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These Nintendo Switch Grips Make Handheld Play A Million Times More Comfortable

The Nintendo Switch is technically a portable console. It can be pulled out of the dock, taken with you to the bathroom–or anywhere else–and played in handheld mode. But it’s not the most comfortable portable experience. Even Nintendo seems to agree, with a smaller, handheld-only version of the Switch releasing on September 20. Considering how often my hands cramp or fall asleep while holding my launch Switch, this is a godsend, as I’ve grown tired of shaking the feeling back into them.

However, there is a solution to that tingling hands problem that makes the original Switch model more comfortable to play in handheld mode: a grip case. These work much in the same way as protective cases do, except they add a little something to grab on to, turning them into something that feels a lot more like a controller. Handheld mode is my preferred method of playing the Switch, and after using a grip case I knew I could never go back to playing without one.

Now, while there are a couple of grips we absolutely love, not all of the ones we tested were winners. RDS Industries’ Goplay Grip put my hands in an awkward position for most games, while the Orzly Comfort Grip didn’t provide enough of a handle to hold comfortably. Most grips fell somewhere between these two.

But there are a few standouts, and you can read on for an overview of the best Switch grip cases we’ve tried and can vouch for. Note that all pricing indicated below is subject to change–Amazon slashes prices all the time, so you may see a discount when clicking through. Of course, we’ll keep this article updated if we try out any new Switch grips worth buying.

Skull & Co Grip Case

$19 | $40 with carrying case

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The Good:

  • Extremely comfortable, ergonomic design
  • Interchangeable grips to help you find the best fit for your hands
  • Easily removable

The Bad:

  • Not very dock friendly
  • Right-stick positioning feels a little awkward

The Skull & Co grip case is exactly what I was looking for for my Switch. It’s a slip-on case just like the one you’d put on your phone, except it also turns your Switch into something that feels a bit more like a proper controller–a much more ergonomic handheld device. The case comes with three pairs of interchangeable grips so you can decide which shape best fits your hands. The Snap Grip is the smallest of the three options, equipped with rounded edges. The Plus Grip is a bigger version of the Snap Grip that protrudes much further out. Lastly, we have the Trigger Grip, which is my personal favourite as it feels the most like a normal controller and fits my hands perfectly. It also has a little hooked peak for your middle finger to rest in, which makes your Switch very easy to hold onto, even with one hand. The Skull & Co grip case is a huge improvement over the flat and gripless Switch, especially for Super Mario Maker 2, which previously gave me constant cramps while making levels.

In addition to the handles, the Skull & Co grip case covers everything but the front of the Switch. This means the shoulder buttons are covered as well, requiring you to press on the case’s button covers to press the L, R, ZL, and ZR buttons. However, the distance between the button cover and the button itself is so small that it doesn’t feel much different from just pulling the trigger.

I don’t want to play my Switch in handheld mode without this grip case. However, that doesn’t mean it’s perfect. I found the shape made it slightly more difficult to position my thumb and use the right analog stick. It’s not an insurmountable issue, but I did feel a little soreness in my joint while playing certain games that rely on the right stick a lot.

Skull & Co claims this grip case is “dock friendly” and doesn’t need to be removed for TV mode. However, there tends to be a slight bend in some people’s docks, causing it to have a slightly smaller opening. The slight difference is enough to keep this case from being completely dock-friendly. While I was able to force my Switch into the dock and get it to output to the TV, it took a considerable amount of time and the Switch would sometimes undock itself. I can’t recommend this grip case enough when it comes to playing in handheld, but if you want to output to your TV, be sure to take it off before sliding it into your dock. | Mat Paget

$19 at Amazon $40 with carrying case

Satisfye Grip

$26 | $48 with carrying case

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The Good:

  • Comfortable, ergonomic design prevents cramping
  • Doubles as a sturdy stand with room for charging cable
  • Bonus thumb tabs for extra grip and customization

The Bad:

  • Doesn’t fit in many carrying cases

For a long time, I shied away from taking my Switch out of its dock, and that’s largely because I’ve always found playing Switch handheld to be incredibly uncomfortable. The long, slender tablet forces your wrists into a cramped, unnatural position, and it weighs just enough that I always find myself gripping it too hard to keep from dropping it. I’ve spent a few months with the Satisfye grip, and I can honestly say I’ll never go back to playing the Switch without it.

First of all, the Satisfye grip is extremely lightweight–it doesn’t make the console feel any heavier when I hold it (in fact, because it makes holding the Switch so much easier, it almost feels lighter). The Switch slides into the grip easily but firmly, and it hasn’t left any scuff marks on my Joy-Cons, as some Amazon reviewers have mentioned. The bottom of the grip has two hooks for additional console support, and they also allow the Switch to stand securely upright on its own with enough room for the charging cable to run underneath.

While the change in hand positioning takes some getting used to, the grip features a more ergonomic design that fills your palms and keeps your thumbs in their natural resting positions. There’s a nice little spot on top of both handles for your index fingers to rest when you’re not using the triggers. The handles are also rubberized on the back, which helps you grip them even better. Plus, it’s way easier to use the buttons, as your thumbs have more space and support to move around. Additionally, the Satisfye grip comes with four bonus thumb tabs. I don’t personally use them, but they’re intended to add extra grip to the analog sticks.

At this point, I’ve traveled cross-country multiple times with the Satisfye grip, and even though I store my Switch in a protective case when I travel, the grip was easily transported in my backpack without any damage. (Note: Satisfye also offers a bundle with the grip, protective case, and USB charging cable for $48.) Now, it feels weird when I play without the Satisfye grip, and I’d recommend it to anyone who currently finds handheld play a bit uncomfortable. | Jenae Sitzes

$26 at Amazon $48 with carrying case

from GameSpot – Game News https://www.gamespot.com/articles/these-nintendo-switch-grips-make-handheld-play-a-m/1100-6469777/

A New Division 2 Update Lets You Target Specific Loot

Developer Massive Entertainment seems to be addressing concerns of randomized loot drops in Tom Clancy’s The Division 2 with a new update, adding greater transparency about the loot you receive.

Title 6 Update, scheduled to launch just before the looter-shooter’s second episode releases this fall, will allow you to target specific loot as you replay missions, complete open-world activities, and tackle the Dark Zone. According to a post on The Division 2’s official website, every mission and named zone will feature specific loot associated with it. Areas and missions with targeted loot will drop items as normal, with targeted loot getting a guaranteed chance to drop from named bosses and a smaller chance to be obtainable from all NPCs and containers.

The same loot drop rules apply to the Dark Zone, but be aware that you must extract loot before it’s added to your arsenal. Check below for an idea of what targeted loot looks like on the map and in the game world.

Gallery image 1Gallery image 2

The Divison 2’s second episode, titled Pentagon: The Last Castle, is scheduled to launch on PC, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One sometime this fall. The looter-shooter’s first episode, DC Outskirts: Expeditions, was made public to all owners of The Divison 2 earlier this summer. DC Outskirts: Expeditions added two new main missions and a new Expeditions experience, which introduces weekly, exploration-driven challenges.

In other Division 2 news, Massive outlined its DLC roadmap for the looter-shooter during E3 2019. Currently, The Division 2 has three pieces of post-launch content planned, which sees you heading back to New York City, the setting for the first Division game.

from GameSpot – Game News https://www.gamespot.com/articles/a-new-division-2-update-lets-you-target-specific-l/1100-6469784/

New Freebie For Nintendo Switch Online Subscribers Now Available

Nintendo is offering another freebie to Switch Online subscribers. The company is giving away a bundle of 100 Gem Apples for its new free-to-play Kirby title, Super Kirby Clash. Gem Apples are Clash’s form of in-game currency, and they’re used purchase items, craft gear, and open new levels in the game.

To claim the freebie, head to the Switch Eshop and highlight the Nintendo Switch Online option on the left sidebar–you’ll find the Gem Apple bundle listed under “special offers.” You can only claim the freebie if you have a paid Nintendo Switch Online subscription, so you won’t be able to download it during a free trial.

Super Kirby Clash was one of the games surprise-released after this month’s big Nintendo Direct presentation. Unlike traditional Kirby titles, Clash is a cooperative game in which up to four players–each controlling a different colored Kirby–can team up to battles bosses and other large foes. You’ll receive materials after each job you complete, which you can then use to craft new weapons and gear for your Kirby.

That isn’t the only freebie available right now for Switch Online subscribers. Nintendo is also giving away a second Spirit Board Challenge Pack for Super Smash Bros. Ultimate. That pack can likewise be claimed through the Switch Eshop, and it contains a handful of helpful items for the game’s Spirit Board mode.

Switch Online subscriptions are available for US $4 / £3.49 / AU $6 for one month, US $8 / £7 / AU $12 for three months, and US $20 / £18 / AU $30 for one year. Nintendo also offers an annual Family Membership for US $35 / £31.49 / AU $55, which covers up to eight Nintendo Accounts across multiple systems. In addition to occasional freebies, the service gives you access to online play, cloud saves, and other perks, such as a library of classic SNES games with added online play.

from GameSpot – Game News https://www.gamespot.com/articles/new-freebie-for-nintendo-switch-online-subscribers/1100-6469783/

Yakuza 7 Mini-Games Include Go-Karts, Slot Machines, And Boring Movies

You’ll be able to race go-carts, play PachiSlot, and try to stay awake during movies in Yakuza: Like a Dragon–when you aren’t summoning a crayfish to help you through a battle. The latest issue of the Japanese magazine Famitsu (via Gematsu) shares a slew of new details about the upcoming action-RPG.

We already knew the game would adopt a turn-based combat system, and now we have a little more info about how those battles will take place. When a fight breaks out, the regular citizens will transform into RPG enemies, sporting mohawks, wearing different (or less) clothing, and brandishing weapons. If you need a hand in battle, though, you can pay some money through your smartphone to summon help. A few summon examples include Gary Buster Holmes, Gonda Wara, and a crayfish.

When you aren’t beating up hooligans, you can relax with the new suite of mini-games. Those include a “Dragon Kart” mini-game where you race through the streets and pick up boxes with weapons like a rocket launcher or Gatling gun. Another game has you pressing buttons to stay awake during a traditional movie. Finally, you can play PachiSlot machines, a specialized Japanese slot machine.

Yakuza: Like a Dragon, aka Yakuza 7, stars Ichiban Kasuga, after Yakuza 6: The Song of Life wrapped up the story of the previous protagonist Kazuma Kiryu. Sega is adopting a turn-based battle system as homage to Dragon Quest. To match thematically, the new hero is canonically a huge DQ fan. he game is due in January in Japan, and sometime in 2020 in the West.

from GameSpot – Game News https://www.gamespot.com/articles/yakuza-7-mini-games-include-go-karts-slot-machines/1100-6469785/

The Nintendo Switch Is Getting Overwatch Pro Controllers

In a recent Nintendo Direct, the company revealed a slew of new games coming to the Nintendo Switch in late 2019 and 2020. One of the most exciting announcements was Overwatch: Legendary Edition, which releases on the Switch October 15. To celebrate, PowerA is adding two new Overwatch-themed controllers to its enhanced wireless Switch Pro controller collection, which we’ve written about previously and highly recommend as a more affordable, third-party option. PowerA will also offer a protective Overwatch-style Switch case. All three Overwatch accessories are officially licensed by Blizzard and Nintendo and will be available this fall at major retailers in North America, Europe, and Australia.

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The first controller features Reaper and has a black-and-red design. You can pre-order the Reaper controller for $50 USD at Amazon, which lists the release date as September 20.

See Reaper Switch controller at Amazon

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The second controller is for D.Va fans, featuring pink buttons, D-pad, and thumbsticks against a baby blue background. So far, it’s only listed at the EB Games Australia website for $89.95 AUD and is slated to release in October. According to PowerA, the D.Va controller should appear at more retailers in other countries soon.

See D.Va Switch controller at EB Games AU

PowerA’s enhanced wireless Bluetooth controllers have a similar ergonomic design to the first-party Pro controllers and are comfortable to use. While there’s no rumble or NFC reader, these controllers do allow for motion controls and custom button mapping. The main drawback is that they use two AA batteries, but that still provides up to 30 hours of gameplay and isn’t a huge loss if you use your Pro controller only occasionally or need a backup. The PowerA enhanced wireless Switch controllers always launch at $50 USD, but you can get this black-and-red design for only $35 on Amazon right now.

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If you’ve yet to buy a protective carrying case for your Nintendo Switch, you now have another option available: this new Overwatch-themed pouch. With a hard outer shell, padded screen protector, and game card storage, this travel case will shield your Switch from any damage when you take it on the go. It costs $25 USD and will be available on September 15, according to Amazon.

See Overwatch protective Switch case at Amazon

Overwatch: Legendary Edition is available to pre-order now for $40 USD and comes bundled with 15 character skins and a three-month Switch Online membership, which you’ll need to play. Anyone who pre-orders the game will also receive the bonus Noire Widowmaker skin. Note that this is a digital download, so there won’t be a physical game card with your purchase.

See Overwatch: Legendary Edition at Best Buy

from GameSpot – Game News https://www.gamespot.com/articles/the-nintendo-switch-is-getting-overwatch-pro-contr/1100-6469761/

Second Fire Emblem: Three Houses DLC Now Live, Adds New Outfits, Auxiliary Battles, And More

A new Fire Emblem: Three Houses update is now live. Alongside the patch, Nintendo has released the game’s second wave of Expansion Pass DLC, and it includes new outfits for protagonist Byleth and other characters, additional auxiliary battles, and more.

First, Expansion Pass holders can change Byleth and the students into new loungewear based on their respective houses, while Byleth also receives an additional accessory: glasses. You can take a look at the new outfits below. However, Nintendo notes the loungewear is “only wearable inside the monastery, or for specific unit classes during battle.”

In addition to the outfits, Nintendo has added a handful of new auxiliary battles to take on. There are five new battles in total, and they may reward you with special status-up items such as Ailell Pomegranate and more Gold. You can see the full list of new auxiliary battles below:

  • Battle at Lake Teutates
  • Battle in the Forest
  • Battle at Gronder Field
  • Battle at the Sealed Forest
  • Battle at Conand Tower.

Finally, Expansion Pass holders have received another pack of helpful DLC Supplies. You can receive the following items from the bed in Byleth’s personal quarters:

  • Sacred Galewind Shoes (Movement +1)
  • Sacred Floral Robe (HP +7)
  • Sacred Snowmelt Drop (Strength +3)
  • Sacred Moonstone (Speed +3)

This marks the second wave of DLC Nintendo has released for Fire Emblem: Three Houses since its launch this past July. The company still has two more waves of additional content in store for the game. The next is slated to arrive sometime by the end of the year, and it will add new quests and costumes to the game. The fourth wave, meanwhile, will launch by April 30, 2020 and is introducing new story content, including additional playable characters and locations.

All four waves of DLC are only available as part of Fire Emblem: Three Houses’ Expansion Pass and cannot be purchased individually. The pass runs for $25 USD / £22.49 / $37.50 AU. You can read more details about it on Nintendo’s website.

Beyond the new DLC, the new Fire Emblem: Three Houses update adds a new, more challenging difficulty mode for all players: Maddening. It also makes a few other changes to the game; you can read the full patch notes for Three Houses’ latest update here.

from GameSpot – Game News https://www.gamespot.com/articles/second-fire-emblem-three-houses-dlc-now-live-adds-/1100-6469779/

New Nioh 2 Trailer Leaks Ahead Of TGS 2019

While Tokyo Game Show kicks off tomorrow at the Makuhari Messe in Chiba, Japan, a trailer for Nioh 2 found its way out into the wild. The trailer for the PlayStation 4 exclusive has been taken down, but a mirror was uploaded to a separate YouTube channel.

Boss Fight Database snagged the trailer before it was pulled. The Nioh 2 trailer oscillates between cinematic cutscenes featuring war scenarios and dramatic conversations, and gameplay sequences showing various samurai getting pummeled by a plethora of big and frightening-looking enemies.

Sony has outlined its plans for this year’s TGS, which runs until Monday, September 15. Alongside 80 minutes of Death Stranding footage, the PlayStation booth will have playable demos of games like Call of Duty: Modern Warfare, Final Fantasy VII Remake, Nioh 2, and more. We’ve also gotten a glimpse of Final Fantasy VII Remake in a new TGS trailer.

Developer Team Ninja unveiled Nioh 2 at E3 2018. Some PlayStation 4 owners were invited to play an alpha version of the game earlier this year. Though the game has no official release date, the new leaked trailer indicates that Nioh 2 is expected to arrive on PS4 sometime in early 2020.

from GameSpot – Game News https://www.gamespot.com/articles/new-nioh-2-trailer-leaks-ahead-of-tgs-2019/1100-6469780/

Civilization 6 Now Has A Battle Royale Mode

What started as an April Fool’s joke has become a reality, as turn-based strategy game Sid Meier’s Civilization VI sees a battle royale mode called Red Death added to its September update. The update also features a smorgasbord of new content, and it’s free for PC owners who own the base game.

Red Death tasks you with besting up to 12 other players as you race to secure the only spot on the last ship ditching the planet. It’s not the complete Civ VI experience, as it only features eight apocalypse-themed factions with a variety of in-game advantages. Publisher 2K Games shared a detailed promotional video, below, outlining everything available in Red Death. There’s no confirmation on whether the mode will appear on other platforms.

A press release elaborated on Red Death’s origin. Multiplayer engineering lead Bradley Olson implemented the battle royale mode in an April 1 build of Civ VI. Not a single developer on the team noticed. After Olson pointed out the mode’s stealthy addition at a design meeting, a play session was set up so everyone could try it out. Not long after, with the art team developing assets and the design team expanding the scope, Red Death was born as Civ VI’s first battle royale mode.

Civ VI’s September update is available to download now and with it comes an assortment of new features, balance tweaks, and fixes. Lead producer Dennis Shirk shared what’s new and what’s changed in a YouTube video. Some of these include strengthening coastal cities, adding six new maps, giving Great Admirals new bonuses, and more. You can check out the full patch notes below.

Civilization VI September update patch notes

Features

  • [ALL GAME VERSIONS] Red Death Multiplayer Scenario
    • General notes
      • If you still have a Civilian unit, then you are still in the game. Once your last Civilian is killed, you will have been eliminated. Be the last remaining player with a Civilian to win.
      • The Red Death is the radioactive mass that is consuming the planet. A Safe Zone ring will appear on the map. Periodically this ring will shrink. Keep your units inside the ring to avoid the Red Death.
      • On the top-left on the in-game screen is the Red Death tracker. The left portion tells the player how many turns until the ring shrinks, and the right-hand portion tells the player how much damage units will take if they end their turn inside the Red Death.
        • Red Death damage increases as the game progresses.
        • When the ring shrinks, the Red Death will advance each turn until it reaches the ring. This gives units caught outside of the ring some time to reach the safe zone.
        • Units cannot heal in the Red Death.
      • You can gain new units and supplies in the following ways:
        • Find and clear City Ruins to gain equipment. These appear as war-torn cities with stacks of crates and flares around them. A Ruined City can grant experience points, an Infantry, a Machine Gunner, an AT crew, or another Civilian.
        • Clearing a Raider Camp grants either a Helicopter Gunship, an AT Crew, or a Thermonuclear device (once you receive one, any of your combat units can use it).
        • Once the “Red Death” ring starts to advance, Supply Drops can appear near the ring edge (also has a notification so you can find them). These lucrative drops can grant either a Tank, a Mobile Artillery, or a Thermonuclear device.
      • Oceans and Lakes are corrosive and will damage your units each turn as you cross, so be quick!
      • Global heal rate increased from normal for fast-paced gameplay.
      • Units have unique promotion trees. Promoting units heals only 25 HP.
      • Raiders are random opponents that wander the map, making opportunity attacks on players from their camps. Raider units take no damage from the Red Death.
      • A typical match will take anywhere from 15-50 minutes depending on the number of players, and skill of play.
    • Factions:
      • Cultists: “Observing The End,” All units have +3 sight.
      • Doomsday Preppers: “Always Prepare for The Worst,” All units have +100% experience bonus.
      • Borderlords: “Living On The Edge,” +10 Combat Strength when 3 hexes or closer to the Safe Zone border.
      • Jocks: “Witness Perfection,” +5 Combat Strength.
      • Mad Scientists: “This Will Only Hurt A Bit,” All units heal 2x faster.
      • Mutants: “Radiant Personalities,” -50 Red Death damage. “Radioactive Movement,” +3 Movement for all units in the Red Death.
      • Pirates: “Water Logged,” All units take 50% less water damage and ignore additional movement cost from embarking and disembarking.
      • Wanderers: “See You Later,” Infantry and Machine Gunners, as well as Civilians in formation with them, have faster Movement on Woods, Rainforest, and Hill terrain.
    • UI:
      • Quick-join matchmaking added to front-end menu
      • “How to Play” section added to front-end menu.
      • Safe Zone displayed as a blue area on the map and mini map. Red Death displayed as a red area on the map and mini map.
      • Changed mini map tooltips to be more useful for the scenario. Tooltip displays whether tiles are in the Safe Zone or the Red Death.
      • Added mini map icons for the City Ruins, Supply Drops, and Raider Camps.
    • New Maps
      • [ALL GAME VERSIONS] Mirror Map: Randomly generated, balanced four-player map ideal for competitive multiplayer matches. Has option to mirror start positions as well.
      • [ALL GAME VERSIONS] Terra: A continents map where all major civilizations start on the largest continent.
      • Primordial: A map from an early time with unpredictable continents and islands. More volatile conditions exist with extra coastal lowlands and volcanoes. Try it on Disaster 4!
      • Tilted Axis: A polar projection of a continents map.
      • Splintered Fractal: A highly random map that will often form thin, snaky continents and islands.
      • Continents and Islands: Continents with more islands.
      • [ALL GAME VERSIONS] Add Lakes map to all rulesets
        • Add more small lakes to the Lakes map.
      • [ALL GAME VERSIONS] Move Seven Seas and Small Continents to all rule sets (before it was Gathering Storm only).

Balance/Polish

  • Civs
    • [ALL GAME VERSIONS] Exploitive Agenda: Adjusted some of the parameters on the Exploitative Agenda to make it care more about how many tiles are improved. Also bumped up the threshold for “sparsely improved”.
    • Maori Civ Ability: Change the production from Unimproved Rainforest and Woods. Before it read “Unimproved Woods and Rainforest are +1 Production, becoming +2 once the Conservation civic is unlocked.” Now it reads “Unimproved Woods and Rainforest are +1 Production. Additional +1 Production from Mercantilism and +2 Production from Conservation.
    • [XP1, XP2] Georgia Civ Ability Addition: +50% Production towards defensive buildings.
  • Governments
    • Added an extra policy card slot for each of the Tier 4 Governments: 3 Military for Corporate Libertarianism (was 2), 3 Diplomatic for Digital Democracy (was 2), 3 Economic for Synthetic Technocracy (was 2).
  • Great People
    • Great Admirals
      • Themistocles: Instantly creates a Quadrireme unit. +20% Production towards units of the Naval Ranged promotion class.
      • Leif Erikson: +1 Sight Range for all naval units. Allows all naval units to move over ocean tiles without the required technology.
      • Rajendra Chola: +3 Combat Strength for all naval units.
      • Zheng He: Grants a free Trader unit in this city and increases Trade Route capacity by 1. Foreign Trade Routes to this city provides +2 Gold to both cities.
      • Francis Drake: Instantly creates a Privateer with 1 promotion level. Military units get +50% rewards for plundering sea Trade Routes.
      • Ferdinand Magellan: Grants 1 free copy of the Luxury resource on this tile to your Capital city. Gain 300 gold (on Standard speed).
      • Ching Shih: Gain 500 Gold (on Standard speed). Military units get +60% rewards for plundering sea Trade Routes.
      • Horatio Nelson: Instantly builds a Lighthouse and Shipyard in this district. +50% flanking bonus for all naval units.
      • Chester Nimitz: Instantly creates a Submarine unit with 1 promotion level. Grants 1 Oil per turn. +20% Production towards units of the Naval Raider promotion class.
      • Grace Hopper: Unlocks 2 random technologies.
    • Improvements, Buildings, and Wonders
      • [ALL GAME VERSIONS] Mausoleum at Halicarnassus: +1 Science, +1 Faith, and +1 Culture on all Coast tiles for this city. Great Engineers have an additional charge. Must be built adjacent to a Harbor district.
      • Lighthouse: Now also provides +2 Housing if Harbor is adjacent to City Center.
      • Fishery: Now also provides 0.5 Housing.
      • Shipyard: Now also provides +1 Production to all unimproved coastal tiles in this city.
      • Camp: Now provides +2 Gold. Synthetic Materials also provides additional gold.
      • Plantation: Feudalism now increases Plantation yield by +1 Food.
      • Fishing Boats: Colonialism increases Fishing Boats yield by +1 Production.
    • Districts
      • Campuses now also receive a major adjacency for Reefs.
    • Map Gen
      • Increase the Water Luxuries on Splintered Fractal.
      • Reefs are no longer placed adjacent to Rivers.
    • Rock Bands
      • Promotions
        • Album Cover Art: Performs as if 1 level more experienced on Wonder tiles (Reduced from 2 levels).
        • Indie: Performing a concert causes that city to lose 40 loyalty (Reduced from 50 loyalty).
        • Music Festival: Can now also perform concerts on National Wonders.
        • Pop Star: Earn Gold equal to 25% of the Tourism generated (Was 50% Gold).
        • Space Rock: Performs at Spaceports and Campuses for +500 Tourism and 1 level more experienced (Can play at Campuses w/ no Uni for 500 or with Uni for 1000) (Was 1000 tourism at Spaceports and 1 Level).
        • Surf Band: Performs at Seaside Resorts and Harbors for +500 Tourism and 1 level more experienced (Can play at Harbors w/ no Shipyard for 500 or with Shipyard for 1000) (Was 500 tourism at Seaside Resorts and 1 Level).
      • World Congress
        • Nobel Prize in Physics: (Gold tier gets the Silver tier as well which is the same for all scored competitions)
          • Gold Tier: 1 Tech boost, Increases the accumulation of resources in cities with a University by 1 (Updated).
          • Silver Tier: 1 Tech boost, Increases the accumulation of resources in cities with a Research Lab by 1 (Updated).
          • Bronze Tier: 1 Tech boost (same).
        • Diplomacy
          • [ALL GAME VERSIONS] Protectorate War no longer triggers a Betrayal Emergency.
        • [ALL GAME VERSIONS] Unit Abilities UI Exposures
          • Multiple Leader and Civ assigned unit modifiers have been converted to unit abilities so they can be tracked in the UI.
          • Units with Anti-Air strength now have unit ability text describing its function.
          • Added abilities and text descriptions for Ranged and Bombard unit buffs/debuffs.
          • Unit modifiers granted by retiring Great Generals and Great Admirals are now applied as unit abilities so they can be displayed in the unit abilities UI list.
        • Natural Disasters
          • Reduce the likelihood of most damage effects from Hurricanes by a third.
          • The Veterancy Military Policy (unlocked by Military Training a Classical Civic) now includes Harbors and Harbor buildings.

UI – All Game Versions

  • Front End
    • Change “Additional Content” to be a sub-menu that hosts “MODS, Hall of Fame, and Credits”. This reduces the main menu from 10 items (information overload) to 8 items.
    • New Map Type UI when starting a new game that features filtering and icon visualizations for the different maps. Only on “Create Game” and “Advanced Setup” menus in single player.
    • Single Player “Jersey” Support: Setup/Advanced Setup now allows the player to select their civilization color (jersey).
    • Leader list is now alphabetical, rather than grouped by release.
  • End Game
    • Add quick fade up of leader portrait (without a movie it looked jarring to snap from hide to show).
    • Fix ESC restarting end game movie.
  • Pantheon Chooser
    • Selected pantheon can now be cleared by clicking the button in the top panel.
    • Chooser now plays its slide animation when opening.
    • Adjusted button working/style to match other Chooser screens.
    • The Religion keybinding will now properly open/close the Pantheon Chooser.
  • Misc
    • Government Screen: Government card policy slot icons will squish together if they overflow the Government card to avoid overlap.
    • Pagination for Gossip Report added.
    • Added hotkey for the Power Lens.
    • Add a confirmation dialog box for when you are going to remove a feature by settling.

AI

  • Domination
    • Improve ability to use GDR’s (or other mixed melee/range) to take cities.
    • [ALL GAME VERSIONS] Allow units to move out of threatened areas when endangered, even on neutral territory. This manifested in AI units staying still and fortified while being attacked by ranged or air until they were dead.
    • [ALL GAME VERSIONS] Some bias adjustments to improve attacks on enemy cities.
    • [ALL GAME VERSIONS] Improve range/bombard garrisoning and improve melee garrison logic to attack when it is safe.
    • [ALL GAME VERSIONS] Don’t try to assemble city attacks for target cities that have an unclear or hidden path. Improve ability to protect embarked units.
  • World Congress
    • Favor Trades: Adjust some favor trade values to make deals more viable.
    • Normalize evaluation of emergency projects (Send Aid was especially overvalued).
    • Mercenary Companies: AI no longer always chooses choice B, “Faith.”
  • Great Works
    • [ALL GAME VERSIONS] Rework of how AI arranges and places Great Works to maximize culture generation. Corrected an issue that could cause the AI to “throw away” a Great Work.
  • Misc
    • [ALL GAME VERSIONS] Ensure AI finds rally points that are on the map.
    • [ALL GAME VERSIONS] Try to improve culture civ’s race for Theater Squares.

Performance

  • Significant optimization and improvements to Volcano VFX.
  • [ALL GAME VERSIONS] Perf optimizations to both Shaka and Mansu Musa.
  • [ALL GAME VERSIONS] Reduced memory usage.
  • [ALL GAME VERSIONS] Additional graphics performance improvements.

Bugs

  • Production Overflow
    • Add the concept of ‘salvage’ production to the Build Queue. Previously, when salvaging production from a lost Wonder build, the production was added directly back to the build queue. This caused problems of not knowing where the extra overflow came from as well as causing build production to happen when the player’s turn was not active.
      • e. Player A and B are making the same Wonder. Player A takes their turn, then Player B takes their turn and finishes the Wonder. The salvage production would be added to Player A’s build queue immediately, possibly causing something to complete if the player had multiple things in their build queue.
    • Now, when the salvage production is given to player A, it is stored and then applied to player A’s production overflow when player A becomes turn active again. This also fixes the issue of losing legitimate overflow, where we force clear production overflow on turn end to prevent a user from ‘banking’ overflow by force-ending their turn when a city has no production.
    • Fixed an issue where production on a unit could be transferred to something else by removing that unit from the production queue.
  • UI
    • When purchasing something in a city, make sure that if it was already in the build queue, it goes through the motions of removing the item in the build queue as if it were complete, so that if it was the first item, the next item in the build queue starts building properly.
    • The user was able to open but was unable to close the World Congress screen while the game is paused in multiplayer.
    • Fixed multiple Gossip reports issues.
    • Fix usable scroll area and logo clipping for various resolutions.
    • Remove the rank border designating a score tier while participating in a non-scored Emergency during gameplay.
    • A misleading “Location Pin” icon was present for Projects, Competitions, and Emergencies when the player views the Active Effects menu in the World Congress.
    • The “previous results” icon was appearing in low resolution when voting on a Resolution that has appeared before in the World Congress.
    • The target civ icon was appearing low resolution when viewing a Military Emergency.
    • The Alliance Points appeared with a zero denominator when viewed after an Alliance expires during expansion gameplay.
    • Climate Screen – Use the territory name as a fallback for continent name for climate events which will usually give us names for bodies of water.
    • Production/Gold/Faith production buttons will now be highlighted properly based on which production panel is currently selected.
  • Gameplay
    • Fixed a bug where pillaged districts in a conquered city would cost the full production price to repair. Now they cost 25% as intended.
    • Fixed a bug where pillaged districts would not regain applied bonuses upon repair.
    • Changed Mapuche’s Toqui experience bonus ability to be permanent on units so that it remains even after the governor is removed from the city.
    • Pillaged dams no longer prevent flooding.
    • The Swap Units operation was ignoring the ZoC state of the units, giving you the possibility of an extra move for a unit in the ZoC.
    • Fixed an issue that was preventing units that have the appropriate ability from attacking twice in a single turn.
    • Don’t apply Grievances if a player conquers a City-State you have never met.
    • Prevent Laurier from taking the Exploitative random agenda
    • Eject rock bands from a player’s territory when they adopt the Music Censorship policy.
    • [ALL GAME VERSIONS] Tomyris’ heal after kill ability was incorrectly being applied multiple times.
    • [ALL GAME VERSIONS] Polish Hussar pushback ability was not working correctly.
    • [ALL GAME VERSIONS] Air units can no longer attack plots marked as impassable.
    • [ALL GAME VERSIONS] Fixed an issue with military buildings not applying their XP bonus correctly.
    • [ALL GAME VERSIONS] Fixed incorrect modifier being applied by Royal Navy Dockyard.
    • [ALL GAME VERSIONS] Fix the Colossal Heads not providing faith with every 2 adjacent woods.
  • Unit Abilities
    • Fixed missing text description for Drone unit bonus ability. Changed Drone unit Civilopedia description text to be more accurate.
    • Fixed missing unit ability description for Observation Balloon range bonus. Changed Observation Balloon Civilopedia description to be more accurate.
    • Fixed text description for Supply Convoy movement bonus ability.
  • Misc
    • Mountain Tunnels, Qhapaq Nan, and Ski Resorts (improvements on Mountains) can no longer be destroyed (or pillaged) by natural disasters.
    • Transfer canal navigation properties on city capture.
  • Crash
    • Multiple crash fixes as seen in the public bug collector.
    • Fix a crash in the Australia scenario that could occur after a random event.

Art

  • Adding a low-quality version of the volcano that gets used if the VFX quality setting is low.
  • Apply FOW blending in river overlay pass.
  • the game camera on the Ski Resort will now shake the snow. Why? Just ‘cuz.
  • Adjusted volcano visuals to feel more volumetric and rolling/boiling.

Modding

  • [ALL GAME VERSIONS] World Builder
    • Added first pass at hand-drawn river flooding.
      • Edge case notes:
        • Only works for floodplains at least 3-long.
        • Only works for hand-created maps, not adjusted map-script created maps.
        • There are a couple places where a user may place a floodplain where it will never flood (like sharing a plain with another river branch, for example).
      • Use our own custom overlay type for Continent mode with more vibrant colors.
      • Normalize order of tool hotkeys and added them to the tooltips for user discoverability.
      • Integrate World Builder properly into the main menu flow instead of hanging off a weird button in the mods screen.
      • Fix several usability issues in Map Editor.
      • Add tooltips to the placement and plot mode buttons.
      • Stop the placement panel from eating the mouse around it.
      • Expose wonder distance check to Lua and wire up specific error message.
      • Fix many bugs related to changing terrain type and having resources/features/improvements go away when they’re no longer compatible.
      • Show different continents in different colors when in Continent mode.
      • Only show spawn location icons in Advanced Mode.
      • Hide the tools palette when the Player Editor or Map Editor are up. This is necessary for 1024×768 screens.
      • Don’t show labels options in World Builder that don’t work.
      • Allow brush usage in Continent mode.
      • Fix some flipped tests that were locking out improvements unnecessarily.
      • Fixed text for rivers and cliffs to distinguish between placing and removing.
      • Split feature and Natural Wonder placement modes.
      • Fixup Natural Wonder undo when dealing with multi-tile features, especially ones that also modify the terrain as well. i.e. Lake NWs changing the terrain to coast.
      • Advanced Mode
        • Don’t show spurious “Wonder” district in Player Editor anymore.
        • Add labels to all the items in the General tab of the player editor.
        • Don’t create any units alongside a barbarian camp in the WB editor.
        • We don’t support Garrison strength editing so don’t even show it.
        • Districts are now placeable through the Plot Editor Districts can now be pillaged by the Placement Tool or Plot Editor.
        • Delete units when a player is edited.
        • Fix case where capital city would have no name if you changed a civ’s leader to not match (Should help with mod civs too).
        • Fixed issues with the Plot Editor Improvement Pillaged checkbox. Fixed null error which prevented the Placement tool from placing improvements. Pillaged checkbox for Improvements now works with the Placement tool.
      • Tiled Map Importer
        • Fix additional crashes seen in the wild when importing maps from Tiled editor.
      • Misc
        • [ALL GAME VERSIONS] Removed constraint on map start positions that only allowed 1 entry for map/plot, as it was too restrictive for modders.
        • [ALL GAME VERSIONS] Looking up localized text in mods will now fall-back to other languages before failing.

from GameSpot – Game News https://www.gamespot.com/articles/civilization-6-now-has-a-battle-royale-mode/1100-6469778/

Fire Emblem: Three Houses Update Adds DLC, Harder Difficulty; Is Out Now

Nintendo has released a new update for Fire Emblem: Three Houses. Following the recent Switch firmware update, which resolved an issue preventing certain players from booting the title up, this patch introduces a more challenging difficulty mode, along with the game’s second wave of Expansion Pass content.

First, the update adds the new Maddening difficultly setting for players looking for even more of a challenge. If you’re able to clear Maddening mode without beginning a New Game+, Nintendo teases that the game’s title screen will change. Additionally, Nintendo has increased the bonus Renown for starting New Game+ and implemented protagonist Byleth’s new male English voiceovers, following abuse allegations that surfaced regarding the previous voice actor.

The update also brings a new assortment of content for Expansion Pass holders. First, you’ll find the following handful of helpful supplies waiting for you in Byleth’s personal quarters:

  • Sacred Galewind Shoes (Movement +1)
  • Sacred Floral Robe (HP +7)
  • Sacred Snowmelt Drop (Strength +3)
  • Sacred Moonstone (Speed +3)

Expansion Pass holders also have access to new “loungewear” outfits for Byleth and other characters, as well as glasses for Byleth. Rounding out the Expansion Pass content is a handful of new auxiliary battles, which may give you special rewards such as status-up items and more Gold. Finally, the update fixes an assortment of bugs and other issues in the game. You can check out the full patch notes, taken from Nintendo’s support website, below.

Fire Emblem: Three Houses launched on Switch this past July and has been a big commercial success, recording the highest first-month sales in the series’ history in the US. The game was also received very warmly by critics. GameSpot awarded it a 9/10 in our Fire Emblem: Three Houses review and wrote, “Fire Emblem: Three Houses asks a lot of you. Every piece, from battle to friendships to training your units, must be managed both individually and as part of a whole. It can be intimidating, but when it all clicks together, it really clicks.”

Fire Emblem: Three Houses Patch Notes

  • New and Updated Features
    • Added Maddening mode to the New Game difficulty options. Note that if you clear Maddening mode without selecting New Game +, the title screen will change.
    • Increased the bonus Renown for selecting New Game + at the start of the game.
      • In addition to the usual difficulty bonus, 10,000 Pts. will now be added each time you clear a path.
      • The max threshold for bonus Renown is now 50,000 Pts.
      • If you already started playing using New Game + before applying the DLC data, 10,000 Pts. per cleared path will be added to each save slot the first time it is loaded.
      • Up to Ver.1.0.1, only the type of path cleared was saved but not the number of clears for the same path, which will now be saved applying the DLC Ver.1.0.2.
    • Added Goddess Tower to the Event Gallery in Extras. Use the ZL/ZR Buttons to select the Goddess Tower page, then choose a character event to replay.
      • The Event Gallery is unlocked once you’ve cleared the game.
    • Implemented new English voice for Byleth (male).
    • New Expansion Pass Content:
      • A new set of items
        • You can receive this set of items as DLC Supplies from the bed in Byleth’s Personal Quarters. Each save file can receive these supplies: Sacred Galewind Shoes (Movement +1), Sacred Floral Robe (HP +7), Sacred Snowmelt Drop (Strength +3), Sacred Moonstone (Speed +3).
      • Additional auxiliary battles
        • There are five additional auxiliary battles in the Expansion Pass: Battle at Lake Teutates, Battle in the Forest, Battle at Gronder Field, Battle at the Sealed Forest, and Battle at Conand Tower.
        • Depending on your progress, one of them will be listed in the battle-selection screen.
        • These additional auxiliary battles will be marked with the yellow “!” icon in the battle-selection screen. As a bonus, these battles may give you status-up items, such as Ailell Pomegranate, and an increased Gold reward in addition to the Bullions.
        • All maps will consume one activity point to start.
      • A new song (Corridor of the Tempest)
        • You can access the new song (Corridor of the Tempest) from the System menu while you are in an auxiliary battle. You can also listen to it in the Music Library.
      • New attire/accessory (House Loungewear / Glasses for Byleth)
        • The new attire (House Loungewear) is for the protagonist and students. Swap outfits in Byleth’s Personal Quarters from the Journal. These outfits are only wearable inside the monastery, or for specific unit classes during battle (this varies by character).
        • The new attire cannot be sent along with a traveler.
        • The new accessory (Glasses) can also be put on in Byleth’s Personal Quarters. They can be combined with any other attire. The glasses can be worn in the monastery and during battle.
      • A confirmation message is now displayed when you abandon an item during battle.
  • General
    • Fixed the bug that caused the game to freeze when Fortify was used while equipped with a certain skill.
    • Addressed the incorrect character design in event still images.
    • Fixed the bug that incorrectly displayed a Caspar line as Linhardt’s during the White Heron Cup.
    • Fixed the bug that displayed a “TBD” message when mastering combat.
    • Fixed the bug in the cut-in sequence for a CRITICAL attack.
    • Fixed the bug that prevented Rescue magic from working properly to move an ally to a space near the user.
    • Fixed the bug that accidentally let the player enter the closed-off desk corridor in the Cardinals’ Room.
    • Some text has been revised.
    • The gameplay has been improved by addressing a few additional bugs.

from GameSpot – Game News https://www.gamespot.com/articles/fire-emblem-three-houses-update-adds-dlc-harder-di/1100-6469773/

Rainbow Six Siege: Ember Rise Update With New Operators Out Today

Ubisoft’s staggered rollout of the next big expansion for Rainbow Six Siege, Ember Rise, has begun. The update is being deployed to PS4, PC, and Xbox One in that order, and all players should have access to it following a maintenance period. Ember Rise is a huge update for the game, introducing new operators and a slate of other content, changes, and improvements. The full patch notes are extensive, outlining everything that’s new and different.

As with any expansion, it’s the playable characters who are the big highlight. Ember Rise adds two operators: Amaru, an attacker, and Goyo, a defender. Amaru comes equipped with the Garra Hook, which allows her to latch onto ledges, windows, and other openings to climb through. Goyo utilizes the Volcán Shield, which functions like a standard deployable shield but is equipped with explosives that can take out attackers trying to get around it.

Ember Rise also marks the initial implementation of the battle pass. This will arrive in full during Season 4, but for now we get what Ubisoft refers to as the “mini” battle pass. “Call Me Harry,” as it’s been dubbed, is available for free and focuses on Rainbow director Dr. Harishva “Harry” Pandey. You’ll earn points as you play that unlock various rewards. Ubisoft says it will be using this as a “learning experience” to guide how the battle pass operates in the future.

The Kanal map gets a rework, as an additional bridge has been added, areas have been expanded, the bomb sites have been either moved or updated, and new bomb sites have been added. Maps for each playlist are also rotating, and Casual will now be home to 14 maps instead of 20, while Ranked and the new Unranked will have 12 instead of 14. Casual will see three maps rotate in and out monthly, and the playlist will no longer be home to night mode maps.

The aforementioned new Unranked playlist has been added to help players practice and work their way toward taking on Ranked, but without risking their rank or MMR. For those who are playing Ranked, a new Champions rank has been added that stands above Diamond. The top 9,999 players within Champions will each be individually ranked, though falling outside of that group won’t kick you out of Champions–provided you stay above 5,000 MMR.

Ubisoft will now dish out harsher penalties to players who leave Ranked or Unranked matches; each subsequent instance will cause the suspension to be longer, and they’ll be unable to access other playlists until the match they quit out of has ended. The developer is also looking to deal with idle players and will cause those who don’t move during the preparation phase to drop the defuser if they’re carrying it. The idle player will also be warned when they’re about to be kicked.

There are numerous other changes–Operator balance tweaks, price reductions for certain Operators, a change to the Operators selection screen, new cosmetics, and much more. You can get the full rundown on Ubisoft’s website or see some more highlights below.

Rainbow Six Siege Operator & Item Balance Changes

SHOTGUN DESTRUCTION

  • Shotguns will now destroy wooden beams more reliably.

SIDE ARM DESTRUCTION

  • Rhino-40 (Alibi and Maestro’s Revolver) and the LFP 586 (GIGN Revolver) will have the same destruction output as the D-50.

SECONDARY GADGET CHANGES

  • Smoke: Impacts replaced with a Deployable Shield
  • Rook: Deployable Shield replaced with Barbed Wire
  • Jager: Deployable Shield replaced with Bulletproof Camera
  • Frost: Barbed Wire replaced with Deployable Shield
  • Mira: Deployable Shield replaced with Barbed Wire
  • Lesion: Deployable Shield replaced with Bulletproof Camera
  • Maestro: Deployable Shield replaced with Impact Grenades
  • Warden: Impact Grenade replaced with Deployable Shield
  • Dokkaebi: Stun Grenades replaced with Frag Grenades
  • Glaz: Claymore replaced with Frag Grenades
  • Nokk: Stun Grenades replaced with Claymore

SHIELD OPERATORS

  • ADS time increased from 0.4s to 0.6s.

JACKAL

  • PDW will now properly lose damage over distance.
  • Base damage: 34 (unchanged)
  • Damage at 18m: 34
  • Damage at 28m: 26

TWITCH AND LION

  • The 417 will now have 10 additional rounds per magazine.

FUZE

  • Deployment time for Cluster Charge reduced from 2 seconds to 1.6 seconds.

KAID

  • Aug A3 Damage increased from 33 to 36.

WARDEN

  • Duration increased from 8 to 10 seconds.

We have made the movement penalty when looking through smoke less punishing, so you now reach your final opacity level more quickly, and suffer less opacity restriction when making small movements.

GAME BALANCING

DEPLOYABLE SHIELD V2

We will be releasing the new Deployable Shield that has been on the Test Server for the past few months. We are looking forward to your feedback!

ELECTRONIC GADGET DISABLE STATE

We are implementing Thatcher’s debuff icon when Defenders are under the effect of Thatcher’s EMP grenades.

PLAYER COMFORT

CAPITAO

Asphyxiating bolts are no more! In conjunction with an updated propagation and visual effects system, Capitao has replaced his Asphyxiating bolts with Fire bolts.

RANK RESTRICTION

We will be implementing a limit to the MMR gap between party members. There cannot be a bigger gap than 1000 MMR between the players with highest and lowest MMR in the squad in order to play Ranked. Players can check their squad members’ MMR in the Side Panel Profile.

For players above 4400 MMR (Diamonds), you are able to group with any player above 3400 MMR (Platinum). Players below 1200 MMR can group with players below 2200 MMR.

VAULT DISTANCE

Vault Distance has been reduced from 2.5m to 2m.

GAME HEALTH

FIRST PERSON ANIMATION TREE REFACTOR

In an effort to ensure scalability for the future of Rainbow Six Siege, we refactored the First Person Animation Tree. This means that we are re-organising and simplifying the structure “under the hood” of how our First Person Animations are integrated in our game engine.

These changes have no impact on game play, and only affect animations that your Operator does on your own screen, locally. That said, this is the final step in correcting weapon sights, as they are now “code driven” under this new structure.

from GameSpot – Game News https://www.gamespot.com/articles/rainbow-six-siege-ember-rise-update-with-new-opera/1100-6469775/