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‘Baldur’s Gate 3’ Hotfix Patch Notes Include Some Very Colorful Changes

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1 year ago

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Baldur’s Gate 3 is an undeniable hit, and rightfully so. Larian Studios has produced an RPG that harkens back to the good old days, reminding us all how much we miss the original Baldur’s Gate games, or more recent titles like Dragon Age: Origins.

Indeed, it seems like we’ve had very few big-budget, AAA RPGs in a long time, at least not ones with tons of dialogue options, party management and all the rest. Action-RPGs have gained popularity, but games like Mass Effect or The Witcher have been few and far between.

In any case, with 800,000 concurrent players on Steam, Baldur’s Gate 3 is now one of the top 10 most popular titles ever on the PC platform. But despite years of Early Access, the game is still loaded with bugs and other problems. Some of those issues were addressed in a hotfix that went live this morning. Here are the full patch notes, which include changes to undergarments and genatalia.

CRASHES AND BLOCKERS

  • Fixed an issue causing you to get stuck in dialogue.
  • Fixed a potential crash when reloading a savegame made mid-dialogue.
  • Fixed being unable to enter the Shadowfell if you saved while the prompt was on screen.
  • Fixed a crash caused by the UI.
  • Fixed a potential crash when saving while standing on a surface during combat or in Turn-Based Mode.
  • Fixed a rare blocker when loading a savegame made in camp that would cause a party member to spawn outside of camp.
  • Fixed a potential crash when choosing to stop listening in on a dialogue.
  • Fixed a potential crash when applying dye to an item outside of the inventory or through non-conventional means, such as the Reward panel.
  • Fixed a potential multiplayer crash when the client touches the transponder on the nautiloid and leaves the party, and then the host tries to open Party View.
  • Fixed a potential crash caused by the game trying to load the Character Creation UI when you are no longer in Character Creation.
  • Fixed a potential crash related to the tooltips of items that grant skill advantages but don’t have an owner.
  • Fixed a rare PhysX crash.
  • Fixed a rare crash related to moving items.

MULTIPLAYER

  • Fixed long fade-outs when listening in on dialogues in multiplayer.

GAMEPLAY

  • Penises C and D no longer clip through some githyanki clothing.
  • Male gnome sorcerers are no longer missing their undies.
  • Fixed an infinite loop that could occur with spells like Minor Illusion, where the enemy and the illusion would repeatedly enter and leave combat.
  • Fixed necromites not joining the combat with Ketheric.
  • Fixed enemies on the upper floor of Moonrise entering combat with those on the lower floor.
  • Fixed Voss’ dragon reappearing after the githyanki scene near the Mountain Pass.
  • Fixed a book in Moonrise Towers showing an internal variable name instead of the correct content.
  • Fixed an issue preventing the boss fight with Ketheric from progressing.

UI

  • Removed the version number that was below the minimap.
  • Improved UI stability by preventing possible crashes and possible savegame corruption.

ENGINE

  • Fixed issues with rendering on Vulkan when minimising the game.
  • Added additional multiplayer servers and server scaling support.
  • Fixed an issue causing the wrong refresh rates to be applied if the game was not running in fullscreen.

CINEMATICS

  • Fixed pauses and long silences in over 200 dialogues.
  • Companions no longer block the camera in some dialogs.
  • Fixed a camera issue where you see the back of Gale’s head when he asks you to place your hand over his chest.
  • Fixed a pop on Shadowheart when she hears the voice of Shar.
  • Fixed Gale’s paddle hands in one of his dialogues.
  • Fixed Guex looking at the floor in his dialogue in the Emerald Grove.
  • Fixed a blocked camera in the dialogue with Benryn at Waukeen’s Rest.
  • Fixed clipping and other issues in the scene where you hear the voice of the Absolute when approaching the Goblin Camp.
  • Fixed a camera issue and a pop in the dialogue with the owlbear in its cave.
  • Fixed players’ feet sliding around in the dialogue with Jaheira after combat at Last Light.
  • Fixed one of Astarion’s lines getting cut off in a camp dialogue.
  • Fixed several animation issues in the dialogue after some acquaintances of Astarion visit camp.
  • Fixed a pop for players using Body Type 4 in the scene with poor Liam at the Goblin Camp.
  • Fixed a camera issue in the dialogue with Edowin, Andrick and Brynna in the forest.
  • Fixed Kagha’s eyes rolling backwards à la Exorcist after the goblin leaders are defeated.
  • Fixed a positioning issue with Lorin in the hag’s lair.
  • Cleaned up some mocap in conversations with Astarion.
  • Fixed a head pop in the scene with the ogres in the Blighted Village.
  • Fixed Wyll’s head animation in the dialogue with Florrick at Last Light.
  • Fixed Sceleritas Fel standing a little too close for comfort when he tells the Dark Urge to commit a certain misdeed.
  • Fixed a camera issue in the scene with Radija at Moonrise.
  • Fixed a minor pop when rescuing Zariel’s asset for Mizora.
  • Fixed a clipping issue with a certain hag’s arms and leaves in the Blushing Mermaid.
  • Fixed some character placement issues in an endgame scene.
  • Fixed a camera issue for female gnomes in a dialogue at Moonrise involving something coming through a wall.
  • Fixed a pop for the flesh golem when speaking to Balthazar.
  • Fixed a camera issue when talking to one of Therezzyn’s dire wolves in Crèche Y’llek.
  • Fixed character placement issues in the lanceboard scene with Mol and Raphael at Last Light.
  • Fixed a character placement issue that caused Lae’zel to float off the edge of the nautiloid.
  • Fixed several issues in the dialogue with Bernard at the Arcane Tower.
  • Fixed a camera issue in the boat scene where you’re heading to a particular pool.
  • Fixed a minor mocap issue with Fist Rowan at Wyrm’s Crossing.
  • Fixed Minthara looking to the side with suspicion the night after the celebration at camp.
  • Fixed characters’ heads popping downward when throwing a coin into the well in the Blighted Village.
  • Fixed a minor pop when Shadowheart tries to convince you that you need her at the Goblin Camp.
  • Adjusted Astarion’s expression in dialogue with Gandrel in the Sunlit Wetlands.
  • Fixed Blurg being invisible and Astarion being stuck in the wrong animation in the Myconid Circle.
  • Fixed several issues in the dialogue with the monk’s amulet.
  • Fixed several issues in the dialogue with Dammon and Karlach about her heart.
  • Fixed several issues in the dialogue with Fortuno Dibbs at Wyrm’s Crossing.
  • Fixed several animation issues in the dialogue with Kansif and Warrior Vez in the Shadow-Cursed Lands.
  • Fixed a minor timing issue with a Dream Visitor line when talking to Therezzyn in the crèche.
  • Fixed issues with several voice-over lines.
  • Fixed characters’ eyes looking in the wrong direction in the ambush scene in the Shadow-Cursed Lands if you side with the Harpers.
  • Cleaned up some mocap in conversations with Gale.
  • Cleaned up some mocap in the dialogue with Astarion about illithid powers.
  • Added some pained grunts for the player in a scene about Wyll in the Colony.
  • Added grunts in a scene for Dark Urge players after they resisted the allure of their Urges.
  • Drenn is no longer invisible in the scene at Moonrise when Minthara has to defend herself.
  • Fixed a very long pause in a dialogue with Halsin after the endgame fight.

Baldur’s Gate 3 is out now on PC with a PS5 launch slated for September and an Xbox launch sometime next year.

 

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The Internet is Littered in ‘Educated Guesses’ Without the ‘Education’

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1 week ago

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October 8, 2024

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Although no one likes a know-it-all, they dominate the Internet.

The Internet began as a vast repository of information. It quickly became a breeding ground for self-proclaimed experts seeking what most people desire: recognition and money.

Today, anyone with an Internet connection and some typing skills can position themselves, regardless of their education or experience, as a subject matter expert (SME). From relationship advice, career coaching, and health and nutrition tips to citizen journalists practicing pseudo-journalism, the Internet is awash with individuals—Internet talking heads—sharing their “insights,” which are, in large part, essentially educated guesses without the education or experience.

The Internet has become a 24/7/365 sitcom where armchair experts think they’re the star.

Not long ago, years, sometimes decades, of dedicated work and acquiring education in one’s field was once required to be recognized as an expert. The knowledge and opinions of doctors, scientists, historians, et al. were respected due to their education and experience. Today, a social media account and a knack for hyperbole are all it takes to present oneself as an “expert” to achieve Internet fame that can be monetized.

On the Internet, nearly every piece of content is self-serving in some way.

The line between actual expertise and self-professed knowledge has become blurry as an out-of-focus selfie. Inadvertently, social media platforms have created an informal degree program where likes and shares are equivalent to degrees. After reading selective articles, they’ve found via and watching some TikTok videos, a person can post a video claiming they’re an herbal medicine expert. Their new “knowledge,” which their followers will absorb, claims that Panda dung tea—one of the most expensive teas in the world and isn’t what its name implies—cures everything from hypertension to existential crisis. Meanwhile, registered dietitians are shaking their heads, wondering how to compete against all the misinformation their clients are exposed to.

More disturbing are individuals obsessed with evangelizing their beliefs or conspiracy theories. These people write in-depth blog posts, such as Elvis Is Alive and the Moon Landings Were Staged, with links to obscure YouTube videos, websites, social media accounts, and blogs. Regardless of your beliefs, someone or a group on the Internet shares them, thus confirming your beliefs.

Misinformation is the Internet’s currency used to get likes, shares, and engagement; thus, it often spreads like a cosmic joke. Consider the prevalence of clickbait headlines:

  • You Won’t Believe What Taylor Swift Says About Climate Change!
  • This Bedtime Drink Melts Belly Fat While You Sleep!
  • In One Week, I Turned $10 Into $1 Million!

Titles that make outrageous claims are how the content creator gets reads and views, which generates revenue via affiliate marketing, product placement, and pay-per-click (PPC) ads. Clickbait headlines are how you end up watching a TikTok video by a purported nutrition expert adamantly asserting you can lose belly fat while you sleep by drinking, for 14 consecutive days, a concoction of raw eggs, cinnamon, and apple cider vinegar 15 minutes before going to bed.

Our constant search for answers that’ll explain our convoluted world and our desire for shortcuts to success is how Internet talking heads achieve influencer status. Because we tend to seek low-hanging fruits, we listen to those with little experience or knowledge of the topics they discuss yet are astute enough to know what most people want to hear.

There’s a trend, more disturbing than spreading misinformation, that needs to be called out: individuals who’ve never achieved significant wealth or traded stocks giving how-to-make-easy-money advice, the appeal of which is undeniable. Several people I know have lost substantial money by following the “advice” of Internet talking heads.

Anyone on social media claiming to have a foolproof money-making strategy is lying. They wouldn’t be peddling their money-making strategy if they could make easy money.

Successful people tend to be secretive.

Social media companies design their respective algorithms to serve their advertisers—their source of revenue—interest; hence, content from Internet talking heads appears most prominent in your feeds. When a video of a self-professed expert goes viral, likely because it pressed an emotional button, the more people see it, the more engagement it receives, such as likes, shares and comments, creating a cycle akin to a tornado.

Imagine scrolling through your TikTok feed and stumbling upon a “scientist” who claims they can predict the weather using only aluminum foil, copper wire, sea salt and baking soda. You chuckle, but you notice his video got over 7,000 likes, has been shared over 600 times and received over 400 comments. You think to yourself, “Maybe this guy is onto something.” What started as a quest to achieve Internet fame evolved into an Internet-wide belief that weather forecasting can be as easy as DIY crafts.

Since anyone can call themselves “an expert,” you must cultivate critical thinking skills to distinguish genuine expertise from self-professed experts’ self-promoting nonsense. While the absurdity of the Internet can be entertaining, misinformation has serious consequences. The next time you read a headline that sounds too good to be true, it’s probably an Internet talking head making an educated guess; without the education seeking Internet fame, they can monetize.

______________________________________________________________

 

Nick Kossovan, a self-described connoisseur of human psychology, writes about what’s

on his mind from Toronto. You can follow Nick on Twitter and Instagram @NKossovan.

 

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Tight deadlines on software projects can put safety at risk: survey

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1 week ago

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October 8, 2024

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TORONTO – A new survey says a majority of software engineers and developers feel tight project deadlines can put safety at risk.

Seventy-five per cent of the 1,000 global workers who responded to the survey released Tuesday say pressure to deliver projects on time and on budget could be compromising critical aspects like safety.

The concern is even higher among engineers and developers in North America, with 77 per cent of those surveyed on the continent reporting the urgency of projects could be straining safety.

The study was conducted between July and September by research agency Coleman Parkes and commissioned by BlackBerry Ltd.’s QNX division, which builds connected-car technology.

The results reflect a timeless tug of war engineers and developers grapple with as they balance the need to meet project deadlines with regulations and safety checks that can slow down the process.

Finding that balance is an issue that developers of even the simplest appliances face because of advancements in technology, said John Wall, a senior vice-president at BlackBerry and head of QNX.

“The software is getting more complicated and there is more software whether it’s in a vehicle, robotics, a toaster, you name it… so being able to patch vulnerabilities, to prevent bad actors from doing malicious acts is becoming more and more important,” he said.

The medical, industrial and automotive industries have standardized safety measures and anything they produce undergoes rigorous testing, but that work doesn’t happen overnight. It has to be carried out from the start and then at every step of the development process.

“What makes safety and security difficult is it’s an ongoing thing,” Wall said. “It’s not something where you’ve done it, and you are finished.”

The Waterloo, Ont.-based business found 90 per cent of its survey respondents reported that organizations are prioritizing safety.

However, when asked about why safety may not be a priority for their organization, 46 per cent of those surveyed answered cost pressures and 35 per cent said a lack of resources.

That doesn’t surprise Wall. Delays have become rampant in the development of tech, and in some cases, stand to push back the launch of vehicle lines by two years, he said.

“We have to make sure that people don’t compromise on safety and security to be able to get products out quicker,” he said.

“What we don’t want to see is people cutting corners and creating unsafe situations.”

The survey also took a peek at security breaches, which have hit major companies like London Drugs, Indigo Books & Music, Giant Tiger and Ticketmaster in recent years.

About 40 per cent of the survey’s respondents said they have encountered a security breach in their employer’s operating system. Those breaches resulted in major impacts for 27 per cent of respondents, moderate impacts for 42 per cent and minor impacts for 27 per cent.

“There are vulnerabilities all the time and this is what makes the job very difficult because when you ship the software, presumably the software has no security vulnerabilities, but things get discovered after the fact,” Wall said.

Security issues, he added, have really come to the forefront of the problems developers face, so “really without security, you have no safety.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 8, 2024.

Companies in this story: (TSX:BB)

The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.

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Beware of scams during Amazon’s Prime Big Deal Days sales event: cybersecurity firm

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October 8, 2024

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As online shoppers hunt for bargains offered by Amazon during its annual fall sale this week, cybersecurity researchers are warning Canadians to beware of an influx of scammers posing as the tech giant.

In the 30 days leading up to Amazon’s Prime Big Deal Days, taking place Tuesday and Wednesday, there were more than 1,000 newly registered Amazon-related web domains, according to Check Point Software Technologies, a company that offers cybersecurity solutions.

The company said it deemed 88 per cent of those domains malicious or suspicious, suggesting they could have been set up by scammers to prey on vulnerable consumers. One in every 54 newly created Amazon-related domain included the phrase “Amazon Prime.”

“They’re almost indiscernible from the real Amazon domain,” said Robert Falzon, head of engineering at Check Point in Canada.

“With all these domains registered that look so similar, it’s tricking a lot of people. And that’s the whole intent here.”

Falzon said Check Point Research sees an uptick in attempted scams around big online shopping days throughout the year, including Prime Days.

Scams often come in the form of phishing emails, which are deceptive messages that appear to be from a reputable source in attempt to steal sensitive information.

In this case, he said scammers posing as Amazon commonly offer “outrageous” deals that appear to be associated with Prime Days, in order to trick recipients into clicking on a malicious link.

The cybersecurity firm said it has identified and blocked 100 unique Amazon Prime-themed scam emails targeting organizations and consumers over the past two weeks.

Scammers also target Prime members with unsolicited calls, claiming urgent account issues and requesting payment information.

“It’s like Christmas for them,” said Falzon.

“People expect there to be significant savings on Prime Day, so they’re not shocked that they see something of significant value. Usually, the old adage applies: If it seems too good to be true, it probably is.”

Amazon’s website lists a number of red flags that it recommends customers watch for to identify a potential impersonation scam.

Those include false urgency, requests for personal information, or indications that the sender prefers to complete the purchase outside of the Amazon website or mobile app.

Scammers may also request that customers exclusively pay with gift cards, a claim code or PIN. Any notifications about an order or delivery for an unexpected item should also raise alarm bells, the company says.

“During busy shopping moments, we tend to see a rise in impersonation scams reported by customers,” said Amazon spokeswoman Octavia Roufogalis in a statement.

“We will continue to invest in protecting consumers and educating the public on scam avoidance. We encourage consumers to report suspected scams to us so that we can protect their accounts and refer bad actors to law enforcement to help keep consumers safe.”

Falzon added that these scams are more successful than people might think.

As of June 30, the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre said there had been $284 million lost to fraud so far this year, affecting 15,941 victims.

But Falzon said many incidents go unreported, as some Canadians who are targeted do not know how or where to flag a scam, or may choose not to out of embarrassment.

Check Point recommends Amazon customers take precautions while shopping on Prime Days, including by checking URLs carefully, creating strong passwords on their accounts, and avoiding personal information being shared such as their birthday or social security number.

The cybersecurity company said consumers should also look for “https” at the beginning of a website URL, which indicates a secure connection, and use credit cards rather than debit cards for online shopping, which offer better protection and less liability if stolen.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 8, 2024.

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