The Friday news, part two:
New Blizzard patent details an AI system to make art for its games
https://www.pcgamer.com/new-blizzard-patent-details-an-ai-system-to-make-art-for-its-games/
We here at PC Gamer can't stop admiring the balls of Blizzard's VFX artists, but it turns out that suits elsewhere at the developer have some pretty big kahunas too: And have applied for a patent that will see an AI generate artwork for use in-game, based on a specific style fed to it by Blizzard (spotted by GameRant).
Street Fighter 6 has some terrifying ambitious sales goals from Capcom—10M copies
https://www.pcgamer.com/street-fighter-6-has-some-terrifying-ambitious-sales-goals-from-capcom10m-copies/
I have no doubt in my mind that Street Fighter 6 is going to be Capcom's most successful instalment to date. It's had a pretty transparent development cycle and the hype around it from newcomers and veterans alike is bound to secure its place as one of the greats. But is it going to be successful enough to sell 10 million copies? I sure hope so, because that's how many units Capcom's president wants to push.
Phil Spencer apologizes for Redfall's 'disappointing' launch but promises to keep working on it
https://www.pcgamer.com/phil-spencer-apologizes-for-redfalls-disappointing-launch-but-promises-to-keep-working-on-it/
Redfall is out, and to be blunt, it is not good. It's a "flat, dull experience," we said in our 44% review (ouch), "that lacks any of Arkane's usual brilliance." In an interview with Kinda Funny, Xbox boss Phil Spencer said he's "disappointed" in the state of the game, and apologized to fans for missing the mark so badly.
There might be more Star Wars games in development than you realize
https://www.pcgamer.com/upcoming-star-wars-games/
After the Star Wars videogame drought of the mid-2010s—the Battlefront games were the only big new ones for a few years there—Disney is finally starting to resaturate the PC with games set in a galaxy far, far away. There was Respawn's Jedi: Fallen Order in 2019, Star Wars: Squadrons in 2020, and then Jedi: Survivor last month.
We'll be showered with even more lightsabers and Babu Friks in the years to come if the current forecast holds: There are currently six big Star Wars games in development for PC that we know about. Most of them don't even have titles yet (get ready to see a bunch of teaser pictures that say "Star Wars"), so we may be waiting a while to play them, but I bet we'll see one or two of them during the "don't-call-it-E3-anymore" press conference season this June.
As Hunt: Showdown players catch 'granny fever,' I'm wondering if we need more elderly characters in FPSes
https://www.pcgamer.com/as-hunt-showdown-players-catch-granny-fever-im-wondering-if-we-need-more-elderly-characters-in-fpses/
Six percent of gamers are over the age of 65, but I know how I'm going to be spending one-hundred percent of my time in Hunt: Showdown going forward: as Béatrice, a septo- (octo?) generian hunter who's just been released as part of the latest $10 DLC for Hunt.
Holy cow, they're making a new Shadowman game
https://www.pcgamer.com/holy-cow-theyre-making-a-new-shadowman-game/
Shadow Man, a game about a possessed voodoo warrior who protects the world of the living from the land of the dead, was originally released in 1999, and was brought back to life by Nightdive Studios in 2021 as Shadow Man Remastered. And now an all new game is on the way: Shadowman Darque Legacy, a tale of an all-new Shadowman that's set to launch next year.
Amnesia: The Bunker 10-minute gameplay video features dark halls, giant rats, and the worst gun ever
https://www.pcgamer.com/amnesia-the-bunker-10-minute-gameplay-video-features-dark-halls-giant-rats-and-the-worst-gun-ever/
I'm very much not looking forward to Amnesia: The Bunker, the upcoming horror game from Frictional. I will play it, to be clear, but I won't enjoy it: The Amnesia games are pretty much the most "I don't need this shit" things I've ever played. But they're also kind of irresistible. It's weird.
40% of Hunt: Showdown players have never killed another player, says Hunt: Showdown's general manager
https://www.pcgamer.com/40-of-hunt-showdown-players-have-never-killed-another-player-says-hunt-showdowns-general-manager/
When a group of people working on some of the biggest games in the first-person shooting genre gathered for a roundtable hosted by our own Evan Lahti at GDC, the subject of rookie retention came up. The most popular shooters today are competitive—with extraction shooters and battles of the royale variety maintaining their dominance—so is it an issue that the first experience many players have is getting demolished by veterans?
David Fifield, general manager for the Hunt franchise at Crytek, called this "the brick of getting in", making it sound appropriately like a heavy blunt object just waiting to fall on the heads of fresh meat playing their first games of Hunt: Showdown.
"We have an achievement in Hunt called Debut," Fifield said. "It's 'kill your first enemy Hunter', 40% of our players never get it. We're a PvP game where you come in, you do some things, and 40% of the people trying Hunt have never killed another player."
'It is really, really OP': Europa Universalis 4 DLC feature lets you conquer the world at record pace
https://www.pcgamer.com/it-is-really-really-op-europa-universalis-4-dlc-feature-lets-you-conquer-the-world-at-record-pace/
There's a common experience among Europa Universalis 4 players, which is that of loading up the game, picking a nation in Eastern Europe or Asia, and then getting completely stomped by the Ottomans. This massive empire, the popularisers of the funky fez, will stomp you into the dirt like a cigarette. I've got some bad news for players who already fear the Ottoman advance: they're now even stronger than they used to be, as one player has proved by conquering the world with them in 73 years, without resorting to the popular speedrun tactic of starting as a horde.
Destiny 2's Vow of the Disciple raid boss has been recreated in Minecraft
https://www.pcgamer.com/destiny-2s-vow-of-the-disciple-raid-boss-has-been-recreated-in-minecraft/
Last night's This Week at Bungie update contained some juicy info for Destiny 2 players—including a rundown of next season's new Strand fragments, some crafting and economy changes, and a bunch of planned updates for Trials of Osiris. But forget all of that, because it also showcased a Minecraft community recreation of The Witch Queen expansion's climactic raid fight.
And here are the GOG and Steam deals for the weekend:
+GOG
- There are four new Deals of the Day, that will last until Monday:
- The first one is Ocean's Heart, 60% off: https://www.gog.com/en/game/oceans_heart
- Time Lock VR 2 will be 80% off: https://www.gog.com/en/game/time_lock_vr_2
- The Wraith of the Galaxy, still in development, is 85% off: https://www.gog.com/en/game/the_wraith_of_the_galaxy
- The last one is We are the Dwarves, 95% off: https://www.gog.com/en/game/we_are_the_dwarves
- Hidden somewhere for some reason, it turns out that there was a Midweek Sale, featuring games from Publisher Ziggurat games with up to 75% discounts. The sale will last another 2 days: https://www.gog.com/en/promo/20230503_miweek_sale
- Larian Sturios puts its games on sale with up to 90% deals until Sunday, the 7th: https://www.gog.com/en/promo/2023_larian_may
- The Weekend Sale brings up to 80% discounts during 3 days: https://www.gog.com/en/promo/20230505_weekend_sale
- And the Focus Entertainment Publisher Sale comes with up to 80% discounts during 9 days: https://www.gog.com/en/promo/2023_focus_entertainment
+Steam
- Fran Bow will be 50% off until next Thursday: https://store.steampowered.com/app/362680/Fran_Bow/
- Trailmakers, that is free to try during the weekend, gets a 70% discount until the 11th: https://store.steampowered.com/app/585420/Trailmakers/
- Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy will also be 70% off until the 11th: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1088850/Marvels_Guardians_of_the_Galaxy/
- Black Mesa gets a 75% discount until the Thursday, 11th: https://store.steampowered.com/app/362890/Black_Mesa/
- The SpongeBob Weekend Deal comes with up to 81% discounts until May, 11th: https://store.steampowered.com/sale/SpongeBobWeekendDeal2023
- Publisher Kitfox celebrates its 10th anniversary with a sale, putting its games up to 90% off until the 11th of May: https://store.steampowered.com/sale/kitfox10th
- The LudoNarraCon comes back another year, this time with up to 90% discounts until, once again, Thursday, the 11th of May: https://store.steampowered.com/sale/LudoNarraCon
- And publisher Thunderful puts its games up to 88% off until the 18th of May, although some deals will end sooner than that: https://store.steampowered.com/sale/thunderful-publisher-sale
Nothing else to add. Until next time, I wish you a happy and gaming weekend.
Please excuse my bad English.
Currently gaming on a PC with an i5-4670k@stock (for now), 16Gb RAM 1600 MHz and a GTX 1070
Steam / Live / NNID : jonxiquet Add me if you want, but I'm a single player gamer.
