News General gaming stuff, random news etc

[RPCB]

Ubisoft claims microtransactions help players "experience more fun"

Fair enough

www.gamesradar.com

 

[dwwaino]

Ubisoft claims microtransactions help players "experience more fun"

Fair enough

www.gamesradar.com

read this today as was like

 

[RPCB]

read this today as was like

A statement that would make Ross proud.

 

[dwwaino]

Ubisoft claims microtransactions help players "experience more fun"

Fair enough

www.gamesradar.com

Ubisoft popping up in my news feeds a bit at the moment and I'm noticing a trend. They think the problems are everyone else.

Firstly oh no online criticism damages our brand and sales

Ubisoft says players "are very sensitive to the quality" of games nowadays, so there's a "high" risk of "bashing" causing "damage to its reputation"

"The changing perception of the video game industry as a cultural and artistic medium is also leading to an increase in criticism"

www.gamesradar.com

Also Star Wars Outlaws tanked not because of the quality of the game but because.... Star Wars as a brand was on the nose at the time

Ubisoft Boss Reveals Who He Blames For Star Wars Outlaws’ Failure

Maybe the Force just isn't all that strong right now?

www.thegamer.com

 

[Ambrose Burnside]

Reminds me of EA coming out and saying the lesson they learned from Veilguard was essentially that they shouldn't have cancelled the live service version of the game:

“In order to break out beyond the core audience, games need to directly connect to the evolving demands of players who increasingly seek shared-world features and deeper engagement alongside high-quality narratives in this beloved category,” Wilson said in prepared remarks.

“Dragon Age had a high-quality launch and was well-reviewed by critics and those who played. However, it did not resonate with a broad enough audience in this highly competitive market.”

Reading between the lines, Wilson is suggesting that if Dragon Age: The Veilguard had “shared-world features" and “deeper engagement,” it might have sold more copies. But it’s hard to understand that position when you consider EA backed BioWare’s major reset of Dragon Age. As IGN has reported, this reboot saw Dragon Age shift from the skeleton of a multiplayer game with repeatable quests, a tech base, and the outline of a story, to a full-blown single-player RPG.

Fans are already saying EA has learnt the wrong lessons from Dragon Age: The Veilguard, and are pointing to the enormous success of single-player only RPGs that have been released recently, including Larian’s all-conquering Baldur’s Gate 3

 

[dwwaino]

Reminds me of EA coming out and saying the lesson they learned from Veilguard was essentially that they shouldn't have cancelled the live service version of the game:

Jason Schreier had an interesting piece recently about Veilguard and I got a lol out of it when apparently it got to the point where they called in some of the leads from the Mass Effect team to assist with Veilguard. Apparently the Mass Effect team are really regimented and the Dragon Age team were lost at sea and eventually the Mass Effect leads stopped involving the Dragon Age leads in meetings and just took over to get a somewhat viable game lol.

 

[dwwaino]

 

[Ambrose Burnside]

Jason Schreier had an interesting piece recently about Veilguard and I got a lol out of it when apparently it got to the point where they called in some of the leads from the Mass Effect team to assist with Veilguard. Apparently the Mass Effect team are really regimented and the Dragon Age team were lost at sea and eventually the Mass Effect leads stopped involving the Dragon Age leads in meetings and just took over to get a somewhat viable game lol.

I'm reading his book Blood, Sweat and Pixels and it includes a chapter on Dragon Age Inquisition.

Seems the Dragon Age team within Bioware have had a ... reputation for a long time haha

 

[apollo_creed]

Honestly excited about the 2D terminator game.

 

[dwwaino]

I'm sure it has been mentioned though I don't remember, but a Bioshock remake has been cancelled and the studio heads of Bioshock 4 have been removed.

It's a bad day for BioShock fans: BioShock 4 studio heads have been removed as development struggles, while a BioShock remake in development has been cancelled

2K executives are reportedly not happy with the state of the next BioShock.

www.pcgamer.com

 

[Donnie Darko]

Has anyone had issues with the "frame generator" graphics setting in games ?
I had been playing Cyberpunk and it has Frame generator x 4 .

This setting caused the worst eye strain I have ever had.
It took me a while to figure it out was coming from that setting . keep an eye out for it in graphics settings.
Its ways worse than motion blur.

 

[Ambrose Burnside]

Anyone else keen on the Mortal Kombat Legacy Collection?

These were my games as a kid. Used to play against my sister all the time at the local fish and chips shop, and one of the first PC games I owned was the original Mortal Kombat. On floppy disk (three of them). And I only had a two button joystick.

AND I LOVED IT

I also got Mortal Kombat 2 which a quick look up on eBay suggests came on 8 floppy disks Ran like an absolute dog on whatever ancient PC we had back then. There'd be a pause after every move you make. Jump pause kick pause basically unplayable. Wish I still had it though.

Anyway, the collection includes arcade and console versions of the following, and the full interactive timeline format like Atari 50:

Mortal Kombat
Mortal Kombat 2
Mortal Kombat 3
Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3
Mortal Kombat Trilogy (PSOne version only)
Mortal Kombat 4
Mortal Kombat Advance
Mortal Kombat: Deadly Alliance (GBA version only)
Mortal Kombat Tournament Edition (GBA version only)

They've been teasing more reveals to come too...

 

[dwwaino]

Has anyone had issues with the "frame generator" graphics setting in games ?
I had been playing Cyberpunk and it has Frame generator x 4 .

This setting caused the worst eye strain I have ever had.
It took me a while to figure it out was coming from that setting . keep an eye out for it in graphics settings.
Its ways worse than motion blur.

Frame gen x4 is for high refresh monitors with a high base frame rate. If you have a low base frame rate then what you said is pretty common and it also causes it to feel really floaty. I'll usually opt for 2x if it's a demanding game but if my base frame rate is around 60-80 I'll go for x4 as I have a 240hz monitor and it will cap my base rate to 60 but output at 240hz and the graphics card doesn't have to work as hard.

 

[dwwaino]

Anyone else keen on the Mortal Kombat Legacy Collection?

These were my games as a kid. Used to play against my sister all the time at the local fish and chips shop, and one of the first PC games I owned was the original Mortal Kombat. On floppy disk (three of them). And I only had a two button joystick.

AND I LOVED IT

I also got Mortal Kombat 2 which a quick look up on eBay suggests came on 8 floppy disks Ran like an absolute dog on whatever ancient PC we had back then. There'd be a pause after every move you make. Jump pause kick pause basically unplayable. Wish I still had it though.

Anyway, the collection includes arcade and console versions of the following, and the full interactive timeline format like Atari 50:

Mortal Kombat
Mortal Kombat 2
Mortal Kombat 3
Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3
Mortal Kombat Trilogy (PSOne version only)
Mortal Kombat 4
Mortal Kombat Advance
Mortal Kombat: Deadly Alliance (GBA version only)
Mortal Kombat Tournament Edition (GBA version only)

They've been teasing more reveals to come too...

I've banned myself from ever playing another Mortal Kombat. The last time I played one lead to having a plate and 4 screws in my hand.

 

[RPCB]

 

[Ambrose Burnside]

Dawn of War IV announced!

Thought III had killed the franchise for good. They're saying all the right things, base building, large armies etc. Basically the OG Dawn of War. But we'll see. "Hope is the first step on the road to disappointment" after all.

Not being made by Relic, but by the guys that did Iron Harvest. Never played that but I believe it's gameplay was "heavily inspired" by Company of Heroes, which in turn built on Dawn of War, so hopefully they "get it". Playable races for the base game are Space Marines, Necrons, Orks and (for the first time in a Dawn of War game), the Adeptus Mechanicus.

Please be good. The original Dawn of War is an all-time time favourite of mine. Playing the Definitive Edition now.

 

[UnitedWarrior93]

Anyone headed into an EB games lately? Must say it’s pretty cool seeing PS2/3 and Xbox/Xbox360 games on the shelves again, childhood nostalgia.

 

[Cyber_punk]

---------

Vampire the Masquerade Bloodlines 2 is a game I would have been pretty excited about 5 years ago. But between the endless delays since it was announced in 2019, complete tear down and changing of the developer in 2023 and now this paywall bullshit it feels like one of those "Dead on arrival" releases.

Bloodlines fans rage as Paradox locks 2 playable clans behind $30 DLC: 'Is Paradox smoking crack?'

The finish line is finally in sight, yet Bloodlines 2 is somehow still tripping over its own feet.

www.pcgamer.com

 

[BOMBERS 4 LIFE!!!!]

Arkham games but Lego i'm so ready for this looks awesome.

 

[Ambrose Burnside]

---------

Vampire the Masquerade Bloodlines 2 is a game I would have been pretty excited about 5 years ago. But between the endless delays since it was announced in 2019, complete tear down and changing of the developer in 2023 and now this paywall bullshit it feels like one of those "Dead on arrival" releases.

Bloodlines fans rage as Paradox locks 2 playable clans behind $30 DLC: 'Is Paradox smoking crack?'

The finish line is finally in sight, yet Bloodlines 2 is somehow still tripping over its own feet.

www.pcgamer.com

Paradox gonna Paradox

Feels like Duke Nukem Forever. I just can't see how they'll be able to cobble together something decent given everything. Had high hopes when it was first announced too.

 

[Ambrose Burnside]

Anyone else keen on the Mortal Kombat Legacy Collection?

These were my games as a kid. Used to play against my sister all the time at the local fish and chips shop, and one of the first PC games I owned was the original Mortal Kombat. On floppy disk (three of them). And I only had a two button joystick.

AND I LOVED IT

I also got Mortal Kombat 2 which a quick look up on eBay suggests came on 8 floppy disks Ran like an absolute dog on whatever ancient PC we had back then. There'd be a pause after every move you make. Jump pause kick pause basically unplayable. Wish I still had it though.

Anyway, the collection includes arcade and console versions of the following, and the full interactive timeline format like Atari 50:

Mortal Kombat
Mortal Kombat 2
Mortal Kombat 3
Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3
Mortal Kombat Trilogy (PSOne version only)
Mortal Kombat 4
Mortal Kombat Advance
Mortal Kombat: Deadly Alliance (GBA version only)
Mortal Kombat Tournament Edition (GBA version only)

They've been teasing more reveals to come too...

Since my original post they've announced that Mythologies: Sub Zero, Special Forces and the Wave Net version of Mortal Kombat 3 have been added.

I've never played any of them, and understand Mythologies: Sub Zero and Special Forces are arse, but they really are going for everything up to the PSOne era.

I'd never even heard of Wave Net before and it seems obscure af, so:

Mortal Kombat: Legacy Kollection is leaving no stone unturned in its quest to catalog the series' arcade roots, and developer Digital Eclipse has just revealed that this even includes the WaveNet version of Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3. This legendary arcade revision has effectively been lost since its debut in 1997, but it will be playable in the upcoming collection.


The WaveNet of Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3 was an online-enabled arcade machine that got a location test around 1996 or 1997, as NetherRealm's lead QA analyst Stephanie Brownback explains on Bluesky. "The idea was using T1 lines you could play in your local arcade and connect against another player in a different location or city," she explains. "An amazing, forward thinking concept in 97."

WaveNet UMK3 wasn't just an online version of the game, however. It was a full revision, featuring balance changes, additional Easter eggs, and most notably, a fully playable Noob Saibot, marking the only time the character was ever actually playable in the arcade. Unfortunately, this version was never widely distributed outside of its initial location tests, and the arcade board was never preserved – not even by pirates.

But finally, 28 years later, a working WaveNet cabinet was found, and "Digital Eclipse has been able to hack together making it playable outside the network." The inclusion of this version was announced in a new trailer for Legacy Kollection, which also revealed the inclusion of Mythologies: Sub-Zero and Special Forces, two games that are themselves legendary for all the wrong reasons.

WaveNet UMK3 is effectively "the holy grail of MK lost media," Brownback says. "A monumental achievement for MK history. I am beyond excited!"

I think the only thing missing is Mortal Kombat Gold, the Dreamcast port of Mortal Kombat 4. As well as a few other ports like the Sega Master System and Game Gear ports. But I guess the Dreamcast was the generation after the PSone, so in that sense it makes sense not to have it, but at the same time it feels like the biggest omission. But ... There's still time for another reveal!

 

[dwwaino]

Hell Is Us looks pretty neat

 

[dwwaino]

How were Nintendo able to successfully patent this? What's next, Street Fighter getting a patent on fighting in games? I get that Nintendo probably thought they needed to protect themselves against another Palworld, but once the patent is granted then there is nothing stopping them from weaponising it against anyone.

Nintendo now has a US patent on summoning characters and making them battle for you | VGC

The new patent theoretically covers an action that is present in numerous non-Nintendo games…

www.videogameschronicle.com

 

[Ambrose Burnside]

I can't see it being enforceable

 

[dwwaino]

I can't see it being enforceable

Just reading about it more on other places it doesn't sound like it can be enforceable at all and one expert said Nintendo probably wouldn't want to take it to court against any large publisher or developer as it would force them to narrow down the definition of whatever it is they are trying to protect. However most sources seem to be saying that this will scare off any smaller developer who wouldn't be able to afford to defend themselves to begin with.

More articles since have been saying similar things to each other

Former Pokémon Company head lawyer says yeah, those latest Nintendo patents are a bit much, aren't they: 'I wish Nintendo and Pokémon good luck when the first other developer just entirely ignores this patent'

The USPTO may have hurt itself in its confusion.

www.pcgamer.com