Kategorie: News

  • Bald im Game Pass: Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 3 + 4, Minami Lane, Ultimate Chicken Horse und mehr

    Bald im Game Pass: Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 3 + 4, Minami Lane, Ultimate Chicken Horse und mehr

    Reading Time: 6 minutes

    *Winkt mit den Händen vor Deinem Gesicht* Achtung, ein Zaubertrick: In ein paar Tagen werden all diese Spiele, die „bald verfügbar“ sind, plötzlich als „heute verfügbar“ in Deiner Download-Warteschlange erscheinen. Ziemlich cool, oder? Schauen wir uns einmal an, was Dich diese Woche erwartet.

    Heute verfügbar

    Little Nightmares II (Cloud, Konsole und PC)
    Game Pass Ultimate, PC Game Pass, Game Pass Standard

    Kehre zurück in eine Welt voller bezaubernder Schrecken in Little Nightmares II. In diesem spannenden Abenteuer spielst Du als Mono. Mono ist ein kleiner Junge, der in einer Welt gefangen ist, die durch die summenden Signale eines entfernten Turms verzerrt wurde. Traust Du Dir zu, Dich den Albträumen zu stellen?

    Rise of the Tomb Raider (Cloud, Konsole und PC)
    Game Pass Ultimate, PC Game Pass, Game Pass Standard

    Zurück in der Game Pass-Bibliothek! Mit epischen, actiongeladenen Momenten in den schönsten und feindseligsten Umgebungen der Erde bietet Rise of the Tomb Raider ein filmisches Survival-Action-Abenteuer, in dem Du Lara Croft auf ihrer ersten Grabräuber-Expedition begleitest.

    Bald verfügbar

    Legend of Mana (Konsole) – 2. Juli
    Jetzt mit Game Pass Standard

    Begib Dich in Legend of Mana auf die Suche nach dem mystischen Mana-Baum. Triff eine bunte Reihe von Charakteren, stelle Dich furchterregenden Monstern und erfülle Quests in der riesigen Welt von Fa’Diel. Entdecke den Klassiker, der mit einem neu arrangierten Soundtrack, grafischen Verbesserungen und vielem mehr überarbeitet wurde!

    Trials of Mana (Konsole) – 2. Juli
    Jetzt mit Game Pass Standard

    Trials of Mana ist das 3D-Remake des klassischen Rollenspiels. Erlebe das beliebte Abenteuer mit verbesserter Grafik, Sprachausgabe für die Charaktere, einem überarbeiteten Soundtrack und einer neuen Episode. Außerdem erwarten Dich ein neues Fähigkeitssystem und eine neue Klasse, die das Charakter-Levelsystem neugestaltet und für aktivere Kämpfe sorgt!

    Ultimate Chicken Horse (Cloud, Konsole und PC) – 3. Juli
    Game Pass Ultimate, PC Game Pass, Game Pass Standard

    Ein Party-Plattformspiel, in dem Du und Deine Freund*innen während des Spiels das Level aufbauen und tödliche Fallen platzieren müsst, bevor ihr versucht, das Ende des Levels zu erreichen. Spiele online oder lokal mit Deinen tierischen Freund*innen und experimentiere mit einer Vielzahl von Plattformen an allen möglichen seltsamen Orten, um neue Wege zu finden, Deine Freund*innen zu ärgern.

    The Ascent (Cloud, Konsole und PC) – 8. Juli
    Game Pass Ultimate, PC Game Pass, Game Pass Standard

    The Ascent, ein Solo- und Koop-Action-Shooter-RPG, das in einer Cyberpunk-Welt spielt, kehrt in die Game Pass-Bibliothek zurück. Der Mega-Konzern, dem Du und alle anderen gehören, die Ascent Group, ist gerade zusammengebrochen. Kannst Du ohne ihn überleben?

    Minami Lane (Cloud, Konsole und PC) – 9. Juli
    Game Pass Ultimate, PC Game Pass

    Willkommen in Minami Lane! Baue Deine eigene Straße in dieser kleinen, gemütlichen und lockeren Management-Simulation. Minami Lane ist ein kleines, unterhaltsames Managementspiel, das in einer japanisch inspirierten Straße spielt. Erschaffe und verwalte Deine eigene Straße, sorge dafür, dass alle glücklich sind, und beobachte, wie die Dorfbewohner*innen ihr Leben leben!

    Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 3 + 4 (Cloud, Konsole und PC) – 11. Juli
    Game Pass Ultimate, PC Game Pass

    Direkt zum Release im Game Pass verfügbar! Freu Dich auf die Rückkehr der legendären Spielereihe mit Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 3 + 4. Alles, was Du kennst und liebst, ist zurück. Aber mit mehr Skater*innen, neuen Parks, noch krasseren Tricks, krachender Musik und vielem mehr. Im Game Pass erhältst Du ab dem 8. Juli bis zu 3 Tage früher Zugang und kannst dich mit den spielbaren Skatern Doom Slayer und The Revenant sowie dem Deluxe Edition Upgrade von der nächsten Rampe stürzen.

    High On Life (Cloud, Konsole und PC) – 15. Juli
    Game Pass Ultimate, PC Game Pass, Game Pass Standard

    High On Life kehrt zum Game Pass zurück! Die Menschheit wird von einem außerirdischen Kartell bedroht, das sie als Drogen missbrauchen will. Es liegt an Dir, charismatische Alien-Waffen zu retten und Dich mit ihnen zusammenzuschließen, um Garmantuous und seine Bande zu besiegen und die Welt zu retten!

    Wir feiern eine Million Spieler*innen von Retro Classics

    Wir haben spannende Neuigkeiten für euch. Retro Classics, unsere großartige Zusammenarbeit mit Antstream Arcade, wird immer besser. Wir haben kürzlich eine neue Reihe von Spielen für Game Pass-Mitglieder hinzugefügt und möchten uns ganz herzlich bei den über 1 Million Spieler*innen bedanken, die Retro Classics seit dem Start bereits ausprobiert haben!

    Was gibt es Neues? Sieh Dir diese kürzlich hinzugefügten Juwelen an:

    • Cosmic Commuter
    • Heart of China
    • Skiing
    • Solar Storm
    • Subterranea

    Halte Ausschau nach neuen Turnieren, Community-Herausforderungen und noch mehr Spielen, die bald erscheinen werden. Klicke hier, um alles über Retro Classics zu erfahren.

    DLC/Spiel-Updates

    Diablo IV: Sins of the Horadrim – Ab heute verfügbar
    Sammle bisher unbekanntes Wissen, während die arkane Magie der Horadrim auf Dich wartet. Entdecke neue permanente Updates und Aktivitäten für die Albtraum-Dungeons in ganz Sanctuary und erschaffe einzigartige Zaubersprüche. Bereite Dich darauf vor, in der neuen Saison von Diablo IV: Sins of the Horadrim einem bekannten Feind mit neuer Wut gegenüberzutreten: Astaroth.

    Palworld: Tides of Terraria – Jetzt verfügbar
    Das lang erwartete Update Palworld x Terraria ist jetzt verfügbar und hat neue Spielfunktionen Angeln, Bergung, größere Städte, Pal-Vertrauen und viele weitere im Gepäck! Aber Vorsicht, das Verderben naht …

    In-Game-Vorteile

    Game Pass Ultimate- und PC Game Pass-Mitglieder erhalten mit ihrer Mitgliedschaft Zugang zu diesen Vorteilen im Spiel. Die Vorteile können je nach Spiel, Region und Zeit variieren.

    Mecha Break: Mashmak Rocket Bundle (PC und Xbox Series X|S) – 2. Juli
    Starte Dein Mecha Break-Erlebnis mit dem Mashmak Rocket Bundle, einem exklusiven Piloten-Outfit, einer exklusiven Striker-Lackierung und einer exklusiven Insignie.

    Splitgate 2: Meridian Obex Ace-Skin – (Konsole und PC) – 3. Juli
    Splitgate 2 ist ein einzigartiger, kostenloser Shooter mit Portalen und einem brandneuen Arena-/Battle-Royale-Hybridmodus. Der Ace-Charakter-Skin wurde in Xbox-Grün gestaltet.

    Asphalt Legends Unite: Exklusives monatliches Geschenkpaket (Konsole und PC) – Jetzt verfügbar
    Schalte Kartensätze, Credits und Token frei! Erhalte 10 Kartensätze, 250 Token und 250.000 Credits, um Deine Sammlung zu verbessern und die Führung auf der Rennstrecke zu übernehmen!

    Game Pass Ultimate-Perks

    Hol Dir noch mehr Perks mit Game Pass Ultimate. Du findest sie im Game Pass-Bereich Deiner Konsole, PC-App und mobilen App – es kommen ständig neue Perks hinzu.

    3on3 Freestyle: Exklusives Spielpaket – Jetzt verfügbar
    Betritt den Court mit Stil – mit exklusiven Outfits nur für Xbox, 50 Punkten, die du im Spiel ausgeben kannst, und 3 zufälligen Platin-Kartenpaketen, mit denen Du die Leistung Deines Charakters steigern kannst. Das Basisspiel 3on3 FreeStyle ist in diesem Vorteil enthalten.

    EA Sports UFC 5: Heavyweight Icons Bundle – Jetzt verfügbar
    Betritt den Octagon und verteile Haymaker mit dem Heavyweight Icons Bundle, das mit Deiner EA Play-Mitgliedschaft verfügbar ist.

    Diese Spiele verlassen den Game Pass am 15. Juli
    Die folgenden Spiele werden bald aus der Game Pass-Bibliothek entfernt. Spiel sie noch schnell durch, bevor sie verschwinden, oder nutze Deinen Mitgliedschaftsrabatt, um bis zu 20 Prozent beim Kauf zu sparen und sie in Deiner Bibliothek zu behalten.

    • Flock (Cloud, Konsole und PC)
    • Mafia Definitive Edition (Cloud, Konsole und PC)
    • Magical Delicacy (Cloud, Konsole und PC)
    • Tchia (Cloud, Konsole und PC)
    • The Callisto Protocol (Cloud, Konsole und PC)
    • The Case of the Golden Idol (Cloud, Konsole und PC)

    Wir werden im Laufe der Zeit weitere Spiele zur Stream Your Own Game-Sammlung für Game Pass Ultimate-Mitglieder hinzufügen. Unter Xbox.com/Play findest Du eine Liste der verfügbaren Cloud-Spiele, die Du auf unterstützten Geräten streamen kannst, sofern Du sie besitzt.

    Wie immer findest Du die neuesten Updates unter @Xbox, @GamePass und @XboxGamePassPC. Bis bald!

    Website: LINK

  • A Code Club in every school and library

    A Code Club in every school and library

    Reading Time: 5 minutes

    Today we are starting a campaign to support every school and library in the UK to set up a free Code Club to make sure that all young people can develop the skills and knowledge they need to thrive in the age of AI.

    A young person celebrates at a Code Club.

    Over the past decade, Code Club has provided more than 2 million young people with the opportunity to learn how to build their own apps, games, animations, websites, robots, and so much more. 

    We know that getting hands-on, practical experience of building real projects with technology works. Independent evaluations have shown that attending a Code Club not only helps young people develop their programming skills, but also builds wider life skills such as confidence, resilience, problem-solving, and communication. All of which we know are essential if they are going to thrive in a world where AI is ubiquitous. 

    Right now, there are over 2,000 Code Clubs meeting in schools and libraries all over the UK, organised by an amazing community of teachers, educators, and volunteers from all walks of life. We want to see that number grow. 

    A young person and mentor at a Code Club.

    You don’t need technical skills to mentor at a Code Club. The Raspberry Pi Foundation provides free, self-guided projects that help young people learn how to create with different technologies. We have over 200 Code Club Projects on our website, all of which are developed by expert educators, based on evidence of how young people learn, and rigorously tested; so we know that they are effective.

    That includes a set of projects that support the safe exploration of AI technologies, helping young people understand how AI works, its possibilities and limitations.

    A screenshot of the AI projects on our website.

    We also provide training and support to help you set up and run your Code Club, all of which is available at no charge.  

    I can promise you that the hour you spend in a Code Club will be the highlight of your week. I always come away from Code Club inspired and optimistic about what young people can achieve if we give them a sense of agency over technology.

    Three young persons cheer at a Code Club.

    If you have been inspired to set up your own Code Club, you can find all the information you need to run your own club here. 

    You don’t have to take my word for it: here’s Janine, a Computer Science teacher and long-time Code Club mentor from Stoke-on-Trent sharing her experience.

    Janine Kirk is a Computer Science Teacher at The King’s Church of England Academy in Stoke-on-Trent, UK, who has been running a Code Club for over ten years. She has been inspired by the campaign for a Code Club in every school and library in the UK, to set up clubs in six other schools in her multi-academy trust.

    Setting up a Code Club is really easy as a teacher, as you can just tag it onto the end of your school day, or during lunch. The website is clear and easy to use — and once you have signed up, you have access to additional resources to promote your club. Code Club gives time and space to explore coding in a completely different way than in a classroom. For me, it’s about seeing what programs really inspire students: it gives an insight into how students like to code, ideas of preferred coding language, and tasks they keep coming back to. Running a Code Club has also allowed me to build relationships with students outside of the classroom environment, and all of this spills into my lessons and improves my teaching practice.

    A young person connects a Raspberry Pi computer at a Code Club.

    For students, Code Club is a great space where they can collaborate and work on their chosen tasks. Students often comment on how they look forward to Code Club and how they have continued their projects at home. It also allows students much more variety in enrichment activity, as Code Club is often popular with students who are neurodivergent. It’s amazing to see the children grow in confidence and friendship as they find likeminded students to support each other. 

    My students really love the certificates they can earn. We have been inspired by the excellent activities that revamp the old ways of teaching programming and give them a really nice spin. In fact, I have used the resources in computer science lessons too, as they are often much more visual and fun for the students to create. 

    A young person and mentor at a Code Club.

    Since joining Code Club I have felt part of a community. I receive regular updates, and attending events such as the Clubs Conference really helps inspire creative ways to teach coding. As a computing teacher in a secondary school, you are often part of a very small team — but Code Club has allowed me to feel part of something bigger, and I know that should I need support, they are always there with friendly advice. It really is the best thing that I have done in my career.

    Are you inspired to set up your own Code Club? Then find more information on how to get started running a club today.

    Website: LINK

  • Coolest Projects 2025: Where 11,980 young tech creators shared their ideas

    Coolest Projects 2025: Where 11,980 young tech creators shared their ideas

    Reading Time: 4 minutes

    From AI-powered inventions to eco-friendly gadgets, young creators from around the world have once again amazed us at this year’s Coolest Projects online showcase. An incredible 11,980 participants from 41 countries shared 5,952 tech projects in our online gallery, and every single one showed creativity and commitment to learning something new.

    A young creator playing a game made in Scatch

    Coolest Projects is an annual global showcase for young people who love to make things with technology, whether it’s a clever Scratch game, a hardware hack, or an app that solves a real-world problem. 

    In 2025, we introduced a brand new AI category, supported by Amazon Future Engineer and Allianz, which drew over 100 impressive entries, covering everything from mood-sensing AI tools to jellyfish vs plastic bag image classifiers.

    Last week, we celebrated all of these brilliant makers in a special livestream event. As always, a panel of VIP judges selected a few standout creations to highlight this year. You can catch up on the livestream here.

    Meet our 2025 judges below and find out which projects inspired them the most.

    Judges’ favourite projects 2025

    Kelly Shiohira | Director, Global Science of Learning Education Network

    Kelly is the director of the Global Science of Learning Education Network, a global group of scientists, researchers, and educationalists working to improve learning experiences for all. With a strong background in AI and education technology, Kelly was awarded the UNESCO Confucius Prize for Literacy.

    Check out Kelly’s favourites:

    The AI favourites

    Matt Gascoyne | Engineer at British Antarctic Survey

    Matt is a software and electronics engineer at the British Antarctic Survey, developing innovative digital projects in some of the world’s most remote environments. From testing code in the freezing Antarctic to debugging with penguins nearby, Matt brings creativity and resilience to his tech work.

    Check out Matt’s favourites:

    The Games favourites

    Ebona Eastmond-Henry | Augmented Reality Partnerships at Niantic

    Ebona leads product marketing in EMEA at Niantic, the creators of Pokémon GO. With a background in fashion and television, she brings a flair for storytelling to the world of augmented reality and mixed reality.

    Check out Ebona’s favourites:

    The Scratch favourites

    Amar Kedare | Programs Lead, WPP Foundation

    Amar leads digital education initiatives at the WPP Foundation, enabling underserved youth to explore tech through coding, robotics, and design. Recognised as the Young CSR Leader in 2023, Amar combines creativity, technology, and social impact to empower the next generation.

    Check out Amar’s favourite projects:

    The Advanced favourites

    Discover more projects and get inspired

    Now that you’ve met the judges and seen some of the standout projects they picked, why not explore the full Coolest Projects 2025 online showcase? Dive into thousands of brilliant ideas from young creators around the world — and let their creativity spark your next big tech project!

    In-person events still to come in 2025

    For some creators, there’s still time to get involved this year, with in-person events coming up in India, South Africa, Ghana, and more. Head to our website to see if there’s an in-person event happening near you.

    2 young creators speaking to a judge at Coolest Projects UK

    Want to know more about the next online showcase?

    Coolest Projects will be back online and with in-person events around the globe in 2026. Sign up to the newsletter to be the first to hear about dates, deadlines, and exciting updates.

    Thank you to our sponsors

    Support from our Coolest Projects sponsors means we can make the online showcase and celebration livestream an inspiring experience for the young people taking part. We want to say a big thank you to Broadcom Foundation, Allianz, Amazon Future Engineer, Qube-RT, Avnet and GoTo.

    Website: LINK

  • Wie Dying Light: The Beast Open World und Survival Horror verbindet – und euch maximale Freiheit gibt

    Wie Dying Light: The Beast Open World und Survival Horror verbindet – und euch maximale Freiheit gibt

    Reading Time: 4 minutes

    Zusammenfassung

    • Dying Light: The Beast erscheint am 22. August für PC und Xbox Series X|S
    • Kyle Crane – der Held des ersten Teils – kehrt zurück – aber nicht so, wie ihr ihn kennt
    • Das bisher intensivste Erlebnis der Survival-Horror-Serie

    Das Summer Game Fest war dieses Jahr der Wahnsinn – und ich bin immer noch völlig geflasht von der Energie, die wir in L.A. gespürt haben. Über 100 Journalist*innen und Creator*innen konnten dort zum allerersten Mal die Gameplay-Demo von Dying Light: The Beast zocken. Der Jubel, wenn jemand den Behemoth gelegt hat. Die Schreie beim ersten fiesen Jumpscare im Dunkeln. Und das irre Grinsen, wenn ein Zombie-Kopf sauber vom Rumpf fliegt. Musik in meinen Ohren!

    Was wir dort gezeigt haben, war nur ein Vorgeschmack: ein kompromissloser, brutaler Trip zurück zu den Wurzeln von Dying Light – aber mit einem neuen, beastialischen Twist. Und das Beste: Nicht nur die Besucher*innen auf den Play Days dürfen sich gruseln – alle, die Bock auf Open-World-Survival-Horror haben, dürfen sich freuen. Wir haben die Demo, die vor Ort angespielt wurde, nämlich für euch auch hochgeladen.

    Die Rückkehr eines Helden – nur ganz anders

    Ja, ihr habt richtig gesehen: Kyle Crane ist zurück! Der Held aus dem ersten Dying Light – aber nicht so, wie ihr ihn kennt. Nach jahrelangen Experimenten durch den Baron ist aus ihm etwas anderes geworden: halb Mensch, halb Infizierter. Dieser innere Konflikt ist die Quelle seiner neuen Kräfte – und bringt ihn gleichzeitig an die Grenzen seiner Menschlichkeit.

    In Dying Light: The Beast erlebt ihr diesen Konflikt hautnah: Mal seid ihr der flinke Parkour-Künstler, im nächsten Moment zerfetzt ihr eure Gegner. Am Anfang habt ihr noch keine volle Kontrolle über eure Kräfte – aber wenn es soweit ist, bringt das Kampfsystem eine Härte auf den Bildschirm, die ihr so noch nicht erlebt habt.

    Und genau das kam bei den Spielern richtig gut an. Ob sie per Dropkick einen Infizierten durch die Gegend gepfeffert oder mit einem wuchtigen Schlag Schädel zertrümmert haben – die Reaktionen waren Gold wert. Überall hörte man: „Oh, hell yeah!“ – gefolgt von schadenfrohem Lachen bei den brutalsten Finishern.

    Fürchtet die Nacht!

    Einer der häufigsten Kritikpunkte an Dying Light 2: Stay Human war: Die Nächte waren unseren Fans nicht mehr gruselig genug. Und ganz ehrlich? Ihr habt recht. Also: Wir haben zugehört – und drehen in The Beast den Horror-Regler wieder voll auf.

    Ein Moment, der mir bis heute Gänsehaut macht, ist das leise Piepen von Kyles Uhr, das den Sonnenuntergang markiert. Ab da verändert sich die Welt. Die Umgebung in Castor Woods wird zur tödlichen Falle. Die Dunkelheit ist wirklich finster – du kannst leicht die Orientierung verlieren. Und wenn überall Volatiles lauern, fragst du dich bei jedem Rascheln im Gebüsch: „War das nur ein Busch… oder etwas anderes?“ Und ja, manchmal spawnt dann auch ganz gezielt was direkt hinter dem Baum, den du gerade noch gecheckt hast.

    Dein Open-World-Spielplatz

    Die Mission, die wir in der Demo zeigen, gibt einen richtig guten Eindruck davon, wie ein Tag im postapokalyptischen Castor Woods aussehen kann: Wir starten im Parkour-Paradies von Old Town, plündern verlassene Häuser, lösen Kletterrätsel, sichern uns nachts einen Unterschlupf – und mähen dann im 4×4 Truck durch Zombie-Horden.

    Aber: Dying Light: The Beast ist ein echtes Open-World-Spiel. Das heißt, jeder geht seinen eigenen Weg. Und bei den Play Days haben wir einige legendäre Aktionen gesehen.

    Etwa ein Drittel der Leute hat den Keller direkt wieder verlassen, nachdem sie die Sicherung eingesetzt hatten – genau da, wo wir extra eine Horde „schlafender“ Zombies platziert haben, damit Spieler*innen lernen ihre neuen Beast-Mode-Kräfte auszuprobieren. Stattdessen: Nope. Einfach raus.

    Zwei Journalisten waren komplett besessen von Dropkicks. Sie haben buchstäblich versucht, jeden Gegner von einem Dach zu kicken – und wir mussten sie fast anbetteln, wenigstens EINEN Gegner normal zu besiegen, um eine Schusswaffe für den Bossfight zu looten.

    Ein anderer hat einfach eine Horde mit Knallfröschen zu den feindlichen Soldaten gelockt, sich zurückgelehnt und den NPCs beim Kämpfen zugesehen – und sich dann heimlich an den Kämpfenden vorbeigeschlichen.

    Genau das ist Dying Light für uns: Spielerfreiheit. Wir bauen die Welt, geben euch die Tools – aber wie ihr das Ganze angeht, liegt ganz bei euch. Und manchmal überrascht ihr uns selbst mit eurer Kreativität.

    Das wichtigste Spiel unserer Geschichte

    Für uns ist Dying Light: The Beast mehr als nur ein neues Kapitel – es ist das Ergebnis von über zehn Jahren Erfahrung mit Open-World-Survival-Horror. Unser bislang bestes Spiel. Aber auch perfekt für Neueinsteiger: Denn nach Jahren der Gefangenschaft ist die Welt für Kyle genauso neu wie für euch.

    Wir sehen uns in Castor Woods – ab dem 22. August 2025 auf PC und Xbox Series X|S. Viel Glück. Ihr werdet es brauchen.

    Website: LINK

  • Microsoft Flight Simulator: City Update 11 ab sofort verfügbar mit Verbesserungen für den Nordosten der USA und mehr

    Microsoft Flight Simulator: City Update 11 ab sofort verfügbar mit Verbesserungen für den Nordosten der USA und mehr

    Reading Time: 4 minutes

    Explore the Northeastern United States in exquisite visual fidelity with this latest release.

    City Update 11: Northeastern United States 2 Trailer

    Launched in celebration of FlightSimExpo 2025, held in Providence, Rhode Island in late June, City Update 11: Northeastern United States highlights several areas of interest (AOIs) across four northeastern U.S. states: Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, and Rhode Island. This update comprises a spectacular mix of locations throughout this storied region of the United States, including portions of New England, one of the most important heritage areas in the nation. Microsoft and partners created each AOI using recent high-resolution aerial and satellite imagery, digital elevation models (DEMs), and TIN (triangulated irregular network) surface texturing. City Update 11 invites exploration throughout the sights of this historically renowned part of America, where each flight is filled with expansive vistas and intriguing landmarks.

    Areas of Interest included, by state: 

    Massachusetts

    Boston: The capital of and most populous city in the state of Massachusetts, Boston serves as the primary cultural, financial, and logistical hub of the New England region. Founded in 1630, Boston is one of the oldest cities in the United States and is one of the most renowned of the country’s heritage sites, notably due to its role in the American Revolution.

    Plymouth: The Mayflower Pilgrims landed at Plymouth in 1620, making it one of the most important historical sites in the United States. Called “America’s Hometown,” Plymouth is located 40 miles south of Boston and is the oldest settlement in New England.

    New Jersey

    Northeastern New Jersey: Cities include Newark, Hackensack, and Paterson, all of which are members of the greater New York metropolitan area. Newark, one of the oldest cities in the United States, is renowned for its contribution to the industrial development of the country and as a modern transportation hub. Hackensack is known for its historical importance during the American Revolution where George Washington established a headquarters. Paterson became a key location in the Industrial Revolution due to the energy supplied by the Great Falls of the Passaic River, around which the city was initially constructed.

    Central Jersey: This AOI focuses on cities in the eastern portion of Central Jersey, including Elizabeth, New Brunswick, and Edison. Elizabeth was the first capital of New Jersey and is one of the state’s oldest cities. New Brunswick played an important role in the American Revolution and is an important university center. Edison (originally called Raritan Township) was named after famed American inventor Thomas Edison who established his research laboratory in the area and created several important innovations, including the incandescent light bulb and the phonograph.

    New York

    Brooklyn: Located on the western end of Long Island, Brooklyn is the most populous of the five boroughs of New York City. It lies just south of the borough of Queens and is connected to the borough of Manhattan by one tunnel and three bridges that span the East River. Brooklyn offers some of the most stunning views in all of New York City, notably of the Brooklyn Bridge, the East River, and lower Manhattan.

    Manhattan: Manhattan is one of the most renowned urban centers in the world. The smallest borough by area of the five boroughs that compose New York City, Manhattan is often cited as the capital of several global industries, including finance, media, and entertainment. Known for its iconic architecture, Manhattan is home to the tallest building in both the United States and the Western Hemisphere, One World Trade Center (1,776 feet tall), and the second tallest in the Nation and the Western Hemisphere, Central Park Tower (1,550 feet tall).

    Long Island’s East End: One of the most beautiful areas in the northeastern United States, Long Island’s East End is renowned for its pastoral landscapes, historic villages, colonial architecture, and maritime vistas. The update includes Southampton, one of the core towns of the well-known Hamptons resort area, and Montauk, the easternmost point in New York State and home to the spectacular Montauk Point Lighthouse.

    Rhode Island

    The update’s Rhode Island AOI covers all major cities in the state, including Providence, Cranston, and Warwick. Providence, established in 1636, is the capital and most populous city in the state. Providence, along with the cities of Cranston and Warwick to its south, are located along the mouth of the Providence River at the northern extremity of Narragansett Bay, which opens to the Atlantic Ocean.

    City Update 11: Northeastern United States is available FREE to all owners of Microsoft Flight Simulator. Ensure that you have the latest simulator version installed (1.38.2.0 for MSFS2020 / 1.3.23.0 for MSFS2024 / 1.3.25.0 for MSFS2024 on Windows PC – Steam as of 06/27/2025), download City Update 11, and take to the skies above the Northeastern United States!

    Microsoft Flight Simulator is available for Xbox Series X|S and PC with Xbox Game Pass, PC Game Pass, Windows, and Steam, and on Xbox One and supported mobile phones, tablets, and lower-spec PCs via Xbox Cloud Gaming. For the latest information on Microsoft Flight Simulator, stay tuned to @MSFSOfficial on Twitter. 

     

    Website: LINK

  • This machine automatically scans books from cover to cover

    This machine automatically scans books from cover to cover

    Reading Time: 2 minutes

    Hard data is hard to find, but roughly 100 million books were published prior to the 21st century. Of those, a significant portion were never available in a digital format and haven’t yet been digitized, which means their content is effectively inaccessible to most people today. To bring that content into the digital world, Redditor bradmattson built this machine that automatically scans books from cover to cover.

    There are, of course, already machines on the market for scanning books. But the inexpensive models require manual page-turning and the more feature-packed models are very expensive. Bradmattson’s book scanner is fully automatic and can scan a whole stack of books without the assistance of a human operator. And the machine is relatively affordable to build, which makes it easier to justify the digitization of books that might otherwise be overlooked.

    Oh, and it is portable. The whole thing folds up into a briefcase, so the operator can take it from location to location, digitizing books along the way.

    As you’d expect, this machine is fairly complex. But the basic gist is that a stack of books rests on one side and gravity drops each one down onto a feed mechanism, which carries the book to the scanning area. There, a suction gripper lifts the cover. Next, a plexiglass press holds down the pages while a camera snaps a photo. To flip to the next page, a PC fan creates negative pressure to gently grip the paper and then the whole process repeats. When the whole book has been scanned, it slides over to the output area and the next book enters the scanning area.

    A computer running Python oversees the process and catalogs the images. It controls the various motors through an Arduino GIGA R1 WiFi board paired with a CNC shield, as well as additional relays and a servo driver board.

    Automated Book Scanner
    byu/bradmattson inarduino

    The post This machine automatically scans books from cover to cover appeared first on Arduino Blog.

    Website: LINK

  • How KreatureKind Uses Deckbuilding to Talk About Sustainability

    How KreatureKind Uses Deckbuilding to Talk About Sustainability

    Reading Time: 7 minutes

    How KreatureKind Uses Deckbuilding to Talk About Sustainability

    • Anna Högberg Jenelius, Indie Game Developer, Valiant Game Studio

    KreatureKind key art

    Summary

    • KreatureKind is out now on Xbox Series X|S.
    • Find out how to master the game through arguments.
    • Seven playable characters with unique ability cards and combinations.

    Be Kind. Be Clever. Be Radical.

    I started making KreatureKind because I wanted to tell a different kind of story – one where kindness prevails, and where changing the world means not only rolling up your sleeves but also opening your heart.

    In a world that sometimes feels too loud and too cynical, I hope KreatureKind offers a space to slow down and play with purpose. The game offers an optimistic outlook on activism, sustainability and building a better future together, as well as provides you with a toolbox for how to approach people with which you disagree.

    There’s definitely a challenge to be found in the game – plenty of tough choices, synergies to discover, and high-stakes showdowns. But underneath it all is a message I believe in: Kindness is powerful. And sometimes, it’s radical.

    KreatureKind characters

    Emotional, Rational, or Factual

    To maximize your success in KreatureKind, you first need to understand how the HP bars differ slightly from those in other games you may have played.

    Since KreatureKind is about debates rather than physical fighting, HP stands for Hypothesis Points. The bars are divided into segments, individually called Hypotheses, which come in three colors – pink for emotional, green for rational, and blue for factual. They represent what is stopping the character from agreeing with and joining your cause. Pink means that they are currently vulnerable to emotional arguments. They are also resistant to factual arguments for the time being, and rational arguments made by the characters have increased effectiveness (it’s their current Focus). Think of it as a rock-paper-scissors situation.

    KreatureKind deck sample

    Keep an eye on your own current Focus, and which type of argument your opponents are Vulnerable and Resistant to. It’s important to plan the order of the cards you play, because their effect normally doesn’t pass over between hypotheses. In the example below, Riley is trying to convince her brother Ricky that she has to leave their home town in an effort to save magic. You can finish the encounter in two rounds, but you have to play your cards in a specific order. (Please note that this is early in the game, before Resistance and Focus have been introduced. The card order is scripted in this encounter, to introduce the mechanics in a controlled way.)

    KreatrureKind card battle

    On your first round, you are given the choice between a defensive healing card and three offensive ones – one green and two blue. Since Ricky’s current hypothesis is blue, the two blue cards are most effective against him. Saving the green card for last will take 3 HP off the next hypothesis rather than two.

    KreatureKind Card battle 2

    Next, while still in a green hypothesis, starting with the green card and using the pink and blue ones after that will bring down the rest of Ricky’s HP to 0. Starting with a blue or pink card, on the other hand, will leave one HP in the segment and forgo part of the following card’s effect.

    The goal is to always give you interesting choices – even with simple cards. Should you receive a hand that isn’t particularly useful in the current situation, you still need to consider if you want to play them anyway. Discarding playable cards decreases that character’s Attention, meaning opponents are less likely to target them. Great in some situations, less desirable in others.

    Ability Cards – the Core of Each Activist

    Each of the seven playable characters in KreatureKind has a unique balance of offensive and defensive argument cards. Offensive ones affect opponents’ HP, and defensive ones may return HP to your own characters, or add Block or Prep. Block shields incoming effects, and Prep deals removed HP right back to the casting opponent.

    Argument cards are not the only types of cards in KreatureKind, however. What truly makes each playable character unique is their set of yellow Ability cards.

    KreatureKind screenshot

    In the screenshot above, Luca’s two Ability cards use “Curse” cards (in keeping with his love of pranks). If you go all-in on this tactic, you can all but make the opponents work for you. The other characters take on roles akin to a tank, healer, a DPS character, etc. Most of their Ability cards are cast just like any other, and their unique effect is clear on the card.

    KreatureKind screenshot

    Other Ability cards have 1-3 Slots on them, which can be filled by other cards. Typically, the card’s effect will be boosted based on how many slots you fill. In the example above, the selected card goes from a single-target to effectively becoming an AOE, depending on how many other cards you use. In some cases, the sacrifice may seem far too great, as the effect may not be enough to justify. However, the same card can be invaluable during another turn. Choose wisely!

    A World Worth Saving (and Hanging Out In)

    Beyond the cards and the tactics, KreatureKind is an optimistic game about activism and good vibes.

    Along with an amazing cast of freelancers, I have filled the game with vibrant, hand-drawn art, a flow-inducing lofi soundtrack, and a cast of lovable weirdos who bring the world to life. You’ll meet cryptids, mythological creatures and barely copyright-dodging fantasy monsters, as well as a few good old dorky humans. They all belong to one of the seven magical factions (who cast spells through the means of for example cooking, programming and dancing), and each gives you a unique dialogue before and after the encounter.

    Oh, and some drink Human energy drinks. Because they are monsters.

    KreatureKind screenshot

    Play KreatureKind on Xbox

    Whether you’re a card game veteran or just here for the vibes, we hope you find a faction you love, a monster you want to hug, and maybe even a cause worth fighting for – with words.

    KreatureKind

    KreatureKind

    Valiant Game Studio, Aurora Punks

    ☆☆☆☆☆
    ★★★★★

    $16.49
    Get it now

    Magic is disappearing forever, unless your brave group of activists can save it! After centuries of increasing magic use, the world’s mana well is running dry. If entirely depleted, magic will be gone forever. This does not go unnoticed by Riley and her friends Mitra and Yui. They set out from their hometown, trying to convince people and monsters to use mana more consciously. Along the way, they meet and team up with other like-minded people. Who could resist Tau the cook’s warm hugs, Quinn’s epic role-playing sessions, or Finley’s thought-provoking games? Perhaps they will even befriend the world famous rockstar Luca! Each of the activists contribute to the cause with their unique sets of debate skills, which they hone along the way. Easy to learn, hard to master
    KreatureKind offers unique gameplay, which is approachable to beginners while still giving seasoned players a proper challenge. If you're new to this kind of game, you'll figure it out. Played every card battler on the market? These monsters will still give you a run for your money! Discover, unlock, upgrade
    Supercharge the seven playable characters by unlocking and upgrading cards! The mysterious former activist’s shop may just have the card you need to succeed. For a permanent boost to your team member’s debate skills, plushies give you the edge that will tip the scales in your favour. Go on campaign
    Win the game by convincing KreatureKind’s seven magical factions to join your cause! Enjoy exploring vibrant villages, forests, and cities filled with troubled creatures and charming NPCs. Debate your way through the randomly generated maps and persuade each of the faction leaders to support you.

    The post How KreatureKind Uses Deckbuilding to Talk About Sustainability appeared first on Xbox Wire.

    Website: LINK

  • How Dying Light: The Beast Combines Open World and Survival Horror To Maximize Player Freedom

    How Dying Light: The Beast Combines Open World and Survival Horror To Maximize Player Freedom

    Reading Time: 8 minutes

    How Dying Light: The Beast Combines Open World and Survival Horror To Maximize Player Freedom

    • Tymon Smektała, Dying Light Franchise Director

    Summary

    • Dying Light: The Beast launches August 22 on Xbox Series X|S and Xbox on PC.
      Dying Light hero Kyle Crane returns – but not as you previously knew him.
      A culmination of more than 10 years’ experience in open world survival horror, Dying Light: The Beast aims to deliver.

    Summer Game Fest earlier this month was an absolute whirlwind, and I’m still buzzing from the incredible energy we felt in Los Angeles where more than 100 journalists and content creators got their hands on the very first Dying Light: The Beast gameplay demo. The cheers when they beat the giant Behemoth, the screams when they walked into a jump scare in the dark, and the joy when they ripped heads right off of zombie shoulders – it’s music to my ears!

    We’ve shown a glimpse of what’s coming: a raw, brutal return to the roots of what makes Dying Light so special, but with a monstrous twist. And this experience was not just available to the few lucky people at Play Days, but to everyone who enjoys the thrill of an open world survival horror action game!

    The Return of a Hero, Reimagined

    Yes, you saw correctly. Kyle Crane – the legendary hero of the original Dying Light – is back. But he’s different from the Kyle you remember. He’s been through unspeakable horrors. Years of painful genetic experiments at the hands of the Baron have changed who he is – what he is. He now carries both human and infected DNA, a furious inner conflict that fuels his new abilities but also brings him to the brink of humanity.

    We’ve designed Dying Light: The Beast to let you truly feel that struggle. One moment, you’re the agile survivor, relying on parkour and precision. The next, you’re unleashing raw, beast-like power, tearing enemies apart with primal brutality. In the beginning of Dying Light: The Beast you won’t have full control over your powers but once you do, it’s pushing the brutality of our combat system beyond anything you’ve experienced before.

    This visceral brutality was among the best received elements from people who played the game. Whether they were expertly chaining parkour into a dropkick that sent an infected flying, or one-handedly crushing the skulls of an enemy with brute force – the reactions were priceless. We constantly heard shouts of “Oh, hell yeah!” and naughty chuckles as players pulled off those over-the-top, bone-crunching finishers.

    Dying Light: The Beast screenshot

    Fear the Nights!

    One of the most vocal pieces of feedback we received from Dying Light 2: Stay Human was about the night. Many players told us, quite rightly, that we had perhaps made it a little too accessible. We heard you loud and clear. With The Beast, we are taking the night back to its terrifying glory. For me, one of the most terrifying sounds in the demo was when Kyle’s wristwatch beeps and marks the end of a day. That “golden hour” moment when the sun dips below the horizon – that’s when the world completely transforms.

    With the environment in Castor Woods so dramatically changed, the night offers a completely different challenge. The sense of dread, the urgency, the feeling that every shadow hides a new horror… it’s all dialed up to eleven. When you turn off the flashlight in the woods, it’s truly pitch black and leaves you easily disoriented. Surrounded by our apex predators – the Volatiles – every shadow makes you question “was it just a bush or one of them?” We even play with that primal fear systematically: Don’t be surprised if we spawn a zombie right behind the tree you just checked a few moments ago…

    Dying Light: The Beast screenshot

    Your Open World Playground

    The mission that is shown in the gameplay demo is a great example of how any given day in the decaying, post-apocalyptic world of Castor Woods might look like: You start in the parkour-paradise that the old town offers you, climb and jump the rooftops, loot through the beautiful, hand-crafted interiors. Then you find yourself in the middle of a forest at night, fight off biters to secure a safe house, solve parkour puzzles to get to places that otherwise would be hidden, and plow through hordes of zombies in a 4×4 truck.

    But Dying Light: The Beast is a true open world game at heart. And that means not everyone sticks to the same path. We saw some truly hilarious and ingenious approaches during Play Days. Roughly a third of all players just bailed the basement after putting the fuse back in – refusing to fight the horde we deliberately put there so they learn about their Beast-like powers.

    Dying Light: The Beast screenshot

    Two separate journalists were so obsessed with dropkicks that they ignored most of the other combat options. I swear, they tried to kick every single enemy off a rooftop! We practically had to hold them down and beg them to finish at least one of Baron’s soldiers the traditional way to loot a rifle for the boss fight at the end!

    Another was so fascinated by the firecracker decoys that he decided to lure a horde of biters to the encounter with the soldiers. Instead of getting his own hands dirty, he watched from a far how zombies and human NPCs fought it out – and just sneaked past the chaos.

    This is what Dying Light is all about for us: player freedom. We set the stage, we provide the tools, but how you navigate that world, how you approach its challenges, is entirely up to you and sometimes your creativity even surprises the people who make the game.

    Dying Light: The Beast screenshot

    For us, Dying Light: The Beast is the most important game we’ve ever made. It’s a culmination of more than 10 years of experience in the open world survival horror genre – the best Dying Light game so far. But it’s not just for players who know the other games of the series. The nature of Kyle’s story is the perfect entry point to the franchise – after more than a decade in captivity, the world is as new to him as it is to newcomers.

    See you in Castor Woods when Dying Light: The Beast launches on August 22, 2025 on PC and Xbox Series X|S. And good luck. You’re going to need it!

    Dying Light: The Beast

    Dying Light: The Beast

    Techland

    ☆☆☆☆☆ 132
    ★★★★★

    $59.99
    Pre-order

    **Important: Anyone who purchased the Ultimate Edition of Dying Light 2 Stay Human will receive Dying Light: The Beast at no additional charge.** Pre-order the Standard Edition now to get the exclusive Hero of Harran Bundle, which contains:
    – Ultimate Survivor Outfit
    – Harran Combat Knife (+ Upgradable Blueprint)
    – The Follower Crossbow (+ Upgradable Blueprint)
    – In Jade’s Memory Pistol (+ Upgradable Blueprint)
    – Castor Woods Patrol You are Kyle Crane. After being captured by the Baron and enduring his painful experiments for years, you escape. But the scars remain. Left on the edge of humanity with both human and zombie DNA, you struggle to control your inner beast and the conflict that comes with it. But you’ll need to, if you want to get your revenge on the man who did this to you. A unique blend of open world and action survival horror, Dying Light: The Beast is set in the beautiful, yet dangerous valley of Castor Woods that’s now overrun with zombies rather than tourists. To take your former captor down, you’ll need to form fragile alliances, as well as utilize all the combat and traversal options in your arsenal. But be careful: out here, each step is a fight for survival, especially once the sun sets and the tension heightens as the true horrors come out at night!
    Half Beast, Half Survivor
    Become Kyle Crane, a unique hero with DNA of a survivor… and a beast. Switch between two playstyles and experience a fierce inner conflict between man and monster, leading to the ultimate embrace of unstoppable strength. Primal Brutality
    Take the raw savagery of Dying Light’s combat to the extreme and push brutality beyond human limits as you crush skulls, rip heads off, and tear enemies in half struggling to control the hero's constantly evolving, rage fueled, beast-like powers. Own the day, fear the night
    A signature of the Dying Light series – two vastly different experiences of day and night merge into one unforgettable whole. Scavenge and explore by day, mindful of the constant tension of the moving clock – as when the sun sets, the night unleashes horrors that leave you with only three choices: run, hide, or fight for your life. Run the Rooftops, Rule the Roads
    Feel the rush of best-in-class first-person parkour as you jump from rooftop to rooftop and climb over any obstacle using a movement system accessible to all, yet rewarding those who master it. Then take the wheel of an off-road vehicle and plow through hordes of zombies enjoying unparalleled freedom of open world traversal. Beautiful Zombie Apocalypse
    Breathtaking next-gen visuals bring the handcrafted zombie apocalypse to life, where every detail tells a story of survival. Get lost in the majesty of Swiss-Alps inspired valley of Castor Woods with various biomes – tourist town, industrial area, national park, farm fields, swamps – full of beauty… and decay. Share the adventure
    Band together in up to 4-player co-op to take on the dangers of Castor Woods, where every fight, every discovery and every twisting step of the story can be faced as a group. Use shared progression to conquer the entire adventure side by side, as you face relentless enemies, scavenge for resources and save each other from the brink of death.

    The post How Dying Light: The Beast Combines Open World and Survival Horror To Maximize Player Freedom appeared first on Xbox Wire.

    Website: LINK

  • Microsoft Flight Simulator: City Update 11 Available Today with New Enhancements for Northeastern United States and More

    Microsoft Flight Simulator: City Update 11 Available Today with New Enhancements for Northeastern United States and More

    Reading Time: < 1 minute

    The post Microsoft Flight Simulator: City Update 11 Available Today with New Enhancements for Northeastern United States and More appeared first on Xbox Wire.

    Website: LINK

  • Jump into Mecha Break on Xbox and Enjoy Exclusive Cosmetics with Game Pass

    Jump into Mecha Break on Xbox and Enjoy Exclusive Cosmetics with Game Pass

    Reading Time: 4 minutes

    Jump into Mecha Break on Xbox and Enjoy Exclusive Cosmetics with Game Pass

    • Jay Curtis, Senior Brand Marketing Manager, Mecha Break

    Summary

    • Mecha Break is coming to Xbox Series X|S and Xbox on PC on July 1.
    • Engage in thrilling multiplayer mech battles across three game modes.
    • Xbox Game Pass Ultimate and PC Game Pass members can customize their pilots and Strikers with exclusive cosmetics.

    Pilots, to your stations! Mecha Break is coming July 1 to Xbox Series X|S and PC. With thrilling multiplayer action across three game modes, Mecha Break has something for everyone. On top of that, the team at Amazing Seasun Games has prepared some additional benefits exclusively for Game Pass Ultimate and Game Pass PC members.

    Personalization is at the heart of Mecha Break. Stand out on the battlefield with a custom character of your own creation. With a vast range of physical features and an abundance of wardrobe options, your pilot will reflect your own unique style. Xbox Game Pass members can take this a step further with the exclusive Emerald Surge Black Ops costume. This costume, and the entire Emerald Surge collection, has been designed with the Xbox community in mind.

    Customizing your pilot is only the beginning. Players have a staggering number of design options to personalize their Strikers. The same goes for Game Pass members, who also have access to the exclusive Emerald Surge design for Alysnes. Alysnes is a well-rounded Striker that excels at mid-to-close range combat. It also boasts one of the most unique abilities in the game – Armor Purge. Once its health is initially depleted, Alysnes sheds its armor and gains significant enhancements to mobility. Alysnes and the Emerald Surge design are the perfect combination to stage a late-game comeback and look good doing it.

    Strikers can be further customized with insignias. These special designs are the finishing touch that will make your Striker uniquely yours. For Xbox Game Pass members, an exclusive insignia has been prepared that might look familiar to you. The Emerald Surge Insignia can be placed on any Striker of your choosing.

    Of course, cosmetics are only as exciting as the modes in which you get to utilize them. In addition to showing off your created character throughout the hangar, players can take to the battlefield across three unique modes.

    Operation Verge: Engage in 6v6 multiplayer action, where unique abilities and team tactics are key to completing objectives and turning the tide of battle!

    Mashmak: Squad up with your friends and battle both enemy units and opposing players across dangerous terrain. Feel the thrill of high-stakes combat as you fight to extract rare items. Game Pass subscribers will also get access to a coveted Airdrop Support Pack in this mode.

    Ace Arena: Experience intense, close-quarters action in this 3v3 deathmatch. Fight opposing players head-on in a mode that features non-stop action.

    The Emerald Surge series celebrates one of gaming’s most beloved brands with a green aesthetic that is sure to make an impression on the battlefield. We are delighted to bring Mecha Break to Xbox Series X|S and Xbox on PC on July 1, and hope fans enjoy designs tailor-made for the Xbox community.

    Mecha BREAK
    Xbox Play Anywhere

    Mecha BREAK

    Amazing Seasun

    ☆☆☆☆☆
    ★★★★★

    Get it now

    Mecha BREAK is a multiplayer mech game that allows players to choose from diverse mechs, customize appearances, and battle colossal war machines on treacherous terrain. Get ready for the ultimate showdown—blitz, brawl, blaze!

    The post Jump into Mecha Break on Xbox and Enjoy Exclusive Cosmetics with Game Pass appeared first on Xbox Wire.

    Website: LINK

  • Next Week on Xbox: Neue Spiele vom 30. Juni bis zum 4. Juli

    Next Week on Xbox: Neue Spiele vom 30. Juni bis zum 4. Juli

    Reading Time: 6 minutes

    Willkommen bei Next Week on Xbox! Wie immer stellen wir Dir alle neuen Spiele vor, die bald für Xbox Series X|S und Xbox One, Windows und im Game Pass erhältlich sind. Klick Dich einfach durch die Spiel-Details, um mehr zu möglichen Vorbestellungen zu erfahren (Änderungen vorbehalten).

    Optimiert für Xbox Series X|S / Xbox Play Anywhere
    Ein kostenloses Multiplayer-Mech-Spiel, in dem Spieler*innen aus verschiedenen Mechs wählen, deren Aussehen anpassen und auf tückischem Terrain gegen kolossale Kriegsmaschinen kämpfen. Mach Dich bereit für den ultimativen Showdown!

    Optimiert für Xbox Series X|S / Smart Delivery
    Inin ist zurück mit Volume 3 der Irem Collection und liefert drei fantastische Shoot ‚em ups! Diesmal gibt es Magie, Maschinen und Chaos: Mr. Heli (Kampfhelikopter), mystische Reiter und die Drachenbrut.

    Xbox Play Anywhere
    Eine Gruppe von Nicht-Abenteurer*innen ist die letzte Hoffnung für die Verteidigung der Burg in diesem chaotischen Koop-Tower-Defense-Spiel mit Roguelike-Elementen. Mit bis zu vier Spieler*innen muss Deine Gruppe die Burg organisieren, als Team zusammenarbeiten, um Munition herzustellen, und auf Feinde schießen, um Dein Königreich zu schützen!

    Optimiert für Xbox Series X|S
    Schlüpft in die Rolle eines Ein-Personen-Renovierungsteams, das verschiedene Sportanlagen wieder in ihrem alten Glanz erstrahlen lassen soll. Viele von ihnen sind aufgrund von Zeit oder mangelnder Pflege zerstört worden. Lasst sie nicht in Vergessenheit geraten – krempel die Ärmel hoch und hauch ihnen neues Leben ein!

    Optimiert für Xbox Series X|S / Smart Delivery / Xbox Play Anywhere
    Ein 2D-Survival-Horror-Action-Adventure, präsentiert in einer Mischung aus Old-School-Pixelkunst und HD-Charakterillustrationen. Im England des Jahres 1985 folgt der Privatdetektiv Miles Windham einer Spur zum mysteriösen Tod seiner Tochter auf Velvet Island. Doch als er auf der Insel ankommt, bemerkt er schnell, dass sich die Bewohner*innen seltsam verhalten, und schon bald muss Miles um sein Leben kämpfen.

    Optimiert für Xbox Series X|S
    Mystic Pathways: Crystal Quest ist die funkelnde Fortsetzung, die Rätsel auf ein neues Level strategischer Niedlichkeit hebt. Deine Aufgabe? Drehe Teile, baue Wege und führen winzige, leuchtende Kreaturen durch mystische Wälder, portallastige Sümpfe und glitzernde Höhlen. Verliere bei immer schwerer werdenden Verfolgungsjagden nicht den Verstand.

    Optimiert für Xbox Series X|S
    Spiele als Zevi, ein mysteriöser, vermummter Zauberer mit der seltenen Fähigkeit, magische Stäbe zu stehlen und die Zaubersprüche anderer zu nutzen. Tauche ein in die Tiefen des sich ständig verändernden Elemental Dungeon, einem gefährlichen Labyrinth, das nur Zauber*innen bekannt ist und voller alter Schätze, elementarer Feinde und verbotener Zauberei steckt.

    Optimiert für Xbox Series X|S
    Starte Deine Motoren, es ist fast Zeit, mit Rally Arcade Classics zurück in die Vergangenheit zu rasen! Mit 44 legendären Autos aus den 70er-, 80er-, 90er- und 00er-Jahren und 48 spannenden Strecken, auf denen Du Deine Motoren auf Hochtouren bringen und jede enge Kurve driften kannst, werden Dir die Herausforderungen nie ausgehen.

    Optimiert für Xbox Series X|S / Smart Delivery
    Die Xbox „Extra Krusty Edition” von SpongeBob: Krusty Cook-Off ist da! Sie bietet den ganzen Spaß des Originals ohne anstrengendes Grinden! Greife auf unzählige kostenlose Dekorationsgegenstände, Kostüme, Küchenutensilien und mehr zu, erlebe unbegrenztes Spielvergnügen und entfessle vier Xbox-Power-Ups, mit denen Du Dein Können am Grill unter Beweis stellen kannst!

    Optimiert für Xbox Series X|S / Smart Delivery
    Musik ist das wertvollste Gut der Welt. In diesem Spiel wurden Festplatten mit unveröffentlichten Titeln von einer Bande gestohlen, die die Charts monopolisieren will. Es liegt an Dir, sie wiederzufinden! Du spielst als das Duo Tina & Tunner – sie ist die beste Fluchtfahrerin der Stadt, er ein Scharfschütze mit perfekter Zielgenauigkeit. Zusammen nutzt dieses Paar seine einzigartigen Talente in rasanten Missionen und kombiniert Action und Rhythmus in einem Wettlauf gegen die Zeit. All das, um die Kunst zu retten, die die Welt bewegt: Musik.

    Optimiert für Xbox Series X|S
    Schwebe in Aery – Titans of the Future durch eine atemberaubende futuristische Welt, in der Natur und Technologie in einer faszinierenden Landschaft verschmelzen. Als anmutiger Vogel gleitest Du mühelos durch Hightech-Städte, hoch aufragende Roboter und riesige mechanische Konstruktionen und deckst die Geheimnisse dieser fortschrittlichen Welt auf.

    Optimiert für Xbox Series X|S / Smart Delivery
    Takaoka Mayo ist eine 24-jährige Frau ohne Lebensplan, aber sie hat eine Leidenschaft: Prinzessin Luluna aus der beliebten Light-Novel-Reihe Elf Forest. Mayo begnügt sich damit, ihre Lieblingsfigur aus der Fiktion aus der Ferne zu bewundern, bis sich ihr eine unglaubliche Gelegenheit bietet. Der mysteriöse Autor von Elf Forest sucht eine Haushälterin! Die zurückgezogen lebende Frau heißt Komikado Hijiri, und schon bald findet sich Mayo unter Hijiris Dach wieder.

    Optimiert für Xbox Series X|S / Smart Delivery
    Folge dem Rhythmus, um Deinen Character in Beat of Life zu steuern. Bleibe konzentriert, damit Deine Spielfigur gut durch ihr Leben in diesem kniffligen Rhythmus-Spiel kommt. Schlechte Gewohnheiten können Deiner Gesundheit schaden, reagiere also schnell. Ein verpasster Beat kann zu Krankheit oder Tod führen. Meistere den Rhythmus und sorge dafür, dass Du ein gesundes, erfülltes Leben führen kannst.

    Optimiert für Xbox Series X|S
    Farm Together 2 verbessert das Originalspiel in jeder Hinsicht, bietet ein besser ausgefeiltes Spielerlebnis und ist die beste Möglichkeit, um das Leben auf Deiner eigenen Farm zu genießen! Beginne bei Null mit einem kleinen Grundstück und beende das Spiel mit einem riesigen Gebiet, das sich bis zum Horizont erstreckt!

    Optimiert für Xbox Series X|S
    Die Nordhauptstadt wurde von einem alten Gott zerstört. Das Zeitalter des Friedens, das durch jahrzehntelange harte Arbeit errungen wurde, wurde in nur einer Nacht ausgelöscht. Wenn Du jetzt nicht aufstehst und kämpfst, wird der Norden in einen blutigen und grausamen Zustand ständiger Angst zurückfallen, in dem niemand sicher ist und die Angst über jede einzelne Seele herrscht.

    Xbox Play Anywhere
    Schnapp Dir Deinen Golfschläger, überprüfe die Windrichtung, ziele, wähle die Schlagkraft und schlag ab! Beeil Dich, denn niemand wird auf Dich warten! In diesem Spiel geht es um Geschwindigkeit, Präzision und Entscheidungsfreudigkeit. Tritt im Turniermodus auf zufälligen Karten mit unterschiedlichen Regeln an. Erziele so viele Punkte wie möglich, indem Du den Ball in die Mitte des Ziels schlägst. Sei die erste Person, die den Ball ins Loch schlägt, oder finde den besten Weg, um Deine Gegner*innen beim Minigolf mit verschiedenen Hindernissen zu schlagen!

    Optimiert für Xbox Series X|S / Smart Delivery
    Verbinde die Straßen und baue in diesem fesselnden Puzzlespiel eine blühende Stadt auf. Mit 40 herausfordernden Levels, einem dynamischen Soundtrack und einer eleganten Low-Poly-Grafik erweckt jedes gelöste Rätsel die Straßen zum Leben und sorgt für neue Häuser und reges Treiben. Tauche ein in ein befriedigendes und strategisches Erlebnis, während Du den perfekten Weg zusammenstellst, um Deine persönliche urbane Welt wachsen zu lassen.

    Optimiert für Xbox Series X|S / Smart Delivery
    In der mystischen Ancient Library wird ein junger Lehrling namens Wright von Yuisil, der Hexe der Portale, ausgebildet. Im Rahmen seines Magieunterrichts taucht er in die Geschichten von vier verzauberten Büchern ein, die jeweils eine einzigartige Welt zum Erkunden bieten. Von der Rückeroberung eines gefallenen Königreichs bis zur Aufdeckung der Geheimnisse der Unterwelt – Deine Entscheidungen bestimmen das Schicksal faszinierender Charaktere und ihren verflochtenen Geschichten.

    Website: LINK

  • Next Week on Xbox: New Games for June 30 to July 4

    Next Week on Xbox: New Games for June 30 to July 4

    Reading Time: 8 minutes
    Next Week on Xbox Hero Image

    Next Week on Xbox: New Games for June 30 to July 4

    Welcome to Next Week on Xbox! In this weekly feature we cover all the games coming soon to Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, Xbox PC, and Game Pass! Get more details on these upcoming games below and click their profiles for further info (release dates subject to change). Let’s jump in!

    Mecha BREAK
    Xbox Play Anywhere

    Mecha BREAK

    Amazing Seasun

    ☆☆☆☆☆
    ★★★★★

    Get it now

    Mecha Break – July 1
    Optimized for Xbox Series X|S / Xbox Play Anywhere

    A free-to-play multiplayer mech game that allows players to choose from diverse mechs, customize appearances, and battle colossal war machines on treacherous terrain. Get ready for the ultimate showdown — blitz, brawl, blaze!

    Irem Collection Volume 3

    Irem Collection Volume 3

    ININ Games

    ☆☆☆☆☆
    ★★★★★

    Get it now

    Irem Collection Volume 3 – July 1
    Optimized for Xbox Series X|S / Smart Delivery

    Inin is back with Volume 3 of the Irem Collection, delivering a trio of fantastical shoot ’em ups! This time, it´s magic, machines, and mayhem: Mr. Heli (Battle Chopper), Mystic Riders, and Dragon Breed.

    No Heroes Here 2
    Xbox Play Anywhere

    No Heroes Here 2

    Mad Mimic

    ☆☆☆☆☆
    ★★★★★

    $19.99 $15.99
    Pre-order

    No Heroes Here 2 – July 1
    Xbox Play Anywhere

    A group of non-adventurers is the last hope in defending the castle in this chaotic co-op tower defense game with roguelike features. With up to 4 players, your party must organize the castle, work as a team to craft ammo, and shoot at enemies to protect your kingdom!

    Arena Renovation

    Arena Renovation

    FreeMind S.A.

    ☆☆☆☆☆
    ★★★★★

    Get it now

    Arena Renovation – July 2
    Optimized for Xbox Series X|S

    Take on the role of a one-man renovation team tasked with restoring various sports facilities to their former glory. Many of them have been destroyed because of time or lack of care. Don’t let them go into complete oblivion – roll up your sleeves and breathe new life into them!

    Dead of Darkness
    Xbox Play Anywhere

    Dead of Darkness

    Eastasiasoft Limited

    ☆☆☆☆☆
    ★★★★★

    Get it now

    Dead of Darkness – July 2
    Optimized for Xbox Series X|S / Smart Delivery / Xbox Play Anywhere

    A 2D survival horror action-adventure presented in a mix of old-school pixel art and HD character illustrations. In 1985 England, private investigator Miles Windham follows a lead on the mysterious death of his daughter to Velvet Island. But once he arrives on the island, he soon realizes that the residents are behaving strangely and soon Miles finds himself in a struggle for his own survival.

    Mystic Pathways: Crystal Quest Windows + Xbox Bundle

    Mystic Pathways: Crystal Quest Windows + Xbox Bundle

    Afil Games

    ☆☆☆☆☆
    ★★★★★

    Get it now

    Mystic Pathways: Crystal Quest – July 2
    Optimized for Xbox Series X|S

    Mystic Pathways: Crystal Quest is the sparkling sequel that takes puzzles to a new level of strategic cuteness. Your job? Rotate pieces, build paths, and guide these tiny glowing creatures through mystical forests, portal-filled swamps, and glittering caves. All while trying to keep your sanity with trails that only get more challenging at every step.

    Mystic Thief - Elemental Conquest (Xbox Series X/S)

    Mystic Thief – Elemental Conquest (Xbox Series X/S)

    Synnergy Circle Games

    ☆☆☆☆☆
    ★★★★★

    Get it now

    Mystic Thief – Elemental Conquest – July 2
    Optimized for Xbox Series X|S

    Play as Zevi, a mysterious, hooded wizard with the rare ability to steal magical staffs and harness the spells of others. Dive into the depths of the ever-shifting Elemental Dungeon, a perilous maze known only to wizards, teeming with ancient treasures, elemental foes, and forbidden sorcery.

    Rally Arcade Classics

    Rally Arcade Classics

    NETKDOS, SL

    ☆☆☆☆☆
    ★★★★★

    $19.99
    Pre-order

    Rally Arcade Classics – July 2
    Optimized for Xbox Series X|S

    Rev up your engines, it’s almost time to race back to the past with Rally Arcade Classics! Including 44 iconic cars from the 70’s, 80’s, 90’s and 00’s, and 48 thrilling tracks to rev up their engines to the max while drifting every close turn, you will never run out of challenges to take upon.

    SpongeBob: Krusty Cook-Off Extra Krusty Edition

    SpongeBob: Krusty Cook-Off Extra Krusty Edition

    Tilting Point

    ☆☆☆☆☆
    ★★★★★

    Get it now

    SpongeBob: Krusty Cook-Off Extra Krusty Edition – July 2
    Optimized for Xbox Series X|S / Smart Delivery

    The Xbox “Extra Krusty Edition” of SpongeBob: Krusty Cook-Off is here! It includes all the fun of the original with none of the grind! Access tons of free decorative items, costumes, kitchen gear and more, experience unlimited play and unleash four, Xbox power-ups to help you show off your skill behind the grill!

    Music Drive: Chase the Beat

    Music Drive: Chase the Beat

    QUByte Interactive

    ☆☆☆☆☆
    ★★★★★

    Get it now

    Music Drive: Chase the Beat – July 3
    Optimized for Xbox Series X|S / Smart Delivery

    Music is the most valuable asset in the world, and hard drives filled with unreleased tracks have been stolen by a gang that wants to monopolize the charts. It’s up to you to recover them! You play as Tina & Tunner — she’s the best getaway driver in the hood; he’s a sharpshooter with perfect aim. Together, this couple uses their unique talents in high-octane missions, combining action and rhythm in a race against time to save the art that moves the world: music.

    Aery: Titans of the Future

    Aery: Titans of the Future

    EpiXR Games

    ☆☆☆☆☆
    ★★★★★

    $11.99
    Pre-order

    Aery: Titans of the Future – July 4
    Optimized for Xbox Series X|S

    Soar through a breathtaking futuristic world in Aery – Titans of the Future, where nature and technology blend in a mesmerizing landscape. As a graceful bird, you’ll glide effortlessly through high-tech cities, towering robots, and vast mechanical structures, uncovering the mysteries hidden within this advanced world.

    All The Words She Wrote

    All The Words She Wrote

    Ratalaika Games S.L.

    ☆☆☆☆☆
    ★★★★★

    Get it now

    All The Words She Wrote – July 4
    Optimized for Xbox Series X|S / Smart Delivery

    Takaoka Mayo is a 24-year-old woman without any life plans, but she does have a passion: namely, Princess Luluna from the popular light novel series, Elf Forest. Mayo is content to admire her favorite fictional character from afar, until she receives an incredible opportunity. Elf Forest’s mysterious writer is looking for a housekeeper! The reclusive woman is named Komikado Hijiri, and soon Mayo finds herself living under Hijiri’s roof.

    Beat of Life

    Beat of Life

    Happy Player

    ☆☆☆☆☆
    ★★★★★

    $9.99 $8.99
    Pre-order

    Beat of Life – July 4
    Optimized for Xbox Series X|S / Smart Delivery

    Follow the beat to navigate your character in Beat of Life. Stay focused to help her organs function well. Bad habits can harm her health, so respond quickly. Life is fragile; one missed beat may lead to illness or death. Master the rhythm and ensure she lives a healthy, complete life.

    Farm Together 2

    Farm Together 2

    Milkstone Studios

    ☆☆☆☆☆
    ★★★★★

    $25.99
    Pre-order

    Farm Together 2 – July 4
    Optimized for Xbox Series X|S

    Farm Together 2 improves over the original game in every way, offering a better polished experience and becoming the best way to enjoy your own farm! Start from scratch, with a small plot, and end with a huge area that extends further than the eye can see!

    Frozen Axe

    Frozen Axe

    Gray Boss Game Studio

    ☆☆☆☆☆
    ★★★★★

    Get it now

    Frozen Axe – July 4
    Optimized for Xbox Series X|S

    The North Capital was destroyed by an ancient God. The age of peace, conquered through decades of hard work, was wiped out in just one night. If you don’t stand and fight now, the north will degrade to its bloody and savagery state of constant fear, where no one is safe and fear rules above every single soul.

    Golf Guys
    Xbox Play Anywhere

    Golf Guys

    QubicGames S.A.

    ☆☆☆☆☆
    ★★★★★

    $4.99 $3.99
    Pre-order

    Golf Guys – July 4
    Xbox Play Anywhere

    Grab your golf club, check the wind direction, aim, choose the force of impact on the ball and hit it! Hurry up because no one is going to wait for you! This game is all about speed, precision and decision-making. Compete in tournament mode on random maps with different rules. Score as many points as possible by hitting the ball in the center of the target, be first in a race to hit the ball into the hole before others do, or find the best way to beat everyone in a mini-golf with various obstacles!

    Hexa Road

    Hexa Road

    Omegga Interactive

    ☆☆☆☆☆
    ★★★★★

    Get it now

    Hexa Road – July 4
    Optimized for Xbox Series X|S / Smart Delivery

    Connect the roads and build a thriving city in this engaging puzzle game. With 40 challenging levels, a dynamic soundtrack, and sleek low-poly visuals, each puzzle you solve brings streets to life, sparking new homes and bustling traffic. Dive into a satisfying and strategic experience as you piece together the perfect path to grow your urban world.

    Novel Rogue

    Novel Rogue

    KEMCO

    ☆☆☆☆☆
    ★★★★★

    $19.99
    Pre-order

    Novel Rogue – July 4
    Optimized for Xbox Series X|S / Smart Delivery

    In the mystical Ancient Library, a young apprentice named Wright trains under Yuisil, the Witch of Portals. As part of his magical studies, he delves into the stories of four enchanted books, each offering a unique realm to explore. From reclaiming a fallen kingdom to unraveling the mysteries of the underworld, your choices shape the destinies of captivating characters and their intertwining tales.

    The post Next Week on Xbox: New Games for June 30 to July 4 appeared first on Xbox Wire.

    Website: LINK

  • The PlatypusBot is a TurtleBot3-inspired robot built from vacuum cleaner parts

    The PlatypusBot is a TurtleBot3-inspired robot built from vacuum cleaner parts

    Reading Time: 2 minutes

    We all love the immense convenience provided by robot vacuum cleaners, but what happens when they get too old to function? Rather than throwing it away, Milos Rasic from element14 Presents wanted to extract the often-expensive components and repurpose them into an entirely new robot, inspired by the TurtleBot3: the PlatypusBot.

    Rasic quickly got to work by disassembling the bot into its drive motors, pump, and several other small parts. Luckily, the main drive motors already had integrated encoders which made it very easy to connect them to an Arduino UNO R4 WiFi and an L298N motor driver for precise positional data/control. Further improving the granularity, Rasic added a 360-degree lidar module and enough space for a Raspberry Pi in order to run SLAM algorithms in the future.

    For now, this 3D-printed robot assembled from reclaimed robot parts is controlled via a joystick over UDP and Wi-Fi. The host PC converts the joystick’s locations into a vector for the motors to follow, after which the values are sent to the UNO R4 WiFi for processing.

    For more details on this project, you can read Rasic’s element14 blog post. 

    The post The PlatypusBot is a TurtleBot3-inspired robot built from vacuum cleaner parts appeared first on Arduino Blog.

    Website: LINK

  • From Fur to Fury: The Legacy of Diablo’s Druid Class

    From Fur to Fury: The Legacy of Diablo’s Druid Class

    Reading Time: 5 minutes

    From Fur to Fury: The Legacy of Diablo’s Druid Class

    • Chelsea Leah, Blizzard Entertainment

    Summary

    •  The new Druid class comes to Diablo Immortal on July 3.
    • With changes in every iteration, the Druid always brings a blend of feral instincts, nature-based magic, and stoic survivalism.
    • Take a deeper look at the Druid class throughout the ages of Diablo and see how it has evolved.

    Picture this: you’re standing in the heart of a storm, lightning crackling in the sky, the ground trembling as if the earth itself feels your rage. Around you, wolves snarl and bears roar, ready to strike at your command. This is the primal power of the Druid, first introduced in Diablo II, making a triumphant return in Diablo IV, and soon to have their debut in Diablo Immortal on July 3.

    Druidsrepresent a fascinating blend of feral instincts, nature-based magic, and stoic survivalism. Let’s dive into the evolution of this iconic playable class.

    Origins of the Druid

    In Diablo lore, the Druids are a reserved and reflective people, deeply connected to nature and its primal forces. Though they share a historical link with the Barbarians, Druids follow their own path. Where Barbarians celebrate raw, unshackled might, Druids harness nature’s power with precision and balance. Picture them as the calm before the storm—until they morph into a bear and decimate their foes, that is.

    The Druid design pulls heavily from European (Celtic and German) myths and folklore, particularly the idea of shamans and natural spellcasters who draw power from the earth. However, the Diablo universe evolves these archetypes into something uniquely suited to its grim world, drawing a look and feel from the raw, primal essence of Sanctuary’s harsh wilderness, blending ferocity and mysticism in equal measure.

    The Druid’s Skill Set

    The Druid class skill kit offers a mix of nature-based elemental magic, shapeshifting abilities, and summoning loyal animal companions to aid in battle. Here’s what makes them a force to be reckoned with:

    Elemental Magic

    Druids wield the raw power of nature through earth-shattering spells, crackling lightning attacks, and poison damage. These abilities represent the destructive beauty of natural forces.

    Summoning Companions

    Choose from loyal wolves, towering bears, or ravenous vines, depending on the playstyle you favor. Your summons not only fight at your side but can be pivotal for drawing aggro or dealing critical damage.

    Shapeshifting

    Need even more power? Transform into a hulking Werebear for devastating melee attacks or a nimble Werewolf for swift strikes. This dynamic shapeshifting adds a visceral touch and lets you unleash your unique adventuring style.

    The Druid’s Evolution

    The Druid class has come a long way since its Diablo II debut. Each iteration refines the fantasy, addressing gameplay mechanics while holding onto the Druid’s core identity.

    Diablo II (2000)

    The Druid made an unforgettable debut, combining shapeshifting abilities with elemental magic to create a class deeply attuned to the forces of nature. Players could transform into a ferocious werewolf or a sturdy werebear, each offering unique tactical advantages that catered to different playstyles.

    Elemental abilities provided additional versatility, allowing Druids to unleash the devastating power of storms and flames. Armed with primal weapons like axes, clubs, and special polearms, the Druid’s combat style resonated with its connection to the natural world.

    Narratively, the Druid stood apart from other classes, with their isolation adding an air of mystique to enhance their lore.

    Diablo IV (2023)

    The Druid emerges as a class rich with dynamic possibilities. Earth and storm spells now deliver visually striking abilities, including summoning earthquakes to disrupt foes or unleashing lightning storms for devastating long-range attacks. Players can seamlessly transition between human, werewolf, and werebear forms during combat, and for further customization, specific items enable them to adopt their preferred form as a default, opening hybrid strategies like a resilient, earth-powered werebear or an agile, storm-infused werewolf.

    Adding to the versatility, Totems return as specialized off-hand items, enriching the Druid’s arsenal with tailored bonuses that complement their iconic staves, axes, and clubs. These tools allow for builds that ensure a personalized experience. The Druid’s lore gains depth in their role as guardians of the wild and their command over nature’s elements.

    Diablo Immortal (2022):

    The Druid’s entry as the 9th playable class channels an untamed, primal energy, embracing a neolithic essence that stands apart even from the Scosglen Druids of Diablo IV. This version is wild and reckless, wielding the raw forces of nature with ferocity rather than control. Characterized as a hermit with a quirky and enigmatic personality, the Sharval Druid thrives in isolation, adding an unpredictable melee/summoner hybrid charm to the battlefield.

    With Wild Magic at their command, their focused skillset and adaptability make them a versatile and fearsome force, while their eccentric, hermitic persona brings an air of mystique to the fast-paced mobile world of Diablo Immortal. Whether shaping the battlefield with elemental fury or summoning swarms of loyal creatures, this Druid iteration offers a uniquely feral experience.

    Join the Pack

    Balancing nostalgia with innovation, the Druid has maintained its identity while adapting its skills to fit the evolving mechanics of the Diablo universe.

    The Druid’s fantasy is timeless. Whether you’re commanding the forces of nature, shapeshifting into feral beasts, or summoning animal allies, the class provides an immersive and customizable experience. There’s nothing quite like the feeling of smashing your enemies as a Werebear, followed by unleashing a storm of ravens to clear the battlefield. It’s gameplay that walks the line between serenity and ferocity.

    What’s your favorite Druid moment in Diablo? Share your stories on our forums or on social media via X and Instagram and join the Diablo community to stay updated on the latest news.

    The post From Fur to Fury: The Legacy of Diablo’s Druid Class appeared first on Xbox Wire.

    Website: LINK

  • Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 and Warzone Season 04 Reloaded – Full Debriefing

    Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 and Warzone Season 04 Reloaded – Full Debriefing

    Reading Time: < 1 minute

    The post Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 and Warzone Season 04 Reloaded – Full Debriefing appeared first on Xbox Wire.

    Website: LINK

  • Greedland Charges onto Xbox: Preorder Your Ultimate Alien-Slaying Arsenal Now

    Greedland Charges onto Xbox: Preorder Your Ultimate Alien-Slaying Arsenal Now

    Reading Time: 4 minutes

    Greedland Charges onto Xbox: Preorder Your Ultimate Alien-Slaying Arsenal Now

    • VaMP He, Solo Developer

    Greedland key art

    Summary

    • Greedland charges onto Xbox Series X|S on July 10, 2025.
    • Pre-order today  with a 20% discount.
    • Survive endless waves of over 20,000 mutants alone or via local co-op.

    Hey survivors! I’m VaMP He, the solo dev behind Greedland. After four years of blood, sweat, and code, I’m stoked to announce: pre-orders open on Xbox Series X|S with 20% launch discount today! Mark July 10 in your calendars — time to unleash chaos at reduced firepower cost.

    Why Join the Fight?

    Experience the violent beauty of blood and fire in its purest form. I wanted a game where you don’t just survive—you dominate. 20,000 kills per run? That’s the baseline.

    Greedland screenshot

    The Greedland Vision: Four Years in the Making

    As a one-man studio, I’ve poured my soul into making Greedland the ultimate roguelike-survivor hybrid. Imagine:

    • Progressive Arsenal Unlock: Start with basic firearms, then unlock heavy weapons like plasma discs and orbital cannons as you decimate thousands of mutants.
    • Over 20,000 Kills Per Run: Survive relentless waves where alien mutants spawn in all directions – culminating in Endless Mode for ultimate challenges.
    • Shared-Screen Survival: Partner locally to strategize against overwhelming odds – the only way to survive the mutant tidal waves.

    Core Combat Experience

    ✅ Endless Mutant Waves

    Face rapidly spawning alien hordes flooding your screen. Prove your skill in endless mode against massive waves of enemies.

    Greedland screenshot

    ✅ Evolving Arsenal

    Start basic, unlock devastation tools like the Plasma Disc and Orbital Cannon. Become a true “mobile arsenal of destruction”!

    Greedland screenshot

    ✅ Chaos Multiplied

    Embrace local co-op madness – double the firepower, triple the explosions.

    Greedland screenshot

    The Greedland Promise

    This isn’t just another roguelike. It’s about:

    • Carving paths through thousands of mutants with heavy weaponry. 

    • Adapting tactics against ever-growing alien tides. 

    • That “one more run” addiction at 2 AM.

    Greedland screenshot

    Pre-Order Now, Reap the Rewards

    This isn’t just another survivor clone. It’s hundreds of weapon combos, physics-enhanced explosions, and the satisfaction of seeing your screen drown in enemy corpses. Ready to command the ultimate arsenal of destruction?

    Pre-order today at 20% off. See you on the burning battlefields this July 10!

    – VaMP He

    Greedland

    Greedland

    E-Home Entertainment Development Company Ltd.

    ☆☆☆☆☆
    ★★★★★

    $12.99 $10.39
    Pre-order

    In this game, you'll face an unimaginable number of alien mutants that appear rapidly from all around your field of vision. You'll destroy more than 20,000 enemies per game and the endless mode for hardcore gamers who want to challenge themselves. You will use a handy weapon to carve a path of survival on the battlefield. But as the battle progresses you'll unlock more battlefield weaponry like the plasma disc, orbital cannon, and devastator. Equipped with these devastating heavy weapons, you'll be transformed into a mobile arsenal on the battlefield! The game offers dozens of different styles of weapons and battlefield support props, you will have more than hundreds of free matching options, so please give full play to your imagination and enjoy the fun of harvesting the battle! Another highlight of this game is that each weapon has its own special firing effect.The air waves from explosions and the dead ray from laser weapons give you varying degrees of satisfaction. Local cooperative mode is available. Embrace the chaos of true online and local cooperative.

    The post Greedland Charges onto Xbox: Preorder Your Ultimate Alien-Slaying Arsenal Now appeared first on Xbox Wire.

    Website: LINK

  • FragPunk Season 2 Brings Transformative Updates, Including a New Lancer

    FragPunk Season 2 Brings Transformative Updates, Including a New Lancer

    Reading Time: 6 minutes

    FragPunk Season 2 Brings Transformative Updates, Including a New Lancer

    • Jeff HuMarketing Manager, Bad Guitar Studio

    FragPunk Season 2 Hero Image

    Summary

    • Introducing FragPunk Season 2: Rising Tempest, a transformative update surging into the free-to-play 5v5 hero shooter today.
    • Season 2 includes a new Lancer, Hurricane, new maps, new Shard Cards, game mode and gameplay updates, and more.
    • Stay tuned for this summer’s FragPunk Music Festival!

    Season 2 of FragPunk, Rising Tempest, is available now – and it’s going to transform how you play. A brand new Lancer, Hurricane, will join the Lancer team alongside two new maps, Itzamna and Xibalba, which will provide players with unique gameplay experiences and tactical depth.

    FragPunk’s Shard Card system remains a core feature, and the design of the Season 2 cards will not only introduce new and interesting options for you to play with, but will also further optimize the card update mechanism. The card pool will now be updated every two weeks, increasing the probability of new cards appearing.

    Furthermore, in terms of gameplay, the rotating arcade mode will be updated to a selectable arcade mode – freely queue for any mode without rotation restrictions! And as if that wasn’t enough we’ll also see the grand opening of the FragPunk Music Festival this summer! Find out more by reading on.

    New Lancer: Meet Hurricane

    In Season 2, get ready to welcome a brand-new lancer – Hurricane. Hailing from the Arctic Fragment, he loves adventure. After saving an Arctic bear research team in distress during a storm, using equipment he crafted with his own hands, he became a Lancer to save more people.

    With a robust physique, his first skill is a Tornado used to split the battlefield, while his second skill, Lightning Orb, explodes upon collision, blinding enemies. His third skill allows Hurricane to enhance himself with electric charge, granting him extra speed and increasing the damage taken by nearby enemies. Just imagine the sheer intimidation of a massive Arctic bear charging out of the smoke.

    FragPunk Season 2 Screenshot
    Hurricane’s Tornado skill

    His powerful rushing ability also pairs perfectly with other Lancers, such as performing a rapid dual advance with Corona, or executing a smoke-and-flash rush with Axon.

    More Cards, More Fun

    In Season 2, FragPunk brings even more fun and exciting cards, coming to both Shard Clash and Outbreak Mode. We also now we have themed card pools: Shard Clash and Outbreak will both see the debut of groups of cards with mode-specific abilities. 

    Let’s look at some of your new options. The Kindred Spirits card makes allies and enemies of the same color unable to attack  one another! No melee combat – but hey, you can still slap a same-color enemy if you want!

    FragPunk Season 2 Screenshot
    Kindred Spirits

    Love showing off your sharpshooting skills under the spotlight but tired of waiting for a final-round tiebreaker? Rigged Duels will help your dream come true. Challenge an enemy to a 1v1 with your teammates cheering you on—victory is guaranteed!

    FragPunk Season 2 Screenshot
    Rigged Duels

    And the heavyweight champion of rule-breaking: Converter Thievery! Are you on defense, gotten stuck with a dropped bomb and been forced to guard it? Why not just pick it up, plant it yourself, and then defuse it? Completely shatter the bomb-defusal meta!

    Meanwhile, our new cards will updated every 2 weeks with temporary drop-rate increases, meaning the pool will always be changing.

    Choose Your Favorite Modes

    The Arcade Modes in FragPunk offer a rich variety of options, but every player has their personal favorites. To give everyone more freedom in their gameplay experience, the existing rotation system will be replaced with free access to all modes.

    Additionally, Chaos Duel Mode will now be permanently available, alongside the return of Mirror Duel Mode, further enriching the Arcade Mode lineup. With so many gameplay options to choose from, there’s something for everyone! In the near future, even more fun and exciting casual modes will be added – we hope every player can find their own comfort zone!

    Mayan & Greek Mythology Maps: Itzamna & Xibalba

    Itzamna is a map inspired by the Mayan civilization – but unlike the typical Mayan aesthetic, this one is set in a skyport, a brand new Shard Clash arena. The map features interactive ziplines, allowing Lancers to adopt different strategies and expand their tactical options. Get creative! But watch your step—it’s a long way down…

    FragPunk Season 2 Screenshot
    Itzamna

    Meanwhile, Xibalba is a fresh addition to the Outbreak map pool. Compared to previous Outbreak maps, it offers higher connectivity, encouraging players to experience not just classic holdout battles but also thrilling chases and escapes. And stay tuned – more Outbreak maps are coming soon!

    FragPunk Season 2 Screenshot
    Xibalba

    FragPunk Music Festival

    What does summer mean? Parties and celebrations! The world of FragPunk is about to host a grand music festival – this is just a tease, we’ll tell you more soon.

    FragPunk Season 2 Screenshot

    FragPunk is available now for Xbox Series X|S and Xbox on PC, with Season 2 launching tomorrow, June 26. Stay in the know by joining our Discord, or following us on X, YouTube, and Instagram.

    FragPunk
    Xbox Play Anywhere

    FragPunk

    Bad Guitar Studio

    ☆☆☆☆☆ 285
    ★★★★★

    Get it now

    Bend the rules with Shard Cards!
    No two rounds of FragPunk are ever the same. Discover over 100 Shard Cards with an activatable selection that changes every round creating new and unique combinations that create infinite possibilities! Cards can amplify your jump height, reverse the roles of attackers and defenders, engulf your bullets in flame or turn them into chain lightning, and even may resurrect you and your team! Frantic 5v5 Hero Shooter!
    Each round lasts about 2.5 minutes, so get a move on! The short TTK means you have to aim well and react fast to win the fight. Pick between 12 heroes with diverse abilities, customize your weapon combination, choose your cards and get ready for a fight! Variety that fuels replayability
    Pick your favorite hero from a selection of 12, each with their own unique abilities. Find your favorite guns among the 17 available, some which have special abilities, like shooting faster over time, bursts and more! Discover new hero, weapon and card combinations and develop your personal combat style! Immersive Maps & Vibrant Visuals!
    Prepare for rich map designs and mixed visual effects including collages, graffiti and a blend of realistic and stylized textures. Feast your eyes on bold colors, sharp shapes and dynamic lines to provide you with diverse visual experiences while the bullets fly.

    The post FragPunk Season 2 Brings Transformative Updates, Including a New Lancer appeared first on Xbox Wire.

    Website: LINK

  • Experience CS: A free integrated curriculum for computer science

    Experience CS: A free integrated curriculum for computer science

    Reading Time: 4 minutes

    Experience CS is a brand-new, free, integrated computer science curriculum for elementary and middle school educators and anyone working with students aged 8 to 14. A key design principle for Experience CS is that any educator can use it. You don’t need a computer science qualification or previous experience in teaching computer science classes to deliver engaging and creative learning experiences for your students. That’s why, as US Executive Director, I’m especially pleased to announce the launch of the first six units in the curriculum today.

    A vibrant yellow background with the text "Introducing Experience CS" centered. Four colorful, abstract shapes resembling coding blocks in purple, yellow, orange, and blue are placed around the text.

    Read on to explore the new learning materials available and how you can start using them in your school.  

    Six integrated computer science units 

    Experience CS enables educators to teach computer science through a curriculum that integrates CS concepts and knowledge into core subjects such as math, science, and social studies. Ashly Tritch, computer science immersion specialist at Olson Middle School in Bloomington, MN, USA, said, “Cross-curricular computer science is important because it shows students how coding and tech skills can be used in other subjects like math, science, or even art. It helps make learning more interesting and helps kids understand how computer science connects to real life. The lessons that the Raspberry Pi Foundation is creating will be super engaging, with fun and creative activities that keep students curious and excited to learn.”

    Six integrated computer science units are available to access, with more on the way. The units have been released in beta, and we would love to hear your feedback as we continue to make updates to the lesson materials. Each of the units includes an overview with a summary of the topics covered and a series of six to eight lessons, including lesson plans, slide decks, student-facing materials, and starter projects within our Code Editor for Education. 

    We have designed the units to be cross-curricular, so students can learn about computer science concepts while deepening their understanding of related subject area content. For example, in “The me project,” grade 4 students (ages 9–10) explore the basics of Scratch, personalise sprites, and develop programs to create an animation that tells a story all about them. The project could be integrated into language arts lessons, enabling young learners to explore visual representation and write their own unique stories. In the “Smart communities” unit, students in grade 6 (ages 11–12) explore ways in which computing and technology can be used to create environments that are responsive to the needs of community members; this could be included within science or technology lessons.

    Three educational unit cards are displayed: "Weather watchers", "The me project" and "Take a tour”.

    Initially, the curriculum and resources have been mapped to national and local standards in the US and Canada, including the K–12 Computer Science Teachers Association Standards for Students, but they are available for teachers and students anywhere in the world to use.

    You can register for a free Raspberry Pi Foundation account to start downloading the learning materials, including lesson plans, slide decks, student activity sheets and assessment criteria. 

    A version of Scratch built especially for schools 

    Experience CS has been built from the ground up to support safe, confident computing lessons in real classrooms. It includes self-directed creative projects using the popular programming language Scratch. We have built a version of Scratch that is especially for schools. That means it doesn’t have the community and sharing features that are central to the full Scratch platform. Instead, everything runs in a closed, classroom-ready environment that supports safeguarding policies and fits with school filtering systems. Simple and intuitive learning management features enable teachers to create accounts, set assignments, and review progress.

    How to get started 

    On the “Getting Started” page, teachers will find everything they need, including helpful videos and tutorials. The next webinar takes place on 16th July, where we will walk you through all six units available at launch and show you how easy it is to get started with the learning materials. Whether you’re a CS teacher, general education teacher, administrator, or someone who works with school-aged young people, this session will give you the practical tools and guidance you need to bring Experience CS to life in your classroom or program.

    Professional development 

    No matter your experience or skill level, the Experience CS content has been designed to be easy to use. However, we also provide professional development (PD) opportunities to help build confidence in teaching computer science. 

    Teachers anywhere in the world can access free online courses offering flexible, self-paced learning to help you confidently teach block-based programming with effective, inclusive computing pedagogy. Our new course will develop your understanding of semantic waves while highlighting research-backed activities and examples directly from Experience CS units. 

    Help shape Experience CS

    Experience CS is supported by Google and builds on the fantastic work they have done to support educators and students through CS First. The team behind Experience CS includes educators with significant experience in teaching CS in elementary and middle school settings, and it is based on extensive classroom testing and research. We will continue to develop and improve the curriculum and resources in response to feedback from teachers and students. If you would like to help shape the future of Experience CS by testing new features and providing valuable feedback to improve the programme, sign up for the mailing list. 

    What next? 

    We can’t wait for you to explore Experience CS. We will continue to release more curriculum units as well as make the materials available in French and Spanish. Get a head start ready for the next school year by registering for a free Raspberry Pi Foundation account, which will allow you immediate access to all the lesson materials, and then create your school account to begin creating classes, add a scratch project to a class, manage student accounts and view student work.

    Website: LINK

  • Free Play Days – Spotlight | UFC 5

    Free Play Days – Spotlight | UFC 5

    Reading Time: 3 minutes

    Free Play Days – Spotlight | UFC 5

    • Kyle Ocean, Marketing Manager, Xbox

    Fight week is here and this weekend, everyone can experience the knockout power of UFC 5 with Free Play Days for All! EA Sports UFC 5 is available this weekend for all Xbox members to play from Thursday, June 26 until Sunday, June 29. 

    How To Start Playing

    Find and install the games on each of the individual game details page on Xbox.com. Clicking through will send you to the Microsoft Store, where you must be signed in to see the option to install with your Xbox Game Pass Ultimate, Standard and Core membership. To download on console, click on the Subscriptions tab in the Xbox Store and navigate down to the Free Play Days collection on your Xbox One and Xbox Series X|S.

    Keep The Fun Going

    Purchase the game and other editions at a limited time discount and continue playing while keeping your Gamerscore and achievements earned during the event! Please note that discounts, percentages, and title availability may vary by title and region.

    Free Play Days For All

    UFC® 5

    UFC® 5

    Electronic Arts

    ☆☆☆☆☆ 618
    ★★★★★

    $69.99 $27.99
    Get it now

    UFC 5 
    Optimized for Xbox Series X|S
    EA Sports UFC 5 is as real as it gets. Powered by Frostbite engine’s advanced rendering capabilities, your favorite fighters now have unparalleled character likenesses to complement next-level environment fidelity that’ll make their walk to the Octagon feel like a PPV main event. The all-new authentic damage system brings the intensity and strategy of a fight to life, as cuts and strikes absorbed can affect mobility, defense, stamina, and more. Take too much damage, and the doctor will check to see if you’re able to continue. 

    Don’t miss out on these exciting Free Play Days for Xbox Game Pass Ultimate, Standard and Core members! Learn more about Free Play Days here and stay tuned to Xbox Wire to find out about future Free Play Days and all the latest Xbox gaming news. 

    The post Free Play Days – Spotlight | UFC 5 appeared first on Xbox Wire.

    Website: LINK

  • Why we chose Claude for the Arduino Cloud AI Assistant

    Why we chose Claude for the Arduino Cloud AI Assistant

    Reading Time: 4 minutes

    We know that introducing AI into your coding environment comes with questions – about safety, accuracy, privacy, and trust. That’s why we want to be transparent about how we built the recently-announced Arduino AI Assistant in the Cloud IDE, and why we chose to power it with Claude by Anthropic, available via Amazon Web Services (AWS) Bedrock. This feature is not a shortcut. It’s a tool to help you learn faster, test smarter, and stay focused on the creative side of building. Here’s how, and why, we made it.

    Arduino AI Assistant: Your smart coding companion

    Claude was designed from the ground up to be a collaborator – not just a chatbot. It’s one of the top-performing large language models (LLMs) when it comes to writing, explaining, and editing code. It is available through Amazon Bedrock, a fully managed service that makes foundation models accessible via API.  We integrated Claude via AWS because it allowed us to easily access a secure and scalable model directly within the infrastructure we already trust and use. 

    We tested multiple models, and Claude stood out for its ability to understand context, generate cleaner code, and explain concepts clearly. It was also a good match for our goals: not just delivering answers, but helping you learn, debug, and iterate.

    Context-aware with less hallucination

    In developing the Arduino Cloud AI Assistant, we’ve implemented Retrieval Augmented Generation (RAG) – a technique that gives the AI more relevant context before it answers your question. Basically, when you ask the assistant something, we don’t just send your prompt to Claude directly. Instead, we first provide it with hand-picked, structured documentation based on your sketch, board, and use case.

    This means you’re more likely to get reliable, Arduino-specific answers, and less likely to see hallucinated or misleading code. We regularly update these documents based on product releases and user feedback – so the system continues to improve over time.

    Privacy comes first

    We’ve built clear guardrails into the AI Assistant’s behavior – both our own and the ones provided by AWS Bedrock. These include:

    • No personal or identifiable data (like private sketches or account info) is ever shared with the LLM.
    • Every response stays within the Arduino context – the assistant won’t answer or suggest anything unrelated to our platform.
    • Guardrails help prevent suggestions for harmful or inappropriate projects, reinforcing our community guidelines.

    We’ve also taken a minimal-data approach. The assistant only sees what it needs to generate a useful reply – no more, no less.

    Community-led AI Assistant

    This assistant wasn’t designed in a vacuum. Before launch, we worked closely with users through interviews and beta testing to identify the most common questions and pain points. The feedback we received shaped everything from prompt engineering to UI design.

    We’re continuing to build this tool with you. That’s why every answer includes a thumbs up/down feedback option, and why we monitor the results closely.  Some of the most useful improvements – like support for more libraries, better error messages, and undo/redo functionality – came directly from user suggestions.

    Your input helps us tune the assistant – and the documents it draws from – to serve the real needs of real developers.

    Supporting learning, not replacing it

    We’ve heard the concerns about generative AI – from hallucinated code to worries that AI tools could erode developer skills or take over human jobs. We share some of these concerns, and we’ve taken a careful approach. 

    We designed the Arduino AI Assistant to be just that: an assistant, not a replacement. It’s not there to write your entire project. It’s there to help you fix bugs, understand syntax, explore ideas, and stay in flow while you build. For example, you can ask the assistant: “Explain this sketch”, and it will walk you through the code step by step, helping you understand a project written by someone else or clarify syntax you’re unfamiliar with.

    We’ve added lightweight signals – like “experimental” tags and a friendly reminder not to blindly trust code to encourage self-learning.

    Have you tried the Arduino Cloud AI Assistant yet?

    The Arduino Cloud AI Assistant is available to everyone – even on the free plan.
    You can try it today with up to 30 free interactions per month, right inside the Cloud Editor.

    If you need more, our Maker and School plans include 1,500 monthly interactions, and Team or Enterprise plans unlock unlimited usage.

    Get started now at cloud.arduino.cc/features and let the assistant help you code smarter, debug faster, and stay in flow.

    The post Why we chose Claude for the Arduino Cloud AI Assistant appeared first on Arduino Blog.

    Website: LINK

  • Build the Ultimate Media Centre in Raspberry Pi Official Magazine

    Build the Ultimate Media Centre in Raspberry Pi Official Magazine

    Reading Time: 3 minutes

    Take control of your home video, television and music, with a media centre build based on Raspberry Pi. Your film collection deserves the best!

    Trees are brilliant! They capture carbon, they keep urban streets cool, their roots slow down erosion, they provide habitat for millions of other life forms, and loads more. Meet the intelligent garden system that’s using Raspberry Pi and AI to monitor the health of trees, bees and other garden visitors.

    Take a Raspberry Pi Pico 2 W, a couple of H-bridges, motors and a servo, and you too can build a remote-controlled car. Many have done it, but to our knowledge only Eugene Tkachenko has 3D printed everything else, from the wheels to the chassis through to the mechanical parts such as the drive train and gears. It’s a beautiful bit of work.

    If you like to take your music out and about, and you yearn for the days when we used to respect proper album artwork, you’ll like the PiPod, a mobile MP3 player that adorns the wearer’s upper limb like a viking arm ring. A viking arm ring that uses a Raspberry Pi Zero 2 W and a 4-inch screen to let those around you know that you’re listening to David Bowie.

    Fancy a go at stop-motion animation? How about time-lapse photography? Or building a photo booth, or a nature cam, or even getting into face recognition using AI? You can do all this, and more, with Raspberry Pi and one of its range of camera modules. Rob Zwetsloot has been snapping away.

    And that’s not all: we’ve hacked a toy robot arm to obey Micropython on a Raspberry Pi Pico, built a Raspberry Pi Pico drum machine, and blended the ancient art of origami with the much more recent innovation of an RGB LED, and loads more besides. Find out for yourself in the latest issue of Raspberry Pi Official Magazine, on sale now!

  • This 1D camera captures 2D images of things it can’t see

    This 1D camera captures 2D images of things it can’t see

    Reading Time: 2 minutes

    Yes, the title of this article sounds pretty crazy. But not only is it entirely possible through the lens of physics, but it is also practical to achieve in the real world using affordable parts. Jon Bumstead pulled it off with an Arduino, a photoresistor, and an inexpensive portable projector.

    Today’s digital camera sensors are the result of a fairly linear progression from a camera obscura up through film cameras. The light from the scene enters through a lens that focuses all of that light on the 2D plane at the same time. The digital “sensor” is actually a whole grid of tiny sensors that each measure the light they receive. The camera records those values and reconstructing them gives you a digital image.

    Bumstead’s “camera” works differently and only records a single point of light at a time. The entire camera is actually just an Arduino Mega 2560 (an UNO also works) with a photoresistor. The photoresistor provides a single analog light measurement and the Arduino reads that measurement, assigns a digital value, and passes the data to a PC.

    Here’s the cool part: by only illuminating one point of the scene at a time, the camera can record each “pixel” in sequence. Those pixel values can then be reconstructed into an image. In this case, Bumstead used a portable video projector to provide the illumination. It scans the illumination point across the scene as the Arduino collects data from the photoresistor.

    Bumstead also experimented with more complex techniques that rely on projected patterns and a lot of very fancy math to achieve similar results.

    Finally, Bumstead showed that this also works when the photoresistor doesn’t have line-of-sight to the scene. In that demonstration, light from the scene bounces off a piece of paper, kind of like a mirror. The photodetector only sees the reflected light. But that doesn’t matter — remember, the photodetector is only seeing a single point of light anyway. Whether that light came directly from the surface of objects in the scene or bounced off paper first, the result is the same (just with a bit less quality, because the paper isn’t a perfect reflector).

    The post This 1D camera captures 2D images of things it can’t see appeared first on Arduino Blog.

    Website: LINK