The war between the two gaming digital distribution platforms is heating up. Epic Games, who were behind the incredibly popular Fortnite, recently opened their online game distribution store thus ending up at loggerheads with Steam. Steam, owned by Valve Corporation, has been around since 2002 and is one of the most successful online game distributors around. A much anticipated game Metro Exodus, was opened up for a pre-sale post and many users were eagerly waiting for the game to be launched in February 15th.
But as it turns out, the post-apocalyptic shooter will only be exclusive to The Epic Store. The game will be exclusive to the platform till 2020. This has definitely put Valve and Steam in a difficult position.
Epic Games currently offers an 88% revenue share for developers. Compared to that, Steam offers a revised 70/30 split. Steam recently put out a statement that said that they think the decision to remove the game is unfair to Steam customers. They said that it is unfair especially after a long pre-sale period. They apologised to Steam customers who were expecting it to be available for sale through the February 15th release date. The company also stated that they were only recently informed of the decision and given limited time to let everyone know.
Steam has also informed that pre-orders will be honoured on the Epic Games Store. They further stated that the developer and publisher have assured them that all prior sales of the game on Steam will be fulfilled on Steam. Steam owners will also be able to access the game and any future updates or DLC through the platform as well.
PUBG has a huge fan base in India and the game has grown even bigger since the arrival of the game on the mobile platform. Now, Playerunknown’s Battleground has announced a tournament for all the mobile PUBG players in India. The competition has a prize pool of 1 Crore Indian rupees.
The registrations will be open till 23 January. All you need to do is verify your email id after you click on “Register Now” button. Once you have verified your email, you will need to fill up a registration form. After that you can choose to join or create a squad of a minimum of 4 members. You can join a squad using the squad ID or you can use the “Create Squad” button to create one on your own.
Schedule
The schedule for the tournament are as follows:
Registration
9 January – 23 January
Online In-Game Qualifier
21 January – 27 January
Online Playoff’s
10 February – 24 February
Grand Finals
March – Exact Dates TBD
Every participant who decides to participate in this tournament must be an Indian resident and have their own devices. PUBG has also said that during the In-game Qualifier and Online Playoffs, the players are expected to use their own devices without any emulators, hacks and any other 3rd party software/tool. For the Grand Finals, devices will be provided to the players by the organisers. Tencent Games has also said in the tournament page that all players must install the newest version of the game in order to participate in PUBGM India Series.
Seeding
In Round 1, the Top 2000 Squads are seeded into 100 groups with each group consisting of 20 squads. For Round 2, the top 400 squads from Round 1 will be seeded into 20 groups again, with each group consisting of 20 squads. In Round 3, the top 80 squads from Round 2 will be seeded into 4 groups, each consisting 20 squads.
The server region for the tournament is Asia and the camera mode is TPP- Third person. You can read more about the rules of the tournament in full HERE.
PUBG or PlayerUnknown’s BattleGrounds is one of the runaway success stories in gaming. The game is played by millions across the world and each and every small update means a lot to gamers. PUBG’s mobile version is a scaled down version of the PC game which is also a hit with teenagers and adults alike. It is a map where players are pitted against one another and the last man or team standing emerges victorious. In the latest update news, the game is going to add new features to the already excellent game to enhance the gaming experience. These include Zombies, Rickshaw and an MK47 weapon.
The game recently saw the release of a new Snow map called Vikendi which was extremely well received. Now, the game will push for another update with these major changes. The Zombie Mode will have a team of players to fight 98 zombies, according to some reports. The game developer had teased a crossover between Resident Evil 2 and PUBG at the PUBG Mobile Star Challenge in 2018. This has led to further speculations of the zombie mode finally seeing the light of day.
According to a few YouTube channels, the upcoming January update will include these changes:
PUBG Mobile January update
Tukshai (Rickshaw) for Sanhok map
New snow area in Erangel map
New death cam feature to show you a replay of how you died
Zombies Mode
MK 47 Mutant rifle
Laser sight for weapons
Snow bike for Vikendi
New dance emotes
Classic Voices will return
PUBG Vikendi map will be removed from beta
Some of the other speculated updates include new weather conditions including rain and snow covered areas in a map which will reduce visibility thus increasing the game’s difficulty. The new gun called the MK 47 mutant is supposedly going to be an assault rifle. It will use 7.62mm ammunition and offer single and burst fire modes. Moreover, it will have a 20 round magazine.
There are also speculations regarding a new laser sight which takes up a slot on the lower rail of the gun. It will increase gun firing accuracy when moving around too much, for example shooting from a car or in a run and gun situation. However, it has a very short range and is only visible to the user. As to the date of the update, there is no news as of now, but it will be interesting to see how the gameplay and strategies change based on the new items, weather conditions and vehicles that are to be introduced.
Good news for open world shooter fans! Just within a year of the release of Far Cry 5 in 2018 new Far Cry is coming! Named Far Cry New Dawn, the game continues from where the previous Far Cry left off. The last edition of the game revolved around a religious cult in Montana in the fictional Hope County. The game’s story starts 17 years after the last one’s apocalyptic conclusion and now the town and scenery has completely changed. One can see flowers and greenery around with wild animals roaming in the amazing vista. Blue skies, green trees and flowers may seem very unlike Far Cry games, things quickly change and we get a glimpse of the Far Cry we all want to play.
The trailer reveals a lot about the game and we can find a lot of small details if we look at it carefully. On first glance, we can see the amazing details of the scenery. The weapons and houses are rendered wonderfully. One can see the items scattered around the area with foliage growing in and around them. You can see broken down cars around the entire area with cellphone towers and parts of metal that says Father was right, referring to the preacher named Joseph Seed of Far Cry 5.
A village can be seen with the survivors of the war with them going about their business, but then mayhem ensues. And we get into the Far Cry territory. A new group of scavengers show up with weapons and cars. This group is monikered as Highwaymen and the protagonist has to kill highwaymen to rebuild the settlements and ensure peace. The character that you will play is a fresh character and is reportedly a survivor from somewhere else.
The game features a lot of weapons. Including rocket launchers, makeshift weapons that are made from salvaged metal and of course really crazy guns with amazing detailing. There are painted guns, flamethrowers and whatnot.
But no Far Cry game is complete without it’s villains. Far Cry villains are known to be powerful both in terms of ammunition as well as emotionally and physically. New Dawn’s negative lead roles involve Mickey and Lou, murderous twin sisters who control the Highwaymen.
They are seen killing people mercilessly and seem to be extremely ruthless. The game developers have done a great job in detailing including their hair colours, costumes and even the blood splatters.
The helmets and even the vehicles are extremely detailed and makes for an absolute visual treat.
According to the game’s creator’s, the survivors and highwaymen will be at war constantly and both these groups will look after their own so unity seems to be an interesting theme to this game. They have also revealed that there will be different tiers of enemies each with their own difficulty level and combat capabilities and can be differentiated by their attire and weapons.
Then there is a lot of killing. A lot. Oh, and did we also mention there is a very cute and scared dog in the trailer as well?
The game will be launched on February 15th and pre-bookings have already opened up. It will cost $ 40 and will have different versions. Pre-ordering will also get you an in-game unicorn trike as well!
PUBG Mobile, one of the biggest and most played smartphone games, has released a new beta. The game recently won a bunch of awards at Google’s Play Store Awards in 2018. The game just received the Season 4 update recently. With the new update, Tencent Games is introducing the MK47 Mutant gun, which was already a part of the game’s XBox One and PC version of the game.
Beta Update New Additions
The MK47 Mutant will be now available on Android and iOS too. The assault rifle has multiple fire modes and a 20-bullet clip. A Laser Sight attachment is also added to the game. This allows players to fire more accurately and the MK47 is one of the many weapons that can make use of it. It is yet to be seen how accurate this attachment is compared to other scopes that are already in the game. New control settings are also added, where players can customise the screen layout with new preset and variable options. However, with the new season, all players will have to work extra hard to get back to their previous Tiers as it gets reduced to a level or two below the rank of the previous season.
This was long overdue as many gamers had requested for such a change in forums and Reddit as well. However mobile phones can be a tricky space to design a game on and PUBG seems to have listened to it’s users. We all know how horrible the PUBG chat is. No matter which high end phone you own, opening up chat means that the game is going to crash. Now, however, additional chat options have been added with dozens of scripted text and voice dialogue options in game. These have been added to make communication between teammates easier. These fall under tactics, movement, and discussion categories.
With new seasons, come new in-game items. The introduction of new outfits for your character in the game is also being rolled out in this update. The update also includes the general bug fixes that are usually included in every major update.
Following on the heels of PUBG, Fortnite has also has made the game available for everyone instead of an invite-only model of business. This Battle Royale game, first released in 2017 was previously available for Windows, macOS, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One. With time, it has now been made available for Nintendo Switch, iOS and Android devices. The role playing game will take android users by storm. This move is to combat the likes of PUBG, which is trying to draw in more users using new maps, daily skin drops and more. First launched back in August exclusively for Samsung Galaxy devices, Fortnite has with its own installer. So it will not be available in the Play Store but one has to separately download the installer which will complete the installation process.
The game has won several gaming awards in its journey from 2017 till now. These include awards like The Game Award 2017, 14th British Academy Games Award, Golden Joystick Award, Game Critics Award and many more. With Battle Royale style games gaining importance, Call of Duty’s Blackout has also joined the bandwagon recently. These three games are going to fight it out in the gaming industry. We sincerely hope that COD4 Blackout reaches mobile devices as well! PUBG on the other hand is expanding slowly and surely as they opened a South American Server to gauge the interest from people in that area. The server will be available till October 15, 2018 as per reports.
System Requirements And How to Download
The minimum requirement for Fortnite to run on an android device is 64-bit Android 5.0 Lollipop or above, 3 GB free storage space and a minimum of 3 GB of RAM. It also requires aGPU with Adreno 530 or higher, Mali-G71 MP20, Mali-G72 MP12 or higher. The game is downloadable from Epic’s specific Fortnite website for Android but is available for iOS devices from the App Store. One can scan a QR code to get the installer directly on their devices.
It is that time of the year again when gamers spend all their money to buy the best in gear, console and gaming peripherals at the Amazon Great Indian Festival. We made a list of the best deals on Amazon that are available today!
Microsoft Xbox One S 1TB Console (Free Games: Sea of Thieves)
Xbox One S Sea of Thieves Bundle features a full-game download, 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray, 4K video streaming, High Dynamic Range, and an Xbox wireless controller.Xbox One S has over 1,300 games including Xbox One exclusives. It also features built-in 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray and 4K video streaming and is available at a very low price on the Amazon Great Indian Festival.
MRP – Rs 30990
DEAL PRICE – Rs 19990
Amkette Evo Gamepad Pro 2
The all new media buttons and more intuitive controls make the gaming experience even better. Hundreds of new games have been listed in Evo Game Pad App across all genres and the games list is increasing rapidly. The new Evo Gamepad Pro 2 is very ergonomically designed the offer price makes it an absolute steal.
MRP – Rs 2899
DEAL PRICE – Rs 1890
Redgear Pro Series Wired Gamepad
Redgear Pro series wired gamepad uses the latest and ultra precise VR on the left and right stick to help you game like a pro, no more dead zones while playing your FPS games and allows better control for angles on sports games. It also comes with X-input and direct-input compatibility that allows you to play all the latest games in plug and play mode, easily move between X-input mode and direct-input mode with a dedicated switch. Jazz up your gaming space with the new Pro series controller with backlit illuminated ABXY keys.
WAS – Rs 1499
DEAL PRICE – Rs 999
Gamdias Hades M1 Gaming Wired/Wireless Mouse
GAMDIAS designed for the gamer who pursue pleasant feeling in game. Each of the gaming products is designed with a patented special feature and never ceasing to break the limitations of traditional thinking. GAMDIAS Hades M1 wired/ wireless Optical gaming mouse has a whopping 10800 DPI. With 7 Smart keys allow for strategic assignment of macros, profile keyboard keys, media controls Windows functions. The Amazon Great Indian Festival has an amazing deal on the mouse!
Razer Death Adder Essential is equipped with 6400 DPI 4G optical sensor, capable of movements up to 200 inches per second and 50 g acceleration, meaning it will always respond with exacting accuracy and organic fluidity only possible with optical sensor. The sensor tracks Z-axis to as low as 1 mm on most surfaces including glass table tops, perfect for low-sense gamers who can set tracking cut-off on mice lift, ensuring always consistent control. With a deal price of more than 50% off it is an absolute steal!
WAS – Rs 4999
DEAL PRICE – Rs 1799
Logitech Prodigy G231 Gaming Headphones with Mic (Black)
G231 Prodigy gaming headset uses 40 mm neodymium drivers deliver high-quality stereo sound to keep you immersed in your game from start to finish. G231 works with Xbox One, PlayStation 4 and PC so you can hear the incredible audio in all your games. High-performance cloth ear cups can be slipped off for washing. Earpieces have been designed to be slim and light. Folding, unidirectional mic can be positioned to pick up your voice alone, Don’t feel like talking? Easily fold it up and out of the way. Connects via analog 4 pole 3.5mm plug.
WAS – Rs 6495
DEAL PRICE – Rs 2999
HyperX Cloud Alpha Pro Gaming Headset
Product features HyperX Cloud Alpha ‘s innovative dual – chamber driver design restrains distortion and reproduces clearer and clearer audio. The dual chamber separates the bass and medium and high sounds and is tuned to clear and smoothly optimized sound. The Cloud Alpha headset uses high quality red memory foam, extended headband, soft supple leather toilet and inherits HyperX’s award-winning comfort.With inline audio adjustment function and detachable cloth wound cable, you can easily adjust the volume and mute the microphone with convenient inline audio adjustment.
Arctis features a new mic design with unmatched clarity, and improved comfort with materials inspired by athletic clothing. Arctis 7 features lag-free wireless audio, 15-hour battery life, a premium steel headband, on-ear Game/Chat audio balance, and DTS Headphone:X 7.1 Surround Sound. What more, it is available for a whopping 7000 rupee discount at the Amazon Great Indian Festival.
WAS – Rs 17499
DEAL PRICE – Rs 10499
Logitech G29 Driving Force Racing Wheel
For those who like to play fast-paced racing games and want to experience realistic handling and controls while playing these games, the Logitech G29 Driving Force Racing Wheel is a great choice for PC and console gaming. Equipped with three pedals and a fully functional steering wheel with an assortment of functions and features, this racing wheel gets you right in the middle of the action every single time. It is available at almost half price for the Amazon Great Indian Festival.
The Nubia Red Magic was launched earlier this year, adding to the growing list of specialised gaming smartphones. Not much time has passed after its launch and we hear that the Nubia Red Magic 2 is on the way. The Nubia Red Magic 2 gaming smartphone will supposedly be powered by the Snapdragon 845 chipset and bring along a whole new set of upgrades.
More Power, More Gaming:
According to a twitter user, Nubia is already working on the Red Magic 2 gaming smartphone. The device will have shoulder mounted buttons and a Snapdragon 845 SoC to improve its gaming experience, according to reports. Not much about the Nubia Red Magic 2 is known as of now. However, the Nubia Red Magic is well known in the gaming smartphone segment.
Nubia Redmagic actually seems pretty nice for 449 Euro with SDM835, 8/128GB and all the other fancy stuff. Btw: new Redmagic device w/ Snapdragon 845 and shoulder buttons is in the works. pic.twitter.com/m64KS9LTfk
The Nubia Red Magic packs a Snapdragon 835 SoC despite being a dedicated gaming phone. This can be off-putting considering that it doesn’t use the faster Snapdragon 845. However, Nubia claims that it still offers one of the best gaming experiences. The Red Magic has a 6.0-inch 1080 x 2160 screen. It comes with 8GB of RAM and 128GB of storage. The back is made of aluminum and has an RGB LED strip. There is a single 24MP sensor on the back and an 8MP front-facing camera above the display. It has a smart amplifier and DTS audio. There is a 3,800mAh battery under the hood with support for fast charge. It also has a new air convection cooling system to keep the device cool.
The Nubia Red Magic is one of the few gaming smartphones available now, though the number is growing. Recently we saw many manufacturers taking to making a dedicated gaming smartphone such as the Xiaomi Black Shark and the Asus ROG. The timeline for the release or the price of the phone is not available, but it is possible that it may be launched late 2018 or early 2019.
Over the past 30 years, video games have become an integral part of our lives and culture. Video game companies have become multi-millionaire giants. The gaming industry has grown to a gigantic extent. Today we see not only see teenagers spending a great deal of time on gaming, but also adults too are immersed in this new culture.
The first recorded game was invented in 1947. A ‘Cathode Ray Tube Amusement Device’ was patented by Thomas T. Goldsmith Jr. and Estle Ray Mann on 25th January that year. This device consisted of an analog device that allowed users to control a dot on the screen to guide the missile to targets drawn to the screen. This device opened the gateway to the evolution of Video games.
Let us look at how Gaming Graphics have evolved with time, below:
Text Based Games
Guilded Youth
The earliest games were all text based and used texts instead of bitmap or vector graphics. These games were easy to program and required minimum power, unlike graphic games. These types of games were very popular during the 1970-1990 period. The most popular was Multi-User Dungeons. Here, players read the description of rooms, objects, other players and actions performed in the virtual world. Interaction meant typing commands with each other that resemble a natural language.
Vector Graphic Games
Project Morpheus
These games used points, lines and curves to represent images in computer graphics. So, instead of drawing images as pixels, vector graphic display used electronic beams to draw the images. Most of the earlier arcade games used this graphic. Many games gave very detailed static items in full-colour layouts, while moving objects were drawn using a vector beam.
Companies like Atari and Sega used this type of graphic for their games. Some of the games that are based on Vector Graphics are Space Wars, Star Trek, Space Fury, etc.
Full Motion Video Games
Jurassic Park: The Game
This type of graphics required programmers to upload pre-recorded video files to display action in the game. In today’s time, Full Motion Videos are used to present information during cut scenes. This type of graphic makes the game look ‘more movie like’. Games that are based on Full Motion Video are also known as interactive movies. Some games based on this are Jurassic Park: The Game, The Walking Dead (series), Game Of Thrones, etc.
2D Games
2D games are two dimensioned games. This graphic allows users to create a vast game world without any hassle as compared to 3D games. 2D games are broadly divided into three categories:
Top-Down Perspective
Grand Theft Auto
More commonly known as the Bird-view, this perspective uses a camera angle that shows the players and the corresponding area from above. Most of our childhood games were played in this particular viewpoint. Some of the famous games included in this list are SimCity, GTA, Pokemon, Railroad Tycoon, etc.
Side Scroll Perspective
Heroes of Rock
Here, the view is sideways where the playable character moves from left to right generally. This type of graphics uses scrolling computer display technology. Sometimes, the screen moves only towards the left or right, and in some games, the screen moves in both ways according to the position of the character. In some games, the screen continuously keeps on moving in one direction, while the character attempts to avoid obstacles and collect things along with catching up with the screen. Some examples would be Duke Nukem, Aladdin, Lion King, etc.
2.5D or ¾ Perspective or Pseudo 3D
IMO Sonic 4
As the name suggests, these terms are used to describe techniques that are used to create fake 3D graphics. These techniques are used to create an illusion of 3D without actually creating it. Some games have the character and environment rendered in 3D, but most of its levels are not as free-roaming as a real 3D platform. It means that the character only moves in two dimensions, either up and down or left and right.
3D Games
3D graphics are graphics that use three dimensions of the geometric data. After the invention of 3D accelerated graphics units (NVIDIA, etc.), video games expanded, way above the level of 2D. 3D games are divided into three categories:
Fixed 3D
The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time
Here, while the game characters are rendered in 3D and in real time, the foreground remains static. The background tends to stay in 2D. Many of the early 3D games were based on these type of graphics. Examples are Alone in the Dark series, The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, etc.
First Person Perspective
Halo
This refers to the perspective rendered from the viewpoint of the player character. These games are avatar based, where the controlling player would see the gaming environment as through the avatar’s own eyes. This kind of graphics applies in most shooting and racing games. Some examples would be Counter-Strike, Halo (series), Call of Duty, Need for Speed, etc.
Third Person Perspective
Lost: Via Domus
This refers to a type of graphical perspective that is rendered a distance away from the playable character. This allows the player to see the full body of the character and is the most common type of graphic used in action and adventure games. One of the few difficulties related to the graphic is the awkward jerking of the camera when the character stands against a wall. The three types of camera view in this graphic are:
Fixed Camera System
Resident Evil
The camera positions are fixed during the creation of the game.
Tracking Camera System
Max Payne
The camera only follows the character.
Interactive Camera System
Resident Evil
The cameras are under the command of the user, that is; it can be adjusted according to the need of the controlling player.
Some famous examples of Third Person Perspective games would be Batman (series), Max Payne (series), Assassin’s Creed (series), etc.
Android app market (Play Store) is flooded with both paid and free game apps. Whether you want games that will last the length of a commute, or want to be lost in a port of GTA where you spend hours mowing down pedestrians and making money out of murder, there is a game on here for you. In the recent time most of the apps that are free usually feature in-app purchases adding premium offerings, which in some cases are not half bad e.g. Smash it!
We are listing top 5 Android games that you should download right away.
The Room Two, a sumptuously strange but an amazing puzzle game. You spend minutes at a time examining a series of locked boxes, hunting for keys and mechanisms, deciphering puzzles, searching for signs through your sinister revelatory eyeglass. When you find the right one and put it in the right place, what follows is gorgeously rewarding: keys turn, doors unlock, boxes impossibly unpack themselves and become different, weirder boxes, always with the exact perfect sounds for the movements as they happen. This is a game of incredible polish wonderfully suspenseful sound and graphic design.
Not every type of game can make the seamless transition from a console or computer onto the touch screen of your Android device. Injustice: Gods Among Us being no exception to this. However, if you compare it with other android games, it is one of the best game out there. The graphics of Injustce: Gods Among Us are, without doubt, quite stunning. The characters are the highlight of the game. It’s amazing to get to fight with some of your favorite superheroes (and villains).
It is one of the most addictive game you will ever play. Developers have done a good job by providing the Android world with such a creative and addictive game. You can create a complex structure from small parts and build a machine which can outclass other competitors in every respective field. Once you get hold of this game you won’t be able to put down your phone even for a second.
An amazingly beautiful fantastical world where life is at the brink of destruction, as usual, and the chosen one has to kill five people to save the world, and one of the five is an innocent child. Whether this hero can carry out his duty is the decision that lies in your hands. It is an exhilarating adventure ample for players of all ages who are devotees of science fiction and futuristic scenery. The game requires 1 GB of memory, so make sure you have it available before proceeding to download.
Modern Combat 5: Blackout is the best first-person shooter on smartphones and tablets. You can create a squad, add your friends and test your individual and team skills against other squads in dynamic multiplayer warfare. Modern Combat 5 steals the show when it come to customization. Before a fight, or after dying, you can choose from Assault, Sniper, Heavy Assault, or Recon. Each of the classes has a number of weapons and accessories you can unlock by playing the game and gaining experience.
Asphalt 8: Airborne, the newest addition to the popular racing game series has been released with universal compatibility for both Android and iOS devices. The game features a brand new engine and includes 47 selectable cars with 37 new cars making an appearance. The game also places an emphasis on verticality with ramps and air stunts, and contains nine different locations for tracks.
The game’s focus is arcade style, objective based races compared to more simulation oriented game such as Real Racing 3. Players earn awards based on a variety of objectives in-game such as narrowly missing cars, performing stunts mid-air or causing the opposition to wreck. While each of these eventually earn small amounts of currency at the conclusion of the race, the most important they earn nitro in-game.
This game is available for a price of 55 INR, which seems decent for a game like this and specially looking at the increasing price of USD(This game costs $0.99 in US). What is your take on this new game ?
Temple Run 2, the mobile infinite runner, has surpassed 50 million downloads in just 13 days. This breaks a record established by Angry Birds Space, which went on to achieve the coveted 50 million downloads milestone in 35 days.
The game was launched on January 17 on iOS, and arrived in the Google Play Store on January 24, proving one of the most popular mobile titles out there very fast.
[quote]Temple Run has evolved into something so much bigger than us,” said Keith Shepherd, co-founder of parent company Imangi. “The game has performed beyond our wildest dreams, and we are thrilled that gamers and fans have embraced Temple Run 2 in such a short period of time.”[/quote]
The original Temple Run saw 170 million total downloads during its tenure. Christmas downloads were explosive for the first version, seeing 2.5 million on Christmas day alone.
The Temple Run franchise was created by a husband-and-wife development team Keith Shepherd and Natalia Luckyanova in Raleigh, North Carolina. The studio has since added a team of additional developers.
Temple Run 2 is available on iTunes and Google Play now as a free download but, as with the first game, there are plenty of in-app purchasing options to buy coins and gems in order to enhance the game in a more speedy fashion.
