Posted by: xSicKxBot - 01-05-2019, 08:55 AM - Forum: Lounge
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Blog: Four ways my video game habits changed in 2018
In 2018, I experienced one of my biggest shifts in video gaming behavior over the past decade. Overall, the industry is going through some interesting changes with the introduction of Epic and Discord’s game marketplaces, and an explosion of games available on Steam and new storefronts. Personally, it was a big change of me, because I moved in with my fiancée, got married, and overall had less time for my old gaming habits. Instead of playing mostly new games, I’ve played a mix of new and old games over the past year. Here are some of the trends in my gameplay habits that I noticed in 2018.
Wonka’s World of Candy (Zynga)
More Casual
I started working for Zynga in June, and shortly before then I started exploring mobile games such as Words with Friends 2. My commute also changed over the past year, and I have more time commuting on the train that I can now spend playing games. One of the genres that I’ve kept on my phone throughout the year is match-3 titles, including Crazy Cake Swap, Wonka’s World of Candy, and Candy Crush Friends Saga. This is the first year that I really got into mobile gaming, and I’ve even started playing some of these games outside of my commute.
Another trend in my gaming habits that I’ve noticed in the past year is playing games on easier modes. Since I have less time to play games, I want to get through games quicker, rather than constantly replaying sections of a game. I found myself setting the difficulty level on Wolfenstein II to easy mode, so that I could make progress through the game more quickly. I still enjoy challenge in games, but like the ability to take shortcuts to progress the story.
Descenders (RageSquid)
More Experimental
Procedural content generation (PCG) has already seen huge success with level generation in MineCraft, and weapon creation in Borderlands. But this year was the first time that I experienced a game using PCG for creating high-fidelity 3D levels. I started playing the Descenders game preview on Xbox One, and really enjoyed the feel of the generated levels. While the early game levels became repetitive after a bit, the later zones in the game added enough terrain configurations to keep the levels diverse and interesting.
I also tried out some new genres of games this year, including Gone Home. This game has been out for awhile, but I finally took the time to play it, after downloading it when it was offered through Xbox Live. I enjoyed the pace of the game and the focus on narrative, and it aligned well with my focus on more casual gameplay experiences.
Skulls of the Shogun: Bone-A-Fide Edition (17-BIT)
More Subscriptions
As mentioned with Gone Home, I’ve purchased fewer games directly over the past year and have taken advantage of more of the games available through Xbox Live and PS Plus. One of my favorites that I replayed this year was Skulls of the Shogun, where I played through the DLC content for the first time.
Over the past year, I’ve kept my number of gaming subscriptions steady, while decreasing my number of video streaming subscriptions. EA’s been exploring subscription services for a few years now with EA Access and Origin Access, and Xbox Game Pass is shaping up to be a great service as well.
Dark Souls: Remastered (From Software)
More Classics
I’ve also been replaying some of favorite games over the past year. Remastered editions, such as Dark Souls, provided a great nudge to encourage me to revisit these classic titles. Between remastered titles, Xbox backwards compatibility, and classic console releases, there’s several options for going back and enjoying older games. This is a trend in my gameplay habits I blogged about back in 2015, and it’s been great seeing more availability of classic titles.
The new year is upon us, which means yet another year has gone by in which Linux has not found itself dominating the desktop. Linux does many things very well, and in the coming weeks, we’ll be looking at the some of the very best distributions to suit your various needs, but for now, let’s take a step back and revisit this old issue.
For some, the idea of Linux dominance on the desktop has fallen to the wayside; instead, users simply want what works. The Linux operating system, however, does “just work.” And when you stop to realize that the typical user spends the vast majority of their time working (or playing) within a browser, it stands to reason that Linux (with its heightened security and reliability) is primed to become the dominant platform on the desktop market.
And yet it hasn’t. Why?
That’s the question that has confounded so many people for so many years. And, the possible answer five years ago would have been completely different from the answer today. To that end, I’ve come up with seven things that could help Linux gain traction on the desktop space. My suggestions are not necessarily easy or popular. No. What you’ll find here are seven ideas that could seriously help Linux stake its claim as a dominant player on the desktop market.
One Distro to Rule them All
I’ve been saying this for some time, but it’s not quite what you think it is. The distribution fragmentation within the Linux community is doing more harm than good. Consider this: Company X has a piece of software that already runs on Windows and Mac OS, and it’s incredibly popular. When asked to make their software available for Linux, the company says, “We’d love to do that, but it’s just too complicated.” When pressed further, it becomes clear that Company X refuses because there are so many permutations of Linux to consider. Which distribution? Which package manager? Which desktop? Which toolkit? The list goes on.
Because of this, I believe Linux needs to come up with a single “official” distribution — one that all Company X’s can focus their efforts on. Say that official distribution is Debian with the GNOME desktop. All Company X needs to then do is make their software run on that combination. If you, as a user, want to run the software from Company X on Linux, you know you’d have to do so on the official distribution. That doesn’t mean all other distributions go away. Nay, nay. It just means there’s an official distribution that companies can focus their efforts on.
I realize this is not a popular idea, but it’s one that should seriously be considered. Otherwise, Linux will continue to miss out on the likes of Photoshop, Adobe Premier, MS Office, etc.
A Viable X.org Replacement
X.org has served its purpose, but the replacement is long overdue. Canonical tried — and failed — with Mir. Wayland has been under development for quite some time, but it’s not ready for prime time yet. Because X.org has been around for so long, it carries with it a lot of baggage, some of which could be considered a security risk. Think about this: Linux is growing and evolving quite rapidly. How fast can the desktop evolve if it relies on antiquated technology? Instead of continuing to stand on that aging GUI foundation, Linux needs something that can bring much more agility to desktop improvement. Is that solution Wayland, or is there another option available? Who knows. But, Linux software continues to evolve (from the kernel to the user-space apps) at a rapid pace, and the X Window system can no longer keep up. The feasibility of something new coming to fruition and being ready for deployment this year is a pipe dream, but we need to see some solid progress in 2019.
Culling the App Herd
I cannot tell you how many times I’ve opened up a Linux app store and searched for a tool, only to find apps that are no longer being developed, haven’t been updated in a very long time, or have broken or deprecated dependencies. This will not do. Those responsible for the curation of apps in the various app stores need to get rid of the cruft. The last thing Linux needs is out of date, non-functioning, insecure apps for users to install. I realize that one reason many of these apps remain is to keep the numbers high. But saying there are tens of thousands of titles, when a good percentage shouldn’t be there is misleading. Those outdated, deprecated, abandoned apps need to go.
Real-Time Antivirus and Anti-Malware
This is where I might lose some people … but stay with me. I cannot tell you how many times I get asked, “Does Linux need antivirus or antimalware software?” My answer is always, “No, at least not yet.” Why the “not yet”? Because when Linux starts pulling in the numbers that Windows and Mac OS currently enjoy, you can bet the Linux desktop will become a target. But beyond that, what about users who receive email with malicious payloads, who then (unwittingly) send those payloads on to others? Or what about web browser phishing attacks? Linux has tools like ClamAV (and ClamTK), but they don’t do real-time scanning. The Linux community needs to start planning for the future, which means developing a real-time, open source antivirus/anti-malware solution.
Prosumer-Grade Apps
Linux has plenty of apps for the average user. It also has plenty of apps for IT pros. What it doesn’t have is apps for prosumers. For those that don’t know, a prosumer is an amateur who purchases tools that are of professional-grade quality. That’s where the likes of Adobe Premier, Final Cut Pro, Photoshop, Avid Pro Tools, and others come in. Linux doesn’t have the equivalent of any of these. Sure, Linux has an abundance of consumer-grade software (such as Audacity and OpenShot), but those tools are nowhere near prosumer-level. You’re simply not going to be editing a full-length film with OpenShot, or mastering an album with Audacity. Until Linux lands a few serious prosumer-grade tools, it’ll be ignored on that level of usage.
Better Font Rendering
Linux font rendering has come a long way, but it’s still light years behind that of Mac OS. If you use a MacBook Pro or iMac for a while and then come back to Linux, you’ll see the difference. A big part of this has to do with the fact that Linux is still relying upon X.org (see above). And, although this may seem like an afterthought to many, the beauty of a desktop is one of the first things that grabs a user’s attention. If a user looks at a desktop and sees an inferior result, that love affair won’t last long. And, to add injury to that insult, when you stare at a Linux desktop all day, as I do, you may find that poor font rendering can overwork your eyes. Linux needs some serious effort to provide superior font rendering.
More Companies Shipping Quality Products
After visiting System76 (to see the new Thelio factory), I have become convinced the future of the Linux desktop depends on companies like that. System76 is creating a holistic approach to Linux, such that the hardware they ship works seamlessly and beautifully. That’s exactly the experience we need for Linux. Someone who wants to use Linux should be able to purchase a laptop or desktop, connect it to their peripherals, and everything work out of the box… with zero effort. That’s what System76 delivers. Linux needs more companies doing that same thing, with the same level of proficiency. Period.
A Place to Start
Linux doesn’t have to have all seven of these ideas fall into place at once. But if we want to dominate the desktop, this list would be a good place to start. Are there more areas in which Linux can improve? Of course. But let’s begin with the obvious and go from there.
Posted by: xSicKxBot - 01-05-2019, 04:45 AM - Forum: Lounge
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Another Walking Dead Character Is Joining Fear The Walking Dead - Report
The line between The Walking Dead and its companion series Fear the Walking Dead is about to get a little more blurry. At the beginning of Fear's fourth season, Morgan (Lennie James) was moved to the series from the original, creating the first crossover between the two shows. Now, based on reports, it looks like he's getting some company.
ComicBook.com is reporting that Austin Amelio, who appeared in Seasons 6-8 of The Walking Dead as Negan's right-hand man Dwight, is set to pop up on Fear. The character was last seen in the Season 8 finale of The Walking Dead when he was banned from ever returning to the Alexandria safe zone.
While it remains unclear exactly how major this crossover will be, Entertainment Weekly notes that co-showrunner Ian Goldberg previously revealed that new characters would come into play during Fear's fifth season. Should Dwight be one of those, he could serve as a very interesting ally to Morgan.
The addition of Amelio takes Fear even further from its origins. At this point, only one of the show's original cast members--Alycia Debnam-Carey--remains. The first half of Season 4 saw the characters played by Kim Dickens and Frank Dillane killed off. Meanwhile, new cast Maggie Grace, Garret Dillahunt, and Jenna Elfman were added this year to round out the show.
As for future crossovers, that might become tricky. Early in Season 9 of The Walking Dead, following the departure of Andrew Lincoln, the series jumped ahead 6 years. Unless Fear were to match that at some point, chances are it'll be a while before another character moves from one show to the other.
Fear the Walking Dead will return for its fifth season later this year. The second half of The Walking Dead Season 9 premieres on February 10 on AMC.
Linux Storage, Filesystem & Memory Management Summit
April 30, 2019
Sheraton Puerto Rico Hotel & Casino
San Juan00907
Puerto Rico
The Linux Storage, Filesystem & Memory Management Summit gathers the foremost development and research experts and kernel subsystem maintainers to map out and implement improvements to the Linux filesystem, storage and memory management subsystems that will find their way into the mainline kernel and Linux distributions in the next 24-48 months.
Activision Blizzard CFO Spencer Neumann recently left, and was recently named the next CFO of Netflix. And now, Blizzard CFO Amrita Ahuja has left the company to join mobile payment company Square as its new CFO.
Jack Dorsey, Square's co-founder, said in a statement that Ahuja "brings us a deep understanding of ecosystem businesses, and she's purpose-driven, disciplined, and has a strong growth mindset."
Ahuja was with Activision Blizzard for more than eight years, where she held a number of finance-related positions including VP of Finance and Operations and VP of Strategy and Business Development, before becoming CFO. Before joining Activision Blizzard, Ahuja worked at Fox Networks, Walt Disney and Morgan Stanley.
Ahuja's departure from Blizzard comes not long after the company's controversial announcement of Diablo Immortal at BlizzCon late last year. Kotaku reports that there has been increased friction between management at Activision and Blizzard, and the report also states that Blizzard is trying to cut costs.
Pokémon GO Captured Close To $800 Million In Global Revenue Last Year
Month after month in 2018, we heard how Pokémon GO continued raking in piles of cash and often outperforming its earnings in the previous year. Sensor Tower Store Intelligence data has now confirmed the game’s revenue has grown by 35 percent over the past year, bringing in an estimated total of $795 million worldwide.
Niantic’s mobile hit went out with a bang in 2018, which saw global player spending across the App Store and Google Play surpass $75 million. In total, this is an increase of 32 percent when compared to the $57.2 million spent in the same month in 2017. According to Sensor Tower, the “consistent rollout” of new features kept trainers engaged, with GO revenue reaching an average of nearly $2.2 million per day in 2018. In 2017, the money made per day averaged around $1.6 million.
The United States was the biggest spender on GO in 2018, equating to around 33 percent of all gross revenue ($262 million, to be exact). This is the same percentage as the previous year. In Japan, players spent around $239 million, adding up to about 30 percent of the game’s revenue in 2018. This was a five percent increase from the spending in 2017. Since launching in July 2016, players have now dropped $2.2 billion on the free-to-play augmented reality title. If Niantic manages to hold player interest throughout 2019, the game is expected to surpass the $3 billion mark by the end of the year.
Are you one of the trainers spending money on GO? Do you still play this game on a regular basis? Tell us below.
Automotive Linux Summit connects the developer community driving the innovation in automotive Linux together with the vendors and users providing and using the code in order to drive the future of embedded devices in the automotive arena.
This may not come as a surprise, but not a lot of decent games have been released this week. I mean, there have been releases if you like that sort of thing, but from where I’m sitting there isn’t really anything worth specifically drawing attention too.
But I don’t want to leave you guys empty handed, so I’ve managed to pull together a few sales that are still going on.
Even though Asmodee’s Winter Sale is technically over now, they’ve still got some deals lingering on the App store. Their version of Agricola is one and you can pick it up and the two-player version for a couple of dollars. Neither of these games have been lower than this, so it’s a good price.
Last but certainly not lease, one of Knizia’s many euro games is also going cheap – High Society is only a dollar. This is a card-based auction game where everyone starts with the same amount of money that they must spend on luxuries and items of recognition. The catch being the player who spends the most amount of money loses!
This excellent city builder released last year is discounted on Android (not iOS, sorry), and well worth checking out if you’ve been looking to address that SimCity hole in your life.
That’s all we’ve got for you this week I’m afraid – content wise we’re kicking off next week with our guide to 2019’s big releases and what we’re looking forward too, and we’ll also be throwing up some filler reviews to pass the time while we wait for more games to come out. We’ve also taken your feedback from the GOTY voting form, and we’ll see what we can do to improve things in 2019.
Seen anything else you liked? Let us know in the comments!
CES 2019 in Las Vegas is still a few days away, but you won't have to wait until the trade show starts on January 8 to get a load of what LG has to offer. The electronics maker has already put out a press release about at least some of what it means to show off in Vegas--and it's mostly big, powerful TVs.
LG put out a press release detailing the big improvements to its TV sets it means to show off at CES this year. Specifically, the company is introducing its new ThinQ AI, a "deep learning algorithm" that looks to make content look and sound as good as possible on your LG TV, no matter what's going on in the room you're watching in.
ThinQ makes use of the Alpha 9 Gen 2 processor in LG's newer sets and "recognizes content source quality and determines the best upgrade method for optimal visual output," according to LG's press release. It'll also use the TV's ambient light sensor to take into account conditions in the room it's in, adjusting screen brightness and refining the way it displays HDR content to make sure scenes and images are always clear. ThinQ is also supposed to be able to improve sound quality, mixing up two-channel audio to make it sound like 5.1 surround sound.
While LG hopes to interest customers with the under-the-hood improvements to its sets, it's the size and resolution that are likely to wow anyone headed to Vegas. The Alpha 9 Gen 2 and ThinQ are in a number of LG's new set models, most notably its huge 88-inch 8K Z9 OLED TV and 75-inch 8K LCD TV (model SM99). The LG is also continuing its partnership with Amazon in 2019, with all its new ThinQ models featuring support for Alexa, Amazon's voice-controlled personal assistant app.
You can read more about what LG is bringing to CES in its press release. Other potential hints and teasers are starting to trickle in about what else might show up in Las Vegas during the show, starting with HTC tweeting a photo suggesting new products in its Vive VR line. Stay tuned for all our CES coverage during the show, which runs from January 8 to 11.
Video: This Fitness Boxing Overview Trailer Is Here To Motivate You
If you’re trying to improve your fitness in the new year, perhaps Fitness Boxing for the Switch might be worth checking out. It may not offer quite the same level of variety as the Wii Fit series, but it can at least provide you with an intense physical workout.
If you have been on the fence about this Imagineer-developed title, Nintendo has now uploaded a brand new overview of the game. Running for a total of 2 minutes and 30 seconds, the clip provides a brief rundown of all the options and workout features within the game. If you do decide to get fit, you’ll learn how to master the jab, uppercut, hook and plenty of other moves as you time them to the beat of more than 20 different songs, including the likes of Lady Gaga, LMFAO, and Avril Lavigne (full tracklisting here). In addition to this, you can customise your trainers and workout or compete against a friend.
If you want to work towards a fitness goal in 2019, Fitness Boxing is out in Europe and is now also available in North America. If you’re still not sure if this is the right game for you, you can always consider downloading the free demo from the Nintendo eShop.
Have you played this game yet? Did the overview trailer grab your attention? Tell us in the comments.
