There aren't any games quite like the Anno series, and based on some hands-on time at a recent press junket, I can say that the latest entry has the potential to be an appealing on-ramp for history buffs and strategy game fans who haven't explored the franchise before—provided players approach it with a lot of patience.

The previous entry in the series, 2019's Anno 1800 , was seen as something of a return to form by longtime franchise fans, who weren't as thrilled with the futuristic entries that preceded it. It reportedly reached 5 million players, which is quite a lot for a PC-focused strategy title, so 1800 was a popularization moment for the franchise, too.

Anno 117: Pax Romana , due later this year, aims to build on that momentum and turn the franchise into a crossover hit. While the Anno games have long been popular with a certain crowd (strategy gamers in Europe, and specifically Germany, where the games are developed), its addictive gameplay and top-tier presentation have the potential to appeal with even more people, provided publisher Ubisoft makes the right choices.

Read full article

Comments

There aren't any games quite like the Anno series, and based on some hands-on time at a recent press junket, I can say that the latest entry has the potential to be an appealing on-ramp for history buffs and strategy game fans who haven't explored the franchise before—provided players approach it with a lot of patience.

The previous entry in the series, 2019's Anno 1800 , was seen as something of a return to form by longtime franchise fans, who weren't as thrilled with the futuristic entries that preceded it. It reportedly reached 5 million players, which is quite a lot for a PC-focused strategy title, so 1800 was a popularization moment for the franchise, too.

Anno 117: Pax Romana , due later this year, aims to build on that momentum and turn the franchise into a crossover hit. While the Anno games have long been popular with a certain crowd (strategy gamers in Europe, and specifically Germany, where the games are developed), its addictive gameplay and top-tier presentation have the potential to appeal with even more people, provided publisher Ubisoft makes the right choices.

Read full article

Comments

There aren't any games quite like the Anno series, and based on some hands-on time at a recent press junket, I can say that the latest entry has the potential to be an appealing on-ramp for history buffs and strategy game fans who haven't explored the franchise before—provided players approach it with a lot of patience.

The previous entry in the series, 2019's Anno 1800 , was seen as something of a return to form by longtime franchise fans, who weren't as thrilled with the futuristic entries that preceded it. It reportedly reached 5 million players, which is quite a lot for a PC-focused strategy title, so 1800 was a popularization moment for the franchise, too.

Anno 117: Pax Romana , due later this year, aims to build on that momentum and turn the franchise into a crossover hit. While the Anno games have long been popular with a certain crowd (strategy gamers in Europe, and specifically Germany, where the games are developed), its addictive gameplay and top-tier presentation have the potential to appeal with even more people, provided publisher Ubisoft makes the right choices.

Read full article

Comments

New Orleans police have reportedly spent years scanning live feeds of city streets and secretly using facial recognition to identify suspects in real time—in seeming defiance of a city ordinance designed to prevent false arrests and protect citizens' civil rights.

A Washington Post investigation uncovered the dodgy practice, which relied on a private network of more than 200 cameras to automatically ping cops' phones when a possible match for a suspect was detected. Court records and public data suggest that these cameras "played a role in dozens of arrests," the Post found, but most uses were never disclosed in police reports.

That seems like a problem, the Post reported, since a 2022 city council ordinance required much more oversight for the tech. Rather than instantly detaining supposed suspects the second they pop up on live feeds, cops were only supposed to use the tech to find "specific suspects in their investigations of violent crimes," the Post reported. And in those limited cases, the cops were supposed to send images to a "fusion center," where at least two examiners "trained in identifying faces" using AI software had to agree on alleged matches before cops approached suspects.

Read full article

Comments

New Orleans police have reportedly spent years scanning live feeds of city streets and secretly using facial recognition to identify suspects in real time—in seeming defiance of a city ordinance designed to prevent false arrests and protect citizens' civil rights.

A Washington Post investigation uncovered the dodgy practice, which relied on a private network of more than 200 cameras to automatically ping cops' phones when a possible match for a suspect was detected. Court records and public data suggest that these cameras "played a role in dozens of arrests," the Post found, but most uses were never disclosed in police reports.

That seems like a problem, the Post reported, since a 2022 city council ordinance required much more oversight for the tech. Rather than instantly detaining supposed suspects the second they pop up on live feeds, cops were only supposed to use the tech to find "specific suspects in their investigations of violent crimes," the Post reported. And in those limited cases, the cops were supposed to send images to a "fusion center," where at least two examiners "trained in identifying faces" using AI software had to agree on alleged matches before cops approached suspects.

Read full article

Comments

New Orleans police have reportedly spent years scanning live feeds of city streets and secretly using facial recognition to identify suspects in real time—in seeming defiance of a city ordinance designed to prevent false arrests and protect citizens' civil rights.

A Washington Post investigation uncovered the dodgy practice, which relied on a private network of more than 200 cameras to automatically ping cops' phones when a possible match for a suspect was detected. Court records and public data suggest that these cameras "played a role in dozens of arrests," the Post found, but most uses were never disclosed in police reports.

That seems like a problem, the Post reported, since a 2022 city council ordinance required much more oversight for the tech. Rather than instantly detaining supposed suspects the second they pop up on live feeds, cops were only supposed to use the tech to find "specific suspects in their investigations of violent crimes," the Post reported. And in those limited cases, the cops were supposed to send images to a "fusion center," where at least two examiners "trained in identifying faces" using AI software had to agree on alleged matches before cops approached suspects.

Read full article

Comments

After last month's bombshell legal ruling forcing Apple to allow the use of external payment processors for in-app purchases on iOS, Epic CEO and founder Tim Sweeney said Epic Games was "going to do everything we can to bring Fortnite back to the iOS App Store." That "everything" now includes a legal motion in the District Court of California seeking to force Apple to "accept any compliant version of Fortnite onto the US storefront of the App Store."

Apple removed Fortnite from the App Store and terminated Epic's US App Store account in August 2020 after Epic snuck its famous Epic Direct Payments "hotfix" into the game (thereby setting off a yearslong legal battle ). On May 9, though, Epic used an iOS account for its Swedish subsidiary—which was recently used to take advantage of Europe's DMA policies —to submit a new version of Fortnite to the US App Store.

Apple formally rejected that submission on May 15, saying in a letter shared by Epic that it believes the recent court rulings "do not diminish Apple’s bases and legal right to have terminated Epic Games’ [iOS developer account]." Even under that new ruling, Apple notes, the 2020 "hotfix" allowing Epic Direct Payments inside the app rather than via an external storefront would still violate Apple's current lawful restrictions on such practices.

Read full article

Comments

After last month's bombshell legal ruling forcing Apple to allow the use of external payment processors for in-app purchases on iOS, Epic CEO and founder Tim Sweeney said Epic Games was "going to do everything we can to bring Fortnite back to the iOS App Store." That "everything" now includes a legal motion in the District Court of California seeking to force Apple to "accept any compliant version of Fortnite onto the US storefront of the App Store."

Apple removed Fortnite from the App Store and terminated Epic's US App Store account in August 2020 after Epic snuck its famous Epic Direct Payments "hotfix" into the game (thereby setting off a yearslong legal battle ). On May 9, though, Epic used an iOS account for its Swedish subsidiary—which was recently used to take advantage of Europe's DMA policies —to submit a new version of Fortnite to the US App Store.

Apple formally rejected that submission on May 15, saying in a letter shared by Epic that it believes the recent court rulings "do not diminish Apple’s bases and legal right to have terminated Epic Games’ [iOS developer account]." Even under that new ruling, Apple notes, the 2020 "hotfix" allowing Epic Direct Payments inside the app rather than via an external storefront would still violate Apple's current lawful restrictions on such practices.

Read full article

Comments

After last month's bombshell legal ruling forcing Apple to allow the use of external payment processors for in-app purchases on iOS, Epic CEO and founder Tim Sweeney said Epic Games was "going to do everything we can to bring Fortnite back to the iOS App Store." That "everything" now includes a legal motion in the District Court of California seeking to force Apple to "accept any compliant version of Fortnite onto the US storefront of the App Store."

Apple removed Fortnite from the App Store and terminated Epic's US App Store account in August 2020 after Epic snuck its famous Epic Direct Payments "hotfix" into the game (thereby setting off a yearslong legal battle ). On May 9, though, Epic used an iOS account for its Swedish subsidiary—which was recently used to take advantage of Europe's DMA policies —to submit a new version of Fortnite to the US App Store.

Apple formally rejected that submission on May 15, saying in a letter shared by Epic that it believes the recent court rulings "do not diminish Apple’s bases and legal right to have terminated Epic Games’ [iOS developer account]." Even under that new ruling, Apple notes, the 2020 "hotfix" allowing Epic Direct Payments inside the app rather than via an external storefront would still violate Apple's current lawful restrictions on such practices.

Read full article

Comments