Latest news with #Illuminate
Yahoo
a day ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
The President Is Dead (In Helldivers 2)
'The President of Super Earth has been killed in action by the Illuminate during the fall of Prosperity City.' That was the message that greeted Helldivers 2 players when they logged on last night in one last bid to repel their invading squid-like foes. Some truthers think the hit was inside job. When the dust settled Friday morning, the battle to save Super Earth was over and players had succeeded in winning the extraction shooter's biggest showdown since it launched. Pus they got a new battle station to celebrate. 'The devastation wrought upon our home is immense,' read the latest in-game dispatch from Arrowhead Game Studios. 'Only two Mega Cities remain standing: Prosperity City and Equality-on-Sea. The remainder have been vacated by the enemy, having suffered catastrophic damage at their hands.' New Major Orders are still pending, but in the meantime players get to vote on where to move the new DSS battle station that aided in the fight, and that provides extra military bonuses to Helldivers fighting on whatever planet it orbits. For anyone who missed the last two weeks, a brief series of entries on the Galactic Map recaps the events from the Illuminate's arrival and torching of Mars and other planets, all the way through players' epic last stand to protect Equality-on-Sea (Helldivers' version of Shanghai). A lot of creative military tactics were improvised and deployed to take down the massive invading Leviathan ships, and a wave of negative Steam reviews, purportedly from Chinese players angry, due to a potential mistranslation, about why they couldn't seem to fully liberate Equality-on-Sea, appears to have subsided. reddit-thread-Helldivers-1kz1lp4 What happens next is anyone's guess. Arrowhead Game Studios might take some time before kicking off whatever it has planned to let players catch their breath. Maybe the development team is lining up a revenge campaign, or maybe there's still another shoe to drop and Super Earth isn't quite in the clear after all. A new president? In this economy? Maybe they're just an Illuminate plant after all, ready to control Super Earth from within. The beauty of Helldivers 2's fascist space satire is that nothing is ever quite out of the question. May kicked off one of Helldivers 2's biggest balance patches and content updates in some time, including a new Warbond battle pass with additional melee weapons and the ability to level up and customize most of the shooter's guns. I wouldn't bet on any other big updates anytime soon. That said, Summer Game Fest is just around the corner and Arrowhead used host Geoff Keighley's last big gaming showcase to announce the addition of the Illuminate to the fray. Who knows what's in store for the second half of Helldivers 2's second year? . For the latest news, Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Helldivers 2 Players Are Pulling Off Incredible Feats In A Last-Ditch Effort To Save Super Earth
Helldivers 2's Galactic War has come to Super Earth and it's going very, very badly. Players have lost every major city on the planet save for two, but are making a triumphant last stand against the Illuminate as fans from across the real world band together to hold the line. Players have spent the last week tackling Major Orders that have tasked them with defending Super Earth's Mega Cities from squids (the nickname for the blue alien invaders). Things haven't been going well, though, as one city after another has fallen, from York Supreme to Remembrance. The rain forest was turned into giant airfields and Super Earth's remaining natural wonders were liquidated in a break-glass effort to reverse the tide. Throughout the chaos, heroes were made and new bonds were forged among fans, much of it around finding unique and clever ways to take out massive Leviathan spacecraft flying over the urban battlefields. reddit-thread-Helldivers-1kyh5sl reddit-thread-Helldivers-1kvlpm9 reddit-thread-Helldivers-1krsdl4 The last remaining cities are Prosperity (Stockholm) and Equality on Sea (Shanghai). With reported swells of players from China helping to hold back the advancing Illuminate, fans have been swapping memes about geopolitical harmony. Think Woody Guthrie's 'This Land Is Your Land' but about U.S.-China relations and conceived of by meme-pilled Redditors. Unfortunately, it didn't take long for division within the ranks to start poisoning the new ties of friendship. Players managed to push the Equality on Sea defense percentage up to 99.9783 percent but not beyond. No matter how many players flooded the battlefield, the odds seemed stacked against them. Negative reviews seemingly written by Chinese players started flooding the Helldivers 2 Steam page. The phrase '99.9783" was spammed over and over again. The confusion, amplified by the language barrier, has sowed dissension within the Helldivers 2 community. reddit-thread-Helldivers-1ky6fp6 This internal conflict may involve a translation issue with the Mandarin-language version of a current Major Order. According to some fans on Reddit, instead of saying 'percentage held' it reads something like 'defense success,' potentially implying that Chinese players are supposed to hit 100 percent in order to achieve the objective rather than just hold the city until the onslaught subsides. It's become an oddly unexpected mess. The tides also appear to have once again started turning against Super Earth's remaining defenders. Why? One likely reason is that tons of players in China have now gone to sleep. Helldivers 2's concurrent peak on PC tends to occur at around 10:00 a.m. ET. That means there's currently a long night ahead for players in later time zones. The only question now is whether there's still a chance to halt the Illuminate advance or if the total destruction is all part of Arrowhead Game Studio's endgame for the current phase of the Galactic War. What then? Maybe Super Earth will be detonated into another black hole. Maybe other weird cosmic anomalies will come into play. Or maybe players will discover some technology that lets them go back in time and fight over the fabric of reality itself. I wouldn't put it past Arrowhead to do something completely unexpected, though how players respond to whatever transpires will likely remain the most entertaining part of the ongoing drama. . For the latest news, Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
AsiaOne
4 days ago
- Entertainment
- AsiaOne
Under siege? Helldivers 2's latest city to be invaded by aliens could be spoof of Singapore, Digital News
If peace in your (virtual) home faces an extra-terrestrial threat, would you answer the call to arms? For many gamers playing Helldivers 2, it seems this is no longer hypothetical, but a very real choice they must face as an alien invasion bears down upon a megacity that could be a spoof of Singapore. Helldivers 2, a game by Arrowhead Game Studios, follows the titular Helldivers, which are an elite group of soldiers protecting the Sol System from alien threats. Earlier in May, the game's version of Earth, known as Super-Earth, came under threat of invasion by an alien race known as the Illuminate, which are a technologically advanced race and the arch enemy of mankind. They had manipulated a black hole, guiding it towards Super-Earth, leaving behind planetary-level destruction in its wake before emerging from within the black hole once in proximity of Super-Earth. Of the seven megacities that inhabit Super-Earth, three have already fallen to the invasion, while three of the remaining four are currently under siege. The Illuminate have launched an attack on Port Mercy. — Helldivers Alerts (@HelldiversAlert) May 26, 2025 Of the three currently battling back the Illuminate invasion, Port Mercy — geographically similar to Singapore's location on Earth — is the latest to be struck by Illuminate forces. According to the game, Port Mercy, located near Java and Sumatra, has sheltered "millions of loyal refugees in the Last Great War" and is also a "safe haven for any Class-A citizen in need". A megacity named after a port, possibly a nod to Singapore's roots as a maritime hub, its environment bears some similarity to Singapore. Port Mercy features a sprawling metropolis with skyscrapers intermingled with low-rise residential areas, as well as portions of open space and greenery. The missions available to Helldivers are very defensively-oriented, such as protecting an area while a missile launches, or destroying Illuminate ships as they attempt to land on the city. Aside from the new environment that Helldivers must fight in, the game also features new enemies such as the Illuminate flesh mob — a gross amalgamation of human flesh — and Leviathans, which are giant floating ships that swim through the air, bombarding the ground with energy-based cannons. While it doesn't entirely capture Singapore's lush environment, culture or even the tropical climate, it's also worth noting that this invasion takes place in 2185 and in an entirely different solar system. Above all else, it's also fictional — but the glory that comes from protecting Super-Earth's managed democracy certainly isn't. [embed] [[nid:713943]] khooyihang@
Yahoo
21-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Workday Unveils Illuminate AI Agents to Accelerate Workflows
Workday, Inc. WDAY has announced a powerful expansion of its AI-driven capabilities with a new wave of Illuminate Agents, designed to significantly enhance productivity across Human Resource Management and finance functions. Built on the company's industry-leading foundation of responsible AI, these purpose-built agents aim to enhance productivity, and enable smarter, faster decision-making through a contextual understanding of business represents Workday's next-generation approach to enterprise AI technology that offers a centralized system for managing enterprises' entire fleet of AI agents. Leveraging a massive dataset fueled by more than one trillion transactions annually, the solution brings a deep awareness of business context, spanning employee skills, performance, organizational structures, costs and outcomes. This intelligent foundation will likely allow the new agents to operate with precision, delivering insights and automating workflows across the enterprise. Among the newest additions is the Contingent Sourcing Agent, developed to speed up the recruitment of temporary workers by identifying available talent, optimizing screening and improving candidate quality. The Contract Intelligence Agent supports legal and business teams by rapidly reviewing contracts, identifying potential risks, tracking key milestones and delivering ongoing analysis. Complementing this, the Contract Negotiation Agent streamlines negotiations by drafting contract language, flagging risks and proposing revisions to increase efficiency and strengthen deal finance teams, the Document Driven Accounting Agent sets a new benchmark in efficiency by automating billing and invoicing through direct data extraction from documents. On the operational side, the Frontline Agent simplifies daily tasks for frontline workers and managers by supporting text-based absence reporting, suggesting qualified replacements and ensuring accurate pay and to improve self-service experiences, the Self-Service Agent will empower employees and managers by delivering instant answers, assisting with complex processes, and completing routine tasks on their behalf. In the procurement space, the Supplier Contracts Agent continuously monitors supplier agreements to highlight obligations and opportunities, ensuring alignment between procurement activities and contract terms. WDAY's revenue growth continues to be driven by high demand for its HCM and financial management solutions. The company is expanding its portfolio beyond core HCM solutions into the financial domain and customizing them for diverse industries and verticals, such as education, public and financial services. This has helped it witness strong renewals and expand its customer base as business enterprises aim to consolidate spend and improve efficiency the launch of these next generation of Illuminate agents, Workday continues its commitment to advancing in the financial management and human resource domains by providing innovative solutions, reinforcing its position as a leader in the field and addressing the dynamic needs of the industry. However, Competition in the HCM and financial management software market is increasing, which could lead to pricing pressure and affect Workday's margins. Workday is facing legal challenges owing to allegations that its AI powered screening tools exhibit bias and discrimination. These legal issues can negatively impact commercial prospects and affect investors' confidence. Shares of Workday have gained 5.4% over the past year compared with the industry's growth of 30.6%. Image Source: Zacks Investment Research Workday currently carries a Zacks Rank #5 (Strong Sell).Some top-ranked stocks in the broader industry have been discussed below:Juniper Networks, Inc. JNPR sports a Zacks Rank of 1 (Strong Buy) at present. You can see the complete list of today's Zacks #1 Rank stocks the last reported quarter, it delivered an earnings surprise of 4.88%. Juniper is leveraging the 400-gig cycle to capture hyperscale switching opportunities within the data center. The company is set to capitalize on the increasing demand for data center virtualization, cloud computing and mobile traffic packet/optical convergence. Juniper also introduced new features within its AI-driven enterprise portfolio, enabling customers to simplify the rollout of their campus wired and wireless networks while providing greater insight to network IDCC carries a Zacks Rank #2 at present. In the trailing four quarters, InterDigital delivered an earnings surprise of 160.15%. The company is a pioneer in advanced mobile technologies that enable wireless communications and designs and develops a wide range of advanced technology solutions used in digital cellular, wireless 3G, 4G and IEEE 802-related products and Networks, Inc. ANET, carrying a Zacks Rank of 2 at present, supplies products to a prestigious set of customers, including Fortune 500 global companies in markets such as cloud titans, enterprises, financials and specialty cloud service delivered a trailing four-quarter average earnings surprise of 11.82% and has a long-term growth expectation of 14.81%. Arista currently serves five verticals, namely cloud titans (customers that deploy more than one million servers), cloud specialty providers, service providers, financial services and the rest of the enterprise. Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report Juniper Networks, Inc. (JNPR) : Free Stock Analysis Report InterDigital, Inc. (IDCC) : Free Stock Analysis Report Workday, Inc. (WDAY) : Free Stock Analysis Report Arista Networks, Inc. (ANET) : Free Stock Analysis Report This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research ( Zacks Investment Research Sign in to access your portfolio
Yahoo
20-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Helldivers 2 Finally Takes The Fight To The City Streets In Urban Warfare Update
The Illuminate threat has spend the last few days on a collision course with Super Earth, and now the planet is under siege as players face the extraction shooter's biggest challenge yet. A new Heart of Democracy update ups the stakes and adds urban warfare, as Helldivers 2' player count once again surges. It's basically War of the Worlds meets Halo 3: ODST out there right now. The invasion will task players with activating cannons to take out the Illuminate ships and team up with AI-controlled ally troops patrolling the local Mega City streets. There will also be citizen NPCs running for their lives. Players will have to protect that lot as well, and will be punished for any friendly fire accidents. Here's the Heart of Democracy trailer: Helldivers 2 has been in a bit of a lull for the last few months, but last week's massive patch got many fans to dust off their drop pods and log back on with the addition of weapon customization, new melee armaments, and lots of arsenal re-balancing. The game's concurrent player count is now headed back well beyond 100,000 on Steam where most of the game's hardcore community plays. The AI-controlled ally SEAF trooper squads are the biggest draw so far. While players have spent over a year of Helldivers 2 fighting again massive alien armies alone or with three other teammates, the Super Earth battlefields are full of NPCs to aid them as part of the planet's defenses. That includes shooting at giant Illuminate tripod units, but also things as simple as pushing buttons to unlock weapon cashes and saluting as you run by. They are meant to be expendable, but players are protecting them like all of their Super Samples depend on it. . For the latest news, Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
