Alter Archives

AppWizard

May 5, 2025

Nightmare Frontier, a New Tactical Turn-Based Strategy Game, Announced for PC

Developer Ice Code Games has announced their new tactical turn-based strategy game, Nightmare Frontier, described as "XCOM meets Hunt: Showdown with a dash of Cthulhu." The game is set in an alternate 19th-century America, altered by a mysterious event, where survivors face the Dreadweavers—monstrous entities representing humanity's deepest fears. Players take on the role of a ringleader, navigating a treacherous environment and rallying scavengers for missions to find loot. The gameplay combines turn-based "gun-n-slash" mechanics with horror elements, featuring a risk-reward system. Nightmare Frontier is available for wishlisting on Steam.

AppWizard

May 2, 2025

FILM SCENE | OPINION: Fan explains ‘Minecraft Movie’ tropes

The film industry is experiencing several key trends that are reshaping storytelling: 1. Filmmakers are prioritizing diverse narratives that reflect a broader spectrum of human experiences. 2. Technological advancements, such as virtual reality and augmented reality, are transforming the viewer's experience by creating immersive worlds. 3. The rise of streaming platforms is altering film distribution, democratizing access to films and allowing a wider variety of voices to be heard. These trends influence the types of films produced and shape audience expectations and engagement, fostering a new era of cinema characterized by creativity and experimentation.

Tech Optimizer

April 21, 2025

Best practices to handle AWS DMS tasks during PostgreSQL upgrades

The AWS Database Migration Service (AWS DMS) provides a managed solution for migrating and replicating databases to AWS, supporting both homogeneous and heterogeneous migrations. It allows seamless data migration from PostgreSQL databases to any supported target and vice versa. Open-source PostgreSQL regularly releases new versions, and Amazon RDS aims to support these within five months. Upgrading PostgreSQL instances is essential for security and compliance. Minor version upgrades focus on security and bug fixes without adding new functionalities, while major upgrades can change system tables and data formats. AWS DMS tasks require careful management during PostgreSQL upgrades. For minor upgrades, ongoing DMS tasks should be stopped and then resumed post-upgrade. For major upgrades, replication slots must be dropped before the upgrade, which will invalidate ongoing DMS tasks. After the upgrade, a new CDC-only task should be created to resume data migration. Minor version upgrades of the target PostgreSQL database do not affect AWS DMS CDC tasks, but major upgrades require stopping the DMS task, performing the upgrade, and ensuring compatibility with the replication instance before resuming the task.

AppWizard

April 21, 2025

Sinners starring Michael B. Jordan tops weekend box office

Ryan Coogler's film, Sinners, topped the box office with million in its opening weekend, surpassing A Minecraft Movie. The film features Michael B. Jordan in a dual role as twins and was produced by Warner Bros. with a budget of approximately 0 million. Coogler's deal allows him a percentage of gross ticket sales and ownership of the film after 25 years, raising concerns among rival studio executives. Sinners was screened in 3,308 theaters across North America and received positive critical responses. In its third week, A Minecraft Movie earned .3 million, bringing its total to 0.8 million worldwide. Warner Bros. captured 64 percent of the total domestic box office over the Easter weekend.

AppWizard

April 19, 2025

Star Wars Zero Company shows off its first trailer and gameplay details

On April 14, 2025, EA announced a turn-based tactics game titled 'Star Wars Zero Company', set to launch in 2026 on Xbox Series X|S, PlayStation 5, and PC. The game features a secret war aimed at saving the galaxy, drawing inspiration from titles like Gears Tactics and Warhammer 40,000: Rogue Trader. Players will navigate strategic combat, utilize their environment, and develop bonds among squad members to unlock combat synergies. The game is set during the Clone Wars era and allows players to assemble a squad of iconic characters, including Jedi, Mandalorians, Clone Troopers, and Astromechs.

AppWizard

April 19, 2025

Dwarf Fortress sells 1 million copies on Steam, so now Bay 12 Games can afford that ‘little party’ it planned

Dwarf Fortress has sold over 1 million copies on Steam since its launch, as announced by publisher Kitfox Games. The game, previously available for free for nearly two decades, gained popularity after its Steam release in late 2022, selling half a million copies in two months. The updated user interface and hand-drawn tiles attracted both new and long-time players. Following an adventure mode update, sales predictions were confirmed less than three months later. Tarn and Zach Adams, the game's creators, have hinted at celebrations for this milestone. Kitfox indicated that the game is entering a new development phase with a focus on new features and enhancements. Ongoing projects include improvements to siege mechanics, site building in adventure mode, and revisions to subterranean layers.

Winsage

April 18, 2025

XYplorer is the best dual-pane file manager that I’ve used on Windows

XYplorer is a dual-pane file manager that enhances productivity with its intuitive interface and robust features, allowing simultaneous access to two folders for easier file management. It offers customization options, advanced search capabilities, file previews, batch renaming, and scripting automation. XYplorer is lightweight, providing faster performance and quicker search results compared to Windows File Explorer. It also has a portable version that can run from a flash drive without installation. XYplorer operates as trialware for 30 days, after which users can purchase a license.

AppWizard

April 16, 2025

Best Single-Player PC Games to Play in 2025

Single-player PC games are thriving in 2025, featuring captivating narratives, intricate gameplay, and stunning visuals. Notable titles include: 1. Blue Prince - An indie roguelike puzzle game with a Metacritic score of 93, set in a shifting manor where players solve interconnected puzzles. 2. Assassin’s Creed Shadows - Set in feudal Japan, this game features two protagonists with distinct playstyles and has been praised for its narrative pacing and environmental design. 3. Indiana Jones and the Great Circle - A cinematic first-person adventure focusing on exploration and puzzle-solving, released on PC in late 2024. 4. South of Midnight - A magical adventure following a girl with weaving abilities, notable for its claymation art style and emotional depth. 5. Avowed - A first-person fantasy RPG with choice-driven storytelling, set in the same universe as Pillars of Eternity. Upcoming games include: - Blades of Fire (May 22, 2025) - A Soulslike combat game with a focus on cinematic storytelling. - Cairn (TBA 2025) - A survival climbing simulator emphasizing precision control mechanics. - Hell Is Us (September 4, 2025) - A narrative-driven action game that eschews traditional open-world design. - Eriksholm: The Stolen Dream (Late 2025) - A stealth-adventure game featuring orphans uncovering a conspiracy. The PC platform remains the best for single-player games due to mod support, performance flexibility, a vast library, and indie innovation. The evolution of gaming technology has led to cutting-edge graphics, immersive storytelling, and innovative exploration mechanics, enhancing player engagement.

Tech Optimizer

April 16, 2025

Hackers find a way around built-in Windows protections

Windows Defender Application Control (WDAC) is a built-in security feature on Windows PCs that restricts the execution of unauthorized software by allowing only trusted applications. However, hackers have discovered multiple methods to bypass WDAC, exposing systems to malware and cyber threats. Techniques for bypassing WDAC include using Living-off-the-Land Binaries (LOLBins), DLL sideloading, and exploiting misconfigurations in WDAC policies. Attackers can execute unauthorized code without triggering alerts from traditional security solutions, enabling them to install ransomware or create backdoors. Microsoft operates a bug bounty program to address vulnerabilities in WDAC, but some bypass techniques remain unpatched for long periods. Users can mitigate risks by keeping Windows updated, being cautious with software downloads, and using strong antivirus software.

Tech Optimizer

April 16, 2025

Transition a pivot query that includes dynamic columns from SQL Server to PostgreSQL

The text discusses the process of migrating workloads from SQL Server to PostgreSQL, specifically focusing on the implementation of the PIVOT function. It highlights the limitations of using CASE WHEN statements in SQL Server for dynamic reports and introduces the crosstab function from PostgreSQL’s tablefunc extension as a more flexible alternative. The solution involves creating a PostgreSQL function called get_dynamic_pivot_data that utilizes crosstab to dynamically generate columns based on query results. To test the function, users need to provision either Amazon Aurora PostgreSQL or Amazon RDS for PostgreSQL and install a PostgreSQL client tool. For those using C#, .NET SDK 8 and Visual Studio Code must be installed. The text provides detailed steps for creating sample tables and stored procedures in SQL Server, along with the equivalent setup in PostgreSQL, including the use of the crosstab function and cursor management. It emphasizes the need for security measures, such as storing database credentials in AWS Secrets Manager. The author encourages sharing experiences related to implementing PIVOT functionality in PostgreSQL.