Tech

Final Fantasy 16: Everything You Should Know Before You Buy

Published

1 year ago

June 22, 2023

You could think of Final Fantasy XVI as just the latest in a line of many games developer Square Enix made to re-energize its now almost 40-year-old series. But unlike many of those other titles, which fans and developers alike have said struggled to invigorate the franchise (despite its still imposing name), FFXVI is unafraid to harness the dark.

Skyward Sword HD Revisits The Stumble That Led To Breath Of The Wild

“Like the best Final Fantasies, XVI explores how trauma shapes heroism and what it takes to persevere against impossible odds,” Corey Plante writes in a Kotaku review. “This is a dark, mature story. But that just means the light shines that much brighter when good people fight for what’s right.”

FFXVI glides over rock bottom with purpose, and in being willing to go there, it seems to pull the series out of a longstanding slump. It’s a high-fantasy midlife crisis, and both newcomers and chronic fans have already had their curiosities piqued by an incredible two-hour demo. But both parties probably have questions. This is Final Fantasy, but only sort of, kind of how you knew it.

Not a problem. I’m answering all of the internet’s hottest Final Fantasy XVI questions—all you need to do is keep reading.

**When is FFXVI releasing?**

June 22. Those who already have the game installed will gain access at midnight.

**Are there any pre-order bonuses for Final Fantasy 16?**

Yes, and pre-orders are still open. Those who place an order will receive:

A Cait Sith Charm, which boosts the currency (Gil) you obtain in-game
The Braveheart weapon

I wouldn’t say either of those bonuses are crucial, but, you know, they’re there.

Both physical and digital Deluxe Editions of the game are also available for purchase. The physical version comes with a SteelBook case featuring main character Clive and a cloth map of his home region Valisthea, and the digital version comes with a “mini” digital artbook and soundtrack.

The physical Collector’s Edition of the game—which includes a Phoenix vs. Ifrit statue and Blood Sword weapon to use in the game—is sold out, if you don’t include the $600 copies currently selling on eBay.

A Final Fantasy 16 enemy growls as ice shards hurl at its face.

Yeah, for at least six months, the action role-playing game will be bound to the PS5. Producer Naoki Yoshida confirmed that it would eventually come to PC, too, but it won’t be within six months.

**Are all the Final Fantasy stories connected**?

Like, barely. Though some conceits are consistent through the series, like pervasive magic crystals, or the fire demon Ifrit, both of which are majorly featured in FFXVI, Final Fantasy stories largely exist independently of each other.

Those new to the franchise can close their fan Wikipedia tabs if they’ve been staring at them for too long. There isn’t much of a barrier to entry here.

While, like other Final Fantasy games, FFXVI was written first in Japanese and then translated to English (and other languages), it diverges from expectations by prioritizing English in general.

Yoshida said in 2021 that English dialogue was recorded first and with full facial motion capture, and so those playing the game with English voiceover instead of another language will be playing its most intended form.

Note, too, that subtitles support more languages than voice over does. While you can set your subtitles to Arabic or Russian, for example, you can only select from English, German, French, Spanish, Italian, and Japanese for voice over.

That’s up to you, but remember that the approximately two-hour demo is the full game’s introductory section and that your progress carries over to the full game (other than the unlockable Benedikta boss fight, which does not save your accomplishments).

It might be more accurate to think of completing the demo as completing the game’s tutorial and then stepping away from it for two weeks to vacuum your couch or something. But if you really must relive it, start a new game instead of your existing save file. See if I care.

Final Fantasy 16 protagonist Clive spars with a knight.

What’s different about FFXVI gameplay? Is it turn-based?

Though this will disappoint a subset of Final Fantasy traditionalists, FFXVI extends the series’ shift away from the turn-based combat seen in most entries. It is a student of the Final Fantasy new school of real-time combat, but players have the option to select a “story-focused” game mode over “action-focused” if they aren’t as comfortable with real-time, or if they simply prefer to enter the world as an observer.

Its gameplay decisions aren’t coming out of nowhere, though. Like in past Final Fantasy games, Eikon spirits serve as battle summons. Clive channels them for his customizable special attack.

Over the years, and not by Square Enix’s intention, Moogle have become a franchise mascot; They are yet another image Final Fantasy passes down from game to game.

First introduced in 1990’s Final Fantasy III, the gray creatures exist somewhere between a koala and a marshmallow, and they tend to be helpful with providing save points or other in-game assistance. They were almost cut entirely from FFXVI due to the incongruous tone of their whole adorable deal, but they did ultimately make it into the game, after putting up a fight.

“Performance mode alters the appearance of the polygons slightly, and we particularly struggled with the Moogle…it just ended up with less fur,” art director Hiroshi Minagawa said in a Square Enix blog this spring. “It kind of ended up looking like a hedgehog! Eventually, we ended up putting in some processing specifically for the Moogle.” Moogle.

**Does FFXVI have the potential to be the very best** Final Fantasy game?

If the high-performance Moogle didn’t make it obvious enough to you: yes.

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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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