Studio Wildcard has officially announced that PS4 users will be able to rent servers for ARK: Survival Evolved right now, with Xbox One users receiving this in September. It will be able to host 100 players per server and use their own in-depth parameters/settings for the server. To host yours, click this link. The costs are low and will go directly to the server cost, and not to the developers. Nitrado is the first server provider ready to offer private ARK servers, and a feature of these is called “Cross ARK” which lets players connect multiple private servers, to create one massive cluster that is easy to cross and create your own world of survival.
Monthly Archives: August 2017
MetaArcade Brings Iconic RPG Quests to Mobile with Tunnels & Trolls Adventures
Right in time for GenCon 50, Tunnels & Trolls Adventures launches Thursday, Aug 17th! Starting on mobile [but will receive Mac/PC launches later in the future], it’s the opening salvo from MetaArcade to bring narrative adventures to multiple platforms. New and classic Tunnels & Trolls quests come to life with PCs, with choose-your-own-adventure style gameplay, animated die, and beautiful art from some of the greatest fantasy artists around. It promises to bring classic gameplay to life, and will be a gateway to a vast world of roleplaying.
“Take This” Charity to Receive Support from Makers of “Town of Light”
Take This is the latest video-game related charity and is a non-profit that educates people on the importance of mental health awareness in the gaming community. They also combat the stigma associated with those who struggle with mental illness. In partnership with Wired Productions/LKA it, Take This and other mental health charities will receive 25% of the net receipts of each copy of The Town of Light, a popular psychological adventure title now available. This will go on from Aug 16 through Sept 6 2017, and is currently available with an additional 20% off discount. This is a remarkable idea, and I’m glad to see that a serious issue like mental health is being combined with a popular psychological title such as Town of Light. I hope it does help spread the word of Take This and their goals of mental health/awareness.
It’s dangerous to go alone.
We Happy Few – Announce Trailer
We Happy Few has a huge announcement! Compulsion has teamed up with Gearbox to bring We Happy Few to life! It’s coming April 13th, 2018!
Total War: WARHAMMER 2 – Skaven In-Engine Trailer
Those repulsive, vile Skaven are coming to Total War: Warhammer 2! Check them out in the in-game engine as we come closer to the second Total War game set in this universe!
AlterVerse: Disruption Coming Soon!
Are you ready for the first game from Dogstar VR? AlterVerse: Disruption is on the way; are you ready to be a badass ship captain in space?
Empyre: Lords of the Sea Gates to Rise onto Steam on October 4
New York is troubled, the city has flooded due to rising oceans, and the fresh water pipes have stopped working; there’s no longer clean drinking water! This is the issue brought up in Empyre: Lords of the Sea Gates, coming from Coin Operated Games. They have announced that Author/Cartoonist Paul Noth [Conan O’Brien and others], it’s a pretty big acquisition. Although set in a fictional, alternate history, the game pays homage to historic accounts by adding authentic items such as patent medicines including poisons or tonics made from dangerous ingredients. Many of the games’ objectives and side quests will tie directly into the experiences that someone in the 19th century would have.
“We are very honored that Paul is working with us on the storyline for Empyre: Lords of the Sea Gates,” said John Randall, Creative Director of Empyre. “He is a world class writer, and has been invaluable to us with helping to shape the direction of our games’ signature Neo-Victorian story and experience.”
Total War: Warhammer II: The Skaven Are Unleashed
The disgusting, vile, repugnant Rat-men, the Skaven are the fourth race in Total War: Warhammer II! Brand Manager Henry Hankin said, “we’re as surprised as you are”. Playable alongside the High Elves, Dark Elves, and Lizardmen next month, they are led by Queek Headtaker and Lord Skrolk, they can be seen leading a variety of vile monsters, and ridiculous machinery against their foes. The vermin rise and are ready to engulf all in their disease and madness.
Nightmarchers: New Adventure Game from Brightlocker/Wyrmbyte
Indie developer Wyrmbyte announced that they are working on a new title, Nightmarchers, a post-apocalyptic open-world shooter with a pretty unique location: The Hawaiian Island Oahu! It will be on the upcoming platform BrightLocker, which offers beta access, in-game content, and dev interaction. Players will discover secrets of the mythical past of Hawaii and trek across 500 square miles of authentic island, unlocking powers of the gods and choosing skills/weapons.
“At Wyrmbyte, we want to deliver quality games that present a fun and adrenaline-charged experience while honoring different religions and lore from around the world,” said Scott Brown, President, Wyrmbyte. “Nightmarchers is our first step in this direction so it was important to us that we accurately represent and honor the Hawaiian culture and its legendary landmarks and stories.”
“We are thrilled to introduce Nightmarchers and have this AAA quality game join our current line-up of games available on BrightLocker,” said Ruben Cortez, CEO, BrightLocker. “We are changing the way players interact with developers and are excited to partner with the team at Wyrmbyte to present exclusive game access, rewards and offerings to players.”
Players can register on Brightlocker right now! New accounts will also receive 50 free Gold for access to early betas, exclusives and rewards.
Middle-Earth: Shadow of Loot Chests:
Editor’s Note: Credit for Images go to Jim Sterling/The Jimquisition. Thank you.
So, I was clued into a Jimquisition that I missed. I still have a difficult time with his aesthetic, but as always, I respect the Hell out of his work ethic/research/general review practices. He’s honest, he’s blunt, and he’s certainly memorable. He recently talked about something I was reading about, concerning Shadow of War. Back in my day, if you had a problem in a game, you’d hit “IDDQD”, “Glittering Prizes”, or “Up Up Down Down Left Right Left Right A B Start”, something of that nature to cheat or get ahead. Nowadays, Warner Bros. has shown that they have no guile, no stealth. They are boldly going where a lot of people have gone before: Microtransactions! But they’re doing it in a way that I have not seen a company go about it before. Most of the times, a company will assure the player that it’s just “cosmetics”, or maybe a slight boost, something that won’t make the game “Pay to Win”. And one of the things I loved about the previous title was the Nemesis system.
The Nemesis system rewarded enemies that killed the main character. It added depth, giving them powers, personalities, giving them strength for outwitting/outpowering you. It forced you as the player to think and try and try new strategies, making the encounters new and fresh. It was unique, without it being a horrific, Dark Souls punishment system. Shadow of War has changed it. Now you are trying to use the Nemesis system to build an army, a powerful one. Orcs that you encounter in the world, or in their clan holds can be overpowered, brought into the fold. That sounds terrific, right? Hard work, building the army your way, through your own gameplay. That … is one way you can go about it. You know what’s slowly starting to kill online gaming? Loot Chests. I like the concept, but it’s ultimately gambling, and it’s free money for most games that already have a cost just to start playing. In addition to acquiring your army through the actual gameplay, you can also use the Loot Chest system to acquire Orcs “of varying rarity”, but none of it’s actually guaranteed.
When I first heard “Microtransactions in Shadow of War”, the consensus was that surely, it was just for a mobile game. Because a AAA company wouldn’t openly mock their audience or insult their intelligence by saying they could just spend money to get good at the game. Now you can buy EXP Boosts as well as your army. What’s the point of playing an action RPG if you can just throw real money at it? Sure, you can acquire gold “in-game” in small amounts … or you can throw 20 bucks down, buy 15 chests, and pile up the recruits [maybe. You might still get garbage. You’ll probably still get garbage]. There’s still the regular, in-game currency, but it’s basically worthless. You’ll get piles of it, think you’re rich, then spend 20-50 bucks on “gold” and then throw it away on chests that you won’t even need if you just … played the game a little longer. The part that really grinds my gears is that Warner Bros. isn’t even hiding their contempt for the player. It’s not a secret, it’s not something they spirited away until launch. No, we’ve known for a while now!
This is a single-player game. There is absolutely no need for a Cash Shop for a single-player game! What, was a “Season Pass” not good enough? That’s another thing I hate, the Season Pass, but that’s another story for another day. That wasn’t enough money … no, they had to turn what could have been another legendary title into a sad, sad state of affairs like this one. You don’t need to do it, everything in the game is unlockable through gameplay. Of course, that’s how it should be! Why? Why would they bury this property before it’s even out of the gate? The backlash has been insurmountable. But so far, I’ve heard no word of them taking back loot chests, changing their strategy or anything. But you know what really brings my piss to a boil? This is a 60 dollar goddamn game. A 60 dollar goddamn game that has a 100 dollar version. This is a AAA game from a big-time studio, who already stood to make millions off the game because the previous game was a hit [and it’s Lord of the Rings. Come on. That’s easy money]. Was there a need to add a cash shop on top of that? From what I understand, you can’t access the cash shop without an internet connection but it can be played offline. This is greed on a mythological level. This isn’t “to speed up the game so players can access later parts faster”, this isn’t “Oh, we balanced it before we added this, so players who don’t use it will be fine”, this is “We’re Warner Bros., we make garbage DC films [except Wonder Woman, that was brilliant] and want as much money as humanly possible”. It’s an absolutely disgusting practice. I’d like to round this out by a wise quote from a wise man:
“And once again I posit to the question, if you need to keep selling microtransactions to us by talking about how “ignorable” and “unimportant” they are, how can you believe you’ve created something of worth and value? You haven’t! You simply haven’t! What you’ve done is preyed upon — PREYED UPON — I fucking say, those with potentially harmful gambling tendencies to double dip on your product, exploit both your critically acclaimed work, the customers who love it, and further contribute to an utter pox … a blight on the world of video games that will continue to spread, get more audacious, and ultimately ruin future games because too many come out of the woodwork to defend this indefensible shit” – Jim Sterling.







