Kokthansogreta.nu - Nyhetssök / News Search ! &#187; Overclockers Club news Feed

Friday has arrived again, which also means it is time to go through the news that has collected. First up is the time-sensitive news that GOG has begun its Spring Sale. Its warm-up sale ended and now the main event is here with over 4000 deals. Unfortunately the giveaway of Lorelai is over now, but another has begun for Neurodeck. Speaking of which, this sale goes until April 3, so you have plenty of time to peruse the offerings. With over 4000 items discounted, there is a good chance you will find something you will like.

Source: GOG (Spring Sale)

Devolver Digital has announced Sludge Life 2, in which you will need to find Big Mud, the rapping frog, in the game's bigger and weirder open world. As you search you will be free to tag a hundred spots, and there are three times the NPCs of the original game. You will also have more tools at your disposal for exploring, and finding places to vandalize, such as the Double Js that allow you to double jump and sprint, as well as the Portable Launcher that throws you into the air.

Sludge Life 2 is to release later this year, but if you are interested in the original, or just in grabbing a free game, it is being given away on Steam until March 30.

Source: Press Release (Devolver Digital â Sludge Life 2) and Sludge Life (Steam Storepage)

EA has announced some of its older games are going to be leaving digital storefronts on April 28. These titles are Battlefield 1943, Battlefield: Bad Company 1, and Battlefield: Bad Company 2, with only the last having come to PC. The company connects this to the retirement of the online services they use for their multiplayer, which will be shut down on December 8. The offline features, including the single-player campaigns of both Bad Company games will remain accessible, though obviously only if you already own the game.

It seems an odd reaction to end the sale of games with offline components because the online services will be ended, but the story has already changed slightly since it first broke. Mirror's Edge was also mentioned for delisting, but has since been scrubbed from the original EA statement.

Source: EA (Battlefield Legacy Sunsetting) and Overclock 3D (EA Delisting News)

Go-Go Town has been announced by Prideful Sloth at the Future Games Show as an open-world, sandbox with life-sim gameplay. After being tricked by the TownCo corporation, you have become the mayor of a town past its prime but with the responsibility of turning it into a one-stop tourist destination. Restore Go-Go Town with new construction, tourist attractions, and terraforming while also dealing with the needs of your citizens and the disasters that will come up. By the end, perhaps you will be able to free it from TownCo.

Go-Go Town it coming to PC, Xbox, PlayStation, and Nintendo Switch in 2024.

Source: Press Release (Prideful Sloth)

Also at the Future Games Show was Shiro Unlimited as it announced Decarnation will be arriving in May. This game from Atelier QDB has you follow Gloria, a cabaret dancer at her wit's end that goes from taking a dream opportunity to being trapped in a nightmare. Familiar haunts have been twisted into surreal versions and she has to deal with her greatest struggles that have been turned into hideous forms. You will need to overcome psychological puzzles and minigames in addition to getting through the game's twisted environments.

Decarnation is to arrive in May for PC and Nintendo Switch.

Source: Press Release (Shiro Unlimited [1] â Decarnation)

Another announcement from Shiro Unlimited is the 1.0 release of Wartales arriving April 12. This medieval, open-world tactical RPG has already sold over 400,000 copies and when its v1.0 release arrives, players will get to enter the new Kingdom of Alazar region. Of course that is not all that will arrive with this major update, as it will also gain new and updated treasures inspired by the community. The world is filled with brutality and deceit, but also with opportunity if you search and fight for it. By joining with forces dispatched by the Church of Edoran, you can fight to protect the land from divine Wrath of the Eye, and you can track down what has unleashed this force too.

Wartales v1.0 releases on April 12 on PC, but you can enter the Early Access version now for $34.99.

Source: Press Release (Shiro Unlimited [2] â Wartales)

Twin Sails Interactive and Odinsoft have announced the Early Access release of Survival: Fountain of Youth as April 19. In this game you join Juan Ponce de Leon's search for the mythical fountain of youth, but are shipwrecked and must fight for survival. Disease, the elements, and exhaustion will all be against you along with other hazards as you explore the Caribbean and search for other crewmates. There are over 15 islands to explore for their resources, fauna, and secrets, and to get to them you can build primitive rafts to grand Spanish vessels.

For this Early Access version of Survival: Fountain of Youth there will be two regions available at launch with three more planned to arrive in subsequent updates. These updates will also add biomes and story quests to take on.

Source: Press Release (Twin Sails Interactive â Survival: Fountain of Youth)

Another Future Games Show announcement came from Tic Toc Games as Wrestle Story was premiered. A turn-based RPG, you can enter the world of the Five Territories and fight to defeat the corrupt network that is trying to control the sport you love by defeating the so-called champs with time-based attacks and flashy finishers, making the crowds go wild. You will not be doing this alone as you will also build up your loyal crew of allies, which you can level up with specialty gear, perks, abilities, and entrance music, all to exploit your enemies' weaknesses.

I do not see a release target, but Wrestle Story will be coming to PC when it does launch.

Source: Press Release (Tic Toc Games â Wrestle Story)

Lastly for the video game news, Valve announced Counter-Strike 2, which likely surprised many people. This will be a significant technical leap for the series, but considering Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, or CS:GO is over a decade old now, perhaps that is not the most surprising statement. Actually this new game is going to be delivered as a free upgrade to CS:GO this Summer, but you might not need to wait that long to try it out. A limited test is going to be run to test the new features and work on technical issues. Among these new features is an upgrade to smoke grenades so they are dynamic, volumetric objects that interact with the environment and other gameplay elements. This includes the smoke filling spaces more naturally and the unified lighting system allowing for more realistic lighting and coloring. It will also use a sub-tick update architecture and thus remove inconsistencies based on updates occurring on regular ticks. Moving, shooting, and grenade behaviors should now be more consistent. Maps have been overhauled as well to take advantage of technologies within the Source 2 engine, such as physically based rendering. Community map makers will have access to Source 2 tools as well, to make things easier to build and experiment on.

Getting access to the limited test is not going to be as easy as signing up and waiting for a slot it seems. Valve has decided to grant access to current CS:GO players based on factors such as how recently you played on official servers, your trust factor, and your Steam account standing. If you make the cut, you will receive a notification in CS:GO's main menu to enroll. This will allow the download of the new files, and once complete you can launch and select the Limited Test option.

Source: Valve [1] (Counter-Strike 2) and [2] (Steam Support CS2 Test FAQ)

Coming to the non-game news now, we have a couple announcements from Framework, a company trying to disrupt the laptop market by offering modular laptops that can be easily repaired, upgraded, and modified for other uses. Its original product is a 13 in laptop featuring an Intel 11^th Gen CPU, and later it was upgraded to offer 12^th Gen CPUs. This week the company announced the Framework Laptop 13 will be available with 13^th Gen Intel Core CPUs and AMD Ryzen 7040 Series CPUs. AMD Ryzen support has been hotly requested for a long time now, making this announcement rather significant, though it will be a bit before it is realized. While Framework laptops with the new Intel CPUs will be shipping in May, the Ryzen versions will not be available until Q3. You can already pre-order though by putting down a fully-refundable $100 deposit, and the company will be using batch pre-order system. You can pre-order a pre-built configuration that starts at $1049 or the DIY Edition that starts at $849, but you have to supply RAM, storage, and an operating system. For anyone who already owns a Framework laptop, you will be able to order an upgrade module to drop in a mainboard with one of these newer CPUs.

Along with these upgrades, there is also a higher capacity, 61 Wh, battery that has the same form factor, achieving its increased capacity through chemistry. A matte option for the display and a new hinge kit have also been announced, with these coming with the new Framework Laptop 13 versions. You can find more information in a table in the post on this, but one thing to note is we do not have specific details on the Ryzen 7040 CPUs that will be offered. A Ryzen 5 and Ryzen 7 version of the laptop are listed, but the specific CPU model and its specifications have not been shared.

That was not the only announcement from the company as it also showed off the Framework Laptop 16, a high-performance model that is to arrive later 2023. It maintains the modular design philosophy and even takes it some steps further with a reconfigurable input deck and upgradable graphics. Starting with the input options, the larger design means the laptop can support a number pad, but not everyone wants one on a laptop. To address the even split in the community, Framework decided to create a modular system that makes the number pad optional, as well as the entire keyboard repositionable. This design features three sizes, with the main keyboard being a Large module, the number pad being a Medium module, and then Small modules that might just provide some color accents to the laptop, or be something functional such as an LED matrix or haptic slider. Powering the input modules is open source QMK firmware and the Raspberry Pi RP2040.

The Expansion Card system found in the current Framework laptops continues here, but with a total of six ports, three on each side. One of the new cards for it is an Audio Expansion Card, as the Framework Laptop 16 will not feature a fixed 3.5 mm headphone jack. While that might be annoying for some, it also means you could potentially connect multiple of these cards to the laptop.

The laptop will also feature the new Expansion Bay system that will enable its upgradeable, modular graphics, and more. In addition to allowing the Graphics Module to be upgraded separate from the rest of the laptop, or the rest of the laptop to be upgraded separate from the graphics, its PCIe x8 interface can be used for non-graphics purposes as well. The company created a dual M.2 card that can fit into the shell, allowing one add potentially 16 TB of NVMe storage to the laptop. As the documentation is open source, developers can create a variety of modules for the laptop, and as the bay is able to increase its thickness and depth, there is more freedom to the design as well.

Source: Framework [1] (Framework Laptop 13) and [2] (Framework Laptop 16)

Closing this week off is the news of some personnel changes at Intel as Stuart Pann is taking over Intel Foundry Services (IFS) and Raja Koduri is leaving the company. Pann has been promoted to Senior VP and General Manager of IFS, replacing Dr. Randhir Thakur who announced his departure from the company last year. Pann has been serving as Senior VP, Chief Business Transformation Officer, and General Manager of the company's Corporate Planning Group.

Raja Koduri, who made the surprising move of leaving AMD for Intel in 2017, is leaving his position of Chief Architect for Intel's GPU and accelerator businesses for a new software start-up focused on generative AI. Though Intel's Arc graphics might not be the most impressive when held up against AMD's and NVIDIA's offerings, Intel was still able to bring up its own GPUs and supporting oneAPI software stack quite rapidly and provides an alternative to the duopoly in both the consumer and datacenter spaces. Exactly how his departure will impact the GPU and accelerator efforts at Intel is hard to predict just now, but we will certainly find out. Koduri said we can expect to learn more about his new venture in the coming weeks.

Source: Anandtech (Intel Leadership Changes) and Phoronix (Raja Koduri Leaving Intel)

March 17, 2023

Permalink for 'Various Video Game Stories from the Week of March 13'

9:40

Various Video Game Stories from the Week of March 13

It is Friday, something certainly many are happy about as it means the weekend has arrived, but it also means it is time to go through the news that has collected in my inbox this week. First up is the time-sensitive news of two game sales going on right now. Over at GOG we have the Spring Sale warm-up, trying to get us out of Winter and approaching the new season. This sale, which features discounts such as Guacamelee! 2 – Complete at 75% off, the Mortal Kombat Trilogy at 30% off, and McPixel 3 at 20% off, goes until March 20 and at some point after that we will still have the storefront's Spring Sale.

While GOG's Spring Sale is yet to begin, Steams' has launched and is going until March 23. There is not much more to say except hopefully it will be merciful on your back account. One thing that may take a sizeable chunk out of your savings is the Steam Deck being 10% for the length of the sale. If you have been considering one but just wanting a better price, perhaps this is the time to check it out as it now starts at $359.10 and goes to $584.10, depending on the version. It is not just games and game hardware on sale as Stardock's software offerings, including Start11, Groupy, and Fences 4 are all discounted alongside its many games, from Ashes of the Singularity: Escalation and Galactic Civilizations III to Offworld Trading Company and Star Control: Origins.

Source: GOG (Spring Sale warm-up) and Steam (Homepage)

The Witcher III launched almost eight years ago, but at the beginning of the year it received its much expected Next-Gen update. Unfortunately it was not quite what everyone was hoping for as there were performance issues and, despite the addition of new technologies such as ray tracing, DLSS, and FSR, there was also a curious removal of HBAO+. Patch 4.02 has been delivered and it claims to have improved CPU utilization when running with DirectX 12, and it has restored HBAO+, which should offer a superior visual experience to the SSAO method that had been present previously. This change is in both the DX12 and DirectX 11 versions of the game. There is also a motion blur slider now, if you want the chance to tweak that setting, rather than just enabling or disabling it.

Source: CD Projekt Red (The Witcher 3 patch 4.02)

Chorus Worldwide has announced the release date for Varney Lake, an upcoming visual novel from developer LCB Game Studio. This is the second in a series from the developer that takes inspiration from mid-20^th century pulp fiction along with the graphics of 1980s home computers. You follow Lou Hill as he retraces the steps three kids took during the Summer of 1954, when they supposedly encountered a vampire. Now in their forties, two of the kids have only murky memories of that time, and the question of what really happened to the third remains open.

Varney Lake is to release on April 28 for PC, Xbox One, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X/S, PlayStation 5, and Nintendo Switch.

Source: Press Release (Chorus Worldwide – Varney Lake)

Fans of Enter the Gungeon may be happy with this news as Devolver Digital has announced House of the Gundead is a real arcade game. Developers Dodge Roll and arcade masters Griffin Aerotech have worked together to build this arcade cabinet featuring a 43 inch 4K display paired with two lightguns, for solo and co-op play, and vibrant artwork on the cabinet. Being a lightgun game, it is a bit different from the original Gungeon game, but still features the procedurally generated floors filled with the Cult of the Gundead, and the fantastic weapons you need to cut through the evil hordes. The lightguns also feature haptic feedback paired with a 2.1 sound system so you can feel the gameplay.

If you own a retail arcade or just want one in your home, the cabinet is available to order now. You can follow the source link below to learn more.

Source: Press Release (Devolver Digital – House of the Gundead) and House of the Gundead (Official Website)

Hitcents and developer Pendopo Creations have announced the release date for Rendezvous, a sci-fi puzzle, adventure game that takes you to Neo-Surbaya and Bay City in the year 2064. You play as Setyo, a former criminal who has become a security technician but must now return to parts of his old life to rescue his sister from repeating his mistakes. Complicating it all are the changes the world is going through as the old generation and culture clashes with the brutal and unforgiving future. In Rendezvous you can collect firearms to deal with the enemies you encounter, or turn to stealth in this 2.5D world.

Rendezvous is scheduled to release on April 11 for PC at a price of $14.99.

Source: Press Release (Hitcents – Rendezvous)

Going Medieval has received major update 8, bringing with it social interactions, beauty, and comfort. These social interactions are limited to humans, but there is the intent to expand it to animals as well. Depending on their characteristics, there is the chance for a conversation to have a positive or a negative effect on the settlers involved. These interactions can even alter one's religious alignment, but, fortunately, they all happen in an instant. You can review the interaction later, but they will not interfere with their work. Along with this settlers can develop affection for or against each other, and then different mood modifiers can be applied based on events, such as banishment or death.

A couple new animals have been added as well; the polecat and bear. The polecat is like the cats already present, but can be found in the wild and must be domesticated. Bears are, as you would expect, very strong but also very rare. Training them will take a long time, but they can be used for hauling materials and battle, and their leather can be used for various purposes as well.

Along with these more significant changes, there have also been various bug fixes and quality of life improvements. You can look at the source link below for the patch notes, in addition to the overview given in the trailer.

Source: The Irregular Corporation (Going Medieval Update 8 Steam News)

Tchia's launch is next week, so the last couple videos for its Gameplay Series have released. The sixth in the series covers the open world activities you can find in the game, such as hunting for treasure, working on your slingshot skill, and going diving for pearls. The seventh and final video in the series shows off the customization options and items you can find and use. These options extend from traditional clothing for New Caledonia to more modern pieces to help your street cred. Your boat can also be decked out as you wish. Also featured in the video is the film camera you can use to capture the world around you. By varying the lens and film stock, you can get the look you are going for, and you are free to do this anywhere in the game. Being film though, you will need to develop it in order to review the pictures you took.

Tchia release March 21 on PC, PlayStation 4, and PlayStation 5.

Source: Press Release (Kepler Interactive – Tchia)

Techland has announced something that goes pretty well with the current Steam Spring Sale as Dying Light 2 Stay Human is now Steam Deck Verified. You will be able to take the game with you more easily than ever before, and the game is discounted from 30% to 50% off, depending on edition. Also, a new Egg-splosive hunt even has begun and lasts until March 24. If you complete the event's goals you get the Chicken Bundle, which includes the Rooster Suit and Chicken Claw weapon. If you miss the event or the goals, it will be available for purchase starting March 25 for $2.99.

Source: Press Release (Techland – Dying Light 2 Stay Human)

Finally, tinyBuild and Konfa Games have announced Slime 3K: Rise Against Despot will be coming to PC, Xbox One, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X/S, PlayStation 5, and Nintendo Switch later this year. In this you play as the goo that was created by the evil AI d'Spot to produce artificial humans. Due to an accidental mutation though, you have become self-aware and develop an insatiable appetite for destruction and death. To succeed you will need to stack abilities and equipment for synergistic builds to defeat the soldiers, cyborgs, demons, and other abominations you encounter. Though this is the next chapter in the Despotism universe, Konfa Games wanted to provide a new twist that gives a new way to explore the world while still keeping some familiar mechanics.

Source: Press Release (tinyBuild – Slime 3K: Rise Against Despot)

March 13, 2023

Permalink for 'TerraMaster Release 10 GbE NAS for 4K Online Video Editing'

19:45

TerraMaster Release 10 GbE NAS for 4K Online Video Editing

TerraMaster has released a couple new devices targeting content creation professionals, though I can imagine many would enjoy having a NAS with dual SFP+ 10 Gb Ethernet connections. The T9-450 and T12-450 have been designed with professionals who need to work with video files that can measure in the dozens or even hundreds of GBs, being original recordings in 4K or 8K resolutions. Not everyone's personal computers or workstations can comfortably hold such large files and be able to protect that data, and then it might be necessary to share it across a team. With the dual 10 GbE connections, these NAS solutions can allow that team to work with files on these storage devices in applications such as Adobe Premiere Pro, DaVinci Resolve, and Final Cut Pro. Link Aggregation allows you to achieve a 20 Gb connection with the SFP+ ports, but there is also a pair of more conventional RJ45 2.5 GbE ports on board.

Other specifications include the use of an Intel Atom C3558R quad-core CPU paired with 8 GB of DDR4, though you can go up to 32 GB if desired. The T9-450 has nine drive bays that can each take up to 20 TB HDDs while the T12-450 has three additional slots in case that 180 TB limit is restrictive. There is also a pair of m.2 slots for NVMe SSDs that can serve as cache for accelerating some actions and transfers. Looking within the devices, the Btrfs file system is being used, allowing for its data protection features as well as its quick snapshotting and recovery. These NASes also run the latest version of TerraMaster's operating system, TOS 5 that adds new features and improvements for better speed, protection, and reliability. The TRAID disk array management tool also makes managing drives easier as it has functions for automatic disk space combination, hard disk failure redundancy protection, and automatic capacity expansion. Being automatic, the user does not need to manually configure them, which can be a definite boon for some.

The T9-450 is priced at $1199.99 while its bigger brother, the T12-450 is priced at $1599.99. Both prices are diskless, so you will need to populate the bays yourself.

Source: TerraMaster [1] (T9-450 and T12-450 NAS Announcement), [2] (T9-450), and [3] (T12-450)

March 10, 2023

Permalink for 'Various Video Game Stories from the Week of March 6'

11:00

Various Video Game Stories from the Week of March 6

The end of the week has arrived, which means we have the weekend to recover before the next one and it is time to go through the press releases that have collected in my inbox. First up is some news from Dotemu, Lizardcube, and Guard Crush Games as a new update has been released for Streets of Rage 4 with over 300 improvements. Accompanying the update is the new trailer embedded below and a sale of 50% off the game's and the Mr. X Nightmare DLC normal price. The trailer shows off such changes as the new co-operative moves that can take your combo-driving teamwork to a new level, and an overview of the Custom Survival Mode that arrived with the Mr. X Nightmare DLC.

Source: Press Release (Dotemu – Streets of Rage 4)

Next we have the announcement from Gylee Games of Ra Ra Boom. It is a fast-paced, four-player co-op, beat 'em up that pits a group of ninja cheerleaders from space fighting to save humanity here on Earth from Zoi, a rogue AI that already tried to destroy humanity twenty years prior. Along with the action, the group's meaningful and emotional coming-of-age story will be told as well.

Part of this announcement is the game's reveal trailer that shows off Aris, Saida, Ren, and Vee, the playable characters that each sport their own weapons and abilities, so you have a selection of different combat styles to apply. Aris is armed with a scythe while Vee carries a shield and machine gun. Each character will have upgradable combos for melee and ranged attacks, and feature light, heavy, and special attacks to cover the situations they find themselves in. Helping ensure your attacks hit the intended targets, the environments have lanes naturally painted into them. You can quickly move between them when taking on multiple opponents or trying to build up combos.

Ra Ra Boom's first showcase will be at the Game Developer Conference this year, and it looks like the title itself is aiming a Fall release, in one form or another.

Source: Press Release (Gylee Games – Ra Ra Boom)

Hitcents and developer HardBoiled Studios has announced Yolked – The Egg Game will be exiting Steam Early Access on April 6 with a Nintendo Switch release to arrive later this year. In this platforming adventure, you are one of the failed experiments of a mad scientist that hoped to build an army of mutant eggs, but now must escape your own demise. This means having to explore his laboratory and home, getting through his attic, kitchen, and garden using your two arms to grab, climb, and swing through the physics-based levels. Besides achieving release status, the v1.0 release also brings with it new features, collectibles, a never-before-seen level, and the game's ending.

When Yolked – The Egg Game releases on April 6 it will be priced at $6.99.

Source: Press Release (Hitcents – Yolked – The Egg Game)

Tchia from Kepler Interactive and Awaceb arrives on March 21 and as this date approach, these companies are continuing to answer provide more information about this open-world adventure by sharing videos as part of its Gameplay Series. This week the two videos released look at the ukulele you can use to various purposes, and some of the challenges and encounters you will find. The main enemies Tchia faces in the game are the Maano, animated fabric and wood you will need to destroy with fire. You do have some options for how to burn them, from throwing various objects at them, to possessing these objects to soul-throw them. Meanwhile the ukulele is a multi-faceted tool as you can use it to play music, engaging with the people you encounter, but also to play soul melodies that can helpful for exploration as well as combat.

These are videos four and five in the gameplay series of trailers, so there are still two more to be released.

Source: Press Release (Kepler Interactive – Tchia)

Finally for the game-specific news, Rebellion has released both its Season Pass Two for Sniper Elite 5 and brought the title to the Epic Games Store this week. Starting the new seasons off is the campaign mission Rough Landing, in which Ally airmen have been shot down in a forest and you are their only hope for rescue before the hunting Nazi forces find them. Two new weapons have been added as well; the Mosin-Nagant, a Russian rifle, and the 12G Swedish Sjogren Inertia, one of the first semi-automatic shotguns. To celebrate the launch, the Trench Warfare weapon pack is being given away across all platforms. It features the Carl Gustav M/1945, a sub-machine gun that provide accurate single shots but also the capability to fire 600 rounds per minute, the Trench Gun, pump-action shotgun that saw use in both world wars, and the Double 1866, a double-barrel pocket pistol that serves as a concealable backup gun.

There was more news than just video game-specific news this week, and the first two I have are both video game related. Starting with some AMD news, it announced via GPUOpen the launch of its latest Unreal Engine plug-in for FidelityFX Super Resolution 2, FSR2. More specifically, this version of the plug-in supports FSR 2.2, that brings with it improvements to tackle ghosting and other tweaks. This plug-in also supports version 5.1 of the UE engine, so not only will this make it easier for developers to bring FSR 2.2 to Unreal Engine, but also this newer version of the engine.

Source: AMD (FidelityFX Super Resolution 2.2)

This week also saw Epic Games release its 2022 Year in Review for the Epic Games Store. This includes a lot of stats, including there now being over 230 million EGS users, but also the announcement of Self-service Publishing Tools leaving closed beta. This will make it easier for developers to bring their games to this digital storefront, who will still enjoy the 88%/12% revenue split the store launched with, unless their choose to use their own IAP payment solution in their products. To further parental controls, there is new IARC integration to give publishers free access to ESRB, PEGI, GRAC, USK, and ASK age ratings. You can even request no-cost localization services for Epic Games Store product pages.

Along with this announcement was also the release of content guidelines for these self-service releases. These include that all supporting media, such as product descriptions, screenshots, and videos on the product page, must merit an ESRB Everyone 10+, PEGI 12, or lower rating; games with a mature rating are to be age-gated with EGS being able to age-gate unrated products at its discretion; and "products with Adults Only ratings cannot be distributed on the storefront." This is an area Steam has relaxed restrictions on in recent years, but Epic Games has produced a list of what it prohibits, that includes pornography, hateful or discriminatory content, illegal content, and more in addition to the AO prohibition. User-generated content will be treated as having a mature, 18+ rating with the developer or publishing having to moderate it, and any linked-to content from the storefront pages are expected to follow the same guidelines as the store pages.

In addition to those guidelines, there are some other requirements including that multiplayer games must support crossplay across all PC stores. You cannot lock a multiplayer game down to only working on EGS if it is available elsewhere. If a game has achievements on another storefront, EGS must have them as well. Also the game must download, install, launch, and function consistent with what is described and shown on the game page, and Epic Games can reject a game if it does not meet that level of quality and functionality.

It will be interesting to see how this new tool is taken advantage of by developers to get their games out there, and how it may or may not influence Steam, the current juggernaut of PC game digital distrubtion.

Source: Epic Games [1] (Epic Games Store Year in Review 2022), [2] (Content Guidelines), and [3] (Self-Publishing Tools Announcement)

Lastly we have some news that is a bit different from the usual, but then things have been changing in this specific field in recent weeks and months. DuckDuckGo, the privacy-focused search engine, has announced it too is offering an AI-assisted tool to its search engine, named DuckAssist. It is beta at the moment but anyone using a DuckDuckGo browser or extension can try it out by simply using the search as usual. Ahead of the normal search results, DuckAssist may appear and allow you use its AI natural language processing to provide a brief summary answer, based on what it has found at Wikipedia and sometimes other, related sites such as Briannica.

Designed as a kind of Instant Answer, this should provide superior answers because of the natural language technology from OpenAI and Anthropic that creates the summaries. In this initial version though, it will not work for all searches but rather those with more straightforward or objective answers, as opposed to subjective answers. It is also using the most recent full Wikipedia download, which is a few weeks old, so questions relating to content newer than that will likely be better answered by the traditional search results.

Any important aspect to DuckAssist's design is that it is only to provide summaries of what it finds on Wikipedia and related sources. It is powered by a generative AI, and so would generate a response even if it cannot provide an answer. This means the underlying technology may hallucinate or just make something up, but this summary requirement and that it provides a source link should reduce or remove that issue. It also may still get things wrong, so be willing to check those source links to double check it. Such errors can be anonymously reported via a button next to the tool. These reports do not go beyond DuckDuckGo, and any search and browsing history is kept anonymous but may go to OpenAI and Anthropic, though the anonymous queries will not be used to train their AI models.

If this open beta is successful, DuckAssist will be rolled out to the general DuckDuckGo search in the coming weeks. Sources beyond Wikipedia are likely to be added in the future. If you want to have a better chance of DuckAssist trying to provide an answer, you want to phrase your query as a question and you can include the word "wiki" because it is working with Wikipedia. If it has generated an answer for a topic previously, this will be automatically shown, but if you are the first, you can press the Ask button and watch as it generates the answer for you.

Source: DuckDuckGo (DuckAssist)

March 08, 2023

9:37

OCC Needs Reviewers!

March 03, 2023

Permalink for 'Various Video Game Stories from the Week of February 27'

9:36

Various Video Game Stories from the Week of February 27

The end of the week and start of a new month have arrived, and now it is time to go through the news that has collected in my inbox this week. First up is the announcement from Apogee Entertainment this week that Elements by Wreckit Games has surpassed its Kickstarter goal, with its funding period actually ending today. While its original aim was $14,695, the project has surpassed $166,000 for this open-world RPG that takes inspiration from The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, the Pokemon franchise, and Minecraft. It follows Nyah and Beckett, sister and brother destined to save the world, with their interdimensional quest taking them to Elemythia to find the eight Legendary Stones of power. If you play alone you control Nyah, and when a friend joins they take over Beckett.

Elements is targeting a Steam Early Access release in Q2 2024, with the full release occurring in 2025. The full release will see it come to PC, Xbox One, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X/S, PlayStation 5, and Nintendo Switch.

Source: Press Release (Apogee Entertainment – Elements) and Kickstarter

The Arcade Crew and Berzerk Studio have announced a fairly significant update for Infernax to celebrate its first birthday. This Deux or Die update will deliver a multiplayer mode so you and a friend can engage the demons of this action adventure together. Player 2 fills the shoes of Cervul the Squire, son of Harold, the unenthusiastic heir to the Brown Mound, but there is also a hot-swappable single player mode if that is your preference. Cervul is talented with the throwing axe and tool-assisted combat, allowing him to buff either or both players, unless you take him down the evil path. In that case his focus becomes dealing damage with distinct tools for a more "explosive playstyle." To serve this new two-player potential, the whole game has been rebalanced for dual-hero fights, and its gun mode has also had co-op incorporated into its design.

The free Infernax: Deux or Die update is to arrive this Spring.

Source: Press Release (The Arcade Crew – Infernax)

Next up we have some news from Kepler Interactive and Awaceb as they have released the second and third trailer in its gameplay series for Tchia. The first of this pair focuses on the movement and traversal capabilities that will be offered in this open-world adventure. As the titular character you will be free to climb any surface and slide down mountains before leaping into the air and using your glider to travel great distances and break your fall. As all of the foliage is physics based, you can use trees to throw you distances, but for exploring the islands of the archipelago you will need to use your boat.

In the second video we get a look at the game's soul-jumping feature that allows you take control of animals and objects. This opens up new traversal and combat options, especially with the soul-throw mechanic allowing you to simultaneously hurl an object and leap out of it. The video shows this being used in combat with explosives, but also to cover great distances by returning to the object, after throwing it.

Tchia is set to release on March 21 on PC, PlayStation 4, and PlayStation 5.

Source: Awaceb YouTube Channel (Tchia – Gameplay Series)

Dead Island 2 is launching in a couple month and this week an extended gameplay trailer was released. It is behind YouTube's age-gate, but the Extended Gameplay Reveal features Dani encountering the standard Walker, Shambler, and Runner zombies, Variant zombies like the grenadier walkers, and Apex zombies that have been hyper-mutated. Luckily you will have an array of weapons offering their own fighting styles and potential for upgrades to help you deal with these enemies in Hell-A. Also on display is the Fully Locational Evisceration System for Humanoids, or FLESH technology for dismemberment.

Dead Island 2 is to release April 21 for PC, Xbox One, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X/S, and PlayStation 5. Pre-ordering the game gets you the Memories of Banoi Pack, a tribute to the original game, with two unique weapons and a special skill card. There is also the Hell-A Edition that includes various items, such as the Expansion Pass, weapon and character packs, a Venice Beach travel map, SteelBook case, and two pin badges. You can also order a hand-painted, resin figurine of Amy at the iconic Burger 66 diner, enjoying the end of a zombie slaying session.

Source: Press Release (Plaion – Dead Island 2)

Sloclap has released a new trailer for Sifu, announcing the release date for its upcoming Arenas expansion. This expansion adds nine locations and 45 challenges across five game modes for a total of ten more hours of gameplay. The aptly named Survival mode will send waves of enemies at you while Performance mode pushes you to perfection. Time Attack adds time as an enemy you need to clear your enemy filled path as quickly as possible. Capture mode requires you to hold a marked area while Manhunt sends you have a specific target that has protectors surrounding them.

Besides being an expansion, the Arenas update also brings the game to the PC, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S on March 28.

Source: Press Release (Sloclap – Sifu)

Lastly for the game related news, Square Enix Holdings has announced it is merging Luminous Productions into Square Enix, to bolster the latter's competitive prowess. Luminous Productions recently launched Forspoken and is going to continue working on it until May 1, when the merger occurs. The developers promised to deliver a performance-improving patch shortly as they also work on the In Tanta We Trust DLC that is to release this Summer.

Source: Square Enix and Luminous Productions (Twitter)

Finishing this off is the news of FFmpeg reaching its 6.0 release that has a host of changes, including to the project's future. FFmpeg is certainly among the most successful open source projects as it can be found, in one form or another, in almost any area and device that handles multimedia. Looking first at the more user-facing changes, this release includes NVIDIA NVENC AV1 and Intel QSV AV1 encoding support amongst other codecs and new filters such as an improvement to cropdetect that uses motion vectors and edges to find the correct crop area. Improving performance, every muxer will now be run in separate threads, with a goal being to improve multi-threading for the CLI throughout the year. It is also now possible to pass options for filters as files. It might be worth noting that if you have been using a recent nightly build of FFmpeg, you will already have access to some of these features.

Perhaps more significant is the planned changes for how releases will work moving forward. There is now to be a single major release each year, with each bumping the ABI, Application Binary Interface, which is not dissimilar in concept to an API but at a machine code level, rather than source code level. The FFmpeg API will be deprecated after three major releases, on the next major release. This should translate to updates coming faster and the process being more organized.

In addition to the annual major release, minor releases will still be made, and version 6.1 is already expected soon with features such as Vulkan improvements and additional FFT optimizations. The ABI is not to change with the minor releases.

Source: Phoronix (FFmpeg 6.0) and FFmpeg

February 24, 2023

Permalink for 'Various Video Game Stories from the Week of February 20'

10:19

Various Video Game Stories from the Week of February 20

It is not just the end of the week but the last weekend of February we have reached, and so it is time to cover the news that has collected in my inbox. First up we have a couple time-sensitives pieces as both GOG and Steam have sales that are to end on February 27. From GOG we have the Craft & Create sale that features various games that challenge you to assemble all manner of items, or the means of producing them. Craft The World, Stardew Valley, RimWorld, and Overcooked! 2 all make the list here, along with many more.

The Steam sale has a fairly different theme to it as this is the Mystery Fest, so all many of crime and mystery solving games are discounted, from Heavy Rain to Among Us. Both sales ends on Monday, so you have the weekend to decide how you want to expand your libraries.

Source: GOG (Craft & Create Sale) and Steam (Mystery Fest Sale)

Originally entering Steam Early Access in 2021, The Last Spell from publisher The Arcade Crew and developer Ishtar Games will leave it and achieve full-release on March 9. This titles combines turn-base combat with a roguelike design as each campaign presents you with a new set of heroes and new loot as you try to hold off the incoming hordes long enough for the mages to finish the last spell. After magic all but annihilated the world and brought forth terrible monsters from a purple mist, this spell is the only chance for survival and you are the only hope.

Naturally a release date trailer has been shared to mark the occasion and it provides a nice if fast-paced look at the gameplay it offers, accompanied by its progressive metal soundtrack. The Last Spell releases March 9 for PC, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, and Nintendo Switch.

Source: Press Release (The Arcade Crew – The Last Spell)

March is going to be a pretty busy month for game releases as Devolver Digital and developer Free Lives has announced Terra Nil will be releasing March 28. Setting this game apart from others in its genre is rather than trying to build a city, your goal is to revitalize barren, desolate wastelands into thriving and vibrant landscapes. This will require applying advanced technologies to purify soil, clean oceans, plant trees, and reintroduce wildlife to the areas. With those tasks completed, you then need to recycle all of your equipment and move on.

The procedurally generated biomes the game offers include volcanic glaciers, ruined cities, and tropical islands that all present their own challenges, whether that be their climate, the geology, the local flora or fauna. It should take about six to eight hours for these areas, and if you want to continue challenging yourself you can take on the unlockable alternate levels.

Terra Nil releases March 28 on PC and mobile, via Netflix. A portion of Steam purchases will go to the Endangered Wildlife Trust. Pre-orders are up now and those that do will be upgraded to the Deluxe Edition, which includes the soundtrack and a digital art book, for free.

Source: Press Release (Devolver Digital – Terra Nil)

Freedom Games and Halberd Studios have announced 9 Years of Shadows will be arriving on PC on March 27. In this Metroidvania you play as Europa, a young warrior who has decide to no longer live her life in the shadows and fights against primordial enemies to return color to the world. Helping you is Apino, her mysterious, healing teddy bear and your ability to call upon elemental powers from Poseidon, Gaia, and Helios to enhance attacks, exploit vulnerabilities, and gain new traversal options. The game features a pixel art aesthetic was well as music carefully scored at a soothing 432 Hz, composed by Michiru Yamane and Norihiko Hibino, who worked on the Castlevania and Metal Gear Solid series, respectively. In addition to producing the music, these two are also in-game NPCs that will help Europa and teach her an ability granting musical pieces.

9 Years of Shadows releases on PC on March 27. If you prefer a console experience, the Nintendo Switch version will be arriving Q3 2023.

Source: Press Release (Freedom Games – 9 Years of Shadows)

Toy Tactics from Joystick ventures and Kraken Empire is a physics-based, RTS that covers the history of warfare and it will be entering Steam Early Access on March 17. You will get to control the Imperium, Pendrago, or Kyoukai armies, each with their own came-changing abilities that battle in Erebus, an afterlife for warriors that exists beyond time and space. To control your forces, you wield a pen and sketch on the battlefield your plans or cast summoning spells to call in catapults, watchtowers, and flaming meteors. In the single-player campaign you will get to work with Sun Tzu as you battle across Europe and Japan, fighting Draugr enemies with your plastic weapons and warrior figurines.

Toy Tactics releases to Steam Early Access on March 17.

Source: Press Release (Joystick Ventures – Toy Tactics)

Kepler Interactive and Awaceb announced the release date of Tchia this week as March 21. In this game you play as the titular character on her quest to rescue her father from Meavora, the tyrannical ruler of the game's archipelago setting. Though the land is fictional, Awaceb took significant inspiration from the real nation of New Caledonia where the studio's founders grew up, with aspects of its cultures, traditions, and languages all making it into the game. Tchia is armed with her slingshot, magical ukulele, and her ability to soul-jump into animals and objects, helping her solve puzzles and traverse the game world.

Tchia releases March 21 for PC, PlayStation 4, and PlayStation 5.

Source: Press Release (Kepler Interactive – Tchia)

League of Geeks released a couple gameplay trailers this week for its upcoming titles Jumpflight Odyssey and Solium Infernum.

In Jumplight Odyssey you must lead your people through star systems, searching for the fabled Forever Star, humanity's only hope for survival as Admiral Voltan of the Zutopans chases you. During this voyage, you must manage and build up your spaceship, ensuring the necessary resource production onboard and exploring star systems when you need supplies only found on planets. Your crew not only needs to be fed but kept happy and hopeful, which will require observing their deep social interactions with friends, lovers, and rivals each day.

Solium Infernum offers a rather different experience, being a turned-based strategy game set in Hell, where you and your rivals struggle to gain the Throne of Darkness. By mastering wrath, deceit, prophecy, destruction, and charisma you can learn to backstab, outwit, and dominate your enemies in both single-player scenarios and multiplayer matches. These multiplayer matches can be played asynchronously and with up to six players, so you can spend just a few minutes each day, if that is all you have, to keep it going.

Source: Press Release (League of Geeks – Jumplight Odyssey and Solium Infernum)

Dead Cells: Return to Castlevania from Motion Twin and Evil Empire is releasing March 6, but that was already announced. This week's news for the expansion is its final teaser trailer that not only shows off more gameplay and a short tour of the biomes arriving with the DLC, but also a neat surprise. If you can find the secret level, you can play as Richter Belmont for that level, complete with his moveset from Castlevania: Symphony of the Night and whip. You will even need to destroy candles and collect hearts to be used as ammunition for some weapons, all on your way to fighting Medusa.

Dead Cells has been out for a while now but the Return to Castlevania arrives on March 6 for PC, Xbox One, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X/S, and PlayStation 5.

Source: Press Release (Motion Twin – Dead Cells)

Strange Scaffold has announced El Paso, Elsewhere, a third-person, horror-shooter-slash-love story is to arrive this Fall. You play as James Savage who must confront enemies from the past and present within a growing extradimensional void under an El Paso, Texas motel. These enemies come from folklore and fiction and you will get to visit locations such as Victorian manors and meat lockers all on Savage's "one-way-trip" as he must confront his ex, Draculae, lord of vampires, to stop her from performing a ritual that will destroy the world. For this you are armed with pills to keep the pain away, dual pistols, shotguns, Uzis, stakes, and more.

El Paso, Elsewhere is to release this Fall for PC, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.

Source: Press Release (Strange Scaffold – El Paso, Elsewhere)

Rounding off the video game news, we have a new trailer for Survival: Fountain of Youth. This open-world survival game from Odinsoft that Twin Sails Interactive will be publishing, places you in the 16^th Century Caribbean islands as a shipwrecked member of Ponce de Leon's expedition for the Fountain of Youth. After you wake up, you will need to find food, water, and shelter before starting to explore these uncharted environments to find your crewmates. Crafting weapons and tools will also be necessary for survival, as well constructing a raft to reach other landmarks and islands in the archipelago., but always be careful of the predators around you.

Survival: Fountain of Youth is to enter Steam Early Access in Q2 2023, while the Xbox Series X/S and PlayStation 5 versions are to arrive with the 1.0 launch.

Source: Press Release (Twin Sails Interactive – Survival: Fountain of Youth)

Coming to the non-gaming news, we can start with the related items from NVIDIA as the company has announced its DLSS and Reflex technologies are coming to seven and six additional games, respectively. Atomic Heart, Blood Bowl 3, Hello Neighbor 2, PlanetSide 2, Returnal, Sons of the Forest, and Wanted: Dead are the seven titles gaining DLSS 2 support, with Atomic Heart also getting the frame-generation capability of DLSS 3. With DLSS 2 the games will be actually rendered at a lower resolution and then upscaled with the help of a model from a trained neural network to add detail back to the scene. DLSS 3 takes this a step further as entire frames are generated and inserted between the traditionally rendered frames, which has the potential of nearly doubling frame rates, though not necessarily with an equal improvement to input latency.

Reflex, however, is able to reduce system latency in the games that employ it by optimizing the GPU and CPU workloads, to help keep the two in sync. The six games to have freshly received it are Deliver Us Mars, Dying Light 2, Hi-Fi Rush, Hitman World of Assassination, Perish, and World of Warcraft.

Source: NVIDIA [1] (DLSS 3) and [2] (Reflex)

It was something of a surprise when Embracer Group announced its acquisition of Middle-earth Enterprises, the aptly named corporation that manages the intellectual property rights concerned with "The Hobbit" and "The Lord of the Rings" by J.R.R. Tolkien. This week Embracer announced a multi-year agreement with New Line Cinema and Warner Bros. Pictures to collaborate on new films based on those two stories. New Line Cinema is one of the production companies behind both "The Lord of the Rings" and "The Hobbit" trilogies from Peter Jackson, the former of which is now 20 years old. It and Warner Bros. Animation are working on "The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim," an anime set 183 years before the events of "The Lord of Rings" and features the house of Helm Hammerhand, the king of Rohan Helm's Deep is named for. There is truly a wealth of stories from Tolkien concerning Middle-earth, its peoples, history, and larger existence that may make this a truly interesting partnership to observe as it "covers multiple feature films."

Source: Embracer Group (Middle-earth Enterprises Film Partnership)

MIT has had a busy week as well with three press releases I think are interesting enough to share. First up we have its announcement of a new chip that can decode signals with record-breaking efficiency. Whenever data is transmitted there is a risk of the signal being damaged by noise that inserts errors, and a way to address that is to include metadata the decoder can use to recognize and heal these errors. What the researchers have achieved is a new statistical model using this metadata that is both simpler and faster than conventional methods. The team previously developed a universal decoding algorithm that can work with any error correcting code and has now found how to incorporate it into hardware.

This chip is capable of performing ten to 100 times better than other hardware, and, equally important, because it can decode any error correcting code, it can replace the multiple chips present in some devices that separately handle specific codes. Getting more specific with this achievement, it has crossed the 1 picojoule-per-bit line for decoding by using jut 0.76 picojoules-per-bit, which brings it near the energy level of just transmitting a bit within a system.

The underlying universal decoding method is called GRAND, Guessing Random Additive Noise Decoding that works by guessing how noise has impacted the signal, subtracting it from the data, and then checking what is left against a code book. The guesses are made in the order the noise patterns are most likely to occur. The chip is called ORBGRAND, for Ordered Reliability Bits GRAND as it uses the reliability information from the metadata to sort the data based on how probable a bit is to be an error. What the new statistical model enables is considering if instead of the most likely error being a single bit, but multiple bits. In other words, it can consider if there are multiple causes to a problem, rather than just a single cause. This approach is much faster than traditional decoders that try to examine the entire code structure, assuming a worst-case scenario to recover data from while ORBGRAND will stop once it finds the code word. It also applies parallelization as it generates and tests multiple patterns simultaneously.

Perhaps ironically, by achieving such impressive efficiency for decoding the signal, the energy consumed by other parts of the process has become apparent. This provides other places for the research to investigate means of further improving efficiency. Other areas for future work include ways to change the modulation of transmissions and investigating a means to efficiently manage multiple, overlapping transmissions.

Source: MIT (Record Signal Decode Efficiency)

Next from MIT, its researchers have developed another new chip that is better able to block unwanted radio signals. Rather than relying on traditional filters, this chip has a circuit architecture that is able to target and block the unwanted signals, and so could make the chip easier to produce at scale as it can be smaller.

Generally speaking, the chip uses a mixer-first design, which operates by taking the received radio frequency and converting it to a lower frequency before passing it on to the analog to digital converter (ADC). While this allows it to work with a wide frequency range, harmonic interference, when interfering signals are a multiple of the desired frequency, can disrupt it. The researchers decided it would be best to address this issue early in the chain, unlike some other wideband receivers, and borrowed a concept from digital signal processing called block digital filtering. This adaptation applies it to the chip via capacitors, which charge up at different times before releasing the energy to be used later. Unfortunately capacitors can end up pulling too much energy from the signal or not doing enough to remove the harmonic interference.

What the researchers found is by connecting the capacitors in series and performing charge sharing, the interference could be blocked without sacrificing the signal's energy. These methods have been tried separately before, but not together. The researchers' specific design not only combines them but does so in a passive manner, so no additional hardware is needed. When tested the chip was able to block harmonic signals with only a slight reduction in signal strength, demonstrating it could handle signals 40 times more powerful than state-of-the-art wideband receivers.

Source: MIT (Signal Filtering Chip)

Lastly, researchers at MIT have devised a method that can help keep quantum computers cool, a requirement as even very little heat can cause errors in qubits. As the qubits need to connect to electronics outside the ultra-cold environment, the cables bridging them represent a path for heat to enter, which is why these researchers have worked on a wireless communication method that can cross the refrigerator.

The way this method works is to place a chip within the cooled refrigerator, behind a glass window a terahertz signal can be beamed through. This signal will have data encoded onto it for the chip to receive, and at the same time the chip will reflect some of the signal back, but modified with data from the qubits. Importantly, this reflection carries with it much of the energy that entered the refrigerator, so the heat produced is minimal. It also can reduce power consumption by as much as an order of magnitude compared to traditional metal cables.

This concept of reflecting an altered signal is not new as it is how backscatter technologies, such as RFID chips operate. In this case it employs an array of antennas each 200 microns in size, with each being able to be turned on and off. By utilizing terahertz frequencies, which are between radio waves and infrared light, these chips can be made smaller but also the waves can carry data faster, thanks to the higher frequencies compared to radio waves. The prototype chip achieved 4 Gbps already, but separate, previous work with optical fibers designed for terahertz signals was able to achieve 100 Gbps, to give a sense of the future potential. The prototype chip can also be manufactured with traditional CMOS fabrication methods, making it much easier to integrate into current systems and techniques.

Source: MIT (Wireless Quantum Computer Communication)

February 17, 2023

Permalink for 'Various Video Game Stories from the Week of February 13'

10:29

Various Video Game Stories from the Week of February 13

It is the end of the week already, which means it is time to go through the news that has collected in my inbox, and first up we have the time-sensitive news of GOG's We Love Games Sale. This one is ending on February 20 so you still have time to peruse the deals, but it is running out.

Along with discounts of up to 90% off in some cases, three new titles have joined the GOG catalog, all from Throwback Entertainment. Infiltrator and Infiltrator 2 are combat flight simulators from 1986 and 1987 that have you pilot the Gizmo DHX-3 helicopter in enemy territory to protect the world. Fiendish Freddy's Big Top o' Fun is a rather different experience with its various mini-games based on circus acts that you need to complete well enough to earn the pay off your debts.

Source: GOG (We Love Games Sale)

Once again the release date of Dead Island 2 has been moved, but unlike the many times before, it has been moved up. Dambuster Studios and Deep Silver announced this week the next entry in the series has gone gold, and to celebrate the release date has been moved up a week. In this game you go to Los Angeles that has been nicknamed HELL-A because of the zombie outbreak you will have to contend with over-the-top action and dark humor. Already various trailers have been released, but more will be coming before it launches.

Dead Island 2 is set to arrive April 21 on PC, Xbox One, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X/S, and PlayStation 5.

Source: Press Release (Deep Silver – Dead Island 2)

Devolver Digital has shared a new trailer for Terra Nil, an upcoming strategy game where the goal is to return barren wastelands to thriving environments. This requires purifying soil, cleaning oceans, planting trees and returning wildlife to the area. When you finish in an area, you need to then recycle all of your equipment so it is like you were never there. This new trailer gives us a look at the gameplay and the impact you can have on these environments.

We do not have a specific release date yet, but it is expected to launch this year.

Source: Press Release (Devolver Digital – Terra Nil)

Winter Survival is an upcoming story-driven sandbox survival game designed to test your sanity, and this week its Prologue demo released. You are trapped in the landscape of Mount Washington with few supplies but plenty of predators all around you, making it necessary to scavenge. Scavenge for food, water, heat sources, and the resources necessary to stay sane in your isolation. The story is narrated by the player characters as they fight to survive the entirety of the ordeal. With this new demo you will get to craft tools, work on trapping game animals, and even sneak through the hunting grounds of predators in the hope of contacting a rescue party.

While Winter Survival: Prologue is available now for download, the game itself will only enter Steam Early Access in Q2 of this year.

Source: Press Release (Drago Entertainment – Winter Survival)

Apex Legends from EA and Respawn Entertainment has reached its fourth anniversary, so to celebrate a new update has been released that is the most impactful yet. Practically every aspect of the game has been touched by this update titled Revelry, including an overhaul of how the Legends play with the new class system, and the addition of Team Deathmatch, the most requested mode for the game. This new Legend Class system sees all of the Legends divided between the roles Assault, Skirmisher, Recon, Controller, and Support, and each of these have their own perk to make the classes feel impactful. To help new players learn the game, the Orientation Match system has been introduced that pairs you with bots or other new players, making it perhaps one of the best times to start playing.

Source: EA (Apex Legends)

Five years ago Kingdom Come: Deliverance was released and the developers at Warhorse Studios along with Publisher Prime Matter are celebrating with a new trailer and the release of two new language packs for PC; Czech and Japanese. Both of these packs have come about for the community, with the Japanese being to satisfy local demand and the Czech being the result of a fan and community initiative. In the past five years, over 5.5 million copies have sold of this history RPG that earned various awards, positive reviews, and recommendations.

Source: Press Release (Prime Matter – Kingdom Come: Deliverance)

Also from Prime Matter, we have a new Making of video for Scars Above from Mad Head Games, with this one providing a special focus on Dr. Kate Ward, the protagonist of this science fiction, third-person, action adventure. This is the second Making of video and features interviews with Ward's voice actor in addition to the development team that speak about her different approach to overcoming challenges; brains over brawn.

When sent to investigate the mysterious Metahedron that has appeared over the Earth, her and her team are suddenly sent to an equally mysterious world. After crashing, you find yourself alone in this hostile environment, and so much seek out means of survival as well as your teammates. By learning the secrets of the planet though, you may learn how to return home.

Scars Above is scheduled to be released on February 28 for PX, Xbox One, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X/S, and PlayStation 5.

Source: Press Release (Prime Matter – Scars Above)

Wrapping this one up is a bit of game-related news as AMD has released the source code for FidelityFX Super Resolution 2.2 (FSR 2.2). This latest version of the temporal-based upscaler includes many advances to improve its quality over FSR 2.1, including logic to combat high velocity ghosting that can be found most readily in racing games. It also adds a new Debug API Checker that should help developers by passing messages back to the game to notify engineers of problems. Other changes will improve its compatibility with a wider high dynamic range inputs, reduce artifacting during dissoclusion, especially "fizzing," and improved temporal stability. The RCAS step for sharpening the upscaled image is now also run without tonemapping, which should allow it to retain the dynamic range better.

AMD does point out that while the FSR 2 API has not changed significantly from the application side, the Application Binary Interface (ABI) can be different. This means it is not recommended to drop in a new DLL but instead for the integration to be rebuilt with new headers. It may also be necessary for developers to tweak certain masks to ensure the best quality of the output.

Source: GPUOpen (FidelityFX Super Resolution 2.2 and GitHub Repository

February 10, 2023

Permalink for 'Various Video Game Stories from the Week of February 6'

10:45

Various Video Game Stories from the Week of February 6

It is Friday once again, and with the end of the week comes the time to go through the various press releases that have collected in my inbox. First up we have the announcement from Devolver Digital of Bleak Sword DX, an upgraded version of the minimalist, dark fantasy, action game from more8bit. Originally for Apple Arcade, this new version brings the title to PC and Nintendo Switch with new game modes as well as gameplay and graphical improvements. These new game modes are DX, which incorporates the original chapters with its three DLC chapters and new level and enemy layouts, Randomizer, a remixed version of the original, and Boss Rush for those that want to fight all twelve bosses back to back, with only one health bar.

All we have for a release date is "Coming Soon," but you can play a demo for it as part of the current Steam Next Fest.

Source: Press Release (Devolver Digital â Bleak Sword DX)

The Super Bowl is coming up, so naturally EA has shared its prediction for the game, according to Madden NFL 23. The prediction is for the Philadelphia Eagles to defeat the Kansas City Chiefs with a score of 31 to 17.

Along with the prediction, EA has also been celebrating the week with community events including the finale of the Ultimate Madden Bowl presented by PlayStation back on Monday. There is nothing today, but tomorrow at 3 PM EST the Madden NFL 23 x HBCU tournament finals will be shown on the NFL YouTube channel with hosts Micah Parsons, Tiffany Greene, and Erin Ashley Simon. You can also find the game discounted as much as 70% off for a limited time.

Source: EA (Madden NFL 23 Super Bowl LVII Prediction)

ESDigital Games and developer Sobaka Studio have provided the Early Access release date for Remedium: Sentinels, a time survival game with roguelite element set in the Remedium universe combining science and alchemy. In an effort to defend the remains of humanity from the Grey Plague machines known as Sentinels have been created to protect against the apocalypse. You take control of one of these machines to destroy the hordes of incoming enemies as well as to search for items and elements in the arena. By crafting upgrades with alchemy and science you can improve your Sentinel's armaments, which including guns, melee weapons, shields, and force fields.

Fortunately you will not have long to wait if this interests you, especially as there is a demo available now as part of the current Steam Next Fest. Also Remedium: Sentinels will be releasing to Early Access on Steam and the Epic Games Store on February 28.

Source: Press Release (ESDigital Games â Remedium: Sentinels)

Also entering early access soon is Hell of an Office from Joystick Ventures and 43 Studios. This is a first person, satanic, speedrunning platformer that has you trying to escape the corporate abyss. Of course you need to get through the Circles of Hell and escape the rapidly rising lava armed only with a stapler. This stapler does allow you to dash, rocket jump, and grapple across the one hundred levels, but still, Mr. Stapley is all you have as each circle adds a new threat to your work-life balance. Besides climbing the corporate ladder, you can also work on climbing the leaderboards and try to achieve the Diamond Rank Times.

Hell of an Office is releasing to Steam Early Access on March 14.

Source: Press Release (Joystick Ventures â Hell of an Office)

This week Zordix AB has announced its relaunch as Maximum Entertainment, a global entertainment company that covers game creation to publishing and lifecycle management. As part of the realignment the company has gone through, its development studios and publishing labels are now to work more cohesively. This includes there being a new Global Studio Director that leads all of the development studios.

You can watch below the roadmap video shared by the company that includes other announcements. These include release dates for known titles as well as reveals for new titles.

Source: Press Release (Maximum Entertainment)

March 6 is the date a good number of people have likely been looking forward to as that is when Dead Cells: Return to Castlevania releases. This crossover expansion for Dead Cells will see weapons, locations, and characters come from the classic Castlevania series to the new game, including Richter Belmont and Alucard. Naturally a new trailer has been released and it showcases the Beheaded fighting werewolves, blood-suckers, skeletons, and more on the quest for loot, though defeating evil will probably also happen along the way. It will take more than loot to defeat Dracula and Death, the expansion's two new bosses, but also wit and calm nerves.

If you do not have a copy of Dead Cells yet, there will be bundles. The Dead Cells: Return to Castlevania Bundle contains just this expansion and the base game for $22.99 while the Dead Cells: Medley of Pain Bundle will be priced at $31.99 for the base game and all released DLC.

For the biggest Dead Cells fans, Motion Twin has also announced Dead Cells: The Rogue-Lite Board Game will be up on Kickstarter this Spring. A roguelite board game may prove an interesting experience, with every death being an opportunity to become something more powerful.

Source: Motion Twin and Evil Empire (Dead Cells: Return to Castlevania)

Rounding this week off we have a new trailer for Scars Above from Prime Matter. This new trailer features the gameplay of the title that places you on an alien world as Dr. Kate Ward, after her and her team was sent there by the massive and mysterious Metahedron that appeared above Earth. Trapped on the planet, you must explore and investigate this alien and lethal if you hope to understand what has happened and to ever get home.

Scars Above releases February 28 for PC, Xbox One, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X/S, and PlayStation 5.

Source: Press Release (Prime Matter â Scars Above)

February 03, 2023

Permalink for 'Various Video Game Stories from the Week of January 30'

10:27

Various Video Game Stories from the Week of January 30

It might not seem like it, but the first month of the year has already ended as we have entered February this week. Of course, the week has also ended and so we have some news to work through. First up is the time sensitive news of the Gore & Fast-Paced Week sale at GOG that offers discounts across a few genres. You can find newer titles on sale such as Perish and Scorn, at 10% and 30% off respectively, as well as old games like the Darksiders franchise at 75% off, and Agony that is 85% off and includes its unrated edition.

As the same of the sale suggests though, this is only going for one week so check out the offerings before February 9.

Source: GOG (Gore & Fast-Paced Week)

Apogee Entertainment and Happy Trigger interactive released an update for Turbo Overkill this week that adds a new Endless Mode to the Early Access title. In this mode you will start with your Magnum pistols, Waster shotgun, and naturally your Chainsaw leg to face the hordes filling the arena. You only have one spare life, but every three rounds you get a Timeout period that allows you to spend cash on new weapons, but the period itself will refill your ammo. Each time you make it six rounds, you receive a major augment, like the grapple hook or micro missiles.All of this can help you build your multiplier and push up the leaderboard.

Turbo Overkill is available now in Steam Early Access, with episodes 1 and 2 out now.

Source: Press Release (Apogee Entertainment – Turbo Overkill)

Fans of The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt should be happy to hear it has received an update this week, bringing the game to version 4.01 as it delivers stability and performance improvements, alongside other fixes. For the PC specifically, an issue with Screen Space Reflections has been addressed and a new performance mode has been added for the ray-traced global illumination setting. This setting prioritizes performance over the range and precision of the RTGI. Various quests have also had issues fixed or been otherwise tweaked, and you can see a list at the source link. The link does note it only shows the most notable changes, with other, minor fixes being omitted. I also feel like pointing out this is the first version bumping update since the Next-Gen upgrade, v4.00 was released for the game, though two hotfixes have been deployed since then.

Source: CD Projekt Red (The Witcher 3)

Last year Devolver Digital and Flying Wild Hog released Shadow Warrior 3 and in just two weeks it will receive its Definitive Edition free update. With this will arrive a new Survival Mode, New Game+ mode, and Hardcore mode, all to test your abilities with Lo Wang's sword and ranged weapons. Also part of the update will be a Chapter Select menu, so you can go back to get whatever you missed and just replay your favorite moments. If you are looking for a challenge but Hardcore is too much for you, there is also a Hero Mode that limits your respawns. You can get more though, by performing spectacular finishers, but once you run out, your progress is gone. This update also enhances the game for the Xbox Series X/S and PlayStation 5, including an option for a smooth 60 FPS experience or a boosted 4K30 experience.

The Definitive Edition update releases on February 16.

Source: Press Release (Devolver Digital – Shadow Warrior 3)

Kepler Interactive and Awaceb have released the final part of their behind-the-scenes series for Tchia, an upcoming open-world sandbox adventure game. The game's setting is heavily influenced by New Caledonia, the island nation the developer's co-founders grew up in and this influence has been described in these videos. This latest one takes specific interest in the people of New Caledonia, how they influenced the game and the development team when they visited.

In Tchia you play as the titular character, a young girl on a quest to rescue her father. Helping her achieve this is a soul jumping mechanic so you can take control of animals and objects to assist in your exploration and puzzle solving. The game is aiming for a Spring 2023 release for PC, PlayStation 4, and PlayStation 5.

Source: Press Release (Kepler Interactive – Tchia)

Dying Light 2 is turning one year old soon and Techland is celebrating with events, discounts, bundles, a new Community Update that includes cross-gen multi-player, Steam Deck support, and more. The developers have also shared some details on what is coming, as April will see an update with a gear transmog mechanic and an update to combat physics, while June's update will improve the parkour flow and provide a new night experience. We can also expect a new story expansion and location later this year, but we do not have a more precise target than that at the moment.

Naturally, another way to celebrate is to discount the game, so you can get the base version at 50% off until February 13. The Deluxe version is 45% off and the Ultimate is 30% off, giving a price range between $29.99 and $69.99. While the original game is not also discounted, the company shared that the franchise sales have crossed 30 million, and that number is continuing to rise.

Source: Techland (Dying Light 2 – First Anniversary)

THQ Nordic has announced an upcoming expansion for Way of the Hunter that will bring the experience to Alaska. The Aurora Shores DLC places you in the wilderness as a Wildlife Trooper that must help manage the ecosystem by controlling the populations of the 14 species there, from Kodiak Bears to Roosevelt Elks. The environment itself will stretch from grasslands to mountaintops to rainforests and present you with some of the captivating views Alaska can offer you.

Along with this expansion, which is priced at $9.99, is a free content patch that adds Crossbows to your available weapons. Like in many games, these will allow you to hunt silently, so you do not disturb the other animals around you.

That wraps up the video game news, but there is more to share as AMD has finally shared the pricing and availability for the Ryzen 7000X3D CPUs. Arriving on February 28 are the Ryzen 9 7900X3D and 7950X3D, priced at $599 and $699 respectively. These are 12 core/24 thread and 16 core/32 thread parts, where those cores are from a pair of CCDs. It is just one of these dies with the additional L3 cache stacked on top, and while the other lacks the giant cache, it should be able to boost to higher clocks. Not all tasks will benefit from the massive cache, but will from higher frequencies, so the hope is this will those tasks to go wherever is best.

Arriving on April 6 is the Ryzen 7 7800X3D, priced at $449. This 8 core/16 thread part is the most direct successor to the 5800X3D, a CPU that can still challenge current CPUs in gaming performance. It has only a single CCD with the cache on top of it, so its base and boost clocks are lower than the currently available 7700X, but the cache may make up that difference, and more.

Source: AMD via Twitter

Lastly, MIT shared some interesting news this week as researchers were able to stack the sub-elements of RGB LEDs on top of each other. If you have every looked closely as RGB LEDs, you will see the three or four light producing elements are placed next to each other, and for many applications this works fine. Some displays, however, demand very high pixel densities, such as head mounted displays that place them directly in front of our eyes. Indeed when the density is not high enough for HMDs you can have the screen door effect, as you see the dark grid separating the pixels.

These new, stacked RGB LEDs measure just 4 microns wide while still producing the full commercial range of colors. This would allow for a density as high as 5000 pixels per inch. Perhaps most important for these micro-LEDs is that they are simpler to produce, as current fabrication methods demand extreme accuracy and precision to avoid defects that require scrapping the product. This new method involves growing the ultrathin, high performance membranes, something the researchers have been working on to make smaller electronics that are flexible and functional. Called 2D material-based layer transfer, or 2DLT, the researchers can grow the two-dimensional, single-crystalline material on silicon wafers and other surfaces before peeling them off. For this work, the researchers grew red, green, and blue LEDs on the membranes, and after peeling them off, they stacked them together. The smallest pattern they could cut in the membranes produces pixels just 4 microns wide and by applying different amounts of current to the membrane layers, different colors could be produced.

While this is a viable proof of concept for these vertically stacked RGB micro-LEDs, there is more work to do, including building an active matrix of them. Illuminating a single one of these is important, but a full display will require controlling some 25 million of them, all separately, so an active matrix of these is one of the future goals for the project.

Source: MIT

January 27, 2023

Permalink for 'Various Video Game Stories from the Week of January 23'

11:10

Various Video Game Stories from the Week of January 23

It is Friday again and so also time to go through the press releases that have collected. First up we have a release date trailer from Dotemu and developer Triskell Interactive for Pharaoh: A New Era. Remaking the classic city builder from 1999, this title takes us back to ancient Egypt and challenges players to build cities across six periods of the nation. It also includes the expansion from 2000, Cleopatra: Queen of the Nile that adds 53 missions, over 100 hours of gameplay, and a Free Build mode.

As the trailer tells us, the game will be releasing February 15.

Source: Press Release (Dotemu â Pharaoh: A New Era)

Another release-date trailer was released this week, from Freedom Games and developer Digitality Studios for Voltaire: The Vegan Vampire, though in this case it is a Steam Early Access release. Voltaire is the youngest son of Dracula and, much to his father's displeasure, has decided to go vegan. To prove vampires can survive on ethically-sourced food, he has started a farm in the woods. Raise crops during the day and defend them at night from Dracula's minions. There are twenty types of seeds you can find and sow, including bitter coffin beans and spicy skullions, and you can chase after giggling, wiggling water droplets to satiate your saplings' thirst. You must be careful to avoid overworking yourself, as with exhaustion comes the return of Voltaire's bloodlust.

Voltaire: The Vegan Vampire enters Early Access on February 27.

Source: Press Release (Freedom Games â Voltaire: The Vegan Vampire)

Prime Matter and Mad Head Games have released the first 'Making of' for the upcoming third-person action-adventure, Scars Above. You play as Dr. Kate Ward, an astronaut and scientist that was sent to explore the Metahedron, a massive alien structure that has somehow appeared in Earth's orbit. As you approach it though, you and your team are pulled away to another world with a hostile environment. Now you need to survive and find your crew if you hope to discover what has happened.

For this first video, the creative process behind the science fiction story are explored. If you are interested, do not worry as you do not have long to wait with the release date being February 28 for PC, Xbox One, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X/S, and PlayStation 5.

Source: Press Release (Prime Matter â Scars Above)

Ravenscourt and DigixArt announced this week Road 96: Mile 0, the prequel to the critically acclaimed Road 96. It keeps to the narrative adventure roots of the original title while also bringing in heartfelt musical scenes and channeling the 90s vibes of the original too. You will go between the roles of Zoe and Kaito, a pair of teenagers with opposite backgrounds and beliefs in White Sands, the only luxurious community in Petria. Zoe is in Road 96 while Kaito is from the developer's first game, Lost in Harmony, and through their friendship Zoe learns some hard truths about the world, including what ultimately causes her to leave home, setting of the events of the original game.

Despite being just announced, we already have a release date of April 4 for PC, Xbox One, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X/S, PlayStation 5, and Nintendo Switch.

Source: Press Release (Ravenscourt â Road 96: Mile 0)

Lastly, THQ Nordic has revealed the release date for SpellForce: Conquest of Eo is February 3, so you do not have long to wait before you can try to become the most powerful mage of all time. The game offers over 80 handcrafted battle maps across 15 environments for its 4X experience. There are over 100 unit types you can use and over 100 spells to research, though these are likely both dependent on the kind of mage you want to be. To help improve your army, you can hire a hero and apprentices to lead them into battle. The game also offers over 700 handwritten quests to challenge you.

When SpellForce: Conquest of Eo releases, it will have a suggested price of $29.99, but for the first week there will be a 20% discount you can take advantage of.

Source: THQ Nordic (SpellForce: Conquest of Eo)

January 20, 2023

Permalink for 'Various Video Game Stories from the Week of January 16'

10:02

Various Video Game Stories from the Week of January 16

It is Friday once again, and time to go through the press releases that have collected during the week. First up is some time sensitive news as GOG has begun its New Year Sale 2023. Running until January 30, it features a giveaway already live on GOG's homepage, over 3200 discounts, exclusive GOG bundles, and Build Your Own Bundle of some of the games on sale. If you are looking to expand your game library for the new year, this may be a good way to do it with newer titles such as Horizon Zero Dawn and Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor discounted, and classics such as the Mortal Kombat Trilogy and Diablo.

Source: GOG (New Year Sale 2023)

Publisher Kepler Interactive and developer Awaceb have begun a new series of gameplay trailers for upcoming adventure title Tchia. This first one gives us a look at the world, story, and music of the game and how some of the game has been inspired by the studio founders' experiences growing up in New Caledonia. While the game is fictional, some elements of the real location have been used to construct it, from landmarks to traditions, including the language and music.

In Tchia you will play as the titular character after her father is taken, leading her on a quest to rescue him. Helping you achieve this is a soul-jumping mechanic allowing you to possess over 30 animals and hundreds of objects, so the environment itself can become a tool. The game is to release this Spring for PC, PlayStation 4, and PlayStation 5.

Source: Press Release (Kepler Interactive – Tchia)

Modus Games announced this week that the first opportunity to try Teslagrad 2 will be from February 6 to 13 as a demo for the game will be available during the Steam Next Fest: 2023. In the decade since the original title released, Rain Games has been cultivating ideas for this highly anticipated sequel. It will be staring Lumina, a character previously seen in the studio's earlier title World to the West as she was on an airship travelling home. The upcoming title starts after she is shot down in an unknown land, where she must harness the power of Teslamancy to solve the physics-based puzzles she encounters and get past the enemies and traps she finds as well.

Teslagrad 2 is to release this Spring for PC, Xbox One, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X/S, PlayStation 5, and Nintendo Switch.

Source: Press Release (Modus Games – Teslagrad 2)

Next up we have some news from Motion Twin and Evil Empire as a teaser trailer has been released for Dead Cells: Return to Castlevania. As this expansion's name suggests, this is a special crossover between Dead Cells and the Castlevania franchise that will see you not only visit Dracula's castle, but with some the series' weapons. The Vampire Killer, Throwing Axe, and Holy Water are among the 14 weapons arriving with the DLC, along with two new biomes. The adventure starts after you are approached by Richter Belmont following the appearance of the castle likely filled with loot. To maintain the mood, some 51 original Castlevania tunes as well as 12 iconic tracks reimagined in the Dead Cells style can play as an alternative soundtrack to accompany your fights.

The Return to Castlevania DLC is to release Q1 2023.

Source: Press Release (Motion Twin – Dead Cells)

Forespoken from Square Enix is arriving just next week so the company has released a PC Features Highlight trailer, as it will be coming to PC with various features. Among these is support for various AMD FidelityFX technologies including FSR 2 for improving gameplay performance, and enhanced load times with a supporting Samsung SSD. You will also have a selection of resolutions, aspect ratios, and other graphics features, including support for 32:9 during gameplay sequences and a full HDR experience. It will also support keyboard and mouse controls, as well as controller inputs.

Forspoken launches January 24 for PC and PlayStation 5.

Source: Square Enix (Forespoken: Everything you need to know)

Coming to THQ Nordic now, it had a couple announcements this week with one being a Legacy trailer for Jagged Alliance 3. Being a successor to the classic series, getting it right was important, so the company went back to the original creators and kept involved Ian Currie, who designed and is responsible for the original concept of the series. It also helps when the developers at Haemimont Games are huge fans of the series, and so have a special interest in getting it right.

Jagged Alliance 3 is still in development but expected to release this year.

Source: THQ Nordic (Jagged Alliance 3)

A faster approaching THQ Nordic title is SpongeBob SquarePants: The Cosmic Shake and this week the company shared a new trailer featuring the true experts of the IP sharing their opinions on the upcoming game. That is right, we got a Kids Explain trailer and can hear about the story, favorite worlds, favorite costumes, and more from a number of children.

SpongeBob SquarePants: The Cosmic Shake is to release on January 31 and is priced at $39.99. If you pre-order it you get the Costume Pack for free, but starting on launch day it will be priced at $9.99.

Source: THQ Nordic (SpongeBob SquarePants: The Cosmic Shake)

January 13, 2023

Permalink for 'Various Video Game Stories from the Week of January 9'

11:46

Various Video Game Stories from the Week of January 9

It is Friday and the press releases have started flowing into my inbox again, which means it is time to go through them. First up is a piece of time sensitive news as GOG has begun the Fresh Indie Sale. This sale goes until January 25 so you do still have time to look through the discounts, but we also have a schedule for this sale, as some games will only go on sale later or cease being on sale earlier. For the latter category there are the Thunderful Group games, such as The Coma 2: Vicious Sisters and Vambrace: Cold Soul that are only on discounted until January 17. On January 18 is when Toge Production titles will go on sale, including Rage in Peace and Rising Hell. Those discounts will end the same time the larger sale itself does, January 25.

Source: GOG (Fresh Indie Sale)

Kepler Interactive and Awaceb have released the second in a series of behind the scenes videos for Tchia, the upcoming open-world sandbox title. The focus of this video is on the New Caledonia, a Pacific island where the studio's founders grew up as childhood friends, an experience that provides inspiration for the game. The island's customs, culture, and landscape are all helping to build the adventure of the game where you will be free to explore the ocean's depths and become one with Nature. Helping achieve that is the soul-jumping mechanic that allows you to assume control of over thirty animals and hundreds of objects, making the environment itself a means of exploration.

Tchia is to release in Spring of this year for PC, PlayStation 4, and PlayStation 5.

Source: Press Release (Kepler Interactive – Tchia)

The twin-stick shoot'em up NeverAwake from Phoenixx and Neotro Inc has received a major update to version 1.1, ahead of its console release next week. Among the additions for this update is a secret Himitsu Challenge for those that have cleared world 8 and six new accessories. High score ranking has also been added to the title along with optimizations, bug fixes, and balance adjustments. This update also brings Steam Deck verification with it.

Already available on PC, the PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, and Nintendo Switch versions will be release January 19, priced at $24.99. The Steam version is priced at $19.99.

Source: Press Release (Phoenixx – NeverAwake)

Plaion and Steel City Interactive have announced the Early Access release date for Undisputed, the first major boxing game in a decade that is also aiming to be the most authentic boxing experience in video games. It will feature a revolutionary footwork system, over 60 punches, and voice work from legendary referees and commentators. It also has a roster of over 50 playable characters such as Tyson Fury, Canelo Alvarez, Deontay Wilder, and Katie Taylor, and it has a fully-fledged women's division too. You will have the opportunity to develop and apply deep strategy in the game against AI opponents and friends when offline, before trying them online for a place on the leaderboards.

If Undisputed sounds like something you want to try, you do not have too long to wait as it will be entering Steam Early Access on January 31.

Source: Press Release (Plaion – Undisputed)

THQ Nordic has released a new trailer this week for SpongeBob SquarePants: The Cosmic Shake, showing off SpongeBob and his friends in this new adventure. After making too many wishes with magic Bubble Soap, the citizens of Bikini Bottom have been trapped in various magical WishWorlds, and you need to enter them to rescue everyone. These worlds each have their own theme that your friends now occupy, whether that is Sheriff Sandy or the now monstrously large Gary the Snail, so you need to be prepared for anything. All of these characters though are voiced by the original actors, so at least there should not be any surprises with that.

SpongeBob SquarePants: The Cosmic Shake releases January 31 on PC, Xbox One, PlayStation 4, and Nintendo Switch, priced at $39.99 or $249.99 if you opt for the BFF Edition. Pre-ordering will get you the Costume Pack for free, which will be priced at $9.99 starting launch day.

Source: THQ Nordic (SpongeBob SquarePants: The Cosmic Shake)

Rounding the week off, we have a couple pieces of software news, though this first one is probably not so good for a lot of people. MSI Afterburner is in a curious state of limbo at the moment due it is developer, Alexey Nicolaychuk who goes by Unwinder on various forums, being a Russian national. Citing political reasons, MSI has not been paying him for his development work since the invasion of Ukraine. Despite this happening in early 2022, Unwinder continued to work on Afterburner during the year out of personal interest, but now he is stopping this, or at least deprioritizing the project in favor of those that pay his bills.

While this is certainly bad news for the very popular GPU utility, it need not be the end of Afterburner. MSI has stated they are in touch and working with Unwinder to find a way to resolve the issue of transferring payments to him. Hopefully these efforts will prove successful soon.

Source: TechPowerUp (MSI Afterburner)

OBS Studio, the de-facto tool for recording and streaming, has reached version 29.0 this week, and with this major version arrives support for the AMD and Intel AV1 encoders on their respective GPUs. While those are certainly the highlights for many, they are not the only changes to have arrived as an upward compressor filter, the ability to select update channels, and many other tweaks and fixes have also arrived.

An audio compressor can be used to adjust volumes, with one effect being to reduce the volume when crossing a certain threshold, such as to prevent clipping. That would be a downward compressor while an upward compressor will take quiet sounds and raise them up to audible levels. If you are some who starts to whisper or turns away from the microphone, this could be a way to automatically address the issue, rather than manually adjusting levels later. For a while now OBS Studio has had the ability to update itself, but this has been limited to the release versions, but with these update channels it should become possible to apply beta and release candidate builds more easily. While this is implemented in v29, there is a note that it might not be ready on the server side until development is already into the OBS 30.0 beta-testing period.

Source: OBS Studio (v29.0 release)

January 04, 2023

Permalink for 'AMD at CES 2023 Announces Mobile CPUs and GPU, 3D V-Cache Desktop CPUs, and More'

23:19

AMD at CES 2023 Announces Mobile CPUs and GPU, 3D V-Cache Desktop CPUs, and More

Already we had Intel's and NVIDIA's CES 2023 announcements, and now AMD has had its turn with announcements for mobile CPUs and the first Radeon RX 7000 series mobile GPU, Ryzen 7000X3D CPUs, low-power, non-X Ryzen 7000 CPUs, and specialized accelerators like the Alveo 700 for AI and Instinct MI300 that is quite a device. AMD also brought several partners up to the stage to discuss some of the advances achieved thanks to their partnerships.

Starting with the Ryzen 7000X3D chips, the first shown was the 7800X3D, the successor to the Ryzen 7 5800X3D, which has been a kind of thorn in the side of the 7000 series. Thanks to its massive L3 cache, the 5800X3D can actually match and even surpass the latest and greatest from AMD and Intel, despite being on the older AM4 platform and using the older Zen 3 architecture. The 7800X3D, also an 8 core/16 thread part is able to beat it by 20% to 30% at 1920x1080 in some titles, with its 96 MB of L3 cache, the same as the 5800X3D. It also supports DDR5, has a maximum boost of 5.0 GHz, and a 120 W TDP.

Unlike the previous generation, the 7800X3D is not alone in offering 3D V-cache, as AMD also announced the 7900X3D and 7950X3D; 12 core/24 thread and 16 core/32 thread processors, respectively. Both of these feature 128 MB of L3 cache and the same boost clocks as the already available 7900X and 7950X, but lower base clocks and much lower TDPs. The lower TDP, at 120 W instead of 170 W is curious and it will be interesting to learn more about it, such as if this reduction is going to eat into performance. Eco Mode on the currently available Ryzen 7000 series processors does not always hurt performance tremendously despite lowering their power targets appreciably. The base clock of the 7900X3D is 4.4 GHz compared to the 4.7 GHz of the 7900X, and the 7950X3D has a base clock of 4.2 GHz compared to the 4.5 GHz of the 7950X.

Unfortunately, pricing was not shared but it should not be long before that is announced, as these are to launch in February. These will not be the only desktop products from AMD to launch that month as the Ryzen 5 7600, Ryzen 7 7700, and Ryzen 9 7900 were announced. These non-X versions all have 65 W TDPs and lower MSRPs, $229, $329, and $429 respecitvely, but also reduced base and boost clocks compared to their X counterparts. They are still unlocked though, enabling overclocking that may help close that gap, especially if paired with appropriate cooling. Speaking of cooling, all three of these non-X CPUs will come with a cooler. The 7700 and 7900 will include the Wraith Prism cooler in the box while the 7600 will be paired with the Wraith Stealth.

The February news for AMD desktop products is still not over as there will be new, lower cost, entry level AM5 motherboards releasing then. A common complaint of the Ryzen 7000 series and AM5 platform thus far has been the adoption cost, but maybe that will change next month.

Coming to the mobile offerings now, AMD had a number of announcements here, and we can start with the 7045 series that will offer the first chiplet-based mobile processors. Actually these Dragon Range CPUs look a lot like Ryzen 7000 series desktop processors, offering up to 16 cores/32 threads and including two RDNA 2 Compute Units. The Ryzen 9 7945HX is to be the most powerful of this series with 16 cores/32 threads, a maximum boost of 5.4 GHz, and a configurable TDP of between 55 W and 75 W. Below it are the Ryzen 9 7845HX with 12 cores/24 threads, Ryzen 7 7745HX with 8 cores/16 threads, and the Ryzen 5 7645HX with 6 cores/12 threads. These three lower CPUs also have configurable TDPs, but the range is 45 W to 75 W. Laptops with the 7045HX series are expected to launch in February as well.

While the 7045 series is at the top for performance, the 7040 series actually is the more advanced design, though it appears to be monolithic. Still using Zen 4 compute cores, these CPUs are built on a 4 nm process node, as opposed to the 5 nm and the 7045 series, with up 12 RDNA 3 CUs, and select models include special AI engines. Dubbed Ryzen AI in this implementation, they will support up to four concurrent AI streams for improved multitasking, providing a more responsive experience and while using far less power than running the same operations on normal CPU or GPU cores. Importantly, these are using the XDNA AI acceleration architecture AMD has developed following its acquisition of Xilinx. The 7040 series are all HS SKUs, which targets ultrathin designs at 35 W to 45 W TDPs while still provide great performance, and are the step below the HX SKUs of the 7045 series. The Ryzen 9 7940HS will be at the top of this series, and is an 8 core/16 thread part with a base clock of 4.0 GHz and boost of 5.2 GHz. According to Anandtech, these chips will eventually come to the U-series of SKUs, which is still lower power for designs with the strictest thermal and battery limits.

The first laptops with 7040 series CPUs are to be available in March.

Continuing with the mobile parts for a little longer, the first Radeon RX 7000 series mobile GPU was announced, in the RX 7600M XT. This will feature 32 RDNA 3 Compute Units with 8 GB of GDDR6 VRAM on a 128-bit bus. AMD says it will have a configurable RDP and that it can beat the RTX 3060 at 1920x1080 by over 20%. Being an RDNA 3 design, it does include that architecture's features including AV1 encoding, and the latest RT acceleration from AMD. Laptops pairing it and the 7945HX are to arrive in February. In AMD's press release, an RX 7600M is mentioned as well as RX 7700S and RX 7600S GPUs, with these S options aimed at thin-and-light laptops where efficiency matters more and will operate at 100 W or less.

Looking beyond the consumer products now, AMD announced the Alveo V70 AI Accelerator that offers a scaled up version of the XDNA architecture found in the Ryzen 7040 series. Though scaled up to provide far greater performance, as much as 400 trillion AI operations per second, the TDP of these accelerators is just 75 W. The big announcement for AI acceleration would have to be the AMD Instinct MI300 with its 146 billion transistors. This is the first product that combines GPU and CPU cores in a single device, with the latest CDNA 3 architecture used for the GPU and 24 Zen 4 cores for the CPU. All of this is connected to 128 GB of HBM3 to feed them. To build this hybrid design, AMD is using 3D stacking to place nine 5 nm chiplets atop four 6 nm chiplets that are all on a base die that connects it all with the surrounding HBM3 dies. Compared to the MI250X this will be succeeding, it is eight times faster and five times more efficient. This will allow it to train larger AI models faster and while expending less power. One example is the potential to reduce the training time of some models from months to weeks. This is in labs now and should arrive in the second half of 2023.

Obviously the MI300 is not a consumer focused product, but the methods and technologies AMD has developed to create it will likely make their way into consumer products in the future.

Source: AMD [1] (CES 2023), [2] (Radeon RX 7000 Series for Laptops), [3] (Adaptive Computing), Anandtech [1] (Ryzen 7000X3D), [2] (Ryzen non-X CPUs), [3] (Ryzen 7045 Series Mobile CPUs), and [4] (Ryzen 7040 Series Mobile CPUs)

January 03, 2023

Permalink for 'Intel at CES 2023 Announces Mobile 13th Gen CPUs and Low Power Desktop CPUs'

20:30

Intel at CES 2023 Announces Mobile 13th Gen CPUs and Low Power Desktop CPUs

Just like NVIDIA, Intel is at CES 2023 as well, and has announced a number of new products, including the mobile versions of its 13^th Gen Core CPUs, but also low power desktop versions.

Looking at the mobile CPUs first, the top of the stack is occupied by the Core i9-13980HX and it is comprised of 24 cores, with 8 being P-cores and 16 being E-cores. As only the P-cores offer Hyperthreading that is a total of 32 threads for this CPU. The H-series CPUs is the high-performance family and for this generation the maximum boost frequency is 5.6 GHz, with Intel claiming 11% faster single-threaded performance than its predecessor, and 49% faster multitasking performance. If that is not enough, the HX and HK versions allow overclocking. They still support DDR4 and DDR5, like their desktop counterparts, with a maximum capacity of 128 GB. For connectivity, Intel Killer Wi-Fi 6E is supported along with Bluetooth 5.2 and Bluetooth LE Audio, for improved speed and multiple devices connections with reduced power consumption. Thunderbolt 4 is supported, naturally, enabling up to 40 Gbps transfer speed and the ability to drive multiple 4K monitors. Compared to the 12^th Gen mobile processors, there will be five times as many laptops using an HX SKU, bringing the count to 60.

Moving down the performance stack, we have the P and U-series, with the latter aimed at thin-and-light laptops. These will offer up to 14 cores, 6 P-cores paired with 8 E-cores, support for DDR4 and DDR5, Wi-Fi 6E, Bluetooth LE Audio, and up to four Thunderbolt 4 ports. These CPUs are using Intel Iris Xe graphics, which includes support for XeSS for increasing game performance. Some designs will feature Intel Movidius, what the company is calling a Vision Processing Unit, or VPU that Intel developed with Microsoft for offloading AI-heavy tasks. This should free up the CPU and GPU for other workloads.

Between the H, P, and U-series of processors, Intel is claiming over 300 unique designs are expected this year from manufacturers including Acer, Asus, Dell, and Dell. These designs include laptops targeting enthusiasts, thin-and-lights, foldables, and 2-in-1s.

Supporting these processors and designs is the Intel Evo laptop specification to optimize performance, battery life, charge speed, and wake speed. It also includes features to enhance certain tasks, such as video conferencing with Intel's Connectivity Performance Suite.

Coming to the desktop processors, new 35 W and 65 W SKUs have been announced, for those consumers seeking improved power efficiency. The i5 class has gained E-cores, enabling up to 5.6 GHz and 24 cores/32 threads (likely 8 P-cores and 16 E-cores), and with a larger L2 cache, Intel claims single-thread performance improvements of up to 11% and up to a 34% improvement for multi-threaded performance, compared to the previous generation. These CPUs are compatible with 600 and 700 series motherboards, as well as both DDR4 and DDR5.

Rounding things off, Intel also introduced the N-series family that targets entry-level performance and purpose-built devices. This comes with the sunsetting of the Pentium and Celeron branding and the N-series will be present in both Intel Processor and Intel Core i3 families. These CPUs use only up to eight E-cores but still provide up to 28% better application performance and 64% better graphics performance compared to the previous generation. These are efficient enough to provide ten hours of full HD video playback without recharging, based on the Netflix streaming battery rundown test. The processors also support AV1 decode, high-resolution display engine, Wi-Fi 6E, Bluetooth 5.2, DDR4, DDR5, and LPDDR5 for RAM, as well as UFS, SSD, and eMMC for storage. The intended targets of these CPUs are education and consumer segments that need value-oriented pricing while still offering quality experiences. Over 50 design are expected this year from Acer, Dell, HP, Lenovo, and Asus, including both Windows and ChromeOS devices.

Source: Intel (CES 2023)

Permalink for 'NVIDIA CES 2023 Announcements include RTX 4070 Ti and RTX 40 Series Laptops'

19:25

NVIDIA CES 2023 Announcements include RTX 4070 Ti and RTX 40 Series Laptops

It is the start of a new year, which also means CES has begun, as have the announcements of new consumer products. This year NVIDIA has announced the RTX 4070 Ti and laptops that will feature RTX 40 Series GPUs, as well as the status of DLSS 3 support, Reflex support, new NVIDIA Studio features.

Starting with the new desktop GPU, the RTX 4070 Ti appears to be the unlaunched RTX 4080 12 GB. This new name is more appropriate as it will offer appreciably different performance from the currently available RTX 4080, given the difference in specifications. Still, this should be a very solid graphics card for 1440p gaming with its 7680 CUDA cores, base clock of 2.31 GHz, boost of 2.61 GHz, all paired with 12 GB of GDDR6X VRAM on a 192-bit interface. (For reference, the RTX 4080 has 9728 CUDA cores, a base clock of 2.21 GHz, boost of 2.51 GHz, and 16 GB of GDDR6X on a 256-bit interface.) Like the current RTX 40 series GPUs, it has the newest versions of NVIDIA's RT Cores, Tensor Cores, support for DLSS 3, encoding of AV1, and all the other expected features of an RTX GPU.

As for availability, these are to launch on January 5, priced at $799. This is one hundred dollars less than its price when it was the RTX 4080 12 GB, which may be a result of the general dislike of current generation graphics card pricing for both NVIDIA and AMD offerings. It is also one hundred dollars less than the Radeon RX 7900 XT is priced at.

Turning to laptops now, NVIDIA says laptops equipped with RTX 4090 and RTX 4080 GPUs will be introduced on February 8, with RTX 4050, RTX 4060, and RTX 4070 versions arriving February 22. Being Ada Lovelace-based GPUs, these laptops will support at least many if not all of the same features as the desktop versions, including DLSS 3 and AV1 encoding. NVIDIA is claiming as much as four times better performance and three times the efficiency of prior GPUs, but DLSS 3's frame generation is likely being used to increase the framerates for those calculations.

Naturally these GPUs are going to apply Max-Q technologies to optimize performance and battery life while allowing for smaller designs. Specifically, NVIDIA is saying in the 14 inch class, these GPUs will enable as much as 20 times the performance of laptops from last year with rendering, video editing, and livestreaming as specific examples. The company also states these GPUs features high efficiency, on-chip memory that improves power efficiency while doubling bandwidth and increasing capacity by an order of magnitude. A tri-speed memory control allows a lower power memory state to be engaged dynamically, further improving efficiency at idle. Many Max-Q technologies have also had DLSS 3 incorporated into them, including Whisper Mode and Battery Boost 2.0, optimizing performance, battery life, and noise.

The laptops with the mobile versions of the RTX 4090 and RTX 4080 will start at $1999 when they are available on February 8, with the mobile RTX 4070, RTX 4060, and RTX 4050 laptops starting at $999 on February 22. We can expect RTX 40 series laptops from various manufacturers, including Acer, Asus, Dell, Lenovo, and MSI.

Other news from NVIDIA includes DLSS 3 coming to 50 released and upcoming games, with Atomic Heart, Marvel's Midnight Suns, and Witchfire among those newly announced. We can also expect DLSS 2 in the upcoming remaster of Dead Space. Reflex is also coming to more games and there are 1440p 360 Hz monitors coming that support the latency-reducing technology as well, including the Asus ROG Swift 360Hz PG27AQN, Acer Predator XB273U F, and AOC AGON PRO AG276QSG that is upcoming. Naturally these monitors also feature native G-Sync modules to avoid screen tearing.

Source: NVIDIA [1] (CES 2023), [2] (RTX 4070 Ti), and [3] (RTX 40 Series Laptops)

December 23, 2022

Permalink for 'Various Video Game Stories from the Week of December 19'

8:58

Various Video Game Stories from the Week of December 19

We have in fact made it to the end of the week and nearly to the end of the year. As to the week, it is time to go through some of the news that has collected, and at the top is the start of the Steam Winter Sale 2022. Last week we had the Epic Games Store and GOG begin their respective sales, and finally Steam's has started as well. There is quite a host of games discounted, spanning new and old titles, but as this runs until January 5, you will hopefully have enough time to look through everything that interests you. For reference, the Epic Games Store sale also ends on January 5 while GOG's ends on January 2.

Source: Steam Homepage

Earlier this month CD Projekt Red released the much anticipated Next-gen Upgrade for The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt that included a significant number of changes, including a move to DirectX 12 and the addition of ray traced effects in addition to other graphical changes. Unfortunately this upgrade was not without issue and already two hotfixes have been released to address some issues. The first targeted stability and performance, as well as fixing issues with GOG and Steam overlays, while the second builds on the stability improvements and fixes photo mode and a bug with the toxicity level. Neither of these patches have moved the version number for the game, which is a little interesting to me as I wonder if there is a v4.0.1 or v 4.1 update in the works. In any case, if you have the game and were experiencing issues since the major update, check if these two hotfixes have been installed.

Source: CD Projekt Red [1] (The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt v4 Hotfix 1) and CD Projekt Red [2] (The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt v4 Hotfix 2)

Apparently not content to just put various games on sale, Devolver Digital has released its Devolver Public Access Holiday Special 2022. Hosted by Mr. Meatless and Santa, this is a definite example of Devolver Digital PR that shares trailers for upcoming games and what you might expect from Devolver, if one can ever really expect something from that publisher. Terra Nil, The Plucky Squire, Skate Story and more are all featured, alongside reminders of titles discounted as part of the current holiday sales.

Source: Press Release (Devolver Digital)

Dotemu is celebrating more than the holidays as Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder's Revenge has sold over one million copies. Marking the occasion and the season, a new update has been released that adds Custom Game options, so you can tune the beat 'em up experience to your liking, retro-themed filters, and a number of refinements. The custom options are engaged by dip switch while the filters allow you to recreate a classic CRT or VHS visual experience, for those of us who remember what those stand for.

You can check out the patch notes via the source link and, for the Steam Winter Sale, the game is 20% off.

Source: Dotemu (Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder's Revenge)

Kepler Interactive and Slocap announced this week the coming release of Sifu on Steam, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S in March, 2023. Not only will the Kung-Fu revenge title come to these platforms, but will arrive with a massive update featuring a new Arenas mode, amongst other things. This Arenas mode will have nine new maps and each with exclusive challenges that have varying difficulty levels, to add hours of gameplay. As you complete them, you unlock new modifiers, enough to double the current amount, along with new cheats and outfits.

When it launches on steam, the base version will be priced at $39.99 while the Steam Deluxe Edition will be at $49.99.

Source: Press Release (Kepler Interactive – Sifu)

Modus Games and Aurogon Shanghai have announced Afterimage will release April 25, 2023. Fully hand-drawn, this 2D action adventure takes you to the world of Engardin after the Razing, a cataclysmic event that nearly brought humanity to its end, and now mystic forces are attacking the remaining settlements. Renee, an amnesiac girl leaves her destroyed village to search for the truth, and accidentally sets off events that will determine the fate of this world.

When it releases on April 25, 2023, it will arrive on PC, Xbox One, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X/S, PlayStation 5, and Nintendo Switch.

Source: Modus Games (Afterimage)

Prime Matter released a new update for Gungrave G.O.R.E. from developer IGGYMOB that includes a cel-shaded mode to apply a visual style more like the previous games in the series, a new idle motion to randomly adjust Grave's pose, and more. There are also new demolition shots and tweaks to 25 systems to improve the balance and make the game more comfortable and approachable.

Source: Press Release (Prime Matter – Gungrave G.O.R.E.)

Another update to arrive from Prime Matter this week was for The Last Oricru, bringing it to version 1.2. This patch addresses many smaller issues reported in player feedback as well as a major updates, such as an improved game camera and the ability to remap keyboard and controller inputs. The online experience should be smoother as well and there is now an in-game map, which was one of the most requested features.

The developer, GoldKnights, intends to continue listening to community, content creator, and even journalist feedback for future updates and patches, as it continues to build on The Last Oricru through 2023.

Source: Press Release (Prime Matter – The Last Oricru)

Though this announcement was made during the Nintendo Holiday House of Indies event, publisher Quantum Astrophysicists Guild and developer Festive Vector, the game Sail Forth is not only coming to PC, Xbox One, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X/S, PlayStation 5, and Nintendo Switch, but released during the event. As the title suggests, this title offers a sailing adventure as you wake up on the remains of your shipwreck with neither memories nor a specific direction to travel. After constructing a makeshift sailboat from what materials remain of your ship, you can start across the ocean for answers. The sailing physics are semi-realistic and designed to be accessible, so exploring the ocean and encountering the six island biomes should not be too difficult or unapproachable. You will also want to keep a look out for upgrade materials and recruits for your crew. If you need treasure, there are side quests and mini-games to engage in to refill your hoard. You will also be able to build a fleet of up to 20 ships with over 40 weapons, and you may need them for some of the encounters awaiting you.

You can check out the launch trailer for an idea and pick the game up for $19.99 across the different platforms mentioned above.

Source: Press Release (Quantum Astrophysicists Guild – Sail Forth)

Serenity Forge has revealed a Roman Sands RE:Build from developer Arbitrary Metric, a first-person narrative adventure that is to arrive this Summer. Meant to be genre-defying, players can expect to be taken on an existential, philosophical journey that will require you to suspend the human need for logic, process, and connection. Find your way through an unwavering caste system with the apocalypse as the backdrop and forge connections as the world suffers an ecological disaster that will test the alienation and malaise of modernity.

When Roman Sands RE:Build releases, it is to arrive on the PC and Nintendo Switch.

Source: Press Release (Serenity Forge – Roman Sands RE:Build)

Despite its sequel having already released, Galactic Civilizations III has received its v4.5 update this week that should help the early game get moving faster. You will now start with two scout ships and starting worlds will have four additional tiles and more currency on them. Trading has been tweaked to, hopefully, be more favorable, the AI has been improved for better pacing as well as better tax handling, selection of technologies, and aborting unreasonable trades. Several art assets have been tweaks as well, to give the game a fresh new look. Of course there is more than just that for this update and you can find the complete patch notes through the source link.

Galactic Civilizations III is among the Stardock games presently discounted as part of the Steam Winter Sale with the base version of the game (that does include some of its expansions) at 68% off, and the Ultimate Edition at 74% off.

Source: Stardock (Galactic Civilizations III)

Rounding this one off, Techland has begun the Winter Tales event for Dying Light 2. This is a free event and goes until January 5, which means that for the length of this event you can take advantage of the Steam Winter Sale to get the game at 30% to 50% off, depending on the edition you desire.

In this event, you can take part in daily and weekly bounties to stop the scoundrels that have stolen all the candy in the City, such as Naughty Bolters, Naughty Helpers, and Uncle Snows. Visiting the Bazaar you will find Baka has returned, where you can find some holiday surprises awaiting you. Also you can unlock the Nutcracker Bundle for free by completing certain tasks. If you can reach merchant level five and bring gifts to Baka, you will get the Nutcracker skin, and by collecting 20 stolen presents you will receive the Nutcracker Paraglider as your reward. The Bauble Mace can be yours and everyone's, if collectively the game's community can gather six million presents. The Nutcracker bundle is only available for a limited time, so you do not want to wait too long before going for it, though it will be available for purchase from digital stores eventually.

Source: Press Release (Techland – Dying Light 2)

December 16, 2022

Permalink for 'Various Video Game Stories from the Week of December 12'

10:21

Various Video Game Stories from the Week of December 12

It is Friday again, which means it is time to go through some of the news that has collected, and first up we have the time-sensitive news of a couple sales that have begun. Both the Epic Games Store and GOG have begun their Holiday and Winter sales, respectively. The Epic Games Store Holiday Sale 2022 is going until January 5, and like prior sales it has an unlimited 25% off Epic Coupon, on orders of $14.99 or more, and 15 days of free games. The coupon only applies to full games, but is automatically applied each time you have a qualifying basket. To further celebrate the season, there are also a number of in-game giveaways, from Fortnite to Warframe. You can learn more about these from the appropriate source link below.

The GOG Winter Sale is going until January 2, so not quite as long, but it does have over 4500 titles on sale, with some reduced as much as 90%. There are also special giveaways with the first free game, Ghost of a Tale having expired now, but the second, for King of Seas, has begun and you still have time to grab it. You can also watch the store for flash deals and new additions to its catalog, like F.E.A.R. 3 and Blacktail, which are both on sale too.

Source: Epic Games Store and GOG

Apogee Entertainment and Sand Castles Studio have released a new demo for Bread and Fred on Steam, enabling remote play for this co-op platformer. The goal is simple enough, to get the penguins Bread and Fred to the top of the mountain with synchronized jumping and careful swinging and clinging. Being attached at the hip means you can always help your friend up a difficult ledge, but it also means one's mistake can doom both, so be careful and plan things out. If you think you have what it takes, then you can try Speedrun mode, and if you do not have a friend, you can do some solo-swinging with a rock. Who knows, it might just be more productive, depending on the kind of friends you have.

Bread and Fred is to launch in 2023 on PC.

Source: Press Release (Apogee Entertainment – Bread and Fred)

This is one announcement I have been looking forward to for a while now, as The Arcade Crew has announced the release window for The Last Spell from Ishtar Games, a roguelite tactical RPG that originally entered Steam Early Access in 2021. In this game, you command a small group of heroes that are the last defense against hordes of monsters that arrive every night. Your purpose is to protect the mages at the center of the only surviving human settlement as they attempt to cast the literal last spell, banishing all magic, and these creatures, from the world. Being so outnumbered, strategy is key, but failure is not the end as you will return with new heroes and, potentially, some new bonuses to strengthen them.

When version 1.0 launches in Q1 2023 it will arrive on PC, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5 and Nintendo Switch simultaneously.

Source: Press Release (The Arcade Crew – The Last Spell)

It is almost hard to believe, but The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt released in 2015, and now, about seven and a half years later, it has received its Next-Gen update, or v4.00. A host of changes have arrived, including the addition of ray traced effects, including global illumination and ambient occlusion. To help with the potential performance impact, AMD FidelityFX Super Resolution (FSR) 2.1 has been added as has DLSS 3 with its frame generation, though the latter is a PC-exclusive update. PC has also received Ultra+ options for several settings to further increase the visual fidelity of the game, which also makes sense as we are several GPU generations since it originally released. The textures for several characters have also been upscaled, and new, alternative outfits are available for some as well, inspired by the Netflix The Witcher series. The environment has received improvements too, and with a new photo mode you can show off the best views you find.

Not every change came from CDPR though, as some community made and inspired mods have been integrated to improve it. These have been curated and in some cases modified by the developers, to ensure consistency.

All owners of The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt should have received this update, which also includes being upgraded to the Complete Edition of the game that includes its expansions and various DLC.

Source: CD Projekt Red (The Witcher 3 Next-Gen Update Patch Notes)

Super Animal Royale from Modus Games and Pixile has begun its Season 6 that includes the new Super Crocodiles, an expanded version of Pete's Swamp, and more. The Slow Jam Pass will grant you various swamp rock cosmetics as you advance through it. Claiming these rewards is a little different now as you will need to do so manually, with the "claim all" button. While cosmetics are synced across platforms, this ensures your S.A.W. Ticket rewards are on the platform of your choosing. Another addition to the game is the Lucky Cat Mine that will detonate one second after an enemy comes within range, so if you hear a mysterious meow, you will want to run.

Along with the new season, CRISPRmas has also begun once again and runs until January 3. As you play you can collect candy canes to unlock eight new festive items and 17 returning cosmetics. Naturally it has also brought new Super Animal breeds to the game as well; the Super Snowman Blue Jay, Super Stoat, and Super Winter Stoat.

Lastly, the game has reached its fourth anniversary, and to celebrate you can enter the coupon code "BIRTHDAY" to claim four unique cosmetics.

Source: Modus Games (Super Animal Royale)

Shiro Unlimited made a couple of announcements this week, including the release of The Cross of Vidar expansion for Northgard. With a new campaign, multiplayer faction, and updated system, this update is a significant point in the Viking strategy game's evolution. With faith in king dwindling, it is necessary to search for new homes, but this exploration means encountering peoples unlike anything seen before. You can learn from the new factions how their faith strengthens them. With the new clan and faction system, you can also do more customization and even reach an unlimited number of workers, provided you can achieve the necessary livability standard for each zone.

The first eight levels of The Cross of Vidar are available now for $14.99 while the last two, the Epilogue, will arrive on January 19, 2023.

Source: Press Release (Shiro Unlimited - Northgard)

Also from Shiro Unlimited is Wartales, a medieval, open-world, tactical RPG and this week it received a new update adding a co-op mode. Now you will be able to build a band of mercenaries with help, and explore the open world as a team, facing death, destruction, and defiant enemies that have neither mercy nor an interest in peace. You will also be able to share your resources with your friend, to help you both grow in strength together.

Wartales is available now in Steam Early Access, priced at $34.99.

Source: Press Release (Shiro Unlimited - Wartales)

Techland has released a new, free DLC for Dying Light 2: Stay Human that is a little different from others, as these are the game's official developer tools. Released via a collaboration between the developer and mod.io, these will allow you to create custom maps for the game, and to celebrate a Shape your City contest has begun with winners able to win a share of the $50,000 prize pool.

There is more planned by Techland as it intends to continue working with mod.io to provide official mod support for the game on all platforms for all players.

Source: Press Release (Techland – Dying Light 2: Stay Human) and Techland (Shape your City Contest)

THQ Nordic has released a new trailer for SpellForce: Conquest of Eo with a special feature on the abilities of the Necromancer archetype. These will allow you to build up an army of fearless and resilient armies that can walk without tiring, and without breathing if they most go over water. They are also cheap to produce, but maintaining control over them does take a lot of magical power, so you will be forced to find sources of the Allfire.

This is the first of the three archetypes to be provided a spotlight trailer, but it will likely not be the last as this turn-based 4X game approaches its 2023 release.

Source: THQ Nordic (SpellForce: Conquest of Eo)

Also shared by THQ Nordic this week is a new trailer for the upcoming SpongeBob SquarePants: The Cosmic Shake, with this one providing glimpses of some of the boss fights the game will feature. Fortunately they should not be a match for SpongeBob and Balloon-Patrick, but we will not know for certain until January 31, 2023 when it releases to PC, Xbox One, PlayStation 4, and Nintendo Switch.

Source: Press Release (THQ Nordic – SpongeBob SquarePants: The Cosmic Shake)

Lastly we have some science news as researchers at the National Ignition Facility of Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory achieved fusion ignition. This is a significant achievement in the decades long effort to develop nuclear fusion for power generation, as ignition is the point when it produces more power than it took to trigger the fusion itself. Nuclear fusion is the phenomenon of atomic nuclei combining to form heavier elements, but as part of the process a fraction of the original atoms' mass is converted to energy and carried away as heat and neutrons. This is process active in the core of every star and is responsible for producing every element heavier than lithium.

For decades researchers have designed, developed, and built various reactors to push new boundaries in fusion research and might serve as the basis of fusion power generators. As one would expect then, there are also many competing designs, such as tokamoks and stellators that involve super-heated plasmas contained within magnetic fields, and the inertial confinement fusion design applied here. This works by placing the nuclear fuel, the hydrogen isotopes deuterium and tritium, within a small, cryogenic container called a hohlraum. An array of power lasers are all aimed at this container and with a single, powerful burst they heat and compress the target, providing the energy and pressure necessary for nuclear fusion. Specifically what was achieved was a release of 3.15 megajoules (MJ) of energy from just 2.05 MJ of laser energy.

Before getting too excited, there remains a massive amount of work to be done before fusion can be used as a power source, a goal that is still decades away, but this remains a significant achievement. If nothing else, this will spur renewed interest in the field and may help propel experiments at LLNL and other facilities across the planet. Among the reasons to temper excitement is the efficiency of the system, because while it was 2.05 MJ of laser energy that struck the holhraum, it was 300 MJ of energy spent to power those lasers. Without increasing the energy output of the reaction, that would require lasers 100 times more efficient than they are now before this could be applied for a working reactor.

Another point to address is how to capture and convert the energy released into something useful. One suggestion is a blanket of sorts that surrounds it to capture the neutrons released, producing heat that could then drive a steam turbine. Such a blanket is also considered for other reactor designs, such as ITER which is a tokamok.

There is also the question of how viable this specific design of fusion reactor is for a commercial reactor. Constructing a holhraum costs hundreds of thousands of dollars and imperfections the size of a bacteria can have an impact. The optics for aligning the lasers, and their timing also have incredibly tight tolerances, on the order of trillioniths of a meter and trillioniths of a second, and the fact this specific setup damages the optics with each use does not help.

While there is certainly cause to withhold excitement, this is a major achievement and, like many in science, the first often leads to many more, and sometimes in rapid succession. As pointed at by IEEE Spectrum, which also compiled the points I shared above, and a few more, at this point adding a small amount of energy may produce massive increases in output as the fuel starts to self-heat. Like nuclear fission, the process of atomic nuclei separating and releasing energy, there is a point where the process sustains itself enough to burn through its own fuel. For this reaction about 4% of the total fuel was consumed before the heat ran out, so there is plenty of fuel for additional heat to burn through.

Source: Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory and IEEE Spectrum

December 09, 2022

Permalink for 'Various Video Game Stories from the Week of December 5'

10:11

Various Video Game Stories from the Week of December 5

Once again, the week is at its end and it is time to go through the news that has collected in my inbox. A lot of this has actually arrived recently, as The Game Awards progressed. First up is a new teaser trailer from CD Projekt Red for the upcoming Phantom Liberty expansion of Cyberpunk 2077. Though age-gated on YouTube, it provides a new look at gameplay footage and reveals Solomon Reed, played by Idris Elba. Reed is a veteran New United States of America agent, and seemingly the only person you can trust to help with you impossible mission of espionage and survival.

Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty is to release in 2023.

Source: Press Release (CD Projekt Red – Cyberpunk 2077)

Another announcement from The Game Awards is the release date for Colossal Cave, a 3D interpretation of the classic text adventure being developed by Cygnus Entertainment. Come January 19, 2023, you will get to play this new version of the game on PC, Xbox Series X/S, PlayStation 5, Nintendo Switch, and Meta Quest 2. In the game you will explore a labyrinth of winding caves filled with storybook creates that may prove to be life-long friends or enemies. You will also encounter complex puzzles and awesome treasure as you adventure, trying to collect everything before returning home.

When it releases, it will be priced at $39.99. For those preferring a version for the previous generation of consoles, the Xbox One and PlayStation 4 versions are to arrive in Q1 2023.

Source: Press Release (Cygnus Entertainment – Colossal Cave)

Coming to Deep Silver now, the publisher held its Dead Island 2 showcase this week, providing new information and details to players. Part of this showcase was a live-action adventure featuring three characters set in a similar universe to Dead Island 2 as they discover nowhere is safe. Also a new Welcome to HELL-A trailer that shows it's the game's unique gore technology, upgradable weapons, and combat system. As you may have already guessed or discovered by the links rather than embeds, these videos are beyond YouTube's age gate.

An interesting feature for the game will be Alexa Game Control, which will allow players to speak commands for actions while they play on PC and Xbox. This will be limited to the English language and to the United States, Canada, and the UK. Pre-orders are available now and will include the memories of Banoi Pack with two unique weapons and a special skill card. The HELL-A Edition will contain even more, including a SteelBook case for the game, the Expansion Pass, Venice Beach travel map, weapon packs, and Character Packs 1 and 2, amongst other items.

Dead Island 2 is to release April 28, 2023 for PC, Xbox One, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X/S, and PlayStation 5.

Source: Press Release (Deep Silver – Dead Island 2)

We got a couple pieces of news from EA this week during The Game Awards. First up we have the announcement of Immortals of Aveum, a product of EA Originals from Ascendant Studios. This single-player FPS set in a magical universe on the brink of oblivion is to arrive next year on PC, Xbox Series X/S, and PlayStation 5. Unfortunately we do not have many details on the game yet, but Ascendant Studios was founded by Bret Robbins, who is also its CEO and Game Director. Previously he worked on the original Dead Space and three Call of Duty titles but decided to found the new studio to work on original, epic games. This will be the first from the studio, which partnered with EA because Robbins knew it would be able to help Immortals of Aveum reach as many people as possible. Other franchises the talent at Ascendant Studios worked on include Halo, Borderlands, Marvel's Spider-Man, Mafia, Tomb Raider, Metal Gear Solid, BioShock, and more.

Source: EA (Immortals of Aveum)

Also announced by EA is the release date for Star Wars Jedi: Survivor. The next chapter in Cal Kestis' story releases on March 17, 2023 on PC, Xbox Series X/S, and PlayStation 5. The reveal trailer shows Cal after time enough has past to become stronger and more experience, though he still has threats and challenges to overcome. So players can feel like a real Jedi Knight, new lightsaber skills and Force abilities will be available in the game, opening up more strategic possibilities for your battles. He has also gained new traversal options, including the ascension cable and the ability to tame animals to ride on. Combat stances are another addition, such as Dual Lightsabers for faster gameplay and the Crossguard stance, a hard-hitting option that is more measured.

Pre-ordering will get you the Jedi Survival Cosmetic Pack, and pre-ordering the Deluxe Edition unlocks cosmetics inspired by Han Solo, Luke Skywalker, and R2-D2.

Source: EA (Star Wars Jedi: Survivor)

The Epic Games Store starting rolling out what it calls Cabined Accounts this week, describing them as providing a tailored experience that is safe and inclusive for younger gamers. If a player indicates they are under 13 years old or younger than their country's age of digital consent, whichever is higher, their account will be made into one of these. This means the email address of a parent or guardian will need to be provided and permission granted for access to certain features in Epic products. This requirement will not block access to any previously purchased or earned in-game content, and players will be able to play Fortnite, Rocket League, and Fall Guys, all Epic Games owned IPs, but certain features will be inaccessible until consent is given. These include voice or free text chat, purchases made with money, downloading non-Epic games, trades in Rocket League, and SMS-based two-factor authentication. Custom display names also require parental consent and these names will be changed to something auto-generated until permission is given. If the name on a previously existing account was changed, that original name is reserved and "we will let you know when the feature is ready that will allow you to reclaim it."

It seems to be an interesting attempt by Epic Games to offer a more child-safe gaming experience that allows parental control, but does not totally shut down the gaming experience either. Only time will tell how successful this program will prove to be.

Source: Epic Games Store (Cabined Accounts)

HandyGames and developer ITEM42 have revealed the release date for their upcoming co-op shooter Perish will be February 2, 2023 on PC. In this mythology inspired games, you will traverse blood-soaked underworlds to fight your way to Elysium and sell the corpses of your fallen enemies to gain more powerful melee weapons and firearms. If you fail, or rather when you fail, you will lose a portion of your wealth and have to start again like other roguelikes, either alone or with up to three friends. The game will include co-op specific gear that allows players to support, defend, and revive their allies.

We also got some technical knowledge of the game this week, as it will feature ray tracing support for NVIDIA RTX graphics cards (and presumably AMD Radeon RX 6000 and newer GPUs), support for DLSS 2, DLSS 3, and Reflex on supporting NVIDIA GPUs, and AMD's FSR on all GPUs. It will be priced at $19.99.

Source: HandyGames (Perish)

Kepler Interactive has released the first video of a behind-the-scenes series for Tchia. Being developed by Awaceb that was founded by childhood friends from New Caledonia, the video takes us back there to share some of the real-world inspirations behind this open-world sandbox. In the game you will get to explore the ocean depths, become one with nature, and utilize its soul-jumping mechanic to control over 30 animals and hundreds of objects. Of course your goal will be to rescue Tchia's, the playable character's, father who has been abducted by the Maano. The Maano are fabric creatures that invaded your home by the order of the archipelago's evil ruler.

Tchia is to release in Spring 2023 for PC, PlayStation 4, and PlayStation 5.

Source: Press Release (Kepler Interactive – Tchia)

In early 2023, players will get to return to Castlevania thanks to Motion Twin and Evil Empire as have announced the appropriately named expansion Return to Castlevania for Dead Cells. This will be the game's biggest DLC to date as it allows you to explore Dracula's Castle and be joined by Richter Belmont and Alucard, along with plenty of other content for this crossover.

This is not just a mashup DLC for the game, but also an opportunity for the developers to pay tribute to one of the franchises they have long been fans of, and helped inspire Dead Cells. The new storyline has The Beheaded approached by Belmont after the appearance of a mysterious and malevolent castle. Drawn by the potential for new loot, and something about an ethical sense of duty, you will need to hone your fighting skills to defeat the evil within. It does add 14 iconic weapons and items from the Castlevania franchise, including the Vampire Killer, the Cross, and the Holy Water. It also features two new biomes, naturally with the iconic Dracula's Castle containing werewolves, haunted armors, and food stuffed in walls being one of them. Between the two biomes though, there will be three epic boss fights to contend with, including battles with Death and Dracula. If you survive, you will need to prepare for the "most epic and ambitious boss battle yet."

Source: Press Release (Motion Twin and Evil Empire – Dead Cells)

Prime Matter has shared a gameplay trailer for Scars Above, an upcoming action-adventure, third person shooter from developer Mad Head Games. You can watch below some of what is in store for Dr. Kate Ward, an astronaut and scientist who was sent to study the Metahedron that appeared in Earth's orbit. Her and her team are hurled through space by it, stranding them on an extrasolar and hostile planet. After waking up alone, Kate must investigate the surroundings, find her team, and do what she must to survive all while trying to uncover the mystery of an ancient civilization and what happened to her.

If this all sounds interesting, a free demo is now available on Steam, but we now also know it will be releasing on February 28, 2023. For PC, Xbox One, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X/S, and PlayStation 5.

Source: Press Release (Prime Matter – Scars Above)

Stardock has released a new update for Star Control: Origins, bring it to v1.6 and significantly improving the visual fidelity of ships and species leaders. At the same time, the memory footprint has actually been reduced by as much as 40%, thanks to updates to the Cider engine. The impacts from this will be felt on the most advanced and powerful systems, as well as those that are a bit older.

Source: Stardock (Star Control: Origins)

Lastly, THQ Nordic has released a new trailer for SpongeBob SquarePants: The Cosmic Shake and shared its launch date. January 31, 2023 is when you will get to explore the different dimensions SpongeBob's friends have been trapped in, because of your use of wish-granting Mermaid tears. With the release date revealed, the game is also up for pre-order now, and doing so will get you the Costume Pack for free, with its seven iconic costumes. You can dress up as RoboBob SteelPants, Mermaid Man Bob, and Opposite Day with this pack, and you do not need to worry as the pack will be available for sale on launch day. It will be priced at $9.99 though.

The BFF Edition of the game has also been shared, and is up for pre-order too. It features a 25 cm Cosmic Victory statue, inflatable Patrick, BFF amulet with necklace, four minimum bouncing balls, four placemats, and naturally a copy of the game and costume pack, for your chosen platform. The BFF Edition is priced at $249.99 compared to $39.99 for the base version.

SpongeBob SquarePants: The Cosmic Shake will be available on PC, Xbox One, PlayStation 4, and Nintendo Switch when it releases.

Source: THQ Nordic (SpongeBob SquarePants: The Cosmic Shake)

December 02, 2022

Permalink for 'Various Video Game Stories from the Week of November 28'

12:04

Various Video Game Stories from the Week of November 28

The week, November, and many sales have come to an end, which means it is time to go through the news that has collected this week. First up we have The Arcade Crew announcing the relase date for Vengeful Guardian: Moonrider, a retro-styled action platformer from developer JoyMasher. In it you play as a state-of-the-art cyborg super soldier that has turned against its creators to undertake a quest for revenge. You can see the gameplay in the newly released trailer or wait until January 12, 2023 to enjoy it yourself. That is when it will release to PC, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Nintendo Switch, and Amazon Luna, in selected territories.

Source: Press Release (The Arcade Crew – Vengeful Guardian: Moonrider)

Deep Silver and Dambuster Studios has announced the Dead Island 2 Showcase – Another Day in HELL-A for December 6 at Noon, PST. Dead Island 2 is still coming and at that event we will see new gameplay content and features through live action film. There will also be a new trailer shown then, providing an extended and exclusive look at the latest state of gameplay for the game.

The event will be streamed on Deep Silver's Twitch channel with a recast available via PrimeVideo.com in North America and the UK starting at midnight, local time. There is a teaser on YouTube now, but behind its age gate, so here is a link: Dead Island 2 - Watch the Showcase December 6th. Dead Island 2 is scheduled to release April 28, 2023 for PC, Xbox One, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X/S, and PlayStation 5.

Source: Press Release (Deep Silver – Dead Island 2)

Moving over to Prime Matter now, it has released the v1.0 launch date and a new trailer for Crossfire: Legion. Currently in Early Access on Steam, this RTS will gain new gameplay modes, features, units, commanders, and the final act of its campaign on December 8, 2022. The game has changed a fair amount since its initial unveiling, with one significant change being the removal of the original meta-progression system that involved a soft currency. Community concerns of it becoming a store prompted the developers to strip it out and instead focus on content, balancing, and other aspects of the game. When it launches it will have 66 units, nine commanders, five classic maps, seven PvP and PvE Payload mode maps, arcade modes, co-op defense and attack against AI modes, as well as a map maker with Steam Workshop support.

If this all sounds intriguing but you are not sure yet, the exit from Early Access is being celebrated with a free weekend. From December 8 to December 11, you will be able to launch and play the game for free.

Source: Press Release (Prime Matter – Crossfire: Legion)

Knights of Honor II: Sovereign is THQ Nordic's first step into grand strategy games and will be releasing next week. To mark the impending launch, the company has shared a new trailer with a special focus on the game's multiplayer. The game's multiplayer will allow up to six players in a match, each with its own kingdom to command, and each with their interests to ally or betray friends.

You can engage in a sandbox mode, spending dozens of hours in it with your friends, or try one of the five game modes. First Blood will have you racing to be the first to capture all of someone's provinces while Peasants Rush tasks you with controlling a certain number of provinces to win. Destroy Kingdom pits you against a randomly selected kingdom, requiring you to defeat it and strike the final blow. Greedy King requires you to become the wealthiest sovereign, by any means, while War for Goods calls on you to rain rare resources, which will involve taking them from other empires in addition to your own economic development.

Knights of Honor II: Sovereign launches on December 6.

Source: THQ Nordic (Knights of Honor II: Sovereign)

With the game related news finished, here is some interesting technology news from MIT, where researchers have advanced a kind of analog computing. The bulk of computers we know today are digital through and through, and there are certainly advantages to a digital design, but there are also advantages to analog designs. As the demand for computational power increases, those advantages of analog methods become more desirable, if their disadvantages can be addressed, and that is what the researchers have achieved.

To be specific, the kind of analog computer being used here is an analog optical neural network, so rather than electrical signals it uses light to run a neural network, both many times faster and while using less energy. At the heart of these designs are Mach-Zehnder Interferometers (MZIs), an array of two mirrors and two beam splitters. When light enters the top it is split and sent to the two mirrors, which are both tunable. This tuning affects the interference produced when the two light beams recombine in the second beam-splitter, and in this case can be used to perform the matrix multiplication of neural networks.

The problem with an MZI, and really all analog computers, is their susceptibility to errors, as analog signals can be disrupted by many factors. As multiple MZIs are involved, errors can accumulate as the light progresses through them. Previously this accumulation could be used to correct the errors, if you detect them and cancel them out at a later step, but this calibration step can be very difficult. Additionally, MZIs can be leaky, losing light and energy as the processing advances, which limits the size of the network and the ability to correct some errors. What the researchers sought is a calibration-free method to reduce error and reduce the energy loss, and the solution they developed not only achieves that but is passive, compact, and increases in effectiveness as the network of MZIs grows.

This solution is a third beam-splitter that mixes the light in such a way that it becomes easier to tune the MZI, or 3-MZI as they have dubbed them, to be configured to send all of its light out through its bottom port. This eliminates much of the uncorrectable error traditional MZIs suffer from, and the effect increases as the network grows, which did surprise the researchers. This additional component is just micrometers in size and does not require an wiring or power of its own, so the size of the chip does not need to be significantly changed.

With 3-MZIs it may be possible to produce a device viable for commercial uses with error reduced by a factor of 20. The researchers are created a variant of the MZI to address correlated errors, the kind that can come from manufacturing imperfections. Not only that, but it also increases the bandwidth of the optical neural network so it can run three times faster.

At the moment, all of this has only been simulated, so the researchers' next step is to build real hardware to confirm their designs in the real world.

Source: MIT

November 25, 2022

Permalink for 'Various Video Game Stories from the Week of November 21'

9:22

Various Video Game Stories from the Week of November 21

We have reached the end of the week once again, and for those of you celebrating Thanksgiving, I hope it was a pleasant one. First up for the news, which is fairly light this week, are some of the Black Friday and Autumn sales that are going on currently. Steam is holding its Autumn Sale at the moment, which goes until November 29, while the Epic Games Store's sale is also until November 29 but is named Black Friday 2022. GOG is also holding a Black Friday sale, but until November 30 so you have a little extra time if you want to pick up a DRM-free game, classic or modern.

Of course there are going to be too many games to list some of the specials, but Stardock has compiled a list of its titles and their discounts in the Steam sale, if you want to check out that link in the sources below.

In addition to game sales, plenty of hardware is discounted as well, making it a good time to upgrade or start a new build. Among the temporarily discounted items are even AMD's Ryzen 7000 series of CPUs, so if you have been considering that new platform, now might be a good time to check it out.

Source: Steam (Autumn Sale), Epic Games Store (Black Friday Sale), GOG [1] (Black Friday Sale), [2] (Terroir Giveaway), and Stardock (Game Sales)

In a couple weeks the free Next-Gen update for The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt will be releasing, bringing various improvements, graphical and otherwise, as well as an upgrade for everyone to the Complete Edition. With the December 14 release approaching, CD Projekt Red has shared a trailer to show off the upgrades. It is behind an age-gate on YouTube, but you can find it by following the source link below.

Source: The Witcher 3 Next-Gen Update Trailer (YouTube Age-gate)

Cygnus Entertainment, founded by the same founders of Sierra On-Line, have announced it is recreating Colossal Cave, a classic text adventure title. This recreation will be a 3D interpretation, allowing you to explore the miles of underground labyrinths in its fantasy realm, as well as solve the various puzzles found throughout the caverns. We do not have a specific release date yet, but its page is up on Steam and it is expected to arrive on PC, Xbox Series X/S, PlayStation 5, Nintendo Switch, and Meta Quest 2 later this year.

Source: Press Release (Cygnus Entertainment – Colossal Cave) and Steam Store Page

Lastly, THQ Nordic has shared the first part of the first official Let's Play of The Adventures of Aragon for Knights of Honor II: Sovereign. The Kingdom of Aragon is small but has the goal of unifying the countries that will eventually become Spain, and you start for your two cities of Barcelona and Zaragoza.

Knights of Honor II: Sovereign is THQ Nordic's first entry in the Grand Strategy genre, but it has been working with the veteran developers at Black Sea Games to ensure the game has the appropriate depth for the genre, while also being approachable for most players. When it releases on December 6 you will get to select from over 200 kingdoms and develop their economy, cities, military, and even religion to create an enduring legacy.

Source: THQ Nordic (Knights of Honor II: Sovereign)

November 18, 2022

Permalink for 'Various Video Game Stories from the Week of November 14'

10:35

Various Video Game Stories from the Week of November 14

The weekend has arrived and so it is time to cover the news that has collected. First up is some from CD Projekt Red as the company has given the release date of its much anticipated next-gen update to The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt. Arriving December 14, this update that all owners of the game will receive, for free regardless of version, are visual, performance, and technical enhancements, including ray tracing support. Though not specified, some mods have been integrated into the experience as well, and a new set of DLCs related to The Witcher Netflix series, providing new weapons, armor, and appearances for select characters.

If you do not already own a copy of the game, there will be a Complete Edition with all of the enhancements and content, which includes the two story expansions, for the PC, Xbox Series X/S, and PlayStation 5. That will be a digital release initially with a physical release arriving later. For those with the Xbox One, PlayStation 4, or Nintendo Switch versions of the game, it will also be receiving an update with additions and improvements, including the Netflix DLC, but the release date and specifics have not yet been announced.

Source: CD Projekt Red (The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt)

This week League of Geeks revealed Jumplight Odyssey, the developer's new title that is slated to release to Early Access in 2023. This is a roguelite, colony sim that has looked to sci-fi anime of the 1970s for inspiration. You take control of a Jumplight starship fleeing its destroyed home world with the focus of your hope being the Forever Star. Set your course, enter new systems, find new crew members, and build on the ship's interior while avoiding space pirates, black holes, and Admiral Voltan who destroyed your home. This building within your ship includes creating corridors to optimize resource chains, greenrooms for farming, and hot tubs for your crew to relax. It is not just the electrical storms, fires, and hull breaches they have to contend with, but having to interact with their rivals, friends, and lovers every day.

Source: Press Release (League of Geeks – Jumplight Odyssey)

THQ Nordic has announced the release date for Knights of Honor II: Sovereign, an upcoming grand strategy that will allow you to select from over 200 medieval realms starting December 6. The economy, development of your cities and towns, and in your people's religion will need to be managed while also dealing with the external concerns of wars, diplomacy, and crusades.

Being a grand strategy game, there is the risk of it being overwhelming to new players, but THQ Nordic worked with Black Sea Games to make it as approachable as possible. Hopefully this means it will not take ten hours just to learn how it all works, as it can feel with some grand strategy titles.

Source: THQ Nordic (Knights of Honor II: Sovereign)

Also this week from THQ Nordic, we got a new trailer for the upcoming SpongeBob SquarePants: The Cosmic Shake featuring the languages supported by the game. English, French, German, Spanish, Brazilian Portuguese, Japanese, Polish, Hindi, and Indonesian are all present, and the characters are also voiced by their original voice actors. This new Languages are F.U.N. trailer also appears to show how SpongeBob and friends got into the trouble setting them on this newest adventure.

SpongeBob SquarePants: The Cosmic Shake is coming to PC, Xbox One, PlayStation 4, and Nintendo Switch in 2023.

Source: THQ Nordic (SpongeBob SquarePants: The Cosmic Shake)

November 11, 2022

Permalink for 'Various Video Game Stories from the Week of November 7'

10:34

Various Video Game Stories from the Week of November 7

The week has reached its end once again, which means it is time to go through some of the news that has collected over the past seven days. First up is some from Aerosoft and Thera Bytes, the publisher and developer, respectively, behind the upcoming Zombie Cure Lab and how it might not just be zombies you may be curing as you play. Thera Bytes has partnered with the University Hospital Erlangen and the University of Rostock to creating Docking Hero, an application that simulates how drugs connect to receptors in the human body, which is known as protein-ligand docking. The idea is to search for currently available drugs that can be used to fight Uveal Melanoma, a rare cancer that still has about 1700 new cases in the US each year. Creating new drugs can take ten to 15 years and cost as much as two billion dollars, so trying for drug repurposing first can save a lot of time and money.

When Zombie Cure Lab releases to Steam Early Access on December 7, it will include a copy of Docking Hero that can be run in the background as you play. Not only that, but by contributing to the distributed workload, you will be able to unlock in-game rewards and can even select which rewards you want your calculations to work towards. It should be noted that while Uveal Melanoma might be the primary target of Docking Hero's efforts, the benefits of the work done will not be limited to that one disease. The additional data on drug docking will have the potential to help understand how drugs can help with other kinds of cancers or other diseases.

Source: Press Release (Aerosoft – Zombie Cure Lab) and Docking Hero

Devolver Digital has released The Unmaking of McPixel 2: A McPixel 3 Documentary to answer the question of what happened to this skipped sequel. The video is unquestionably an example of Devolver Digital marketing and so leaves some questions as to how much is real information and how much is satirical commentary on the state of modern AAA game development. This being Devolver, the answer for why the series has leapt to McPixel 3 could be they forgot the number 2.

Regardless, the video is somewhat amusing and, more importantly, is releasing November 14 for PC, Xbox Series X/S, ad Nintendo Switch.

Source: Press Release (Devolver Digital – McPixel 3)

Also this week, Devolver Digital announced Pepper Grinder from independent developer Ahr Ech, an "action-packed drill-bit digventure evoking classic platformers with a bore-ing twist." You play as Pepper, who has been shipwrecked and robbed by Narlings, and so by spinning up her sidearm, Grinder, she will reclaim what was hers. With Grinder you will be able to go through terrain and water, control machines, and pulverize whatever enemies are in her way.

Pepper Grinder is to release next year on PC and Nintendo Switch.

Source: Press Release (Devolver Digital – Pepper Grinder)

Evil Empire and Motion Twin have secured a collection of collaborations for Dead Cells to give The Beheaded some new looks, weapons, and some unique lore rooms. These collaborations will allow you put on outfits from Shovel Knight, Katana ZERO, Slay the Spire, Hotline Miami, Risk of Rain, and Terraria, as well as weapons to go with each. You can find the Starfury Sword from Terraria and the Baseball Bat from Hotline Miami in the lore rooms.

To get access to the outfits within the game, new riddles have been added to the Prisoner's Quarters, and once you solve them and complete their challenges, you will have them. If you also want to experience them in their original forms, a new Everyone is Here… Again bundle is on Steam that includes all the titles. Pricing will vary based on the titles you already have in your library, but also there is a sale until November 14 for most of the titles, so check it out if you are interested.

Source: Press Release (Evil Empire & Motion Twin – Dead Cells)

Going Medieval from the Irregular Corporation and Foxy Voxel has received its sixth major update this week, titled Terraforming & Cats though it does feature more changes than just those. A new resource has been added to the game, dirt, which comes from mining dirt, grass, and rock voxel, and can be used to construct dirt walls as well as, ramps like what can be found naturally in the world. Once built, these will not be selectable, just like the normal terrain. Cats and other animals have been added to the game, and the logic for all animals have been updated as well. This includes wolves going after larger animals the more hungry they are and foxes also going on hunts, though not always because they are hungry. Perhaps most importantly for some, Custom Difficulty settings have been implemented, so you can tune the experience to what you want, and these settings can be changed during a game. You can adjust animal spawning, enemy hit points, and even the rotting and decomposition speeds of items.

Source: Going Medieval Patch Notes (Steam News)

Later this month Gungrave G.O.R.E. will release so Prime Matter and Studio IGGYMOB have released an overview trailer for the game. It gives a rundown on what is going on and the task for which Grave has been resurrected. You are also introduced to at least some of the tools you will have at your disposal when you are disposing of your enemies. Your mission is to stop the Raven Clan and destroy their drug called the Seed, and this will require you to cross the planet, bringing mayhem and destruction everywhere you go.

Gungrave G.O.R.E. is to release on November 22 for PC, Xbox One, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X/S, and PlayStation 5.

Source: Press Release (Prime Matter – Gungrave G.O.R.E.)

Dying Light 2's first story-driven DLC, Bloody Ties, has released this week, allowing players to visit Carnage Hall, an opera house that has become a fighting arena that will challenge even the most seasoned Pilgrims. While the bloodsport is certainly significant, you will also be able to find a narrative underneath concerning power and revenge.

As you compete in the tournament, you will face off against infected and other contestants, and sometimes will need to complete other tasks. It is not all just about the fight but also the story you tell during it on this blood-soaked stage. One of these stories even goes back to Harran at the same time as Dying Light.

The Bloody Ties DLC is priced at $9.99 and you can follow this link to watch its launch trailer that is behind YouTube's age-gate: Dying Light 2 Stay Human: Bloody Ties Release Trailer.

Source: Press Release (Techland – Dying Light 2)

Time for some non-gaming news, starting with some from AMD as it has announced its 4^th Gen EPYC CPUs, which target enterprise, data center, and high-performance computing. These new processors utilize the Zen 4 core like the Ryzen 7000 series, which has set new standards for performance and efficiency for the company. These new CPUs offer up to 96 cores on a single processor, or 192 threads with SMT enabled, allowing companies to deploy fewer but more powerful servers than before, which will also result in improve efficiency overall. They also offer support for DDR5 and PCIe 5, which can be critical for some machine learning applications, and for CXL 1.1+ for memory expansion.

Of course these products are not aimed at normal consumers, but can still be interesting to look at because of what potential they suggest. At the top of the stack are the EPYC 9654 and 9654P, which offer 96 cores with a default TDP of 360 W, base clock of 2.4 GHz and boost of 3.7 GHz. These are both over $10,000, and while those frequencies might not be the most impressive, we are also talking about more cores in a single CPU than potentially every CPU you have ever owned, combined, running at that speed.

Source: AMD (4^th Gen EPYC)

AMD was not the only company to announce data center products this week, as Intel unveiled its Max Series of products; the Xeon CPU Max Series and Data Center GPU Max Series. Codenamed Sapphire Rapids HBM, the Xeon CPU Max processors pair together up to 56 performance cores with 64 GB of HBM2e memory all in the same package. Intel is claiming this will deliver much superior performance and efficiency to AMD's Milan-X processors, so it will be interesting to see how they shape up against the newly announced CPUs touched on above. Of course the on-board HBM will make a significant difference, if the workload is able to take advantage of it.

As for the Max Series GPUs, they will offer up to 128 Xe cores designed for HPC workloads that feature 408 MB of L2 cache, along with 64 MB of L1. It is also the only HPC/AI GPU with native ray tracing acceleration, which can be used for scientific visualization as well as animation. At the top of this stack is the 600 W 1550 GPU that has the 128 Xe cores I already mentioned paired with 128 GB of HBM2e.

Again, not products destined for any normal consumer, but they can still be interesting glimpses at the potential for future products.

Source: Intel (Xeon CPU Max and Data Center GPU Max)

DXVK has reached version 2.0 and made several changes, including a requirement for Vulkan 1.3. For those unfamiliar, DXVK is a translation layer that takes commands meant for the DirectX 9, DX10, and DX11 graphics APIs and maps them to Vulkan instead. This allows DirectX only games to run on Linux systems, such as the SteamDeck that has DXVK as part of its Proton system, but can also be used on Windows, in some cases with significant benefit. Personally I have seen it solve a crash but it can also reduce stuttering and improve performance, in some situations.

Another significant change arriving with this release is the upstreaming of DXVK-Native, a version of DXVK that allows it to be used natively on Linux, instead of relying on Wine or making changes to the rendering code. It can and has also been used to help bring up Vulkan ports of some games.

The source link is to the v2.0 tag on GitHub, which shows the complete patch notes. If you want to try it, download the "dxvk-2.0.tar.gz" file, extract it to find DLLs under x32 and x64 folders, and then place these into the same folder as the executable for a DX9, DX10, or DX11 game. Of course there is some risk of causing issues by doing this, so only attempt if you are comfortable dealing with those.

Source: DXVK 2.0 (GitHub)

Finishing this one off, we have the news from Microsoft releasing DirectStorage 1.1, the latest version of the API designed to help get the most performance out of high speed NVMe drives. With version 1.1 comes support for GPU decompression, meaning some assets can be sent directly to the GPU instead of having to stop at the CPU to be decompressed, which will save time and bandwidth. It is more complicated than just that though, including with how the GDeflate compression method itself works, but the result should be improved performance, especially as developers learn how to best optimize for this API.

Source: Microsoft (DirectStorage 1.1)

November 04, 2022

Permalink for 'Various Video Game Stories from the Week of October 31'

9:43

Various Video Game Stories from the Week of October 31

November has arrived as has the end of the week, so it is time to go through the press releases that have collected. Of course the biggest news of the week is the announcement of the Radeon RX 7900 series from AMD, but that has its own item.

First up is some news from EA as the company has announced a long-term collaboration to develop at least three new action-adventure games with Marvel Entertainment. These games will feature their own, original stories within the Marvel universe and the first one is a single player, third-person Iron Man game currently being developed at Motive Studios. The leader for the team is Olivier Proulx who has worked on earlier Marvel titles, including Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy, and unfortunately we do not have much more information than that at the moment. The games to be developed as part of this deal will be for the PC and consoles.

Source: EA (Marvel Entertainment Collaboration)

Prime Matter has shared the release date for Gungrave G.O.R.E., the third-person action shooter being worked on by IGGYMOB, as well as a special skin for the game. Brandon Heat was the original human life that became Grave after he was resurrected. Brandon had been a top assassin while alive, and after his resurrection he sought revenge against his murderer; his former friend Harry MacDowell. With the Brandon Heat skin, you not only will appear as the original persona of Grave, but also have different movies and abilities. To access this skin all a player will have to do is beat the game on its highest difficulty, dubbed G.O.R.E. A new trailer has been released

As for the release date, Gungrave G.O.R.E. will launch on November 22 for PC, Xbox One, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X/S, and PlayStation 5.

Source: Press Release (Prime Matter – Gungrave G.O.R.E.)

Salt and Sacrifice from Ska Studios has received its latest update this week, Shunned Namekeeper that adds NPCs, weapons, armor, and more. With this free update you can hunt down corrupt mages with ten new weapons and five new armor sets, and over forty other items for a total surpassing 50 additions to the game. One, the Howling Hourglass, will allow you to reset the locations of roaming mages in a region and another, the Bowl of Fleeting Knowledge reveals the locations of these roaming mages. You can also find the Shunned Namekeeper in Ashbourne Village and peruse his esoteric goods available to those willing to devour Nameless Mages.

Source: Press Release (Ska Studios – Salt and Sacrifice)

Techland has announced a new episode of Dying 2 Know that is going to provide a horde of new information for Bloody Ties, the upcoming major story DLC for Dying Light 2. The new episode will stream on Techland's Twitch channel starting at 12 PM PT on November 6, with streamer Leah Alexandra, Franchise Director Tymon Smektala, Narrative Director Piotr Szymanek, and Concept Artist Anna Krzemien sharing details on the DLC's monsters, combat, locations, narrative, and more. After the stream, the content will be available on Techland's YouTube channel.

Source: Press Release (Techland – Dying Light 2)

Closing this week off is a little treat as THQ Nordic has made Destroy All Humans! Clone Carnage free. This is a multiplayer experience that allows you to play online in a team of four, or enjoy some chaos in a duo with local co-op. It has four game modes and six maps providing some variety, even if you are all clones.

Though Destroy All Humans! Clone Carnage is free on PC and Xbox One, it is priced at $0.01 on the PlayStation 4.

Source: THQ Nordic (Destroy All Humans! Clone Carnage)

November 03, 2022

Permalink for 'Radeon RX 7900 Series Announced by AMD, Coming December 13'

16:24

Radeon RX 7900 Series Announced by AMD, Coming December 13

Today was the day for AMD to announce its new RDNA3-based GPUs that are meant to go up against NVIDIA's RTX 40 series. Just the RX 7900 XT and RX 7900 XTX were announced, with lower end parts hopefully to be announced before too long. While the new RDNA3 architecture is very interesting for several reasons, with the chiplet design being at the top, I think we can jump straight to the information that was shared for the new GPUs, as that is probably what you want most.

At the top of the stack is the RX 7900 XTX with its 96 Compute Units offering a 2.3 GHz game clock, 2.5 GHz boost clock, paired with 24 GB of GDDR6 on a 324-bit bus and 96 MB of Infinity Cache. The performance graphs did not contain the most games, but AMD is claiming as much as 1.7x the rasterization performance at native 4K compared to the RX 6950 XT and 1.6x the raytracing performance, though it seems 1.5x the performance is more the average for both types of rendering. This data is from titles including Cyberpunk 2077 (1.7x rasterization), Metro Exodus (1.5x ray tracing), and Doom Eternal (1.6x ray tracing). Curiously there was no comparison against the RTX 4090 in the graphs, but if these numbers are accurate, it looks like that will put it in the ballpark, but maybe a little behind in some titles. This has been achieved with just a 355 W TBP (total board power) and so it uses a pair of 8-pin PCIe connectors. As for price, it will have an MSRP or $999.

Coming to the RX 7900 XT, there was not as much performance information given during the presentation, but in the press release it is said to be 1.5 times the performance of the RX 6900 XT. It will use 84 compute units, have a 2.0 GHz game clock, 2.4 GHz boost clock, and is paired with 20 GB of GDDR6 on a 320-bit bus and 80 MB of Infinity Cache. Its MSRP is $899.

Both the RX 7900 XT and RX 7900 XTX will be available on December 13.

Turning to RDNA3, as I mentioned above it is a chiplet-based design, and the specific arrangement for the RX 7900-series is one GCD, Graphics Compute Die, and six MCDs, Memory Cache Dies. The MCDs are built on a 6 nm process, contains the Infinity Cache and GDDR6 controllers, and is 37.5 mm² in size, while the GCD is built on a 5 nm process and is 306 mm² in size, for a total of 531 mm² of die area. This mixing of processes was described as one of the advantages of the chiplet design, as the optimal process can be used for each die. According to Anandtech, while the RX 7900 XTX will feature six MCDs, the RX 7900 XT will only have five enabled but keep a sixth, defective die for mechanical balancing.

Looking into the GCDs we find the new RDNA3 Computer Unit, which features a unified design with a new version of the Display Engine and a Dual Media Engine. The unified design means the CU is tightly integrated and able to share resources for improved performance. Though I am unsure how much of this is from the process node, but AMD is claiming 165% more transistors per mm². These new CUs feature a 50% larger Vector General Purpose Register (VGPR) to help feed the other components that include dual issue, 32-wave SIMD units, two AI accelerators, and the second generation RT accelerator. The dual SIMD units are more flexible than those in RDNA2, allowing two different instructions to be sent or for them to be used in parallel, as was the case in RDNA2. When different instructions are sent, the data type can be mixed as well, so it can be floating point or integer calculations sent to either. Ultimately this offers double the IPC.

The AI accelerators have had their throughput increased by as much as 2.7 times, feature new instructions, and will be able to use the registry mentioned earlier thanks to the unified design. Lastly the second generation RT Accelerator was described, with 1.5 times the rays in flight compared to the first generation in RDNA2, and these include new dedicated instructions as well as new ray box sorting and traversal. This translates to a 50% performance uplift, per CU, though in the press release it says a 1.8 times improvement over RDNA2.

The new Radiance Display Engine includes support for DisplayPort 2.1, which is something AMD definitely focused on as it shared FPS graphs with a line marking the limit of DP 1.4, the version used on the RTX 40 series. This means support for bandwidth of up to 54 Gbps, 12 bit-per-channel for color (68 billion colors), and sending signals up to 8K 165 and 4K 480.

The Dual Media Engine is interesting as it enables simultaneous encode and decode of h.264 and h.265. It also supports AV1 encode and decode at 8K60, and it can leverage AI to enhance encoding, both for recording/streaming and for video calls. This AI enhancement includes integration of Xilinx Content Adaptive Machine Learning that will improve text quality at lower resolutions and lower bit rates. An example was shown comparing x264 and AV1 at 3.5 Mbps with this, and the difference was clear, though some of that could be from the more complex and advanced AV1 codec. The engine is also 1.8 times faster, so transcoding times can be almost cut in half. AMD has partnered with OBS to bring optimizations to it for the new media engine. Later in the presentation SmartAccess Video was announced, which will distribute encoding load between a Radeon GPU and Ryzen 7000 CPU to improve performance by as much as 30%, when transcoding 4K, multi-stream video.

Returning to the RDNA3 chip and architecture as a whole, AMD has surpassed its efficiency goal by reaching 54% better performance-per-watt than RDNA2 offered. The interconnect between the graphics and memory dies has a peak of 5.3 TB/s, and it is using a second generation Infinity Cache along with AMD Infinity Links and its Elevated Fanout Bridge (EFB) packaging to achieve this. For comparison, AMD is saying this peak bandwidth is 2.7 times that of RDNA2.

Another interesting feature of RDNA3 is that its clockspeeds have been decoupled. This allows the shaders to run at 2.3 GHz while the front-end runs at 2.5 GHz, for the RX 7900 XTX. This should improve efficiency by not forcing the shaders to run as fast as the front-end, which may bottleneck the GPU is slowed down.

Of course hardware is only half of the solution and AMD did have some announcements on the software side. HYPR-RX was revealed as a one-click preset that enables multiple features found in the Radeon Adrenalin drivers: Radeon Anti-Lag; Radeon Boost; and Radeon Super Resolution. This has been developed so users do not need to work through the various technologies offered in the drivers to arrive at the best performance and experience. AMD is claiming that in Dying Light 2 it was able to achieve 85% better performance and cut the latency to a third with it off. Checking the footnotes, this was with the game at its High preset, using DirectX 12, and the rendered resolution was 1920x1080, which was upscaled to 2560x1440.

Another software announcement was FideltyFX Super Resolution 3 (FSR3) that is said to offer double the performance of FSR2 with Fluid Motion Frames. Unfortunately no details were really offered for this, so it is not entirely clear if these are generated frames, like what NVIDIA's DLSS 3 adds to improve framerate, nor is it clear if this will be limited to RDNA3.

Lastly, AMD announced its Advantage program is expanding from laptops to desktops. Advantage Desktops will be built in chassis with CPU liquid cooling, a minimum of 2 TB of NVMe storage, minimum of 32 GB of EXPO DDR5 RAM, utilize 80 PLUS Gold power supplies, feature optimized acoustics, and tool-less access. AMD only mentions using the Ryzen 9 7950X CPU and RX 7900 XTX GPU, so we will have to see if the program expands to cover lower-end components eventually.

Source: AMD and Anandtech

July 29, 2022

Permalink for 'Various Video Game Stories from the Week of July 25'

12:07

Various Video Game Stories from the Week of July 25

Not only the week but just about the month has reached its end, which means it is time to go through the items that have collected in my inbox. First up are a couple time-sensitive items and the first to expire is the GOG Find Your Indie Sale. As part of this sale, over 1500 titles have been discounted, including some reaching 90% off. There is also a special bundle of games that has a limited number of copies but has apparently not run out as of my writing this. This GOG RPG bundle includes Evoland Legendary Edition, Knights of Pen and Paper +1 Edition, and Dead in Vinland at 84% off, which translates to $7.99. While that is a very special offer, you can find plenty of others to tempt you, such as Frostpunk: Game of the Year Edition at 72% off, Disco Elysium – The Final Cut at 65% off, and No Man's Sky at 50% off.

The GOG Find Your Indie sale ends on August 1.

Source: GOG (Find Your Indie Sale)

The second time-sensitive item is the Game On sale AMD is holding that has CPUs from the Ryzen 5 5600 and up and the Radeon RX 6500XT and up discounted. This ends on August 5 and even if we are expecting Zen 4 CPUs to be formally announced soon and the RX 7000 GPUs to arrive in the coming months, this might be a good time to upgrade or do a new build. The event spans multiple retailers but some offers are only from certain ones. Fortunately the source link has the deals listed by model and by retailer.

Source: AMD (Game On)

Koch Media and Cardboard Sword have announced The Siege and the Sandfox, a 2D stealth Metroidvania with a 16-bit art style that will be coming to PC in 2023. Its promise is to offer fluid platforming combined with stealth mechanics for a new twist on the genre. The massive world is open to being explored in a non-linear fashion and you can incapacitate enemies or sneak by them as though you were never there, to fit your preference. Ultimate you will uncover the real threat from a sand-borne evil as you explore the ruins below the kingdom under siege.

The Siege and the Sandfox is targeting a release in 2023 for PC and can be wishlisted on Steam, Epic Games Store, GOG, and Humble Store.

Source: Koch Media (The Siege and the Sandfox)

Sniper Elite 5 has gained new content this week as Rebellion launched the new Landing Force mission, the start of the game's Season Pass One, in addition to the free Flooded Village multiplayer map. This new mission has developed in partnership with Flix Interactive and has been inspired by the film "The Guns of Navarone" as your mission is to take out the Nazi gun battery that has been installed in a mountainside. These huge weapons are preventing an Allied invasion of the South of France, which is why you have been sent in as part of Operation Dragoon. The is a trailer for the mission, but it is behind YouTube's age-gate: Sniper Elite 5 – Landing Force.

Also part of the park is the D.L. Carbine rifle and PPSH submachine gun. The former is an exceptionally quiet weapon, making it an ideal addition to your arsenal, while the former has an incredible rate of fire, for when things go wrong.

The Season Pass One is priced at $34.99 but the Landing Force content pack can be purchased separately for $14.99. There are three more content drops to arrive for Season Pass One. Also, the P.1938 Suppressed Pistol that had been limited to pre-orders is now available for purchase at $3.99.

Source: Press Release (Rebellion – Sniper Elite 5)

Destroy All Humans! 2 is a month away but this week THQ Nordic shared a new Locations Trailer to show off the different places Crypto will be exploring and exploding. Bay City, Albion, Tunguska, Takoshima, and Solaris are all on your travel plans for seeking vengeance and claiming human settlements for the Furon Empire. When the game releases on August 30, it will be available on PC, Xbox Series X/S, and PlayStation 5.

Also coming from THQ Nordic is Way of the Hunter and this week the publisher shared it has partnered with Remington to bring the company's firearms and ammunition to the game. These will be found throughout the game thanks to help add to the game's realism that is already to feature authentic scouting, spotting, tracking, gun handling, and taxidermy. Way of the Hunter is releasing on August 16 for PC, Xbox Series X/S, and PlayStation 5.

Publisher tinyBuild and developer Igloosoft have announced Farworld Pioneers, formerly known as Outworlders, will be arriving on Steam Early Access in 2023. After crash-landing on an unknown planet, you will need to search out food and materials to craft tools, including weapons and first aid kits to survive. Of course your purpose will not just be to survive as you will be able to recruit other crash survivors and foreigners to terraform the area and develop a successful colony. If you do not want to explore the randomly generated worlds alone, the game will also offer multiplayer modes.

If this sounds interesting, a demo will debut on Steam on August 1 so you can check it out and decide if this is something you are interested in.

Source: Press Release (tinyBuild – Farworld Pioneers)

The Game On sale was not the only piece of AMD news this week as the company released the new Adrenalin Edition 22.7.1 drivers that have two significant updates for them. One is the introduction of AMD Noise Suppression that applies a deep learning algorithm in to improve the clarity of important meetings or competitive games. It can be applied to both audio input and output devices. Unfortunately it is limited to Radeon RX 6000 series or new desktop graphics cards, or Ryzen 6000 series or new APUs.

The other significant update is not so hardware limited, and is something certainly a lot of people have been looking forward to for years. OpenGL optimizations have been applied that can provide as much as 85% better performance in some games, including Minecraft. For the RX 6950XT the increase can be up to 79% at 4K with Fabulous settings, and the RX 6400 can see a 75% increase at the same configuration.

Source: AMD [1] (Adrenalin Edition 22.7.1 Release Notes)[2] (Blog Post)

July 22, 2022

Permalink for 'Various Video Game Stories from the Week of July 18'

11:17

Various Video Game Stories from the Week of July 18

Video has once again come around, meaning it is time to go through the video games news that has arrived in my inbox. First up is some from 505 Games, or rather its parent company, Digital Bros Group as it has formed a new publishing label HOOK. Based in Digital Bros' Milan head office, this international label includes veterans with over 20 years of experience and has a focus on finding and supporting indie developers. This support can include funding, development support, QA, localization, and, of course, marketing and PR. HOOK already has some current projects, including KINGDOM of the DEAD from Dirigo Games, Madshot from Overflow, and Unholy from Duality Games, in addition to some currently undisclosed projects. As a sister-label to 505 Games, part of the goal is to strengthen Digital Bros' global publishing capability beyond 505, which has already published such titles as Death Stranding, Control, and Terraria.

Source: Press Release (505 Games) and HOOK

We are just weeks away from the launch of Cult of the Lamb from Devolver Digital and Massive Monster, so a new trailer has been released, this one with a special focus on the characters you will encounter. Ratau is a mentor for you, partly because he was once a vessel like you, but also because he knows how to start a cult, but now he likes playing knucklebones. Clauneck will also prove useful as you develop your cult as he deals the tarot cards that tell your fate and provide bonuses. Helob is a "collector of creatures" so when you need new members for your cult, you can visit him to make a purchase, assuming he has not gotten hungry recently. The Fisherman is a bit more enigmatic, but is clearly a man and not a fish, as he desires the beasts of the deep and you can capture them for him, he will trade you pieces of holy talismans.

Cult of the Lamb releases on August 11 for PC, Xbox One, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X/S, PlayStation 5, and Nintendo Switch.

Source: Press Release (Devolver Digital – Cult of the Lamb)

Retreat to Enen from Freedom Games and Head West has announced something that does not often happen in the game industry, as the release date has been moved up. This tranquil survival game will now be releasing on August 1 to PC. Set after centuries of conflict, society is now seeking inner peace and a more naturalistic change for the world, which is what brings you to the island of Enen. Here you will learn to hunt, forage, build shelters, and craft tools. You will also get to spend time in meditation sessions to appropriate the natural landscape of the island.

Source: Press Release (Freedom Games – Retreat to Enen)

GOG added a couple games to its catalog this week, Baldur's Gate: Dark Alliance II and Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine. The former is priced at $29.99 and, in addition to being DRM-free, will run on Windows, Mac, and Linux. The latter is on sale for $9.99, 75% off until July 27 as part of celebration for Warhammer week that includes many other games from this franchise. It includes various kinds of bonus content, including a full soundtrack for the game, wallpapers, and official strategy. Something to note is the DRM-free version of the game is single-player only, and so does not include any DLCs connected to its multiplayer.

Though not released yet, GOG also announced Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War – Master Collection is coming. When it is to arrive has not been shared yet, but you can sign up to be notified from its GOG store page.

Source: GOG [1] Baldur's Gate: Dark Alliance II and [2] Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine

Lastly for the video game news, THQ Nordic has shared a new gameplay trailer for the upcoming Way of the Hunter. It shows some of what can be expected and what is necessary to hunt your prey in this game, including tracking the animal through the environment. You will need to look for tracks and listen for calls to find your target and then take careful aim once it is spotted. That is not necessarily where it ends though, as you may need to follow the animal before claiming it, as is depicted in the trailer.

Way of the Hunter releases August 16 on PC, Xbox Series X/S, and PlayStation 5.

Finishing this week off is some news from MIT as it has found a new material that could surpass silicon as a semiconductor. Though silicon has certainly proven itself as a semiconductor, it is lacking in various ways, such as having relatively poor thermal conductivity, an issue that is becoming more and more important, and poor hole mobility. Holes are the positively-charged quasi-particles left behind when an electron is conducted away. Though most electronics rely on electrons, there are some applications that also involve these counterparts and silicon is not quite up for that job, nor is gallium arsenide.

Cubic boron arsenide is the new material, though it actually has been known about for some time, and some of its properties have already been predicted and experimentally confirmed. What the MIT researchers have achieved is confirmation of the superior hole mobility. Already we know it has a much as ten times better thermal conductivity than silicon, which is enough to make give it the third best thermal conductivity known, behind only diamond and isotopically enriched cubic boron nitride. Importantly it also has a good bandgap, which is the separation between the insulating energy levels where electrons do not flow, and the conducting levels where they do.

While this is certainly a very promising material, the catch is the difficulty in producing cubic boron arsenide. The current methods the researchers employed produce a very uneven material, so only small patches are uniform enough to be valid for experimental tests. Compared to silicon which can be produced in large quantities of 99.99999999% purity in mass quantities today, cubic born arsenide needs a lot of work before it can be a challenger. However, the researchers are hoping that with this new research there will be increased interest in the material, and from that potentially new production means will be found.

Source: MIT

July 15, 2022

Permalink for 'Various Video Game Stories from the Week of July 11'

12:01

Various Video Game Stories from the Week of July 11

The week has reached its end, and so it is time to go through the video game news that has collected. First up is some from Aerosoft and Thera Bytes as Zombie Cure Lab has been given a target of Q3 for its release to Steam Early Access. In this game you must build a base with what remains of humanity after the zombie apocalypse with the ultimate goal of curing the zombies. First you will need to secure your new settlement and then you can start capturing the undead to begin your experiments in creating Humbies, human-zombie hybrids.

Unfortunately we do not have a new trailer to go with the announcement, so here is one from a month ago to let you see what the game has in store.

Source: Press Release (Aerosoft – Zombie Cure Lab)

On July 18, the presently approaching Monday, Fault: Elder Orb from Pocketful of Quarters and Strange Matter Studios will be releasing to the Epic Games Store. This free-to-play MOBA utilizes a third person camera as its 24 heroes fight to protect their homes, and you will want to spin the camera around at times. Due to the vertical design of the maps, the threat may come from above. The premise behind the game is that universes are colliding, these heroes must fight to preserve their dimensions, and the roster of mages, robots, and behemoths is growing.

Source: Press Release (Pocketful of Quarters – Fault: Elder Orb)

Prime Matter has announced Mato Anomalies by Arrowiz, as well as the global publishing deal between the two companies. In this stylistic JRPH you play as detective Doe as he tries to uncover the secrets of Mato, a city combining traditional aesthetics with futuristic architecture in a world that has already been invaded by supernatural creatures. Doe will be doing more than just investigating as he will also fight battles in dungeons that demand the player use every advantage available to them.

Mato Anomalies is aiming for a 2023 release on PC, Xbox One, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X/S, PlayStation 5, and Nintendo Switch.

Source: Prime Matter (Mato Anomalies)

THQ Nordic has shared a new trailer for the upcoming Destroy All Humans! 2, this one focused on the various weapons that will be at the player's disposal, including the Disintegrator, Burrow Beast, Zap-o-Matic, and Ion Detonator. Those weapons Crypto can carry with him while others are for his ship, such as the Quantum Deconstructor and, of course, the Death Ray. With the goal of causing chaos and havoc, these weapons will certainly do the tricky.

Destroy All Humans! 2 is to release on August 30 for PC, Xbox Series X/S, and PlayStation 5 with a suggested price of $39.99 for the Standard Edition, and $54.99 for the Dressed to Skill Edition.

Also coming from THQ Nordic is Way of the Hunter and a couple trailers were released for it, with one featuring the animals of Translyvania. Though there are no werewolves, you will be able to hunt wild boars and mouflons in the mysterious Shadow Country of this European landscape. This region spans some 144 square kilometers and is filled with all manner of wildlife.

Also shared this week was a Steyr Arms trailer, featuring the company's officially licensed rifles available within the game. The physics and attributes of the Steyr Pro Hunter II, Steyr Monobloc, and Steyr Mannlicher SM12 have been recreated and will allow you to hunt your way. Here is the trailer for those

Way of the Hunter is to release on August 16 to PC, Xbox Series X/S, and PlayStation 5.

Rounding things off is the announcement that Cartel Tycoon from tinyBuild and Moon Moose will be exiting Early Access on July 26, releasing to Steam, Epic Games Store, and GOG. The versions for Xbox One, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X/S, and PlayStation 5 are expected in 2023. As the name suggests, you will be building a criminal empire, starting from the slums and ending as a kingpin that rules territories in a fictional narco trade-inspired country, set in the 1980s. You will need to develop and expand your supply chain of labs, workshops, and farms while also dealing with rivals, rogue lieutenants, the authorities, and public perception. Among the changes coming with the v1.0 release is a reword to Enemy Gangs that allows for less violent trading and the ability to acquire enemy territories without hostile takeovers. Prison is a new system meant to give you an alternative for dealing with unruly lieutenants.

When Cartel Tycoon 1.0 launches on July 26, it will be priced at $24.99.

Source: Press Release (tinyBuild – Cartel Tycoon)

July 08, 2022

Permalink for 'Various Video Game Stories from the Week of July 4'

10:52

Various Video Game Stories from the Week of July 4

We have arrived at the first weekend of July, and like each weekend, it is time to go through the video news that has collected over the week. Because I go through them in alphabetical order by publisher, except for time sensitive items, the Ubisoft news one the decommission of online services is actually going to be the last part. That has been a fairly significant piece of news this week, so I wanted to point to it.

First up is an item from CD Projekt Red as it has released GWENT: Rogue Mage, a single-player, standalone expansion for GWENT: The Witcher Card Game. This is the first single-player expansion for the game and will allow you to follow Alzur and Lily, an ambitious mage and his companion, at the time of the Conjunction of Spheres. For those unfamiliar with the lore of the Witcher series, this event was when the various monsters entered the world and is hundreds of years before Geralt and any other witcher explored the Continent. On their journey, Alzur will harvest mutagens for various experiment, including some that will be used to develop the witchers; warriors with the skills and training to protect normal humans from monsters.

As GWENT: Rogue Mage has a large scope and is single-player, it is distributed separately from the main game, and needs neither an Internet connection nor the main game's multiplayer client to be played. By logging into your GOG account though, you will be able to enjoy the benefits of cross-saves. There is both a standard version and a Deluxe version that includes the soundtrack, three alternate looks for Alzur, and digital goodies for the main game. GWENT: Rogue Mage is available on PC via GOG and Steam, as well as iOS and Android.

Source: Press Release (CD Projekt Red – GWENT: Rogue Mage)

THQ Nordic has shared a new trailer for Destroy All Humans! 2, this one focusing on the co-op gameplay it offers. You will be able to enjoy 2-player split-screen co-op for the whole campaign, so if you need help or just want to share the fun, that will be possible from your couch.

Destroy All Humans! 2 – Reprobed is releasing on August 30 for PC, Xbox Series X/S, and PlayStation 5. The suggested price for the standard edition is $39.99 while the Dressed to Skill edition will be priced at $54.99.

Also coming from THQ Nordic is The Valiant, where you will play as a knight who wished to escape combat but must now fight to stop a former ally from restoring an artifact with power enough to devastate humanity. Fortunately, you will not be alone as you have no companions to help at your side, and will be able to play as them as well. Konrad is a skilled archer and loyal huntsman, Grimhild is the captain of Raven Company, Reinhard von Kempten is the aging Lord of Kempten, and Gascoigne is a young French knight. Your companions and Theoderich von Akenburg, the protagonist, all have their own skills and strengths, so you may find one companion better equipped for a situation than another.

Unfortunately we do not have a release target of The Valiant just yet, but it is coming to PC and can already be wishlisted on Steam, the Epic Games Store, and GOG.

Source: THQ Nordic (The Valiant)

Waves of Steel, a build-your-own-battleship game from TMA Games has received a major update on Steam Early Access this week. In this game you can build your custom warship with special equipment and abilities, such as an invulnerable energy shield, a time-stopping bubble, and a kickflip. If you are going to be travelling the world to stop despots and defeat evil, mechanical creations, a kickflip might be just what you need. Your main target is the Jormungandr faction that is trying to become an embodiment of the Norse World Serpent.

With this new update has arrived a new boss fight, a train-pulled artillery cannon that rides on flying train tracks, and four new story missions that bring with them extra ship parts. There is also a new rocket-powered racing mini-game so you can test your steering skills.

Waves of Steel is available in Steam Early Access at a price of $14.99. Its v1.0 release is scheduled for July 15, and at that time its price will increase to $19.99.

Source: Press Release (TMA Games – Waves of Steel)

As some of you may have already seen, Ubisoft has shared a list of games that will have their online servers decommissioned on September 1. Unfortunately it is the ultimate fate of all games that rely on Internet servers that the servers will go offline eventually, and take with them certain features, such as multiplayer and other online features. This is the case for titles such as Anno 2070, Assassin's Creed II, and Splinter Cell: Blacklist. In addition to losing those online features though, some games are also going to lose access to DLC, and this list includes Assassin's Creed Brotherhood, the 2012 release of Assassin's Creed 3, the 2012 release of Far Cry 3, Prince of Persia: The Forgotten Sands, and more.

Clearly this is an unfortunate turn of events for some of the games that can still be quite fun today, even if their graphics or certain gameplay conventions are not as impressive as they once were. Obviously this has prompted some backlash including reviewing bombing of at least some of these games. It may also be worth noting that some of the games are still available for purchase. It is reasonable to expect you will still be able to install and launch these games after September 1, but obviously without every feature and even all the available content, for those losing DLC access.

It is an unfortunate if predictable situation these games are in, and begs the questions of what can and what will be done for these and future titles that similarly utilize online servers.

Source: Ubisoft

July 01, 2022

Permalink for 'Various Video Game Stories from the Week of June 27'

12:02

Various Video Game Stories from the Week of June 27

It is the end of the week and the end of the month so it is time to go through the press releases that have arrived in my inbox. First up are a couple items from Devolver Digital, starting with a new trailer for Cult of the Lamb that explains how to start your own cult in just three steps. This information also provides insight into how you form, develop, and protect your in-game cult. You are strengthened as your cult's faith and loyalty grow, which makes it necessary to ensure that loyalty, whether that means marrying a member or ordering an act of cannibalism.

Cult of the Lamb is releasing on August 11 for PC, Xbox One, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X/S, PlayStation 5, and Nintendo Switch.

Source: Press Release (Devolver Digital – Cult of the Lamb)

The second piece of news from Devolver Digital this week was a new gameplay trailer for Return to Monkey Island was released, letting us see Guybrush Threepwood start a new journey to uncover the secret of Monkey Island. He will hardly be alone on this as new Pirate Leaders have arrived to spoil things for him and possibly the evil LeChuck.

We do not have a definitive launch date but it is to release this year on PC and Nintendo Switch.

Source: Press Release (Devolver Digital – Return to Monkey Island)

A new, full-length trailer for The Chant from Prim Matter and Brass Token was shared this week, giving a new look at the nightmares we can expect when this horror title releases. In this game you will visit Glory Island for the Prismic Science Spiritual Retreat for some rest and relaxation, until a ritualistic chant goes wrong. The negative energy of the group opens a way to the Gloom, a dimension of cosmic terror and now you need to uncover the mystery behind the cult before its members go mad from parasitic creatures. These creatures prey on fear, making it necessary to balance your mind, body, and spirit in order to survive.

The Chant will be launching later his year on PC, Xbox Series X/S, and PlayStation 5.

Source: Press Release (Prime Matter – The Chant)

Also being published by Prime Matter is Crossfire: Legion, and information on its upcoming major updates has been shared. Being an Early Access title currently, this is exactly the time to make such major changes as removing the in-game store. Though it was never the developer's intention to lock gameplay-affecting items behind premium currency, it was decided to remove the store entirely, as it was confusing. This also means the unit unlock system that was handled via the store is being removed as well when this update releases, giving players access to all the units immediately. Other announced changes include the adding of Campaign Act II with four missions, a new game mode named Battlelines, new payload map named Badlands, and more, such as hotkey mapping and game economy adjustments. The Battlelines game mode is going to have a more macro focus, so you can engage in 1v1, 2v2, and 3v3 matches with your attention going to army composition instead of micromanaging your units. Place your units in formation and watch as spawned waves autonomously advance to your enemies' HQ.

Source: Prime Matter (Crossfire: Legion)

Dying Light 2 has begun its free Bloody Summer in-game event that will allow players to earn powerful weapons. The chance of cutting off limbs or cutting an enemy is half has increased for this event, which will be helpful as it is limb cutting that will unlock things for you. Cutting off one limb gets you a Harper Token while 300 limbs gets you the Cutting Edge axe. If players across the world remove 3,000,000 limbs, then everyone will receive the Nightrunner Outfit. It is one way to spend the season.

Source: Press Release (Techland – Dying Light 2)

Lastly we have news from THQ Nordic as it announced Stuntfest – World Tour, coming from Pow Wow Entertainment and arriving on PC later this year. Racing, crashing, and destruction have been combined in this title that will have 18 players compete across various game modes. Your goal is to win the festival, and ejecting from your vehicle to fly hundreds of meters can be what that takes. While in the air you can apply gadgets or take secret shortcuts, and then dive back into a vehicle to continue on the road. You can check out the action in the trailer below.

Source: THQ Nordic (Stuntfest – World Tour

12:02

Various Video Game Stories from the Week of June 27

Cult of the Lamb is releasing on August 11 for PC, Xbox One, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X/S, PlayStation 5, and Nintendo Switch.

Source: Press Release (Devolver Digital – Cult of the Lamb)

We do not have a definitive launch date but it is to release this year on PC and Nintendo Switch.

Source: Press Release (Devolver Digital – Return to Monkey Island)

The Chant will be launching later his year on PC, Xbox Series X/S, and PlayStation 5.

Source: Press Release (Prime Matter – The Chant)

Source: Prime Matter (Crossfire: Legion)

Source: Press Release (Techland – Dying Light 2)

Source: THQ Nordic (Stuntfest – World Tour

June 24, 2022

Permalink for 'Various Video Game Stories from the Week of June 20'

10:53

Various Video Game Stories from the Week of June 20

It is Friday again and time to go through some of the news that has collected during the week. First up is the time-sensitive news that the Steam Summer 3000 Sale has begun, so you can find thousands of games on sale and take part in this sale's meta-game. Clorthax, a time-traveling trickster has arrived with clues pointing to games from the future for you to find. As you find them, you level up your Clorthax's Paradox Party Badge. If all you are interested in are the games on sale, as I said there are thousands currently discounted until July 7, so you have time to look around and decide which should shrink your bank account. Among those on sale is Dying Light 2 and this is the deepest discount it has had since launching earlier this year. The Standard Edition is 33% off, the Deluxe Edition is 25% off, and the Ultimate Edition is 20% off.

If you would rather not spend many growing your Steam library, I suggest looking through the games you have and want to play, but have not yet. That is what I am going to be doing.

Source: Steam Store, Clorthax Quest, and Press Release (Techland – Dying Light 2)

Motion Twin and Evil Empire have released a new update for Dead Cells titled Breaking Barriers, and this one is special as it is designed to make the game more accessible. To achieve this the developers have worked with the Ablegamers organization and members of the game's community to design and test settings for people with disability and the new Assist Mode. Among the accessibility settings are customizable controls, the ability to hold for a second jump/roll, and visual changes such as to adjust UI size and transparency. Assist Mode will have an impact of the game's difficulty for those without disabilities, but will not interfere with a player's ability to unlock achievements, as that would be counter to the goal of accessibility. With this mode you can increase the number of lives you have, including to infinity, an auto-hit ability that will automatically attack with your primary weapon, leaving the player to manage skills and the secondary weapon, reducing the need for rapid inputs, and the ability to reveal the entire map, for those who struggle with spatial awareness.

Below is a video going through the various options this update has added, to give you a look at the tweaks you can make now. The source link is to the patch notes page, if you would rather read through the changes.

Source: Dead Cells Patch Notes

Dune: Spice Wars, a 4X, RTS game based on the Dune universe has released its multiplayer update. When it releases, players will be able to challenge each other in 2 v 2 matches or in four-player free-for-alls as the Fremen, Atreides, Harkonnen, or Smugglers. AI can control factions to fill open spots and you can adjust certain features to fit your preferences, such as the map size and the activity of sandworms, storms, and Sietch.

This is not the changes arriving with this update for the Early Access game as its development trees have been adjusted with a focus on synergizing between the factions, as well as new political resolutions, events, regions, and more. As part of the Steam Summer Sale, Dune: Spice Wars is 20% off until July 7.

Source: Press Release (Shiro Games – Dune: Spice Wars)

THQ Nordic has announced the release date for Way of the Hunter, a hunting adventure title with two massive open-world areas. They are large enough that vehicles are an option for getting around, but be careful to not let the noise spook the wildlife. Way of the Hunter will be releasing on August 16 for PC, Xbox Series X/S, and PlayStation 5 with a suggested price of $39.99.

Despot's Game: Dystopian Army Builder from Konfa Games and tinyBuild is a roguelike, tactical, auto-battler and this week it was announced it will be exiting Early Access this Summer. When it does it will be available on PC, Xbox One, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X/S, PlayStation 5, and Nintendo Switch. In the game you must build up your squad into a legion of wizards, ninjas, and many other hero types, all to get them through a post-apocalyptic labyrinth. If this sounds interesting, you can check out the Full Release Announcement Trailer embedded below, to get a look at the gameplay and features. If it looks like something you want, it too is on sale as part of the current Steam sale at 20% off.

Source: Press Release (tinyBuid - Despot's Game: Dystopian Army Builder)

Next up we have some non-video game news, but it is related as this week AMD celebrated one year since the release of FidelityFX Super Resolution 1.0 by releasing the source code for FSR 2.0.1, the latest version of the company's temporal upscaler. Like all of the source code shared through the GPUOpen initiative, it is shared under the MIT license and so developers are fairly free to work on integrating the technology into their games. It supports DirectX 12 and Vulkan with plugins for Unreal Engine 4.26/4.27 and a plugin for Unreal Engine 5 is due soon, and it is part of the Xbox Game Development Kit as well. For those developers working with DirectX 11, AMD suggests contacting one of their representatives.

In addition to sharing the source code, AMD has also put up new screenshot comparisons on its GPUOpen page, so you can check those out if you want to get a close look at the visual impact FSR 2.0 has. It also pointed out that FSR 1.0 and 2.0 is in over 110 available and upcoming games, which is not too bad for one year. For just FSR 2.0, the list is 22 available and upcoming titles, including Tiny Tina's Wonderlands that just received the update adding it.

Source: GPUOpen, GitHub (FidelityFX-FSR2 Respository), and AMD (FSR at One Year)

Phoronix spotted an interesting piece of news in the GitHub repository for Vulkan as details for the API's upcoming mesh shader extension were shared. Mesh shaders effectively redesign the fixed graphics pipeline that has been in use for decades and have the potentially for significant performance and efficiency improvements. My understanding is it treats the various graphics and shader operations more as compute operations, which in turn allows the order of these operations to altered. This can enable things such as culling to occur much earlier, so there is less geometry to process.

DirectX 12 already supports mesh shaders and there is the VK_NV_mesh_shader extension by NVIDIA, but this new extension is to be cross-vendor. According to Timur Kristóf, a member of Valve's Linux graphics driver team, this extension will have many similarities to the DX12 implementation, and this is intentional to make working with it easier. In fact he states, "if you can do something with DirectX mesh shaders, you will be able to also do it in Vulkan." This similarity includes there being two shader stages, with one for mesh shaders and the other for task shaders, which are optional and the equivalent to DX12's amplification shaders. He also says it supports three dimensional dispatches, which is different from the NVIDIA extension that supports one dimensional.

Unfortunately absent from these details are when this shader will be ready. Still, knowing these similarities will hopefully help developers working with Vulkan prepare for when it is release.

Source: GitHub (Vulkan-Docs Issue Comment) and Phoronix

It seems to be that time as PCI-SIG has announced we can expect PCIe 7.0 to be released in 2025, which will double the data rate of PCIe 6.0. It does seem the standards group wants to keep its promise of not allowing the standard to linger on a generation very an extended time, which happened with PCIe 3.0. While speeds of up to 128 GT/s raw bit rate and up to 512 GB/s bi-directationally on the x16 configuration are certainly impressive, it is worth noting that saturating even current PCIe 4.0 and the fewer PCIe 5.0 consumer devices available today is not very easy. This new specification will most likely find its home in data centers and similar, where 800 G Ethernet will enable computing possibilities that might not otherwise be possible in AI/ML, cloud, and quantum computing applications. In addition to the speed increase, it will also improve power efficiency and maintain backwards compatibility with prior PCIe generations.

Source: PCI-SIG

Finishing this one off is some news from Berkeley Lab where researchers have developed a new ultrathin capacitor that could be incorporated into computer chips for improved efficiency. At the heart of the capacitor is barium titanate, a material discovered over 80 years ago and already used in capacitors for various electronics. In those applications, however, it is used in a bulk form that can very quickly flip polarity but takes more than 1 V to do so. As the desire is to reduce this energy requirement and integrate it directly into chips, thin-films from it have been of great interest. The problem there is that while such films were first created over 40 years ago, the defects were enough to significantly cripple performance. This is what Berkeley Lab has addressed as it found applying pulsed-laser deposition can remove these defects.

As the name suggests, pulsed-laser deposition aims a laser at a target of barium titanate. These powerful laser pulses turn some of the material into a plasma that caries the atoms away, to where they are deposited on a surface to create the film. The researchers found they could successfully tune this method to control the structure, chemistry, thickness, and interfaces of the thin film with metal electrodes, ultimately producing a film 25 nm thick with properties similar to that of the bulk material. When the researchers then put the film between metal layers, they found they had a capacitor and could switch its polarity with less than 100 mV and that the switching occurred within two billionths of a second.

With additional work, they believe they can increase the switching speed to be more competitive with modern electronics and intend to reduce the thickness of the film further, making it more compatible with current hardware. To that end, the Berkeley Lab researchers are working with collaborators at companies such as Intel, as the hope is deploying capacitors based on this material for data storage could dramatically improve the efficiency of computers. Besides taking less energy to flip, this device can also remain in that state permanently, meaning memory built with it would be non-volatile, providing another way to save energy as it refreshing the data will not be necessary.

Source: Berkeley Lab

June 17, 2022

Permalink for 'Various Video Game Stories from the Week of June 13'

11:56

Various Video Game Stories from the Week of June 13

It is the end of the week and so it is time to go through what remains of the press releases that have collected in my inbox. Monday's item covers most of what I have received this week, but there are some that have arrived since. First up is a new trailer for S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2: Heart of Chornobyl, an immersive horror-simulation FPS targeting a 2023 release on PC and Xbox Series X/S. This new trailer does not offer gameplay, but does help establish its setting as a truck is driven into the zone, accompanied by a motivating if also suspicious narration.

In addition to this trailer, the developer GSC Game World that is based in Kyiv, Ukraine also shared a video to show how some things have changed for them due to the current war. As it does show some images from the war, it might not be appropriate for all viewers, but here is a link to it, with the game trailer embedded below: S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2 Dev Diary: Game Development During the War.

Source: Press Release (Koch Media - S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2: Heart of Chornobyl)

One of the games I covered in the earlier post this week was Flintlock: The Siege of Dawn, a game where you will be fighting gods and their undead armies using a flintlock, axe, and magic. Since then a new trailer has been released, this one revealing the gameplay but also accompanied with a commentary by the CEO and Creative Director of A44 Games, Derek Bradley. This helps to provide some insight into this title that we can expect early 2023 for PC, Xbox One, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X/S, and PlayStation 5.

Source: Press Release (Kepler Interactive – Flintlock: The Siege of Dawn)

Publisher Phoenixx and developer Neotro have announced a partnership this week concerning NeverAwake, an upcoming twin-stick shoot'em up that Phoenixx will be publishing worldwide. In this title, you will be entering the world of Rem's fears and horrors, as this little girl has found herself in what seems to be an eternal sleep. To wake up, she will need to defeat representations of her fears while exploring this whimsical but gloomy world. These fears include the evil vegetables she despises as well as the dentist that terrifies her. As you defeat enemies you will collect their souls, and you can then spend them to upgrade weapons or get accessories, but be careful to not spend too long in any level. After a time the levels will turn and become more difficult with each loop you make.

As part of the Steam Next Fest a new demo has been released for the game, which includes new auto-aiming for improved accessibility and new customization options.

Source: Press Release (Phoenixx – NeverAwake)

A new gameplay trailer has been shared by Serenity Forge and developer Twin Otter Studios for Arcadian Atlas. This tactical RPG will be arriving on PC in Summer 2023 and this trailer shows off some of the battles the player must fight in order to save the land of Arcadia. This nation is being torn apart by political and familial factions, nefarious plots, treacherous alliances, and clandestine intrigues, politics also play a role in the experience. If you make the wrong move, it is possible for you family and alliances to be torn apart, and with ancient evil forces awakening, such damage can impact the whole of Arcadia.

Source: Press Release (Serenity Forge – Arcadian Atlas)

June 13, 2022

Permalink for 'Additional Various Video Game Stories from the June 11 Weekend'

21:36

Additional Various Video Game Stories from the June 11 Weekend

There have been a lot of press releases arriving in my inbox over the weekend between the different events going on, so rather than wait for more to appear by Friday, I thought I would write this today. First up are a couple time-sensitive items as both GOG and Steam have giveaways at the moment that you may wish to take advantage of. From GOG you can claim a copy of Shantae and the Pirate's Curse until June 15, an action-adventure platformer from 2015. Over at Steam you can claim a free copy of ARK: Survival Evolved and have a very different experience as it is an open world survival game, until June 19.

Source: GOG (Shantae and the Pirate's Curse giveaway) and Steam (ARK: Survival Evolved)

3D Realms and Jasozz Games have released an updated demo for their horror-themed shooter CULTIC as part of the Steam Next Fest. The game features classic visual and modern combat and the updated demo has an overhauled map, new wave-based Survival Mode inspired by Resident Evil 4's "The Mercenaries" and Killing Floor as well as refined combat, graphics, and weapon upgrades. When the game launches later this year on PC, Xbox One, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X/S, PlayStation 5, and Nintendo Switch, you will get to uncover the truth behind kidnappings and gruesome murders as a disgraced detective. Just after exiting his car he is ambushed and when he regains consciousness, finds himself in a mass grave with fresh but unbleeding wounds. Though uncertain of his resurrection, he rises to destroy the cult behind it all and stop their rituals.

Source: Press Release (3D Realms – CULTIC)

Zombies are a problem and while most games suggest the solution is some properly placed bullets, Aerosoft and Thera Bytes have a different idea. In Zombie Cure Lab you must build a laboratory to find a cure for zombies that turns them into Humbies, human-zombie hybrids you can put to work supporting your scientists. They do have needs though, and failing to satisfy them will result in them reverting. This cure's success is not guaranteed, but that is not a problem as every night the undead army attack; just make sure you lab's design will survive.

The game's debut demo is available now as part of the Steam Next Fest, but is only going to be available until June 21. The game's Early Access release will be later this year.

Source: Press Release (Aerosoft – Zombie Cure Lab)

From publisher All in! Games and developer Naraven Games, the reveal trailer of Backfirewall_ has been shared for this first-person puzzle adventure set within a smartphone. You are the Update Assistant and have been given the task by the Update Protocol to update the phone's operating system. The thing is, the old and buggy OS9 does not want to be removed and so has other plans for you. Within the game's setting, you will faced with the torment programs face as portions of their code is erased and replaced in the name of progress. You will also navigate the bureaucratic nightmare of Wi-Fi, visit the speakers' exclusive nightclub, and encounter many quirky characters that are personifications of the phone's software, including its rich file history. Ultimately you will need to decide whether OS9 deserves to be discarded and replaced, or if you would prefer to let it stay.

Source: Press Release (All in! Games – Backfirewall_)

Revealed at the Xbox and Bethesda Games Showcase was Ravenlok by Cococucumber, a title that takes you into a magical realm filled with peculiar creatures and evil entities. You will need to explore this world and ultimately defeat its Caterpillar Queen to find your way home. From the Mushroom Forest to the haunted Mask Mansion you will explore and wield your sword and shield to survive and learn the secrets of this fallen world.

Ravenlok is releases in 2023 for PC, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.

Source: Press Release (Cococucumber – Ravenlok)

Though it just had its Countdown to Marketing event, Devolver Digital released another trailer this weekend, this one for Terra Nil, a reverse city builder. Rather than trying to develop a city, this game tasks you with restoring wastelands to again be home to flora and fauna. It is scheduled to launch in 2023.

Source: Press Release (Devolver Digital – Terra Nil)

For the IGN Summer of Gaming event, Freedom Games shared several announcements, including a new game, release dates, and details for some of its upcoming projects. It also released a new game, Symphony of War, a pixel squad-based tactics RPG from Dancing Dragon Games. Enter the land of Tahnra as an Imperial Army Officer with the task of rescuing Empress Florina, which will require carving through enemy factions, including rival nobles with each group hoping to claim some power.

The title that got its debut was Good Heavens!, a survival crafting RPG set in the afterlife of NPCs from developed Nowhere Studios. You will be patching the oversights and mistakes of the creator of this cybernetic great beyond alone or with up to seven other players.

Retreat to Enen is a tranquil survival game from Head West and will be coming to PC on August 5. In this title you will be travelling on a lush island, applying survival and meditation skills to find peace of body, mind, and soul.

Neon Blight is a "brightly-colored bullet-hell shopkeep manager roguelite" from Bleeding Tapes and will be arriving on July 11. That is at least curious combination of descriptors so it will be interesting to see what it is like next month.

Tyrant's Blessing is a tactical grid, turn-based RPG from Mercury Game Studios that will be arriving on August 8 that will challenge you with defeating a despot's false paradise. Monster Tribe is a creature-collecting RPG from Boundless Games and it will be arriving a week later on August 15.

The release windows for One Lonely Outpost, 9 Years of Shadows, Monorail Stories, and Puzzles for Clef have also been shared a Q3 2022, Q4 2022, Q3 2022, and 2023 respectively. With One Lonely Outpost you will try to setup a space farm on an alien planet while 9 Years of Shadows is a pixel art Metroidvania. Monorail Stories is an asynchronous multiplayer narrative experience and Puzzles for Clef is a narrative puzzle platformer.

Source: Press Release (Freedom Games)

Flintlock: The Siege of Dawn from Kepler Interactive and A44 Games had its first gameplay trailer released as part of the Xbox and Bethesda Games Showcase, and it will be arriving on PC, Xbox One, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X/S, and PlayStation 5 in early 2023. In this game you enter a gunpowder fantasy world where gods, believed to have abandoned humanity have returned, but their arrival also opened the door to the afterlife and released an undead army onto the world. With humanity's survival at stack, Nor Vanek with her foxlike companion Enki will wield the power of magic and gunpowder on a personal quest of vengeance. She does not know if the gods can be killed, but is going to find out.

Source: Press Release (Kepler Interactive – Flintlock: The Siege of Dawn)

Also being published by Kepler Interactive is Scorn, an atmospheric horror game from Ebb Software, and during the Xbox and Bethesda Games Showcase it had two trailers release and its release date was shared as October 21 for PC and Xbox Series X/S. In this game you are lost in a living labyrinth and must find your way forward while surrounded by visceral, fleshy contraptions, and you must consider every encounter carefully as there is limited ammunition, health, and resources. You will need to discover the mystery of this world and solve intricate puzzles, but be aware the game lacks voice acting, so all of the story will be delivered by the environment itself. This point is made in the gameplay walkthrough that features Doug Bradley as narrator: Scorn - Gameplay Walkthrough.

It seems embedding is not allowed for the other trailer, so here is a link to that: Scorn – Gameplay & Release Date Announce Trailer.

Source: Press Release (Kepler Interactive – Scorn)

Another Kepler Interactive title to see a trailer release this weekend was Tchia from Awaceb, and in this trailer we get a special look at the game's soul-jumping mechanic. This allows you to take control of animals and objects to explore and combat enemies. Rather than just throwing an oil lantern at enemies, you can possess it, hurl yourself, and then enter the body of a seagull to escape. The game will feature over 30 animals you can possess and hundreds more objects through its environment. You play as Tchia, a smart heroine whose quest is to rescue her father from Meavora, the tyrannical ruler of the archipelago the game is set in, and this will require defeating odd fabric creatures you cover across.

Tchia is to release early 2023 on PC, PlayStation 4, and PlayStation 5.

Source: Press Release (Kepler Interactive – Tchia)

Modus Games and Reply Game Studios have announced Soulstice will be releasing on September 20 and that signups for an early PC demo are open now. In this game you will need to fight against the Spawn of Chaos as Briar and Lute, sisters who have been turned into a Chimera, one wielding weapons and the other magic as it is only a paired-warrior like this that has any hope of success. To celebrate the announcement, a new cinematic trailer was also released that highlights the bond these sisters share, as well as some of the challenges they will be facing as they fight to reach the Tear in the Sky above the city of Ilden.

Source: Modus Games (Soulstice)

Also shared by Modus Games is a new teaser trailer for Super Animal Royale's Season 4, which beings June 28. With this season an oversized star-nosed mole has arrived to add some MOBA-style mayhem to the experience as you need to eliminate this monstrously sized threat.

Source: Modus Games (Super Animal Royale)

Hammer of Virtue from No Pest Productions is to arrive late this year on PC and PlayStation 5, but as part of the Steam Next Fest a demo is available until June 20. In the game you are humanity's last hope against the legions of robotic animals attacking the world's cities. With a suit of armor and super-powered hammer you will enter into combat zones for intense melee showdowns. You can destroy the environment around you as needed and parry attacks to open your enemies up for powerful critical strikes, or to simply survive against the challenging bosses.

Source: Press Release (No Pest Productions – Hammer of Virtue)

Prime Matter has shared a new trailer for the upcoming Gungrave G.O.R.E. that is to show off the game's ballet of bullets. It is behind an age-gate though, so you will need to log into YouTube to view it: Gunegrave G.O.R.E. – Bullets Beauty Badass Trailer. The game is to arrive on PC, Xbox One, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X/S, and PlayStation 5 later this year.

Source: Press Release (Prime Matter – Gungrave G.OR.E.)

Also, Prime Matter is turning one year old and so is going to hold the Prime Matter Showcase on June 17 at 1 PM EDT, hosted by the publisher's resident streamer Luci Verdalla. This 30 minute showcase will be at its Twitch channel and will include its upcoming and exciting new titles. After the showcase will be a live Q&A between Luci and Steve Coleman.

Source: Prime Matter

Serenity Forge shared a trailer for Lifeless Moon, the spiritual successor to Lifeless Planet from developer Lifeless Worlds that brings players to the Moon in Apollo-era spacesuits. On the Moon the astronaut discovers a town that is familiar, but nothing is as it seems in this adventure spanning time and space. Lifeless Moon is aiming for a Q1 2023 launch.

Source: Press Release (Serenity Forge – Lifeless Moon)

Shiro Unlimited revealed two new games at the PC Gaming Show, Abyssals and Decarnation, with both aiming for a 2023 release. The first is a survival, RTS, city-builder in which humanity has had to retreat into the depths of a remote ocean planet after Earth could no longer support life. You will need to build intricate electrical system to see through the constant darkness of this world, and then build submarines cities and fight off the threats lurking in the waters around you. This is specially aiming for a Q1 2023 release.

Decarnation is a narrative puzzle game that has you phasing in and out of a parallel reality filled with demented creatures to escape a maddening prison as the tormented soul of Gloria tries to fight her demons. This is to arrive on PC and Nintendo Switch in 2023.

Source: Press Release (Shiro Unlimited)

Techland has details for Dying Light 2's Patch 1.4 update that includes the first free gameplay chapter, amongst other changes. This new chapter is titled In the Footsteps of a Nightrunner and you will be helping Harper, a Nightrunner from the past as he fights the Special Infected endangering the City's people. In exchange for your help, you will receive powerful equipment you have never seen before. You can find Harper at the Fish Eye Canteen. As your bond with Harper grows, you will rank up via reputation points and unlock access to high-end weapons, outfits, and consumables.

With this patch also arrives new enemies, the Volatile Tyrant and Volatile Hive to challenge you and probably put those high-end weapons to work. You will also be able to test yourself by purchasing a Chapter Mission Ticket from the Chapter Agent to take part in time trials focused on stealth, parkour, or combat skills. And finally, for those in the community that have been requesting it, the game has received its Photo Mode.

Source: Press Release (Techland – Dying Light 2)

As part of the Steam Summer Game Fest, THQ Nordic has released a demo of Destroy All Humans! 2 onto Steam. Go to Bay City and apply the Zap-o-Matic in Bay City to teach humans just how to have a real Furon party. The game will be releasing on August 30 for PC, Xbox Series X/S, and PlayStation 5.

That was not the only announcement from THQ Nordic as SpellForce: Conquest of Eo was announced, a turn-based strategy game in the world of SpellForce coming to PC. From your humble beginnings in your master's small wizard tower you will go on to explore the world of Eo and develop your magical powers. Your armies and heroes will have to face competing factions as you hunt for secrets and artifacts to advance your knowledge and magic, all with the goal of becoming the most powerful mage of all time. To keep things interesting, the campaigns are procedurally generated and randomly picked opponents to face, as well as different mage classes to try.

Source: THQ Nordic (SpellForce: Conquest of Eo)

The Fridge is Red is an upcoming first-person horror anthology series coming from tinyBuild and developer 5WORD Team. In this game, with its PS1-inspired visuals, Frank cannot look away from the red fridge in his basement as strange voices and sounds come from it. The notes from his missing daughter, Laurie, also suggest this demonic appliance has done something to her, so he must search for answers to open it. However, if he looks away from it, it moves closer and emits malice with each shake and scratch. The game is aiming for a Q4 2022 release and a demo is available now as part of Steam Next Fest.

Source: Press Release (tinyBuild – The Fridge is Red)

Starkeepers is a newly announced MMORPG coming from Wolfpack Games, a new studio with staff already experienced in the MMO genre. Eons ago, benevolent cosmic creators stitched together the celestial multiverse after breaking through the darkness of primordial oblivion. Now the Astrals, children of the omnipotent gods have been tasked to safeguard the universe. As one of the noble warriors known as Starkeepers, you will need to stop the impending Eldritch threats and will also drive captivating narratives as you build relationships between opposing factions. It will also fall on you to fight corrupted gods, but by harnessing the power of star relics you will be able to weild complex combat techniques. This game will be arriving on Steam Early Access in early 2023.

Source: Press Release (Wolfpack Games)

Ysbyrd Games and Glitch Factory have announced the release date for No Place for Bravery, an action-RPG that will arrive on PC and Nintendo Switch on September 22. In it you explore the harsh world of Dewr and encounter its violent tribes as Thorn. Once a soldier, he laid down his arms to live a quiet life as a tavern keeper, but after learning of a reappearance of his long lost daughter, Leaf, he becomes a merciless soldier once more. As you progress on his odyssey, you will find new weapons and gear as well as develop your skills as you will need to react to split-second lunges and attack the momentary openings in your enemy's defense. You will also need to protect Phid, your foster son who is tagging along for this journey.

Source: Press Release (Ysbyrd Games – No Place for Bravery)

June 10, 2022

Permalink for 'Various Video Game Stories from the Week of June 6'

10:43

Various Video Game Stories from the Week of June 6

The week has reached its end, and so it is time to go through the news that has collected, starting with the time-sensitive news of GOG beginning its Summer Sale. This sale goes until June 27, so you still have plenty of time to look through what is being offered, from classics such as Diablo and Metal Gear to newer releases like Chorus that was added to the catalog at the start of the sale, and is discounted 40%. That is not the only game added to the GOG catalog though as a partnership with SEGA has brought Alien: Isolation to it as well, and we can expect more titles to come, including Two Point Hospital and Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine. Also, GOG is doing five giveaways during the sale, and while the first has already ended, the second is currently going on so if you visit the GOG homepage you can pick up a copy of Venetica – Gold Edition until June 12, 1 PM UTC. Along with this new giveaway, more games have been discounted, such as Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice and the S.T.A.L.K.E.R. series.

And as a quick reminder, the current Epic Games Mega Sale 2022 is ending next week on June 16.

Source: GOG [1] (Summer Sale) and [2] (SEGA Partnership Announcement)

Next we have some from The Arcade Crew and Ishtar Games as The Last Spell has received its Fear of the Lake major update. With this arrives two new bosses, Cetusia and the sisters Aello, Celaeno, and Ocythoe, as well as a full rework of Lakeburg. The sisters provide a boss fight for Gildenburg and are designed to be only as difficult as the previous night but to change up the pace to for the players. Cetusia then is for Lakeburg, which has been reworked to feature a larger lake with abandoned docks and a small river with a bridge crossing over it. This larger lake is home to Cetusia and she will use its water as a shield and as a weapon by creating tidal waves.

Other changes include the shop being reworked so it will automatically level up and it has sorting and filters to better find that specific item you are looking for. As the developers explain, while random drops are an important part of the roguelite experience, it can also be frustrating to never get what it is you are looking for, and they are hoping this and other changes will help with that. Production buildings have also been changed so they now share an upgrade level, rather than being upgraded one by one, and you can unlock Reward Rerolls that can be used up to three times a day to get different Night Rewards or Production Rewards. The construction menu has been changed as well and now features the ability to repair multiple buildings at the same time.

There are many other changes than these, so you may want to check out the source links for that information.

Source: Steam News (The Last Spell) and Steam Discussions Patch Notes (The Last Spell)

Deep and Volition have released the Boss Factory demo for the upcoming Saints Row that will allow you to start designing and assembling your character now. The game will feature the series' "best and boldest" customization suite and this will let players get a head start on creating exactly what they want, as well as sharing it. Naturally you will be able to save the character for use in the game when it launches August 23, but you will also be able to share it via SaintsRow.com, where registered users can download it to make edits of their own. By sharing a character from Boss Factory you unlock two helmets for use in the game.

When it releases Saints Row will be available on PC, Xbox One, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X/S, and PlayStation 5. This Boss Factory demo is available on those same platforms.

Source: Press Release (Deep Silver – Saints Row)

Devolver Digital was Devolver Digital for twenty-five minutes this week, during the Summer Games Fest and also made five game announcements. First of these was sharing the release date trailer for Cult of Lamb, which will be arriving on August 11 for PC, Xbox One, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X/S, PlayStation 5, and Nintendo Switch. In this title you will be leading your cult in a land of false prophets as you build your community to establish yours as the one true cult.

The publisher next announced Anger Foot, which will be coming to PC in 2023, allowing players to run through the "caffeine-fueled fever dream of Shit City," using your angry feet to kick around the "menacing menagerie of merciless gangsters." You will not have to rely on kicks alone though, as you will have guns at your disposal as well for your hands to fire. I felt it necessary to point out it will be your hands firing the guns, and not still your feet.

Card Shark is available now and its launch trailer was also part of the event, giving players another look at the gameplay it offers. In this game you take on 18^th Century French society by engaging in card games to build up your fortune to buy to ever higher stakes tables. This will require cunning, strategy, and whatever cheating you can get away with, because your opponents are not very forgiving.

The Plucky Squire takes the storybook hero of Jot and his frames beyond their usual adventures and into the three-dimensional world outside their book. Humgrump, the villain of the book arranged this as he realized being the villain means you lose against the forces of good, unless, of course, those forces are no longer around. With them outside the pages, the story has changed and now Jot take part in this action-adventure that goes between 2D and 3D worlds that involves solving puzzles, fighting badgers, using his jetpack, and overcoming other mini-challenges. This is expected to launch in 2023 for PC, Xbox Series X/S, PlayStation 5, and Nintendo Switch.

Skate Story will have you playing as a demon in the underworld with the singular purpose of reaching the Moon and swallowing it, as that is you will be freed. The demon also made from glass and pain while the game is from Sam Eng. On your way through the underworld you will need to skate fast to destroy other demons and save other tortured souls as you become a hardened skater. It is to release in 2023 for PC.

As usual after one of these, it will be interesting to see what Devolver does next time with its special brand of marketing videos.

Source: Press Release (Devolver Digital)

Dotemu and Tribute Games have made a couple significant announces for Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder's Revenge, which releases on June 16 to PC, Xbox One, PlayStation 4, and Nintendo Switch. This retro-inspired game that already features the four heroes in a half-shell, Splinter, and April O'Neil will also have Casey Jones as a playable character for beating up the bad guys across New York City. With his range, speed, and power he will be quite effective against the Foot Clan soldiers, once he is unlocked.

The second announcement is also pretty neat as it was shared the game will feature 6-player co-op multiplayer. It would take a pretty sizeable couch to hold everyone, so if you want you can use online multiplayer instead, with players able to drop in and out at any time. You can watch the chaos in action in the trailer below.

Source: Press Release (Dotemu – Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder's Revenge)

Prime Matter and KING Art Games have released a new game mode for Iron Harvest, the World Map Campaign that features over 40 new missions. This provides a new experience for the game as you need to protect your new capital maps and secure control over territories. It offers several configurations the player can choose from, with each having their own division of territories and victory conditions, but also a custom campaign editor, so you can make your own challenges. The update also adds a new 3v3 multiplayer/skirmish map, Forgotten Fortress, that will take places to the hazardous desert of Arabia.

This is the first of three updates and has arrived on PC with the console version to arrive in the future.

Source: Press Release (Prime Matter – Iron Harvest)

I also spotted this press release from Prime Matter that I want to include if only because of the trailer (that curiously does not want to be embedded). It appears Coffee Stain has been rather busy on this new game as the studio failed to notice it has skipped a sequel with announcing Goat Simulator 3. Pilgar the goat is back and this time will be exploring the island of San Angora, where she will be able to uncover its secrets, or just destroy things. Expect unnatural disasters, secret animal societies, triple jumping, and whatever other nonsense the developers can think of. That includes having a herd of up to four players with online multiplayer.

Goat Simulator 3 is to release this Fall for PC, Xbox Series X/S, and PlayStation 5.

Source: Prime Matter (Goat Simulator 3)

Lastly for the directly video game news, Techland has announced and released Dying Light: Definitive Edition this week, marking the end of new, active development for this seven year old game. This version of the game includes the base game and 26 DLCs, including expansion packs and skin bundles, so more than I covered for my Complete Experience review late last year. It is available at up to 70% off but if you already own the Platinum Edition, you will be upgraded for free. The digital and physical release for the Nintendo Switch will arrive at a later date. For those active players concerned, there will be a steady reroll of events to enjoy.

Source: Press Release (Techland – Dying Light Definitive Edition)

AMD had its Financial Analyst Day this week, where it provided information on how its business is doing as well as what can be expected in the future. There is a lot that can be gone through, but I am going to focus on the future products shared in the presentations, including one showing Zen 4 will receive 3D V-Cache, like what is on the Ryzen 7 5800X3D to make it such a powerful gaming chip, as well as the Zen 4c design that features a more compact core for greater density. These Zen 4 designs will be on 5 nm and 4 nm, according to the roadmap, with Zen 5, which will also include versions with 3D V-Cache and a 5c design, being on 4 nm and 3 nm, expected in 2024, though the roadmap may change.

Some additional details on the Zen 4 architecture was also shared, including an 8-10% increase in IPC and up to 125% more memory bandwidth per core. The company also stated it is expecting at least 15% improvement to single thread performance and repeated that there are ISA extensions for AI and AVX-512. As for performance-per-watt, the company is claiming over a 25% improvement compared to Zen 3 and over 35% more overall performance for a 16 core/32 thread part against the Ryzen 9 5950X.

According to the presentation Zen 5 is a new grounds-up micro-architecture design expected in 2024 with enhanced performance and efficient, a new front end and wide issue, as well as optimizations to the integrated AI and machine learning. Information was also shared on the 4^th Gen AMD Infinity Architecture that will support 2.5D and 3D chiplet integration with unified system level coherency, extensions for Xilinix and third-party IP, CXL 2.0-based memory for disaggregation, and an extensible architecture for CXL 3.0 and UCIe standards. In an image for this technology, it suggests the fabric being used to connect between a Zen CPU, RDNA GPU, CDNA GPU, 3D V-Cache, FPGA, and AIE, AMD's AI acceleration, so we are looking at a technology meant to san the company's breadth of products. Also, because of its support of third-party IP that does mean a heterogeneous platform that supports other company's chiplets could be in that mix as well.

RDNA 3 was also covered, with one slide claiming this architecture maybe able to surpass RDNA's performance-per-watt by 50%. While that is certainly impressive, I seem to recall such an increase generation-over-generation has been part of AMD's goals for a while. Still, this uplift is being attributed to the move to the 5 nm process, advanced chiplet packaging, a new design to the Compute Unit, optimized graphics pipeline, and the next generation of Infinity Cache. Another roadmap suggests RDNA 4 may be aiming for 2024 and it will be on an "advanced node," as opposed to RDNA 3 which will be using a 5 nm manufacturing process.

It is worth noting that until these products are released, performance can change as things are dialed in, and that roadmaps are always subject to change.

Source: AMD (Financial Analyst Day)

ND Projekt Red, Netflix, and Studio Trigger have shared a teaser trailer for the upcoming Cyberpunk: Edgerunners anime hat is to premiere in September. It will tell a standalone story across 20 episodes, following a street kid trying to survive in a futuristic city that is observed with technology and body-modification. To survivor he has decided to become an edgerunner, a mercenary outlaw also known as a cyberpunk.

In addition to the teaser trailer, an Insider Look video was also shared, providing insight from the CDPR staff involved in the project as well as some first-look stills and concept art.

Source: Press Release (CD Projekt Red – Cyberpunk: Edgerunners)

Lastly I have some news from MIT that is somewhat interesting as the university has developed a means to efficiently parallelize programs for the Unix shell. Importantly, the process is error-free and automatic, so it can provide performance benefits for any of the many, many people that use the programming environment, from data scientists and engineers to biologists.

Something important to understand about the Unix shell, which is now some 50 years old, is it allows one to work in multiple programming languages. Some languages are better for one task or another, so this capability is critical in many situations. Unfortunately it also complicates parallelizing the work, but PaSh, the system MIT researchers have developed, has managed to do exactly that. It works by performing a pre-processing step to insert annotations where it believes a component can be parallelized. It then attempts to do so when the script is running, as that component is reached. This just-in-time approach is important as it address the impossible nature of predicting behaviors in shell programming. If it finds the component cannot be parallelized, then it falls back to the original version to avoid any errors. As errors cannot be tolerated while slow performance can be, this promise of being error-free is important.

While testing on hundreds of classic and modern programs, PaSh did not break one and was able to, on average, increase performance by a factor of 6. The maximum increase was a factor of 34 though, but in time we may see this surpassed. This is an open source project and the researchers are also looking forward to receiving feedback from users.

A next step for PaSh is to look into dividing a program so it can run on multiple computers, rather than just multiple threads on one computer, as well as improvement the annotation scheme. With a better scheme it will hopefully become more user-friendly and be able to better describe complex components.

Source: MIT

June 03, 2022

Permalink for 'Various Video Game Stories from the Week of May 30'

9:46

Various Video Game Stories from the Week of May 30

The week and May have both reached there end, which means it is time to go through the news that has collected in my inbox. First up is some from 1047 Games, the studio behind Splitgate as Beta Season 2 has launched, bringing with it new game modes, a new progression system, a remastered map, and a new battle pass.

These new game modes are Juggernaut, Hotzone, and Lockdown. Juggernaut is a Free for All mode where one player is the Juggernaut, which makes them harder to kill, but doing so is the only way to score points, and when you get the last hit, you become the Juggernaut. Hotzone and Lockdown are both team-based modes that are variants of previous modes meant to make comebacks a little easier. The developers had noticed that in King of the Hill and Domination matches, both of which involve capturing zones to score points per second, it was possible for one team to get such a lead that it was almost impossible to beat them. These new modes change the formula by requiring you to hold the one zone for 30 seconds or multiple zones at the same time to score a point. The points necessary to win have naturally been lowered to account for this, but given these conditions it will likely still prove difficult to secure a victory.

The progression system has been changed so it will feel more rewarding as you advance in Pro tiers and unlock badges to show off on your player card. Each Pro tier also provides a permanent 1% experience boost, with a cap of 10% to help you climb. Each tier does have 100 levels though, so it will still take some time, but any prior experience you earned is carried over. The matchmaking system has also been given some attention, bringing it to 2.0 and it should get you into matches with people of your skill level faster. The weighting of very skilled players has been changed, to avoid "reverse boosting" that would allow these skilled players to dominate their opponents.

The remastered map is Abyss, and it has received more than just a visual overhaul, which you can see some of in the trailer below. There are a number of other changes listed in the patch notes that are on the other side of the source link.

Source: 1047 Games (Splitgate)

Devolver Digital has announced its announcement of announcing announcements is going to be on June 9 at 3 PM Pacific with its Devolver Marketing Countdown to Marketing event, and it is promising the greatest countdown the games industry has ever seen, because that is all the viewers care about. In other words, Devolver is being Devolver and will have at least four game announcements on June 9 during the Summer Game Fest. It will the streamed on Twitch.tv/Twitchgaming and last for 30 minutes. You can check out the teaser announcing the event here, but be aware, there is an amount of profanity used: Devolver Direct 2022 Teaser | Watch June 9 @ 3PM Pacific

Source: Press Release (Devolver Digital)

This piece of news actually arrived last week, but after I had already posted the item then. In any case, EA has officially announced Star Wars Jedi: Survivor, the sequel to Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order that released a few years ago. It is aiming to release in 2023 but is set five years after the previous title. Cal Kestis must continue to stay ahead of the Empire as it continues hunting the few remaining Jedi in the galaxy. BD-1 remains his trusty companion and he will encounter new characters to ally with on his journey.

When it releases, it will arrive on PC, Xbox Series X/S, and PlayStation 5.

Source: EA (Star Wars Jedi: Survivor)

HandyGames has shared the confirmed release date for Endling – Extinction is Forever as well as a trailer to show off the gameplay for this title where you play as the last fox in the world, trying to find food for your cubs. This will require you to explore devastated environments and hunt other animals while avoiding becoming prey yourself, and it starts on July 19. To celebrate a 10% pre-order discount has been applied on the normal $29.99 price. You can check out the source link below for links to different digital storefronts, depending on your preference.

Source: HandyGames (Endling – Extinction is Forever)

The Irregular Corporation and Foxy Voxel have released a major update to Going Medieval, with this one adding new animals and the ability to tame them. Any animal in the game can be tamed now, though success will vary between them, and not just based on a settler's animal husbandry skills. Still, it may prove worth it to have some domesticated chickens, goats, sheep, and cows around for the different resources they can provide. Of course it will be interesting to see what one will be able to do with tamed rats, boars, and foxes.

Initially animals will start as being wild, but you can send a settler to attempt to tame them. It will take multiple successful attempts for them to become domesticated, but as I said, they will provide resources that can make the effort worth it. But you do need to be careful because a failed attempt can see the animal attack the tamer.

Domesticated animals will wander around your settlement, though they will not go through doors unless they are always open. These animals will need food and will eat whatever they find when hungry. At night they will also look for a roof to sleep under, so you may want to provide one for your animal pen. Domesticated animals can be slaughtered, producing the carcass it leaves behind.

If you choose to train your domesticated animals, you can turn them into pets, and this currently applies to all animals, in the game. Pets will be able to go through unlocked doors and some will engage enemies when they approach. Pets will also haul resources occasionally, though how often and how much will depend on the animal type. Pets, once assigned to their master, will follow the same sleep schedule.

As for the resources these animals can provide, there are eggs, milk, and wool you can gather, and these can be processed to create stuffed eggs and cheese.

Many other changes have been applied with this update as well, including an overhaul to path finding, clean up to JSON files that will make modding easier, even though it is not officially supported. Also, by popular demand, the length of the day has been increased to 20 minutes. It should be noted though that old saves will not work with this version. You can go to the pre-update Legacy branch though, if you wish to continue with an existing settlement.

Source: Going Medieval Steam News (Patch Notes)

Destroy All Humans! 2 – Reprobed has received its release date of August 30, so on that day Crypto will once again arrive to conquer Earth. Technically it is the next Cryptosporidium, number 138, but he will be the same charming invader as before. This time he will be using his arsenal of weapons across five open-world areas, Bay City, Albion, Takoshima, Tunguska, and the Moon, as he deals with Hippies, the KGB, and more. Helping you get around will be his jetpack, hover board, and naturally his flying saucer with its own selection of weapons. To unlock you skills you will need to abduct humans, but be sure to follow the recipe for optimal results.

With the release date announced, pre-orders have also begun, so you can secure your copy of the game on PC, Xbox One, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X/S, or PlayStation 5 today. Additionally, pre-ordering the game will get you instant access to the standalone multiplayer spin-off Destroy All Humans! Clone Carnage. In this title four players can wreak havoc online or two can engage in local multiplayer. This is also available separately at a price of $12.99. The main game will support split-screen co-op for the campaign, by the way.

Source: THQ Nordic (Destroy All Humans! 2 - Reprobed)

May 27, 2022

Permalink for 'Various Video Game Stories from the Week of May 23'

11:03

Various Video Game Stories from the Week of May 23

As this week comes to an end with possibly a long weekend for many about to start, it is time to run through the news that has collected. First up we have a couple items from 2K starting with the time sensitive news that BioShock: The Collection has arrived on the Epic Games Store and is free for the first week. This collection includes the remastered versions of BioShock and BioShock 2 (reviews are of the original versions), and the Complete Edition of Bioshock Infinite (again, the review is of the original version). These games are classics, especially the first, and almost certainly worthy of a place in video game libraries, so would you kindly claim the free copy before Thursday. (It might be predictable, but of course I would make the joke.)

The other piece of news from 2K is a gameplay overview trailer for The Quarry, the next title from Supermassive Games. Set at a Summer camp, the game follows the young camp counselors in a horror story that will be familiar to many of those who have seen some of the horror films of the 1980s. This trailer provides a look at the premise of the game, various features, accessibility options, and game modes. One of the features shown is the multiplayer ability to invite up to seven friends to watch and vote on key decisions, so the story can be for the whole group. With couch co-op though, different players can be responsible for certain characters, and you need to pass the controller around at the right time. If you prefer to just watch the story, you can select an outcome and watch as it unfold or even tweak and tune character features, to let it play out that way.

The Quarry is to release on PC, Xbox One, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X/S, and PlayStation 5 on June 10. Pre-orders are up now and will grant you the Horror History Visual Filter Pack with three cinematic filters to choose from: 8 mm-style film grain for indie horror; VHS for 1980's horror; and black and white for classic horror.

Source: Epic Games Store (The BioShock Collection) and 2K (The Quarry)

This week the next expansion was announced for Hot Wheels Unleashed and features some truly classic licensed IP as Koch Media and Milestone partnered with Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment for a Looney Tunes Expansion. Five new vehicles, a themed Track Builder Module, themed customization items, and the Looney Tunes Adventure Park environment, which does have the iconic desert of Wile E. Coyote and the Roadrunner, will arrive on July 14. It is included with the game's Pass Vol. 3 but can also be purchased separately. The pass will be available for purchase on June 9. This was something of a spoiler so for now, that's all folks.

Source: Press Release (Koch Media – Hot Wheels Unleashed)

PLAYISM and //commentout have announced TOKOYO: The Tower of Perpetuity will be leaving Steam Early Access on June 2, and releasing to Nintendo Switch the same day. In this 2D roguelike, action-platformer, you will lead one of five heroes through the tower that was built from the remains of a forgotten world. As you progress you will learn more about the characters' backstories, why they felt compelled to enter it, and what it will take to escape this repetitive situation. Each of these heroes only possess screen-clearing skills that deal significant damage over a short period of time, but can take as long as 30 seconds to recharge. You can find items to reduce cooldowns, apply different effects, and provide protection, but clearly the challenge start with surviving.

Source: Press Release (PLAYISM – TOKOYO: The Tower of Perpetuity)

Next is some clarification on some information from AMD's Computex 2022 presentation that has been a little confusing; more specifically the 170 W value. In the press release it said the AM5 socket will have "support for up to 170 W TDP processor," which led to certain questions. Was this the TDP for the Ryzen 7000 CPUs? Was this actually the Package Power Tracking (PPT) limit, meaning a peak power limit as some reported? According to Tom's Hardware, neither is the case.

First, Ryzen 7000 will still have offerings in the 65 W and 105 W TDP targets we currently see with the Ryzen 5000 series, so this does not represent a significant increase in power consumption accompanying the new Zen 4 architecture. Rather, the 170 W TDP is what the AM5 socket is designed to be able to supply. That does translate to the ability for a 170 W Ryzen 7000 CPU to be made, but does not mean the product line is increasing its power consumption that significantly. Also the PPT, so the upper limit the CPU will be allowed to draw will be 230 W, or 1.35 times this TDP, a formula the company has been using since the start of its Zen era.

It is certainly disappointing this was not better explained in the presentation or press release, but at least clarity has been achieved after the fact. It will also be interesting to see what the final power and performance specifications will be for the Ryzen 7000 parts. It was only pre-production silicon being used for the presentation, so we may see some movement from what was shown and what has been rumored.

Source: Tom's Hardware (AM5 Power Clarification)

May 23, 2022

Permalink for 'AMD Shows Off Ryzen 7000 and AM5 Platform at Computex 2022 Keynote'

20:50

AMD Shows Off Ryzen 7000 and AM5 Platform at Computex 2022 Keynote

Computex 2022 has begun and AMD has held its keynote, where the company presented its upcoming Ryzen 7000 processors based on its Zen 4 architecture, as well as the accompanying 600 series chipsets, together representing the start of the AM5 platform. These were not the only technologies announced, but are likely the most interesting of them.

The Zen 4 architecture is going to feature a number of changes with the currently available Zen 3, of the Ryzen 5000 series, including the move to TSMC's 5 nm process and changing to a 6 nm IO die. The node change is not the only interesting aspect of the IO die, but I want to cover the compute dies first. To improve performance AMD has doubled the amount of L2 cache per core to 1 MB and increased clock speeds as well. We do not know anything yet about the L3 cache though, including its size or if a vertical cache design, like that used with the Ryzen 7 5800X3D, will be employed, though it would be reasonable for that to arrive at a later date, after the platform launches and gives time to address issues and apply optimizations. During the keynote it was said clock speeds have been increased to run "significantly above 5 GHz" and a pre-production sample was shown to achieve 5.5 GHz during gameplay, so it will be interesting to see how the SKUs may work out. AMD is claiming 15% greater single-thread performance compared to the R9 5950X in Cinebench R23 and 30% faster performance than the Intel Core i9 12900K in a multi-threaded Blender rendering workload. The CPUs are to launch in Fall, so we will be learning more in future months, and potentially the performance will increase as well. We will also learn more about the AI acceleration instructions implemented into Zen 4.

Coming to the IO die now, as I said earlier it is being made on TSMC's 6 nm process, but it will also be packing an RDNA 2-based graphics engine, that has been taken from AMD's work on Ryzen mobile processors. This will likely be quite important as previously an advantage of many Intel CPUs has been their integrated GPUs that could at least get a system going, even when you lack of graphics card. Exactly how powerful the GPU cores will be, we do not know, but it will support up to four displays.

Two other changes arriving with the new IO die are support for DDR5 and PCIe 5.0, though both of these were expected. It is only supporting DDR5, so hopefully when this platform launches later this year, memory prices will have fallen for those looking to be an early AM5 adopter. The CPUs will support up to 24 PCIe 5.0 lanes, but exactly how these are deployed can vary significantly, based on the chipset.

Three chipsets were announced with the B650 at the lower end. It is aiming for the mainstream market and is going to offer PCIe 5.0 for storage only. The X670 chipset is going to require a PCIe 5.0 NVMe slot on its motherboards, with an expansion slot being optional. Above that is the X670E chipset, for Extreme as it will again require one PCIe 5.0 NVMe slot but two PCIe 5.0 expansion slots. The X670 is also designed for "enthusiast overclocking" and the X670E for "extreme overclocking." As for IO besides PCIe, the AM5 platform will offer up to 14 SuperSpeed USB 20 Gbps ports, up to four HDMI 2.1 and DisplayPort 2 ports, and Wi-Fi 6E with DBS and Bluetooth LE 5.2.

Stepping back a bit for the larger AM5 platform, it features the new AM5 socket that use a 1718 pin LGA design, which means the socket's design will be quite different from prior AMD Ryzen and older CPUs. More pins allow for greater bandwidth, and more power as the platform will support up to 170 W TDP processors. Again, it will be interesting to see how the SKUs work out and which may push that high, and how well those with more modest requirements perform.

Zen 4 and AM5 were not the only technologies talked about and announced, as AMD also shared some news for its mobile portfolio. This includes the announcement of the Mendocino APU that combines 4 core/8 thread Zen 2 cores with RDNA 2 graphics. These processors are meant for laptops aiming for the $399 to $699 price point, running Windows or Chrome OS. It is expected to launch in products in Q4.

That lower-power APU was hardly the only piece of mobile hardware shown off as AMD also had the Corsair Voyager a1600 laptop on stage. This AMD Advantage laptop combines a Ryzen 6000 series CPU with Radeon RX 6800M series GPUs to create a mobile streaming solution. While its specifications will enable it to handle applications like Adobe After Effects and OBS Studio, it also features ten customizable S-key shortcut buttons powered by Corsair's Elgato Stream Deck software above the keyboard. The display features a 16 inch 2560x1600 IPS panel capable of 240 Hz and supports FreeSync Premium, to promise smooth gameplay. The webcam provides a 1080p30 image and with a directional 4-microphone array, ambient noise can be more easily filtered out. The laptop also features two USB 4.0 ports that are Thunderbolt 3 enabled and one USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-C port. If you are using wireless Corsair peripherals, you do not need to take up any USB ports as it features an integrated receive for up to three Corsair Slipstream Wireless peripherals. Availability will be announced at a future date, but you can already see the specifications via the Corsair source link below, as well as the MSRP of $2699.99 and $2999.99, depending on the specific model.

Helping the performance of the Voyager a1600 and other AMD Advantage systems are AMD Smart technologies, such as Smart Access Memory, which enables the CPU to directly address the dGPUs VRAM. AMD is adding to that family of technologies with Smart Access Storage that supports Microsoft DirectStorage. More information will arrive in the future, it will leverage Smart Access Memory and other AMD technologies to improve game load times and texture streaming.

It will be interesting to watch what happens as we approach the releases for these different products and technologies, as designs are refined ahead of launch and more details are shared.

Source: AMD [1] (Computex 2022 Press Release), [2] (Computex 2022 Webpage), and Corsair (Voyager a1600)

May 20, 2022

Permalink for 'Various Video Game Stories from the Week of May 16'

12:25

Various Video Game Stories from the Week of May 16

We have made it through another week, which means it is time to go through the gaming and related news that has collected, and first up is some time sensitive information, though it is not as time sensitive as it could be. The Epic Games Store has begun the Epic Games MEGA Sale 2022 and it is running until June 16. This will hopefully give you plenty of time to take advantage of the various discounts as well as the newest version of the MEGA Coupon. If you remember prior MEGA sales, this coupon would provide $10 a single purchase of at least $14.99. Now it is instead 25% off all eligible games in your shopping cart, as now you can have multiple items in your EGS cart. Eligibility requires the cart combines to at least $14.99 and that the items are currently available games, so not pre-orders, DLC, or in-game purchases.

You can follow the link below to see what all is on sale, learn more about the coupon, and to claim a free copy of Borderlands 3 until May 26.

Source: Epic Games Store Mega Sale

This week 505 Games had its first showcase, which featured several upcoming games we can expect this year and next, and it is on YouTube to watch now. It is behind an age-gate though, so here is the link you can visit: 505 Games Spring 2022 Showcase. As for what it shared, we have news for Among the Trolls, Stray Blade, and Miasma Chronicles. In Among the Trolls, players will get to explore Finnish forests and folklore in a first-person, survival, action-adventure experience when it arrives on Steam Early Access later this year. Stray Blade was previously announced, but a new gameplay video has been shared of this action RPG. The Miasma Chronicle is a new title coming from the creators of Mutant Year Zero: Road to Eden set in a post-apocalyptic world where the mysterious Miasma tore the world apart.

Source: 505 Games

Dotemu has shared a new behind the scenes video for Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder's Revenge, this time with a focus on the effort to modernize the classic beat-em-up fun of the original games. The developers at Tribute Games do want to provide a modern experience but also preserve the timeless fun that left them with indelible memories from their childhood. Part of achieving this was to make the game resemble a season of the 1987 cartoon, with each stage as its own episode.

TMNT: Shredder's Revenge is to launch this Summer for PC, Xbox One, PlayStation 4, and Nintendo Switch.

Source: Press Release (Dotemu – Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder's Revenge)

HandyGames has shared that Endling – Extinction is Forever has been delayed. This game where you will play as the last adult fox, hunting for food for your cubs in a dying world, is still to release soon, but has slipped from its Spring target. When it releases it will be available on PC, Xbox One, PlayStation 4, and Nintendo Switch, and now there will be a retail version of the game, something the community has been suggesting.

Source: HandyGames (Endling – Extinction is Forever)

Fobia – St. Dinfna Hotel has received its launch date of June 28, and a new trailer featuring some of its unique systems. In this survival horror game you will be exploring the past, present, and future as journalist Roberto as he fights against the supernatural in this hotel with dark mysteries. When it releases, it will be available on PC, Xbox One, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X/S, and PlayStation 5.

Source: Press Release (Maximum Games – Fobia – St. Dinfna Hotel)

A new trailer has been released by Prime Matter and Brass Token for the upcoming horror, action-adventure game, The Chant. This game will place you on a remote island as you try to survive various ethereal terrors that have been released after a ritual chant went wrong and opened a portal to The Gloom, a nightmare dimension. This other dimension feeds on negative feeds and drives people mad with their anxieties and fears by forming them into interdimensional creatures. It is not all-powerful though, and by strengthening your mind, body, and spirit as well as learning the secrets of a new age cult, you can reverse the effects and avoid becoming trapped in The Gloom itself.

The Chant will release to PC, Xbox Series X/S, and PlayStation 5 when it launches.

Source: Press Release (Prime Matter – The Chant)

Techland has revealed the first piece of concept art of its unannounced AAA open-world, action-RPG set in a fantasy world. Currently well known for Dying Light and Dying Light 2, both zombie survival horror games, this project will be a bit different, but fortunately the studio has some significant talent on the team, including Karolina Stachyra as the Narrative Director who is responsible for the Bloody Baron questline from The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, among other contributions to that game and The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings. This is not the only talent from the Witcher series, as the Narrative Lead, Arkadiusz Borowik, also worked on both of those titles, and the Open World Director, Bartosz Ochman, worked on Cyberpunk 2077, Lead Animator Kevin Quaid from Horizon Zero Dawn, Lead Game Designer David McClure from Deathloop, and Creative Director Mario Maltezos from Mad Max and Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time.

Along with this teaser image and news of the team members, the developer has also pointed out it is hiring in many positions for the teams for this unannounced project as well as Dying Light 2. The link to the job listings is below.

Source: Techland [1] and [2] (Jobs)

THQ Nordic announced a new title this week, the action-RTS The Valiant where you play as a veteran of the Crusades that must now stop a former brother-in-arms, Ulrich, who is on his own crusade to re-form Aaron's Rod. On his quest to find the pieces, Ulrich is tearing through Europe and the Holy Land, and Theoderich van Akenburg and his companions must stop him. The gameplay is being designed for a new experience for the genre and will have a focus on more tactical combat with smaller faces. It will also offer a story-driven campaign with each mission's challenge being unique and the decisions you make on and off the battlefield will make a difference. You will need to be careful when selecting your forces for each mission, as there will be no base building, and decide what each hero should be equipped with for the fights.

When The Valiant releases it will offer both competitive and cooperative multiplayer modes, though the campaign has been designed as a single-player experience. You can play with two other friends though in a Last Man Standing mode with waves of enemies, including mini-bosses and bosses, coming at you, with success providing experience to unlock new skills and better stats for future challenges.

Source: THQ Nordic (The Valiant)

Finishing this one off is some news from Acer that held its Next@Acer 2022 press conference this week and showed off various new products. Among these was the new Swift 3 OLED laptop that features, as the name suggests, and OLED screen that is 14 inches with a 16:10 WQXGA+ panel that has 100% DCI-P3 gamut coverage and VESA DisplayHDR True Black 500 certification. Powering the display is a 12^th Gen Intel Core H-Series CPU with Iris Xe graphics paired with up to 16 GB of LPDDR5 RAM and a PCIe Gen 4 SSD. It has been Intel Evo verified, which means it offers instant wake from sleep and ten hours of real-world battery life, but you can also get four hours out of it by charging for 30 minutes. It is targeting a July release with a starting price of $899.99.

Looking at the gaming-focused products, the Predator Helios 300 SpatialLabs Edition announced, which offers a glasses-free stereoscopic 3D experience with its SpatialLabs TrueGame application. Through that, supported games will take advantage of the special display and there will be over 50 modern and classic titles with support profiles when the laptop launches. As for other components, it features up to a 12^th Gen Core i9 CPU, paired with up to an NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 Laptop GPU, up to 32 GB of DDR5-4800 RAM, and PCIe Gen 4 NVMe SSDs in RAID 0. It will also have Wi-Fi 6E support, an HDMI 2.1 port, a Thunderbolt 4 port, and two USB 3.2 Gen 2 ports. It is aiming to a release in Q4 with a starting price of $3399.99, so clearly this 3D technology is not going to be cheap.

Acer has also updated and expanded its Aspire Vero line of laptops that feature more ecologically friendly designs and materials. The AV14-51 has a 14 in display, paired with a 12^th Gen Core processor, Iris Xe graphics, Wi-Fi 6, a Thunderbolt 4/USB Type-C port, and two USB 3.2 Gen 1 Type-A ports. If you need something a little larger, the AV15-52 has a 15 inch panel and a similar selection of ports. Both of these will be available in different colors and feature OceanGlass trackpads, which are made from plastic that was bound for the ocean. The chassis are made from 30% post-consumer recycled plastic, with the screen bezel also being 30% PCR and the keycaps being 50% PCR. To help make repairs and upgrades, the bottom cover can be removed with standard screws, giving access to the RAM and SSD. Both of these are targeting a September launch and a starting price of $749.99.

Acer announced many more products than these I have covered, and you can learn more by watching the conference embedded here, and by visiting the source links.

Source: Acer [1] (Swift 3 OLED), [2] (Predator Helios 300 SpatialLabs Edition), and [3] (Aspire Vero)

Various Video Game Stories from the Week of May 16

May 13, 2022

Permalink for 'Various Video Game Stories from the Week of May 9'

10:39

Various Video Game Stories from the Week of May 9

It seems the end of the week has snuck up on us, which means it is time to go through the various pieces of video game news that have arrived in my inbox, as well as some related and interesting news at that end. First though is the announcement by 505 Games that it will be holding is inaugural Product Showcase on May 17. Starting at 6 AM PST, the publisher will be sharing glimpses and details on various titles, and introduce the community to some of the developers working on them. It will be hosted by MTV Presenter Patrice Bouédibéla and I gave the link to the YouTube event with the source links.

Source: Press Release (505 Games) and Spring 2022 Showcase YouTube Link

CD Projekt Red has announced this week that the first and second season of GWENT: The Witcher Card Game's Journey progression mode have returned and will remain permanently. Both seasons are available for free to all players, and via an optional Premium tier, and include all of the original vanities as well as new unlockable rewards. If you are new to the game, you will still be able to unlock the old content by completing contracts, and old players can unlock the new items also be completing contracts, without making any new purchases. The game's Patch 10.5 has also been released alongside these two Journeys.

Source: Press Release (CD Projekt Red – GWENT: The Witcher Card Game) and CD Projekt Red (GWENT)

Devolver Digital shared a couple pieces of news this week as it announced the release date for Card Shark and revealed Gunbrella, which is to arrive in 2023. Card Shark is set in 18^th Century Europe where the player engages in poker matches that involve not only skill but also wit as you will need to cheat against some of your opponents to win, but getting caught may cost you dearly. This game will be releasing on PC and Nintendo Switch on June 2.

Gunbrella is a rather different game, being an action-adventure experience with a noir-punk style to you. The setting is a world with rapidly diminishing natural resources and you will play as a woodsman on a quest for revenge with his rainproof weapon; the Gunbrella. On your path you will visit various locations, interrogate unusual character, and use the Gunbrella to glide, swing, dash, and dive while also collecting scrap and spare parts for munitions and upgrades. You will encounter trash gangs, investigate cult kidnappings, and find the truth behind wraiths and other monstrosities that appear in the places blood has been shed. This game will be releasing next year on PC and Nintendo Switch.

Source: Press Release (Devolver Digital – Card Shark and Gunbrella)

This piece of news is one I, and certainly many others have been looking forward to for some time as the upcoming Dead Space remake from EA and Motive has a release date of January 27, 2023. The original is a classic example of survival horror set in a science fiction universe that spawned two sequels. Powered by the Frostbite engine, this remake is to maintain the original's vision while improving visuals, audio, immersion, and quality. You can learn more about these improvements in the Art Developer Livestream from this week, but it is behind YouTube's age-gate: Dead Space | Crafting the Tension | Art Developer Livestream.

When it releases next year, Dead Space will be available on PC, Xbox Series X/S, and PlayStation 5.

Source: EA (Dead Space)

Soulstice from Reply Game Studios and Modus Games has shared a nearly 11 minute look at the game's combat. In the game you play as the sisters Briar and Lute who work in unison as a Chimera, hybrid warrior created from two souls. In the world of Soulstice it is only warriors such as these that can challenge the ravenous Wraiths from another world to attack the city of Ilden. Additionally, the pre-orders for the physical Deluxe Edition have opened this week, with this edition featuring a digital artbook, digital soundtrack, and the Ashen Blade item pack that will help you on your journey.

Soulstice is aiming for a Fall release onto PC, Xbox Series X/S, and PlayStation 5.

Source: Press Release (Modus Games)

Prime Matter has shared that Crossfire: Legion, an RTS releasing to Early Access on May 24, will have 24 additional units and three unique commanders added to its roster. This brings the total to 45 units and six commanders available at this lunch, spanning from infantry and agile vehicles to defense specialists, air support, and more. You can check out the trailer to get a closer look at these additions.

Source: Press Release (Prime Matter)

Techland has shared the unfortunate news that Dying Light 2's first major story DLC has been delayed. It had been targeting and early Summer release, but that has now slipped to September. The studio feels it needs this time to ensure the DLC meets the expectations of the game's community.

While the first major story DLC is going to be arriving later than expected, Techland has been delivering other additions to the game, such as its New Game + mode that arrived recently. Also, June will see the introduction of the first game Chapter titled "In the Footsteps of a Nightrunner," which contain various content and events, but also the game's photo mode.

Source: Press Release (Techland – Dying Light 2)

Leaving the gaming news, we have something very interesting from Phoronix as NVIDIA has published its Linux GPU kernel driver as open source. For a very long time, the NVIDIA drivers for Linux have been closed source blobs that some in that community are not always comfortable working with. For over a decade AMD's Linux drivers have been open source, which has proven quite successful and interesting as the official drivers can have competition from the community. That is not quite what we can expect from this release though, as it is only the kernel driver being shared, and none of the user-space software has been opened. This means libraries and drivers for OpenGL, Vulkan, OpenCL, and CUDA are still closed-source and that will prevent the drive from being added to the Linux kernel itself, as open-source user-space support is required for it to be upstreamed. This release will help the company reach that stage though, but it will take time to stabilize the code that is described as being "alpha quality" currently.

Importantly, this release only covers Turing and newer GPU architectures, as it relies on the GPU System Processor, or GSP that is only used in those architectures. This means older GPUs will need to use the existing, proprietary kernel drivers or the Nouveau driver, which is an open-source community project that works well with the Kepler series, GTX 600 and GTX 700. Ultimately Nouveau should be able to benefit from this release, as it will be able to utilize the FSP firmware and modules, once the code has stabilized. Even before that happens, Nouveau may benefit as it lacks the proper power management and re-clocking for improving performance. Still, Phoronix points out that Nouveau Mesa would be an example of user-space libraries necessary for upstreaming this kernel driver, though one would expect NVIDIA to open its own libraries when it is ready. It really should prove to just be a matter of time. Exactly what will happen with the Maxwell (GTX 900) and Pascal (GTX 1000) series GPUs is hard to say. For the newer generations though, the NVIDIA Open Kernel Driver will be superior to Nouveau because of what I just mentioned it lacks.

Something interesting to consider about this move is how AMD's open source drivers have been a source of information for upcoming hardware. The code to recognize new GPUs and to enable new features needs to be submitted ahead of release, so it can be included into the latest version of the kernel when the hardware launches. It is not the same as releasing a new Windows driver the day hardware is available, as the code needs to be approved before being integrated into the kernel. It also might not be as informative as you might be hoping, but still interesting.

Source: Phoronix

Finishing this week off is some science news as data from a collection of telescopes, including the Chandra X-Ray observatory and Hubble Space Telescope, has been combined with the Event Horizon Telescope (EHT) to produce an image of the Sagittarius A*, the supermassive black hole at the center of our Milky Way galaxy. Earth is about 27,000 lightyears away from Earth and the full image is about 7 lightyears wide, but the radio telescope data from the EHT of Sgr A* itself is about 10 light-minutes across, which is a bit more than the average radius of the Earth's orbit. This combination of telescopes is very important because of how it provides additional context for the black hole's impact on its surroundings. The data can be compared against complex models that consider the General Theory of Relativity, impacts of powerful magnetic fields, and how much radiation will be produced by the mass around the black hole to predict behaviors.

During their observations, the Chandra, Swift, and NuSTAR observatories captured X-ray flares, which have been witnessed before, but not with the EHT watching at the same time. This has provided an opportunity to determine the likely source of the flares, which will be shared in a future set of research papers.

Source: Chandra X-Ray Observatory

Various Video Game Stories from the Week of May 9

May 06, 2022

Permalink for 'Various Video Game Stories from the Week of May 2'

11:38

Various Video Game Stories from the Week of May 2

The first week of May has come to its end, and so it is time to go through some of the video game and related news of the week. First up is the time sensitive news of Devolver Digital holding a publisher sale over on Steam, with up to 90% off some games. This includes releases from this year, Shadow Warrior 3 and Weird West at 40% and 25% off, respectively, but also plenty of older titles. Loop Hero is from last year, is 67% off, and I certainly enjoyed it, but there are plenty of other good games to check out as well; Devolver has published a wide selection of games.

The Devolver Digital Publisher Weekend Sale goes until May 16. Also there have been several May the 4^th Be With You sales featuring Star Wars titles this week, so you can check those out at various storefronts as well.

Source: Press Release (Devolver Digital) and Steam Store Sale Page

At the very start of the week was a piece I doubt many people were expecting as it was announced Embracer Group and Square Enix have entered an agreement that will see the former receive three studios and a catalogue of IP including Tomb Raider, Deus Ex, Thief, Legacy of Kain, and over 50 back-catalogue games. The three studios are Crystal Dynamics, Eidos-Montreal, and Square Enix Montreal, which covers about 1100 employees and eight global locations. When the deal closes, Embracer will have over 14,000 employees and 124 internal studios, with the United States being at the top of the list for number of game developers, with Canada in second place.

Embracer will be paying $300 million on a cash and debt free basis for this deal, and it will be paid in full at closing. That is expected to occur in the second quarter of Embracer's fiscal year, which means between July and September.

Source: Embracer Group

Prime Matter has announced Outward: Definitive Edition is arriving on May 17 for PC, Xbox Series X/S, and PlayStation 5. This version of the game includes the Three Brothers and The Soroboreans DLC, as well as other new and updated content. To celebrate the announcement, a new trailer for the new edition has been released as well, sharing a seasoned adventurer's point of view for the experience, but this can also be a good time for new players to jump in.

Source: Press Release (Prime Matter – Outward)

Rebellion has shared a press release and trailer for the new features arriving in Sniper Elite 5. With the mature content of the game, the video has been age-gated on YouTube, so here is a link: Sniper Elite 5 – Features Trailer. It includes some first looks at the game's multiplayer experience and the Invasion Mode. With this mode, other players can enter your game as Axis snipers trying to hunt you down. They will be able to use the AI soldiers to help track you down, but you can make use of phones to gather intel on the invader and turn the tables. With multiplayer, you can engage in the campaign or in one of the combat modes, and it will support all-format crossplay.

Other features shown off in the trailer include the careful recreation of the game's guns, the new Kill Cam that can come up with pistol and SMG kills, and bullet ricochets. Now a bullet can bounce or otherwise be redirected by bone, increasing the damage done and this will be shown in greater than seen before. Traversal options have been expanded as well, which will help you find your preferred path and playstyle for each mission.

Sniper Elite 5 is releasing May 26 for PC, Xbox One, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X/S, and PlayStation 5.

Also from Rebellion is an update for Zombie Army 4: Dead War and the conclusion for its Season 4 Pack as Alpha Squad must destroy Project Ragnarok. Doing so requires delving deeper into Hell as part of this two-part campaign mission, but you can do it in style with new outfits, including the Future Karl outfit that offers Robot Eye and Ballistic Helmet hats. As for free content, all players receive the Death Collector horde map.

Source: Rebellion (Zombie Army 4)

Despite having launched Dying Light 2 this year, Techland is still producing content for the original Dying Light. The company has released the Dieselpunk Bundle that adds several new items including the Gut Render, a chainsaw that will, unsurprisingly, destroy armor and apply a bleeding effect. The Flesh Ripper is a saw blade weapon, the Greaser an SMG, and you can put on the Punk'd Beret outfit to bring that all together. There is also the Rugged Roadster buggy skin which has the added benefit of reducing fuel usage by 50%.

If that is not enough for you, all owners of the base game have been given a free upgrade to the Enhanced Edition this week, which includes The Following, the games expansion that takes you outside the city, where you can try to find the answer for why people are not turning into infected monsters.

Source: Press Release (Techland – Dying Light) and Steam Store Page

Finishing this one off is some non-gaming news as VESA, the Video Electronics Standards Association released a new, open standard for the performance variable refresh rate displays. This includes the VESA Adaptive-Sync Display Compliance Test Specification (Adaptive-Sync Display CTS) that includes 50 criteria, an automated testing methodology, and performance mandates for the displays going into monitors and laptops that support the organization's Adaptive-Sync protocols. It also creates two performance tiers, with the AdaptiveSync Display tier targeting gaming with high refresh rate support, while MediaSync Display aims for jitter-free media playback for all international broadcast formats. For the former, the maximum of the Adaptive-Sync refresh rate range must be at least 144 Hz and the minimum at most 60 Hz, while the similar values are 60 Hz and 48 Hz for the latter tier. Both are limited to less than 20% overshoot and 15% undershoot for the factory default Overdrive setting, with this having to be achieved on any of the 16 test cases. You can learn more about the performance criteria and the currently certified products at the second source link below.

Source: VESA and AdaptiveSync.org

April 29, 2022

Permalink for 'Various Video Game Stories from the Week of April 25'

10:35

Various Video Game Stories from the Week of April 25

The week and the month have come to their end, meaning it is time to cover the different pieces of video game news that has collected in my inbox of late. Starting things off is a sale over at GOG; Good Old Games Week. As the title suggests, the purpose here is to highlight some of the classic games the store has in its catalog, which now also have a dedicated page. This should make hunting for titles with GOG's "Good Old Game" tag a bit easier. For the sale, some of the over 220 games are discounted as much as 90% off, and starting May 2 the theme for the highlighted games will change every couple days. New gams have also been added to the catalog, such as Re-Volt and Deadly Dozen Reloaded, with more to come during the event.

In addition to this sale, GOG, and other digital storefronts, is holding its May the 4^th sale with various Star Wars games discounted too, including various classic titles like Knights of the Old Republic, and X-Wing vs TIE Fighter to name two. The Good Old Games Week sale ends on May 9.

Source: GOG [1] (Good Old Games Week) and [2] (Good Old Games page)

Chorus Worldwide and LCB Game Studio have shared the announcement that Mothmen 1966 will be releasing on July 14. Inspired by the pulp fiction of the mid 20^th century and home computer graphics from the 1980s, this is the first visual novel in a series. In the game you will follow the young lovers Lee and Victoria, Holt, a local gas station owner, and the paranormal investigator Lou as they encounter a conspiracy. In November, as the Leonid meteor shower fills the sky, men in black suits are lurking in shadows as red eyes pierce the darkness of the woods; eyes that Lou believe of the Mothmen he is researching. To set the atmosphere, the game combines an 8-bit aesthetic with a lo-fi soundtrack.

When Mothmen 1966 releases in July 14, it will be available on PC, Xbox One, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X/S, PlayStation, and Nintendo Switch.

Source: Press Release (Chorus Worldwide – Mothmen 1966)

Next we have an update for Shadow Warrior 3 with its crossover with Naraka: Bladepoint as the two exchange items. While the Shuriken Splitter and Hoji's Mask will go to the latter, Lo Wang will get to expand his katana collection with the Raikou Katana from Naraka: Bladepoint. This new content for the game is part of a free update.

Source: Press Release (Devolver Digital – Shadow Warrior 3)

Sloclap, the developer of Sifu shared this week the game's free content roadmap, including that the first major update on the list is dropping May 3. This Spring update will being with it difficulty options, advanced training, and outfit selection. The Summer update will add advanced scoring and gameplay modifiers while the Fall update will feature a replay editor and the Winter update a new Arenas game mode. Additionally, the Summer, Fall, and Winter updates will bring with them new outfits, and the Fall and Winter updates will bring new modifiers to the game as well.

Source: Sloclap Twitter Account (Sifu)

The previous item is not the only roadmap shared this week, though this next one is more expansive, but also more tentative. Stardock released Galactic Civilizations IV version 1.0 this week, and while that is an important milestone, the company decided to also share its current plans for versions 1.1, 1.2, and 1.3. The GalCiv formula has changed some with this title, so a sense of future changes seems appropriate. Among the planned future changes and features are a planetary project to build colonial defense sentinels that can upgrade colonies, the ability to place such sentinels to target a planet, and improved Research Center screen to differentiate between technologies, and the ability to have military starbases attack enemies that enter their area of control. Obviously that is not enough so we can also expect custom civilization sharing in the game's Workshop, additional mod sharing in the Workshop, Sandbox multiplayer, Survivor Mode multiplayer, more anomaly types, and more events.

This roadmap may change substantially though, as feedback comes in but also because of scheduling and cost considerations.

Source: Stardock (Galactic Civilizations IV)

Dying Light 2 from Techland I found to be a particularly fun game and this week received its 1.3.0 update that brings with it a very significant addition; New Game+. After completing the game and realizing the impacts of so many of your decisions, you will now be able to play it over again, carrying over your skills, items, and weapons, with the exception of the progression-unlocking Nightrunner tools. To keep things interesting, the enemies will now scale to you as you play, increasing the challenge, but the rewards will also be greater. If that is not enough for you, 30 inhibitors have been added as well, in some less-than obvious locations for those who most want to optimize their build.

As if this was not enough, the game is having special events for the next four weekends, starting with a Double XP weekend going from now to May 2. The week after is Trove of Crystals, that places better crystals in Dark Hollows, Blue Moon weekend after that with enhanced night infection immunity, and then Hypermode from May 19 to May 23, when enemies will be catapulted on impact.

If this all sounds interesting, or you have just been waiting for a sale, the game is on sale until May 2 on the Epic Games Store and until May 11 on Steam. The Standard Edition is 20% off while the Deluxe Edition is 15% off and the Ultimate Edition 10% off.

Source: Press Release (Techland – Dying Light 2)

Lastly THQ Nordic and Rainbow Studios has shared MX vs ATV Legends has a new release date of June 28, when it will be launching for PC, Xbox One, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X/S, and PlayStation 5. The reason for this push is that the developers feel the extra time is needed to achieve the quality they feel the players deserve. This includes the art team making additional passes on all of the environments to deliver the best and most stable performance possible. Community feedback after trailers release is being incorporated as well; engineers are working on improving dedicated servers; and naturally QA is busy hunting down bugs.

In addition to this news, the details of the game's Collector's Edition have been shared, including the 8 inch tall figurine of a 2021 Yamaha YZ450F. and metal sprocket keychain featuring franchise branding. You can see it all below, in the edition's trailer, but it is worth noting this will only include one of console versions of the game.

Source: THQ Nordic (MX vs ATV Legends) and MXvsATV.com (CEO explanation)

April 22, 2022

Permalink for 'Various Video Game Stories from the Week of April 18'

11:23

Various Video Game Stories from the Week of April 18

Once again we have reached the end of the week, which means it is also time again to go through the video game news that has collected. First up is some from Deep Silver and Volition as a new trailer has released for Saints Row. The series has an established reputation for character customization and with the reboot releasing later this year, the aim is to set a new standard for these features. Everything from eyebrow color to your socks can be set to match your tastes, and you will also be able to apply asymmetrical customizations to your characters face and apply prosthetic limbs if that is how you wish your character to appear. It is not just your character you can customize, as vehicles and weapons can also be manipulated to look exactly how you want as you explore Santo Ileso to establish the supremacy of the Saints.

Saints Row is releasing August 23 on PC, Xbox One, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X/S, and PlayStation 5.

Source: Press Release (Deep Silver – Saints Row)

Next we have some news from Dotemu and Tribute Games as a new trailer has released for Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder's Revenge. At over 11 minutes long it might not really be a trailer, but this gameplay overview will help you understand what to expect when the game releases. Also, for those old enough to remember the cartoon show from 1987, there is a nice reveal in the video as well. The cartoon's four original voice actors have reprised their roles for the game: Cam Clarke is Leonardo; Townsend Coleman is Michelangelo; Barry Gordon is Donatello; and Rob Paulsen is Raphael.

TMNT: Shredder's Revenge is to launch this Summer for PC, Xbox One, PlayStation 4, and Nintendo Switch. For the biggest TMNT fans, it was announced this week that following the digital release, there will be a physical edition of the game as well. In the Us it will be Limited Run Games producing them, Merge Games in Europe, Happinet Corporation in Japan, and H2 Interactive for Asia.

Source: Press Release (Dotemu – Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder's Revenge)

This week Electronic Arts announced F1 22, the next entry in the F1 series from Codemasters. Among the changes arriving with this game is the use of hybrid cars and the addition of F1 Sprint races. It will also be possible to explore some of the more glamorous aspects of Formula 1 with F1 life, a hub to show off your collection of supercars, clothing, and accessories. You can earn these through gameplay, the Podium Pass, and the in-game store. The game will also feature updated physics alongside the new aero rules, and an improved tire model to better match real life, and support VR. You will be able to enter the cockpit with the Oculus Rift or HTC Vive to be in the experience. I remember the positive impact just gaze tracking provided in the earlier games, and so can imagine the VR experience will take things to another level.

F1 22 is scheduled to release on July 1 for PC, Xbox One, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X/S, and PlayStation 5. Pre-orders are available now and if you pre-order the Champions Edition you can get three days of early access.

Source: EA (F1 22)

Have a couple announcements from Freedom Games, and since they arrived in the same press release, I will cover them together. The publisher is having two games release back to back, starting with One More Island on May 19, followed by They Are Coming! on May 20. The former is a city-builder that will have you tasked with developing dozens of isles into a flourishing realm by building orchards, farmlands, breweries, and animal farms amongst other structures. By designing production chains and stimulating the economy, you can create thriving cities to satisfy the Queen, lest you face her fury. One More Island will be priced at $14.99 when it releases.

They Are Coming! is a post-apocalyptic strategy game set in WWII as you release Germany's Wonder weapon against the Allied Air Force; the zombie horde. You will need to assemble your armada and evade the Allies' weapons to reach your targets and devour their brains in this reimagining of the war. It will be priced at $9.99 at release.

Source: Press Release (Freedom Games – One More Island and They Are Coming!)

HandyGames had its 22^nd birthday this week, and to celebrate has launched sales offering some of the publisher's games at 90% off, with links shared in the source link below. The company also shared that it has recently expanded its headquarters to support up to 120 people and is looking forward to its future in the games industry and as a sustainable employer. It also announced this week it would be funding an as-yet undisclosed project in the amount of EUR 1.4 million.

Source: HandyGames

Prime Matter and Smilegate have announced Crossfire: Legion will be entering Early Access on May 24. That is the date we will get to enter its version of the near future and fight tactical battles as the commander of the armies of one of three factions. The Black List, Global Risk, and New Horizon are all vying for control and will fight this war across various terrains and environments, in both single player and multiplayer campaigns.

Source: Prime Matter (Crossfire Legion)

Square Enix has announced Outriders Worldslayer as a massive upgrade to the looter shooter Outriders. You will be able to create your own Outrider in the game and work through the original Outriders campaign or skip straight to the new content with a Level 30 boost. In this expansion you will face Ereshkigal, the most lethal Altered yet as humanity engages in its last fight for survival. Beyond her are still greater threats though, reserved for the endgame experience that will be set in the ancient ruins of Tarya Gratar.

Outriders Worldslayer will be available on PC, Xbox One, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X/S, PlayStation 5, Google Stadia, and NVIDIA GeForce Now on June 30.

Source: Square Enix (Outriders Worldslayer)

Finishing off the video game news is the announcement from THQ Nordic of Way of the Hunter. In development at Nine Rocks Game, this title will place you in the role of a seasoned hunter that has taken over your grandfather's hunting cabin and family tradition of selling high-quality game meat. You will get to hunt in two open-world territories, one set in the US and the other in Europe, but both 55 square miles in size and with their own simulated wildlife ecosystem. You will need to be careful as you search for your prey, both to spot tracks but also to avoid being detected by their sharp senses. Co-op multiplayer means you will be able to bring in help when you need, or just share the experience with a friend.

Closing out this week is the announcement from EK as it will be hosting its EK Technology Day 2022 on April 26, the company's birthday. As part of the even, it will have a panel of researchers and developers that will dive into different innovations that are driving the future of modern cooling solutions. You can follow the source link to see more information on what can be expected, a list of hosts, and a countdown to the online event.

Source: EKWB (EK Technology Day 2022)

April 15, 2022

Permalink for 'Various Video Game Stories from the Week of April 11'

10:39

Various Video Game Stories from the Week of April 11

Friday has arrived and that means it is time to run through the different pieces of video game news that have collected during the week. First up is the Indie Spring Sale over at GOG, which will be ending on April 18. Hopefully that is enough time for you to look through the over 300 titles on sale, including Carrion, Disco Elysium – The Final Cut, Loop Hero, and No Man's Sky.

Source: GOG (Indie Spring Sale)

Next we have a couple items from 505 Games, starting with the announcement Eiyduen Chronicle: Rising will be releasing on May 10. Coming from Rabbit & Bear Studios and NatsumeAtari, this is a fast-paced 2.5 D action RPG that is actually a companion, prequel game to the upcoming Eiyuden Chronicle: Hundred Heroes. An earthquake has revealed Runebarrows beneath a remote town, and now adventures and merchants are flocking there, hoping for treasure. Three of them are CJ and Garoo, who hope to find the Rune Lens, a source of magic, while Isha, the young Deputy Mayor, is hoping to rebuild her town. Together they will engage in combat with various enemies, including imaginative bosses that will require swapping between characters and Link Attacks to defeat.

Eiyduen Chronicle: Rising is arriving for PC, Xbox One, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X/S, PlayStation 5, and Nintendo Switch on May 10, while Eiyduen Chronicle: Hundred Heroes will be arriving in 2023.

Source: Press Release (505 Games – Eiyuden Chronicle: Rising)

The second piece of news from 505 Games is the release of a new trailer for Stray Blade and the beginning of sign-ups for its private beta. In development by Point Blank Games, this RPG will take you to the Valley of Acrea and there fight various foes with your choice of melee weapons. Helping you is the Xhinnon wolf Boj, who is not very large, but has powerful magic that can resurrect you if you fall, create distractions you can take advantage of, and more directly enhance your strength with. Unfortunately this new combat trailer is behind YouTube's age gate, but here is a link to it: Stray Blade Combat Trailer 2 & Beta Registration.

If that looks interesting to you, you can sign up to take part in an upcoming private beta for Stray Blade. The form to do so is linked to below, and the form also explains you must be a memory of the game's official Discord server and subreddit. Beta testers will be listed in the game credits, but will also be subject to an NDA and must be at least 18 years old.

Source: Press Release (505 Games – Stray Blade) and Stray Blade Beta Sign-up

Deep Silver and Volition have announced a showcase next week for the upcoming Saints Row title. A new trailer, interviews, and insider information will all be shared on April 20 on the publisher's Twitch and YouTube channels, hosted by Mica Burton. We can expect the game's emphasis on player choice and customization to be featured during the showcase, as there will be no limits on how you want your character to look, and never-before-seen options will unlock new customization for weapons and vehicles.

Saints Row is expected to launch on August 23 for PC, Xbox One, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X/S, and PlayStation 5. It will serve as a complete reboot of the game series that is well-known for its action and humor. You will be taken to the city of Santo Ileso and there build up the Saints street gang by taking over its criminal underworld.

Source: Press Release (Deep Silver – Saints Row)

Weird West from Devolver Digital and WolfEye Studios has sold over 400,000 copies since its release and to celebrate a zombie apocalypse has begun. It might not be the most traditional celebration, but it is also not going to be the last event for the game. WolfEye has also shared its content roadmap for the game, including a content pack, Caged Ones event, and more as free updates.

Source: Press Release (Devolver Digital – Weird West)

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder's Revenge is coming from publisher Dotemu and developer Tribute Games later this year, but this week they shared a behind-the-scenes video of the title's development. It will be an entry in a universe iconic to many that grew up with the Heroes in a Half Shell, and will try to recreate the classic beat-em-up style of some of its classic games. Fortunately these companies are not unfamiliar with classics as the publisher has worked on remakes and continuations of series such as Streets of Rage 4 and Windjammers 2 and the developer's credits include the retro themed Panzer Paladin and Mercenary Kings. Tribute Games is also home to some of the talent behind the TMNT game that released for Game Boy Advance in 2007 and Scott Pilgrim vs. The World: The Game.

TMNT: Shredder's Revenge is to arrive on PC, Xbox One, PlayStation 4, and Nintendo Switch later this year.

Source: Press Release (Dotemu – Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder's Revenge)

Rounding things off is a new trailer for Sniper Elite 5 by Rebellion that shows off the game's weapons and their customization options. It is behind YouTube's age-gate though, so here is a link: Snper Elite 5 Spotlight – Weapons and Customization. Besides sharing the variety of weapons in the game, the trailer also provides a look at the effort the studio puts in to recreating authentic weapons. This includes working with military historian Bruce Cromptom, the Imperial War Museum, and Royal Armouries Museum, enabling them to get reference images and audio recordings of weapons and vehicles used in World War 2. As for the customization, players will be able to make changes to a weapon's stock, magazines, receiver, barrel, iron sights, and even materials. All of this is so you can tailor the weapon to your playstyle and the challenges you will be facing. Sometimes you may want to be stealthy and methodical, and other times the run-and-gun approach might be more effective or satisfying. By finding workbenches you can make changes while in a mission.

Sniper Elite 5 is releasing May 26 for PC, Xbox One, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X/S, and PlayStation 5. Pre-orders are available now and will provide access to the Target Fuhrer mission named Wolf Mountain. The Deluxe Edition includes the Season Pass One and pre-ordering it will also get you the P.1938 Suppressed Pistol.

Source: Press Release (Rebellion – Sniper Elite 5)

April 08, 2022

Permalink for 'Various Video Game Stories from the Week of April 4'

11:07

Various Video Game Stories from the Week of April 4

April has arrived and its first week has arrived at its end, so it is time to go through the video game news from the week. Starting things off is some from Devolver Digital as the publisher has announced it is working with Terrible Toybox and Lucasfilm Games on Return to Monkey Island. This will be a follow up to Secret of Monkey Island and Monkey Island 2: LeChuck's Revenge, a pair of truly classic games.

Unfortunately we do not have much more other than it is arriving later this year, and the trailer embedded below.

Source: Press Release (Devolver Digital – Return to Monkey Island)

That was not the only thing announced by Devolver Digital this week as it was announced the release date for Trek to Yomi. You will get to go on this cinematic and monochromatic adventure starting May 5 on PC, Xbox One, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X/S, and PlayStation 5. Pre-orders are up now and there is a 10% discount. To celebrate this announcement a new gameplay trailer has been shared as well. It is almost 16 minutes long though, so be aware of that before pressing play below.

Source: Press Release (Devolver Digital – Trek to Yomi)

GOG has made an interesting announcement this week as it has decided to revive some of its roots. While many today may just associate the storefront with selling DRM-free versions of games as well as being owned by CD Projekt Red, originally it was Good Old Games and focused on classic games. In many cases careful effort was needed to get a classic game to run on modern hardware and operating systems, and there were also times legal hurdles need to be overcome as well, sorting out rights and licenses. When it decided to start offering new titles as well as the classic, the name was changed to just GOG and we have seen many modern releases, even day-one releases added to its library. The company is not stepping away from the newer titles but is going to step up more with regard to the classics. This effort includes creating the "Good Old Game" tag for it store that will highlight over 500 games that have been deemed classics. To be eligible for that label the game must be at least ten years old, be "critically acclaimed, stand the test of time, defined certain mechanics, or simply created new genres."

For the older gamers out there, be warned that some games on the list you might not want to be reminded are over a decade old now. For the younger games out there, it can be worth checking these out to see where some of today's standard mechanics started, as well as some truly innovative designs that failed to catch on.

Source: GOG

We have another release date announced, this time it is to Early Access though as My Time at Sandrock will be coming to Steam and the Epic Games Store on May 26. In this title you will be Sandrock's newest Builder and work to restore the area to its form glory. This will involve turning desert sands into fertile fields and some exploration of dangerous dungeons. Fortunately the action-RPG combat system has been overhauled for this entry in the My Time series. For this Early Access release, the game will include its first major story act and we can expect regular updates to follow throughout development.

Source: Press Release (Pathea Games – My Time at Sandrock)

Ravenscourt is up now with the announcement of the Corrupted Fates DLC for Dice Legacy. It arrives on April 19 and will add a new dice class, ruler, game mode, mechanics, and more. With invaders at your shores you find your own society has been corrupted by a dark and powerful entity. Without the trust of the council you will have to escape, which poses the question then of how much are you willing to sacrifice to survive? With this "The Downfall" game mode your experience starts at the end and you get to witness it all from the eyes of the Others as you work to build a galleon and leave.

The new dice class is the Cultists and they can sacrifice other dice to utilize arcane powers. The new ruler is the Vicar and he, being a longstanding member of the council, is able to hide the corruption the population is suffering from. Other additions include Corrupted Policies that can be powerful but come at a price and Revelations, where an otherworldly presence grants insights with powerful effects based on what you have in your dice pool.

Source: Press Release (Ravenscourt – Dice Legacy)

We have a while to wait for this one, but THQ Nordic has announced it will be putting on a digital showcase on August 12. During this event it will share several new games that will grow its portfolio into new genres with both licensed and original gaming experiences. Outcast 2 and Jagged Alliance 3 will also see have updates shared that day. Four months is a while to wait, but at the same time I think this may suggest the company's confidence in what they are going to be showing off. We will just have to wait and see.

Source: THQ Nordic (2022 Digital Showcase)

Lastly we have the fairly significant news of Unreal Engine 5 being officially released this week. For years the different versions of Unreal Engine have powered a host of games, and this latest one is promising some truly interesting and impressive technologies. Two stand outs for me are Nanite and Lumen, with the former being a way to handle immense amounts of geometric details, and the latter a dynamic global illumination system. Nanite is meant to make it possible for developers to use assets consisting of millions of polygons directly in games, rather than having to create simplified versions. While that is certainly one powerful aspect of the technology, the technology also removes the need to create LODs, so potentially we will see detail pop-in disappear thanks to this.

Of course a fully dynamic global illumination system is not to be neglected as Lumen will enable indirect lighting to adapt to changes in geometry and direct lighting. Lightmap authoring will not be necessary with Lumen, nor the need to wait on them to bake, which is something that can take quite some time.

UE5 also features a platform-independent Temporal Super Resolution (TSR) method built directly into the engine. Like other super resolution methods, this should improve performance without compromising on image quality too much.

Many of the other new features are more likely to help the developers than the players, but when development can be made more efficient, everyone can benefit.

Source: Epic Games (Unreal Engine 5)

April 01, 2022

Permalink for 'Various Video Game Stories from the Week of March 28'

19:39

Various Video Game Stories from the Week of March 28

March and the week has ended, meaning it is time to cover the various pieces of video game news, and some other items. First up is something from publisher Blowfish Studios and developer Sky Machine Studios as the pair have announced Winter Ember is arriving on April 19 on PC, Xbox One, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X/S, and PlayStation 5. This is an isometric, stealth, sandbox, action game set in a Victorian-inspired city. Once it thrived, but now tyrannical dictators rule it and you shall seek vengeance on them as Arthus Artorious. With darkness and his bow, he will be able to distract and elude enemies until he finds it necessary to attack. Along with this announcement has arrived a new trailer that shows off quite a bit of the gameplay, with Arthus engaging, eliminating, and avoiding enemies.

Source: Press Release (Blowfish Studios – Winter Ember)

Weird West has arrived from Devolver Digital this week, and while I tend to skip the release announcements, a new Road to Weird West video was shared. Closing out this series of behind-the-scenes videos is on focusing on the decision players will face in the title, and the impacts they can have on gameplay. For example, eliminating the citizens of a town can turn it into a ghost town, and if you anger the wrong people, you may find they have a vendetta against you. Rather, against your current character, so when you advance the story and play as a new character, joining up with the old one can mean your posse will be the target.

Source: Press Release (Devolver Digital – Weird West)

Anuchard is an upcoming title from publisher Freedom Games and developer stellarNull that will task the player with restoring the lost souls of the village Orchard. To achieve this you must wield the Audros Bell, which will involve following the guidance of the fallen Bell Spirits as you explore the caves and dungeons beneath the town. This is also where Orchard's inhabitants are being held and when you return triumphantly to the surface, you will bring some back with you who will help rebuild the village.

The game is releasing on April 21 to PC Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, and Nintendo Switch.

Source: Press Release (Freedom Games)

Dead Cells has received its 28^th free update this week from Motion Twin and Evil Empire, this one titled Break the Bank. As you might suspect, this one will allow you to amass a significant amount of gold as you assail the optional, underground biome named The Bank. You will earn gold as you defeat the mobs you encounter, including three new enemy types, and some will be able to take the gold from you before you have a chance to spend it on you gear and weapons. Along with the three new enemies there are three new golden weapons and three new mutations. One of these mutations is Gold Plating and will cause you to lose gold rather than health when attacked. You can start your adventure in this biome by taking out a loan, but will need to pay it back at the end.

To access The Bank biome, you will need to have reached The Hand of the King. After doing this it will randomly appear in transition rooms. There is more than this new biome in the latest update, such as QoL enhancements including +1 item level to those items dropped after boss fights.

Source: Press Release (Motion Twin/Evil Empire – Dead Cells) and Dead Cells Patch Notes

Closing out the game news is some from Rebellion as a new trailer has been released for its upcoming Sniper Elite 5. Dubbed the Marksman Trailer, it provides a look at the authentic WWII weaponry that will be available in the game, and this trailer was captured within the game engine. It is behind YouTube's age-gate though, so you will need to sign in to watch it: Sniper Elite 5 – Marksman Trailer. This entry in the series will feature the most customization and attachements for its suite of weapons. This includes scopes, suppressors, stocks, muzzle breaks, and materials, so you will be able to adjust your loadout to match your style and the mission objective. These changes will be reflected in the four key stats of Power, Rate of Fire, Control, and Mobility. One example loadout would be to sacrifice control and mobility for greater power and rate of fire for stealthier players, compared to those that prefer a run-and-gun approach.

The game is launching May 26 on PC, Xbox One, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X/S, and PlayStation 5.

A couple weeks ago the James Webb Space Telescope achieved a major milestone in its deployment by successfully aligning its 18 mirrors. While the JWST is considered a successor to the Hubble Space Telescope that as put into orbit in 1990, this older mission is hardly over yet. Hubble has set a new record in the farthest star light has ever been captured from. The previous record is from 2018 when it found a star that emitted its light 4 billion years after the Big Bang. The new record captured light from within one billion years of the Big Bang.

Normally Hubble would not have the ability to resolve this detail, but it had some help as a massive galaxy cluster (WHL0137-08) lensed the light with its gravity, amplifying and distorting the ancient light. This newly discovered star has been named Earendel and once the Webb Telescope is fully up and running, it will take a look to determine the stars brightness, temperature, and composition.

Astronomers measure the age of ancient light sources by examining the red shift the light goes though over the eons. As the Universe expands it also stretches the wavelength of light travelling through space, shifting the color towards red. The previous record hold had a redshift of 1.5 while this new one is at redshift 6.2. Usually objects at such a distance, even large galaxies, will appear as small smudges with the light of all of their stars blended together, but through the gravitational lensing and careful analysis, a single star was found to be extremely magnified.

Earendel is 50 times the size of the Sun, but millions of times its brightness, making it a match for the largest stars we know of. Even with it being so massive and bright, at its distance it would have been impossible to spot if not for the gravitational lensing of WHL0137-08 and some lucky alignment. It turns out this star is very nearly on a caustic for the lensing, meaning it is experience maximum magnification and brightening, allowing it to stand out from its home galaxy.

Source: NASA Hubble Site

Ending this week's collection of news is that of Intel's Arch GPU announcement. This is not for the desktop discrete GPUs, but the mobile dGPUs. The desktop and workstation cards will be arriving later this year. Similarly some variants of the GPUs announced this week will be arriving in the Summer. What will be available shortly with equipped laptops up for pre-order now are the Arc 3 GPUs, which constitute the lower end of the series, while the Arc 5 and Arc 7 dGPUs will be coming to laptops in the next quarter or two. While being the lower end, these will not be lacking in features as the Arc 3 GPUs will still offer the DX12 Ultimate features of ray tracing, variable rate shading, mesh shading, and sampler feedback, XMX AI engines that can be leveraged for XeSS, what Intel is calling Deep Link technologies, and, significantly for some, accelerating AV1 decode and encode. The AV1 video codec is an open source project intended to replace and surpass h.264 and h.265 in efficiency while being free of licensing fees, but it is slow to encode. This is why the first hardware encoder is so significant as encoding on a CPU is not always acceptable compared to the older standards. Importantly, several pieces of software including FFmpeg, which is used in and by many others, will support this AV1 acceleration and provide up to 50 times faster encoding.

There are two Arc 3 GPUs, the A350M and A370M with the former featuring 6 Xe cores and the latter 8 Xe cores, but both will be paired with 4 GB of GDDR6 VRAM. Each Xe core is matched with a ray tracing unit. They will be connected over PCIe 4.0 and will be available in laptops starting at $899. Intel is claiming the A370M will enable 1080p60 gaming in a number of games at their medium settings, and that it well-surpasses the capability of integrated Iris Xe graphics. The other three GPUs announced that will be arriving in early Summer are the Arc 5 A550M, Arc 7 A730M, and Arc 7 A770M. The A550M will have 16 Xe cores paired with 8 GB; the A730M will have 24 Xe cores with 12 GB; and the A770M will have 32 Xe cores paired with 16 GB.

Also announced was that XeSS, Intel's AI enhanced upscaling technology akin to NVIDIA's DLSS, will be coming to in early Summer with 14 games named for receiving it. Unfortunately, though the method has previously been stated to run on any GPUs that support a specific instruction set, apparently this will not be the case at launch. For a time at least, the technology will be limited to Intel GPUs with XMX cores.

As these are mobile GPUs, Intel also shared its Deep Link technologies that enable the Arc GPU to better work with a laptop's Intel CPU. This includes intelligent power sharing between the two processors to optimize performance based on the load, but also multi-engine acceleration. With Hyper Encode the media engines on the entire platform can work together for greater speed, as much as 60% better encode performance, while Hyper Compute is similar but combines compute and AI engines.

For managing the Arc GPU, Intel has created its Intel Arc Control interface. This is where you will be able to control your gaming experience, find built-in streaming tools, a virtual camera, and driver downloading. Naturally it will support these Arc GPUs but also Iris Xe graphics.

While this is not the desktop launch, or the high-end mobile launch, it is still the start of Intel's move into the consumer GPU market and disrupt the current AMD-NVIDIA duopoly. Only time will tell what kind of competition Intel will be able to bring.

Source: Intel [1] and [2]

March 25, 2022

Permalink for 'Various Video Game Stories from the Week of March 21'

10:01

Various Video Game Stories from the Week of March 21

The end of the week has arrived, which means it is time to go through some of the video game news that has come out recently. First up is some from 505 Games and Draw Distance, the publisher and developer respectively of the upcoming Serial Cleaners as they have shared a new trailer that reveals new gameplay and enemy types, and released a new version of the game's website.

In the trailer we get to see the talents of Bob C. Learner, Lati, Vip3r, and Psycho, who each have their own perspectives and playstyles for their stories. Each of these cleaners know what to do and have the skills they need to outwit the police, and make it home in time to watch the latest Columbo. In Serial Cleaners you are an eccentric crime-scene cleaner for the mob of 1990s New York, so the gameplay combines stealth and action. Due to the nature of that gameplay, the new trailer is behind a YouTube age gate, so here is a link to it: Serial Cleaners - Brand New Trailer [ESRB].

It is slated to release later this year on PC.

Source: Press Release (505 Games – Serial Cleaners) and SerialCleanersGame.com

Apogee Entertainment is up next as it has released a new trailer for Turbo Overkill, a fast paced, cyberpunk FPS with its first episode scheduled to arrive on Steam Early Access on April 22. With the version 1.0 release later in 2022, versions will also arrive on Xbox One, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X/S, PlayStation 5, and Nintendo Switch. This first episode will feature eight stages, a host of secret arenas, difficulty modifiers, and more that will add up to 5 - 8 hours of content. Updates will then add more stages, abilities, QOL features, and hardcore challenges.

In this game you will play as Johnny Turbo as he tries to rid his hometown of the rogue AI, Syn that has enthralled thousands of augmented humans. The design is meant to be an evolution on classics such as DOOM and Quake II, but with modern movement and player upgrades. This means you'll have to find blue and green keys and collect health and armor pickups, but also utilize wall-running, grappling, and a flying car to reach them.

Source: Press Release (Apogee Entertainment)

Next up we have some rather interesting news from CD Projekt Red as the company behind the Witcher series and Cyberpunk 2077 has announced a partnership with Epic Games that will have the next Witcher saga games developed on Unreal Engine 5. Since The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings CDPR has been using its in-house REDengine, which earned a reputation of impressive visuals, and the ability to push hardware to its limits. Through this partnership UE5 will not only be used by the engineers at CDPR will be applying their technical skills to advance the development of the engine, which could prove quite interesting as it already has a number of impressive features announced.

Very importantly, while the next game within the Witcher universe will be built on Epic Games' engine, it will not be an exclusive to the Epic Games Store. Perhaps this is not too surprising as CDPR owns GOG. That is about all we know about the next game besides a teaser image with a Witcher medallion mostly covered in snow and its eyes glowing. It is not the medallion from the School of the Wolf, from which Geralt of Rivia came though, so it is hard to know exactly who will be involved in the new story. Hopefully it will not be too long before we find out, but then CDPR is not exactly known for quickly releasing games.

Source: CD Projekt Red (Next Witcher Saga)

Ghostbusters: Spirits Unleashed is an upcoming game from IllFonic that is set to release in Q4 of this year of PC, Xbox One, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X/S, and PlayStation 5. Naturally you will be able to grab your Proton Pack, Ghost Trap, and PKE Meter to hunt ghosts, and you will be able to do so with your friends, as this is a multiplayer game. Or maybe it will be your friends hunting you as it is a 4v1 asymmetric game, allowing a player to be the ghost as they try to scare citizens and avoid the team of Ghostbusters by flying and moving between rifts. You can also possess objects to sneak by the Ghostbusters and to scare anyone who passes by, but if that is not enough, summon some ghoulish minions or just start sliming.

Whichever side you are on, you can prepare for the match in the iconic Firehouse and speak with old and new friends, like Winston Zeddemore, voiced by Ernie Hudson, and Ray Stantz, by Dan Aykroyd. With crossplay you can be matched up with anyone across the five platforms the game is coming to, and AI companions can fill your games if you are shy some friends or want to put in some solo matches offline. Here is the Announce trailer for the upcoming game: Ghostbusters: Spirits Unleashed – Announce Trailer

Source: Press Release (IllFonic – Ghostbusters: Spirits Unleashed)

Have a few items from Goblinz Publishing now, starting with Diluvian Winds coming from Alambik Studio, a colony sim with anthropomorphic evacuees try to survive around a lighthouse. A tsunami has destroyed everything and you need to lead the people to rebuild a coastal community as you remain in your lighthouse. As you direct others to perform various tasks, such as building new dormitories or a cellar for storage, and producing resources like wood and oil, you will need to keep the lighthouse's fire alive while the storm rages. Each survivor will have their preferences and skills, so you will want to be intelligent in assigning them tasks, to maximize efficiency.

Diluvian Winds will release to Early Access on Steam and GOG in Q3 this year.

Source: Press Release (Goblinz Publishing [1] – Diluvian Winds)

Next from Goblinz Publishing is Oaken from Laki Studios that is set to arrive in Early Accss on Steam and GOG on May 3. This is a tactical, roguelike, card battler with the mystical setting of Oaken. Here spirits live among the Great Oak's branches, with wisps, seedlings, and wanderers moving to sound of the Great Oak's voice. That is until the day the voice goes silent and a series of events threaten the realm. You will need to choose your path to save the Great Oak and pick a guide, a mighty spirit that will assist you in battle with their distinct abilities, as you progress through the randomly generated world, facing the many levels, bosses, and events the game will have to offer.

Source: Press Release (Goblinz Publishing [2] – Oaken)

Lastly we have Terraformers from Goblinz Publishing and Asteroid Lab, an interstellar, roguelike colony builder. In this game you will be developing Mars into a habitable world, as well as finding its resource deposits, natural wonders, and clearing areas for structures vital for the colony's survival. You will also get to pick the leader for this world you are building, and they will serve for ten years, applying their talents to the situation, whether that means the brilliance of a Nobel Peace Prize Laureate or the practicality of a private security contractor. Manage the atmosphere, temperature, oceans, and oxygen levels to shape the living conditions of this new home for humanity. Importantly, you will get to do this on an accurate representation of the planet, and the entire surface of the planet with its real locations and topography.

Terraformers is slated to arrive on Early Access on Steam and GOG on April 21, priced at $19.99.

Source: Press Release (Goblinz Publishing [3] – Terraformers)

Maximum Games is up now as this publisher and developer Pulsatrix Studios has announced survival-horror game Fobia – St. Dinfna Hotel is set to release later this year on PC, Xbox One, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X/S, and PlayStation 5. In the game you play as Roberto, a rookie journalist who has to fight against the supernatural, and as he continues his investigation he discovers something much bigger and darker than he could have imagined. Set within a decadent hotel, you will work your way through a story filled with twists and unexpected moments as you shift from investigating the hotel to fighting for survival and the truth. The past, present, and future collide and you will encounter puzzles, mysteries, and conspiracies, with your camera helping to uncover clues and navigate through time. It will even be a means to defend yourself from the monsters stalking the corridors.

Source: Press Release (Maximum Games – Fobia – St. Dinfna Hotel)

Lastly for the video game news we have THQ Nordic sharing a new trailer for MX vs ATV Legends as its digital pre-orders open. One of the new additions for the series arriving with this game is its Trails Mode, which the trailer features, showing how players will get to make their own path to the podium. You will also get to make your own choices on sponsorship opportunities and invitational events.

MX vs ATV Legends is scheduled to release on PC, Xbox On, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X/S, and PlayStation 5 on May 24.

Source: THQ Nordic (MX vs ATV Legends)

Last week AMD shared some information on its upcoming FidelityFX Super Resolution 2.0 (FSR 2.0) technology, and this week as part of its GDC presence, the company shared far more details. Some of it does get technical, but there is also some very important information that has been shared. For example, both Polaris and Pascal GPUs were listed in a chart concerning "optimal starting level hardware." More specifically the RX 590 and GTX 1070 were listed, which is interesting for not listing the very popular RX 580 and GTX 1060, but the fact the architecture families are included suggests these two GPUs may also be supported.

The first game to support the technology will be Deathloop from Arkane Studios and Bethesda, but AMD has also announced Forspoken from Luminous Productions will support it as well when it releases in October, amongst other FidelityFX technologies. FSR 2.0 will also be coming to the Xbox GDK, which means developers will be able to apply it to that console's games as well.

I do not remember if it was stated last week or not, but it was also revealed that FSR 2.0 will support dynamic resolutions, so while it will support some fixed scaling, such as taking an input resolution of 2560x1440 and upscaling it to 3840x2160, it will also be able to vary the input resolution to achieve targeted performance.

By leveraging temporal data, such as motion vectors and the results of the previously upscaled frame, the quality of FSR 2.0 should consistently surpass FSR 1.0, but to utilize it, the technology will need to be integrated earlier into the rendering process. AMD has laid out predictions for how long it thinks integration will take based on what other features are in the game. If some version of DLSS 2 is supported, FSR 2.0 can be applied as rapidly as less than three days. If the engine is UE4 or UE5, a plugin will make integration quick, but not as quick. Games that decouple display and render resolution is predicted as taking the next longest amount of time, with those sporting a TAA method taking less time than those without. The longest predicted time is approximately 4 weeks or more for those games without support for decoupled resolutions or motion vectors.

Like its predecessor, FSR 2.0 will have its source code released, and it will be under the rather permissive MIT license. Access to the FSR 2.0 API, documentation, the full C++ and HLSL source, as well as an example in DirectX 12 will all be provided in the future via GPUOpen on GitHub. This means developers will not only be free to add the technology to their games, but also to take the code to optimize and enhance it for their own game's and purposes. In fact, the RCAS, Robust Contrast Adaptive Sharpening, will be configurable by developers to tune the technology for the visuals of their games, which is important as not all games need or should have significant amounts of sharpening.

One aspect of FSR 2.0 is it will feature its own TAA implementation, and so when it is enabled in a game, this method will be enabled and whatever version the game uses will be disabled. This was shared last week, but mentioned on one of the slides from the GDC presentation is that an FSR 2.0 TAA-only mode is in development, which may prove interesting if it is a high quality TAA, compared to some implementations games have used. The presentation has been shared on YouTube for those curious about the technology, and if you check out AMD's YouTube channel or GPUOpen, you can find the other presentations it delivered, covering various topics besides FSR 2.0.

Source: AMD [1] (GPUOpen – FSR 2.0) and [2] (AMD Community – FSR 2.0)

March 18, 2022

Permalink for 'Various Video Game Stories from the Week of March 14'

9:39

Various Video Game Stories from the Week of March 14

The week has reached its end again, and so it is time to go through some of the video game news from the week. First up are a couple items from 2K, starting with the announcement of a new game; The Quarry. Coming from Supermassive Games, this new game has set itself the goal of breaking ground in interactive storytelling as it shares a visceral teen-horror experience set at a Summer camp. Your choices will determine who will survive as you may try to save your friends, or be only interested in saving yourself. With facial capture and filmic lighting methods, the performances of the Hollywood cast are to bring it all to life. You do not have to experience The Quarry alone, as it will support both couch co-op where each player can control a character, or you can have up to seven friends connect online and vote on the decisions you face.

Though only announced this week, you will not have long to wait for this title as The Quarry is releasing to PC, Xbox One, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X/S, and PlayStation 5 on June 10.

Source: 2K (The Quarry)

The other press release from 2K this week concerns Tiny Tina's Wonderlands, which releases on March 25 for PC, Xbox One, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X/S, and PlayStation 5. The news is that you will be free to play with your friends, no matter their preferred platform as crossplay thought SHiFT Matchmaking will be available to bring you all together. If you prefer a closer experience, the Xbox One and PlayStation 4 support two-player, split-screen co-op while the newer Xbox Series X/S and PlayStation 5 can support up to four players in split-screen co-op.

The PC specifications have also been shared and even the recommended specification is not that bad, except for the 75 GB of storage space.

	Minimum	Recommended
CPU (AMD)	FX-8350	Ryzen 5 2600
CPU (Intel)	Core i5-3570	Core i7-4770
RAM	6 GB	16 GB
GPU (AMD)	RX 470	GTX 960 (4 GB)
GPU (NVIDIA)	RX 590	GTX 1060 (6 GB)
OS	Windows 10	Windows 10
DirectX	11	11
Storage	75 GB	75 GB

If you follow the second source link below, you can see the various settings and options the game offers, include Field of View, Resolution Scaling, API, and more.

Source: 2K (Tiny Tina's Wonderlands) and Tiny Tina's Wonderlands Website

Devolver Digital has announced the release of Kaycee's Mod for Inscryption, a horror, escape-room, rogue-like card game. With this mini-expansion, Leshy's Cabin becomes an endless encounter with new levels unlocking new cards, but also challenges. It is a free update and until March 21 the game is on sale at 30% off too, if this seems like the game for you, or you are just curious about what it offers.

Source: Press Release (Devolver Digital – Inscryption)

If that is not quite the experience you are looking for, Devolver Digital has also shared a new trailer for Trek to Yomi that highlights its combat. This monochrome game tells the story of a young swordsman who failed to protect his town that he swore to protect, and must now go beyond life and death to find his way forward. This new trailer is behind YouTube's age-gate though, so you will need to log in to view it: Trek to Yomi | Combat Trailer | Spring 2022.

Trek to Yomi is set to release on PC, Xbox One, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X/S, and PlayStation 5 this Spring.

Source: Press Release (Devolver Digital – Trek to Yomi)

Rebellion has announced Sniper Elite 5 is releasing May 26 and has opened up pre-orders for this next entry in its WWII franchise. As Karl Fairburne, you will discover a Nazi Plot named Operation Kraken and put your elite marksman skills to use to stop it before it is too late.

If you choose to pre-order the game you will receive the latest mission in the Target Fuhrer campaign named Wolf Mountain. In this mission you get to infiltrate Hitler's retreat in the Bavarian Alps, the Berghof. It is filled with personal guards to stop you, but also with collectables and opportunities to eliminate Hitler in whatever imaginative ways you can think of. Pre-orders will also grant you the P.1938 Suppressed Pistol to help you during your covert operations. Details for the game's Deluxe Edition have been shared as well, as it will include the game's Season Pass. This will feature two campaign missions, two weapon skin packs, two character packs, and six weapon packs. If that is still not enough to satiate you desire for Sniper Elite 5 content, new merchandise has been added to Rebellion's store.

Sniper Elite 5 will be available on PC, Xbox One, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X/S, and PlayStation 5 on May 26.

Dying Light 2 from Techland has received an update this week to add four new parkour challenges. Between them you will see your wall-running challenged as well as you capabilities with the paraglider to keep above dangerous areas. There is also a fifth challenge, the Flying Scorpion challenge that will reward you with the Wyvern paraglider skin.

If that is not enough for you, the studio has also begun its new At the Fish Eye series that will provide a behind-the-scenes look while developers also face off against players, to see who has the better skills. To challenge them yourself, get the best time in a parkour challenge and share it on social media with #FishEyechallenge, so they can see what they need to beat to claim to be the better Nightrunner.

Source: Press Release (Techland – Dying Light 2)

Turning to some tech news now, AMD made a few significant announcements this week, including several new CPUs. At the top of the stack is the Ryzen 7 5800X3D with its 64 MB of V-cache increasing the L3 cache significantly. It will be available on April 20 with a suggested price of $449 and AMD is claiming it is the fastest CPU for 1080p gaming. Unfortunately the extra cache is not likely to increase performance in many other applications, and overclocking has mostly been disabled. This is due to the V-cache not yet being well enough optimized to support pushing the frequency and voltage beyond specification. Hopefully with the time and experience of building this CPU, future products with V-cache can be unlocked.

As for the other six CPUs announced, three are in the Ryzen 5000 series and use the Zen 3 architecture. These are the Ryzen 7 5700X, R5 5600, and R5 5500 and all of them have a 65 W TDP. The 5700X is an 8 core/16 thread part with a base clock of 3.4 GHz and boost of 4.6 GHz that will be priced at $299 and does not come with a cooler. The 5600 is a 6 core/12 thread part with a base clock of 3.5 GHz and boost of 4.4 GHz that comes with the Wraith Stealth cooler and will cost $199. The 5500 is a bit different from the other two, because while it is still a Zen 3 CPU with 6 cores and 12 threads, it only offers PCIe 3.0 support and has less total cache, at 19 MB compared to 35 MB of the 5600. It will come with the Wraith Stealth cooler and be priced at $159.

The other three CPUs are Zen 2 based and so are Ryzen 4000 series products with only PCIe 3.0 support. They do all come with the Wraith Stealth cooler though and share the same 65 W TDP of the three CPUs mentioned in the previous paragraph. The Ryzen 5 4600G and R5 4500 are both 6 core/12 thread parts, with the 4600G sporting slightly better clocks and integrated graphics. Its base clock is 3.7 GHz and boost is 4.2 GHz, while the 4500 is 100 MHz lower for both values. The R3 4100 is at the bottom of the stack, being a 4 core/8 thread part, but it does have a base clock of 3.8 GHz, though its boost is only 4.0 GHz. The 4600G, 4500, and 4100 are priced at $154, $129, and $99 respectively.

All six of these CPUs are expected to launch on April 4.

For those who are still using a 300 series motherboard, AMD shared it is releasing AGESA 1.2.0.7 that will bring support for the Zen 3 architecture, meaning the Ryzen 5000 series. It will still be up to the motherboard manufacturers to develop and deliver BIOSes for these older motherboards, but the expectation is for Beta BIOS updates to start appearing in April.

Source: AMD [1] (CPU Announcements)

AMD shared some additional news this week, coinciding with its release of AMD Software: Adrenalin Edition 2022 release, the latest version of its video card drivers. The most significant and expected feature to arrive with this is Radeon Super Resolution, a previously announced technology to bring FidelityFX Super Resolution, FSR 1.0, to games just by the driver. Previously FSR 1.0 required developers to integrate it, and while that process is relatively quick and easy, there are many games that for many reasons have not, nor would they ever get support for it. With this and future drivers, it will be possible to enable the spatial upscaler globally or per-game, and then by running in exclusive-fullscreen and selecting a lower than native resolution, RSR will scale it up to match your display. Borderless fullscreen games can also make use of the technology, but it seems that requires adjusting your desktop resolution as well.

Unfortunately, RSR is presently limited to RDNA1 and newer GPUs, which are the RX 5000 series and newer. As the underlying technology is FSR 1.0 that can run on practically any GPU, hopefully support will be extended to the older generations, but it is hard to say. Certainly the emphasis is on the latest products, but it is the older hardware that could benefit the most. I should also mention that being a driver-side solution, it will be applied to all the visual content of a game, and so that includes the UI. Properly implemented, FSR 1.0 is applied before elements such as the UI are rendered, to avoid artifacting, but that is not an option here.

That is not all AMD shared this week though, as it also announced FidelityFX Super Resolution 2.0 that it says promises improved performance with equal or great image quality. Obviously the claim will need to be tested when it releases, but it should prove to be a significant improvement for FSR 1.0. The current technique consists of a spatial upscaler and sharpening filter, which combine to work on the current frame the GPU is rendering. As all it needs is the frame as its input, it is very easy to implement and to run. With FSR 2.0, however, it will leverage temporal algorithms, which means information from multiple frames will be used to feed the upscaler.

With more information should come greater accuracy, but it also requires deeper integration into the game. However, it will address some of the specific disadvantages of FSR 1.0, such as it being reliant on the frame it is given to lack artifacts, like those from some forms of TAA. That is solved here as FSR 2.0 will include its own anti-aliasing method.

According to AMD, FSR 2.0 will take in scene color, scene depth, and motion vectors for the scene to inform the upscaler, which does not rely on machine learning. This is an important distinction from competing technologies like NVIDIA's DLSS and Intel's upcoming XeSS that both utilize ML techniques and rely on specialized hardware to accelerate the work. This means FSR 2.0 can enjoy wide GPU support, including on the competitor graphics cards. We will just have to wait and see if it too will be limited to RDNA1 and new AMD GPUs like RSR though.

If you follow the latter two source links below, you will be able to see examples of FSR 2.0 in Deathloop, and the results are promising, but are also first-party comparisons. We can expect to learn more on March 23 at a GDC talk that will cover how FSR 2.0 works, but you may still want to wait until third-party comparisons can be made to truly decide how effective it is.

Source: AMD [2] (Adrenalin Edition 2022 Release Announcement), [3] (FSR 2.0 First Look, and GPUOpen (FSR 2.0 Announcement)

EKWB has announced a new product that should help when building a custom liquid cooling system, the EK-Loop Leak Tester Flex. This is not the company's first loop tester, but by adding a flexible tube to one end, this new version should make testing your loop easier. Both versions address the issue of needing to test loops by using air pressure, so you do not need to fill the loop with water and wait to see if any leaks out. You will still need to be careful with how much pressure you apply for the test, but by using air, the test can be done more quickly and without having to worry about a leak damaging any components. The EK-Loop Leak Tester Flex is available now and priced at $29.99.

Source: EKWB (EK-Loop Leak Tester Flex)

Finishing this week off, here is some science news as the James Webb Space Telescope has successfully finished aligning its mirrors. Unlike other space telescopes, such as the aging Hubble Space Telescope, Webb uses multiple mirrors that can be controlled and manipulated individually. While this design will help humanity achieve a new level of understanding of the Universe, along with some really awesome images, its complexity is also a potential source of issue, but this "fine phasing" step has been successful with each optical parameter "performing at, or above, expectations." It is still months before Webb will be fully able to explore the cosmos, but this is a significant step that provides the team behind it with confidence in the mission's eventual success.

To help understand who this multi-mirror design was used, the size of the telescope's primary mirror is 6.5 m, which is too large to fit within a rocket, so it was separated into 18 hexagonal mirror segments, that could then be folded up for launch. The mirrors were then unfolded in in space and adjusted to within nanometers to form a single mirror surface. This is not the first telescope to use segmented primary mirrors, as some of the largest telescopes on Earth do, but is the first for space telescopes.

Next there will be additional alignment steps and then preparations for the science instruments on board the satellite. This will include collecting data on each instrument so an algorithm can determine the best corrections across them all, and then the final alignment step to reduce and remove what errors might remain. The first full-resolution imagery is expected to be released in the Summer.

Source: NASA (James Webb Space Telescope Optics Alignment)

March 11, 2022

Permalink for 'Various Video Game Stories from the Week of March 7'

11:29

Various Video Game Stories from the Week of March 7

The second weekend in March is upon us and so it is time to go through some of the video games news from the week. First up are a couple pieces from 2K, both concerning Tiny Tina's Wonderland. In one we learn about the Chaos Chamber, the replayable endgame experience for the game, and the other shares details on the Season Pass.

With the Chaos Chamber, players will be able to enter a randomized dungeon filled with enemies and the means to make the run more or less challenging, based on what you feel up to. The experience starts with three dungeon rooms, followed by a mini-boss fight, and then another three rooms before arriving at the main boss fight. After each room, you are presented with two portals so you can decide what comes next. Completing a room and its special challenges will present you with a rainbow-glowing die that you can smash to collect crystals. These crystals can be spent at altars to receive Blessings and their buffs, or Curses that will weaken you, but with higher risk comes greater rewards.

Coming to the Season Pass now, it will include four post-launch content releases, including new bosses, new settings, a seventh class, and the Butt Stallion cosmetic pack. All of the new content will start in Dreamveil Overlook, where the fortune teller Vesper awaits an audience and invites you to peer into a Mirror of Mystery. As you may have guessed, it is these mirrors that will take you to the new environments, which consist of five levels and a boss encounter. These bosses will become more powerful over time, so you can continually challenge yourself. Also, once you complete a mirror, its levels and boss will be added to the random pool for the Chaos Chamber.

Tiny Tina's Wonderlands releases on March 25 for PC, Xbox One, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X/S, and PlayStation 5. The Season Pass is available separately or as part of the game's Chaotic Great Edition. The four content releases will also be available separately with the first one launching on April 21.

Source: 2K [1] (Tiny Tina's Wonderland) and [2] (Tiny Tina's Wonderland)

Devolver Digital has shared a new trailer for the upcoming Trek to Yomi with a special focus on the story. In the monochromatic game you play as a young swordsman that swore to protect you town, but after facing tragedy is bound by duty to go beyond life and death on his path forward. Though the story is the focus, the trailer does show us some of the gameplay and action we can expect when it releases sometime this Spring.

Source: Press Release (Devolver Digital – Trek to Yomi)

Prime Matter had a couple announcements this week, and first up is the release date for Dolmen, a third-person, action RPG from Massive Work Studio. It will be releasing to PC, Xbox One, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X/S, and PlayStation 5 on May 20, with pre-orders opening soon. To celebrate the announcement, a new trailer has been release to showcase the cooperative and multiplayer modes the game will have, so you do not need to take on bosses alone.

In the sci-fi universe of Dolmen, humanity has reached and colonized several star systems, and applied genetic manipulation to adapt to the conditions it has encountered. The setting is Revion Prime, and there the player will try to unravel the mystery a mystery involving alien species, corrupt corporations, and unknown dimensions. Also involved is the Vahani, a species that travels the universe altering the genetic makeup of others, with a crystal called Dolmen apparently key to their efforts. It is unknown if their purpose is noble of malevolent, but Revion Prime has an abundance of the crystal, and you will need it to unravel the secrets around you.

Along with sharing the release date, Prime Matter has also given information on the game's Day One Edition. Those who get it will receive the Rebel Set, a full set of armor, a sword, and an axe all to help the player adapt to the rigors of space.

Source: Prime Matter (Dolmen)

The other announcement from Prime Matter is that Outward, the open-world RPG from Nine Dots, is receiving a Definitive Edition that is coming to PC but will also be the first time the game is available digitally for the Xbox Series X/S and PlayStation 5 consoles.

Outward: Definitive Edition will include the two DLCs, The Three Brothers and The Soroboreans, along with new content, quality of life updates, and balancing adjustments. These include new challenges for experienced players such as unique encounters in dungeons, new defeat scenarios, and even new diseases. Among the changes to improve the experience though, will be the ability to access your stash when visiting a friend's world and tweaks to make enchanting less finicky.

The game will be releasing in May and for those who own the current game and the two DLC, you will be able to redeem a free copy of the Definitive Edition.

Source: Press Release (Prime Matter – Outward: Definitive Edition)

Sifu from Sloclap has received an update this week that will allow players to enable full Mandarin voice over for the Kung Fu game. Being set in a fictional Chinese city where the player uncovers an ancient mystery, having all of the characters speak Mandarin seems quite appropriate. Watching the trailer below, you can see not only the impact the new voice work has but also hear from some of the voice actors that make up its cast.

The game launched last month and saw one million sales in its first three weeks, which is pretty impressive. In the game you will seek revenge for the murder of your family and apply martial arts to not only achieve your goal, but also a magic pendant for when you fail. The cost of revival is time though, as you will return with an older and therefore weaker body, but age can impart some advantages as well. The base game is priced at $39.99 while the Deluxe Edition is $49.99.

Source: Press Release (Sloclap – Sifu)

Square Enix has shared a new trailer for Forspoken, one of the company's upcoming games that will place a New Yorker in a beautiful but dangerous world. Frey Holland is the name of the protagonist and she will be facing threats greater than any she has encountered before as she tries to save the land of Athia, and find a way home.

The world has been broken by the Break, a corruption that twists what it touches into a distorted version of itself. The new trailer shows us some examples, such as the Gigas and Apsaravis creatures that Frey will have to deal with, along with the dragon, one of the first enemies she will encounter upon her arrival. Fortunately she will be able to unlock magical powers to defend herself with, and these too are on display in the trailer, granting her offensive and defensive capabilities as well as traversal methods that are useful in battle and when exploring.

Forspoken is to release on October 11 to PC and PlayStation 5.

Source: Square Enix (Forspoken)

Dying Light 2 from Techland has received its Patch 1.2 this week that brings with it various technical and gameplay changes. These include improved ragdoll mechanics, greater details to melee combat, and even a high performance preset for those playing on older desktops or laptops.

Perhaps very important for some are the fixes to story progression, including that all known Deathloops have been addressed, as well as blocks in a number of quests. Several co-op fixes have been delivered too, to improve stability and the experience there. For combat, blunt weapons have been adjusted to give them a better sense of weight, and this includes the way enemies react to them. Enemies will also ragdoll more often and more naturally. The balance of night time has been adjusted, as the range of the Howler's sense have been increased, as has their resistance to ranged weapons. If a Howler survives such an attack, they will trigger a chase. Volatiles will come out of hiding during chases sooner and if you reach Level 4, you will find it more difficult than it had been. There are many more tweaks than those I have mentioned, so it is worth giving the patch notes a look to see how UI/UX has been tweaked and some of the technical changes.

Source: Press Release (Techland – Dying Light 2) and Steam (Patch Notes)

Closing out this week is some news from AMD as the company has finally announced Zen 3-based Threadripper PRO CPUs. This Threadripper PRO 5000 WX-Series has the 64 core/128 thread 5995WX at the top and the 12 core/24 thread 5945WX at the bottom. For those wondering why one would be interested in a 12 core Threadripper PRO CPU, it offers 128 PCIe 4.0 lanes and up to 2 TB of ECC memory.

Like the normal Ryzen CPUs, the move from Zen 2 to Zen 3 has improved IPC and clockspeeds for these CPUs. Part of the increase has come from the move to having 8-core CCX's on the compute dies, as opposed to pairs of 4-core CCX's. This means the 8 cores are able to share access to an L3 cache twice the size of its predecessor, but these are not the only improvements the new architecture enjoys.

One thing somewhat disappointing, at least for now, is that these are exclusive to Lenovo P620 workstations, at least for now. Hopefully they will come to be available from other system builders and separately, so people can build their own systems around these too. The return of the HEDT-targeting Threadripper series would also be good, with some of the workstation-focused features reduced such as using 4-channel memory instead of 8-channel, but the company has not said anything about that happening. While the HEDT market is not necessarily that large, it does still exist so it may happen.

If that is not interesting enough for you, AMD has also shared on GPUOpen its schedule of sessions at GDC later this month. Among them is one titled "Next-Generation Image Upscaling for Games." FidelityFX Super Resolution is an interesting technology and while it competes with NVIDIA's DLSS, the two rely on completely different methods, so it will be interesting to see what AMD has in mind for this technology's future.

Source: AMD (Threadripper PRO) and GPUOpen (GDC 2022)

March 04, 2022

Permalink for 'Various Video Game Stories from the Week of February 28'

11:41

Various Video Game Stories from the Week of February 28

With this first Friday of March, it is time to go through the video game news that has collected during the week, and first up is some from 2K as it shares new gameplay video for the upcoming Tiny Tina's Wonderlands. Actually it is more of a walkthrough as it features two players in exploring Mount Craw for over twenty minutes. If that is not enough for you, or you would prefer something to read rather than watch, the Game Guide has been updated with information covering the always-on Class Feats, the Action Skills for the different classes, and the passive abilities within the skill trees. Remember, you do not need to worry if you have a hard time deciding which class to play as, because the game eventually grants a second class slot, enabling a hybridized build.

Tiny Tina's Wonderlands releases on March 25 for PC, Xbox One, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X/S, and PlayStation 5.

There were a couple announcements from The Arcade Crew this week, and the first I have for you concerns The Last Spell, a rogue-lite, turn-based, tactical RPG presently in Early Access on Steam. The publisher has shared an interview with The Algorithm, the composer for the game's soundtrack, to give an idea of what was involved with crafting the game's music, but also his own story. It was video games that led him to become a composer, and now it is music that has brought him back to video games. The video is a bit shy of nine minutes and you need to read the English subtitles, but it is interesting for those curious about the music for this game.

Source: Press Release (The Arcade Crew – The Last Spell)

The second announcement from The Arcade is that Young Souls, a co-op ready, RPG, beat-em-up from 1P2P Studio is releasing on March 10 for PC, Xbox One, PlayStation 4, and Nintendo Switch. To mark the announcement, a new trailer has been released to share the date but also give an overview of the game, in which you play as the twins Jenn and Tristan who go on a quest to rescue their foster father. He has been lost in another world after opening a portal to it, and now the two children must go after him and engage in dungeon-clearing battles. These battles are fought during the night as they return to their sleepy town during the day to continue their lives as apparently average, laid back teens. For more information on the game, be sure to check out the six minute trailer embedded below.

Source: Press Release (The Arcade Crew – Young Souls)

Time for Devolver Digital as a new episode of Road to Weird West has been shared, showing players their ability to commit crimes in the games. You will need to be careful if you do because towns do have lawmen, and even if you escape, there can be bounty hunters who hunt you down.

Weird West launches on March 31 for PC, Xbox One, and PlayStation 4.

Source: Press Release (Devolver Digital – Weird West)

Despite its sequel releasing just a month ago, Techland has released an update for the original Dying Light to add PC crossplay across Steam, GOG, and the Epic Games Store, where it also just launch. Besides different storefronts, this crossplay will work across Windows, Mac, and Linux as well, so it looks like all PC players are free to play with any other PC player.

Celebrating the launch on the Epic Games Store, the Enhanced Edition and Platinum Edition of Dying Light have been marked down 60% and 70% respectively at that store until March 7.

Source: Press Release (Techland – Dying Light)

Ending the specifically video game related news is some, but not all of the industry's reaction to the current war in Ukraine. Near the beginning of the week Ubisoft, which does have a studio in Ukraine, shared it had first recommended its employees shelter where they would be safe, and supported them with funds to help cover cost in mid-February. As the situation deteriorated, the publisher assisted its employees in finding housing in neighboring countries for themselves and their families, if they desired it. Further, dedicated hotlines for support and aid were set up, as well as a communication system to ensure the company could keep in touch with their employees in all circumstances. It also donated 200,000 euros to the Ukranian Red Cross and Save the Children.

A couple days later both Blooper Team and CD Projekt Red announced they were ceasing the sales of their titles in Russia and Belarus. As the CD Projekt Red Group also owns the GOG platform, it has ceased distributing games on that platform in Russia and Belarus as well. For reference, both of these companies are based in Poland, one of Ukraine's neighbors.

These are not the only acts being taken by the games industry, and potentially not the last either.

Source: Blooper Team, CD Projekt Red, and Ubisoft

VideoCardz has also shared that both Intel and AMD, via PCWorld, have confirmed the suspension of deliveries to Russia and Belarus. The Intel statements says it has "suspended all shipments" and AMD's says it "is suspending its sales and distribution of our products."

Source: VideoCardz

Turning away from the video game news for the moment, UL has announced it is working on a new test for 3DMark that is to release later this year. Named Speed Way and sponsored by Lenovo, this test will utilize ray tracing for real-time global illumination, but also mesh shaders and variable rate shading. While RTGI will almost certainly drag down performance, mesh shaders and VRS both have the capacity to improve performance, quite significantly too.

With VRS the amount of shading calculations done for pixels can be reduced in areas of less detail, where the reduction should go unnoticed. These shading calculations can be very expensive in some circumstances. Mesh shaders completely change the way graphics are rendered, by moving away from a fixed pipeline. For decades rendering was followed a strict sequence that can suffer from significant inefficiencies, such as forcing the culling of obstructed objects to happen after some shading work has already been done. With mesh shaders rendering is treated more as a computational process, and allows actions to be taken at various times. Previously a mesh shader feature test was released to 3DMark that showed performance could increase by multiple factors with this technology. The feature tests for VRS also showed very significant performance increases, but I seem to recall it being a little tamer than the mesh shader test.

Source: UL Benchmarks

The last bit of news I have for the week is a rather interesting and potentially very significant one as Universal Chiplet Interconnect Express, UCIe, has been launched along with the UCIe 1.0 specification. The purpose of this new group is to develop open standards for an open chiplet ecosystem as many chip companies and designers are moving to chiplet designs from monolithic. AMD, Intel, Arm, Microsoft, Google Cloud, Meta (formerly Facebook), Qualcomm, Advanced Semiconductor Engineering, Samsung, and TSMC are all part of this consortium, and these founding companies ratified the UCIe specification for a package level interconnect. Die-to-die communication and protocols, and the software stack are covered by this specification. The software leverages PCIe and Compute Express Link, CXL, which are both industry standards.

By setting a single set of standards, these companies can find some of the process in developing chiplets simplified, and it should make interoperability between chiplets of different manufacturers possible as well. As the Anandtech article points out, this initiative is benefiting from the lessons learned from PCIe and how that standard has supported a massive ecosystem of expansion cards. The UCIe standard can also bring economic benefits, by enabling chiplets from different manufacturers and different process technologies to be combined more easily. Simultaneously, it enables greater customization of chips too, as specialized chiplets can be applied to ad features to chips.

The interest in chiplets has been growing for years now, undoubtedly supported by AMD's success with the Zen architecture that has been using a chiplet design since the original Zeppelin dies. By developing a single design that can be combined with others on the same package, AMD has benefited significantly from the economics of scale as a single compute die can be manufactured and then binned to cover the complete product stack.

This first UCIe specification, however, is actually coming from Intel, as the company has shared it with the industry. This is not the first time the company has shared interconnect technologies broadly as USB, Thunderbolt 3, and even PCIe started with that company. It is worth noting though that EMIB or Foveros are not part of the UCIe specification, but this is appropriate as its design is to be bridge-agnostic. So long as the chiplet obeys the standard, including bump pitch, one UCIe chiplet should be able to speak with another, regardless of the bridging method. The spec also allows for communication off-chip. While this will see power efficiency and latency sacrificed, both goals of chiplet designs, there could be uses for this capability within server racks.

It will be very interesting to see how this technology develops and how some companies leverage the possibilities it will allow.

Source: Universal Chiplet Interconnect Express, Business Wire (UCIe Announcement) and

February 25, 2022

Permalink for 'Various Video Game Stories from the Week of February 21'

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Various Video Game Stories from the Week of February 21

It is the end of the last full week in February and time to go through some of the video game news. First up is news from Devolver Digital and Flying Wild Hog as the publisher and developer have released a new trailer for Shadow Warrior 3. This is the game's final gameplay trailer before its launch on March 1 and shows off various weapons and tactics for eliminating your enemies. This includes the ability to rip a weapon or tool from an enemy, empowering you to more effectively, and more stylishly dispatch with their comrades.

Shadow Warrior 3 releases March 1 to PC, Xbox One, and PlayStation 4.

Source: Press Release (Devolver Digital – Shadow Warrior 3)

Next we have a couple pieces of news from Prime Matter as two of its upcoming titles now have demos available as part of the current Steam Next Fest. First up is Crossfire: Legion from Smilegate, an RTS that will feature tactical action in battles set in a near future. For this demo you can fight on three challenging maps and play as one of three factions, controlling their unique commander. Fans will already know two of the factions, but with this latest trailer the New Horizon faction has been revealed. This is a global corporate syndicate with the goal of transcending the limits of humanity by leveraging AI technology in all aspects of society. The other two factions are Global Risk, a mercenary organization, and Black List, a mercenary group that broke from Global List and its corrupt policies.

The other Prime Matter title with a demo for Next Fest is The Last Oricru from GoldKnights. This is a third-person, action-RPG set in a medieval sci-fi world ready for war, and as you play, you will face choices that influence the world in many ways. Naturally there can be different endings, and the characters can be impacted as well, but even the visuals of levels and gameplay flow will be influenced by your decisions. The game's factions pay attention to what you do and who you kill.

This is the first public demo for the game and includes its first two areas along with some of the plot-affecting decisions. You can also engage in local, two-player co-op if you wish, while the game will have online co-op when it releases.

Steam Next Fest ends on February 28.

Source: Press Releases (Prime Matter – Crossfire: Legion and The Last Oricru)

Square Enix has shared a new trailer for its upcoming title, Babylon's Fall, with its focus being on combat. The game will allow you to wield up to four weapons and the proper combination of them can be particularly devastating, so a Combat 101 trailer is fairly appropriate. For those with a modern PlayStation you can try its demo, launching today, but the full release is not far away.

Besides showing off some of the weapons and techniques you will be able to use with your Gideon Coffin, the trailer also provides a glimpse of what the game will receive with its Season 1 roadmap, covering today to May 31. New game modes, weapons types, armor, quests, story content, bosses, and even a new faction will be coming as part of Season 1, and the Premium Battle Bass is free for all players during the season.

Babylon's Fall is releasing March 3 on PC, PlayStation 4, and PlayStation 5. Those who pre-order the Digital Deluxe Edition, however, will have access starting February 28.

Source: Press Release (Square Enix – Babylon's Fall)

Elex II is releasing March 1 and to prepare players for what it will offer, THQ Nordic has released its Explanation Trailer. For Jax to survive in Magalan, with its warring factions and dangerous wildlife, he will need to regain his powers. To start you will have basic weapons, but if you join one of the factions, you will gain access to special equipment and abilities, but you can remain faction-less, alone except for your companions. The choice will be use on how you fight to save your world.

Elex II is coming on March 1 for PC, Xbox One, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X/S, and PlayStation 5.

Source: THQ Nordic (Elex II)

Today marks the release of the Steam Deck, and so THQ Nordic has shared a list of its games that have achieved "Verified" and "Playable" status. With Verified games, you are good to just start playing, but Playable may require some tweaking, with the example given of having to select a community controller config, or needing to use the touchscreen to navigate a launcher.

The list only has four games under Verified and ten under Playable, but both will grow as more titles are verified, so check out the source link for the latest information.

Source: THQ Nordic (Steam Deck Verified and Playable Games

Also shared by THQ Nordic this week was its acquisition of metricminds, a Frankfurt-based studio that form in 2001 for creating cutscenes, trailers, motion capture, and more that are delivered in-engine. It has worked on Dying Light, Borderlands 2, Darksiders III, Batman Arkham Origins, The Remnant: From the Ashes, and more. As a result of this acquisition, it will be a subsidiary of THQ Nordic.

Source: THQ Nordic (metricminds)

February 18, 2022

Permalink for 'Various Video Game Stories from the Week of February 14'

11:03

Various Video Game Stories from the Week of February 14

We are half way through February now, which means Valentine's Day is behind us, but not yet all of the sales. GOG is holding a We Love Games sale that closes on Monday, so you still have time to pick up some DRM-free games, including some new titles to the store's library. Cloudpunk, Partisans 1941 and the Giant series are all available from GOG now and are all discounted as well, so you may want to take a look over the weekend.

Source: GOG (We Love Games sale)

Coming to the game news for the week, we have some from The Arcade Crew for Infernax, which launched this week but also had a special trailer release. Infernax is a game meant to recreate some of the fun from classic Zelda and Castlevania games, but the developers at Berzerk Studio decided to pay homage to another NES classic, with an all too familiar cheat code. Rather than playing as a knight with a trusty mace to defeat the demons threatening the world, you can be armed with a machine gun, 30 lives, unique skills, and jump flips. The recommendation is to play the game normally first, but it is hard to say this does not look like a fun experience.

Infernax launched on Tuesday for the PC, Xbox One, PlayStation 4, and Nintendo Switch.

Source: Press Release (The Arcade Crew – Infernax)

CD Projekt Red has been busy working on Cyberpunk 2077 and this week released its v1.5 patch that brings a lot of changes with it for PC, but also for consoles. This is the next-generation update of the game so it can take better advantage of the capabilities of the Xbox Series X/S and PlayStation 5. The PC version has received attentions as well, with a new benchmark mode, an option to toggling on walking when using a keyboard, Variable Rate Shading for improving performance on supporting hardware, and FidelityFX Super Resolution that replaces Contrast Adaptive Sharpening. The complete list of changes is quite long, but it includes adding apartments you can rent in Night City, and they share the same stash. Mirrors in your apartments and safehouses can be used to make tweaks to your appearance for free and as often as you wish. Combat AI has seen tweaks, as has the crowd, drive model, and vehicle traffic. The list is pretty long but can be found at the source link.

Source: CD Projekt Red (Cyberpunk 2077)

Coming from Devolver Digital and Sos Sosowski later this year is McPixel 3 to answer the question of what happened to McPixel 2. In this title you will see the wanna-be hero constantly getting into crazy situations as he tries to save the world, and always need to find some way to avert disaster. Sometimes the solution involves "summoning a spider billionaire, having a BBQ in his pants, punching a T-Rex into outerspace, peeing on sports cars, and kicking Fork Parker in the balls." As I said, it is coming from Devolver Digital later in 2022.

Source: Press Release (Devolver Digital – McPixel 3)

Koch Media, Milestone, and Feld Entertainment have shared the first gameplay trailer for Monster Energy Supercross – The Official Videogame 5. This entry in the series will offer enhanced bike control so players have greater freedom and precision. At the same time, the suspension system and drift management have been improved as well, so you can be more aggressive without fear of falling off when opening the throttle at the end.

The game is releasing on March 17 on PC, Xbox One, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X/S, and PlayStation 5.

Source: Press Release (Koch Media – Monster Energy Supercross – The Official Videogame 5)

Tomb Raider is 25 years old and Square Enix and Crystal Dynamics decided to celebrate with a special charity event. Artists from around the world have created reimagined box art for the Tomb Raider games, and for a limited time the set can be purchased for $49, with all of the proceeds going to the Girls Make Games program that works to inspire the next generation of game designers, creators, and engineers. The artists were selected so the collection would have an array of styles, and they were given full freedom with their work. The result is versions of Lara Croft in comic, anime, whimsical, realistic, and surrealistic styles. The source link is to the Square Enix store page for the set, but you can also find the list of artists who created the new box art there as well, which game they created it for.

Source: Square Enix (Tomb Raider Reimagined Box Art)

Closing it out this week is some news from Techland, which only released Dying Light 2 earlier this month, but has already released its first free DLC. The Authority skin pack allows players to equip themselves with gear representing the Peacekeepers, a very ordered and disciplined faction in the game. It arrives in three parts, but all three released this week. The first includes gear for your chest, legs, and foot slots while the second has gauntlets, a windbreaker, and guards. The final part features the two-handed Authority hammer, to help you ensure the NPCs know to follow the rules. The next skin pack will be the Ronin pack and it too should arrive in three parts soon.

In addition to the news of the DLC, the developers have also begun a contest with a customized PC as its grand prize. It will feature an Intel Core i9-12900k paired with an RTX 3090 FE, so you can fight the infected and Renegades with exceptional performance. There is more being given away than just that though, as three Secretlab TITAN Evo 2022 gaming chairs have been added to the prize list, along with three BenQ Mobiuz monitors and 20 HyperX Cloud II headphones, all with branding for the game. To enter the contest you need to share your best clip from the game before February 19 at 5 PM CET with the appropriate hashtags, as you can see described here: Twitter @DyingLightGame.

Naturally the first prize in this contest is the customized PC along with one of the Secretlab TITAN Evo 2022 chairs and BenQ Mobiuz monitors. The second prize, which will go to two winners, is similar but lacks the computer; a Secretlab TITAN Evo 2022 chair and BenQ Mobiuz monitor. Third prize goes to 20 winners and includes a 2 month GeForce Now Priority subscription and themed HyperX Cloud II headphones. Best of luck to all who enter.

Source: Press Release (Techland – Dying Light 2) and Twitter @DyingLightGame

February 11, 2022

Permalink for 'Various Video Game Stories from the Week of February 7'

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Various Video Game Stories from the Week of February 7

Once again the week has come to its end, so it is time to go through the video game news of the week, and a little more at the end. Starting things off is some time-sensitive news, of a sort, as EA has shared its Madden NFL 22 Super Bowl LVI prediction. According to the game, the Cincinnati Bengals will win its first Super Bowl with a score of 24-21, after a close game against the Los Angeles Rams. Of course you can check out the source link before to get all of the details EA is predicting, including that the Bengals will be down 14-7 at halftime, based on this latest Madden title and NFL Next Gen Stats player data.

Source: EA (Madden NFL 22 Super Bowl LVI Prediction)

That is not the only piece of time-sensitive news as Prime Matter is marking Valentine's Day with a 70% discount on Kingdom Come: Deliverance. Both the base game and the Royal Edition are so discounted, while the DLC are 60% off except for The Amorous Adventures of Bold Sir Hans Capon. This DLC is free, so you can follow Sir Hans as he attempts the fairest maid he has ever seen and has to rely on his charm, and his wingman, Henry. Both the sale and the free DLC go until February 14, so you have some time.

Source: Press Release (Prime Matter – Kingdom Come: Deliverance) and Steam Store Page

One last Valentine's Day sale to mention as EK Water Blocks is holding one until February 18. During this time GPU water block and backplate bundles are discounted, select EK-Classic products are 15% off, and all EK-AIO coolers are 15%. Additionally, all orders through the EK Online Shop will include a gift. If you have been considering an upgrade to your system's cooling, this might be a good place to start.

Source: EKWB Valentine's Day Sale

Dotemu has shared a new trailer for Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder's Revenge, revealing that Master Splinter will be among the roster of playable characters for the game. Unlike the Turtles, Splinter has a much calmer personality, but as a master of the ninja arts, he should never be dismissed lightly. With his staff and wide-reaching moves, he can deal with groups of enemies as he unleashes powerful attacks.

Also revealed this week was that the game will be coming to the Xbox One and PlayStation 4. Previously the title was only announced for PC and Nintendo Switch. We do not have a release date yet, but Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder's Revenge is targeting a launch later this year.

Source: Press Release (Dotemu – Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder's Revenge)

A new DLC is coming for Evil Genius 2 from Rebellion, this one featuring a new genius; Polar. Her goal is to freeze the world with her Z.E.R.O. Doomsday Device, and she has some new minions and devices to help, as well as new foes to face.

Rather than targeting the land, Polar's aim is on the oceans, and this DLC adds five Ocean Regions to control, along with submarines and turrets that the new Engineer minions will work on from their Workshop. Adding a layer of complexity to your base management is a temperature system, as your minions will be more or less productive depending on if they are too cold or too hot. This means heaters and air conditioners will need to be placed strategically to optimize your base. As for the new enemies, there is a new Force of Justice Agent type and a new Super-Agent that comes armored. Fortunately you can turn the Super-Agent to your side.

This new Oceans Campaign Pack is available now for PC, Xbox One, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X/S, and PlayStation 5. It is included as part of the Season Pass and can be purchased separately for $11.99.

Source: Rebellion (Evil Genius 2)

Square Enix has announced Chrono Cross: The Radical Dreamers Edition, a remaster of Chrono Cross is coming. This remaster of the 1999 title will feature upgraded 3D models, improved background music, and enhancements to the combat, but perhaps most importantly for Western fans, the Radical Dreamers adventures that had not released in these regions previously.

Chrono Cross is a classic RPG following the story of Serge, a young man that finds himself transported to another world where no one recognizes him, because the Serge they knew died as a child. Now he has a quest between the two worlds that will reveal the connection between his existence and the planet's future.

For this remaster the models and font have been upgraded for modern displays, and the original character designer, Nobuteru Yuuki, has returned for the character redesigns. The original composer, Yasunori Mitsuda, has also returned to add a new track and refine the original music. Quality of Life improvements include an auto-battle function, an option to disable enemy encounters, game speed manipulation, and Battle Boosts to make battles easier, if your focus is just on story progression.

Chrono Cross; The Radical Dreamers Edition is releasing April 7 for PC, Xbox One, PlayStation 4, and Nintendo Switch.

Source: Square Enix (Chrono Cross: The Radical Dreamers Edition)

Lastly we have news on two acquisitions, starting with AMD that had announced in October 2020 that it intended to purchase Xilinx in an all-stock transaction. Xilinx is a company known for highly flexible and adaptive computing systems, being the inventory of the FPGA and Adaptive SoCs. Unlike other designs, FPGAs are processors that can have their circuitry effectively rewritten to meet the needs of new tasks. As more advanced workloads come up, accelerating them has become necessary to manage the most complex tasks, which is where this capability comes into play.

This week AMD announced it received approval from those the necessary authorities for this acquisition, and the deal is expected to close on February 14. The next few years will be interesting as we see how Xilinx's technologies are deployed in current AMD product lines, and who new technologies are developed as a result of this merger.

Source: AMD (Xilinx Acquisition Passes Approvals)

The other bit of acquisition news from this week is NVIDIA's bid to acquire Arm has ended. The regulatory challenges the two companies were facing were too great. Arm has maintained neutrality in the industry, enabling its designs to be found across a variety of devices and the company to partner with many others, including competitors to NVIDIA, which was certainly a source of concern from regulators. Though the agreement has been terminated, under its terms NVIDIA has paid $1.25 billion; a consequence of the deal failing.

At the same time, SoftBank, the current owners of Arm, announced it is preparing a public offering with the aim of it happening during the fiscal year ending March 31, 2023. The company had been public prior to SoftBank's acquisition in 2016 and the group is certainly hoping to get more than the $32 billion it spent then.

Source: NVIDIA (Arm Acquisition Terminated)

February 04, 2022

Permalink for 'Various Video Game Stories from the Week of January 31'

12:03

Various Video Game Stories from the Week of January 31

It is Friday once again and so is also time to cover some of the video game news from the week. First up is some from 2K as the publisher and Gearbox Software have revealed the last two classes for the upcoming Tiny Tina's Wonderlands. These are the Graveborn and Spore Warden, with the former being Death-touched acolytes that spend health for their Dark Magic attacks, while the latter are masters of nature that can create tornados and fire arcane arrow volleys at enemies. Both also have special companions, with the Graveborn have a Demi-Lich that will cast spells each time you do while the Mushroom Companion of the Spore Warden releases toxins against its targets.

If these two classes sound too interesting to choose between, or any of the other classes, Brr-Zerker, Clawbringer, Spellshot, or Stabbomancer, the game will feature a multiclass system, so once you unlock a second class shot you will get to pair two together. Each class has its own Class Feat as well as two Action Skills to choose between, along with their skill trees of other abilities.

Tiny Tina's Wonderlands will be releasing on March 25 for the PC, Xbox One, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X/S, and PlayStation 5. The initial PC launch will be on the Epic Games Store with the game coming to other digital storefronts later in the year.

Next is some news from Devolver Digital as Shadow Warrior 3 finally has its release date announced. Gamers will have their chance to play as Lo Wang as he plays with his katana and other weapons on March 1. Pre-ordering will get you the exclusive Koromodako Katana with its eight legs, and those who get it one console will also receive the 2013 Shadow Warrior and Shadow Warrior 2.

Also revealed was that Mike Moh, Andromeda Dunker, and SungWon Cho have joined the voice cast as Lo Wang, Motoko, and Zilla respectively, while Alex Dobrenko returns as Hoji. It is behind an age-gate, but you can watch the latest trailer here: Shadow Warrior 3 | March 1.

Source: Press Release (Devolver Digital – Shadow Warrior 3)

The King of Fighters XV is releasing on February 17 and Koch Media and SNK Corporation have shared who the first 12 DLC characters for the title will be. The first wave of fighters is Team GAROU and will release in March, while the second wave is Team SOUTH TOWN, which will arrive in May. The third and fourth teams will follow in the Summer and Autumn and each of these four teams consist of three characters. Team GAROU consists of Rock Howard, Jenet, and Gato from Garou: Mark of the Wolves while Team SOUTH TOWN contains Geese Howard, Billy Kane, and Ryuji Yamazaki from the Fatal Fury series.

The King of Fighters XV is priced at $59.99 for the base game and the DLC that includes both of these teams will be $29.99. If you prefer to purchase just one of the teams, the individual DLC is priced at $15.99, each.

Source: Press Release (Koch Media – The King of Fighters XV)

Sifu from Slocap is releasing on February 8 for PC, PlayStation 4, and PlayStation 5 so the developers decided to release a special video; The Cost of Time a live-action short. To create this, the studio partnered with Christopher Clark Cowan to show the main character hunting down one of the assassin's that killed his father. In the game, failure is not the end as you are resurrected, but at the cost of years from your life, something depicted in the video. What is lost is strength though, you gain in experience so victory remains possible, if different in how it will be achieved.

Source: Press Release (Slocap – Sifu)

Dying Light 2 from Techland releases today and this week the studio released another installment to its Dying 2 Know More series, this one concerning the game's day-night cycle. In Dying Light the night could be quite intimidating for those not prepared for it, as some of the most dangerous enemies prowled around the map then, but things are a bit different in the sequel. The powerful enemies are still out when the sun goes down, but because they have left the buildings to explore, you can enter and explore the buildings a little more safely to find the usually guarded loot. Of course, if you are not careful you may find yourself in a chase and wishing you slept in a safe house until dawn.

Source: Press Releases (Techland – Dying Light 2)

January 28, 2022

Permalink for 'Various Video Game Stories from the Week of January 24'

11:47

Various Video Game Stories from the Week of January 24

It is the end of the week again, and nearly the end of the month as well, so it is time to go through the video game news that has collected. First up is the time-sensitive news that Lunar New Year sales have begun at multiple digital storefronts, including Steam, the Epic Games Store, GOG, and the Humble Store. For Steam, its sale ends on February 3 but the Epic Games Store is going until February 10. GOG on the other hand ends on January 31 and the Humble Store's only until February 1, so you at least have the weekend to decide what games you may want, and where to purchase them from.

Source: Steam, Epic Games Store, GOG, and Humble Store

As for the news of the week, we are starting with an announcement from Crytek as Crysis 4 is coming. While that is just the working title at the moment, it is the fourth installment in the franchise that has certainly left its mark on the industry. Unfortunately there are no real details to share yet, as the game is in the early stages of development, though the studio is promising to share information when it can, and to work with the community.

Source: Crytek (Crysis 4)

Normally this would wait, but as it is also Crytek news, Hunt: Showdown, published by Prime Matter, has received it 1.7.2 patch on PC this week, bringing a host of updates with it. These include the return of Mr. Orwell Chary, who will exchange Bloodline XP for various rewards, like the exclusive "Bad Hand" Legendary Hunter. New rewards are also coming for first-time daily extractions along with legendary content and weapon variants. Starting February 1 a new DLC, Azure Arsenal, will be released on Steam to celebrate the Lunar New Year and it will come with three Legendary Weapon skins and a Legendary Tool.

If the game or its DLC sound interesting to you, it is on sale until February 3.

Source: Crytek (Hunt: Showdown)

Coming to Devolver Digital now, another episode of Road to Weird West has been released, this one focused on the combat, stealth, and abilities of the upcoming title. The featured abilities include those to immolate enemies within a radius around you, shoot multiple enemies at once, and summon lightning to strike them down, at least if your style is open combat. Other abilities will support stealth, if that is your preference, or you are running low on bullets.

Weird West is releasing on March 31 for PC, Xbox One, and PlayStation 4.

Source: Press Release (Devolver Digital – Weird West)

EA is next and the company announced with Lucasfilm Games that the two are working on new games set in the Star Wars universe and Respawn Entertainment, the studio behind Apex Legends, the Titanfall series, and Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order will be leading the projects. In total there are three projects, and work has already begun on them. One is the next entry in the Star Wars Jedi series, while another is an FPS,, and the last will be a strategy game. That last one is being done in collaboration with Bit Reactor, a newly formed studio.

That is all we have for now on these projects, but certainly we will learn more as work continues.

Source: EA

Koch Media has announced the Monster Trucks Expansion for Hot Wheels Unleashed will be arriving on April 21. This expansion will include five new vehicles, a themed Track Builder Module, other themed customization items, and the Stop Motion Studio environment. Within this new environment are four monster dioramas, the Jungle, the Quarry, the Desert, and the Ice Mountain to play in.

Along with being able to purchase on April 21, this expansion will be included as part of Hot Wheels Pass Vol. 2.

Source: Press Release (Koch Media – Hot Wheels Unleashed)

Rebellion has released a new cinematic trailer for Sniper Elite 5 that will be releasing later this year. Though a cinematic trailer, it contains some hints for the game's Invasion mode that will enable players to enter the campaigns of others as an Axis Sniper to eliminate them, and give the player the additional goal of stopping them.

When Invasion Mode is enabled, unique skills will be available to both players. The Axis Sniper will be able to use the AI Axis forces to assist their hunt, such as with Eagle Eyes, the marks the Allied Sniper on the map, if they are spotted. The Allied Sniper will be able to find invasion phones in the map to reveal the last known location of the Axis Sniper, but these can be booby trapped and overuse can reveal your location.

Both sides of Invasion Mode can earn special rewards for success, with the Axis Sniper being able to get new weapons, items, and skin unlocks, while the Allied Sniper can get weapon and character skins. This is in addition to the extra XP awarded. It does sound like this could prove an interesting addition to the experience, especially as human players can be much more interesting to tangle with than AI opponents.

Galactic Civilizations IV, after having gone on sale in an Alpha state, has reached its Beta release. This game introduces several changes to Stardock's space-based 4X series, one being scale as your civilization can span the entire galaxy, as it is grouped into systems and sectors. To help with managing such massive cultures, you can make some planets core worlds where you have direct control, and others colonies that will act on their own to support the others. You are also able to place citizens in key positions throughout your government to help you, but you need to be careful that they do not see an opportunity to overthrow you.

The plan is for the game to reach full release later this year.

Source: Stardock (Galactic Civilizations IV)

Lastly for the regular game news we have some from Techland for Dying Light 2, which releases on February 4 for PC, Xbox One, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X/S, and PlayStation 5. The studio revealed it will be supporting the game for five years post-release and we can expect its first story DLC to arrive this Summer. Naturally the five years will not be filled exclusively with story DLC, but we can expect some along with events, challenges, cosmetics, weapons, and more.

The studio also released a new audio story name Takeshi, voiced by Takaya Kuroda, who you might better know as Kazuma Kiryu from the Yakuza game series and another Dying 2 Know More episode. This latest episode in the series looks at the artistic inspiration and details of the studio's artists' daily work.

Source: Press Release (Techland – Dying Light 2)

Finishing things off is some news from Khronos, the group behind the Vulkan graphics API as its 1.3 specification has been released. There are a number of changes coming with this like new features, but one of the more important changes is more structural; Vulkan Profiles. Presently there is a core Vulkan implementation for basic hardware support, but it is not necessarily very powerful or expansive in features. To increase capabilities, extensions can be used but the situation has become somewhat messy as there are no clear rules on what works with what. Profiles are meant to address this by specifying a set of required extensions that can then be easily communicated, which will help ensure applications can be supported across different devices. Developers will be able to generate their own application-specific feature profiles, so it can be easily determined if a device supports that profile and then the features can be enabled at startup. By the way, the core of Vulkan 1.3 is meant to work on OpenGL ES 3.1-class hardware, to give you an idea of how different the core version is from what a profile for a modern video game would be.

Though it does get complicated, it might be worth reading through the announcement from Khronos to learn what else is arriving with this specification, such as a special dynamic rendering feature that can skip subpasses and making a render pass or framebuffer objects. Also a dot product shader, which should prove useful in machine learning, where the dot product function is used because this shader enables hardware acceleration and without having to manually implement it.

Source: Khronos (Vulkan 1.3)

January 21, 2022

Permalink for 'Various Video Game Stories from the Week of January 17'

11:00

Various Video Game Stories from the Week of January 17

It is the end of the week and so is time to go through the different pieces of video game news that have collected, and though this is not alphabetical order, it is only appropriate to cover the biggest piece of news first. Microsoft announced this week it is acquiring Activision Blizzard. This is an all cash transaction at $95 a share, which comes to $68.7 billion, and when it closes Microsoft will be the third-largest gaming company, by revenue, in the world. The two ahead of the merged company would be Tencent and Sony. As Activision Blizzard also includes King, that means the Warcraft, Diablo, Call of Duty, and Candy Crush IPs will be joining the likes of DOOM, Wolfenstein, The Elder Scrolls, and Fallout as Microsoft previously acquired Bethesda. We can expect the Activision Blizzard titles to come to Microsoft Game Pass once the deal closes and that is expected in fiscal year 2023, following regulatory review and Activision Blizzard's shareholder approval. The current CEO of Activision Blizzard, Bobby Kotick, will continue in his position, and once the deal closes the Activision Blizzard business will report to Phil Spencer, CEO of Microsoft Gaming.

Source: Microsoft (Activision Blizzard Acquisition Announcement)

Coming to alphabetical order, we start with news from 1047 Games, the studio behind Splitgate as its Season 1 is starting next week, on January 27, and will bring a host of new features, modes, and enhancements, not least of which is the custom map creator. With this tool, players will be able to build their own maps and co-create them with friends. Objects, weapons, spawns, building blocks, portal walls, and more can all be placed, and with magnetic snapping and rotation, placing it all should be quite easy. It will also work with keyboard and mouse as well as controller.

Another significant change coming is an overhaul of the Foregone Destruction map, to bring it up to the level fans can expect for map updates and new maps. The Evolution Game mode is arriving at the same time to change things around a little. It is a round-based mode where the losing team of the previous round is awarded better weapon loadouts. Another round-base mode arriving then is the One Flag CTF mode, where teams will go between defending and capturing. These two modes bring the game's total to 21. There will also be a new Level 100 Battle Pass with the new season, bringing free and paid content.

Source: Press Release (1047 Games – Splitgate)

Coming to Koch Media now, the publisher along with Milestone have begun the SpongeBob Racing Season in Hot Wheels Unleashed, giving players a chance to unlock six themed vehicles. These vehicles are based on SpongeBob SquarePants, Sandy Cheeks, Squidward, Plankton, Mr. Krabs, and Patrick, and there are themed customization items to unlock for the Basement and Player Profile as well. This seasons goes until March 29.

Source: Press Release (Koch Media – Hot Wheels Unleashed)

There was more than the one acquisition announced this week as publisher Maximum Games revealed it is acquiring Mane6, the studio behind Them's Fightin Herds, a 2D fighting game featuring adorable animals designed by cartoon producer Lauren Faust. In November 2021 Maximum Games itself was acquired by the gaming group Zordix and controls the Modus Studios development team, so with this acquisition Mane6 will be joining Modus Studios.

Source: Press Release (Maximum Games acquiring Mane6)

Prime Matter and Smilegate have announced Crossfire: Legion, an upcoming real-time strategy game will be coming to a Beta Test before entering Early Access this Spring. Set in the Crossfire universe, this game will pit players against each other as rival factions in the fight for global domination. To join the beta you need to register on Steam for it on the game's page, which is the second source below. If you get in you will be able to play as the Blacklist or Global Risk factions for 1v1 or 3v3 multiplayer on two maps.

Source: Press Release (Prime Matter – Crossfire Legion) and Steam Store Page (Beta Test Registration)

It is Techland's turn as the studio has shared a new Dying 2 Know More video that gives a better look at Dying Light 2's parkour with Lead Game Designer Tymon Smekta?a. Parkour mechanics, in-game gravity, and how the game approaches reality, without getting too close, are discussed. Of course it is also not much longer before we can find out for ourselves with the game releasing to PC, Xbox One, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X/S, and PlayStation 5 on February 4. Unfortunately the release of the Cloud Version for Nintendo Switch has been delayed, but is promised for within six months of the date of the other consoles.

In better news though, Techland has confirmed PlayStation 4 and Xbox One owners will be able to upgrade their copies of <>Dying Light 2 to the respective new generation of consoles. Also co-op between Steam and Epic Games Store users will be available at launch and for the entire game, except the prologue, right to the ending. Guests will keep acquired items and progression and while players can vote on important choices, the host has the final decision. Unfortunately crossplay between Sony and Microsoft platforms will not be available at launch, but will hopefully be among the many additions and improvements planned for post-launch.

Also this week Techland shared a new behind the scenes video for the Dying 2 Know series that has reached its end and announced its Techland Merch Store where you can purchase different kind of apparel to cover your Nightrunner needs. The store is available for the US, EK, and EU regions.

Source: Press Releases (Techland – Dying Light 2) and Techland Merch

Wrapping this up is the announcement from Ubisoft for the new Pirate Hero arriving in For Honor on January 27 for its Year 5, Season 4 Title Update 2.0 release. This pirate comes with their cutlass and pistol as the first of the new Outlanders group of heroes. More of this group will arriving during Year 6: Lost Horizons starting March 17. The pirates have practiced their attacks on enemies from across the seas, making their fighting style unique as they engage with a relentless rush down style. By mixing Pistol Blast with Heavy Attacks they can keep the pressure on with this chain.

For those who want to play as the Pirate Hero immediately, it is included in a $7.99 package that also contains an exclusive ornament, elite outfit, three scavenger creates, and seven days of Champion Status. If you can wait, the package will be available for 15,000 Steel in-game starting February 10.

Source: Ubisoft (For Honor)

January 14, 2022

Permalink for 'Various Video Game Stories from the Week of January 10'

10:44

Various Video Game Stories from the Week of January 10

Once again the week has reached its end and so it is time to go through the various press releases and other news that have collected in my inbox. First up is some from The Arcade Crew as Inferax from Berzerk Studio has received its launch date of February 14. On that day this retro action-adventure will arrive on PC, Xbox One, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X/S, and Nintendo Switch, enabling you to hunt the hell spawn as the knight Alcedor. He has returned to his home after a brutal battle only to find it overrun by underworld beasts, requiring he raise his mace again to save the world. Along the way he will learn now and powerful abilities, uncover secrets, and define his legacy as he encounters various moral conundrums.

To get a glimpse of its 8-bit action, you can watch the release-date reveal trailer below.

Source: Press Release (The Arcade Crew – Infernax)

In something of a surprise, Devolver Digital, Croteam, and Timelock Studio have announced Serious Sam: Siberian Mayhem, a standalone expansion is arriving January 25. This title adds to Sam 'Serious' Stone's adventures, this time in Russian landscapes, with five massive missions. These are set along Arctic coastlines, desolate forests, abandoned villages, and a chilling ghost town and contain new enemies and bosses to defeat. Fortunately you will also have new weapons and vehicles to help you, like the experimental crossbow, snowmobiles, and massive mechs.

For those wondering about Timelock Studio, it is a community modding team that had started Siberian Mayhem as an ambitious project, but under the guidance of Croteam has become this expansion. The title is up for pre-order now and those who own Serious Sam 4 will receive a discount.

Source: Press Release (Devolver Digital – Serious Sam: Siberian Mayhem)

Koch Media, Milestone, and Mattel have announced a new Design Battle for Hot Wheels Unleashed that will see someone's livery design realized. The game features a Livery Editor so you can have your vehicles appear the way you wish and for this contest you can submit your designs for the Rodger Dodger with the winning seeing it produced for global sale in December. Though the release is at the end of the year, this contest is only running until February 14 with the winner being notified on February 28.

Source: Press Release (Koch Media – Hot Wheels Unleashed) and Contest Rules and FAQ

Techland shared the final episode of Dying 2 Know this week, the series of behind-the-scenes videos to give fans information about the upcoming Dying Light 2. For this finale, the studio decided to answer some of the most common questions for the game, such as if there will be co-op, and the answer is yes; 4-player co-op more specifically. The episode also includes a video comparing the differences between the console versions, as this is a multi-generation release, and a gameplay trailer titled "The Reason." The answer for way Aiden has come to the City and what his goal is revealed in this video, along with showing more of the action we can expect on February 4.

Dying Light 2 will release to PC, Xbox One, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X/S, PlayStation 5, and Nintendo Switch via its Cloud Version.

Source: Press Release (Techland – Dying Light 2)

The new combat trailer for Elex II has been shared by THQ Nordic, showing how Jax is going to fight to rid Magalan of its invaders. Fire can rain down on them; arrows, bullets, rockets, and lasers and strike them; and sword, axe, and chainsaw can slice them, depending on your preference. You can focus on melee, magic, or ranged combat, or mix the three along with the many skills to protect your home.

Elex II releases on March 1 for PC, Xbox One, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X/S, and PlayStation 5 with pre-orders already up.

Source: THQ Nordic [2] (Elex II)

THQ Nordic has also shared some new information and trailers for Expeditions: Rome, which releases on January 20. Most of the trailers feature the Speculatores, characters you meet on your adventures and are able to add to your group of heroes. These characters range from a former gladiator to a prototype of a heavy Roman infantry soldier. In total there are five of those trailers to check out, but that is not all that has been shared as a new trailer for the Twitch Extension has been released as well. This is actually a reactions trailer to show the impacts some streamers have already experienced in their games as viewers influence their game. The extension and the Twitch-drop campaign will be available when the game launches.

Source: THQ Nordic [1] (Expeditions: Rome)

Ubisoft has announced The Settlers, the reboot o

f the classic RTS series, will be releasing on March 17, but if that is too long to wait, there will also be a closed beta starting January 20. For this game the developers at Ubisoft Dusseldorf looked primarily to The Settlers III and The Settlers IV and worked with the Snowdrop Engine to realize their vision for the reboot, and set a new visual standard for the genre. Biomes will be lush and colorful while also combined with modernized gameplay between the single-player campaign, Skirmish, and Onslaught game modes.

There will be two editions at release, the Standard Edition with just the base game and the Deluxe Edition that also includes a pack of digital items. As for the beta, it will include the tutorial, two of the three playable factions, and two Skirmish modes for 1v1 and 2v2. The beta will run from January 20 to 24 on Ubisoft Connect and the Epic Games Store, and there will be no time limit for that period. You can register for the closed beta at thesettlers.com.

Source: Ubisoft – The Settlers

Time for some non-gaming news, which will start with some from EKWB as the company has launched its EK-Quantum Velocity² water block for Intel's LGA1200 socket. It has been designed to follow the company's Matrix7 initiative, meaning the height of the block and distance between the ports are multiples of 7 mm, to make building your loop easier. It also features a socket-specific cooling engine, to make the block as efficient as possibly at cooling the CPUs it covers. Installation will also be easy and clean as the water block top contains pre-tensioned springs so turning the thumb-nuts a few times achieves the desired mounting pressure.

There are five versions of this water block to hopefully cover whatever your aesthetic preference is. You can combine Nickel with plexi, acetal, or satin Titanium, go with Full Nickel, or choose the Copper and acetal version. Pricing is either $136.99 or $178.99, depending on the variant, with the Full Nickel and Nickel + Satin Titanium being the more expensive. Those more expensive models are expected to ship in early March while the others should be shipping in late February.

Source: EKWB (EK-Quantum Velocity² LGA1200 Block)

Next we have a piece of news that may not really come to impact users too much, or at least not for quite some time. PCI-SIG has released the specification for PCIe 6.0, the successor to PCIe 5.0 that, like the increments before it, doubles the number of transfers per seconds. That means a PCIe 6 x16 slot can carry as much as 128 GB/sec, so a x4 slot of this spec would be equivalent to a PCIe 4.0 x16 slot.

Among the ways this improvement has been achieved is the adoption of PAM4, Pulse Amplitude Modulation, 4 levels, which offers more states, four as the name suggests, than traditional methods. Normally a signal is sent comprised of high and low voltages, and signals received below a certain threshold are interpreted as 0 and above that threshold as a 1. With PAM4 there are four levels instead, so 00, 01, 10, and 11 can be carried by a single signal, instead of two. With this method being so much more complex, there is greater likelihood of errors, so methods of dealing with the bit error rate have been developed. You can read the source link to learn more about how this standard will still achieve the low latency and bandwidth overhead considered central to PCIe.

Besides offering an increase to bandwidth, PCIe 6.0 is also offering greater power efficiency, and so we will likely see it deployed in those applications that require less energy. Unfortunately it is hard to say when it may arrive in any consumer devices. Partly this is because it always takes time for such new technologies to escape the professional market of datacenters, but also with PCIe 5.0 still being quite new, I can believe that standard will outcompete this one for a time. Additionally, it is hard to see how much benefit a consumer may get from the higher transfer speeds this offers. For anyone wondering about how quickly PCI-SIG has gone from releasing one specification to another, it admitted to lagging with the release of PCIe 4.0, coming seven years after PCIe 3.0, but gave itself a target of new releases ever two years. That means we may expect PCIe 7.0 to be announced in 2023, and potentially double the bandwidth again.

Source: PCI-SIG (PCIe 6.0 Specification)

Closing this item off is some new from MIT about a new kind of hybrid particle with possible applications in data storage. This new hybrid particle is the combination of an electron and phonon, the quasiparticle of vibrational energy, and what was discovered is that in a two-dimension magnetic material, the bond between them was ten times stronger than any similar bond observed to date. This suggests then that changes in one will impact the other, so potentially the application of voltage or light could be used to tune electrical and magnetic properties. The phonon is able to affect the material's structural or magnetic properties, and the researchers see the potential for using the phenomenon and nickel phosphorus trisulfide, the material, as a magnetic semiconductor.

When this material is cooled to -123 ºC, it becomes antiferromagnetic, so the spins of each atom are opposite the other, unlike in a ferromagnet, where they all align. While probing the material, an unusual behavior was observed when below that temperature and by using an ultrafast laser, it was possible to capture what was happening. The laser had pulses of just 25 femtoseconds, which is a million times shorter than 25 nanoseconds, and these were split for pump-probe setup. One pulse would arrive first to pump energy into the material, while the second would capture the response. What they observed was the reflectivity of the material changed, implying hybrid particles were present. It was with further testing that they determined the strength of the bond within the hybrid was so much stronger than any other electron-phonon hybrid.

Source: MIT

January 07, 2022

Permalink for 'Various Video Game Stories from the Week of January 3'

12:26

Various Video Game Stories from the Week of January 3

It is the end of the first week of the year, and the week of CES 2022. The news from and around that event I have already covered in other items this week, so now it is time for the gaming news that has collected in my inbox, starting with some from Dotemu. This news is for Windjammers 2, which is releasing on January 20, as a documentary video has been released that goes into the making of this sequel to an arcade classic. It is nearly 28 minutes long though, so it will take some time to watch, but if you remember the original or are anxious for the new title, it will likely be time well spent.

Windjammers 2 is coming to PC, Xbox One, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X/S, PlayStation 5, and Nintendo Switch on January 20 at a price of $19.99.

Source: Dotemu (Windjammers 2)

Next we have some items from Techland concerning Dying Light 2, which is releasing February 4. With the release now less than a month away and 2021 have just ended, the company has shared a summary video for the year, to help players catch up on it all: Dying 2 Know – 2021 Summary. Additionally, the next and final Dying 2 Know episode has been announced as arriving on January 13. This will include new gameplay and represent a "huge info drop for fans" when it streams on Twitch January 13, starting at Noon PT, 9 PM CET.

In addition to that news, Techland has also revealed two skill trees for the game and explained experience in a new trailer. Both skill trees contain new parkour and combat skills for Aiden Caldwell to use. To progress through these trees, you will want to perform different in-game actions that fall into the categories of parkour and combat. Normal playing will earn you experience but completing missions will fill both bars up quickly, unlocking skills that may help you earn experience even faster.

Dying Light 2 is releasing February 4 for PC, Xbox One, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X/S, PlayStation 5, and Nintendo Switch via its Cloud Version.

Source: Press Releases (Techland – Dying Light 2)

Lastly we have the news from Ubisoft that its Ubisoft+ subscription service is coming to the Xbox. On the PC it allows games to access over 100 of the publisher's titles, including DLC, for a monthly subscription. This includes access to games on launch day as well as monthly rewards such as cosmetics, boosters, and in-game items.

The company also announced Rainbow Six Extraction is going to be available on Xbox Game Pass and PC Game Pass on launch day, January 20. Additionally, Rainbow Six Siege, which is already part of Xbox Game Pass, will be available on Xbox Game Pass Ultimate and PC Game Pass the same day, allowing Game Pass members to squad up for more Rainbow Six action.

Rainbow Six Extraction is releasing on January 20 for PC, Xbox One, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X/S, PlayStation 5, Ubisoft+, Google Stadia, and Amazon Luna.

Source: Ubisoft (Ubisoft+ Coming to Xbox)

January 05, 2022

Permalink for 'EKWB Shows Off New Products at CES 2022 with More to Come'

21:29

EKWB Shows Off New Products at CES 2022 with More to Come

At CES 2022 EKWB has shown off some of the new liquid cooling equipment it has been working on and we can expect to arrive throughout this year. Importantly all of it will employ the company's Matrix7 design philosophy, which is to have dimensions and port placements fall on multiples of 7 mm. This standardization will help with designing clean loops so elaborate bends and combinations of fittings should not be necessary. Among the upcoming products that will use Matrix 7 will be the next generation of EK-Quantum products that include the current Velocity² CPU blocks and upcoming Vector² GPU blocks, Reflection² distribution plates, and EK-Quantum Surface radiators.

Also announced was the EK Fluid Gaming Battle, a small form factor build placed in a Lian-Li PC-011D Mini and cooled exclusively with the new EK-AIO Plus, handling both the CPU and GPU. For those that want to personalize their build, a new EK Fluid Gaming Configurator has been developed so you can customize your Fluid Gaming build. For those in Europe, this comes at a good time as this year Fluid Gaming PCs will finally be available there.

EK does do more than just cooling for computer enthusiasts and have new Pro GPU Water Blocks for the NVIDIA A6000 and A100 GPUs that combine a CNC-machined nickel-plated copper base with a stainless steel top for a robust block. The copper base also has a thicker design to be compatible with more reference design cards, but without sacrificing coolant flow. The company has also been working with automotive leaders and developed a next-generation SFF design for autonomous vehicles that can easily fit in the trunk or cabin. EK has also developed a prototype for a ruggedized compact PC that can survive the environment of a driving vehicle while still offering good performance and modularity.

For those interested in EK's liquid cooling offers, it is offering special deals during CES 2022, including 10% off any EK-AIO on Amazon with the code "CES2022." There is more to come as well, as EK will have its MSI Show and EK MSI Build on January 6 and then its Strictly Quantum show on January 8, where new premium products will be discussed. You can find the agenda and information on the deals through the last source link below, to the EK Expo homepage.

In separate news from CES 2022, EK has also upgraded the D5 and DDC pumps throughout its products. Now Xylem D5 G3 and DDC 4.2 pumps are used, upgraded from the G2 and 3.2 versions, respectively. For the D5 G3 pumps, this means a better PWM control driver featuring black cables to reduce the visible clutter and a move to a SATA power plug, instead of MOLEX 4-pin. For the DDC 4.2 pumps, they too now use black cables and SATA power instead of MOLEX, but also have a 32-bit communication interface. The 3.2 version of the pump used 8-bit communication so this move enables more accurate and efficient electronics.

Source: EKWB [1] (CES 2022 News), [2] (Additional CES 2022 News), [3] (Pump Upgrades), and [4] (CES 2022 EK Expo Homepage)

December 17, 2021

Permalink for 'Various Video Game Stories from the Week of December 13'

11:43

Various Video Game Stories from the Week of December 13

It is that time again to go through the various press releases that have arrived in my inbox, and we have a few time sensitive ones to start with as both GOG and the Epic Games Store have begun their respective holiday sales. The GOG Winter Sale goes until January 5 while the Epic Games Store is running its Holiday 2021 until January 6, and you will want to watch both storefronts as they both are doing time-limited giveaways. The first from GOG has already expired but we can expect three more before it ends while Epic Games Store is giving away a game each day for a total of 15. The Epic Games Store has also brought back the Epic Coupon we have seen in several of its sales past, which will give a $10 discount on any full-game priced $14.99 or above. The store also now has a cart, a feature that has taken a surprisingly long time to implement, but in any case, the coupon will be applied to each qualifying title in your cart. That means if you checkout with two $15 games, the coupon will be applied to both and save you $20 off the $30 total. The coupon has no application limit during the sale.

Coming back to GOG for a moment, the storefront is now offering both Star Trek Armada and Star Trek Armada II. You can now run these twenty year old games on modern operating systems and further complete collection as it was not long ago that several other Star Trek games were added to GOG's catalog.

Source: GOG (Winter Sale) and Epic Games Store (Holiday 2021 Sale)

Those game stores are not the only to have started their holiday events as EKWB is also offering some discounts, special rewards with purchases, and having a giveaway. The rewards are based on how much you spend at their storefront, with such items as the EK-Loop Screwdriver Basic Set, EK-Leak Tester, and the recently announced EK-Loop D-RGB LED Magnetic Kit being available to pick from for a free gift, depending on the amount you spend. You can check out the source link below to see the complete list of these rewards, as well as how to enter the giveaway to get one of 40 EK AIOs or a complete custom EK-AIO build valued at over $3000.

Source: EKWB

2K has shared additional details on two classes for Tiny Tina's Wonderlands; the Spellshots and Clawbringers. The Spellshots are wizards with guns and I wonder a little bit how much further this description has to go. With this class you can eliminate your enemies with bullets or pacify them by turning them into livestock. Your gun will not just be a weapon either, but an extension of your magic, enhancing your spells and imbuing your weapon. The Clawbringers are members of a heroic order of warriors, wielding a spectral hammer and have fire-breathing wyverns as companions. With their Dragon Aura, you can buff your party to deal additional damage and more.

If those two classes are not enough, more information on three environments, three enemies, and some of the game's mechanics have also been shared. This includes the detail that there will be five elemental damage types: Fire; Frost; Lightning; Poison; and Dark Magic. By paying attention to the color of an enemy's health bar, you can determine their elemental weakness.

Tiny Tina's Wonderland is launching on March 25, 2022 for PC, Xbox One, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X/S, and PlayStation 5.

The Last Spell from The Arcade Crew and Ishtar Games is definitely one of my favorite games I have reviewed this year and while it is still in Early Access on Steam, it has received a new, major update this week that applies a few changes and QoL improvements, but also adds some new and challenging enemies. The Blocker, for example, should prove interesting to deal with as it has a high Block stat but is also able to block your hero's line of sight. Meanwhile the Hunter is certainly an anti-hero enemy as it has a long distance, high damage attack that can ignore line-of-sight. Fortunately its attack must charge, giving you time to react. The Hopper and Twister are two more new enemies to deal with and I suggest you check the source link for their details.

The Wounds system has been altered for both the enemies and the heroes. For enemies this means their wounds have been designed to better match the enemy, rather than being the same across them all. An example that may seem a poor wound is to add 30% damage to the Boomer, but it should be noted this increases the damage done to other enemies when it explodes. For heroes, the wound thresholds are no longer fixed but will scale with maximum health. As for the QoL changes, you can now accelerate enemy turns and the night report to save on time. Poisoned enemies will now show how much damage they will take on their next turn, including if it will kill them.

There is still more to this update, such as the new Elite enemies that serve the role of mini boss and some tweaks to the camera, and we can expect more to arrive for the game in the future. The roadmap shows there is still the Perks Update and Maps Update to come, and more to arrive next year.

Source: The Arcade Crew (The Last Spell â Steam News)

This item actually arrived late on Friday last week, sharing The Game Awards trailer for Saints Row, the franchise reboot arriving August 23, 2022. In this trailer we get to see some of the opposition the Saints will have to face if they hope to rise amongst the gangs and reach the top. It also shows some new vehicles, helicopter tether thefts, combat including weapons and takedowns, story moments, and some of the customization possibilities the game will offer. With so many months to go, it will be interesting to see what more there is yet to be shared by Deep Silver, the game's publisher.

Curiously I am unable to embed the trailer, though it is not age-gated. In any case, here is a linke to it: Saints Row â Game Awards Gameplay Trailer.

Source: Press Release (Deep Silver â Saints Row)

Devolver Digital has shared a few items this week, including the reveal of a crossover between Shadow Warrior 3 and Naraka: Bladepoint as the two titles are trading weapons. While Lo Wang is sending his Shuriken Spitter to Viper Ning accompanied by Hoji's Mask, the Raikou Katana is coming over to join his nerdy katana collection. This weapon exchange will occur in early 2022, which makes sense as Shadow Warrior 3 is expected to launch in the same time frame for PC, Xbox, and PlayStation. Naraka: Bladepoint is already available on Steam for those interested in its battle royale action.

Source: Press Release (Devolver Digital [1] â Shadow Warrior 3)

Also coming from Devolver Digital next year is Trek to Yomi, a cinematic action-adventure title set in feudal Japan. It is set to arrive on PC, Xbox One, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X/S, and PlayStation 5 in Spring 2022 and this week a new gameplay trailer was released showing how patience and timing will be critical to its combat. To defeat your enemies, you will need to turn their strength against them, putting them off balance and ready for a fatal blow.

Source: Press Release (Devolver Digital [2] â Trek to Yomi)

Finishing off the Devolver Digital news, a new episode of Road to Weird West has been released, showing off the game's simulation systems. By leveraging these systems in creative ways, players will be able to find creative means to solve various puzzles and overcome challenges, even in ways the developers might not expect. It is a short video, but it will also not be long before the game comes out, as it will be releasing for PC, Xbox One, and PlayStation 4 on January 11.

Source: Press Release (Devolver Digital [3] â Weird West)

If the old west is not quite your style, not long after that release will be the launch of Windjammers 2, as Dotemu has announced that title's release date as January 20. Along with that news is a new trailer showing off its roster of ten characters and ten locations you can demonstrate your skills at.

Windjammers 2 will be available on PC, Xbox One, PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch, Google Stadia, Xbox Game Pass, and PC Game Pass when it launches with backwards compatibility bringing it to Xbox Series X/S and PlayStation 5.

Source: Press Release (Dotemu â Windjammers 2)

Cris Tales has received a massive and free update bringing new content to the time-skipping JRPG. The content includes the seventh playable character for the game as Ardi, a robot mechanic, will be able to join your party, lending her summoner abilities that can be enhanced with Crisbell's powers. She is first encountered in St. Clarity. A new dungeon has also been added with a mechanical theme to match Ardi, and with it new enemy encounters an puzzle solving mechanics. The Coliseum has returned as well, to challenge players with waves of enemies and can be accessed by speaking with the travelling merchant. If you complete the new content, you will find it unlocks a new cutscene in the late game and a new ending for the game overall. For those that have already completed Cris Tales, you can reload your latest save to experience the content for yourself.

If the game seems interesting to you, it will be on sale at 50% off on Steam starting December 23. The Nintendo Switch version will also be 50% off on that date, for North America, while the Xbox version will have a 35% discount.

Source: Modus Games [1] (Cris Tales)

Super Animal Royale, another title from Modus Games, has received an update this week as well, as its Season 2 has begun with Super Beavers joining in and the Bwoking Dead mode returning. In honor of the Super Beavers finally joining the fight, the season also features the Busy Busy Pass with various cosmetic items for hard workers, steampunk fans, and busy bees. Super Reindeer and Super Artic Fox are also entering the battle via the Research Lab. As for the Bwoking Dead mode, that has received as part of the CRISPRmas Event that goes until January 4 and will allow you to unlock eight limited-time cosemetic items. If you want to play with friends, cross-play parties are now possible as you can invite friends across Steam, Xbox, PlayStation, and Nintendo Switch. You can even stream on Google Stadia now, in addition to GeForce Now, for those that want to play on a smartphone or in your browser via these streaming services.

Season 2 is expected to last about three months, and for this time you can unlock the Busy Busy Pass for 550 S.A.W tickets, but after it ends the pass will enter the Archive and cost 750 tickets. Once you own it though, you keep the pass permanently, so you can take your time to unlock everything it offers.

Source: Modus Games [2] (Super Animal Royale)

Not long ago The Queen & The Sea DLC was announced for Dead Cells and now we have its release date of January 6. It will not be long now before we will get the opportunity to fight through the new enemies and environments to reach the Queen, and ultimately bring an end to her reign. It will not be easy though as you will need to race up the Lighthouse with flames and guardians behind you before reaching the new boss. At least you will have a new, evolving pet, the Leghugger, to help you on your way as well as nine new weapons, such as the Hand Hook that will throw enemies into walls.

As this DLC ends a story arc, a special Road to the Sea bundle containing the base game and DLC trilogy is available at $32.99, but for those who already own the base game, you can get the three DLC for $11.99.

Source: Press Release (Motion Twins â Dead Cells)

Prime Matter has announced the start of Hunt Showdown's new Winter Solstive event that runs until January 5. During this even you will want to destroy the Solstice Tributes to earn points that will ultimately turn into rewards. The ultimate prize will be available only to those who earn 10,000 points, so you had better get to. The event has also brought with it the legendary Winfield 1873 Swift "Mountain King," Cavalry Saber "Corvus," Quad Derringer "Evergreen," as well as the legendary consumable "Spirit of Yule" fire bomb to earn and wield.

If that is not enough for you, The Lawless DLC is available now, bringing with it the legendary hunter "The Gunslinger" and Winfield M1873 Aperture "The Accomplice" and Scottfield Revolver "Felon's Six" legendary weapons.

Source: Press Release (Prime Matter â Hunt Showdown)

Players of Dice Legacy can expect a treat next week as the game will be receiving it's a Storm is Coming free update on December 21 for PC. The Nintendo Switch version should receive the update "very soon." With this update comes a new weather system with 16 different conditions to challenge the player, from drought to heavy rainfall, bringing challenges and possibly improvements to your situation. The Forging a Realm made added last month is also getting a couple new scenarios in Bizarre Demands and Building a Following. The former offers a randomizer style experience with costs and requirements being random while the latter has the only way to earn new dice, is to satisfy your people.

Source: Press Release (Ravenscourt â Dice Legacy)

Another press release that arrived late last Friday was from Rebellion as Sniper Elite 5 has been announced as arriving next year on PC, Xbox One, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X/S, and PlayStation 5. With this, elite marksman Karl Fairburne will enter 1944 France to destroy Operation Kraken. If not stopped, this Nazi project will allow them to win the war before the Allies can even enter Europe, making Karl's success absolutely critical.

The new maps for the game will make it the largest and most immersive for the series' history and a new traversal system opens up the sandbox options for how you wish to eliminate your targets. It will also feature improved gunplay physics and various customization options to upgrade your weapon, such as changing scopes, barrels, and stocks to arrive at the best design for your style. You will also be able to select the ammo most appropriate for your target, from armor-piercing to non-lethal, if that is what you wish.

Techland had some announcements this week for both Dying Light and Dying Light 2. For the already available title, its new Winter events have been revealed; HyperMode with reduced fall damage and the Sugar Crane event, challenging players to throw zombies off roofs. The first phase of these events ends on December 23 with Phase 2 launching right after. Also, a new update for its Hellraid mode has been released, challenging players to face the powerful Lord Asmorod and his skeleton minions. Defeating him will grant you the Dark Wand, allowing you to wield freezing magic.

As for Dying Light 2, its system requirements have been revealed and are not too unreasonable, at least until you turn on ray tracing.

Â	1080p30 - Low Quality	1080p60 - High Quality	1080p30 - Low Ray Tracing	1080p60 - High Ray Tracing
CPU (AMD)	Ryzen 3 2300X	Ryzen 5 3600X	Ryzen 5 3600X	Ryzen 7 3700X
CPU (Intel)	Core i3-9100K	Core i5-8600K	Core i5-8600K	Core i5-8600K
GPU (AMD)	RX 560	RX Vega 56	None Listed	None Listed
GPU (NVIDIA)	GTX 1050 Ti	RTX 2060	RTX 2070	RTX 3080
RAM	8 GB	16 GB	16 GB	16 GB
OS	Windows 7	Windows 10	Windows 10	Windows 10
Storage	60 GB	60 GB	60 GB	60 GB

If that is not enough Dying Light 2 for you, Techland and Platige Image have shared a behind the scenes video for the cinematic trailer that was shared last week as part of The Game Awards. This video features commentary from the executive producer, director, and art director for the trailer that shows the final moments of a Nightrunner.

Source: Press Releases (Techland â Dying Light 1 and Dying Light 2)

THQ Nordic has announced Expeditions: Rome will have a playable demo on Steam starting today, allowing you the opportunity to lead your men against Greece, starting with the conquering of Lesbos, for about four hours of gameplay. If that is not enough, from today through Monday the publisher is holding a Streamer Weekend as a selected group of streamers have been given special access to the game's first act, allowing them to complete the Greece campaign. These streamers will also be using the new Expeditions: Rome Twitch extension, created by a partnership with Muxy Inc. as the most ambitious and expansion Twitch extension yet for any game. Viewers will be able to direct AI targets, heal or knock-down enemy and streamer combatants, start the battlefield on fir, and more.

Expeditions: Rome is to launch on January 20 at a suggest price of $44.99.

Source: THQ Nordic (Expeditions: Rome)

Ubisoft has shared a couple interesting things this week, starting with some Assassin's Creed news as Assassin's Creed Valhalla will have its Dawn of Ragnarok DLC release on March 10, 2022. With this, Eivor will begin a new adventure as Odin, as he enters Svartalfheim, the realm of the dwarfs. Set after the events of the Asgard and Jotunheim arcs, this expansion will actually include more content than some of the previous games in the series. The All-Father is on a question to rescue his son Baldr, who has been captured by Sutr and is being held in the dwarven realm that is currently occupied by various enemies, including some with the ability to revive their fallen comrades. Fortunately you will have help as you find dwarves that have managed to hide in shelters. Finding the Hugr-Rip will also help as this artifact will grant Odin new powers, such as the ability to disguise himself as the fiery Muspel enemies he would otherwise need to fight.

If you would rather not wait until March for some new Assassin's Creed action, a special crossover has begun between this latest entry in the series and its predecessor, Assassin's Creed: Odyssey. In the prior game, you can take on the new Those Who Are Treasured mission and travel to the island of Korfu, to contemplate what to do with the power of the Staff of Hermes Trismegistus the playable character acquired at the end of the game story. In Valhalla the mission A Fated Encounter will bring Eivor to the Isle of Skye and there cross blades with Kassandra of Odyssey.

The Odyssey mission will be available after finishing the game's Chapter 1, but it is recommended you finish the game's story arcs first, to avoid spoilers. Valhalla's A Fated Encounter will be available after you finish A Wise Friend, during which you assist Valka establish herself in Ravensthorpe.

Source: Ubisoft [1] (Assassin's Creed Valhalla)

Also announced by Ubisoft is that development has begun on a Splinter Cell remake. Utilizing the Snowdrop engine, Ubisoft Toronto is going to rebuild the game that started the series, bringing the latest in visuals and gameplay to the series that is so well known for dynamic lighting and shadows. If you follow the source link below, you will see three developers answer various questions about this new project, including what they feel are the most important aspects of the original title to be updated and those to preserve.

Source: Ubisoft [2] (Splinter Cell Remake)

December 10, 2021

Permalink for 'Various Video Game Stories from the Week of December 6'

11:16

Various Video Game Stories from the Week of December 6

This first complete week of December has reached its end, and so it is also time to go through some of the video game news for the week, and a few items from last week that arrived in my inbox after publishing last week's collection.

At The Game Awards, 2K and Gearbox Software shared a new trailer for Tiny Tina's Wonderland, the upcoming looter shooter releasing on March 25 for PC, Xbox One, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X/S, and PlayStation 5. Unfortunately at the time I am writing this I do not see the video on YouTube, but it apparently shares a peek at the game's story, which is being told by Tiny Tina from the Borderlands series as she leads a Bunkers & Badasses adventure, so 'unpredictable' is certainly going to be one word to describe it. She places the player in a fantastical world filled with monsters and loot-filled dungeons, and sets you the purpose of defeating the Dragon Lord with this skeleton army. If you follow the source like, you can also see additional information on the Dragon Lord as well as the characters Valentine, Frette, and Torgue.

Source: 2K (Tiny Tina's Wonderland)

EA has announced GRID Legends will be launching on February 25, 2022 for PC, Xbox One, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X/S, and PlayStation 5. With this release comes the largest variety of game modes including a Career mode with over 250 events and Driven to Glory, the game's story mode, in addition to Drift and Elimination. With the new Race Creator, you can also put together your own matchups featuring multiple vehicle types to see which is truly best for each race in different weather conditions and time of day. You will even be able to add ramps and boost gates if you wish. At launch there will be over 100 vehicles to get behind the wheel of to race on classic tracks and in iconic cities.

Those who pre-order GRID Legends will receive the Seneca and Ravenwest Double Pack, which adds four cars for Career events: the Aston Martin Vantage GT4; Porsche 962C; Ginetta G55 GT4; and Koenigsegg Jesko. The pack also includes Ravenwest-focused Career events and team icons, liveries, and banners for Seneca and Ravenwest.

Source: EA (GRID Legends)

As part of The Game Awards, Square Enix shared a new trailer for Babylon's Fall, an upcoming game from PlatinumGames set to release on March 3 for PC, PlayStation 4, and PlayStation 5. As the trailer depicts, in the game you will play as a warrior created by the Gideon Coffins, the source of your power that will make you and fellow Sentinels strong enough to topple the Tower of Babylon. Already able to wield two weapons, the Coffins allow for combinations of four weapons at once, producing many variations to the strategies you can employ to defeat your enemies. You can also play in parties of up to four players if you wish, but the game can be enjoyed in solo as well. Post launch it will receive new game modes, story content, and weapon types as part of free updates to grow the experience.

Source: Press Release (Square Enix [1] – Babylon's Fall)

December 16 is a day many may come to enjoy as during The Game Awards, Square Enix announced Final Fantasy VII Remake Intergrade is coming to PC, specifically the Epic Games Store, then. As the name suggests this is a version of Final Fantasy VII Remake that released earlier this year to the PlayStation 5 and will include all of the previously released DLC, but will also feature some upgrades including graphical improvements. It will support 4K and HDR, and if your system is up for it the game can run at 120 FPS. There is also a photo mode and additional content, such as some special armor, accessories, summon materia, and the FF7R Episode INTERmission-exclusive weapon, the Cacstar.

As for the hardware you need to run the game, the minimum specification allows you to use a GPU as old as the GeForce GTX 780 or Radeon RX 480 to play at 1920x1080. The recommended specifications bump that requirement up to the GTX 1080 and RX 5700 though, but also with a resolution of 2560x1440. The CPU requirements, even at the recommended level are not that great with the Core i7 3770 for Intel and Ryzen 3 3100 for AMD. Either way though, you will need at least 100 GB of storage space, Windows 10 2004 or newer, and either 8 GB of RAM for the minimum specification, or 12 GB according to the recommended specs.

Source: Square Enix [2] (Final Fantasy VII Remake Intergrade)

Also announced by Square Enix during The Game Awards was Forspoken's release date of May 24, 2022 with its newest trailer. In this Luminous Productions title you play as Frey Holland who has found herself transported to the mysterious world of Athia that is being devastated by the Break, a corruption that spreads as a miasma over the land. Somehow Frey survived contacted with it, which may prove to be the single hope for the surviving citizens.

In the trailer you get to see some of these survivors as well as the different environments and abilities Frey will have at her disposal. These abilities enable magic parkour across the landscape and a way to engage with the beasts she will encounter, such as the Breakzombies and Jabberwock. The trailer also introduces Tanta Prav, a maddened, evil sorceress who is voiced by Pollyanna McIntosh.

In addition to the release date and trailer, the details of the Digital Deluxe Edition have also been shared. It will include the Mini Artbook and Mini Soundtrack digital downloads as well as the Forspoken: In Tanta We Trust prequel story DLC. If you purchase it for the PlayStation 5 you will also receive the Rare Resource Kit. Those who pre-order the Digital Deluxe Edition will receive the Elite Cloak, Spectra Combo Necklace, and Overclock Nails on PC while PlayStation 5 players will get the No Limits Cloak, Symbol Combo Necklace, Trigger Happy Nails, and Crafting Starter kit.

Source: Square Enix [2] (Forspoken)

Techland has shared a couple things this week, starting with a new episode of Dying 2 Know More with Jonah Scott as its special guest. Scott is the voice actor for the game's main character, Aiden Caldwell and shares some details about his work to bring the character to life. You can check out the episode at this link: Dying 2 Know More - Interview With Jonah Scott, Voice Of Aiden Caldwell.

The other item shared by the developer was a cinematic trailer for the game, revealed during The Game Awards that shows what some of the City's citizens have to do in their attempts to survive. There is more to staying human than just surviving and avoiding the infected.

Along with the trailer, the Reload Pack was announced as an exclusive pre-order bonus that was created in cooperation with Rosario Dawson, who plays Lawan in the game. The pack includes a crossbow skin and outfit for Lawan, who is not a playable character, but also a backpack skin and paraglider skin for both her and Aiden.

Also, Techland is celebrating its 30^th anniversary this month, so it has made Call of Juarez: Gunslinger free on Steam until December 14. Dying Light is also having a free weekend on Steam currently, allowing you to try the game until December 13, and if you like it the Platinum Edition is discounted to 70% off until December 14.

Source: Press Releases (Techland – Dying Light 2)

THQ Nordic has a few announcements, and going in alphabetical order we start with Expeditions: Rome receiving its release date of January 20, 2022. Starting that day you can join the Roman legion as a Legatus and march through Greece, Egypt, and Gaul, with success building your power and influence back in Rome. This will make your decisions very important, for how they will impact your life and those of your companions. The game's campaign should last for over 50 hours as you engage in turn-based battles, level up your character as well as your companions, take care of your legion, and naturally explore, loot, and craft.

Expeditions: Rome will come to PC with a suggested price of $44.99 on January 20, 2022.

Source: THQ Nordic [1] (Expeditions: Rome)

SpellForce 3 has received its Reforced upgrade this week, a free update that completely overhauls the title with various improvements and fixes alongside new game modes and features. This includes an improved campaign experience with reworked faction designs, updated skilltrees, an AI balance overhaul, a UI that has been visually and functionally enhanced, and full support for gamepad. There is also a new Bitter Canyon skirmish map, the Journey Mode that is similar to the original SpellForce's Free Game mode that can be played in co-op and PvP and offers over 20 hours of content. The Arena Mode will give you a fresh character and endless waves of monsters, challenging you to climb the leaderboard. If that is not enough, improved mod support means we can see community created maps for the Journey and Arena game modes in the future as well.

While the Reforced update is out now on PC, SpellForce 3 Reforced will arrive on Xbox One, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X/S, and PlayStation 5 on March 8, 2022 at a price of $39.99. Both expansions, Soul Harvest and Fallen God, will also be available on that day priced at $19.99, each. These expansions both feature 30+ hour campaigns in addition to new units and more. If you want it all, SpellForce 3 Reforced Complete Edition will be priced at $59.99.

Source: THQ Nordic [2] (SpellForce 3 Reforced)

Though this is the last bit of news from THQ Nordic I have, it actually released last week, just after I posted the news collection. Titan Quest Anniversary Edition has received another expansion, bringing the total to four as players get to return to the Far East for four acts where you will encounter the Jade Emperor, the Ten Suns, and the Dragon King of the Four Seas. With over 30 new types of enemies and bosses to defeat, you will need the new mastery the expansion offers you, the powers of Neidan masters, blessings from demigods, and the will of ancient emperors to succeed the Eternal Embers.

Titan Quest: Eternal Embers is already available and priced at $19.99.

Source: THQ Nordic [3] (Titan Quest: Eternal Embers)

Anno 1800 from Ubisoft will be starting its Season 4 in 2022, but new content is arriving on December 14 for free. This new content is the Eden Burning game mode that will challenge players to clean up following polluting invaders as well constructing a sustainable energy source with only minimal damage to the ecosystem of a remote island. The Eden Burning scenario was created for the 2021 Green Game Jam and won the UNEP Choice Award, and is soon going to be part of the game. More scenarios will be arriving during Season 4 as at least one will be included with its three DLC.

Along with the addition of the scenario to the game on December 14, the Plant A Tree DLC will also launch and be priced at $2.99 to add an ornamental tree to your in-game cities. Each DLC sale will also contribute at least $1 to Ecologi, a social enterprise that funds reforestation efforts and more. The DLC will be available for purchase until March 31, 2022, after which it will return later in the year as a free item.

Speaking of free items, Ubisoft has made Anno 1404 History Edition free on PC until December 14 as part of the company's 35^th anniversary celebration.

Source: Ubisoft [1] (Anno 1800)

For Honor's Year 5 Season 4 has begun this week with its Frostwind Celebrations event, a limited time event that includes a free Event Pass. This pass contains a paired emote, Battle Outfit, ornament, and effect while the event adds new weapons to loot. There is also a new Battle Pass as part of the Frozen Shores season starting that contains premium content, such as executions and effects in addition to Battle Outfits and ornaments. You will also find some changes to the River Fort, Gauntlet, and Harbor maps. The Shinobi updates that went through Season 3's Testing Grounds are live in the game now as well, with the next Testing Grounds starting December 30, with a target of changes to the Dominion game made and Conqueror Hero. The launch trailer is behind YouTube's age-gate, so you will have to log in to watch it here: For Honor: Year 5 Season 4 - Frozen Shores Launch Trailer | Ubisoft [NA]

On January 27, Title Update 2 will be released and add a Hero to the roster while also returning some fan-favorite events such as The Covenant Games and Black Prior's Riposte.

Source: Ubisoft [2] (For Honor)

As for some non-gaming news, EKWB is launching new products for those who enjoy and want more RGB in their builds. The EK-Loop D-RGB LED Magnetic strips are exactly what the name suggests, strips of RGB LEDs that can be placed throughout your case to bring the lighting and effects where you want them. The Magnetic Strip is a 600 mm long D-RGB LED strip while the Magnetic Kit contains four 400 mm strips that can be daisy-chained together. The EK-Loop D-RGB LED Edge Diffused Strip offers a different look at 500 mm long with side-illumination going through a diffuser to provide a different effect than the bare LEDs of the other offerings. It is not magnetic though, but instead attaches by double-sided tape.

All three of these offerings connect by a standard 3 pin 5 V connector with the 600 mm strip containing 33 separately controllable LEDs and the four 400 mm strips in the Magnetic Kit holding 21 LEDs. All three are also made in China and in stock now at the EK Webstore. The EK-Loop D-RGB LED Magnetic Strip (600 mm) is priced at $15.99, the EK-Loop D-RGB LED Magnetic Kit (four 400 mm strips) is $52.99, and the EK-Loop D-RGB LED Diffused Strip (500 mm) is $18.99.

Source: EKWB

December 03, 2021

Permalink for 'Various Video Game Stories from the Week of November 29'

8:30

Various Video Game Stories from the Week of November 29

This week has gone by pretty quickly for me, but there is still plenty of news to cover and first up is some from 1047 Games as Splitgate has received its Winter Update. With this the free-to-play, portaling FPS has had three of its maps made over for the season; Stadium, Abyss, and Pantheon. The main menu has also received a wintery theme and there are new challenges to attempt as well, with community-created rewards. A #TeamSeas skin has also been made available for purchase with all of the procedures going towards that project that seeks to remove some 30 million pounds of waste from the ocean by the end of the year. Additionally, the Season 0 battle pass has been extended, so if there is anything left in it you were hoping to get, you have until early next year to try for it.

Source: 1047 Games (Splitgate)

Dotemu and Triskell Interactive have shared a behind-the-scenes video this week, giving a look into how the soundtrack for Pharaoh: A New Era is being recreated. Just as the game is a remake of a classic title, its soundtrack too is a recreation of the original, but with new arrangements including the use of traditional instruments from ancient Egypt. To ensure the music was accurate both to the original and the culture of its setting, Louis Godart, the game's composer, connected with Keith Zizza, the composer of the original 1999 release, and worked with consultants.

Pharaoh: A New Era is set to release in 2022 with its improved mechanics, UI, and support for 4K. It will also include the original 2000 expansion, Cleopatra: Queen of the Nile, so the final result will offer over 100 hours of gameplay with 53 missions, a map and mission editor, along with a Free Build mode.

Source: Dotemu (Pharaoh: A New Era)

Scarf from HandyGames has received its release date of December 23, and it will even enjoy a launch discount of 10%. In the game you will get to explore beautiful worlds as you try to uncover the truth something or someone has hidden. This will involve solving complex puzzles and overcoming obstacles with the help of your polymorphic scarf.

Source: HandyGames (Scarf)

Koch Media and Weird Beluga Studio have announced Clid the Snail, the studio's debut indie game, is launching on PC on December 15. Developed with the support of the PlayStation Talents program, the game already came to PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 5 earlier this year but with PC gamers being so varied, the studio wanted to make sure it arrived on this platform as well. It is a dark, sci-fi game where you take control of Clid, the grumpy humanoid snail that was exiled but joins up with a gang of outcasts to eradicate the slug plague. It features twin-stick gameplay and will arrive on Steam, Epic Games Store, GOG, Humble, and GeForce Now at an MSRP of $19.99.

Source: Press Release (Koch Media – Clid the Snail)

Dead Cells has had its next DLC announced and The Queen & The Sea will be releasing early next year. It promises to end the route that began with its two predecessors, The Bad Seed and Fatal Falls, and is to be the most generous content update for the game yet. The teaser below gives a peek at two new biomes, but importantly one of them is not the normal Dead Cells level, and if you are able to survive it, there will be a new epic ending. Of course, first you will need to defeat the Queen, the new, alternative final boss.

The Queen & The Sea will be priced at $4.99 when it releases.

Also, Motion Twin is celebrating turning 20 years old by sharing the awesome news that Dead Cells has sold over 6 million copies across the globe.

Source: Press Release (Motion Twin – Dead Cells)

Techland has shared quite a bit this week, including some 15 minutes of gameplay for Dying Light 2. This was released as part of its Dying 2 Know series of videos to give players insight on the upcoming game. In it you witness Aiden, the main character, on a quest to learn more about his missing sister, which takes place part way through its narrative arc. For reference, the game is set some 22 years after the events of Dying Light, and will apparently also feature double the number of parkour moves.

The Dying Light 2 and Techland news does not end with the video though, as it was also revealed the game has gone gold. This means it is ready for publication and discs can start to be manufactured. The release date is still February 4 though, and the developers will be taking advantage of that time to continue applying optimizations, polish, tweaks, and upgrades based on feedback from the community as well as those who got some hands-on time in preview sessions. When the game releases, it will be available on PC, Xbox One, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X/S, PlayStation 5, and Nintendo Switch via its Cloud Version.

Also, Techland has turned 30 and to celebrate that, the company has some in-game rewards you can unlock via Techland.gg but also its classic Crime Cities game is free to keep over at GOG, where you can find a sale on Techland titles until December 9.

Source: Press Releases (Techland – Dying Light 2)

Lastly for the video-game specific news, THQ Nordic has revealed the release date for Kingdoms of Amalur: Re-Reckoning – Fatesworn as December 14. The original game released almost ten years ago, but in just weeks its remake will continue the Fateless One's journey as a new threat is rising in Mithros. There Telogrus, the God of Chaos has awakened and is gathering followers.

In addition to its new storyline, environment, quests, and gear, the expansion will also place Chaos Realm dungeons across Amalur and raise the level cap to 50. The expansion itself will be priced at $19.99 while a Fate Edition containing both the base game and this expansion will be at $54.99.

Source: THQ Nordic (Kingdoms of Amalur: Re-Reckoning – Fatesworn)

Some time ago it was announced that NVIDIA intended to acquire Arm Ltd., the company behind the designs used in so many devices today, and as any major merger or acquisition does, it prompted various regulatory bodies to investigate and determine if there was grounds to block it. This week the Federal Trade Commission announced it is suing to block the purchase, citing that it will enable NVIDIA to stifle competition and innovation, and potentially lead to higher prices and less choice as many current competitors to NVIDIA rely on Arm designs. The FTC's press release specifically identified three markets NVIDIA is currently competing in with Arm-based products: high-level advanced driver assistance systems; DPU SmartNICs for improving security and efficiency in datacenters; and Arm-based CPUs for cloud computing providers. In addition to the concern of NVIDIA having control over the technology, the complaint also alleges it could give the company access to potentially sensitive information of Arm licensees that are rivals of NVIDIAs. The complaint describes Arm as being more like a neutral partner to several companies, rather than a rival, but if this acquisition goes through, that will change and could cost Arm and its ecosystem the trust it has built over the years.

The vote to issue the complaint was 4-0 and the administrative trial is scheduled for August 9, 2022.

Source: FTX (Suing to Stop NVIDIA Acquisition of Arm

Finishing this item off, the Q3 2021 earnings have been shared for the CD Projekt Group, and it includes various pieces of information, such as the next-gen versions of both Cyberpunk 2077 and The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt are on track for their Q1 and Q2 2022 release targets. It also shows the CD Projekt Group itself saw net profitability, but this was thanks to CD Projekt Red as GOG, which is owned by the group, actually lost money during the quarter. Already certain measures have been taken to improve its situation, but the decision has also been made to have it focus on its core business activity, "offering a handpicked selection of games with its unique DRM-free philosophy." As part of this, GOG's operations are going to be reorganized some, such as with developers who had been working on online features mainly used by CD Projekt Red being moved to the studio. Also it is leaving the GWENT consortium, so while it will not benefit from the revenues of that project, it will also not bear the associated costs either.

It will be interesting to see what comes from the re-focusing of GOG on its core business, as the storefront has definitely expanded in some interesting ways, such as with its GOG Galaxy 2.0 client that is able to connect with other clients to offer a unified library. Though useful, some see it as being in disagreement with the DRM-free philosophy. Time will tell what happens and how successful it will be.

Source: CD Projekt [1] (Q3 2021 Results PDF) and [2] (Q3 2021 Earnings Call Transcript)

November 26, 2021

Permalink for 'Various Video Game Stories from the Week of November 22'

8:57

Various Video Game Stories from the Week of November 22

It is the end of the week again, but this one is a bit different as it is Thanksgiving week, which also means Black Friday and Cyber Monday. Already a host of physical and digital items are discounted, so hopefully something you have been looking for has been discounted. Steam, GOG, and the Epic Games Store all have their own respective sales going on, and their own dates. Steam's Autumn Sale is going until December 1 while GOG's Black Friday sale ends on November 29 and Epic Games Store is going until November 30.

On top of those store-wide sales, I also got press releases from Square Enix, Stardock, and Ubisoft about the discounts for their products. For Square Enix this includes the relatively new Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy being 35% until December 1. Marvel's Avengers and Outriders are also discounted pretty well, at 60% and 50% respectively. For Stardock we have Ashes of the Singularity: Escalation, Galactic Civilizations III, Star Control: Origins, and Offworld Trading Company all discounted at their store and on Steam, and you can find the company's desktop enhancement software on sale as well, such as Start10 for modifying the Windows Start Menu. For Ubisoft, it specifically has discounts for Riders Republic at up to 33% off. I should mention the Ubisoft and Square Enix discounts are not limited to the PC versions, if you prefer a different platform.

Source: Steam Autumn Sale, GOG, Epic Games Store Black Friday 2021, Square Enix Deals, Stardock Games, Stardock Software, and Ubisoft Black Friday Sale

Plenty of hardware is on sale this weekend as well, and being physical items supplies may run out quickly. Both 1Up Keyboards and NovelKeys are starting their sales today and running them until Monday, so if you are interested in building a custom keyboard like the 1UP60HSE I put together (and am using right now) or working from a kit like the NK65 Entry Edition I use for work, you can check out both stores. 1Up Keyboards will also be offering a limited drop of KBDFans Tofu60 Acrylic Frosted Case Keyboard kits starting at 1 PM EST, for those interested.

If you are happy with your keyboard but may want different cooling for your computer, EKWB is also offering Black Friday deals, with up to 25% off the company's AIO offerings, in addition to clearance sales on other items, and a flat 10% off everything in the company's store.

Lastly for the sales news I have, many Acer products are being discounted, including laptops of different targets and monitors. Two versions of the Nitro 5 gaming laptop are discounted by $184 and $250 at Amazon along with versions of the Spin 5, Swift 5 and 3, and even the ConceptD 3 Ezel. That ConceptD is a convertible laptop with an Intel Core i7-10750H and NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1650 Max-Q to power its 14 in 1920x1080 display and has been discounted by over six hundred dollars to the price of $869.99. As for the monitors, there are 24.5 inch, 27 inch, and 32 inch displays discounted by as much as $180 from the Predator and Nitro lines.

Source: 1Up Keyboards, NovelKeys, EKWB, and Acer Press Release

Coming to video game news, Dear Villagers released the penultimate update Early Access for Revita, the twin-stick shooter, roguelite from lone developer BenStar. Titled Old Friends, this update adds a new area, five new starting guns, relics, celestial weapons, NPCs, and naturally new enemies, modifiers, and more. You can check out the changes in the trailer below, as the player climbs the clock tower setting of the game, facing challenges in the procedurally generated rooms and boss fights.

Source: Press Release (Dear Villagers – Revita)

HandyGames has revealed the final release date for One Hand Clapping is December 14. The 2D platformer that has you solve puzzles by singing or humming into a microphone will be arriving on PC, Xbox One, PlayStation 4, and Nintendo Switch as well as the Apple App Store, Google Play Store, and Samsung Galaxy Store. In its current state, the game has already won many awards for its creativity and in a few weeks you will be able to experience it yourself, on almost any current platform you wish.

Source: HandyGames (One Hand Clapping)

Dice Legacy from Koch Media's Ravens Court label and developer DESTINYbit has received a new game mode as part of a free update on PC. The update for the Nintendo Switch version should arrive soon. With the Forging a Realm mode, you will find a rather experience to the normal game mode, which has been renamed Escaping Fate, as the people of your young kingdom do not trust you just yet. The only way to earn this trust is to succeed at their demands that grow increasingly difficult. It is more economically centered and the map will be generated with different parameters specifically for the mode. Do not worry if this sounds too challenging, as there will be five difficulty levels, but also it only unlocks after you get through your first winter, but those who have already completed the game will find the mode unlocked immediately.

Source: Koch Media (Dice Legacy)

Update 26 for Dead Cells has arrived, and it has been named the Everyone is Here update as it adds weapons from a host of other games. By completing challenges listed in a book given at the start of the game, you can gain the Pure Nail of Hollow Knight, the Gun & Sword of Hyper Light Drifter, and even Pollo Power from Guacamelee!, which turns you into a chicken for a few seconds, and more, including outfits. You can follow the source link below to read the patch notes or check out the trailer for a taste of what has arrived. The update also brings balancing changes, such as dropping a bomb while rolling not breaking invisibility, and a new log system for a quality of life improvement that will help track down bugs.

Source: Motion Twin and Evil Empire (Dead Cells Patch Notes)

Techland has shared some news as well, as a new episode of Dying 2 Know More Released, sharing an interview for the upcoming game's world director, Thomas Gerbaud, to give a look into the society that has formed in the 15 years since the old one fell apart. This includes some more details concerning the Peacekeepers and their dedication to law, order, and hierarchy, as well as how even the small details of the environment provide insight into the world. You even get to learn about the analog version of a dating app created by one of The City's inhabitants.

If that video, embedded below, is not enough, do not worry as the fifth episode of Dying 2 Know will arrive on December 2 at 9 PM CET or 12 PM PT on the company's Twitch channel. This will include a 15 minute gameplay video along with details about quests and obstacles the main character, Aiden Caldwell, will encounter. Jonah Scott, the voice of Aiden, as well as the streamer Leah will be hosting this episode. I also neglected to mention above that Dying Light Platinum Edition is on sale at just $19.99 on Steam until December 1. This includes the base game and most of its DLC, so even though a lot of in-game time has passed between the two titles, this could still be a very nice way to introduce yourself to some of what you can expect come February 4, 2022. Dying Light 2 will release on PC, Xbox One, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X/S, PlayStation 5, and Nintendo Switch via its Cloud Edition on that day.

Source: Press Release (Techland – Dying Light 2)

Rounding off the video game news is a new gameplay trailer for THQ Nordic's This Is the President, which launches on December 6. In the trailer you can see some of the different options that will be available to you for tackling poor approval ratings before passage of the 28^th Amendment, protecting you from the various crimes you have committed. It also shows some of the methods you can use to manage the members of your team, who might not approve of all your actions all the time. Apparently not everyone likes the idea of sending a hamster into space.

Source: THQ Nordic (This Is the President)

Lastly, AMD via its GPUOpen initiative has announced FidelityFX Super Resolution, FSR, will soon be easier for developers to integrate and configure into Unreal Engine 4 games thanks to a new plugin. For those who may not remember, FSR is AMD's open-source, shader-based upscaling technology that combines a spatial upscaler with Robust Contrast Adaptive Sharpening to increase performance with less impact on image quality than just lowering the output resolution. With the plugin, developers can set the different percentages to be used at the technologies four quality settings as well as controlling if it should use FP16 for improvement performance, and if the denoising feature should be enabled. It can also be configured to work with UE4's Temporal Anti-Aliasing with Upsampling, TAAU, algorithm by disabling its own upscaler, or relegating it to a secondary upscaler. Though the open source nature of FSR along with its design already made it easy to implement for many developers, this should make it still easier for those working with Unreal Engine 4.27.1 or newer.

Source: AMD (GPUOpen)

November 19, 2021

Permalink for 'Various Video Game Stories from the Week of November 15, 2021'

11:43

Various Video Game Stories from the Week of November 15, 2021

Once again we have reached the end of the week and so it is time to go through the different press releases that have arrived, starting with one from Dear Villagers. The publisher along with developer Retro Forge Games have shared a new video of commented gameplay for Souldiers. The game combines metroidvania exploration with soulslike design and precision platforming, all presented with a pixelart style as the player fights to free Terragaya as a scout, caster, or archer. This world exists between life and death and contains treasures, secrets, and bosses you will need to defeat in order to succeed.

Souldiers is targeting a Spring 2022 release on PC and Nintendo Switch.

Source: Dear Villagers (Souldiers)

Next we have some news from Dotemu for Windjammers 2 with two characters added to its rosters as well as the reveal it will be coming to Xbox One and Xbox Game Pass on both PC and Xbox. This includes cross platform play between Xbox, Game Pass PC, and Steam users. The game is also coming to PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Nintendo Switch, and Google Stadia. There will be crossgen play between the two PlayStation consoles.

The two new characters are Sammy Ho, a Chinese gardener and still developing star athlete, and Jordi Costa, a returning contender. For Sammy, his mid-range agility and powerful throws will make him dangerous to go against while Jordia has his court-crossing slides and mighty strength for his opponents to deal with. You can watch them both in action in the new trailer below.

Source: Dotemu (Windjammers 2)

Milestone and Feld Entertainment have announced Monster Energy Supercross – The Official Videogame 5, or more simply Supercross 5, is coming to PC, Xbox One, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X/S, and PlayStation 5 and March 17, 2022. This next entry in the series will feature a new Career Mode to be more realistic and immersive than before, with players being able to start as amateurs in the 250SX Future Class. The Rider Shape System will also be introduced as part of the Career Mode, so that your performance will be impacted by falls and injuries. To recover your performance more quickly, training and the completion of certain tasks will be necessary. Another addition will be that of 2-stroke bikes, which will be available in every game mode. The Track Editor is returning, but with a new feature in the form of the Rhythm Section Editor, making it possible for players to mix and match modules to create complex track sections to share with the community.

Source: Press Release (Milestone – Monster Energy Supercross – The Official Videogame 5)

Serenity Forge and studio Way Down Deep have announced a new game, Land of Screens, that will be launching on December 25 for PC and Nintendo Switch. The title follows Holland, who was previously seen in Half Past Fate and Date Night Bowling as she tries to avoid every screen she can. This follows her breakup with her boyfriend of five years, which is now trending on social media. Through the point-and-click adventure, you will get to take her on the myriad adventures that await outside of social media. The trick is helping her to find these activities and even getting her friends interested in doing them too.

Source: Press Release (Serenity Forge – Land of Screens)

Though it has happened before, it is still pretty rare for a game's release date to move up, but that is exactly what is happening with Sifu from Slocap. It has been moved up a full two weeks and will be launching on February 8, 2022 for PC and the PlayStation consoles. Along with this announcement, two new gameplay trailers have been shared, which can be found on the developer's YouTube channel, linked to below. One gives an overview of the game's combat system, which will be important to watch as combat is central to the gameplay in which you seek revenge for your family's murder by applying your martial arts skills. If you fail and are killed, you will be resurrected to fight again, but aged. This will impact your fighting capabilities, but at the same time this is when you can spend your experience to improve your skills or become tougher. No matter your character's age though, you can still complete the game.

Source: Press Release (Slocap – Sifu) and Slocap YouTube Channel

Square Enix has released an update for Outriders dubbed New Horizon that makes some significant changes to the experience. These changes include the removal of times from Expeditions, which was done because of how it biased character builds. The initial thinking was to reward players based on how quickly they can complete this end-game content, but to earn better rewards by faster times, players geared for maximum damage, instead of going with whichever playstyle the player prefers. Now completion earns you the same rewards, no matter how long it takes you, though the rewards have also been rebalanced, so those designed to take longer will feel appropriately rewarding.

Four new Expeditions have been added to the game as part of this free update as well, with the first, Molten Depths, being available immediately while the other three are gated behind Challenge Tiers 4, 8, and 12. Acquiring legendary gear has been tweaked too, to hopefully make it more fun and less of a grind, including the ability to purchase a mystery legendary from Tiago's shop. If you find a piece of legendary gear that is perfect for your combat style but not aesthetic preferences, the new transmogrification system should have you covered as you can apply the appearance and sounds of one piece of gear to another of the same type, and the process is free and can be done from the menu.

There are some more changes that have arrived with this update, and you can find out more at the source link below.

Source: Square Enix (Outriders)

Turning to THQ Nordic, and its parent company Embracer Group shortly, Elex II a new trailer has been released for Elex II featuring the different factions we can expect in the upcoming title. The Berserkers, Outlaws, Albs, Clerics, and Morkons each offer their own advantages and disadvantages through unique weapons and skills, and you will have to decide which to join in an effort to protect Magalan from the coming Skyands.

The Berserkers are magicians that have applied their power over Elex to turn the desert of Tavar into a lush and green land, and have claimed the former stronghold of the Outlaws. Scattered across the world, some of the Outlaws joined the Berserkers when they claimed Tavar, while others went to Ateris, and some returned to a life of crime. The Albs have returned from the first game and are a bit different this time, having learned from Jax's defeat of the Hybrid. Seeing the value of emotion, they have reduced their use of Elex, but remain quite powerful in combat. The Clerics build combat robots by applying their engineering and crafting skills, and suffered significant losses from their war with the Albs, losing their home in Ignadon on top of the many people killed. Lastly there are the Morkons, a new faction for the game, made up of survivors from the meteor impact who went underground but have returned to the surface, to spread their religion across Magalan, and remove anything that stands against them.

As for the Embracer Group news, as part of its Q2 2021 interim report, the company shared it is delaying a number of releases initially scheduled for fiscal year 2021/2022 to FY 2022/2023. Among these titles is the new Saints Row title and an announced AAA title.

Source: THQ Nordic (Elex II) and Embracer Group (Saints Row Delay)

This week Ubisoft shared its post-launch free content roadmap for Rainbow Six Extraction, which is not releasing until January 20, 2022. Among this content is the Maelstrom Protocol that will be a weekly challenge mode with tiered ranks targeting the most skilled players. They will need to make it through nine subzones that grow progressively more challenging with tougher enemies and resources depleting more quickly, as well as a shortening timer. Depending on how well you do, you will be rewarded with special headgear and REACT credits.

Crisis Events will be limited-time, game-changing events that bring themed content to the game and the first will be Spillover, as players will be tasked with destroying the mass colonies of an evolved version of the Sprawl hordes. Crisis Event will reward exclusive REACT Tech as well as new cosmetics and lore. Assignments will be weekly modes that apply gameplay modifiers, such as Veteran Mode for removing the HUD, reducing ammo, and enabling friendly fire.

Rainbow Six Extraction is coming to PC, Xbox One, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X/S, PlayStation 5, Ubisoft+, Google Stadia, and Amazon Luna on January 20, 2022.

Source: Ubisoft (Rainbow 6 Extraction)

Finishing off this week, I have some science news to share as MIT researchers have discovered a very special material that is able to act as two different types of superconductors, and may help to find more superconductors in the future. This new material is a kind of layered crystal called a natural superlattice, where a superconducting ultrathin film of a superconducting material is placed between two layers that protect it. This stacking of layers, which can happen naturally when the proper elements are involved, makes it a larger crystal, which is important as a macroscopic crystal is much easier to work with than the ultrathin film that is effectively two-dimensional. The greater size also makes it possible to use more tools to study it, as some care difficult to apply to 2D materials.

The crystal structure is not the only thing that makes this material interesting, but also the kind of superconductivity it demonstrates. Some forms of superconductivity work because of Cooper pairs, which are special pairs of electrons that are able to move without resistance. The catch with Cooper pairs is they can be interfered with, destroying the superconductivity, and one common source of interference is a magnetic field. However, this material is a finite momentum superconductor, which means it actually becomes superconducting when a magnetic field is applied. This kind of superconductivity was first theorized in the 1960s, but this is the first observation of it. This kind of superconductivity will also open up the ability to create various patterns of superconductivity within the material, and that can open up a wealth of new experiments and discoveries.

This material is hardly done with its special properties though, as the researchers also determined it is a topological superconductor as well, which means the superconducting occurs along boundaries instead of through areas or volumes. In other words, the surface of a topological superconductor will allow electricity to flow without resistance, but the volume beneath the surface will resist the flow like any normal material. With the same material demonstrating both kinds of superconductivity, it opens up many more possibilities to learn still more about superconductivity and possibly more quantum mechanical phenomena.

Source: MIT

November 12, 2021

Permalink for 'Various Video Game Stories from the Week of November 8, 2021'

9:55

Various Video Game Stories from the Week of November 8, 2021

Source: 2K [1] (Tiny Tina's Assault on Dragon Keep: A Wonderlands One-shot Adventure)

With the second week of November having reached its end, it is time to go through the press releases I have received, and first up is a time sensitive piece of news from 2K. The publisher and Gearbox Software have released Tiny Tina's Assault on Dragon Keep: A Wonderlands One-shot Adventure as a standalone game that is free on the Epic Game Store until November 16. If you miss the free period you do not need to worry too much for a couple reasons, with the first being this is a standalone release of the Borderlands 2 DLC of the nearly same name, originally released in 2013. The other reason to not worry is it can be purchased on Steam, Xbox One, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X/S, and PlayStation 5 for $9.99, and will also be priced at that on EGS after the free period expires. (For reference, the GOTY of Borderlands 2 has a normal price of $39.99 on Steam.)

That was not the only news from 2K as the company has acquired elite3d, a Spanish studio that will be reformed as the second office for the wholly owned developer 31st Union and enable a new publishing location. TURIA GAMES, a studio co-owned by elite3d's founders, has also been acquired. As a second office for 31st Union, it will help with the in-progress development of an unannounced but "highly anticipated" AAA project. Some elite3d employees will join 2K's Global Services division, the team responsible for animation, art, motion capture, project management, game technology, talent casing, user research, visual effects, and more, according to the press release.

Source: 2K [2] (elite3d Acquisition)

Dear Villagers and developer Midgar Studio have released update 1.1 for Edge of Eternity this week, adding new quests, monsters, dialogue, and spells along with balancing changes and quality of life improvements. You can check out the update trailer below or the Patch Notes source link for more information.

Also announced is the game is coming to the Xbox One, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X/S, and PlayStation 5 in Q1 of 2022. If you prefer the console experience and have been waiting for this news, you still have some months to wait, but it is coming.

Source: Dear Villagers [1] (Edge of Eternity) and [2] (Patch Notes via Steam News)

Blightbound from Ronimo Games and Devolver Digital has received its Divine Rite update, adding the new Seer Rook character, along with new features, items, and rewards. Seer Rook is a harbinger of holy havoc as he can apply Sun's Essence to heal himself and his allies and the Zealous Reward that will also heal allies as it decimates enemies. One of the features is the ability to play offline, a first for the game. Blightrifts have also been expanded, to offer more unique and dangerous challenges by testing your combat and puzzle-solving skills. You can watch the trailer below for more information.

Source: Press Release (Devolver Digital – Blightbound) and Patch Notes via Steam News

For those enjoying Outriders, Square Enix has announced a new Broadcast episode is arriving on November 15 at 9 AM PT, the first since the game's launch. It will give players a look at the upcoming free content update while also reviewing many of the improvements made to the game since its launch. You will be able to watch at Square Enix's Twitch Channel.

Source: Press Release (Square Enix – Outriders)

Techland, composer Olivier Derivière, and Black Screen Records have announced pre-orders are open for Dying Light 2's soundtrack, on both CD and a special vinyl edition as well. There will be two vinyl records for that edition, with one featuring the story and the other the world, allowing fans to immerse themselves in the game's post-apocalyptic world. Dying Light 2 is scheduled to launch on February 4, 2022 for PC, Xbox One, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X/S, PlayStation 5, and Nintendo Switch via its Cloud Edition, and these soundtracks will release the week after, on February 11.

Source: Press Release (Techland – Dying Light 2) and Black Screen Records (Vinyl Pre-order Page)

THQ Nordic has a couple announcements this week, starting with Elex II receiving its release date of March 1, 2022. Along with this announcement was that of the Collector's Edition for the game that will include a 9.2 inch Alb Figurine, a copy of the soundtrack, official artbook, 2 inch "Cleric Amulett" key chain, Steelbook case, and concept album in addition to the game itself. The suggested price for this edition is $149.99 and you can watch the trailer below to see all it will contain.

Elex II will be releasing for PC, Xbox One, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X/S, and PlayStation 5.

Source: THQ Nordic [1] (Elex II)

The other piece of news from THQ Nordic is the announcement of This Is the President, an upcoming satirical thriller where you will get to be the President of the United States and have the goal of advancing your agenda. While in Oval Office you can spend your time as you wish and try to convince the populace you are a good president, or find your approval ratings collapse.

This Is the President is releasing on December 6 for the PC.

Source: THQ Nordic [2] (This Is the President)

Ubisoft has announced Rainbow 6 Extraction is releasing on January 20, 2022 and whether you get the Standard or Deluxe Edition, the game will come with two Buddy Pass tokens. These tokens will allow you to invite two friends to play with you for free, for up to 14 days. These tokens do support cross-play, so they can be redeemed on platforms different from yours, assuming the Trial Version of the game is available for that platform. Naturally any progression they make during those two weeks will carry over, if they choose to purchase the game.

If you own Rainbow 6 Siege and purchase the upcoming game, will receive the United Front bundle with its four exclusive gearsets split between the two titles, as well as immediate access to all 18 Extraction Operators in Siege.

Rainbow 6 Extraction is coming to PC, Xbox One, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X/S, PlayStation 5, Amazon Luna, Google Stadia, and Ubisoft+.

Source: Ubisoft (Rainbow 6 Extraction)

Closing this out for some non-gaming news, UL Benchmarks has released 3DMark Storage Benchmark, aimed at providing performance information on SSD storage from the latest PCIe 4.0-based NVMe drives to SATA SSDs and even hybrid drives. To set this test apart from other storage tests, this one will focus on giving real-world results by recording the traces of gaming loads. For example, it will look at the time it takes to launch Battlefield V to it reaching the main menu, recording 1080p60 Overwatch video with OBS, installing The Outer Worlds with the Epic Games Launcher, and saving in The Outer Worlds. In addition to giving a performance score, bandwidth and average access time metrics will also be reported by the test.

The 3DMark Storage Benchmark DLC for the Advanced Edition is priced at $2.99 on Steam and the UL Benchmarks website.

Source: UL Benchmarks

November 05, 2021

Permalink for 'Various Video Game Stories from the Week of November 1, 2021'

9:14

Various Video Game Stories from the Week of November 1, 2021

It is the end of the week again, and so it is time to go through the press releases that have arrived in my inbox. As it turns out, this week has been fairly light for video game news, but we do still have some to cover, starting with some from 1047 Games. The studio has shared some information for Splitgate's November update, which will include significant changes to creating custom games, including the ability to save the game mode to a file, for easy loading later. Selecting maps and current game modes will also be easier thanks to a UI change placing them into lists, instead of needing to cycle through each value. A more significant change, however, is the ability to configure the teams differently, making asymmetric custom games possible. For example, one team could have increased health but without the ability to create portals, while the other has less health, portals, and maybe heavier weaponry too.

Along with the update's announcement is also the news that November 30 is the final day of Season 0's battle pass. If there is any content you want from that, you have the remainder of this month to unlock it. Just because Season 0 is ending, does not mean we are reaching the 1.0 release of the game, as the new season starting December 1 will be a preseason refresh with new content and a new battle pass. Splitgate 1.0 is currently aiming for a 2022 release.

Source: Press Release (1047 Games - Splitgate)

Devolver Digital was founded in 2009 and this week became a publicly traded company on AIM, a sub-market London Stock Exchange. While this is certainly a significant move from being a privately held company, the publisher's employees are still the majority owners. This change will bring in additional revenue for the company to continue doing what it does, and to enable partnerships it could not previously. According to GamesIndustry.biz, Devolver raised about $261 million when its stock went live and Sony Interactive Entertainment intends to make a 5% investment into the company. It will be interesting to see what all this will enable for the company that specializes in publishing indie titles, as now they will have more money to throw at the projects, and with this being Devolver Digital, I would not be surprised if they do, literally throw money at developers.

Source: Devolver Digital and GamesIndustry.biz

Next up is some news from Techland as it continues to share information on the upcoming Dying Light 2, this time with another episode of Dying 2 Know More with a special focus on the Lawan characters. Previously introduced along with the announcement of Rosario Dawson playing her, Lawan will be one of the major in-game characters players will interact with, and your decisions will impact hers as the story continues. Having survived in the City, Lawan has had to become strong and independent to survive, but is still haunted by her past, which is part of the character's complexity. She also has a special kill list and it would be best to keep playable character Aiden Caldwell off of it. As was revealed in a previous announcement, Lawan's quest for vengeance will be among what your decisions will affect.

Dying Light 2 is scheduled to release February 4, 2022 for PC, Xbox One, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X/S, PlayStation 5, and on the Nintendo Switch via the Cloud Version.

Source: Press Release (Techland – Dying Light 2)

Rounding off the game news is an item from Ubisoft as Ghost Recon Breakpoint is free to play until November 7 on PC, Xbox One, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X/S, PlayStation 5, and Google Stadia. All of the base game will be accessible as well as the Operation Motherland update. With this update Karen Bowman, a friend of the Ghosts, arrives and is there to help turn the technology of Auroa over to the Outcasts under Harui Ito. The island has become the center of a global conflict over the technology, but the Outcasts are a neutral force and so may reduce the growing tensions, assuming the new enemies you encounter do not stop you.

In addition to the new story elements, the update also adds Conquest Mode to the game's story mode. This challenges players to conquer areas of Auroa by completely various destabilization missions, such as removing surveillance and reducing enemy presence, both of which impact the world around you.

Naturally any progress you make during the free weekend will carry over if you decide to purchase the full game.

Source: Ubisoft (Ghost Recon Breakpoint)

October 29, 2021

Permalink for 'Various Video Game Stories and More from the Week of October 25, 2021'

9:59

Various Video Game Stories and More from the Week of October 25, 2021

Once again the week has reached its end, but with it arrives Halloween and several associated events. GOG, the Epic Games Store, and Steam have all begun their respective spooky sales with all kinds of terrifying and not so scary games discounted. Both Epic Games Store and Steam are ending their sales on November 1 while GOG's continues until November 3. The GOG sale also features 48 hour flash deals and is giving away Dagon: by H.P. Lovecraft. The DRM-free storefront has also added to its library with Just Cause 1 and 2, The Shore, Agony, and Tormented Souls.

Source: GOG, Epic Games Store, and Steam

Turning to in-game events now, up first is The Harvest for Hunt: Showdown from Crytek. This live event will allow players to gain legendary items and other rewards until November 9, including Legendary Hunter "The Headsman," at a cost of 1000 event points.

Along with this event arrived the game's Cold Blooded DLC, adding "The Reptilian" legendary hunter, Legendary Bomb Lance "Tooth to Tail," and a Legendary Romero 77 Talon, "Avarice."

Source: Crytek (Hunt: Showdown)

Techland too is celebrating the spooky season with a Halloween event in Dying Light adding the "Volatile Rush" challenge where every noise you make summons a Volatile. Luckily with trick-or-treat potions to aid you in combat, you have a better chance at handling them. The Van Crane Bundle has also been released and it includes a new skin and weapons.

For Dying Light 2, which is releasing February 2, the studio has released The Jonah, the first "Story from the Dying City," an animation sharing one of the legends spreading among the Villedor citizens.

Source: Press Release (Techland – Dying Light 1 & 2)

For non-Halloween news, we start with an announcement from Devolver Digital and Sheriff WolfEye Studios as Weird West has received its release date. On January 11, PC, Xbox One, and PlayStation 4 gamers will be able to enter the surreal action RPG that will tell the stories of five unique characters. To celebrate the announcement, Episode 1 of "Road to Weird West" was released, in which creative director Raf Colantonio provides an overview of the game.

Also, those who decide to pre-order the game on steam will receive a horse named Calamity. It is a dependable enemy that should prove very useful as it doubles your inventory size and enables faster travel for escaping enemies and reaching timed objectives sooner.

Source: Press Release (Devolver Digital – Weird West)

PC Building Simulator has gained a new and free expansion this week, the IT Expansion that adds over 20 hours of story content. With this expansion you can start your new job at Irratech Corporation, trying to troubleshoot problems and demonstrate your support skills. You can watch the trailer below to see what you are in for, from scheduling jobs to going offsite occasionally. You can check out the source link for more information, including the list of new components added to the game.

Source: PC Building Simulator

Square Enix announced Star Ocean the Divine Force this week, the sixth mainline entry in it series, will be releasing 2022. Despite being the sixth game, it will be telling an original story with brand-new characters, making it a good place for newcomers to the franchise to start. For fans of the series, it brings back the dual protagonist system of Star Ocean: The Second Story with Raymond and Laeticia. While the former is the captain of a space trading ship, the Ydas, the latter is a princess-knight from an underdeveloped planet, but their meeting will change the galaxy. They are not alone in the story as you will find allies, but you will need to be careful with your decisions, as that will determine who will join you and who will not.

As the debut trailer below shows, the gameplay features 3D movement as the characters will be able to fly around the world, helping you explore and initiate combat. Enemies are present in the world and not just random encounters, so you get to decide how to engage them and then apply the character's fast movements to defeat your foes.

Though we do not have a specific release date yet, Star Ocean the Divine Force will be coming to PC, Xbox One, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X/S, and PlayStation 5 when it does launch next year.

Source: Square Enix [1] (Star Ocean the Divine Force)

The Tomb Raider series has turned 25 years old and so Square Enix, Crystal Dynamics, and Eidos-Montreal are marking the occasion with sales and franchise announcements. From November 1 to November 14, those with Amazon Prime Gaming can claim a free copy of Rise of the Tomb Raider and it was announced that Feral Interactive is working with Crystal Dynamics to bring Lara Croft and the Guardian of Light and Lara Croft and the Temple of Osiris to Nintendo Switch next year. There was also some non-gaming news announced as Netflix and Legendary Television are working with Powerhouse Animation to create an anime series based on the series. The adventures of the series are set after the Survivor trilogy that ended with Shadow of the Tomb Raider in 2018. Hayley Atwell will be providing the voice of Lara Croft with Allen Maldonado voicing the tech-expert, colleague Zip, and Earl Babylon is back as the voice of Jonah Maiava.

Source: Press Release (Square Enix [2] – Tomb Raider Series) and [3]

October 22, 2021

Permalink for 'Various Video Game Stories and More from the Week of October 18, 2021'

10:13

Various Video Game Stories and More from the Week of October 18, 2021

Once again the week has reached its end, and so it is time to go through the different press releases that have collected. First up is from 2K as the publisher and Gearbox Entertainment have shared more details and a trailer for Tiny Tina's Wonderlands. Among the new information are two of the classes; the Stabbomancer and Brr-Zerker. While the former leverages stealth and blades to eliminate enemies, the latter smashes and then smashes again. Multiple environments have also been described, such as Brighthoof, the crown jewel of Queen Butt Stallion's realm, as well as her castle, Castle Sparklewithers that literally glows so bright, it bathes the world in eternal light. The Sunfang Oasis includes lush foliage, shimmering lagoons, and ancient ruins to explore, but you must be cautious of the Coiled as they try to slither closer to their prey. Lastly, of the freshly described environments, there is Tangledrift, a beanstalk that raised chunks of the world as it grew above the clouds, but just because a town is in the sky, does not mean it is safe from danger.

Tiny Tina's Wonderlands is launching of March 25, 2022 for PC, Xbox One, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X/S, and PlayStation 5.

It being October means there are going to be Halloween events in a number of games, and Splitgate is no exception with its Spookygate event. As part of this the main menu and stadium arena have been given a holiday makeover, and a special set of challenges have been added as well. By completely these challenges you can unlock three fan-created weapon skins, but these challenges are only available until November 1 and some are quicker than others to complete.

The Spookygate content was not the only thing contained in the update as there were also some handy gameplay tweaks and changes applied as well. For example, you can now re-position portals by firing the same portal at itself. This will shift the placement of the portal on the surface, so if it was just a little too high, preventing you from walking in, you can make the adjustment much more easily now.

Source: Press Release (1047 Games â Splitgate)

The Arcade Crew and Berzerk Studio have announced Infernax, an upcoming title inspired by 8-bit retro classics that will give you a demon-slaying mission for its action-adventure experience. You play as Alcedor, a great knight who returns home to find unholy magic has spread throughout and now he must wield his mace and shield to annihilate the roaming beasts. Along the way you will encounter morality decisions that will come to influence the game later, determining which of the endings you will receive. Though it is offering side-scrolling action, Infernax features an open world-style design, so there will be plenty of secrets to discover.

Along with this announcement is a trailer, but it has been age-gated as Alcedor demonstrates the skull-splitting capabilities of his mace: Infernax - Announcement Trailer. The release window is Q1 2022 and it will be arriving on PC, Xbox One, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X/S, and Nintendo Switch.

Source: Press Release (The Arcade Crew â Infernax)

Another title announced this week that we can expect next year is Souldiers from Dear Villagers and Retro Forge Games. This title promises to combine Metroidvania exploration, crunchy Soulslike combat, and precision platforming into a single experience with a pixelated aesthetic. You can play as a scout, caster, or archer as you fight for Terragaya, a land on the edge between life and death. The classes, combat, and world are all shown in the announcement trailer below.

Souldiers is aiming for a Spring 2022 release for PC and Nintendo Switch.

Source: Press Release (Dear Villagers â Souldiers)

Boomerang X has received its first major update, dubbed the Endless Update as it adds an Endless Run Mode to challenge players, but also the new Red Garden map. The new game mode features a variety of options too, so you can make it something absurdly difficult or maybe just a different flavor of what the game offers. The update is already live for owners and there is an Endless Mode standalone demo available as well, for those interested in a taste.

Source: Press Release (Devolver Digital â Boomerang X)

Koch Media and Milestone revealed this week that Hot Wheels Unleashed will be starting its DC Super-Villains Racing Season on November 11, during which players will receive free content as well as premium content that can be unlocked via new challenges. This new content includes theme customization items for the Basement location and the Player Profile, but also six themed vehicles: Bane; The Cheetah; Poison Ivy; Black Manta; Deathstroke; and Harley Quinn. The season runs until January 18, so hopefully every player interested will have enough time to enjoy it.

Also revealed was the release date for the Batman Expansion DLC that will add a Gotham-inspired Career Map, the Batcave environment, and naturally themed vehicles. These vehicles cover the Penguin, Robin 2.0T, Armored Batman, Batman Rebirth, and the Joker GT. This expansion will be available December 2 and is part of the Hot Wheels Pass Vol. 1 but will also be available separately on that day.

If Batman and DC characters are not as interesting to you, it was also announced the Hot Wheels x Gucci Cadillac Seville will be coming to the game in the coming months. A real, limited-edition 1:64 scale replica of the "Seville by Gucci" was announced recently to celebrate Gucci's 100^th anniversary. Though we do not have a release date for this vehicle to arrive in the game yet, just that it will be in the coming months, if you are looking to race around the orange track in style, this might be the car you want.

Source: Press Releases (Koch Media â Hot Wheels Unleashed)

As I said earlier, with it being October, we can expect Halloween-themed events to arrive in various games, which for Super Animal Royale means the Bwoking Dead infection mode. Until November 9 you can try to survive the Cluckles as they try to turn players into zombie-like Joe Clucks at least until they can escape the island on a Giant Eagle. The mode supports 40 players, four of which will start the match infected. Like many other infection modes, the Zombie Joes will be faster than normal players and a kill guarantees the survivor will return as a another zombie, but there is also a 10% chance to infect with your attacks. When infected, you will have ten to 20 seconds until you turn, but the other survivors will not know this, giving you the opportunity to strategically place yourself.

You can learn more about the game mode by following the source link below, including the list of cosmetics you can purchase with candy corn you collect. There are eight new cosmetics, such as the Jack-O-Cap and Pumpkin Shotgun, as well as 19 legacy cosmetics available to purchase. Game balance and quality-of-life improvements have also been delivered as part of this update.

Source: Modus Games (Super Animal Royale)

Dice Legacy is an interesting game with its mix of roguelike survival design and the city-builder genre where every action is based on dice rolls that released recently, and this week received its first free content update; the Memories update. With this new content, features, and fixes have arrived, such as a full active pause, accessibility options, and the ability to rebind hotkeys, as well as the Memories system. It is a modifier system that unlocks after you first finish the game to add to its replayability. The update is out now on PC and will be arriving on Nintendo Switch soon.

Source: Press Release (Ravenscourt â Dice Legacy)

Since the announcement a couple weeks ago, probably a lot of people have been looking forward to learning when GTA The Trilogy: The Definitive Edition will be releasing, and today the date was shared. On November 11, PC, Xbox One, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X/S, PlayStation 5, and Nintendo Switch gamers will be able to return to these classic titles, or enjoy them for the first time. That is just the digital release though, with the physical versions for the Xbox One, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X/S, and Nintendo Switch will be available on December 7.

As part of The Definitive Edition, the trilogy will have GTAV-inspired modern controls with visual enhancements across the board, including resolution upgrades and improved visual fidelity. These improvements include a rebuilt light system with better shadows, weather, and reflections, upgraded models, higher resolution textures, new foliage, smoother surfaces, and increased draw distances. The PC version specifically will support NVIDIA DLSS as well. Though the games were originally developed by Rockstar Games, this adaption to modern platforms was done by Grove Street Games using Unreal Engine.

As November 11 approaches, we can expect more information to be shared by Rockstar Games, including at the newly created site dedicate to Grand Theft Auto: The Trilogy â The Definitive Edition: rockstargames.com/GTATrilogy.

Source: Rockstar Games (GTA The Trilogy: The Definitive Edition)

Closing out this week is a behind-the-scenes video from Slocap for the upcoming Kung Fu action game, Sifu. The video features the motion capture work done to ensure the game's combat will be realistic as you hunt down the assassins that murdered your family. The collaboration between the developer and combat choreograph Benjamin Colussi spanned months and included the early development phase of the game. The main character's movements are in fact inspired by Colussi and his approach to Pak Mei Kung Fu. He created over 200 moves for the main character, covering hand-to-hand combat as well as the use of various weapons, and they will have an authentic feel to them while also being visually impressive.

Sifu is set to launch February 22 on PC, PlayStation 4, and PlayStation 5.

Source: Press Release (Slocap â Sifu)

October 15, 2021

Permalink for 'Various Video Game Stories and More from the Week of October 11, 2021'

10:04

Various Video Game Stories and More from the Week of October 11, 2021

Another week has come to its end and so it is time to go through the various press releases that have arrived in my inbox. Starting this one off with some news you very possibly already saw but arrived just after I posted last week's collection; Grand Theft Auto: The Trilogy â The Definitive Edition. This month marks twenty years since Grand Theft Auto III released, bringing the franchise to three dimensions and placing players in Liberty City, and so there is no better time to announce this new title that contains that as well as GTA: Vice City and GTA: San Andreas. The trilogy will be arriving on the Rockstar Games Launcher for PC, Xbox One, Play Station 4, Xbox Series X/S, PlayStation 5, and Nintendo Switch later this year. In the first half of next year it will come to both iOS and Android as well, so if you want it, there are plenty of places you will be able to play it.

In addition to that news, GTA Online is also celebrating the anniversary with triple rewards in Sum, and those who log in before October 20 will get a free GTA III themed Rockstar Games Typeface Tee in-game. We can also expect more commemorative clothing and liveries to arrive as the celebration continues.

Source: Rockstar Games [1] (Grand Theft Auto: The Trilogy â The Definitive Edition) and [2] (GTA Online)

The first news I have from this week is also from a 2K published game as Borderlands 3 has begun Maurice's Community Carnage Challenges event, and with it a free weekend. The game will be free to play on Steam and Google Stadia until October 18, while the Xbox version will only be free until October 17, as will be the PlayStation version, but it requires an active PlayStation Plus membership.

The first of Maurice's challenges is to collect 500,000 body parts from the Traunt family, which means killing Captain Traunt on Athenas, General Traunt on Nekrotafeyo, and Captain Haunt in Heck, if you have the Bloody Harvest event active. If the community is able to collect enough parts, a SHiFT code will be released to grant a Ratch Rider head to all who redeem it, and the second challenge will be revealed. You can check out the first source link below to follow the currently active challenge.

By the way, if you try the game during the free weekend and find you enjoy it enough to want a copy, a physical version of the Ultimate Edition for the Xbox Series X and PlayStation 5 has been recently announced. Obviously you will need the version of these consoles that has a disc drive, but they will be available starting November 12.

Source: 2K [1] (Borderlands 3 â Maurice's Community Carnage Challenges) and [2] (Borderlands 3 â Free Weekend)

We're still a couple weeks away, but Square Enix has released the launch trailer for Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy. It is set to "Kickstart My Heart" by MÃ¶tley CrÃ¼e and shows off some of the chaos that can be expected as this group of misfits work together to save the galaxy. The game releases on October 26 for PC, Xbox One, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X/S, PlayStation 5, GeForce NOW, and the Cloud Version for the Nintendo Switch, though only in select regions.

Source: Press Release (Square Enix â Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy)

Lastly for the gaming news, we have some from Techland for Dying Light 2 with a short documentary describing the inspiration of the soundtrack as well as how it will match the game's setting and experience. It is pretty interesting to watch and listen to, in part because of the different challenges that had to be overcome, such as having to record the orchestra in separate sections and sessions, instead of all together. You can watch it here: "Run, Jump, Fight" â Making of Main Theme From Dying Light 2 Stay Human.

Also shared this week was another episode of Dying 2 Know More with this one giving information about the City Alignment system; how choices will influence the game world and restore abandoned structures. These structures will be occupied by one of the factions in the game, and it will come to represent the philosophy of the faction you assign it to. With a structure restored, it can open up access to vendors with unique items as well as new quests and collectibles.

Dying Light 2 is launching February 4, 2022 on Pc, Xbox One, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X/S, PlayStation 5, and the Cloud Version for the Nintendo Switch.

Source: Press Releases (Techland â Dying Light 2)

For those still playing Dying Light, Techland has expanded its Hellraid DLC with a new map section and quest. The reward for the quest is magic by granting the player the Fire Wand for shooting fireballs and the Wand Mastery Skill. Earning it will be a challenge though as failure is not tolerate. The quest must be completed in a single run, so if you lose all of your lives, your progress will be reset. Luckily potions of Endurance, Power, and Speed have been added as well to help you on your journey.

Also, an update has been released for the Be The Zombie mode, and you can check out its patch notes with the second source link below.

Source: Press Release (Techland â Dying Light) and Steam (Dying Light: Be The Zombie patch notes)

Apparently it has been five years since AMD launched its Ryzen line of processors, and it has certainly been an interesting half-decade of technological advancement. To mark the occasion, the company put out a video featuring John Taylor and Robert Hallock, the Chief Marketing Officer and Director of Technical Marketing, respectively, to talk about not only these five years, but also the future for AMD processors, making it an interesting video to watch. Among the topics is what can be expected for the next generation platform, as the current AM4 platform is at or near end-of-life status. There have already been leaks and rumors about the potential AM5 platform, such as switching from PGA to LGA, but also what other technologies it will support. It was stated quite clearly it will support both DDR5 and PCIe 5, but also AMD is working to maintain compatibility with AM4-designed coolers.

Though there was talk of the next platform, it was also stated the 3D V-Cache technology previously shown off will be arriving on AM4 early next year. For those who do not remember, this allows additional L3 cache to be attached to the top of Zen 3 compute dies, and this additional cache alone can result in significant performance improvements. Zen 4 is also targeting a 2022 release, though it would be later in the year.

Intel will soon be releasing its Alder Lake design that uses multiple core designs, making it possible for tasks to be run on a high efficiency or high performance core, depending on what is most appropriate. AMD is also looking into mixed-core designs and while there were no real details given, it was said the plan is to apply the philosophy behind the Zen cores and looking at the range they offer, from low power to high performance. Importantly it was also mentioned AMD will not need to explore configurations that may be harder to address in software.

Two additional topics mentioned were the use of accelerators and what is being done for improving power efficiency. They can see how building certain accelerators into the chip could be useful, with examples being adding noise-cancellation into the silicon directly, as well as AI/ML accelerators that could be leveraged for improving performance. On the power efficiency front, the company is apparently working on a new solution that it sounds like is far more granular and intelligent than we have today. Instead of having power states based just on how great the load is, it would consider the task being done. Also designing power states to turn off more parts of a chip, such as CPU and GPU cores to reduce power consumption when those parts are not needed.

As I said, it is an interesting video so you may wish to watch it yourself to hear all of what was said.

Source: YouTube Video (AMD)

Lastly, here is some news some of you may have been looking forward to as Noctua has released chromax.black versions of its NH-U12A CPU cooler and NF-A12x25 fans. These fans are considered some of the best 120 mm fans you can find today with their ability to move a significant amount of air while still being very quiet. The NH-U12A comes equipped with two of them and has a special asymmetric design to provide superior RAM clearance and cooling efficiency. However, some do not care for the brown and tan coloring Noctua products typically come with, which is why the Chromax line exists.

The cooler and fan as well as NA-HC7 in chromax.black and NA-HC8 in chromax.black and chromax.white heatsink covers are available now. The covers are priced at $19.90, the fan at $32.90, and the cooler at $119.90.

Source: Noctua

October 13, 2021

Permalink for 'Acer Announces Several Products at Holiday Global Press Conference'

10:30

Acer Announces Several Products at Holiday Global Press Conference

Today Acer held its Holiday Global Press Conference where it announced several new products from the ConceptD 7 SpatialLabs Edition laptop, to new Vero devices, and even a Predator gaming projector. If you are looking for a new system, it is possible the company announced something that might fit your needs. The press conference was streamed on YouTube and I have placed the embed of the recording at the end of this item, for those interested in watching it.

Covering the gaming products first, we have the Predator GD711 projector as well as the new Predator Orion 7000 desktop and a 55 inch Predator Gaming Desk. The Orion 7000 will be available in the second quarter of 2022, but with that wait comes Intel 12^th Gen Core processors paired with up to 64 GB of DDR5-4000 RAM and up to an NVIDIA RTX 3090, so it should be able to handle most any game you can throw at it. The case features tempered glass side panels that are EMI compliant and at the front a pair of Predator FrostBlade 2.0 140 mm fans can be spotted with their ARGB LEDs while another 120 mm fan is at the rear. In addition to that airflow to keep things cool, the CPU will use an AIO cooler. As for other specifications, it can have up to two 1 TB m.2 SSDs utilizing PCIe 4.0 NVMe and during the video it was said PCIe Gen 5 will be supported when drives are available. If that is not enough storage, it can have two 3.5 inch drives, up to 3 TB each, and sports a 2.5 inch USB 3.2 Type-C hotswap drive bay. For connectivity you have three USB 3.2 Type-A ports, one USB 3.2 2x2 Type-C port, two USB 2.0 ports, and three audio jacks on the back with three Type-A ports, one Type-C, and two audio jacks on the front panel. The Orion 7000 also features Intel Wi-Fi 6E with 2x2 MU-MIMO for wireless connectivity and Intel Killer 2.5G LAN for wired network access.

The gaming projectors are the Predator GD711 and Predator GM712 with the former being a smart 4K LED project while the latter is lamp-based. The GD711 is able to cover 125% of the Rec. 709 color gamut, offers 4000 LED lumens, a high dynamic contrast ratio, and HDR10 support. In its standard mode it projects at 3840x2160 but also has two game modes for bright and dark scenes. It supports variable refresh rate as well, but in this mode it will only offer a resolution of 1920x1080, but at 240 Hz for PC and 120 Hz for console. Its throw ratio is 1.22 so it can give you a 100 inch screen from just 2.70 meters away. For connectivity it has two HDMI 2.0 ports, audio out for connecting additional speakers, three USB Type-A ports with special purposes. One for the projector's hidden wireless dongle, one for connecting wireless accessories, and then one with DC 5V out that can also be used for updating its firmware. The GD711 will be available in the EMEA region in December while the GM712 will be available in January for the same region.

The Predator Gaming Desk provides a 55 inch space for your system, monitor, accessories, and everything else we collect on our desks. There are two surfaces to choose from with one being carbon fiber that is easy to clean and another covered with a Predator mouse pad. The desk has a rack for storing controllers and game cartridges, a headphone hook, cup holder, and a tray in the back for AC power adapters. It will be available in the EMEA region in December.

Source: Acer [1] (Predator Lineup)

Acer recently launched its Aspire Vero laptop that features a more environmentally friendly design by using post-consumer recycled (PCR) plastic as well as being upgradeable, so you do not need to replace the entire system when a simpler upgrade will get you the performance you need. As part of this event Acer announced multiple additions to this lineup, including the TravelMate Vero, Veriton Vero, and even the Vero BR277 monitor. This is a 1920x1080, 27 in monitor and naturally is Energy Star, TCO, and EPEAT certified. The display's housing is made from 50% PCR plastic and it the panel can be dimmed down to just 15% brightness, which is dimmer than most monitors currently available, for when you do not need the extra light or want to use less power. The Acer Ergostand supports tilt, swivel, pivot, and is height adjustable. It will be available in March, starting at $299.

The TravelMate laptop line targets professionals, and the new TravelMate Vero offers a case made with 30% PCR plastic and can be easily upgraded and repaired. Inside the laptop is an 11^th Gen Intel CPU, up to a Core i7 paired with 16 GB of DDR4 and 1 TB of SSD storage. It does offer discrete TPM for enterprise level security and manageability and will support the different security features of Windows 11 Pro with Acer ProShield Plus security. This will be available in January and start at $899.99.

Next we have the Veriton Vero Mini, a compact desktop with 25% of its case made from PCR plastic. It utilizes Intel Core vPro CPUs and offers Wi-Fi 6 or Wi-Fi 6E connectivity along with multiple USB and display ports. Looking at the pictures it seems there are two Type-A ports on the front as well as a Type-C port, but I cannot see a view of the back panel.

Source: Acer [2] (Vero Lineup)

Something announced at a prior press conference was Acer's SpatialLabs technology that uses a lenticular display to recreate 3D images without the need for special glasses. Though it had been limited to professionals that joined the SpatialLabs development program, now the ConceptD 7 SpatialLabs Edition laptop has been announced, which will be available some time in 2022. It will be powered by an 11^th Gen Intel Core H CPU paired with up to an RTX 3080 laptop GPU and up to 64 GB of DDR4 RAM, so it should be able to handle a great deal of what you throw at it. The display is PANTONE validated with 100% Adobe RGB coverage and at 4K resolution. With stereo cameras it will track eye positions and movements to correctly display stereographic images for the 3D effect, and with AI technologies it will be able to create 3D content from 2D images. In the video it was mentioned that this could be applied to games as well as teleconferencing, though the latter would require the other party also use a SpatialLabs device. The SpatialLabs Model Viewer supports multiple formats and there are add-ons for applications such as Autodesk Fusion 360 and Zbrush to make reviewing designs in 3D easy. There is also an Unreal Engine plug-in and new support for Ultraleap Hand Tracking, making it possible interaction with virtual objects possible without special input devices.

Separate from this special edition laptop, Aver has also announced new ConceptD 3 laptops, including a 16-in clamshell model and 15.6 in convertible that comes with a Wacom EMR pen. The clamshell design will be available in January starting at $1699.99 and $1899.99 for the Pro version while the convertible Concept 3 Ezel will be available in November at $1899.99 and the Ezel Pro in January starting at $1999.99.

Source: Acer [3] (ConceptD 7 SpatialLabs Edition)

Though not shown in the conference, Acer has also announced today two new monitors and an ultra-short throw projector; the L811. This laser projector is able to produce a 120-in image from just 0.312 meters away, is HDR10 compatible, and provides 4K resolution. It even supports 3D Blu-ray at 144 Hz 24P and offers a 2,000,000:1 contrast ratio.

As for the monitors, we have the Nitro XB272U KF, a 27 in 1440p display with a 300 Hz refresh rate and AMD FreeSync Premium support. Its gray-to-gray response time is stated to be 0.5 ms and it offers 90% coverage of DCI-P3 for DisplayHDR 600 certification.

The CB273U monitor also features a 27 in, 1440p display but I do not see a mention for its refresh rate. It is an IPS panel though and display 8-bit colors. The dock offers a 90 W USB Type-C port for powering laptops, an RJ45 Gigabit Ethernet port, and a built-in KVM switch.

The L811 project is to be available in the EMEA region in November while the two monitors are coming to North America in November. The Nitro XV272U KF will cost $1099.99 while the CB273U will be priced at $439.99.

Source: Acer [4] (Monitors)

Rounding this out, Acer has expanded its antimicrobial product portfolio, which uses a silver-ion agent on surfaces to prevent microbes from growing and spreading. The new products to offer this are the Enduro Urban N3 laptop and Urban T3 tablet, which already offer a durable design, the TravelMate Spin P4 business-grade convertible laptop, VE246Q 23.6 in FHD monitor, KM501 Bluetooth Keyboard and Mouse, and the eco-shell jacket. You can check out the source link for more information on these products, including availability and pricing.

Source: Acer [5] (Antimicrobial Product Portfolio)

October 08, 2021

Permalink for 'Various Video Game Stories and More from the Week of October 4, 2021'

10:28

Various Video Game Stories and More from the Week of October 4, 2021

Once again, the week is coming to its conclusion and so it is time to collect together some of the video game news from recent days. Actually it has been somewhat light for specific game news, at least for what has arrived in my inbox, but then this week also has seen what could prove to be one of the largest leaks in video game community.

On Wednesday some 125 GB was leaked with the anonymous hacker source claiming it contains the entirety of Twitch, from source code to user payout information. According to Twitch though, there is "no indication login credentials have been exposed," though the company is continuing to investigate. If you have a Twitch account, it might not be a bad idea to enable two-factor authentication and possibly change your password, if only out of an abundance of caution. The streaming site has reset all stream keys, so if you stream to the platform and rely on that method as opposed to logging in to your account, you will need to update the key in your software. For those concerned about credit card information, Twitch has stated that is not stored by the site, so they were not exposed.

According to Twitch, an error in a server configuration left it exposed to the Internet, and this is what allowed the data to be downloaded. According to the Video Games Chronicle reporting, the leaker is claiming this is in an effort to disrupt Twitch's dominance and support competition in video streaming, because of the "disgusting toxic cesspool" its community has become. The leaker also claims to have more data to share, with this leak just being the first part but there is no indication of what more there is to come.

It is important to note that with the source code for Twitch now exposed, as well as information on its clients, IGDB, CurseForge, and some unreleased software including a potential Steam competitor called Vapor, there could be more risks to come. Such information may enable new vulnerabilities to be found by malicious actors, and the situation itself may prompt phishing attempts as well, so, as always, practice caution with your online activities.

Source: Video Games Chronicle and Twitch

Coming to some more positive news, Devolver Digital and developer Daniel Mullins have shared a developer walkthrough for upcoming title Inscryption. The game is a card-based combination of roguelike gameplay with escape-roomy style puzzles and psychological horror, and if that sounds weird, be sure to watch the walkthrough. It may prompt more questions than answers, but at least you get a look at how the gameplay goes.

Inscryption is to release on October 19 and is 10% off on Steam until then.

Source: Press Release (Devolver Digital – Inscryption)

Prime Matter has shared a video and voice actor information for the upcoming Gungrave G.O.R.E.. This resurrection of the Gungrave franchise will still feature Tomokazu Seki as Grave's voice, and he is not the only returning actor from prior games in the series. Fumihiko Tachiki will be voicing Bunji and Kumi Sakuma as Mika once again. Joining the cast are Masami Iwasaki and Akio Otsuka with the former voicing Ganpo, the boss of the Raven Clan, and the latter Zell Condorbrave, an immortal mercenary captain.

The new video is behind an age-gate on YouTube but features Tetsuya Shibata and Yoshino Aoki, the composers for this game's soundtrack. Both of these composers previously worked on Final Fantasy XV with Shibata also composing for Devil May Cry and Aoki worked on Breath of Fire. You can find the trailer here: Gungrave G.O.R.E - Behind the music of G.O.R.E.

Source: Prime Matter (Gungrave G.O.R.E.)

Square Enix has shared a few trailers this week for the upcoming Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy with one featuring Cosmo, the space dog. He has appeared in other trailers, but this latest one features him and his puppies communicating with the Guardians. As the Chief of Security for Knowhere, he too has an interesting in the events the team has found themselves in and thus helps them on their mission, at least if Rocket is not too annoying, it seems.

Also released this week is information on the game's soundtrack, including "Zero to Hero," a new song performed by the Star-Lord Band for an unapologetically 80s music video. (Zero to Hero Animated Music Video) The company has also shared the 30 licensed tracks the game will include, with songs from Motley Crue, Pay Benetar, BLONDIE, and plenty more. Reading through the list, Rick Astley's "Never Gonna Give You Up" appears, which I guess is not too surprising, but it will be interesting to see how it is used.

Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy is scheduled to release on October 26 for PC, Xbox One, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X/S, PlayStation 5, NVIDIA GeForce Now, and the Nintendo Switch with the game's Cloud Version.

Source: Press Releases (Square Enix – Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy) and Square Enix (Licensed Tracklist)

Also announced this week by Square Enix is the released date for Stranger of Paradise Final Fantasy Origin, with this action RPG releasing on March 18 for PC, Xbox One, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X/S, and PlayStation 5. Coming from Team NINJA, KOEI TECMO GAMES, and Tetsuya Nomura this title is to bring a new version to the Final Fantasy series to appeal to existing fans and new players. As Jack and his allies enter the Chaos Shrine, they will have to prove they are truly the Warriors of Light to survive the challenging and strategic action gameplay the game will offer.

Along with the release date announcement is a trailer, but it is age-gated: Stranger of Paradise Final Fantasy Origin | Release Date Announcement Trailer. For those interested in the game, a new version of its trial has been released, though only for the Xbox Series X/S and PlayStation 5. The changes were made in response to the feedback from the first version, with visual improvements, rebalanced actions, tweaks to the companion AI, and the ability to customize companions as well.

Source: Square Enix (Stranger of Paradise Final Fantasy Origin)

Techland has shared another episode of Dying 2 Know More, giving more information and insight into Dying Light 2's soundtrack by an interview with composer Olivier Derivière. In the video we get to see a custom instrument built specifically to provide in-game sounds, as well as some of the inspiration behind the game's main theme of "Run, Jump, Fight."

The custom instrument designed by Nicolas Bras is called the Electric Psaltery and is meant to look like an instrument that could have been built in the game, having been constructed from an old bicycle wheel, steel rod, metal wires, and more you could find in the City. It can be played by plucking or bowing its strings with the different sounds corresponding to specific characters. The "wheel of fate" at the top can also be heard in game whenever you make a major decision.

Dying Light 2 is scheduled to release on February 4, 2022 for PC, Xbox One, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X/S, PlayStation 5, and Nintendo Switch with a Cloud Version.

Source: Press Release (Techland – Dying Light 2)

Closing things out is some news from Acer as it has announced three new laptops, and their availability. Among these three is the Aspire Vero as it is now available for purchase. For those unfamiliar with it, this laptop has been designed to be eco-friendly by using post-consumer recycled (PCR) plastic in its case and keyboard and completely recyclable packaging. It is EPEAT Silver certified as Acer kept to certain environmental criteria including substance management, materials selection, energy consumption, and product longevity. The case is made from 30% PCR plastic and the keyboard's caps are 50% PCR plastic. Also to reduce the environmental impact, no paint is used on the surface of the laptop's case, and the VeroSense software has modes optimized for energy efficiency. The Vero offers up to an 11^th Gen Intel Core i7 CPU that can be paired with up to a 512 GB m.2 SSD. The display is a 15.6 in FHD IPS that is powered by the Iris Xe graphics of the CPU and it sports Intel Wi-Fi 6, one USB Type-C port, two USB 3.2 ports, and an HDMI 2.0 port.

The Aspire Vero is available now, though only in a higher-end configuration that starts at $899.99. For a less expensive model using a Core i5, 8 GB of DDR4 memory and a 256 GB SSD priced at $699.99, you will have to wait until a little later this month.

Another laptop announced was the Swift 5, an ultrathin and light device that can still come with a Core i7 CPU and meets the requirements of the Intel Evo platform. It is able to offer 17 hours of battery life, which was tested with video playback and additional configuration details can be found in the footnotes of the source link below. The Swift 5 weighs in at 2.29 pounds thanks to its magnesium lithium and magnesium aluminum chassis, enabling strength without adding much to the mass. Its touchscreen display has a layer of Antimicrobial Corning Gorilla Glass, while the case, touchpad, keyboard, and other covers on the device have had an aBRP and EPA-compliant silver-ion treatment applied to be antimicrobial. The display is a 14 in FHD panel with a 340 nit brightness rating and 100% sRGB coverage.

The Swift 5 is available now with a starting price of $1099.99.

Lastly we have the Nitro 5 that features a 144 Hz display for an improved gaming experience. There is both a 15.6 in and 17.3 in model to choose from that can be paired with a Core i5 or Core i7 CPU and NVIDIA GTX 1650 or RTX 3050 Ti GPU.

Available in the middle of this month, the Nitro 5 will be priced at $769.99 for the 15.6 in model with Core i5, 8 GB of DDR4, and 256 GB SSD while the 17.3 in model with Core i7, 16 GB of DDR4, and 1 TB SSD will be $1199.99.

All three of these laptops will support Windows 11, and later this month both the Swift 5 and Nitro 5 will be available with it pre-installed.

Source: Acer

October 01, 2021

Permalink for 'Various Video Game Stories and More from the Week of September 27, 2021'

10:05

Various Video Game Stories and More from the Week of September 27, 2021

The week has come to its end, which means it is also time to go through some of the news from it, starting with a bit of time-sensitive news. GOG is turning 13 years old and naturally is celebrating with a sale that goes until October 6 as well as some additions to its library. These additions are Blood Omen: Legacy of Kain that brings you to the beginning of the Nosgoth saga as well as Elvira: Mistress of the Dark and Elvira II: The Jaws of Cerberus, vintage games from the cult horror series. All three of those are on sale at 10% off but you can find over one hundred more discounted by up to 90% as part of the Anniversary Party sale.

Source: GOG (Anniversary Party)

There is another anniversary being celebrated this week as the Civilization series turns 30 , so 2K and Firaxis have put together a trailer to celebrate the player, and Sid Meier has written a blog post about the franchise's three decades. If you, like many of us have had those "Just one more turn" moments into the early morning or managed to lead a people from ancient times to the space age, you may want to check this out.

Source: 2K/Civilization

Splitgate has received a significant update this week with such changes as improvements to the mantling system and support for NVIDIA Reflex. With the new mantling system it should be easier for players to climb ledges and apply verticality in combat, and by having it apply the jetpack, there is no animation to interfere with your gameplay. NVIDIA Reflex should help to cut down on latency that may make the difference in a match, but does require an NVIDIA GPU to utilize. Voice chat has been improved and featured playlists that will rotate each weekend have been introduced as well. A pretty neat feature to arrive with this update is to customize the color and enemy and friendly players' armor and outline colors, so instead of your team being blue and the enemy being red all the time, you can make them what you want.

You can check out the source link or the video to learn more about this update.

Source: 1047 Games (Splitgate)

The Arcade Crew and developer 1P2P Studio have announced Young Souls is coming to PC, Xbox One, PlayStation 4, and Nintendo Switch in Q4 2021. Originally an exclusive to Google Stadia, Young Souls is a co-op RPG, beat 'em up that follows misfit twins as they explore various realms to find their guardian, a professor who vanished just before they found a portal in his estate. Training during the day and adventuring at night, Jenn and Tristan face immeasurable dangers to find the professor and protect the world from the monsters beyond the Moon Gate portal.

For those not so interested in waiting for the full release, from October 1 to 7, a demo will be available on Steam as part of its Next Fest. This demo covers the game's opening battles and sets the stage for the eventual showdown.

Source: Press Release (The Arcade Crew â Young Souls) and Young Souls Steam Store Page

HandyGames has released a new trailer for A Rat's Quest: The Way Back Home that features Mat the rat sharing how he found himself so far from his home and his true love. After escaping from a well he was thrown in, he will have to cross a significant distance to return to the house, climbing, jumping, crawling, slithering, and sneaking along the way. It will not all just be travelling though, as there will be boss encounters to overcome in addition to the natural threats and over 200 voiced cinematics telling the tale as well. You can check out the new trailer below for a better glimpse of what we can expect when the game releases.

Source: HandyGames (A Rat's Quest: The Way Back Home)

Prime Matter has shared a couple stories as part of the Tokyo Game Show 2021, including the announcement of Ikumi Nakamura being involved in the development of Gungrave G.O.R.E. Yasuhiro Nightow, the creator of anti-hero Grave, revealed Nakamura has been heavily involved in development, bringing her own style to the game while helping Studio IGGYMOB achieve their vision for this sequel. You may be familiar with her work as lead art designer for The Evil Within and The Evil Within 2, creative director for Ghostwire: Tokyo, an artist on Okami and senior artist on Bayonetta.

In Gungrave G.O.R.E. you play as the anti-hero Grave as he tears through enemies with a ballet of bullets and third-person action. Though it is a sequel and resurrection for the Gungrave franchise, it will also serve as a standalone story for a new generation of gamers and consoles. Along with the announcement was an extended cut cinematic trailer that includes the first look at gameplay, but it is age-restricted on YouTube, so here is the link: Gungrave G.O.R.E - Gameplay Reveal + Extended Cinematic Trailer [ESRB].

Source: Prime Matter [1] (Gungrave G.O.R.E. â Source in German)

Also announced by Prime Matter at the Tokyo Game Show 2021 were character reveals for The King of Fighters XV. Isla and K' are new characters joining the roster with the former featuring similar powers to Shun'ei, her rival. K', on the other hand, is a modified human with genes transplanted from Kyo Kusanagi and a mixed personality as an utterly blunt introvert. He has the power to wield fire and uses it in his fights as he tries to regain his lost memories.

Both new characters are featured in their own trailers and you can follow these links to check them out: KOF XV?ISLA?Trailer #30 and KOF XV?K'?Trailer #31.

Source: Prime Matter [2] (The King of Fighters XV â Source in German)

Square Enix has shared a few things this week, including the announcement of Dungeon Encounters, a single-player dungeon exploration RPG that will be coming to PC, PlayStation 4, and Nintendo Switch on October 14. The game has been directed by Hiroyuki Ito, a veteran of the Final Fantasy series and producer for Final Fantasy XII The Zodiac Age and will test players with its 100 levels of challenges. With its 2D grid-based movement, players are to explore the otherworldly labyrinth filled with obstacles and monsters, making it necessary to strategize to survive.

You can watch the announcement trailer below and if this seems like a game for you, there is be a 20% discount on Steam and the Nintendo Switch until late October. It will enter the PlayStation Store on October 14 and those with a PlayStation Plus membership will see the 20% discount applied if they purchase it before October 28.

Source: Square Enix [1] (Dungeon Encounters)

Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy is set to release on October 26 for PC, Xbox One, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X/S, PlayStation 5, and GeForce NOW alongside a Cloud Version for the Nintendo Switch, and this week the PC Tech Trailer was released, showcasing the different features that will be available to PC gamers. Like many of the latest AAA titles, it will support real-time ray tracing and diffuse illumination along with HDR and wide color gamut. Though it might be hard to find the hardware to play it on, the game will also support resolutions up to 8K. For those with an NVIDIA RTX graphics card, it will also employ DLSS to help improve performance through AI-enhanced upscaling. You can check out the trailer below to see the impact these technologies can have on the visual experience.

Source: Press Release (Square Enix [2] â Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy)

Lastly for Square Enix, the release date for Life Is Strange: Remastered Collection has been announced as February 1, 2022. Players will get to experience Max's rewind ability and Chloe's quick-witted attitude with remastered visuals with an improved engine and lighting upgrades, and even new motion captured facial animation for Life is Strange. The Life is Strange: Before the Storm Remastered will include the game's Deluxe content, such as the Farewell episode and Zombie Crypt outfit. When it launches, the collection will be available on PC, Xbox One, PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch, and Google Stadia.

Source: Press Release (Square Enix [3] â Life is Strange: Remastered Collection)

Dying 2 Know: Episode 4 released this week from Techland, giving us the next glimpse into Dying Light 2, and with this episode we got a closer look at the game's setting of The City as well as the music recording process for Olivier Deriviere's compositions. It was also revealed that actress Rosario Dawson has lent her talent to the major in-game character Lawan, a woman seeking revenge on the people who wronged her, but through the player's choices she can become obsessed with her goals and rage, or develop into a nightrunner with the purpose of helping others.

Dying Light 2 is scheduled to launch on February 4 for PC, Xbox One, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X/S, PlayStation 5 and Nintendo Switch for the Cloud Version. Originally the Switch version was going to come after the others, but perhaps with the recent delay to February, it will now be a simultaneous release across all of these platforms. For those Switch players interested in the series, Dying Light Platinum Edition will be coming to the Nintendo console on October 19.

Source: Press Releases (Techland â Dying Light 2)

Now for some non-gaming news and the first piece can be described as the end of an era as Silicon Lottery is shutting down on October 31. For those unaware, Silicon Lottery is a store front with the somewhat niche business of binning CPUs for overclocking potential, as well as de-lidding processors to apply superior thermal paste. Unfortunately as both AMD and Intel have made significant advances in boost technologies and both now employ solid TIM to connect the dies to the heat spreader, the market for this store has reduced. Additionally, the company has suffered from supply issues with significant delays for recent releases.

Though the store is shutting down, Silicon Lottery does note in its announcement that it could return in the future. It depends on the market and if we see overclocking headroom open up again or if the variation between parts increases in the future. Some parts today are binned versions of others, making the extra binning of Silicon Lottery less necessary for many, further reducing the niche the store served.

Source: Silicon Lottery

Lastly are some announcements from UL Benchmarks starting with an update to 3DMark that adds Steam achievements and trading cards, for those with a Steam copy. There are 17 of these new achievements and some old ones have been updated as well, giving owners a chance to unlock them again with newer benchmarks and test. Some were also removed for being too difficult or incompatible with modern hardware. As for the trading cards, there are six that can be earned with each featuring a character from the software's benchmarks. These have been rendered at a high resolution and you can even open the cards up to view the uncropped 1920x1080 version of the art.

The other announcement is that UL Benchmark's different tools will be ready for Windows 11 when it releases on October 5. There may be some minor updates so the UI and results files can properly detect the new OS, but 3DMark, PCMark 10, VRMark, UL Procyon, and Testdriver, the last two target professional users, are compatible with Windows 11, and in the case of PCMark 10, it is compatible with Microsoft Office 2021. In the future the company does intend to add support for Virtualization-based Security, VBS, a technology that can reduce performance and will be enabled with a fresh install of the operating system, but not when upgrading from Windows 10.

Source: UL Benchmarks [1] (3DMark Update) and [2] (Windows 11)

September 24, 2021

Permalink for 'Various Video Game Stories and More from the Week of September 20, 2021'

10:31

Various Video Game Stories and More from the Week of September 20, 2021

With another week coming to a close we have another batch of video game news items to go through, starting with one from The Arcade Crew as The Last Spell has received a major update. This Early Access game, which I greatly enjoyed when reviewing, is a roguelite tactical RPG that pits players against hordes of enemies trying to swarm the final remnants of humanity. The only hope is to hold them off long enough so the Last Spell can be cast, bringing an end to magic and the monsters. With this update the game gains a new map, Glenwald that is filled with obstacles that contains Mist Censers that hide parts of the map as well as enemy. You can also expect to find the new Guardian enemy that will apply defensive buffs to its cohorts around it. Three new Apocalypse levels have been added as well, for those that want to increase the difficulty.

You can check out the update's trailer below, my review is linked above, and if either or both make the game interesting to you, it is 10% off until September 30.

Source: The Last Spell Steam News

It has been a while since hearing anything on this, but Deep Silver and FISHLABS has not only released a new trailer for Chorus, an upcoming space-shooter, but revealed the launch date of December 3. In the game you play as Nara, an ace pilot who once served the cult known as the Circle and the Great Prophet, but after witnessing a world's destruction, left that life. The Circle has come for her, so now she must once again be the expert pilot of her sentient starfighter, Forsaken, to survive and stop the cult.

The new trailer is Chorus 101 and gives players a better sense of what to expect in a few months, between Nara's powers, Forsaken's weapons, and some of the locations you both will be visiting to unveil the truth. The game will be available on PC, Xbox One, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X/S, PlayStation 5, Google Stadia, Amazon Luna, and pre-orders are available now. Those who pre-order will receive the Elder Armor skin set, with its gold and purple livery that harkens back to Nara's time in the military.

Source: Press Release (Deep Silver – Chorus)

Inscryption from Devolver Digital and Daniel Mullins has had its release date revealed as October 19. In this roguelike deck building game you have been trapped by Leshy and must build your deck by draft, surgery, and self-mutilation to learn what is beyond the walls of the cabin you are held in. The game offers a blend of escape-room style puzzles and psychological horror with its roguelike design and you can check out the trailer below or its Steam demo to learn more.

Source: Press Release (Devolver Digital – Inscryption)

Another Early Access game to receive an update this week was Phantom Abyss from Devolver Digital and Team WIBY. With its Invasion update, the asynchronous, procedurally generated, multi-player, game has new enemies, relics, phantoms, and more traps to challenge you as you race through temples to find and claim relics. Those are not the only changes though as temples now offer a single path to the Inferno, which holds the key to releasing the phantoms and sealing the temple forever. If you would rather collect a different relic and escape, you still can, unless someone got their first and have left you with a bag of sand as your prize. Check out the trailer below to see some of the new traps, such as homing bombs, dark mines, vertical spinning blades, and more.

If Phantom Abyss seems like your kind of game, it is on sale at 25% off from now until September 27.

Source: Press Release (Devolver Digital – Phantom Abyss)

HandyGames had a public showcase for Indie's Paradise 2021 this week, giving us a look at multiple games over its 36 minutes. You can watch it below to see Airhead, A Rat's Quest, Endling, One Hand Clapping, Perish, De-Exit – Eternal Matters, Scarf, and Townsmen VR, though the last three and their press releases I will cover below. With bookmarks in the YouTube video, you can easily skip to just the game you are interested in by looking at its description.

Source: HandyGames [1] (Indie's Paradise 2021)

First up of the three press releases is that for De-Exit – Eternal Matters, a game set after death where you wake up in a surreal world and are faced with events that threaten your new existence. With the world collapsing around you, you must be the hero to save it by avoiding conflict with steal, and solving puzzles.

Source: HandyGames [2] (De-Exit – Eternal Matters)

Next up we have Scarf, a 3D adventure platforming game where you will be accompanied through the environment with Scarf, a magical, shapeshifting creature you have known since birth. It needs help though, to find a way back home and to its mother, requiring you go on an odyssey to find the keys that were stolen. As you progress Scarf gains new abilities that will help you continue on, through new challenges to explore the stunning world.

Source: HandyGames [3] (SCARF)

Lastly of the separate press releases there is an update for Townsmen VR as it enters its final stage in Early Access. With this update you are no longer restrained to a single island but will be able to build you empire across 13 islands as you progress through the campaign. There are also over twenty resources, twenty buildings, and more than thirty upgrades and add-ons for these buildings. There is even a trading system with a harbor, ships, and marketplace, but also pirates and shady merchants to be weary of. You can check out the showcase below to see what you can get your giant virtual hands on.

Source: HandyGames [4] (Townsmen VR)

Koch Media and Playcorp have released Beyond Contact, a new survival game to Steam Early Access this week that strands you on a hostile and undiscovered world. To survive you will need to explore, gather, innovate, and craft, but with the world's fauna, flora, and extreme weather you cannot expect it to be easy. Fortunately the narrative driven quests will keep you on track and you will be able to work with alien civilizations to learn more about the world and discover new technologies.

Source: Press Release (Koch Media – Beyond Contact)

Square Enix has shared not one but two new trailers for Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy, both featuring some of the dynamics between the Guardians and how the player will be able to lead them. Personally I think the Exploration focused trailer is the more interesting, so it is embedded below, so here is a link to the combat-focused video: Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy – Lead the Guardians: Combat. In the Combat trailer you can see the talents for the different team members, such as Rocket with his explosives and Groot's ability to protect and even revive his friends. For when you need someone to charge in and stagger or stun your enemies though, you can turn to Drax while Gamora is able to deal massive amounts of damage to single targets. Star-Lord, meanwhile, does have his elemental gun that will gain the four elements over the course of the game, and his jet boots, allowing him to fly over the combat to take his shots.

With the Exploration trailer we see some of the locations the Guardians will visit and explore, with that exploration sometimes requiring teamwork to get through puzzles. It also touches on the spending of skill points across the team and some of the choices you will get to make, influencing the team as a result. This trailer also shows some of the costumes you can acquire and equip to give the Guardians your preferred appearance.

Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy is releasing for PC, Xbox One, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X/S, PlayStation 5, and GeForce NOW on October 26 with the Cloud Version coming to the Nintendo Switch in some regions on the same date.

Source: Press Release (Square Enix – Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy)

Rounding off the gaming news are a couple items from Techland for Dying Light 2. First is the release of the Dedrick audio story that tells the tale of a daughter that disappeared as the City fell to ruin and when her father finds her, he has to make a choice that will impact more than one life. You can listen to the story here: Dedrick – Dying Light 2 Stay Human Audio Story.

The second piece of news for the game is the announcement of the next Dying 2 Know video that will release on September 30 at 12 PM PST. This will be the fourth episode in the series and have a focus on the game's world, and provide more information on its citizens and one character in particular. To see how free the player will be to explore, as well as the rewards they can find, alongside the two faces of the City, be sure to tune in next week to Techland's Twitch channel.

Dying Light 2 is scheduled to launch on February 4, 2022 for PC, Xbox One, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X/S, and PlayStation 5.

Source: Press Releases (Techland – Dying Light 2)

Now for some non-gaming news as researchers at MIT have made yet another discovery that may influence the future of data storage and more. Most of the magnets we are familiar with are ferromagnets, which produce their magnetic field because the atoms align in one direction. There are other kinds of magnets though, such as ferrimagnetic materials, in which some atoms align in one direction, and the rest in the opposite direction. The direction of the larger magnetic field then is dependent on the balance between these two collections of atoms and the researchers found how to control this for gadolinium cobalt. This rare earth transition metal ferrimagnet and when made into a film, the researchers found splitting water on its surface will cause the magnetic field of the material to flip. This is because the hydrogen atom, rather its nucleus, a single proton will penetrate into the film and throw off the ferrimagnetic balance, causing the magnetic field to flip.

There are several potential uses for this discovery, but focusing on the data storage possibility first, this flip is achieved by just applying an electric voltage, and not a current that can cause heating making this very efficient. A test has already shown the material was able to go through 10,000 flips without noticeable degradation. This application is not likely to be the first though, as this discovery also has potential for sensors. The magnetic alignment has a spring-like quality to it with atoms pulling one that starts to drift back into alignment. This makes it possible for a spin wave to be formed in the material and it oscillations can have frequencies in the terahertz range. Not many materials are sensitive in this range of frequencies and this may be an easier feature to develop around than the potential for data storage.

Source: MIT

September 18, 2021

Permalink for 'THQ Nordic Announces 6 to Celebrate 10th Anniversary'

13:14

THQ Nordic Announces 6 to Celebrate 10th Anniversary

THQ Nordic is turning ten years old and has been celebrating the occasion with a Steam sale that includes giving away Titan Quest Anniversary Edition and Jagged Alliance 1 Gold Edition, but that is not all this publisher decided to do. The company also streamed a showcase that revealed six upcoming games, and for those hoping for a new game that was not shared, at the end it said 42 games are currently in development and there are still 28 yet to be announced. Hopefully the sequel or franchise reboot is in there, along with new IP.

Source: THQ Nordic [1] (10^th Anniversary Celebration)

Following the order of the showcase, the first new title announced was Destroy All Humans 2! Reprobed with Crypto returning to Earth in the 1960's. Players will get to travel across the United States, Unite Kingdom, the Soviet Union, Japan, and the Moon in this full remake of the original game crafted in Unreal Engine 4. Black Forest Games, the same studio behind the 2020 re-launch of the Destroy All Humans! franchise is behind this game as well. It is coming to PC, Xbox Series S/X, and PlayStation 5. Below is the announcement trailer but here is a link to the gameplay trailer that was also shared: Destroy All Humans! 2 - Reprobed - Gameplay Trailer.

Source: [2] (Destroy All Humans!: Reprobed)

The next announcement was for Outcast 2 â A New Beginning as Cutter Slade returns to Adelpha, 20 years after the original game as the world is once again threatened by invasion. The mission is to form a resistance, rescue the people, and push out the robotic army trying to exploit the planet and its people. At your disposal will be a jetpack, dozens of modules to create your personal weapon, and the ability to freely explore and progress through the non-linear world as you wish. It is being developed by Appeal Studio, the original team behind Outcast Adventure and the open world action-adventure game will be coming to PC, Xbox Series S/X, and PlayStation 5. It too had an announcement trailer, embedded below, and a separate in-game trailer: Outcast 2 - A New Beginning - World Trailer.

Source: [3] (Outcast 2 â A New Beginning)

The next game reveal was for MX vs ATV Legends, the next entry in the franchise that will also bring the series to Xbox Series X/S and PlayStation 5, along with PC. It will feature the deepest career mode yet for the series, allow you to find your own path to the podium with a new level of player choice concerning sponsorship opportunities and invitational events. We only got an announcement trailer for this, so here it is.

Source: [4] (MX vs ATV: Legends)

Those looking for a grand-strategy experience will be happy to learn SuperPower 3 was announced and it is aiming to give players the chance to see if they could do a better job running the world than the people currently in power. Your purpose is to lead your chosen country. from selection of 194, to world domination or to master the different scenarios presented to you. The economy, politics, diplomacy, social development, military strategy, and more of the nation will be under your control. Without an official end to the game it will be highly replayable, and importantly will feature a mod-friendly architecture to enable custom scenarios to be devised.

Source: [5] (SuperPower 3)

For the fans of mercenaries, Jagged Alliance 3 was announced and is coming from Haemimont Games as your organization operates in the fictional Grand Chien where the Legion has taken over. It will combine tactical, turn-based combat with the need to explore the larger game world as you will want to find the different strategic elements available to you, such as gaining control of territories, training local forces, and creating multiple squads.

Source: [6] (Jagged Alliance 3)

The last of the new game announcements was for SpongeBob SquarePants: The Cosmic Shake, which will be coming to PC, Xbox One, PlayStation 4, and Nintendo Switch. SpongeBob and Patrick have been granted wishes by the fortune teller Kassandra, and naturally opened up portals to Wishworlds where their friends get lost. You will need to explore the seven distinct worlds to rescue them and find more than 30 F.U.N.tastic costumes including SnailBob and SpongeGar. Luckily Balloon-Patrick will be your permanent companion for the adventure and all of your favorite Bikini Bottom characters will be voiced by their original actors.

Source: [7] (SpongeBob SquarePants: The Cosmic Shake)

It was not just new game announcements that were shared as part of the showcase as both ELEX II and Expeditions: Rome had new trailers and information revealed. For the former, the new trailer was showing off the game's story as Jax returns from exile to try bringing the people of Magalan back together, before a dark power arrives to threaten everyone. Fortunately he will have his trusty jetpack to help him explore the lived-in world. The NPCs you encounter will remember what you have done and react accordingly, will join and leave your group depending on your behavior, and can even be killed if you are not careful. ELEX II will be coming to PC, Xbox One, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X/S, and PlayStation 5.

Unfortunately there is no press release accompanying the Expeditions: Rome showcase trailer, but you can see some of what the game will offer and the decisions involved with its development. Be sure to check it out if you are interested in this tactical, turn-based, RPG that is coming to PC.

Source: [8] (ELEX II)

September 17, 2021

Permalink for 'Various Video Game Stories and More from the Week of September 13, 2021'

10:00

Various Video Game Stories and More from the Week of September 13, 2021