Month: December 2018

Gaijin Entertainment has today announced the release of Update 1.85 “Supersonic” for the vehicular combat MMO War Thunder. As the game’s most extensive expansion this year, it has added nearly 50 new vehicles including the first supersonic jet aircraft with guided air-to-air missiles, a new Italian ground vehicles tech tree, new modern tanks such as the U.S. M3 Bradley and Soviet T-72A, as well as new destroyers and light cruisers for Naval Forces.

With Update 1.85, Aviation in War Thunder has seen the dawn of a new era of air combat. The game’s previous five ranks of aircraft have been extended by the new top Rank VI, which will house several new near- and supersonic aircraft armed with guided air-to-air missiles. The first modern jet fighters to join War Thunder will be the American F-100D Super Sabre, the British Gloster Javelin Mk 9 and the Soviet MiG-19PT. Combat at supersonic speed will be subject to War Thunder’s realistic physics model, allowing players to observe the cone-shaped vapor cloud and those on the ground to hear the characteristic “sonic boom”.

Aircraft on Rank VI, as well as helicopters, can now be equipped with infrared guided air-to-air missiles as a new type of armament. These early guided missiles, while lethal when striking an unsuspecting enemy, are not very maneuverable and can be avoided by quick evasive maneuvers. A new warning system, which will alert affected players of an incoming attack, will help to do it in time. On helicopters, which are more limited in their evasion abilities, players can deploy infrared countermeasures for their own protection.

The Ground Forces of War Thunder have also seen a major addition this update, with almost 30 Italian vehicles from the 1930s to the end of the Cold War now available in-game. This includes vehicles such as the Breda 501 and B1 Centauro, which are excellent examples for Italy’s impressive lineup of fast and powerful wheeled combat vehicles. The anti-aircraft tank OTOMATIC is also sure to please Italian tankers on higher ranks, as its fast and powerful 76mm cannon with both sabot and proximity-fuse shells can punish enemy tanks and aircraft equally efficiently. For the other nations, the new vehicles include the long-awaited T-72A main battle tank for the Soviet Union, the ATGM-equipped infantry fighting vehicles M3 Bradley and Type 89 for United States and Japan respectively, as well as the Israeli Sho’t Kal Dalet, a modified Centurion tank available for Great Britain.

The War Thunder Naval Forces will also see several new additions, with two new destroyers as well as the four new cruisers, the U.S. USS Raleigh (CL-7), German KMS Köln, British HMS Dido and Soviet Krasny Krym. With Update 1.85, ther recently introduced Royal Navy also completed its closed beta testing, making more than two dozen British warships available to all players.

New locations for War Thunder include Vietnam, a new battlefield for tankers with the characteristic thick vegetation, narrow paths and coastal villages popularized by Vietnam War movies. Pilots can now dogfight over the skies of ‘Afghanistan’, depicting a modern-day version of the mountainous state featuring big cities among vast mountain ranges, while captains will be able to go to battle around the ‘Tierra del Fuego’ archipelago at the border of the Atlantic and Pacific oceans.

More information about War Thunder Update 1.85 “Supersonic” is available on the game’s official website.

Gaijin Entertainment has announced details about this year’s Festive Quest for War Thunder, a traditional in-game event marathon that allows players to obtain several exclusive Premium vehicles and additional bonuses entirely for free and simply by playing the game.

The Festive Quest will run from December 21 to January 14, and rewards include the two aircraft MB.152C1 (France) and Fw 190 C (Germany) as well as the two ground vehicles SU-85A (USSR) and T30 Heavy Tank (USA). The vehicles were specifically created for this year’s Festive Quest and can only be obtained by participating in the event. Other bonuses unlocked along the way in are several decals, camouflages and decorative items. All vehicles are awarded as coupons, which means players can either use them for their own account, or sell them after the event for premium currency to other players on the Gaijin Marketplace.

About the ‘Festive Quest’: The War Thunder Festive Quest is an in-game event marathon offering varying challenges for players on tanks and aircraft. Players can progressively advance within the event by completing in-game tasks such as destroying enemy vehicles or capturing objectives. With every challenge unlocked, players receive a different in-game bonus, including the aforementioned vehicles at certain milestones.

Detailed information about the War Thunder Festive Quest is available on the official game website.

Jujubee’s Kursk Has Been Improved to Version 2.1 Adding a New Free Roam Mode and Additional Side Quests!

Polish developer Jujubee S.A. has just recently updated their game to version 2.0 and today they have improved Kursk to version 2.1. The developers wanted to reach their goal of bringing the community’s feedback to life before the end of the year.

Upon completing the game, the player will have access to a new game mode called “Free Roam” in which the entire submarine will be available for exploration. This is a wonderful opportunity for people who have missed some of the collectibles to unlock an achievement or want to examine the vessel in peace. Furthermore, new side quests have been introduced that not only allow the player some more playing time, but they enhance the overall experience of the game as well.

Worth mentioning is the fact that Jujubee is offering a -35% discount on Kursk during the annual Steam Winter Sale. This is a great chance to unravel the mystery of the fateful voyage of K-141 Kursk that ended at the bottom of the Barents Sea.

Will Now Release a Week Early on 15 February 2019

Deep Silver and 4A Games are proud to announce that, after five years of development, Metro Exodus has gone Gold and will release a week earlier than anticipated. The spectacular third entry in the critically acclaimed Metro saga will now release on February 15th 2019, on Xbox One, the all-in one games and entertainment system from Microsoft, the PlayStation® 4 computer entertainment system and PC.

“Our fans have been waiting patiently for Metro Exodus ever since we announced the title at E3 2017,” said Klemens Kundratitz, CEO at Deep Silver. “We had previously delayed the release date to ensure 4A Games had the time to deliver their ambitious vision for the game, but now we’re delighted to confirm that Metro Exodus has ‘gone gold’ and we are able to bring the release date forward to the 15th February 2019.”

To celebrate this news, Deep Silver are proud to reveal the spectacular Title Sequence for Metro Exodus.

Created by Santa Monica based studio, Elastic, the award winning makers of some of the most iconic title sequences of recent years including Game of Thrones and Westworld, this beautiful introduction to the game is set to an original score by Metro series composer Alexey Omelchuk.

“We were absolutely thrilled to be contacted by the team at Deep Silver and 4A Games to create this Main Title Sequence,” said Andy Hall, Creative Director at Elastic. “It’s the type of project we love. Once we had been immersed in the game, we essentially lived in this frozen and terrifying landscape for many, many weeks…we are delighted with the final film.”

You can watch the Title Sequence HERE.

Visit the official Metro Exodus website for more game information.

Final Major Expansion Pack Launches With Update 4.0, Adds New Quests and Mega Bosses Final Major Expansion Pack Launches With Update 4.0, Adds New Quests and Mega Bosses

Genre-defining RPG developer Obsidian Entertainment, in partnership with indie powerhouse publisher Versus Evil, is today announcing that the final paid expansion, titled “The Forgotten Sanctum” for Pillars of Eternity II: Deadfire is now available. With new quests and an immense dungeon to explore, the Forgotten Sanctum awaits those brave enough to enter.

The latest 4.0 update for Pillars of Eternity II: Deadfire is also available and brings with it a host of new features, like respawning ships on the world map, additional God Challenges, a new sub-class for each class, and two new Mega Bosses for Watchers and their crew to battle against. The Forgotten Sanctum is the third major expansion for the game preceded by the “Beast of Winter” and “Seeker Slayer, Survivor” DLC packs, all of which have added considerable content to the main game since its May launch.

The final paid Deadfire DLC is available now for $9.99 and is also included as part of the Season Pass and in the Obsidian Edition of Pillars of Eternity II: Deadfire.

Features
When a violent tremor shatters the islands of the Deadfire, the greatest wizards in Eora seek out the aid of the Watcher. The archmage Maura has vanished into the depths of a newly opened dungeon located in the Black Isles and threatens to awaken what lies forgotten there. Follow Maura’s trail and determine the fate of one of the Deadfire Archipelago’s most closely-held secrets.

• Traverse an expansive dungeon built into the flesh of a sleeping god.
• Encounter the highest-level challenges yet faced by the Watcher and their companions.
• Scheme with or defy the wills of Eora’s most powerful wizards.
• Critter Cleaver – Customize the stats and look of in-game pets.

Visit the website: eternity.obsidian.net

Source: TechPowerUp!

AMD has released their yearly driver update called Radeon Software Adrenalin 2019 Edition v18.2.2. For the past three years, the company has been releasing year-end feature-packed updates to Radeon Software. The 2017 version saw the introduction of Radeon Software “Adrenalin”, before which we had Crimson/ReLive and Omega. The company also sped up its driver release cycle to match AAA game releases, and over the years, increased its reliability score and customer satisfaction. With Radeon Software Adrenalin, AMD is targeting three key consumer segments: Gamers, Enthusiasts, and Creators. The new Radeon Software Adrenalin 2019 Edition v18.2.2 is available online at the AMD driver download page.

Read more…

Source: TechPowerUp!

NVIDIA has released the  GeForce 417.35 WHQL drivers. These drivers provide optimization to the latest update of Final Fantasy XV: Windows Edition, which introduces DLSS (deep learning super-sampling), NVIDIA’s major image-quality enhancement feature released alongside “Turing.” The 417.35 WHQL update also addresses a number of issues. “Rocket League” now no longer sometimes launch with a white screen and crash-to-desktop. The “Manage GPU Utilization” tab in the Workstation settings of NVCPL on machines running TITAN V no longer appears when it shouldn’t. The drivers also fix SLI disabling after driver update on TITAN Xp SLI setups. Ansel support for “Battlefield V” is improved. Texture flickering in “Hitman 2: Silent Assassin” has been fixed. The drivers also include an updated GeForce Experience (version 3.16.0.140).

You can download the new GeForce 417.35 WHQL drivers through GeForce Experience or via GeForce.com.

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.

• Silicon Power Launches First DDR4 RGB for Gamers
• ASUS Presents ROG Strix RTX 2080 Ti OC COD: Black Ops 4 Edition Graphics Card
• Sharkoon Announces the Drakonia II Gaming Mouse – The Dragon Returns
• ADATA Launches XPG GAMMIX S11 Pro and SX6000 Lite SSDs
• EK Water Blocks is Releasing Velocity D-RGB CPU Blocks with Ultimate LED Customization
• Be Quiet! Pure Power 11 PSU Series Now Available in the United States
• Phanteks Introduces the New PH-TC12LS RGB CPU Cooler
• INNO3D Launches iChill X3 Jekyll Coolers on RTX 20 Graphics Cards
• In Win 307 RGB ATX Case Uses its Front Panel Like a Display
• EVGA Releases Hybrid Kit AIO Liquid Coolers for its RTX 20-series Graphics Cards
• Gigabyte Z390 Aorus Xtreme Waterforce Motherboard Debuts
• Thermaltake Debuts the View 23 Tempered Glass ARGB Edition
• ASUS ROG Announces Immediate Availability of World’s First Tri-band 802.11ax (Wi-Fi 6) Router

Tripwire Interactive Celebrates the Holidays with Free Christmas Themed Map and Seasonal Helmet for All Rising Storm 2: Vietnam Players

Tripwire Interactive, Antimatter Games and the Green Army Men Team announced today the launch of the Rising Storm 2: Vietnam – Green Army Men Christmas Special, the toy-sized update for the award-winning and critically acclaimed first-person shooter. Starting today and running through the first week of January 2019 on Steam, players can look forward to taking part in the gritty and strategic 64-player player matches Rising Storm 2: Vietnam is famous for on a brand-new Christmas-themed map where miniature toy soldiers vie for control over fortresses spread throughout a cozy home decorated for the holidays. Take cover behind building blocks, use race car tracks to access new areas, and take advantage of the toy helicopters to gain the high ground.

The Rising Storm 2: Vietnam – Green Army Men Christmas Special update is available for free to all players who own the game. In addition, as part of today’s update, players can also look forward to a free Seasonal M1 Helmet and a host of seasonal themed achievements. And, of course, all the normal Vietnam content will remain available to all players, in case you’ve had too much festivity and need to run through the jungle some more!

Watch the Rising Storm 2: Vietnam – Green Army Men Christmas Special Trailer HERE.

Available now on PC, Rising Storm 2: Vietnam is the sequel to Rising Storm, PC Gamer magazine’s 2013 ‘Multiplayer Game of the Year,’ published by Tripwire Interactive and developed by Antimatter Games. Command your team to victory in massive 64-player battles with authentic weapons, aircraft, and maps that pit conventional military forces against guerilla forces.

Stay up-to-date with the latest Rising Storm 2: Vietnam news and information at www.rs2Vietnam.com.

Plus Ultra: Rival the Empire of Charles V in Golden Century

From Madrid to Mexico to Manila, the Spanish Crown had the one of the first empires where the sun never set. From the fall of Granada to the Dutch Wars of Independence, Spanish power always had to be taken into consideration. But its road to dominance ran through local rivals like Portugal and Morocco, and its control over the vital sea routes was challenged by English navies and ruthless privateers. What path will you take?

Europa Universalis IV: Golden Century is the newest immersion pack for Paradox’s classic game of empire and exploration in the early modern era, and it is available today on Steam, the Paradox store and other major online retailers for $9.99 / £7,15 / €9,99.

Golden Century focuses its improvements on parts of the game central to the kingdoms of and around Iberia,including new mission trees for the major historical powers and a hypothetical Andalusia if you manage to turn back the armies of Catholicism. But Golden Century also lets you live out your childhood dream of being a pirate king, ruling a republic of brigands, sending your ships to finance realm by raiding the trade routes of more powerful rulers.

Other features of Europa Universalis IV: Golden Century include:

• Minority Settlements: Settle your distant colonies with homeland minorities, promoting greater cohesion at home, while adding more diversity to your subject nations.
• Establish Holy Orders: Iberian nations can appoint Jesuit, Franciscan or Dominican clerics to govern their states to reduce unrest or ease conversion.
• New Mission Trees: New missions and objectives for the nations of Iberia and Northwest Africa, including Spain and Andalusia.
• Pirate Republics: Raise the black flag and pillage the high seas, or defeat these scourges of humanity..
• Flagships: Appoint a Flagship to lead your navy, adding combat and trade power to your fleets.
• Naval Barrage: Use your ships to help besiege coastal forts by bombarding the walls.
• New Army Models: New army and naval models for Castile/Spain, Aragon, Portugal, Leon/Navarra, Pirates, Sale and Galicia
• Plus over ten minutes of new original music.

Golden Century is accompanied by the free Spain update, available to everyone who owns Europa Universalis IV. This update will include newly detailed maps of Iberia, North Africa and the Spanish Main, as well as revised National Ideas for many nations in the Western Mediterranean, new Government Reform options and other changes for all players.

Watch the Europa Universalis IV: Golden Century Release Trailer HERE.