Earlier this month, my Twitter feed flared up briefly with complaints about the “hand-holdy” quality of tutorials in many modern games. It subsided pretty quickly, but I thought it raised some interesting questions: Who do you build tutorials for, exactly?

How have developers changed their approach to tutorial design now that games which envelop players with barely any attempt at guidance — titles like Minecraft, Dark Souls and DayZ — have become huge influences on the industry?

And perhaps most importantly to developers — if you’re going to welcome players into your game with some level of tutorializing, how do you do it well?

It’s something I’ve been thinking about quite a bit recently, and so I reached out to a handful of experienced developers from different corners of the industry to get their perspective on the best way to make people feel comfortable the first time they play your game.

If you’re going to use a ramp, make sure it’s custom-built

Veteran game designer Brenda Romero believes there isn’t a “one-fits-all” answer to the question, or even a “many-fits-all” approach. “It depends on the game, the audience and in some cases the publisher,” she says. “The wider the audience, the younger the audience, the more gentle the ramp.”

Romero acknowledges there are exceptions to this (and every) rule, suggesting Super Hexagon and Minecraft as superb examples of games with broad appeal and brutal welcome ramps.

“Minecraft, for instance, drops you in. I love that about the game,” says Romero. “Its lack of ‘welcome’ and ‘hand-holding’ created a massive online community in which player helps player. It allowed me to explore and discover for myself.”

The experienced designer and educator reminds other game makers that building overly gentle “ramps” into your game risks annoying people who are already game-literate, and points to Insomniac as a studio that does an impressive job of designing good ramps. “In my opinion, they create some of the best ‘welcomes’ in the industry.”

Don’t let them see you hold their hands

Hyper Light Drifter designer/programmer Teddy Diefenbach agrees that the best way to welcome players to your game is ultimately up to you, but adds that he sees two ideal ways for developers to tutorialize players without turning them off.

“First is a total avoidance of tutorializing, in games where exploring the systems of the game can become a sort of play in themselves,” says Diefenbach. Hyper Light Drifter is designed with this philosophy because “we like to trust that our players will experiment, and discover the nuances of our combat.”

Diefenbach says doing so can give players a rewarding feeling of pride when they figure things out, something they can only earn when the developer affords them space to do so.

If that’s not feasible for your game, Diefenbach recommends a sort of “decentralized” approach to tutorial design that sees players gaining access to new abilities as they’re required.

“Unlock inputs a button at a time, so that you’re introduced to each play mechanic as you find need for it,” says the designer. “You get to begin your game immediately, and the designers give you the information you need, when you need it.”

Fellow indie designer Adrian Chmielarz concurs, but cautions that this sort of “learn as you go” approach can backfire if your game puts players through too much complex action too soon.

He points to the first level of Mirror’s Edge as a prime example, noting that “when the game quickly went from ‘use the left stick to move’ to ‘use this insane combination of buttons and stick moves to make a triple somersault and a pirouette’ I just dropped it and never returned to it.”

If you’re concerned about overwhelming your players with too much too fast, Chmielarz recommends checking out the PENS (Player Experience of Need Satisfaction) motivational model — which Chmielarz and his fellow developers at The Astronauts consulted while creating The Vanishing of Ethan Carter — and trying to apply it to your own game.

“[PENS] says that a successful game allows the players to feel competent and autonomous, and to ‘connect’ to other human beings,” says Chmielarz. With that in mind, The Astronauts axed any evidence of a tutorial segment from Ethan Carter — the game opens only with a message that it “will not hold your hand” — and found that players felt more autonomous and competent because they had to figure out everything for themselves.

“The lack of tutorial made it possible for us to put the players in the state of mind that not only the game allowed them to feel autonomous and competent, but that it actually demanded these things from them,” says Chmielarz. “That heightened their environmental and narrative awareness, which was a crucial element of the experience.”

Leave room for players to discover things

For Mohawk Games co-founder Soren Johnson, the trick to making players feel welcome in your game is neither explicit tutorials or complete abandonment, but rather subtle (but thorough) contextual help.

“I think it’s important to provide space for player discovery in games,” says Johnson. “Tutorials can take that discovery away from players by forcing them to learn everything all at once.”

Jonhson’s experience as a strategy game designer (formerly on titles like Civilization IV, now on Mohawk’s upcoming Offworld Trading Company) shines through in his penchant for tooltips over tutorials.

“I would prefer to rely on thorough in-game mouseover help — which means that everything must have pop-up help rather than a handholding tutorial,” Johnson tells Gamasutra, adding that other designers should look to Civilization V for a good example of how to implement this sort of subtle guidance well.

“It only teaches you about the tech tree, for example, when you open up the tech tree,” says Johnson. “Civ V did an excellent job of providing ‘just in time’ tutorials depending on the game’s context.”

Johnson also speaks highly of Plants Vs. Zombies designer George Fan’s approach to tutorial design, an approach that rendered his strategic tower defense game accessible to a broad audience — including his own mother.

Speaking at GDC 2012, Fan offered the following timeless advice to his fellow developers designing tutorials: teach players without them ever realizing they’re being taught.

“The weird thing is, games are kind of all about learning,” said Fan. “Humans like learning, and learning is inherently fun. But most humans don’t know they like learning, and that is why we must trick them.”

Following this year’s incredible E3 and the breathtaking reaction we’ve had from our fans, we’re excited to let you know that Xbox will be coming to gamescom 2019 in Cologne, Germany. We’ll be bringing a great line up of games to the event from developers around the world with almost 200 gameplay stations in our booth, including the first public hands-on of both Minecraft Dungeons, Horde Mode in Gears 5 and fans in Germany can also try Project xCloud for the first time.

Here’s a quick overview of what we’ll be getting up to at the show this year:

Inside Xbox live from Cologne
To kick off the week, we’ll be hosting a special episode of Inside Xbox live from the Gloria Theatre in Cologne. Tune in Monday, August 19 at 5:00 p.m. CEST (8:00 a.m. PDT) for the latest news, games, accessories, and features that we can’t wait to tell you more about!

You can catch the show on xbox.com, Mixer, Twitch, YouTube, Facebook, and Twitter.

Xbox Open Doors
Held at the Gloria Theatre on Wednesday, August 21 to Friday, August 23, Xbox Open Doors offers fans a multiday experience during the week of gamescom. Entry to Xbox Open Doors is free and fans will be able to participate in community events, game tournaments, panel sessions and other exciting experiences. Stay tuned for more information and announcements about Xbox Open Doors.

Xbox Booth
The Xbox booth will feature nearly 200 gaming stations with a fantastic line up of titles across a variety of genres and platforms, with many of these experiences coming to Xbox Game Pass for Console and Xbox Game Pass for PC at launch. If you’re coming to the show, make sure you pay us a visit – we’re in Hall 8 of the Koelnmesse (access via North entrance).

gamescom will be the first time that fans in Europe will have the chance to jump in and try out many of our newest gameplay experiences from Xbox Game Studios including Age of Empires II Definitive Edition, Battletoads, Bleeding Edge, Gears 5, Halo: The Master Chief Collection on PC, Minecraft Dungeons and more. In addition, we’ll have several highly anticipated third-party games available to play at the booth, including Borderlands 3, Doom Eternal, NBA 2K20, and Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon: Breakpoint. Fans at gamescom will also be amongst the first in Europe to get hands-on with Project xCloud and experience the true power of cloud gaming on mobile.

Lastly, at Xbox, we believe that gaming should be safe, inclusive, and accessible for all, and in that spirit we’re excited to announce that our booth is even more accessible to fans at the show this year. This includes Xbox Adaptive Controllers available for nearly every game on the booth, wheelchair access at every point of the booth and sign language interpreting support for all on-booth programming in both English and German.

Windows Gaming Powered by Xbox Game Pass
Featuring Xbox Game Pass for PC titles such as Halo: The Master Chief Collection, Age of Empires 2: Definitive Edition and more at our Xbox booth, you can also check out the latest PC gaming hardware at our booth dedicated to gaming on Windows PC. We’ll also have custom-built PCs from BoostBoxx by CSL, the latest gaming laptops and desktops from Acer and other partners showcasing high-quality components that deliver powerful PC gaming experiences. Fans can even try the goliath of gaming chairs, the Predator Thronos!

Visit the Xbox Official Gear Shop
Returning to gamescom in partnership with Game Legends, come and visit the Xbox Official Gear Shop in the gamescom fanshop arena. Fly your gaming colors and show off your fandom for Xbox and award-winning franchises like Gears of War, Halo, and Sea of Thieves with all new apparel and collectibles including the gamescom exclusive Xbox Green Tech Sphere pin!

Show opening times are as follows:

• Tuesday, August 20 – 9:00 a.m. until 7:00 p.m. CEST (press/trade only day)
• Wednesday, August 21 – 9:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. CEST
• Thursday, August 22 – 9:00 a.m. – 8:00 p.m. CEST
• Friday, August 23 – 9:00 a.m. – 8:00 p.m. CEST
• Saturday, August 24 – 9:00 a.m. – 8:00 p.m. CEST

Remember to keep your eyes on Xbox social channels for the latest news and updates surrounding Xbox at gamescom 2019 – Mixer, Facebook, Twitter – we’ll keep you updated with all the great activity happening from the show. Can’t wait to see you there!

– Some more minor performance improvements (including improvements to Wukong’s Command)
– Fixed Pangolier’s Rolling Thunder interaction with knockback abilities
– Fixed Ogre Magi’s Multicast continuing to stun if you buyback quickly
– Fixed a bug that caused Monkey King to have one less soldier in the area

Signups now open for college esports tournaments featuring Blizzard Entertainment’s Heroes of the Storm®, Hearthstone®, and StarCraft® II

This year’s programs offer more opportunities—and scholarships—for college gamers across U.S. and Canada than ever before

IRVINE, Calif.–(BUSINESS WIRE)– Student gamers everywhere can now matriculate in a full schedule of college esports programs, as Tespa, Blizzard Entertainment’s college esports network, has revealed its lineup of tournaments and events for this year, including the fourth edition of Heroes of the Dorm™. With programs for Hearthstone® and StarCraft® II in addition to Heroes of the Storm®, Tespa will award more than $1 million in scholarships and prizing by the end of the 2017-18 academic year.

This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20180122006267/en/

Now in its fourth year, Heroes of the Dorm is introducing regional play. More than $500,000 in scholarships and prizes are up for grabs in this premier collegiate esports competition. Regional winners and other top teams on the national leaderboard will be seeded into the 64-team National Championship bracket. The battle for the Heroes of the Dorm National Championship—and for the scholarship money each player receives for the remainder of their college careers—will be fierce. Fans can watch all the action on both www.twitch.tv/blizzheroes and www.mlg.com.

In a one-of-a-kind broadcast partnership with Raycom Sports, Heroes of the Dorm will have a dedicated, nationally-syndicated program during a five-week period of competition. Raycom will produce the weekly, one-hour Heroes of the Dorm program, featuring schools competing in the tournament’s Atlantic Coast Region. The original series, which will cover competition as well as spotlight player and team stories, will be broadcast across Raycom Sports’ syndicated network of affiliates in more than 50 markets in the United States.

“With intense student competition and an epic tournament bracket featuring schools across the United States and Canada, Heroes of the Dorm showcases the kind of excitement that can only come from college esports,” said Mike Morhaime, CEO and cofounder of Blizzard Entertainment. “We look forward to cheering on all of the talented players who will be competing in Heroes of the Storm, as well as Hearthstone and StarCraft II, for their share of Tespa’s biggest scholarship prize pool ever.”

Starting today, eligible college gamers in the United States and Canada can sign up to compete in Heroes of the Dorm at www.heroesofthedorm.com. See the full schedule below:

Hearthstone Collegiate Championship

Teams vying for the 2018 Hearthstone Collegiate Championship will have their hands full as they battle for their share of $150,000 in scholarship prizing. Each team of three will have to battle through a seven-week regular season and the regional playoffs to make it to the single-elimination championship bracket. Fans can watch the tournament live on www.twitch.tv/playhearthstone.

Eligible college gamers in the United States and Canada can sign up to compete in the Hearthstone Collegiate Championship at compete.tespa.org starting today. See the full schedule below:

Tespa Collegiate Series—StarCraft

The first ever Tespa Collegiate Series—StarCraft will award $35,000 in total scholarship prizing to the top performers in the 16-team league. Teams of three players will battle it out in StarCraft II twice a week during the eight-week regular season, with four teams joining the tournament via the open qualifiers. Matches will be broadcast on www.twitch.tv/starcraft and www.mlg.com. Eligible college gamers in the United States and Canada can sign up for qualifiers at compete.tespa.org starting today. See the full schedule below:

About Blizzard Entertainment, Inc.

Best known for blockbuster hits including World of Warcraft®, Hearthstone®, Overwatch®, the Warcraft®, StarCraft®, and Diablo® franchises, and the multi-franchise Heroes of the Storm®, Blizzard Entertainment, Inc. (www.blizzard.com), a division of Activision Blizzard (NASDAQ: ATVI), is a premier developer and publisher of entertainment software renowned for creating some of the industry’s most critically acclaimed games. Blizzard Entertainment’s track record includes twenty-one #1 games* and multiple Game of the Year awards. The company’s online-gaming service, Blizzard Battle.net®, is one of the largest in the world, with millions of active players.

*Sales and/or downloads, based on internal company records and reports from key distribution partners.

About Tespa

Tespa is the premier college gaming network in North America, dedicated to creating a home for gamers on every campus. Recognized as the leader in college esports, Tespa cultivates student communities that host epic gaming events on campuses in the United States and Canada, and plans to distribute more than $1 million in scholarship prizing in 2018 through intercollegiate leagues. Tespa has had more than 5000 teams from more than 1400 universities compete in its college tournaments and has empowered student leaders to become entrepreneurs in the gaming industry.

About Raycom Sports

Charlotte, N.C.-based Raycom Sports is a leader for compelling storytelling, production, and content distribution across all platforms. With an award-winning production team, Raycom creates original feature programming such as Football Saturdays. Raycom is the syndicated rightsholder of Atlantic Coast Conference men’s basketball and football since 1982, and manages live television broadcasting, original programming, archival footage, mobile applications, social media, the official ACC website and the ACC Official Corporate Champions program. Raycom also serves as the digital content, marketing, video and broadcast production partner of The Basketball Tournament (TBT). Raycom manages client activations and hospitality at ACC FanFest at the ACC Football Championship and ACC Basketball Tournaments.

Raycom Sports’ parent company Raycom Media, owns and/or provides services for 65 television stations and 2 radio stations located in 20 states covering 16% of U.S. television households.

Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-looking Statements: Information in this press release that involves Blizzard Entertainment’s expectations, plans, intentions or strategies regarding the future, including statements about the dates and features of Heroes of the Dorm 2018, the Tespa Collegiate Series—StarCraft, and the Hearthstone Collegiate Championship, are forward-looking statements that are not facts and involve a number of risks and uncertainties. Factors that could cause Blizzard Entertainment’s actual future results to differ materially from those expressed in the forward-looking statements set forth in this release include unanticipated product delays and other factors identified in the risk factors sections of Activision Blizzard’s most recent annual report on Form 10-K and any subsequent quarterly reports on Form 10-Q. The forward-looking statements in this release are based upon information available to Blizzard Entertainment and Activision Blizzard as of the date of this release, and neither Blizzard Entertainment nor Activision Blizzard assumes any obligation to update any such forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements believed to be true when made may ultimately prove to be incorrect. These statements are not guarantees of the future performance of Blizzard Entertainment or Activision Blizzard and are subject to risks, uncertainties and other factors, some of which are beyond its control and may cause actual results to differ materially from current expectations.

View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20180122006267/en/

Blizzard Entertainment, Inc.
Christy Um
Director, Esports Communications
949.955.1380 x61251
christy.um@blizzard.com
or
David Gordon
Global PR Manager, Esports
949.955.1380 x13506
dgordon@blizzard.com
or
Sara Zaidi
Global PR Manager
949.955.1380 x61091
szaidi@blizzard.com

Source: Blizzard Entertainment, Inc.

News Provided by Acquire Media

A full summary of the content available in this snapshot can be found in the changelog on Minecraft.net.

• Fixed bugs

• MC-137935 – Skeletons do not shoot player when seeking shelter from sun
• MC-139446 – Sky light not recalculated when blocks placed in air with /fill command
• MC-141990 – Cartography table does not update when cloning maps
• MC-142134 – Light sources spontaneously not working in some chunks
• MC-144107 – Miscalculation of camera position in windowed mode on Linux with KDE
• MC-144111 – Foxes get stuck after pouncing
• MC-144114 – Foxes can walk/slide while sleeping
• MC-145944 – Villagers travel up water really quick
• MC-145952 – Iron golem and villagers can leave their village
• MC-146272 – Double screen bounce with new sneak/crouch changes
• MC-146978 – Hero of the Village effect obtained naturally makes the player give off particles
• MC-147305 – Player crouches with a delay
• MC-147363 – “Villager disagrees” sound is played twice when right clicking a villager without trades
• MC-147387 – Ravagers with a passenger won’t attack players and iron golems
• MC-147646 – Mobs will go to village centers and attack the air
• MC-147772 – Horses can glitch when moving up blocks
• MC-147799 – Strange TNT behaviour
• MC-147853 – Animals can not get out of water since 1.14-pre1
• MC-147897 – Riding entities down elevation deals damage on dismount (again)
• MC-147913 – Shearing Sheep doesn’t use Shears Durability
• MC-148000 – Enchanted books cannot be disenchanted with the grindstone
• MC-148031 – Spectator flying slows down in solid blocks
• MC-148037 – Light Level decreases on Blocks as Y Level increases
• MC-148045 – Same items types on ground don’t stack together
• MC-148185 – Duplicate maps using cartography table

This week at Bungie, we prepare for Calus’s new challenge.

Now, let’s get down to business on your weekly roundup of Destiny– and Bungie-related news.

Challenge Fit for a Guardian

Season of Opulence is full steam ahead. You’ve scoured the depths of the Menagerie, begun your quest for Truth, and taken the Crown of Sorrow. Our next stop on the roadmap begins June 25 with Menagerie Heroic mode.

So, let’s dig in. What does Calus have lined up for our most powerful Guardians?

Though we’ll be watching, this won’t be a race. We’re excited to see how players customize their experience with various challenges to show off their skill. Can you defeat Heroic mode with fewer than six players? Maybe with specific loadouts? Only time will tell.

Take Pride

June isn’t the only time when we live our values as a company, but it’s a great opportunity to celebrate them. Here is an important message from the Bungie Diversity Committee on how you can join us in expressing your pride, along with the people who make the games you play.

Pride Month is an exciting time of year, when we can all unite under a rainbow flag and celebrate our LGBTQIA+ family. Bungie has come together this month to do more than we’ve been able to accomplish before.

We have a Pride pin for sale on our Bungie Store, with all proceeds going directly to the It Gets Better Project (a nonprofit organization with a mission to uplift, empower, and connect lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer youth around the globe). This year, not only will Bungie continue its tradition of marching in the Seattle Pride Parade as an official sponsor, but we have also teamed up with other nearby dev studios to create a more united game industry alliance. While we celebrate this month, it’s vital that we stay centered on what Pride is truly about; the equal rights and representation of the LGBTQIA+ community, People who deserve to be celebrated and recognized for their role in making our community as amazing as it is.

“For me, Pride means being able to be visible to someone who needs representation (even when they may not realize it), as opposed to how it used to be where visibility only meant being a target.” —Jayce D., Designer

We on the Bungie Diversity Committee are committed to improving Bungie’s work culture, practices, and policies in order to make this community a more welcoming and inclusive space for our LGBTQIA+ employees and fans around the world. This work does not start and end in June; rather, it’s a series of challenges that we work on every day, month after month. Here at Bungie, we know there are still a lot of ways we could be doing better. We also know that our industry sometimes drags its heels when it comes to necessary change. However, we must keep moving forward for the sake of our own teams, coworkers, families, and players who need to know that they are seen, accepted, welcomed, and loved for exactly who they are.

“One of the most empowering things I’ve experienced is the acknowledgement that I exist in a world that generally pretends otherwise. This was the greatest gift games have ever given me, and one of the most important things I want to do as a developer is give that gift to players.” —David S., Engineer

We look forward to celebrating Pride Month with all of you. Let’s keep our eyes up, and do our part to forge a brighter future.

—Bungie Diversity Committee

Preserving the Truth

The members of Destiny Player Support navigate the help forum daily, spreading helpful tips on how to work around issues or collecting data on any newly surfaced problems within Destiny 2. This week, they have some super good advice on how to keep your Truth quest on the right track.

This is their report.

Fall 2019 FAQ Update

This week, we’re making some updates and revisions to our Fall 2019 FAQ. See below for this week’s additions:

Q: What is included with Bungie Store purchases of physical editions of Destiny 2: Shadowkeep?

A: Digital products delivered via email before September 17, 2019:

Players who selected and purchased the “No Game Code” option for Destiny 2: Shadowkeep will not receive any codes leading up to the September 17, 2019 release date.

Collector’s Edition exclusive physical collectible bundle contents delivered on or before September 17, 2019:

• Collector’s Edition Exclusive In-Game Emblem Code: An exclusive in-game emblem code printed inside the physical collectible bundle.
• Hive Cryptoglyph Replica: Follow clues in the Collector’s Edition to unlock the Hive Cryptoglyph and its secret contents. Dimensions: 7.8”L.
• Metal Luna Mission Container: A metal Luna mission folio that holds esoteric relics and records. Dimensions: 8.6”L x 5.9”W.
• Luna Mission Handbook: Containing 40 pages of schematics and design documents.
• Luna Journal: A 160-page journal featuring additional story content that is bound with the mysterious charms and talismans of Eris Morn.
• Artifacts from the Golden Age.

Q: When should players expect Destiny 2: Shadowkeep to ship from the Bungie Store?

A: Physical editions of Destiny 2: Shadowkeep will ship to players on or before September 17, 2019. Included digital codes will be delivered by email to players on or before September 17, 2019. Players should be aware that Bungie Store codes included with Shadowkeep physical edition purchases will arrive only by email, and that no versions include any codes in the box.

Players who selected and purchased the “No Game Code” option for Destiny 2: Shadowkeep will not receive any codes leading up to the September 17, 2019 release date.

Q: Who should players contact with concerns regarding their Bungie Store physical edition purchase of Destiny 2: Shadowkeep?

A: Customer service concerns related to physical editions ordered from BungieStore.com, to include the delivery of Bungie Store digital product codes, should be directed to orders@bungiestore.com.

Additionally, we’ve revised the following questions for clarity in response to player feedback:

Q: Do players need to repurchase Destiny 2 on each cross-save platform separately?

A: Destiny 2 will be accessible to players on all available platforms for free as Destiny 2: New Light. However, players will need to purchase Destiny 2 expansions (Forsaken, Shadowkeep) for each connected platform in order to access that expansion’s content. Cross save will preserve all gear, character, and items across all platforms regardless of expansion ownership.

Q: Can players merge different characters, items, or Triumphs from different accounts? 

A: Cross Save does not feature any form of account, character, or progress merging. Selecting a set of characters for Cross Save does not delete or alter the data of any other character sets. Other character sets will be inaccessible for use as long as Cross Save is active.

Q: Will Stadia feature cross-play with Steam or other platforms?

A: Cross-play will not be available for any platform in 2019. We are investigating this feature for Destiny 2, but we have no official announcements to make at this time.

Destiny 2 Season of Opulence Known Issues

Listed below are the latest player-impacting issues discovered in Season of Opulence:

• Not Getting Truth from the Ascendant Chest: We’re investigating an issue where players may not receive Truth after they open the Ascendant Chest if they aren’t on the quest step “Candy from a Baby.” Players should ensure they are on the appropriate quest step before opening this chest.
• Refer-a-Friend Linking Issue: We’re investigating an issue where new players can’t accept links from veteran players.
• 690 Gear for Alternate Characters: We’re investigating an issue where players don’t receive 690 gear on all of their characters after completing “The Invitation” quest.
• Vestian Dynasty: We’re aware that Vestian Dynasty is dropping for players after Update 2.2.1.
• Rune Bonus II Not Refunding: We’re investigating an issue where players who have this node active in their Chalice of Opulence don’t always receive a rune back when opening the Menagerie chest.
• Double Rune Drops: We’re investigating an issue where players receive only one rune when two runes of the same type drop at the end of an activity.
• Infamy Points and Bounty Issues: We’re investigating an issue where Gambit Prime “Civic Duty” bounties are not counting toward player Infamy ranks.
• Crystals in Eater of Worlds and Crossroad Public Event: We’re investigating an issue where these crystals don’t transition correctly and it becomes difficult to shoot them.
• Raid Witches Vessel Swappers Not Spawning: We are investigating an issue where the swappers do not spawn during flawless runs of the Crown of Sorrow raid, resulting in players being unable to complete the flawless run.
• Static Shock Emote: We’re investigating an issue where players have a hard time interacting with this emote prompt.
• Sturm and Drang Audio: We are investigating an issue where Sturm plays the reload audio on every kill when paired with Drang or Drang (Baroque), even when Drang’s magazine is full.

Frame by Frame

The movies keep rolling in. With players finding new pinnacle and Menagerie weapons to add to their arsenal, we’re seeing some great plays in the wild. Not only that, but fireteams of three taking on the Crown of Sorrow raid.

Movie of the Week: Three-player Crown of Sorrow

Honorable Mention: You use your anger well, Guardian

This weekend, I’ll be on the hunt for some Iron Banner gear with enhanced perk rolls. This is your first chance for enhanced perks through the Crucible, so get to it! Lord Saladin is offering a new quest to unlock each piece, so make sure to complete the appropriate quest step for your desired armor piece before exchanging tokens for random rolls. If you’re a sniper, I highly recommend the enhanced Unflinching Sniper Aim perk for chest pieces.

We’ll see you next week for Menagerie Heroic mode. Prep your fireteam accordingly.

Cheers,

Dmg04

Roughly five months following the debut of Ludwig, Uber’s open source and no-code deep learning toolkit, the ride-hailing company today detailed improvements with the latest version: Ludwig 0.2. Among them are new tools and over 50 bug fixes, plus Comet.ml integration, the addition of Google’s BERT natural language model, and support for new feature types including audio, speech, geospatial, time, and date. (Source: VentureBeat)

Summer is a time for growth. Whether you’re traveling to an historical destination or picking out a book for the beach, the season is ripe for taking a break from the grind to focus on introspection and renewal, to make new friends, re-connect with old ones, and create shared experiences together. With any luck, come autumn you have a sharpened mind and a greater sense of where you want to go next.

Which is why summer is the ideal time for the Microsoft global Hackathon. Minds will be sharpened, advancement made tangible, and friends with diverse backgrounds will be brought together to create shared experiences.

By now you’re probably aware of the 27,000 employees who gather at Microsoft’s Redmond, Washington campus and 45 venues around the world, embracing the event (part of One Week – a series celebrating the company’s people, products and ideas) as a platform for innovation. But at the 6th annual installment, there’s another rapidly growing segment that deserves its own spotlight: customer collaborations.

“We started inviting customers two years ago,” explains Susie Kandzor, group program manager at The Garage, an experimentation and growth program at Microsoft that produces the Hackathon to further its mission of encouraging collaboration, creativity and experimentation. “In 2017, we only had four customers join us. Last year we had 10 customers join us, and the feedback from executive leadership was that they loved it and wanted more.”

For the 2019 installment, the largest private hackathon on the planet welcomes some 30 companies (a dozen more will participate around the globe). Each sends three to five representatives, cross-functionality encouraged, arriving with wildly diverse business hurdles they hope to jump – and confidence that the latest technological breakthroughs can get them there.

“This is how we channel innovation into a focused effort,” says Angela Yochem, executive vice president/chief digital and technology officer for Novant Health, a network of healthcare providers that attended the global Hackathon in 2018 and is sending two teams this year from their offices in North Carolina.

“Remember in the movie ‘Apollo 13,’ where there’s something wrong with the spacecraft and all the engineers get together, spill parts all over a table, and using their past experiences and backgrounds, solve the problem? A Hackathon is that, on steroids.”

“We’re going to talk about the art of the possible,” agrees Kirk Windisch, Novant Health’s vice president of Digital Products and Services. “I’m excited to find solutions that we haven’t even thought of yet.”

The 2019 list of customer attendees is as diverse as it is impressive. Where else could you find 3M, Starbucks, Mastercard and Blackbaud under one roof? From meals (Nestle) to electricity (Chesapeake Energy) to investments (Vanguard), you’d be hard-pressed to find a greater range of industries innovating alongside one another.

“In the past we’ve seen a lot of instances where companies talk between themselves, and the Microsoft Hackathon has introduced different companies to one another. We’re just humbled by the enthusiasm our customers have toward hacking, and honored that these customers have given us the opportunity to help develop their growth ideas,” Kandzor says of the Hackathon’s unique atmosphere.

One customer attending Hackathon 2019 is Bellevue, Washington-based T-Mobile – a company with over 80 million customers and annual revenues of $43 billion – wearing their self-proclaimed moniker of “The Un-carrier” with disruptive pride. Principal analyst Sarah O’Brien says T-Mobile is perfectly positioned for the Hackathon experience.

“I was at a conference not long ago, and my takeaway was the sheer volume of publishing, whitepapers and patents around machine learning and AI coming out of Microsoft ­– the true investment in it – and the notion that rather than treating it like a buzzword, there is thought leadership and movement to drive it forward for everyone,” she says.

“Our companies have a lot of shared experience and recognition that what made you successful in the past does not guarantee success in the future, so I’m excited that we can put these great teams together and build something impactful.”

Novant Health has over 650 locations in five states, and provides increased access to care through digital channels, and through advanced tech in their hospitals and physician centers. “We just deployed an AI-based system for treating stroke patients faster than ever before,” says Yochem, citing one exciting example. “With a stroke victim, every minute matters, and now we are able to save many more lives. It’s an example of how leveraging technology can impact the health of our community.”

And while Novant Health’s goal is nothing short of saving lives, other companies may simply seek to improve the quality of life.

“We’re empowered to achieve more, simply by combining forces,” says Jan-Jaap Oosterwijk, global head of innovation for digital platform security firm Irdeto, who is flying in with his team from The Netherlands. “I love the diversity of the event. I also really like that in the invitation, it was specified that the team doesn’t need to consist of engineers only. The Hackathon is open to people from any background, which will provide a wide range of perspectives.”

There are a lot of great brains working together at the global Hackathon, using a variety of technologies (last year, efforts focused on everything from artificial technology to sustainable farming). Much like a summer cookout, each customer brings their own specialty – in this case, a hack.

By Roger Fingas
Monday, July 22, 2019, 07:44 pm PT (10:44 pm ET)

The contentious $26.5 billion merger of T-Mobile and Sprint is reportedly close to approval by the U.S. Department of Justice, to the point an announcement could be made as soon as Wednesday.

The tentative deal would require the creation of a fourth wireless competitor, CNBC sources said. As rumored that firm should be Dish, the people went on, adding that it’s unlikely to face limitations requested by T-Mobile owner Deutsche Telekom since the DOJ wants a genuine fourth competitor in the U.S. carrier market. In particular, Dish may be free to sell an equity stake to whomever it wants.

That firm may also absorb Sprint prepaid brand Boost Mobile, but initially rely on T-Mobile’s network, switching to its own 5G as the sharing agreement ends — likely in 6 to 7 years. In return for network use T-Mobile is expected to “receive about half of the economics” from each person signing up to Dish wireless.

Dish currently specializes in live TV via satellite and Sling, but has wanted to become a mobile carrier for a decade, snapping up wireless spectrum accordingly. In fact the company has until March 2020 to prove to the Federal Communications Commission that a sizable portion is being used.

Two threats to the merger remain. Sprint and T-Mobile have set a self-imposed July 29 deadline, but more significantly, a lawsuit by state attorneys general — now up to 13, plus the District of Columbia — could block a deal on competitive grounds.