Latest news with #Mauga
Yahoo
16-02-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Overwatch 2 players are hoping that the upcoming perks will dissuade the heinous act of counterswapping
When you buy through links on our articles, Future and its syndication partners may earn a commission. As part of Overwatch 2's big rework, every hero will be getting a set of perks—unlockable upgrades that can be chosen throughout the game. Every hero has different traits, but there's one throughline that some players hope means an end to counterswapping. Counterswapping is a pretty contentious subject in Overwatch. The actual definition is when players repeatedly switch their hero to one that counters someone specific on the other team, but a lot of players have watered this down and take it to mean anytime someone is playing a hero that counters something that they are playing, even if it's just a coincidence and not intentional. Despite the fact that countering enemy players is just part and parcel of what it takes to win in a hero shooter—it would be kind of pointless just to lie down and die instead of swapping to another character that is better suited for the match—I can understand why, at its worst, counterswapping is annoying. Because every perk is unique to each hero, they won't carry over if you switch mid-game. So, every time you pick a new character, you'll have to start back at level one. Even if perks unlock slightly faster for new picks, players are hoping that this disadvantage will work as a disincentive for those who spend too much time counterswapping. "Yep, probably a good thing, though the level of catchup mechanic is important," one player says. "And that initial meetup likely is still not so bad to stop first fight swaps, but it's a step forward. Remove some ult charge retention, and we're getting somewhere." While other players point out that this could specifically help with counterswapping tanks. Tanks in 5v5 Overwatch tend to have the hardest time when it comes to counterswapping, because they are often the lynchpin of a team, there's only one of them, and they have some very obvious counters. For example, if I went Hog, the enemy tank should probably go Mauga, then I would go then they'd go Sigma, then I'd go Doomfist, then they'd go Zarya, then I'd go Reinhardt, then they'd go Ramattra, and then I'd be back to Hog and the cycle begins anew. It's incredibly convoluted, and realistically, no one should be changing that much each fight, but as the only disincentive before was restricting ult charge, it was a possible strategy. It still is, even with perks, but now there's one more reason not to, and that may be enough for players just to switch things up a couple of times and then leave it at that. Blizzard has made previous changes to try to dissuade players from counterswapping as well. Season 13 introduced a small update to the scoreboard, which meant if you switched hero mid-fight, players on the enemy team can't see who you've picked for 15 seconds. "This change adds more friction to counterswapping, especially in the extreme case where two players on opposite teams are both sitting in spawn with the scoreboard open and rapidly switch their heroes in response to each other's choices," a developer commented. While this update was a small help, it didn't completely eradicate counterswapping from Overwatch 2, and it's pretty likely that this perk feature won't either. Swapping is just part of the game—it's why there are counters, there are so many heroes, and you can switch heroes mid-fight. So next time you get someone yelling about CounterWatch in your chat, just remind them that you wouldn't do it if it weren't a massive strategic part of the game.
Yahoo
07-02-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Kids are getting propositioned in virtual reality, and right now it's legal
In Utah, it is a felony for an adult to reach out to a minor via text to meet up for sexual relations. But if the adult propositions a minor in virtual reality, that isn't illegal. 'Many mistakenly believe that because something happens in the digital space, it isn't real or harmful, but for a child, these experiences are psychologically damaging,' Rep. Verona Mauga, D-Salt Lake County, said Thursday during the House Law Enforcement and Criminal Justice Committee meeting. So far in this year's legislative session, bills regarding crimes against children appear to be highly unifying issues across party lines. Mauga's bill, HB358, was no exception. Passed with favorable recommendation by the committee, HB358 creates the following criminal offenses: Using virtual reality to participate in sexual activity with a child. Requesting sexually explicit conduct from an individual who is in custody. Mauga said the bill 'targets offenders hiding behind avatars' and 'makes it clear that virtual reality is not a loophole for predators, and it ensures real consequences for virtual crimes if an adult is knowingly using VR technology to engage in sexual activities with a child.' Because it is not always clear what age a person is when participating in VR, Mauga clarified that the bill applies to people who 'knowingly' engage in sexual acts with a minor. Brett Robinson, senior attorney in the Salt Lake County District Attorney's Office, who spoke on the bill, shared a case where he had to seek a warrant for a Snapchat account. In this case, Robinson said a mother had found her 11-year-old daughter who had fallen asleep with her VR headset on. When she went to lift the headset off her daughter, she found messages sent to her daughter via Snapchat by an adult. The messages were along the lines of wanting the little girl to return to VR so they could participate in sexual relations again. Robinson said it was a 'friend of a friend' whom the girl had never met in person. He also spoke on the second criminal offense included in the bill. Robinson said that requesting sexually explicit conduct from an individual who is in custody was included in the bill because of a separate but similar situation where, under a technicality, it wasn't illegal. 'These are two ways where the laws don't protect the ways that people will use technology to harm vulnerable people.' According to a study that came out last year by Florida Atlantic University, significant numbers of minors have reported experiencing various forms of harassment while in virtual spaces. The study examined 5,005 13 to 17-year-old kids from the United States and found the following statistics: Nearly 19% encountered sexual harassment. Around 21% faced undesirable violent or sexual content. 18.1% encountered grooming or predatory conduct. 30% were targeted for characteristics including weight, sexual preference, sexual orientation or political affiliation. Girls were reportedly targeted more in terms of sexual harassment and grooming/predatory behavior. 'Right here in our state, in Utah and across the country, we are seeing adults engaging in cyber sex with children using virtual reality, and there is no legal mechanism to protect our children,' Mauga said. 'I think it would be prudent of us to do what we can to protect them.'
