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E3 2016 Monday Roundup - Microsoft's Announcements

Microsoft, as always, had quite a bit to say. Here's the gist!

Xbox Hardware and Xbox Live

Xbox One S: A slimmer version of the Xbox One, launching in August for $300.

Project Scorpio: A totally new console from Microsoft, coming in 2017. It's capable of 4K gaming. Microsoft says this is the first step toward their plans for incremental console upgrades. New consoles will be able to play older games, older consoles will be able to play new games, but at lower quality.

Custom controllers: Microsoft is launching a Design-your-own controller service, with 8 million possible combinations.

Xbox Play Anywhere: A program that lets you buy a game once and play it on Xbox... Read All

Microsoft, as always, had quite a bit to say. Here's the gist!

Xbox Hardware and Xbox Live

Xbox One S: A slimmer version of the Xbox One, launching in August for $300.

Project Scorpio: A totally new console from Microsoft, coming in 2017. It's capable of 4K gaming. Microsoft says this is the first step toward their plans for incremental console upgrades. New consoles will be able to play older games, older consoles will be able to play new games, but at lower quality.

Custom controllers: Microsoft is launching a Design-your-own controller service, with 8 million possible combinations.

Xbox Play Anywhere: A program that lets you buy a game once and play it on Xbox One or PC, with synced saves and achievements..

Xbox Live Multiplayer: Three new multiplayer features were announced. Clubs, connecting people with similar interests (like Steam groups); Looking for Group, which lets you seek out multiplayer buddies for games; and Arena, a new tournament platform that lets people compete across the world.

Game Presentations
It's important to keep in mind in these early announcements that many games that say "coming to Xbox One" may also hit the PS4. They just won't tell you that at the Microsoft conference. One thing I love, though, is how many of these say "and PC." Though it may require buying them from the Windows Store :/

Gears of War 4: Horde Mode is coming to GoW4, and the campaign will be a return to the classic style.

Sea of Thieves: Rare's new pirate game has a new trailer, and it looks Swashbuckling.

Scalebound: Platinum Games title that involves killing dragons? Sign me up! With co-op to go dragon slaying with friends.

Recore: Launching in September on Xbox One and PC, this Keiji Inafune title is a robot action adventure game with some intense platforming and a lot of charm.

Final Fantasy XV: It's still weird to see Final Fantasy on the Microsoft stage. A demo was shown, and it looks pretty incredible. The battle system seems far more action-oriented than previous games, but that's not necessarily a bad thing. The series can't keep doing standard turn-based ATB battles and stay relevant.

Dead Rising 4: Coming holiday 2016, and set during Christmas.

Forza Horizon 3: Absolutely beautiful, as all the Forza games have been. This seems to really be pushing the tech. This supports cross play between Xbox One and PC.

Halo Wars 2: Coming February 21, 2017. It looks a lot like Starcraft in the Halo universe, and that's about the best compliment I could give a sci-fi RTS. There's a beta out today on Xbox One.

Gwent: If you played The Witcher 3, you probably played the in-game card game, Gwent. It's getting a standalone release for Xbox One and PC.

State of Decay 2: Coming in 2017 for Xbox One and PC.

Minecraft Realms: A multiplayer cross-play powered Minecraft, that lets you play on Xbox One, Windows, and mobile platforms, as well as Gear VR. It also has dedicated servers, which is a biggie for the Microsoft versions of Minecraft.

Limbo: Currently free for a limited time.

Inside: Coming in June for Xbox One and July for PC. A new title from Playdead, the developers of Limbo. It looks kinda dark and twisted and amazing.

The Division: Underground DLC coming this month, first to Xbox One. Stupid timed exclusives.

Tekken 7: Coming to Xbox One and PC in early 2017.

Phew, that's a lot.

Gamespot has the first roundup that I've seen, if you want to read more:
http://www.gamespot.com/articles/all-the-news-from-microsofts-e3-2016-press-confere/1100-6440223/

Our Hearts Are Heavy Today

By now I’m sure you’ve all heard about the tragic shooting in Orlando yesterday. It’s the largest mass shooting in US history. Such a senseless act of violence caused by fear and lack of understanding. Our thoughts are with the victims’ families and friends today.

To those who lost someone in this attack, please know you are not alone. We can’t imagine what you’re going through right now, but we’re mourning with you.

This event will become politicized (and that’s already started), but that’s not what this post is about, and we ask you not to do so in the comments. There are political ramifications and those need to be discussed, but not now. For now, we mourn this... Read All

E3 2016 Sunday Roundup - Bethesda's Announcements

Bethesda's second E3 conference wasn't quite as eventful as its first, but it was close.

Wolfenstein: New Colossus? maybe: Before the footage even started, a DOS style directory was shown with an entry called New_Colossus, which is a poem that B.J. quotes in Wolfenstein: The New Order. Is this a tease for a new game or just a tease?
http://www.pcgamer.com/a-new-wolfenstein-was-teased-at-bethesdas-be3-show/

Quake Champions: Quake is back! As of right now it looks like a "continuation", so to speak, of Quake III Arena. It's a classic style arena shooter, but it looks like classes are coming to it which could work well for the game if it's balanced properly. I'm really... Read All

scrypt Supporter wrote on 06/13/2016 at 03:44pm

Skyrim: SE, Prey, and Dishonored 2. Arkane is killing it this year, and I can not wait to play their games. I'm glad that Prey seems to be a reboot than a sequel; maybe more of a spiritual successor. Arkane has a beautiful talent for melding rich story with fluid action mechanics that are really fun to execute. If they can distinguish Prey as a unique experience...they'll be my new favorite studio (besides Hello Games) :).

Travis Admin Post Author wrote on 06/13/2016 at 05:01pm

Wait is Arkane doing the Skyrim: SE port?

scrypt Supporter wrote on 06/13/2016 at 05:06pm

No, that was misleading on my part. I should have broken that up. I'm excited about those three announcements, but specifically with what Arkane is doing with their games. Sorry!

Travis Admin Post Author wrote on 06/13/2016 at 05:14pm

Aha, gotcha.

Yeah seriously, Arkane has some of the most exciting stuff so far for me as well. I still need to finish Dishonored.

jdodson Admin wrote on 06/15/2016 at 05:04am

Fallout Shelyer on PC and with Quests looks great. I wonder if it will be free on PC too?

Skyrim SE looks just like what everyone wants. Bring it in to new players that haven't tried it before. I wonder if the old mods will work on it? The trailer seem to suggest so.

New Quake is interesting, I loved Quake 3 Arena. I wonder if this will be F2P?

jdodson Admin wrote on 06/15/2016 at 05:52am

Dishonored 2 looks incredible. I like how it picks up after the first in such a seamless way.

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E3 2016 Sunday Roundup - EA's Announcements

E3 2016 is underway, and EA started things off yesterday in their own event called EA Play. There are some biggies here.

Titanfall 2: The sequel to Titanfall will be out October 28, and this time there's a single-player mode!

Fifa 17: The world's most popular sports game is getting some love. There's a storyline that you can progress on and off the football pitch. You play as Alex Hunter, a new English Premier League player trying to make a name for himself.

Mass Effect: Andromeda: This is what I was most interested in. Information was still a bit sparse. The Mako is back, and it at least appears to handle better. But what I got out of it the most: This game is gorgeous!... Read All

Bethesda E3 2016 Announcements

Confirming rumors, Bethesda has just announced Skyrim: Special Edition, coming to PC, PS4, and XBox One on October 28th. The game has received a superior visual upgrade. Console versions SE will also be able to use PC mods.

http://www.gamespot.com/articles/skyrim-remaster-announced-for-ps4-xbox-one-pc/1100-6440731/

Bethesda also announced updates to Fallout Shelter, which includes a PC version coming soon.

Fallout 4 is also receiving some new DLC. Next week, the Contraptions Workshop will allow players to build various things such as elevators, armor racks, weapon racks, sorting machines, and more! In July, the Vault-Tech Workshop will allow players to build Vaults. It... Read All

scrypt Supporter wrote on 06/13/2016 at 03:56am

That Skyrim Special Edition looks amazing. Hopefully it works very smoothly on PS4 :).

Azurephile Super Member Post Author wrote on 06/13/2016 at 03:59am

Yeah. I was hoping for a Morrowind remaster, or maybe Oblivion. Still, the new Skyrim looks great, I just hope they've resolved many (if not all) of the bugs I encountered, which mostly had to do with the game's physics.

Travis Admin wrote on 06/13/2016 at 02:56pm

Huh. I refreshed the page this morning (at least I thought I did) and this didn't show up. I've also posted a Bethesda roundup with everything they talked about.

Yours has other sources, mine has more info-- I think they can both stay :D

Travis Admin wrote on 06/13/2016 at 02:57pm

Also @scrypt: How's your PC? You will get the special edition free on PC since you already own it.

scrypt Supporter wrote on 06/13/2016 at 03:47pm

I didn't realize that (I must have tuned that out while my brain was preoccupied with shiny graphics updates). I don't know if my PC can handle the SE, but if so, that's a much better (cheaper) route :).

AdamPFarnsworth wrote on 06/13/2016 at 03:56pm

The SE is comping on computers for free? Holy crap, I can't wait to see it! (I hope my computer can handle it... and it might be time to start playing my PC on my TV...

Travis Admin wrote on 06/13/2016 at 04:55pm

Yeah if you already own it and all the DLC, it's free on PC: http://cheerfulghost.com/Travis/posts/3002/e3-2016-sunday-roundup-bethesda-s-announcements

scrypt Supporter wrote on 06/13/2016 at 05:08pm

I don't think I own all the DLC. Steam sale!

scrypt Supporter wrote on 06/13/2016 at 05:11pm

I actually own NONE of the DLC! Where are my priorities??

Travis Admin wrote on 06/13/2016 at 05:14pm

Yeah come on scrypt, get it together!

Azurephile Super Member Post Author wrote on 06/13/2016 at 07:03pm

You know what they say about "great minds," Travis. :) I like your post better, you made use of some formatting, which I didn't even think about. Thanks for letting us know that SE is going to be free for those of us who already own Skyrim and all it's DLC.

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New Images and Details Emerge About Batman: The Telltale Series

A new Telltale adventure series is coming this summer, all about everyone's favorite billionaire vigilante.

Details are sparse at the moment, but more should come out of E3.

From the press release:
We've been hard at work at Telltale creating an all-new iteration of the iconic Batman story that puts players in the suit of billionaire Bruce Wayne, just as much as it will put them behind the mask, deciding how to carefully navigate a complex drama, rich with action, crime, corruption, and villainy lurking around every corner of Gotham City. The complex life and fractured psyche of Bruce Wayne has lent itself to becoming a bold evolution of the signature 'Telltale'... Read All

Fallout 4 Far Harbor? More Like Fog Harbor!

Azurephile gives this a solid "Rad" on the Ghost Scale

This is fun, with very few issues, and is well worth your time.

Azurephile gives this a "Rad" on the Ghost Scale

This is fun, with very few issues, and is well worth your time.

Review

Recommended

Bring Nick and plenty of Rad protection

New creatures, characters, items, and places to explore

Some bugs and issues

Far Harbor is the latest Fallout 4 DLC, which was released on May 19th. Expectations for Far Harbor were pretty large, from what little I read about it. Bethesda teased that it was one of the largest DLC expansions for a game in a while. Considering how quickly I went through Automatron, I was looking forward to playing a larger Fallout 4 DLC.

If you're familiar with major DLC in Fallout games, you'll recognize that Far Harbor takes place in an area outside of the main map. For this one, you need to get a boat to travel, which is... Read All

Skyrim, Played With a Potato. Yes, You Heard That Right.

Potatoes are naturally capacitive, so the obvious thing to do is play games with them right?

In addition to the video, the team behind this starchy technology has made a guide you can follow if you want your own potato-based game controls.
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=698356056

This isn't the first time potatoes have been used like this. There are many guides online for making potatoes do all kinds of techy things, like this tutorial for controlling a Raspberry Pi with them:
https://arghbox.wordpress.com/2013/08/12/capacitive-touch-potatoes-on-the-raspberry-pi/

What a time to be alive!

Azurephile Super Member wrote on 06/11/2016 at 08:29am

It's odd, I've seen (read) or have heard of people saying that they were playing a game on a potato, maybe it was "with" instead of "on." It was my presumed understanding that they were just calling their PC that in a way to say that their PC wasn't up to par.

However, speaking of Skyrim, there's a piece of relevant news I wish to share (see the link below). The most notable piece of news is the second sentence in the link below which states: "We'll likely see Dishonored 2 alongside new Fallout 4 and Doom DLC, but there have also been rumors that the publisher will announce a Skyrim remaster and Wolfenstein 2."

Personally, I don't understand why or how Skyrim will be "remastered." I thought it was already in HD. I know it has some bugs, especially ones involving physics that I've seen for myself. I really enjoyed playing Skyrim at least once on the PS3 and once via Steam. My son also likes to play Skyrim on the PS3. However, I find it hard to imagine Skyrim being remastered. Instead, I want to see Morrowind remastered. That one makes much more sense to me since that game is definitely not in HD or even as graphically intense as Skyrim. I'd also like to see them remaster Oblivion, only because I love that game so much that I think I like it more than Skyrim. Still, I can't imagine an Oblivion or Skyrim remaster since I thought they were just fine. The only reason I can see for remastering Skyrim is due to it's popularity and wanting to cash in on that again.

Let me know what you think about this "rumor." I'm looking forward to Bethesda's E3 conference!

http://www.gamespot.com/articles/bethesdas-e3-conference-will-feature-a-blink-182-c/1100-6440581/

Travis Admin Post Author wrote on 06/11/2016 at 02:06pm

"It's odd, I've seen (read) or have heard of people saying that they were playing a game on a potato, maybe it was "with" instead of "on." It was my presumed understanding that they were just calling their PC that in a way to say that their PC wasn't up to par. "

No you were right.

"Personally, I don't understand why or how Skyrim will be "remastered." I thought it was already in HD."

Quake is in HD if you turn the resolution up high enough. :D

A ton of last gen games have been remastered for this gen (Arkham, Borderlands, COD4). New engines, new lighting, new shadows, and more detailed textures.

I'm with you though. Oblivion or Morrowind would make more sense. BUT it would require more work. The thing with Skyrim is that they can port it to the Fallout 4 engine (they started Fallout 4 development by porting Skyrim to current-gen internally with no plans of a release) and just beef up the textures. It targets the console players who trade in last-gen's consoles for current-gen and want to replay it.

Doing something like Morrowind or Oblivion would require more of an overhaul to make it look modern. As much as I love Oblivion the character models haven't aged well.

Damn, now I want to start another game of Oblivion.

scrypt Supporter wrote on 06/11/2016 at 02:08pm

If they were playing Portal 2, I'd be impressed ;). Missed opportunity!

Travis Admin Post Author wrote on 06/11/2016 at 02:31pm

I said the same thing to Katie! The potato jokes beg for this!

Azurephile Super Member wrote on 06/11/2016 at 05:04pm

Thanks for confirming my presumption. Thanks also for making that rumor make sense. I just thought of HD as high quality, not simply high resolution. I understand your reasoning behind why Skyrim and not the others.

Oh and yes, I feel like playing Oblivion again, too. I also kind of feel like playing New Vegas again, too, since I'm playing Fallout 4.

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Doom's Multiplayer is Getting Some Love

Fans have been loving Doom, and with good reason. It's a super fun campaign full of all the mayhem and secret rooms you'd expect from the franchise. But it hasn't all been rosy: most reviews of the game are glowing, but mention the lackluster multiplayer.

Currently there's no way to have a private game with friends, no custom matches, no bots. These are not the only issues with the multiplayer in Doom, but these are on id's radar to fix.

In an interview with Eurogamer, id's Marty Stratton outlines the changes coming. Private matches and custom game settings are coming later in the summer in a free update, but bots will take a bit longer to roll out.

Read the full details... Read All

Azurephile Super Member wrote on 06/10/2016 at 09:16pm

I read about that last night. I'm hoping for some co-op capability. I may try playing against some bots sometime.

Here's an update about today's update: http://www.gamespot.com/articles/doom-multiplayer-update-makes-weapon-balance-chang/1100-6440651/

Travis Admin Post Author wrote on 06/10/2016 at 10:15pm

I REALLY hope they made the rocket launcher feel less like throwing noodles at people.

Azurephile Super Member wrote on 06/10/2016 at 10:34pm

I used it a bit, but not as much as in other similar games. That's kind of a surprise to me. It didn't seem as powerful. I want them to leave my Super Shotgun alone, that is my weapon of choice, I love it!

Travis Admin Post Author wrote on 06/11/2016 at 03:31am

I mean in Multiplayer. The rocket launcher is fine in single player, mostly. I at least understand their balancing for it. But in multiplayer it seems super weak.

I heard they bumped it from a max of 50 to 60 damage so that's nice.

Azurephile Super Member wrote on 12/08/2016 at 05:41am

If I had known that all of the DLC was going to be for the multiplayer game, I wouldn't have bought the season pass. I may be incorrect and there may actually be something that's for the single player game that I've missed (other than Snap Map), so feel free to enlighten me if that's the case. Otherwise, while this game is fantastic, it is the only one with a season pass that I regret paying for. Maybe that will change and some day I'll get into the multiplayer game, but I pretty much don't have any interest in that.

jdodson Admin wrote on 12/08/2016 at 06:34am

> If I had known that all of the DLC was going to be for the multiplayer game, I wouldn't have bought the season pass. I may be incorrect and there may actually be something that's for the single player game that I've missed (other than Snap Map), so feel free to enlighten me if that's the case.

So far all of the paid DLC is multiplayer only and they've released a bunch of free stuff for single player and snapmap as well as multiplayer. In fact a pretty big free update today even:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nOjbvzR7KkI

Multiplayer looks interesting now that it has bots, I kind of like to try it out with bots and if that's good move to playing with real people. But mostly I like playing shooters with friends online.

Azurephile Super Member wrote on 12/08/2016 at 07:28am

Yeah, that DLC is what sparked my comment. I was reading the game's News section to see what this new update was about and I read, "as for paid DLC, the final pack is launching on December 15, and will introduce three new multiplayer maps, as well as a playable Spectre Pinky demon."

I don't like to play shooters with friends, but that's something that could perhaps change. I like co-op play. I don't like competition, I never have. I don't have much self-confidence to go head-to-head against someone one and I usually don't find that style of game play to be very fun. Playing against bots might be more fun, especially in a co-op game.

On the other hand, I love playing Terraria with my fellow Cheerful Ghosts.

jdodson Admin wrote on 12/09/2016 at 04:26am

I agree that playing co-op is generally more fun that competitive play.

I read an article somewhere that noted that in this update of Doom they released the games DRM scheme. Not something they advertised but apparently the game was cracked some time ago and they removed it in this patch. No word from iD Software on why maybe after it won GOTY they figured it was time.

Travis Admin Post Author wrote on 12/09/2016 at 04:44am

The prevailing theory is that Denuovo has a three-month guarantee and if your game gets cracked within that three-month period, you can get your money back BUT you have to remove it from your game.

This is supported with evidence. The games that haven't been cracked within three months haven't removed it, but many games that have been cracked within that three months DO remove it. And it seems if it gets cracked in the fourth month it doesn't have an effect on its eventual removal either.

It makes a lot of sense that they would have that kind of deal and would explain why Doom no longer has it.

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System Shock 2 Is Free On GOG Right Now

If you head over to GOG and download GOG Galaxy, the new GOG Desktop client they will give you a free copy of the PC classic System Shock 2. If you are interested you will want to check this out now as it won't last for much longer.

GOG is also running their yearly Summer Sale and have some fun quests you can complete to earn free games such as Splunky, Gabriel Knight and Dreamfall Chapters.

So much free and so little time...

https://www.gog.com/galaxy
https://www.gog.com/summer_xp