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Archived News:
Anandtech's AMD Radeon R9 Fury X Review includes word that AMD has ceased
further optimization for the Mantle low-level graphics API they
introduced amid some fanfare less than two years ago (thanks
DSOGaming). Word is they are not dropping support outright, but have
"essentially deprecated" Mantle, leading Anadtech to conclude: "The experiment
that is Mantle has come to an end." Here's what they report: The situation
then is that in discussing the performance results of the R9 Fury X with Mantle,
AMD has confirmed that while they are not outright dropping Mantle support, they
have ceased all further Mantle optimization. Of particular note, the Mantle
driver has not been optimized at all for GCN 1.2, which includes not just R9
Fury X, but R9 285, R9 380, and the Carrizo APU as well. Mantle titles will
probably still work on these products – and for the record we can’t get
Civilization: Beyond Earth to play nicely with the R9 285 via Mantle – but
performance is another matter. Mantle is essentially deprecated at this point,
and while AMD isn’t going out of their way to break backwards compatibility they
aren’t going to put resources into helping it either. The experiment that is
Mantle has come to an end.
CD Projekt RED reveals they will not be offering free DLC for The Witcher
3: Wild Hunt this week as they finish up work on a version 1.07 patch for
the RPG sequel (thanks
VG247). This includes some solutions for some inventory issues among other
things: As some of you may know, we are finishing up work on our next big
patch, Patch 1.07. It’s a very large update introducing some key changes,
including:
- A new, alternative (optional) movement response
mode for Geralt.
- A player stash for storing items, available in
various locations throughout the game. Stash locations are marked on the
player's map.
- Crafting and alchemy components no longer add to
the overall inventory weight.
- Books are now placed in a dedicated tab in the
Inventory and books that have already been read are properly grayed out.
- Multiple sorting options are now available in the
Inventory.
- Alchemy formulas and crafting diagrams can be
"pinned", meaning all components and ingredients required to make them will
be conveniently marked in the Shop panel.
- Dozens of fixes for quest related issues, both
major and minor.
- A few performance enhancements, including the
optimization of FX, scenes and general gameplay.
- Various improvements to horse behavior.
Since it's been all hands on deck working to finish and release this patch on
time, we won’t be publishing a free DLC this week (don’t worry - free content
comes back next week). We hope you understand our decision. We’ve gathered so
much feedback from you over the past couple of weeks and we want to implement as
much of it as possible. The full change list for the patch 1.07 will be coming
later this week. Stay tuned for info about the release of the update
itself.
Kalypso Media announces the OS X edition of the Paradise Lost DLC bundle
for Tropico 5 is now available, noting this collection of three DLC packs
is also now available for the Xbox 360 edition of the island dictator sequel.
Here's word : 'Paradise Lost,' the second add-on bundle pack for Tropico
5, is out now for the Xbox 360 via the Xbox Games Store and via an in-app
purchase for the Mac App Store version, serving up three thrilling scenarios
complete with new buildings and additional avatar accessories. In Surfs Up! El
Presidente must look to the dolphins to save the world from an intergalactic
menace. Then, get in touch with your humanitarian side in Gone Green and
transform Tropico into a sustainable paradise by making use of clean energy
sources. But if all this nobility gets too much for you, then you can instead
help El Prez seize ultimate power in Supervillain, becoming the world’s most
dangerous ruler and achieving global domination. Also included in Paradise Lost
are three swinging new music tracks and three new maps for each game
mode.
WBIE unveils the Mortal Kombat X Predator Bundle, a new DLC package coming to
the fighting game sequel tomorrow.
This trailer shows
off the playable Predator and other features of the pack, and there are more
details in this announcement: Today, Warner Bros. Interactive
Entertainment revealed the Mortal Kombat™ X Predator Bundle, new downloadable
content (DLC) that features the ultimate hunter, Predator from the films of the
same name, as a playable character and three new character skins including
Commando Johnny, Infrared Scorpion and Carl Weathers as Jax.
The Predator Bundle is a part of the Mortal Kombat X Kombat Pack, providing fans
with Mortal Kombat X DLC for £24.99. Players who already own the Kombat Pack
will be able to download the Mortal Kombat X Predator Bundle starting tomorrow,
7th July.
Players wishing to purchase the Predator Bundle separately will be able to do so
beginning Tuesday, 14th July from the PlayStation Store, Xbox Marketplace and
Steam for £6.49. Predator will be sold separately for £3.99 and the Predator
Prey Pack including the three new skins will be available for purchase
separately for £3.29.
Fans can witness Predator ruthlessly decimate his opponents in the new Mortal
Kombat X: Predator Official Trailer, unveiled this morning.
Continue here to read the full story.
Cloud Imperium Games announces they've opened a new studio in Frankfurt, the
hotbed of CryENGINE development, to further support creation of Star
Citizen, their upcoming space combat game. Here's the plan: Cloud
Imperium™ Games (CIG), the creators of the first person universe space
simulator, Star Citizen™, formally announced today the opening of its newest
development office in Frankfurt, Germany. Managed by CIG’s Foundry 42 Ltd. in
Manchester, the Frankfurt office is comprised of some of the top engineers,
artists and designers in Europe, many of whom had responsibility in creating the
engine technology, CryEngine, which is the foundational framework for Star
Citizen.
“These are some of the top game developers in this part of the world,” said
CIG’s co-founder and creative director, Chris Roberts. “We are extremely pleased
to have them on our team and working with CIG in all aspects of creating Star
Citizen. Their experience in working on CryEngine will pay huge dividends for us
in the very near future. Some of their contributions are already showing up in
in our single player game, Squadron 42, and our first person shooter elements.”
The new Foundry 42 office sits on the western side of Frankfurt in a new
business complex close to the city’s convention center and shopping district.
There currently are 21 people on the team, but that number is expected to
increase to 50 by the end of the year. Cloud Imperium’s job listings, including
those currently open in Frankfurt can be found at
https://cloudimperiumgames.com/jobs.
- Neverending Nightmares on
Steam. Save 66%.
- Shadowgate (2014) on
Steam. Save 80%.
Link of the Day:
Extremely low pass by Libyan MIG 23. Sphincter check.
The LinkedIn
profile of Alex Mayberry now lists Cloud Imperium Games as a previous
employer, leading to speculation that he's no longer the Executive Producer on
Star Citizen, though his current position still reads "Executive Producer
at Cloud Imperium Games."
PC
Invasion reports a response from CIG to this stated: "Needless speculation
into personnel matters at CIG are neither constructive, or fair to the people
being talked about." The counterpoint is that this is a high-profile position
for a high-profile project that rated
its own announcement at the time the former
Blizzard producer joined the team, so their 920K customers/investors already on
the hook for almost $85 million for the crowdfunded space game probably have a
right to be concerned with this, and CIG's lack of a denial suggests such
speculation is neither "needless" nor "unfair." Update:
PC Invasion now confirms that Alex has left CIG, getting word from the
company that "a lot" of his duties will be assumed by Erin Roberts.
The Sims 4 slips back into the top spot on the
GFK Chart-Track top 30 chart of the bestselling PC games in the U.K. for the
week ending July 4th. Last week's number one FINAL FANTASY XIV: Heavensward
slips all the way to number nine. On their
all platforms top 40 Batman: Arkham Knight retains the top spot. Here's
the snappy summary: With
little in the way of new releases ‘Batman Arkham Knight’ (-74%) comfortably
holds on to the No1 crown for a second week.
For Warner Bros. Interactive it means they maintain their comfortable hold on
the All Formats Top 2 positions as ‘Lego Jurassic World’ (-11%) remains at No2.
Despite an 11% drop in sales the title is still handed a boost by the arrival of
the Wii U version in its 4th week on chart. ‘The Elder Scrolls Online’ (-34%)
also maintains No3 spot meaning an unchanged Top 3 for the second week running.
‘The Witcher III: Wild Hunt’ (-31%) climbs a place to No4, while ‘Grand Theft
Auto V’ (-5%) is up a place to No5.
‘Yoshi’s Woolley World’ (-60%) is down two places to No6 in its second week.
‘Minecraft: Xbox Edition’ (+0%) climbs four places back into the Top 10 to No7
just ahead of ‘FIFA 15’ (-21%), which is a non-mover at No8. ‘Call of Duty:
Advanced Warfare’ (-25%) is down two places to No9 while ‘Minecraft: Playstation
Edition’ (+0%) just edges out ‘Destiny’ to round off the Top 10.
Interdimensional Games offers a
new gameplay teaser
trailer from CONSORTIUM: The Tower Prophecy with a look at the Unreal Engine
4 graphics of this upcoming first-person shooter sequel. CONSORTIUM was inspired
by Cavedog's cancelled shooter Amen: The Awakening, and it was
released early last year following a
successful Kickstarter. They are set to launch a Kickstarter for the follow-up,
and outline their plans thusly: The Tower Prophecy is both a direct
sequel to last year’s fourth wall breaking Consortium, and also a stand-alone
game in its own right. “It’s not well known yet, but I’m proud to say that even
one year after its release, Consortium remains a highly unique first-person
interactive narrative,” Gregory MacMartin, CEO of iDGi said. “No two players can
have the exact same experience. The iDGi-1 Interactive Narrative Technology
allows for a unique combination of scripted narrative and player agency. By
harnessing and building upon existing technology, mechanics and content
developed for Consortium, The Tower Prophecy will push the boundaries of
seamlessly blending narrative and player freedom even further, and will offer a
more polished and well-rounded experience.”
Continue here to read the full story.
Congrats to the U.S. women's team on their
World Cup victory. Our men's team has obviously struggled playing the
world's favorite sport (it's been downhill after a stirring third place in
1930), but the women's team has been amazing, with three out of seven
championships, and their worst-ever finish being third place. Very impressive.
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