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The Riftbreaker Update 1.000.017 Breaks Out for World Expansion Update This July 18

  by   Alex Co  
July 18, 2022 4:55 pm in News

EXOR Sudios has pumped out The Riftbreaker update 1.000.017. which is for the World Expansion update! The World Expansion patch comes in the form of two versions: there’s the free content update for all players, and there’s also the Metal Terror premium DLC! Read on for details on both in The Riftbreaker July 18 patch notes.

The Riftbreaker Update 1.000.017 Patch Notes | The Riftbreaker World Expansion Update Patch Notes | The Riftbreaker July 18 Patch Notes:

Metal Terror World Expansion is a huge milestone for The Riftbreaker. Not only does it expand on The Riftbreaker storyline, but also provides a meaningful update to all players. We’re very grateful for your patience and support over the course of the Metal Terror development. We hope it will match your expectations and make your experience with the game even better.
The World Expansion Update has two components; a huge free content update and a story-driven paid DLC – The Riftbreaker: Metal Terror. Here is a short summary of what both of them include:
 
The World Expansion free content update:
  • An entirely new Biome to explore – the Metallic Valley.
  • A new Survival Mode scenario, taking place in the new biome.
  • Several new species of creatures, ranging from harmless herbivores to bloodthirsty predators, looking for territorial domination.
  • New technologies: harness the power of Morphium, a mysterious resource that seems to break the laws of physics.
  • New weapons: defend your base with new varieties of defensive towers. Take the fight to the aliens with Lightning Guns, Heavy Plasma Cannons, and even a Chainsaw.
  • Introducing the winners of our Community Design Contests: the Orbital Strike Cannon and Bioscanner Turret!
  • Rebalanced Survival Mode experience – unlock more technologies, explore different builds, and gain access to Alien Technology without even building a Lab!
  • A lot of quality of life improvements: mass repair and upgrade tools, more intelligent floor building utility.

The Riftbreaker: Metal Terror paid DLC:
  • Discover the strange history of the Metallic Valley in an entirely new branch of the Story Campaign, spanning over several hours of gameplay.
  • Establish an Outpost in a brand-new area of the planet – if you dare.
  • Scan, analyze, and catalog the unique fauna and flora of the new biome.
  • Face several new enemy species, each posing a different kind of challenge.
  • Research new additions to the technology tree, utilizing the curiosities you discover in the new biome: buildings, weapons, and equipment.
  • Solve the mystery that remained hidden for millennia.
  • The Story portion of this Expansion is integrated with the Main Campaign from the base edition of The Riftbreaker. The new branch and the contents of the expansion will unlock as you progress through the game. If you have previously completed The Riftbreaker Story Campaign, you can continue your adventure where you left off. The additional part of the Story will unlock immediately, giving you the option to explore the new part of the world.
The Riftbreaker: Metal Terror World Expansion update, July 18th 2022, Package #558, Binaries #179. Changelog:
 
FEATURES:
  • Welcome to the Metallic Valley!

     Enjoy playing Survival Mode in this new biome – learn all the new tricks, discover the new creatures, and harness the power of Morphium.

  • Speaking of Morphium – it is a brand-new liquid resource. It is found only in the Metallic Valley and can serve as a power source and a building block (of sorts).
  • Several new species of creatures have been added:
  • Wingmite – a deadly, lightning-quick flying creature that swarms the player and uses melee attacks.

  • Bradron – a slower flying unit, capable of attacking from a distance with a powerful laser beam. It can also disable some of Mr. Riggs’ equipment with an EMP blast.

  • Octabit – battering ram in the form of a weird, creepy, self-replicating cube. Will explode on contact. It can split into smaller versions of itself if destroyed.

  • Flurian – an enormous creature with a plasma grenade launcher fused within its body. Will try to rip you apart in close quarters using its giant, metallic claws.

  • Idapian, Brabit, and Stonger – new neutral, ambient creatures. Real cuties.


 

  • Quality of Life update: we have added Mass Upgrade, Repair, and Deconstruction tools. We have devoted an entire article to them, so click the link to learn more.

  • A new tool has been added to the building menu: the Power Switch. It allows you to quickly power buildings on or off, a handy feature when dealing with a power grid that is under heavy load. As with the other tools, you can increase the size of the brush.
  • New buildings: Liquid Compressor and Liquid Decompressor. You can provide the Compressor with any liquid resource to, well, compress it. That will allow you to transport that liquid over a large distance without using any pipelines. All you need to do is to build a Decompressor wherever you want to use the liquid you provided to the Compressor. Best of all – this works between maps as well! Magma Power Plants in the Jungle? You bet!
  • New building: Morphium Power Plant. This building requires only morphium to operate. In return for supplying it with enough of that resource, it will reward you with a nice and steady stream of power. Great for setting up resource outposts.
  • New building: Energy Walls. These are slightly more expensive than the regular walls. However, they are pretty great against melee attackers, as they deal damage in retaliation to being hit.

  • New Defenisve Tower: Morphium Tower. Boost your defenses with alien technology from beyond time! The tower commands the influence area around itself to form massive spikes that shred the enemies to pieces. Additionally, it does not require any power or AI hubs to operate – you only need to supply it with Morphium. Oh, and it can be placed on liquids and it generates shields for buildings around itself, too.
  • New Defensive Tower: Lightning Tower. This energy-based weapon will be a shockingly good addition to your arsenal. Yeah, I know, I’ll see myself out.

  • New weapon: Lightning Gun. You can now cosplay as Emperor Palpatine. Unlimited power.

  • New weapon: Heavy Plasma Cannon. Shoots powerful plasma projectiles with high splash damage potential. The alternative fire mode changes the weapon into a portable shield, protecting you from projectiles.

  • New melee weapon: Laser Sword. It deals a bit less damage than its regular counterpart but can attack at a much faster rate.

  • New melee weapon: Chainsaw. Rip and Tear until it is done.

  • New skills: Orbital Bombardment and Orbital Laser added. These are the winning design of one of our previous competitions.


  • New consumable: Bioscanner Turret – another winner of our design competition. This consumable item can be deployed anywhere you find something interesting. It will scan all objects of interest within its range for as long as its battery lasts.

  • New consumable: Mini Miner. This consumable item can be placed on any ore deposit. It will mine resources for a short amount of time and automatically transport them to your storage.
  • The first iteration of player drones has been added. After equipping certain upgrade modules, like Offensive Gear or Maintenance Tools, an accompanying drone will spawn and follow Mr. Riggs around. Drones can (based on their type) repair structures, collect loot, attack enemies, or destroy incoming projectiles. All upgrades come with only one drone, meaning you can have up to four robotic buddies following you at any given time.

    GO! GO FORTH AND DO MY BIDDING, LITTLE ONES!
  • Added new Kermon species for the Metallic Valley biome.
  • Added new Hedroner species for the Metallic Valley biome.
  • The new building menu is here! You are now able to select the building level for each structure individually by using the ALT-toggle. Simply highlight the building you want and press alt to switch to the desired level. Not only does this help with building max-level buildings, but also allows you to place ‘intermediate’ structures – for example, you can’t always afford a level 5 Communications Hub, but you can switch to any lower level at any time. Thanks to this feature we also grouped decorative buildings, such as floors and lamps together, shortening the building menu by a lot. This was one of the most requested features from the community. We refactored the entire “build menu system” to make it happen. Feedback towards this feature is especially welcome!

  • Added cheat_unlock_award command that can help you test modding flow. Or fill your inventory. Your choice. Although I don’t know how you will be able to carry on living like that.
  • Buildings built on sloped terrain (such as the ones close to liquid pools) will now have small foundations underneath to prevent them from hanging inexplicably in the air.
  • Flurian Boss added. You can spawn them in by using the Sandbox Control Panel. Watch out, it’s a bit clumsy.
  • Flying units can now navigate across bodies of water, as well as canyons and small rock formations. You thought you were safe setting up that base between a lake and a canyon? Think again!

  • Added liquid splash effects. When a physical object drops into a liquid pool it will now result in a splash. Purely visual.
  • Introducing ‘Alien Influence System’ – Whenever you place any of the alien-tech-based buildings in your base, it is going to surround the ground around itself with metallic, self-replicating plates. This is only a visual effect.
  • For all you crazy modders out there: we have added support for the creation of non-square maps. This can help make your missions more special, giving them a completely different feel than a standard survival or campaign mission.
  • We have added several new options to the gameplay settings menu: you can now adjust the amount of debris, parts, decals, and other effects. Turning these down will reduce the overall ‘chaos’ on the screen during battles. It can also positively affect your performance.
  • Added a set of new, hi-tech decorative structures to give your bases a nice, futuristic look.

CHANGES:
Major Survival Mode rebalance/rework:
  • In order to give ourselves the flexibility necessary to introduce meaningful changes, the research trees for Survival and Campaign are now completely separate.
  • The player is now awarded more completed research items at the beginning of a Survival run: Liquid Resources Handling Level 1, Tower Ammunition Handling Level 1, Alien Research, all resource handling tech, and the entire tier one of Mech Upgrade Tree. Previously, after getting access to Communication Hubs, you would have to churn through some basic research options that you had no real use for (looking at you, cobalt handling) in order to gain access to technologies further down the line.
  • Each Survival Mode Biome now has a slightly different starting loadout for the Mech. We wanted to give you early access to weapons and tech that will give you a fighting chance against those biomes’ enemies.
  • The Alien Research tech tree no longer requires a Laboratory to be built in Survival Mode. This means that you can start researching those technologies right away, giving you access to more tech to fit your strategy and playstyle. Yay nukes!
  • Volcanic Biome Survival maps have been tweaked to feature a little bit more of open spaces to reduce the ‘tightness’ of the map.
  • Volcanic Biome: big Magnetic Boulders now have a reduced amount of hitpoints for easier removal. Cryo Stations building time decreased.
  • Geoscanner and Bioscanner are now available in Survival from the start.
  • Changed most of the map tiles – increased the number of resource spawn points, player spawn points, and objective spawn points, plus some tweaks to prefabs and unit spawn points.

  • Decreased some research costs in the beginning of the campaign mode to decrease gameplay friction.
  • We introduced some changes to how building repairs work. Instead of being instant, a repair job will now take up to 10 seconds, depending on the amount of missing hit points. You pay the cost of the repair upfront, all at once. If a building takes damage while it is being repaired, the process is stopped. These changes were introduced to offset the ability to mass repair buildings in combat situations. It also opens up the road to adding a “repair all” button in the future.
  • Gamepad Controls: Build Mode selector speed reduced for easier control and fine-tuning.
  • Bioanomalies reworked: You now have a much higher chance of getting something useful out of the Bionanomalies – a craftable item blueprint or a skin. They have priority over decorative buildings. Item quality will progress the way it should – you will not get an Extreme Power Jump variant before getting all the lower quality ones. A lot of new items added to the drop list. After researching Resource Handling you are guaranteed to get some of that resource from the first Bioanomaly you open. Additionally, you will get more useful resources (ironium and carbonium).
  • Biofactories and creature nests are now accompanied by alpha and ultra strains of creatures on Hard and Brutal difficulties respectively.
  • Alpha and ultra variants of creature eggs added.

  • We have introduced several significant balance changes based on the data available to us:
  • Plasma Towers damage has been reduced across all levels. Its splash damage has also been reduced.
  • Railgun Tower now has less damage per shot on higher levels but also a slightly higher fire rate to maintain the DPS level.
  • Minigun Tower damage has been reduced across all levels.
  • In order to eliminate energy spikes during combat situations, we have eliminated the energy cost per shot in energy-based towers. Instead, they consume a constant amount of power each second. Make sure to revise your existing power grids.
  • We rebalanced the ammo production rate of Armory and Tower Ammo Factories to be more reasonable. The previous increase rate was a tad too low.
  • Melee weapons have been rebalanced slightly. The spear’s effectiveness has been reduced by making the hitbox a bit more narrow (but just a little), and higher levels of melee weapons increase in scale much more than they used to.
  • Plasma Gun damage, fire rate, and splash damage have all been reduced.
  • Grenade Launcher ammo cost has been increased to avoid the ‘infinite ammo’ scenario that would happen at lower levels if a player built six Ammo Storage buildings. Shooting only one Grenade Launcher would consume less ammo than the Armory would produce.
  • Pipelines’ hitpoints increased.

  • The maximum number of Outposts you can control during one Campaign Mode run has been increased to 10.
  • Added the Super Moon event to both Campaign and Survival modes. It can allow your solar panels to work at night.
  • Various Campaign Mode difficulty tweaks.
  • Added sound for Ion Storm event.
  • The lights on all plasma projectiles have been slightly increased.
  • Localized events, such as tornadoes, can now affect only part of the map when it comes to wind speed. That means only the wind turbines within a certain radius from a localized event will be affected by it.
  • Lesigian is now able to travel across liquid pools and rock formations.
  • Aiming priorities changed for Sentry Guns. They will no longer try to shoot down air units.
  • We added a little effect that spawns at the end of the laser beam to mark its maximum range. Previously, beams would just end abruptly. Now they’ve got a nice little flare at the end.
  • Bioanomalies now have a bigger chance of containing something useful. Skins appear more often, too.
  • Changed the attack wave spawned when Bioanomalies are opened. It’s a big one. Really. You have been warned. We want to make opening a Bioanomaly a conscious decision you have to prepare for. This change is currently implemented only in the Metallic Valley biome.
  • The Power Jump flight pattern has been changed to make it feel a lot more powerful.

  • Additional tweaks to underground mushroom detection. It should now feel more reliable and less based on luck.
  • The Geoscanner now reveals underground mushrooms more effectively.
  • Drilling animation begins faster and is quicker itself, resulting in a shorter time needed to defuse an underground fungal death trap.

  • We have completely reworked our audio system. Previously, it had the tendency to get a bit overwhelmed when there were a lot of things happening at once. Some sounds would get cut in half, and others wouldn’t start playing back at all. All sounds should playback properly and stick to their limits with the new system.
  • The game package has been completely remastered. All the data zip packs have been repackaged back to pack 0. This is important information for modders and also saves you 800MB of disk space.
FIXES:
  • Due to the extensive nature of this update it is impossible to name all the things that we have managed to fix. There have been hundreds of fixes for bugs and errors over the course of the past few months – most of which would not have been possible without the invaluable help of our fearless Discord Beta testing community. Warm thanks to everyone who participated! That being said…
  • We have introduced multiple optimizations for the CPU performance. The added options for reducing the number of decals, corpses, and other objects can also help!
  • We fixed multiple campaign progression bugs.
  • We fixed a large number of obscure crashes.
  • We fixed multiple problems that caused the power grid to stop working in certain conditions.

EXOR adds that they are not slowing down anytime soon, as a roadmap for the game will be pushed out in the next couple of days. The studio plans on share more details on the next expansion and more soon!

Source: Steam

Tags: exor studios the riftbreaker
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Alex Co

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

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Back 4 Blood Expansion 2 Release Date Teased, New Cards Unveiled

  by   Alex Co  
4:41 pm in News

For those who already ran through Back 4 Blood’s Tunnels of Terror DLC (released earlier this year), Turtle Rock Studios is close to releasing info abou the Back 4 Blood Expansion 2 release date and details!

Over on Twitter, the official Back 4 Blood Twitter account teased that the devs would love to confirm the release date for Expansion 2, and how it’s an “exciting update.”

As you can plainly see, the devs are hinting that a cult will be part of it, and how it’ll be part of the game’s Act 5. In addition to the upcoming DLC, Turtle Rock Studios also unveiled a look at some of the new cards incoming to the game!

Speaking of cards, the latest title update for the game brings the Full Deck Draw feature into the shooter. 

If you haven’t bought Back 4 Blood yet, go check out our review where we gave it a healthy 8.5/10 score. Our reviewer Sean Mesler had this to say about the game, “It’s unfortunate that Back 4 Blood does lack some of the personality of Left 4 Dead but I can safely say that Back 4 Blood is nearly everything I wanted in a Left 4 Dead 3 and then some. Hopefully, over time, Turtle Rock will be able to fix the issues that are present and maybe add in more harrowing Infected, erm, Ridden.”

Tags: Back 4 Blood Turtle Rock Studios
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Alex Co

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

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Dead Cells 2022 Roadmap Revealed With Support Promised in 2023

  by   Aaron Nashar  
4:07 pm in News

Motion Twin has finally revealed the Dead Cells 2022 roadmap, complete with what to expect and when. The studio has also revealed some details regarding what to expect from the game in 2023.

We’ll be adding the long awaited panchaku and a new flame head outfit based on our beloved animated trailers, a ton of rebalancing on weapons & items, reworking the legendaries system to make it more intuitive & interesting, a Soul Knight weapon & outfit and you’ll be able to pet the pets.

Following that update we’ll be adding a Boss Rush area! The basic idea here is to let you fight all the bosses you’ve met so far, one after the other, with unlockables to win as you progress.
There should be a few different ‘modes’ in the Boss Rush to expand the challenge beyond that central idea and we’ll potentially be adding a scoreboard to add a bit of friendly competition.
Again just a reminder that this is all TBD so, for your sanity and ours, don’t take anything said here as set in stone.

The official roadmap also reveals that there will be another update coming before Christmas 2022, however, the plans for these updates are under wraps and players will have to wait a bit longer to know what it will entail. As for what’s coming in the next title update, the studio listed an extensive changelog regarding  rebalancing, legendar rework and more, which you can read about here.

The studio also reveals that 2023 will only bring more content to the game. Motion Twin plans on launching the full 1.0 game sometime next year.

The studio also promises that these dates are their best estimations for what they have planned for Dead Cells. However, they also warn the fans that there are no guarantees in game development and that the schedule shouldn’t be treated as “gospel truth” (their words not ours).

Once the next title update is out, we’ll be sure to let our readers know.

Tags: dead cells Motion Twin

Aaron Nashar

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WWE 2K22 Update 1.16 Hits the Ring for Various Adustments This July 18

  by   Alex Co  
4:00 pm in News

Visual Concepts has rolled out WWE 2K22 update 1.16 (PS5 version 1.016), and this brings a host of gameplay-related adjustments and improvements to the wrestling game. Check out what’s new in the WWE 2K22 July 18 patch notes.

WWE 2K22 Update 1.16 Patch Notes | WWE 2K22 Update 1.016 Patch Notes | WWE 2K22 July 18 Patch Notes:

GAMEPLAY

  • Addressed reported concerns regarding warping issues when a reversal is triggered
  • Addressed reported concerns regarding Superstars getting stuck on cage wall on reversals
  • Addressed reported concerns regarding clipping and floating during gameplay
  • Addressed reported concerns regarding  animations not syncing
  • Addressed reported concerns regarding instances where the AI stops attacking opponent on the cage
  • Addressed reported concerns regarding the AI entering an idle state when going Backstage
  • Addressed reported concerns regarding instances where the signature meter wasn’t being consumed when executing a signature move
  • Addressed reported concerns regarding the AI remaining idle on the ground
  • Addressed reported concerns regarding blood being applied to the attacker during a match
  • Addressed reported concerns regarding damage not being applied to some moves
  • Addressed reported concerns regarding some moves being spammed to exploit wins online
  • Addressed reported concerns regarding instances where the AI wasn’t attacking with a weapon vs a grounded opponent
  • Addressed reported concerns regarding instances where “move thief” was failing to trigger
  • Addressed reported concerns regarding instances where Superstars can climb on top of another Superstar during a Cage MatchONLINE
  • Addressed reported concerns regarding custom images not displaying properly in online matches.
  • Improved stability in online lobbies.
  • Improved stability when downloading and applying custom portraits.
  • Improved stability in Community Creations.CREATE
  • Improved overall stability in Create a Superstar
  • Improved part compatibility in Create a Superstar

CAA

  • Visual condition will now reset when leaving the setting without saving.

CAS

  • Second attire slot visuals will now update properly

CAE

  • Ronda Rousey’s entrance theme can now be reapplied to Ronda Rousey after a change Addressed reported concerns regarding the Smackdown! Referee Attire not appearing when selected.

In addition to the changes, teh Whole Dam Pack is out tomorrow, and brings new wrestlers into the ring! Check out the ring entrances of RVD and the other wrestlers set to become available as premium DLC!

Source: WWE 2K

 
Tags: Visual Concepts WWE WWE 2K WWE 2K22
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Alex Co

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

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Stray Review – Hooked on a Feline (PS5)

  by   Barry  
11:59 am in News

First announced at PlayStation’s “Future of Gaming” event in 2020, Stray is a game that immediately caught the attention of many PlayStation fans. The premise is a simple one, but also pretty unique. You play as a cat. But is it possible to take such a simple premise and turn it into an engaging and meaningful experience? Indie developer BlueTwelve Studio have proven that the answer is a resounding yes.

Stray drops you into a cyberpunk-themed world based on real world Kowloon, with the simple goal of escaping with as many of your nine lives as possible. As you dive deeper into the  adventure, you learn more about the history of this mysterious world and how it came to be. And this world is one of the highlights of the entire game. The levels are meticulously designed, and every inch of this game is packed with detail.

Although Stray is a fairly linear game, there are multiple hub worlds placed at different points throughout the story. You’ll have the opportunity to freely explore these areas and speak to the residents there, who will sometimes offer you simple side quests, rewarding you with collectibles and additional backstory. In one early example, a local guitar player asks you to find him more sheet music around the village. Each one unlocks a short cutscene and a new tune for him to play as you catnap next to him. Side quests like these, while simple, really add to the charm of the game and are a nice break from the main story.

Crucially, these semi-open world areas feature no objective markers or waypoints telling you where to go or where to find collectibles. Stray’s world design takes me back to generations past, before everything was marked on your mini-map telling you exactly where to go. In fact, Stray doesn’t have any maps whatsoever. Admittedly the areas aren’t that large, but with the amount of detail in them, it would almost feel like a disservice to blindly follow objective markers. Stray wants you to explore and get into mischief, as any real cat would. Whether you’re doing a side quest or trying to progress the main story, everything is found naturally. The only small semblance of guidance you’ll get is by asking your AI companion B-12 for hints on how to progress the main story. Outside of that, it’s down to you to explore and speak to people in the area for clues on how to find those elusive items.

Paw-sitively Stunning Visuals

And you’re going to want to explore thanks to this beautifully crafted world. Simply put, Stray’s visuals are stunning. The gorgeous lighting system bathes everything in a bright neon light and the use of color in this game is excellent. There’s a deeper meaning behind these colors as well, as you may discover if you explore enough early on. Naturally, pretty lights need pretty reflections and all of it it is reflected beautifully in the puddles that coat the streets, and in the hazy fog that covers most of the game world. Stray is a fantastic looking game, not just technically, but stylistically as well.

Stray features just one graphics mode on PlayStation 5, which runs at a dynamic 4K resolution at  60 frames-per-second. Despite the high visual fidelity, performance is rock solid. There’s been some confusion about ray tracing, but from what we could tell there does not appear to be any ray tracing features on PS5 – but the lighting and screen space reflections are done so well that you probably won’t even notice. The settings menu overall is pretty sparse – just a simple brightness and motion blur slider for graphics settings, and options for changing sensitivity and rebinding buttons in the control settings. But even at default settings the game still looks and feels great, so this wasn’t really a problem. Sadly, there’s no photo mode in the game at launch which is an absolute crime given how incredible it looks.

Kitten Scratch Gameplay

So what do you actually do in Stray? Aside from the novelty of playing as a cat, you’ll go on an adventure through different parts of the world, platforming, puzzle solving, and occasionally even fighting your way out of tough situations. There are some stealth sections too, which get more and more interesting as the game goes on. On the whole, it’s not a very difficult game. The puzzles are fairly simple, and the platforming basically just amounts to you jumping from ledge to ledge. Some of the later stealth challenges might definitely take you a few tries, but if you’re looking for a challenge you may be better off booting up something like Elden Ring.

Of course, the elephant in the room is that you play the entire game as a small, four-legged cat. BlueTwelve Studio definitely haven’t let this opportunity go to waste. I was surprised at just how much Stray makes you feel like you’re a cat. Aside from the much-advertised “meow button” which can be pressed at any time to let out a cute little meow, there are items strewn throughout the game you can interact with to do various feline activities. You can scratch at walls, sofas, and other objects by pressing the L2 and R2 triggers (which I highly suggest doing if you’re a trophy hunter). You can stop at various locations throughout the world to take a catnap, which slowly zooms out the camera and gives you a nice wide shot of the area, usually accompanied by music or other ambience. And there’s nothing quite as satisfying as knocking over a bucket of paint just because you can – and because that’s just what cats do. With little touches like these, the developers really try to make it clear that you aren’t just playing as a person in a cat’s body, you are a cat.

A Charming Tail

With pretty basic gameplay, the story has to be good. Thankfully, Stray delivers on that front. The characters are surprisingly well written and there are some genuinely emotional moments throughout the game’s 6 to 8-hour duration. Quite an impressive feat considering the game’s protagonist doesn’t speak at all, and that most of the game’s characters are robots. I grew very attached to one character in particular which I won’t spoil here. You’ll meet up with a gang of outcasts known as The Outsiders, who have made it their mission to escape the world they were born in. Each one has a unique personality and backstory, and each of them will assist you as you try to do the same. Of course, this isn’t some huge overarching story with lots of intertwining threads and story arcs. But it’s a charming one that hits on all the right notes. Stray’s story is one that’s simple and effective – and also surprisingly tense at times.

Sound and Music

Lastly, I want to highlight the fantastic soundtrack and audio design in this game. The soundtrack blends together aspects of electronic music, jazz, and lo-fi to create a uniquely chill vibe that fits the game perfectly. The 3D audio on PS5 is mixed superbly which adds quite a bit to the game’s immersion. The DualSense features are also implemented well, although somewhat sparingly. Perhaps the best DualSense implementation is the deep, rumbling haptic feedback you get when the cat purrs which feels exactly like the real thing. As a PlayStation console exclusive, and one that was originally revealed right alongside Sony’s big next generation machine, it should be no surprise the PS5 features are implemented so well, but the soundtrack and 3D audio in particular go above and beyond.

Stray knows exactly what it wants to be and delivers on that premise flawlessly. Despite the game’s short duration, it leaves a strong impact, and it doesn’t overstay its welcome. Although the gameplay is simple, it’s made up for by the game’s stunning world, charming story, beautiful soundscape, and immersive atmosphere. Developer BlueTwelve Studio are punching well above their weight with the game’s visuals, and thankfully it’s delivered in a virtually flawless 60 fps on PS5. Stray is absolutely worth checking out, particularly if you’re subscribed to Sony’s new Playstation Plus Extra or Premium services. For me, it’s one of the most memorable experiences of the year.

Final score: 9/10

Pros: 

  • Beautiful world with high visual fidelity and great use of color and lighting.
  • Rock solid performance.
  • Charming story.
  • Great soundtrack and audio design.
  • Detailed levels that are fun to explore.

Cons:

  • Somewhat basic gameplay.
  • A bit on the short side, but this is offset by the game’s low price and inclusion on PS Plus Extra.

Stray review code was provided by the publisher. Version tested PS5. You can read MP1st’s review and scoring policy right here.

Tags: Annapurna Interactive BlueTwelve Studio Stray
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Barry

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Train Sim World 2 Update 1.88 Chugs Out for Fixes and DLC Prep This July 18

  by   Alex Co  
11:17 am in News

Dovetail Games has rolled out Train Sim World 2 update 1.88 (PS5 version 1.045), which preps the game for tomorrow’s new DLC add-on, as well as for fixes. Read on for the Train Sim World 2 July 18 patch notes.

Train Sim World 2 Update 1.88 Patch Notes | Train Sim World 2 Update 1.045 Patch Notes | Train Sim World 2 July 18 Patch Notes:

A small update to squash a water texture bug to the original Isle of Wight route, and prepare for the new Island Line 2022: BR Class 484 add-on that will be coming tomorrow on July 19th!

Important Note: The patch for PS5 has been delayed due to an issue we’re investigating, the team is working to have it fixed for tomorrow’s release. All other platforms, including PS4, have been prepared for the update which went live today at 2pm.

Isle of Wight: Ryde – Shanklin Route Add-On
We accidentally filled the ocean with cobwebs for some of our PlayStation users! We have now cleaned up the mess and returned the route to a glistening ocean once again.

  • Fixed texture to the sea and lakes from West Cornwall Local route

The update will download automatically for owners when it becomes available. Players should allow at least 24 hours after restarting Steam, EPIC Game Store, or their console for the update to appear and before contacting Customer Support.
For our PS5 players, this patch has been delayed, we will update you on this when we have more news.

That’s about it for this title update.

Source: Dovetail Games forums

Tags: dovetail games train sim world train sim world 2
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Alex Co

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

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HoYoverse Announces Opening of Fifth Headquarters Office in Singapore

  by   Aaron Nashar  
9:17 am in News

HoYoverse, the global interactive entertainment brand behind the hit game Genshin Impact, has just announced the opening of its fifth worldwide headquarters today. The new office is located in Singapore with a 28,000 square-foot site and will provide high-quality entertainment services with its dedicated team of professionals.

“Our team in Singapore will play a crucial role in broadening our global development and service network,” said Forrest Liu, co-founder of HoYoverse. “We’re eager for more creative minds from diverse backgrounds to join us in building the future.”

HoYoverse Singapore office is set to be HoYoverse’s fifth office worldwide. The company already has several other offices in key locations such as Montreal in Canada, Los Angeles in the US, Tokyo in Japan, and Seoul in South Korea.

The company promises a flexible working model for all of its employees. Employees in Singapore and North America will have the option to work wherever they feel most productive and the company will provide them with the necessary equipment.

HoYoverse is a forward-thinking brand that provides immersive virtual world experiences. The company has so far worked on world-class games such as Genshin Impact, Hinaki Impact 3rd, and more.

Tags: HoYoverse

Aaron Nashar

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Fortnite Update 3.64 Out for v21.30; Changes and Datamined Info Listed for July 18 (Update)

  by   Alex Co  
6:28 am in News

Epic Games has released Fortnite update 3.64 (PS5 version 1.000.074), which is for v21.30. Read on for the Fortnite July 18 patch notes, as well as datamined content spotted.

Fortnite Update 3.64 Patch Notes | Fortnite Update 1.000.074 Patch Notes | Fortnite v21.30 Patch Notes | Fortnite July 18 Patch Notes:

Update: Epic Games has released the official list of new content and patch notes!

PRIME SHOTGUN: PRIMED AND READY

It’s prime time.

With the new Prime Shotgun, deal the most damage with the first shot of the clip — no warm-up required! Though not as powerful as the first, the remaining three shots offer a consistent damage rate across all three shots. Of course, you can keep track of how many shots remain with the on-screen ammo counter, but you can also keep track with the shotgun’s light display.

Fortnite Prime Shotgun

Want to deliver only heavy hitters? You can reload after the first shot, but if you need to deliver a fast follow-up, the other three shots have your back. The Prime Shotgun can be found from the ground, Chests, Supply Drops, Reality Saplings, fishing, and sharks.

UPCOMING SUMMER CELEBRATION

Fortnite No Sweat Summer Callout

Don’t see summer festivities in-game? No need to sweat — this year’s summer celebration begins in just a matter of days! Keep an eye out for celebration details this week.

SUPER LEVEL IN MORE STYLE

Fortnite Chapter 3 Season 3 Super Level Styles

This Season’s Super Level Styles have gotten an update! You can now select the Platinum Rift, Lapis Slurp, and Auric Blaze Styles alongside all other combinations of Malik, Evie, Adira, Sabina, and Stormfarer. 

COMPETITIVE NOTES

  • The Prime Shotgun is not included in competitive playlists.
  • Arena Zero Build now has Overshield Siphon. Eliminating a player will grant a full 50-Health Overshield immediately.

MAJOR BUG FIXES

  • Fixed an issue involving Rift-To-Gos generating no Rift but still being consumed, caused by swapping items too soon while activating the Rift-To-Go.
  • Fixed an issue that caused weapon crosshairs to scale with HUD size.
  • Fixed an issue in Team Rumble that prevented players from using Tents.
  • Fixed an issue on Nintendo Switch that caused players to freeze after sliding or mantling.
  • Fixed an issue in competitive playlists that caused Storm Sickness to reset when rebooting a teammate.
  • Fixed in a hotfix on July 12, 2022:
    • Fixed an issue that caused players’ audio settings to reset to 0.
    • Fixed an issue that caused players’ settings to not save correctly.

Update: Here are teh known fixes included via the official Fortnite Trello board:

General:

Frame Rate Limit Settings missing when using GeForce Now on PC

Description

When playing Fortnite through GeForce Now on PC the Frame Rate Limit settings are not available.

Grimey Outfit may not always react to eliminations

Description

Players using DX11 or DX12 may find that the Grimey Outfit is not reactive when eliminating players.

Battle Royale:

Swapping items while also activating a Rift-To-Go may accidentally use the item.

Description
We’re investigating an issue where swapping items too soon while also activating a Rift-To-Go may result in the Rift-To-Go generating no Rift but still being consumed.

Workaround:
Allow the full activation timer to play out before swapping items.

Creative:

Prop movers and manipulators can not be placed when they don’t overlap with props

Description

We’re looking into an issue that is causing an issue with prop movers and manipulators to not place when not overlapping with props.

Epic Games has not released the official list of new content just yet. We’ll update the post once the fixes from the official Trello board are out alongside the new content.

Fortnite Datamined Content for v21.30:

 

https://twitter.com/hypex/status/1548969201641168897?s=21&t=6lFSmcmsGCdEbtBb5fTV1Q

Once the full datamining is done, we’ll update the post.

Update: Official list of fixes and new content from Epic Games has included in the post! Datamine stuff now complete.

Source: Epic Games

Tags: Epic Games Fortnite
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Alex Co

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

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MADiSON Update 1.20 Crawls Out for More Fixes This July 17

  by   Alex Co  
July 17, 2022 10:37 pm in News

BLOODIOUS GAMES has pushed out the MADiSON update 1.20 patch, which is for more fixes the game needs right now. This seems to be a staggered release on the platforms the game is available on, and includes crashing fixes, achievements/trophies fixes and more. Read on for the MADiSON July 17 patch notes.

MADiSON Update 1.20 Patch Notes | MADiSON July 17 Patch Notes:

Here’s the latest official annoucement from the game’s publisher:

Thank you for all your comments and feedback.

Below is an update:

XBSX/S – our patch to fix the Achievements issue went LIVE late last week after extensive internal testing and also it needed to go through an approval process with Microsoft. So far, we have not had any issues relating to the Achievements crashes since the patch. We are still supporting the XBSX/S and are working on future patches to improve the experience.

PS4 – We have patched the game to solve some of the performance and frame rate issues. However, we still have a Memory Leak issue that affects the game at certain save points. We also have some low texture issues making some puzzles difficult to complete. We have been testing the patch to fix this since Friday night and this morning we approved this patch. It is currently in the PlayStation System, and we hope to update you very soon when it goes LIVE. Whilst this patch will not fix everything, it should remove the Save game and main texture issues. We will then have a solid base from which we can optimise the PS4 to improve your experience.

PS5 – The key issues we are focusing on is the End of Game Trophy Bug – which means whilst people finish the game, they don’t get the reward of the trophies they should have won for finishing. And we are also fixing a small amount of Save Game issues on the PS5, caused by the memory leak issue. As the PS5 is a far more powerful machine than the PS4, these issues are not so widespread on the PS5, but they do happen, and we are committed to fixing them. We thought we had the fix ready to go to PlayStation on Friday, but our testing caught some issues which meant that the end game trophy was not solved  in every play through. We are currently fixing this and hope to have the patch ready for testing very soon.

We are really sorry for all the issues and whilst we appreciate this will be very frustrating for you and little comfort, we are working tirelessly night and day to solving these issues. We have been humbled by the feedback and detail that people are providing us. If you would like to help, please remember the quickest way for our developers to get your feedback is through the support email madison@perpgames.com.

Once there’s more news regarding the patch, we’ll update the post accordingly.

Tags: BLOODIOUS GAMES MADisSOn
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Alex Co

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

Home > News

The Riftbreaker Update 1.000.016 Pushed Out for Metal Terror

  by   Alex Co  
10:26 pm in News

EXOR Studios has deployed The Riftbreaker update 1.000.016, and this is for the Metal Terror title update that’s technically supposed to be released tomorrow, July 18! This brings balance changes and a bunch of fixes to the new Build Menu. Read on for The Riftbreaker July 17 patch notes.

The Riftbreaker Update 1.000.016 Patch Notes | The Riftbreaker Metal Terror Patch Notes | The Riftbreaker July 17 Patch Notes:

Note that EXOR Studios has pushed out the patch notes as part fo the Experimental Update before the release of Metal Terror, though the studio says that this will msot likely the same version that goes public.

Hello Riftbreakers!

We decided to push one last Experimental Update before the release of the World Expansion on Monday. This is very likely the same version that will go public on that day. It contains some balance changes, as well as fixes for the new Build Menu.

The Riftbreaker: Metal Terror Release Candidate #2 Update, July 15th, 2022. Binaries #555, Package #174 Changelog:
  • Decreased some research costs in the beginning of the campaign mode to decrease gameplay friction.
  • Added proper cultivator prefabs to new species and subspecies
  • Quieter chainsaw, lightning gun and pump sounds
  • Added sound for Ion Storm event.
  • Bioscanner Turret has less health now.
  • Sentry guns level 2, 3 and 4 have less health now.
  • Tweaked lightning weapons – more beams (1 -> 3) for lightning gun, sentry and tower.
  • Charged shot added to heavy plasma.
  • Added research requirement (“Alien Research”) for bioscanner turret.
  • Added advances and rare resource costs to world expansion weapons and skills.
  • “Wave start” effect and sound added to all bioanomalies.
  • Less health for shield in alien influence tower.
  • Alpha and Ultra Octabits HP reduced.
  • Increased power output of morphium power plants.
  • Increased cost of influence towers level 2 and 3.
  • Added proper loot drops to new prop subspecies.
  • Build mode: fixed entering undefined state (fixed inputs lock)
  • Fixed icons for various level 2 and level 3 buildings.
  • Fixed menu icons in water filtering plant, flora collector and cultivator
  • ResourceSystem: fix miners sometimes becoming blocked on one grid of resources with small amount.
  • Build menu: fixed shortcut label visibility on building level changed
  • Build menu: fixed selected building/page on shortcut used
  • Build menu: fixed buildings model state on screen leave
  • Build mode: fixed entering undefined state (fixed inputs lock)
  • Build menu: fixed disabled building upgrade icon binding
  • Build menu: disabled upgrade level buttons state if not available (added missing model field)
  • Energy grid will try to fix itself automatically after breaking up.
  • Fixes gun barrells becoming ‘bent’ after incomplete state transitions.
  • Sound: added page turn sound for scroll list buttons
  • Removed cheat_add_all_items command.

If there are other changes made, or another set of patch notes are released that’s different from the one listed above, we’ll be sure to update the post.

Source: Steam

Tags: exor studios the riftbreaker
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Alex Co

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

Home > News

The Quarry Review – Not Up to Snuff (PS5)

  by   Sean Mesler  
6:40 pm in News

Despite existing since 2008, Supermassive Games truly didn’t hit the big time until their 2014 PlayStation exclusive, Until Dawn. An adventure game, Until Dawn played like the type of games Quantic Dream is known for, but in a more horror vein. It’s premise was simple but intriguing; play as a group of characters and depending on your actions in the game, these characters could live or die and the story will branch off and continue without them.

There are all manner of various ways the story can play out, adding a ton of replay value for people that want to see them all. It was a special game that put them on the map and created the template they’ve been using for their games ever since. The Quarry is their first full-priced (the Dark Pictures games are discounted, much shorter games) retail title since Until Dawn so the anticipation was high. Unfortunately, due to slow pacing, bad writing, some poor performances and truly annoying design decisions, The Quarry rarely, if ever, matches the successes of Until Dawn.

Gather ‘Round the Campfire

Set primarily at Hackett’s Quarry, a summer camp, right after the kids have gone home, The Quarry finds the remaining camp counselors stuck overnight and having to deal with a threat trying to pick them off one by one. Yes, this sounds like the set up of countless slasher films like Friday the 13th, Sleepaway Camp, The Burning and many others, but The Quarry has a twist up its sleeve. I won’t dare spoil it here, it’s one of the best surprises the story actually has, but things aren’t what they initially seem.

The cast of counselors all have different personalities for sure but only a few register as anything more than two-dimensional. After the effective prologue, the game slows down to an absurdly slow pace for what I can only assume is character development reasons but the problem is, most of the dialogue and these moments are incredibly banal. It’s one thing to watch them in a movie, it’s another thing to have to play through them. And for me, it was a slog because literally none of the inter-character drama is interesting.

As the night unfolds and the threat becomes more clear the pacing picks up and becomes a much more interesting experience. Unfortunately, it also shows that the story makes very little sense. It raises more questions that it can possible answer because the clues you find speak to the larger mystery but not at all why the playable characters are there in the first place. It takes the whole “shut your brain off and enjoy” adage to a whole new level. There are certain genre elements that don’t quite come together making this a hodge-podge mess of a narrative. 

That’s All She Wrote

I’m spending so much on the story because that is the primary focus of the game. As far as gameplay goes, it’s primarily walking around, interacting with specific things in the environment, making binary choices on what to say or do, some really basic QTEs, a hold-your-breath mini-game when a threat is near and some really wonky shooting. Like most adventure games, having specific items for specific situations will come in handy and could mean life or death, but once you pick them up, you never have to guess when to use them. The game will prompt you with an aforementioned binary choice to either use the item or not.

That’s really all there is to it. There are some collectables you can find in the world that reveal more of the story of the world and the supporting cast, and some tarot cards you can find that allow you to see a possible outcome of something happening in the next chapter but none of it feels of any real consequence.

Horror Convention

The horror veterans of the cast, Lin Shaye and Lance Henriksen gives strong performances given their brief screen-time. Ted Raimi gets the most screen-time from all of the horror vets and does a really good job. David Arquette is also in this. The rest of the cast of actors range from solid to good with one performance from Justice Smith being downright awful. He’s supposed to be brooding, according to what the other characters say, but he’s so flat he feels like he’s doped up. I have a theory that his performance was so bad that the writers went back and said he was brooding to try and excuse it. It’s truly that awful.

Ho-Hum Horror

Generally these games have a ton of replay value given the various outcomes you can have but between the languid pacing and the frustrating lack option to skip dialogue or cutscenes it made the prospect of doing it all over one that I wasn’t interested in. There is a chapter select available once you’ve completed the game and a death rewind feature that allows you to basically use three lives per chapter to take back a death of a character which is cool, I guess.

With Until Dawn Supermassive proved they know how to tell a good story with somewhat interesting characters and good pacing, which is all the more disappointing that their first proper follow up, The Quarry, comes up short on so many levels.

Score: 6/10

Pros:

  • Some interesting ideas I haven’t seen before
  • The prologue is effective
  • The game is gruesome when it comes to death
  • The horror veteran supporting actors are all fun here

Cons:

  • The pacing of the first half of the game is painfully slow
  • You can’t skip dialogue or cutscenes which makes replaying it a slog
  • The story has logic holes when you start to consider what’s happening and why

The Quarry review code was provided by the publisher. Version tested PS5. You can read MP1st’s review and scoring policy right here.

Tags: Supermassive Games The Quarry Until Dawn

Sean Mesler

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Battlefield 2042 Aim Assist Fix Incoming in Next Update, Stealth Helicopter Nerf Inbound

  by   Alex Co  
6:15 pm in News

For those playing Battlefield 2042 on consoles, some (or most?) of you might have noticed that aiming feels a little off and inconsistent, which is a problem the game has endured for quite some time now. However, at long last, DICE has a Battlefield 2042 aim assist fix incoming in the next game update.

This was confirmed by Battlefield 2042 Community Manager Straatford87, when he replied to a thread about it over on the BF2042 subreddit!

Here’s the thread started by ProAssassin84:

This is still a horrible issue for 2042 and one that I’m positive is one of the top reasons this game isn’t doing well.

Aim Assist is so inconsistent and weird and aiming is even more inconsistent you cannot achieve any muscle memory.

For one using ADS it is never in center of screen and aiming at the enemy it always pushes you left or right and you have to spend seconds adjusting before shooting.

Another problem is tracking someone running it’s like the Aim Assist is lagging behind the enemy and moving to shoot and lead the target results in overshooting the enemy. It just feels weird.

Compared to past Battlefields shooting on console in 2042 is terrible and needs fixed. I’ve adjusted every setting I can think of and it just never feels right at all.

And here’s Straatford87’s reply:

Hey everyone,

First, thank you for flagging the issues you experienced with Aim Assist, and the additional information we’ve since collected from you which helped us investigate.

We believe we have found the issue that was causing inconsistent behavior, and have a fix ready which is currently scheduled for the next game update.

More details on the update itself will follow closer to its release. We’re looking forward to your further feedback once its in your hands.

Thank you!

While that’s welcome news, DICE has also confirmed that Stealth Helicopters are getting nerfed as well! Here are responses Straatford87 made recently regarding the confirmation over on the game’s subreddit:

Comment
byu/IBlackTedI from discussion
inbattlefield2042

Hey folks,

We’ve closely followed the performance of Stealth Helicopters to see if or where balance changes are necessary.

As a start, that means we are looking to make adjustments to their 30mm Cannon in a coming game update.

We’ll keep you updated on that.

Finally, Straatford87 also confirmed that a fix is being worked on regarding the jet spawn issue the game is suffering from at the start of the game, though didn’t specify whether this fix will be incoming in the next game update too.

Has this happened to anyone else? 4 times now when I spawn in at the start of the game with any jet I spawn on the wrong side of the map and the game is literally forcing me into the ground.
byu/Stunning_Routine5848 inbattlefield2042

Comment
byu/Stunning_Routine5848 from discussion
inbattlefield2042

For those unaware, the next game update is due for release sometime in August, though there’s no known release date for it yet. At the very least, there are two big issues that will be patched out soon. Better late than never, right? 

The latest patch released by DICE was the Season 1.1 update rolled out over two weeks ago, While that included quite a long list of gameplay improvements, DICE also snuck in a long list of stealth changes (unannounced adjustments and changes) too! 

Tags: Battlefield Battlefield 2042 DICE
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Alex Co

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

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Digital Extremes Announces Partnership With Airship Syndicate for New Free-to-Play Character-Based, Third-Person Action Game

  by   Alex Co  
5:03 am in News

As part of TennoCon 2022, Digital Extremes not only unveiled a new IP in Soulframe, but the studio also announced that a new partnership with Airship Syndicate (Battle Chases, Darksiders Genesis).

While there’s no title for it just yet, the new propery will be a free-to-play (F2P) game, and will be character-based, and be playable from a third-person perspective!

Airship Syndicate embarks on a brand new adventure with the help of Digital Extremes! This new project is an online, character based, third-person action game set in a brand new, original world where adventure with friends is the name of the game.

Here are prepared statements by the both Digital Extremes and Airship Syndicate (sent via press release):

“I signed Darksiders at THQ and I’ve been trying to work with Joe and Ryan ever since, our reunion is a decade in the making and couldn’t be happier for Airship Syndicate and this opportunity for them to shine,” said Richard Browne, Head of External Projects at Digital Extremes.

“We’re a group of passionate, experienced game developers based in Austin, Texas. Our goal is simple: build a lean, fun, independent game studio to create top quality games for a variety of gaming platforms,” said Ryan Stefanelli, President of Airship Studios.

The full reveal is slated to take place this December at The Game Awards 2022 show. 

Related Reading:

Tags: Airship Syndicate Digital Extremes
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Alex Co

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

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Warframe Down and Experiencing Issues This July 17, 2022 (Update)

  by   Alex Co  
3:50 am in News

If this weekend’s TennoCon whetted your appetite for a littlw Warframe session, and you’re unable to connect to the servers currently, it’s  not just you, but Warframe down reports have surfaced this July 17, 2022!

Warframe Down Statuts Reports and Updates for July 17, 2022:

Update: Multiple reports on the game’s subreddit have confirmed that servers are back up on all plaforms!

[deleted by user]
by inWarframe

Players on the game’s subreddit have reported that they are being booted from servers and unable to log back in right now, and this seems to be affecting all platforms.

Chat servers down?
byu/Fresh-Bluebird7552 inWarframe

Are the servers still down?
byu/Delakar79 inWarframe

Playstation servers down
byu/Drunk-Boy inWarframe

The official Digital Extremes Twitter account, the Warframe Twitter account, nor the WarframeAlerts accounts have not acknowledged the outage just yet 

We’re keeping a close eye on this and if there’s any new developments or announcements from the studio, we’ll be sure to update the post ASAP.

If you haven’t  been keeping tabs, it’s been a rather busy weekend for Digital Extremes, as TennoCon 2022 wrapped up a few hours ago! Loads of announcements were made, which include the next title update for Warframe and more!

For those that can connect to the game’s servers, leave a comment below and let us know which platform you’re on, and where you’re connecting from to let the other Tennos know.

Related Reading:

Tags: Digital Extremes Warframe warframe down
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Alex Co

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

Home > News

Warframe Next Update “Veilbreaker” Unveiled, 50th Warframe “Styanax” Announced

  by   Alex Co  
12:47 am in News

During this weekend’s TennoCon, Digital Extremes announced the Warframe next update titled “Veilbreaker.” While there’s no firm release date yet, the studio announced that it’s “coming soon to all platforms,” In addition to the announcement, we got our first trailer and info from the event, too!

A Sentient Murex located near Deimos holds a frightening discovery: although The New War is largely over, Narmer’s enslavement of the Origin System continues. Many Grineer and others remain imprisoned and helpless under the crushing influence of the Narmer Veil.

Enter Kahl-175. Having survived his brush with the Sentients, and now free from their shackles, he emerges as the Origin System’s newest savior. Wield his explosive Grineer armaments as you race against time to rescue your Brothers from Narmer’s oppressive clutches. Battle Archons alongside your Squadmates, take on all-new Missions and bend time with the Protea Caladrius Collection.

According to the press release, Veilbreaker will see the return of legendary  Kahl-175 as a protagonist. Players will play as Kahl-175 to liberate his Grineer brothers taken by the  Narmer, as they fight alongside other Tennos against the reimagined Archon Bosses in co-op combat.

In addition to that, Digital Extremes has also announced the 50th warframe entering the game named “Styanax.” There’s no release date set for Styanax just yet, but more details will be revealed in an upcoming Warframe devstream.

At TennoCon, Digital Extremes lifted the curtain on its 50th playable Warframe slated to join an expansive roster of distinguished space warriors and marking a historic milestone for the forever franchise that has grown with its player community from humble beginnings since launching nearly ten years ago.  Introduced during TennoLive, Styanax was showcased as a valiant Warframe whose design is inspired by Greek champions and other ancient warriors. As part of the surprise reveal, a new Animated Short was teased to players, with an invitation to tune into the World Premiere scheduled for an upcoming Warframe Devstream where players can learn more about Styanax and upcoming in-game activities.  

Once we know the release dates for both Veilbreaker and the dev stream for Styanax, we’ll be sure to let our readers know. Outisde of this announcement, the next major update to the game called “The Duviri Paradox” has been announced as well, and is coming to the game in winter 2022! There’s also the crossplay test phase coming to Warframe soon, too! 

Finally, make sure to check out the announcment of a new IP from the studio called “Soulframe” which is an MMORGP set in a fantasy setting.

Tags: Digital Extremes tennocon Warframe
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Alex Co

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

Home > guides

Battlefield 3 Reality Mod Installation and Beginner’s Guide Released

  by   James Lara  
July 16, 2022 10:18 pm in guides

We are just one day away from the release of the fan-made Battlefield 3 Reality Mod, and while many of you are excited to finally be able to jump back into Battlefield 3 with a fresh new take, there are some steps you’ll need to take, as well as some helpful tips you may want to know. Luckily, the Venice Unleashed team has you covered, as they have released an in-depth Battlefield 3 Reality Mod installation and beginner’s guide video.

Down below you’ll find the steps needed to install the reality mod for Battlefield 3.

Battlefield 3 Reality Mod Installation and Beginner’s Guide

What You Need:

The following system requirements, which are higher than the current version of Battlefield 3.

Battlefield 3 Reality Mod System Requirements

  • OS: Windows 7 (64-bit) or newer
  • Processor: Quad-core CPU at 3.0GHz, or greater
  • Memory: 8 GB RAM, or greater
  • Graphics: Base frequency of 1120MHz and 4GB video memory, or greater
  • DirectX: DirectX 11 compatible
  • Storage: Greater than 20GB of free space
  • Internet: A constant internet connection is required for Venice Unleashed.

If you meet all those requirements then you can simply begin the installation process of the mod, start it, and then sync your Venice Unleashed and EA Origins account. Due note that Venice Unleashed includes access to a wide range of different community made mods, so if you only want to play on the Reality Mod servers you will have to adjust server filters and select “Reality Mod” from the tags.

Video instructions on all this can be found in their official tutorial guide below, as well as some general beginner tips. 

There you have it, you should now be ready to play the Battlefield 3 Reality Mod! Hope to see you all on the Battlefield tomorrow!

Tags: Battlefield 3 battlefield 3 reality mod DICE Reality Mod venice unleashed
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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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Digital Extremes’ Soulframe Website Now Live, Username Reservation & Bonus Items Granted for Email Sign Ups

  by   Alex Co  
8:05 pm in News

Earlier today, Digital Extremes unveiled a surprise announcement at TennoCon 2022 with the reveal of the studios new project, Soulframe. Set as a fantasy MMORPG (massively multiplayer online role-playing game), the upcoming game looks to focus on melee combat and spells compared to Warframe’s sci-fi theme (check out the mighty impressive reveal trailer right here).

In addition to announcing the game, Digital Extremes has also launched the official Soulframe website and email sign ups are live now, too! For players who confirm their emails, they’ll be getting future updates about Soulframe via an email notification, it will also let you reserve your Envoy’s Title (in-game display name), and even an in-game reward with Alca’s Eye that’ll be granted once Soulframe launches.

Given how this is an MMORPG, securing your username is a big deal. However, the site has been getting hammered ever since the announcement, so don’t be shocked to see a 404 landing page from time to time. We have found that using Microsoft Edge has had more success at loading the page than other browsers, so if you are having issues try that browser. 

Here’s the official description of Soulframe via Digital Extremes:

Digital Extremes is proud to reveal an all-new IP, Soulframe, a free-to-play open world adventure heavily influenced by themes of nature, restoration, and exploration. A totally new game in early development, Soulframe will deliver its own independent and uniquely immersive experience led by the creative and imaginative minds behind Warframe. For early fans of Digital Extremes, the path to release will be a familiar one: it will be a transparent, collaborative and iterative process that is shaped by the passion of players and DE.

We’re expecting more details for Soulframe to surface, as the website features these runes that further add to the mystery. Once we know more about this upcoming game, we’ll let our readers know.

Soulframe has not been confirmed for any platform, though it should be a safe bet to expect it on PC, the PS5, and Xbox Series X|S, and has no release window available just yet.

Tags: Digital Extremes soulframe
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Alex Co

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

Home > News

Digital Extremes Announces Soulframe; Team Gives Update on Warframe’s Future

  by   James Lara  
6:40 pm in News

Tennocon 2022 has finally ended, but not without one major surprise announcement, as Digital Extremes have announced a completely new project known as Soulframe.

Soulframe Trailer:

“With Soulframe’s worldbuilding and thematic elements, we are really looking to go back to our childhood favorites and pull inspiration from the elaborate fantasy worlds that we fell in love with growing up,” said Soulframe Creative Director Geoff Crookes. “Our team is really interested in this idea of nature and humanity colliding, and we’ll be exploring a lot of those themes through our own lens while playing with ideas of restoration and exploration.”

Little else is known about the title other than it just starting development, and that the setting is in that of the fantasy genre and will be an MMO. Hopefully, when the official website is live we’ll be able to update you all on what exactly this game is about.

In related news, with some key members of the Digital Extreme team now moving on to the new project, some of you may be wondering what exactly what means for Warframe? Well, thankfully it seems like the future of the free-to-play title is still going to be going strong., though the game is losing some key members as they transition to a new phase of their career. 

Digital Extremes has been my home for my entire game development career. 20+ years for those counting (I try not to). Over 10 of those years have been on Warframe as you know it today, but in truth the Warframe story started much earlier. Warframe once existed as Dark Sector in my mind in the early 2000’s. Turning that seed of ‘Dark Sector’ into ‘Warframe’ has been a life-defining accomplishment for me and the Digital Extremes team. I feel like I can say: We did it. And in some ways, I thought it’d be the last thing we’d do as a team. But we want to tell another story.

Soulframe development has officially just begun. We hope you follow along. It’s only possible because the community believed in Warframe to allow me 10 beautiful years in the Origin System. Further still, the Warframe team believed in me, but more importantly, I believe in them. I know they can do great things with the story of the Tenno. And now, a group of us have set our sights on the Fantasy genre to tell the story of Soulframe.

I want to have Fantasy & Science Fiction as a part of Digital Extreme’s legacy. I want to spend as much time with Soulframe as I have with Warframe. My beard only has so much black left in it.

Envoys, see you in the future.

We all lift together – and always will.

– [DE]Steve

For over 10 years I’ve been writing posts to you. I’ve always called you Tenno. That will never change. Other things, though, are changing. We’re in a new chapter of Warframe. I’ve always written from the perspective of someone that has been a steadfast believer in community as a core part of what makes Warframe great. And that belief will stay with me now that I get to work closer with the developers that have made everything possible. If the community has always been the heart of Warframe, the developers have been the soul.

It is an honor, and an emotional one at that, to be a part of Warframe’s future in the Creative Director role. Even more of an honor is being able to do it with members of the team growing into roles that form Warframe’s new leadership. You know some of this team already, and there are many new faces behind the scenes. They are wonderful people who I deeply respect, and as we work through the transition I know you’ll feel the same.

As for the Digital Extremes team moving on to our incredible second project, Soulframe, they’ve not gone far. I’ll miss many of them on the Warframe Devstream couch, but I’m excited for the next generation of folks that will be blinded by our studio lights. I hope to make them proud, and bother them frequently with my Fashion Frame choices. Nothing can stop me now.

How lucky are we that both Science Fiction & Fantasy will now exist under one roof. Envoys & Tenno, the future is bright.

See you soon,

– [DE]Rebecca

Steve, who is stepping down as Creative Director, will be replaced by Rebecca Ford.  

Warframe players will have more to look forward this year, as Digital Extremes also announced earlier that Warframe The Duviri Paradox is launching this winter!

Keep an eye out on more Soulframe news here on MP1st.

Tags: Digital Extremes soulframe
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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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Warframe The Duviri Paradox Launches Winter 2022

  by   James Lara  
6:17 pm in News

After being teased, and delayed a few times over the years, Digital Extremes today finally revealed that Warframe’s next open-world expansion, The Duviri Paradox will be launching this winter. To drum up hype, the team debuted an in-depth demo, showing what players can expect. Check out the full demo for Warframe The Duviri Paradox.

Announced during the Tennocon 2022 event, down below you’ll find the full 21-minute demo, showcasing the upcoming Warframe expansion. 

Warframe The Duviri Paradox Gameplay Reveal Demo:

Wow! Talk about incredible! We should have more details on the expansion shortly, so stay tuned! The Duviri Paradox will be releasing on all platforms this Winter.

About Warframe:

Confront warring factions throughout a sprawling interplanetary system as you follow the guidance of the mysterious Lotus and level up your Warframe, build an Arsenal of destructive firepower, and realize your true potential across massive open worlds in this thrilling, genre-defining third-person combat experience.

BECOME A POWERFUL WARRIOR
Enter your Warframe: a bio-metal suit of untold power. Unleash its Abilities and wield a vast array of devastating weaponry to effortlessly annihilate hordes of enemies on sight. And when the slaughter is over, you can earn or instantly unlock 40+ different Warframes – each with a unique suite of powers – to re-experience the mayhem any way you want.

BATTLE ALONGSIDE FRIENDS
Form a Squad with your friends and earn valuable bonus Rewards when you complete Missions together via highly collaborative, co-op gameplay. Utilize your Warframe’s Abilities to heal allies, redirect enemy fire, and achieve your objectives. Stuck on a particular challenge? In-game matchmaking makes it easy to connect with friendly Tenno whenever you need an extra hand.

Once we know the exact details on what Warframe: The Duviri Paradox will be released, we’ll be sure to let our readers know.

Tags: Digital Extremes Warframe
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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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Warframe Down This July 16 [Update]

  by   James Lara  
6:01 pm in News

With the Tennocon 2022 event now underway, it seems that Warframe servers have gotten an unsurprisingly amount of traffic as users rush in to claim those free rewards. In fact, it appears that Warframe is down for today, July 16, as users are reporting issues with conencting to the servers.

Update (July 17, 2022): If Google is routing you here, then go check our July 17 Warframe down report post right here! Yes, the servers are experiencing issues!

Warframe Down July 16

Update: Looks like the issues have been resolved per Digital Extremes

Connectivity issues in game seem to have been resolved! We are still watching closely for any other issues.

If have been trying to login into the Warframe servers are are experiencing some issues, fret not as it seems to be widespread. Taking to the official Warframe forums, Digital Extremes confirmed that the Warframe servers are experiencing connectivity issues, and that the team is hard at work on getting them back up. 

Hello Tenno! 

We are actively investigating login issues currently being experienced – For those of you unable to be in the Duviri Amphitheater rest assured we will make up for it in some way once we everything under control

Hopefully this down time doesn’t affect the Tennocon 2022 drops, though if they do, rest assured knowing that Digital Extremes will, as they said, “make up” for it. 

We’ll  be sure to keep you all posted once the servers have gotten better. 

In some related news, in case you haven’t heard it, Digital Extremes will begin Warframe cross play community testing! We’ll have more details on that real soon. 

Tags: Digital Extremes Warframe
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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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