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Modded mobile games could go mainstream with the latest BlueStacks feature
Why let the pirates have all the fun?
BlueStacks offers virtualization software, so those on Windows and MacOS can utilize Android apps and games on their systems. At the tail end of last year, BlueStacks X landed in beta, a cloud-based platform that's powered by now.gg and its NFG platform. This platform allows for the separation of game code, game events, and game art, which is why BlueStacks has officially announced Creator Studio & Creator Hub, brand new tools that allow users to create and share modded mobile games. BlueStacks has set its sights on bringing modded mobile gaming to the mainstream through Creator Studio & Creator Hub, available today.
Minecraft Caves & Cliffs Part 2 is out for Android with new and improved biomes
The update to 1.18.0 brings new cave generation too
This past June, Mojang released the first part of its Caves & Cliffs update, bringing with it new mobs, blocks, and in-game characters. But seeing that this update was splint in two, we only knew that the second half would land sometime in winter. Well, winter might not officially start until December 21st, but I see no reason to complain about an early launch from Mojang. As expected, the release of the second half of the Caves & Cliffs update brings new cave generation along with new cave and mountain biomes. Even the generation of these biomes has been improved upon, the same with the generation of caves and ore. New music has also made the cut, and there are over 70 bug fixes, making the early arrival of The Caves & Cliffs: Part II that much more enticing.
Terraria update Journey's End comes to Android with new content and fixes
The mobile version of Terraria is now on v1.4
Terraria is an open-world sandbox survival game that arrived on PC back in 2011, which was then ported to Android in 2013. Since 2013 the game has often languished on mobile thanks to a lack of updates and controller support. Luckily both of these issues have been rectified in the last year or so, which is why Terraria just received the Journey's End update (v1.4) on the Play Store.
Doom and Doom II are now playable at up to 120 FPS on Android
16:9 support and DeHackEd-based add-ons are also in the mix
Bethesda released Doom And Doom II on Android back in July of 2019, but both games had a rocky start thanks to a forced log-in, music changes, and a lack of features. Unlike most AAA devs on the Play Store, Bethesda actually put in the work to improve each game, and today another large update has been pushed out to both titles. You can now view either game in 16:9, and high frame rates have also made the cut, which means you can now play at 90 FPS and 120 FPS. Support for DeHackEd-based add-ons is also in the mix, and a few performance improvements are here to seal the deal.
The Stadia Team has just published a community blog post that details a plethora of new features that are already available on the platform or are rolling out shortly. Today's most significant addition is the support for all Android phones, including a handful of OnePlus devices that were named specifically. On top of this, Google has released support for touch controls in all games as well as compatibility for per-device resolution options. Best of all, Stadia is currently offering $10 off your next game purchase if you're a Pro member.
Doom and Doom II updated with better touch controls, adjustable FPS limits, expanded controller support, and more
Go ahead and lock the game to 30FPS, you crazy retro fan, you
Bethesda recently updated the Android versions of Doom and Doom II to bring a bunch of new features to the titles, such as tweaked touch controls, support for adjustable frame rate limits, not to mention physical controller support along with mouse and keyboard support. Heck, Bethesda even added a toggle for Vsync (a rarity for a mobile game), for those of you that would like to reduce either title's input latency. So no matter how you slice it, it would appear that Bethesda has actually improved both games, though it could be argued that all of these features should have been available in both titles from the jump.
Pixel phones now let you schedule reboots after an OTA update, pause updates while phone is 'in use'
Security updates come every month for Pixel owners, but we don't usually expect any user-facing changes to arrive with them. With the February patches, however, there appear to be a few little differences. The most minor of those is the moving of the 'About Phone' menu in the settings, but the update process itself has some new features.
At the start of this month, WhatsApp added some new features to group conversations in the beta version of the Android app. Those features and more are now rolling out to everyone in the stable channel, and they include expanded admin controls, group catch-up, and participant search.
Since the Nvidia SHIELD TV added Google Assistant support last year, it's been slowly catching up with other Assistant-enabled devices by adding new functionality. It looks like a couple more capabilities are now available. At least we think so, as Assistant features across different devices are so inconsistent that it's sometimes hard to tell what's new and what's not.
With the introduction of the Home Mini and Home Max, there are now three types of Assistant-powered hardware from Google. The Assistant is already very capable, but that isn't stopping the team from continuing to add useful features. At Google's event earlier in the month we learned that Google Home can now easily find your phone, and it also recently added the ability to turn off your Chromecast-connected TV.
A new feature here. A little tweak there. That's the way we like our Google Photos updates. The latest, version 1.3, brings in a bit of both. Let's get to it.
Any.do is a to-do list manager, so it makes sense that version 3.0 places an emphasis on managing to-dos. The team has added a grid view that gives you a broader look at all of your lists at once. Picture one for shopping, another for work, and a third for household chores. When you're ready for specifics, you can tap to zoom in and see the items or tasks under each one.
Google has pushed out a number of tweaks to its suite of mobile office apps: Docs, Sheets, and Slides. Even Drive, the place where edited documents are stored, hasn't gone untouched. Some of these features are nice to see, so let's dive in.
Version 3.6 of Google Play Movies and TV has hit the Play Store, and it shakes a few things up a bit. I'm not going to waste your time with introductions here. Let's just jump right in.
MX Player is now ready for Android Lollipop. No, it's not any prettier than it was before. There's no Material Design to drool over, no bright colors, nor a floating action button to make us feel like we're living at the end of 2014. This video player is largely the same app as before. Its developer has just removed the restriction that prevented it from running on 5.0 devices. Now people who rely on MX Player don't have to do without when upgrading to Lollipop.
Motorola isn't wasting its time pushing out Android Lollipop to a number of its devices, and it needs to keep its apps current as well if it wants to deliver a cohesive experience to users. So the company has pushed out updates to a handful of its apps, primarily Camera and Gallery.
There's a certain permanence to most instant messaging apps. The second you hit send, that's it, the message is out of your hands. You better hope you sent it to the right contact, fixed those embarrassing typos, or spelled their name correctly. Unless you're using the latest version of BBM, in which case you can call take backsies.
Google Admin has recently received its first update of the year. If you aren't the administrator for a Google for Work account, then there's nothing here for you to sink your teeth into. But there are a few new features here for people on the management side of things.
It's challenging to differentiate yourself in a field crowded by the likes of Evernote, Todoist, and Wunderlist. All of these services can manage your lists just fine, and they can each sync across whichever devices you want them to. So what does Any.do have up its sleeve for its big 2.0 release?
JuiceSSH has hit the big 2.0, and to celebrate this occasion, developer Sonelli packed in a few extra changes and perks to get this party pumpin' (okay, that's probably not exactly the way the developmental process progressed, but this version of events just sounds juicier). This release brings in a vibrant UI redesign, one that gives terminal users transparent system bars. Folks can switch the color of this new layout by changing the theme, which they no longer need to be a pro user to do.