|
|
 |
Archived News:
Harebrained Schemes announces on their Shadowrun Returns
Kickstarter page that they will return to the crowdfunding platform next
year with the proposal for another Shadowrun game. That's all there is to know
about this for now, the update simply says "Shadowrun returns to Kickstarter
January 2015," and there's an accompanying graphic that essentially says the
same thing, leading to a forum discussion of what setting fans would like to see
for the next installment in the cyberpunk RPG series.
Subnautica is now available through early access
on Steam, offering an
under water adventure game from Natural Selection developer Unknown Worlds. A
new trailer celebrates
the news, and the team offers reassurances that the game is already in a
playable state, and that develop will continue going forward: Early
Access? Does this game even run?
You bet it does. Subnautica has been in development for about one year. Over the
last two months, a group of Special Edition customers has been playing
Subnautica. Their feedback has allowed us to ensure that Subnautica is not just
an 'Early Access Game,' it's actually a 'game' as well.
Will Subnautica ever be updated?
For the past two months, we have released a 'stable' update every single week.
Further, customers that want 'more' development updates can opt in to
'Experimental' builds, which are release twice every day. 45% of Special Edition
players chose this option. We have no intention of slowing down in Early Access.
What now?
Early Access is a nucleus around which a better, bigger, and more fun game can
form. Lots of the core elements of Subnautica gameplay are already in place.
Over time the world will grow larger, deeper and more striking, creatures more
diverse and intelligent, loot, crafting and vehicle construction more
comprehensive, the story more fleshed out, and ecosystems richer and more
vibrant.
Large submarines, new unique life forms, and fantastic environments are all in
production and will be introduced to Subnautica Early Access in
updates.
Continue here to read the full story.
The Wrath of Sparta campaign pack is now available for Total War: ROME
II, offering the chance to recreate the Peloponnesian Wars in Creative
Assembly's strategy sequel. SEGA offers
a new trailer to
promote the release, which can be found
on Steam. Here's
word: Will Sparta and its allies martial their formidable military might
to dominate Greece? Or will stately Athens retain its stranglehold on Greek
politics, and assure victory with its unsurpassed navies? The dominant state
must prepare for an escalating challenge, as the Persian Empire watches matters
unfold, and drills its armies in readiness for a challenger to rise.
In addition, all-new technology trees representing Greek cultural disciplines
such as mathematics and philosophy combine with a focus on Greek religious
festivals and athletic events to bring the classical age to life. Wrath of
Sparta is Total War™: ROME II’s most flavorful campaign yet.
Rockstar Games offers a new
GTA Online Heists
trailer saying the promised "heists" feature is finally coming to Grand
Theft Auto V early next year, pointing the way to a new
preview of the mode on IGN. Here's what they have to say about all this: GTA
Online Heists are coming early in 2015 -
check out the new
trailer for the four-player co-op mode for Grand Theft Auto Online that
allows players to plan, prepare and execute multi-tiered Heists across Los
Santos and Blaine County. These will require tight communication and
coordination, with players taking on specified roles at each point to accomplish
multiple objectives on the way to each Heist’s epic finale. Featuring new
gameplay, new vehicles, new weapons, new clothing and much more.
Assassin's Creed website reveals that the fourth patch for Assassin's
Creed Unity is now rolling out for consoles, saying the patch for the PC
edition of the stealth/action sequel will arrive later this week. They also
offer
patch notes which include some PC specific changes: PC-Specific
- Fixed crash on "Quit to Windows" in free roam mode
- Fixed crash on accepting multiple "Join the club"
requests
- Fixed issues with TXAA
- Fixed issues with PCSS
- Fixed issues with textures on NPCs
- Fixed black texture issues on MSAA-4x, MSAA-8x and
TXAA
- Right Control now can be assigned as a hotkey
- Minor UI fixes
- Crusader Kings II on
Steam. Save 75%.
- Sanctum 2 on
Steam. Save 80%.
- Substance Painter on
Steam. Save 67%.
The Elite:
Dangerous forums announce the official release of Elite: Dangerous,
as version 1.00 of Frontier Developments' space combat sequel is now available.
The game's official website is
non-responsive at the moment, but that forum post has some details: A 30
year legacy, and more than 2 years of development, and we're thrilled to
announce that Elite: Dangerous 1.00 is out now, available for download and play.
Thanks to everyone who played this far - see you in space Commanders.
Ed (and the whole of the Elite: Dangerous development team)
https://store.elitedangerous.com/
Change log for those updating from Gamma:
- Prevent missions softlocks when switching servers
from A->B->A without disconnecting from A
- Check if we should use the neutron star's version
of the bolometric luminosity first to prevent soft lock
- Avoid crash in creating a location object when it
hits a rare window
- Sky box view distance altered to reduce memory
usage in highly populated regions
CI Games announces Sniper: Ghost Warrior 3, saying a third installment in
their sharpshooting shooter series is due in 2016 for Windows, Xbox One, and
PlayStation 4. Here's word: Internationally acclaimed game developer,
publisher and distributor CI Games today revealed that it is deep in the
development of Sniper: Ghost Warrior 3, marking the popular tactical shooter
franchise’s first AAA production effort. Due for release in the first half of
2016 for PC, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One, Sniper: Ghost Warrior 3 is being
created from the ground up by an all-star development team that includes Steve
Hart, former senior producer of Rebellion’s Sniper Elite V2, as well as combat
veteran and former Marine Paul B. Robinson, who has an extensive resume of game
development reaching back over 20 years.
“The Sniper: Ghost Warrior franchise is one of the most popular in the CI Games
portfolio with over 5.5 million copies sold, so we’re investing a significant
amount of effort into the third installment,“ said Marek Tyminski, CEO, CI
Games. “We’re fully committed to creating a AAA franchise that gamers can rely
on for the ultimate first-person sniper experience.”
Set in a modern day conflict based in Eastern Europe, players will be thrust
into the role of a sniper caught between three warring factions, played out in a
realistic and immersive environment. Dig deep into the Ghost Warrior DNA as you
choose between taking out your targets up close or from a distance, while at the
same time focusing on your survival through evasion and stealth. Non-linear,
sandbox-style gameplay on large open-ended maps gives players the flexibility to
play and replay the missions in a number of different ways. Sniper: Ghost
Warrior 3 will offer intriguing challenges for tactically-minded gamers, while
still remaining accessible to first-person shooter fans.
The
Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor website announces the release of the
Lord of the Hunt expansion for the Tolkien-inspired action game. This adds a
photo capture mode and the following additional newness:
- New Story & Lore – Discover more tales from
Torvin, the Dwarven Hunter, as you work together to tame the beasts of
Mordor and fight Sauron’s minions.
- New Missions & Challenges – New Beast
Hunting challenges and collectibles open up new trophies and achievements.
- New Nemeses – Face off against the
Beastmaster Warchiefs, powerful new Uruks who have the ability to ride
monsters and engage in perilous mounted combat.
- New Monsters – Ride into battle on the
Wretched Graug to vomit toxin at your foes, stalk your enemies on the
predatory Caragath and attack from the shadows or raise an all-consuming
Ghul Horde.
- New Epic Runes – Make your Mount
unstoppable with five new epic Runes that make you the ultimate hunter.
- Test of the Wild – Test your skills against
the Beastmasters and mount your trophies on the leaderboard.
- New Character Skin – Lord of the Hunt skin
transform Talion into the ultimate Beastmaster.
German publisher bitComposer Entertainment puts out the call for investors,
saying they are insolvent, though they are currently continuing to operate under
Schutzschirmverfahren, a method of helping shield companies from debt as they
restructure. Word is: "The board of bitComposer Entertainment AG want to
restructure the company in the current insolvency proceeding and develop a
settlement plan to end the insolvency quickly. In particular, they are looking
for a strategic investor in order to finance promising new games. The company is
supported by Dr. Jörg Eschmann, partner at BearingPoint." Here's an outline of
how this situation came to be: The crisis was largely caused by financial
difficulties of its suppliers in game development. bitComposer was not able to
complete certain promising projects for new games. Financial targets were
missed. On September 26th the company filed for a protective shield procedure (ESUG
procedure) at the local court of Frankfurt. Under the protective shield further
steps with important creditors and market partners such as developers and
publishers were prepared and additional games titles were successfully
published. Acting on the recommendation of the provisional creditors’ committee,
the board filed for the transition to regular insolvency proceedings.
“bitComposer is in need for new capital to continue developing new titles for
the gaming market. This situation offers opportunities for project financers who
wish to fund individual titles and for investors who would like become
shareholder. The company maintains long-term relationships to outstanding
development studios and offers interesting licences and game brands. The
existing potential at this creative games publisher bitComposer offers an
interesting strategic option for investors such as media companies and
developers of board games,” explained Dr. Jörg Eschmann of BearingPoint.
The
Kerbal Space Program Blog puns that the Kerbal Space Program is now
in beta with the release of a "Beta Than Ever" patch for the space simulation
that's available through
their store
and Steam.
Here's word on what's offered in the new version, including an authentic ESA
logo to make for more realistic-looking rockets for your green-headed Kerbals: Building
upon a long term project that was introduced with the last update’s destructible
facilities, players will now have the ability to start from the ground up with a
basic space center and turn it into a sprawling compound in the new upgradable
facilities feature. It’s not just buildings, either. Players will unlock new
capabilities and bonuses as their career path progresses.
Speaking of progression, the new Kerbal Experience system allows for the Kerbals,
themselves, to progress as they never have before. Kerbals have gained
specialized skills that players can improve by taking them on missions. Advanced
piloting, science gathering and spacecraft repairs are just a few of the things
Kerbal crews can do as they gain experience.
In surprise move, Squad and the European Space Agency (ESA) have banded together
to provide a special treat for players. They have granted Squad use of their
logo and imagery in Kerbal Space Program. Fresh off the unprecedented success of
their Rosetta mission, their cooperation adds even more detail to players who’d
like to recreate their own ESA missions in the game.
Paradox Interactive announces the release of the Way of Life expansion for
Crusader Kings II, which is accompanied by the release of a new version 2.3
patch for the strategy sequel. Here's a
new trailer with a
look at the expansion, and
this forum thread has version 2.3 patch notes, which are hidden behind a
spoiler guard. They also announce a few different
Crusader Kings II Limited Collectors Editions which give big fans of the
strategy sequel the chance to buy it again in a bundle with flasks and t-shirts
and the like. Here's word on the expansion: Choose who to seduce, which
people to spy on, challenge characters to a duel, and much more in this new
installment for the Crusader Kings II series that bolsters the role-playing
elements of the acclaimed medieval dynasty simulator. Way of Life allows
conquerors of all walks to further customize their methods of intrigue by
offering 10 different Focuses that players can set for their characters. These,
in turn, open up new options for diplomacy and events to participate in,
allowing all sorts of wonders (and mischief) to befall characters during their
lifetimes. Featuring hundreds of new events and over 20 new event pictures, Way
of Life aims to breathe new life into the devilish demesne of Crusader Kings
II.
Continue here to read the full story.
En Masse Entertainment announces the release of the Fate of Arun
expansion for TERA, their
free-to-play MMORPG. Here's word: "Fate of Arun, which is free to all players,
represents TERA’s first major expansion and the largest content update to date.
For the first time, players set sail for the mysterious continent of Northern
Arun, to face new enemies and challenges as they embark on an epic story-line.
The new gameplay content features an increased level cap of 65 with all-new
class skills, vast new zones and challenging dungeons—plus the unique Coliseum
battleground mode, where two teams race to battle enemies in a PvE environment.
The expansion also brings multiple quality-of-life gameplay improvements.
Players enjoy a simplified enchanting system, the ability to fuse unused
crystals into powerful new ones, and a new quest UI that streamlines leveling by
allowing players to teleport right to the action, find groups, or turn in quests
from any location."
CD Projekt RED announces that Ciri is indeed the other playable character in
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt
they recently
teased. Here's how this will work: Alone in a world set out to kill the
weak, Geralt of Rivia, a wandering monster slayer, is embarking on a journey
that will redefine everything. Ciri, the ashen-haired girl from an ancient
prophecy, is a descendant in a long lost elven blood lineage. The girl is a
living and highly volatile weapon capable of both destroying and healing the
fragile world she currently inhabits. Emotionally connected to Geralt, the girl
is pursued by the titular Wild Hunt, a cavalcade of ghastly riders capable of
unspeakable destruction, and by the mighty Empire of Nilfgaard, the most
powerful political entity in the entire world. Every choice the player makes
will resonate with dire consequences. The world is yours to explore and Ciri is
somewhere out there, fighting her own demons.
With such a deep and developed plot, CD Projekt RED decided that introducing
another character and telling parts of the story from her perspective would
greatly benefit the overall experience. Adding Ciri as a playable character
unlocks quite a few narrative possibilities for the player. Ciri is present in
the game to offer a unique and different perspective on the story plot, and not
to become an alternative story line to Geralt. The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt is about
Geralt and his exploration of the open world, his fight against the Hunt, and
finding Ciri herself. Aside from extraordinaire swordplay, she has quite a few
unique skills up her sleeves that will gradually unlock throughout the game.
She’s fast and agile, she can blink (as seen in the Elder Blood trailer), but -
most importantly - there’s something dormant in her, a mythical power, but more
about that later.
Another note from Twitter this morning. This time they are not guessing our
interests, they are letting us know that today is our fifth Twitterversary (yes,
that's what they called it). Remember to keep all congratulations for this
momentous occasion under 140 characters.
|
Twitter 
