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Archived News:
Google today announced Daydream, a new phone-based VR setup for Android. This is
an evolution of the Google Cardboard proof-of-concept, though will apparently
only work on new phones designed for it.
The Verge has details on where they are taking this: Daydream — which
encompasses both hardware and software — is a more advanced successor to
Cardboard, the disposable headset standard that Google released two years ago.
It's a mobile VR system powered by the next wave of Android N devices, built to
a company-approved standard. Where Google Cardboard worked with almost any
smartphone, Daydream will only work on new phones with specific components like
special sensors and screens. There's no sign of something like Project Tango's
spatial mapping or augmented reality options, but the components are supposed to
offer a smoother, lower-latency experience than you could get by simply adding
VR as a software update.
For phones that can handle it, Google is baking a feature called Android VR Mode
into the latest version of its operating system. Hinted at in leaks before the
show, VR Mode includes a series of optimizations that will improve apps'
performance. But it's also an ecosystem that users will be able to navigate
inside virtual reality. A Daydream home screen will let people access apps and
content while using the headset; an early look shows a whimsical forest
landscape with the slightly low-poly look that Google has used in Cardboard
apps. Inside this environment, Google has created special VR versions of
YouTube, Street View, the Google Play Store, Play Movies, and Google Photos.
It's also recruited a number of outside media companies to bring apps to
Daydream, including streaming platforms like Netflix and gaming companies like
Ubisoft and Electronic Arts.
The Rage of Demons DLC is now available for
Sword Coast Legends, the Dungeons &
Dragons-based PC RPG. This is completely free for everyone who owns the game,
adding a new campaign, a new race, and more.
This announcement has all the details, and here's a condensed version:
We are excited to share news that the 'Rage of Demons' DLC for Sword
Coast Legends is now available for PC. The Rage of Demons DLC is completely free
to anyone who has purchased Sword Coast Legends, the award-winning, party-based
RPG set in the Dungeons & Dragons Forgotten Realms Universe from Wizards of the
Coast.
With a brand new story campaign recommended for experienced adventurers, Rage of
Demons finds players fighting alongside the legendary drow, Drizzt Do'Urden.
Face deadly challenges with new allies, including the introduction of the new
tiefling race, warlock class, and more.
Dungeon Masters can also look forward to fresh and exciting campaigns, as the
world of Sword Coast Legends just got larger! New dungeon and town areas,
creatures, decorations, and tilesets from the all-new Rage of Demons campaign
promise to bring custom adventures and campaigns to life like never
before.
Epic Games announces they will be hosting a free beta weekend for
Paragon on both PC and
PlayStation 4 from May 26-30, offering the chance to check out their upcoming
MOBA. You have a week to sign up for this on
this page, and everyone who applies will be admitted. Paragon is now in paid
early access, but a free open beta will launch in the summer. Here's word on the
game: Choose from an ever-expanding roster of unique Heroes, earn cards
to customize their abilities, and lead your team to victory.
Paragon is designed so that every player can compete and win without ever
spending money. All Heroes are free, and cards can only be earned by playing the
game.
Take-Two Interactive Software Reports Stronger-Than-Expected Results for Fiscal
Year 2016 showing the company's accounting of their just-concluded fiscal
year. Here are the bullet points: GAAP Net Revenue Grew 31% to $1.414 Billion.
Non-GAAP Net Revenue was $1.561 Billion. GAAP Net Loss Narrowed to $0.10 Per
Diluted Share. Non-GAAP Net Income Was $1.96 Per Diluted Share. Here's where
they say the money came from: The largest contributors to Non-GAAP net
revenue in fiscal fourth quarter 2016 were Grand Theft Auto V® and Grand Theft
Auto Online, NBA® 2K16, XCOM® 2 and WWE® 2K16. Non-GAAP net revenue from
digitally-delivered content grew 12% year-over-year to $226.6 million, led by
Grand Theft Auto, NBA 2K, XCOM 2, and WWE 2K. Revenue from recurrent consumer
spending (virtual currency, downloadable add-on content and online games) grew
15% year-over-year and accounted for 55% of Non-GAAP net revenue from
digitally-delivered content, or 37% of total Non-GAAP net revenue. Catalog sales
accounted for $211.3 million of Non-GAAP net revenue led by the Grand Theft Auto
and Borderlands series.
A new trailer from
Riders of Icarus shows off one of the main draws in Nexon America's upcoming
MMORPG, mounted combat. They tout the sale of
Founder's Packs to provide
head-start access to the upcoming open beta, and provide the following
description of the new clip: Take the battle to the sky with fantastical
flying mount combat unlike anything you’ve seen before in Riders of Icarus, the
new unprecedented action-adventure MMORPG experience that lets you ride and
fight on the back of the realm’s most dangerous winged beasts… dragons. As a
Rider with legendary combat abilities, you will explore a majestic world to
tame, collect and train hundreds of different wild beasts as your very own
mounts each with unique special abilities. Master the skills of aerial combat
with other battle-ready heroes as you fight your way through an epic experience
filled with massive boss battles by both land and air.
Continue here to read the full story.
A new gameplay trailer
from Excubitor offers a look at some of the environments and weapons in the
tower defense/space shooter coming next week from Kasedo Games. They say they
will only release one more video after this before the game is released, and
here's more on what it offers: "In the trailer, gamers will preview the frenetic
in-game action that will give just a small taste of the 17 upgradable weapons
and the powerful attacks of your Hammerhead defence craft as you fight against
waves of enemies." Continue here to read the full story.
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Artificer -- Steam Greenlight. "Artificer is a top-down 2D space shooter
for PC. It is a competitive shooter – multiplayer or single player – in an
arena setting or with simple objectives (e.g. destroy or defend stations,
and capture points)." Playable open beta available.
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Syrian Warfare -- Steam Greenlight. "Syria is all over the news, and
it's become a subject of many documentaries. We, however, want to show the
story through the lens of the game, and don't let the word 'game' mislead
you. This game does not claim to be a history lesson, but it shows the
course of the war in all its seriousness through the major milestones, from
the first days till the latest important victories over terror."
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West of Loathing -- Steam Greenlight. "West of Loathing is a single
player slapstick adventure RPG set in the Wild West of the "Loathing"
universe -- a new game in development by Asymmetric, the folks behind the
popular long-running online game
The Kingdom of Loathing."
- Assetto Corsa on
Steam. Save 40%.
Steam News announces
that that the first chapter of King's Quest
on Steam is now free,
offering a new way to get started with the episodic revival of the role-playing
series. Here's word: King’s Quest - Chapter 1: A Knight to Remember is
now available to download and play for free. King’s Quest is a collection of
five different chapter releases, each focusing on an untold tale in Graham’s
past. In each chapter, an aging King Graham reflects on his life of adventure
with his granddaughter, Gwendolyn.
Life Goes On: Done to Death is now officially available
on Steam after a
successful early access run for the Windows, OS X, and Linux puzzle platformer.
Here's a new trailer
and here's the one-liner for the game: "A comical puzzle platformer where you
must die to progress. The bodies you leave behind are your only tools to solve
puzzles on your quest to find the Cup of Life."
This post has more on the release: Life Goes On: Done to Death is a
comically-morbid platformer where you guide heroic knights to their demise and
use the dead bodies to solve puzzles. Wanting to live forever, a mighty king
sends his army of knights to find the Cup of Life. On this quest, you will
summon knight after knight to be brutally sacrificed.
Impale knights on spikes to create a safe path. Catch a knight on a sawblade to
land the body on a button. Freeze knights into blocks of ice to reach higher
ground.
You’ll also electrocute knights to open doors, blast knights out of cannons, and
even zombify a knight to be your violent, dim-witted friend. As you journey
through treacherous and trap-ridden worlds, you’ll show no mercy to solve each
challenging puzzle.
Continue here to read the full story.
Daum Games announces a June 1st release date for part one of the Valencia
expansion for Black Desert
Online, their MMORPG. Here's word on what this will bring to the game:
Black Desert Online keeps getting larger and larger as the first part of
the next major expansion, Valencia, receives a June 1 release date.
The new content increases the size of the world by an additional 30% and also
brings hundreds of new quests, some of which extend the main storyline.
With Valencia Part One, players will be able to journey to an expansive desert
region where exploration will take a completely different turn. Extreme heat
during daytime requires proper hydration and intense cold at night requires
players to stay warm. Additionally, a new weather effect, sandstorm, inflicts
damage unless players set up a tent to protect themselves. The minimap will be
unavailable, but getting lost is not all bad―who knows what treasure your shovel
may strike?
Regular horses and wagons are not ideal to traverse the desert and will see
their speed lowered. Thankfully, players will be able to purchase Camels from
NPCs, which fare much better in these harsh conditions. Another new mount, the
Guild-owned Elephant, serves as a powerful war mount in sieges.
Playing around with clock speeds and other settings can be a fun diversion. I've
been enjoying fooling around trying to find some of the
untapped potential in this system. The process can be a little rough, of course.
I'm positive I crashed this machine more times yesterday than in all the time
since I first built it. But you can't make an omelet without killing a few
chefs, so...
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