Author: Trafficblast

Get the lighting your stream deserves

When it comes to gaming and streaming, the light in the room is more important than we think. An hours-long gaming marathon is a blast, but it can cause eye strain, headaches, and cause some serious distraction without the proper lighting. The light is even more important if you’re streaming for an audience. Poor lighting can make your stream look grainy, unprofessional, and boring to watch; and when there’s so much competition for streamers, everything counts.

So when you need good, soft lighting that doesn’t cause eye strain or ruin great video the way that harsh, bright bulbs do.  You’re going to need a customizable lamp that can do everything you need, all in one package. That’s where gaming lights like the Govee Lyra Smart Corner Floor Lamp comes in.

Bring your room lighting into the modern era

Govee has designed a light that is ready for the 21st century and has taken advantage of technology to change it from just a light to an essential part of any media experience. With the Govee Home app, you can control not only the brightness and the warmth of the light from your phone, you can also customize the colors, so you can set the lighting to exciting and vibrant for an intense game-a-thon or something softer and calmer for when you’re ready to turn in for the night (or early morning!). Be sure to fill your room with ambient light by facing the lamp towards the wall and let it reflect throughout your room!

This floor lamp is even able to react to the audio coming from your gaming rig! With the reactive music mode and a microphone built right into the camera, you’re able to sync the lights to the sound of you blasting away at your opponents. The multicolor lights can enhance the vibe of your stream, providing tons of entertainment for you and your friends. Whether you want to stream and play alone or have a great time with friends on the couch, the Govee Lyra Smart Corner Floor Lamp can accomplish whatever you are looking for.

Set the mood for any occasion

This floor lamp, complete with RGBIC technology is also great for entertainment outside of gaming. If you have children and are looking to create a fun environment indoors, then the floor lamp can work great to delight and amaze them. Watching the big game with a friend? Use the color control to provide the perfect soft lighting that emphasizes the action. You’ll easily be able to see why James Bruce of Makeuseof.com said: “If you want a stylish, minimalistic floor lamp, capable of stunning multicolor dynamic and music reactive displays, along with plenty of customizable options and app control, the Govee Lyra is well worth a look. It’s certainly the fanciest floor lamp we’ve ever seen, perfect for everything from impromptu living room raves to subdued romantic nights in.”

Govee has produced a product that can turn a simple floor lamp into a room-defining appliance. That’s why it’s rated 5 out of 5 stars on Amazon.

A sleek, futuristic look

A number of IR products are homogenous, depressing, or bland–not so with Govee. The futuristic design is sleek and space-conscious, ensuring that no matter the size of your room, you’ll be able to add a touch of futuristic flair without losing square footage. Anyone looking to jump into the trend of smart home products will love this floor lamp. Whether you want to control the color and brightness from your phone, or have Alexa do it via voice control, your lamp can be adjusted easily and quickly to match any situation. A romantic evening, an exciting gaming marathon, or just some quiet time with a good book will be enhanced by setting the right atmosphere.

You can get the Govee Lyra Smart Corner Floor Lamp on Amazon, so get it today and discover the future of lighting your home!

With our new normal meaning working and studying from anywhere, portable tech has never been more useful – especially if you want to take advantage of remote working to travel more. But, did you know that the lightest, most up-to-date way of working remotely actually requires no laptop at all? Instead, all you need is a futuristic projection keyboard that simply connects to your smartphone. 

One of the best around? The successfully Kickstarter-funded Serafim Keybo, the “world’s most advanced projection keyboard,” and today, we’ve found it on sale for just $84.99 – that’s a 22% discount off the regular price of $109. 

Simply connect this game-changing gadget to your device via Bluetooth, and it will turn any flat surface into a real, working QWERTY keyboard in a second. With multiple language layouts, you can easily work and type anywhere, anytime, with all the functionality of a regular keyboard – but without having to carry around the physical thing.

On top of that, it also doubles as a piano keyboard, with a built-in music app that allows you to switch to playing piano, guitar, bass, and drums using the laser tech, too. For musicians, that means no more carrying heavy instruments in order to practice while you’re traveling – and if you want to learn, there’s no simpler way to start out. 

As if that wasn’t enough, this handy gadget can even be used as an emergency power bank, thanks to its premium 2000mAh battery. 

Best travel gadget ever? We think so. We’re not the only ones, either. With such game-changing tech, perhaps it’s no surprise that this advanced keyboard has also been featured in Tech Crunch, Mashable, CNET Japan, Product Hunt, and many more leading publications. 

Start traveling lighter than ever before with the Serafim Keybo: World’s Most Advanced Projection Keyboard, on sale with 22% off right now for $84.99 (regular price $109). 

Want to start an exciting new career this year, or boost your income with lucrative freelance work? IT skills are some of the best you can learn, not just because they are set to only grow in demand, but because average salaries for web developers in the US range anywhere from $73k to more than $150k a year for top jobs. 

Thankfully, you can actually learn essential programming skills in your own time, from anywhere – and without having to pay for expensive college courses, thanks to a new wave of excellent elearning training. Today, for example, The 2021 Ultimate Coding and Web Programmer Bundle is on sale for just $29.99 (regular price $1600) – that works out to less than $4 a course. 

Even if you’re a total beginner, this is the ideal way to start your coding career, with more than 58 hours of training on sought-after skills like clean coding, data science, WebXR, and the most popular programming languages.

The course Java Programming & Coding Language for Beginners, for example, will teach you the basics of the industry-standard programming language in a way that makes it easier to learn than you might think. Then, you’ll move on to courses like Automate Tasks Using MATLAB, which will walk you through improving your productivity by automating the boring, repetitive tasks you’d usually waste time on, programming your computer to do them for you instead. 

The courses in this bundle are taught by industry experts, such as Mohammad Nauman, a highly experienced programmer, influential security researcher, and teacher with a Ph.D. in Computer Sciences and an impressive 4.4/5 star rating from previous students, and the 4.2/5 star rated Liviu Oprisan, who has been programming for 13 years.

Start your exciting new career in IT today with The 2021 Ultimate Coding and Web Programmer Bundle, on sale with 98% off now, for $29.99 (reg. $1600). 

Whether you design websites for yourself, are a professional web designer or want to start web design as a lucrative side hustle (the average freelance web design salary is about $75k a year), you might not realize that you could be creating websites quicker and easier than ever – and making more in the process. 

The secret? A top-rated tool like the Venus Design System.

This innovative design software gives you world-class design standards, right out-of-the-box, with more than 2000 UI and UX components for busy designers, developers, and entrepreneurs – all in one place and ready to use immediately. 

Simply a must-have for web designers, we’re talking over 250 global colors, typography styles, and more than 1,400 material design icons. 

It all means that as a designer, you can streamline your workflow and create stunning websites in a fraction of the time – improving your productivity, and allowing you to work fewer hours a day, or take on even more lucrative work. With Venus, there’s simply no need to waste time starting from scratch on a project – and the difference it will make to your work speed will be apparent from day one. 

This game-changing design system has been so highly rated by users, that it was named #3 Product of the Day on Product Hunt, with more than 300 upvotes. It’s also received glowing reviews from real-world freelance web designers and developers too. As one visual designer reviewed, “This product is a “must-have” tool for any designer. An attractive, clean, and very well organized, easy to use and implement in any project. A product that can make your workflow easier and help you maintain consistency in your design.” 

Start designing better websites easier than ever before with a Venus Design System: Lifetime Subscription, on sale with 60% off, for $39, right now (regular price $99). 

There are some awesome things you can build with LEGO: a stunning Iron Man artwork, a super cute little Grogu, and even a huge Imperial Star Destroyer. 

But perhaps the coolest LEGO build we’ve seen in a while is this Flux Capacitor with Animated LED Lights, which is on sale for $54.99 today – a 15% discount off the regular price of $64. Because, really, is there anything more impressive than being able to say you’ve built your very own Flux Capacitor? No, of course, there isn’t. 

Great Scott! Your own Flux Capacitor, really? This kit makes it simple, and it’s put together by the fine LEGO minds at specialist kit brand Brickstuff. Combining genuine LEGO bricks with a pre-assembled flexible circuit board, LED lights, a battery pack with an on/off switch, and full, illustrated assembly instructions, all you need to add is your own AA batteries to get this cool gadget moving and its LED lights pulsing and flashing. 

With most LEGO sets, the building is the fun part – but with this fascinating device, having it working once you’ve created it will set you up for infinite more enjoyment to come after,

We cannot confirm yet, though, whether it will actually allow you to time travel – but regardless, it sure does make a cool gift – for a loved one, or for yourself. 

Brickstuff specializes in taking LEGO and pushing it one step further, creating innovative hobby kits which combine building with our favorite bricks with working lights, sound, scale models, and more, with its kits featured in the likes of Gizmodo and The Brick Blogger, amongst others.

Build your own Flux Capacitor with this Flux Capacitor with Animated LED Lights Kit, now with 16% off, for just $54.99 (regular price $64).

Nintendo confirmed to IGN that the Zelda and Loftwing amiibo figure has been impacted by “unforeseen” shipping delays. As such only a handful of the amiibo orders will be available on July 16, with the rest arriving at a later time.

In a statement provided by Nintendo of America, the company says, “The Zelda & Loftwing amiibo figure is currently impacted by unforeseen shipping delays. As a result, only a small portion of the Zelda & Loftwing will be available on its scheduled July 16 launch date. Additional shipments are delayed until August. We will ship additional amiibo to retailers as soon as they arrive.”

Nintendo of America also tells IGN that this delay should not impact other amiibo figures currently.

[ignvideo url=”https://www.ign.com/videos/2021/07/08/the-legend-of-zelda-skyward-sword-hd-a-hero-rises-official-trailer”]

The Zelda and Loftwing amiibo was meant to be released alongside The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword HD. But as a result of the delay, it appears that only a small number of pre-orders will be fulfilled. The rest will be shipped out as Nintendo receives more stock in August.

While amiibo are popular in their own right as collectibles, the Skyward Sword amiibo comes with an additional quality of life feature that some fans may be disappointed to go without at launch.

As previously announced, the new amiibo will let Link return to the sky whenever and wherever without having to go to designated save points like in the original Wii release. Using the amiibo while in the sky will let Link return to the same spot on the surface and this feature works in both dungeons and buildings as well.

[widget path=”global/article/imagegallery” parameters=”slug=the-legend-of-zelda-skyward-sword-hd-screenshots&captions=true”]

While Nintendo didn’t provide the exact reason for the shipping delay, the company seeks to fulfill orders. Unfortunately, it seems some folks will just have to wait a bit longer. The amiibo will still look nice on your shelf and the added functionality isn’t mandatory to play the game.

IGN is currently working its way through The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword HD. Check out our review-in-progress to keep up with our impressions of the Zelda re-release so far, or check out our original Skyward Sword Wii review.

[poilib element=”accentDivider”]

Matt T.M. Kim is IGN’s News Editor.

Want to shave some time off your best lap in your favorite racing game? Whether you’re into Dirt 5, F1 2020, or you’re more of a Mario Kart fan, the best way to do it is undoubtedly by upgrading your controls to a slick racing wheel.

One of the highest-rated on the market is the Serafim R1+ Racing Wheel – and it’s on sale today for just $99.99. 

What’s really special about this racing wheel is that it’s the only one you’ll ever need, because it works with pretty much every console. Simply connect seamlessly via Bluetooth for wireless compatibility with your XBOX One, XBOX Series X and S, PS4, PS3, Switch, PC, iOS, Android, and more. Never again will you have to buy a different racing wheel for each platform – the smart Serafim R1+ does it all. 

With that being said, it’s those mobile devices in particular where this wheel stands out: this is the world’s first mobile racing wheel and the secret to unlocking a full driving experience on the latest mobile games. Meanwhile, the dedicated Serafim mobile app supports 30 of the most popular racing games on mobile, with more games being added all the time.

It really is a full driving experience, too. We’re talking a set complete with an ergonomic rubber handle, for a true racing experience, a pedal system designed to handle even the most aggressive drivers, a steering wheel designed to withstand the tightest turns, and a phone holder – putting the best mobile games at the center of the driving action. 

This is one super highly rated racing wheel. In fact, it has a faultless 5/5 stars on Amazon. As one recent reviewer wrote, “I’m using this gaming wheel to play Asphalt 9 and Real Racing 3 on my iPhone 11. I have to say, it greatly increases the racing experience by playing with the steering wheel and pedals! It’s very easy to set up.”

Take your racing games to the next level today with the Serafim R1+ Racing Wheel, on sale now with 16% off, for $99.99 (regular price $119). 

Grinding Gear Games has just revealed a new round of content for Path of Exile during a recent livestream, which includes a new Expedition expansion and the return of the battle royale mode–which is out now for a limited time. Along with new content for the 3.15 expansion, the developers announced some sweeping quality-of-life changes coming to the game, some of which could be considered controversial to the state of the game.

Grinding Gear Games CEO Chris Wilson gave a detailed breakdown in the latest stream for what’s new for Path of Exile, revealing the latest league event called Expedition, which will launch on July 23 for PC and on the 28th for consoles. Focusing on a new faction called the Kalguurans, you’re tasked with exploring a new region called Wraeclast, which holds ancient treasures and the lost history of the new faction. Ancient Kalguurans once controlled this land, but they would eventually lose control due to the region’s supernatural forces.

The main conceit of the Expedition content is that you’ll be exploring a new landscape filled with hidden chests and undead monsters hiding underneath the surface. While this seems quite close to the standard overworld exploration loop, what sets Expedition apart are the various excavation sites scattered around the land. By planting explosives at these sites, you can unearth treasure stashes or undead Kalguuran explorers to fight. While you can focus on blowing up markers at each site carefully, you can also chain together explosions–which in turn risks more fights–to increase your haul of loot. With this new Expedition league, you can also acquire brand new pieces of armor and weapons. The Expedition also serves as an opportunity to meet with new Kalguuran NPCs, with whom you can learn more and even trade resources with in order to gain new items and gear for your character.

Another reveal shown off during the stream was the announcement of the return of the Royale mode. Starting out as a April Fool’s Day event, it quickly became a fan-favorite activity in the community. Like other battle royale games, it puts a loot-driven action RPG spin on the popular mode, pitting you against other players in a fight to the death for the number one spot. The original mode was described as a “quick and dirty” project by the team, so the new and improved Royale mode will feature a re-designed map and refined core gameplay. It was also announced that the Royale mode is available now and will be free for all players. But like the previous Royale mode, this one will also only be open for a limited time. The Royale will only be open for 48 hours at launch, but throughout the Expedition league, the Royale mode will go live during weekends.

The new league content will also introduce some new quality-of-life improvements and gameplay tweaks to improve the game for the longer haul. Along with new support gems that can be applied to existing builds, there are also new combat skills. Here’s a quick rundown of some of the new 19 new ascendancy skills coming to Path of Exile, as explained by Chris Wilson during the stream:

• Earthbreaker Support – Chieftain: “The Earthbreaker Support gem can be linked to any Slam skill. Upon use, it summons an Ancestor Totem that uses that slam on your behalf.”
• Rage Vortex – Berserker: “Rage Vortex provides a new way to consume your rage: unleashing a whirling vortex that rapidly hits enemies within its range. It gains damage and area of effect based on how much Rage was sacrificed.”
• Defiance Banner – Champion: “Defiance Banner is a new purely defensive Banner skill. While you carry the Defiance Banner, it increases the armor and evasion of nearby allies while reducing the critical strike chance of nearby enemies.”
• Storm Rain – Raider: “Storm Rain is a new bow skill that fires arrows that stick into the ground. These arrows periodically pulse with lightning damage that arcs to nearby arrows.”
• Focused Ballista Support – Deadeye: “The Focused Ballista Support Gem causes your ballistas to pick the same targets as you, and they will only fire when you fire your own ranged weapon. It also makes the ballistas fire a lot faster than they otherwise would.”

Along with these new skills and gems, there’s also going to be a new reworking of the game’s current difficulty settings. Over the next year, starting with Act 1, the campaign will see some new changes, such as overhauls on some combat encounters and rebalancing current builds so as not to make them too overpowered. As Wilson said during the presentation, the game will move closer to its 2013 beta, which was noted for its difficulty. Furthermore, the current Flask system will also see something of an overhaul. These flasks, including health, speed, defense, and other stat buffs, have been altered with the new Expedition expansion. The big primary change with Flasks is that they will offer less of a massive, permanent buff to your character when used in quick succession. With less of a focus on mashing the buttons to activate the flasks, which was one of the key reasons behind the overhaul, certain flasks are only triggered on conditions, such as when skills are activated or depending on your build type.

Though the livestream focused primarily on new content for the current game, Wilson did state in a follow-up chat with GameSpot after the presentation that more details on Path of Exile 2 are on the way for later this year. Still, the original Path of Exile is still very much thriving, and its newest slate of content looks to serve up a much-needed refresh of the game’s nearly eight-year-long lifecycle, which as Wilson stated in our chat will be a stepping stone for the launch of the sequel in the future.