In the latest update for Guild Wars 2, developer ArenaNet saw fit to make necromancers more awesome. I’m not complaining. I might complain if I was playing a boring old warrior or ranger and I saw in the patch notes that boring old warriors and rangers were just as boring while already awesome necromancers got even more awesome. But the last people to decry the rich getting richer are the rich.
After the jump, tainted shackle love Continue reading →
One of the biggest changes in World of Tank’s recent 8.6 update is the distribution of shells within the aiming reticle. While this may seem fairly esoteric, having your bullets go where you aim them is critical in a game based on shooting guns. Tradeoffs must be made between accuracy, damage, and rate of fire. For example, in the picture up there, a clever player landed his shots above the Super Pershing’s thickly armored gun mantlet and onto the thinner armor at the top of the turret. In World of Tanks, a gun’s accuracy limits the size of the fully zoomed-in reticle, and its aim time dictates how quickly the reticle shrinks down around your target. Roughly 5% of your shells will hit the edge of the reticle.
Or, at least, that’s what we’ve been told.
After the jump: lost in translation Continue reading →
Electronic Arts’ Origin service launched in 2011 and while many gamers bemoaned the entry of another PC software client to purchase and launch games, the service has proven successful with over 10 million registered users. EA’s EVP Andrew Wilson spoke to GamesIndustry International and explained that he sees the future of Origin as more than just a PC-exclusive storefront.
Making EA games better is the core that Origin needs to embrace and expand on, Wilson believes. “What you’re going to see from us is to have a real focus on that, and a focus on getting that right and getting that better, and getting it done for PC. Then figuring out in the context of other platforms, what does that mean?” Wilson asked. “You don’t want a service that competes with other platforms like Microsoft or Sony or iOS. You don’t want a competitive service to them, what you want is a complementary service that enhances your game experience irrespective of where you made the transaction. That’s the shift you’re going to see from us.”
Speaking to the TheAListDaily, Wilson expanded on his vision for Origin.
“With all honesty, our focus right now is on the underlying service provision. The nature of the transaction, the nature of the business model that drives that transaction, will likely change a hundred times in the next three years. But the desire of gamers to get access to their games easily, simply, seamlessly, consistently, will not change. The desire for gamers to connect with their friends and know where there friends are playing at any given time will not change. The desire for gamers to have their experience enhanced by virtue of services that automatically update their games, that allow them chat, VOIP, Skype, whatever it might be that’s part of that, that won’t change. All of the other ancillary stuff about transaction and business models likely will. Our focus has to be on building a service that doesn’t change based on what those ancillary things that change around them.”
Wilson acknowledged that price is a factor for gamers, but reiterated that he intends on building value through the service.
Index Corporation, the parent company of Atlus, has filed for “civil rehabilitation” for bankruptcy protection. Polygon has the english summary of the original filing. They owe roughly $224 million to creditors.
Index Corporation states that its previous attempt to acquire businesses targeted at both domestic and international interests did not work as planned, while overseas acquisitions was particularly unsuccessful in creating the necessary increase in revenue to justify the purchase.
Atlus, most recently known for publishing Catherine, Dragon’s Crown, and the Game of Thrones RPG, has been in business since 1986. Index specified in their filing that Atlus is their most desirable holding and is optimistic that they will be able to restructure and continue.
One of the big barriers for indie games on Microsoft’s Xbox 360 console is the fee they assess for every patch after the first one. We wrote about how it holds back developers and could be an issue for the upcoming Xbox One. According to Eurogamer, multiple sources have told them that Microsoft has changed that policy and no longer charges a fee to upload patches on the current console.
There are caveats, we understand. If a developer is deemed to be making an excessive number of re-submissions due to an update failing certification, for example, Microsoft reserves the right to issue a charge. But the changes should make critics of Microsoft’s closed platform happier – and align the Xbox ecosystem more closely with the likes of Steam.
The original policy was meant to be an incentive to developers to finalize their games before submission for Xbox certification. Hopefully, the policy update will carry forward to the Xbox One.
This week, we have a very special guest. Tom Chick from the Future joins us to elaborate on drama that was defused immediately after the podcast was recorded. We also talk about what you’re going to do if you need to take pictures with your Playstation 4 and which games people in Australia can’t play. One of the guys on the podcast says mean things about Marvel Heroes, another one says nice things about Guild Wars 2, and another doesn’t have much to say yet about The Last of Us. Also, listen to learn how to talk like a World of Warcraft pro.
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Yesterday’s 8.6 patch contained good news for anyone who has been thinking about trying World of Tanks for the first time. While the game’s starting field of World War I era tankettes have not changed, the crews inside those tanks now start with a 100% training level instead of the previous 50% training level. On Monday, the gap between a new player in a stock tankette and a veteran in a kitted out tankette was immense. Today, that gap is merely large. Progress!
If the idea of having to care about a crew’s training level sounds dangerously abstract, World of Tanks isn’t for you. But if caring about levels sounds dangerously abstract, you’re probably not cut out for modern online gaming. The insertion of experience point systems into action games has reached a point where I expect Id’s upcoming Doom sequel will require hours of leveling guns and perks.
After the jump: gaming versus garaging Continue reading →
IGN has confirmed that id Software President Todd Hollenshead has left the company.
“After many years with the studio, Todd Hollenshead decided to leave id Software to pursue other personal interests,” Bethesda’s Pete Hines told us. “While Todd was not part of the development teams, he was an integral part of id Software’s success as the business head of the studio and we wish him the very best in his future endeavors.”
Hollenshead had been with id since 1996 when he came on as CEO. His title was changed to President after the 2009 buyout by ZeniMax.
Speaking to GamerZines, lead content designer Mike Zadorojny revealed that ArenaNet’s goal is to add free content updates to Guild Wars 2 every two weeks.
“Our goal is that as we do this, we’re getting better and better at it. We’re starting to catch the bigger mistakes that we would’ve missed earlier on. We’re starting to build the infrastructure, the framework and the tools to help us do this because we really think that this is the longevity of the product.”
“If we can push this, if we can add content every two weeks that is engaging to the players, then really it’s almost like a TV show at that point. It’s kind of stay tuned until next week for the thrilling conclusion of… That’s where our goal is, and it’s really fascinating when you have an entire studio dedicated to pulling off.”
ArenaNet also said that the in-game Gem Store results in a “constant” revenue stream for the game.
One of the hardware differences between Sony’s PS4 and Microsoft’s Xbox One consoles, is that the PS4 does not come with a camera accessory while the Kinect is included with the Xbox One. IGN reports that Sony sacrificed the PlayStation Camera’s inclusion with the basic hardware to bring down the price of the console.
According to multiple sources, in the months leading up to E3, Sony nixed plans to include the camera add-on with every system and shave $100 off its originally planned price of $499. Most importantly, it did so quietly, informing its retail partners only of the removal of the camera, not specifying the lower price so as not to tip its hand to Microsoft.
The absence of the camera in the PS4 box means that customers will have to buy the $59.99 accessory to push software developers to support its use. The PS4’s DualShock controller still has some integrated Move technology including LED lights that are used by the camera to track its position. Sony has said that even without the camera, the LEDs can be used to denote which controller goes with which player, and as status indicators. For example, taking hits in a shooter could result in a flashing light. These uses are limited however by the fact that the light is on the front of the controller, facing away from the player.
As a deck building game, Shelter is pretty simple. Before an encounter, you take your pick of any twenty cards from your collection. You also get to pick a survivor to accompany you, which adds a few extra cards to your deck. The riot cop gives you some nifty stunning equipment to buy you free turns, but are you sure you can do without the soldier’s bad-ass L22-A2 carbine? As for the girl with the construction equipment, she spends a lot of time on the sidelines. Sorry, miss.
At the beginning of every turn, draw your hand up to five cards. Spend your action points putting cards on the table or using the ones you’ve already played, which is usually a matter of firing your gun cards at zombies. The hunting rifle pierces armor, but the Baretta gets off more shots. Do you use your hollow point rounds yet? Which gun gets the reload card? At the end of your turn, you can put a single card at the bottom of the deck if you want to get rid of something you can’t use yet or if you just want to cycle your deck faster. Simple.
Then the zombie player gets to play his deck. He’s not really a player, though. The zombie side of the table is a face-up dummy hand drawn from this encounter’s zombie deck. The zombies on the table follow simple rules — basically they crowd forward and attack — and then new cards are played from the zombie hand by rolling dice. Shelter is a solitaire game that uses cards, dice, and a simple deck-building concept to present zombie sieges.
After the jump, did I mention that it’s an iPhone game? Continue reading →
Sony’s PS4 console will launch at $399. The Xbox One will be $499. For many people, that price difference will be the first consideration in their decision of which console to buy for the next-gen. Activision’s Eric Hirshberg told GamesIndustry International that Microsoft will have to prove that the price difference is justified.
It’s up to them to win the value argument. If you do a focus group of a gazillion people and you show them two prices for two competitive products, 100 percent always prefer the lower price. I think from a first impression standpoint the win goes to Sony, at least as it relates to pricing. Microsoft is going to have to win the hearts and minds and convince people that the higher price point is worth it, and that it provides really meaningful capabilities that will be meaningful to consumers. And it’s a long game, so I am sure that’s what they intend on trying to do.
Hirshberg believes Microsoft faces a similar value challenge with regards to the inclusion of the mandatory Kinect sensor with the Xbox One.
Playing a necromancer with a menagerie of writhing freakish beasts tagging as I saunter through exotic landscapes reminds me of another game by the same lead designer. Klaatu barada Flannum. Group three, guard me!
Another month, another Sims 3 add-on. Island Paradise adds houseboats and beach resorts. Intriguing, but that doesn’t necessarily make me want to jump back into The Sims 3. This, however, does:
…players can snorkel and scuba dive beneath the sea where they will discover an aquatic world filled with sea life, collectibles, caves and sunken treasure. Underwater explorations can lead to many new adventures including befriending mermaids, spotting legendary sea monsters and potentially life-threatening encounters with sharks.
Island Paradise is out today for $40. Yep, $40. With that kind of money, you could buy both Spiderman and Iron Man in Marvel Heroes. You could download about half of the DLC available for Company of Heroes 2. You could buy a copy of XCOM for the iPad and still have a little money left over. I’m downloading Island Paradise as I type this.
Man, Australians get no fun. Yesterday, we reported that Saints Row IV had been refused by the Australian Classification Board. Today, word comes from developer Undead Labs that its open-world zombie survival game has also been given the dreaded “Refused Classification” judgment effectively banning it for sale in the territory.
We’ve run afoul of certain prohibitions regarding the depiction of drug use. We’re working with Microsoft to come up with options, including changing names of certain medications in the game to comply with ratings requirements. Whatever our path forward, it’s going to take a bit.
I know this is frustrating – believe me, we’re frustrated too – but each country has the right to set its own rules about content, and it’s our responsibility to comply with them. Rest assured we’ll do everything we can to find a way to get the game into your hands. Stay tuned.
Polygon was able to confirm via Board documents that self-medication seems to have been the objectionable content that resulted in the refused rating.
