Posted by: xSicKxBot - 11-30-2020, 04:46 AM - Forum: Lounge
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Bungie Cancels Destiny 2's Trials Of Osiris Again
If you were looking forward to taking part in Destiny 2's Trials of Osiris this week, Bungie has some bad news for you. The multiplayer tournament is again postponed, thanks to some unnamed issue Bungie discovered with the mode.
Bungie said on Twitter that the weekend Trials of Osiris mode wouldn't go live as planned today, November 27. The tweet says also says that Bungie isn't sure exactly when Trials will come back to the game.
Due to a recently discovered issue, Trials of Osiris has been disabled for this week. We are currently investigating to determine when it will return.
Bungie previously let players know that Trials was off the table soon after the release of the Beyond Light expansion. At the time, Bungie also didn't make clear what issue it had discovered with Trials, but had previously set the date for its return as Friday, November 27.
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Blender 2.91 was released today another step forward in the rapidly improving open source 3D application. As with other recent releases this one includes several sculpting improvements, especially on the cloth brushes including the ability to collide with other objects in your scene. Other sculpting improvements include several new gesture tools, support for sculpting on the base mesh of a multi-res mesh and the addition of boundary brushes to control the edges of sculpted meshes.
Blender 2.91 Cloth Sculpting
Another major feature includes improved Boolean support including a new exact solver as well as the ability to perform boolean operations on collections of objects. The new exact solver is much more accurate but at the cost of running slower. This improvement is a welcome one, as the boolean functionality in Blender 2.8x was one of the few areas where it was worse than the previous releases.
In addition to the improving volumetric support in the form of openVDB support, Blender 2.91 also has the ability to generate volumes from meshes, as well as apply displacements to those volumes. There are a number of other improvements in Blender 2.91 from EEVEE to Grease Pencil. Learn more about the release in the release notes.
You can learn more about the Blender release, including several new features demonstrated in the video below. The 2.91 splash screen is the work of Robin Tran, a concept artist at UbiSoft Massive, you can see more shots here. Blender is available on all major platforms as a free download here, assuming of course their servers are currently on fire due to demand! If you are interested at looking even further into the future of Blender, Blender 2.92 is currently available here in alpha( soon to be beta) form.
Feature: What’s The Best Way To Play Super Mario Bros. In 2020?
As Nintendo has been reminding us this year, Super Mario Bros. is thirty-five years old. Shigeru Miyamoto’s classic has seen more than its fair share of re-releases, remasters and re-jigs over the decades and these days we’re really spoiled for choice when it comes to playing the quintessential 2D platformer.
Seeing a whole bunch of World 1-1s playing across multiple systems recently really brought home the sheer number of ways available to play the game, and also made us question just how many times we’ve bought it over the years. Nintendo knows what its doing with all these re-releases, that’s for sure!
With Super Mario Bros. 35 and the lgorgeousGame & Watch: Super Mario Bros. being the most recent opportunities to replay it, we delved into our libraries and memories to find all the versions of Super Mario Bros. we’ve played. What’s the best way to play the game these days? Does the authenticity of the 8-bit original played on a chunky CRT trump the convenience of the Nintendo Switch Online version? Do you prefer the 16-bit sheen of the All-Stars version? Do you have a soft spot for a lesser-loved handheld port?
That’s what we’re here to find out. Below you’ll find every official release of the game available to play. We’ve only included releases where you can play through every level (or a variant thereof) from start to finish, so you won’t find Super Mario Maker, nor the demos in Smash Bros. or the bite-sized chunks in the original NES Remix or that amiibo Tap compilation (remember that?). We’ve also omitted the super rare Nintendo World Championships cart which imposes a time limit and moves you on to Rad Racer once you’ve collected 50 coins.
So, grab your pad and console of choice, and let’s jump into 1-1. And then another 1-1. And another 1-1…
Publisher: Nintendo / Developer: Nintendo EAD
Release Date: 17th Nov 1985 (USA) / 15th May 1987 (UK/EU)
The original game with the original controller on the original system it was designed for. Say what you like about resolution improvements and mod cons, but it’s hard to beat the real McCoy. Whether it’s the original Famicom release or the NES version in the West, the world is filled with copies of this game, dog-eared and pristine alike. You’ll find it on compilation carts, too (with Duck Hunt, for instance), and it was one of the NES games on the PlayChoice-10 arcade cabinet (which we haven’t included here as it’s hardly widely available).
It’s Super Mario Bros., and we believe you’re required to own a copy in order to get your gamer licence.
Publisher: Nintendo / Developer: HAMSTER
Release Date: 22nd Dec 2017 (USA) / 22nd Dec 2017 (UK/EU)
This arcade game, which remixes various elements of the game for a fresh, more challenging spin on the classic, was tough to track down until relatively recently when it came to Switch as part of Hamster’s Arcade Archives line. For the seasoned veteran, VS. Super Mario Bros. offers a spicy little alternative to the vanilla experience, with elements the West would later see in The Lost Levels and various other tweaks for arcade players.
Super Mario Bros. (Famicom Disk System versions)
The Japan-only Famicom Disk System was the system that hosted the proper sequel to Super Mario Bros., but it also got a version of the original game — a couple of versions, actually. The main version is largely identical to the original, although it boasts a totally different Minus World. Perhaps the more interesting curio is All Night Nippon Super Mario Bros., an altered version of the original game which remixes some levels and replaces various enemy sprites with Japanese DJs from the titular radio show. It’s a fun little variant that’s worth watching a video of, at least.
Publisher: Nintendo / Developer: Nintendo R&D2
Release Date: 1st May 1999 (USA) / 10th Jun 1999 (UK/EU)
A special port for the Game Boy Color, Super Mario Bros. Deluxe offered not only a great version of the original game, but also a port of The Lost Levels, plus some bespoke coin collecting challenges and mini-games to enjoy which makes it a fine portable way to play the game.
One thing that inexplicably sticks in our memories is the Calendar — the ability to look into the dim and distant future and magically find out that, for example, 28th November 2020 would be a Saturday felt like witchcraft back in those pre-millennium days. Or it did to us. Perhaps we’d melted our brain a bit by playing too much Super Mario Bros. in the back of the car.
Super Mario Bros. via Animal Crossing (GameCube)
Probably the most obscure and convoluted way to play on this list, Super Mario Bros. is tucked away inside every copy of Animal Crossing for GameCube. Problem is that although other NES games are accessible, you’ll need an Action Replay to unlock it — it’s not obtainable by any legitimate means otherwise. It may have been a planned addition to the Nintendo e-Reader ranger unlocked via the Game Boy Advance peripheral.
Still, Super Mario Bros. is locked away (along with The Legend of Zelda) on every one of those cute little discs and is totally playable if you’ve got the tools to unlock them. It also represents the only way to play the game (semi-officially) on GameCube.
NES Classics: Super Mario Bros. (GBA)
This serviceable port for the Game Boy Advance stretches and squashes the image to fit on the console’s wider screen and, as such — however well the base gameplay holds up — it feels suboptimal. Overall, it’s a fair version on a spectacular little console, but this would be low on our personal list.
Publisher: Nintendo / Developer: Nintendo EAD
Release Date: 11th Aug 1993 (USA) / 16th Dec 1993 (UK/EU)
Super NES owners got a bumper treat of NES classics in one package in the original Super Mario All-Stars. Each one was given a 16-bit lick of paint, too, plus some gameplay tweaks. If you grew up playing the originals, the minor differences here will feel much more significant, and while we can admire the collection, this remaster doesn’t quite feel ‘right’. On the other hand, this is the way many players first experienced those games. Different strokes.
The arrival of the Virtual Console on Wii sparked renewed interest in Nintendo’s back catalogue and offered a convenient way to buy and play the classics once again, spearheaded by Super Mario Bros. of course. According to VGSales, only Super Mario Bros. 3 sold more digital copies than this on Wii, and approximately 660,000 of you have this sitting on your dusty little Wii. Unfortunately for the rest of you, the Wii Shop has long since closed its doors so you can’t buy it anymore.
Chin up, though — Super Mario Bros. is available on one or two other platforms, we hear.
Super Mario Bros. (3DS Virtual Console)
Made available for free as part of the Ambassador Program for early adopters of the console, Super Mario Bros. on 3DS is… well, it’s Super Mario Bros. on 3DS, isn’t it? You get your save states (sorry, ‘restore points’) but otherwise it’s the same great game on another family of systems. The 3DS library is bulging with its own golden goodies, but you can never have too many great games.
Super Mario Bros. (Wii U Virtual Console)
Aside from looking a bit dark, the Wii U Virtual Console version does what you expect. You can remap the buttons and play on the Wii U Gamepad (and make use of save states, of course) but otherwise it’s just a solid version of the game.
Erm, we’re running out of things to say about Super Mario Bros. RIP Miiverse?
Super Luigi Bros. via NES Remix 2 (Wii U)
Just when you were starting to get bored of the most seminal of video games (for shame!), Luigi arrives to shake you up with a remix. Super Luigi Bros. is a mode in NES Remix 2 which enables you to play through the entire original game in reverse. That might not sound like much, but after running from left to right for decades, muscle memory makes doing it backwards feel totally different.
Speed Mario Bros. via Ultimate NES Remix (3DS)
Ultimate NES Remix for the 3DS offered the entire game again, although this time running at double regular speed. Gameplay-wise, it’s the same old story, but Speed Mario Bros. adds another welcome spin on a game we’ve played to death.
Super Mario Bros. via NES Classic Mini / Famicom Mini
Can you imagine if Nintendo somehow left this game off the NES Classic Mini? No, it’s unthinkable, even for a company known for making some odd decisions. This one offers decent emulation of the game along with that classic pad feel and the convenience of a tiny console that connects easily to modern TVs. Not a bad way to play at all.
Super Mario Bros. (Nintendo Switch Online)
The easiest way for Switch owners to take another run through the Mushroom Kingdom, the Nintendo Switch Online release enables you to rewind the action whenever you miss a jump or absentmindedly wander into a Goomba’s path, plus you get all the save states and mod cons you’d expect. You can even play with the wireless NES controllers for added authenticity. It’s also much easier to appreciate just how much the designers of Super Mario Maker 2 tweaked the physics in the SMB Game Style (as you could with the original Super Mario Maker on Wii U).
Switch owners also have the option to play the All-Stars remaster, of course.
Publisher: Nintendo / Developer: Nintendo
Release Date: 1st Oct 2020 (USA) / 1st Oct 2020 (UK/EU)
Super Mario Bros. 35 is Nintendo’s limited-time celebration of the game’s 35th anniversary, and while the main game sees you battling thirty-four other people as you make your way through the game and send defeated enemies to other players’ worlds, Course Practice lets you play through the Worlds (albeit individually) without any of the multiplayer aspects.
There was a Super Mario Bros. Game & Watch back in the day, of course, although it beared no resemblance to the NES game. This new Game & Watch: Super Mario Bros., though, serves up a bespoke way to play the classic on its very own little handheld device, with some added extras like an alarm clock that fits the spirit of the original Game & Watch line.
The resolution of the little LCD screen might not be perfect, but it’s hard to dislike this gorgeous, celebratory little machine.
So, that’s our round up of all the official ways to play Super Mario Bros., but which do you think is the best? Do you need that classic NES pad? Does the ability to rewind mistake improve the experience? We’ve always had a a lot of time for the Deluxe version on Game Boy Color, but does the reduced screen size count against it?
Take a look at the list below, choose up to three of your favourite ways to play Super Mario Bros. today, hit the ‘Vote’ button and we’ll find out your cumulative thoughts on how best to revisit this classic in the modern era.
The result you expected? Furious that Super Mario Bros. Special for the NEC PC-8801 or the Satellaview’s BS Super Mario Collection wasn’t included? Think we’ve missed a vital (official) method of playing the game? Feel free to share your thoughts on the various versions with a carefully crafted comment below. And there’s always our ranked list of the best Super Mario games ever, if you can’t get enough of the plumber’s antics.
How Cyberpunk 2077 Cross-Saves Work On PS5 And Xbox Series X/S
Developer CD Projekt Red has outlined the way Cyberpunk 2077 players on PlayStation 4 and Xbox One can transfer their saves to their respective next-gen consoles.
PlayStation 4 and Xbox One players who upgrade to the next-gen system in their respective console family can pick up their Cyberpunk 2077 save file on PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series S / Series X from where they left off when the game drops on December 10. As you'd expect, the process of transferring saves from one console to the other is different for each console family.
Xbox is very simple. Thanks to Smart Delivery, Cyberpunk 2077 players on Xbox One can upload their save to the cloud and simply pick up their file on Xbox Series S / Series X. Similarly, players can connect both consoles to the same network and download their saves via selecting the System Network Transfer option.
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Early Docker build demonstrates incoming Apple Silicon support
The virtualization software Docker is getting closer to being usable by developers on an Apple Silicon Mac, with an early version of the tool confirmed as being able to run on the new chip architecture.
Mentioned in Apple’s launch of its Apple Silicon Mac lineup, Docker has yet to fully make the transition from being usable on Intel Macs to versions using M1. In a tweet, it seems the work to make the transition is making progress.
Docker VP of engineering Jean-Laurent Morlhorn shared a post on Twitter by developer Dave Scott, showing a version of Docker that is working on an M1 Mac. In commenting on the screenshot, Morlhorn adds it is a “super early version of Docker Desktop running on Apple Silicon.”
While the post is a good sign for users of the tool, it doesn’t mean it will be released imminently with Apple Silicon support, as Morlhorn advises there’s “no publicly available build yet.”
On November 16, Docker advised it was actively working through the steps needed to get it working on M1 hardware. Aiming to “provide the same great experience on the new Macs” and for a seamless transition, developer Ben De St Paer-Gotch explained there was a need to move its “plumbing” to Apple’s new hypervisor framework, and that using Rosetta 2 doesn’t get Docker Desktop “all the way.”
The company also has to rely on software by other firms that need to go through the same transition process. The list included Electron, which officially started to support M1 on November 20.
Docker isn’t the only virtualization software wrestling with the move to M1. Both Parallels and VMWare have confirmed support for M1 is on the way for their respective tool packages.
With the weekend now finally upon us, though, it’s time to discuss our weekend gaming plans. Members of Nintendo Life have done just that, and we’d love for you to join in via our comment section below. Enjoy!
Ollie Reynolds, reviewer
Hello all! It’s getting a bit chilly outside now, so this weekend I’ll be cosying up with a couple of games from my backlog. Chiefly, I’m restarting Luigi’s Mansion 3 from scratch (look, I’m just not ready for it to be Christmas yet; my brain still thinks it’s Halloween) and I genuinely can’t wait to get back into it.
With the news of an incoming sequel to The World Ends With You, I’ve also decided to give the Switch version another shot. I can definitely see why it’s so beloved, but it never quite sunk its hooks into me; we’ll see how it goes this time!
Gavin Lane, features editor
I’m looking to chill the beans right down after giving Calamity Ganon’s evil hordes a thrashing over the past couple of weeks. In fact, I may well return to Breath of the Wild for an altogether more sedate trip to Hyrule. I fired it up recently for work and was surprised at just how great BOTW still looks in this age of 4Ks and umpteen teraflops. Beautiful game.
Otherwise, I should really get back to my Animal Crossing island and I’d love to carry on with Control. Whatever happens, my absolute priority this week is to avoid the Cyber Deals sale at all costs. I’m a sucker for a deal, but it’s not much of a deal if you never get around to playing the game, is it?
My game of the week – no, of all time – is (despite these old reflexes showing the damage of age) F-ZERO GX. I knew I shouldn’t have put the disc in the Wii tray because now every other current-gen game looks slow and bland in comparison.
As always, thanks for reading! Make sure to leave us a comment below with your gaming choices over the next few days…
There are a ton of physical game deals floating around this Black Friday, but that doesn't mean PC gamers can't get in on the holiday savings. Not only are we seeing major Black Friday sales from Steam, Fanatical, and Green Man Gaming; there's also a massive PC games sale going on right now at CD Projekt Red's PC games storefront GOG. The store is offering steep discounts on over 2,000 games from now until December 1 at 6 AM PT / 9 AM ET.
Mashing up Bridge Constructor and AMC’s The Walking Dead
Quick intro: I am Matthias, the creative lead behind the brand-new Bridge Constructor: The Walking Deadgame, the latest release in the well-known Bridge Constructor series. Some of you may have noticed that we already went a bit crazy with our previous title Bridge Constructor Portal (available now with Xbox Game Pass), which was based on Valve’s beloved Portal. This time, we are taking it a step further.
By its roots, Bridge Constructor has always been a premium casual puzzle brand, focusing on the challenges of constructing bridge with a selection of materials at hand and testing them under different weight loads. If you build successfully, your cars, trucks or trains will make it across. However, on your way to that successful moment, the whole thing will collapse many times – and watching everything tumble down is actually a big part of the fun and probably one of the main reasons why the genre is so beloved by gamers and content creators alike.
Back in 2012, we started with Bridge Constructor being a traditional approach to the genre. Now with every following sequel we tried to give a new aspect to it: There was the sandboxy BC Playground with badges for different challenges, followed by BC Medieval placed in the Middle Ages offering new mission modes, and even an action-focused BC Stunts, where you have direct control of your vehicles, more along the lines of the Trials games.
Our question always was where to take the brand next and how to explore and cross boundaries. We already began broadening the concept of “bridges” with BC Stunts, where players mainly constructed jump ramps and loops to have the vehicles perform daredevil stunts. We liked the dynamic aspect of it, so Dieter from Headup ventured forth and asked: Could we combine the physics-based gameplay from Bridge Constructor with the equation of “Entrance velocity equals exit velocity” from the Portal games? Bingo! Bridge Constructor Portal came quite unexpected for the most but proved to be a big success. Now the following idea was: What if we create a game in the tradition of Lemmings and The Crazy Machines but use zombies instead of little rodents? With the guys at Headup being great fans of the Walking Dead brand, the idea was spontaneously pitched to AMC. And funnily enough, we were jointly able to secure a deal.
Which takes us directly to the subject of brains: The main challenge in the development was to keep the balance between a complex and resource-demanding physics system and the number of units we could simulate in a level. One of Lemmings’ big appeals was the sheer mass of little sprites on the screen but that was before ragdolls and real-time physics implementation. This posed quite a challenge for the game design. We decided to reduce the number of walkers a bit in favor of offering more diverse puzzles including the use of mobile environment objects to devise lethal traps for the zombies. Yet, the command element from Lemmings still seemed sexy to use, so we implemented it but in a reversed way: In our game you can give commands to the protagonists while enjoying the internally called “Lemmings Schadenfreude Effect” on the walkers.
Balancing all three things – physics system, characters from the show, and the puzzle designs – took its time so we extended the originally scheduled development period by a few months. Which lead to the fact that the game’s release date now coincides with the launch of the next generation of consoles, and we are especially proud that Bridge Constructor: The Walking Dead will be one of the truly new games on these great platforms. This is a new area for us as Bridge Constructor has always been more of a mobile and PC brand, and we are excited to see how the first-mover console audience will react to the game.
Bridge Constructor: The Walking Dead
Headup
☆☆☆☆☆
★★★★★
Xbox One X Enhanced
Experience the fun of KILLING WALKERS using the POWER of your BRAIN! Prepare for the ultimate mashup experience! Bridge Constructor: The Walking Dead combines the legendary and challenging puzzle gameplay of Bridge Constructor™ with the post-apocalyptic zombie universe of AMC’s The Walking Dead. Join a group of survivors as they fight against hordes of undead walkers and a hostile human community. Build bridges and other constructions through bleak landscapes and ruined structures. Team up with fan-favorite characters like Daryl, Michonne and Eugene, and create safe passage for iconic vehicles from the series. Use movable level objects, explosives and baits to your advantage as you lure walkers into lethal traps and guide your survivors to safety. Enjoy the physics-based frenzy and ragdoll animations as walkers succumb to the forces of gravity.
