Friday news, part two:
Subnautica 2 studio reassures fans that it's not a live-service game: 'No season passes. No battle passes. No subscription'
https://www.pcgamer.com/subnautica-2-studio-reassures-fans-that-its-not-a-live-service-game-no-season-passes-no-battle-passes-no-subscription/
In response to concerns that arose after publisher Krafton said the upcoming Subnautica 2 will feature co-op mulitplayer built on the "games-as-a-service model," developer Unknown Worlds has clarified that it won't be very different from the early access releases of the previous games in the series, and that there will be no battle passes or subscriptions involved.
Helldivers 2 studio in 'crisis mode' as servers buckle under the weight of a popular launch, first hotfix out now
https://www.pcgamer.com/helldivers-2-studio-in-crisis-mode-as-servers-buckle-under-the-weight-of-a-popular-launch-first-hotfix-out-now/
The original Helldivers was a fun little twin-stick shooter that flew under the radar, but its 3D sequel is proving to be a much bigger deal. On launch day, Helldivers 2 is the top selling game on Steam with a respectable peak of 64,000 concurrent players. Judging by my first hour, it's very fun, but also kinda broken.
Helldivers 2 kept its most exciting feature secret until launch: human dungeon masters 'responding in real time' and messing with players
https://www.pcgamer.com/helldivers-2-kept-its-most-exciting-feature-secret-until-launch-human-dungeon-masters-responding-in-real-time-and-messing-with-players/
Helldivers 2 launched on Steam today and unfortunately seems to have got off to a bit of a shaky start network-wise (...)
Launch woes aside, Helldivers 2 hasn't been especially on my radar—but a new PlayStation Access interview with the game's deputy director Sagar Beroshi made me realise this is a game with big ideas, and none more exciting than its take on in-game dungeon masters.
Discworld rerelease is 'on the cards' according to the original game's director, but is 'a complicated process' because King Charles may own 50% of the IP rights
https://www.pcgamer.com/discworld-rerelease-is-on-the-cards-according-to-the-original-games-director-but-is-a-complicated-process-because-king-charles-may-own-50-of-the-ip-rights/
At a time when classic PC games are more accessible than ever, the Discworld trilogy of adventure games has remained frustratingly elusive. Based on Terry Pratchett's long-running comic fantasy series, the three adventure games—Discworld, Discworld 2, and Discworld Noir, were developed by Perfect Entertainment and released between 1995 and 1999. Perfect shut down shortly after Noir launched, and ever since the trilogy has been abandonware.
But hope lies on the horizon. In a recent interview with Time Extension, Perfect's cofounder Gregg Barnett revealed that a rerelease is being pursued. "I don't want to give you a scoop, but a Discworld rerelease may happen," Barnett said when asked if any companies had approached him about the subject. "It's on the cards. It may happen. And then it could advance to new versions of them."
Take-Two Interactive says in-game currencies are 'fictions' that players can't actually own
https://www.pcgamer.com/take-two-interactive-says-in-game-currencies-are-fictions-that-players-cant-actually-own/
You might pay real money for in-game currency, but Take-Two Interactive says that doesn't make it real: In a filing seeking the dismissal of a lawsuit alleging "civil theft" and unfair business practices in its NBA 2K games, Take-Two said virtual currencies (VCs) are not property but are "fictions" created by game makers, and subject to the same terms and conditions as the games themselves.
Ubisoft CEO defends Skull and Bones' $60 price tag, says it's 'a quadruple-A game'
https://www.pcgamer.com/ubisoft-ceo-defends-skull-and-bones-dollar60-price-tag-says-its-a-quadruple-a-game/
Skull and Bones costs $60, or your local equivalent, and that's a hefty price tag for something that bears the trappings of a live-service game, including an in-game store, battle pass, seasonal events, and premium currency. But Ubisoft CEO Yves Guillemot defended the cost in an investors call today, saying the high price is warranted because it's a "quadruple-A game."
>> Don't laugh.
Diablo 4's forgettable XP boost event has me crossing my fingers that its upcoming leaderboards won't be as dull
https://www.pcgamer.com/diablo-4s-forgettable-xp-boost-event-has-me-crossing-my-fingers-that-its-upcoming-leaderboards-wont-be-as-dull/
Diablo 4's Lunar New Year event doesn't feel like an event at all. The promised cosmetic rewards take about an hour to earn and trying to find the XP-boosting Lunar Shrines is harder than trying to find an Uber Unique. It's as if the event was designed for the Diablo 4 that existed before season 2's overhaul, and Blizzard's hotfixes can't seem to make it much better.
Creative Assembly begs Total War: Warhammer fans to come back with upgraded DLC that adds a giant terracotta warrior
https://www.pcgamer.com/creative-assembly-begs-total-war-warhammer-fans-to-come-back-with-upgraded-dlc-that-adds-a-giant-terracotta-warrior/
Following last year's expensive Shadows of Change DLC, the Total War: Warhammer 3 community's Public Order score dropped until it was only a few turns away from outright rebellion. Redditors and YouTubers folded in a bunch of perennial complaints about bugs and update cadence and communication and how they want one specific kind of beastmen to have beaks, kicking up a stink until Creative Assembly promised to give players better value for money. Now, the studio has started to detail how that will happen with a blog post outlining some of the changes to Shadows of Change in update 4.2.
Tekken 8's leaderboard is being dominated by cheaters and boosters but bans are being handed out soon
https://www.pcgamer.com/tekken-8s-leaderboard-is-being-dominated-by-cheaters-and-boosters-but-bans-are-being-handed-out-soon/
Bandai Namco and Tekken 8 director Katsuhiro Harada are readying the banhammers, with warnings of rank resets and account suspensions, after players quickly discovered that the leaderboard's 'top' online ranked users were cheating or win trading to inflate their standing.
Final Fantasy 7 Remake director would give an emphatic 'No!' if someone asked him for an FF8 remake, and FF8's original director isn't keen either
https://www.pcgamer.com/final-fantasy-7-remake-director-would-give-an-emphatic-no-if-someone-asked-him-for-an-ff8-remake-and-ff8s-original-director-isnt-keen-either/
Call me an empath, but something tells me that remaking Final Fantasy 7 as a trilogy of slick, high-budget modern games is taking its toll on poor Naoki Hamaguchi, the remake's director. In a recent chat with IGN, Hamaguchi and Final Fantasy 8 director Yoshinori Kitase were presented with the idea of a similar remake for FF8. Hamaguchi took to the idea like a cat to a swimming pool.
Data strings in the latest Counter-Strike 2 update hint at two new Valve games, and one of them might just be Half-Life related
https://www.pcgamer.com/data-strings-in-the-latest-counter-strike-2-update-hint-at-two-new-valve-games-and-one-of-them-might-just-be-half-life-related/
A Half-Life fan's favourite pastime (aside from actually playing Half-Life games) is latching onto the tiniest hope that a new Half-Life might be just around the corner. I say this as one such eternally optimistic Half-Life fan. Which is why I started vibrating with excitement at a single data string hidden in the latest Counter-Strike 2 update.
Dead Cells is calling it quits 7 years after its meteoric early access release
https://www.pcgamer.com/dead-cells-is-calling-it-quits-7-years-after-its-meteoric-early-access-release/
Seven years after its early access release and five years after Evil Empire took the reins from the original devs at Motion Twin, Dead Cells is hanging up its spurs. In a statement earlier today, Evil Empire announced it "will no longer be working on Dead Cells" following a half-decade of work on the game. A corollary statement from Motion Twin declares Dead Cells' upcoming update 35 "the end of our creative journey on the game".
And here are the GOG and Steam deals for the weekend:
+GOG
- GOG has four Deals of the Day for us. All of them will last 70 hours and the first one is STAR WARS™: X-Wing Special Edition, featuring a 65% discount: https://www.gog.com/en/game/star_wars_xwing_special_edition
- STAR WARS™ - The Force Unleashed™ Ultimate Sith Edition is also 65% off: https://www.gog.com/en/game/star_wars_the_force_unleashed_ultimate_sith_edition
- Ys VIII: Lacrimosa of DANA gets a 70% discount: https://www.gog.com/en/game/ys_viii_lacrimosa_of_dana
- And the fourth one is The Cave, 80% off: https://www.gog.com/en/game/the_cave
+Steam
- Dovetail Games puts its titles on sale with up to 90% discounts until the 12th of February: https://store.steampowered.com/publisher/dovetailgames/sale/FestivalofRail2024
- Lethal Company, still in Early Access, will be 30% off until the 15th of February: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1966720/Lethal_Company/
- Slime Rancher 2 is also in Early Access, and also has a 30% discount until the 15th: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1657630/Slime_Rancher_2/
- Black Mesa is going to be 80% off until February, the 15th: https://store.steampowered.com/app/362890/Black_Mesa/
- EA has its own Lunar Sale with up to 85% discounts until the 20th of February: https://store.steampowered.com/developer/EA/sale/ea-lunar-new-year-2024
- Rockstar puts its games up to 70% off until the 22nd of February: https://store.steampowered.com/sale/RockstarPublisherSale2024
- And Bandai Namco has also launched its own Lunar New Year Sale, featuring up to 90% discounts until the 22nd: https://store.steampowered.com/developer/BANDAINAMCO/sale/bandainamcosale
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.
