Galaxy.io Space Arena guide – How to survive in this space shooter- commands like “Together” or “Kill Leader,”

The“.io” concept that essentially began with Agar.io back in 2015, but since then it’s been going strong. Tons of games have been coming out that adopt its permadeath multiplayer gameplay formula, and many have even just attached an “.io” to the end of their name to let people know what they’re in for.

Thelatest of these games to come out is Galaxy.io Space Arena, which shoves many of the base concepts of an “.io” game into a rather nice-looking space shooter. There are a few unique aspects to Galaxy.iothoughhttps, so check out this guide to help you in your quest for galactic domination against others online.

Don’t always focus on getting a bigger ship

Galaxy.io has a leveling up system in it that lets players choose how to make their ships better once they’ve gathered enough blue gems from flying around the environment or shooting down other players. One of the more expensive (and beneficial) of these upgrades is the ability to make your ship bigger. This is advantageous because it gives you more hit points, but it’s not always the thing you want to focus on first.

The problem with making your ship bigger is that you become a bigger target. You are also seen as more of a threat by other players. Sometimes, it’s better to lay low with a smaller ship and spend your upgrades elsewhere until you feel adequately powerful to rule the solar system.

When you respawn, spend your gems

Whenever you die in Galaxy.io, you don’t automatically get removed from the match you’re in. You can respawn up to two times for free, which is a nice little addition that can allow you to get revenge on pilots that took you down.

Something you want to take note of when you respawn though is that you start with a portion of the gems you earned in your previous run immediately available for you to use, so make sure you spend them. Although it doesn’t quite let you upgrade back up to where you were, it allows you to get close to where you were when you died so you can be back up and running as a contender quickly.

Try to make friends if you can

Galaxy.io doesn’t always have to be about shooting other players down. The game features a chat function that you can actually use to your advantage, provided another player is willing to listen.

With simple commands like “Together” or “Kill Leader,” you can coordinate with other players and actually create gameplay moments that aren’t just about having a free-for-all deathmatch in space. That said, everyone in Galaxy.io eventually wants the top spot, so your mileage might vary when it comes to cooperating with others.

Be careful about shield usage

One of the more powerful things you can do in Galaxy.io is deploy a shield. The shield is great because it actually makes you completely invulnerable to attacks for the cost of a mere 50 gems, that said, you don’t just want to use it willy nilly.

You see, in deploying your shield, you also sacrifice your ability to shoot while you’re protected. This makes it only really a smart move if you’re trying to flee combat. Best uses for it are if you run low on ammo in the middle of a fight or run across someone who is much more powerful than you.

Be More Productive With Google Tasks- Plenty of White Space

Visually, Google Tasks is simple and clean. If you’ve used other Google apps and services before, then Tasks will look familiar to you right away. It’s definitely not the prettiest thing to look at, but no one uses Google services because they’re pretty, it’s more about functionality. Tasks features plenty of whitespace and bold headers so you know exactly where you are in your lists. The app is fast and responsive, with smooth transition animations as you navigate through the app and edit items. And since this uses Google’s cloud, syncing data is fast and seamless across multiple devices, such as between your iPhone and the web (this version needs some work).

When you launch Tasks, you’ll need to sign in to your Google account, obviously. Most of us should already have a Google account by now, but you can also make one if you don’t use Google’s productivity suite yet.

Once you sign in, your default screen is “My Tasks.” This is like the inbox for your items, and where they go to by default if you don’t add to a specific list. Speaking of, Tasks only has support for lists, so if you wanted to create projects, such as “Work” with multiple jobs, then you’re out of luck. You can switch lists at any time by tapping on the hamburger button in the bottom left corner and then selecting the list you want to view. You can also create a new list from here as well.

Creating a new list is fairly barebones — just give it a name, and then hit “Done.” It gets saved and you have an empty list, ready to get to work. When you want to add a new task, just tap on the large button in the center, and it brings up the prompt. Type in your task, and then tap on the “+” button for additional details like notes and a due date.

Unfortunately, Google Tasks does not support due times, which is something I prefer, with deadlines to meet. Maybe it’s something that Google could consider in the future, but it may or may not be a deal breaker for some.

If you decide you need a task to be in a different list, it’s easy to move. Just view the item in question, and then tap on the list in the upper left corner, then pick where you want to move it to. Or you can trash it with the button in the top right.

Google Tasks does come with support for subtasks straight out of the box, though, so at least there’s that. You can add subtasks to any existing task in a list, and there’s no limit on the number of subtasks you can have. You can check off each subtask off as you complete them, but checking off the main task also marks any subtasks as done in one go.

A nice thing about Google Tasks is that it has the ability to create tasks for you from emails. When you use Gmail to directly add a task, you can check out your tasks in the sidebar of Gmail. Tasks even let you trace it back to the source, in case you forget where it came from.

Supertype Focuses on the Weight and Sound of Letters-Aesthetic

Visually, Supertype has a unique and textured aesthetic style that makes it stand out from the crowd. The game is rendered completely in 2D, but features a textured background like canvases and wallpapers. The lines, shapes, and letters in each stage appear as if they’re inked on the paper, which I love. There’s nothing quite as satisfying as watching ink get absorbed into quality paper, and Supertype brings back those memories for me. Each stage is distinctive, and the sans serif typeface that the game uses is beautiful. Sans serif fonts with straight edges is my preferred kind of typography, so seeing it everywhere in Supertype made me happy. There’s no base soundtrack to the game, but the sound effects as letters move around and hit other objects generates a one-of-a-kind soundtrack that’ll be different for everyone. Supertype proves that sometimes, less is more.

Like many other puzzle games, Supertype is level-based. The game launches and places a puzzle in front of you, and gives you another once you solve it — rinse and repeat. The goal of Supertype is straightforward: have the letters touch all of the small squares together. You can tap on the “Home” button in the bottom left corner to reset a puzzle or go back to the level select screen.

While this sounds easy enough, it gets pretty tricky. You have to think about how certain letters fall, how much they weigh, and even how they sound. On every level, there are different shapes and objects laid out, and the squares you want are scattered about.

Controls in Supertype are intuitive and friendly enough for everyone. Tap on the screen to bring up the keyboard, and then type in some letters — it doesn’t even have to be a real word, and you don’t need to take up all of the indicated spaces. Just tap on the checkmark button on the keyboard and watch gravity do its thing. Other times, there are already letters put on the screen, and you must draw a line with your finger (not over the letters) to guide them to the squares. Sometimes there are fans that push letters up, and other objects that can affect where your letters go, so think about your letter choice and make use of them.

When you go back to the level selection screen, you can view completed stages with the letters you used, and you can also attempt the next few stages ahead of you, as a few get unlocked at a time. The game has over 100 puzzles, so there’s some good bang for your buck here.

Mini Golf King update tees up solo mode-Various Bonus items

Arcade favourite Mini Golf King is no longer just an online multiplayer offering, as the game’s latest update invites solo golfers to join the fun.

Developer Bluehole PNIX has introduced Tour Challenge mode to the quirky golf sim, to pit players against a series of courses they can tackle alone. Golfers can monitor each other’s progress as they advance through the stages, comparing scorecards as they go.

The new update is designed to complement Mini Golf King’s core multiplayer mode, which includes more than 30 PvP courses laden with traps, wacky obstacles and power-ups. Here, players have the chance to unlock various bonus items, including improved clubs, balls and gloves as they climb the leaderboards.

Available for iOS and Android devices, Mini Golf King is free to download and play and has been built with accessibility in mind. Getting your swing on is a simple matter of performing drag-and-drop gestures on the device’s touchscreen.

The Tour Challenge update follows last month’s content-drop, which ushered in a new gameplay mode dubbed Hole-In-One Challenge, as well as a bonus power-up called the Golf Pin.

Mini Golf King is available to download from Google Play and the App Store, and the latest update is ready to install right now.

This article is sponsored as part of Steel Media Preferred Partners

App Of The Day: Seek by iNaturalist – Get Out And Capture Nature-App Database

You don’t have to go to special locations to appreciate nature. Seek by iNaturalist is an app designed to help you record and learn about nature in your own backyard. The app identifies your location, and lists the common species in your area to provide a jumping off point. There are species of arachnids, amphibians, birds, fish, fungi, insects, mammals, mollusks, plants and reptiles to find. All you have to do is snap a picture, and the app then marks it off in your collection.

The best part of Seek is the image recognition system to match your photo to a species in the app’s database. The app gives you the choice to take photos, or upload an existing one, and even if the species isn’t perfectly centered or zoomed in, the app normally can identify it. Seek worked accurately in every picture in our testing. You also have the choice to upload a picture of a mule deer to the specific category, or you can simply upload a general photo for the app to identify and categorize on its own. 

It takes a few seconds for identification, but it’s an effortless process that builds up your collection to help you earn badges. Each species in the app includes an information panel that features photos, descriptions, a map of other spottings, and the best time period to spot. There’s no doubt that it takes incentive to get the full use out of Seek, but the more you put in, the more you can get out.

Seek by iNaturalist (Free, Universal) is a valuable utility to incentive learning about nature and taking photos.

Google Allo Review-Messaging App

Does the world need another messaging app? Google says yes. And it believes its Allo messaging app is different enough to compete against Apple's iMessage, Facebook Messenger, WhatsApp and all the rest.That's because it's the first to include Google Assistant, which I can only describe as a mega chatbot that uses artificial intelligence to bring you answers in a conversational manner.

Available as a free download today on Android and iOS, Allo was first introduced during Google I/O in conjunction with Google's web-calling app Duo (which, since launching a month ago, has now reached 10 million downloads on Android).

Though it sends and receives messages as well as the others, Allo has its own promising features that I found useful. Read on to see what makes Allo stand out and if it has what it takes to be your new chat app.

The Good Google Allo is available on both Android and iOS, and features a digital Assistant that fetches information for you in a conversational way. Its Incognito Mode erases conversations and has end-to-end encryption.

The Bad Allo doesn't integrate video calling, and it doesn't have as many features as its competitors, like baked-in GIF support or control over read receipts.

The Bottom Line It's not a perfect communications app on Day 1, but the integrated, all-knowing Google Assistant bot sets Allo apart from the messaging competition.

Google Assistant: The ultimate bot

Allo's standout feature is Google Assistant, which is basically a bot you can chat with that uses Google's vast search database to answer several kinds of questions you throw its way. For example, you can type, "Cafes nearby?" and it will find popular coffee shops in your area (just make sure you have location turned on). You can ask it to translate phrases in different languages, show your latest emails, look up airfare prices and other common queries.

Super Mario Run, reviewed: Nintendo's one-fingered iPhone game

Nintendo's first phone game makes a few strange decisions, but it's mostly great stuff.

The moment I downloaded Super Mario Run on my iPhone, I handed it to my 8-year-old son to play. My 3-year-old was curious, too. I never got my phone back again.

Nintendo's never put its games on phones, and Super Mario Run comes closest to feeling like a 3DS or Wii U ($599.00 at Amazon.com) game on mobile. I've played through a review build provided by Nintendo and finished every level.

I like it a lot. I'm finding myself addicted. I'm not sure it's really doing anything differently than other fantastic mobile games out there on phones. But, in some ways, I don't care.

Of course, this iOS game -- it's exclusive to iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch for now, with an Android release to follow in 2017 -- isn't the same as classic Super Mario. It's a one-finger experience, leaning on easier controls and an always-running Mario. But the levels, even though there are only 24 of them, feel plucked from any of the best recent Mario games. The clever level designs show off some fun ideas. The graphics, the sounds and the music are all spot-on, flawless.

But beware: Super Mario Run needs to be connected to the internet in order to work. Yes, you read that correctly. Much like Hearthstoneand other online-connected games, Super Mario Run won't work unless you've got Wi-Fi or mobile data. That can be limiting in subways or planes. It's hugely annoying.

The game also costs more than most mobile games. Even though the app is free to download (here) and includes a few free game modes, the rest costs $9.99, £7.99 or AU$14.99. Is it worth the 10 bucks? I'd pay two lattes for it, but I'm having issues with its lack of offline play.

Here's what else you need to know.

The full game's split into three parts: Tour, Rally and Build.

·                             Tour is a set of six worlds with four courses each, similar to other Mario games. The courses are timed at 90 seconds, but there are infinite retries. Each world has a boss, with similar battle tricks as classic Mario games. And then at the end, that bad dragon-turtle, Bowser.

• Rally pits you against a 60-second time limit to get a better score than other people. Friends can be added to this mode via email, text, Twitter or Facebook, but in the review build I couldn't test this feature. Get a higher score and you'll earn coins and Toad followers.
• Build involves unlocking items such as flowers, trees and bridges to decorate a decimated Mushroom Kingdom. Items are bought with coins but are "unlocked" for you to buy, depending on how many Toad followers you have. It's a bit like a trophy cabinet.

My favorite part of the game is Tour, and each level's multiple challenges offer reasons to go back. Still, I finished the whole game in a day. Super Mario Run is all about mastering tricks in each course. At times, it almost feels like it's aspiring to a Mario Kart type of competitiveness, but everything in Super Mario Run is single player (the online challenges are played against recorded score runs, not live players).

The game's central idea, of speed-run Mario courses aimed at earning high scores and competition, isn't one I'm wild about. It's fun, but the stakes seem low, and the earning of Toad followers sometimes feels tedious. I played against a canned set of Nintendo challengers -- maybe playing against friends for bragging rights would be more rewarding. How this plays out socially will determine how addictive it all feels.

It's vertical Mario. The game is meant to be played in one hand, meaning vertical screens. It's odd for a side-scroller, but it works.

The courses are fast, but they still feel like Mario levels. If you've ever played a single-button jump-type mobile game (Rayman Adventures from Ubisoft comes to mind), expect something similar here. Mario keeps running no matter what you do, and even hops over small enemies automatically. Tapping or holding down on the screen is used for leaping to higher platforms, kick-jumping and spin-jumping. But the courses I tried all look like they could have come from New Super Mario Bros. Some even had some puzzle solving, and I had two tiny boss battles at the end of the fourth course in each world.

Everything is controlled with one finger. If it weren't for the online requirement, this could easily be a stand-while-riding-the-subway game (as Nintendo's Shigero Miyamoto specifically mentioned when introducing the game back in June). During actual runs, all I needed was my thumb.

The main game, even when fully unlocked, doesn't have a ton of levels. There are six worlds in the World Tour mode, just like other Super Mario games. Each world has four courses. That's 24 levels, which is less than most Mario games. But most Mario games cost more than $10 new.

Nintendo says there won't be an endless stream of paid upgrades.Thankfully, this isn't designed to be a free-to-play game that bleeds you dry with "optional" power-ups that cost "only" a few dollars. But if the game takes off, I wouldn't be surprised if a Super Mario Run 2 is hot on its tail.

The iPad version looks just the same. Expect everything to run a bit larger, but the game plays in the same way. I saw it on an iPad Mini.

Each course has three levels of coin-collecting challenges. You can try to grab five pink coins to earn a special reward, and then do it again with red and black coins. It's the game's variation on the classic Mario hidden stars or large golden coins.

You can play with Mario, Luigi, Toad, Yoshi and more. I only got to play as Mario and Toad, but each character should have its own style.

I'd buy it. I never spent more than a few dollars on Pokemon Go, and I don't like spending more than $5 on a mobile game unless it's great. But Super Mario Run seems like enough entertainment to keep me happy. Still, it also doesn't seem like the sort of massive game Mario fans playing on the 3DS or Wii U might expect.

What bothers me the most is its lack of offline play: it's unnecessary. It might turn you off from buying the game.

The good news is that the free part of the app is more than enough to get a sense if you're up to buying the whole package. See for yourself -- you've probably already downloaded it.

iMovie For Mobile Video-Surprising App

Apple has made an iMovie for phone videos, and a way to edit your Instagram posts. Call it whatever you want, but Clips -- a surprising new app from Apple for iPads, iPhones and the iPod Touch -- is pretty great, especially considering that it's completely free. Just don't call it a social media app -- it works with video sites like You Tube, Facebook, Instagram and Vimeo, but it absolutely is not designed to replace them.

Clips will be hitting the iOS App Store later today. I was able to use it for the past few days, fiddling around with making my own videos and trying its features. It's deeper than I expected, and versatile. And, really, it's an offline video-editing tool that can post your creations afterward. It's easier to use than iMovie, too.

What's really great about it is a) it's free and b) it brings several things to the table that weren't easy to do before. It's a quick little kit for making Facebook or social-friendly videos with surprisingly effective captions, and that alone could earn it a spot in my most-used tools when I'm heading to events.

Compare These

The Good Deep editing controls and effects. Impressive voice-transcribing autocaptioning works really well. Uploads to apps like Instagram, YouTube and Facebook. Included soundtracks are fun. It's free.

The Bad Only makes square videos. Menu layouts can be a little confusing to learn at first. Audio editing is limited. Captions and audio can only be recorded when clip is added.

The Bottom Line Apple Clips is a promising movie editor for fast Facebook and Instagram-ready videos, and its captioning tools are fantastic.

Record things first, import later

Clips can record video on the fly like Snapchat or Instagram, or import from your photo/video library. Recording directly has its downsides: videos stay square, and can sometimes be accidentally deleted (I ended up swiping up and losing one of mine).

If you keep things in your library, clips just get copied in as needed, while the originals are kept safe.

You can keep adding clips to a video, and drag around or edit as you wish

Once a video is started, clips can be added to it by browsing your video/photo library or recording something new. Pressing and holding the record button will set how long any clip is. The Clips app can scrub through existing videos to start at a certain point. New clips can be added, and then tapping and holding can drag them around into any order. You can edit them. Or delete them. Or add titles and effects later.

Live Titles is the best feature, by far (but requires an internet connection)

Auto-captioning can be added to any video segment, but it's done by transcribing what you speak while recording a clip. It may sound confusing, but it works brilliantly. A secondary audio track is added, which is separate from the original video's audio. Selecting Live Titles (a text-bubble-type icon on the top of the screen) turns what you've spoken into on-screen text that pops up to time perfectly with when you've said it. Then, that new audio track can be muted by tapping the speaker icon and "muting recorded audio." Now, the titles appear without my voice. But the transcription doesn't happen without cellular or Wi-Fi.

Editing captions requires tapping on them

It took a while for me to understand this: play a clip, and when the caption you made pops up, tap and hold. Now, a keyboard lets you change or rewrite as needed, or add emoji.

Soundtracks are there, but choose wisely

Tapping the music icon brings up dozens of soundtracks that Apple offers for your Clips videos. Any of those options auto-adjust for your video length. They sound like the tracks Apple has in iMovie: good enough in a pinch, and sometimes inspired. Or, your own music can be added. But adding a music track can get strange over recorded audio. Clips can be muted to allow the soundtrack to come through, but Clips lacks the more advanced audio level adjustments of iMovie.

Yes, it's fun!

Clips isn't rocket science, but it is a pretty nice tool. Most importantly, its live-transcribing captions could be a huge help for social videos. I do wish that Clips allowed for other than square videos. Or, alternatively, I'd love to see some of Clips' features make it into iMovie. There are already a lot of options for video-making on the App Store, but Clips will probably earn some fans for its features... and its pretty straightforward design.

Turn Your House Into an Apple-Centric Smart Home-Create Entire Atmospheres

Modular Smart Light Panels

·                         Color-changing light -choose from 16.7 million colors.

·                         Tunable 1200k-6500k white light ranging from a soft warm Sunset to bright white daylight.

·                         Double-sided mounting pads for no-holes, no-hassle installation.

·                         Works with Apple HomeKit and Siri, Amazon Echo, Google Home, Google Assistant, IFTTT, more.

The beauty of home automation is the ability to integrate all the different components of your home’s systems, including climate control, entertainment, and security, in order to maximize the efficiency of your home and simplify your day-to-day routine. 

With home automation, you can control your bedroom lights from the iPad in the kitchen, set your alarm from your phone in the car, and create entire “atmospheres” throughout the house with a single touch of a button. Instead of searching for several different remotes, you can control your TV, music, and fireplace all on one convenient screen. Turn your home into a smart home with the help of HiDef Audio Video. 

Our home automation possibilities, paired with the products we offer in custom home entertainment systems, can turn your house into an oasis of a living environment.

Home Automation is Safe & Eco-Friendly 

A smart home is a green home. Save money and the environment with eco-friendly automated climate and lighting controls that mange energy consumption without sacrificing comfort. Integrate your shades, bulbs, heating, air-conditioning, and other systems for a truly unique atmosphere while you’re at home and a truly efficient environment while you’re out.

Automatically Safe

 Sleep safe and sound with automated home controls that allow you to turn-off every light, lock the doors, and set the alarm at the touch of a button. Go ahead and take that much-needed vacation. Automated home controls make it easy to monitor your security system while you’re away and even set your lights on a timer so it looks like you’re home.

The possibilities with home automation are practically endless.  

Tap and Dash Through a Bizarre World in Orbia-Grants Special Abilities

Visually, Orbia is beautiful. The game carries a fairly minimalistic aesthetic due to the softly colored backgrounds with serene landscapes and scenery. The targets you’re dashing towards are simple circular outlines, sometimes with power-ups inside. Your character, a cute white fuzzball with glowing eyes, along with the enemies (dark evil versions of you in various sizes) are rendered in 2D and pack in a lot of personality in small packages.

There are various skins that you can come across as you play, which change your character’s appearance and grants special abilities, and they all look unique and distinctive from each other. Animations are smooth and fluid, so there is no issue of lag or choppiness on my iPhone 8 Plus. Orbia also has a soothing and ambient atmospheric soundtrack that is immersive, so it’s delightful to listen to as you play.

Even though the end goal is to get as far as you can in the game, there are still levels, and you can jump back to any completed level if you wish. Orbia features four different worlds with their own scenery and baddies to watch out for. On top of that, there are a ton of stages in each world to complete (the first one has 400 alone), so it should be enough to keep you busy for a while. 

Other chapters can be unlocked by spending crystals (in-game currency) or meeting other requirements, such as liking their Facebook page.

The goal in Orbia is to get as far as you can, and to complete each stage, just dash to each target unscathed until you get to the next level. Easy, right? Like plenty of other games, Orbia sounds easier than it looks.

To dash, all you need to do is tap anywhere on the screen. You don’t have to worry about tapping on your target, since it would obstruct your view of obstacles. This one-touch control scheme lets you play the game with just one hand, so it’s great to play anywhere. However, there are bad fuzzballs surrounding each target, and you must time your dashes right so you don’t touch them, because otherwise, it’s game over.

The game starts out easy enough, but things get trickier as you go. You’ll encounter multiple orbiting layers of bad fuzzies, and they rotate at different speeds. Or there are large ones that are harder to avoid, rotating belts of them, and more. It’s all about timing here, so just look for the opening and take it.

Sometimes you’ll find power-ups in the targets that help you out in the long run. Things like shields protect you from a hit automatically, so you survive a bit longer. Other items let you dash faster, making it easier to get through tight openings. These boosts get activated when they’re needed, so you don’t have to think about additional controls besides dashing. They also pop up fairly frequently, so you may get a few items before a run ends.

Orbia also rewards players who are able to consecutively dash to targets without pausing. When this happens, you get a speed boost, and more crystals are awarded to you. Plus, it’s fun to see how quickly you can complete a stage just for kicks.

As mentioned earlier, there are skins to unlock for your character, which add not only a dash of color, but grant you special talents too. For example, you can get faster dash speed, change your size, increase the time for bonus items, and more. Each skin is locked to the area that you find it in though, and more can be found on select stages. There are a ton of skins to discover and unlock, so it adds to the replay value.

Since Orbia is a free game, there are occasional banner and video ads. However, they don’t necessarily get in the way, but could still annoy some people. Fortunately, there is an in-app purchase to get rid of ads if you so choose. Additionally, some skins are locked behind in-app purchases, and they also have pretty good bonuses as well as getting rid of ads too. However, some of the prices for these are pretty high, which I didn’t like.