Technology

Even Elden Ring’s game director knows Erdtree is too hard

Published

5 days ago

June 22, 2024

Even Elden Ring’s game director knows Erdtree is too hard

As I work my way through Shadow of the Erdtree, the new DLC for Elden Ring, I can’t help but think that game director Hidetaka Miyazaki is trolling the shit outta me.

Speaking with him at Summer Game Fest two weeks ago, Miyazaki said that Erdtree is “by far the biggest in scale in volume” than any other FromSoftware DLC before it. But he also said Erdtree is “about the same volume as the Limgrave part of the base game,” the starting area of Elden Ring, containing “slightly more content.”

I don’t buy it. While it’s impossible to accurately compare scale in game, I’ve played the game for 30 hours and have already found the new areas in the DLC to be more expansive than Limgrave. Not only is the map itself large, it’s layered, with huge areas propped up on plateaus above, in deep valleys below, and on islands that take some creative platforming to reach.

I’d say it’s far, far larger than Limgrave, with plenty more to do as well. Shadow of the Erdtree honestly feels like it’s big enough to be its own game with its own story — one that was originally intended for Elden Ring but wound up being cut for time before being added back as DLC content.

Erdtree follows the story arc of Miquella, brother of uber boss Malenia and one of the demigods important to Elden Ring lore. To focus on Miquella was, Miyazaki told me, born of the desire to honor George R. R. Martin’s contributions to the game. “[He] gave us all this great mythology to work with,” Miyazaki said. Packaging Miquella’s story as a standalone DLC was essentially “closing the loop” on Martin’s involvement in the game. “It’s really about completing Elden Ring’s circle,” he said.

But understating the size of Shadow of the Erdtree is just one of the ways it feels like Miyazaki is misleading me. I know he’s trolling me when it comes to difficulty.

I cannot beat Rellana, Twin Moon Knight, the boss ensconced in Castle Enis that players can face five or 50 hours in depending on their exploration choices. (I met her after about 15.) None of my strategies nor any of the game’s built in assistance features — using Mimic Tear Ashes, summoning help from an NPC, changing my weapons or spells, inflicting damaging status effects — seem to work. My best attempt got her down to half of her health and I cannot seem to progress further. And she’s only major boss number two.

According to Miyazaki, this is by design. He said that Erdtree contains “10 plus boss encounters” — honestly, another hilariously absurd understatement, I’ve seen estimates of 55 bosses and up to 80. Thankfully only a small handful of those bosses are necessary to progress the story, while the rest are optional.

“And the ones that [are optional] are especially difficult,” Miyazaki said.

Whenever a new FromSoftware game releases, there’s nearly always a discussion of difficulty. With the DLC, other reviewers have suggested that its difficulty is too extreme. “It’s true that this distinct type of FromSoft-engineered frustration is an indispensable part of the Souls experience,” wrote Alexis Ong in Eurogamer. “This, however, feels like difficulty for difficulty’s sake, turned up to eleven.”

I agree. But while I think Shadow of the Erdtree could better straddle the line between pleasantly challenging and frustratingly impossible, the game was tuned to Miyazaki’s intentions, representing the lessons the development team learned from the original game’s feedback.

“Traditionally we’ve always liked the higher difficulty curve type of games and experiences, but I think that nature in and of itself alienates a good portion of the game playing audience,” he said.

A contradictory thing to say considering his comments in a recent interview with The Guardian: “If we really wanted the whole world to play the game, we could just crank the difficulty down more and more, but that wasn’t the right approach. Turning down difficulty would strip the game of that joy, which, in my eyes, would break the game itself.”

He’s not wrong. Elden Ring ceases to be the game of the year it was if it lacks the kind of difficulty FromSoftware is known for. So Erdtree must be hard, but not so hard that it’ll turn players off. But it also can’t be too easy because that will break the game. What to do? The answer, according to Miyazaki, is freedom.

“The amount of freedom that we give players helps offset that difficulty curve and makes the game more accessible and engaging,” he told me.

I think that worked for Elden Ring, less so for this DLC. In the base game, difficulty could be circumvented with leveling up — the player freedom, as it were. But with the addition of the new DLC-exclusive consumables that increase your attack and defense, becoming more powerful is now dependent on your ability to find those scarce items. As a result, I’ve often found myself fearful of the simplest enemies as encountering more than one at a time will kill me outright.

“I try to imagine different ways I would want to die as a player or be killed.”

In addition to ensuring that players die a lot, Miyazaki also said that how players die is just as important.

“I try to imagine different ways I would want to die as a player or be killed,” he said, explaining that those thoughts manifested in Elden Ring and in other FromSoftware games as his signature poison swamps. But for Erdtree, he confessed to cutting back on that indulgence — “In the original Elden Ring, I went a little too far.”

There are still poison swamps in Erdtree, “but in other parts of gameplay, there are still many ways to die.”

One of Hidetaka Miyazaki’s signature poison swamps in Shadow of the Erdtree.

Image: FromSoftware / Ash Parrish

Too many it seems. I’ve been bludgeoned, exsanguinated, frostbitten, and burned. I’ve fallen off cliffs, had cliffs fall on me — beware the fiery rocks the Furnace Golems spew — and I’ve even accidentally killed myself eating an item that refilled my HP while also inflicting poison.

Despite my tribulations, Miyazaki, like a benevolent god, has faith in me and his players, only giving us trials he believes we can bear.

“We’ve really pushed the envelope in terms of what we think can be withstood by the player,” Miyazaki said.

He clarified that one of the biggest lessons brought forward from Elden Ring into Erdtree was what the audience found fun over what was stressful. “ We tried to make that the foundation of the boss encounters of the DLC, so hopefully players will find it much more engaging and fun,” he said.

“But if that is not the case,” he added. “Then I’m sorry.”

Technology

Sunday Ticket jury orders NFL to pay fans $4.7 billion in damages

Published

1 hour ago

June 27, 2024

Press Room

Sunday Ticket jury orders NFL to pay fans $4.7 billion in damages

The NFL has been hit with a $4.7 billion verdict in a class action antitrust lawsuit filed on behalf of residential and commercial customers who paid for its Sunday Ticket package on DirecTV from 2011 through 2022.

Originally filed in 2015 by the Mucky Duck sports bar, the lawsuit claimed that the league and its teams had conspired to give DirecTV an illegal monopoly on out-of-market games until YouTube took it over, starting with the 2023 season. The plaintiffs noted that other leagues distributed live, out-of-market games through multiple providers instead of just one exclusive partner like the NFL and argued during the case that the setup not only inflated the price of Sunday Ticket but also forced viewers to pay for games during weeks when their preferred team wasn’t playing.

Courthouse News reports that during the trial, evidence showed that the NFL turned down bids for the package that would’ve made the offer cheaper, more flexible, and available to millions of additional customers. Before YouTube snagged the exclusive package that it now sells for $349 per year, the report says that an email from the NFL’s chief media and business officer showed ESPN proposed offering Sunday Ticket for $70 per year and allowing fans to buy a package for just one team.

After a three-week trial, ESPN reports the jury deliberated for almost five hours before reaching the decision. They awarded $96 million in damages to the bars and restaurants and $4.7 billion to customers, according to USA Today, which, if it stands, could be tripled under federal law.

A statement from the NFL given to multiple media outlets said the league would appeal the decision. Front Office Sports reports that US District Court Judge Philip S. Gutierrez, who dismissed the case in 2019 but later ruled it could proceed as a class action, could still throw out the verdict, and post-trial motions are set for a hearing on July 31st.

Technology

2 bulletproof steps to hack-proof your Mac

Published

2 hours ago

June 27, 2024

Press Room

2 bulletproof steps to hack-proof your Mac

In today’s digital landscape, where cyberthreats lurk around every corner, safeguarding your personal data and maintaining privacy have become paramount.

Your Mac houses a wealth of sensitive information, making it a prime target for malicious actors.

Securing your device with a robust password and leveraging the convenience of biometric authentication like Touch ID is no longer an option but a necessity. Here are steps to fortify your Mac’s defenses, ensuring your computer remains impregnable against prying eyes and unauthorized access.

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A woman typing on her Mac (Kurt “CyberGuy” Knutsson)

How to add a password to your Mac

In the top left corner of your Mac, click on the Apple logo

Steps to add a password to your Mac (Kurt “CyberGuy” Knutsson)

Then, go to System Settings

Steps to add a password to your Mac (Kurt “CyberGuy” Knutsson)

Click on Users & Groups in the sidebar

WHAT IS ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE (AI)?

Steps to add a password to your Mac (Kurt “CyberGuy” Knutsson)

Then click the Info button next to your username on the right
Click Change

Steps to add a password to your Mac (Kurt “CyberGuy” Knutsson)

Next, enter your current password in the “Old Password” field

Steps to add a password to your Mac (Kurt “CyberGuy” Knutsson)

Enter your New Password in the “New Password” field

Steps to add a password to your Mac (Kurt “CyberGuy” Knutsson)

If you need help choosing a secure password, click the key button next to “New Password”

Steps to add a password to your Mac (Kurt “CyberGuy” Knutsson)

Enter a hint to help you remember it

Steps to add a password to your Mac (Kurt “CyberGuy” Knutsson)

Enter the new password again in the “Verify” field

Steps to add a password to your Mac (Kurt “CyberGuy” Knutsson)

Then click Change Password

Steps to add a password to your Mac (Kurt “CyberGuy” Knutsson)

HOW TO REMOVE MALWARE ON A MAC 2024

How to set up your Touch ID (if available)

On some Macs, you can also use biometric data to unlock your device with Touch ID. Here’s how to set it up:

In the top left corner, click on the Apple logo

Steps to set up your Touch ID (Kurt “CyberGuy” Knutsson)

Then click System Settings

Steps to set up your Touch ID (Kurt “CyberGuy” Knutsson)

Scroll down and click on Touch ID & Password from the sidebar

Steps to set up your Touch ID (Kurt “CyberGuy” Knutsson)

Steps to set up your Touch ID (Kurt “CyberGuy” Knutsson)

Then input your password when prompted

Steps to set up your Touch ID (Kurt “CyberGuy” Knutsson)

Steps to set up your Touch ID (Kurt “CyberGuy” Knutsson)

Follow the on-screen directions, repeatedly resting and lifting your finger on the Touch ID sensor. The location of the Touch ID sensor may vary depending on your Mac model; it’s typically found in the top right corner of the keyboard or near the keyboard on newer models.

Steps to set up your Touch ID (Kurt “CyberGuy” Knutsson)

Steps to set up your Touch ID (Kurt “CyberGuy” Knutsson)

HOW TO REMOVE YOUR PRIVATE DATA FROM THE INTERNET

Use strong and unique passwords

Create strong passwords for your accounts and devices, and avoid using the same password for multiple online accounts. Consider using a password manager to securely store and generate complex passwords. It will help you to create unique and difficult-to-crack passwords that a hacker could never guess.

Second, it also keeps track of all your passwords in one place and fills passwords in for you when you’re logging into an account so that you never have to remember them yourself. The fewer passwords you remember, the less likely you will be to reuse them for your accounts.

What qualities should I look for in a password manager?

When it comes to choosing the best password manager for you, here are some of my top tips.

Deploys secure
Works seamlessly across all of your devices
Creates unique complicated passwords that are different for every account
Automatically populates login and password fields for apps and sites you revisit
Has a browser extension for all browsers you use to automatically insert passwords for you
Allows a fail-safe in case the primary password is ever lost or forgotten
Checks that your existing passwords remain safe and alerts you if ever compromised
Uses two-factor authentication security

Get more details about my best expert-reviewed password managers of 2024 here.

Kurt’s key takeaways

Keeping your operating system and software up to date is also crucial for protecting against the latest security threats. By implementing a strong password and enabling Touch ID (if available), you’ll significantly enhance the security of your Mac and safeguard your personal data from unauthorized access.

What are your biggest concerns when it comes to protecting your digital footprint and personal data online? Have you encountered any particularly egregious violations of privacy or fallen victim to cyberthreats? Let us know by writing us at Cyberguy.com/Contact.

For more of my tech tips and security alerts, subscribe to my free CyberGuy Report Newsletter by heading to Cyberguy.com/Newsletter.

Ask Kurt a question or let us know what stories you’d like us to cover,

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Answers to the most asked CyberGuy questions:

Kurt “CyberGuy” Knutsson is an award-winning tech journalist who has a deep love of technology, gear and gadgets that make life better with his contributions for Fox News & FOX Business beginning mornings on “FOX & Friends.” Got a tech question? Get Kurt’s free CyberGuy Newsletter, share your voice, a story idea or comment at CyberGuy.com.

Technology

These smart binoculars can identify thousands of stars and over a million landmarks

Published

9 hours ago

June 27, 2024

Press Room

These smart binoculars can identify thousands of stars and over a million landmarks

Unistellar’s new Envision binoculars bring smart functionality similar to Swarovski’s Optik AX Visio binoculars announced earlier this year. But instead of recognizing birds and animals, the Envision will use AR to identify and label over a million unique landmarks including mountains and trails and more than 200,000 objects in the night sky.

The French company launched a decade ago with smart telescopes that automate the process of finding and photographing objects like stars and planets. It’s now squeezing that technology into a pair of binoculars featuring 50mm lenses from Nikon upgraded with an augmented reality projection system that overlays contextual information about what’s being viewed in real time.

It’s innovative, but Unistellar will be relying on a crowdfunding campaign to help create its first prototypes next year, and delivery to backers isn’t expected until late 2025.

The Envision binoculars connect to a smartphone over Bluetooth and use that device’s GPS and other sensors to determine where a user is located. With the help of an app, the smartphone also feeds the binoculars info from an online database featuring “millions of cartographic items, including mountains, hills, trails, landmarks, water sources, stars, galaxies, and other celestial objects.” For those headed to remote locations with limited connectivity, they’ll need to download offline maps and data ahead of time.

Battery life is rated at five hours of use or “1,000 binocular engagements per charge.” But when the battery dies, the Envision will continue to function as regular binoculars.

Users can lock onto a target and then pass the Envision binoculars to someone else who will be guided toward the target.

Image: Unistellar

In addition to serving as a handheld tour guide, Unistellar is promising another handy feature: one person can lock onto something they’re looking at and then pass the binoculars to someone else, who will see directional indicators guiding them to that same target.

Unistellar is bringing the Envision binoculars to consumers through a crowdfunded Kickstarter campaign that’s still over $1 million shy of its funding goal. Early bird backers can preorder a pair for $699, which is a significant discount over the expected $1,199 retail pricing (and much cheaper than the $4,799 Swarovski smart binoculars), but delivery for the earliest backers isn’t expected until November 2025.

There’s always a risk when backing a crowdfunded product, even one from a company like Unistellar that’s already delivered several successful devices. But the company isn’t expecting to have its first industrial prototypes of the Envision binoculars until January 2025. Despite a solid track record so far, it might be a good idea to wait until next year to see how these pan out.