Tom Henderson took another leak on Twitter. The credible source for pre-announcement announcements says Electronic Arts is bringing back another beloved series. The way this is worded leaves it unclear if EA is going to announce this tomorrow, or if he's going to post more about it tomorrow:

New scoop tomorrow - EA is bringing back a game series that fans loved back in the day

Outcast 1.1 is currently available for free from GOG.com. There is no indication if this is a permanent price reduction or a temporary promotion, so it's best to act swiftly if you want in. Outcast 1.1 is a version of the action/adventure that was recompiled in 2014 from the original 1999 source code to run on modern computers. Word is: "The main improvements compared to the original version are: multithreaded voxel renderer for higher performances, software bilinear filtering on polygonal meshes, part of the HUD redesigned to match higher resolutions, new high-resolution sky paintings, new launcher, native support of xbox gamepad, user-friendly controller configuration, a lot of bugs fixed and improved stability." Here's more:

As part of a covert experiment, the US military deployed a probe designed to prove the existence of a parallel universe hidden from our own. Although the probe successfully entered the alternate universe and reached a planet called Adelpha, its first crucial data transmission is mysteriously cut short.

The probe's unexpected demise triggers a disastrous chain of events resulting in the creation of a black hole, one that threatens to destroy the Earth. Unless the missing probe can somehow be found and repaired, planet Earth itself is doomed.

Continue here to read the full story.

Warner Bros. Games and Turtle Rock Studios lay out a roadmap for upcoming content for Back 4 Blood, the recently released zombie shooter. This includes an upcoming Annual Pass as well as a variety of free updates to add requested features including a solo offline mode with campaign progression, a new difficulty level, a new co-op mode, new cards, a new card type, a holiday event, and more. Here are the details:

The roadmap also highlights the first expansion from the Back 4 Blood Annual Pass, called Tunnels of Terror, which will be available next year. Tunnels of Terror will feature new story content, playable Cleaners and Ridden, activity type, weapons, cards, and exclusive skins, with more information to come at a later date. The Annual Pass includes Tunnels of Terror and two additional expansions, and is available now for £34.99 (SRP), or as part of the Back 4 Blood Deluxe Edition (digital only) for £89.99 (SRP) and Back 4 Blood Ultimate Edition for £99.99 (SRP).

Below is a full rundown of upcoming free updates:

• Solo Offline Mode with Campaign Progression
• New Supply Lines
• Ridden Practice Area
• Holiday Seasonal Event
• New Difficulty
• New Co-op Mode
• New Card Type
• New Player & Corruption Cards
• Melee Updates
• Quality of Life Improvements
• Bug Fixes

Today Ubisoft unveiled High Calibre, Year 6 Season 4 for Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six Siege. Here's the short form: "Today, Ubisoft revealed High Calibre, the fourth and final season of Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six Siege Year 6. This new season includes a new Operator, Thorn, coming from Ireland and equipped with Razorbloom Shells and bearing a brand-new weapon, the UZK50Gi, in addition to the reworked Outback map and many other updates." Check out the Reveal Panel Video with a no-longer live look at a livestream. and read on for more:

In High Calibre, players will discover a brand-new Defender, Thorn, equipped with Razorbloom Shells: throwable proximity devices that, once triggered, initiate a timed detonation. If enemy players don’t get out of the area of effect on time, they will receive damage at the end of the fuse timer. Thorn is a medium speed, medium armor Operator who can be equipped with either the new UZK50Gi or the M870 as primary weapon and with the 1911 TACOPS or the C75-AUTO as secondary weapon.

In addition, the Outback map has been rebuilt to improve balancing and player comfort. Both the main building and its exterior have been modified to allow the Attackers to create and execute more effective strategies. In addition, new exterior soft walls have been added to the building, and some areas have been refurbished and cleaned up to remove junk and provide better lines of sight and balance.

Continue here to read the full story.

• Save 50% on Solasta: Crown of the Magister on Steam.
• Save 25% on Citystate II on Steam.

Official patch.

• Factorio -- Version 1.1.46 released as stable. Thanks Rock Paper Shotgun.

• Ashes of Creation Development Update with Weather and Seasons Tech.
• Oskoreia Season Free Update - Assassin's Creed Valhalla.
• Discover (or Rediscover) Everything Elder Scrolls Online In This New Introductory Video.
• STAR WARS: The Old Republic - 4K ULTRA HD – ‘Return’ Cinematic Trailer.
• Lies of P: Alpha Gameplay Teaser - -Wake up, son. Your stage is set.

↑ Official trailers. ↓ Content creator videos.

• Classic Game Postmortem: 'Star Wars Galaxies.' Thanks Kxmode and Ant.

• Arkane Lyon director on leaving violent stealth for children's educational games - GamesIndustry.biz.
• The Forgotten City: Interview with Creator Nick Pearce - Xbox Wire.

• SPACE CHEF - An action-cooking adventure for PC and consoles. Funded twice over and cooking up stretch goals.

• PS5 consoles are currently available to buy online for Walmart+ members.
• Get Ready for The Elder Scrolls Online: Deadlands with the Free Prologue.
• Let the Good Times Roll! Dicey Dungeons Is Coming to Xbox.

• Microsoft will now snitch on you at work like never before.
• Zynga Announces Disco Loco 3D Exclusively for TikTok.
• Digital acting troupe brings Shakespeare's Macbeth to life in Fallout 76.

• AMD Confirms Milan-X with 768 MB L3 Cache: Coming in Q1 2022.
• AMD Unveils Zen 4 CPU Roadmap: 96-Core 5nm Genoa in 2022, 128-Core Bergamo in 2023.
• AMD's Third-Gen Infinity Architecture Enables Coherent CPU-GPU Communication.
• AMD Announces Instinct MI200 Accelerator Family- Taking Servers to Exascale and Beyond.
• Forget bendy screens—Microsoft patents “foldable mouse.”
• Visual Studio 2022. Thanks Console General.
• Custom Desk PC.

• Robinhood breach leaks information of 7 million people.
• DDoS attack cost Bandwidth.com nearly $12 million.

• DOJ charges and sanctions REvil leaders behind Kaseya attack, seizes $6 million in ransoms.

• Electronic Arts has removed Denuvo from Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order…
• Roblox Reports Third Quarter 2021 Financial Results…
• Deathloop’s director has been appointed as the new head of Arkane Lyon…
• Fortnite Pulls the Travis Scott Emote After Astroworld Concert Tragedy…

Last Link of the Day: GHOSTBUSTERS: AFTERLIFE — Final Trailer (HD). Thanks Ant.

A tweet from "Ralph" kicks off the rumor mill for the next Call of Duty game, since Call of Duty Vanguard is already days old and rumors about the 2022 installment being a Modern Warfare sequel are already a couple of months old. Contrary to the secrecy of the actual military, the world of military shooter news is dominated by leaks. PlayStation Universe vouches for Ralph, saying he is "a reliable leaker on Twitter." Word is the 2023 CoD will be a return to Black Ops in a near future setting described as similar to that of Battlefield 2042.

Kotaku reports that Ubisoft Canada is offering across-the-board raises, saying this is to combat the flight of unhappy employees amid the sexism and harassment scandal that emerged in 2020. "These moves do absolutely nothing to address the key demands of A Better Ubisoft," the group told Kotaku. "In addition, by weighting the pay rises enormously in favor of senior staff, management are exacerbating the gap between the highly and low paid workers." Here are the details:

Ubisoft Canada, which leads development on many of the company’s biggest blockbusters, like Assassin’s Creed Valhalla, Far Cry 6, and Watch Dogs Legion, consists of offices in Montreal, Quebec City, Toronto, Chicoutimi, Halifax, and Winnipeg. The new pay raises are set to go into effect immediately, and will begin being paid out at the end of November. Employees will also be receiving more vacation days and better pay during parental leave.

“They’re desperately trying to hold on to what few experienced devs are still here,” one current developer in the Canadian studios told Kotaku.

But the exact amount of the raises will vary depending on the employee’s position at the company, sources said. According to the worker group ABetterUbisoft, junior staff will receive a 5-7% increase, while the most senior staff could see their pay increased by up to 20%. That would mean a lower-level developer might see a $50,000 a year salary increased by $2,500, while higher-level developer making $100,000 could see as much as $20,000 in additional pay.

Konami announces that several older Metal Gear Solid games are currently not available for sale (thanks Game Informer). The company is in the midst of renewing licenses for historical footage in the games, a chore that was apparently put off until the last minute. Word is: "We sincerely ask for your patience and understanding as we work towards making these products available for purchase once again." Here's the milk carton identifying the missing games:

Which products will be temporarily removed?

• PlayStation®3 METAL GEAR SOLID 2 SONS OF LIBERTY HD EDITION
• PlayStation®3 METAL GEAR SOLID 3 SNAKE EATER HD EDITION
• PlayStation®3 METAL GEAR SOLID HD EDITION
• PlayStation®Vita METAL GEAR SOLID 2 SONS OF LIBERTY HD EDITION
• PlayStation®Vita METAL GEAR SOLID 3 SNAKE EATER HD EDITION
• PlayStation®Vita METAL GEAR SOLID HD COLLECTION
• PlayStation™Now METAL GEAR SOLID HD COLLECTION
• Xbox 360 METAL GEAR SOLID HD EDITION: 2 & 3
• Nintendo 3DS METAL GEAR SOLID SNAKE EATER 3D
• GOG.com METAL GEAR SOLID 2 SUBSTANCE
• NVIDIA® SHIELD™ METAL GEAR SOLID 2 HD for SHIELD TV
• NVIDIA® SHIELD™ METAL GEAR SOLID 3 HD for SHIELD TV

*Some of the above titles are not available in some countries and regions

Steam now offers a playable demo for Project Apax, allowing everyone the chance to see if they are the apax predator. This video shows off the turn-based combat and other gameplay elements from this throwback RPG. Here's the setup for the game's story:

Join Laia and Evan, two young graduated Apprentices from the Kingdom of Agni, in their adventure to face the powerful Kingdom of Gea. The echoes of a dark past return to threaten all we know, unless the prophecy of the Anointed comes true.

Paying tribute to the great classics
Inspired by great classics like Final Fantasy IX or Golden Sun, Project Apax is a nostalgic old school RPG with a deep narrative and interactive battle system. With an appealing anime style and neat VFX, it immerses the player in an animated movie. All music has been composed by YouFulca.

Continue here to read the full story.

Red Moon Studio announces Apollo Red Moon, a sci-fi puzzle/shooter set in an alternate reality where landing on the Moon turns out to be one small step for man, one giant leap for armed combat. The game has a Steam Listing with a TBA release date, but we're told the plan is to release a playable demo in Q2 or Q3 of next year, and for the full game to arrive by the end of 2022. Here's the Announcement Trailer and here are some details:

Apollo Red Moon - is a retro sci fi fast paced shooter. That takes action in alternative history. As a member of Apollo Mission, after successfully landing on the moon, you were ambushed and taken prisoner by Soviets who built a military base on the moon.
Your mission is to survive and find out what's going on, establish contact with the orbiting command module and get back to earth.
Core game-play is Old School FPS with health, power and oxygen station. Player have to solve some logic puzzle, like guessing opening valves sequence or hacking.

Story is based freely on Apollo 13 mission. Base design and moon structures is based on real soviets plans.
From time to time, the player will experience flashes, awakenings. Until the end of game he will not be sure if the whole incident is not a dream due to lack of oxygen on the ship.

Continue here to read the full story.

• Special Sale: outstanding games made in Poland up to 90% off - GOG.com. Games with that Polish polish.
• Weekly Sale: platformers and games from THQ Nordic up to 90% off - GOG.com.
• Save 33% on Urtuk: The Desolation on Steam.
• Save 35% on Pistol Whip on Steam.

• Assassin's Creed Valhalla - Title Update 1.4.0.
• Path of Exile Patch Notes - 3.16.0d Hotfix.
• Euro truck Simulator 2 - 1.43 Special Transport Update.

↑ Official patches. ↓ Unofficial games, patches, and mods.

• New 4K Texture Pack for Valheim greatly overhauls the game's graphics.

• Halo Infinite - UNSC Archives - Project Magnes. Thanks Neutronbeam.

↑ Official trailers. ↓ Content creator videos.

• Back to the BBS - Part one- The return to being online. Thanks Ant.

• Forza Horizon 5 - Creating the Next-Generation of Open-World Racers - AusGamers.com.
• Interview with The Creator of Oregon Trail: Don Rawitsch (video). Thanks Reddit via Ant.

• Brazil’s Independent Game (BIG) Festival 2022 Registration is Now Open.

• How to get Gold, Diamond, Atomic, and Dark Aether camos in Call of Duty: Vanguard.

• Let’s Celebrate Together on the Xbox 20th Anniversary.
• Nintendo says its new console will launch within the next 79 years. Thanks Neutronbeam.

• Memory leaks are crippling my M1 MacBook Pro–and I'm not alone. Thanks Ant.
• Lithium-metal “hybrid” battery promises lighter, longer-range EVs by 2025.
• Sodium Batteries May Power Your New Electric Car (may require registration or subscription).

• Twitter poll calls on Elon Musk to sell 10% stake in Tesla.
• How Pinterest utterly ruined photo search on the internet. Thanks Digg.
• Disney+ Sets IMAX Enhanced Marvel Films.

• Nvidia RTX 4000 GPUs may double RTX 3000 performance in PC games.
• Core i9-12900K(F) on Z690 is smashing records left and right, but 8GHz OC seems far fetched.
• Nvidia's new tech uses AI to automatically match voice lines to animated faces.
• GPU Thermal Trends Experiment - Overclockers Club.
• The Turing Test Is Bad For Business (may require registration or subscription).
• Still only using one monitor? Here's why you should buy a second on Black Friday. Thanks Neutronbeam.
• Backblaze Drive Stats for Q3 2021. Thanks Ant.

• Investor group acquires McAfee for more than $14 billion.
• Report- 57% of all ecommerce cyberattacks are bot-driven.
• Enhanced security algorithms are to blame for slow fingerprint scan on the Pixel 6.

• Call of Duty: Vanguard- DLSS vs. FSR Comparison Review - TechPowerUp.
• Forza Horizon 5 Review - AusGamers.com.
• Forza Horizon 5 review – gone hooning - PCGamesN.
• Forza Horizon 5 review- the best road trip ever - The Verge.

• CPU: Intel Core i9-12900K and i5-12600K Adler Lake - LanOC Reviews.
• Misc: KIOXIA TransMemory U301 USB 3.2 Gen1 Flash Drive - Mad Shrimps.
• Printer: Creality CR-30 3D Printer Review- Batch Printing on a Conveyor Belt - Tom's Hardware.
• PSU: SilverStone ET500-ARGB 500W Report - APH Networks.

• Sega Announces Major Investment in Gaming as Performance Significantly Exceeds Expectations…
• Amazingly, New Commercial Amiga Games are Under Development…
• "Resident Evil" Director On Sequel Potential. Thanks Ant…

One of our neighbors put out the call for pumpkins left over from Halloween since they have a friend with goats that will eat them. This is a neat way to put them to good use, as they often just rot on people's porches. We had a pair of them ourselves, so MrsBlue and I walked them over to drop them off. Our destination was pretty close, less than a quarter mile, so I scoffed when she asked me if I wanted to drive. Big mistake. First off, the walk was mostly uphill. Second off, the larger pumpkin I got stuck with had to be around 40 lbs. This is a manageable weight, but the form-factor was not ideal by a long shot. A couple of times along the way I threatened to leave the pumpkin and drive back to complete the mission. But I sucked it up and we eventually made it. Lesson learned. Next year it's either a smaller pumpkin, it's getting chauffeured around in a car, or it's going to a new home that's downhill so I can roll it there.

Obituary: Overwatch Player Kim -Alarm- Kyeong-Bo Dies At 20 Years Old.

Round Round-up
Thanks Ant and Neutronbeam.

Breakfast Links

• Shows like The Expanse: What to watch before or after season six.
• Colorado Bear Busts In And Finally Sort Of Busts Out Of A Car, Providing Bearish Lessons For AI Self-Driving Cars. Thanks Slashdot.
• How to wake up early. Easy, just set the clocks back an hour. Thanks RedEye9.

Story

• How do I know we have reached peak milk? Almond is being ditched for dairy. Thanks Max.

Science

• New photonics sensor to quickly spot bacteria and pesticides on fruit and vegetables. Thanks Max.
• The Next Big Thing for RNA- Fixing Moldy Food (may require registration or subscription).

Media

• The Power Grid- Last Week Tonight with John Oliver (HBO) (NSFW). Thanks Acleacius.
• Will the wild kookaburras let me pet them- We test it with 5 different kookaburras. Thanks Digg.

Auction

• For Sale: Fonzie's Original Motorcycle From "Happy Days."

Follow-up

• Dune: Part Two Will Begin Filming In July 2022.