Posted by: xSicKxBot - 05-19-2019, 07:44 AM - Forum: Lounge
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Blood & Truth Dev Happy To Be Sony's Innovator, "Excited" By PS5
London Studio is a perhaps overlooked, but definitely vital part of Sony's Worldwide Studios group. Over the years it's made games such as The Getaway, the EyeToy series, the Singstar series, Wonderbook, and PSVR Worlds. The developer is about to release Blood & Truth, the spiritual successor to PSVR Worlds' London Heist mini-game, and it says it's happy to be one of the studios at the forefront of Sony's development group.
"I think we've created a niche for ourselves in [that] we are innovators," the studio's senior principal designer, Simon Hermitage, told GameSpot. "We will take hardware and do the difficult legwork to prove that thing can work.
"That relationship goes both ways. When we get a new bit of hardware, we get to feed into its development. It's the reason why I work at London Studio, I love that side of things. It is a speciality of London Studio."
He adds: "As a first-party studio, our job is to grow that [PSVR] market. You can't look at the numbers and go, 'They're small because we just released this [for PSVR rather than for non-VR PS4 owners].' PSVR has grown consistently, and titles like Blood & Truth are so important to invest in and make so that people can see, 'Wow, that's what VR is.'"
On Blood & Truth, Hermitage claims it's the ideal next step for PSVR. "We've brought the triple-A game quality and polish--we knew that was what VR needed next: a full, feature-length, amazing blockbuster game. That's what Blood & Truth is."
Finally, when looking to the future, Hermitage is excited by the possibilities future technology will offer developers. "I was excited, as everyone was, to read [lead system architect] Mark Cerny's article with Wired, and the potential of that system means I'll be sticking around here to get my hands on that as soon as possible. We'll do what we always do: push that as hard as it can possibly go."
Sony has already confirmed that the PS5 will support PSVR, but it refused to comment further on whether it's working on a successor to its existing virtual reality headset. For now, Blood & Truth launches for PSVR on PS4 on May 28.
Talking Point: What Are You Playing This Weekend? (May 18th)
With that lovely Super Mario Maker 2 Nintendo Direct and the surprise launch of a new Pokémon smartphone game, it’s been yet another busy week for us here at Nintendo Life. Still, it’s now time to sit back and relax for another weekend, and we’ve gathered together to speak about our gaming plans. We’d love for you to get involved with our comment and poll sections below, too. Enjoy!
Gavin Lane, staff writer
After fighting my way through Final Fight and The King of Dragons, I plan to dip back into the Capcom Beat ‘Em Up Bundle this weekend. Overcooked 2 will also feature on my weekend menu – I’m surprised how substantial the Campfire Cookoff DLC is, and there’s still a bunch of stuff in the main game that we’ve yet to polish off.
I’d also like to get that Game Boy theme in Tetris 99, although I’m not sure I’ve got the time to score the requisite number of points. If that turns out to be too stressful, I may retire to Windjammers instead. I picked it up on sale last weekend and have only been through the Arcade mode once, but it sure is addictive.
Ryan Craddock, staff writer
In all honesty, I’m not entirely sure what to play this weekend. Lucky that we run this feature every week so that I can get inspiration from you lovely lot, eh?
We’re still making our way through Yoshi’s Crafted World (although I think we’re now in the final stretch) so that will probably take up some of my time this weekend. The recent Super Mario Maker 2 Direct has got me in the mood for some classic Mario platforming, though, so maybe I’ll have to go ahead and pick out an old favourite. I never got around to buying New Super Mario Bros. U Deluxe actually, and wouldn’t mind playing through that. If only these video game thingies could be a little bit cheaper!
Dom Reseigh-Lincoln, reviewer
It’s been a while since I’ve really fallen down the Paladins well, but of all the shooters on Switch, this is the one I just can’t quit. Considering how well the Switch version has been supported since launch, there’s always something new for me to grind towards every time I log back in.
Outside of that, I’ll be putting the finishing touches to my For The King review and continuing my journey into the slightly wonky but oddly satisfying world of Blades of Time. And probably more Paladins. Because I’m a predictable bore.
Austin Voigt, contributing writer
This weekend, I’m excited to dig back into My Time At Portia; now that they’ve released an update the game has so much potential, but it was hard to get into it when the load times are as long as they were. Thankfully, they have now made some major improvements, and it looks to be a lot more fun.
I’m also getting back into my old 3DS library for some unknown reason, and planning to start Fantasy Life for the first time – as well as dig back into my old Pokémon games (I’ve got an appetite for Pokémon after seeing Detective Pikachu last week). All in all, should be a chill weekend of RPGs and sims.
Over two years was a small price to pay for the near flawless perfection that is Redout, my game of the week and surely my regular entertainment for the weeks to come. Just one more lap…
Liam Doolan, news reporter
I’ve refrained from playing My Time at Portia on the Switch for some time now, mostly because of the extremely long load times. Now that the Nintendo version of the game has received another update, I think this weekend might be the time to finally give it a go.
When I’m not playing this, I’ll probably be getting a more immediate gaming fix in Tetris 99. I must say, the new Game Boy theme is awesome! I love how it’s even got the old school music. For some reason, I just didn’t expect it to be so nostalgic.
Which games are you playing this weekend? (344 votes)
Video: 19 Secret Details Hidden In The Super Mario Maker 2 Direct Presentation
You’ve watched the Super Mario Maker 2 Direct multiple times over, found out a bit more thanks to the game’s eShop listing and perhaps heard more detailed explanations, so why not take the time out to listen to our lovely senior video producer, Alex Olney, talk about 19 secret details hidden in the latest presentation.
Yep, we’re referring to the interesting things that were actually featured Nintendo’s latest presentation but weren’t actually discussed by Nintendo. We’re talking about small pipes, angled pipes, Goombrats, clear conditions, the ability to dislike courses, medals – which appear to replicate an achievement system and much more. To hear what else you can expect to encounter in this upcoming sequel, make sure you watch the video above.
Did you learn anything new? Are you looking forward to the release of Super Mario Maker 2? Sound off in the comments below.
This year, just before GDC, CryEngine released a stunning video Neon Noir showcasing real-time raytracing in CryEngine without the need for dedicated hardware. Beyond that, they have been relatively quite about what developments are coming for the veteran game engine. Thankfully that has changed with the release of their developmental roadmap.
In the short term, our main focus is to increase the stability and usability of the engine. This focus is reflected on the roadmap with, for example, the new in-editor project management system coming to 5.6, along with numerous optimizations in all areas including rendering, compilation, and memory footprint. More details about the features included in 5.6 will be mentioned in the release notes.
Schematyc & New Features
These stabilizations and improvements pave the way for our mid to long-term ambitions which will bring exciting new features, tools, and support for additional platforms. These goals will include the rework of the Schematyc system, which will also bring a modern and modular visual scripting framework that will allow you to create your own game logic without the need to code.. The modular behavior of the visual scripting framework will enable other features to take advantage of this system, including, for example, our animation tools.
Ray Tracing
Of course, we will also be looking to integrate the new hardware-agnostic ray tracing technology into the engine, with the aim to make it available in CRYENGINE 5.7. If you want to know more about ray tracing in CRYENGINE, you can follow up on our latest interview with the developers creating Neon Noir, our GDC ray tracing demo. More news on the subject, just stay tuned and keep your eyes on our channels.
The full developmental roadmap is available here and is covered in depth in the video below.
Posted by: xSicKxBot - 05-19-2019, 01:34 AM - Forum: Lounge
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Capcom Says It Has The Right Game Engine For Next-Generation Consoles
Next-generation consoles from Microsoft and Sony are coming, and Capcom says it is prepared in at least one way. One potential development issue when moving from one generation of consoles to the next can be related to game engines, or the tools used to make games.
Capcom's proprietary engine, the RE Engine that is used for the Resident Evil games, was specifically designed from early on to be able to be tweaked for new consoles, management said during a recent earnings report. As such, Capcom sees its engine as one of its strengths heading into the new wave of systems.
"The games we developed using the RE Engine during this current hardware generation have received critical acclaim, and from the early stages of building this engine, we kept the ability to augment it for next-generation development in mind; as such, we view the RE Engine as one of our strengths that will contribute to next-generation game creation," management said.
As one of the biggest publishers in the world, and one that has a close relationship with Microsoft with the Dead Rising series, it seems likely that Capcom would be among those companies who are briefed on next-generation plans ahead of time.
One company that has created a new game engine recently is Microsoft. The Halo team created a brand-new engine called Slipspace that is powering the ambitious Xbox One and PC game Halo Infinite. According to a report, Microsoft might have spent around $500 million to develop Halo Infinite, a figure that also includes the cost of creating the Slipspace engine.
Site News: So, Where’s Our Team Sonic Racing Review?
Sega’s long-awaited Team Sonic Racing hits the Switch (as well as other formats) next week, and you may have noticed that reviews have appeared online today thanks to the embargo ending. However, we don’t have a review going live because, at the time of writing, we don’t have Team Sonic Racing. It’s kind of hard to have one without the other.
In fact, we’ve been told by Sega that we won’t have the Switch version of the game until launch day – which puts us in the same boat as you guys. Taking that into account, our review of the game is naturally going to go live post-launch, which is something we don’t like doing, but – as you can appreciate – is out of our hands in this particular instance.
Our sister site Push Square gave it 7/10, adding that “it might be lacking the wow factor SEGA’s other IPs brought to Sumo’s other racers, and it’s a shame performance is a little rocky, but this is a good option for PS4 players who want some arcadey thrills“.
IGN gave it a 8.5 score, stating that “Team Sonic Racing adds a creative twist on the arcade racer with its exciting team-based mechanics that put strategy and precision at the forefront alongside blistering speeds across mesmerizing tracks“.
Naturally, those reviews aren’t based on the Switch version of the game, which we’ll be getting our hands on once it’s available in stores. Just like you!
Review: Darkwood – A Gripping Switch Horror Title Full Of Terrors
Despite appearances, Darkwood wants you to survive as much as it’s determined to kill you, but it wants you to earn every life-fortifying dawn as it emerges from the darkness. Much like the Five Nights at Freddy’s games and, to a less extent, the central crux of Minecraft’s Survival mode, Acid Wizard Studio’s top-down offering is all about fortifying a small hideout against things that go bump in the night, while attempting to avoid getting bumped off yourself by the time morning comes around.
This is very much a horror game, but not one that relies on the often cheap thrills of jump scares. Instead, Darkwood aims for a slow sense of dread that unfurls itself more and more with each passing night. It’s often the things you don’t see to begin with – or the ones that are half-glimpsed, like nightmares lurking at a glance – that are the most frightening; as are the long, dead silences that follow. Because you do eventually come face-to-face with what lurks in the thickets and bracken beyond, you’ll soon start longing for the days of audio-only terror.
What Darkwood does really well is that it emphasises your isolation. You’re a man lost in a set of corrupted woods somewhere in the Eastern Bloc, and it’s the densely-crowded of trees that are the game’s most compelling ‘character’. Looming from every corner, they’re a timely reminder that the world of Darkwood is indeed full of terrors, and they’re always getting closer. That feeling of utter helplessness and lack of direction extends from character to player. There’s a very brief tutorial designed to guide you on your first ‘quest’ to locate a stolen item, but after that, you’re very much left to work out what to do next and how best to defend yourself. Those first few nights are designed to spook you, but also to galvanise you to prepare sufficiently for the task ahead.
Of course, just because a game is purposefully obtuse doesn’t mean that the effect is always going to play out in its favour. For the first hour or so, that lack of direction and hand-holding really works, but after a while having to work out where you are on a hastily-drawn map based on not-so-easy-to-distinguish landmarks can sometimes make for a needlessly frustrating experience. Darkwood does, however, try to punctuate this sense of unknown exploration with the handful of characters you’ll meet along the way. Each one offers quests that will shape the final outcome of the story, and while you can opt to just treat Darkwood like a traditional survival game, there are some really compelling narrative beats to be earned that help flesh out the nightmarish story unfolding within that titular forest.
Working on a day/night cycle, it soon becomes clear you need to arm yourself and fortify the small house that serves as your base. A trader will visit you every day to help replenish specific items you need for crafting, but most of the things you’ll utilise will be found in cupboards, in abandoned cars and near the remains of some poor soul. The map itself – as well as the flow, timing and intensity of encounters – are all randomly generated elements so no amount of prior map knowledge will give you an advantage on each new run. So when day comes, and the monsters are banished back into the corrupted woods around you, you’ll need to head out and scavenge for parts and resources.
It’s these resources that become a vital part of your nighttime defences. Darkwood’s simple crafting system enables you to upgrade the strength of your hideout, construct new weapons, build traps and even brew potions with temporary effects. Resources are, unsurprisingly, rather limited so each night often boils down to using what you have most effectively – and how often things descend into anarchy once the beasts are unleashed. It’s at night that Darkwood really shows its true nature.
From rabid dogs and mindless savages to things of a decidedly more Eldritch nature, the enemies you encounter know where you are and they come for you without pause or mercy. There’s something intrinsically frightening about barricading windows, setting traps and even pulling furniture in front of a door in order to slow down an enemy’s pursuit of you. More often than not, you’ll take a few out with your traps, but there are always more that get through. Combat is simple but effective, so when you are forced to defend yourself – be it with an axe or a gun – every move as a deliberate weight to it. You only have so much stamina, so you can’t just spam the triggers in the hope of getting a lucky hit.
The Nintendo Switch port of Darkwood has had plenty of patches and support from the developer right up to the point of its release, and these updates have helped improve its overall performance. However, there are still a few technical problems, such as seemingly inexplicable periods of slowdown and the game’s physics often playing by a series of ever-changing rules. When items you’re trying to drag or interact with fail to respond, it can get very frustrating – especially when you’re trying to defend your ramshackle home in the dead of night. These niggles take the shine off what is otherwise a very assured experience, and we hope they can be ironed out over time.
Conclusion
Darkwood is, thankfully, rather unlike any other horror game on Switch. Those with a taste for survival games will appreciate the constant pressure to salvage parts and craft new items while a clock ticks down in the background, while those with a love for all things sinister will really appreciate some of the truly disturbing moments. Despite the occasional technical flaw, the result is a purposefully slow experience that rewards multiple playthroughs with a storyline that branches depending on just how far into madness you’re willing to tread.
Crysis Dev's PvP Bounty Hunting Game Hits Xbox One In Beta
Crysis developer Crytek's new first-person, match-based survival/bounty hunting PvP game, Hunt: Showdown, is now available on Xbox One in beta.
To get into the beta, you need to sign into the Xbox Insider Hub on your Xbox One. From there you'll see Hunt: Showdown. Click "Join" and then you'll be able to download it.
Crytek notes that space in the beta is "limited," and spots are available on a first-come, first-served basis, so if you're interested you'll want to act quickly.
The playtest runs until 6 AM PT on Monday, May 20. Since it's a beta/playtest, the game in unfinished and you may experience some bugs or other oddities. Crytek encourages player to report issues and other feedback through the Xbox One's built-in reporting tools.
"There are a lot of ways to play Hunt. You can work alone, or you can work in pairs," Crytek says. "You can take a smaller risk and grind for XP, or you can risk it all and try to take out every enemy, every Hunter, and every boss you come across. And those are just a few of the options. There are so many strategic possibilities that players have a lot of space to make the experience theirs."
Video: Team Sonic Racing Launch Trailer Speeds Onto The Scene
A launch trailer for the upcoming Team Sonic Racing has been released by Sega. If you’re looking forward to checking this one out next week, make sure to give it a watch.
In all honesty, it looks pretty much how we’d expect it to, and could well turn out to be a very decent racer on Switch. The trailer shows off some gameplay segments and non-gameplay footage, featuring all of our favourite Sonic stars as they battle it out on track.
We don’t have our hands on a Switch build of the game just yet, but our friends over at Push Square have just posted their review of the PS4 version. Here’s a snippet:
At the end of the day, Sumo Digital has served up a solid kart racer that succeeds in bringing something new to the table. It won’t be to everyone’s tastes, but the cooperative racing adds a nice layer of rapid fire strategy. It’s implemented well, to the point where standard races feel distinctly secondary. It might be lacking the wow factor SEGA’s other IPs brought to Sumo’s other racers, and it’s a shame performance is a little rocky, but this is a good option for PS4 players who want some arcadey thrills.
Are you going to be picking this up when it launches on 21st May? Speed on over to the comment section and let us know.
Sony has published a neat mini-documentary about the music of the latest big PlayStation 4 exclusive, Days Gone. In the video, composed Nathan Whitehead, who worked on the Purge film series before this, talks about how he went about creating the music for the game.
He speaks about how the sounds he went for--acoustic, organic, folk, Americana--are rough around the edges just like main character Deacon St. John is. Another cool part of the video is Whitehead talking about how he came up with the musical expression for the Freakers.
"Scoring Days Gone is the same as scoring three movies, plus figuring out how the music can be interactive and how it can respond to what the player is doing," Whitehead says.
