If you play The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt on the PC, you may import your Witcher 2 save files so that the third game in this role-playing trilogy reflects the major decisions you made in the previous adventure. However, you may not be playing on PC, or perhaps you lost your save files, forgot what happened in the story, or never even played The Witcher games prior to Wild Hunt. The good news: The Witcher 3 allows you to select those decisions as if you played its predecessor. The bad news: If you didn't play The Witcher 2, you may not understand the sequence that presents these choices.
In this Witcher 3 sequence, Nilfgaardian emperor Emhyr var Emreis has invited you to the palace at Vizima. Before you meet the ruler, however, commander Morvran Voorhis subjects you to a shave, during which he asks you some probing questions. If you haven't played The Witcher 2, you aren't likely to know the background to these queries. (You can simply skip this Q&A sequence if these matters don't interest you by selecting not to simulate The Witcher 2 decisions when you start the game, if you prefer.) Fear not, however: I am here to provide some context, so that you don't feel completely lost when Voorhis confronts you--perhaps only slightly lost. I will not be telling you how each of those decisions plays out over the course of The Witcher 3, though some of those possibilities are notable: In The Witcher 3, entire quest lines appear that are only available if you choose/chose a particular path. However, my aim is to give you proper backstory so you understand what these decisions mean, and don't have to make them blindly.
Warning: The Witcher 2 spoilers ahead!
Choice 1: Did you kill Aryan La Valette, or allow him to live?
Aryan La Valette, armored commander and mama's boy.
Aryan La Valette is/was the son of Mary Louisa La Valette, the mistress of King Foltest of Temeria--the king whose assassination is at the center of The Witcher 2's story. In The Witcher 2's prologue, you confront Aryan, who is commanding the guard that provides his castle's defenses. You can kill Aryan in this scene (and his guards, if you so wish), or allow him to live. Killing him opens up interactions with his mother later in The Witcher 2; should you force him to surrender, you encounter him later in The Witcher 2, and might even aid in his escape from the castle.
Choice 2: Did you leave Flotsam with Vernon Roche, or with Iorveth?
Iorveth, elven guerrilla and vaping enthusiast.
Vernon Roche is a loyal servant of Foltest who interrogated Geralt in the dungeons of La Valette castle. However, Roche came to believe that Geralt did not assassinate Foltest, and assisted him in his escape. Iorveth, on the other hand, has no loyalty towards Foltest, or any other human king. Iorveth is an elf and the commander of a Scoia'tael unit. Scoia'tael are non-human (typically elven) freedom fighters/guerrillas driven by their abhorrence of humans, yet known to ally with human leaders should such an alliance prove worthwhile. You associate with both of these characters in the border town of Flotsam, where most of The Witcher 2's second act takes place.
Whether you side with Roche or with Iorveth is The Witcher 2's primary choice, as it has enormous repercussions on the chapters that follow. Siding with Roche and his unit, known as the Blue Stripes, opens up a series of possibilities and quests known as "Roche's Path." You may, for instance, assist Roche in killing Henselt, King of Kaedwen--or refuse to help Roche in such an instance. Traveling down "Iorveth's Path," of course, introduces a different series of quests and decisions, opening the possibility of a friendlier world for Iorveth and his fellow non-humans.
Which choice you make in this dialogue then affects the next choice available.
Choice 3 (Iorveth's Path): Did you save Triss at the Loc Muinne summit, or did you lift the spell that held Saskia?
Triss Merigold, talented sorceress, and character most likely to be naked when you Google her.
Oh, Triss Merigold. She is Geralt's primary romantic interest in the Witcher games, and is a sorceress of some renown. Saskia is a beloved warrior who led a revolt when Kaedweni King Henselt tried to invade her land of Aedirn. At this stage of The Witcher 2, Triss is imprisoned in a Nilfgaardian war camp, while Saskia, who is revealed to actually be a shapeshifting dragon, is under control of powerful sorceress Philippa Eilhart. (Sadly, if you take Roche's path, you never discover that Saskia is a dragon.)
Rescuing Triss not only allows you to have some fun in the camp, but it also allows Triss to accuse Síle de Tansarville, another powerful mage, of being the puppetmaster behind Foltest's death. Saskia, however, remains under Eilhart's thrall, leading to a later confrontation between witcher and dragon. If you choose to release Saskia from her curse, Triss is still freed, in this case by Letho, the true kingslayer--yet there are damaging repercussions for mages, who are now the victims of a witch hunt that would not have begun had you freed Triss from her bounds.
Choice 3 (Roche's Path): Did you save Triss from her Nilfgaardian prison, or did you save Anaïs La Valette?
Anais La Valette, confused heir and political pawn.
Remember Mary Louisa La Valette, Aryan's mother? Well, she had two children that were fathered not by her husband, but by King Foltest. (Aryan, however, was pure La Valette.) That makes Anais, the older of the two, the true heir to Foltest's throne. She is captured and held by Henselt's forces at a Kaedweni camp, and should you choose to rescue her, you must again make a choice, handing her over either to Redania or to Temeria. As with Iorveth's path, Triss does not die in this scenario; Letho frees her, and she waits for you with the kingslayer in the final scenes.
On the other hand, Triss's blazing red hair is difficult to resist, and should you heed its call, Triss is free to point a finger at sorceress Síle de Tansarville for her murderous politicking once you release Triss from her Nilfgaardian shackles. As you can see, you get an option to assist Triss whether you follow Iorveth's path or Roche's, and the consequences, at least those related directly to Triss, are more or less the same. Anais still lives in this scenario, rescued by Vernon Roche himself, but she will never be treated like royalty.
Choice 4: Did you save Síle de Tansarville from her defective megascope, or did you let her perish?
Sile de Tansarville, evil mage and hat connoisseur.
A megascope is a magical device good for teleporting and having conversations at a distance, among other fantastical uses. Unfortunately for Sile, Letho had sabotaged her megascope. You watch Sile try to teleport away, only to realize the danger and beg for Geralt to help. If you save her, she disappears--but only after giving you a hint as to where you can find long lost love Yennefer. If you let Sile die, well, she become magical mush. Good riddance!
Choice 5: Did you kill Letho, or allow him to walk free?
Letho of Gulet, kingslayer and president of Hair Club for Men.
Letho is a witcher and the man who committed the crime Geralt is accused of. You meet him several times over the course of The Witcher 2, but your final act is to choose whether Letho should live as a potential ally, or die for his crimes. It may be your last decision in The Witcher 2, but its consequences are simple, as the game then ends either way.
A total of 19 iOS and Android games have been removed from iTunes and Google Play. Via Pocketgamer, they include titles like After Burner Climax, Jet Set Radio, and various Super Monkey Ball games.
The full list of affected titles, which are mostly ports of classic titles and not new games, is below.
After Burner Climax
Jet Set Radio
Super Monkey Ball 1 & 2
Super Monkey Ball Adventure
Super Monkey Ball Tip'n'Tilt 1 and 2
Super Monkey Ball: Touch & Roll
Super Monkey Ball Banana Splitz
Altered Beast
Ecco the Dolphin
Golden Axe 1, 2, and 3
Phantasy Star 2
Streets of Rage 1 and 3
Space Harrier 2
Virtua Fighter 2
Search for one of the affected games and you'll see this sad screen
Anyone who has already downloaded any of the affected titles will be able to re-download them if you get a new phone or tablet. What's more, it's possible that these games will one day return.
"While we have nothing to announce at this time, given the right situation, these titles may return in an updated form," Sega explained.
Electronic Arts will formally announce this year's new Need for Speed game this coming Thursday, May 21, the publisher has revealed. Writing on the Need for Speed Facebook page, EA said fans can get the "first look at the return of NFS" this week. GameSpot will have all the news for you as it's announced.
The publisher also shared a teaser image (enhanced version below), with many fans speculating that the new game could be a new installment in the Need for Speed Underground series. What do you think?
This year's Need for Speed game is currently in development at Sweden-based studio Ghost Games. Back in January, publisher EA said the game was "already looking spectacular."
2014 was the first year without a new, core Need for Speed title release in over a decade. In May 2014, EA confirmed that it would not launch new entry in the franchise until 2015 so that the project could have an "extended development window."
Ghost Games GM Marcus Nilsson said in May 2014: "We are already deep in development on our next game and want to make this promise to you: we will listen to you. We're going to give you the game you've been asking for. It will be the game you deserve, but to do that will take us some time," he said.
The newest Humble Bundle features Paradox games. Paying any price gets you games like Magicka and Knights of Pen and Paper, while paying $15 or more also gets you Europa Universalis IV, Crusader Kings II, and more. Alternatively, check out the new Humble Weekly Bundle on RPGs.
Amazon prices are accurate as of publishing, but can fluctuate occasionally throughout the day.
GameSpot's gaming deals posts always highlight the best deals we can find regardless of retailer. We also occasionally use retailer affiliate links, which means that purchasing goods through those links helps support all the great content (including the deals posts) you find for free here on the site.
CD Projekt Red on Monday released the launch trailer for The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, and it is quite impressive. The lengthy trailer sets up the story and offers tantalizing teases about the locations you'll explore, enemies you'll fight, and lots more. And it's got a great song, too--Ben Howard's "Oats in the Water."
The Witcher 3 officially launches on May 19. Digital copies unlock at 1 AM CET, which is 4 PM PDT / 7 PM EDT today, May 18. Earlier today, CD Projekt Red released the patch notes for the game's day-one update.
With just hours to go before The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt's release, Nvidia has launched a new GeForce driver update specifically tailored around CD Projekt Red's open-world role-playing game.
Developer Daybreak is taking aim at H1Z1 cheaters.
The studio, formerly known as Sony Online Entertainment, is sweeping out cheaters by way of a "massive ban wave" that began this weekend, according to Daybreak president John Smedley.
Daybreak is specifically targeting users employing ESP hacks.
"Massive ban wave underway started this weekend," Smedley wrote on Twitter. "ESP users, if you're really psychic you know you're f'ed. Keep using it. Please."
Daybreak has not disclosed how many H1Z1 players are being banned, if those bans are permanent or temporary, or what measures it's taking to prevent similar instances in the future. We've followed up with the developer, asking for additional insight.
He will also be relocating from Edmonton, Canada to Redmond, Washington.
According to Hudson, he will be primarily working on HoloLense, Microsoft's augmented reality technology, which he is "particularly excited about."
"As Creative Director at Microsoft Studios, my primary focus will be the creative direction of HoloLens Experiences," he said.
"I was fortunate to try an early prototype of HoloLens before it was announced, and I was blown away by the technology and what it was already capable of.
"Walking on Mars while sipping coffee in an office setting, Skyping with a friend who can draw on the walls of my environment, sculpting an object in 3D modeling software while a hologram of it sits on a table next to me... These first experiences cemented my belief that holographic computing was where I needed to be," he added.
"I was blown away by the [HoloLens] and what it was already capable of."
Casey Hudson
"There's no end to the potential of this technology, and I look forward to being able to influence the full-spectrum experience on HoloLens, from hardware to OS, to applications and games."
Hudson announced his departure from EA-owned BioWare in August 2014, calling it "without a doubt the most difficult decision of [his] career."
HoloLens was first announced in January 2015 and is an augmented reality experience for both PC and console, and it is achieved through wearing headset with a built-in GPU and CPU. According to Microsoft HoloLens is the "most advanced holographic computer the world has ever seen."
HoloLens features see-through HD holographics, spatial sound that allows users to hear sounds all around them, and has advanced sensors that can capture environment information.
Microsoft distinguishes itself from other similar head-sets such as Sony's Morpheus and Oculus Rift by "delivering a mixed reality of both [the] digital world and [the] real world."
"We are integrating holograms into the world around you--transforming the ways you create, connect, and explore. We hope holographic experiences on Windows 10 will help drive continued innovation in this category."
By Eddie Makuch on May 18, 2015 08:37 pm Image credit: Wired
Tech magazine Wired on Monday published the first images of Orgrim, a computer-generated orc featured in Legendary's upcoming Warcraft movie, and they do not disappoint.
Orgrim was designed by award-winning Star Wars effects studio Industrial Light and Magic. Designers there used concept art provided by Blizzard Entertainment and photos of actor Robert Kazinsky to develop the stunning-looking creature.
The Warcraft movie combines live-action and CG. Director Duncan Jones (Moon, Source Code) explained to Wired why Kazinsky was a good match for the role of Orgrim.
"We were looking for someone who would be able to perform the gruffness, the humor, and the toughness of this character," he said.
Talking about the Warcraft movie's use of special effects last year, Jones said the film is "Avatar and Lord of the Rings at the same time."
After multiple delays, the Warcraft movie is now scheduled to open June 10, 2016. It also stars Clancy Brown (Spongebob, The Shawshank Redemption) as Blackhand and Dominic Cooper (Need for Speed, Captain America) as King Llane. For more on the movie's cast, check out this story.
Interplay Entertainment, the studio known for the Fallout, Baldur's Gate, and The Bard's Tale franchises, was at one point working on a video game for an older version of Mad Max: Fury Road, but EA threw a spanner in the works.
Speaking to Kotaku, Interplay founder Fargo said it was pretty much a done deal between Interplay and Mad Max creator George Miller.
"I got to fly with him to Whistler, Canada, on the Universal private jet–because Universal used to own half of Interplay–and spend three hours with him," he said.
"The Road Warrior was my favourite movie for a decade. I'd watch it over and over again so I was a huge fan of Miller's. [Miller] was familiar with Wasteland and Fallout and loved the work we'd done. So half of the ride was us fanboying and half was 'OK, let's do something'."
According to Fargo, he was given permission by Miller to read the script for Fury Road and they came to an agreement for Interplay to work on a party-based RPG similar to Fallout and Wasteland.
However, the project fell apart when EA heard about the arrangement and offered Miller $20 million for the rights to Mad Max. Fargo claims Miller signed the rights away, but neither the game nor the $20 million materialised.
Fargo added that part of the problem was that the movie had a tumultuous production path, bouncing from Fox to Warner Bros., and staying there for a number of years before going into production.
A Mad Max game is now in development at Avalanche Studios, the team behind Just Cause. Published by Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment, the game is an open-world, third-person action game set in the world of Mad Max.
Destiny's House of Wolves expansion, the Bungie-developed shooter's second major add-on, will be released May 19 at 10 AM PDT. Bungie announced the exact release timing on Twitter today.
House of Wolves follows December's The Dark Below expansion. It includes more multiplayer maps, additional weapons and gear, and the new Trials of Osiris and Prison of Elders modes.
Universal Pictures has released the first trailer for its upcoming Steve Jobs biopic, giving fans a first look at Michael Fassbender playing the role of the late Apple icon.
The movie, called Steve Jobs, is directed by Danny Boyle, who won an Oscar for Slumdog Millionaire. It also stars Seth Rogen as Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak, Kate Winslet as Macintosh developer Joanna Hoffman, and Jeff Daniels as former Apple CEO John Sculley.
Aaron Sorkin (The West Wing, The Social Network) wrote the the screenplay for Steve Jobs. The movie is based on author Walter Isaacson's biography and hits theaters on October 9.
This is not the first movie based on the life of Steve Jobs, who died in 2011. In 2013, Ashton Kutcher starred as Jobs alongside Josh Gad as Wozniak in the movie Jobs.
Fassbender is also slated to play the lead role in the upcoming Assassin's Creed movie, which is scheduled to start filming in September.
Bethesda has released a very short teaser for Doom, the modern day reboot of its treasured shooter series.
Before you get too excited, there's about three seconds of gameplay, with the rest confirming that there will be a worldwide gameplay reveal at Bethesda's E3 showcase on June 14.
After a lengthy absence, Doom resurfaced in February 2014, with publisher Bethesda revealing that access to the Doom beta would be given to those that pre-order Wolfenstein: The New Order.
"An earlier version of Doom 4 did not exhibit the quality and excitement that id and Bethesda intend to deliver and that Doom fans worldwide expect," said Bethesda's Pete Hines said in February last year.
"As a result, id refocused its efforts on a new version of Doom 4 that promises to meet the very high expectations everyone has for this game and this franchise. When we're ready to talk about the Doom 4 id is making, we will let folks know."
Bethesda is hosting its own press conference at E3 2014. Along with the Doom reveal teased in this video, there has been fervent speculation that Fallout 4 will be shown for the first time too. This has not been officially confirmed by Bethesda, however.
Developer Bungie has warned that Destiny players should expect some "brief interruptions" today, May 18, as the studio prepares for the release of the House of Wolves expansion.
"Monday morning will see some brief interruptions to Destiny service to allow for final preparations to release House of Wolves. Stay tuned," Bungie said on Twitter.
The connection interruptions will start as early as 8 AM PDT / 11 AM EDT today.
"Be careful about starting activities you can't finish before 8AM Pacific," the studio explained.
Bethesda has released a new trailer for Elder Scrolls Online: Tamriel Unlimited taking a look at adventuring with friends in the upcoming MMO.
In Tamriel Unlimited, players partake in a "bitter war of alliances" and, regardless of the side players pick, the result is war with an enemy. For players, this means huge battles in which large groups of allies cooperate to complete objectives and defeat the enemy.
In addition to engaging the enemy with swords and magic, there's scope for setting up defensive tools such as trebuchets, recruiting other players to the cause, and more.
Tamriel Unlimited will feature all the content from original game "plus all the updates and content additions, including the exciting new Justice and Champion systems."
That's not a random date, as it's the 30th anniversary of the original game's release in June 1985.
The Bard's Tale IV will offer maze-like dungeons to explore and puzzles to solve. It will be played from a first-person perspective, and aims to capture the overall style of the first three games in the core series.
inXile also notes in a statement to media today that it has the full rights to use "everything from the original trilogy." This means fan can expect nods to past games such as teleporter zones and magic mouths, among other things.
The Bard's Tale IV is in development using the Unreal 4 engine. inXile has high hopes for graphics, as developers are using photogrammetry technology (similar to Star Wars: Battlefront) to scan real-world objects and architecture and bring them into the game with rich detail.
On the sound side, inXile said it is tapping Gaelic musicians to bring The Bard's Tale IV's music to life. This music will be inspired by Scottish culture, the developer explained.
As for new gameplay features, The Bard's Tale IV will offer "all matter of hostile beasts, monsters, and brigands," while a new "dynamic phase" combat system will challenge players in new ways.
The most recently released game in the series is 2004's The Bard's Tale, also developed by InXile. The Bard's Tale IV, however, is positioned as a sequel to The Bard's Tale III, released all the way back in 1988.
inXile did not announce a funding target for The Bard's Tale IV, nor did it offer a release window for the game. Presumably, the game is coming to PC, though platforms have not been officially announced.
The developer has a history of success on Kickstarter, previously raising millions for Wasteland 2 and Torment: Tides of Numenera, which is still in development.
Capcom has marked high-definition remasters of legacy games as a key area of potential growth for the company.
In a recent Q&A as part of a financial briefing, Capcom suggested it will publish more HD remasters, and claims the demand for them is there to support these.
"HD remasters of our catalogue hit titles will be one of our key business activities ... [digital sales] created new demand for these titles. For example, overseas download sales of "Resident Evil" (HD Remastered) in the past fiscal year were far higher than we expected.
"It is not a risk but rather the growth of the download sales channel gives users more options. We regard this as growth in opportunities to have allow access for more people to enjoy our games."
Digitally delivered content was big focus of for Capcom during its last fiscal year as it attempted to diversify distribution channels. The company has said it expects this strategy will "deliver a sustainable growth going forward."
Resident Evil HD Remaster was released in January 20 on consoles and PC, and broke sales records for Capcom, becoming the fastest selling digital title in the company's history across North America and Europe.
The game also broke PlayStation Network records, where it was the "biggest selling day one digital title," according to Capcom. However, the publisher did not share a total units sales figure for the game or provide a breakdown of sales by platform.
Episode Duscae 2.0 is expected to include a variety of changes and improvements, based on the volumes of feedback received from the first iteration of the demo.
At the end of April, Final Fantasy XV director Hajime Tabata said that Square Enix was targeting a mid-to-late-May release window for the updated demo. It's going to miss that window, which may be the result prolonged discussions with Microsoft and Sony.
"From a first-party perspective, there's been no precedent of applying patches to demos, so we're currently discussing with them to see if it's feasible," Tabata said at the time.
During a video event in April, Square Enix developers revealed the top fifteen complaints about Episode Duscae. Tabata addressed them, one by one, offering his take for issues such as the game's Cindy character (above) being "too sexy," as well as camera, frame rate, and resolution concerns.
2K and Firaxis Games on Monday announced the first expansion for Civilization: Beyond Earth. Called Rising Tide, the $30 expansion adds new biomes, introduces more diplomatic options, welcomes new factions, and more. The add-on launches this fall for PC and you can read our new preview right here.
As its name suggests, Rising Tide lets players colonize the ocean, while introducing new aquatic gameplay and alien beasts to take on. 2K and Firaxis also promise an "overhauled diplomacy system," while a new Artifact System will allow players to collect and combine alien relics.
One of the new factions is the Al Falah, which Firaxis describes as a "group of nomad explorers descended from wealthy and resilient Middle Eastern states." Another new system will allow players to invest in multiple Affinities as part of their effort to unlock hybrid Affinity units, a first for the series.
As for the worlds players will explore, one is the Primordial world. Firaxis describes this place as an "untamed biome rife with volcanic activity and indicative of a chaotic landscape still forming in the new world."
"It's not just moving things out to the water; it's not just blue terrain," co-lead designer David McDonough told GameSpot about Rising Tide's new gameplay features. "We really changed some of the very fundamental ways in which you build cities, capture territory, develop, and grow, so that if you play at sea, you have a whole different strategic landscape."
Rising Tide is also coming to Mac and Linux, by way of ports from Aspyr. For lots more on Rising Tide, check out GameSpot's new preview and some images in the gallery below.
They use a John Marston character mod, and even some of the original Red Dead Redemption music from Woody Jackson.
Watch as John Marston fights, shoots, and rides his way through the world of GTA V. There's a nice ending, too, so be sure to stick around until the end.
A Red Dead Redemption sequel has not been announced. However, Rockstar Games parent company Take-Two Interactive has stressed that the series is "permanent," suggesting a return to the franchise is not a matter of it, but when.
Video games have offered us some compelling visions of the future of human habitation. Some seem idyllic, like the glistening arcologies of SimCity 2000. Others imagine a darker fate, like the makeshift subway settlements of Metro 2033. But perhaps the most intriguing have been those that look to that which covers the majority of our planet's surface for inspiration. The underwater metropolis of Rapture captured our imaginations in BioShock, and now, Civilization: Beyond Earth is preparing to challenge our intellect by asking: "What if you could build cities on water?"
The Rising Tide is the first expansion for Beyond Earth and the first time in the long history of Civilization that water tiles will present the same opportunities as land tiles. Well, not exactly the same. As co-lead designer of Beyond Earth, David McDonough, put it during a recent phone interview, "It's not just moving things out to the water; it's not just blue terrain. We really changed some of the very fundamental ways in which you build cities, capture territory, develop, and grow, so that if you play at sea, you have a whole different strategic landscape."
Nice try, alien fish demons. We've seen Jaws and we're not going out like that.
He then went on describe the litany of core Civilization elements that they marshaled to create "a whole catalog of unique gameplay." Resources, tile improvements, wonders, units, aliens, and territorial control all have to be adapted to make water gameplay viable. You can get a sense of how water cities will start out from the screenshot above, which shows a few new friendly and alien unit types squaring off in battle. And note the new resources that are visible below the surface of the water; though there will be important features at surface level, in shallow water, and in the deeps, McDonough confirmed that "oceanic gameplay is happening on one seamless layer." There's to be no deep sea counterpart to the orbital layer, it seems, but how depth will affect different units and resources remains to be seen.
Historically in the Civilization series, bodies of water have served as barriers to development--areas to be explored, traversed, and patrolled militarily, but not controlled outright. From the screenshot above, it seems that aquatic cities will be able to exert areas of control similar to those of terrestrial cities, but there may be new systems in play as well.
"We're playing with the idea that the ocean is a fundamentally different space, where we build structures differently and we move differently, and ownership and control mean a little bit of a different thing. [Control is] sort of like an area of force that you need to project, rather than staking a claim, fortifying, and digging in." Jockeying for geographical position is an important strategy in early-game Civ, whether you're racing to research the right tech to beat your opponents to new islands, or parking a unit on a narrow isthmus to shut off a whole continent from unwelcome explorers. Without these kinds of bounds, won't oceanic settlement just be a frantic free-for-all land grab?
The strategic richness of terrain is something the developers at Firaxis are keenly aware of, and they are working to make sure that Rising Tide's oceans present a similar density of opportunities and obstacles. Will there be such a thing as impassable water tiles? What will replace roads and magrails as city connectors? Can you land your first outpost at sea? Will resource-agnostic improvements like nodes, domes, and academies have aquatic equivalents? My mind reels with all the strategic implications of expanding to water, but Firaxis is keeping its cards close to the chest for now and McDonough assured me that "just about everything has been slightly moved, in some cases significantly moved, in order to account for water gameplay."
The continental shelf extends only so far, and then, the deep.
I guess that would have to be true for any in-game system connected with developing cities and moving units around, but what about that most detached and ephemeral of Civilization systems, diplomacy? Has that been tweaked in any way? In the words of producer Andrew Frederiksen, "I think tweaked would undersell it. Diplomacy has been, for lack of a better term, completely ripped out and rebuilt from the ground up." So, that's a yes, then.
The goal, Frederiksen elaborates, is to make diplomacy a more active part of the Civ experience. To that end, The Rising Tide will introduce traits, dynamic descriptors of a given leader's mindset that will change as they adapt to the evolving geopolitical situation. "You might have a leader who has a trait that favors diplomacy and energy, and then, as they move on, they get backed into a corner, so they start swapping out their traits to become more aggressive and more militaristic."
From Frederiksen's description, traits seem like a more flexible version of policies from Civilization V. Where the cost of policies and the fact that only a few policy trees were mutually exclusive often discouraged switching them mid-game, traits are meant to be managed more actively. Like policies, they will come with unique perks and benefits for your civilization, but they will also fuel different kinds of diplomatic interactions. The development team wants to extend your diplomatic dealing beyond war, peace, and trade agreements, and having complementary traits will be a big factor in determining your options with a given leader. What these traits might be, how you manage them, what kind of benefits you'll see, and how they will interact with each other all remain to be seen.
The Rising Tide will also herald the arrival of four new factions; the only leader announced thus far is Arshia Kishk, head of the Al Falah (pictured at right). As Beyond Earth's story tells it, the Middle East was mostly depopulated after The Great Mistake. In the years that followed, a tenacious group of resilient survivors held on and refused to desert their homeland. When they finally managed to fund a spaceship send forth colonists, it wasn't the cryogenic variety that most other civilizations sent. It was a generation ship, meaning that those who boarded it knew they would never see their destination, and those who touch down at the end of the journey have never set foot on a planet before. The three other factions will apparently have similarly fraught origin stories, and each one of them will bring disruptive new strategies into play.
There are a few other changes that The Rising Tide is bringing to Beyond Earth, though details on them are fairly scant at this point. In order to further enrich and incentivize the exploration processes, you will now be able to find artifacts through resource pods, expeditions, and other means. Whether it's alien in origin or a relic from Old Earth, each artifact will have its own story and its own possibilities. You could keep it as is or combine it into a set, provided you find the others needed, and the rewards might include new perks or new buildings.
Toasty.
Along with the new units developed to accomodate aquatic and amphibious gameplay will be new hybrid units that require a blend of different affinity levels to unlock. Spreading your affinity points around may keep you from unlocking the highest level perks and units until very late in the game, but if these new hybrids are powerful in the mid-game, perhaps it'll be a more viable strategy to play the field. And finally, two new biomes are on their way, including the primordial world pictured above. With so much volcanic activity, I asked McDonough if the environment was going to pose a threat beyond that of native aliens and miasma clouds. He said only that they are "in the process of making each biome more unique, and will share more soon."
There are certainly more questions to be resolved, but even what's been shared so far seems to portend a serious shift in the Beyond Earth landscape. In a panel during the Game Developer's Conference in San Francisco this year, McDonough and the other Co-Lead Designer, Will Miller, lamented that they hadn't been bolder in their divergence from the core Civilization formula. The oceanic gameplay of The Rising Tide holds the promise of radically changing the way Beyond Earth plays when it is released in fall of this year, and hopefully we'll get a clearer sense of how it all works in a few weeks at E3.
Bringing more JRPGs to Xbox One is a popular topic on the Xbox Feedback site, attracting more than 3,500 votes. For his part, Spencer said in previous interviews that Japan is a "soulful" place for games, and one that is "critical" for Microsoft to support.
With just a matter of hours to go before The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt's release, developer CD Projekt Red has released the official patch notes for the open-world RPG's day-one update.
There are also changes to quests, improvements to AI, and UI optimizations, among other things. What's more, the Xbox One edition will be updated to support dynamic 1080p scaling.
The full Witcher 3 day-one patch notes are printed below, via wccftech.com.
The Witcher 3's official release date is May 19. The game unlocks at 1 AM CET tomorrow, which actually is 4 PM PDT / 7 PM EDT today, May 18.
The creators of HonorBuddy, a popular World of Warcraft bot that was recently detected by Blizzard, has admitted defeat and apologised to its users.
Posting on the official Honorbuddy forum, staff member "Bossland" reminded users of the risk associated with using bots in Blizzard's MMO.
"It seems like Honorbuddy was detected, we are not sure, but looking at the BAN THREADS, we think that its the most likely option at the moment," said Bossland.
"We are sorry for all your lost WOW Accounts, hopefully you can use them again after the 6 month ban is lifted. I have read here in the forums a bit, a lot of the accounts were 10 years old. This is a pity. We always say, do not use your valuable accounts as the risk is always there."
Bossland also reminded users of Glider, another popular bot that suffered a similar fate, and emphasised that the team hadn't considered its bot immune to being caught in Blizzard's detection net.
"Some of us seem to forget the Gilder times. With Glider you knew that there where 2 software detections a year, it just happened," Bossland continued.
"With Honorbuddy you thought that we are unbeatable, [but] we never thought that, we've succeeded since 2010 - HonorBuddy had not a single software detection. It seems there is one now."
Currently, the company hasn't reflected the bot's vulnerabilities on the front of its website and, it seems, HonorBuddy can still be purchased. By using it, players can automate the process of running around collecting honour in PvP.
Blizzard issued temporary bans to a large number of World of Warcraft bot users on May 14, and HonorBuddy users were one of the main groups affected.
"We're committed to providing an equal and fair playing field for everyone in World of Warcraft," said Blizzard.
"[We] will continue to take action against those found in violation of our Terms of Use. Cheating of any form will not be tolerated."
For the second week running Slightly Mad Studios' Project Cars has taken the top spot on the UK game chart, according to sales monitor Chart-Track.
Interestingly, Project Cars is first Bandai Namco published title to hold on to No.1 for two weeks in a row since Ridge Racer Type 4, which shipped across the UK in 1999.
Wolfenstein: The Old Blood was significantly more popular on PlayStation 4 than Xbox One, with 67 percent of sales on Sony's console, compared to 27 percent on Microsoft's console.
Grand Theft Auto V slips one position down to No.3, followed by Mortal Kombat X at No.4.
This week sees the release of a highly anticipated open-world game that will bring a well-received series to the current generation of consoles. Farming Simulator 15 hits the PlayStation 4, Xbox One, PlayStation 3, and Xbox 360 on May 19 at Australian retailers.
The console version of Farming Simulator 15 is built on a new graphics and physics engine. The game will introduce woodcutting, with new vehicles and tools dedicated to the craft. Like previous games in the series, Farming Simulator 15 tasks players with managing and developing their own farm. This includes harvesting resources and taking care of animals such as cows, chicken, and sheep. Players will also need to sell your products and invest in additional vehicles and power tools.
Also out on May 19 is CD Projekt Red's role-playing game, The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt. The game was very well-received in GameSpot's review, scoring a ten out of ten. Editor Kevin VanOrd praised the game's juxtaposition of violence with beauty in its open world, as well as its absorbing story and finer detailing.
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