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Archived News:
A
video on The Escapist has a rant from Jim Sterling about the conditions
WBIE's PR firm forced on "YouTubers" who requested advance review copies of
Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor. The terms he outlines show an undue effort
at controlling the message for the new release. The clip is about seven minutes
of creative compound swearing and froth worthy of anyone's time, but in the
interest of expedience, we can turn to
a summary on MCV: Stipulations for access to pre-release PC code for
the game allegedly stated that YouTubers must:
- Maximise awareness for the game during the ‘week
of vengeance’
- Persuade viewers to purchase game
- Not show bugs or glitches that may exist
- Discuss the story
- Include discussion of the Nemesis system – “this
really should take up the bulk of the focus, such as how different the orcs
are, how vivid their personalises are” etc.
Also stipulated was that standard FCC disclosure should be contained within
the body of the description after the links and call to action (placing it after
‘show more’ button)
“Videos will have a strong verbal call to action, a clickable link in the
description box for the viewer to go to the game’s website to learn about the
game to learn how to register and play the game,” the agreement added. “Twitch
stream videos will have five calls to action. Videos will be of sufficient
length to feature gameplay and build excitement.
“Videos will promote positive sentiment about the game”
Reviewers were also told that they must “not mention LOTR or Hobbit movies,
characters or books” and, most worryingly of all, that “the company has final
approval on the YouTube video at least 48 hours before any video goes live”.
Sterling also says that Warner allowed sponsored Mordor videos to go up but
content ID’d videos from those not signed up to the agreement.
Steam News announces the
release of Styx: Master
of Shadows, the new stealth infiltration game where you play as a skulky
goblin who can roch a schmaltzy ballad with the best of them. Here's a more
complete and factually accurate description of the game: Styx: Master of
Shadows is an infiltration game with RPG elements taking place in a dark fantasy
universe, where you sneak, steal and assassinate your way through as Styx, a
Goblin two-centuries of age.
Deep inside the vertiginous and multi-layered forsaken Tower of Akenash, where
Humans and Elves protect the World-Tree, source of the Amber – a powerful and
magical golden sap – is hidden Styx’ chance to understand his true origin... and
to make a fortune at the same time.
Ubisoft announces the release of the
Welcome to the Abyss
DLC for Trials
Fusion, the third of six such releases of new content for the dirt bike
racing game. Here's the deal: Today, Ubisoft released Welcome to the
Abyss, the third of six planned downloadable content packs for Trials Fusion™,
which will take players from the clouds of utopia in Empire of the Sky to the
ruins of a forgotten civilization under the sea. Players will explore pristine
stone relics that still flow with the energy of an unknown power source, and
piece together information about what happened to this civilization that existed
so long ago.
Season Pass holders can download Welcome to the Abyss for free today and riders
without the Season Pass can purchase it for $4.99. Welcome to the Abyss will
unravel new mysteries in Trials Fusion and bring players 10 new tracks, 24
challenges, five achievements, and new objects for the track editor. Riders
should proceed with caution though; there is more to these ancient ruins than
what first meets the eye.
Nexon announces the launch of Counter-Strike Nexon: Zombies
on Steam as a
free-to-play title for players in North America, Europe, Oceania, and the CIS
region. Word on the MMOFPS is: "Gamers will experience everything they loved
about the original Counter-Strike, in addition to many updated modes, weapons,
characters and of course, zombies. The fast-paced and dangerous undead add a
whole new dynamic to proceedings, making for frenetic action across a wide
variety of maps." To celebrate the launch, they are running five different
in-game events.
Ukrainian developer Red Beat announces
Space Rogue, which sounds like a sci-fi roguelike-like, or as they describe
it, "a game about space exploration, discovery and misadventures." Here's
a trailer and
here's word: Space Rogue is a game about the captain of a spaceship and
his crew. We offer a procedurally generated universe, tons of interesting
missions and random events – you'll have to make tough decisions in order to
survive. The adventure will be waiting not only in space, but on solid ground as
well.
Procedurally generated universe – you will find a totally new world each time
you play: witness new game events, meet new enemies and overcome new trials.
Space battles – there are strategic real-time battles and tactical 1-on-1
skirmishes, in which you will manage your team actions while controlling ship
systems.
Ship management – you will be able to upgrade your ship systems. Hopefully, one
day you might be able to turn a tiny planetary spaceboat into a powerful
interstellar cruiser.
Crew management – you will need to develop abilities and skills of your
crewmates to survive .
Random events – they will make your journey across the Universe more varied,
giving you different objectives and different rewards.
Steam Workshop – we've worked on the UGC support from the outset. You'll be able
to install your mods and share them with the community VERY easily.
Planet landing – you'll be able to land on mysterious uncharted worlds.
Continue here to read the full story.
Candy-powered RPG Costume Quest 2
is now available on Steam,
offering Double Fine's first sequel, which they say "features all of the wit,
style and fun of the original with a sprinkling of new features and costumes
sure to kick off this spooky season just right." Here's
a steam launch trailer,
and here's word: Join Wren, Reynold and a cast of friends both old and new as they save
Halloween from a demented dental overlord hell-bent on a tooth-centric future
that shuns candy, costumes and fun. Local Auburn Pines dentist, Dr. Orel White,
DDS has a long, troubled history with Halloween and has dedicated his life to
ridding the world of this menace to society. Teaming up with a powerful Time
Wizard, the deranged dentist seizes a magic talisman that releases the Grubbins
from their prison and destroys Halloween once and for all… or has he? With the
help of some friends from the future, our stalwart adventurers jump through
space and time with all new abilities to make things right and save Halloween.
Along the way, the twins will discover all new costumes, including the Super
Hero, Clown, Pterodactyl – heck, even Thomas Jefferson! Some costumes, like the
Ghost and Pharaoh, have special abilities when exploring the world while others
excel mainly on the battlefield. The updated and streamlined battle system keeps
things fast and fun in fights that reward quick reflexes with sweet loot drops
in the form of Creepy Treat Cards. These collectible cards offer limited use
boosts and abilities during battle, but also have cool downs, so use them
wisely! Strength and Weakness indicators have also been added to offer an
optional (and lucrative) layer to combat. Match a costume’s strength to an
enemy’s weakness for major damage and battles will be over lickety-split, but be
forewarned the same is true in reverse! Other updates include persistent health
that carries over after each battle, and water fountains throughout for game
saves and health replenishment, while side quests offer XP bonuses and other
special treats.
Continue here to read the full story.
The
Uber Entertainment website announces new version of Planetary
Annihilation will launch on Thursday, brining DRM-free offline play to the
space combat game (thanks
Rock, Paper, Shotgun). Here's the news: Online? Offline? However you
want to play Planetary Annihilation, it’s your choice. Starting this week, you
can take your battles completely offline.
We’re happy to announce the release of the offline server. Coming in an update
this Thursday (October 9), offline server allows you to take over the galaxy in
Galactic War without connecting to the Internet. You can also battle against
your frenemies or the AI over a LAN.
DRM free offline play has always been an important feature of the Planetary
Annihilation experience. Down the road, we’ll be adding the ability to run your
own online servers as well.
As we’ve said in the past, launch is simply another phase of development and
the beginning of another adventure. Look forward to another update on an
exciting in-development feature in the near future.
Microsoft announces that
Project Spark is now out of beta, focusing on the Xbox One edition,
though this game development system
is also available for Windows 8.1 PCs as a free download. They note
this does not mean this is "finished," as they view Project Spark as "an ever-evolving
service shaped by the community." In addition to the free-to-play game, they
also offer a premium Starter Pack with additional content. Here is a new
"What is Project Spark?"
trailer, we have this video
featuring executive producer Saxs Persson explaining what is included in the
Project Spark Starter Pack, and here's part of the announcement: Project
Spark is an experience like no other that aims to democratize game making by
giving everyone easy-to-use tools to create, play and share their own creations
with others. You can instantly play tens of thousands of user-made games, remix
a pre-made game, or hop right in and make your own game with tools including 3D
sculpting and a visual programming language similar to what the pros use, made
accessible to all.
Project Spark is free-to-play and is available for download now via the
Xbox One and
Windows 8.1 stores. Add-on content can be unlocked by using in-game credits
earned during play, or by purchasing tokens to buy add-ons immediately. Fans
will see a host of new content available on launch day including sci-fi skin,
adventure mode, champion features, creation enhancements, and multiplayer mode
to inspire all new gameplay.
Those brand new to Project Spark might want to check out the Starter Pack retail
disc that includes $85 worth of downloadable content for $39.99 (USD). The
package includes the Project Spark base game download, “Champions Quest: Void
Storm” adventure,” First Contact” sci-fi theme pack, Sir Haakon the Knight
playable champion, “Arctic Glaciers” winter landscape, “Massive World Builders
Pack” expansion, “Yeti’s Rage” content pack, and a one month “Spark Premium”
membership.
Continue here to read the full story.
I'm having some trouble with my Logitech G400 mouse, as the cursor occasionally
jumps to a different area of the screen. This feels like a software issue, but
updating my drivers didn't help, so it may be hardware. I'll take
another shot at making sure there isn't something obstructing the light source
(warning: do not aim laser at remaining good eye), but if that's not the problem
I may need to replace it after a mere trillion clicks.
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