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Allogloom is a delightful, macabre point-and-click adventure game
AppWizard
October 14, 2026

Allogloom is a delightful, macabre point-and-click adventure game

Allogloom is a point-and-click adventure game featuring a protagonist named Nora who explores Gruesome Grove, a town protected by magical moths but haunted by a petrifying sap. The game combines elements of delight and horror, immersing players in a narrative filled with carnivorous moths, cults, and monsters. Players engage with the story through a series of logical puzzles that escalate in complexity over eight chapters. The game is noted for its enchanting illustrations and storytelling, drawing players into a whimsical yet eerie world. A PC code for Allogloom was provided for the review.
Star Wars Galactic Racer's devs tested its roguelite progression system by turning it into a board game
AppWizard
October 12, 2026

Star Wars Galactic Racer’s devs tested its roguelite progression system by turning it into a board game

Kieran Crimmins, the creative director at Fuse Games, emphasized the importance of tactile experience in game design, leading to the creation of a board game prototype for Star Wars Galactic Racer to explore gameplay mechanics. Matt Webster, the CEO of Fuse Games, noted that while modern engines are capable, traditional prototyping can be faster for capturing ideas. The board game prototype focused on simulating the progression system, where players earn rewards based on race performance, enhancing vehicle stats and acquiring parts. This system draws inspiration from roguelite games, providing continuity and growth in gameplay. Crimmins highlighted the efficiency of board game prototyping for rapid validation of emotional responses, allowing for quick adjustments using simple materials. The approach reflects a trend in game development towards flexibility and creativity in early design stages.
A practical guide to cost optimization with Lakebase Postgres
Tech Optimizer
October 11, 2026

A practical guide to cost optimization with Lakebase Postgres

Lakebase is a fully managed Postgres database designed for modern application development, featuring an architecture that separates storage and compute with a serverless compute layer. This design allows for cost efficiencies through various mechanisms: 1. **Branching**: Developers can create isolated environments for development, testing, or experimentation without duplicating storage costs, as branches share the same underlying storage. 2. **Autoscaling**: Lakebase adjusts compute resources based on activity levels, allowing users to pay only for the compute they use. It can scale down during low activity and can be suspended entirely after inactivity, reducing costs to zero. 3. **Read Replicas and High Availability**: The separation of storage and compute allows for adding read replicas and high availability without incurring additional storage costs, as these instances utilize the same storage layer. 4. **Synced Tables**: Integration with the Databricks Intelligence Platform enables efficient data syncing, allowing users to sync only the necessary working set of data, which helps avoid unnecessary storage and sync costs. 5. **Sync Modes**: There are three sync modes (Snapshot, Triggered, Continuous) for transferring data from the Lakehouse to Lakebase, each with different cost implications based on data freshness requirements. 6. **Right-sizing Compute**: Users can set the initial compute range during project provisioning to avoid over-provisioning and unnecessary costs. 7. **Monitoring and Metrics**: The Lakebase Metrics dashboard provides insights into working set size and cache utilization, helping users optimize their compute sizing and performance. 8. **Point-in-Time Restore (PITR) and Snapshots**: PITR maintains history for recovery within a configurable window, while snapshots offer discrete recovery points. Both are priced lower than standard storage, making them cost-effective options for data recovery. Lakebase costs are categorized into compute, storage, and serverless pipeline compute for syncing data. Compute is measured by CU usage, while storage includes branch storage, PITR history, and snapshot storage, all tracked separately. Users can access detailed usage and cost information through system billing tables.
How and why we built Managed PostgreSQL for AI workloads
Tech Optimizer
October 10, 2026

How and why we built Managed PostgreSQL for AI workloads

The Nebius Managed PostgreSQL team developed a solution for AI workloads using CloudNativePG and Kubernetes, resulting in improved backup and restore times by transitioning from Barman to WAL-G, reducing a 1.5 TB backup duration from over a day to two hours. Since its launch in 2025, the service supports hundreds of production clusters and manages tens of tebibytes of data. Key features include high availability, point-in-time recovery, automated failover, compressed and encrypted backups, rapid restoration, connection pooling, and strict synchronous replication for zero data loss. Kubernetes and CloudNativePG were chosen for their advantages, including out-of-the-box features and open-source distribution. Each cloud project has a separate MK8s cluster for customer isolation and security. Persistent data is stored on fault-tolerant SSD drives, enabling swift instance migration during failures. Regular physical backups are archived, allowing restoration within a seven-day window with a single click. The transition from Barman to WAL-G addressed slow backup and restoration times and resource control limitations. With WAL-G, backups and restorations for a 1.5 TB cluster improved to two hours and one hour, respectively. PgBouncer was implemented to manage database connections effectively, reducing connection storms during peak AI workload traffic. Two vector search extensions, pgvector and pgvectorscale, are available to cater to different memory and dataset needs. Benchmarking showed that Nebius performs competitively with AWS at a lower cost. The infrastructure integrates cloud engineering principles with specialized expertise to meet AI workload demands.
Nvidia GTX Pascal-era GPUs are now running on Windows XP thanks to modders
Winsage
October 5, 2026

Nvidia GTX Pascal-era GPUs are now running on Windows XP thanks to modders

Modder SupraGSX has created an unofficial Nvidia driver called ForceWare 382.69 for Windows XP, enabling compatibility with Nvidia's Pascal graphics cards, including the Titan Xp. This driver is based on Nvidia's GeForce 368.69 driver and is designed for 32-bit versions of Windows XP, allowing the use of modern graphics cards like the GTX 1080 Ti and Titan X. It also supports contemporary display standards such as DisplayPort 1.4 HBR3 and HDMI 2.0, with successful tests reported on high-refresh-rate monitors. The driver supports Direct3D 9 and OpenGL, but users have reported inconsistent performance and issues with certain functionalities. ForceWare 382.69 is available on GitHub, but installing unofficial drivers carries risks, especially for valuable hardware. Windows XP is not suitable for modern internet use and lacks support for contemporary software.
Kingdom Come: Deliverance studio co-founder says a lot of RPGs are 'still games for teenagers,' and that he's 'tired of all the RPGs where you are this chosen one'
AppWizard
October 4, 2026

Kingdom Come: Deliverance studio co-founder says a lot of RPGs are ‘still games for teenagers,’ and that he’s ‘tired of all the RPGs where you are this chosen one’

Martin Klima, co-founder of Warhorse Studios, expressed fatigue with conventional RPG narratives that often revolve around the 'chosen one' trope and grand missions. He believes many players are tired of this formula and seek something fresh, which inspired the creation of Kingdom Come: Deliverance. Klima noted that the gaming landscape has not significantly changed, as many games still cater primarily to teenagers, despite the audience maturing. He criticized publishers for recycling proven formulas, using Ubisoft as an example, and acknowledged the high craftsmanship in their games while wishing for more innovation. He also recognized the financial constraints that limit experimentation in the industry.
I have saved GTA 5 from death and also added tornadoes
AppWizard
September 30, 2026

I have saved GTA 5 from death and also added tornadoes

The modding community for Grand Theft Auto 5 is actively working to innovate and transform the game, with recent efforts focusing on creating a mod called TornadoV, which adds massive tornadoes to the game's environment. This mod allows players to configure tornadoes and use noclip mode for easier navigation. The game recently encountered a significant issue where it would not launch, prompting extensive troubleshooting. Despite these challenges, the addition of tornadoes enhances the chaotic gameplay experience, reflecting the community's creative spirit.
To celebrate September 30, the day the cop inside of Leon Kennedy died, here's my most traumatic encounters in Resident Evil
AppWizard
September 30, 2026

To celebrate September 30, the day the cop inside of Leon Kennedy died, here’s my most traumatic encounters in Resident Evil

September 30 marks 28 years since the events that shaped Leon S. Kennedy in the Resident Evil franchise, particularly the Raccoon City incident caused by Umbrella Corporation's bioweapon experimentation. Key moments from the series include: - In Resident Evil Village, players experience a terrifying chase involving a giant fetus, creating a lasting impression of horror. - Resident Evil 7 features Marguerite Baker, known as "Spider-Mum," whose grotesque appearance leaves a significant impact on players. - In Resident Evil 2, the tension from being pursued by Mr. X (T-00) is heightened by the haunting sound of his footsteps. - The emotional scene in Resident Evil 2 with Robert Kendo trying to comfort his daughter Emma as she succumbs to the outbreak resonates deeply with players. - In Resident Evil: Revelations 2, the decision to leave Moira behind results in a gut-wrenching emotional fallout. - The Keeper's Diary from the original Resident Evil explores the descent into madness due to T-virus infection, creating a disturbing narrative.
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