Archived News:
Wednesday, Aug 10, 2022 National S'mores Day (USA)
David Braben Steps Down as Frontier CEO [6:58 pm ET] – Share – 14 Comments
Effective immediately, David Braben is stepping away from his role as CEO of
Frontier Developments, the developer he formed back in 1994.
GamesIndustry.biz reports the Elite creator will retain his title as
president of the company, while chief creative officer Jonny Watts will take on
the Chief Executive post. Oddly, the news is not yet reflected on
David Braben's Twitter or the
Frontier Website, but
David Braben's
LinkedIn has been updated with the changes. Here's word:
The announcement said that Watts has been key to recent successes at the company, including unaudited record revenue of £111 million in FY 2022.
Braben commented: "Frontier is very important to me, and I am delighted to be able to pass on my CEO responsibilities to the exceptionally talented Jonny Watts, who I know will do a terrific job.
"He has the perfect combination of creative leadership and gaming vision to build on the excellent momentum in the business. I am looking forward to my new role at Frontier, and this change enables me to focus on our longer-term strategic opportunities."
Unity Software Scores Government Deal [6:57 pm ET] – Share – Post a Comment
Bloomberg reports (may require registration or subscription) that Unity Software now has a contract with the U.S.
Government to create digital simulation technology. "Through this relationship,
Unity will help the government defining human machine interfaces or HMI for
aerospace applications and beyond," said Marc Whitten, a senior vice president
at Unity, on the company’s earnings call on Tuesday. "These applications demand
an interactive, robust user experience very much like games." Here's
more:
Known for its eponymous game engine, which provides the software that runs dozens of top video games, Unity is betting its next wave of growth will come from marketing its real-time 3D platform to non-gaming industries as part of its “digital twin” strategy. Automotive manufacturers, factory designers and even real-estate developers can visualize and study digital incarnations of their creations using the Unity Game Engine. Recently, the company has helped clients visualize and study the movements of people, like with its simulation of the Hong Kong Airport.
The contract with CACI is Unity’s “single largest digital twin solutions deal for Unity to date,” the company wrote in its earnings report Tuesday. The deal helps set up Unity’s 3D platform for “future systems design and simulation programs across the US Government.” Unity has previously held contracts with the US Defense Department, which has reportedly caused concern among some employees. The military has used Unity’s software to visualize plane runways attacked by live munitions and train drones on identifying ordnance.
id Software Steam Listings Change; Demos Delisted [6:57 pm ET] – Share – 5 Comments
A
post on Steam explains how the Steam listings for id Software titles have
changed. In essence, the listings for various games will be consolidated into
comprehensive store pages covering
DOOM (1993),
DOOM II,
DOOM 3,
Quake II,
and Quake
III Arena. Going forward the Steam Bundles for id games will be a
DOOM
Classic Bundle, a
DOOM Franchise Bundle, and a Quake Collection Bundle (which is not listed as
of this writing). The news also includes a list of titles which have been
delisted, though these will remain in the libraries of those who already own
them. The bad news is that the changes take place today, so the horse is out of
the barn if you wanted to acquire any of the content before it was rearranged.
Fortunately, most everything is still available in some form except three
demos:
The following will no longer appear in Steam Store searches, but will remain in your installed library listings:
- Quake II Demo
- Quake III Arena Demo
- Quake III Team Arena Demo
- Quake III Team Arena (This will be included with Quake III Arena)
- Final DOOM (This will install with DOOM II)
- Master Levels for DOOM II (This will install with DOOM II)
- Quake II Mission Pack: The Reckoning (This will be added to the Quake II launcher.)
- Quake II Mission Pack: Ground Zero (This will be added to the Quake II launcher.)
- DOOM 3: Resurrection of Evil (This will install with DOOM 3.)
- DOOM 3: BFG Edition (This will install with DOOM 3. Players that own DOOM 3: BFG will be upgraded to DOOM 3.)
- DOOM Classic Complete Bundle (This is being replaced by the DOOM Classic Bundle.)
Apex Legends Hits New Apex [6:57 pm ET] – Share – 1 Comment
Respawn
tweets that Apex Legends hit a new peak concurrent player count of
510,286 following today's launch of Season 14:
Apex Legends has hit a new all-time peak player count on Steam after the Season 14 launch!
Over 500,000 concurrent players for the first time ever (Steam only)
Quoteworthy [6:57 pm ET] – Share – 7 Comments
- Shaggy voice actor confirms popular Scooby-Doo character is not a “pothead.” Not the first actor to not "get" his own character.
On Sale [6:57 pm ET] – Share – 3 Comments
*Blue's News may receive a commission on sales of this item.
Evening Patches [6:57 pm ET] – Share – Post a Comment
- Steam Deck Client Beta: Keyboard fixes and more.
- Steam Deck OS Beta Update: One small fix.
- Steam Client Beta.
↑ Official patches. ↓ Unofficial games, patches, and mods.
Evening Multiplex [6:57 pm ET] – Share – 2 Comments
- Marvel’s Midnight Suns - Meet Wolverine - Hero Spotlight.
- Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six Extraction - New Crisis Event: Eclipse.
↑ Official trailers. ↓ Content creator videos.
Evening Esports & Competitions [6:57 pm ET] – Share – Post a Comment
Evening Consolidation [6:57 pm ET] – Share – 3 Comments
- Microsoft Clap's Back At Sony, Accuses Its Competitor Of Paying Developers To Not Bring Their Titles To Game Pass.
- PlayStation Plus Game Catalog lineup for August: Yakuza 0, Trials of Mana, Dead by Daylight, Bugsnax.
- PS Plus Extra And Premium Catalog Get A Big Dose Of Yakuza And Other Games This Month.
- Microsoft claims it ‘simply wouldn’t be profitable’ to make Call of Duty Xbox exclusive.
Evening Mobilization [6:57 pm ET] – Share – Post a Comment
- Google's Android Red Team Had a Full Pixel 6 Pwn Before Launch (may require registration or subscription).
Evening Metaverse [6:57 pm ET] – Share – 7 Comments
- Google Fiber announces expansion to five states in the U.S.
- FCC rejects Starlink’s bid for rural internet subsidies due to its $600 satellite dish.
- Disney Plus’ Premium streaming price is rising to $10.99 per month.
- Disney Plus’ ad-supported plan will launch in December.
- Everyone's over remote work except for the workers themselves.
Evening Tech Bits [6:57 pm ET] – Share – Post a Comment
Thanks Console General.
- LG’s 97-inch vibrating OLED TV claims to offer 5.1 audio without speakers. And, you know, orgasms.
- Announcing Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 22621.575 and 22622.575.
- Announcing Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 25179.
- Visual Studio Code version 1.70.1.
- DVDFab version 12.0.8.2.
- Toll Brothers gives Nevada homebuyer 87 properties instead of one. Thanks VideoSift via Ant.
Evening Safety Dance [6:57 pm ET] – Share – Post a Comment
- Ex-CISA chief Krebs calls for US to get serious on security.
- US government is understanding hiring security talent.
- Maui ransomware linked to North Korean group Andariel.
- Google's bug bounty boss- Finding vulns is 'totally useless.'
- Facebook's Message Encryption Was Built to Fail (may require registration or subscription).
Into the Black [6:56 pm ET] – Share – 8 Comments
Last Link of the Day:
House of Hammer - Official Trailer. I can't even.
Spider-Man Remastered Reviews [10:59 am ET] – Share – 38 Comments
Spider-Man Remastered is set to swing into stores on Friday, so the first
reviews of the superheroic remake are starting to crawl out. Here's a roundup:
- Spiderman Remastered PC Review - "Buy, Wait for Sale, Never Touch?" - ACG (NSFW video).
- Spider-Man Remastered PC Review - GameRant.
- Marvel's Spider-Man Remastered Review - IGN.
- Marvel's Spider-Man Remastered review - PC Gamer.
- Marvel’s Spider-Man Remastered PC review in progress - PCGamesN.
- Marvel's Spider-Man Remastered PC review -- Can't punch 'em all - PC Invasion.
- Marvel’s Spider-Man Remastered (for PC) Review - PCMag.
- Review: Spider-Man Remastered for PC and Steam Deck - Polygon.
- Marvel's Spider-Man Remastered review: a fun hero epic that takes the wall-crawler to new heights - Rock Paper Shotgun.
- Spider-Man Remastered PC review- great power, great responsibility - USA Today.
- Review: Spider-Man on PC is a Steam Deck marvel - VGC.
- Spider-Man Remastered PC review - VideoGamer.com.
- Marvel's Spider-Man Remastered PC Is a Solid Debut for Nixxes - Wccftech.
Technicity: Prologue Released [10:59 am ET] – Share – Post a Comment
Steam
now features Technicity: Prologue, offering a free taste of
Technicity,
an upcoming first-person city-builder. Developer Osaris Games provides
this trailer with a look at the sample. Here's the elevator
pitch:
Free Prologue to Technicity, a first-person city-building game with powerful tools that allow you to build faster and bigger. Design your own construction blocks and furniture in factories, terraform the open world, use vehicles to travel in cities that you or your friends create in solo or co-op.Continue here to read the full story.
Biomorph Announced [10:59 am ET] – Share – Post a Comment
Indy Canadian developer Lucid Dreams Studio announces Biomorph, an
upcoming 2D action game for PC and Switch described as a "stylish, soulslike
metroidvania" (run that one through your subgenre translator!). A
Teaser Trailer offers a first look at gameplay, and the game's
Steam Listing
is live, sporting a 2023 release window. Here's word:
Lucid Dreams Studio today announced their upcoming action adventure, Biomorph, a dark, action-packed 2D soulslike Metroidvania set in a sprawling, gorgeous hand-drawn 2D world where enemies are everywhere – and their powers are fair game.Continue here to read the full story.
In Biomorph, players must use their skills to explore a vast, varied world. Solve puzzles and platforming challenges, fight deadly monsters and take their shapes to use their powers. But beware – every conquered creature can come back with new and even more threatening powers.
Players must rebuild the city of Blightmoor and befriend the townspeople, learning more about both their and the town’s origins. Players will level-up their character as they fight through the vast areas around the city, collecting new abilities, mementos and blueprints. The journey will reveal surprising and alarming truths about our hero’s own origins.
Squad 51 vs. the Flying Saucers Announced [10:58 am ET] – Share – 3 Comments
Developers Loomiarts & Fehorama Filmes, publishers WhisperGames & Assemble
Entertainment, and a cast of thousands announce a release date for Squad 51
vs. the Flying Saucers. Word is this 2D shooter is coming to
Steam and consoles this (northern) Autumn. As you can see in the
this trailer the game draws inspiration from classic science fiction
b-movies of the 1950s. For a test-flight, the previously released
Squadron 51 - Prologue remains available, allowing a free sample of what to
expect. Here's word:
Join Squad 51’s Lieutenant Kaya and face unrelenting hostile alien aircraft, martian fighters, and monsters in fast-paced shoot-‘em-up action all recreated in glorious black-and-white visuals of the 1950s along with live-action FMV sequences.Continue here to read the full story.
Brave pilots can now take to the skies with the free prologue of Squad 51 vs. The Flying Saucers on Steam. The demo features English voiceovers, a local co-op mode, and never-before-seen levels, bosses, and gadgets for your spaceship to defend Earth from a merciless alien invasion.
Project Warlock Boxed Edition [10:58 am ET] – Share – 3 Comments
What's in the box? Well in this case, it will be Project Warlock, the
throwback first-person shooter first released
in 2018. Publishers Romero Games and
Retrovibe and developer Buckshot Software announce a limited edition PC boxed
version of the game. It's available now for preorder on
The Romero Shop, and expected to ship in Q4 of this year. Project Warlock recalls a bygone era of
gaming when all games came in boxes. Some of the physical contents recall a
bygone era as well, unless USB drives are making some sort of comeback we hadn't
noticed. Here's word:
After the physical releases of SIGIL and Dangerous Dave, this is the first PC Big Box prepared by Romero Games for a title that wasn’t personally developed by John Romero. Project Warlock was made by then-19-years-old Jakub Cislo as his debut title. His ideas and design skills have caught the attention of the legendary game designer who played the game and became a fan. The limited release called Project Warlock - Ihet Edition is the result of their shared passion for pixelated carnage.
Newly revealed Project Warlock - Ihet Edition PC Big Box will include:
- Individually numbered box
- Personal signatures by John Romero and Jakub Cislo
- Project Warlock swag bag
- 4 GB Custom Buckshot USB with the game
- Big, wall-friendly poster
- 3 steel pins of Project Warlock’s Formidable Foes
- 4 “Faces of Warlock” stickers
Morning Patches [10:58 am ET] – Share – Post a Comment
- Hunt: Showdown -- Hotfix #3 for Update 1.9.
- Steam Client Beta.
- World of Warcraft — Hotfixes- August 9, 2022.
↑ Official patches. ↓ Unofficial games, patches, and mods.
Morning Multiplex [10:58 am ET] – Share – Post a Comment
- Gotham Knights - Official Red Hood Character Trailer.
- SAINTS ROW – Gameplay Overview Trailer (Official 4K).
↑ Official trailers. ↓ Content creator videos.
- Half-Life 2- VR — Public Beta Announcement Trailer. Thanks Reddit.
- What If MultiVersus Had Cutscenes- Batman Vs Superman. Thanks fakespyder.
Morning Interviews [10:58 am ET] – Share – 1 Comment
Morning Tech Bits [10:58 am ET] – Share – 2 Comments
- Nvidia's RTX 4070 Will Allegedly Boost to 2.8 GHz.
- China calls out US semiconductor bill as anti-competitive. So... communist approved?
- Samsung Unveils 128TB PCIe SSD to Tackle Petabyte-Scale Storage.
- Sloppy Use of Machine Learning Is Causing a ‘Reproducibility Crisis’ in Science (may require registration or subscription).
- Someone finally built our dream Nintendo Wii gaming PC.
Morning Safety Dance [10:58 am ET] – Share – Post a Comment
- Vulnerability Summary for the Week of August 1, 2022 - CISA. Thanks Ant.
- Microsoft's big Patch Tuesday fixes exploited zero-day flaw and 120 more bugs.
- Microsoft Patch Tuesday, August 2022 Edition.
- The Security Pros and Cons of Using Email Aliases.
- Phishers who breached Twilio and fooled Cloudflare could easily get you, too.
Hardware Reviews [10:58 am ET] – Share – Post a Comment
etc. [10:58 am ET] – Share – Post a Comment
Out of the Blue [10:58 am ET] – Share – 15 Comments
I have some terribly sad news to share. On August 1st, Jen Bailey Bergen (aka
Mynx) passed away at the far-too-early age of 48. Her
husband
tweeted about her death (thanks Brian) saying that the cause appears to be a
complication of COVID-19 which she caught four times in two years despite being vaccinated. Mynx was an
original #quake op, the mother of the Quake baby, and
the Mynx in the Dear Mynx column. She was also famously the inspiration for the
Mynx player model in Quake III Arena, which was created by Paul Steed. In
a sad coincidence, tomorrow is the 10th anniversary of
Paul's untimely death. Jen was inspirationally
outgoing, warm, and helpful. A true embodiment of the very best aspects of the
early days of the Quake community. Heartbreakingly, besides her husband, she
also leaves behind two children. Deepest condolences to Jen's friends and
family.
Mourning Round-up
Thanks Ant and Neutronbeam.Story
- Backyard hens' eggs contain 40 times more lead on average than shop eggs, research finds. Woops. Thanks Max.
Science
Thanks Max.
- Your Brain Is a Prediction Machine That Is Always Active. I knew they were going to say that.
- Targeting Impulsivity Early in Adolescence Could Prevent Later Behavioral Disorders.
- Protective coating material self-heals in 30 minutes when exposed to sunlight.
Media
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