|
|
 |
Archived News:
Stardock announces
the availability of Outlaw Sectors, a new DLC pack for Sins of a Solar
Empire: Rebellion, their sci-fi 4X/RTS game. This offers a new gameplay
option, and a bunch of new maps to support a range of scenarios from one-on-ones
through ten-player battles. Here's word: Challenge yourself with new
strategies and unique setups with the new “Outlaw Sectors” gameplay option and
brand new maps for Sins of a Solar Empire: Rebellion. The variety of map sizes
and designs will let you enjoy any kind of match you want, from intimate 1v1
duels all the way to epic 10-player brawls.
Outlaw Sectors Gameplay
The lawless fringe is increasingly hostile, but for those with a criminal mind
it's also rich with new opportunities.
- Smuggling Specialization: Choose this
planetary development to grab a cut of everyone's trade
income - but at a cost. The increased corruption from this black market
activity will reduce that planet's tax income.
- Rampant Militias: Autonomous planetary
militias will grow, raid nearby systems, and repopulate over time. Use them
to help defend your worlds, or coordinate your attacks with their strikes
for maximum impact.
- Pirate Turf: Vicious when in their home
sector, pirates can now raid multiple players simultaneously, drastically
changing the art of the bidding war. And, just to make sure they are fully
motivated to do what they do best, all credits spent on bounties will
receive an automatic bonus.
The level editor for Hotline Miami 2: Wrong Number is now available
on Steam, accompanied by
the launch of the Steam
Workshop of mods for the Windows, Linux, and OS X action game. To celebrate
the news, the game is currently on sale for 75% off. Here's word on the release
of the editor: Dennaton Games, Abstraction Games, and Devolver Digital
have released the much anticipated Hotline Miami 2: Wrong Number level editor
via Steam Workshop [http://steamcommunity.com/app/274170/workshop/].
The Hotline Miami 2: Wrong Number level editor allows users an amazing amount of
depth and options to create their own single levels and full campaigns complete
with custom cut scenes to tell their original stories in the Hotline Miami
universe.
Players will hand design levels of their custom campaigns floor by floor,
meticulously placing enemies, weapons, furnishings and decorations in order to
design original missions and remake / remix their favorites from the series.
Levels, campaigns, and collections can all be shared via Steam Workshop where
hundreds of user created levels designed during the beta period are ready to be
played.
2K Games announces a Family Kick-Back pack that's a preorder bonus for Mafia
III, the next installment in the open-world crime series. They offer
this trailer to show
off the contents of the bonus pack. Here's the deal:
Building a criminal empire takes muscle and firepower. As the new boss in
town, your new family is showing their loyalty with territory Kick-Back gifts.
Pre-order Mafia III and get the bonus Family Kick-Back digital download,
three exclusive vehicles and weapons to help you take down your enemies and own
the city. Continue here to read the full story.
The
Yacht Club Games website has details on a couple of new campaigns that are
coming for free to Shovel Knight along with all the other post-release content
for the platformer (thanks
Eurogamer). Here is the summary of their battle plan:
With that experience fresh in our minds, the team here is now working on all
remaining campaigns and updates at once! That means Specter Knight, King Knight,
Body Swap, and Battle Mode (for PC and consoles). That’s a lot more game — and
it should arrive sooner than the wait between Shovel Knight and Plague Knight.
Creating these updates simultaneously will allow us to plan more cohesively. How
levels change between the two characters, how much time is needed for new
mechanics/systems, stories interweaving, and so on. Once we’re nearing
completion on one set of updates, we’ll be switching our focus to a single
campaign to make sure it’s polished for release. Then we’ll be doing the same by
switching to the next campaign! Here are some answers to the most frequent
questions:
- We’re working on two new campaigns: Specter Knight
and King Knight.
- Campaigns will not be releasing at the same time.
Specter Knight will be released first!
- No estimated release date for any Update quite
yet.
- Similar to our last update, we’ll probably
go overboard
too. Hey! Maybe that’s why we’re called Yacht Club Games!
- New campaigns will come with new Feats and
Challenges for the new campaign character!
- We’re also working on two new modes: Body Swap and
Battle Mode!
- Just like Plague of Shadows releasing with
Challenge Mode, we’re planning to release one of these new modes alongside
each campaign.
- Battle Mode is being designed as a single screen,
multiple controller, multiplayer mode and is currently not planned to arrive
on handheld versions of the game. We’ll be sure to announce if there are any
changes on that front.
- Much like Plague of Shadows, all of the announced
upcoming Shovel Knight content will be free on ALL platforms! For disc/cart
and digital versions!
The Overwatch website
announces the launch of a public test region for Overwatch, offering
the chance to check out the upcoming competitive mode for Blizzard's multiplayer
shooter. They have a FAQ covering the test and how to participate, and they
offer these details on competitive play: Once you hit level 25, you’ll
have access to our newest feature: Competitive Play. This mode was designed to
be a more serious experience, allowing players to hone their skills and perfect
their strategies. But before diving into the fray, you’ll need to play 10
placement matches. These will allow our matchmaking system to gather enough
information about your abilities to assign a skill rating.
With your newly acquired skill rating, you’ll be matched against players of a
similar ability level. And if you play well and win games, the competition will
become increasingly fierce throughout the two-and-a-half-month season. Plus,
your performance will be rewarded with unique in-game items like sprays, player
icons, and Competitive Points (which can be traded in for cosmetic Golden
Weapons).
We’ve also made a number of changes to Overwatch's match format for Competitive
Play. Some of these changes are simple interface changes, while others ensure
that maps and modes don't favor one side or another—plus we’ve added a sudden
death mechanic that ensures tied games are broken as fairly as possible.
Because Competitive Play is more serious in nature, we want to make sure that
player behavior is acceptable. This means that the penalties are more severe
than in the Quick Play or Weekly Brawl! modes. Leaving a game early or stepping
away from your computer will make you ineligible to join a game until the
previous game has ended, and continued infractions could result in restrictions
or removal from Competitive Play.
Gearbox Software announces that the Mac OS X edition of Homeworld:
Deserts of Kharak is now available. The post is pretty empty, as they point
to the game's Steam listing,
which includes
this post, which, while also short, includes word that this includes
cross-platform support: Homeworld: Deserts of Kharak is now available for
Mac! Play the Campaign or online Multiplayer with enemies on both PC and Mac.
Homeworld: Deserts of Kharak is a ground-based RTS prequel to the classic
Homeworld games. Assemble your fleet and lead them to victory on the shifting
sands of Kharak in this compelling strategy game for PC from Blackbird
Interactive.
Okay, it was 20 years ago today that QUAKE was first released, a remarkable
anniversary for a remarkable game that helped propel the shooter genre into the
present. This has me awash in memories of those days... writing down IP
addresses for servers before QuakeSpy, complaining about LPBs, discovering the
first modifications, and more. Happy birthday QUAKE, thanks for the memories,
and thanks to all of you for helping form so many of them over all these years.
|
Twitter 
