PS Plus Games Confirmed For December 2018

December is almost here, which means PlayStation Plus members will soon get a new batch of PS4, PS3, and PS Vita games they can download for free. Sony has announced the PS Plus lineup for next month, and it's a good one. Let's take a look at what games you'll be able to grab for free between next Tuesday, December 4, and January 1.

For one, PS4 owners will be able to pick up Soma, a sci-fi horror game set in a research facility at the bottom of the ocean. But unlike many creepy games that mainly offer jump scares, this one actually has something to say. In our 9/10 Soma review, Richard Wakeling called Soma "an intelligent game that forced me to think and contemplate ideas as only the best sci-fi is capable of doing."

Also free on PS4 is Onrush, an online team racing game that has a lot more going on than just rushing to the finish line. Using influences ranging from Burnout's takedown mechanic to Overwatch's hero abilities, "Onrush is such a bold, refreshing twist on the genre," according to our 9/10 review. The game was also previously a free Games With Gold title on Xbox One.

Meanwhile, PS3 owners will be able to pick up the space shooter Steredenn and the mind-bending visual novel SteinsGate. The free PS Vita games for December are the Metroidvania-inspired Iconoclasts (also playable on PS4), and the indie gem Papers, Please.

If you hurry, you can still grab November's PS Plus games, which include Yakuza Kiwami and Bulletstorm: Full Clip Edition on PS4, Jackbox Party Pack 2 and Arkedo Series on PS3, and Burly Men at Sea and Roundabout on PS Vita.

As always, you'll have access to the games you add to your account as long as you have a current PS Plus subscription.

Free PS Plus Games For December 2018

PS4

• Soma
• Onrush
• Iconoclasts (also on PS Vita)

PS3

• Steredenn
• SteinsGate

PS Vita

• Papers, Please
• Iconoclasts (also on PS4)

Meet The Talent Behind Super Smash Bros. Ultimate’s ‘LifeLight’ Theme Song

While not essential from a gameplay point of view, one standout moment from the final Super Smash Bros. Ultimate Direct earlier this month was the lyrical addition to “Lifelight” – the main theme for the new game. Blasting our delicate ears with surprise and wonder, this new vocal element introduced itself in the second half of that World of Light trailer (you know, with the light beams), adding yet another dose of epicness to proceedings before leaving fans wanting more.

But who do we have to thank for the song? Well, game director Masahiro Sakurai has shared a tweet to reveal the stars of the show, as seen below.

The piece was composed by Hideki Sakamoto, a Japanese composer who has previously worked on arrangements for Super Smash Bros. for Wii U and 3DS, and also served as the composer for Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of Time / Darkness. For the Japanese version (which you can listen to here) Erina Koga provided the vocals – Sakurai notes that, despite her talent and strong performance, Erina is only eighteen years of age.

For the English-language version, it was voice actor and singer Abby Trott who provided the vocal track. Her voice acting credits can be found on titles like Spider-Man, Halo Wars 2, NieR Automata, and Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney – Spirit of Justice to name a few, and she’s also been involved with plenty of animated series.

If you want to relive that trailer in all its glory (the song kicks in at around 2:25) we’ll leave it right here for you:

Are you a fan of the vocal arrangements for the song? Are you feeling the hype for the game’s 7th December release? Tell us below.

Destiny 2 Update Patch Notes 2.1.0: What's New Before Black Armory

With a new Destiny 2 DLC, The Black Armory, launching next week, Bungie has released the game's latest major update. Patch 2.1.0 is out now, and while we'll have to wait for the DLC for the big nenw content, this free does mark the start of Season 5--the Season of the Forge--and add a wide variety of new items as well as numerous changes and tweaks that are detailed in the full patch notes.

When you first log in with the update installed, you'll likely want to head to Tess at Eververse first. There you'll be able to see the season's new Bright Engram, the Etched Engram, and its contents. This includes some awesome-looking cosmetics and other Exotics items; there's a firey sparrow, new Exotic weapon ornaments, and much more to collect. You can see a handful of these below.

As for the patch notes, a variety of weapons have been tweaked. Prometheus Lens gets a damage buff, while Ace of Spades' Memento Mori perk has been "reduced to five bullets, but can now be refreshed on reload without having to get rid of all the bonus damage bullets." Machine guns get a slight accuracy boost, while submachine guns get slightly increased range.

Crucible sees the return of Mayhem as a 6v6 playlist, and both Lockdown and Showdown are back in a rotating playlist. Shaxx has new voicelines you'll encounter across an assortment of modes. Shaxx also has new items for direct purchase, as well as new seasonal items and a pinnacle weapon quest. Progression-wise, Valor and Glory now work like Gambit ranks, as they are each divided into three sub-ranks. Legend, however, is not divided into subranks, and you don't have to win at Legend rank to increase your Valor.

Gambit sees progression changes of its own, as rewards should "better match Valor and Glory;" ranking up a subdivision will net you a guaranteed piece of Legendary Gambit gear. Gambit bounties reward twice as many Infamy points as before, and they should be easier to complete. The catch-up mechanic has also been adjusted so that the team in the lead has a better chance of holding onto that lead.

The full patch notes can be seen below or on Bungie's website. The developer has also revealed new Exotics coming with the Black Armory DLC, as well a roadmap of Destiny 2 content updates.

Destiny 2 Update 2.1.0 Patch Notes

Sandbox

Supers

• Chaos Reach
  
  • Fixed an issue in which having multiple Chaos Reach beams active at one time caused their visual effects to merge together
  • Fixed an issue to allow Chaos Reach beams to penetrate friendly Banner Shields
  • Fixed an issue in which Chaos Reach did not damage Taken Blights
  • Note: Changes to Chaos Reach Cancellation will come with Destiny 2 Update 2.1.1, scheduled for 12/4/2018
• Nova Warp
  
  • Fixed an issue in which Nova Warp would sometimes fail to detonate on release.
• Sentinel
  
  • Fixed an issue in which Sentinel Shields and Banner Shields would lose energy when guarding near friendly detonations (most notably Thundercrash)
• Spectral Blades
  
  • Retuned the Spectral Blades Super to increase the reliability of melee attacks in PvP and to bolster the effectiveness of Super’s stealth capabilities
    • More information here: This Week at Bungie – 11/08/2018
• Burning Maul
  
  • Decreased camera shake and screen flash on hit in an attempt to alleviate feelings of motion sickness when using the Burning Maul Super
• Thundercrash
  
  • Adjusted camera during flight sequence in an attempt to alleviate feelings of motion sickness when using Thundercrash Super

Exotic Armor

• Fixed an issue in which Ophidian Aspect was not increasing the melee range on various Warlock charged melees (Igniting Touch, Ball Lightning, Entropic Pull, Devour, and Atomic Breach)
• Fixed an issue in which buffs granted by Lunafaction Boots would last for only 15 seconds inside Well of Radiance rather than the entire duration
• Fixed an issue on Ursa Furiosa so that Super gain from guarding is more consistent between PvE and PvP

Weapons

• Warden’s Law
  
  • Replaced perks on Warden's Law that did not function properly with the weapon's archetype
    • Triple Tap replaced with Feeding Frenzy
    • Fourth Time's the Charm replaced with Zen Moment
  • Warden's Law now has bullet contrails
  • Updated the intrinsic perk text on Warden's Law to distinguish it from Aggressive Burst Sidearms
• High-Impact Scout Rifles
  
  • High-Impact Scout Rifle damage increased by 1.87%
    • Dev commentary: Previously it was possible to, at VERY high resilience levels, survive three headshots from a high impact scout rifle. This change will ensure that players at any resilience level will be defeated by three headshots.
  • Note: A fix that will return High-Impact Scout Rifles to 150 RPM is planned for Destiny 2 Update 2.1.1, scheduled for 12/4/2018
• Shotguns
  • Rapid-Fire Frame on Shotguns now increases the reload of all Shotgun shells when empty instead of just the first shell
  • Trench Barrel
    • Trench Barrel perk now deactivates after three shots
    • Trench Barrel description updated to reflect new behavior and also fix an error where it called out increased accuracy instead of increase reload speed
• Submachine Guns
  
  • Slightly increased range on Submachine Guns
• Machine Guns
  
  • Slightly increased accuracy on Machine Guns

Exotic Weapons

• Prometheus Lens
  
  • Prometheus Lens damage increased by 10%
• Hard Light
  
  • Fixed an issue where Hard Light could overpenetrate an enemy Banner Shield"
• Ace of Spades
  
  • Memento Mori reduced to five bullets, but can now be refreshed on reload without having to get rid of all the bonus damage bullets

General

• Fixed mantle animation for the Queenbreaker
• Fixed an issue where some particle effects were appearing in first-person view when using One Thousand Voices
• Fixed an issue where Bows would sometimes become invisible when equipped
• Polished the Blade Barrage animation for when the player is holding a Bow
• Buffed out a missed spot on the Refer-a-Friend Borealis ornament
• Fixed an issue that would delay the nocking of an arrow when the player picked up ammo while the Bow was both stowed and out of ammo
• Fixed an issue where the Headseeker perk would no longer function after being activated numerous times without dying
• Fixed an issue where the Ikelos Hand Cannon and Shotgun where displaying icons for Malfeasance and Chaperone in the obituary
• Polished Grenade Launcher strafing animations to remove up and down reticle veering
• Polished Grenade Launcher animations while jumping to prevent stocks from blocking the first-person camera
• Polished Sniper Rifle and Machine Gun animations while jumping to prevent stocks from blocking the first-person camera
• Fixed an animation issue that would occur when firing and walking with a Machine Gun
• Polished Tractor Cannon's sprint animation to feel more natural
• Fixed an issue where Swords dropped with mods intended for Rocket Launchers, and Rocket Launchers dropped with mods intended for Swords
• Rapid Hit now displays a status effect buff on activation
  
  • Known issue: Sniper Rifle precision kills will stack the perk twice; this will be fixed in a later patch
• Updated Oathkeeper's Exotic perk to remove text for Bow charge speed
• Tireless Blade perk description updated to match actual behavior where ammo is returned on every other powered Sword kill
• Fixed an issue where the Momentum Transfer perk was not functioning properly

Crucible

Modes

• Mayhem will return as a 6v6 rotating playlist with scoring support for new Forsaken Supers
• Lockdown and Showdown will return as rotating playlists and have been added to Private Matches
• Scorched and Team Scorched have been added to Private Matches
• New Shaxx lines, spread between Rumble, Lockdown, Showdown, and a few special medals
• Single round modes (Clash, Control, etc.) now end with a "Match Complete" countdown similar to those displayed at round complete in round-based modes
• Added new Crucible medals and associated Triumphs for Forsaken Supers, the Machine Gun weapon archetype, and the Lockdown game mode
• Added two new gold-tier medals—happy hunting!
• Fixed an issue where "The Cycle" medal was not being tracked properly
• Iron Banner now awards unique Iron Banner-themed medals with unique audio cues
• Iron Banner uses new unique Match Complete banners

Ranks

• Valor and Glory are now subdivided into three sub-ranks similar to Gambit
• Valor and Glory have NOT subdivided the Legend rank
• Valor does NOT require players to win at Legend

Shaxx

• Shaxx has a new rotation of items available for direct purchase.
  
  • Players must earn Valor to collect these items
• A new set of Seasonal Items has been added to Shaxx's inventory
  
  • Previous seasons' exclusive items have been removed
• A new pinnacle weapon quest has been added to Shaxx's inventory
  
  • To allow players to make progress on any character, each step features account-wide objectives
  • This quest requires two types of objectives to be completed: Reach a specific Rank and complete a specific Triumph; players can complete these objectives in any order
• Previous pinnacle weapon quests continue to be available on Shaxx

Gambit

Ranks

• Adjusted Infamy rank rewards to better match Valor and Glory. Subdivision rank ups will now always award Gambit Legendary gear

Bounties and Quests

• Infamy Rank Point rewards from all Gambit bounties have been doubled
• Many bounties have had their objectives retuned to take less time and be easier to complete
• Added a new daily bounty for killing Primeval envoys, and slotted it into the daily rotation
• Fixed an issue where the Malfeasance quest could be progressed in Crucible modes

NOTE: Once S5 begins and Infamy is reset, you must play one Gambit match before redeeming any bounties. Players who turn in these bounties after Season of the Forge begins, but before playing a Gambit match, will not correctly receive points to their Infamy rank from these bounties.Primeval Mechanics

• Catch-up mechanics have been adjusted to ensure that the leading team retains more of an advantage
• The trailing team will now receive a maximum of only one bonus stack of the Primeval Slayer buff (previously, they received up to three stacks depending on how far behind the trailing team was)
• The time before the bonus stack kicks in has been increased to 32 seconds, up from 22 seconds
• Primevals will hard ping less often, to reduce stunlock against highly coordinated teams

Matchmaking

• Further addressing error codes that could occur during matchmaking, leading to potential quitter penalties

Clans

General

• Last Wish raid bounties are now available to anyone who has access to the Last Wish raid.
  
  • Does not require Clan Rank 4
• A new season of progression is available, with new perks to pursue

Items and Economy

General

• Fixed an issue where the "Rainmaker" consumable didn’t provide showers of Glimmer from defeated enemies
• Fixed an issue where Public Defender Ghost perk wasn't properly applying to public events on Mars, the Tangled Shore, or the Dreaming City
• Fixed an issue where Nightfall unique rewards were not dropping at the rate intended for non-Forsaken owners
• Fixed an issue where not picking up Prime Engrams could allow players to earn more than the Prime Attunement buff allows for, putting them in a deficit of further Prime Engrams for a time corresponding to the number of extra Prime Engrams received

Triumphs

• Fixed an issue where the title of Triumph "Steadfast" was "Meet Sloane on the moon Titan" (you must still meet Sloane on the moon Titan)

Collections

• Added missing Year 2 gunsmith weapons to Collections (not purchasable due to random rolls)
• Fixed an issue where the BrayTech RWP Mk. II Scout Rifle was not counting towards Collections for some players
• Unearned Season 4 gear is now hidden

PC

Controls

• Added new "Take Screenshot" keybind (defaults to the "Print Screen" key)

Text Chat

• Added new friend management commands
  
  • /addfriend
  • /removefriend
• Added new fireteam management commands
  
  • /invite
  • /join

Note: The fireteam commands can target any player by providing the player's full BattleTag, allowing players to assemble fireteams without sending friend requests.

UI

General

• Adjusted item tooltips to fix an issue where perks or other information was cut off on the Character Screen
• Fixed an issue where the rank-up banner for Crucible and Gambit was not being appropriately displayed on 21:9 resolutions
• Fixed an issue where players were unable to return to orbit while the Results Screen was up at the end of an activity

Localization

• Traditional Chinese
  
  • Fixed an issue where some parts of the Traditional Chinese UI was not loading properly in-game

Misc

Performance

• Improved activity and destination load times on consoles
  • Note: We are actively investigating load times for loading the player inventory screen, switching between UI tabs starting up the game, signing on, and selecting characters. See This Week at Bungie - 11/08/2018 for more details.

HDR

• Fixed an issue where brightness was not adjusting properly for players

General

• Fixed an issue with missing Transmat FX on Amanda's exchange
• Fixed an issue with erroneous source strings on multiple Dawning and Crimson Days items
• Fixed an issue that caused several shaders to be unavailable for bulk exchange at Rahool
• Fixed an issue where some UI elements would not load properly if interacting with a vendor and launching into character inventory
• Fixed an issue where the Fortunate Projection was causing visual effects issues in third person
• Fixed an issue in which the IGR version of the "High and Mighty" bounty did not count wanted escapee kills
• Fixed an issue in which the IGR version of the "I'm Not Sorry, I'm Lost" bounty required too many points for completion
• Fixed an issue in which the IGR version of the "Through the Crucible" bounty required too few points for completion
• Fixed an issue that caused high amounts of Baboon errors in the Tower

Embark on the Voyage Aquatic, a new Minecraft Hour of Code

Swords & Soldiers II: Shawarmageddon



Take command of mighty Vikings, sly Persians or brutish Demons. Smash your opponent?s base to rubble while defending your own in this action-packed side-scrolling strategy game.

Publisher: Ronimo Games

Release Date: Nov 13, 2018

RIDE 3



Experience what the creators promise to be the most complete racing ever with RIDE 3. Race on different tracks all over the world, put your favourite vehicles' speed to the test and have fun by customising them with the new Livery Editor.

Publisher: MileStone Inc.

Release Date: Nov 30, 2018

Destiny 2 Update 2.1.0 Patch Notes: What's New Before Black Armory

The launch of Destiny 2's next piece of paid DLC, The Black Armory, is still a week away, but in the meantime we've gotten a major update--patch 2.1.0--to kick off Season 5, known as the Season of the Forge. It introduces a wide variety of new items as well as numerous changes and tweaks that are detailed in the full patch notes.

When you first log in with the update installed, you'll likely want to head to Tess at Eververse first. There you'll be able to see the season's new Bright Engram, the Etched Engram, and its contents. This includes some awesome-looking cosmetics and other Exotics items; there's a firey sparrow, new Exotic weapon ornaments, and much more to collect. You can see a handful of these below.

As for the patch notes, a variety of weapons have been tweaked. Prometheus Lens gets a damage buff, while Ace of Spades' Memento Mori perk has been "reduced to five bullets, but can now be refreshed on reload without having to get rid of all the bonus damage bullets." Machine guns get a slight accuracy boost, while submachine guns get slightly increased range.

Crucible sees the return of Mayhem as a 6v6 playlist, and both Lockdown and Showdown are back in a rotating playlist. Shaxx has new voicelines you'll encounter across an assortment of modes. Shaxx also has new items for direct purchase, as well as new seasonal items and a pinnacle weapon quest. Progression-wise, Valor and Glory now work like Gambit ranks, as they are each divided into three sub-ranks. Legend, however, is not divided into subranks, and you don't have to win at Legend rank to increase your Valor.

Gambit sees progression changes of its own, as rewards should "better match Valor and Glory;" ranking up a subdivision will net you a guaranteed piece of Legendary Gambit gear. Gambit bounties reward twice as many Infamy points as before, and they should be easier to complete. The catch-up mechanic has also been adjusted so that the team in the lead has a better chance of holding onto that lead.

The full patch notes can be seen below or on Bungie's website. The developer has also revealed new Exotics coming with the Black Armory DLC, as well a roadmap of Destiny 2 content updates.

Destiny 2 Update 2.1.0 Patch Notes

Sandbox

Supers

• Chaos Reach
  
  • Fixed an issue in which having multiple Chaos Reach beams active at one time caused their visual effects to merge together
  • Fixed an issue to allow Chaos Reach beams to penetrate friendly Banner Shields
  • Fixed an issue in which Chaos Reach did not damage Taken Blights
  • Note: Changes to Chaos Reach Cancellation will come with Destiny 2 Update 2.1.1, scheduled for 12/4/2018
• Nova Warp
  
  • Fixed an issue in which Nova Warp would sometimes fail to detonate on release.
• Sentinel
  
  • Fixed an issue in which Sentinel Shields and Banner Shields would lose energy when guarding near friendly detonations (most notably Thundercrash)
• Spectral Blades
  
  • Retuned the Spectral Blades Super to increase the reliability of melee attacks in PvP and to bolster the effectiveness of Super’s stealth capabilities
    • More information here: This Week at Bungie – 11/08/2018
• Burning Maul
  
  • Decreased camera shake and screen flash on hit in an attempt to alleviate feelings of motion sickness when using the Burning Maul Super
• Thundercrash
  
  • Adjusted camera during flight sequence in an attempt to alleviate feelings of motion sickness when using Thundercrash Super

Exotic Armor

• Fixed an issue in which Ophidian Aspect was not increasing the melee range on various Warlock charged melees (Igniting Touch, Ball Lightning, Entropic Pull, Devour, and Atomic Breach)
• Fixed an issue in which buffs granted by Lunafaction Boots would last for only 15 seconds inside Well of Radiance rather than the entire duration
• Fixed an issue on Ursa Furiosa so that Super gain from guarding is more consistent between PvE and PvP

Weapons

• Warden’s Law
  
  • Replaced perks on Warden's Law that did not function properly with the weapon's archetype
    • Triple Tap replaced with Feeding Frenzy
    • Fourth Time's the Charm replaced with Zen Moment
  • Warden's Law now has bullet contrails
  • Updated the intrinsic perk text on Warden's Law to distinguish it from Aggressive Burst Sidearms
• High-Impact Scout Rifles
  
  • High-Impact Scout Rifle damage increased by 1.87%
    • Dev commentary: Previously it was possible to, at VERY high resilience levels, survive three headshots from a high impact scout rifle. This change will ensure that players at any resilience level will be defeated by three headshots.
  • Note: A fix that will return High-Impact Scout Rifles to 150 RPM is planned for Destiny 2 Update 2.1.1, scheduled for 12/4/2018
• Shotguns
  • Rapid-Fire Frame on Shotguns now increases the reload of all Shotgun shells when empty instead of just the first shell
  • Trench Barrel
    • Trench Barrel perk now deactivates after three shots
    • Trench Barrel description updated to reflect new behavior and also fix an error where it called out increased accuracy instead of increase reload speed
• Submachine Guns
  
  • Slightly increased range on Submachine Guns
• Machine Guns
  
  • Slightly increased accuracy on Machine Guns

Exotic Weapons

• Prometheus Lens
  
  • Prometheus Lens damage increased by 10%
• Hard Light
  
  • Fixed an issue where Hard Light could overpenetrate an enemy Banner Shield"
• Ace of Spades
  
  • Memento Mori reduced to five bullets, but can now be refreshed on reload without having to get rid of all the bonus damage bullets

General

• Fixed mantle animation for the Queenbreaker
• Fixed an issue where some particle effects were appearing in first-person view when using One Thousand Voices
• Fixed an issue where Bows would sometimes become invisible when equipped
• Polished the Blade Barrage animation for when the player is holding a Bow
• Buffed out a missed spot on the Refer-a-Friend Borealis ornament
• Fixed an issue that would delay the nocking of an arrow when the player picked up ammo while the Bow was both stowed and out of ammo
• Fixed an issue where the Headseeker perk would no longer function after being activated numerous times without dying
• Fixed an issue where the Ikelos Hand Cannon and Shotgun where displaying icons for Malfeasance and Chaperone in the obituary
• Polished Grenade Launcher strafing animations to remove up and down reticle veering
• Polished Grenade Launcher animations while jumping to prevent stocks from blocking the first-person camera
• Polished Sniper Rifle and Machine Gun animations while jumping to prevent stocks from blocking the first-person camera
• Fixed an animation issue that would occur when firing and walking with a Machine Gun
• Polished Tractor Cannon's sprint animation to feel more natural
• Fixed an issue where Swords dropped with mods intended for Rocket Launchers, and Rocket Launchers dropped with mods intended for Swords
• Rapid Hit now displays a status effect buff on activation
  
  • Known issue: Sniper Rifle precision kills will stack the perk twice; this will be fixed in a later patch
• Updated Oathkeeper's Exotic perk to remove text for Bow charge speed
• Tireless Blade perk description updated to match actual behavior where ammo is returned on every other powered Sword kill
• Fixed an issue where the Momentum Transfer perk was not functioning properly

Crucible

Modes

• Mayhem will return as a 6v6 rotating playlist with scoring support for new Forsaken Supers
• Lockdown and Showdown will return as rotating playlists and have been added to Private Matches
• Scorched and Team Scorched have been added to Private Matches
• New Shaxx lines, spread between Rumble, Lockdown, Showdown, and a few special medals
• Single round modes (Clash, Control, etc.) now end with a "Match Complete" countdown similar to those displayed at round complete in round-based modes
• Added new Crucible medals and associated Triumphs for Forsaken Supers, the Machine Gun weapon archetype, and the Lockdown game mode
• Added two new gold-tier medals—happy hunting!
• Fixed an issue where "The Cycle" medal was not being tracked properly
• Iron Banner now awards unique Iron Banner-themed medals with unique audio cues
• Iron Banner uses new unique Match Complete banners

Ranks

• Valor and Glory are now subdivided into three sub-ranks similar to Gambit
• Valor and Glory have NOT subdivided the Legend rank
• Valor does NOT require players to win at Legend

Shaxx

• Shaxx has a new rotation of items available for direct purchase.
  
  • Players must earn Valor to collect these items
• A new set of Seasonal Items has been added to Shaxx's inventory
  
  • Previous seasons' exclusive items have been removed
• A new pinnacle weapon quest has been added to Shaxx's inventory
  
  • To allow players to make progress on any character, each step features account-wide objectives
  • This quest requires two types of objectives to be completed: Reach a specific Rank and complete a specific Triumph; players can complete these objectives in any order
• Previous pinnacle weapon quests continue to be available on Shaxx

Gambit

Ranks

• Adjusted Infamy rank rewards to better match Valor and Glory. Subdivision rank ups will now always award Gambit Legendary gear

Bounties and Quests

• Infamy Rank Point rewards from all Gambit bounties have been doubled
• Many bounties have had their objectives retuned to take less time and be easier to complete
• Added a new daily bounty for killing Primeval envoys, and slotted it into the daily rotation
• Fixed an issue where the Malfeasance quest could be progressed in Crucible modes

NOTE: Once S5 begins and Infamy is reset, you must play one Gambit match before redeeming any bounties. Players who turn in these bounties after Season of the Forge begins, but before playing a Gambit match, will not correctly receive points to their Infamy rank from these bounties.Primeval Mechanics

• Catch-up mechanics have been adjusted to ensure that the leading team retains more of an advantage
• The trailing team will now receive a maximum of only one bonus stack of the Primeval Slayer buff (previously, they received up to three stacks depending on how far behind the trailing team was)
• The time before the bonus stack kicks in has been increased to 32 seconds, up from 22 seconds
• Primevals will hard ping less often, to reduce stunlock against highly coordinated teams

Matchmaking

• Further addressing error codes that could occur during matchmaking, leading to potential quitter penalties

Clans

General

• Last Wish raid bounties are now available to anyone who has access to the Last Wish raid.
  
  • Does not require Clan Rank 4
• A new season of progression is available, with new perks to pursue

Items and Economy

General

• Fixed an issue where the "Rainmaker" consumable didn’t provide showers of Glimmer from defeated enemies
• Fixed an issue where Public Defender Ghost perk wasn't properly applying to public events on Mars, the Tangled Shore, or the Dreaming City
• Fixed an issue where Nightfall unique rewards were not dropping at the rate intended for non-Forsaken owners
• Fixed an issue where not picking up Prime Engrams could allow players to earn more than the Prime Attunement buff allows for, putting them in a deficit of further Prime Engrams for a time corresponding to the number of extra Prime Engrams received

Triumphs

• Fixed an issue where the title of Triumph "Steadfast" was "Meet Sloane on the moon Titan" (you must still meet Sloane on the moon Titan)

Collections

• Added missing Year 2 gunsmith weapons to Collections (not purchasable due to random rolls)
• Fixed an issue where the BrayTech RWP Mk. II Scout Rifle was not counting towards Collections for some players
• Unearned Season 4 gear is now hidden

PC

Controls

• Added new "Take Screenshot" keybind (defaults to the "Print Screen" key)

Text Chat

• Added new friend management commands
  
  • /addfriend
  • /removefriend
• Added new fireteam management commands
  
  • /invite
  • /join

Note: The fireteam commands can target any player by providing the player's full BattleTag, allowing players to assemble fireteams without sending friend requests.

UI

General

• Adjusted item tooltips to fix an issue where perks or other information was cut off on the Character Screen
• Fixed an issue where the rank-up banner for Crucible and Gambit was not being appropriately displayed on 21:9 resolutions
• Fixed an issue where players were unable to return to orbit while the Results Screen was up at the end of an activity

Localization

• Traditional Chinese
  
  • Fixed an issue where some parts of the Traditional Chinese UI was not loading properly in-game

Misc

Performance

• Improved activity and destination load times on consoles
  • Note: We are actively investigating load times for loading the player inventory screen, switching between UI tabs starting up the game, signing on, and selecting characters. See This Week at Bungie - 11/08/2018 for more details.

HDR

• Fixed an issue where brightness was not adjusting properly for players

General

• Fixed an issue with missing Transmat FX on Amanda's exchange
• Fixed an issue with erroneous source strings on multiple Dawning and Crimson Days items
• Fixed an issue that caused several shaders to be unavailable for bulk exchange at Rahool
• Fixed an issue where some UI elements would not load properly if interacting with a vendor and launching into character inventory
• Fixed an issue where the Fortunate Projection was causing visual effects issues in third person
• Fixed an issue in which the IGR version of the "High and Mighty" bounty did not count wanted escapee kills
• Fixed an issue in which the IGR version of the "I'm Not Sorry, I'm Lost" bounty required too many points for completion
• Fixed an issue in which the IGR version of the "Through the Crucible" bounty required too few points for completion
• Fixed an issue that caused high amounts of Baboon errors in the Tower

Nyko Is Releasing A Bunch Of Switch Accessories Before The End Of The Year

In addition to Nyko’s Dualies – a pair of Joy-Con alternatives due out next month – the third-party gaming accessory manufacturer has revealed it will be releasing a number of other products for the Nintendo Switch before the end of the year. The entire range can be pre-ordered from Nyko’s website and Amazon.

First up we have the Charge Base Plus – a charging dock for the Poké Ball Plus priced at $14.99. It’s powered by a Type-C USB cable and allows the ball to be charged when it’s not being used. It also comes with a carry case, providing increased protection when you’re in transit. Take a look below:

For the Super Smash Bros. Ultimate enthusiasts, Nyko will be offering two handy adapters for the Switch. The first is the four port Retro Controller Hub. As you can probably tell, this is based on the design of the official GameCube adapter and allows GameCube controllers to be used while playing the Switch. Much like the actual product, it connects to the system via USB. It will also set you back $14.99. The other product priced at $9.99 is the Retro Controller Adapter. This is a single-port adapter for one GameCube controller. Check out both of these items below:

Finally, to go alongside the Dualies, we have the Wireless Core Controller, which will be available in Clear, Red, Blue, Purple and Green for $29.99. It’s a relatively straightforward gamepad at an affordable price. Here’s a look at all of the different colours:

Would you be interested in any of these Nyko accessories? How about the wireless gamepad? Tell us below.

More Than Ten Games Are Being Announced At The 2018 Game Awards

This year will be the fifth edition of The Game Awards and the focus is on making it bigger and better. The event organisers intend to do this by expanding the show’s reach across multiple digital platforms, bringing back the live orchestra and allowing new ways for viewers to vote and interact. That’s not all, though.

In a brief promo video posted on Geoff Keighley’s Twitter account, the one and only host revealed more new games than ever before would be announced at the show. His tweet was a tad more precise, revealing more than ten games are expected. Take a look at the full clip in the tweet below:

In September, Keighley posted a photo on his own Twitter account with Nintendo’s Reggie Fils-Aimé and celebrity chef Wolfgang Puck. Of course, because Reggie was wearing a shirt with a Metroid logo on it at the time, this fueled speculation Metroid Prime 4 would be revealed at this year’s Game Awards. The event is scheduled to take place on 6th December.

In case you missed it, be sure to check out the full list of nominations. Octopath Traveler is up for three awards and Nintendo is set to take out the best family game award.

Do you think Metroid Prime 4 could be one of these “new” games announced, or even showcased? What other Switch related announcements would you like to hear? Tell us below.

EBBR Aims to Standardize Embedded Boot Process

Arm’s open source EBBR (Embedded Base Boot Requirements) specification is heading for its v1.0 release in December. Within a year or two, the loosely defined EBBR standard should make it easier for Linux distros to support standardized bootup on major embedded hardware platforms.

At the recent Embedded Linux Conference Europe, Grant Likely, a Linux kernel engineer who works at Arm, explained the basics of EBBR and why we need it. Previous ELC talks by Likely include a primer on hardware hacking basics for software developers.

EBBR is not a new technology, but rather a requirements document based on existing standards that defines firmware behavior for embedded systems. Its goal is to ensure interoperability between embedded hardware, firmware projects, and the OS.

The spec is based largely on the desktop-oriented Unified Extensible Firmware Interface (UEFI) spec and incorporates work that was already underway in the U-Boot community. EBBR is designed initially for Arm Linux boards loaded with the industry standard U-Boot or UEFI’s TianoCore bootloaders. EBBR also draws upon Arm’s Linaro-hosted Trusted Firmware-A project, which supplies a preferred reference implementation of Arm specifications for easier porting of firmware to modern hardware.

EBBR is currently “working fine” on the Raspberry Pi and has been successfully tested on several Linux hacker boards, including the Ultra96 and MacchiatoBIN, said Likely. Despite the Arm Linux focus, EBBR is already in the process of supporting multiple hardware and OS architectures. The FreeBSD project has joined the effort, and the RISC-V project has shown interest. Additional bootloaders will also be supported.

Why EBBR now?

The UEFI standard emerged when desktop software vendors struggled to support a growing number of PC platforms. Yet, it never translated well to embedded, which lacks the uniformity of the PC platform, as well as the “economic incentives toward standardization that work on the PC level,” said Likely. Unlike the desktop world, a single embedded firm typically develops a custom software stack to run on a custom-built device “all bound together.”

In recent years, however, several trends have pushed the industry toward a greater interest in embedded standards like EBBR. “We have a lot of SBCs now, and embedded software is getting more complicated,” said Likely. “Fifteen years ago, we could probably get by with the Linux kernel, BusyBox, and a bit of custom code on top. But with IoT, we’re expected to have things like network stacks, secure updates, and revision control. You might have multiple hardware platforms to support.”

As a result, there’s a growing interest in using pre-canned distros to offload the growing burden of software maintenance. “There’s starting to be an economic incentive to boot an embedded system on all the major distros and all the major SBCs,” said Likely. “We’ve been duplicating a lot of the same boot setup work.”

The problem is that bootloaders like U-Boot behave differently on different hardware, “with slightly different bootstrips and Device Tree setup on each board,” he continued. “It’s impossible for Linux distros to support more than a couple of boards. The growing number of board-specific images also poses problems. Not only is it a problem of the boot flow — getting the firmware on the system into the OS — but of how to tell the OS what’s on the board.”

As the maintainer of the Linux Device Tree, Likely is an expert on the latter issue. “Device Tree gives us the separation of the board description and the OS, but the next step is to make that part of the platform,” he explained. “So far we haven’t had a standard pre-boot environment in embedded. But if you had a standard boot flow and the machine could describe itself to the OS, the distros would be able to support it. They wouldn’t need to create a custom kernel, and they could do kernel and security updates in a standard way.”

Some embedded developers have expressed skepticism about EBBR’s dependence on the “bloated” UEFI code, with fears that it will slow down boot time. Yet, Likely claimed that the EBBR implementation adds “insignificant” overhead.

EBBR also differs from UEFI in that it’s written with consideration of embedded constraints and real-world practices. “Standard UEFI says if your storage is on eMMC, then firmware can’t be loaded there, but EBBR is flexible enough to account for doing both on same media,” said Likely. “We support limited hardware access at runtime and limited variable access to deal with things like the mechanics of device partitioning.” In addition, the spec is flexible enough that “you can still do your custom thing within the standard’s framework without breaking the flow.”

EBBR v1.0 and beyond

When Arm initially released its initial universal boot proposal “nobody was interested,” said Likely. The company returned with a second EBBR proposal that was launched as an open source project with a CC-BY-SA license and a GitHub page. Major Linux distro projects started taking interest.

Arm is counting on the distro projects to pressure semiconductor and board-makers to get onboard. Already, several chipmakers including ST, TI, and Xilinx have shown interest.  “Any board that is supported in U-Boot mainline should work,” said Likely. “Distros will start insisting on it, and it will probably be a requirement in a year or two.”

The upcoming v1.0 release will be available in server images for Fedora, SUSE, Debian, and FreeBSD that will boot unmodified on mainline U-Boot. The spec initially runs on 32- and 64-bit Arm devices and supports both ACPI power management and Linux Device Tree. It requires Arm’s PSCI (Power State Coordination Interface) technology on 64-bit Arm devices. The v1.0 spec provides storage guidance and runtime services guidance, and it may include a QEMU model.

Future releases will look at secure boot, capsule updates, more embedded use cases, better UEFI compliance, and improved non-Linux representation, said Likely. Other goals include security features and a standard testing platform.

“These are all solvable problems,” said Likely. “There are no technical barriers to boot standardization.”

You can watch the complete presentation here: