Tag Archives: Video Games

Gran Turismo 7’s more realistic physics update is launching cars into orbit

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Yesterday's Gran Turismo 7 game update 1.49 introduced all-new physics that have added extra realism and generally improved gameplay. However, the change is also causing some bizarre problems in specific situations, making cars bounce violently or just get hurled into the air.

The physics updates are generally positive, adding "more natural cornering physics and acceleration/deceleration stability levels," according to the developer. Similar changes to tire physics and steering allow a more challenging and rewarding driving experience overall. 

However, some bugs appear to have crept in as well, according to gtplanet and posts on Reddit's r/granturismo. High-horsepower vehicles, often with engine swaps and extreme suspension settings, are literally flying, bouncing or intersecting with the ground, according to multiple (hilarious) videos. 

The problem appears to happen when cars try to accelerate from low speeds, and mostly affects cars under AI control. It also happens during dynamic "Scapes Movies" scenes designed to show off landscapes from cars operated at slow speeds by AI. It's even been seen in GT Auto's garages.

It's clearly a weird z-axis programming bug, but Gran Turismo's team is aware of the issue and working on it. "We are now aware of the following issue in the 1.49 Update released on July 25: Car Physics Simulation — Unintended vehicle behavior is produced when a particular car setting is set within Car Settings," devs said in a post on X. A fix should be ready soon, so enjoy the comedy while it lasts. 

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gran-tourismo-7s-more-realistic-physics-update-is-launching-cars-into-orbit-120045578.html?src=rss

Stalker 2 has been delayed (again) until November 20

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The long-anticipated Stalker 2: Heart of Chornobyl has been delayed yet again, this time until November 20. It was supposed to come out on September 5. This is just the latest delay in a development cycle that stretches all the way back to 2010. That’s 14 years. The longest delay in gaming history is Duke Nukem Forever, at 15 years.

What’s taking so long? At first, it was funding issues. Developer GSC Game World nearly shut down, but managed to weather the storm. Next, the makers spent a whole lot of time perfecting various mechanics and features, including a new way to render human teeth.

Real world events intervened to continue the delay. Russia invaded Ukraine and GSC was based in Kyiv. The game was put on hold as the staff relocated to Prague, eventually picking back up on development in 2022. After that, the game was supposed to (finally) release in December of last year.

However, there were some kinks to work out, so the launch was pushed to September 5, 2024. It looks like the bugs are still popping up, because now it’s set for November.

“We know you might be tired of waiting, and we truly appreciate your patience. These two additional months will give us the chance to fix more ‘unexpected anomalies’ (or simply ‘bugs’ as you call them),” wrote Yevhen Grygorovych, Game Director at GSC Game World, in a press release. “We’re just as eager as you are to finally release the game and for you to experience it for yourself.”

Who knows if it’ll actually come out this November, but it’s looking more and more likely. GSC also announced the pending release of a deep-dive video that will offer “the most comprehensive look yet into the game," with a premiere date of August 12. This video will include developer interviews, new in-game footage and a full walkthrough of a story quest.

For the uninitiated, Stalker 2: Heart of Chornobyl is a sequel to the hit 2007 FPS. The forthcoming follow-up brings some survival horror mechanics into the mix, which should be fun. There are plenty of trailers to check out which, you know, tends to happen when a game has been in development for 14 years.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/stalker-2-has-been-delayed-again-until-november-20-173259981.html?src=rss

World of Warcraft workers unlock ‘form a union’ achievement

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World of Warcraft (WoW) artists, designers, engineers, producers, quality assurance (QA) testers and other game developers have unionized. The staff of more than 500 workers voted to unionize the Blizzard Entertainment studio with the Communications Workers of America (CWA) creating the World of Warcraft Gamemakers Guild, according to an X post from the union’s official account.

The Blizzard studio is the latest major game studio to form a union during uncertain times of layoffs and studio closures across the gaming industry. Bethesda Game Studios, the studio behind the Fallout and Elder Scrolls franchises, formed its union with the help of CWA last weekend that includes 241 workers.

“What we’ve accomplished at World of Warcraft is just the beginning,” said Eric Lanham, a test analyst and Wow Gamemakers Guild member, in a statement released by the CWA. “My colleagues and I are embarking on a quest to secure better pay, benefits, and job security through a strong union contract. We know that when workers have a protected voice, it’s a win-win for employee standards, the studio, and World of Warcraft fans looking for the best gaming experience.”

The World of Warcraft Gamemakers Guild is the largest wall-to-wall union currently under Microsoft’s umbrella. Activision unionized around 600 QA workers with the CWA in March. ZeniMax Studios also voted to unionize around 300 staffers back in January.

Microsoft also made an agreement with Activision Blizzard two years ago to respect the right of its workers to form a union. The agreement was part of Microsoft’s deal to takeover Activision Blizzard.

The CWA cites the start of the WoW Gamemakers Guild formation to a protest conducted by Activision Blizzard workers in 2021. The crew staged a walkout at its Irvine, California headquarters over a lawsuit filed by the state’s Civil Rights Department (CRD) alleging the company was a “breeding ground for harassment and discrimination against women.” The CRD later withdrew all allegations of systemic sexual harassment, and Activision Blizzard reached a settlement of $54.8 million relating to pay and promotion disparities. The WoW studio also agreed to remove “references that are not appropriate for [its] world” from the game.

“What seemed impossible six years ago is now a reality, and this is just the beginning,” said CWA’s Senior Director of Organizing Tom Smith in a written statement. “Together, workers are redefining their industry.”

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/world-of-warcraft-workers-unlock-form-a-union-achievement-220148151.html?src=rss

Respawn is walking back its unpopular changes to the Apex Legends battle pass

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Respawn Entertainment is bringing back the option to buy Apex Legends battle passes with in-game currency. "You've spoken, and we've listened," the company said. The developer drew player outrage and a sweep of review-bombing earlier this month after it announced a new approach to the game's reward system.

The original announcement was convoluted, but the gist of what frustrated the Apex community was that players would no longer be able to use in-game currency to access an upgraded version of the battle pass. People earn Apex Coins by playing, and under the original model, serious fans could easily earn enough over the course of one battle pass to pay for the next season's.

Today, Respawn said it would return the option to pay 950 Apex Coins (about $10) to unlock the Premium battle pass tier. And with 1,300 Apex Coins available at that tier, this segment of the battle pass experience has mostly reverted to the old model. Players will be able to unlock the premium version by completing some "simple in-game challenges" at the start of Season 22, Split 1 on August 6. After that, beginning on September 17 with the season's Split 2, the new/old model will take effect.

However, other parts of the original announcement are still in place. New battle passes will drop at the start and halfway point of a season. Apex Legends will have a free battle pass with minimal perks, the Premium version with more rewards and unlocked by in-game currency, an Ultimate version for $10 with all the Premium content and a handful of additional instant unlocks, and finally, an Ultimate+ version for $20 with two legendary skin variants and access to all of the game's playable heroes for that split.

Battle passes have become de rigueur for the games-as-a-service industry. It's proven to be one of the most successful options for generating the revenue to fund creating more content while still offering players value. But once an approach has been laid out, studios may have a hard time convincing players to adapt to changes. In fact, this isn't the first time the Apex Legends battle pass has been changed, then re-changed. But the trend toward game communities tanking review scores or directly harassing devs and creators to air their grievances at any changes means that the financial situation for many of these ongoing titles can still feel precarious.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/respawn-is-walking-back-its-unpopular-changes-to-the-apex-legends-battle-pass-215117879.html?src=rss

Humble Games reportedly lays off its entire staff

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Humble Games has reportedly laid off all 36 of its staff. Former employees posted about the layoffs on social media. Humble Games is owned by media conglomerate Ziff Davis, which counts IGN, Eurogamer and GamesIndustry.biz among its gaming portfolio. Humble Games confirmed in a LinkedIn post that there had been a "restructure" at the company, but did not reveal the number of jobs lost.

A PR rep for Humble Games also confirmed to Engadget that the company would not be shutting its doors as a result of today's restructuring. He added that both ongoing and upcoming projects would continue to be supported and published by the studio.

The layoffs at Humble Bundle are the latest in a sweep across the gaming business. Last year saw a shocking number of cuts across studios of all sizes, and the trend has sadly continued into 2024.

"The games industry is volatile, it's been inundated by people who only want exponential growth at the expense of making great games with great teams," Emilee Kieffer, a former lead quality assurance analyst with Humble Games, wrote on LinkedIn following the layoffs.

The indie publisher helped bring almost 50 video games to market, including notable hits such as Slay the Spire, Unpacking, Wandersong and Coral Island. Humble Games also had several upcoming games slated for release, such as Never Alone 2, a second delve into mythology and stories from the indigenous Iñupiat people in Alaska. 

"This decision was not made lightly; it involved much deliberation and careful thought, with the goal of ensuring the stability and support of our developers and ongoing projects," Humble's statement said. 

This business is a separate operation from the charity storefront Humble Bundle, which is also part of Ziff Davis but does not appear to be impacted by today's news. We've reached out to Ziff Davis and Humble Games for more information and will update if we hear back.

Update, July 23, 2024, 5:35 ET: Article has been updated to include a response from Humble Games' PR team.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/humble-games-reportedly-lays-off-its-entire-staff-201923446.html?src=rss

A Call of Duty game is coming to Xbox Game Pass, just not one anyone wants

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Microsoft has been taking a lot of hits over its Xbox Game Pass price hike and the overall lackluster offering of games. So to make up for it, they are offering a Call of Duty game for the first time on its virtual buffet. Unfortunately, it’s Call of Duty: Modern Warfare III, one of the lowest rated games in the series.

Calling the reviews for Modern Warfare III “mixed” would be generous. IGN’s Simon Cardy said its single-player campaign was “shallow,” “dull” and “the worst Call of Duty single-player campaign I’ve played.” Jump Dash Roll’s Derek Johnson wrote that its main campaign is “genuinely not worth playing” and its signature Zombies mode “isn’t quite as atrociously terrible as its single-player but that doesn’t mean it’s anything resembling something fun.”

Modern Warfare III won’t be the only Call of Duty game available for Xbox Game Pass subscribers. Xbox Game Pass will provide day one access to Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 in October. Of course, we don’t know how good the game will be but one imagines it'll garner a bit more favor from critics compared to Modern Warfare III.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/a-call-of-duty-game-is-coming-to-xbox-game-pass-just-not-one-anyone-wants-175255224.html?src=rss

Warner Bros. has bought the developer behind its MultiVersus brawler

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Warner Bros. just announced the acquisition of Player First Games, the developer behind the popular free-to-play platform fighter MultiVersus. This makes a whole lot of sense as the hit Smash Bros-esque brawler pulls its entire roster from WB properties. The game includes characters like Batman, Bugs Bunny, Agent Smith from The Matrix and, of course, both Rick and Morty.

It doesn’t look like much will change with regard to the day-to-day workings of Player First Games. Co-founders Tony Huynh and Chris White will still lead the company, though the pair will report to Carlos Barbosa, Vice President and Studio Head of Warner Bros. Games.

Huynh says the team is excited about the acquisition and that it should “be great for MultiVersus overall.” There has been no announcement as to what comes next for the fighting game. However, Player First regularly drops new characters into the roster, so this will likely continue. I for one would like to beat up Tom and Jerry as Tony Soprano. Make it happen WB.

MultiVersus is available now on just about every platform out there, including PS5, PS4, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S and PC. Even better? There’s crossplay between platforms. The game isn’t available for the Nintendo Switch just yet, but maybe that’ll change whenever the Switch 2 makes its grand entrance.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/warner-bros-has-bought-the-developer-behind-its-multiversus-brawler-180355445.html?src=rss

.45 PARABELLUM BLOODHOUND is a cyberpunk RPG by the developer of VA-11 HALL-A

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Sukeban Games is working on what it describes as a "cyberpunk active time action" game with a battle system that's similar to Parasite Eve. In a blog post, Chris of Sukeban has officially announced .45 PARABELLUM BLOODHOUND, featuring a mercenary named Reila Mikazuchi as its protagonist. Enemies can attack you from anywhere while you're exploring environments in the game, and you'll have to dodge and wait for an action bar to fill before you can launch a counterattack. The action bar fills at a speed based on your character and weapon stats, so the stronger you get, the faster you can fight back. 

While the announcement doesn't have a in-depth explanation of the game's plot, Chris describes its story as follows: "You play as Reila Mikazuchi; a washed out mercenary whose glory days are long gone. In a last attempt at grabbing life by the horns she decides to go back to the life, only to realize the real enemy isn’t in front of her gun."

The indie developer is planning to make seven chapters for the game, and five are already done and playable. It has yet to announce a release date, though, so as not to repeat its "N1RV ANN-A situation." Sukeban is the developer behind the cyberpunk bartending "booze-em-up" game VA-11 HALL-A, which is set in a post-dystopian world with a corporate-controlled society. 

VA-11 HALL-A was wildly successful for an indie title, and Sukeban announced a sequel called N1RV ANN-A: Cyberpunk Bartender Action back in 2018 after it hit 200,000 copies sold. The developer hasn't released N1RV ANN-A yet despite announcing a 2020 launch date, and it doesn't look like we're seeing it anytime soon. Chris said .45 PARABELLUM BLOODHOUND is "significantly ahead in development" and that the developer is dedicating its "full attention to it for the foreseeable future."

Sukeban has also released the first trailer for .45 PARABELLUM BLOODHOUND, and you can watch it below.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/45-parabellum-bloodhound-is-a-cyberpunk-rpg-by-the-developer-of-va-11-hall-a-180043556.html?src=rss

A nifty hack made Mario a playable character in 1994’s Donkey Kong Country

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Mario and Donkey Kong have been rivals, frenemies, go-kart competitors and tennis partners. The Italian plumber once kidnapped Donkey Kong’s son. DK once, uh, took over Mario’s toy company (?) and stole a bunch of little figurines for some reason. They have history. What they haven’t done, however, is appear as playable characters in one another’s platforming adventures. Thanks to a nifty bit of hacking, that just changed.

Mario is a playable character in a hacked version of the SNES classic Donkey Kong Country, due to a ROM programmer called RainbowSprinklez. It’s appropriately named DKC X Mario and this is not a simple sprite swap. We wouldn’t waste your time with that. Mario had to be completely engineered into the game, as his moveset doesn’t exist in the original code. Donkey Kong is a lumbering beast. He doesn’t spin around, double jump and carry items. Check out the video and prepare to be impressed.

This is a Mario that has been pulled from Super Mario World, with regard to both sprites and controls. There are mushrooms to make him grow, fire flowers and, of course, everyone’s favorite dino-thingie Yoshi. Otherwise, this is Donkey Kong Country. The levels are the same. The enemies, consisting primarily of King K. Rool and his army of Kremlings, are the same. If you're really familiar with the layout of the original DKC, this could be a way to breathe some new life into the ancient platformer.

The music also looks to be altered, replacing the original tracks with songs from Mario, Zelda and Mega Man games. RainbowSprinklez wrote that the hack was "made for no other reason than I like Mario" in a document released alongside the ROM. You can download the whole thing right here to give it a go, and this should probably be done sooner than later. Nintendo isn’t shy about sicking lawyers on projects like this.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/a-nifty-hack-made-mario-a-playable-character-in-1994s-donkey-kong-country-164036806.html?src=rss

Blizzard reveals gameplay for the new Diablo IV class, Spiritborn

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After a teaser at last year's BlizzCon, Blizzard today revealed more details about the new character class that will be coming to Diablo IV this fall. The Spiritborn looks like a fun, powerful mix of several characters from past Diablo entries. Imagine the martial arts combat of the Diablo 3 Monk paired with the animal abilities of the same game’s Witch Doctor plus the aesthetics of the Amazon in Diablo 2. This sounds like a pretty darn tasty recipe to me.

The Spiritborn is a dexterity-driven class with four Spirit Guardians whose powers you can draw on in combat. The jaguar grants fire damage and the eagle offers lightning damage abilities. With the gorilla, players get defensive power and survivability. And the centipede provides poison and fear skills for damage over time and crowd control. During the livestream, Class Designer Bjorn Mikkelson said the Spiritborn is "probably our fastest, most aggressive class." Think leaping into groups of enemies to deliver big burst damage with glaives, quarterstaffs, and polearms.

A typical rotation will see players using those short cooldown skills infused with an element of a spirit's power. But the real payoff with Spiritborn is the ultimate ability, which brings one of the Spirit Guardians to fight by the player's side. "Summoning the god into battle is the power fantasy for this class," said Diablo IV's Game Designer Brent Gibson.

Part of what has always made Diablo games compelling is the ability to personalize and specialize your playstyle within the broad character concept. And some of the other Diablo 4 class designs encourage players to specialize in a single ability tree, such as picking one elemental power to use for a Sorcerer. With the Spiritborn, players will have the flexibility to specialize in a single Spirit Guardian's skill tree if they want, or to mix and match at will without any loss of stats. Things will get even more personalized with the Spirit Hall class mechanic and a whole new set of legendary and ancient gear for the Spiritborn to further fine-tune your preferred playstyle for demon-smashing.

Today’s livestream also had some good nuggets for the lore nerds, and hardcore fans will likely find it worth rewatching the video to see all the details about the worldbuilding that the Blizzard teams put into developing this character. Diablo IV's Vessel of Hatred expansion, aka 'Neyrelle and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day,' will launch on October 8 and the standard edition will cost $40.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/blizzard-reveals-gameplay-for-the-new-diablo-iv-class-spiritborn-205945475.html?src=rss