Tech

7 Cyberpunk 2077 tips and tricks for surviving bugs, Night City and confusion – Tom's Guide

Published

4 years ago

December 25, 2020

To be honest, the best Cyberpunk 2077 tip (if you ask me) is to hold off on buying the game. Cyberpunk 2077 is not finished, and it’s so buggy that developer CD Projekt Red released an apology and offer to refund purchases. By the time I was done on our Cyberpunk 2077 review, I realized, I can attest that Cyberpunk 2077 bugs are just something you have to try and get used to.

But I’m guessing that if you’re reading this, you’ve already decided to jack into the world of Johnny Silverhand and visit Afterlife. So, now that you’re in: This game can get pretty confusing, can’t it?

Having gotten through a significant chunk of Cyberpunk 2077’s main story, I’ve learned a lot about how to live, thrive and die in Night City. The biggest lesson, though, is that a little care goes a long way — especially if you picked Normal difficulty. I did, and I found the game to be amazingly forgiving when I was reckless, distracted or both.

Aside from accepting bugs and glitches as a fact of life, I’ve compiled the seven things I wish someone had told me when I started my path as a Street Punk.

1. Don’t worry about your Lifepath

Cyberpunk 2077 offers a whole lot of options for building your character, from cosmetics to stat points — but you might spend some (or more) time agonizing over your Lifepath. This is basically your character’s class. Your three options are Corpo, Nomad or Street Kid, and this is a far more trivial concern than you might expect.

(Image credit: CD Projekt Red)

Even in situations when I’ve been in the streets of Night City, my Street Kid dialogue options didn’t really do much for me. They felt more like a seasoning than anything else, which irked me a fair bit. So, pick whichever personality you think you’d have the most fun being.

2. Play smarter, not harder

While you can get through most of Cyberpunk 2077 with some skill — or less, if you set the game on Normal, where the enemy AI fails to put up much of a challenge — you might often find yourself running short on RAM. No, not the memory that helps your system run (or fail to run) Cyberpunk 2077 smoothly, but the in-game points that you can use for hacks.

So, when it’s time to fill out your Attribute points up front, don’t think you can get by easily with a low Intelligence. Since enemy AI is questionable, I’d say that Body and Reflexes aren’t worth maxing out at Intelligence’s expense. Cool is also an attribute to pay attention to, as it can help you play stealthily.

3. Take some time to stop and smell the side-quests

The central story of Cyberpunk 2077 may feel extremely urgent, but you should take the optional side quests early on if you’re trying to get the most out of this game. As I’ve discovered, the mainline quest of Cyberpunk is surprisingly quick to finish.

I noticed this after I’d finished most of Act 2’s quests and learned Act 3 was on the smaller side. And don’t skimp on side missions, as Cyberpunk 2077 has secret endings, which are unlocked by completing Blistering Love missions for Johnny and/or Panam’s missions.

4. Hack your wallet full

A lot of Cyberpunk 2077’s tech-y environments can blend together, but if you see a rectangular interface on a wall, walk up and see if you can Jack In by holding X. These boxes often have the Breach Protocol challenge, which can get you a lot of money.

In order to make money, though, you’ll want to have your Intelligence up (remember what we said earlier) so that you can use as many access points as possible. Then, opt to spend Skill points on Extended Network Interface (which makes it easier to find Access Points) and Advanced Datamine (which increases the chance to get a quickhack from an Access Point).

From there, it’s a matter of understanding the rules of Breach Protocol. Look at the “sequence required to upload” on the right side of the page: These are the Daemons you’re trying to upload, and often there will be a bunch of Eurodollars (eddies) that you can get with the right Daemon. You want to click through that sequence in the grid on the left, starting with the first row, and your next selection has to be from the same column as your first choice. Then, your third pick has to come from the same row as your second pick. Pick 4? You guessed it: from the same column as pick 3. It repeats as such. Oh, and you have a limited number of picks. Plan ahead properly and you can upload multiple daemons in the same go.

5. Walk, don’t run

This may be dependent on your platform, but I’ve found that Night City’s larger environments look a lot worse if you’re speeding through the world.

Yes, for a game that has ads where you’re speeding around its neon-lit streets, Cyberpunk 2077 works a lot better if you’re moving through it at a slower pace, or at least it did on my Xbox One X. Even running into a diner managed to crash the game for me. If you’ve got a PS5, Xbox Series X or a PC with a brand-new GPU, you may be able to play faster and looser.

The same advice applies to driving around, but we’re not talking about bugs this time. The faster you go — and these cars don’t really handle well — the more likely you’re going to accidentally crash into one of the small pylons, other cars or (gasp!) a pedestrian.

6. Give up on headshots

Arguably the most comical part of Cyberpunk 2077’s gameplay is that I can shoot a enemy 5 times in the head and watch them run right back up to me and attack. This isn’t to say those hits are worthless — they do more damage than, say, a leg hit — but they’re not the one-shot kills you want them to be.

And the time spent trying to get a clean headshot could be better used evading, reloading or healing.

7. Learn to quick save — a lot.

This isn’t just about the glitches — except it totally is. I’ve noticed that Cyberpunk 2077’s automatic quick saves can often happen at moments well before or after I would have hit save. So, develop a muscle memory for entering the menu and clicking Triangle (on PlayStation), Y (on Xbox) or F5 (on PC).

That way, if Cyberpunk 2077 hard-crashes, glitches in a detrimental way, or does anything else you wanted to avoid, you’ll be ready to reload, and rock and roll.

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Tech

Ottawa orders TikTok’s Canadian arm to be dissolved

Published

3 days ago

November 6, 2024

Anne Joseph

The federal government is ordering the dissolution of TikTok’s Canadian business after a national security review of the Chinese company behind the social media platform, but stopped short of ordering people to stay off the app.

Industry Minister François-Philippe Champagne announced the government’s “wind up” demand Wednesday, saying it is meant to address “risks” related to ByteDance Ltd.’s establishment of TikTok Technology Canada Inc.

“The decision was based on the information and evidence collected over the course of the review and on the advice of Canada’s security and intelligence community and other government partners,” he said in a statement.

The announcement added that the government is not blocking Canadians’ access to the TikTok application or their ability to create content.

However, it urged people to “adopt good cybersecurity practices and assess the possible risks of using social media platforms and applications, including how their information is likely to be protected, managed, used and shared by foreign actors, as well as to be aware of which country’s laws apply.”

Champagne’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment seeking details about what evidence led to the government’s dissolution demand, how long ByteDance has to comply and why the app is not being banned.

A TikTok spokesperson said in a statement that the shutdown of its Canadian offices will mean the loss of hundreds of well-paying local jobs.

“We will challenge this order in court,” the spokesperson said.

“The TikTok platform will remain available for creators to find an audience, explore new interests and for businesses to thrive.”

The federal Liberals ordered a national security review of TikTok in September 2023, but it was not public knowledge until The Canadian Press reported in March that it was investigating the company.

At the time, it said the review was based on the expansion of a business, which it said constituted the establishment of a new Canadian entity. It declined to provide any further details about what expansion it was reviewing.

A government database showed a notification of new business from TikTok in June 2023. It said Network Sense Ventures Ltd. in Toronto and Vancouver would engage in “marketing, advertising, and content/creator development activities in relation to the use of the TikTok app in Canada.”

Even before the review, ByteDance and TikTok were lightning rod for privacy and safety concerns because Chinese national security laws compel organizations in the country to assist with intelligence gathering.

Such concerns led the U.S. House of Representatives to pass a bill in March designed to ban TikTok unless its China-based owner sells its stake in the business.

Champagne’s office has maintained Canada’s review was not related to the U.S. bill, which has yet to pass.

Canada’s review was carried out through the Investment Canada Act, which allows the government to investigate any foreign investment with potential to might harm national security.

While cabinet can make investors sell parts of the business or shares, Champagne has said the act doesn’t allow him to disclose details of the review.

Wednesday’s dissolution order was made in accordance with the act.

The federal government banned TikTok from its mobile devices in February 2023 following the launch of an investigation into the company by federal and provincial privacy commissioners.

— With files from Anja Karadeglija in Ottawa

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 6, 2024.

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Health

Here is how to prepare your online accounts for when you die

Published

2 weeks ago

October 24, 2024

Anne Joseph

LONDON (AP) — Most people have accumulated a pile of data — selfies, emails, videos and more — on their social media and digital accounts over their lifetimes. What happens to it when we die?

It’s wise to draft a will spelling out who inherits your physical assets after you’re gone, but don’t forget to take care of your digital estate too. Friends and family might treasure files and posts you’ve left behind, but they could get lost in digital purgatory after you pass away unless you take some simple steps.

Here’s how you can prepare your digital life for your survivors:

Apple

The iPhone maker lets you nominate a “ legacy contact ” who can access your Apple account’s data after you die. The company says it’s a secure way to give trusted people access to photos, files and messages. To set it up you’ll need an Apple device with a fairly recent operating system — iPhones and iPads need iOS or iPadOS 15.2 and MacBooks needs macOS Monterey 12.1.

For iPhones, go to settings, tap Sign-in & Security and then Legacy Contact. You can name one or more people, and they don’t need an Apple ID or device.

You’ll have to share an access key with your contact. It can be a digital version sent electronically, or you can print a copy or save it as a screenshot or PDF.

Take note that there are some types of files you won’t be able to pass on — including digital rights-protected music, movies and passwords stored in Apple’s password manager. Legacy contacts can only access a deceased user’s account for three years before Apple deletes the account.

Google

Google takes a different approach with its Inactive Account Manager, which allows you to share your data with someone if it notices that you’ve stopped using your account.

When setting it up, you need to decide how long Google should wait — from three to 18 months — before considering your account inactive. Once that time is up, Google can notify up to 10 people.

You can write a message informing them you’ve stopped using the account, and, optionally, include a link to download your data. You can choose what types of data they can access — including emails, photos, calendar entries and YouTube videos.

There’s also an option to automatically delete your account after three months of inactivity, so your contacts will have to download any data before that deadline.

Facebook and Instagram

Some social media platforms can preserve accounts for people who have died so that friends and family can honor their memories.

When users of Facebook or Instagram die, parent company Meta says it can memorialize the account if it gets a “valid request” from a friend or family member. Requests can be submitted through an online form.

The social media company strongly recommends Facebook users add a legacy contact to look after their memorial accounts. Legacy contacts can do things like respond to new friend requests and update pinned posts, but they can’t read private messages or remove or alter previous posts. You can only choose one person, who also has to have a Facebook account.

You can also ask Facebook or Instagram to delete a deceased user’s account if you’re a close family member or an executor. You’ll need to send in documents like a death certificate.

TikTok

The video-sharing platform says that if a user has died, people can submit a request to memorialize the account through the settings menu. Go to the Report a Problem section, then Account and profile, then Manage account, where you can report a deceased user.

Once an account has been memorialized, it will be labeled “Remembering.” No one will be able to log into the account, which prevents anyone from editing the profile or using the account to post new content or send messages.

It’s not possible to nominate a legacy contact on Elon Musk’s social media site. But family members or an authorized person can submit a request to deactivate a deceased user’s account.

Passwords

Besides the major online services, you’ll probably have dozens if not hundreds of other digital accounts that your survivors might need to access. You could just write all your login credentials down in a notebook and put it somewhere safe. But making a physical copy presents its own vulnerabilities. What if you lose track of it? What if someone finds it?

Instead, consider a password manager that has an emergency access feature. Password managers are digital vaults that you can use to store all your credentials. Some, like Keeper,Bitwarden and NordPass, allow users to nominate one or more trusted contacts who can access their keys in case of an emergency such as a death.

But there are a few catches: Those contacts also need to use the same password manager and you might have to pay for the service.

___

Is there a tech challenge you need help figuring out? Write to us at onetechtip@ap.org with your questions.

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Tech

Google’s partnership with AI startup Anthropic faces a UK competition investigation

Published

2 weeks ago

October 24, 2024

Anne Joseph

LONDON (AP) — Britain’s competition watchdog said Thursday it’s opening a formal investigation into Google’s partnership with artificial intelligence startup Anthropic.

The Competition and Markets Authority said it has “sufficient information” to launch an initial probe after it sought input earlier this year on whether the deal would stifle competition.

The CMA has until Dec. 19 to decide whether to approve the deal or escalate its investigation.

“Google is committed to building the most open and innovative AI ecosystem in the world,” the company said. “Anthropic is free to use multiple cloud providers and does, and we don’t demand exclusive tech rights.”

San Francisco-based Anthropic was founded in 2021 by siblings Dario and Daniela Amodei, who previously worked at ChatGPT maker OpenAI. The company has focused on increasing the safety and reliability of AI models. Google reportedly agreed last year to make a multibillion-dollar investment in Anthropic, which has a popular chatbot named Claude.

Anthropic said it’s cooperating with the regulator and will provide “the complete picture about Google’s investment and our commercial collaboration.”

“We are an independent company and none of our strategic partnerships or investor relationships diminish the independence of our corporate governance or our freedom to partner with others,” it said in a statement.

The U.K. regulator has been scrutinizing a raft of AI deals as investment money floods into the industry to capitalize on the artificial intelligence boom. Last month it cleared Anthropic’s $4 billion deal with Amazon and it has also signed off on Microsoft’s deals with two other AI startups, Inflection and Mistral.

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