Tech
Everything You Need To Know About ‘Call Of Duty: Vanguard’ — Release Date, Reveal Trailer And More – Forbes


Activision and Sledgehammer Games revealed Call Of Duty: Vanguard today during a special event—The Battle of Verdansk—in Warzone. The upcoming 2021 game is set in World War II, though unlike Sledgehammer’s last game, Call Of Duty: WWII, it will take place across several different fronts.
Here’s everything you need to know about Call Of Duty: Vanguard.
Release Date / Platforms
Vanguard releases a bit later in the year than Modern Warfare did back in 2019 and a bit earlier than Black Ops Cold War did in 2020. The game hits shelves on November 5th, 2021. It’s releasing on PS5, PS4, Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One and PC. The PC port is being developed by Beenox.
As you can see, this is a very campaign-focused trailer. We should be getting more multiplayer info soon.
Campaign
Vangaurd’s campaign takes place across four theaters of war: the Western Front, the Eastern Front, North Africa and the South Pacific. The campaign will follow four special ops soldiers who formed the multinational Task Force One:
- Sgt. Arthur Kingsley, British, 9th Parachute Battalion
- Lt. Polina Petrova, Soviet, 138th Rifle Division
- Captain Wade Jackson, American, Scouting Squadron Six (Navy)
- 2 Lt. Lucas Riggs, Australian, 20th Battalion
The game is being developed with the same engine and technology that was used in Infinity Ward’s Modern Warfare (2019) but adds “reactive environments” aka destructible environments.
Call of Duty: Vanguard
Credit: Activision
Multiplayer
At launch, Vanguard will include 20 maps. 16 of those maps are 6v6 with the other 4 set aside for Champion Hill mode.
Gunsmith returns so expect lots of gun customization. Custom ballistics also make their debut in Vanguard which sounds interesting.
Activision and Sledgehammer’s buzz-phrase this time around is “down the barrel gunplay” (in past years it was “boots on the ground gameplay” etc.) which I take as an emphasis on WWII arsenal as opposed to the more modern loadouts in Modern Warfare and Black Ops Cold War.
Call of Duty: Vanguard
Credit: Activision
Champion Hill
Champion Hill is the new tentpole mode and it sounds kind of like Gunfight Tournament. This time around you can play 1v1, 2v2 or 3v3 in an arena tournament that consists of four maps. That’s pretty cool as it gives players options when they’re running solo or playing with more than just one friend (I really wish that Black Ops Cold War would open up Gunfight to 1v1 and 3v3 permanent playlists).
Multiplayer Beta
There will be a multiplayer beta as well, with PlayStation and pre-order players gaining early access. Details to come.
Treyarch Zombies
This time around, Treyarch is taking the lead on Zombies so as to better incorporate the stories between Vanguard and Black Ops Cold War. This is good news for Zombies fans as Treyarch is clearly the top Call of Duty studio when it comes to that mode.
Call of Duty: Vanguard
Credit: Activision
Warzone
Once again, Warzone will integrate seamlessly (or as seamlessly as possible) with this year’s Call of Duty. This time, however, Raven Studios is developing an entirely new map for Vanguard. And since the two games will share the same tech—unlike Warzone and Black Ops Cold War—the experience should be much more uniform.
Post-Launch
Once again, as with the past two entries in the Call of Duty franchise, all post-launch maps will be free. There will be a Battle Pass system, bundles in the Item Shop and lots of other post-release content including new guns, Operators and so forth. You know the drill by now—and it’s a fine drill, much better than loot boxes and paid map packs.
I made a video about the Call of Duty: Vanguard reveal which you can watch below:
Stay tuned for more coverage of Call of Duty: Vanguard and Warzone and whatever happens with Black Ops Cold War going forward here at this blog and on my YouTube channel. This was a rundown of the basics, but there’s going to be lots more to cover and I should be previewing the game in the not-so-distant future (hopefully) and will return with impressions. Thanks for reading!
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Tech
‘Genshin Impact’ Sumeru Gift Codes For Free Primogems, 3.0 Character Banners, Release Date – Forbes


At long, long last, Genshin Impact just wrapped up its new 3.0 special program, revealing a whole lot of new information about the new region, the new element, Dendro, new characters and of course, there are free goodies if you hung out and wached the stream. Or even if you didn’t, I have them right here.
We’ll just get these out of the way first, here are the three gift codes for free primogems and other materials that you can redeem here. These ones are only good for 24 hours, I believe, so you better hurry.
- 8ANCKTWYVRD5 – 100 Primogems and 10 Mystic Ore
- EA7VKTFHU9VR – 100 Primogems and 5 Hero’s Wit
- KT7DKSFGCRWD – 100 Primogems and 50,000 Mora
Past that, the most pressing information is probably the release date for Genshin Impact’s Sumeru update, which is August 24, 2022.
Genshin Impact
miHoYo
We also were told about the first two character banners for 3.0, which will include three total Sumeru characters with only one five star. Those are:
- Phase 1 – Tighnari (5 star), Zhongli (5 star), Collei (4 star)
- Phase 2 – Ganyu (5 star), Kokomi (5 star), Dori (4 star)
While other Sumeru characters were shown or teased onscreen, it will be deeper into the 3.0 patch series before we get to those, which is not unexpected, given that’s how Inazuma worked, and we ended up getting new Inazuma characters for essentially an entire year. And we’re probably still not done.
Sumeru is probably going to end up being the most significant addition to the game to date, because unlike Inazuma, it’s not just a new region, it also has an entirely new element being added to the game for the first time, Dendro. While Dendro has cropped up here and there among a few enemy types, this is the first time we as players can wield it ourselves, and these new characters will be our first introduction to the concept. Like all the elements, you can probably have attack/defense/support focused teammates using the element, and we’ll have to spend some time digging deep into all the new characters to find out exactly how best to use them in their new roles with this new elemental type supporting your team.
Genshin Impact continues to generate massive amounts of revenue, and I have to imagine the Sumeru region is going to boost that even further, even in the face of new rivals like Tower of Fantasy that has just arrived this month. Genshin is the gold standard at the moment and it’s going to be hard to compete with it as it expands to seven massive regions over the next few years.
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Pick up my sci-fi novels the Herokiller series and The Earthborn Trilogy.
Tech
Poll: Galaxy Z Fold 4, Z Flip 4, Watch 5, Buds 2 Pro — what are you most interested in buying? – Android Central
Samsung’s latest Galaxy devices were just announced, and they’re already making waves. The company’s latest foldables offer plenty of refinements on last year’s models, the smartwatches bring bigger batteries for a new target audience, and the earbuds promise to take active noise cancellation to another level.
Now that Samsung’s devices are finally out there, we want to know which device you’re most looking forward to getting your hands on.
Which new Galaxy device are you most interested in buying?
If you’ve been holding out on Samsung’s foldable smartphones, now might be the time to consider them. For instance, the new Galaxy Z Fold 4 is thinner (and wider) than ever, packs a fast new processor, and gets an upgraded camera array.
Be sure to check out Nick Sutrich’s Galaxy Z Fold 4 camera review to find out how it stacks up to the best foldable phone of 2021.
Meanwhile, the Galaxy Z Flip 4 has the same new processor, a bigger battery, and many color combinations to choose from, letting buyers design their phones to match their style.
For anyone looking for a smartwatch, the new Galaxy Watch 5 series gets a boost in battery life, with Samsung claiming up to 50 hours for its standard watches and a whipping 80 hours for the new Pro. In fact, Samsung says the new Galaxy Watch 5 Pro is ideal for anyone with a love for the outdoors, thanks to its tough titanium chassis and Sapphire Crystal display.
Read up on why our Andrew Myrick decided to trade his Galaxy Watch 4 Classic for the new Watch 5 Pro.
Lastly, Samsung announced the latest Galaxy Buds 2 Pro with a new design and improved ANC, enough to block out most outside noise.
All Samsungs devices are currently available for preorder and will hit store shelves later this month on August 26. Please drop a comment on our Twitter and Facebook accounts and let us know which device you’re most interested in buying and why.
Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 4
Samsung’s new foldable is better than ever, with an improved hinge design, much better cameras, and wider displays to better handle your media. Preorder this folding beast today for some awesome deals.
Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 4
Samsung’s new Galaxy Z Flip 4 is here, and you can make it your own with more than 70 color combinations to choose from. Plus, get more out of your phone with improved battery life and a much faster chip.
Samsung Galaxy Watch 5/Pro
The new Watch 5 Pro series is here, with bigger batteries to help you get through your day. And the new Watch 5 Pro takes it to another level with its rugged build to help it withstand the elements.
Samsung Galaxy Buds 2 Pro
Samsung’s new earbuds offer a sleek design that lets you block out most noise so you can focus on the task at hand or just immerse yourself into your movies or music.
Tech
How to Enable Encryption in Facebook Messenger – OSXDaily


By default, communications through Facebook Messenger are not end-to-end encrypted, which means that theoretically another party could retrieve sensitive information from the chat if they were nefariously minded. It also means that the conversations are basically wide open for reading by Facebook and whoever has access to Facebook data.
If you’re a privacy buff (then why are you using Facebook, which is the antithesis of privacy?) you may be interested in enabling end-to-end encryption on your Facebook Messenger chats. End-to-end encryption makes it so that nobody, including Facebook, can read the content of your messenger conversations.
Curiously, Facebook does not have a global end-to-end encrypted messaging setting, which probably demonstrates how enthusiastic they are to not be able to read your messages, so you have to enable this one by one on a per conversation basis.
How to Enable End-to-End Encryption in Facebook Messenger for iPhone
- Open the Messenger app if you haven’t done so already, then tap on the conversation you want to encrypt
- In the messenger thread, now tap on the persons profile at the very top of the screen
- Look for “Go to secret conversation” under the More actions section
- Tap back, then repeat with other conversations you want to end-to-end encrypt as desired
Now that you have end-to-end encryption enabled for a particular Facebook Messenger conversation, you can be somewhat more confident that nobody is going to be creeping in on your conversation. But it’s still Facebook, which is not exactly a bastion of privacy given that you and your information are their product, so how much you trust them as a secure platform for communication is entirely up to you.
If you’re serious about having secure conversations that are encrypted and less likely to be snooped upon by who knows what and who, you might consider using something like Signal, which is always end-to-end encrypted, and offers other nice features like disappearing messages too. Given that Signal’s entire business model is focused on security, privacy, and encryption, it’s probably more reasonable to trust something like that, compared to a company like Meta/Facebook whose entire business model is gathering details about you and selling your information.
Don’t forget to check out more Facebook Messenger tips if this strikes your fancy!
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