The second gaming news post. Will it also be the last one?
Civilization 7's latest update brings a sweeping balance pass and a broadside of naval mechanics, while Firaxis offers Blackbeard for free as a 'special thanks' to players
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/strategy/civilization-7s-latest-update-brings-a-sweeping-balance-pass-and-a-broadside-of-naval-mechanics-while-firaxis-offers-blackbeard-for-free-as-a-special-thanks-to-players/
Firaxis' attempt to right the ailing vessel that is Civilization VII continues, with its latest update bringing a major balance pass for all civs, plus a bunch of new systems designed to enhance oceanic play. And if you've already picked up Firaxis' latest and most divisive entry in the series, you have the opportunity to pick up history's most notorious pirate entirely for free.
Approximately 2,555 days after a 'day one' giveaway, people are finally receiving copies of a game they won 7 years ago
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/rpg/approximately-2-555-days-after-a-day-one-giveaway-people-are-finally-receiving-copies-of-a-game-they-won-7-years-ago/
An elephant never forgets, and neither does Level-5 apparently. After originally being slated for release all the way back in 2018, football RPG Inazuma Eleven: Victory Road is actually coming out (for realsies!) on November 13.
Presumably under full confidence in its original release date, the developer held a giveaway around seven years ago for a lucky group of gamers to win a copy of the game when it launched. The giveaway went live, winners were picked, and all was good.
(...a paragraph detailing all the delays...)
With the November release date here to stay, Level-5 hasn't forgotten about those who were bestowed a copy in its giveaway all those years ago. As reported by Automaton, winners have been sent a letter from the developer with their prize and a nice side heaping of apologies for the wait.
Study says only 72% of game developers reckon that Steam has a monopoly on PC games, and even with some big caveats, it makes me wonder what the other 28% are thinking
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/study-says-only-72-percent-of-game-developers-reckon-that-steam-has-a-monopoly-on-pc-games-and-even-with-some-big-caveats-it-makes-me-wonder-what-the-other-28-percent-are-thinking/
For well over a decade, Steam has been the first port of call for anyone who wants to buy or sell a video game on PC. While there are alternatives like GOG, the Epic Store, and *snigger* The Xbox PC Games store, Steam's enormous user-base, and, frankly, superior user experience make it the de facto marketplace where PC gamers make their purchases and developers jostle for their attention.
But does Steam's dominance of the PC gaming market constitute a monopoly? Well, according to a new whitepaper, most game developers think so. Titled 'The State of PC Game Distribution' (via GamesIndustry), the paper concludes that 72% of game developers believe the platform has a monopoly on the PC games market.
>> Not to undermine the report, but it was made for a digital distribution platform I doubt you’ve heard of and to only 306 executives.Not that the result would vary much with a bigger sample, but it's still worth mentioning.
'The return of baby driver': The Dwarf Fortress Siege Update briefly reintroduced an old bug where dwarf babies pilot their moms like mech suits until they die of dehydration because babies don't know what drinking is
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/sim/the-return-of-baby-driver-the-dwarf-fortress-siege-update-briefly-reintroduced-an-old-bug-where-dwarf-babies-pilot-their-moms-like-mech-suits-until-they-die-of-dehydration-because-babies-dont-know-what-drinking-is/
On Monday, Dwarf Fortress received its eagerly awaited Siege Update, which revamps Fortress mode sieges by giving invading forces all sorts of dastardly new tools and behaviors to circumvent, demolish, and overrun the player's fortifications. Dwarves, meanwhile, received new toys to stem the tide of besieging goblins, like autocrossbow turret emplacements and metal-fortified walls. Overnight, the fantasy settlement sim has rewritten decades of player defensive strategy.
One of the interesting complications added by the Siege Update, however, is an unintentional one. Shortly after the update went live, players started reporting on the Kitfox Games Discord that, inexplicably, dwarves in their forts were dying of starvation and dehydration. And not just any dwarves: The moms were refusing to eat, and their babies were the culprit.
World of Warcraft director says it's not getting easier in Midnight because it's coming to consoles: 'There's no reason for us to hide anything about this'
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/world-of-warcraft/world-of-warcraft-director-says-its-not-getting-easier-in-midnight-because-its-coming-to-consoles-theres-no-reason-for-us-to-hide-anything-about-this/
World of Warcraft's next expansion has sweeping changes that make all of its classes easier to pick up and play. Blizzard has repeatedly said it wants to make the game more approachable, but some players have speculated that it's all being done so the MMO can be played on a console with a controller.
(...)
According to WoW game director Ion Hazzikostas on a recent episode of the Unshackled Fury podcast (at 21:40), you can stop speculating: The MMO isn't on its way to consoles. "To be fully transparent, there's no reason for us to hide anything about this," he said. "If we were actively working towards bringing WoW to consoles, or a bunch of other platforms, we'd be saying, 'We're actively working towards it, we know we have a lot of work to do but it's a place where we want to land.'"
One of the studios NetEase killed earlier this year is back from the dead as an 'independent production company,' but its original boss is nowhere to be seen
https://www.pcgamer.com/gaming-industry/one-of-the-studios-netease-killed-earlier-this-year-is-back-from-the-dead-as-an-independent-production-company-but-its-original-boss-is-nowhere-to-be-seen/
One of America's greatest poets once said, "Everything dies, baby, that's a fact. But maybe everything that does someday comes back." I don't know if that's true for everything, but it is true for T-Minus Zero, the game studio founded in 2023 that just two years later fell victim to NetEase's brutal cutbacks.
"Earlier this year, our journey with NetEase Games came to a close," the updated T-Minus Zero website says (via GamesRadar). "Together, we accomplished something rare: a world-class team, a bold new IP, and a fully playable prototype that demonstrated both our creative and executional strength. The response from players, partners, and peers validated our belief that what we were building had genuine market potential. While shifting market conditions terminated that trajectory, they also clarified our path forward.
"A small group of veteran directors & founders have acquired the T-Minus Zero Entertainment name to carry the team's spirit forward and are relaunching as an independent production company—with a refined development model and a funding approach inspired by the independent film world: focused, project-based, and partnership-friendly."
Rockstar co-founder Dan Houser says there's a reason the Grand Theft Auto games are always set in US cities: 'Guns'
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/action/rockstar-co-founder-dan-houser-says-theres-a-reason-the-grand-theft-auto-games-are-always-set-in-us-cities-guns/
The Grand Theft Auto games are famed for their sprawling recreations of famous US cities: Liberty City is New York City, Vice City is Miami, Los Santos is Los Angeles. And despite being around for nearly 30 years now, the series has—with one exception, noted further below—never ventured outside of American borders. In a recent interview with Lex Fridman, Rockstar co-founder Dan Houser said there's a good reason for that: Other countries may have great cities, but they're not American cities.
>> I guess he’s never heard what’s going on at Mexico or Brazil, for example.
Blizzard doesn't intend to rework Diablo 4 over and over again, but it also doesn't want to leave behind 'stuff that no one wants or cares about'
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/rpg/blizzard-doesnt-intend-to-rework-diablo-4-over-and-over-again-but-it-also-doesnt-want-to-leave-behind-stuff-that-no-one-wants-or-cares-about/
Diablo 4 is officially on its second major facelift in the almost three years it's been around. Its next season will make sweeping changes to how monsters fight back and how players customize their gear, and there's even more reworks coming in its next expansion.
A big question that has come up as the game transforms yet again, is how often this is going to happen, and if it will continue for the foreseeable future. Speaking in an interview with Diablo streamer Raxxanterax, associate game director Zaven Haroutunian touched on this concern.
'In a true RPG, you need to think about what is happening': RPGs have been coddling us, says Outer Worlds 2 director, who's glad to see games like Baldur's Gate 3 let players make mistakes
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/rpg/in-a-true-rpg-you-need-to-think-about-what-is-happening-rpgs-have-been-coddling-us-says-outer-worlds-2-director-whos-glad-to-see-games-like-baldurs-gate-3-let-players-make-mistakes/
I tried playing the original Baldur's Gate as a kid, but I had next to no understanding of D&D in 1998 and wound up bouncing off BioWare's legendary RPG because I just kept dying. Over time, some of the more esoteric aspects of videogame RPGs were sanded away, and when BioWare got to the action RPGs of the Mass Effect series, I had no problem joining the party. (It probably also helped that I was no longer 13 years old.)
But something was lost when RPGs became blockbusters rather than adaptations of pen-and-paper games, and The Outer Worlds 2 game director Brandon Adler is happy to see RPGs like Baldur's Gate 3 force players to pay more attention to their build choices and the game world.
MindsEye loses its free-roam mode, gains a dodge roll, and rebrands itself as 'Powered by Arcadia' whatever that means
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/action/mindseye-loses-its-free-roam-mode-gains-a-dodge-roll-and-rebrands-itself-as-powered-by-arcadia-whatever-that-means/
"Open world game that doesn't need or particularly want to be an open world game" feels like a niche subgenre, but I guess it's a niche big enough to contain L.A. Noire and several Mafia games—and now MindsEye as well.
The GTA-like shooter from the studio headed by a former GTA producer had a launch you could call troubled, or considering all the layoffs that followed, maybe catastrophic is the right word. Post-launch updates have arrived, however, the latest of which is Update 5. Developer Build a Rocket Boy has added two of the most-requested features—a dodge roll and the option to shoulder-swap—though players clamoring for a melee attack will have to keep waiting for that one.
Unusually, this update also removes a feature. As the patch notes put it, "Free Roam is taking a short break but will return soon." (...)
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