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Archived News:
The backlash to the recent
addition of paid modifications to the Steam Workshop has caused Valve to
backtrack from the plan (thanks Mashiki). A
Steam Community Group Announcement from Valve's Alden Kroll states they are
killing the program and offering refunds to those who paid for mods for The
Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim: We're going to remove the payment feature
from the Skyrim workshop. For anyone who spent money on a mod, we'll be
refunding you the complete amount. We talked to the team at Bethesda and they
agree.
We've done this because it's clear we didn't understand exactly what we were
doing. We've been shipping many features over the years aimed at allowing
community creators to receive a share of the rewards, and in the past, they've
been received well. It's obvious now that this case is different.
To help you understand why we thought this was a good idea, our main goals were
to allow mod makers the opportunity to work on their mods full time if they
wanted to, and to encourage developers to provide better support to their mod
communities. We thought this would result in better mods for everyone, both free
& paid. We wanted more great mods becoming great products, like Dota,
Counter-strike, DayZ, and Killing Floor, and we wanted that to happen
organically for any mod maker who wanted to take a shot at it.
But we underestimated the differences between our previously successful revenue
sharing models, and the addition of paid mods to Skyrim's workshop. We
understand our own game's communities pretty well, but stepping into an
established, years old modding community in Skyrim was probably not the right
place to start iterating. We think this made us miss the mark pretty badly, even
though we believe there's a useful feature somewhere here.
Now that you've backed a dump truck of feedback onto our inboxes, we'll be
chewing through that, but if you have any further thoughts let us know.
The
Kerbal Space Program Blog announces the release of Kerbal Space Program
version 1.0, marking the official launch of the launch simulation. The update is now available on the
KSP Store,
Steam, and
GOG.com, and the
complete changelog can be found
on
this page. Here's an overview: This is a special one! After four years
in development, Kerbal Space Program 1.0 is now officially released!
Kerbal Space Program 1.0 is what we envisioned when development of the game
started four years ago: we set out to make a game in which the player is given
ultimate control over the exploration of space: from designing their rockets to
launching and flying them to their destinations, in a universe that was modelled
to have be as realistic as possible while remaining fun to play in.
However, our 1.0 release is more than just a new version number. It’s also the
biggest update to the game we’ve ever done, and contains many new and updated
features, plus improvements to just about every game system, which we’re sure
will appeal to both newcomers and seasoned veterans.
Codemasters is now offering the chance to get behind the wheel with DiRT Rally
with the release of the off-road racing game on
Steam Early Access. They
show off the game in a new
trailer, and dish the DiRT in this announcement: Codemasters today
invites gamers to join it on the road toward the future of the DiRT series with
the release of DiRT Rally on Steam Early Access. Launching initially with 17
classic and current cars and 36 challenging stages spread across three very
different real-world environments, the team will be adding regular free updates
featuring more vehicles, locations and game modes as they build a new, exciting
breed of focused and challenging off-road racing. Gamers can watch the first
gameplay trailer now at
http://www.dirtgame.com.
Globally renowned for delivering realistic, yet fun, driving games, Codemasters
is once more bringing its talent and experience to the world of rallying. With
DiRT Rally, the team wanted to take off-road racing to a new level of realism,
so it tore up its previous pace notes and completely rebuilt the physical
simulation and driving models to truly capture the feeling of each individual
car as it hurtles along a variety of surfaces in different conditions.
Continue here to read the full story.
The
Bethesda Blog has their side of the story regarding the launch of
paid mods on Steam for The
Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, an announcement that has spurred considerable
unhappiness in many circles. Here's a bit: We believe most mods should be
free. But we also believe our community wants to reward the very best creators,
and that they deserve to be rewarded. We believe the best should be paid for
their work and treated like the game developers they are. But again, we don’t
think it’s right for us to decide who those creators are or what they create.
We also don’t think we should tell the developer what to charge. That is their
decision, and it’s up to the players to decide if that is a good value. We’ve
been down similar paths with our own work, and much of this gives us déjà vu
from when we made the first DLC: Horse Armor. Horse Armor gave us a start into
something new, and it led to us giving better and better value to our players
with DLC like Shivering Isles, Point Lookout, Dragonborn and more. We hope
modders will do the same.
Opening up a market like this is full of problems. They are all the same
problems every software developer faces (support, theft, etc.), and the
solutions are the same. Valve has done a great job addressing those, but there
will be new ones, and we’re confident those will get solved over time also. If
the system shows that it needs curation, we’ll consider it, but we believe that
should be a last resort.
There are certainly other ways of supporting modders, through donations and
other options. We are in favor of all of them. One doesn’t replace another, and
we want the choice to be the community’s. Yet, in just one day, a popular mod
developer made more on the Skyrim paid workshop then he made in all the years he
asked for donations.
The Roberts Space
Industries Stretch Goals page shows that Star Citizen has now
surpassed the $80 million mark by a good margin, with a rush of funding spurred
by a
MISC Hull Series Sale. They also
now kick off a new video series called
10 for the Artists Episode
1 that includes a reference to how players can now make regular
contributions to this project
via subscription.
Word is: "Lance Powell and Elwin Bachiller answer your questions about Star
Citizen in the inaugural episode of Ten for the Artists! Each show features 10
questions asked by subscribers, chosen from development for each show. Want your
question considered? Learn more about subscriptions
here." Continue here to read the full story.
SQUARE ENIX now offers a benchmark to allow users to gauge their systems'
readiness to play FINAL FANTASY XIV: Heavensward when the first expansion is
released for the MMORPG on June 23rd. Word is: "The benchmark also features the
ability to try out the impressive new DirectX® 11 graphics, and create
characters, including the new playable race, the Au Ra." The benchmark can be
found on this page, and
they show off what to expect from this in
a new trailer. Continue here to read the full story.
- Blackguards Franchise Bundle on
Steam. Save 75%.
- Lords of Xulima on
GOG.com. Save 40%.
A
Kickstarter update from Double Fine announces backers should now be getting
their copies of Broken Age: Act 2, saying this should be released to the
public tomorrow. Here's word on how the second half of the adventure will roll out: Be
on the lookout for an email from Humble Bundle with special instructions for
getting the game early on Steam. Then play Broken Age! Your old save game will
work, but I personally recommend starting over from the beginning. Now, now, no
grumbling. You don't HAVE to. I can't force you. YET. But you really should, and
after all, it won't take you long since you know all the puzzles. :) There are
just so many hints and story set ups that happen in Act 1 that you need to
remember for Act 2 to make sense. Plus, achievements! Anyway, whatevs. You don't
have to start over. That's just my recommendation. I'm like that waiter that
tells you how to eat your food. No actual legal authority, but you know he's
right about the ponzu sauce.
Sounds like a cliche, but it's a fact: This has been a long and crazy journey
that we've all been on together. It's been a documentary and a phenomenon and a
news item, but now it's just a game. And I really hope you like it because you
helped to make it. And not just with your money. :)
Everybody else gets the game on Tuesday. It comes out that day on PC/Mac/Linux,
and also PS4, VITA, OUYA, iPad, iPhone, and Android! So please tell all your
friends! Feel free to be loud about it! We need to make sure the internet is
filled with Broken Age buzz on Tuesday so everybody the world over knows that
adventure games aren't dead! Well, I guess they heard that three years ago, but
I think it's time they all hear it again.
Activision follows the
release of Call of Duty: Black Ops III trailer with an
official announcement of the military shooter sequel confirming the November
6th release date, beta testing plans, and other details from the trailer. Here's
the deal: Mark your calendars for the return of the most played series in
Call of Duty® history, because Black Ops is back! Call of Duty®: Black Ops III
will arrive Friday, November 6, to take fans on a journey to the dark, twisted
and gritty world of Black Ops with a true next-generation experience that
redefines Call of Duty. Published by Activision Publishing, Inc., a wholly owned
subsidiary of Activision Blizzard (Nasdaq: ATVI), and developed by award-winning
developer Treyarch, Call of Duty: Black Ops III delivers a campaign that can be
played as a full single player game or co-op online with up to four players, the
deepest, most rewarding multiplayer ever offered in Call of Duty, and, a
mind-blowing Call of Duty Zombies experience that, for the first time, features
its own XP progression system. Call of Duty: Black Ops III is in development for
Xbox One, the all-in-one games and entertainment system from Microsoft;
PlayStation® 4 computer entertainment system; and PC.
Activision and Treyarch also announced for the first time on Call of Duty next
gen — a multiplayer Beta for Call of Duty: Black Ops III. Fans who pre-order the
game now on Xbox One, PlayStation 4 or PC will get access to the Beta*, details
for which will be announced at a later date.
“Nearly 100 million people have played Call of Duty: Black Ops and Call of Duty:
Black Ops II, making it the most-played series in Call of Duty history. And
those fans are about to get the best Black Ops game we’ve made yet with Call of
Duty: Black Ops III,” said Eric Hirshberg, CEO, Activision. “This is Treyarch’s
first three-year development and, man, have they made the most of it; with a ton
of innovation across all modes of play, and of course a mind-bending, wild ride
of a story, Black Ops style. Our fans will get a taste for themselves with a
Beta later this year. But for now, Black Ops is back.”
Continue here to read the full story.
Trek Industries offers
this trailer about ORION: Prelude, the dinosaur-themed first-person shooter
they released as a commercial game in 2012 after originally planning it as a
Half-Life 2 modification. This celebrates the release of their year-three update
for the game, and they express pride in turning the project around,
explaining that the release version of the game was "one of the worst games
of all time" (they offer review quotes and a link to
this postmortem to support this contention). This is not the first time they've
thrown us off balance, after they
announced they were "thrilled" to close Spiral Game Studios along the way. The newest version
of the game includes two brand new Survival
Co-Op maps, remastered weapon SFX, and a version 3.0 game update.
They also announce they will offer a free week of access to the game on
Steam beginning on May 4th (the third anniversary of its release) to allow the
chance to see how they've improved their game. Continue here to read the full story.
GfK Chart-Track is back with their weekly roundup of the bestselling games in
the U.K. On their
PC Top 30 for the week ending April 25th Grand Theft Auto V holds the top
spot for another week while Dungeons 2 debuts at number 17 and Warlords of
Draenor and Evolve jump back into the top 10. On the
all-platforms chart GTA5 remains at number two as Mortal Kombat X continues
to beat up all comers to remain at number one. Here's
the summary of all the
activity: There’s no change in the Top 3 as Warner’s ‘Mortal Kombat X’
(-64%) takes a 2nd week at No1, Rockstar/Take 2 are No2 with ‘GTA V’ (-50%) and
EA’s ‘Battlefield Hardline’ is No3 (-26%).
Sony’s ‘Minecraft Playstation Edition’ jumps 5 places to No4 thanks to a 172%
spike in sales over last week on the PS4 version (+52% over 3 version), followed
by EA’s ‘FIFA 15’ down 1 place to No5 (-40%). The only new release shows up as a
re-entry at No18 on this Chart – Kalypso’s ‘Tropico 5’ launches on PS4 this
week, so joining the Xbox 360 & PC versions launched in 2014. All versions are
developed by Haemimont Games in Sofia, Bulgaria and the PS4 version debuts at
No7 on the PS4 chart.
A new "All Who Follow You"
trailer from Batman: Arkham Knight offers cinematics from the next
installment in Rocksteady's superhero series. Here's word on all this reveals:
Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment and DC Entertainment today
released the newest video for Batman: Arkham Knight. In the Official Batman™:
Arkham Knight Trailer – “All Who Follow You”, Batman turns to his closest allies
to help him save Gotham City from the clutches of Scarecrow and the Arkham
Knight’s army. For the first time ever, watch Batman™: Arkham Knight’s exciting
new “Dual Play” feature in action, which will allow players to seamlessly switch
between The Dark Knight and his allies including Robin, Nightwing, and Catwoman
in FreeFlow Combat.
A familiar face also returns to give The Dark Knight a message he cannot
ignore.
Continue here to read the full story.
It was 20 years ago today that Sergeant Pepper taught the band to play. And it
was 19 years ago today that MrsBlue and I tied the knot. Actually, it feels like our
anniversary already happened, since we went out to dinner on Saturday, which was very nice.
So there... happy anniversary to us!
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