If there’s one thing the Dead or Alive’s not know for, it’s for modesty. It’s probably one of the most sexualized legit games out there right now, and that doesn’t seem to be changing anytime soon with Dead or Alive 6.
Case in point? There’s a “Strongest” edition of the game set to become available in Japan, and it includes a few things that should arouse your interest in the game. Called the “Strongest Package,” it will cost massive 25,800 yen ($232 in USD), and include what’s in the Collector’s Edition (which are: the game, original soundtrack, an artbook, a set of memorial tin badges, and a digital code for the Digital Deluxe Edition), a set of five bathroom posters, and the boobie mouse pads. Check out what they look like below.
So we get Honoka’s ample breasts, Marie Rose’s ass, and a mystery third one, which will feature a brand new female character.
Honestly. I’m not surprised at the bonus included in the Strongest Package. It’s like what people say, “play to your strengths” and Tecmo Koei definitely knows what their audience wants.
Dead or Alive 6 will bounce out this February 15, 2019 on the PS4, Xbox One, and PC.
It’s day #7 of the Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 Blackout beta, and Treyarch just dropped a bomb for everyone! The studio has rolled out a different kind of Black Ops 4 Blackout event, and it’s a doozy! It has brought the Blightfather from the game’s zombie experience to battle royale!
Check out the complete list of changes and more below (via Reddit):
It’s Day 7 of the Blackout Beta, and we’ve got a new surprise in store for everyone. Today’s update brings a terrifying new game event to the Graveyard, just south of the Asylum.
A new horror seeks to destroy all who approach its domain. The Blightfather has been temporarily transported from the upcoming Zombies experience, IX, to the proving grounds of Blackout. Great rewards await those ready to challenge themselves…
In addition to the Black Ops 4 Blackout event, the studio has also listed a set of their favorite tops, and even addressed some of the biggest community hot topics. And of course, same as in other days, a few tweaks and changes have been made, too!
Game Update Changes (Global):
General:
Blightfather event added (all playlists)
Removed Close Quarters Frenzy from available playlists
Miscellaneous:
General stability fixes
We’ve also made the following general updates to PC:
Miscellaneous:
General stability and UI fixes
Fixed various controller issues
Fixed Inventory issues when disconnecting from the server
Tracked Hot Topics:
Crashes/Performance Issues on PC: With so many variables at play on the PC platform, we’re always tracking and investigating new reports of crashes and other issues on PC. As we mentioned yesterday, your new best friend is u/TreyarchPC on Reddit and @TreyarchPC on Twitter for all PC-specific updates. Please keep an eye out for those here on r/BlackOps4.
Xbox Button: We’ve gotten reports that some Xbox One users may lose controller input after pressing the Xbox Button while playing the Blackout Beta. We’re aware of this issue and will have it fixed for launch.
Mystery Box: Some players have asked about the precise interaction between the blue column of light on the map and the Mystery Box. In the Beta, the light denotes that Zombies have spawned at that location. Players must kill the last zombie in an area for the next box to spawn. At launch, the Mystery Box will initially spawn at Zombies-themed locations and will appear to be locked. Once the last zombie is killed that area, the box will unlock and can be looted. Write that one down for October 12th.
Redeploy: It’s been suggested that we allow players to Redeploy when the game is over for their team without needing to go back to the lobby. We like this idea too, and have added it to the To Do list for evaluation.
Tips:
Locked On: When an enemy fires a locked-on missile at your vehicle, you will hear an alert that increases in speed as the missile closes in on your vehicle. Use this alert to know when it’s time to bail.
Base Jump: Redeploy your Wingsuit by sprinting and jumping off a ledge while holding the jump button for a short period of time. Make sure you’ve got enough room. You won’t deploy the Wingsuit if you aren’t up high enough. Great locations to base jump from include the road atop the Hydro Dam, the open floors in the skyscraper at Construction Site, and the main Fracking Tower. It’s a skill well worth developing.
Extended Barrel: The Extended Barrel Attachment increases the muzzle velocity of the weapon that it’s attached to. This means you’ll see less bullet drop and longer effective ranges.
Zombie Power: Zombies become stronger with each stage of the Collapse. This means they’ll soak up more damage as the match progresses. You’ve been warned.
Wingsuit Like A Pro: During initial deployment, the Altimeter shown on the right of the screen will display three arrows once you’ve reached maximum possible speed (about 71 m/s). If you wish to travel the maximum distance possible, point straight down at the ground and hit maximum speed for a brief amount of time. Then, pull up to be nearly horizontal with the ground below to cover the most distance. Continue to hold forward on the left stick, or you’ll stall and fall short of your intended Destination.
Underwater: When underwater, you will gasp for air a few seconds before you start taking damage due to lack of oxygen. Dive to the surface when you hear the gasps to prevent taking damage.
Re-Armor Up: The Armor icon on your HUD will show its current status through damage states. If your Armor looks heavily damaged, it’s probably best to replace it with the next fresh Armor you come across. As we mentioned in an earlier update, players will see an Armor Health Bar that appears above their own Health Bar in the HUD in the launch version of the game.
Stay tuned to MP1st’s impressions of Blackout soon. In the meantime, make sure to check out our Black Ops 4 hub for the latest game news.
Just a week ago. we reported that the Battlefield V beta chat profanity filter censored words like “DLC” (but “free DLC” was fine), and “white man” for some unknown reason.
Well, now, we know what the reason is! Over on Twitter, DICE Multiplayer Producer David Sirland gave an explanation and blamed the AI learning algorithm since it tagged words that are known to be escalators to “toxic chat.”
Because the system is using a dictionary derived from several EA games based on some sort of AI learning algorithm that has tagged certain combinations of words to be escalators to toxic chat (or similar, I don’t claim to understand how it works in detail) – we will change this.
This is definitely good news, right? And it makes things much, much clearer.
If you’re taking part in the Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 Blackout PC open beta (if you aren’t, why??), then you might have encountered a few frame rate drops, stuttering and the like. Fortunately, the Black Ops 4 Blackout stuttering fix seems to be an easy one.
Before you read on, note that this isn’t an end all, be all fix, and there is a chance this won’t work for everyone’s stuttering/frame rate drop problems, but given how it worked for some people, and how easy it is to do, it’s definitely worth a shot.
On Reddit, SpecterTheGamer posted a rather simple Black Ops 4 stuttering fix, which can be read below.
Hello people, I’ve had some struggles with the stuttering in this game, probably because of my outdated CPU(i5 3570k), but i’ve found an easy fix some of you may not be aware of, and it’s easy. -First of all open your task manager(CTRL+ALC+CANC) -Go on the “details” tab -Right click on the BO4 process and change its priority to whatever you like, just not on Low, which was the preset for me. I personally put it on real time, haven’t had stuttering or fps drop ever since. Hope this can be helpful to some of you guys 🙂
Again, this might not work for some people, but it’s worth a shot given it worked for some.
In other Black Ops 4 Blackout PC news, Treyarch has put up a post asking players for feedback specifically for PC controls.
Don’t forget to check out the latest Black Ops 4 Blackout beta update that rolled out yesterday, which included increasing the PC playercount on PC and Xbox One to 88 and more.
Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 will be available this October 12 on the PS4, Xbox One, and PC.
Just a few days ago (or just a day, depending on where you are in the world), Bungie unleashed the Destiny 2: Forsaken raid called the Last Wish. And now, we now have our first team to officially complete it! And it only took the team 18 hours and 48 minutes to complete the raid according to Bungie.
Bungie confirmed that Clan Redeem (Modern, Sweatcicle, Ehroar, Indica, FleshCrunch, and Gladd) are the world’s first The Last Wish raid finishers! What’s more, the studio has a lot of surprises for completing the expansion’s raid, and it will affect everyone!
Note that proceeding below might be considered spoiler-ish for a lot of Destiny 2 players, so proceed at your own risk!
First off, it seems Clan Redeem completing the raid has unlocked a new strike! Check out the image below (via Reddit).
There’s also said to be two new emblems that are awarded to people who complete the raid in teh first 24 hours of its availability, which means it’s super rare. So what else is new? There’s a new cutscene when loading into the Dreaming City! Here’s a clip of that and more (via Reddit user Mblim771_Kyle).
The Corrupted Strike is also now on the map as well.
What’s that? Not enough new stuff? Well, apparently, it gives Petra a few new lines you can watch below, as well as a new Bounty, a new Quest, and even a new Pursuit mission, too!
Of course, it can’t be a proper reward without some sweet loot, right? Clan Redeem also got a new exotic fusion rifle called the One Thousand Voices. Note that it’ll be a random drop for everyone else who completes the raid moving forward, but it was a guaranteed drop for the Clan Redeem since they’re the world’s first and all. There’s also a new Gambit map for early finishers as well.
Want to check out all the changes in the game now that The Last Wish raid has been cleared? Here you go (via Reddit ingkrazyxx):
Clan Redeem just finished the raid. Huge Thank you and what’s an amazing performance by them!
The Corrupted Strike is now available!
update! Going to the dreaming city plays a new cutscene!
The Corrupted: 500 Power recommended.
4th update : small taken orbs floating everywhere. The dreaming city is being taken
5th update : Visited The Confluence and the Blind Well. Nothing has changed except for a few areas that are corrupted with taken energy.
6th update : Completed the mission and the strike. Mission gave me powerful gear. I had the bounty for the purified reverie mod so that was completed as well. The dreaming city is getting all “taken-fied”
According to u/isaakj completing blind well tier 3 allows an option to input unstable charge for 2 scorn to spawn at 580 light!
Update 7 : not sure is this is new or not but I was invading in a game of gambit and I was able to pick up the enemies motes of darkness. I died before I could do anything with them but I did deny them the pick ups. I’ve never noticed that before.
Edit * removed line about gambit motes.
This is definitely a nice move by Bungie since it means players don’t need to finish the raid in order to experience the new content. If you spawn in now in the Dreaming City, etc., there’s Darkness oozing from some of the game’s environments.
Now, if you’re one of the many who haven’t started the expansion yet, or even Destiny 2, and want to experience the thrill by yourself, Bungie is apparently planning (via the datamined leak) a three-week cycle between the world that hasn’t changed since with the current new happenings, so players can see the game before and after Clan Redeem’s finish.
What Bungie has done now is quite simply put, impressive, and let’s hope this is but the start of things to come.
Once more details regarding this momentous occasion comes to light, we’ll be sure to let our readers know.
Well, we’re finally here, people. After dropping player counts, controversies and whatnot, the last day of the now-infamous multiplayer shooter LawBreakers has finally arrived! Yes, the LawBreakers server shutdown is happening today, and you can jump right in before it happens to be a part of video game history!
In light of the unfortunate news regarding Boss Key Productions shutting down, we regret to announce that we will be sunsetting our support of LawBreakers on September 14, 2018 as we are not able to operate the game.
Our servers will remain open until then and the game will be made free-to-play on Steam for all players effective immediately. Please note that any and all new in-game purchases will also be disabled and we will not be able to accept any refund requests.
We truly appreciate your understanding in this difficult time and we want to thank you all your support and being a part of the passionate LawBreakers community.
Thank you for staying with us throughout this journey.
-The LawBreakers Team
Checking SteamCharts, the game seems to have gotten a super-mini resurgence, as it reached 55 players concurrently playing, which is the game’s 24-hour peak. Yeah, I told you it’s a super-mini resurgence, right? This is definitely a big improvement given the game has reached a staggering ZERO active player count on PC early this year!
It’s been a whirlwind (not in a good way) development and release for LawBreakers, with one developer blaming the arena shooter genre for the game’s failings.
Good bye, LawBreakers, it’s been one controversial ride!
While early access players on PC were able to get a taste of Call of Duty’s brand of battle royale in Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 Blackout yesterday, it’s now open to everyone! There’s a new Close Quarters Frenzy playlist for Duos, which combines Fast Collapse and Close Quarters playlist, and all you can use are SMGs, shotguns, handguns and fists.
The 88-player count per match available to PS4, is also now enabled on PC, and Xbox One. In addition to the player count change, there’s a bunch of changes rolled out as well in this Black Ops 4 Blackout update.
We’ve also got something special for Zombies fans – our Black Ops 4 Zombies characters and the Origins cast have been unlocked in the Character menu. Bruno, Diego, Scarlett, and Stanton are dropping in with Dempsey, Nikolai, Takeo, and Richtofen as we speak. See you at the Asylum.
Our maximum player count has also increased to 88 per match on Xbox One and PC, and remains at 88 players per match on PS4. We’ve made new updates to the game as well, including a reduction in the frequency of Level 3 Armor found in each match, various stability fixes, and tweaks to the SG12 shotgun and Equipment capacity. See below for the full list.
We’ve made the following updates across the Beta today (Global):
General:
PC Open Beta now live
Maximum player count raised to up to 88 per match on Xbox One and PC
Playlist Update:
Changed Featured playlist to Close Quarters Frenzy (Duos only)
Faster Collapse with SMGs, shotguns, handguns, and fists only
Character Updates:
Black Ops 4 Zombies cast unlocked in Character menu (Bruno, Diego, Scarlett, Stanton)
Origins cast unlocked in Character menu (Dempsey, Nikolai, Takeo, Richtofen)
Miscellaneous:
General stability fixes
Improved Killcam to only show relevant player names
Game Tuning:
Item Spawns
Reduced the spawn frequency of Level 3 Armor, VAPR-XKG, and Koshka
Weapons
Increased SG12 semi-auto shotgun damage at medium range
Equipment
Decreased the maximum number of most types of Equipment a player can carry in an Inventory slot
We’ve also made the following general fixes specific to PC:
Miscellaneous:
General stability and UI fixes
Killcam enabled
Fixes for After Action Report stat tracking
Same as in previous days, Treyarch is keeping tabs on a few key issues which are listed below.
Aim Assist Tracking: Some players have experienced Aim Assist causing their reticles to slightly track enemies through hard surfaces. We’re aware of the issue and are investigating.
Dying During Initial Wingsuit Deployment: Occasionally, some players have been eliminated immediately after deploying from the helicopter. We have to admit this one can be funny to watch… but not so much when it happens to you. We’re on the case.
Invite Issues on Xbox One: We’ve seen reports of issues with trying to invite friends to a party on Xbox One. We’re actively tracking this issue. In the meantime, try joining on a friend through the Social menu instead.
Crashes/Launch Issues on PC: Yesterday was the first day of the PC Beta, and as such, we’re tracking a handful of reasons for crashes and issues launching the game across various PC setups. For more details on our PC-specific updates to the Beta, follow u/TreyarchPC on Reddit and @TreyarchPC on Twitter.
Check back for MP1st’s official hands-on impression piece of Blackout soon.
If you played enough of the Battlefield V open beta, then chances are you’ve unlocked a scope or two for one of your weapons. While there’s not a lot of gun sights available during the era, DICE has still managed to sneak in a gun sight or two that players should be familiar with.
One such gun sight that was available in the beta was the reflex sight. However, in the beta, the sight was tinted a bit too dark, and well, check the comparison shot side by side below.
Not a bad fix, and shows that the studio listens to feedback even for the smallest things, no? That’s not the only thing changing based on beta feedback, though. DICE has listed a set of things that will be tweaked based on user feedback, and it should make a lot of people happy. Speaking of guns, DICE has also mentioned how it’s “not impossible” to see a change in how the gun upgrade system works.
Battlefield V is set to shoot out this November 20 on the PS4, Xbox One, and PC.
In case you didn’t know, the Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 Blackout beta is now live on PC and Xbox One — at least for early access players! While the PS4 version has gotten a game update to bump the player count from 80 to 88 players per match, the Xbox One and PC versions will have to stick to 80 players for now.
This was revealed by Treyarch who once again posted a lengthy report on the Black Ops 4 Blackout beta update that rolled out today on the PS4 version. Not only that, but the studio even gave an explanation on the differences between a “game update” and a “game settings have changed” tweak.
Game Updates are a big deal. They take a lot of time to get ready because they are based on changing, adding, or replacing executable code. Whenever we do that, we need to conduct extensive testing and we must send those changes to platform holders for review. Major features usually require a Game Update (also known as a patch).
Game Settings Have Changed is the smaller download you see happen when you start up the game and we’ve made changes you don’t yet have. Game Settings do not contain executable code, but include almost everything else. We can update, modify, and fix a lot of things with updated game settings. Game Settings are typically updated around or about 10:00 AM PST.
Here’s the list of changes following the game update rolled out today.
General
Beta now live on Xbox One and PC, currently with up to 80 maximum players per match
Miscellaneous:
Multiple fixes for “Game Session Has Ended” errors. We continue to find and fix these issues on a case-by-case basis.
Multiple fixes for collision and players getting stuck on the map
Additional improvements to stats both behind the scenes and for Merits Per Action
Various Killcam bug fixes
Fixed a bug that caused multiple players to spawn in the Staging Area in the same spot
Fixes for players not properly entering the downed state when involved in mid-air helicopter crashes
Game Tuning:
Collapse:
Increased the damage players take inside the collapsed area of the map
Wingsuit:
Players can no longer gain altitude at high speed
Pulling up from a steep dive now takes slightly longer
Supply Drops:
Cargo plane now has increased health and cannot be damaged by bullets
Treyarch has also jotted down the list of feedback the team is checking on for the last 24 hours.
Teamkill Looting: One of the most upvoted requests concerns preventing teamkillers from looting the bodies of teammates they’ve killed. In addition to reporting bad behavior through the “Report Player” function in the Social menu (and continuing to ban players for intentional teamkilling), we agree with this approach and are adding this, or something similar, to our “To Do” list. We have a zero-tolerance policy for intentional teamkillers. Be sure to report them so we can bring the banhammer down.
Audio Occlusion (AKA: Spatial Audio): We discovered and are fixing a critical bug where a player’s environment does not properly impact in-game sounds. This is why, for example, someone directly above or below the player can sound so much louder than expected. When the game is released, footsteps will be properly impacted by walls, floors, ceilings, and other objects in the world.
Distinguishing Vehicle vs. Player Hits: We’ve seen requests to make it easier to determine if a player’s shots are hitting a vehicle or an enemy in or near that vehicle. This is already being fixed in time for launch. Players will know the difference based on the color of their hitmarkers.
Armor Damage Indicator: Several players have asked for a clearer method of showing how much damage their Armor has taken. In the launch version of the game, players will see an Armor Health Bar that appears above their own Health Bar in the HUD when wearing Armor. The Armor icon will continue to break apart as it does now.
Camera Controls While Downed: We’ve seen requests to allow free-looking camera controls when downed. We intentionally don’t allow this, as players should not have better situational awareness when downed than when they’re on their feet. Nonetheless, we will continue to evaluate the camera position and other tweaks.
Scoreboard/Teammate Kill Counters: In the long term, we are working on some improvements to the After Action Report that will give players additional information about their team’s performance. We also have planned improvements for seeing performance stats in the game that will measure player Kills, Downs, Kills Confirmed, and Clean Ups, which will be separate from the “Players Left Alive” and “Players Spectating You” HUD details.
Draws/#1 Place, but Game Over Instead of Victory Screen: Some of you have been surprised to see your match end in a draw. Same here! It’s very possible, but unlikely, that two players could trade kills, and we need to do a better job covering this edge case and others like it. Stay tuned.
Killcam Details: In Blackout, players cannot access the Killcam until everyone on their team has been eliminated from the game. This is to prevent players from using the replay to give advanced situational knowledge to teammates still alive. After all members in a team have been eliminated, the Killcam button will appear on the Game Over screen.
That’s a ton of info for a beta, no? If you want to play the PC version today, and not wait for the open beta tomorrow, here’s how. We also posted a video where a player wins a Blackout match using a basketball!
Over on Reddit, Global Community Engagement Manager Dan Mitre shared some of the details DICE will be tweaking based on beta feedback, and it’s a good list!
Squad play and Matchmaking – Several changes are already in place and additional improvements will be made to secure the best possible launch experience.
Attrition – Scarcity of ammo and health is something we want to get just right, and the Open Beta gave us a lot of info on how to balance it.
Visibility – Distance haze, lighting, general contrast and other visibility aspects are being tinkered with, letting you see your enemies better in the world.
Death Experience – We’re adjusting bleed out and spawn times to make your virtual deaths as good as virtual deaths can be.
Vehicles – Damage states, movement, and weaponry oftanks and other vehicles are being tweaked.
TTK and TTD – We’re adjusting automatic weapons to make the Time to Kill and Time to Death as fair and fun as possible.
Progression and Customization – We’re working on making the user journey one that’s smooth and personal.
Chat Profanity Filter on PC – We are evaluating the Open Beta feedback and are making many adjustments for launch.
Granted, the list isn’t super specific to the changes, but so far, so good, it has touched upon some of the concerns players have voiced out on — which we’ve also aired out in our Battlefield V beta impressions piece.
Additionally, DICE has mentioned that a new Dev Talk episode will be airing next week, which will touch upon these upcoming changes. Once we know more details regarding that, we’ll be sure to let our readers know.
Regardless of which battle royale game you prefer, it’s hard to deny that it takes skill and a lot of luck to win a match. Well, someone seems to have a mix of both in Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 Blackout, and has captured footage of it as proof!
A person by the name of TheRealBackpackBro on YouTube has posted a video of him winning a Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 Blackout match using a basketball! Yes, an actual basketball!
Impressive? Maybe. Lucky? Hell yeah! It sure beats winning using a gun, right? If you have any amazing clips or just funny stuff in Call of Duty, Battlefield or other multiplayer games, hit us up (tips (at) mp1st.com) and we’ll be sure to credit you if we run ’em.
In other Black Ops 4 Blackout news, the PC and Xbox One beta has started! Here’s how to play the PC beta without pre-purchasing the game. You should also check out Activision’s official “Field Manual” for Blackout which you can read right here.
Digital Extremes’ hugely popular free-to-play live services shooter Warframe is headed to the Nintendo Switch! This was announced by the developer via a short announcement video, which you can watch below. The Warframe Nintendo Switch release date is set for November 20!
Ninjas Play Free! Coming to Nintendo Switch on November 20. They were called Tenno. Warriors of blade and gun – Masters of the Warframe armor. Those that survived the Old War were left drifting among the ruins. Now they are needed once more. The Grineer, with their vast armies, are spreading throughout the solar system. A call echoes across the stars summoning the Tenno to an ancient place. They summon you. Come Tenno, you must join the war.
Given that Nintendo just announced its premiere online service this week, it’s unknown at this time whether you’ll need to be a member of that or not in order to participate. We’ve reached out to Digital Extremes and will let our readers know what the skinny is.
If you’re a PC or console (PS4, Xbox One) player, we’ve also reached out to see whether your account can sync to Nintendo’s version and how it’ll work.
While PlayStation 4 gamers might already be knee-deep in Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 Blackout goodness, PC players will be getting their first taste of the mode starting today. Note that in order to participate today, players need to pre-purchase Black Ops 4 on Battle.net. If you do, you’ll be able to join the action beginning 10 a.m. PT.
Now, for those who don’t like pre-purchasing stuff, you’ll be able to play the Black Ops 4 Blackout PC beta tomorrow, September 15, at 10 a.m. PT. Pre-load has already begun, so you should be ready to go once the gates are open. The Blackout beta on PC ends on September 17, 10 a.m. PT, so make sure you get a lot of time in before servers are switched off.
In case you want to play early, Battle.net players who tune in to select Call of Duty Twitch streamers ( Ninja, Shroud, Summit1G or TimTheTatman’s) for an hour between 10 a.m. PT ad 2 p.m. PT will get early access to the PC beta directly to their account! You need to watch for an hour to be eligible though. Also, make sure your Battle.net and Twitch accounts are linked before participating.
Activision has also released the Blackout PC beta recommended specs (via Blizzard’s official site)! Note that these are just for the beta only, so don’t get annoyed if things change when the game hits retail later next month.
Blackout PC Beta Specs
Here are the minimum and recommended specs to play the Blackout PC Beta— keep in mind these specs are for the beta only:
Minimum:
OS: Windows 7 64-Bit or later
CPU: Intel Core i5 2500k or AMD equivalent
RAM: 8GB RAM
HDD: 40GB HD space
Video: Nvidia GeForce GTX 660 2 GB / GTX 1050 2GB or AMD Radeon HD 7950
DirectX: Version 11.0 compatible video card or equivalent
DirectX: Version 11.0 compatible video card or equivalent
Network: Broadband Internet connection
Sound Card: DirectX Compatible
Finally, Treyarch has a message for the PC players participating today and the rest of the week.
We’re ready to kick-off in the morning, so we wanted to make sure everyone has the latest Blackout PC beta updates, as we have a couple of details to share about our development and stat-gathering plans for the weekend.
During the Blackout PC Beta, among other things, we’ll be running constant server capacity and performance tests. During this important testing phase, to help ensure as smooth an experience as possible for everyone, we are capping the framerate at 90 FPS. The team will be closely monitoring all the data throughout the course of the weekend. We’ll also be testing different player counts so that we can optimize to be ready for launch on October 12th.
Remember, as always, that the beta serves as a testing ground for us to gather information on performance, controls, and so many other details. All your feedback during the beta contributes important information that will help us deliver the best experience possible on PC. We are looking forward to this Blackout Beta weekend, and can’t wait to see you online.
Don’t forget to check out some of the changes Treyarch has rolled out for the PS4 version of Blackout, which will undoubtedly be applied to the PC version too.
Crytek has released a new video detailing what’s in the Hunt: Showdown update 2.4! The dev team themselves talk about the graphic settings, and more.
Check out the eight-minute video below to see what technical tweaks are being made to the game.
Update 2.4 is all about performance, and so we’ve got Level Design Director Chris Auty, Technical Director Sebastien Laurent, Senior Game Designer Andreas Liebeskind, and Junior Technical Designer Bence Kovacs in a new video interview to explain all the details.
Hunt: Showdown is a different kind of multiplayer experience. Check out this info post to know everything important about Hunt: Showdown. We also posted a tutorial video as well, just in case you want to try it and want to know what you’re doing.
One of the new things introduced in Battlefield V is a squad rewards mechanic that allowed the squad leader the option to call in a supply drop, Tiger tanks, or even a V1 rocket attack on a specific target. Think of these squad rewards like Call of Duty’s scorestreaks, though these take longer to get, can only be called in by the squad leader, and don’t require you go on any streak to obtain.
If you’re curious what these V1 rockets look like, then wonder no more! Check out the video below where it’s showcased how devastating these things are. Count how many it takes down by counting the names that show up in the killfeed.
Impressive, right? Not sure how to activate it? Simple. All you have to do is hold L1 and R1 (on PS4, or LB and RB on Xbox One), and an item wheel will pop up, and just choose the V1 Rockets. That said, it’s easier said than done since you’ll need 40,000 points amassed in order to call one in. Once you do, you just use the scope to paint the target you want to get hit, and that’s it.
In other Battlefield V news, Lead Multiplayer Designer Valerian Noghin shared what a fully fortified point B looks like in the Rotterdam map. Windows can be boarded up, there’s barbed wire on the floor, even!
Open Beta feedback goodness: this is what point B on Rotterdam looks like now in the @FrostbiteEngine editor, fully fortified after it’s been destroyed. In addition, all windows can be boarded up and there’s barbwire on the ground floor. pic.twitter.com/Yuw6hyVRZU
It’s no big deal these days when people say they play video games, but whatever number you’re thinking of, it’s higher than that. Don’t believe me? Well, according to research from EEDAR, over 67 percent of Americans play video games! This number means a total of 211.2 million people in the US are considered gamers.
In the “Gamer Segmentation Report” post, over half of these 67 percent play across multiple platforms, and the most popular platform so far is mobile, which should surprise no one. Check out the condensed, easy-to-read version of the report courtesy of Reset Era user Nirolak.
67% of Americans age 2 and up play games. This is a total of 211.2 million game playing Americans.
90% play on mobile, 52% on PC, and 43% on console. These are percentages of the 67% of Americans playing games, not of the total US population.
To be clear, PC includes stuff like Facebook or browser gaming.
Handhelds are down to 9%, but I think NPD counts the Switch as a console, so I’m not sure how much longer that stat will be relevant.
59% of gamers play on both mobile and (PC and/or console).
41% of gamers play on only one device type (mobile, console, or PC).
For people who play games, it tends to take up 16% of their leisure time, which turns out to 12 hours a week on average.
For comparison, internet browsing is 18%, listening to music is 15%, and social media is 13%.
Active gamers (the group studied) were counted as anyone who played games within the month of June 2018, were age 2 or higher, and had access to one of the devices mentioned (mobile, PC, or console).
NPD Group (which owns EEDAR) analyst Mat Piscatella also shared a few more details regarding the report such as: “mobile” also includes tablets, the Nintendo Switch is considered a console (as it should be), the 67 percent mentioned is derived from the 211 million gamers listed. Lastly, “PC gaming” in the report includes anything played on PC.
Surprised by the results? Or not really? Personally, given how easy it is to find something to play games on, it’s no surprise that the amount of people playing games are higher than in years past, and I don’t see it dropping anytime soon.
Here’s the official patch notes, and what Treyarch has been keeping an eye out on the backend (via Reddit).
We’ve continued to listen and respond to community feedback since the start of the Beta, and have identified a new round of topics that we’re currently tracking:
Item Pickup Proximity: We’re working on making Items easier to pick up without having to look directly down at them. This is not likely to be something we can patch in the Beta, but will be available on launch day.
Footsteps: We are working behind the scenes to adjust footstep volume so that your own steps and the steps of your teammates won’t sound louder than the footsteps of your enemies. We are still investigating any issues associated with adding that to the Beta.
Perk Consumable – Awareness: Speaking of footsteps, in addition to the above, we have made and are testing changes to Awareness so that your own team’s footsteps are muted even further. We are optimistic that this one might make it in before the Beta period ends.
Bullet Penetration: We’ve seen reports of windows blocking the first shot before they’re broken, and issues with how bullet penetration might work shooting through a ceiling, but not through the floor and vice-versa. We’re on top of it, and we’ll make sure bullet penetration works as you might expect before the game releases.
Obituary (AKA: Killfeed): We’re seeing requests for better intel when your teammates are downed and killed. We didn’t quite get everything we wanted to do with the Obituary in before the Beta deadline, so expect to see a more robust set of notifications for important game activity in the final version of the game.
Merits and Leveling: Merits and level progression aren’t intended to be a meaningful part of the Beta, as none of your game stats will carry with you to the final game. Nonetheless, we are working out the bugs and improving the accuracy of stat reporting. Additionally, we’ve heard the feedback loud and clear and are actively discussing the best next steps to improve this experience.
Wingsuit/Base Jumping: We generally like that you can get to almost anywhere across the map if you dive and gather momentum during Infiltration. However, in some cases the distance that you can travel and the speed at which you can dive allows you to outpace the helicopter itself, which is not intended. We are currently evaluating revised tuning that would still let you reach nearly any Destination of your choice, but you would have to wait a bit longer until the helicopter is further along its flight path. We’ll have a better idea tomorrow night if this change can make it in before the weekend.
Collapse: We are currently testing tuning changes to the damage tick rate of the Collapse, especially in early stages. With enough basic medical supplies in your Inventory, you can currently stay out in the collapsed area of the map longer than we intended.
We’ve also made the following updates today:
Playlist Update:
Changed Featured playlist to Close Quarters (Solos only)
Character Updates
Mason, Menendez, Reznov, and Woods unlocked in Character menu
Miscellaneous:
Enabled Killcam
General stability fixes
UI Error fix
Tuning Updates:
Armor:
Level 3 Armor will now break sooner and pass more damage to the player wearing it. It still offers headshot and other damage mitigation. Level 2 Armor was minorly adjusted as well. In a game where time between the first and second shots can be measured in milliseconds, it’s key to our design philosophy to be sure you can feel the difference between similar gameplay Items. More tuning to come here as we gather data from the Beta.
Perk Consumables:
We’ve changed the time it takes to activate all Perks to 2 seconds. We are currently evaluating if that will be a permanent change, but we are eager to learn how much the use time of a Perk impacts how and when Perks are used.
Original Story:
Treyarch wasn’t lying when the studio said it would be rolling out daily updates to the Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 Blackout beta. Today, the studio released a new one just now, and it brings a new mode!
The Black Ops 4 Blackout beta update clocks in at over 1.7GB, So far, the major new addition is a new playlist called “Close Quarters LTM,” which replaces yesterday’s Fast Collapse mode. This new Close Quarters mode features close-range weapons like shotguns, pistols and submachine guns exclusively, and is only active for solo play only.
There’s a very big possibility that this patch also includes gameplay tweaks and more, and we’ll update the post once Treyarch releases the official patch notes.
Are you having fun with Black Ops 4’s battle royale mode so far?
Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 shoots out this October 12 on the PS4, Xbox One, and PC.
Battlefield developer DICE went back in time with Battlefield 1 in order to make the multiplayer first-person shooter franchise feel fresh again, and it’s doing it once more with Battlefield V. While it’s bringing back old school weapons, vehicles and equipment to the battlefield, it’s also bringing in a fresh new take on the Battlefield gameplay formula that fans know and love.
Now, the big question is: does it work or should DICE go back to how the franchise is? We’ve spent some time with the Battlefield V beta, and came away with appreciating some of the new things introduced by DICE, but at the same time, missing some of the franchise’s staples.
War Never Changes…Or Does It?
Battlefield V possibly presents some of the biggest gameplay changes the franchise has seen in a long time with DICE’s new attrition system for ammo and health. Gone are the days when taking a ton of damage can be mitigated by hiding someplace, or having a ton of ammo when you spawn in.
Now? Your health regenerates, but not at 100 percent, and ammo is scarce — scarce enough that you’ll want to be close to ammo stations, or a support player at all times. Is this a good or bad change? It depends on who you ask, though DICE themselves has confirmed that it is changing, even for a little bit.
Regarding my time with the beta, I couldn’t help but wish for more ammo every single time I spawned in. I could deal with the health not fully regenerating, but the skimpy ammo allocation made me a little annoyed at times — especially since ammo pouches dropped by your enemies can be picked up by teammates, which means less ammo for you. This ammo issue is compounded by the fact that ammo and med crates don’t have an area of effect like in previous entries. Now, players need to manually pick ammo and health bags up from crates, which means more button presses, more time looking for ammo and so on. I’ve lost count how many times I’ve been killed by looking for ammo, which is annoying since that wouldn’t have happened if it wasn’t for these new gameplay changes.
Health is the same way, though is a bit more forgiving. Health regens only up to a certain point (35-40 health), and not fully. This means players must be more tactical and conscious in engaging with enemies, since you’ll need a medic or be near a med station in case you take significant damage.
It’s definitely a mixed bag at this point, and I’m curious to see how the game plays out once DICE figures out how to balance the attrition stuff out.
All Tanked Out
If there’s one vehicle I always loved in Battlefield games, it’s the tanks. I can’t fly for shit, but boy can I wreck stuff up with tanks. Well, I was in for a rude awakening in Battlefield V! In the beta, tanks ran out of ammo, which you needed to replenish (easier said than done). Not only that, but they seem to move a whole lot slower, too. This meant that not a lot of people used tanks (or vehicles for that matter) in the beta since it was harder than usual to kill enemies given the ammo restrictions, and so on.
Another thing to note is that there are animations for entering and exiting vehicles now! It takes some getting used to, and I’m sure some people love the realistic feel of it, but it adds a second or two to overall entering and exiting, which means it’s more trouble than it’s worth.
We’ll reserve judgement on the overall vehicle gameplay until we’ve had a chance to see and play it properly on a proper map with jets, tanks, and more.
Guns Are Roses
If there’s one thing that I can be certain on, it’s that the gunplay in the Battlefield V beta felt fantastic! While the time to kill (TTK — more on this in a bit), was a big departure from past Battlefield games, the actual gun-on-gun action was a definite step above compared to Battlefield 1.
Helping to aid the fantastic feel of the gunplay is the addition of new moves like being able to shoot on your back, new mantling animations and more. In the BFV beta, each bullet hit feels visceral and has a nice thud that lets you know that you’re doing damage. Gone are the guesswork recoil of Battlefield 1, and is replaced by the BFV beta’s predictive, more skill-based recoil and gun handling.
Of course, there’s a little (subjective) dark cloud to this bright sky, and I’m referring to the time to kill (TTK). In the BFV beta, enemies will drop a lot faster compared to past Battlefield games. Now, this is either a good or bad thing depending on your point of view. Personally, I felt it was a bit too fast, since it didn’t give the player a chance to react usually. Couple the new health regen system, and well, you’ll find that this makes some gunfights very frustrating.
One class that benefits from the gimped health regen, and high TTK are snipers. It’s now easier more than ever to snipe people, which is a fact driven home in the BFV beta since almost everyone wanted to be a sniper to rack up kills. Oh, did I mention that you can’t 3D spot now? Yep, it’s gone. It helps make the game more tense and skill-based since you’re not always shooting at Doritos, but these give snipers another edge — something they don’t need.
Shake It Off
Battlefield V is in an interesting spot: on one hand, it’s bringing a lot of new gameplay ideas into the franchise, but on the other, it’s deviating too much that some fans might be turned off by it. It’s a hard act to balance, but with DICE seemingly willing to compromise and listen to player feedback like never before. there’s a very big possibility that they’ll be able to pull it off.
A little nip and tuck on the whole attrition system, and maybe revise the gun upgrade system a bit (which is something DICE isn’t opposed to), and DICE could have something special in their hands. Let’s hope the studio can find the perfect balance on giving Battlefield V an identity all its own, and placating the rabid player base the game has.
Battlefield V beta early access beta code supplied by EA for hands-on purposes. Played on PS4 Pro. Battlefield V is set for a November 20 release on the PS4, Xbox One, and PC.
If you’re a fan of DICE’s Battlefield franchise, chances are, you’re a fan of the Conquest game mode. Now, if you felt that Battlefield 1’s Conquest maps were a bit too limiting in scope given most of ’em only had three flags to cap, rejoice! Battlefield V won’t be in the same boat.
Over on Twitter, DICE Lead Multiplayer Designer Valerian Noghin confirmed that ALL Conquest maps in Battlefield V will have 5-7 flags to cap!
This is still work in progress but I can confirm that all maps have 5 to 7 flags in Conquest!
In addition to that, Noghin also showed a rather a (developer) bird’s eye view of the amount of data the DICE team has to combed through based on the beta! In the short clip below, you’ll see what 50 rounds of Conquest on the Rotterdam map looks like in terms of player movement.
With the #BattlefieldV Open Beta out of the way, we start looking at the huge amount of data we’ve gathered. I’ll start by showing you what 50 rounds of Conquest on Rotterdam look like, in terms of player movement. [thread] pic.twitter.com/XlVwJkTdhY
Definitely good news regarding Conquest, right? Of course, there’s bound to be a “meat grinder” map like Operation Locker or Operation Metro in the launch map list, but we’ll reserve judgement on how it fares in Conquest once we’ve had time on it.
In other Battlefield V news, DICE has confirmed that the respawn timer will be tweaked in the final game based on beta feedback. Not only that, but even the gun upgrade system might be changed at some point too.
Sony has rolled out the PS4 update 6.00 firmware today, and while it’s a milestone patch, it sadly, doesn’t do much in terms of adding new features.
Clocking in at just 447MB, the PS4 update 6.00 firmware can be downloaded here.
:: Release Notes
Main features in version 6.00 update
This system software update improves system performance.
In case you’re curious, Sony sent out the PS4 firmware 6.00 beta invites with the following description (via Reddit);
As a member of the PlayStation®4 System Software Beta Trial programme, we are pleased to give you first access to the 6.00 Beta, which is now live.
At this Beta stage, the 6.00 update does not include any new major consumer-facing features. However we would still value the community’s help in fine-tuning the performance and stability improvements the update brings.
Use the button below to download your unique Beta voucher code, which can be redeemed on PlayStation®Store.
Make sure you share your experience with us on the Beta private forum, and report bugs or performance issues here.
Thank you for your participation. We look forward to seeing you online during the Beta!
The PlayStation Beta Trial Team Sony Interactive Entertainment Europe
Yep, there’s nothing new for consumers this time around it seems. We’ll keep an eye out and if we spot anything, or if Sony releases official patch notes that state something different, we’ll let people know.
Check out the latest PSN sale for the week right here.
