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CoD: Black Ops 4’s Blackout mode will have 120 FPS Cap; Pre-load details

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CoD: Black Ops 4's Blackout mode will have 120 FPS Cap; Pre-load details 1

With Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 on the way, releasing on October 12th, PC fans have been debating about when the pre-load launch would be available and what FPS the Blackout mode would be running on launch day. Hardcore fans want the details, and we’ve done some research to find out some of this prized and glorious detail.

The PC pre-load will go live on Tuesday, October 9th. The game will be available on the Battle.net launcher for the first time in the history of the CoD series.

Treyarch also confirmed that the FPS cap will be a decent 120 FPS on PC. Although this may not appeal to those 240Hz gamers, it’s still decent for the majority of players. Treyarch will likely raise the cap (or uncap it) later on. This is to ensure server stability and prevent lag and crashes rather than getting players the best-looking gameplay.

Update: Treyarch plans to raise the cap to 144 FPS when the servers become stable and then uncap it after the first few days of launch.

Fans of the regular multiplayer modes will be running uncapped as soon as the game launches. This only applies to Blackout.

CoD: BO4 is the first game in the series to not have a single-player mode, as fans dig the multiplayer and that’s what Treyarch is focusing on.

Here’s a copy of the announcement from Treyarch regarding FPS and pre-load on PC:

Black Ops 4 Launch on PC

October 12th is rapidly approaching – not fast enough, we know. We can’t wait to get the game in your hands either. We’ve been working really hard together with our partners at Beenox, to optimize the game on PC in preparation for day 1 and beyond.

Over the last few weeks, there are a few questions that have risen to the top of your list, so we’d like to get to them here…

Pre-Loading: Players who have pre-ordered via Battle.net can begin pre-loading on Tuesday, October 9 (PDT).

Blackout on PC: We’re really looking forward to players dropping into Blackout on day 1 – we’ve made a number of updates to the game, all based on your feedback, and we can’t wait to show you how hard we’ve been at work. One thing we’ve seen and heard people ask about is the PC framerate…

Part of our commitment to the PC is to support uncapped framerate in the game.

During the Blackout Beta, we made the decision to cap it at 90fps to monitor performance and online stability. The reason for this approach was that as a Beta we had a lot of testing to do. It made sense for getting the game right for the whole community, and we were happy with the end result and the data we pulled from this approach.

We’ve come a long way since the Beta, thanks to all your feedback, but we still want to roll things out carefully.

Since the framerate affects the load on the servers, we want to ensure that the game delivers a great playable experience for everyone who dives in those first moments.

So, our plan: 

• At launch, we will start Blackout with a 120fps cap on PC

• Ensure the moment the game launches that it has high stability for every player

• Raise to 144fps as soon as the servers are stable

• And assuming all looks good, enable uncapped framerates within the first few days (Zombies and Multiplayer modes will be uncapped starting immediately on day 1.

This is the right plan to ensure a smooth, playable game for the whole community out of the gate.

As always, we are listening and hear you loud and clear. Please share your feedback, and stay tuned for frequent updates on our progress here and on twitter @treyarchpc

/Rob

 

Nintendo Switch Online goes live tonight. But, maintenance first.

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Nintendo Switch Online goes live tonight. But, maintenance first. 2

Nintendo Switch Online will finally go live tonight- the 18th of September. After many long waits and a much-overdue service, players will be able to upload their game saves to the cloud, play classic NES titles, and finally- play games online. With some exceptions, of course.

Nintendo’s official date for the launch of Nintendo Switch Online is today, however, it won’t go live until about three hours of Nintendo eShop maintenance. Just the final frontier before the service goes live to the public. A post on their support site says that the eShop maintenance will take place from 5 PM to 8 PM PST.

Afterward, players can then purchase membership plans from the eShop or Nintendo’s site. MyNintendo Gold Coins can be used to make a purchase for both the Individual and Family membership subscriptions.

You can check out a full list of features that Switch Online will offer here. One thing worth mentioning is that Nintendo cloud saves won’t be compatible with all games. This means some games will continue to be saved locally on your console.

Pricing starts at $3.99 a month, $7.99 for three months, $19.99 for a year, or $34.99 for a plan that covers between 2-7 people (Family Plan). There will also be a free trial that lasts one week for players who want to try it out before making the purchase.

Commodore 64 Mini (THEC64 Mini) launches on October 9th

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Commodore 64 Mini (THEC64 Mini) launches on October 9th 3

ThECE64 Mini (yes, that’s how it’s spelled), it’s coming out later in October. Like the Nintendo and Sega retro systems that have recently been released, the Commodore 64 is about to come out with its own spin on the retro take and jump on the bandwagon.

Based on a press release from the manufacturer, they’ve secured a release date of October 9th, 2018. It was first announced in 2017 and has now been updated with the confirmed release date.

For those who’ve never played with a Commodore 64 before, it’s a very complicated and fascinating setup. For starters, it was a home computer that used cartridges like you see in consoles like the SNES and NES. It also could run floppy discs. And it had a gigantic keyboard that had the ability to expand the capabilities of the system using add-ons. It also housed all the electronics of the system inside the keyboard, which explains the size.

PC gaming wasn’t really as mainstream as it nowadays during that time, so the C64 was one of the first systems to have a huge library of games for players to choose from and play inside the house. Some of these classics have now been ported to this system so players can experience a mini version one of the most popular computer systems ever built. For 90s kids, that’s hard to believe. But that was the case.

THEC64 Mini will come with 64 games and include a joystick. It’ll also have an HDMI cable for crisp retro gaming and USB cable for power. Updates for the computer will be uploaded via USB. There’s a flash drive attached to the Mini, which lets you add your own games to the device. They’re not as regularly as Nintendo it seems.

A number of retailers will carry the system and some already have it for pre-order. The North American version hasn’t announced any partners yet, but one can expect it to show up at GameStop, Amazon, Best Buy, or even eBay for scalpers. A price hasn’t been annoyced either, but stay tuned for updates.