Charming 2D RPG Phoenotopia: Awakening Launches On Switch Later This Month
The Switch already has its fair share of Zelda-inspired RPGs, but the eShop will soon have another charming option for you to consider thanks to the indie release, Phoenotopia : Awakening.
The game’s launching as a timed-exclusive on Switch in North America and will be available to buy in just over a couple of weeks’ time. It’s a cutesy, colourful-looking take on the genre that features plenty of the usual mechanics and traits you’d expect, but we’re hopeful that it’ll be able to stand out from the crowd when it does arrive on Nintendo’s platform. You can read all about it below.
Phoenotopia: Awakening places you in the role of Gail, a simple villager living a happy life in the idyllic countryside. Without warning, a great starship appears in the night sky and abducts all the adults. As the now oldest member of her little community, Gail must set out to solve this mystery and recover the villagers. Little does she know of the grand adventure before her, the evil lurking in the shadows, and the role she will play in the fight for Earth’s very own existence!
Features: – A narrative-driven single player adventure filled with charming characters, vibrant towns, and dangerous dungeons. – Over 10 different weapons & tools with which to combat enemies and solve puzzles. Fly with rocket boots! Blast with bombs! Play the flute! – Fight against over 50 different enemy types and 12 boss encounters. – A world brimming with secrets! Find 33 Energy Gems, 55 Heart Pieces and 111 Moonstones. – An achievement system, with 33 badges to earn, for players seeking extra challenge and replayability. – Over 60 original songs ranging from mellow piano and orchestra to raging synth/metal rockers and bagpipes! – A main campaign length estimated at 25 hours of playtime. 50 hours for completionists.
The development team says that it intends to release the game everywhere it can in time, but due to its small size, has decided to focus on this North American Switch release as a priority. It’ll be available for $19.99 from 20th August.
Do you like the look of the game? Think you might give it a spin later this month? Share your thoughts with us in the comments.
Posted by: xSicKxBot - 08-08-2020, 01:05 AM - Forum: Windows
- No Replies
New webcast series: ‘Enabling remote work with Microsoft Teams’
The recent shift to remote, hybrid and on-premise work has IT professionals across every industry looking for more solutions and support for deploying Microsoft Teams. That’s why we’re excited to launch this new live webcast series. Host, Stephen Rose is back! He’ll be talking with members of the Microsoft engineering staff, community experts and real-world professionals about best practices for piloting, planning, managing, securing, and deploying Teams. He’ll be joined by surprise guests, unbox cool new hardware and share resources to help you make the most of Microsoft 365 and Microsoft Teams.
Our host, Stephen Rose is a Senior Product Manager on the Modern Workplace and Teams, Stephen has been working with and helping IT professionals with a variety of Microsoft products since 2009 including Windows, Surface, Office and OneDrive, and holds over 20 technical certifications. Stephen was an MVP for 3 years and still is a community guy at heart. You can follow him, @stephenlrose on Twitter.
(Left to right) Host Stephen Rose. Previous Episodes with Joe Lurie on Windows Servicing, Chris Jackson on security best practices, Dan Holme on Microsoft Teams Live Events platform and Sandhya Rao demoing the new Bose Teams headphones.
Take a look at the upcoming episodes below – and add them to your calendar*. You’ll definitely want to tune in live to get the solutions and insights you need now.
Episode 1: Real work experts/real world stories August 11, 2020 | 9:00 AM PDT | ADD TO CALENDAR
Join us as we sit down with members of our IT pro community to discuss their Teams customer stories. You’ll hear about what worked and what didn’t work so you can avoid the same pitfalls with your own rollouts.
Episode 2: Back to school and user adoption with Microsoft Teams August 25, 2020 | 9:00 AM PDT | ADD TO CALENDAR
Learn about the latest features and functionalities to help educators make the most of Microsoft Teams and how IT pros can secure these features in a variety of environments.
Episode 3: Microsoft Teams security September 8, 2020 | 9:00 AM PDT | ADD TO CALENDAR
Let’s talk security. The top challenge IT pros are facing right now is securing data. Join our product expert for a deep dive discussion on identity and authentication.
Episode 4: Microsoft Ignite 2020: Pre-show September 15, 2020 | 9:00 AM PDT | ADD TO CALENDAR
In this special episode, you’ll get a preview of what’s coming up at Microsoft Ignite. Hear about upcoming sessions you don’t want to miss, as well as new resources that will help you make the most of your experience.
Episode 5: Microsoft Ignite 2020: Wrap-up part 1 September 23, 2020 | 9:00 AM PDT | ADD TO CALENDAR
Join us for a wrap-up of day 1 at Microsoft Ignite. You’ll hear all the highlights and we’ll talk about what’s coming up on day 2.
Episode 6: Microsoft Ignite 2020: Wrap-up part 2 September 25, 2020 | 9:00 AM PDT | ADD TO CALENDAR Join us for a complete wrap-up of day 1 and 2 at Microsoft Ignite. You’ll hear all the highlights and talk with product experts.
Episode 7: The new world of virtual events October 8, 2020 | 9:00 AM PDT | ADD TO CALENDAR
The events industry transformed overnight, and Microsoft Teams played a big part in this transition. We’ll sit down with members of the Microsoft Teams product group and learn how they are building the future of high-scale communication with Microsoft Teams.
Episode 8: New resources for Microsoft Teams admins October 22, 2020 | 9:00 AM PDT | ADD TO CALENDAR
Learn about new Teams deep dive help videos for administrators as well as other resources to get your support teams and help desk up to speed.
Episode 9: Manage guest access in Microsoft Teams November 5, 2020 | 9:00 AM PDT | ADD TO CALENDAR
One of the most requested episodes. We’ll feature tips, tricks and gotchas on managing guest access in Microsoft Teams.
Have a great idea for an episode? Want us to deep dive into a specific feature? Contact Stephen Rose.
*Please note that episode guests, topics and dates are subject to possible change
This Newly Discovered POW Block Bug Freezes Paper Mario: The Origami King
A new bug that has the potential to “softlock” your copy of Paper Mario: The Origami King has reportedly been discovered. Yes, we’ll admit the timing of this news is a tad awkward considering Nintendo only patched multiple other glitches yesterday, but it might at least stop a few people from having to replay a certain section of the game.
In phase two of the Boss Sumo Bro rematch located in the Battle Lab, defeating this enemy with a POW Block – before defeating the Sumo Bro – will freeze the game. You’ll lose a significant chunk of progress and be forced to redo the entire battle.
As explained by Gaming Reinvented, once this happens, all you can do is watch the background animations play over and over while the boss music continues to loop until you close the game and restart it. Hopefully, Nintendo can patch this out ASAP.
In the game’s first update, Nintendo fixed an issue in which players were unable to enter the Spring of Rainbows in Shangri-Spa and resolved a problem where the Black Shy Guy would not be registered in the Gallery of the Musée Champignon—even if you had previously defeated one. Have you encountered the above bug? How about any others? Leave a comment down below.
Netflix’s New Video Game Documentary Series Is Narrated By The Voice Of Mario
Later this month on 19th August, Netflix will premiere its new documentary series High Score. It will focus on the “the golden age of video games” – covering the brains behind the success, the games, and how the industry has evolved over the years.
Perhaps the most interesting part about it – at least for Nintendo fans, is the fact it’s being narrated by the one and only Charles Martinet (aka the voice of Super Mario). This has been discovered in the recent opening credits trailer uploaded by IGN. You can see Martinet’s name pop up at the 32-second mark. Take a look below:
Here’s the official description of High Score, courtesy of Netflix:
High Score is a documentary series about the golden age of video games, when legends – from Pac-Man to Doom – were brought to life. Through ingenuity and sheer force of will, computer pioneers and visionary artists from around the globe spawned the iconic worlds of Space Invaders, Final Fantasy, Street Fighter II, Mortal Kombat, Sonic the Hedgehog, MADDEN NFL, and beyond. Without rules or roadmaps, players and innovators alike pushed the limits of money to be made, rivals to be crushed, and hearts to be won. This is the story of the brains behind the pixels and how their unmatched innovation built a multi-billion dollar industry – almost by accident. High Score premieres on Netflix on August 19, 2020.
Is this a documentary series you think you would be interested in watching? Will you be tuning in exclusively for Charles Martinet? Leave a comment down below.
Posted by: xSicKxBot - 08-08-2020, 01:05 AM - Forum: Lounge
- No Replies
Command And Conquer Remastered Collection's Latest Update Adds LAN Play
Command and Conquer Remastered Collection has received a major new patch, adding a much-requested feature to the game. From today, the game supports LAN play, so you can gather together with friends and all play together in one location. This is a feature from the original Command and Conquer games, so it's good to have it back.
Of course, if you're planning a LAN party, you'll want to make sure that you practice social distancing and adhere to local laws and common-sense rules regarding gatherings.
The officially implemented LAN play feature lets you use mods in multiplayer, and will allow fans to enjoy the game's multiplayer in the future should the online play ever shut down. "Given the variety of ways people could play over VPN and with mods, we expect there still to be some quirks in the system," the patch post on Reddit explains.. "Please continue to provide feedback so we can make any refinements going forward."
This week at Bungie, we’re getting ready for Solstice of Heroes.
Once again, it’s time for the annual tradition of honoring Guardians and your great accomplishments. Our free summer event, Solstice of Heroes, starts next week on August 11.
The European Aerial Zone is back and full of Hive, Cabal, and Fallen enemies for you to dispatch. Defeat as many of the bosses as you can in a fireteam of three and then hunt for chests that are hidden away around the floating island. The more bosses you take down, the more rewards you will earn.
Armor
This year, we have a new approach to Solstice of Heroes armor that we think is going to give you far more flexibility on how you show off your Solstice-ness.
Similar to previous years, you will start with a Rare set and upgrade it into a Majestic Legendary set. Once you have all of your Legendary gear, you can start a final set of objectives to upgrade it to a Magnificent set. Here is a look at the objectives required:
Complete a Nightfall Ordeal on the Master difficulty.
Complete a Nightmare Hunt.
Complete Pit of Heresy.
Win seven Trials of Osiris matches. (Not on a single Passage)
Complete a Tier 5 Altar of Sorrow three times.
Completing these objectives will unlock a white glow on your armor. You need to upgrade your armor to Majestic during Solstice of Heroes but can continue to complete these objectives after the event ends. You can continue to earn more randomly rolled pieces for your Magnificent set in the EAZ.
Earning the Majestic Legendary set will unlock the option to purchase a Universal Ornament set from Eververse for either Silver or Bright Dust. This ornament will change its glow to match your Elemental subclass color. Unlike last year, you won’t need to purchase individual color glows. Each class set will be able to display three different elemental glows that will match whatever subclass you have equipped at the time.
Since the Elemental glow sets are Universal Ornaments, you will be able to apply them to any armor 2.0 pieces instead of only being able to apply them to your Solstice armor like before.
As a bonus, all of the Elemental Universal Ornaments will also support a fourth glow for players who equip the Stasis subclass when Beyond Light releases this fall.
One of our goals with the Solstice of Heroes armor was to improve the experience of earning over previous years. There won’t be any major armor updates, so once you earn your Majestic set it will be relevant up until next year’s event. The Elemental glows being made into Universal Ornaments will ensure you can use them on any of your high stat armor going forward.
Glows can’t be toggled on and off for Universal Ornaments. That is why this year’s glows are always on, as they are built into their Universal Ornaments.
The white glow on the Legendary Magnificent set are also always on once you complete the challenge for the corresponding piece. Both the white glows and the elemental glows will increase their intensity depending on how much super energy you have at the time.
Eververse
The Eververse store will also have some shiny new things available. Every new Solstice of Heroes item will be available for both Silver and Bright Dust at some time during the event with the exception of the “Iron Severance” Finisher.
Here is a quick look at some of the wares.
Lo-fi Beats
The Bungie Music team just released a remix lo-fi Destiny 2 track perfect for unwinding after an adrenaline pumping Crucible match or stressful Flawless dungeon finish. Put on some headphones and kick back with your feet up to these soothing jams.
THE END IS THE BEGINNING IS THE END
Our Player Support team is here to help. They are tracking known issues and making sure you have info on
This is their report.
MEANS TO AN END UPDATE
In Hotfix 2.9.1.2, we resolved an issue some players had where they couldn’t complete their “Means to an End” quest nor the Prismatic Recaster Weekly Challenge. To resolve the issue, the quest will now delete from player inventories at each weekly reset. If players try to hold onto their Pinnacle Engram from the Prismastic Recaster past the weekly reset, it will be lost and players will need to complete the new quest for that week to obtain another engram.
Additionally, players will now be able to complete the “Means to an End” quest on multiple characters of the same class. Each class is still restricted to a single Pinnacle reward engram and subsequent runs on characters of the same class will provide a non-powerful Legendary Engram instead.
Players still having issues should file a report in our #Help Forum.
API MAINTENANCE
Until September 23, post-game carnage reports (PGCRs) won’t be available between 1-4 AM PDT due to database maintenance.
RESOLVED ISSUES
Players should no longer have their name censored on Steam.
For players who can’t use chat while playing on PC, they can fix this issue by opting out of participating in the Steam Client Beta program.
KNOWN ISSUES
While we continue investigating various known issues, here is a list of the latest issues that were reported to us in our #Help Forum:
The Corrupted Nightfall: The Ordeal has inconsistent respawn locations, causing players to spawn out of bounds.
When holding a Sword, the ability to regenerate a melee won’t work for any class.
Some players still report that they can’t claim their “Means to an End” quest or don’t receive a Pinnacle Engram for completing the quest.
For a full list of emergent issues in Destiny 2, players can review our Known Issues article. Players who observe other issues should report them to our #Help forum.
Short Films
This is Movies of the Week. Sit down and watch.
Movie of the Week: Emergence
Honorable Mention: Try Hard Now
If you’re one of these winners, please make sure you have your Bungie.net profile in the description of said video so we can get you your emblem.
Hope you’re having a good week in the Iron Banner. Finish up your bounties and claim your pinnacles before the reset. Then it’s off to the EAZ to level up a fresh new set of Solstice armor. I’ll see you out there.
Turn up the volume and get ready to skate. 37 songs spanning five decades of music are joining the original soundtrack of Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 1 + 2, available when the full game launches September 4 on Xbox One.
These extra tracks speak to the diverse sound of the ever-growing culture of skateboarding, from old-school 80s rap and 90s ska punk to international indie hits and the latest songs from up-and-coming artists.
For a longer, more in-depth look at some of the new songs, here’s the Official Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 1 + 2 Playlist on Spotify, now updated for your listening pleasure:
If you can’t rock out and listen to this now, don’t worry, we have you covered:
A Breakdown of the 37 New Tracks for Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 1 + 2:
A Tribe Called Quest – “Can I Kick It?”
Swayze & the Ghosts – “Connect to Consume”
Alex Lahey – “Misery Guts”
All Talk – “Let’s Do It”
American Nightmare – “Life Support”
Backchat – “Step It Up”
Baker Boy – “In Control”
Billy Talent – “Afraid of Heights”
Black Prez ft. Kid Something – “The Struggle”
CHAII – “South”
Charlie Brown Jr. – “Confisco”
Cherry Kola – “Something To Say”
Chick Norris – “Made Me Do”
Craig Craig ft. Icy Black – “Stomp”
Crush Effect ft. KARRA – “Coming Through”
Destroy Boys – “Duck Eat Duck World”
DZ Deathrays – “IN-TO-IT”
FIDLAR – “West Coast”
JunkBunny – “Sedona”
Less Than Jake – “Bomb Drop”
Machine Gun Kelly – “Bloody Valentine”
Merkules – “Bass (feat. Tech N9ne & Hopsin)”
MxPx – “Let’s Ride”
Pkew Pkew Pkew – “Mid 20’s Skateboarder”
Reel Big Fish – “She’s Famous Now”
Rough Francis– “Deathwire”
Screaming Females – “Let Me In”
Skepta – “Shutdown”
Spilt Milk – “Run It Up Pt II”
Strung Out – “Firecracker”
Sublime – “Same In The End”
The Ataris – “All Soul’s Day”
The Super Best Frens Club – “Like This”
Token – “Flamingo”
Tyrone Briggs – “Lose Control”
Viagra Boys – “Slow Learner”
Zebrahead – “All My Friends Are Nobodies”
Pre-Order Now for the Warehouse Demo
There is still time to pre-order Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 1 + 2 digitally and access the Warehouse Demo, available on August 14 for Xbox One and Xbox One X. Skate as Tony Hawk in the iconic opening level to THPS 1 in this demo, which serves as a warm-up to the full experience coming out on September 4.
Disbelief is a game development studio focusing on contracting and consulting services. We’ve worked with both AAA and independent studios to help their projects ship. Notable projects we’ve worked on include Gears Tactics, Gears 5, Borderlands 3, and Torn.
At Disbelief we value work-life balance, and want to create an alternative to the crunch-culture prevalent in game development. We also believe strongly in investing in our talent and our team. Disbelief is a place to puzzle out the solutions to cutting-edge problems in graphics and engine programming, but also a place where people can grow their careers and skill sets as valued members of a stable and close knit team.
Currently, we’re looking for a programmer. This opportunity is for a full-time position in Cambridge, MA. Programmers at Disbelief are called on to develop and debug in a variety of areas from game play to core engine programming. You are expected to learn new systems and projects as you grow as a developer. You are also expected to use your knowledge to solve problems both you and others in your team have.
Key Responsibilities:
Clearly communicate your work to others
Debug code
Estimate task work
Assess impact of issues on schedule
Write performant code and specialized systems
Document your code
Study version histories to guide current problems
Implement new system features
Skills and Requirements:
BA/BS in Computer Science, or equivalent experience
Excellent communication skills, both verbal and written
1+ years of experience in writing software in C++
1+ years in game development, or 3+ in a related industry
Experience with version control with P4, git, or equivalent
Understanding of multi-threaded systems
Remote: Currently all of Disbelief is working remotely during the pandemic. Post-pandemic our plans are to return to a hybrid model where we still live near the office but often work from home. Some of our projects require access to physical infrastructure.
Visa Sponsorship: No
Technologies: Most of our work is C++ of varying standards with a sprinkling of other languages as needed for tooling. We do a lot of graphics programming work, using shader languages and platform graphics APIs. Since we often are debugging the lower levels of systems, being able to read x64 or ARM assembly is useful. Primarily we work with Unreal Engine, but we also work with Unity and custom game engines. Our work uses rendering, physics, audio, VR, AR, and other APIs frequently. Our primary platforms are PC, Xbox consoles, Playstation consoles, Switch, and VR/AR devices.
Whether you’re just starting out, looking for something new, or just seeing what’s out there, the Gamasutra Job Board is the place where game developers move ahead in their careers.
Gamasutra’s Job Board is the most diverse, most active, and most established board of its kind in the video game industry, serving companies of all sizes, from indie to triple-A.
How Disney makes RPG mechanics work in real life at Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge
When Disneyland & Disneyworld guests wander into the back end of the park, they have the opportunity to leave the wonderful world of Walt Disney behind and take a tour of a galaxy far far away–or, a small slice of it at least. At Galaxy’s Edge, park guests wander into the world of Black Spire Outpost on the planet Batuu, in an experience that recreates the world of Star Wars as defined by the new trilogy of films created by Disney.
At GDC 2020, Walt Disney Imagineering assistant producer Anisha Deshmane took some time to tell how the company turned Galaxy’s Edge not just into a tourist destination, but a storytelling opportunity using the mobile phones that guests bring into the park every day. It turns out that many mechanics used in role-playing games work equally well in real-life (something any dedicated LARPer is probably already aware of).
Like any well-designed RPG, the Galaxy’s Edge Imagineers needed a unique setting to attract ‘players’ when they set out. Star Wars means something different to every guest who comes through the park, and planets from the films like Tatooine or Jakku are better aligned with the stories of the movies’ heroes, rather than individual guests who come with other baggage. Deshmane said the goal was to create a setting where guests could “live their own personal version of Star Wars, no matter how new of a fan they are, or how dedicated of a fan they are.”
To that end, a visit to Galaxy’s Edge is bolstered by a number of role-playing game mechanics that might be at home in Dragon Age or World of Warcraft. Deshmane joked that park visitors might begin to feel like unique characters after their time at the park, what with the customizable outfits and (pricey) merchandise they can acquire.
Several of these mechanics are executed by way of a “Datapad” component to the Disney Play app, that the Imagineering Team used to build narratives that can’t be expressed through the park’s architecture or lifelike animatronics. There’s an interesting real-life behavior that Deshmane says the team was able to map onto— travelers, especially Disney tourists—are used to using their phones to explore a foreign country. That makes the Datapad app a natural hotspot for hosting interaction mechanics for the park.
The Datapad app has four key functions that interact with over 250 markers in the park. Droids and circuits can be hacked to trigger physical responses from Droids and ships, crates can be scanned, signals can be scanned, and signs written in Aurabesh can be translated.
“We’ve seen guests who’ve learned Aurabesh just from the app,” Deshmane said. The tool even works outside of the park, letting players translate some text in Respawn’s Star Wars: Jedi Fallen Order.
The app also allows Disney Imagineering to merge the art direction of the park with narrative context. Deshmane pointed out a subtle detail in the park’s design that only some guests might notice–a stairwell pockmarked by blaster scorch marks. A guest not using their phone who saw the marks might form their own story about what took place on the stairs, guests who use the app’s scanning features can discover local gossip that tells the “true” story.
The app’s tools even have a mild difficulty curve—they’re accompanied by some minigames that may be familiar to the hacking systems of Mass Effect and BioShock, and higher-level story moments are able to rely on guests’ being skilled enough to tackle more difficult puzzles. These mechanics also interact with a series of quests that let players align themselves to Black Spire Outpost’s different factions using a reputation system like those from World of Warcraft.
A bonus effect for these quests–they send players physically around the park, helping keep foot traffic flowing and leading them to more physical attractions. Deshmane also discussed how the app keeps players entertained while waiting in line for rides like Millenium Falcon: Smuggler’s Run, alleviating the normal boredom of waiting in an hour-long line. How players perform in Smuggler’s Run and can be tracked, and sent to some cast members and animatronic actors who can offer unique responses to players based on their prior performance, much like how RPG characters in digital and tabletop settings.
Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge isn’t the first real-life location to borrow from the world of role-playing game mechanics, but it’s a neat exploration of how seemingly niche tools can be used to expand the experience of guests who are different kinds of Star Wars fans, from the newcomer to the lore-quoting veteran.
Since I was able to check out Galaxy’s Edge before COVID-19 swept across the nation, and compare it to the usual Disney experience, one of Deshmane’s quotes stood out for me, since it sums up how drastically different the park’s design is once you step onto Batuu. (You can even contrast it to the longstanding Star Tours ride to see how this philosophy holds up). “We really think of the land itself as an attraction,” she said. “This is where guests are spending most of their time, we know they love Star Wars for different reasons.
“Instead of seeing them as visitors to the land and telling them what to do, we see them as explorers on a new planet, and want to provide them the opportunity to become part of whatever stories pique their interest.”
5 Freelance Developer Tricks to Build a Sustainable Business
Do you want to thrive as a self-employed Python freelancer controlling your own time, income, and work schedule? Check out our Python freelancer resources:
