Why the new consoles are good for The Division on PC
You’re only as strong as the weakest platform you’re supporting, and PC gamers have got used to developers making concessions for the consoles. But Far Cry 4 is likely the last major Ubisoft game to pull the Xbox 360 and PS3 along with it: 2015 and beyond belongs to only the most powerful machines.
That’s great news for The Division especially. Ubisoft Massive are PC developers in their bones - and when they saw how the new consoles worked, they leapt for joy.
Go-go gadget exosuit: Advanced Warfare sci-fi tech will "change Call of Duty like never before"
The role of chief Call of Duty spokesperson has bounced between developers over the last few years, but the party line has remained the same: whether they’re set in the sea, space or San Francisco, these games are grounded in military reality.
Advanced Warfare finds Sledgehammer’s Glen Schofield spouting the same message - but he’s at least prepared to admit that his studio’s extra-silly gadgetry pushes the series into new territory.
Company of Heroes 2: The Western Front Armies is out on Steam today
Clunkily-titled Company of Heroes 2 expandalone The Western Front Armies is upon us: in our trenches, petting our dogs, writing our letters home.
Our Fraser’s just applying the final lick of insight to his review; let’s get ourselves up to speed in the meantime.
Blizzard reveals your first steps into Draenor: Tanaan Jungle
Blizzard, the horrible tease, has detailed fresh level 90 characters’ first steps into Draenor. “It all starts in a very dangerous place,” says the developer. That place is Tanaan Jungle, a primordial land with viscous flora. It’s from there where the Iron Horde are assaulting Azeroth, so you know it’s not going to be very peaceful.
Rust is rebooting: here's why
Rust, Facepunch Studios' Darwinian survival game, is getting a do-over; a reboot that’s making sweeping changes across Rust’s savage world. The default branch on Steam is no longer being updated, and Garry Newman and the rest of Facepunch are working exclusively on the experimental branch.
Garry calls the original Rust a prototype, and a messy one at that. The code is limiting, and with the amount of players - a number that surprised the developers - Garry felt that the team needed to pick up the pace and overhaul the game instead of polishing it as they went along.
It sounds like a significant undertaking, rebuilding the game from scratch. I got in touch with Garry to find out about the extent of the changes and how the old code was holding the game back.
Kingdoms Age: even strategy games are dabbling in VR
What if Civilization had a baby with Total War, the PR from MMORTS Kingdoms Age asked me. What if, indeed. Agincourt Gaming reckons that Kingdoms Age would be the result of this unholy union.
I’m not at all sure where Civilization is in this union, though. It’s got the real-time battles of Total War, and the management stuff of Total War. The implication is, I suppose, that it will be deeper than the campaign map found in the likes of Rome 2. Since it’s not very deep at all. None of that's what's notable, though. It also offers a persistent, online world and incorporates VR... which is unexpected.
Oculus VR files response to ZeniMax's claims of intellectual property theft; demands jury trial
The legal scrap between Oculus VR and ZeniMax continues, with the VR company filing its response to the publisher’s allegations. These allegations include the claim that John Carmack stole technology from ZeniMax when he moved to Oculus.
“ZeniMax's Complaint falsely claims ownership in Oculus VR technology in a transparent attempt to take advantage of the Oculus VR sale to Facebook,” the defence begins. “By deliberately misstating some facts and omitting others, ZeniMax makes the incredible assertion that it, a video game software publishing company for personal computers and consoles like the Sony PlayStation, invented and developed a virtual reality hardware and software system. The truth is quite different”
Bathing suits might be required for Rift 3.0: Nightmare Tide
Rift is levelling up to 3.0, apparently. That’s with the upcoming major content update: Nightmare Tide. The update serves as an answer to the question of what’s on the other side of the rifts that plague the world? Nightmare Tide will send players into the Plane of Water.
Unfortunately, it’s not all splishing, splashing fun at the beach. It’s a “realm of nightmares, dreams, madness and danger where you’ll encounter new foes, new allies, and confront plots that threaten the entirety of existence,” says producer Bill Fisher.
@TheVoxelman on twitter
Essay Pro