In this episode of Mingles with Jingles, the host discusses charity efforts by Mark GFL and Steve for Driving Ukraine, the latest PC gaming news including system requirements for Assassin's Creed Shadows, the upcoming RTX 5090 graphics card, and amusing stories about AI bots and the Dead or Alive video game series.
Howdy folks! Welcome back to another episode of Mingles with Jingles. Today, we have a mix of charity initiatives and the latest happenings in the world of PC gaming. Let's dive right in.
First up, I want to highlight a charity initiative led by a former World of Tanks live streamer, Mark GFL, and his friend Steve. They are involved with a charity called Driving Ukraine. This organization focuses on purchasing vehicles in the UK, modifying them with the help of volunteers, and then driving them across Europe to Ukraine. These vehicles are delivered to various humanitarian teams, including evacuation teams, ambulance crews, and hospitals.
Mark and Steve have set a goal to deliver one vehicle to Ukraine at a cost of £5,000, and they are currently more than halfway to achieving this goal. They plan to make the delivery next month in February. If you are interested in supporting this cause, there is a link in the video description to their Driving Ukraine webpage where you can find more details and make a donation.
Additionally, I want to mention the charity app I use called Bono. In light of the recent California wildfire disaster, Bono is setting up a way for people to assist directly with relief efforts. You can download the app through the link in the video description and contribute to this cause or any other charity that interests you.
Moving on to gaming news, there has been quite a bit happening this week. The system specifications for the upcoming game Assassin's Creed Shadows have been released. This game, like others such as Indiana Jones in the Great Circle and the forthcoming Doom: The Dark Ages, requires ray tracing technology to even install.
The specifications are as follows:
For maximum graphics at 4K resolution and 60 frames per second, you will need:
If your hardware is more modest and you want to play at 1080p with 30 frames per second on low settings, you can manage with:
However, to achieve 1080p at 60 frames per second with most ray tracing features enabled, you will need:
This means that even at lower settings, players will need fairly robust hardware to enjoy the game.
In hardware news, the RTX 5090 graphics card is set to hit the market soon, but scalpers are already trying to flip these cards on eBay for prices as high as $7,000, despite the MSRP being $2,000. This situation mirrors the launch of the 3000 Series cards, where scalpers used bots to buy up stock before regular consumers had a chance.
If you're looking to upgrade, it might be more practical to purchase a new PC that comes with one of these new graphics cards, especially since I can write off the expenses against taxes due to my work in gaming.
Speaking of upgrades, I plan to buy a new PC soon, which will replace the one I'm currently using to record this episode. My current PC will then become a backup. Interestingly, my backup PC has had its own issues in the past, including a failed CPU cooler that took three months to fix. After finally getting it back, it has been sitting unused for a while, but now it will be put to good use.
To wrap up this episode, I want to share a couple of amusing stories from the gaming world.
An anonymous coder has created a digital fly trap designed to ensnare AI scraping bots that steal content from the internet. This trap keeps the bots in a loop, continuously downloading the same URLs without escaping. While this doesn't solve the issue of power consumption by these bots, it at least prevents them from stealing content.
Lastly, there's a humorous yet bizarre situation involving the Dead or Alive video game series. The publisher has been taking action against fan art that they claim harms the image of the game's characters, which they refer to as their "daughters." This is ironic considering the series has been known for its provocative content and DLC featuring revealing costumes. The juxtaposition of their legal actions against fan art while profiting from suggestive content is quite absurd.
That's it for this week's episode of Mingles with Jingles. Don't forget to check out the links for Mark GFL and Steve's Driving Ukraine initiative and the Bono app for California wildfire relief. Thanks for tuning in, and as always, take care and I'll catch you next time!
