apocalypse
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Menteebot is a human-sized AI robot that you command with natural language
Menteebot is a human-sized robot that’s stuffed with AI bells and whistles. Users can command the bot to do their bidding via natural language prompts and it can learn new tasks.
Tinder delays the international debut of its ‘apocalyptic adventure’ show
Due to the coronavirus pandemic, Tinder has decided not to launch its Swipe Night show internationally this week. Last fall, when the show debuted in the US, Tinder described it as a "first-person, apocalyptic adventure." That hits a little close to home now, and Tinder has apparently realized that this is no time to be trivializing the apocalypse.
‘Metro Redux’ is coming to Nintendo Switch February 28th
Metro Redux -- the double game collection including Metro 2033 and Metro: Last Light -- has been available on PS4, Xbox One and PC since 2014. Now, 4A Games is bringing Metro Redux to Nintendo Switch. The combo will be available February 28th, and it should be available for pre-order soon.
Tinder’s ‘Swipe Night’ show lets users swipe to control the plot
Tinder is about to modernize the choose-your-own-adventure plot. Today, the company confirmed rumors that it's launching an original show, Swipe Night. In true Tinder style, you'll watch on your phone and decide how the story unfolds by swiping left or right at key points. Your decisions may improve your dating matches.
‘Good Omens’ and the art of avoiding Armageddon
The world will end one day. That's a plain fact; what's unknown is the exact manner in which humanity will be erased from existence. Whether the oceans will boil us from below like a massive earthenware lobster pot, or a nuclear holocaust will strip the planet bare, or biological warfare will infect our evolutionary timeline, is anyone's guess, and everyone has a theory.
Benedict Cumberbatch will play Satan in Amazon's 'Good Omens' series
Amazon's upcoming miniseries Good Omens has been in the pipeline for a while, and now Neil Gaiman has revealed that Benedict Cumberbatch will take a starring role in the series. The Sherlock star will appear in episode six of the show as a "giant, animated Satan," alongside the previously-confirmed Michael Sheen and David Tennant.
Get ready for a 'Cyanide & Happiness' battle royale game
Things are already pretty dark in the Cyanide & Happiness universe, but throw a post-rapture apocalypse into the mix and you've got straight-up carnage. That's the backdrop of Rapture Rejects, a top down isometric last-man-standing game set in the (crumbling) world of everyone's favourite bleak comic strip. It's essentially a mash-up of Battle Royale and Worms, with no boring military stuff and plenty of bizarre weapons, plus Cyanide & Happiness' imitable brand of OTT animated violence. And also Satan. You can sign up for alpha, which is happening this summer, now.
Try 'Battlefield 1' DLC maps and more starting tomorrow
Last year, EA's Battlefield 1 received a ton of new expansions, including "They Shall Not Pass," "In the Name of the Tsar" and "Turning Tides." The new maps and story missions featured French and Russian battles, amphibious warfare and some of the most famous battles from WWI. Now that it's a new year, EA is teasing some new additions to the popular video game to come, including a Gallipoli trial (part of "Turning Tides") that will give owners of the base game a chance to try out the fronts from the expansions between January 16th and 22nd.
The next great indie game is about the dragon apocalypse
There's no such thing as an "overnight success." Sure, some folks get lucky with a snappy catchphrase or a $30 Chewbacca mask and they experience a wave of sudden, unplanned popularity, but generally, people don't achieve their dreams over the course of a single evening. Rich Siegel is living proof of this myth. He's an independent game developer who's been quietly working on his dream title, EarthNight, for years. It's a beautiful, hand-painted platformer about the dragon apocalypse. Players careen across the backs of massive, snake-like dragons as they soar high above the planet, all while an original chiptune soundtrack pounds away in the background. EarthNight has received some scattered press, but it's not a household name. When it finally lands on PlayStation 4 and PC, it will probably be a surprise to most people, another indie game in a sea of new releases. However, there's something special about EarthNight. It has all the trappings of a sleeper hit: It's gorgeous, unique and whimsical, and it feels fresh even as it embodies the nostalgia of classic platformers. It has built-in Twitch streaming capabilities, it's a blast to watch and it features permadeath, which means once players die, they have to start the entire game over. EarthNight inherently caters to competitive people and repeat plays. If any indie game is going to be an "overnight success" in 2017, this is it.
Six things you might want to prepare for the apocalypse
By Cat Distasio, Inhabitat There are a lot of things you can do to prepare yourself for the possibility of a disaster. You can load up on shelf-stable foods, clean drinking water and batteries. You can dig a bomb shelter in your backyard. You can stockpile first aid supplies and polish up your ham radio equipment. But there are a number of other cool disaster-proof designs that you may not even know about. You'll still probably need an emergency stash of food and water, but some of these things could guarantee your survival in apocalyptic times.
#ICYMI: A cockroach robot, new half-boat drones and more
#fivemin-widget-blogsmith-image-53482{display:none;} .cke_show_borders #fivemin-widget-blogsmith-image-53482, #postcontentcontainer #fivemin-widget-blogsmith-image-53482{width:570px;display:block;} try{document.getElementById("fivemin-widget-blogsmith-image-53482").style.display="none";}catch(e){}Today on In Case You Missed It: The tiny robot that's modeled after cockroaches because science is disgusting; the family-friendly tech gadget to teach your two-year-old to call her grandma, if only you didn't have to install the corresponding app on your Mom's phone; and Parrot's new drones include a hydrofoil option, for the sailors who know how cool that is. (If you don't, check out this physics explainer for how a hydrofoil gives speed and rad points.)
We're (eventually) doomed: passing stars may rain comets on Earth
There are many things in space that can bring life on Earth to an end, whether they're wayward asteroids or the eventual death of our Sun. However, the chances of a calamitous event may well go up if the calculations of Max Planck Institute scientist Coryn Bailer-Jones are on the mark. He estimates that two orange dwarf stars, GL 710 and Hip 86505, could start messing with comet orbits as they approach our solar system. If they get close enough, their gravitational pull would send a torrent of comets our way and greatly increase the likelihood of an Earth-shattering kaboom.
Stephen Hawking is still terrified of the AI revolution
When renowned physicist Stephen Hawking repeatedly warns us about the impending robot apocalypse, we should probably pay attention. "The development of full artificial intelligence could spell the end of the human race," Hawking told the BBC yesterday. While he admits early forms of AI have been useful (it's clearly been a huge help for his speech systems), he worries that we won't be able to keep up with super-intelligent versions that outwit humans. Hawking made similar comments back in May when he called the development of full AI "potentially our greatest mistake in history." (Or maybe he just really hated Transcendence.) And he's not the only genius singing this tune; Tesla's Elon Musk is also afraid of a Terminator scenario. While plenty of scientists have far more measured expectations for AI, Hawking's comments are worth noting. We really don't know what's ahead for intelligent machines, so perhaps we should proceed with caution.
Don't worry, the Pentagon's got a plan to deal with a zombie apocalypse
What would happen if the plot of The Walking Dead, or any other TV show with "Dead" in the title, came true? It turns out that the Department of Defense already has a plan for that, in a folder marked CONOP 8888 Counter-Zombie Defense. The document explains what to do should regular zombies, space zombies or, wait for it... evil magic zombies begin to attack the United States and beyond. In case you're wondering, the title page of the file does open with the phrase "This plan was not actually designed as a joke."
Would Apocalypse Survival Guide help keep you alive?
Are you prepared for the upcoming zombie apocalypse? Okay, so you believe in zombies, but are you prepared for the apocalypse in a more general sense? Let's presume for a moment that you don't have a massive stockpile of weapons, food, and water just in case society falls apart. When the neighbors start chewing on each other for nutrients, what is your game plan? Apocalypse Survival Guide is an iOS that aims to aid you in your quest for making it through the bad times alive so you can start rebuilding society. Right out the gate, the app gives you two free scenarios, a zombie outbreak and the more likely global warming. There are more scenarios available as in-app purchases, but presumably the iTunes store won't be working when the crap hits the fan. If you think there's the potential for a volcano/UFO/meteor strike in the future, you can make those purchases now. Once you pick your apocalypse situation, the app provides you with a set of reading material, checklists, GPS options, and a quiz to help see how survival-ready you are. The supplied reading materials are well done, taking a real world approach to some of the app's more ludicrous ideas. Rather than tell you about zombies in pop culture, the reading focuses on whether or not a zombie outbreak could actually happen, including listing actual diseases that might bring about similar effects. The readings aren't particularly long, but by keeping the focus on real world possibilities there's some interesting meat to be found. The tips for each of the two provided scenarios are hit and miss. Guess what? You'll need a weapon if there are flesh eating monsters outside. Also, did you know food spoils? These are just some of the killer hits you'll be given by the app, or by watching a single episode of the Walking Dead ... or any zombie movie ever made. Next up is the "Check Your Surroundings" portion of the app. Utilizing your GPS or Wi-Fi, the app tells you where the nearest sources of food, medicine, shelter, weapons, hardware, or gas are. It's selection success depends on what you're looking for. Once you have a route or list of addresses planned, the app allows you to print them all out via the "Look. Listen. Learn" page. The map search results are mixed. I live in the middle of Atlanta, yet most of the returns when I searched for food were all the various Quick Trip's in the area. It doesn't show me any of the Walmarts or local grocery stores, but I'd be covered on Ding Dongs. When I search for where to find weapons, all of a sudden the app knows where every single Walmart in the Atlanta region is. The app also adds in Chuck's Firearms for a more authentic Southern experience. Once you've checked your surroundings, it's time to build your survival kit. The zombie and global warming plans have many of the same basic suggested supplies, so one plan will largely cover the other. Once you've checked off the items on your list you should go ahead and use the included print feature because if society falls apart, your iPad battery isn't going to be useful for long. It's a silly app that actually provides a few useful tips for surviving in hostile situations; maybe not a zombie outbreak, but a riot or weather disaster to be sure. There's just one major hitch that sort of ruins that app: the survival quiz. At the top of the each situation screen is a stat that shows your survival percentage for the scenario in question. Underneath that is little box that says "Update Your Chances of Surviving _________." Here you'll find the survival quiz that allegedly wants to help you find your survival percentage, but the quiz is completely broken. Here's what you see when you try and answer a question in the drop down menus for each answer: There's nothing worse than when you have to guess the surrounding population of your area only to discover all the suggestions are "?". This happens every time you click a question. Terrain? All question marks. Weight class? All question marks. Do you wear glasses? Ok, that's not a big issue, but it's still all question marks. This would just be an annoying quirk of the app if it allowed you to easily change your answer. Apocalypse Survival Guide, however, knows the end of the world doesn't come with second chances, so you'll just have to guess the right answer. If you get it wrong, you have to then select the text of your wrong answer, manually delete it, and guess again. If this feature was around in an actual zombie apocalypse, I'd leave it to be eaten alive. There are some really solid ideas in this app. The art design is beautiful and it's a fun way for parents to start talking about disaster planning with their kids. Sadly, solid ideas don't matter if they're wrapped up in a frustrating user interface. Currently the maps aren't useful enough to rely on when your lives are in danger, and even if they were, the broken quiz makes it impossible to tell how prepared you actually are for the end. How can I survive without my survival rate percentage? I'd be a dead man feeling all cocky because I think I've got a 78% when I'm really working with a 45%. Apocalypse Survival Guide is worth a fun afternoon of time killing, but when it comes time to form your post-apocalypse posse, this is one hombre you should probably leave at home.
PSA: Tropico 4 'Apocalypse' DLC heats up the Cold War, out now
A new bundle of mutually-assured destruction Tropico 4 content has landed on Steam and the Xbox Marketplace, adding the thrill threat of nuclear annihilation to your quaint little island meritocracy for the one-time cost of $4.99. The Apocalypse DLC pack adds a Nuclear Shelter building type, a "Survivalist" trait that reduces the amount of food Tropicans require, a hazmat suit for El Presidente and a new mission entitled "How I learned to love the bomb," which requires that the player (and their country, hopefully) survive a doomsday scenario.
Dig into Black Ops 2 'Apocalypse' DLC in this gameplay video
Call of Duty: Black Ops 2 gets one last DLC pack, dubbed "Apocalypse," tomorrow. Within it players find four new multiplayer maps and one new excursion into Zombies mode with "Origins."
Black Ops 2 gives us a glimpse of the Apocalypse
Activision put together a little video tour of the fourth and final DLC pack for Call of Duty: Black Ops 2, dubbed "Apocalypse." It's well worth watching if only to see a zombie inside of a mechanized battle suit, but we suppose it's also relevant context on the history of these additional multiplayer maps and background on the new Zombie variant, Origins. Apocalypse will be available first on Xbox 360 come August 27. After a bout of timed exclusivity, the DLC will then become available on PS3 and PC.
Black Ops 2 Apocalypse DLC on Xbox Aug. 27, includes zombie Origins
Apocalypse is the fourth and final DLC installment for Call of Duty: Black Ops 2, landing on August 27 as a timed exclusive on Xbox 360. Apocalypse includes four multiplayer maps and a new Zombies mode, Origins, which Treyarch teased in a video yesterday. Origins stars the four original heroes from the first-ever Zombies map – Tank, Nikolai, Takeo, and Rictofen – as they gallivant in a dieselpunk, World War I-era France that's been overrun with the undead. As the title suggests, Origins will explore the beginning of the Zombies storyline and features "a period-specific arsenal," including Wonder Weapons that harness supernatural powers. Just like the ones Pershing used. The mech we spotted in yesterday's Origins video is a 1,000 foot robot that players must evade, along with all the zombie hordes. The multiplayer maps in Apocalypse are Pod, a failed utopian community from the 70s, Frost, a wintry European city, Takeoff, a small launch site in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, and Dig, and adaptation of the Courtyard map from Call of Duty: World at War.
EVE Evolved: Fitting battleships for PvP in Odyssey, part 2
Battleships used to be the backbone of every major PvP fleet in EVE Online, but recent years have seen them increasingly overtaken by more mobile Battlecruisers, Heavy Assault Cruisers, and tech 3 Strategic Cruisers. Armour buffered battleships are still used in carrier-supported fleets and for a while nullsec played host to huge missile-spamming Maelstrom blobs of unholy death, but many of the battleships just haven't been worth using. Developers saught to rectify that in the recent Odyssey expansion with a complete balance overhaul of the standard tech 1 battleships, and it's starting to pay off. In last week's EVE Evolved, I looked at how Odyssey buffed the tier one Dominix, Scorpion, Typhoon, and Armageddon beyond all recognition and experimented with new PvP setups for each of them. This week I've turned my attention toward the tier 2 battleships, which turned out to be equally versatile and deadly. Now officially falling under the umbrella of "Combat Battleships," the Megathron, Raven, Apocalypse, and Tempest have become powerful damage-dealing platforms for fleet warfare. Each of them can now fulfill sniper or close-range damage roles and carry a spare flight of Warrior II drones to bat off tacklers, but what's impressed me the most is the sheer level of damage and tank they can achieve. In this week's EVE Evolved, I experiment with setups for the recently revamped Megathron, Raven, Apocalypse, and Tempest tier 2 battleships. These setups may require Advanced Weapon Upgrades 4 and a cheap 1-3% powergrid or CPU implant.
