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BioWare GM Sends Letter to Whole Studio Promising to Discuss Workplace Environment Issues Amid Reports

  by   Alex Co  
April 4, 2019 6:23 pm in News

Just a few days ago, a report cropped up online exposing the toxic work environment BioWare employees suffered through in creating Anthem. While BioWare responded to the report, it didn’t really tell much other than they know the report exists, and they treat their employees well (their claims).

Today, it seems BioWare General Manager Casey Hudson is indeed taking this situation seriously (as he should) as a letter was sent to the entire studio which mentions how they’ll look into this issue. The full letter, which was obtained by Kotaku, can be read below.

Hey BioWare,

I wanted to get a note out to you to share my thoughts on the Kotaku article and the online discussion it has raised.

The article mentions many of the problems in the development of Anthem and some of our previous projects. And it draws a link between those issues and the quality of our workplace and the well-being of our staff. These problems are real and it’s our top priority to continue working to solve them.

What we found out-of-bounds was the naming of specific developers as targets for public criticism. It’s unfair and extremely traumatizing to single out people in this way, and we can’t accept that treatment towards any of our staff. That’s why we did not participate in the article and made a statement to that effect.

When I was offered the opportunity to return to BioWare as GM, I came into the role knowing the studio was experiencing significant challenges in team health, creative vision, and organizational focus. I was – and continue to be – excited to help drive improvements in those areas because I love this studio, and above all I want to create a place where all of you are happy and successful.

I’m not going to tell you I’ve done a good job at that, and on a day like today I certainly feel like I haven’t. But some of the steps we’ve taken towards this include a more focused studio mission and values, so that we have clarity on what we are here to do and how we define a high standard for our studio culture. We updated our studio structure around a matrix so that department directors can be fully focused on individual career support and well-being. We are defining better role clarity so that people can succeed better against clear expectations. And we are putting in place production changes that will provide for clearer project vision as well as a significant post-production period that will further relieve pressure and anxiety on teams during development.

But I know there’s much more to do, and we will talk in more detail about other actions we have been planning in response to internal feedback and postmortems at next week’s All-Hands. As always please continue to provide feedback on further steps we can take to make BioWare the best possible place to work.

I’m committed to getting us to a place where we are delivering on the highest expectations for BioWare games, through a work environment that’s among the very best in the world. With your help, we will get there.

Please let me know if you’d like to talk in person and I will be happy to set up time to hear your thoughts.

Casey

This is very good news to hear/read. Will this make Anthem a better game? Maybe, maybe not. But it should make lives better at the studio, and that’s what matters most.

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Alex Co

Father, gamer, games media vet, writer of words, killer of noobs.

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First The Division 2 Raid Teased in New Trailer, Tidal Basin Stronghold Coming Tomorrow

  by   Alex Co  
5:53 pm in News

Those who have played The Division 2’s Strongholds and other missions to hell and back and want something new, you’ll be getting your wish starting tomorrow! In a new trailer, Ubisoft teased the Tidal Basin Stronghold which will be available tomorrow, April 5!

Not only that, but we get our first glimpse of The Division 2 Raid called “Operation Dark Hours,” which is the franchise’s first eight-man co-operative mission!

Agents, get ready for Invasion: the Battle for D.C., starting with April 5’s Title Update 2: Tidal Basin. This update brings the most heavily defended and dangerous stronghold, along with new exotic weapons, gear sets, events, and more. Then, get ready for Operation Dark Hours, the first ever 8-player raid for The Division 2, along with plenty more as part of our expansive post-launch plan.

To know more about Ubisoft’s year-one plan for The Division 2, click here.

More The Division 2 Reading:

Tags: The Division the division 2 Ubisoft
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Alex Co

Father, gamer, games media vet, writer of words, killer of noobs.

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Borderlands 3 Loot Stream Will Be Individualized, Co-Op Allowed With No Level Restrictions

  by   Alex Co  
3:27 pm in News

If you’ve played past Borderlands games or even any loot-centric co-op games, chances are you’ve encountered a free for all when it comes to item drops and loots. Thankfully, this won’t be the case with Borderlands 3!

As part of a feature on the game on the PlayStation Blog, Borderlands 3 Art Director Scott Kester revealed that the Borderlands 3 loot stream will be discrete to each user! Not only that, but players will be able to co-op online or via couch, regardless of their character level!

With that in mind, one of the things that I’m most excited about in Borderlands 3 are the improvements that we’ve made to co-op. Regardless of your respective levels or mission progress, you and your friends can play together online or on the couch, and not only will each of you deal a meaningful amount of damage, you’ll also receive your own discrete loot stream. No more loot ninjas! Of course, if you prefer to play with classic Borderlands 2 co-op rules—where loot is shared—you can choose to do so.

This is amazing news, no? Now we don’t have to rush over to beat others to the punch when picking up loot! Players can now also play co-op even with beginners if they want to “power level” someone up!

Don’t forget, the full hands-on impressions first look for Borderlands 3 will take place on May 1! In the meantime, go watch the release date announce trailer here to get your inner hype train started.

Tags: 2K Games Borderlands Borderlands 3 Gearbox Software
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Alex Co

Father, gamer, games media vet, writer of words, killer of noobs.

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New World War Z Trailer Shows Us the Dynamic Swarm of Zombies

  by   Alex Co  
2:38 pm in News

While zombie games are a dime a dozen, World War Z aims to differentiate itself from the rest of the pack by not only giving the player options for classes, but also on how the game’s zombies behave, and even look.

In a new video, Saber Interactive showcased what it calls its “Dynamic Swarm” tech that looks impressive. Remember the Jerusalem scene in the movie where the zombies climbed atop each other to scale the wall? Yeah, that’s possible in the World War Z!

In case you didn’t know, World War Z will also bring the zombies to other parts of the world. Check out this trailer showcasing the zombies in Japan!

World War Z will eat brains this April 16 on the PS4, Xbox One, and PC.

Tags: Focus Home Interactive Saber Interactive World War Z
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Alex Co

Father, gamer, games media vet, writer of words, killer of noobs.

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Apex Legends Leaving Early Penalty to Be Implemented Soon, Accidentally Included in Yesterday’s Patch

  by   Alex Co  
8:21 am in News

Just yesterday, Respawn released a new Apex Legends patch that focused on squashing technical bugs more than anything else. While it had the unfortunate issue of erasing progression, that doesn’t seem to be the only thing that was accidentally part of the title update.

In an announcement on Reddit, Respawn mentioned that an Apex Legends leaving early penalty feature is being worked on, which was accidentally included in yesterday’s patch! Good thing it has since been remedied, but there are people who got affected by it.

We’ve Disabled the Leaving Early Penalty
byu/Jayfresh_Respawn inapexlegends

So internally, we have been working on and testing this feature but it wasn’t our intention or plan to have it go live with the update that went out today. There was a piece of script that was missing and caused the leaving match early penalty to be turned on when it shouldn’t be. That’s why it wasn’t in the patch notes.

We updated the script, tested with QA and it’s now disabled for all platforms. We don’t have an ETA for if or when this would come out for real. Apologies for the confusion.

For those who got affected by this, is this a change you’re looking forward to or just something that will make you play the game less?

Tags: Apex legends EA Respawn Entertainment
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Alex Co

Father, gamer, games media vet, writer of words, killer of noobs.

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Battlefield 5 Update Today Version 1.14 Now Available, Here’s the File Size and Full Patch Notes

  by   Alex Co  
6:02 am in News

DICE has rolled out the Battlefield 5 update today which is what we reported on yesterday. Clocking in at 3.6GB on PS4 (6.59GB on PC), the Battlefield 5 update today version 1.14 includes a ton of gameplay tweaks, changes to Firestorm, the introduction of Battlefield Currency, and lots more.

Check out the full Battlefield 5 Trial By Fire update 2 patch notes below.

Firestorm – Gameplay fixes and changes
• Fixed an issue which was causing a weapon to be misaligned when a player was in a man
down state while being spectated.
• V-1 and Artillery Strikes now count as “gadget kills”.
• Pistols that have been picked up by the player now properly drop on the ground if the
player dies.
• Players are now able to use the Flare Gun while in water.
• Increased the draw distance for grenades and melee weapons.
• Grenades now collide with the cover of the pickup truck instead of going through it.
• Fixed an issue where the active VOIP icon would not always show if the entire squad
would be talking at the same time.
• Players will no longer deploy a grenade automatically when dropping an item as a
passenger.
• When in a tank, the player will no longer switch to the selected tank gun while zooming
on the map.
• Added a red outline for the Artillery Strike on the map to make it more visible.
• The health cooldown UI no longer freezes if a player drops their healing items when it is
in progress.
• Getting an invite from a player while looking for players enables you to join the squad.
• If the user cancels and resumes the interaction with a safe, it will always reset.
• When the player is watching another player being revived, the camera will remain in the
same position.
• The Napalm Helmet will no longer obstruct the player when aiming down sights.
• Players can now jump as soon as they reach the start of the jump location.
• When waiting for the other players, the squad list shows the correct Armor Plates
number that the player had before death.
• Players will no longer reload when opening doors.
• The loot rarity icon is no longer visible through soldier bodies and vehicles.
• When getting killed by another player, the text for the weapon used will show properly.
• Switching weapon while dropping a weapon will no longer make the weapon being held
invisible.
• The Swap and Drop button callouts are updated if the player changes the keybind ingame.
• Interaction detection has been improved to avoid issues with loot near Objectives and
vehicles.
• The interaction prompt for safes will no longer be offset when the player interacts with it
repeatedly.
• The interaction prompt for safes will no longer double when the player interacts with it
repeatedly.
• Interacting with a safe repeatedly will no longer make the progress bar disappear.
• When the player is killed by an Artillery Strike, an icon is displayed in the kill feed.
• The first wave of capture points now start earlier, before the zone starts to shrink for the
first time.

Firestorm – Map improvements and fixes
• Improved the rock wall textures near Pluto (Dig Site A).
• Removed a piece of terrain that was clipping through the bridge towards the farm from
the lake, causing vehicles to flip if they drive over it with speed.
• Fixed a floating telegraph pole that was placed east from Nannahavn.
• The crates located west of Hansen Farms are no longer floating in the air.
• Fixed a floating tree west of the Halvoy Dam.
• Players can no longer get stuck between the gap of the barrels inside Hansen Farms.
• The shed door is no longer clipping through the barrels at Minerva Docks.
• Players can no longer interact with the backside of the ladder near Guderos.
• Players can no longer get stuck while prone under the wooden platform next to the
fishing cabin near Halvoy Dam.
• Players can no longer get stuck between the wall and the railway sleeper stacks East of
Minerva Docks.
• Players can no longer get stuck when jumping between the metal bars at Pluto (Dig site
A).
• Improved rock textures near the Odenberg area.
• Player can no longer get stuck between the tree and the wall north of Minerva Docks.
• Players can no longer hide behind the waterfall South of Minerva Docks.
• The wooden crates are no longer floating above the floor inside the shed southeast of
Hansen Farms.
• The wooden crate no longer blocks the player from vaulting through the window in arctic
house west of Hansen Farms.
• Snow effect is no longer present inside the house southeast of Hotstad as well as the
house north of Minerva Docks.
• Fixed an issue that was causing mild flickering around the windshields inside vehicles.
• The PAK-40 AT towable located southeast of Halvdeler has been moved ten meters to
make it more useful.

Vehicles
• Fixed a bug that enabled players to use airplanes during the match start timer period.
The animation when entering and exiting vehicles is now smoother and should have less
unintended sudden camera movements.
• Fixed an issue that could cause a temporary black screen when reloading a stationary
turret while using its zoom functionality at the same time.
• Made audio improvements to audibility of other players’ tanks.

Weapons, Gadgets, and Specializations
• Fixed the Ribeyrolles aperture sights being misaligned and using the wrong
magnification.
• Tweaked the Gewehr 43 reflex sight to look better.
• Tweaked the Bren max recoil which was too low.
• Reduced the M1897 damage drop-off start distance by 1 m for all ammo types. Our data
indicated that the 1897 had a bit too much range compared to other shotguns.
• Changed the way camera recoil works. When firing, weapons are allowed to go a bit
more off center now. The true point of aim will follow the weapon and is not fixed to the
screen center.
• Changed the way SMG and assault rifle dispersion increases while firing in ADS. The
second, third, and sometimes fourth shots (for low rate-of-fire weapons) are now more
predictable while later shots are less predictable. Also shortened the time it takes for
dispersion to decrease when no longer firing. This means short bursts are a bit more
effective, while long bursts or mag dumps are a bit less effective.
• Fixed an issue that would prevent shotgun damage decals to appear on vehicles.
• The knife animation no longer triggers after firing the last round of a Panzerfaust.
• Bullet impact sounds have been further localized and the amount by which they can
attenuate non-player weapons has been reduced.
• Improved audibility of single-shot weapons.
• Improved audibility of late reflections for automatic weapons based on distance from
listener.
• Adjusted headphone mix for low frequencies to smooth out positioning.

Soldier
• Fixed a bug with the Medic class that would result in the weapon floating in the air while
the player was running briefly after reviving another player.
• The first-person animation when picking up health packs and ammo packs have been
moved to take less screen space for improved visibility.
• Soldiers that die in a vehicle are now ejected and can be revived.

Maps and Modes
• Fixed an issue in the Practice Range where vehicles would not spawn when the user
restarts the range.
• Fixed a visual bug in the Practice Range which would cause the player’s body to be
invisible while driving the Kubelwagen in third person.

UI/HUD/Options/Assignments
• Fixed an issue where the ticket counter was not visible when playing Breakthrough,
Frontlines, and Airborne.
• Disabled the saturation effect when regenerating health.
• Fixed a hang that could occur if players looked at server info from within the social hub
while being in the Your Company screen.
• Fixed a bug which could prevent players from deploying, prompting the error message
“The Class you have selected is violating the server rules” if they had equipped a newly
unlocked sight.
• Fixed a bug which prevented players from speeding up the bleed out timer when being in
a down state.
• Improved responsiveness and accuracy of the Commo Rose and the Squad
Reinforcements Rose when using a controller.
• Fixed an issue that would cause equipped vanity items to get unequipped when players
purchased and equipped something else.
• Fixed the placement of the buy button in the Replace Weapon screen to no longer clip
into the divider line.
• Fixed an issue where players would purchase something with Company Coin and get a
“Not enough Company Coin” error message even if they had enough currency.
• Fixed a bug that would cause the idle kick functionality to not always work.
• Improved how class characters are loaded when scrolling through them while in the
hangar between matches.
• Added the soldier stance icon from single-player into multiplayer.
• In the grenade selection menu, the smoke grenade selection will no longer show the Frag
Grenade demonstration video.

Stability
• Made multiple crash fixes and stability improvements.

PC-Specific Improvements
• Increased maximum ray count in DXR Ultra to improve reflection quality.
• DLSS is now also supported in borderless mode.
• Made improvements to DLSS sharpness.
• Fixed an issue that caused the Customization screen to be darker than intended when
having DX12 enabled.
• Fixed a rendering issue that could cause graphical corruption when spamming various
player actions.
• Fixed a bug that would cause the game to hang if the player mashed all the keyboard and
mouse buttons while in the key binding menu. The player that found this must have
eaten too much pineapple pizza.
• In Firestorm, opening the map and using the “scroll” button while inside a tank in the
gunner position will no longer switch the selected tank gun as well.

If there are new bugs introduced, or new features that are not in the patch notes, we’ll let you know.

Tags: Battlefield battlefield v DICE EA
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Battlefield 5 Currency Release Date Set for Tomorrow, Here’s an FAQ About It

  by   Alex Co  
April 3, 2019 7:20 pm in News

Announced even before the game’s launch, Battlefield 5’s in-game currency called “Battlefield Currency” or what the community refers to as “Boins” will be available in the game starting tomorrow when the patch drops.

Before anyone panics, Battlefield 5 currency will only be used for cosmetics and what EA calls “time savers, which will help those strapped with time (or just lazy) to obtain the chapter reward items, XP boosts and more.

Check out the full FAQ regarding Battlefield Currency below (via EA).

What is Battlefield Currency?
There are two types of in-game currency: Company Coin is earned through gameplay (you can read more about Company Coin and progression in our previous article), and now Battlefield Currency, purchased with real-world money.

How Do I Purchase Battlefield Currency?
From the Battlefield V main menu, go to either My Company, or the Armory, or any offer featured in the game menus. From there, press the “Get Battlefield Currency” option and then select and buy one of the quantities available. When the transaction is successful, Battlefield Currency will be immediately added to your Battlefield Currency balance. You can see your Battlefield Currency balance in the upper right of the screen alongside your Company Coin balance.

Battlefield Currency can also be purchased in first-party stores for your preferred platform.

What Can I Use Battlefield Currency to Get?
Inside the Armory, Battlefield Currency can be used to acquire:

  • Cosmetic customization items
  • Elite sets
  • Time savers

Elite sets and time savers will not be available on April 4 but will arrive later in Battlefield V.

Cosmetic Items
Today, you can get cosmetic items of all rarity levels through direct progression, such as Chapter Rewards or Career, Class, and Weapon Ranks. You can also get other Common, Uncommon, and Rare items through Company Coins.

Starting April 4, using Battlefield Currency, you’ll get access to new Epic items. You’ll also be able to get a number of cosmetic items already available through Company Coin.

Looking ahead, we will continue to release new cosmetic items that can be obtained through direct progression, Company Coins, and/or Battlefield Currency. We want to give every player a chance to access new cosmetic items, whether they choose to spend real-world money or earn content through gameplay.

The Elite
Coming in Chapter 3, we’ll be introducing something new to Battlefield: Elite sets that let you play as a distinct soldier in multiplayer modes, including Firestorm. Each Elite is a unique character with a name and background. They consist of a themed assortment of cosmetic items, character voice overs, a Best Squad animation, and an exclusive Special Assignment that helps bring to life the story of the Elite and unlocks a signature melee weapon.

Elites play like any other soldier and do not grant any type of gameplay advantage. We’ll provide more details on our first two Elites, Seamus and Ernst, closer to their arrival.

Time Savers
Later this spring, we’ll be introducing two types of time savers that can be acquired with Battlefield Currency: Tier Catch-Ups and XP Boosts.

Tier Catch-Ups unlock Chapter Reward items, providing an option for those players who don’t have the time to earn all those items through gameplay.

XP Boosts accelerate the amount of experience points you earn while you play, allowing you to reach Chapter, Career, Weapon, Vehicle, or Class Rank at a faster pace.

Are There Other Ways to Use Real-World Money?
Yes. In addition to Battlefield Currency, you can use real-world money to get value bundles. These bundles are available for limited times and can contain a mix of cosmetics, currency, time savers, or other items. The contents of a bundle will always be listed so you know what you’re getting before you make a purchase.

Starter packs are one example of a value bundle. Let’s take a look.

There’s also going to be a Starter Pack and Premium Starter Pack that will go on sale tomorrow as well.

Starter Pack and Premium Starter Pack
Arriving with the April 4 launch of Battlefield Currency are two ways to kick off your customization spree, the Battlefield V Starter Pack and the Battlefield V Premium Starter Pack. These packs are meant to help new players get a head start on building and customizing their Company.

The Battlefield V Starter Pack contains:

  • 500 Battlefield Currency
  • Glacial – Face paint (Rare)
  • Night Owl – Weapon Skin Set (Rare) for four weapons:
    • Sturmgewehr 1-5
    • Sten
    • KE7
    • Lee-Enfield No.4 Mk I

The Battlefield V Premium Starter Pack contains:

  • 3,500 Battlefield Currency
  • Demolisher – Axis Soldier Outfit (Epic)
  • Cool Hand Duke – Allied Soldier Outfit (Epic)
  • Skorpion – Panzer IV Vehicle Skin (Rare)
  • Icefire – Spitfire MK VA Vehicle Skin (Rare)
  • Chromed Finish – Weapon Skin Set (Rare) for four weapons:
    • Sturmgewehr 1-5
    • Sten
    • KE7
    • Lee-Enfield No.4 Mk I

I know, I know, microtransactions and the like aren’t welcome in games, but at least they won’t affect gameplay in Battlefield 5, right? Once the Boins and the patch are up, we’ll let our readers know.

Make sure to bookmark our Battlefield 5 game hub for the latest news regarding the game.

Related Battlefield 5 Reading:

Tags: Battlefield battlefield v DICE EA
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Alex Co

Father, gamer, games media vet, writer of words, killer of noobs.

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Borderlands 3 Different Editions Detailed, PC Will Be Exclusive to Epic Games Store for 6 Months

  by   Alex Co  
6:29 pm in News

Earlier today, Gearbox announced the Borderlands 3 release date with a brand new trailer. In a press release, Gearbox has also detailed the Borderlands 3 different editions the game will have come launch this September 13!

There’s going o be four different versions of Borderlands 3, and we’ve outlined each one below along with the prices and what it’ll contain.

Borderlands 3 Standard Edition – $59.99 USD

The Borderlands 3 Standard Edition includes the base game.

  • Pre-order bonus: Gold weapon skins & weapon trinket
Borderlands 3 Deluxe Edition – $79.99 USD

The Borderlands 3 Deluxe Edition includes the base game, as well as bonus digital content:

  • Retro Cosmetic Pack: Vault Hunter head & skin, Echo Device skin, weapon skin;
  • Neon Cosmetic Pack: Vault Hunter head & skin, Echo Device skin, weapon trinket;
  • Gearbox Cosmetic Pack: weapon skin, weapon trinket;
  • Toy Box Weapon Pack: 2 Toy guns, Toy grenade mod, weapon trinket;
  • XP & Loot Drop Boost Mods;
  • Pre-order bonus: Gold weapon skins & weapon trinket.
Borderlands 3 Super Deluxe Edition – $99.99 USD1 

The Borderlands 3 Super Deluxe Edition includes all the bonus digital content and pre-order bonus of the Deluxe Edition PLUS the Borderlands 3 Season Pass, which includes:

  • Four (4) campaign DLC packs featuring new stories, missions and challenges;
  • Butt Stallion weapon skin, weapon trinket, and grenade mod.
(1LIMITED TIME PRICING – Starting September 17, 2019, the digital version of Borderlands 3 Super Deluxe Edition will update to the full MSRP of $119.99 USD.)

Borderlands 3 Diamond Loot Chest Collector’s Edition – $249.99 USD

Celebrate the return of the original shooter-looter with the Diamond Loot Chest Collector’s Edition, a swag-splosion of collectibles digistructed straight from the worlds of Borderlands 3 – available at GameStop.

This edition includes the full game, season pass, and all bonus digital content and pre-order bonus of the Super Deluxe Edition, plus:

  • Diamond Loot Chest Replica: Featuring a functional retractable lid, this chest is perfect for storing your real-world loot;
  • Borderlands 3 character figurines (x10): Make room on your shelf for the whole crew, including the four new Vault Hunters, the fanatical Calypso Twins, and some of your favorite characters from the Borderlands universe! (Approximately 3” tall.);
  • Sanctuary 3 snap model: Construct your very own Sanctuary 3 model ship and display it proudly on its included stand;
  • Vault Key keychains (x4): Because you never know when you might stumble across an unopened Vault;
  • Cloth galaxy map: Discover new worlds beyond Pandora with Typhon DeLeon’s map of the Borderlands;
  • Character art lithographs (x5): Unique character prints starring the new Vault Hunters and fanatical Calypso Twins;
  • Borderlands 3 Steelbook case: A gorgeous metal case for any collector’s shelf.

For PC players, Borderlands 3 will be exclusive to the Epic Games Store for six months, and will be available on other digital storefronts on April 2020.

Don’t forget to check back this May 1 as Gearbox will be unveiling the first public hands-on look at Borderlands 3!

Tags: 2K Games Borderlands 3 Gearbox Software
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Battlefield 5 Trial By Fire Update 2 Patch Notes Now Available Ahead of Title Update

  by   Alex Co  
5:02 pm in News

Well, it seems DICE is indeed releasing a new Battlefield 5 update this week, and it’s coming tomorrow! Called “Tides of War 3: Trial By Fire Update #2,” this patch is once again significant, and has a ton of gameplay tweaks, mew additions and more!

Check out the official Battlefield 5 Trial By Fire update 2 patch notes here below (via EA Assets):

Firestorm – Gameplay fixes and changes
• Fixed an issue which was causing a weapon to be misaligned when a player was in a man
down state while being spectated.
• V-1 and Artillery Strikes now count as “gadget kills”.
• Pistols that have been picked up by the player now properly drop on the ground if the
player dies.
• Players are now able to use the Flare Gun while in water.
• Increased the draw distance for grenades and melee weapons.
• Grenades now collide with the cover of the pickup truck instead of going through it.
• Fixed an issue where the active VOIP icon would not always show if the entire squad
would be talking at the same time.
• Players will no longer deploy a grenade automatically when dropping an item as a
passenger.
• When in a tank, the player will no longer switch to the selected tank gun while zooming
on the map.
• Added a red outline for the Artillery Strike on the map to make it more visible.
• The health cooldown UI no longer freezes if a player drops their healing items when it is
in progress.
• Getting an invite from a player while looking for players enables you to join the squad.
• If the user cancels and resumes the interaction with a safe, it will always reset.
• When the player is watching another player being revived, the camera will remain in the
same position.
• The Napalm Helmet will no longer obstruct the player when aiming down sights.
• Players can now jump as soon as they reach the start of the jump location.
• When waiting for the other players, the squad list shows the correct Armor Plates
number that the player had before death.
• Players will no longer reload when opening doors.
• The loot rarity icon is no longer visible through soldier bodies and vehicles.
• When getting killed by another player, the text for the weapon used will show properly.
• Switching weapon while dropping a weapon will no longer make the weapon being held
invisible.
• The Swap and Drop button callouts are updated if the player changes the keybind ingame.
• Interaction detection has been improved to avoid issues with loot near Objectives and
vehicles.
• The interaction prompt for safes will no longer be offset when the player interacts with it
repeatedly.
• The interaction prompt for safes will no longer double when the player interacts with it
repeatedly.
• Interacting with a safe repeatedly will no longer make the progress bar disappear.
• When the player is killed by an Artillery Strike, an icon is displayed in the kill feed.
• The first wave of capture points now start earlier, before the zone starts to shrink for the
first time.

Firestorm – Map improvements and fixes
• Improved the rock wall textures near Pluto (Dig Site A).
• Removed a piece of terrain that was clipping through the bridge towards the farm from
the lake, causing vehicles to flip if they drive over it with speed.
• Fixed a floating telegraph pole that was placed east from Nannahavn.
• The crates located west of Hansen Farms are no longer floating in the air.
• Fixed a floating tree west of the Halvoy Dam.
• Players can no longer get stuck between the gap of the barrels inside Hansen Farms.
• The shed door is no longer clipping through the barrels at Minerva Docks.
• Players can no longer interact with the backside of the ladder near Guderos.
• Players can no longer get stuck while prone under the wooden platform next to the
fishing cabin near Halvoy Dam.
• Players can no longer get stuck between the wall and the railway sleeper stacks East of
Minerva Docks.
• Players can no longer get stuck when jumping between the metal bars at Pluto (Dig site
A).
• Improved rock textures near the Odenberg area.
• Player can no longer get stuck between the tree and the wall north of Minerva Docks.
• Players can no longer hide behind the waterfall South of Minerva Docks.
• The wooden crates are no longer floating above the floor inside the shed southeast of
Hansen Farms.
• The wooden crate no longer blocks the player from vaulting through the window in arctic
house west of Hansen Farms.
• Snow effect is no longer present inside the house southeast of Hotstad as well as the
house north of Minerva Docks.
• Fixed an issue that was causing mild flickering around the windshields inside vehicles.
• The PAK-40 AT towable located southeast of Halvdeler has been moved ten meters to
make it more useful.

battlefield 5 trial by fire update 2 patch notes

Vehicles
• Fixed a bug that enabled players to use airplanes during the match start timer period.
The animation when entering and exiting vehicles is now smoother and should have less
unintended sudden camera movements.
• Fixed an issue that could cause a temporary black screen when reloading a stationary
turret while using its zoom functionality at the same time.
• Made audio improvements to audibility of other players’ tanks.

Weapons, Gadgets, and Specializations
• Fixed the Ribeyrolles aperture sights being misaligned and using the wrong
magnification.
• Tweaked the Gewehr 43 reflex sight to look better.
• Tweaked the Bren max recoil which was too low.
• Reduced the M1897 damage drop-off start distance by 1 m for all ammo types. Our data
indicated that the 1897 had a bit too much range compared to other shotguns.
• Changed the way camera recoil works. When firing, weapons are allowed to go a bit
more off center now. The true point of aim will follow the weapon and is not fixed to the
screen center.
• Changed the way SMG and assault rifle dispersion increases while firing in ADS. The
second, third, and sometimes fourth shots (for low rate-of-fire weapons) are now more
predictable while later shots are less predictable. Also shortened the time it takes for
dispersion to decrease when no longer firing. This means short bursts are a bit more
effective, while long bursts or mag dumps are a bit less effective.
• Fixed an issue that would prevent shotgun damage decals to appear on vehicles.
• The knife animation no longer triggers after firing the last round of a Panzerfaust.
• Bullet impact sounds have been further localized and the amount by which they can
attenuate non-player weapons has been reduced.
• Improved audibility of single-shot weapons.
• Improved audibility of late reflections for automatic weapons based on distance from
listener.
• Adjusted headphone mix for low frequencies to smooth out positioning.

Soldier
• Fixed a bug with the Medic class that would result in the weapon floating in the air while
the player was running briefly after reviving another player.
• The first-person animation when picking up health packs and ammo packs have been
moved to take less screen space for improved visibility.
• Soldiers that die in a vehicle are now ejected and can be revived.

Maps and Modes
• Fixed an issue in the Practice Range where vehicles would not spawn when the user
restarts the range.
• Fixed a visual bug in the Practice Range which would cause the player’s body to be
invisible while driving the Kubelwagen in third person.

UI/HUD/Options/Assignments
• Fixed an issue where the ticket counter was not visible when playing Breakthrough,
Frontlines, and Airborne.
• Disabled the saturation effect when regenerating health.
• Fixed a hang that could occur if players looked at server info from within the social hub
while being in the Your Company screen.
• Fixed a bug which could prevent players from deploying, prompting the error message
“The Class you have selected is violating the server rules” if they had equipped a newly
unlocked sight.
• Fixed a bug which prevented players from speeding up the bleed out timer when being in
a down state.
• Improved responsiveness and accuracy of the Commo Rose and the Squad
Reinforcements Rose when using a controller.
• Fixed an issue that would cause equipped vanity items to get unequipped when players
purchased and equipped something else.
• Fixed the placement of the buy button in the Replace Weapon screen to no longer clip
into the divider line.
• Fixed an issue where players would purchase something with Company Coin and get a
“Not enough Company Coin” error message even if they had enough currency.
• Fixed a bug that would cause the idle kick functionality to not always work.
• Improved how class characters are loaded when scrolling through them while in the
hangar between matches.
• Added the soldier stance icon from single-player into multiplayer.
• In the grenade selection menu, the smoke grenade selection will no longer show the Frag
Grenade demonstration video.

Stability
• Made multiple crash fixes and stability improvements.

PC-Specific Improvements
• Increased maximum ray count in DXR Ultra to improve reflection quality.
• DLSS is now also supported in borderless mode.
• Made improvements to DLSS sharpness.
• Fixed an issue that caused the Customization screen to be darker than intended when
having DX12 enabled.
• Fixed a rendering issue that could cause graphical corruption when spamming various
player actions.
• Fixed a bug that would cause the game to hang if the player mashed all the keyboard and
mouse buttons while in the key binding menu. The player that found this must have
eaten too much pineapple pizza.
• In Firestorm, opening the map and using the “scroll” button while inside a tank in the
gunner position will no longer switch the selected tank gun as well.

That’s a lot! Once the patch is live tomorrow, we’ll be sure to let our readers know. Expect it to roll out around 5 a.m. ET, same as always.

Tags: Battlefield battlefield v DICE EA
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Alex Co

Father, gamer, games media vet, writer of words, killer of noobs.

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Apex Legends Update 1.1 Is Out, Lost Progression Bug Accidentally Introduced

  by   Alex Co  
4:43 pm in News

Turn on your consoles and PCs, Legends! A new Apex Legends update is out now! Called Apex Legends update 1.1 (though it’s marked as Apex Legends update 1.06 on PS4), this one is a small patch that aims to fix a few technical issues.

Clocking in at just 500MB on PS4, here are the Apex Legends update patch notes (via Reddit):

QUALITY OF LIFE

  • Added the ability to party up with the last squad you played with. After the match you will see buttons in the lobby that display the last two people you played with and can invite them to your squad.

Processing gif gxz6diysi2q21…

You can choose to allow invites or opt out in the Friends menu.

  • Additional behind-the-scenes improvements for squashing cheaters.
  • Added Mute button during the intro and Legend selection.
  • When using the Report Player button for PC, you now have the option of selecting Cheat or Other.

Made small improvements to the UI for customizing Legends.

Added option to turn off lighting on compatible hardware [for example, Razer Chroma devices] in the Mouse/Keyboard settings.

  • Added informative messages that appear on PC for crashes due to:
    • Running out of memory.
    • CPU errors best explained by overclocking/overheating.
  • Added better collision to the turrets on Supply Ships.
  • Stability fixes to all platforms.

BUG FIXES

  • Fixed issue where the Battle Pass rewards page would not have a default item selected, resulting in a mostly blank page.
  • Fixed bug for PS4 and X1 where sometimes attempting to use a keyboard to chat could cause a fatal script error.
  • Fixed bug with Banner Cards not showing up during and at the end of a match.

JUMP PAD PHASE WALK INTERACTIONS

  • Octane’s Jump Pad no longer affects players when using Into the Void ability.

Unfortunately, this new Apex Legends update also introduced a new “lost progression bug,” which Respawn is familiar with. Here’s the studio’s latest update on the matter:

KNOWN ISSUE: LOST PROGRESSION AFTER 1.1 UPDATE 4.3
by inapexlegends

Once we get another update from Respawn, we’ll update the post to reflect this.

In other Apex Legends news go check out some of the purported leaked info coming to Season 1!

Tags: Apex legends EA Respawn Entertainment
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Alex Co

Father, gamer, games media vet, writer of words, killer of noobs.

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Mortal Kombat 11 Cetrion Trailer Hits Hard, Watch Her Fatality

  by   Alex Co  
1:15 pm in News

As part of Game Informer’s month-long coverage of Mortal Kombat 11, the gaming magazine has an exclusive on the Mortal Kombat 11 Cetrion trailer reveal! In it, we see gameplay and even one of her Fatalities!

As one can expect, her moveset centers on the elements! I don’t know about you, but having a character’s face bashed into a rock really looks painful!

Make sure to check out our Mortal Kombat 11 game hub for the other character reveals. You can also check out a leaked screenshot of the MK11 roster right here! Want to know more about the game’s story? The story trailer gives us a peek at how time travel plays an integral role in Mortal Kombat 11’s single-player campaign.

Mortal Kombat 11 will kick its way out on this April 23 on PS4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, and PC.

Tags: Mortal Kombat Mortal Kombat 11 Netherrealm Studios Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment
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Alex Co

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Battlefield 5 Pilots and Tankers Are Still Locked to Female Characters Only, Community Asking for Options to Change It

  by   Alex Co  
12:25 pm in News

If you’ve been playing Battlefield 5 since launch, you might have noticed that the characters for pilots and tankers are still locked to female characters only. While DICE has been fantastic in pumping out patch after patch on a regular basis, it seems giving players the option to switch pilots and tankers to male characters isn’t high on the studio’s to-do list.

Over on the Battlefield 5 subreddit, players have spoken out on this Battlefield 5 female soldiers as pilots and tankers thing, with most agreeing that this is something that should be available in the first place.

Update after update, pilots and tankers are still locked to female only
byu/veekay45 inBattlefieldV

DICE, are you doing this out of petty spite?

It can’t be more than 5 minutes work replacing the models and voice lines.

And I’m not even talking about customization, apparently all pilots wore medic helmets.

Here’s some of the responses from the Battlefield 5 community:

You can read up on more comments about that, right here.

For those hoping we’ll get a chance to change this soon, that might not happen for a while. As recent as this January, former DICE Global Community Manager Dan Mitre confirmed that he hasn’t heard any news on ability to customize pilots and/or tankers even if they know it’s a highly requested feature.

Will this feature be part of DICE’s plans for any upcoming patch? Your guess is as good as mine at this point. Having said that, it is more important that they change or add things that will benefit the gameplay first, no?

Go check out this week’s planned Battlefield 5 news and announcements right here.

Tags: Battlefield battlefield v DICE EA
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Alex Co

Father, gamer, games media vet, writer of words, killer of noobs.

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Borderlands 3 Release Date Confirmed for September 13 in New Trailer, Box Art Revealed

  by   Alex Co  
11:48 am in News

Just a few days ago, the official Borderlands website seems to have revealed the Borderlands 3 release date prematurely. Well, as it turns out, the date mentioned there, which was September 13, 2019, is the real deal!

In a new trailer released today by Gearbox Software, it confirms that the Borderlands 3 release date is indeed September 13 for all versions of the game!

Not only that, but just next month on May 1, we’ll be getting a gameplay reveal for the game where Gearbox will show our first hands-on look at it!

Lastly, if you’re a fan of buying physical games, you might love the Borderlands 3 box art! Check it out below!

In case you’re curious, you can re-watch the Borderlands 3 reveal trailer right here.

Personally, I can’t wait! September 13 can’t come soon enough. Let’s hope Gearbox can recreate that Borderlands magic.

 

 

Tags: 2K Games Borderlands 3 Featured Gearbox Software
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Alex Co

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PUBG Creator Brendan Greene Says He’s Done With Battle Royale

  by   Alex Co  
April 2, 2019 8:45 pm in News

While battle royale games might be losing their luster compared to previous years, there’s no denying how big of an impact the genre has had on gaming as a whole. And when people talk about battle royale and where it all started, most people think of PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds or more famously known as “PUBG.”

In case you didn’t know, PUBG is the brainchild of Brendan Greene, and while the game is still being played heavily today, don’t expect PUBG 2 from Greene or anything to do with battle royale for the foreseeable future! Speaking to Games Industry, Greene confirmed that he’s moved on to PUBG Corp’s “Special Projects” division, where he’ll conceptualize new game experiences.

No specific genre is laid in stone just yet, as Greene is currently team building, though the chances of it being multiplayer-centric is very high. Having said that, don’t expect something as competitive as PUBG.

“That’s something we’re going to explore (multiplayer experience that’s a little more cooperative). The last man standing concept is great, but I’ve done that. I don’t really intend to make PUBG 2. I’ve done battle royale, it’s time to try something else. There are ideas about how we connect to people and how we provide the different experiences I have.”

Go read the entire interview since Greene also offers his thoughts on Apex Legends, and the genre he helped create and define.

Tags: brendan greene PUBG
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Alex Co

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BioWare Responds to Report on Anthem’s Turbulent Development History

  by   Alex Co  
4:27 pm in News

With Anthem confirmed as the lowest rated game in BioWare’s storied history (currently at only 55 on Metacritic), a new report from Kotaku has surfaced explaining the troubled Anthem game development history the title has suffered through. It’s worth a read regardless if you’re a fan of the game or not just for insight on what can go wrong in a big budget, AAA game.

To quell the murmurs, and the negativity surrounding the report, BioWare has issued a statement in the form of a letter on the studio’s website, which you can read in full below.

We’d like to take a moment to address an article published this morning about BioWare, and Anthem’s development. First and foremost, we wholeheartedly stand behind every current and former member of our team that worked on the game, including leadership. It takes a massive amount of effort, energy and dedication to make any game, and making Anthem would not have been possible without every single one of their efforts. We chose not to comment or participate in this story because we felt there was an unfair focus on specific team members and leaders, who did their absolute best to bring this totally new idea to fans. We didn’t want to be part of something that was attempting to bring them down as individuals. We respect them all, and we built this game as a team.

We put a great emphasis on our workplace culture in our studios. The health and well-being of our team members is something we take very seriously. We have built a new leadership team over the last couple of years, starting with Casey Hudson as our GM in 2017, which has helped us make big steps to improve studio culture and our creative focus. We hear the criticisms that were raised by the people in the piece today, and we’re looking at that alongside feedback that we receive in our internal team surveys. We put a lot of focus on better planning to avoid “crunch time,” and it was not a major topic of feedback in our internal postmortems. Making games, especially new IP, will always be one of the hardest entertainment challenges. We do everything we can to try and make it healthy and stress-free, but we also know there is always room to improve.

As a studio and a team, we accept all criticisms that will come our way for the games we make, especially from our players. The creative process is often difficult. The struggles and challenges of making video games are very real. But the reward of putting something we created into the hands of our players is amazing. People in this industry put so much passion and energy into making something fun. We don’t see the value in tearing down one another, or one another’s work. We don’t believe articles that do that are making our industry and craft better.

Our full focus is on our players and continuing to make Anthem everything it can be for our community. Thank you to our fans for your support – we do what we do for you.

Of course, the full story of what happened to Anthem and its development is something that BioWare, and its employees, are privy to.

Will BioWare regain its mojo and magic back for the next Dragon Age game? Let’s hope so as the studio has been instrumental in shaping the RPG landscape for the past decade.

More Anthem Reading:

Tags: Anthem Bioware EA
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Alex Co

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Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 Server Update Today Introduces Alcatraz Map, League Play Changes & More

  by   Alex Co  
3:32 pm in News

Revealed yesterday, the Blackout Alcatraz map is now available for PS4 owners to play as part of the Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 server update today!

Check out the full patch notes below.

Summary:

  • Blackout
    • New Alcatraz map now live on PS4.
    • Blackout Free Access now available on all platforms through April 30.
    • After Action Report updated to provide additional info after each match, including new Challenge progression.
    • Homewrecker melee weapon now available in Contraband Stashes on Xbox One and PC.
  • Zombies
    • “Ancient Evil” now live for Black Ops Pass holders on all platforms.
    • Server Pause now available for online private match hosts on consoles.
    • Splitscreen Pause now available for local splitscreen matches on consoles.
    • New Zombshell Perk now available on Xbox One and PC.
    • New Elixirs now available on Xbox One and PC: Suit Up, Dividend Yield, Talkin’ Bout Regeneration, Bullet Boost, and Quacknarok.
    • New Talismans now available on Xbox One and PC: Glowing Phylactery and Battered Dragon Scale.
  • Multiplayer
    • Barebones game mode now live on all platforms.
    • Barebones Moshpit continues as Featured Playlist on PS4 and added as Featured Playlist on Xbox One and PC.
    • Hardcore Barebones Moshpit, Stockpile, Mercenary Deathmatch Moshpit, and One in the Chamber (Strife with Stiletto Operator Mod) added to Featured category on all platforms.
    • Various stability improvements.
  • World League Hub
    • League Play Events now span the course of the entire week.
    • Bonus pool is now spread out through the entirety of an event (no longer daily bonuses with rollovers).
    • Increased penalty for intentional teamkilling in League Play matches.
  • General
    • Free Weapon Crate with guaranteed free MKII Signature Weapon now available in the Black Market on Xbox One and PC.
    • Voice calibration setting added to PC.

All Platforms:

BLACKOUT

  • Free Access
    • Access to Blackout is free for a limited time for all players on PS4, Xbox One, and PC through April 30.

MULTIPLAYER

  • Game Modes
    • Featured category updated to include:
      • Barebones Moshpit
      • Hardcore Barebones Moshpit
      • Stockpile
      • Mercenary Deathmatch Moshpit
      • One in the Chamber (Strife with Stiletto Operator Mod)

PS4:

The following updates are live on PS4, with other platforms to follow:

BLACKOUT

  • New Map: Alcatraz
    • Alcatraz map now available in Blackout on PS4, added as Featured Playlist.
      • Quads with 40 maximum players per match.
      • Up to 5 total redeployments per player before the final circle, as long as one member of the squad remains alive at the time of each redeploy.
      • Deploy via portals into close-quarters combat on Alcatraz island.
      • New named destinations, including the Warden’s House, Docks, New Industries, and Cellhouse.
      • Players can pick up Wall Buy weapons throughout the map that disappear after pickup.
      • New Zombies-themed weapon available in the Mystery Box.

PS4 and Xbox One:

The following updates are now live on consoles, with PC to follow:

BLACKOUT

  • After Action Report
    • AAR now provides additional info after each match, including Challenge progression.
  • Weapons
    • Purifier
      • Increased Purifier damage against zombies.
  • MULTIPLAYER
    • Game Modes
      • Barebones
      • Added new health regen UI.
      • Resolved an issue where the After Action Report would show Defeat even if the player was on the winning team.
  • Maps
    • Gridlock
      • Improved collision near the western spawn.
  • Stability
    • Various stability improvements.

WORLD LEAGUE HUB

  • Weekly League Play Events
    • Each League Play Event now spans the course of the entire week.
  • Bonus Pool
    • Bonus pool is now spread out through the entirety of an event — no longer daily bonuses that rollover day-to-day.
  • Teamkill Penalty
    • Players who kill teammates 6 times will now be kicked from League Play matches.

ZOMBIES

  • Server Pause
    • Hosts of online private matches can now pause the game mid-match for all players.
  • Splitscreen Pause
    • Players in local splitscreen matches can now pause the game mid-match on consoles.
  • Ancient Evil
    • Addressed various issues that could sometimes cause the Wonder Weapon to become unusable.
  • Miscellaneous
    • Addressed an issue that caused duplicated character icons to appear in the End Game screen.
  • Stability
    • Various stability improvements.

Xbox One and PC:

MULTIPLAYER

  • Game Modes
    • Barebones
      • Barebones added as Featured Playlist.
      • 6v6 with no Specialist Weapons, Special Issue Equipment, Gear, or Operator Mods allowed.
      • Equipment is now single-use with no cooldowns. Equipment is fully charged on each respawn.
      • Spawn Select disabled.
      • Playlists include Team Deathmatch and Domination.

ZOMBIES

  • Maps
    • Ancient Evil
      • New “Ancient Evil” map added for Black Ops Pass holders.
  • New Perk
    • Zombshell
      • Basic zombies have a chance to explode when killed, leaving behind a contamination field that slows enemies and increases damage dealt to them.
      • Modifier: Players with the modifier are ignored by zombies while standing in the contamination field. Weapon reload speed is increased.
  • New Elixirs
    • Suit Up (Epic)
      • Player and nearby teammates get full Armor, which lasts until destroyed.
      • Instant activation.
    • Dividend Yield (Legendary)
      • Some of the points earned create additional bonus points for all players.
      • Instant activation. Lasts 5 minutes.
    • Talkin’ Bout Regeneration (Rare)
      • The player’s health constantly regenerates while moving.
      • Instant activation. Lasts 4 minutes.
    • Bullet Boost (Common)
      • Applies or re-rolls an alternate ammo type to the player’s current weapon (if supported). Weapon damage is not affected.
      • Instant activation.
    • Quacknarok (Classic Whimsical)
      • Zombies now wear a duck float with hilarious results.
      • Instant activation. Lasts 5 minutes.
      • NOTE: Quacknarok is a durable Elixir rather than a consumable Elixir.
  • New Talismans
    • Glowing Phylactery (Epic)
      • Start the match with an extra self-revive.
    • Battered Dragon Scale (Legendary)
      • Activating your Special Weapon gives increased armor, which lasts until destroyed.

BLACKOUT

  • Contraband Stashes
    • Homewrecker melee weapon now available in Contraband Stashes.

PC:

MULTIPLAYER

Weapon Tuning

  • Submachine Guns
    • Cordite
      • Increased sprint-out speed.
    • Daemon 3XB
      • Extended 6-shot range from 8 meters to 11.5 meters.
    • MX9
      • Increased ADS-out speed.
      • Increased sprint-out speed.
    • Saug 9mm
      • Increased sprint-out speed.
    • Switchblade X9
      • Increased magazine size from 26 to 30.
      • Players now spawn with 3 extra magazines instead of 2.
  • Assault Rifles
    • KN-57
      • Extended 4-shot range from 16 meters to 17 meters.
      • Extended 5-shot range from 46 meters to 57 meters.
  • Tactical Rifles
    • ABR 223
      • Increased ADS-in speed.
      • Ammo increased from 30 to 36.
      • Extended 4-shot range from 32 meters to 38 meters.
  • Sniper Rifles
    • Paladin HB50
      • Increased magazine size from 5 to 6.
      • Reduced reload speed.
    • SDM
      • Increased fire rate.
  • Pistols
    • RK 7 Garrison
      • Increased damage. Now takes 1 less bullet to kill at all ranges.
    • Mozu
      • Extended 3-shot range from 19 meters to 24 meters.
      • Extended 4-shot range from 25 meters to 32 meters.
      • Extended 5-shot range from 32 meters to 38 meters.
    • Strife
      • Increased fire rate.

Friendly Fire

  • New Friendly Fire system added to all World League and Hardcore game modes:
    • Ricochet Friendly Fire is now enabled for the first 15 seconds of a match or round.
    • After the first 15 seconds, the first 3 teamkills will be true friendly fire, where the victim will take full damage.
    • After the first 3 teamkills, any subsequent damage dealt to a teammate will ricochet back to the attacker instead of damaging the teammate.
    • Once transitioned to the Ricochet system, further Ricochet teamkills will incur an escalating respawn delay penalty.
    • The player will then be allowed 3 Ricochet teamkills before being removed from the match.
    • Damaging a teammate who is planting or defusing a bomb will ricochet damage back to the attacking teammate in World League.

XP

  • Increased XP earned for all Scorestreak kills to 100 XP.
  • Increased XP awarded for killing the K9-Unit to 100 XP.
  • Increased XP awarded for Ice Pick Shutdown to 100 XP.
  • Increased XP awarded for destroying an RC-XD to 100 XP.
  • Increased XP awarded for killing a Swat Team unit to 250 XP.
  • Increased XP for the Forward Position Medal to 250 XP.

Game Modes

  • Kill Confirmed
    • Increased score for collecting an enemy dog tag in Kill Confirmed to 100.
  • Search and Destroy
    • Addressed an issue where spectating in Search and Destroy could cause team colors to display incorrectly on the scoreboard.
  • Heist
    • Addressed an issue where the end of the round pips could be on the wrong team.

Specialists

  • Nomad
    • Added pathing and spawning improvements for Nomad’s K9-Unit.
    • K9-Unit now properly takes damage from Razor Wire.
  • Outrider
    • Players hit by a fully-charged Sparrow shot will now properly hear the impact sound of the bolt.

Perks

  • Tactical Mask
    • Players with Tactical Mask who have been downed by an enemy Tempest no longer chain to teammates after the Tempest status effect wears off.

Scorestreaks

  • Care Package
    • Addressed an issue where being killed while claiming a Care Package could cause issues with controllable Scorestreaks.
    • Addressed an issue where the Care Package would not drop from the helicopter if a player called it in along the water in Madagascar.

Custom Games

  • Addressed an issue where the Bonus Maps tab was not appearing in Offline Local Games.
  • Fixed a crash in Custom Games related to turning the Specialist Draft off.

WORLD LEAGUE HUB

  • New Ranks
    • Added Ranks 21-30 to League Play.
  • UI
    • Players will now get a notification that they’ve received a Calling Card when they reach ranks that award them.
    • Rank up animations will now start at the player’s current rank instead of their final rank.
    • Players in the Top 5 will be labeled as “Top 5” instead of “Top 10” in their League Play Event results screen.
  • Create-a-Class
    • Addressed an issue with restricted items appearing in Custom Classes.
    • Addressed an issue where restricted Scorestreaks could appear as selected.

BLACKOUT

Weapon Tuning

  • Submachine Guns
    • Cordite
      • Increased sprint-out speed.
    • MX9
      • Increased ADS-out speed.
      • Increased sprint-out speed.
    • Saug 9mm
      • Increased sprint-out speed.
    • Switchblade X9
      • Increased magazine size from 26 to 30.
  • Sniper Rifles
    • SDM
      • Increased fire rate.
  • Pistols
    • RK 7 Garrison
      • Increased damage. Now takes 1 less bullet to kill at all ranges.
    • Strife
      • Increased fire rate.

Map

  • Reduced glare intensity when looking toward the sun in the original Blackout map.

Weapons

  • Outrider’s Sparrow can now be found in Supply Stashes.

Equipment

  • Zero’s EMP Disruptor grenade can now be found in the Blackout map.

Vehicles

  • Added co-pilot support for the Little Bird and the Cargo Truck.
  • Made improvements to Muscle Car collision to fix instances where a Muscle Car driver was unable to kill enemies.

Low-Population Regions

  • Added Australia and New Zealand to low player population group with consolidated playlists for faster match start times and better matchmaking.

Customization

  • Addressed an issue with various camos not appearing properly on the MX9 Tactical.

Stability

  • Fixed a rare crash that could occur when swapping and equipping an item.

Miscellaneous

  • Re-enabled the ability to hold the Use button continuously to use multiple Armor Plates and activate Perks without needing to release the input.
  • Removed blur from the Victory Screen.
  • Addressed instances where characters’ lobby animations could become corrupted.
  • Addressed an issue that prevented mode-specific loading screen tips from being properly displayed.
  • Addressed an issue where users could find Seraph’s Annihilator inside of a Supply Stash.

ZOMBIES

Weapon Tuning

  • Submachine Guns
    • Cordite
      • Increased sprint-out speed.
    • MX9
      • Increased ADS-out speed.
      • Increased sprint-out speed.
    • Saug 9mm
      • Increased sprint-out speed.
  • Tactical Rifles
    • ABR 223
      • Increased ADS-in speed.
  • Sniper Rifles
    • Paladin HB50
      • Reduced reload speed.
    • SDM
      • Increased fire rate.
  • Pistols
    • Strife
      • Increased fire rate.

Global

  • High-Round Stability
    • Fixed a rare crash that could occur when displaying certain text strings, particularly during high-round matches.
  • Perks
    • Closed a Mule Kick exploit that allowed players to acquire more than one Wonder Weapon on several maps.
    • Improved the clarity of the description for the Stamin-Up Perk.
  • Special Weapons
    • Addressed an issue that sometimes caused the XP bar to display an inaccurate value while charging up a weapon.
  • Armory
    • Addressed an issue causing the Cordite Zero G Mastercraft menu to display incorrect visual stage information for the weapon.
  • Create-A-Class
    • Addressed an issue that prevented the model preview from updating appropriately when switching between tabs in the Talisman and Elixir Menus.
  • Lobby
    • Addressed an issue that prevented the Solo button from functioning until the selection was unselected and back to the button after backing out of a match.
  • UI
    • Addressed an issue that caused the self-revive prompt to remain visible in the Options menu.
    • Addressed an issue that sometimes prevented a player’s name from being displayed properly while reviving.
    • Addressed an issue where Prestige Master icons remained locked after reaching the appropriate level.
  • Host Migration
    • Addressed an issue that would rarely cause host migration to fail, resulting in the match ending.
    • Addressed an issue that prevented being able to join an applicable game in progress after the match had migrated hosts.
    • Addressed an issue that caused Perk icons on the HUD granted by the Perk Up Elixir to disappear after migrating hosts.
    • Addressed a rare issue that caused certain lights to turn off after migrating hosts.

Custom Games

  • Stability
    • Fixed a crash that could occur when acquiring a Perk reward with all Perks disabled.
  • Custom Rules
    • Addressed issues that caused several custom rules for the Enhanced AI category to function incorrectly.
    • Addressed an issue that caused the Headshots Only custom rule for basic zombies to apply to all enemy types.
    • Added better descriptions that detail which enemy types are affected by option groups in the Enemies Menu.

Miscellaneous

  • Gauntlets
    • Addressed an issue that prevented rewards from being granted when players disconnected before the end of the match.
    • Addressed an issue that prevented weapons with the Kill Counter or Clan Tag attached from counting as a weapon without attachments on “Hellcatraz”.
    • Addressed an issue that rarely prevented Pack-A-Punch sound FX from playing while upgrading a weapon on “Hellcatraz”.
    • Added a HUD indicator to inform users that they cannot fire while aiming down sights with the Brazen Bull during the “Shoot From The Hip” round on “Veni, Vidi, Zombie!”
  • Rush
    • Addressed an issue that caused zombies to stop spawning during the third defense location if the user was downed before the timer ran out.
  • Blood of the Dead
    • Closed multiple exploits in locations that could be exploited to avoid danger from zombies.
    • Addressed an issue that caused visual FX on the Warden’s Key to stop appearing when switching targets.
    • Addressed an issue that caused loss of functionality when spawning a Spoon while the Ragnarok DG-5 was equipped.Addressed an issue that caused certain boards to become unrepairable.
  • Dead of the Night
    • Fixed a crash that could occur when hitting a Bat with the Ethereal Razor equipped.
  • Voyage of Despair
    • Addressed an issue that prevented progression of the Portal Pass side quest when using alternate ammo types during the vent step.
    • Addressed an issue that prevented progression of the Skeleton Rider side quest if the Shields Up Elixir had been used.
  • Tutorial
    • Rearranged columns on the scoreboard for consistency compared to other game modes.

GENERAL

  • Voice Calibration
    • Added a Voice Calibration feature in the Audio settings. Players can press the record button to hear their voice alongside a volume indicator to adjust their chat volume to their preference.
  • Flinch
    • Reduced the maximum amount of flinch a player can exhibit while not aiming down sights.
  • Reactive Camos
    • Reactive Camos are now available on all guns, not only on those with Gold camo unlocked.
    • Reactive Camo starts wrapped on all guns.
    • Any weapon can be used to complete the unwrap requirement.
  • Theater
    • Fixed a crash that could occur when skipping through playback of Blackout matches.
    • Fixed various crashes related to playing back Zombie Gauntlet footage.
    • Addressed an issue where facial animations could stop during playback and rewind.
    • HUD elements should no longer appear when playing back Hardcore Blackout footage.
  • Mesh Mines
    • Increased the height of the Mesh Mine trace in Multiplayer and Blackout for more consistent detonations.
  • Paintshop
    • Addressed an issue where the scroll indicators were cut off if the player had more than 10 paintjobs.
  • UI
    • Addressed an issue in the Social menu where player Emblems and ranks weren’t displaying correctly.

Not a bad list of changes, no? Once Alcatraz is available for Xbox One and PC players, we’ll let our readers know.

Source: Reddit

Tags: Activision Call of Duty Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 Treyarch
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Alex Co

Father, gamer, games media vet, writer of words, killer of noobs.

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Battlefield 5 Upcoming Update Won’t Be Out This Week, Here’s What We’ll Be Getting Instead

  by   Alex Co  
1:26 pm in News

While we reported (per DICE) last weekend that the next Battlefield 5 patch will be released this week, things have changed. Over on Reddit, DICE has laid out this week’s news and announcements, and the Battlefield 5 upcoming update isn’t part of the week’s agenda.

  • Monday, 4/1/2019
    • This Week in Battlefield V – What you’re reading right now! An overview of this week’s news, blogs, content, and more.
  • Tuesday, 4/2/2019
    • Weekly Community Highlight – Best Only in Battlefield Moment of the Week – Hot new OIB moment coming in with a new weekly winner! Think you’ve got a winner? Send it our way on any of the Battlefield channels. Each weekly featured clip will be awarded a Best Community in the World emblem!
    • Last Chance for Weekly Mission Reward – Give the ToW Mission a final push if you haven’t completed it yet.
  • Wednesday, 4/3/2019
  • Thursday, 4/4/2019
    • Battlefield V Chapter 3: Trial By Fire Week 2 Starts
    • TBC – #OnlyinBattlefieldV #Firestorm Contest – This is pending localization of rules. We’ll keep you posted – it’s going to be epic.
  • Friday, 4/5/2019
    • DICE FRIENDS Awards
    • Battlefield V: Firestorm Boot Camp Blog
    • Weekly Debrief – Your one-stop destination for all the blogs, videos, and major news that happened in the week.

It’s not that surprising given that the patch is undergoing certification, and DICE did say that things are tentative. At least we’ll be getting a new blog post, and Trial By Fire week #2 will be here within the week, no?

In other Battlefield 5 news, DICE has confirmed that the empty Armory is a bug and doesn’t necessarily mean that new items will be rolled out for it.

Tags: Battlefield battlefield v DICE EA
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Alex Co

Father, gamer, games media vet, writer of words, killer of noobs.

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PS Plus Free Games April 2019 Download Links Now Live for US & EU and Here They Are

  by   Alex Co  
11:35 am in News

Announced last week, this month’s free PlayStation Plus titles are now live for download for both US and EU! Below, we have the PS Plus free games April 2019 download links, download sizes, and official product description.

The Surge – 5.41GB

The Surge

From the creators of brutal medieval action-adventure Lords of the Fallen comes a challenging sci-fi spin on the hardcore RPG genre.

Take on the role of new staff member Warren who, following a trying first day on the job, awakens to the aftermath of an unknown cataclysm to find his new workplace devastated and its ruins overrun by out-of-control machines.

Explore the twisting maze-like environment of the CREO research facility, fending off haywire tech, scavenging new parts and weapons, rescuing survivors and unlocking the secrets of this vast, abandoned facility.

Conan Exiles – 38.42GB

Conan Exiles

Drawing inspiration from the classic barbarian tales, survival open world survival game Conan Exiles winds back the clock to the very dawn of civilization, casting you as a forgotten exile abandoned alone in the desert for crimes unknown.

Starting out with nothing but a loincloth and your own two hands, you’ll have to explore this vast, hostile world, gathering materials, crafting tools and carving out a new life for yourself in a world filled with danger.

Exploring a shared online space, you’ll have the chance to meet with other players, build settlements and bases together, and even raise your own armed fortresses as you advance your mission to dominate this brave new world.

Not a bad month for PS Plus members, no? Don’t forget to bookmark our Deals hub for the latest online deals, which includes the PSN Store’s weekly sales.

Tags: Deals PlayStation PS Plus Free Games
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Alex Co

Father, gamer, games media vet, writer of words, killer of noobs.

Home > News

Battlefield 5 Empty Armor Is a Bug Confirmed by DICE

  by   Alex Co  
11:10 am in News

If you’ve checked the Battlefield 5 Armory and found it empty, you might be assuming (or hoping) that this meant that DICE was updating it and this is the reason it’s empty. Well, sad to say, it’s not that but rather, the Battlefield 5 empty Armor thing is an actual bug!

This was confirmed over on Twitter by DICE Technical Designer Jan David Hassel who asked gamers that engineers are looking into it.

https://twitter.com/JanDavidHassel/status/1112959942053462016

https://twitter.com/JanDavidHassel/status/1112964732720427010

Hey if any of you Battlefield players are experiencing an empty Armory right now could you please quickly reply here with your Origin name so our engineers can take a look at what’s going on?

Thanks everyone, we’ve confirmed the issue with the Armory now and engineers are looking into it.

Mind, this isn’t a guarantee that the Armory won’t get updated, but for those hoping that this was it, sadly, it’s not.

For more Battlefield 5 news, go check out this mini Firestorm Q&A to see what changes DICE is looking to do next. There’s also a survey for the game that players and would-be players should take in order for the studio to gain valuable feedback.

Tags: Battlefield battlefield v DICE EA
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Alex Co

Father, gamer, games media vet, writer of words, killer of noobs.

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How to Make Money From CS:GO

  by   Alex Co  
11:00 am in News

Believe it or not, Counter: Strike-Global Offensive is one of the largest FPS is out there in the market. You will easily be able to play the game to win some money. There are different ways to get paid when you play Counter-Strike: Global Offensive. Some of the best methods to make money from it had been listed below.

Compete in 1v1s to Win Cash Prize

CS:Go is one of the top-most games in regards to the one on one competition. There are several people who battle their friends in 1v1 maps for winning money. As a matter of fact, it is possible to make things specific simply by using pistols, rifles, and even AWP battles.

In case you like 1v1, you should check out Toornament, Eloplay, and FACEIT Hubs. You are going to come across several 1v1 league, competitions, and ladders. Many of them include valuable and a cash prize.

Play Tournaments with Money

Counter-Strike: Global Offensive is known to be one of the largest eSports across the globe. In fact, it is the biggest one in regards to the tournament volume. According to reports, more than $62.6 million has been secured over 3549 tournaments.

Often, you will come across local LANS with cash prizes. Again, many online tournaments are known to be available on platforms such as Toornament and FACEIT. Many of them offer cash prize so that you are able to play CS:GO for winning money. All you require is some good teammates.

Sell Counter-Strike: Global Offensive Skins

You will be surprised to find out that the CS:GO skins are greatly valuable. As a matter of fact, CS:GO AWP is one of the most expensive skins that have ever been sold. The price at which it was sold was $61,000. Moreover, it is pretty easy to take part in this skin market. You will be able to do it even if you are just a casual player.

There are only a handful of ways to do it. You will find the skin drops when you play the game. Thereafter, you will be able to sell it off in the market or on https://www.skinwallet.com/. Purchase keys for opening the cases and just hope that you get valuable skin. Or else, you can purchase low at Steam Market and then sell it off at a high price.

If you sell it at the Steam Market, you will be able to derive some extra credit. There are some players who resort to selling sites for skins in order to make some extra cash. If the skin is a good one then it is going to make thousands. Hence, it can be said that it is a legitimate way to get paid in the game. All you have to do is sell them for greater than you actually purchased them at.

Sell the Account to Get Money

Another option is to sell that account that you have for the game on different websites. However, this method is looked down upon by the gaming community but you will be able to make a lot of money through this. The developers of CS:GO Hidden Path Entertainment and Valve Corporation will take the account quite seriously and is going to ban if they find it out.

This is not a recommended procedure. Nevertheless, if you have to go down this route, you will have to log enough playing hours for achieving a good level in CS:GO. Sell it in the third party market place and make money.

Become a YouTube Streamer of CS:GO

This is one of the biggest games in Twitch and there is enough content on YouTube that is followed by the players on a regular basis. You are not going to become a sensation overnight. However, there is no harm in developing fun content for YouTube.

There are different kinds of CS:GO content that takes off on this social media channel starting from tutorials to highlight videos. You will be able to make money if you have the time and patience for it. If you put in enough hard work to develop a following, you will be able to generate significant revenue from streaming videos.

When you have gathered a large following, you can get enough money by securing sponsorship. This simply means that you are going to be paid by the brains for mentioning or promoting the products that they sell on your video. This can be an excellent way to make money but you have to make sure that you are working with a brand that are authentic and will not sell you out.

eSports

This is actually referring to a group of player who plays independently or as a team and compete against the virtual electronic games. If you have to win money by playing Counter-Strike: Global Offensive on eSports, you will have to be good. For this, you will have to be dedicated, practice enough, and also be motivated. As a matter of fact, you will also have to buy the right kind of equipment in order to buy and find the team. Thereafter, enter the tournament for playing. If you are successful in making a name for yourself, you will be able to get sponsorship. This can be either with eSports franchise or in the form of brand promotion.

It is because of the influence of the team that brands have taken advantage of eSports to promote the products in return of financing.

In the case of team sponsorship, the professional owners of the eSports team are funded by independent investors or sponsors. These are like the traditional sports teams that buy and sell a player for taking part in the best leagues and tournaments.

Counter-Strike: Global Offensive is surely a game that you can play and make money from. Usually, the amount that you can make is largely dependent on the skills that you have to play the game. Also, you will need to keep a regular practice. Without practice, it is going to get really difficult for you.

Tags: counter-strike: global CS:GO sponsored post
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Alex Co

Father, gamer, games media vet, writer of words, killer of noobs.

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