Lightyear’s very pricey solar-powered car will go into production in late 2022

EV startup Lightyear debuted its first solar-powered vehicle this week, a sleek sedan called the Lightyear 0. The company gave us a peek at a production prototype of Lightyear 0 in 2019, and at first glance, not much has changed. The car is essentially an unconventional hybrid equipped with both a conventional 60-kilowatt-hour EV battery pack and solar panels on its roof, hood and hatch. The solar panels on the Lightyear 0 will charge automatically whenever the car is exposed to the sun — it doesn’t matter if it’s parked or driving.

The Lightyear 0 isn’t as much solar-powered as solar-assisted. In order to drive for long distances, the vehicle has to tap into its battery reserve. The car’s solar panels can provide 44 miles of range per day in a sunny climate, whereas its EV range is 388 miles. But for drivers with exceptionally short commutes or those who need their vehicle infrequently, the Lightyear 0 could allow them to no longer spend money on gas or charging. The company claims that those with a daily commute of 22 miles can drive the Lightyear 0 for two straight months in the Netherlands summer without needing to charge. Drivers in sunnier climates can go for longer. Lightyear claims that the sun can provide the Lightyear 0 with anywhere between 3,700 to 6,800 miles of range annually.

It’s important to note that Lightyear 0 owners will need to drive for a significantly long time in order to justify the vehicle’s purchase as a cost-saving measure. The Lightyear 0 will cost €250,000 (which amounts to roughly $263,262 USD), and the company only plans on making 946 units. But a more reasonably-priced vehicle is on the way. Lightyear recently also unveiled a prototype of a $33,000 solar-powered car, which is scheduled to go into production by 2025.

Meta’s Horizon Home social space will arrive on Quest 2 headsets next week

Starting next week, Meta will add a more social-oriented home space to Quest 2. Horizon Home, which the company announced at Oculus Connect last year, will appear when users slip on the virtual reality headset. They can invite friends to come over and hang out, watch videos and play games together. It’s part of Meta’s vision of the metaverse, a shared virtual space where folks can do all kinds of things together, along with Horizon Worlds and Horizon Workrooms.

One of those, as demoed in a video shared by Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg, is the option to watch 360-degree footage with friends. Zuckerberg showed off the feature with climber Alex Honnold of Free Solo fame. They watched The Soloist VR, a film that features Honnold free climbing the Dolomite Mountains. If you thought Meta’s torso-only avatars looked strange on the virtual ground, just wait till you see two of them floating 1,000 feet above northern Italy.

Quest 2 users can check out Horizon Home and its miserable-looking virtual home office starting today if they are comfortable using the Public Test Channel. Meta will roll out the v41 Quest update, which includes Horizon Home, more broadly next week, a Meta spokesperson told Road to VR. We’ll likely learn more details about Horizon Home then. Meta will add more customization options for the home space later.

Dell XPS 15 review (2022): Still the best 15-inch Windows laptop

How can Dell improve on its already excellent XPS 15? By adding the latest hardware from Intel, whose new hybrid chips promise far better multitasking performance than before. We loved the XPS 15’s updated design when it debuted two years ago, and last…

Afterlife game ‘Spiritfarer’ is coming to mobile through Netflix

You’ll have to sign up for Netflix if you want to play the award-nominatedSpiritfarer on your phone. The streaming service has announced that the death management game will be available on mobile through its platform sometime “soon.” It’s not clear what (if anything) will change in this version, although it’s safe to presume you’ll find touch-optimized controls.

Spiritfarer revolves around Stella, a ferrymaster who befriends the dead and brings them to the afterlife. You need to build a boat, of course, but you’ll also craft items and harvest materials to help you explore the landscape and take care of the deceased. Think of it as Stardew Valley or Terraria with a message — it’s as much about developing a healthy attitude toward death as it is refining your resource management skills.

The debut comes alongside other high-profile Netflix game launches, such as ustwo’s Desta and a deluge of show-related titles. The company is determined to become a home for much-loved (if not always new) games, and Spiritfarer might tip the balance if you’re either a fan eager to play on mobile or a newcomer curious about all the buzz.

‘Monument Valley’ studio’s next game is a Netflix mobile exclusive

You’ll need a streaming subscription if you want to try ustwo’s upcoming Desta: The Memories Between. The Monument Valley developer has announced that its turn-based, sports-influenced roguelike will be a Netflix exclusive on mobile when it debuts sometime later this year. The game is coming to other platforms, but Netflix is promising that there will be no in-app purchases or “extra fees” in its version.

Desta revolves around a twentysomething who returns home after their dad’s death. You help them deal with their past in dreams and reality by solving puzzles and talking to the people they left behind. As you might have guessed, the hybrid mechanics promise a considerably more varied experience than in titles like Monument Valley — ustwo is borrowing cues from games like Hades and Into the Breach.

The exclusive further signals Netflix’s commitment to gaming. While it’s clearly serious about games with show tie-ins and a rapidly growing catalog, it’s increasingly courting major mobile developers like ustwo. In that regard, Netflix is competing as much with Apple Arcade and Google Play Pass as it is Amazon and Disney — it’s hoping to reel in customers willing to pay a flat fee for access to a library of quality games without surprise costs.

‘Alto’s Odyssey’ studio Snowman’s next game is bound for Netflix

As part of its Geeked Week event, Netflix is spending the day announcing a bunch of titles that are coming to its games service. One of those is the latest effort from Snowman, the studio behind Alto’s Odyssey and Alto’s Adventure. Lucky Luna will be available to Netflix subscribers on mobile devices this summer.

It’s a vertical scrolling platformer in which you’ll explore temples and dungeons while learning about the past of protagonist Luna. One key quirk is that there’s no jump button. You’ll fall from one platform to the next and use creatures and parts of the environment to help move around.

Snowman is making Lucky Luna without the core development team behind Alto’s Adventure. Lead artist and developer Harry Nesbitt, programmer Joe Grainger and composer Todd Baker opened another studio in 2020 called Land & Sea. That team is making “folk” games centered around “artful, hand-crafted experiences.”

A Dragon Age animated series is coming to Netflix in December

The next Dragon Age game is still a long ways off, but that isn’t stopping BioWare from expanding the fantasy RPG’s reach. Netflix has unveiled a six-episode anime series, Dragon Age: Absolution, premiering sometime in December. The teaser trailer (below) doesn’t reveal much, but you can expect a “new saga” in Tevinter that appears to center on a special ring — and, of course, plenty of magic and bloody swordplay.

Red Dog Culture House (which created an episode for Love, Death & Robots) is producing the limited-run project. Guardians of the Galaxy series producer Mairghread Scott is serving as the showrunner.

This certainly isn’t a novel project for Netflix. There are already game-related anime shows either available or in the works at Netflix, ranging from Castlevania through to the upcoming Cyberpunk 2077 series. However, it’s notable that this production is coming in the run-up to a new game (Dreadwolf) for a long-dormant franchise. Absolution is effectively a bid to revive interest in Dragon Age, not to mention court an audience that might not have heard of the games until now.

Long-awaited RTS ‘Homeworld 3’ is delayed until 2023

Homeworld 3 won’t be coming out this year after all. Gearbox Publishing and developer Blackbird Interactive have delayed the sci-fi real-time strategy sequel until the first half of 2023, meaning it will arrive 20 years after Homeworld 2.

“Delivering Homeworld 3 at the highest quality is the top priority for Gearbox Publishing and Blackbird Interactive because we recognize the special place this series holds in the hearts of players,” a statement posted on Twitter reads. “This passion from players fuels the work and the additional time will allow us to make good on our commitment to quality in a healthy and sustainable way for all those involved.”

While the delay might come as a disappointment to fans, it seems the team is looking to avoid crunch (i.e. nudging developers to work long hours) by taking a few more months to polish the game to the expected level of quality. Blackbird took other steps to improve the work-life balance of its team members earlier this year when it permanently adopted a four-day work week.

You can expect to learn more about Homeworld 3 in the not-too-distant future. Gearbox and Blackbird have promised to show off “the deepest look yet” at the game during Gamescom in August.

Some members of the Blackbird team previously worked at Relic Entertainment, the studio behind the original Homeworld games. Rob Cunningham, a Relic co-founder and art director on the first two entries, is among them. Blackbird previously made Homeworld: Deserts of Kharak, a prequel to 1999’s original Homeworld.

Sonos’ Roam speaker is still 20 percent off, plus the rest of the week’s best tech deals

If you’re still looking for the perfect Father’s Day gift, you have a bunch of options that you can get for less right now. A rare sale on the Sonos Roam and Move speakers discounts them both by 20 percent, while a number of Apple devices are on sale, …