Chris Hemsworth showed off his famous Thor physique as he peeled off his wetsuit during a surfing session with his brothers in Byron Bay on Thursday to celebrate his 39th birthday.
The Hollywood hunk slipped his board between his thighs and pushed the upper half of the suit down around his hips to get more comfortable before walking along the beach.
Chris took to the waves on his big day to do what he loves best – surfing with his equally handsome brothers, Luke and Liam Hemsworth.
Chris Hemsworth (pictured) celebrated his 39th birthday by going surfing in Byron Bay on Thursday
Chris pulled off a few tricks on his white and maroon board, later bonding with his eldest brother Luke, 41, as they walked along the beach.
Meanwhile, Liam, the youngest at 32, was seen casually gliding through a much larger wave.
The Hunger Games star came wading back to shore with a big smile on his face and laughed with one of the friends the trio had brought along with them.
However, it seemed his wetsuit became uncomfortable as he was seen adjusting himself a little later in the outing.
Chris showed off his famous Thor physique as he peeled off his wetsuit during a surfing session with his brothers
The Hollywood hunk slipped his board between his thighs and pushed the upper half of the suit down and around his hips to get more comfortable before walking along the beach
Chris flaunted his rippling back muscles as he adjusted his surfing attire
Chris turned 39 and Thursday and spent the day doing what he loves the best
The Thor star looks nowhere near his 39 years as he edges closer to 40
While Luke joined in on the fun, he seemed content to wade in the shallows with his board and walk along the beach with Chris as they finished up for the day.
It comes after Chris’s wife Elsa Pataky celebrated his birthday by posting a seemingly nude photo of the star in the bath with a parrot on his head.
The Spanish model and actress, 46, shared the snap to Instagram in celebration of her husband’s birthday.
Chris pulled off a few tricks on his white and maroon board
He later bonded with his older brother Luke as they finished up for the day
Chris glided through the water with ease as he spent a few hours in the surf
‘Happy birthday to my favorite parrot trainer, kids handler and wife tamer,’ she captioned the post.
She continued, ‘There’s nothing you can’t do. We love you to the moon and back,’ before writing more in Spanish.
Elsa uploaded the photo alongside two others, including one of the Thor star wrestling with their three children: daughter India, nine, and twin boys Sasha and Tristan, both eight.
Meanwhile, Liam, the youngest Hemsworth, was seen casually gliding through a much larger wave
The Hunger games star came wading back to shore with a big smile on his face and laughed with one of the friends the trio had brought along
However, it seemed his swimsuit became uncomfortable as he was seen adjusting himself a little later in the outing
Liam was seen checking out the waves as he headed into the water
He pushed back his picture perfect hair as he glanced at the photographers
The third picture was a black and white still from Thor: Love and Thunder, in which Elsa cameoed as a ‘wolf woman’ who was a former lover to Chris’s character.
The lovebirds started dating in early 2010, and they tied the knot in a low-key ceremony in December that year.
Together with their children, they now reside in a $30million mansion in Broken Head, near the celebrity enclave of Byron Bay.
Older brother Luke had a laugh with the boys as he took a break from the surf
The brothers grew up in Phillip Island and are all keen surfers
Chris and his wife Elsa, along with their children, reside in a $30million mansion in Broken Head, near the celebrity enclave of Byron Bay
OPINION: Although the All Blacks uncorked their magic to beat the Springboks 35-23 on Sunday morning, it remains unclear if it was enough to repair the fractured relationship between Ian Foster and NZ Rugby.
It’s an issue that, one way or another, must be resolved with haste. NZ Rugby CEO Mark Robinson is scheduled to talk to media on Sunday (5.30pm NZT), but whether an announcement on Foster’s future is imminent is anyone’s guess.
Until then, we can only ponder the outcomes.
There’s little time to dither because in a fortnight the All Blacks will play Argentina in their next Rugby Championship match in Christchurch. Everyone – the coaches, players and fans – deserve clarity.
Christiaan Kotze/Photosport
Halfback Aaron Smith of All Blacks coach Ian Foster take a moment to celebrate the 35-23 win over the Springboks.
Immediately after the win in Johannesburg, Foster seemed uncertain whether he still had a job. Or perhaps he was keeping that information to himself.
Regardless of who does, or doesn’t, know about what lies in store, one thing is clear: the All Blacks produced their greatest performance under Foster since he took control of the team in 2020.
Yet it remains a mystery whether the magnificent win at Ellis Park was enough to convince NZ Rugby it has got the right man in charge of its flagship team ahead of the World Cup in France next year.
Having lost five of their previous six tests, the most recent the 26-10 defeat to the Springboks on Mbombela a week earlier, Foster and his All Blacks were forced to take a deep breath and accept only they could shovel their way out of the mess that had been created.
It doesn’t get more daunting than playing the Springboks in front of 62,000 fans at 1730 meters above sea level. Yet the All Blacks, despite all the uncertainty about the future of Foster and Captain Sam Cane, displayed their character to duck, dive and counterpunch before delivering a devastating uppercut on the chin of the world champion Springboks.
Kim Ludbrook/EPA via Photosport
The All Blacks were in good spirits after the 35-23 win against the Springboks in Johannesburg.
Foster, having brought fresh props Ethan de Groot and Tyrel Lomax and blindside flanker Shannon Frizell into his pack, and with Richie Mo’unga electrifying the attack at No 10, convinced the team it was good enough to reverse its fortunes.
In the space of 80 minutes the All Blacks went a long way to helping frustrated fans forget the 2-1 series loss to Ireland by displaying courage and a wide array of skills.
Christiaan Kotze/Photosport
First-five Richie Mo’unga helped turn the All Blacks fortunes around after making his first run-on start of the year.
Springboks coach Jacques Nienaber didn’t help his team, either. The decision to bench hooker Malcolm Marx, who created chaos at the breakdowns by making four steals and was the best player on the field in Mbombela, was difficult to fathom.
Yet, even when Marx did take the park late in the 30th minute, his impact was limited by comparison to the mayhem he caused a week earlier.
The All Blacks refused to buckle, even though the Springboks charged back to take the lead for the first time after Beauden Barrett was yellow carded for obstruction in the 67th minute.
It was as if the rarified air in Jo’burg fueled the All Blacks with the confidence and zest that was so badly lacking in the first test against the Springboks, as they surged back to put David Havili and Scott Barrett in a position to score late tries.
Argentina, having humiliated the Wallabies 48-17 in San Juan after a loss a week earlier, will soon fly to Christchurch to get set for a battle in the chilly climes of the Garden City.
It just remains to be seen whether Foster will still be in charge of the All Blacks.
Cane and his mates delivered for Foster when he needed them most. Providing Foster still wants the job, the players have helped paint NZ Rugby into a corner. They have, possibly, saved Foster’s career from him.
On the stark tablelands in the Monaro region just east of the NSW Snowy Mountains, a group of dedicated volunteersis working hard to restore the ghostly landscape to its former glory.
The Upper Snowy Landcare Network is working with volunteers, landholders and researchers to get native trees back into the dieback-ravaged landscape. (Supplied: Upper Snowy Landcare Network)
The grassy plains were once dominated by towering ribbon gums (Eucalyptus viminalis), but in recent years, a mysterious dieback event has reduced nearly all the trees to brittle skeletons.
“It just left a huge scar on the landscape,” says Margaret Mackinnon, volunteer and chair of the Upper Snowy Landcare Network (USLN).
A mysterious dieback event has killed off most of the eucalypts in the region.(Supplied: Upper Snowy Landcare Network)
The root cause of the dieback is still a mystery, but that hasn’t stopped Dr Mackinnon from pitching in to help reverse the devastation.
Since she joined the USLN in 2016, Dr Mackinnon has been working with landholders, community volunteers and researchers to get native trees back in the ground, including eucalypts, wattles and small shrubs.
“We can’t just leave it to business and landholders to spend the money on repairing the environment; we’ve got to get individuals involved and doing it in their own backyards,” she says.
theirefforts are beginning to pay off.
Over the past five years, around 100 volunteers have planted roughly 1,000seedlings in each of 36 plots across the region.
Dr Mackinnon says one of the most rewarding things about tree planting is watching the results grow before her eyes — literally.
“The satisfaction of seeing them grow is quite contagious.
“It’s a long-term legacy that will be there forever.”
friends worth keeping
Wherever we live, trees take care of us in more ways than one. But it’s easy to forget that we need to take care of our woody friends too, says Kylie Soanes, a conservation biologist at The University of Melbourne.
“I think we can take them a little bit for granted.”
In urban areas for instance, trees are nature’s air conditioners, cooling the air by releasing moisture through pores in their leaves and providing us with shade.
Taking care of trees is important as they provide us with clean air and shade, especially in cities. (Getty Images: Steve Waters)
“Having an urban forest is such a big part of making a city a liveable, comfortable, pleasant space,” Dr Soanes says.
Even small patches of native trees in urban areas — particularly massive old ones — are like “wildlife hotels” for birds, mammals, and insects on the move, says Rebecca Jordan, a conservation scientist at the CSIRO in Hobart.
“It’s not just about having the trees in the big forests,” she says.
“All those other trees can provide connections so that our wildlife can move through the landscape and connect to other big areas.”
In cities along the east coast, gum trees are a favorite roadside pit stop for endangered swift parrots (Lathamus discolor), which fly from Tasmania during the winter months.
“That’s just a really big testament to how valuable even supposedly scrappy, isolated patches of trees are,” Dr Soanes says.
Native trees in cities allow wildlife—such as the endangered swift parrot—to hopscotch their way between different locations.(Wikimedia Commons: JJ Harrison)
bush in the burbs
If urban trees are wildlife hotels, then Harry Loots’s garden is a five-star resort.
On a quiet street dominated by box-hedged front gardens in Sydney’s Cremorne, Mr Loots has created a slice of urban bushland in his backyard.
Mr Loots’s native haven is packed with around 200 species of Australian plants and trees, including eucalypts, banksias, and grass trees.
Harry Loots has created a piece of the Australian bush in his backyard in Cremorne, Sydney. (Supplied: Harry Loots)
This bush in the ‘burbs spills out onto the street. On the nature strip, an old yellow-flowered water gum (Tristaniopsis laurina) towers over thick shrubs, such as a vibrant netted bottlebrush (Callistemon linearifolius) planted by Mr Loots’s mother half a century ago.
The flourishing native garden extends out onto the street and includes around 200 species of Australian trees and other plants. (Supplied: Harry Loots)
The flourishing garden is a favorite hangout for possums, blue-tongued lizards, water dragons, and native bees. It’s also popular among walkers, who often stop to admire Mr Loots’s handiwork.
“They get to walk through a bit of Australian nature,” says Mr Loots, who is treasurer of the Australian Plants Society NSW.
An avid bushwalker, Mr Loots says taking care of the trees in his backyard has given him a greater appreciation for the biodiversity in the bush.
“It’s a real education about how the bush functions, how it works, how the total environment works.
“It’s only with education and understanding that you really appreciate why different areas are important.”
Forests on the farm
For forest scientist and farmer Rowan Reid, taking care of trees on farmland is an investment that can pay dividends for future generations.
“The most degraded part of Australia is the agricultural landscape,” Mr Reid says.
“Trees are clearly going to have a role to play in repairing that damage, and doing it in a way that the farmers are in control and can also become more productive.”
Forest scientist Rowan Reid (right) is helping farmers like Andrew Stewart (left) learn tree-growing techniques to increase their land’s productivity while also taking care of the environment. (Supplied: Cormac Photography)
Just west of Geelong, Mr Reid owns and runs Bambra Agroforestry Farm, a 42-hectare property with around 70 species of native and exotic trees.
Each tree plays several roles in keeping the wheels turning. Along the once-degraded creek running through the farm, eucalypts and native rainforest trees stave off soil erosion, shelter livestock, provide timber, and offer habitat for wildlife.
Mr Reid’s tree-dotted farm doubles as an “outdoor classroom”, where he shares his agroforestry knowledge with landholders who want to explore how tree-growing can support their farming and benefit the land.
It’s less about telling farmers why they should plant trees, and more about giving them the growing techniques they need to meet their goals, Mr Reid says.
“We’re trying to see what happens when you give them the knowledge, skills, and enthusiasm to go and do it themselves.”
Some farmers are interested in growing more trees to address soil problems like salinity, while others might want to grow timber and provide wildlife habitats that can help control crop-destroying pests.
Whatever the goal, cultivating a diversity of trees can future-proof a farmer’s livelihood.
For instance, if a disease wiped out a dairy farmer’s cattle, they could switch to selling timber, seeds, or flowers to keep their business afloat, Mr Reid says.
“You can make your whole farming system more resilient to the shocks that are potentially coming through.”
But there’s more to it than simply planting more trees or saving every last one. It’s really about managing an ever-changing system. As climate change looms, farmers need to consider which species will fare best over the next few decades.
Bambra Agroforestry Farm is also an “outdoor classroom” for people who want to learn about growing trees on farmland. (Supplied: Bambra Agroforestry Farm)
Rather than planting tree species that have grown naturally in a particular spot for hundreds of years, Mr Reid now plants species that are more robust against hot, dry conditions, such as Australian red cedar (Toona ciliata).
While managing trees on farmland is a constant work in progress, watching the degraded landscape transform into a flourishing, diverse ecosystem makes it all worthwhile, Mr Reid says.
“That’s really important for a lot of families because they talk about passing their family farm onto the next generation in a better state.”
How to take better care of trees
So, what can we do to take better care of the trees in our communities?
Local tree-planting and bush regeneration groups, such as Landcare and Bushcare, are good places to start for people who enjoy getting their hands dirty out in nature.
In addition to planting trees, it’s important to protect the ones we already have, Dr Jordan says.
In addition to planting new trees, we must also take care of our elderly friends. (Getty Images: Gallo Images)
“It’s really important that we keep the big old guys in the landscape while that revegetation planting catches up,” she says.
“It can take up to 70 years to get all that habitat rebuilt.”
This means thinking twice before cutting down a large old tree that’s causing problems. If a tree has just a few limbs that are causing danger, it’s best just to remove those rather than chopping the tree down altogether, Dr Soanes says.
Even the gnarly stumps of dead trees are worth protecting, as they continue to provide homes for insects, lizards, frogs, birds and small mammals long after their leaves drop.
“There’s this real misconception that once a tree has died then its life is over,” Dr Soanes says.
“That’s really far from the case.”
For those who enjoy bushwalking, another easy way to take care of trees is to clean your bushwalking boots and equipment when moving between forests, Dr Jordan says.
“Making sure you’re not carrying any soil or plant material between our forests can help protect them and notspread those diseases that might threaten our trees.”
Ultimately, our relationship with trees needs to be a two-way street, Dr Soanes says.
“If we take care of trees, trees are helping to take care of us.”
Twitch has changed its COVID-19 guidelines for TwitchCon, with attendees now required to provide proof of vaccination or a negative test, as well as wearing a face mask while indoors.
TwitchCon is set to take place next month in San Diego, with players able to meet streamers and take part in “legendary cosplay contests, rivals tournaments, meet and greets, rare loot, panels, artist alley” and witness an “epic” musical performance .
However, following criticism from some fans about the lack of COVID-19 safety precautions, Twitch has now updated the entry requirements for the three-day event.
“We’ve heard from many of you that you want a safer TwitchCon, so we’re updating our policy,” said Twitch in a Tweet. “Masks will be required indoors, as well as either proof of vaccination or a negative covid test. Let’s make the ultimate squad up safe and accessible for everyone.”
We’ve heard from many of you that you want a safer TwitchCon, so we’re updating our policy.
Masks will be required indoors, as well as either proof of vaccination or a negative covid test.
Let’s make the ultimate squad up safe & accessible for everyone: https://t.co/RKeBF6oVzd pic.twitter.com/MI4lMZ1Jdh
A statement went on to explain how “many of you – especially those who are immunocompromised and the people who support them – want stricter health measures in place to help you feel safe attending TwitchCon San Diego in person.”
“We agree that we can do more to help keep people safe. We want TwitchCon to be a place where our entire community can come together and celebrate each other. It should be an inclusive event for everyone, and that means taking steps to ensure as many people as possible feel comfortable with the safety precautions we’re taking.”
Twitch is also offering refunds for anyone who is uncomfortable with the new requirements. Earlier this year, Twitch updated its community guidelines to help prevent the spread of COVID-19 misinformation on the platform.
“We’re proud that we can bring people together – but we do not believe that individuals who use online services to spread false, harmful information, have a place in our community. While these individuals are not prevalent on Twitch, they could cause significant harm if allowed on our service,” Twitch said, announcing the changes.
In other news, Twitch streamer Clara ‘Keffals’ Sorrenti woke up to armed police raiding her home last week – which she says is the latest in a campaign of transphobic harassment she has experienced whilst streaming.
The Block’s star couple Elle Ferguson and Joel Patfull are apparently not looking to stay in touch with some of their fellow contestants.
The global influencer and her ex-AFL player fiance dramatically exited the show after just two days, leaving host Scott Cam furious and their co-stars baffled.
Addressing the scandal on Weekend Today On Sunday, contestant Sarah-Jane Wilson revealed that Elle had recently blocked her on social media.
“You’ve had no contact with (Elle and Joel) since (they left)?” Today host Belinda Russell asked.
“No, I got blocked. She blocked me on Instagram,” Sarah-Jane replied.
“I went to show someone her (page) the other day, because they were like, ‘Who is this person?’
“And then I was like, ‘Oh my god, I’ve made it, I’ve made it in the world, a celebrity has blocked me’.”
During the interview, Sarah-Jane also admitted she hadn’t been surprised to find out the couple had called it quits so early into the production.
“I could tell that they were unhappy after judging,” she told the hosts.
“You don’t really spend a lot of time (together) before that, you’re doing the challenge, so you’re busy. But at the judging, they seemed not too happy, there were a few little sentences that I heard and I thought, ‘Oh gosh …’ so no, I wasn’t surprised when they left.”
It comes after weeks of headlines surrounding their shock exit, which host Scott Cam has slammed as “p**s poor” and “unAustralian” in interviews ahead of the season.
Despite reports the couple left the competition to be with Joel’s mother after a nasty fall, it appears the duo bowed out of the challenge because it wasn’t “on brand”, with Cam telling fellow competitors they’d complained that the toilet paper was “too scratchy”.
Ahead of the shock revelation, Joel and Elle’s first room challenge copped some negative criticism from judges Shaynna Blaze, Neale Whitaker and Darren Palmer, who commented that it was “too Bondi” for the country setting.
At the time, Sarah-Jane declared she had predicted the couple weren’t Block material.
“I saw that coming… They didn’t make any effort to get to know us… They looked miserable the whole time… I heard that they were like ‘I can’t wear that, that doesn’t represent us’,” she told the others, adding that they seemed “sour” after coming fourth in the room reveal.
The Block Tree Change continues tonight from 7pm on Channel 9.
Not so long ago the brightest star in baseball, Fernando Tatis Jr. has turned out to be a fool who thinks everyone else is just as big a fool.
Tatis was busted by MLB on Friday for taking an anabolic steroid, and reacted by issuing a statement that it would only fly if the country had 100 per cent illiteracy or everyone’s internet were permanently down, the New York Post reported.
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Tatis said he “inadvertently” took the performance enhancing drug Clostebol to treat ringworm, and apparently either he, his agent or his marketing guy thought the world would mistake Clostebol, the synthetic anabolic steroid he was caught with, for Clobetasol, a common drug used to treat skin foods like eczema and psoriasis that also requires a prescription. Clostebol is never prescribed for skin defects or ringworm. Of course, there had actually been a medical mix-up – extremely unlikely since one is a Schedule 4 anabolic steroid and the other a common corticosteroid – he’d have documentary proof since he’d have the prescription from the doctor.
In effect, Tatis was busted again. You do not have to be an internet sleuth to disprove his unbelievable story about him. Tatis needs to employ better liars, but more than that, he needs to clean up his own act. The first half of his season was wiped out in a fit of foolishness. This is much worse.
Tatis’ 80-game PED suspension, announced Friday, stings all of baseball, but it really hurts the exciting Padres, who have energized their sleepy but beautiful burg. Padres general manager AJ Preller texted: “We have a good team. (We) will rally from this.”
Perhaps they will, but as of today they may have somewhat less faith in Tatis’s $341 million ($A477m) 14-year contract.
Tatis did say one believable thing in his statement, proclaiming he was “completely devastated” by his transgression, which we assume is true. Because he is now forever known as just another cheat among the long pantheon of cheats who have populated the game. A select few cheats show some real remorse or a hint of honesty. To this point Tatis is not one of those.
Preller, speaking about Tatis to Padres writers, said: “I think what we need to get to is a point in time where we trust. … Over the course of the last six or seven months I think that’s been something that we haven’t really been able to have.”
The Padres issued a statement saying they are “hopeful Fernando will learn from this experience.” In their statement, ringworm was not mentioned.
On the field Tatis is a prodigy. Off it, I need help.
The biggest question now is: How long has this been going on? More to the point, do we think it’s conceivable he just decided to enhance his performance via drugs while on the injured list and well after he’d already signed his $341 million deal? Or did he win his record deal partly via medicinal means?
Tatis had some amazing achievements leading up to his record contract. And now we all have to wonder about it, and them.
What’s no mystery is the disaster that is his 2022 season, which began with a wrist injury apparently suffered joy-riding on a motorbike. That injury, which he neglected to tell the team about until he showed up at spring training, wiped out 70 per cent of the season. The incredible thing about that was when he was asked whether the cycling accident caused the wrist injury, he answered, “Which one?” The implication was clear. He exercised so little caution he had had multiple motorcycle accidents.
Sadly, as it turns out, carelessness appears to be the least of his weaknesses.
This story first appeared in the New York Post and was republished with permission.
Perth’s public hospitals have been forced to declare more than 500 code yellows in the past year as capacity issues continue to plague the health system.
Worst impacted was Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital, which went into code yellow 144 times in 2021-22 – an average of eleven every two and a half days.
That was followed by Perth Children’s Hospital (89 code yellows), Fiona Stanley Hospital (74) and Royal Perth Hospital (68).
Your local paper, whenever you want it.
The city’s biggest maternity hospital, King Edward Memorial, declared 36 code yellows in the year to July.
A code yellow refers to an infrastructure or other internal emergency that is impacting service delivery – including a lack of available beds.
Shadow Health Minister Libby Mettam said the “shocking” figures – contained in answers to questions in Parliament – pointed to a health system that was “significantly under-resourced and lurching from crisis to crisis”.
The McGowan Government has rolled out 420 of the 530 additional hospital beds it promised last year as part of preparations for the arrival of COVID but Ms Mettam said it was clear the public system still did not have enough capacity.
“These 530 beds are in effect the same ones that were closed shortly after Labor first came to power in 2017 which points to a government that has been asleep at the wheel when it comes to supporting WA patients,” she said.
“Especially concerning are the number of code yellows the figures from PCH and King Eddie’s, hospitals that look after sick children and birthing mothers and are clearly under exceptional pressure.”
Figures previously provided by WA Health revealed the public health system was short more than 100 midwives and 350 junior doctors.
There were also more than 300 pregnant women placed on “maternity bypass” and forced to attend alternative hospitals on the day of their deliveries in the past year.
Health Minister Amber-Jade Sanderson outlining ambulance inquiry response outside Parliament House, Perth. Credit: simon santi/The West Australian
Health Minister Amber-Jade Sanderson said public health systems around the country were under pressure as a result of “global workforce shortages, the pandemic and sick leave”.
“The (code yellow) alerts are a moment in time and hospitals can change status multiple times throughout the day. The status of hospitals changes as patients move through the system and demands ebb and flow,” Ms Sanderson said.
“There is no doubt our hospitals are busy, as is the case across the country, but they are coping well with the demands of the pandemic and we sincerely thank our healthcare workforce for their continued dedication.”
Australian Medical Association (WA) president Mark Duncan-Smith said code yellows are “nearly unheard of” when he was a junior doctor but had become increasingly frequent in recent years.
“It is a direct consequence of the McGowan Government running the medical system into the ground over the last five years with inadequate funding of health’s operational budget,” Dr Duncan-Smith said.
NEw Australian Medical Association WA president Mark Duncan-Smith. Credit: Nick Ellis/The West Australian, by Nic Ellis The West Australian
“Often politicians will say code yellows are a normal procedural event but that is wrong – they shouldn’t happen anywhere near as often as they do and indicate a system that has inadequate capacity.”
He added that the “true” number of code yellows was likely much higher because some hospitals felt “political pressure” not to make the declaration even when all beds were full.
There were 513 total code yellows across the metropolitan area in 2021-22, with every hospital besides Kalamunda declaring at least one.
COVID has forced thousands of frontline medical personnel into isolation since the start of the year, further exacerbating staffing shortages.
A lack of available beds has contributed to unprecedented levels of ambulance ramping, with paramedics made to wait nearly 7000 hours to transfer their patients to the care of hospitals in July.
There were already 2463 ambulance ramping hours in the first 11 days of August – placing the month on track to again come close to 7000 total hours.
Sony has just released Marvel’s Spider-Man Remastered on PC and as we’ve already reported, Nixxes has handled this PC version. Thus, and prior to our PC Performance Analysis, we’ve decided to benchmark the game’s Ray Tracing effects. We’ve also compared native resolution against NVIDIA’s DLSS and AMD’s FSR 2.0 techs.
For these benchmarks and comparison screenshots, we used an Intel i9 9900K with 16GB of DDR4 at 3800Mhz and NVIDIA’s RTX 3080. We also used Windows 10 64-bit, and the GeForce 516.94 driver.
Marvel’s Spider-Man Remastered does not feature any built-in benchmark tool. As such, we’ve decided to test the game in street areas with a large crowd of people. Therefore, consider this a stress benchmark test as other areas can run smoother.
Before continuing, we should mention a bug/issue that made our work difficult. For unknown reasons, performance can go downhill when changing resolutions or upscaling techniques. This issue can appear randomly, and here is a video showing it. At the start of the video, the game runs with DLSS Quality in 4K with 55-60fps on our RTX3080. However, at the end of it and after numerous resolution changes, DLSS Quality runs with 30fps. So keep that in mind in case you encounter bizarre performance issues.
Marvel’s Spider-Man Remastered uses Ray Tracing in order to enhance its reflections. And…well…that’s it. The good news here is that Nixxes is offering a lot of settings to tweak. However, and at their maximum values, these RT effects are really heavy on the CPU.
This is the first time we’ve experienced major performance issues with our Intel i9 9900K, even at 1080p (with RT Max). While our CPU was able to push an average of 64fps, it could also drop to 57fps. By disabling RT, we were able to get framerates higher than 100fps at all times.
Thankfully, PC gamers can adjust the RT reflections and improve overall quality. The game features two RT settings, Reflection Resolution and Geometry Detail, and you can set them to either High or Very High. There is also a slider for Object Range. By dropping these settings to High (and Object Range to 8), we were able to get a constant 80fps experience. For Medium settings, we dropped Object Range to 5 and got 90-94fps. And then, for Low settings, we dropped Object Range to 1 which only improved performance by 2fps.
Without Ray Tracing, our PC test system can run the game comfortably. However, and although we were getting above 100fps, we were still CPU-limited at both 1080p and 1440p. At native 4K, we were able to get more than 60fps. Then, by enabling DLSS Quality, we got a constant 80fps experience.
Marvel’s Spider-Man Remastered supports NVIDIA’s DLSS, AMD’s FSR 2.0 and Insomniac’s own Temporary Injection tech. The best upscaling tech is DLSS, followed by FSR 2.0 and then IGTI.
Below you can find some comparisons between DLSS Quality (left), FSR 2.0 Quality (middle) and Native 4K (right). Compared to native 4K, DLSS Quality does a better job at reconstructing some distant objects. However, DLSS Quality also suffers from additional aliasing, resulting in a jaggier image compared to native 4K.
Stay tuned for our PC Performance Analysis which will most likely go live this weekend!
John Papadopoulos
John is the founder and Editor in Chief at DSOGaming. He is a PC gaming fan and highly supports the modding and indie communities. Before creating DSOGaming, John worked on numerous gaming websites. While he is a die-hard PC gamer, his gaming roots can be found on consoles. John loved – and still does – the 16-bit consoles, and considers SNES to be one of the best consoles. Still, the PC platform won him over consoles. That was mainly due to 3DFX and its iconic dedicated 3D accelerator graphics card, Voodoo 2. John has also written a higher degree thesis on the “The Evolution of PC graphics cards.” Contact: Email
Daly Cherry-Evans’ reign atop the NRL Rich 100 is officially over. The Manly and Queensland captain has made way for Nathan Cleary as the Penrith Panthers talisman becomes the highest-paid player in rugby league.
News Corp can reveal that Cleary, currently sidelined after being suspended for a dangerous throw a fortnight ago, will earn $1.3 million this season, taking him past Cherry-Evans on rugby league’s millionaire’s row.
It is hard to argue with his lofty position given the way he has performed in recent years. The NRL Rich 100 has a smattering of players who probably don’t deserve to be among the game’s elite but you can’t dispute Cleary’s climb to the apex.
FULL LIST: CHECK OUT THE NRL RICH 100 BELOW
The Penrith captain has been the shining light in a Panthers side that has dominated the NRL for the past two years, culminating in their premiership win last season and taking them back to the top of the ladder this year, having lost only three games in the process.
Cleary’s ascent to the throne has been uncovered as part of an extensive News Corp investigation into the pay packets of the game’s leading players, having spoken to club officials, player agents and recruitment chiefs.
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There are 22 new entrants in the NRL Rich 100 and four fresh faces in the top 10 — Cleary, Jesse Bromwich, Luke Brooks and Mitchell Moses.
Clearly has moved from 11th spot to No.1 thanks to a significant increase in his deal that takes him past Cherry-Evans, the long-time leader when it comes to player pay.
Clearly he has well and truly repaid the Panthers with his efforts on the field. No shortage of people will tell you he is the best player in the game. Now he is being paid like it.
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LISTEN: Phil Rothfield, Brent Read and David Riccio discuss the biggest revelations from the NRL Rich 100 — Nathan Cleary’s rise to the top, the big movers and the clubs under salary cap pressure.
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However, having only just left Cherry-Evans in his wake, News Corp can reveal his stint as the game’s marquee money man will be short-lived.
Clearly he has one more year on the big bucks before his selfless sacrifice of cash kicks in. As part of the five-year extension Cleary agreed with the Panthers earlier this year, he signed off on a pay cut to ensure the club would be able to surround him with quality in coming years.
If Cleary had his way, the pay cut would have kicked in straight away. However, those plans were scuppered by the NRL and a rule that prevents contracts being reduced once they have been signed, even if the player concerned agrees to a new deal.
It means Cleary’s pay cut takes effect when the extension begins in 2024. In the meantime, Cleary can enjoy the mantle as the game’s salary cap supreme for the next two years.
Of the other new faces in the top 10, the most surprising are Bromwich and Brooks.
Bromwich, who will join the Dolphins next year, is in the final year of a deal that he signed with the Storm when he was arguably regarded as the premier prop in the game.
He remains a genuine leader at Melbourne and one of their most consistent players, and his departure will be felt at the end of the season.
FULL LIST: CHECK OUT THE NRL RICH 100 BELOW
Brooks is perhaps more controversial, although he is entering the penultimate year of a big deal he signed several years ago.
The final year in 2023 is worth more than $1 million, although it remains to be seen who picks up the tab as Newcastle continue to circle Brooks as they look to end their search for a halfback.
The man they are all chasing is Clearly. The Panthers co-captain is serving a suspension at the moment for his errant spear tackle on Parramatta’s Dylan Brown but prior to his ban, Cleary had been in devastating touch for the Panthers.
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Through 14 appearances this season, the 24-year-old had forced 15 dropouts, and contributed 14 try assists and 12 linebreak assists. In his absence from him, the Panthers succumbed to Melbourne on Thursday night at home as they were held scoreless for the first time in nearly a decade.
Cleary’s value to the club was clear for all to see, Cherry-Evans remains a part of the top 10, sliding to No.2 as he nears the end of the mega-deal he signed in 2015, worth upwards of $10 million over eight years.
He recently extended that deal for a further two years and is joined in the top 10 by teammate Tom Trbojevic. After Cleary and Cherry-Evans, the other members of the top five are St George Illawarra skipper Ben Hunt, Newcastle superstar Kalyn Ponga and Sydney Roosters captain James Tedesco.
