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BioWare Responds To Report Detailing Anthem’s Troubled Development
BioWare has issued a statement regarding the development of Anthem, in response to an article that explored development troubles that may have contributed to its rocky launch. The response explains its rationale for not participating in the story, addresses some of the criticisms, and rebukes what it suggests is some team members “tearing down one another.”
The spark behind the response was an expose published on Kotaku. It spoke with several developers that either worked on the game or are familiar with the conditions around its development. Their stories included first-hand accounts of stress and burnout, as well as troubles adapting the Frostbite engine and purported warnings to management that went unheeded. BioWare itself chose not to engage with the article, but the statement makes very clear that the expose is what prompted the response.
“We’d like to take a moment to address an article published this morning about BioWare, and Anthem’s development,” the statement reads. It then says it stands behind all of the developers who worked on the game, and that was why it abstained from participating. “We chose not to comment or participate in this story because we felt there was an unfair focus on specific team members and leaders, who did their absolute best to bring this totally new idea to fans. We didn’t want to be part of something that was attempting to bring them down as individuals. We respect them all, and we built this game as a team.”
The statement goes on to give BioWare’s positions on building a healthy workplace culture, and says it will be looking at stress company-wide in feedback and team surveys. It also says that the team collectively accepts criticisms, but also issues a pointed criticism that appears aimed at those who spoke to Kotaku for the article.
“We don’t see the value in tearing down one another, or one another’s work,” it reads. “We don’t believe articles that do that are making our industry and craft better.”
For his part, the expose’s author, Jason Schreier, noted on Twitter that BioWare’s response was written before they could have read the article.
Anthem has suffered from a host of problems since launch, including middling reviews, crash bugs, and refund requests. BioWare has even openly acknowledged the rough launch. Still, BioWare is planning several updates and making quality-of-life quality-of-life adjustments. The game had a strong sales debut, so BioWare has every reason to continue supporting it.
from GameSpot – Game News https://www.gamespot.com/articles/bioware-responds-to-report-detailing-anthems-troub/1100-6465983/
Destiny 2 Ascendant Challenge Week 1 Location (April 2-9): Where To Go And What To Do Guide
The Iron Banner might have ended in Destiny 2, but there’s still a lot of stuff to chase in the Jokers Wild expansion. With pinnacle weapons to chase, the allegiance mission to complete, Gambit Prime competitions to win, and the upcoming Revelry spring event, there are plenty of reasons to keep climbing toward the Power level cap. As always, a new weekly Ascendant Challenge can help you do that.
As players have come to expect, the Ascendant Challenge starts out with acquiring the corresponding bounty from Petra in the Dreaming City. You’ll also need a Tincture of Queensfoil, a consumable item you can earn by taking part in certain activities in the Dreaming City (or you can outright buy one). Once you have both the bounty and a Tincture, you’ll head to a Lost Sector, Aphelion’s Rest, which is located in The Strand, just beneath the area where Petra is sometimes found. Using a Tincture will grant you a buff, Ascendance, that allows you to see a Taken portal. This one is located partway through the Lost Sector, atop a hill–it’s hard to miss if you’ve used your Tincture.
Jumping into the portal takes you to the Ascendant Plane’s Ouroborea. There, you’ll have to explore the area to find four different blights. Enter the dome and destroy its core; you’ll know you’ve done it when it disappears and the text “a seal breaks” pops up in the bottom-left corner. Once you’ve dealt with all the blights, you’ll go back toward the center to destroy crystals (whose protective shield has been temporarily dropped). Just beware the knights who will chase you around as you do this–your best bet is to keep moving in a circle, which should let you destroy the crystals without allowing the knights to get too close.
Although the chest is unlikely to have much in the way of worthwhile rewards, finishing the Ascendant Challenge also completes the bounty you picked up from Petra. That rewards you with a piece of Powerful gear that is highly desirable and can increase your level, making this all worth the trouble, provided you’re capable of getting it done. With The Black Armory expansion in full swing, players are back to the gear grind to get to the new level cap of 650.
Although this Ascendant Challenge is not a new one, there is a lot happening in Destiny 2 right now. Niobe Labs means the fourth of The Black Armory’s new Forges to unlock, as well as a new step in the Mystery Box Exotic quest we’ve been tracking since the expansion released last month.
There are actually five new Exotic weapons in The Black Armory to find, four of which we know about (and one of which we can take a guess at). There’s also a lot more happening in January and beyond: Bungie laid out its content calendar for the rest of Year 2, which is pretty extensive.
from GameSpot – Game News https://www.gamespot.com/articles/destiny-2-ascendant-challenge-week-1-location-apri/1100-6462575/
The Best PS4 Game Deals To Check Out This Week (US)
It’s been a busy few weeks in the PlayStation Store, but now that the Great Indoors Sale has come to an end, the deal selection is slimming down quite a bit this week. That said, we’re still here to fill you in on the game deals worth considering. Some of these discounts will be even greater if you’re a PS Plus member (and if you are, be sure to check out April’s free PS Plus games, which are now live).
While the Elder Scrolls 25th Anniversary Sale ended this morning, The Elder Scrolls Online is still marked down for another week–you can grab it for just $10 instead of $20. That purchase includes the base game and the Morrowind Chapter.
Battlefield V is 50% off for exactly one more day–you can get it for just $30 until tomorrow, April 3 at 8 AM PT / 11 AM ET. Battlefield V’s free battle royale mode, Firestorm, released last week, so there’s really no better time to pick up the game and see how Firestorm measures up against existing competitors in the battle royale scene.
This week’s small batch of deals includes several pre-order discounts–we’ve limited our below list of deals to the games available now. Note that many of these deals end on different days (always at 8 AM PT / 11 AM ET) rather than next Tuesday as usual. We’ll update this story if other good deals are added throughout the week.
Shop this week’s PS4 game deals »
And see more of our picks below.
- Anima: Gate of Memories – The Nameless Chronicles — $15 (ends April 3)
- Battlefield V — $30 (ends April 3)
- Deployment — $5 (ends April 8)
- Dirt Rally 2.0 — $39.59 (ends April 5)
- Dirt Rally 2.0 – Digital Deluxe — $60 (ends April 5)
- Distrust — $9.74 (ends April 3)
- The Elder Scrolls Online — $10 (ends April 9)
- Inside My Radio — $3 (ends April 16)
- The Mummy Demastered — $13 (ends April 3)
- Mystik Belle — $9.74 (ends April 3)
- Paladins – Digital Deluxe Edition 2019 — $45 (ends April 4)
- Sundered – Eldritch Edition — $6.59 (ends April 4)
- WWE 2K19 – Digital Deluxe Edition — $29.69 (ends April 9)
from GameSpot – Game News https://www.gamespot.com/articles/the-best-ps4-game-deals-to-check-out-this-week-us/1100-6465980/
