A colony ship crash-lands on a hostile planet, leaving the crew struggling against the odds to survive. With the passing of time, the chance of rescue diminishes so the colonists disperse and establish their own factions. Generations of survivors have eked out a living, but there is a limit to the barren planet’s resources and tensions between the competing factions are high.
Nomads of the Fallen Star is a sci-fi adventure in which you take on the role of the leader of a motley bunch of scavengers on a quest for fame and fortune. Initially, there are only two members in your team, a grizzled veteran who goes by the name of Varon and a young woman called Iona, who has a talent for chemistry. This unlikely duo must traverse the land, trading between the numerous settlements and completing missions whilst unravelling the background story as they go. As their reputation grows, they will be able to purchase better equipment and recruit new members.
From the onset, it is obvious that Nomads is a port of a PC game. Indeed, it has the look and feel of a PC game from the previous millennium. The font is tiny, the icons minuscule and the character portraits blurry and non-distinct. However, let us not be too harsh, this is the work of a solo developer and the PC version has attained plenty of positive feedback. Unfortunately, even if you are prepared to overlook the rather off-putting presentation, Nomads of the Fallen Star’s ropeyuser-interface isn’t so easy to excuse.
You will spend a lot of time watching the various factions, militia and caravans trundling slowly across the landscape. On one level, it is easy to admire the machinations that are whirling away in the background creating the sense of a real living world. However, when you just want to get from A to B it quickly becomes immensely frustrating. You have to scroll the map using a little virtual joystick that is nestled at the bottom left-hand corner of the screen. Release the joystick and the screen flips back to centre on your party. It is a system that feels both clunky and irritating. When you are used to navigating maps by tapping and dragging, it feels positively archaic. Furthermore, you have to constantly switch between input modes to either confirm orders or find out additional information. There are other problems too, such as an exit button that doesn’t appear to do anything and an abort mission button that is all too easy to accidentally press. Overall, it feels like an interface that has been shoehorned into a touchscreen device instead of being designed from the ground up.
Combat is a little macabre as you manoeuvre your units, represented by disembodied heads, around a rudimentary grid. You can then use your action points to initiate numerous attacks. The tiny icons aren’t really distinct enough so the first few battles are even more confusing than they need to be. It is especially tough at the start of the game when you only have two team members and limited equipment. Because the game is so open-ended you can find yourself involved in some hopelessly one-sided battles, and with no option to quit you are forced to see things through to the bitter end. You can pep up your team by taking some performance-enhancing drugs, but the lack of terrain features means that the best tactic is usually to wait around on the left of the screen until the reckless enemies charge into range.
If you are a true sadist then you can play with the permadeath option turned on. However, this game is so tough that any sane souls will probably select the option where death only returns your adventurers to the last settlement that they visited. When you start playing it seems like everything is stacked against you; shortages of food and water, strict mission deadlines and overpowering opponents all serve to frustrate. To be fair the game does give advice, but you have to really pay attention and read everything carefully otherwise you may miss some crucial hints. The vast amount of information that is thrown at the player can feel overwhelming and you soon realise the need to narrow your focus to a few specific goals. Unfortunately, there isn’t an option to make additional saved game files. This seems odd given the open-ended nature of the game, which encourages exploration and experimentation.
This all sounds very negative, but in spite of these concerns Nomads of the Fallen Star still has some really neat ideas. The combination of trading and squad-based combat works well and the music is wonderful, flowing from the beautifully eerie to the pulse-poundingly rousing. In some ways, Nomads is a tremendous achievement, not since Genesis has such a massive living world been created by a single pair of hands, although I’m betting that it took considerably longer than seven days to complete. The butterfly effect has been incorporated into the game with much thought and skill. For instance, a caravan carrying ale is ambushed on route to a local mine.
The miners go on strike, causing supplies of ore to dwindle. In the meantime, metal prices soar and supplies of weapons and armour are hit. The local militia grow ill-equipped and unhappy. Law and order begins to fall apart and raiders take the opportunity to fill their pockets with ill-gotten gains. To make matters worse disillusioned militiamen desert and join raiding groups. Yet, the number of caravans risking journeys has fallen, forcing the raiders to attack the outposts themselves. All because a few miners had dry throats and you didn’t get the crucial supplies through in time.
It is a shame that the dodgy interface and unforgiving introduction are likely to deter all but the most resolute of gamers. Nomads of the Fallen Star tells an interesting story set in a dynamic open-world of warring factions and economic hardships. There is so much to discover, like crafting, trading, scavenging, developing your faction and characters. After the initial hurdles, the game opens up and you can begin to appreciate the ambitious scope.
If you find the concept intriguing and you have the patience to take on the tough challenge then I strongly recommend that you give the PC version a try. Playing on a larger screen with mouse control rectifies many of the game’s frustrations, leaving you free to explore the planet without having to constantly wrestle with the interface. If you insist on playing it on mobile, then tablet is probably the best way forward – the interface issues get exacerbated by smaller screens.
Substance Designer, the PBR material creation software from Allegorithmics (and now Adobe), just received it’s first major update of 2019. The major new feature is the ability to process both values and textures, simplifying the material creation workflow. The release also includes several new filters such as new flood fill variants, height extrusion and more.
Details from the press release:
Where before textures represented values, Substance Designer can now process these values directly during material creation, ensuring consistency across the pipeline. Using the new “Value Processor” node, users can manipulate values from within the composite graph itself, helping to drive parameters and optimize their workflow with even more creative flexibility. Rather than working with nodes that represented elements like color, users can add the color value directly, simplifying and strengthening the design process.
Users can also pass values from one node to another, and create global variables at the graph level. Over time, nodes/filters will attain the ability to become smarter throughout the graph as they receive additional data. Substance Engine v7 will soon be compatible with all the Substance integrations, so materials can be directly imported into top tools without any extra tweaks.
“With the introduction of Substance Engine v7, Substance Designer takes another step toward becoming the ultimate material authoring tool,” said Nicolas Wirrmann, product manager for Substance Designer. “The whole ecosystem has become smarter, and the new engine allows artists to continue to innovate and experiment for years to come.”
Along with Substance Engine v7, today’s update brings with it several new filters, including:
New Flood Fill Variants – Two new Flood Fill companion nodes have been released including: “Flood Fill to Index,” which generates user numbers per shape, and “Flood Fill Mapper,” which lets them apply images to each shape.
Atlas Splitter – Users can now divide an Atlas in order to isolate and exploit the separate elements of a scan.
New Directional Warp Filters – The “Non-Uniform Direction Warp” allows the intensity and direction of the warp to be driven by an image input; the “Multi-Directional Warp” applies the directional warp multiple times in opposite directions while the displaced texture stays in place.
Height Extrude – Height maps can now be rendered as 3D depth; users can rotate the resulting shape as a 3D object.
Triplanar Update – More accurate blending formula, random offset, separated inputs for x, y and z projections are now available.
Improvements to Normal Vector Rotation – Rather than being set by a uniform value, the Normal Vector rotation angle can now be set using the grayscale value of an image input.
Along with the new features, today’s update also introduces several performance upgrades, including a massive boost to the bakers. The integration of Optix for the AO, Bent Normal and Thickness bakers will now produce speeds at least five times faster than CPU ray tracing. The .obj loader has also been optimized and multi-threaded, leading to a significant increase in loading times.
For technical users, the update brings expanded options to the Python Scripting plugin system. Users can now create GUIs for plugins within Substance Designer using the Python API. The plugin system has also been standardized, allowing for plugins to start when the application loads, aiding in the creation of persistent plugins. Additional plugins created by the Substance team are on the way as well, look for those soon.
You can learn more as well as download a 30 day trial here.
Set in real-world Asakusa in Tokyo, indie game developers 'Judgement 7? AR tech goes awry, spilling into and affecting the real world. Directed by acclaimed Noki Morita- the author and planner of the excellent Sakura Wars.
Sean and Daniel Diaz?s journey to Mexico continues in Episode 3, a few months after the events in Episode 2 and the boys? escape from Beaver Creek. The brothers experience life on the fringes of society, as they befriend a close-knit community of drifters and runaways, and become embroiled in the illegal cannabis trade among the towering redwood forests of California. Sean and Daniel?s resolve is put to the test once again, as new relationships create friction between them and they both learn much about who they are as individuals. Uncertain about their once united purpose, can they stay together, or will their journey together end here?
Fortnite Season 9 Battle Pass Guide: Free Skins, Price, And How It All Works
Mark it on your calendar, Fortnite Season 9 began on May 9, and brought with it a whole bunch of new things for players to obsess about--10 weeks from now, you'll be getting all nostalgic about this moment, probably. Fortnite developer Epic Games has detailed the major patch that is ushering in all the exciting changes to the game and, as with previous seasons, there are significant changes to the map, fresh gameplay opportunities, and much more. Obviously, there's a new Battle Pass too, and below you'll find a breakdown of all the key details, including pricing information, what you'll get as part of it, and how to make the most of the Battle Pass.
What Is The Fortnite Battle Pass?
The Battle Pass is effectively what allows players to unlock new items that can be used to customize their character. These include skins, emotes, wraps, gliders, and back bling--basically, it's all the rad stuff you see players wearing and think, "Dang, that's cool, I want that." These items are earned by playing Fortnite--taking out enemy players, scoring Victory Royales, completing the weekly challenges, and generally having a good time in Fortnite. While doing this, you'll accrue Battle Stars, which in turn level up the Battle Pass and unlock cosmetic items attached to the levels.
As with previous Battle Passes, there are over 100 levels to upgrade through. For Season 9, when you buy the Battle Pass, you'll automatically get two skins: Sentinel and Rox, which you can see images of below. Rox is a progressive skins, which means it can be levelled up to evolve into new styles.
How Do Battle Pass Challenges Work?
Thankfully, you're not required to have a Battle Pass to enjoy playing Fortnite. This is because, by default, everyone is able to unlock a limited number of cosmetics. This is because everyone starts off with what is a free, baseline level of the Battle Pass. With this version, however, it takes considerably longer to level up the Battle Pass and unlock cosmetics, and many of the coolest items are exclusive to paid Battle Pass owners. Weekly challenges are the quickest way to level up a Battle Pass, and while free players will have some challenges to do, there's a portion of the weekly challenges that are exclusive to those that have spent V-Bucks on a Battle Pass. More challenges to do means more Battle Stars can be earned, which in turn results in the Battle Pass leveling up quicker.
How Much Does A Battle Pass Cost?
The Battle Pass costs 950 V-Bucks from the in-game store. V-Bucks is a Fortnite-specific currency that you can purchase with real money. 1,000 V-Bucks go for about $10 in the US. Alternatively, you can purchase the Battle Bundle, which is 40% off and gives you the Battle Pass with 25 tiers unlocked, as well as the Bunker Jonesy skin. This bundle is priced at 2,800 V-Bucks.
Season 9 Battle Bundle Contents
Battle Bundle is available now through August 1 and instantly grants players with items "valued at over 10,000 V-Bucks. These include:
Rox Progressive Outfit
Sentinel Outfit
Bunker Jonesy Outfit
Sentinel Wrap
Ripe Rippers Harvesting Tool
Turbo Spin Glider
Ripe Wrap
300 B-Bucks
1 Music Track
70% Bonus Season Match XP
20% Bonus Season Friend Match XP
What Are The Rewards?
When you purchase a Battle Pass, you'll immediately receive a few skins including the Sentinel and Rox. However, beyond that there are futuristic wraps, which chance the visual style of whatever they're applied to, mechanized pets, emotes, back bling, sprays, and more. The ultimate goal, however, is a progressive outfit that unlocks at tier 100. This skin is called "Vendetta" and you can see an image of it above. It's also worth noting that if you owned a Season 8 pass, you'll start Season 9 with a 30% personal XP boost. You can see all the Fortnite Season 9 Battle Pass rewards here.
What's New In Season 9?
The Battle Pass might seem like a lot of work, and it certainly is--requiring hours of dedicated play, but it also worthwhile if you're an avid Fortnite fan. But how does Season 9 mix things up from a gameplay standpoint, you may be asking? Well, the biggest change that we've seen in Week 1 of Season 9 is the new Slipstreams. These are new ways to get around the map quickly and, since you can either hop in yourself to be carried around the island, lob projectiles in, or drive small vehicles through, there's sure to be plenty of opportunities to make mischief. There is gameplay depth to using Splistreams too, as you can build speed and influences trajectory, so you'll need to spend a bit of time getting familiar with how they work. You can read more about what's new in the Season 9 patch notes.
One Mortal Kombat 11 Developer Had To See A Therapist After Violent Dreams
Mortal Kombat 11 hasn’t had the smoothest launch. The new fighting game was criticised for being a grind-fest and more recently, there have been serious allegations of toxic work culture at NetherRealm Studios during the development cycle. If that wasn’t already enough, one of the individuals involved in the creation process has revealed how working on the latest entry in the excessively violent series eventually led to a PTSD diagnosis.
During an interview with Kotaku, the individual – who requested anonymity to protect their career within the video game industry – said they spent their days throughout 2018 viewing violent animations and referring to “real-life” research material to create overly gory in-game animations while breaking down each cinematic sequence frame-by-frame.
“You’d walk around the office and one guy would be watching hangings on YouTube, another guy would be looking at pictures of murder victims, someone else would be watching a video of a cow being slaughtered.”
After roughly a month, all of this violent content took its toll on this particular developer, resulting in a loss of sleep due to graphic dreams:
“I’d have these extremely graphic dreams, very violent.”
They then saw a therapist, who diagnosed them with post-traumatic stress disorder – which is believed to be because of Mortal Kombat and its explicit development process. Apparently, this particular individual wasn’t alone, with other co-workers who eventually left also suffering from “similar problems” during the creation of the game.
Warner Bros. Games and NetherRealm Studios did not respond to this story. Read the full report here.
In a recent interview with VGC, Platinum Games’ studio head, Atushi Inaba, was asked if the upcoming Switch exclusive Astral Chain had been influenced by the previously cancelled Xbox One title, Scalebound. There are supposedly no similarities between the two games:
“I can’t go in to detail about how the different gameplay systems of ASTRAL CHAIN and Scalebound work, but they’re both very different. Any feeling of similarity between the two projects is not true. It’s all in your imagination!”
Inaba was also asked how Scalebound’s cancellation had impacted Platinum:
“I wouldn’t say our experience with Scalebound influenced us to go towards self-publishing. Quite frankly, the reality is that we’ve had plenty of titles cancelled in the past: that’s part and parcel of what comes with making video games.
“Watching fans getting angry at Microsoft over the cancellation wasn’t easy for us to watch. Because the reality is, when any game in development can’t get released it’s because both sides failed. I think there are areas where we could’ve done better and I’m sure there are areas that Microsoft as a publishing partner wish that they could’ve done better. Because nobody wants a game to be cancelled.”
Are you looking forward to the release of Astral Chain on the Switch this August? Tell us below.
Posted by: xSicKxBot - 05-09-2019, 11:45 PM - Forum: Windows
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New self-paced learning tools make quantum programming more approachable
With the most recent Quantum Development Kit release, we’ve focused on empowering our users to get engaged with quantum development. The new release:
Makes it easier to learn quantum computing with the quantum katas notebooks.
Adds more consistent and concise Q# syntax.
Refactors to focus on helping users find what they want and contribute their code.
Building upon the Jupyter Notebook integration that we shared with you last month, we now extend the support to our quantum katas – self-paced tutorials on quantum computing. Today’s update means that new Q# developers can experience our self-paced learning tools without having to install the Quantum Development Kit. With this update, we’ve made quantum programming approachable for people with any level of experience.
Youcan try out the kata notebook yourself hosted online, or you can also find a list of other kata notebooks for you to try at our open source Quantum Katas repository.
Q# makes it easy to think in terms of quantum algorithms and quantum applications.As we continue to evolve the world’s first high-level quantum programming language to meet the needs of scalable quantum program development, we’re also taking the opportunity to make it even easier to express quantum algorithms in Q#.
With this release, we areadding new capabilities to the Q# language itself. For example, we addedan operator “w/”, a new way to express array creation as a modification of an existing array. We have also added a shorthand way to express specializations of quantum operations (e.g.: Controlled and Adjoint) and new shorthand, (e.g.:, “w/=, +=) for common statements. These changes not only improve the developer’s ability to express quantum algorithms, but they will also lead to more efficient code generation on quantum devices.
Visual Studio and Visual Studio code users will also now see the familiar light bulbicon that recommends fixes for build problems.
We have optimized the layout of our libraries to enable the exciting growth that we are seeing from our team and the larger quantum community. As more developers contribute their ideas and Q# code, the new layout helps developers learn and re-use code faster. Learn about these and other new features in the Quantum Development Kit update release notes.
Finally, please take a look at our developer blogthis week as wepublish a series of more in-depthblogs about each of these new capabilities.
The Division 2's New Loot Changes Canceled Thanks To "Loud And Clear" Feedback
Ubisoft has announced Title Update 3, set to go live in The Division 2 this month, will not increase the game's Gear Score to 515 like previously stated. Instead, the maximum Gear Score will remain at 500.
"Our intention, as always, is for players to enjoy the content they love and continue to make progress with their Agent," a blog post on The Division 2 website reads. "After talking about loot and Gear Score in a lot of meetings, chats and video calls and many white boards being filled with thoughts, notes and graphs, we decided that with all the changes coming with [Title Update 3], increasing the Gear Score at this point would have created a couple of issues."
The post goes on to list some of those issues, including how raising the Gear Score to 515 would have made all Gear Score 500 items outdated ahead of the raid that's also included in Title Update 3. "We don't want to invalidate your progression and we heard that feedback loud and clear from our community," the post reads. Ubisoft also doesn't want The Division 2 to become too focused on chasing higher Gear Scores, as "it should be about finding a playstyle and build that you enjoy."
To reinforce this, Ubisoft has made several changes to Title Update 3 ahead of its release. These changes are listed below. The list of in-game adjustments and add-ons coming in Title Update 3 are listed in the full patch notes on The Division 2's website.
The Division 2 Title Update 3 Changes
We have increased the rewards for daily Priority Hard and Challenging missions. Once you've reached Gear Score 500, those activities will guarantee Gear Score 500 drops.
Heroic Mission bosses, Stronghold bosses and Bounty bosses, as well as Control Point Alert Level 4 reward containers guarantee Gear Score 500 items if your average Gear Score is at 500.
DZ contaminated loot does not drop below player's average Gear Score. When you've reached an average Gear Score of 500, Contaminated loot will guarantee Gear Score 500 items.
We've balanced loot across the board to reduce the chances of items dropping at a lower Gear Score than that of your character.
The Division 2 is available on Xbox One, PS4, and PC.
Reminder: The Latest Free Update For Dragon Ball FighterZ Is Now Live
One of the standout brawlers on the Switch right now is Dragon Ball FighterZ. The Arc System Works release first arrived on the platform in 2018 and has improved over time with a number of free content updates and DLC character releases.
The latest free content update unlocks seasonal gacha, a new course for the Arcade Mode and custom Tenkaichi. In addition to this, Goku [GT] and commentator voice packs are also being added to the game today as a part of the FighterZ Pass. Here’s a graphic of everything you can expect, courtesy of the Bandai Namco Twitter account:
The new paid DLC fighter – Goku [GT] – is based on the much younger-looking Goku from the Dragon Ball GT series. He’s ready for battle with his special “Super Kamehameha” attack, transforming him into Super Saiyan 3 and has many other moves such as “Super Spirit Bomb”, “Power Pole” and the “Reverse Kamehameha.”
Will you be trying out the free update for Dragon Ball FighterZ? Have you been eager to train up with this version of Goku? Tell us down below.
