cosmos Archives

AppWizard

July 9, 2026

Marketplace Content July 2026

Dyed Blocks++ by DogHouse introduces 930 new blocks in 16 colors for builders and designers. The Cats and Dogs add-on by Street Studios features 12 new dog breeds and 12 cat breeds with accessories. Modern Textures by Team Vaeron provides new textures and blocks for contemporary home designs. Modern Textures World by Imagiverse includes over 800 furniture items for modern decor. Space Oneblock by Honeyfrost offers a survival challenge in space starting with a single block. Enter the Dungeon by King Cube presents a customizable dungeon adventure with bosses. Safest Treehouse! by Dodo Studios is a treetop fortress with security features. Pro Mansion by Dodo Studios is a luxury multistory mansion with automatic farms and a pool. Fruitcore by Yeggs offers fruit-themed outfits, while Crystal Core by CubeCraft Games provides gem-themed outfits. TV Heads HD Skin Pack by CupcakeBrianna features nostalgic TV-themed skins. Simple Scapes Texture Pack by Giggle Block Studios emphasizes clean design. Tranquility - Calm Textures by Pathway Studios offers soothing colors for a serene backdrop. Royal Delight - Soft Textures by Pathway Studios reimagines blocks and armor with regal hues. Organic Toon Texture Pack by Giggle Block Studios includes over 2000 cartoon-inspired textures.

AppWizard

June 29, 2026

This week in PC games: a new King’s Field-like RPG, an American Revolutionary War sim, and a dreaming megacity full of cool architecture

This week in gaming features a mix of nostalgia and innovation. "The Message from Deep Space" is a narrative set in the 1970s about translating signals from an asteroid, inspired by the Voyager Interstellar Record project. The arcade classic "Ninja Masters" returns on Steam with nine-player lobbies and rollback netcode. "Feed the Pit" invites players to explore cursed forests for sacrifices, while "Forgotten Blood" offers a dark journey through a valley with peculiar creatures. "Telluricene" is a visual novel with romantic choices involving a janitor and a plant creature. "Oblivion Maiden" is a dreamy mystery game, and "Cartesian Battle" teaches math through bullet trajectory challenges. "Cat Squeeze" is a lighthearted maze puzzler, and "Mosaic Garden" focuses on cultivating flower patterns. "Mycofall" is an early access bullet heaven adventure, while "Hollow Ground" offers a 90s-style action experience. "Laballatory" allows players to create Newton's Cradle toys, and "American Revolutionary War" is a turn-based wargame featuring strategic battles against George Washington. The RPS team is preparing for various topics, including insights on the Steam Machine and Tennocon.

AppWizard

June 22, 2026

The arcade meets the hex grid in R-Type Tactics—an unlikely fusion that shines like a star on PC

The R-Type series is transitioning from its traditional shmup format to a strategy format, introducing complexity with statistics and material costs. Originally released on the PSP with two Tactics games in the late 2010s, the series now offers over 100 missions across three unlockable campaigns on PC, including the new English debut of Operation Bitter Chocolate and additional content in the "Cosmos" missions. This shift aims to provide a unique experience for players amidst a competitive landscape of strategy games.

Tech Optimizer

June 18, 2026

SQL Server may be too lucrative for Microsoft to ditch, but too legacy to love

Microsoft's Build event highlighted its new AI agent, Scout, while SQL Server received limited attention, raising concerns about its future following Rohan Kumar's departure. Arun Ulag now oversees SQL Server, but analysts note a shift in priorities with SQL Server seemingly less emphasized. The 2022 SQL Server release was viewed as more of a marketing effort than a response to customer needs. Despite the introduction of vector search in SQL Server 2025, competitors had already offered similar features. Microsoft is shifting towards open-source solutions and PostgreSQL, although it reassured users of its commitment to SQL Server. SQL Server, launched in 1989, remains popular, ranking behind Oracle and MySQL. The on-premises database market is lucrative, generating significant revenue, and SQL Server holds a substantial share. Microsoft is unlikely to abandon this profitable segment, aiming to transition users to Azure SQL and SQL database within Fabric. However, migration compatibility issues may arise. Microsoft is also investing in PostgreSQL offerings to compete in the cloud database market, which is evolving rapidly. AWS currently leads in cloud DBMS revenue, posing a challenge for Microsoft. Despite uncertainties, support for SQL Server 2025 is guaranteed until 2036.

AppWizard

June 18, 2026

Stellaris’ Nomads expansion finally lets me live out my Battlestar Galactica fantasies, though its Wayline system could definitely use some work

Players in Stellaris experience an enchanting initial phase of exploration, discovering alien species, mega structures, and black holes. They must balance exploration with territory claiming, as resource management is crucial. Resources can be transported back to the Arkship or harvested directly from planets, though the latter incurs penalties. Nomadic players need to forge alliances and establish Wayline treaties to survive and thrive, while new resources like Operational Reserves add complexity. Upgrading the Arkship is rewarding, and the game features a vibrant post-Nomads era with new music and events enhancing gameplay.

AppWizard

June 15, 2026

This week in PC games: a trio of surreal shooters, a big Stellaris expansion, and a new RPG from Octopath Traveller devs

This week features the Steam Next Fest, showcasing numerous game demos and playtests. Notable new game releases include: - Stellaris: Nomads: Introduces migrant civilizations with planet-scale spaceships in a 4X strategy game. - Day Trade Coach: A stock market trading simulator with a live news feed and professional trading terminal interface. - Mole: Players pilot a drill guided by whispers from the deceased in a whimsical setting. - Alaric: A "boomer shooter" with metroidvania design elements. - Copa City: A football management game set in 2026, focusing on the chaos of fan influx. - GoblinAmerica: An early access FPS where players embody US presidents to restore order and rewrite history. - The Last Salvage Squad: Features anime robots battling UFOs. - A four-dimensional chess game concept. Additional noteworthy titles include: - R-Type Tactics I • II Cosmos: A remastered collection of turn-based PSP R-Type games. - The Adventures of Elliot: The Millennium Tales: An action-RPG with "2D-HD" graphics by veterans of Octopath Traveller. - Mech Spa: A nurturing game focused on mechs. - Mythic Love: Iberian Legends: An otome visual novel exploring Iberian folklore. - The Quiet Things: An autobiographical narrative addressing childhood trauma. - Moon River: A short RPG where players navigate a river revealed by moonlight, marking its full release. The Treehouse team is engaged in various activities, including urban adventures, exploring fungal brains, and artistic projects.

Tech Optimizer

June 6, 2026

Azure HorizonDB Enters Public Preview: Web IQ Already Powers Copilot and ChatGPT

Microsoft announced the public preview of Azure HorizonDB, a fully managed PostgreSQL-compatible database designed for agentic AI workloads, during Microsoft Build 2026 in San Francisco. HorizonDB features a "database-as-logs" architecture, allowing for sub-millisecond multi-zone commit latency and independent scaling of compute and storage. It incorporates a Rust-based storage engine, native DiskANN vector search, and in-database AI model invocation. Additionally, Microsoft launched Web IQ, a web-grounding API layer integrated into Microsoft Copilot and OpenAI's ChatGPT, which provides passage-level structured evidence objects rather than full documents. Web IQ is model-agnostic and aims to enhance information density and reduce costs. Both services are currently in limited availability, with HorizonDB open for preview signups across five Azure regions.

AppWizard

May 29, 2026

Epic Games Store PC Weekly Free Games 28/05/2026

From 4 PM BST on May 28, 2026, until 4 PM BST on June 4, 2026, the Epic Games Store will offer free titles Calico and LONESTAR. Calico is a community simulation game focused on revitalizing a cat café, while LONESTAR is a strategic Roguelike spaceship deckbuilder where players act as bounty hunters.

AppWizard

May 27, 2026

No Man’s Sky now has its own Death Star with a laser so big it can ‘destroy space station sized objects’

The Swarm update for No Man's Sky introduces the Hive of Glass, a massive space station that controls aggressive drones. Players will engage in intense space battles and ground-level activities, including salvaging downed drones with a new gravity gun. Challenges include defeating planetary swarms, sabotaging the swarm's network, and uncovering the Hive's secrets. The update also features a new armor set, an upgraded jetpack, a new rifle, and various bug fixes and stability improvements.

AppWizard

May 17, 2026

After six years, gloriously detailed intergalactic city builder Space Haven is finally finished, and going cheap

Space Haven has officially launched its 1.0 version after six years in early access. The game allows players to build detailed spacecraft settlements, focusing on crew well-being and environmental factors. Players must manage crew needs, including hunger and safety, while addressing sickness and injuries. The game features a procedurally generated galaxy for exploration, resource scavenging, and combat against hostile forces. Space Haven has an 85% positive rating on Steam and is currently available for .99/£10.79, with a 40% discount until May 27. After the promotional period, the price will increase to .99/£17.99.