Month: March 2019

Enlarge / "Small" isn't necessarily all that small when it comes to tokamaks like the DIII-D. (credit: Wikimedia Commons)

In the world of fusion physics, two letters say it all: ‘L’ and ‘H’. All the cool kids play with the H-mode, which is hot and fiery and is our best prospect for achieving useable fusion energy. The L-mode, which is neither hot nor fiery, has been largely abandoned. But by changing the shape of the L-mode, researchers have been able to get unexpectedly high pressures. High enough for fusion? Maybe.

To understand what all that means, we need a quick refresher on what a tokamak is.

We’ve covered fusion physics before, but in short, a tokamak reactor uses a series of twisted magnetic fields to confine a fluid of charged particles (called a plasma) in a donut shape. The temperature and pressure of the plasma is the key to fusion; once it's hot enough, the positively charged nuclei will collide to fuse, releasing gloriously large amounts of energy. 

Enlarge / "Small" isn't necessarily all that small when it comes to tokamaks like the DIII-D. (credit: Wikimedia Commons)

In the world of fusion physics, two letters say it all: ‘L’ and ‘H’. All the cool kids play with the H-mode, which is hot and fiery and is our best prospect for achieving useable fusion energy. The L-mode, which is neither hot nor fiery, has been largely abandoned. But by changing the shape of the L-mode, researchers have been able to get unexpectedly high pressures. High enough for fusion? Maybe.

To understand what all that means, we need a quick refresher on what a tokamak is.

We’ve covered fusion physics before, but in short, a tokamak reactor uses a series of twisted magnetic fields to confine a fluid of charged particles (called a plasma) in a donut shape. The temperature and pressure of the plasma is the key to fusion; once it's hot enough, the positively charged nuclei will collide to fuse, releasing gloriously large amounts of energy. 

Enlarge / This controller attachment was shown in Microsoft's Xcloud promo video, and Bluetooth wireless controller support is also planned. (credit: Microsoft)

Microsoft announced its Xcloud game-streaming service last August, with the ambition of streaming console-quality games to gamers wherever they are—on their tablets, smartphones, PCs or even consoles. Yesterday, Google joined the streaming gaming fray with its announcement of Google Stadia, one-upping Redmond by offering the assembled press limited hands-on access to Stadia games.

Google promises that Stadia will be "coming 2019," potentially stealing a march on Xcloud, which is due only to enter public trials this year. But in an internal email sent to rally the troops, Phil Spencer, Microsoft's gaming chief, seemed unsurprised and apparently unconcerned.

Spencer wrote that Google "went big" with its Stadia announcement, but Microsoft will have its chance to do that, too: he promised that the company will "go big" with its E3 presentation and raft of announcements. He also said that Google's launch endorsed Microsoft's decision to launch its streaming service and said that Microsoft offered all the key elements Google identified—"Content, Community, and Cloud"—but that ultimately, "it's all about execution."

Enlarge / This controller attachment was shown in Microsoft's Xcloud promo video, and Bluetooth wireless controller support is also planned. (credit: Microsoft)

Microsoft announced its Xcloud game-streaming service last August, with the ambition of streaming console-quality games to gamers wherever they are—on their tablets, smartphones, PCs or even consoles. Yesterday, Google joined the streaming gaming fray with its announcement of Google Stadia, one-upping Redmond by offering the assembled press limited hands-on access to Stadia games.

Google promises that Stadia will be "coming 2019," potentially stealing a march on Xcloud, which is due only to enter public trials this year. But in an internal email sent to rally the troops, Phil Spencer, Microsoft's gaming chief, seemed unsurprised and apparently unconcerned.

Spencer wrote that Google "went big" with its Stadia announcement, but Microsoft will have its chance to do that, too: he promised that the company will "go big" with its E3 presentation and raft of announcements. He also said that Google's launch endorsed Microsoft's decision to launch its streaming service and said that Microsoft offered all the key elements Google identified—"Content, Community, and Cloud"—but that ultimately, "it's all about execution."

Enlarge (credit: Epic)

SAN FRANCISCO—The Epic Games Store's much-ballyhooed 88-percent revenue share has been great news for developers who are no longer forced to accept Steam's de facto 70-percent standard. But this new behind-the-scenes monetary split hasn't resulted in savings for gamers, who thus far have seen the same price tags for games on Epic's storefront as on Steam (when titles are available on both).

Speaking to Ars Technica, though, Epic co-founder and CEO Tim Sweeney says that players should look forward to paying less on the Epic Games Store in the future. While Epic leaves pricing decisions completely in developers' hands, Sweeney said, "after you go through several cycles of game developers making decisions, you're going to see lower prices as developers pass on the savings to customers, realizing they can sell more copies if they have a better price.

"This sort of economic competition is really healthy for the whole industry and will lead the industry to a better place for all developers and for gamers as well," he continued. "It's a supply-side thing, this revenue sharing, it's some sort of business arrangement between developers and a store that [a] gamer generally doesn't see... [but] as developers reinvest more of that 18 percent of additional revenue into building better games, that's key to the long-term health of the game industry that we all have to look out for."

Enlarge (credit: Epic)

SAN FRANCISCO—The Epic Games Store's much-ballyhooed 88-percent revenue share has been great news for developers who are no longer forced to accept Steam's de facto 70-percent standard. But this new behind-the-scenes monetary split hasn't resulted in savings for gamers, who thus far have seen the same price tags for games on Epic's storefront as on Steam (when titles are available on both).

Speaking to Ars Technica, though, Epic co-founder and CEO Tim Sweeney says that players should look forward to paying less on the Epic Games Store in the future. While Epic leaves pricing decisions completely in developers' hands, Sweeney said, "after you go through several cycles of game developers making decisions, you're going to see lower prices as developers pass on the savings to customers, realizing they can sell more copies if they have a better price.

"This sort of economic competition is really healthy for the whole industry and will lead the industry to a better place for all developers and for gamers as well," he continued. "It's a supply-side thing, this revenue sharing, it's some sort of business arrangement between developers and a store that [a] gamer generally doesn't see... [but] as developers reinvest more of that 18 percent of additional revenue into building better games, that's key to the long-term health of the game industry that we all have to look out for."

Enlarge / PC players will get to experience this moment of pathos for the first time exclusively through the Epic Games Store.

SAN FRANCISCO—At a Game Developers Conference presentation today, Epic announced a number of new titles that would be coming exclusively to its Epic Games Store platform in the coming months.

Chief among the acquisitions for Epic's store are a selection of games from Quantic Dream. Former PlayStation exclusives Heavy Rain, Beyond: Two Souls, and Detroit: Become Human will be coming to the PC for the first time only via the Epic Games Store, Epic said. Quantic Dream announced back in January that it would start considering platforms beyond the PlayStation console family after an investment from Chinese gaming giant Netease.

Epic also announced that it is extending its partnership with Ubisoft following The Division 2's recent exclusive release on Epic's platform. "Several major PC releases" from Ubisoft will come to the Epic Games Store, according to the announcement, but details on what those titles are will have to wait. Ubisoft will also be adding some additional back catalog titles to the Epic Games Store's free games program, which offers a new free title every two weeks.