Tag Archives: Sim

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One Of The Best-Selling Steam Games Last Month Was A Police Sim

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Image: Aesir Interactive

Valve just updated its list of the top new releases on Steam for November. There are the usual suspects like Crysis 2 and 3, Spider-Man: Miles Morales, and Sonic Frontiers. There’s also my favorite single player game of the year, Pentiment, and a neat little pixely extraction shooter that caught our eye a few months ago called Zero Sievert. But one of the top 20 best-selling Steam games last month was, of all things, a fucking police sim.

Released last month, Police Simulator: Patrol Officers takes place in the fictional U.S. city of Brighton. The game asks you to “take up the badge” as a cop, which actually means harassing citizens with traffic violation citations, arresting them for possession of drugs, “chasing graffiti sprayers,” and other cop things. It’s currently holding a “very positive” review status, with several active and former law enforcement officers chiming in to the comments, and others who didn’t get enough of a kick out of bullying people in childhood weighing in, as well.

One reviewer sums up a typical experience in Police Simulator. It’s written out like a poem (and you should read it as such):

I started my first shift.
I saw a lady jay walking, so I stopped her.
She seemed nervous, so I asked for her ID.
I decided then to search her.
She ran.
I shot her with my stun gun.
I found a switch blade and human teeth, so I arrested her.
I called for back up, and they threw her in the patty wagon.
Cleaning the streets, one person at a time.

I mean where to even begin with this? Honestly, this makes that Call of Duty level from the last game look tame. And what is with the human teeth? Do the devs assume people carry such things around, and do that regular ol’ street cops spend most of their time thwarting murders with a penchant for taking teeth? “First person I searched I found human teeth. 10/10” reads another review.

Other reviews suggest this is a pretty straightforward, somewhat buggy and feature-lacking civil duty sim. Such a boring job, it seems, isn’t up to everyone’s hopes. Another Steam review reads:

Pro’s[sic]: Be a cop.

Con’s[sic]: Can’t be a bad cop.

First thing I did was pull out my pistol and shoot a lady that was jaywalking and I got booted off the job. I couldn’t even do the remaining 16 bullets in my mag before reloading and yelling at her not to move.

Fun game, but a bit unrealistic.

7/10 – worth it for ramming your policecar [sic] into randoms and fleeing the scene.

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“Shoot first talk later” reads another review. “This game was pretty fun at first” laments a negative review, “but unlike LSPDFR mod in Grand Theft Auto V, you HAVE to play by a real Cop’s duties. You have no real freedom to goof around.”

I’ve played a ton of GTA, a game where you regularly do horrible things to people, but this one strikes me as a little odd. I probably shouldn’t throw stones, and there are other examples of questionably tone deaf uses of police imagery in games. But it’s hard not to read comments from people bemoaning that a game meant to simulate daily police work which is mostly, boring civil offenses like traffic violations is not exciting enough because it doesn’t give you enough opportunities to shoot people.

 

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Technology

Ixion review: an intricate management sim wrapped in a stirring space opera

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Ixion starts by asking the question “What if Homeworld was a management sim?”. It then proceeds to answer that question in a comprehensive and convincing manner. Bulwark Studios’ star hopping epic takes the operatic, elegiac grandeur of Relic’s RTS classic, but replaces the space battles with a chewy mixture of stellar logistics.

Also like Homeworld, it’s a darned stylish thing. The game commences with a spectacular intro cutscene wherein a futuristic space-shuttle launches from Earth, breaking through the atmosphere to dock with a gigantic, revolving space-station like a chromed hubcap off some petrolhead’s pride & joy. The cutscene neatly transitions into the play-perspective, where you see that same shuttle slide into the docking bay from the cold void outside. Welcome to the Tiqqun, Administrator. Your long journey starts here.

Technology

The iPhone 14 lineup won’t have physical SIM support

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The new iPhone 14 lineup will ship without physical SIM trays — but only in the US. They’ll be able to use two eSIMs at once (and store more than that), but is the lack of a physical tray a big deal? And is it user-hostile and stupid?

First, a refresher on eSIMs: they’re SIM cards, but electronic, not physical. That means your phone can be provisioned remotely — no more going to a store to get a physical SIM. This makes it easier (in some ways) to switch networks or try one out — T-Mobile now uses eSIMs to let people test-drive its network for up to three months. As of iOS 16, you can even transfer your eSIM between iPhones via Bluetooth, which should make it almost as easy as a physical SIM — as long as you’re staying in the Apple ecosystem. Of course.

Most major US carriers, and many worldwide, have eSIM support, and iPhones have supported them since 2018, including the ability to use two SIMs at once. Up until the iPhone 13, that meant one eSIM and one physical SIM; the iPhone 13 family introduced the ability to use two eSIMs at the same time. Removing the physical SIM — and the hole in the case it requires — is the next logical step. At least for Apple, and at least in the US — the iPhone 14 still has a SIM tray everywhere else.

If you’re on a major US cell phone network — AT&T, Verizon, or T-Mobile — the lack of a physical SIM tray probably won’t impact you much. Even if you change carriers or change phones, you can download an eSIM directly from Verizon, AT&T, or T-Mobile without going to a store.

But if you are on a carrier that doesn’t have eSIM support or you’re planning to switch to one, well, you shouldn’t get the iPhone 14 right now. You might not have to wait too long; this could be the push smaller carriers need to get on board with eSIMs.

(Outside the US, the iPhone 14 lineup still includes nano-SIM slots.)

That’s no SIM slot; it’s a mmWave cutout

At the launch event, Apple spokespeople told The Verge that the iPhone 14 and 14 Pro can store at least eight eSIMS, with up to two active at once. Global eSIM reseller Airalo says previous iPhones could hold five to 10, depending on the model. This could take some of the sting out of the loss of the physical SIM tray, though not all international carriers support eSIMs. (I haven’t used Airalo and can’t vouch for them, but being able to remotely provision a local eSIM when traveling abroad could remove the hassle of finding a local SIM.)

The ability to have more than one active SIM is great for frequent travelers, people who live in areas where any one network has spotty coverage, or folks who have separate work and personal numbers. I bought my iPhone 11 when I lived in the Netherlands, and it has both a Dutch eSIM and a physical Verizon SIM. That meant I could use a local SIM whether I was in Europe or the US without losing access to my other number or having to mess with my iMessage or WhatsApp settings.

Physical SIMs make it easy to bring your phone to a different carrier or bring your number to a new phone. They’re ubiquitous, work on all phones, and are easy enough to use (though also easy to lose; ask me how I know). Many of my co-workers are not psyched about losing the SIM slot. Moving an eSIM from an iPhone to an Android phone isn’t necessarily trivial.

I don’t think removing the SIM tray is necessarily user-hostile for most people; most people just do not switch carriers or phones every few weeks. But that depends on how easy providers make it to install and migrate eSIMs across platforms. We’ll see how this plays out.

Update Sept 7th, 4:45PM ET: Added information on eSIM support.

Correction Sept 8th, 12:06PM ET: The original text of this article misspelled the name of eSIM retailer Airalo. We regret the error.

Correction Sept 10th, 9:26PM ET: An earlier version of this article stated the iPhone 14 can store up to six eSIMs; both the 14 and 14 Pro models can store at least eight.

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Technology

Battlefield 2042 Update Finally Begins to Address ‘Walking Sim’ Map Complaints

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EA’s DICE has finally addressed criticisms of one of Battlefield 2042’s maps, which was dubbed a “walking simulator” by fans. The new update 1.2 reworks Kaleidoscope to include an “improved gameplay flow”.

The developer released patch notes for the update which arrives today, August 2, detailing its midseason update – which also includes a handful of other changes. The Kaleidoscope rework headlines these improvements, however, marking the first map update since DICE said it understands why fans “use terms such as ‘walking simulator’ to describe” Battlefield 2042 back in March.

Battlefield 2042 Map Updates

“We identified several focus areas for our launch maps where our quality standards could be improved through cover, intensity, line of sight, pathing and traversal changes,” DICE said. “Reworking maps takes time, and Kaleidoscope is the first map for which we have completed this rework.”

Changes include the addition of more cover through new assets and raised terrain in some areas, creating new flag positions, and adding brand new areas including a forward operating base in the park and a second command post close to the tower.

DICE will release an update to Renewal next as it works its way through improving Battlefield 2042’s seven launch maps. This will arrive sometime during Season 2, the developer said, meaning sometime between September and November.

Today’s update also brings updated character models, changes to guns including the RAH-68 Huron and YG-99 Hannibal 30mm Cannon, a player profile page, and improved aim assist on console.

Battlefield 2042 has had a fairly turbulent post-launch period, only launching its Season 1 seven months after launch in June after it was delayed to focus on more pressing issues such as including a scoreboard – but this update was also delayed.

Publisher EA admitted around the same time that Battlefield 2042 did not meet expectations, and soon after a petition asking for refunds started online that more than 230,000 players have now signed. Battlefield 2042’s number had diminished in the meantime, as in early March it had fewer players on Steam than Battlefield 1, 4, and 5.

Every IGN Battlefield Game Review

Ryan Dinsdale is an IGN freelancer. He’ll talk about The Witcher all day.

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Technology

Dead By Daylight Devs Announce Killer Dating Sim Hooked On You

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Come on in, the water’s fine.
Image: Behaviour Interactive

Yesterday the ever-evolving 2022 bingo card got even more unpredictable when Behaviour Interactive, the developer behind popular asymmetrical multiplayer horror game Dead by Daylight, revealed that it’s making a spin-off game in which you can romance your favorite Dead by Daylight killers.

Hooked on You: A Dead by Daylight Dating Sim, is an upcoming dating sim that lets you finally nuzzle up to and romance Dead by Daylight’s murder husbandos and waifus, become platonic friends, or suffer the unyielding fate of deadly awkward silences. The game has multiple “unique endings” wherein, if you play your cards right, you’ll unearth “deeply intimate” facets of the Dead by Daylight killers’ hard-to-read personalities.

How did this little dating sim come into existence? A rep for Behaviour Interactive told Kotaku that Dead by Daylight ran a community survey last year asking players if there was any other type of experience within the world of the game that players were interested in. Turns out, the DbD fandom’s top choice was a dating sim.

“Because it is so completely out there and crazy, we thought we had to do it immediately,” the rep told Kotaku, noting the funny looks and laughter the idea prompted in meetings before they stopped and realized that it was “in fact, genius.”

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“We’ve known for years of our fans’ thirst and some of the more intense fanfic that was created. We want to give them what they want but we also need to present this the right way, with all the seriousness it deserves,” the spokesperson said before noting that the dating sim is being developed in collaboration with Psyop, the folks who brought us the KFC dating sim I Love You, Colonel Sanders!

And now, the moment you’ve been waiting for: the eligible killers in Hooked on You. First up is Evan MacMillan, also known as The Trapper. You should call him the Thirst Trapper because he’s stanced up in a form-fitting singlet swimsuit that leaves nothing to the imagination in his Hooked on You iteration. This is a “Fab Five”-esque upgrade from the bloody disgusting pair of overalls he’s rocking in Dead by Daylight. Y’know what we call that? Growth. Ignore the red stuff on his hands, he was clearly smashing berries before your seaside picnic date.

Next up is the absolute beefcake The Huntress. I have no witty remark on deck for her because I’m twitterpated by her herculean biceps, though I did notice she also has berries smeared on her bunny mask. I guess great minds think alike. The second DbD bachelor is the Nigerian dreamboat, Philip Ojomo, aka The Wraith. He’s repping a matching Hawaiian button-up shirt and swim trunks that I’m about 90 percent sure he bought from The Gap. I’m preemptively deducting points for The Wraith’s basic-bitch fashion sense, though he does have a winning smile. Last, and certainly not least, we have the ever-elusive Spirit, Rin Yamaoka, sporting a sleek silk kimono and an elegant black sun hat ordained with a red spider lily symbolizing the “final goodbye” of your single life.

When asked whether Hooked on You might get more romanceable characters in the future, the spokesperson said, “So many of our fans have their favorite character and they are really looking forward to spending some special time with them. We get it. And while this is the first visual novel in the Dead by Daylight universe, I sense that it is certainly not the last time we tell these sorts of stories. We’ve opened a box here that our fans will never let us close again. Not that we would want to anyway.”

Personally, I’m jockeying for an eventual Hooked on You/Silent Hill crossover with a dummy thicc Pyramid Head rocking a Virgin Killer sweater. It’s not like Konami is doing anything with him. It’s what he deserves.

Hooked on You is slated to release this summer on Steam.

   

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Technology

The Sims 4 Is Trolling All Of Its Players With Its Main Menu

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Image: EA / Kotaku

Picture your worst nightmare. Really allow yourself to round out each gruesome detail. Feel your heart race, then step back to reflect on what you’ve created. I’m guessing it’s not a Sim with a cell phone, but somehow, developer Maxis has managed to turn that innocuous image into a menace to Sims society.

On April 26, The Sims game launcher fully embraced the nightmare. The developers unleashed a creature players call “Ring Ring Girl,” a stock character originally cloistered in a main menu box encouraging phone usage, suddenly emboldened to rule the entirety of the simulator’s main menu.

Ring Ring Girl had been spooking Sims 4 players since 2021, and there aren’t any explicit reasons why the developers decided to emphasize her now instead of in previous updates. She has been, however, slowly transforming into an inside joke in the Sims world, with even official Sims accounts occasionally invoking her existence.

After the new changes, she finally became deified—plastered all throughout the Sims 4 main menu, holding up her cell phone in an impish taunt, her blue, blank eyes piercing yours.

“You aren’t hacked, it’s just me!” reads a disclaimer at the bottom of the menu. That doesn’t make it any better, Ring Ring Girl. How do you know my IP address?!

Ring Ring Girl, or Callia Maebey, as the Sims 4 officially named her for yesterday’s update, had seasoned Sims 4 warriors crying and performing all kinds of ‘torture’ on the character in retaliation, since the Sim is now also available to download in the Sims’ gallery. One popular method of torture was using hot girl mods to carry out expert plastic surgery on Maebey, something that will undoubtedly prepare her for a future career in tufted rug modeling.

If non-consensual nose jobs aren’t really your thing, the Twitter account for the Sims Community website also noted what fun it is to force Maebey to “dance in her own piss while stranded above deadly sharks until she passed out from the heatwave.” Nothing weird, just typical best friend stuff.

She wants to make you a side salad. Will you let her?
Image: EA

Since The Sims gave Maebey access to your thoughts and main menu at the same time it announced its latest update, we can guess that Maebey is probably just a cardigan-wearing demoness formed to reinvigorate buzz around Sims 4 and show the Sims 4 community that EA knows what goes on inside it.

To her credit, Maebey is also the most exciting thing about the last update, which primarily smooths over aesthetics and small features like re-enrolling your Sim in college after suspension. The Sims also updated the main menu beyond its looks, adding details like a new launch panel, motivational messages for players beginning their first game, and surveys for players to share feedback. Today, The Sims released an additional patch that adds the meals knafeh and zaatar manakeesh, a cactus, and a limited-time “froggy scenario” that makes your Sim want to collect frogs. Thank God. I was running low on frogs.

Some players are frustrated by what they believe to be unnecessary main menu changes and note that Sims 4’s tiny, frequent updates make the game behave only more erratically in some cases. So we’re back to Maebey being the most exciting thing about the update.

You know, the more I stare into her monster eyes, the more I feel for her, the more I begin to…truly understand her. I’d never gruesomely tear you limb from limb like some other players, Maebey. Not as long as you keep your side part as violently angular as it is right now. And that cardigan! Looks great buddy.

But I’ll never get a chance to really know Maebey—The Sims scrubbed her from main menus just a day after she was allowed to dominate them. You don’t know a good thing ‘til it’s gone.



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Technology

Classic dating sim Tokimeki Memorial available in English for the first time

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It’s hard to overstate the influence Tokimeki Memorial had on the dating sims and visual novels that followed. Konami’s 1994 visual novel took the social simulation mechanics of games like Princess Maker and applied them to high school, with the protagonist as a student who has to balance brutal amounts of study and exercise with an overactive social life. 

Notably, Tokimeki Memorial writer Koji Igarashi was assisted in making the high school dating experience more authentic by his then-girlfriend—another Konami employee who was working on Castlevania: Rondo of Blood. (Igarashi used the success of Tokimeki Memorial as a springboard to switch series, becoming an assistant director, writer, and programmer on Castlevania: Symphony of the Night.)

After being released on PC Engine in 1994, Tokimeki Memorial was ported to Windows 95 as well as consoles including the PlayStation, Sega Saturn, and Super Nintendo. It’s the latter version that’s finally been made available in English thanks to SNES patchers Translated.Games, who’ve spent the last year working on it. 

Under the name Heartthrob Memorial: Under the Tree of Legends, they’ve released a patch you can pop alongside the game in an emulator like Snes9x, which will not only replace the text with English but also add a few things from the original PC Engine version the SNES port was missing—an animated intro as well as voiced confession scenes and ending song. They’ve even smoothed the rate at which the tiled background scrolls, bless ’em.

If you’re still curious about Tokimeki Memorial and why it matters, last year game critic Tim Rogers made an excellent video about exactly that, and it’s well worth your time—should your time happen to include almost six free hours. (The video’s separated into episodes, and the ‘let’s play’ episodes in the middle are skippable by design if you’d like to knock two-plus hours off that runtime.)

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Technology

Apple Allegedly Preparing for iPhones Without SIM Card Slot by September 2022

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Earlier this week, a rumor from Brazilian website Blog do iPhone claimed that iPhone 15 Pro models might not have a physical SIM card slot in at least some countries and regions, but the change might happen even sooner.

Image: iFixit

An anonymous tipster informed MacRumors that Apple has advised major U.S. carriers to prepare for the launch of eSIM-only smartphones by September 2022. The tipster shared a seemingly legitimate document outlining the timeframe for this initiative, although the document does not specifically mention Apple or the iPhone.

As part of the transition, some U.S. carriers will allegedly start offering select iPhone 13 models without a nano-SIM card in the box in the second quarter of 2022. iPhone 13 models sold at Apple Stores or on Apple.com already lack a nano-SIM card in the box, with users typically able to activate a cellular plan via eSIM by turning on the iPhone, connecting to a Wi-Fi network, and following the on-screen instructions.

Given the alleged September 2022 deadline, it is possible that Apple might remove the physical SIM card slot starting with some iPhone 14 models, rather than some iPhone 15 models as originally rumored, but nothing is definitive at this point.

An eSIM is a digital SIM that allows users to activate a cellular plan without having to use a nano-SIM card. It’s worth noting that eSIM service is not available in all countries, so iPhones with a SIM card slot may remain available in some markets. Adoption is expanding rapidly, though, with over 100 carriers offering eSIM service worldwide and more planning to roll out support in 2022, including Three in the UK and Vodafone in New Zealand.

iPhone 13 models already support multiple eSIM profiles, allowing users to subscribe to several cellular plans digitally and switch between them, and this functionality could pave the way for the SIM card slot’s removal in select countries.

Apple’s former design chief Jony Ive once envisioned the iPhone as becoming a “single slab of glass,” and the SIM card slot’s removal would be another step towards a seamless design and improve water resistance in the process. Taking out the slot would also free up some valuable internal space in the iPhone — every bit counts.



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Apple iPhone 15 Pro will ditch the SIM card slot

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This year, Apple has unveiled its iPhone 13 lineup. The devices are still fresh, but we’re already seeing rumors and leaks for the next year’s iPhone 14 series. Today, we’re getting even more into the future as the first reports about the iPhone 15 are starting to appear. The latest bit says that the upcoming flagship will not bring a physical SIM card slot beginning with the iPhone 15 series in 2023.

The new report comes from the Brazilian news outlet Blog do iPhone. According to the report, the 2023 iPhone 15 Pro models will not have physical SIM card slots. Instead, they will rely entirely on eSIM technology for connectivity.

The source further claims that these iPhones will come with dual eSIM support. It will allow users to have two lines simultaneously, which is not common for iPhone users. However, it’s unclear if the non-Pro models will also depend entirely on eSIM tech or continue to use physical SIM card slots. This does not come as a big surprise, especially with the eSIM addition. Apple is one of the companies that are more focused on making eSIMs a new standard. The company’s Watch lineup relies totally on this new tech.

According to rumors, Apple’s goal is to move to a portless build for its iPhones. The company ants to remove the SIM ports, and in the future will also leave the charging ports behind. For these goals, the company will need to rely on eSIM and also on wireless charging technology.

Now, the big question that remains is how Apple will deal with the fact that, in many countries, eSIM is not really available. Therefore, the company may adopt a solution without the SIM card and also another one using the traditional slot.

Of course, we need to digest these rumors with a pinch or two of salt. After all, we’re still several months away from the iPhone 15 Pro release. The focus now will be on the iPhone 14 series, and the iPhone 15 probably is still in the sketches. We need to wait for reliable industry sources before considering anything official.

Apple is already planning some big changes with the iPhone 14 series. The new smartphones are coming with punch-hole displays and possibly with under-display fingerprint scanners. Of course, everything is based on rumors right now, and we’ll need to wait. However, the 2022 iPhones are already gearing up to bring massive changes since the iPhone X’s arrival.

 



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2023’s iPhone 15 Pro may not have a SIM card slot

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2023’s iPhone Pro, which we will refer to as the iPhone 15 Pro, may ditch the physical SIM card slot, according to Brazilian outlet iPhone Blog. 
Although the iPhone 13 and 13 Pro let you use two eSIMs at the same time, they do have a nano-SIM card slot as well, but this could begin to change in 2023 as the report says that the iPhone 15 Pro will be eSIM compatible only. Apple is allegedly working with a British company to implement this. 
Since this source doesn’t have a proven track record and the 2023 iPhone is a long way off, it’s best to take this report with a pinch of salt. That said, we have heard countless times that Apple eventually intends for the iPhone to have no ports at all, and an eSIM-only iPhone would be an important step in that direction.

If the report is true, Apple may still sell physical SIM slot versions in markets where eSIMs have yet to take off.

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