Pearl Abyss reveals new MMORPGs with DokeV and Crimson Desert
Two new MMORPGs to keep tabs on in the coming years.
source /news/9180-pearl-abyss-reveals-new-mmorpgs-with-dokev-and-crimson-desert
Path Of Exile’s Fan Convention Promises Lots Of News, Creators Of Diablo Will Also Attend
The first-ever fan convention dedicated to Path of Exile, ExileCon, takes place this weekend in developer Grinding Gears’ home city of Auckland, New Zealand. It’s primed to be a big show for the Diablo-esque free-to-play action role-playing game, as the studio is promising announcements for the game’s next expansions and holding deep dive talks with developers.
The event kicks off with a keynote address on Saturday, November 16, featuring Grinding Gear Games’ founder Chris Wilson and technical director Jonathan Rogers, beginning at 10 AM NZDT / 1 PM PT / 4 PM ET. This event–which is probably where the big reveals will take place–will be streamed live on Twitch. GameSpot will be in attendance at the event to bring you all the big news.
ExileCon Day 1 rolls on with a panel at 11 AM NZDT featuring FX artist Ivan Leong, called “Creating Game Effects in Path of Exile.” There will also be panels on Day 1 focused on the upcoming 3.9.0 and 4.0.0 updates, and these will also be streamed live.
Day 2 (Sunday, November 17) will feature big panels as well. The founders of Blizzard North, the team that created the original Diablo, will be on hand for a group interview presentation. David Brevik, Max Shaefer, and Erich Schaefer will speak at the panel, which won’t be streamed. However, GameSpot plans to be in attendance. Day 2’s events also include panels about procedural world generation and another Q&A with the Grinding Gears’ founders.
You can see the full ExileCon schedule here. If you’re interested in attending, tickets are still on sale, starting at $180 USD.
Path of Exile was initially released on PC in 2013 before coming to Xbox One in 2017 and PS4 earlier this year. The game is free-to-play, supported by microtransactions.
In 2018, Grinding Gear was acquired by Chinese internet giant Tencent. That company also has a controlling interest in Riot Games (League of Legends) and Supercell (Clash of Clans). Tencent also owns 40 percent of Fortnite studio Epic Games and has a 5 percent stake in Activision Blizzard.
Disclosure: Grinding Gear Games is paying for GameSpot’s flight and accommodation to attend ExileCon.
from GameSpot – Game News https://www.gamespot.com/articles/path-of-exiles-fan-convention-promises-lots-of-new/1100-6471433/
Shenmue 3 Is Nearly Here After An 18 Year Wait–Here’s The Launch Trailer
Shenmue III has been a long time coming, but soon fans will finally be able to continue Ryo Hazuki’s adventure. It’s been over 18 years since Shenmue II’s September 6, 2001 launch on the Dreamcast, and after the console’s death and the commercial failure of the first two games, a third seemed unlikely. But now, Shenmue is finally coming back.
Shenmue III will release on PlayStation 4 and PC on November 19, which, as this new launch trailer (entitled “The Story Goes On”) reminds us, is a bit of a miracle. “18 years ago the clock stopped,” an opening text reads. “Time vanished into an unfathomable future. But passions never waver. A moment in motion, a story renewed.”
The trailer features Ryo and Ling Shenhua, as well as series antagonist Lan Di, who was responsible for the death of Ryo’s father in the original game. It shows many of the elements fans are nostalgic for–including some fairly wooden voice acting–and hints at elements of the Shenmue plot that are being carried over into this third entry in the series.
The initial Kickstarter for the project opened on June 15, 2015; now, over four years later, the game (which broke Kickstarter records) is finally complete. Director Keiji Okayasu returned for the project, and while there has been some controversy over the game’s Epic Games Store exclusivity, fans have been eagerly anticipating this release. Last year, a Shenmue I & II HD Collection was released, marking the first time the original game had ever been made available on a system other than the Dreamcast; unfortunately, a planned full Shenmue remake never happened. From the beginning, Shenmue was envisioned as a multi-part epic, and Shenmue III is not planned as a conclusion to the series–if it does well, we could see a Shenmue IV.
If you’re excited for Shenmue III, be sure to check out our hands-on report and interview with series director Yu Suzuki.
from GameSpot – Game News https://www.gamespot.com/articles/shenmue-3-is-nearly-here-after-an-18-year-wait-her/1100-6471429/
Shovel Knight: Release Date For Final Two Expansions Announced
Shovel Knight, the 2014 indie darling that started life on the Wii U and 3DS before eventually making its way to the current generation of systems, is due for one last major update. Two expansions will release soon for owners of the Treasure Trove edition of the game, and now we have a release date for them.
Developer Yacht Club Games has announced on Twitter that Shovel Knight: King of Cards and Shovel Knight: Showdown will both release on December 10. The games will be available as part of the Treasure Trove collection, or can be purchased separately from digital storefronts. In King of Cards, players will take on the role of the titular king, and Yacht Club Games is promising that it will feature “more levels, mechanics, secrets, and content than any Shovel Knight game to come before it.” Showdown is a multiplayer spin-off, which offers a competitive take on the Shovel Knight formula, complete will a full story mode and AI bots.
Let the countdown begin! Shovel Knight Showdown and King of Cards arrive December 10th. Read on to find out where you can play our latest and greatest adventures! https://t.co/2pagsMUYFW pic.twitter.com/vVgihipbFj
— Yacht Club Games (@YachtClubGames) November 13, 2019
Shovel Knight Showdown will not be available on 3DS or PS Vita, whereas King of Cards will be made available on all systems. The game also still has a trio of amiibo on the way, based on Plague Knight, Specter Knight, and King Knight, and the game is getting a new physical release that will bundle together all of this content on December 10 as well (although the PS4 physical release has been delayed into 2020).
While this will wrap up the Treasure Trove collection, there’s already another Shovel Knight game in the works–Shovel Knight Dig, which will see Shovel Knight using his shovel for its intended purpose through underground dungeons. Yacht Club Games also has another game in the works, Cyber Shadow, which is a retro-styled ninja action game. It’s not yet clear when either game will launch.
from GameSpot – Game News https://www.gamespot.com/articles/shovel-knight-release-date-for-final-two-expansion/1100-6471422/
The Crew 2: Free Blazing Shots Update Adds New Weekly Events And Cars
The Crew 2 has received a major new free update on PC, PS4, and Xbox One as part of patch 1.5.0, expanding Ubisoft’s ambitious open-world racer with more events, cars, and vanity items to unlock. A new weekly schedule for the game will provide players with several opportunities to unlock rewards based on their performance.
The new Blazing Shots update brings with it new weekly LIVE Summit events, which will be PvE competitions that play out over nine activities pulled from The Crew 2’s numerous different styles and racing disciplines. Your performance, and where you place on the leaderboards, will dictate the rewards they unlock at the end of the week. There will also be a once-a-month Premium LIVE Summit, where players can potentially win a special edition vehicle.
The update launches with a heap of new content, and events and unlockables for the first four weeks have been announced. The Mix Master Live Summit is available right now, with four new vehicles and 8 new vanity items up for grabs. From November 20, the H2O Live Summit goes up, plus a new PvE event and 3 new vanity items. On November 27 the Ghost Recon themed Ghost Road Live Summit will bring a Summit Special Edition vehicle, three new vanity items, and another new event, and from December 4 you’ll be able to take on the Street Fight Live Summit, along with two other events, to gain one new vehicle and three new vanity items. Within a month, a total of 78 vanity items will have been added, and there will be more beyond that too.
The update also introduces the Elite Bundle 3, which is available for a month at a 20 percent saving. It features the Ferrari 599XX EVO touring car, the Porsche Carrera GT hypercar, and the Citroën GT hypercar. All in all, it’s a hefty free update for the game, which first released in July 2018.
Previous updates for the game have brought a demolition derby and hovercraft racing with them, among other additions and changes. In our original 8/10 review of The Crew 2, Edmond Tran said that the game “displays admirable strengths, which lie in its player-friendly features, freedom of movement, and its willingness to bend the rules in order to make things exciting and varied for an accessible, American-themed thrillride.”
from GameSpot – Game News https://www.gamespot.com/articles/the-crew-2-free-blazing-shots-update-adds-new-week/1100-6471428/
Rainbow Six Siege’s Bullets Will Soon Penetrate Limbs–Here’s How It Works
Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six Siege will change how bullet penetration works in its Y4S4 season update so that shots will do more realistic damage to their human targets. These updates will mean that some weapons will be able to hit more than one target per shot, while others will be able to pierce through one body part of an Operator and hit another, potentially doing more damage.
The exact details have been explained on the game’s dev blog, complete with a diagram explaining the levels of penetration different guns and bullets can achieve. This ranges from no penetration to full penetration (get your laughs out now because we’re going to use that word a lot in this write-up). This change aims to make shots more lethal and “reduce the impression of inaccurate hit registration.”
When this system is in place, shotguns and machine pistols will work much the same as they did before–your shots will hit the body part they hit without passing through. This is how most guns in Rainbow Six Siege have operated up until this point, and these ones will continue to have no penetration.
Simple penetration, which will effect most types of guns, will mean that bullets can pass through one part of an Operator’s body and hit another point. For example, the post states that if an Operator is shielding their face after a flashbang and you shot them in the hand with an assault rifle, the bullet will pass through their hand and potentially hit them in the head, resulting in a headshot. For guns with simple penetration, the damage taken from a shot will be modified by which parts the bullet passes through, but the essential takeaway is that you’ll now do more damage if your bullet penetrates. Bullets operating under simple penetration rules will not penetrate through to a third body part, though, nor will they pass through and hit anyone else.
Designated marksman rifles and sniper rifles will offer full penetration, meaning that if you shoot someone with one of these guns you could potentially hit the person behind them, too. If your bullet hits a second Operator, they will take 70% of the damage they would from an equivalent full shot, meaning that a well-timed sniper bullet will be extremely dangerous. Bullets cannot pass through into a third person, though.
This system will go up on the test server ahead of launch in the full game. Ubisoft is also currently working on Rainbow Six Quarantine, a PvE spin-off that will come to both current and next-gen consoles.
from GameSpot – Game News https://www.gamespot.com/articles/rainbow-six-sieges-bullets-will-soon-penetrate-lim/1100-6471426/
Trials of Mana details class change system, character prologues, & dungeon puzzles
Learn about the key class system and other new features in this Seiken Densetsu 3 remake.
source /news/9178-trials-of-mana-details-class-change-system-character-prologues-dungeon-puzzles
John Carmack Is Stepping Down From Oculus, Transitioning To Consulting Role
John Carmack, the video game legend known for his work on id Software games like Quake, Doom, and Wolfenstein, is leaving his job at Oculus. He announced on Facebook that, as of this week, he will transition to become a “consulting CTO” with Oculus instead of working at the company full time.
“I will still have a voice in the development work, but it will only be consuming a modest slice of my time,” Carmack said.
Going forward, Carmack will spend more of his time working on “artificial general intelligence.” He said it’s something he’s wanted to pursue for some time already, and he wants to go after it known “before I get too old.”
“I think it is possible, enormously valuable, and that I have a non-negligible chance of making a difference there, so by a Pascal’s Mugging sort of logic, I should be working on it,” Carmack said. “For the time being at least, I am going to be going about it Victorian Gentleman Scientist style, pursuing my inquiries from home, and drafting my son into the work.”
Carmack had served as full-time CTO at Oculus since 2013. Prior to that, he worked at the Texas-based game developer id Software, which is owned by Bethesda parent company ZeniMax.
Carmack’s time at Oculus wasn’t always smooth. ZeniMax sued Carmack (and others), claiming that Oculus stole virtual reality technology from ZeniMax. Oculus was ordered to pay ZeniMax $500 million in the case, though it was later knocked down to $250 million. Carmack sued ZeniMax on claims that the company did not pay him what he was due for its purchase of id. This matter has also since been resolved.
It is not clear at this stage if Oculus, which is owned by Facebook, will look for a permanent replacement for Carmack in the CTO role. Oculus is a very different company these days, as all six of the company’s founders have now left.
The latest Oculus product is Oculus Quest, a standalone virtual reality headset that doesn’t require a computer. In addition to working on the hardware itself, Oculus funds the development of VR games through its Oculus Studios division. Oculus also operated a studio that made animated VR movies, but Facebook closed the company in May 2017.
from GameSpot – Game News https://www.gamespot.com/articles/john-carmack-is-stepping-down-from-oculus-transiti/1100-6471424/
Star Wars: Jedi Fallen Order Copies Go Out Early, As Pre-Loading Begins
Star Wars: Jedi Fallen Order, the new, single-player melee action game from the makers of Titanfall and Apex Legends, is almost here. The game officially launches on Friday, November 15, but copies of the game have begun to appear in the wild already.
There are reports on Reddit and elsewhere of people getting their hands on the much-anticipated Star Wars game ahead of time. Players who are keen to avoid spoilers are advised to be extra careful on social media, as information about the story could emerge.
Jedi Fallen Order takes place five years after Revenge of the Sith. The story, which is canon, follows a Jedi Padawan named Cal Kestis (played by Gotham’s Joker, Cameron Monaghan) who is trying to outrun Empire forces trying to eliminate all Jedis. The main enemy is Darth Vader’s trainee, the Second Sister, who is chasing Cal across the solar system.
Unlike other EA-published games, Jedi Fallen Order is not available early for EA Access subscribers. That’s a bummer, as playing upcoming EA games early is in part what makes the subscription service so attractive. However, EA/Origin Access subscribers are getting free bonus content for Jedi Fallen Order.
Early copies of Jedi Fallen Order emerging in the wild have appeared just as pre-loading for the game has begun. Respawn announced on Twitter that people who pre-ordered a digital copy of the game can start pre-loading now on PS4, Xbox One, and PC. The file size relatively small compared to other big AAA games, weighing in at around 37 GB (on Xbox One, at least).
As for when you can actually start playing Jedi Fallen Order, the game will reportedly unlock at midnight local time.
#JediFallenOrder is available for preload on Xbox One, PS4, and PC! Pre-order now and download to be ready to play on November 15. pic.twitter.com/bg1hsQVZ31
— Respawn (@Respawn) November 13, 2019
Jedi Fallen Order is expected to be a massive success commercially, as EA is expecting the game to sell as many as 8 million copies at launch. The NPD expects it to be among the best-selling games of 2019 in the US.
In other news, Mad TV actress Debra Wilson appears in Jedi Fallen Order as a Jedi named Cere Junda. She spoke to The Hollywood Reporter about the significance of her character and why she’s excited to be in the game.
“I believe I’m the first black female Jedi as far as video games are concerned,” Wilson said. “To be a part of the Star Wars universe in this regard is amazing. Growing up with Star Wars from a very early age–well not that early because I’m a little older–it had a very powerful impact on me.”
from GameSpot – Game News https://www.gamespot.com/articles/star-wars-jedi-fallen-order-copies-go-out-early-as/1100-6471420/
Here’s When We’ll Learn More About Diablo 4
While the recently-announced Diablo IV is not coming out anytime soon, Blizzard confirmed that a planned February 2020 update will show a behind-the-scenes look at the progress being made on the game. Before then, we’ll be getting some new information and clarifications in the near future.
Game director Luis Barriga announced Blizzard’s intention to release “a series of quarterly updates,” with one planned for this coming February as the first to kick the series off. Barriga didn’t clarify what these updates will contain but said the studio is “excited about [the] cool update” for February.
Alongside these quarterly announcements, Barriga also said that Blizzard’s lead systems designer, David Kim, will provide updates of his own “in the coming weeks.” Kim will provide information on items and stats, as well as “address some of your open questions” in various online channels.
Blizzard added some new features to Diablo IV, including mounts to make travel faster. A big feature that was supposed to be in Diablo III, player-versus-player, has made its way to Diablo IV. In a hands-on preview, we said that it seems “Diablo IV [may] offer a pretty different take on the franchise from its predecessor.”
Diablo IV was announced at BlizzCon 2019, though the action-RPG was leaked prior to Blizzard’s annual event. The studio has since shown off the game’s three current classes, announced that all versions are online-only, and confirmed plans to include cosmetic microtransactions.
from GameSpot – Game News https://www.gamespot.com/articles/heres-when-well-learn-more-about-diablo-4/1100-6471417/
