In episode 2 of Disney Gallery: The Mandalorian, titled “Practical,” showrunner Jon Favreau explains the long process of creating one of the Star Wars universe’s most adorable characters:
“We got lots and lots of drawings, and some of them were too cute, and some of them were too ugly, and some of them were the wrong proportions,” Favreau said. “But they were all informing, as we gave notes on each drawing, Dave [Filoni] and I started zeroing in on what it was. And finally, it was one image that Chris Alzmann did that had him wrapped up in what looked like a piece of a flight jacket or something, and his eyes looked a little weird. But we found it charming, and that’s what became the rallying image that we said, ‘this is good.’ And it developed from there… And that when the people from Legacy came in, and that’s when it became ‘The Baby.'”
“Some of them were too cute, and some of them were too ugly.” – Jon Favreau
Another interesting reveal about the Baby Yoda puppet is that it took 3 months for the team at Legacy to build, and at any given time, there are three to four puppeteers controlling various aspects of his movements: Jason Matthews (eyes), Trevor Hensley (gross body moves and his head), Hiroshi ‘Kan’ Ikeuchi (ears and mouth), Mike Manzel (walking sequences, arm movements), Tamara Carlson Woodard (rotates in with a lot of the other puppeteers as needed and also made the costume).
From the perspective of the actors, Gina Carano admitted that Baby Yoda stole every scene she shared with him. “Jon Favreau came up to me and he was like, ‘you did pretty good that time, that was a pretty good scene,'” Carano said jokingly. “But the baby kicked your ass.'” For Mando himself, Pedro Pascal said, “[Baby Yoda] activates your primal childhood dreams. We’re all going to be second fiddle to this little guy. That’s how cool he is.”
J.R.R. Tolkien’s books about Middle Earth are some of the most celebrated fantasy fiction ever written. At the center is the Lord of the Rings trilogy, which was published in 1954 and 1955. There was an animated movie version released in 1978, but it wasn’t until 2001 that the first ever live-action adaptation of Tolkien’s classic series appeared. Peter Jackson’s The Fellowship of the Ring was a huge critical and commercial success, and was followed by the equally successful The Two Towers in 2002 and The Return of the King in 2003. These movies are now as revered as the books themselves, and haven’t been matched by any fantasy movie since (including Jackson’s own Hobbit films).
In 2011, HBO premiered a new fantasy show–Game of Thrones, based on George R.R. Martin’s epic A Song of Fire and Ice series. It became one of the biggest series on TV, paving the way for Lord of the Rings to make its return to screens. In 2018, it was announced that Amazon had beaten Netflix to strike a deal with Tolkien’s estate and publishers HarperCollins to make a new Middle Earth series.
Getting the rights to make a Lord of the Rings show did not come cheap, to say the least. It’s been reported that the deal was priced at $250 million, and Amazon’s five season commitment will ultimately cost the studio more than $1 billion to produce. Even in this age of premium TV, these are eye-watering amounts.
It’s relatively early days for the show, and we shouldn’t expect it to be released for some time. However, production has started, and fans of this classic series will be eager to see what the team behind it delivers. So here’s everything we know to date about the Lord of the Rings TV series.
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When is it set?
Amazon’s Lord of the Rings show isn’t a new adaptation or sequel to Tolkien’s books, nor is it a prequel as was initially rumored. While the series will be set before the events of the trilogy, it will take place thousands of years earlier, in a time known as the Second Age of Middle Earth. The setting was revealed by Amazon in a series of tweets, which showed the island of Númenor on a map. In Tolkien’s mythology, Númenor was destroyed long before the start of the Fellowship of the RIng. Jackson’s movies do contain footage of the Second Age, namely the flashback to the forging of the Rings and Sauron losing the One Ring. But this will be the first time this era has been explored in more detail.
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Who’s in the show?
While specific plot and character details are currently unknown, we do know many of the actors who will appear. This is the official cast list that was announced by Amazon during the TCA press tour earlier this year:
Roberto Aramayo (Nocturnal Animals)
Owain Arthur (The Palace)
Nazanin Boniadi (Hotel Mumbai)
Tom Budge (The Proposition)
Morfydd Clark (Crawl)
Ismael Cruz Cordova (Ray Donovan)
Ema Horvath (The Gallows Act II)
Markella Kavenagh (Romper Stomper)
Joseph Mawle (Game of Thrones)
Tyroe Muhafidin
Sophia Nomvete
Megan Richards
Dylan Smith
Charlie Vickers (Medici)
Daniel Weyman (Gentleman Jack)
Years and Years star Maxim Baldry was subsequently announced in the cast as well.
In terms of who they will be playing, several character names have been reported. Deadline stated that Morfydd Clark will play a younger version of Galadriel, the Elf played by Cate Blanchett in the movies. Aramayo will reportedly play a “young hero” named Beldor–Will Poulter was originally cast in this role, but had to drop out for scheduling reasons. Other potential characters include the villainous Oren, to be played by Mawle, and the female lead Tyra, played by Kavenagh.
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Who are the showrunners?
JD Payne and Patrick McKay are the showrunners on the Lord of the Rings show. There was some initial surprise that the pair did not have any prior TV writing credits, it was subsequently pointed out that Game of Thrones TV showrunners D.B. Weiss and David Benioff didn’t either when they were first hired. Payne and McKay have also written the script for the upcoming Disney movie Jungle Cruise.
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Who is directing?
Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom director J.A. Bayona will helm the first two episodes of the series. No other directors have been announced so far.
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Where is it being filmed?
The Lord of the Rings movies were shot in New Zealand, so it wasn’t surprising when it was announced that the show will film there too. The spectacular landscape of that country is now hugely associated with Tolkien’s world, and it would be hard to imagine another location being nearly so effective.
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Has production been affected by the COVID-19 pandemic?
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Is Peter Jackson involved?
Jackson won’t be directly involved with the Lord of the RIngs show. However, the director has stated that he might help out on an informal level. “I don’t have thoughts on it because I haven’t seen [anything],” he told the U.K. newspaper Metro. “[But] I think they’re going to send us some scripts to see if we can help them along. I wish them all the best and if we can help them we certainly will try. It’s a big task.”
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What’s the release date?
Season 1 of Lord of the Rings does not currently have a confirmed release date. However, sometime in 2021 seems likely–Amazon Studios boss Jennifer Salke previously stated that’s when she hopes the show will premiere.
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Are there any images or footage?
No official images or footage have been released so far. However, in March, Bayona shared this striking image from the set.
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How many seasons will there be?
Season 2 was greenlit in November 2019, before Season 1 had even started shooting. But while it’s taken several years to get the show into production, Season 2 should start shooting fairly soon after. It was reported that the series will go on hiatus after the first two episodes are shot. This allows time for Season’s 2 scripts to be worked on and for flexibility about when Season 2 starts shooting. Of course, this was before the COVID-19 outbreak, so it’s unknown if this is still the plan. Beyond that, Amazon’s deal with the Tolkien estate guarantees five seasons of the show.
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Disclosure: ViacomCBS is GameSpot’s parent company
Animal Crossing: New Horizons has captured the hearts of scores of players since it first launched back in March, and it’s become something of a phenomenon. If you’re like us, you’re probably still playing almost every day (perhaps even for multiple hours), checking your turnip prices, fine-tuning your town layout, breeding flowers, and more Animal Crossing goodness.
But even if you love the game like we do, you probably have a few nitpicks by now. If you’ve crafted tons of fish bait or gotten really into terraforming, there might be a few features you’d like to see–just those little quality-of-life updates that tweak the minor issues that crop up when you’ve played a game for 200 or more hours. And because New Horizons is already getting ongoing support and new content updates, we can really dare to dream.
We put our heads together to come up with nine quality-of-life updates we’d love to see come to New Horizons. Let us know in the comments what other features you want to see come to the adorable life/gardening/friendship sim! And Nintendo, if you’re reading: We say all this with love.
Let Island Visitors Come And Go In The Background
Have you ever tried to leave someone’s island in the middle of a stalk market rush? It’s infuriating.
Selling turnips in Animal Crossing is no joke, some of us even relying on price predictors to guide our selling decisions. But for larger groups, announcing good turnip prices can turn into a mad rush in a matter of minutes. Whenever someone comes or goes to the island, everyone on that island has to sit through a mandatory arrival or departure sequence. At the worst of times, I can’t go five steps without my screen darkening and showing the travel board. Sometimes if I’m feeling bold, I’ll make a quick detour to the Able Sisters shop after unloading my turnips. This is usually how it goes:
I hear a gentle chime and a stock ticker-type bar appears on the screen, telling me to close my windows because someone is trying to arrive. This is when I begin sweating.
“NO!” I yell in defiance. The analog stick sharply veers downward as I begin my race against time. I hit “Proceed to Checkout” with abnormal force, but it doesn’t matter. The screen goes black and I’m left staring helplessly at my worm-like reflection.
Finally after a good minute or two, I can resume activity. I bolt out of Able Sisters and make a beeline for the airport, but I don’t even get around the corner before the entire fiasco starts again. Sometimes there’s a line already IN the airport, and we all waste an extra 15 minutes just waiting for the option to leave.
Nintendo, I’m begging you. Let people come and go in the background. Use the display bar to announce travel activity. It’d be majestic, like someone announcing you and your official title at court. In my case, it would be “Festive Trash Ashley.”
It’s true, we won’t get to see the fashionable walk-ins and outs, but if you’re having a good old-fashioned hangout without turnips, you’ll see your friends’ outfits regardless. In the meantime, for everyone else who has to suffer through the mad, stilted race to the airport: solidarity. | Ashley Oh, Social Media Producer
Let Us Place Rugs Outside
Once a week, Saharah visits my island, and I buy three rugs from her. I’ve been playing New Horizons for a while now, so I have a lot of rugs and not enough house to use all of them. My greatest wish is to be able to place rugs outside, specifically to use as picnic blankets and maybe for an outdoor reading nook. I don’t have the custom design slots to spare for rug and blanket designs when there are perfectly good rugs sitting in my home storage!
Also, you could put rugs outside in Pocket Camp. New Horizons borrowed quite a few ideas from Pocket Camp, including crafting, so I’m thinking putting rugs outside is a fair expectation. | Kallie Plagge, Reviews Editor
Select And Store Multiple Items
After a long day of running around my island, I like to come back to my house, kick off my shoes, and throw all the new bits and pieces I don’t need right now into my storage. The problem is, I need to go into my inventory and move items to storage one at a time. That’s silly, and there has to be a better way.
New Horizons already lets you select multiple items in your inventory to sell to the Nooklings, or select multiple fossils to show Blathers. It lets you eat 10 coconuts at once for crying out loud. So why not let us dump a bunch of stuff into our home storage all at once? Please? | Edmond Tran, Senior Editor
Put Wall Decor On Panels/Cliffs
While custom textures have been a great way to add personality to your island, New Horizons still has a lot of great wall decor that has sadly been confined to the interior of your island home. Animal Crossing players have found a lot of ways to be creative with building unique outdoor spaces, but being able to hang clocks, pictures, clothing, signs, and custom paintings on wall panels, cliffsides, and even fences could add another dimension of customization. That doesn’t just apply to outdoor spaces either–lots of players use wall panels to section off parts of rooms inside their home. If they’re already being used as dividers and makeshift walls anyway, it only makes sense to let players hang and mount decor onto them as well. | Chloi Rad, SEO Editor
Let Me Sort My Inventory
Animal Crossing is a game that’s all about collecting items, gathering resources, crafting tools, and placing decor all around your island–and this means my inventory is almost always packed with an assortment of these items as I go about my day in New Horizons. Unfortunately, there’s currently no way to instantly sort all of the items in your inventory, and with 40 slots available at full capacity, that means things get disorganized fast.
I’ll admit that my need to have items of the same type sitting next to each other in my inventory is a highly personal obsession, but the lack of this simple feature in a game that centers around picking up items is frustrating. And considering the ability to sort is available with your in-house storage, I’m puzzled as to why it was deliberately left out for your personal inventory. Being able to quickly sort and see what I have on hand as well as how many empty spaces I have left would be a breath of fresh air for organization freaks like myself. All I want is for wood to be next to wood, flowers next to flowers, and tools next to tools (on the top row, of course). Is that too much to ask? | Jenae Sitzes, Commerce Editor
Streamlined Crafting UI
I don’t know about you, but I am prepared to craft at all times in New Horizons. I carry all types of wood, tree branches, clay, stone, and iron with me everywhere, just in case I need to craft a new tool or something. But I don’t carry around fancy crafting materials like gold nuggets or star fragments because… well, I don’t want to accidentally sell them, and I don’t need them to make tools, really.
Because of that, I really wish that the crafting bench in my house would just let me use the resources I have in my home storage instead of making me pull all the materials out ahead of time (and possibly forget one I don’t carry with me everywhere). The crafting bench already tracks how many of a crafted item you have in your pockets, so why not track the materials I have in storage too while I’m at home? I’m just trying to make a bathtub out of stardust.
Also, please let us craft more than one of something at a time. Fish bait is such a process. | Kallie Plagge, Reviews Editor
Give Me Grids!
I’m well aware that my progress in Animal Crossing is moving at what I’ll charitably call a Tortimer’s pace. I’ve just recently started heading for the end-game to attract a certain naked musician to my island, and Isabelle tells me I need to spruce up the place with more decorations and flowers. That has jump-started my plan to reorganize my island with more thoughtful building placement than I had exercised before, when I just slapped things haphazardly without knowing how many would ultimately be coming.
I’d like to make my buildings line up all nice and neat, to arrange the island decor around them, but it’s nearly impossible to eye it up. It feels like a catch-22, in which I need to unlock paths to line up my houses, but I need to line up my houses to decorate the island nicely enough to unlock paths. I’m left to dig rows of holes as guidelines. Surely adding a land grid, as well as a zoom-out function for a better overhead view, wouldn’t be too much to ask? My island’s urban planning department would appreciate it. | Steve Watts, Associate Editor
Go Away, Isabelle
Okay, Isabelle. I get it. You watched a TV show last night and the host was chatty. You talked to your parents on Skype or whatever. Let’s keep things moving here, I only have 10 minutes to find my fossils, hit my rocks, and plant my money tree before I have to get ready for the day. I like you, but I’ve heard your stories a million times and if there isn’t anything significant happening on my island, I don’t want to have to trudge through a dozen conversation boxes to get things rolling in the morning.
I’m sorry, I know that’s a harsh thing to say–maybe you could just tell me which of the random vendors is on my island today instead? | Edmond Tran, Senior Editor
Streamlined Path Construction
As someone who grew up playing the likes of RollerCoaster Tycoon, unlocking the Island Designer app felt like the point at which New Horizons really began to offer up the customisation options I craved, allowing me to finally link up the different areas of my island with proper pathways and trails.
However, as much as these options scratch my construction itch, at times building paths feels painful. It’s slow, fiddly, and the game’s curiously fickle top-down camera makes trying to forge a path through my densely-packed orchards or behind buildings beyond frustrating. At its worst it feels like you’re fighting against the game’s systems instead of being empowered by them. The results may look great, but having the ability to toggle the camera, lay a strip of path in one go and lay curved corners at will would streamline the process and make me feel more like the construction worker I want to be–and less like a glorified gardner with a hard hat. | Chris Morris, Producer
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Save 40% off a PS Plus membership and you get access to some great free games for June. Call of Duty: WWII is already available and next week you’ll be able to play Star Wars: Battlefront as well. The Mario LEGO Starter Kit is still available for preorder on Amazon, Switch Lite is back in stock, and the Apple Watch Series 5 just got marked down by $100.
Want to be more productive at home? Stack Social has plenty of practical courses that can kick start your career. For under $40 per bundle you get dozens of hours of online instruction in programming, game creation, video production, ethical hacking, and more… all from the safety of your home.
Netflix’s live-action Cowboy Bebop series hit an unfortunate snag last year when star John Cho was injured on set. Now executive producer Marty Adelstein (TNT’s Snowpiercer) has provided an update on how many episodes were filmed before the series went on hiatus.
In an interview with Syfy Wire, Adelstein revealed the series was deep into production by the time Cho injured his knee, triggering what was expected to be a seven-to-nine-month shutdown while Cho recovers. According to Adelstein, the first three Cowboy Bebop episodes have been completed, while Episodes 4 and 5 are in post-production and filming had begun on Episode 6 before the hiatus. This contradicts earlier reports indicating production had only been underway for a week before Cho’s injury.
“So, we have finished three episodes. I think we’re into [shooting] six; then John Cho tore his ACL, unfortunately. But I have to tell you I really like the show. It’s really fun,” Adelstein told Syfy Wire. “And we have gone out of our way, because of all these anime movies that have come out and been accused of being whitewashed, we have really gone out of our way. The characters are all sort of multiethnic, and it’s a great cast. And the two episodes I have seen are so much fun. It’s really fun.”
Unfortunately, there doesn’t seem to be any update on when production on Cowboy Bebop will resume. Obviously, the COVID-19 pandemic creates additional problems for the series on top of Cho’s lengthy recovery process.
Adelstein also had new updates to share on Netflix’s live-action One Piece series. While COVID-19 will likely delay the start of filming until at least September, the first season of One Piece has been written, and Adelstein is hopeful casting will begin in June (possibly as soon as next week, in fact).
“We were supposed to start filming in August in Cape Town, South Africa. We anticipate the date being able to film [now is] September, at the latest,” Adelstein said. “We have basically all 10 scripts written. We will start casting when we go back. My suspicion is June 1, but we will start doing our casting. We have a lot of names that we’re talking about, and we should be in production in September. We have been working very closely with Sensei Oda. So, we’re going to get started, and this one is very big. I mean, Snowpiercer was a big production; this is even bigger.”
Speaking to IGN in January 2020, Cho said he hasn’t yet been in contact with original Cowboy Bebop director Shinichirō Watanabe, and noted one of the main challenges with the series has been maintaining the “unique” and “weird” tone of the anime. “I think that was the big thing I was focusing on all the time was…we got to keep it strange and that’s hard to do, but I watched some of the stuff and I’m really happy with it,” Cho said.
Riot is holding a set of Valorant tournaments to celebrate its June 2 launch. The tournaments, which will be streamed and hosted by Twitch Rivals, will feature a $200,000 prize pool with creators and teams from North America, Brazil, Europe, Korea, Japan, and other parts of Latin America participating.
To celebrate launch, we’re teaming with competitive FPS creators to hold a global tournament and crown 1 winning team from each region. Up for grabs is a $200,000 prize pool and the right to count themselves among the first global VALORANT champs. https://t.co/8KTOqeVsck
Few details have been announced yet, but Twitch Rival tournaments usually feature a combination of professional players and streamers. Specific tournament times during the launch weekend have also not been announced.
Valorant left beta on Thursday, becoming unavailable to players until the free-to-play shooter fully launches on June 2. Riot plans to reset player accounts and patch in fixes and new content during the down period. The studio will also be adding new servers–located in Atlanta, Dallas, London, Madrid, and Warsaw–to help lower Valorant’s latency so that the player experience is as smooth as possible.
Other tournaments have been held during the closed beta period, including other Twitch Rival events.
Riot has already started to lay out their plans for Valorant’s competitive scene, including three tiers of competition. Small, medium, and large tournaments with different prize pool amounts will help Riot bring in third party organizers to hold tournaments.
“Our primary focus early on will be forming partnerships with players, content creators, tournament organizers, and developers,” ‘Magus’ Rozelle, senior director of global esports at Riot Games said in April. “Unlocking them to help us to build the Valorant ecosystem.“
Nearly 3 million players checked in to play in Valorant’s closed beta, which is seen as a huge success for the creators of League of Legends.
Starting June 1, GameSpot will be hosting Play For All–a celebration of all things gaming. Join us as we bring you the summer’s hottest news, previews, interviews, features, and videos, as well as raise money for COVID-19 relief efforts with the help of our friends from around the gaming world. Check out the Play For All schedule for more.
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Escape From Tarkov went down for a few hours on Thursday to deploy patch 12.6 (0.12.6.7456), a major update to the early access shooter that included a global wipe of character data among several other changes, additions, and bug fixes. The massive reset erased all player progress, including level, trader rep, and any items stored in your stash, keeping only weapon presets and examined items saved in the handbook.
While the routine wipe was one of the major highlights of the latest Tarkov update, it’s not the only thing that patch 12.6 brings with it. A captcha has been added to the flea market as an extra measure against bots, all stashes (no matter which Escape From Tarkov edition you have) have been increased by an additional 20 cells, and players now have the ability to lean while prone. Five new parts for the AR-15/M4 are also available to scavenge, but cannot be purchased from traders. The update also modifies a few quests and brings a number of optimizations, AI improvements, and bug fixes.
Leading up to the most recent wipe, Battlestate Games also temporarily reduced shop prices and unlocked all trader levels, allowing every player to access high-level weapons and gear before the wipe took place, in a kind of “post-wipe event.” Patch 12.6 marks the first Escape From Tarkov wipe since October 2019.
Find the full patch notes for this latest Escape From Tarkov update below, or read them on the game’s official website.
Escape From Tarkov Update 12.6 (0.12.6.7526 Patch Notes (May 28)
This update wiped player levels and stashes. Only weapon presets and examined items in the handbook were kept.
Added
“Captcha” was added to the flea market.
If there are suspicious actions at the flea market and in the trade, a captcha may appear.
If you enter the captcha incorrectly three times, the account will be blocked from accessing the flea market for 5 minutes, after which you will need to enter the captcha again to buy the item.
Each subsequent three times incorrect entry will increase the time of the ban.
Access to trading will not be banned, but it will require entering a captcha.
All stashes, for all editions, increased by 2 rows (+20 cells)
Improved the display of objects via thermal imaging devices. Through thermal imagers, now, as in real life, it is impossible to spot through the glass.
Ability to lean while prone
Added the first iteration of Steam Audio, aimed at improving the positioning of sound in game, it can be turned on with the option “Steam Audio: Binaural audio” in the game settings. This option is disabled by default.
Now you can’t sell items that were not found in raid on the flea market . This rule will not apply to weapons.
When combining stacks of items found in raid with items not found in raid, all items will receive not found in raid status.
Items that are placed in a secured container get the status ” found in raid” only when you exfil the location with the status “Survived” (“Ran through” is not counted).
When you exit with the status “run through” or death, all items in your inventory that you brought out lose the “found in the raid” status
If you enter a raid with items that have the “found in raid” status, the items lose this status.
When buying an offer from the flea market, the item also loses the “found in raid” status
The quest reward obtained by completing a quest, crafted in the hideout, the Drops, and items obtained through the scav box will have “found in raid” status
All the Fence’s goods will not have “found in raid” status
A large number of UI layout edits and UI bug fixes
The resource of items (fuel, medicine, etc.) is now displayed in the flea market interface
Now the currency icons at the flea market are colored differently
5 new parts for the AR-15/M4, not available from merchants (you will have to search for them on locations and in the inventory of bots)
New character tops and bottoms
BEAR – top ” Tigr”
BEAR – pants from ” Zaslon” equipment kit
USEC – Urban Responder
USEC – Deep Recon pants
Scavs – Motocross Jacket
New gear
Optimizations
Various CPU optimizations
Sound optimizations
Optimization of casing, muzzleflashes
Optimizing the creation of decals
AI improvements
Improved behavior of ordinary scavs, now they can cooperate
Fixed a bug that when a player falls into the bot’s legs, the bot can’t hit him
Fixed a bug where the Gluhar and his guards did not react to the enemy
Fixed a bug where the Gluhar did not react to shots and the death of his guards
Fixed a bug where the Shturman’s guards did not take their positions
The Sturman’s guards will no longer rush between points while in peaceful behavior
Bots no longer attack a player scav who has killed another player scav (the aggressor)
Increased variety of bot patrol routes on locations
Fixed
A bug where the border of the interface elements were twitching
The mastering counter is now updated during the raid
One of the bugs where player did not hear the fall of the grenade
Ripples in the FLIR thermal imager
Bug that would cause inability to open the inspector of items on quest items
One of the bugs of incorrect calculation of the amount of money when purchasing an item
Bug when a grenade would not fly through the window if you throw it too close to the window
A bug where the character could pass through obstacles if player would switch to melee weapons while checking the weapon’s fire mode
Bug when the image in the inactive optics was frozen if several sights were installed
Bug of inability to complete the quest if the player lost the connection to the server at the time of selecting the quest item
Bug when the sight image was frozen after reconnect
Visor audibility sounds, prone movement, third-person character shortness of breath
Bug when a character could move to a prone position while jumping
Blocking the examining of items if the player has started examining an item in the handbook
Movement bug, when a character could increase their speed as a result of running and jumping
A bug where the reconnect while indoors led to the fact that all sounds were not switched as indoor sounds
Bug when there was no animation for a melee attack while prone
Bug when a broken visor was visible against the background of the preset or modification screens in the Hideout
Spamming AI error on the server, related to searching the bot’s path
Spamming error on the client “Graphics.CopyTexture called with null destination texture” when opening inventory
Lack of sound when switching magnification on some scopes
Error when the storage time of items in the email displayed a negative value when opening the window or receiving the mail
Bug that didn’t display the list of friends for invite to the group dialog
Bug that caused deleted messages to appear in the dialog after sending new messages
Fixed incorrect position of the “Old school” bottom clothing icon
Various other bug fixes
A large number of fixes on locations (culling fixes, physical colliders, visual bugs, etc.)
Various localization edits
Various fixes in the animation system
Various network fixes
A large number of various technical fixes aimed at increasing the stability of the game
Fixed at the flea market
Layering of the offer description in fleamarket UI
Bug of deducting twice the number of items from the merchant, when buying two items
Bug of overlapping the drop-down list of filters with elements of the offer list interface
Improved display of the purchase limit
Displaying the maximum number of items when purchasing a single offer with multiple items
Bug of inability to buy several items for barter
Fixed in presets
Bug for selecting blocked offers, if you put a checkbox when purchasing items for a preset “Select all”
Flea market interface block, when purchasing preset items, as a result of an error
Various other fixes
Changed
Removed the audio notification about the completion of crafting during the raid
Now you can’t throw grenades while sprinting
Changed the conditions for the status “Survived”. Now you need to stay in the raid for at least 10 minutes or gain at least 600 XP before leaving the location.
Increased the amount of experience required for the first 20 character levels
Simplified Jaeger’s quests
Changed various old quests, new rewards have been added
A large number of rarity edits and chances of items spawn
Increased the variety of items spawned in loot containers
Improved the quality of loot issued for a successful extraction with a friendly Scav
Various changes in the characteristics of items
Various changes in the equipment of bots and the player scavs
Keyboards are an unavoidable part of the 21st century. We hammer out texts on our phones, mash the WASD keys while testing out a new keymapping for Escape From Tarkov, and type out personal details to fill out forms on our laptops. And if you do a lot of typing, you may as well buy a great keyboard that can make it fun to write the next great novel and make you a better gamer, however slightly. With so many great games available on PC–and major hits like Cyberpunk 2077, Marvel’s Avengers, and more on the way–it’s worth investing in a good keyboard for gaming.
When it comes to finding the right keyboard and mouse setup, you have to know what you want. Some like their keyboards small, flat, and quiet, while others prefer the tactile key switches, larger profile, and satisfying sounds of a mechanical gaming keyboard. High-end keyboards get more elaborate every year, too, which means there are more factors, like keyboard backlighting, ergonomic design, N-key rollover, and response time to think about.
If you’re serious about your gaming experience on PC, especially for action-heavy games like shooters or real-time strategy games, then a dedicated, mechanical gaming keyboard can come with a host of advantages. Mechanical keys can provide better ergonomics for increased comfort over a membrane keyboard, making them a better purchase in the long run; every key switch can provide a more defined (and potentially faster) response time due their better key switches, to make sure you know you did the thing; with a good backlight, they can potentially play host to an extravagant light show that might let you know when something bad (or good!) is happening in your game.
There’s a lot to think about when you’re looking for the best gaming keyboard, and there are a lot of different options on the market to choose from. We’ve been fortunate enough to try a number of currently-available keyboard models, and in this article, we’ve rounded up our personal favourites to help give you an idea about what you might want out of your perfect keyboard.
When it comes to choosing the right keyboard, you have to be aware of some terminology, especially as it relates to mechanical switches. First off, linear versus tactile switches keys. Linear means there is no physical feedback mechanism to indicate when a keystroke is registered. It’s smooth, relatively quiet, and preferred for rapidly tapping on keys. Tactile means there is a bump or click to indicate you’ve hit the actuation point; it’s louder, but some prefer having physical feedback for keystrokes. It really comes down to preference. Actuation point is the distance at which a keystroke is registered; a shorter distance means you don’t have to press the key down as far, but can lead to errant inputs. Actuation force is, well, the force needed to press the key down. Of course, there are all the quality-of-life considerations to think about, too, like multimedia keys, whether you want a programmable key row and such.
While Cherry has been the long-time dominant manufacturer of mechanical switches, some gaming peripheral brands have started making their own proprietary mechanical switches for their keyboards, namely Razer and Logitech. For a brief overview of the most common mx switches, see below:
Cherry MX Red Switches: Linear
Cherry MX Blue Switches: Tactile and Clicky
Cherry MX Brown Switches: Tactile with a Bump
Cherry MX Speed Switches: Linear with a very short actuation point
Romer-G Linear Switches: Linear
Romer-G Tactile Switches: Tactile with a Bump
Razer Yellow Switches: Linear
Razer Orange Switches: Tactile with a Bump
Razer Green Switches: Tactile and Clicky
Steelseries OmniPoint Adjustable Switches: Linear with adjustable actuation point
Exposed keycap design looks great and is easy to keep clean
Aluminum chassis is sleek and makes for good build quality
Padded magnetic wrist pad is a nice option (G513 only)
Romer-G linear keys are a good alternative to Cherry MX switches…
The Bad
…though they may not feel as smooth
Logitech has iterated on several of its keyboard and mice, essentially fine-tuning good designs to become great. Such is the case with the G512/G513 models of its mechanical gaming keyboard design–they’re an improvement over the G413 in subtle, but important ways. These newer models sport full RGB backlighting that’s customizable through Logitech software, and the option to come equipped with Logitech’s own Romer-G mechanical switches. While the G413 introduced the Romer-G tactile switches, the new linear option is what makes the G512/G513 some of the quietest gaming keyboards out there.
Linear switches don’t have the clicking-and-clacking of tactile ones, but the sound of the key bottoming out remains loud. However, Romer-G switches soften the blow by design, reducing the amount of contact between parts. When using my tenkeyless Razer keyboard with linear switches and my G513 side-by-side, the difference in noise is night and day. Romer-G isn’t necessarily a compromise either; it’s a fast and accurate mechanical switch, like its Cherry and Razer counterparts. The only thing I noticed is that a keystroke itself may not feel as buttery smooth.
The G512/G513 is a simple design executed just right. It has exposed LED-backlit keycaps for easy cleaning and a sleek brushed aluminum frame means the keyboard backlighting looks premium but not gaudy. One USB pass-through is at the top-right of the chassis and media functions are relegated to the F-keys. A perk specific to the G513 is that it comes with a padded palm rest that attaches magnetically, which feels much better than plastic ones seen on other keyboards–that’s the main difference between the two models and may not be worth the price difference. Overall, they’re great packages, and you should definitely consider either one if you want a mechanical keyboard without the potential noise complaints.
The Alloy Origins from HyperX is a very well-made all-rounder keyboard at a reasonable mid-range price. The aluminum build feels incredibly solid and gives the keyboard quite a bit of weight, but it’s still a compact unit with exposed keycaps, minimal trim around the edges, and a detachable USB-C cord. It comes in three different variations with HyperX’s custom switches (linear, tactile, and clicky)–I tested the linear version which felt very smooth and responsive (the key travel is 1.8mm), even if the overall travel (3.8mm) is a little bit longer than I personally prefer for long stretches of typing.
You can set it at three different angles to suit your ergonomic setup. It also has a Game Mode that disables keyboard shortcuts like Alt+Tab–another nice touch. Other than that, there aren’t a whole lot of bells and whistles–no macro keys, not even USB passthrough. As the “Origins” name might suggest, this is a slick, strong, no-nonsense keyboard with a focus on responsiveness.
But the thing that really makes the Alloy Origins stand out are exposed LEDs it uses for its RGB lighting. Instead of having the lights sit underneath each keyboard switch, they lay alongside them. This results in an incredibly vivid effect where coloured lighting not only comes through each keycap but emanates a distinctive aura underneath each keycap too, which is visible even my bright, sunny office. It’s stunning, especially when compared directly to other models, and especially once you set up some of the more audacious trigger effects like explosions or fades.
The only caveat is that the HyperX NGenuity software required to program the lights can be a little finicky–I wasn’t able to get the software to detect the keyboard on my home PC at all, but your mileage may vary. It’s a pretty user-friendly piece of software, however–I was able to very quickly and easily set up my keyboard with a beautiful, twinkling cherry blossom idle effect with lingering fade lights as I typed, and bright red explosions when I hit backspace. If style is your priority, the Alloy Origins is a great pick.
Razer’s own switches are some of the best out there
Strong, hefty build quality
Excellent media buttons
Comfortable wrist support pad
Low actuation point means slightly faster input registry…
The Bad
…but can lead to typos or mistaken inputs
The Razer Huntsman Elite is a fantastic full-sized mechanical keyboard, thanks to Razer’s excellent in-house switches, strong build quality, and comfortable wrist support. The Huntsman Elite pairs its mechanical switches with optical sensors that make for fast inputs, and its keycaps feel great to both type and game on. The optical sensors take your input before you’ve pushed the key down the whole way, which makes the keyboard register keystrokes faster but also more likely to create typos if you’re not used to it. This is particularly true when typing fast, but thankfully, I didn’t notice it much while playing first-person shooters like Rainbow Six Siege and Valorant.
The build quality is also quite impressive. Its heavy and substantial chassis makes it feel like a brick, though the size is quite compact for a fully-featured keyboard. It makes use of the entire surface and features distinct, satisfyingly clicky media buttons for pausing, playing, and skipping. These are extremely easy to navigate to and press thanks to their distinct shape and size, which I found useful for pausing podcasts, YouTube videos, and music while playing games that required more of my attention.
Each Huntsman Elite also comes with a padded wrist support that magnetically attaches to the bottom of the keyboard and syncs with its Chroma lighting patterns. It’s not the best wrist pad out there, but it offers adequate support for your wrists while you type and game for long sessions. The Razer Huntsman Elite is one of the best high-end keyboards out there, and if you’re looking for a tactile-switch gaming keyboard, it’s hard to beat it.
Switch Types: Razer Linear Optical Switch, Clicky Optical Switch
Low actuation point means slightly faster input registry…
The Bad
…but can lead to typos or mistaken inputs
Keystrokes can be loud, even for linear switches
There’s something novel about a compact tenkeyless keyboard; they’re cute. If you have no use for the number pad and/or want to have a minimalist desk setup, they’re definitely up your alley. If that’s what you’re into there’s a ton of options out there, as tenkeyless is quite popular among the PC gaming crowd, which was born out of the need for small keyboard at cramped LAN competitions. But which one should you get? The Razer Huntsman Tournament Edition is an easy choice.
Razer’s Huntsman keyboards have a sleek aluminum chassis and an overall no-nonsense design. The Tournament Edition specifically is the tenkeyless version, and it features a long detachable braided USB-C cable, which makes it easier to take places if you need to. It also retains the Razer Chroma RGB lighting though the backlighting isn’t as vibrant as other Razer keyboards. What makes these keyboards special are the options you have for mechanical switches. Each of Razer’s own switches (Green, Yellow, and Orange) are tuned for competitive gaming with short actuation points and fine-tuned reset points; they’re also consistently smooth to the keystroke. I’ve mainly used Razer Yellow with the Huntsman TE, and it’s my preferred setup for when things get serious.
The fast response and short actuation point may also lead to more errant inputs, mainly from resting your hand on the keys; it’s something to be mindful of. And the Huntsman isn’t designed for the courtesy of others around you as full keystrokes can be really loud. If neither of those are big concerns, then it’d be hard to overlook the Razer Huntsman.
Fast input response that matches that of wired keyboards
Affordable, especially considering how few options are available
Romer-G tactile switches work well
The Bad
Not the best looking keyboard
Plastic wrist rest comes attached, making it a bit bulky overall
Wireless mechanical keyboards are hard to come by, since there are so few options available. That’s not the only reason why we recommend the Logitech G613, though. Input latency is at the top of concerns, but that’s been largely solved as seen with wireless gaming mice, and Logitech adapts its “Lightspeed” tech found in its mice for the G613. It’s also a fantastic budget gaming keyboard.
The G613 is a full-size keyboard in every sense. It features a built-in plastic wrist rest, which is handy, but not detachable. There are six programmable macro keys on the left side of the keyboard and a suite of media controls at the top-right, too. Most importantly, the G613 stands among the great mechanical keyboards out there because of its fast response and accurate mechanical switches. It only comes with Romer-G tactile switches, which isn’t so bad because these provide all the benefits of a mechanical switch like smooth, consistent keystrokes.
While you’ll need to stock up on AA batteries, the G613 is quite efficient, lasting up to 18 months according to Logitech–it’s so efficient, we’re not even talking in hours anymore. And only once did I have to swap out batteries since I took it in as my main keyboard for work back in 2017. It’d be pretty annoying to swap out batteries for a keyboard every few months, so this is key. A reason why battery life last this long is because one common feature has been left behind: backlit keys. Keys are painted in a vibrant white that helps visibility, but of course it’s not the same as proper backlighting.
Considering its feature set and the fact that it’s one of the few wireless mechanical keyboards out there, the Logitech G613 is fairly affordable, especially when it’s on sale. The prospect a wireless gaming keyboard may not be as appealing as a wireless mouse (you’re not constantly moving a keyboard around and dragging a cord after all), but those who want to cut the cord without sacrificing keyboard quality have a great option here.
Smooth keystrokes with multiple options for Cherry MX switches (for RGB models)
The Bad
None to speak of
The Corsair K68 is an all-around solid keyboard–solid, of course, as in it can take a beating. It’s pitched as the mechanical keyboard that’ll withstand the hazards that might accompany someone’s desk, like spilled liquids. On to of being water-resistant, it’s housed by a thick, sturdy chassis. While Corsair’s product page shows the keyboard being showered on, we tested it ourselves in our K68 review–it turns out it can take showers. There’s a protective membrane beneath the keycaps and shields the mechanical switches from damage, and any liquid it takes on is funneled out of the board.
Those are some of the perks specific to the K68, but it’s an overall top performer. We’ve only used it with Cherry MX Red switches and, as expected, they work like a charm, providing smooth and responsive keystrokes. You have a few options when it comes to K68 models, however. There’s a cheaper version that only comes with red LED backlighting and Red switches, but you’ll have to kick in a few more bucks to get the RGB backlit version which also lets you choose between Cherry MX Red, Blue, or Speed switches. Both models do feature some nice, chunky media control buttons at the top-right, and they come packed with a detachable wrist rest with rubber texture.
There’s nothing bad to say about the K68, really. You can’t go wrong if you’re looking for a great mechanical keyboard, especially if you’re accident-prone or just want to make sure your investment doesn’t get destroyed so easily. It’s also a budget gaming keyboard, especially if you can find it on sale.
Very solid and compact (ignoring the wrist rest) construction
Lots of meaningful luxuries that make it feel high-end
Comprehensive customisation software
The Bad
It’s relatively expensive
The SteelSeries Apex Pro is a high-end keyboard that, on top of looking and feeling the part in basically all respects, sports a pretty innovative feature that currently only exists in maybe one other keyboard: Adjustable mechanical switches. That’s right–you can adjust the trigger point of each individual key on the main key spread to suit your preference, meaning you can program them to only activate on a full, concerted press (about 3.6mm) or the lightest of touches (a shallow 0.4mm).
Is that useful? It can be! A common example would be if you’re a keyboard stickler who spends long stretches of time both typing and playing PC games, like me. You might prefer longer, deeper actuation to help with accuracy and reduce any slips while typing, and a much lighter actuation to increase response times in action games. The SteelSeries Engine software makes it easy to build these profiles (which can be saved onboard the keyboard itself for hardware-side activation), and conveniently allows you to script automatic profile switching for when a particular application becomes active (like Chrome or Apex Legends, for example).
However, it’s worth noting that the linear nature of the switches remains the same regardless, and there are no other options if you prefer a clicky or tactile switch. That said, the way the keys respond can still feel like night and day depending on where you are on the actuation scale.
A host of wholly unnecessary but luxurious features include a tiny OLED display plus a dedicated media playback and volume control wheel, both of which help navigate the onboard UI, which allows you to customise every aspect of the keyboard without having to launch the software, though it’s certainly not as efficient. The display can easily be customised to display 1-bit, 128×40 pixel gifs, and supports integration with a limited selection of programs like Discord, Dota 2, CS:GO, Mortal Kombat 11, and Tidal (if you use Tidal for some reason) to display vital information.
It features USB passthrough, cable routing, macro keys, a magnetic soft rubber wrist rest, and exposed LED lighting for individual keys. The aluminum construction is incredibly durable as you’d expect–it features an exposed keycap design, and it sports a very compact trim, much like the HyperX Alloy Origins (though the lighting isn’t quite as vibrant). Nevertheless, the SteelSeries Apex Pro has everything you’d feasibly want from a premium high-end keyboard, and the adjustable switches are a meaningful customisation feature (even if it seems like a ridiculous flex).
(Note: The more affordable Steelseries Apex 7 sports all the features of the Apex Pro, but comes with more traditional SteelSeries-brand Red, Blue, or Brown switches.)
Switch Type: OmniPoint Adjustable Mechanical Switches (Apex 7 available in SteelSeries Red, Blue, or Brown)
Robert Pattinson had just started working on Christopher Nolan’s time-bending espionage thriller Tenet when he learned he had been cast as The Batman.
In a new interview with Total Film (via Batman-News), Pattinson recalls the “insane” and “very, very intense weekend” when he won the role of Batman just as he was starting a new movie from the director of the Dark Knight trilogy.
Pattinson said he learned he’d been cast as Batman on “(the) morning of the first day” of filming Tenet. “That was a crazy way to start Chris’ film,” Pattinson said. “I think I was doing the screen test, as well, on the Saturday before I started.”
Pattinson then went straight from shooting Tenet to working on The Batman, a transition the actor says left him feeling “loopy.” But then just seven weeks into filming, production on The Batman was shut down indefinitely due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
“We’d really gotten into a really good rhythm as well, so it’s kind of strange to be pausing,” Pattinson said. “But, again, it’s a hard movie. I mean, obviously it’s Batman, so it’s kind of nice.”
Pattinson said “having some time off is not the worst thing in the world” given the whirlwind of going straight from one major production into another. “But hopefully it’ll be sooner rather than later that everything is hopefully in a better place.”
Following a State of Play livestream that focused on Ghost of Tsushima, Sony content communications manager Justin Massongill followed up with Sucker Punch creative directors Nate Fox and Jason Connell with fan questions and posted the answers on PlayStation Blog. In the interview, Fox and Connell reveal that Jin is the only playable character in Ghost of Tsushima and–though you will have a choice in how he fights–there are aspects of his story that cannot be influenced.
“Jin is the hero of this story,” Fox said. “Players are there, each step of the way, guiding Jin as he transforms from the honorable Samurai he was brought up to be, into the Ghost that Tsushima needs him to become.”
Though you can customize Jin’s armor and fight as either a confrontational samurai or stealthy ghost, Jin’s weapon of choice won’t change. “Jin’s katana is incredibly important to him,” Connell said. “It’s also his main weapon of choice from beginning to the end of the game. There are ways to improve this weapon, both the stats and the appearance.”
In regards to Jin sometimes possessing two swords during the State of Play livestream, Fox clarified that Jin will always only fight with his sole katana, but “to even the odds he begins to use thrown weapons in the middle of a fight, mixing ranged and close quarters attacks with deadly results.”
Several other aspects of Jin won’t change, either. Connell said that you’ll choose a horse for Jin among a selection at the beginning of the game, and you’ll stick with your partnered steed for the rest of the campaign–and not to worry, there’s no possibility of the horse dying.
Jin’s overall story can’t be altered either. “There is no karma system,” Fox said. “There’s one story we’re telling here, one journey for Jin.” In regards to how long that story will take to complete, Fox said that it’s an “impossible question to answer for an open world game” but went on to say that players “should expect a scope that’s markedly larger than our previous work.”
“Let’s put it another way: Most of our play testers would spend a full week on Ghost and not finish the storyline,” Fox added. “We know everyone wants a number, but we’re confident to say that if you want a satisfying story in a big, content-rich world with lots to do and see and lots of characters to get to know, you’ll find what you’re looking for in Ghost of Tsushima.”
