The next PlayStation trophy you earn could provide more than just bragging rights. Sony has launched a “Play and Plant” program that will plant a tree when you earn a trophy in Horizon Forbidden West. Complete “Reached the Daunt” by March 25th and Sony will team with the Arbor Day Foundation to plant a tree as part of reforestation efforts in California, Florida and Wisconsin. You can save the real Earth while you save the virtual one, to put it another way.
The project won’t please every environmentalist. Sony and the Arbor Day Foundation will halt donations when they reach the estimated 288,000 trees needed to complete the reforestation efforts. Given that Horizon Forbidden West is Sony’s tentpole game for early 2022, the company could hit that milestone very quickly. Wouldn’t it be kinder to the planet (and latecomers) to plant as many trees as possible?
Still, the plant-a-tree program represents a unique tie-in, and an experiment in pairing in-game achievements with real-world outcomes. You now have a material incentive to make progress. We wouldn’t expect initiatives like this to become commonplace, but it’s easy to see more of them in the future — if just to keep people engrossed in a game beyond its first few hours.
The long-awaited PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S versions of Cyberpunk 2077 are out now. CD Projekt Red previously planned to release the upgrades last year, but delayed them until early 2022. Those who own the game on PS4 and Xbox One will get a free upgrade to the respective current-gen version.
Players can expect faster loading, dynamic scaling and other visual and technical upgrades. The PS5 version takes advantage of the DualSense controller’s haptic feedback, built-in speaker and adaptive trigger functions, as well as activity cards and 3D audio.
There are performance and ray-tracing modes on PS5 and Xbox Series X. In performance mode, the game will run in 4K at 60 frames per second with occasional, small framerate drops. You’ll get medium/half-res SSR (Screen Space Reflection) quality too. With ray-tracing on, the framerate will drop to 30 fps with SSR quality at high/half-res. On Xbox Series S, the game will run in 1440p at 30fps.
The current-gen editions are arriving 14 months after Cyberpunk 2077‘s tumultuous debut. There were widespread reports of the game running poorly on PS4 and Xbox One at the outset, so much so that Sony yanked Cyberpunk 2077 from the PlayStation Store. Sony and Microsoft both offered refunds to any player who wanted one. The game stayed off of Sony’s digital storefront for six months until CDPR whipped it into shape with a laundry list of bug fixes. Here’s hoping things go much more smoothly for PS5 and Series X/S players.
CD Projekt Red
Along with the current-gen versions, patch 1.5 includes updates for all platforms, including PS4, Xbox One, PC and Stadia. The perk system has been overhauled. Perk points have been unassigned, so that players can revamp their build based on new skill trees.
Enemies are smarter and it’s easier for them to find cover. Crowds are more responsive to aggressive actions you carry out — some bystanders might even attack you if they’re threatened — though these changes won’t apply to PS4 or Xbox One.
Driving should be better too, with better braking and suspension, and all bikes will have glowing wheel wells players can switch on. Completing missions will mean more cash in your pocket and cars won’t cost as much. There are new guns and attachments to check out as well (though I’m not sure they can beat running around Night City with a sword).
CDPR is adding more character customization options, including a larger range of makeup looks. Also, players will at long last be able to change how their version of V looks mid-game. You’ll be able to rent apartments (or home bases) in other parts of the city and change the look of your living space too.
If there’s one thing I can tell you about this city – you either love it or wanna burn it.
There’s much more going on in this patch, including tweaks to relationships, the loot system and economy; an option to walk slowly; and more poses for Johnny Silverhand. There’s a Spanish voiceover support in the Americas, but only on the current-gen consoles. CDPR is leaving some changes for players to discover by themselves.
The patch is around 50 GB on Xbox, PS4 and PC (Stadia players won’t need to download it, of course). PS5 owners will need to download the new version manually from the PlayStation Store, and they’ll be able to transfer one of their save files.
Newcomers will be able to check out a fairly meaty chunk of the game on PS5 and Xbox Series X/S without paying anything, as there’s a five-hour trial available. Your progress will carry over to the full game. Cyberpunk 2077 is currently 50 percent off on the PlayStation Store, Xbox store and GOG.
The sounds, the lights, and even the satisfying feel of the flipper in action easily explain why pinball remains popular to this day. But like Adrian Atwood, few of us have the room for a full-size pinball machine at home. Atwood’s solution was to convert an old table into a double-duty coffee table, and as impressive…
Last year, political cartoonist Matt Bors—founder of The Nib and creator of thousands of comic strips you’ve almost definitely seen online at some point across his 18-year career—shocked the cartooning world by announcing his retirement from the realm of political comics. But now, Bors is ready to return to the…
Epic Games has rolled out the latest Fortnite patch, which gives players more ways to control their character as they pursue a Victory Crown. The game now supports gyro and flick stick controls on Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, PS5, Android and PC (but not, unfortunately, Xbox). Although gyro controls were already available on Switch and Android, Epic says the latest iteration is more robust.
The studio worked with input specialist Julian “Jibb” Smart on the updated gyro options. When the setting is enabled, you’ll be able to move the camera by physically moving the controller. It should make Fortnite more accessible, while some players may find the gyro option improves their aim (they can, for instance, use the right stick for most camera movement and make finer adjustments with gyro aiming).
The feature works in tandem with flick stick control. That setting, which is only available when gyro is enabled, will flick the camera in a certain direction when you point the right stick that way. You’ll need to use the gyro controls to aim up or down, since pulling the stick back will snap the camera 180 degrees to look behind you.
Players will find both options in the Touch and Motion tab of the settings. They’ll be able to, for instance, enable gyro functions only while aiming and tweak factors like sensitivity.
The 19.30 patch brings in some other changes. All players will now load directly into the Battle Royale lobby when they boot up the game. They’ll need to go to the Discover screen to access the Save the World and Creative modes. It’s a smart move, since Battle Royale is why most people come to Fortnite, and Epic knows where its bread is buttered. Elsewhere, Armored Walls will have vanished from Supply Drops in competitive playlists.
Ford teased the prospect of 3D-printing your own accessories when it unveiled the Maverick hybrid pickup truck, and it’s acting on that promise. According to 3D Printing Industry and Newsweek, the brand has released CAD files to help you 3D-print add-ons compatible with the Ford Integrated Tether System (FITS) slots behind the center console and under-seat storage bins. You can build a cupholder that fits your favorite drink, or a phone mount tailored to your latest handset.
You could say Ford is late. Enthusiasts have already designed FITS accessories in the months since the Maverick’s launch. You can even find unofficial FITS slots for the dashboard cubby and non-Ford vehicles. The official files should make it that much easier to create add-ons, though, and it won’t be surprising if there’s a surge in user-made designs.
Ford
The company is still happy to sell pre-made FITS accessories. As design manager Scott Anderson told Newsweek, however, the 3D printing support represents a “pretty big shift” in Ford’s attitude toward users. It’s an acknowledgment do-it-yourself accessory making is on the rise, and that customizing a vehicle can include more than just performance tuning or cosmetics. What Ford loses in accessory sales it might gain in loyal fans who buy the brand’s vehicles again.
“It’s not fun to show the world that I maybe wasted a gold medal,” said Norway’s Jarl Magnus Riiber, who competed only after just coming out of COVID isolation.
As Valve released CAD files for the Steam Deck, are we witnessing the birth of a new sort of expectation on behalf of the creator of handheld gaming devices?
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