Month: April 2017

Hardware | Donster | |

xplane-11Source: Blue’s News

Laminar Research announces the launch of XPlane 11 for Windows and OS X, offering the latest installment in the flight simulation series. Word is: “XPlane 11 continues the evolution of the desktop version of XPlane. Over the years it has always been the policy of Laminar Research to continually improve XPlane, providing the most realistic flight simulation available, with flight modeling so accurate that it has been adopted by numerous commercial aviation organizations.” This can be picked up from the Aerosoft website, and you can get a look at this in this trailer. Here’s word:

XPlane 11 continues this evolution with new aircraft, scenery, and 3-D airports. This new version also incorporates the newest technology available in computing and graphics processing, resulting in breathtaking visual and dynamic effects.

Some of the major features of X-Plane 11 include:

  • A brand new intuitive user interface and control setup
  • A completely overhauled aircraft fleet with detailed documentation, plus multiple new aircraft
  • High-resolution exteriors and detailed 3-D cockpits for many aircraft
  • New global auto-gen scenery with both European and North American details
  • The latest road placement and global scenery from open street map are included
  • Now with over 3000 airports with 3-D buildings & airport scenery
  • Airports are now populated with dynamic, driving service vehicles and static and dynamic aircraft.
  • New rendering engine for enhanced lighting and water effects
  • Updated weather and atmospheric effects
  • Enhanced performance from the modern 64-bit engine

The boxed version of XPlane 11 is available at: www.aerosoft.com

Flight Simulation XPlane 11 | Donster | |

europa-universalis-iv-mandate-of-heavenGo for the Golden Era in Mandate of Heaven

With one eye on the rising sun and another eye on a glorious future, Europa Universalis IV: Mandate of Heaven is available today. Mandate of Heaven is the new expansion to Paradox Development Studio’s flagship franchise about exploration, religious turmoil, economic dominance and conquest. Taking its name from the Chinese belief that their empire was divinely ordained, Mandate of Heaven will bless your ambitions for years to come.

At the center of Mandate of Heaven, players will find the new Historical Ages system and the associated Golden Eras. The four centuries of play are divided into four Historical Ages, each with seven objectives and seven special abilities that can be unlocked. If you accomplish three objectives in an Age, you may choose to initiate a Golden Era, giving your empire 50 years of prosperity and military prowess. But choose your time wisely! You only get one Golden Era per game.

Mandate of Heaven’s other features include:

  • Empire of China: The Chinese Emperor has great powers at his disposal, and the efficient bureaucrats keep things running smoothly. But greedy neighbors may seek to take the Mandate of Heaven for themselves.
  • Ashikaga Shogunate: The Japanese Shogunate has been reworked for more interaction and political considerations among the daimyo. As Shogun, carefully balance the pride of your subjects or compel them to choose and honorable death.
  • Confucian Harmony: Keep order in your eastern realm or risk short term spiritual disruption in exchange for long term religious harmony.
  • Shinto Isolation: Will your Japanese kingdom seek benefits in an open society or promote greater unity through closed doors? Major incidents will challenge your aspirations.
  • Tributaries: Eastern empires can persuade weaker neighbors to pay an annual tribute in gold, manpower or monarch points in this new subject nation format.
  • Diplomatic Macro Builder: New addition to the left-hand side macrobuilder automates many repeated diplomatic tasks.
  • And more including Chinese meritocracy and Manchu Banner troops

As usual, Mandate of Heaven launches alongside a major free update to Europa Universalis IV that improves and updates many aspects of the core game experience.

Watch the Europa Universalis IV: Mandate of Heaven release trailer HERE.

Starting later today, a number of Paradox Interactive titles will go on sale on Steam for the weekend, including the Europa Universalis IV core game. Ambitious rulers who have yet to try their hand at world conquest will have the perfect opportunity to try the latest version of the game alongside its newest expansion. Europa Universalis IV: Mandate of Heaven is available now on Steam and the official Paradox Store for $19.99.

scourge-of-war-wavreThe expansion for the acclaimed real-time wargame Scourge of War: Waterloo is finally here!

Scourge of War: Wavre will put you in command of the French forces of the aile droite of the l’Armée du Nord lead by Marshal Groucy, or hold the line with the Prussians of Johann von Thielmann and protect the rear of Blucher’s Army!

Are you ready to fight in the last battle of the Napoleonic Wars?

Grab the game here!

Scourge of War: Wavre is available also on Steam!

gigabyte-aorus-gtx-1080-ti-xtreme-11gBy Hilbert Hagedoorn @ Guru3D

Gigabyte is releasing several GeForce GTX 1080 models, yet the flagship graphics card from from that GeForce GTX 1080 Ti just arrived in our labs for testing! It is the sweet Gigabyte Aorus GTX 1080 Ti Xtreme 11G. This GeForce GTX 1080 Ti comes all customized with an impressive PCB and component design, Windforce 3X cooler, RGB LEDs, extra on-board HDMI connectors and the looks to impress.

Read The Review Here

Hardware Video Cards | Donster | |

nvidia-geforce-logoSource: TechPowerUp!

NVIDIA today released GeForce 381.65 WHQL “Game Ready” drivers. The drivers come with optimization for “Quake Champions” closed beta. This isn’t, however, the biggest change with these drivers. These are the first WHQL-signed drivers from NVIDIA to support WDDM 2.2, and with it, the upcoming Windows 10 Creators Update, due for April 11th. The drivers also add DTS X and Dolby Atmos support for 5.1.2 speaker configuration through the GPU’s in-built audio controller (which outputs from the HDMI and DP connectors). Also added is support for Dolby Vision. Games “Snake Pass” and “Kona” get support for NVIDIA Ansel. There’s also the curious case of the driver’s release-notes mentioning “Added support for the NVIDIA TITAN Xp.”

You can download the new GeForce 381.65 WHQL drivers from GeForce Experience and GeForce.com.

Hardware Video Cards | Donster | |

nvidia-titan-xpSource: Videocards.com

Would you expect another TITAN? Well, I didn’t, but it’s here. Full GP102 graphics processor with 3840 CUDA cores is now available for 1200 USD.

The new TITAN, which is now called Xp ships with 12 GB GDDR5X memory across 384-bus. What’s new is memory speed which is set to 11.4 Gbps, even higher than GTX 1080 Ti. This results in 547.7 GB/s of bandwidth.

The boost clock is set to 1582 MHz, which means over 12 TFLOPs of computing power.

According to the official specs, this model supports 8K@60Hz resolution.

NVIDIA TITAN Xp is the world’s most powerful graphics card. Incredible computing horsepower and groundbreaking NVIDIA Pascal™ architecture give you the power to accomplish things you never thought possible.

The card is already available for sale on NVIDIA website for 1200 USD.

Hardware Video Cards | Donster | |

steel-division-normandy-44Exclusive Beta Access Included in Pre-order Bonuses

Paradox Interactive, a publisher of triple-ace strategy titles, today announced that Steel Division: Normandy 44 will release on May 23, 2017, and that pre-orders are now available. Developed by Eugen Systems, the veteran game creators of the Wargame series, Steel Division: Normandy 44 is the upcoming tactical real-time strategy game for Windows PCs that puts players in command of World War II military divisions. Pre-orders include in-game bonus content, as well as immediate access to the game’s exclusive beta, lasting from now until the game launches on May 23, 2017. Steel Division: Normandy 44 can be pre-ordered at https://www.paradoxplaza.com/steel-division-normandy-44.

Take an early glimpse at Steel Division: Normandy 44 in a new trailer HERE.

Players can now pre-order Steel Division: Normandy 44 for $39.99/£34,99/€39,99, or the Deluxe Edition for $59.99/£49,99/€59,99. Both versions include access to the game’s exclusive beta with pre-order, allowing players to access and play the game early and get a feel for the battlefield. Both versions also include two historical aces as a pre-order bonus, giving division leaders new cosmetic faces to put in command of their vehicles.

The Deluxe Edition of Steel Division: Normandy 44, in addition to the full game, will also include:

  • A Digital Art Book offering a look at the art and creation behind the game
  • The Tactical Guide and Battle Log featuring tactics, terrain tips, and major maps of the game
  • Six Additional In-game Historical Aces to add cosmetic variety to your divisions.
  • Deluxe Avatar and Icon for the Paradox Forums
  • Unique Ringtones and Text Message Alert Sounds for your mobile devices
  • Desktop Wallpapers from the Steel Division art team
  • Custom Streaming Overlays designed for content creators on Twitch and YouTube

Steel Division: Normandy 44 is a Tactical Real-Time Strategy (RTS) game, developed by Eugen Systems, the creators of titles like Wargame and R.U.S.E. This new game puts players in command of detailed, historically accurate tanks, troops, and vehicles at the height of World War II. Players can measure their tactical skills against several opponents in big multiplayer battles or against enemies in a challenging single-player campaign.

For more information on Steel Division: Normandy 44, visit the games official website.

total-war-warhammer-2Source: TechPowerUp!

Creative Assembly is one of the biggest players in the RTS genre – a genre that is exclusive to our platform of choice. You do have leave out some outliers like Halo Wars – of which its second installment was indeed developed by Creative Assembly itself – and Command & Conquer 3, but those are the exceptions that prove the rule: the PC is the place to strategize.

Now, Creative Assembly has announced yet another iteration on their Total War series of game, which borrow from Civilization’s “just one more turn” addictiveness. And this one is set on one of the most cherished IPs in gaming: the Warhammer universe. The first Total War: Warhammer was a poster child for DX 12 integration and performance improvements (at least on the AMD side of the equation). Total War: Warhammer II should also carry some of those optimizations with it, and the second installment in a planned trilogy of RTS titles on the receiving end of the Total War treatment.

Watch the Total War: Warhammer 2 Announcement Cinematic Trailer HERE.

Read on…

call-of-duty-infinite-warfareFeatures Four New Multiplayer Maps Including Re-Imagining of the Modern Warfare 2 Classic, Rust

Activision and Infinity Ward have released the first details for Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare Continuum, the second DLC Map Pack for 2016’s No. 1 top-selling console video game in the U.K. (excluding hardware bundle sales), Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare. Featuring four diverse, new multiplayer maps, and a new zombies co-op experience called Shaolin Shuffle, set in a ‘70s era New York disco-zombie fright fest, Continuum is scheduled for release April 18th, first on the PlayStation® Network for the PlayStation®4, with other platforms to follow.

We couldn’t be more excited to deliver a new co-op zombies chapter with Shaolin Shuffle, with an all-new setting and story, that continues the wild and increasingly twisted narrative,” said Dave Stohl, Studio Head of Infinity Ward. “For multiplayer, we’re creating a diverse set of maps from Turista and Scrap, to Archive, that cater to various play styles in cool ways and allow fans to experiment with different rigs and loadouts. And then there’s Rust, one of our all-time favourite maps from Modern Warfare® 2, re-imagined and now called Excess to complete the multiplayer package.

Shaolin Shuffle, the next thrilling chapter of the Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare zombies experience, features the return of Willard Wyler, the mysterious movie director villain portrayed with voice and likeness by Paul Reubens (Pee-wee’s Big Holiday, Gotham). This time, Wyler has trapped the four protagonists inside a new horror film, set in the unforgettable 1970s. Players will face all-new zombie enemies across a variety of disco-era New York locations, including subways, flashy nightclubs and a martial arts dojo headed up by the “Shaolin Sister,” played with voice and likeness by Pam Grier (Jackie Brown, Foxy Brown). In addition to hallmark Call of Duty action, Shaolin Shuffle introduces four unlockable kung-fu fighting styles, each with its own set of unique combat moves. Seth Green (Robot Chicken, Austin Powers) as “the Punk Rocker;” Ike Barinholtz (Neighbours, Suicide Squad) as “the Sleazebag;” Jay Pharoah (Saturday Night Live, Ride Along) as “the Street Poet;” and Sasheer Zamata (Saturday Night Live, Inside Amy Schumer) as “the Disco Chick,” all return from the ongoing story in this all-new experience.

Watch the Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare: Shaolin Shuffle Trailer HERE.

In addition to the Shaolin Shuffle zombies content, Continuum will also include four new multiplayer maps:

  • Turista – A plush spa and resort, Turista is nestled in the middle of a giant skeleton of an ancient creature. With sniper spots scattered across a majestic, central waterfall, Turista also boasts tight interiors for fans of close-quartered combat and a three-lane design that caters to a variety of play styles.
  • Scrap – Set in an abandoned junkyard on the Moon, Scrap features a combination of extended sightlines and tactical pathways that reward players who engage in both long and short range combat.
  • Archive – Fast, frenetic engagements set the pace in Archive, a post-futurist art gallery where tight engagements contrast with open exterior battlegrounds in this wide three-lane style map.
  • Excess – Perched atop a gilded penthouse in a sprawling future metropolis, Excess is a small, circular map re-imagined from the classic Modern Warfare 2 map, Rust, that retains the intense, fast-paced combat from the original.

Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare Continuum DLC Map Pack is available for a great value via the Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare Season Pass, which can be purchased on its own or obtained as part of the Legacy Pro or Digital Deluxe editions of the game. Season Pass gives discounted access to all four Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare DLC Map Packs released during 2017. Upon purchase, Season Pass owners also receive the three new base weapons released to date, as well as 10 Rare Supply Drops and 1,000 bonus Salvage Credits to craft new prototype weapons.

For more information, please visit www.callofduty.com.