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Super Smash Bros. Ultimate at Nintendo Direct: New characters, amiibos, and a special edition

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Super Smash Bros. Ultimate at Nintendo Direct: New characters, amiibos, and a special edition 1

Nintendo has announced five new Super Smash Bros. Ultimate amiibo characters and a special limited edition amiibo and GameCube controller/adapter combo.

SSBU Nintendo Direct announced the news on August 8th where the new characters were revealed for the upcoming and much-anticipated crossover fighter. The characters and their respective amiibo figures will be available for purchase “in the future” according to a Tweet by Nintendo.

The characters announced were Simon Belmont, Richter Belmont, King K. Rool, Chrom and Dark Samus. SSBU is the newest entry in Nintendo’s flagship title Super Smash Bros. series of crossover fighters. The game will be released on Nintendo Switch in the holiday season. Today’s Nintendo Direct event confirmed the new characters’ addition to the game.

As for when these will ship, there’s no confirmation yet. Nintendo is still being vague about the actual launch, but it’s safe to assume that they’ll be around during the game’s launch or shortly thereafter.

Nintendo’s special limited edition version of Super Smash Bros. Ultimate will be released with the regular edition both on the same day, which is scheduled to be on December 7th, 2018.

T he special edition will contain a physical copy of the game, a GameCube controller themed with SSB designs, and an adapter so you can use it with the Switch. This adapter also works with any existing GameCube controllers you may already have.

Pricing for the limited edition version is still TBA, so expect more information to roll out as we approach the holidays. The GameCube controller for the limited edition isn’t exclusive by any means, as anyone can purchase the one that’s already on sale. It’ll be the same one that exists on the market today but bundled differently.

Dragon Quest XI will be a throwback to older titles in the series

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Dragon Quest XI will be a throwback to older titles in the series 2

A new trailer for the upcoming game Dragon Quest XI: Echoes of an Elusive Age shows off the game’s gorgeous artwork and the group of companions that you’ll be playing alongside in this brand-new journey.

The game is supposed to be somewhat of a throwback to older, retro Dragon Quest games with each character in the party reflecting some older designs and personalities. Yuji Horii, developer, and creator of the series had an interview with Siliconera about each of the members of the party in greater detail.

Each character which accompanies the nameless hero, which is Dragon Quest tradition, on their journey to defeat the evil that’s wreaking havoc on their land. Horri went over how each character’s design and personality reflects an older Dragon Quest entity:

Erik is the down-to-Earth character. He’s fully governed and is a young thief who’s the first character to join the Limnitary.

Veronica and Serena are the pair of female girls similar to previous female duo Maya and Meena in Dragon Quest IV. They’re opposites in terms of personality and function for the party. Veronica is a mage and Serena is a healer. Their personalities offer plenty of content for the game’s moments with a dynamic opposing personality setup.

Sylvando is a guy who’s loud and annoying, probably because he’s an entertainer. He’s flamboyant, chivalrous, and somewhat buff. He has acrobatic skills.

Jade is a martial artist who acts as a sister to the hero.

Rab is an older character who’s somewhat of a troublemaker.

The game is the 11th title in the long-running series, which was first released back in 1986. It’ll feature many elements from the entire series due to it being somewhat of an homage to past titles, including the turn-based combat and classic designs created by Akira Toriyama and crew.

The game has already been released in Japan on the PS4 and Nintendo 3DS last year, with total sales around 3M copies. Worldwide release is scheduled on September 4th, 2018 for PS4 and Windows with a Switch version planned for release later on.

Surviving Mars Da Vinci update live on PC; What’s new?

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Surviving Mars Da Vinci update live on PC; What's new? 3

Surviving Mars released a new update this week according to a news post on their Steam Community page.

Surviving Mars is exactly what it sounds like. You need to establish a colony on the planet with just a cargo rocket and some drones and basic resources to start with and you need to expand your colony, build shelter, and explore the planet. The game doesn’t just put you alone on the planet though, you can breed humans to help perform tasks on your base in the harsh environment. You can actually expand beyond a thousand humans if you play well enough.

The game’s newest content patch is called the Da Vinci update. It allows a bunch of new features and balance adjustments to take place in the game. The main feature is Creative Mode, which allows players to basically have a large amount of capital and disable all the nasty diameters in the game in order to build creatively. It’s like RollerCoaster Tycoon on Mars with unlimited cash. It’s basically your typical freedom custom mode. Of course, achievements will be disabled if you’re playing in Creative.

Resource management has also been revamped to make it easier to harvest and utilize materials. Players can set a minimum desired amount of resources on a per-depot basis which allows adequate stockpiles of materiasl in various sections of your colony. The UI has also been improved and simplified. And power producers/consumers will now automatically connect to nearby buildings rather than requiring a tile power cable to be built.

Balance has also been addressed with some tweaks like building power consumption increases or maintenance parts changed. The Electronics Factory now uses machine parts for maintenance. Genius colonists will now grant research if you keep their Sanity high enough and Celebrity colonists will provide funding if their Comfort levels are kept well.

There’s also a Tourist trait for colonists now. Colonists will generate $10M upon arrival and stay for a few days, then leave. When they go back, they’ll bring back two new Tourist applicants. This is pretty cool because players can now establish a vacation destination on Mars and also get some additional income from it!

The Da Vinci update is already live on PC and console launches coming shortly. Another update called the Sagan Update will come next month in September with plenty of challenges along with it.

Octopath Traveler sells 1M copies; Thanks fans with banner art

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Octopath Traveler sells 1M copies; Thanks fans with banner art 4

Square Enix’s Octopath Traveler for Nintendo Switch has now shipped over 1M copies globally.

Developed by Square and studio Acquire, the Switch exclusive title’s success was relayed through an announcement from the official Octopath PR Twitter account stating that download numbers and shipments worldwide have netted over a million copies. They also drew a “1M thanks” banner using characters from the game for their fans with “1,000,000 Travelers! 1,000,000 Thanks” in text.

Octopath Traveler has become very successful for Square Enix. Over 90% of its initial stock in Japan was sold in July with over 100K units sold in less than 14 days. The game also has several sold-out locations of the physical disc all over the world, but mainly in Japan, to which at one point sold hundreds of copies in just a few hours after a new batch was released tot he public. Square then apologized for the shortage of physical copies and encouraged a digital download on the Nintendo E-shop if possible.

The game is obviously more popular overseas but has garnered a sizable audience in the West as shown by the sales figures.

Traveler is a retro take on the classic RPGs for an older console with 8 different characters each unique with abilities and personalities. There are also 8 stories in total. Some modern revamps include an improved turn-based system for battles and the use of animated sprites in an HD texture environment which was called an HD-2D effect by the developers.

The characters and positioning of the banner alluded to the official artwork of Bravery Default, which was released for the Nintendo 3DS which the producers of Octopath Traveler worked on also. Tomoya Asano and Masashi Takahashi both worked on both titles to create a consistent universe and their style shows in the fan art created for the community.

Spyro Reginited Trilogy: Two games are DLC, what about the last?

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Spyro Reginited Trilogy: Two games are DLC, what about the last? 5

Spyro Reignited Trilogy will be releasing in about a month and fans will be able to return to familiar nostalgic locations like the Summer Forest or Artisan’s World. Their official Twitter account has been teasing fans with updated box art of the game.

A few changes were obvious on the official pre-order page compared to the older design.

For one, Spyro cover the majority of the face of the box with his face being zoomed in on a lot more than previously. Perhaps this will bring attention to fans who’ve wandered from the Spyro series and haven’t been keeping up with the news. Seeing the family purple dragon’s face may just get more sales for players who weren’t expecting another Spyro game to be rolling out- especially if they used to like the game. The background shows off the games included in the trilogy, with a selection of levels that represent their final bosses: Gnasty Gnorc, The Sorceress, and Ripto. This may bring back some nostalgia for older players who grew up with Spyro.

Spyro Reginited Trilogy: Two games are DLC, what about the last? 6

The design the art is also eager to let players know that will require content to be downloaded in order to play with a bold “requires content download” and a lesser-bold “original 3 games remastered.” Spyro’s horns divide the backdrop into their respective games with the logo and branding right in the middle. It’s hard to miss this title with the contrast of bright colors.

The latter two games will require an internet connection and fans seem to be taking this very negatively They’re asking why the physical release is necessary if 2/3 of the games are available via download. It could be single-use code or it’ll act like a patch for the game.

Activision Gameinformer received this response from the company:

“The global launch date of Spyro Reignited Trilogy is Sept. 21, and we’re excited for fans to play all three reignited games on that day, As with most games today, downloading an update after purchase is quite common. The language on packaging and on the web is to let players know the requirements for Spyro Reignited Trilogy.”

But then that means if the entire games will be downloaded, or if it’s a day one patch, or if the games are split between disc and download. Activision has done this before with games like Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater where only a portion is on the actual disc and the rest requires a download. The Twitter account also continues to release news about the trilogy, but as for actual details about the download situation, none yet.

Salt and Sanctuary released for Nintendo Switch

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Salt and Sanctuary released for Nintendo Switch 7

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.

 

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

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Commodore 64 Mini (THEC64 Mini) launches on October 9th 8

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.

Project Loon signs its first commercial deal with Telkom Kenya

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Project Loon signs its first commercial deal with Telkom Kenya 9

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?

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No Man's Sky Next released - Now what's next? 10

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.

The Clone Wars gets a 12 episode commission on Disney’s streaming platform

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The Clone Wars gets a 12 episode commission on Disney's streaming platform 11

At this year’s Comic-Con, a panel celebrating the 10-year anniversary of The Clone Wars had a special announcement at the end of it- a surprise season of 12 episodes has been confirmed and commissioned to run on Disney’s streaming service which launches in 2019.

Back in 2003, there was the first animated series of the Clone Wars with Genndy Tartakovsky’s 2D take that ran until 2005 with a few Emmy awards in the process. The Clone Wars then came out in 2008, this time another fully-animated but 3D series of episodes developed by Dave Filoni which ran for 5 seasons on The Cartoon Network and got a final 6 episodes on Netflix in 2014.

Now that Disney is competing directly with Netflix and developing its own streaming platform, we’ll be getting another full season of 12 episodes. With Disney’s demonstration on Netflix, there’s definitely fan demand for their shows with its Marvel series.

Whether or not the 12 episodes will be reruns is unsure. Now that Disney has the own platform, they may create some original content. Besides The Clone Wars, there will be some live-action Star Wars directed by Jon Favreau that takes place somewhere between Return of the Jedi and before The Force Awakens.

It’s a good time to be a Star Wars fan.

Marvel: Ultimate Alliance games pulled from digital stores

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Marvel: Ultimate Alliance games pulled from digital stores 12

Marvel: Ultimate Alliance and Marvel: Ultimate Alliance 2 have been pulled from all digital purchasing platforms- Microsoft Store, PlayStation Store, and Steam. A user on Reddit reported the rude awakening earlier on the 26th.

This isn’t the first time Marvel games pulled a game from online stores. Deadpool is another example that’s exhibited this behavior multiple times already- twice from Steam and is still currently not available for purchase on the platform at the time of this writing.

The Marvel universe consists of many titles in many different series. It consists of big-name heroes, villains, and dozens upon dozens of lesser-known ones. The Ultimate Alliance games allowed players to team up fantasy selections of these characters and battle the villains. The games were known for their attention to detail, artwork, level system, and the game’s cosmetic costumes.

But regardless of these features, Ultimate Alliance and its Ultimate Alliance 2 can’t be purchased at the moment on those platforms. Players can still buy it in a bundle on HumbleBundle, but there’s no telling if and when it’ll be pulled from there also. If you’ve been thinking about getting this game, you should buy it now because it could disappear for some time if it’s anything like the Deadpool game. Seriously.

Pathfinder Kingmaker delayed – Announces editions and what’s included in each tier

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Pathfinder Kingmaker delayed - Announces editions and what's included in each tier 13

Pathfinder: Kingmaker developed by Owlcat Games has promised further updates for backers. It was delayed until September and the devs posted the plans for the extra content for the game, especially the pre-order versions of the game and clearing up confusion.

There will be 4 total versions of the game and each of them will include several goodies, like a Season Pass for major DLC after the game rolls out. The basic edition is called the Explorer Edition which consists of the base game and some minor DLC. It retails for $39.99. Next up is the Noble Edition which is priced at $54.99 and includes the base game, a digital art book, soundtrack, two in-game portraits, and some premium in-game items. The Royal Edition is next at $64.99 and comes with a digital map of the game’s world, Stolen Lands, and an in-game pet and tabletop RPG Adventure Module written by Chris Avellone.

The Imperial Edition is the biggest daddy of them all. Priced at $84.00, it comes with everything and the Season Pass. A lot of the game’s content will be released through several DLC packs, with 3 included in this edition. Backers have requested races, classes, and other content as there are no current details about what’s int he DLC packs. Owlcat will likely be adding these fan suggestions to the game.

Owlcat also points out that there will be about $40 of DLC. Backers who pledge $95 or more for beta access or $110 for pre-order sessions will get the season pass free.

Pathfinder: Kingmaker is based on the Kingmaker Adventure Path and is the first real game made by Paizo with official rules. The game will launch in September for the PC.

Netflix may have hit its saturation point

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Netflix may have hit its saturation point 14

Netflix didn’t make its subscriber growth targets in the three months ending in June. It missed by about a million subscribers, which scared off some investors. There are rumors that the streaming giant may have finally hit a saturation point, where it strikes a balance between subscribers subscribing and subscribers leaving. In other words, Netflix has reached all the interested audiences available and there aren’t enough people to make any significant growth for the platform overall.

Following this missed target, the stock dropped a huge 14% as reported by the BBC. This came after an impressive run that the stock was gaining over the past year.

Currently, the giant as 130M subscribers globally and projected 6.2M, but only hit about 5.2M instead. The streaming service is expected to face even more competition in the coming year. HBO Chief Executive John Stankey told his employees that the company needs to move away from prestige-programming and focus on Netflix’s high-content volume strategy. Apple also plans to launch a competing streaming service that’s in direct competition with Netflix. Disney, which currently dominates Hollywood’s landscape in properties like Marvel and Star Wars and brands with high-value will launch its own streaming platform following Netflix.

Netflix currently accounts for 8% of TV viewing overall, but it’s nothing to consider a dominant force. It’s been an investor darling in the past and many who thought it would take over TV, but that’s not the case. Netflix is often thought of as the service that’ll take over cable, but the landscape is looking for something like the old cable model in a custom built your own package. Subscribe to your channels and pay a fee. It’s not possible to bundle all of it into a service and sell it for $15/mo like Netflix.

CEO Reed Hastings told investors that they can expect good news regarding frequency and length of viewing sessions. CNBC suggests that subscribers watch an average of 10 hours per week and traditional viewers watch 20 hours, with cable being the top dog.

Netflix will spend up to $8 producing TV shows and films this year. Several series are yet to be announced, but some include Disenchantment, House of Cards, and Making a Murderer.

Wasteland 2: Director’s Cut coming to Switch; What do you get?

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Wasteland 2: Director's Cut is coming to Switch.

Wasteland 2 is a sequel to Wasteland 1, which is a spiritual predecessor of the Fallout series. Wasteland 2 features some team-based RPG action that focuses on having alternative solutions to pretty much everything int he game. For example, if you need to get across a checkpoint, you can persuade the guards, pick the lock, herd animals to distract the guards, or just run and gun. The game offers multiple branching paths for every situation in the game. That’s what makes it kinda special. But it’s not that rare nowadays anyway.

You have a wide range of skills in your squad and you can choose to use them at your disposal. How you choose your actions affects the outcome of the entire game. It’s one of those games where everything you do literally does something later on in the game.

Player decisions seem to be the new trend nowadays.

Wasteland 2 is already available for purchase. However, Nintendo is releasing Wasteland 2: Director’s Cut, which includes extra perks, VOs, improved graphics, and a new precision strike system similar to the Fallout series style. Wasteland 2’s 30th-anniversary bundle was also recently announced and includes Wasteland 2, Wasteland 1: The Original Classic, and Wasteland: 30th Anniversary Edition Remaster which will include a remaster of the classic 1988 game.

Wasteland 3 is also in the works and will be announced in 2019 for other platforms.

Walmart rumored to be starting a streaming platform

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Walmart rumored to be starting a streaming platform 15

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.

Steam Bans over 90,000 Steam Accounts

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Steam removes movies and videos.

Valve has now banned over 90K Steam accounts in an apocalyptical purge that spanned over the past few days. This is all from Valve’s VAC (Valve Anti-Cheat) system. VAC is Steam’s proprietary anti-cheat system built into the majority of their first-party games and just a few third-party titles. It works by a complex process of monitoring gameplay data and banning any possibles signs of third-party tools or hack tools. It’s just like Punkbuster which is used in many popular games like the Battlefield series.

Valve’s swinging of the banhammer is nothing new. They come in waves and this time around they found over 60K players that were abusing games. SteamDB shows a data graph that depicts the huge and beautiful spike in user bans as Steam continues the cleansing process.

VAC bans are usually a one-time thing and there’s no way to restore your account back to fully active. Banned players lose a number of account privileges, such as playing on VAC servers, gifting other players, uploading content to the Steam community, voting on Workshop content, and more. They can still buy games, of course.

The biggest hit would be the loss of item trading. Games like CS: GO is one of many games where items fetch top dollar and are protected by VAC. Some items can be worth thousands of dollars. Players who were banned won’t be able to trade their items with other players. Valve will continue to ban hackers so if you have anything of value, don’t get caught or else risk getting slammed with Steam’s giant banhammer. It’s probably not worth it.

You can see some nice graphics depicting the ban here on SteamDB.

Chrome Browser getting a new UI overhaul with Google’s Material Design Theme

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Chrome Browser getting a new UI overhaul with Google's Material Design Theme 16

The Chrome Browser is getting a major UI redesign soon. New changes have already been live in the Canary build. The new version is focused on Material Desing across all its products for a similar look and feel. It’s officially dubbed the Google Material Theme after already being debuted in Android P and Gmail. Now it’s going to roll out to the Chrome Browser.

The tab and address bar are underway for some significant changes. The tab bar now shows a rectangular shape with rounded corners and tab separation is also different. If you’re using a single tab, there’s no distinct tab shape at all. The focused tab is white and the background of the tab bar is also white so it blends into one bar. If you’re using only a single tab, it makes sense.

Chrome Browser getting a new UI overhaul with Google's Material Design Theme 17

When you have multiple tabs, then the background switches to a light grey and then background tabs will get vertical pipe separators rather than their own tab.

Getting a new tab has also been replaced with a huge plus button rather the current blank, unlabeled button. On Macs, it’ll be on the left-hand side instead of the right.

The address bar is rounded now just like on Android phones. The autocomplete drop down is a rectangular box instead of a bar. A new account button for Chrome Sync is also more apparent and shows your profile picture instead of the name.

Material Design is Google’s new theme and they’re really pushing it out. It’ll roll out to Windows and Mac platforms soon after it gets into the Stable channel for release.

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

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Enter the Gungeon's free expansion Advanced Gungeons and Dragons coming July 19th 18

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

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Nintendo building more "hack-proof" Switch Consoles 19

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

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Super Indie Karts "Ultra Update" races onto Steam Early Access 20

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.

Netflix getting rid of user reviews – permanently

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Netflix getting rid of user reviews - permanently 21

User-written reviews on streaming giant Netflix will soon dissipate into thin air. Based on a report from CNET, Netflix has plans to completely remove user-generated reviews from its platform this summer. It’ll take place in a few different phases- by July 30, writing reviews for shows and movies will be halted. In August, existing reviews will be completely wiped from the servers.

Netflix stated that the reviews had “declining usage over time” and therefore have become obsolete. Therefore, they’ve decided to remove the written reviews and stick with the thumbs up/down system. It’s also been reported that they’ve notified any user who has used the feature recently.

The ability to write and read user reviews have been already limited to the desktop version of Netflix. They don’t show up in any of Netflix’s apps across any platform, but the rating system is still intact on both the desktop and apps.

Previously, they used a star rating system which was replaced with a thumbs voting system. They claim that it’s easier to use the thumb system and it’s more accurate for personal recommendations of shows and movies, which may increase user engagement. A report from Variety says that the company saw a whopping 200% increase in ratings when they switched to the thumb rating system.

Netflix has also been testing a new subscription tier in Europe. It’s called Ultra and it allows an account to watch Ultra HD content for just about $20 USD.

Confirmed: Rend leaving beta and entering early access July 31

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Confirmed: Rend leaving beta and entering early access July 31 22

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

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PS VR Shooter Firewall Zero Hour release date, pre-order specials, and formats 23

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.

Microsoft’s “Surface Phone” Andromeda Will Have Dual Screens and Hinge

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Microsoft's "Surface Phone" Andromeda Will Have Dual Screens and Hinge 24

Recent patent filings and leaked timelines from Microsoft have surfaced and it seems like they’re working on a new dual-screen phone with the codename Andromeda. APIs on the W10 preview provide some more evidence and clues to what it can do. The new “Surface Phone” will likely have two screens and be the first mass-produced phone of its kind.

WalkingCat, a Twitter user, found an API for devices that support dual screens and a hinge. Applications can check the positions of the hinge and the screens- it can be concave, convex, flat, full, or simply shut. This suggests that it’ll be a full 360-degree hinge similar to convertible laptops like the Lenovo Yoga. It’ll likely have various functions depending on the positions.

However, rumors have it that the software giant wants to have a phone similar to the Surface Pro with a brand-new form factor just the like the laptop. Andromeda’s form factor is expected to be like a smartphone with the same form factor as the Surface but on a smaller level.

Whether or not the form factor rumors are true with its hinge and dual screens, they still need to create something that’ll garner attention from the public enough o buy it. What’s the point of having two screens if you have no applications being developed for it?

Tinder beefs up security in response to “disturbing vulnerabilities”

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Tinder beefs up security in response to "disturbing vulnerabilities" 25

Tinder has beefed up security in its popular “dating” app due to a letter from Oregon Senator Ron Wyden asking for the app to fix security loopholes and other privacy and data incursions.

Match Group, which owns Tinder, has responded to Senator Wyden by documenting recent changes to the app as of June 19th. Jaren Sine of Match writes that “swipe data has been padded such that all actions are now the same size.” Other issues on Tinder were called out by a research team at Checkmarx stating that it had “disturbing vulnerabilities” and the possibility of privacy invasion and blackmail.

The vulnerabilities, found in both the app’s Android and iOS versions, allow an attacker using the same network as the user to monitor the user’s every move on the app. It is also possible for an attacker to take control over the profile pictures the user sees, swapping them for inappropriate content, rogue advertising or other type of malicious content (as demonstrated in the research).

While no credential theft and no immediate financial impact are involved in this process, an attacker targeting a vulnerable user can blackmail the victim, threatening to expose highly private information from the user’s Tinder profile and actions in the app.

In February, Wyden addressed the issue and requested Tinder to pad data to obscure it as it moves from server to app and vice versa. Tinder has hardened security in response to Sen. Wyden. Sine states in a letter to Sen. Wyden:

“Like every technology company, we are constantly working to improve our defenses in the battle against malicious hackers and cyber criminals.”

Tinder is now safer to use, but that never means full privacy. At least they’re making strides to a more protected platform.

Super Bomberman R’s newest update adds tons of craziness

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Super Bomberman R's newest update adds tons of craziness 26

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

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Sony Pictures goofs by uploading whole film instead of trailer 27

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.

ASUS ROG Smartphone – price, specs, and details

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ASUS ROG Smartphone - price, specs, and details 28

The ASUS ROG smartphone has some impressive features. If you’re a gamer and you want the most gamer-forward smartphone on the planet, the ASUS ROG is a worthy contender. We’ve scoured the web and got our hands on some of the finer specs on this phone and compiled it into one place for easy reading.

Display

The phone has glass on the front and rear. It has a black glass display that offers the phone extra protection and a nice little shimmer to it. Gaming smartphones have unconventional designs and the ROG is no exception. It has speakers on the top and bottom for surround sound and a single front camera with some photosensors.

It’s powered by a 6-inch super AMOLED touchscreen with a 1080 x 2160 pixel resolution with a 402 PPI density. It has an 18:9 aspect ration with a refresh rate of a buttery-smooth 90Hz for full gaming immersion and HDR support.

Hardware

It’s powered by the Qualcomm SDM845 Snapdragon SoC with an octa-core CPU clocked at 2.9GHz. As for the GPU, it’s loaded with the trusty and reliable Adreno 630GPU. It’ll take nano sim cards (up to two).

Dimensions and Weight

It measures 158.5 x 76.2 x 8.6mm and weighs 200g.

Operating System and Storage

Android Oreo OS is the core operating system with the ASUS ROG gaming UI. It’s been tweaked for better performance and allows an overclocked CPU with 8GB of RAM and a choice of 128GB or 512GB of onboard storage.

Camera

The phone has a standard 12MP camera in the back with an 8MP front-facing cam with a slew of features like PDAF, face detection, and dual tone dual-LED flash. IT can record 4K, 2K, and standard 1K video. The rear camera can capture 2160p video at 30FPS and the front can do 720p at 30FPS. The rear cam can also do panoramas, touch focus, geo-tagging, autofocus, and face detection. Pretty much standard now.

Battery

The battery is a 4,000mAh removable unit with a 24 hour 3G talk time. It charges 66% in 35 minutes with Quick Charge 3.0 technology. It also has dual USB Type-C ports.

Sensors/Connectivity

Digital compass, accelerometer, proximity sensor, light sensor, gyroscope, fingerprint scanner (rear), 3.5mm jack, loudspeaker, USB Type-C 3.1, USB Type-C 2.1, and face unlock.

Software

Video streaming, active noise cancellation, image/video editor, document viewer/editor, MP3/WAV/WMA/eAAC+/FLAC player, MP4, WMV/H.265, FM radio, A-GPS, GLONASS, BDS, maps.

Networking

It’ll support 2G GSM, 3G WCDMA, 4G LTE. It’ll also support GPRS, EDGE, 3G/WCDMA/HSPA, WLAN, HSPA+, WiFi hotspot, 4GLET, and NFC.

Suggested Price

The ASUS ROG smartphone will retail for approximately $780-$950 USD, though this unconfirmed at the moment. It’ll only be available in Black at the time of this writing.

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

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Nintendo and Microsoft found to be in a "lovey-dovey" relationship; Cross-play now available 29

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

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Google launches Messages for Web - text from your computer 30

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.