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Stardew Valley Won't Ship In 2013

ConcernedApe just posted on information in regard to Stardew Valley shipping this year that isn't awesome.

"I know earlier this year I estimated that the game would be done before 2014. Well… I have to say that I will probably not be able to meet that estimate anymore.

I’ve always been a little uncomfortable giving release estimates for Stardew. It’s stressful to build up hope for a specific release date, knowing that I might have to disappoint everyone by pushing it back. And i’m definitely guilty of being a little too optimistic about development timetables. Ultimately, though… I think most will agree with me that a slow-cooked, polished game is better than a rushed,... Read All ConcernedApe just posted on information in regard to Stardew Valley shipping this year that isn't awesome.

"I know earlier this year I estimated that the game would be done before 2014. Well… I have to say that I will probably not be able to meet that estimate anymore.

I’ve always been a little uncomfortable giving release estimates for Stardew. It’s stressful to build up hope for a specific release date, knowing that I might have to disappoint everyone by pushing it back. And i’m definitely guilty of being a little too optimistic about development timetables. Ultimately, though… I think most will agree with me that a slow-cooked, polished game is better than a rushed, quick release."

I agree, it's better to deliver a polished game than something rushed and buggy. This game ranks high for games I am really interested in getting my hands on. That said, there is a pretty huge amount of awesome games out right now, so I think I can find something to occupy my time until Stardew ships, hopefully in 2014 but there is no word on that right now.

ConcernedApe did talk a bit about how far along the game is, which is pretty good news.

"How complete is the game? Well, there are still a couple of features that I haven’t even begun yet… but, they all should be relatively minor in terms of development time. Other than that, there is a lot of polish and fleshing-out to be done before it’s ready. There are also some technical (i.e. not involving actual in-game content) things which I *might* need to do before release.

So, while the game is definitely “mostly done”, there are still plenty of things that need to be finished before I am comfortable releasing it. I am still working as fast as I possibly can without compromising on the quality of the game (and also while maintaining my own sanity, for those of you who saw me playing Terraria on Steam recently :p ). Thanks to all of you for being so patient, compassionate, and supportive during this process… I really do appreciate it!"

If you are interested in some new game details, ConcernedApe also shared some really interesting information about the characters you can date and possibly marry in game. So check it out, link below.

http://stardewvalley.net/dev-update-12/

Interview With Terraria Composer Scott Lloyd Shelly

One of the best parts of the recent Terraria 1.2 patch was the addition of more awesome music. Having a larger canvas of sound to accompany you while you are mining, building and slaying bosses is important. From the first time I heard the music in Terraria I was in love. Composer Scott Lloyd Shelly captures the wonder that you experience playing Terraria very well and I have wanted to talk to him about the game for some time.

Very excited to bring you our interview with the amazing Scott Lloyd Shelly. Don't hold the applause.

jdodson: The music in Terraria is incredibly iconic. From the first time I heard “Overworld Day” to hearing the new tracks from the 1.2 update,... Read All

FTL Advanced Edition Is Coming in Early 2014!

I am very excited to let you know that FTL is getting a new Advanced Edition that will drop early 2014. I heard about it today and like many of you am really excited to get my hands on the new content.

"We’ve been working hard over the summer and are excited to finally officially announce a free expansion, FTL: Advanced Edition! FTL: AE is a huge content addition that includes new weapons, drones, augments, systems, enemies, and more. Here are some details on just a few of the additions visible in the trailer:

Mind Control System: Temporarily turn enemies into allies. Force a boarder to repair the damage they just did, or have the enemy pilot sabotage their own helm.

... Read All

Blizzard working on Warcraft 1 and 2 for modern PCs

At Blizzcon, a question was posed asking if Blizzard would consider making these games work for modern PCs, and as it turns out, they're already on it!

"So, we actually have a guy on our team — actually several guys on our team — who are actually working on a side project to do something like that in some form or fashion. We're fans of Warcraft 1, Warcraft 2, Warcraft 3, and we'd love to replay those games for sure."

Good news for fans of Blizzard's older games. I personally also hope they're working on Diablo, Diablo 2, and Starcraft. All I need is a widescreen resolution, Blizz.

More: ... Read All

jdodson Admin wrote on 11/11/2013 at 04:47am

HOLY SHIT THIS IS AMAZING! I loved all those games and i'd love a port for the new Battle.net. Plus, I own them all so... Well I guess I never owned the original DOS game. But id rebuy War 1 & War 2 for sure.

Have modern ports of all classic Blizzard games NEEDS to happen!

AdamPFarnsworth wrote on 11/11/2013 at 05:55pm

That's so rad! I'd love to get an old school LAN party going of 1 or 2!

jdodson Admin wrote on 11/12/2013 at 12:53am

Hmmmmm. If memory serves the original game only supported modem or direct connect over a null modem cable.

War 2 supports the old battle net and LAN play though. Have to rustle that one up, see if it works.

AdamPFarnsworth wrote on 11/12/2013 at 01:30am

Wouldn't you think they'd make them work over LAN now?

jdodson Admin wrote on 11/12/2013 at 02:20am

The new versions are not out quite yet so if we played it have to be on the old versions. And of Warcraft 1 & 2 only 2 is LAN worthy(to my knowledge).

AdamPFarnsworth wrote on 11/12/2013 at 03:37am

If we could get 2 up and running, that would be cool, but I meant specifically after they re-release them :)

jdodson Admin wrote on 11/12/2013 at 05:56am

I see, that would work. I bet two might be playable in some form at like a 25x13 resolution.

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GOGcom Charity Bundle: Pick a Charity and 3 Games

"Do you want to make the world a slightly better place and be rewarded some games for being an awesome human being? It's simple: choose a charity you like from the three we have here (WWF, Worldbuilders, and Gaming for Good), pick out 3 games you like out of 13 offered, pay $5 or more, and we will give 100% of your donation to charity*! You can also pick more than 3 games, and your minimum donation will be raised accordingly. Want to donate more? No problem--you can set the amount manually. Don't need the games, or already have them? Select the "Gift this order" option at the checkout, and make some other gamer happy."

GOG.com is running a charity bundle featuring some... Read All

Metro: Last Light out on Linux, shipping with Steam hardware

Metro: Last Light, Deep Silver's follow-up to Metro 2033, has been released on Linux, and it's been announced that it will be included in Steam's hardware beta test to the 300 lucky people who get chosen to help take Steam Machines for a spin.

I decided to fire it up and see how it went, and I have to say, this is no sloppy port. I played about an hour in Windows and in Ubuntu 13.10, and while there are pros and cons, the Linux version outperformed the Windows version in almost every way.

I bumped up the settings of the game in each OS until I noticed framerate issues, and then compared the two at that point. Unfortunately I can't tell where that point is, and can't... Read All Metro: Last Light, Deep Silver's follow-up to Metro 2033, has been released on Linux, and it's been announced that it will be included in Steam's hardware beta test to the 300 lucky people who get chosen to help take Steam Machines for a spin.

I decided to fire it up and see how it went, and I have to say, this is no sloppy port. I played about an hour in Windows and in Ubuntu 13.10, and while there are pros and cons, the Linux version outperformed the Windows version in almost every way.

I bumped up the settings of the game in each OS until I noticed framerate issues, and then compared the two at that point. Unfortunately I can't tell where that point is, and can't give any more accurate info. More on that later.

First off, this game is beautiful. Bioshock Infinite has become my gold standard for beautiful games, but this is nearly the direct opposite of Bioshock Infinite's aesthetics. Metro: Last Light takes place after the world has essentially been nuked and everyone lives in the Metro tunnels, and the outside environment is an amazing representation of post-apocalyptia.

I bring this up because the textures are notably better at my video card's limit in the Linux version. I didn't really notice how stunning the world was in Windows because of some fuzz. Character models are about the same in both versions, and they look great either way. There's more tearing in the Windows version as well, but there were a few grainy textures that popped in randomly in an otherwise sharp world on the Linux version.

As far as controls and sound go, there's nothing different enough to notice.

The biggest complaint I have about the Linux version is the graphics settings. There's a single slider from low to high quality, and that's all you get. In the Windows version you can tweak various specific things about the settings like you'd expect. The Linux version did outperform the Windows version but I may have been able to get an even better experience in Linux with more granular control.

Overall though, I'm highly pleased with this. It's great to see big games like this getting treated well in Linux, and it gives me great hopes for what we'll see once Steam Machines get established a bit in the market.

http://www.pcgamer.com/2013/11/09/metro-last-light-will-come-bundled-with-steam-machine-prototypes/

Hearthstone going open beta next month

Blizzard's TCG, Hearthstone, has been in closed beta for a few months now, but good news for everyone who has been missing out: It's going to be in open beta starting some time next month. Rob Pardo did warn that this means it could be January in "Blizzard speak."

http://www.ign.com/articles/2013/11/08/hearthstone-entering-open-beta-next-month?abthid=527d726df58b64d613000010

In addition, Hearthstone for iOS and Android has been confirmed. I think the game would be a great fit for mobile, and I'm looking forward to trying it out.

http://www.polygon.com/2013/11/8/5081278/hearthstone-heroes-of-warcraft-blizzcon-2013

jdodson Admin wrote on 11/09/2013 at 08:35pm

This is good news, id like more people on the site to try it out and love to hear what they think of it.

rettisawesome wrote on 11/11/2013 at 07:59pm

I've been following this pretty closely. And while I'm not a fan of blizzard. I think this a good idea. I'd like to see it succeed. I hope it does it's best to steer away from pay-to-win though. Been hearing a lot about that lately.

jdodson Admin wrote on 11/11/2013 at 10:56pm

Yeah, its a free to play game and I don't see the really heavy handed play to win. That said, you can totally pay to get a ton of cards which will give you a pretty large advantage over others.

So really no different than Magic The Gathering except you can't just play and get Magic cards for free. :D

rettisawesome wrote on 11/11/2013 at 11:21pm

If you are good at magic, you can develop a self sustaining hobby. Buying and selling with the trends. and getting involved in events. You can earn tons of free cards and packs. I know several people who compete and never spend a dime. Other than entry fees for tournies.

But for real. Totally similar. Also i like (even though i hate wow) that they really rooted it well in there.

I tried to get in to the closed beta. But couldn't. Looking forward to it now being open

jdodson Admin wrote on 11/12/2013 at 12:51am

Huh wow, yeah so I have't known about that aspect to Magic. I am for sure not one of those people and just pay for cards. Pay to win as it were, but I am not very effective because I don't often win :D

Open beta will be great for the game.

Travis Admin Post Author wrote on 11/12/2013 at 02:49am

Paying for individual cards always felt like cheating to me. A major part of the appeal to MTG is opening a pack of cards and seeing what you get. Buying individual cards to build a winning deck isn't at all fun.

Although I did consider selling my foil Tarmogoyf when that was the card to have four of in every green deck.

JaBo wrote on 11/15/2013 at 09:44pm

Tarmogoyf still sees tons of play and has high value. What I like about Magic is the different event styles. Tomorrow I'm playing in a tournament that everyone shows up (pay $40) and gets 6 packs of cards to open and build a deck out of. There are others similar to that like drafting and then there's the constructed where you use your own cards. In that case you do need to have spent a good amount of money on them to have the ones you want for your deck. But it all depends on the seriousness of the event. If you're playing a free FNM event, who cares, play with your cards and try to win more, if it's a big event though, you have to make sure you have the cards you want or need for your deck or it's inferior to what it could be and ultimately someone else will have everything they need and beat you.

jdodson Admin wrote on 11/17/2013 at 06:38pm

Sealed deck tournaments are fun. Last Magic event I went to that was sealed deck, I got my ass kicked hard. It was fun, but yeah you know... apparently many "arm chair" magic players don't do sealed deck tournies :D

JaBo wrote on 11/25/2013 at 05:51pm

I played this (Hearthstone) all day Saturday and Sunday, it's really fun! Quick matches which lots of options and growth. There's 9 different classes with different class specific cards to choose from plus the general pool. 30 card decks - 30 life. Each class has a different special ability that's always available for 2 cost. Your mana builds up 1 a turn.

Anyways, if you are on there and want to add me, my email is [email protected]

My name on there is Nardraug, but you also need the numbers after it to add that way...weird.

jdodson Admin wrote on 11/25/2013 at 06:36pm

Awesome, I just added you in game. If I see you, lets play.

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Updates to the console and mobile versions of Terraria

505 Games dropped some info on the official Terraria forums yesterday.

First off, the mobile versions of Terraria now have multiplayer over Wifi, along with a few bug fixes.

Secondly, the console versions of Terraria have been updated with a few items from the 1.2 update, as a teaser for the full update which will be coming to consoles early next year.

I'd personally love to see Ocram show up in the PC version. I've played the Terraria demo on PS3 and, while it was a perfectly serviceable port, I much prefer the PC version and would love for everything to reach full parity in terms of items and enemies.

More details here: ... Read All

First Heroes of the Storm gameplay footage, beta signup

Blizzard has released some gameplay footage of their new MOBA, Heroes of the Storm. This game is basically "Blizzard: The Game" as it has characters from all their franchises.

This is early footage but the gameplay in this video seems far easier to keep track of than most MOBA's.

If you're interested in getting into the beta when they start it, sign into your battle.net profile, go to account management, and then click "beta profile settings." This will be one of the games you can choose.

Wasteland 2 nears beta, original submitted to Steam, GOG

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/7/72/Wasteland_screenshot.jpg

inXile has updated their Kickstarter page with some info about the beta of Wasteland 2, coming soon.

In addition, the rerelease of the original Wasteland has been submitted to Steam and GOG for approval. I've never played this game at all and I feel like I'm missing a huge chunk of video game history. Wasteland was developed by Interplay and was the basis for another game series you may have heard of: Fallout.

The full post from inXile can be found on their Kickstarter page: http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/inxile/wasteland-2/posts