Month: February 2024

Can you tell which of these seemingly identical bits of Steam iconography were generated using AI (trick question, it's none of them). (credit: Aurich Lawson)

Back in the days when E3 was still a thing, a relative handful of approved journalists and industry members had to pack themselves into the Los Angeles Convention Center once a year to awkwardly stand in front of demo stations to play some of the hottest upcoming games. Today, any PC gamer can easily sample similar early preview demos from the comfort of their own homes during Steam's periodic Next Fest events.

While we weren't able to try all of the literally hundreds of demos on offer during the most recent Steam Next Fest, we did have a great time trying out a few dozen offerings that caught our interest. Here's a selection of the demos that made the biggest impression on us over the last few days.

Backpack Battles

Developer: PlayWithFurcifer
Planned release date: March 8, 2024
Steam store page

Enlarge / It wasn't the best weather for riding, but we braved the elements anyway to try out this adorable-looking machine. (credit: Daniel Kraus for BMW)

While I wouldn't say the BMW CE 02 has universal appeal, there is something incredibly compelling about the thing. It doesn't matter if you've ever thrown a leg over a motorcycle or scooter or whether a two-wheeled means of conveyance makes any sense for your mobility needs.

Take one look, and you'll probably want one.

Unfortunately, reading the particulars of the bike reduces its appeal dramatically. With a top speed of just 59 mph (95 km/h), a range of only 56 miles (90 km), and a recoil-generating base price of $7,599, the CE 02 is a tricky proposition.

Enlarge / Ridges and basins in the Eridania Basin on Mars. (credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/University of Arizona)

Early in Earth's history, the heat left over from the collision that formed the Moon left its surface an ocean of magma. As it cooled, its crust was frequently shattered by massive impacts that dwarfed the one that did in the dinosaurs. Somewhere in between that and the onset of plate tectonics, it's thought that a distinct process caused parts of the crust to sink, while volcanism brought material to the surface that would later form the continental crust.

While we can model this period, we can't really search for evidence to back our models, since any of this early crust has been eroded or transformed by the plate tectonics that eventually ensued. However, a team of researchers is suggesting that there might be a way to see what this process looked like, and it doesn't involve a time machine. Instead, it involves studying the surface of Mars.

Lots of volcanoes

On Mars, plate tectonics never got going. So, while some areas of the planet have been transformed in a way that keeps us from studying the earliest periods of Mars' history—looking at you, Olympus Mons—scientific consensus is that nearly half of the planet's surface is over 3.6 billion years old. This provides the opportunity to study processes that occurred in the first half-billion or so years after Mars formed.