Posted on June 20, 2020
2020 is in its first quarter and we are yet to see a slew of new racing video games. The video games are really engaging, from the design and sound to the graphical fidelity, these games offer gamers with great photorealism. After a lot of research, we’ve listed down a list of some best racing games launching this year. If you’re a gaming enthusiast then you should choose a game that is famous for its game-play and concept.
Here is the list of top 5 Racing Video Games for 2020
Gran Turismo 7 is undoubtedly the hottest game in the news and stands at the 1st position in the list of best racing games. This game has been a hit for the Sony PlayStation platform. It not only provides players with a real graphical look at a console performance but also offers the best racing experience. The developer of the Gran Turismo is Polyphony Digital that has been working on its sport content. You should expect the next game to include the work that put into a series.
Specifications
Project Cars 3 is another great entry into the racing video games and one that will make sense for a lot of players. Project cars game is considered as one of the technically advanced games across worldwide. This game features best-in-class graphics and handling. This car racing game is beautifully authentic in its own way. The best part of this game is that is has every car that you’re passionate about, be it a GT, road cars, open wheel, or more.
Specifications:
Another excellent game with a noble heritage, Drift 19 is centered around drifting mechanic. Gamers will need to master in drifting skills to win challenges and races. Players will get behind the steering wheel using an assortment of cars and they would be taking their skills in mastering the gear features under the hood. Moreover, gamers will be able to build up cars, offer a tune-up, and fix then too. Also, players can tune the suspension, wheels, engine, and the steering. The game is assumed to be launched for the PC platform.
Specifications:
TT Isle of Man is the latest game in the list of best racing games. The game is currently in development by Kylotonn. Gamers should prepare fir plenty of crashes as they attempt to learn the endless no. of crests and corners. You will have to wait for more information to come out. We are sure that the game developers are offering the fine-tuning the handling mechanics along with a jump in visuals. This ultimate game is fully-packed with narrow pathways, right turns, and full-entertainment that will grab the attention of gaming enthusiasts.
Specifications:
Developer: Kylotonn
Publisher: Bigben Interactive
Platforms: PC, PS4, XBO
Release: 2020
Co-op: TBA
Competitive Multiplayer: TBA
This video game will come with the playstyle and mechanics that you would be familiar with if you already had played its previous versions. Developers has added a new game mode to the F1 2020 known as My Team that allows gamers to create their own racing team. Also, you can expect a two-player split-screen if you may want to play the game with a friend. A multiplayer game mode will also be available for multiple players. This game will be launched in July of this year. We also heard recently that Bitspawn Network would be releasing some Racing tournaments in the near future for their competitive esports platform.
Specifications:
Conclusion:
With this, a list of top 5 racing video games is completed. If there are other games that you think we missed then you can recommend it in the below comment section. We’ll check it out and mention in the list of the best racing games if we love them too. Thank you for reading this article. Stay Tuned for more articles!
Posted on June 15, 2020
If you’re in the midst of wedding planning, you probably have enough on your mind already. After all, there are guest lists to create, seating plans to create, caterers to solidify, and cakes to taste—not to mention wedding dress shopping, picking a venue, and hiring a photographer!
Yes, while it can be overwhelming to plan your wedding, it’s just as important that you and your spouse start planning for your future together, too. Doing this sort of thing sooner than later can make a world of difference when it comes to setting up your and your wife or husband-to-be up for success later in life. Here are just a few ways that you can begin to plan for your future together.
Many people think that therapy is only for people that are facing issues, but in actuality visiting a counselor can be an important component of preparing for your impending nuptials. This is because it’s sometimes easier to talk about difficult topics by having an intermediary who’s trained in facilitating these sorts of conversations.
From discussions about religious philosophies to whether or not you want children and how much debt you have, talking through these important topics in the presence of someone else can make things much more productive than trying to hash things out on your own in your living room. Best of all, having these sometimes-emotional conversations prior to when you truly need to address the issues in real-time allows you to be on the same page well in advance.
Once you’ve talked about your finances, it’s time to plan for how you’ll budget for things after you’re married. Setting up a joint bank account and understanding where your money’s going is an important aspect of successfully running a joint household together. You may even want to practice budgeting by really taking a hard look at your wedding planning and dialing in a few purchases.
For example, you may want to shop around for diamond rings online instead of in person. This can often give you a wider range of options, such as lab-created diamonds, well-made simulated diamonds, or other sales that heavily reduce the cost of such an important component of your wedding. Especially when ethics are concerned, it’s wise to avoid earth-mined diamonds and opt for lab-created sets instead.
Discussing things like when you want to retire and how you want to pay for your children’s college and schooling is another important plan to get on the same page about. While it’s likely that you’ll be buying a house together in the future, most couples don’t have the wherewithal to pay for a home in cash. That being said, with smart investing, you may be able to fund a lot of your kids’ schooling costs or early retirement.
Using a portfolio rebalancing tool is an excellent way to go about managing your investments, especially if you have specific targets and goals in mind. Particularly if you want to save on high-cost fees while still having your investments managed well, a rebalancing tool can help you build your nest egg much more simply.
Remember, you and your spouse are a team, so it’s important that the two of you are on the same page as you work towards building a life and a happy future together. This sometimes means finding ways to gently remind each other of what you committed to from a place of love instead of passive aggression. Although it might seem awkward, visiting a counselor before you walk down the aisle can help you and your partner clarify where you stand on a variety of important issues.
Getting on a budget and discussing future goals ensures that you are both prioritizing the things that matter to you most. And, most importantly, holding each other accountable with kindness and compassion is invaluable if you really want to build a dream life together. While it may seem like a lot of work, keeping the above tips in mind as you work towards your future will ultimately result in a much stronger marriage.
Posted on May 27, 2020
Massive Multiplayer Online (MMO) video games were enjoyable a few years ago. These games bloomed in the mid-2000s, due to their availability and gameplay. However, it was not long until these games became unpopular among gaming enthusiasts. That’s not the case anymore. Games like Destiny 2 have speared MMO video games back to the big stage.
There are loads of premium and free MMO video games out there. Choosing one can be a difficult task. As a result, we have compiled a list containing 15 of the best free MMORPGs available right now. For more on articles like this, visit Killer-papers.com. These are the best free online games to look out for today. The games have extra components and receive constant updates from the developers. Here are the games you want to consider;
1. Defiance 2050
Defiance 20150 is a futuristic action/thriller game, set in a post-apocalyptic world characterized by a lot of alien tech. You can team up with your playmates and enjoy a couple of intense action game modes.
2. ArcheAge / ArcheAge Unchained
Developed and managed by Trion games, who also work on Defiance and Rift, this game had a rocky start to its MMO debut. However, with great updates,the game has lured many players over thanks to the gameplay including naval combat, gliding and swimming. The graphics make the game stand outas a modern contemporary MMO.
3. Secret World Legends
This story-driven game focuses on the sci-fi and supernatural gaming theme, where myths from a distant time cross over to the present day. Expect great graphics and an interesting storyline with this one.
4. RuneScape 3
Similar to the Secret world legends, Runescape 3 is a cross-platform MMO game which features at least 50,000 people at any given time. Runescape 3 has pleasant graphics with many game options which ultimately lead to a satisfying RPG game.
5. DC Universe Online
This free to play MMO action game is set in the world-famous DC universe. You and your friends can play as villains or heroes with supernatural abilities.
6. Aion Online
Built on the CryEngine, Aion is an incredibly interesting game set in a fantasy world.
7. Dungeons and Dragons Online
This free to play MMORPG is a heart-throbbing game that allows you to build your hero from classic DnD races as you battle through hours of captivating adventure-based gameplay.
8. Neverwinter
The game is based on the fictional city of Neverwinter. It has heavy themes of fantasy and characters with supernatural abilities.
9. The Lord of the Rings Online
The Lord of the Rings MMORPGhas been around for a while now, adding more and more people to its long list of online players. Expect great graphics coupled with intense thrilling and action scenes.
10. TERA
What’s great about this MMO is the ability to deeply customize game characters. Available on all Ps4, Xbox One and PC, this game is fast-paced and addictive. Additionally, it is set in an ancient time and supernatural world.
11. Star Wars: The Old Republic
This game needs no introduction. With millions of fanatics worldwide, The Old Republic Star Wars has a decent solo campaign but excellent multiplayer game modes.
12. Rift
Set in a fantasy world of Telara, Rift delivers two competing factions with a variety of multiplayer game modes. Most notably, you get to battle enemies emerging from dynamic ‘rifts’.
13. Guild Wars 2
Arguably one of the best MMOs of all time, Guild Wars 2 has a Metacritic score of 90. The game is packed with a ton of features that are all free of charge.
14. SoulWorker
If you like anime, then this is definitely the game for you. Developed by the South Korea gaming studio, Lion Games, the game is set 15 years from the present day after demons invaded the world from a portal called the ‘void’.
15. Albion Online
Welcome to the world of medieval fantasies. Albion Online is packed with hard-hitting action scenes from a host of playable characters who can wield just about any weapon.
Posted on April 26, 2020
Italy has seen its lowest daily death toll since 14 March, with the Civil Protection Agency recording another 260 deaths. It brings the total number of fatalities to 26,644, second only to the USA.
Today’s figures marked the third successive daily fall in deaths and were sharply down from 415 yesterday.
Reality Check
Prof Stephen Powis, the national medical director for NHS England, has said there is a “hint” of a small increase in people driving during the lockdown.
The government statistics show that the use of transport has plummeted since the end of February. For instance, London bus usage has dropped by around 85%, while the use of the Tube and National Rail is down by 95%.
However, motor vehicle usage has been creeping up slowly – in the first week of the lockdown this was down 64% but is now only down 59%.
Similarly, visits to parks and grocery stores have also seen small upticks, according to the latest analysis from Google.
However, the Google data also shows a significant further decline in visits to workplaces.
Children in Spain have been enjoying the outdoors on Sunday after being allowed out of their homes for the first time in six weeks.
Spain has relaxed lockdown rules to allow under-14s to leave their homes each day for a total of one hour between 9am and 9pm.
They had been banned from leaving their homes completely from 14 March.
Some restrictions remain, however, preventing the children visiting public parks or venturing more than 1km.
Science editor, BBC News
A new estimate that more than 100,000 people could die of Covid-19 in the UK later this year has made headlines.
It comes from a modelling study by scientists at Imperial College London and it assesses the risk of one particular scenario.
The researchers assessed what might happen if everyone was released from lockdown apart from the most vulnerable. Only the elderly and people with underlying health conditions would remain shielded.
According to Prof Neil Ferguson from Imperial, in an interview with the UnHerd website, these people were most at risk and were also those who most need support, therefore needing to have some interactions with their carers.
Even if there could be an 80% reduction in the infection risk for that group, his study suggests that would still mean more than 100,000 dying.
It’s worth pointing out that at the moment, the UK government is giving no indication of how or when any lockdown restrictions might be relaxed. And the study itself has yet to be released – that may happen in the coming days.
Whatever its conclusions – and these will be hotly debated – the work provides another reminder of the threat from the virus and the extreme difficulty of judging how best to ease the measures to tackle it.
Victoria Gill
Science reporter, BBC News
Lockdown was an emergency stop – the only immediately available measure to put the brakes on a virus that outpaced our ability to contain it.
And it has worked. The best estimates are that the rate of infection in the UK is now at a point where the number of new infections is decreasing. To keep it there, though, the next step has to be a very careful one.
Prof Neil Ferguson, one of the government’s key scientific advisers, explained in a podcast called UnHerd how taking the brakes off too abruptly would drive that infection rate back up and cost thousands more lives.
What he and other scientists will do now is create models of different scenarios as we enter a new lockdown phase.
With the best data they have on this very new disease, they will calculate the impact – on that all-important infection rate – of reopening schools, of easing travel restrictions and of opening up certain types of businesses.
The post-lockdown restrictions on our lives – and there will be many – will be guided by those careful calculations.
But it will be down to the government to weigh the risks and the benefits and to tell us what the next phase in our “new normality” will look like.
Police in France say they have seized 140,000 face masks that were destined for sale on the black market.
Officers say they discovered the haul when they spotted a businessman unloading the masks from a lorry into a house in St Denis, north of Paris.
France requisitioned all stocks and production of face masks to equip health workers.
There have been several seizures of masks in the Paris region since the pandemic began.
Reality Check
As the UK government struggles to reach its target to carry out 100,000 coronavirus tests a day by the end of April, it has started to emphasise the capacity to do tests.
At today’s news conference, Environment Secretary George Eustice said: “We have been ramping up our capacity to do those tests – it currently stands at over 50,000 a day.”
But the latest daily number of tests actually done is just 29,058 – a minuscule increase on the figure given yesterday.
In a previous briefing, Transport Secretary Grant Shapps said he was confident that the government’s coronavirus testing target of 100,000 by the end of the April “will be met in terms of capacity”.
But when the target was first announced by the Health Secretary Matt Hancock on 2 April it was clearly intended to mean 100,000 tests actually being done a day.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson could possibly lead the daily news conference on Monday but, if not then, it will be pretty soon afterwards.
As far as I understand, he will be getting briefed by his Downing St team early tomorrow morning and then he will be chairing the Covid-19 meeting, which is a smaller group of cabinet ministers. That is what he used to do before he was off sick.
Chairing Monday’s meeting is a measure of him saying, “I’m back in charge”.
From what I’ve been told, and the conversations I’ve had with people in Whitehall and Downing St, the prime minister will proceed with caution when it comes to dealing with the lockdown.
We would expect an announcement on 7 May, when all this is being reviewed again, and I do think at that stage he will take his foot off the brake ever so slightly.
But he will move cautiously because he will not want to fuel a second wave of infections.
Although they haven’t yet set a clear route map out of lockdown, not in the same way as the devolved administrations in Scotland and Wales, those discussions are most certainly going on behind the scenes. Talks involving the prime minister have taken place from his country residence Chequers with senior Cabinet ministers.
Police in India have arrested three men who are accused of gang-raping a woman who had been unofficially quarantined.
The woman, a low wage worker, was trying to walk more than 100km (62 miles) to her home in Jaipur, Rajasthan, when she got lost.
Police spotted her and told her to spend the night in a deserted school building, away from other people just in case she had the virus.
But she was gang-raped there after dark.
India’s lockdown was imposed last month leaving tens of thousands of people without jobs. Some have walked for days in desperation to reach their homes.
With most of the world’s sport currently on hold, many fans are wondering what their favourite competitions will look like when they are allowed to safely resume.
Perhaps these pictures from Nicaragua provide a clue.
Authorities in the Central American country have allowed sporting events to continue during the coronavirus pandemic – but a boxing event held on Saturday looked very different.
The boxers wore masks during the ring walk and at a pre-bout face off, although they were allowed to remove them in the ring. Referees, judges, the media, fans and ring girls also wore masks.
Fans had to sit two seats apart and had their temperature checked before entering the arena in the capital Managua.
Long-running US comedy sketch show Saturday Night Live (SNL) tapped Hollywood heartthrob Brad Pitt to play top disease expert Anthony Fauci – a mainstay of many White House coronavirus briefings.
In the opening sketch, Pitt fact-checks Trump’s claims about the virus.
“Yes, the president has taken some liberties with our guidelines,” Pitt said. “So tonight, I would like to explain what the president was trying to say.”
The episode was the second recorded from the comedians’ homes rather than live from New York City’s Rockefeller Center.
Earlier this month the 79-year-old director of the US National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases told CNN that he would want Pitt to portray him if he was ever lampooned by SNL.
At the end of the routine, Pitt removes his silver wig and personally thanks Fauci for his “calm and clarity in this unnerving time”.
Dr Deborah Birx, the White House coronavirus taskforce co-ordinator, has said in a series of US media interviews that social distancing will remain the norm for the next several months.
“Social distancing will be with us through the summer to really ensure that we protect one another as we move through these phases,” Birx told NBC on Sunday, referring to the three stages of reopening that the federal government has outlined.
Her comments come after Vice-President Mike Pence said the virus would be largely “behind us” by the 25 May Memorial Day holiday, which signals the unofficial start of summertime in the US.
On Saturday, Birx told Fox News that new cases and deaths “will be dramatically decreased by the end of May”.
Birx on Sunday also criticised the media for its coverage of Trump’s suggestion on Thursday that disinfectants or UV light could be injected to fight off the virus – a comment that he later claimed was “sarcastic”.
She told CNN that it “bothers” her that “this is still in the news cycle”.
“I think I’ve made it clear that this was a musing, as you described. But I want us to move on to be able to give information to American people that can help them protect each other,” she added.
A boat carrying hundreds of Rohingya refugees from Myanmar has been turned away from Malaysia, with the government citing fears over coronavirus.
One survivor estimated between 20 and 50 refugees died before Bangladeshi coastguards rescued the boat, with witnesses saying they saw bodies “thrown into the sea”.
It is believed hundreds of refugees are still stranded at sea, while it is unclear if Bangladesh will accept them.
The refugees, who originally fled persecution in Myanmar, left camps in Bangladesh, according to some accounts.
Environment Secretary George Eustice has ended the daily briefing which he presented with Prof Stephen Powis, National Medical Director of NHS England.
Asked about reports that the government might introduce quarantine for international travellers arriving in the UK, Mr Eustice says “no decisions” have been made.
He says that as the UK moves to a new phase, at some point in the future “international travel could become a more significant risk to manage”.
So far there have been few additional measures at airports because international travel represents “only a tiny proportion” of cases, Mr Eustice says.
The government had “taken a conscious decision not to close our borders” to “keep trade flowing”.
Environment Secretary George Eustice says there is no serious disruption to the international flow of food.
But he says only about a third of the usual number of migrant workers is in the UK to pick fresh fruit and vegetables. He says the government is working with industry to encourage furloughed workers to help with harvests in June.
Mr Eustice is asked if when the prime minister is back at work he will follow the first ministers of Scotland and Wales in publishing a lockdown exit plan.
He says Mr Johnson “has been in all of our thoughts as he faced a very difficult encounter with the virus” and they are “delighted he is back at the helm”.
But he said it is “too early” to review social distancing, saying the evidence will be examined at the regular three-week review.
Prof Powis says it is “a continually evolving approach based on emerging science”.
On contact tracing, Prof Powis says it will be at its most effective when the infection rate is as low as possible. He says contact tracing is a “tried and tested” way of managing outbreaks but the lower the number of cases, the easier it is to do.
Mr Eustice is asked about concerns from care homes, which say they still have difficulty obtaining tests – even for residents who have Covid-19 symptoms.
But the environment secretary says the capacity for testing has now risen to 50,000 a day. He says that “significant numbers” of people in care homes are obtaining tests.
Posted on March 19, 2020
For the first time since the coronavirus outbreak started, China has reported no new domestic transmissions of Covid-19, a major milestone in the country’s fight against the pandemic.
China’s national health commission said on Thursday there were 34 new cases, but all were recent overseas arrivals. In Hubei, the Chinese province where the outbreak began, there were no new cases of any kind during Wednesday.
On Wednesday officials in Hubei’s Wuhan city, where the pandemic began late last year, loosened restrictions further, allowing people in residential compounds deemed “virus free” to leave their homes to conduct individual “personal activities” in staggered groups within the grounds, at certain times of the day. In areas that have been without infections for seven consecutive days, residents can go out freely as long as they do not gather in groups. Officials said 5,600 residential areas, or 78% of the residential areas in the city, are virus-free.
While the Asian nations that were first affected appeared to have come through the worst of it, there are now concerns about a second wave of infections, driven by people returning from overseas.
The good news from China came as Australia and New Zealand both announced they would close their borders to all non-residents and non-citizens. Prime Minister Scott Morrison said Australia’s borders would shut from 9pm on Friday, while his New Zealand counterpart Jacinda Ardern said the move would happen on Thursday evening.
Morrison said the decision had been reached because about 80% of Australia’s cases were the result of someone either contracting the virus overseas or being in direct contact with someone who had.
Australian treasurer Josh Frydenberg, speaking after the Reserve bank cuts its interest rate again, to 0.25%, said: “Extraordinary times call for extraordinary measures.”
Hours earlier, the island state of Tasmania announced a state of emergency and effectively closed itself off from the rest of the country.
The country’s flagship airline Qantas also said it would suspend all international flights from the end of the month and would be standing down two thirds of its 30,000-strong workforce without pay. The government also put restrictions on purchases of over-the-counter medicine, as people continued to buy multiple items despite advice and instructions not to unnecessarily hoard.
Despite continued criticism of China for its initial suppression of information and slow response to the virus, Beijing is now setting itself up as a leader in tackling it, offering assistance to other affected nations.
Late on Thursday, China’s top disciplinary body found that police acted “inappropriately” in the case of a whistle-blowing doctor who was reprimanded for trying to raise the alarm about coronavirus.
Li Wenliang, 34, was one of several doctors detained by police in Wuhan on 3 January for “spreading false rumours”. His death from the virus in February prompted a national outpouring of grief as well as anger at the government’s handling of the crisis.
In its daily briefing on Thursday, China’s national health commission said there were no new domestic cases in the country. Once there have been no new cases for 14 days, the lockdown on Wuhan may lift, the China Daily reported.
There were eight more deaths – all in Hubei – bringing the country’s total to 3,245, according to the commission.
It said that of the more than 81,000 cases reported in China since the outbreak began, just 7,263 remained ill.
However the commission reported a spike in infections among people who had arrived from overseas. A total of 39 people who had recently arrived were confirmed to have Covid-19 on Wednesday, bringing that cohort to 189.
On 23 January, Wuhan and three other cities – Huanggang, Ezhou and Chiba – were put under extraordinary lockdown, as authorities rushed to catch up on their virus response. An estimated 5 million people left the cities before the deadline arrived. Under the restrictions, travel in and out, for any reason, was banned. Authorities suspended public transport and banned most private cars, and eventually began house-to-house inspections and enforced quarantine.
Only supermarkets and pharmacies remained open, and schools and universities did not come back after the Lunar New Year break.
In early March some restrictions were lifted, allowing Wuhan’s public transport workers and those producing daily necessities and medical supplies to return to work. Earlier this week travel restrictions were further lifted, allowing some employees in satellite cities to be bussed into Wuhan to return to work.
As more countries have closed borders or announced mandatory quarantine periods for arrivals, thousands of people have rushed home, creating fears is of a second wave of cases in places such as mainland China, Singapore, Taiwan, and Hong Kong.
In Hong Kong, incoming flights from places such as Australia were full on Wednesday, as people sought to get back before the start of government-mandated home quarantine for all arrivals on Thursday. New arrivals must wear electronic wristbands that track their movements.
The special autonomous region has reported just 192 cases after early action and a strong community response. However it has reported record high daily totals in recent days, mostly or entirely among people who recently arrived from overseas.
“If we do not impose tougher measures at this stage, our previous efforts to prevent the disease from spreading throughout these two months could be completely wasted,” said Hong Kong’s chief executive, Carrie Lam.
In Singapore on Wednesday, 47 new infections were reported, of which 33 were imported.
As the number of cases worldwide passed 200,000, the head of the WHO described the virus as an “enemy against humanity”.
“This coronavirus is presenting us with an unprecedented threat,” Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said, calling for countries to come together as one, and for Africa – currently the least affected region – to “wake up”.
“In other countries, we have seen how the virus actually accelerates after a certain tipping point, so the best advice for Africa is to prepare for the worst, and prepare today,” he said.
The burden of cases has moved to Europe, where about 250 million people are affected by tightening lockdowns and the US, which has reported more than 7,000 cases.
The German chancellor, Angela Merkel, said the pandemic was “the biggest challenge since the second world war”. On Wednesday Italy recorded its deadliest day of the outbreak, with 475 people dying of the virus in 24 hours. The country’s death toll now sits at 2,978, with almost 36,000 reported cases. About 4,000 people have recovered there, and 2,250 are in intensive care.
In the US, California governor Gavin Newsom warned that modelling suggested about 60,000 homeless people could fall ill with Covid-19 in the next eight weeks. The state, which saw a 21% daily increase in cases with 598 reported on Wednesday, is likely to need 19,500 additional hospital beds and is looking at bringing a navy vessel to serve as a floating hospital.
At the federal level, a democrat bill was passed and approved by Donald Trump to expand Medicaid and unemployment benefits, mandate paid sick leave and childcare leave for certain employees, and order free coronavirus testing.
Posted on February 25, 2020
Personal loans, sometimes also called signature loans or unsecured loans, are loans given to people to fulfill some short term money requirements like a wedding, educational expenses, luxury purchase, or payment of an existing debt running at a higher interest rate. See here personal loans for bad credit and good credit available from banks, credit unions, or smaller financial institutions. Personal loans for bad credit – click to investigate.
People applying for a personal loan need to be very cautious in deciding who to take the loan from. A number of factors, such as interest rate, disbursal charges, prepayment penalties, payment period, and rollover rules, need to be compared before choosing the lender. The way it is essential for a borrower to choose the right lender, it is equally important for the lender to choose who to lend to meticulously. This is where the credit score of the borrower comes into the picture.
Credit Score
A credit score is a number calculated by financial institutions to assess the credit servicing ability of a borrower. Essentially this means that if a person pays all his loan dues and bills on time, he would have a high credit score. Similarly, someone who forgets to or intentionally does not pay his loans and dues on time will have a low credit score.
A person’s credit score falls somewhere between 300 to 850, 300 being the worst, and 850 being the best. Usually, a credit score of less than 600 is considered to be a bad credit score. Thus, a person with a credit score of less than 600 has reduced chances of getting a loan from any financial institution at favorable rates of interest or terms and conditions. Such people should work towards improving their credit score by looking at other credit avenues and making regular, timely payments.
Current Market Trends
Lending out personal loans is a very profitable venture for small companies and banks because of the high-interest rates chargeable, and also because of the high upfront fee charged at the time of disbursal of the loan. As a result, many new small companies have ventured into this market, and are trying to create their own space in the personal loan sector.
Though there are no signs of any warning signals as such for personal loans, it is important for all lending institutions not to lend blindly. A lender needs to keep his financial health in check in order to stay afloat in the industry, and thus he needs to carry out all documentation and checks diligently before deciding on who to lend to.
Checks and Precautions for lenders
Personal loans for bad credit may look lucrative in the short term, but a high rate of default can seriously affect the liquidity of a company and can lead to bankruptcy. Thus, lenders of personal loans for bad credit should ensure that they have sufficient surplus funds available with them, and the amount of money lent out should never be more than what they already have.
Moreover, while giving out a loan, the lenders must collect all relevant and accurate documents from the borrowers. In addition to checking the credit score, it is also essential to look at the checking account details, income levels, employment track record, and family history of the borrower.
Conclusion
It is quite evident that the personal loan industry has been booming, but for it to remain so, both the borrowers and lenders need to be cautious and make decisions wisely. The way lenders should not give out money blindly, in the same way, even the borrowers should exercise their intelligence before selecting who to borrow from and how much to borrow.
Over leveraging is not a healthy financial practice, and loans should never be considered as a means of living. They should be treated as a resolution for exigencies. In place of taking loans, the borrowers should rather look at planning their finances in such a way that they can accumulate a surplus fund to help them meet any unforeseen expenditure. Also, deferring a luxury purchase or following the strategy of saving before spending can go a long way in reducing the need to take a personal loan.
Posted on February 22, 2020
In Pakistan, Arslan Ash was originally known for his play in The King of Fighters series, being recognized as the best KOF XIII & KOF XIV player from Pakistan.
Although Arslan Ash has been playing Tekken competitively since Tekken 6, he only burst onto the international Tekken scene after defeating Tekken legend Knee at the OUG Tournament 2018, without losing a single game. Also at OUGaming 2018, Arslan Ash was ranked number 1 in Tekken Tag Tournament 2 and The King of Fighters XIII, single-handedly beating the regional competition to qualify for the King of Fighters XIV Global Finals. In addition, Arslan Ash won the KOFGCC Tournament in Oman, Kuwait, for both KOF XIV and Tekken 7.
Arslan Ash then followed this with a very unexpected win at EVO Japan 2019, defeating established players like Knee once again, Chanel, Book, LowHigh (Evo 2018 Champ), Jimmyjtran and finally AK with a bracket reset to win the entire tournament. Arslan successfully retained his title at EVO 2019, sweeping through the winners bracket using Geese, and finally beating Knee once again with Kazumi in the Grand Finals, further cementing his position at the top of the Tekken scene.
Posted on February 12, 2020
dvertising is part of nearly every mobile experience, and whether or not you personally approve of it, it’s becoming standard for most mobile games. After all, it’s a billion dollar industry. And if you’re going to do it, you should do it well. Ads should be well-placed, high quality, and in just the right amounts in order to make sure your users and your finances are both pleased.
Let’s start by going through some general categories of games along with the types of ads commonly used in mobile games, and then we’ll cover the guidelines or thought process that should govern all of your ad deployments and executions.
(Psst… we’ve actually written a blog on 6 ad creative strategies to nail your user acquisition. You can read it here.)
But first, let’s clarify the difference between how ads are perceived in a freemium model versus free to play games. Of course, nearly all games involve some kind of advertising, whether you are using a freemium model (in which case most or even all of the advertising might be pointing to some kind of upgrade for the game that they are playing in the first place) or a free to play (F2P) game that involves all kinds of carefully designed and planned targeted ads (among many other elements).
That said, users accept the appearance of ads differently in a freemium versus a F2P model. For instance, in the free version of a Freemium game, users disliking the intrusion of ads may lead them to upgrade sooner so they can experience gameplay minus the ads.
On the other hand, F2P games with excessive ads or ads that result in a negative experience are likely to be dropped and uninstalled, even the player likes the concept or style. After all, there’s always another F2P game around the corner.
There are two main categories of in-game ads, static versus dynamic. Static ads are similar to product placement and are implemented during the development and can’t be updated in real-time, while dynamic ads are the billboards and banners placed throughout the game.
Dynamic ads echo the benefits of the online display advertising we all see nearly everywhere on the web, like CPM-based pricing models, geo-targeting, demographic targeting, and more. So it’s not surprising that they are regularly used through the mobile gaming world. Not only are they flexible, easy to update, and popular with brands and advertisers, your users are more likely to see them.
The Dynamic ad category includes banners of all shapes and size, interstitials, expandable ads, and more, and it’s probably what you are most likely to use in your own game and see in the games you play yourself.
Static ads are slightly less common since they are essentially built into the game. “Billboards” in sports are a common example, like this Adidas billboard in a FIFA game.
Or billboards in games in general, like this M&Ms billboard in a popular racing game.
These static ads mimic the look and feel of real-life advertising in the context of the game, and can be very effective since they are contextually placed in a way that is similar to how we experience ads in real life in the form of billboards and similar signage.
Interstitial ads perform best on games that are broken in different levels, according to many experts, since there is a natural break as players work their way through the game’s levels. This is because interstitials between levels take advantage of natural pauses in gameplay and don’t interrupt the overall user experience.
For advertisers, interstitials offer a larger, full-screen experience that can be made more visually compelling with animated and interactive rich media content, and generally yield high impressions, high conversions, and offer a good memorization rate.
However, a quality interstitial does require more design work and some of its high click-through-rate could be the result of users not being able to close the ad and tapping or swiping in an attempt to shut it off, which won’t necessarily make advertisers happy since that isn’t the kind of positive engagement that leads to results or sales lift.
So interstitials are best when deployed wisely during natural breaks or pauses in gameplay, and ideally have a designer who understands mobile gaming in general – on better yet, your game in particular – working on the creative. Absent that, customize your ad selections and only place interstitials between levels or similar pauses in the action.
These are one of the most common formats of in-game ads, in part because they are the most unobtrusive options (in most instances). They are similar to the banner ads we all know and love, but placed in a way that they appear to be part of the overall flow of the game, so they don’t interrupt the experience.
However, it’s also possible that they do interrupt the action by overlaying a crucial spot, which is why they should be placed discreetly in the corners of the screen where the action isn’t is important. The transparent overlay as shown in the example is crucial as well, as it keeps the ad apparent but unobtrusive.
These are some of the most common types of ads in mobile apps in general, but it can be difficult to work them into a game in a natural way. One of the best examples of contextual advertising is how Starbucks got worked in Pokemon Go.
The local Starbucks are associated with refueling stations, so users pick up loot alongside an image of a Frappuccino – it’s unobtrusive but easily recognizable, and also points out the physical locations of Starbucks nearby, which can be helpful as a Pokemon ‘Go-er’ navigates through the real world while playing the game.
Similar contextual ads can work even if your game isn’t grounded in the real world; perhaps different kinds of loot or player outfits can be sponsored by different brands, for just one example.
One way to make ads less obtrusive or perhaps even desirable is to allow users to choose a reward for viewing them – more loot, coins, points, or whatever other in-game currency is applicable. This tends to have a high view rate but can be costlier from a developer’s perspective since you’re giving away freebies in order to get views.
In general, offering players any form of bonus or help in exchange for interacting with an ad tends to result in a decent level of engagement and clicks; however, there’s always the question of whether or not the player is retaining anything from that interaction other than their new loot.
That said, ads served as a reward do get eyeballs in front of them, so that might be more than enough depending on the KPIs you’ve established with your advertising clients or network.
These don’t tend to be anyone’s favorite in terms of the player experience, but really does anyone genuinely enjoy the ads (who doesn’t work in the advertising industry)? That’s because they can and do interrupt the gameplay by taking over the screen when the user taps on them – which is often easy to do accidentally depending on how the expandable ads are placed in your game.
However, they do offer an immersive experience that can be quite successful if the ads are selected and deployed wisely. For instance, in the example below the ad is clearly expandable, and that makes it clear to the user if they choose to watch the trailer the ad will take over their screen.
Generally, users will be okay with ads that are clearly marked as such and warn them before interrupting their gameplay; the issue is when an ad “tricks” them into expanding or even kicks them out of the game when it expands (don’t send users out of your game without supplying a warning first, of course).
Most of the time, expandable ads work when a player swipes over or taps a banner ad, which then takes over the screen. They tend to be popular with brands and advertisers because of the creative potential that’s inherent in getting that much screen real estate, but obviously less popular with users because who likes getting interrupted because of an unwanted ad?
Here are 9 popular #mobilegame ad formats (and how to use them) #gamedev #indiedev #gameadvertisingCLICK TO TWEET
After all, for every user who actually wants to expand the ad, there are others who simply “fat finger” or accidentally swipe on an ad and have it take over their screen unexpectedly. Players will likely forgive you once in a while – especially if they really enjoy the rest of the experience – but they’re not going to deal with regular unwanted expandable ads, so place these judiciously.
Developers and advertisers have been experimenting more and more with this format. Advertisers love the fifteen-to-thirty second video ads, but their placement must be just as carefully considered as the interstitials, if not more so, since they interrupt game play more significantly.
For smaller video ads, the most important part of getting the users to play the video in the first place a quality thumbnail that’s compelling enough for them to take a break from actually playing the game to watch the video.
After all, if it’s not a reward ad and they aren’t getting any loot, most users aren’t going to stop playing your game to watch a video. Even a video or GIF banner might be asking too much, since having movement on the screen unrelated to the game play can be distracting and have a negative effect on the overall user experience.
These are fully branded games custom-built to promote a product, brand, or company, and the advertising is actually the game itself. While there are generally no dynamic ads in these types of games, the entire game is promoting a single brand and ads are intrinsic and embedded throughout.
For instance, Lexus has created a racing game and Jack Daniels has created a billiards game; both offer rich gaming experiences that are aligned with the brands but are also fun and interactive in and of themselves.
As video games in general and mobile games in particular become more intertwined in our everyday, the concept of advergaming will likely become more mainstream. In addition, if the game itself is authentic and compelling enough, it can allow for the building of a community that an advertiser can consistently remarket to and connect with – which can be well worth the cost of game development itself for a company or brand.
Of course, there are some guidelines to following when deploying of your ads regardless of the format, and these guidelines can be distilled down into these essentials.
Making the ads flow as smoothly as possible and integrating them into the complete player experience is the most essential aspect of deploying advertising in your game. For instance, interstitials appearing at natural breaks in the game, expandable ads not kicking the users out of the game, and using video and static ads wisely are all important in regard to making sure your users have the best possible experience while you can still deliver the ads that make everything happen.
Breaks between levels, breaks after a “big boss” or other opponents are defeated, races are won or lost, and similar situations are the perfect time to serve an ad. Users will naturally be ready for a pause in the action, and probably okay with the break time it takes to serve an ad.
This is also a good time to serve an ad that offers as a reward, because not only is there a natural pause, your players might have a reason to want to stock up or upgrade before taking on the next level or challenge.
It should almost go without saying that your ads should never kick a player out of your game unless they actively decide to leave. In fact, there should be an active warning before they exit the game in case they do engage with an ad. Getting ad engagement and interactions is one thing, but having users leave your game unnecessarily and when they didn’t want to is never a positive thing.
Consider having a clear warning that a user is leaving a game, like this one below from Facebook:
Simple, to the point, and alerts the user to the fact that they are exiting the game.
Facebook is not a game of course (unless you count the many games that are part and parcel of the Facebook experience), but why not take advantage of all the knowledge and testing that Facebook uses and mimic the experience they use to both warn users they are about to leave and retain their activity on the site?
Anyone who’s been even peripherally involved in the advertising industry is familiar with the concept of banner blindness, and it’s especially important for mobile game developers to understand. And it’s a complex equation: when users either consciously or subconsciously ignore information or ads contained in banners, that might affect the engagement rate and effectiveness of the ads, but at the same time you don’t want to take players out of the gameplay experience.
Same thing goes for fat finger errors. We all make clicking mistakes whether we’re on mobile or desktop, but those mistakes might be especially annoying for a player when they are deeply involved in a game.
Ad blockers are becoming more popular every day, and they may or may not affect your game depending on how it’s set up. While these might block banners and similar deployments, they won’t hide contextual ads or ads served as rewards.
After all, one of the main reasons for adblock usage and user motivations is minimizing interruptions in a game or any other important user experience, so keeping the ads in places where the interruption is part of the natural flow of the game or otherwise minimal is key.
There’s no one right answer in regard to which type of ads are right for which type of game; rather, it requires some careful thinking, knowledge of best practices and user behavior, and what’s perhaps the most critical – an understanding of game flow and how to best incorporate ads into it.
What works amazingly well for one game might bomb for another, and vice versa. Which is why testing various formats, being flexible with how you incorporate your ads (and monitoring your associated analytics for dropoffs), and otherwise fitting them into the flow of gameplay as naturally as possible is the key to success with your mobile ads, regardless of the format.
Posted on February 12, 2020
In every category – from apparel to auto, and from sports to consumer goods – businesses are looking for new ways to win the hearts and minds of their audiences and drive business results. See which ad solutions can help you get the results you’re looking for.
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