Talking Point: What Are You Playing This Weekend? (June 15th)
What a busy, busy week it’s been in the Nintendo world. E3 has now come to an end, and a good 90% of the Nintendo Life team is feeling ready to retire to our beds forlong, well-deserved naps. Before that, though, it’s time once again to share with you our weekend gaming plans.As always, we invite you to join in via our poll and comment sections below. Enjoy!
Ollie Reynolds, reviewer
I tend to get overly excited when it comes to new game announcements, so naturally when the sequel to Breath of the Wild was announced during Nintendo’s E3 Direct, I went right back to the original and started my quest all over again. And you know what… It’s just as good second time through.
I’ve also taken advantage of the recent eShop sales and downloaded South Park: The Stick of Truth. I don’t think I’ve ever laughed at a game so much in my life – there’s just something inherently amusing about flatulence that I don’t think anyone grows out of!
Gavin Lane, staff writer
Following the announcement on Tuesday of Banjo (and Kazooie) as Challenger #3, I went to the eShop before bed, picked up a pair of Game Vouchers and immediately redeemed one for Super Smash Bros. Ultimate. I’ve tried to get into Smash several times before, but as I said in my Soapbox on the topic, it would take a Banjo-like announcement to push me over the edge. Obviously that came and launched me off the cliff into Smash. I’m hoping the promise of playing as Banjo on a modern Nintendo platform will keep me motivated. I’ll be picking the brains of resident Smash guru Alex Olney, for sure. I hear spamming Fox’s laser is frowned upon? Alex won’t be calling me ‘lovely’ after I’ve pestered him for tips eight hours straight over Slack…
Following my review, I’d also like to go back and complete Cadence of Hyrule: The Longest Title of a Video Game In The World, Ever again using Link. Zelda was my main (see, I’ve already got the lingo Alex!) when I reviewed it and I only spent half an hour or so with the Hero of Hyrule. Cracking little game, that.
Stephanie Woor, reviewer
Three months ago I was all geared up to lose myself in Valkyria Chronicles 4 – it was to be my next big game, something that was going to keep my mind off of whatever choppy waters were ahead, now that I’d just handed my notice in…
Inevitably, I played the tutorial mission and just stopped playing. Not that I didn’t like the game, with its comfy visuals and overall similarity to the original. Sometimes you just pick something up and know you’re going to regret playing it now, because now sucks. So I guess it’s probably a good sign that I’m back on the bizarro anime western front…
Lewis White, reviewer
I wish I didn’t spend my week toiling through the low-budget irradiated city of Pripyat, but that’s exactly what I went and did. This week, I spent hours in Radiation City but, to be honest, I did ask for this… literally!
Thankfully, in between the pain, my old friend Tetris 99 was always there to comfort me. Like a chilled glass of lemonade on a hot day, or an Ice Cream Tub + Bridgett Jones combo after a bad breakup, Tetris 99 always makes the hard times better. Now if only I could actually win for once
Austin Voigt, contributing writer
This sounds silly – but after E3 got me all hyped for the new games we have coming our way these next few months, I’m likely going to spend my weekend playing the originals/previous titles in sheer anticipation. Animal Crossing, Zelda, Luigi’s Mansion, Pokémon, Ni no Kuni… Let’s be honest – these are the games I spend most of my time playing anyway, while ignoring my growing backlog.
I’ll also likely be rewatching the new trailers/gameplay footage on my Switch so that I can pretend I’m already playing them. Wow, I’m lame.
Gonçalo Lopes, contributing writer
E3 is over! Life slowly goes back to normal yet retro gaming is here to stay. Been spending a lot of time with Contra Anniversary Collection and Collection of Mana as of late and will continue to do so over the weekend. After two long years it has come to this: Ninjara versus Min Min for ARMS supremacy. I shall use my unstoppable ninja skills to bring home the gold. It will be much harder to pick a side for this next to last Splatoon 2 Splatfest: I am a full grown adult who has yet to kill his inner child.
Obvious game of the week is Cadence of Hyrule. The game will fool you with its cutesy 2D graphics and earworm friendly stellar soundtrack and then you notice its 3am and you’re still screaming to the beat.
PJ O’Reilly, reviewer
This week I’ve been indulging in some of the hot drops from E3 week, namely the Contra Collection and Cadence of Hyrule, both of which are absolutely superb. Playing Contra again is bringing me right back to the good old days of pumping ten pence pieces into the Contra cabinet which we had in our local chippy (truly halcyon days!) then busting out my SNES copy of Super Probotector when it was time for home.
I’m also a big fan of Crypt of the Necrodancer so it’s no surprise to me how much I’m enjoying Cadence of Hyrule; the gameplay of Crypt slotted into the world of Zelda, it turns out, is a perfect match-up, it might even be the best Zelda spin-off I’ve played!
Ryan Craddock, staff writer
To be honest, now that the madness of E3’s over I’m looking forward to playing a game of ‘sleep all weekend and possibly for the rest of time’. Failing that, though, I’ll likely be continuing my current playthroughs of Banjo-Kazooie and GoldenEye 007 on N64.
I did start up DOOM again in the middle of the week (I gave up on my first playthrough for some reason, so wanted to give it another chance) and have been eyeing up Cadence of Hyrule for the last few days, so one of those could make a sneak appearance.
Which games are you playing this weekend? (37 votes)
The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
16%
South Park: The Stick of Truth
0%
Super Smash Bros. Ultimate
11%
Cadence of Hyrule: Crypt of the NecroDancer Featuring The Legend of Zelda
The Haxe programming language just released Haxe 4.0.0-rc3. With this release the versatile Haxe programming language just got an additional compilation target, the Java Virtual Machine (JVM).
On behalf of the Haxe Foundation, we are proud to announce the official release of the Haxe 4.0.0-rc.3! It is available along with the changelog at https://haxe.org/download.
The new Java Virtual Machine target is available! Generate JVM byte code directly from Haxe bypassing Java compilation step by adding -D jvm to your project targeting Java.
Unicode support was greatly improved across all targets.
Other than that, we fixed a lot of bugs and improved the quality of IDE services (compilation and completion server).
Be sure the check the link for the full change log. With the new ability to target JVM, this means you can now create Java based Android applications. For more details on this process, check this Github project. If you are looking for a Haxe game engine be sure to check out our list available here. We have also done a Haxe + HaxeFlixel and Haxe + Heaps tutorial series.
Posted by: xSicKxBot - 06-16-2019, 04:00 AM - Forum: Lounge
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Beat Saber Unplugged: How One Of The Best VR Games Handles On Oculus Quest
It's an old cliché that fighting someone with one hand tied behind your back is either the ultimate in badass moves, or an act of genuine stupidity. Either way, the assumption is always that having full freedom will change the game entirely. Beat Saber has always felt like a discipline to begin with. The inherent coolness and fun of slicing stuff up to EDM and electronic pop very quickly gives way after a while to the realization that some legitimate flexibility, improvisation, speed, and skill are gonna have to be employed to hit some of the game's goals. It was always doable, but bound by some hard limits on other platforms. We've all been playing the game with one arm tied behind our backs. Playing Beat Saber on the Oculus Quest, however, gives you the arm back.
For the uninitiated, Beat Saber is a music/rhythm game, with a unique twist: the beats of every song you play are represented in VR as boxes that need to be sliced in the displayed direction by your two weapons of choice: a pair of red and blue lightsabers. It's a magnificent, even athletic game on any platform, but held back by the limited range of the platform. You always had to work in range of the camera, and the thick wire leading from any given headset to your computer or Playstation was a constant consideration.
These considerations are no longer in play on the Oculus Quest. It's a system that can be played in any room in any space big enough to support it. The Quest's cameras being built into the unit itself means it's so much easier to make strikes as broad or precise as you need them to be, no longer worrying about dragging a cord along with it, or losing tracking, as long as your hands are in view.
But most importantly, this is a port that encourages movement like nothing else. If a difficult swing puts you in a different position in the room in a hectic section, you're not stumbling to get back in starting position. That's just where you are, and you continue on. Playing Beat Saber on Quest feels less like the focused horse-blinder focus of playing a Dance Dance Revolution, and more like a coordinated kata of swordplay, ready and able to demolish obstacles however you deem necessary.
The result is incredibly freeing. Playing through five, ten, or fifteen tracks in one go isn't out of the question, with the only limit being your own stamina and flexibility. Make no mistake, Beat Saber is a workout. The difference now is that it's a workout without limits, one that lets players stretch and improvise and explore their space, to both dance and feel dangerous, something that makes it far more likely to turn the game into an aerobic workout staple for many. That's an amazing thing to factor into an already awesome game, which makes this the hands-down best version of the game.
Posted by: xSicKxBot - 06-16-2019, 04:00 AM - Forum: Lounge
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EA pledges new reporting tools, periodic Community Reports to combat toxicity
Electronic Arts has outlined some community-facing plans for dealing with toxicity and misbehavior in the communities for its games, taking the time at its EA Play event this past weekend to discuss its current and future efforts on that front.
What’s notable about EA’s approach is that the company is taking deliberate steps to keep the community involved in that process, with this year’s plans including quarterly reports on anti-toxicity efforts and a community-led panel to offer feedback on policies.
The company held what it calls the Building Healthy Communities Summit at EA Play, calling in 200 members of its community leadership ‘game changers’ program to have open discussions about toxic behavior and bullying in game communities.
The summit included several discussions of the issue as a whole, something detailed on EA’s blog post about the event, in addition to an outline of the steps EA has planned further positive community growth in mind. Part of those plans is the formation of a player-led council to give EA direct and ongoing feedback on programs, policies, and platforms and the company’s own pledge to explore new anti-toxicity tools and in-game features to “more easily manage and effectively report disruptive behavior.”
On top of those efforts, EA says it plans to release a quarterly report about its efforts on the community front and to keep its players informed about the progress it’s making on existing programs and the new initiatives it kicks off to better mitigate toxic communities.
Whether you’re just starting out, looking for something new, or just seeing what’s out there, the Gamasutra Job Board is the place where game developers move ahead in their careers.
Gamasutra’s Job Board is the most diverse, most active, and most established board of its kind in the video game industry, serving companies of all sizes, from indie to triple-A.
June 7th : New Preview Beta Ring 1906 Update (1906.190605-1940)
Starting at 6:00 p.m. PST today, members of the Xbox One Preview Beta Ring will begin receiving the latest 1906 Xbox One system update (Build: 19H1_RELEASE_XBOX_DEV_1906\18362.4048.190605-1940).
DETAILS:
OS version released: 19H1_RELEASE_XBOX_DEV_1906\18362.4048.190605-1940
Available: 6:00PM PDT 6/7/19
Mandatory Date/Time: 3:00 AM PDT 6/8/19
Fixes:
My Games and Apps
We have fixed the issue in which My Games and apps is blank after deleting a title from collection.
System
Various Narrator fixes.
Various Localization fixes.
Known Issues:
Audio
Headsets are not being assigned to the users profiles and not working correctly.
Profile Color
Sometimes users may encounter the incorrect Profile color when powering on the console.
Eiji Aonuma And Multiple Others Have Been Promoted At Nintendo
There are a lot of employees at Nintendo who have spent their entire adulthood at the company. As many of these individuals grow in experience and age, they help create more games and rise up the ranks. Recently, a number of these well-known individuals have been promoted. Nintendo’s E3 2019 press website reveals new positions for Eiji Aonuma, Hisashi Nogami, Aya Kyogoku and Yoshihito Ikebata.
Aonuma will keep his role as the producer of The Legend of Zelda series but is now also a Deputy General Manager. Nogami – best known in recent times as the producer of Splatoon – moves into the same position, Kyogoku – the face of the Animal Crossing series – has taken on the “Manager of Production Group No. 5” role (Splatoon & Animal Crossing) and Yoshihito Ikebata is now with “Production Group No. 6” (responsible for the Metroid Prime and Luigi’s Mansion series).
It’s great to see such a talented group of individuals working their way up the company ladder while making Nintendo’s beloved series better and better at the same time.
Posted by: xSicKxBot - 06-16-2019, 04:00 AM - Forum: Lounge
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This Week At Bungie – 6/13/2019
This week at Bungie, we watched Guardians hunt for Truth.
Season of Opulence is off and running. Guardians are piling into the Emperor’s lost vaults in search of the treasure of their choosing. Earlier this week, you discovered a new boss waiting for you in the depths of the Menagerie. Upon defeating it, you were given a quest to seek out Truth. Not in an X-files way, but to find the Rocket Launcher, Truth—a weapon that seeks out its targets… aggressively. Just look at what some players are seeing in the wild:
Next week, we’ll mix things up once again with a third additional boss to keep things fresh in our new six-player activity. And that’s not all we have planned. We are also welcoming an old friend back to the Tower.
Iron Pursuits
Lord Saladin will return next week for the first Iron Banner of Season of Opulence. With a new Season, you have a fresh set of weapons and armor available to earn. Saladin continues to offer Iron Banner bounties, but will also set you on a quest to earn your gear. In other words, prove your worth, and be outfitted as an Iron Lord.
This Season’s Iron Banner armor is now acquired through a quest.
Each armor piece will be granted upon completing its associated quest step.
Each armor piece will be granted as a powerful reward.
After unlocking an armor piece, it may be reacquired with random rolls through Iron Banner Reputation Packages and match rewards.
If you are a veteran player who earned Iron Banner ornaments in the past, this Season’s armor is compatible with all Year 1 Iron Banner ornaments.
Iron Banner packages have been updated.
Iron Banner Armor may now roll with enhanced perks.
New weapons have also been added to Iron Banner packages and have a higher chance to drop on the first package you redeem.
New Iron Banner shaders, an emblem, and a Sparrow may be earned through objectives that must be completed during Season of Opulence.
Iron Banner bounties will continue to grant rewards and Iron Banner Tokens.
Iron Banner bounties no longer unlock direct purchase for Iron Banner gear, as it is now acquired directly through the Iron Banner quest.
Iron Banner and Increased Valor
Start: 10 AM PDT on June 18
End: 10 AM PDT on June 25
Here is a preview of the armor and weapons available during Iron Banner events in Season of Opulence.
Valor boosts will also be available next week in Iron Banner and the rest of the Crucible. Saladin will also have some other items available including this new Emblem.
Raid Stats
Thousands of Guardians explored deep within the Leviathan to tackle the challenges of the Crown of Sorrow raid. A fireteam of six completed it first and paved the way for others to follow in their footsteps. We made a graphic showing the number of Guardians who beat the raid in a few key timeframes during the first week.
If you were one of the 45,475 Guardians who bested Gahlran within the first week and are thinking about purchasing the Bungie Rewards raid jacket, you have until 11:59 PM PDT on June 18 to claim your Bungie Reward code and place your order. Dmg04 and I both completed it the night before the deadline and ordered ours.
Congratulations to everyone who has completed it so far. If you’re still Powering up, Gahlran is waiting for you.
Q and A
The DPS team is always working diligently behind the scenes. They are making sure you have the info you need to have the best Destiny 2 experience.
This is their report.
Destiny 2 Hotfix 2.5.0.3
Today, we deployed Destiny 2 Hotfix 2.5.0.3 to players. This hotfix addressed the following issues:
Resolved an issue blocking progress toward the quest “The Invitation,” where some players were not receiving credit when defeating Menagerie bosses.
Resolved an issue blocking progress toward the quest “The Invitation,” where some players could not upgrade their Chalice of Opulence.
Resolved an issue where Sturm’s “Accomplice” perk no longer reloaded non-Drang energy weapons following Update 2.5.0.1.
PLEASE NOTE: We are investigating an ongoing issue where Sturm does not reload non-Drang sidearms.
Resolved an issue causing Eververse armor to have different perks than shown in the Eververse storefront.
For upcoming patch notes as soon as they are available, players should monitor our Updates page.
Fall 2019 FAQ
Following the series of announcements we made last week, we’d like to follow up with the first batch of frequently asked questions submitted by players.
Forsaken and New Light
Q: Will Destiny 2: New Light be its own separate game/file?
A: No. All Destiny 2 players will be automatically converted to New Light and will maintain all of their prior purchases and entitlements.
Q: What Forsaken and Forsaken Annual Pass content will be included in New Light?
A: Forsaken content available in Destiny 2: New Light includes:
Free roam on all destinations
Strikes playlists
Crucible playlists
Gambit and Gambit Prime playlists
Select Annual Pass content
Q: What Forsaken and Forsaken Annual Pass content will NOT be included in New Light?
A: Forsaken content available only with purchase includes:
The Forsaken campaign
Year 2 raids and dungeons
Exotic quests
Cross Save
Q: Do players need to repurchase Destiny 2 on each cross save platform separately?
A: No. New Light will be available for free on Steam, Xbox, and PlayStation.
Cross save will preserve all gear, character, and items across all platforms regardless of entitlements.
Expansion ownership (Forsaken, Shadowkeep) is tied to the platform’s store it was purchased on. Players will need to purchase expansions on each platform that they wish to play that expansion content on.
Q: Can players merge different characters, items, or Triumphs from different accounts?
A: Cross save does not feature account, character, or progress merging. Selecting a active account for cross save does not delete or alter the data of any other accounts.
Q: Will Destiny 2 support cross-play matchmaking between different platforms?
A: Each platform will have its own matchmaking pool.
Steam PC
Q: Which Destiny 2 purchases and entitlements transfer over from Battle.net to Steam?
A: The PC migration from Battle.net to Steam will include a one-time transfer of ALL ownership rights that a player already owns (expansions, Silver, account, Seasons, etc.).
Q: Can players pre-order Shadowkeep on Steam right now and migrate their Battle.net account later?
A: Yes. Players may purchase Destiny 2: Shadowkeep from Steam’s product page now, and migrate their account at a later date.
Stadia
Q: Can players pre-order Google Stadia Founder’s Edition right now, and setup cross save for their account at a later date?
A: Yes. Players may purchase Stadia Founder’s Edition from Google’s product page now, and enable cross save on their account at a later date.
Q: Will Stadia feature cross play with Steam or other platforms?
A: Stadia is its own ecosystem, just like current existing platforms. Stadia players will only be able to play with other Stadia players.
For the consolidated list of frequently asked questions as they are added throughout the summer, players should see our Destiny 2: Fall 2019 FAQ help article.
Destiny 2 Season of Opulence Known Issues
Listed below are the latest player impacting issues discovered in Season of Opulence:
Queen of Hearts Ship: We are investigating an issue where this ship can’t be reacquired from Collections when bought from Eververse.
404 Errors on Bungie.net: We are investigating an issue where players who are trying to get a Bungie Rewards code or are trying to verify their email receive a 404 error page.
Opulence Weekly Bounties: We are investigating an issue where weekly bounties offered by Benedict 99-40 did not grant powerful rewards for a period following the 6/11 weekly reset.
Chests on the Pleasure Barge: We are investigating an issue where the chests on Werner 99-40’s pleasure barge reset at Sunday’s daily reset and not at Tuesday’s weekly reset.
Showtime
We are back with a hot new edition of Movie of the Week. For anyone unfamiliar, this is where we highlight our favorite videos that were created by the community. The winners get an emblem, and you get to watch some cool Destiny action. Here is what we got this week.
Movie of the Week: TR3-VR Recreated
Honorable Mention: Better Blink
It’s been a blast sharing news with the community all while getting to see you experience the content we have been working on for Season of Opulence. We’re not done yet! There is more coming this season and more coming this fall. Thanks for inhabiting this universe we love to build.
PSN Is Down, Causing PS4 Server Issues And Errors For Games During E3 [Update]
E3 2019 is winding down, with Thursday marking its final day. Even without Sony at the show, there has been a lot of games for PS4 fans to check out. But those at home looking to boot up their PS4 (or other PlayStation Network-reliant device or service) might find themselves running into server issues. Sony has confirmed PSN is down, with many users reporting the error code WS-37403-7. [Update: The status page says PSN servers are back online, so you shouldn't have any further issues for the time being.]
Sony shared the news in a tweet on its PlayStation Support account, writing, "We’re aware that some users are experiencing issues logging into PSN." The PSN status page further reaffirms this, listing all areas of PSN as impacted. That includes account management, gaming and social, PlayStation Now, the PlayStation Store, PlayStation Vue, and more. No further tweets have been shared, but the most recent update on the PSN status page came at 2:26 PM PT and reiterates that Sony's "engineers are working to resolve the issue as soon as possible."
We’re aware that some users are experiencing issues logging into PSN. Thank you for your patience as we investigate: https://t.co/s026QGzJZr
With these widespread issues, you may not be able to sign in on your PS4, which could mean you're locked out of not just online play, but also some of your games. There's no word on how long this may last or when servers will come back online.
When things do come back up, Sony's E3 sale is ongoing and offers some very nice deals on PS4 games and hardware.
Nicalis Reveals Ikaruga Physical Release For Switch
If you love the juicy, vertically-scrolling shoot ’em up action of Ikaruga on your Nintendo Switch, or if you’ve been holding out on picking it up all this time, you’ll probably be pretty pleased to know that a physical release is on the horizon.
There are no concrete details just yet on when it’ll be launching or where you can expect to find it, but it’s absolutely on the way. It has been teased by Nicalis on the studio’s official Twitter account (and you can be pretty sure that the game will appear on Nicalis’ store in the near future).
Of course, back in August last year Nicalis showed off the “world’s largest Switch game case” for the much-loved shmup, sending fans into a frenzy by making them think a physical release was on the way. We’re still not entirely convinced it was a real tease ourselves, but at least it’s definitely coming now.
If you’re not clued up on this one, feel free to check out our full review.
Are you a fan of Ikaruga? Does this physical release have your name all over it? Fire away in the comments below.
