Bloomberg's Jason Schreier reports (may require registration or subscription) on what he rightfully calls the "disastrous rollout" of Cyberpunk 2077. He spoke with current and former staff at developer CD PROJEKT RED, most of whom requested anonymity in exchange for their frank assessments of the missteps and mismanagement that led to the problems with the highly anticipated sci-fi RPG. This includes the impact of developing the game's engine alongside the game itself, which one developer likened to trying to drive a train as the tracks are being laid ahead of it at the same time. An interesting detail is development of the game didn't actually begin in earnest until late 2016 even though it was announced in 2012. The story also reports that the game's E3 2018 demo was faked, and that the staff was forced into crunch mode very early in the project, despite repeated promises from management that they would not be subjected to it:

Fans and journalists were wowed by Cyberpunk 2077’s ambition and scale. What they didn’t know was that the demo was almost entirely fake. CD Projekt hadn’t yet finalized and coded the underlying gameplay systems, which is why so many features, such as car ambushes, were missing from the final product. Developers said they felt like the demo was a waste of months that should have gone toward making the game.

Employees were working long hours, even though Iwiński told staff that overtime wouldn’t be mandatory on Cyberpunk 2077. More than a dozen workers said they felt pressured to put in extra hours by their managers or coworkers anyway.

“There were times when I would crunch up to 13 hours a day — a little bit over that was my record probably — and I would do five days a week working like that,” said Jakubiak, the former audio programmer, adding that he quit the company after getting married. “I have some friends who lost their families because of these sort of shenanigans.”

Fallout: The Frontier is now available, offering an ambitious modification for Fallout: New Vegas. This requires ownership of the original game on Steam as well as all four of its official DLC packs. You can download the mod through Nexus Mods and it is also coming soon to Steam as well, but they say the Steam release is delayed "for a very short time" while they work out some build issues. Here's a Release Trailer, and here's more on this project that they call a "game sized modification":

In the cold, snowy streets of Portland Oregon, the New California Exiles and Caesar’s Legion fight for the domination of a city rich in resources and military hardware, but what lies in wait under the snowy ruins...

The Frontier is a new game sized modification for Fallout: New Vegas. Created by a passionate group of dozens of community members over a seven year period, The Frontier is the largest modification ever released for Fallout: New Vegas, and aims to be a unique experience for players both old and new.

Featuring new gameplay mechanics such as high quality drivable vehicles, and incredible scripting and visual effects that are sure to impress even the oldest fans of the series. All of this wrapped up with high quality voice acting, dozens of side quests and hundreds of exciting new characters!

Continue here to read the full story.

• G-String - A-Cup Update.

• Diablol 2 Ep 13 "Arcane Danktuary." Thanks Ant.

• Report: Xbox’s “instant on” feature could consume 4 billion kWh by 2025. Thanks Slashdot.
• The Pedestrian coming to PS5 and PS4 on January 29; Xbox Series, Xbox One, and Switch later.
• Here’s Doom actually playable on a SEGA Genesis.

• Can’t find Nvidia RTX 3080 stock? These laptops could be the answer. Thanks Neutronbeam.
• Galaxy S21 vs. iPhone 12 specs- Samsung may have beaten Apple this time.
• Apple prototypes foldable iPhone screens: report.

• Facebook temporarily bans ads for gun accessories and military gear.
• A security researcher commandeered a country’s expired top-level domain to save it from hackers. Thanks Neutronbeam.
• DuckDuckGo surpasses 100 million daily search queries for the first time.
• HBO Max will now release 'Godzilla vs. Kong' two months early.
• Release youtube-dl 2021.01.16. Thanks Ant.

• Intel Core i9-11900K vs Core i9-10900K 5.2 GHz Overclock Benchmarks Leak Out, Rocket Lake Slower in Gaming.
• ASUS Announces The ROG Swift PG279QM Gaming Monitor.
• Apple Plans Redesigned iMac, New Mac Pro, Smaller Mac Pro, Cheaper Monitor (may require registration or subscription). Thanks Slashdot.

• Telegram isn't end-to-end encrypted by default.
• Iconic BugTraq security mailing list shuts down after 27 years.

• Case: Corsair 5000D AIRFLOW Mid-Tower Chassis Review - TweakTown.
• Case Fan: Cooler Master SickleFlow 120 ARGB 3IN1 Review - APH Networks.
• CPU: AMD Threadripper Pro 3995WX Review- Ripping With 8 Memory Channels.
• Headset: Creative SXFI Gamer Review - Battle Mode almost Feels Like Cheating - TechPowerUp.
• Motherboard: ASRock Taichi Razer Edition Mainboard Razer Synapse 3 Video - OverClocked Inside.
• Motherboard: ASUS ProArt Z490-CREATOR 10G Motherboard Review - TweakTown.
• Soundbar: Creative Stage V2 2.1 Soundbar Review - Nikk Tech.

• The Official Cyberpunk 2077 Interactive Map - Night City. Thanks Acleacius…
• Free Mars - Turn based free strategy PC game about colonizing Mars…

Tim Allen gives Galaxy Quest 2 update: 'It's a fabulous script.' I dunno. As discussed here in the past, I love the original movie, and I am by no means alone. But there was a certain magic to it that will be a challenge to recapture in a sequel. And since the late, great Alan Rickman won't be involved, it will be that much harder. I know we should never give up, never surrender, but by grabthar's hammer they have their work cut out for them.

Beryllium Sphere Round-up
Thanks Ant and Neutronbeam.

Stories

• Quixotic Californian crusade to officially recognize the hellabyte and hellagram is going hella nowhere.
• Waldorf Astoria's new Maldives private island costs $80,000 per night. Socially distance in style.
• Over 760,000 pounds of Hot Pockets recalled, may contain 'pieces of glass and plastic'.

Science
Thanks RedEye9.

• Surprising Discovery of Unexpected Quantum Behavior in Insulators Suggests Existence of Entirely New Type of Particle. Thanks Max.
• NASA abandons InSight mission to crack the surface of Mars.
• Japanese Researchers Explain 8-Year Life Cycle Of Train Millipedes.

Image

• Think different.

Media

• CRAZY SAMURAI- 400 vs 1 (2021) Trailer. Thanks Hypothermia.
• 10 Hours of Karate Kid II Drums. Thanks Boing Boing.

Auction

• Del Monte note: $20 banknote has currency collectors going bananas.