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Archived News:
Stardock announces the release of Rise of the Terrans, the new DLC for
Galactic Civilizations III, adding a new prequel campaign and more to their 4X
space strategy sequel. This can be picked up from
Steam or
Stardock, and
this post has the news and
offers a few screenshots from the pack. Here's word: Stardock released
the new "Rise of the Terrans" DLC for its popular strategy game, Galactic
Civilizations III today. The DLC allows players to experience the early days of
the Terran Alliance and lead humanity’s first steps out into the galaxy with a
brand new campaign.
"Destiny might be calling, but you’re not alone and not all races are especially
friendly," said Paul Boyer, lead designer for Galactic Civilizations III. "After
humanity discovers how to build a Hyperdrive and starts to explore space, they
run into all sorts of new races and situations that eventually culminate in
forming the Terran Alliance. It's always been a pretty cool story to us, so
that’s what we wanted to cover in this new campaign."
The "United Earth" faction, led by Secretary General Mathews, is new to the DLC
as well. The new faction comes armed with the "experienced" ability, which
allows their ships to gain experience from battles and surveying anomalies more
quickly. Players will have the opportunity to encounter new enemies such as the
Xendar Menace, and each choice they make will have an impact on the future of
humanity.
The new Rise of the Terrans DLC is now available through
Steam or
Stardock. For more
information on Galactic Civilizations III, please visit
www.galciv3.com.
Blizzard's Jeff Kaplan
replied to a forum question asking about the future of Overwatch,
explaining in detail what they are working on and where their focus lies for the
multiplayer shooter. He discusses the incoming competitive mode, various
interface and other quality-of-life changes they plan, and without going too far
into specifics, discusses plans for new heroes and maps. Here's part that covers
those plans for new content: We're also working on new heroes right now.
We have some that are very far along and others that are just getting started.
We also have some prototype heroes that may or may not ever see the light of
day. We do a lot of prototyping... I don't think we're at a point where I can
really talk openly about the release schedule for the new heroes because I don't
want to set expectations and then have something come up and suddenly we're
backing out on a "promise" we never really made... if that makes sense.
We're also working on a few new maps right now. One of them is "officially" in
our production pipeline as it has passed through enough prototyping and
playtesting that we feel confident in it. So that map is in the hands of our art
group at this time. They are busy making it look awesome and while they do that,
we keep going back and playtesting it to make sure nothing changed between the
early level design blockout and the final "artified" version of the map.
We have a few other maps that are in prototype and playtest phases right now.
Some of them will become real maps and some of them will be totally scrapped --
so I can't really commit to you on those. For example, we tested a map yesterday
that was amazing yet a total disaster at the same time. Aaron tried some very
innovative level design tricks that we hadn't done before in OW. On the upside,
the map was very unique. But the we ran into problems with sight lines and the
map was basically dominated by long range heroes, leaving heroes like Reaper
practically useless. So if we can fix the sight lines while not losing the
overall vision, that map might turn into something some day.
So maps and heroes are being worked on daily. I wish I had dates for you but
whatever date I gave you would change and then you'd all be mad at me. The good
news is, like we've said before, for Overwatch, we won't be charging for those
maps or heroes. Those will just be live updates that will come in a patch for
free.
Thanks to 1badmf for pointing out we missed linking to the
Mass Effect Andromeda
video from EA Play 2016 the other day. This shows off a bit of the game as
well as some behind-the-scenes glimpses at the development process. Word is: "A
whole new galaxy awaits for you to explore. Mass Effect: Andromeda pushes the
boundaries of known space into the next generation, delivering distant star
systems with remote and hostile planets ripe for discovery." There is also
a post on IGN about what's being shown of the game at E3, discussing it as
more of a hero's journey arc for Ryder, the new protagonist for the continuation
of the space shooter/RPG series. Continue here to read the full story.
A
new post on Bandcamp Daily covers "The Cottage Industry of Indie Game
Soundtracks" (thanks nin). This offers a history lesson on the topic, a lot of
interesting detail on how this aspect of indie gaming has grown so large, and
profiles of several artists who have made game soundtracks their lives. And
though things have grown, the article also reflects how this remains a niche in
the music industry: But on the artful edge of indie gaming, where Guthrie
has found a niche, music is often indispensable. The musicians who specialize in
soundtracking some of the medium’s most groundbreaking titles have gained cult
followings, and some are becoming full-blown stars. On Bandcamp, soundtracks for
games like
Undertale and webcomics like
Homestuck, have remained near the top of the sales charts for months
on end.
And yet to the larger music industry, video game music still seems to be a
mystery. While boutique labels like LA’s iam8bit and London-based Data Discs
have found success in creating limited-edition vinyl pressings of retro and
indie game soundtracks (many of them drop-dead gorgeous), and
Ghostly released C418’s soundtrack
for Minecraft on vinyl last year, most of the larger indie labels in the U.S.
have yet to jump on the game soundtrack bandwagon.
- Human Resource Machine on
Steam. Save 25%.
There's a preview of Phoenix Point on Rock,
Paper, Shotgun with some first details about this
recently
revealed game from Julian Gollop, creator of the original X-COM
(thanks Task). They caught up with Gollop to discuss the project, and confirm
hopes that this will be a return to type of game he helped originate. Here's a
bit: One of the key tenets of Phoenix Point is taken from the most
important word in X-COM’s title: Unknown. Gollop tells me that he wants to
create a game in which the player will fear the dark and in which the enemy will
intelligently react and adapt to their tactical choices. If you repel an initial
wave using skillful sniper shots, the next attack might feature new monsters
with chitinous shields or front-facing armour, or humanoid hybrids with guns of
their own to return fire. Switch tactics to take these new creatures out with
incendiary weapons or explosives, and the next batch will find ways to counter
that tactic as well.
Focus Home Interactive announces tomorrow as the release date for Pro Cycling
Manager 2016, Cyanide's official PC game of the Tour de France, which comes alongside
Le Tour de France 2016, the console installment in the bicycle racing series.
Word is: "The Tour de France 2016 official games will be available June 16 on
PlayStation 4, Xbox One and PC. Cycling lovers and Grande Boucle enthusiasts
will be able to wear their favorite team's jersey and ride in the Tour as a
cyclist on the console editions, or become the sports manager on the PC edition.
In order to make your wait shorter until the Grand Départ, we are shifting the
excitement up a gear by releasing both titles’ launch trailer today." Here's
a launch
trailer, and here's more on the Windows game: On PC, become the
sports manager for a team of professional riders, and take part in a great 2016
season packed with new features, over more than 200 competitions (550 stages)
including the famous Tour de France 2016 and La Vuelta. It is up to you to
coordinate every aspect of a team's life: recruiting, contracts with cyclists
and sponsors, managing the staff, training and handling the race calendar… All
this, alongside making real time key decisions during the stages. Play by
yourself or challenge managers from all around the world in an entirely
rethought online multiplayer mode (create competitions, races, rules, co-op
events…)!
In this new edition, the Pro Cyclist Mode, which lets you play as a young
cyclist whom you guide to the top, is back with more interactions between you,
your teammates and your manager. The Career mode also provides a more intense
challenge thanks to a new objective and sponsor system. This 2016 edition is
more realistic, thanks to graphical improvements, new sceneries, a clearer
interface, improved relaying of information, and a more advanced AI that takes
into greater consideration cyclists' physiological abilities and also improves
shape and behaviors during breakaways. Finally, you will be able to share
content with the community using the Steam Workshop to constantly renew your
game experience.
Continue here to read the full story.
Steam now offers a
playable demo for Trackday Manager, a simulation from Arctic Hazard Game
Studio they call "a new category of skill based race car management in a
multiplayer online environment." There is a post about restarting the servers
for the demo, but no specifics about the demo's contents. Here's more on the
full game: "Trackday Manager is a 3D simulation/manager multiplayer game where
you are in charge of managing a racing team. You are not the driver but the team
chief! You control your driver during races by issuing commands while monitoring
the race carefully in beautiful 3D surroundings." Thanks Frans.
Update: We're now informed that the Survival Mode update will not launch
today as planned due to "last minute unforeseen circumstances." The setback is
not otherwise explained, and it's not clear at this point when this will come
out. A
post from a couple of weeks ago discusses beta testing of the mode.
Original Story:
Stoic announces the release of a new free update for Banner Saga 2,
adding a Survival Mode to the tactical RPG. This is automatically available
on Steam, and here are
some details about what the update includes: In survival mode players
have to assemble a ‘combat’ team from a wide range of existing Banner Saga
heroes. Once their team is complete, combat begins, but beware, perma-death in
battle is real and once lost, a hero can not be brought back. Each victory
grants ‘Renown’ (one of the major currencies in the Banner Saga), which can be
used to unlock more Heroes to replace ones that have fallen. Items now drop in
combat, or can be purchased with Renown, so that you can constantly improve your
combat team. A 30-second timer keeps the action moving and leaderboards track
how each player ranks against others. All three difficulty levels are included
in survival mode, so the hard core challenge is available to those who think
they can make it all the way through.
UbiBlog has a preview of Underground, the first paid expansion for The
Division that's coming to the third-person shooter at the end of this month.
This is penned by Ubisoft senior communications manager Giancarlo Varanini, and
peculiarly takes an outsider's tone, saying, "I had a chance to check out one of
these missions at E3 2016." He discusses the add-on's subterranean environments
and missions, and also outline the functions of your base of operations and how
you can customize gameplay: Our guide then explains Directives, a
collection of modifiers that can make the mission more difficult. To give you an
idea, there’s Fog of War, which removes HUD elements (like the mini-map) from
your screen, lowering your awareness of enemy positions. Waste Not Want Not
makes you lose any remaining ammunition in a clip during reload, and generally
gives you less ammo. Mad Skills makes it so that when you use a skill, it sets
the cooldown timer on all of your skills, while using a signature skill forces
the cooldown on all of your teammates’ signature skills. Special Forces gives
enemies special ammo types, and finally, Sickness constantly depletes health
down to the last segment of your health bar. We select Fog of War and head
underground to our first mission.
A new trailer from E3
where Dominic Guay discusses Watch Dogs 2, and the comments from the game's
senior producer are illustrated by footage of free-roaming missions in a virtual
San Francisco. Here's
word
from UbiBlog: Watch Dogs 2’s open-world take on the San Francisco Bay
Area is big, dynamic, and exciting, filled with things to hack and secrets to
uncover. To find out what went into re-creating San Francisco and turning it
into a massive hacker playground, we spoke with Senior Producer Dominic Guay
about who some of Watch Dogs 2’s bad guys are, how multiplayer works, and what
some of world’s standout features are.
Continue here to read the full story.
- AntLion ModMic 4.0 Uni-directional with Mute on
Overclockers Club.
- ASRock Z170M OC Formula (Intel Z170) Motherboard on
TweakTown.
- Gigabyte GTX 1080 G1 Gaming 8 GB Graphics Card on
techPowerUp
and
TechSpot.
- HIS Radeon R7 360 GREEN iCooler OC 2GB Graphics Card on
Nikk Tech.
- Intel Core i7-6950X vs Core i7-5960X CPUs on
ocaholic.
- MSI GeForce GTX 1080 Gaming X 8G - A Totally Silent GTX 1080 Graphics
Card on
TweakTown.
- Silverstone Argon Cooler Round Up on
Hardware Asylum.
- SilverStone Argon Series AR08 CPU Air Cooler on
HARDOCP.
Oops, missed mentioning yesterday was Flag Day here in the U.S.A. I should feel
extra-sheepish about this, since I am a descendant of Betsy Ross, who created
the original flag, at least according to legend. Oh well, it's not like Betsy
left me piles of that sweet, sweet flag cash.
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