The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim pre-orders to get bonus map, will Skyrim use Games for Windows Live?
Breaking news, everyone! We have just received word from Bethesda that pre-orders will come with a bonus map. And you thought unlimited dragons were exciting. If you pre-order the game you’ll actually be able to plan your route by physically tracing your finger over the map’s contours, before reaching over to press the fast travel button on your keyboard.
The map is listed as “premium quality,” but will it be made of cloth? Cloth maps are on average 150% more caressable and andventurey than paper or plastic ones. You’ll find a picture of the map below, floating in a grey void with copies of the game perched on top, carefully obscuring any information written on the map’s surface. In addition, RPS commenter JFS spotted what could be the Games for Windows Live logo on the PC box of the game, suggesting that Skyrim could use Microsoft’s much maligned system.
Age of Empires Online dev diary shows loot, crafting and war elephants
The latest dev diary for Age of Empires Online shows off some of the loot we’ll be able to unlock for our armies in Age of Empires Online. In traditional MMO style, items range from bog-standard to Epic, and can be earned in a number of ways. The items can be found in chests, crafted, or bought from city marketplaces. The free-to-play massively online RTS is set to launch on August 16, and is being developed by Supreme Commander 2 devs, Gas Powered Games. Find out more on the Age of Empires Online site.
Kinect development tools beta incoming
Rumour has it that the Kinect software development kit beta will be launched during a developer presentation that kicks off in less than an hour. Microsoft promised the SDK kit earlier this year, now Winrumours say the beta version of the tools will be announced shortly in a presentation to be broadcast live on the web.
Microsoft announced Kinect fun labs at E3 this year, a service designed to host the most promising community creations as downloadable games on Xbox Live Arcade. News of a Kinect SDK beta will be particularly important to budding game makers, but it also means the rest of us can likely look forward to some more weird and wonderful Kinect creations on the PC, too. Check out our pick of the ten best Kinect hacks for a taste of what’s in store.
E3 2011: The Microsoft conference – your reactions
The first conference of E3 is over. Microsoft’s E3 showing was mostly spent waving madly at a camera device. It was all Kinect, all the time, with barely a mention of the PC. We’ve been reading your reactions. You weren’t happy, and rightly so. Here’s a roundup of some of our favourite reactions.
Breaking: Kinect ‘fun labs’ to bring PC created community games to the Xbox 360
Kudo just announced Fun Labs, a selection of games and applications taken from creations built using the Kinect Development Kit, made free earlier this year on PC. Several demos were shown on stage during the show, including an avatar scanning application that would build an accurate avatar from a photograph. An art tool was also shown, which allows the player to move an image in 3D space, adding effects by tracing their fingers across the screen. Kinect Fun Labs “goes live today.” More coming soon.
Breaking: Minecraft to get Kinect support on Xbox 360 this winter
Microsoft have just announced that Minecraft will be coming to the Xbox 360 this winter, and it will have Kinect support. More coming soon.
E3 2011: Halo 4 outed on Xbox E3 US site
Well, I guess now we know what will be the main feature in the Microsoft press conference in a few hours time. CVG have just spotted an accidental info-leak over on the Xbox E3 US unveiling Halo 4.
The leak also let slip announcements for Dance Central 2, Halo: Combat Evolved HD, Kinect Sports: Season 2, Kinect Star Wars and a Double Fine Sesame Street game. It looks like it’ll be a very quiet conference for PC gamers, unless Microsoft announces that Halo 4′s coming our way. In which case, happy days. In all likelihood, however, it will be an XBox exclusive, which means Microsoft’s line-up this year is completely devoid of PC games, which for a company that’s supposedly making a new push into PC gaming, is remarkable.
The information was swiftly removed from the Xbox site, but CVG caught a screen-grab before that happened. You can see it below.
E3 2011: the Monday schedule
E3 2011 doesn’t technically start until tomorrow, but there’s already plenty happening. Readers of yesterday’s liveblog will know all about Tim’s kidnapping at the hands of Hitman: Absolution developers, IO Interactive. We have word that he’s alive and full of secrets, but can he and Graham make it through today? Here’s an overview of today’s schedule, and a few E3 stats thrown in for good measure.
Will Windows 8 be good for PC gaming?
Microsoft gave the world it’s first glimpse of Windows 8 last night, with on stage presentations of the new look operating system at both the D9 conference in California and Computex in Taiwan. First impressions are that it’s a big, bold and dramatic break from the past, with the biggest overhaul of the Windows desktop interface since it was introduced in 1995.
Designed for “touch first” screens and devices, the new UI closely resembles the one you’ll find on Windows Phone 7 and Zune music players. There’s no Start button, no window borders and no taskbar. Program launchers and live gadgets appear as a tiles in an irregular gridded layout, which can be manipulated using gestures to swipe across the screen, and the same gesture is used to move between running applications.
Age of Empires online release date announced, launch trailer launches
Microsoft announce that Age of Empires Online will be released on August 16 this year. Age of Empires Online is an MMO real time strategy game in which you can use resources from local brawls to build up your central home city, upgrading units and progressing your civilisation through the ages.
The free to play re-emergence of the classic series is being handled by Supreme Commander and Demigod developers, Gas Powered Games. We spoke to GPG CEO Chris Taylor recently about his role on Age of Empires Online, and his enthusiasm for free to play games. For more info on the game, check out the official site.
Fable 3 review
Heavy is the head that wears the crown, and it’s obvious from Fable III’s opening that it won’t be long before it’s weighing down yours.
You play the sibling of the current, overly cruel king of Albion, and you’re quickly catapulted from the castle into a life of RPG rebellion achieved by winning the support of the general populace. As heir to the throne, there’s only one place you’re heading with that sort of behaviour.
Yet exposing Fable III’s endgame is no spoiler: not only is your fitness to rule taken for granted by everyone you meet, but the game has already been out for half a year on every other platform but ours.
Windows 8 launch next year will start “a real new push into PC gaming” say Microsoft
In a speech in Tokyo, covered by Develop, Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer has announced that Windows 8 will be launched for PCs, tablets and smartphones next year, and has been designed with gaming in mind. According to a Techradar source, “Windows 8 will represent a real new push into PC gaming. Gaming will be a key component for the whole OS.”
Microsoft appear to have abandoned PC gaming in recent years. Even Sony had a stronger PC line-up than the software giant at last year’s E3. Things have shifted recently, however, with the announcement of a PC version of Fable 3, a revamped Games for Windows Marketplace, and recent work on the upcoming Age of Empires Online. If Microsoft are serious about returning to PC gaming, E3 2011 could represent quite a turnaround from last year’s conference. We’ll know for sure in LA in just a few weeks time.
Age of Empires Online beta open to all
We mentioned this in yesterday’s news roundup, but it’s worth another mention. Age of Empires Online is now freely available to download today and tomorrow. You can download the game now from Games For Windows Marketplace. Once it’s installed, you’ll be able to try out the game for free for as long as the beta lasts.
You’ll find more details about the free-to-play, massively multiplayer RTS here. Supreme Commander 2 devs Gas Powered Games took over development a couple of months ago. We had a chat with Gas Powered Games boss Chris Taylor about the transition, and the new dawn for Age of Empires.
Fable 3 will be tougher and less buggy on PC
Fable 3 will finally be getting a PC release soon. Lionhead have been talking about the changes they’ve been making to the game to get the PC port of Fable 3 just right. We can expect proper mouse support, increased difficulty, and less item gathering for collection quests. Many of the bugs that were found in the console versions of the game have also been squashed ahead of the game’s release next month.
Speaking to RPS, Fable 3 lead designer Josh Atkins admits that the game was designed to be easy for a console audience. “On Fable from the beginning I can remember sitting in a room with Peter [Molyneux] and him being very explicit with me that… I believe the direct quote, if I remember correctly, was, ‘I want a blind child to be able to win this game with their feet.”
PC Gaming Alliance loses more members
The PC Gaming Alliance was founded in 2008 by a group of influential developers and hardware manufacturers to help tackle the industry-wide problems that faced the PC. Primary issues included piracy, DRM and complicated hardware labelling that provided a barrier of entry to new PC gamers. The group has mostly worked to produce reports on the state of PC gaming, and recently released figures at GDC showing the booming PC market.
It seems that all is not well at the PC Gaming alliance. Recently the new head of the PCGA, announced that major founding members Microsoft and Nvidia had left the group, without giving any reason. Now, Dell have downgraded their involvement, and Sony have left the group completely.
