Posted by: xSicKxBot - 10-14-2020, 06:48 AM - Forum: Windows
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New nanodegree program offers chance to develop machine learning skills
Earlier this year, we empowered over 10,000 students from all over the world to learn the basics of machine learning over the course of four months. We are excited to announce the next stage of skilling with the availability of an advanced machine learning nanodegree on Udacity. Starting today, students can enroll for the Machine Learning Engineer for Microsoft Azure Nanodegree Program.
This new nanodegree program offers students the opportunity to develop deeper technical skills in machine learning (ML). Students will strengthen their skills by building and deploying sophisticated ML models using Azure Machine Learning. They will learn how to train ML models, manage ML pipelines, and tune hyperparameters to improve model performance. Once the model is ready, students will learn how to operationalize the model with the right MLOps practices, including automation, CI/CD, and monitoring.
Students will get hands-on exposure with built-in Azure labs that are designed to help students put theory into practice, all within Udacity’s classroom environment. To round it up, students will have the opportunity to show off their talents by completing a capstone project based on a real-life data science scenario. By the end of this program, students will also be well-prepared to earn the Azure Data Scientist Associate certification.
We also want to congratulate the top 300 students of the introductory ML course who are receiving a scholarship for the Nanodegree program. Here are five such scholars sharing their experiences from the introductory course:
“This is an opportunity to master ML in Azure, get coached by industry experts, and build a solid machine learning portfolio for career advancement. I believe that the scholarship opportunity will bring me a step closer to actualizing my dream,” Ijeoma Ndu said.
Like Ijeoma, many of these students are looking to this nanodegree program to either further their careers or make a career switch. Join our scholarship winners in taking the nanodegree program. Sign up today!
Review: UnderHero – A Solid Anti-RPG Platformer With An Eye For Undertale
Five years ago, the indie gaming scene was changed forever with the release of Undertale, a sort of ‘Anti-RPG’ that focused on mocking traditional RPG tropes as much as it did celebrating them. Suffice to say, it resonated with a lot of people and it’s clear that the uniquely unconventional design had no small effect on UnderHero. Still, it wouldn’t be fair to refer to UnderHero, which released on Switch in February 2020, as ‘just’ riding on the coattails of more well-known games. This is very much an experience that demonstrates mastery of the game mechanics it executes, making for an indie game that you shouldn’t dismiss out of hand.
UnderHero picks up right at the end of a standard RPG, in which you control the hero as he makes the march through the main antagonist’s castle for the final battle. Things are quickly cut short, however, when a random minion drops a chandelier on the hero and kills him. From here, you then take on the role of the minion, as he sets off on his own quest to return the three macguffins collected to unlock the castle. Along the way, he’s guided by a magical talking sword hilt that belonged to the late hero, who encourages the minion to break free of his boss’ wishes and be his own hero.
It’s a fascinating premise to begin with, and its execution is greatly bolstered by the wry sort of writing that borrows liberally from Undertale’s playbook. Your quest as the minion is very much a send up of general video game and RPG tropes, frequently poking fun at such conventions while breaking the fourth wall plenty. One early sequence sees your minion needing to access the higher levels of a tree which he can’t reach by jumping. The solution is to take an elevator, but a fuse is missing, which kicks off an increasingly more ridiculous and contrived series of fetch quests to obtain the fuse. All of this is for nothing, however, as he soon just floods the tree with beer and swims up. It’s frequent moments like this which keep the narrative lighthearted and engaging, encouraging you to play further just to see what other off-the-wall scenarios and characters you come across.
Gameplay feels like something of a mixture between a Metroidvania and a Paper Mario game, which makes for a nicely balanced experience. Most of your time is spent navigating 2D worlds and platforming your way through myriad obstacles, all while picking up occasional upgrades and coins along the way. The upgrades boost parameters like your health or attack stats, while the coins can be spent at the “Evil Store” for potions, buffs to your weapons, and more. This makes for a solid feedback loop of continual power growth fostered by exploration, although one annoyance is the lack of an easily accessed map system. The labyrinthine dungeons aren’t too difficult to parse, but you can only look at a map at fixed signposts along the way, which needlessly makes navigation more difficult if you happen to lose your way. There were a couple times where we wasted a few minutes walking in circles before finding the correct path, something which wouldn’t have been an issue if the map was always accessible. Still, the issue never became more than an irritation, and the enemy encounters helped to break up any monotony.
Most of the world has enemies patrolling around, and this is where the Paper Mario bit comes in. Your minion can attack at any time, but his actions are governed by a slowly regenerating stamina bar that decreases a fixed amount with each action. Your ability to dodge is tied to this, too, meaning that you have to constantly be weighing the cost of an attack against the likelihood that your foe will strike before you can regenerate enough stamina. You can use a shield to block or parry damage independent of your stamina, but the shield can only take so many hits before it needs to be repaired, and the timing for a parry is narrower than a standard dodge.
Whether you’re on offense or defense, the battle system is based on deftly timing your button presses, with correct presses rewarding you with better outcomes. Dodge an enemy attack at the right time and your stamina meter will temporarily refill at a faster rate, which allows you to pull off more attacks in a shorter window. Then, for your attacks, the timing is based on the beat of the music, where blows that land on the beat will deal more damage. Each enemy has different strengths and weaknesses, along with a variety of tells that telegraph what attack is coming next, which makes for a combat system that stays enjoyably dynamic no matter where you are in the story.
Your minion has a variety of attacks at his disposal, each of which are meant to be used in different situations. A quick slice with the sword is your standard attack, but he also has a slingshot for reaching those high-flying enemies. And if you think you’ve got a bit of time before the next attack comes from your foe, you can opt to use the slow-charging, but powerful hammer swing to do massive damage. It’s usually pretty clear what tool should be used when, which leaves a feeling that perhaps more depth could’ve been explored with this setup, but it’s perfectly satisfying in practice. Our one complaint, however, is that the controls for the slingshot prove to be needlessly sensitive, making it more of a pain to use that over your other weapons.
As for it presentation, UnderHero employs a rather unique look that doesn’t feel quite like pixel art, even though it clearly borrows heavily from that visual style. At any rate, each environment is intensely detailed and rich with color, with simply animated sprites that convey little personality quirks well. It all seems to perform smoothly, too, though we noticed occasional graphical hiccups every now and then. There was an occasion or two where a jump that barely should’ve landed on a platform resulted in seemingly passing through its edge and falling, or where getting caught in a gap that wasn’t quite wide enough to fall through would result in our minion juddering madly as he hung in the air. Such instances are rare, but they pop up every now and then, indicating that perhaps one more pass for polish may have been in order before UnderHero went gold.
Conclusion
Despite minor flaws with presentation and control, UnderHero proves itself to be a rewarding experience that frequently surprises with its ingenuity and writing. This isn’t exactly a ‘go out and buy it now’ kind of game, but if you like the sound of it, you likely won’t be disappointed by the content on offer here. It’s not perfect, but a well-paced story, engaging combat system, and beautiful world make UnderHero a game that rarely disappoints, and we’d recommend it to anybody looking for a good ‘deep cut’ for their Switch library.
Posted by: xSicKxBot - 10-14-2020, 06:48 AM - Forum: Lounge
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Prime Day 2020: Best Webcam Deals On Amazon For Live Streaming And Work
It's been tough tracking down a decent webcam these days. With the increase in remote work and the amount of people relying on video calls to visit with family and friends, the best name-brand webcams remain in high-demand and often out of stock. If a webcam has been on your wishlist for a while and you don't mind-lesser known brands, Amazon Prime Day is as good an opportunity as ever to grab one for a decent price.
Below we've rounded up some of the best webcam deals during Amazon Prime Day this year, whether you need one for live streaming games, chatting with friends, work, and more. Check out our Amazon Prime Day deals hub for more as the sale continues today and tomorrow.
This is one of the cheapest webcams available on Amazon—discounted nearly 50% off for Prime Day—that doesn't sacrifice too many features for the price. You get 1080p, HD video quality, a built-in microphone with noise reduction, and it's compatible with a wide range of operating systems. It's USB-powered and doesn't require any drivers or software to install, making it easy for even the least tech-savvy person to set up. This is great to get for a family member who wants to video call with you, but probably won't be using a webcam for anything fancier than that. You also get what you pay for though. As one of the cheaper webcam options on Amazon, it may not be the highest quality or longest-lasting option.
If you're a professional looking for a higher-quality webcam option with more features than the average conference cam, the Vitade 960A is a good option. Its touch-activated ring light offers three adjustable brightness settings (plus an off mode) so you can look your best no matter where you're broadcasting from. Other features include autofocus and light correction. A long cable makes it easy to set up wherever you need to, but unfortunately, it doesn't have a built-in privacy shutter like some of the higher-end webcams, and its rounded design may make it difficult to install a custom one. If that's not a concern, this is still a solid option for the price range. You can also grab an extra 5% off by selecting the coupon on its store page.
This is an excellent price for a professional-grade HD webcam, especially when paired with some of its features: a built-in noise canceling microphone, a 360-degree swivel which allows for easy positioning, and a privacy shutter, which should give you peace of mind while you're working.
This 1080p HD webcam from Gesma might not be marked down the most compared to some of the other cams on this list, but with over 5,300 reviews (over 80% positive), it is undoubtedly one of the most popular options for its price range. If all you need is solid HD video quality and good sound quality for online classes, meetings, or personal calls, it offers all of that, with no frills. Plus it's small and has a long cable, making it easy and flexible to set up.
While the Angetube 967 doesn't come with a tripod, its thread mount makes installing one super easy. Pair that with its adjustable ring light and autofocus options, and the Angetube is a solid option if you're looking for something with extra features that's still more affordable than high-end models from Logitech and Razer.
The Spedal MF920 Pro is a pretty reliable webcam all around: full HD 1080p picture, noise-canceling microphone, autofocus and low light correction, and easy setup meet the standards of its price point. What sets it apart from the other options on this list is its wide-angle lens. Offering a full 120-degree field of view, the Spedal MF920 Pro is an excellent option for capturing larger groups like a conference room or a family gathering. It can also swivel a full 360 degrees, making it even more versatile. Its white and grey color scheme (most webcams come in plain black) is a rare plus too.
Surviving Mars: Deluxe Deal, Ghost Recon Sale, GalaQuiz
Surviving Mars: Digital Deluxe Edition at 78% OFF
[www.indiegala.com] Colonize Mars and discover her secrets, with minimal casualties at a historical price. The Deluxe Edition of Surviving Mars provides ambitious colonists with a variety of new ways to customize their new homes and domes. New content, exclusive to the Deluxe Edition awaits!
The 215th GalaQuiz will be LIVE soon, win up to $50 in GalaCredit!
[www.indiegala.com] The GalaQuiz will take place in less than 10 minutes from this announcement Today's GalaQuiz[www.indiegala.com] hints are up. The theme will be Odd One Out #4 Redux.
Yes, yes. It’s happening. All of you proved once and for all that enough commenting, pleading, and campaigning will get you anything. As long as that thing is an update specifically to the cave and mountain systems in a game made of blocks. The Caves & Cliffs Update as it is now officially named comes with improved cave generation and features things like lush caves and dripstone caves. There will also be a brand new archeology system, which adds a very cool sense of history and storytelling element to the game. You’re digging now, but soon you’re going to be excavating.
Something has to populate these caverns, so we also threw in crystals, telescopes, bundles, the sculk sensor block and a new hostile mob – the warden! Does Minecraft really need more hostile mobs? Isn’t it enough that the llamas spit at you?
The cliff in Caves & Cliffs means that the Mountain Update that you voted for last year will be included in this one. We got a first look at the mountain goat that will populate these peaks, and I like it even though I think it resembles me a little too much. I’m not saying a certain Dutch pixel artist did this on purpose, but if he did then he got his revenge. You win this round, Boerstra.
Video: Game art remastered – From Crash, to Kerrigan, to Corley Motors
In this 2018 GDC panel, Yujin Kiem, Cory Turner & Brian Sousa share their insights, experiences, and eventual success of remastering Crash Bandicoot, StarCraft, and Full Throttle.
In addition to this presentation, the GDC Vault and its accompanying YouTube channel offers numerous other free videos, audio recordings, and slides from many of the recent Game Developers Conference events, and the service offers even more members-only content for GDC Vault subscribers.
Those who purchased All Access passes to recent events like GDC or VRDC already have full access to GDC Vault, and interested parties can apply for the individual subscription via a GDC Vault subscription page. Group subscriptions are also available: game-related schools and development studios who sign up for GDC Vault Studio Subscriptions can receive access for their entire office or company by contacting staff via the GDC Vault group subscription page. Finally, current subscribers with access issues can contact GDC Vault technical support.
The development team behind Crucible, Amazon Game Studios’ effort to break into the free-to-play multiplayer shooter genre, announced Friday evening it would halt development of the game after years of work.
Amazon has been attempting a push into video game development with limited success thus far and Crucible’s cancellation is another setback for the company.
“We’ll be discontinuing development on Crucible,” the dev team said in a blog post. “…Ultimately we didn’t see a healthy, sustainable future ahead of Crucible. We’ll be transitioning our team to focus on [the MMO] New World and other upcoming projects from Amazon Games.”
The last known Amazon Game Studios cancellation was the brawler Breakaway in 2018. The company dropped major news at the end of September this year announcing Luna, Amazon’s cloud gaming platform that will compete with Microsoft’s xCloud and Google Stadia.
Crucible launched in May this year and the following month, Amazon moved the game back into closed beta, essentially undoing the launch.
The company said it would be refunding all purchases made. Servers for custom games will close down noon PST on November 9 following a final playtest and community celebration.
Nintendo Lawyers Hit Fan-Made Zelda Game With Fatal Copyright Claim
Nintendo’s legal team has swooped in once again, filing a copyright claim on a fan-made Legend of Zelda game which has forced the project to be entirely delisted.
Well-known modder Kaze Emanuar, who has been releasing a number of unofficial Nintendo-based projects over the last few years, launched a title called ‘The Missing Link’ earlier this year. The game made use of the very same engine from The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, and aimed to bridge the gap between Ocarina, and later N64 title, Zelda: Majora’s Mask.
The game was available from GitHub, but following the copyright claim, has since been removed. Spotted by Torrentfreak, the complaint reads as follows:
“The copyrighted works are the video games in Nintendo’s The Legend of Zelda video game franchise, including without limitation the audio-visual works, story lines, characters, and imagery in The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time (U.S. Copyright Reg. No. PA0000901848), The Legend of Zelda: Majora’s Mask (U.S. Copyright Reg. No. PA0001940271), and others.
Nintendo has reviewed the reported material and does not believe it qualifies as a fair use of Nintendo’s copyright-protected work.”
It goes on to ask GitHub’s page to be removed, saying that it “provides access to a software file that contains an unauthorized derivative work of Nintendo’s The Legend of Zelda video game franchise in violation of Nintendo’s exclusive rights.”
It’s worth noting that the complaint only asked for the project’s removal, and didn’t spark a lawsuit or further trouble for the parties involved.
Prime Day 2020: The Best Tabletop And Board Game Deals
Amazon Prime Day 2020 is here, and that means thousands of products are on sale, right now, between October 13-14. And since 2020 is all about being stuck inside and limiting your contact with others, it is the perfect time to play some tabletop games.
There are classic games that have been played for centuries. There are games whose rules feel like they take centuries to fully understand. And of course, there are tons of tabletop RPG deals as well. Below, you'll find some of the best deals for tabletop gaming for Amazon Prime Day. Plus, if you have a board game fan on your shopping list this holiday season, check out our tabletop gift guide for ideas on what to buy.
Mancala is over a thousand years old, one of the oldest games on Earth. It's simple to learn but takes time to master, as you move glass stones around a board trying to capture more than your opponent. The game is also its own storage container, so everything fits into a wooden box that serves as the board.
Betrayal at House on the Hill is a game that takes a frustratingly long time to learn, as the instruction booklet for it looks and feels like a novel. However, that's because the Lovecraftian horror game has twists, turns, and mechanics most tabletop players aren't used to. Ideal for 3 to 6 players, Betrayal has players enter and explore a haunted mansion. At first, there's no goal other than exploration, but eventually, one player will turn traitorous and try to kill everyone, forcing you to find an escape route fast. Currently, the game is 40% off on Amazon, and that's a pretty big deal.
Codenames is a much simpler game that tasks teammates with picking out words from a list based on one-word clues. Though you can play Codenames with just two people, it's more fun with a larger group. It's easy-to-learn, fun, and pretty cheap for a party game.
It's Blunderful is much more of a game you play with friends while partaking in adult beverages. Cards are drawn with awkward scenarios described on them, and you must guess how the target player would react to them. For example, one scenario might say, "You found out your ex just won the lottery," and the two choices involve you weaseling your way back into their lives or belittling them publicly. Apparently, It's Blunderful thinks you're a sociopath.
Playing Dungeons & Dragons over Skype, Zoom, or whatever video conferencing program you prefer has been a life-saver for a lot of people during the COVID-19 pandemic. In order to get started with the iconic tabletop RPG, all you really need is the Player's Handbook. D&D books can be a bit pricey, but you can get it right now for nearly half off on Amazon, which is a pretty great deal.
While we're on the subject of D&D, why not check out the latest adventure book Icewind Dale: Rime of the Frostmaiden? The book has everything you need to run a campaign that starts characters at level 1 and brings them to level 12. It's the perfect book for first-time DMs. Also, it's pretty interesting to see a book released so recently to be discounted this heavily, so quickly.
Discover is a lot like Don't Starve as a board game. Your characters are stranded in the wilderness and you have to survive, but it's going to take a little bit of cooperation to make that happen. You'll have to gather resources, battle enemies, and compete in scenarios in order to win. You can play alone or with up to four people.
Gloomhaven is a great transitional game between board games and a tabletop RPG like Dungeons & Dragons. It's a tactical combat game for 1-4 players that can take up to an hour to play per session. The story and scenarios change depending on the choices the players make, and a lot of the gameplay is decided by playing cards. $100 is a lot for a board game, but Gloomhaven is worth it as it is one of the best tabletop games in recent memory.
Fantasy Flight Games' Star Wars miniature series is easily one of the coolest tabletop games to come out of that IP. However, it's also the most costly, as you have to spend quite a bit of hard-earned cash to pick up space ships. The X-Wing minatures game is all about space dog fights featuring some of Star Wars' iconic ships. It's easy to play and a lot of fun. This Force Awakens game comes with three ships, so you'll probably want to buy more--and there are plenty of them. Currently, you can pick up the Millennium Falcon or $20, which normally costs $30. Many of the ships for this game are currently on sale.
Imagine you had your own aviary, filled with beautiful birds, and it made other aviaries look like amateur hour for bird enthusiasts. That has to be a great feeling, right? Well, it's one you can achieve in Wingspan. This 1-5 player game is all about collecting the best birds for your aviary, while laughing at other aviaries that lack quality birds.
Pandemic is a game you probably won't beat on your first attempt. You're going to lose, a lot. You control a group of people that are trying to keep the world safe from a global pandemic, and it's not just as simple as "make a vaccine and use it." It's an exceptionally challenging game with great mechanics and gameplay with a high replay value. The Legacy version of the game will take multiple sessions to play, and new rules come into play depending on your actions.
Unity have just launched a new interesting publishing program for indie game developers that have or are creating free to play mobile games. Essentially Unity are offering to fund the promotional costs of selected games and provide monetization, growth and ad placement support over the lifetime of the game. Of course this comes at a cost and that cost is a 50/50 revenue split, with a scenario described on the Unity blog:
We want to be clear about the terms up front so you can decide if Game Growth is the right program for you. Let’s break down the revenue sharing with an example:
1- An indie developer has a mobile game that makes $3,000/month. They apply to the Game Growth program. Unity spends $100,000/month to acquire new users to the game, retains those users with dedicated live operations support, and grows the game to $130,000/month in revenue.*
2- Unity would first recoup their $100,000 in monthly user acquisition costs, leaving $30,000 in monthly revenue. So the developer and Unity would share that $30,000 equally, giving $15,000 to the developer and $15,000 to Unity.*
*This model would continue throughout the partnership. We’re using this fictitious example to illustrate the revenue sharing model only. The exact investment/revenue amounts will not always be consistent month over month.
One major advantage to this approach over a traditional publisher agreement is you retain all control over your company and your games IP with minimal commitment requirements. If you are interested in applying you can do so in the Unity Dashboard.
In addition to the Unity Growth program, there is also an asset giveaway going on right now. You can get the POLYGON Prototype Pack for free using the code ‘SYNTYSALE2020’, available until October 20th. Additionally Synty assets are currently on sale for 50% off. Both of the above links contain an affiliate code that pays GFS a small commission if you buy anything. You can learn more about the new Unity publishing programming and the assets in the video below.
