ENVE, or Enve is Not a Video Editor, is a new in development 2D animation software, completely free and open source. Even in this early state, Enve is remarkably capable animation tool, with a full suite of drawing tools for both vector and result art, including MyPaint brush integration.
ENVE is described as:
Enve is a new open-source 2D animation software for Linux and Windows. You can use enve to create vector animations, raster animations, and even use sound and video files. Enve was created with flexibility and expandability in mind.
The source code is available on GitHub under the GPLv3 license with binaries available for Windows and Linux. You can check out a complete review of ENVE in action in the video below.
Members of Team Nintendo Life have gathered together to discuss our weekend plans, and we’d love for you to join in via our poll and comment sections below. Enjoy!
Liam Doolan, news reporter
For the past few months, the only game I’ve really been playing on my Nintendo Switch is Animal Crossing: New Horizons. Nothing has really changed in that time – I’m still in debt, and I’m still in need of more Bells. As a result, I’ll be spending most of my weekend picking and selling fruit to pay off at least something, so I can then take out another loan from the bank of Nook and do it all again next week.
When I’m not busy paying off loans, I might finally test out the last major update for Super Mario Maker 2. There’s also a limited-time Animal Crossing event taking place in Tetris 99 this weekend, so I need to unlock that theme. That’s all for me!
Ryan Craddock, news editor
My time with Animal Crossing: New Horizons is still winding down more and more, but I’ll no doubt pop in each day for half an hour or so just to keep on top of the daily activities and check Nook’s Cranny for any particular juicy goods.
The majority of my free time this week, however, has been spent playing Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga on the good old Game Boy Advance. It’s been sitting on my shelf since childhood, and booting it up revealed that ten-year-old me only managed to put about an hour in before moving on to something else. I’ve been enjoying my time with it – especially the humour – and will keep going over the weekend. Between this and the Paper Mario reveal this week, I’m in a very Mario mood.
PJ O’Reilly, reviewer
This weekend it’s back to the Elder Scrolls for me for some Elder Scrolls: Blades review action. I’ll be interested to see how far the game’s come since I first dipped into it when it initially released back on mobile devices, here’s hoping they’ve done away with at least some of the constant timers and adverts and other pay to play elements that put me right off it back then.
Elsewhere, I’m still thoroughly enjoying blasting lumps out of thugs in Huntdown, it really is the best old-school run n’ gun effort I’ve played in a long time, and I’ll also be pulling out the old 3DS and introducing my kids to Paper Mario to let them get a taste of why I’ve been so excited about the announcement of The Origami King this week. Hope you’re all staying safe and have a good weekend.
Zion Grassl, video producer
I’m going to do my absolute best to make sure the only game I play this weekend isn’t just Animal Crossing (but honestly, no guarantees.) I’m finally starting to get a bit more creative with my island and have some new areas I’m working to decorate and spruce up! I ended up making a trading post area that I like to call “The Stop and Swop” ala Banjo-Kazooie, except Isabelle said she’s not the biggest fan of it since it mostly consists of some unsavory items like my old Moldy Dress, Frugal Hat, etc.
I did start playing Final Fantasy VII on Switch a few weeks back for our video review and have been trying to pick it back up when I notice myself with a bit of free time. I played it way back in the day and made it to the very last “dungeon” but put it down for some reason and never picked it back up! I think some part of me didn’t want the game and its story to be over, so hopefully with this new playthrough I’ll see the journey out to the very end.
Austin Voigt, contributing writer
I’ve finally gotten into my groove in Animal Crossing, where I log in for about an hour each day and just complete general tasks. Of course, this has opened up room for me to begin playing other things again. I’ll probably dig back into some of the games I was in the middle of before Animal Crossing Mania hit, like Luigi’s Mansion 3.
I’ve also been playing a lot of Overcooked 2 with friends and family online during the quarantine. Some new games I’ve downloaded over the past few months and have yet to try out include Good Job!, Picross S4 and Little Town Hero, as well. However, there are some new events kicking off in Animal Crossing soon… so who knows if I’ll actually ever get around to playing anything else!
Gavin Lane, features editor
I’m in the mood for some breezy co-op gaming this weekend. In our household we’ve been suffering from an Overcooked 2 addiction which has started to strain relationships. It’s a fantastic game, but we’ve bled it dry and those 4-star challenges are just too stressful. We’re in need of a fresh co-op experience and I’ve had my eye on Moving Out since it was first announced. I interviewed Ashley Ringrose from developer SMG Studio a little while ago (look out for that interview going up soon), and I’m eager to find out if I’ve got the makings of a great F.A.R.T. or not. *keeps straight face…*
Have a good one, everyone!
Gonçalo Lopes, contributing writer
I’ve just discovered something new and unexpected in Ring Fit Adventure – no spoilers – and Animal Crossing: New Horizons keeps finding new ways to keep me going back to the island. The eShop also saw yet another ridiculous amount of quality stuff this past week: Gravity Rider Zero, Pong Quest, The Elder Scrolls: Blades, Ion Fury and the superb Jet Lancer will all find their way into this weekend’s rotation.
My game of the week is a masterpiece by the name of Huntdown. Amazing to have another GOTY candidate mere days after the Streets of Rage 4 release. Now if you will excuse me, John Sawyer’s trigger finger is itching again. Time to kill, kill and then kill some more pixelated street scum.
As always, thanks for reading! Make sure to leave a vote in the poll above and a comment below with your gaming choices over the next few days…
Posted by: xSicKxBot - 05-17-2020, 02:17 AM - Forum: Lounge
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Doom Eternal's New Denuvo Anti-Cheat Protection Raises Eyebrows
Id Software has issued its first big update for Doom Eternal, with a host of changes and tweaks. Most of the changes were welcome, but among them was an anti-cheat tech on PC that has some players concerned about security vulnerabilities.
The official patch notes mention that the game now uses Denuvo Anti-Cheat, which uses a kernel-mode driver. The bullets regarding the device look to assuage concerns, stating that the driver starts when the game launches and stops when the game ends, and that it does not take screenshots, scan your file system, or stream shellcode. What it is doing is collecting information on how the OS interacts with the game, and then sends that data to the Amazon-hosted game servers.
The patch notes also point out it can be uninstalled through the "Add or remove programs" dialogue. Denuvo will also be uninstalled if you uninstall the game itself.
Review: Ion Fury – Hail To The Queen, The Old-School FPS Is Reborn
Ion Fury doesn’t just love 2.5D ‘90s shooters, it is a 2.5D ‘90s shooter. Developed by Voidpoint, a studio made up of veteran Build modders (the same engine used to create Duke Nukem all those years ago) and published by none other than 3D Realms, Ion Fury has all the hallmarks of a nostalgic killing spree down memory lane. Following hot the heels of similar retro-inspired shooters such as Dusk, Amid Evil and John Romero’s recent SIGIL, this indie FPS revels in the speed and carnage of its roots, offering up ten-ish hours of relentless action and exploration.
The game formerly known as Ion Maiden (you can guess which band sued the developers into oblivion) is technically a prequel, serving as an origin story of sorts for Shelly ‘Bombshell’ Harrison, last seen in the forgettable top-down shooter Bombshell from 2016. The good news is Ion Fury is a far more memorable experience, mainly because the studio clearly adores the era from which this shooter draws its inspirations, utilising its deep knowledge of the Build Engine to pack in as much detail as possible into every pixel. From neon-drenched streets to smoky bars and arcades, Neo DC – the game’s setting – drips with personality.
Ion Fury does feature a handful of modern improvements, such as automatic save points, headshots and the ability to play the game in a quality higher than painfully small ‘90s resolutions, but it’s still a refreshingly old school game. Whether you’re a ‘rush in, guns blazing’ type of player or someone who prefers to pop out of cover to headshot a grenade launcher-toting enemy with your revolver, Ion Fury will not hold your hand, even on the lowest of difficulties. This is a game made with the old corridor shooter way of thinking: learn your patterns, make your shots count and look high and low for health, armour and ammo.
There is some story there, but much like the misogynistic adventures of the Duke himself, it’s the action and the level design that do most of the talking. Levels twist back on each other, revealing new shortcuts and secret rooms, leading to backtracking that feels natural as you find new key cards to unlock new doors, collecting health, armour and ammunition as you go. Ion Fury isn’t particularly daring with its puzzles – it really does just boil down to opening new doors to continue through the level – and you’re soon left hoping for something more than the environmental conundrums of old.
Voidpoint has really pushed this version of the Build Engine to its limit, and while every enemy is effectively a walking cardboard cutout, there are little touches that really sell the whole experience, like the impressive fire effects – such as how you can set enemies aflame with incendiary rounds in a high-powered SMG – and how hitting an enemy with a shotgun shell up close will stagger them and force them back a few steps.
Despite being set in a dystopian world complete with neon-drenched cityscapes and gun-toting androids, Ion Fury’s arsenal weapons are oddly fun to wield, but ultimately end up feeling rather uninspired. There’s your usual raft of pistols, shotguns and SMGs, but after three decades of powerful shotguns, you’re left wanting something a little more creative. Each one does have an alternate firing mode, but the likes of Ratchet & Clank and Borderlands have made us connoisseurs of the boomstick variety, and you end up wishing Voidpoint had looked to the likes of Turok rather than Duke Nukem for its inspiration.
Some weapons are also so overpowered you’re unlikely to put them down in favour of the new guns you gradually unlock as you explore the game’s brief campaign. The shotgun, which you unlock with the first half-hour of the game, is so powerful in terms of range and accuracy that you can practically snipe distant enemies with a well-placed slug. It’s fun and empowering for the player, but it sort of defeats the point of utilising different weapons for different enemies and scenarios.
For all the fun that the levels themselves pose, the main boss fights that close each chapter definitely aren’t as enjoyable. Their respective patterns aren’t particularly tough to discern, but it’s the way each one throws an endless stream of enemies that makes these encounters far less palatable. Even manual saving is rendered pointless in these bullet hell-esque showdowns and most of the time you’re left wanting them to end so you can get back to the far more rewarding gunplay of the main game.
Conclusion
If you’re looking for a retro shooter that isn’t actually a 25-year-old port of a N64 game, then Ion Fury is the time-travelling love letter from the past you’ve been waiting for. While its weapons and boss fights won’t leave much of an imprint on your memory, the speed and intensity of its gunfights and the intricacy of its level designs more than make up for it. If you want to be punished and rewarded by the shooter principles of old, this is the new/old FPS for you.
Following the news earlier this week that the Purge TV show has been cancelled, there's more bad news for fans of the horror franchise. It has been reported that upcoming movie The Forever Purge has been pulled from its July release slot due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
According to Variety, The Forever Purge will no longer hit theaters on July 10, and does not currently have a rescheduled date. The movie was set to be the first major release in July, with Christopher Nolan's Tenet and Disney's live-action remake of Mulan currently scheduled for July 17 and July 24 respectively.
The Forever Purge is the fifth movie in Blumhouse's hugely successful dystopian horror series, which started in 2012. The film is directed by Everardo Gout and written by series creator James DeMonaco. DeMonaco has previously stated that this will be the final Purge film.
From time to time, I scour the depths of the community looking for pieces of art to inspire different builds in Destiny. Some pieces inspire my Gunslinger to embrace a darker vibe, or my Warlock to adorn the bones of a slain Ahamkara to enhance their Void abilities. Not only does this push me to some role-playing, it also improves my fashion game as I search for the perfect look for an Arc-charged Titan.
Our designers also frequently reference concept pieces to guide their hand on the feel of a season or activity. It’s pretty magical what a piece of art can do, and the subject of this week’s Community Focus has created some great content that, as a Destiny player, you can feel in your heart.
Please give a warm welcome to our friend, Aviixe.
Good morning! Hope you’re doing well. Let’s get you introduced to our wonderful community. Tell us a bit about yourself.
Aviixe: My name is Stephen, most people on the internet know me as Aviixe. I spend much of my time as a “self-taught” artist, always pushing to improve my skills, and I do commissions alongside that as well.
I played videogames pretty early into my childhood, my earliest memories being dominated by Halo and the LEGO games. My other siblings and I enjoyed playing four-person split-screen multiplayer on Halo CE, Halo 2, and Halo 3. I was always a pretty avid artist, drawing on anything and everything I could, but it wasn’t until shortly after the original Destiny came out that I decided to take art seriously. The game itself and its concept art looked beautiful, to put it simply.
You’ve got strong beginnings, Guardian. Let’s talk more about your art. When creating new pieces of Destiny art, how do you usually get started? What’s the spark of inspiration that gets you going?
A: I find just about every visual aspect of Destiny equally inspirational, whether it be a set of armor, a fun, new exotic, or a grand, gorgeous vista. But I think what I like most about Destiny are those moments of camaraderie between fellow players, strangers or friends.
Whether it’s a moment like having a dance party with some random players in the Tower, successfully completing a Seraph Towers public event without failing a charge cycle and everyone in the local chat is excited over getting the Triumph, or making a nerve-wracking comeback in the Trials of Osiris and your fireteam is recalling the highs and lows of the match. Those kinds of feelings are what I want to instill in my art.
Let’s talk gear. What Exotic have you been using lately?
A: Guardian Games has made me rediscover my love for the Sunbracers Exotic. It was actually the first Exotic armor I got back in Destiny 1, and the ornament that was introduced for it in the Black Armory season made me love it even more. The normal appearance and the ornament both look beautiful and I think it’s difficult to find an armor combination where they don’t look good. It’s also obviously very fun to be able to spam a ton of grenades with the right armor perks equipped, which made it super handy to quickly farm laurels in the Guardian Games. I don’t use Sunbracers as often as I’d like to, simply because different activities demand different loadouts, but they definitely stand out as my favorite Exotic.
Good on you for helping Warlocks secure the Silver bond from Guardian Games. Where do you find yourself most often when playing Destiny?
A: Honestly, my favorite mode is patrol. I really enjoy walking through the different beautifully crafted environments, looking through all the nooks and crannies, taking in all the little details, watching the clouds roll over or the sun setting.
I could spend hours with the HUD turned off, sitting against rocks, and taking screenshots from various vantage points. It’s kind of more fun than having an actual photo mode, though it’d be super awesome if that could be introduced to Destiny!
A true Wayfarer. You have my respect. If people wanted to follow you or your artistic endeavors, where would they find you?
Anything you’d want to say to the community while you’re in the spotlight?
A: The Destiny artists community is insanely supportive and I’m grateful for all the friends I’ve made over the life of the game. Their art is incredibly inspirational and they help me strive to be a better artist every day. Shout-outs to IanPesty, PlainBen, Lucero, Matt Oishi, COSMICraven, Lazesummerstone, Lilly, Lintu, Faysal Mekki, Dulcamarra, Marou and countless more wonderful community members. Lots of love and appreciation to my Destiny playmates as well, past and current, for providing a myriad of fun memories. Shout-outs to Gabe, Phil, Ethan, Nate, Tim, Matt, Dillon, Paul, and both Jons. Also, thanks to Bungie for all the work you do on Destiny. <3
Thank you for spending time with us, Aviixe. It’s always a pleasure to have artists in focus. Have a great weekend, and we’ll see you starside!
If you have any recommendations for future Community Focus articles, feel free to let us know! Additionally, if you’re an artist in the Destiny community, be sure to submit your pieces to the Community Creations page on Bungie.net. We frequently share content from this portal, and grant a unique emblem, created specifically for artists, to those who are featured.
Are you an advancement hunter? Have you completed all there was to Minecraft? Never fear, Nether Advancements are here! Happy hunting all!
Added new Game Mode Switcher debug menu
Added new Nether Advancements
GAME MODE SWITCHER
New F3 debug feature which allows you to switch game modes with traditional “tabbing” functionality.
Hold F3 and tap F4 to open the menu
Tapping F4 will cycle the game mode, or you can use the mouse
Release F3 to apply
Your last game mode is remembered and will be the first selected option, so you can quickly toggle between two game modes with a single press of F3 + F4!
F3 + N (TOGGLE SPECTATOR)
A small change has been made to this debug combination.
By default, using this key would return to Creative after toggling from Spectator. It now will toggle back to the previous game mode you had
As an example, if you were in Survival, then toggled to Spectator and back, you would be set back to Survival
NEW ADVANCEMENTS
Hidden in the Depths unlocks when obtaining Ancient Debris
Cover Me in Debris unlocks when obtaining full Netherite armor
Country Lode, Take Me Home unlocks when using a Compass on a Lodestone
Who Is Cutting Onions? unlocks when obtaining Crying Obsidian
Not Quite “Nine” Lives unlocks when setting a Respawn Anchor to the maximum
This Boat Has Legs unlocks when riding a Strider with a Fungus on a Stick
Hot Tourist Destinations unlocks when visiting all Biomes in the Nether
Those Were the Days unlocks when entering a Bastion Remnant
War Pigs unlocks when looting a chest in a Bastion Remnant
Oh Shiny unlocks when distracting an angry Piglin with gold
The Bullseye advancement now unlocks when hitting the bullseye of a target block from at least 30 meters away
The Serious Dedication advancement is now awarded for obtaining a Netherite Hoe
Obtaining Blackstone now also counts for the Stone Age advancement
Breeding Striders now counts for `The Parrots and the Bats` and is now required for Two by Two
Shulkers with NoAI can now be summoned with rotation.
Xbox Insider Release Notes – Alpha Ring (2005.200506-0000)
Hey Alpha ring users! Today’s Xbox Insider Release Notes highlight the latest fixes, known issues, and features coming to your console. Starting at 6 p.m. PT today, users will receive the latest 2005 Xbox One system update (build: RS_XBOX_RELEASE_2005\19041.2486.200506-0000). Keep reading for more details.
System Update Details:
OS version released: RS_XBOX_RELEASE_2005\19041.2486.200506-0000
Available: 6 p.m. PT – May 6, 2020
Mandatory: 3 a.m. PT – May 7, 2020
Fixes for Alpha
We’ve heard your feedback, and we’re happy to announce the following fixes have been implemented for this 2005 build:
Game DVR
We’ve fixed an issue where game clips were not recording at all or not recording the correct length.
System
Various updates to properly reflect local languages across the console
Known Issues for Alpha
We understand some issues have been listed in previous Xbox Insider Release Notes. These issues aren’t being ignored, but it will take Xbox engineers more time to find a solution. We appreciate your patience at this time!
Audio
Users who have Dolby Atmos enabled and console display settings set to 120hz with 36 bits per pixel (12-bit) are experiencing loss of Dolby Atmos audio in some situations.
Workaround: Disable 120hz or set Video Fidelity to 30 bits per pixel (10-bit) or lower.
Some users have reported that Dolby Atmos for Headphones audio setting changes when the console is rebooted/updated.
Note: If you attempt to set the audio to Dolby Atmos for Headphones and see a message advising you to launch the Dolby Access App, please file feedback before launching the app.
Guide
Some users are reporting that they are not seeing Gamerpics or Profile information in the Friends tab. We are aware of the issue and investigating.
We’ve received reports that the Friends tab is not showing the correct status of online/offline friends.
Some users may notice that the Guide has changed appearance and functionality, this is expected behavior as there are certain experiences being flighted among a random subset of users in Preview.
My Games & Apps
Users have reported seeing black tiles instead of game artwork when browsing their collection.
Note: We are still investigating the issue, please report the issue again from the console if you have done so with a prior update and are still seeing this behavior.
Some titles in collection may appear with a “trial” tag incorrectly in collection.
Profile Color
Sometimes users may encounter the incorrect Profile color when powering on the console.
Are you not seeing your issue listed above? Make sure to use Report a problem to keep us informed of your issue. We may not be able to respond to everyone, but the data we’ll gather is crucial to finding a resolution. Learn more about feedback and how each ring is differentiated in the following links: For more information regarding the Xbox Insider Program follow us on Twitter and join the community subreddit for support and updates. Keep an eye on future Xbox Insider Release Notes for more information regarding your Xbox One Update Preview ring!
Former Xbox exec J Allard is now Intellivision’s global managing director
J Allard, one of the key figures behind the early days of Xbox, has joined up with Intellivision Entertainment ahead of the company’s big Intellivision Amico launch later this year.
The new position sees Allard as Intellivision’s global managing director, a role Intellivision tells VentureBeat will task him with supporting the upcoming retro console debut by managing a number of operations critical to that launch, including UX, developer support, and more.
“This week has me back on the field and not just cheering from the stands — it’s a great feeling,” Allard tells VentureBeat. “There’s a need, an opportunity, and a terrific, scrappy team committed to take it on.”
Humble’s indie game publishing biz is now Humble Games
Humble is doing a bit of a makeover on its publishing branch, and unveiled Humble Games today as a dedicated, cross platform game publishing division focused on working alongside indie teams.
If Humble as a indie publisher sounds a bit familiar, its because the company previously took aim at supporting independent game development through its Humble Original endeavors. That first stab started funding games to be featured Humble Monthly game bundles, a subscription service that has since been rebooted as Humble Choice.
Humble Games takes a wider approach than Original. As Humble Games, the company is looking to once again work with indie developers and leverage its platform and expertise to help them to launch and beyond, on PC as well as consoles. At the onset, Humble is offering up marketing help, financing, and assistance with milestones while promising partner devs will retain both creative control and IP ownership throughout the process.
“With a dedication to gamers and developers alike, Humble Games is a publisher willing to challenge the norm that has been expected of its predecessors. More Games. Better Games. Fairer Deals. All while prioritizing social impact and social good,” explains the Humble team.
Game developers curious about the company’s latest publishing push can find more info over on the new Humble Games site.
