The long running open source GIMP, or GNU Image Manipulation Program, just released version 2.10.18.  After skipping the release of 2.10.16 due to a critical bug, there is a fair bit in this release.

Release features include:

• Tools are now grouped in the toolbox by default
• Sliders now use a compact style with improved user interaction
• Vastly improved user experience for the transformation preview
• Dockable areas now highlighted when a dockable dialog is being dragged
• New 3D Transform tool to rotate and pan items
• Much smoother brush outline preview motion on the canvas
• Symmetry painting enhancements
• Faster loading of ABR brushes
• PSD support improvements
• Consolidated user interface for merging down and anchoring layers
• Update check to notify users of new releases available
• 28 bug fixes, 15 translation updates

You can learn more about the 2.10.18 release in the release notes available here.  GIMP is available for download on Windows, Mac, Linux, BSD and Solaris.  GIMP is open source under the GPL v3 license with source details available here.  You can learn more about GIMP and the 2.10.18 update in the video below.

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Art GameDev News Applications

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As we reported last month, Epic Card Game – the follow-up to Star Realms – was getting a digital adaptation which included mobile versions. It was released last week on February 18th, but the news got lost amidst me being on holiday and Ian having a more limited scope for covering news in my absence.

In case you didn’t know, or are unsure what Epic is, a quick overview: It’s a more traditional TCG-style game vs. Star Realms’ deck-builder design. Players have 30 health, with the goal being to knock your opponent’s down to zero health first. Economy is even more streamlined than Hearthstone – every card either costs one of zero gold to play, and you only get one gold at the start of your turn. Here’s the launch trailer:

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The game itself is also quite forgiving in terms of monetisation. You only pay money for things like extra deck slots, cosmetics, and tickets needed for competitive play. Otherwise, you can play the single-player campaign and the casual modes for free, and have unlimited copies of every card from the get-go.

Epic Digital is available on iOS and Android.

 

By AppleInsider Staff
Monday, February 24, 2020, 07:51 pm PT (10:51 pm ET)

When Apple launched Mac Pro in December, the company took flak for designing a machine with non-interchangeable feet, restricting owners from swapping out foot pegs for wheels without the help of Apple or an Authorized Service Provider. That will soon change.

Buried in the Mac Pro Technology Overview published on Monday is a section titled “Enclosure Considerations,” under which is a note on chassis wheels. The passage suggests Apple will soon make the option available as an aftermarket purchase.

“The tower enclosure comes standard with feet; wheels are a configurable option. Both feet and wheels are available as a customer-installable kit and therefore can be converted from feet to wheels or vice versa.”

Apple does not offer an estimated launch timeline for the wheel kit, saying only that “some options may have delayed availability.” The company directs users to the Apple online storefront for more information, though no such product listing is present on the website at the time of this writing.

Relay FM’s Stephen Hackett spotted the notice in Apple’s white paper on Monday.

Mac Pro’s $400 hubless wheel option was the butt of many a joke last year, with press outlets taking jabs at Apple for charging exorbitant fees for seemingly standard hardware. Compounding the perceived problem, customers who elected against a wheeled Mac Pro currently have to take the desktop in to an Apple retail store or ASP to install the part.

What, exactly, Apple’s Mac Pro wheel kit will include and at what price remains unknown. The standard issue wheel set integrates directly into the stainless steel space frame, which normally extends “from foot to handle” as a single unit. It is possible that the wheel units will be designed to attach to Mac Pro’s large feet, facilitating easy installation but adding inches to the machine’s height.

Most free cloud storage is limited to 5GB or less. Even Google Drive is limited to 15GB. While not heavily advertised, IBM offers free accounts with a whopping 25GB of cloud storage for free. This is not a limited time offer, and you don’t have to provide a credit card. It’s absolutely free! Better yet, since it’s S3 compatible, most of the S3 tools available for backups should work fine.

This article will show you how to use restic for encrypted backups onto this free storage. Please also refer to this previous Magazine article about installing and configuring restic. Let’s get started!

Creating your free IBM account and storage

Head over to the IBM cloud services site and follow the steps to sign up for a free account here: https://cloud.ibm.com/registration. You’ll need to verify your account from the email confirmation that IBM sends to you.

Then log in to your account to bring up your dashboard, at https://cloud.ibm.com/.

Click on the Create resource button.

Click on Storage and then Object Storage.

Next click on the Create Bucket button.

This brings up the Configure your resource section.

Next, click on the Create button to use the default settings.

Under Predefined buckets click on the Standard box:

A unique bucket name is automatically created, but it’s suggested that you change this.

In this example, the bucket name is changed to freecloudstorage.

Click on the Next button after choosing a bucket name:

Continue to click on the Next button until you get the the Summary page:

Scroll down to the Endpoints section.

The information in the Public section is the location of your bucket. This is what you need to specify in restic when you create your backups. In this example, the location is s3.us-south.cloud-object-storage.appdomain.cloud.

Making your credentials

The last thing that you need to do is create an access ID and secret key. To start, click on Service credentials.

Click on the New credential button.

Choose a name for your credential, make sure you check the Include HMAC Credential box and then click on the Add button. In this example I’m using the name resticbackup.

Click on View credentials.

The access_key_id and secret_access_key is what you are looking for. (For obvious reasons, the author’s details here are obscured.)

You will need to export these by calling them with the export alias in the shell, or putting them into a backup script.

Preparing a new repository

Restic refers to your backup as a repository, and can make backups to any bucket on your IBM cloud account. First, setup the following environment variables using your access_key_id and secret_access_key that you retrieved from your IBM cloud bucket. These can also be set in any backup script you may create.

$ export AWS_ACCESS_KEY_ID=<MY_ACCESS_KEY>

$ export AWS_SECRET_ACCESS_KEY=<MY_SECRET_ACCESS_KEY>

Even though you are using IBM Cloud and not AWS, as previously mentioned, IBM Cloud storage is S3 compatible, and restic uses its interal AWS commands for any S3 compatible storage. So these AWS keys really refer to the keys from your IBM bucket.

Create the repository by initializing it. A prompt appears for you to type a password for the repository. Do not lose this password because your data is irrecoverable without it!

restic -r s3:http://PUBLIC_ENDPOINT_LOCATION/BUCKET init

The PUBLIC_ENDPOINT_LOCATION was specified in the Endpoint section of your Bucket summary.

For example:

$ restic -r s3:http://s3.us-south.cloud-object-storage.appdomain.cloud/freecloudstorage init

Creating backups

Now it’s time to backup some data. Backups are called snapshots. Run the following command and enter the repository password when prompted.

restic -r s3:http://PUBLIC_ENDPOINT_LOCATION/BUCKET backup files_to_backup

For example:

$ restic -r s3:http://s3.us-south.cloud-object-storage.appdomain.cloud/freecloudstorage backup Documents/

Enter password for repository: repository 106a2eb4 opened successfully, password is correct Files: 51 new, 0 changed, 0 unmodified Dirs: 0 new, 0 changed, 0 unmodified Added to the repo: 11.451 MiB processed 51 files, 11.451 MiB in 0:06 snapshot 611e9577 saved

Restoring from backups

Now that you’ve backed up some files, it’s time to make sure you know how to restore them. To get a list of all of your backup snapshots, use this command:

restic -r s3:http://PUBLIC_ENDPOINT_LOCATION/BUCKET snapshots

For example:

$ restic -r s3:http://s3.us-south.cloud-object-storage.appdomain.cloud/freecloudstorage snapshots

Enter password for repository: ID Date Host Tags Directory ------------------------------------------------------------------- 106a2eb4 2020-01-15 15:20:42 client /home/curt/Documents

To restore an entire snapshot, run a command like this:

restic -r s3:http://s3.us-south.cloud-object-storage.appdomain.cloud/freecloudstorage restore snapshotID --target restoreDirectory

For example:

$ restic -r s3:http://s3.us-south.cloud-object-storage.appdomain.cloud/freecloudstorage restore 106a2eb4 --target ~

Enter password for repository: repository 106a2eb4 opened successfully, password is correct

restoring <Snapshot 106a2eb4 of [/home/curt/Documents]

If the directory still exists on your system, be sure to specify a different location for the restoreDirectory. For example:

restic -r s3:http://s3.us-south.cloud-object-storage.appdomain.cloud/freecloudstorage restore 106a2eb4 --target /tmp

To restore an individual file, run a command like this:

restic -r s3:http://PUBLIC_ENDPOINT_LOCATION/BUCKET restore snapshotID --target restoreDirectory --include filename

For example:

$ restic -r s3:http://s3.us-south.cloud-object-storage.appdomain.cloud/freecloudstorage restore 106a2eb4 --target /tmp --include file1.txt Enter password for repository: restoring <Snapshot 106a2eb4 of [/home/curt/Documents] at 2020-01-16 15:20:42.833131988 -0400 EDT by curt@client> to /tmp

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Photo by Alex Machado on Unsplash.

[EDITORS NOTE: The Fedora Project is sponsored by Red Hat, which is owned by IBM.]

[EDITORS NOTE: Updated at 1647 UTC on 24 February 2020 to correct a broken link.]

Team17 has revealed a partnership with Malaysian developer One More Dream Studios to release puzzle-platformer Ageless on Nintendo Switch.

The game has you playing as Kiara, a young woman who discovers a mystical bow armed with the ancient power to control ageing. You’ll need to shoot animals and plants to age them, both backwards and forwards in time, to progress through a series of vibrant puzzles.

A press release for the game notes that “Kiara’s new-found power is not without consequence; the narrative follows the journey she must make to confront her inner demons and find herself along the way”. We also have a feature list for you, so feel free to check that out below:

Features of Ageless:
– Multi-stage ageing for plants and animals: Age flora and fauna through various stages of their life cycle to solve the puzzles standing in your way.
– Platforming: Ageless uses the environment to produce intricate platforming challenges. While ‘ageless’ players can use living creatures to dash through the air, consuming the life force and de-ageing the plant or animal in the process
– Unique worlds: Each area has its own unique plants and animals to utilise, realised in a hand-drawn pixel art.
– Collectables: Becoming ‘ageless’ allows players to see and collect optional hidden items that will only be accessible via intricate platforming challenges hidden throughout the levels.

We don’t have any news on a release window for this one just yet, but the game will be playable at the Team17 booth at PAX East this weekend.

Liking what you see? Will you be keeping an eye out for more news on this one going forward? Let us know with a comment below.

Nvidia’s take on a cloud streaming service has crossed 1 million signups across both GeForce Now’s free option and the 90-day free trial of its paid tier.

The service itself only went live on February 4, though it was up and running in beta before that and it’s not mentioned if the 1 million signups include beta users.

Nvidia discussed some of those first-month impressions in a blog post, noting that the company aims to fine tune the service during its early launch and transition out of beta.

Similar to Google Stadia, GeForce Now offers its subscribers the ability to stream gameplay from its data centers to in-home devices. While offerings like Stadia ask players to purchase games as they would any other closed ecosystem-console, GeForce Now totes the ability for players to access already owned titles on platforms like Steam and the Epic Games Store.

Not all publishers are on board with that pitch, however. Activision Blizzard pulled GeForce Now support for its expansive suite of games one week after the service went live, saying that its participation in the beta period didn’t grant Nvidia the go-ahead to include its library in the full launch. Bethesda followed suit one week later.

Nvidia lightly addresses that early road block in the post, saying “this trial is an important transitional period where gamers, developers and publishers can try the premium experience with minimal commitment while we continue to refine our offering.”

“As we approach a paid service, some publishers may choose to remove games before the trial period ends,” reads the post. “Ultimately, they maintain control over their content and decide whether the game you purchase includes streaming on GeForce Now. Meanwhile, others will bring games back as they continue to realize GeForce Now’s value. As the transition period comes to completion, game removals should be few and far between, with new games added to GeForce Now each week.”

The line of Pokémon-themed Pop figures continues to grow, with Funko revealing four more at this year’s New York Toy Fair. There’s an angry-looking version of Pikachu, a hissing Rattata, happy Growlithe and a Cubone (it even comes with a bone).

According to the Funko Twitter account, each one will arrive at some point in May. There’ll also be a 10″ Funko Pop Mewtwo released exclusively at Target in North America.

These latest announcements follow on from the reveal of Mr. Mine, Mewtwo, Pichu and Vulpix at the start of this month. A few weeks ago, Funko also announced an entire set of Eevee evolution toys.

Check out our guide to see even more Pokémon-themed Pop. What do you think of the latest ones? Comment down below.

Welcome one and all to Box Art Brawl, the ongoing series where we dig up old game box art, compare regional variants and vote for the best before flinging them back where they came from.

Last week Quest 64 took on its counterparts across the globe in a bout which saw the European variant triumph over its Japanese and North American brethren. It seems that the ’90s CG of the Quest 64 cover couldn’t compete against the elegant art of the others. Chin up Quest 64, these things are cyclical. Give it a decade and you’ll be all the rage once more.

This week we journey back to the NES days and catch up with Capcom arcade classic Ghosts ‘n Goblins. This run and gun platformer was ported to various systems and the NES covers echo several other Capcom releases of the era in their respective territories including the original Mega Man, although this certainly boasts better (or should that be ‘less polarising’?) key art. Maybe we’ll do the blue bomber’s debut another day…

Okay, let’s get down to brass tacks.

North America

Beginning with the North American cover, we get the same red and blue grid background from games of the era like Gun.Smoke and Mega Man. The key art in the middle is colourful and gives a decent impression of the action you’ll get while you play. The title up top is a tad hard to read with the red flames licking up the white lettering, but its evocative and the cover is interesting enough to make you concentrate on parsing the title.

Throw in the ‘State-of-the-Art’ and ‘High Resolution Graphics’ marketing spiel and the Nintendo Seal of Quality/Excellence/Approval/Whatever and you’ve got yourself a decent cover.

Europe

Europe gets the same main image, but blown up and pushed to the top of the box. The title sits below it and is a bit easier to read thanks to its increased size. The blue background mirrors other European Capcom releases of the time and the twin selling points from the North American cover are joined here by a descriptor for Capcom itself – a ‘Premier World-Wide Arcade Game Designer’ no less.

Not bad.

Japan

The Famicom cover was completely different to the ones in the West, with art that makes it look more like an illustration from a children’s fairytale book – the ghosts ‘n goblins here look adorable. If the cover does have one thing going for it, it’s the kick-ass logo with fangs and flames.

Not much else to say, really. As Japanese covers go, it’s far from the best we’ve seen but it does have a certain charm.

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Three covers, one pick. Give your favourite one a click below and then hit the ‘Vote’ button to register your vote:

That’s all for this week. Let us know if you’ve got any suggestions for the next bout and we’ll see you next week for another Box Art Brawl.