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Hyper Light Breaker Preview – Hands-On With The Not-Quite-A-Sequel To Hyper Light Drifter – Game Informer
In my review for 2016’s Hyper Light Drifter I wrote about how it was a game I created excuses for myself to keep playing after seeing credits writing, “I didn’t do it out of necessity; I did it because I wanted to stay in Hyper Light Drifter’s world for as long as possible.” I love the color, style, music, and overall vibe of that game, which is why I was so excited to finally go hands-on with its not-quite-a-sequel, Breaker, and finally have an excuse to exist in that world again.
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“It’s not a sequel – it is just in the world of Hyper Light. It will have common threads, themes, and shared components,” director Alx Preston says. “If you played Drifter you will see reappearing species and enemies and other stuff like that, but generally, you don’t have to play Dirifter to enjoy this. The story is encapsulated in its own way. But there are connections to it for sure.” Preston is even more ambiguous about its Drifter relationship when asked specific questions about the timeline saying, “It takes place not too far away from [Dirfter] on either end. It’s not like it’s taking place 1000 years later. It’s within a range of the events of Drifter.”
Breaker retains the mood of Drifter, and its sound, though Preston says returning composer Disasterpiece was mainly only involved in the beginning, but it does overall look and feel different. Breaker is a 3D action game, and I made my way through a few short runs while Preston watched and politely congratulates me on lasting longer than most. There is a quick dash for general movement and a separate combat dash for closing the gap between enemies. I found little use for it in my short time, but you can also pull out a hoverboard to move quickly over longer stretches and use a glider to prevent fall damage when jumping from high heights. Expectedly, considering developer Heart Machine’s action history, it feels good, and though I died quickly, I can already see the opportunities for skill improvement.
In my first run, I used a personal favorite, dual swords and a pistol, and for my second run, I used a single sword and something close to a machine gun. You can mix and match weapons as you progress, which I am thankful for as I would love to take the machine gun with the dual swords.
At the end of my playtime, I took on a boss named Dro. The gigantic wolflike creature with a big glowing yellow sword introduced himself by jumping into the arena with strange, staccato animation. It was as if he was intentionally leaving out frames, and it looked awesome. I didn’t get to see much else of him, though, because he killed me almost immediately. After leaping over a few expanding yellow attack circles on the ground, I got in about two hits before losing all my health. Preston was still polite about my run but did not offer the same compliment about how long I lasted compared to when I was out in the world.
“It’s going to be a thing where I have to figure out what to call it,” Preston says with a chuckle when I ask about if the game should be considered a proper roguelike. “It has roguelike elements for sure, but it’s also an open world with extraction elements. You can go on runs and death matters, but it’s on a different scale than a normal roguelike.”
You attempt runs in Breaker, and there are randomized open worlds, but you set your schedule for how you want to approach them. You have a limited time and attempts to go through a world and defeat its three bosses. If you fail you get a new world, but success also leads to a new world. There is also some agency in when you leave a given world with your earned assets, which Preston says almost makes it feel more like an extraction game. It’s a mechanic that will undoubtedly make more sense in practice but is difficult to perceive with just a few runs, not to mention developer tools to automatically transport you to Dro so he can immediately murder you.
Hyper Light Breaker is planned for Early Access this summer with the 1.0 release marking its console release. Preston, a Steam Deck fan, considers that platform a priority if for no one else but himself and offers a “never say never” response when asked about Switch.
Varun Mohan, Co-Founder & CEO of Codeium – Interview Series
Varun Mohan, is the Co-Founder & CEO of Codeium, a code acceleration toolkit built on cutting edge AI technology. Currently, Codeium has two main capabilities: Autocomplete, which suggests the code you want to type, saving you time on everything from boilerplate to unit tests, and Search,…
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Large language models (LLMs) have revolutionized natural language processing (NLP) by excellently creating and understanding human-like text. However, these models often need to improve when it comes to basic arithmetic tasks. Despite their expertise in language, LLMs frequently require assistance with simple math calculations. This gap…
10 Best AI Image Extenders (March 2024)
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Exclusive Deal: $300 Off LiveU Solo HDMI/SDI – Videoguys
For the first time, you can now get LiveU Solo with HDMI & SDI for under $1,000!
And that’s not all… FREE Solo Connect 2-Modem kit – a $450 value
The LiveU Solo portable live video encoder offers one-touch, wireless live streaming, directly from your camera source to any online destination. LiveU Solo lets content creators of all sizes, budgets and markets live stream professional quality HD video directly to any online video provider – without a large crew, lots of equipment or steep learning curve. Through the use of our patented bonding and video transport technology, the LiveU Solo portable video encoder creates consistent bandwidth and a reliable connection so you get high-quality remote live video broadcasts, from anywhere in the world
6 Top Reasons to Use LiveU Solo
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LiveU Solo PRO
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Cyber security is a social issue; here’s how we get young people…
Cyber security shares many similarities with the climate crisis. Both are systemic risks; one threatens the security of our planet and the other the security of our digital livelihood. Both are also consistently in the top 5 current risks, and top 10 risks over both a 2 year and 10 year period, according to the World Economic Forum Risk Report 2024.
When asked at the World Economic Forum’s Annual Meeting in 2024 why cyber security isn’t at the top of young people’s minds, young changemakers from over 40 countries responded that cyber security is intangible, inaccessible and inconvenient.
Cyber security may not come with the same stark visuals of wildfires or floods, but these digital forest fires have devastating real-world ramifications. For instance, in the United States alone, in 2023, at least 141 hospitals were directly affected by ransomware attacks, hindering their ability to deliver care.
Cyber security may not be a top social issue for young people today, but statistics show that this generation reports higher victimization rates in terms of social media account compromise, phishing, identity theft and cyber bullying. There is a fallacy that because young people — the digital natives — are tech savvy, they must be cyber savvy. This is an unfounded equivalence.
We are living in an increasingly frictionless world, with ride-sharing and food delivery at our fingertips. This sleek entanglement with our digital gadgets can result in individuals choosing convenience over security. Having a higher risk acceptance can subsequently translate to indifference.
But the responsibility of demanding cyber security shouldn’t fall to an individual user. We need collective action across public, private and community stakeholders. Young people must be convinced to spend their already limited time to inspire action; we must instill a sense of immediacy in cyber security, however abstract it may seem.
Cyber security and its intersecting issues
To make cyber security more tangible and urgent, we must consciously and emotionally connect it to social causes young people already care deeply about, bringing it to a meaningful level in a language they already speak. We also need to frame cyber security as an enabler for these social issues, and not just a risk to be offset:
The climate crisis and cyber security
Starting with the climate crisis, a sustainable future needs a cyber secure one. Cyber attacks on industrial systems that manage hazardous materials, such as water treatment plants, can result in environmental disasters. In addition to these systems, growth of digitized green technologies has created a new class of technology to protect. Advancements in green digital solutions include software-defined power grids, sensors that monitor efficient energy consumption and electrical vehicle charging stations. These are often interconnected and integrated devices and can create system-level vulnerabilities…
For young people at the forefront of climate action, integrating cyber security into new green technologies, their supply chains and environmental data-sharing can help achieve sustainability in both senses of the word; reducing environmental harms and ensuring that these technologies are themselves built to last and carry out their purpose.
Gender equality and cyber security
Another conversation young people are advancing is one of gender equality. Gender inequality offline translates to gender inequality online, and technology often creates new vectors to entrench existing inequalities. Chatham House’s toolkit on integrating gender into cyber capacity building notes several examples of this. Disruptions to public service systems can impede access to women’s health services. We recently saw very real examples of artificially generated explicit images, whose consequences are most serious for women and marginalized groups.
Therefore, for young people championing gender equality, building a cyber secure digital environment can create a safe space for women to participate in the digital (and by extension, the physical) sphere, and without being disincentivized to use new technologies.
Mental health and cyber security
Cyber security controls can also help maximize the opportunities of digital technologies while minimizing the mental health harms. The Australian Mental Health Commission 2023 report finds that depression, anxiety, self-harm, low self-esteem and loneliness have all been associated with online bullying, with people who have existing mental health concerns being more likely to be bullied. Furthermore, the study finds algorithms and recommender systems also may increase the likelihood of young people seeing harmful and unreliable content online, leading to psychological distress.
For young people who support mental health advocacy, pushing for investments into cyber security and privacy-centric features in online platforms can help put control back in users’ hands. This can look like restrictions on commenting and reposting, settings that limit who can see and interact with a user or the ability to block and report users, among other things.
Young people have a key role to play in shaping the future of many social issues. Cyber security is an enabler; it’s a tool to safeguard critical infrastructure and a means to create a more inclusive society. It is a purposeful cause in its own right, as a keystone in the architecture of our global community.
This article was originally published by the World Economic Forum and has been reprinted with permission.
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Storage Solutions for Every Part of Your Production Workflow: On Camer – Videoguys
On Today’s Videoguys Live, Jim will be discussing how to find the best media storage solutions tailored for every aspect of your production workflow. Whether you’re a content creator, filmmaker, or part of a production team, having efficient storage is crucial. From on-camera storage during shoots to organizing files at your desk, we’ve got you covered. Discover the latest technologies and best practices that will streamline your media management process. Join us as we explore the most reliable storage options for your creative endeavors.
Watch the full video below:
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In this presentation, we will cover various types of storage devices:
- On Camera: memory cards, SD cards, CFast cards, & CFexpress
- Portable Drives: portable drives, SSDs, Atomos, and even the camera to cloud
- At Your Desk: HDD vs SSD
- With Your Team: NAS, media management, etc
On Camera: Memory Cards
- Memory cards are portable storage devices used in cameras, phones, and other devices.
- Types include SD, microSD, CF express, and Cfast cards
- They are compact, but their storage capacity is relatively small.
- Typically ranging from 8GB to 1TB
On Camera: Card Readers
- Card readers are devices that read data from memory cards.
- They allow for easy transfer of data from portable devices to computers.
- Some are versatile, supporting multiple types of memory cards.
- Some desktop drives have memory card readers built in!
We can help you find the media that is certified for use with your camera and will provide the speeds for your workflows
Portable Drives: Atomos Monitors offer Both Local Recording and Camera to Cloud!
- Atomos On Board Monitors
- Atomos Cloud Studio
Portable Drives: Portable Rugged SSD Drives
- Definition: Portable rugged SSD drives are high-capacity, high-speed storage devices that are designed to withstand harsh conditions.
- Use Cases: Ideal for outdoor use, travel, and situations where data might be exposed to rough handling or environmental hazards.
- Advantages: They offer the speed of SSDs, combined with a design that is resistant to shock, dust, and water.
We can help you find the perfect drive for your on the go needs whether its waterproof, dust proof, shock proof or all of the above
At Your Desk: External Drive Connectivity
At Your Desk: HDD Drives
- Definition: An HDD (Hard Disk Drive) is a data storage device that uses magnetic storage with one or more rapidly rotating platters coated with magnetic material
- Use Cases: HDDs are widely used for data backup, disaster recovery, and for archiving data for longer periods of time
- Advantages: HDDs offer larger storage capacities at a lower cost compared to SSDs, making them an attractive option for users who need large amounts of storage
At Your Desk: SSD Drives
- Definition: External desktop SSD drives are high-capacity, high-speed storage devices that can be easily connected to a desktop computer via USB or other interfaces.
- Use Cases: Ideal for expanding storage capacity, backing up data, or transferring data between computers.
- Advantages: They offer the speed and performance of SSDs, with the convenience of portability.
At Your Desk: What is a RAID System?
- Definition: RAID stands for Redundant Array of Independent/Inexpensive Disks
- Use Cases: It’s commonly used in enterprise environments, as well as by individuals who want to protect their valuable data from hard drive failures
- Advantages:The purpose of RAID is to achieve data redundancy to reduce data loss and, in many cases, improve performance.
At Your Desk: RAID 0 and RAID 1 with 2 Hard Drives
- RAID 0 (Striping): Data is stored evenly across the number of disks in the array. This process is called disk striping and involves splitting data into blocks and writing it simultaneously/sequentially on multiple disks. It provides improved performance but no redundancy
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RAID 1 (Mirroring): Data is duplicated and stored on each drive. This process is called mirroring, and it ensures you won’t lose your files if a drive fails. It provides redundancy but no performance gain
At Your Desk: RAID 5 and RAID 6 with More Than 2 Drives
We will help you determine which raid system you need for your workflow!
With Your Team: Iodyne Pro Data
- Fast, Portable, Encrypted, Reliable, Quiet, and Easy-to-Use Storage
- 12, 24 or 48TB NVMe SSD Hardware RAID
- 8x Thunderbolt 3 Ports: Multi-User, Daisy Chain, Multi-Path, Multi-Host
- Use Containers to organize work into multiple virtual drives, each with their own RAID level and encryption settings
With Your Team: NAS Systems
- Definition: A Network Attached Storage (NAS) system is a high-capacity storage device connected to a network that allows authorized network users and clients to store and retrieve data from a centralized location
- Use Case: NAS systems are often used for storing shared documents, streaming media like music and videos, or backing up local machines
- Advantages: The key benefits of NAS include data consolidation, accessibility, flexibility, scalability, high availability, easier management, and improved security
With Your Team: Media Management with NAS
- Smart Access Rules: Choose who gets access to what files via credentials and password protection
- Bandwidth Priority for Critical Workflows: Bandwidth Priority will keep high-important jobs running at full speed while throttling lower-priority clients if necessary
- Remote Client Software Deployment: Remove the task of manual install per-client during upgrades with remote software deployment. Select any clients and upgrade software with a push of a button.
We will help you determine the right size NAS system for all of your media needs