Month: November 2014

By Don Woligroski @ Tom’s Hardware

Better late than never, though. Today Sapphire introduces its Vapor-X R9 290X 8GB card, a factory overclocked model with twice the amount of RAM found on the reference 290X that was released just over one year ago. A lot has changed in that year, but most importantly Nvidia has launched the similarly-performing $330 GeForce GTX 970, pushing the Radeon R9 290X’s original $550 MSRP down to a the same range. From a marketing perspective the timing is right for Sapphire to release a 290X with twice the video memory, at a time when the Radeon R9 290X can use an edge against the tough Nvidia competitor.

Read The Review Here

Check out these latest hardware announcements for today from around the web. Also included are some hardware news bits, and on some days, a few rumors tossed in for good measure. Click on the links below to read the official press release, visit the products web page, or to an independent news source.

• AMD Confirms 8GB VRAM Bump For Radeon R9 290X And Civ: Beyond Earth Bundle
• Club 3D Launches R9 290X 8Gb royalAce Graphics Card
• Sapphire Ships New 8GB R9 290X Vapor-X OC Graphics Card
• PowerColor Launches Radeon R9 290X PCS+ 8GB
• MSI R9 290X GAMING 8G Graphics Card Now Available
• XFX Radeon R9 290X Double Dissipation 8GB Smiles for the Camera
• True Wireless GAMING with New X99S GAMING 9 AC and Z97 GAMING 9 AC Motherboards with ACK
• Spire Announces the Swirl IV CPU Cooler
• ASUS X99-Pro Motherboard Now Available
• Reported Fraud By Moneual Executives Brings Zalman Tech To Bankruptcy
• MSI Adds Two FM2+ A68H Chipset Based Motherboards
• Tesoro Unveils Excalibur RGB 16.8 Million Color Mechanical Gaming Keyboard
• Logitech G Unveils G302 Daedalus Prime MOBA Gaming Mouse - VIDEO
• Xigmatek Announces Maverick S Line of Power Supplies
• Xigmatek Also Launches the Eris Cube-type Mini-ITX Case
• MSI Readies GeForce GTX 970 GAMING Gold Edition
• NZXT’s H440 Razer ‘Special Edition’ Now Available
• EK Water Blocks Announces AMD Tonga Pro Full-Cover Water Block Starts Shipping
• EK Introduces GIGABYTE X99 Series Motherboard Water Blocks
• Dell’s 27-Inch 5K Monitor Available Soon For Under $2000

Concluding part of our series on Japanese aircraft carrier operations in early WWII

By John Dudek @ The Wargamer

The small Japanese naval task force sailed sedately along on this sunny 24 August 1942 morning, a hundred miles off the northerly coast of Guadalcanal, with the light carrier RYUJO escorted by a heavy cruiser and two destroyers. It was a near picture perfect South Pacific day and all was serene until the sudden and unexpected arrival of an airstrike of 30 American Dauntless dive bombers and 8 TBF Avenger torpedo planes from the US aircraft carrier SARATOGA. Four bomb hits, and at least one torpedo ripped into RYUJO knocking out the ship’s boiler room, leaving her dead in the water with an ever growing list to starboard. An escorting destroyer removed most of her crew but 133 men and officers were lost as the ship capsized to starboard, revealing an insulting torpedo hole in her bottom. Before the attack, the captain of one of the destroyers, who was an Etta Jima Naval academy classmate to Ryujo’s skipper, had worried about the carrier’s lack of any combat air patrol overhead in these fiercely contested waters so close to Guadalcanal’s US Marine airstrip at Henderson Field. Using a signal man’s light, he blinkered the carrier, inquiring as to the reason for the lack of any protective fighter aircraft escort patrolling overhead. He received the blinkered light answer from his class mate skipper. “Deeply appreciate the admonition. Will try and co-ordinate better in the future.” An instant later, Zero fighter planes, with their engines turning, appeared on the carrier’s flight deck carried up from the hangar deck below. After launching two air strikes bound for Henderson Field, RYUJO launched an additional small CAP overhead just in time to meet the inbound American airstrike who soon caused the carrier’s complete destruction. The Battle of Guadalcanal and the six month campaign around the Solomon Islands soon sounded a second major, death knell of Japanese aircraft carrier aviation in WWII. The first death knell, with its ruinous and ever mounting attrition rate of so many highly trained pilots and their air crews, began with the Battle’s of the Coral Sea and especially so at Midway. However, they were only a portent of the incredible amount of blood letting of Japanese pilots and planes that would later take place throughout the embattled Solomon Islands.

Read on…

Strongholds enhancements and new Team Battles mode bring new fight to the battlefield

Wargaming today announced Update 9.4 for World of Tanks has released in North America and Europe, and will go live in Asia and Korea on November 6. The newest update introduces significant improvements to Strongholds, reworked Team Battles mode, and a new historical map Stalingrad, an extremely realistic imagining of 1942 Stalingrad.

Strongholds and the structures that produce Reserves for a Clan have been extended to level 10. In addition, Clans now have the ability to seek out and attack other Clan Strongholds and each Clan is able to designate specific times where they are available to defend opposing Clan attacks. Both of these actions can be completed by any Clan member.

“With Strongholds, we are creating an ecosystem for World of Tanks Clan players,” said Anton Pankov, Executive Publishing Producer at Wargaming. “We have continued to augment Strongholds with additional features since the release in 9.2, and plan to regularly develop content for the new metagame based heavily on player feedback.”

The all-new 7/54 mode format redesigns Team Battles play and adds 11 maps specifically adjusted for 7vs7 gameplay. The new setup will eliminate camping and low tier scout tanks from gameplay by requiring players to create a team of Tier 6–8 tanks adding up to a Tier total of 54. Each team will have a defined role in gameplay; the attacking team will attempt to capture one of the two enemy bases while the other one will defend those bases until the timer runs out or the opposing team has been destroyed.

• Strongholds Video
• Team Battles Video

Click Here for more information about World of Tanks.

Bohemia Interactive has released the Arma 3 Helicopters DLC – the second premium DLC for Arma 3. Featuring the highly detailed CH-67 Huron and Mi-290 Taru, the DLC adds new helicopters, the Sling Loading showcase scenario, and helicopter Time Trial challenges (watch new trailer).

The CH-67 Huron is a twin-engine, tandem rotor heavy-lift helicopter. Its primary role is the transportation of troops, vehicles and cargo – and is available in both an armed and transport variant. The Mi-290 Taru is a heavy utility helicopter with coaxial rotors and a unique modular construction. Various mission pods enable the Taru to serve many different roles. It can transport cargo, troops, and provide battlefield supplies (ammunition, fuel, repair facilities, and medical equipment). Both helicopters are also capable of sling loading, which is a brand new feature in Arma 3 – and is further demonstrated in the premium Sling Loading showcase scenario. The Helicopters DLC also features four exclusive Time Trials, where helicopter pilots can show off their skills by winning the gold medal.

The Helicopters DLC is supported by a free Arma 3 platform update – released alongside the Helicopters DLC. The 1.34 update includes the brand new Support multiplayer mode, where players need to provide various types of helicopter support – such as troop transport and medevac – in a Sector Control multiplayer scenario. In preparation of the new multiplayer mode, players can enroll in the brand new VR Training helicopter stages, and learn the ropes of rotary flight. In addition, Arma 3 content creators will be happy to learn that a variety of new in-game objects, ranging from landing platforms to military decorations and more, have also been added in the new update.

The Arma 3 platform update also introduces several major new features to Arma 3. For instance, players can now choose to enable the optional RotorLib helicopter flight model, which is an upgraded version of the flight model used in Bohemia Interactive’s Take On Helicopters, and provides an even more authentic helicopter flight experience. Furthermore, the platform update includes the aforementioned new ability to sling load cargo, which places a stronger emphasis on the importance of logistics on the battlefield. Last but certainly not least, the update implements the much-anticipated firing-from-vehicles feature – enabling passengers to engage targets while seated in a vehicle.

“With this DLC, we’ve turned our attention towards enhancing helicopter flight, but there’s much more to it than that alone. With our new features and content, combined arms gameplay in general has benefitted, and the Arma 3 platform is all the better for it!”, said Jay Crowe, Creative Director on Arma 3.

The Arma 3 Helicopters DLC is now available for 12.99 EUR/10.99 GBP/15.99 USD on Steam and Store.bistudio.com. People can save 25% by purchasing the Arma 3 DLC Bundle, which includes the Arma 3 Karts, Arma 3 Helicopters, and the upcoming Arma 3 Marksmen DLC, for 19.99 EUR/16.99 GBP/24.99 USD on Steam and Store.bistudio.com.

For more information about Arma 3 Helicopters, please visit helicopters.arma3.com.

EXO-LLENT

By Brian Albert, IGN

Advanced Warfare has gone to great lengths to reinvigorate Call of Duty. From the unsettling vision of powerful mercenaries run amok in 2054 America, to the cybernetically enhanced abilities, to the touch of a whole new lead development team at Sledgehammer Games, this iteration is the biggest and most successful departure from what’s expected from a Call of Duty game since Modern Warfare brought the series into the 21st century. Advanced Warfare definitely hasn’t discarded the the excellent, fast-paced run-and-gun shooting that made Call of Duty a household name; instead, it’s taken that strength and committed itself completely to the idea that mobility and flexibility are king, making it faster and more focused than any Call of Duty game before it.

Read on…

Source: techPowerUp!

While AMD launches WHQL-signed drivers every three or so months, NVIDIA seems to be making a habit of launching one ahead of every major game release. The company’s new 344.60 WHQL “Game Ready” drivers, released today, come just in time for the year’s biggest shooter, Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare. In addition, the driver comes with an updated PhysX System Software (version 9.14.0702), CUDA (version 6.5), and GeForce Experience (16.13.56.0). Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare doesn’t support Windows XP, so NVIDIA didn’t bother with an update for that OS. Grab your driver from the links below.

You can download the GeForce 344.60 WHQL drivers from the GeForce website.

New Era of Call of Duty Begins, Highly Acclaimed Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare Now Available Worldwide with First Ever Limited Access Day Zero Edition

Starring Academy Award® Winning Actor Kevin Spacey, New Call of Duty Delivers a Stunning Vision of the Future

New Call of Duty Studio Sledgehammer Games Puts its Stamp on the Franchise Starting with Game Changing Exo Movement System

Power changes everything starting today, as Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare Day Zero Edition is now available worldwide. Eager fans lined up at midnight at thousands of retail locations around the globe to get access to the Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare Day Zero Edition, available today. The new title from Activision Publishing, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Activision Blizzard, Inc., marks the first Call of Duty game led by developer Sledgehammer Games and the first time for a three-year development cycle. Advanced Warfare also introduces the exoskeleton – the biggest core movement change in franchise history. With the power of the exo, players can boost jump, dodge, slam and more through a visceral and compelling new story; built from the ground up multiplayer experience; and a brand new cooperative mode for the complete entertainment package that only Call of Duty can deliver.

Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare envisions a powerful future, where both technology and tactics have evolved to create a ripped-from-the-headlines-of-tomorrow story. Kevin Spacey stars as Jonathan Irons – one of the most powerful men in the world – shaping this chilling vision of the future of war. Based on plausible technology and extensive research, the all-new story, conceived by the storytellers at Sledgehammer Games, introduces a world where private military corporations (PMCs) wield more might than national governments, and soldiers fight not for country but for profit; militaries for the highest bidder. These PMCs are outfitted with the latest in combat technology – the exoskeleton – empowering soldiers to overcome enemies with incredible and varied abilities, giving them a whole new way to traverse the battlefield. This is war like never before.

Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare also drops players into an adrenaline-filled multiplayer experience, allowing fans to take the exoskeleton and its array of special abilities online. A first for the franchise, the power of the exoskeleton introduces all-new ways to manoeuvre combat situations on the ground and in the air, alongside an arsenal of futuristic weapon technology that affords players more ways to take opponents on, all while maintaining the signature breakneck Call of Duty multiplayer feel. Fans have more options than ever when customising their multiplayer soldier with the new Create-an-Operator system, featuring gear and appearance personalisation from head to toe. Players and their tailor-made advanced soldiers will benefit from the all-new Supply Drop system, unlocking weapons, gear and cosmetic items through extended play. With 13 included maps out of the box and several new modes, Advanced Warfare is the complete multiplayer package.

Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare also debuts Exo-Survival, a 1-4-player, new cooperative experience. The new mode is a frenetic, cooperative battle to fight off waves of unrelenting exoskeleton-suited enemies in a struggle to stay alive. Players can upgrade their weapons, exo abilities, scorestreaks, perks and more as they try to survive. Communication, teamwork and positioning are crucial components for a successful strategy to handle the Exo-Survival swarm.

In addition to up to 24 hours of early access, the Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare Day Zero Edition also gives players access to two custom in-game weapons, the AK-12G assault rifle and Crossbow-B2, a full day of double XP on 3rd November, and access to the Advanced Arsenal. The Advanced Arsenal consists of an in-game custom Bullet Brass exoskeleton and in-game custom EM1 Quantum weapon.

Also available today, is the Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare Season Pass. The Season Pass lets gamers access four Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare DLC Map Packs to be released in 2015 at a bundled discount. With Season Pass, gamers get instant access to the Atlas Gorge Bonus Multiplayer Map, a re-envisioning of the fan favourite Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare map. Pipeline. The DLC Map Packs will be available on the Xbox Live online entertainment network from Microsoft first and pricing and release dates may vary by platform.

For the latest intel, check out: www.callofduty.com.