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Archived News:
A new version of Team Fortress 2 is now automatically available through
Steam, and the Team
Fortress 2 blog has the complete patch notes for what they're calling the
Gun Metal update for the teamplay shooter. This goes beyond new gear and bug
fixes, as this update
introduces a Gun Mettle Campaign
which offers the chance at new goodies for those who purchase a campaign pass
for USD $5.99. There is also a new free map for you cheapskates. Here's word in
yesterday's post: What's the point of having a cool gun if everyone else
has one too? You know who has guns that are all alike? The army. And the army
isn't fun at all. They barely trade and paint their weapons, they hardly ever
give each other presents when one of them does a really good job, and their
weapons don't even have kill-counters or sparkle effects. It's almost a job.
Introducing the Gun Mettle Campaign, new to TF2 and releasing tomorrow, which
succeeds in every area where the army fails: Rare guns! Mystery boxes!
Skill-based prizes! Buying a $5.99 Campaign Pass lets you test your TF mettle
against a series of weekly challenges, and gives you the chance to earn
one-of-a-kind weapons to keep or trade with your friends. A portion of the sales
from Campaign Passes will go towards our hardworking TF2 community mapmakers.
Find out more about the new campaign here, and don't forget to read the comic!
Now, say you're the sort of person who's thinking, "You know what's more
exciting to me than the Gun Mettle Campaign? Having six dollars." Don't worry,
frugal guy, we've got you covered too! A new Valve map! Three new community
maps! Taunts! A new way to equip new weapons in-game for free! Loads of class
and weapon changes! Check out the details here. You guys, this is a big update.
And it lands tomorrow, so check back.
Aterdux Entertainment announces the release of Legends of Eisenwald
on Steam, a medieval
adventure game that carries a 15% launch discount. They celebrate the news with a new
gameplay trailer as
well as a new live action
video (because what I really want to do is DIRECT!). Here's word on how this
game will get medieval on your ass: Aterdux Entertainment is pleased to
announce that their strategic-RPG, Legends of Eisenwald, has graduated from
Early Access and is now available as a full retail release via Steam. For $29.99
USD, you can enjoy an old-school RPG with elements of strategy and turn-based
combat. In Legends of Eisenwald, you will gather your troops and embark on a
dangerous journey to carve your name into the legends of the grim lands of
Eisenwald…a place where the superstitions of medieval times are real (and mostly
un-friendly).
To celebrate today's launch, we have released a new gameplay trailer that
explains elements of the game, which you can download or stream below. Along
with that video, we also have a new "Live Action" video based on elements of the
game available to stream.
Continue here to read the full story.
Two new DLC packs are now available for
Stronghold Crusader 2 on
Steam, one a free map pack, and the other a premium pack called The Templar
& The Duke launched with a 33% discount.
This trailer shows off
what the paid DLC brings to Firefly's castle sim sequel, and
this announcement covers that and the new content in the
new patch: New Update
In addition to the release of 'The Templar & The Duke' DLC we have also released
a new update (v1.0.21612) for Stronghold Crusader 2. This update, which is now
live on Steam and should download automatically, fixes numerous issues reported
by players in the forums and via our support site. Please visit our forum to see
the full change log:
Update Forum Post [forum.strongholdcrusader2.com]
Stronghold Crusader 2: The Templar & The Duke
The law of the Templar is coming to the desert! The Templar & The Duke DLC adds
a new Crusader Trail campaign and two AI characters with contrasting origins,
values and strengths. One is a brutal newcomer who embodies the Crusades'
nebulous motivations, while the other stands as successor to King Phillip from
the original Stronghold Crusader. Both men desire a glorious victory in the Holy
Land, with The Templar seeking to cleanse the holy land of heretics and The Duke
hoping to emerge from Phillip's shadow and make his mark on the world, ideally
without suffering too many casualties!
The third expansion for Stronghold Crusader 2, The Templar & The Duke adds seven
missions, two AI opponents, 10 achievements, five custom shields and new castle
types unique to these new Lords. It is now available for £3.99/$5.99/€4.99, with
an additional 33% off for the next seven days!
Continue here to read the full story.
Daedalic Entertainment announces the worldwide release of Anna's Quest, a new
adventure game for Windows, OS X, and Linux. This is offered through
GOG.com and
Steam, with each site
offering a 10% launch discount. The game's
official E3 trailer
introduces the story, and here's the announcement with details on what to
expect: Daedalic Entertainment, a leading developer and publisher of
interactive entertainment, has released their new adventure game -- Anna’s
Quest. Anna’s Quest is available worldwide (with subtitles in five languages)
for $19.99USD.
Carsten Fichtelmann, Daedalic's CEO said, “This is a unique project, even for
Daedalic where no two projects are the same -- Dane Krams, the author of this
game, had published an early version of the first chapter on his own. We
discovered it, recognizing a diamond in the rough -- and brought Dane to Hamburg
where we teamed him up with a dozen seasoned Daedalic veterans, helping him make
his vision a reality. Together, we created a beautiful and touching experience,
a dark, yet funny game full for fairy-tale evil, true innocence and capricious
magic. ”
The story: Anna’s Quest is a story about Anna, a good and brave girl. She wants
to find a cure for her sick Grandpa, but is captured by an evil witch. Through a
sinister experiment, she is given telekinetic powers -- which she uses to
escape. Together with Ben, an enchanted teddy bear, she makes her way through a
dangerous yet hauntingly beautiful world.
Technology: Anna’s Quest is a classical adventure game with beautiful hand-drawn
characters and animated in-game cinematics.
Continue here to read the full story.
Mojang announces a
double gold weekend is underway for Scrolls, their recently updated and
condemned virtual card game: With the
release of all those lovely new scrolls in
Echoes, and the
imminence of Minecon, we thought we should create a bit of a party atmosphere.
So, every match played from 15:30 CET on Thursday 2nd of July till 9.00 CET on
Monday July 6th will award twice the usual gold, giving players a chance to
claim a spot on the leaderboard, and get rich in the process! As usual,
Judgement rewards will not be boosted; sorry about that.
Wait a minute, Thursday 2nd? That’s now!
Having previously announced
that open beta testing of Skyforge would begin this summer, Obsidian now reveals
July 16th as when this will commence, though owners of a founder's pack for the
sci-fi MMORPG will get
access to the beta a week before that on July 9th. They have cooked up
a new trailer to show
off what to expect from the beta. Here's the deal: The Skyforge Open Beta
is the culmination of four extended closed beta tests which will bring an
exciting and polished experience to players giving them the ability to explore
world of Aelion through the Ascension Atlas as five diverse classes on an
unlimited basis. To access the Skyforge Open Beta, gamers must register at
www.skyforge.com to create an account and
download the client beginning on July 16th. Following the Open Beta launch of
Skyforge players can expect to see additional content for all levels, classes,
regions, missions and a variety of new endgame features and game modes that will
further expand the gameplay experience.
Continue here to read the full story.
Steam News announces
that pre-purchases are now being accepted for
Act of Aggression,
the upcoming real-time strategy game from Eugen Systems. Such an advance
commitment involves risk, so they are including beta access as an incentive, and
say testing should start in a couple of weeks. Here's the deal: Act
of Aggression is Now Available for Pre-Purchase on Steam and is 15% off!*
Customers who prepurchase will receive free access to the beta, coming mid-July!
Set in the near-future, Act of Aggression is an explosive techno-thriller
real-time strategy game hailing from the Golden Era of RTS. With three global
super-powers, there can be only one victory.
Across three distinct factions each armed with the greatest modern and prototype
military weaponry, head into some of the world’s most volatile conflict zones,
building bases for mass production, establishing resource supply lines, and
waging war in Eugen Systems’ explosive RTS.
*Offer ends at 10AM Pacific on September 2nd
Here's a new trailer
from Codemasters for F1 2015, showing off the features in the new installment in
the Formula One racing series. All they have to say about this is: "F1 2015 puts
you in the heart of the action with a stunning new game engine that recreates
the blisteringly fast and highly responsive racing cars of FORMULA ONE™ and
features all-new ‘broadcast presentation’ that immerses you in the unique race
day atmosphere of a GRAND PRIX." Continue here to read the full story.
Here we have a new
trailer for Trials Fusion Awesome Level Max, showing off gameplay from the
included RedLynx vs All-Stars pack and the Awesome Adventure and that adds a
healthy dose of insanity to the racing game. Lest you think that's an
exaggeration, here's their description: The Awesome Adventure is a unique Trials Fusion experience that transforms
your character and bike into a gun-wielding cat riding a flamethrowing unicorn.
The Awesome Adventure also includes eight new classic Trials tracks, various
mini-games and an entertaining soundtrack for the ride.
RedLynx vs. All-Stars is a collection of more than 20 new tracks pitting
RedLynx’s own track creators against the very best track creators across the
world. The development team has collaborated closely with the fans over the past
year, and half of the RedLynx vs. All-Stars tracks have been created by the best
builders among the Trials Fusion community.
Continue here to read the full story.
There's a conspicuous space on
this reddit thread where there previously had been a story from someone who
claimed to have sneaked into the offices of Digital Extremes, actually
uncovering an unannounced upcoming virtual card game called Keystone. The post was not deleted because it was made up, but rather
because it contained details on where and how this security breach occurred (the
location of Digital Extremes is apparently a secret, as Googling the company's
address returns the result "Canada"). There is coverage of this on
Kotaku where they state they have independently confirmed the story, and
reproduce a redacted version of the original post. This all sounds like a parody
of Canadian politeness, as the intruder bypassed security by walking, sitting
down to lunch, and receiving answers to his questions. Here is what he says
about the game: "They told me they were working on a new game called Keystone.
They said it was a FPS with cards (like magic the gathering style perhaps) but
didn't explain that much about it." Thanks nin.
Activision announces that PC-loving Microsoft's Xbox exclusivity on the
Supremacy DLC for Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare has concluded, and the pack is
now available for Windows as well as a couple of PlayStations. Word is: "Call of
Duty: Advanced Warfare Supremacy, the third DLC pack for Call of Duty®: Advanced
Warfare is now available for PlayStation 4, PlayStation 3, and PC. London and
Moscow are just two of the locations players will experience in a diverse
collection of multiplayer mayhem, including the return of one of the most iconic
multiplayer maps in Call of Duty® history, "Highrise," which first debuted in
2009's Call of Duty®: Modern Warfare® 2, now transported to the year 2054. Call
of Duty: Advanced Warfare Supremacy includes four new, action-packed multiplayer
maps, all featuring the new Exo Grapple mechanic, which adds a layer of fun and
strategy to the experience." Here's a
gameplay trailer.
Continue here to read the full story.
Slitherine announces the release of Revolution Under Siege Gold, an updated
edition of this strategy game centered around the Russian Revolution. This is
available through the
AGEod website, where there's
a trailer for the gold
version. Here's what it has in store: Originally released in 2010,
Revolution Under Siege managed to surprise the wargaming sphere with a
very original setting: the Russian Civil War. Fans of the period and specialist
press alike (95% on Armchair General, Gamer's Hall Game of the Year Award 2010)
praised the flexibility of the AGE engine and its capacity to accurately
depict the fighting between the Red and the White armies.
Today developer SEP REDS invites the partisans to once again take up their
weapons and return to the frontline! With the official release of the Gold
Edition, players will have the chance to influence the historical events
more than ever and become the ultimate leader that Russia was awaiting. A
host of changes under the hood make the game deeper and more intuitive for
an overhauled wargaming experience.
This new edition introduces:
- Dozens of new historical events and semi-historical ones to give
an improved flavor to your games
- A myriad of new options and game mechanisms to immerse you even
more in the Russian Civil War
- A wealth of new political options, historical or alternate historical
according to the player's choices, which impact on resources, popularity and
diplomacy involving various playable factions.
- A Chronology of all the Events and Options of the game, so that
players can prepare for the strategic choices they will have to make.
- New updated manuals in English, French and Russian with details, rules
and design analysis
- A new updated Strategic map useful for your AAR and PBEM.
- Dozens of bug fixes and game balance additions, as well as hundreds of
minor improvements based on the last 4 years of players experience and
feedback.
Continue here to read the full story.
Publisher Nordic Games announces ELEX, a new action/RPG coming to PC and
consoles in winter 2016/2017 from Piranha Bytes, developer of the Gothic
and Risen series, calling this "by far the most ambitious project for
Piranha Bytes and Nordic Games to date." The title is an acronym for eclectic,
lavish, exhilarating, xenial, with that last one a Scrabble word that seems a
little incongruous with their "post-apocalyptic science fantasy" theme, as such
settings are not usually big on hospitality. A minimal
ELEX website is now online, and here's
what they are revealing at the moment: Nordic Games teams up with veteran
studio Piranha Bytes to work on their first collaborative and new project: ELEX.
This eclectic, lavish, exhilarating, xenial open-world RPG is scheduled to
release in Winter 2016/2017 on PC and current gen console platforms. This is by
far the most ambitious project for Piranha Bytes and Nordic Games to date.
“To say we are excited to see this new project unfold in the hands of Piranha
Bytes is an understatement. ELEX is going to be edgy, dark, uncompromising,
complex, and we love it already,“ comments Reinhard Pollice Business & Product
Development Director at Nordic Games. “We will be premiering a vertical slice
build at Gamescom 2015, more info will be released in due time.”
“Apart from being enthusiastic about the cooperation with Nordic Games, it is
great to know, that we will have ample creative freedom with ELEX, which is a
very important factor for us” said Björn Pankratz, Game Director at Piranha
Bytes. "We can't wait to show you a completely new game experience with a fresh
setting, new assets and plenty of possibilities."
A number of new threads appeared overnight on
the official forums
for Heroes of the Storm complaining of temporary bans Blizzard has handed
out for toxic behavior in the MOBA. There are complaints about the
punishments being unfair or inappropriate, but there are also numerous posts
from other users pleased that such discipline is being meted out. On a more
positive front, a bonus experience points weekend gets underway this afternoon
in the game. This
post by a
community manager explains this is to compensate for their previous XP boost
ending too early: As many of you are aware, our recent 100% XP Bonus
event ended a day earlier than we had originally communicated. We’ve seen quite
a bit of disappointment over this, as well as a progression issue that affected
players in Europe, and we’d like to apologize for any frustrations these things
have caused. In order to return some of this bonus time to you, we’re planning
to offer an additional 100% XP Bonus event that will span an entire weekend.
We will enable this 100% XP Bonus for the Americas region of Battle.net,
starting at 1:00 p.m. PDT on Thursday, July 2, and ending at 1:00 p.m. PDT on
Monday, July 6.
The event will also begin and end for each of our other Battle.net regions
around the world at 1:00 p.m. local time on these same days. We hope that you’ll
be able to take advantage of this additional XP Boost to pick up some of the
progression that many of you had hoping to earn on June 24.
Wargaming announces that open beta testing is now underway for World of
Warships, their naval combat MMOG. There are three websites serving this up,
depending on your territory: North America,
Europe, or
Asia. Here's the plan: The
wait is over as Wargaming today announced World of Warships has launched its
Open Beta. With the Closed Beta concluded, which surpassed over 410,000
prospective captains, the floodgates are open to all who are ready to command
the most iconic vessels from the mid-century in intense naval battles.
“World of Warships’ Closed Beta was strong out of the gate and showed no signs
of slowing as players and streamers embraced the game, then took to the high
seas for legendary naval combat,” said Jake Neri, Publishing Producer Wargaming
NA. “Participation was solid and a community of passionate, dedicated players
was born to help shape the game with their feedback. We can only match that by
working on the game with just as much passion. Building on all of this
enthusiasm we look forward to welcoming even more players into the Open Beta
test for a game we are so proud of.”
The Open Beta launches with over 80 warships from America and Japan and 10
original maps to participate in thrilling 12v12 matches. Players will shape the
fight by harnessing the power of mighty battleships, swift destroyers, tactical
aircraft carriers or versatile cruisers. Whether it is the fierce competition of
PvP combat or the action-packed experience of PvE mode, commanders will take the
helm, join forces with other players and sink the competition across the high
seas.
Continue here to read the full story.
A livestream is planned today
on Twitch for Swords Coast Legends, offering an extended look at the
E3 presentation for n-Space's upcoming Dungeons & Dragons RPG. Things get
underway at 3:00 pm EDT today, and here's word on the festivities: Join
n-Space President and Sword Coast Legends Game Director Dan Tudge as he and the
development team provide fans with an extended 30-minute look at the press-only
demo from E3 2015 featuring first ever public reveals of campaign creation,
dungeon master tools and much more!
Tune in as an adventure is created and modified in real-time and watch as four
players work together to try and overcome the challenges of the Spider Caves and
the monstrous Demon Web Terror.
Also, the team will give away some exclusive swag in celebration of a successful
E3 2015!
Archive Entertainment announces March of Industry is the next release
from the developer of 8BitMMO, saying this management simulation set in a former
Soviet republic is coming to Windows, OS X, and Linux as a free-to-play title
"soon." The March of Industry website
is online with an
announcement trailer showing off the game and its throwback style as well as
signups for an upcoming closed beta
test. Here's an outline of what this will involve: In March of
Industry, players manage a weapons factory in a recently-capitalist, ex-Soviet
country. Take the country's natural resources (copper, tin, vodka) and craft
them together to create more advanced resources and finally weapons. Players can
sell these weapons and use the proceeds to automate their crafting and
mass-produce even more weapons.
As the player's factory expands, they can create better (and more outlandish)
weapons. The 'Rocket-Propelled Katana Launcher' is both simple to make and
reasonably profitable. If you're up for more of a challenge, try combining
'Vodka' and 'Exercise Machines' to create the smelly but deadly 'Vladimir
Putin's Gym Shorts'. Or perhaps you prefer the terrifying but compact
'Inconveniently Small Dragons'?
Sign-ups for the upcoming private beta are now being accepted. March of Industry
is planned to be free-to-play and compatible with Windows, Mac, and Linux via
Steam and Kongregate, with a mobile release also being planned.
Ars Technica - The filler problem: Why Grand Theft Auto is wasting your time.
"Instead, they're just... dull. This filler content serves only to remind
the player that, yes, you can walk, drive, and bike from one end of the
fictional city of Los Santos to the other. Tailing or towing targets or
driving from point A to B to watch a cutscene provides an excuse to motor
around an obsessively detailed Los Angeles stand-in. It also raises the
question of whether Rockstar's goal was to make a game that's fun to play or
a vanity project that's fun to look at."
Saturday is Independence Day here in the U.S., so the official holiday for this
will be tomorrow. I would suspect that would make the news a little slow today,
but there's no indication of that so far, so we'll have to see how things
progress.
R.I.P.:
Nicholas Winton, Rescuer of 669 Children From Holocaust, Dies at 106.
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