Get Ready for Full Body HD Gamerpics and more for the Xbox One

Chris Hare
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1
Get Ready for Full Body HD Gamerpics and more for the Xbox One

Yesterday IGN posted Ask Microsoft Anything with MARC WHITTEN The Chief Xbox One Platform Architect.  With the launch of Xbox One get closer by the day IGN asked questions to Marc Whitten on how the consoles works and more.

Xbox_One_Logo.jpg

“Are Xbox 360 Avatars transferring over? If so will any changes be made to them?”

MW “They are your avatar will be on the system at launch and in fact, you’ll have some new options, including the ability to do full-body HD gamerpics. By the way, we should actually talk more about gamerpics too. We’ve moved from the 64×64 gamerpics on Xbox 360 to a full 1080p. They are beautiful, and you are going to see some really cool hero moments, like when you login to see personalized views of your games and other content.”

“Can you clarify how will Xbox Live Arcade work on Xbox One? Or if it will exist at all?”

MW “Sure – there is no difference between games in the store – games are games are games! You’ll find them in the same pivots (most popular, new, etc.) and we’ll be highlighting them in our dashboard experience. And of course – like all of your digital games content – you can play them on any Xbox One, and anyone can play them on your Xbox One.”

“Will the Game DVR capture at the source resolution? i.e. will Forza 5 clips capture at 1080p and 60fps? And where can Game DVR clips be uploaded to?”

MW “Game DVR captures beautiful clips at 720p 30fps. The first thing you’ll see with our game DVR is the integration of our Upload service on the console. This service allows you to manage, edit, and share your content. Your clips are stored in the cloud. Also, you’ll see games making “magic moment” videos of your gameplay based on the game DVR functionality – all seamlessly integrated. You’ll be able to see these clips in the Xbox One Guide, in your own game DVR collection, and when you are looking at gamercards on the system. You’ll also see games take advantage of this platform capability and do interesting things to integrate captured game footage into the game experience itself.”

“Can you earn two sets of Achievements for the same game (i.e. Playing Call of Duty Ghosts on Xbox 360 and on Xbox One)?”

MW “Every game has its own set of achievements, so if you’re playing Call of Duty: Ghosts on Xbox 360 and on Xbox One, you can earn a separate set of Gamerscore in each game. But on the Xbox One version, you’re getting a much richer set of features, such as seeing your achievements progress on the Xbox One console, being able to unlock new achievements throughout the year, and earning real prizes inside and outside of the game. Xbox One also enables a new concept of challenges, where games will be offering special time-based opportunities to earn various goals and collect the rewards. More info on challenges can be found on Major Nelson’s blog here.”

So this means the Xbox One Will Not Use HDCP For Gaming, Full Body HD Gamerpics and you can get double achievement for the same game for Xbox One and Xbox 360.

 

Guild Wars 2 Queens Jubilee Update

Chris Hare
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0
Guild Wars 2 Queens Jubilee Update

pdate to the Living World celebrates a decade of Queen Jennah’s rule Continuing its commitment to delivering players new Guild Wars 2 content every two weeks, NCSOFT and ArenaNet are delighted to announce the Queen’s Jubilee going live today, 6th August. The update is the third since ArenaNet officially adopted a two-week update schedule for Guild Wars 2, setting a pace unmatched by any Western studio and enhancing the game’s Living World through new and exciting content for players of all abilities.

gw2_2013-07_queens_jubilee_-_world_vs._world_supply_mastery
In Queen’s Jubilee, players will celebrate 10 years of Queen Jennah’s rule by opting to take a hot air balloon to Divinity’s Reach, the capital of the human nation of Kryta, and home to the opening ceremony. Once there, players can join the festivities and compete in ceremonial combat in the Crown Pavilion, a new gladiatorial arena Queen Jennah has commissioned for the occasion.
Among the many other new events, rewards and features included in Queen’s Jubilee are the following:
New Events

  • Hot Air Balloons: Queen Jennah’s court has sent hot air balloons to transport the inhabitants of Tyria to the celebration. Players can find the hot air balloons in the open world and hop on for a fun, quick and stylish ride to the party.
  • The Opening Ceremony: Players can attend the dedication of the Crown Pavilion, a new gladiatorial arena the queen has commissioned for the celebration, and watch its inaugural contest.
  • Enter the Crown Pavilion: Players will be tested in this new mini-zone that feature mighty representations of humanity’s enemies. Representing various cities of Tyria, players can be named champion of a nation and gain access to unique reward vendors.
  • Fight in the Queen’s Gauntlet: In single combat, players can attempt to defeat increasingly difficult challenges against unique bosses. Taking risks with special gambit conditions will earn more prestigious rewards.

gw2_2013-07_queens_jubilee_-_hot_air_balloons

New Rewards

  • Watchwork Mechanisms: Watchwork technology – the latest and greatest innovation in Tyria – becomes more important as players can use watchwork parts in new crafting recipes or as currency to buy items like new rune and sigil recipes, Watchknight tonics and the new Sovereign Weapon Set.
  • Watchknight Mini: Completing the Queen’s Jubilee meta-achievement will earn players a miniature Watchknight modelled after the queen’s new mechanical sentinels.

New Features

  • Account Wallet for Currency: Players can now keep all of their currencies in one wallet that makes dungeon tokens, coins, karma, laurels, Guild Commendations, Fractal Relics, Badges of Honour, gems and glory accessible to any of the characters on their account.
  • PvP Solo Arena: With new Solo Arena, players can join PvP matches in a competitive environment without having to gather a full team or fight against a pre-formed group. The Solo Arena also features its own leaderboard, so that players can earn rank without affecting their Team Arena standings.
  • New Dungeons Bonus Rewards: Now, there’s even more incentive for braving the dungeons of Tyria. Each day, when finishing a unique path for any explorable or story dungeon, players will receive a bonus reward for completion, improving upon the existing system.
  • Mini-Game Rotation System: Players can take part in the new, daily mini-game rotation that was promised by both of the Captain’s Council candidates in the previous update. The initial rotation includes Sanctum Sprint, Keg Brawl, Southsun Survival and Crab Toss.

Get ready to Shape Your President for Saints Row 4 Today

Chris Hare
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0
Get ready to Shape Your President for Saints Row 4 Today

Deep Silver and Volition today released the Inauguration Station for Saints Row IV that will allow players to shape their future Presidents in time before election day on 20th August.

Download the free Inauguration Station ahead of the release of Saints Row IV and create your very own, unique President now! Enter the election campaign and promote your President in the community on saintsrow.com – the crazier, the better! Presidents created in the Inauguration Station can be uploaded via the website and can then be transported to virtual Steelport in Saints Row IV to use as playable characters at the game’s launch. Saints Row IV: Inauguration Station is available today on the Xbox Live for the Xbox 360, as well as through Steam as a digital download for the PC and from tomorrow on the PlayStation 3 through PlayStation Network for the rest of the world. The Inauguration Station will be available on PlayStation Network in the Americas on 13th August, 2013.

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I4R5sDEF21A?feature=player_detailpage%5D

Tip: You can download your characters from Saints Row: The Third to update them for Saints Row IV.

Head over to www.saintsrow.com to browse an online gallery with thousands of shared community characters. Saints Row IV launches 20th August, 2013 across North and Latin America and 23rd August for the rest of the world for Xbox 360, Playstation 3 and PC.

Free DLC Coming to Arma 3 Soon

Chris Hare
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2
Free DLC Coming to Arma 3 Soon

Bohemia Interactive is planning to release Arma 3’s campaign in 3 free episodes after the game’s initial launch. Supplied as free DLC, the first episode, Survive, will be made available within one month, while the following episodes, Adapt and Win, are slated for release in the months thereafter. This means that, with the free campaign arriving later, the game will premiere with the large island terrains of Altis (270 km²) and Stratis (20 km²), 12 single player showcase missions, 3 faction showcases, 9 multiplayer scenarios, a set of 10 firing drill challenges, over 20 vehicles, more than 40 weapons, 5 factions, the powerful scenario editor and modding support.

Arma 3_logo_black

Following an eventful past year, and a splendid reception of the Arma 3 Alpha and Beta, the studio honestly admits to the difficulties it experienced with its parallel development. While the team was developing the full game, at the same time it was supporting the Alpha and Beta. However, since the game has made tremendous progress as a result, Bohemia Interactive felt confident to maintain its quality-over-quantity mind-set and take some additional time to perfect the campaign. By releasing the expansive platform and adding the free campaign in 3 separate DLC episodes shortly thereafter, players (as well as mod-makers) will be able to get their hands on the full game as soon as possible, and take on the complete military package in Arma 3’s massive sandbox.

arma 3 Ghost

Joris-Jan van ‘t Land, Project Lead on Arma 3, elaborates:
“This was not a decision we made lightly. As game creators, we love developing and playing through campaigns so, to those awaiting ours, we say: sorry for the delay. After talking a lot about a focus on quality over the last year, it simply did not feel right to compromise now. Rather than pushing back the entire game, we launch this year with an awesome package – a splendid kick off for the Arma 3 experience.”

To further explain the motivations behind the decision, Bohemia Interactive has published a new post in their developer’s blog.

The Arma 3 Beta, people can purchase the regular Arma 3 Beta (34.99 EUR/29.99 GBP/44.99 USD) or the Arma 3 Digital Deluxe Edition (44.99 EUR/39.99 GBP/59.99 USD) from Steam or Store.bistudio.com. Both editions include the full retail game and prices will increase upon launch.
Arma 3 is scheduled for release in the third quarter of this year. The specific release date will be announced soon.

You have to see the Replica Dubstep gun for Saints Row 4

Chris Hare
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0
You have to see the Replica Dubstep gun for Saints Row 4

To keep up with the launch of Saints Row IV in style, Deep Silver has been working until their ear drums bleed to create a full size replica of one of the most popular weapons within the game. The Dubstep Gun has been lovingly recreated by a dedicated team making what has to be one of the best replica videogame weapons ever made.

Saints Row 4 gun
The replica is fully functional, measures more than a meter in length and weighs 3½KG.  With four inputs, trigger activated play and pause and touch button control panel, the Dubstep Gun is designed to allow everything from the hardest hitting dubstep tracks to 80’s classics to be played loud and proud with a maximum of ease. The term ‘Ghetto Blaster’ has never been so apt!

The technical features are:
·        Four inputs
o       Line in, SD card, 2 USB ports and radio connectivity
·        Pre-loaded SD card with authentic Saints Row IV dubstep tracks
·        Powerful rechargeable lithium ion battery providing an hour of use
·        Touch Button controls
·        Additional trigger activated play and pause function
·        Custom pearlescent finish
·        Multitude of jazzy lights
·        Black custom case finished in aluminium to keep the gun safe when not in use

Only three of these custom made, hand built beauties will be made, but Saints Row fans do not despair, stay tuned for details of how to own your own Dubstep Gun, and drop your enemies like a dirty bassline.

*the dubstep gun will not cause death or injury when used correctly, that’s just in the game, but it will make people dance.  Please dance responsibly.

Saints Row IV launches August 20th, 2013 across North and Latin America and August 23rd in the rest of the world.

Play Oculus Rift Before Eurogamer Expo At Virgin Media Games Space

Chris Hare
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1
Play Oculus Rift Before Eurogamer Expo At Virgin Media Games Space

Virgin Media has announced that it is creating a pop-up games hub in the heart of London’s technological innovation, Silicon Roundabout, to champion the future of British gaming. The Virgin Media Games Space will be powered by the company’s superfast broadband, providing speeds of up to 1Gb, and will include a stellar line-up of games to play, industry talks to inspire and workshops to help create the next generation of gaming developers.

Virgin Media Games Space

Here is the address for the Virgin Media Games Space in London

Virgin Media Games Space, Blackall Studios, 73a Leonard Street, EC2A 4QS

Games curator and event producer David Hayward is overseeing the creation of the space to provide a environment for gamers and budding developers of all ages to come play, learn and develop their digital skills. The free Virgin Media Games Space will open its doors to the public on 27th August until 21st September, and the best parts will also be available for visitors to enjoy at this year’s Eurogamer Expo.

The British video gaming industry is a valuable contributor to the national economy and considered an area of growth with some of the world’s largest franchises already developed here, as well as strong communities of independent game developers. With gaming high on Government agenda, measures are being introduced to help develop programming skills as part of the national curriculum. Virgin Media Games Space is celebrating this welcome news by offering gamers a glimpse of the future and helping wannabe developers build it.

  • Virgin Media Games Space created for games players and developers
  • Oculus Rift and Cello Fortress to showcase latest innovation
  • Superfast 1Gb broadband powers new hub on Silicon Roundabout

Virgin Media has a track record of championing undiscovered talent and now, after the success of last year’s 100 Day Game Project which saw a winning team of students from Essex University create and launch ‘Super-Fluid’ as an Android and iOS app in just 100 days, has invested to help even more raw talent hidden amongst the gaming community.

All visitors will have the opportunity to experience the latest in virtual reality gaming courtesy of Oculus Rift, plus have a chance to test yet-to-be-released indie titles such as Super Pole Riders, There Shall be Lancing and Krautscape.

Some Virgin Media Games Space highlights include:

    • Week       1 – Lifelites Game Jam a 24-hour developer session to produce games for children with limited mobility.
    • Week       2 – Cello Fortress showcase
    • Week       3 – New Sony Computer Entertainment tiles, Beyond: Two Souls (PS3), Tearaway (PS Vita)
    • Week       4 – Arcade Jam – Games collectives and artists from all over Europe will come together to build DIY arcade machines and games. See the results at VMGS, all week from September 17th – 21st

Richard Larcombe, director of advertising and sponsorship at Virgin Media said: “We’re excited to be able to provide a space where anyone can come and play games all day long but also where visitors can come and learn or be inspired by experienced developers from across the industry.

“The digital world is creating incredible job opportunities as well as entertainment for people and the rise of the British gaming industry is something to be proud of. This is going to be a unique place for people to use who’ve got the same passion for gaming we have. Whether it’s to debate, develop, or push the boundaries of new technologies, Virgin Media Games Space will provide something for everyone no matter their gaming abilities.”

David Hayward, curator and event producer, said: “It’s immensely exciting that London is getting its first game space, and I’m very pleased to be curating it. Games are such a diverse thing now, and I think Virgin Media Games Space will be an excellent way of supporting that.”

The Virgin Media Games Space will be open Tuesday to Saturday, 10am-7pm before it’s re-homed to take centre stage at this year’s Eurogamer Expo. It’s free to visit anytime. To attend any of the organised events, visitors can secure their place from 19th August at http://www.vmgs.com.

Don Bradman Cricket 14 Announced for PS3, Xbox 360 and PC

Chris Hare
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0
Don Bradman Cricket 14 Announced for PS3, Xbox 360 and PC

Home Entertainment Suppliers Pty Ltd (HES) and Big Ant Studios today announced that “Don Bradman Cricket 14” for PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 and PC shall be released later this year. HES and Big Ant Studios are working under license with the Bradman Foundation located in Bowral.

bradman_catch

“It is indeed an honour to be able to bring the greatest player to a technology savvy generation of fans in what promises to be the greatest cricket game of all time,” said Sebastian Giompaolo, Managing Director for HES. “Big Ant Studios have been working hard on this title for four years and we at HES are really excited with what they have been able to achieve.

bradman_bat

It is far superior to any cricket game in the market.” Don Bradman Cricket 14 includes:

•Career Mode, allowing you to take control of an aspiring young cricketer and take him through the ranks to International glory.

•Unique Batting and Bowling Controls, giving full 360 Shot control and Line and Length delivery without pitch markers.

•A fully featured fielding system that allows you to run down the ball and slide to prevent a Four, catch a high ball on the boundary rope, or knock down the stumps to take a vital run out. You are always involved in the play at every stage of the game!

•Ball Physics giving realistic Edges, bat pad catches and movement off the pitch.

•A complete player physics system with individual attributes including weight and height – 
imagine running in a 2 metre bowler to deliver that perfect bouncer!

bradman_action_c

•Appeal and Electronic Review system allowing for the first time challenges of the umpires 
decision.

•Practice Nets, Hone your skills to perfection before taking to the field.

•Dynamic time of day, Weather System and Pitch Degradation that are based on real world 
data with effects occurring in real-time throughout a days’ play.

•The Cricket Academy, allowing for unparalleled customisation of your Cricket experience, 
creating Teams, players, Tours, Competitions, Match Types and even Umpires. •More than 4000 Community created Players and teams ready to download and use in game. •An online Save system that lets you continue your match whenever you want with online 
opponents.

Win The Last of Us Joel Special Edition for the PlayStation 3

Andrew Edney
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1
Win The Last of Us Joel Special Edition for the PlayStation 3

We have three copies of The Last of Us Joel Special Edition to give away, and these special editions are no longer available to buy!

CDW-The-Last-of-Us-Joel-Special-Edit

When Sony released The Last of Us back in May, they also released two special editions.

Each edition is packaged in a unique canvas wrap, and filled with exclusive physical and downloadable content.

Contents:

· The Last of Us mini artbook: explore the world of The Last of Us through some of the remarkable artwork that gave shape to the game

· The Last of Us: American Dreams Issue #1: the first in a series of comics created in partnership with Dark Horse to delve into the backstory of Ellie. The version included features a variant cover found only in these special editions

· Exclusive game pack: The Joel Edition features Joel’s face

· Collectable poster: an exclusive screen print effect poster of Joel

· DUALSHOCK 3 skin: skin your PS3 controllers with Joel

· Survival DLC Pack

o Multiplayer Bonuses:

§ Bonus XP

§ Melee booster

§ In-game currency

§ Customizable character items

o Bonus Joel skins available once the single player game is completed

· Sights & Sounds DLC Pack

o Official Game Soundtrack by Academy Award winning musician Gustavo Santaolalla

o PS3 Dynamic Theme

o PSN Avatar: Winter Joel

· LittleBigPlanet Sackboy Skins: voucher codes for a downloadable Joel skin for your Sackboy character depending on which special edition you choose

CDW-The-Last-of-Us-Joel-Special-Edit[44]

What you have to do to win

So we have three copies to give away of this rare special edition for the PlayStation 3, and you have to do a few things in order to be entered, but I think you will agree it’s worth it!

1 – Check out our Unboxing The Last of Us Joel Edition post to see what you can win

2 – Watch the unboxing video on that page (it’s short)

3 – Subscribe to our YouTube Channel

4 – Click here or click on the Contact Us link at the top of any page and confirm you have watched the video and subscribed to our YouTube channel

5 – If you follow us and retweet this contest on Twitter as well as as liking us on Facebook you will get an extra chance to win for each

Usual contest rules apply, and the three winners will be selected at random and will each get a copy of The Last of Us Joel Edition. You must have completed all the steps in order (apart from number 5) to be entered. This contest is open to anyone in the world, just make sure you tell us where you are – however please note that the game will not work outside of the UK so only enter if you are ok with that!

The contest closes Sunday 11th August, so good luck.

Good luck and thanks to our friends at Sony for the Joel Editions.

SimCity finally releasing on the Mac on August 29

Andrew Edney
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0
SimCity finally releasing on the Mac on August 29

simcity_logo

SimCity will be available for Mac exclusively as a digital release on August 29, 2013.

sim_thumb3

SimCity is cross-platform compatible, so all players, whether on Mac or PC, will be able to play SimCity together in the online connected world and will be able to jump back and forth into their cities regardless of the platform.

Those players who have previously purchased digital and boxed copies of SimCity for PC will receive an automatic entitlement for SimCity for Mac via Origin.

Will you buy SimCity on the Mac? Let us know by leaving a comment below.

Splinter Cell Blacklist Threat trailer

Andrew Edney
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0
Splinter Cell Blacklist Threat trailer

Blacklist_Co-Op_02_thumb_thumb_thumb

This latest video offers a glimpse of the Engineers, a faceless and powerful enemy whose goal is to take down the United States.

And here it is:

Splinter Cell: Blacklist be released in North America on August 20th, and in the UK on August 23rd.

What do you think of the game? Personally I can’t wait, but let us know by leaving a comment below.

Unboxing The Last of Us Joel Special Edition

Andrew Edney
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2
Unboxing The Last of Us Joel Special Edition

When Sony released The Last of Us back in May, they also released two special editions. Here we take a look at the Joel Edition.

CDW The Last of Us Joel Special Edition - 1

Each edition is packaged in a unique canvas wrap, and filled with exclusive physical and downloadable content.

Here you can see the back of the packaging:

CDW The Last of Us Joel Special Edition - 2

Here is the canvas wrap that contains all the goodies:

CDW The Last of Us Joel Special Edition - 3

Opening up….

CDW The Last of Us Joel Special Edition - 4

And here it is all opened up.

CDW The Last of Us Joel Special Edition - 5

It contains an exclusive screen print effect poster.

CDW The Last of Us Joel Special Edition - 6

The Last of Us mini artbook which explores the world of The Last of Us through some of the remarkable artwork that gave shape to the game.

CDW The Last of Us Joel Special Edition - 8CDW The Last of Us Joel Special Edition - 9

A special DUALSHOCK 3 skin.

CDW The Last of Us Joel Special Edition - 10

A bumper sticker.

CDW The Last of Us Joel Special Edition - 11

The Last of Us: American Dreams Issue #1 comic which is the first in a series of comics created in partnership with Dark Horse to delve into the backstory of Ellie. The version included features a variant cover found only in these special editions.

CDW The Last of Us Joel Special Edition - 12CDW The Last of Us Joel Special Edition - 13

The game itself.

CDW The Last of Us Joel Special Edition - 7CDW The Last of Us Joel Special Edition - 14CDW The Last of Us Joel Special Edition - 15CDW The Last of Us Joel Special Edition - 16

It also includes the Survival DLC Pack, which contains Multiplayer Bonuses, Bonus XP, Melee booster, In-game currency and Customizable character items. Plus Bonus Joel skins available once the single player game is completed.

There is also the Sights & Sounds DLC Pack which contains the Official Game Soundtrack by Academy Award winning musician Gustavo Santaolalla, PS3 Dynamic Theme and PSN Avatar of Winter Joel.

And it that wasn’t enough, there is also LittleBigPlanet Sackboy Skins for a downloadable Joel skin for your Sackboy character.

Here is a short video showing the unboxing:

All in all this is an amazing package for fans of The Last of Us. Unfortunately they were limited editions and are no longer available to buy, but don’t worry because we are going to give you the chance to win one of three Joel Editions shortly.

Have you played The Last of Us? Tell us what you think by leaving a comment below.

TV Classic Knightmare is Back for a One Off YouTube Special

Chris Hare
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0
TV Classic Knightmare is Back for a One Off YouTube Special

If you are old enough to remember the UK TV Classic Knightmare it has been resurrected to celebrate YouTube Geek Week!.  Filmed in the original Norwich studios with original cast and crew, and produced by show creator Tim Child, Treguard and Lord Fear once again fight for control of the dungeon…

Knightmare

It’s been 19 years since a dungeoneer and his advisors have attempted to beat The Opposition with help from The Powers That Be.  Will this new team succeed or will they sidestep left when they need to go right?

Its back for a one off YouTube Special for Geek Week for the Week of the 4th to 10th August.

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=74r-EbIqt9s?feature=player_detailpage%5D

knightmare 2

A remake of the classic TV show Knightmare, brought to back to life exclusively for YouTube’s Geek Week! Starring Hugo Myatt, Isy Suttie, Jessie Cave, Mark Knight, Amazing Phil, Danisnotonfire, Stuart Ashen and Emma Blackery.

For more information on Knightmare, visit http://www.knightmare.com

Marvel Heroes Update Patch to Version 1.11

Chris Hare
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0
Marvel Heroes Update Patch to Version 1.11

Gazillion Entertainment have launched a mighty game update for Marvel Heroes,  the game update version 1.11 the free-to-play action-MMORPG set in the Marvel Universe!

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rxg3qHQYiB4?feature=player_detailpage%5D

Watch the new Human Torch character developer diary

Marvel Heroes Patch 1.11 includes:

User Interface

New options exist on the chat window to control chat filters.

Floating combat text has been added to test center. Expect a few iterations as we iterate on these to ensure they look good and work right. Green is healing, red is damage and yellow are critical hits.

Additional minor functionality has been added to the Supergroup interface (some sorting technology, display of officer and supergroup name appearing on tab). Additional functionality will be added in future patches.

Additional chat functionality has been added along with “social”, “lfg” and “endgame” channels with UI to control them. More chat upgrades will appear in the future.

Keybinding can now be reverted to default settings.

You can now map mouse buttons 3-6 to various game functions.

The daily terminals will now tell you if you can earn a cosmic shard by completing them. (This still needs testing before going to live server).

Performance Upgrades

Many areas of the game have performance improvements. Some are very significant and noticeable and some are minor. More details will be added in a future set of notes.

Gameplay Changes

Damage-over-time powers can now critical hit.

New Pets

A new silver Ultron pet has been added to the store. Avengers Assemble!

A new crafter summon item has been added to the store. This is a permanent summon item that allows you to summon a crafter every hour.

Items

Eternity Splinters now drop at an extremely high rate for test center. Live drop rate will be lower, but this should help test the vendor much faster.

Adam Warlock appears beside Gambit in each hub, selling Heroes and Retcon potions for Eternity Splinters. Many more items will be added to Adam Warlock over time. Look for a forum thread asking for suggestions from you on what should be added.

Adam Warlock also sells a random hero box that could contain any hero, with a slight rarity curve based on which tier of hero it is (i.e. 600 Splinter Heroes appear slightly less, 200 Splinter heroes appear slightly more). We aren’t sure if we are going to put this into the game and we would like your feedback on it.

Many crafting elements are stackable up to 10.

We are experimenting with some gear number changes to increase the impact of gear at higher levels. This will require tuning. Basically higher-level gear will be more impactful to your damage and defense.

Darkhold Scroll gives bonus damage to ‘taunted’ enemies.

Experience orbs from bosses last longer so they won’t disappear during cutscenes.

Mandarin Medal tooltips clarified. Several other tooltips rewritten or clarified. We will keep iterating on this when players report confusion about exactly what an item does.

Medal sell price is now higher, as intended.

The Bovine Sector recipe can be sold for 5,000 credits, so players have something to do with it when they find a second one.

To ensure you don’t accidentally donate a recipe, there is a confirmation pop-up.

Six costumes have very minor name changes to conform with Marvel lore.

The ‘Mystery Eggs’ have hatched into gift boxes. They will hatch into a Starter Hero you don’t own, or a Fortune Card if you have unlocked all of the heroes. Note, whatever your egg produces on the Test Server may not be the same for the Live game – it’s a random choice.

Unstable molecules go into crafting S.T.A.S.H. tabs now. Testing will be required to confirm this on edge-cases.

Costume Cores

All costume cores now have either 25% item rarity boost or 20% special item find, in addition to other bonuses.

We realize most players prefer one of those bonuses, so we added those to every core in addition to other bonuses so players could personalize their heroes better.

All cores will have 0-2 additional bonuses in addition to item rarity boost or special item find. New bonuses have been added to cores, which you will discover.

Existing cores are unchanged.

Missions

Many small and medium sized changes to missions in various chapters. Too many to list, but should continue to make the new player experience smoother and more fun.

New Zone Content

A few new mob types have been added in the world. In addition Poison Cloud and Missile Shield may be present on enemies. With the latter, missile users will need to enter within approximately half screen range in order to damage the enemy.

The following zone content has been added by the world team. Most of these were slated for launch but didn’t make it in.

  • CH1: “Symbiote Infestation” side mission in Crumbling Brownstones
  • CH3: “Demonic Incursion” event in the Bamboo Forest
  • CH7: “Dinosaur Graveyard” Treasure room in the Dinosaur Jungle (new extra large TR format)
  • CH7: “Sacred Valley” Treasure room in the Dinosaur Jungle (new extra large TR format)

PVP

New PvP modes are in progress, but not in this test release. The new “Fire and Ice” themed PVP map is under heavy internal testing and development and will be released in August. It will be available on test center in a few weeks. Other modes are in various stages of development.

Limbo Completely Revamped – New Zone Added

Enter Manhattan to keep the city safe. More detailed notes on this new mode are forthcoming.

Highlights:

  • Patrol Manhattan to fight crime, save civilians and keep the city safe.
  • Available for all levels of players.
  • New super villain groups attack the city periodically and must be shut down.
  • No time limit, no “threat” meter. Everything is challenging, but manageable with the right gear and tactics.

Heroes

Hero upgrades happen every day; MANY upgrades will appear on test server in the next week but will not be captured in these patch notes.

Wolverine

Wolverine has been improved. Damage on powers is increased instead of relying on the power damage synergy system; damage synergies have been wiped out and replaced with higher base values across the board. We’ll be monitoring this shift closely to see if it has the desired effect of making Wolverine more interesting to build without really shifting his overall power level.

Even with the new Critical Hit proc direction, the AoE Basic Power Hack ‘n’ Slash wasn’t really hitting an appealing niche, so we’re remaking it as a Basic Power that generates bonus Fury on hit/crit.

We’re narrowing the attack speed gap between Quick Slash and Wolverine’s other Basic powers by speeding Bloody Slash and Hack ‘n’ Slash up (Quick Slash will remain the fastest option).

Adamantium Skeleton now unlocks at level 20, features higher Physical and Energy resistance, and increases Tenacity against all negative status effects instead of just forced movement.

The missile defense component on Feral Senses didn’t really accomplish the goal of pairing minimap radar with something that impacts Wolverine builds, so we’re replacing that aspect of the power with a scaling Crit Chance bonus and making it unlock at level 8.

Wolverine’s bleed effects should now tick every half second instead of every second for smoother damage delivery.

Adrenaline Rush is now a toggled effect that reserves a portion of your Spirit and can be left on indefinitely, buffs have been retuned to scale more smoothly across ranks to fit the new behavior.

Regeneration Boost is getting a slight decrease in cost and increase to the amount healed.

Cage The Beast should no longer be usable when Spirit is already full.

Hulk

Hulk’s hit points increased by 20%.

Like all heroes, Hulk is training in the danger room and will emerge better, faster and stronger in the near future.

Character Sheet and Damage Rating

A few new stats have been added to the character sheet. We are looking to iterate on this and ensure that it is easy to understand.

Players were sometimes confused when the equipped an item with +10 damage and didn’t get +10 damage on every power. This is because every power has a damage rating multiplier, this multiplies the damage rating stat which now shows up on the character sheet.

We are going to add Damage Rating Multiplier to each powers tooltip at some point in the future.

Autofire powers, particularly, get less Damage per shot because they have a low Damage Rating Multiplier while Hulk’s Punch gets full value from Damage Rating.

This does not change any powers or items, it is simply a presentation change.

The Art of The Bureau: XCOM Declassified – Part Two

Andrew Edney
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The Art of The Bureau: XCOM Declassified – Part Two

A few weeks ago I visited the 2K Marin studio in San Francisco to take a look at The Bureau: XCOM Declassified. Whilst I was there I had the opportunity to talk with Jeff Weir who is the Art Director on The Bureau – here is part two.

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The year is 1962, JFK is President and the Cold War has the nation gripped by fear – but a far more powerful and insidious enemy than communism is threatening America. Known only to a select few, a top-secret government unit called The Bureau begins investigating and concealing a series of mysterious attacks by an otherworldly enemy. As special agent William Carter, players call the shots, pull the trigger and lead their squad in a gripping third-person tactical shooter set within a high-stakes, covert war to protect humanity. The Bureau has been erasing the truth for decades. The time will come for the truth to be revealed.

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Here is part two of of exclusive interview with Jeff (and take a look at some of the amazing artwork behind him during the interview):

For more information, please visit Facebook, or the official web site: http://erasethetruth.com.

And stay tuned for more soon from my 2K Marin visit, if the Bureau allow us to publish it.

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