Monthly Archives: August 2018
Find out Where to Preorder World of Warcraft: Battle for Azeroth Here
Fortnite: Week 6 Challenges Leaked (Time Trials, Stone Head Location and Map)
Fallout 76 Avoiding Steam Doesn’t Mean All Future Games Will Too, Bethesda Says
Speaking with IGN at QuakeCon 2018, Bethesda’s Pete Hines said that Fallout 76 not coming to Steam at launch doesn’t mean the publisher will never release a game there again.
“We did not announce ‘all future Bethesda games will not be on Steam,’” Hines explained. “That is not what we said. We said ‘this game will be available exclusively on Bethesda.net.’”
When asked whether Doom Eternal would be skipping Steam as well, Hines said they don’t know yet. “We haven’t decided on anything else, this is specific to Fallout 76 given the kind of game it is -- it’s an online, ongoing game,” he continued. “
WWE’s Elias Playing Special NYC Concert Before SummerSlam PPV
This just in from WWE: Like his impromptu concert on New Orleans' Bourbon Street, ahead of WrestleMania 34, WWE Superstar Elias is playing an exclusive gig ahead of WWE's giant summertime PPV, SummerSlam.
There's one big difference this time though: Fans have ample time to grab tickets to the event, which will take place on Saturday, August 18th at 5:30 pm.
Fortnite: Five Secret Road Trip Battle Star Locations and Map
Fallout 76 PvP Detailed, Aims for ‘Danger Without Griefing’
One of the biggest concerns about Fallout 76 so far has been around how PvP will work, and if you can ignore it if you want to. Speaking at QuakeCon 2018, Bethesda Game Studios director Todd Howard broke down exactly how it would work.
Howard said Fallout 76 would be driven by both PvE and PvP, explaining that “we want this element of danger, and it sounds weird to say, without griefing.” How that works is that you have to actively respond to an attacking player in order to engage in PvP.
If you randomly start attacking another player you will do significantly less damage, which Howard described as “slapping someone in a bar” to challenge them to a fight. The damage only scales to normal levels if they then attack you back as a response. If not, you continue doing tiny damage.
Bethesda Details Fallout 76 Perk System
Changes and new additions to the perk system in Fallout 76 were detailed at a Bethesda panel at QuakeCon.
The SPECIAL system returns and allows players to assign points across seven main attributes that enhance your character, but this time it also uses a new card system. As you level up, cards are unlocked and each one comes with a point value that is used to increase one of the SPECIAL attributes. Each card features a new ability and can be leveled up. Duplicate cards can be merged to level up a card but this will also increase the point value.
Here's an early look at tons of new screenshots and Perk cards:
Hundreds of cards exist in Fallout 76 and each perk can be shared among your teammates. Every SPECIAL attribute has a limit of 15 points and you'll stop earning points at level 50. Cards, however, will continue to unlock with each character level up and you can swap out existing cards any time to mix up your style.
Fallout 76 Will Have Private Servers and Mod Support
Speaking at QuakeCon 2018, Bethesda Game Studios director Todd Howard confirmed that Fallout 76 will have private servers that allow custom mods.
Howard said “it’s a complicated problem, but one that we are 100% committed to solving." He explained that he knows that modding is an important part of the current Fallout games, and that they want to make sure that experience is still available in Fallout 76.
Howard also acknowledged that this isn't an easy technical challenge in an online game, but that they will work to make sure it happens. How extensive the mod support will be was not explained, and it seems likely you will need to be in one of these private servers to mod at all.
Here’s Why Hulu Is Down $357 Million
Hulu’s losses have doubled in Q2 2018, equaling $357 million, as the video-streaming company continues its push in investing in content and technology to reach and obtain new subscribers.
Variety reports that in Q2 2017, Hulu’s loss was “about $173 million,” and were “primarily due to higher programming and marketing cost.”
As of May 2018, Hulu has around 20 million paying subscribers and about 800,000 of those have paid for their live TV service. This is a jump of about “18% from the end of 2017.”
With the ever continuing mission to increase that 20 million subscriber count, “Hulu’s parents – Disney, Comcast/NBC Universal, 21st Century Fox and Time Warner – have been pumping more money into the venture, with regulatory disclosures indicating they’re collectively putting in $1.5 billion this year."
Prey: Mooncrash’s Randomized Levels Were Almost Part of the Base Game
Prey’s Mooncrash DLC randomizes its rooms and item placements to turn Prey into a roguelike experience, but developer Arkane Studios tells us some of that procedural generation was almost in the base game as well.
Speaking with IGN at QuakeCon 2018, Prey Senior Game Designer Ricardo Bare said that Mooncrash’s randomized room conditions were initially designed to be part of Prey’s campaign. They would have made it so different rooms along your path would have random states, like being on fire or out of oxygen.
Bare said it was ultimately scrapped before release because most players don’t even finish single-player games, so “it didn’t work quite well for a very longform game.”