Welcome to the Weekender, your weekly look at the best new games, sales, and updates. It’s been a quiet week on the site as we cycle back through some of out buying guides, the only things of note you may want to catch up on is Stardew Valley‘s impending iOS release, and we revived our guide to the Best Games Like XCOM.
Meanwhile, we’ve got three new releases and a whole lot of sales to talk about. Read on!
Out Now
Grimvalor (iOS Universal) – Full Review Coming Soon!
The Dark Souls franchise has inspired an entire sub-genre of gritty, deadly, fast-twitch, action-RPGs. In large part, these games populate PC and console markets, but there’s a brand new option designed for mobile. Grimvalor by Direlight games is an action-RPG-platformer set in a gloomy fantasy world and featuring fast-paced combat. You jump, dodge, roll, and attack all the while learning your enemy’s attack pattern to best exploit it. You also die. A lot. At least I do. Naturally, as you progress you gain experience and levels, your abilities improve, and you gain new special attacks. Grimvalor is driven by a story that provides a nice narrative without getting in the way of the action. It’s a fun game, looks great, and the controls are rock solid. If you’re good at these skill-intensive action-RPGs you should definitely pick this one up.
Audio-based puzzle game ELOH is made by the creators of Old Man’s Journey and is all about letting the rhythm guide you to a solution. It’s laid back, with no ads, timers, move limits—just you, the puzzle, and the music. There are 85 levels to work through so it promises plenty of play for the price.
You’ve picked up and enjoyed premium, single-player CCG Lost Portal right? It features Magic: The Gathering like duels wrapped in a compelling role-playing game and is just a dollar for a limited time, a fraction of the price of a booster pack in one of those big-name CCGs. If you need more convincing check out my 5-star review.
The Reigns saga might just be the most successful indie franchise in the history of mobile gaming. The third installment, Reigns: Game of Thrones, is coming out next week (and available for pre-order now) and puts you on the throne of Westeros. It’s safe to say it’ll do well. In advance of this release the first two titles are on sale for just a buck each. This is the lowest price ever for Reigns Her Majesty.
Poly Bridge is an entertaining bridge-building simulator that made the jump to mobile over a year ago. If you’re a sim fan this one is worth picking up, especially for play on a tablet.
Wave Light Games is known for their impressive turn-based tactical RPGs and Strike Team Hydra is the latest, and first foray into the sci-fi realm. It features the same combat as the Demon’s Rise franchise and is on sale right now for Android users.
Overhaul Games is continuing its slate of sales on classic RPG ports. This time Icewind Dale is just $2, down from $10. This is by far the cheapest it’s been and is a great time to pick up a new, old RPG.
Yet another RPG sale… Jade Empire is half off. It’s inspired by the myths and legends of ancient China and full of places to explore and plots to uncover.
Star Wars Knights of the Old Republic is a little dated at this point, but has long been enshrined as one of the best RPGs of all time. It’s also half off and worthy of inclusion in your mobile-game collection if you’re into Star Wars, RPGs, or nostalgia.
Seen anything else you like? Played any of the above? Let us know in the comments!
Posted by: xSicKxBot - 10-13-2018, 01:27 AM - Forum: Lounge
- No Replies
Don't Miss Free GTA 5 Online Cash Available Now
Whether your GTA Online wallet is looking a little thin these days or you just want to add to your heaps of digital riches, you'll probably want to hop into Grand Theft Auto V's online mode this week. That's because GTA$ is available in abundance between now and October 15, and you don't even have to do anything special to get much of it. Here's a breakdown of what freebies to expect.
Just for logging into GTA Online between now and October 15, you'll get GTA$300,000 delivered to your Maze Bank account next week, by October 22. You can log right back out if you want, and you'll still get the bonus cash. In addition to the money, you'll also instantly unlock a Green Wireframe Body Suit for free (it looks kind of creepy, but hey, it's October).
That's not all, though--here's another big one. If you've already completed the Stone Hatchet and Double-Action Revolver challenges, you'll get an additional GTA$250,000 simply for logging in. But if you haven't completed those challenges yet and you beat them this week, you'll receive GTA$250,000 for each one. Better yet, you'll get another bonus of GTA$250,000 for each of those challenges next week, for a grand total of GTA$1 million.
Also between now and October 15, all four remixed Adversary Modes are rewarding double GTA$ and RP. That means you'll get a nice boost for playing Hunting Pack (Remix), Trading Places (Remix), Running Back (Remix), and Sumo (Remix). In addition, if you own a Nightclub, you'll get double Nightclub income all week long.
Finally, pre-ordering any digital edition of Red Dead Redemption 2 from the PlayStation Store or Microsoft Store gets you GTA$1,000,000 in GTA Online; all you have to do is log into GTA Online by October 15 to get it. And if you've already pre-ordered the game from either online store, just log in before October 15, and you'll get the same bonus. That cash will be deposited into your Maze Bank account between October 16-22.
In other GTA Online news, this week finds three new cars coming to the Southern San Andreas Super Autos catalog. They're the Karin Futo, Bollokan Prairie, and Imponte Ruiner. New liveries are also available for those cars, as well as for the Maibatsu Penumbra, Declasse Mamba, and Invetero Coquette Classic. You can find even more of this week's GTA Online news on the Rockstar blog.
Posted by: xSicKxBot - 10-13-2018, 01:27 AM - Forum: Windows
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How to get the Windows 10 October 2018 Update
Earlier today, Yusuf Mehdi announced the Windows 10 October 2018 Update, the newest feature update for Windows 10. I’m excited to share our October 2018 Update rollout plans, how you can get the update today, plus some new update experience enhancements.
As with prior Windows 10 feature rollouts, our goal is to deliver the October 2018 Update in a phased and controlled rollout to provide a great update experience for all. We are beginning the global rollout out via Windows Update in the coming weeks. As with previous rollouts, we will use real-time feedback and telemetry to update your device when data shows your device is ready and will have a great experience. You don’t have to do anything to get the update; it will roll out automatically to you through Windows Update.
Once the update is downloaded to your device and ready to be installed we’ll notify you. You are then able to pick a time that won’t disrupt you to finish the installation and reboot. We are continually working to improve the update experience with each new release of Windows 10.
The last Windows 10 feature update rollout, the April 2018 Update, utilized machine learning (ML) to identify devices that were ready to update, incorporating key attributes like compatibility data. By leveraging machine learning we were able to safely rollout quickly, and as a result the April 2018 Update is now the most widely used version of Windows 10. Further, our artificial intelligence/ML targeted rollout approach led to the lowest call and online support requests for any release of Windows 10.
With the October 2018 Update, we are expanding our use of machine learning and intelligently selecting devices that our data and feedback predict will have a smooth update experience. We will be further enhancing the performance of our machine learning model by incorporating more device signals such as improved driver telemetry and weighting of key features such as anti-malware software as we broaden the phased rollout. As we did with the April 2018 Update, we will be proactively monitoring all available feedback and update experience data, making the appropriate product updates when we detect issues, and adjusting the rate of rollout as needed to assure all devices have the best possible update experience.
While we encourage you to wait until the update is offered to your device, if you’re an advanced user on an actively serviced version of Windows 10 and would like to install the Windows 10 October 2018 Update now, you can do so by manually checking for updates. In the Search box in the taskbar, type “Check for updates.” Once there, simply click “Check for updates” to begin the download and installation process. We are also streamlining the ability for users who seek to manually check for updates by limiting this to devices with no known key blocking issues, based on our ML model. If we detect that your device has a compatibility issue, we will not install the update until that issue is resolved, even if you “Check for updates.” You can also watch this video that outlines how to get the October 2018 Update.
If you’re using a Windows 10 PC at work, you will need to check with your IT administrator for details on your organization’s specific plans to update.
Improving the update experience
We have heard clear feedback that while our users appreciate that updates keep their devices secure, they find the update experience can sometimes be disruptive. The October Update includes several improvements to the update experience to offer more control and further reduce disruptions.
Intelligent scheduling of update activity: For our many mobile users on laptops and 2-in-1 devices, we have improved Window’s ability to know when a device will not be in use and perform certain update activities then, so as not to disrupt the user. This ability to update at night when plugged in and not on battery power will help hide update activity and minimize user disruption from updates. To further minimize disruption (in case your system is updating overnight), Windows also silences audio when it wakes for Windows Updates. If your device hasn’t updated for several nights, we will then suggest you plug in your device so that we can update at night.
Intelligent reboot scheduling: Windows Update will now automatically determine the least disruptive opportunity, outside of Active Hours, and will use an enhanced machine-learning-powered activity check that can determine if a user is going to be away for a while or is only stepping away temporarily.
Faster updates, less down time: We’ve also made further improvements to the feature update installation process and are targeting to further shorten the amount of time your device is offline during updates by up to 31% compared to the Windows 10 April 2018 Update (based on results from the Windows Insider Program) during the rollout of the October Update.
Smaller downloads: In the October Update we are introducing a new update package delivery design for monthly quality updates that creates a compact update package for easier and faster deployment. Users will benefit from the new small update size when installing applicable quality updates as they are 40% more efficient.
Enhanced privacy controls
We continue to focus on putting our customers in control so in the October Update we are enhancing the privacy choice and controls available to users to manage their privacy. We are now enabling each new account on a device to personally tailor the main privacy settings, instead of only the initial user who sets up the device. Furthermore, during new device setup, we now offer an activity history page that allows users the opportunity to opt in to sending activity history to Microsoft, to help improve cross device experiences. This allows users to pick up where they left off in various activities (such as a working on a Word document) on their other devices (Learn more about activity history).
Additionally, we are splitting Inking & typing personalization out from the Speech privacy page. This enables more granular control of your inking and typing personalization data by managing it separately from your online speech recognition data. Learn more about online speech recognition and inking & typing personalization.
Semi-Annual Channel (Targeted) released
For our commercial customers, the release of the Windows 10, version 1809 on October 2, 2018 marks the start of the servicing timeline for the Semi-Annual Channel (“Targeted”) release; and beginning with this release, all future feature updates of Windows 10 Enterprise and Education editions that release around September will have a 30 month servicing timeline. Just as we’re immediately beginning rolling out the October Update in phases to consumers, we recommend IT administrators do the same within their organizations to validate that apps, devices, and infrastructure used by their organization work well with the new release before broadly deploying. We use data to guide our phased consumer rollout and encourage commercial customers to do the same through Windows Analytics. The update is now available through Windows Server Update Services (WSUS), Windows Update for Business (WUfB) and System Center Configuration Manager’s (SCCM) phased deployment. For an overview of what’s new and what’s changed, please see What’s new for IT pros in Windows 10, version 1809.
Continuously evolving Windows 10 and the update experience
We’re excited to bring you the latest Windows 10 Features and improvements and hope that you enjoy the improved update experience. Please provide us feedback as we continue our journey to evolve the update experience, so that our great new product and security features and other enhancements arrive without disruption.
Test automation tools are not used very often. Only 16 percent of performance test cases are executed with test automation tools, and security tests are being completed at the same frequency according to the World Quality Report (WQR) 2018-2019, which surveyed 1,700 IT decision makers (ITDMs) at companies with more than a thousand employees. Although the QA and testing job roles have been adapting to agile development practices, remember that even if one test is automated, the majority of tests are still done manually.
Mojang is making some Minecraft libraries open source
Minecraft developer Mojang plans to make a handful of libraries from the Java build of the game open source, giving fellow game devs the ability to peruse, tweak, or use in their own projects (with credit).
The first two libraries getting the open-source treatment are Brigadier, or the command engine that Minecraft uses for its in-game developer console, and DataFixerUpper, a system that updates old in-game data into something that a current version of Minecraft can use.
As demonstrated in the blog post detailing the open-source plans, the Brigadier system deals with text commands keyed into Minecraft’s chat by suggesting possible commands as they’re being typed and translating the resulting command into an action in the game like giving a certain user an item or changing the game mode.
While Mojang says Brigadier is fairly straightforward and user-friendly, DataFixerUpper is more or less just the opposite.
“When we load up any world in Minecraft right now, you can have some data that has not been touched for six years, because that chunk was last played six years ago,” explains Minecraft Java dev Nathan Adams in the post. “So we need to know: ‘OK, this level actually looks really old. Now we’ve got to turn that old data into what it should look like now – in a way that the game can currently read.”
“We have one little unit which uses DataFixerUpper that just says to Minecraft: ‘this is how to turn anything into the data format that the game is going to use.’ And so the game is now only saying ‘This is how the data looks, so this is how I’m going to read it,” he explains. ”Basically, before Minecraft actually loads the chunks, it goes through DataFixerUpper and that turns it into what it should currently be now.”
Both Brigadier and DataFixerUpper can be downloaded right now from the company’s Github page and Mojang notes that it plans to update that original blog post when more systems are made open source as well.
Magic Leap held its first L.E.A.P. Conference in Los Angeles this week, bringing with it the company’s first keynote presentation. From the moment the event began, it was clear that Magic Leap was making a statement about its vision for itself and its products, at the same time pleading its case for developers to join in on the ground floor of something special.
Part of the company’s vision is that of diversity. Magic Leap CEO Rony Abovitz ceded the floor after a few opening comments to CMO Brenda Freeman who said the company intends to “create a system that is culturally relevant.”
She added, “We’re committed to making significant investments to support the efforts of minority and female creators.”
Robin Hunicke, game dev veteran and co-founder of independent game studio Funomena, said, “When platforms like radio and TV and film were first developed, diversity and inclusion were not part of the zeitgeist.”
Same goes for the development of the internet, game consoles, and cell phone technology, she said. “We were not yet quite honest with ourselves about how our unconscious biases would shape these new forms of communication, perpetuating stereotypes that alienate people from one another, and sometimes, from themselves.”
But, she argued, Magic Leap presents an opportunity to plant fresh ideas that, unlike previous technologies, take into account the technology, the culture, and people altogether from the get-go.
This became clearer during the opening discussion with Magic Leap CEO Rony Abovitz, chief futurist and Snow Crash author Neal Stephenson, and SVP of creative strategy John Gaeta. The trio explained what makes Magic Leap tech so appealing for game design by outlining the four “North Stars” of the company’s philosophy: Sensory Field Computing, Life Stream, Human-centered AI, City-scale Experiences.
“We’re committed to making significant investments to support the efforts of minority and female creators.”
By combining all four of these points, they said developers can create the most desirable Magic Leap experiences.
Sensory Field Computing, for example, is the way users experience a program or game during their Magic Leap experience. Using haptic feedback, 3D audio, and light fields, Magic Leap tecj allows for a deeper game experience than traditional consoles or PCs.
Life Stream tracks users’ emotional state, using biometric feedback and awareness of the user’s environment. This opens doors to everything from horror games to dating simulators.
The focus on Human-centered AI popped up a few times throughout the presentation, largely in the form of Mica, an uncannily realistic AI woman presented in mixed reality. Human-centered AI, in Magic Leap’s definition, is AI that takes into account human emotion and empathy. The Mica AI that the company demoed was able to communicate with a user across a spectrum of interactions. In theory, Mica will be able to tell if you like the people who are around you, remember a song you mentioned liking, and talk to you like a normal person. Think Siri if she got things right and had a personality.
The final North Star is one that feels like it is destined to become central to using Magic Leap as a actual game platform in the future: City-scale Experiences. In a practical setting, this allows for directions around town while walking or inserting information about buildings or places when you arrive at a location.
But for game design, it raising the specter of a full city of interaction. Imagine a superhero game where you look up and actually see Spider-Man swinging above your head, or a Pokemon Go where you don’t need to follow your phone wherever you go. City-scale takes augmented and mixed reality out of your living room or a lab, and into everyday life.
While these broad concepts are fascinating in principal, they’re useless on their own. Thankfully Magic Leap provided a number of solutions for developers hoping to bring these ideas to their projects.
LuminOS is a homegrown operating system for Magic Leap that utilizes the open source and open standards of W3C. Where the LuminOS impressed us most was the vast number of options it presents developers with for user interaction. Normal humans interact by looking, grabbing, and placing objects. But in the magic leap interface, users can interact via head-pose, eye-gaze, a controller, gestures, voice, mobile apps, or even a keyboard. This opens up a whole new world of possibilities for developers looking to expand the boundaries of how players control their games.
Neal Stephenson talking about “Goats”
Down the line, Magic Leap games could allow you to speak to a character, who would be able to tell through the eye-gaze feature that you’re furrowing your brow in response to their reaction. While many of these features are still in the future, the options they present are fascinating and worth exploring today.
Chief futurist and famed author Neil Stephenson came out again for a solo presentation on a project called “Goats” that aims to help teach developers how to map and build creatures within Magic Leap. GLDS 0 and 1 are programs that teach basic mapping, while GLDS 2 and 3 are useful tools to help you learn how to map and build creatures within a AR space.
Magic Leap also announced an independent developer grant program in which Magic Leap with be offering hundreds of thousands of dollars in hardware, funding, and training to new studios and developers who qualify.
Epic Games also made an appearance highlighting a close partnership with Unreal Engine, highlighting a developer-centric strategy as the Magic Leap One works to gain traction in these early days.
The presentation left us wondering about how Magic Leap’s tech will impact game design: If a character is to enter a scene, for example, how can you introduce that concept using MR? Why not have a door appear on the wall? Could a scan locate a door and simulate a doorbell ringing behind it? These types of intriguing ideas could be used for revolutionary games in the future.
“We’re excited about what we’re going to make, but we’re particularly excited about the crazy shit you’re going to make.”
After getting a chance to play with the demos yesterday, and seeing the vision the company has for its future today, Magic Leap has gone from a clever novelty to a honest-to-god competitor for future consoles and computers.
The possibilities on display are endless, and the company’s focus on creating an inclusive space that is open to everyone leaves it with more open doors than it does roadblocks. We’re excited to see what adventures developers take us on using the foundation Magic Leap has built as a roadmap.
Or as Magic Leap Studios SVP Ant Williams put it: “We’re excited about what we’re going to make, but we’re particularly excited about the crazy shit you’re going to make.”
Latest October 2018 Windows Update Gaming Features
This Fall, Windows has another major update to bring even more great features to your Windows 10 PC. Learn more here about the broader set of updates and features that arrived with the October Windows Update. And if you like gaming on your Windows 10 PC, we’ve got some specific updates that you’ll want to pay attention to!
Here are the latest improvements to Windows 10 for PC gamers in the recent October Windows Update:
Game bar Improvements
New look: Enjoy a cleaner new look and layout.
New audio controls: With the new audio control panel, get more control out of individual audio channels without ever having to leave your game.
Game bar is now an app: Launching Game bar is now easier than ever, whether through the desktop, apps, the Start menu, or task bar.
Game Mode Improvements
Fewer gaming interruptions: Based on feedback from gamers, we’ve simplified the way Game Mode works. Now auto-enabled for all games with a master On/Off toggle in Windows Settings, Game Mode suppresses Windows Update driver installs and blocks Windows Update interruptions such as restart notifications while you’re gaming. You may also see improved game performance with less FPS variability depending on the specific game and system.
Got a great idea for a Windows gaming feature? Let us know on the Xbox Ideas site!
Yo-Kai Watch 4 Has Been Delayed Until Spring 2019 In Japan
Yo-Kai Watch 4 – the next entry in the Yo-Kai Watch series and the first to appear on Switch – has seen a delay in Japan, it has been confirmed.
Originally, the game had been scheduled to arrive in winter 2018, but the latest issue of Japanese magazine CoroCoro has revealed that it has now been pushed back to spring 2019. Of course, apart from this entry, the Yo-Kai Watch games have all released on 3DS, with this latest instalment likely being the biggest step up the franchise has seen to date. We expect that this new development territory and larger project scale are to blame.
This delay does help the west in its bid to catch up with the series, however; Europe and North America are only getting the previous entry – Yo-Kai Watch 3 on Nintendo 3DS – over the coming months, so this might help to bridge the gap between western and Japanese releases just a little. Even if this delay has a knock-on effect for the localisation of the new Switch title, at least we’ll be able to play Yo-Kai Watch 3 just before the fourth entry comes out.
Are you looking forward to Yo-Kai Watch 3 releasing this winter? Or are you more excited for the prospect of a new Yo-Kai adventure on Switch? Feel free to share your thoughts with us down below.
We wanted to give you a heads up about some exciting language options coming to Steam.
Starting today, we are adding two new languages (Vietnamese and Latin American Spanish) to the list of 26 languages officially supported by Steam. This means the Steam desktop client, the Steam store, and the Steam Community, are all translated to make it easier for Vietnamese or Latin American Spanish speakers to interact with Steam, find games, and chat with friends. It also means that game developers can now provide translations of their game in those languages through Steam.
Why Vietnamese?
Vietnamese is the sole national language of the country Vietnam, but is also widely used in other countries, including the United States, Australia, and France. There are over 75 million Vietnamese speakers worldwide. In November of 2017, we added Steam support for the national currency of Vietnam, the Vietnamese Dong, along with a number of payment methods that make it easier for players in Vietnam to make purchases on Steam. While supporting payments methods and currencies is important for making Steam accessible to global audiences, we realized our mistake in not also supporting the national language too so that players can more easily find their way around Steam and be able to get games in their native language, when available.
Why Latin American Spanish?
In the past, Steam has only supported a single definition of Spanish-language. But our customers and game developers have been reminding us of the stylistic differences among Spanish spoken in different locales, and requested that Steam support that difference. As a result, we now have a definition of both Castilian (European) Spanish and Latin American (LatAm) Spanish, translating the Steam desktop client, store, and community into both variants of Spanish.
As a practical example, this is how we already treat Portuguese and Brazilian Portuguese, where customers can choose one, the other, or both for their language preferences, and game developers can indicate whichever variants their game supports.
Changing Your Language Preferences in Steam
Whether your native language is Vietnamese, Castilian Spanish, or any of the 26 other languages supported by Steam, you can specify your language preferences in the Steam desktop client by clicking “Steam>settings>interface”.
Additionally, you can specify more than one language within the Steam store to help you find more games available in languages you may speak. For example, you may want to run Steam in Vietnamese, but you also speak English and want to make sure you can find games that are available with English language audio. You can visit your store preferences to select multiple languages for games that you wish to discover in the Steam store.
FAQ for Game Developers
Language support can be pretty important for the enjoyment of games. If you are making a game on Steam, here are some questions we thought you might have and some answers. Of course if you have additional question, please let us know through the Steamworks contact form.
Q: What do I need to do if my game already supports Spanish? A: If you want to add another language support option, you can provide Spanish support in both Castilian and Latin American varieties. If you don’t plan to add additional support, that’s OK: Steam will assume that your existing Spanish language content is Castilian and automatically provide that content to customers that have indicated either Castilian or Latin American Spanish. If your existing translation is actually Latin American Spanish, you can update your definition within Steamworks by visiting your app landing page and clicking “Edit Steamworks Settings” and selecting “Depots” from the “SteamPipe” drop-down.
Q: What if my game doesn’t support Spanish at all? A: That’s okay, and you don’t need to make any changes. But just so you know: nearly 2 million of our 45 million daily active users view the store in Spanish, and platform revenue in Latin America increased 35% over the previous year… so now might be a good time to consider adding support!
Q: What’s the difference, anyway? Why does this matter? A: There are some substantial differences in vocabulary and colloquial choices between these two varieties of Spanish. By supporting the difference on the Steam store and UI, we can make it more welcoming and easy to use. By supporting the difference in your game, you can provide the best possible experience to any customers who want to play your game in Spanish. Historically, customer improvements to localization and regional support have helped grow the overall pie of platform opportunity for developers, and we think this will be one more improvement for people who play and make PC games.
Q: Do I get any benefit if my game supports additional languages on Steam? A: Definitely! In addition to making your game more accessible to more customers, language preference is one of the things the store takes into account when making recommendations. That means a customer is more likely to see your game in the store if it supports the language preferences the customer selected. For example, Vietnamese is the fifth most spoken language in the United States, at around 1.5 million speakers.
Q: Where can I learn more about adding language support? A: We’re so glad you asked! The documentation here provides a rundown on localization, and some best practices and advice. https://partner.steamgames.com/doc/store/localization
This week at Bungie, we started unboxing the decorations for Festival of the Lost.
Starting Tuesday, October 16, all Destiny 2 players are invited to join in on the festivities. Amanda Holliday will serve as your host, offering bounties, masks, and rewards for all to partake in. Guardians will be invited to confront their Nightmares in the Haunted Forest, a limited-time activity exclusive to Festival of the Lost. If you missed the announcement yesterday, head over to the blog article to get caught up.
Festival of the Lost isn’t the only thing starting next Tuesday. Tuesday is filled to the brim with updates to the game, live events, and more. Read on for details below.
Second Wave
Launching a game reveals what we did right and where we could have done better. With the first month of Forsaken behind us, we’re taking stock of what we’ve learned. Some of those learnings will manifest in game updates that we’re deploying in the very near future, but not every improvement can be made with code changes. We also want to make it less complicated for other Guardians to begin their journey in Forsaken.
Effective October 16, the purchase of Destiny 2: Forsaken will include the two expansions included in the Destiny 2 Expansion Pass. Every player of Destiny 2 who has yet to touch down on the Tangled Shore will need only the Forsaken upgrade. Our hope is that this will eliminate some of the questions that confront a player as they try to join our party.
“What about us?” we can hear everyone who has already purchased Forsaken asking.
You’re our Vanguard. We appreciate you beginning the hunt on day one. You were there when the first raid finish changed the Dreaming City. You’ve been part of the conversation that has breathed enthusiasm back into the Tower. For you, and only the players like you, we have a collection of veteran’s rewards as an expression of our appreciation for being on the frontlines.
Every Guardian who played Forsaken prior to October 16 will receive the following bundle of items.
The Tiger Stripe Black Shader and Veterans Nameplate emblem are exclusive to players who earn this bundle by playing Forsaken prior to October 16. The two Exotic emotes will be made available on Eververse sometime in the future. All item names are subject to change.
Thank you for playing, and thank you for being the first to experience what we’ve created. This package is currently slated to be delivered to Veterans in early December. When the new Guardians arrive, please join us in extending to them the welcome that has made this community so notorious as an awesome group of people.
Out of the Iron, into the Fire
Lord Saladin returns to the tower, just in time to witness Guardians donning their brand new Shaxx masks. Iron Banner begins Tuesday 10/16, and ends Tuesday 10/23.
Coming with Destiny 2 Update 2.0.4, Iron Banner bounty objectives and rewards have been updated to address player feedback.
Each bounty will now offer a powerful reward
Bounty objectives have been updated to the following:
Lightbearer: Reduced Super kills to 20 from 25
Iron in the Blood: Reduced match completions to 15 from 30
Shine On: Reduced Orbs generated to 50 from 100
Iron Victory: Reduced match wins to 7 from 10
To Be Precise: Reduced precision kills to 50 from 100
All in a Week’s Work: Reduced kills to 150 from 250
Players will also unlock an item in Lord Saladin’s inventory for direct purchase with each bounty completion, featuring curated perk rolls. This time around, foxes and wolves will battle it out for a spot in your arsenal.
Looking to earn some masterwork cores on top of everything above? For the duration of Iron Banner, Valor gains will also be increased.
Double Valor: 10/16–10/19
Triple Valor: 10/19–10/23
With all these rewards, there’s no better time to dip your toe into the Crucible. See you out there.
World Wide Web
If you’re reading these words in English, and you follow @Bungie, feel free to scroll on to the next section. If you don’t follow, by the way, you’re missing out on some sweet tweets!
If you’re reading a localized version of this blog article in another language, the same people who translated our words into your words might also lend a hand to help us throw our arms around the world.
Check out these new Twitter accounts:
Follow the one that makes the most sense to you!
Or follow them all if you want to see how worldly we’re becoming.
Wherever you are and whatever you speak, we thank you for being a part of this growing global community!
Get Your Mask On
We’ve already told you about masks your Guardian can wear, here’s a way you can join in on the fun in the real world: Download and print out the free papercraft chicken template, courtesy of the Bungie Store.
If you’re eager to change your look further, a three-pack bundle of papercraft mask templates will be available on the Bungie Store the day before Festival of the Lost launches, in both digital and physical editions. Each purchase of the 2018 Festival of the Lost Papercraft Masks will come with a Destiny 2 in-game emblem code for the Circles Entwined emblem.
Stay tuned to @BungieStore on Twitter for the latest updates.
Running the Schedule
Last week, we gave you a quick preview of some bug fixes we had planned for the month of October. Our first deployment is coming in hot, and Destiny Player Support has the details on when to expect your download to begin.
Update 2.0.4 Incoming
This week, in preparation for Destiny 2 Update 2.0.4, we conducted backend maintenance on the live game. One more maintenance window is required, however, to bring Destiny 2 Update 2.0.4 to players.
Please see below for the Update 2.0.4 deployment schedule for Tuesday, October 16, as outlined on our Server and Update Status page:
7:00 AM PDT (1400 UTC)
Destiny 2 maintenance is scheduled to begin
No downtime is expected
Some Destiny Companion features will be unavailable on the web, mobile, and third-party apps
Update 2.0.4 will begin rolling out across all platforms and regions
9:45 AM PDT (1645 UTC)
Any Destiny 2 players remaining in activities who have not yet installed Update 2.0.4 will be removed from activities and returned to the title screen to take this update
10:00 AM PDT (1700 UTC)
Destiny 2 maintenance is scheduled to conclude
Destiny Companion features will be reenabled
Players who encounter issues should report them to the #Help forum
PLEASE NOTE: Update 2.0.4 is required to participate in Festival of the Lost, which launches following the conclusion of this maintenance.
For the latest information during maintenance windows, players should stay tuned to @BungieHelp on Twitter or monitor our support feed on help.bungie.net. For patch notes when they are available, players should keep an eye on our Updates page.
Petra’s Run and GUITAR Errors
In past weeks, Destiny Player Support reported an issue in the “Last Wish” raid where some players might sporadically encounter GUITAR errors as they made their way to the heart of the Dreaming City. While this issue is still under investigation, fireteams should be especially aware of it as they make their attempts at the “Petra’s Run” Triumph.
This Triumph requires fireteams to complete the “Last Wish” raid with no deaths. However, any player in the fireteam being returned to orbit due to any error will make all players ineligible for this Triumph on that run.
Destiny 2: Forsaken Known Issues
In addition to the items listed above, Destiny Player Support is tracking the latest issues reported by players on the #Help forum. Provided below is a brief overview of the latest known issues in Destiny 2: Forsaken.
BrayTech RWP Mk. II: We are investigating reports where the BrayTech Scout Rifle doesn’t appear in Collections for some players.
Ascendant Challenge Emblem: We are monitoring reports of the Ascendant Challenge emblem not updating correctly.
PC FPS: We are investigating an issue where some players are experiencing low FPS, which impacts their gameplay sporadically.
Lyrically Talented
This week, we’ve come across a few submissions that we just can’t get out of our heads. Throw on some headphones and get ready to rock out to some fun tunes.
Movie of the Week: No Screeb
Honorable Mention: Smells like Raid Spirit (Language Warning)
If you’d like a shot at the Lens of Fate emblem, make sure to submit your video to the Creations page on bungie.net and include #MOTW in your title.
If you are still on the hunt for a Bungie Bounty, here is the schedule for next week. This is the last week we have scheduled but we will do more Bounties in the future.
It’s an exciting time here at Bungie. Festival of the Lost is about to begin, with Iron Banner in tow. It’s always a pleasure watching the community reach new heights. Some of you earned your very own Wayfarer titles this week on Titan. More of you are summoning the courage to attempt a flawless raid for the “Petra’s Run” Triumph, and Luna’s Howl is becoming more common in the Crucible as players reach Fabled in Competitive Crucible.
With Update 2.0.4’s bug fixes and quality-of-life improvements on the way, we’re excited to see you checking off your goals in Destiny 2. We’ll be right by your side, looking to earn some titles for ourselves as well. See you next week.
