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[Did I expect this particular Sega franchise to come back & hit big? Nooope.]

We’re back again with Video Game Deep Cuts newsletter on Substack, folks. I’m still enjoying putting these together – not least because there are plenty ‘big news of the day/week’ newsletters, but finding time to discover the alternative material is rewarding.

The ‘all the notable new games’ section may be getting too big/complex. But even working out what came out can be surprisingly tricky for the average reader, with all the platforms/microscenes out there. So I’ll keep noodling!

– Simon, curator

The Current: New Games In The Spotlight

• The Flower Collectors (PC, pictured) is an unusual short narrative game – “a simple but full-hearted spin on Rear Window.”

• Fallout 76’s ‘Wastelanders’ update (PC, Xbox, PS4) – which is solo play-focused, intriguingly – seems to have elevated the game to ‘try this out!’ levels.

• Paper Beast (PS4) is the under-the-radar Eric Chahi (Another World) PlayStation VR game which “throws players into a hallucinatory cyberscape.”

• 2D brawler remake Streets Of Rage 4 (PC, Switch, PS4, Xbox) is a bit of a surprise hit. (BONUS: ICYMI, Treachery In Beatdown City is an intriguing 2D RPG-brawler combo.)

• 4 vs. 1 multiplayer shooter Predator: Hunting Grounds (PC, PS4) has mixed reviews – game ‘feel’ better suited to dev’s previous, Friday The 13th?

The Culture: Game Culture & Deep Dives

The Past: Game History

The Other Goodness

Thanks for reading, and see you next week!
Simon.

In this GDC 2020 virtual talk 343 Industries’ Josh Menke presents TrueMatch, a new matchmaking approach that allows developers to more intuitively express the value of each matchmaking metric and then uses machine learning to automatically optimize over the desired metrics in real-time.

It was a deeply informative and technical look at one of online game design’s pressing quandaries, so if you missed seeing it live don’t miss your chance to watch Menke’s talk for free on the official GDC YouTube channel!

In addition to this presentation, the GDC Vault and its accompanying YouTube channel offers numerous other free videos, audio recordings, and slides from many of the recent Game Developers Conference events, and the service offers even more members-only content for GDC Vault subscribers.

Those who purchased All Access passes to recent events like GDC or VRDC already have full access to GDC Vault, and interested parties can apply for the individual subscription via a GDC Vault subscription page. Group subscriptions are also available: game-related schools and development studios who sign up for GDC Vault Studio Subscriptions can receive access for their entire office or company by contacting staff via the GDC Vault group subscription page.

Latest datacenter region affirms Microsoft’s commitment to enable digital transformation while accelerating innovation and growth in Aotearoa  

Auckland, New Zealand, 6 May 2020 – Microsoft Corp. today announced plans to establish its first datacenter region in New Zealand, a major milestone toward delivering enterprise-grade cloud services in the country. The New Zealand datacenter region will be the latest addition to Microsoft’s global datacenter footprint, which totals more than any other cloud provider at 60 regions announced, with Microsoft Azure available in over 140 countries around the world. 

With the development of this new datacenter region, Microsoft aims to fuel new growth that will accelerate digital transformation opportunities across New Zealand. The company will also continue its investments in new solutions that support both New Zealand and Microsoft’s sustainability goals. In addition, Microsoft will add support for educational skilling programs to increase future employability opportunities for the people of New Zealand. 

“This significant investment in New Zealand’s digital infrastructure is a testament to the remarkable spirit of New Zealand’s innovation and reflects how we’re pushing the boundaries of what is possible as a nation,” said Vanessa Sorenson, general manager, Microsoft New Zealand. “The Fletcher School’s Digital Evolution Index characterises New Zealand as a ‘standout nation’ demonstrating to the world what the future might look like. I’m confident this investment will help accelerate our digital evolution.”   

Accelerating digital transformation in New Zealand 

Through the development of the new region, public– and private–sector entities, large enterprises, and small and medium-size businesses will be able to use scalable, highly available and resilient public cloud services, while also helping companies meet their data residency, security and compliance needs.  

Customers will have access to Microsoft’s cloud services, including: 

• Microsoft Azure – an ever-expanding set of cloud services that offers computing, networking, databases, analytics, AI and Internet of Things (IoT) services.  

• Microsoft 365 – the world’s productivity cloud, featuring best-of-breed productivity apps delivered as part of an open platform for business processes with email, collaboration, conferencing, enterprise social networking and business intelligence.  
• Dynamics 365 and Power Platform – intelligent business applications that enable organisations to grow, evolve and transform to meet the needs of customers and capture new opportunities. 
• Built-In Trust and Security – an industry-leading portfolio of government and industry certifications and world-class security as well as a commitment from Microsoft to store customer data at rest in New Zealand. 

While this new region will deliver local access to cloud services, New Zealand customers and partners are already benefitting from Microsoft’s global scale cloud services.  

Fonterra is a New Zealand dairy co-operative, which exports products to over 140 countries. Piers Shore, CIO, Fonterra said, “To meet our strategic goals, which are enabled by efficiency, innovation and sustainability, we look to build strong partnerships with great companies to drive enhanced productivity across the business. Microsoft is one of our key partners in helping us deliver our digital transformation. This is an exciting announcement — it will bring even more cutting-edge technology to our co-operative and the New Zealand technology ecosystem. This in turn will help us leverage technology to create value for our farmer owners and unit holders, and Fonterra customers around the world.” 

Spark NZ, a leading digital services organisation and Microsoft cloud customer, enables its customers to quickly and securely innovate and scale operations. “Spark, New Zealand’s largest telecommunications and technology solutions provider, is delighted to partner with Microsoft to empower innovation — two organisations focused on building cloud and digital capability to help New Zealand businesses succeed,” said Jolie Hodson, chief executive, Spark. 

Microsoft New Zealand’s diverse partner ecosystem of roughly 2,300 companies, employing over 21,000 people, will further benefit customers by bringing their unique industry expertise to generate new opportunities in customers’ digital transformation journeys. Microsoft partner Computer Concepts Ltd (CCL) delivers customer-focused solutions designed to meet business needs, including specialised data migrations to advanced virtual desktops and data recovery. “CCL is proud to be supporting Microsoft in this venture. It’s a game changer, unlocking the potential of Kiwi businesses to go global, at scale and securely. This is an opportunity to fundamentally change the way we consume technology and level the playing field for disruptive Kiwi innovators like never before,” said Andrew Allan, CEO, CCL. 

Continued commitment to sustainability  

Microsoft has committed to become carbon negative by 2030 and by 2050 remove all the carbon the company has emitted either directly or by electrical consumption from the environment since it was founded in 1975. Through its AI for Good initiative, Microsoft combines its technology and expertise in artificial intelligence and data science with the talent and expertise of groups around the world to address humanitarian challenges, preserve cultural heritage, and create a more sustainable, healthier, and accessible world.  

New Zealand organisations, including National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research (NIWA) and Sustainable Coastlines, are already leveraging Microsoft’s cloud services and resources from this initiative to address global issues.   

NIWA was awarded a Microsoft AI for Earth grant to analyse past weather data and major events, such as “The Week it Snowed Everywhere” to help predict future weather patterns. In a world-first project with Microsoft, NIWA is pioneering the use of AI to scan historic weather observations and turn this information into data to help evaluate how our climate is changing over time.  

Secondly, award-winning NGO and Microsoft AI for Earth grant recipient Sustainable Coastlines, which launched a Litter Database, makes citizen scientists out of New Zealanders by arming them with data to keep beaches clean. Creators of the Sustainable Coastlines app have been working alongside the Ministry for the Environment, Department of Conservation and Statistics NZ to create an additional first-of-its-kind resource, Litter Intelligence. This resource is developed in alignment with a United Nations Environment Programme methodology, which has the potential to scale globally and benefit other countries’ sustainability agendas.  

Skilling for the future 

Microsoft is also working to bridge the skills gap among the IT community and enhance technical acumen for cloud services to support future employability opportunities. 

Microsoft has worked alongside Massey University and The Collaborative Studio to launch i4 Accelerator, a public-private education program that addresses skills shortages in primary industries, such as manufacturing and technology. The i4 accelerator supports digital skilling efforts by providing access to training for targeted skills, leadership education and workplace-based training programs to support the adoption of digital technologies. Through this work, i4 Accelerator aims to enable New Zealand logistics and technology companies to build better solutions through co-creation and collaboration. 

Microsoft (Nasdaq “MSFT” @microsoft) enables digital transformation for the era of an intelligent cloud and an intelligent edge. Its mission is to empower every person and every organisation on the planet to achieve more. 

The new datacenter region in New Zealand is subject to approval from the Overseas Investment Office. 

Tags: Azure, Cloud, Cloud Services, Datacenter, Microsoft Azure, Microsoft News

Like any electronic device, the Switch isn’t perfect in hardware or software and although issues with either are uncommon, they can happen. If your Switch is unresponsive and won’t turn on, or has an issue with charging, we’ve got a few solutions for you to hopefully save yourself a tremendous amount of headache.

My Switch won’t turn on

If your console was otherwise behaving and then suddenly refused to turn on, there’s a few things you can try.

Plug it in to charge

Sounds basic we know but we’re none of us immune to simply forgetting that the Switch didn’t have as much charge as we thought. Usually the screen will still light up with a battery indicator letting you know it needs charging, but if it’s seriously empty it won’t have the charge to even do that. Charge it with the official Nintendo Switch Power Adapter that came with the console and leave it for at least an hour. You’d be surprised how often this works.

© Nintendo Life / Alex Olney

Perform a hard reset

If charging does nothing at all then your next bet should be to perform a hard reset. You can do this by holding down the power button on the top of the console (not the Home Button on the Joy-Con) for around 12 seconds, or 15 if your second counting ability leaves something to be desired. Release the power button from your firm finger force, and press it once as you usually would to turn it on. With any luck things should now function just as you’d expect them to; this solution has even saved some of the NLife crew once or twice.

My Switch won’t charge

If you console isn’t taking or keeping a charge, there’s a couple of solutions you can try before taking the nuclear option.

Use an official Nintendo Switch Power Adapter

The Switch charges using a non-standard protocol, so if you’ve been using a third-party solution that may be where issues arise. We’re sure there are plenty of perfectly sensible third-party adapters out there, but we can’t vouch for their reliability or safety, but we (and obviously Nintendo) can vouch for the official charger.

© Nintendo Life / Alex Olney

Power-cycle your power adapter

Seems ludicrous, but there’s a surprising amount of gubbins inside that power adapter of yours. Unplug it from both your Switch and the wall and leave it for 30 to 60 seconds. This will in essence reset the adapter and set things right. Before you test it though…

© Nintendo Life / Alex Olney

Check the power adapter for damage

Does it all look all right on both ends? The official power adapter is pretty hardy, but it’s not impervious. Check inside the USB-C plug for any bent pins that might not be making good contact (bad), inspect the cable for fraying as this can cause a short (very bad), and as obvious as it sounds, make sure there are no cracks or buckling on the housing of the wall adapter side (genuine fire risk). If you see any signs of damage, do not use the adapter at all as it could pose a danger. Replace it with another official adapter, and see if using a brand-spanking new solves your issue.

© Nintendo Life / Alex Olney

Leave it to charge for a few hours.

If the battery’s been really heavily drained, it needs to recharge slowly for safety reasons (that’s a very basic explanation of how lithium-ion batteries work but it’s enough for the purposes of this guide). If your console only just ran out of juice and you plug it in, it will likely be useable almost immediately, but if it’s sat for weeks or even months with no charge it could take several hours to get even any kind of response out of it. Leave it on charge (supervised) for at least 2 hours, but keep it plugged in for longer if it still shows no signs of life. If after 12-24 hours you still get nothing from trying to turn it on, try a hard reset as detailed above as one last attempt to get things going.

The nuclear option

If all of that fails, your last sensible course of action is to call Nintendo directly and discuss getting it repaired. If your console is still within warranty they may not charge you for the service, but be prepared that unlike the advice we’ve given you, this most likely won’t be free.

© Nintendo Life / Alex Olney

What about third party repair shops?

Be very wary of any unauthorised repair shops. Chances are that they’re all completely trustworthy, hardworking, and knowledgeable individuals who will be working on your system, but using one of these will in all likelihood mean that if anything else goes wrong in the future, Nintendo will refuse to repair or service your console, even for a fee. It sucks, but that’s the kind of dystopia we’re living in at the moment.

Can I repair it myself? I have a screwdriver somewhere…

This is even more dangerous, I mean have you even seen inside a Switch before? Wires, circuitry, resistors, strange-tasting heatsinks, it’s not exactly like that time you blew in your N64’s cartridge slot and ‘fixed it’ (side note: don’t do this, it’s bad for the contacts). We don’t want anything to happen to your console, and if you had the knowhow and skills to repair this yourself you likely wouldn’t be using this article as a resource, so keep things safe and leave it to the professionals. Feel free to try the simple stuff we’ve mentioned above, but don’t risk your expensive Animal Crossing machine accidentally.

Unreal Engine 4.25 was just released today, with tons of improvements, new features and bug fixes.  The biggest theme of the 4.25 release was production ready with several in development systems now considered ready to use in a production environment.

Major features of the 4.25 release include:

• Niagara VFX system improved and production ready
• Unreal Audio Engine improved and production ready
• Real Time Raytracing Support production ready
• Added support for Xbox Series X and Playstation 5 development
• Hololens 2 support now production ready
• Chaos Physics Engine improved and being used in Fortnite
• New Thin Transparency shading model and a new Anisotropy material input property
• LiDAR data support
• much, much more

A summary of new features in Unreal Engine 4.25 is available here while detailed release notes are available here.  You can learn more about Unreal Engine 4.25 in the video below.

GameDev News Unreal

By Mike Peterson
Tuesday, May 05, 2020, 02:31 pm PT (05:31 pm ET)

Apple’s lawsuit against cybersecurity firm Corellium is reportedly having a “chilling effect” on some types of iOS security research, according to several experts in the field.

Apple says that Corellium’s emulator copies iOS in “exacting detail.”

In August 2019, Apple levied a copyright lawsuit against security specialist Corellium, saying the company’s iOS emulation software “copied everything” about the tech giant’s mobile operating system.

Since then, Apple has escalated its legal fight with the Florida-based firm, subpoenaing records from Santander Bank and intelligence firm L3Harris Technologies about their use of Corellium’s emulator.

The escalating legal dustup has created a “chilling effect” in the iPhone-focused security industry, one researcher told Motherboard. A handful of security researchers that the publication spoke to expressed fear of retribution from Apple for using the Corellium emulator software.

Some of those experts also claim that Apple’s copyright lawsuit is less about intellectual property and more about retaining control over iOS security research and snarling the development of third-party iPhone hacking tools.

In several court filings, Apple maintains that the purpose of its lawsuit is “not to encumber good-faith security research,” but to simply stop Corellium from commercializing its copyrighted works.

As part of its legal defense, Corellium said that its emulator product helps secure Apple devices by allowing researchers to find vulnerabilities in the company’s platform.

“This litigation presents an existential threat to an open and healthy security research community not only for Apple products but for consumer devices in general,” Corellium said in a statement sent by its lawyers.

The U.S. Justice Department recently asked that Apple’s deposition of Corellium cofounder Chris Wade be delayed until it could review the evidence Apple’s lawyers would present before they question him.

On Friday, Apple’s counsel filed a motion opposing that order, stating that the government had provided “no compelling reason, much less any evidence,” for the delay.