The Xbox website announces Ara: History Untold is now available via PC Game Pass, offering this turn-based grand strategy game from Oxide and Xbox Game Studios. It's also available to purchase on the Xbox Store and Steam as a Standard, Deluxe, or Premium edition with no launch discount. We're a little tardy on the launch, so there's already a post discussing the launch and a couple of issues it uncovered, saying a first patch should arrive this week with improvements. Here's the Launch Day Stream Full Video and here's more:

Build a nation and lead your people throughout history to the pinnacles of human achievement as you explore new lands, develop arts and culture, conduct diplomacy, and go head-to-head with your rivals to prove you are the greatest ruler ever known. It's Your World Now.

Ara: History Untold is an evolution in historical grand strategy, featuring beloved classic PC strategy mechanics alongside innovative gameplay like a national crafting economy, true simultaneous turn resolution, a non-linear technology tree, and cloud-backed synchronous/asynchronous multiplayer - all with an expansive and vibrant presentation where you can zoom out from surveying the very edges of your empire all the way down to your citizens living their daily lives. In Ara, there are no pre-set paths to victory, leading to endless possibilities. Your choices will define the world you create, your experience, and your legacy.

Continue here to read the full story.

• Wolfenstein Franchise Sale on Steam.
• Save 50% on Sir Whoopass: Immortal Death on Steam.
• Save 60% on Nobody Saves the World on Steam.

• Minecraft Live 2024: A MINECRAFT MOVIE - EXCLUSIVE INSIGHT - Minecraft (video).
• Monster Hunter Wilds' Ultra Collector's Edition is $1260 and includes a literal bike, but is only available in Japan - GamesRadar+. Thanks Neutronbeam.
• Mad Max Director George Miller Joins Death Stranding 2 Cast as Tarman; Other Characters Revealed - MP1st.

• With The Low-Cost Apple Vision Pro Reportedly Arriving Next Year, Which Chipset Is It Most Likely To Be Kitted Out With? - Wccftech.
• Meta’s AR Glasses Show Apple Has Lost Its Way With the Vision Pro - Bloomberg (may require registration or subscription).

• How to Get Started on Valve’s 'Deadlock' - WIRED (may require registration or subscription).

• Atomic Heart: DLC#3 - First Look Teaser.
• The Haunting - Terrifier Bundle - Call of Duty: Warzone & Modern Warfare III.
• Tracer Pack Terrifier Operator Bundle is available now in the Call of Duty Store.

↑ Official trailers. ↓ Content creator videos.

• The Hefty Fire Pot Head - Elden Ring #81 - Carbot. Thanks Ant.

• What's on your bookshelf-- Tomb Raider, Mirror's Edge, and BioShock Infinite writer Rhianna Pratchett - Rock Paper Shotgun.

• RazerCon 2024 Ignites the Gaming World, Setting New Standards in Gaming Immersion and Innovation - Business Wire.
• Germany's world-first Warhammer academic conference is happening now with talks about 'authority and pluralism in the grim darkness of the far future' and 'Tyranid xenobiology' - PC Gamer. Thanks Neutronbeam.

• Tony Hawk Pro Skater at 25- How soundtrack and imagery made us flip - USA Today.

• YouTube blocks songs from artists including Adele and Green Day amid licensing negotiations - Engadget.
• Meta-owned Threads app gets a new feature that lets you add location to a post - Neowin.

Thanks Max and Neutronbeam.

• AMD Ryzen 9 9950X3D and 9900X3D to Feature 3D V-cache on Both CCD Chiplets - TechPowerUp.
• Zen 5 revisited- Testing what a new BIOS and Windows update does for AMD's Ryzen 9000 chips - PC Gamer.
• Desperate Google Paid $2.7 Billion to Get a Single AI Researcher Back - The Byte.
• Thermal Grizzly's nifty gadget can prevent Nvidia's 16-pin connector meltdowns — WireView GPU Pro features a GPU power monitor - Tom's Hardware.
• Razer Synapse 4 finally turns into the app we always wanted it to be, as its lengthy beta period comes to an end - Windows Central.
• AMD's High-End X670E Motherboards Limiting Gen5 SSDs To Gen1 Speeds, Users Unable To Boot Into Windows After Restart - Wccftech.
• Why AI is a know-it-all know nothing - VentureBeat.
• 6 drastic ways PC building has changed in 20 years - XDA.
• 7 Tech Products That Tried and Failed Spectacularly - How-To Geek. Forgot about the Microsoft Kin.
• THIS is peak SFF. - Devyn Johnson (video). Thanks Dimitris.
• Researchers build a fully edible transistor using tooth-whitening pigments found in toothpaste - Tom's Hardware.

• The US Could Finally Ban Inane Forced Password Changes - WIRED (may require registration or subscription).
• HP ink cartridge DRM bypass demonstrated using physical man-in-the-middle-attack - Tom's Hardware.

• South Korea set to criminalize possessing or watching sexually explicit deepfake videos - CBS News. Thanks Reddit.

Thanks Neutronbeam.

• Case: NZXT H7 Flow (2024) Review - Assembly & Finished Looks - TechPowerUp.
• Laptop: Asus Zenbook S 14 review- the Lunar Lake laptop delivers power and beauty at a price - TechRadar.
• Laptop: Dell Inspiron 16 Plus (7640) Review - PCMag.
• Mouse: ENDORFY GEM Plus Wireless Onyx White Gaming Mouse - Mad Shrimps.
• Speakers/Soundbar: UE Everboom review- Underscoring your next adventure - Android Police.
• SSD: Express 1M2- USB4 Reaches the Portable SSD Market - Fstoppers.
• SSD: Silicon Power MS70 2TB USB 3.2 Gen 2 Portable SSD - Nikk Tech.
• SSD: WD Black SN850X 8TB SSD Review - The New King of High Capacity - TweakTown.

• EA Announces -In Place Updates- Patching Tech for Games, Reduces Disk Errors by 60% - MP1st…

I'll have a project later today when we take delivery of a new desk for MrsBlue to set up an office for her new job. One of us is convinced she's going to enjoy a standing desk, so the other of us is going to have to build it for her. I'm not actually complaining, as I enjoy putting things together. It may turn out she loves switching between sitting and standing, but if she doesn't, she can just pick one and stick with it, so this should work out fine either way. For my part, while I appreciate that measures should be taken to counteract the effects of sitting too long, the idea of standing at my desk does not hold any appeal.

Obituary: Drake Hogestyn Dead- ‘Days of Our Lives’ Veteran Was 70.

Standing Round-up
Thanks Ant, Neutronbeam, and Max.

Brunch Links

• Kate Winslet says Leonardo DiCaprio was 'kneeling' in 'Titanic' door scene - EW. If you want to kiss the sky, better learn how to kneel.
• 'An unmistakable stab at the USSR'- Could Amadeus be the most misunderstood Oscar winner ever? - BBC.

Stories

• Hurricane Helene- In North Carolina, storm turned neighborhoods into lakes, picked up cars like toys - CNN.
• UMAMI Taps Bioscience Firms to 3D Print Seafood in Korea. Soylent Green is still people.
• Viewfinders Make Fall Foliage Pop for the Colorblind in Virginia - The New York Times.

Science

• Alcohol can increase your cancer risk. What experts say about how much is too much - CBS News. Thanks Slashdot.
• ‘Rivers you think are pristine are not’- how drug pollution flooded the UK’s waterways – and put human health at risk - River - The Guardian.
• What happens when you hold in a fart- - Live Science. Answering the important questions.
• Multiple surgeries could contribute to cognitive decline in older people - Medical Express.

Media

• Bohemian Rhapsody Takes Over the Movies – You Won’t Believe This Mashup.
• I Could See the Outcome - Destination F'd (Vol. 38) - Ozzy Man Reviews (NSFW).
• OSHA has entered the chat - MrAdamConstruction.

Follow-up

• NTSB issues urgent warning on Boeing 737 rudder system failures - USA Today.

Shortly after Ubisoft admitted to disappointment in the launch of Star Wars Outlaws, this post on X discusses plans to improve the sci-fi action/adventure based on player feedback. There's a general roadmap showing updates leading to the launch of the first Story Pack on November 21st. Here's word:

Our team is currently working hard to address your feedback and deliver new content.
More title updates will be heading your way in the coming weeks along with the release of our first story pack on November 21st.

Stay tuned for more information soon.

The Trackmania Website has details on a new fall campaign that gets underway on October 1st in Ubisoft's arcade racer (thanks Frans). This will include new prestige skins and 25 new tracks, including "the first collaborative track and the largest project in the Trackmania campaigns." It will also bring a returning feature, a new version of the Platform game mode last seen in Trackmania Sunrise in 2005. This uses a scoring system based on the number of times drivers respawn. Here's the Fall Season 2024 Trailer and some details:

Starting October 1st at 5pm CEST, you will be able to play the new Fall 2024 season with 25 brand-new tracks featuring all current Trackmania cars (Stadium, Desert, Snow, Rally) and the new Fall Prestige skin. This campaign will allow you to discover the variety of play styles in Trackmania, from ice to bobsleigh, dirt, or technical tracks. The last track is the first collaborative track and the largest project in the Trackmania campaigns.

Continue here to read the full story.

Dammit Janet! The Rocky Horror Video Game Announcement Trailer is here with a look at an upcoming tie-in to capitalize on the success of The Rocky Horror Picture Show, the cult-classic comedy musical. The movie debuted in 1975, and this retro platformer looks like at was created about a decade later, rather than five. It concludes with logos for Steam, PlayStation, Xbox, and Switch along with an October 2024 release window. Here's word:

Experience the strange journey of Brad and Janet like never before in this wild and wacky retro platform game adaptation of Richard O'Brien's legendary rock'n'roll musical. Jump to the left and dodge to the right in classic platforming action, along to 8-bit chiptune renditions of Rocky Horror's legendary songs.

A Bit Bot Media and Metal X Entertainment Production
Based on the musical "Rocky Horror Show"

Continue here to read the full story.

• China's 109 video game approvals for September include a mysterious Tencent title - Yahoo! Finance.

• World of Warcraft Hotfixes- September 27, 2024.

↑ Official patches. ↓ Unofficial games, patches, and mods.

• Baldur's Gate 3 just got a must-have 27GB HD Texture Pack - DSOGaming.

Official trailers.

• The Coma 2B- Catacomb - Release Date Announcement Trailer. October 25th.
• Life is Strange: Double Exposure -TGS2024 Trailer.

• 'No one has the full picture'- None of the UFO 50 developers have completed all of the UFO 50 games - PC Gamer.

• Nintendo's lawsuit against Palworld isn't just bad for the industry, it's bad for Nintendo - PC Gamer.

• Ken Kutaragi claims everyone at Sony thought the PlayStation would fail - VGC.
• Stellar Blade Update Improves Visuals and Adds QoL - Wccftech.

Thanks Neutronbeam.

• I just tried a pocketable mini PC that can transform from a workstation into a gaming PC — and it feels like the future - Tom's Guide.
• Human in Motion Robotics' self-balancing XoMotion exoskeleton gains Canadian approval for use in physical therapy - NotebookCheck.
• Welcome to Meta’s future, where everyone wears cameras - The Verge.

• Report- Apple changes film strategy, will rarely do wide theatrical releases - Ars Technica.

Thanks Neutronbeam.

• I'm trembling at the potential power of a 21,760-core RTX 5090. And the price. Actually mostly the price - PC Gamer.
• Isambard 2, the world's first Arm-based supercomputer, retires after six years of service — Isambard 3 will tap Nvidia's Grace CPU Superchips - Tom's Hardware.
• Have a Windows 10 PC that can't be upgraded? You have 5 options before support ends next year - ZDNET.
• Canon delivers first nanoimprint lithography tool to US institute backed by Intel, Samsung, DARPA - Tom's Hardware.
• Microsoft releases new Windows Terminal updates with bug fixes - Neowin.
• China Encourages Domestic AI Startups To Refrain From Acquiring NVIDIA's AI Chips To Reduce Dependency On The West - Wccftech.

• X can be 'immediately' unblocked in Brazil after it pays a $1.9 million fine - Engadget.
• Pirate library must pay publishers $30M, but no one knows who runs it - Ars Technica. Thanks Neutronbeam.
• Uber terms mean couple can't sue after 'life-changing' crash - BBC.

Thanks Neutronbeam.

• Game Controller: Razer Wolverine V3 Pro controller review - PC Gamer.
• Laptop: ASUS ROG Zephyrus G16 (2024 Edition) Gaming Laptop Review - TweakTown.
• PC: Corsair One i500 review — small PC, big performance - Tom's Guide.
• RAM: DDR5 Memory Performance Scaling with AMD Zen 5 - TechPowerUp.

Wow! I was sitting here at my desk minding my own business when I saw a glimpse of wings through the patio door immediately followed by the distinctive thud of a bird hitting a sliding door upstairs from me. I ran up to see if we had an injury to deal with, and I got to see a glimpse of a hawk flying off with something clutched in its talons. I'm guessing it picked off a squirrel off the deck railing but couldn't put on the brakes hard enough to avoid hitting the glass. There's an interesting souvenir of this, as it left a distinctive smudge. A close look reveals feather patterns that look like a fingerprint. Time for a call to CSI: Raptor.

Rapturous Round-up
Thanks Ant, Neutronbeam, and Max.

Story

• America’s Hurricane Luck Is Running Out - The Atlantic (may require registration or subscription).

Science

• ‘We are embarrassed’: Scientific rigor proponents retract paper on benefits of scientific rigor - Science.org.
• Energy-Stealing Zel’dovich Effect Confirmed Using Electromagnetic Fields 50 Years After Being Proposed - IFLScience.
• NASA is heading back to the moon. Meet the astronauts leading Artemis II - NPR.

Media

• DATE NIGHT - A Star Wars short film made with Unreal Engine 5.
• Why These Engines Only Last 3 Seconds.

Creature Features

• Cat vs. Dog on a Onewheel 😳.

Follow-ups

• Helene live updates- Death toll up; power outages in the millions - USA Today.
• Comet Tsuchinshan-ATLAS may dazzle this weekend. But is the best yet to come- - Space.