Xbox Series X Won't Change The Xbox User Interface At Launch
The Xbox Series X is due at the end of 2020, and although Microsoft has revealed a lot about the new console, many things remain mysterious about it too. The new console is unlikely to radically reinvent the user interface offered by the Xbox One--in fact, all signs indicate that it will essentially be the same.
According to The Verge, Microsoft will make some further tweaks to the Xbox One interface soon, improving the "Guide" functionality on the dashboard and allowing you to customize the order of your navigation tabs. A new "Parties & chats" tab will correlate social features, and a few other parts have been streamlined and simplified.
As this article point out, in preview videos for the Xbox Series X, the interface looks identical to this; it's likely that these changes will carry over exactly to the new system. On Twitter, a member of the Xbox support team circa 2013, Missy Quarry, has explained that this makes a lot of sense. "One of the biggest user problems was getting used to an entirely new UI and they begged for the 360 dash," she says.
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Posted by: xSicKxBot - 04-08-2020, 05:40 AM - Forum: Windows
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News recap from ‘Inside Xbox’ April 7 episode
Today, on our first Inside Xbox episode of 2020, we got a closer look at the single-player campaign in Grounded, the upcoming survival adventure game from our friends at Obsidian Entertainment, revealed the latest Xbox Game Pass titles, discussed the recently revealed Xbox Series X tech, and gave viewers the skinny on the most important things to know about the upcoming Gears Tactics.
There was also plenty of surprise news dropped on today’s show: Typhoon Studios revealed the Journey to the Savage Planet DLC, Hotline Miami Collection is getting a surprise Xbox One release, and we got our very first look at The Last Campfire, an intriguing new title from developer Hello Games.
For a full recap, read on below or watch the replay of Inside Xbox episode above when the VOD is available.
Go Big or Never Go Home in Obsidian Entertainment’s Grounded
Obsidian Entertainment announced upcoming survival adventure game Grounded will enter Xbox Game Preview with Xbox Game Pass Ultimate and Steam Early Access on July 28, 2020. As part of today’s announcement, the team also revealed a brand new trailer focusing on the single player experience for Grounded, and a first-ever livestream with Obsidian Entertainment’s Game Director, Adam Brennecke and Social Media Manager, Shyla Schofield, who gave a closer look at the game. For more details, check out the full Grounded Inside Xbox post here.
A Closer Look at Xbox Series X Technologies
A few weeks ago, we took an in-depth look at some of the tech powering the Xbox Series X and got our first look at the new Xbox Wireless Controller. On today’s show, our own Major Nelson had a chance to sit down with Jason Ronald, Director of Product Management on Xbox Series X, to break down some of what was shared about our most powerful console ever. They discussed everything from graphics technology like DirectX raytracing and variable rate shading to audio processing, Quick Resume and storage options. Ronald also highlighted the Xbox Velocity Architecture, including what this entails and what it will enables for games.
The Evolution of Xbox Game Bar Continues
We’re continuing the evolution of Xbox Game Bar, the customizable gaming overlay built into Windows 10 for PC. Starting today, Insiders will have access to apps from partners like Razer, XSplit and Intel directly from Xbox Game Bar through new widgets — no more having to Alt+Tab to separate apps while gaming. We’ve seen incredible interest from PC gaming partners in this fan-requested feature, and we look forward to growing the number of available widgets. For more information on the Xbox Game Bar news announced today, please check out this post.
Announcing More Great Titles Hitting Xbox Game Pass
We’re thrilled to announce that on April 13, Xbox Game Pass will be expanding to Japan and Korea. Xbox Game Pass for PC will launch in beta for gamers in Korea and will be included as part of Xbox Game Pass Ultimate benefits, which is already available for gamers in the region, while all Xbox Game Pass services for console and PC will come to Japan for the first time. We also shared new titles joining the Xbox Game Pass libraries across console and PC, including Alvastia Chronicles, Journey to the Savage Planet, Overcooked! 2, Football Manager 2020, Mistover and Stranger Things 3: The Game. For more details on our Xbox Game Pass news this episode, check out the Xbox Game Pass post here.
Project xCloud Preview Adds More Great Games from EA
We’ve added even more titles to the Project xCloud preview! Beginning today, participants can play three more great games from EA on their Android phones or tablets, including The Sims 4, Unravel Two, and Dragon Age: Inquisition. Additionally, this morning we announced that the Project xCloud preview will be heading to 11 new countries across Western Europe. If you’re interested in joining the Project xCloud preview so you can stream these great games, please visit xbox.com/projectxcloud.
Forza Street Races onto Mobile on May 5
Get your engines ready … Forza Street is coming to your iOS and Android devices on May 5. We’ve received incredible engagement from players during Android pre-registration and are excited to let iOS gamers know they too will hit the streets in just a few weeks. For a limited time, we’ll also be giving out the Founder’s Pack to anyone who plays Forza Street between May 5 and June 5 as a welcoming gift. Pre-register now on Google Play and the Samsung Galaxy Store, and for more information, check out the full Forza Street Wire post here.
Breaking Down Five Things You Need to Know About Gears Tactics
Today, The Coalition celebrated Gears Tactics going gold with a new video highlighting five badass things you need to know before launch and their commitment to a gameplay experience tailored to PC, including new details on a partnership with Intel. Available April 28 on Windows 10 PC, Steam and with Xbox Game Pass for PC (Beta), Gears Tactics has players assume the role of Gabriel “Gabe” Diaz as he recruits, equips, and commands his squad on a mission to hunt down the relentless leader of the Locust army: Ukkon. For more on Gears Tactics, including the latest design collaboration with acclaimed artist Luke Preece, click here.
Set Sail with Sea of Thieves’ Free Ships of Fortune Update
Prospective pirates got a look at the new Sea of Thieves Ships of Fortune update arriving later this month. Ships of Fortune adds new depth to the game’s trading companies, allowing players the option to represent their favorite Trading Companies as emissaries for boosted rewards and exclusive cosmetic items. What’s more, a new and mysterious Company known as The Reaper’s Bones is also making their debut tasking players with pillaging rival ships and taking their Emissary Flags and loot as trophies. For more details on our Sea of Thieves news this episode, check out our full post here.
A New Batch of ID@Xbox Games is Coming to Xbox One
In today’s show, we took a look at a brand-new game called The Last Campfire, a dark fantasy from developer Hello Games that combines a beautiful art style with a wide variety of puzzles to create a wholly unique experience. There was also a new trailer for Atomicrops, an action-packed farming simulator where you must cultivate and defend the last farm in a post-apocalypse wasteland. Finally, it was announced that the action-packed top-down shooter Hotline Miami Collection is not only coming to Xbox One, but is actually available right now. Surprise!
We hope you enjoyed the show, and we’ll see you next time!
Overcooked 2 Has Just Received A New ‘Gourmet Edition’ Release On Switch
One of Switch’s top multiplayer co-op games, Overcooked 2 has just received a brand new release on the Nintendo eShop. The ‘Gourmet Edition’ will include all pieces of DLC on top of the base game.
The game has been receiving regular DLC updates ever since it launched on Nintendo’s platform, and piecing it all together makes for one hefty full product. If you’re yet to experience Overcooked 2, now is absolutely the time to get stuck in.
Key Features: –Every mouthful:Overcooked! 2:Gourmet Edition features Overcooked! 2 and every piece of previously-released DLC for the game, including Surf ‘n’ Turf; Campfire Cook Off; Night of the Hangry Horde; and Carnival of Chaos –A banquet of chefs: 58 chefs are ready to cook up a storm, including those featured in the Too Many Chefs pack – Dozens of kitchens: The base game and the DLC takes players on a journey through 130 weird and wonderful levels with equally bizarre kitchens! – A smorgasbord of dishes: From s’mores to sushi, there is a delicious selection of 26 recipes to serve up – Co-op multiplayer: Up to four players can aim for high scores either online or couch co-op through local multiplayer
Overcooked! 2: Gourmet Edition is available to buy right now on the eShop. Usually, the bundle would be priced at £37.49 / $48.49 / €42.49, but a launch discount taking the game down to £28.12 / $36.37 / €31.87 is active for a limited time.
The standalone game is usually £20 / $25 without any DLC included, so this early discount is really good value.
Will you be buying this bundle? Already own the game on Switch? Let us know with a comment.
Posted by: xSicKxBot - 04-08-2020, 05:40 AM - Forum: Lounge
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All The Xbox Game Pass Titles Coming Soon And Leaving
As part of the April Inside Xbox briefing, Microsoft announced the next batch of titles coming to Xbox Game Pass and also confirmed which games are headed out of the subscription service.
Xbox Game Pass for PC is also getting new titles, including Football Manager 2020, Alvastia Chronicles, and Mistover on April 9. Additionally, the program is adding the officially licensed Stranger Things 3: The Game on that day for subscribers.
Shiro Games, the developers behind such games as Evoland, Northgard and Darksburg, just posted a blog post on the technology they use to develop their game.
The primary parts of the development stack include:
Haxe is a cross platform open source programming language with a high-level strictly typed language capable of being compatible to multiple languages or runtimes.
A game focused game engine with a built in tilemap editor. You can learn more about the CastleDB here.
Combined together you get a complete, battletested and production ready game engine with several high quality shipped titles under it’s belt. You can learn more about the entire technology stack in the video below.
Video: See The LEGO Mario Starter Course In Action
If you’re wanting to get a proper look at what you can get up to with the new Super Mario LEGO set, this new video from LEGO itself should do the trick.
The project’s lead designer Jonathan Bennink talks us through how the Starter Course brings Mario to life and also shows off two expansion sets that will soon be on the way. In a press release accompanying the video, Bennink has shared the following:
“We were thrilled to see the global reaction to news of LEGO Super Mario. Fans have been keen to learn more, so I am pleased that today we were able to reveal more details about this exciting new collaboration that has led to a reimagination of the LEGO building experience and an entirely new way to play inspired by the beloved video game icon, Super Mario. We can’t wait to see fans get creative and challenge each other with this highly engaging and social play experience.”
Pre-orders have already started to go live, so you can go ahead and grab a Starter Course as we speak. The expansion sets aren’t available just yet, but we’ll make sure to update you as soon as any pre-orders appear.
Are you excited to get your hands on this Mario x LEGO collaboration? Tell us below.
Guide: Where To Preorder The Totally Adorable LEGO Super Mario Sets
It’s finally happened: the union that kids (and big kids) have wanted for so long has come to pass with Super Mario finally available in LEGO form. Typically for Nintendo, the LEGO Super Mario sets are more than just standard LEGO sets – they are connected via a neat touch of technology that enables you to build Mario courses and ‘run’ them like you do in the plumber’s video games.
The first wave of sets is set to release on 1st August 2020, and pre-orders are live for the (rather cumbersomely-named) LEGO Super Mario Adventures with Mario Starter Course. The LEGO Mario figure has little LCD screens powered by two AAA batteries that react to movement, colour and certain special bricks. His eyes, mouth and belly react to these inputs and a little speaker in the figure adds trademark sounds and musical phrases from the series, too.
We’ve scoured the web and tracked down the best pre-orders for the Starter Set and announced Expansion Sets in the UK and US. We’ll update this article with more pre-orders as we find them, so be sure to check back.
Please note that some links on this page are affiliate links, which means if you click them and make a purchase we may receive a small percentage of the sale. Please read our FTC Disclosure for more information.
Preorder LEGO Super Mario in North America:
Right now the only place we could find to pre-order the LEGO Super Mario Starter Course is from LEGO itself, Target is another option:
Preorder LEGO Super Mario in the UK:
In the UK you can currently pre-order the LEGO Super Mario Starter Course Set direct from LEGO, GAME, Smyths or Zavvi:
What LEGO Super Mario sets are available?
The base set – the Starter Course – can be combined with a number of Expansion Sets that the LEGO Group announced alongside pre-orders for the Starter Set (see above). Each one will “unlock unique challenges and characters to play with and against friends”, according to the official PR. All sets are modular and give the builder the opportunity to mix and match to create whatever Mario course they wish to.
The 231-piece Starter Course Set will retail for $59.99 / 59,99 € / £49.99, and pre-orders will come with a free (and much smaller) Super Mushroom Surprise Expansion Set gift. Pre-orders from LEGO will also include a Monty Mole Expansion Set as an additional pre-order bonus.
The first round of announced Expansion Sets include the following (pictured above):
Piranha Plant Power Slide Expansion Set
Bowser’s Castle Boss Battle Expansion Set
We’ll add pre-order info for these Expansion sets when we get it. The Piranha Plant Power Slide Expansion Set is set to retail for $29.99 / 29.99€ / £24.99, while Bowser’s Castle Boss Battle Expansion Set has an RRP of $99.99 / 99.99€ / £89.99.
There is also a LEGO Super Mario app that works in conjunction with the Mario figure and special bricks to track scores and provide digital instructions.
Can you resist these super (Mario) sets? Let us know below which ones take your fancy, and don’t forget to check back as we add the best offers when they pop up.
Best Budget Monitors For Under $200 - Cheap Monitors For Working From Home
More people are working from home every day, but it can be difficult transitioning into working within your home, especially if your office has a lot of the tools you need for your daily duties. One of them might even be a monitor, and while you may not need to plug your laptop into one to get your work done, they're a handy tool to have that increases your screen space and makes doing your work easier. To help make the transition easier, we've collected an assortment of the best budget monitors under $200, all of which feature free Amazon Prime shipping, so you don't have to leave the house to get your cheap display.
Of course, while we're focusing on cheap monitors that are good for your daily work routine, many of these computer monitors are also great for gaming. Just keep in mind that they won't stack up against their more expensive counterparts--these are still budget PC monitors, after all.
Quick look: Best cheap monitors for working from home
Python List Length – What’s the Runtime Complexity of len()?
The runtime complexity of the len() function on your Python list is O(1). It takes constant runtime no matter how many elements are in the list. Why? Because the list object maintains an integer counter that increases and decreases as you add and remove list elements. Looking up the value of this counter takes constant time.
Python list objects keep track of their own length. When you call the function len(...) on a list object, here’s what happens (roughly):
The Python virtual machine looks up the len(...) function in a dictionary to find the associated implementation.
You pass a list object as an argument to the len() function so the Python virtual machine checks the __len__ method of the list object.
The method is implemented in C++ and it’s just a counter that’s increased each time you add an element to the list and decreased if you remove an element from the list. For example, say, the variable length stores the current length of the list. The method then returns the value self.length.
The Python list is implemented using a C++ array. This means that it’s generally slow to modify elements at the beginning of each list because all elements have to be shifted to the right. If you add an element to the end of a list, it’s usually fast. However, resizing an array can become slow from time to time if more memory has to be allocated for the array.
Where to Go From Here
If you keep struggling with those basic Python commands and you feel stuck in your learning progress, I’ve got something for you: Python One-Liners (Amazon Link).
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OFFICIAL BOOK DESCRIPTION:Python One-Liners will show readers how to perform useful tasks with one line of Python code. Following a brief Python refresher, the book covers essential advanced topics like slicing, list comprehension, broadcasting, lambda functions, algorithms, regular expressions, neural networks, logistic regression and more. Each of the 50 book sections introduces a problem to solve, walks the reader through the skills necessary to solve that problem, then provides a concise one-liner Python solution with a detailed explanation.