Posted by: xSicKxBot - 12-11-2019, 08:53 AM - Forum: Windows
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Educators: Tune in to Best of 2019 TweetMeet on Dec. 17
Announcing the biggest global TweetMeet to date. Join us on December 17
Following the success of the Best of 2018 TweetMeet, we’re thrilled to offer the biggest global TweetMeet to date on Tuesday, December 17. Share your best stories and experiences from 2019 and what plans for 2020 you look forward to the most. We’re also most interested to learn how you think Microsoft can support you best.
With all this in mind, we welcome you to a 75-minute TweetMeet on Tuesday, December 17 at 10am PST. Do check your local event times.
Don’t miss What’s New in EDU Live on Facebook
We’re launching a new edition of What’s new in EDU looking back at everything that was new with Microsoft Education in 2019.
This episode will go live on Facebook on December 17 at 6am EST
Introducing the hosts
We’ve invited all former hosts to lead this special-edition TweetMeet, and we’re excited to announce that 275+ previous hosts gladly agree to take part in the event. Follow them all through the Twitter List of December’s MSFTEduChat Hosts.
Do you remember all the previous TweetMeets and their hosts? Take a trip down TweetMeet Memory Lane with this new video, which shows all Combined Headshot images since we first started in the summer of 2016:
Flipgrid topic for December 17
Many TweetMeet hosts have exciting stories to tell about their projects and experiences in 2019. And of course, they have plans for 2020 as well. Be inspired with the new Flipgrid topic for December 17: flipgrid.com/fedb380d
Road2TweetMeet Wakelet: what’s it like to be a TweetMeet host?
Over the past months, our hosts have been reflecting on their blog about what it means to be a host on an #MSFTEduChat TweetMeet. The brand-new Road2TweetMeet Wakelet contains the best of these host reflections, live-embedded here:
TweetMeet Fan? Show it off on your Twitter profile!
Show your passion for this month’s Best of 2019 TweetMeet by uploading this month’s #MSFTEduChat Twitter Header Photo as a banner on your own Twitter profile.
Twitter Header Photos are available in many languages and time zones.
Watch the animated GIF:
Create your own TweetMeet Friend Card
Another way to share your enthusiasm about the TweetMeets is to create a TweetMeet Friend Card. Share your own version of this image anytime anywhere, for example when introducing yourself at the start of a TweetMeet. Just follow the steps in the TweetMeet Friend Cards PowerPoint.
Here’s an example:
Looking back on the November MSFTEduChat on Future-Ready Skills and Computer Science
We captured highlights for this TweetMeet event in a new @MicrosoftEDU Twitter Moment. There’s even a comprehensive collection of all tweets from this event in this Wakelet Collection.
Welcoming TweetMeet newcomers
Do you know someone who’s new to the TweetMeets? Our brand-new You can join a #MSFTEduChat TweetMeetvideo is especially created for newcomers, so please share it with friends and colleagues who might be interested to join:
For educators who are totally new to Twitter and who could use an introduction, we recommend the Twitter EDU tutorial ebook by David Truss @datruss.
Why join the #MSFTEduChat TweetMeets?
TweetMeets are monthly recurring Twitter conversations about themes relevant to educators, facilitated by Microsoft Education. The purpose of these events is to help professionals in education to learn from each other and inspire their students while they are preparing for their future. The TweetMeets also nurture personal learning networks among educators from across the globe.
Former host James Kieft wrote the following blog post describing why educators should consider participating in Twitter chats, and how to get started: Twitter chats explained.
When and how can I join?
Join us Tuesday, December 17 from 10:00 a.m. to 11:15 a.m. PST on Twitter using the hashtags #BestOf2019, #MSFTEduChat and #MicrosoftEDU. Be sure to double-check your own local event time. You can find the event time for 215 countries with this time zone announcer.
Our next recommendation for you is to set up Twitter dashboard TweetDeck and add columns for the hashtags and for your favorite space geeks. If you are new to TweetDeck, then check out this brief TweetDeck tutorial by Marjolein Hoekstra.
When a tweet appears that you want to respond to, press the retweet button and type your comments.
Additional tips are offered in this animated GIF that you’re most welcome to share with newcomers:
Too busy to join at event time? No problem!
From our monthly surveys we know that you may be in class at event time, busy doing other things or may even be asleep – well, no problem! All educators are most welcome to join any time after the event. Simply look at the questions below and respond to these at a day and time that suit you best.
You can also schedule your tweets in advance. In that case, be sure to include the entire question in your tweet and always mention the hashtag #MSFTEduChat so that everyone knows to which question in which conversation you are responding.
Four discussion questions this time
For this special-edition TweetMeet, we offer four discussion questions instead of five. This means we’ll have more time for each question. Check the timings for each question in the table:
PST
#
#MSFTEduChat TweetMeet question timings
10:00am
Event begins
Welcome. Please introduce yourself. Use #MSFTEduChat.
10:06
1
What was your Best of 2019 experience? Share your story or picture.
10:23
2
Which event, product or announcement wins 1st prize on your Best of 2019 list? Why?
10:40
3
Which people, courses or resources helped you excel this year? How?
10:57
4
How can Microsoft make 2020 an even better year for you and your students?
11:15
Event closes
Announcing the next event and Participant Survey.
Next month’s event: Devices for Student Success
The theme of January 21 will be Devices for Student Success. We’re very much looking forward to this event and hope you’ll spread the word!
Got questions about the #MSFTEduChat TweetMeets?
Please connect with TweetMeet organizer Marjolein Hoekstra @TweetMeet on Twitter if you have any questions about the TweetMeets or about what it takes to be a host on a future event.
SuperMash Smashes Together Different Genres For A New Experience Every Time
Digital Continue’s SuperMash will keep you on your toes when it launches in May 2020, as it allows you to take two different classic game genres and fuse them together to create a totally new experience each and every time.
Set in a game store owned by a bother and sister, SuperMash revolves around a mysterious games console which, when two carts are inserted, magically mashes together the two genres.
As you can see from the trailer, genres such as RPG, shooter and platformer can be bolted together for unique results, and you’ll be able to share mash-ups using a code system.
Axiom Verge 2 Revealed For Nintendo Switch, Here’s A Sneak Peak
Ending today’s Nintendo Indie World showcase was a full reveal for Axiom Verge 2, which is unsurprisingly a sequel to the excellent Axiom Verge.
Tom Happ, the game’s creator, took to the stage to talk about the new game and show off a trailer. He says that he’s been quietly working on the new release “for about four years”, but it’s finally time for us to be let in on how things are shaping up. The game will let players discover the origins of the Axiom Verge universe when it arrives next year.
You can catch the Axiom Verge 2 footage in the trailer below:
“Metroid: Samus Returns may not be on the Switch, but Axiom Verge does a fine job of filling in that genre gap on the eShop; this is truly an outstanding port of an outstanding game, no more and no less… Regardless of which side you fall on, Axiom Verge is a fantastic example of how to do a Metroidvania right, and we couldn’t be more pleased with it.”
Posted by: xSicKxBot - 12-11-2019, 08:53 AM - Forum: Lounge
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Best Games Of 2019 - Resident Evil 2
Over the next few days, we will reveal what we believe are the 10 best games of 2019, organized by release date. Then, on December 17, we will reveal which of the nominees gets to take home the coveted title of GameSpot's Best Game of 2019. So be sure to come back then for the big announcement, and in the meantime, follow along with all of our other end-of-the-year coverage collected in our Best Games of 2019 hub.
Calling Resident Evil 2 a remake feels inappropriate. While it certainly is exactly that, Capcom did more than recapture the spirit of its original; it set a precedent for the series’ reinvention, and created a new standard for all video game remakes to follow. After 23 years, and nearly 20-some installments, the Resident Evil 2 remake is the most refined version of what the franchise and genre has always aspired to be.
As remakes and remasters become more frequent, the line between recreating the experience we remember, versus the one we had, becomes a tricky to walk. When I think back on the first time I played Resident Evil 2 in 1998, I think about what it was like to slip past the clutches of the undead as my heart pounded from anxiety; the adrenaline rush of facing a Licker for the first time with only a few bullets to spare; or the lament of having to maneuver the halls of a sprawling claustrophobic police station without knowing what terrors await. What I don’t think about too much are the game’s notorious tank controls; the cardboard delivery of the dialogue; or its fixed camera angles and pre-rendered backgrounds. These things all have nostalgic value, and are undoubtedly a part of Resident Evil 2's original DNA, but they aren’t the defining characteristics of what made that initial experience so impactful.
In 2019’s Resident Evil 2, Capcom managed to recapture the anxiety and harrowing feeling of encountering a bumbling flesh-eating zombie for the first time, and reintroduce that sense panic-inducing terror, despite having zombie culture shoved down our throats for the past several decades.
Around every corner, there’s a foreboding atmosphere of never being safe. And yet, even when faced with terrifying odds, there’s still the chance that you might be able to fight your way through. Over the past few years, horror games have focused on stripping everything away, honing in on the thrill of the scare, and forcing you to run for your life rather than fight for it. Resident Evil 2, however, strikes the balance of making you feel helpless while still letting you have a grasp on your wits, by arming you with a small arsenal of weapons, but never enough to make you feel unstoppable.
Resident Evil 2 also features the welcome return to puzzles. This is something Resident Evil 7 reintroduced in modest amounts, but RE2 leans into it; and with that return, comes the series’ signature exploration and backtracking of its environments. Again, something RE7 reintegrated, but on a smaller scale in comparison to previous installments.
On all accounts, the Resident Evil 2 remake is more than a throwback: it’s among the best games in the series. It makes the original hard to go back to--a conflicting feeling for me as a person who was shaped, scared, and inspired by the original Resident Evil 2. It's a game that was pivotal in forming my tastes and outlook on games as a medium.
However, when I go back and play the original 1998 Resident Evil 2 today, the nostalgia is there, but the feelings of fear and triumph are gone. This remake recaptured those feelings, and redefined my experience all over again, and it's one of the best games of 2019.
Chronometric emissions cut across Mercury’s surface, and radiolaria steamed from fissures that erupted like open wounds in the machine soil. White-blue streams of Arc energy carved borders around a circular sector about a hundred miles wide. Walls of chronometric flame tore through Vex spires that came tumbling down in halves and sheared Minotaurs in two along the boundaries of the region.
The Red Legion stood watch as these eruptions flared around every Cabal machine, structure, and soldier inside the sector. They showed no sign of panic as ethereal fire burned over the world and their Vex opponents. Instead, they waited, watched, and mobilized purposefully around the phenomenon.
The circular shape that these walls cut were further segmented into three sections: Red Legion soldiers found themselves staring across the chronometric walls at each other from inside Mercury’s past, present, and distant future.
Under three different skies, three different suns, and on three different elevations of Mercury’s gradually descending surface, the Red Legion went to work.
Perhaps this time they would win the Red War.
❖❖❖
Somewhere deep inside the Vanguard halls in a secure meditation chamber, a trio of Warlocks surrounded Osiris: one Praxic, one Thanatonaut, and one Vanguard.
“Did the Vex corrupt him?” Aunor wondered.
“My Order just wants to know if he’s real. Or some kind of Vex simulation. An Echo?” Harper said, paging through a datapad in his hands.
“You haven’t left the Forest in years,” Ikora said to Osiris, the only one to address him directly.
“I need help,” Osiris replied.
“I know,” Ikora responded, hands clasped behind her back. She stared intently at her former mentor. Back in her Crucible days, that uncompromising gaze was often the last thing her opponents saw. Aunor glanced sidelong at her superior. Harper coughed and looked down at his datapad.
“Two years ago, Guardians entered the Infinite Forest,” Osiris continued. “They aided me in defeating the Axis Mind Panoptes, preventing a Vex apocalypse from befalling this system.
“In the process,” he looked between each of them in turn, “Some Guardians reported a body they found in the Forest depths.”
Ikora sighed.
“Saint-14 never came back from that last mission to Mercury. We finally knew why. I reacted to it the only way I knew how.”
“By turning Mercury into a temporal weapon for the Cabal?” Aunor asked.
“You are awfully tranquil for a man who just doomed this system,” Harper said.
“You should rethink your career in Thanatonautics, Warlock Harper, if death frightens you so,” the exile replied. He nodded at Aunor. “I’ve made mistakes. I will continue to make them. The nature of my work requires it.”
“We should lock you away,” the Praxic replied. But there was no fire in it.
“There are others you’ve allowed to roam free. These are desperate times, Aunor,” Osiris said. “I think you know that.”
Harper opened his mouth to ask another question, but Ikora cut him off. “Give us a minute.”
Aunor ducked her head and Harper bristled, but both left without question. Alone with Osiris, Ikora said, “The Speaker was right to exile you.”
“We all make our own choices,” Osiris replied. “Like the Vex gateway you built to the Undying Mind. A strategy like that is exactly what the machines would not expect. And you knew the Guardians would deliver.”
“What’s your point?”
“You think like I do. But you’ve done what I never could. Found a way to coexist with the Vanguard while keeping their fool necks above the water,” said Osiris.
“If you think you’re helping your case, you’re not.”
“Time is broken on Mercury. I need help from our mutual friends.”
“I know that. My Hidden have scouted your Sundial. The Red Legion are loose in a time rift that’s localized to the past, present, and future of Mercury.” She took a step closer to him, shoulders tense. “If we don’t contain it, it’s not going to stay that way for long. The rift will expand across the system.”
“I’ve created a mitigation network across Guardian space. I’m in control.”
“You are anything but—!”
“Saint deserved another chance.”
“So did Cayde! So did everyone we lost in the Red War.”
“We’ll hunt the Cabal across every timeline they create within the Sundial. They’ll never be able to exploit it.”
“You’re damn right. Because you’re going to mobilize the Guardians. You’re going to fix this. And then you and I are going to have a long talk.”
Nintendo Russia Surprises Frozen 2 Movie Audience With Free Switch Bundles
Nintendo Russia hasn’t had the best year, with the CEO Yasha Haddaji making headlines in January when he lost his temper on an official live stream and was then accused of violent behaviour and harassment in the workplace.
Fortunately, this Nintendo branch has ended the year on a much happier note. As part of a special giveaway tied to the animated film Frozen 2, Nintendo Russia surprised families in attendance with brand-new Switch bundles. It reminds us of those big giveaways Oprah used to do, where everyone in the audience gets a gift.
Are you surprising anyone with a Switch this holiday season? Comment down below.
Welcome to Next Week on Xbox, where we cover all the new games coming soon to Xbox One! Every week the team at Xbox aims to deliver quality gaming content for you to enjoy on your favorite gaming console. To find out what’s coming soon to Xbox One, read on below and click on each of the game profiles for pre-order details (dates are subject to change).
Slink through the shadows as a deadly half-elven rogue,
wield fearsome magics as a powerful gnomish sorcerer, vanquish your foes as an
armor-clad dwarven paladin… whatever hero you create, incredible adventures
await in the remastered Dungeons & Dragons classic Neverwinter Nights:
Enhanced Edition.
After a tragic incident, brothers Sean and Daniel Diaz run away from home. Fearing the police, and dealing with Daniel’s new telekinetic power, the boys head to Mexico. Each stop on their journey brings new friends and new challenges. Xbox Game Pass members can play Life is Strange 2: Episode 1 through 4.
The owners of various apartments have left their homes in your hands: all they’ve given you is a blueprint of how their place should look. Cooperate with your friends to complete the task or make a mess trying in this intensely fun couch co-op game for up to four players about home renovation and work your way to the top of a skyscraper in need of some work.
Set out on an emotional journey through the bittersweet
lives of two people where memories come alive and time bends to their will.
Lose yourself in moments of happiness and overcome every hardship as you relive
their life’s story.
Xbox One X Enhanced / Xbox Game Pass for Console / Xbox Game Pass for PC / Steam: In 2552, the Covenant discovered the planet Reach and the UNSC mounted an unparalleled defense against the alien war machine. At the heart of this conflict was Noble Team, an experienced group of accomplished soldiers prepared to meet the enemy head-on. Now this squad will face its most challenging mission yet: the defense of Reach. Halo: Reach for Halo: The Master Chief Collection comes to the Xbox One looking better than ever, including up to 4K UHD resolution and HDR on Xbox One X consoles.
Your dogs have been dognapped by a beaked lunatic who
stuffed them into his eye holes and is using their life essence to destroy the
universe. You’re partnered with Trover, a little purple eye-hole monster who
isn’t a huge fan of working or being put in the position of having to save the
universe. Only you and Trover can save everything in this bizarre comedy
adventure, created by Justin Roiland, co-creator of “Rick and Morty.”
An interactive FMV horror experience of exploring a missing woman’s phone. You found the lost phone of a woman named Anna. In it, you see a desperate cry for help in the form of a video message. You talk to her friends and they have no idea where she is. Her texts, emails and photo gallery provides fragments of information and it’s up to you to piece it together.
Take on the role of Nora Harwood, member of Everreach’s
Security Division, on a mission to secure the colonization process of Eden and investigate
mysterious incidents in this fast-paced, story-driven action-RPG set on the
visually stunning Planet Eden.
Part business sim, part logistics puzzle. It’s one thing to
work away in the lab perfecting new formulas but converting the “science stuff”
into cold hard cash means bringing an engineering and business mind to the
problem. Factory space is expensive, and those fancy new agglomerators and
centrifuges don’t always fit nicely together.
Set out on an adventure to discover Izen’s mysterious
origins in this new sci-fi RPG. As he and those with him pursue answers to this
mystery, they fail to notice a shadow creeping upon them with the intent to
stop them in their tracks. Upgrade Izen’s abilities with arm/leg parts, core
and chips, and activate the armament drive and fight with the support of
fairies.
Xbox One X Enhanced / Xbox Game Preview: On a dark and stormy night, 11-year-old Minerva discovers a haunted house deep in the woods and before she knows it, she’s in for the fight of her life. Armed with a flashlight and a backpack full of friendly stuffed animals who are brought to life by the house’s magic, help Minerva survive her adventure against sinister ghosts in this spooky rogue-lite featuring heaps of procedural dungeons, ghosts, and loot.
My Friend Pedro – December 5
Xbox Game Pass: A violent ballet about friendship, imagination, and one man’s struggle to obliterate anyone in his path at the behest of a sentient banana. The strategic use of split aiming, slow motion, and the ol’ stylish window breach create one sensational action sequence after another in an explosive battle through the violent underworld.
Discover new scientific mysteries with Kerbal Space
Program: Breaking Ground expansion for the critically acclaimed space
simulation game. Adds new science-collecting equipment to deploy on your
missions, surface features to be investigated scattered across distant planets,
and a wealth of new robotic parts for players to test their creativity with
(this expansion requires the base game to play).
Wandersong – December 6
Xbox Game Pass: A musical adventure where you use singing to save the world. Play as a silly bard who embarks on a globe-trotting journey to learn about the mysterious Earthsong, said to prevent the universe’s imminent end. It’s up to you to sing your songs, unlock the world’s secrets and make new friends.
Survive your evolution in Neogene Africa starting 10 million
years ago. Ancestors: The Humankind Odyssey is a third-person open world
survival game where you Explore, Expand, and Evolve to advance your clan to the
next generation in the exciting new adventure from the creator of Assassin’s
Creed.
On the icy surface of a forgotten planet stand ruined tombs
where immortals sleep. While sleepless warriors roam the halls with their minds
eroded by eternity, a lone Awakewalker emerges from cryosleep. With no memory of
their past, it’s up to them to forge their future, discover the planet’s
mysteries, and find a way out of this icy hell in this action and adventure
game featuring Souls-like progression system.
Demon’s Tilt – December 6
Xbox Game Pass: A tribute to ‘90s video pinball games, featuring modern effects and mechanics—including bosses, secrets, and unprecedented depth to please video gamers and hardcore pinball enthusiasts alike. Now with bigger sprites, more baddies, more secrets, and more bullets! Demon’s Tilt pushes the limits of the video pinball genre with Shmup & Hack N’ Slash elements.
Freediving Hunter: Spearfishing the World – December 6
Compete against increasingly difficult spearfishing challengers from around the world with the goal of becoming the champion Freediving Hunter. Unlock lush saltwater marine environments around the world such as stunning reefs teeming with sea life, ancient shipwrecks and ruins, kelp forests, etc. in an exciting hunt for prized saltwater fish.
Rental kiosk Redbox is giving up on video game rentals
Redbox is winding down the video game side of its rental business and will instead focus entirely on movie rentals moving forward.
The Verge nabbed an official statement from the company that confirms as much, though the brief comment doesn’t delve into much detail on why the company opted to stop offering video game rentals.
As of now, Redbox has already stopped offering video game rentals through the physical kiosks it has positioned in grocery stores and chain retailers according to a tweet from the business’ support account.
For the time being, Redbox will still offer games for sale through its kiosks, something it has done in the past to clean out older games and excessive stock, but will eventually discontinue that service as well in early 2020.
Video Game Deep Cuts: PlayStation’s 25th, Top Games Of 2019
The following blog post, unless otherwise noted, was written by a member of Gamasutras community. The thoughts and opinions expressed are those of the writer and not Gamasutra or its parent company.
[Video Game Deep Cuts is a weekly newsletter from video game industry ‘watcher’ Simon Carless (GDC, Gamasutra co-runner, No More Robots advisor), rounding up the best longread & standout articles & videos about games, every weekend.
This week’s roundup includes excellent pieces on the PlayStation’s 25th anniversary, multiple new 2019 ‘best of’ game lists, and great articles on Katana Zero, Shovel Knight, Knights Of The Old Republic modders, Mario Maker 2, and lots more.
PlayStation: The First 25 Years(Jeff Cork / Game Informer – ARTICLE) “The path from the PlayStation 1 to the upcoming PlayStation 5 lines up neatly, but only if you’re looking at it numerically. In actuality, for more than 25 years the PlayStation team has had to navigate some of the industry’s most difficult terrain.”
How Katana Zero brought action into cutscenes(Alex Wiltshire / RockPaperShotgun – ARTICLE) “When this action game halts its razor-fine combat to tell you its story, I sit forward. That’s down to its interrupt system, which lets me choose whether I want to hear NPCs out, or whether I want to tell them to shut up. “I honestly hope more games adopt the interrupt system, if nothing else because it just feels like a much better way to tell stories,” developer Justin Stander tells me. “It’s less reading and more doing.”
The 10 best video games of 2019(Christopher Byrd / Washington Post – ARTICLE) “In assembling this year’s top 10 list, I leaned toward the titles that surprised me with their forward-thinking aesthetics, challenges to convention or sheer ability to dazzle.”
How “randomizers” are breathing new life into old games(Scott White / Ars Technica – ARTICLE) “After playing a classic game to the point of memorization, how do you recapture the sense of adventure and discovery you experienced the first time you played it? A small but growing community in the retro emulation scene is aiming to answer those questions with a class of mods and hacks called “randomizers.””
What a YouTube Copyright Strike From 2015 Has to do With ‘Mario Maker 2’ in 2019(Patrick Klepek / VICE – ARTICLE) “One of the coolest features coming to Super Mario Maker 2 is what Nintendo’s calling Ninji Speedruns, where you try to complete Nintendo-designed levels while racing against the scattered ghosts of other players. What makes the connection between McClure and Nintendo curious is the video Nintendo directed a copyright strike at on McClure’s channel.”
Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare… 12 Years Later(Raycevick / YouTube – VIDEO) “[SIMON’S NOTE: feedback from a dev in the comments on this excellent video: ‘Ex IW dev, current Respawn dev here. Thank you for this. It was a lovely trip down memory lane. <3’.]”
The 30 Best Videogames of 2019(Garrett Martin & Paste Games writers – ARTICLE) “Did you know that a certain number of games this year shared some similarities, either incidental or fundamental, that are in no way unique to this year or each other, and that that’s enough for me to draw a tenuous and surface level connection between them? Rad. 2019: what a year for games and the people who have to hit word counts about ‘em!”
Classic Postmortem: GoldenEye 007(Martin Hollis / GDC / YouTube – VIDEO) “In this 2012 GDC Europe Talk, Martin Hollis shares how his team created Goldeneye 007, the biggest release for the N64 without Mario in its title, and how what started as a Virtua Cop-style on-rails project became the legendary FPS that paved the way for console shooters like Halo and countless others.”
51 top games in soft launch: From Marvel Super War and Disney Sorcerer’s Arena to Minecraft Earth and Tetris Royale(Matthew Forde / PocketGamer.biz – ARTICLE) “An important part of the shift to a games-as-a-service approach, the soft launch process enables developers to fine-tune their game, particularly in relation to meta-game mechanics such as time gates, in-game resources and psychological components. [SIMON’S NOTE: this constantly updated list is interesting because these iOS/Android games are often pretty high-profile/interesting & sometimes never even make it out of a regional iOS ‘soft launch’…]”
Clark Tank: Analyzing Steam Top 50 and Playing Automation Empire!(Ryan Clark / Brace Yourself Games / YouTube – VIDEO) “Every third Friday at 1pm Pacific time we stay on top of the latest game industry trends by examining the Steam top 50, scrutinizing the latest Kickstarted games, and by playing the most prominent recent releases. [SIMON’S NOTE: loooots of good stuff in here as normal – look at the date stamps.]”
Marathon man: A Twitch streamer spent nearly the entire month of November live on camera(Gene Park / Washington Post – ARTICLE) “Last century, George Mallory tackled Mount Everest “because it’s there.” In 2019, GiantWaffle spent 80 percent of November live on camera for similar reasons… On Nov. 30, Andrew Bodine, a popular variety Twitch entertainer who live streams under the handle of GiantWaffle completed a 573-hour streaming marathon on Twitch, sleeping no more than four hours a night while spending between 19 to 20 hours a day on camera.”
The modders who spent 15 years fixing Knights of the Old Republic 2(Austin Taylor / Ars Technica – ARTICLE) “Originally, Staniewicz and his team planned to fix one planet at a time and release them accordingly as they were completed. Once the team finished working on Nar Shaddaa, however, they decided to keep going and release their work as one large mod encompassing all the cut content.”
The Making of Shovel Knight: Specter of Torment, Part 3: Our Favorite Secrets and More(Yacht Club Games / USGamer – ARTICLE) “It’s at this point that the team really starts scrutinizing the level as an organic unit, then revisiting everything one sequence at a time as we block in more final placements and smooth out rough parts. The result should be a ‘done’ level where only final touches remain! [SIMON’S NOTE: this whole series is great behind the scenes dev stuff!]”
The Tekken Hero Putting America on His Back(TheScore eSports / YouTube – VIDEO) “Anakin has been around forever. He’s played in dozens of tournaments, repping Jack and America in even the hardest times. He’s a fan favourite, but right now? He’s North America’s greatest hope.”
Razer CEO Berated And Threatened His Staff, Former Employees Say(Cecilia D’Anastasio / Kotaku – ARTICLE) “Min-Liang Tan was “officially pissed off,” he wrote in an email to members of Razer’s marketing team in February of 2014. The gaming hardware company hadn’t made the business website Fast Company’s 2014 list of “Most Innovative Companies,” and in his email, part of an exchange obtained by Kotaku, Tan asked of his marketing employees, “Are you guys fucking off?””
No Blood for Imulsion: Gears of War and the Military-Industrial Complex(Michael Goroff / EGM Now – ARTICLE) “Early on in Gears 5’s campaign, an aging, gray-bearded Marcus Fenix says something that sounds like it was torn out of the pages of a Second Amendment rights pamphlet: “It’s not the weapons I don’t trust, First Minister,” he tells Jinn after she expresses concerns about resurrecting the Hammer of Dawn weapon system. “It’s the people who use them.” In other words, satellite-powered superweapons don’t kill people; people kill people.”
How the PlayStation changed video games forever(Polygon w/Archipel / YouTube – VIDEO) “We sat down with four key former developers and businessmen from Sony to reflect on the original PlayStation, its creation and launch, and how the video game industry has changed over the past 25 years. [SIMON’S NOTE: the wonderful Archipel YouTube channel teamed up with Polygon for this one!]”
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[REMINDER: you can sign up to receive this newsletter every weekend at tinyletter.com/vgdeepcuts – we crosspost to Gamasutra later, but get it first via newsletter! Story tips and comments can be emailed to [email protected]. MINI-DISCLOSURE: Simon is one of the organizers of GDC and Gamasutra & an advisor to indie publisher No More Robots, so you may sometimes see links from those entities in his picks. Or not!]
Destiny 2 Season Of Dawn Update - Key Known Issues To Be Aware Of
Those hoping to get one final Vex Offensive run in are out of luck: Destiny 2 servers are down for maintenance, officially marking the end of the Season of the Undying. Fortunately, once servers are back online, there will be new content to check out. Specifically, the next season, Season of Dawn, officially begins today, December 10. Here's when servers are expected to be back online and when Season of Dawn will be underway. [Update: Servers are officially back online, although you might encounter a queue when first jumping in. Now that the game is live, there are some essential issues to be aware of, especially regarding rewards in the new Sundial activity. Read on below for a look at the known issues that Bungie has outlined so far, and check out our guide to the A Matter of Time quest to unlock the Sundial and artifact.]
Maintenance is ongoing, and no one will be able to log in to the game until 10 AM PT / 1 PM ET, at which point Season of Dawn and its new content should be available. During the downtime, Bungie has released update 2.7.0--that's out now, so you can get it downloading to ensure you can begin playing right when servers are back online. Full update 2.7.0 patch notes have now been released; they were recently previewed in some detail, with changes to Exotics, an increased Power cap, and more.
Once servers are back, you'll see that a bunch of Season of the Undying content has disappeared in favor of Season of Dawn's new activities and offerings. Some of this will be available for free to all players, while other bits will require you to either purchase this season or the year-long season pass.
Destiny 2 Season Of Dawn Known Issues
Be prepared to potentially encounter some issues once you are playing. Bungie's Twitter support account offered a rundown on some of the known issues that may be encountered, such as receiving a CHICKEN error when first logging in once you have update 2.7.0 installed. In that case, the fix is easy: Simply restart the game. Other problems are unavoidable, like issues with the requirements for certain triumphs; as a result, Bungie will lower the requirements in a future update.
More notable are some of the Season of Dawn-specific problems. When playing the new Sundial activity, you should stick around--heading back to orbit too quickly can cause progress not to register for the A Matter of Time quest step. Additionally, you'll need to link an Obelisk to the Sundial for the activity to net you any completion rewards.
You can check out the series of tweets below, and we'll report back with any further problems that emerge.
These Season 9 Triumphs will be fixed in a future update and requirements will be lowered: ?"Challenges" won't progress with weekly challenge completion ?"Rituals" won't progress with weekly Gambit bounties or Infamy ranks ?"Engagement" won't progress with banked motes (6/7)
? Players must have linked an Obelisk to the Sundial to receive rewards at the end of the activity. ? Season of the Undying seasonal currency is not deleted from the Postmaster when the season ends. Players can manually delete this seasonal currency. (3/7)
? Progress may not count towards the “A Matter of Time” quest step if players return to orbit too quickly after completing the Sundial activity. ? The shields of Barrier Champions will not disappear if a player is using Divinity. (5/7)
? The seal for the “Savior” title incorrectly lists a requirement of 28 triumphs completed to unlock. The seal will unlock after completing the 15 triumphs listed in the seal contents. ? When standing in front of the Obelisk, players can be killed by enemies. (4/7)
