David Wong | BarrelRolled

The Long Dark getting new content; Episodes 1 and 2 getting reworked

August 6, 2018August 5, 2018 by David Wong

The Long Dark is getting a new episode for its story mode later this year in December. Unlike the previous two episodes, Episdcoe Three doesn’t have any working title at the moment, however, players can expect a confirmed title in the coming months.

Hinterland Games, the developer, announced a release window on the Steam’s Community page. Players will also receive “Redux” editions of the first two episodes which have been adjusted and improved by Hinterland based on community feedback.

In the tertiary episode of Wintermute, players will play as Dr. Astrid Greenwood who’s on a quest to discover the secrets behind “First Flare,” which was the event which triggered the “Long Dark.” Players will interact with new characters and explore a huge new region. Details about the game are still relatively unknown, however, Hinterland has promised more info to be released as we near December.

The Redux work on the previous episodes started almost a year ago and was detailed in their developer diary. Updates to two chapters were made and include a restructuring of mission structure, newly playable inro for the first episode, new dialogue, and more. The work was done to “set up a stronger foundation” for the new content coming in December.

Also, to accommodate for the Redux work in Episodes One and Two, all progress saves for either of them will be deleted when the next episodes roll out. Hinterland suggests that you finish these episodes before it rolls out if you don’t want to lose all your progress so far. The latest update for The Long dark was the Vigilant Flame update which added a new region, cooking mechanic improvements, and more.

We’ll continue to release news about the newest update to the game as news comes out. Stay tuned.

Destiny 2: Forsaken DLC adds a ton of new weapons

August 6, 2018August 4, 2018 by David Wong

Destiny 2 is getting its third DLC expansion rolling out this September called Forsaken, which follows up on Warmind which was just released this May. Forsaken adds a large amount of new content tot he game and the official Twitter account of Destiny confirms it.

Several weapons have been teased under the banner of “new tools of the trade,” which seems interesting enough to draw some attention to the game as most of the recent packs have been criticized for not having enough content and things to do in the game.

In a lawless place, you'll need weapons and armor that don't follow the rules. #Destiny2 #Forsaken pic.twitter.com/vZc9qflSyQ

— Destiny 2 (@DestinyTheGame) July 26, 2018

The Two-Tailed Fox is a weapon that launches that two rockets simultaneously. The Antaeus Wards armor allows the player to reflect projectiles by sliding. The Trinity Ghoul weapon is a bow that generates an electrical storm arrow when precision killing enemies. The Sixth Coyote armor lets you double doge attacks. Malfeasance is a weapon hits five hits in swift succession and will detonate with an explosion. And the Black Talon is a projectile sword that can be thrown.

There’s also a gun called the One Thousand Voices that shoots and beam of fire and the Chromatic Fire armor takes on the same theme with elemental booms from precision kinetic kills. There’s another bow called the Wish-Ender which is a bow that allows the player to see through walls and price targets. Lastly, there’s the Ace of Spades which ss gun that grants extra damage bullets after reading following a kill. The Forsaken pack seems to be all weapons, but there will probably be no complaints from the community as weapons are always welcome.

Additional details to be released in the coming weeks. Forsaken for Destiny 2 comes out on September 4th for PS4, Xbox One, and PC. Pre-orders will get you a nice cosmetic skin.

Salt and Sanctuary released for Nintendo Switch

August 5, 2018August 3, 2018 by David Wong

Salt and Sanctuary, a 2D hack-and-slash platformer released on the Nintendo Switch yesterday, the 2nd.

The game is also available on PS4, PC, and PS Vita and will also be released in digital and physical form. There will also be a collector’s edition called Salt and Sanctuary: Drowned Tome Edition which will launch sometime this “holiday” according to the developer Ska Studios. The game is being ported by BlitWorks, a Spanish developer who’s previously worked on Bastion, Spelunky, and Don’t Starve.

Ska Studios uploaded a new trailer for the game. It features some very nice artwork with plenty of hacking and slashing indeed:

It looks similar to Dark Souls with a lot of punishing combat and a few character classes. It uses a checkpoint system as you explore the world and typical boss encounters which you’ll struggle with unless you know the weak points and attack patterns. The player can also upgrade their abilities in order to unlock the world’s various zones.

The game follows a protagonist who’s been player-created. This character sails across the ocean to stop a war between two kingdoms. You’re then shipwrecked on an island and you must solve the puzzles behind an evil mastermind and survive the attacks by the hostile enemies on the island along with the traps and tricks.

Salt and Sanctuary is available now for the Switch. It has no exclusive content for this port, but if you’re looking for an awesome and distinctive platformer, you should consider this game.

Star Control: Origins releases Fleet Battles update patch – what’s new?

August 5, 2018August 2, 2018 by David Wong

Star Control: Origins, a space strategy indie game, just got a whole bunch of new updates in the Fleet Battles Beta patch.

Stardock, the developer, calls the update a major milestone in the game’s progress. It adds a few new ships, maps, weapons, and various improvements overall. The quality of life updates has also been implemented. The beta update is available to all players who pre-purchase the game.

The game is developed by Michigan-based company Stardock Entertainment. Star Control: Origins is the newest game in the series which began back in 1990. The game is different from earlier titles because it takes place in an alternate universe. Origins were announced back in 2016 and are available for PC via Steam on September 20th.

The Fleet Battles mode is probably the major update in this patch. It allows plates to build a fleet of starships and fight other fellers. Players can control fleet and battle enemy fleets, AI, or even with friends in local multiplayer. The game also now offers a fully integrated crafting system, which allows players to create, craft, and build, their own vessels and even share them with others in the Steam Workshop community.

A new gameplay feature has also been added to the game. Scavenging allows players to collect power-ups from destroyed ships found around the battlefields in the game. Each power-up allows players to get abilities like acceleration, restore energy, refill HP, and even get speed bursts.

There are also new ships added to the lineup in this update patch. Two new ships, the Kzinti Intimidator and the Arillou Observer, which both have their own unique features. The former is a “nimble ship equipped with deadly proximity mines and a Repulsor” while the latter can cloak. They both also have their weapon loadouts and players will receive new maps.

Performance improvements include an improved camera, UI, and multiplayer. Stardock has also released new content in the form of DLC, which add music, lore, and concept art. This is only available to players who pre-purchase the game.

Project Loon signs its first commercial deal with Telkom Kenya

August 2, 2018July 31, 2018 by David Wong

Project Loon, an internet-delivery ballon system has announced its first commercial deal. It’s a system that spawned from Alphabet’s Project X division where recent Project X will partner with Telkom Kenya to increase internet connectivity in the country. Public details of the deal are still sparse. There’s no timeframe for deployment, financial details, nor press. BBC notes that Telkom Kenya will provide the signal for internet, and Loon will distribute across the country in remote areas.

The project started in 2011. The idea is that instead of building permanent structures to distribute signals with limited range, balloons with antennas could fly 60,000 feet in the air and follow wind patterns to cover about 2,000 square miles at once. The company has simulated over 30 million kilometers of navigation paths every day to understand how weather conditions will affect the predetermined balloon routes.

Loon’s solar-powered air structures have been improved a lot over time. Project Loon started off with just 3G-levels of connectivity but then provided 4G instead in 2015 across an area as big as Rhode Island. The project was recently toured by Wired as Loon showed off its factory and smoother launch with powerful signals. Testing areas including New Zealand, Central California, Brazil, Peru, and Puerto Rico. Loon works with local governments and provided internet access to over 200,000 people in Puerto Rico after Hurrican Maria.

They plan to improve connectivity for large areas of Kenya currently not covered by mobile providers rather than building structures due to the difficulty of erecting such towers. Some local experts expressed concerns stating that dependency on a foreign company may be an issue. Regardless, Project Loon is an amazing idea coming to reality in the world.

Photo: Project Loon.

No Man’s Sky Next released – Now what’s next?

July 30, 2018July 30, 2018 by David Wong

The future of No Man’s Sky is already in the works and planned after their huge multiplayer update No Man’s Sky Next arrived last week. In a recent news post on their official page, Sean Murray, Lead Developer, thanked his team for making it through the highs and lows and sticking by the game even after the horrible launch in 2016 and silence period towards the community afterward.

Hello Games has now included the community’s input in their ARG Waking Titan over the past year. They’ve let the players build and craft its own lore in the Euclid Galaxy which is built on regions on influences between fan-made factions.

Murray wants to continue this player-induced effort in the creation of the Galactic Atlas, which is a platform that’ll contain major points of interest found in the Euclid Galaxy which were nominated by the fans in a survey. Players can still continue to develop it in the new update and Hello Games will now continue their new “community season” for some fresh feedback. The studio will be weekly content and events for all players soon- free of charge.

No Man’s Sky Next is the latest update to the game. Sean Murray also jokingly replied to a tweet by PC Gamer over the excitement of the game in two years after its launch. The Next update is a free update for PS4 and PC. So if you’re looking for a reason to pick up the game again, grab it and try it out. The game also launched for the Xbox One for the first time on the same day the patch rolled out.

oh no https://t.co/Se3TcC30te

— Sean Murray (@NoMansSky) July 22, 2018

Wrecking Ball joins the Overwatch Crew

July 24, 2018 by David Wong

Wrecking Ball will join the cast of Overwatch on July 24, 2018, based on a Tweet from the official Twitter account. Every year, Overwatch gets three new heroes to join the craze on almost a scheduled basis. Wrecking Ball, aka Hammond, is the newest of the bunch.

He’s just been placed on the Public Test Realm for players to mess around with. Originally, he was announced back in late June. His origin story video shows off that he’s pretty much a vermin in a mech similar to how Rumble is in League of Legends.

Wrecking Ball is a hamster if you want to be specific. He’s one of many genetical experiments that have taken place on Horizon Lunar Colony. He tied his escape pod to Winston’s shuttle as it launched for the earth and landed on the Australian outback. He then fought in mech battles in Junkertown and now he’s one of the bets.

He’s considered to be a tank and has abilities suitable for his role.

His primary weapon is his Quad Cannons which provide offensive firepower and he can also tuck into a ball for faster speeds. Players can also use a grappling claw in ball mode to slam into enemies or quickly get better positioning.

He also gets an adaptive shield which grants him a shield HP gain depending on nearby enemies. Piledriver allows him to slam his mech into the ground like a semi-ground pound from Mario. Minefield is his ultimate and deploys proximity mines all around him which is perfect for zoning enemies in the nearby area.

You can check out more info about Hammond here. He’ll be live for official play on July 24. Welcome to the gang, Hammond!

Walmart rumored to be starting a streaming platform

July 23, 2018 by David Wong

Walmart is rumored to be the next contestant in the streaming arena, based on the report from The Information. The retail giant is working on its own video streaming provider platform to compete with Netflix and Amazon Instant Video.

How does Walmart get into the already saturated market? By selling its service cheaper, of course.

The report states that Walmart plans to offer it at $8/mo or lower. Netflix and Amazon are dominating the East and West coast cities because that’s where the money is.

But Walmart wants to cater towards Americans living in the midwest and other areas where Netflix and Amazon haven’t had their stake yet.

Both Netflix and Amazon are charging about $8 at the bare minimum. Netflix recently raised the price for 4K streaming and its mid-tier plan and Amazon just increased the price for their Prime membership- which is required to get Amazon Instant Video. Walmart could sneak in and dominate the lower-budget market by offering its service to middle Amerca. They’ll have to compete with Netflix and Amazon regardless of what demographic they want to target.

However, Walmart may offer it for free using an ad-based kind of like the Roku device which runs by the same concept. Walmart currently owns Vudu which is a service for buying and renting movies. But its nowhere near the popularity of Netflix or Amazon.

Walmart has also partnered with Microsoft to develop cashierless stores.

Staxel patch 1.3 – new quests, villagers, items, and a Friendship System

July 22, 2018 by David Wong

Staxel has just released version 1.3 which includes a few new features like a Friendship System, new festivals, and a lot more content updates.

If you’ve never heard of Staxel , it’s a game where players are cohabitating an island that has graphics very similar to Minecraft. Players are free to do what they want in the world, such as building, exploring, and interacting with others. The game even lets player relocate a whole town or build a giant city if they wanted. It’s like Minecraft in an alternate dimension.

In the 1.3 update, the first update is the Friendship System. It allows you to track your relationship with the city folk and doing things like interacting with them and talking with them will only get you the occasional gift and special Friendship Quests. You can also gift them and even have one move into your home as a roommate. The villagers also now have improved interaction with each other so it feels more like a village.

Staxel also received some new content in the form of festivals. Festivals allow players to earn rare items and do special in-game events. The announcement made by the developers on the Steam page didn’t go into detail as to what they are, so you’ll have to play the game to find out.

Other content includes new quests, items, and villagers. You can check out the full patch notes for the full list of updates in 1.3. Staxel’s new patch is now available to all players.

Enter the Gungeon’s free expansion Advanced Gungeons and Dragons coming July 19th

July 18, 2018 by David Wong

Advanced Gungeons and Draguns expansion is set to launch next week. It’s a free expansion to the cult roguelike Enter the Gungeon, which is available for Switch, PS4, Xbox One, and PC. The expansion will have a ton of content which includes new items, enemies, ammo types, rooms, synergies, drop rates, and a lot more. The … Read more

Nintendo building more “hack-proof” Switch Consoles

July 17, 2018July 17, 2018 by David Wong

A few months back, there was the word of a new “unpatchable” exploit on the Nintendo Switch which allowed hackers to run custom firmware, homebrew consoles, and of course, pirated games and software on the Switch’s existing hardware.

Nintendo has been reported that they’ve patched the exploit by selling newly-patched hardware in newer Switch models that have been fixed at the factory-level in order to prevent the exploit.

The report comes from SciresM, a well-known hacker in the Switch world, who wrote that some Switch units on retail shelves are not vulnerable to the exploit known as “Fusée Gelée.” SciresM also suspects that Nintendo has used the iPatch system on the GPU to burn the protective code into the boot ROM, which cuts of the USB recovery mode overflow error that was the previous entry point.

The iPatches are simple for Nintendo to patch in while the console is being produced in the factory, but it’s impossible to load onto the millions of Switch units that are already in circulation.

The newer “patched” units are running firmware version 4.1.0, which has been outdated since the 5.0.0 release in March. This means that they’re not really new in terms of firmware, but rather suggests that the “patched” units were already built earlier this year and Nintendo was on the case.

Nintendo is reported to have utilized data from various hacking groups like Team fail0verflow and Team ReSwitched to get the head start in order to protect their hardware before the hack was released to the public. These groups told the big N about the vulnerabilities before they released their hacks, which gave Nintendo some time to patch it in the next update. That explains the older firmware version.

Regardless, the older firmware is still vulnerable to a software-level exploit called deja vu, which was patched in systems with 5.0.0 or later. This puts Nintendo in a cycle between the two exploits.

So to keep things simple: the 4.1.0 units are “patched” against “Fusée Gelée,” but are vulnerable to deja vu. Whereas the new 5.0.0 units are safe from deja vu, but vulnerable to “Fusée Gelée.” Quite a pickle.

For now, Nintendo continues to ban hacked systems from its network.

Super Indie Karts “Ultra Update” races onto Steam Early Access

July 16, 2018 by David Wong

Super Indie Karts is a 16-bit kart racer that features drivers and tracks from a variety of games like Duck Game, Runbow, and Freedom Planet. The game is heavily inspired by the original Super Mario Kart with flat tracks and sharp, hairpin turns. 90s kids will remember that the original and Mario Kart 64 were the best of the bunch. And only 90s kids will be able to drown in the nostalgia of the VHS trailer for the Super Indie Karts’ Ultra Update. The update includes a whole slew of new features to the game which turns it into a more modern, yet retro classic.

Just jump around in this promo vid and you’ll see the similarity between the two games:

The “Ultra” release rolls out on July 19th and includes a whole new est of tracks that feature more obstacles, modern layouts, and an N64 design with polygonal shapes but keeps the original theme of the game. Super Indie Karts is obviously the type of indie mashup game you’d expect from a crowdfunded indie dev.

The game’s characters look the same with their original sprites but they’re on newly redesigned tracks. It sports various sets of tracks based on SNES graphics and another group of tracks in a futuristic VR-like setting. These are the main game modes.

For those who want some multiplayer action (some people only played Mario Kart for BlockFortresss, believe it or not), the game will also have a battle mode. The total number of tracks is about 50, which is more than any Mario Kart game on the planet to my knowledge (not including mirror tracks)!

Development of Super Indie Karts started in May of 2015 and has been slowly racing towards the finish. One Legged Seagull started a Kickstarter campaign. He wanted to include all the content he could before releasing the game to avoid another future sequel. Players will get the full feature upon release date, which is currently scheduled for 2018 on Steam and is currently available in Early Access.

EA acquires mobile “hardcore” game company Industrial Toys

July 15, 2018 by David Wong

Electronic Arts has just bought the rights to a new game developer called Industrial Toys, a game company known for developing mobile games. EA just acquired the 14-man team and they’ll be joining EA’s Worldwide Studios Organization, which currently houses other devs like Respawn Entertainment, BioWare, and Motive Studios.

Industrial Toys was founded in 2012 by an ex-Bungie person of interest. In fact, he was the founder of Bungie. That’s right. Alex Seropian and Tim Harris along with Brent Pease. Seropian and his team founded the company to make games for the touchscreen market and that their goal was to “make more hardcore games for mobile platforms” based on an interview with Joystiq.

Their studio has so far focused just on mobile games with their most popular title being Midnight Star, which is a first-person gallery shooter for iOS released in 2015. Its popularity has lead to the game to great heights with its multiple DLC packs- Midnight Rises and Midnight Star: Renegade. EA Worldwide Studios Group GM and SVP Samantha Ryan states:

“We’re thrilled to have them join our studio organization, pursue new ideas together and bring amazing new games to our players.”

So far, we don’t know what Industrial Toys’ first project will be- whether they’ll develop their own franchise with the company’s properties or continuing their current portfolio of games. EA isn’t shy about buying out companies. They’ve recently bought Respawn Entertainment and also bought the cloud-streaming technology rights from GameFly earlier this year in May. They’ve also made deals with ESPN to create an eMLS for FIFA 18, and Disney XD to broadcast competitive Madden streams.

Planet Coaster Vintage DLC pack coming July 10; What’s new?

July 11, 2018 by David Wong

The new DLC for Planet Coaster is set to launch on July 10, 2018, based on a post on their official site. Planet Coaster is the modern RollerCoaster Tycoon and is one of several newer entries into the theme park simulator genre. It’s developed by a team of people that features many of the same members who developed RCT 3.

So far, a few DLCs have been released and plenty of free updates keeping the game fresh since its initial release back in 2016. The new DLC is called the Vintage Pack and is a paid content release.

It’ll feature two new wooden coasters- the Zephyrus which is a fast wooden coaster and Aces Sky which has biplane carriages and navigates sideways through a huge wooden tunnel. It’ll also have five new regular rides, such as Round The World which is similar to a standard Ferris wheel, Loop Da Loop which is an old-school twin-cabin swinging inverter ride, and Test Flight which is an inverting plane that allows guest control. Hurricane and Centrum are both carnival classics that make up the remainder of the new regular rides in the Vintage Pack DLC.

There are also new machines that can be added to the park with this new update. Gumball and popcorn and even an animatronic that predicts the future can all be added throughout the park in order to keep guests happy and your income flowing. You can also set the odds of these machines in order to increase your profit margins or make the tradeoff for guest happiness.

And lastly, the pack adds a bunch of vintage scenery to the game (to no surprise) and wall sets will be available with this update.

If you’re not interested in this DLC or you’re just not a DLC buyer, there will also be a free update to the game that brings recolorable staff, photo filters, free coasters, and more. Thank the developers for keeping the game interesting and updated.

Confirmed: Rend leaving beta and entering early access July 31

July 11, 2018 by David Wong

Rend’s is set to launch on Steam’s Early Access program on July 31st. The game will cost $29.99 and will instantly allow access to all the content available. The closed alpha is now over and the game is entering the next step in its lifecycle.

Developer Frostkeep Studios laid out the roadmap for the game back in May. The jotted down the major milestones of the alpha and feedback that was taken into account. Now the game is set to launch after being developed and built based on meeting those goals and feedback reports.

The community feedback was a huge portion in shaping how the game was developed. Co-Founder and CEO of Frostkeep Jeremy Wood states that early access “marks a pivotal moment” for the studio. They actually use the program for the way its intended t be used- to garner feedback from the players and develop the game according to how the players want it to be built. Now, it’s about to be released to the masses and even more player feedback will be available for Frostkeep to analyze and build Rend around.

“Our standard for Early Access is simple: the game must be in a state such that if we were to never touch its code ever again, Rend would be considered a finished, complete game worth its buy-to-play-only price. We believe this was the original vision for Early Access and we will hold ourselves and our games to that standard. You should too.”

You can see more updates on Rend’ here. They recently posted about their new UI system and the new creatures and biomes you’ll encounter.

Here’s a developer interview conducted by TechRaptor:

PS VR Shooter Firewall Zero Hour release date, pre-order specials, and formats

July 9, 2018 by David Wong

Firewall Zero Hour, a new squad-based shooter from First Contact Entertainment will launch on August 28th, 2018.

The release date was confirmed on a post on the PS blog. The creative producer of the game Damoun Shabestari talks about the game’s formats, release date, some gameplay features.

From the trailer of it, it looks like a Rainbow Six game in VR. It shows off some of the team-centered gameplay and impressive visuals.

Players play as a mercenary contractor who works with their team to attack or defend sensitive data in laptops. Communication, teamwork, and cooperation will be necessary in order to be successful. The game will also have training modes and AI for those who aren’t used to this type of strategic gameplay.

Shabestari describes the game as a “4v4 team-based tactical PS VR Shooter” where the objective is to “either acquire or protect a cache for sensitive data.” Each mission will award XP and in-game currency called Crypto for the player. Items unlocked with XP aren’t owned yet, weird enough. XP unlock weapons, attachments, equipment, and more.

The post also talked about some pre-order goodies and game formats. If you buy it earlier, you get a special Zero Hour Pack which includes some specials. A physical PS Aim bundle will be available for purchase also which includes the special DLC and a PS Aim controller. More features TBA. Stay tuned for details.

Super Bomberman R’s newest update adds tons of craziness

July 6, 2018 by David Wong

Super Bomberman R recently ended its contract with Nintendo Switch exclusivity and has been released on PS4, Xbox One, and PC. Each platform has their own exclusive characters and Konami has decided to up the ante with some extra fun.

The game has transformed into a Super Smash Bros. style game of Konami’s past character, rather than the top-down old-school Bomberman-style gameplay. With a new take comes new surprises- the newest one being David Hayer’s reappearance in Bomberman R.

Solid Snake fans can choose from Snake and Naked Snake. Raiden, Lance, and Bill are also diving head first into the game, showing off the craziness that is Bomberman R. Owners of the Switch version can play as MAX, which is a Bomberman character that’s exclusive to the Switch. A lot of other characters from Konami’s lesser-known games such as Goemon, Gradius, and Tokimeki Memorial have also been released in the free update. Accessories for each character from Metal Gear and Contra are also available.

Danica Patrick from Sonic Racing Transformed is now available. And even weirder, WWE wrestler Xavier Woods has been added to the game with his original voiceovers. This is just plain silly. But who cares. This ain’t about lore. It’s about nonstop action.

New gameplay modes have also rolled out. Grand Prix now has a Checkpoints option which changes the game to a King of the Hill style mode where you have to rush towards locations on the map in order to gain points. Fans of the game will have a lot to keep them busy this time around. Are you super excited for this update?

Sony Pictures goofs by uploading whole film instead of trailer

July 5, 2018 by David Wong

Sony Pictures Entertainment released a new trailer for its new limited release film Khali the Killer online in order to get more viewers to watch the film- whether it be on Blu-Ray, select theaters, or streaming platforms.

But there was a big oopsie.

Sony released the whole film instead. Not just the teaser.

The movie is a violent crime film based on western movies and ’70s films. It was originally released on DVD last year in reverse order like many indie films do. It’s not set for theater release until this year. But seeing it uploaded in its entirety online is just a big goof. Seriously.

To put some salt in the wound, it wasn’t removed quickly either. It was online and accessible to the public for several hours and there were tons of comments poking fun at Sony. The full presentation is about 1.5 hours and some people even got to see the whole thing- for free.

Whether or not it was done intentionally is unknown. Some believe it was done to attract viewers over a marketing play, while others say that Sony is still recovering from some other hacks and problems its encountered recently- like having thousands of employees’ private information leaked in 2014. Things like this could really hurt shareholders.

Sony has not commented on the error as of yet.

Image via Sony Pictures Entertainment.

Apple’s repair program for butterfly switches fixes them for free

July 3, 2018July 3, 2018 by David Wong

Apple has announced that the butterfly switches in some Macbook Pro and Macbook computers have glitches where they would either stick, repeat characters, or characters fail to register. It launched a new service repair program that promises to fix these issues for consumers for free– whether or not it was purchased through AppleCare.

If consumers paid previously for this fix through an authorized repair center, they’ll refund the cash.

“Apple or an Apple Authorized Service Provider will service eligible MacBook and MacBook Pro keyboards, free of charge.”

The repairs covers a wide range of recent units. Specifically:

MacBook (Retina, 12-inch, Early 2015)
MacBook (Retina, 12-inch, Early 2016)
MacBook (Retina, 12-inch, 2017)
MacBook Pro (13-inch, 2016, Two Thunderbolt 3 Ports)
MacBook Pro (13-inch, 2017, Two Thunderbolt 3 Ports)
MacBook Pro (13-inch, 2016, Four Thunderbolt 3 Ports)
MacBook Pro (13-inch, 2017, Four Thunderbolt 3 Ports)
MacBook Pro (15-inch, 2016)
MacBook Pro (15-inch, 2017)

AppleInsider went through a repair record dataset and came to the conclusion that butterfly switches on the 2016 MacBook Pros had nearly twice the amount of repair events related to keyboards compared to the 2015 models with the cichlet design. The 2017 models were on-par with the 2015 units.

Butterfly switches save space for other hardware and some users say they’re faster to type on since they have less travel and “clicker.” But they have just as many complaints on the opposing consumer spectrum.

Regardless, if you believe you have any of these issues, you can request a repair. It covers the following:

Letters or characters repeat unexpectedly
Letters or characters do not appear
Key(s) feel “sticky” or do not respond in a consistent manner

Fantom’s new hard drives for Xbox One require no cables, no power

July 2, 2018 by David Wong

Fantom Drives has announced a huge new external hard drive for the Xbox One. It’s a colossal drive that holds up to 5TB of storage, and it’s called the “Fantom Drives Xbox One Storage Drive and Hub.” The name is almost as much as the capacity for your games it can provide.

Large EHDs are nothing new. You can easily buy an 8TB to a 16TB external just as you would buy a 1TB. But the cool part is that it’s built for use with the Xbox One. If you’re going to buy a huge drive, chances are that it’s not made just for console use. The drive provides “massive game storage capacity and gamer mobility” so you get a huge drive that’s also portable. It’ll be able to hold over 120 50GB games on any Xbox- without any wires or cables.

That means it’s completely integrated. It uses a USB connector built right into the device, which means you don’t need any USB cables. There’s also no need for an external power supply. It sucks juice from the power the Xbox One outputs. You can take this thing anywhere where there’s an Xbox and bring your data with you. It’s like a huge memory card. No power needed. No cables needed.

CEO of Fantom, Hamid Khorsandi, says they’re trying to provide a “highly mobile storage drive” while maintaining a similar design to the gaming system. The Storage Drive and Hub series is a new line of products which include 2TB and 4TB variants of this drive. Ther are also high-performance SSDs that come in 1TB and 2TB flavors. All drives come with triple USB ports and house a Seagate HDD inside. They’re all compatible with every Xbox One model on the market right now.

The 5TB flagship model retails for just around $250, 2TB at $120, 1TB at $110. There’s no point in buying the 1TB when you can double the storage for just a mere $10 extra. You can check out the drives on Fantom.

Fortnite physical copies now cost up to $450

July 1, 2018 by David Wong

Fortnite is one of the biggest games on the market today. It’s fun, free-to-play, and one of the most popular games on the planet. It’s even had “endorsement” by Drake.

All the success behind it comes from the fact that it’s a good game and it’s easily downloaded and played for free at no cost to the player.

However, that popularity has skyrocketed the price of the actual disc- up to $450 per copy. The hardcore fans want an actual copy of their favorite battle royale game, and they’ll have to shell out some pretty significant amounts to get it.

Gearbox Software only released a limited number of copies for consoles and PC in Europe. It was a regular $60 release that was focused on PvE “Save the World” content before the battle royale even came out in September of 2017.

Now, the game can’t be easily bought at major retailers anymore. collectors are buying a game that was once sold at MSRP, fan gear that used to be free, and tons of Fortnite swag all over eBay. A Used copy on Amazon will run you $175 without the case. An average copy of the game is $130 on eBay. The same content can be downloaded online for just $40, but that’s just for casual gamers. Hardcore fans want the actual item. This is the Standard Founder’s Pack.

“Save the World” will be free-to-play later this year, which may reduce the value of the disc. But Superfans don’t seem to be stopping. Gearbox Software still has yet to announce another actual disc re-release.

Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 1000 (SDM1000) can compete with Intel for lower-power chipsets

June 28, 2018 by David Wong

Details regarding the new processor rumored as the Snapdragon 1000 (SDM1000) has surfaced. You’re probably already familiar with Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 850 CPUs which are used in PCs. They’re essentially a faster version of the same chip you’ll find in a typical smartphone.

The Snapdragon 1000 (or should we call it the “K?”) is built for computers from the start. It has a giant footprint compared to the previous ARM chipsets, which measure 20mm x 15mm compared to 12mm x 12mm for the 850, and would use about 12W of power across the system. It’s a direct competitor to Intel’s line of low-power CPUs.

A design found in import databases gives some new hints about what to expect from this new powerful chipset:

It could be hooked with up to 128GB storage models- two of them
It could have up to 16GB of RAM
A possible gigabit Ethernet and socketed CPU design
6.5W power draw with a total of 12W for the entire SoC
Utilizes ARM’s Cortex-A76 architecture for faster speeds (35% increase)
802.11ad WiFi
Gigabit LTE
Power management controller

The SDM1000 is still very much classified, although one of its employees mentioned working on the chip as a Windows multimedia Project Engineer. With its speed, low-power consumption, and applications, it can be a good rival chip for Intel’s related chips. ARM-powered computers are already starting to trend in the market with their cheaper pricing and on-par performance that meets demands of typical consumers.

Image via Qualcomm

We Happy Few – Pre-order goodies and instant $10 savings

June 27, 2018 by David Wong

We Happy Few is set to release on August 10th, 2018. After three years in the making after a Kickstarter project, the game is ready to launch.

If you’ve never heard of it, it’s a game where everyone is on drugs in 1960s England. The townsfolk have gone off their meds and a new government medication known as “Joy” keeps everyone in a fake state of happiness. The game has you playing as one of the few who rebel against the meds and therefore you need to suffer the side effects of withdrawal symptoms. Some countries have banned the game due to drug use.

If you preorder the game, you get to get your hands on some goodies. Gamers who pre-order will get the Jolly Brolly in-game weapon included as a code in the game package. If you preorder at GameStop or Best Buy you can also get a nice $10 off instant discount and the exclusive weapon.

The standard edition will run you $59.99 and is available for PS4 and Xbox One.

The deluxe edition includes the base game and the season pass, which is rumored to include three pieces of content for the game. It’ll run you a pretty $79.99 out of pocket.

And lastly, there’s the Time Capsule collector’s edition comes with something that you may expect- it doesn’t include the game itself. But it does come with collectible items including a sticker set, alarm clock, soundtrack, mask, handbook, lamp, and propaganda posters.

Sit tight for updates as the game approaches the launch date. The propaganda posters are pretty cool and the item that makes it worth it for any hardcore fan.

Unavowed: A new horror point-and-click coming to PC and Mac August 8th

June 26, 2018 by David Wong

Unavowed, a point-and-click semi-horror adventure game, is coming out for PC and Mac on August 8th, 2018.

The game was in development since 2017 and has been shown off at the Play NYC convention. The game is being made by the same guys behind Blackwell and Gemini Rue. They’re based in New York and called Wadjet Eye Games and are known for their point-and-click titles. A trailer was released by Wadjet Eye Games which shows off the horrific and kinda scary environment and dark tone of the game:

We can see the world’s distinctive artwork and the simple point-and-click gameplay mechanics. It’s all pre-rendered so far with no actual in-game gameplay, but we can expect to see more before the launch. The game has you playing as an unknown protagonist who basically gets possessed and goes crazy. You’re then forced to join an ancient society dedicated to stopping evil. They’re call the Unavowed.

You play through the game’s puzzles and unfold the backstory behind the clan and the society dedicated to fight the oncoming darkness. The game looks pretty crazy with the art and design of the environment and world with a retro pixel art-style look. The Steam page is already up and promises some features like multiple origin stories, branching paths, and companions to choose from. The game is also fully voiced and includes an OST with twice the resolution of a typical Wadjet Eye game.

Nintendo and Microsoft found to be in a “lovey-dovey” relationship; Cross-play now available

June 25, 2018 by David Wong

NIntendo just released a new trailer that shows off cross-platform compatibility between the Switch and Xbox One. It depicts two players, one on each console. Both are working together in a rare promotion video that shows off the hardware and gameplay from Microsoft and Nintendo. As rare as this is, it’s freakin’ awesome to see.

The video ends with a weird message:

“Create Together, Explore Together, Survive Together, Better Together.”

Obviously, this is aimed towards how cooperative play across platforms can be fun. But then again, the PlayStation is still missing- to no surprise.

Fortnite was recently released for the Switch last week and it quickly was confirmed that you could like your Epic Games account to PS4, you wouldn’t be able t log in or carry anything over to the Switch. Sony responded to the controversy and just threw a blanket “sorry not sorry” message to the community:

“We’re always open to hearing what the PlayStation community is interested in to enhance their gaming experience.”

Thankfully, Nintendo and Microsoft players don’t have to worry about this issue. nintendo of America Reggie Fils-Aime said:

“What competitors do is their decision to make. We believe being both developer-forward and fan-forward is in the best interest of the game.”

This was a much more direct approach the the issue. They then took it up a notch and went on their official Twitter account and had a conversation with Microsoft, to which then Mojang joined in. Nintendo Tweeted at Xbox asking them if they wanted to “build something” now that they can “play together” to which Xbox responded with a “our bodies are ready. What are we building?”

Afterwards, Minecraft jumps in and suggests something to build to which both Xbox and Nintendo agree upon. Crazy.

Minecraft, Rocket League, Paladins and more have all been cross-play compabiel now with select systems, such as PC, Xbox One, and the Nintendo Switch. It’s a good time to be a Nintendo or Microsoft fanboy. With the start of Minecraft bonding the two rivals, this could be a new “lovey-dovey” relationship.

Currently Switch owners of Minecraft will be able to play with Xbox One players. And if you own the Minecraft Switch Edition, you’ll also be able to upgrade to the new version at no charge.

Google launches Messages for Web – text from your computer

June 24, 2018 by David Wong

Android’s default messaging client just got a new web version on the 20th of June.

Google officially announced it just last week and says that it’ll roll out to everyone over the next week. If you didn’t receive the update yet, sit tight. And if you’re curious about what’s new in the messaging app, here it is in detail.

Android Messages first began as a basic SMS app, but the new web client turns it into their ninth messaging program. Why so many? It’s Google. Who knows. They’re currently servicing Google Talk, Google Voice, Google Buzz, Google+ Messenger, Google Hangouts, Google Spaces, Google Allow, and Google Hangouts Chat.

Now, we have Messages for Web.

If you have no idea what this is, it’s basically your Messages app but an online version of it that connects to a computer so you can text from your computer.

It was first announced about two months ago when Allo was going to be abandoned. The team then moved over to Android MEssages to focus on improving the app with a mix of Allow features, like a web interface. Google would give up on building a messaging service altogether and just improve upon this SMS/RCS app.

The server-side update is live for your phone’s app and you’ll be able to simply tap the menu button and then launch “Messages for Web” and that’s it. It uses a QR-code login system instead of your typical Google Account, which means you can only log into one computer at a time. And it’s connected to your phone number, which means you don’t want to be switching phone numbers or computers.

Since it’s just a web client, there’s no direct and easy way to get a computer connected to it all the time, unlike Hangouts with Chrome.

CEO of Intel’s affair ended before he took the position in 2013

June 23, 2018 by David Wong

CEO Brian Krzanich resigned from Intel on Thursday when it was discovered that he had relationships with his colleague. It’s reported that the woman he was having an affair with still works for the company and the whole thing started over a decade ago. When she met Krzanich, she was working in a distant position as a middle manager.

Krzanich’s wife Brandee had also worked at Intel before as a process engineer before he became CEO of Intel in 2013. The affair was stopped before he took the position, but the policy that prohibits any sexual and romantic relationships with co-workers was put into place in 2011. So thus, he was still in violation of such acts. Before there was the policy, Intel already had multiple office relationships going on.

Krzanich’s resignation is not the only one in the industry. Many people of high positions have been fired or forcefully resigned across many industries as scandals and the #MeToo movement snowballed. His resignation was thought to be triggered when a current employee talked about the affair to another who then reported it to Intel’s counsel on June 14. This sparked the process and made headlines after it went up in flames.

Intel’s stock has been dipping due to this news and has dropped a few dollars to the $52 mark from mid-$55.

Nintendo’s anti-piracy measures “perfectly” prevents stolen content

June 21, 2018 by David Wong

Nintendo’s new anti-piracy measures seem to be doing exactly as they planned- and they’re pretty happy about it.

A Redditor, SciresM, broke down exactly how they work in a post. He says that when you go online with your Switch, Nintendo will run a check on whether or not you have data coming from an authorized game card for the title. If it’s legitimate, your console will get a unique ticket that allows you to play it online. If not, your cartridge will be banned from being able to be played online and you could be banned from the Nintendo Network. Pirated games seem to automatically trigger such a ban.

He then talks about how Nintendo “perfectly” prevents online piracy because these tickets can make it easy for Nintendo do detect when games are pirated and shared between people. They can verify the ID associated with the ticket and make sure it matches the ID for the device that’s using it. If they’re different, the game gets banned. And the tickets can’t be created or generated like serial keys.

At this point, we’re unsure if illegal games could work offline, but it seems like it’ll only protect against games being played online as they require an active connection to the internet.

This new measure is likely due to a security issue Nintendo had wehere two exploits in the hardware of the Switch was publicly revealed. Nintendo has since strengthened their stance on piracy:

“Nintendo opposes those who benefit and trade off the creative work of game developers, artists, animators, musicians, motion capture artists and others,” the website reads. “Piracy continues to be a significant threat to Nintendo’s business, as well as to the businesses of more than 1,400 game development companies that work to provide games for Nintendo systems. Most importantly, game developers and publishers depend on the legitimate sales of their games in order to survive.

“Piracy discourages innovation and new game development; it can also lead to a reduction in the number of jobs available within the industry, all of which ultimately impacts the consumer.”

Former CEO of Telltale suing his own company

June 21, 2018 by David Wong

The former CEO of Telltale Games is suing the company for a “breach of contract.”

Kevin Bruner was the originally appointed CEO in 2015 when he replaced Dan Connors. Two years later, Bruner stepped down and stayed on the board during the period which then was replaced on an interim by Connors. The new CEO is Peter Hawley, which is a former Zynga executive.

Bruner now wants to sue Telltale. He filed a lawsuit claiming that the board members wanted to replace him because they wanted to change the business model of the company. Telltale was required to provide him with support in selling his holding but then “cut off communication with him.”

The lawsuit was reviewed and it was found that “confidentiality and financial privacy override the right of public access to case records” Telltale then responded saying it was nonsense and Bruner supervised the company during its decline and tried to get rid of the case, but the judge, Roy Chernus, ruled that it required further investigation.

Bruner has been accused of imposing pretty inhuman conditions on his employees.

The lawsuit will return to court on July 17th, 2018. Stay tuned for updates.

Telltale making Stranger Things game; Netflix streaming Minecraft: Story Mode

June 18, 2018 by David Wong

Telltale is making a Stranger Things game.

The deal was confirmed between Netflix and Telltale to bring a new adaptation of the company’s previous Minecraft: Story Mode adventure game to the streaming giant. A separate deal then followed which will have Telltale make a Stranger Things videogame which will be published on PC and consoles. It’ll be the second Stranger Things entry after the mobile action-adventure game was developed by BonusXP.

Netflix reached out to TechRadar and confirmed the rumor to which then telltale posted about it on their official Twitter account.

They then went on to talk about the new partnership with Netflix and that they’re “thrilled” to confirm it. There may be other details following with their new partnership.

The game itself will likely be an episodic adventure along the lines of Game of Thrones or The Wolf Among Us. No release date has been given and neither what the game will focus on- story or otherwise.

As for the Minecraft: Story Mode adaptation, it’ll be similar to other interactive properties on Netflix such as Buddy Thunderstruck: The Maybe Pile. That’s about it for now. Stay tuned for updates.