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Rumor – New Battlefield 4 Game Modes Leaked? Combat Mission, Onslaught, and More [Updated]

Update

A DICE developer who goes by the name “JBRipley” on Reddit has responded to the rumor, clarifying that these are, in fact, not upcoming Battlefield 4 game modes. Here’s what he had to say:

“Eh no, the code that was found is just a combined list of all the different game modes that Battlelog supports, which includes all the game modes from BF3 as well as MOHW.”

Thanks to MattTheMusketeerfor pointing this one out. Check out his video on the news here.

Original Story

A list of upcoming Battlefield 4 game modes have allegedly been discovered through the efforts of one particular user digging deep into the game’s code.

As with all info extracted from game code, it should be taken with a spoonful of salt, as there is no telling if the introduction of any of these game modes will actually come to pass. In spite of this, a few of the names do appear likely, especially re-appearing game modes like Tank Superiority, Gun Master, Squad Rush and Scavenger.

Check out the original forum post below from user Th3-Chronikk:

“While Doing some really in dept JavaScript digging trying to find DLC content i have found some game modes that have place holders in the server but are not currently active. All that were not firmware to me are below with my explanation on what i think they are.

{“BATTLEFIELD”:”battlefield”,”CEM_EA_ID”:”cem_ea_id”,”XBOX”:”xbox”,”PS3″:”ps3″},”gameServerMapModes”:
1. “TANKSUPERIORITY” – Tanks only battle between everyone
2. “GUNMASTER” – Not quite sure about this one maybe kind of like COD’s gun game
3. “COMBATMISSION” – may be a game mode where you can do co-op missions for xp
4. “SQRUSH” – Squad Rush,Squad vs each other (not sure if already avalible.)
5. “SCAVENGER” – all possibly have to scavenge for weapons
6. “SPORT” – Haven’t figured this one out yet. (if you think you may know more info PM or quote me)
7. “FIRETEAM_SURVIVOR” – only one life (if you think you may know more info PM or quote me)
8. “ONSLAUGHT” – not sure. (if you think you may know more info PM or quote me)”

Game modes like Capture the Flag and Air Superiority have already made a return through two of Battlefield 4’s latest expansions, Second Assault and China Rising, and if these findings are to be believed, it looks like more are on the way, along with some new additions.

In last year’s shooter from EA, Medal of Honor: Warfighter, a game mode called Combat Mission tasked an attacking team with planting three bombs in randomly chosen locations on the map. It was one of the more popular team-oriented modes and would be a reasonable addition to Battlefield 4’s playlist. Onslaught was a cooperative game mode originally featured in 2010’s Battlefield: Bad Company 2. “Sport” appears to be a believable addition as well, if you recall DICE Producer Daniel Matros describing Battlefield 4’s push towards eSports.

What do you think? Would you like to see the return of any of the game modes listed above to Battlefield 4?

Source: Se7ensins, via Jacob.

David Veselka

Musician, Gamer, Geek. Subscriber

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Multiplayer Experience of 2013 – Readers’ Choice, Vote Now

2013 is coming to a close, and as such, we want to know what multiplayer experiences over the past year you hold most dear to your heart.

In the new year, we’ll be picking our favorite multiplayer games of 2013. You’ll hear from MP1st staff members and learn the number one game that we think takes the cake as this year’s best multiplayer experience.

But we also want to hear from you. Below is a poll of 15 multiplayer games that you nominated for this year’s Readers’ Choice award. So get voting, choose your winner, and all will be revealed in the new year!

MPX 2013 Readers’ Choice Poll

Poll Closed

David Veselka

Musician, Gamer, Geek. Subscriber

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Rockstar To Address Exploits Awarding GTA Online Players With Absurd Amounts Of GTA$

It looks like Rockstar is finally going to take action against those who have been exploiting GTA Online to award themselves and others unimaginably large sum of GTA cash, or putting out bounties that would make those who claim it instantaneous millionaires/billionaires.

Rockstar has released this statement regarding exploiting GTA$:

In regards to reports of hacking and cheating in Grand Theft Auto Online, we are working on a fix that will remove any GTA$ gained through these blatant exploits, as well as prevent this from happening in the future. We’ll also be taking appropriate measures very soon to punish anyone that we’ve discovered manipulating GTA Online in this manner (as we’ve stated previously, players who have received large sums of GTA$ but not engaged in any game manipulating through exploits can rest assured knowing they have nothing to fear).

If you have been gifted a large sum of money or collected a large bounty and would like to have the money removed from your account immediately, you can submit a request to Rockstar Support to have your balance properly adjusted. Otherwise, the money you’ve been gifted will be removed once our upcoming fix is in place.

Furthermore, if you encounter someone that is taking advantage of exploits in your GTA Online session, you can alert us directly by using the in-game reporting functionality. In the Pause menu, under the Online tab, select Players and scroll to the offending player. From there, select Report and choose Exploits from the violation options. We appreciate the community’s support and understanding as we work to address these issues and apologize for all inconvenience caused.

For those who have been given large sums of GTA$ by random players, what did you buy with it? Let us know in the comment section below!

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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Report – Battlefield 4 Now ‘Illegal’ In China

According to reports, Battlefield 4‘s depiction of the nation has allegedly, “smeared China’s image” which the country is labelling as a form of “cultural invasion.”

This is what Chinese state-run newspaper China Military now reads, according to ZDNet.

SlashGear reports that the Chinese ministry wants Battlefield 4 removed from physical and digital retailers as well as uninstalled and deleted from all consoles and PCs as soon as possible. They claim it is “an illegal game, with content that endangers national security, and is all about a cultural invasion. Battlefield 4 relevant available downloads, patches, news, and other requirements [shall be] deleted within 24 hours.”

Weibo, the country’s biggest social media website, is now censoring “ZhanDi4”, the Chinese translation of Battlefield 4, where it can.

Earlier this month, Battlefield 4 developers launched China Rising, the game’s first digital expansion, that depicts war against Chinese and US forces in various locales situated in the Chinese mainland. A major plot element of the game’s single player campaign also pits the two factions together as a fictional and corrupt Admiral Chang uses the Unites States as a scapegoat in an attempt to overthrow the current Chinese government.

If you’ve played through the entirety of the game’s story, you know things are cleared up between the two warring nations by the end, but it doesn’t cover up the fact that you spend the majority of the game as a US soldier shooting at Chinese infantry.

As you may recall, this isn’t the only instance a popular shooter has found itself under fire after depicting other Middle-Eastern or Eastern nations in a controversial manner. What’s your take? Did Battlefield 4 take things a little too far this time, or are things being blown out of proportion? Let us know in the comments.

Thanks, TomsHardware.

David Veselka

Musician, Gamer, Geek. Subscriber

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GTA Online – Rockstar Publishes Over 1 Million Player-Created Jobs

As of today, Rockstar Games has published “over one million player-created Jobs” for others to play across the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3, according to a recent blog entry.

“Today we present the very first officially Rockstar Verified Jobs made by players, hand-picked and stamped with our Rockstar seal of approval from amongst the tons and tons of awesome Deathmatches and Races out there,” writes the studio.

“These Jobs have been hand-selected and tested by us. Please note that all Job names below are as originally chosen by their creators, except where we felt obliged to change them due to taste, copyright or other reasons.”

Earlier this month, Rockstar launched a brand new GTA Online game update that would allow gamers to create their own Jobs using the game’s new Deathmatch or Race Content Creator. We’ve already seen some pretty nifty projects come out of it like a recreation of Call of Duty: Black Ops’ Nuketown multiplayer map.

In the coming weeks and months, expect more player-made jobs to become available as Rockstar continues to publish more community content.

To check out some of the recently released Jobs, including their descriptions, head on over to the official Rockstar Blog.

David Veselka

Musician, Gamer, Geek. Subscriber

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Dragon Ball Z: Battle Of Z Trailer Gives Us a Glimpse of What’s To Come

A new trailer for Dragon Ball Z: Battle Of Z from Namco Bandai has been released that gives DBZ fans a glimpse of what to expect when it releases next month on the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 platforms.

It showcases a few of the multiplayer modes such as Dragon Ball Grab, four player co-op, boss mode, team battle and an epic 8-player battle royale between the 67 playable characters. You can view the trailer above.

Additionally, those who will be pre-ordering their copy will also receive a special Naruto Uzumaki costume for Goku:

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If you can’t wait until January 28 to get your hands on Dragon Ball Z: Battle Of Z, there is a demo available now that you can try out for free on the Xbox Live Marketplace or PlayStation Network. Stats will even transfer over to the full game once it releases.

Dragon Ball Z: Battle Of Z is slated for a January 28 release on the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360.

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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Call of Duty: Ghosts 33% Off On Steam Winter Sale, Squad Tips Dev Video

With the holidays upon us, it’s time to welcome some fresh new faces to Call of Duty: Ghosts.

If you’ve yet to dive into Infinity Ward’s latest shooter, PC users may want to check out Steam’s Winter Sale today where you’ll find Call of Duty: Ghosts for only $40.19 USD (33% off). Check out the game’s official Steam page right here.

The sale is for today only (December 24) so act fast if you decide on picking it up.

To help turn those fresh holiday “noobs” into semi-capable online-soldiers, Lead Multiplayer designer at Infinity Ward, Jordan Hirsh, goes through a few tips to get the most out of Call of Duty: Ghosts new Squads game mode.

You can catch the full video in the featured section above.

Are you hopping aboard the Call of Duty train this holiday with Ghosts?

David Veselka

Musician, Gamer, Geek. Subscriber

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GTA Online – The Christmas Miracle, GTA V 33% Off On Xbox Live Until December 31

Our prays have been answered. The jolly old fat man is making his way over to Los Santos and Blaine Country and he’s bringing some snow with him.

To celebrate the Holidays, Rockstar Games has deployed a new GTA Online update filled with limited-time-only content along with some seasonal weather changes to accompany the Holiday season. Expect driving conditions to be dangerous this time of year.

Players can expect an assortment of new items pertaining to Christmas, along with a 50% discount on selected weapons, 30%  off selected vehicles, and a 25% discount on apartments. So if you plan on throwing a Christmas bash in-game, now would be the time to buy an apartment, you homeless GTA bum.

While all these content are only for a limited time – until December 25 – according to the blog update, Rockstar Game will also be introducing some new Snapmatic filters for your selfies. Not only that, but new facial expressions and a meme creator will all be added with this update.

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If you’ve yet to join in on any of the GTA action, Xbox 360 users might want to take note of Xbox Live’s “Countdown to 2014” sale which currently puts Grand Theft Auto 5 at a 33% discount ($40.19 USD) until December 31. Check out the game’s Xbox Live Marketplace page right here.

Avatar photo

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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Call of Duty: Ghosts December 23 Game Update, Full Patch Notes

A major game update that brings to life many of the improvements promised by developer Infinity Ward earlier has launched across all versions of Call of Duty: Ghosts.

The update aims to improve the game in a number of ways, many of which were outlined in a previous blog post written by the dev team earlier last week. As promised, the patch introduces new features like the “Heavy Duty” playlist, which adds additional player health in select game modes like Team Deathmatch, Blitz, and Domination. If you haven’t yet, you can join in on the discussion about the new game type right here.

There are also a few weapon balance tweaks that specifically tune sniper rifles to make them a little harder to use, but ultimately more rewarding, as well new loadouts to play around with in Infected.

For the full list of changes, check out the patch notes below and let us know in the comments what improvements – or alterations – you are enjoying the most.

December 23 Call of Duty: Ghosts Patch Notes

New Features:

  • Heavy Duty mode.
  • 5 squad points granted to each soldier at the initial 5 levels of progression.
  • New loadouts added to Infected mode.

Weapon Balance:

  • Reduction in the flinch benefit of the Focus perk for Sniper Rifles.
  • ADS speed reductions and further adjustments to Sniper Rifle settings.

Additional Fixes:

  • Field Order adds 100xp on pickup.
  • Fix for unlimited perks.
  • Invisible exploit fix.

David Veselka

Musician, Gamer, Geek. Subscriber

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Call of Duty: Ghosts “Heavy Duty” Playlist Now Live On All Platforms, Double XP This Weekend

As promised earlier by the development team at Infinity Ward, Call of Duty: Ghosts gets a brand new playlist update today across all platforms.

The new update introduces the “Heavy Duty” playlist, which gives players increased health in select game modes like Team Deathmatch, Blitz, and Domination and should offer some variety in contrast to Ghosts’ more traditional fast time-to-kill gameplay.

You can head on over in-game to the Moshpit playlist where you’ll find the new Heavy Duty game modes right now. Give them a shot and tell us what you think in the comments!

Update

Infinity Ward has also indicated that a special bout of holiday double XP is incoming this weekend, starting December 27 at 10 am PST and continuing through to December 30 at 10am PST.

David Veselka

Musician, Gamer, Geek. Subscriber

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Titanfall – Respawn Presents The Atlas Titan

Introducing Hammond Robotics’ Atlas, a gigantic, state-of-the-art, mech warrior that you’ll get to pilot in Respawn Entertainment’s upcoming sci-fi shooter, Titanfall.

You may recognize the Atlas from Titanfall’s debut gameplay trailers and demos, which has since become the poster boy (or poster robot) for the new IP from ex-Call of Duty creator, Vince Zampella. To give you a better look at this technological marvel, the studio has put together a brand new trailer that you can check out above. Note that the release date displayed at the end of the trailer is for the game’s UK launch.

By comparison, be sure to check out two new Titans that were introduced during this year’s VGX awards, the powerful Ogre and the nimble Stryder, in these videos.

Titanfall drops March 11 on the Xbox One, Xbox 360, and PC.

David Veselka

Musician, Gamer, Geek. Subscriber

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Strike Vector, Free-to-Play Aerial Combat PC Shooter, Enters Beta Early January

Strike Vector, a free-to-play third-person and first-person aerial combat multiplayer PC shooter from Ragequit Corporation, enters beta early January.

The studio, made up of only nine members, is hoping to introduce the world to a new kind shooter that takes to the skies in brutal aerial multiplayer combat reminiscent of fast-paced arena shooters like Quake or Unreal Tournament. If the beta trailer above wasn’t enough to pique your interest, check out this fantastic Gamescom gameplay trailer below, in case you missed it:

[youtube id=”WXD5MIPPRCw”]

To participate in the upcoming beta, all you need to do is shoot off an email to beta@strikevector.net indicating that you are interested. A Steam key will be sent back to you shortly after.

Check out the features below, and be sure to head on over to the game’s official website to learn more about it.

Features

  • Strike Vector is a new kind of fast FPS which takes place in the sky in a post-apocalyptic cyberpunk world. In the pure tradition of the sacred monsters of hardcore FPS such as Quake 3, Strike Vector will offer you a massive challenge if you want to stand against the best players :
  • Juggle with the two transformation modes to surprise and eradicate the other players. Rush to the fight and carpet bomb the battlefield with the Jet mode and engage the enemy in lethal close combat with the hover mode.
  • With 8 unique weapons and a lot of specialisation perks, try to create the best combination to rocket the score board to the top.
  • Prepare for a massive adrenaline rush when you’ll be flying across 8 gigantic and unique industrial sci-fi arenas where a crash is waiting for you at any moment.
  • Customize your Vector the way you like with a choice of various cockpits and engines to be the pimpiest pilot around!

Thanks, Kotaku.

David Veselka

Musician, Gamer, Geek. Subscriber

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5 Previous-Gen Multiplayer Games That Should Be Remade For Next-Gen

I’ll admit, next-gen life isn’t as glamorous as it’s made out to be. After hype for both the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One’s launch – along with their not-so-extensive list of first- and third-party launch titles – has died down, I find myself staring into an empty abyss of non-existent next-gen multiplayer games asking myself, “what do I play now?”

Clearly, things will get better, but right now, neither indie nor AAA developers can simply poop out new IPs or high-effort sequels on a whim for the sake of satisfying our next-gen gaming needs. So what do we do, other than settle for the yearly offering of Call of Duty and Battlefield?

Perhaps, instead of looking to the future, we should be looking at the past, and at games that we continue to hold dear to our hearts today and that still deserve a place in our disc drives. Maybe, if developers thought ahead and pre-planned re-releases of some of their greatest games on next-gen consoles, we’d actually have a satisfying library exciting games to play on our shiny new hardware. Instead, we find ourself stuck in a post-launch lull, waiting for titles like Titanfall, Destiny, The Division, and Halo 5 to lift our spirits.

So, in no particular order, here are five previous-gen multiplayer games that I think deserve a home on next-gen.

Borderlands 2

Gearbox had a really good thing going with Borderlands 2. It might be the oldest title on this list, but with no “Borderlands 3” in sight, I believe that with the support the studio is still giving this title, it would do wonders on next-gen. As is stands, there really aren’t any AAA loot-driven co-op shooters on either the PlayStation 4 or Xbox One that do the genre justice. A lot of Borderlands fans may be excited for Destiny, which appears to offer something very similar but in an MMO setting, but September is still a ways away. Let’s bring the co-op fun to next-gen.

Borderlands 2

Crysis 3

Graphically, Crysis 3 is an obvious candidate for a next-gen makeover. It was already next-gen when it launched last February and melted PCs everywhere. With the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One’s architectures mimicking that of a high-end PC’s, I don’t really see what’s stopping Crytek from porting Crysis 3 over to those systems. The game already looks fantastic and would require nearly no visual tweaking to what they’ve already got going on with the PC version. It’s true, the Crysis 3 community has certainly dwindled down and withered away since release, but perhaps a next-gen boost would give this title a breath of fresh air that I think it deserves.

Crysis 3

Halo 4

This is another game that I think many many Halo fans, including myself, would still be playing today if they didn’t have to dig up their Xbox 360 out of the closet. Okay, the console isn’t that old, but not everyone might have their Xbox One and Xbox 360 hooked up to the TV at the same time. That, and when you have games like Call of Duty: Ghosts and Battlefield 4 that are currently soaking up the time of most FPS gamers, it doesn’t leave much reason to revisit one of the best previous-gen Halo games ever made. Yes, it had a rocky start, but through constant support from the development team at 343 Industries, Halo 4 eventually turned into a noble entry that had some really good things going for it mid-life cycle and beyond. I think it would really blossom if its visuals and frame rate were improved enough to warrant a re-release on the Xbox One. Halo 5 might be just over the horizon, but until then, nothing is really filling the void for that signature style of high time-to-kill arena FPS gameplay. If not a Halo 4 re-make, Halo 2 will do just as nicely.

Halo 4

The Last of Us

There is still so much to experience in this gem of a multiplayer game. It’s a shame that the PlayStation 4’s next-gen appeal might sway TLOU lovers away from the truly unique multiplayer gameplay Naughty Dog concocted with this title. Given that this game is still so fresh, I think a re-make is completely warranted so that its current PlayStation 3 community doesn’t die off as quickly as it currently is. With no “The Last of Us 2” anywhere in sight, Naughty Dog would do well to give The Last of Us a second life on the PlayStation 4.

TLOU

Grand Theft Auto Online

Another obvious choice. Grand Theft Auto 5 and its multiplayer component, Grand Theft Auto Online, are still alive and kicking on the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3, but give this game a home on the Xbox One and PlayStation 4 (and even PC), and you’ve got yourself a knock-out next-gen title that gamers will be playing well into 2014 and beyond. As it stands, I don’t see GTA Online sticking around after titles like Titanfall, Destiny, and The Division show up later this year, despite the amazing support Rockstar has been giving it. With the recently released content creator and more downloadable content on the way (Heists, customization options, missions, etc), it’s a shame that those who’ve jumped ship to next-gen and have abandoned previous-gen altogether will miss out on all that GTA goodness. A re-release is definitely in order for this title.

GTA V

Bonus – The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim

It’s not a multiplayer game, but for the love of Talos, Bethesda, bring this sucker to next-gen. I can’t push my wallet through the computer screen fast enough.

Skyrim

That does it for my round-up of five – or six – multiplayer games that I think deserve re-makes on the PlayStation 4 or Xbox One. Though I tried sticking to titles that I thought were reasonable or likely candidates, I’m sure I’ve missed a few. Let me know in the comments if you agree, or if there are any other titles you’d like to see re-made for next-gen that I failed to mention. If you can’t think of any multiplayer games, bring on the single-player titles. I’m excited to hear your thoughts!

David Veselka

Musician, Gamer, Geek. Subscriber

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Killzone: Shadow Fall Update Is Filled With New Features

A hefty game update for Killzone: Shadow Fall is now available to download for gamers on the PlayStation 4.

While it addresses a good chunk of bugs, server crashes, and multiplayer exploits, the bulk of the patch is actually made up of brand new features, some of which were hinted at earlier by developers Guerrilla Games.

Among other things, the update introduces team-based in-game voice chat, in-game party invites, support for multiplayer voice packs, and personalization tweaks. Talking a little bit more about the update is Game Director Steven ter Heide in a video that you can check out in the featured section above. (Fantastic sweater, Steven.)

He also talks about the recently released Killzone: Shadow Fall multiplayer trial that PS Plus members can participate in right now and mentions a few DLC plans as well. Meanwhile, you can catch the full patch 1.07 notes below.

Killzone: Shadow Fall Patch 1.07 Notes

New implemented features/improvements

  • Added team-based in-game voice chat.
  • Added the ability to mute specific players to the in-game scoreboard.
  • Added the ability to mute all players to the Audio options menu.
  • Added support for color blindness to the Display options menu.
  • Added the ability to allow/disallow voice chat in Custom Warzones.
  • Added support for multiplayer voice packs
  • Updated the multiplayer personalization menus with voice pack and skin support.
  • Added links to DLC content on PlayStation Store in areas where DLC and personalization packs can be selected or used.
  • Added an explanation of Warzones to the main menu (visible only to first-time multiplayer players).
  • Added the ability for players to delete their moderated Warzones.
  • Updated the Remote Play button assignment.
  • Increased the running speed while using the Cloak ability.
  • Added an Invite-to-Party button to player cards.
  • Removed the checkpoint text when not saving to disc, to make it less confusing for players.
  • Increased the brightness on The Handler, section Last Stand to make spotting enemies less difficult.
  • Increased the size of the objective icon and changed the image to make it more visible to players.
  • Added a new Warzone customization option: Disable weapon drops.
  • Added a suicide option to the multiplayer options menu.
  • Changed the color of party members on the radar to blue.
  • Removed the player’s rank/challenges completed from the in-game scoreboard.
  • Added base camp turret icons to the radar.

Bugs fixed

  • Fixed several exploits in multiplayer.
  • Fixed several crashes.
  • Fixed a bug where the names of cloaked teammates did not appear above their head.
  • Fixed a bug where the gravity well did not open in some occasions in the campaign level The Dead, section Tyran Lives.
  • Fixed an issue where if all users leave a party mid-game, the teams are not rebalanced when the map rolls over.
  • Fixed a bug where the player’s save data is corrupted if they reboot the title while a patch is being downloaded.

Thanks, DualShockers.

David Veselka

Musician, Gamer, Geek. Subscriber

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Many COD: Ghosts Improvements Incoming, Spawning, Sniper Rifle Tweaks, and New Modes

While we might not be able to expect any updates over the holidays, Call of Duty: Ghosts developers Infinity Ward aren’t leaving us in the dark when it comes to what sort of improvements are in the works for their latest shooter.

In a recent Call of Duty community blog post, the studio outlined a number of major improvements that the team plans to roll out over time. On top of tweaks to the game’s spawning system, there are some notes about weapon balancing (specifically, sniper rifles), anti-cheat efforts, and even a new type of playlist, among many other things.

Check out the full list below, as seen on the the Call of Duty community website. Be sure to tell us in the comments what improvements have you most excited. What other sort of improvements do you believe are still in order?

Incoming Call of Duty: Ghosts Improvements

Spawning: Spawning is one of the most talked about subjects in Ghosts, and it’s one of the most talked about subjects here at the studio as well. We’ve been addressing bugs with the current spawning system, but feel we can do more to make the experience better. We are currently working on significant changes to the spawning system based off of the learnings and play data that we have gathered over the last 5 weeks. Work is progressing here and we recently had our first internal playtest of this new system. The designers are working feverishly to get it ready to go live and we will keep you up-to-date on our progress.

Weapon Balance/Sniper Rifles: We constantly evaluate and re-evaluate weapon balance. Any changes we make have a ripple effect throughout the game so we test things heavily before they go live.  After much feedback and many hours of internal testing, we recently made adjustments to the MSBS.

Sniper Rifles are something we are also looking into; as we said before, we changed Sniper Rifles from MW3 to Ghosts. Those changes are:

  • No aim assist from the hip, which was a huge part of how Quick Scoping worked in previous games. Players now have to aim unassisted until fully scoped in.
  • Hip fire reticles for Sniper Rifles were removed and hip spread was increased drastically. This reduces the effectiveness of hip firing with a Sniper Rifle.
  • The Quickdraw perk’s Aim Down Sight (ADS) speed scale was reduced significantly for Sniper Rifle.

Moving forward, we are testing adjustments to address the Time to Kill for Sniper Rifles versus other weapons. These Sniper Rifle balances include:

  • A reduction in the flinch benefit of the Focus perk.
  • An increase in overall ADS time.
  • Sniper Rifles with a silencer are being changed to a chest-up kill instead of a waist-up kill.

We will continue to monitor the data and balance these weapons accordingly.

Hacking/Cheating: We have a dedicated Online Security department enforcing our online code of conduct for Call of Duty: Ghosts [click here]. This team is actively banning cheaters, cleaning up the leaderboards, and fixing hacked stats. The development team is fixing hacks and exploits as we find them. Please refer to the patch notes for a list of security fixes we’ve already addressed [click here]

And you can help! When you report someone in-game, it goes directly to our Online Security team and they investigate every issue. You can also report issues to Activision Support, either through twitter (@ATVIAssist) or online [click here]

Squad Points: We are making a change to the amount of Squad Points your soldiers earn. For ranks 1 – 5, each rank up will now give you 5 squad points (increased from the usual 2 squad points). So each Squad Member that you take to level 5, you’ll get 25 squad points.

Operations: We are looking at large, potential changes for Operations. For instance, we are looking into increasing XP rewards for completing operations. More info to come.

Infected: We are in the process of adding new loadouts to the Infected playlist. This is currently being tested internally, so be sure to look out for more variety in the future!

New game mode: We are in the process of adding a new Heavy Duty playlist that increases player health.  We would love to hear your feedback on this new mode, so make sure to try it out.

David Veselka

Musician, Gamer, Geek. Subscriber

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DayZ Standalone Alpha – Should You Buy It?

When it comes to the DayZ Alpha, most people that haven’t already paid for it are probably wondering if it’s worth buying.

From the developers telling you not to, to players essentially saying stay away unless you’re hardcore into the game, it seems like the answer would be to wait until development is further along.  While I agree that the alpha is oriented more towards hardcore players, I also think it’s accessible enough to not be something a casual fan of the mod shouldn’t invest in.

Is it well polished? No. Not at all.  But unlike most alphas, DayZ actually works.  It’s not very well optimized, so unless you have a pretty heavy-duty PC, you’re going to be stuck in 720p.  The gameplay in general is as barebones as it gets as a number of core and new features are nowhere near finished or implemented yet.  And overall, it wreaks of alpha content when it comes to animations, sounds, bugs, etc.  That said, there’s something about this alpha that begs to be talked about.  It’s fun.

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Don’t get me wrong, the game is very alpha, but what made the mod fun wasn’t just the weapon variety or loot spawns, it was trying to navigate to your buddies when they spawned in, staying alive in a very hostile and harsh world, and of course, killing other players that didn’t want to “play along.”

DayZ SA Alpha hits all those points and more, while also introducing a new level of survival that only the more hardcore additions to the mod have.  Eating and drinking is critical to survival, disinfecting your drinking water and bandages is paramount, and staying alive is a constant balance of right place, right time, and inventory management.  Throw in your friends and some hostile players and you’ve got DayZ at its core and its finest.

So is DayZ ready to eat up some of your holiday savings?  Unless you’re into DayZ in a way that probably isn’t healthy for your social life, nope.  But, even for an Alpha, it shows a remarkable amount of polish and refinement.  In the coming months and by late next year, I think we’ll see DayZ taking over the gaming scene in ways the mod could only have dreamed of.  But until then, stay off my beach unless you want to starve to death in 20 minutes with a fire extinguisher on your back wearing nothing but your undies and a motorcycle helmet.

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BOSS JEDIZOHAN

I've been a gamer since before most gamers were born. Now a full-fledged member of the PC Master Race, I'm enjoying all the best games from both AAA and Indie developers in glorious 1440p. Praise Gaben and may the Steam deals be ever syphoning funds from your life savings. Subscriber

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New Battlefield 4 PC Game Update Fixes Issues Caused By Last Patch

A small but very necessary update has recently hit the PC version of Battlefield 4.

It fixes a number of issues that were introduced in the last PC game update that launched earlier in the week, including terrain flickering for SLI/CrossFire users and UI items becoming stuck on the screen after being revived.

Check out the full list of fixes below:

December 20 Battlefield 4 PC Patch Notes

  • Fix for terrain flickering when using SLI/CrossFire setup
  • Fix for three of the top crash issues on the PC platform
  • Fix for case when soldier can die with 1 HP instead of 0
  • Fix for the issue where the revive UI could be permanently shown after accepting a revive

In addition, yet another server update went live across all platforms, looking at a few performance optimizations, as well as fixes for a couple of server crashes and graphical bugs.

R17 Server Update Notes

  • Fix for two server crashes
  • Fix for a graphical bug that could occur when players accepted a revive within 1 second
  • Server performance optimizations

Try it out and let us know – how do you feel Battlefield 4 plays on the PC after the last few patches?

David Veselka

Musician, Gamer, Geek. Subscriber

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Ace Combat: Infinity And Soul Calibur: Lost Swords Delayed Until 2014

PlayStation 3 owners who were looking forward to the release of two upcoming free-to-play titles from Namco Bandai may have to wait a little bit longer to get their hands on it.

Recently, Namco Bandai announced that both Ace Combat: Infinity and Soul Calibur: Lost Swords will be missing their late 2013 release date and will, instead, launch in the year 2014. Namco Bandai says it’s because of the studio’s intention to provide a better quality product once they are released.

At the moment, there’s no planned re-release date for when either of these free-to-play titles are expected to be available to the public.

Via Gematsu.

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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Steam Winter Sale 2013 Is Here

The holidays have officially begun. Steam’s Winter Sale is here.

Like every Winter, Steam is providing millions of gamers with a place to dump all that money you don’t really need.

There are some great deals on top sellers, as well as games under $5, games under $10, and a number of new releases. Most importantly, keep an eye on those daily deals and flash sales.

You can also earn yourself a number of in-game items for free by crafting Snow Globe badges. These items can then be traded or put up on the market. You’ll find items for games like DOTA 2, Team Fortress 2, War Thunder, and Warframe, among many others. Check out the full list of game items and how to craft badges right here.

Be sure to head on over to Steam to check out all the deals!

If you’ve already had a look, what are you picking up – or have already picked up – this holiday?

David Veselka

Musician, Gamer, Geek. Subscriber

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Insurgency Gets a New Trailer and Discount in Steam Winter Sale

UPDATE: Amendments made to reflect the game’s current beta/early access state. It has yet to officially release in full on any platform.

Catch the latest trailer for New World Interactive’s tactical first-person shooter, Insurgency.

The game, originally based on a popular Counter-Strike mod called Insurgency: Modern Infantry Combat, can currently be found on the official Steam Winter Sale at a 50% discount for $9.99 USD. After January 2, 2014, you’ll be able to pick it up for $19.99 USD.

Check out some of the new content you can look forward to with NWI’s latest update:

  • New Map: Peak (supports Skirmish, Push, Strike, SND, VIP)
  • New Weapon: AT-4
  • Updated Maps: Siege, District (now with Push support), Ministry and Heights.
  • Added new “focus” feature allowing the player to focus for a brief moment by aiming down the sights while still and holding shift (sprint).
  • Added radio cues for “Objective Captured” and “Objective Lost” instead of the current musical cues that are used for these events.
  • Added new music tracks for winning, losing and round-start (if you do not hear any of the new sounds, try snd_rebuildaudiocache) in the console.
  • New reticles for Sniper, 4x, Kobra and Eotech sights.
  • Re-implemented shell ejection.

The game also supports up to 32 players and is built on Valve’s Source Engine.

You can visit Insurgency’s official Steam page right here to learn more about the game and participate in its ongoing beta testing. Be sure to catch the brand new gameplay trailer above as well.

Are you going to be picking it up this holiday? MP1st’s Alex DiFiori, who really enjoys the beta, wrote up some of his own impressions that you can read up on right here.

David Veselka

Musician, Gamer, Geek. Subscriber

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