The day has finally come. Xûr, the exotic weapon and armor salesman in Destiny, is selling Gjallarhorn. For those of you who missed purchasing Ice Breaker from Xûr when it was first on sale—you know, back when strange coins were still strange and not slowly accumulating into the hundreds in your vault—try not to miss the boat on this one.
For 17 strange coins you’ll have the opportunity to buy at least several to make up for its absence from your inventory–and Crota hard-mode runs–for the past few months. Unless you already had one, then continue in your apathy.
Now while this may appear to come as literally the best thing ever, we should reserve that feeling of extraordinary bliss. In the Update Preview released by Bungie on July 16, they stated the intention to nerf Gjallarhorn’s Wolfpack Rounds. So for those of us who never had it, at least we’ll get one that’s not as good.
The reason for nerfing it? Apparently everyone was using it and “was so strong that for many people it had become the only answer to getting through tough encounters.” Who knew?
Additionally citing that they “strive for Destiny to be a place where a single weapon or strategy does not dictate how, or with whom, you spend your time.” (Maybe if DLCs—okay, every level in the game—weren’t just the same maps run in reverse I’d be inclined to agree with that assessment.)
So at least now while you’re waiting on your 8-second Ice Breaker cool downs (also to be in the new patch), now you have some time to admire the five Gjallarhorns in your inventory you just bought.
As our swollen feet and scarred souls can attest to, this year’s Gamescom was quite a show. We had two intrepid men on the ground across the three days, who between them managed to devour nearly 80 appointments (and approximately four whole food meals). In the wake of the excitement we’ve carefully considered all that was laid before us and, after much chin stroking, have come up with our games of the show.
These have been split into two categories: things we actually played, and things we only saw. Joel and Jeremy have picked a winner and a runner-up in each, giving us a total of… carry the one… eight games. Read, enjoy, call us big idiots in the comments!
Games we played
Winner: Dark Souls III
Joel: Anyone who knows my gaming predilections will find this as surprising as the Earth continuing to orbit the Sun, or people in supermarkets still not knowing how to use the self-service checkouts. I love the Dark Souls games like the imaginary children that I don’t have, and am delighted with how this is shaping up.
When I saw it back at E3 the FromSoft team were making all the right noises: bigger environments, traditional Souls combat, sexy new graphical whizzbangery. And all of this is bolstered by the fact that creative genius Hidetaka Miyazaki is in charge once again after stepping back from (the still very excellent) Dark Souls II.
While I loved Bloodborne, having a shield strapped into my left hand again felt hugely comforting, even if my parrying skills have clearly rusted somewhat. It’s also great to know that the variety and choice of weapons is present and correct - within a 30 minute hands-on I had the chance to try out three different blades, including a meaty greatsword.
So far, so Souls, and even the environment - sprawling ramparts known as the Wall of Lodeleth - had a familiar feel to it. However this is a series in which the Demon Firesage is in the details, for too many tweaks will wash away what makes the games so special. Here those come in the form of (at least with the build I got to try): quicker movement, offset by a stamina bar that drains more rapidly; Estus flasks being far quicker to use than in the previous game; and a ‘ready stance’, which increases the moveset for a given weapon, allowing you to do things like break through shield defences or wallop enemies into the air.
Once the technical kinks are ironed out, there’s little doubt that the gameplay is going to be up to snuff. Where this falls on the Souls spectrum will likely be down to the design of the environments and the feel of the world as a whole, and the degree of narrative satisfaction. With Miyazaki back in charge, all signs point to gorgeous view ahead.
Winner: Eve: Valkyrie
Jeremy: It begins just as past Valkyrie demos have: you jerk your head this way and that about your cockpit, taking a second to adjust to arms and legs that aren’t yours as your ship’s systems come online. Then you’re flung from somewhere within the bowels of a much bigger vessel, along the runway of a huge magnetic slingshot, gasping out into space. And it’s still glorious.
But what comes next is new: not the tentative fire of other pre-alpha players, but the voice of your lieutenant in your ear. This is the first time we’ve played a scripted single player mission in CCP’s competitive dogfighter. It’s supposed to be a simple escort mission - doomed as soon as your lieutenant makes the mistake of saying the word “routine”. It's the scale that gets you as you break formation to weave around the capital ships you’re protecting (“Where are you GOING, pilot”). They are whales to your plankton.
And of course it goes spectacularly wrong. A fleet warps in without warning. You’re ordered to swat the ships buzzing around the carriers, and for a minute there’s a chance to appreciate the honed laser jousting of the game proper - the firm push of the thrusters behind you; the driftless movement designed to dodge simulation sickness; the way velocity bleeds as you turn, granting a moment’s grace to lock onto passing fighters. You’re peripherally aware of the screams and gurgles in your headphones. It is not going well.
And then you are dead. Not yet, but it’s coming. Your meeting with the vacuum is booked at the precise moment the Amarr Titan pops into being before you. In the footage, I can see that its distinctive dome, the most terrible Sky dish in the universe, takes up maybe a third of the screen. In VR, it feels like you’ve been swallowed whole. As it charges up a shot, energy lashes across the Titan like solar storms on the surface of the sun. Your wards are blown to smithereens, and the debris opens your cockpit like a tin can. Electronics crackle, and you watch those new arms freeze.
The lieutenant’s still audible, just. And so is her resignation: “See you in the next life.”
Bewilderingly, this shiver-inducing bit of fan service is intended just as an on-ramp for the multiplayer - there are no current plans for a fully-fledged single player campaign. Until there are, you’ll find me outside the CCP office with a placard.
Runner-up: Star Wars: Battlefront
Joel: I am not a hardcore Star Wars fan. In fact, given how far lovers of the series take their passion, maybe I don’t even qualify as a fan at all. But I’ve seen the films multiple times (the good ones, at least), enjoy them, and admire the scope and scale of the universe.
One thing I’m pretty sure I am going to be a fan of, however, is Battlefront. I played both the co-op Survival Mode and the multiplayer Hoth battle at E3, and each was authentic like having your hand cut off by your own father. Now I’ve had a chance to fly about in the new Fighter Squadron mode, and it’s every bit as wonderful.
This is Battlefront’s aerial combat mode, in which up to 20 players pilot X-Wings and TIE Fighters - or, if you collect certain upgrade tokens, more pimping vehicles such as the Millennium Falcon itself - and duke it out across the skies. It’s accessible in a way that piloting Battlefield’s vehicles never has been: flight is easily controlled (even if I did stack it into the ground on more than one occassion) via the analogue sticks, with evasive maneuvers mapped to the D-pad. A fairly generous lock-on system aids the aiming of your cannons, and there are missiles, speed boosts and the like which work via cooldown.
Much like the ground game, DICE haven’t felt the need to overcomplicate things. Simple, satisfying systems mesh with an incredibly evocative visual and soundscape to make what will surely be the definitive interactive Star Wars experience. Geez, I sound like I’m writing the press release…
Runner-up: Skyworld
Jeremy: VR tabletop games are an idea that early Rift developers have tended to nod along to during convention panels - before returning to their simulated cockpits and first-person adventure games. A team in Rotterdam, bless them, are really doing it. Don the Valve-endorsed HTC Vive to play Skyworld, and you’re presented with a circular table. You can spin it like a Lazy Susan by grabbing at its edges using the kit’s two wireless controllers. But there’s no need when you can physically walk around the Vive’s tracked space, checking the hex-covered board from all angles or - though it goes against every knee-preserving instinct in your body - stepping right into the centre of it.
With your head literally in the clouds, you can point and poke at the pieces dotted around the map’s central mountain - directing soldiers to attack enemy production buildings and, eventually, a many-turreted castle. My developer guide suggests I might want to order in a few more units, and he’s right - because as soon as I select the armoury, the table flips to reveal a clockwork man hammering away at his anvil. For an encore, we cast a spell to take control of the dragon perched atop the board’s peak - directing the wyrm at my cheek to light up one of the forts below.
It’s important to stress that none of this feels gimmicky: dragon commands might be endgame material, but Skyworld feels like a very real and grounded strategy game. It’s lent extra earthiness, in fact, by the efforts developers Vertigo have made to style their troops like miniatures. Valkyrie is wonderful, but VR’s capacity for making PC games tactile shouldn’t be overlooked. Games we saw
Winner: Ubisoft VR demo
Joel: I’m definitely cheating here, because I did actually play this… but I didn’t gohands-on. How so, you ask? Because my first glimpse of Ubisoft’s virtual reality output was a tech demo controlled entirely by head-tracking. LOOPHOLE.
In it you are put into the… feathers of an eagle soaring across the Paris skyline. It’s graphically very lo-fi - think of how Assassin’s Creed Unity probably looked two months into development - but that doesn’t matter. What does matter is that the experience brilliantly conveys a sense of speed, and the controls are remarkably responsive. Tilt your head so that your ear touches your shoulder and you’ll peform an extremely tight turn, and you have such taut reigns on your bird of prey that you can even dive right down to street level and weave between buildings, under bridges and the like.
What also matters hugely is the lack of motion sickness. I, it must be said, am really not very good when it comes to tolerating the physical effects of virtual reality gaming. In fact, only a few hours before I sat down to try this I’d had another VR experience - one that, on paper, was far more gentile. However in the wake of that I felt extremely nauesous, so when I was told what was about to happen at the Ubi stand I was none too thrilled. And yet, 20 minutes or so of soaring around a high speeds, ducking and diving through the Eiffel Tower, and I felt fine.
My enjoyment may have been boosted by the fact that the multiplayer component of the demo, a capture the flag affair in which you could squawk at other bids to take them out, went extremely well. Apparently I have natural aptitude for avian deliveries.
Winner: XCOM 2
Jeremy: They could have done so much less. That’s what struck me about Firaxis’ sequel to the game that revived turn-based tactics. Julian Gollop, by his own admission, only got X-Com right once. Only now, with Chaos Reborn, is he close again to having a dense strategy layer speak meaningfully to the skirmishes beneath.
It took a large team at Firaxis four years and a few false starts to do the same - and nobody could have blamed them for positioning players once again as Earth’s last-ditch defence against invasion. Yet in November we’ll be captaining a mobile base on a planet long since captured by the aliens.
There’s a nod to Enemy Unknown in the form of the globe, still levitating above the staffers in Mission Control. But it flickers and disappears as the camera nears, replacing the sphere with a flat view of the planet’s continents. It’s here that theCommander - say it in gravelly baritone for best effect - will work to expand the resistance, scanning for missions and reacting to the ADVENT administration’s countermeasures.
Like you, the aliens have short-term aims as well as long ones. And like you, they’re researching. Dark Events will occur - enemy attempts to build better armour, or advanced ammo - and you can have a go at preventing them. But you won’t succeed in stopping them all.
It’s that realisation, that the baddies are playing Enemy Unknown while you play XCOM 2, that makes this sequel so exciting. The geospace antics are vaguely reminiscent of the espionage of Invisible Inc., but there’s nothing else directly comparable. Firaxis know they got it right first time - so they’ve built something with the same ethos, the same desperation, from an utterly different perspective. Welcome back, Commander. You’ve got some catching up to do.
Runner-up: Sonder
Joel: I spent 30 minutes being given a one-to-one demonstration and explanation of this indie title from Macedonian studio Kamai Media, and I’m still pretty confused. But I’m also intrigued. This is a game in which you can control any of the cast of characters, switching between them freely… or you can play as none of them.
Each has an AI personality so will go about their business independent of your control, but you can jump in at any time in order to select from dialogue options or make choices. And the choices you make will have a real impact on the game, not just in the short-term, but way down the line within the six episode structure. The Kamai team have crafted their own non-linear narrative system which tracks each decision and alters the world accordingly, and it’s incredibly complex - I’ve seen under the hood of this thing, and it’s like a spider ingested a rainbow and then continually shot out webbing while riding atop a Spirograph.
The general conceit is that humans have been sent on a mission into space, cryosleeping their way to a far-off planet. Yet, predictably enough, they wake up while en route and… things start happening. There are echoes of Alien, minus the flesh-hungry xenomorph (I think…), and Moon, only with less crippling loneliness.
You can rewind to any point at any time in order to change your choices or explore alternate timelines, and you’ll need to - while episodes will only take 20 minutes or so to complete start-to-finish, information you gather during each playthrough will be crucial to solving the mystery at the centre of the game. And keeping characters alive, because every single one of them can be killed off if you muck things up. Good luck with that.
(Sonder will be coming to Steam Early Access in mid-September, with the first episode releasing fully in October.)
Runner-up: Skyshine's Bedlam
Jeremy: There remains one aspect of Fallout 1 which isn’t often referenced or replicated - its time limit. The original Vault Dweller was given a gentle shove out into the wasteland not to find their dad or their destiny, but to source a replacement part for their bunker’s water cleaning facilities. A 100 day ticker instilled overland travel with a sense of urgency unusual in a genre that, before and since, has taken a more meditative tack.
Skyshine’s Bedlam feels like the natural successor to that forgotten aspect of Fallout. It’s a tactical post-apocalyptic RPG that goes full roguelike - placing you in charge of a crew of killers making your way across the desert in a ginormous, upgradable armoured vehicle, the Dozer.
The aim is to make it from the metropolis of Bysantine to the mythical utopia of Aztec City with as much of your gang as possible. And the idea is that each attempt is a single session - a series of random encounters that you probably won’t survive.
In combat, the divergent abilities and AI routines of your Marauder, Mutant and Cyborg enemies leave Bedlam reminiscent of Card Hunter. You can’t move everybody in a turn, so scraps are positional puzzles in which you do your best to keep your raiders out of trouble and stick the knife in when you can.
I’m a bit worried Skyshine’s Bedlam won’t get the attention it deserves when it arrives in September - not least because there are two Bedlams out this year. Don’t let it happen. Take 'em down to Aztec City.
Microsoft teased its audience at the Gamescom 2015 about a new and special edition of Xbox One controllers based on the upcoming Halo game, and now just recently pre-orders for the controller have gone live. Halo 5 themed Xbox One controller is currently available on Amazon, GameStop and the Microsoft Store for $70.
What’s new and unique about this set of controller is that it represents a Master Chief vs Spartan Locke theme of Halo 5, giving it a bright touch of a basic green army color. Apart from this, Microsoft has also announced a Halo 5 Xbox One bundle once the game is officially launched in October this year.
The bundle is said to be priced at $500 and will include a 1TB console, a special edition controller and a copy of the game along with several other Halo 5 items.
In other news regarding Microsoft Xbox One, the company had recently teased a new elite Xbox One controller at E3 2015. What’s new about this controller is that it comes with four slots for interchangeable paddles, along with an entirely new and classy look and Hair Triggers for those who play shooting games on their consoles a lot.
The new Elite controller is said to be developed for pro-level gamers and will certainly offer a completely different experience than what the original Xbox One controller gives.
So I spent hours trying to find the best 40'' tv with the least amount of input lag. I made the decision that the Samsung UN40EH5300 it's a 1080p 60hz 40'' TV.
I've been fiddling around with the calibration on xbox one where it walks you through a few pages to get the best picture ( Closed eye, open eye, etc... )
I have my settings at 36 frames , PC ( RGB FULL ) , 1080P.
Yet I can't see the " closed eye " ever. Even when I make my TV as bright as possible. Are some TV's just not able to see the closed eye? I know some tv's can't display the sun but what about the closed eye? I did everything the menu said as well " HDMI Black level" "Black input" I tried every single variety of settings with my tv.
Also the TV just looks... mediocre like I wasn't amazed at how great battlefield 4 or Forza looked. My 20'' 4 year old Dell monitor seems to have nicer colors. Is that normal? is " game mode " killing my picture quality?
So my questions are:
1.Does " game mode " just kill the picture quality and I should live with it?
2. Does it matter if I can or can't see the eye and the sun and just set the TV settings to what I think is nice ( I usually have my settings extremely bright and colorful to the point where my eyes almost bleed )
3. Is there a better 40'' TV? ( not a Vizio or mitsubishi or subaru I want a legit brand )
Mozilla is testing a new private browsing mode in Firefox that doesn’t just keep no trace of your porn browsing habits on your machine but that also blocks online services that could track you while you’re surfing the web.
That’s not unlike what plug-ins like Ghostery and the EFF’s Privacy Badger can do for you, but Firefox now combines that with its own incognito mode.
“Our hypothesis is that when you open a Private Browsing window in Firefox you’re sending a signal that you want more control over your privacy than current private browsing experiences actually provide,” the Firefox team writes today.
Even when you are in the private browsing mode, after all, online services can still track you through techniques like fingerprinting, even when they don’t have access to all of the cookies on your machine.
If you’ve ever used a plug-in with this kind of functionality, you’ve probably seen sites that simply break under the unbearable pressure of not being able to track you. Just like these plug-ins, the experimental Private Browsing mode lets you unblock some trackers so you can still use these sites.
The latest updates to these pre-beta versions of Firefox also now enforce add-on verificationto keep users safe from rogue extensions.
Mozilla has lately gotten a lot of flak for adding features like a messenger and built-in Pocket support to Firefox. Adding this enhanced Private Browsing mode, however, will likely be something most Firefox users will welcome.
Thanks to Apple updating Boot Camp, that is. If you have had a hankering to try out Microsoft’s latest operating system — and I can recommend at least taking it for a spin — now’s the time.
Apple’s full directions here are worth your time, but the broad strokes are simple: If you have a Mac no older than ‘mid 2012,’ and are running the most recent build of OS X, you should be able to get Windows 10 running without too much bother.
Boot Camp will also let you upgrade from Windows 7 or Windows 8.1 if you have a prior build running on your machine at the moment. If you don’t have Windows installed already, you will probably have to buy yourself a copy of the code. Microsoft is providing a year of free upgrades, after all, not a free ride for everyone.
TechCrunch’s initial impressions of the first, “final” Windows 10 build remains: Lots of promise, more polish than Windows 8 or Windows 8.1, and a return to desktop preeminence. That and it’s still a bit buggy.
Here’s the full list of compatible Macs, via Apple:
Microsoft likely doesn’t mind Apple making it easier for Mac users to run Windows 10 — after all, it has to reach that billion device threshold. I doubt the software firm cares much about what device is running Windows 10, provided that it is in fact running the code.
It’s Friday, so if you were going to play around at your desk and call it work, you now have a prime excuse. Good luck.
The Apple TV is expected to get a hardware upgrade, but no new service until 2016. (Courtesy of Apple)
Waiting for Apple's breakthrough television service? You may have to wait a little longer.
While many were hoping that Apple would launch a new TV service at its usual fall iPhone event, Piper Jaffray analyst Gene Munster said in a note that the tech giant will probably delay the expected TV service until 2016. According to a report from Apple Insider on the investor note, Apple is still negotiating contracts with content providers. In the note, Munster said that he puts the chances of seeing the TV service debut at 50-50.
We've heard this tune before; many Apple observers expected that the company would release a streaming TV service this spring alongside Apple Music. But, after reports of protracted negotiations, those hopes faded even before Apple chief executive Tim Cook took to the stage.
Competition in the streaming video space is more crowded than ever, as more and more traditional television and cable companies look to put their content on smartphones and tablets. Apple will have to compete not only with the likes of Netflix, Hulu and Amazon for consumer subscription dollars, but also with a growing number of networks and other companies such as Dish and Sony, which offer their own separate streaming services.
But coming late to that party doesn't necessarily spell doom for Apple. While the proliferation of streaming services is giving users more choice, it's also made for a confusing landscape. Cord-cutters have made it clear that they don't want fat cable bundles that force them to pay for channels they don't want. But paying for several, small services is also a pain. If Apple can waltz onto the scene with attractive, slim bundles that give users a good sampling of networks at a lower price, it will have a good market.
That's definitely a tall order, however, which may explain why there are so many delays. Apple's reputation is for releasing polished products — even if its Web services, such as Maps, tend to be a bit less gleaming than its hardware — and its consumers are less likely to tolerate launch glitches. Just look at the launch of Apple Music.
Microsoft has released a brand new system software for the Xbox One. This new update doesn’t really contain any major changes except for a small fix for the Party Chat. It also prepares the system for the upcoming Fall 2015 update for the Xbox One.
This new update 6.2.13326.0 (xb_rel_1508 13326.0.150810-2029) is now available for download on Xbox One. Major Nelson had earlier confirmed that a new update would be released today. You can check out his tweet below.
The patch notes don’t list anything important except reiterate the info shared by Major Nelson.
The Xbox team is hard at work building and fine tuning the new Xbox One user experience that will be unveiled to the preview community this Fall. This update will help us to get your console ready to receive the new experience.
Microsoft earlier revealed the new UI for the Xbox One at Gamescom 2015. This new UI will be included in the Fall 2015 update for the Xbox One.
We are now days away from the launch of Call of Duty: Black Ops 3′s multiplayer Beta, and what better time for Treyarch to provide a comprehensive combat movement tutorial for the game. The developer’s goal is to wind the combat loop tightly, with a precision and momentum-driven movement system that allows you to stay more focused on the combat.
The combat movement tutorial video can be seen below.
In order to allow players to always stay on the go, the developer has incorporated an unlimited sprint system, meaning that there are now no meters associated with the mechanic. Players can also mantle over objects without a break in weapon control movement. There’s also a thrust jump, an analogue system governed by a thrust meter. By tapping jump, players can extend their time in the air or hold the jump button to get further or higher.
Powersliding is also possible in Call of Duty: Black Ops 3. Players can queue up a powerslide in mid-air and land into it while turning in firing. A major addition to the Call of Duty series, Wall Run, is also key to the player’s momentum-driven movement.Wall runs are easily initiated by pressing the left thumbstick towards a wall. While wall running, players can use hip and ADS fire as well their equipment.
What’s your take on this combat tutorial for Call of Duty: Black Ops 3? Let us know in the comments below.
The Order 1886 is, without a doubt, the most visually impressive game on any platform, including PC. It doesn’t reach this visual fidelity without a few sacrifices though, as the game is very short and linear in term of exploration.
Ready at Dawn has utilized some great post-processing effects and decided to go with a 1980×800 render setup for cinematic aspect ratio. This gave them the overhead to go with an anti-aliasing solution using Forward+ renderer that can be basically estimated to be the computationally expensive 4xMSAA, which is mighty impressive for a current generation game with such gorgeous graphics.
Ready at Dawn recently shared their tech with the world at Siggraph 2015 and we can see some interesting screenshots revealing how the game would have looked without its post-processing effects.
It is explained that The Order 1886 uses EQAA to reduce aliasing, which is basically an AA solution for AMD GPUs (as used in PS4) and an alternative to MSAA. Ready at Dawn opted for 2 color fragments with 4 coverage samples for the EQAA, putting the quality of AA somewhere between 2x MSAA to 4x MSAA.
To further increase the image stability, Ready at Dawn wrote their own custom resolve shader which used a wider, higher-order reconstruction filter.
The final pass is a standard temporal aliasing component that is combined with the resolve pass. This is done to reduce shader aliasing in the game.
The end result is an IQ that lacks any visible jaggies and looks to be the perfect fit for the physical based rendering setup of The Order 1886.
Comparison with no AA (anti-aliasing) and 4xMSAA
Here is another technique utilized by Ready at Dawn to improve the shadow quality in the game. As explained by the devs, they chose to execute this technique on the PS4 CPU and had plans to implement it on the GPU, but time constraint restricted them for doing so before the official launch.
The Order 1886 was released exclusively on the PS4 in February 2015. It was developed by Ready at Dawn, who used their own custom in-house engine for the game.
Let us know what you think about this article in the comments below.
The Order 1886 is among the most graphically impressive current-generation games out there, and Ready At Dawn takes pride in the advanced rendering techniques used to create its Victorian era setting. The developer conducted a comprehensive presentation on the extensive R&D that it went through in order to come up with a modern lighting solution for the game.
Ready At Dawn explained in detail why it chose to opt for a baked Global Illumination (GI) solution for The Order 1886. The screenshot above shows complicated lighting across a range of materials, none of which is is real-time. Everything is based off the developer’s baked Global Illumination solution.
Ready At Dawn had a clear graphical target in mind with respect to The Order 1886′s game design. Since it is a linear game with medium sized levels with static environments, it made sense for the developer to employ a baked Global Illumination solution. Doing so, allowed the developer to save up on precious GPU resources, and subsequently use those resources in boosting the game’s quality in other areas.
The developer’s intention was to capture both diffuse lighting and specular GI. Among the many reasons why the developer pushed so hard on baked specular GI was the limitation it hit using cubemaps, with spatial reflections turning getting inaccurate results.
Ready At Dawn tried several techniques (as seen in the slide above), but each of them failed to fit the developer’s exact requirements. Some of these techniques, such as H-basis AO for specular and diffuse occlusion for props, remained all the way through into the final release build of the The Order 1886.
Ultimately, however, the developer ended up using a Spherical Gaussian solution in order to enhance the scenery and have the lighting as well as the shadows represented more accurately. The difference can be seen in the screenshot comparison below.
In the comparison above, the hot spots around light sources are more visually appealing and lit more naturally. It would have been difficult for the developer to do the same via cubemaps, as doing so would have required to place many cubemaps around each light source, which may well have led to memory limitations.
For other similar comparisons using other areas from the game, follow the link here in order to check out Ready At Dawn’s full presentation on advanced lighting. Share your thoughts on the presentation in the comments below.
"Halo 5: Guardians '" development director at 343 Industries recently elaborated on the game's lack of split-screen multiplayer support by calling it "nontrivial." He also cleared up some early access confusion with regard to the newly announced Xbox One console bundle.
The news comes to Design & Trend via the Twitter account of 343's Frank O'Connor. Prior to "Halo 5's" October launch, he addressed two of the most pressing concerns of his fans.
First and foremost is the game's lack of split-screen multiplayer. Despite being an integral part of the franchise since 2001's "Halo: Combat Evolved," the series' fifth entry will be restricted to online multiplayer only. In addition to an official company statement at the beginning of July, O'Connor recently buttressed the decision by saying "it's what they call 'nontrivial.'" Essentially, he sees the feature as unimportant to the game's overall goal. That being said, he assured his followers that "if we could do it, we would do it."
As stated not too long ago, the reason it can't be accomplished is because "Halo 5: Guardians'" standard of graphics and performance can't be maintained across two simultaneous windows. Despite initially thinking it was doable in January, recent developments proved otherwise.
This lack of support has obviously riled up longtime "Halo" fans and has even lead to petitions and forum threads that demand the feature return. Frank's words reiterate that it's not technically in the cards right now.
Another area of focus for Master Chief enthusiasts is the limited edition "Halo 5" console bundle announced at Gamescom 2015. The $499 set includes a limited edition digital copy of the game and a specially designed console and controller.
However, the most interesting part about it is the bundle's release date. Apparently, the package will go on sale one week before "Halo 5: Guardians'" street release date of Oct. 27. That being said, O'Connorcautioned that those that purchase the bundle will not have early access to the game. "Servers won't go live till launch. You just get to install early," he said.
Alongside the bundle, "Halo's" Gamescom presence was strengthened by a full detailing of "Halo 5's" eSports features. "Halo Wars 2" was also officially announced for Xbox One and PC.
"Halo 5: Guardians" releases on Oct. 27 exclusively for Xbox One.
Are you upset by this game's lack of split-screen multiplayer? Are you buying the bundle? Let us know in the poll and comments section!
Sony just announced via PlayStation Blog that the much appreciated PlayStation Experience, which debuted for the first time last year to celebrate 20 years of the PlayStation brand, will be returning this year on December 5th and 6th. This year’s PlayStation Experience will be located in San Francisco(while last year was in Las Vegas) to reach out to more fans; and to do so, Sony heard the fan feedback and lowered the price of the tickets for the convention.
Here are the important info you need to know:
Where: Moscone West, San Francisco, CA When: December 5-6, 2015 Prices: Two-Day Early Bird Ticket: $60 // Early bird available until September 20th or while supplies last (whichever comes first) Regular Two-Day Ticket: $75 Saturday Only Ticket: $45 Sunday Only Ticket: $40 Capcom Cup VIP Package Add-on: $75 Note: We highly recommend you register with your PSN ID when purchasing tickets.
Additionally, the Capcom Cup will be held at PlayStation Experience this year too, so Street Fighter fans be ready! For those who don’t remember, during last year’s PlayStation Experience we got the first gameplay footage of Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End, the Chalice Dungeon footage for Bloodborne, the reveal of Street Fighter V for PS4 and PC, the PC port of Final Fantasy VII for PS4(heh) and many more games announcements.
You can also check out the video below:
We’re extremely excited for this show. Are you too? Let us know in the comments below.
A new multiplayer mode for the upcoming game Star Wars: Battlefront has just been announced by Electronic Arts and DICE titled ‘Supremacy‘.
The main task of this mode is to capture all five or majority of the control points that are scattered all over the map. The teams will have to capture these control points before the 10 min time limit. Each team will have two points with them at the start of each game. The mode is much like ‘Conquest’ from Battlefield series, but it gives much more tweaks to encourage greater teamwork among players. Unlike Battlefield, there is no value in draining tickets of the enemy team. Whoever holds all the control points or atleast majority of them till the end of the time wins the game.
The mode ‘Supremacy’ will be featured in the largest maps of Star Wars: Battlefront, giving the players an opportunity to use almost every vehicle available in the game. The level designer ‘Dennis Brännvall’ also stated that players don’t need to move far to see their friends when they Re-spawn into Supremacy. Instead, they are thrown into the frontline where the main battle is happening. So you will enjoy the battle as much as others do. Players will also be able to take control of Hero and Villains like Darth Vader and Luke Skywalker.
Star Wars: Battlefront is the third major installment in Battlefront series and will make its debut on November 17, 2015 for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 4 and Xbox One.
Let us know what you think about this news in the comments below.
Make sure to grab your favorite weapons and armors before he leaves again for the next week. You can check out his previous week’s inventory from here.
Destiny was released on the PS3, PS4, Xbox 360 and Xbox One last year. It has been a commercial success for Activision and a major expansion is planned for release this year.
Let us know what you think about this week’s Xur Agent of Nine inventory in the comments below.
The new update should be available next time you turn on your Xbox One
Microsoft Corporation’s (NASDAQ:MSFT) has just announced that users of its Xbox One platform can expect a new system update next time they connect their console online.
Larry Hyrb (aka Major Nelson) of the Xbox Social team revealed through his official twitter account that the update was on its way, and would be available to users in the next few hours. The update in case has been numbered 6.2.13326.0 (xb_rel_1508 13326.0.150810-2029).
Microsoft usually releases updates and patches for its Xbox One console at least once every month, and adds features requested by users and members at the Xbox community forums. There have been countless different features added through these monthly updates, and there will be more to come in the coming months.
But unfortunately, this time there are no new features to be added to the Xbox One console. Major Nelson says that this update does not add anything new to your current Xbox experience, but rather fixes minor issues and bugs. This August update also prepares your Xbox for the upcoming New Xbox Experience, which was announced by Microsoft back at E3, and is set to release this November for all Xbox One users. The new dashboard is a complete overhaul of the existing one and according to the Head of Xbox, Phil Spencer, has been built around “speed.”
One specific fix that has been the highlight of this update is that the well-known party chat application on the Xbox One now has less bugs and players who reported problems earlier, with the application should expect a better experience after this update.
If you have the instant-on mode enabled on your Xbox One, you should receive the update automatically. However, if you want to manually trigger the update, you can select the system update button found under system area in the Xbox One console settings.
The new game has been released on Android, alongside a patch for its already available iOS version
Bethesda recently released the first Fallout-themed mobile game on Google Inc.’s (NASDAQ:GOOG) Android platform.
Let us bring you up to speed on the game. Fallout Shelter was announced back at E3 in June, during the first-ever Bethesda E3 press conference. The game was available for download within minutes of the announcement and fans went crazy. But much to the dismay of people, the game was only available on Apple Inc.’s (NASDAQ:AAPL) iOS devices, which disappointed Android fans. At QuakeCon last month, Bethesda announced an Android version of the game along with some improvements. iOS users are to receive improvements in the form of a patch update.
Fallout Shelter is the Fallout variant of the mobile management games genre, in which you have to build a vault and act as an overseeing manager. Your job is to control the people inside the vault and make sure that they stay happy and remain productive.
Bethesda earlier said that the game was not made with the intent to make money, but according to a research company, the company has already made $5.1 million in the first two weeks from in-game sales of virtual lunchboxes. The lunchboxes go 99 cents a pop or you can pay $20 upfront and receive a total of 40 lunchboxes for your dwellers. Bethesda commented on the matter and said that the players reward the developers when they find a game they like and it just shows how smart the fans actually are.
The updated version also includes, Mr. Handy, which is your ultimate robot companion and is available as a premium reward in the game. Players can use Mr. Handy to collect resources outside the vault. The new update will also include Molerat infestations and Deathclaw invasions, meant to cause even more problems for people inside the vault, which makes the game even more challenging.
The next major entry in the Fallout series “Fallout 4” is set to release this November on Microsoft Corporation’s (NASDAQ:MSFT) Windows PC, Xbox One and Sony Corp.'s (NYSE:SNE) PlayStation 4. Fallout Shelter is now available for download at Google Play Store.
Microsoft has rolled out four new “add-ins” for its Outlook platform, which will allow people to use Uber, Boomerang, PayPal, and Evernote apps
Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) has recently integrated various “add-ins” on its Outlook platform, including Uber, Boomerang, PayPal, and its latest partner, Evernote. The company is also adding other third-party partners including Wunderlist, IFTTT, and Yelp who will also bring their own add-in features for Outlook.
The update was initially experimented on a limited trial group. Now, it is finally being offered to a larger audience. The platform update has been developed using constructive user feedback, which shows Microsoft’s determination to meet user preferences.
With the recent roll out of add-ins for Outlook, Microsoft’s intentions to create a user-friendly web engine, that helps people carry out multiple tasks on a single platform, are quite clear. Similarly, the third party apps will also provide users with relevant solutions and functions.
The new layout and added features will certainly help Microsoft expand its user base. Users will now be able to use trending services like Uber transport, PayPal, Evernote’s easy media content sharing and inbox features, along with Boomerang’s calendar management, appointments, and meeting features.
The company's blog post highlights the expected time frame for the launch of various platforms, including Outlook.com, Outlook 2013, Office 365, and Outlook for Web. With the upcoming additions, i.e. Wunderlist which allows users to organize and manage to-do-lists, IFTTT which organizes events and tasks systematically, and Yelp which allows users to research restaurants, Outlook is certainly looking to assist its users in carrying out various tasks in an organized manner.
Users who have Outlook.com preview and Office 365 subscriptions can make use of the latest add-ins by using Outlook 2013 and Outlook for Web browsers.
With the new update, Microsoft can attract a larger target market, including teenagers, adults, corporate individuals, and senior citizens.
New 355.60 WHQL drivers released by NVidia Corp. for Windows 10
The owners of NVidia Corporation’s (NASDAQ:NVDA) graphic cards may not have had the best start to upgrading to Microsoft Corporation’s (NASDAQ:MSFT) new operating system, Windows 10, which is why the company has decided to release new WHQL drivers for the latest OS. The new set of drivers are version 355.60 and they are available in both 32-bit and 64-bit hardware support. The 32-bit has a size of 217mb, while the 64-bit version has a size of 279mb.
This release is different as compared to other NVidia releases, as this is its preferred Game Ready driver for the upcoming "Ashes of the Singularity" demo, which comes out later this month. Ashes of the Singularity will be the first Real Time Strategy (RTS) game that will have DirectX 12 enabled for the end consumers. However, there is still time for the final version to release as it has a 2016 launch date.
This is NVidia’s first driver launched for the R355 series of cards, so not much is known regarding its capabilities and how much of a boost it will provide to games that will run on DirectX 12.
NVidia is also planning on implementing GameWorks VR technology to consumer end products, as the status of GameWorks VR has now officially moved from alpha to beta stage, confirming that progress has been made by the company to provide a VR experience to the users in the future. A beta SDK has been released for developers, allowing them to further perform test on GameWorks VR.
The official changelog does not say much regarding the driver release, as can be seen here: “Just in time for the preview of Ashes of the Singularity, this new GeForce Game Ready driver ensures you'll have the best possible gaming experience. This driver also supports the Beta version of the GameWorks VR software development kit (SDK). As a result, users will be able to enjoy the benefits of GameWorks VR with supporting applications and headsets for the first time.”
Drivers for 355.60 WHQL can be downloaded for the 32-bit version here and 64-bit version here for Windows 10.
As it was predicted, the Xbox 360 and the PlayStation 3 are finally easing themselves into the grave while the newer generation of consoles, Xbox One and PlayStation 4, soar in terms of sales and game compatibility.
In November, it will be 10 years since the Xbox 360 was released and nine years since PlayStation 3 followed suit. Xbox One and PlayStation 4 are steadily getting a foothold on the gaming market as the older-gen consoles start crawling to their deathbed with NPD sales results for July already out.
CNET reports that even though overall game hardware, software, and accessories grew 6 percent in July, the statistics of the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 are constantly fluctuating exponentially. On a percentage basis, the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 experienced double-digit declines, while the Xbox One and PlayStation 4 start to offset the losses.
NPD analyst Liam Callahan says in a statement that the sales of the Xbox One and PlayStation 4 have been astonishing, clearly outshining the feat that Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 pulled off when they started on the market.
“After 21 months, combined Xbox One and PS4 hardware unit sales are close to 50% higher than the combined sales of Xbox 360 and PS3 after 21 months on the market.”
The International Business Times reports that the PlayStation 4 is sitting at the top of the market for two consecutive months now, with Xbox One gaining a 44 percent increase in sales from last year’s figures. That is in terms of hardware sales. In software sales, while the PlayStation 4 continues to dominate the race, it’s interesting to note that Xbox 360 games sales are running just behind the PlayStation 4.
If Xbox 360 games are selling so well, why are gaming analysts predicting the death of the old-gen console? Callahan believes that the spike in Xbox 360 games sales is only brought by the announcement of the backwards compatibility of the Xbox One console. Since Xbox 360 games are still cheaper than Xbox One games, and with a majority of the Xbox One buyers comprised of old Xbox 360 users upgrading to the newer-gen console, gamers are seeing it wiser to invest in Xbox 360 games that they know they could still use when they upgrade to Xbox One.
Ubisoft has already let go of Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 support, and newer games coming out are already following suit. Even huge game GTA V announced last May via Motoring Crunch that they are not releasing further DLCs for Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 after their Heist DLC was released.
Microsoft has been very vocal about the end of their support for Xbox 360 in 2016, and we’re already months from this dreaded doom. There are also rumors circulating that PlayStation 3 is following in Microsoft’s footsteps soon. With the continued strength of the Xbox One and the PlayStation 4 and the death of support for Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3, there is no other choice for gamers but to finally let their older consoles get the peaceful rest they have earned.
Nvidia has announced two new Quadro cards to thier workstation card line up based on the Maxwell graphics core. The Quadro M5000 and Quadro M4000 both share the Maxwell 2 GM204 based architecture but with some minor differences.
The Nvidia Quadro M5000 features 2048 cuda cores, 128 TMUs and 64 ROPs with a core speed of 1050MHz. The card also comes with 8GB of GDDR5 running at 6600MHz with a bus width of 256 bits. Next the Nvidia Quadro M4000 uses a slightly cut down version of the Maxwell 2 architecture GM204 based chip with 1664 Cuda cores, 104 TMUs and 56 ROPs with a core speed of 800MHz. This card also has 8GB of GDDR5 running at a lower speed of 6000MHz and with the same 256 bit bus width.
The Nvidia Quadro M5000 has a bandwidth of 211 GB/s with floating point performance of 4.3 TFLOPS leading to a power consumption of 150W whilst the cut down Quadro M4000 gives a bandwidth of 192GB/s with floating point performance of 2.6 TFLOPS with a nice power consumption of 120W. Pricing on both these cards is yet to be announced.
As a gamer and hardware enthusiast that spends a lot of time in various PC gaming communities, one of the longest on-going debates has been the best choice for CPU when it comes to gaming; Intel or AMD.
While there are users on both sides claiming their favorite brand is the best, we’ve noticed quite a bit more on the side of Intel. You might ask, why? – Well, that’s pretty easy, Intel is faster. That’s right, we’ve said it. When it comes to raw CPU performance there’s no question that Intel’s newer manufacturing processes, and better overall IPC is definitely faster in the majority of tasks. However, with all that said we still believe that AMD isn’t being given a fair shake. Especially in the gaming communities where their lower prices should seem much more attractive to gamer’s on tight budgets.
So, today we’re going to be doing a real-world gaming test running a variety of popular games, across multiple graphics configurations with real-world resolution and graphical settings. If you’re looking for max settings at 800×600-1024×768, you may want to stop reading now. The components we’ll be testing are the FX-8370 from AMD, and Intel’s current enthusiast flagship the Core i7 5960X,
TECHNOLOGY X TEST BENCH
We’d like to thank AMD, Intel, ASRock, Crucial, ADATA, EVGA and DeepCool for providing vital components without which this report would not be possible. Check out our review of the Intel Core i7 5960X, ASRock X99 OC Formula, the Crucial Ballistix Elite DDR4-2666 memory kit, and theDeepCool Captain 360 CPU Cooler and Thermaltake Core v51 chassis used in this report.
In today’s report we’ll be doing a simple real-world gaming comparison between the FX-8370 and Intel Core i7 5960X. We’ll be testing both CPUs at their stock speeds as well as overclocked to4.4GHz (Intel), and 4.6GHz (AMD). We chose these clock speeds for our overclocks simply because they’re the highest overclock we could achieve on each processor without much hassle. Yes, we could have pushed both chips even further with a bit more tweaking, however we wanted to test with a scenario we believe most gamers might be in, so quick and dirty overclocking it is.
For graphics, we’re going with three different configurations ‘Mid-range’, ‘High-end’ and ‘Ultra High-end’ in which we’ll be using the following graphics card configurations.
Mid-Range: EVGA SSC GTX 960 2GB
High-End: ASUS STRIX GTX 970
Ultra High-End: 2x ASUS STRIX GTX 970s in SLI
We’ll be testing only actual games, no synthetic benchmarks at all. Performance for each game was monitored using the utility Fraps, and then analyzed using FRAFS. In order to accurately measure the gaming experience, we’ve decided to forgo the use of minimum and maximum FPS in our results. This is because these values do not accurately represent the actual experience, or ‘smoothness’ of the game’s performance. Instead, we’ll be using the average FPS, as well as the average of the lowest 1%, and 0.1% of results . We believe these results will better showcase the variance in performance.
All games were tested at resolutions of 1080p, 1440p and 4K depending on the graphics card configuration. The titles tested include: Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, DoTA 2, Tomb Raider, Crysis 3, The Witcher 3, Grand Theft Auto V and Project CARS.
