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A new entry in the Star Wars Jedi series is currently in the works, according to the main character Cal Kestis' voice actor.

Speaking a few days at a panel during Ocala Comic Con 2023, Cameron Monaghan, who plays the main character in the series developed by Respawn, confirmed they are working on a third game without adding much more on the matter.

That a new Star Wars Jedi game is coming isn't surprising at all, as the series was confirmed to be envisioned as a trilogy, and Survivor doesn't exactly bring closure to Cal Kestis' story. Still, it will be interesting to see how much the formula will evolve in the third game now that the series' director Stig Asmussen has left Respawn.

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New Yuzu Nintendo Switch emulator builds that were shared online today promise to bring emulation improvements as well as widespread performance enhancements across several titles.

Mainline build 1567 introduces a variety of fixes and improvements, including emulations improvements for the recently released The Legend of Nayuta: Boundless Trails, Mario + Rabbids Kingdom Battle, Pikmin 4, and Master Detective Archives: Rain Code.

Also released today was a new Yuzu Nintendo Switch emulator Early Access build. This 3893 build replaces queue with a fibonacci heap in core timing, leading to reduced stuttering and better performance in multiple, unspecified games.

Panos Panay did not present at Microsoft's recent Windows event in New York City—his departure from the titanic technology corporation was announced on September 18; so only three days before an official unveiling of new Surface products. Panay and his (now former) executive colleagues painted a positive picture regarding the move onto pastures new. News reports emerged about an alleged high level hiring by Amazon, with Panay overseeing Alexa and Echo divisions—replacing Dave Limp, SVP of Amazon Devices & Services. A Business Insider report suggests that Microsoft's former chief product officer was unhappy about budget cuts affecting his Surface division—certain insiders were not surprised when Panay announced his retirement from the big M.

The transfer to Amazon was in the works for a while, according to cited inside sources—Microsoft reportedly implemented a round of major budget cuts and product cancellations that did not sit well with Panay. The Surface department experienced "significant" downscaling, and plans for next-generation Surface Headphones were jettisoned. Business Insider proposed that funds had been reassigned to more important internal ventures—mainly artificial intelligence. Many folks were looking forward to Panay taking the stage in NYC earlier this week, but Brett Ostrum (Corporate Vice President of Surface Devices) ultimately acted as his replacement—with a showcasing of the company's latest portable Windows devices. Attendees were somewhat surprised to see Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella turn up as well—it is possible that he was added to the roster for "some extra firepower."

Right to repair has no cannier, more dedicated adversary than Apple, a company whose most innovative work is dreaming up new ways to sneakily sabotage electronics repair while claiming to be a caring environmental steward, a lie that covers up the mountains of e-waste that Apple dooms our descendants to wade through.

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Today, it costs about a quarter to add a system-on-a-chip to even the tiniest parts. These SOCs can run DRM. Here's how that DRM works: when you put a new part in a device, the SOC and the device's main controller communicate with one another. They perform a cryptographic protocol: the part says, "Here's my serial number," and then the main controller prompts the user to enter a manufacturer-supplied secret code, and the master controller sends a signed version of this to the part, and the part and the system then recognize each other.

This process has many names, but because it was first used in the automotive sector, it's widely known as VIN-Locking (VIN stands for "vehicle identification number," the unique number given to every car by its manufacturer). VIN-locking is used by automakers to block independent mechanics from repairing your car; even if they use the manufacturer's own parts, the parts and the engine will refuse to work together until the manufacturer's rep keys in the unlock code:

Destiny isn’t done with them just yet… The Doctor and Donna return for three special episodes ❤️❤️➕🔷 #DoctorWho returns this November to @BBC iPlayer in th...

Majority of offset projects that have sold the most carbon credits are ‘likely junk’, according to analysis by Corporate Accountability and the Guardian

The vast majority of the environmental projects most frequently used to offset greenhouse gas emissions appear to have fundamental failings suggesting they cannot be relied upon to cut planet-heating emissions, according to a new analysis.

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In a new investigation, the Guardian and researchers from Corporate Accountability, a non-profit, transnational corporate watchdog, analysed the top 50 emission offset projects, those that have sold the most carbon credits in the global market.

According to our criteria and classification system:

• A total of 39 of the top 50 emission offset projects, or 78% of them, were categorised as likely junk or worthless due to one or more fundamental failing that undermines its promised emission cuts.

• Eight others (16%) look problematic, with evidence suggesting they may have at least one fundamental failing and are potentially junk, according to the classification system applied.

• The efficacy of the remaining three projects (6%) could not be determined definitively as there was insufficient public, independent information to adequately assess the quality of the credits and/or accuracy of their claimed climate benefits.

• Overall, $1.16bn (£937m) of carbon credits have been traded so far from the projects classified by the investigation as likely junk or worthless; a further $400m of credits bought and sold were potentially junk.

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AMD used to release new AMDVLK Vulkan driver updates on a near weekly basis for Linux users but that has slowed down for a while. We are approaching the end of Q3 and now AMDVLK 2023.Q3.2 has been published as their first new open-source driver release since early August.

With the time that has passed since the prior release, AMDVLK 2023.Q3.2 is at least on the heavier side for changes. AMDVLK 2023.Q3.2 brings support for quadbuffer stereo, Quake 2 RTX ray-tracing performance tuning, reducing the RS64 vs. FP32 mode overhead, reducing the AMDVLK binary size, and other optimizations.

[New features and improvement]

• Update Khronos Vulkan Headers to 1.3.261
• Support Quadbuffer Stereo
• Performance tuning for Quake2 RTX RT
• Reduce RS64 vs F32 mode overhead
• Add a setting to allow changing PWS mode
• Reduce amdvlk binary size
• Optimize the clear to single shaders
• Support dynamic sample buffer info for Extended_dynamic_state3 extension

[Issues fixed]

• Driver still reports HDR formats even when HDR mode is disabled
• CTS failure in dEQP-VK.pipeline.monolithic.executable_properties.graphics.vertex_stage*
• vkCreateRenderPass2 Crash
• Debug markers missing in RGD

Recently revealed Project Crawl is calling itself "an immersive first-person PvPvE dungeon crawler" and is planning an alpha playtest on Steam next week. (September 27-29)

In a series of community Q&As, Mithril Studio also explains that Project Crawl will feature various races (elves and humans and so on) and classes to choose from, "environmental interaction systems," and will eventually launch into early access after playtesting. Current party size is three players, though Mithril Studio suggests other game modes and team sizes could possibly be options in the future.

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If you want in extra early on the next contender for fantasy dungeon extraction, there's a survey to fill out to enter yourself in consideration for the alpha playtest running next week from September 27-29.

Steam Page
Alpha Playtest Signup Survey
YouTube PlayTest Teaser

Dragon's Dogma was the action-RPG for people who wanted to play alone, but didn't want to feel alone. By far its most charming feature was the Pawn system, whereby you'd create an AI-controlled sidekick and hire two others, shared online by other players, to accompany you on your journey through a fantasy wilderness of tumbledown castles and goblin campfires. Pawns make dependable companions in many respects - pinning enemies for you to tag-team kill, healing or resurrecting you, opening chests you've missed, and enchanting your weapons at the outset of each skirmish. But what makes them fun to be around is that they're a bunch of massive buffoons.

Pawns talk without cease as you explore: a steady patter of idle observations about well-wrought staircases and the local fish trade, advice about the bestiary and, in the case of Pawns recruited from other players, quest tips based on time in their own worlds - all of it couched in the game's quirky faux-medieval dialect. Pawn dialogue is highly context-sensitive, and very often, nonsensical. They'll climb into fountains and complain that they're wet, and launch into pithy descriptions of monsters even as they're set on fire. It ought to be maddening, but somehow, it never is - probably because the Pawns never actually attempt to be witty like ally characters in, say, Xenoblade Chronicles. They're resolutely straight foils in a realm of lions with snakes for tails, chaotic boulder traps, unpleasantly lusty ogres, and players who push the wrong buttons and make random decisions on the fly. Well, pawns are back in Dragon's Dogma 2, which I recently played an hour of, and they're chattier than ever.

This week on All Things Nintendo, Brian is joined (in his dining room) by Atari CEO Wade Rosen. The two chat about the past, present, and future of the legendary gaming company, as well as Wade's lifelong love of video games. Wade sticks around to take part in Definitive Ranking and gives his eShop Gem of the Week. There isn't a video version this week, but we'll be back with the recently introduced video format next week!

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Announced earlier this year, Bandai Namco's Sand Land looks to translate a cult Japanese comic into an open-world adventure. Playing it on the floor of Tokyo Game Show, I came away intrigued about the characters and story, but less thrilled about actually playing the full game.

Sand Land debuted in the year 2000 as a short-lived tale of a demon prince exploring a desolate wilderness – hence the title. Created by Akira Toriyama, a manga artist of major renown for his Dragonball series as well as his contributions to many games such as Dragon Quest, Sand Land remained a print-only phenomenon until 2023. A feature-length film debuted this summer, with this game serving as the next multimedia tie-in.

At a special showcase for members of the press at Bandai Namco Entertainment in Tokyo, Japan, I had a chance to play an early build of Tekken 8. While renowned director Katsuhiro Harada’s latest sequel will launch with 32 characters, only 16 were available during this meeting. The roster included a blend of old and new faces, including long-established stars like Paul Phoenix and Jin Kazama alongside more recent creations like Claudio Serafino and Lars Alexandersson. However, series producer Michael Murray stated that all Tekken 8 models have been redesigned from scratch, befitting the transition from the Unreal Engine 4 to Unreal Engine 5.

With a series that celebrates its 30th anniversary next year, Tekken walks a tricky line. The 3D fighter has built up a fan base all over the world over three decades, but the franchise necessarily needs new blood to remain competitive. Tekken 8 will try to satisfy both crowds with dual control options: Arcade style retains the classic four-button attack scheme—one input per limb—while Special style lets players execute command moves and complex combos with simple button presses. Murray emphasized the importance and flexibility of Special style, acknowledging that other long-running fighting games have introduced similar systems. "Ours, you can turn on or off in the middle of a match any time you want," he said.

Official Trailer