engine Archives

AppWizard

December 28, 2024

What a Minecraft Game Made in Unreal Engine 5 Could Look Like

Digital Dreams has reimagined Minecraft using Unreal Engine 5, resulting in impressive visuals that surpass those of a movie featuring Jack Black and Jason Momoa. The hardware requirements for this version include a Gigabyte Aorus X670 AX motherboard, AMD Ryzen 9 7950x processor, Kingston Fury 6000MHz RAM, NVIDIA RTX 4090 graphics card, and Samsung 970 EVO SSD. LEGO has released The Crafting Table building set to celebrate Minecraft's 15th anniversary, designed for adult fans. This set features 12 biomes, including Deep Dark and Lush Cave, and includes five mini builds and eight micro figures, such as Steve and Creeper.

AppWizard

December 27, 2024

Alan Wake 2 set such a high technical bar last year that few games in 2024 came anywhere near, but it wasn’t all abject disappointment

Alan Wake 2 debuted late last year, leading to assumptions of a 2024 release. Dragon's Dogma 2 launched in March but had excessive hardware demands and inconsistent performance. Nixxes Software's port of Horizon Forbidden West showcased effective traditional rendering. In May, Nixxes also released the Ghost of Tsushima Director's Cut, which lacked ray tracing but was well-executed. June saw the release of Shadow of the Erdtree, the first expansion for Elden Ring, which did not include engine updates, causing performance issues for PC gamers. In August, Black Myth: Wukong and Star Wars Outlaws featured ray tracing but faced performance issues. September brought a port of God of War Ragnarök and Warhammer 40K: Space Marine 2, both performing well. The Silent Hill 2 remake encountered glitches and performance issues on PC, while Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024 struggled at launch. Stalker 2: Heart of Chornobyl had visual appeal but suffered from performance problems and required patches for stability. Indiana Jones and the Great Circle performed well on lower-end hardware but was glitchy. High-profile titles like Marvel's Spider-Man 2 and Final Fantasy VII Rebirth are anticipated for 2025.

Winsage

December 27, 2024

Edge push notifications not working [Fix]

A push notification is an alert that appears when new content is added to an app or website. Users can customize these notifications through their browser, but some have experienced issues with them not working in Microsoft Edge. Solutions to resolve this include: 1. Checking notification settings in Edge to ensure the website is not blocked and that the Quiet notification requests option is disabled. 2. Creating a new profile in Edge to see if notifications work with a fresh profile. 3. Clearing cookies for the specific website to potentially fix notification issues. 4. Checking Focus settings in Windows to ensure Do Not Disturb mode is not silencing notifications. 5. Verifying system notification settings to ensure notifications for the website are enabled. 6. Resetting Edge to its factory default settings if other solutions do not work. Push notifications may not function due to being disabled in system settings or the website being blocked. To unblock notifications, users should navigate to their browser settings and enable notifications for the blocked website.

Tech Optimizer

December 26, 2024

“I went through hell” Japanese indie dev on how their game was wrongly flagged as a virus, and blocked on Steam

A Japanese indie developer, Shiromofu Factory, launched the game Dungeon Antiqua on October 10, 2024. The game, inspired by early Final Fantasy and Wizardry titles, is available on Windows and macOS and has received a Very Positive review status on Steam. After a December 6 update, users reported virus warnings from antivirus programs like Norton, Avast, and McAfee, which were triggered by the game's use of the Pyxel engine and Pyinstaller for executable files. The developer advised users to exclude the game's .exe file from scans, but on December 12, Steam blocked the game from sale due to multiple virus reports. The developer requested a rollback to an earlier version, which prevented future updates. They purchased Norton Antivirus for testing and attempted various solutions, including filing reports with antivirus companies and considering a code signing certificate. They identified that the use of Python’s “os.remove()” function contributed to the false alerts and implemented a workaround. However, antivirus software retained memory of flagged files, causing continued blocks. Ultimately, flipping the fairy image associated with the game’s file by 180 degrees allowed Dungeon Antiqua to bypass the antivirus barriers and resume updates.

AppWizard

December 26, 2024

Best PC Games Graphics of 2024

- Empire of the Ants, developed by Tower Five using Unreal Engine 5, showcases innovative technology like Lumen and Nanite, delivering a visually stunning experience without stutters. - Dragon Age: The Veilguard features a unique art style and striking visuals powered by the Frostbite Engine, despite not meeting long-time fans' expectations. - S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2, despite its troubled development and some graphical glitches, is visually captivating, especially with HDR, and modding communities have helped enhance its environments. - Horizon: Forbidden West translates beautifully to PC, offering impressive visuals without ray tracing effects, and is considered superior to titles like God of War: Ragnarok. - Final Fantasy 16 shines on PC with gorgeous environments and character designs, and the absence of major pop-ins enhances the immersive experience. - Tekken 8 is noted as the most visually impressive 3D fighting game, with meticulously crafted character models and stage designs that run smoothly on various PC configurations. - Black Myth: Wukong utilizes path tracing technology for a visually rich experience, though it has some limitations in environmental design. - The Silent Hill 2 Remake features expansive environments and exceptional use of Lumen and Nanite, showcasing impressive 3D models and an elevated horror art style. - Senua’s Saga: Hellblade 2, utilizing Unreal Engine 5, presents some of the most realistic 3D characters and environments, with high-quality textures and particle effects. - Indiana Jones and the Great Circle is recognized as the best-looking PC title of 2024, featuring path tracing effects that enhance lighting and detail, despite minor texture issues.

AppWizard

December 25, 2024

8 best free-to-play games on Steam

Steam offers a selection of free-to-play games, including: 1. Counter-Strike 2 - A team-based first-person shooter featuring battles between terrorists and counter-terrorists, enhanced by the Source 2 engine. 2. Marvel Rivals - A team-based PVP game with 6v6 battles featuring 33 Marvel heroes and villains, developed by NetEase Games in collaboration with Marvel. 3. The Sims 4 - A life simulation game where players create characters and design homes, now available for free with optional paid DLCs. 4. Warframe - A fast-paced game where players control biomechanical suits for ranged and melee combat, offering extensive content for free. 5. World of Tanks - A military strategy game focused on armored battles, allowing players to customize tanks from various historical periods. 6. Dota 2 - A popular MOBA game providing a competitive 5v5 experience with unique heroes, entirely free to play. 7. Fishing Planet - A fishing simulator that offers realistic gameplay with attention to detail, including weather conditions and fishing techniques. 8. Sky: Children of the Light - An adventure game emphasizing social gameplay and puzzle-solving in stunning fantasy realms.

AppWizard

December 25, 2024

Remedy’s CONTROL is free to own on Epic Games Store

Epic Games is offering a free copy of the game CONTROL to PC gamers until tomorrow. CONTROL, released in 2019, is a third-person action adventure game featuring stunning visuals, exceptional gunplay, and destructible environments. Players take on the role of Jesse Faden, the new Director of the Federal Bureau of Control, in a surreal world. The game utilizes the Northlight Engine and includes advanced technologies like Ray Tracing and DLSS 2.0. CONTROL does not officially support DLSS 3, but players can enable FSR 3.0 Frame Generation using Optiscaler. A video guide is available for installing FSR 3.1.1 Frame Generation. CONTROL 2 is currently in development by Remedy.

Tech Optimizer

December 24, 2024

‘Fix It’ social-engineering scheme impersonates several brands

Malicious actors are increasingly exploiting web browsers to deliver malware, often bypassing conventional antivirus defenses through sophisticated social engineering. A notable tactic involves copying harmful commands into the clipboard, allowing victims to execute them unknowingly. Recent investigations revealed a campaign using malicious advertisements and counterfeit pages that mimic reputable software brands, leading victims to a fake Cloudflare notification that prompts them to execute specific key combinations. This process triggers PowerShell code that retrieves and installs malware. The investigation began with a suspicious advertisement for a 'notepad' application, which redirected users to a Cloudflare-like page asking them to verify they are human. Instead of a standard CAPTCHA, users encountered a prompt instructing them to follow steps that would inadvertently execute a malicious command. By clicking a 'Fix It' button, the harmful command is copied to the clipboard, and users are led to paste and run it, initiating a download from a remote domain. The campaign targeted several brands, including Microsoft Teams, FileZilla, UltraViewer, CutePDF, and Advanced IP Scanner. The same domain linked to the malicious PowerShell command for Notepad++ also appeared in another campaign. Indicators of compromise include various malicious domains and URLs associated with the malware and its command and control server. Malwarebytes provides protection against these threats.

AppWizard

December 21, 2024

Google’s counteroffer to the government trying to break it up is unbundling Android apps

The Department of Justice (DOJ) has proposed that Google divest its Chrome browser as part of addressing alleged antitrust violations. In response, Google has suggested alternative proposals that focus on its financial arrangements with partners like Apple and Mozilla, rather than breaking up its products. Google's proposed remedies include a three-year prohibition on bundling licenses for Chrome, Search, and Google Play with other applications, while still allowing payments for default search placement in browsers. Google plans to appeal a ruling by Judge Amit Mehta that labeled it a monopolist and intends to submit a revised proposal by March 7th before a trial in April.

Winsage

December 19, 2024

Satya Nadella claims Google “makes more money on Windows than all of Microsoft”

Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella stated that Google reportedly profits more from the Windows operating system than Microsoft itself. He highlighted the advantages of Windows' open architecture and its compatibility with various AI tools, including Google’s Gemini, OpenAI’s ChatGPT, and Anthropic’s Claude. Google’s Chrome browser accounts for 66% of desktop browser sessions, while Safari holds 9%. Google’s search engine captures approximately 85% of all search queries, compared to Microsoft’s Bing, which has a 3% market share. Cloudflare's report suggests Google's search share may be as high as 88%. Microsoft is under investigation for potential anticompetitive behavior, while Google has been attempting to undermine Microsoft's partnership with OpenAI. In 2021, Google paid Apple a billion dollars to remain the default search engine for Safari.