Anggita Prihadmojo

Muraqqi/Maggol. PC Gamer and Zombie fans both in silver screen or in interactive space.

[Xiang Wei @xgwei]

Would you believe an AI agent can test a real VR action game in real time, the way a person plays it? Meta XR Operator makes it possible. As far as I know, this is the first time.

I am not talking about tapping a menu or replaying a recorded click path, but genuinely moving, shooting, and using the same game mechanics a human player does.

In NeonReach VR, which is a real (and open source) action game, rings spawn 12m out and come at you somewhere between 1.5 and 5.5 m/s, getting faster over a 90 second ramp. There are three kinds: straight, weaving side to side, and spinning. Every shot is a full slingshot cycle, so you press, pull back, aim, then release. Obstacles arrive at head height and cost you a life if you don't get out of the way. You have ten lives.

Here is why the game is hard for an AI agent. Even though Meta XR Operator gives the agent everything it needs to observe the app and act inside it, the agent still cannot play. One agent turn takes 10 to 15 seconds. One throw is four steps that have to happen in order, because the press has to latch before the pull, and they cannot be batched into a single call. So a throw costs about 45 seconds. A fast ring only exists for 2.3 seconds.

One action takes 20x longer than the target is alive. Prompt tuning does not close a gap that size.

What works is a three stage path: EXPLORATION, then SKILL, then SCRIPT.

1/ EXPLORATION. The agent drives the live app and works the game out on its own. It verified the coordinate mapping by setting a pose and reading it back, then derived the launch model. The more useful output was the traps it found. For example, the player's own body collider silently deflects a ball released inside it, with no error and no log line. That produced two confident wrong conclusions before anyone caught them.

2/ SKILL. All of that gets written down as a reusable SKILL.md plus an aim solver. There is a section that separates what was actually verified from what was assumed, so a wrong conclusion cannot quietly turn into doctrine. This stage also produced the trick that mattered. Set timeScale to 0 and a throw becomes atomic in game time, so however long the agent spends thinking never shows up in the shot.

3/ SCRIPT. The agent then compiles everything into a player script, a loop that observes, decides, and throws, calling the MCP servers directly from Python with no model in the hot path. Round trips drop from 10 to 15 seconds down to something between 1 and 16 milliseconds. The loop runs at 23 Hz, about 0.75 seconds per throw, roughly 60x faster than the agent doing it turn by turn.

The result is that it plays like a person, which you can see from the attached video. It tracks the rings, works out where each one is going, throws with whichever hand is free, moves out of the way of the obstacles, and does not wait around to see whether the last throw landed. Shipping settings, no difficulty edits, no health locks, no slow motion. It plays until it actually loses.

The takeaway generalizes beyond games: an agent does not have to be the player. Even following the same rules as a player, it has too much latency between moves. Having the agent write the thing that acts bypasses that constraint entirely.

Try it yourself: https://t.co/dTxG82mu6R, or explore the agent-created skill and scripts: https://t.co/yo3W86HtUA

Based on NeonReach VR by @Dilmerv, with no code changes. I only upgraded its Meta XR Core SDK to v205, which ships Meta XR Operator.

Our blog post, Introducing Meta XR Operator: Close the Build-Test-Verify Loop for VR: https://t.co/LeFx0CEbp6

Disclosure: I work at Meta. And this represents my own opinion.

#XR #VR #AI #MetaQuest #Unity #GameDev

[Massimo @Rainmaker1973]

Artist David Spriggs is known for his ephemeral installations that layer transparent images to create the illusion of a three-dimensional landscape.

[S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2 News @Stalker2News]

S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2: Cost of Hope REVIEW

———
For the people who might not be engaged with this page, I am hardcore fan of the series: and I've been religiously following S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2's growth ever since its announcement, and at the same time doing my best to provide a good source of everything new about the series.

For the game's post-launch support, I've been a tester for around 1.5 years now: so I've "lived" trough all of the updates, the changes, its ups, downs and so on.

To put it shortly here before getting into the details: Cost of Hope is an amazing expansion, and 2.0 is a monumental improvement that, not only puts the game into a great spot to just play, but also lays the foundation for even greater things to come.

*Also I would like to apologise, I am not used to writing reviews and stuff like this: so it's not going to be that well structured, written, or whatever: it's more like just my thoughts spewed out ;d

———
Cost of Hope

Simply put: an excellent addition to S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2's overall story.

To mention some specifics first, I have done everything the new DLC offers: both endings, explored all the new areas fully, found all of the new weapons and so on. It took me 70 hours in total, so there is a lot of meat on the bone here.

——
Story

The story follows a conflict between Duty and Freedom - which emerges after some trouble occurs to one of the parties in the Iron Forest.

Troughout the story, Skif will mostly work with Zulu and Mavka - helping both to try and reach an end of the war: but in the end, decisions will have to be made, and the player will not beat around the bush - there will be someone to call a friend, and someone an enemy.

That is all that I will say: I do not wish to spoil much, just the general set-up and structure. But the story itself? It's great! In my opinion, honestly, better than the main game even.

It feels much more connected, it makes you feel attached to these characters and doesn't feel disjointed at all - unlike how the Main Story can feel at times.

Both paths of the story are good, albeit I would have to say the Duty part is better - as Mavka is a character with some questionable motives at times.

One thing I wish there was more, on the other hand, are notes, journal entries, archives and so on: it feels like there's too little of it which is a shame for lore-seekers like me. But there is still a sizeable amount of new information in this format in the DLC.

There are two endings, and both are very good: even though I totally definetely can't ever with one of them... :)

——
Iron Forest

On a visual and sound basis - peak. Gameplay-wise? Great, but I just wish it had a tiny bit more dangerous mutants.

It's for sure one of the most compact regions in the game - every 50 meters there's a new PoI to explore - and honestly that's a really good breath of fresh air from some of the base game regions.

There's many anomaly fields, stashes behind safe-code puzzles, interesting buildings with good loot. There's even some new very cool anomalies, like the Wires - which can yoink your gun from your hands if not careful.

The coolest addition must be Faraday, an anomaly that can transmit radio messages, and there's around 300 unique ones, which I found simply amazing for the lore-thirsty stalkers like me.

——
CNPP

Without a doubt, the best region in the whole game in my opinion.

The visuals, the atmosphere, the music... everything is top notch in that regard - but that's not even mentioning its contents.

It has tons of buildings to explore with interesting stuff to find, a couple of really great side quests, and an Arch-Anomaly that I simply find amazing (both gameplay-wise and visually).

I don't really want to talk about it much, because I am trying to avoid spoilers, but I will say two things:

- CLEAR SKY-type FACTION WAR
- Your progress in the region can unlock A-Life in this region which isn't there initially because of lore-reasons

These two things automatically make this region the best in my opinion. It just never happened in the game for the player to have such an impact on changing the dynamics of a region.

Actually, I will say one more thing. After unlocking full A-Life, seeing the buddies you went with to the CNPP become roaming, real-living NPCs going out to kill mutants, and so on, is the most amazing feeling I've ever had in this game.

——
SIRCAA, Lymansk, X-16 and other base game locations

These new areas in the new map are just as good as the new ones.

SIRCAA (this time, its ruins) feels amazing to explore trough again, only that this time the vibe is completetly different. It's hard to talk about it without revealing much, but it's great - and it has one of the best set pieces in the whole game.

As for Lymansk... I will say nothing, because this was my favourite part of the whole experience overall. It's something I'd love for everyone to just experience on their own because the vibes... the story elements.. chef's kiss.

X-16 feels.. very different - almost completetly if I am being honest. It is a cool lab to re-explore, and it is a very good story beat overall. It is hard to get into details without spoiling, but it felt pretty lacking in the music department. And it also didn't have many interesting notes, so one of the weaker moments story-stuff aside (but don't get me wrong, it is still really good).

There's many other locations the player will visit, both in the main quest of the DLC, and new side quests that happen on the base game locations. I will not talk about them to keep it spoiler-free, but the experience there is overall pretty good too.

*I've given my thoughts on the new regions and areas separately, so excuse this poor structure - but it feels pretty easy to evidentiate the content's quality (overall, it's great)

——
Main Quest (Gameplay-wise)

There's 12 Main Quests (or 14 technically, but it depends on the choices you take).

The mission design overall feels very much improved even from the base game. There's tons of set-pieces, unique and memorable moments and overall... it just feels very nice to play.

They've tried some new things, sometimes it works really great, sometimes it is a bit weird due to the AI screwing itself (note: your experience may be much better, since our review build was pretty old and obviously, a work-in-progress).

There are some boss-like moments too, like in the game, and they're pretty good. Besides one of the last ones which feels pretty boring and easy, I did not like that one much at all.

There's a particular mission happening at the Perimeter Dam (already teased in the Marketing Material), which I remember pretty fondly, because it was one of the most epic fights I've ever had with a swarm of NPCs.

Side Content

Great add-ons, but they feel more of the same. They are not really advanced like CoP's ones (besides one of them in CNPP).

It's just good additional narrative content, which will definetely be appreciated since the game is lacking in this department, especially in the base game areas.

There is a side quest however which I now consider my favourite, because it is very unique and has very cool gameplay implications after its completion, but not much to be said without revealing all.

——
AMOK (Kadaver) & Other mutants

The Kadaver is absolutetly the best enemy in the whole game - just... extremely fun to fight always. I am sure a lot of you will be both terrified and impressed by it.

There's also moldy blind dogs now, emitting radiation - a nice variation to the already-existing ones.

And another mutant that.. I will not spoil.

But in total? three new mutants (mostly two), which is pretty good

——
Conclusion

I do not like giving scores, but 9/10. 🌻

It's an excellent addition: and honestly, there is nothing much bad to rate about it that wouldn't be a complaint about the main-game overall (which I now rate at 8.0-8.5)

It is a MUST-PLAY for anyone already-playing the game in my opinion, especially if you're already a fan of the game.

——
Back to the Zone — 2.0 Update

I wanted to give out some small thoughts about the main-game update too, but nothing in detail. I've been playing on the 2.0 version for some time now (170 hours-ish), so I already have a great idea of it.

It is monumental.

Visually? It feels like the game has just transcended a whole generation ahead. 1.9 to 2.0 feels like a PS4 to PS5 difference. The new foliage and lighting is kino, it's really really great. It makes the whole world looks so much better, lived in, realistic and it just has more of that... S.T.A.L.K.E.R. feel they've wanted to achieve since the beginning, but couldn't.

It's the original artistic vision come to life.

The performance improvement is also signifcant. I am on 1080p, which is small-res sure, but still hitting 200fps at times is something I never thought I would in this game ;D

The new weapons are peak, of course... especially my BELOVED GP3A. And the new binoculars are really good, they're really well done and feel good to use. The Statistics page in the PDA is also pretty fun, just a small add-on adding up to the adding list of features.

A lot of people will be disappointed by the online A-Life range remaining 100 meters, but don't fret.. there's a tons of improvements to the whole system itself, stuff that will only truly be noticed when playing the game.

I do hope (and I am confident they will do this) that the 100 meters online range is increased eventually, and I'm thinking they were planning on doing that, but couldn't get it ready for Summer.

But the future is bright, and many more updates are still planned to come - the beginning was a long time ago, but this truly feels like the "actual beginning".

——
Thank you for reading, and I apologise for my messy structure, writing, weird grammer - I am not used to this, but I hope this review gave anyone reading a better impression of what is coming tomorrow on August 20 :)

The "Golden Era" of S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2 is here...

Good Hunting, stalkers! ❤️🌻

[ZONA TÁCTICA @_ZonaTactica_]

🇺🇸📷El nuevo HAMMR busca proporcionar a las escuadras estadounidenses una nueva capacidad de fuego con un sistema semiautomático de 40 mm alimentado mediante cargador.

El arma está diseñada con capacidad para enfrentarse a objetivos protegidos tras coberturas Y drones.

[txtdrimedia @txtdrimedia]

Keisha, maba Unpad dikabarkan dalam kondisi psikologis yg kurang baik & kehilangan semangat berkuliah setelah kejadian wawancaranya dgn KDM

beberapa omongan KDM yg kurang mengenakan didengar:

𖥔 "knp kamu dilahirkan dari bapak yg tidak bertanggung jawab, pilih yg bertanggung jawab dong"

𖥔 "bapak ibumu udah cerai? ywd ikut sama kepala bapenda jabar aja"

𖥔 "kamu masuk ke unpad bukan lewat jalur belakang?"

𖥔 "jurusan administrasi pemerintahan? udah kebanyakan. yg sekarang aja P3K belum diangkat jadi ASN semua, ini nambah lagi nih jurusan"

𖥔 "kenapa kamu ga masuk kedokteran aja"

𖥔 "kamu makan sehari cuman sekali? sama dong kayak saya, kategori miskin ini"

[Konrad Reczko @reczko_konrad]

Depth-aware light injection in TypeGPU

I got a 448x448 monocular depth model down to ~8 ms on my M4 Pro across ~250 dispatches, which is fast enough to use in realtime :D
Since the inference is written directly in TypeGPU, I can just feed the depth buffer straight into the lighting pass. It never has to leave the GPU or go through any extra synchronization/interop step

Inference, lighting and draw all go through the same command encoder.

[Amanda Watson @fewerwrong]

CitraVR (beta) is updated to v0.6.0. Available now on Github and Sidequest.

This is a massive update: most importantly, it pulls in features and performance improvements from Azahar.

First-time performance of apps and compatibility with some titles are significantly improved.

NOTE this change makes Vulkan the default graphics API instead of OpenGL. While this may improve performance in some cases, some games may have graphics artifacts that are fixed by switching to OpenGL.

Hope people find this useful. I was hoping to add a per-game config that could make it easier to find the correct settings for your game, but the airport lost my luggage with my Quest 3 before I could test a change.

[esther @dyolys]

Thought these lights were cool until his snoring turned our bedroom into a club. 🔊

[A K @ashishK_tweets]

DOCTOR DOOM JUST ENDED THE KANG DYNASTY IN SECONDS 💀🔥

The opening moment of AVENGERS: DOOMSDAY reportedly shows Doctor Doom facing multiple Kang variants — and what happens next could instantly establish just how terrifying Victor Von Doom really is.

Instead of another long multiversal battle, Doom appears to completely overwhelm the Kangs, wiping out the variants that were once considered one of the greatest threats to the MCU. 💀🔥

If this scene is accurate, Marvel is making one thing very clear from the beginning: Kang may have been the Multiverse’s biggest threat, but Doom is something far worse.

The scene would be a perfect way to introduce Doom as the central villain of the Multiverse Saga and raise the stakes for every hero who eventually has to stand against him.

And if Doom can eliminate multiple Kang variants this easily… what chance does anyone have when the Avengers finally face him?

#AvengersDoomsday #DoctorDoom

[XR in SPACE @xrinspace]

🤯 Battlefield 1942 VR Mod 1.0

#PCVR #FlatToVR #VR

Jay Biggs presents Battlefield 1942 VR !

The BFVR mod is a technical feat that blends the almost forgotten gaming experience of 2002 with modern VR technology.

As the mod is fully compatible with the standard PC game, VR players can compete directly alongside or against traditional PC players (flat-screen gamers) on the same servers and, of course, against the AI bots as well.

The VR mod Version 1.0.1 has been programmed to work not only with the main game, but is also highly compatible with the various community packs and total conversion mods for Battlefield 1942. It has already been successfully tested with several different versions of the game sourced from internet archives and fan projects.

The project is being enthusiastically celebrated on VR forums such as Reddit. Many players describe it as a “wild” experience and a childhood dream – suddenly being able to step onto iconic battlefields such as Wake Island or El Alamein after more than 20 years, as if they were right in the thick of it themselves. At the same time, many users are already expressing the hope that the developer or other modders will adapt the concept for sequels such as Battlefield 2, BF 2142, BF Vietnam or BF Bad Company.

Would you like to know more ?
https://t.co/lGZ1crbQmH
.

[Sci-Fi Archives @SciFiArchives]

"Planetary Defenses" by Edouard Groult

[Dudes Posting Their W’s @DudespostingWs]

This dude captures what it looks like underwater while it’s raining, and the view from below is insane

[Space and Technology @spaceandtech_]

Researchers at the University of Tokyo developed Lunavity, a drone backpack designed to help people jump higher.

Its rotors provide upward thrust, allowing users to jump two to three times higher than normal.

It also helps them float down slowly, creating a feeling of reduced gravity.

[Personality @hi_personality]

there to meet you

[zhil @zhil_arf]

B.J. Habibie adalah kebalikan total dari stereotype orang ITB. Makanya ia berhasil jadi presiden.

Triknya, Habibie yang profesor doktor sengaja memposisikan diri sebagai orang bodoh tidak berpengetahuan di bidang yang Soeharto kuasai, yaitu politik dan ilmu Jawa.

Soeharto sangat senang karena ternyata, ada bidang di mana ia jauh lebih pintar dari Habibie. Habibie memastikan bahwa hati Soeharto merasakan hal ini.

Habibie secara terencana mengafirmasi ego Soeharto bahwa benar, Soeharto memang layak dan pantas untuk berkuasa sebagai presiden dan sebagai bosnya.

Soeharto yang lulusan sekolah tak jelas di antah berantah dan ahli survivor politik pun menjadi guru dan mengambil Habibie sebagai murid dan protege dan mengajarinya ilmu-ilmu Jawa yang ia kuasai, sementara Prof. Dr. Habibie berperan menjadi murid taat yang mendengarkan dengan antusias.

Ini terus berlangsung selama bertahun-tahun. Orang dan jenderal jadi takut dengan Habibie yang rajin keluar masuk kantor Soeharto. Banyak orang bahkan menduga bahwa Soeharto sedang mempersiapkan Habibie, muridnya, sebagai penerusnya. (Pada akhirnya ternyata Soeharto berencana menunjuk anaknya sendiri, Tutut Soeharto, sebagai penerus).

Habibie bahkan memberi julukan pada Soeharto: SGS, atau "Super Genius Soeharto" untuk memuji ilmu-ilmu dan kebijaksanaan Soeharto yang bersifat non-teknis.

Kerendahan hati yang ditunjukkan Habibie di depan Soeharto ini sangat lucu karena Lee Kuan Yew dalam memoirnya menilai Habibie sebagai orang yang sangat sombong, sok tahu, belagu, tengil di posisi jabatan, bahkan delusional terhadap kepintarannya sendiri, sebagaimana stereotype anak ITB pada umumnya.

Tetapi nyatanya, berbeda dari kritik LKY itu, Habibie ternyata self-aware dengan sifat buruknya itu, dan dapat memanajemennya dengan dewasa dan terkontrol ke kursi kepresidenan. Inilah contoh orang yang pintar jenius betulan.

Orang ITB kebanyakan sok pintar padahal bodoh. Habibie, yang pintar betulan, berlaku sok bodoh, kemudian jadi presiden.

Di kursi kepresidenan, Habibie lalu membuktikan kelayakan dan kompetensi teknokratis dirinya sendiri dengan jelas, yaitu berhasil mengendalikan krisis moneter.

Genjutsu Habibie bahkan terus berlanjut hingga hari ini. Imej publik pribadinya berhasil Habibie bentuk dengan sempurna pasca lengser sehingga berubah secara benar-benar total dari imej publiknya tahun 1999 dahulu.

Tetapi daripada imej tahun 1999, barangkali yang paling sukses Habibie genjutsukan di dalam kabut tebal adalah ambisinya yang sangat, sangat raksasa dan gila menyala, baik dalam hal menciptakan industri pesawat Indonesia maupun dalam mengincar karir yang tertinggi.

Dalam hal ini barangkali Habibie, yang orang Gorontalo, benar-benar berhasil belajar dan mempraktikkan ilmu Jawa yang diajarkan Soeharto. Barangkali hubungan guru dan murid itu ternyata memang nyata.

Live player.

[RIFTWALKER | Wishlist on Steam @Riftwalkergame]

Got laid off.
Decided to build my dream game..

Solo dev.
$0 budget.

22,000+ wishlists

If you like The Mandalorian, Dune, and Max Payne… this is for you.

(Want more action checkout media)

[Movie Moments Analyst @Real_Moviescene]

Edgar Wright has mastered the “Texas Switch”, seamlessly swapping actors with stunt doubles mid shot without an obvious cut, using the trick for action, visual comedy, and impossible gags while keeping the camera moving.