WoW Classic “Not A Bug” List Details Issues That Look Like Bugs But Aren’t

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World of Warcraft Classic, the re-release of Blizzard’s genre-defining MMO, brings players back in time to replicate the WoW experience as it was more than a decade ago–and that includes warts and all.

Blizzard has now published a “not a bug list” that covers things that appear to be a bug but are actually accurate and representative of WoW as it was years ago. “The nature of WoW Classic sometimes invokes different memories for different players, and this leads to certain misconceptions for some about what is or isn’t working as intended,” Blizzard said in a blog post.

One example of something that might look like a bug but is actually working as intended is how pet aggro works–the aggro radius very inconsistent, and that’s exactly how it was in the vanilla WoW. Additionally, WoW Classic players may notice that available quests don’t appear with a “!” on the mini-map, and that’s not a bug. Additionally, quests with long descriptions don’t have text wrapping, and that’s how it’s supposed to be. On top of that, quest objectives and points of interest are not shown on maps, but that’s the way it was for the original WoW.

You can see the full “not a bug” list below, as written by Blizzard.

WoW Classic does have some real bugs, however, and these span almost all aspects of the game. These issues were detailed by Blizzard in a separate post, and you can see a roundup of all the known WoW Classic issues here.

WoW Classic is proving to be extremely popular, so much so that players are facing lengthy server queues, even though Blizzard added an additional four servers ahead of launch.

WoW Classic, as its name suggests, is a re-release of the original genre-defining MMO from 2004 with some functionality changes. It’s free for existing subscribers of WoW. For more, check out GameSpot’s rundown of everything you need to know about WoW Classic.

WoW Classic “Not A Bug” List:

  • Tauren’s hitboxes and their melee reach is slightly larger than other races.
  • Being critically struck while using /sit to sit does not cause abilities like Enrage, Blood Craze, and Reckoning to activate.
  • Using the “Automatic Quest Tracking” option does not auto-track newly accepted quests. (It instead will start to track an existing quest once progress towards an objective is started.)
  • Warrior health Regeneration is working at the expected rate.
  • Quests objectives and points of interests are not tracked on the map or minimap.
  • Completed quests are marked on the minimap with a dot. (and not a “?”)
  • Feared players and NPCs run fast.
  • Standing on top of other players while facing away allows spells and attacks to be used.
  • Creature respawn rates are much slower than in Battle for Azeroth.
  • NPCs which offer multiple quests may inconsistently display them as a dot or a “!” on the available quests list. They were inconsistent in 1.12, and we’ve reproduced the exact inconsistency they had back then.
  • Quests that are too low level for do not show up as a “!” in the game world.
  • Available quests do not display a “!” on the minimap.
  • On level up, the message: “Your skill in Protection increased to 15” was added in 1.12.1, and we’re intending to keep that.
  • You are unable to Polymorph enemy targets that are tapped by players with whom you are not grouped.
  • At all levels of player characters and enemies, aggro radius is set to the intended distance.
  • Long quest objectives don’t have text wrapping.
  • Fall damage is equivalent to expected and verified values.
  • Broadcast text can be seen multiple times if multiple players interact with the same NPC.
  • WANTED signs do not have “!”, and are also not highlighted.
  • Player characters do not animate when looting/interacting with quest objects (e.g. collecting pumpkins).
  • Gnomes and Taurens are the correct size.
  • “Melee leeway” is working as intended in both PvE and PvP.
  • Cone of Cold is behaving consistently with the reference client.
  • Arcane Missiles does not put the caster in combat .
  • A Hunter’s Frost Trap ground effect will break Rogues out of stealth.
  • The Berserking Troll racial ability is behaving as expected and matches the reference client.
  • The pet that a Warlock has when initially logging into the game world does not restore a Soul Shard when dismissed by taking a flight path or moving out of range.
  • The trigger range on Hunter’s traps are reduced by Stealth when the stealthed player is a similar or higher level than the Hunter.
  • Soul Link cannot be dispelled by dispelling the Warlock’s pet.
  • A Warlock’s Succubus and Felhunter pet cannot cast spells if they are out of line of sight of the target.
  • Manually cancelling Stealth after using Vanish will remove the Vanish buff as well as the Stealth buff.
  • Escape Artist has a very small chance to fail when used to escape an effect that has a decreased chance to be dispelled (e.g. a Rogue’s Vile Poisons talent).
  • Rogues are not broken out of stealth by Blizzard until they take damage.
  • Taunting Hunter pets that are set to Aggressive or Defensive mode will cause them to attack the taunting player.
  • The threat generated by Battle Shout is not capped at 5 party members and is increased when affecting targets such as Hunter and Warlock pets within the same party.
  • The chest at the end of the encounter with The Seven in Blackrock Depths does not prompt a loot roll. Beware of Ninjas!
  • Other players do not see a Hunter’s quiver on their back.
  • Shield Slam and other off-hand abilities does not proc extra attacks from Windfury.
  • Logging into World of Warcraft: Battle for Azeroth while playing WoW Classic on the same game account will disconnect you from WoW Classic. This is true in reverse as well.

Hunter concerns:

  • Hunter “dead zone” is working as expected and is consistent with the Reference Client.
  • A wolf pet’s Howl buff is consumed by anything that causes damage, even if it does not benefit from the buff.
  • A Hunter pet’s Bite and Claw ability damage will not change in the tooltip based on the happiness of the pet. The tooltip will always display the damage as if the pet were Content (yellow). This is consistent with the Reference client.
  • Traps can sometimes not be triggered if a player moves over them very quickly (i.e. a Warrior’s Charge ability). This behavior is consistent with the Reference client.
  • Auto Shot does not make a sound when cast during the animation of Hunter’s Mark and certain other abilities.
  • Scatter Shot, Wyvern Sting, and Freezing Trap share diminishing returns.
  • A Hunter’s Frost Trap ground effect will break players out of stealth.
  • The rate at which pet focus regenerates is not always consistent.
    • Note: While the actual amount of focus that can be generated per tick is inconsistent, the total amount generated over time is flat and consistent. There are slight variations in the time between ticks that cause this to display inconsistently.
  • Pet aggro radius is working properly and as expected. This is to say, it was extremely inconsistent in original WoW, and it remains inconsistent in WoW Classic.
  • Pets “remember” targets that they have been instructed to attack previously and when sending a pet to attack a different target, the pet will return to attack any remaining targets they were previously instructed to attack when the currently engaged target dies.
  • Pets that have been instructed to attack dead targets with a special ability or attack will attempt to approach and attack the dead target, but will return to the hunter’s side when the ability fails.
  • Other players do not see a Hunter’s quiver on their back.
  • Hunters can sometimes experience a slight delay before recasting Auto Shot after moving.
    • Note: There is a hidden “retry” timer that occurs if the hunter is moving when the normal swing timer finishes. This timer checks for hunter movement before trying to resume auto shot, and this timer refreshes every 500ms when the hunter is moving. This means that if a Hunter is moving and stops moving just after this timer refreshes, you need to wait until the retry timer checks again to validate that you are no longer moving and can resume casting auto shot. This is not a result of spell batching or server heartbeats, and is specific to the functionality of a Hunter’s Auto Shot. This is consistent with Auto Shot functionality on the Reference client.

from GameSpot – Game News https://www.gamespot.com/articles/wow-classic-not-a-bug-list-details-issues-that-loo/1100-6469394/

WoW Classic: Here’s All The Known Issues

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World of Warcraft‘s much-anticipated “Classic” edition has finally arrived. The release wasn’t without problems, however, as Blizzard has now disclosed a long list of “known issues” for launch.

In a blog post, Blizzard said it hopes to fix these problems in due course, but the company also acknowledged that it can’t say when or even if any individual bug will be addressed. The known issues span a number of different aspects of WoW Classic, including art, animation, and sound; combat; creatures and NPCs; UI; and spells, buffs, and talents.

You can see a list of all the known issues below; they’re accurate as of August 26. Additionally, Blizzard said the list is not comprehensive, but instead it is a “sampling” of some of the issues it anticipates players may experience “with some regularity.”

Importantly, this list of known issues for WoW Classic is separate from another list of “not bugs,” which are things that might look like bugs but are actually accurate to the Classic experience.

WoW Classic, as its name suggests, is a re-release of the original genre-defining MMO from 2004 with some functionality changes. It’s free for existing subscribers of WoW. For more, check out GameSpot’s rundown of everything you need to know about WoW Classic.

Launch is just the beginning for WoW Classic, as Blizzard plans to release new features and activities including the raid Blackwing Lair, the PvP battleground Warsong Gulch, and server-wide events like the Scourge Invasion, among other things.

WoW Classic Known Issues (as of August 26)

Art, Animation, and Sound

  • The Warlock’s Imp pet is using an incorrect spell casting animation
  • Some belts are displaying extra textures on non-belt areas of the body
  • There are multiple display issues with the Egan’s Blaster quest item
  • The quiver model is not displaying on the Hunter’s back if you have an ammo pouch in your bags
  • The player character’s upper torso/head is locked forward while strafing left and right with something targeted
  • Players can become stuck in a ready animation when activating Shoot or Auto Shot more than once in rapid succession
  • Characters will rotate their lower body too responsively while in the combat ready stance
  • Food and drink objects do not fade correctly when a stealthed character is eating or drinking
  • Casting Shoot immediately after casting another spell can cause the wand animation to become delayed
  • Noggenfogger Elixir does not retain the skeleton model on a shapeshifted Druid
  • A Hunter’s Auto-Shot does not animate, display a missile, or play a sound when it fires immediately after Aimed Shot or Multi-Shot
  • Several spell visuals for Hunter, Warlock, and Paladin abilities will incorrectly continue to loop after the initial spell cast or impact
  • A Hunter’s Freezing Trap is missing a ring visual above the trap
  • The Warrior skill Recklessness has a persistent visual throughout its duration, which did not occur in Original WoW
  • Several player spells and abilities can occasionally play additional overlapping sound effects when used
  • Sheathing and unsheathing weapons does not play a sound.

Combat

  • Hunter Pets may occasionally get stuck on Follow if the command is issued during Feign Death
  • Extra attacks stored by Reckoning do not expire when the player mounts
  • A Hunter’s Multi-Shot ability can chain more than 10 yards from the primary target
  • A Warlock’s Drain Soul spell does not appropriately deal damage when the channel time is shortened via spell pushback

Creatures and NPCs

  • Loot sparkles do not scale up with creature size
  • Creatures that are affected by a Rogue’s Distract ability do not turn quickly enough
  • Creatures that are affected by a Rogue’s Gouge ability will occasionally turn to face a different direction
  • Battle Companions such as the Battle Chicken may occasionally become frozen after combat and fail to follow the player
  • Gordo may occasionally wander through the side of a bridge and get stuck inside of a tree in Tirisfal Glades
  • The dragon Gyth has multiple animation issues during the Rend Blackhand encounter in Blackrock Spire
  • Taking a flight path from Nethergarde Keep to Morgan’s Vigil will cause the taxi to clip through a building shortly after taking off

Engine and User Interface

  • When within detection range of a friendly stealthed unit, the stealthed unit’s name is incorrectly visible
  • SSAO does not render correctly in Windows 10
  • Macro tooltips do not load in when you first load into the client
  • Some area of effect debuffs like Explosive Trap do not display a duration
  • Several ranks of Warlock and Shaman spells do not display damage variance in their tooltips
  • If Dual Wield is known, One-Hand weapons may be erroneously equipped to the Off-Hand slot if dragged into the Main Hand slot while a Main Hand weapon is equipped
  • The default raid frames do not hide long-term buffs like Power Word: Fortitude while in combat
  • Macros that cast Pet abilities without specifying the rank do not update when the Pet learns a new rank of the ability
  • There is a conflict with some overlays such as Discord and Shadowplay that causes the client to crash when some video settings are adjusted
  • The chat messages that indicate a player’s inebriation level are incorrect

Spells, Buffs, and Talents

  • Players can mount on transports
  • Cleansed Songflower, Cleansed Whipper Root, and Cleansed Night Dragon cannot be simultaneously looted by multiple players
  • Players are not forced to re-purchase ranks of talented abilities that they have bought at least once before

from GameSpot – Game News https://www.gamespot.com/articles/wow-classic-heres-all-the-known-issues/1100-6469393/

Ancestors: The Humankind Odyssey Review Roundup — What Are The Critics Saying?

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We’re certainly not short on new game releases this week, and the reviews for many of these games are already beginning to roll on in. One, Ancestors: The Humankind Odyssey, is seeing a bit of an indecisive divide, with some outlets praising the survival game while others haven’t been as positive.

In Ancestors, you take control of a clan of apes in 10 million BC Africa and you must try and survive long enough for your lineage to endure until 2 million BC. You do this by eating, drinking, sleeping, reproducing, making mistakes, experimenting, and learning long enough until you can evolve and pass what you’ve acquired onto the next generation. The process is slow and dangerous, with both physical ailments and hungry predators repeatedly getting in your way.

Ancestors: The Humankind Odyssey launches for PC via the Epic Games Store on August 26. The game is also scheduled to release for Xbox One and PS4 in December. Below, we’ve compiled a list of some of the reviews that have already gone live for Ancestors, including our own. For a wider look at Ancestors’ critical reception, visit GameSpot’s sister site Metacritic.

  • Game: Ancestors: The Humankind Odyssey
  • Developer: Panache Digital Games
  • Platform: PC, Xbox One, PS4
  • Release Date: August 27 (December on consoles)
  • Price: $40 USD

GameSpot — 4/10

“Ancestors: The Humankind Odyssey lingers for far too long on its most toilsome aspects. The game does reward initial experimentation, but then asks you to repeat processes over and over again without any means of securing your legacy. It’s an absolute grind to reach the closest that Ancestors has to an endgame goal–survive for eight million years–and one costly mistake, whether the game’s or your own, can erase everything you’ve accomplished. What small satisfaction the game does provide is consistently ruined by violent predators, though the threat does lessen once you make it far enough into the neurological network’s expansive skill and perk tree. But as it stands, investing in Ancestors’ journey demands too much effort for too little reward.” — Jordan Ramée [Full review]

PC Gamer — 5.8/10

“Alas, the lineage of the Chunky Monkeys were wiped out about million years later after losing a few fights and running out of fertile females, and my next two clans didn’t fare much better. Starting Ancestors over again from the beginning is a major drag, having to re-discover every leaf and plant I’ve already long since grown tired of gathering, sniffing, and tasting—not to mention repeating all those endless, ulterior backrubs. I haven’t completed Ancestors yet, but I’ve definitely had enough of it.” — Christopher Livingston [Full review]

Rock, Paper, Shotgun — No Score

“I wrote most of this review, then felt maybe I was being too harsh. So I took a break and went back. I wanted to enjoy it. This time I’d play slower, explore a bit, find new foods, new tools and places. For a while I did that, and thought: maybe this is just a game that rewards people with more patience. But it was not long before I was being devoured by a forest lion because of the crap dodge mechanic. That ape was the last primateperson of my lineage, and although I could continue by going back to the main menu and trying again from a checkpoint, I decided to let the future human race die out. In many ways, it was a relief to be so thoroughly digested. Thank you, big cat. You can keep this jungle, I don’t want it.” — Brendan Caldwell [Full review]

Polygon — No Score

“Trying to break down Ancestors’ many systems would be a mighty task for a review, and to be honest, I don’t understand enough of them to try, even with about 10 hours’ worth of play under my belt. The strongest motivation I found to try new things was boredom — and I mean that in a flattering way. I could stay near my clan, and eat and drink and sleep as a contented hominid for as long as I’d like, but why would you play any kind of game if you didn’t want to go on an adventure?” — Ben Kuchera [Full review]

VG247 — No Score

“Ancestors feels wilfully stubborn. Even after developing my memory neurons, form recognition and sense of smell, my avatar was still forgetting what a dead branch looked like every 50 feet, or the sound of a hissing snake. It doesn’t really feel like it’s about evolution at all, as each generation only remembers the skills you’ve reinforced and will forget the rest, which means you need to repeat the same actions for millions of in-game years. There is a direction of sorts – expand and evolve – but the lack of colour, repetitive noises and actions all blend into one. It’s initially interesting, but its bundle of ideas and systems stumble between clever and stupid, intuitive and clunky. Ancestors: The Humankind Odyssey needs more time to evolve.” — Lauren Aitken [Full review]

IGN — 7/10

“Ancestors: The Humankind Odyssey’s greatest challenge is working out – or simply Googling – how its basic survival, crafting, and combat mechanics work. Once you understand them they become mostly trivial, and the main appeal becomes appreciating the exploration of the huge and lush prehistoric African map. Evolving your tribe’s abilities feels artificially drawn out, but it’s hard not to develop a soft spot for these disposable apes because of their authentic animations.” — Dan Stapleton [Full review]

from GameSpot – Game News https://www.gamespot.com/articles/ancestors-the-humankind-odyssey-review-roundup-wha/1100-6469391/

Overwatch Switch Port Possibly Revealed By Amazon In A Roundabout Way

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Overwatch may be coming to Nintendo Switch. There’s been no confirmation, but a leak via Amazon could suggest an announcement of a Switch port might be coming soon.

Reset Era user Lady Bow discovered an Amazon listing for an Overwatch-themed Switch protection case. The listing has since been pulled, so we’ve reached out to the supposed creators of the case, PowerA, and Overwatch developer Blizzard, to determine its authenticity.

Alone, this might be very little. But in an interview with GameSpot last year, Blizzard senior producer Pete Stilwell said that the studio used the process of porting Diablo III to Switch as an opportunity to familiarize itself with the capabilities of Nintendo’s current hardware. At the time, Stilwell was adamant that Blizzard came away from the experience deciding to only work on a Switch port for Diablo III. However, he did go on to say that a Switch port for Overwatch is “feasible,” unlike StarCraft II.

An Overwatch-themed Switch case might be made without a port–especially since Amazon has a history of leaking products by listing tie-ins early–but it’s also totally possible. The leak could also just be fake, so take our speculation with a grain of salt. However, these clues do seem to at least suggest it’s possible Blizzard might be getting ready to announce a new Overwatch Switch port at BlizzCon 2019. The next most opportune venue for a big announcement such as this would be BlizzCon 2019, which is scheduled to begin on November 1. That’s just close enough that Blizzard may have already reached out to third-party vendors like PowerA to begin production on a Switch case to go with the new port.

Or maybe Nintendo will just announce that Tracer is coming to Super Smash Bros. Ultimate. Who knows?

Overwatch is available on Xbox One, PS4, and PC. In GameSpot’s Overwatch review, Mike Mahardy wrote, “Overwatch encourages a more tangible sort of progression: that of filling a critical role on your team and understanding its intricacies the more you play, adapt, and grow. There is a genuine learning process here. There is real value to the time you spend understanding these overlapping systems. It’s that intoxicating path of discovery that makes Overwatch so varied, so rewarding, and ultimately another seminal release from developer Blizzard. Overwatch is an intelligent cascade of disparate ideas, supporting one another, pouring into one another, and coiling around themselves as they flow into the brilliant shooter underneath.”

from GameSpot – Game News https://www.gamespot.com/articles/overwatch-switch-port-possibly-revealed-by-amazon-/1100-6469390/

Star Wars Battlefront 2 Dev Reflects On Loot Box Fallout And The Game’s Growth Since Then

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Star Wars Battlefront II design director Dennis Brännvall feels that the first-person shooter is in a good place. Having been the subject of a major loot box controversy when it launched in 2017, Battlefront II has slowly been regaining its player base over the past two years thanks to well-received updates and much-needed patches. In 2019, Battlefront II is almost a completely different game–on the multiplayer side anyway–and Brännvall believes players are truly beginning to see it.

“We hit rock bottom in terms of player sentiment but now it’s climbing every month,” Brännvall said in an interview with GamesIndustry.biz. “We’re delivering more content this year than we did in the first year, which is also a sign of a healthy game. The community’s happier than it’s ever been, especially with the big announcement yesterday. I think we had to take a step back, the team had to look at itself in the mirror a little bit, pick ourselves up from a really rough Christmas for everyone and then just get back to work.”

The announcement Brännvall is referring to is the massive series of content updates that are scheduled to hit Battlefront II before the end of 2019. This month, Republic Venator and Separatist Dreadnought warships are being added to Heroes vs. Villains. Changes are also being made to the interior of capital ships in Capital Supremacy–the 40-person game mode that combines land and space battles in the same arena. In both Capital Supremacy and Instant Action, you’ll also gain the option to spawn on command posts as well, not just squadmates or respawn points. Droids are also getting new cosmetics appearances to earn and unlock.

In terms of larger changes coming later in the year, Battlefront II is getting Republic Commandos as playable characters, a brand-new planet to play on, and a new co-op focused PvE experience that’s similar to 2005 Battlefront 2‘s beloved Galactic Conquest mode. There are a few more things scheduled for 2019 as well and, surprisingly, DICE is looking at more Battlefront II content in 2020 as opposed to moving production towards a new Battlefield.

“DICE has been on the sequel treadmill for quite a while, and I think the industry is changing rapidly,” Brännvall said. “We felt that, and we know that we want to build communities rather than customers. That’s been a change in our approach. We want to stick with our games a lot longer, and we want our communities to feel like they’re well taken care of.”

“It makes no sense to constantly try to stop them playing the game they like and make them play the new game they also should like just because we don’t want to work on the old game anymore. It’s not good for the community, and in this age, if it’s not good for the community it’s probably not going to be good for business either. That’s why we’re sticking with it.”

Battlefront II’s redemption is one of the most well-earned comebacks in the game industry in the past few years. Though the single-player story campaign still isn’t very good, the multiplayer has seen huge updates that have drastically changed the game for the better. All of Battlefront II’s updates have also been free and on a near-constant monthly basis as opposed to the costly quarterly updates seen in the first DICE Battlefront. In respect to the community, DICE has structured many of these updates around the most beloved aspects of the recent Star Wars lore, such as The Clone Wars, and fan-favorite games like Republic Commando. As someone who dropped Battlefront II within a month of its release, the past year of content drops has completely changed my opinion on the shooter. If you haven’t played Battlefront II in a while, you should reconsider trying it again.

“Not a week goes by without us thinking, ‘Imagine if we hadn’t launched with loot boxes the way we did,'” Brännvall said. “We would have been a different place, that’s for sure, because we truly believe the game is a worthy sequel to Battlefront 1 and lives up to the legacy of the Battlefront franchise.”

Battlefront II is available for Xbox One, PS4, and PC. The game comes included in an EA Access/EA Play subscription on Xbox One/PC.

from GameSpot – Game News https://www.gamespot.com/articles/star-wars-battlefront-2-dev-reflects-on-loot-box-f/1100-6469388/

Wasteland 3 Is A Massive Upgrade From Its Predecessor

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Following the success of crowdfunded revival projects for Wasteland 2 and Torment: Tides of Numenera, developer InXile Entertainment is prepping another visit to post-apocalyptic America with Wasteland 3. Similar to its predecessor, the upcoming post-apocalyptic tactical-RPG puts you in the role of a leader of a roaming squad of wasteland rangers. You’ll explore the ruined wastes of the former United States of America, expanding your party and fighting bandits along the way. But eventually, you’ll need to make some drastic choices that will–for better or worse–reshape the state of things in the ruins of North America. During Gamescom 2019, we got the chance to dive into a short section of the game centering around a mission that tasked us to raid a bandit camp.

Moving away from the deserts of Nevada and the lush green locales of irradiated California, Wasteland 3 brings the Rangers further east to Colorado. In stark contrast to the previous games, Colorado is a frozen wasteland, making on-foot travel a significant challenge. This time around, the Rangers have a vehicle known as the Kodiak, a heavily armored–and heavily armed–all-terrain tank that can traverse the snow-covered landscape. Wasteland 3 is very much a continuation of what came before. However, the developers spent more time refining the core gameplay and sprucing up the presentation. Gone are the static character portraits and lines of scrolling texts, and in their place are fully voice acted dialog sequences, adding some gravitas to each interaction you have with characters in the post-apocalypse.

The Kodiak will help your team cover a lot of ground in the snow-covered landscape of post-apocalyptic Colorado.

According to the developers, last year’s acquisition from Microsoft created a massive windfall of resources for their project. Speaking with lead level designer Jeremy Kopman, he described what happened when the game’s budget had suddenly increased threefold.

“We spent a lot of time on [the production values], and then having Microsoft acquisition happen gave us more resources for this project,” he said. “It gave us the chance to pause and redirect some aspects of the game. With that said, as far as gameplay and mechanics go, we didn’t want the extra resources to change the game into something that’s not Wasteland. However, this opportunity allowed us to get the game up to a much higher level than before, like having full voice-over and better visuals. It was an opportunity to expand the game that we wouldn’t have had otherwise.”

In the demo, we traversed the snow-covered landscape in our Kodiak in order to reach a bandit compound. To gain entrance, we had to use brute force to get past the guards. Utilizing using our squad’s various skills and weapons, which included sniper rifles, heavy machine guns, and explosives. While you’ll have plenty of choice in how you choose to engage with foes, such as using stealth or just letting loose with all your weapons, there are some opportunities to skip over fights entirely–either through some smart dialog choices or using your character’s skills to open pathways around dangerous areas.

Much like the previous game, you’ll control a party of unique characters with their skills and loadouts. While you’ll often work together as a group to overcome the challenges, there are several opportunities for squad members to stand out and shine. As we ventured further into the compound, we found an alternate path into the following areas of the base. While we could take a different way, leading to several more combats encounters, this secondary path led us to an obstacle course filled with death-traps. Individual members of the party could use their unique lockpicking and beast-taming skills to overcome the bizarre challenges in the bandit obstacle course. Not only did this allow us the chance to learn more about the bandits and their hideout, but it also offered a pathway to the final encounter in the demo, allowing us to get the jump on the fiercest enemies in the base.

Your squad of Rangers will have to contend with all sorts of oddities in the wasteland.

Compared to its predecessor, Wasteland 3 looks to be a substantial upgrade compared to the previous game. This is especially noticeable during the core combat and dialog scenes. It’s still very much in line with the previous game, yet it has an undeniably more modern look. I couldn’t help but notice the similarities with other tactical RPGs like XCOM: Enemy Unknown, and I think that’s a great thing. While I enjoyed Wasteland 2, I can’t deny that it felt somewhat unrefined in its approach, which sought to reinterpret the classic design of the 1990 game. Action and the flow felt more manageable, thanks in part to the more legible UI that made your planned actions and the reactions from enemies much more apparent.

Set for a full release sometime in 2020 for PC, PS4, and Xbox One, Wasteland 3 is shaping up to be a solid follow-up that maintains the level of choice and agency from its predecessor–while also really seeing the stakes with its increased production quality. For more on Wasteland 3, be sure to check back with GameSpot for more info as it comes.

from GameSpot – Game News https://www.gamespot.com/articles/wasteland-3-is-a-massive-upgrade-from-its-predeces/1100-6469334/

Labor Day Deals: The Best Gaming Deals At Ebay And More

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Summer is quickly coming to an end, which means Labor Day (September 2) is on the horizon for those in the US and Canada, marking a three-day weekend for many workers. As with Memorial Day, Labor Day is a holiday around which retailers tend to promote a lot of special sales, and we’re already seeing some great deals pop up at Ebay. Available now through September 2, Ebay’s deals encompass multiple categories, from home and garden to fashion, but there’s a decent selection of games and tech at a discount.

While the sale is a bit light on worthwhile game discounts, there are a few gems, such as MLB The Show 19 for $34, Spyro Reignited Trilogy for $26, Devil May Cry 5 for $36, and Assassin’s Creed Odyssey’s Deluxe Edition for just $40. Many of the best deals are on the tech and hardware side of things. If you’re in the market for a new gaming monitor, you’ve got quite a few options to pick from, like this Dell Alienware 34″ curved monitor on sale for $780, down from $1,078. There are some solid gaming headsets and controllers on sale as well.

Ebay’s deals always include free shipping and a Best Price Guarantee, meaning the retailer will beat the price at competitors like Amazon and Best Buy if you see a better deal elsewhere after making a purchase. You can read more about that on Ebay’s help page. We’ll keep this story updated as we spot other Labor Day deals this week. For now, check out all the best deals we found in Ebay’s Labor Day sale below.

See all Labor Day deals at Ebay

Best gaming and tech deals at Ebay

Games:

Dell Alienware 34″ LED Backlit LCD Curved Gaming Monitor — $780 (was $1,078)

Gaming hardware and accessories:

Other tech:

Other sales happening this week

While not technically designated “Labor Day sales,” other retailers are offering some pretty solid deals on games and DLC this week. You can check those out below.

from GameSpot – Game News https://www.gamespot.com/articles/labor-day-deals-the-best-gaming-deals-at-ebay-and-/1100-6469383/

Gears 5 Horde Mode Gets The Hero Shooter Treatment

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The Gears of War franchise popularized what shooter fans commonly call Horde mode, in which players work together to take on waves of enemies, and it’s iterated on the concept ever since. Gears 5 is bringing even more changes to the mode, building on the refinements of Gears of War 4 and drawing from the ideas and features of a lot of other modern-day shooters.

The Coalition showed us a hands-off demo of Gears 5’s Horde mode in action at Gamescom and provided a whole lot of new information about it. Leading the changes in Gears 5 is an idea taken from games like Overwatch, Apex Legends, and other hero-based shooters. You won’t just pick a class specialization in Gears 5 Horde mode; you’ll choose a particular character, and each one has specific strengths and weaknesses based on the role they play on your four-player squad.

The class-based distinctions from Gears of War 4 still exist–some characters are good for building fortifications, some are better at laying down fire, and some are best-suited for leaving the base and scrounging up Horde mode’s big resource, Power. But instead of just focusing on which character class you want, you’ll pick a hero with specific capabilities in Horde, and progress them as you play.

Support For Support

Most of the characters seen in Gears 4 are making their return for Horde mode in Gears 5, with a few notable additions. Chief among them is Jack, the invisible helper robot that’s been tagging along with Marcus Fenix and his crew throughout the franchise, but is now actually playable. In most of the Gears games, Jack decloaks in combat situations to do stuff like open a door or hack a computer.

In Horde mode, he presents the opportunity to have a completely different experience from the beefy crew of human soldiers. Jack is purely a support unit, and given his lack of hands, can’t wield a gun. He can zip about the battlefield healing teammates, stunning enemies, and gathering resources to help the rest of the team. When you want to mix it up, Jack’s Ultimate ability lets you take control of an enemy, allowing you to snag big beasties and use them to tear into their former comrades.

Jack’s inclusion highlights Gears 5’s focus on broadening the possibilities of Horde mode. From the sound of things, The Coalition is building on the accessibility it introduced last time out, using hero characters to support a number of player roles. It’s also heightening the Horde mode skill ceiling for people who really want to get lost in it. Like last time, you’ll specialize your role as you play Horde mode: engineers are best at building fortifications, scouts are made for running around gathering resources and mixing up with enemies, tanks draw fire, and snipers put down tough enemies from a place somewhat removed from danger. Each character has their own loadouts and passive perks that help support their roles and your specific playstyle, plus Ultimate abilities you can access after they’ve charged up that give you major boosts on the battlefield. Those abilities can combo together with your teammates’ to give them bonuses, too.

Horde Mode Characters

The Coalition ran down every character that will be in Horde mode at launch, including three DLC characters: Emile-A239 and Kat-B320 from the Halo: Reach character pack, and Sarah Connor from the Terminator: Dark Fate character pack.

  • Kait — Scout
    • Ultimate: Kait goes invisible, but she can still melee and execute enemies even while they can’t see her.
  • Del — Engineer
    • Ultimate: Del calls in two robot units to back him up, which fight enemies until they eventually explode.
  • Jack — Support
    • Ultimate: Jack’s ability allows him to take control of an enemy and use them in battle.
  • Fahz — Offense
    • Ultimate: Fahz can see enemies, and shoot them, through walls and other obstructions.
  • JD — Offense
    • Ultimate: JD uses the underslung mortar launcher on his new Lancer GL to do massive area damage.
  • Marcus — Tank
    • Ultimate: Marcus uses his status as a living legend to inspire nearby allies to land constant headshots.
  • Emile-A239 — Offense
    • Ultimate: Borrowing from Halo: Reach, Emile uses a drop shield to soak up damage and protect himself and teammates.
  • Kat-B320 — Engineer
    • Ultimate: Also seen in Halo: Reach, Kat drops a hologram decoy that draws the attention of enemies.
  • Sarah Connor — Tank
    • Ultimate: The Coalition drew inspiration from Sarah taking down the T-1000 with a shotgun at the end of Terminator: Judgment Day; she blasts away at enemies with a shotgun, stunning and damaging groups of enemies.

Matching Your Style

You’ll further customize characters to your playstyle as you level them up, with tweaks you can make both on and off the battlefield. The returning Skill Cards give you small boosts you can assign to characters at the start of a Horde match, and you’ll earn more cards as you play. There are 14 cards available for each character at launch, and as you earn duplicates, you’ll be able to rank them up to make them more effective.

Apart from leveling up your characters as you play matches, you’ll also be able to turn on perks as you play to make yourself stronger in the middle of a Horde run. You do that by spending Power resources. The whole team shares Power that you pick up on the battlefield (or you can move or expand your base to take advantage of new Power Taps that dispense a regular flow), so you’ll need to decide between using it to build fortifications or to build up your character. You get four perks on each character and can rank each one up 10 times, making you pretty formidable as you get to the toughest of Horde’s levels.

As for difficulty, Horde mode lets you tweak quite a bit about just how tough its matches become, but The Coalition is also working to make things more accessible so you can get exactly the experience you want. You can add modifiers to each run to make it more challenging, such as giving enemies more health or making them more deadly, and your rewards become better when you take on tougher challenges. But it’s also possible to fire up Horde mode solo thanks to new AI-controlled teammates. They’re not nearly as good as their human counterparts–for example, AI buddies don’t get Ultimates–but they give you a chance to play when you don’t have a full team handy, and they’ll replace human teammates if they drop out of a match in the middle.

All these changes look to make Horde mode something that’s both more accessible and more engaging for players long-term, which makes sense given The Coalition’s focus on making the mode into more of a live-service affair. Expect additional characters, maps, and modes to drop in the future, along with battle pass-like seasonal content. Maps, modes, and other content will be free, as will some new characters; other characters and cosmetic items you’ll buy through microtransactions. But The Coalition noted that, like in other hero shooters, new characters won’t just be new skins–they’ll offer full new experiences that should continue to add more variety to Horde as it goes on.

from GameSpot – Game News https://www.gamespot.com/articles/gears-5-horde-mode-gets-the-hero-shooter-treatment/1100-6469389/

Garden Story is a fruity Social Simulator/Adventure RPG releasing on PC in Spring 2020

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Garden Story is a fruity Social Simulator/Adventure RPG releasing on PC in Spring 2020

This pixel adventure sure seems fruity.

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