Month: March 2021

Enlarge / The SpaceX Starlink satellite dish partway through a teardown. (credit: Ken Keither)

SpaceX says it is building a factory in Austin, Texas, to design systems that will help make satellite dishes, Wi-Fi routers, and other equipment for its Starlink satellite broadband network. The news comes from a job posting for an automation and controls engineer position flagged in a story Tuesday by local news channel KXAN.

"To keep up with global demand, SpaceX is breaking ground on a new, state of the art manufacturing facility in Austin, TX," the job posting said. "The Automation & Controls Engineer will play a key role as we strive to manufacture millions of consumer facing devices that we ship directly to customers (Starlink dishes, Wi-Fi routers, mounting hardware, etc)."

The factory apparently won't make the dishes and routers on site but will instead design systems that improve the manufacturing process. "Specifically, they will design and develop control systems and software for production line machinery—ultimately tackling the toughest mechanical, software, and electrical challenges that come with high-volume manufacturing, all while maintaining a focus on flexibility, reliability, maintainability, and ease of use," the job posting said.

Enlarge (credit: Devolver Digital / Four Quarters)

I cannot think of a single YouTube trailer that would do the addictive, compelling new video game Loop Hero an iota of justice. That's not a remark on its 360p resolution or 8-bit color depth; we've seen plenty of games work within such confines while looking beautiful and fluid. But this dark RPG doubles down on simplicity, thanks to itty-bitty sprites, limited animations, and a menu-swapping interface that combine to scream the word "boring."

The game includes some aesthetic exceptions, particularly a few higher-res illustrations, but the point stands. Loop Hero was made to work within the processing confines of an '80s PC, as opposed to immediately capturing your imagination at a single glance. The reason lies in the game's key design principle: in more respects than any other RPG we've seen, Loop Hero wrests direct control away from the player. If you thought the menu-driven combat of pioneering JRPGs was too "hands-on," you ain't seen nothin'.

In a figurative sense, this game reimagines Camelot as a hamster wheel, where knights like Sir Galahad have become tiny, pixellated cogs. Yet as boring as that might sound, I cannot stop playing this game.

After nearly writing off this Devolver Digital game as another uninspired, lo-fi indie game, I decided—admittedly, upon a colleague's prodding—to give Loop Hero a spin. Pretty quickly, I discovered a fascinating twist on the "idle" genre—thanks to how it gives players significant choices, secrets, upgrades, and even a compelling narrative. The results won't be everyone's cup of barely interactive tea, but if you like the idea of a "second monitor" game with tasteful dashes of tower defense and deckbuilding, you should seriously consider running Loop Hero in the background of your nerdy life.