Tag: game

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An Update on My Game, Starstruck Vagabond

An Update on My Game, Starstruck Vagabond

Very well I hope we all had pretty holiday getaway. I surely did. I had a whole week where by I didn’t have to do any get the job done building Zero Punctuation. So I wrote Additional Punctuation columns and labored on my innovative tasks. What else am I intended to do? Consume and stare at a wall? Shell out time with my family? No. I get restless too effortlessly. If I was not operating I’d go mad.

Long time viewers will remember that just before I was performing Additional Punctuation I was doing Dev Diary, in which I discussed and explored my favourite interest of solo recreation advancement. In the very first calendar year I challenged myself to make twelve new games in twelve months, and then the second year focussed on the growth of Starstruck Vagabond, my lengthy expression interest project. Nicely, it’s been about a calendar year due to the fact that ended, and I hold finding questioned how Starstruck Vagabond’s undertaking, so forgive me whilst Extra Punctuation briefly turns into Dev Diary once again so I can do an update.

I’m at peace with the reality that it’s taking a extended time to make. It is, soon after all, a pastime. I could possibly be hammering it out faster if it was my working day job but I’ve now obtained a day work and a different novel in the functions, so I can tinker with it for fifty percent an hour a working day and it can be bloody well grateful. But to get you back up to velocity, Starstruck Vagabond is supposed to be a kind of mild work sim in your Stardew Valley mold, and I swear obtaining the same initials was a coincidence.

You engage in a space captain piloting a little ship in an unidentified galaxy in which you transfer from sector to sector by getting supply careers. Even though you are accomplishing that and whatsoever other odd jobs pop up, you get embroiled in an overarching storyline, as very well as various mini-adventures as you bring in a succession of rag-tag misfits for your crew. And as I suspected all over the time I finished Dev Diary season 2, writing all of that story and dialogue was likely to be the pretty significant, very very long task that would not make for terribly appealing diary episodes.

Perfectly, the story’s now accomplished. Largely. The important route major ongoing tale quest is, anyway. Suitable now I’m scripting all the optional cutscenes you get from bettering your marriage rating with specific crew members, Persona-type, as properly as all the quick bark traces your crew customers dish out through normal gameplay. Turns out there is a whole lot of them. But due to the fact it is additional of a crafting activity I can deal with it the way I generate my books. I just plonk a load of placeholder strings into the code and notify myself I’ll publish so a lot of real lines a working day.

But I have been encouraged to make a couple of gameplay tweaks alongside the way. For case in point, I have redesigned some things on the assumption that gamers won’t normally go back to star programs they’ve already been to. There made use of to be a couple of aspect employment – fetch quests, generally – that associated having a little something from a neighbouring star process and coming again. But I uncovered in tests that I by no means wanted do them. I required an encounter extra like an ongoing journey of discovery. It created extra feeling to retool items so you can total every sector’s actions and then shift onto the following. Out went the interstellar fetch quests, and I extra a few of new interplanetary side careers to compensate – cleaning buildings and hunting Zoobs on uncivilized planets.

A different current addition is crew quests. What I specially required to keep away from with the socialization mechanics was the Stardew Valley detail exactly where you befriend people today by supplying them presents each and every bloody day like an obsessive-compulsive stalker attempting to launder stolen items. I feel it receives the player’s emotions about an NPC off on the improper foot if they have to go out of their way to appease the greedy sods. So, instead, we have crew quests. Each now and once more when you solution an NPC’s bark, they counsel one particular of the many routines you do as a issue of system. Do a aspect task, just take a new shipping, clean your disgusting engines, etcetera. Then if you do that, it boosts your marriage with them due to the fact they enjoy obtaining their recommendations taken on board. So by tying interactions to responsibilities the participant may be accomplishing anyway, with any luck , they develop far more organically than when you have to run close to town holding a potato around your head on the lookout for your projected long term partner.

Also, I’ve commissioned a bunch of visual novel design portraits to set about the dialogue of crewmembers and other critical people. Just felt like I wanted to get some much more visible personality in there, and I’m rather happy with how it appears. Incidentally the artist I commissioned is common Escapist artist El Cheshire, who does a ton of do the job for Adventure is Nigh. It is practically like being a video game designer is assisted by also doing the job for a gaming web site.

The last key tweak relates to my old chum the principal gameplay loop. Specially the business enterprise of choosing up containers, placing them on your ship, then finding them up once more and placing them somewhere else. See, there was a recommendation a while again for a way to evolve the crate transporting gameplay – to commence acquiring extensive boxes or weirdly shaped bins you have to tesselate into your readily available house like Tetris blocks – but that proved unworkable. Or perhaps I ought to say, not anything I could be arsed to try, the code for pickups is quite heavily entrenched in them only ever becoming a single grid square big.

But! I experienced another idea for a few of on the ground box sorting mechanics that in good shape comfortably into the one square for each box rule. As you development in your box shipping and delivery job, you get started having to supply refrigerated crates, which have to be run. Some of the grid squares on your ship have powered cables on them, connecting factors to the ship’s reactor, and refrigerated crates have to be placed in one of these squares or develop into harmed over time.

Irradiated crates, meanwhile, are crates that have to be put absent from other crates, mainly because any crate straight away adjacent to them will develop into weakened. And if any of the crates you provide are harmed, be it by radiation or from unpowered refrigeration, your payout for the delivery gets severely slice down. Just provides a small little bit of added thought you need to have to use when packing shit into your cargo bay. Do not pack your milk on leading of your potato chips. The minimal gamifications of everyday existence.

So that is in which Starstruck Vagabond is at right now. I’m commencing to get the perception as I script the very last couple of connection scenes that I’m over the hump and entering the last stages of growth, which is my next favorite component of a artistic task just after starting one particular. And starting up a undertaking is the rapidly-dwelling bash female type of enjoyment who’ll give you the time of your daily life for a evening and then abandon you in the early morning to do the washing up and launder the bedclothes. Receiving to the conclusion excitement is the buddy who constantly make positive there’s a cup of tea on your nightstand and who you are going to possibly stop up marrying as quickly as you both of those get sufficiently determined.

Yeah, sorry, this is not one particular of those searing insights into game layout kinds of episodes, I just figured ample of you have been seeing since Dev Diary that you may well like an update. Specially if you depict or know another person who represents an indie video game publisher, that’d be handy appropriate about now. There is usually a aspect of me that wishes to preserve delaying to fiddle with it far more so it under no circumstances has to be introduced and subsequently judged, but it’s most likely time to expand some balls and get the ball rolling on that. So that… people do not get blue balls. Christ, English is a ball-centric language.

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Bills vs. Bengals updates: ‘Monday Night Football’ game canceled after Buffalo safety Damar Hamlin suffers cardiac arrest

Bills vs. Bengals updates: ‘Monday Night Football’ game canceled after Buffalo safety Damar Hamlin suffers cardiac arrest

The Week 17 game between the Bills and Bengals has been suspended after an extremely scary injury to Buffalo safety Damar Hamlin.

Hamlin collapsed during the first quarter after making a tackle on Bengals receiver Tee Higgins. Medical staff administered CPR for several minutes before he was transported by ambulance to University of Cincinnati Medical Center. Per the NFL, he is currently in “critical condition.” 

The league released the following statement after the game was suspended for the night:

The NFL Players Association also released a statement:

Players were seen in tears as Hamlin received medical attention. Nearly the entire Bills team joined together in prayer as the ambulance left the field. 

Cincinnati held a 7-3 lead with 5:58 remaining in the first quarter when play was suspended. 

MORE: Damar Hamlin’s charity has received millions of dollars in donations to GoFundMe page since Bills-Bengals postponement 

The Sporting News is tracking live updates as the situation unfolds. 

Bills vs. Bengals score

  Q1  Q2  Q3  Q4  F 
Bills 3 — — — —
Bengals 7 — — — —

Bills vs. Bengals live updates, highlights from ‘Monday Night Football’

(All times Eastern.)

Thursday, Jan. 5

9:30 p.m.: The NFL officially announced Thursday evening that Bills-Bengals would not be resumed, and that it has been cancelled.

3:08 p.m. — According to the Associated Press, the NFL will not be resuming the game between Buffalo and Cincinnati. However, a league spokesman reportedly told The Buffalo News’ Jay Skurski no decisions have been made yet.

1:50 p.m. — In an update on Thursday afternoon, University of Cincinnati Medical Center doctors said Hamlin first began to wake up on Wednesday night. He asked, via pen and paper, who had won the Bills vs. Bengals game. 

11:51 a.m. — ESPN’s Adam Schefter said on Thursday he does not expect Bills vs. Bengals to be resumed. He believes final win percentages will be used to determine AFC playoff seeding, although other options are being considered. Those include allowing the No. 1 seed to choose between home-field advantage or a bye week, or potentially holding the AFC title game at a neutral site. 

10:29 a.m. — The Bills have now released another statement about Hamlin’s health. He has shown “remarkable improvement over the last 24 hours,” per the physicians caring for him at UC Medical Center, and “appears to be neurologically intact.”

He is still considered to be “critically ill” but is making “steady progress.” 

10:25 a.m. — Bills rookie cornerback Kaiir Elam posted an update about Hamlin on Twitter, saying that he is “doing better, awake and showing more signs of improvement.”

8:21 a.m. — ESPN’s Adam Schefter reports that Damar Hamlin’s father, Mario, addressed the Bills on a Zoom call Wednesday to provide an update on his son’s condition. He informed the team that Damar was “making progress.”

Wednesday, Jan. 4

9:16 p.m. — NFL EVP of Communications Jeff Miller offered some insight on what the NFL might do with regards to Bills-Bengals, and also acknowledged conversations are happening.

“That conversation about what we do with that game has begun,” Miller said Wednesday, per CBS Sports. “Troy, commissioner (Roger Goodell), some of the rest of us are involved in those conversations but they’re ongoing.

“Obviously we’re going to have to make a decision on that in the coming days, which we will. But there’s a lot of considerations in place there and a lot of people that we want to consult with — including the clubs involved — before that decision is final.”

In other words, conversations have started, but a decision isn’t imminent just yet.

2:29 p.m. — NFL executive vice president Troy Vincent says that the NFL hasn’t yet discussed postponing this week’s Bills vs. Patriots game. He did acknowledge that it would be a possibility if necessary, however.

1:30 p.m. — The Bills tweet that Hamlin is still in the ICU and in critical condition. However, there were “signs of improvement yesterday and overnight” and the ICU team will continue to monitor him.

12:29 p.m. — Rodney Thomas, a high school teammate of Damar Hamlin, said that he visited the hospital and that Hamlin is “doing good” and that he “has no doubt he’ll pull through.”

11:06 a.m. — Rooney also spoke to Cameron Wolfe of NFL Network on Wednesday. He said that “things are moving in the right direction” but again did not provide any medical updates on Hamlin.

10:42 a.m. — Harvey reports that Rooney told him Hamlin “still has a long way to go in his recovery” despite the “small, hopeful step” that occurred Wednesday.

9:27 a.m. — ESPN’s Coley Harvey spoke to Hamlin’s family friend Jordon Rooney on Monday. Rooney told Harvey that the family had gotten “promising readings” on Hamlin but he couldn’t go into specifics.

Hamlin remains in the ICU and in critical condition.

Tuesday, Jan. 3

8:51 p.m. — Glenn said Hamlin is on a ventilator and they’re attempting to get him to breathe on his own as he remains in the ICU. Glenn also said Hamlin has been flipped onto his stomach in order to help the blood in his lungs.

7:35 p.m. — Hamlin’s uncle, Doriann Glenn, said Hamlin is now using 50 percent of a ventilator instead of 100 percent. Despite having some damage on his lungs, Glenn says “that’s a good thing. That’s a good sign.”

1:32 p.m. — The NFL has also announced that the Bills vs. Bengals game will not be resumed this week. The league has “made no decision regarding the possible resumption of the game at a later date” as well.

1:26 p.m. — The Bills announce via a statement that Hamlin spent the night in the intensive care unit at the University of Cincinnati Medical Center. He remains there in critical condition.

11:49 a.m. — Hamlin’s family releases a statement thanking NFL fans for the “support shown to Damar during this difficult time.” They do not provide any more updates about Hamlin’s condition. 

1:48 a.m. — The Bills offer an official statement regarding what happened to Damar Hamlin.

12:41 a.m. — Paycor Stadium’s lights have gone blue for Damar Hamlin.

12:27 a.m. — The NFL still has not given an indication what will come of the Bills-Bengals game as the Bills return to Buffalo.

12:25 a.m. — NFL executive vice president of football operations Troy Vincent attempted to clarify details regarding news that the game would resume after a five-minute warming up period, which angered many. 

12:23 a.m. — The Buffalo Bills team busses depart Paycor Stadium

12:19 a.m. — Tee Higgins, who was involved in the play in which Hamlin collapsed, has tweeted, offering his prayers.

12:15 a.m. — The NFL held a conference call with reporters to provide clarifying details about what occurred in the wake of Hamlin’s injury. Unfortunately, no update was given on his health. 

Monday, Jan. 2

11:55 p.m. — ESPN Bills reporter Alaina Getzenberg has reported the majority of Bills team members have stayed in the locker room at Paycor Stadium. The team buses also still have not left. 

11:30 p.m. — Contrary to earlier reports, it now sounds like there will be no update forthcoming tonight from hospital officials. 

11:28 p.m. — Hamlin’s agent, Ira Turner, has issued a statement:

11:23 p.m. — In a post on Twitter, Josh Allen has asked for prayers in support of his teammate.

11:16 p.m. — Bills receiver Stefon Diggs was just shown on ESPN arriving at the hospital where Hamlin is receiving treatment. He appears to have traveled to University of Cincinnati Medical Center in an Uber and was on his own. 

11:06 p.m. — Joe Danneman of FOX19 Cincinnati is reporting the Bills are planning on flying back to Buffalo. However, some members of the organization will be staying behind with Hamlin and his family. 

10:53 p.m. — The sports world continues to hold its collective breath as we await an update on Hamlin. As of now, the information remains the same: The Bills safety is in critical condition at University of Cincinnati Medical Center. No players or coaches will be addressing the media tonight. However, local journalists have reported hospital officials are expected to provide an update sometime this evening. 

10:16 p.m. — In an official statement, the NFL has described Hamlin as being in “critical condition.” Here is the full statement from the league:

10:00 p.m. — We have just received word this game has officially been suspended by the NFL. There will be no more football tonight. It remains to be seen when, or if, this game will be completed. But for now, all that matters is the health of Damar Hamlin. 

9:55 p.m. — The two head coaches, Sean McDermott and Zac Taylor, just exchanged words in the tunnel. McDermott was on a phone call, then the two shook hands and spoke briefly. Members of the Bills’ staff have now begun clearing equipment off of the sideline. There’s no official word yet, but it appears very likely this game will be postponed or called off. 

9:45 p.m. — Per ESPN’s broadcast, Hamlin was transported by ambulance to the University of Cincinnati Medical Center. We’re still awaiting information on his condition. Here are the latest updates we have on Hamlin. 

9:28 p.m. — The game remains suspended as we await any sort of information on the condition of Bills safety Damar Hamlin. He collapsed on the field in the first quarter after making a tackle on Bengals receiver Tee Higgins. He was taken off the field in an ambulance after medical staff administered CPR for several minutes. As of right now, it’s unclear whether this game will resume tonight or not. But that’s of very little concern at the moment. There are simply no words to describe a situation as scary and unprecedented as this.

9:17 p.m. — The officials just announced this game has been temporarily suspended. Both teams are heading to the locker room. We will continue to provide updates on this situation as it develops. 

9:12 p.m. — Hamlin has been taken away in an ambulance. The entire Bills team was gathered in prayer on the field as it drove away. Hamlin’s current condition is unclear right now. It appears this game will continue shortly, but right now it’s hard to even imagine playing a football game after what just took place. 

9:07 p.m. — ESPN’s sideline reporter Lisa Salters just delivered an update and you could hear the emotion in her voice. Joe Buck reported that the medical staff has been administering CPR to Hamlin. We can only hope and pray for the best right now. A devastating and terrifying situation has unfolded here early in this game. 

9:03 p.m. — This is really a distressing situation. Josh Allen and several other Bills players are in tears as an ambulance has now come onto the field. Really worrying moments in Cincinnati right now.

8:59 p.m. — Scary scene here. Hamlin made the tackle on that last play and initially got up onto his feet, but he staggered and fell back to the turf. The medical staff is bringing a stretcher out. McDermott looks very concerned. 

8:56 p.m. — The Bengals come out swinging once again on their second drive of the night, and a Burrow pass to Tee Higgins picks up 13 yards to quickly move them across midfield. Another Bills defender is down hurt at the end of the play, this time it’s safety Damar Hamlin. Tough start to this game for Buffalo’s defense. 

8:53 p.m. — Allen’s left leg got rolled up on a bit at the end of that drive. It looked like his left knee may have even hyper-extended slightly. He was walking a little tenderly to the sideline, but he’s a pretty tough guy and it doesn’t seem like he’s in any danger of leaving this game. 

Bengals 7, Bills 3

8:51 p.m. FIELD GOAL — Tyler Bass connects from short range to put the Bills’ on the board. 

8:49 p.m. — A mishap on 2nd down brings up 3rd and 3 for Buffalo from inside the Bengals’ 10. Allen drops back and tosses left for Cole Beasley, but it goes off the receiver’s hands and falls incomplete. That will force a field goal attempt. 

8:47 p.m. — A second catch by Diggs picks up another Bills’ first down, then rookie running back James Cook enters the game and rips off two nice runs to move the ball into the red zone. 

8:44 p.m. — On 3rd and inches, Devin Singletary lowers his shoulder and bangs ahead for a first down. Buffalo has the ball across midfield, but they have to burn a timeout on the following play after Sean McDermott doesn’t like what he sees from the defense.  

8:42 p.m. — Buffalo’s first drive of the night starts as it often does — with an Allen completion to Diggs. That picks up 17 yards to pick up a quick first down.

8:41 p.m. — If that first drive is any indication, it could be a long night for this Bills defense. Let’s see how Josh Allen responds. 

Bengals 7, Bills 0

8:38 p.m. TOUCHDOWN — Wow, what an incredible start for Cincy! A lightning-quick drive ends in a touchdown after Burrow connects with Tyler Boyd in the back of the end zone! The Bengals have the lead in no time! 

8:36 p.m. — Burrow sneaks it up the middle to convert for a first down. One play later, he throws it over the middle to Hayden Hurst, who attempts a wild hurdle over a defender but gets dragged down inside the Bills’ 15-yard line. 

8:34 p.m. — Joe Mixon gets his first handoff of the night and powers forward to set up 3rd and inches. Buffalo cornerback Taron Johnson was shaken up and is down on the field. 

8:31 p.m. — On the first play from scrimmage, Burrow goes deep down the left sideline to Chase. Tre’Davious White had a hold of Chase in coverage, and that’ll draw a pass interference call. Rough start to the night for White. 

8:30 p.m. — Here we go. Kickoff is just moments away in this massive late-season AFC showdown. The Bengals won the toss and have elected to receive first. Burrow and his offense will take the field to get things underway.

8:21 p.m. — Joe Burrow and Ja’Marr Chase have formed another deadly duo recently. Chase hasn’t been held under 7 catches in a game since Week 4 against the Dolphins.

7:53 p.m. — Stefon Diggs: A man of the people. 

7:35 p.m. — This duo has been outstanding once again this season. They’ll need to be at their best in one of their biggest tests of the season tonight. 

7:23 p.m. — Joe Burrow has his team playing some great football at the right time. Can he and the Bengals topple the AFC’s top dog tonight?

What time is the NFL game tonight?

  • Date: Monday, Jan. 2
  • Time: 8:30 p.m. ET

The game is scheduled to kick off at 8:30 p.m. ET from Paycor Stadium in Cincinnati, Ohio. The weather forecast calls for cloudy skies with temperatures in the high 50s Fahrenheit and a chance of thunderstorms later in the evening. 

What channel is Bills vs. Bengals on today?

  • TV networks: ESPN (U.S.) | TSN1/3/4, RDS2 (Canada)
  • Live stream: ESPN.com, ESPN App, ESPN+, fuboTV (U.S.) | DAZN (Canada)

Buffalo and Cincinnati will face off on the final “Monday Night Football” broadcast of the season. ESPN will be airing the game nationwide in the United States, with Joe Buck (play-by-play), Troy Aikman (color commentary) and Lisa Salters (sideline reporting) on the call from Cincy.

Fans in the United States looking for a live stream can find one on fuboTV, which offers a free trial. Other options include ESPN.com, ESPN+ or the ESPN App. 

Viewers in Canada can tune in on TSN 1/3/4 or RDS2, or via live stream with DAZN, which features every NFL game. 

Sporting News’ Jacob Camenker also contributed to this report.

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The Witcher 3’s next-gen update makes a beautiful game much smoother

The Witcher 3’s next-gen update makes a beautiful game much smoother

The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt has often been a wonderful match. A single of my favorite factors to do when I played for the initially time in 2015 was just wander close to on horseback soaking in the extraordinary atmosphere, from the crumbling historic ruins to the bustling towns. 7 many years later on and I discovered myself awed once once more when participating in it on the PlayStation 5.

A free upcoming-gen patch for The Witcher 3 launches on December 14th, offering the getting older open up-world a increase if you are enjoying on a PS5, Xbox Series X/S, or substantial-close Personal computer. I have managed to play as a result of the initial number of hours of the new version — for those who’ve currently played, I’m correct in the thick of the haunting “Bloody Baron” quest — and whilst it is still fundamentally the exact same recreation, some of the enhancements make a visible variance.

As with lots of future-gen game titles, The Witcher 3 gives two distinctive graphics selections: 1 with a emphasis on large-stop visual results like ray tracing, and a further that emphasizes general performance at 60fps. And, like most online games I’ve examined, efficiency is the way to go in my opinion. The ray tracing is nice, of class, but either way the activity appears to be like good. The entire world is massive and detailed, and no issue what, the lights seems amazing I nevertheless enjoy looking at the sun established while driving via a swamp or up a mountain. It’s a recreation built to screenshot (and this week’s update also contains a image mode so you can do just that).

For all of its ambition, The Witcher 3 is also a recreation that has normally been a minimal rough around the edges. It’s never ever as terrible as Cyberpunk 2077, but a choppy body fee and other visual challenges can definitely lavatory down the experience, notably in fight. But from what I’ve played so much, most of all those troubles have been ironed out — I have not even observed a Roach glitch still — and, when merged with the 60fps mode and some a bit streamlined controls, the encounter could even be explained as easy.

It’s not a complete overhaul of the game, of system. This is a upcoming-gen patch, not a whole-on remake like The Very last of Us Component I. And there are loads of things that make it clear this is a game that released a console generation in the past — dated character versions, wonky animations, hair that moves about with a sturdy disregard for gravity. The very first time I killed a werewolf, it flopped about the cave like a fifty percent-inflated balloon.

Even continue to, the upgrades increase The Witcher 3 exactly where it demands it the most. This is a match beloved for its storytelling and roleplaying features, and all those stay totally unchanged here. In point, it is extraordinary how properly they maintain up, specifically specified all of the outstanding fantasy open up-worlds that have introduced in the meantime. But taking part in with an improved body charge, smoother controls, and generally less specialized difficulties will make the rest of the experience significantly less of a chore.

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HP Victus 15 review: an $800 laptop that can game

HP Victus 15 review: an 0 laptop that can game

I have been searching far and wide for a budget gaming laptop that I could recommend for shoppers looking in the sub-$800 range. I was hoping and praying that the HP Victus 15 — which has been one of Best Buy’s most popular products this year — would be it.

My takeaway, having been gaming on the Victus ($799.99 for my Core i5/8GB/512GB/GTX 1650 model) for the past few days, is that it’s not the slam dunk I hoped it would be. The low price is quite attractive (and will be even more so if you can find it on sale), but the dated GPU inside our test model is not delivering the frame rates that I’d hope to see from a modern gaming laptop. That doesn’t mean that the Victus is a unilaterally bad purchase — just that, as is often the case with budget gaming laptops, you should go in with realistic expectations.

The Victus has an unobtrusive design. My review unit is almost entirely black with modest backlighting and a simple “V” on the lid (which, as you may notice in the photos, picked up a mess of fingerprints quickly). It’s more of a “could bring to the office” device than a “chaotic mess of RGB that will not leave the basement” device. At 5.06 pounds, it’s fairly portable (for a gaming laptop) but certainly not a lightweight device.

Ports include most of what you’ll probably need — two USB-A, one USB-C, one audio jack, one HDMI 2.1, one Ethernet, and one full-sized SD reader in addition to the charging port. There’s no Thunderbolt 4, which is worth noting (even though Thunderbolt 4 isn’t a requirement at this price point). My one note about the chassis is really the touchpad. Not only does it pick up fingerprints easily, but it has quite a stiff click.

Ports include most of what you’ll probably need

Of course, this is a gaming laptop, and the gaming performance is what matters. I would call my results in that area “acceptable” for the GTX 1650 inside. You can certainly game on this thing, but I don’t see the bang for your buck as exceptional here.

The HP Victus 15 open on a wooden table seen from above.

Screen was a bit dim, maxing out at 235 nits.

Lighter titles like League of Legends and CS:GO easily maxed out the Victus’ 144Hz screen. Overwatch 2 got up there after I bumped the graphics down to medium (and still achieved a respectable 78fps on the Epic preset).

But heavier fare gave the Victus more trouble, and I would recommend that you look for a better GPU if you plan to play these titles often. Red Dead Redemption 2 only averaged 38fps at its highest preset and 45fps at medium. Cyberpunk was a rougher ride, averaging only 39fps at medium and 24fps at ultra. The good news for RPG fans is that the Victus 15 can run Elden Ring at around 45fps at maximum settings, and bumping down to medium got me to 60.

And then there’s the ever-looming matter of battery. The lifespans we’ve been getting from this generation of Intel gaming laptops haven’t been great, and this Victus is no exception. I averaged just two hours and 19 minutes of regular work use with brightness around 200 nits and Battery Saver on. You can expect less when you’re gaming — I got an hour and 13 minutes of League of Legends play to one charge, playable the entire time.

I know many people don’t intend for their gaming laptop to leave their desk, but I do think a two-hour battery life will rule this device out as a primary driver for some users. You may not be able to make it through a full movie, let alone a work day, without the charger in tow. For price-sensitive shoppers, buying a secondary portable device for non-gaming use cases may not be realistic — so I do see this battery life as a problem.

The HP Victus 15 open on an office table.

It’s a decent device, but $100 more will get you much further.

The HP Victus 15 is an $800 laptop that can game

Ultimately, the HP Victus 15 is an $800 laptop that can game. That fact alone is enough to recommend it to some degree (again, especially if you see it on sale).

But it is worth considering a few alternatives. For example, the Victus 15 with an RTX 3050 (which we’d expect to deliver a better experience on those AAA titles) MSRPs for $969 but is on sale for $697 as of this writing. Acer’s staple Nitro 5 with that RTX GPU is currently available for $899 (just $100 more than my test model), as is Dell’s G15 with an even more powerful RTX 3050 Ti. My point is that if you can pay just $100 more, can find a good discount, or are willing to buy used, there are all kinds of options available for close to this price that can really nail AAA games.

At the end of the day, this is a budget laptop with budget laptop frame rates — and if you’re in a position to do so, you can get much more gaming power for not too much more money.

Photography by Monica Chin / The Verge

HP Victus 15 Accessibility

  • The letter keys are 0.6 x 0.6 inches with 0.06 inches between them. All keys are backlit. Caps Lock, Power, F11/touchpad, and F5/microphone have indicator lights. The power button and volume keys are 0.6 x 0.2 inches. The keys are grey with white text and take a small amount of firm force force to depress.
  • The speakers reached an average of 75 decibels in my testing.
  • The lid can be opened with one hand. It can be tilted back to 140 degrees.
  • The screen is 15.6 inches with a 1920 x 1080 resolution. It reached an 1190:1 contrast ratio in my testing. There is a touchscreen.
  • The touchpad is 4.9 x 1.2 inches and takes firm, dedicated force to depress.
  • Setup involves turning the device on and clicking through several menus.
  • The Victus does not support fingerprint or facial logins.

Windows 11

  • Windows 11 includes a dedicated accessibility menu.
  • Windows 11 includes a built-in screen reader (Narrator). It supports third-party screen readers including NVDA from NV Access and Jaws from Freedom Scientific. A full list of compatible software can be found on Microsoft’s website.
  • Windows 11 supports voice typing (accessed by Windows + H) and speech recognition (toggled with Windows + Ctrl + S).
  • Color Filters including inverted, grayscale, red-green, and blue-yellow can be toggled with Windows + Ctrl + C. Contrast themes are toggled with Alt + Left Shift + Print Screen. Standard Dark Mode and custom colors are also available under Personalization.
  • Caption color and size can be customized and appear close to the bottom of the screen.
  • The keyboard can be remapped with Microsoft’s PowerToys. Sticky Keys is supported. An on-screen keyboard is available.
  • The cursor’s size and speed can be adjusted and gestures can be remapped in Touchpad Settings.
  • Windows 11 supports eye control with external eye trackers.
  • Windows 11 includes a Snap Layout feature, accessed by hovering over the Maximize button on any open window.