The Conjuring is yet another another low budget/big hit horror movie from the guy who kicked off the Saw franchise. We can’t quite conjure up a consensus on this one. At the one hour and one minute mark, this week’s 3×3 is our favorite ways sunlight is used in movies.
Next week: The Wolverine
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Gearbox Software announced at PAX Australia that they will be creating HD remakes of Homeworld and Homeworld 2. Polygon reports that Gearbox intends to also release the original real-time space strategy games through digital distribution outlets for PC.
Gearbox purchased the rights to the Homeworld IP license during the THQ asset auction in April. After the acquisition, Gearbox stated on their site that the purchase was largely motivated by the love Chief Creative Officer Brian Martel had for the property.
Brian intends as first priority to direct Gearbox’s interest to preserve and assemble the purest form of the original acclaimed and beloved games, Homeworld and Homeworld 2, with the intent of making them accessible on today’s leading digital platforms.
You can get the Yes song Homeworld (The Ladder) from the first game’s soundtrack on Amazon if you can’t wait to groove to some spacey jams right now.
The news that Tribes: Ascend would get no substantial updates for the next six months, while Hi-Rez Studios moved on to support development of other projects, came as something of a shock to fans of the free-to-play game on the official forums. Even more upsetting was the fact that there was a good possibility that the dev team was just going to move on to a sequel instead of returning to Tribes: Ascend.
For the next six months our primary development focus is SMITE. Beyond that it is GA2. And beyond that a TA2 would be more likely than a major update to TA; but to be clear no devs are currently working toward TA2.
Hi-Rez COO Todd Harris responded to the outcry a week later with the news that the studio was working on a way for players to edit and submit user-made maps. He stressed that game was far from dead and that support would not end just because no large content patches were planned.
Rock Paper Shotgun interviewed Harris about the state of the game since it’s official launch in April 2012, and why they’re moving on to the sequel already.
The days of major changes in the game are behind us.
We want users to be able to add content, and if there was anything really significant that was to change, that would be in a different title. We won’t be changing the rules on all these people, changing what they’re used to. But again, our priorities right now are, for Ascend we want to give people the chance to make content. Other than that, our studio is focused on Smite, because it’s growing much faster than any game that we’ve dealt with. At the highest level that’s what we’re focused on. That was the intent of the statement. First, to let people know we weren’t going to be doing any other major updates, and then, just today, in talking with the community, to let them know our intent around support for user-generated content.
You can junmp into Tribes: Ascend now for free if you’d like to experience the waning days of an online shooter.
You can’t very well read a description of Circus Train and not be intrigued. A boardgame about managing a circus in the 30s, during the era of the Depression and Prohibition, before circuses were weird and creepy? And it’s got trains! Who knew circuses got around on trains?
After the jump, something wicked awesome this way comes? Continue reading →
The new hotness in gaming this season has been integrating Twitch features into your project. The Xbox One is getting it. Valve’s Dota 2 supports some of it. Now, Path of Exile will be adding full Twitch streaming within the game client.
According to the beta patch notes, just about everything a budding Let’s Play producer could want will be supported. Twitch chat and webcam footage will be added to the client as well, so you don’t have to take your eyes off the action.
What’s better than screwing up in an ARPG and whiffing the boss fight? Doing it while strangers watch and tell you how you screwed it all up!
Ubisoft loves open world connected gaming and thinks you should too. Polygon spoke to multiple people at Ubisoft and confirmed that the strategic direction of the company’s Paris-based editorial department favors open world games with a heavy online social or connected experience. Julian Gerighty, creative director of the upcoming racing game, The Crew, used to be part of Ubisoft’s editorial department and thinks that open world online experiences are the future of the industry.
“When the 360 and PS3 came out, I still had a cathode ray tube TV at home,” he said. “I upgraded to an HD TV for that generation. This generation for me is always going to be about this seamless online and what better way to make that live than open world games.
“It’s one of those things where the online aspect, the seamless aspect, the living, breathing world aspect, that is provided by the online adds so much to the experience that it’s a shame to be able to say, ‘OK, you can play the game, but you can’t have that part of it.’ It’s a really key part of it, much like World of Warcraft. I genuinely think the open world game without the seamless aspect to it is going to feel a little artificial, a little forced in a few years time. Today it can still work.”
One of the examples given of this connected interaction is Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag. The pirate-themed game features whaling as one of the activities the player can experience. Sighting a white whale in the game is a very rare event that can be made less rare via your friends online. When a friend spots a white whale, that information is relayed to you so you can go to that map location and hunt the whale in your game.
“These are very rare and unique experiences,” he said. “If you’re playing on your own there’s a chance you may find them, but it’s very tiny. The more friends you have, the more likely you’ll see these experiences.”
Thanks for spotting Moby Dick! Whaling is a lot easier with a network of friends trawling the virtual waters of the online seas!
Deadly Premonition is one of those odd little games that has developed a cult following since its first publication on the Xbox 360 in 2010. The game quickly became a meme generator thanks to Japanese developer Access Games’ take on Twin Peaks as seen through a hilariously wonky cultural filter. It’s not exactly a good game, but it is odd and funny (sometimes unintentionally so) and you can tell that Access Games really loved the project.
The PS3 got Deadly Premonition: The Director’s Cut in April which added some material and spruced up the controls, but it still hasn’t been released on PC. That may finally change thanks to publisher Rising Star Games. Deadly Premonition is on Steam Greenlight looking for enough votes to get into the store. The PC version promises to have additional content beyond the PS3 goodies.
– A surprising new scenario from the game’s director, Hidetaka ‘Swery’ Suehiro
– Enhanced HD graphics with new textures
– Reworked control system allowing for an even better combat experience
– Downloadable content to expand the mystery beyond the original game
– New bonus DLC exclusive to the PC version!
– Steam achievements and trading cards
Take a relaxing drive through Greenvale and have a cup of coffee at the local diner. If you have the time, maybe you can find out who is killing everyone in town?
It’s not easy to get a group going in Marvel Heroes, partly because you rarely need to get a group going. You’re mostly put into groups as needed. But there are occasions that you really want a good group, particularly for post-story content like the red terminal missions. These have really hard-hitting enemies and better loot. But it seems like many Marvel Heroes players are content to just burn through content way below their level. I guess that’s how superheroes work in real life.
So after trying to encourage random folks to stick with me — there’s no way I can do the red terminal missions alone — I finally cobbled a group together and leaped into the mission, hoping they would follow me and not be too discouraged by the difficulty level. After we got past our first encounter, hoping to offer some encouragement to my new companions, I typed in “Now we’re cookin’!” To my horror, here’s how it turned out in the chat window:
I can only imagine what they must have thought I typed.
It’s been too long since indie horror director/producer Larry Fessenden made his own movie. The Last Winter, his clumsy bigger budget attempt to follow-up on the sublime Wendigo, came out in 2006. And now Beneath completes the trajectory from sublime to clumsy to ridiculous, plopping into a tiny lake and barely making a splash.
Beneath starts with the usual beats for a crappy horror movie. Stereotypical smirking teens going out into the woods, their bewilderment at not getting cell phone reception, an elderly harbinger warning them away, a cat scare, and so on. You might think Fessenden — once a smart, subtle, insightful filmmaker and even actor (in the movie Habit, the bathtub explanation about his missing tooth is a memorable heartfelt instance of non-acting acting) — is doing this stuff knowingly. You might think he’s going to cleverly subvert it.
No such thing happens, perhaps because Fessenden is working from a script by two guys who wrote Bird Flu Horror. I didn’t see Bird Flu Horror. I’m confident I don’t need to see Bird Flu Horror. I’m also confident that Beneath has more in common with Bird Flu Horror than with Wendigo, Habit, or even The Last Winter. Because once the giant catfish shows up, everything plays out exactly like any other crappy creature feature, inept even in its half-hearted attempts at titillation and gore. You might be inclined to applaud a horror movie that relies exclusively on practical effects, but you can only get so far dragging a big rubber bug-eyed catfish through a small lake. These are the kind of practical effects that make you long for a little CG.
If you want a movie about people trapped by something in the water, see Black Water. Actually, see Black Water anyway. And if you want to see what a brilliant filmmaker Fessenden can be, you’re going to have to go back to Wendigo.
Beneath is currently available on various video on demand services. If you must watch it, support Quarter to Three by using this link. Or, better yet, this one.
This week we talk about how we’re getting past that summer hump of no new releases. Our games of the week are all old standbys, some older than others. Tom relates Marvel Heroes to the fallout from George Zimmerman’s acquittal, Nick can barely get a word in edgewise in the Guild Wars 2 conversation, and McMaster keeps it real, DOTA style. And comic book style.
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Harmonix has won its lawsuit against Viacom regarding unpaid bonuses and the Delaware Supreme Court ruled that Viacom must pay $299 million to the studio’s former stockholders. Polygon has the summary of the court decision.
MTV Networks, a subsidiary of Viacom, purchased Harmonix in September 2006 for $175 million, and Viacom ended up selling the studio in December 2010. The terms of the acquisition included “earn-out” payments to be made to Harmonix’s former stockholders, depending on the studio’s performance in 2007 and 2008.
Viacom paid Harmonix bonuses of $150 million in 2007, but determined that it owed the stockholders nothing in 2008 and later sought a refund of its earlier payment.
Unless Viacom appeals to the to the U.S. Supreme Court, the decision will stand.
The National Collegiate Athletic Association has decided to not renew their contract with EA Sports to develop games based on their license. In a statement published on their website, the NCAA cited increasing litigation costs as a factor in their decision.
“The NCAA has made the decision not to enter a new contract for the license of its name and logo for the EA Sports NCAA Football video game. The current contract expires in June 2014, but our timing is based on the need to provide EA notice for future planning. As a result, the NCAA Football 2014 video game will be the last to include the NCAA’s name and logo. We are confident in our legal position regarding the use of our trademarks in video games. But given the current business climate and costs of litigation, we determined participating in this game is not in the best interests of the NCAA.”
EA Sports has been embroiled in lawsuits regarding the unauthorized use of atheletes likenesses for NCAA Football series, the Madden NFL games, and NCAA Basketball. EA argues that the use of the players’ likenesses is covered under the First Amendment.
EA may be able to secure separate license rights from individual schools or through the Collegiate Licensing Company, but any game produced under those rights cannot be called NCAA Football.
(Thanks to ByteSizeRick)
Ultra Street Fighter IV was revealed at the EVO 2013 event over the weekend. Capcom announced that the title will add new characters, stages, modes, balance changes, and some tweaks suggested by the competitive fighting game community to Super Street Fighter IV.
New Characters: Five new characters, including: Poison, Hugo, Elena, and Rolento, join the fight, complete with their own unique play styles, bringing the current roster count to a massive 44 characters.
New Stages: Six new battle environments: Pitstop 109, Mad Gear Hideout, Cosmic Elevator, Blast Furnace, Half Pipe, and Jurassic Era Research Facility, have been added for even more visual variety.
The game will be available as a $14.99 DLC update to owners of Super Street Fighter IV or SSF4: Arcade Edition, or as a $39.99 standalone title. The full version will come with all previously released costume DLC as an added bonus.
To make its Xbox One console launch window, Forza 5 will ship incomplete on the disc, but will require players to download a patch and additional content the first time they try to play the game. Dan Greenwalt, creative director of Forza 5 developer Turn 10, explained to IGN that their production schedule requires the launch day connection and download so players can get their Drivatar data, tracks, cars, and other last minute updates. Greenwalt went on to use the most tortured analogy possible to soften the blow.
After that, Greenawalt said, Forza 5 is like your refrigerator. “You have to fill it up with food the first time,” he explained. “And from then on, you connect whenever you want when you want to update your food. The Drivatars are as fresh as they are. It’s not like they’re going to degrade, but when you’re looking for new stuff – fresh stuff…it’s going to keep evolving. That’s the nature of this Drivatar system.”
Offline mode will be possible after that first sign-in and update, but Greenwalt said that the benefits of the cloud-enabled Drivatar system are really best experienced by keeping the data updated online. Drivatar technology is used in Forza 5 to power the AI opponents in races to make them behave more realistically by basing their actions on the data from humans driving the same races over time.
Unlike many open-world games, State of Decay ends decisively. You can always go back to your saved game just before the last mission. But once you do that mission, you leave Trumbull Valley for good. The credits roll. There’s no going back and doing fun activities. State of Decay is over.
Fortunately, developer Undead Labs is working on an open-ended sandbox mode. How will it work, given that Trumbull Valley is seeded with a limited amount of resources when you start playing? Community manager Sanya Weathers passes along some details from an online chat with Undead Labs founder Jeff Strain.
Jeff said, “The goal of sandbox is to provide an unbounded experience, one with no victory condition that ends the game. The way we do that is to continue to have a world with finite resources, but find out ‘how long can I stay alive.'”
Without going into too much detail (although details are coming within a week), you start in the world, build your community, clean the valley out – and when it runs dry, you can leave with some portion of your community and go to “the next valley.” The next valley is the same map, repopulated with resources…but harder. More zombies. More difficulty. Just…more.
How many Trumbull Valleys can you survive? Find out later this year, since Undead Labs has promised the sandbox mode will be out this year.
