Gabe Newell gave a keynote address at LinuxCon in New Orleans, where the Valve
managing director was highly critical of Windows while reiterating Valve's
support for Linux as a gaming platform, reports
Ars Technica. He says there will be a tangible demonstration of this soon:
"Next week we're going to be rolling out more information about how we get there
and what are the hardware opportunities we see for bringing Linux into the
living room." Valve confirmed plans for a Linux
Steam client
last year and
not long after
Newell famously labeled Windows 8 a "catastrophe." He also predicts a PC
hardware shakeup. "I think we'll see either significant restructuring or market
exits by top five PC players. It's looking pretty grim," he said. "Systems which
are innovation-friendly and embrace openness are going to have a greater
competitive advantage to closed or tightly regulated systems."
Apogee Software now offers a new patch for
Rise of the Triad to update
Interceptor Entertainment's first-person shooter remake to version 1.1. The
patch includes "hundreds of fixes and improvements" as well as five new
multiplayer maps and a new map playlist tool.
This forum post has the complete patch notes,
this trailer celebrates
the content of the patch, and
here are
some screenshots. Here's a summary:
The wait is over: the first Rise
of the Triad update is now live on Steam and GOG.com, including hundreds of
fixes, tweaks, optimizations and features requested by the rabid fan community
during the first month since release. Said Frederik Schreiber of Interceptor
Entertainment: "We are extremely happy about the feedback we have gotten from
you guys and we couldn't have done it without you." He's talking about the fans
there. Duh.
The team has spent the last month collecting every single bug, tweak and
suggestion posted on forums, blogs and websites, in order to create one mega
patch. On top of all that, Interceptor has also been working on five brand new
multiplayer maps and a map playlist tool -- among the most requested features
from the community -- which are also included in patch 1.1. And it's all
absolutely free, of course.
Red 5 Studios announces plans to reorganize in advance of the launch of
Firefall, saying this has
cost some staff their jobs, but has not derailed the ongoing beta testing of
their sci-fi sandbox shooter. Word is: "As part of the reorganization, Red 5
Studios confirms that it has released about 10 percent of its staff, the
majority from Red 5’s video internet entertainment channel, Stage 5 TV.
Development of Firefall is unaffected by the reorganization and Open Beta Stage
2 is well underway with a major patch scheduled for later this month." On a
related note, they
also
recently announced they are pulling the game's underused PvP mode for an
overhaul (thanks
PC Gamer via
Shacknews), saying it "does not represent Firefall at its best," and that
they will relaunch that part of the game when its ready."
Thanks nin for the review roundup.
-
Don't Install Grand Theft Auto V's Xbox 360 "Play" Disc. Also, don't
play the install disc.
-
Analyst predicts $1bn Grand Theft Auto V sales in first month.
- Grand Theft Auto V reviews on
Ars Technica,
ComputerAndVideoGames,
Destructoid,
Eurogamer,
GameInformer,
games.on.net,
GameSpot,
GiantBomb,
IGN,
Joystiq,
Kotaku,
Polygon, and
The Verge.
Silent Hunter Online is
now in open beta, a soft launch for the MMO installment in Ubisoft's submarine
simulation series. This
new trailer shows off the game, and here's word on
testing:
Düsseldorf, September 16th 2013 – Today Ubisoft and Blue Byte
have announced the Open Beta launch for Silent Hunter Online. With the start of
the Open Beta players around the world can slip into the role of submarine
commanders during WWII and fully immerse themselves into the Battle of the
Atlantic.
Silent Hunter Online is a browser based Free-to-Play submarine simulation game
developed by Ubisoft Blue Byte in co-operation with Sproing. Players take
position on board their submarines, hunt down enemy convoys, manage their
personal flotillas and partake in server-wide dynamic campaigns. With a strong
focus on multiplayer experience, every mission in the game can be played
cooperatively.
Silent Hunter Online is based on a powerful graphics engine. Ocean waves and the
vastness of the sea are being displayed in stunning 3D – without the need to
install a game client. All in-game ship models are rendered in full detail and
thus provide an unforeseen level of visual realism. Dynamic weather effects,
authentically simulated waves and changing daytimes ensure gameplay variety
during missions and create an immersive atmosphere. Impressive environmental
effects like dense walls of fog, strong swell, stormy rain showers or idyllic
sunsets on the open sea further enhance the gameplay experience. Thanks to an
advanced particle system, battles at sea feature spectacular explosions, fire
and smoke effects.
Game Features:
Continue here to read the full story.
The latest U.K. sales charts are now available from GfK Chart-Track.
Total
War: Rome II (they still can't get that title right) hangs on at number one
on the
full-price PC chart, where the new entries are
Farming Simulator 2013
at number 20 and
Arma III at number eight. The
PC budget chart has a new number one:
The Sims 3: Movie Stuff.
Meanwhile
NHL 14 joins the
all platforms/all prices chart at number 11 and
Kingdom Hearts 1.5 Remix
enters at number two, as
Saint's Row IV holds the top spot for the fourth week
before the hit squad from
GTA5 bumps it off next week. Here's
how they describe the
situation:
True to its name ‘Saints Row IV’ (-30%) holds the No1 spot
for the fourth week in a row.
From this week’s new releases only one has an impact on the Top 10 with Square
Enix’s ‘Kingdom Hearts HD 1.5 Remix’ debuting at No2. The PS3 exclusive which
includes new content and characters makes a marked improvement on its original
debut on PS2 back in W46 2002 where it reached No35. Activision Blizzard’s
‘Diablo III’ (-50%) remains at No3 for a second week while Ubisoft’s ‘Tom
Clancy’s Splinter Cell: Blacklist’ (-16%) is also a non-mover at No4.
It’s a similar story throughout the chart as ‘Disney Infinity’ (-22%),
Microsoft’s ‘Minecraft: Xbox 360 Edition’ (-9%) and Payday 2’ (-33%) are all
static at No5 to No7. Two Warner Bros titles find themselves back in the Top 10
with ‘Lego Batman 2: DC Superheroes’ (+5%) climbing five places and ‘Lego The
Lord of the Rings’ (-5%) climbing three places to No8 and No9 respectively.
Following a strong debut last week Sega’s ‘Rome: Total War II’ (-87%) slips from
No2 to No10. New at No11 is ‘NHL 14’ which becomes the 4th best week 1 release
in EA’s ice hockey series.
Further down the chart at No24 Solid Snake returns once again in Konami’s ‘Metal
Gear Solid: The Legacy Collection’ while Sony’s ‘Puppeteer’ makes its debut at
No40.
Note to
Burger King.
Buffalo, New York is actually nowhere near the equator (really... I checked a
map and everything). You're welcome. Also, I can't be the only one getting
really tired of waiting for something to finally happen in Breaking Bad, right?
Okay, I'm totally kidding, but if my joke inspires forum comments, please use
spoiler tags.
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