Travis | Cheerful Ghost

Quake Live is going downloadable, dropping Mac/Linux

Today in the good news/bad news department...

Good news: Quake Live is finally getting out of your browser and into a downloadable game. Even though it always worked fine, having to go to the site to launch always seemed odd and added a few steps.

Bad news: As part of the transition, they're dropping support for Mac and Linux. The browser plugin they previously used was cross-platform so they didn't have to maintain three versions of the game, but rather than putting a little more effort in to support everyone, they're skipping Mac and Linux.

This is disappointing, because id used to be the one company you could count on to release Linux versions. It may require an extra download but they always worked flawlessly. This comes after id's last big game, RAGE, never received the Linux port that fans were expecting.

http://www.quakelive.com/#!news/site_news/34313

Burial at Sea episode 1 will release on Nov 12

Return to Rapture with Booker and Elizabeth on November 12 with the first installment of the Burial at Sea DLC.

To recap for those who aren't familiar, this DLC takes the main characters of Bioshock: Infinite to Rapture, before it fell into chaos.

If you have the season pass, then you're done-- just download the update when it's released and start playing. Otherwise, it'll set you back $15, as will the second episode. If you're fairly confident you'll want to play both, the season pass is $20, so more bang for your buck!

Reaper of Souls: The Mystic

http://bnetcmsus-a.akamaihd.net/cms/blog_header/G39B5ZYAJR941382581328708.jpg

Blizzard showed off some early details about the Mystic, a new(ish) NPC coming to Diablo III when Reaper of Souls releases. I say "ish" because she was planned for the initial release but was cut before the beta.

The Mystic re-enchants weapons and armor. The basic idea is this: you have an awesome sword for your Barbarian but it has a useless Intelligence roll on it. You can take it to the mystic, pick that roll, and she'll re-roll it to something else. Now, it wouldn't be Diablo if you could pick that roll, there has to be some chance thrown in. So of course, the re-roll may be worse than what you started with, and in this case you can choose to stick with the original properties. You still have to pay, though!

After enchanting an item, it's bound to your account, and while you can keep re-rolling that one attribute, the others are stuck in place. So choose wisely!

This looks like it will make for an interesting new mechanic. I've had quite a few items that were really nice but still worse than what I had because of one bad roll. Now I can change that!

Full details on the Diablo blog: http://us.battle.net/d3/en/blog/11337855/reaper-of-souls-first-look-the-mystic-10-24-2013

Path of Exile released!

The Action RPG Path of Exile released on Steam today, and you can play it for free!

Many people compare this favorably to Diablo 3, saying it's the sequel Diablo 2 deserved. Others think it's clunky and awkward. But for $0.00 you can bet I'll be trying it out. I love the aRPG genre and any new contender is welcome.

http://store.steampowered.com/app/238960

PS4 Controller will work on PC for "basic functions"

This comes as good news. Shuhei Yoshida confirms the PS4 controller will work on PC for what he calls "basic functions." I assume this means the touchscreen won't work but things we're used to on controllers (like the buttons and sticks) will work.

No word yet on how this will appear to the OS, whether it will use Xinput, etc, but it's good to know there's some compatibility there. The PS3 controller doesn't work out of the box, and requires third-party software to use on PC.

The conversation about the controller compatibility can be found here: https://twitter.com/yosp/status/386257948487340032

The Funniest Switching-to-Trevor moments

This isn't something I'd normally share as a front-page post, as it's just a clip compilation, but I think this one actually says something that's worth saying, and really shows a change in philosophy between games.

One of the many complaints people had with GTA IV was its darker, more serious tone. The series has been known for its over-the-top carnage and sandbox mayhem, but GTA IV toned that down to support the story.

GTA V changes that. It isn't quite what you saw in San Andreas (personally, I think that's a good thing) but the mayhem is center stage yet again. And that's especially present in one of the three protagonists, Trevor.

A little background-- you play as three different characters in GTA V, and when you switch between them, they aren't just sitting at home waiting for you to control them. They're living their lives, doing whatever they would do. Franklin is frequently hanging with friends, or walking his dog, Chop. Michael might be on a bench outside his therapist's office, or sitting at home drinking scotch on the couch. Trevor... well, just see for yourself. Trevor is the game's id, the character where chaos really shines, and moments like this make that all the more apparent.

A new Fact from Myth episode for Burial At Sea DLC

I loved these videos when Bioshock Infinite was nearing release. It really helped get my interest piqued, though it was already piqued to the peak (see what I did there?)

This Fact from Myth follows the rumors of the mythical city of Rapture, where we'll be going again for the Burial At Sea DLC. This video didn't grab me as much as the first ones, but then I already know what Rapture is like, and I already know that Booker and Elizabeth will be going there. Still, it's a nice little tease for the DLC that should be out this holiday season.

No Half-Life 3 trademark after all

So you might remember my post from a few days ago about the Half-Life 3 trademark that had been filed. As it turns out, it was probably just a hoax. A believable one, but a hoax nonetheless.

The listing has been removed from the European trademark database. Nothing to see here, move along...

It just shows that you can't believe everything you read, even when it looks quite believable. Ah well, I still hold out some hope that we'll see this come sooner rather than later.

Valve shares Steam Machine prototype details

Valve is giving us a peek at what 300 lucky individuals will get their hands on during the Steam hardware beta. They're going for a balance of power, quietness, and not looking like a behemoth under your TV. The beta machines give a range of quality in CPU and GPU, but look at the RAM/Hard Drive space. That's quite nice. No pictures of the beta hardware yet, but they will share that soon.

Without further ado, the specs:

The 300 prototype units will ship with the following components:
GPU: some units with NVidia Titan, some GTX780, some GTX760, and some GTX660
CPU: some boxes with Intel i7-4770, some i5-4570, and some i3
RAM: 16GB DDR3-1600 (CPU), 3GB GDDR5 (GPU)
Storage: 1TB/8GB Hybrid SSHD
Power Supply: Internal 450w 80Plus Gold
Dimensions: approx. 12 x 12.4 x 2.9 in high

Valve has also promised to provide the enclosure specs as a CAD file for people to tweak and 3D-print to their heart's content.

Check out the full post here: http://steamcommunity.com/groups/steamuniverse#announcements/detail/2145128928746175450

Wizardry 6+7+8 Giveaway Winners!

The Wizardry giveaway is over, and we have ten lucky winners getting a copy of these awesome games! Winners are listed below. If you see your name on this list, check your private messages on the site-- you should have a key waiting for you.

Congrats to:

Hardeyez

wartinald

Jung_MY

Gleikara

gaidalcain85

Docwe_Weirdocz

Nhor

Marko_Krivokapic

Zabaton5

This contest was made possible by Night Dive Studios who made these games available on Steam. Be sure to give them some love:

https://www.facebook.com/NightDiveStudios
https://twitter.com/NightDiveStudio

Travis4

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