The Weekly Gazette 06-30-2024

[DerVVulfman]

(June 24 to June 30, 2024)

Welcome dear readers to the latest issue of the Weekly Gazette! Here in the Gazette, we give you the news in brief of what occurred in the past week as well as provide any news happening in Save-Point itself

Official Area

Announcements and Updates

A new board has been added to Save-Point, it being The New RPG Maker Central Archive. It has been months since RPG Maker Central went down, and this week, DerVVulfman uploaded apparently 10% of the scripts he stated he managed to salvage from the site before it collapsed.

General Chat

The News of the World focused upon the Presidential debate between Biden and Trump, the result of which even President Biden could not dismiss. Liberal newscasters such as Van Jones, Chris Wallace and MSNBC's Nicole Wallace had all suggested Biden drop out of the race; this reiterated by the New York Times. And Top Hollywood doners threatened to cut funds unless he does. Despite this, Biden states he will have scheduled a second debate. And of fact checks, Biden's statement of not losing any military under his watch clearly false given the Afghanistan withdrawl, and Trump's 2020 Executive Order to deliver insulin at a mere $35 blocked by Biden whom issued his policies. The U.S. Supreme Court made many decisions this week, that it is legal to clear encampments and prosecute repeat offenders in unauthorized areas, struck down the federal governments ruling in the Chevron case for weak interpretations of the law, confirmed anyone accused by the Securities and Exchange Commission of fraud has a right to trial by jury instead of their own internal tribunal, and ruled that that the government cannot prosecute January 6 defendants including Trump under 1512©(2) for generally obstruction as the law would need to show they impeded the delivery of documents or objects needed for the January 6 proceeding. However, the Supreme Court denied Steve Bannon;s request to stay out of jail pending the outcome of his appeal. Of other elections, the first volley of votes in France's Snap Election called by Macron have already gone favorably to his opponent Le Pen, this with Le Pen's promise not to send French Troops to fight in Ukraine and despite Macron's threat of a civil war if he loses. In Canada, Trudeau’s conservative rival now opposes mass migration after seeing Trudeau's policies in action, citing housing and job creation as main factors. And a new report revealed Trudeau's failure at rescue operations in Afghanistan, pursuing refugees over Canada's own citizens trapped by the Taliban. Meanwhile, the inflation rate in Argentina's grocery bill flattened to 0% under the new Milei Preisdency. And Columbians are worried that their unpopular socialist president, Gustavo Petro, will attempt to change their nation's consitution to remain in power, Petro's administration already caught wire-tapping his nation's own Supreme Court judges. In the Middle East, Israel had issued a statement that it has nearly removed Hamas from Rafah, and had begun creating a fresh water supply after the United Nations themselve warned they may cut aid. However, do note that a Hamas billionare claimed that Gaza's destruction was part of their own goal. And Israeli forces discovered that a member of "Doctors without Borders" was himself a terrorist wearing a Islamic Jihad uniform. Meanwhile, Iran has been found to have been hiding nuclear development from the IAEA and U.S. sanctions by concealing activities inside Universities connected to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard. Mexican cartels laundering money with help by Chinese bankers, Economists warning Trump as a danger found to be linked to Biden Administration, a former Obama-era ICE director blasting Biden as ISIS-linked migrants cross the southern border, the Wall Street Journal denouncing Russia's trial of Evan Gershkovich, a report confirms CIA interference in 2020 election with the letter to discredit the Hunter Biden Laptop Story the Taliban meet with the United Nations whilst demanding a ban on women present, and Maldives's Climate Change Minister arrest for practicing black magic all hit this week's news.
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Tech Talk

For many in the game development community, the Malware attack on the Japanese Publishers of the RPGMaker line hit this week's News of the Cyber World. The Russian-linked hacker group not only claimed responsiblity, but have also threatened to release company employee records unless payment made. With Artificial Intelligence, there is a lot of back and forth. Google's Gemini AI, made infamous for rewriting history with its illustration software, is being made available in to school teenagers. Sony Music, Universal Music Group and Warner Record have filed lawsuits against Artificial intelligence (AI) companies Suno and Udio for stealing content to train their music-generating AI systems. And photographers beware as Facebook/Meta has now bgun labeling actual content as AI generated fakes. Yet, there is so much hype for artificial intelligence, that companies have begun lying about the use, development or effectiveness of AI in their products. The U.S. Supreme Court chose not to rule on the case before them over Social Media Censorship, claiming not enough evidence. However, a letter of dissent was made within the court pointing that discord between points of view is meant to be allowed, and not censored; this a view many social media users expressed. Meanwhile, the U.S. Surgeon General has requested Congress force warnings upon Social Media such as those for Tobacco Products, this following studies of their impacts on adolescents. Scrutiny of China's Temu phone application as a cover for malware and data theft, Tesla facing two recalls over windshield wipers and loose trim, a Florida gamer attacked with a hamemr by a rival who flew all the way from New Jersey, Google burying Trump Campaign site in their search results, and more hit this week's cybernews.

According to a multi-national cybersecurity firm, Chinese Hackers have now intentified attacks on Taiwan, stealing its intellectual technology and spying on its diplomats. The cybersecurity's main focus has been upon "RedJuliett", the Chinese sponsored hacking group responsible for Microsoft's "Flax Typhoon" hack detected by Crowdstrike last year. While RedJuliett had attacked other countries, over half of its attention has been directed towards Taiwan.

Games Development

Development Discussion

If curious What's up with other RMers, Remi-chan posted some new game footage for her game which will not be available until its next installment, the confrontation between her game's heroes and the mistress of Pandemonium herself. But with that, she revealed some placeholder sprites for her newly revealed character and graphics for new optional events for the Disc 2 demo of her game. After seeing this, Kain Nobel flattered her for her diligence, but he himself has no content to post due to other considerations.

Complete Projects

Enter a world of tropical beaches in Starmage's A Sun-Kissed Fantasy. A short RPG game, it tells the story of a man found by one of the local surfers, a man whom lost his memory and strives to find it and his way home. Told in a visual novel style, A Sun-Kissed Fantasy is Starmage's entry into the Harold Jam 2024 Game Jam from RPGMakerWeb, featuring custom character art and a simple sideview battlesystem.

If interested in playing an RPG adventure of galactic scale, Rave Heart by Starmage is now on Steam at 48% off. Become the personal bodyguard to a space princess in the Xerxes galaxy, uncover your past, and be aware of the brewing war to come.

Upcoming Projects

Continued from RPGMakerWeb's Christmas GameJam is Starmage's Heroes of the Seasons, now at half-price at Steam. The winner of the honorable "Fan-Favourite" or "People's Choice" award, venture into the world of Vyen and protect all holiday cheer from the evil King Frinch.

Well, that's it for this week.

"I am not a demon. I am a lizard, a shark, a heat-seeking panther. I want to be Bob Denver on acid playing the accordion" - Nicolas Cage

PROSPECTIVE GAZETEERS!

If you are the creator of a thread in Save-Point, you have the option of sending/writing your own entry into the Gazette. The Gazette accepts write-in announcements (which will be doublechecked). Likewise, the Gazette would welcome other content such as a comic-strip series, ongoing story arc, or the like.

Just PM DerVVulfman with the submissions. Submissions must be in by 10pm EST.