Monthly Archives: October 2014

Elite: Dangerous Launches Beta 3

Elite

The third stage of Elite: Dangerous’ Beta test has rolled out to players, unlocking even more of the real Milky Way for exploration and introducing long-awaited features including multiple ship ownership and mining.

  • Player-driven interdiction. Players can now interdict NPC ships, pulling them out of faster-than-light travel back into normal space along with the player.
  • Philanthropy missions added.
  • Fuel scooping from stars added. Keep a close eye on your temperature gauge as you refuel from the blazing surface of stars.
  • Asteroid mining added. Cut metal and rock from asteroids using the mining laser.
  • New ships added: Imperial Clipper and Federal Dropship.
  • Multiple ship ownership. Long requested by the community, players can keep multiple craft docked at starports, allowing for reserve ships dedicated to combat, exploration, trading and more.
  • Additional ship images added to loading screen .
  • Status panel now shows faction reputation.
  • New in-game controls to allow rapid switching between display screens.
  • Outpost landing pads now reflect low gravity environment.
  • Play area expanded to over 2,400 systems and 869,000 cubic light years of playable space.
  • Improved galaxy map, with partial name searching, range display and route finding.
  • Planet visuals overhaul. Planet surface types, liquids and atmospheric colours now reflect their chemical composition.
  • Planets display volcanic features and complex craters can create dust ejecta. Crater frequency is dependent on atmosphere thickness.
  • Ice planets now have fracture features.
  • All planets now have dynamic ice caps and liquid levels.
  • Asteroid belt clusters added.
  • Nebulae added, visible in the sky and the galaxy map.

Look to the weekly Elite: Dangerous newsletter this Friday, 31 October for an important announcement about the next stage of the Beta. For more info, visit http://www.elitedangerous.com/

Company of Heroes 2 Launches Free Observer Mode and Mod Tools

Company of Heroes 2

SEGA and Relic Entertainment are launching a brand new update for the award-winning real-time strategy game Company of Heroes 2™ adding two new community features to the game – Observer Mode and Mod Tools. The update will go live on STEAM at 2PM PST.

Observer Mode allows players to sync up and watch live multiplayer matches as they unfold. The feature will let them view games from a variety of different angles, at different speeds and player perspectives and grants access to live data that was previously inaccessible. It provides viewers the opportunity to analyze strategies and learn from the best players in the world. Players can also broadcast their feed through our integrated Twitch interface and showcase their skills to a broader audience.

Observer Mode features include:

Hundreds of viewers

  • More than 500 concurrent viewers per live match
  • Ability to scale up to tens of thousands for special events

Customized UI

  • Ability to turn off UI for cinematic mode
  • Information is easily displayed to quickly find the right match

Customized settings

  • Live-casting permission can be turned on or off
  • Delay slider (0 to 15 minutes)
  • Password option to bypass delay

Data displayed

  • Units
  • Production
  • Commander Trees, Commander abilities and cooldowns
  • Resources

Observing as a party

  • You can invite other users to the party
  • Helps to keep casting teams together and in synch

Mod Tools are an eagerly awaited addition to Company of Heroes 2’s roster of community centric features and will equip the modding community with even more opportunities to create their own custom content. Allowing players to modify existing content to refine the game experience and giving them options to establish their own win conditions and game rules will ultimately create even more and diverse content available for everyone to enjoy.

Mod Tool features include:

  • Attribute Editor
  • Mod Builder
  • Archive Viewer
  • Tuning Packs
  • Win Condition Packs

For more information, please see www.companyofheroes.com.

Endless Legend: Shades of Alteration” Halloween Event Available

Endless

Veteran publisher Iceberg Interactive and award-winning developer Amplitude Studios are showing their spirit today by giving Endless Legend fans their first set of modding tools plus an all new Halloween-themed quest. The highly popular 4X fantasy-strategy game that resonated with fans and critics this September on Steam will now offer powerful modding tools enabling gamers to add new faction traits, technology, city improvements, items, skills, and more, plus an all new Halloween-inspired quest: “A Tale from the Dark Season.” The quest will unlock a special Halloween prize for the players that complete it.

“Our fans are the best, and we want to reward them with a modding tool that gives them the freedom to customize the game to their liking,” said Romain de Waubert, Creative Director at Amplitude Studios. “This is our special Halloween gift to the community – Trick and Treat!”

The new modding tools include the ability to:

  • Add a new faction trait
  • Add a new technology
  • Add a new city improvement
  • Add a new item
  • Add a new skill
  • Change a resource
  • Add a new quest
  • Add or change text
  • Add or change 2D assets

Following 2012’s seminal Endless Space, Endless Legend is Amplitude Studios’ terrain-centric take on the 4X fantasy-strategy genre. Replete with stunning graphics and innovative design, the dynamic French studio has created a unique fantasy game in their science fiction-style Endless universe. Players will have the ability to pick one of eight beautifully crafted factions, thrust heroes into tactical battles and strategically exploit the map terrain, develop technological and political power, and conquer the planet through diplomatic or military means.

For more info, visit http://www.amplitude-studios.com/

Elsword launches Add’s Job Class ‘Mastermind’

Elsword

KOG Games, a leading developer and publisher of popular free-to-play action MMORPGs, today announces the ability for players to advance Add, the 9th playable character, to the next 2nd Job Class: Mastermind.

As Add’s power and mastery over Nasod technology has grown, so has the strength and tenacity of his enemies. Unnerved at the growing threat, Add decides to destroy the limitations of the Arc Tracers Job class and become… Mastermind.

Mastery is imminent for Elsword’s mad genius. As his enemies get stronger and stronger, Add is driven to make his Dynamos more like autonomous android Nasods; acting according to his every wish. After searching the Altera Core and Feita, he finds just what he needs to expand and fully control his weaponry.

Dynamo Factory Expansion
Add’s Mastermind technology allows him to summon and control more advanced fighting drones with ease. In addition to a battery of new technically charged attacks, new Dynamo Configuration skills bring more tactical assault methods and delayed explosions, while the Install special active skills now include persistent ranged damage, targeted intercepts and an onslaughts of rapid-attack plasma beams.

At level 35, players can choose either to complete the in-game quest or purchase the 2nd Job Change Item from the shop to unlock Add’s new 2nd Job, Mastermind.  As Mastermind, Add masters the very nature of Nasod technology and greatly enhances his Dynamo weapon to envelope this newfound power.

For more info, visit www.elsword.com

Planet Calypso: Halloween Mayhem 2014 Now Available

Planet

Planet Calypso AB, operator of the longest established planet in the largest Massively Multiplayer Online Real Cash Economy (MMORCE), announced today that once again players can fight their way through hordes of undead as they compete for prizes in this year’s Halloween event.

As All Hallows’ Eve begins, colonists on Calypso can enter an eerie haunted graveyard and encounter two spine-chilling creatures and two terrifying bosses. While there players will be able to find special loot, including Halloween Candy Boxes and more! In this Mayhem style event they will hunt in one of five different solo instances and score points by looting Halloween Pumpkins. The various Halloween Pumpkins are distributed in relation to creature difficulty (rebalanced based on feedback from last year’s event), so that hunters of all levels can compete.

The Halloween Mayhem mission NPC, Mr. Pumpkin, is located in Nymphtown and will become active once the event begins on Friday, October 31, at 10:00 AM Pacific Time and ends on Monday at the same time. There will be five instance levels available, ranging from 1 to 5. Players should speak to Mr. Pumpkin and choose the entrance that suits their current hunting skills and gear to enter the event. For a complete set of rules please go to the Planet Calypso home page or go directly to: http://www.planetcalypso.com/events/halloween2014/index.xml.