Unreal Engine 5 enters early access, gets new tech demo

By Andrew Zucosky Published November 11, 2021

Epic Games announced today that Unreal Engine 5 is now in early access. The company went into detail about the tool on its blog and outlined the new features that will be available for early access.

Unreal Engine 5 is the latest game engine from Epic Games that a multitude of game developers and filmmakers use to create their art. Those who are interested in signing up for early access and testing out the new engine can access it through the Epic Launcher.

Along with the Early Access announcement, Epic Games released a 15-minute tech demo called Valley of the Ancient, which highlights all of the new, key features of Unreal Engine 5. While Unreal Engine 5 is not production-ready, there are plenty of tools for game developers and enthusiasts to try out and experiment with.

This latest generation completely overhauls the UI and utilizes new features such as Nanite and Lumen. The new UI for the game engine streamlines a significant amount of access to features for developers.

The content browser can now be accessed through hotkeys and editor tabs can be opened and closed right on the side of the screen. Nanite is a “virtualized micropolygon geometry system” which allows an incredible amount of detail in geometric shapes in massive playable spaces. The Lumen feature gives developers the ability to create photorealistic lighting that adapts to geometry and light sources in the engine.

Those who want to get into the nitty-gritty details can read the release notes on the Unreal Engine Site.

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Gaming

Best skills to get in Persona 5 Tactica

Erina holding flag of freedom in Persona 5 Tactica

The Persona series has always treated skills in a unique way. While different from its JRPG older sibling, Persona 5 Tactica takes a slightly more traditional approach to how you will get new skills and abilities. Instead of being tied exclusively to leveling up and fusing your Persona together, this time each of your characters has their own skill trees that you work through. The trees themselves are broken into various categories, including elemental moves, passive buffs, and A Rebellious Resolve that impacts HP, SP, and movement. These trees aren't too complex, but GP doesn't come so easy in the early game, and plotting out your path is just another part of the tactical experience you need to master. Here are the best skills to get in Persona 5 Tactica that your enemies will never see coming.
Best skills to unlock

While each character's skill tree is unique in the sense that the branches have different names, the way they function is similar (except for Futaba). The only real difference is what element you're upgrading for each character's specific Persona. Remember that you can always respec your character if you want to rebuild them for a stronger set of skills.
Soul Repose
Every character needs Soul Repose, and it's almost nonnegotiable. Just like in the mainline games, SP, or your mana, is always at a premium. This is required to use any of your Persona powers, which are by far the most lethal moves you have. Being a limited resource, you will be forced to pick and choose when you can afford to spend it as it won't come back for free. Soul Repose alleviates that somewhat by restoring a bit of your SP when that character is in cover.
Elemental boosts and Single-target elemental attacks
Now that you don't have to worry as much about casting spells, it's time to buff them. Simply increasing your Persona's elemental strength is great, but we would also suggest focusing on the single-target version of their attacks as opposed to ones that can hit multiple targets. These are stronger, but also actually can hit more than one target if they're close enough. Plus, you'll be glad for the increased damage on a single unit when facing the bosses.
Healing
Also in the main Persona tree are the healing moves. Depending on the character, you will either start with a single- or multi-target healing move and then upgrade to a stronger version that almost always also becomes multi-target. Once you know who you want your healer to be, get them going down this branch first.
Everything for Futaba

Gaming

How to get tech parts in Spider-Man 2

Spider-Man attacks enemies in Marvel's Spider-Man 2.

Amid all the different tokens, memories, and photo-ops you need to collect in Marvel's Spider-Man 2, the one material that is both the most common and most necessary is Tech Parts. With the exception of your abilities, which only require skill points you earn by leveling up, essentially everything you can unlock or upgrade in the game will cost Tech Parts alongside one other material. You might think you will never run low early on when you start getting them in batches of over 100 at a time, but once you start unlocking all the slick new suits and styles and gadgets you want to upgrade, you'll realize just how desperate you are to get more. Your spider-sense can't help you with this one, so here are the best ways you can get Tech Parts in Spider-Man 2.
Best ways to get Tech Parts

Tech Parts are the most basic upgrade component in Spider-Man 2, and the city is full of them. But you're better off using these methods to get them rather than others.

Gaming

PS5 slim vs. PS5: everything you need to know about the new PS5 model

The slimmer PS5 console laying on its side.

Sony consoles have always gotten multiple versions and editions ever since the original PlayStation 1. As technology becomes cheaper and more advanced, refreshed models that are both smaller and less expensive to produce typically come out a couple of years into a console's life cycle, and we have now hit that point for the PS5. The PS5 slim, as it is being referred to, is a smaller version of the launch models, and will eventually become the standard unit available to consumers once the stock of existing PS5s runs out. However, is this version worth getting if you're an existing owner, or is it only for new purchasers? There's also the question about which of the two versions to buy. To answer all these questions, let's compare the PS5 slim to the OG PS5.
Specs

Let's start with the most important part, which is whether or not there's more power under the hood of the PS5 slim compared to the launch models. No, the PS5 slim is not in any way more powerful than an existing PS5. This is not a PS5 Pro, which is currently just a rumor. Games will not look, run, or play any better or worse on either version. The only difference in terms of specs is that the slim versions have slightly more storage space at 1 TB compared to 825GB, which is just a small 175GB upgrade. There's nothing here that makes it worth buying a new system when you can expand the storage of your console yourself.
Size
Obviously, a slim model would mean that this new version would be smaller than the frankly comically large launch version. While that's true, it isn't a huge reduction in size. The PS5 Slim disc version weighs 3.2 kilograms (18% less that the original PS5) while the discless version weighs 2.6kg (24% less), and both are 30% smaller by volume.
Versions
Once again, you will have the option to choose between an all-digital and standard version of the PS5 Slim. However, unlike the original discless PS5, the new version will give you the option to add a disc drive later on if you purchase a separate detachable drive.
Price
The current PS5 models are priced at $400 and $500 for the digital and standard versions, respectively. While the PS5 slim standard version that includes the disc drive will remain at $500, the discless version will get a price increase to $450. This price increase had already been seen in other territories outside the U.S., but will now be introduced here once these new versions launch. It is also worth mentioning that the detachable disc drive you can get to upgrade your discless version will cost $80, meaning you would spend more to buy the digital version and add the drive than you would by simply buying the version with the drive already included.