expertise

AppWizard
May 6, 2025
NCSoft has invested in the first-person studio Emptyvessel, marking the start of a long-term partnership through its North American subsidiary, NC West. Emptyvessel is developing a first-person cyberpunk squad-based shooter called Defect, with a team experienced in titles like Doom and The Last of Us. Emanuel Palalic, the game director, emphasized the importance of creative risks and the alignment of visions between the two companies. NCSoft co-CEO Byung-moo Park praised Emptyvessel's expertise and reiterated the company's commitment to investing in new global intellectual properties and specific genres.
Tech Optimizer
May 5, 2025
pgpro_tune is a command-line utility designed to optimize the initial server configuration of Postgres Pro based on hardware specifications. It scans the server to identify key hardware details, processes these values through shell scripts that encapsulate tuning expertise, and generates recommended parameters for PostgreSQL settings, including memory management, autovacuum tuning, connection limits, and statistics collection. The utility appends these settings to the postgresql.conf file, ensuring they override the default settings. pgpro_tune supports various presets for different use cases and allows database administrators to create custom presets. It runs automatically during cluster initialization and can be executed manually at any time, applying changes through standard PostgreSQL methods. This tool aims to streamline the tuning process, reduce the risks of misconfiguration, and enhance performance without replacing the need for advanced tuning in specialized scenarios.
AppWizard
May 1, 2025
In the early 1990s, the video game industry was transitioning from 2D to 3D gaming, with titles like Star Fox and Doom emerging. The small UK studio, founded by Andrew Spencer and Alain Maindron, released the groundbreaking game Ecstatica in 1994 after five years of development. Spencer created a unique game engine using ellipsoid graphics, which provided a lifelike quality to characters, inspired by traditional animation techniques. The game received an 8/10 rating from EDGE magazine for its emotional engagement. Spencer expressed ambitions for sequels using his innovative engine to explore new gaming landscapes, but challenges, including the departure of key personnel, led to the shelving of the sequel. Spencer later shifted his career towards academia and research, hinting at ongoing ideas for new projects that have not materialized.
Winsage
April 27, 2025
Microsoft is migrating features from the Control Panel to the Settings panel, with keyboard repetition settings being the latest to transition. This change is part of a broader initiative to phase out the Control Panel, which was announced in August 2024. Currently, these keyboard settings are hidden in testing builds and have not yet been rolled out to the live version of Windows. Other settings, such as mouse trails and options to hide the cursor while typing, have already made the transition. Users are generally finding the Settings panel to be a suitable replacement for the Control Panel.
Winsage
April 25, 2025
Microsoft is updating its Windows 11 voice typing feature to allow users to toggle the profanity filter on or off, enabling the transcription of expletives without censorship. Additionally, enhancements for Surface Pen users are being introduced, including a new Click to Do feature that lets users configure the stylus button for various on-screen actions. Both features are currently being tested with Windows Insiders and will be available to the broader Windows 11 community in the coming months.
AppWizard
April 24, 2025
Subnautica 2 is set to enter Early Access in 2025, offering players a new underwater survival adventure in an alien world. Design lead Anthony Gallegos welcomes both newcomers and returning players, highlighting that the game will be the team's most ambitious project to date, incorporating lessons learned from previous games. The sequel will feature beloved elements such as rich environments and extensive crafting options, while also introducing cooperative gameplay for shared exploration. Players will have the opportunity to provide feedback on various aspects of the game as it evolves.
AppWizard
April 24, 2025
Jason Citron, the CEO and co-founder of Discord, is stepping down from his leadership role, with Humam Sakhnini, the former chief strategy officer at Activision Blizzard’s Call of Duty, taking over. Citron will remain involved as a board member and advisor. This leadership change is part of Discord's strategic plans to eventually go public. Sakhnini expressed enthusiasm about joining Discord and emphasized the platform's importance in the gaming community.
AppWizard
April 24, 2025
PC Gamer features an exclusive look at The Chinese Room's RPG, Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines 2, including gameplay and developer interviews. The issue also covers Raccoon Logic Studios Inc.'s game, Revenge of the Savage Planet, showcasing new alien worlds and screenshots. Additional content includes a humorous piece on Surgeon Simulator, a group test of rapid trigger keyboards, a revisit of Crysis, a new diary series for Bloodlines, a guide for Kingdom Come: Deliverance II mods, an exploration of SCP: Secret Laboratory’s chat features, survival strategies for Atomfall, and a look at Half-Life 2 RTX. Issue 409 is available in stores and digitally.
Winsage
April 24, 2025
WampServer is a web development environment designed for Windows users, integrating MySQL, Apache, and PHP into a single package for local web application development. It simplifies the setup process, allowing novice developers to create functional development servers without affecting live websites. WampServer operates independently of an internet connection and provides a user-friendly control panel for managing server components. It supports both free-form PHP coding and content management systems like WordPress, Joomla, and Drupal. WampServer is free to use and compatible with Windows 7, 8, 10, and 11, but not with macOS or Linux. Alternatives to WampServer include MAMP, XAMPP, and Apache HTTP Server, each offering different features and compatibility.
Tech Optimizer
April 24, 2025
Xata Agent is an open-source AI assistant designed for PostgreSQL database site reliability engineering. It monitors logs and performance metrics to identify issues like slow queries and unusual connection counts, helping to maintain database integrity and performance. The tool automates tasks such as vacuuming and indexing and provides actionable recommendations through diagnostic playbooks and read-only SQL routines. The architecture is built as a Next.js application using TypeScript, organized in a monorepo structure. Developers can set up their environment using Node, install dependencies, and configure a local PostgreSQL instance with Docker Compose. Production deployment involves using Docker images and configuring environment variables in a production file. Key functionalities include proactive monitoring, configuration tuning, performance troubleshooting, safe diagnostics, cloud integration, alerting, LLM flexibility, and playbook customization. Developers can create new tools and integrate them into playbooks for cohesive workflows. Future plans include custom playbooks, support for Model Context Protocol, evaluation harnesses, approval workflows, and a managed cloud edition. The architecture promotes extensibility and community contributions, standardizing incident response and reducing human error in database management.
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