8 CSS & JavaScript Snippets for Creating Animated Progress Bars – Speckyboy

8 CSS & JavaScript Snippets for Creating Animated Progress Bars – Speckyboy

User interfaces (UIs) that measure progress are helpful. They offer visual confirmation when completing various tasks, so users don’t have to guess how far they are into a process.

We see these UIs on our devices. Anyone who’s performed an update on their computer or phone will be familiar with them. Thus, it’s easy to take their design for granted.

However, we’re starting to see more creative implementations. And the web has become a driving force. Designers are using CSS and JavaScript to make progress UIs fun and informative. By adding quirky animations and other visuals, we’re well beyond the standard progress bar.

Here are eight progress bars and UIs that have something unique to offer. You might be surprised at how far these elements have come.

Animated Semi-Circular Progress Bar Chart Using SVG by Andrew Sims

We don’t always measure progress in a straight line. You can also use shapes like this beautiful semicircle. The snippet uses ProgressBar.js and SVG to create an attractive presentation.

See the Pen Animated semicircular progress bar chart using SVG by Andrew Sims

CSS Animated Download & Progress Animation by Aaron Iker

Users spend a lot of time downloading files. Progress meters keep them abreast of their status. We love that this example keeps things simple. A single button houses all the information users need.

See the Pen Download progress animation by Aaron Iker

Progress Bar Animation by Eva Wythien

Who says progress bars have to be boring? Here’s a look at how creativity can spice things up. CSS keyframe animations, patterns, and gradients add fun to the mix.

See the Pen Progress bar animation by Eva Wythien

CSS & JavaScript Progress Clock by Jon Kantner

Time is another way to measure progress, and this clock does so in a unique way. Hover on the date, hours, minutes, and seconds to focus on their meters. The effect takes a complex UI and breaks it into bite-sized chunks.

See the Pen Progress Clock by Jon Kantner

CSS-Only Order Process Steps by Jamie Coulter

Here’s a fun way to show users the steps in an eCommerce process. Clicking on a step reveals more details. Notice how the box icon changes along the way. This UI demonstrates progress and doubles as an onboarding component.

See the Pen CSS only order process steps by Jamie Coulter

Screen Wraparound Progress Bar by Thomas Vaeth

Progress UIs can also be scroll-based. In this case, a colored bar wraps around the viewport as you scroll. The effect goes in reverse as you move back to the top. Perhaps this example isn’t a fit for every use case. But it could be a companion to a storytelling website.

See the Pen Wraparound Progress Bar by Thomas Vaeth

Responsive Circle Progress Bar by Tigran Sargsyan

This snippet uses an HTML range input that syncs with a circular progress UI. The shape makes this one stand out. But so does the color-changing effect. As the slider value changes, so do the colors.

See the Pen Circle progress by Tigran Sargsyan

Rotating 3d Progress Bar by Amit

Here’s something different. These rotating 3D progress bars provide a futuristic look. That aside, they were built entirely with CSS, and they’re sure to draw attention.

See the Pen 3d progress bar v2 by Amit

Better Progress Through Code

There’s no reason to settle for an old-school progress UI. It’s now possible to create something that matches your desired aesthetic. And best of all, you don’t need a lot of complex code or imagery. Make these elements as simple or complex as you like.

The examples above demonstrate a wide range of possibilities. But they’re only scratching the surface. Combine CSS, JavaScript, and imagination to build a distinct look and feel.

Are you looking for more progress UI examples? You’ll want to check out our CodePen collection!

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New method enables fast, accurate estimates of cardiovascular state to inform blood pressure management

New method enables fast, accurate estimates of cardiovascular state to inform blood pressure management

If patients receiving intensive care or undergoing major surgery develop excessively high or low blood pressures, they could suffer severe organ dysfunction. It’s not enough for their care team to know that pressure is abnormal. To choose the correct drug to treat the problem, doctors must know why blood pressure has changed. A new MIT study presents the mathematical framework needed to derive that crucial information accurately and in real time.

The mathematical approach, described in a recent open-access study in IEEE Transactions on Biomedical Engineering, produces proportional estimates of the two critical factors underlying blood pressure changes: the heart’s rate of blood output (cardiac output) and the arterial system’s resistance to that blood flow (systemic vascular resistance). By applying the new method to previously collected data from animal models, the researchers show that their estimates, derived from minimally invasive measures of peripheral arterial blood pressure, accurately matched estimates using additional information from an invasive flow probe placed on the aorta. Moreover, the estimates accurately tracked the changes induced in the animals by the various drugs physicians use to correct aberrant blood pressure.

“Estimates of resistance and cardiac output from our approach provide information that can readily be used to guide hemodynamic management decisions in real time,” the study authors wrote.

With further testing leading to regulatory approval, the authors say, the method would be applicable during heart surgeries, liver transplants, intensive care unit treatment, and many other procedures affecting cardiovascular function or blood volume.

“Any patient who is having cardiac surgery could need this,” says study senior author Emery N. Brown, the Edward Hood Taplin Professor of Medical Engineering and Computational Neuroscience in The Picower Institute for Learning and Memory, the Institute for Medical Engineering and Science, and the Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences at MIT. Brown is also an anesthesiologist at Massachusetts General Hospital and a professor of anesthesiology at Harvard Medical School. “So might any patient undergoing a more normal surgery but who might have a compromised cardiovascular system, such as ischemic heart disease. You can’t have the blood pressure being all over the place.”

The study’s lead author is electrical engineering and computer science (EECS) graduate student Taylor Baum, who is co-supervised by Brown and Munther Dahleh, the William A. Coolidge Professor in EECS.

Algorithmic advance

The idea that cardiac output and systemic resistance are the two key components of blood pressure comes from the two-element Windkessel model. The new study is not the first to use the model to estimate these components from blood pressure measurements, but previous attempts ran into a trade-off between quick estimate updates and the accuracy of estimates; methods would either provide more erroneous estimates at every beat or more reliable estimates that are updated at minute time scales. Led by Baum, the MIT team overcame the trade-off with a new approach of applying statistical and signal processing techniques such as “state-space” modeling.

“Our estimates, updated at every beat, are not just informed by the current beat; but they incorporate where things were in previous beats as well,” Baum says. “It’s that combination of past history and current observations that produces a more reliable estimate while still at a beat-by-beat time scale.”

Notably, the resulting estimates of cardiac output and systemic resistance are “proportional,” meaning that they are each inextricably linked in the math with another co-factor, rather than estimated on their own. But application of the new method to data collected in an older study from six animals showed that the proportional estimates from recordings using minimally invasive catheters provide comparable information for cardiovascular system management.

One key finding was that the proportional estimates made based on arterial blood pressure readings from catheters inserted in various locations away from the heart (e.g., the leg or the arm) mirrored estimates derived from more invasive catheters placed within the aorta. The significance of the finding is that a system using the new estimation method could in some cases rely on a minimally invasive catheter in various peripheral arteries, thereby avoiding the need for a riskier placement of a central artery catheter or a pulmonary artery catheter directly in the heart, the clinical gold standard for cardiovascular state estimation.

Another key finding was that when the animals received each of five drugs that doctors use to regulate either systemic vascular resistance or cardiac output, the proportional estimates tracked the resulting changes properly. The finding therefore suggests that the proportional estimates of each factor are accurately reflecting their physiological changes.

Toward the clinic

With these encouraging results, Baum and Brown say, the current method can be readily implemented in clinical settings to inform perioperative care teams about underlying causes of critical blood pressure changes. They are actively pursuing regulatory approval of use of this method in a clinical device.

Additionally, the researchers are pursuing more animal studies to validate an advanced blood pressure management approach that uses this method. They have developed a closed-loop system, informed by this estimation framework, to precisely regulate blood pressure in an animal model. Upon completion of the animal studies, they will apply for regulatory clearance to test the system in humans.

In addition to Baum, Dahleh and Brown, the paper’s other authors are Elie Adam, Christian Guay, Gabriel Schamberg, Mohammadreza Kazemi, and Thomas Heldt.

The National Science Foundation, the National Institutes of Health, a Mathworks Fellowship, The Picower Institute for Learning and Memory, and The JPB Foundation supported the study.

Across the pond to scale new heights

Across the pond to scale new heights

Nathanael Jenkins had always wanted to study aerospace engineering, he just hadn’t quite found the right place for it. He had explored options close to his home in Hampshire, U.K., but had never considered studying in the United States. That changed when a family vacation brought him to the MIT campus in 2018. “MIT felt exciting, high-energy, and very different from my small high school back home. My lasting memory was the fact that they had a nuclear reactor in the middle of a bustling city,” he says.

Yet after weighing financial, travel, and family considerations, he opted for a top science and engineering university a bit closer to home, at Imperial College London (ICL), majoring in aeronautical engineering. Still, he never took his sights off MIT — and he didn’t have to.

Since 2019, MIT’s International Science and Technology Initiatives (MISTI) program has worked with Imperial College London to exchange students from eight MIT departments looking for a global education experience, and has seen eight Imperial students spend the year at MIT’s Department of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AeroAstro). When Jenkins learned about the opportunity, he was determined to take another shot at an education abroad. He and his colleague Timur Uyumaz, who had never been to the United States, applied for the exchange and were accepted into Course 16.

“I was definitely very excited,” says Jenkins. “The prospect of traveling to the U.S. still felt pretty surreal until we’d actually landed in Boston.”

Academic pursuits, first-hand and hands-on

Jenkins joined the Aerospace Plasma Group, where he worked on lightning strike simulations for aircraft fuselage safety. Uyumaz became a member of the Computational Turbulence Group, expanding his work on high-fidelity fluid simulations. The research-focused environment allowed both to dive into their studies without the fear of a high-pressure exam looming at the end of their courses.

“At Imperial, 90 percent of my classes are exam-focused,” says Jenkins. “At MIT, I’m working hard all the time, learning more actively every week, and there’s no terror at the end.”

One of the academic highlights for both students has been the ability to take classes with experts and pioneers in science, engineering, and aerospace. “In my first semester, I took 18.C25 (Real World Computation with Julia) — taught by Alan Edelman, the actual co-founder of Julia,” says Uyumaz. “It was a privilege to be taught by innovators within their fields.”

Last year, Jenkins took a 16.891 (Space Policy Seminar) class led by MIT Media Lab Director and former NASA Deputy Administrator Dava Newman, and Professor Daniel Hastings, a former chief scientist at the U.S. Air Force. “You’re learning from the people who were part of these huge milestones in space research. They’re not teaching as if they were there — they were actually there,” says Jenkins.

Having experts working together in one place offers endless possibilities for collaboration, and Jenkins has taken full advantage of MIT’s labs and state-of-the-art facilities. He has even conducted an experiment in the nuclear reactor that piqued his interest years ago.

Scaling new heights with outdoor adventures

Outside the classroom, both Jenkins and Uyumaz have become active members of the MIT Outing Club (MITOC), taking the opportunity to go on outdoor hiking adventures across New England. “We thought it would be like British hiking — rain and low altitude,” they laugh, but immediately found that the group was inclined to take on a more challenging trek.

They first tackled Guy’s Slide, a steep Adirondack-style climb on Mount Lincoln in New Hampshire. “This climb has places with ‘no-fall zones,’ which just means ‘seriously, don’t fall.’ The leader for the trip asked us ‘are you sure’ several times before we signed up, knowing we were new climbers. Once we talked about our limits, we got cleared to go.” After the four-and-a-half-hour climb to Mt. Lincoln’s 5,089 foot summit, the pair were hooked. “Our thing was being outside from then on.”

They climbed Mount Washington last winter as both participants and leaders of the expedition, with other exchange students, staff, and even alumni from across the Institute along for the climb. “There was lots of snow, and views for miles.” Inviting other exchange students has helped them build connections with other students from ICL, MIT, and universities around the world.

Onward and upward

While Uyumaz has returned to ICL to complete his studies, Jenkins is looking forward to formally joining Course 16 as a graduate student in the fall, still in the Aerospace Plasma Group. “I’m keen on — adamant, really — that I’ll do a career in engineering, probably in fluid simulations,” he says. He recognizes that having a place like MIT on his resume, with strong industry collaborations and well-connected faculty, will benefit his career in the short and long term.

“I am grateful for the hospitality we received from MIT — from AeroAstro, MITOC, Baker House (and resident house dogs, Biko and Louie, who always added joy to our day). The program enabled something I never thought possible.”

In the coming years, Jenkins looks forward to spending even more time outdoors with MITOC during his time as a graduate student. “I’m hoping to run some stand-up paddle boarding trips on the Charles [River], and continue exploring the White Mountains. At some point, I’m planning to venture further west to explore some even bigger mountains in Colorado.”

Uyumaz is looking forward to using his new cross-cultural connections to strengthen partnerships between ICL and MIT and inform his academic journey. “Although it was a one-year exchange, I have been provided with perspective and opportunities for a lifetime,” he says. 

Global data breach costs hit all-time high – CyberTalk

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY:

Global data breach costs have hit an all-time high, according to IBM’s annual Cost of a Data Breach report. The tech giant collaborated with the Ponemon institute to study more than 600 organizational breaches between March of 2023 and February of 2024.

The breaches affected 17 industries, across 16 countries and regions, and involved leaks of 2,000-113,000 records per breach. Here’s what researchers found…

Essential information

The global average cost of a data breach is $4.88 million, up nearly 10% from last year’s $4.5 million. Key drivers of the year-over-year cost spike included post-breach third-party expenses, along with lost business.

Global data breach costs hit all-time high – CyberTalk
Image courtesy of IBM.

Over 50% of organizations that were interviewed said that they are passing the breach costs on to customers through higher prices for goods and services.

More key findings

  • For the 14th consecutive year, the U.S. has the highest average data breach costs worldwide; nearly $9.4 million.
  • In the last year, Canada and Japan both experienced drops in average breach costs.
  • Most breaches could be traced back to one of two sources – stolen credentials or a phishing email.
  • Seventy percent of organizations noted that breaches led to “significant” or “very significant” levels of disruption.

Deep-dive insights: AI

The report also observed that an increasing number of organizations are adopting artificial intelligence and automation to prevent breaches. Nearly two-thirds of organizations were found to have deployed AI and automation technologies across security operations centers.

The use of AI prevention workflows reduced the average cost of a breach by $2.2 million. Organizations without AI prevention workflows did not experience these cost savings.

Right now, only 20% of organizations report using gen AI security tools. However, those that have implemented them note a net positive effect. GenAI security tools can mitigate the average cost of a breach by more than $167,000, according to the report.

Deep-dive insights: Cloud

Multi-environment cloud breaches were found to cost more than $5 million to contend with, on average. Out of all breach types, they also took the longest time to identify and contain, reflecting the challenge that is identifying data and protecting it.

In regards to cloud-based breaches, commonly stolen data types included personal identifying information (PII) and intellectual property (IP).

As generative AI initiatives draw this data into new programs and processes, cyber security professionals are encouraged to reassess corresponding security and access controls.

The role of staffing issues

A number of organizations that contended with cyber attacks were found to have under-staffed cyber security teams. Staffing shortages are up 26% compared to last year.

Organizations with cyber security staff shortages averaged an additional $1.76 million in breach costs as compared to organizations with minimal or no staffing issues.

Staffing issues may be contributing to the increased use of AI and automation, which again, have been shown to reduce breach costs.

Further information

For more AI and cloud insights, click here. Access the Cost of a Data Breach 2024 report here. Lastly, to receive cyber security thought leadership articles, groundbreaking research and emerging threat analyses each week, subscribe to the CyberTalk.org newsletter.

The Casting of Frank Stone Preview – Breaking Down The Game’s Cutting Room Floor Feature And Scope Of Choice – Game Informer

The Casting of Frank Stone may have new elements due to its ties to Dead by Daylight, but it remains a Supermassive horror game at its core. By that, I mean it’s a narrative-focused, choice-driven adventure that can result in numerous different outcomes based on your decisions and reaction time to sudden button prompts. Characters can be permanently killed off due to your actions, and this blueprint has given past Supermassive works like Until Dawn and especially The Quarry (which boasted 186 different outcomes) plenty of replayability for fans who wanted to see every possible route the story could take. This has typically meant restarting the entire game, but The Casting of Frank Stone eases this process thanks to a new destination called the Cutting Room Floor.

This mode opens after you’ve beaten the game once, but it will be available at the start for owners of the Deluxe Edition. The Cutting Room Floor displays the web of possible outcomes, locked and unlocked, for every narrative fork in each chapter. It also shows the number of collectibles you’ve found or can be found. 

Every decision has a percentage number representing the number of players who chose it, and this statistic will continually fluctuate as more people play. You can replay any segment, which means you can preserve your choices from a previous section of the game and only change later outcomes, and vice versa. Since some outcomes can only be experienced by making a specific combination of decisions, the Cutting Room Floor seems like a great, streamlined way to witness the different story permutations and go collectible/achievement hunting without replaying unnecessary stretches or the whole game.   

The Casting of Frank Stone Preview – Breaking Down The Game’s Cutting Room Floor Feature And Scope Of Choice – Game Informer

How many different directions can the story take? When I asked Supermassive Games this question, creative director Steve Goss told me that the sheer number of outcomes won’t be as vast as The Quarry’s. Instead, he says to compare the game to Until Dawn’s structure. The team aimed to write a more tightly written tale for The Casting of Frank Stone to facilitate more satisfying character arcs and resolutions. That said, you’ll still be making plenty of decisions, and the Cutting Room Floor will make it easier than ever to revisit those choices and make new ones.

The Casting of Frank Stone launches on September 3 for PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, and PC. Click the banner below to visit our cover story hub for more exclusive stories and videos.

Mistral Large 2: Enhanced Code Generation and Multilingual Capabilities

Mistral AI introduced Mistral Large 2 on July 24, 2024. This latest model is a significant advancement in Artificial Intelligence (AI), providing extensive support for both programming and natural languages. Designed to handle complex tasks with greater accuracy and efficiency, Mistral Large 2 supports over 80…

Star Wars Outlaws Preview – Continuing To Evolve – Game Informer

Earlier this year, I flew to Malmö, Sweden, to get an exclusive first look at Star Wars Outlaws for our cover story. During that time, I played through an hour of early-game content, spoke with various members of the developers, and dove deep into the approach the studio behind The Division took when crafting its adventure in the galaxy far, far away. Several months have passed since my trip out to Sweden, and with Ubisoft hosting one final preview event prior to the game’s August 30 release date, I traveled to Irvine, California, to get my hands on a longer section of the game.

In Star Wars Outlaws, you control Kay Vess, a scoundrel who gets swept up in a difficult situation and must navigate the criminal underworld in the time between The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi. But she’s not alone; she has her faithful (and insanely cute) companion, Nix. Together, they forge new relationships, backstab existing ones, and play the politics game in the criminal underbelly of planets like Tatooine and Kijimi, as well as the all-new moon, Mirogana. Their ultimate goal is to earn their freedom after unwillingly getting swept up in a situation that resulted in a crime lord putting a hit out on Kay.

Star Wars Outlaws Preview – Continuing To Evolve – Game Informer

Return of the Scoundrel

My demo begins minutes before my initial hands-on impressions from our cover story earlier this year. Kay and Nix have landed on Toshara, and their ship, the Trailblazer, needs some new parts before they can get off the moon. As she exits the ship to survey the landscape, she’s attacked by a Rodian named Waka. When Kay asks what gives, Waka makes mention of something along the lines of, “I thought you were one of them.” While that raises an additional question, it immediately answers itself, as it’s revealed that “them” is a group of bandits that were attacking him. 

Kay ducks behind cover, and I begin blasting. Here, Star Wars Outlaws tutorializes a mechanic I didn’t get to check out in my first hands-on session: the Adrenaline Meter. If Kay is under pressure for long enough, her meter charges, which allows you to activate it to slow down time. In this phase, I can select nearby enemies on a short timer, then return the game to normal speed to have Kay automatically take them out. After using Kay’s adrenaline to blast the bandits, she has a chance to chat with Waka, who, as luck would have it, is a mechanic. But he needs parts, and he recommends Kay seek the help of Gorak of the Pyke Syndicate. 

Following that chat, the peace ends as more bandits descend upon their location. Kay hops on her speeder and sets a course for Mirogana, the capital city of Toshara. After a speeder chase sequence (where I again use the adrenaline meter attack to blow away Kay’s pursuers), I reach Mirogana. I once again play through the hour of gameplay I experienced at Massive Entertainment earlier this year. However, it’s much more polished and streamlined this time – the result of playtesting. Waypoints and destinations are more clearly marked and breadcrumbed, and sections of what I played at the studio have been smoothed over in noticeable ways. It makes for a better experience overall, even if I still enjoyed my time with it the first time.

Even with those changes, the basic flow of the missions and cutscenes remain the same: Kay sneaks into Gorak’s private suite, gets tossed out, takes a job with a mystery client to steal data from the Pyke Syndicate, sneaks into Pyke territory, connects with Crimson Dawn, and then steals the parts she needs from either Crimson Dawn or the Pyke Syndicate. Much like my first playthrough, I aligned more closely with Crimson Dawn, which means I don’t have to sneak around to steal the part from them. It’s all part of the Reputation System, which tracks the ebbs and flows of your relationships with the various criminal organizations you interact with (learn more about the system here). I then rendezvous with Waka at Jaunta’s Hope, a small town outside Mirogana. For a more detailed rundown of these events, head to my original write-up of this sequence here.

Star Wars Outlaws

After acquiring the Ion Blast ability for Kay’s blaster, which served as the ending of my previous demo, I continued playing for another couple of hours. I speak to the bartender in Jaunta’s Hope, who informs me about Experts. These reputable characters around the open world allow you to complete in-game tasks like jumping your speeder a certain distance or stealthily taking down distracted enemies to unlock certain abilities like a faster speeder or an option to fast-talk your way out of capture.

I decide to follow one of the questlines involving a nearby Expert, but on my way there, I play around with the open world a bit. En route to a small wind-fishing town, I hear radio chatter of stolen Imperial parts that some Stormtroopers are pursuing. I follow a dropship flying overhead to reach the site, where a blaster battle breaks out between some pirates and The Empire. I let them pick each other off so I could have a better chance; then, once the Stormtroopers won, I finally stepped out from behind cover to polish off the remaining troops and claim the bounty.

I continue down the path, I spot a mini Imperial base. I decided to devote most of the rest of my first gameplay session to messing with The Empire. I direct Nix to detonate a barrel to draw attention, then I sneak up and stealthily take out some of the Stormtroopers. A nearby officer notices me and opens fire. I fall back, and the snipers stationed on top of the base start blasting in my direction. After wiping them all out, my Wanted level rises. Chatter starts over the radio, talking about a dangerous woman in the area. I climb up to the top, pick up the sniper rifle, and try to pick off a nearby Stormtrooper on a speeder. He doesn’t take kindly to that and rushes in my direction, and my Wanted level rises again. As your Wanted level increases, so does the pressure you feel from The Empire. I didn’t experience this, but if you reach the maximum level, The Empire will even send death troopers to hunt you down. 

Star Wars Outlaws

Up, Up, and Away

After messing around with The Empire and raising my Wanted level, I decide it’s time to pursue other off-world adventures. I bring the fuel injectors Waka needed to repair the Trailblazer, and it’s off the space we go. Space flight gives you an orbit around planets and moons that you can explore in Kay’s ship. Flying the Trailblazer feels good, with the right analog stick controlling speed, the left stick controlling your orientation, and options for boosts, blasters, and missiles. 

After flying around for a bit, I navigate to an Imperial Fueling Station to wipe some data. This consists mostly of stealth sequences, as I need to get to the terminal to wipe the data while Waka keeps them busy. As I work through the station, I sneak behind moving carts, climb through vents, and grapple across chasms. When I need to, I also knock out some unsuspecting officers and troopers in my path. This elongated section culminates in a massive room full of Imps; after three failed attempts to sneak through it, I find an alternate path to send Nix through a vent and move a ship blocking a walkway suspended above the room I was struggling with. After sneaking past a probe droid, I finally make it to the terminal, where I can choose to side with the Pykes or Crimson Dawn.

I stick with my allegiances in this playthrough and help out Crimson Dawn, but the sequence features an interruption by a bristly disembodied head in a jar (yes, like in Futurama). This Pyke’s name is Bosnak, and he was working with The Empire but is open to forming an alliance with Kay. To wrap up this long mission aboard the Imperial ship, Kay must sneak Bosnak out. Once he’s close to the ship, however, the Imperial forces are alerted of Kay’s presence, and she must hold them off until he can board and the door can lower. Once Waka is ready for takeoff, Kay sprints aboard the ship, and they fly out of the station.

But it isn’t that easy to get away from an Empire that you just assaulted and stole from. TIE Fighters are hot on the Trailblazer‘s tail, and I get to put the space combat through its paces in a more fleshed-out way. When you have an enemy in your sights, holding the left trigger brings you into Chase Mode, which zooms in the camera, follows the target, and displays a UI that tells you how far to lead the target with your aim. After taking some time to get used to it, I finally took down the TIEs to escape. This ended the longest portion of my gameplay, but after a break, it was right back in the shoes of Kay Vess as we were whisked away to Kijimi.

Star Wars Outlaws

Winter Storm Warning

The second portion of my demo takes me to Kijimi, a location most known for its appearance in Star Wars: Episode IX – The Rise of Skywalker. Regardless of your opinion on that movie, Kijimi was a fascinating location and I’m glad to have a chance to explore it more thoroughly during a different era. This portion of my gameplay session begins in the orbit of the frigid planet. After gunning down some ambushing space pirates, Kay starts her approach to Kijimi.

Kay arrives on the planet searching for a safecracker named Ank for the heist she needs to pull off. On her way to the territory of Ashiga Clan, another one of the crime syndicates, she runs into an Imperial officer who operates a side hustle. The officer tells Kay that if she picks up too much heat and needs to clear her Wanted level with The Empire, she can pay her to wipe it from the database. That might come in handy, but for the purposes of the demo, I keep moving on. After sneaking into Ashiga Clan territory, Kay commands Nix to steal a keycard from a guard, which she then uses to access a restricted room with a computer. After hacking the computer using a minigame where you have a set number of attempts to guess a sequence, she learns nothing about the factor that Ank is said to be held in, but instead uncovers details about an ongoing conflict between Ashiga Clan and Crimson Dawn. 

Star Wars Outlaws

Kay learns that the relic that the Ashiga Clan is so up in arms about was taken by Crimson Dawn and held in a private club on Kijimi called The Wellspring. My Reputation I built up with Crimson Dawn in my first file was lost in the transition to the new save file, so I need to sneak in to The Wellspring. I once again sneak past the guards and use Nix to steal a keycard from a guard. Entering the control room, I lower the barriers around the relic. From there, I decide it’s time to go loud; I use Nix to distract one of the beefier-looking guards, then run up and take him down. The alarm sounds, and a shootout begins. Using all that I’ve learned – Nix’s distractions, the Adrenaline Meter, and how the Ion Blast is stronger against droids – I narrowly escape with the relic. 

From there, I guide Kay back to Ashiga Clan territory. After some smooth talking by Kay, she is escorted to Queen Ashiga, who thanks her for retrieving the relic. The screen tells me that my reputation with Ashiga Clan has gone up while my rep with Crimson Dawn has taken a pretty serious hit. However, I didn’t have the chance to see the implications of that as my time with Star Wars Outlaws came to an end.

Open-world titles with long gameplay loops are difficult to demo in the course of a few hours, but from the two hands-on sessions I’ve experienced to this point, I’ve enjoyed getting started with Kay Vess and Nix’s adventure. If the loop can deliver on the promise of the game’s various systems and provide a strong hook to keep me coming back for more, my inner Star Wars fan could very well have something to look forward to next month. Thankfully, the release date is not far, far away, as Star Wars Outlaws launches on PS5, Xbox Series X/S, and PC on August 30.