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Mass Effect 3 phone app will send you texts from game characters, “From Dust” DLC spotted

Reports from customers in Gamestop suggest that some stores are selling a Mass Effect 3 DLC pack called “From Dust.” A Joystiq reader sent in a photograph of a receipt they got for buying the DLC, which suggested that the pack will cost $10. If it’s already on sale it’ll likely arrive as day one DLC when Mass Effect 3 comes out on March 6 in the US, and March 9 in Europe.

Star Wars: The Old Republic data-mined updates hint at future features

The tireless chaps at TORhead have been pulling clues out of the Star Wars: The Old Republic files, and have found evidence of many of the features Bioware are planning to add over the course of the coming year. Their round-up contains features that we could see in patches 1.2 through to 1.5.

As a wise talking cabbage once said. “If spoilers you wish to avoid, click “Read and Comment” you must not.”

Battlefield 3 sells 11 million, new DLC announcement expected next week

EA had an earnings call earlier this week, which gave their executives a chance to shout about what a good year they’ve had. During the course of the call, chief financial officer Frank Gibeau mentions that Battlefield 3 has sold more than 11 million copies, boosting EA’s market share in the “Western FPS market” by 11 points to 24%. The rest of that share probably still belongs to Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3.

Origin is doing quite well: 9.3 million registered users, $100 million revenue since launch

Yesterday’s EA financial report turned up plenty of big numbers for Star Wars: The Old Republic. Some of that success seems to have rubbed off on their new digital download service, Origin, which now has more than 9.3 million registered users. That’s about a quarter of the number of users as Steam. Not bad for a service that’s only seven months old.

EA’s Financial Results report also mentions that Origin has generated “more than $100 million in non-GAAP revenue since launch.” Origin-only pre-order deals and Origin digital exclusives like Star Wars: The Old Republic and the Battlefield 3 beta will have helped the service enormously in its early months. Its future prospects are none too shabby, either.

Star Wars: The Old Republic white lightsaber acquired through exploit, will be added officially in future

Yesterday we highlighted a big hunt in Star Wars: The Old Republic for a vaunted white crystal. One player had been showing off a silver saber, and dropping cryptic hints as to how it was acquired. It’s time to call off the search. Bioware have responded to say that the crystal was gained through a complex exploit, and isn’t yet officially part of the game.

“CatchDeathwalker did not obtain the white crystal through legitimate means in the game. Right now, we’re removing the crystal from his possession,” reads a post on the Star Wars: The Old Republic forums. A separate comment later in the thread elaborates. “This was not an ‘easy exploit’,” Bioware say “and not something the average player might ‘stumble upon’.”

Star Wars: The Old Republic players hunt for rumoured white lightsaber crystal

The magenta crystal was one of the most coveted items in Star Wars: The Old Republic, until now. One top level player has been spotted running around the TOR’s planets with a “whitesaber,” sparking a galaxy wide hunt for the white crystal.

The saber’s owner, Catch, posted his discovery on The Old Republic forums with pictures and item stats, and then livestreamed himself running around with the crystal to prove that it exists. So far, he’s kept the methods he used to obtain the crystal a closely guarded secret. The community has been poring over the few clues he’s given and, in some cases, been following him around to see if he’ll let slip any new info. There are several theories, some madder than others.

Battlefield 3 devs hiring “anti-cheat” admin

Last week we took a look at Battlefield 3′s escalating problem with hackers and cheaters after one hacker group claimed to be able to use a Punkbuster exploit to get innocent players banned. EA told us that “we are actively looking into the specifics of this issue and we are confident that we will have a permanent solution in place shortly.”

While we await that fix, it looks like DICE are already taking further steps to tackle hackers. Eurogamer have spotted a job ad looking for an “anti-cheat administrator” who will perform “an absolutely vital function to secure the online experience our games represent.” Will this be enough to push back the aimbots?

Mass Effect texture mod makes massive improvements to main characters

A couple of us in the office are going back through Mass Effect and Mass Effect 2 to prepare ourselves for the finale when the third game comes out in March. The first game is four and a bit years old now and the textures are starting to look a little runny. Thankfully, Duncan Harris presents a solution via the excellent Dead End Thrills with a link to a massive texture pack that adds masses of detail to all of the main characters of Mass Effect and Mass Effect 2.

Get Mass Effect 2 and Dragon Age DLC cheap

Bioware points are going super cheap on one particular screen in the Bioware store. If you access the “add points” page through the Mass Effect 2 DLC section of the site, there’s an option to buy up 1200 points for £4.33. Buy three lots of this and you’ll have enough points to buy every single DLC episode, weapon pack and alternative skin pack available for Mass Effect 2. You’ll be able to use these points to buy DLC for the Dragon Age games, too.

Battlefield 3 hackers use exploit to ban innocent players

Like every competitive shooter, Battlefield 3 has a problem with hackers and cheats who use exploits and aimbots to boost their stats. Recently the problem seems to have become more serious. The unofficial BF3 blog mentions an instance in which one of DICE’s own moderators was uncovered as a hacker. Now a group of hackers are advertising an exploit that allows them to get innocent players banned.

The author of this Reddit post got in touch yesterday with links to hacker forum discussions revealing exploits that would trick Punkbuster into ejecting honest players. A number of threads on the Battlelog forums have been started by players claiming to have been banned from Battlefield 3 games without cause. There are plenty of reports of servers and leaderboards dominated by bots racking up hundreds of kills.

DICE have recently said that they’re ramping up anti-cheat measures and have been issuing bans en-masse to cheaters they’ve been catching, but among Battlefield 3 players there’s increasing scepticism over the levels of security offered by anti-cheat program, Punkbuster.

Mass Effect 3 figures to come with multiplayer DLC

It looks like Mass Effect 3′s multiplayer mode will be getting extra DLC after launch, and Bioware will be offering a new way to get it. A series of toy store adverts spotted on Eurogamer show off a series of Mass Effect figures. Each one comes with a code that will unlock extra bits and pieces for Mass Effect 3′s new co-op mode.

The randomised codes “could include powerful new weapons and new characters,” according to a post on the Bioware store, or they could contain “character boosters, weapon modifications, and weapon upgrades to make your multi-player squad stronger.”