Epic Games Store is changing for the better

Derek Strickland | Gaming | Aug 16, 2019 5:16 PM CDT

The Epic Games Store is slowly but surely morphing into a more competent storefront, complete with features consumers enjoy on Steam.

Epic Games Store is changing for the better

When it's all said and done, the Epic Games Store should closely resemble Steam. The fledgling marketplace is just now getting more meat on its bones, complete with wide cloud save support across its games. There's still things missing like mods and a shopping cart, but the store is getting a lot better. In a recent update, Epic reveals that more games are supporting cloud saves and the storefront is getting some stylish improvements. 17 new games now support cloud saves, including the free titles Epic gave away this month.

Now the Epic Store sort of resembles a place I'd buy games from. Sure it needs lots of work, but devs now have more tools to make their game's pages look less ramshackle. Presentation is incredibly important, especially when you're trying to convince someone to buy your game without any prior exposure.

Continue reading: Epic Games Store is changing for the better (full post)

Destiny 2's crunch will help streamline Destiny 3

Derek Strickland | Gaming | Aug 16, 2019 3:16 PM CDT

Bungie's learned a lot from Destiny and Destiny 2 over the years, and many of these hard lessons will be used to fuel Destiny 3.

Destiny 2's crunch will help streamline Destiny 3

Photo: Joseph Biwald, Bungie

Destiny 2 has changed a lot since 2017. We've seen Bungie add more content than ever before and deliver a consistent slate of new updates, tweaks, and innovations across the sequel, all of which helped successfully monetize and engage millions of players. But all that work took a considerable toll on the team. The annual pass required lots of crunch and intense live game management, which culminated in what Destiny 2 game director Luke Smith calls an "unsustainable development cycle."

Continue reading: Destiny 2's crunch will help streamline Destiny 3 (full post)

RNGesus blesses Destiny 2 with new expansive Armor 2.0 update

Derek Strickland | Gaming | Aug 16, 2019 1:14 PM CDT

Bungie recently detailed some pretty big changes to Destiny 2's armor system, which is centered around a vast sea of RNG possibilities.

RNGesus blesses Destiny 2 with new expansive Armor 2.0 update

Photo: Joseph Biwald, Bungie

Destiny 2's loot has come a long, long way. At the beginning, all the weapons and armors had fixed stats. Now with the game's upcoming Armor 2.0 update, there's a galaxy of potential rolls. Bungie is significantly overhauling the armor system with a massive level of customization, progression, and randomness to feed a bigger focus on RPG elements.

Continue reading: RNGesus blesses Destiny 2 with new expansive Armor 2.0 update (full post)

Choosing a VPN for gaming: Here's what you need to know

Sponsored Content | Internet & Websites | Aug 16, 2019 11:41 AM CDT

Using a VPN is the best way for internet users to protect their privacy online. But did you know that a VPN also has benefits for gamers? Gamers might opt to use a VPN for several reasons. With a VPN, players can access games that aren't available in their area, conceal their IP address, and protect their data from vulnerabilities in gaming servers. That said, not all VPNs on the market are right for gamers. There are a few things you should pay special attention to when choosing a VPN for gaming, which we'll tell you all about in this article.

Choosing a VPN for gaming: Here's what you need to know

When it comes to selecting a gaming VPN, the number of options is overwhelming. To make this process simpler, we've listed some of the essential features to consider before deciding on a VPN. Here are the things to keep in mind when choosing a VPN for gaming.

A secure VPN will slow down your speeds to an extent. But some VPNs are faster than others, especially if they have lots of high-bandwidth servers. Since tons of data passes between your device and the gaming server each second, a fast connection is essential. You'll want to consider bandwidth and Mbps speeds when making your choice. Opt for a VPN with speeds that are as close as possible to the speed you get with your ISP.

Continue reading: Choosing a VPN for gaming: Here's what you need to know (full post)

Cold Iron Studios ramps up for new Aliens MMO shooter

Derek Strickland | Gaming | Aug 16, 2019 11:05 AM CDT

Cold Iron Studios just went on a hiring spree to bolster development of its new Aliens game, and positions are starting to fill up.

Cold Iron Studios ramps up for new Aliens MMO shooter

The last time we checked on Cold Iron, the studio was hiring 22 people to help on its new Aliens massive-multiplayer online shooter. Now that number has shrunken to 15, showing some progress has been made. The game has been in development since 2018 or thereabouts after FoxNext bought Cold Iron, but no details have been revealed. Based on the current job listings that call for higher positions like a Senior Producer, a Senior Character Artist, and a Senior Concept Artist, I'd say the game is still far away from release.

The new Aliens game is being built with Unreal Engine 4, it might be a Destiny-like MMO-FPS, and it's due out for consoles and PC--that's really all we know at this point. But there are some clues. FoxNext has been following a distinct formulaic approach to Alien games.

Continue reading: Cold Iron Studios ramps up for new Aliens MMO shooter (full post)

New Switch model doubles battery life in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate

Jak Connor | Gaming | Aug 16, 2019 8:11 AM CDT

Nintendo has recently released their update model of the Nintendo Switch system, that system has now been tested and its new battery life has been measured.

The old Nintendo Switch model was HAC-001, and to give a good battery life time expectation, Nintendo estimated that if you played The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild it would last three hours. On the new Nintendo Switch model which is model HAC-001(-01), Nintendo expects that you will achieve 5.5 hours on The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, quite a nice improvement.

Of course battery drainage really depends on what game you are playing, so thanks to Tom's Guide we can get another battery life expectation result, but this time in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate. Tom's Guide ran an endless 8-player CPU battle in Smash Ultimate on both systems, the AI was turned up to the max, items were enabled and the brightness was cranked to the max. Their results were the following: New Nintendo Switch model achieved 4 hours and 50 minutes of life before the battery died and the old only got 2 hours and 45 minutes. Meaning the new model almost doubled battery life, quite the achievement!

Continue reading: New Switch model doubles battery life in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate (full post)

DOOM & DOOM II now don't require that annoying Bethesda account login

Jak Connor | Gaming | Aug 16, 2019 7:19 AM CDT

Not to long ago Bethesda released their trilogy of classic DOOM games back on consoles out of nowhere. While this was a fantastic surprise some players were confused with the Bethesda account sign in requirement.

DOOM & DOOM II now don't require that annoying Bethesda account login

While you would firstly think that this was happy occasion as the DOOM games are classic and culturally solidified in gaming history as some of the best games ever created, it was sadly not for some players. Some players decided to fire back at Bethesda for the requirement of having players sign into their Bethesda.net account to play DOOM and DOOM II, even if they were offline.

Bethesda quickly recognized the dissatisfaction with the login and now has since added an option to bypass players having to enter their email address and password every time they want to play the game. I'd imagine many DOOM players are going to be extremely happy with the quality of life update, as now they can continue their blood-stained slaying much faster than they were previously.

Continue reading: DOOM & DOOM II now don't require that annoying Bethesda account login (full post)

Hero banned from Australian Super Smash Bros. Ultimate eSports scene

Jak Connor | Gaming | Aug 16, 2019 6:05 AM CDT

The controversy surrounding Nintendo's newest addition to the Super Smash Bros. Ultimate's roster is rife with toxicity, as both sides of the argumentative fence have been going at each other since the characters release.

Hero banned from Australian Super Smash Bros. Ultimate eSports scene

Since Hero's release in version 4.0.0 the character has had a microscope placed over him as many players (mostly competitive) believe that the character is unfit for professional competition due to his random-number-generated (RNG) moves/abilities. The South Australian Smash Central believes that this is the case and has officially banned Hero from competitive matches, they announced this news via their Twitter account.

South Australia's Smash community have said that they aren't banning Hero because he is "too strong", but more so because he is "anti-competitive" due to some of his moves (magic burst, zoom & critical strikes) having next to no counter-play. It was also argued that since Hero has many abilities/moves that rely on RNG, that the character is too dependent on the randomness which ultimately takes away from competitive skill.

Continue reading: Hero banned from Australian Super Smash Bros. Ultimate eSports scene (full post)

This needle-sized lensless endoscope takes 3D images of singular cells

Jak Connor | Science, Space, Health & Robotics | Aug 16, 2019 5:16 AM CDT

Researchers have managed to create a new endoscope design that is capable of self-calibrating and taking images of objects smaller than a single cell.

This needle-sized lensless endoscope takes 3D images of singular cells

For those that don't know, endoscopes are tiny instruments that are used to view the internals of the body. Traditional endoscopes use camera and light to capture images, while researchers that have developed this new endoscope have achieved 3D image capturing without the use of any optical, electrical or mechanical components. This new endoscope measures in at just 200 microns across, which is approximately the size of a needle.

This new endoscope will have widespread medical application and since its tiny, and doesn't feature any bulky components, it's expected that it will be especially useful in optogenetics. Juergen W. Czarske, Director and C4-Professor at TU Dresden, Germany and lead author on the paper gave a statement regarding the endoscope, saying "The lensless fiber endoscope is approximately the size of a needle, allowing it to have minimally invasive access and high-contrast imaging as well as stimulation with a robust calibration against bending or twisting of the fiber."

Continue reading: This needle-sized lensless endoscope takes 3D images of singular cells (full post)

The Moon looks more ablaze than our own Sun in new NASA Fermi images

Jak Connor | Science, Space, Health & Robotics | Aug 16, 2019 4:11 AM CDT

While our eyes cannot see high-energy radiant called gamma rays, NASA's Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope certainly can and it has produced incredible images of the cosmic rays hitting the Moon.

The Moon looks more ablaze than our own Sun in new NASA Fermi images

Above we have some progression images of the Moon's gamma ray exposure, and according to Mario Nicola Mazziotta and Francesco Loparco from Italy's National Institute of Nuclear Physics in Bari, these images give us a better understanding of how fast-moving particles called cosmic rays interact with the Moon. The particles we are seeing are electrically charged and since the Moon has no magnetic field these charged particles make it to the surface.

When the particles hit the Moon's surface they produce a gamma-ray emission, while the Moon does absorb most of the particles some escape its clutches. Since NASA are planning on returning humans to the Moon by 2024, these findings of gamma exposure on the Moon emphasize the importance of NASA equipping our astronauts with gamma-protection suits so they aren't doused in these cosmic rays. For a more in-depth analysis, check out this article here.

Continue reading: The Moon looks more ablaze than our own Sun in new NASA Fermi images (full post)