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Archived News:
There's
an interview with Swen Vincke on GamesIndustry.biz talking with the CEO of
Larian Studios on how "failure is important for creativity," though he also
warns of the risks of too much failure, talking about the make-or-break release
Divinity: Original Sin was for the company. Larian is still not playing
it safe, as RPG Codex
translates a portion of a
French article outlining the company's plans to eventually make annual
releases (thanks Gamer's Hell). Here's word: For the first year, the Quebec
studio Larian count ten people, a question of establishing bases here while
developing business culture to the philosophy of this independent studio. They
will work with the studio in Ghent and Saint Petersburg, Russia.
Within three years, the number of employees will increase to 40, so the studio
Quebec will work on his own title, continues Mr. Vincke."By having three studios
working on each title, we will release a game every year. It is a production
rate over three years, but we prefer to make quality games rather than to hurry
to make games faster. What is the difference between an independent company and
one that is accountable to shareholders, "says he.
"Our goal installing us here is not to lower our production costs, but to keep
making quality games in a different environment to grow.We are a small player
alongside the giants, but we are totally independent and we handle ourselves
stages, even distribution of our games, "says the CEO of the company with 70
people currently.
Steam News announces the
release of StarDrive 2
for Windows, OS X, and Linux. There are more details about Zero Sum Games'
strategy sequel in their
Steam Community announcement: Greetings space fans! StarDrive 2 is now
released! I know you'll be digging in to building your first space empire today,
and it can be hard to step away when you've got the option for just, one, more,
turn. But when you take a break, come say hi to us on the forums!
If you have some questions about how to play or you want to discuss strategy and
tactics, then our experts will be on hand to help out. Also if you experience
any technical issues, please come by the forums and we'll do what we can to
resolve your issue.
Also don't forget to check out the Workshop! We've already got some modders
adding ships and more to the game, so give that a gander to see if there's
something for you there.
Steam News announces the
release of I am Bread, though the it is currently half-baked, so it is an
Early Access title for now. Here's word on the game, which is on sale for 25%
off for the next week: The epic story of a slice of bread’s journey to
become toast. Take the intrepid, crumby adventurer on a journey from his natural
confines of the kitchen, through the home of an unsuspecting owner and into the
outside world. This bread will be boldly going where no other bread has gone
before!
Update: Looks like the Steam headline was misleading, and this marks the game's official full release.
Gnomic Studios announces the release of Square Heroes
on Steam for Windows, OS
X, and Linux, offering a 10% launch discount for the action game. Here's the
description of what this entails: You are a genetically engineered killing
machine with time on your hands. Having fulfilled your original purpose of
saving the human race, you now get your kicks taking down all challengers in the
Galactic Hero's Tournament.
Hone your skills and level-up your Hero in single player, or skip straight to
the main event and challenge your friends in one of the hilarious and frantic
online skirmish modes.
- Factions Bundle on
Bundle
Stars.
- THE KING OF FIGHTERS XIII STEAM EDITION on
Steam. Save 50%.
- Plague Inc: Evolved on
Steam. Save 33%.
Link of the Day:
What Your Upstairs Neighbors Are Actually Doing Up There. Eternal mystery
finally solved. Thanks nin.
Activision sends along a link to
a trailer titled "#backinblack" with no further explanation. The description reads: "How far
are you willing to go?" Our answer is to go as far as to say that this is telling us to expect a worldwide reveal of
Call of Duty Black Ops III on April
26th. This trailer contains no AC/CD and no gluten, though for those with
allergies, it was packed in a facility that also processes nuts. Continue here to read the full story.
There's been a lot of speculation about what sort of system it will require to
take advantage of
the
extensive graphics options in the upcoming Windows edition of Grand Theft
Auto V.
PC Gamer
has word from Rockstar on this topic, reporting it won't take the beefiest
computer to get to 60 frames-per-second at 1080p, but 4K resolution will be (and
require) an entirely different beast: According to Rockstar, the
recommended specifications are based on hardware that can run the game at 1080p,
at 60 frames-per-second. For that, Rockstar suggest a Nvidia GTX 660 2GB or AMD
HD7870 2GB.
"To run the game on a 4K display at 30fps," says Hoare, "you’ll need at minimum
an AMD HD 7870 or Nvidia GTX 760 with 2GB of VRAM." As for the 4K at 60
frames-per-second, that'll require a "high-end SLI or Crossfire setup."
A tweet
by Nexon America from last week reveals plans to bring Ghost in the Shell
Online: First Connection to western audiences this year. This is noted on
DSOGaming where they also point to a
new trailer showing
off game modes from the MMOFPS. Word is: "The net is vast & infinite & the
rumors are true: Ghost in the Shell Online to debut in US, EU, LATAM & AUS in
2015!" Continue here to read the full story.
A lengthy update on the Age
of Empires Blog outlines extensive plans to continue to support Age of
Empires II: HD Edition, including plans for the next patch as well as
improved steam workshop support for the real-time strategy remake (thanks
Polygon). They also announce they will be teaming up with the mod team
behind the unofficial expansions for the game for a new official add-on. Here's
word: I am extremely excited to reveal that we’ll be working with the
Forgotten Empires team to formally bring a new expansion to the Age of Empires
franchise later this year.
We’ll be detailing the expansion throughout the year in developer blogs directly
from the team, including one soon revealing the first new civilization. I’ll
leave you with a teaser the team sent from one of the new units being worked on:
As with The Forgotten expansion, you can anticipate a lot packed in there,
including new civilizations, campaigns, game modes, units, and more. If your
focus is more on the original Age of Empires II experience, the new content
development means you can look forward to additional support and features that
benefit every owner. Since launch, AoE II: HD has come a long way, and with the
help of the FE team and Skybox, this year is going to be the best yet.
Steam News announces
that preloads are underway for
Grand Theft Auto V
for those who have preordered the Windows edition of the sandbox action game.
Word is: Grand Theft
Auto V is available for Pre-Load now on Steam! Be ready when the game
launches on April 14th.
Pre-Purchase Grand Theft
Auto V and receive $1,200,000 in-game in addition to a bonus
$150,000!
Battle.net announces
Blizzard has once again brought out the banhammer to smite some wrongdoers in
StarCraft II. Word is they have banned or suspended an unspecified number of
accounts: We recently issued a new round of account suspensions and bans
to StarCraft II players who were in violation of the Battle.net Terms of Use for
cheating and/or using hack programs while playing. In addition to undermining
the spirit of fair competition that’s essential to play on Battle.net, cheating
and hacking can lead to stability and performance issues with the service.
As always, maintaining a stable, safe, and secure online-gaming experience for
legitimate players is a top priority for us, and we'll be continuing to keep
watch on Battle.net and take action as needed.
Hover : Revolt Of Gamers is now available
on Steam Early Access,
with the free run/parkour action game carrying a 15% first week discount. Here's
word: Created and developed by 3 young independant developers, "Hover:
Revolt of Gamers" is a futuristic 3D parkour game in an openworld. Halfway
between the crazy universe from Jet Set Radio, the interactivity of Mirror's
Edge and inspired by movies like the 5th Element or Star Wars ; "Hover: Revolt
of Gamers" takes place in another world where you're in charge of a band of
Gamers revolting against anti-video-games laws opressing the city.
You'll have to free the citizen restrained by autorities, localise and then
infiltrate anti video games propaganda control centers, retrieve gaming consoles
confiscated from the population to overthrow the new Mayor, who is the cause of
this mess.
The
Electronic Frontier Foundation calls out the Entertainment Software
Association for its hard-line stance on copyright enforcement for abandoned
games, noting their obsession with "hacking" as "associated with piracy" stands
in the way of preserving games for posterity due to digital rights management.
The are once again asking for an exception from the Digital Millennium Copyright
Act's anti-circumvention provisions to preserve older games: The
Entertainment Software Association doesn’t want anyone to restore the
functionality of older videogames that are no longer supported by their
publisher, because, says ESA, this is “hacking,” and all hacking is “associated
with piracy.”
EFF, along with law student Kendra Albert, is asking the Copyright Office to
give some legal protection to game enthusiasts, museums, and academics who
preserve older video games and keep them playable. We’re asking for an exemption
to the Digital Millennium Copyright Act’s anti-circumvention provisions (Section
1201) for those who modify games to keep them working after the servers they
need are shut down. Many player communities, along with museums, archives, and
researchers, want to keep the games they own playable after publishers shut down
the servers the games depend on. Section 1201 creates legal difficulty for these
communities, which is why we’ve asked the Copyright Office to give them an
exemption.
Section 1201 is often used by the entertainment industries not to prevent
copyright infringement but to control markets and lock out competition. So it’s
not surprising that ESA (the trade association for the largest game producers),
along with MPAA and RIAA, have written to the Copyright Office to oppose this
exemption. They say that modifying games to connect to a new server (or to avoid
contacting a server at all) after publisher support ends—letting people continue
to play the games they paid for—will destroy the video game industry. They say
it would “undermine the fundamental copyright principles on which our copyright
laws are based.”
ESA also says that exceptions to Section 1201’s blanket ban will send a message
that “hacking—an activity closely associated with piracy in the minds of the
marketplace—is lawful.” Imagine the havoc that could result if people believed
that “hacking” was ever legal! Of course, “hacking” is legal in most
circumstances. ESA, the spokespeople for a group of software companies, knows
this full well. Most of the programmers that create games for Sony, Microsoft,
EA, Nintendo, and other ESA members undoubtedly learned their craft by tinkering
with existing software. If “hacking,” broadly defined, were actually illegal,
there likely would have been no video game industry.
Behind this hyperbole, ESA (along with MPAA and RIAA) seem to be opposing anyone
who bypasses game DRM for any reason, no matter how limited or important.
Games abandoned by their producers are one area where Section 1201 is seriously
interfering with important, lawful activities—like continuing to play the games
you already own. It’s also a serious problem for archives like the Internet
Archive, museums like Oakland, California’s Museum of Art and Digital
Entertainment, and researchers who study video games as a cultural and
historical medium. Thanks to server shutdowns, and legal uncertainty created by
Section 1201, their objects of study and preservation may be reduced to the
digital equivalent of crumbling papyrus in as little as a year. That’s why an
exemption from the Copyright Office is needed.
Thanks Ant and DSLReports.
Well Better Call Saul is done for the season, and was an awesome experience
throughout. The last episode was a little offbeat, but awesome. It also had
an Easter egg that
I'll confess I didn't comprehend at first, but was pretty brilliant. I won't
elaborate to avoid spoiling this for those yet to watch this fantastic show.
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