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‘Revamped’ In-Game Battlelog Coming to Battlefield 4 on Consoles, Now Live on PC

DICE’s development team behind Battlefield 4‘s social, stat-tracking service says new improvements are coming to the in-game iteration of the Battlelog on all platforms.

The update, already rolling out on the PC, will offer a “completely revamped” version of the service, says Battlelog developer “TheBikingViking” on Reddit.

“We have actually been working on a completely revamped version of the in-game Battlelog to e.g. improve performance and also squash some bugs, which we have started to rollout now for PC, and later we’ll do it for PS4 and Xbox One as well,” he wrote.

In addition, when asked if the recently implemented Platoons feature would get functionality in the mobile version of Battlelog, TheBikingViking responded, “Yes, I think one of our top priorities for Platoons right now is to bring it to mobile/tablet in one way or another.”

Currently, Platoons are only accessible on the browser version of the Battlelog.

“Maybe a very simple version to begin with and then add more later,” he added. “Right now, there’s especially three things we want to bring to the tablet and mobile app: – Platoons – Emblem Editor – Chat. We’ll see which happens first.”

Stay tuned to MP1st for more on upcoming Battlelog updates.

How do you use the Battlelog? In your browser, on your mobile device, or in-game?

David Veselka

Musician, Gamer, Geek. Subscriber

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Destiny Musical Score Remains Unaffected By Composer’s Leave, Says Bungie

Destiny developer Bungie insists the game remains largely unaffected by the unexpected leave of veteran composer Martin O’Donnell.

Long-time fans of his work were saddened to learn yesterday that the composer was terminated by Bungie’s board of directors “without cause“.

Soon after, Bungie community manager David Dague wrote in a statement titled “There are those who said this day would never come”, that “Today, as friends, we say goodbye. We know that wherever his journey takes him, he will always have a bright and hopeful future.”

Later that day, Bungie chief operating officer Pete Parsons addressed O’Donnell’s departure in a press event.

“At Bungie we don’t take that kind of thing lightly. We don’t make those decisions lightly. We’re a team that’s committed to making an amazing game set in an amazing universe,” he said. “At this time we won’t be commenting any further on it.”

Despite his leave, Parsons told Eurogamer in a recent interview that O’Donnell’s work will remain in Destiny as it was “close to shipping”.

“I think the Bungie fanbase is going to look forward to hearing Marty’s music, Mike Salvatori’s music, C. Paul’s music and Paul McCartney’s music in the game,” Parsons added. “That’s going to be exciting for people. It’s going to be a great, fantastic experience.”

Parsons was unable to comment on the reasoning behind the lay off, but insists that gamers will still be transported “by the sights and the wonderful sounds and music,” he said. “We have a fantastic team. We’re pretty close to shipping. There’s a lot of polish left to do, lots of tweaking and tuning, but a lot is already complete.”

Martin O’Donnell is best known for his memorable music heard by many-a-gamer in the iconic Halo series on the Xbox and Xbox 360.

Thanks, Eurogamer.

David Veselka

Musician, Gamer, Geek. Subscriber

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Origin Sale Discounts Titanfall, Battlefield 4, and Other EA Games on PC

Origin’s “Gigabytes of Deals” sale is putting a number of EA games – including Titanfall and Battlefield 4 – on sale for a limited time.

This discounts – up to 50% off – are limited to PC games and digital downloads only and are in effect until April 23 at 11:59pm PDT. In addition to the two previously mentioned titles, you’ll also find deals on a ton of other Battlefield, Crysis, Medal of Honor, Need for Speed, FIFA, and Mass Effect content. Pretty much all EA games make the cut on this sale. Here are some of the highlights:

Origin “Gigabytes of Deals” Sale

  • Titanfall \\ $47.99
  • Titanfall Digital Deluxe \\ $67.99
  • Battlefield 4 \\ $24.99
  • Battlefield 4 Digital Deluxe \\ $29.99
  • Battlefield 4 and Premium Membership Bundle \\ $72.99

Visit the official sale page to check out the full list of EA games on sale.

Picking anything up this week?

David Veselka

Musician, Gamer, Geek. Subscriber

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Ronald “The Gunny” Lee Ermey Is The “Drill Instructor” In Call of Duty: Ghosts’ Voice Pack DLC

Former drill instructor and actor Ronald Lee Ermey joins iconic rapper Snoop Dogg – I know, right? – to lend a familiar voice to Infinity Ward’s audio design team.

On April 22, you’ll be able to swap out Call of Duty: Ghosts‘ default multiplayer announcer for the voice of either “The Gunny” or the Dogg in one of two Voice Packs for $2.99.

The voice work of Ermey, who you may better know as Gunnery Sergeant Hartman in Stanley Kubrick’s Full Metal Jacket, is showcased in today’s new video from Infinity Ward as he barks out a few of the lines you could hear in-game. You can catch it above.

Both Voice Packs, along with a new Legend Pack, Squad Pack, and a number of Personalization Packs will be available for Xbox Live members on April 22. You can check out the new content and read up on all the details here. Be sure to follow the link to watch another teaser showing off Snoop Dogg’s voice-over work as well. Ya dig?

David Veselka

Musician, Gamer, Geek. Subscriber

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PS4 Update 1.70 Releasing Soon – Introduces “SHAREfactory”, HDCP Removal, and More

Sony is on the verge of releasing the long awaited PlayStation 4 update that will remove the dreadful HDCP. Though that isn’t the only treat that PS4 owners will be getting with this new patch.

This update is all about video capturing, as HDCP is finally going to be removed. That means those who have been capturing game footage with their Elgato or other capture cards will no longer need to worry about using ‘work-arounds’, such as a HDMI/DVI Splitter.

Despite the removal of HDCP, Sony seems keen on continuing to improve upon the PS4’s own capturing system. With this update, you’ll now be able to export your gameplay captures onto a USB drive so that you may upload them to any service or edit them in any software. Of course, for those who aren’t exactly tech savvy when it comes to video editing software, Sony is also proud to reveal that this update will include a new, and FREE, video editor called “SHAREfactory”.

[youtube id=”ISmAkYroYIY”]

As for the final key features, this update will bring the ability to pre-download games before they release. This allows day-one digital titles to be played as soon as they are released. However you’ll have to make sure that you have the auto-download settings in the PS4 set to “on”.

Be on the look out for more features as Sony has a knack for adding things without detailing them. Update 1.70 will be available soon on the PS4.

Source: PSBlog

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James Lara

A gamer at heart, James has been working for MP1st for the last decade to do exactly what he loves, writing about video games and having fun doing it. Growing up in the 90's gaming has been in his DNA since the days of NES. One day he hopes to develop his own game.

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Sony Sells 7 Million PlayStation 4s, System Update Details Coming “Very Soon”

The Sony PlayStation 4 has sold 7 million units globally as of April 6, 2014, the company announced today.

As for software sales, more than 20.5 million copies have been sold at retail and PlayStation Store worldwide as of April 13th, 2014.

“On behalf of the entire global team at PlayStation, I want to thank you for your unprecedented support and for making PS4 your next-generation console of choice,” writes Sid Shuman, Social Media Manager, on the official PlayStation Blog. “We couldn’t have done this without you! And please keep the feedback coming: we are listening.”

As we suspected, Shuman added that the company has some “great new details” to share “very soon” regarding the upcoming PlayStation 4 system software update.

Congrats, Sony!

David Veselka

Musician, Gamer, Geek. Subscriber

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Minecraft: PlayStation 3 Edition Is Hitting Retailers May 16

Mid-May, the PlayStation 3 Edition  of the highly popular multiplayer sandbox title from Mojang and 4J Studios is hitting retailers.

Minecraft: PlayStation 3 Edition is already being played by 1.5 million users via the digital download version of the game. But those who prefer the physical disc can get their hands on one May 16.

It ships completely up to date with all the same content as the digital version, including Update 14.

According to Owen Hill of Mojang, the team at 4J is still working hard on bringing Minecraft to PS4 and PS Vita. “Sorry for the delay, but making Minecraft happen is serious business, he says.”

Check out the new trailer above.

David Veselka

Musician, Gamer, Geek. Subscriber

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Titanfall Xbox 360 Update Now Live, Introduces Private Matches [Updated]

Update

It appears that only the Private Match function is coming to Titanfall on the Xbox 360 today, while the rest of the updates listed below are still incoming at a later date.

Original Story

A major Titanfall update that dropped on the Xbox One and PC last week is now finally coming to the Xbox 360.

According to the developer, “the update is rolling out and will be available globally in a few hours.” It introduces a beta version of Private Matches, party colors, significant balance updates, and a number of bug fixes.

Here’s a reminder of all the updates included in the hefty patch:

New Features added to all Platforms

Private Match (beta)

This is the first public test of our new Private Match mode. This gives you a way to organize matches with and against your friends, for casual or tournament play. Some features are unfinished or not yet implemented, and we welcome your feedback. A few highlights:

  • Private Match supports 2 to 12 players, with 1 to 6 players on each team.
  • You can start a new Private Match lobby by choosing it on the main selection screen (alongside Campaign, MP, and Training). Invite your friends in or have them join you at any time.
  • Choose any of the game’s maps or modes (CTF, Pilot Hunter, etc.) to play in.
  • Choose which team you’re on.
  • There is no XP gain, challenge progress, or achievement unlocking while in a Private Match. For this beta, the Last Game Summary screen will display what you would have earned in normal play outside of Private Match, but be aware that this progress will not be recorded to your lifetime total.
  • For this beta, there is no concept of a “lobby leader”; any player can change game options in the lobby or start/stop the match countdown.
  • All Private Match games are still played on dedicated servers via Xbox Live Cloud Compute, just like normal matches.
  • New options like round time, score limits, and much more will come in future updates.

Party Colors

Your party members and their titans now show up on the mini-map with green colors, instead of the normal blue colors that other friendlies use. Their names are also drawn in green on your HUD, the obituary text, and in the pre-game lobby. This helps you figure out where your friends are and what they’re up to, especially in the heat of combat.

Auto-Titan Color in Obituary

Your auto-titan’s name now shows up in the obituary with the gold color that your own name does. Previously it had the same blue color as any other friendly. This makes it easier to keep tabs on how your titan is doing.

Removed Wall-hack Exploit

PC cheaters were able to modify their local configuration files to enable a sort of wall-hack cheat using legit game code. We’ve closed the exploit that they were using.

Menu Changes

“Play Multiplayer” is now the default (top) option on the private lobby menu, if you’ve completed both the IMC and Militia campaigns. It has also been renamed from “Play Classic”, since the term “classic”, which we used internally, proved to be confusing to some players.

Game Version on Main Menu

The main menu now displays the game’s version in the bottom-left corner. Now you don’t have to wonder if you really do have the latest version of the game, and we can use that to double-check things if support is helping you troubleshoot issues.

New features for Xbox One

Party App Shortcut in Menus

Added a shortcut on all menus that opens the Xbox One’s “Party” app by pressing Left Trigger on the controller, similar to the existing Right Trigger shortcut that invites friends. You can then press ‘B’ to close it when you’re done, or leave it up. (This is much easier than the manual method of going to the Home screen, opening “My games & apps”, selecting Apps, scrolling a few screens over to the “Party” app, and opening it.)

Game Balanace Changes

The Gooser Challenge

Based on recent feedback from fans of the game, the Gen 5 challenge requirement ‘Gooser’, requiring players to kill 50 ejecting pilots, will be reduced to 5 total. We had a couple of design goals for Regeneration. One was to give players a structured way to discover and experience ways of playing the game they might not have otherwise tried on their own. The second was to recognize players’ mastery of various skills, going beyond just ‘time played’. We went a bit too far with this challenge, especially considering the unique conditions that have to be met just to have the opportunity to get a kill on an ejecting Pilot. We understand some players have already completed the challenge, or have already earned more than the new requirement so we will be internally noting those players so we can recognize their accomplishments in a future game update.

40mm magazine capacity for default and Extended Mag

The default magazine size was making the 40mm too powerful. It is intended to be the only weapon that can take a Titan down without reloading, if used skillfully. However, 20 rounds per magazine were proving to be too high and overly tolerant of indiscriminate fire. We’ve reduced it to 12 rounds per magazine, which still allows players to take a Titan down without reloading, but helps balance it out against other Titan weapons. The extended mag has also been dropped from 25 to 16, with the same design principles applying to this change.

Titan Quad Rocket mag size change

During development, there was a time when the Quad Rocket was too powerful. We made a lot of changes to pull it back before shipping (lessened the screen shake impact, lessened the duration of the first person impact FX, lowered the magazine size, pulled the damage back, etc.) It currently can struggle against other Titan weapons and going back to the 5/6 (default/extended mag) magazine sizes helps balance the weapon and allows players to miss a few shots and still be effective. It was 4/5, now its 5/6.

Titan Quad Rocket damage vs Titan shields

It was taking too long to drop a Titans shields with the Quad Rocket (5 shots). This meant you had to reload before you could even drop an enemy Titan’s shields. This was the only Titan weapon that had this issue. We’ve now upped the damage against Titan shields so that it can drop a shield with 4 shots. Combined with the increased mag size, this damage increase effectively gives you one more volley in the mag to deal serious direct hull damage.

Titan Quad Rocket ‘Rapid Fire’ Mod’s mag size change

We upped the magazine size for the Quad Rocket’s Rapid Fire Mod to help it compete with the changes made to the extended magazine (from 5 to 6). The Rapid Fire Mod’s magazine size is going up from 16 to 18.

Amped Kraber Titan damage change

We upped the damage that the Amped Kraber Burn Card does to Titans. It is now the only significantly effective “small arms” weapon against Titans. Note that this only applies to the Amped version of the Kraber. The damage goes up from 100 to 800. We added this to give the Kraber Burn Card a little bit more character, as well as to give you something to shoot if you have a hard time hitting those little Pilots with the Kraber. So snipe away at those Titans…before they kill you!

Hardpoint Domination scoring changes

We wanted to reward and encourage players to go out and capture enemy hardpoints. As important as defending a hardpoint is, capturing them is more important and a tougher task, generally speaking. We did not want to completely remove points for defending, but attacking players were getting too little credit for their efforts. Here is a breakdown of the changes:

  • Capturing a hardpoint from 150 to 250
  • Assisting in capturing a hardpoint from 75 to 100
  • Neutralizing a hardpoint from 50 to 150
  • Assisting in neutralizing a hardpoint from 25 to 75
  • Killing a player inside an enemy hardpoint from outside (nearby) from 75 to 50
  • Killing a player inside an enemy hardpoint from outside (far) from 75 to 50
  • Killing a player inside an enemy hardpoint from inside the hardpoint from 75 to 50
  • Killing an NPC inside an enemy hardpoint from inside the hardpoint from 25 to 10
  • Killing a player outside of a friendly hardpoint whilst inside of a hardpoint from 75 to 50
  • Killing a player inside of a friendly hardpoint whilst inside of a hardpoint from75 to 50
  • Killing an NPC outside of a friendly hardpoint whilst inside of a hardpoint from 25 to 10
  • Killing an NPC inside of a friendly hardpoint whilst inside of a hardpoint from25 to 10
  • Defending a hardpoint now goes from 75 to 25

CTF scoring changes

We wanted to make sure the big payoff in CTF came from capturing the flag. Killing the carrier and then returning the flag was worth 400 points (combined), while capturing the flag was worth 500 points in comparison. These changes are meant to reward players who capture the flag a bit more than those who kill the carrier and return the flag. Defense is still a very important aspect of CTF so we wanted to make sure to keep defending points high enough to still encourage playing defense. Here is a breakdown of the changes:

  • Capturing a flag from 500 to 400
  • Returning the flag from 250 to 100
  • Killing the flag carrier from 150 to 100

Bug Fixes for All Platforms

  • Fixed an issue where a Titan firing ordnance would not show on the minimap correctly.
  • Fixed a rare bug with Pilot health pools that would make them virtually invincible.
  • Fixed rare cases where Titans could be called in through solid geometry.
  • Titan shields now protect friendly rodeo players from explosion damage (such as from an Arc Cannon).
  • Fixed a case where a Pilot could embark a Titan through walls.
  • Spitfire LMG and XO-16 firing sounds will no longer sometimes cut off before the gun is finished firing.
  • The Archer now locks onto the top of a heavy turret rather than the base of the turret.
  • The Archer’s rockets now home in on Titans correctly when those targets are kneeling.
  • Fixed shadows incorrectly shimmering on a particular area of Lagoon.
  • Fixed Satchel Charges and Particle Walls causing pilots to permanently rodeo other pilots.
  • Fixed certain characters not rendering properly in French and other languages.
  • Fixed an issue where “Initializing…” would be displayed if a server wasn’t found.
  • Fixed being unable to scroll to the top of the datacenter list after scrolling down.
  • Greatly reduced the bandwidth used when connecting to a server. People who previously could not progress past the load-screen when connecting to servers should be able to play now.
  • Grunts now show up on the minimap when they shoot.

Bug Fixes for PC

  • Fixed issues with Asian fonts.
  • ‘-nojoy’ command-line parameter now disables gamepad input.
  • All anti-aliasing modes should now properly be displayed in the video settings menu.
  • Fixed graphics corruption and some GPU underutilization for SLI and Crossfire configurations.
  • Fixed a crash in the options menu when toggling between Low and Medium shadows.
  • Mouse buttons can now be used for voice chat in lobbies.
  • Titanfall will no longer override your Windows microphone volume setting when it is launched.
  • Fixed the Smart Pistol reticle so it scales properly based on the Field of View setting.
  • Fixed crashes on machines with 32 or more cores.

Bug Fixes for Xbox One

  • Fixed a rare full-screen blue/red flash.
  • Audio should no longer overlap after going to the Xbox dashboard and back into Titanfall.
  • Fixed a crash when saying “Xbox go back” on certain menus.

Coming Soon in Future Update

A selection of improvements that will be released in an upcoming update:

  • More Custom Loadout Slots with Custom Slots per Game Mode
  • Ability to rename Custom Loadout Slots
  • Last Game Summary shows the scoreboard from the previous match
  • Additional customization options in Private Match
  • Better 120hz monitor support
  • Pick-up prompt for dropped Amped weapons appear in a different color than for normal weapons
  • Enhanced interaction with Challenges. You will be able to review your Challenges by the following criteria:
    • Completed (in your previous match)
    • Most progressed (in your previous match)
    • Almost completed (overall)
  • Scoreboard icons will reflect 3 new states:
    • Player Evacuated
    • Player Dead with Auto-Titan Still Alive
    • Player Alive with Auto-Titan Still Alive

David Veselka

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Pre-Alpha Footage of Titanfall Shows The Game as a Work-In-Progress

Curious to see what Respawn Entertainment’s triple-A Xbox and PC shooter, Titanfall, looked like early in development, as concepts for the game were just beginning to solidify?

Above is a clip from a GPMM demo of Titanfall that the team at Respawn had put together to show publisher Electronic Arts earlier in development. Though a work-in-progress, it highlights the sort of scale the studio was aiming to achieve and overall gameplay elements they hoped to incorporate into the game.

In “The Final Hours of Titanfall”, author Geoff Keighley writes that the full-version of the final demo was used to pitch Titanfall’s core ideas of Titans, Pilots, wall-running, computer-controlled AI, and large-scale battles to EA. “While some EA executives complained that the game’s graphics weren’t looking as beautiful as the company’s forthcoming shooter Battlefield 4, there was no denying that the demo looked fast, fun and fluid” writes Keighley.

Watch the video above and let us know what you think in the comments below.

For a preview of “The Final Hours of Titanfall”, you can follow this link. The app offers an extensive look at the making of Titanfall and a number of behind-the-scenes elements. You can get it for $1.99 on iPad, PC, Mac, and Surface right here.

David Veselka

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The Last of Us Gets More Single Player and Multiplayer DLC With “Grounded Bundle”

Rounding off a season of content, developer Naughty Dog is launching the third and final content bundle for their PlayStation-exclusive, third-person survivial-thriller, The Last of Us.

The Grounded Bundle offers both single player and multiplayer content. Season Pass holder will get access to the whole shebang, while non-holders can pick-and-choose specific content, if they wish.

Single player buffs looking for that extra challenge can tackle the new Grounded Mode, which the studio says “will be the hardest challenge you’ll ever face as you try to complete the single player campaign of The Last of Us.” The new difficulty mode costs $4.99 standalone.

Meanwhile, multiplayer survivors can look forward to four new maps; Wharf, Capitol, Coal Mine, and Water Tower, along with four new weapons; the Specter, Double Barrel, Enforcer, and Launcher. New survival skills bundles are also available; the Situational Survival Skills Bundle and Professional Survival Skills Bundle. As mentioned, each can be purchased separately – maps for $9.99, new weapons for $5.99, or survival skills bundles for $3.99 each.

If that’s starting to sound a bit expensive (almost $30 for the whole ordeal), know that Naughty Dog is offering the Season Pass for $19.99 for four more weeks. That will score you everything, including the Left Behind story content and the Abandoned Territories map pack. If you’re at all interested in additional The Last of Us content, it’s a bit of a no-brainer to pick that up while you can, before May 13.

That aside, Naughty Dog is throwing in a small freebee for both Season Pass holders and non-Season Pass holders with the new Full-Auto Rifle. The studio says it’s “a fully automatic, modified burst rifle that is very easy to use. It’s the perfect weapon for people who are new to Factions and experts alike.”

Naughty Dog has yet to nail down an exact launch date for “Grounded Bundle”, but you can catch an early look over on the studio’s official Twitch channel when they live stream the new content at 12 noon on April 24.

Update 1

As mentioned previously, The Last of Us Remastered coming to PlayStation 4 will include all downloadable content from the PlayStation 3 version. But according to GameInformer, “The Last of Us Grounded DLC – Only the maps and grounded mode will be included in the Remastered edition. Weapons, skills will not.”

Update 2

When asked if The Last of Us owners on the PS3 might receive some sort of discount on the PS4’s Remastered version, Naughty Dog Community Strategist Eric Monacelli responded, “We’re looking into the business model for all this and will post about this once we have input from all regions.”

David Veselka

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World of Tanks: Xbox 360 Edition Update 1.1 Adds New Tanks, Maps, and Crews

With the introduction of update 1.1 to Wargaming West’s World of Tanks: Xbox 360 Edition, players will be able to create their very own crew with the purchase of a new tank.

Crews can be assigned skills and perks that can alter the effectiveness of your tank, customizing it to better fit your play style. Luckily, XP earned before the update will be accounted for and reflected in the new system.

Update 1.1 also introduces the new Himmelsdorf map. “With its winding streets and imposing buildings, the battlefield on Himmelsdorf is a dangerous one,” reads the studio’s official website. “Race to control the eastern hill before the enemy does, or go head-to-head in the courtyard to propel your team to victory. Featuring long, narrow train tracks to the west, you will need to be on the lookout for snipers.”

New tanks also roll in – all based on UK manufacturers. They include the Cromwell, Comet, Centurion I, Centurion 7/1, and FV4202.

To learn a little more about crews, you can watch a tutorial video from the studio above. You can also catch more screens of the new content over on the official website.

David Veselka

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Titanfall Mythbusters Confirms Vortex Shield Ping Pong

In the first Titanfall-related episode of DefendTheHouse’s popular Mythbusters series, we learn that Vortex Shield ping pong is actually a thing that is real and that Titans can play.

We also learn the answer to the question, “can a Titan drop destroy an evac ship in a match epilogue?” The answer might actually be a bit more complicated than you think. Check out the video above to find out.

DefendTheHouse busts myths on a regular bases with games like GTA V, Call of Duty, Battlefield, and Halo. You can visit their channel here.

David Veselka

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The Division Developer Praises Ubisoft’s Decision To Delay Watch Dogs

Watch Dogs developer and publisher Ubisoft delayed their open-world, action-espionage title last October in what was regarded by many as a good move for the high-profile shooter, later re-announcing a May 27 launch.

With no solid release date still, intrigued gamers wonder if Massive Entertainment’s open-world shooter, The Division, will share a similar fate. All things considered, Ubisoft has yet to announce a solid launch time frame thus far, other than “2014”. But with hopes to deliver on ‘unexpected new features and unique innovation‘ in an ambitious, always-online, MMO shooter like The Division, a push back to 2015 would not be surprising.

Massive managing director, David Polfeldt, recently told Examiner that the studio takes comfort in knowing Ubisoft’s willingness to make the hard choices and delay a video game project if necessary.

“It’s tremendously important for us as a developer studio, to know that the owner and the publisher are ready to take that hit, and [the Watch Dogs delay] was a massive hit,” Polfeldt said. “So for us in the development [side of things], that’s an important message that ultimately the management will back up the goals that we have, which is the game has to be great.

He added that “there’s never a discussion about ‘just get it done guys, hurry up, we have a deadline, and it doesn’t matter if it’s really perfect, just get it done.’

“I’ve never heard that in an internal [meeting], often we come back with a sense of just being challenged all the time, doesn’t matter what we do or how good it is, there’s always a question of, ‘okay great, but what if? Or could you push that further?’ That’s an inspiring environment to me.”

Red Storm recently joined forces with Massive to help the studio create an create an ‘authentic arsenal of weapons’ for The Division. Ubisoft Reflections also came to Massive’s aid last February.

Do you suspect a delayed 2015 launch for Massive’s The Division?

Thanks, GameInformer.

David Veselka

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The Last of Us Remastered – Retailers Suggest a June 20 Release Date on PlayStation 4

The Last of Us Remastered is coming to PlayStation 4 “Fall 2014”, developer Naughty Dog revealed earlier this month. But we may have a more specific release date if online retailer listings are to be believed.

TargetGameFly, and Best Buy are now all listing The Last of Us Remastered for launch on June 20, 2014. The dates may very well be placeholders, but it’s interesting to see it match between all three retailers. Amazon, however, puts the game at a December 31 release.

2506189-screen+shot+2014-04-15+at+10.10.34+am

What makes the date believable, however, is that it follows this year’s E3 by one week and that it lands on a Friday.

Naughty Dog hopes to get The Last of Us running at 60 frames per second and at a 1080p resolution on the PS4, along with improvements in character models, shadows and lighting, textures, and more.

Thanks, GameSpot.

 

David Veselka

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Titanfall Game Director Wants To Improve ‘Update Tempo’ With Post-Launch Support

Titanfall Game Director Steve Fukuda hopes to keep a fast-paced “update-tempo” with Titanfall as the team at Respawn Entertainment shifts gears from making the game to supporting it.

In a recent blog update, Fukuda detailed three different ways the studio hopes to support the game in the following months beyond launch.

“First, we tend the garden and keep the weeds out,” he wrote. “The focus here is on the current game, rather than adding new features. One category here would be minor tweaks and fixes, such as our recent adjustments to the Gooser challenge, more generous Hardpoint scoring for attacking players, and weapon balance tweaks to the Titan 40mm and Quad Rocket.” Also falling into this category are the ongoing improvements to matchmaking. “This is all about the core health of the game,” he adds.

“Convenience features” are the smaller features in Titanfall that lend to a better experience overall. “For example, our most recent update introduced the requested Party Colors feature, allowing you to easily identify fellow party members both in game and in the lobby.” Fukuda explains. “The next update will bring more convenience features such as: the ability to rename your custom loadouts and to make custom loadouts specific to each game mode, a way to filter your Challenges by criteria such as ‘closest to complete’, and displaying the final scoreboard from your previous match in the Last Game Summary so you can review the scores at your leisure in the lobby.”

“Infrastructural features” are feature-rich updates that include additions like Private Matches. “In future updates, we’ll be bringing you the first wave of custom Private Match options, allowing you to personally tweak your Private Match experience in a variety of ways.” Fukuda continued, saying, “Whenever possible, we want to get these kinds of features out early in beta form, in order to get your feedback and arrive at the best possible result through multiple iterations. Competition-oriented and what we call ‘competitive spirit’ features also fall into this category. More on that in future updates.”

Fukuda also noted a few more “tangible” pieces of upcoming content as well – things like new Burn Cards, Titan “Nose Art” Insignias, as well as new game modes and game mode variants. As for paid content, three new maps are arriving in Titanfall’s “Expedition” DLC this may. Get all the details here.

David Veselka

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Call of Duty: Ghosts Gets New Personalization Items, Catch The Trailer With Snoop Dogg

Just short of a dozen new customization items are coming to Call of Duty: Ghosts on Xbox Live April 22.

Stirring things up, the micro-DLC care package offers everything from weapon camos, personalization items, soldier skins, and even multiplayer voice-overs from iconic rapper Snoop Dogg, which goes hand-in-hand with the appropriately-themed “Blunt Force” personalization pack.

Xbox One and Xbox 360 users will be able to pick up the new content on April 22, coming to PSN and PC at a later date.

Check out the prices and details below, as well as a new trailer featuring the Dogg himself above.

Personalization Pack – 1987

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Retrograde your customization options with the 1987 Personalization Pack. This radical makeover includes a righteous themed camo, reticle, patch, playercard, and background. Price: $1.99

Personalization Pack – Blunt Force

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Deliver chronic lethality when you customize with the new Blunt Force Personalization Pack, complete with all-new themed camo, reticle, patch, playercard, and background. Price: $1.99

Personalization Pack – Eyeballs

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Your enemies will stare into the eyes of destruction with the Eyeballs Personalization Pack, containing an unblinking camo, reticle, patch, playercard, and background. Price: $1.99

Personalization Pack – Heartlands

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Protect your team with the help of the Heartlands Personalization Pack, providing customization in the form of a patterned camo, reticle, patch, playercard, and background. Price: $1.99

Personalization Pack – Hex

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Bring an authentic and high tech look to your customization options with the Hex Personalization Pack. Get a camo, as well as themed reticle, patch, playercard, and background. Price: $1.99

Personalization Pack – Molten

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Turn up the heat in every battle with the Molten Personalization Pack, containing a lava-hot camo and themed reticle, patch, playercard, and background. Price: $1.99

Legend Pack – Soap

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Play as the iconic field commander of Task Force 141, Captain John “Soap” MacTavish. The Soap Legend Pack contains a Soap Multiplayer Character and unique Personalization Pack featuring a themed weapon camo, reticle, patch, playercard, and background. Price: $3.99

Squad Pack – Extinction

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Create your own alien-smashing soldiers in Multiplayer with the Extinction Squad Pack. The three interchangeable heads and four uniforms will have you looking ready to take down any Cryptid hive or Multiplayer opponent. Price: $2.99

Voice Pack – Snoop Dog

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Jump into Multiplayer with none other than Snoop Dogg himself. The iconic rapper narrates every firefight in Multiplayer, alerting you of killstreaks, enemy activity, and generally giving your combat style some street cred. Ya dig? Price: $2.99

Voice Pack – Drill Instructor

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Multiplayer returns to boot camp with the all-new Drill Instructor Voice Pack voiced by the one and only R. Lee Ermey, aka The Gunny. Swap out your in-game alerts with ones that will get you back into top combat shape. Now, drop down and give me twenty! Price: $2.99

Classic Ghost Pack

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Don the deadly mask that began it all. Armed with the Classic Ghost Pack, you’ll enter every battle wearing the iconic mask and Task Force 141 patch, also getting a matching background, and playercard. Price: $1.99

David Veselka

Musician, Gamer, Geek. Subscriber

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Battlefield 4 Naval Strike Coming to Non-Premium Subscribers Today

Naval Strike, the third multiplayer expansion to hit Battlefield 4 since its October launch, brings ocean combat to the forefront in all out naval warfare and is now being offered to non-Battlefield 4 Premium members on all platforms for $14.99.

Rolling out today in Battlefield 4’s in-game store, Naval Strike introduces the following new content:

  • 4 all-new multiplayer maps set in the South China Sea
    • Lost Islands
    • Nansha Strike
    • Wave Breaker
    • Operation Mortar
  • 5 weapons all-new to Battlefield 4
  • Introducing the amphibious hovercraft vehicle
  • 2 additional gadgets
    • 3GL (3 grenade launcher) attachment for the Assault class
    • Anti-Heli Mine; an aircraft disabling projectile for the Engineer class
  • Carrier Assault game mode which is a re-imagining of the classic Battlefield 2142 Titan Mode
  • 10 new assignments with unlocks for each

As mentioned above, you’ll be able to find Naval Strike in Battlefield 4’s in-game store as it becomes available in your region.

Battlefield 4 is still expecting a few server upgrades in order to minimize recent “rubber-banding” issues. Community manager Dan Mitre wrote earlier that the DICE team is “unhappy” with server performance and that “reducing lag for these players is absolutely a TOP priority for us to solve and we expect to have the solution very soon.”

Keep your sights on MP1st for more Battlefield 4 updates.

David Veselka

Musician, Gamer, Geek. Subscriber

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Crysis and Crysis 2 PC Multiplayer Support Ends on May 31 With GameSpy Closure

It’s time to hop on out of that Nanosuit. Crysis and Crysis 2 multiplayer support will be shutting down on PC by the end of next month.

On their official forums, Developer Crytek writes that the closure of GameSpy’s online matching client will affect the multiplayer of both titles on the PC. Crysis 3, along with the console versions of Crysis and Crysis 2, will remain unaffected.

“As of May 31 this year, the multiplayer modes in Crysis and Crysis 2 for PC will no longer be playable,” the studio announced. “The single-player campaigns in both games are unaffected by this transition.”

“We’d like to thank everyone who has taken up arms in Crysis and Crysis 2’s multiplayer modes in the last few years, and apologize to the small but dedicated community of PC players who are still actively competing against one another.”

Battlefield fans need not worry, as EA has announced that games like Battlefield: Bad Company 2, Battlefield 2142, and Battlefield 2 will remain playable after May 31.

Thanks, GameSpot.

David Veselka

Musician, Gamer, Geek. Subscriber

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Microsoft Spring Sale Discounts Borderlands 2 And All Of Its DLC For Two Weeks

With the launch of Borderlands 2’s final DLC today, Gearbox and 2K are celebrating the occasion with a pretty massive sale for all Borderlands 2-related content on the Xbox Live Marketplace.

The Games On Demand version of Borderlands 2 has now dropped down to $6.99 USD while all additional downloadable content is being discounted by 50% until April 21, according to Major Nelson. Though it should be noted that Sir Hammerlock Versus The Son Of Crawmerax, the final DLC for the game, won’t be discounted.

Additionally, during this year’s PAX East panel, Gearbox revealed that, despite Borderlands 2 coming to an end after 18 months of post-release content, it is possible that they will release another update for the game that will tackle any issues that are still lingering.

Which DLC(s) will you be grabbing?

Joel Santana

Gamer for the past 20 years who loves anything ranging from RPGs, Fighters and of course FPS games. Author

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PvZ: Garden Warfare Western-Themed “Zomboss Down” DLC Now Available For Free

As we suspected late last night, fresh new content is hitting PopCap HD’s Xbox One and Xbox 360 shooter, Plants vs. Zombies: Garden Warfare, today.

Zomboss Down, a western-themed PvZ: Garden Warfare DLC, adds one new variant for each class, new achievements, more customization items, one new map, and increases the max character rank from 20 to 30, all for the low price of free.

Be sure to check out the trailer above and some new screens below:

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Additionally, PopCap has also released the massive list of patch notes for the Zomboss Down update that you can view below:

Zomboss Down Patch Notes

Scoring/Coin Changes

  • Gardens & Graveyards scoring has been overhauled:
  • Plants can now earn almost as many coins as Zombies in G&G sessions that go the distance.
  • Plants stand to earn the most coins if they stop the Zombies in the 1st few bases (especially if they get a perfect win by not allowing the zombies to capture the 1st garden).
  • Zombies stand to earn the most coins if they progress through to the end of the map and beat the final challenge.
  • Most scoring takes place as each base is captured vs. all awarded at the end of the session.
  • Gnome Bomb Coin payouts increased across the board.
  • Added Solo and 2-player bonus coins payout to Garden Ops.
  • Increased coin payout amounts based on difficulty played in Garden Ops (Craaazy Difficulty is now worth the effort).
  • Added new support scoring:
  • Engineer Zombie now earns coins for each Plant vanquished by their Zombot Turrets.
  •  Plants can earn a Garden Defend Assist by standing in the capture circle and vanquishing Zombies.
  • Zombies can now earn Garden Capture Assist by vanquishing plants that are standing in the capture circle.
  • Assist awarded for freezing an enemy who is then vanquished.
  • Assist awarded to Chompers if a zombie gets vanquished while in their Spikeweed’s grasp.
  • Assist awarded to Chompers if they goop a Zombie who is then vanquished.
  •  Chompers earn coins for destroying zombie shields (Newspaper, Coffin, Screen Door, Outhouse, Barrel, Treasure Map, etc.).
  • Cacti and All-Stars can earn a cover assist by having their Tallnuts and Shields used by teammates to protect themselves while vanquishing enemies.
  • Sunflowers now earn assists for any enemies vanquished by their active Healbeam target.
  • Soldiers now earn assists for any teammates who vanquish Plants inside their smoke clouds.
  •  Engineers now earn assists for stunning Plants and having their teammates vanquish them.
  • Scientists now earn a bonus for vanquishing a target by sticking a sticky grenade on them.
  • All-Stars earn Suppression assists for shooting at or near targets who are then vanquished.
  • All-Stars now earn a bonus for vanquishing more than 1 target with a single Sprint Tackle.
  • You now get coins for destroying Zombot Turrets – Payout scales based on which turret level is destroyed.
  • Entire team now gets coins whenever an enemy boss is shot down.
  • Destroying any Bossmode item yields coins (i.e. Coconut Spotting Station).
  • Using abilities in Bossmode now awards coins.
  • Entire Zombie team now gets points for destroying Tallnut Cannons, Corn Launchers and Flax Cannons.
  • Destroying tombstones in Garden Ops now yields a coin bonus.

Tuning/Balance Changes

  • Fixed an exploit where characters could use abilities such as Energy Warp and Jackhammer and also carry the bomb in Gnome Bomb.
  • Toned down ragdoll explosion when vanquished by a primary weapon.
  • Fixed hit “X” indicator sometimes appearing when not actually damaging a target.
  • Added better vfx indication of a Chili Bean being deployed so Zombies can better notice their impending doom and try to escape.
  • The Scientist’s Energy Warp ability can no longer pass through players/objects (Tallnuts etc).
  • The Scientist’s Energy Warp can no longer enter the mansion in Wall-nut Hills.
  • Fix for spamming the Sunflower’s Solar Flare beam where the beam would appear but no damage would be dealt.
  • Scientist Heal Bomb wouldn’t heal AI zombies, and well… now it does!
  • Fix for Engineer not taking damage from Nugget Mines when riding his Jackhammer.
  • Sunflower’s Dark flower ability has had slight damage reduction.
  • Engineers on Jackhammers can now run into Cactus Drones and destroy them…. Why not right?
  • Stunning a Cactus with Sonic Grenades or Mines will now properly pull them out of drone control.
  • You can now stick the Sticky Explody Ball to a drone on either team…
  • Engineer drones can now set off Potato Mines if it flies near them.
  • The Sunflower’s Heal Beam now cancels after 4 minutes of use.
  • Spikeweeds are now properly removed after snaring a Zombie and releasing them.
  • Fix for the Retro Pea Gatling ability not ending if player tapped shoot instead of holding it.
  • The Scientist’s Mega Heal Bomb was too light-weight, and has been given a little more mass.
  • The Sprint Burrow ability made targeting players difficult due to its speed. This has been tuned to require less accuracy.
  • Chemists are now able to properly damage the Mega Flower.
  • Chompers are now stunned longer than other characters when hit with a Sonic Grenade or Mine.

Fixes/Improvements

  • Optimizations added to reduce latency.
  • General stability fixes.
  • Fixed an issue where a player could spawn as a character on one team but still be considered on the other team, thus allowing them to team kill.
  • Scaled Gamertag and damage number size on Xbox One to make them more legible.
  • Fix for Zombot Turrets magically appearing when bases are captured in G&G.
  • Fixed occasional loss of UI if spawn menu was up when Garden was captured in G&G.
  • More improvements to the “Hold B” interact button when reviving players.
  • Fixed some corrupted textures on Imps in Garden Ops.
  • Fix for Spawned Zombies sometimes not moving.
  • Fixed some incorrect text for Scientist Challenge at level 13 should have been “Plant the bomb” not “Pick up the bomb”.
  • Fixed some incorrect text for Scientist Challenge at level 15 should have been “Plant the bomb” not “Vanquish the bomb carrier”.
  • Fixed Peashooter Level 14 challenge where it incorrectly stated to “Vanquish 2 Players” when it should have been “Vanquish 2 Foot Soldiers”.
  • Fixed Engineer Level 13 challenge that incorrectly states “Vanquish 5 Players” when it should read “Vanquish 5 Chompers”.
  • Fixed incorrect text for Chomper Level 13 which states “Vanquish 5 All-Stars in a session” but should just read “Vanquish 5 All-Stars”.
  • Fixed Chomper Level 7 challenge where players had to “Goop a Zombie and immediately vanquish them”, but it didn’t work on AI.
  • Fix for bug where occasionally Engineer Turrets, potted plants and Dark Flower would not take any actions or attack.
  • Removed the word “nil” from the challenges that clearly should never be set to “nil” because what’s the challenge in that?
  • Sometimes when players level up or used skip challenge stars right as the session ended it wouldn’t carry forward – this has been resolved.
  • Several star challenges didn’t work with the alternate abilities and now do!
  • Fixed up many of the Sunflower hats so that more of them could be used in conjunction with accessories.
  • AI will no longer move when taunting so they don’t appear to slide around.
  • A Zombie arm no longer appears in Chomper’s mouth when unsuccessfully chomping a Zombie.
  • Improvements to better sync up positions and animations when Chomper is chompin’ a target.
  •  Can now no longer get stuck inside houses in Driftwood Shores.
  • Fixed up some graphical weirdness where sunbeam had flickering texture when fired at short distances.
  • Cleaned up Gargantuar jumping animations .
  • Fixed some geo issues on Garlic Drone – could see through it in a few animations.
  • Fixed Tallnut issue where the models would swap only a few feet in front of the player.
  • Spikeweed will now properly play their retract animation.
  • General cleanup for some AI zombie animations that made the zombies appear like they were sliding when being shot.
  • Fix for Gamertags sometimes appearing as “?” in leaderboard.
  • Fix for Rocket Drone beam not playing hit vfx when shooting most surfaces.
  • Proper icons now appear for pirate AI in Bossmode.
  • Gnome Carrier in Gnome Bomb Mode will now always show Gnome icon even when gooped/stunned, etc.
  • Can no longer get warped if entering a teleporter while simultaneously getting chomped by a Chomper.
  • Removed purple splash effect from green super sticky goop.
  • Fixed bug where consumables didn’t always appear properly if the player quit from a match and quickly entered sticker book.
  • Added proper match objectives for Gnome Bomb mode when displayed in Smartglass.
  • Bossmode player will now see end of game sequence instead of black screen at end of Gnome Bomb session.
  • Fixed issue where Plant team would not see vfx for Teleporter or get the proper audio.
  • Fix for entering Teleporter while in Scientist Energy Ball that would cause a map wide laser show (sounds cooler than it was).
  • Fix for Bossmode stats being incorrectly added to other playable characters.
  • Fix for players not seeing the end of game video if they get vanquished right before the last Gnome Bomb explodes.
  • Tombstone text for getting vanquished by Fire Chomper was not appearing properly for weapon name.
  • Beam weapons now properly leave decals on walls.
  • Some characters were not properly showing their reload animations to other clients.
  • Outhouse Zombies no longer enter an unresponsive state if saved from a Chomper’s burrow attack.

Are you looking forward to trying out the Zomboss Down DLC?

Joel Santana

Gamer for the past 20 years who loves anything ranging from RPGs, Fighters and of course FPS games. Author