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Archived News:
Even though the countdown on the Evolve
website mentioned this morning is still
running,
a post on the Turtle Rock Forums reveals the news that the asymmetrical
shooter is going free-to-play, something people suspected might be the plan when
the game ceased being available for sale earlier today (thanks jacobvandy). The
lengthy post includes a frank discussion of how Evolve lost a lot of
enthusiasm over controversial DLC implementation after launching to mixed
reviews, and how the elimination of the purchase price and a "vigorous overhaul"
of the game are at the core of how they plan to "get that magic back." They will
re-launch the game for free as a beta tomorrow as they work towards evolving
Evolve to better match audience expectations. Here's word on those plans and how
they will compensate those who have already paid for the game: Making
Evolve free on PC is going to be a process that takes time and a lot of hard
work, but we believe in Evolve and we believe in you, our players and want to do
what’s best for both!
Here’s how it’s going to work: We’re going to make Evolve free on PC as a Beta
starting on July 7. This is going to allow us to hit our new server
infrastructure really hard and we need your help testing. Stuff could break, and
that’s our hope, because that will give us time to improve things as we go.
We’ll parse out major Beta revisions, updates and features over a period of
weeks and months -- a plan we're going to continually communicate here. This
allows us to test new features and major changes to make our game more
accessible and ever closer to the joy we saw when we first showed our baby to
the world. Just as importantly, this Beta plan gives us the flexibility and time
we need to keep fixing bugs and making Evolve more stable.
“What about those who paid for Evolve? What about Season Passers?”
Anyone who owns classic Evolve will be given “Founder” status in the new free
version, and all the content you already own comes with you to the new version.
As long as we work on Evolve, we will show our appreciation for our committed
fans and early adopters with gifts, rewards, and special access. Why? Because
you believed like we did, and we will never forget that.
As part of our promise to recapture the magic and improve the Evolve experience
across-the-board, we're going to ratchet up our communication with the
community. We will be continually updating our social channels, our forums and
our website to let you know how it’s going.
New version 368.69 WHQL-certified Windows GeForce drivers are now available for
NVIDIA graphic cards. Word is these are game-ready drivers for DiRT Rally VR, an
updated edition of DiRT Rally coming later this month for the Oculus Rift. Word
is: " DiRT Rally is one
of the best racers around, and undeniably the best rally game in years. Very
soon you will be able play a custom-built virtual reality version of the game on
the Oculus Rift. DiRT Rally VR will launch on the Oculus Store soon, while
existing PC players will receive the update via Steam this month. For an
optimized experience when it launches, be sure to grab the new Game Ready
driver." Thanks Rhialto.
The Team Fortress 2 blog
introduces the gaming world to a brand new concept they call "matchmaking." It's
pretty outrageous stuff, apparently the idea is to create matches in the
multiplayer shooter based on some sort of measurable criteria, in what seems to
be a blatant slap
in the face of random haphazardness. This is part of a "Meet Your Match" update
that will add a competitive mode to the game, and will rework quickplay to try
and create balanced games as well. They also have details on new maps and the new
game mode the update will bring, along with
a trailer celebrating
the news. Here's the overwatch, err, overview: Introducing Competitive
Mode, a ranked 6v6 game mode featuring all nine TF classes. Climb the comp mode
ranks to earn up to 18 titles and badges. Track all of your match and ongoing
stats in-game. You can even earn stat medals by scoring in the top percentile of
all players in your rank. Read the Competitive Mode FAQ for more information.
Continue here to read the full story.
Following previous indications that a support/sniper named Sombra will be the
next hero added to Overwatch,
this tweet goes another step towards confirming this is the plan for
Blizzard's multiplayer shooter. The tweet
includes a schematic for a "prototype biotic rifle," complete with warnings that
this can be used to harm enemies as well as help friends.
A playable demo for the Windows edition of
Trials
of the Blood Dragon is now available through
Uplay, offering the chance to sample this
recently released installment in the Trials series. This can be used to get a
full copy of the game for free, as Ubisoft promises a copy of the full
registered version to everyone who can complete the demo with 15 faults or
fewer. Here's the deal: Today, Ubisoft announced an opportunity for
gamers to win their own copy of Trials® of the Blood Dragon on Windows PC. On
July 22nd, players can jump into the madness by downloading a free demo version
of the full game from Uplay®, and those who complete the demo with 15 faults or
less, are rewarded with the full game for free. Players can also compete against
each other on a global leaderboard to see who can achieve the fewest number of
faults.
In Trials of the Blood Dragon, players will journey through 30 missions spanning
seven different worlds, using a range of gravity-defying vehicles, weapons and
tools, such as bikes, jetpacks, plasma rifles, CD launchers and grappling hooks,
to get over and through anything they need to.
Additionally, players will be able to race against each other on asynchronous
multiplayer leaderboards for an extra competitive edge. Over the course of the
game, players can complete the experience by unlocking the game’s soundtrack,
composed by Power Glove.
Open beta testing is now underway for
Riders of Icarus, basically a
soft launch for this MMORPG featuring airborne mounted combat. You can pick up
the client through Steam
and the Nexon Launcher. A
new open beta CG trailer
celebrates the occasion, and
this post has all the details on what's changed since closed beta testing.
Word is: "In addition to enhancements made from player feedback such as new
control options, an achievement system and an improved tutorial, players can
also look forward to hundreds of mythical beasts to tame, theatrical boss fights
and an epic fantasy world on their journey to become a legendary Rider of Icarus." Continue here to read the full story.
Boss Key is planning a third closed alpha testing session for LawBreakers
this weekend from noon to midnight EDT on both Saturday and Sunday. Testing will
include the Promenade map that was revealed at E3 and the Overcharge game mode.
This post has all the details, including word that for this testing they
will only be running servers in the NA and EU. Those interest in participating
can sign up on this page. Here's a new
video diary showing
how the development team is using community feedback to refine the game. Continue here to read the full story.
A playable demo for 10 Second Ninja X is now available
on Steam and the game's
official website, offering the
chance to sample this upcoming platformer. They call this the "prepare to buy"
edition, as they will be reducing the list price for the upcoming game based on
how many stars players collect in the demo. Word is: "Playable via Steam
( http://store.steampowered.com/app/435790/) as well as directly in-browser at
the official website ( http://10second.ninja/challenge), the free ‘Prepare to
Buy’ Edition allows players to earn in-game stars based on how quickly they
complete stages, and subsequently lower the game’s final pricing across all
formats when the full game launches on July 19. For each star collected by
players worldwide across the demo’s five levels, Curve Digital will drop the
launch price by 0.0008 percent up to a maximum of 40 percent. If 50,000 stars
are collected cumulatively prior to release, 10 Second Ninja X will be
discounted to an almost irresistible $5.99 from its planned price of $9.99."
Here's a
new trailer. Continue here to read the full story.
GameSpot has a video showing off some ace piloting of one of the biplanes in
Battlefield 1, DICE's upcoming shooter set during World War I. The clip
runs about seven minutes "in glorious 2K resolution." The clip shows off some
ground attack and lots of dogfighting. Update: Perhaps someone was
coloring outside of the lines by posting this, but for whatever reason, GameSpot
has deleted this story and video entirely.
Bethesda announces The Elder Scrolls Online: Gold Edition, a chance
for them to make some more gold from their fantasy-themed MMORPG. This will
bundle the game along with all the DLC that's come out since its release, along
with a mount and a pile of spacebux. Here's word: Own the complete ESO
story plus the first four DLC game packs with the newly announced The Elder
Scrolls Online: Gold Edition. From Skyrim to Daggerfall, this pack allows you to
explore the vast world of Tamriel in one package. Travel to Abah's Landing to
master the art of thievery with the iconic Thieves Guild, become a deadly
assassin of the Dark Brotherhood in the Gold Coast, or ride to Wrothgar and aid
the Orc King Kurog in rebuilding Orsinium.
The Elder Scrolls Online: Gold Edition includes the following content:
- The Elder Scrolls Online
- DLC game packs:
- Imperial City
- Orsinium
- Thieves Guild
- Dark Brotherhood
- Palomino horse mount
- 500 crowns to spend in the in-game Crown Store for
new game accounts
Starting today, you'll be able to pre-order The Elder Scrolls Online: Gold
Edition for $59.99 from select retailers.
Hi-Rez Studios announces the launch of the mid-season patch for
SMITE, updating the MOBA to version
3.12. You can read up on the changes in
these previously released patch notes, which include details on the new god
Erlang Shen, who you can see in action in
this trailer. Not
mentioned in those notes is that the game's OS X support is now out of beta, and
offered exclusively on Steam.
To celebrate,
they announce that all players will receive double experience, worshippers,
and favor all weekend, starting at the crack of dawn on Friday. Continue here to read the full story.
A
post on Tom's Hardware warns of a compatibility issue between the HTC Vive
and the Display Ports on NVIDIA's new 10 series video cards which prevents the
VR headset from being able to use the optional DP interface. This is an ongoing
issue, as there's a
thread on the GeForce Forums and a
thread on reddit on the topic, and each was started over a month ago. In
spite of this, there has not yet been an official comment on the topic from
NVIDIA, who have touted VR capabilities as one of the strengths of the 10
series. Thanks
Shacknews via nin.
The Evolve website is now counting down to
an announcement or something, marked with the hashtag #StageUp. The countdown
looks like it will hit zero around noon eastern time tomorrow, and for now,
that's the only detail we know for now. Evolve's DLC releases met with some
controversy, so it will be interesting to see if this relates to new content for
the asymmetrical multiplayer shooter. On the other hand, there has been a
recent indication or
two that Evolve developer Turtle Rock
Studios is planning a new IP. Thanks
GameInformer.
A listing for a Witcher III: Wild Hunt - Game of the Year Edition showed
up thanks to a leak on a German age-ratings site. Plans for an updated edition
of the RPG sequel were confirmed for
Eurogamer, where they got a statement from CD Projekt About the game:
Game director Konrad Tomaszkiewicz told us: "The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt was
a gigantic effort for the entire studio, and both the team and me were amazed by
the good reception of Geralt's adventures. Since launch, we've released two
expansions, Hearts of Stone and Blood and Wine, which added a lot of new
adventures to the already potent mix.
"With all the free DLC and updates the game received so far, including
significant changes to the game's interface and mechanics, many gamers have
asked us if we're working on some sort of a Game of the Year Edition. I'm happy
to confirm - yes, plans are in motion to release such an edition. We'll release
more details, including the release date, in the future. In the meantime, I'd
like to thank every fan of the game for their support - you're really
amazing!"
GamesRadar offers "The incredible story of Roman Wars: The lost Call of Duty
game," hyping a tale of a proposal that never got past the prototype stage. This
doesn't actually stretch credibility all that much, as proposals end at that
juncture all the time, but they do offer details on a pitch for an installment in
the CoD series set in ancient times. They have
a video showing off
gameplay of a prototype from Vicarious Visions which includes the CoD logo,
though they note this was from a later stage when this was being pitched as a
standalone game. Here's how they describe the plan: The full plan for the
game would involve a variety of perspectives and characters, says Polemus. “You
were going to play a lead centurion, you were going to play a grunt and you were
going to play all the way up to Julius Caesar himself; so you were going to be a
commander”. The plot loosely followed ‘Commentarii de Bello Gallico’, otherwise
known as Commentaries around the Gallic wars, Julius Caesar’s own account of the
battles (Roman War’s main character Titus Pullo is actually named in these
accounts as a historical figure).
“You were going to fight against the Germans and the Germanic Tribes and really
stay true to the history of Julius’ conquests during the Gallic Wars,” they
explain. “You were going to jump around from officers to low grunts to Caesar
and get a little variety of all of those little battles, so you’d play an archer
here, you’d play a cavalry over in this phase. And it was going to stay true to
the Call of Duty franchise in that jumping around, playing those different
characters and getting a whole feel of the overall battle during those
times”.
Continue here to read the full story.
- Quake Expo 2016
gets underway next week, offering a virtual expo based on the classic game.
This will span the 20th anniversary of the retail release on July 22nd.
I've never been able to pin down the actual start date of this site before it
moved to its own domain, since before deciding to archive stories I used to delete older news as I added newer
items. Therefore I don't really recall the first news posted here, nor exactly
when that took place. What I can say for certain is that it was more than 20
years ago, since the oldest story in the archive is
dated July 5, 1996. The Blue's News domain turns 20 in October, so however you
slice it, we're somewhere in the midst of an anniversary. Thanks to all of
you who have been part of two decades of PC gaming news here.
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