Tuesday news, the (longer than usual) second part:
The Call of Duty ban wave continues as Activision dishes out over 65,000 account bans across Warzone and Modern Warfare 3
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/fps/the-call-of-duty-ban-wave-continues-as-activision-dishes-out-over-65000-account-bans-across-warzone-and-modern-warfare-3/
After a strange spike in Call of Duty cheaters, Activision is going all-in on account bans, first targeting Warzone cheaters and boosters and now going after Modern Warfare 3, both ranked and non-ranked, to rake up an impressive 65,000 account bans in the last week.
World of Warcraft dev says the game's 500-strong union, spurred on by 2021 controversies, has been aided by the move to Microsoft
https://www.pcgamer.com/gaming-industry/world-of-warcraft-dev-says-the-game-s-500-strong-union-spurred-on-by-2021-controversies-has-been-aided-by-the-move-to-microsoft/
In case you missed the news, World of Warcraft's development team—which is approximately 500 members strong—formed a union late last month, attached to the Communication Workers of America (CWA).
(...)
According to a new interview from The Gamer with WoW senior producer Samuel Cooper, the change in atmosphere post-acquisition helped those union efforts come to fruition. Microsoft's more pro-union stance helped Cooper and his colleagues feel safe in setting their union in stone: "Legally, a company can't retaliate against you for organising. But that doesn't make it any less scary … It becomes un-scary when you see hundreds of your fellow co-workers out there, side by side with you. And neutrality allowed us to be very visible on campus."
Lae'zel's actor shares the 'one and only audition' that got her the role in Baldur's Gate 3, featuring threats, bullying, and more urine drinking than I expected
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/baldurs-gate/laezels-actor-shares-the-one-and-only-audition-that-got-her-the-role-in-baldurs-gate-3-featuring-threats-bullying-and-more-urine-drinking-than-i-expected/
(...)
What was I saying? Oh right, Lae'zel's the best, and it's in no small part down to the stellar voicework by her actor, Devora Wilde. And you know what? It turns out she kind of had the character absolutely nailed right from the start. In a post on Twitter earlier today, Wilde posted the "forty six seconds that changed her life," her "one and only audition" for the role of Lae'zel in BG3 that ended up landing her the part.
>> Another of the game voice actors thought the game was a musical.
Diablo 4 players finally unearth a secret ring they've been looking for since it launched over a year ago—and it's utter trash
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/rpg/diablo-4-players-finally-unearth-the-secret-ring-theyve-been-looking-for-since-it-launched-over-a-year-agoand-its-utter-trash/
A group of Diablo 4 treasure seekers, who banded together on the Not Finding A Cow Level Discord, has solved one of the game's longest-running mysteries, uncovering a new event previously only theorised about, and a unique ring that has never dropped before. The short version is: they uncovered an event that rewarded the group with rare Lucky Coins, which they then dropped one-by-one into a wishing well, which sparked a meteor storm before each member received the Ring of Misfortune.
Fallout: New Vegas director on the art of making sure all your points in persuasion aren't wasted: It's 'all about feelings … but you use numbers to arrive at that feeling'
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/rpg/fallout-new-vegas-director-on-the-art-of-making-sure-all-your-points-in-persuasion-arent-wasted-its-all-about-feelings-but-you-use-numbers-to-arrive-at-that-feeling/
How do you ensure a player's character-building choices feel worthwhile in an RPG, whether they dumped all their points into lockpicking or went heavy on persuasion? Josh Sawyer, seasoned RPG designer and studio design director at Obsidian, says that—like weapon tuning—it's a vibes-based art, but great documentation and a good dataset certainly don't hurt.
Nightingale devs say they're 'not satisfied' with the game, its reception, or its player numbers, but they've got big improvements coming
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/survival-crafting/nightingale-devs-say-theyre-not-satisfied-with-the-game-its-reception-or-its-player-numbers-but-theyve-got-big-improvements-coming/
Last week, Inflexion Games published a YouTube video in which CEO Aaron Flynn and art and audio director Neil Thomson assessed the current state of Nightingale and where the studio hopes to take its gaslamp fantasy survival game next. Inflexion's assessment was unconventionally frank: "We are not satisfied with where the game is at, we're not satisfied with the overall sentiment, we're not satisfied with our player numbers," Flynn said.
Despite the video's vaguely uncomfortable air—watching it felt like the two developers were expecting me to scold them—it's admirable for its candor. In updates released since Nightingale's early access debut in February, Flynn says the studio has worked to address the "shortcomings of the experience," adding a much-requested singleplayer mode and a host of quality-of-life updates. To Nightingale's credit, while its Steam rating sits at an overall "Mixed," its recent reviews have come in at a rosier "Mostly Positive."
Star Wars Outlaws' $40 season pass comes with 2 story packs, including a run-in with Lando Calrissian later this year
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/star-wars-outlaws-40-season-pass-comes-with-2-story-packs-including-a-run-in-with-lando-calrissian-later-this-year/
Star Wars Outlaws isn't out yet, but you can already buy extra Star Wars Outlaws. As usual for the publisher, Ubisoft is selling a season pass for its big open world Star Wars adventure that promises to dole out more story over the next six months or so.
The follow-up to Palworld could go 'beyond AAA', but Pocketpair's CEO only wants to pursue projects that 'are interesting as indie games'
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/survival-crafting/the-follow-up-to-palworld-could-go-beyond-aaa-but-pocketpairs-ceo-only-wants-to-pursue-projects-that-are-interesting-as-indie-games/
Palworld's explosive success earlier this year made developer Pocketpair heaps of money, but its CEO would rather make an indie-sized game over something that could "go beyond AAA."
>> That’s quite sensible.
House Flipper 2 update adds 150 new items, including towels, decorative moss, and weeds
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/sim/house-flipper-2-update-adds-150-new-items-including-towels-decorative-moss-and-weeds/
House Flipper 2, a game for people who want to fix up rental properties on the weekend without engaging in problematic real world activities like buying real estate or inhaling black mold, got a big free update last week.
Final Fantasy 14 hunter spent 3 days collectively losing their minds trying to spawn a monster with sunglasses, mass crying sessions, and alpacas… only to find out they just needed to wait
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/final-fantasy/final-fantasy-14-hunter-spent-3-days-collectively-losing-their-minds-trying-to-spawn-a-monster-with-sunglasses-mass-crying-sessions-and-alpacas-only-to-find-out-they-just-needed-to-wait/
S-Rank hunts in Final Fantasy 14 are funny little things. Each S-Rank monster comes with specific spawn conditions, some of which are awfully niche. Want to spawn Armstrong, a monster from Endwalker? Whack on some gear you pick up from a level 46 quest in A Realm Reborn, die in a specific spot and hope he turns up. Spawning Salt and Light requires you to discard items from your inventory 50 times, a painfully tedious process.
With other bizarre spawn conditions including using Blue Mage's self-destruct spell to KO yourself, crafting a high-quality steak, or flying over spawn points with a specific minion summoned, deciphering how to prompt these foes to appear can be a bit of a task. Thanks to groups of dedicated hunters, these riddles usually get figured out pretty quickly… that is, except for one pesky elite enemy from Dawntrail, the game's latest expansion, which left players utterly stumped for days.
Yakuza producer still won't put Kiryu in a goddamn fighting game, or possibly any future videogame for that matter: 'I think going cross-medium is the better way to go about it'
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/fighting/yakuza-producer-still-wont-put-kiryu-in-a-goddamn-fighting-game-or-possibly-any-future-videogame-for-that-matter-i-think-going-cross-medium-is-the-better-way-to-go-about-it/
Despite Kazuma Kiryu spending smacking people across the face with his fists and throwing whole-ass motorbikes at them, he's still shied away from guest-starring in any fighting games. That's largely down to original series creator Toshihiro Nagoshi telling Red Bull back in 2020 that he didn't want to see Kiryu attacking any women.
With Nagoshi departing Sega in 2021 and leaving things in the hands of Masayoshi Yokoyama, I've been secretly hoping that the series' new producer would have a different opinion on Kiryu's place in the FGC. Well, he kinda does, but don't get too excited: It's still looking pretty dang unlikely.
Cult of the Lamb's next major content update will be an interactive digital comic: 'Where all your choices will take you on a colourful adventure'
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/roguelike/cult-of-the-lambs-next-free-major-content-update-will-be-an-interactive-digital-comic-where-all-your-choices-will-take-you-on-a-colourful-adventure/
Cult of the Lamb's upcoming major content update will count towards your required reading as developer Massive Monster shared plans to release an interactive digital comic.
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