![]() It has similar mechanics to Half-Life, including health-and-weapon systems (though with less overall weapons) and periodic physics puzzles, except with the newer Source engine and improved graphics. Like the original Half-Life (1998), Half-Life 2 is a single-player first-person shooter (FPS) in which players control Gordon Freeman. Along the bottom of the screen, the player's health, suit charge level, and their ammunition is displayed. In 2020, after canceling Episode Three and several further Half-Life projects, Valve released a prequel, Half-Life: Alyx.Ī screenshot of the player engaging a group of antlions with a pulse rifle. Half-Life 2 was followed by the free extra level Lost Coast (2005) and the episodic sequels Episode One (2006) and Episode Two (2007). ![]() It was ported to Xbox, Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, macOS and Linux. It won 39 Game of the Year awards and has been cited as one of the best games ever made. Half-Life 2 was released on Steam on November 16, 2004, and received universal acclaim. A year before release, an unfinished version was stolen by a hacker and leaked online, which damaged team morale and slowed development. It was delayed by over a year, triggering a backlash. Valve announced Half-Life 2 at E3 2003, with a release date for that September. They integrated the Havok physics engine, which simulates real-world physics, to reinforce the player's sense of presence and create new gameplay, and developed the characterization, with more detailed character models and realistic animation. Valve's president, Gabe Newell, set his team the goal of redefining the FPS genre. Development lasted five years and cost $40 million. Half-Life 2 was created using Valve's Source engine, which was developed at the same time. Players control Gordon Freeman as he joins a resistance movement to liberate the Earth from the control of a multidimensional alien empire, the Combine. ![]() Like the original Half-Life (1998), Half-Life 2 combines shooting, puzzles, and storytelling, and adds features such as vehicles and physics-based gameplay. ![]() It was first published by Valve for Windows through its distribution service Steam. Half-Life 2 is a 2004 first-person shooter (FPS) game developed by Valve. ![]()
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![]() The Bladensburg fight was a quick, embarrassing defeat for American troops - something Key knew because he’d witnessed it up close as a volunteer aide to a U.S. 24, 1814, the Colonial Marines had participated in the Battle of Bladensburg outside Washington, D.C. O’er the land of the free and the home of the brave.īy the time Key wrote these words, the British military included a regiment of former slaves called the Colonial Marines, whom the British had encouraged to escape and then trained and armed. No refuge could save the hireling and slaveįrom the terror of flight or the gloom of the grave,Īnd the star-spangled banner in triumph doth wave As The Intercept recently noted, Key’s little-known third stanza includes these lines: 14, 1814, after witnessing the British bombardment of Fort McHenry in Baltimore during the (poorly named) War of 1812. ![]() Photo: Edward Percy Moran/Library of Congressįrancis Scott Key wrote the poem that became the song’s lyrics on Sept. It took 117 years from the time “The Star-Spangled Banner” was written in 1814 until it was legally enshrined as the American national anthem in 1931.Ī painting titled “By Dawn’s Early Light” depicts Francis Scott Key standing on a boat with his arm outstretched toward the United States flag flying over Fort McHenry in Baltimore, Maryland. Part of that means facing the reality that everything about “The Star-Spangled Banner” - its lyrics, its author, and the path it took to becoming the national anthem - is inextricably bound up with America’s gruesome history of racism. has barely begun dragging the unflattering aspects of its past out into the light. It’s the clearest demonstration possible that even in 2016, the U.S. ![]() ![]() The very fact this controversy was surprising may be the most significant thing about it. Much of the debate generated by Kaepernick has been on subjects directly connected to his actions: police brutality, free speech, and the rights and obligations of professional athletes.īut it’s also sparked nationwide discussion of something more tangential that no one saw coming - the meaning and history of “The Star-Spangled Banner” itself, including whether it should be rewritten or replaced entirely. San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick kneels during the national anthem before the team’s preseason game against the San Diego Chargers on Sept. ![]() ![]() Low: vulnerabilities with a CVSS base score of 0.0–3.9Įntries may include additional information provided by organizations and efforts sponsored by CISA. ![]()
![]() ![]() ![]() Epson Scan feels a bit dated and lacks some featuresĮpson Scan shown in Professional mode with all windows open except the configuration dialog. Let's start off by looking at interfaces. ![]() Since I'm looking at this from the perspective of film scanning, I'm limiting my comparisons solely to scanning of positive and negative strip film and slides, and won't be considering features like document or photo print scanning, copying, OCR, and the like. ![]() VueScan Professional, meanwhile, is ordinarily $99.95. SilverFast SE Plus costs $99, although it was included free in the bundle with our Epson V850 Pro. We understand it addresses some of our concerns, but have not yet tested it ourselves.Īll three applications were tested with Windows 10 version 1909 on a 2018 Dell alongside an Epson Perfection V850 Pro scanner. Unfortunately, SilverFast version 9 was issued after this article had been completed, but before it made it through our edit queue. To do so, I compared Epson Scan 3.9.3.4 – which comes bundled with the company's Perfection-series photo scanners and seems nicely representative of manufacturer-supplied software – with two of the most popular third-party alternatives, LaserSoft Imaging's SilverFast SE Plus 8.8.0r22 and Hamrick Software's VueScan Professional Edition 9.7.35. If you're like me, you probably still have years' worth of unscanned slides and negatives waiting to be tended to some rainy day, and a COVID lockdown gives you a golden opportunity.īut are you better off using the software that came with your scanner, or should you shell out for a third-party alternative to get the best results? Before I rolled up my sleeves and started scanning, I wanted to answer this question for myself. A difficult 2020 that has blended into a difficult 2021 has made it harder for many of us to get outside and shoot, but that doesn't mean you have to neglect your photography. ![]() ![]() ![]() This non-static effect rotates through the elements available to your class in the following order: Arcane, Cold, Fire, Holy, Lightning, Physical, Poison. Gain 150 - 200% increased damage to a single element for 4 seconds. +5–6 Maximum Discipline (Demon Hunter Only) ![]() Lightning skills deal 10–15 % more damage. Players of the original console Diablo III game on PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 that caps out at level 60, or PC players who do not have the expansion, should instead look in the older Patch 1.0.8 Data Archive.Physical skills deal 10–15 % more damage. ![]() The best builds for the Ultimate Evil Edition on the PlayStation 3 or Xbox 360 are found in the Patch 2.0 Data Archive.
![]() ![]() If that's piqued your interest, there's plenty more out there. Here’s a recent example of what the right combination of shaders, resource packs, and hardware can get you. This also gives me the chance to link to my favourite style of Minecraft video on Youtube: thirst traps. I can't believe how much it's grown now!” However, I just found myself being drawn back to it! So, I decided to go with what felt right and return to working on Minecraft shaders and create this Patreon page in the hopes that it could be sustainable for me. ![]() But now he’s in a great place: “I moved on to other projects to better support myself financially. ![]() On his Patreon page, he mentions having to give up working on SEUS as it wasn’t financially viable. Currently, only patrons can access it, but he plans to give away the final and working version away for free, just like he does with his previous releases. For very little money, you could be running Minecraft without the bespoke hardware of modern PC graphics cards (though you'll definitely need a decent PC). It’s no wonder people are happy to chip in a few coins every month. He's also working on a feature that would run the game at 540p but output it and 1080p with very little drop in quality. The global illumination add-on brings with it effects like coloured lighting. That surge coincides with his work on “SEUS PTGI”, a very experimental version of his shaders that implements ray tracing on non-RTX graphics cards. ![]() Rather sweetly, his goals at the time of launching were £360 for the first tier, and then £730 for the second tier. That’s a staggering amount that spiked between the end of 20, and he's maintained that level of income for the past year. He’s absolutely raking it in on Patreon.Ĭurrently, he’s earning £46,663 a month to make Minecraft look pretty. I did that very recently, and I discovered that all those years of free updates have paid off in a big, big way for the developer. We’ve come a long way since then, but from that first release SEUS has always been the first upgrade I download whenever I return. Shaders brought a real-world atmosphere to the blocky landscape, with global lighting, glorpy water, and swaying trees. Back in 2012, Sonic Ether’s Unbelievable Shaders (SEUS) for Minecraft were the best way to give the game a graphics overhaul. ![]() ![]() “One of my passions is to create workforce education and training opportunities for our residents, especially the youth and unemployed. To keep your balance, you must keep moving.” During this pandemic crisis, Anbarasan has been organizing fundraising campaigns to support the Franklin Food Bank, helping to feed thousands of our neighbors. Holding municipal taxes flat, investing in our aging water and sewer infrastructure, improving our roads, increasing greenspace landscape, and promoting economic development are good policies by the Council that benefit all.Įinstein once said “Life is like riding a bicycle. Upon his swearing in, close to two years ago, Anbarasan promised “more good policies and less divisive politics” and that he would work for ALL Franklin residents. ![]() Sivaraman Anbarasan, known locally as “Councilman Ram,” became the Councilperson-at-Large for Franklin Township commencing in January of 2020. Meet your newest Township Council members. The past two years have brought new faces to Franklin’s Township Council. ![]() ![]() Join us as we explore some of the wonderful places and faces that make up our community of Franklin Township. ![]() ![]() The upcoming game will feature high-definition (HD) visuals and an overhaul of its user interface and controls. The developers stressed that System Shock Remake was a reboot, not a remastered version of the original 1994 game. More details will be shared in the future, they said. However, the publisher and developer have yet to reveal more details.Ĭonsole editions of System Shock will release on PlayStation 4| 5 and Xbox One and Series X|S in due course. System Shock Remake is also expected to be ported to next-gen consoles and MacOS devices. Prime Matter has started accepting preorders for the game for PC devices. System Shock Remake will be released digitally for PC on Steam, GOG, and Epic Games. (This May 30), players will be treated to developer Nightdive Studio's stunningly-faithful recreation of the classic shooter/immersive sim, the two gaming companies said in a joint press release. In turn, they will be launching the action-adventure game on May 30. Prime Matter and Nightdive Studios announced that the System Shock Remake had gone gold. After multiple delays, the anticipated System Shock Remake finally gets a release date. ![]() ![]() The introduction of these monsters served as miniature events in the original Dead Space, so adding them in the gameplay trailer somewhat spoils the surprise of where they are located. While the standard Slashers and Leapers are obvious inclusions, it was surprising to see special Necromorphs like the Brute and Leviathan make an appearance. Many of the in-game and death animations make a return in the remake, and are just as nostalgic a sight as the Necromorphs themselves. Ishimura crew look as grotesque as ever, and are just as keen on killing Isaac as they were in the original title. We selected the sequel as our Game Of The Year back when it was first released in 2012.ĭead Space launches on January 27, 2023, and is available to pre-order now on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC via the EA App, Steam, and Epic Games Store.It would be impossible to have a Dead Space trailer without including the franchise's iconic Necromorphs. Those who pre-order the game on Steam get a free copy of Dead Space 2. A generation of fans, including myself, vividly remembers Isaac stomping his way through mutated Necromorphs and copious amounts of gore on board the terrifying backdrop of the USG Ishimura. The original Dead Space was touted as one of the greatest horror games ever made and was renowned for its visuals, sound design, innovative HUD design, and enemy behavior. You can view the brand-new launch trailer below. ![]() Familiar sequences from the original have been amped up with high-fidelity visuals, a grim atmosphere, and anxiety-inducing sound design. ![]() The dedicated fanbase of Marker-heads is likely to grow as both old players and new can enjoy an action-packed horror experience packed with plenty of monsters, zero-g space thrills, and stellar voice-acting for familiar characters Isaac Clarke and Nicole Brennan as seen in the new trailer. The timing couldn’t be better, as we also just released an in-depth developer interview exploring the enhancements and types of approaches they took while creating the remake. In the days leading up to the game’s launch, a new trailer has been released by developer Motive Studio and publisher EA. ![]() Fans of the original Dead Space have a lot to be excited about since the remake is just two weeks away. ![]() |
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