Thunderbolt motherboards on their way
Just 15 months after the technology first appeared in a commercial form, ASUS and MSI have finally announced the first PC motherboards that will ship with built in Thunderbolt ports.
Thunderbolt, if you’re aware of it all, may sound like a tedious hard drive technology, but it’s got an enormous amount of potential for PC gaming. With these two boards, we may finally be in the era of the modular PC – which doesn’t have to be opened up for upgrades.
It means, potentially, external hard drives that are as quick as internal SSDs and plug in graphics cards that really work. Much as I like to tinker inside my PC’s case, this is big.
Diablo 3 update nerfs Monk, Wizard, Demon Hunter
Blizzard are in the process of making their first round of hotfixes for Diablo 3. Monks who rely on the Mantra of Healing with a Boon of Protection rune, prepare to be sad. A post spotted by Videogamer on the Diablo 3 forums from community manager Bashiok says that the skill has been severely nerfed. “We recommend discontinuing its use until the rune is replaced with a new rune and mechanic in a future patch.”
“The Boon of Protection rune was approximately ten times over its budget on the benefits it provided, and it was quite simply a mistake on our part to let the rune ship as it was,” he added. “We don’t intend to take these quick and drastic measures often, but considering the severity of the issue, we felt it important to correct it swiftly.”
Torchlight 2 beta ends tomorrow
A post on the Torchlight 2 website has confirmed that the beta will be ending tomorrow. “The reaction from everyone has been really gratifying”, say the developers. “We’re on the right path! Now it’s time to incorporate the bulk of that feedback as we get back to finishing the game as a whole.”
DayZ patch 1.5.8 adds sickness, temperature, “might cause havoc”
A major update for zombie apocalypse Arma II mod DayZ has launched, adding temperature and sickness systems and an array of under-the-hood updates and fixtures.
It’s now possible to become ill, which will cause your blood to slowly deplete until you take antibiotics – which are purposefully scarce. It’s not like bleeding in that you can’t die of it, but expect players to murder each other for precious medicine. As the developers put it in the patch notes: “it is the genesis of an idea, so please remember this might cause havoc.”
World of Warplanes closed beta taking flight on May 31
World of Warplanes is moving from “global alpha” to “closed beta” on May 31. According to a post on the official site, that means loads more people will be able to divebomb in and help wargaming.net test their free to play dogfighting sim. They say that 600,000 have applied so far, but you can still sign up for a chance to grab a space in the cockpit on the signing up on the World of Warplanes site. You’ll get to fly a number of different airborne classes, including fighter/bombers and ground attack planes like the ones shown in the trailer above. If it’s anywhere near as good as World of Tanks, this could be awesome.
Far Cry 2 and Dreamfall: The Longest Journey arrive on Good Old Games
Dreamfall: The Longest Journey and Far Cry 2 have more in common than you might think. They’re both cult games, and they’re both capable of inspiring lengthy, loving tirades from their devotees. If you’ve never played them, you can now pick them up DRM-free from Good Old Games. Far Cry 2 Fortune’s Edition – which includes extra weapons and vehicles – is available for $9.99, and Dreamfall: The Longest Journey is $14.99.
XCOM shooter delayed again
2K Marin’s oft-delayed XCOM shooter has retreated further into the mists of time, and is now divined to arrive sometime “during fiscal year 2014.” Blue’s News gleaned this blue news from Take Two’s fourth quarter financial results, which also revealed a drop in profits, as expected. GTA V will fix that soon enough.
The XCOM shooter has had an outwardly troubled development process so far. Last summer, narrative director Jordan Thomas announced that the team had gone back to the drawing board and made some “aggressive design changes” to bring their shooter closer to the X-Com strategy games of old. “Candidly, it just wasn’t “XCOM” enough for the hardcore fans of the original games at 2K Marin, who serve as our creative conscience,” he wrote.
Layoffs hit Star Wars: The Old Republic
Bioware have announced that they’re shrinking the Austin studio responsible for developing The Old Republic. An update on the TOR site says that members of the development team are being let go entirely or moved onto other projects within EA. “We are bidding farewell to some talented, passionate and exceptionally hard-working people who helped make SWTOR a reality,” says Bioware co-founder, Greg Zeschuk.
Free-to-play MMO Marvel Heroes gets first trailer
Gazillion Entertainment has released the first gameplay trailer and details for Marvel Heroes, its upcoming free-to-play superhero MMO. It seems we’ll be fighting our way through the streets as the likes of Spider-Man, Wolverine, and Thor in a Diablo-style isometric beat ‘em up. Unsurprising given that the dev’s president, David Brevik, is a veteran of Blizzard North, the studio responsible for Diablo and Diablo II.
The Walking Dead interview discusses design, what got cut: “There was a solid six hours where the mob was chasing you”
The Walking Dead won us over. It’s still a little wild to me that Telltale manged to make a compact, interaction-light game as emotionally affecting as it was.
Above, Sean Vanaman, Episode 1′s writer, and Jake Rodkin, Game Designer and UI Designer, reflect on their design decisions with Machinima and speak about player feedback, Episode 2, the non-existence of “good” choices, and the value of emotional baggage. Episode 1 spoilers abound, of course.
The Old Republic 1.3 “Allies” update adding Group Finder, server transfers, and more
One of the most noticeably absent features in The Old Republic is a proper group finding tool. The Force may be with us, but no one else is, and that makes us sad Jedi. We knew a better solution was coming, and in a new trailer detailing the contents of the 1.3 “Allies” update, Game Director James Ohlen claims that the new Group Finder tool will reduce grouping time to “just a few minutes.” No more lonely Knights!
Red Orchestra 2 free content pack adding “Action” and “Classic” modes, new map, laundry list of improvements
“One of the things we learned from the fans after the release was that many of them thought the game was too hardcore, not hardcore enough, or just not enough like the original game,” Tripwire President John Gibson says in the video above. Most developers absorb an array of contradictory feedback after a game launches, and observing that strange soup of commingled praise and hatred while you decide how to react to it isn’t something I envy about game development.
Red Orchestra 2‘s GOTY Edition Free Content Pack represents Tripwire’s response to player feedback, and it seems like a truly comprehensive update to a game we already love. To kick off the roll-out of the update later this week, Red Orchestra 2 will also be free to play on Steam this weekend, beginning on Thursday.
Diablo 3 soundtrack released on iTunes
If you feel compelled to take Diablo III’s ominous melodies with you everywhere, its 23-track album in now available for $12/£11 on iTunes. It’ll make every walk to the store feel 10 times more perilous — or, just set the first track to loop to simulate the log in experience, and it’s like you’re playing Diablo III wherever you are!
Company of Heroes 2 video interview
Last week we spoke to Relic Entertainment’s Jacen Torres about upcoming RTS Company of Heroes 2, which we’re more than a little bit excited about.
Torres told us about the tactical depth that comes from focusing on small-scale infantry combat, the new ‘truesight’ dynamic line-of-sight system that they’ve created for Company of Heroes 2, and the historical importance – yet relative under-representation – of World War 2′s Eastern Front. Check out the full interview below.
Eve Online: Inferno update is out today
In case you couldn’t tell from the gratuitous, missile-tastic ad banners all over the place (unless you’re running adblock), Eve’s next expansion is called INFERNO and it will contain MISSILES that will let you SET THE UNIVERSE ON FIRE. It also comes with a bunch of less explosive but equally useful updates like a revamped war declaration system, graphical updates to many vessels, more detailed kill reports, factional warfare and a mercenary marketplace.
This is the 17th update CCP have made to Eve at no additional cost to subscribers, and it’s out today. You can find a full overview on the Inferno expansion site. If you’d like to dip in and see the new updates first hand without subscribing, there’s a 14 day free trial available.
