The Game Developers Conference will be fully digital for the second year in a row, manager Katie Stern announced Thursday.

The GDC Masterclass (March 4 - 5), introduced last fall, is a series of one or two-day workshops that provide hands-on training on challenges in the games industry, as opposed to the more hands-off presentations.

The GDC Showcase (March 15 - 19) will be free-to-attend digital event, featuring lectures, Ask-Me-Anything sessions with developers, interactive panels, podcasts, and more.

In addition to all the new material, the actual GDC 2021, including the familiar series of event-exclusive lectures on game development and business, will take place from July 19 - 23.

Additional GDC-branded events are also planned for later in 2021, with Stern promising more info in the future. Conference organizers are also still planning to publish their annual State of the Game Industry survey, which provides data on industry employment, technology and business trends, as well as diversity and accessibility measures.

The Game Developers Conference (along with PAX East) was one of the first games industry events during 2020 to suffer the effects of COVID-19 shutdowns. With major companies like Sony, Microsoft, Epic Games, and others pulling out due to safety concerns, the 2020 event was eventually postponed and converted into an all-digital event. The event remains one of the largest gatherings of industry workers, drawing in more than 29,000 people in 2019.

The Game Developers Conference will be fully digital for the second year in a row, manager Katie Stern announced Thursday.

The GDC Masterclass (March 4 - 5), introduced last fall, is a series of one or two-day workshops that provide hands-on training on challenges in the games industry, as opposed to the more hands-off presentations.

The GDC Showcase (March 15 - 19) will be free-to-attend digital event, featuring lectures, Ask-Me-Anything sessions with developers, interactive panels, podcasts, and more.

In addition to all the new material, the actual GDC 2021, including the familiar series of event-exclusive lectures on game development and business, will take place from July 19 - 23.

Additional GDC-branded events are also planned for later in 2021, with Stern promising more info in the future. Conference organizers are also still planning to publish their annual State of the Game Industry survey, which provides data on industry employment, technology and business trends, as well as diversity and accessibility measures.

The Game Developers Conference (along with PAX East) was one of the first games industry events during 2020 to suffer the effects of COVID-19 shutdowns. With major companies like Sony, Microsoft, Epic Games, and others pulling out due to safety concerns, the 2020 event was eventually postponed and converted into an all-digital event. The event remains one of the largest gatherings of industry workers, drawing in more than 29,000 people in 2019.

• Cruise Stage Separation: NASA's Ingenuity Mars Helicopter, which was attached to Perseverance and responsible for flying the rover through space, detached itself at approximately 3:38 p.m. EST.
• Atmospheric Entry: Perseverance hit the top of Mars' atmosphere at approximately 3:48 p.m. EST at 12,100 miles per hour/19,500 kilometers per hour.
• Peak Heating: The bottom of Perseverance hit its peak temperature of 2,370 degrees Fahrenheit/1,300 degrees Celsius, at approximately 3:49 p.m. EST as a result of the friction it endured flying through the atmosphere.
• Parachute Deployment: Perseverance deployed its parachute at 3:53 p.m. EST.
• Heat. Shield Separation: The protective heat shield on the bottom of Perseverance detached roughly 20 seconds after its parachute was deployed. This detachment was done to allow the rover to begin using its radar to determine how far away it is from the surface of Mars.
• Back Shell Separation: The back shell of the entry capsule that is attached to Perseverance's parachute separated from the rover at approximately 3:54 p.m. EST. At this point, the rover began to use rockets to slow down its speed and fly to the landing site.
• Touchdown: Perseverance successfully landed on Mars at approximately 3:56 p.m. at a speed of about 1.7 miles per hour/2.7 kilometers per hour.

• Cruise Stage Separation: NASA's Ingenuity Mars Helicopter, which was attached to Perseverance and responsible for flying the rover through space, detached itself at approximately 3:38 p.m. EST.
• Atmospheric Entry: Perseverance hit the top of Mars' atmosphere at approximately 3:48 p.m. EST at 12,100 miles per hour/19,500 kilometers per hour.
• Peak Heating: The bottom of Perseverance hit its peak temperature of 2,370 degrees Fahrenheit/1,300 degrees Celsius, at approximately 3:49 p.m. EST as a result of the friction it endured flying through the atmosphere.
• Parachute Deployment: Perseverance deployed its parachute at 3:53 p.m. EST.
• Heat. Shield Separation: The protective heat shield on the bottom of Perseverance detached roughly 20 seconds after its parachute was deployed. This detachment was done to allow the rover to begin using its radar to determine how far away it is from the surface of Mars.
• Back Shell Separation: The back shell of the entry capsule that is attached to Perseverance's parachute separated from the rover at approximately 3:54 p.m. EST. At this point, the rover began to use rockets to slow down its speed and fly to the landing site.
• Touchdown: Perseverance successfully landed on Mars at approximately 3:56 p.m. at a speed of about 1.7 miles per hour/2.7 kilometers per hour.

Ever since cryptocurrency mining became a hot business, miners have gobbled up the best GPUs in order to boost their output, making it more difficult to find and purchase said GPUs. Thankfully, Nvidia has announced its upcoming RTX 3060 GPU will feature new software drivers that makes it less desirable for cryptocurrency miners, while also launching a new GPU dedicated to mining.

Nvidia says that RTX 3060 GPUs, releasing February 25, will come with software drivers that detect when the GPU is using the Ethereum cryptocurrency mining algorithm. The GPU will limit the hash rate (the measuring unit for how fast a GPU is processing cryptocurrency), making the GPU about 50% less effective for miners.

Nvidia CMP is the company’s answer for miners, featuring various upgrades that make it more effective at specifically mining cryptocurrency. It’s essentially the computing strength of a GPU without the graphics.

“CMP products — which don’t do graphics — are sold through authorized partners and optimized for the best mining performance and efficiency,” Nvidia said. “They don’t meet the specifications required of a GeForce GPU and, thus, don’t impact the availability of GeForce GPUs to gamers.”

CMP also lacks display outputs and has a lower peak voltage output, improving its mining efficiency.

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“With CMP, we can help miners build the most efficient data centers while preserving GeForce RTX GPUs for gamers,” Nvidia said.

Crypto miners, scalpers, and just generally strong demand have made it incredibly difficult to find 30-series GPUs, like the highly coveted RTX 3080, since September of last year. When Bitcoin and Etherium value skyrocketed last October, with Bitcoin reaching heights of $20,000 per Bitcoin, that GPU demand increased even further, according to Tom's Hardware. Nvidia has previously stated in January that availability for its 30-series GPUs will remain low for the coming months.

Demand for the RTX 3060, Nvidia’s most affordable 30-series card at $329, will likely continue the trend. Nvidia’s plans for mobile 30-series GPUs may assuage that issue, but it’ll come at the cost of purchasing an entire gaming laptop.

Ever since cryptocurrency mining became a hot business, miners have gobbled up the best GPUs in order to boost their output, making it more difficult to find and purchase said GPUs. Thankfully, Nvidia has announced its upcoming RTX 3060 GPU will feature new software drivers that makes it less desirable for cryptocurrency miners, while also launching a new GPU dedicated to mining.

Nvidia says that RTX 3060 GPUs, releasing February 25, will come with software drivers that detect when the GPU is using the Ethereum cryptocurrency mining algorithm. The GPU will limit the hash rate (the measuring unit for how fast a GPU is processing cryptocurrency), making the GPU about 50% less effective for miners.

Nvidia CMP is the company’s answer for miners, featuring various upgrades that make it more effective at specifically mining cryptocurrency. It’s essentially the computing strength of a GPU without the graphics.

“CMP products — which don’t do graphics — are sold through authorized partners and optimized for the best mining performance and efficiency,” Nvidia said. “They don’t meet the specifications required of a GeForce GPU and, thus, don’t impact the availability of GeForce GPUs to gamers.”

CMP also lacks display outputs and has a lower peak voltage output, improving its mining efficiency.

[widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=nvidia-ces-2021-geforce-rtx-3060&captions=true"]

“With CMP, we can help miners build the most efficient data centers while preserving GeForce RTX GPUs for gamers,” Nvidia said.

Crypto miners, scalpers, and just generally strong demand have made it incredibly difficult to find 30-series GPUs, like the highly coveted RTX 3080, since September of last year. When Bitcoin and Etherium value skyrocketed last October, with Bitcoin reaching heights of $20,000 per Bitcoin, that GPU demand increased even further, according to Tom's Hardware. Nvidia has previously stated in January that availability for its 30-series GPUs will remain low for the coming months.

Demand for the RTX 3060, Nvidia’s most affordable 30-series card at $329, will likely continue the trend. Nvidia’s plans for mobile 30-series GPUs may assuage that issue, but it’ll come at the cost of purchasing an entire gaming laptop.

About an hour into Little Nightmares II, I found a toy duck resting on a hardwood floor. It was the kind of carved, wooden plaything that kids drag around on a piece of twine, with wheels where the real waterfowl's webbed feet would be. A dim spotlight from somewhere above shone on its reflective wings. Behind it, there was an oaky barrier, formed from leaning one table against another--too tall for my character, a tiny child named Mono, to climb. When I approached, the floorboard the duck was sitting on sunk into the floor. I turned to run just as a metal light fixture swung down from the ceiling, smashing me into the barrier and killing me.

Once the checkpoint reset, I tried again, attempting to quickly run away from the floorboard before the pendulum fell. No dice. Again, it smashed me against the wall.

"I wonder if I can..." I thought, eyeing the nearby toy, "...duck."

About an hour into Little Nightmares II, I found a toy duck resting on a hardwood floor. It was the kind of carved, wooden plaything that kids drag around on a piece of twine, with wheels where the real waterfowl's webbed feet would be. A dim spotlight from somewhere above shone on its reflective wings. Behind it, there was an oaky barrier, formed from leaning one table against another--too tall for my character, a tiny child named Mono, to climb. When I approached, the floorboard the duck was sitting on sunk into the floor. I turned to run just as a metal light fixture swung down from the ceiling, smashing me into the barrier and killing me.

Once the checkpoint reset, I tried again, attempting to quickly run away from the floorboard before the pendulum fell. No dice. Again, it smashed me against the wall.

"I wonder if I can..." I thought, eyeing the nearby toy, "...duck."