How the Rise of Skywalker VFX Team Pulled Off Carrie Fisher’s Scenes
This article contains some spoilers for Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker.
When Carrie Fisher passed away in 2016, Star Wars fans were heartbroken. They were also concerned about the role General Leia Organa would play in the then-yet to be filmed third installment in the final trilogy of the Skywalker saga. Director J.J. Abrams and Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy made the decision not to digitally recreate Fisher for Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, but to instead use footage she had already shot for the earlier films and work them into the plot.
Of course, a lot of digital work had to be done to blend Leia into scenes with the actors. IGN got a chance to speak to some of the visual effects department for the film, including visual effects supervisor Roger Guyett, creature effects supervisor Neal Scanlan and ILM visual effects supervisor Patrick Tuback about what it took to bring Princess Leia back for the final chapter in the Skywalker Saga.
New Reports Suggest a Nintendo Switch Pro Is Coming This Year
New reports have once again revived rumors that a more powerful Switch “Pro” model could be released in 2020. However, while a release year is still up in the air, reports have suggested the existence of a “Pro” model since last year.
According to sources from a supply chain company, the Taiwanese website Digitimes reports that a new Switch model will enter mass production Q1 2020 for a mid-2020 release. These reports coincide with analyst predictions that a Switch Pro model will be released later this year, fueling speculation that a new Switch model will be coming out sometime in the next months.
All Canon Force Powers in Star Wars
Warning: this article contains spoilers for Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker!
While Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker introduced new aspects of the Force, that's just the tip of the iceberg. There are a whole host of Force powers that exist within the Star Wars universe able to be used by Sith and Jedi alike, so we're going to run through all of the currently known Force abilities that are considered canon. These are various Force powers that we've seen in the movies, TV shows, comics, and even the canon video games.
You can view this piece by flipping through the slideshow gallery below or keep scrolling to read it as an article.
Pokemon Direct Announced for This Week: Home and Sleep Info Rumored
A Nintendo Direct has been announced for later this week that will be themed around Pokemon.
Referred to by Nintendo as a Pokemon Direct, you’ll be able to watch the whole presentation over on Nintendo’s website or YouTube channel on Thursday, January 9 2020, starting at 06:30am PST / 09:30am ET or at 14:30 GMT if you’re in the UK.
Nintendo said in an announcement tweet that the stream will last for roughly 20 minutes and will contain new Pokemon information.
Origin PC Is ‘Definitely’ Going to Put Next-Gen Consoles in the Big O
About 10 years ago Origin built the original Big O, a liquid-cooled PC with an Xbox 360 crammed into the same box. Last year the Big O returned, with a massive chassis housing a PC, an Xbox One S, a PS4 and a Nintendo Switch. That insane product was just a concept though - Origin just built one because it could. This year at CES 2020 the monster is back, and now as an actual consumer product.
The new Big O has slimmed down – it's using Corsair's Crystal 280X case instead of the massive Origin Genesis case, with RGB lighting powered by Corsair iCUE. And while it does cram both a PC and console in there, you have to choose between a PS4 Pro or Xbox One X – you don't get both (plus a Switch). However, in addition to the PC, the console is liquid cooled too. And you can configure it with a built-in capture card, so it's in theory a good option for console-based content creators and streamers.
This Ultra-Portable Laptop Is Impossibly Light
At CES 2020, NEC unveiled the lightest laptop I've ever held. Weighing just 1.85 lbs, the Lavie Pro Mobile is the one of if not the lightest laptops ever made. It's definitely an ultrabook – there's no discrete graphics card here – designed for productivity and, of course, portability. But that portability is really astounding.
The laptop I use on a daily basis weighs just more than 3 pounds, and that may not seem like much of a difference. But holding it and then the Pro Mobile one after the other – the difference is night and day.
Despite that incredibly light weight, the Pro Mobile doesn't feel flimsy at all. This is thanks to a magnesium lithium chassis paired with a carbon fiber lid. Really it feels just as solid as my daily driver, a Lenovo ThinkPad, just much lighter. The Lavie Pro Mobile is made by NEC, a Japanese PC manufacturer that's owned by Lenovo. The Pro Mobile has thus far only released in Japan but Lenovo is expanding it this year into the US in March, with a starting price of $1,599.
LG’s New OLED 4K TVs Give You Both FreeSync and G-Sync
LG showed off a boat load of new 4K TVs and 8K TVs at CES 2020. While the company was meek with details on how its panel technology has improved, this year’s crop of TVs come with new features and in a few new form factors and display resolutions if you’ve got the budget for it.
The most important thing gamers will love to hear is LG’s mainstream CX- and BX-series—and the 8K-capable Z9 series—OLED TVs will all support both FreeSync and G-Sync, so you’ll be able to enjoy tear-free game play whether you’ve got an Xbox One S, Xbox One X or a Nvidia-powered gaming PC.
Thor: Love and Thunder – 6 Characters Christian Bale Could Play
Former Batman Christian Bale is reportedly in talks to join Thor: Love and Thunder, and with no other information confirmed by Marvel, the announcement sent sparks of speculation flying. Could Bale be playing a hero or a villain in the highly anticipated sequel to Thor: Ragnarok? Could the character be drawn from Thor’s long comic book history? Maybe from the book based on Jason Aaron’s run in which Jane Foster picks up the hammer? Or is it a character that readers met more recently?
Kentucky Route Zero Act 5 Release Date Announced
Kentucky Route Zero’s fifth and final act will release on January 28, along with a complete collection of all acts and interludes called Kentucky Route Zero: TV Edition for consoles.
The TV Edition will be available on PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and Nintendo Switch that day, and Act 5 will arrive on PC at the same time. The compilation of all acts and interludes in the TV Edition will also be available on Steam by buying the Kentucky Route Zero Season Pass.
This is a story seven years in the making, as the first act of Kentucky Route Zero released back at the start of 2013. IGN’s review at the time gave it an 8.3, followed by an even more positive review of Act 2 later that same year with Act 3 following close behind in 2014.
Epic Games Working on Fix for Player Loss of Star Wars Achievements in Fortnite
If you're a regular Fortnite player, then you likely participated in the Fortnite Star Wars event in December. Now that the event has come to a close, it seems that players are reporting missing achievements earned from the event.
In a Reddit post to r/FortniteBR, Redditor Romulousvoid shared an image revealing that all of their achievements from the Fortnite Star Wars event were gone. The post quickly picked up comments from other players with the same issues, and eventually an Epic employee commented on the thread stating they were aware of the problem and were working on a fix.