don't know a single person in the City who thinks he knows what he is doing." Politicians I've spoken to - fans of the new government or not - suggest moving Mr Kwarteng would be "cowardly" or "wouldn't make a difference". Liz Truss is politically close to her chancellor and a major move like that could cause even more instability. But there is no doubt that No 11's authority is part of the problem. A source close to Mr Kwarteng says "we make no apology for reversing an unsustainable high tax path". But a cabinet minister told me while there's no chance of an exit now "history shows that chancellors who have moments like this don't necessarily survive in the medium to long-term". While it's clear neither No 10 nor No 11 will consider a change of approach right now their own party may force them to make some changes so they can muddle through. First off, there is a rising hunger for ministers to bring forward their full plans for the economy, including spelling out the costs and consequences of their spending. As things stand No 10 is adamant this won't be until 23 November. But plenty of backbenchers want it brought forward. One minister suggested the government will have to budge before November, saying: "Give the markets what they want with some more detailed forecasts and some attempt to show that this will work." There's a thirst too to bring forward announcements of the other changes the government wants to make to get the economy going. One senior MP said the chancellor has a chance this week to talk about his "big productivity plans" to show "it's a wider package, not just tax cuts". But the government may yet have to ditch some of its ideas. "They'll have to walk back some of the things that have caused the most offence," says an MP. This could be scrapping the 45% top tax rate which I'm told the whole cabinet was not consulted on and which raised the most eyebrows in the mini-budget. And it's clear many Conservative MPs would be reluctant to back it, with one telling me: "If there is a vote on 45p or bankers' bonuses I won't vote for them, and neither will colleagues." There is growing unease too about the costs and implications of the decisions that have already been made for public spending, and specifically about the possibility of going back on Boris Johnson's promise that benefits would rise in line with inflation. One former minister told me the idea was "stupidity squared" because cutting tax for the best-off while giving those on benefits a real-terms cut is a total political non-starter. Another senior figure predicts a classic climbdown where the government will stick to cutting the basic rate of tax with the classic promise to "consult" on the more controversial elements. But what if Ms Truss can't or won't budge'? Several MPs say one approach to get the government's attention would be a kind of strike. They could make it plain the government doesn't have backbench support by not turning up in the Commons. But others are already contemplating even more. Extraordinary as it is to say this so soon into a new leader's tenure, there are already conversations in the party about taking the ultimate action. In other words, if the PM won't change her plans, her party might have to change her job. One MP told me baldly in the last week: "They have lost the privilege of governing - I'm going to try and get rid of her." A former minister said there was a lot of "bluster and chest-beating" going and talk of removing the PM was "hysteria", but added: 'Four weeks of polls like this and we might move." Crazy? Perhaps. Wild talk in Westminster is often subdued by inertia. Things change quickly. There are many Conservatives who believe Liz Truss' plans are an important and badly needed reset. But if the Tories carry on being battered in the polls, and the market turmoil continues for weeks, all bets could be off. And if it becomes a question of personal survival, arguably Liz Truss may not have helped her case by giving all the plum jobs to MPs who backed her in the leadership contest. Remember she wasn't the favourite choice of MPs to start with. As one senior figure reflects: "There is already a cohort of people who are saying 'this is nothing to do with us'." Liz Truss has a huge chance in Birmingham this week to calm her party, the country and the financial markets, as well as explaining more clearly what she is trying to achieve. And while there is no remote sense she will backtrack on her ambitions, these first steps in power have created serious doubts in her party, and among the public, about whether she has the right ideas and the backing to make radical changes to the country. Downing Street could very, very quickly become a lonely place. Source.

K2 was fun to be around. The bottlenose dolphin was an energetic 11-year-old, a young adult in dolphin years, who was born at The Mirage casino on the Las Vegas strip and lived his entire life there. Visitors sometimes paid as much as $450 to have brief in-water interactions with him and other bottlenose dolphins. His handlers said he was often vocal and made people smile. But earlier this month K2 started to show signs of illness. He didn’t want to eat his fish. Bloodwork showed his liver enzymes were high, and internal imaging prompted treatment for respiratory illness. His care team administered antifungals, antibiotics, and nebulizer breathing treatments. Yet K2 died on September 24, marking the third dolphin death at The Mirage in just the past six months. Maverick, a 19-year-old dolphin, died earlier in September following treatment for a lung infection. And Bella, 13, died in April after being treated for gastroenteritis. “It’s an exceptional number of deaths in such a short period,” says Naomi Rose, a marine mammal scientist at the nonprofit Animal Welfare Institute, in Washington, D.C. All three dolphins were in the “prime of life,” she says. Overall bottlenose dolphin average life expectancy is 20 to 30 years, with a maximum life span of 65. The Mirage’s animal exhibit, which is operated by MGM Resorts International, has temporarily closed so that independent experts can investigate the deaths; ticket sales have been paused through October 9. “We are in the process of working with the National Marine Mammal Foundation to conduct a complete review and assessment of all aspects of our dolphin-care program,” Dave Blasko, executive director of animal care at The Mirage, said in a statement to National Geographic. The reviewers will examine the facility’s veterinary care; animal husbandry and behavior; water quality and filtration and the overall environment, he says. Seven live bottlenose dolphins remain at the exhibit, along with four leopards, two lions, eight tigers, one two-toed sloth, one umbrella cockatoo, and approximately 350 aquarium fish. A history of deaths The Mirage Secret Garden and Dolphin Habitat has a lengthy record of dolphin deaths: K2 was the 16th dolphin to die at the facility in its 31-year-old history, including the two deaths this month, according to Cetabase.org, a nonprofit database that tracks marine mammals in captivity. The dolphins, a mix of wild-born and captive-born animals, died from multiple causes, such as pneumonia, “severe chronic necrotizing pancreatitis,” and age-related heart failure. (Blasko says that one of the deaths occurred when a dolphin wasn’t in their care, and another was a newborn that died after 14 days.) Blasko did not share medical records for K2, Maverick, and Bella with National Geographic. But Rose, the marine mammal scientist, says a major problem with The Mirage’s dolphin exhibit is that it exposes the animals to Las Vegas’ extremely hot climate. A common complaint among animal welfare advocates is that the entirely outdoor exhibit does not provide adequate shade for The Mirage dolphins. Moreover, conditions in human-made pools can’t emulate those in the wild, where dolphins can dive deep into the water away from the heat, swim vast distances, and live in complex social groups, she says. (Learn more about the conditions captive animals face for wildlife tourism.) According to Blasko, The Mirage’s animals are well cared for, with weekly vet exams and daily health inspections. The facility’s four interconnected pools, which range in depth from 14 to 23 feet, are maintained year-round at 78 degrees Fahrenheit, he says, and the animals are also protected from the sun by surrounding palm trees, a few sunshades, and nearby buildings, which may cast small shadows, depending on the time of day. The U.S. Department of Agriculture, during routine inspections of the facility for humane handling, care, and treatment of the animals, has not reported any sun damage to the animals’ skin or eyes, he notes. The agency also hasn’t reported any other animal welfare issues—including during its most recent inspection which occurred just two days before K2 died. A murky future The Mirage deaths come at a time when some countries in Europe and elsewhere are increasingly banning cetacean captivity and entertainment. In 2019, Canada outlawed trade, possession, capture, and breeding of all cetaceans for entertainment, with the law’s proponents stating it’s both unethical and cruel to keep these highly intelligent and social animals in tanks. In the U.S., however, dolphin programs continue to be po[CENSORED]r—with 446 bottlenose dolphins living in captivity, according to the National Inventory of Marine Mammals. (Read how treating human conditions with dolphin interactions has gone global, despite the lack of science behind it.) The future for The Mirage’s animals remains murky. At the end of 2021, MGM announced that it’d struck a deal with Hard Rock International—known for its chain of Hard Rock Cafes—to transfer ownership of The Mirage for $1.075 billion. But the deal hasn't yet closed, and Hard Rock hasn't stated what it plans to do with the site’s animals or how it would safeguard the animals during future planned construction work. (Hard Rock spokesperson Gina Cadahia, when contacted by National Geographic, declined to comment on the company’s future plans.) Local animal welfare advocates, such as Linda Faso, have proposed that The Mirage’s remaining dolphins be sent to a sanctuary. Richard O’Barry, founder and director of the California-based Dolphin Project, and dolphin trainer for the 1960s television series Flipper, is pushing for that, too. “Not all captive dolphins can be set free, but all captive dolphins can be relocated to a sanctuary to live out [their] lives with quality and dignity,” O’Barry says. “That’s what we would like to see happen to the casino dolphins living in the Las Vegas desert.” Source.

The new Mercedes EQS SUV is an extraordinary luxury car. It’s imposing, quiet, refined, full of clever tech and premium features. It’s a great cruiser and offers a truly cavernous interior. But at this price you want a car that can do it all, and at times the EQS off-roader feels like it lacks the talent in some areas that a car like this needs to be impenetrable. We’d wait for the forthcoming all-electric Range Rover. The Mercedes EQS SUV is arguably one of the most exorbitant and ostentatious new cars of 2022. Not without merit – and we’ll come to that in a moment – it launches just as the country prepares for what looks to be the most significant cost of living crisis in a generation. But to dismiss it as a fancy, frivolous and irrelevant stagecoach for the world’s super-rich would be unfair. Mercedes’ very own S-Class has always been seen as a springboard for new technology, and the EQS is no different. Kit trialled here will filter down to more affordable models in time. Take it at face value and the numbers – price aside – are compelling. A huge 120kWh (108.4kWh usable) battery that is good for, Mercedes says, 379 miles of range. Speaking of charging, the EQS can replenish its cells at speeds of up to 200kW – all without the even more expensive 800-volt electrics that underpin cars like the Porsche Taycan and Kia EV6. Or looking at it another way, at this level of the market, maybe that should be standard? Either way, it means a 10-80 per cent charge takes just 31 minutes. There’s a caveat, of course; tipping the scales at more than 2.7 tonnes, the EQS SUV isn’t particularly efficient. Mercedes claims between 2.5 and 3.0miles per kWh, though in reality we saw figures at the lower end of that range. Still, that should be enough for 250-270 miles without too much cause for concern. Then there’s the cabin – even without the circa-£8,000 Hyperscreen (exact specifications have yet to be confirmed) – the EQS represents the very best of Mercedes craftsmanship. It feels genuinely luxurious, from the woods, leathers and metals used to trim the centre console, to the armchair-like seats and pillow-soft headrests. No corners have been cut when it comes to fitting out the brand’s flagship SUV. It’s the set-up you see in these pictures that we’d actually recommend. Sure, the three-screen layout is the EQS’s party piece, but few will ever truly utilise the myriad functions – and the passenger display feels like little more than a gimmick. The standard two-screen set-up will save you thousands, and it’s still full of trick features, while also being responsive and relatively intuitive to use. But luxury can’t simply be defined by the materials used or the number of screens offered. A car’s high-end feel runs deeper than that, and the thing that makes the EQS appear more premium than any of its rivals is refinement. The EQS SUV, despite its size, bulk, and bluff front end, is unquestionably one of the quietest cars we’ve ever driven. At 70mph, the cabin is all but completely silent. Even on 22-inch wheels, there is very little road noise. Wind noise isn’t noticeable until you approach three-figure speeds, and the ride – save for the odd sharp jolt or pothole – is sublime. Comfort is what the EQS SUV does best. That’s true in both the front and middle rows of seats. You get a commanding driving position, and where the EQS saloon loses out on headroom in the rear, the SUV’s taller roofline offers rear-seat occupants all the space they could ever wish for. Sitting three abreast should be no trouble at all. The EQS will be sold exclusively with seven seats here in the UK, though the 450-badged test model we tried was fitted with the five-seat configuration offered in other markets. We did manage to take a seat in the third-row of another car, however, and while space is more generous than in, say, a Tesla Model X, it’s still best reserved for children or smaller adults. Fit and finish, even in the rearmost row, remains immaculate. Boot space is generous too – as it should be for something measuring 5,125mm nose to tail. There’s 565 litres with the very back seats folded flat, expanding to 2,020 litres all told. That’s significantly more than you’ll get in an Audi e-tron. Given the EQS SUV’s strong refinement and supple ride, it’ll come as no surprise that this is a fantastic long-distance cruiser. The quiet cabin, teamed with all the standard-fit safety and driver assistance tech, gives the EQS perfect motorway manners. Those who want to experience the any-speed instant torque often associated with high-power EVs might want to take a look at the top-spec EQS 580. The 355bhp 450 4MATIC is brisk from a standstill, but performance tails off at higher speeds. It’s still capable of quick overtakes, but it won’t pin you to your seat like the range-topper will. Yet whereas it’s easy enough to disguise the car’s weight while going in a straight line, it’s not so simple through the corners. And actually, the way this car handles is all the more impressive because of that. Indeed, the EQS SUV trims a neat line – without too much in the way of pitch or body roll. It’s just never that exciting. At upwards of £100k, you almost want a car that can do it all. Luxury, practicality – even fun, should the mood dictate. But the EQS SUV feels numb for the most part, in a way a BMW iX does not. In fact it’s that car that really shows the EQS’s failings. Even fully-loaded, BMW’s iX xDrive50 undercuts the Merc by almost £20,000 – and it’ll match it for luxury, range and charging tech. Yes, the iX only has five seats, but if this isn’t an issue for you, then it’s a far superior car to drive. What’s more, Mercedes still hasn’t mastered the art of regenerative braking. The EQS gets an adjustable set-up, and while the most aggressive mode isn’t quite strong enough for one-pedal driving – unlike in the smaller EQA and EQC, oddly enough – it’s the brake feel in conjunction with the regen system that sets the most significant alarm bells ringing. At times, the left pedal gives the sensation it’s being pulled away from your right foot, as the car struggles to juggle the two systems seamlessly. One area where the brakes did impress though, was on a short but challenging off-road route. The EQS’s dedicated Off-Road mode and clever Downhill Speed Regulation (DRS) system manages to control descents in complete silence. Few owners will ever use it, but it bodes well for the forthcoming EQG electric G-Class. We’ll have to wait a little longer for full transparency on EQS SUV prices and specs, but taking the EQS saloon as a benchmark, it’s likely UK buyers will get a choice of Luxury and AMG Line trims, plus the usual Premium and Premium Plus packs – with the more expensive models adding items such as bigger wheels, a 360-degree camera, a Burmester sound system and a head-up display. One option box worth ticking will be the 10-degree (4.5 degrees as standard) rear-wheel steering system, which reduces the SUV’s turning circle to that of a Volkswagen Golf. The ability to turn so tightly is a little disconcerting at first, but when a car is this big and near-impossible to park, every little helps. Source.

Showcasing that nothing is impossible for the visually-impaired, Guinness World Records has recognised blind skateboarder Daniel Mancina for the longest 50-50 grind on a skateboard (IS2), sliding a remarkable 6.85 m (22 ft 5 in). Mancina, who suffers from retinitis pigmentosa, a rare, genetic eye disease since the age of 13, is now completely blind. He started snowboarding as a young boy during the winter seasons, according to Guinness World Records. Never having tried his hand at the sport before and not knowing what it truly meant to be a skater, he would simply roll the skateboard around, the site noted. It wasn’t until he moved to a different neighbourhood during his middle school years and met with a group of skaters that Mancina began to truly appreciate skating. “I met a group or friends who skated and who are all still my friends to this day,” said the 35-year-old. After taking time to deal with his deteriorating eyesight, Mancina decided to again try out skateboarding with a small bench in an attempt to film himself performing a front board. Interestingly, he started creating a new skateboarding process, which involved walking through the areas he would be skating and using his cane to feel everything. “I rely on my white cane the most, using it to scan my environment and to find obstacles while skating,” said Mancina. “I’m also working towards having skateboarding in the Paralympics. The goal is 2028,” he added. Source.

Russian troops have detained the director of Ukraine's Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, Ukraine's state nuclear regulator Enerhoatom says. It says Ihor Murashov was held as his car was on its way from the facility to the nearby town of Enerhodar at about 16:00 local time (13:00 GMT) on Friday. He was then blindfolded and is believed to have been taken to a prison facility in Enerhodar, Enerhoatom's president told the BBC. Russia has not commented. Moscow seized Europe's biggest nuclear plant in March, and kept on its Ukrainian staff. Both Ukraine and Russia accuse each other of repeatedly shelling the plant, amid global concerns that this could lead to a major radiation incident in Europe. In a statement published on Saturday, Enerhoatom president Petro Kotin said that Mr Murashov "bears main and exclusive responsibility for the nuclear and radiation safety" of the nuclear plant. He said Friday's detention "jeopardises the safety of operation of Ukraine and Europe's largest nuclear power plant". In addition, he told the BBC the detention happened as Russian President Vladimir Putin announced the annexation of four regions of Ukraine, including Zaporizhzhia. Mr Kontin said representatives of Russia's nuclear state company Rosatom had visited the plant "just two days ago". They said the power plant would be transferred from Ukrainian control to Rosatom's control in line with the annexation of the region. Mr Kontin said he believed the move to kidnap Mr Musharov was an attempt to try and get him to accept the transfer of the power plant from Ukraine to Russia. "They are trying to make him accept the move of [the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant] from Ukraine to Rosatom. But I am sure he is against it. Many times before he refused to accept the Russian world and so on," Mr Kontin said. The plant's president appealed to the International Atomic Energy Agency to demand the immediate release of the plant's chief, accusing Russia of "nuclear terrorism". The six-reactor Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant is located near Enerhodar, in the occupied part of Ukraine's southern Zaporizhzhia region. Ukraine says Russian troops are using the station as a military base and that employees are in effect held at gunpoint. Moscow denies the claim. On Friday, Russian President Vladimir Putin declared the annexation of the Zaporizhzhia, Kherson, Donetsk and Luhansk regions - a move widely condemned by Ukraine and the West. Moscow does not fully control any of the four regions in Ukraine's east and south. Source.

In a recent teardown, it was found that Apple’s latest iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 14 Pro Max feature Qualcomm’s Snapdragon X65 5G modem. This baseband chip and other components are the reason why basic satellite features exist for the newest models. Apple Also Has Some Its Own RF Designs Used in the Latest iPhone 14 Range That Enable These Satellite Features As most of our readers know, all iPhone 14 models will get Apple’s Emergency SOS via satellite in November, and that is made possible thanks to Qualcomm’s 5G modem. Reuters reports that custom Apple-designed radio frequency components coupled with software also allow these iPhones to have access to nearby satellites in case users are stuck in an unforgiving predicament. Unfortunately, this Emergency SOS feature is currently limited to U.S. and Canada when it officially launches later this year, but it is possible that it rolls out in other regions too. The Snapdragon X65 enables 5G cellular connectivity, but on top of making phone calls and allowing data service, the ‘band n53’ allows iPhone 14 models to communicate with satellites. As for how Apple got its latest iPhones to play with these orbital machines, it is not thanks to the technology giant’s own satellites, though the company has been rumored to launch them in the distant future. This feature is made possible thanks to Globalstar’s involvement, which will allocate 85 percent of its current and future network capacity to support iPhone 14 models and likely future iPhones that support satellite connectivity. However, keeping Globalstar’s satellites above the ground and in orbit requires resources, so Apple’s Emergency SOS via satellite is free for two years, after which customers will be charged an undisclosed amount, which could be annual or monthly fees. Maybe when Apple finally launches its own 5G modem, it may bring additional satellite features to the table. Unfortunately, developing an in-house baseband silicon is easier said than done, with the Cupertino tech behemoth reportedly facing a multitude of problems that have forced it to make Qualcomm its exclusive 5G modem supplier for the iPhone 15 lineup. We should see Apple expanding on emergency features next year, so let us stay tuned and see what they are. You might like to check out another teardown. Source.

The rise of low-code could soon see it topple more "traditional" forms of operations, new research has claimed. Mendix's 2022 State of Low-Code found a rise in low-code adoption from 77% in 2021 to 94% this year, with four in 10 businesses now using low-code for mission-critical solutions in their business operations. The report cites a Gartner projection which places low-code or no-code applications at 70% by 2025, up from 25% in 2020. Should I use low-code? When business ground to a halt and economies froze, many businesses were faced with incredibly tough decisions. One in nine businesses surveyed said that they would have had to face reputational damage or look at cost-cutting measures like rising prices or losing staff had they not adopted low-code. As such, 69% saw no-code evolving from a crisis technology to a core technology that they intend to integrate into their businesses in order to obtain greater control over things like cost. Key areas for low-code include IT, production engineering, product design, and quality control. Mendix outlined several benefits of low-code, many of which were most notable at the height of the pandemic. Beyond the fintech and insurtech adoption of low-code, public sector entities have been seen to embrace the technology, too. The Mendix research indicates that “improved, centralized, and standarized citizen ID authentication; improved access to services; and improved planning and management of budget and physical resources” have all played out as part of low-code, the effects of which can ripple onto other businesses that have dealings with the public sector. Traditionally an in-person experience, retail has been digitized, largely due to the pandemic. Developing the right software can be timely and costly, however some retailers have used low-code to develop things like digital shopping pickup which has allowed them to adapt more quickly and remain competitive. “The way we run our businesses has fundamentally changed in the last two years," noted Mendix CEO Tim Srock. "It is now absolutely critical to digitalize operations and engage with customers and employees through different modalities and touchpoints”. In summary, low- and no-code solutions have enabled established companies to evolve, and for younger companies to step up to the table, which are all crucial steps in a time of economic pressure. Source.

Having understood the importance of the local semiconductor supply chain for long-term homegrown microelectronics industry development, the Japanese government kicked off a program to subsidize local chipmakers. On the heels of its $680 million subsidy for Kioxia and Western Digital in July, the Japanese govt announced plans to support Micron's Hiroshima operations with ¥46.5 billion ($320 million). This cash infusion might help Micron bring extreme ultraviolet (EUV) lithography to Japan. Micron will receive the funding from Japan's Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry, reports Bloomberg. However, the conditions that Micron must meet to get the subsidy were unavailable via the ministry's website at the time of writing. The grant will help Micron 'mass produce cutting-edge memory chips' at its fabs near Hiroshima, Japan, which the company obtained when it acquired Elpida in 2013. Micron produces a significant portion of its DRAM products at its site near Hiroshima, Japan, and runs important R&D operations in the country. To keep DRAM fabs up-to-date, Micron and other memory makers must constantly install new equipment to adopt new manufacturing technologies and increase capacity, which requires hefty investments. Since capital expenditures (CapEx) are getting extremely high in the semiconductor industry these days, chipmakers like Micron are seeking support and incentives from governments. They plan their own spending based on what they might receive in grants and various enticements. $320 million is a lot of money, though it remains to be seen how much money Micron will be willing to spend on Hiroshima site expansion. Just yesterday, the company said that it cut down its fiscal year 2023 CapEx budget by 30% year-over-year to around $8 billion. To reduce its capital expenditures, the company trimmed its wafer fab equipment (WFE) CapEx by nearly 50% YoY, which will result in a much slower ramp of its 1ß DRAM and 232-layer 3D NAND versus prior expectations as the ramp requires more new tools at the fabs. Meanwhile, the company "more than doubled" its construction CapEx (i.e., building new fab shells) year-over-year to meet demand for the second half of this decade and retained plans to procure EUV lithography systems to support its 1γ (1-gamma) node development. The $320 million subsidy from the Japanese government could be used to bolster the Hiroshima site's WFE CapEx budget to ramp up 1ß DRAM node in Japan next year or procure new EUV tools and ramp up EUV-enabled 1γ DRAM fabrication technology in Japan sometime in 2024. Keeping in mind that many things for 1ß DRAM manufacturing process should be arranged by now (i.e., which tools go where), the grant might indeed be used for the next round of Micron's Hiroshima site expansion, the one that involves ASML's EUV scanners and the company's 1γ DRAM. For now, we have more questions than answers, but it looks like the subsidy from the Japanese government comes at a time when Micron is slowing down upgrades of its current fabs by cutting down its WFE CapEx. Source.

Tencent, one of the biggest tech companies in the world and the largest by gaming revenue, has long invested in companies based outside of China. However, it often did so in a limited fashion, only grabbing a minority stake and letting existing owners stay on to lead their companies. Examples include Playtonic Games, Frontier Developments, Bohemia Interactive, Payload Studios, Offworld Industries, Triternion, Paradox Interactive, Remedy Entertainment, Krafton, Kakao, FromSoftware, Marvelous, Bloober Team, and Don't Nod. Today, a new Reuters report suggests there is going to be a shift in Tencent's merger and acquisition strategy to focus on majority deals instead. The reason for the policy change is well-known: the Chinese government's increasingly harsh restrictions on gaming (especially for minors) have forced Chinese companies, including the likes of NetEase, to look outward for growth. In August 2022, Tencent had to report its first-ever decrease revenue drop measured at -3% on a year-over-year basis when compared to the second quarter of 2021. The drop for the whole first half of 2022 was -1%. The Chinese giant recently completed a sizable ($300 million) investment in Guillemot Bros., the family-owned company with the largest stake in Ubisoft. Tencent also received authorization from Ubisoft's Board of Directors to increase its existing direct stake in the company from 4.5% to 9.99% of capital or voting rights. As part of the deal, Tencent won't be able to sell its Ubisoft shares for five years and won't be able to increase its stake in the company for eight years. Truth be told, it's not like Tencent didn't do any full-fledged acquisitions or majority stake deals before. It already happened with 1C Entertainment (now Fulqrum Games), Inflexion Games, Wake Up Interactive, Turtle Rock Studios, Sharkmob, Grinding Gear Games, Supercell, Leyou, 10 Chambers Collective, Klei Entertainment, and Tequila Works. In all these cases, Tencent acquired the majority or the entirety of the shares outright. In other cases, such as with Yager Development, Fatshark, Sumo Group, Riot Games, and Funcom, an initial minority investment was followed by a more substantial operation to secure the control of these companies. As such, the only thing that sounds like it will change is Tencent just not bothering with the middle step any longer and going directly for majority deals. Either way, the gaming industry's wave of consolidation seems to be far from over. Source.

Name of the game: Muse Dash Price: $2.99 - $0.53 Link Store: Here. Offer ends up after X hours: DAILY DEAL! Offer ends 10 October. Requirements:

V2 colors text

DH1 isn't bad, i like the beat, i understand arabic ofc but i didn't fully understand what he said... in general it's good DH2 i hate it cuz of tiktok and instagram stories and stuff like that... DH3 is just a legend, legendary lyrics, legendary flow, legendary beat... everything is just well set... I vote for DH3

Valve’s Steam Deck is still collecting pre-orders; some people already have the console at their disposal. Put simply, it’s a handheld console for Steam and its supported games, and players can take it virtually anywhere. Though at Mobile World Congress earlier this morning, a new partnership between Verizon, Qualcomm, and Razer. What exactly will come of that partnership? A brand-new handheld console specializing in streaming and cloud gaming is what. Powered by 5G mobile technology, the trio of companies is set to release the Razer Edge 5G. Twitter user GLKCreative tweeted about the announcement, which you can see below. The Razer Edge 5G enables you to use mobile data to access the network for your cloud games, giving it a bit more network access and reach than the Steam Deck, among other devices of this caliber. You can also stream and access your games over a conventional wi-fi connection if you prefer doing that. The storefronts that the Razer Edge 5G supports were not disclosed other than Android, so it’s rather unclear whether this will include native support for spaces like NVIDIA GeForce NOW, Xbox Game Pass, Steam Remote Play, or other game streaming services. It’s already a pretty significant contender for what it has to offer. Of course, the obvious competition would be the Logitech G Cloud handheld. This portable device offers a Steam-Deck-like form factor but focuses entirely on streaming rather than running games natively. As such, the device is fully compatible with Xbox Cloud Gaming via Xbox Game Pass Ultimate and NVIDIA’s GeForce NOW. Verizon and Razer also noted that you can see more information on the Razer Edge 5G in about two weeks at RazerCon on October 15th. We’ll continue to update as more information on the Razer Edge 5G is released, including features and technical specifications. The Razer Edge 5G is currently in development. Source.

While File Explorer will finally be gaining tabs in the next update to Windows 11, now that the first major 2022 update for it is available, PowerToys is also bringing in a useful update to see what's using your files as it's slowing down your PC. PowerToys(opens in new tab) is an app that has a collection of tools to help improve your PC or laptop, from putting a spotlight on your mouse to easily find it, or adding some additional tools to File Explorer, which is where this latest update comes in. According to Windows Latest(opens in new tab), this upcoming update to PowerToys enables you to right-click, and in the context menu, select an option to find out exactly which processes are using the file in question. Called 'File Locksmith', this could be very useful if you've been coming across moments where some files have been selected, and they've slowed down your PC for a long period of time. A Locksmith at the ready In an update on GitHub, developer ivanstosic-janea(opens in new tab) explains the feature in more detail, where a window will pop up, showing which processes are using the file, and you can 'kill' these to stop the file using these. This can be useful in a bunch of ways, as you can more quickly find out why your PC is slowing down, and stop the file in question instead of restarting your PC completely. The feature is still in testing and not available to users as yet, but in the meantime, we do recommend installing PowerToys regardless, as it can easily cut down some steps in renaming a bunch of files at once for example. Source.

Just like their U.S. colleagues across the pond, European retailers are preparing for Nvidia's flagship GeForce RTX 4090 launch on October 12. In fact, it looks like some European stores will carry more custom GeForce RTX 4090 variants than some of their American counterparts as boards from companies like Asus, Gigabyte, Inno3D, , MSI, Palit, PNY, and Zotac are already listed by retailers in Finland, Germany, and the U.K. Custom top-of-the-range Ada Lovelace architecture-based graphics boards are not cheap in Europe, to put it mildly. While Nvidia's own GeForce RTX 4090 Founders Edition graphics card carries an MSRP of €1949 in most European countries, boards from partners start at €1999 ($1575) in Finland(opens in new tab) and €2029 ($1953) in Germany(opens in new tab), at least in respective Proshop stores (thanks to VideoCardz for the tip). When comparing European prices to U.S. prices, one should note that prices in Europe generally include a sale tax / VAT of respective countries (19% in Germany, 24% in Finland), whereas U.S. retailers list prices without taxes. As a result, while at first glance European prices look substantially higher than U.S. prices, they are not that higher. For convenience of our U.S. readers, we subtract the sales tax / VAT and then convert European prices to USD. The cheapest GeForce RTX 4090 graphics cards in Finland are Gigabyte's Windforce GeForce RTX 4090 and Asustek's TUF Gaming GeForce RTX 4090 — they cost €1999 ($1575). Meanwhile, the lowest-priced G102-based boards in Germany are MSI's Gaming Trio GeForce RTX 4090 (€2029, $1665) and MSI's factory-overclocked Gaming X Trio GeForce RTX 4090 (€2169, $1779). The most expensive one is the Asus ROG Strix GeForce RTX 4090 OC — it costs €2479 ($2034) in Germany and €2549 ($2007) in Finland. Among the most interesting custom GeForce RTX 4090 graphics cards listed in Europe, but not in the U.S. are certainly Inno3D's GeForce RTX 4090 iChill X3 with a GPU boost clock of 2580 MHz and a massive triple-fan cooling system that is priced at €2199 ($1732) in Finland. Inno3D also has its GeForce RTX 4090 iChill Frostbite/GeForce RTX 4090 iChill Black with pre-installed waterblock for custom-built liquid cooling systems €2249/€2299 ($1845/$1887) in Germany and €2299/€2399 ($1810/$1890) in Finland. Meanwhile, Caseking.de(opens in new tab) also lists Zotac's factory-overclocked Gaming GeForce RTX 4090 AMP! Extreme Airo with a 2580 MHz GPU boost clock and a huge triple-fan cooler. This board will be available for €2279 ($1870), but the retailer does not say when it is set to ship. Speaking of Caseking Group, we should note that its U.K. subsidiary Overclockers.co.uk(opens in new tab) already lists 22 GeForce RTX 4090 models from different vendors and even has two GeForce RTX 4080 cards from KFA2 as well as PNY incoming. Unfortunately, the company does not reveal prices of the upcoming boards. In general, looks like big European retailers are more or less ready for Nvidia's new product launch on October 12 and those who want to have the best graphics card will be able to get one in less than two weeks. Source.

Name of the game: Townscaper Price: $5.99 - $3.59 Link Store: Here. Offer ends up after X hours: DAILY DEAL! Offer ends 10 October. Requirements:

Cologne welcomed back countless gaming fans for this year's Gamescom after two years of hiatus forced by the COVID pandemic. That said, while gamers once again attended in droves (over 250K, according to official figures shared by the organizers), several of the biggest game companies decided to skip the German convention. On the upside, this choice allowed other games to shine, with the Wuxia-themed open world sandbox RPG Where Winds Meet easily gathering some of the most excited reactions on social media and forums. Developed by Everstone Studio and published by NetEase Games for the PC platform, Where Winds Meet is set in China during the twilight period of the Ten Kingdoms. It features highly ambitious gameplay mechanics that go beyond the traditional combat-focused action/adventure genre, supporting many different playstyles. Where Winds Meet also includes both single player and multiplayer modes. Following the strong excitement generated by the debut trailer showcased at Gamescom 2022 Opening Night Live, we reached out to the development team of Where Winds Meet with a plethora of questions. Today, we are happy to publish the comprehensive responses we got from the developers, which should fill in many gaps in areas like combat and non-combat activities, world size, story, building system, multiplayer, and more. Enjoy! First of all, what was your reaction to all the positive buzz that followed the reveal of Where Winds Meet? Did it surpass your expectations, and if so, how are you handling the newfound pressure from gamers worldwide? This trailer seems to have gained the attention and love of players from all around the world. We were really delighted and pleasantly surprised by this, but we are also experiencing greater pressure as a consequence! We constantly need to keep reminding ourselves to be more down-to-earth in making games after gaining so much unexpected attention. Rationally speaking, our game is still not where we want it to be ideally. We will continue to work hard and keep polishing the game more earnestly in the future and do our best to create something that truly gives our players a better experience of the world of martial arts. This sounds like a really ambitious project. When did you begin work on Where Winds Meet, and how many developers do you have on it? We have been preparing since 2019. We had a relatively small team of about ten or more people at that time, but everyone was filled with yearning and passion for the spirit of martial arts, and we all enjoyed open-world gameplay, so everyone hit it off from the start and we began developing the game together. Later, with the project's advancement, the team continued to grow. We currently have just under a hundred people. Which engine are you using for this title? Will you take advantage of ray tracing? We are using a proprietary solution, but we will release more information about our engine later. Will you support controllers/gamepads for Where Winds Meet? Yes, we plan for our game to offer support for game controllers. Are you planning to conduct beta tests outside of China? All we can say is that we hope to launch a test version of the game this year. Please keep an eye out for further information about the specific region. The announcement press release described Where Winds Meet as an open world sandbox game. Usually, games in this genre do not focus on the story. However, can players still expect a detailed storyline in Where Winds Meet? In the game, we use the main story to push players to explore the world, but the main story won't account for too much of the whole game. We will try to supplement the story with more narratives about the environment and events. How big is the playable world in the game? How long does it take to get from one end to another of the map? We expect the first version to have more than 20 square kilometers (5K * 5K), but we are constantly adjusting this according to the content. As the world of this game has a 3D structure, there is an underground space and altitude. The game will continue to be updated and expanded in the future. The first version will feature a large city, Bianjing City, a large wild area, and small towns. From what we've been able to understand, there will be a single player mode and multiplayer mode, and players can switch between them at all times. Can you explain the differences between the two? Simply put, single-player and multiplayer modes will be mutually exclusive modes, and players can freely choose whichever mode they want to play. In multiplayer mode, players will be in environments that are interactive or collaborative in nature. For example, players can fight together. As shown in the live demonstration, when a player suffers from qigong deviation or a debuff, other players can take on the role of a physician to heal their injuries. In addition, the scene of the meteorite falling in the trailer is actually a random event unique to multiplayer mode. Our philosophy is that a large area will be changed when any event occurs. A house could collapse, a fire could break out, or it could be something more serious, and players would be required to work together to accomplish a certain goal. How many players will be able to participate on the same server in the multiplayer mode of Where Winds Meet? Will there be clan/guild struggles for conquering territories? The Multiplayer mode is still being designed, and many contents have yet to be determined. We are hoping to do something novel and unique with multiplayer mode to give players new experiences, so we are still in the process of trial and error for details. Stay tuned, though. You've confirmed that player characters can get sick in a variety of ways. How important are the survival elements going to be in Where Winds Meet? We have added some realistic content to the game, but our original intention was to recreate classic content of martial arts (Wuxia) and not to make a survival game. We brainstormed about interesting and unique experiences of martial arts and thought of how those who practice martial arts can suffer from Qigong Deviation and enter a state similar to illness if something goes wrong. Building on this through association and extension, we have incorporated many states of disease into the game, including fractures and other traumas. These contents are triggered and resolved through the game's unique martial arts characteristics, such as Qinggong and combat, instead of simply introducing survival elements into the game. Beyond fighting as a swordsman, the game will allow other professions such as doctors, merchants, etc. Will there be any specific mini-games to go with these alternative jobs? Also, can you take multiple jobs at once? We hope to provide a diversified value system in this martial arts society so that players can play the game as any occupation. Even if they don't pursue powerful combat abilities, they can still experience the unique fun of the rich social occupation gameplay. We will still provide sufficient content for each profession. Players who choose to become a doctor will have different abilities and honor evaluation criteria from heroes. For example, they may be evaluated based on the amount of praise received from patients or the number of intractable diseases treated. At the same time, because this game will have rich social elements, there will be extensive interactions between various occupations and identities, allowing players to experience fun social interactions and a sense of personal achievement. Regarding combat, we understand that player characters can join a martial art school or multiple schools or even just steal the moves. Can you expand on how this system works? Where Winds Meet has a martial arts (Wuxia) theme. We attach great importance to the presentation of martial arts (Wuxia) elements in the game, and the fighting abilities in the martial arts (Wuxia) theme are both an inheritance and an extension of the traditional martial arts, kung fu. It includes real fighting moves and content that defies the laws of physics, making it romantic and innovative. We hope this will show everyone the unique charm of martial arts combat. Many martial arts movements seen in the trailer are inspired by kung fu concepts. For example, the pressure point attacks mentioned by many players are traditional martial arts technique that uses a special way of force generation to hit specific parts of enemies' bodies to immobilize them. It is a type of 'Qigong'. This type of attack is featured in many martial arts films, television works (such as Crouching Tiger and Hidden Dragon), and martial arts literature. This will be the first time this attack has been recreated in a game, so we hope it lives up to everyone’s expectations. The fire-breathing and acrobatics that appear in the trailer are derived from kung fu performances of traditional Chinese street performers. The scene of the leaves being rolled up is a representation of Tai Chi, a martial art that originates from the ancient philosophical work, the i-ching, the Book of Changes. It is a martial art that advocates using softness to overcome strength, borrowing the force of others, and channeling the power of enemies' attacks to counter them. The trailer also showed many interesting martial arts, such as Form-Intention Fist (e.g., Toad Arts, Lion Roar, etc.), which is derived from simulating animals' hunting behavior. Martial arts skills can even be used to skim over rooftops and walls, etc. can be used to climb over various terrain obstacles such as rocks and walls, step on animals or utilize enemies' force to leap, etc. The introduction of these elements adds interesting changes and experiences to battles. Other than fighting skills, we also designed abilities called 'Jianghu Arts', which play an important role in the exploration of the world and interactions with NPCs. Taking Tai Chi, for example, the core mechanic of leveraging force allows players to change the flow of water, gather the power of falling leaves, or burst with power in an instant to control and change the environment. The collision and fusion of martial arts abilities and an open world are exactly what we want to create a unique and exclusive experience. In Where Winds Meet, martial arts skills can be acquired in various ways that are quite exciting. For example, some taboo martial arts can only be learned through Shadow, and the process of Shadow is risky as you will pay the price if you are discovered. Some other martial arts can only be discovered by chance while exploring the world. For example, players can only comprehend Drunken Fist if they fight when they are drunk. Moreover, players can freely join major Jianghu factions and have their own Jianghu experiences. We want to provide such a degree of freedom. At the same time, players who have joined a sect can still secretly learn the martial arts of other sects. Players are able to use any weapons and learn martial arts from all schools according to their preferences. Will there be fights between schools/sects that you can take part in? In the process of practicing martial arts and exploring the world of Where Winds Meet, players will encounter characters and sects that think differently and have different values. Players will also encounter various opponents and be able to participate in brutal sect battles. Construction is also said to be a big feature of Where Winds Meet. What kind of perks and benefits can players get by building a house? Can it be attacked by other players in multiplayer mode? Players can build things in the world as construction masters. We want our players to enjoy the fun of creation and want to deeply combine construction with exploration and martial art themes to offer players some unique fun. More details will be shared at a later date. Will players be able to make friends, get married, and/or have children in this game? There is no marriage system yet, but we may consider this in the future if there is strong demand from players. However, we recommend players try the parts we have completed first. Is there a chance fans can expect Where Winds Meet to be released in 2023 or is 2024 a safer bet? The release date has not been decided yet. We hope you'll continue to follow us for the latest updates. Is there anything else you would like to add about Where Winds Meet? We’d like to share some background information of why the title is Where Winds Meet. First of all, the game's name originated from our thoughts about 'wind'. To us, 'wind' is a symbol of freedom. It is difficult to describe and has infinite possibilities. This temperament is especially in line with what we have visualized for our free and open world. When multiple winds gather, it is akin to a gathering of people with different ideas, organizations with different ideas, and players who are all different in this grand era and world. We want these harmonious yet different things to meet, collide, and fuse together in the game. That's why this game is called Where Winds Meet. It is in such a place that the collision and intersection of ideas drive mankind to keep moving forward, influencing each other, and creating countless miracles and civilizations, just as the brilliant Song dynasty was born from the chaos of the Five Dynasties period and rebuilt prosperity from the ruins. Exploration and freedom, civilization and harmony–this is the meaning of Where Winds Meet and is the theme of the game that we want to present to everyone. Source.

Prime Minister Liz Truss has agreed to meet other European leaders at a new political "club of nations" next week. The inaugural summit of the European Political Community (EPC), proposed by French president Emmanuel Macron, will meet in Prague next Thursday. Although the UK voted in 2016 to leave the EU, it is among more than a dozen non-EU nations invited to join EU members to discuss security and energy. Ms Truss has only just indicated she could attend the first meeting. She is said to want the group to focus on "delivery" rather than becoming a "talking shop". Mr Macron proposed the EPC in May, as a "new space" for co-operation. The broad intention is to establish a forum that goes beyond the immediate EU member states. All 27 members of the EU are invited as well as the UK, Ukraine, Norway, Switzerland and Turkey. Western Balkans nations are also invited, along with Iceland, Liechtenstein, Moldova, Georgia, Armenia and Azerbaijan. EU leaders have insisted the community would not "replace" its enlargement policy of bringing new members into the EU fold. Ever since Liz Truss became prime minister, influential figures around her have been careful not to rule out her attendance. But they have been pretty sniffy about the likelihood of it happening. One suggested just a week ago they'd have to be certain it was a good use of a day of her time. They are also very nervous about any suggestions it is a back door way of cosying up to European countries in any kind of institutional arrangement, given the Brexit vote. On the agenda at next week's meeting are energy and migration. Both are issues the prime minister wants to focus on. Another appeal of the gathering is it involves other non EU members such as Ukraine. Officials - including from the UK - attended a preparatory meeting in Brussels on Thursday. One diplomat told the BBC that Britain had suggested a name change - to the European Political Forum. It is thought this change is so the project does not sound too much like the European Community, an earlier name of the EU. UK officials are said to be seeking assurances that the meeting will not be too dominated by EU countries or institutions. Similar ideas have been floated for decades but this is the first big push for such a forum since Brexit. The Czech Republic currently holds the rotating European Council presidency, so offered to host the first meeting of the EPC. It is not certain exactly what format future meetings would take or how often they would be held, or where. However EU officials have suggested there could be around two a year. Ms Truss previously rejected the idea of British participation. As foreign secretary, she said that Nato and the G7 were the UK's "key" military and economic alliances. But EU sources have said the UK has indicated it may be willing to host the next EPC summit. Source.