Monthly Archives: October 2020
Mario Kart Live: Home Circuit Review – Making Tracks
There's an old truism in gaming circles that Nintendo is a toy company at its core. This is both praise and critique, expressing a sense of wonderment over the company's ability to tap into childlike playfulness and bafflement at some of its esoteric hardware decisions. Mario Kart Live: Home Circuit may be the purest recent expression of the "Nintendo as toy company" ethos. For one, it revolves almost entirely around an actual toy: a tiny camera-equipped go-kart that you race around your real-life house. But more broadly, it behaves the way the simplest toys do, by giving back only as much as the effort you put into creative play.
That's because the core pillar of Mario Kart Live is making your own tracks. The game comes with four numbered gates that help define your track. These are made out of unfolding cardboard, like the natural evolution of Nintendo Labo. Once you've laid down your track and any real-life objects as hazards, you need to run through it once, pace-car style, before starting the race. Choosing the main Grand Prix mode populates your Augmented Reality (AR) track with four Koopaling opponents, and then you're off to the races.
Once you're actually in a race, it operates like any other Mario Kart game. You keep your eyes on the screen--watching your real-life kart is a surefire way to lose--and you see visual effects like Item Blocks and virtual hazards littering the track. And while the kart actually moves relatively slowly in its slowest setting, it actually looks reasonably fast on-screen with the camera set so low to the ground.
Continue Reading at GameSpotMario Kart Live: Home Circuit Review – Making Tracks
There's an old truism in gaming circles that Nintendo is a toy company at its core. This is both praise and critique, expressing a sense of wonderment over the company's ability to tap into childlike playfulness and bafflement at some of its esoteric hardware decisions. Mario Kart Live: Home Circuit may be the purest recent expression of the "Nintendo as toy company" ethos. For one, it revolves almost entirely around an actual toy: a tiny camera-equipped go-kart that you race around your real-life house. But more broadly, it behaves the way the simplest toys do, by giving back only as much as the effort you put into creative play.
That's because the core pillar of Mario Kart Live is making your own tracks. The game comes with four numbered gates that help define your track. These are made out of unfolding cardboard, like the natural evolution of Nintendo Labo. Once you've laid down your track and any real-life objects as hazards, you need to run through it once, pace-car style, before starting the race. Choosing the main Grand Prix mode populates your Augmented Reality (AR) track with four Koopaling opponents, and then you're off to the races.
Once you're actually in a race, it operates like any other Mario Kart game. You keep your eyes on the screen--watching your real-life kart is a surefire way to lose--and you see visual effects like Item Blocks and virtual hazards littering the track. And while the kart actually moves relatively slowly in its slowest setting, it actually looks reasonably fast on-screen with the camera set so low to the ground.
Continue Reading at GameSpotPS5’s Fan Is Why the Console Is So Big, Says Sony Engineer
A Sony engineer has revealed that the size of the PS5's cooling fan is responsible for the console's large stature.
The explanation comes via an article from Japan's Nikkei Xtech, which features an interview with PS5 Mechanical and Thermal Design Engineer, Yasuhiro Ootori. PlayStation fans will know Ootori from the recent PS5 disassembly video.
[ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/10/07/ps5-teardown-official-hardware-deep-dive"]
The article notes that the size of this cooling fan determined the size - especially the thickness - of the PS5. The 45mm fan ensures air is sucked in from both sides of the console to cool both mainboard, known as the "A side" and "B side". According to Ootori, even though the "B side" does not have the main System on a Chip installed on it, it will still generate heat similar to that generated by the PS4's System on a Chip, and so needs airflow to stay cool.
The PS5 is equipped with a 120mm diameter, 45mm thick double-sided intake fan, which makes the console thicker than the both PS4 and PS4 Pro.
The article also notes that Ootori considered using two separate, smaller cooling fans to make the PS5 smaller, with one fan for each side of the mainboard. Ultimately though, Sony found that it was more costly and that controlling two cooling fans is more difficult than focusing on one.
[widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=ps5-teardown&captions=true"]
When Sony first published its PS5 teardown video, it was clear that Sony is focusing on keeping the PS5 cool and quiet. However, this information for Ootori clarifies that the airflow needed for both sides of the mainboard is the key factor in that thick fan and thicker console design.
In other PS5 news, Burger King has teamed up with PlayStation to give fans a chance of winning the next-gen console via a Scratch to Win promotion.
[poilib element="accentDivider"]
Jordan Oloman is a freelance writer for IGN. Follow him on Twitter.
PS5’s Fan Is Why the Console Is So Big, Says Sony Engineer
A Sony engineer has revealed that the size of the PS5's cooling fan is responsible for the console's large stature.
The explanation comes via an article from Japan's Nikkei Xtech, which features an interview with PS5 Mechanical and Thermal Design Engineer, Yasuhiro Ootori. PlayStation fans will know Ootori from the recent PS5 disassembly video.
[ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/10/07/ps5-teardown-official-hardware-deep-dive"]
The article notes that the size of this cooling fan determined the size - especially the thickness - of the PS5. The 45mm fan ensures air is sucked in from both sides of the console to cool both mainboard, known as the "A side" and "B side". According to Ootori, even though the "B side" does not have the main System on a Chip installed on it, it will still generate heat similar to that generated by the PS4's System on a Chip, and so needs airflow to stay cool.
The PS5 is equipped with a 120mm diameter, 45mm thick double-sided intake fan, which makes the console thicker than the both PS4 and PS4 Pro.
The article also notes that Ootori considered using two separate, smaller cooling fans to make the PS5 smaller, with one fan for each side of the mainboard. Ultimately though, Sony found that it was more costly and that controlling two cooling fans is more difficult than focusing on one.
[widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=ps5-teardown&captions=true"]
When Sony first published its PS5 teardown video, it was clear that Sony is focusing on keeping the PS5 cool and quiet. However, this information for Ootori clarifies that the airflow needed for both sides of the mainboard is the key factor in that thick fan and thicker console design.
In other PS5 news, Burger King has teamed up with PlayStation to give fans a chance of winning the next-gen console via a Scratch to Win promotion.
[poilib element="accentDivider"]
Jordan Oloman is a freelance writer for IGN. Follow him on Twitter.
Microsoft’s The Initiative Hires Two Former Naughty Dog Staff
Microsoft’s secretive AAA studio, The Initiative, has added more former Sony first-party studio employees to its ranks. This time the new employees are an ex-Naughty Dog animator who worked on the Uncharted series and both The Last of Us games, plus one of Naughty Dog’s former technical directors.
Lee Davis, formerly Naughty Dog’s Head of Melee Animation, has been appointed as The Initiative’s Lead Gameplay Animator. Lauren Garcia, who was previously Naughty Dog’s Character Shading Technical Director, is now Senior Shading Technologies at Microsoft’s self-described “AAAA” developer.
Garcia announced his new position on Twitter, while Davis’ appointment was spotted on LinkedIn by Twitter user Klobrille.
[ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/06/25/xbox-series-x-official-optimized-for-xbox-series-x-trailer"]
Both Davis and Garcia worked on The Last of Us: Part 2, which was critically acclaimed for both its animation and the visual fidelity of its characters. Davis also worked on Uncharted 2, Uncharted 4, and the original The Last of Us.
Davis and Garcia are the latest additions to The Initiative, and not the first from a major Sony studio; back in 2018 the developer hired former God of War producer Brian Westergaard. Alongside these ex-Sony developers are staff who previously worked at Crystal Dynamics and Bungie. These latest hires point to The Initiative potentially looking to replicate the high standards of animation found in Naughty Dog’s games.
What The Initiative is working on is currently unknown, but earlier this year there were rumours that the studio is developing a reboot of Perfect Dark.
[poilib element="accentDivider"]
Matt Purslow is IGN's UK News and Entertainment Writer.
Microsoft’s The Initiative Hires Two Former Naughty Dog Staff
Microsoft’s secretive AAA studio, The Initiative, has added more former Sony first-party studio employees to its ranks. This time the new employees are an ex-Naughty Dog animator who worked on the Uncharted series and both The Last of Us games, plus one of Naughty Dog’s former technical directors.
Lee Davis, formerly Naughty Dog’s Head of Melee Animation, has been appointed as The Initiative’s Lead Gameplay Animator. Lauren Garcia, who was previously Naughty Dog’s Character Shading Technical Director, is now Senior Shading Technologies at Microsoft’s self-described “AAAA” developer.
Garcia announced his new position on Twitter, while Davis’ appointment was spotted on LinkedIn by Twitter user Klobrille.
[ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/06/25/xbox-series-x-official-optimized-for-xbox-series-x-trailer"]
Both Davis and Garcia worked on The Last of Us: Part 2, which was critically acclaimed for both its animation and the visual fidelity of its characters. Davis also worked on Uncharted 2, Uncharted 4, and the original The Last of Us.
Davis and Garcia are the latest additions to The Initiative, and not the first from a major Sony studio; back in 2018 the developer hired former God of War producer Brian Westergaard. Alongside these ex-Sony developers are staff who previously worked at Crystal Dynamics and Bungie. These latest hires point to The Initiative potentially looking to replicate the high standards of animation found in Naughty Dog’s games.
What The Initiative is working on is currently unknown, but earlier this year there were rumours that the studio is developing a reboot of Perfect Dark.
[poilib element="accentDivider"]
Matt Purslow is IGN's UK News and Entertainment Writer.
Harmonix Confirms Rock Band 4, All DLC Will Work on Next-Gen Consoles
Rock Band 4 developer Harmonix has confirmed that Rock Band 4, all DLC, and a vast array of Rock Band peripherals will work from day one on Sony and Microsoft’s next-generation consoles launching next month.
While Sony has previously clarified the PS5 is compatible with “99 percent” of the “thousands” of PS4 games it has tested – and Microsoft has similarly explained almost all Xbox One games will run on Xbox Series S and X beyond a few “one-off exceptions here or there” – Rock Band 4 is in a fairly unique position. Not only does it require a pile of bespoke peripherals to play (some of which date back to the PS3 and Xbox 360) – it also supports thousands of individual pieces of DLC from a catalogue of songs stretching back to 2007.
[ignvideo width=610 height=374 url=https://www.ign.com/videos/2016/10/19/rock-band-4-rivals-official-launch-trailer]
“Our team has been diligently testing a bunch of old gear on the new systems to make sure everything works exactly as it does today,” explained Harmonix in a new post on the studio’s official site. “When you break open those crisp new consoles, you should be able to connect your existing, compatible peripherals and play Rock Band 4 right out of the box.”
“All DLC currently available for download will also work on new consoles. No messy generation transition this time, it’s the same DLC!”
The team also discovered a “pretty sizable performance increase” on both new consoles, especially when it came to load times. It would appear the only minor hurdle the team found is that the PS5 defaults to the microphone available in the controller: “If you want to use a regular USB mic, you’ll have to change that in your console settings,” explains Harmonix.
You can browse the full list of the instrument peripherals Harmonix tested – including controllers dating back to Rock Band 2 – on the studio’s blog post.
With new songs still being released on a weekly basis Harmonix noted it hopes to continue support for Rock Band 4 “for the foreseeable future.”
Missed the music game mania train, or just need a refresher? Check out IGN’s recent look back at the roots and the rise of the rhythm genre.
[poilib element="accentDivider"]
Luke is Games Editor at IGN's Sydney office. You can find him on Twitter sporadically @MrLukeReilly.Harmonix Confirms Rock Band 4, All DLC Will Work on Next-Gen Consoles
Rock Band 4 developer Harmonix has confirmed that Rock Band 4, all DLC, and a vast array of Rock Band peripherals will work from day one on Sony and Microsoft’s next-generation consoles launching next month.
While Sony has previously clarified the PS5 is compatible with “99 percent” of the “thousands” of PS4 games it has tested – and Microsoft has similarly explained almost all Xbox One games will run on Xbox Series S and X beyond a few “one-off exceptions here or there” – Rock Band 4 is in a fairly unique position. Not only does it require a pile of bespoke peripherals to play (some of which date back to the PS3 and Xbox 360) – it also supports thousands of individual pieces of DLC from a catalogue of songs stretching back to 2007.
[ignvideo width=610 height=374 url=https://www.ign.com/videos/2016/10/19/rock-band-4-rivals-official-launch-trailer]
“Our team has been diligently testing a bunch of old gear on the new systems to make sure everything works exactly as it does today,” explained Harmonix in a new post on the studio’s official site. “When you break open those crisp new consoles, you should be able to connect your existing, compatible peripherals and play Rock Band 4 right out of the box.”
“All DLC currently available for download will also work on new consoles. No messy generation transition this time, it’s the same DLC!”
The team also discovered a “pretty sizable performance increase” on both new consoles, especially when it came to load times. It would appear the only minor hurdle the team found is that the PS5 defaults to the microphone available in the controller: “If you want to use a regular USB mic, you’ll have to change that in your console settings,” explains Harmonix.
You can browse the full list of the instrument peripherals Harmonix tested – including controllers dating back to Rock Band 2 – on the studio’s blog post.
With new songs still being released on a weekly basis Harmonix noted it hopes to continue support for Rock Band 4 “for the foreseeable future.”
Missed the music game mania train, or just need a refresher? Check out IGN’s recent look back at the roots and the rise of the rhythm genre.
[poilib element="accentDivider"]
Luke is Games Editor at IGN's Sydney office. You can find him on Twitter sporadically @MrLukeReilly.Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War Makes Changes to Beta
Treyarch wrapped up the first weekend of the Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War beta on PS4 and the developer has already made changes heading into the next beta weekend.
The Black Ops Cold War beta is available on PlayStation 4 ahead of its November 13 release date. After feedback from players, Treyarch has made the following changes to the Black Ops Cold War beta, according to its official website.
[ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/10/12/call-of-duty-black-ops-cold-war-27-tips-tricks-for-the-beta"]
Gameplay
- Adjusted tuning on the Duster Stock attachment to prevent faster sliding than intended
- Increased the cooldown on the Spy Plane to help limit their numbers in the sky at one time.
- Increased TDM score limit from 75 to 100 for better match pacing.
- Updated the Assassin Perk description for clarity.
- Slightly reduced the damage output of the Milano 821 SMG.
- Adjusted conditions for joining in progress to prevent players from joining matches that are about to end.
- Moved VIP Escort exclusively to the Featured playlist.
- Fixed an issue where a controller could become unresponsive when loading into a match.
- Fixed an issue with multiple Optics being misaligned in ADS and blocking the player’s view, including Snappoint, Diamondback, and Hawksmoor attachments.
- Fixed a bug where players would get “UI Error 66156” when selecting “Add Activision Friends” from the Recent Players menu.
- Fixed an issue where other players’ names were not visible in the pre-match lobby.
- Fixed crashes that could occur during the Best Play in a VIP Escort match.
- Fixed a crash that could occur while selecting Operators in the front-end menu.
- Fixed a crash that could occur when a SAM Turrent missile hit a target when the turret was destroyed.
- Fixed a rare crash that could occur if a Gunboat was beached for too long.
Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War Makes Changes to Beta
Treyarch wrapped up the first weekend of the Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War beta on PS4 and the developer has already made changes heading into the next beta weekend.
The Black Ops Cold War beta is available on PlayStation 4 ahead of its November 13 release date. After feedback from players, Treyarch has made the following changes to the Black Ops Cold War beta, according to its official website.
[ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/10/12/call-of-duty-black-ops-cold-war-27-tips-tricks-for-the-beta"]
Gameplay
- Adjusted tuning on the Duster Stock attachment to prevent faster sliding than intended
- Increased the cooldown on the Spy Plane to help limit their numbers in the sky at one time.
- Increased TDM score limit from 75 to 100 for better match pacing.
- Updated the Assassin Perk description for clarity.
- Slightly reduced the damage output of the Milano 821 SMG.
- Adjusted conditions for joining in progress to prevent players from joining matches that are about to end.
- Moved VIP Escort exclusively to the Featured playlist.
- Fixed an issue where a controller could become unresponsive when loading into a match.
- Fixed an issue with multiple Optics being misaligned in ADS and blocking the player’s view, including Snappoint, Diamondback, and Hawksmoor attachments.
- Fixed a bug where players would get “UI Error 66156” when selecting “Add Activision Friends” from the Recent Players menu.
- Fixed an issue where other players’ names were not visible in the pre-match lobby.
- Fixed crashes that could occur during the Best Play in a VIP Escort match.
- Fixed a crash that could occur while selecting Operators in the front-end menu.
- Fixed a crash that could occur when a SAM Turrent missile hit a target when the turret was destroyed.
- Fixed a rare crash that could occur if a Gunboat was beached for too long.