Month: May 2022

In senior year at my strict religious boarding school, watching Passions was an afternoon ritual. Beyond the basic soap opera premise of rival families getting messy, the iconic series had everything for a restless teen: suspense, melodrama, shamelessly imaginative comedy, awful sex, and campy supernatural storylines (including witches and warlocks — it was, after all, set in New England). Our febrile minds projected cartoonish power fantasies and petty grievances onto its absurd archetypes — the rebel, the dark horse, the struggling parent. Passions became a daily mainline to a hotter, more fantastical world, and it was awesome.

I didn’t realize there was a Passions-shaped hole in my adult life until last week, when I played my first Vampire: The Masquerade game: Swansong. When the first Vampire tabletop RPG was released in 1991, it stood out in a genre where vampires were usually monsters to be killed. But it’s a post-Twilight world now (sorry, Anne Rice), and the idea of the undead secretly living among us is a common fictional conceit. Upon booting up Swansong, I had no idea what to expect. I spent my first few hours slowly poring over the in-game codex and staring blankly at my character sheets.

Nineteen hours later, it turns out that baby’s first Vampire game was a gleeful return to all of the good stuff I didn’t know I missed: courtly intrigue, indulgent posturing, and coldblooded betrayal, but this time, with fangs. There’s no combat, so everything boils down to conversational dominance and manipulation. It seems that the relative isolation and sobering reality of the pandemic have created an itch for the dramatic frivolity that fueled my high school afternoons.

Image: Big Bad Wolf/Nacon via Polygon

Swansong takes place in the World of Darkness RPG universe, where vampires (“Kindred”) juggle soap opera-scale power grabs, mind games, and existential crises. Most Kindred follow the Masquerade, a survival protocol maintained by the ruling Camarilla faction to stay hidden from mortals; humans are usually livestock or slaves, and in-game documents highlight the Camarilla’s pragmatic interests in environmentalism for the sake of their prey’s health. Atop this food chain is the city’s Prince, supported by a council known as the Primogen; at the bottom are “thin-bloods,” whose weak powers are the supposed result of their generational remove from the First Vampire, Caine.

Swansong opens with the Boston Camarilla in panic mode, and introduces three playable Kindred: Emem, Galeb, and Leysha. Someone has called a Code Red (the emergency lockdown procedure). Kindred have gone missing at an important party, nobody knows the details, and we’ve been summoned to help Boston’s Prince, Hazel Iversen, the personification of Gaslight, Gatekeep, Girlboss in a red jumpsuit. She gives each character missions (“scenes”) and clearly has a hidden agenda of her own.

Emem, Galeb, and Leysha share the same base mechanics: a Willpower bar that determines how they interact with others and a Hunger bar that denotes the need to feed (at max Hunger, their next interaction will most likely jeopardize the Masquerade). Kindred drink from live humans (“vessels”), which must be done discreetly in a limited number of safe zones. It’s also bad form to drink the vessels to death. I turned cool, sophisticated Emem into a habitual rat eater — a gross survival decision that increased her Suspicion meter and made her later interactions more challenging. (I never fully got the hang of Suspicion — it’s supposed to indicate how much you stick out through mistakes and gaffes, but on my playthrough with the most dire screw-ups, I had the lowest Suspicion yet.)

Emem, Galeb, and Leysha all have elaborate backstories and core personalities, and each belongs to a different clan (Toreador, Ventrue, and Malkavian, respectively). Through character builds, I’m allowed to determine how they approach problems and conversations. On my second playthrough, I opted for the custom build for full control over my Character and Discipline sheets. Character covers stat-like abilities (like Persuasion, Technology, and Deduction) that affect conversations, confrontations, and interactions with objects. Discipline covers clan-specific Kindred skill trees, like Auspex (augmenting senses and seeing memories) and Celerity (slowing time or Blinking from one place to another).

There’s a ton of lore to absorb, but it’s manageable if you’re used to navigating jargon-heavy genre fiction (hard sci-fi trained me well for this). Another option is to ignore the detailed backstories and play blind, but then you’d miss out on one of the game’s most formidable resources: a vividly detailed codex that updates as new story elements are revealed. In retrospect, I should have referred to it more, especially as a mid-conversation cheat sheet. I started to internalize foundational World of Darkness facts, like the stigma around the insane Malkavian clan, the Ventrue sense of superiority, and the role of British imperialists in New England Kindred politics.

My first Galeb was heavy on Intimidation and Psychology, a role-playing choice I made based on his voice — crisp enunciation and condescending disdain and everything you’d expect from a descendant of Ottoman royalty. He should have dominated most conversations, but at critical points it was almost impossible to squeeze information out of an NPC, even when I restarted, tweaked my stats, and used Willpower to “focus” and beef up my abilities. Seemingly weak characters turned out to have unhinged levels of focus and easily overcame his assertions. Galeb’s final showdown was a pathetic indictment of my unfamiliarity with the game systems, hinting at synergies between Character and Discipline that I have yet to master. I was wracked with guilt when I got him killed (which is absolutely possible in the final act of the game).

Image: Big Bad Wolf/Nacon via Polygon

After my first playthrough, I noticed that the game seems to lean heavily on Education and Deduction — multiple mid- and late-game scenes call for at least 2-3 points in each. I found Deduction especially helpful as a newbie, which slightly undercuts the sense that any character build is viable for beginners. Security and Technology skills (the ability to open safes and hack into computers) can be ignored in favor of scouring the environment for keys and clues. In that case, success depends on good old Education and Deduction, or how much information you can get through social engineering. I occasionally got annoyed with characters who lacked the right skills to meet certain checks, but therein lies the rub of narrative RPGs: There’s no such thing as a perfect playthrough — participation in Swansong’s systems necessitates that you also accept failure.

Swansong’s puzzles are mostly fun adventure-game staples — manipulating objects, identifying patterns, and simple decryption, to name a few — with some truly frustrating exceptions and a good dose of bugs. Things get especially tedious in a prison scene involving Emem. There are concentric ring puzzles that are initially compelling but quickly turn into a nightmare. Mechanical puzzles with moving parts really need a clear locking mechanism, especially when said moving parts are fiddly and don’t stay in place.

The game also bugged out on my attempts to access a hidden prison cell, even though I’d found multiple solutions to the final ring puzzle; the solution turned out to be one where the correct nodes didn’t even line up, and I only managed to solve it after (I assume) a patch to adjust their alignment. Emem’s Blink skill is also frustrating to use when there’s platforming involved; Blinking onto a pillar then wildly swiveling the camera around to find other possible destinations on a timer is not great. There’s also the heinous valve puzzle in Leysha’s Red Salon scene that had me screaming internally before I gave up.

Image: Big Bad Wolf/Nacon via Polygon

Trying to figure out many of the jankier puzzles meant spending a lot of time neurotically poking around each scene. But it gave me a special appreciation for the way Swansong imbues its environments with humor. All the book skins in the game are a joy — I’m a huge fan of the author John Game. In one of Galeb’s Long Island secret base scenes, I had to get an old religious book using an automated retrieval system — even though I was calling up books from centuries past, physics textbooks or English dictionaries frequently came rolling out on the conveyor belt. There’s also a treasure trove of pop culture jokes, from The Shining’s orange carpet to a low-key Zodiac Killer cameo; Leysha’s doctor, Richard Dunham, is a dead ringer for Michael Shannon, and the game’s ultimate villain resembles a fanatical James Cromwell in full Vatican Gone Wild mode.

Like any good soap opera, Swansong does an artful job at probing psychological issues — trauma, grief, regret — without losing its focus on entertainment. And like any great soap opera, it also creates a noxious love-hate relationship with twists (and in this case, uneven mechanics and systems) that you can’t control. I’m not sure whether my initial feelings around Swansong stem from a lifelong weakness for toxic Machiavellian soaps, or because it’s a genuinely well-crafted fantasy that plays on (ironically) human needs to be accepted, forgiven, or trusted. It’s probably a bit of both.

At the end, with two-thirds of my crew dead (oops), I didn’t feel a sense of finality, but the immediate need to go again, janky puzzles, bugs, and all. My relationship to Swansong has become almost like my ritual appointment with Passions — until I fully exhaust the entire story, I need my dose of ridiculous people making ridiculous decisions, and the nuclear fallout of their mistakes.

Vampire: The Masquerade – Swansong will be released May 19 on Windows PC, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X, and later, on Nintendo Switch. The game was reviewed on Windows using a pre-release download code provided by Nacon. Vox Media has affiliate partnerships. These do not influence editorial content, though Vox Media may earn commissions for products purchased via affiliate links. You can find additional information about Polygon’s ethics policy here.

Saudi Arabia now owns 5. 01% of Nintendo, making it the Kyoto company’s fifth-largest shareholder, according to a Bloomberg report. The Financial Times calculates the Saudi investment to be worth $2. 98 billion.

The purchase was made through the Public Investment Fund. This sovereign wealth fund makes investments for the Kingdom. The PIF is controlled by Saudi Arabia’s controversial crown prince and effective ruler, Mohammed bin Salman.

A Nintendo spokesperson told Bloomberg that it had learned about the investment from news reports and would not comment further.

This is just the latest, most high-profile, and largest in a series of investments made by Saudi Arabia’s PIF in the video game industry, which has had a particular focus on Japanese firms (due in part to the weak yen). Earlier this year, it acquired 5% stakes in Capcom and Nexon (which is South Korean, but trades on the Tokyo stock exchange). In late 2020, the PIF made a $3 billion investment in smaller stakes in American games publishing giants EA, Activision Blizzard, and Take-Two. The crown prince’s foundation has a subsidiary that owns most of Metal Slug, and The King of Fighters creator SNK.

So what’s going on, and why does it matter?

PIF exists to increase the wealth of the Saudi regime, and to help insulate the Saudi economy as the world transitions away from oil as an energy source. Oil and gas account for 70% of Saudi Arabia’s exports and half its gross domestic product, according to OPEC.

Video games are a prominent area of investment for PIF, although far from the only one. One of its largest investments is a $3. 5 billion, 5% stake in Uber. The company also holds smaller shares in Facebook, Disney and Boeing. In 2021, PIF led a consortium that purchased Newcastle United Football Club, of the English Premier League.

Analysts differ on the reasons for PIF’s video game investments. Some suggest they are pure speculation, gambling on the wave of consolidation rolling through the games industry at the moment. (PIF stands to make a profit on its Activision Blizzard shares if the $70 billion Microsoft acquisition goes through, though it’s a brave investor who sees Nintendo as an acquisition target.) Others think that Saudi Arabia is interested in building its own content industry and is keen to learn from companies in this sector. Another theory is that the investments are a sort of financial PR or whitewashing, aligning the undemocratic and repressive state more closely with global culture.

Most businesses would not welcome this alignment. However, the concern of Saudia Arabia exerting influence over the world’s cultural scene is one that many companies are concerned about. Bin Salman has been charged with the murder Jamal Khashoggi, a dissident Washington Post journalist. And under his rule, Saudi Arabia has continued its dismal record of human rights abuses. Corporal punishment, torture and the death penalty are in regular use in the country; there are constant crackdowns on protest, dissent and freedom of expression; women are discriminated against, and LGBTQ people are criminalized and persecuted.

Apple yesterday previewed some iOS 16 accessibility features we can look forward to, including live captions, Apple Watch mirroring, and door detection.

It’s often been argued that accessibility features in general can benefit everyone, not just the target group, and Macworld argues that this is the case for all three of the above features …

Accessibility for all

There are two arguments for accessibility features benefiting everyone.

The first is that it forces designers to think in new ways, and that kind of creativity often sparks ideas that otherwise might have been missed. This is the positive side of law of unintended results.

For example, closed captions on videos were initially designed for people who are deaf or hard of hearing, but now many people like to use captions – whether it’s to help with accents, or simply to be able to watch shows with the sound off.

Automatic doors were first intended for use by those who use wheelchairs and crutches, but now also benefit shoppers who have their hands full.

Screen reader were created to assist visually impaired and blind people. However, things such as having messages delivered to you while driving have been hugely beneficial to many.

Upcoming iOS 16 accessibility features

Live captions, for example, is great for deaf and hard-of-hearing people, but better audio transcription is something we could all use, says Macworld’s Jason Cross.

It’s a natural extension of the on-device speech processing that was introduced last year in iOS 15, but it speaks to a big improvement in the sophistication of that feature.

We hope that this will improve Siri’s understanding and dictation of your commands, but it is possible to see the features in other locations. Take for example, the Notes app, where one can imagine a “transcribe” feature to create text out of any audio recording or video. If Apple’s billing it as an accessibility feature, Live Caption’s transcription will need to be rock-solid, and it opens up a world of possibilities for the rest of iOS 16.

Door recognition should improve object-recognition and provide benefits to AR applications. But it’s Apple Watch mirroring that Cross thinks could be most exciting.

This seems to allow devices to communicate intent and control in ways that AirPlay does not currently. AirPlay allows devices to play and pause audio or video, but it also lets them control volume and play/pause. However, AirPlay compatible devices could be able to communicate advanced touch commands which would allow for some amazing new features.

Here’s a killer scenario: If Apple can mirror your Apple Watch to your iPhone and allow you to fully interact with it, it could probably mirror your iPhone to your Mac or iPad and do the same! That alone would be a game-changing feature.

9to5Mac’s Take

We are definitely on the side of accessibility features being beneficial for all, as Cross makes an excellent case.

The latter in particular. Catalyst app are one way, but there were times when it was easier to just mirror my iPhone to my Mac and control it.

We didn’t have long to wait after the launch of the Mac Studio to see a bunch of M1 Ultra benchmarks. These ranged from comparisons to the 28-core Intel Mac Pro to a comprehensive set of tests by Macworld.

A new set of tests not only aims to see how the M1 Ultra and M1 Max compare in real-life usage, but also when performing tasks specifically suggested by pro app users …

Background

With the launch of the Mac Studio, Apple also announced a brand-new Apple Silicon chip, the M1 Ultra. This is effectively two M1 Max chips in one.

We got an early sense of just how powerful the M1 Ultra chip is when a Geekbench test showed it to be more powerful than the highest-spec CPU offered in the Intel Mac Pro.

The 28-core Intel Xeon W-3275M processor, which is the best you can get with Mac Pro, scores 19951 in Multi Core. This means that M1 Ultra is about 20% faster than the most expensive CPU available for the Intel Mac Pro.

Macworld ran a very thorough set of benchmarks, which suggested that the benefit of the top-end chip varied a lot, with ProRes videographers seeing the greatest improvement.

If you’re heavy into ProRes and video codecs such as H.265, having double the accelerators found in the Ultra will give you great performance gains. If you’re a photo editor, the almost identical single-core performance of both models will mean you’re better off with the cheaper version in terms of value. The Ultra’s higher RAM limit can be useful if you need to perform heavier photo editing. Again, recognize what your workflow demands, and then pick accordingly.

M1 Ultra benchmarks with real-life usage

What Engadget has done is to try to make its own tests as realistic as possible. To ensure this, it asked its readers what demanding tasks they perform most frequently, so that it could specifically benchmark the M1 Ultra against both the M1 Max and a high-end PC when carrying out examples of real-world usage.

The M1 Ultra fuses two M1 Max chips together to get you a processor with 20 CPU cores and 64 GPU cores, along with up to 128GB of RAM, and it’s one of the fastest processors we’ve ever tested.

We asked what tests you’d like to see run on the M1 Ultra and assembled quite a list, including Adobe Lightroom and Premiere Pro, Davinci Resolve and Fusion, 3D modeling in Blender, machine learning tests like TensorFlow and Pytorch, and even some gaming.

It concluded that, yes, when it comes to CPU-bound tasks, the M1 Ultra really is about twice as fast as the M1 Max. For GPU-heavy usage, the improvement was less dramatic, but still generally in the 40-80% range.

Unsurprisingly, it echoed Macworld’s conclusions that heavy-duty video rendering is where the M1 Ultra really shines.

The M1 Ultra does best when its hardware accelerators can kick in. These parts are designed to accelerate specific tasks such as video rendering or AI processing. In a test processing ten 8K video clips at once, the M1 Ultra did the job in just 29 seconds when its accelerators were able to help out. This was about twice as fast as the PC we were testing, despite it having a 16-core AMD 5950X processor and Nvidia RTX 3080 Ti graphics card.

You can watch the video below.