Paramount+ is turning a year old, and the service is marking the occasion by offering some steep discounts to new subscribers. Sign up between now and March 7th with the code BIRTHDAY and you can try the ad-supported Essential plan at $1 per month for three months, or the ad-free Premium plan (with local CBS news) for $2 per month over the same period. Just remember that you'll jump to the normal $5 Essential or $10 Premium rates after the three months are over.
The timing is more than a little convenient. The Halo TV series reaches Paramount+ on March 24th, and Star Trek: Picard season two debuts March 3rd. There's a good chance you can watch at least some of these shows before you have to decide on a full-price subscription. Paramount+ is clearly hoping you'll stick around for future seasons, other shows and live sports, but the promo might be worthwhile even if you use it as an extended trial.
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In 2018, Celeste won a Game Award for the best independent release of that year. For nearly four years since, that award has been missing, but now it’s on its way back to its rightful owners at Extremely OK Games thanks to YouTuber Ryan B. In a recent video spotted by PC Gamer, he details the unusual saga.
PrestigeIsKey, as he’s better known online, has spent the last five years trying to buy a replica of a Game Award to add to his home collection. He recently found an eBay listing that was selling a “real” version of the winged statue. The seller claimed they had obtained the award from a “liquidation” source and had no other information to share about it. Ryan decided to take his chances and paid $375 plus shipping to buy the trophy. When it finally turned up at his home, he found out it was the genuine article.
Ryan contacted Extremely OK Games to find out if the statue had been lost or given away. The studio told him they never got their award after the show ended. Ryan went on to offer to mail them the trophy. In turn, Extremely OK Games said it would reimburse him for his trouble and send him signed copies of Celeste. It's one of those rare stories that has a happy ending.
Tango Gameworks and Bethesda think they have a way to draw you into Ghostwire: Tokyo's universe before you even start playing: give away the prequel story. The two have released a free visual novel for PS4 and PS5, Ghostwire: Tokyo - Prelude, that sets the stage for the supernatural action adventure. The novel follows detective KK as he investigates strange events half a year before the main game.
The title has a purposefully "relaxed atmosphere" compared to the game, Scenario Writer Takahiro Kaji said. This is more about showing another side of KK before you see him in the game. You are encouraged to play through more than once, though, as it promises to reveal more sides of KK's team and Tokyo.
The PC version of Prelude will be available on March 8th, or just over two weeks before Ghostwire: Tokyo itself launches on March 25th. Yes, this novel ultimately a bid to sell more copies of the game, but it might be appreciated if you want more backstory for games than a simple text prologue or video trailer.
Arturia has been on a bit of a roll over these last few years. The company has always made top notch MIDI controllers and soft synths. But in 2020 it announced the KeyStep Pro and PolyBrute — delivering the MIDI controller than many had been clamoring for and an analog polysynth that hasbowledpeopleover. (Maybe one day I'll be lucky enough to get my hands on one.) Then in 2021 it gave the MicroFreak and Pigments, two hugefree updates, upgraded its FX Collection with seven new plugins, and launched the SQ80 V virtual synth, which I fell instantly in love with. Now the company is launching Efx Fragments, a granular processor that that brings an experimental edge to its current effects lineup.
Granular is pretty trendy right now, check out the Microcosm and Lemondrop for instance. But, it's also can be difficult to tame. Arturia has been putting a lot of effort into making its software more user friendly, though, and that's clearly on display with Fragments. Simply put, it might be the most immediate and musical granular processor I've ever used and gives the Microcosm a run for its money as a cheat code to creating beautiful ambient music. But, it is capable of much more than just epic drones.
The core of Efx Fragments is a granular engine with three distinctly different modes and a 16 second buffer. Depending on which mode you select, the way it chops up and plays back incoming audio varies. There's "classic mode" which is pretty much what everyone thinks of when they hear the phrase "granular synthesis". It's versatile and unique and very unapologetically digital. Texture mode softens the harsh edges a bit and leans into granular's more ethereal side. While Rhythmic mode goes in the opposite direction, strengthening the stuttering and glitchy side.
That's not to say you can't make drones in Rhythmic mode, or create driving rhythms in Texture mode, you'll just have to work a little harder at it.
In addition to the core granular processing, there's two effects slots for adding filtering, reverb, delay and other tone shapers; a bit crushing section with five different modes; a powerful panner and spatializer; two assignable macros; three function generators for modulation; and a modulation sequencer. Not to mention all the various tools available for manipulating the grains directly, like size, shape and pitch.
Arturai
If that sounds like an overwhelming array of options don't worry, there's a handy tutorial that helps you get familiar with the interface. And the UI is impressively clean and intuitively laid out. I wouldn't hesitate to recommend Fragments to someone that was new to granular effects. Two things help keep it approachable (beyond the excellent tutorial). For one, the more intimidating controls are stashed away in the advanced tab as is the case with many Arturia products. And, two, the 60 presets are excellent.
The presets cover everything from subtle background pads, to chaotic jitters, to dense other-worldly drones, and rhythmically complex pitch-shifted delays. There would be absolutely nothing wrong with simply sticking to the presets here. But they're also useful as a jumping off point if you're still getting familiar with the world of granular processing (or if you're like me and just lazy).
One super fun trick is to use Fragments as a time stretching effect. When paired with the bit crusher it can make melodies feel like they're being run through digital molasses or drums sound like they're coming from another dimension.
My only complaint interface-wise, is that all of the modulation options are hidden in the advanced tab. But at least there are randomization controls around each virtual knob that allows you to create some movement. So, while it's easy to get beautiful results with the aid of the presets, to do even moderate sound design you'll have to venture into the advanced tab. But you really should venture into the advanced tab. If for no other reason than to see the super fun visualizer that brings me back to the days of Windows 3.1.
Honestly though, the controls in the advanced mode aren't terribly hard to wrap your head around. You can basically draw whatever shape you want in the function generators then click assign and hover over the parameter you want to control until you see blue numbers pop up next to it. Then just click and drag up or down to set the modulation depth. This is basically how all of Arturia's instruments work. It's simple and effective way to make deep sound design tools feel more approachable.
One other thing to know, is that granular processing can be pretty resource intensive. I encountered stuttering and artifacts with the density turned up high even under ideal circumstances: a simple audio loop and no other plugins running in Ableton Live 11, with no other programs running on my 2019 MacBook Pro with a 2.8GHz i7 and 16GB RAM. So, be prepared to freeze or resample anything you're running through Fragments.
Efx Fragments is available now at an introductory price of $99, though if you already own other Arturia products there's probably a steep discount waiting for you. You can also get it bundled for free with FX Collection 2 which is currently on sale for $299, which isn't a bad deal at all.
Apple Arcade is adding a couple more mobile gaming classics to the lineup this month. On March 11th, the beautiful puzzle game Monument Valley 2 joins its predecessor on the service. This edition, which is called Monument Valley 2+, includes a chapter Ustwo Games added four years after the game debuted to promote forest conservation.
Meanwhile, on March 25th, a new version of Alto’s Adventurewill land on Apple Arcade. The stylish snowboarding endless runner, which debuted in 2015, has been remastered. Alto’s Adventure: The Spirit of the Mountain includes a new, exclusive character with their own attributes and special abilities. There are more than 15 new goals to complete as well. The sequel, Alto's Odyssey, also included bonus content when it arrived on Apple Arcade last year.
Before those two all-timers hit Apple Arcade, another notable App Store title is joining the service. Starting on March 4th, subscribers can play action platformer Shadow Blade without at no extra cost.
“This move makes good on the promise to fans that the merger of Funimation and Crunchyroll would bring together the previously separate services into a single subscription,” Crunchyroll said.
Starting April 1st (the beginning of the spring anime season), new series will debut exclusively on Crunchyroll. For the time being, Funimation will continue to add new episodes of existing shows, but the FAQ Crunchyroll posted suggests Sony will sunset the Funimation brand. To that point, the company is handing out free 60-day trials for Crunchyroll to current Funimation, Wakanim, and VRV subscribers, though it said it would work migrating things like watch histories to the platform.
The California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) has granted Waymo and Cruise permission to start operating commercial robotaxi services as long as there's a safety driver in the car. The companies can now pick up passengers and charge for rides. They can also offer shared rides.
Under the Drivered Deployment permits, GM-owned Cruise can operate robotaxi services on certain roads in San Francisco between 10PM and 6AM with a speed limit of 30 miles per hour. Alphabet's Waymo, on the other hand, can run a robotaxi service around the clock in certain areas of San Francisco and San Mateo counties. Its automated vehicles can travel at up to 65 miles per hour. However, neither company's service can operate in heavy rain or fog.
Waymo says hundreds of riders have used a free version of the service since it started a trial program in August, while tens of thousands are on the waitlist. It plans to start offering paid trips in the coming weeks. The company says it will take what it learned from running its first commercial self-driving car service in Arizona to bolster its San Francisco operations. Engadget has asked Cruise for details about its rollout of commercial services in California.
Both companies have beentesting driverless rides in San Francisco, but they can't offer commercial services without safety drivers in California just yet.
Stellantis isn't just leaning on a Chrysler concept to define its EV future. As part of a new "Dare Forward 2030" strategic plan, the automaker has unveiled the first all-electric Jeep SUV. The company didn't provide specifications or even a name, but the Jeep EV launches in early 2023 and appears to be relatively compact like the Compass. Autoblognotes Jeep might be using the STLA Small platform that supports up to an 82kWh battery and 300 miles of range.
More is coming in 2024. You'll find a more off-road oriented model and a "lifestyle family" SUV in 2024. Jeep won't be alone, either, as Ram will release an electric ProMaster van in 2023 and 1500 pickup truck (shown at middle) the following year.
Stellantis
The cautious rollout leaves Stellantis behind Ford, GM and other incumbent brands that already have multiple EVs either on the road or coming this year. That's not including electric-only badges like Tesla or Rivian. To date, the company has focused on either converted cars like the Fiat 500e or its 4xe plug-in hybrids.
The new machines and Stellantis' new plan might help with that, though. Under Dare Forward, the brand hopes to sell five million EVs in 2030. That's enough to completely replace its European passenger car sales, and half of all passenger cars and trucks in the US. There will be over 25 EVs aimed at American buyers. It's just a matter of whether or not the brand can make up for lost time, particularly with rivals like GM already planning to eliminate combustion passenger vehicle sales.
Facebook is taking new steps to curb the influence of Russian state media outlets on its platform. The company, which has already blocked access to RT and Sputnik within the European Union and Ukraine, now says it will demote all Russian state media across Facebook and Instagram around the world.
Calling the move “unprecedented,” Meta’s president of Global Affairs Nick Clegg, said the company was making Russian state media “harder to find” on Facebook and Instagram. “We are demoting content from Facebook Pages and Instagram accounts for Russian state controlled media outlets,” Clegg said during a call with reporters. “We have also begun to demote posts that contain links to Russian state controlled media websites on Facebook over the past few days.”
He added that Facebook will also add labels to all links to Russian state media websites that are shared on its platforms in order to “provide more information to people before they share them or to let them know that they lead to state controlled media websites.”
While Facebook has in the past down-ranked certain types of content, like vaccine misinformation, it’s unusual for the company to demote a wide swath of content entirely. RT in particular is prolific on social media, and has millions of followers on Facebook alone. On the call, Clegg called the move “unprecedented,” and noted that Meta has received requests from a number of governments to suppress Russian state media. So far, the company has only blocked the pages entirely in the European Union — following a ban from lawmakers — and inside of Ukraine.
Instagram's fierce competition with TikTok is bearing more fruit. The social network is matching its rival by introducing automatic captions (which TikTok has had since last April) to videos in your feed. They'll be enabled by default for creators, too. Auto-generated captions will initially be available in "select" languages, but Instagram hopes to expand them to more languages and countries.
The AI behind the captions won't be flawless. Instagram expects the quality to "continue to improve" as the AI learns, however.
The addition should improve accessibility for deaf and hard-of-hearing users, who'll have more choices for spoken-word video. Producers won't have to manually add captions themselves. However, Instagram also noted that this should help people who simply prefer to watch video with the sound off. You won't have to toggle the volume (and startle others in the process) just to understand what someone is saying.
In that regard, automatic captions might change your Instagram habits. You might be more likely to watch a video right away instead of scrolling past or saving it for later. That's good news for Instagram's viewing stats, of course, but it could also help aspiring social media stars build their audiences.
