Category: Game Releases

New game releases.

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Gravity Embeddable Programming Language

Currently trending on Hacker News, Gravity is an open source programming language that is designed to be embedded in iOS and Android applications.  Released under the MIT license, Gravity is entirely C99 code with the single dependency being the C Standard Library, making Gravity incredible portable.  It is also extremely light weight while still being feature rich, with a syntax inspired by the Swift programming language.

Details from the Gravity website:

Gravity is a powerful, dynamically typed, lightweight, embeddable programming language written in C without any external dependencies (except for stdlib). It is a class-based concurrent scripting language with a modern Swift like syntax.

Gravity supports procedural programming, object-oriented programming, functional programming and data-driven programming. Thanks to special built-in methods, it can also be used as a prototype-based programming language.

Gravity has been developed from scratch for the Creo project in order to offer an easy way to write portable code for the iOS and Android platforms. It is written in portable C code that can be compiled on any platform using a C99 compiler. The VM code is about 4K lines long, the multipass compiler code is about 7K lines and the shared code is about 3K lines long. The compiler and virtual machine combined, add less than 200KB to the executable on a 64 bit system.

The source code for Gravity is available here, with various editor syntax support available for download here.  Gravity was ultimately created to be the scripting language behind the Creo IDE for iOS and Mac development.  You can learn more about Gravity in the video below.

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A new Metal Slug game is being made for mobile

Looks like we’re set for a new Metal Slug game on mobile from Neo Geo developer SNK Interactive. That comes from South Korean publication Inven (Thanks, Siliconera), which reports that the upcoming mobile game is “80% complete”, and is set to come to iOS and Android.

The new Metal Slug game has yet to be revealed officially, so we don’t have a name just yet. That said, the report describes the game as a 2D side scrolling card-type game. There’s no word on a release date either, but SNK are apparently hopeful of releasing their console Metal Slug game in 2020, so we could see something similar here. Inven also quotes SNK Interactive CEO Jeon Se-hwan as saying the game will target ten to 20 and 30 to 40 year olds – as a 28-year-old, I don’t know how to feel about this.

The report also clarifies that the new Metal Slug mobile game has nothing to do with the project that is being worked on by Tencent’s Timi Studio – so you may have two new Metal Slug games to play soon. Details on that project are thin on the ground, but we’ll report back if we stumble across anything.

In case you’re unaware, Metal Slug is a run-and-gun shoot ’em up that puts in the boots of military cadets. It’s been a while since we’ve seen one, though, as Metal Slug 7 launched way back in 2008 on the Nintendo DS before showing up on the PSP a year later as Metal Slug XX.

If you’re looking for something to play in the meantime, though, then we have a list of the best mobile multiplayer games on iOS and Android – handy as you can get all of your friends involved, too.

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Unity 2019 LTS Released

Unity have just released Unity 2019.4 LTS, or Long Term Support.  This is a version of Unity that is only going to receive bug and security fixes going forward, making it the most stable and ideal version of Unity to start new Unity projects on.

Details on the 2019 LTS release from the Unity blog:

As part of our commitment to improving the development process for users, Unity is now shifting to offering LTS as the default version of the platform, and we have committed to doing fewer releases per year. You have been incredible in helping us understand your needs and we’re grateful for your feedback. In response to this we have improved, and will continue to improve, workflows and modernize Unity to be more flexible, focusing on delivering stability and interoperability of features.

Beginning today with the release of 2019 LTS, the LTS versions of Unity will become the default available for download from the Unity Hub. Moving forward, Unity will issue up to two TECH stream releases per year followed by the annual LTS release. The TECH Stream is for creators who demand to be on the cutting edge as technologies and workflows are evolving, while LTS is suggested for creators aiming to ship their projects in the near future, or for those who have everything they need in 2019 LTS. This shift in release philosophy will ensure that you are installing the most stable version for projects in production.

What’s in the 2019 LTS?

The new Long-Term Support (LTS) version of Unity contains everything from the previous three TECH stream releases with all the fixes and improvements we added to Unity 2019.3.0 since it was released. Similar to our previous LTS releases the focus for 2019 LTS isn’t new features, API changes or enhancements, but defect rectification and usability upgrades aimed at improving the stability of the product. In short, it’s a continuation of the 2019 TECH stream without new features which is why we also call it Unity 2019.4.0.

You can download Unity 2019.4 LTS in the Unity Hub or on the LTS support page here.  Learn more about Unity 2019.4LTS in the video below.

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Cesium Win Epic MegaGrant

Cesium, the makers of Cesium Ion and the open source CesiumJS open world data technologies have just announced they received an Epic Megagrant.  This will enable them to create Cesium for Unreal Engine, a free and open source add-on for Unreal Engine that will enable developers to use their 3D Tile world data in games and applications developed directly in UE.

Details of the MegaGrant win on the Cesium blog:

I can’t think of anything that better exemplifies Cesium’s belief in combining geospatial and 3D computer graphics than the support of Epic Games and the Epic MegaGrants program to build Cesium for Unreal Engine.

This marks the first time a full-scale, high-precision 3D globe is plugged into a leading game engine, opening a world of possibilities for Unreal’s users. Together we will advance training & simulation, architecture, games, AR/VR, autonomous driving, and other industries by enabling 3D Tiles to be streamed into Unreal for accurate visualization of real-world locations captured by satellites and drones—using the same 3D geospatial knowledge that has gone into CesiumJS for nearly a decade.

You can learn more about Cesium, the MegaGrant program and more in the video below.

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Dota 2 Update – June 6th 2020

This update adds an option to allow players who preferred using the Sideshop to continue doing so. With the new option enabled, you will be able to use recycling to earn gold instead of the current mechanic. The option can be toggled on and off depending on your recycling preference at any time. Furthermore, gold will be provided once again through Guilds and Gauntlets.

We recognize that some players may have already spent their gold and consumed their gems since our update Thursday. We will be restoring everyone’s gold to the value it was before the update. We will also restore any spent gems since then. Any items redeemed through the store will still remain in player’s inventories.

Regarding the state of the bench, we know some players would want it reverted while others wouldn’t so we added a new button in the Sideshop to let you choose before taking any actions.

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Itch.io Bundle For Racial Justice And Equality

Itch.io are currently running a charity bundle containing hundreds of indie games, projects and even game development assets, all in support the the #BlackLivesMatter movement.

The following is the announcement tweet by Itch.io:

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The bundle runs until June 16th and can be had for as little as $5 USD, with proceeds split 50/50 between NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund and Community Bail Fund.  From a game development perspective, there are dozens of gamedev specific assets, including:

64px Textures/Tilesheet 8bit Overworld Tileset Anime RPG Tile Pack - Vol.1 School [PIXEL OF LIFE] BearFX Explosions | Pixel VFX Pack CanariPack 1BIT TopDown CanariPack 8BIT TopDown Dungeon Tileset - Top Down RPG Essential Pool Billiards Table Asset Pack - VR/AR Hitboxes and Hurtboxes HPS Cartography Kit Kenney Game Assets 1 Lil' Dragon - Pixel Art Tileset Lo-Fi Stellar Skirmish Low Poly 3D City Builder Low Poly Auto Racing Car Pack - Devils Work.shop Multi Platformer Tileset Old Man Character Sound Effects Pixel art Forest Pixel Art Infinite Runner - Pack Pixel Art Medieval Fantasy Characters Pack Pixel Plebes Digital Card Deck SC: Monster Pack 1 - DELUXE EDITION Snapshot Shaders Pro (Unity) Sprite Pack - Fantasy Female Mage Sprite Pack - Fantasy Male Mage Tiny Adventure Pack Plus Top-Down - Interior Tileset Voxel Currency

You can learn more about the bundle, specifically the game development content in the video below.  You can support a great cause while absolutely loading up on indie games and game development assets!

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EMBERGEN Real-Time Fluid Simulation

Embergen, by JangaFX is a real-time fluid simulation software for creating fire and smoke effects for game and film projects.  You can create and modify fluid simulations in real-time on consumer class graphics hardware and export your results in flipbook or image sequence formats for use in games, or export in OpenVDB format, an open standard Blender 2.83 just acquired the ability to import.

Details from the 0.5.3 release:

  • Improved the fidelity and simulations of ALL presets and added 9 new presets.
  • Pressure solver improvements:
    • Improve base pressure solver accuracy and performance.
    • Slight memory reduction.
    • Expose more pressure solver controls.
    • Increasing the parameters will improve the accuracy and produce better motion, but are more expensive.
  • Volume masking/Simulation post-processing (only visual, not affecting the simulation): Motion blur, Sharpening, Dilate, Stylized.
  • Basic navigation gizmo in the lower left corner to show orientation.
  • Fixed crashes and freezes when previewing some output modes.
  • Fixed the Simulation upscaling parameters being incorrect when loading from a preset.
  • Improved tooltips.
  • Sixpoint and normals fixed for upscaling.
  • Improved background color with transparency.
  • General rendering improvements and speedup.
  • Simulation looping:
    • No longer cuts on the first loop wraparound.
    • Fixed an off-by-one error where later loop iterations did not sync properly.
    • Fixed parameters not animating correctly.
  • Improved accuracy of turbulence advection.
  • Made the ExportVDB node work similar to the ExportImage node. Certain widgets will “multicast” when multiple nodes are selected, e.g. timing controls and export masks.
  • Displays tick in the timeline indicating which frames will be exported.
  • Automatic frame timings when looping.
  • Fixed colors and forces when using multiple emitters and shapes for colored smoke.
  • Fixed a difference in lighting between the basic mode and combustion.
  • UI Improvements: Informational text displayed when necessary per node, e.g. if the license or trial is expired.
  • Disabled buttons now have a red border.
  • Fixed bug preventing timeline key editing.
  • Small visual tweaks to the timeline for user experience and consistency.
  • Stop sliders from keeping focus after submitting.
  • Tooltips no longer display when their respective UI element is occluded.
  • Fix incorrect behavior for color picker widgets.
  • The color picker will no longer lock up and become unresponsive.
  • A bunch of smaller bug fixes.
  • Miscellaneous Improvements: Lots of refactoring and delicious code cleanup.

Embergen has a fully functional 2 week trial available here as well as several free OpenVDB datasets to start with.  You can learn more and see Embergen in action in the video below.

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Tales of Crestoria’s release date has been delayed

June 5, 2020 Tales of Crestoria has been delayed to allow the team to make final adjustments.

You’ll have to wait a little bit longer to get your hands on Tales of Crestoria. Developer Bandai Namco took to Twitter to update fans that it would need a bit more time to get the RPG ready for launch. A new Tales of Crestoria release date hasn’t been given just yet.

“We are currently making the final adjustments, and fixing any issues found during the beta test,” Tagawa explains. “This is taking longer than we initially predicted. Development has continued with the release date of early June in mind, but we still need more time. We are deeply sorry to have to share this news, especially after the last update on the release date.”

If you haven’t heard of Tales of Crestoria, it’s a mobile-exclusive entry in the long-running JRPG series. It tells the story of Kanata, a criminal striving to atone for his wrongdoings. Cue an adventure across a brand new world full of original characters to meet, alongside your favourite heroes from previous entries. That includes Cress, Luke, Velvet, and more. It wouldn’t be a Tales gacha RPG without the ability to create your dream team.

What doesn’t make the transition is the traditional Tales battle system, which has been swapped out in favour of turn-based combat. There are plenty of flashy special effects though, as well as trademark Tales skills and mystic arts, which allow you to dish out insane damage numbers.

There are also plenty of skits, which are a recurring feature in the series. This time around they take the form of face chat conversations though. There are also additional character episodes to play through, which allow you to learn more about their individual backstories.

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If you haven’t already, you can still pre-register for it right now on the App Store or Google Play. You can also venture over to the official site to learn more.

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Crying Suns is an FTL inspired strategy game that’s out this month

After enjoying some time on Steam, Alt Shift’s tactical rogue-lite Crying Suns is making the voyage to mobile devices. You won’t be waiting long as the Crying Suns mobile release date is set for June 25, 2020. This one is a premium release, and will set you back $8.99 / €9.99 – so no in-app purchases or ads.

The FTL-inspired strategy game is launching across iOS, Android, and tablets at the same time, too, so you won’t be left waiting if you don’t have the right device. That ought to be a relief to Android users after the recent Slay the Spire iOS release date news – and by Android users, I mean me.

If you’re unfamiliar, Crying Suns is a tactical rogue-lite that puts you in the shoes of a space commander with a fleet at their disposal. The gameplay features turn-based fights between battleships and space exploration in a procedurally-generated universe. If you’d like to see more, then you can check out the trailer below to see some gameplay alongside a Hyper Light Drifter-like art style.

Story details are light, but you’re out to discover details about a fallen empire. The tale stretches over six chapters, and there are more than 300 possible story events. Crying Suns takes thematic inspiration from Foundation, Dune, and Battlestar Galactica, too, if that’s your kind of thing.

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If you’d like to read some more thoughts, then our sister site Strategy Gamer wrote a Crying Suns review when it came out on Steam. If you’d like more mobile games like Crying Suns to keep you thinking while you wait for the launch date, then check out our best mobile strategy games guide. I’d personally recommend Bad North – come for the lovely art style, stay for a viking free-for-all.

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Dota 2 Update – June 5th, 2020

In this update we are rolling back two features to be like they were last year: Weekly Wagering & Recycling/Sideshop.

The amount of weekly battle points available from wagering is now the same as last year.

Sithil and Quirt’s reimagined Sideshop has been shut down. Immortals can now be recycled using the same system as last year. For players that have already recycled immortals, the system will automatically back fill your progress on this replaced system and grant you additional immortal treasures as appropriate. Any rewards previously earned through the Sideshop will remain in player inventories, and if you still have gold and wish to continue rolling in the Sideshop, you can use the dota_show_sideshop command.

As part of this update we are also removing ticketing requirements for the Gauntlet.