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Archived News:
The Evolve website
announces that Evolve has gone gold, Turtle Rock's asymmetric shooter is
off for manufacturing and is on track for release on February 10th, offering
the game's intro cinematic
to celebrate the news. There does seem to be a bit of a cart and horse mix-up
here, however, as they say that they are now selling merchandise for the
still-unreleased game in
the 2K store and they are still holding an
Xbox One Open Beta next week, though they explain this is intended "to
continue stress-testing the multiplayer servers," so this can be reconciled with
the game's gold status. They also share the news that their awesome beards
raised a total of $22,750 for
Child’s Play and 227.5 inches of hair for
Locks of Love. They conclude with word
that they are already working on DLC. Continue here to read the full story.
Responding to comments
from CEO of PC maker Origin PC Kevin Wasielewski saying that the term "Steam
Machine" is "pretty much dead," Valve tells
GameInformer that Steam Machines will be "front and center" at the
Game Developers Conference in March. "We're
planning a very large presence at GDC with Steam Machines being front and
center," is how they responded to an inquiry. This may all turn out to be
semantics, as Wasielewski agrees that these small Steam-capable computers are
still on the way, but the preferred terminology has changed, and that most
builders are now calling them "living room PCs."
Beamdog's Beamblog has a new year
update from the developer discussing plans for 2015 (thanks
rpg codex via Gamer's Hell).
They mention two games with codenames, Adventure Y and Project: Beartrap (noting
that "Project Z" sounds boring), while also touching on the possibility of
eventually developing Baldur's Gate III. Word is that Project: Beartrap
"might involve sharks," but they have no concrete plans yet for Baldur's Gate
III or any D&D 5th Edition projects. As for Project Y, they expand upon what
they say were previous indications that this is an all-new Infinity Engine game
which will bridge the gap between Baldur's Gate and Baldur's Gate II.
They point the way to
these screenshots from Project Y, saying they were "leaked" (we'll just call
that a
Vizzini). Here's the deal: With the new year upon us, we’ve been
planning out our projects for the next twelve months. Here’s a sneak peek of
what Beamdog is up to in 2015.
Adventure Y
This year, the eagerly anticipated Adventure Y will finally navigate the dark
underground caverns of development and venture out into the Sword Coast. We’ve
mentioned before that Adventure Y will be an addition to the Baldur’s Gate line
using the Infinity engine, bridging the gap between Baldur’s Gate: Enhanced
Edition and Baldur’s Gate II: Enhanced Edition. Keep an eye on the Beamblog in
late spring for announcements regarding the content and release date of
Adventure Y. We have an exciting release planned for this game, something bigger
than we’ve ever done before. If you’re looking for more information on Adventure
Y, check out
these pictures which were mysteriously leaked to the forums.
Adventure... Z?
By late summer we should be ready to talk about our next project after Adventure
Y. “Adventure Z” sounds boring, so let’s call it Project: Beartrap. Right now
all we can say about Project: Beartrap is that it exists and it’s a departure
for us in terms of what we’ve done in the past. Also, the project might involve
sharks. Maybe we should call it Project: Sharktrap? Either way, we’re looking
forward to giving you more details mid-year.
Fifth Edition
We got a lot of questions about Dungeons & Dragons fifth edition and a
potential Baldur’s Gate III on our
reddit AMA. We’d be lying if we said we never think about doing a
Baldur’s Gate III game, so we won’t say that. But we will say there’s nothing in
the works yet regarding BGIII or a 5th edition game. That doesn’t mean the
opportunity will never arise, though, so we’re preparing by starting a tabletop
5th edition Dungeons & Dragons game here in the office. Amber, aka the BeamBard,
is our first sacrificial DM in running an office campaign. Expect future
Beamblog posts on how she ruthlessly murderized all our lovingly created
characters.
More project details and release information will be announced on the Beamblog
as the year progresses, so check back often. You can also share your thoughts on
the forums or follow us @Beamdoginc..
Wishing you all the best in 2015!
UbiBlog has
details on the Ubisoft Graduate Program 2015, as they plan on accepting a second
group of applicants into this program intended to accelerate access to careers
in video games. This is open to anyone who will graduate by this September,
though you only have until next week to apply. "The Ubisoft Graduate Program is
a two-year custom-made experience designed to accelerate access to a career in
videogames. We give our graduates responsibilities within specific projects that
we know will help them learn faster," says Clémence Bataille, the Project
Manager for the Ubisoft Graduate Program. "Our goal is that graduates accumulate
four years of experience in the space of two years. At the end of the program,
they will be armed with considerable knowledge of the videogames sector and the
company, and will be able to take on the challenges of new and exciting
responsibilities within Ubisoft."
- 3DMark on
Steam. Save 80%.
- Anime Weekend Sale on
Steam. Save up
to 75% on over 40 anime games including Agarest: Generations of War, Long
Live the Queen, and Analogue: A Hate Story.
- Bedlam on Steam. Save 50%.
- Planetary Annihilation on
Steam. Save 80%.
- Mastertronic Sale on
Humble
Weekly Bundle.
- Zombasite on
the
Soldak blog. A look at character traits in the upcoming action/RPG.
Link of the Day: Cat
Malfunction.
Pre-purchases are now underway
on Steam for the
Resident Evil HD, the remastered version of the survival/horror game also
known as Biohazard. The
CapCom Unity blog has word on a couple of extras that will come with this, a
soundtrack with over 30 music tracks from the game along with a G. Trevor
Mansion Guide. They offer some images from the guide along with this
explanation: "The Mansion Guide is a collection of images that take you on a
virtual tour of the main mansion floor plan. It's a nice trip around some
familiar territory that now looks better than ever." Here's a reminder on what
the game is all about: The game that defined the survival-horror genre is
back! Check out the remastered HD version of Resident Evil.
In 1998 a special forces team is sent to investigate some bizarre murders on the
outskirts of Raccoon City. Upon arriving they are attacked by a pack of
blood-thirsty dogs and are forced to take cover in a nearby mansion. But the
scent of death hangs heavy in the air. Supplies are scarce as they struggle to
stay alive.
Ninja Theory's upcoming Hellblade is coming to Windows PCs, reveals
PC Gamer, saying
the hack-and-slash game that was originally only announced for the PS4 may ship
with support for mods and 4K resolution on the PC. Here's a bit of the news,
which is excerpted from a full report on a visit to Ninja Theory that will show
up in this month's print issues of PC Gamer and PC Gamer UK: “I think PC
offers us a level of freedom that we haven’t had before,” the studio’s creative
chief Tameem Antoniades told me. “We’re looking at everything we do on this
project and figuring out better ways of doing things compared to how the
traditional AAA console model works. And consoles are following suit with PC,
but I think they’re years behind what things like Steam are doing. If we want to
do an open beta right now, it’s a little bit trickier to do that than on PC.
Playtesting is a huge thing for us. Usability testing, getting people hands-on
to try things out, get feedback, then roll that back in and improve the game...
it’s always been essential for us to do that. Not every publisher has let us,
because of the secrecy that goes into consoles and publisher-based businesses.
As an independent we have the freedom to do that.”
The aim is for Hellblade to be future-proof on PC—possibly supporting 4K
resolution and maybe even mods, too. “I think we want to get to the point where
we can invite players and fans to add to the game, and do things that are
unexpected, and suggest ideas or add-ons that can make the game richer.”
GOG.com announces they are responding to the
concerns expressed by their users about the
use of password-protected RAR files in their installers by eliminating the
passwords (thanks
DSOGaming). These were causing problems for some users while also
raising concerns that the online distributor was losing focus on its stated
mission to eliminate digital rights management from digitally distributed games.
Here's what they say about the removal of the passwords: As the topic of
password protected archives included inside some of our Windows game installers
sparked some heated discussions, we’d like to address some misunderstandings
around this topic and let you know that changes will be made.
Password protection appeared in selected multi-part Windows installers, about 30
games from our catalogue that had large install files, over 6 months ago. We
implemented it for various other reasons as well, many of which have been
mentioned in previous posts. One of them was streamlining installation for the
less tech-savvy users to avoid the issue of “broken” games after not using the
installer to install them (you more proficient tinkerers have proven that it was
a trivial barrier against the more advanced users).
We’ve heard your concerns regarding this solution and we do agree it could have
been better. Although the same could probably be said about many other answers
to this problem, it doesn’t mean we shouldn’t try to do better for our
community. To that end we will be removing the mentioned archive protection from
the select Windows installers that had it until a better solution, both
technically and philosophically, is ready. Please continue sharing your
suggestions regarding such a solution in this topic - your feedback is very
appreciated.
On a side note, we’d also like to invite Captain Obvious here for a moment to
remind that GOG offers and supports games compatible with specific operating
systems and prepared to be installed on a given system using our included
installer for a reason. This is, from the very first day, our way of offering a
hassle-free, user-friendly and welcoming experience for millions of our users,
no matter what their technical skill level may be.
That is why we cannot guarantee that our installers will never change and will
forever remain compatible with each of such unsupported tools. However, it never
was and our goal to purposely break compatibility with some third-party
extraction tools or emulators used by some of our customers - and, rest assured,
it never will be.
Wadjet Eye Games announces Technobabylon, a point-and-click, cyberpunk adventure
coming to Windows this spring, with OS X and Linux versions to follow sometime
after that. This is a reworking of the first three installments in what was
planned as an eight-episode freeware series from indie developer James Dearden
which Wadjet Eye has helped refine into a commercial release. Accompanying the news is
this trailer
introducing Dr. Charlie Regis, one of the game's three playable characters, and
they promise more details soon, including a reveals of the other two characters.
Word is we should keep a wadjet eye on the
Technobabylon
website for future updates. Here's a bit on the game: Technobabylon takes place in a dystopian cyberpunk future where genetic
engineering is the norm, the addictive Trance has replaced almost any need for
human interaction, and an omnipresent AI named Central powers the city. Its
all-seeing CEL police force keeps tabs on everyone... including three people who
are about to meet their maker.
Continue here to read the full story.
Channeling Douglas Adams, a letter on the
Zombie Studios website says "So long, and thanks for all the fish" in
announcing the developer is closing operations after more than 20 years. The
owners of the studio say they are retiring, and they offer best wishes to
Builder Box Games, a new studio
composed of former Zombie employees that has bought some of their assets,
including the ongoing development Blacklight: Retribution. Here's the
news: It has been over twenty years since it all started. Zombie was first
formed in the same year that Forrest Gump was released, Sony's PlayStation
launched, and Justin Bieber was born. It was also 4 years before Google was
founded and 4 years before Half-Life was released. Since then we have published
our own and been a part of thirty titles, worked on every major console,
partnered with nearly every major publisher, and even did a bit of work for the
US Army. Now it is time for us to part ways and close our doors.
The owners of Zombie Studios are retiring and wish to thank you, our fans for
the years of support you have provided us. It has been awesome working with all
the various technology over the years, both hardware and software, growing with
the industry and our fans, and producing fun games and technology of our own. We
also wish to thank our employees, both present and past. Your dedication and
passion to gaming is what Zombie is all about.
Lastly, we want to congratulate and wish nothing but the best success to Builder
Box, the new studio starting up that has acquired some of the wok Zombie is
parting with, including all rights to Blacklight: Retribution. The new studio is
comprised of past Zombie employees that put their hearts into Blacklight and we
have no doubts will continue to do so.
Thank you, and game on.
Zombie Studios
1994-2015
Rebellion announces plans to release Zombie Army Trilogy this year for Windows,
Xbox One, and PlayStation 4, wrapping up the undead spinoff of their Sniper
Elite series with a third chapter and a remastering of the two that preceded it.
Pre-purchases are already offered on the
Rebellion Gamestore, and this includes a discount for those who already own
either of the first two games. Here's
a teaser trailer,
and here's word from the announcement: Achtung! Berlin is burning and
Adolf Hitler has risen from his grave to gather an army of Undead Super Soldiers
who are poised to spill blood and guts across Europe. Only one thing stands in
their way – you, and the fleshy sacks bristling with guns and explosives you
call your best friends.
Zombie Army Trilogy, rising early 2015, gives Xbox One and PlayStation 4 gamers
their first chance to experience the blood-pumping co-op shooter series that
became a cult sensation on PC. Former enemies become allies as the living fight
against the dead.
Packed with apocalyptic new content and two eye-popping remasters Zombie Army
Trilogy also includes the never-seen-before third instalment in the series and a
brand new horde mode, delivering the ultimate package for fans of
adrenaline-fuelled gunplay and harrowing intensity.
Continue here to read the full story.
Kalypso Media announces the Surf's Up expansion is now available for
Tropico 5, the strategy/sim sequel for Windows, OS X, and Linux/SteamOS.
Though the title implies this is about watersports, this actually has a touch of
the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (apparently today's theme), as it involves
intelligent dolphins and a threat from aliens (the description makes it clear
that this is not coincidence). The Windows edition of the DLC is now available
through the Kalypso Launcher
and all three editions should be available
on Steam
any time now. Here's word on the pack: El Presidente has visited the void
of time and space and confirmed his long-held suspicion: he is in fact the most
important person in the entire universe. However, the enlightenment it granted
gave him an ominous message: the planet earth is under threat from alien
incursion – and they want to build an intergalactic motorway straight across
Tropico! Enlist the help of the wise dolphins of the Pacific Ocean and save your
banana republic in the ‘Surf’s Up!’ DLC for Tropico 5. Out today to download for
PC, Mac & SteamOS via Steam, the brand new content adds a zany intergalactic
adventure to the game - along with a new building, avatar accessory, sandbox map
and music track. Rally the favour of the dolphins by building the Dolphinarium,
look like a real professional with the marine biologist outfit and conquer the
new ‘Qualichi’ island in sandbox mode. Help protect the island from annoying
space tolls and you might just find the answer to the question of life, the
universe and everything.
Notorious Games announces Xsyon - Prelude is now available
on Steam, calling this
early access, even though this post-apocalypse, sandbox MMORPG had a sort soft
launch more than two years ago. The
Xsyon website mentions it actually landed on Steam a little over a week ago,
but they've downlplayed this until now to make sure things were stable. They say
being on Steam should allow them better community interaction as they complete
the game. Here's more: We're proud to announce the release of Xsyon :
Prelude as an Early Access title on Steam. Early Access allows the development
team better interaction with the player base to collect feedback and bug reports
while furthering the progression of the game.
Currently Xsyon’s developers are working closely with players to balance and
enhance its creature and combat systems. The game features unique systems
including creature aging, breeding, increasing power through combat, looting
players and migration. These systems are being revisited. Creature AI and path
finding are being improved and taming with mounts and pets are currently in the
works!
Roberts Space
Industries Stretch Goals page reveals Star Citizen has passed another
funding milestone, and has now collected over $69 million from supporters of
Cloud Imperium's upcoming sci-fi game. There is no stretch goal listed for this
threshold. Thanks
GameSpot.
Happy birthday Frans! I think this is actually a record for me, in offering my
best wishes on his actual birthday for the third year in a row. If I keep this
up, I will eventually stop automatically typing "belated" in the middle of
there, but old habits die hard. Anyway, happy birthday Frans, and as always, a
thank you for keeping the engine room from blowing up.
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